Oracles Always Win

Willow Lake Supernaturals #3

by Lori Ames

Jake believes he is absolutely and completely ordinary… But what if he isn’t?

Jake is absolutely, completely ordinary, even if he has a weird painting affliction. Painting is relaxing, right? It helps. It’s a form of art therapy. Even if his is the sub-conscious kind of painting. The middle-of-the-night, paint-while-you-sleep kind. The kind that makes him puke every single time it happens.

Okay. So, maybe that’s not exactly normal.

But when the sexy but imaginary guy with horns, who his weird painterly alter-ego has been fixated on for the last year, suddenly shows up in town with horns and all, Jake doesn’t know what to think. Especially when the not-so-imaginary guy claims he’s a demon and that Jake’s an oracle of all things. That’s when Jake begins to suspect his life is never going to be the same again.

After all, he mentioned the horns, right?

Tags: MM Paranormal Romance with Fated Mates! A demon in search of a home, an oracle unknowingly in need of a tether, the talking cat is a messy eater, oracles know things, oracles shouldn’t paint in public in only their underwear, the wolves in the hills are still jerks, a formerly human guy keeps asking crazy questions, who knew horns and wings could be sexy, and… just how many supernatural beings will be drawn to this one little town?

Genres: Paranormal, M M Romance, Romance, Fantasy, Magic, Demons, Shapeshifters

406 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 14, 2024

About the author

When Lori was in elementary school, she wrote a very compelling story about a girl with a prickly personality who turned into a rose. (Sounds amazing, right?) Then she discovered romances in her teens and, well, she knew she wanted to write romances. It took her a little longer to find MM romances, but once she did, she was addicted. She lives in a small town in Alberta with her husband and an elderly black cat who might be a familiar.

Lori Ames writes MM romance with touch of magic!

Reviews

[BookSafety Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.

Was swooning a thing real people did? Or was it just something that happened to characters in books? Because I was ready to fall into this guy and have him carry me away.

Book 3, and I’m still having so much fun reading this series. There’s so much sweetness in the romance, a perfect amount of paranormal stuff going on, some action and also a good dose of funny stuff. I remember the warm and fuzzy feeling the first book in the series gave me, and this one was no different. I would gladly move to Willow Lake, and I can’t wait for Simon’s book.

I do wish the overarching plot for the series was touched on a little more in this book, because it did feel like it was mostly relationship centered. Which is fine, and it was still there, but I’m such a sucker for external action. I’m guessing there will be more in the next book.

Two of the characters I have been the most intrigued by through the first two books were Gage and Jake, so I got really excited when I found out they would be paired together. It definitely did not disappoint. Jake is the cutest and most charming little dude ever.

This series is low angst and loads of fun. Can definitely recommend.

⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Demon MC
Oracle MC
Found family
Supernatural
Small town
Virgin MC
Slight age gap
Slow burn

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Vomiting
Explicit sexual content
Mentions of human trafficking
Bomb explosion
Minor injury (MCs and SCs)
Death of family members (past)
Graphic violence and murder

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
POV: 1st person, dual POV
Genre: Paranormal romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
Main characters’ age: 23 and nearly 2000
Pages: 356

I may not have ever had sex, but I knew what I wanted: I’d discovered porn in the last year. It’d been very educational.

A sharp pain sliced into my leg. “Ouch. What the⁠—?” Paws was there, clawing on my shin to get my attention. “Lift me up,” he demanded. I still wasn’t entirely comfortable with my grandfather’s supposedly magical cat, but I did as he asked. I gathered him in my arms and hoisted him up. He was surprisingly heavy for being so small. “Don’t hold me like I’m a baby, for fuck’s sake,” he grumbled as he wiggled out of my arms to climb onto my shoulders. He sprawled behind my neck, stretching from one shoulder to the other like the world’s most uncomfortable scarf.


You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?...

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 50%

The writing style of this author doesn't mesh with what I enjoy as a reader. There is way too much exposition and internal monologue. A five sentence conversation takes five pages because someone says a sentence and then gets lost in their own head for a page. Then the next person replies, lather, rinse, repeat until I can't even remember what the point of the conversation was. I prefer showing in books. This is just way, way, waaaaaaay too much telling for me. It's an absolute chore to get through and that's not the point of reading for me.

[Audi♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor dude lived a whole year thinking he was goin crazy. All the visions, scary paintings, and missing time. Kinda shitty Noone told him.
I love that Zack had paintings of Gage and him before even meeting 🥹 They were adorable! Their tethering thing was really special. Every single bonding/mating scene in this series has done it for me. The intimacy, chemistry, magic, and all the colors. Aww, and the tattoos. I just love it!

