Purrfect Harmony | Arden Steele

February 26, 2020February 21, 2020 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 19 Comments

I figured I needed one more Valentine read this month despite the 14th having come and gone. I was scrolling through my feed, can’t remember if it was Instagram or Facebook (probably Facebook since I clicked a link) and saw a Valintine giveaway over at bookfunnel. One of the books listed was Purrfect Harmony by Arden Steele, and I was in the mood for some shifter smut LOL.

I’m a little confused. After I’d read Purrfect Harmony I went to look it up on Goodreads. It took a little time to find, but I did, only it had no cover. But I clicked my way over to the author profile in search of a website – no such thing was listed. So I googled, and there I fund Ms Steele’s website.

But, I also found a different cover of Purrfect Harmony and an announcement that it’s coming out in March 2020. Below the cover, it said that the new version is 20k longer than the version published in the Heart of the Beast Anthology. So naturally, I tried to find the anthology…no luck. Heart of the Beast was the name of the group giveaway, though.

It doesn’t really matter, I’m just a little confused about what story I’ve read LOL.

It’s cute, I enjoyed it. It’s a mates-destined-to-be kind of tale. Remington Raines is a rockstar and a cheetah shifter. He can have anyone he wants and no one ever says ‘no’. At least not until he asks Kol Livingston out for dinner.

Kol has had shifter boyfriends before, and he’s not sure he can survive another one finding his soulmate when that soulmate isn’t him, so he’s sworn off shifters. It doesn’t matter that it’s the Remi asking him out, he just can’t.

It’s short (though if you buy it, it might be 20k longer), it’s funny, it’s cute. And for those who know me, you know how I hate the uber-romantic scenes where the audience claps. We almost made it through, people, almost.

But, I well aware of that being a me-not-you kind of thing, so if you’re into shifters, give this a go! I enjoyed it.

Purrfect Harmony Kol Livingston believes in the so-called fairy tales, the clichés—love at first sight, soul mates, and happily-ever-afters. He wants it all, but after a series of failed relationships, he’s beginning to think he’ll never meet Prince Charming. He loves his job as a personal concierge at Blackhaven Manor, but with all the gorgeous paranormals strutting around the estate, why would anyone choose him? When cheetah shifter and infamous bad boy, Remington Raines, is asked to perform for the annual Valentine Masquerade Ball, he can’t say no. Literally. Still, an all-expenses-paid vacation from tour buses and screaming fans might be just what he needs. Falling for the quirky concierge with big, brown eyes and a smile that melts him, however, wasn’t part of the plan.

Spring Books | Ofelia Gränd

February 22, 2020 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 2 Comments

On the news this morning, they declared that we now have spring – metrological, that is. It’s a bit tricky, but according to what they said, we haven’t actually had winter this year (in my area). For it to be winter, there have to be five days in a row where the middle temperature doesn’t go above 0c.

It didn’t happen this year. It’s crazy. We haven’t had snow that has lasted more than a few hours.

blue flower So technically, we’ve had spring since autumn, but it isn’t allowed to be called spring until we’ve hit the 15th of February. So now it’s been a week since the 15th and we haven’t had one single minute below 0 degrees celsius – so it’s spring!

I should probably say ‘yay!’ but I feel cheated. The kids haven’t been able to play in the snow for a single day. Terrible.

But, now we’re gonna be positive because that’s who we are LOL.

All this talk about seasons made me think about my books. I was a bit afraid to check, I feared I wouldn’t have any spring or summer stories. I mean, I know I have a few, but I had this feeling of Once in May being the only spring tale I’ve ever written, and Nine Stones being the only summer story.

But, luckily, I forget what I write LOL

So, if you want to make a false start on spring (if we’re gonna go by the calendar, spring is 1st of March to 31st of May in the Northern Hemisphere) these are my spring books:

Once in a Forest (Nortown #2) – Jason, a bartender from the city, comes to Nortown and spots Tom, a gruff lumberjack. It’s an out-for-you kind of story.

The Empty Egg (Nortown #2.5) – Aiden and Tristan from Once in a Snowstorm are celebrating Easter with chocolate and lingerie.

Once in May (Nortown #3) – John is trying to isolate himself in Nortown, but then Zach shows up, and he just won’t go away. A hurt-comfort story.

Acronym (A Tattooed Corpse Story) – Detective Lars Horn has a problem, there is a body that keeps disappearing from the morgue only to come back in fresh again.

Blood on Sand (A DRitC story) – Zoe is a lizard shifter held captive by werewolves and is forced to fight like a gladiator.

Okay, so five was all I had, ha! I think it’s safe to say, spring isn’t the season during which most of my stories take place. If you click the title, you’ll be taken to the page for the book, and there you’ll find excerpts and more links.

Happy spring!

Howl by Kelly York

February 2, 2020January 30, 2020 ~ Ofelia Gränd ~ 19 Comments

Already, we’ve reached February and I thought I’d dedicate this short month to short stories. Short fiction, when done well, is amazing. I’m not saying I don’t like to read novels, but sometimes all I want is a story I can read a story from start to finish while I’m having a cup of coffee – that’s all I want. So first out of the stories I want to highlight is Howl by Kelley York.

I don’t normally read YA/NA – to be honest, I tend to avoid it – but many years ago I read Suicide Watch by Kelley York, and it’s a story that still pops up in my mind now and then. If you haven’t read it, do! So, when I saw that this short story also was by Ms York, I figured she’d earned my trust already.

I’m so glad I read it. Howl is an amazing story about Ivan and his little brother Eli. Eli is sick, life is complicated, and they’ve moved in with their grandfather. Things don’t get easier when Eli sneaks out at night. Ivan runs after him and comes face to face with a beautiful boy who lives in the forest with the wolves.

Eli is convinced the boy is a wolf.

Ivan tries to keep his little brother from running into the forest, especially since the men in the village are talking about hunting the wolves. They claim the wolves have taken children before and are too close now.

This story is beautiful, hauntingly so, and it’s about 7.5k long so perfect for a quiet cup.

books2read.com/HowlKelleyYork

River and Moon Ivan and his family moved in with their grandpa in order to rally around his sick little brother, Eli, as he went through treatment. It’s not a bad change; Ivan and Eli love to sit outside and listen to the wolves howling from the woods. It’s calming. At least, until Eli disappears from his bed to go looking for them. Chasing after his brother brings Ivan face-to-face with a strange, wild, beautiful boy living in the forest with the wolves…and nothing will ever be the same.

Part of Take a Chance Anthology.