Welcome to the condo for retired wizards and witches in Grumpy Old Wizards by John O'Riley. Join the pensioners for tea and playing cards (mind reading not allowed) and join them in getting involved in a few murders in their spare time. One thing is sure, nothing has changed in the magicked up USA over the one we know today.
Enter the present day world of witches, warlocks, and high-school. Then add murder to the mix. This is the enticing recipe served up by Nikki Jefford in Entangled, the first of the Spellbound books. If the mix is something you can get into, the book is free to download on Amazon for Kindle at the time of publication of this review. You will be enchanted with what you find.
In Gateway to Nifleheim, Glenn G. Thater delves into the Germanic world of gods and goblins that are related to Valhalla and Nifleheim, the powers of good and evil to spin her yarn. This is the first book in the Harbinger of Doom Series. I have to confess at the start, I skipped many a page to keep going. The story doesn't so much move as that it plods on, tediously.
Deceiving the Duke of Kerrington by Ginny Hartman is based on the trusted plot of a charade where people resembling each other impersonate the other. As such the book is an amusing read; when the plot becomes too obvious, you still want to read on to see how on earth the author is going to get herself out of the pit she is digging for herself page after page, deeper and steeper.
The Hero, the Sword, and the Dragons by Craig Halloran is the first book in The Chronicles of Dragon series. It has everything it takes to give it lift-off, yet strangely it failed to captivate either me or my imagination. Best thing you can do is try it for yourself; at the time this review is published it's available for free on Amazon for Kindle.