I can't say I'm excited about the next book. Simon didn't interest me. At all. I'm still interested in the overall plot, tho. Even if it's draggin' a bit.
More warehouses? Stolen stuff? Another demon?
I don't think this series is finished yet.
I NEED Haydens book.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4.25 stars

Oracles Always Win is the third book in Lori Ames’ Willow Lake Supernatural series and it’s another great installment in this engaging paranormal series. These books each feature a new couple, but the characters appear in each other’s books and there is an overarching suspense storyline. We also meet Jake in earlier books, as well as learn a bit about Gage from his teammate Adrian’s book. So while you might be able to follow along here, these are best read in order starting with Hellhounds Never Lie to get the full picture of the threats and character backstory.

I have been intrigued by Jake as a character as we learned in past books that everyone knows he is an oracle but him (and the townsfolk have a betting pool going as to when he might figure it out)

I found this another great installment to a really compelling series and I am definitely excited for more.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Elena Rodríguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
“This is the place. Welcome. You are here. You are home. We’ve been waiting for you. We’re thrilled to have you. So happy you found us.”

Tercera parte de “Willow Lake Supernaturals”. Le tenía ganas a la historia, sobre todo porque pensaba que iba a ser el momento que se me respondiesen muchas de las preguntas formadas en los otros libros, sin embargo, no ha sido así.

Me han encantado los personajes y los secundarios los que más. Pero de resto, se me ha hecho un poco bola y repetitivo. Me ha dado también rabia que esté alargando la saga como un chicle y contando las cosas a cuentagotas, pero tengo ganas como sigue y necesito respuestas. También admitir que mejora en cuanto a su escritura.

A por el siguiente.

[Emmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

Jake frustrated me so much 🫠 He was ignoring EVERYTHING! He is the human incarnation of denial 🥲

They were cute together and I liked the progression of the plot and seeing the other characters. However, him being so stubbornly blind and all the people around him just letting him slowly go insane was so frustrating 🙃


Narrator : Kirt Graves

[Taylor Jefferson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75

I have liked this series so far, but was frustrated for most of this book. First of all, the abundance of repetitive inner dialogue drove me nuts. Characters would be in the middle of conversations but there would be paragraphs/pages of a character's thoughts between each time a character spoke. It threw off the pacing and I found myself skimming a lot.

Jake's character pops up in the first two books. We already know he has powers but his ability to see the supernatural world is suppressed. It took almost half the book of Jake stuffing his head in sand before he finally found out he was an oracle. I was frustrated with him for how willfully ignorant he was being and with the town, who saw he was struggling but chose to keep him in the dark. He would literally see centaurs, tentacles and people with horns and his reaction was just "I must be going nuts, but I probably shouldn't tell anyone." Once again it was just repetitive and all I felt was frustration. Jake was insecure and naive at the beginning of the story and remained that way. I didn't see any real growth from his character.

There were still so many unanswered questions regarding Jake and his oracle abilities. At the end of the book he has the opportunity to speak to the ghost of his grandfather and get some answers but he decides he doesn't want to. Well, that's just fine and dandy but as a reader I would have liked some answers! The author has the perfect setup to provide us with some closure then doesn't. It felt like a tease. I love interconnected "standalones" with overarching plots but there has to be a balance of leaving the door open and providing a satisfying ending for each couple.

I will still continue this series, mostly because I liked the first book so much, but this was lackluster.

[Fernanda Fatio · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was not much advancement in terms of the overall arc (the trafficking ring investigation). Gage and his team didn’t do a thing there that actively involved an investigation.
The town’s bet toward Jake may have started fun and innocent but it pissed me off how no one saw how he was deteriorating. They knew he was an oracle and having visions without admitting to seeing the magic properly. No one imagined what he must have been thinking? Felt sad that even after been there for a year he didn’t have one single person to confide with.
Gage was an interesting character and I liked how to noticed this issue right away and took upon his responsibility to help Jake, even before knowing what they meant for each other.
As for the attack on the other pack and the bombing in the inn we are left with more questions than answers and I found weird that the author preferred to focus on Gage and Jake discussing hygiene habits before sex after bonding for several pages instead of the fact that Gage had gone on a rampage and killed several people.
Lastly, I saw that next book will be Simon and Ogden. Who the hell is Ogden? Do I know an Ogden? And Simon? Scaredy cat Simon) I was more interested in seeing other characters like Levi/Parker, Hayden or Van - since we don’t know their story yet.

[Demian Grimm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lori Ames and her Willow Lake Supernaturals series quickly became a must-read for me. It is simply impossible not to fall in love with this colourful city and its quirky inhabitants.
Even though each book features a different couple, I definitely recommend reading this series in order for the world building and overarching plot/mystery.

