Reviewing Uncovering Ray (Ellery College #1) by Edie Danford

Uncovering Ray (Ellery College #1) by Edie Danford 3*
BLURB: When the right love uncovers the wrong secrets...
Hey, man--you a chick or a dude? Dealing with the same old boring question is a downer for college drop-out Ray Fayette, especially when it's asked by the low-tipping, over-privileged students at the Ellery Diner.
When six-foot-five, muscle-bound straight arrow Wyatt Kelly publicly smacks down a fellow frat bother for caveman behavior, Ray's interest is sparked. Wyatt's not-so-subtle attraction sparks a few other things too.
But getting to know Wyatt proves dangerous. His sexy smiles and smart questions slide under even Ray’s prickliest defenses. Worse, his academic mentor happens to be Ray’s ex-stepfather, the dictatorial jerk who just kicked Ray out of his house. Again.
Wyatt suggests a housing arrangement that has surprising appeal—there’s space available at his frat house—but he’s unaware just how complicated Ray’s “identity issues” are. Ellery College kicked out Ray for a reason—a reason that could deep-six Wyatt’s academic career and Ray’s newly hopeful heart.

My Review: Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Are you a chick or a dude?

I read a fair bit of this book with no idea if Ray was a chick or a dude because there is no hint of Ray's gender. I won't tell you here which Ray is as it will be too much of a spoiler to do so. What I will say is, if not for that hook, I would have given up on the story, the relationship between Ray and Wyatt being the only interesting thing in it. The other characters seemed rather flat and the plot was very standard and uninspiring, it was really just another college romance story. I might have enjoyed the book more if the gender question had been left unanswered until the end because once that was revealed the book lost most of it's spark.

Review of Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch

Review Of Stone Guardian (Entwined Realms #1) by Danielle Monsch 5*
BLURB: Gryphons flying past skyscrapers? Wizards battling it out in coffee houses? Women riding motorcycles with large swords strapped to their backs? All normal sights since the Great Collision happened twenty-six years ago.
Well, not normal for everyone. Larissa Miller may have been born after the Great Collision, but as a history teacher who lives in the human-only city, she has never come into contact with any other race or species, nor has she wanted to. Her life is as ordinary as it gets - that is, until one day she walks out of her apartment and is attacked by a mob of Zombies, only to be saved by a Gargoyle.
Gargoyles trust no one outside their Clan, but due to a cryptic prophecy, Terak, Leader of the Gargoyles, has been watching over the human woman for months. While he can find no reason why the woman has been singled out, something about her stirs every protective instinct within him. When the attack confirms that the threats against her exist and are real, he convinces Larissa that though their races have never been allies, the best chance of discovering why she has been brought into his world is by working together.
In the course of their investigation Terak becomes entranced by his little human. But when he discovers why Necromancers want her and the great reward that awaits him if he betrays her, he must choose between the welfare of his Clan and not only Larissa’s life, but the fate of this New Realm as well.
My Review:Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley A wonderful start to what looks like a great new series by Danielle Monsch. I loved the action and the romance, which were well balanced and gave a very satisfying read. The main characters were really good, but also the secondary characters were well developed and interesting so that I just know I will enjoy more stories from The Entwined Realms. The back story on how the realms got entwined and what it means for the ordinary human was added without detracting or info dumping which was wonderful. I have read Gargoyles as heroes in other books but I liked that Danielle put her own twist on the mythology of them as well as on all the other supernatural and magical beings that inhabit this new series. I look forward to reading book two next year!

Review Of Exodus Towers by Jason M Hough

The Exodus Towers (Dire Earth Cycle #2)by Jason M. Hough 4*
BLURB: The Exodus Towers features all the high-octane action and richly imagined characters of The Darwin Elevator—only the stakes have never been higher.
My Review: Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley Like The Darwin Towers this book is deeply Character driven but this time the characters are shown to be not as previously portrayed. The Villains from book one are now showing touches of good and the good guys are shown to have major flaws that make them less sympathetic to the reader. Hough delivers surprise after surprise and lots of action. I was hooked to the story and I am very upset that I have to wait for so long until I can get my hands on book three to see what 'The Builders' are really up to.

