Two Bloggers One Series ~ Cursed At Dawn (Blackbird Trilogy #3)

 

Hi everyone! We are back with the last book in this trilogy. It's kind of nice having a short series...lol. Once you see what I thought go on over and check out what Barb from Booker Ts Farm.

Dracula lives—and he’s hunting for his bride.

Vampires may not walk among us, but FBI agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter know real monsters exist. They’ve witnessed firsthand the worst humankind has to offer. They’re still catching their breaths after the apprehension of two such monstrous killers when they’re met with horrific news. Stephan Dante, the self-proclaimed king of the vampires, has escaped from prison, followed only by a trail of blood.

All too familiar with Dante’s cruelty, Della and Mason know the clock is ticking. But as Dante claims more victims, a chilling message arrives. The vampire killer seeks his eternal bride—Della herself. Playing into Dante’s desires might be the only way to stop the carnage once and for all, assuming they can outwit him. Della is confident the agents have the upper hand, but Mason knows every gamble runs the risk of not paying off, and this time, the consequences could be deadly.

This  trilogy has been about the same couple Mason and Della, they met in book one and romance followed. They have also been after Stephan Dante the "Vampire King" throughout all these books. This trilogy is a spin off of the original Krewe of Hunters and mentions several of the characters from them so if that doesn't bother you then you could start with this trilogy, but the original Krewe is better. Also because they are the international Krewe it also involves ghost which is what Krewe of Hunters is always about. 

Mason and Della can see ghost and those ghost help them try and solve the crime. In this one Dante has escaped killing along the way and Mason and Della our in pursuit. Dante has followers and they kill and Mason and Della have to deal with them plus Dante. In this one Dante has lead them to Scotland and so the two along with their krewe called Blackbird give chase. 

This one was very history heavy as one of the krewe gives all sorts of history facts about all the places they go to while trying to track down Dante. This might be interesting for some and boring for others. I was a bit in between as it could be interesting but also feel like a history lesson and get boring. 

I really like the characters in this trilogy. I like Mason and Della they are a good team. I think I would prefer the spin off series to be about separate stories than one long drawn out one like this trilogy was and as a whole the series was okay but I think this story was the weakest link which is a bummer as it's the conclusion.

3.5 stars

Blog Tour ~ Death at the Highland Loch

I was given this book in exchange for my honest review.

Move over, Inspector! Lady Poppy Proudfoot is here to solve her very first case.

Scotland, 1924:
 When Lady Poppy Proudfoot travels to the Highlands for a midsummer party, the last thing she and her fellow guests expect is for a body to wash up beside the loch.

Despite protests that it could have been an accident, Poppy is convinced it’s murder and decides to dust off her law degree and hunt for clues. But when the police arrive, the grumpy Inspector MacKenzie dismisses her evidence, insisting a crime scene is no place for a Lady. The nerve!

With the help of her trusted Labrador, Major, Poppy begins to unpick the case. But she soon has two mysteries to solve, as her host Lady Constance Balfour claims a diamond and emerald bracelet has been stolen. Could the two cases be linked? Was it Freddy the footman, a favourite of her ladyship? Or American actress Miss Cornett, with a keen eye for jewels? Or with such a dazzling guestlist, was someone from the local village tempted into the grounds by the party?

When a woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Poppy is attacked, she realizes that someone wants her off the case. Someone connected to Balfour House is a murderer and a thief, but who? And can Poppy solve the mystery before she, too, washes up beside the loch?

My thoughts:

I enjoy the authors other series so I thought I would try her new one and for a first book in a series I thought it was okay. 

Poppy (Lady Proudfoot) is a widow who has a law degree but when she got the degree women were not allowed to be lawyers. Then she got married and never used her degree. She was invited to a midsummer party at her new friend Lady Constance house. There are some American film makers and stars their as well.

While they were having dinner one of the footmen came in and said that he found a dead man by the Loch. In comes Inspector MacKenzie a handsome but somewhat grumpy man who clashes with Poppy quite a bit during the course of the investigation. Poppy seems to think she can figure things out more than the Inspector since she has that law degree. 

Not only is Poppy trying to figure out what happened with the dead man but Constance wants her to look into a missing bracelet. It seems her late husband had bought it and it wasn't paid for and Constance is having to take care of the bill but she can't find the necklace. 

There are a lot of suspects since it's a house party and there are not only Poppy and Constance but her brother and his wife, the American's and the servants. 

