Spell of the Ball (8 Magical Halloween Reads)

Spell of the Ball was NOT originally on my TBR for the month ... but then I was gifted a copy by one of the authors ahead of tomorrow's publication date and it ended up being perfect for SO many reasons. Well, three in particular:

1. I had it readily available when I decided to stop trying to force myself to like something that was on my TBR
2. Several of the authors/series included I've been interested in checking out and this gives me a lots of little tastes ... even though I've had a bit of hyperventilation over the whole "not reading in order" deal
3. Today has been declared "Boys Day Out" for my son, his dad and HIS dad so after a quick trip to the grocery store I've stayed curled up reading without a care in the world

Spirits, Hurricanes, and the Krewe of Ghoul by Deanna Chase
Series: Pyper Rayne (spin-off series of Jade Calhoun series)
Thoughts: I already know and love Pyper from the Jade Calhoun series but haven't read the first book of her spin-off yet. It's now moving way up on my TBR list because, well, I still adore Pyper and I really have to know more about her ghost sidekick/nuisance Ida May.
Tease: 

The Witch’s Halloween Hero by Kristen Painter
Series: Nocturne Falls
Thoughts: Kristen Painter isn't an author I was familiar with but I hadn't made it more than a third of the way through "The Witch's Halloween Hero" and I was scouring Amazon for books in the Nocturne Falls series. If the books are as delightful as this short then I'll gladly make regular visits to the little supernatural community. 
Tease:

Bad Moon Rising by Michele Bardsley
Series: Angelica Mortis
Thoughts: As you probably know (unless you're new here), I skim the steamy stuff almost all the time. There was a LOT of skimming here. Angelica is a demon hunter with a drag queen bestie and a new wizard guardian which would normally make for a must-read series for me ... but the steamy stuff? Not my thing. After some looking I've discovered the author writes a bit of erotica so I should have known ... but ... at least I'm good at skimming!
Tease:

A Charming Death by Tonya Kappes
Series: Magical Cures
Thoughts: I know that reading this without reading any of the others in the series (7 books plus two other novellas so far) has subjected me to big ol' plot-line spoilers, but sometimes it just has to be done. A cute little tale but I'm not really sure if I'll be diving in to the whole series. The first one is free on Amazon for Kindle, though, so there's really no reason not to at least give a full-length installment a shot!
Tease:

Mission Impawsible by Melanie James
Series: Karma Inc.
Thoughts: Humor, werebears, and a whole lot of snark. I love snark. The series is apparently new and a spin-off from James' Literal Leigh series. Great. Now I have TWO more series to add to my list.
Tease:

One Charmed Evening by Rose Pressey
Series: Halloween LaVeau
Thoughts: I've read a couple of Pressey's books from before but not from this series and not in several years. With how much I loved this short I'm now kicking myself for not keeping up with her books more because I have a whole lot to get my grubby little hands on. I'm beginning to think that this collection of short stories wasn't the best idea for me to read ....
Tease:

Catatonic by Liz Schulte
Series: Sekhmet Bounty (forthcoming spin-off series of Guardian & Jinn trilogies)
Thoughts: Dangnabbit. Of the 8 short stories in this book I've read seven so far ... and have six new series added to my TBR ... BUT I don't ... I have MORE than that since this one if a spin-off of two others and then there's the James book above that was a spin-off of another series ... and good ol' Pressey has multiple series that all look good ... and ... and ... and ... there's a HOLIDAY anthology coming out in November with many of these same authors and some more new-to-me ones, to boot!
Tease:

Desperate Housewives of Olympus by Saranna DeWylde

Series: Ambrosia Lane
Thoughts: I'm a bit of a mythology junkie but this just didn't do it for me. Fictional twists on gods and goddesses typically fall flat for me (except for when they're written by Rick Riordan ... most days I would pick a trip to Camp Half-Blood over a trip to Hogwarts). Not a bad story, just not one that has me clamoring to get the series for. I will, however, read any future anthology installments I come across. Maybe it'll grow on me over time.
Tease:

Deanna Chase - Engaged Off Bourbon Street & Angels of Bourbon Street

I'm not officially counting Engaged Off Bourbon Street as book 6 of my 20 Books of Summer since it's only a short story, but it needed to be read before my ACTUAL book 6 -- Angels of Bourbon Street!

