by Halo Quin

This is very much a Pagan book, but includes the original folktales of many Welsh legends. These were well-researched and it's good to find them collected in one place!

The first part goes through rituals and offerings, visualisation suggestions, that sort of thing. The second part is more what I expected, following through the tales and their relationships to history and belief in Wales. Sources are cited and there's a pronunciation guide at the end.

There's a heavy dose of the author's personal beliefs throughout, but the folktales are genuine and this would be a good reference for anyone interested in British folktales and legends.

Okay, I'm going to start off by saying that I got a little lost at times and wasn't always sure about what was going on. I'll try to describe the story as best I can, but I could be wrong about a few things.

Azar is a city located at the foot of a volcano. The people of Azar used to perform rituals to appease the goddess of the volcano, but that didn't stop the volcano from occasionally erupting and destroying everything. Eventually the Cult of the Goddess left Azar and established a new home for themselves, the Golden Capitol. It's now many, many years later, and there's a rebel group called the Third Wave that's convinced that the Cult of the Goddess is keeping the goddess captive, and they want to free her.

Keegan is the goddess's daughter. She tries to help the rebels, but something goes wrong, her mother ends up dead, and Keegan becomes the new goddess. At that point, she becomes determined to go back to Azar, the home of her ancestors. However, the Cult of the Goddess isn't her only enemy. An emissary from the water goddess is after her, and there's a prophecy that Keegan's return to Azar will mean its destruction.

This was an ARC my mom picked up for me at a conference. As far as I can tell, this volume collects the entire series. It doesn't appear to be a spinoff of anything, although it kind of felt like it was, and I can't find anything about any sort of continuation, even though the ending leaves room for more story.

I didn't like the artwork at all, but Tamra Bonvillain's coloring helped paper over some of its shortcomings and almost make it pretty, at times. There was some really nice use of cool vs. warm colors.

The story was intriguing enough, but confusing and a bit choppy. I had thought the Cult of the Goddess would be important in some way, but after the confined goddess was dealt with, they might as well have been written out of the story. It felt like they had been, after Adria rescued Griffin. Who, by the way, was not worth any amount of Keegan and Adria's time and energy. I don't know what either of them saw in him. He was a quick way for the author to establish a basis for Adria and Keegan's more human rivalry before their goddess rivalry added fuel to the fire.

I don't know that this was necessarily bad, but it definitely could have been better. The story and characters just left me cold.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Hope Parkins is headed to Ashland to take a job as elementary school teacher upon arrival she meets her three mates and now she has a plan to help the cursed female mountain lion shifters and I am all fired up to join her on her amazing quest! Enjoy and don't forget to add HAVING HOPE the 11th & final book in the Ashland Pride series by R.E. Butler!

After graduating from college with a degree in elementary education, mountain lion shifter Hope Parkins is thrilled to accept a job at Ashland Elementary School. She heads to Ashland to stay with her best friend, Treasure, a fae-dragon hybrid. When she arrives in town, she’s greeted by not only her bestie, but three mountain lion males who she and her cat recognize on sight. They’re her mates, and she knows her life will never be the same.

Owen, Ben, and Nathan Fallon have felt an odd longing for years. They believe they’re meant to share a mate, but none of the females they know are her. While visiting their Uncle Rhett, they sense a presence that draws them to the farmhouse, where they meet a beautiful mountain lion female. They know immediately that she’s their shared mate. The gorgeous Hope is everything they ever wanted and more, and they can’t wait to make her theirs.

Despite finally finding her truemates, Hope feels compelled to help the female mountain lions who were cursed by their goddess to never know love. When her one opportunity to set things right for her people fails, she believes that all’s lost, and the females will never know the joy of family and finding love. Will a phone call from an old friend of the pride help Hope to change the course of the females’ lives forever?

Hope Parkins is thrilled to accept a job at Ashland Elementary School and she’s looking forward to staying with her best friend, Treasure, a dragon-fae hybrid. When she arrives in town, she’s greeted by three mountain lion males and she knows that they are her mates. Owen, Ben and Nathan have believe they are meant to share a mate, but they’ve never found the one until the gorgeous Hope arrives and she is everything the ever wanted and more. Despite finally meeting her truemates, Hope feels compelled to help the female mountain lions who were cursed by the goddess, but will she makes things right or lose everything she holds dear. 

Reader may hate that the much loved ‘Ashland Pride’ series is ending, but there is no better way for it to end than the fantastic and thrilling conclusion found in this romance. For the most part the story is cheerful, full of good feelings, inspiring, passionate and heartwarming as Hope and her three mountain lions look forward to building their future and happily ever after. The heroes and heroine are strong and lovable and of course, all the ‘Ashland Pride’ is along to share in their joy and readers can’t help but take part in all the loving feelings.

The story is fast paced and has a bit of upset and suspense as well which gets the adrenaline pumping and while providing no spoilers, there’s a bit of a twist in the curse that has the readers meeting a goddess and experiencing an amazing event that has them holding their breath during an exciting adventure in this wonderfully magical and heart pounding conclusion.

