Independent reviewer for Gay Romance Reviews, I was gifted my copy of this book. So, cute! Really a rather amusing read, not laugh out loud funny, but one of those that kept me chuckling at random points long the way. Twig is half dragon, half fairy and cannot shift. Quinn is traded (yes, traded) with Twig as payment for services to find the unicorn's horn. Quinn thought he was a wizard, but failed the last test to find a familiar, and was bought by said unicorn as a slave. Twig and Quinn must work together to find the horn, but also to find themselves. I liked this, a lot. It is busy though! Lots going on, lots of side characters, and lots and lots of action! I got a bit concerned when zombies were mentioned! Usually I steer clear of book that mention the Z word in the blurb and I must have missed it in this one, but the zombies here are only on page long enough to be . . destroyed . . by someone(spoilers, don't ya know!), so I didn't have to worry about them too much. I liked all the twists that were thrown at Twig and Quinn. The shifting, or not as the case may be for Twig. The wizard thing for Quinn. What I didn't like was how FAST the book moved. There was no let up, once Quinn and Twig were off after the horn, not one! It was one thing after another and another and they had no time to process what happened at each encounter before moving on to the next. I also didn't like we didn't get to hear from Quinn. Yes I knw that might have given some things away way before they were literally thrown at us, but still. I wanted to know about what the unicorn had done to Quinn, it is hinted at, and then . . left. So while you can put the pieces together, I still wanted to hear it from Quinn, you know?? A fun read, just far too fast moving, and I wanted a page or three to catch up! 4 good solid stars **same worded review will appear elsewhere**

I was gifted the AUDIO file of this book. This is book 2 in the Deviant Hearts series, but it can totally be read/listened to as s stand alone book. Dashel and Billy from book one do pop up, but they are not central to the plot. I do, however, suggest you DO read/listen to Captive Hearts, cos you know, I said so! Lee is out of the police force, after one particular undercover operation tips him over the edge and is currently building his security business. Finding the cafe to wait out the storm brings Dominic into his life, and things are not ever going to be the same again. Dominic is head of a campaign to save a rundown pub from development, and its floundering. A saviour comes to help, but is he all he seems? So! Again, I need to say, usually I try to keep two seperate parts to my audio reviews, one for the book and one for the narration. Increasingly, especially with first person books, I can't do that. So not gonna really try to! Lee is part of the plot of Deviant Hearts, and I knew when I was listening to that book, I needed to hear his story. So glad I got the chance! There is immediate attraction between lee and Dominic, that much is obvious, but what I particularly liked about this one is that much of the "action" is off page! Go figure, me, who likes her books down and dirty, and this one . . .isn't so much! Oh don't get me wrong, it's hot and it's sexy, it's all just that little bit out of reach and I really did love that. There was MUCH going on, aside from the romance between Lee and Dominic. MUCH. There is the campaign to save Charlie's. There is Dominic's ex, who he has to work with, still trying to get back with Dom. Lee's ex, causing him problems too. There is the new guy taking up the baton for Charlie's too. Dom's dad is trying to make amends with him for what he did all those years ago, and Lee's business is taking up a lot of his time. All of these items come together in a spectactular fashion! Dan Calley again narrates. The man is growing on me, big time! He gets over all of Lee's need to be ENOUGH for Dominic, to be the best he can, regardless of what his ex said. Calley gets over every single alarm bell that Lee has about *everything*! But I loved that Lee is listening to his instincts, and Calley gets that feeling across beautifully. Calley gets over every single thing Dom thinks of his father, of his brother, and how much he loves his little sister. What Dom feels about Tiger, the ex. What Dom feels when all becomes shockingly clear and how much that hurts him. And Calley gets over every single thing Dom feels when things come to a head. You can READ the words, and you get a picture, you know, but LISTENING to them? Paints a totally different picture to the one you read. It's why I really enjoy listening to a book AFTER I've read them. There is a third book, but I'm not entirely sure where the characters in that book fit in with Billy and Dashel, or with Lee and Dominic, but I look forward to listening to that, when it comes out in audio. I don't like to flip between listening and reading in the same series, it sor of spoils it for me a bit. 5 stars for the book 5 stars for the narration 5 stars overall. **same worded review will appear elsewhere**