Engaged is "3.5" in the Jade Calhoun/Bourbon Street series, after:

1. Haunted on Bourbon Street (ramble HERE)
2. Witches of Bourbon Street (ramble HERE)
3. Demons of Bourbon Street (ramble HERE)

So, ENGAGED off Bourbon Street makes it sound like we'll have finally have happy times for Jade and the gang, right?

Ha.

You obviously haven't been following along if you think it's that easy.

Yep. Right from the very beginning Jade is wreaking havoc ... on herself.

It's a joint engagement/holiday party and she's still recovering (sort of) from the events of book 3. Of course, add to that the fact that she already has issues with spells going awry and ... well ... things go a more than a little haywire. Mistletoe is acting up, a ghost is floating around the party, and Jade is still the constant damsel-in-distress while trying to still manage everything ... and every body.

It's a comedy of errors, I suppose. Even for a short story it seemed to fly by too quickly to really feel worth it. Which, of course, made me happy that I could go straight into ....

Yay! Angels! Angels are happy and nice and .... oh, yeah. This is still Deanna Chase we're reading here. Angels can be vindictive and horrid and wretched and ... I think you get what I mean.

Angels of Bourbon Street begins five weeks before Kane and Jade's wedding is to take place. It really does turn out to be a good thing to have read it back-to-back with Engaged since the ghost who was floating around the engagement party ends up playing quite a big part in this installment since she possesses Jade.

Yep. A bride possessed. Because, you know, we were running out of ways for Jade to be put through the ringer.

And this is about where I started to bash my head up against my desk.

I've been through a hell of a lot with these characters so I've been determined to at least try to see this through but Jade is really starting to get on my nerves.

"Starting to"?

Scratch that. She's been getting on my nerves since February. Well, really, before that even since February was a re-read.

Maybe I've just been reading too many books with too many strong females lately. "Jade Calhoun" and "strong female" don't really seem to go together for me ... unless it's in reference to someone else in the story like if I said "Jade Calhoun's [aunt/angel/friend/mentor/stranger-on-the-freaking-street-corner] is a strong female."

I have to admit that I almost gave up entirely on this after the first couple of chapters because I didn't think I could take it any more ... and then I got to Chapter 7 and Pyper saved it (at least temporarily):

Could it be that Chase is fed up with Jade, too? Might this be a turning point?

Only to a small degree, it seems. She's still the center of her universe even when her friends are in danger ... but, then again, it IS "A Jade Calhoun Novel" according to the book cover so I suppose it makes sense that she's so "me me me" all of the time. I just wish she wasn't such an annoying whiny twit about it so much of the time.

And then. Oh gosh. The book took a much darker turn than the others have and I had to put it down for a bit. You know ... like "TRIGGER WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT INCLUDED" would have been nice to have dark. I think you already know that I don't really do the sexy/steamy bits when I can manage to skim and with this installment of the series my skimming skills came in quite handy. I don't think I would have been able to finish it otherwise. Even with the skimming I came very close to throwing in the towel more than once.

I'm just going to set these aside for at least a while and think to myself that everyone lives happily ever after. Of course, we already know I'm a glutton for punishment at times so I'm sure I'll catch up again at some point in the future.

Chase has started a spin-off series starring Pyper ... maybe I'll move on to those next ...

After the next 14 books, that is.

Deanna Chase's Demons of Bourbon Street

The third Jade Calhoun book! You can read the previous two rambles by clicking HERE. This is really a series that needs to be read in order so you aren't completely lost. (And, even then, you might get a little discombobulated from time to time.)

