Summary:
A powerful witch, Piotr Russell has resigned himself to loneliness, because ordinary humans can’t know what he is, and other witches are intimidated by his abilities. Generations of Russells have lived and died with only their familiars at their side. The presence of a friendly familiar is enough to keep even the loneliest witch sane, and yet Piotr deliberately hasn’t chosen one. He forces himself to keep busy instead, but the emptiness of his house haunts him even more the spirit of Great-Great-Aunt Elysia in the parlor. With Samhain and Halloween approaching, he’ll have much to do, and knowing that, his concerned coven seizes the chance to intervene and sends help to his door in the form of Bartleby Dorchester.
The rarest of rare jewels, Bartleby is a human familiar: a witch with no magic of his own, and a desire to find a strong witch to help and serve. In particular, he desires to help and serve Piotr, and everything in Piotr wants to let him. Bartleby was meant to be his familiar; Piotr knows it as surely as he knows when it will rain or when the apples in his garden will ripen. But what Piotr wants from Bartleby, all he’s ever wanted, is for Bartleby to love him, something he thinks is impossible.
Russells live and die unloved, and he won’t allow Bartleby to feel obligated to spend his life with him as his familiar if he could be happy in love with someone else. But Samhain is a time for change, when walls come down and borders grow thin, and Bartleby isn’t going to waste what might be his last chance to convince Piotr that they were meant to be. He might have no magic, but love is a power all its own.
Summary:
Once a year, the town of Ravenscroft celebrates the winter solstice by watching the Oak King symbolically slay the Holly King to ensure the death of winter. To most people, it’s a pagan ritual that has lost all meaning in the modern world, harmless fun during the week of Christmas. To the coven who founded the town, it’s a magic so important they entrusted it to the two strongest witches in generations.
Will Battle and Chester Sibley are opposites in every way, or so Ravenscroft residents insist. Quiet, polite Will is the town’s beloved adopted son, popular and admired. Defiant, outspoken Chester is disliked and avoided despite being a direct descendant of the town’s founders. It’s no wonder Will is the embodiment of spring and life as the Oak King and Chester was given the cold, dark Season of Holly. No one in town seems to realize their nice, well-mannered Oak King has iron at his core and their fearsome Holly King only wants to make people happy. Perhaps that’s also why not even the other witches suspect that Chester has been in love with Will for almost his entire life.
That’s how Chester wants it. He might dream of Will, but he’s learned to keep his dreams to himself. The trouble is Will. For all that he smiles and nods, Will has started quietly rebelling against both the town and the coven. With only days until the winter solstice, he issues Chester a challenge—to finally ask for what he wants. If Chester tells the truth, he risks losing Will and upsetting the ritual that has made the town prosperous. But there is more between them than magic, no matter how powerful or ancient, and Chester would do anything for Will, even, just maybe, coming in from the cold.
Nothing More Certain #3
Summary:
Emery Elward returned to Trinity Creek with no intention of doing anything but repairing the farmhouse he grew up in, starting a business, and tending to the graveyard linked to his family’s property. He has no interest in renewing past friendships. But one old friend is determined to get Emery out from behind the cemetery’s iron gates.
Crafty, delicate Ezra Bell, who tailors his coal-black suits, knits gloves to warm his cold hands, and couldn’t make a plant grow if he tried, isn’t someone Emery can ignore. Ezra was Emery’s best friend all through school, his first crush, and his first kiss. Then Ezra stepped back without ever acknowledging that anything happened between them and Emery left town. But now Ezra is free to tell Emery the secret that kept them apart—the town is steeped in magic, the old families are witches, and some of them, like Ezra, are a little bit more.
Amid gray skies, falling leaves, and the paper cutouts of skeletons that decorate the town in anticipation of Halloween, Ezra is going to woo Emery back to the land of the living. If anyone can convince Emery that he is wanted, that Ezra still loves him, and that magic is real, it’s Ezra. Emery may be stubborn, but he is about to discover that nothing is more certain than Ezra.
Original Review October 2015:
This was a nice change of pace to read this Halloween season. There is still witches and magic but the only bad guy in the story is Piotr's own determination not to let his feelings for Bartleby be known but Bartleby is equally determined to fulfill his love for the witch. This is the first time I have read R Cooper but it won't be the last, I look forward to checking out the author's past and future works.
Holly & Oak #2
I'm not going to go into any of the plot as Holly & Oak is definitely one you have to experience to fully appreciate the story and the characters. As for Chester and Will, well they both have some growing up to do or at least it appears that way but then as the story progresses you learn a few things and realize it isn't just them. Truth is they are both a delight but I would have to say that Chester probably touched me more but they both deserve to find the happiness that has been denied them. R Cooper has done a lovely job of blending paranormal, legend, and romance, the fact that it takes place around the Winter Solstice just gives it an extra special flavor that makes a change of pace from most holiday reads.
Nothing More Certain #3
Once again I'm not going to touch on the plot as with novellas so many little details tell so much. I will say that Ezra and Emery are a very intriguing pair that I quickly found myself rooting for. Sometimes the conversation felt a little disjointed with a stop/start atmosphere but I quickly realized that perhaps the author did that on purpose to help the reader connect to the characters, especially Emery to show how his feelings of isolation can effect one's people skills leaving them with feelings of awkwardness even around those they care about. Now whether that was something the author intended, I cannot say but it did help me connect with the character. I still think Holly & Oak is my favorite in the series but Nothing More Certain is a lovely addition to the Familiar Spirits series and hope to see more.
RATING:
Author Bio:
R. Cooper grew up thinking Mary Fisher from She-Devil and Joan Wilder from Romancing the Stone were role models. She also watched too many classic movies and read anything she got her wee little hands on, including encyclopedias. Unsurprisingly, this fantasy-prone nerd grew up to take to writing. Her published work is m/m romance and she writes in any genre which strikes her fancy and which allows her delve into new characters. It's the characters that interest her most of all. Well, and the happy endings. There should always be happy endings.
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WEBSITE / KOBO / GOOGLE PLAY / TUMBLR
B&N / SMASHWORDS / DREAMSPINNER
iTUNES / AMAZON / GOODREADS
EMAIL: riscoops@gmail.com
A Little Familiar #1
B&N / KOBO / SMASHWORDS
Holly & Oak #2
Nothing More Certain #3
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