Book Review: Dawn by Cliff W Pettibone (The Brotherhood of Time Book 1)

Author: Cliff W. Pettibone

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Tropes: Historical Romance, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, M/M Romance, Time Travel

Spice Level: 🌶 Low Spice (one explicit scene)

Format: Paperback

Series: The Brotherhood of Time — Book 1

    Rorthan has had a hard life from the very beginning. His mother died in childbirth, and his father—who has always blamed him for it—never even gave him a first name. As the King’s general, his father’s position comes with certain privileges, including elite tutoring, but warmth and affection are not among them.

    Everything changes when Rorthan cuts through the palace gardens one day and meets Prince Tomren. What begins as a chance encounter quickly turns into an unexpected adventure that forces Rorthan to confront secrets about his past—and his future.

    I received a physical copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Full disclosure: this is an M/M (male/male) romance. If that isn’t something you enjoy, you can either skip the single explicit scene or pass on the book entirely. Personally, I have absolutely no issues with it.

    This story blends historical fantasy with light sci-fi elements and a unique take on time travel. Much of the story takes place in the ancient past, and I really enjoyed how the time travel mechanics were handled, as well as the gradual unfolding of secrets along the way.

    While I hated what happened to Rorthan’s mentor, I was ultimately satisfied with how things played out—even though the book ends on a cliffhanger that leaves the boys’ futures uncertain. The characters are teenagers, giving the story a slightly YA feel, but the presence of a sex scene means I’d recommend some discretion if considering it for younger readers.

    Overall, this was an engaging start to the series, and I’d absolutely be interested in reading more from this author.

⭐ You’ll like this book if you like:

• Historical fantasy with time travel twists
• M/M romance that’s character-driven rather than spice-heavy
• Stories about identity, hidden pasts, and destiny
• Fantasy that blends ancient settings with sci-fi concepts
• Slow reveals, secrets, and cliffhanger endings
• Royalty, palace intrigue, and unlikely friendships 

    This book is available on Kindle Unlimited or buy it on Amazon for $0.99 by clicking here. 

    

Book Review: The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh (The Beautiful Quartet Book 1)

 

    Celine was forced to leave her home and dress-making apprenticeship in Paris after an unfortunate event. On the run, she finds herself in a convent bound for New Orleans. The church has agreed to take in the girls until they find suitable matches and are married off. Celine quickly finds herself caught up not only in the entertainment of her new home, but in La Cour des Lions and their leader, Sebastian. Still, this mysterious man and her keepers are not Celine's biggest concern. A murderer stalks the streets and it soon becomes apparent they are targeting her. 

    I was lent this book by a friend of mine and I really enjoyed it. This is a dated book, if the dress-maker description didn't give that away along with the suitable matches to be married off to. It takes place in the late 1800s, which isn't something I read a lot of simply because I am not big on women being treated as little more than property. Still it was a YA vampire book, so I was going to give it a shot.     

    The book started off with some concerns. First, of course, was the time frame. Followed closely by the fact she is in a convent. We know I don't do religion so I was concerned. But, I kept reading and it paid off. While there are some minor religious contexts this is not a down your throat Christian book. In fact, it's a morally grey male main character book. We do have a good guy to choose from too, but the morally grey's are so much more fun. 

    Celine does not fit in the tiny boxes women used to fit into and by the time we finally discover what she was running from it wasn't even a surprise. I kind of assumed from the beginning, but there were a lot of clues leading up to. I genuinely loved Celine almost as much as Sebastian. Although the woman she made the dress for was very close to being my favorite character. So much attitude and did not care what anyone thought. She was wonderful. 

    Then, of course, we have the added thrill of murders happening around town. Bodies of women who were being courted by others found drained of blood. Celine keeps showing up in the wrong places until it becomes clear that she is the killers newest target. We get to flop back and forth between perspectives in this story and it provides an added element of fun. Especially when we see through the killers thoughts but not enough is given away to know who they are. 

    This book is available on Amazon for $5.99 by clicking here. 

