Tag Archives: Lana Harper

Magical Mysterious Romantasies: Voyage of the Damned & Rise and Divine

21 Aug

Voyage of the Damned
by Frances White
I enjoyed this new book from Frances White. Voyage of the Damned has a bit of everything, an interesting mystery with limited suspects (in this case a group of magically gifted “blessed” from the different parts of a magical kingdom represented by a variety of animals), a sweet romance, and of course an exciting fantasy adventure with a bit of horror mixed in. White created a diverse and interesting group of characters and I enjoyed that the main protagonist was pale, chubby and often thought of himself as cowardly and awkward despite in the end being brave. I kind of predicted what I think was meant to be a bit of a twist, but I still found it a satisfying plotline. It was a fast paced read and for those who are looking for a great stand-alone fantasy that won’t require committing to a long series before a resolution, than you will enjoy this work.

Rise and Divine
by Lana Harper
Rise and Divine is the fifth and final novel in Lana Harper’s Witches of Thistle Grove Series. I had previously read and reviewed several of them and enjoyed them all. They each feature a romance centered around a woman who is part of one of the four witch family’s that settled Thistle Grove and draw power from the magical lake that is found there. The books can be enjoyed individually, but since there are parts of the overall back story revealed over time, I would recommend reading them in order. The books feature many LGBTQ characters and in this case focuses on the relationship between two women one, Ivy, from the Thorn family whose magic comes from nature and life and the other Dasha, who is a “devil eater” from the necromancing Avramov family. The novel picks up after a previous romance between the two failed after Dasha’s depression led her to pull away into a limbo other realm. Now an ancient menace is growing in strength and Dasha may be the only one to be able to save Thistle Grove, but who will save Dasha?

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Love Spells: Recipe for A Charmed Life and From Bad to Cursed

10 Jan

Recipe for A Charmed Life
by Rachel Linden
Recipe for a Charmed Life is a sweet romance that will appeal to those looking for a story about second chances in love and in life. When Georgia May Jackson is about to get her dream job working as a top chef at a restaurant in Paris she manages to lose her sense of taste, her love, and her job all in the same night. When her estranged mother invites her to visit her on a small island near Seattle she sees it as an opportunity to heal and hopefully regain what she lost. There she meets a handsome, but grumpy oyster farmer also nursing past emotional wounds. I thought it was interesting that Georgia’s talent of creating delicious dishes which allow others to gain clarity in their life, was treated as less magic than a natural gift. This story will be a delight for fans of Sarah Addison Allen. You can also check out several of Linden’s previous works.

From Bad to Cursed
by Lana Harper
I had previously enjoyed several of Harper’s other books in her Witches of Thistle Grove series including Payback’s a Witch, Back in a Spell, and In Charm’s Way. Each book follows witches from different magical families as they fall in love and have ongoing adventures related to the magical lake in town that grants them their powers. In From Bad to Cursed (the second chronologically in the series) follows gothic Isidora who is a member of the Avramov clan whom use powers of necromancy and are rumored to be the descendants of Baba Yaga; she, however, harbors secret dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Rowan Thorn on the other hand has magic that is all about nature and growing things. He and Isidora seem to have nothing in common when they are thrown together to stop the forces working to destroy this year’s Beltane festival, but sometimes opposites attract. I listened to the book as a digital audiobook read by Meg Price.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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