This story was decent but I found Poppy to be annoying at times. She seemed to think she was smarter than the detective as if he couldn't do his job and then just did some stupid things.

The mystery was decent and I had a hard time figuring out whodoneit. Overall it was an okay start to a series. 

3 stars

Author Bio:

Lydia Travers was born in London.  She moved progressively north until settling with her husband in a village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands. She has raised children, bred dogs and kept chickens; and for as long as she can remember has written for pleasure. A former legal academic and practitioner with a PhD in criminology, she now runs self-catering holiday accommodation, sings in a local choir and is walked daily by the family dog.

Lydia also writes as Linda Tyler and her first novel under that name, Revenge of the Spanish Princess, won a 2018 Romance Writers of America competition for the beginning of an historical romance. Her second novel The Laird's Secret was Commended in the 2021 Scottish Association of Writers' Pitlochry Quaich competition for the beginning of a romantic novel. Mischief in Midlothian won the 2022 Scottish Association of Writers' Constable Silver Stag trophy. She has had a number of short stories published in magazines, journals and anthologies in the UK, the USA and Australia.

https://www.facebook.com/LindaTylerAuthorScotland

https://twitter.com/LindaTyler100

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Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0DTHK3MMZsocial

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Two Bloggers One Series ~ Lair (Rats #2)

Last year we read Rats, I thought it was just a standalone till we started it and found out it was a trilogy. So we are back with book two! After you check out what I thought go on over to Booker T's Farm to see what Barb thought. 

The mutant white rat had grown and mated, creating offspring in its own image. They dominated the others, the dark-furred ones, who foraged for food and brought it back to the lair. Now the dark rats were restless, and the white slug-like thing that ruled them remembered the taste of human flesh.

So it's been five years since the first attach of rats that were altered. The rats that have escaped have been laying low and growing into something far more terrifying than before.

The leader of these rats is a white one with two heads! These rats have grown resistant to poisons and are stronger, smarter and more cunning than ever and they are ready to attack. 

This story is set in a small town and Luke who works for Ratkill is called in to make sure all the rats are dead, but he finds out they are not and that something worse is in the place of the old rats. Here he meets Jenny who has seen something and knows there are rats but nobody wants to believe her. Together Luke and her try and make things safe for everyone, but not until a lot of people being come rat food..I mean victims. 

Not a lot of plot but still a fun rat invested creature feature and I thought it was fun. If you like creature books you might find it's fun but just remember it doesn't have a lot in the way of plot...lol.

4 stars

Week in Review #120

How was your week? What did you get? The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

Hi everyone! Hope everyone has been having a great weekend. Staying dry if possible. It's nice and rainy here with an added storm now and then and I am really over the rain. They might grow May flowers but I am done...lol. Hope everyone has a happy Easter!

I had a fun time with my Aunt on Monday but all the walking got my bad knee flaring up and with the dampness of the weather it is really hurting, so haven't done a lot after that. I hate that my body keeps me from having fun. :(

Watched some fun movies this week. Watched the original Fright Night, Critters and The Octagon, all older movies and fun.

Have a great week!

Books I have added

Nothing!

Books I Read

• The Haunted Cave - Fun little Middle Grade spooky book. It's the third book in the Spooksville series.
• Cinderella After Midnight - Fun vintage romance though the female MC kind of annoyed me at times.
• The Dead Beat - From the author of Psycho and a bit more boring than Psycho. :( 
• Tripwire - I enjoyed it but I think I am getting spoiled by all the shorter books I have been reading lately as this felt like it dragged on a bit.
• Lair - Sequel to Rats and not much plot but lots of fun killer rats action. :) 

Currently Reading

• The Opec Objective - One of my Youtube subscribers sent this to me and it goes great for Old School April and so far lots of action and I am liking it. 
• Murder by Lamplight - So far I am enjoying this historical mystery about a lady doctor.
• Murder on the Ghost Walk - Cozy mystery from the early 2000s and it's not bad but just a little different.

How did your week go? Hope you had a great week!

Week in Review #119

How was your week? What did you get? The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

Hi everyone! Hope you all having a great day! Things are pretty good here. I love that it's starting to act more like spring should and not be FREEZING lol. Hope it's getting warmer for everyone else!

Watched a lot of fun old school movies this week. Life of a single lady with no kids, my time is my own...lol. I watched Flight of the Navigator, E.T., Gremlins, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Alligator, and a few more.

