Back of Book: 

Supernaturally on the case! Celestine LeBlanc and Luna Finley are the Sleuths of Shadow Salon.

Celestine, witch and wolf shifter has a talent for prophetic drawings. She’s shocked when she draws her landlord Ray with his eyes gouged out and a strange winged-mermaid leaning over him. Later she finds an eyeless Ray dead on the sidewalk. All she wanted to do was open a gallery, but first she must apprehend his killer. In a posthumous note, Ray wrote he wasn’t just a leather-smith but a supernatural pirate mage. Years back, his Jekyll crew trapped the evil Demon Three Eyes clan. Ray feared they’d escaped, were stalking him, and would soon wreak havoc on Savannah.

Oryn, a fellow student in Celestine’s continuing ed art class, is a fae and a thorn in her side, when he asks nosy questions about the case. Yet, she’s drawn to him when he’s her masseur at the spa she frequents, and he’s clever at brainstorming leads regarding Ray’s case. He insists his air magic could come in handy.

When pirates in Ray’s old crew are murdered, their body parts stolen, Celestine puts more horrifying clues together. She’ll need everyone on board, includingLuna, a mermaid asking to show her sea-glass sculptures at Celestine’s new gallery—and the very same mermaid in Celestine’s tragic drawing of Ray. Otherwise, the lethal monstrosity Demon Three Eyes is unleashing on Savannah will destroy the city and everyone in it. 

Book Number: One 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Mystery | Paranormal | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

An adult paranormal mystery featuring a sassy wolf girl and her supernatural sleuthing partners.

"Guardian of Monsters" follows Celestine who is a wolf shifter and a witch. On a day like any other she goes to her art class, gets a massage, and communicates with the dead. But when she returns to her home, her landlord/long time friend, Ray, has been murdered. And the murder was quite abnormal: Ray's eyes have been removed from his skull. Upon receiving her inheritance from Ray, Celestine discovers messages left specifically for her. She decides to take up the case on her own and endeavors to find out who the killer is. But she soon realizes that there is more at stake than she ever could have imagined. . .

This book was a unique read that kept me interested the whole way through. I don't read many mystery books, but the paranormal elements in this one kept me greatly entertained and invested in the plot. The fact that all of the supes have different powers and abilities also kept the magic fresh and always had me guessing what the next supernatural character could do.

I appreciated the characters in this one. I find Celestine's attitude to be spunky and in your face, which is super enjoyable to read. She has many abilities including shape-shifting, earth magic, communing with the dead, prophetic powers, and much more. Initially, I was a bit concerned that she would be too overpowering with all these talents, but she wasn't all that much stronger than the rest of the supe cast. The love interest, Oryn, is a sweet guy. He's super loyal, brave, and is always willing to help out. I think that them meeting in an art class and then their chance encounter at the masseuse was such a fun way to build chemistry between them. It might not have been the most conventional way to initiate their banter-filled relationship, but it is unique. We didn't get much of Luna (the other half of the Sleuths of Shadow Salon) in this book, but her water abilities and flight seem to be cool and useful. The fact that she's a mermaid also gets her bonus points in my book.

The reveals in this book were honestly pretty great. Despite knowing who committed the crimes early on, I still felt inclined to discover how the showdown would go down. Also, after the bomb that Oryn dropped towards the end, I am really curious to see where him and Celestine's relationship goes, as well as learn more lore about his life as a fae. I'm also excited to learn more about Luna's life. It seems traumatic as is, but I'm sure she has other interesting things to share.

Overall, I found "Guardian of Monsters" to be a fun paranormal mystery that kept me engaged until the last page. I am really interested to see where the rest of the series goes; this book had a bunch of lore dropping and worldbuilding, so I feel they can only get better from here. The ending also roles nicely into book two, and the fact that it takes place in a art school surrounding theatre has me excited. I will most definitely be checking out the next one when I get the chance! I would recommend this one for fans of paranormal romance, mysteries, or book lovers who like their MCs strong and independent.

Back of Book: 

Supernaturally on the case! Celestine LeBlanc and Luna Finley are the Sleuths of Shadow Salon.

Shadow Salon detectives Luna and Celestine take on their second case, when Tim Calhoun insists his Conservatory of Theater Arts has been cursed, and the police have come up dry. He claims a red specter is terrorizing him, upturning his library of historic plays, setting fires in the theater, even brutalizing him. Tim is desperate to solve this terrifying mystery before Hollywood directors and agents flock to Savannah to watch his students perform and hopefully sign them.

The 1811 anonymous play is The Romance of the Recording Angels. Hazardous incidents follow rehearsals. Luna interviews students, inspects dorms and the library, where she unearths a copy of the play with strange red notations. She hires Arthur Dodge, a necro-visionary to find out who drew them. The shocking entity he resurrects reveals that three aerial realms must be unlocked to end an actual curse. But as time runs out, where the realms are, what must be done in them and just why the curse was inflicted remains a mystery.

To uncover clues, Luna uses her water magic and flight skills, while resisting her growing attraction to client, Tim. Celestine shares tips from her automatic drawings. As time runs out, Luna must try anything: Dodge’s visionary tea, Hoodoo Root Worker, Selka Dupree’s spell jars, and farmer Crow Dao’s lessons in realm jumping. If Luna fails to reach the realms, the conservatory will be shuttered, the curse will spread… and worse.

Book Number: Two 

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Mystery | Paranormal | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟  

Luna Finley is a supernatural investigator with wings and tail who is ready to dive into the mystery surrounding the local conservatory and the mysterious presence that seems to be haunting its halls. . . 

