Crow and Crown by Sam C. Leonhard

Title: Crow and Crown

Series: Sequel to Crow and Firefly

Author: Sam C. Leonhard

Genre: Fantasy, Shifter

Length: Novella (84 pages)

ISBN: 978-1-62798-426-3

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (22^nd January 2014)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Four years after Ari and Dagur’s forced marriage, not many know the man at the future king’s side. Dagur, the king’s nephew, is convinced secrecy is necessary for Ari’s safety. Ari, on the other hand, doesn’t mind that not many know of his existence. Let alone what he looks like. But one day, everything changes. The king dies and Dagur is called to court—alone. When he’s attacked on the way, it’s up to Ari to find out who the enemy is. And if that’s not enough, he also has to figure out who wants the king dead, deal with a wayward healer, and find a missing fiancé.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4640

Review: This story is part of a series and must be read in order. Even after four years of marriage not many people know that Ari is Dagur’s husband, Ari doesn’t like it and isn’t sure of Dagur’s reasons for keeping it quite but accepts them. Now though everything is about to change, Dagur disappears without leaving a message and Ari heads out to find him and uncovers a plot against Dagur and his uncle, the King. Ari has his hands full when he finds that Dagur is being lured into a trap, the king is being poisoned and Ari has to track down a missing fiancé for a fellow two-colored (shape-shifter).

So the story of Dagur and Ari continues with this new installment which starts four years after the previous story finished, and I will begin with a brief recap. Dagur and Ari are two-colored, shapeshifters with two different colored eyes. Dagur is the nephew of the King and was touring the country looking for a suitable spouse when he met Ari, a fellow two-color. Ari reluctantly married Dagur believing Dagur was a monster who abused people but found a very different person in the man underneath the image of a tyrant. Now they are happy together, but Ari’s identity is hidden because of the enemies that target Dagur and Ari discovers that Dagur’s caution was well founded.

This story has a great opening scene of Ari flying desperate to find his missing husband and we are quick to discover why Dagur fled from his home without escort, it then flashes back a couple of days to Ari making a promise to one of his fellow villager’s and Ari finding Dagur gone. It then progresses smoothly as we see Ari discover the truth of the summons and the plot falls into place with the missing fiancé playing a large part in helping Ari and Dagur out.

I really do love this series and I can’t stress enough that the Crow and Firefly has to be read before this story. There is no recap of previous events or the world building that was in the first story so you would be at a loss for explanations. Now, this is a great story that is easily picked up if you have read the previous book, Ari and Dagur are still wonderful characters although Ari feels a bit lost that Dagur keeps him so well hidden as his spouse. The plot for this story is really good and although this is only 84 pages long it fits everything in brilliantly without being overly complicated, it’s a very simple storyline that does a cracking job of entertaining us.

I recommend this to those that love shape-shifters in a medieval setting with a solid background story, great characters, a well dodged trap, uncovering a sinister plot and a great ending.

Tainted Blood by Sam C. Leonhard

Title: Tainted Blood

Series: Tainted 01

Author: Sam C. Leonhard

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Alternative World

Length: Novel (296pgs)

ISNB: 978-1-61581-411-4

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (3^rd May 2010)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Gabriel Jordan lives a lonely life on the streets, taking the rare job that usually means spending hours in the cold, waiting for a chance to take a photograph of a cheating spouse. That’s how he meets Dr. Aleksei Tennant—who he sees suspiciously jumping from a window of a woman’s apartment. Tennant introduces Gabriel to the hidden worlds, magical worlds connected to this one by portals. Gabriel is eager to learn the runes for opening them, Tennant is eager to teach, and a fragile friendship develops amidst a series of murders.

These aren’t just any murders. The killer has a grudge against the mixture of other races: he doesn’t kill humans, only those of the hidden worlds who are producing children of tainted blood. When the killer attacks them directly, Gabriel and Tennant have to team up to find the murderer, even though they’re putting themselves, their love, and any chance at a future together, in danger.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1816

Review: Well, well, well what to say? Hmmm… Brilliant, Fantastic, Awesome and Fabulous. Gabriel lives on the streets and makes ends meet by doing crappy jobs for an investigator, he has always known that he is different but he finds out that he is even more different than he thought when he sees a man float down from an apartment window. Tennant (Aleksei) knows that no-one should have seen him so he is fascinated by the young man who saw him leave the apartment; he takes him home and starts to make startling discoveries and the young man becomes involved in a mystery that he is trying to solve.

This story is set in an alternative world where humans know of paranormal portals but do want any interaction with them. Gabriel is twenty-seven but looks about twenty and he’s part werewolf part human and part something else? So he has to keep a low profile otherwise will end up in prison or worse, Tennant is something else entirely and begins to teach Gabriel about runes and portals while trying to get to the bottom of Gabriel’s heritage and trying to solve a murder. Gabriel and Tennant become good friends but between misunderstandings and lies, it doesn’t look like they will come to their senses anytime soon.

I really enjoyed this story as although there is a bit of romance and some really hot sex near to the end, the story was more based on the murders, mystery, and Gabriel’s heritage. The descriptions in this book are wonderful I especially liked how it wasn’t easy travelling through the portals and the descriptions of the other worlds are good. I really liked the seagull bit as well. I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t find out anything concrete about Gabriel’s heritage but then right at the end of the epilogue it’s there… a cliff-hanger where we are given a tantalizing glimpse about Gabriel and a tantalizing taste that something is going to go horrible wrong in the next book. (Grrr, I have to wait for the next book, now.)

So honestly, I have to recommend this to those who love paranormal, fantasy, developing love, hot sex, gruesome gory scenes, magic (runes) and a happy for now ending.