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HAVING HOPE is the 11th & final book in the ASHLAND PRIDE series.

Author   *   Amazon

1 Seducing Samantha   *   2 Loving Lachlyn   *   3 Marking Melody

4 Redeeming Rue   *   5 Saving Scarlett   *   6 Chasing Cristabel

7 Jilly's Wyked Fate   *   8 Embracing Ehrin   *   9 Holding Honor

10 Tempting Treasure   *   11 Having Hope

ASHLAND PRIDE Series is connected to THE WOLF'S MATE series!

Were Zoo #8 - TAYME - November 25, 2019

AVAILABLE in ebook

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A midwesterner by birth, R.E. lives on the East Coast now, enjoying the seagulls and the ocean. When she's not writing, you'll find her curled up with her Kindle, playing with her kids, or jonesing for chocolate.

Author of five series, R.E. loves to explore the supernatural and dream about what might be if people really did get furry once a month.

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Morning Readers! Lets get this party started with learning how to live and fighting a death curse! Enjoy and don't forget to add Cursed by Shona Husk to your shelves!

Oskar Quigley knows exactly when and how he’ll die. 

Living with a death curse isn’t easy, but after generations of research handed down to him he thinks he knows how to defeat the Thomas, his great uncle and a witch gone bad who caused the problem. There’s just one thing he never accounted for: another victim. 

Mylla has been Thomas’s servant for as long as she can remember, but her memories can’t be trusted. The marks on her wall add up to decades, and her diary is a muddled collection of rambling. When Oskar arrives to tend the gardens she needs to warn him that bad things happen, difficult when she can only talk on Thomas’ command. But she doesn’t need to talk to steal a few moments for herself in Oskar’s bed as she tries to convince him that magic is real. 

With time running out and Thomas’s suspicions growing, Oskar is forced to act. But if living with a death curse is hard, learning to live is even harder. 

He knows exactly when and how he will die, but Oskar Quigley thinks he knows how to defeat his great uncle, the witch gone bad who caused the death curse, there just one problem he never accounted for… another victim. She has been his servant for as long as she can remember and Mylla’s memories can be trusted but she needs to warn Oskar that of the bad things that happen only she can’t talk to him. 

The first book in the ‘Coven of the Raven’ series is a stunning, original story that is full of thrills that readers can become lost to. The characters are strong and compelling, easily drawing readers in and keeping them engaged with their memorable story. The chemistry between sizzles with electricity but this relationship is in no way guaranteed as two major obstacles stand in their way – a death curse and an evil witch, which keeps the emotions turbulent and the relationship a difficult path of overcoming every rock placed in its way.

The plot is fast paced and full of edge of your seat suspense as the decisions facing Oskar are choices that could free him and Mylla or they could spell doom for both of them. The conflict is further complicated by the evil spells that Thomas has in place, his evil deeds that prolong his life and the riddles of the goddess that doesn’t exactly inspire Oskar’s confidence. Readers can’t help but enjoy this thrilling original story as it weaves its own spell – one that keeps them turning the pages.

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Romance.io     GBooks

Cursed is the 1st book in the Coven of the Raven series

Author      Goodreads      Amazon 

 1 Cursed

2 Hunted

3 Embodied

STOLEN - Coven of the Raven #4 - August 2019

AVAILABLE in print or ebook & Kindle Unlimited

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Romance author Shona Husk lives in Western Australia at the edge of the Indian Ocean. Blessed with a lively imagination she spent most of her childhood making up stories. As an adult she discovered romance novels and hasn’t looked back.

With over forty published stories, ranging from sensual to scorching, she writes contemporary, paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi romance.

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He knows exactly when and how he will die, but Oskar Quigley thinks he knows how to defeat his great uncle, the witch gone bad who caused the death curse, there just one problem he never accounted for… another victim. She has been his servant for as long as she can remember and Mylla’s memories can be trusted but she needs to warn Oskar that of the bad things that happen only she can’t talk to him.

The first book in the ‘Coven of the Raven’ series is a stunning, original story that is full of thrills that readers can become lost to. The characters are strong and compelling, easily drawing readers in and keeping them engaged with their memorable story. The chemistry between sizzles with electricity but this relationship is in no way guaranteed as two major obstacles stand in their way – a death curse and an evil witch, which keeps the emotions turbulent and the relationship a difficult path of overcoming every rock placed in its way.

The plot is fast paced and full of edge of your seat suspense as the decisions facing Oskar are choices that could free him and Mylla or they could spell doom for both of them. The conflict is further complicated by the evil spells that Thomas has in place, his evil deeds that prolong his life and the riddles of the goddess that doesn’t exactly inspire Oskar’s confidence. Readers can’t help but enjoy this thrilling original story as it weaves its own spell – one that keeps them turning the pages.