REVIEW Mortal Heart (Alice Worth World #1) by Lisa Edmonds

Mortal Heart (Alice Worth World #1) 

by Lisa Edmonds
Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date: November 1, 2022
Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)
Publisher: City Owl Press

“A mortal heart may seem weak or fragile compared to what you’re used to, but it can withstand far more than you give it credit for. And a mortal heart offers more joy than any immortal life could ever experience.”

I’m a big fan of Lisa Edmond’s main Alice Worth series, so it was super exciting when she announced the release of a spin-off book based on side characters Ronan and Arkady. Mortal Heart, the first book in the Alice Worth World series, is a high-action, fast-paced urban fantasy and paranormal romance read. The book is ideally suited for fans of the main series, but the author does a good job of making it accessible to those unfamiliar with the main books.  

Ronan and Arkady by themselves were two of my favorite characters in the original books. However, once you put them together everything gets so much better. They make a great team, they have fantastic chemistry (it’s practically instantaneous), and they are both badasses who are coming into the relationship with a lot of skeletons in their closet. It’s interesting to contrast Alice and Sean’s relationship to Arkady and Ronan’s; Sean has to work for a long time (over the course of multiple books) to earn Alice’s trust and break through all of the walls that she’s built up. Ronan and Arkady’s relationship, on the other hand, progresses very quickly (the majority of the book takes place in the span of fewer than 12 hours), and they get fairly hot and heavy quite quickly. For those who have read the author’s previous books, it is about the same level of heat but a little more explicitly detailed. 

In addition to featuring Arkady and Ronan, the book also features cameos by other familiar faces from the original Alice Worth books. The world-building and character development Ms. Edmonds achieved in this book will surely help set the stage for Alice’s next adventure. If the author does another spin-off book not based on Arkady and Ronan, I’d love to see a story based on the witches! 

Overall, Mortal Heart was another entertaining book by Lisa Edmonds. I’m excited to read more books based on Ronan and Arkady’s storyline, and more of the main series books based on Alice and Sean’s story in the future. If you love fast-paced, high-action urban fantasy books, then this is a great addition to your to-be-read (TBR) list. As a bonus, at the time of writing this review, it was available to all Kindle Unlimited members to read for free. 

About the Book

A fallen angel sentenced to a mortal life on Earth.

A former soldier turned private investigator who’s been there, killed that.

The bad guys don't have a prayer...

Ronan, once the archangel Remiel, chose to fall from Heaven after breaking angelic law. For centuries, he used his skills to live and work among humans as a bounty hunter. A chance encounter with a mysterious mage named Alice Worth in the so-called Broken World forced him to violate angelic law once more, this time to save millions of lives. Now cut off from his angelic kin with his wings and power bound, Ronan is a man without a future, purpose, or reason to live.

Arkady Woodall left a dangerous job at the Vampire Court to return to the profession she loves most: private investigator. Now she’s Alice Worth’s business partner, and for the first time in years she’s calling her own shots. But now that she’s between cases, it’s the perfect time to find out more about Ronan, the enigmatic man who’d mysteriously shown up beaten and near death in Alice’s yard and then vanished again as soon as he’d recovered.

Knives, punches, and sparks fly when Ronan and Arkady cross paths at a roadside dive bar and stumble upon a kidnapping in progress. What starts as a simple rescue quickly turns into a deadly mystery that sends them on a wild and daring chase from the city’s most depraved depths to its highest and most luxurious penthouses, dodging bullets and black magic along the way. When their shared addiction to danger puts them on a collision course with a merciless and powerful enemy, Ronan and Arkady realize their only hope of success and survival is each other, but a devastating secret might spell doom for them both…

About the Author:

Lisa Edmonds was born and raised in Kansas. A graduate of Buhler High School, she studied English and forensic criminology at Wichita State University. After acquiring her Bachelor’s degree, she considered a career in law enforcement as a behavioral analyst before earning a Master's from Wichita State and then a Ph.D. in English from Texas A&M University.

She is currently an associate professor of English at a college in Texas, where she teaches a variety of writing and literature courses.

