Heat level: 2

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Review - The Seventh of December by Garrick Jones

My rating: * * * * *

Australian Tommy is a world-class violinist and speaks several European languages fluently, but to support his ailing mother, Tommy and his fraternal twin brother Michael join the army. Both become involved in army intelligence, and by the time of the Battle of Britain, Tommy is a senior officer in the Special Operations Executive (SOE). At a rare evening out at a friend’s salon, Tommy is introduced to Henry, an American soldier attached to the U.

Tags: Thriller WWII

 

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Review - Rogue Community College by David R. Slayton

My rating: * * * * *

Isaac is a trained assassin, although he has yet to kill anyone. He’s on his first assignment for the Undertaker, the man who has trained Isaac and many others since he was a young boy. The mission seems to go sideways, and Isaac is taken by the Queen of Swords, Argent, to a strange school the other students have dubbed Rogue Community College. There, he will learn about the other races with a view to becoming a Guardian, but the others don’t know Isaac’s secrets.

Tags: Fantasy

 

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Review - Fool Me Twice by JL Merrow

My rating: * * * *

Zig’s father never treated him well. Yet, the homophobic thief still insisted that his teenage son take part in his crimes. The one bright thing in Zig’s life is his boyfriend, apprentice bricklayer Si. When Si finds out about Zig’s criminal activity, and Zig defends it, the pair split up. Six years later, both men are older and wiser. Si returned to Glastonbury soon after leaving Zig. For his part, Zig found his moral compass and parted ways with his father.

Tags: Contemporary UK Setting

 

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Review - Touch and GO by Chris Quinton

My rating: * * * * *

Boston police officer Jason is badly injured when the undercover operation he was involved in almost went sideways. Now, both of the crime families he helped take down are out for his blood before he can testify. Staying in the hospital, where he should be, makes him a sitting duck, so the FBI moves him into a safe house under the watchful eye of Special Agent Phil Harland. He should be safe, except it looks like there’s a mole in the police or the FBI, or both, and it turns out Phil is Jason’s old high school rival.

Tags: Thriller Crime Mystery

 

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Review - A Veil of Gods and Kings by Nicole Bailey

My rating: * * * * *

It’s Apollo’s fate to become the sun god, but he keeps putting off ascending. He doesn’t want to become a god, like his father Zeus, who demands offerings of sacrifice and food from humans who are starving, then wipes out entire villages on a whim. Zeus is becoming increasingly impatient with his half-human son. He gives Apollo an ultimatum: either he ascends now, or spends a year with the human Prince Hyacinth learning how a “good” son behaves.

Tags: Myth Fantasy

 

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Review - Edmund, Accountant of the Night by Angel Martinez

My rating: * * * *

Edmund has been on the run from Hunters for a long time. The Hunters are single-minded in their pursuit of magical beings, whom they tear apart when they catch them. It’s not like Edmund is a danger to anyone. He may be a vampire, but he’s a vampire fruit bat. The only thing he sucks the life out of is ripe fruit. In desperation, Edmund flees to Mereston, although he’s not sure he will be welcomed even there.

Tags: Fantasy Magic

 

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Review - That Little Book Shop in Rome where it's Easy to Murder Someone by Lee Quail

My rating: * * * * *

Adrian’s aunt Clarissa died and left him her bookshop in Rome. He isn’t sure why. On arriving, he meets the eccentric group of people who work in the shop and learns that Clarissa was, in fact, murdered because she and the others were on the trail of a ruthless human trafficking network with ties to the Vatican. Adrian can’t help looking into the problem, which puts him in the sights of people who will kill to keep their lucrative operation running.

Tags: Thriller

 

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Review - D.B. and Me by Rob Rosen

My rating: * * * *

Vietnam veteran Adam is on the run after killing a man in Seattle. He’s been hiding out at an isolated cabin in southern Washington that belonged to one of his comrades who didn’t make it home. It’s almost Thanksgiving, so Adam is out hunting for wild turkey. Near the Columbia River, he spots a log raft covered by a parachute. Beneath the improvised tent, Adam finds a man asleep. Adam wakes the man up and he introduces himself as ‘Tim’.

Tags: 1970s

 

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Review - Dream Tentacled by Alexa Piper

My rating: * * * *

Fian is a demon. A kraken-shaped demon, to be exact. But he’s nowhere near as scary as that makes him sound. Fian is really just a gentle person. He lives in the Morepheusrealm and makes his living carving driftwood. When his brother announces his impending marriage to a human, he also informs Fian that he will be the best man and must bring a date. Fian decides to find a human to bring and so visits dry land in his human form.

Tags: Fantasy Tentacles

 

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Review - Geoffrey the Very Strange by Angel Martinez

My rating: * * * *

Aspic recently moved to Merseton where he works in the local herb shop. He’s suddenly alone at the counter one day when Geoffrey the Very Strange walks in the door. That’s not his real full name, but it’s what everyone in the village calls him. Geoffrey may be odd, with his attempt to practice necromancy without blood magic, but there’s something Aspic finds endearing about the young man. Geoffrey also finds the pink-haired half demon alarmingly attractive, but necromancers don’t have friends, let alone boyfriends.

Tags: Fantasy Magic