Quick Reads, Quick Reviews 41

  

• Protecting His Heart: Nox Bay Pack Book 2, Connor Crowe
• Aurora Borealis: Cold Case Psychic Spinoff Novella 8, Pandora Pine
• Chandler: Training Days Book 1, J.D. Light

A sequel that earned it's place in the lineup for sure.  But I wish it were longer.  There is so much going on, so much story, so many elements, that it should be turned into a novel.  I really enjoyed this one and found it even more interesting than the first, though I wasn't sure this story's events could outshine Felix.  Even though Arric spends a lot of time squashing and denying his feelings and urges what builds between him and Elliot turns into something memorable.  The dragons, female alphas, stones, and powers were all attention-grabbing.  Though I will say the pregnancy testing stone part was a bit...strange, it was something I was willing to overlook in favor of just enjoying the overall story.  3.5 stars.

Wow.  Pandora sure packed a lot into this little story.  My heart ached for Aurora and was so glad Jace and Kevin had the whole Crew of awesome to support them all.  I was glad that the opposition from the relatives was kept civil and simple so the focus could be on assimilating Aurora into the family.  Watching Jace and Kevin become fathers and seeing them commit to one another and being there for Aurora no matter what was a growing moment for both of them in different ways.

While Jace still isn't my favorite, he's growing on me as we see him become less selfish.  I think I had one idea of him from his care of the LGBTQ+ youth at his shelter.  His role there led me to believe he was someone he consistently has issues being when it comes to the most important person/people in his life.  He is that person, to some degree, but it's when it directly involves his own life that he becomes reactionary, petty, immature, and juvenile.  His determination to be a good partner to Kevin and father to Aurora shows us the less selfish, more empathetic, more mature side of him we know is in there.  I have hope.  I think he has great potential and I'm interested to see him develop as the Cold Case series progresses.  3.5 stars.

Holy sweetness!  I was completely shocked that I loved this story to the degree I did.  I was expecting something sweet, cute, and sexy, but not like this.  What was the most surprising was the character depth and connection achieved in such a short story.  I loved that Chandler wasn't actually insecure despite his endeavor to become fit coming from insults from a few exes.  There were quite a few appearances of people who could derail Chandler and Baker's progress that could have been eliminated, but overall I didn't find that it decreased my enjoyment.  It was so fluffy, so sweet, and definitely sexy so I was happy.  4.5 stars.