Oath-Breaker - River Starr

Oath-Breaker
River Starr
( Angel of Death & Demons #1)
Publication date: May 5th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

No one survives their meeting with the Angel of Death—except for me.

After being accused of rallying citizens to revolt against him and breaking the rules of engagement with demons to save my best friend—guilty as charged on both accounts—the Angel of Death demands to personally oversee my sentencing in his obsidian castle of demons and death.

I’m done for. This is the end. But my death won’t be in vain—I’ll die a martyr to the Paladins Order’s cause, and I’ll rescue my best friend at the same time. She’ll be safe and the paladins will pick a new leader. They’ll thrive and continue the fight.

Or so I think. When judgment day arrives and I’m knelt before the Angel of Death, with his onyx eyes, his ebony hair, and his seductively imposing stature, my soul doesn’t leave me.

It soars.

Because when I dare to look the Angel of Death in the eyes, everything changes. And what unfolds in my anger and vengeance’s stead is a thread of events I never could have foreseen.

I survived my meeting with the Angel of Death. But can I survive his love?

OATH-BREAKER is the first of a M/F paranormal demon romance duology full of steamy goodness.

Goodreads / Amazon

My Review

I love a good paranormal romance and this one is certainly that. This is the first book in a two-part story, which ends with you wanting to know more, but not in a gratuitous cliffhanger which these kinds of stories sometimes can. It was enough to make me want to read the next book and find out what is going to happen next.

Alya and Lucius make a good couple. There's a lot of instant attraction here, but with the whole idea of fated mates, particularly reluctant ones, I don't mind, it works well. I certainly was keen to see their relationship progress and find out how they are going to come to terms with their differences. There was a little repetition around Alya's coming to terms with what the Angel of Death is to her and how her previous mate fits into all of this. I get that it might take her a while to accept, but I don't think repeating that really helped emphasise the point, sometimes less is more.

The book ended with a bit of a twist. It wasn't a completely unexpected one if I'm honest and I thought that it was going to be what was going on. Even so, that didn't detract from my enjoyment. I'm keen to find out where next for this couple and how they are going to sort out the problems their world faces. 

Author Bio:

River Starr writes books that help you escape, especially fantasy romance full of magic and supernaturals. Favorite things: coffee, wine, chocolate, and a heavy dose of books to chase away the dark... or invite delicious darkness in.

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An English Garden Murder - Katie Gayle

 Meet Julia Bird: recently single, reluctantly retired, and… an amateur sleuth?

Julia Bird has left London for a fresh start in a picturesque Cotswolds village, and the rustic charm and cosy fireplaces of her little cottage are everything she’d hoped for. But when she tears down the old garden shed to make way for a chicken coop, she unearths much more than she’d bargained for… the body of a young woman, apparently buried for decades, thrusting Julia into a baffling mystery.

With only one copper on the case in Berrywick, Julia decides to solve the who and whodunnit herself, taking her wayward puppy Jake along for the ride. And so begins a whirlwind tour of the village – from the dotty 90-year-old to the delightful doctor and the village gardener, it seems everyone has something to hide.

Soon, Julia is convinced she has discovered the killer’s identity, until Jake, a true Labrador, finds a new love of the local lake’s waterfowl and instead ends up catching her chief suspect… drowned. Back at square one, with potential culprits galore, Julia – newly nicknamed the Grim Reaper – despairs at ever solving the murders.

But as Julia ruffles feathers village-wide, the clock is ticking. There is someone in the village who has killed twice already. Will they be prepared to make it third time lucky to keep their secret safe?

This totally addictive page-turning cozy mystery is perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands.