Books I have added

Nothing!

Books I Read

• Encyclopedia Brown Tracks Them Down - Reading for the nostalgia vibes as I read these as a kid.
• Welcome to Camp Nightmare - Working my way through the Goosebump books and this was fun.
• Say My Name, Say My Name - Fourth book in the House of Shivers series and it wasn't to bad.
• Taking the Fifth - The fourth book in the JP Beaumont series and it was good. These are fun and so old school.
• Once Upon a Hallow's Eve - It was a fun paranormal romance.
• Dial M for Mousse - Reread for a readalong and finding out I don't like this trilogy as much as I did when I first read it. Glad this was the last one. 
• Around the World in 80 Days - This was a lot of fun! I wasn't sure of it as it depends on the classic but it so fun.
• Ghostbusters - This was a little golden book and so cute! 

Currently Reading

• The Haunted Cave - Starting this one today.
• The Dead Beat - It's a bit slow, so wish it had an audiobook. On page 69 of 144.
• Cinderella After Midnight - This one is fun, I just haven't had a lot of time for eyeball reading. I am on page 85 of 192.

Have a great week and happy reading!

Week in Review #118

How was your week? What did you get? The Week in Review is where I combine Stacking the Shelves, The Sunday Post and It's Monday! What are you reading?  If you have never joined in on these meme's you can check them out by clicking on the meme and it will take you to the host blog.

I am so tired of the storms and rain and being COLD! It's spring, did Mother Nature not get the memo!?

So on Youtube there is a big event called Old School April and I am participating in it. I am on team Scoobies! So you will be seeing lots of old school reads this month (I mean you see a lot anyway, but maybe way more than normal...lol) It's a fun event so go check out Kelsi at Slime and Slashers!

You can also watch old school movies, so I went to the library and so far I have watched The Last Starfighter, Lake Placid and Rocky. :) Having so much fun!

Have a great week and happy reading!

What you might have missed on my blog

Review of Small Favors

Review of The Secret Detective Agency

Books I have added

• The Seaside Murders - I enjoyed The Secret Detective Agency, so was happy to receive the second book from Netgalley and Bookouture. :)

Books I Read

• The Secret Detective Agency - Finally finished up the eARC that I had been reading for a while. I enjoyed it, just a slow eyeball reader...lol.
• Small Favors - Loving my reread of The Dresden Files. 
• Rebecca - I have conflicted feelings about this book, I was really enjoying it up till the last 30% and it took a turn I wasn't expecting. 
• Throwback - Time Traveling kid and it wasn't bad but not exactly what I thought it was going to be.
• Queste - Well, I am sorry to say that even though I finished this book I think I am DNFing the series I just don't care and the books are getting larger and larger and nothing is happening. 
• Welcome to Smellville - A book about the Garbage Pail Kids and it was a bit to dumb for me.

Currently Reading

• Taking the Fifth - The fourth book in the JP Beaumont series and I am just really liking this series. 
• The Dead Beat - I have liked Psycho by this author so I am curious about this one from him.
• Cinderella After Midnight - This is not the cover I have (was to lazy to take a pic), but love my old harlequins! :)

How did your week go? Hope you had a great week!

Two Bloggers, One Series ~ Small Favors by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #10)

Continuing out read of the Dresden Files. This is a reread for me and I am enjoying reading it again. I think by the time we catch up to the latest one an new one will be coming out first month of next year so that is cool and about time! After you read my review go on over and check out what Barb thought at Booker T's Review.

 Harry Dresden's life finally seems to be calming down -- until a shadow from the past returns. Mab, monarch of the Sidhe Winter Court, calls in an old favor from Harry -- one small favor that will trap him between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and that will strain his skills -- and loyalties -- to their very limits.

Thoughts:

Poor Harry can never catch a break. Marcone has gone missing and Mab calls in a favor, one small favor, from Harry that probably test all his strengths and skills.

Mobster kingpin Marcone has been kidnapped by some supernaturals and Mabs wants him found, but it's not that simple. He ends up having to enlist his friends, Murphy, Molly, Thomas and even the Knights of the Cross. You know things are not going to go well! As with any of these books there is always way more at stake then what is stated at the beginning. Someone want the Archive (which is a person) so they must keep her from harm as well! Just loads of humor and action!

I love that this one involves a lot of my favorite characters. There is a lot going on but this far into the series I feel that they get harder to review, but I loved it as always! 

5 stars