Good grief does Deanna Chase ever seem to enjoy putting her poor main character in turmoil! First Jade gets mixed up with ghosts haunting her apartment building and torturing her new friend/boss. Then she finds out that she's a witch. Then she battles a witch, Meri, who has gone black. Of course, Meri has dragged her boyfriend to Purgatory and is the same witch who twelve years ago trapped Jade's mother. Jade pretty much sucks at controlling her magic, has issues with the neighborhood guardian angel, and her ex-boyfriend ends up sacrificing himself in order to save Jade's mother -- who, of course, still treats Jade like a teenager instead of a 27 year old since time stands still in Purgatory. I guess.

At least she gets to have a lot of steamy scenes with the boyfriend (which I skip/skim for the most part) .... when, you know, they aren't being trapped or possessed or otherwise mixed up in Chase's twisted plan for their lives.

Seriously. I don't ever want to be a character in a Deanna Chase book.

This time around Jade, her friends and her coven are trying to get the ex-boyfriend, Dan, free from Meri's clutches.  Jade's mom is left behind in Idaho with Aunt Gwen, but gives some words of advice before they part ways:

 Her "solid escape plan" involves getting help from the angels -- including Dan's biological father (who happens to have been involved with Meri way-back-when). Of course, if you've read the first two installments you already know that angels in Chase's world haven't been all halos and wings and happiness. That hasn't changed. At all.

SO we have the still-snarky angel Lailah, the absentee-dad angel Philip, and as an added bonus there's an angel who's on Earth as a conservative televangelist trying to rid the world of witches -- and, more specifically, Jade. He feels her soul has been tainted and that she needs to be bound before she goes all black witch freaky on the world.

Souls (yes - multiple) are in danger. Lives are in danger. Witchcraft is in danger. Danger danger danger. Of course, that means there also ends up being battles and wins and losses and sacrifices. Yep .... it's a Deanna Chase book!

Seriously. I don't ever want to be a character in a Deanna Chase book. I enjoy the books but I definitely wouldn't want to live in one of them!

The next title is a short story (# 3.5) titled Engaged Off Bourbon Street. I'm guessing there'll be danger ... and we'll probably find out soon! (Not too soon, though. You know how I am about staggering series.)

Deanna Chase's Witches of Bourbon Street

This is the second book in the Jade Calhoun series. Trust me when I tell you that you want to read the first one before you even read this ramble.

Really.

Go do it.


So, have you ever had a character in a book that you've just wanted to shake really hard and maybe even give a good slap with a "Suck it up, Buttercup!" added for good measure? That's how I felt about Jade through much of Witches of Bourbon Street.

Twelve years ago her mother (a witch) disappeared during a coven gathering and ever since Jade has shunned all witchcraft. She's an empath but didn't know until the end of the first book in the series that she, too, was born with the craft in her blood. She's a white witch and , potentially, a very powerful one. And she fights it. And she whines about it. And she complains about the fact that it would be best for everyone around her if she actually learns how to use it. Her good friend and mentor, Bea, was badly damaged in the previous story. It's now three months later and Jade is the only one who can save her -- whining and complaining be damned.

Whining and complaining be damned? Oh, there's a lot more than that being damned this time around!

She finally finds her magic and saves Bea but, as it turns out, there are a lot more lives and souls at stake this time around than just Bea's.

There are witches trapped inside of portraits and voodoo dolls. Those "three ugly witches" that the strip club uses in their slogan? Yeah. Them ... and quite possibly Jade's missing mother, as well.

Her ex-boyfriend, Dan, appears to be possessed by something evil.

Her current boyfriend, Kane, has been making out with an evil angel.

Yeah, you read that right. An evil angel.

Through all of the turmoil and evil and men trouble, Jade still has her support system of Pyper, Kat, Bea and ghost hunter Ian ... and even Aunt Gwen has arrived from Idaho! (She got to be friends with Bea on Facebook and the two discovered they were at witch camp together years ago. Cute, huh?) With all of the crap she's dealing with she needs as much support as she can get!

