This was a novella and I wish that it had been fleshed out more to make it a longer story. I think that Dina's quickness of reconnecting with Gertrude Stein was way too fast considering how much of the story had her full of angst because she can tell that she and the inn were not synched up like they were before her sacrifice in "One Fell Sweep." I loved the story-line though with a whole new powerful entity out there. I hope we get to see the new characters introduced in this one again in future stories.

"Sweep With Me" takes place during the same time period of "Sweep of the Blade." Dina is still recovering with her sacrifice when she connected with a seed before it would become an inn. She also feels afraid that Sean, her boyfriend, and werewolf, may get hurt and she will be left alone again. I loved that we get to see a tradition of the inn's on Earth during "Treaty Day" where they have to allow anyone who wants to stay at the inn, to stay as a visitor. Due to this, Dina has agreed to host three special people/groups who may cause her trouble with the Assembly. 

I loved that we get to see a new species in this one called the Drifen. They sound like superheroes or gods practically. I would love a new spin-off focusing on them and the leader that we get to meet in this one who had shades of Kate Daniels, though sadder somehow.

We also get Dina and Sean hosting galactic chickens. I maybe died at the illustration that was included.

And lastly we have Dina and Sean hosting a Medamoth. Sean's adventure with the Medamoth and Orro was the freaking best and I laughed for a long time. I wouldn't mind a POV.

I definitely cannot wait for a longer novel. 

Update: Read the published full length novella and oh boy. I loved it. I loved it! I loved that Ilona Andrews gave us Maud's POV at the beginning, prior to her going off with Arland to his House's planet. We get to see how she carried herself more prior to Dina finding her and Helen. We also get to see her first impressions of Arland and Sean. And we even get to witness them sparring. I loved seeing the illustrations in full cover in my Kindle too.

I can't wait for the next InnKeeper!

Original review: Wonderful! The Innkeeper Chronicles books are becoming a favorite of mine. This free novella released on Ilona Andrew's website gave us a look at Dina's sister Maud. We heard some of which Maud had to endure in the last book, this one shows us though why she is so reluctant to give in to loving Arland and marrying another vampire again. The only reason why I gave this four stars though is that I thought the flow was a little lacking between chapters. I am prepared to raise this to five stars when the full novella is released.

After the events in the last book, Maud agrees to go with Arland to his House's planet. Maud is afraid to hope for anything more really after what happened to her and Helen when her husband cost them everything. If I were Maud, I would probably be bitter forever. I don't know if I would want to be courted by a vampire either. However, we get enough scenes between Maud and Arland to know she's fighting loving him. He is everything different than her late husband was (in a good way). I usually don't like to read romance books with a widow, but Maud's husband was an ass so good riddance to him.

Helen gets enough scenes in this one to make her a favorite with readers I can see.

Arland's mother and his mother's husband were a bit frightening, I did love how quickly Arland's mother came to view Maud as a wonderful asset to their house. And her love of Helen was great to see. I want so many stories with this family!

I also loved how this book focuses more on vampire politics and we learn more about them in this one. We also get to see Maud finally get the acknowledgment of how worthy she is when it comes to Arland's family.

I really do want a stand-alone book explaining the innkeepers, vampires, and other alien species our characters have met so far in these books.

The writing was good, will not say much about that though. Reading this on the author website you will probably see some typos. I won't say anything about that in this review. The flow as I said wasn't great. I think it will get all smoothed out in the final version. I also love how these books incorporate pictures into the final version. I wish more books did that.

The ending was top notch and we are left with a dun dun dun (in a good way) when Maud gets an unexpected visit.

Dina DeMille isn't your typical Bed and Breakfast owner. Her inn defies laws of physics, her dog is secretly a monster, and the only permanent guest of the inn is a former Galactic tyrant with a price on her head. The inn needs guests to thrive and guests have been scarce, so when an Arbitrator shows up at Dina's door and asks her to host a peace summit between three warring species, she jumps on the chance. Unfortunately, for Dina, bridging the gap between space vampires, the Hope-Crushing Horde, and the merchants of Baha-char is much easier said than done. To make the summit a success, she must find a chef, remodel the inn, keep her guests from murdering each other, and risk everything, even her life, to save the man she might fall in love with. But then it's all in the day's work for an Innkeeper.

It has been a while since I read Clean Sweep and I maybe should have reread it or at the very least a summary of it lol. I was a bit lost in the beginning but most came back quickly.

I really liked Dina before but this book just made me love her so much more. She was faced with some tough decisions and managed them all so good. She really became into her own as an innkeeper this book.

 I liked that things didn’t go perfect at first for her all the time and she learned along the way.

I also enjoyed the magic system in this world and just the world building in general,  I wasn’t too sure when I started this series but I really am enjoying it all now.

This book also was a bit of a tearjerker and emotional as we follow her a long but still had plenty of humor to balance it out a bit.

Overall, I enjoyed it and looking very much forward to next book. 

I rate it 4 ★

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On the outside, Dina Demille is the epitome of normal. She runs a quaint Victorian Bed and Breakfast in a small Texas town, owns a Shih Tzu named Beast, and is a perfect neighbor, whose biggest problem should be what to serve her guests for breakfast. But Dina is...different: Her broom is a deadly weapon; her Inn is magic and thinks for itself. Meant to be a lodging for otherworldly visitors, the only permanent guest is a retired Galactic aristocrat who can’t leave the grounds because she’s responsible for the deaths of millions and someone might shoot her on sight. Under the circumstances, "normal" is a bit of a stretch for Dina.

And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night....Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans—an alpha-strain werewolf—and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.

This was another fun book by Ilona Andrews. So far every book I read by them I loved, this book was no exception.

I have the special paperback edition   so it also has some Black and White original illustrations, which I believe were fan art, but I could be wrong, either way it was a nice touch and I really enjoyed them.

I really liked the story and the spin they put on magic and the creatures, like Vampires and Werewolves and so on. It was something different and it makes me curious to see where it still will go from here on.

I also really enjoyed the idea of the Inn and the innkeepers and the history of them but also  her Family. Another thing I really enjoyed was that we get to see the Inn grow with her throughout but also still learning about it. It was nicely done and was easy to read and enjoy.

I loved Dina, and I cant wait to learn more about her but also her family. I loved that she was strong and stood n her own two feet and stood her ground, oh Beast was just too awesome all together. I also really enjoyed Sean, and I think we will of course see much more about him, I’m also curious to learn more about him but also the shifters in this universe and to see what all he learned on his travels.

Arland, is another one I think we will see much more of, I liked him but he was not my favorite and I really hope we are not getting a love triangle here but we shall see.

Overall I really, really liked this book and I think I might start book tonight.

I rate it 4 ★

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One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews,
Narrated by Renee Raudman
(Innkeeper Chronicles #3)
Speed: 1.25x

My "re-read" of One Fell Sweep in audiobook format was perfection and served to further endear this amazing series to me. Both intellectually stimulating and emotionally satisfying, the world of Dina Demille and the Innkeepers is wholly unique and fascinating.

Ms. Raudman brings to life the essence of each character, giving each his or her own unique and identifiable voice. She captures emotion: excitement, pain, sorrow, desire, madness, in each scene. I love her narrative voice for Dina, mixing her patience with a slight hint of southern charm. The team of Renee Raudman and Ilona Andrews is an auto buy for me.

For a more detailed review of the story, please read my original review of the Kindle book: http://twimom227.booklikes.com/post/1506070/review-one-fell-sweep-by-ilona-andrews 

My Rating: A
Narration: A+