Taylor Brooke

Ordinarily, I balk at paying this much for a romance novel.

But this is ART.

Before I got even a quarter of the way in, I bought the sequel. This author's prose is watercolor sketches bursting into stunning 3D and startling mindscapes ART. The Acknowledgments at the end indicate the team behind Brooke's work, but we know how that goes. Without the author, novels don't happen at all.

This is a version of the enemies to lovers trope immediately intriguing. The Camellia Clock may be a dorky show more premise, but I swiftly didn't care, then admired how the author presented it The personalities in this novel are powerful, complicated and complex. The rep of anxiety and depression is lovely. Not simple, not easy. Lovely. Grief does damage left to fester - a visceral truth for more than one of these people. The pillow fort scene is among my favorite in all of fiction. Intense, surgical, powerful. And sweet, eventually.

This story remains strongly artfully great to the last word. I am so glad book 2 is available. show less

Ninestar press was kind enough to send me Darkling and Undertow so that I could catch up before I read the most recent installment. I loved these two books.

Let me tell you, this series is well worth the time you’ll invest to read the entire thing. In Darkling, Ray introduces the reader to Ryder. Ryder has a lot of secrets, and his partner, Liam – a water mage and storm wielder – knows some of those secrets – others will blindside him. Ryder comes from a family of Necromancers. It’s show more a divisive history to live with and Ryder has struggled with all his family members. Born a fire-witch, Ryder can feel the darkness within him that is fighting for dominance. The closer Ryder and Liam become, the more their energies feed off one another.

The cast of characters is rounded out by Christy the psychic who is an absolute sweetheart, circle leader – Tyler who is an air-mage with a volatile temper, Donovan who is a new witch with earth-based powers. When Ryder and Liam become “tethered”, the group pulls together to try and get to the bottom of what is going on within their magical circle. They should be defending each other, supporting each other but it seems that all of them have secrets they are keeping.

The second installment in the series is Undertow and focusses on Liam. Liam hears the heart-stopping cry of a Kelpie one night while he’s down near the ocean, and it stirs up something inside him that threatens his existence. This story is difficult to describe because I found myself unable to put it down. I was wrapped up in wanting to understand what was going on with Liam, his family, More is revealed about Ryder’s family, and the circle is strained to the breaking point. Liam is given a prophecy that he can’t even imagine fulfilling because it might mean giving up everything he loves.

This brings me to the newest installment of the Port Lewis Witches series: Predatory. In this tale, Ray focuses on Donovan Quinn. Donovan is the newest of the witches. Donovan is entangled in a relationship with Tyler. I say entangled because their relationship is a little insane. I was fascinated by the power imbalance between the two of them and the undertow of emotion and affection that was almost painful to read about.

Undertow ends with a terrible incident that polarizes the circle, and Predatory picks up with people divided over what to do to try and appease the wounded parties. One of the problems that keeps cropping up is that the progression fo Donovan’s magical prowess seems to have stalled. He can sense that there is something raging inside him and feels as though he’s moments from losing control.

Tyler and Donovan’s relationship is one of the most interesting I’ve read in a very long time. The dynamic between these two is absolutely scorching, a little frightening and sometimes heart-breaking. I loved these two boys and would gladly read an entire series just about them! thank you, Brooklyn Ray, for writing one of the most unique and original couples I’ve read in a long time!

This series has a well-rounded set of diverse characters. They’re fully developed and I fell in love with them all for different reasons. They’re delightfully magical, and no one is pure-good or pure-evil which I loved. This is a complex tale, but don’t let that stop you from beginning the journey. I’m delighted to see that there is another book coming in this series.

Predatory is available for pre-order from NineStar Press on June 21! You’ve got time to pick up the other books and catch up! show less

In the best way possible, this book will tear you apart and piece you back together again. There is something unique about the perspective of humanity from the outside looking inward - in this case, how would a being, a cat, adapt to finding himself thrust into the body of a young adult? Reminiscent of Levithan's Every Day, The Ninth Life follows the journey of an individual whose concept of humanity is a foreign one. The result is a genderqueer bisexual young man who finds his heart torn show more between Ophelia, his owner in his past life, and Cooper, the ex boyfriend of the body he is now inhabiting. It has been a long time since I experienced such highs and lows, joy and sorrow, in a novel. The Ninth Life Will convince you that miracles do exist, and that our loved ones, no matter whether they wear skin or fur, can come back to us in new and exciting ways. show less

Love this cover.
Ultimately this is a friends to lovers story, just with far more obstacles in the way than you would normally expect. Ryder has secrets, many many secrets, and worry if Liam, his best friend and the person he's been in love with for the last two years, will accept Ryder once he discovers he's trans is probably the least dangerous of the secrets he's keeping.
The writing is lusciously descriptive, I could almost feel the dark magic swirling around me with every page I read. show more But that same quality gave the book an edge that meant I could never truly relax while reading. Some of the blood letting and knife play had heart in my stomach. Ryder's not the easiest person to like, but he's the only narrator and I think an unreliable one at that, because he is scared about the development of his magic and tries to cover that fear by distancing himself from the people he loves.
The world building is excellent and I could easily imagine this world of witches and necromancers. show less