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book. This is book three in the Arizona Raptors series. It says that it is not a stand alone and you should read books one and two first, however, I don't think its entirely NECESSARY, but it certainly would help. I have read those two books, and they were both solid 4 star reads. THIS one, though, is a whole different kettle of fish! I LOVED this book! You feel for Henry. His life has taken a turn he didn't expect. The man who was using him, almost killed him. His money is all gone, and he is living in someone else's house, mansion, all by himself. His hockey is on the line, because of the accident and his mind is on a downward spiral. Enter Apollo. Apollo is the best friend of Adler, the man paying for the house, who is Henry's brother's friend. Apollo is at a loose end since Adler is all loved up, and Apollo needs some sun. So Apollo goes to Arizona to look after Henry while he gets backs on his feet and back onto the ice. Apollo is just the kind of man Henry wants, but who would want a washed up hockey player who might go blind? Apollo clearly wants Henry, but he is supposed to be going home at the end of the summer. Can he let his heart take the break? This one is my favourite of the three, it really is. It had me crying in places, laughing in others. Shouting at the kindle, and cheering away. I wanted to wrap Henry up in cotton wool and I wanted to smack him upside the head. Apollo too! There are numerous references to The Harrisburg Railers players and pop ups from all the major players and team from this series. I loved that. The relationship between Apollo and Henry is slow and sweet, and I loved that. They grow into each other, you know, as the book progresses. It's beautifully written, and gave me so many feels! Ryker Madsen is Henry's team mate, he plays the same line (although, to be honest, I have no idea what that actually means, I just thought someone MIGHT!) and HIS book was in the Owatonna U Hockey series. I did NOT like Ryker in that book. He does redeem himself in that series somewhat, but HERE? As Henry's best friend, that kid done good! So, as a totally irrelevent point, Ryker? I forgive you! So, my favourite of the three so far, but I know there is one more out later this year. 5 stars **same worded review will appear elsewhere**

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book. So, there I was, merrily reading away. Enjoying this book, not a 5 star read, but a very good solid four star. Some minor typos, but they might be cos of the changing file thing. A good solid 4 star read, that piqued my interest enough to keep going. And then, in the VERY last chapter, followed by the EPILOGUE, it all changed! I mean, it made the whole bloody book flip on it's head! And it's gonna be really REALLY hard not to write spoilers into this review, so if it's vague, I ain't sorry! Paislee takes a job as a blood donor, a donateur for Michael, a Cardinalis, (not EVER a vampire!) When Michael's vicious half brother takes a shine to Paislee, things become deadly, both for Paislee and Michael. Then The Order become involved and Michael has a fight on his hands to keep Paislee safe, and more importantly, to keep her HIS. Like I said, plodding along, nicely. Moving at speed in places, and little slower in others. Sexy at points, but deadly in others. Sufficiently different in the 'vampire' (Sorry, Michael!) lore to be interesting. These guys don't combust in the sun or sparkle, either! They have a usual sleep pattern, they eat food. So, I enjoyed all that. Both Michael and Paislee have a say, as do a couple of other characters. The story concludes, or so I thought, in a way I expected it to, mostly. Michael's brother doesn't quite get the ending I was expecting but still. It all comes to a head and is wrapped up nicely. THEN! Michael's mother says something, and the doctor says something and then the doctor says something else and . . . . .cliff hanger people! I mean a proper, spit you dummy out, throw your toys out the pram and throw your kindle at the wall so hard it bounces off and scares the cat! I had to double back a couple of times, to reread what was said by whom, to put the pieces together, and still I have no bloody idea what's going on! So, for a first book . . .very well played Ms Sterling! For a first in series, because there is much unfinished here, very well played. For that bloody cliff hanger . . . 5 full and shiny stars! **same worded review will appear elsewhere**

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book. You know what? I really REALLY enjoyed this book! You'll laugh at me though, cos its first person, present tense AND multi point of view! If you follow my reviews, you'll know that this, for ME, is the worst way for a book to be written and I have dumped many a book when realising it is written this way. I am, however, so very glad I did NIT dump this one! So, I went to look to see what else I have read by Ms Dale, and lookit! This is the first book by this author name and I was extremely impressed! I love the family legend of how each and every one of them would know who their other half was instantly, much like you get with the mates thing in shifter books, but there are no shifters in this book. A witch is mentioned, when Owen is telling Tristan about the legend, and the family legend itself borderes on paranormal, but thats all. I loved that who was causing problems for Tristan wasn't obvious, and there were a lot of red herrings thrown about! I loved Stella, Tristan's daughter, and how Owen took to her immediately, with the help of his dog, Huck and that Owen had that MINE moment for Stella as well as Tristan. It's deeply emotional in places, hilarious in others. Dark and very deadly in places, and super sexy in others. Owen's family are a lot of fun, but Tristan's are . . not so much. I loved the hints that pop up to maybe future books in this series, and I hope I picked those clues up correctly. Be fun, I think, but I sense some of them might be way WAY more emotional than Tristan's! Can't quite stretch to 5 stars, but a good solid, GREAT . . 4 star read! **same worded review will appear elsewhere**