J. C. McKenzie (2)Critiques

It was "ok" . But ended up shipping ahead and never felt the need to go back. Wont read anymore

Fails to hook

Raven's snarky dialog and couldn't care less attitude continue to shine in book two of the Raven Crawford series.

One of my favorite things about this series has been the characters. Not only do I enjoy Raven and Cole, but her family shines through the pages too. I enjoy the relationship they share and the way they interact.

The relationship between Raven and Cole continues to grow in NEVERMORE. There is still a lot of back and forth between the two, but when they finally get on the same page great things happen. I also enjoyed seeing Raven's brother with Cole's sister. It kinda cracks me up, but they seem to work well together.

I didn't feel like NEVERMORE had as much going for it as book one. There was more storyline about everyday things than there was kicking butt. Of course, when it was time to kick butt, Raven didn't disappoint. I especially enjoyed seeing her ex get what he deserved.

Although I thought Raven was more hot-mess, than bad-ass in NEVERMORE, I still enjoyed it and look forward to reading more.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.½

Raven is my kind of people. Half hot-mess, half bad-ass, all awesome.

Not only did I enjoy Raven, but I enjoyed her family. They have a great relationship and I loved getting to know them.

I loved the chemistry between Raven and Cole. I enjoyed the way they interacted and the way they worked together. There was a lot of fighting feelings on Raven's side. I loved the way Cole handled it and the overall progression.

I can't really get into the plot as it would give away spoilers. I will say that the story was had plenty of humor, action and mystery rolled up in a nice paced story.

I enjoyed the storyline and I enjoyed the characters. I will definitely be reading more.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I gave it 3.5

I fell into THE NIGHT HOUSE the moment it started.

THE NIGHT HOUSE reads in a few different genres. We start with a bit of survival/apocalyptic and then it jumps into fantasy and then they combine at the end. I enjoyed the story as a whole and the characters were easy to like and read about.

I enjoyed learning about the world of Arkavia. I would have liked more from it, but what I did get kept me intrigued. I enjoyed the action scenes and the romance development between Taya and Thane.

There were a few pacing issues in THE NIGHT HOUSE. Time jumped at points that I would have liked to know more. Then there was the ending. It felt super rushed and unfinished. It felt like another book was to come, but it's a standalone so that isn't going to happen.

My final thoughts: I didn't get enough of the story and the world and I would read more if more was to come in the future.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.½

Talk about addictive!! I picked this up and couldn't put it down until the very last tantalizing word. I inhaled this book in one sitting. I'm here, eyes burning from lack of sleep, throat sore from hours of disuse and poor hydration, wishing for more. There was Magic, court intrigue and Action. There was a swoon worthy slow burn. There were minor sexy time moments but mostly there was a need to read on, to live inside this world a moment longer. The world building was great and the character development even better. The pacing was intense and the action fierce. There was a butt kicking, wise ass heroine that you can really get behind and then there's Thane..... oh man is there Thane!! He was Yummmmy with a capital Y! He might have come off as too perfect though because no man can know the most elegantly perfect thing to say at the exact right moment... or at least no man I've met on this side of the pages. I was given a copy of this book but I honestly would have happily bought it. The only things that could have improved the experience were to have it be longer and to have more Thane... MUCH more Thane!!

Over all: I loved it!! I loved every second of this book and wished/craved/needed more! I'm sorry it ended and enjoyed every glorious moment in seclusion, immersed in this world.

*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

What an ending! I'm glad J.C. reached out to me a few years ago to review SHIFT HAPPENS and continued to reach out to me with each release after that.

I was EXTREMELY confused when I started reading BEAST OF ALL. I felt like I missed a lot and had to go back to SHIFT WORK and make sure it ended like I thought it did. It did, but the author skipped over a major event when starting BEAST OF ALL and it takes a while to grasp the emotions that Andy is feeling because we are kinda just dumped into them. Having said that, BEAST OF ALL was pretty emotional. There is heartache, happy endings and every emotion in-between and not only on Andy's side. Even with a lot of the emotions being heavy, Andy was able to work through what she needed to to get things done and never gives up.

BEAST OF ALL had a lot of action and was heavy on the drama. There is a lot of things going on in BEAST OF ALL, but the flow is great and there wasn't one moment where I didn't want to keep reading instead of doing laundry or maybe feed my kids lol. Another great thing about BEAST OF ALL is that it wrapped up everything. We get a lot of final answers and I can honestly say that I don't have any questions left over.

I would love to say that I wasn't surprised at how things ended for the Carus series, but in its own way, it all makes perfect sense. I'm glad I was able to follow Andy's journey and I look forward to seeing what J.C. McKenzie comes up with next!