When not in the classroom, she shares a quiet country home with her husband Bill D’Amico and their cats, and enjoys writing, reading, traveling, spoiling her niece and nephew, and singing karaoke.

Author Photo Credit: Madison Hurley Photography in Hot Springs, AR

REVIEW Dangerous Desires: Demon Queen Trials (Supernaturals of Mystic Oaks #1) by Shana Vernon

Dangerous Desires: Demon Queen Trials (Supernaturals of Mystic Oaks #1) by Shana Vernon
Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date: August 23, 2022
Format: eARC (Courtesy of the Author)

Dangerous Desires is the second novella set in the world of Mystic Oaks (the first in the series before Shana Vernon’s Twisted Fate) and builds a foundation for a different aspect of the series worldbuilding. Anaella is an anomaly, as the daughter of two Archangels, and frequently rebels against the rules. When the leaders of the Silver City decide they’ve had enough, they assign her a mission; go to Hell and enter the Demon Queen Trials to become Lucifer’s queen. Once there, she must find the one weapon able to kill him or she will never be allowed home again. 

Overall, this was a short entertaining tale (clocking in at about 100 pages in ebook form). I’m excited to read more stories set in the Mystic Oaks universe. It’s hard to comment on the plot without giving things away (especially with the length), but this definitely ranks high on my list of short stories for the year. I would recommend this story to urban fantasy and paranormal romance readers who enjoy action-packed, fast-paced page-turners. 

Thank you to the author for providing me with a complimentary review copy of Dangerous Desires. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review the novella immensely! Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed Dangerous Desires. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way. 

About the Book

I'm the daughter of two powerful Archangels - yay me. So, let's just say the expectations are high, and when I'm caught partaking in one of the worst sins - lust - I'm sent on an impossible mission. 

They want me to join the Bride Trials in Hell to become the Queen of the most ruthless Demon King out there - Lucifer. 

They say there's only one weapon that can vanquish him. A weapon the angels except me to find and use against him. 

Cross your fingers and pray I can get in and out without Lucifer figuring out what I'm up to, because the minute I see him I know more than my life is at stake, my heart is too.

Hell hath no fury like Lucifer scorned.

About the Author

Shana Vernon is a full-time writer and mother of triplet boys. She grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and moved to Israel in 2012. She completed an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences from Bar Ilan University. 

Shana fell in love with reading as a child by escaping into the fantasy lands of Hogwarts and Narnia.​

When she isn’t writing or taking care of her kiddos, Shana spends her time reading, exercising, experimenting with cooking, or traveling around the world.

Stealing Embers (Fallen Legacies Book 1) by Julie Hall

Stealing Embers (Fallen Legacies Book 1) by Julie Hall

Rating: 4 Stars

Release Date: September 22, 2020

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

After succumbing to peer pressure on Bookstagram and picking up Stealing Embers by Julie Hall, I decided to see what all the fuss is about. All the hype for this book is well deserved because Julie Hall is a very talented author. 

At the start of the book, Emberly is a street-smart kid who has been surviving on her own for most of her life. She has strange abilities that have always marked her as “different”. But one day, when she is attacked and saved by a group of people claiming themselves to be the descendants of fallen angels things get much more dangerous and complicated for her. Emberly has to unravel the secret of her powers, her heritage, and her newfound status as a Nephilim all while dealing with normal high schooler problems like the broody and attractive Steel (who she can’t get rid of no matter how hard she tries). 

The Nephilim concept is one of the most interesting to me in paranormal books because there’s more freedom to be unique and innovative than other mythical creatures. In comparison, werewolves always have to have some association with the moon and vampires always have to have some association with blood. No Nephilim story is exactly alike, and that rule holds true with the start of the Fallen Legacies series. 

Stealing Embers is definitely a series opener, as the focus is placed more on characters and world-building than large amounts of the plot. Thankfully, I was never left feeling like this book was a type of “prologue” to the rest of the series. There are some spots where I could see any religious readers becoming uncomfortable with some of the theological references/aspects of the book, but it didn’t affect my ability to enjoy the story. 

I can’t wait to continue reading the Fallen Legacies books to figure out more about Emberly’s mysterious powers and her relationship with Steel. Onwards to Forging Darkness!