Author Bio:

Katie Gayle is the writing partnership of best-selling South African writers, Kate Sidley and Gail Schimmel. Kate and Gail have, between them, written over ten books of various genres, but with Katie Gayle, they both make their debut in the cozy mystery genre. Both Gail and Kate live in Johannesburg, with husbands, children, dogs and cats.

https://www.facebook.com/KatieGayleWriter

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Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Katie Gayle here: https://www.bookouture.com/katie-gayle

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B09SQ8CD7Jsocial

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My Review

I do enjoy a good, old fashioned murder mystery and that's certainly what An English Garden Murder is. Even the title has that feeling of Midsomer murders or similar. I was really looking forward to getting stuck into this one and I really wasn't disappointed when I did.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this story and I have to admit that I really didn't know who was behind it all by the time we got to the big reveal at the end. I'd been barking up all kinds of wrong trees as I'm sure was the intention, as each time I was sure who was behind it all, it would all suddenly be blown out of the water and I'd be back to scratching my head over who was behind it again.

I hope that this book is going to be the start of a new series, because I really enjoyed reading about Julia Bird and the village that she's moved to. It's marked as book one, so fingers crossed book two won't be too far away.

A Body on the Beach - Dee Macdonald

 It’s Tinworthy village’s summer fete: a brass band, cream teas, gentle gossip... and a body on the beach? The party’s just getting started for super sleuth Kate Palmer!

Kate Palmer thought spending the day at Tinworthy’s annual summer party would involve sea air, sunshine and Cornish cream cake – how very wrong she was! When Kate goes for a cliff-top walk she is shocked to spot the body of Sienna Stone – Cornwall’s biggest gossip – on the sandy beach below.

Rumours swirl around the close-knit community and all eyes are on Kate. Half the village saw her arguing with Sienna at the party earlier that day. It was the usual bickering between neighbours, but when Kate finds herself in the frame can she – and her new husband Woody Forrest – solve the puzzling death and clear her name?

There’s a long list of people who might have wanted to push Sienna – her long-suffering husband Irvin, her jealous younger sister Sally and Timmy Thomson, the man who idolised her, not to mention all the villagers who felt the sharp end of her tongue. Finding out the truth isn’t going to be easy…

Just as Kate thinks she’s getting closer to an answer, an unexpected afternoon visitor shares some curious information over tea and scones that sets her on an entirely different path. And soon she starts to wonder if she might be in real danger too…

Can Kate solve the curious case before the murderer declares the party over? Or have her days of sleuthing come to an end?

If you love cosy crime stories complete with quirky characters, twisty plots and plenty of suspects, A Body on the Beach will have you absolutely hooked until the very last page! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Clare Chase.

Author Bio:

Aged 18, Dee arrived in London from Scotland and typed her way round the West End for a couple of years before joining BOAC (forerunner of British Airways) in Passenger Services for 2 years and then as a stewardess for 8 years.

She has worked in Market Research, Sales and at the Thames TV Studios when they had the franchise.

Dee has since relocated to Cornwall, where she spent 10 years running B&Bs, and only began writing when she was over 70!

Married twice, she has one son and two grandsons.

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDeeMacDonald

https://twitter.com/dmacdonaldauth

Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B09QG53FZNsocial

My Review

I do enjoy these Kate Palmer stories. While the idea of a woman finding herself in quite so many sticky situations when it comes to murder mysteries might not be entirely believable, they are very entertaining. This time Kate even manages to find herself as a suspect and not only does she want to find out who done it, but she's also obviously keen to clear her name!

I did think that Kate (or perhaps our author) did show her age somewhat. She was most concerned about a young woman that her son brought around for a meal having her hand resting on his thigh. I'm not entirely sure what was so scandalous about it, but Kate goes in for a bit of pearl clutching as a result. I think perhaps the idea was to show how quickly this young lady was getting herself into the relationship. Personally, I'd have been raising an eyebrow over the speed of inviting her around to meet the parents.

I didn't manage to solve this one until nearly the end. As often is the case with this kind of story, there were plenty of red herrings and blind alleys to lead you away from who was really responsible. Just the kind of misdirection that makes these classic style mysteries so appealing. I hope that we get more from Kate again soon, maybe this time I'll be a little bit more successful in my sleuthing!