I loved the romance between Jake & Gage. And although they have instant chemistry, it takes a while for them to figure things out.
Jake is a cinnamon roll of a character you would wrap in a burrito blanket to comfort and protect. While Gage is an incredibly powerful demon, he has a soft spot for everyone he considers his own - his team (found family) and Jake.

Main characters are interesting, likeable and well developed. Story is well written and fun with a touch of action, suspense & mystery. It is also full of interesting side characters that make you want to read more about them (and find out who their fated mates are).
There is also the ongoing mystery to this series which is interesting and engaging.
I can't wait to read how the story develops and unfolds in the next book.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for all the other stories!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and this is my unbiased review.

_______________________

CW from author's page:

- Some violence including one particularly grisly scene
- One main character’s home is bombed
- Minor injuries to characters
- Sexual Content
- Vomiting
- Patricide in the past (prior to start of book)
- Threats to one main character’s life
- Mentions of trafficking of people (not of main characters)
- Concerns about mental health

[Courtney Bassett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just recently discovered this series and have been eagerly anticipating Jake’s story! Plus Gage, who so desperately needed a tether! It was fun to see all the side characters, including Jeremy (who I will never get enough of) and several whose happy endings I can’t wait to see (looking at you, Hayden).

This author has a really good grasp on pacing as well as a great balance between plot and romance. Each book has had me cheering for the couple and invested in the story.

I do recommend reading this series in order because of the overarching plot and world building, though each book features a different couple.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Demon and the Oracle . . .

Jake figures that he is normal and ordinary. But he does suspect there is something different about Willow Lake’s population. He imagined Van Clark, the Chief of Police, had fire in his eyes! It had to be a trick of the light though. And he thought he heard Hayden Walker growl. A bad cold? He even thought he had seen a horse run through the shadows… but the top half really did look like a guy, and he wasn’t riding the horse! A centaur? Was he hallucinating? But people looked at Jake as if he was odd too, so he must be mistaken. Fortunately, he has a way to relax his mind, a sort of therapy. He paints while he sleeps. Creepy depressing pictures always done in black, gray, and white paint, but still it doesn’t harm anyone. His “normal” paintings were not selling, and the inn he inherited from his grandfather was not doing well. So he hated wasting money on the dreary paints. He also was afraid to see whether he again painted the guy with horns he seemed fixated on. He was running out of space to store all these odd paintings! He even tried to paint over one to reuse the canvas, but his fingers locked up, his muscles seized, and he couldn’t do it. Then he realized a half-hour had passed without his awareness! He screamed out his frustration; the Inn was empty and no one would hear him anyway.

Gage is a demon. He opens a portal so he and his team, Isaac (a cyclops) and Nelson (a shadow jumper), could enter this magical place. The strong magic was affecting each of them. Gage was meeting the police chief (a hellhound) later but he wanted to look around more first and they headed to the inn. Jake had finished getting dressed and stepped out of his room. But hearing a sound at the end of the hall, he looked up to see the man he had been painting in his dreams! And he really did have horns! His hallucination, for it had to be that, was stunningly handsome. He even had dimples! Jake blinked, but the vision didn’t go away. Jake studied him, impressed at the accuracy of his paintings that captured every inch of this man who now started to grin. Gage was about to apologize for startling him when Jake put his finger over the man’s lips… he didn’t need his vision to talk, just needed to study every detail of his body and “get to the good stuff” since the man felt so warm and real! Jake wished the man’s shirt away, but it somehow didn’t disappear? He wished this was real, but he loved this perfect illusion. And he demanded that the man kiss him right now! As the man lifted him, he wrapped his legs around the guy’s waist. With a happy sigh, he was ready to head off to work, knowing he could conjure up this scenario again as soon as he got back. The whole experience was so lifelike! Maybe losing his mind wouldn’t be so bad after all… and he left Gage standing there speechless!

Eventually Gage will reveal to Jake that he is a demon who loves the family (team) he has claimed as his own. And he has information about Jake too – Jake is an oracle and is Gage’s mate. Jake will have so much to learn, especially about all the paranormals that have always surrounded him! And will Gage be beside him for this unusual journey to self-awareness?

[Susi June · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly love this series. The books are quite long and I could easily read hundreds of pages more. I just enjoy Willow Lake and it's residents so much!

