Kristen Painter has extended the Nocturne Falls Universe and got a bunch of authors to write novellas. I think they are a must read for fans of the Universe. And also a great way to discover new author- or at least to me they were mostly new authors.
The first batch of releases were in January 2017. The second in now (in May 2017).
You can find the other reviews here:
Nocturne Falls Universe Review's Part 1
Nocturne Falls Universe Review's Part 2
Author: Kira Nyte
Publisher: Sugar Skull Books
Series: Nocturne Falls Universe
Pages: Kindle Edition, 158 pages
Genre: PNR
Release Date: May 23rd 2017
Summary:
Kaylae Drayce is convinced she’s crazy. She hears voices in her head and dreams of fiery apocalyptic wars. That’s nothing compared to the terror she feels when the only people she loves are taken from her and she’s forced to run for her life all the way to Nocturne Falls. The town promises her one of two things: Answers to her madness or a one-way ticket to an asylum.
Zareh Lutherone is shattered to discover the Firestorm dragons’ ancient enemy has found and murdered his Keeper. He is plotting his next move in preparation for another war when a beautiful stranger literally falls into his arms. He doesn’t know who she is, only that the dragon inside him demands he protect her at all costs. It doesn’t take long to understand why.
Faced with a daunting task of convincing Kaylae she isn’t crazy—she is his Keeper and lifemate—just got complicated. Their enemy is hot on their tail and will stop at nothing to get their hands on Kaylae in order to destroy the last of an ancient dragon race.
Review:
t took me a while to read A Dragon Speaks Her Name. At first I couldn't put my finger on the reason for it. I just kept reading other stuff instead of the novella. I found I lost complete interest at some point and only read on because, well I felt obliged.
I am glad I finished it. It does have some great ideas. I love the idea of keepers and dragons. Buthe world building feels incomplete and a not completely thought-out. I am not sure if this is because of the pace of the story, I will talk about it a bit later. I just found myself a bit unsatisfied with the bits we are given, I kinda wanted more.
The character building is my favorite part of the novella. Though I was not a huge fan of Kaylae in the beginning, I did feel for her and I got where she was coming from.
I like Zar, a lot, he is the perfect swoony shifter love interest.
The support cast however felt a bit incomplete - a bit too cliche? - I found myself not connecting to any of them
The reason I rated this only as ok, however is the fact that I felt the pacing of this story was all over the place. It like Nyte had a bunch of things she wanted to go through and she ticked them off as she went along. It isn't a straight a to b to c thing however, she started on strand of the story, put it aside to indulge in the romance, then when that was sorted we went back to the "main"story.
It felt disruptive and makes the story feel choppy. But also left me thinking that it was all too convenient and so planned out.
Though I like the idea of the story line, I found the execution of it left me wanting. I do think that's connected to the pace. But there were things, we were not explained at all. I was left with questions, a couple plot twists felt to convenient and planned and the end felt rushed.
Though I like the idea, the novella didn't really work for me.
Rating:
⎯⎯ ⎯ ⎯⎯
Author: Laurie London
Publisher: Sugar Skull Books
Series: Nocturne Falls Universe
Pages: Kindle Edition, 153 pages
Genre: PNR
Release Date: May 23rd 2017
Summary:
Penelope Bechtel comes from a long line of mediums, so she shouldn’t have been surprised to see a ghost for the first time at the Waffle Emporium. But the gift he gives her puts her in terrible danger and sends her on the run…right back to where she started: Nocturne Falls and—
Is that a nearly naked, gorgeous vampire?
Luka Cavanaugh lost a bet, and now he's stuck modeling at a wine and painting party, where he meets a beautiful woman who threatens to untie the knots around his cold, undead heart. The problem is, he doesn’t date supernaturals. Too many secrets. Too much baggage. And Penelope is no exception.
With danger looming and things heating up between them, maybe some rules are meant to be broken…
Review:
How Knot To Marry A Vampire is super cute and fits right into the series.
I absolutely loved Luke. The character building is rather well done especially for such a short novel.
There is some cute banter and sweet swoony moments in here.
My biggest issue however was the storyline in the second half. It felt rushed and way way to convenient. It's like London tried to fit in every possible twist in the book into a novella. Which kinda ruined it for me. Still it's a sweet story and I did like the end very much, despite the all over sudden rather deep declarations...
Rating:
⎯⎯ ⎯ ⎯⎯
Author: Bria Quinlan
Publisher: Sugar Skull Books
Series: Nocturne Falls Universe
Pages: Kindle Edition, 139 pages
Genre: PNR
Release Date: May 23rd 2017
Summary:
Minx Marksman—daughter of a Supermodel and a famous Rocker—wants nothing more than a normal, crazy-free life. One more nannying gig will earn her enough to achieve her dream of small cottage on the coast. That last job brings her to Nocturne Falls where she’s surprised to find out it’s Halloween every day.
Not so much on the normal, but high on the adorable.
Baby Gus and Uncle Hottie—aka Tim Johnson—seem to be a walk in the park at first. The flirty infant and the nerdy, glasses-wearing cutie grab her heart from the start. She’s falling fast for both guys, but she can’t help but notice that some things aren’t quite what they seem...
Review:
I liked this well enough. But I was a bit taken aback by a few things. First of all it was too insta, I mean I know this is a short story, but.. well I didn't feel the chemistry between Minx and Tim enough to not be taken aback by the fast developments.
Then I'm not quite sure how I feel about their need to be normal.. Honestly normal is overrated if you ask me. There is a middle path between opulence and entitlement and mediocre. Because my issue with Quinlan's brand of normal was it felt like it was too mediocre. Frankly I didn't like the rich people portrait at all, the entire thing was too black and white for my taste. So only "normal"people are nice? Normal being what? Middle Class?
Besides that however, I adored Gus.I love the story telling. Quinlan writes beautifully and is witty.
The story fits right into the series, seamlessly. I also love the fact that the two MCs aren't paranormals. Well, at least I don't think so, because they clearly weren't affected by the water...
Rating:
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