Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Mini Bookish Thoughts: Curse of the Gargoyles (Rebecca Chastain), White Christmas (Rebecca York), & Royal Enchantment (Lia Davis)

[Help me decide what to read next year! I am looking for your book recommendations: Vote here!]

I read all three of my TBR List poll for the month of December. Yay me! It helped that they were short, which seems to be my ideal book length at the moment. As you can see, I enjoyed two of the three, at least. If you haven't already (or even if you have), I hope you will take time to add your recommendation of a book you think I should read in 2017. So far the choices are sounding really good.

Anyway, onto my bookish thoughts:


"How's Oliver doing, Mika?" ~ Opening of Curse of the Gargoyles


Curse of the Gargoyles (Gargoyle Guardian Chronicles #2) by Rebecca Chastain
Mind Your Muse Books, 2016
Fantasy; 145 pgs
Source: E-copy provided by the author

Gargoyle healer, Mika Stillwater, is asked by a team from the local elite Federal Pentagon Defense to help with a sensitive situation. A gargoyle is trapped inside a magical contraption that is sucking the life and magic out of him. Efforts to save him turn even more deadly as the city, the world and all of magic is threatened as the contraption goes out of control. It doesn't take long for Curse of the Gargoyles to take off in this tense, action-packed novella of magic and mayhem. It was good to see Mika again, a character I enjoyed meeting in Magic of the Gargoyles last year. She yet again proves what a valuable asset she is to not only helping save gargoyles, but also the world. I love how down to earth Mika is and I just love Oliver, her gargoyle companion. Author Rebecca Chastain's Terra Haven is a must visit place if you enjoy urban fantasy. It is full of elemental magic, a resourceful and thoughtful heroine, and a cast of other magic-filled characters, including the gargoyles, you just don't want to miss. (I purchased the third book and am anxious to read it!)

To learn more about author Rebecca Chastain and her work, please visit the author's website. You can also find her on FacebookTwitterGoodreads

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Amelia Parsons was too upset to see the car speeding toward her through the swirling snow. ~ Opening of White Christmas


White Christmas by Rebecca York
Light Street Press, 2016
Romance (Paranormal); 86 pgs
Source: E-copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley

A car accident, a hunky FBI agent, Santa's workshop and a plot to ruin Christmas make this novella sound like the perfect Holiday read. While entertaining to some degree, I was ultimately disappointed in this one. It just didn't do it for me. There wasn't much in the way of character development and  the world building left something to be desired. The romance between the hero and heroine happened a little too quickly--but then, it's not like there was much time given the length of the book and the story itself. 

To learn more about Rebecca York (aka Ruth Glick) and her work, please visit the author's website or visit her on Twitter or Facebook.

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There it is.  ~ Opening of Royal Enchantment


Royal Enchantment by Lia Davis
After Glows, 2016
Romance (Fantasy); 122 pgs
Source: E-copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Real estate agent, Ava Green, is having a bad day. Just as she's about to explore her latest acquisition, a Victorian house, she finds out her partner has left her high and dry--and then his wife calls to give her even worse news. Finding a skeleton key that unlocks an unusually placed door in the house, Ava takes a chance and opens it. What she finds on the other side is not at all what she expected. Lush forest and a rather irresistible elf, one who says he is the King of Morna and she is just who he has been waiting for.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella which took me into the middle of a war between the dark and the light elves. It doesn't take long to find out how Ava is tied to the elven world and just how significant her part will be in ending the war. King Finn Sylcan and Ava share an instant attraction, although she is much more reluctant to admit it initially. Ava has a level head and is a quick learner. I really liked both her and Finn. Although I wouldn't have minded a longer book, I enjoyed my time in Edra. I had hoped this was part of a series, but it appears it is just one of many novellas by various authors featuring a skeleton key.

To learn more about Lia Davis and her work, please visit the author's website or visit her on Twitter or Facebook.


© 2016, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

14 comments:

  1. Well, that's three very different reads.

    Fascinated by gargoyles, I'm intrigued by the idea of a gargoyle healer.

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    1. Tracy - I like Chastain's gargoyle series so far. It's a bit different from other books I've read about gargoyles, and I enjoy it.

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  2. I havent read a novella in a long time, but glad they worked for you ☺ I don't like to read short stories, but novellas are long enough to get the plot moving. Thanks!

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    1. Rita - Novellas tend to work better for me than short stories do as well. I usually end up wishing they were longer though. Haha

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  3. Hmmm..sadly the only one that really appealed to me was the on you liked the least...

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    1. Melissa - You may enjoy it! It's been pretty well received, so it may just be me.

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  4. Yay on finishing all three TBR books!

    Hope you and your family have a great Christmas!

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    1. Eustacia - It helped that they were pretty short. :-) I hope you had a great Christmas as well, thank you!

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  5. Royal Enchantment sounds good even though it's definitely not my usual type of book. And I'm all about an FBI agent so White Christmas sounds pretty good too! That's a touch choice!

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    1. Katherine - I really enjoyed Royal Enchantment and think you would too. You might like White Christmas more than I did, Katherine. I'd be curious to know what you think if you give it a try.

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  6. Wendy, Wishing you special times today and always with your family and friends.

    Yours is one of those blogs I always look forward to reading. Sorry I don't comment often enough :(

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    1. Diane - Thank you! I hope you are enjoying our time with your family as well.

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  7. Gargoyles is one of the creatures I'd still like to read about, so I'm definitely going to go check out that Gargoyle series!

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    1. Kristen - This is such a fun series--and they are all novellas, so quick reads!

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