Crow and Firefly by Sam C. Leonhard

Title: Crow and Firefly

Author: Sam C. Leonhard

Genre: Fantasy, Shifters

Length: Short (78pgs)

ISNB: 978-1-62380-067-3

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (31^st October 2012)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3 ½ Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: The laws of man and nature are harsh and decisive: Unwed mothers are not allowed to raise their children, and shapeshifters must wed and consummate the marriage to satisfy the magic that would otherwise render them beasts forever upon the morning of their twenty-third birthday.

With the life of his sister and newborn nephew at stake, Shapeshifter Ari is trapped in a castle and compelled to accept a situation he’d dreaded: he is forced to marry Lord Dagur, a man he’s never met. A man called “The Cruel.” A man he fears, and not just because he fancies someone else.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3331

Review: Ari is fast approaching his twenty-third birthday and if he fails to wed and bed before then, he will forever change into one of his animal forms. Ari’s sister, Lilja, is unmarried and pregnant, if discovered her child will be taken off her and given to a couple far away from their village. In one fell sweep, their world is forever changed when the kings’ nephew, Lord Dagur, passes through their village and his Priestess spots Lilja.

This is a great short story and the opening scene certainly sets the mood for the rest of the book. Ari is a Shapeshifter living with his sister on the outskirts of a village; both of them are less than welcome with Ari and his two-tone eyes being nearly shunned, and Lilja an unwed expectant mother barely tolerated. Lord Dagur’s nickname is well cultivated and earned and when he passes through a village while on the hunt for a husband he spots the perfect man and sets out to manipulate the situation when his priestess spots the unwed mother.

I found this book to be extremely intriguing with the shifter aspect as it was a completely new theme, nobody knowing if they are a shifter or not until their eyes change to two-tone, and from then on being unable to have sex unless it is with another shifter, it’s made even worse when they have to be wed and bedded before their twenty-third birthday. I found it to be a wonderful twist, what I found stupid was the law that only married couples could have children. I also found Lord Dagur’s theatrics to be over the top, it made for a lot of unnecessary angst and drama, but it was still good.

Ari seems to be a great character with a lot of strong will, he has made up his mind what he needs to do, but he also loves his sister and will do what has to be done to ensure her safety, even marry, and bed a man he has never even met and who he expects will abuse him. Lord Dagur is far from what you expect so is a really nice surprise, his explanation to Ari is quite sweet but Ari’s anger is very understandable after everything he went through. Ari and Dagur are really hot together, well when Ari’s temper dies down.

I am going to recommend this to those who love shifters with a twist and compelling story, a high positioned man who has to ensure his survival and a happy ending for all involved… oh and don’t forget the hot sex.

Tainted Soul by Sam C. Leonhard

Title: Tainted Soul

Series: Tainted 02

Author: Sam C. Leonhard

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery, Suspense, BDSM, Kink

Length: Novel (314pgs)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (19^th December 2011)

Heat Level: Explicit

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4 ½Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Gabriel Jordan, part-time werewolf and full-time private investigator, should be living a happy life. Three years ago, he was a homeless thief; now he’s got a loving partner and a job he enjoys, he lives in a nice house, and he doesn’t have to worry about tomorrow. So why the sudden urge to cheat on Aleksei, the handsome and occasionally deceptive fae he loves? Why does Gabriel feel compelled to flee the life he’s built for himself?

Someone’s calling him. Someone’s looking for him. Someone holds his destiny in her hands. The portals to the hidden worlds have become unstable, even dangerous. Fear and madness linger in the dark. Panic and nightmares chase him, but Gabriel can’t fight an enemy he can’t see, and even turning into his wolf form may not be enough to save him.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2674

Review: Okay, so I will go through the motions but really if you want to save yourself some time then don’t read the rest of this review, just go get this book. Clear a couple of hours and sit back and enjoy a brilliant fantasy.

Gabe and Aleksei are back and things are not going too well. It’s been three years since we last saw them and Gabe is fighting urges that don’t feel quite right to him; and trying to ignore the voice that is urging him to hurt Aleksei. He knows that he still loves Aleksei, but he feels like he is losing his mind at his own reactions. Aleksei is trying to be patience, but he has realized that something is off and that Gabe is keeping something from him.

This is a brilliant fantasy that ties up all we learned in the first book nicely. Gabe is being Called and it is getting harder to ignore it. He doesn’t realize that his wolf side is emerging or that he keeps forgetting things. The portals have become unstable and are killing random people; an ancient species awakens and starts to hunt Gabe. Lia (Aleksei’s sister) (a truly nasty woman) is desperate to get Gabe out of Aleksei’s life and we still have the mystery of Gabe’s blood. We also briefly meet Gabe’s mum and all I can say, Gabe was lucky to live on the streets and not with her.

The strength of Gabe’s love is all that is really saving him from doing something that he wouldn’t be able to live with. and Aleksei’s love for him is all that he can really trust. There is quite a bit going on in this story but you never lose your way or miss anything. It is also really well written and the characters are brilliant. The story keeps you in its grip and it keeps you on tender hooks right until the very end. I also have to say that the very end tore at me even though I knew it had to happen. There is one part of the book that has both m/f and cheating but neither is as it seems and it’s really hard to explain without giving stuff away, but trust me, there’s a good reason for all of it.

For those of you who stayed for the review, you now know why I will recommend this to you. And if that’s still not enough then I don’t know what to say to you, except are you mad. Okay, fine…there’s danger, angst, pure love, incredible hot sex, a little bit of BDSM/kink, hate and a sneaky vindictive female.

Tag: Sam C. Leonhard

Crow and Crown by Sam C. Leonhard

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Crow and Firefly by Sam C. Leonhard

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Tainted Soul by Sam C. Leonhard

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