A NetGalley Review Book by Z A Maxfield

Review of Grime and Punishment (The Brothers Grime #1)by Z.A. Maxfield 5*
BLURB: The Brothers Grime is Jack Masterson's way of helping people in crisis after disability ends his career as a firefighter. Jack's people get to a scene long after the physical trauma ends. They don't solve crime or rescue the victims. They help people move on. The new job is all Jack wants or needs, until he gets the call about old flame Nick Foasberg's suicide.
Ryan Halloran's cousin Nick has been on a downhill slide for a long time. Despite that, Ryan does everything he knows to help. Ryan only understands part of what happened between Nick and Jack in high school, but after Nick's suicide, Ryan agrees both he and Jack need closure. They work together to clean the scene and despite the situation, heat flares between them.
Jack is keeping a painful secret and fighting his attraction to Nick's lookalike cousin, Ryan. Ryan calls himself a magnet for lost causes and worries Jack might be the next in a long line of losers. Despite his misgivings, despite the past and the mistakes they've both made, Jack gives Ryan something to look forward to, and Ryan gives Jack a reason to stop looking back, in Grime And Punishment.
My Review: I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I requested this book from Netgalley because of the fact that the Hero had an unusual job so I thought it would be worth reading. I was right! This book was excellent, both in the way it portrayed the very difficult job that Jack had to do, but also in the way the story drew me into the lives of Jack and Ryan. The author managed to bring a lot of issues into the light without dragging me away from the interesting romance between the two men. The secondary characters were also well written and I look forward to reading book two in the Grime Brothers stories, especially if the next one is going to be about Dave.

Review of The Darwin Elevator by Jason M Hough

The Darwin Elevator by Jason M Hough 4*
BLURB: In the mid-23rd century, Darwin, Australia, stands as the last human city on Earth. The world has succumbed to an alien plague, with most of the population transformed into mindless, savage creatures. The planet’s refugees flock to Darwin, where a space elevator—created by the architects of this apocalypse, the Builders—emits a plague-suppressing aura.
Skyler Luiken has a rare immunity to the plague. Backed by an international crew of fellow “immunes,” he leads missions into the dangerous wasteland beyond the aura’s edge to find the resources Darwin needs to stave off collapse. But when the Elevator starts to malfunction, Skyler is tapped—along with the brilliant scientist, Dr. Tania Sharma—to solve the mystery of the failing alien technology and save the ragged remnants of humanity.
My Review: This was a NetGalley review copy The book didn't leave me on a cligghanger nor was I unsatisfied with the ending but some question were left at the end for me. Who are the Builders and why are they (maybe) helping humanity? Guess that means I'm ready for book two to find out. If you like traditional Science Fiction with mutants, unknown aliens and a really nasty bad guy then you will want to read this one.

The Zenn Scarlett cover is absolutely beautiful!

Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon 3*
BLURB:Zenn Scarlett is a bright, determined, occasionally a-little-too-smart-for-her-own-good 17-year-old girl training hard to become an exoveterinarian. That means she’s specializing in the treatment of exotic alien life forms, mostly large and generally dangerous. Her novice year of training at the Ciscan Cloister Exovet Clinic on Mars will find her working with alien patients from whalehounds the size of a hay barn to a baby Kiran Sunkiller, a colossal floating creature that will grow up to carry a whole sky-city on its back.
But after a series of inexplicable animal escapes from the school and other near-disasters, the Cloister is in real danger of being shut down by a group of alien-hating officials. If that happens, Zenn knows only too well the grim fate awaiting the creatures she loves.
Now, she must unravel the baffling events plaguing her school, before someone is hurt or killed, before everything she cares about is ripped away from her and her family forever. To solve this mystery – and live to tell about it – Zenn will have to put her new exovet skills to work in ways she never imagined, and in the process learn just how powerful compassion and empathy can be.
My Review: I received this through NetGalley for review
I enjoyed the book and found the world building quite adequate. The alien animals were well described and the problems Zenn encountered trying to learn how to treat them was about what I would have expected. The sub plot of someone trying to sabotage the cloister should have been the main plot as it was much more interesting than following a trainee vet around every day! Aside from the excessive repeating and stilted dialogue, this was a fun read that was a little spoiled by the ending, which was a blatant hook to buy book two.