Love Potion - Ariel Kimber Book 2 by Mary Martel

Love Potion is book 2 in the Ariel Kimber series by Mary Martel. This series is about a girl who just finds out that she is special, that she has magic. This fact makes her extremely important as the race of witches only currently have 3 other known females.

Her coven Tyson and his Uncle Quinton, Abel and Addison, the twins, Julian, Dash, and Damien all have to decide if Ariel is who they want.

Love Potion starts off with the aftermath of the accidental death of Ariel's mother, Vivian.  You would think that after that event Ariel's life could literally begin, but that is sadly not the case. Instead, she now has to avoid emotional-mines in the form of guilt. Not guilt for a mother she loved, because she didn't, but guilt for lying to the only person in her life to have shown her parental care and concern. Ariel hates lying to Mr. Cole about her mother's disappearance, but she knew, for his own peace of mind, she shouldn't tell him.

Now with her life uprooted once again Ariel has to decide what to do next, but this time she is not alone. She has people who care about her and want to take care of her. Something she also had never had before, but one thing held her back. - They intended to share her.

What I liked about this story:
First I have to say that this story was so exciting that if the editing mistakes from the first book made it into this one, I did not notice. Ms. Martel continues to keep the pace of the storyline excellently. I especially liked the way that Ariel is blossoming as a character, I like who she is becoming. My favorite male character has to be crazy Quinton with Tyson a close second.

What could have made the story better:
I kind of wished that we got to learn more about Julian. We got a brief look at his personality in this story and I find him intriguing.

I rate this story as Light reading/Infatuation – You would read this story every chance you could.
Rated 4/5 Stars


Below you can find the audio version of this review:

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Introductions The Academy: The Ghost Bird, Book 1 By: C. L. Stone

Introductions (The Ghost Bird #1) is a short novel about a girl named Sang Sorenson, a young woman with an abusive domestic situation. Sang's life was filled with strange and unusual punishments and because she was forced - by her parents, into a life of isolation, she had no friends. Until one night she meets a boy from the neighborhood she and her family just moved to. From there she meets his friends whom then become important parts of her life.

Introductions is a perfect intro to the series as it gives the reader enough information to get you hooked. I was particularly intrigued with the elusive Academy that the boys were a part of.

** This series is a Reverse Harem - Sang has 9 love interests. ** It is also a Young Adult Series with no sexual content. **

I found this series to be completely addictive, even though it has no real "adult" elements that usually draw me towards the RH genre. I feel like I know Sang and her boys, which makes me feel invested in their story. I would totally recommend this series to anyone and everyone I speak with! This series as of now has 11 full-length novels with one on the way soon.

I rate this book: Light Reading - A Short story easy to finish in an hour or two.

Rated: 5/5 Stars

Thief The Academy: The Scarab Beetle Book 1 By C. L. Stone

Thief is the first book in C.L Stone's new spin-off The Academy series, The Scarab Beetle. The story is about a girl named Kayli Winchester. Like with Ms. Stone's other series, this one is also about a girl with an abusive home life. Unlike with Sang, Kayli is an adult, an older sister to a classmate of the original series heroine. Kayli is not your average everyday girl, she is an expert pickpocket and she uses her skill to help support herself and her little brother Will.

While she was out, looking for her next mark, Kayli is picked up by an Academy team that needed her special talent.

** This series is a Reverse Harem - Kayli has 5 love interests. ** This series is an adult series, but it does not contain erotica. **

It did take me a while to get into this series, but once I had I found it just as interesting as the original series. I liked the more adult themes that the spin-off offers because frankly, you can only passionately kiss someone so many times before (naturally) the boy will try for more.

Thief gave off more of a "spy" feel then the original series had and for me that made this story more interesting for me. Even though I was not crazy over Kayli, I continued to read because I liked the storyline - and the boys didn't hurt either!

I would recommend this series to anyone, but I would tell them to give it a few chapters first.

I rate this: Infatuation – You would read this story every chance you could.
Rated 4/5

Insatiable Darkness (Vigilant) by L.M. Preston

Insatiable Darkness is a short novel and can be read easily in a single sitting. The story is about Emvee a teenage girl who was forced to move to a new town because of her parents work. She soon learns -by eavesdropping on a conversation between her parents, that the reason for their move was not as clear-cut as she had first believed. This knowledge has led to a "need" in Emvee to know what is truly going on. It didn't take her long to realize that she may have bitten off more than she could chew.

*** Insatiable Darkness is the prequel to a new series that has yet to be published. ***

Forewarning, my review will be heavily based on storyline and plot, I will not ever mention grammar or spelling issues unless it is so bad that it distracts me from the overall tale.


What I liked about the story:
This is an interesting start to a promising series. I can't wait to learn more about Emvee and her coming trials. I have personally read many stories that take mythology and bend it to be used in many different ways, but I can honestly say that Insatiable Darkness bends mythology in a way I have not yet read. She had perfectly blended the idea of science and magic together so well that the idea was believable (if magic ever existed I could totally believe this could happen!) Emvee is a strong kiss-ass heroine that does not fall apart in the face of danger, she kicks it in the gonads!


Things that I believe could have made the story better:
The beginning of the story did not seamlessly bring me into it, it took the first chapter and some of the second before I could comfortably say I was all in. Once I was able to connect with the story I was sufficiently 'pulled in'. Though I do wish Ms. Preston could have expounded more on what a Soul Trainer is and what its purpose was.


The book did its job as a prequel and has left me wanting to know more about Emvee, her friends, and the dangers she will no doubt come to face.


I rate this light reading... You can finish this part within a few hours.
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Below you can find an audio version of this review: