"Fate of the Champion" by Clara C.Johnson

Serra and the others have arrived back in Adhelm. But it is not with the news of successful treaty negotiations that she was hoping to bring. Instead, she must return to the palace to inform the king and his counsel that Queen Kathryn of Crelia possessed an army of orcs and was preparing to attack. And she must somehow manage to convince them that it is the truth and that the orcs are more than fantastical story creatures. They are real and quite vicious, but most everyone generally considers them nothing more than story creatures used to frighten naughty children with scary tales. 

This was the third and final book in the Champion series. And though I felt that parts of it could have benefitted from another round with a proofreader, the story itself was very entertaining and kept me wanting to find out how it would end.  

There were a number of surprising twists in the story that I hadn't seen coming. These twists made it a more complex and well rounded tale that kept my interest and curiosity piqued throughout the book. Anyone who enjoyed the first two books in this series would definitely want to read this series finale. It closes out the characters' stories quite nicely.

"Dames & Deadly Games" by Trixie Silvertale

Mitzi Moon is off to enjoy a vacation with her boyfriend, Erick on the grand opening excursion of a luxury railroad line. They will be enjoying all of the first class luxury offerings and enjoying the chance to try to solve the murder mystery theme on this first trip.

It seems like it should be a very fun weekend trip, however things take an unexpected turn when one of the passengers involved in the murder mystery game is actually murdered.

This was an interesting and fun cozy mystery with a paranormal aspect. Though it was the 13th book in the series, it was written in such a way that it works well enough as a stand alone story. I do think I might have enjoyed it even more if I was already familiar with the series, but please don't mistake that to mean it wasn't enjoyable, because I did like it. I just felt like knowing more of the characters’ history together would have somewhat enhanced my enjoyment of the story.

This book was a quick and fun read, that left me wanting to know more of what had happened before the start of this story… so I've picked up a copy of book one in the series so that I can find out how it all started. I think that anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries, paranormal mysteries, or just a nice, fun story will enjoy reading this book, and likely this whole series.

"The Fall of the Fairy Queen" by Gemma Perfect

Elsie and the others have won their rebellion against the forces of her cruel step parents. They are no longer a threat and as the only living heir, she will be the queen. But it appears that the question now seems to be will she actually get to be the queen and ruler or will Hardy continue to win the hearts of the people and find a way to have them declare him their king instead. Elsie knows he has killed before, so the question in her mind is more about how long before he no longer needs her around and finds a way to have her killed without implicating himself in her murder.

This book begins exactly where the first book ends. And not needing the setup or explanations that are necessary in any first book of a series, the pacing of this story was much quicker, and there was much more action happening overall.

I definitely enjoyed this book. The story kept me hooked all the way to the end, and was difficult to put down at night. I believe that it will appeal to anyone who enjoys stories with a bit more emotional conflict than there was in the first book. Though like book 1, it will likely also appeal to those who enjoy reading tales involving fairies.  I am looking forward to seeing what happens in book 3.

"It's a Charmed Life" (The Grimm Files Book 1) by Selene Charles

Detective Elle (Arielle) is a siren who works for Grimm PD. Her specialty is solving cold cases, and her latest assignment sends her to the realm of Wonderland where she must work with Constable Maddox Hatter

The two of them need to solve both Elle's cold case involving two dead bodies found on the Charming Estate and Maddox's recently discovered dead body in Wonderland.

This was an interesting twisted fairy tale involving a number of recognizable characters from wonderland and other quite familiar stories. But these are not the familiar tales that we grew up reading involving these characters. 

This twist on both the characters and the places in this book I found to be very unique and I enjoyed the originality of this story. But be warned, while this is a twisted fairy tale, it is not necessarily one meant for younger readers. There is a significant level of descriptive nudity & sexual content contained within.

I believe this would be an enjoyable book for those who enjoy twisted fairy tales with a harder edge to them, or anyone who prefers that their fairy tales required a more mature audience.