The Tyrant Alpha's Rejected Mate (The Five Packs #1) by Cate C Wells (2021)

Sometimes, you just want to have some popcorn...

Una is a single female. In the Quarry Pack, that makes her the bottom of the hierarchy. When she was young, she was so badly injured that she was left with a lame leg that drags when she walks. No healthy male is going to want to mate her, so she resigns herself to singlehood and works on way to make lives of the other unmated females better.

Killian leads the Quarry Pack and he's a hard brute. If a packmate breaks the rules, if he doesn't work hard enough, if he shows weakness -- he's dirt. Killian is fearless, unrelenting, and merciless. But not as bad as his father. When Killian's father was alpha, it was the worst example of Darwinism in action: the pack lived off the land, only eating what they could catch. Females' role was to be barefoot and pregnant; seen, not heard; and ready 'to present' when a man needed to scratch that itch. The basement of the pack lodge was where his father kept his harem and really bad things happened there.

But, under Killian, the pack's strength has been channeled into the MMA circuit, and this translates into prize money for things like gas and electricity. Quarry Pack is ruled by strength, not blood. Any male can challenge for rank at any time. Theoretically, Killian could have to fight every day to keep the lead, but he doesn't because he cannot be beat. It's a fact. Besides having the biggest wolf in the Five Packs, Killian's a flip-shifter. He can change from skin to fur and back again whenever he wants, without effort, in the blink of an eye. It's an unbeatable advantage.

End of Story by Kylie Scott (2023)

When Susie Bowen inherits a charming fixer-upper from her aunt, she’s excited to start living her best HGTV life. But when she opens the door to find that her contractor is none other than her ex’s best friend, Lars—the same man who witnessed their humiliating public breakup six months ago—she isn’t exactly eager to have anyone around whose alliance is with the enemy. But beggars can’t be choosers, and the sooner the repairs are done, the sooner she can get back to embracing singledom.

Things go from awkward to unbelievable when Lars discovers a divorce certificate hidden in a wall and dated ten years in the future—with both their names on it. It couldn’t possibly be real…could it? As Susie and Lars work to unravel the document’s origins, the impossibility of a spark between them suddenly doesn’t seem so far-fetched. But would a relationship between them be doomed before it’s even begun?

This is a solid addition to the contemporary romance category, with just a touch of the fantastical thrown in (the hidden divorce decree). It's a friends-to-lovers romance because they were friends (Lars is best friends with Susie's ex, Aaron).  While parts of it were rather typical of the genre, I appreciated the healthy way they deal with their burgeoning relationship. The romance doesn't happen right away. It's a gradual thing, because they initially try to ignore the portented future and the connection it compels.

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman (2023)

This is the story of 42–year-old, twins, Augusta and Julia.  They’re fraternal twins who are independently wealthy, not beholden to their priggish brother, the Earl of Duffield. Julia lost her fiancé two years ago, and Augusta has never married, so they’re definitely on the shelf.

After helping a friend retrieve letters that were being used for blackmail, the twins decide that they will help other women that the law fails. They meet Lord Evan on the way to saving the daughter of a mutual friend (she’s married to an abusive man who’s decided to get rid of her after she’s failed to bear him a child in their 5 years of marriage). Lord Evan was convicted of killing a man he dueled with and was summarily shipped off to the colonies (down under) and stripped of his title. He’s returned to England and is surviving by being a highway robber. Lord Evan accidentally gets shot during a botched robbery and they use this as a means to gain access to the twatt’s house.

Lord Evan agrees to help them. As they work together to rescue Caroline from Sir Reginald Thorne, Gus forms a connection with Lord Evan. She begins investigating the duel that got Evan sentenced to prove that he didn’t kill the man, even though Evan has censored her against it. 

Meat Cute by Gail Carriger (2020)

The hedgehog incident at last! Alexia is on a mission, per usual, and gets in the middle of a werewolf brawl in order to keep a hedgehog from being trampled. Lord Maccon is not amused. (Lyall was. Discretely, of course.)

It was cute, but I'm left feeling a little 'meh.' While it was nice to see their meet-cute (the pun in the title makes sense now, right?), Maccon didn't quite feel like the same guy we've met in the series. Alexia was as terrific as ever, but Maccon felt less uptight. Maybe that's because Alexia's antics leave him frustrated 😉.

