At first I’d thought Ilona Andrews‘ Beast Business (a Hidden Legacy sidestory novella) was mislabeled, but as it turns out the last quarter or so is taken up by some mostly unrelated short stories that were previously published on their website. Regardless, the main story turns out solid enough aside from the fact that it ends with the relationship issue no closer to being resolved and some oddities in the female lead’s reaction to seeing illusions that can cause fear. Why wouldn’t illusions be able to scare people? Seems like that should’ve been obvious.
Seana Kelly‘s first Sea Wicche novel is remarkably good. The romantic development doesn’t feel forced and despite having a not particularly rare ‘isolated person falls for someone who can bridge that isolation’ setup the author manages to weave in a bunch of disparate elements that somehow manage to work well together. My only real issue here is how quickly the protagonist folds in regards to the council thing.
The second novel though… the second decides to completely re-contextualize the protagonist’s relationship with her mother/grandmother in a way that heavily undermines their previous interactions. It gives the impression of a half-assed attempt to justify having forced her onto the council in the first place and I do not at all like the precedent it sets for potential future developments, so won’t be following the series any further.