Book 38, 2025

A Witch in Time by Catherine Kean

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


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Finished reading A Witch in Time by Catherine Kean and Wynter Daniels last night. It’s the first book in the “Cat’s Paw Cove” series of...paranormal romance, I guess. The main characters are Luna Halpern (witch, baker, cat rescuer) and Colin Wilshire (17th century inventor).

While sailing to a new life in Barbados with his pregnant bride, the ship Colin is aboard encounters a fierce storm and sinks. He wakes up in an odd place with a strange, blue-haired beauty standing over him. Luna discovers one of the historic reenactors on the beach, soaking wet and injured. At first she believes he’s stubbornly staying in character, but Luna soon realizes that Colin has traveled through time to Cat’s Paw Cove. He’s not the first stray she’s rescued, but she finds herself oddly reluctant to see him leave, even if it’s for the best. Colin is confused and amazed by the time and place he’s found himself. He feels a responsibility to return to his wife, but he realizes he is fast falling for the spirited witch who rescued him.

The premise of the story was interesting, but the book was far too short to do it justice. Colin adjusted remarkably well and quickly to the 21st century. One would imagine his circumstances alone should have broken his brain. Characterizations were marginal at best. This is the first in a series, but I felt I’d been dropped into Cat’s Paw Cove, too. There wasn’t much plot; it was more a series of scenes or events. Very little made sense. And, of course, our main characters fell in love in a matter of days, which is so cringe.

Favorite line: “It could have been worse, but I wish it had been better.”

I wanted to like this, but it left me very meh. Two stars.

Book 39, 2025

Red Wolf by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


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I had so little left in my work book to read that I brought it home to finish. The book was Red Wolf by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, and it’s the first in the “Wolf Moons” verse of Silhouette’s Nocturne line. The main characters were Tory McKidd and Adam Scott.

After the brutal murder of her brother, Tory quit her lucrative job to exact vengeance. She’s a werewolf, like her brother, and so is the vicious felon who killed him. Chavez and his gang of werewolves have claimed a park in Miami as their base of operations, and when Officer Adam Scott chases a criminal into the park, he encounters a flame-haired beauty that he can’t get out of his mind. Tory is equally drawn to Adam, and she realizes that she and the human male have Imprinted. She is desperate to avoid the man, but his investigation into her brother’s death leads him straight to her door...and into her arms. Now Tory and Adam aren’t just fighting for justice, they’re fighting for one another.

Ugh. Imprinting (or whatever you want to call it) may seem all fierce and sexy, but when you really think about it, it’s extremely cringe inducing. Imagine having no choice in the matter. In these paranormal romances, of course, the characters are always attractive and noble, etc. Would this have been sexy had Tory Imprinted on Chavez? Blech. What if one of them was already married? With children? Aside from that, our main characters spent very little time together. Most of the narrative was taken up with Tory’s search for justice, Adam’s investigation, and their mutual pining and ‘I am drawn to this person even though I should avoid him/her’. They had two (maybe three?) very brief encounters before Adam arrived at Tory’s house, after which they fell on one another in a fit of lust. Cue more pining and avoiding until the inevitable showdown/climax. That’s another thing I disliked—there was precious little resolution to the story. At least Tory wasn’t assaulted, which seems to be a staple of Nocturne books. I appreciated that she could take care of herself. However, this was not an enjoyable read at all. The character I liked best was Adam’s new partner, Dana Delmonico. There was a short, bonus story at the end of this one featuring Dana, but I didn’t bother reading it. And “short” isn’t entirely accurate, as the bonus content was easily 20-25% of the entire book.

Favorite line: Yes, folks, I actually am out of my freaking mind.

This was not in the least bit romantic, and there was no humor in it, either. It was dramatic, but not my cup of tea. Two stars.