ŷ������

�� Characters
�� World-building
�� Pace
�� Politics and intrigue
�� The Inn & Innkeeper role
�� Beautiful cover
✅�� Plot
✅�� Setting
🆗 Romance

Strong 3.5 stars

Dina Demille is still desperately looking for guests and money to save her Inn, so when she gets an offer to host a peace talk between three groups who'd been at war over a planet for decades, she has no real choice but to accept. She now has less than 48 hours to find a way to host, feed, and entertain vampires, a horde of fierce warriors who have been locked in a bloody war with the vampires for decades, and a group of cunning merchants who want to profit from the possible peace and seem to care about profit only.

Caldenia blinked. “Who are the attending parties?��
“The Holy Anocracy represented by House Krahr, the Hope-crushing Horde, and the Merchants of Baha-char. They coming here for Arbitration and they will probably try to murder each other the moment they walk through the door.��
Caldenia’s eyes widened. “Do you really think so? This is absolutely marvelous!��
She would think so, wouldn’t she?

I still enjoyed the mix of paranormal and sci-fi in the world-building, and this book had its uniqueness with its mix of magic, monsters, high-tech gadgets, and intergalactic travels. Still, I feel that while it is a very good book, the plot does not progress much. We still don't know shit about Dina's parents' disappearance, Klaus (her brother) was in the prologue but then was never mentioned again (why?! Why mention him if he's not in the story?), and while there was action and intrigue in this book, it overall felt like Dina was simply trying to survive one crisis after the other. There is no bigger picture (not for her at least) besides having money to be able to continue living at the Inn.

“She is in particular interested in the Ennui predator. She very much likes its demeanor and coloring in the images. She understands she may not get that particular one, but perhaps one that resembles it? A young one?��
The Ennui predator. “Where did she find these images?��
“On your planet’s holonet,�� Nuan Ara said helpfully.
We didn’t have holonet. We had internet�� Oh. “So, the esteemed grandmother would like a kitten that looks like Grumpy Cat?�� I picked up my laptop, typed in the image search for Grumpy Cat, and showed him the picture.
�Ԩ���!��
“I will see what I can do.��

Although I enjoyed reading this book and it's fast-paced and very entertaining, I missed the "old Dina". She is not as fiery as in the first book, I missed her snarky conversations with Sean (who by the way was absent for most of the book), and I just wanted her to get pissed at the rude jerks residing at her Inn and to tell them to shove it where the sun don't shine. Poor girl got manipulated, almost killed, and insulted way too much in two weeks. I am also pissed at Sean's absence, he is not there for the first 75% of the book, and then he has 2 or 3 bland interactions with Dina and that's it. My romantic/steamy quota has not been reached. Not even close, and there were many other gorgeous guys at the Gertrude Hunt so I was expecting at least a little flirting...

The never-changing setting also annoyed me a little. Everything happened at the Inn. Dina left to do some grocery and weapon shopping and that's about it. I love the Inn and its magic, but a change of scenery every once in a while would have been refreshing.

My future chef was an oversized, hysterical hedgehog with a martyr complex.

On the plus side, Orro is a great new character that seems to be a permanent addition to the Inn. He's an over-anxious hedgehog who just wants to be able to cook in peace and have people appreciate his cooking. He is not a main character of this book, but I really loved him and I hope he will be there in the next book too (and won't pull a Sean and disappear for 75% of it).

“Dina, I’m bored,�� Caldenia announced.
Too bad. I guaranteed her safety, not entertainment. “What about your game?��
Her Grace gave me a shrug. “I’ve beaten it five times on the Deity setting. I’ve reduced Paris to ashes because Napoleon annoyed me. I’ve eradicated Gandhi. I’ve crushed George Washington. Empress Wu had potential, so I eliminated her before we even cleared Bronze Age. The Egyptians are my pawns. I dominate the planet. Oddly, I find myself mildly fascinated by Genghis Khan. A shrewd and savage warrior, possessing a certain magnetism. I left him with a single city, and I periodically make ridiculous demands that I know he can’t meet so I can watch him squirm.��

Caldenia is also awesome in this book. She is not present much, but every time she's there she makes me smile or laugh out loud so I have no choice but to like her.

While I have a few complaints, this book is still a great, quick, and entertaining read and I will continue with this series for sure.


0.5 Gerard Demille and Helen meet ⭐⭐��
1. Clean Sweep ⭐⭐⭐⭐


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