Book 99, 2023

Motherducking Magic by Michelle Fox

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



After reading the short story/prequel, I went right for the first official book in the "Bad Magic Bounty Hunter" series, which was Motherducking Magic, by Michelle Fox. Ironically, it turns out that what I read as a short story was chapter one of this book. Huh.

Bounty hunter Sylvie is on the trail of a shifter who skipped out on bail. Since her magic is weak, she must rely on charms she's purchased, a tracking spell, and her own grit and determination. In this instance, however, things quickly go off the rails. A vampire, who's also searching for the missing shifter, throws his hat in with Sylvie's search. As if having a tag-along isn't annoying enough, Sylvie soon learns the shifter has stolen a powerful magic relic that the High Priestess of the Witch Council will literally kill to get back. When the shifter's trail grows cold, Sylvie is accused of being in cahoots with him. Now she has the Council guards on her own tail, and she's having to rethink just who the villains are in this drama.

The story started out lighthearted and humorous. I enjoyed Sylvie's sarcastic wit and her ability to get things done with the limited amount of magic she has. However, as the story progressed, things took a darker turn. And then...it ended. WTF? The author had a "please don't hate me for the cliffie" note at the end, but yeah. I'm not feeling too charitable at the moment.

Favorite lines:
♦ The whole outfit was overkill. My job never got as exciting as my outfit could handle.
♦ She was in a pickle of shit.
♦ All fun and games until someone gets dumped in a ditch.

I was ready to give this a solid four, but I'm annoyed enough at the ending to bump it down to a three.

Book 100, 2023

Stakes & Stilettos by Michelle Rowen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I was on a roll last night, and I also finished reading Stakes & Stilettos by Michelle Rowen. It's the 4th book in her "Immortality Bites" series of lite paranormal, featuring newly-turned vampire Sarah Dearly.

Sarah is still mourning the loss of her normal life, which makes her determined to attend her class reunion. There, she encounters a powerful witch, who curses Sarah for being a mean girl to her back in high school. Sarah is now a nightwalker--the worst kind of vampire there is. Her new incarnation makes her a danger to everyone, even those she loves. Sarah is determined to break the curse, no matter the cost. In the meantime, she has more than one encounter with the Red Devil, a legendary, masked vampire thought dead more than a century ago. Sarah's love interest, Thierry, thinks the Red Devil is an imposter, but Sarah isn't so sure. Nor is she sure what a future with Thierry may look like. He's still married to Veronique, and while Thierry would like to annul the marriage, Veronique is being stubborn. It's all enough to make a fledgling vampire cry.

While I enjoyed this book for the most part, it ended without any resolution. None whatsoever. Absolutely nothing was resolved. Douse me with lemon juice and call me bitter. At least I warmed up a bit to Thierry in this one, and I knew who the Red Devil was all along. Called it!

Favorite lines:
♦ They always talk about love at first sight. They never mention seething dislike at first sight.
♦ "We're still together. Even though everybody and their pet rabbit thinks we're doomed." // "Who thinks we're doomed?" // "Everybody. And their pet rabbit."

Once again, what would have been a rating of four stars is getting knocked down to three for that shoddy ending.