By the Horns

Gwenna has been waiting months to reenter the Artifactual Guild. It’s only that someone’s committing murders around the Guild, she can now feel the dead, and magic is punishable by death. She distracts herself with pseudonymous sex with a Taurian named Raptor, only to find that he’s the newest member of her small team. Little does she know that Raptor’s on the hunt: professionally, by secretly working for the guildmaster to track down a thieves’ ring; and personally, for the first woman who’s made him feel normal about his body. Now the only way to enter the guild—or even survive the year—is together. This second in Dixon’s series (after Bull Moon Rising) is another deceptively deep worldbuilding dive paired with explicit monster romance. Using mystery to drive the plot while delving into grueling training offers more depth to the world and the city setting. The casual brutalities of servant life explain Gwenna’s desperation to escape it, while Raptor’s isolation as a Taurian with a magical disability allows readers to see why he’d open up to a suspicious but tempting stranger.