This book was great, like all the other books I read in this series. The lovestory between Gage and Jake was really sweet. I love the concept that they aren't just mates but also each other's tethers. I didn't really like Gage in the second book, so I wasn't that interested in him but boy did he surprise me. He was so sweet and caring. His team really was his family and under his prickly outside he hid his squishy inside. He fell hard for Jake.
Jake was the sweetest cutie patootie. He was so awkward and shy but also so strong and brave. In at least the first third of this book, he was confused and it was a big focus but I didn't mind it at all, that it was a big part of the story. Though I felt sorry for him, how can they all act like that and don't help him out? Ugh.

The overarching plot is still very interesting and engaging. The book has enough action scenes and mystery to keep it exciting.
Maybe that's only a plus for me, but I love that there aren't so many sex scenes. Two are absolutely enough for me. Sometimes they feel like filler but it isn't necessary in this book at all.

The found family vibes are immaculate. *chefs kiss
But not just Gage's team is great, all the side characters are amazing too!

[Laina Gruver · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25-4.5 stars

Yay for Jake’s book! Happy to finally discover Jake’s history. Jake has been in Willow lake for almost a year and has been ignoring most of the weird things that happen around him. When the man he’s been unconsciously painting for a while appears in town, things get real interesting.

Gage is enthralled with not only the town’s magic but also the cute bar owner who doesn’t know he’s an Oracle. As a demon, he needs to find a place to call home and Willow Lake just might be the place.

There’s a LOT going on in this book including a continuing storyline from the previous books.

*****
POV… multi first person

Standalone or series… book 3 in series should be read in or as there is a storyline that goes through all the books

Hangover… no

Recommend… yes

Reread… yes

[Yackie]

This series went from, oh that’s corny good to oh this is just the same book again, really fast

[Kristel (hungryandhappy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very cute!

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Willow lake series is a fun journey into the supernatural. It is great to see all the characters from previous books and hope for more books in the future with other characters.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Jake and Gage were so awesome together. I especially loved that Jake's deities were all the famous painters. As the author says this book would not have made any sense if it was the first one in the series. The other two absolutely needed to be first and second.

[Geeky Mama · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this series! Lori Ames is going to be an instant buy author for me from here on out.

Gabe and Jake are a bit of a slow burn in that it takes them a while to figure things out - with good reason. Jake doesn’t know about supernaturals and thinks the things he sees are hallucinations bringing him closer and closer to a padded room.

I liked how patient and understanding Gabe was with him. He also has the whole touch him and die thing going on and who doesn’t love that?

Jeremy is a favourite of mine and I was thrilled to see a decent amount of him in this book too.

The characters are overall, well rounded and interesting. There are a lot of side characters and it can be a little hard to keep track of who is who all the time. Especially if you’re like me and absolutely terrible with names. That said, so many of the side characters are interesting and make me want more. Like will a certain pizza guy ever end up with his shy Minotaur? Or what’s up with the sheriff and his doctor or just anything about Nelson (broody goth boys are my jam).

The action was well paced and kept me entertained.

Just a warning, this isn’t really a series that can really be read as a stand alone. The author does a good job of explaining things but you will miss out on a lot of context if you skip the first two books. Plus you’ll miss out of all of Jeremy’s hilarious antics in book two.

I can’t wait for the next book.

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

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book three of the Willow Lake Supernaturals series and the main characters are Jake, the owner and landlord of the local inn, and Gage, a demon who works with a team of supernaturals on jobs for the Supernatural Council, hunting down those who cause harm and do wrong. Jake has no idea why he has been painting pictures in the middle of the night whilst asleep, always in just black and white, then throwing up and crawling back into bed exhausted. Lots of those images have been of a handsome man with horns coming out of his head and even himself in some, with them getting pretty frisky together. Jake has been thinking for months, after arriving in town after his mother’s death and after being invited there by a grandfather he had never even known about, that most of the townsfolk looked a bit weird. He thought he saw fire in the Chief of Police Van Clark’s eyes, growling coming from the town’s mechanic, Hayden Walker, and even the pub cat sounded like he was talking to people at times. Now he had done a painting of a centaur, racing across the area outside his inn! The inn has no customers and only the pub is bringing in any money, but he doesn’t know if it will be enough to keep his grandfather’s business going. He hasn’t even managed to sell any of his own paintings, the colourful ones he does during the day. After the latest bad night, he makes a wish list of three things he wants to achieve before it’s too late. Gage and his team were investigating the break-in at the inn and the stolen dangerous artifacts his grandfather owned, which led them to a separate wolf pack outside of town who had sold some of the items to a goblin and this leads to an illegal trafficking of supernaturals ring run by the goblin, but clearly not alone.