Book Review: The Cinnabar Medallion by Lizet Algras

     With the arrival of a comet Nalia knows it is time to begin her quest to find a Cinnabar mine and a someone to help her make the elixir of life. She and a group of her clan begin their travels, meeting up with long lost family along the way. When Nalia finally finds the mine she and her clan have lost much, but will they be able to gain the cinnabar to create the elixir or will they end up being swayed to create fake gold. Or, worse yet, the inquisition could find them and they would lose their lives. 

    I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This book is set during the Spanish Inquisition and takes place with a band of gypsies. Not the safest place during that time. Still, we see the inner workings of this clan as they break rules by traveling during their quest. Beyond the constant threat of the Inquisition they have other things to worry about. They must find an alchemist to work with them to create the elixir, but finding one they trust will prove difficult. Then, there is the fact that many in the clan believe that they should create fools gold to become rich from the cinnabar. 

    Each threat is balanced perfectly in this book and you are invested to see if Nalia completes her quest as well as who she ends up with. There is quite a bit of implied sex in this book and it is discussed rather regularly, but not in detail. I only mention this as some people have problems with the very descriptive sexual scenes that I personally love in smut. In this case, it worked. But, if you don't like a lot of overly in depth scenes, this book glosses over the details. 

    I will say that book 1 ends on a cliffhanger. There has been enough given away, through Nalia's dreams that you are confident in how any additional books that may come later will play out, but it does not tell you how it comes to pass. Perhaps the author will tell us more about it, perhaps she will leave it up for interpretation. We will find out. 

    All in all this was a good book, especially for a period piece. This book is available on Amazon for $0.99 by clicking here. 

Book Review: Our Eternal Souls by P.L. Jonas

     With the Zorathian's way of life ending and no escape seemingly possible Yonan and Xenia want to find solace in the only way they can: by travelling via astral projection into the future to see if their future incarnations find love with each other. Will they be able to find the lifetime in which they grow old together before their own time comes to an end? 

    I received a copy of this book from the author as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The book was released on Dec 27, so I am a bit behind on finishing it in time, but I have tried my best. 

    This book starts with a utopian civilization called Zorathia where everyone lives forever except for death by sickness or some other outside force (ie poison, drowning, storms, or physical injury). While they have an infinite lifespan they are not able to withstand things such as volcanic blasts and the shifting on plates which threatens their way of life. Desperate to see their future selves grow old together a couple travels through lifetimes doing their best to get their reincarnations together for the long haul. Getting them together is easy. Falling in love is natural. But, growing old together may present a challenge. 

    I have to admit I was a bit leery at the start of this book. With the first incarnation her arranged marriage is with her cousin and I worried about inbreeding throughout. While there are instances of it in this book, as I just referenced, the end result is a bit more distantly related. While third cousins are not ideal it's better than first. That being said, if you aren't a fan of it in any instance, no matter how close or far this is your warning. I can't say I entirely loved that fact, but nothing to do about it. 

    The book is well written and the characters, outside of inbreeding, are relatable to some extent in each lifetime. Of course it is easier to relate to the present day lifetime versus those participating in cave drawings, serving under Queen Cleopatra, under the Queen from the 1800s, or a native American fur trader. 

    It was interesting to see how they pushed their future selves together time and again. Each time they are together it is easy to see the love felt by their initial selves all those years before. Even when the love does not result in forever, at least they felt it for that moment. I will say, however, if the elders had better prepared there may never have been a need for the astral travelling and the loss of life would have been unnecessary. 

    This book is available on Amazon for $4.99 by clicking here. 

Book Review: The Dragon's Stolen Mate by Jade White

     When shadow creatures sent by an evil wizard invade and kill her father and betrothed on her wedding day Eleri is presumed dead by her surviving mother and sister. However, she was saved by the very beast they ran from, Carwin. Carwin long ago made a bargain with a goddess to be able to transform into a dragon to avenge the deaths of his family. When he initially failed the goddess transformed him to stole for 300 years as punishment until Eleri's blood freed him. Together they will go to forgotten lands to free the world from this menace and along the way they may get everything they never hoped to dream for. 

