Ashley Meira

This is another example of a pretty entertaining first book in a series that plummets in quality.
The biggest problems were exaggerated emotions. A sad thought is usually accompanied by intense crying, happiness is usually expressed as extreme giddiness, etc. It's just way too much.
In the first book, it's still tolerable all in all but in the second one, this issue becomes much worse.
Together with already extremely corny scenes, this becomes a cringe-worthy gathering of clichées.
Just be warned. If you are on the fence about this after you read the first book. Just don't continue. It gets so much worse.

If you are looking for grey and nuanced characters this is not the book for you. While calling them two-dimensional is maybe a bit harsh, they aren't particularly complex by any means.
The book initially seems to aim for at least some ambiguity in morality but that's just a setup for very naive and forceful lecturing about prejudice, friendship, loyalty, and all that stuff without even a grain of subtlety which leaves very little space for moral colors beyond black and white.

The series reads very much like YA with many of its worst flaws.

Something less important that somewhat annoyed me was the missing smut tbh. The book has no problems with characters talking dirty and conjuring all kinds of fantasies.
They smolder, they melt, they kiss, they lick and touch and rub and all the things but there are no actual bedroom scenes. They are just skipped and the protagonists talk about them afterward, teasing each other. I very much felt left out. It's really weird because the series is very forward about intimacy and sex otherwise. I don't think even PNR necessarily needs smut but it very much depends on the rest of the story. If you explicitly tease sexual intimacy for hundreds of pages I think it's reasonable to expect actual smut eventually.

The world itself seems very interesting (much more interesting and complex than most UF) but the magic system, despite being very soft by design, doesn't hold up to scrutiny and regularly changes its rules to perpetuate the plot.

Beyond the inconsistencies in the magic, I can't really tell if the worldbuilding really is as extensive as it seems or if the author just exceeds at hiding its shallowness and is just making most of the stuff up on the spot. Considering how many books are planned for this universe, it might really be as well-planned as it seems.… (mere)

I really enjoyed this. Morgan was a great character. I really enjoyed her humour. And I loved Ipos. I found the romance lacking to start with and then I decided I liked it - but then I hated it again. If she keeps it casual with Ipos and Alex that's fine. But I don't want her with Alex. I found him boring and I found them together boring. She has way more chemistry with Ipos and I'd prefer her to pursue a relationship with him. So I don't know if I'll continue on with this series or not.

Regardless this was a solid start to a new series. The storyline was fast paced and the mystery interesting - even if not particularly complex. I liked the cat - Rowan - interesting addition to the story.… (mere)

Wickedly good mystery

If you're a fan of the Dresden Files, this may be a new series for you. Witch Morgan Maxwell was raised by an "aunt" who was the head of one of the major families. Morgan's father left her with Lady Cassandra when at age four Morgan's mum vanished. She's had nothing to do with her uppity father since he abandoned her. Soon Lady Cass chose Morgan to be her heir due to her inherited talent. We pick up after Morgan has been a part of a major attack. She's at the end of healing from her injuries. She awakens to learn she's now a suspect in this attack even though she was gravely injured. In the midst of being interrogated by a very handsome appointee from the other families, her cousin/foster sister Lily lets out a scream.....aunt Cass is dead! Morgan's other surrogate mum is the spirit of Rowena who resides in a cat. So yes she's a talking cat like in Sabrina the teen witch...except this is the sentient being if a past hunter who chose to go into a cat to continue teaching hunting skills to future witches like Morgan. Between Rowena, Morgan, Lily, Alex (the hottie who initially accused Morgan for the other incident) and Morgan's occasional bed buddy...they're off to try to unravel who had the gall to murder the head of this family. Under it all is another mystery. Morgan has no clue where her mother is, or why when she finally got what looked like a real tip she was smack in the middle of all the death that followed. Coincidence, or was it planned? Not to mention how as a witch sharing happens to heal uber fast. Apparently this shouldn't be the case.....along the way we discover (and so does Morgan) she can do things no witch should be a leader to do. Rowena and Lily seem to know something Morgan does not. Many mysteries reside within this fun series. Lots of tongue in cheek humor, Magic, talking cats, mysteries, romance and more all rolled up into one amazingly fun read. If you love books about urban fantasy, paranormal, romance, and mystery then give this book a chance. I can't wait to see what happens next.… (mere)