S.J. Himes

Okay, the reason I loved this so much, was constantly petting my kindle and making cooing noises, is how beautifully sweet and genuine this story is. I never for a second doubted Percy or Edward.

Percy, in his sheltered, earnest innocence, captured my heart and brought my protective nature out roaring. I cannot wait to see him with the kiddo! Hope I get pages of that!

And, EDWARD! Once in a blue moon (I think this is only the second time) I run into a character that, if I could master magic, show more would pluck out of the book and marry this second. Edward--I want in my life so badly! He is the epitome of sweetness, care, physical affection, protectiveness, a loving nature, courage, decisiveness, beauty, strength, and everything good, and all without being the silly, bonehead alpha-male that way too many MCs are these days.

I came in with mediocre expectations, and this blew me away. Sure, there were a few grammatical errors, but so much of mpreg--or just captured/slaves/dub-con/non-con--is either made of illogical relationships, bullying, and repressed feelings, or 3-star sickly saccharine sweetness with some 3-star side plots of danger and deceit to add a little spice, that this story felt original, true, and appealing in a way I haven't felt probably since Sacred Fate.

This was a story full of everything good and sweet in my idealized world. (This book wasn't all sweetness by the way, there was set up for danger and dissent from some of the other characters.) Regardless of its few faults, this book was still everything for me. I probably shouldn't like as much as I did; I mean it's not really on par with most of the other books I've 5-starred, but sometimes you just gotta go with your gut and do it anyway because of how a book makes you feel.

I'm totally moving on to book two soon as I can, and going to seriously look into black magic to make Edward come to life for me. show less

Absolutely, 100% loved this book. This book cemented itself in my mind, heart, soul, everything that makes a reader fall in love with books. I've already re-read it the same year I first read it and the author now has a life-long fan. Seriously, loved it that much. Officially in my top five favorite series.

Angel Salvatore has it tough - his family was brutally slain in a cultural sorcerer war ten years ago. He's picked up the pieces and focuses his life on training budding sorcerers. HIs show more brother Isaac keeps him busy by constantly getting into trouble and mentally slipping. Top it off, as the only Necromancer in Boston and with a reputation that makes vampires look to him like he's a modern day boogeyman, he has caught the eye of a power elder who considers him his intended soulmate. Angel must figure out who is suddenly trying to kill him and those he loves, what's going on with the increasingly hostile police force that held loyalties with the clan who opposed his family, and figure out his new relationship all in one boat. Fun times.

The plot is fierce and doesn't let up. So much is going on to keep me fascinated. I could gush on about the plot being what makes this book so great - and it really is a great story - but the main winner is the actual relationship between Angel and Simeon. Both men are fascinating and their relationship is one of my favorite fictional pairings, ever. It's steamy, it's special, it's exciting, it's fresh. Seriously, they rock together as they solve mysteries, stand up to Master vampires, figure each other out, and complete each other. Bravo.

They're not the only special ones riding this boat, either. I loved the Master of the Clan, the troubled and unstable brother Isaac, the vulnerable victims involved in the war who we find at the end, the villains (crafty surprise twist there!), the police force politics, the newcomer Elder who wants to position in the city, Angel's business partner who has sass and class. I loved the background history of the family and sorcerer wars, seeing the outcome of a man who was part of a ruling force in a city that was destroyed ten years ago. Despite troubled history there is NO angst weighing it down, not something easy to do but done well here.

Throw in that Angel is a unique necromancer and you have yet another win for this book. The wins keep coming. S.J. Himes made such a unique world with socerery and classes. The way they dive into the otherworld and get their power is intriguing. I wasn't bored with any detail, aspect or piece of this book. All the stars. Wish I could award it more than five.

With fast pacing, creative world-building, a romantic relationship that melts my heart, all characters being fascinating, a morbid mystery, some stand-out scenes, an intriguing magic abilities and sorcery - I cannot recommend this one highly enough. show less

“We are, all of us, similar and yet unique, and not one of us alike enough to judge the other. I have my strengths, you have yours.”

My favorite m/m series continues to stay strong with this third book. I’ve now read it twice, but I’m so behind on reviewing it takes forever for me to fully get around to finishing a review anymore.

I'll admit that, despite my faith in the author, I always worry that with sequels of a series I'm in love with already that I'll be let down or downright show more crushed if the series suddenly sours. It doesn't happen that often, but I'm a paranoid person and it HAS happened before. I'm obviously happy to report that it didn't happen in this case either - not only is the series still going wrong, nothing has gotten stale, and the side stories have revved up to be even more exciting for future sequels. The world-building is fantastic, the characters made me fall in love with them, the relationships exciting, and the magic affinities alluring. Not much else I can ask for - okay, if I could do an unreasonable wishlist, I’d add that I’d like one new book in this series every month where everything I’d like goes my way, but fantasies can only carry a reader so far before we get unreasonable lunacy. :)

The magic building with the affinities, spells and world of the necromancer are creative. Angel's sarcasm and Simeon’s dependency and strength are always a joy to read about - but at this point I'm so ready for Isaac's story. He gets some good scenes in this book and that apology scene trumped everything else for me - be still my heart!

I like Daniel but he’s still in the background a little to me. It was nice to see he’s starting to recover and come to his own, though. It looks like my theories on who he may have ended up with were way off, completely off, but that ended up okay since I started detesting that character anyway. We get a nice substitute that works.

Isaac has some of the scenes told through his POV, the family is getting him much needed help because he’s finally ready to fight with his struggles in a different way. The awaited apology between him and Batiste? It took awhile but when it came, it’s a memorable moment I’ve read about five times.

Enoch is adorable in his little form, but he’s a regular tank and fighter in his own right when his family is suddenly in trouble.

I’ll be honest that when I first read the synopsis of this, I was worried the plot would be frustrating with threats of jail and powers removed, but it turned out my anxieties were too early. The story doesn’t focus on frustration and we get that out of the way. It doesn’t overtake the personal developments of the characters, but the book has plenty of action. The ending battle is well-done and shows another reason necromancers make such worthy main characters.

These books always have plenty of bedroom play and steam, that hasn’t calmed down. The mate bond is as strong as ever and still growing. Now that Simeon doesn’t have to hold back the fangs, that’s an added dimension. I like that despite the fated-to-be-mated and urge to have his student and brother with him, Angel still shows that he wants alone time away from them all. It’s a realistic trait of a person so used to be alone that he will need away time from even his bonded.

Well written, smooth flowing, exciting and romantic, this was a hard one to put down, shows the series is as strong as the opener, and there’s still many joys to come. Can’t wait. I’ll be there, release day, ready and already committed. show less

A sweet, holiday-esque, story. Definitely a case of insta-love if I've ever read one, but it was well done. I really liked Gael and his loving protectiveness toward Silas. I'm not sure Jim is as "straight" as he claims. I think that mountain of a man needs to be explored. Silas' father is a completely one-dimensional bad guy, but that's ok. He's evil, and we hate him. That's good enough for me.