    This was an impulse read from the Libby app when I was out of audiobooks. Still am out of audiobooks, but Libby always has plenty of options to choose from when I don't have Indie Author reads pending. My other Indie Author lists are long, but one can never have too many books to read!

    Based on the title I had some expectations as a seasoned paranormal romance reader. There would be a dragon. The dragon would be a shifter. The dragon would have a mate. The mate would be stolen. There is a dragon. He is not a traditional shifter. He is primarily in the dragon form and can only become human with the use of a pendant provided by the goddess. The dragon's mate is never once called a mate within the book. In fact he isn't even possessive of her like most dragon shifters. He spends half the book trying to push her away from him. Eleri is not stolen. She comes to a dragon statue with her family pleading from a life threatening wound after her husband to be and father is killed. No one takes her away. Probably a spoiler, which I generally try to avoid, but the title doesn't fit the book. 

    I didn't enjoy this as much as I do a lot of paranormal romances. I wasn't drawn into it and it felt like the author spent more time trying to make Eleri both weak and independent at the same time. It was a but annoying. I didn't really have a favorite character in the book. 

    This is the first book I have read by Jade White and if this is any indication of her talents and style I will not be reading any more. 

    This book is available on Kindle Unlimited or buy a copy on Amazon for $2.99 by clicking here. 

Book Review: Awakening by Jennifer Leah Pezzano

 

    Jezebel moved to the stormy New England town to start a new life and escape from her past. Here she started her own cleaning business, and while she enjoyed her life, it was a solitary one. While she had been curious about the house on the bluff since she had moved there she had no idea who owned it or anything about it until she gets a call one day asking her to come and take on the job. She agrees and comes face to face with the sexy August. He seems like a period romance cover and acts like it to. However, there is more to this man who awakens intense feelings within her than meets the eye. 

    I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. It almost comes off as a period paranormal romance while being in a contemporary setting. It is just very flowery writing. A lot of people who enjoy period romances would like that fact, personally I am not a fan. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy the book. If you ignore the writing style I enjoyed the story itself. 

    Jezebel received her name in a dream after the death of her parents. She still holds the scars from the crash that ended their lives, both physically and mentally. August has scars of this own from his childhood trauma as well as the loss of his wife. Together they may be able to heal and form a future. 

    In this book August is a vampire of sorts that feeds off life energy transferred through the "donor's" sexual release while feeding. If he drinks from one person for too long it can deplete their life-energy and cause them to become sick and die. It is definitely a different way of the traditional and I can't say I loved that aspect. From the voyeuristic encounters to providing sexual release for people other than their partners. Definitely not for me. Thankfully that is only a prevalent part at the end of the book, so it's not something that bothered me for most of the book. 

    I enjoyed the descriptions of the settings in the book. From the stormy coastline town to the Italian vineyard. 

    This book is available on Amazon for $4.99 by clicking here. This book is available on Kindle Unlimited. 

Book Review: Highland Flame by Mary Wine (Highland Weddings Book 4)

    Jane was the fourth daughter of an English Noble. So, to say her marriage prospects were limited was putting it lightly. However, she was married to a travelling wine salesman who was killed in Scotland when he couldn't pay her gambling debts. The inn owner stripped her down to her chemise and sent her out into the cold when she refused to pay her husband's debts bodily. Jane, intent on walking back to her fathers in England set off. Only to be rescued by Laird Gordan. He is in need of a head of house and the attraction between them is instant. However, marriage wasn't pleasant for her the first time and the Laird wants the woman he is with to choose him. Can the pair find a middle ground or will she be married off to another poor match of her father's choosing come Spring? 

    I have been avoiding the audiobooks sent to me by authors recently as none of them are romances and sticking with Libby instead. Love the Libby app. It is amazing and I cannot sing it's praises loudly enough. 

    Highland romances have long been my favorite. Not sure why. Maybe I just have a type. Tall, broad males who are gruff and dominant...yum. Hell, I married one so I'd wager that suits me just fine. Ancestry is from Scotland too, although I can't picture my husband in a kilt. I actually mentioned it to him earlier and he told me he wouldn't be caught dead in a skirt. Of course I was amused. 

