Release Day Review: Lucifer's Litigator by TJ Nichols #Review #Giveaway

Title: Lucifer's Litigator
Author: TJ Nichols
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Designer: Tiferet Design
Publication Date: October 11, 2019
Length: 109 pages

Reviewed by Jenn

Synopsis

To save his soul, he’ll have to fix his one regret—the love that got away.

The summer between the end of school and the start of what came next was full of sun, surf, and sex. For Will McLeod, that meant Tom, his first male lover. He knew the romance had an expiration date and would end when Tom joined the Army, but that didn’t stop Will from falling in love.

Tired of being looked down upon for being poor, Will became a lawyer—but not just any lawyer. He litigates for the gods as they gamble with the lives of those desperate enough to make deals. His job is to make sure they don’t slip free. He has more money than he knows what to do with, but he’s fast running out of soul.

Twenty-five years haven’t dimmed the candle Will holds for Tom, and when they meet again, he has a chance to put things right. Back then, Tom wasn’t ready to fight for them. Now the decorated soldier is willing to get his hands dirty, but will he be a match for the forces trying to keep them apart?

Purchase Links

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

Review

Lucifer’s Litigator by TJ Nichols puts an interesting twist on a second chance romance and I loved it! Will and Tom spend the summer after high school wrapped up in each other. Whether they’re on the beach or in the bedroom, these guys can’t seem to stay away from each other. Their summer could only be a fling, the Army was looming ahead for Tom and Will had college coming up. Will is determined to make something of himself, to finally be financially stable. He wasn’t counting on falling in love with Tom and never could have known that that love would change his life one day.

Now this is where it really gets interesting…Will has become an attorney, but his boss isn’t at all what you’d expect. Will is a lawyer for the gods. When desperate people make deals with the powerful and cruel gods…there is a price to pay when that deal falls through. Will is there to win for the gods and it’s a fight that is never fair. This isn’t the life Will wanted and he’s afraid he’s losing his own soul.

When his twenty-fifth high school reunion comes up, Will knows he has to go. He wants a chance to see Tom again, a chance to reclaim himself. He doesn’t expect Tom to show, but he does. It’s as if no time has passed, the two still have so much between them. But the gods don’t want to lose Will and will fight to keep him. Tom and Will need to fight with everything they have this time to stay together. There’s so much more at stake this time around and Will’s soul is up for grabs.

This was such a good book, I loved that all we thought we knew about gods and the devil aren’t at all what we see here. The author does a great job of making you believe this world of gods and lost souls bargaining for their heart’s desires is completely plausible. It challenges Tom and Will to stand up and fight against insurmountable odds and to keep fighting. I cheered for them, I wanted good to win…it is a great read. I’ll be looking for more from this author, I can’t wait to see what else they’ve come up with.

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Release Day Review: Lust and Other Drugs by TJ Nichols #Review #Giveaway

Title: Lust And Other Drugs
Author: TJ Nichols
Publisher: TJ Nichols
Cover Artist: Tiferet Design
Publication Date: April 2, 2019
Length: 203 pages 

Reviewed by Sammy

Synopsis

Police officer Jordan and dragon shifter Edra might have to work together, but they don’t trust each other—even if sparks do fly between them.

If anyone finds out Jordan’s a mytho sympathizer, it could kill his career. No one can know that he frequents the satyr dens and uses the drug Bliss. A dead satyr might not get much attention, but two dead humans who appeared to overdose on Bliss? That shouldn’t even be possible.

And it might not be an accident.

Edra, Mythological Services Liaison, has been covering up mytho crimes to protect the community’s reputation. With a mayoral election looming, the last thing his people need is a scandal like this one.

To get a murderer off the streets, Jordan and Edra will be spending a lot of time together, and it won’t be easy to keep up with their deceptions. Or keep resisting each other.

Purchase Links

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

Review

With a brief but packed introduction outlining an experiment that went disastrously awry, the world of Tariko was literally pulled down onto earth by using something known as the Hadron Collider. Now all manner of creatures live among the humans and after years of being herded into internment camps, hunted and killed and essentially hated and reviled, the world has settled and humans have begun to grudgingly accept that the mythos as the Tariko inhabitants are called. However there is still great resistance to the cultures and lifestyles that came with the mythos. In order to try and bring some sort of justice to the vast array of hate crimes still being committed against his people, Edra agrees to be the liaison between Mythological Services and the police.  While still trying to cover up any crimes done by his people, Edra finds himself having to work closely with a detective that actually seems to want to help the mythos—a rare cop indeed.

Jordan likes his job but just having come off a long undercover job, the last thing he wants is to become known as the cop who sympathizes with mythos—a definite career killing reputation to have. However, he really doesn’t understand why everyone loves to hate the mythos and his own dabbling in illegal Bliss (a sexual enhancement drug that is forbidden for human consumption) has taken him into contact with many of the creatures. When he is told he will liaise with the human looking dragon from Mythological Services, Jordan is less than thrilled. However, as time goes on he sees how the police have turned a blind eye to the myriad of injustices done to the mythos—everything from theft to murder. Jordan is determined to do his job and if it brings him closer to the tempting dragon shifter Edra than that is something Jordan will have to deal with—that and the incredible feelings of lust he experiences for the man every time they are close to one another.

