"Dead by Midlife" by Macy Dixon

Gwen works for "The Agency", a government organization that works to ensure that all magic is kept hidden from the human world. It isn't an easy job, and she's been living under a prophecy that says she will be dead by midlife, which for her is quickly approaching.

Encouraged by her grandparents to attend a speed dating event, she doesn't have high hopes for the night, which are realized when one of the men who she meets turns out to be a shifter. Things only go downhill from there. But what else can she do? It's her job to bring in wayward magicals attempting to hide among human populations.

I found this to be an interesting story and a quick read that I didn't want to put down. The only complaint that I had was that the glossary of terms that were unique to this series came at the end of the book rather than at the beginning. (I spent most of the book guessing at what the author meant when referring to a "Wycke." My guess was pretty close to right, but it would have been a lot easier if I had seen the glossary before reading the rest of the book. It also would have cleared up a few other questions I had along the way.)

Regardless of that fact, the book was very enjoyable. I've already bought the next book in the series. I think that anyone who enjoys urban fantasy with a paranormal twist will enjoy this book.

"Prince of Wolves" by Quinn Loftis

Just before the beginning of their senior year in high school, a Romanian foreign exchange student comes to stay with the neighbors across the street from Jacque’s house. Not only is he extremely handsome, but there is something more to him. It turns out that he is a werewolf and her true mate, though she hadn't been aware that werewolves existed, let alone that she was half wolf.

As a young adult novel, this book left something to be desired. To me, it felt like the author was trying too hard to make the teen girls sound young and ended up making them act and sound much younger than 17. (My 16 year old daughter read a few pages & commented that it reminded her of a wattpad fanfiction story.)

But if I look at the book as something meant for younger teens instead of as a young adult novel, my perspective changes a bit. While nothing in the story is unexpected, it should still appeal to younger teen readers as it is neither overly violent nor overly sexualized. Admittedly, one of the side characters seems to have a pretty bad case of "sex-on-the-brain" and an inability to prevent anything she thinks from being spoken, her comments are never graphic and are mostly just innuendo.

So overall, while I probably wouldn't recommend it for young adult readers (I had some issues with the story that I think older readers would quickly pick up on as well), I would suggest that younger teen readers interested in werewolves or wolf shifter stories might want to give it a try.

"Schemes & Bad Dreams" by Trixie Silvertale

Mitzie's Day starts badly when the store alarm is accidentally set off & the disarm code doesn't work. Then instead of the expected Sheriff Erick being the one to respond to the alarm, it's Deputy Candy who shows up at her back door in response to the alarm. After that an old friend from back before she'd moved to Pin Cherry Harbor steps off the bus. And things seem to spiral downhill from there.

This was the 15th book in the Mitzi Moon Cozy Mystery series, and a very captivating one that was extremely hard to put down. I am definitely enjoying this series and while I don't want to give away too much, this book involves a kidnapping, abuse, and touches on a suicide and other often sensitive subjects as an important part of the story. As such, this book does provide a warning that it may be a trigger point some people and also provides the National Suicide Hotline phone number.

But if you enjoy cozy mysteries or have enjoyed any of the other Mitzy Moon books, I hope you won't skip this one as it is definitely worth reading. And if you're new to the series, while parts of it will likely make more sense after reading the beginning of the series, it is still very easy to quickly pick up on the important aspects of the series. (Thus far I've only managed to read a couple of the books in this series myself, but they've been well worth it, even out of order.) Recommended.

"The Bride For a Single Father" by Florence Linnington

Violet was a singer, and only a singer, at a Saloon in New York. When she refused to take a rich and powerful man to her bed, he did everything he could to ruin her life, expecting that she would be forced to change her mind when she had nowhere else to turn. Instead, Violet became a mail order bride, travelling to Stillwater, Colorado to marry the doctor there.

This appeared to be the fresh start and a chance for a new life, love, and family that she'd always hoped for. But would it be? Especially when it turned out that she was not the intended recipient of Lewis's letter?

This book was a very fast read and I finished it in one day. It was also one of the best of Ms. Linnington's stories that I have read thus far. While it contains all the expected elements of a mail order bride story, this one seems to contain a bit more than many others, and it managed to get me rather teary eyed towards the end.

If you enjoy a good mail order bride story, any of Ms. Linnington's other books, or if you are just looking for an entertaining story that will tug at your heart, then I would strongly recommend giving this one a try.

"The Love-Haight Case Files, Book 2: Fighting for Other-Than-Human Rights" by Jean Rabe and Donald J. Bingle

This is the 2nd book in the Love-Haight Case Files Series. Two lawyers, Thomas Brock and Evelyn Love fight for the rights of "OTs” (Other Than Humans) who are often mistreated, mistrusted, or discriminated against while trying to go about their daily lives. Unfortunately, Thomas Brock’s father is often fighting against them, and is determined to win at any and all costs. This book contains 4 of their cases and continues the tale of the everyday lives of the characters we were introduced to in book 1.

As with the previous book, I really enjoyed these 4 stories and how they intertwined with everything else happening in the book as a whole. It was a very fun read and I often found it hard to put it down when I needed to do something else (such as sleeping at night.)

I don't want to give away anything, so all I'm going to say is that if you enjoyed book 1 in this series, you do want to read this one.  (And if you haven’t yet read book 1, then you really should give that one a try too.) Also, if you simply enjoy stories involving ghosts, werewolves, zombies, nixies, or any other supernatural creatures, this is a great series to try as it was written by two amazing authors. 

I'm already looking forward to getting the chance to read book 3 when it comes out!