Review: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory

Title: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Jolie Wilkens #1)
Author: H.P. Mallory
Source: Kindle Freebie
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Novel
Release Date: July 2010
Reviewer: Jasmyn

Life isn't bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins.  True, she doesn't have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.

Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she's a witch and who just might turn her life upside down.  Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost.  Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost's demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!

Word of Jolie's incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the underworld's most wanted list.  Consequently, she finds herself the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a danger but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.

I think I went into this one expecting too much.  I had heard over and over again how great this series was going to be, and it was just a little more hyped that what I got out of it.  It is a good book and I did enjoy it, just not enough to rave about it.

Jolie was humorous.  This is a very sarcastic and joking type of paranormal romance that seems to becoming more and more popular.  I love her attitude and her banter with the people all around her - and her best friend is quite the character as well.  She's the perfect play off of Jolie.  Rand was far too serious for me to really get into, but I can see that he needs to be that way to play his part of the story well.

I'm not one that likes my leading characters to have "relations" with others in the book, so when this occurs it is a bit of a turn off for me.  There was plenty of supernatural creatures to go around, and quite a few interesting abilities that were fun to read about.  I'm still not sure if I will continue on the series or not.

Review Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory

Title: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Jolie Wilkins #1)
Author: H.P. Mallory
Source: Requested Review
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format: Paperback and eBook, 382 pgs
Release Date: October 6, 2010

A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead. A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover. A six hundred year old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches. The Underworld in a state of chaos. Let the games begin.

Life isn’t bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn’t have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.

Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she’s a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost’s demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!

Word of Jolie’s incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the Underworld’s most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.


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My Review:

H. P. Mallory has come up with yet another delightful story and series. Humorous, good chemistry, fun characters, unexpected twists and turns,with ghosts, vampires, shapeshifting witches and warlocks, Lurkers, werewolves and demons. Drew me in from the first paragraph. It was a quick read, even at 382 pages.

Jolie, 28, is a tarot card reader with a small self esteem issue.

Rand, is a warlock who needs Jolie to go back to the 1920s with him to find out who killed his client, a ghost. Jolie says about him, "...Greek God, Sean-Connery-would-be-envious good looks that grabbed me first or his considerable height. It was his aura." With Brit accent, "His face was angular, and his Roman nose lent him a certain Paul Newman-esque quality."

Sinjin, is a vampire, Jolie describes him, "he was quick witted and ... well, sexy as a son of a bitch ... he was just scrumptious."

Trent, is the werewolf pack leader, another attractive male with charisma, who Jolie is able to bring him back to life after he is murdered and then he asks her out for dinner.

Odran, king of fairies, is another hottie who wants in Jolie's pants.

Jolie is very attracted to Rand but feels she is too plain Jane to ever attract him.

Rand tells her she is a witch to which she tells him he's crazy. Turns out she is and gets embroiled in a tug of war with several "people" who want to be her "protector" (read: slave) because she is very powerful with a unique power. Her world is turned upside down and she can no longer live in her non-paranormal world. She ends up in England being taught her craft by fairies.

Jolie has all these men suddenly giving her all this attraction and she is dubious of them all.

This is a laugh-out-loud funny paranormal story which I call a romance but some will call it a fantasy romance and some just a fantasy. Read it and make up your own mind while enjoying the story.

Warning Spoiler Alert!!!
Story continues into book 2 but will Jolie and Rand finish their romance? Or she and Sinjin wind up together? Is Trent completely out of the picture? And what of Odran?

Review Toil and Trouble by H.P. Mallory

Title: Toil and Trouble (Jolie Wilkins #2)
Author: H.P. Mallory
Source: Requested Review
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format: eBook and Paperback, 270 pgs
Release Date: November 30th 2010

The Underworld in civil war.
The cause? A witch who can reanimate the dead.
A sexy as sin vampire determined to claim her.
An infuriatingly handsome warlock torn between duty and love.
Who says blonds have more fun?

After defending herself against fairy magic, Jolie Wilkins wakes to find her world turned upside down—the creatures of the Underworld on the precipice of war. The Underworld is polarized in a battle of witch against witch, creature against creature, led by the villainous Bella, who would be Queen.

While Jolie has one goal in mind, to stake the vampire, Ryder, who nearly killed her, she also must choose between the affections of her warlock employer, Rand, and the mysteriously sexy vampire, Sinjin. And as if that weren’t enough to ruin a girl’s day, everything Jolie knows will be turned inside out when she’s thrust into the shock of a lifetime.


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My Review:

This is the second in series and the continuing story of Jolie, a new witch who can bring the dead back to life. A mere six months ago, Jolie was happily reading tarot cards in her shop, blissfully unaware of the Underworld creatures ... ya know, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, shapeshifting witches, Scottish Fae people in kilts, demons and etc. Not only did she not know about them, she didn't know she was one of them -- a witch, a quite powerful and unique one.

"One thing I’d learned about the otherworldly is they’re a randy bunch…" and they all want Jolie, well they want her power and to have sex with her.

HP Mallory's stories are refreshing and hilarious. Some really funny lines in this one: "Unbelievable! Why was it impossible for me to get laid? Recently it seemed the most action I’d gotten had been at my last pap smear ... If there were such a thing as blue balls for women, I had them bad."
"Maybe I took Odran for granted but it was only because he regarded me as nothing more than a bun for his hot dog."

The story picks back up just after Jolie's battle with the fairy under the watchful eye of Odran, the fairie king who has promised his help in the war against Bella if Jolie is able to defend herself.