Throw everything you know about fantasy novels out the window. When author T.J. Nichols decided to begin a new series with the release of Lust and Other Drugs, no realm was off limits primarily due to the fact that the new world created was inhabited by mythological creatures. From gods to dragons, ogres to satyrs and everything in between this is not your normal run of the mill paranormal story. Instead it is a unique take on some very real hot button issues we face today, namely bigotry, xenophobia and rising hate crimes. Wrapped up in a mystery with a sensual slow burning romance, this story sets the scene for future installments which I think may feature Edra and Jordan, the two main characters, again. I’m guessing here but given that the novel ends with a tentative happy for now or perhaps a ‘we’re ready to take the plunge toward a happy ever after’ is a more apt description, I think the author isn’t quite finished exploring the dynamic between these two. Either way I am hoping we get more of these guys because they are incredible and their chemistry is amazing.

I appreciated the way in which the author chose to have Jordan grapple with his own bias against the mythos and have to come to terms with the idea that he could possibly want to have a relationship with Edra, despite the tension that would cause at work and the bigotry the two of them would face both from mythos and humans. This novel didn’t sweep away the doubts that Jordan and Edra had, instead it gradually made the lust they immediately felt for each other slowly morph into something more solid and real—something that could no longer be denied or brushed aside.

I also loved the little secret that Jordan had and how Edra was the first man to appreciate it—that made for some very sensual moments between the two of them. Edra’s interesting mating habits and his surprising desire for the detective that was mirrored in Jordan’s own growing affections, made watching their story unfold that more exciting and fascinating. No matter how unique and surreal the mythos were, this story had me hooked from the first page by keeping the action moving and the sexual tensions high till the very end.

If you are a fan of the paranormal/ fantasy genres then Lust and Other Drugs is the novel for you. It is a fascinating first book in what I hope will become a collection of stories that features these two interesting men.

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Release Day Review: Warlock in Training by TJ Nichols #Review #Giveaway

Author: TJ Nichols
Book: Warlock in Training
Series: Studies in Demonology #1
Publisher: DSP Publications
Publication date: February 14, 2017
Cover artist: Catt Ford
Length: 226 pages


Reviewed by Meredith

Synopsis

Angus Donohue doesn’t want to be a warlock. He believes draining demons for magic is evil, but it’s a dangerous opinion to have—his father is a powerful and well-connected warlock, and Angus is expected to follow the family tradition.

His only way out is to fail the demon summoning class. Failure means expulsion from the Warlock College. Despite Angus’s best efforts to fumble the summoning, it works. Although not the way anyone expects.

Angus’s demon, Saka, is a powerful mage with his own need for a warlock.

Saka wants to use Angus in a ritual to rebalance the magic that is being stripped from Demonside by warlocks. If Angus survives his demon’s desires and the perils of Demonside, he’ll have to face the Warlock College and their demands.

Angus must choose: obey the College and forget about Demonside or trust Saka and try to fix the damage before it’s too late. Whatever he does, he is in the middle of a war he isn’t qualified to fight.

Buy Links

DSP Publications

Amazon

Review

I love books about magic, demons, witches and warlocks. I do. The depth these books take and the creativity astounds me. One thing that can never fail is the world building. This process also can’t be rushed. In Warlock in Training by TJ Nichols we are starting a new world and a new series. The first book of a series is vitally important. I liked how it’s set up. Angus is a warlock. He didn’t want to be one; he wanted to heal and be a wizard but his father would not allow that and made him go to college. There he summoned his very own demon, Saka.

The world building in this is wonderful. I liked the Humanside, Demonside, balance and magic aspect. You can’t just take; you must also give. But that is lost on the Humanside and so balance must be restored or both worlds will be destroyed.

We meet many secondary characters in this in both the Demon world and Human world. Both sides have their rules but it often seemed one side didn’t play fairly. In the hope to save the worlds there is an underground where wizards and demons must work together.

TJ Nichols creates not one but two worlds so this was tricky. We weave between Angus’s POV and Saka’s and both live in LITERALLY very different worlds. Saka and Angus balance through lust mostly and with that they have become attached to each other. They, of course, see relationships differently so that was interesting. 

I really liked the creativity the author brought to this book. At times I will say this book dragged but with building the start of a series a lot must be explained. I would have liked more excitement perhaps? But it was very engaging. At the 75% mark it gained incredible speed and I was thrilled! 

Now, there was something at the end of the book I very much wanted to see but we don’t get to we get told and I felt a little jipped about that. Of course that is just my personal opinion. The writing is very well done and I am very much looking forward to book two. It doesn’t so much end on a cliffhanger as it does end with a lot of questions and wonder. So you will be wanting the next book when it’s done.

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