Book Reviews 2023

The Mid Witch by DJ Bowman-Smith

Reviewed: December 30th, 2023
Released: August 20th, 2023
Genre: Paranormal Women’s fiction

One Woman’s Struggle with Midlife and Magic

Lilly is facing the fact that her husband is a philandering bastard, and she needs to move on now her children have flown the nest. Losing her job has not helped her dire financial straits, and her almost ex-husband wants to sell her ancient family home against her wishes. As she grapples with rude estate agents, stray dogs and hot flushes, a new problem emerges – she’s becoming a witch.

This paranormal women’s fiction is a funny and poignant take on midlife with a pinch of spice, a touch of magic and a relatable older heroine you can root for. Read My Thoughts…

Death Before Dragons by Lindsay Buroker

Reviewed: December 28th, 2023
Released: March 10th, 2021
Genre: Urban Fantasy

I’m Val Thorvald, and I kill bad guys for a living. My half-elven blood, magical sword, and telepathic tiger give me an edge, at least against most villains. But when dragons show up in Seattle, the city is in serious trouble—and so am I. Dragons are bigger, stronger, and more powerful than anything I’ve battled, and they don’t appreciate it when you sass them.

Just ask Lord Zavryd’nokquetal. That’s a name, not a cat hacking up a hairball, and if you mispronounce it, he’ll either insult you, incinerate you, or throw your Jeep up in a tree. Trust me, I know.

Unfortunately, he’s taken an interest in me. Not in the “half-elves are sexy and appealing and I need a new girlfriend” kind of way. Nope, he wants to use me. He’s on a mission, and he’s decided I’ll make the perfect bait to lure his enemies to him.

That’s about as good for your longevity as it sounds, and I’d love to decline the gig, but dragons can magically coerce people into doing their bidding. If I can’t figure out how to get him to leave me alone, I’ll either end up his servant for the rest of my life… or dead. And who’s going to protect Seattle then?

This bundle includes the first three novels in the Death Before Dragons urban fantasy series: Sinister Magic, Battle Bond, Tangled Truths

Death Before Dragons features adventure, snark, and even a little romance. The series is now complete and perfect for those who enjoy binge reading! Read My Thoughts …

Dead Serious Case #3 Mr Bruce Reyes by Vawn Cassidy

Reviewed: December 24th, 2023
Released: July 21st, 2023
Genre: MM Paranormal Fantasy

Tristan Everett was finally getting used to the strangeness that was his life. Being able to see the dead and helping them solve their unfinished business and cross into the light wasn’t so bad after all, especially when he was accompanied by his best friend, dead drag queen Dusty Le Frey. His boyfriend, sexy Scotland Yard detective Danny Hayes, now knew the truth about Tristan’s “gift,” and they were about to move in together officially.

Life was good.

That is until Death—honest to god, Death (aka The Grim Reaper)—pitches up in Tristan’s kitchen with an unusual request: stop Dusty’s ghostly hookup Bruce from crossing into the light, which may result in dire consequences. i.e. an accidental apocalypse.

Seriously… what could possibly go wrong? Read My Thoughts…

Of Stormlarks and Silence by Constance Lopez

Reviewed: December 16th, 2023
Released: August 30th, 2022
Genre: Fantasy Romance

To kill the prince, she must first kill her heart. Princess Riona was eight when the Revonian king murdered her family and conquered her kingdom with a mysterious magic. She has spent the last decade training—and waiting for her moment to avenge them all and reclaim her rightful title. Now that the king is ailing, Riona secures a position within the Revonian royal palace. Her goals? Get close to the prince. Kill him. Uncover Revon’s secret magic. Make the king suffer. Only then can she take back her country. But the closer she gets to the prince, the more he surprises her with kindness, honor, and wit. He is nothing like his cruel father. Worse yet, he sees right through to her heart. When she planned this assassination, her heart didn’t factor in. And now it’s about to ruin all her plans. Read my Thoughts…

Marked By Magic by Lindsay Buroker

Reviewed: December 15th, 2023
Released: November 9th, 2023
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Arwen Forester may be a socially awkward introvert, but she’s an expert tracker, archer, and forager who has a pickling recipe for every vegetable in the garden. Unfortunately, none of these skills earn her a lot of money. And when the taxes go up on her father’s farm, she’s not sure how to help him keep the property.

Then someone offers her a lucrative new gig:

Hunt down a haughty half-dragon criminal with the power to incinerate those who irritate him.