The steaminess from the first book is still present but not as much (not much steaminess, after all, when your boyfriend is getting busy with someone else). Instead there's a lot more tension and anxiety and I may have actually caught myself holding my breath more than a couple of times while reading. I do it watching horror movies, too -- as though holding my breath will make the evil not be able to get to me through the screen/page/whatever. Believe me, the evil here you want to avoid coming into personal contact with.

Unfortunately for Jade she doesn't have much of a choice. Not if she wants to save those that she cares about. She comes to realize (much to her dismay) that in order to deal with the evil she needs her witchcraftiness (is that even a word? It must be since I just used it.).

Spells, potions, dreamwalks, general witchcraftiness and evil encounters (including some in Purgatory) take up much of the second half of the book making it for a quick-paced read. A little confusing at times, but it clears itself up. Of course, not everything gets cleared up ... there are more books in the series to read, after all.

Deanna Chase's Haunted on Bourbon Street

I first got Haunted on Bourbon Street in May 2012 thanks to it being a freebie on Amazon (which, at the time of this writing, it still is .... or is again .... whatever). I'd read that and then the second book in the series, Witches of Bourbon Street, and then got distracted by other things and life and never continued. I found out that one of my favorite side characters was going to be getting her own spin-off series which made me anxious to catch up. Of course, there are now six books in the Jade Calhoun series and the spin-off is set for March so that's a lot of catching up in a little time ... but first, I felt like I should refresh my memory on what happened!

(For now I'll only do a quick ramble about Haunted so you can then go and read it yourself before jumping in to Witches. You know I don't like spoilers -- getting OR giving!)

Jade Calhoun is an empath who has recently moved to New Orleans from Idaho. Her best friend since high school, Kat, lives there and Jade had lived with her for the the first month until it got a little too awkward. Kat happens to be dating Jade's ex-fiance which, of course, Jade didn't know when she agreed to relocate. SO, Jade decides to move in to her own place -- an apartment over the top of a strip club named Wicked. They advertise themselves as having "hundreds of beautiful women and three ugly ones."

Jade does a "cleansing" of the apartment before moving in with some sage and cedar, knowing a bit about such things from the witches in her own family. All seems to be well and good. She's given a housewarming present from her new co-landlords, Pyper and Kane, which includes some edible body powder called Honey Dust. It's been a long day and she takes a bath to unwind and give herself a cleansing... and quickly discovers that she's not entirely alone.

So, her apartment is haunted and ghost hunters are called in to try and straighten things out.

Before long Jade bonds with Pyper -- working for her part-time at a cafe and helping out when needed as a bartender at the strip club in exchange for some free furniture. She also feels a strong attraction to Kane and carries on a flirtation with her ghost hunter, Ian.

Oh, yeah. And she has sex dreams with the ghost.

(Yeah .... there's that. I'm the first to admit that I'm pretty prudish when it comes to what I read but luckily I also have an amazing talent of skipping over "steamy." It helps, too, that the dream occurrences are mostly italicized which makes it a lot easier to skip over. The "real life" steaminess that happens? Well, I'm a good skimmer.)

As it turns out, Jade isn't the only one with ghost issues. Pyper is having them, too, but hers aren't nearly as .... ummmm .... friendly. To make matters even more confusing, the ghost Jade refers to as "Mr Sexy" isn't the only one invading Jade's dreams.

With the help of her new friends, her psychic aunt (Gwen) back in Idaho, and her own empathic abilities Jade sets out to figure what's going on -- not only with the ghosts, but with her own life in general.

Steaminess aside, it's an excellent read. Even the second time around there were parts that got me laughing out loud and parts that got my heart racing from the suspense and anxiety oozing from the pages (or screen, since I've been reading it on my phone).

And now on to the next ...