The Magpie Lord

I haven't read very much paranormal romance - in my mind (unfairly), it's all dudes shifting into odd animals and that's just not my thing. Anyway, hooray for romance bingo and KJ Charles, because this is not something I would have picked up on my own, but I'm so glad I did, because this was fun and unexpected. The plot was a little overstuffed and I had a few problems with the pacing, so I almost wish this were longer, because as it is it's kind of like "Remember all those characters you barely met three chapters ago? They're all EEEEEEEEEEVIL and working together and also all their names start with the same letter, so good luck keeping track of them!" I do like how this wasn't super-heavy on exposition - I don't know if it's an offshoot of an earlier series or something, but the world feels very lived-in, in a good way. The short story/epilogue at the end is also a lot of fun. I didn't expect to like this nearly as much as I did, but now I want to read more in this world.

(2019 summer romance bingo: queer paranormal; probably wouldn't fit anywhere else, except the free space/HEA or maybe “assassins,” but that's a stretch.)