    On to the book. My favorite character in the book was the captain and I hope that he gets his own book later on. He was adorable and he needs a happily ever after. I will definitely read more by this author if I happen to stumble across them, but I don't know that I will actively seek them out. The book was by no means bad. I enjoyed it, even if I struggle with period pieces. I'm a very outspoken female, so the prim and proper women who are "yes, dear's" as my husband refers to them don't do it for me. I know it was the time and that was par for the course. I just like my women to have a bit more of a backbone. Jane grew well into her role after everything stopped being about religion for her. Which is good. I can't imagine living in that time frame. Would definitely been in trouble at all turns. 

    I have said it before and I will say it again. Highlanders are sexy. The accents. Their gruff and dominant nature is just yummy. And every woman who speaks her mind needs a man who can one up her and be in control as well. Takes a special kind of male to do that. To know when to stand behind his woman, when to stand in front, and when to stand beside. Every highlander book I have read checks all of these boxes and this one is no exception. I completely suggest this book. 

    Just a warning. This is Book 4 in a series. Did not know that until I just went to pull the information from Amazon. But, I enjoyed this book without prior knowledge of the others. So, you can read it as a stand-alone if that is your desire. I always love series that you have the option of only reading one in. Makes it more enjoyable. 

    Highland Flame is available on Amazon for $5.03 by clicking here.

Book Review: The Hotel Penn by L. L. Abbott

     Rose moved to New York with the help of her mother after her fiancé died at the age of 17. Now, she has a job at the glamourous Hotel Pennsylvania and is witnessing a changing social scene as it sweeps the nation. Women fighting for their rights, the prohibition, and WW1 had just ended. Everything was so much grander than the small town of Clarington where she grew up, but with a front row seat to all the biggest changes there is more than her heart on the line. 

    I purchased this book at the suggestion of the author. Since it's purchase it has sat in my Kindle library, which was a year ago, and I started reading it at random. Scrolled through my unreads and clicked a book where the scrolling stopped. Fun way to pass the TBR. Anyways, this is a period book which I am always on the fence about. I either love them with everything in me or I am constantly rolling my eyes and waiting on the book to be over. In this case it was the prior. 

    I really enjoyed this book as it talks about the first year of the Hotel Penn and the events of a young girl carving out a life for herself among numerous huge changes that were happening in the US at that time. There is talks of inter-racial couples, which was frowned upon at that time, bootlegged gin, abortions, birth control, women standing up for their rights, and so much more. If you are looking for a fun, slightly sad romance book laden with history than look no farther. 

    After finishing this book I looked up the Hotel Penn and if this story rouses in you a desire to visit the Hotel Penn, as it is a real place, I am sorry to say that you will be disappointed. While the hotel is very real and was indeed opened in 1919 to a Mr. Statler just like in these pages the hotel was closed permanently in April, 2020 and there are now talks to demolish the great building for some kind of transportation thing. I am not sure the details about that. I was more interested in the hotel depicted then in what will be happening to it now that it is closed. If you have ever stayed in this once great hotel please tell me about it! I would love to hear your stories and see if you felt anything like what is mentioned from it's beginning! 

    This book is available on Amazon for $3.99 by clicking here or for free with Kindle Unlimited. 

Book Review: Gladiator Steel by Cara Devlin

     When Valentina is sold from the slave home she was born into to another location in Rome she is excited, as she hopes to reunite with her lost love, Marcellus. However, what she finds is that she has been sold to a brothel and must "service" the gladiators who win. The question is, just how far will she go to get back her love? How far would you go?
     Anyone who has read my reviews knows that I do not do books that are broken into parts, unless by some unfortunate happenstance I fall upon them and do not realize until it is too late. This is one such book. You pay $0.99 for the book and get what is essentially a couple of chapters in a book. As always, I do understand that this is a thing that some people enjoy. For me it is a turn off and once I read one book from an author like this I will not read the rest of the book nor will I continue this series.
     The story itself, what little there was of it, is nice. Gladiators are hot. There is naughty elements of taboo mixed in and you wonder just what this woman will do and if in the end she will decide Marcellus is worth it or maybe something a little different is more up her alley. That being said I do not give spoilers, so if this book is something that you are interested in it is available on Amazon for $0.99 or Kindle Unlimited at https://amzn.to/2ZCXOVa.