Gage had been searching the world for centuries looking for a place that was his tether, a place to become the guardian of and that in return would balance his demonic powers. He had gathered his team with him over the years, making a deal with them in return for his protection, allowing his magic to be shared and getting something in return. Walking through his portal into this town, he and the others are struck by the power surge they feel in this place. He thought it was down to the number of supes in the small town, but the inn is also built right over ley lines. He and some of his team are now in town to meet up with Van and Hayden. Gage, Nelson a shadow jumper and Isaac a centaur, wanted to get a feel for the inn and he used his powers to get through the locked doors. The rest of his team, Davina a medium and his second, and Teague a death mage were working on another case, whilst Adrian a wolf shifter and his human mate Jeremy, would be with them shortly. Gage gets a strange feeling he should check the upstairs of the inn and walks right into Jake as he comes out of his room, but Jake thinks he is a hallucination! He tells Gage to kiss him practically climbing up him, something he would never have done in real life, having had very little experience with relationships. When the three of them walk into the pub and get a table later on, he can hardly take his eyes off Gage! Everyone in the pub has realised exactly what he is, but he is the only one that doesn’t seem to know. He is an oracle without a tether and that could drive him mad with visions and he would die. Gage feels a connection to Jake and a strange flutter, making him wonder if Jake could be his mate, but he also can’t get a read on exactly what Jake is and he shows no real knowledge of supes. Turns out the locals have had a bet on about when Jake will actually realise what and who he is!

Gage is already feeling overly protective towards Jake, and his team notice this making fun of him, but they are also there for an important reason and need to get to know the other supes in this town. They meet with Van a hellhound and Hayden a reluctant wolf shifter alpha, in the pub and discuss Hayden’s brother Robbie, who is in charge of the other wolf pack up in the hills and responsible for the thefts of Jake’s grandfather’s artifacts and so much more criminal activity. Another painting Jake does in Gage’s presence shows another trafficking event, with lots of different supes locked up in cages, meaning Gage’s team haven’t gotten to the root of this evil ring and need to speak to Haden’s brother and those responsible for the theft. An embarrassing painting session with the old ladies of the town, has Jake suddenly paint another scene of a devastating incident sometime in the near future. Nelson is the ideal member of the group to sneak into the wolf pack’s grounds unseen, but soon calls with a shocking discovery that could be deadly to Jake and everyone in the inn! Somehow Jake’s oracle powers hadn’t shown him this happening, but he soon gets another whilst staying in Gage’s motorhome, without his usual painting supplies, one of devastation and death to happen up in the pack’s lands up in the hills. What he sees and what almost happened to him, sends Gage off in a rage and he almost loses his control over his demonic side. If he had, his own team had promised to take him out! Almost a shocking end to the story, with only his connection and love for Jake being able to bring him back to himself. It was great seeing how Gage’s team came together to help Jake and look out for Gage as well. The small town has become a welcome place for a very varied selection of supernatural beings and even Gage’s team are quickly drawn to it as well. There are lots more relationships to look forward to within the town’s residents supes, with lots more to find out about some of them, especially talking cat, Paws. An unexpected connection and mating between Jake and Gage, as well as to the town itself, with both finding the tethers they need to stay sane and have a longer life.

I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, easy entertaining read.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

fabulous story, great characters

Rating: 4.5🌈

Oracles Always Win is a fantastic book, a favorite read in a great series by Lori Ames about a small town of mixed paranormal species living among humans, all magically harmonious. That changed when a small pack of werewolves lead by a disgruntled were started a chain of serious crimes that eventually lead to the arrival of Gage, a demon, and his crew from the Supernatural Council.

One of the people there on the scene of the last crime, is Jake. He’s the owner of the bar and inn it occurred at. Jake has been a curious character throughout the prior stories. While he thinks he’s human, and is clearly ignorant of the many supernatural beings that are present in his life, it’s equally true he’s not just human. He has visions. He’s an oracle. Has a cat that talks (just not to Jake) and has magical powers. In other words, Jake is a mystery too.

Ames gives us several fantastic storylines here. There’s the ongoing threat to the community from the outside werewolf pack and perhaps something else. The species trafficking. Those investigations are continuing and have implications for others inside Willow Lake

But the best threads, the most engaging are the ones that involve Jake and Gabe, separately and together.

For Jake, it’s his story about finding out who he is, what his friends and community really are, and, painfully, what his family history reveals about him. That last part still remains shrouded by mystery in large chunks of missing magical family lineage .I hope we get to this further in.

Gabe is a demon who also has a painful past related to his father. It’s one that’s haunted him and plays a huge role in how he’s looked at his relationships with his coworkers and friends. Jake will force a major overhaul in his life and his dynamics with his found family.

