Sub-Genre (primary)
Touched by a Demon, Book #3
Reviews of Touched by a Demon Book #1 and Book #2
Heat Factor: Lots of hard nipples and clenching thighs, but there’s only one explicit sex scene at about the midway point. Then the morning sickness begins.
Character Chemistry: Lust, longing, and ten thousand years of hurt feelings.
Plot: Samael and Lilith plan a conference with the heavenly delegation.
Overall: Loved the first half, thought the second half was…ok.
Daycare for Shifters, #2
Ingrid’s review of Daycare for Shifters, #1
Heat Factor: There’s an epic sexathon without a ton of details
Character Chemistry: “My dragon says that you’re the one!” But also they’re really cute together.
Plot: Single dad dealing with some stuff + neighbor who is really good with kids + the American West is on fire
Overall: A cute read
Heat Factor: So many puns about fire and heat factor and so little time. They have many encounters and entanglements.
Character Chemistry: It’s a lot of cute, eager yearning and then it’s off to the races.
Plot: Olivia is not a shifter, but she’s hoping to shift gears and start over in a new town. Ian is a single dad with a massively challenging home life going on, and he’s immediately drawn to his new neighbor.
Overall: Very tender and entertaining.
Heat Factor: I don’t think I’ve ever read an Elva Birch book with this much descriptive sex. (They go through a whole box of condoms in one weekend!)
Character Chemistry: Is it fated mates or are they just really into each other?
Plot: She’s running from her past, he’s running himself ragged with a shifter toddler, and there are some worrisome things happening around town
Overall: It’s light-hearted and sweet
**Our discussion contains spoilers**
Continue reading “Dueling Review: Dragon’s Instinct by Elva Birch (2022)”New World, Book #2
Heat Factor: Ana tells Kit she’s a good girl so you *know* there’s some heat here.
Character Chemistry: The Goddess has decreed it!
Plot: Kit escaped from a lab; Ana has hunted her down and is going to return her. Time for a road trip (to pound town)!
Overall: I liked that this book surprised me.
Hexworld, Book #1
Heat Factor: They have a very good time. A very good time.
Character Chemistry: Tom is like, “Oh, I like him,” and Cicero is all hissing and spitting until he actually interacts with Tom a bit and is like, “Oh, he’s a sweet ogre! But also I can’t actually bond with him!”
Plot: A death on his beat looks eerily similar to the hex that destroyed Tom’s family, so against his self-preservation instincts, he gets himself transferred to the witch police HQ, where he meets his familiar, Cicero, who is looking into a similar mysterious death.
Overall: It took me a minute to get my head sorted with new worldbuilding, but once I did I couldn’t put it down
Royal Dragons of Alaska, Book #4
Reviews of the rest of the Royal Dragons of Alaska series: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3
Heat Factor: There’s really just one scene (not long) and everything else is off page
Character Chemistry: He can feel the mating bond, but she can’t!
Plot: The mysterious Kenth appears in the castle bellowing about his kidnapped daughter. His family is shocked to see him, but he’s shocked to see that the stranger in their midst is his mate.
Overall: I wasn’t as invested in Mackenzie and Kenth as I have been in other brothers’ stories, but the growth of the overarching series plot was really interesting.
The Smut Report 