And Back to Irritating

 Wild Ride Cowboy by Maisey Yates 

This series is so inconsistent. And they switched audiobook narrators for this one! This only had one of my least favorite tropes, but the whole thing pissed me off. Dead best friends younger sister with a ten year age gap. He's 31. She's 21. And then he spent the whole book arguing with himself and anyone who would listen to him about oh, she's Jason's little sister and oh, she's too young. THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING! Go to therapy and deal with your trauma or stop complaining about it. The only good parts of this book were when his brothers were giving him a hard time; their banter was good. The rest was irritating. And the epilogue went back in time because Cain and Allison weren't married yet, but they got married in the epilogue of their own book. The last book in this series takes place during Christmas so I'm not sure if I want to do that now and get it over with or if I want to wait and hope that it's good and risk pissing myself off again since this series can't decide if it wants to be good or not.  

Fantasy Historical Fiction

 Roaring by Lindsey Duga

This was an interesting concept. I liked the audiobook narrators. Eris is a siren. Colt is a dragon without wings. She is a singer in a speakeasy. He works for the government hunting monsters. He, initially, plans to take her back to his boss because she is the most dangerous monster in the world. But, then someone shoots up their hotel room. And someone else is also hunting them. While they are on the run together he starts to realize she isn't dangerous. He becomes a fugitive along with her. Her maker is trying to get her back and he's trying to keep her safe. They fall in love. They eventually turn to his old boss for help. She does get captured by her maker. He gets captured by his old boss. His boss believes him, but his bosses boss doesn't. His boss breaks him out and helps him rescue her. He kills her maker after rescuing 120 children from his experiments. They leave together to live happily ever after.   

Soldier Series #2

 Wicked Ever After by Shayla Black 

These are quite possibly the dumbest characters I have ever encountered. I was so irritated with them and yet so entertained. I enjoyed being mad at how dumb they were. Brea finally realized she was pregnant and didn't tell Pierce. One Mile is still a stupid name and I won't call him that. She instead calls Cutter (also a stupid name and it's his actual name). He is on bodyguard duty for a starlet and they decide they are going to get married so Brea can save face and because the starlet obviously doesn't love him back. This all happens because Brea tried to tell Pierce but he had been threated by the cartel that he is trying to kill and he wants to keep her safe. When he finds out about their engagement he causes a scene at her work and then Cutter's brother shows up and says that Cutter is cleaning up his mess. And Pierce is just as dumb as Brea because it takes him HOURS to figure out that she's pregnant. He confirms it later when he breaks into her house, looks through her laptop, finds a video from the doctor, and sees the ultrasound. Then the tracks her phone and finds her at Cutters. They make up. Also, Cutter and the starlet are caught by the paparazzi making out. She and Cutter decide to stay together for her safety because Pierce told her what was really going on. Pierce leaves again. He kills the cartel leader. Cutter and the starlet break up. Brea and Cutter break up. Pierce and Brea have a plan to finally introduce him to her dad but she gets kidnapped by the sister of the cartel leader. Pierce searches for her for hours before finding her. He exchanges himself for her. She finds his gun in the back of his car and shoots her three times before she finally dies. Then Pierce gets to meet her dad. We finally get the story of why he killed his father; turns out his dad killed his mom and he was in the process of actively beating his new girlfriend to death and the cops weren't going to get there on time so to save her he shot him - she did lose the baby. She then took custody of Pierce until he turned 18. Pierce then proposed and he gave them his blessing. Cutter and the starlet got back together and got married. The book doesn't end with Pierce and Brea's wedding, it sets up the next couple. I hope they aren't as dumb as Brea and Pierce.  

Crime Series #7

 Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell 

This was another good installment in this crime series. Scarpetta is called to a body in the water; a reporter died while scuba diving. the cops on scene think it was accidental. It wasn't. She starts getting harassed by a young, attractive cop who ends up filing a sexual harassment claim against her. This is all tied in with a cult. The young cop was part of the cult and was their inside informant as was the NIS agent on the case. The cult takes over a nuclear power plant and they have no way to get in. Lucy is working on a robot that is used to get in. Eventually, we discover that the dead reporters girlfriend was also involved with the cult and was playing both sides. When the leader of the cult falls into the radioactive water Kay goes into the power plant to "save" him even though she knows he's going to die; she's just stalling for time. She manages to stall long enough that she needs more supplies and convinces the other cult members to use the robot to bring in the supplies. That gives the FBI time to breach and save Kay and the hostages. The mystery is good, but the science of it all is the most interesting part.  

This Series is Stressful!

 Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

So much happened in this book. Geraldine is still my favorite character. Lance and Darius are still himbos and their scenes together are still the best scenes in the book. In no particular order. Lionel declares himself king and says he can control the nymphs. Darcy, with the help of the Heirs and Gabriel, has been able to get to Tory, and give her an antidote to the order suppressant that Lionel is giving her so she can be herself again. She and Darius are able to steal some time together, along in defiance of the stars. Lionel gets Lance out of prison and puts him on house arrest. This is after Lance saves the life of some guy in prison who turned out the be the last living member of the Zodiac Guild. He tells Lance how to read his father's diary and then dies. Lance swears to Lionel that he will figure out how to get the Imperial Star, but Lionel doesn't make him swear to tell him where it is, so Lance is able to tell Darcy. They, and the Heirs, figure out where it is and Lance and Darcy go to his fathers crypt to get it and he is tested and passes and they get the star and now Lance is the head of the Zodiac Guild and he has to recruit new members. Darcy turns it into a necklace and it's safe, for now. Lionel makes a new law that says you can only associate with people of your order, so that's not good, but they aren't following it. Pretty much all of the Heirs, except Darius, seem to be on Team Vega. Darius is still convinced that the Heirs are going to rule together. Lionel makes another new law and Darius has to get married immediately. But, the wedding isn't legitimate because Gabriel was disguised as Mildred and took her place. Then Gabriel and Darius go to some magic cave because the twins are in danger and that's the only way to save them. Lance and Darcy were captured at his home and they have to fight a bunch of nymphs in the pit; only Lance was given his powers. While in the cave Darius makes a deal with the stars; one year with Tory and then he dies. All of the bonds tying them to others are now dissolved; they are no longer star-crossed and they no longer have their guardian bonds. Tory is free from protecting Lionel. Lance is free from protecting Darius. The A.S.S. society showed up to help Lance and Darcy, and while they put up a good fight they were outnumbered. Darcy called for the retreat and everyone left. That's where the book ends. Lance doesn't know why his guardian bond with Darius is gone. Tory doesn't know why her guardian bond with Lionel is gone, but she doesn't care. This was stressful. I am still invested and eager for the rest of the series.