Normally, Arwen would reject such a suicidal mission, but with the farm at stake, she’s desperate. Besides, all she has to do is tag the half-dragon with a tracking device. How hard could it be? Find out in Marked by Magic, Book 1 in the new Tracking Trouble urban fantasy series. Read My Thoughts…

Twisted Pretty Things by Ariana Nash

Released: August 5th, 2021
Reviewed: Decemebr 13th, 2023
Genre: Urban MM Fantasy

Something wicked is moving in the shadows of London…

In the underground world of glitzy illegal auctions, fast cars, and stolen magical artifacts, John “Dom” Domenici knows he’s out of his depth. But he needs the job at Kempthorne & Co like he needs to breathe. The alternative—going back to the organized crime gangs of London’s East End—is unthinkable.

So when Alexander Kempthorne, boss of Kempthorne & Co Artifact Retrieval Agency, wants him on a special case to track down an illegal artifact dealer, Dom can’t say no.

It shouldn’t matter that Kempthorne’s world is full of deadly secrets. It shouldn’t matter that the billionaire is sexy as sin, and it really shouldn’t matter how there’s an American agent stalking Dom, an American who knows more than he should about Dom’s case, including the real reason Alexander Kempthorne hired Dom. Read my Thoughts…

Saving Rafe by Jocelynn Drake

Reviewed: November 29th, 2023
Released: March 6th, 2020
Genre: MM Paranormal Fantasy

Rafe Varik: The troublemaker. The risk taker. The sexy club owner full of wicked promises.

Rafe has devoted his immortal existence to pleasure and causing mischief. The only ones who can depend on him are his brothers. Of course, that’s very much a Varik thing.

But when the leader of the Arsenault clan specifically requests Rafe’s help in tracking down a killer, he can’t say no. Sure, Rafe claims he’s doing it for his family. They’ve attracted too many enemies and could use a few allies. That’s not the whole truth, though.

There’s something about Philippe Arsenault that draws Rafe in. He wants more of Philippe. The vampire leaves him longing for another second in his presence, another taste of his lips, another caress of those perfect fingers.

Yet when it’s all over, what will become of Philippe and Rafe? Because Philippe will always be an Arsenault, and Rafe will always be a Varik. Read My Thoughts…

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Reviewed: November 24th, 2023
Released: June 16th, 2022
Genre: Cozy Fantasy

High fantasy, low stakes – with a double-shot of coffee.

After decades of adventuring, Viv the orc barbarian is finally hanging up her sword for good. Now she sets her sights on a new dream – for she plans to open the first coffee shop in the city of Thune. Even though no one there knows what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the past behind her, she can’t go it alone. And help might arrive from unexpected quarters. Yet old rivals and new stand in the way of success. And Thune’s shady underbelly could make it all too easy for Viv to take up the blade once more.

But the true reward of the uncharted path is the travellers you meet along the way. Whether bound by ancient magic, delicious pastries or a freshly brewed cup, they may become something deeper than Viv ever could have imagined . . .Read My Thoughts…

Moonstone & Mugwort by Julie Embleton

Reviewed: November 21st, 2023
Released: October 31st, 2023
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

When the past sabotages your present, is it ever possible to salvage your future?

A cursed heirloom, a looming eclipse, and a gifted witch.

Manacled by her family’s curse, Ava O’Keefe is no stranger to contending with paranormal beings, craving the power she protects. But when an enigmatic vampire draws her into his business, the grave consequences should she fail to harness her magick for his demands, promise devastating supernatural chaos.

Moonstone & Mugwort launches the compelling dark fantasy Oath & Legacy series, simmering with supernatural characters challenged by duty and shaped by heritage. As the past sabotages the present, what will become of the future? Read My Thoughts…

The Skriker by D.K Girl

Reviewed: November 12th, 2023
Released: October 20th, 2021
Genre: MM Historical Fantasy

Silas Mercer has faced wily boggarts, mad faerie queens and enraged forest spirits.
But can he withstand a daemon who is losing his mind?

Pitch and Sickle are left bruised, battered and reeling after their confrontation with the Verderer.
They have learned a startling truth behind the arrowhead that wounded Silas, a truth that must be taken to the Lady Satine and the Order without delay.
But his encounters in the Forest of Dean have effected Pitch in alarming ways. The daemon’s body may have healed but his erratic behaviour and wildly unpredictable temper grow ever more concerning.

Silas owes his life to Pitch. Their experience in the forest has brought them a closeness he could not have imagined possible.