This whole storyline is wonderful and just grabs at the reader on multiple levels. While Jake and Gabe are trying to work through their new relationship and possibly a mate bonding, there’s a real sense of danger and crime in progress to deal with.

We meet new characters, Isaac, Nelson, Davina, who are part of Gabe’s team, and explore more of Willow Lake’s magical powers. It’s a fascinating universe. I can’t wait for the next book to arrive.

Lori Ames’ Willow Lake Supernaturals is an excellent series and Oracles Always Win is an imaginative, well written example why I highly recommend the entire series.

Willow Lake Supernaturals:
Ravens Never Fall (Prequel)
Hellhounds Never Lie (Book 1)
Wolves Always Bite (Book 2)
Oracles Always Win (Book 3)

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the first books in the series, this was dark in the beginning and remained fairly serious. There were some lighter moments like when Jake was wearing funny underwear and a little when he was self-deprecating, but nothing like the first book which I remember to be the opposite until near the end. (For some reason I don’t remember the second as well.) I think maybe his concerns about being crazy were supposed to be less serious but it didn’t come across that way to me. I couldn’t help thinking about how I would react seeing that and how much it would take to convince myself I wasn’t crazy, especially if I had never been exposed to modern fantasy.

I liked the main characters a lot. I think they were good together and their quick love fairly believable under the circumstances. I liked the slow burn of the actual relationship. The supporting characters were not well developed but I think we’re supposed to just go with what we had learned in the first two books. Jeremy from the first one was a little more present and was just as delightful as he had been but the others weren’t in it nearly as much.

I will complain again about the lack of women. Again the one strong woman only appears for a very short time. She’s described as someone to stay on the friendly side of but she doesn’t actually do anything. All the other leaders and important characters are male except for one sycophant, some ladies in a brief painting group and a mother with children who needed rescuing. Even in a situation where there were gobs of victims, only that woman and one elderly couple were even described. Of course those were the ones singled out. There were any people of color that I could tell either.

There was a lot of action and danger. No-one got seriously injured even though they should have been. If you throw someone over your shoulder and run away from something bad, it’s their legs that are protected by your torso not their upper half. the supes all healed really fast, too. I would have liked a little more “blood and guts” but it was still exciting.

The final battle was a little unsettling and I think the people who heard about it would be unsettled by it too. They weren’t though. The ending itself was sweet and I liked it.

I want to read the next one soon.

Kirt Graves was the reader and he did an excellent job. He had a variety of appropriate voices and good narration. He does meeker characters really well. I just wanted to give him a hug.

[Ellie (On a break, mostly rereading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oracles Always Win is the third book of Willow Lake Supernaturals by Lori Ames. This would work as a standalone book, but I highly recommend reading the full series in order so that you are familiar with the overarching plot, and explains the presence of the newcomers to the small town of Willow Lake. This is a supernatural/paranormal MM romance that includes shifter, demons and now oracles.

Jake is an artist who moved to Willow Lake to be with his estranged grandfather after his mother passed away. Unfortunately, Jake only got one month with his grandfather before he also passed away, leaving Jake to run his old tavern. Weird things go bump in the night at Willow Lake, Jake is aware of it, especially with him seeing and hearing things and his dreams that have him sketching in his sleep some disturbing images, Back in book one there was a theft of some old trinkets owned by his grandfather and Jake wasn't sure why so many people seemed to want to solve the problem. He's under the impression that he's a boring old human and that there is nothing supernatural in this world.

Gage is a demon who leads of a team of investigators that help solve problems within the supernatural community. Being a demon he needs to find his "home" to tether himself to, or else he would lose all humanity and become a danger. Gage didn't expect Willow Lake to call to his inner demon, or that he would feel the mating pull for an oracle that doesn't know that he's an oracle that can see the future.

As the ongoing mystery unfolds, and as Gage begins to court the man he is sure is his mate, Gage must also help transition Jake into the supernatural world. Much as Gage needs a place to tether him in place, Jake needs a person to tether to so that he doesn't get lost into a continual loop of visions that could prove fatal.

I was so happy to finally read Jake's story. If you love your MM romances set in small towns and supernatural themes, this is a great book (and a great series) for you to read. While there is a lot more going on in Willow Lake, which I look forward to, I loved Jake's and Gage's HEA.

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

[Elizabeth D · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5 I was anxious from the previous books for both Jake and Gage to get their HEAs. They both had drama hanging over them through no fault of their own, and I was eager for more of their story.

