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Kinship and Kindness by Kara Jorgensen

Bennett Reynard needs one thing: to speak to the Rougarou about starting a union for shifters in New York City before the delegation arrives. When his dirigible finally lands in Louisiana, he finds the Rougarou is gone and in his stead is his handsome son, Theo, who seems to care for everyone but himself. Hoping he can still petition the Rougarou, Bennett stays only to find he is growing dangerously close to Theo Bisclavret. Theo Bisclavret thought he had finally come to terms with never being able to take his father’s place as the Rougarou, but with his father stuck in England and a delegation of werewolves arriving in town, Theo’s quiet life is thrown into chaos as he and his sister take over his duties. Assuming his father’s place has salted old wounds, but when a stranger arrives offering to help, Theo knows he can’t say no, even if Mr. Reynard makes him long for things he had sworn off years ago. As rivals arrive to challenge Theo for power and destroy the life Bennett has built, ...

Life Minus Me by Sara Codair (Evanstar Chronicles, #0.5)

*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book. 

Life Minus Me is a short and ultimately hopeful story of a wingless half-angel trying to help other people when she's not quite all right herself. Featuring casually excellent nonbinary rep and many cute dogs. I want more so I'm glad there's another. 

This is a short book which implies a much more complicated world than could fit in novelette form. It eschews deep backstory except to sketch fairly complicated family lives for the POV characters. I mean that in the sense that we don't know how they got to be here, doing whatever they're doing, but we learn relevant tensions with family and friends and a particular family secret. It's a book about feeling useless and adrift, not quite good enough for whatever needs doing. It definitely gets dark in places, but it's also grappling with that darkness. It features some persistent suicidal ideation, but the reader is shielded a bit by rotating narrators.

I'm glad this leads into a larger series because my main thought is that I want more story. I like these characters, I care about what's happening to them. This book is a snapshot of a particularly terrible week but I would happily spend more time here. To me it's always a good sign for a series when I feel like I didn't get enough time in a book, especially when I'm discovering a world with sequels already published. 

This book is full of good dogs; clearly written by someone who loves dogs very much. I'm not a dog person myself but the care is obvious and provides some brightness in what could have easily been a very grim book. 

Book CWs for depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, self-harm, and mention of infertility and miscarriage.

A road lined with snow-covered trees, overlaid with a feathered wing.

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