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My original Shift Happens audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

I think this was a good start to a new PNR/UF series; I liked the secret agent taking out the supernatural aspect. I enjoyed the read somewhat – I didn’t hate it but didn’t love it either. I was actually really excited when I started this book. It immediately pulls you in, with the assassination and attempted escape. The mystery that is Andi and the and her trying to figure out what she really is, what it means all the while trying to find the person who set her up for the latest botched job. Then it started to read like every other PNR/UF out there and I started to get bored with it. I had hope that the romance happening between Andi and Wick would help move things along but no….just a lot of build up, and sexual tension with no pay off at the end. While not quite a cliff hanger ending…..not everything is wrapped up (duh, otherwise you would not have a series) however I don’t really have a desire to move on to the next book. While I listened to the first half of it pretty quick it took me 11 days to get through the last 4 hours

Laurel Schroeder is a new to me narrator and she did an awesome job with the characters and the voices she gave them. I do look foreword to listening to more from her

Over all the writing and characterization were good. The narration was good, the actual story I’m still uncertain how I feel about it….it started out strong and then just kind of lost its momentum.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.½

This is definitely one of those series that you need to start from book one. I think you would be completely lost and not enjoy it much if you tried to jump in anywhere else. The good news is that all the books have been great so far so go pick up your copy of SHIFT HAPPENS today and enjoy the ride.

Andy's personality is a contagious and I always look forward to what she will do next. She is easy to connect with and easy to stand behind. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding everything that being a Carus entails. Something new is revealed in each book, but I feel like there is so much more to uncover and I love finding out that I'm right whenever something new is revealed. I also like that each animal that calls to Andy represents something new that Andy seems to need in her life.

I'm really glad that the love triangle is gone, but I can't help but miss Wick a little bit even though I don't think he was the best choice for Andy. I'm glad though that Andy stuck with her decision in SHIFT WORK. Having said that, Tristan drops a pretty big bomb on Andy and I don't know how that will affect their relationship in the future. I am still not completely sure how I feel about Tristan, but I am warming up to him more and more with each book.

We get some answers, but there is still so many questions. The plot continues to evolve and develop and the characters continue to be interesting. Sign me up for book five when it's ready!

* This book was provided free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Andy's past isn't all roses and daffodils as we know and in CARPE DEMON she comes face to face with some pretty hard memories. She has to work through not only her feelings, but how she will defeat one of the foes that made her life miserable all those years ago.

The love triangle continues in CARPE DEMON and it's probably my least favorite part of the book because I hate the whole situation that Andy is put in. I wish the relationship between Andy and Wick was easier, but with him having Lucien controlling him, I just don't ever see them being able to be happy or comfortable together. As for Tristan, I still don't know how I feel about him. I don't think we have had enough one-on-one time for me to make an educated decision of if I like him with Andy or not. He SEEMS to really care for her, but I just see a giant mystery when it comes to him.

Although it was hard for Andy, I really liked the ending. Nothing will be easy for her going forward, but she is such a strong person and I think she will continue to handle her situation just like she has handled everything else that was thrown at her. The next book should be doubly interesting though!

* This book was provided free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.

There is some great character development in BEAST COAST. Most importantly revolving around Andy. We get a glimpse of who the 'beast' is inside of her as well as learn more about what it means to be a Carus and how important it is for her to grow into her role. I really hate that she keeps getting trapped by Lucien. The girl can't catch a break no matter what she does where he's involved and I'm kinda ticked off for her. There's still a lot of questions that need to be answered, but it's nice to see movement and development in each book.

The love triangle continues. Both Wick and Tristan pull her towards them and she doesn't know exactly what she wants. It's clear if she chooses Wick, as Lucian's wolf, he could hurt her more than he already has and he would have no way to stop it. She doesn't really know Tristan or if he would change his player ways to be with her so she has a hard time jumping into something with him. I personally like them both as potential love matches for her although there are things about both that I like and dislike. I hope the love triangle isn't too dragged out though, as that would become tiresome. I also REALLY hope another possible mate isn't introduced, I'm not sure I could take it if she has to pick 1 of THREE (or more) and I'm not really into group relationships. Ugh that would suck.

I feel like I must add this. Funny enough, I didn't totally hate Clint like I did in book 1. He isn't my favorite person or anything, but you get a glimpse of another side of him in BEAST COAST. Not sure where that will lead though.

All in all, I enjoyed the second installment of the Carus Series. We learn more about pretty much all characters involved in the series so far and, new, fun characters are introduced. We also continue to learn more about the world. This is really a great series so far and I will continue to read.

* This book was provided free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb didn't really drag me in but after reading a little more about SHIFT HAPPENS on the web I decided to give it a shot. Andrea's position as a government agent/assassin puts her in a rough spot when an assignment doesn't go as planned and she is captured by a werewolf pack. The master vampire in charge of the werewolves tasks her with finding the truth about who is behind her assignment or else. The truth is not easy to come by and by the end of the story her life has been turned upside down, righted back up and then flopped on its side.

Andrea has not had it easy and we slowly learn about her past and who she really is as SHIFT HAPPENS evolves. I liked her right away, her character was real and easy to relate to. She was a good mix of bad ass and vulnerable. Wick is the alpha of his pack. Unfortunately his pack is controlled by a master vampire so he has no choice but to obey his commands. He knows right away that Andrea is his mate but the complicated situations keeps him from keeping her totally safe and her stubbornness keeps them apart for longer than he would like. I see a major love triangle in the next book. I don't really know how I feel about it at this point as I really like Wick and feel they work well together. The added complication doesn't interest me, but we will see what happens because I can't not read more.

Not only is the world well developed but the characters really brought the story home. Even though the story is told in Andrea's voice each and every secondary character makes an impact. That is not easy to do. The story as a whole had a great flow and kept me interested from start to finish. Book two BEAST COAST is already on my wishlist.

* This book was provided free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.