Haunted Mediation/Taming His Vampire Mate

 

In honor of the spooky season, here are some quick ARC reviews for two books that I read that kind of tie into the October vibes. 

Haunted Mediation is a continuation in the Conflict Mediation series that follows Leon and James as they go from colleagues who hate each other to friends to possibly more than friends. 

In the first book, Conflict Mediation, the two are "accidentally" sent to couples counseling and realize that they have both misunderstood the other based on the persona that they each portray to the world. 

In this book, the two end up going to a haunted house for Halloween because Haley, Leon's neighbor, tells her mom that he is taking her the community trunk or treat. Haley wants to hang with her friends at the Haunted House, so Leon and James decide to go too ... but not with the kids, that would cramp the kids style. 

This haunted house seems pretty insane because it seems to have every scare imaginable, even a few rooms that are many more for psychological scares. Those are the rooms that help draw our two tentative lovebirds closer as they learn more about the deeper insecurities of the other. 

I love that Leon calls James a mensch, it just makes me chuckle every time I read it. I also love how protective Leon is of Hailey, even though she is almost eighteen. He’s not as gruff as he likes to put on, which makes these stories so fun.

I can’t wait to see what happens with these two for the rest of the series, and hope that Yarman has a key role to play in their relationship.

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Taming His Vampire Mate is the 5th book in the Blood Bonded Mates series. *Random fun fact, the first book I ever was part of an ARC team for was the third book in this series!*

Just when I think I’ve read my favorite book in the Blood Bonded Mates series, another one comes out to take its place. I read this book in a day because I was captivated from the moment Thierry finds his fated mate.

Thierry is a prickly vampire. While he seems grumpy on the outside and most tend to give him some space, the few who really see him can see that he would do anything for those he cares about. Which is what leads him to let Poppy test her spell to help one find their fated mate on him.

Thierry seems to be somewhat shocked the spell works when he finds his fated mate. He is less excited to learn that his fated mate is Jeremy, a werewolf that we meet earlier in the series. The reasons have to do with actions Jeremy took when he was in a dark place emotionally that without the knowledge of Jeremy’s why, remind Thierry of someone from his past.

These two grate on each other’s nerves at first, but once Jeremy sees that what he has been taught about vampires may not be completely true, he starts to really see Thierry. The two go through many emotional ups and downs through the story, and riding each wave with them had my emotions in overdrive - so much so that I did tear up some.

I’m so glad that Thierry got a happy ending, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series! The next book is the last book and because of who it features, I know that I'm going to have to wait to read it until the Christmas holidays because I will be spending a lot of time in my feelings.