"Theater of Curses" follows Luna, a paranormal investigator who just so happens to be a mermaid. After successfully solving her first case alongside her partner Celestine, she moves onto another mystery, this time surrounding Tim Calhoun's Conservatory of Theater Arts. Strange happenings are occurring within its walls such as grisly attacks, terrifying graffiti, and strange red notations appearing in the actor's scripts. It's up to Luna to discover how to stop the Red Specter before it injures the students, destroys the theater, or worse. . . 

As a student involved in theatre, I was super excited when I learned the premise of this book. I enjoyed the fact that much of it took place inside a conservatory for the performing arts and that much of the mystery surrounded the playwright and their past. However, this wasn't in actuality a major part of the story, but I found it fun to experience nonetheless. 

I came to realize as I read this one that the main reason I loved the first book in the series ("Guardian of Monsters") is due to the protagonists, Celestine and Oryn. I found that I didn't love Luna nearly as much; I found her to be less interesting, though her backstory and powers are still neat. The love interest Tim on the other hand, did not work for me. I don't even know exactly why I didn't like him, but I just couldn't find myself connecting to him in anyway. I also felt the romance between the two wasn't nearly as organic as Celestine's and Oryn's. I know that playing the comparison game isn't super fair, but that's what I felt myself doing throughout the majority of this book. 

I didn't dislike the story plot in this one, but I found myself often loosing interest when Luna and Tim worked to dig deep into the past and bring the origins of the 1811 play "The Romance of the Recording Angels" to life. I was interested to know details such as who wrote it, why does the Specter hate it so much, and how it connected back to Tim himself. The other details I cared less about, but I didn't feel like it drug too terribly. 

Overall, "Theater of Curses" was a fine read, I just didn't like it nearly as much as the first one. The romance didn't exactly work for me, the side characters fell more flat, and I found myself not caring as much about what was happening in the long run. It was still a fast read with fun mystery and fantastical elements (plus there's baby goats!). I may not have loved reading this one, but I feel future installments in this series could really shine if Luna and Celestine get to act as balanced protagonists sharing the same amount of time on the page. Plus, I'm still desperate to learn more about Oryn's past. I will be waiting for the next installment in this series and hoping that it is even better than the ones before it!

Back of Book: 

Can the team untangle a feud between covens, both drug lords of mysterious elixirs, before a supernatural war explodes?

Celestine is the lead investigator when the team takes on a third case. The elegant and secretive Tavia Floras, known by her coven as the Queen of Savage Flowers creates and manufactures unusual elixirs in her underground caves that promise to heal, even extend life. She claims a rival coven, Argentum Verde, is stealing her formulas, damaging her crops, poisoning the gators and cave dragons whose tendrils and oils are used in the elixirs, and possibly even “disappearing” coven members.

The more Celestine and Luna delve into the queen’s backstory, the more questions they have. Rival coven, Argentum Verde’s non-GMO, purity claims on their compounds seem suss as well. The Shadow Salon team enlists the expertise of a halfling geneticist, Dr. Wise, who also knows his way around the supe dark web, Thorned Fortress. Celestine travels to New Orleans to track down Tavia’s estranged brother Renzo and find out just what happened to turn him against his sister, Tavia.

As Celestine and Luna drill deeper, the case grows incredibly dangerous. A confidential informant turns up dead, dark spells rocket back and forth. Celestine astral-projects to the heavily-guarded Argentum-Verde warehouse, an act that could paralyze her. Shocking twists and revelations explode, rapid-fire. If Celestine and Luna can’t act fast enough, the Queen of Savage Flowers, her coven and business, even Luna and Celestine’s Shadow Salon will perish.

Book Number: Three

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Mystery | Paranormal | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

In book three of the "Sleuths of Shadow Salon" series, Celestine is back in charge and she's tackling her darkest case yet. 

Tavia Floras, the elusive Queen of the Savage Flowers, is in desperate need of some paranormal investigators. She is convinced that a rival coven is stealing her secret recipes and quite possibly even kidnapping some of her "disappearing" coven members. Celestine and Luna are willing to do whatever it takes to figure out just what's up with the coven members of the Savage Flowers and hopefully figure out where everyone has disappeared to before the worst comes to pass. 

I still don't think I liked this one as much as book one, but I found "Cult of the Covens" to be a fun expansion to this world. It was great being back in Celestine's point of view as she tackled the strangest case she ever had to work on. The rival cult vibe was quite entertaining, though it did make the actual mystery elements a tad more predictable. I'm not really complaining though, because I still enjoyed reading this book immensely. Understanding the world from the get-go makes entering each one of these new mysteries such a breeze. 

This addition to the series was a tad spicier than the other two, but this makes sense because Celestine and Oryn are now an established couple. There was also a plot point that required the characters to have sex to accomplish a certain goal, so it makes sense that this book brings a bit more steam to the table. It wasn't anything too graphic or longwinded, so it didn't grate on me too much (unlike some other spicy instances that I've read that lost the essence of the plot behind all the steam). 

Speaking of Oryn, I'm still dying to know more about him and the fae realm. This book alludes to some really interesting events that could potentially happen in book four, which I would be excited to check out. I would be sad if Oryn disappears from the story all together, but Luna will be in charge of the next case anyway, so it might be a decent time to learn more about our mysterious fae lad. I need some serious dirt on this guy, so I'm gonna need to get it somehow. 

Overall, "Cult of the Covens" did a good job keeping me entertained and makes me curious to see what will happen in the next volume of this series. It was great seeing more of Celestine and Oryn, and I really enjoyed the subject matter that this book delved into. I am definitely intrigued to see where this series goes and what happens on Tybee Island in the next book "Discord of the Dispossessed."