Stephen Oakwood has emerged victorious against the schemes of his aristocratic family. Now he finally has the opportunity to do what he’s been wanting to do for a long time: track down his father. But doing so won’t be easy. Stephen’s not so isolated any more, but the contacts he’s making in the magical world—everyone from the corporation he works for to the mother he’s just beginning to reconnect with—all have agendas of their own. And now a new group is emerging from the shadows, calling themselves the Winged. Their leader, the mysterious Byron, promises that he can show Stephen how to find his father...but he wants something in return. Following that trail will throw Stephen into greater danger than he’s ever faced before. To survive, he’ll need to use all of his tricks and sigils, and pick up some new ones. Only then will he be able to prevail against his enemies...and find out who’s really pulling the strings. Book two of an ongoing series. Good read that further fleshes out the protagonist & the the world he occupies. Nearly fifty years ago, the small Welsh village of Anfarwol was the scene of a series of brutal murders. Since then, multiple people have met with accidents, or gone missing never to be found, while those responsible have evaded detection for decades. When Remy Roax is kidnapped while investigating the disappearances, Nate Garrett and allies are brought in to solve the mystery, and bring their friend home. Unfortunately for Remy’s abductors, they have no inkling how bad of an idea it was to bring him to a place where he can cause nothing but mayhem. Another good read. Author McHugh continues with novella stories checking in on his characters from his long running Hellequin Universe novels. Magic weapons. Deadly monsters. Epic quests. All just another day in the life of a Vigil. Boyd Knight found his calling when he joined the Marines and qualified for the elite Force Recon. He’d found a tribe and a family, so when a hand grenade landed near his team, he jumped on it without thought or regret. But instead of winding up dead, he wakes up butt naked in a cave full of monsters with a knife in one hand and a pistol in the other. He’s been chosen by Raguel, Five-Faced God of Justice, and entrusted with the power of the Vigil Bound. Every kill makes him stronger, and thanks to the Ascendant System, Boyd can level up, unlock increasingly powerful spells, and even harness the abilities of the monsters he’s been dispatched to hunt. If he can survive the deadly shapeshifter stalking him from the shadows, Boyd’s second life promises to be even more ass-kickingly epic than his first. Literally an RPG action adventure with some comedic elements thrown in. The "Five-Faced God" is clearly engaged in some cosmic level RPG & the story protagonist is their player character for this particular adventure. Will be checking out the other stories in the series down the road.
Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. I don't know if it will be the last book of this series, but it would be a lovely way to end it. It's basically a tribute to the author's son who committed suicide in 2023. Meh. I find true crime interesting, but the writing itself isn't the best in this book. Yep. Is he or isn't he? Only time will tell.
The peace between humans and vampires balances on a knife’s edge, ready to descend into murderous chaos at any moment. It’s up to the Assembly to discreetly clean up conflicts and track down criminals before bloodshed becomes a cause for concern. That’s where Miles Watson comes in. As an Arbiter, he has free reign to find, adjudicate against, and punish perpetrators. And he operates just far enough outside the law to make sure those who break it get what’s coming to them. But even with unlimited scope and centuries of experience, Miles’s latest case has his back against the wall. A series of murders are sweeping through the streets of London, and all evidence points toward a new, young vampire as the perpetrator. The only problem: the vampire in question is also the son of a very powerful businessman backed by the Assembly. Now Miles must navigate not only the Assembly’s usual red tape but also a twisted web of politics, underground crime, and dangerous alliances to stop the villain before the body count gets too high―or the powers that be catch wind of what he’s up to. The idyllic kingdom of Parisia sat nestled securely in the Great Emerald Mountains. For generations, Parisia had known nothing but peace and prosperity. When the elder dragon Draka Mors, steals the Darkstone, the entire realm is threatened. Without the Darkstone, the magic sealing away the Shadow King would fail. His return would bring death and destruction to the world of men. Desperate, the king of Parisia calls on an unlikely hero, the Disgraced Knight Vale Lox to lead a group of Seekers on the most important quest in a thousand years. To save the realm and everyone they have ever known from the rising shadows of darkness, these misfits must survive hostile lands, enemy armies, unspeakable monsters, and each other in order to retrieve the stone from the dragon’s lair before it’s too late. MOTHER AND WARRIOR Tallynd is a soldier who has already survived her toughest battle: losing her husband. But now she finds herself on the front lines of an invasion of giants, intent on wiping out the entire kingdom, including Tallynd’s two sons—all that she has left. The stakes have never been higher. If Tallynd fails, her boys may never become men. SCHOLAR AND SPY Dervan is an historian who longs for a simple, quiet life. But he’s drawn into intrigue when he’s hired to record the tales of a mysterious bard who may be a spy or even an assassin for a rival kingdom. As the bard shares his fantastical stories, Dervan makes a shocking discovery: He may have a connection to the tales, one that will bring his own secrets to light. REBEL AND HERO Abhi’s family have always been hunters, but Abhi wants to choose a different life for himself. Embarking on a journey of self-discovery, Abhi soon learns that his destiny is far greater than he imagined: a powerful new magic thrust upon him may hold the key to defeating the giants once and for all—if it doesn’t destroy him first. Set in a magical world of terror and wonder, this novel is a deeply felt epic of courage and war, in which the fates of these characters intertwine—and where ordinary people become heroes, and their lives become legend. All three books are good solid reads with follow ups that are already on my To Read list.