Book Review: Rebecca's Choice by Heidi Gallacher

     Rebecca was awed when older Geoffrey asked for her hand in marriage. It wasn't an exciting marriage, and sometimes the wifely duties were taxing, but she was content. Geoffrey had made many investments into the railways and they would pave their future. That is as long as nothing changed. Everything is comfortable, until the day Rebecca makes her choice, which changes the course of her families life forever.
     This book has a slow start, in fact the entire first half of the book is slow and a tedious read. In part two it picks up and actually becomes enjoyable, however. The weather station is interesting, the cholera exciting, and the romance fun. I couldn't imagine having to rely so thoroughly on a man for mine or my child's welfare, let alone while not truly loving the man. A marriage of convenience is no marriage at all and I am so glad that that is not how our lives are anymore.
     This is a period piece, which isn't a preference of mine, but the book is well written and once it picks up it will capture your attention and keep it until the very last page. I am glad that the author included an epilogue which tied up all of the loose ends that had been left in the last chapter. All in all it is a good dated book, if you can make it to the halfway point.
This book is available on Amazon on Kindle Unlimited at https://amzn.to/3dTkPY8 or buy it for $4.99.

Book Review: Unscrupulous by Morgan Lee Wylie

     All his life Josiah has had a name to live up to and that was the only thing he had ever done as he was expected. Although, it is not something that he or anyone should be proud of. He lived up to his daddy's name, who was a cold blooded killer. Josiah has since spent his life bouncing around and becoming one of the best gunfighters in the West out of necessity to survive. Josiah figured that would be how he would end his life as well, if he hadn't met the sheriff's wife, Aimee.
     Aimee had few fond memories of growing up as she had been a sickly child. Then when her parents were murdered she leaned on the sheriff who was at the time courting her. Saying yes to him was her biggest mistake, however, and she needed to get out. If only the Malloy brothers would answer her letters and save her. But, when the notorious Josiah has her instead can she find more than just his past within his steely blue eyes?
     I enjoyed this book from start to finish, even if I did have to look up the definition of the title. It is actually really fitting and I love that there is more than one romance tied it. It is not busy, but instead seems to flow. Honestly I hope that Morgan finishes the book two that she mentioned today on her page soon so that I can find out the loose ends that were left at the end of this book.
      This is an old western book packed with lots of action, a bit of romance, sex, and betrayal. I hope anyone who reads it enjoys it as much as I have!
This book is available on Amazon for $2.99 at https://amzn.to/2ZkIZXB.

Book Review: The Governess and the Beast by Karyn Gerrard (Blind Cupid Book 2)

     Lila has finished her education and has answered an ad for a governess position with a Lord that everyone claims is a beast. The man is said to be horribly disfigured and unable to preform physically. Of course, that is all the better. It is best to keep her mind on his young charge and not on the man. If she never lays with another man she fears it may be too soon.
     Simon has holed himself up in his father's castle since his injuries and does not wish to be around other people. The only problem with that is that he has grown lonely and has concocted this plan to hire a governess named Lila for his young charge who is in reality away at school. He hopes that he can convince her to stay with him and be his companion.
     No matter how hard you try to escape your past you can't and there is no sense in running from it. Your past makes you who you are. It is something that you must come to terms with. Some people it just takes a little longer to realize that you don't need to hide from it. This is a sweet story about scars that are both inside and out. The scars do not hide beauty or take away from who someone is on the inside. I do not know that Simon would have ended up with Lila if not for what happened to him and I do not know that Lila would have ended up with Simon if not for what happened to her. I will not give anything away but just know that they try it for one night. Anything more than that you will have to discover for yourself within the pages of this book. I wish you all the best in your discoveries. At some point I am sure I will bring you a book that is the first in a series rather than second. For now, at least with this book, I cannot make that promise.
This book is available on Amazon for $3.99 at https://amzn.to/36fQ2Cj.