April 14, 2022 - fundinmentalfundinmental

Scarlett West is a new author for me, but when I got the chance to read the first two books in the Fae Bureau of Investigation series, I had to jump at it. What you do think of the concept?

Stolen in the Dark (Fae Bureau of Investigation, #1)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I have my fingers crossed that I won’t be left high and dry in this series, seeing there will be five books, but I had to check them out and I am very glad I did.

I immediately liked Adalee when I ‘saw’ how she interacted with Gavin. Since her parents were kidnapped, he was the only one that cared about her, coming by the bar and checking to see she was okay. I do have a feeling about him, but we shall see.

Business at the bar had dropped and she would have to decide what to do soon. Rent was coming due and she couldn’t cover it. So convenient that the raven haired man came to her rescue.

“I’m 100% sure you are the one I’ve been searching for.”

Fae are disappearing and if they die, the earth dies. Adalee doesn’t even know she is Fae, let alone there is a whole world of supernatural out there and she will become a part of it. Damien changed her life forever and recruits her for the FBI, the Fae Bureau of Investigation.

Adalee does not take anything sitting down. She is quick with her words and bucks his orders at every turn. She doesn’t realize how much danger her actions put him in, but he is her fated mate, whether she likes it or not, and he will do whatever it takes to protect her.

I wouldn’t mind having his nifty trick of making a hot cup of coffee appear.

I have read a lot of paranormal/supernatural novels, but not many of them feature the Fae. The Fae have their own set of rules and some could find them disturbing. It was fun and interesting learning about their world and spending time in it.

The action comes quickly and doesn’t stop. If she’s not fighting off Damien’s advances, she’s fighting the Unseelie. I got wrapped up in Adalee and Damien’s love story and it ended at a crucial spot. It was a good place to take a break…if you have to.

My biggest disappointment…I thought I had the first two books in the series, but I have Books I and III. 🙁

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Stolen in the Dark by Scarlett West.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

He forced me into their world. Now dark enemies want me dead.

When an attempted kidnapping leads me to be rescued by a dark and sexy Fae, I assume life can’t be any stranger… Until I discover I’m his fated mate, and that he needs my help to stop a ruthless enemy from kidnapping his kind.

If someone doesn’t stop the brutal attacks, it could lead to earth’s ultimate destruction, so if I want to survive, I have to join the Fae Bureau of Investigation, with Damien as my superior.

But while Damien may be both hot as hell and my one-time hero, my unearthly ability to sense things through my hair is telling me to run: Damien can’t be trusted, and I would hate him as my boss.

With the enemy closing in, though, time is running out for me to make my choice: join the Bureau…or return home to my death.

Readers who enjoy Karen Marie Moning, Laurell K. Hamilton, Amelia Hutchins, and Lindsay Hall, will love this dangerous and sexy urban fantasy.

Stolen in the Dark is a steamy, urban fantasy romance that is book one out of five. Scroll Up and One Click to start reading this hot paranormal romance today!

ABOUT SCARLETT WEST

Scarlett West writes steamy, paranormal romance featuring sexy Fae. Deep characters and hot romance are her thing.

An avid reader and writer who will never stop dreaming, Scarlett has traveled to many countries and been on tons of adventures. She draws her stories from these places, life experiences, and her grand imagination.

Besides writing, she’s a hobby herbalist and a dancer. If she’s not by the computer typing these things up, she can be found in a forest, on a mountain, or by the ocean.

Scarlett West would like to thank her three F’s: Fans, Family, and Friends. Thank you forever for your support.

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The Benevolence of New Ideas by Carmela Cattuti

GENRE: Historical Fiction

BLURB

The satisfying conclusion to Angela Lanza’s story which began in Between the Cracks when she loses her entire family in the earthquake on Sicily following the 1908 eruption of Mt. Etna and continues in The Ascent as she adjusts to life in the United States as a new bride and Italian American immigrant. Now, in the final installment in the trilogy, The Benevolence of New Ideas, thrusts Angela and her family into the heart of the Vietnam War and the turbulent times of the 1970s. As the family matriarch, Angela guides her niece, Marie, through these challenges and the era’s limiting structures of education and organized religion, helping Marie to embrace new ideas and expand her intuition and relationship with the unseen world. Angela’s compassion and wisdom has an exceptional impact on Marie’s life and those around her. A fulfilling ending that celebrates Angela’s wisdom in all things along with her well lived life from tragedy to triumph and from heartbreak to the enduring love of family.

EXCERPT

Angela had cared for Franco during his long illness, and now she was free. The relief she felt made her cringe. How could she so easily feel relief when Franco had suffered? She grieved but was thankful there would be no more concerns about leaving him home alone, or trips to the doctor, or Franco insisting he could perform a task when he couldn’t. He had emigrated from Sicily at age twelve 12 in the early 20th century full of energy and promise. Now, in 1968, Angela looked back and felt he had been successful in fulfilling that promise. Franco had brought Angela, at age eighteen, from the convent orphanage in Palermo, where she had lived since the 1908 earthquake, to a new life in Nelsonville, New York, about forty-five minutes north of Manhattan. It was not the life she thought she would have in America, but what she had created in America she never would have had the opportunity to experience had she stayed in Sicily.

Angela kissed Franco several times on both cheeks and on the lips. The doctors had said it was a matter of time until he would pass away. She could see death hovering and begin to slowly drape his body from his head to his feet as if giving Angela time to say good-bye.

“Adio mio caro,” whispered Angela. “Grazie di tutto.” Tears rolled down her face onto Franco’s cheek and mouth. His eyes were open and fixed, as if peering into the world beyond. She put her hands on the sides of his face and with her thumbs closed his eyes.

AUTHOR Bio and Links

Carmela Cattuti started her writing career as a journalist for the Somerville News in Boston, MA. After she finished her graduate work in English Literature from Boston College she began to write creatively and taught a journal writing course at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. As fate would have it, she felt compelled to write this homage to her great-aunt, who survived the earthquake and eruption of Mt. Etna and bravely left Sicily to start a new life in America.

Between the Cracks and The Ascent began the story, which now concludes with the final book in the trilogy.

Learn more at: CCattutiCreative.com