I didn’t expect to spend quite so long with Jake thinking he was mentally ill and hallucinating, and I couldn’t quite turn off my real world brain—I kept wishing that rather than simply believing that he was hallucinating more and more and waiting until he “went crazy” and was sent to an asylum, Jake instead consulted a medical health professional. I didn’t like that he glossed right over the idea that medication and other treatments can help manage mental illness, and he could potentially continue to live a good life. Of course, I realise it wouldn’t actually have helped in this case (and might in fact have made things worse), but it struck me as effectively stigmatising mental illness. (Jake also had a very unconventional, restrictive childhood, and who knows what his mother taught him, so he may be very uneducated in that respect.)

I liked how Gage and Jake were attracted through everything (even when Jake thought Gage wasn't real, lol), and both wanted to take care of one another. Although the results were sometimes scary, I appreciated the connection between Gage and Jake causing problems as well as solving them as they figure things out. I'm not sure I've ever seen an Oracle who paints/draws rather than speaks, and it was a fascinating process to watch. It was nice to see Jake become more comfortable with his art as he learned the truth, as well as really getting to know his fellow supes.

We don't advance a lot in the overarching series plot here, but we've got even more questions that need answering, as well as a good team of people to try to answer those questions in the future. I enjoy seeing the townsfolk all work together to support one another and try to solve problems.

I wasn't expecting Simon's book to be next and look forward to seeing who he's paired up with! (Looks like poor Levi and Parker need to keep being patient, lol.)

I received an ARC from GRR. This is my honest review.

[Tammy Moldovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, tethers and evil

I loved this supernatural small town, “damsel” in distress, virgin, found family, fated mates, healing romance. The story had the perfect balance of humor, heartwarming love, real life issues, painful pasts, and spice. Despite the element of danger, the story was such a warm and happy read for me. I smiled a whole bunch while reading it. Jake is an artist who for the last year, has run the pub and inn he inherited from his grandfather. It is located in Willow Lake, a supernatural friendly small town. Jake is an oracle but seems unaware of what he is or that the town is full of supernaturals. He believes he is losing his mind, hallucinating, and sleep painting. Gage is a demon who leads a task force for the Supernatural Council, protecting the Eternal Magic and the secrecy of supernaturals while investigating supernatural related crimes. He needs to find a place to tether his magic to or risk losing control of his magic. Gage and his team come to Willow Lake while investigating a case involving the trafficking of supernaturals. When Jake first sees Gage he thinks his mind has finally snapped because the gorgeous guy with horns he has been sleep painting is in his inn. What follows their first strange and spicily charged meet cute, is a wonderful journey of baggage unpacking, inner voice finding, truth telling and life course correction with a side of evil and danger. I especially loved Jake’s internal dialogue. It was adorkable. I have a soft spot for the people who are a bit uncomfortable in their skin because they don’t feel like they fit in or are worthy, like Jake. So I love when they finally see their worth and they get swoon worthy HEAs. This story was well written and included witty dialogue, good world building, three dimensional characters who grow, and an engaging storyline. I love this little town and am excited to read more in the series. While this book can definitely be read as a standalone, there are recurring characters and part of the storyline weaves through multiple books so to get the most enjoyment read the series in order. 4.5 stars.

[SophiaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked Oracles Always Win. Jake is a sweet young man and Gage is not what I expected. It sure will help to have read the other books before for reference and cameos. At first I wasn't sure if I would understand the connections myself as some time has passed since I've read the others but I have to say that the links were drawn beautifully so the small hints made you recall what you needed.

What was surprising was that the book was much less gory than I thought it would be. Jake also felt quite feminine to me at times, but maybe it was just the language being used when his mannerisms or sounds he made where described. Sure, males can whimper or whine and maybe it is stereotyping but it depends on the situation for me. I would already give any female a side-eye if she were tucked into a big strong mans side, looking up at him with big doe eyes making whining noises, a male I would question no less. But that's how my brain works.

Otherwise the chemistry between Gage and Jake was unmistakable and how they gravitated to one another was sweet. I loved how Gage didn't forget his duty around Jake but always looked for a workaround. Like when Jake had a vision and passed out and he had to balance making sure he was ok and take care of and safe-keep the drawn prediction.

Paws was just fluffy as always and I just want to cuddly his grumpy cat body and brush his hair 🫠🐈🐱 and tell him how beautiful he is.

