The Protector - Abigail Owen

The Protector by Abigail Owen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was torn between wanting to make this one last, to savour every little bit and just wanting to greedily read it and find out what was going to happen. You may notice that with the date of starting and finishing being the same, which one of these two won. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Fire's Edge series and the associated Inferno Rising series, I just can't help myself.
Not only are these gripping reads, but I was particularly looking forward to Lyndi's story. It's been obvious in previous books that she has some pretty serious heat and unresolved passion with Levi. Being a female born dragon, she isn't valued as a member of society. She is sterile and as such will never have a mate, the way that the male dragons dream of. Still, the connection and draw she feels towards Levi simply can't be ignored. They've spent the last two hundred years sniping at one another and trying not to get too close, but now, when it looks as though Levi might have to leave, they can resist one another no longer.
I loved this story, it was all that I had hoped for and featured some things that I had hoped that it might. This is part of a series, I have read them all, but I'm still fairly confident to say that it would work as a standalone. That said, these books are so good, that I really think that you should go back and read them all if you haven't already. You won't regret it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Shift Out of Luck - Abigail Owen

Shift Out of Luck by Abigail Owen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We met Marrik and Tala, albeit briefly, in the first Brimstone Inc book The Demigod Complex. Shift out of Luck starts with the arranged mating of Tala and Marrik and then follows their attempts to unify their packs.
In some ways, this story is quite unusual, as Tala is already an alpha in her own right, she knows what she is capable of. This isn't a story about her finding her place, but rather about Marrik accepting her as an equal and of them finding a way to work alongside one another.
I liked the interaction between Marrik and Tala, as they did their best to work the new situation out. I also really liked what a strong character Tala was. It was clear that although they were going to be able to work together in the future, they weren't always going to see eye to eye.
This was a fairly short story, but still an enjoyable read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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The Enforcer - Abigail Owen

The Enforcer by Abigail Owen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the Fire's Edge and Inferno Rising series from Abigail Owen. This is the third book in the Fire's Edge series and it builds into what we have already seen and there is a cross over with the first Inferno Rising series (which seems to take place at roughly the same time as this one and there are some cross over events). This book does work as a stand-alone, but really you should read the other books first, just because they are so good.
The Enforcer is Drake, he's never found his mate and now he's slowly dying, even though the degeneration shouldn't have started to take place for another couple of hundred years. Not wanting to endanger his 'family' the Huracán team of dragon enforcers, he leaves them, becoming a rogue dragon. There he meets Camilla, a woman that he had saved previously, not realising that she was a dragon mate.
I loved the romance between Cami and Drake. She not only gives as good as she gets but quite often has the upper hand where Drake is concerned. He's a grumpy old sod and really needs someone who is able to push him out of his comfort zone and challenge him. Of course, being his mate there is a happily ever after here, but they both need to work for it and really find out that they are 'the one' for each other.
I can't wait for more in this series and in Inferno Rising. I think I know who were are going to read about next in both series. I just hope that I haven't got too long to wait until I can.
received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Awaken the Dragon - A.C. Arthur

Awaken the Dragon by A.C. Arthur
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit that I'm quite partial to a dragon shifter novel. Awaken the Dragon is the first in a series, I assume that the other books in the series will involve the other dragons shifters that we met in this one. Theo is the leader of a group of dragons who have left their realm and are living on earth. He has been here for two hundred years and in that time he has repressed the dragon side of his nature, choosing instead to live as a man and run his security business. When he meets Shola he finally finds someone who might be worth risking everything for and allow him to finally become himself once again.
There is a lot going on here and being the first in the series there's a lot to explain. A lot of time isn't spent on world-building, but we still manage to get most of the gist of the world in which they live as the story unfolds. I think that future books in the series might be able to build on this and so will be in a stronger position, as we become more accustomed to the setting.
The romance between Theo and Shola moves quite quickly once they fully acknowledge their blossoming feelings. For me, it didn't quite work as well as it might. The chemistry between them just wasn't quite sparking properly and so things felt a little rushed. I also felt that Shola's character was kept in shadow a little too much, particularly at the beginning of the book, which didn't really help with the growing romance. I still enjoyed the book, but if I'd just brought into the chemistry a little more or there had been a little bit more of a build-up between them it would have been even better. I'd be certainly keen to read more in the series, especially as I suspect that this might be one of those that improve with each book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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The Lion, The Leopard, and the Wolf - Eliza March

The Lion, the Leopard, and the Wolf by Eliza March
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is really quite a short novella that goes quickly through the action. Our heroine, Mac, is looking to get over her ex-boyfriend and the weekend break that her aunt books her on seems to be the ideal way to do it. There's wall to wall sexy men and they seem to be very attentive. It soon becomes clear that best friends and owners of the lodge are both interested in her.
Overall I liked the idea of the story and for the most part, it worked. Where it fell down for me was that being so short it seemed very rushed. I was actually left with far more questions at the end of the book than I had to begin with. There was very little world-building too, which left me a bit confused. Especially as they were not only shifters, but apparent were shifters. Really the book needed some background worked into the story to explain all of that. The ending felt rushed to me with the sudden and rather random appearance of another shifter character leaving me wondering what I'd just read.
It wasn't that this was a bad story, just that it could have been much better with a little bit more adding to it. It's a bit of a shame really.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Chosen Mate - Katie Reus

Chosen Mate by Katie Reus
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I haven't read any of the other books in this series, but I don't think that it really mattered. I certainly didn't feel like I was missing out on anything by not having met the characters before.
It tells the story of Leslie and Malcolm, who are wolf shifters. He is the alpha of their pack and knew from the moment that he met her, that Leslie would be his mate. She has been mated before, but that relationship was abusive and as a result, Malcolm is taking things very slowly. As they begin to reveal their feelings for one another, threat comes in the form of a feral wolf on their territory. Malcolm has to deal with this and protect Leslie.
I enjoyed reading about the developing relationship between Leslie and Malcolm. He was very sweet towards her and although he's an alpha, didn't try to completely dominate or control her. The only thing that I wasn't totally convinced about was the age gap. These are creatures that have very long lives, but even so, 200 years between them seemed a little bit OTT. I think that there's sometimes this feeling that the woman MUST be younger and less experienced than the man, but I'm not convinced that it's necessary and as I say, that much of a gap seems odd, especially when he appears and acts as though he was a similar age.
This is quite a short little story and I read it in a very short space of time. It was a nice quick read although that did mean that there wasn't a lot of room for huge character development, you don't always need that.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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