Rebecca Hefner

Every time we get a new book in the amazing Etherya’s Earth series, I swear this one is my favorite. They’re ALL my favorite, y’all. This series is the best! And I couldn’t get enough of Leo and Adelyn! Leo is the adopted son of Alrec and Kilani (they have a book in the prequel novella at the very start of the series. It’s free you should totally read it!!) and he had a very hard start to life. Adelyn is an aristocrat who is also adopted and wants to research her birth family. Because she has unusual purple eyes, she wonders if she could have nymph ancestry, but nymphs are just a legend and this will involve going to the wild parts of the kingdom alone. While there, she encounters a super grumpy mountain man = Leo and they have an adorbs meet cute. I seriously loved how the grumpy – sunshine vibe worked so well here. Leo is just aching for an Adelyn to sunshine up that grumpy cabin of his. And the sexual tension was off the charts! Some favorite moments included: beard teasing, sharing of adoption stories (the way the adoption theme and story arcs were worked throughout the book was so well done!) and Leo’s bond with his adoptive parents. Since Adelyn is from the city and Leo loves his cabin in the middle of nowhere, they have some things to work out and I loved watching them find their HEA. Also… there are some great revelations at the end that have me so excited for what’s to come in the series! 5/5 stars.… (altro)

I am always so excited when I see there is a new book in the Etherya’s Earth universe! IMMORTAL BEGINNINGS was such a sweet and sexy novella, with Dragos, a deamon who has suffered as a foot solider in Crimeous’s army for centuries and only now is able to live a free life. He is the next door neighbor of Raina, a Vampire and recent widow whose husband Soren was killed fighting the demon army. The scenes with them were so sweet and hot. Raina is a strong vampire woman and Dragos is such a secret softie, being kind to her and sweet to her two sons. I loved the way they found comfort in each other and Raina encouraged him and took the lead in their love scenes! This had some great tropes including a virgin hero and the steamy scenes were HOT! I loved seeing these two get together and this had such a sweet, perfect ending!! 5/5 stars.… (altro)

In GARRIDAN’S MATE by Rebecca Hefner, Garridan, who is a commander in the army, has been tasked with training the first class of female warriors. Among them is Siora, a fierce fighter who is loyal to her father and wants to lead her own battalion in the upcoming conflict against the demon Bakari. I’ve followed this series since the beginning and one thing I really love is the way the world of vampires and slayers has evolved over time, with couples from older books getting mated and having children we’ve gotten to watch grow up and pair off, and also watching social progress come to the kingdom, like the kick-butt vampire/slayer women demanding their males allow them to fight alongside them in battle. It’s also fun getting to see characters from previous books pop up, and I really liked seeing Latimus in this one! Siora and Garridan have a fierce chemistry sparking during training, and especially during their special private training sessions where things get heated. 🔥❤🔥 I also really liked that Siora is depicted as muscular and statuesque in build, as a true warrior. There’s some jealousy at first over some of the other women in the book she considers more traditional mates for Garridan, but when these two come together it is scorching.🔥🔥🔥 This is a deliciously steamy PNR that left me eager to read the next book in the series. Side plots involving scheming parents trying a bit of matchmaking introduced some characters I’m hoping we might see in a future novella!… (altro)

This book has a lot of what I enjoy in a story. Romance, betrayal, an engaging journey to name a few. I thought at first the story was going to be about they journey, when that wrapped up relatively quickly, I realized the story had a lot to tell.

I like the interactions between the slayer and vampire protagonists. The way they clearly star to like each other and refuse to admit it always had me smiling to myself. I found myself counting down the chapters until they would finally admit they both had feelings.

Speaking of romance, the romance scenes were hot. It was always apparent that the characters involved were genuinely interested in each other as people and it made them all the more enjoyable and realistic.

Realism as a whole in this story was well done. I noted how the story often featured events, dialogue, internal and otherwise, etc. that other stories wouldn’t have bothered with. It made the world, the characters, the setting all the more believable and relatable. I was (and still am) confused on how the modern tech and human stuff such as cell phones and instagram work.

I very much enjoyed the audiobook narration. The narrator did an excellent job of voicing and emoting characters. I never had an issue telling who was talking and it was a nice change over hearing about how a character is angry and not actually hearing it. Both the narration and the story painted a clear picture of every scene in my head, allowing me to immerse myself in the story.

I have previously listened to and reviewed the prequel. So I did go in with a basic understanding of where the world is and how slayers and vampires work.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.… (altro)