A fantastic dark romanc where the good guys arent' so good and bad guys aren't really that bad. Lots of great characters and fun creatures with unique backgrounds.

Codename Fox/mind games by A.L. Kessler and Mia Bishop.
This is 2 novellas in one. I really enjoyed both. In fox skye tries to hack into the mobs computer but zeek catches her. Now they join forces to get Travis and the head bad guy. Book 2 mind games Reagan is a
psychic and she has to to into Liam mind. But while in his mind he is injured. Now they think she did it. Really enjoyable read both books. Great stories. 4*.

You get two short novellas in this one, my paranormal vampire/wolf-shifter/psychic witch romance book loving friends. Fox, the first story, features a vampire hero paired with a fox shifting computer hacker heroine. Mind Games wraps up this duo with Reagan, a police type psychic witch turned reluctant at first protector of Liam, the leader of the pack alpha wolf shifter.

Both have an at first adversaries to lovers theme all within the same backdrop of opposing sides of two separate organizations, in which one is more lethal and very corrupt. It was a lot to keep track of. In fact, the conflicts often stole the show and held the spotlight. I must admit I started skimming at times. Perhaps, it was because I read more for romance/main couple interaction and not so much for what was transpiring between the backdrop scenarios.

There were quite a few perilous situations that unfolded. Some of them involved graphic violence. Let's just say, the expression, "I'll rip your heart out" takes on a whole new visual, bloody meaning here. Also, the heroine often shifting and having to walk around naked in front of others seemed to occur more than I was comfortable with.

If you are a fan of this genre, you may enjoy these two stand-alone but clearly linked novellas. Overall, the concepts of the plots were intriguing and the writing flowed most of the time, but there were instances where I found it mediocre. Enough so that I lowered my rating.

Title: Code Name: Fox/Mind Games, Series: The Syndicate, (Book 1), Author: A.L Kessler and Mia Bishop, Pages: 186, both stand-alones but same shared backdrop, some very steamy scenes, some graphic violence, romance safe, paranormal themes.

(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review, nor is there any affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

It was ok i guess. It took me absolutely ages to trawl through it because i constantly lost interest and found something better to do.

love books that cross-mesh genres, and I especially love books that do it well. There are some books who insert the paranormal just because it’s trendy, but A.L. Kessler makes it an intricate part of the story. Sort of a blend between Deborah Harness and Kim Harrison. Action packed, fast-paced, and great character develop. I would highly recommend.

Skye looked at the looming office building and her intel told her that was where the Mafia kept the server se needed to access. She had tried to hack into their database. But they had better protection than she had skill. This was Skye’s first mission with the Agency. The Agency was around to police the paranormal creatures since mainstreaming had started. The government decided there was a need for a task force especially when people discovered all the Mafias were all run by paranormal creatures. One of the Agency’s first tasks was to clean up the streets. But to do that they needed to know which creatures were running the circuit and who the contacts were. Skye was to find out. Skye was a shifter. While in the cellar a vampire came down and caught Skye in a fox form . Skye was forced to shift back to her human form. She was then to be questioned by the Vampire who had caught her. He was Zack.
Mind Games :
Regan’s a psychic witch. Liam is a shifter. Liam is a shifter. Liam is a suspect in a murder and it is Regan’s job to find out the truth. During the interrogation things go wrong and now both Liam and Regan are in danger. Liam must keep Regan close because he needs her help. Regan hates shifter.
I didn’t like the stories I felt the characters were not developed enough. This just wasn’t for me. I am sure others will love it.

The first part of this two part book was written well and I enjoyed the story. The second part got a bit monotonous and I eventually switched to a different book.

The premise is there are two organizations fighting against one another. On the outside the mob is seen as evil and is run by supernaturals and then you have the agency who are the good guys. But are they?

You have two couples and lots of other characters that make up the characters in this book and the first is a shift and a vampire and the second is a werewolf and a witch. They each will have to rely on the other to make it through.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This book contains 2 Novella's but both involve the "Syndicate".

The first story is about Skye, a shifter. She works for the Agency as a hacker. When she is unable to hack into the Syndicates computers, she is told to go there and do it directly. She is caught though, by Zeek. Zeek is a Vampire and no one to mess with. He knows Skye isn't an experienced agent and tries to explain to her that it is the Agency she works for that is bad.

Skye does start to question the Agency but it could mean the end of her.

The second story is about Raegan, a psychic witch and Liam, a shifter. Liam is brought in as a suspect for a murder and it is her job to go into his "mindscape" and find out the truth. Her interrogation goes wrong and now they are both in danger.

Liam must keep her close because he needs her help for the one trying to kill him. Raegan hates shifters with a passion which stemmed from her mother's death. Raegan will learn that the history she thought was fact...wasn't but can she save Liam?

Loved both of these stories and would recommend!

Code Name: Fox/Mind Games are the first two novellas in the Syndicate Series. I enjoyed these stories, the character dynamics and interaction was great. I look forward to reading more by these authors

I started this book with such high expectations, but no they fell on their face. I understand novellas are shorter so you have to cram a whole love story into X amount of pages, but this was just not well developed. I have read novellas that have made even the most unrealistic of stories seem manageable but this one missed the mark. A supernatural syndicate, vampires, witches, shifters, alphas, it was all there. It seemed everything you loved about the paranormal would be thrown at you in a neat package and instead it was shoved down your throat. There really wasn't any character development and I felt each character was there to fill the space. I really couldn't get into the stories and forget about the love stories, they were just to skimp for my liking. Disappointing.

Recommendation: Pass.