A fun read and I'm giving it 3.5/5 stars.

The Atlantis Grail Series by Vera Nazarean (2014-2020)

In 24 years (2047), an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. The descendants of the lost city of Atlantis have returned from the stars to save their human kin. The asteroid is too large for their advanced technology to alter the impending extinction-level impact, so the Atlanteans have offered to save a portion of the population (10 million out of 8.5 billion): teenagers between 11 and 20. The best of the best of Earth, determined by a contest of Atlantean design. The asteroid impact will happen in nineteen months. It's not enough time for more ships to arrive to save more Earthlings, so it's either qualify or die. The Qualification and the Games are administered by representatives of the federal government, but the results are judged by Atlantean criteria (which the Atlanteans aren't sharing). 

The series follows Gwen Lark, a 16-year-old girl from Vermont, as she fights to earn her spot on the ships leaving Earth for Atlantis (Atlantida). Joining Gwen are her siblings: George (18), Gordie (14) and Gracie (12), as well as her long-time crush, Logan Sangre, all-around hottie, athlete, honor roll student and lead singer of a rock band (could he tick anymore dreamy boxes?). 

Once they finish the Preliminary Qualification, we meet other Candidates you'd want to be friends with -- Laronda Aimes (I loved this girl right away), Blayne Dubois (love him, too, with all his prickliness), Dawn Williams, Jai Bhagat, Hasmik Tigranian -- as well as people you'd rather not (the bullies). We get to know some of the Atlanteans, as the teens start their 4 weeks of hell to  train/prepare for the Semi-Finals. We also meet several of the elite warriors of Atlantida, the Astra Daimon: Keruvat Ruo, Oalla Keigeri and Xelio Vekahat, as well as Command Pilot Aeson (sounds like Jason without the J) Kass, one of the highest ranking officers of the Fleet. 

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs (2008)

I absolutely love this series! This 'novella' had plenty of action and characters you root for. 

Anna was forcibly turned against her will by a shifter, Justin, who enjoys being sadistic. Before turning wolf, she was a happy graduate student. Since that day, her life has been one nightmare after the other. At the start of the series, she's been beaten down (and raped, and beaten, etc.). She hasn't been allowed to contact her family since she was turned (for their safety, of course). With Justin out of town, she finally has the courage to call the Maroc, the head of the North American packs. The Maroc sends Charles, his second son and enforcer, to investigate.

Charles is the son of the Maroc and a Native American medicine woman, so he have shifter abilities but also extra abilities he inherited from his mother. Unlike other shifters, he can shift in a flash, and can conjure clothing (he's not quite sure from where). He also is in tune with the spirits, which gives him an added advantage as he carries out his enforcer duties. When he meets Anna he is immediately drawn to her. He also immediately knows that there is something very rotten in the Chicago pack.

The events that follow show us good and bad shifters in action. It's a great introduction to this spin-off of the 'Mercy Thompson' series (and I think I like it better, if that's possible). By telling the story from Anna's and Charles' point-of-view, we get a good look into the rules and mentality of this world of shifters as well as some of the lore, and I'm loving it. 

I was immediately hooked when I read it and I've re-read this novella at least 4 times so far. It's an enthusiastic 5/5 stars!

Rules of Redemption by TA White (2019)

About a third of the way in, I was wondering if this wasn't the first book of a sequel series, with another series that I should read first. It wasn't. (I kind of wish there was because I'm really intrigued by the before: the Curs, the war, Jin before he became a drone, the destructive power of the Phoenix, what led to her blowing up that planet. But, like I said, there wasn't. I'd still love to read it!) This doesn't detract from the story per se, but having the before would have heightened the emotional connection I have with these characters. (Not that it was hard to connect/care about them, just that I would have felt it more deeply sooner. 

Grayden really reminds me of Curran from the Kate Daniels series. I wasn't surprised that he fell for the woman that was so vexing (again, Curran). I appreciate that the story focuses more on Kira's journey than Kira's love life. I also wasn't surprised about the nature of the Phoenix.

It's an interesting universe. There's engaging characters. I want to know more: more about the Tuann and their culture/psychology, more about Kira's tortured past as a human lab rat, more about the war, more about Jin when he was a real boy. And so, on to the next book!

My rating: 3.5 out of 5.