Rand, warlock, is still "male beauty personified".
Sinjin is still his gorgeous vampire self.
Trent and Odran are there as well gearing up for the war with Bella and her forces.
And they all still want Jolie.

Think of the battle as being something like Twilight Saga: Eclipse on a much larger scales with witches, wizards and Fae along with the vamps and werewolves. Only here Bella wants Jolie for her slave.

Jolie suddenly finds herself thrust back into Rand's past in the middle of the battle and find out something very important. I figured this twist with Rand in advance but it is a very good one.

This is another quick and fun read. This story ends with the action continuing again in the next book with more up in the air. I'm eager to see how Jolie deals with it.

If you like Molly Harper's vampire and werewolf series, you'll definitely like Mallory's series.

Can't wait to read the sequels to this and Mallory's other series: Great Hexpectations (Dulcie O'Neil, #3) which was just released Oct 2011 and Witchful Thinking (Jolie Wilkins, #3) coming in Feb 2012.

Review A Tale of Two Goblins by H.P. Mallory

Title: A Tale of Two Goblins (Dulcie O'Neil #2)
Author: H.P. Mallory
Source: Requested Review
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Format: eBook, 143 pgs
Release Date: March 21, 2011

A Dreamstalker— a creature that stalks and kills its victims in sleep.
A fairy in law enforcement determined to stop him.
A potions smuggler who possesses something she wants.
A vampire with his own agenda.
And a partner who couldn’t possibly be sexier or more frustrating.

Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy working in law enforcement for the Netherworld. When Knight Vander approaches her with a case regarding comatose victims, she agrees to help him, imagining the most difficult part will be combatting her attraction to him.

But, what Dulcie isn’t betting on is the fact that the case becomes personal when she learns all the victims are somehow linked to her.

When her best friend falls victim to the Dreamstalker, Dulcie must do everything in her power to ensure her friend’s survival, including associating with criminals and accepting the fact that desperate times do definitely call for desperate measures.


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My Review:

This is the second in Mallory's Dulcie O'Neil series with vampires, werewolves, goblins, loki, witches, fairies, elves populating the streets of Splendor, CA along with the humans and a new threat causing people from Dulcie's past and present to fall into a coma for days before dying.

The chemistry between Dulcie and the three males who want her is off the charts. Bram, Knight, Sam, Trey are back helping Dulcie with this latest case. Quill even makes an appearance.

Bram is celebrating his 300th birthday as a vampire and is even more gorgeous than even and more enamored with Dulcie.

Knight, still his uber sexy and delicious self, is back to drag Dulcie into an ANC case and torment her with all his flirtations.

Quill, still his paranormal romance book cover sensual self, comes to Dulcie's rescue when she needs some not so legal help and when he thinks she needs assistance in a fight.

Enter Dia, a sleep goblin and Chief of nearby Moon ANC precinct to lend her help with the case as well.

Once again, even though the sexual tension is high, there is more talk than action in that area. In my humble opinion, Dulcie needs to give in and get her a little sumthin' sumthin' with at least one, if not all, of these three hunks she has panting after her.

Okay, so this is not strictly a paranormal romance anymore since, according to the authors who participated in the Is it Paranormal Romance or Urban Fantasy event here last month since it doesn't meet the requirement of a couple getting together and staying together in a single book. However, it has lots of humor, sexual chemistry, romance (in its way), studly gorgeous males and who cares if Dulcie hasn't made up her mind yet and we need to read more fun to find out? We get more of the characters this way.

This was another fun read. Can't wait for the next book in the series.

Review To Kill a Warlock by H.P. Mallory

Title: To Kill a Warlock (Dulcie O'Neil #1)
Author: H.P. Mallory
Source: Requested Review
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Format: eBook, 134 pgs
Release Date: July 3, 2010

The murder of a dark arts warlock. A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch.

Dulcie O'Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She's a Regulator-a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world.

When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she's either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim.

Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie.

Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie's got her hands full.

As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals.


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My Review:

In this first of the Dulcie O'Neil series, Mallory has created a world populated with witches, warlocks, fairies, demons, vampires, werewolves, elves, hobgoblins, ogres, leprechauns, pixies, gremlins, loki and more who all "came out" into the public to the humans fifty years ago. Now a creature is killing illegal potions dealers in the city of Splendor, CA.

This is a humorous paranormal fantasy romance story filled with action and a betrayal which reminds me a little of MaryJanice Davidson's style of writing.

Meet the main characters:
Dulce, the female lead, is a fairy with Spock ears (she really hates her ears) who works as a Regulator, someone who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to ensure they’re not breaking any rules, for the A.N.C. (Association for Netherworld Creatures). When she's not out kicking butts, she's a budding romance author.
Quillan, elf and Dulce's boss, is sexy in a paranormal romance book cover kind of way.
Sam, Dulcie's best friend, is a witch who works with her.
Bram is a vampire who runs a nightclub called No Regrets. He also dated Sam for awhile but she broke it off when she figured out he was dating her just to get closer to Dulcie.
Dagan is a demon who runs an S&M club called Payne and is one of Dulcie's informants.
Trey is a hobgoblin and the only other Regulator in the Splendor precinct.
Knight is a detective from the A.N.C. Relations Office in the Netherworld and a Loki who is here on a temporary assignment.

Everyone gets involved trying to stop the creature murdering the illegal potions traders as well as the one controlling the creature but it is up to Dulcie to finish it.

Three sexy gorgeous guys are romancing Dulcie. Who will she pick? The elf, the loki or the vampire? The sexual chemistry is hot in book but there is more talk than action on that front.

Warning Spoiler Alert!!!
This ends with open question of who Dulcie will end up with, we'll have to wait for the sequel.