We also learned that the next one is going to be about Simon... wo is a house cat shifter 😍 I also can't wait for Parker and Levi to finally come together, my heart breaks for them 🥺 and I also can't wait for our fav sheriff and doc to give into their attraction. I'm afraid our poor Alpha will have to wait a little longer but maybe, like Simon's story he will get his HEA sooner than we all think 🤔

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

JAKE lives in Willow Lake and believes there may be something strange going on. Fire in the police cheif's eyes, a growl in a voice from the mechanic. So his suspicions are high. But he has his own issues...like waking up and not remembering where he's been! He paints but doesn't remember when he started just that he wakes up with a painting in black, which and greys. It was always of a sexy man with horns.
GAGE(demon) with two of his associate, Isaac(centaur) and Nelson(shadow jumper). Gage needs a place to tether or it will not be good when he goes off. When he materializes by the inn he feels like he's come home. They are all on a case involving kidnapped supes. And the whole started at the Willow Lake Inn.
He and his two minions go to investigate the inn. He takes the upper floors. To his utter surprise a human male comes up to him and strokes his chest then tells him to kiss him. Utter surprise and delight. But then Jake leaves to go to work and tells Gage they will definitely be doing that again. Oh yes sir they sure will! They meet in the bar where Jake works and that's where Gage takes a reading on him. He's not totally human but doesn't know he isn't just as he doesn't understand the supes around him. Such a nice mystery wrapped up in a delicious treat. The local sheriff enters and they begin a meeting. It's revealed Jake has no idea about supes (big surprise there!) and that he's an oracle. Uh Oh! Not good! He needs to be tethered to something just like Gage.
Secrets, mysteries, kidnappings and a demon looking for a home to tether himself. Will any of the cases be solved? Will Gage be able to help Jake?
Fantastic story with lots of mind action..

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

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 3 in the Willow Lake Supernaturals series. While it can be enjoyed as a standalone, you will get much more enjoyment out of it if you read the series in order. This is an amazing series and it just keeps getting even better. I loved this book. I should say I loved, loved, loved this book! This is the story of Jake and Gage. Jake has moved to Willow Lake to learn about his estranged grandfather. When his grandfather passes away, Jake stays and is trying to make his bar and Inn a success. Jake believes himself to human and explains away any anomalies he sees. He also thinks that he is slowly losing his mind. Gage is a demon and is very powerful. He must find a land to tether himself to before he becomes a danger to everyone and permanently loses his humanity. The two meet when Gage and his team of investigators is called in by the local sheriff. They are the go to team for supernatural problems. This is their story. I loved how upbeat and kind Jake is, even when he thinks he is going crazy. Gage on the other hand is grumpy personified. I laughed out loud when I read about Gage and Jake meeting each other for the first time. That set the tone for the book and I was not disappointed. I liked how gentle and kind Gage was while explaining the supernatural world to Jake. They are a great couple. The book is very well written and easy to read. I can not wait for the next book in this series.

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

[kadairh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. Have been looking forward to this one, as it's about Jake, landlord of the local pub who doesn't realise the significance of his late night paintings as oracle abilities and refuses to accept the evidence in front of him that things and people in the town are definitely not normal.

It gives a lot of background of why he couldn't accept magic but it would have been good to know the motivation of why he was prevented from using it from an early age.

There is a lot of repetition on his feelings which I think could have been merged for more effect, particularly before and during meeting Gage where he is in full denial until he realises that the demon is real.

This story also felt like more of a bridger between the adventures of fighting the renegade pack of wolves and discovering the disturbing business that they were involved in from the previous books, as although there was confrontation, it didn’t seem to expose any further information to investigate. I expect that'll happen in next book.

This book was more about the relationship of Jake and Gage, and more detail about the magical environment that it is set in. And brought in characters (Dillon and Ash not as much) from the previous books, plus potential new stories with Gage's team.

Enjoyable story and look forward to the series continuing!

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too much procrastinating

I loved the prequel and the first two books in the series and couldn't wait for Jake's story. I was intrigued by Gage in the previous book, so finding out that they were the next pairing was exciting.
The story had a lot of repetition and internal monologuing, making it slow going with more telling instead of showing, and it was a bit frustrating. There was some movement with the ongoing story arc but not a lot, and there were a lot of things left hanging that needed more explanation.
I loved Gage and how sweet he was with Jake. I loved Isaac and Nelson. I loved Jeremy and Adrian. I loved what little we saw of Paws.
I loved Jake but his complete denial of what he'd been 'hallucinating' for the past year was, frankly, ridiculous. And don't get me started on every supernatural being in the town knowing he was an oracle and what that entailed but completely ignoring that he was obviously struggling and going downhill, because their betting pool on when he was going to find out was far more entertaining. Wankers.
Despite all the things that frustrated me, I did like the book and I loved Gage and Jake together. I'm not sure about the next one because Simon has flown under the radar so far and hasn't been one of the obvious candidates for a story yet. I want Van and Xander, Levi and Parker, and Carter needs someone, as does my grumpy but gorgeous Hayden.
Three and a half stars rounded up.