But what can he do for a daemon who is losing his way? And how long will Silas survive, if he must ride alone? Read My Thoughts…

Whispers of a World Breaker by Corey Ratcliffe

Reviewed: November 8th, 2023
Released: June 12th, 2023
Genre: Epic Fantasy

Aric’s job is simple; assist the elves as they moved dragon eggs across the kingdom.

When an orc raid leaves a dragon in peril and her egg vulnerable, the responsibility falls into Aric’s hands to complete the mission. But when the dragon hatches, Aric’s life is thrown into disarray.

Accused of being the world breaker of an old prophecy by the elves, sought after by the ever-growing orc clans as vengeance against the elves, and desired by the human kings and queens for power, Aric will stop at nothing to protect his new dragon. It may be the only thing that can turn the tides of the war.

Can Aric fight fate and save the world, or is he destined by the whispers of a world breaker? Read My Thoughts…

A Breaking of Realms by Jasmine Young

Reviewed: November 5th, 2023
Released: October 2nd, 2023
Genre: Epic Fantasy

The Realm-Building Enterprise is open to all. On the continent of Elondria, anyone may become the next legendary dragon rider by building the greatest towns, cities, and even kingdoms.

Skálda Branwright dreams of leaving the Longcold and becoming the first Dragonlord to build an official realm. Only no dragon egg has ever hatched for her.

But when a wild hatchling falls to her from the skies, begging for rescue, she must decide whether to relinquish her dreams and become the worst criminal of all – a rogue rider. One with the potential to restore mankind’s sovereignty from the brutal dominion of elves.

The Realm-Building Enterprise was meant to unite all races, until it became a means for elves to control the continent.

But this is no ordinary dragon. By the time Skálda realizes what she holds in her hands, it is much too late.

She never meant to steal a hatchling. She always meant to build a realm. She never wanted to break the continent.

A Realm-Breaker is coming. Read My Thoughts…

Trodaiche, My Fighter by Louise Murchie

Reviewed: November 3rd, 2023
Released: March 28th, 2022
Genre: Steamy Scottish Romance

My past was soul-destroying.

Annie Holmes: I’ve spent the last eight years in survival mode, living on a vow I made to myself: Never allow those with money to make me powerless ever again.

I’m a warrior.

I don’t need an unsupportive, uncaring, low-life in my world. I’m better than that. I tackle every challenge thrown at me head-on. My daughter and I are doing just fine, thank you very much.

I’m a Trodaiche; a fighter. I protect those who can’t defend themselves and bring corrupt politicians, sex traffickers, and criminals to justice. They fall to their knees at my feet and tremble at my power.

Called to rescue a runaway becomes far from business as usual: I encounter him.

Will Tony be my salvation, or will he leave us both in ruins? Read My Thoughts…

The Verderer by D K Girl

Reviewed: October 29th, 2023
Released: June 30th, 2021
Genre: MM Historical Fantasy

Silas Mercer is a dead man walking.

And the mysterious Order of the Golden Dawn have big plans for their newest ankou and his deathly bandalore.

Life as a servant of death has its challenges. But the biggest one of all is Silas’s daemonic guardian, Pitch. He may look like heaven, but he’s making Silas’s life all kinds of hell.

The daemon is arrogant, egotistical and his appetite for violence and tea cakes is fast outgrowing the small village where they have been recuperating since their run-in with Black Annis.

Now, the increasingly unstable Blight is causing new havoc, and fresh monstrosities are emerging. Pitch and Sickle are back in the saddle, and on their way to the haunted Forest of Dean. But can Silas rely on his guardian’s protection? Or will Pitch prove to be the most dangerous encounter of all? Read My Thoughts…

Dacia Wolf and the Prophecy by Mandi Oyster

Reviewed: October 22nd, 2023
Released: May 24th, 2022
Genre: YA Fantasy

She doesn’t want to stand out. Too bad the fate of the planet rests on her shoulders…

Dacia Wolf longs to be normal. After accidentally killing her brother years ago when her awakening powers set fire to their house, the now-college freshman just wants to fit in. But when another unintended blaze results in a trip to the dean’s office, the distraught young woman learns she is the subject of an ancient prophecy.

Destined to battle a demon bent on annihilation, Dacia struggles to develop her magic into a controllable weapon. And now plagued by damaging dreams, a nosy roommate, and a haunted bully, the would-be heroine fears she’ll be responsible for the deaths of everyone she loves.

Can an unprepared sorceress conquer evil without going up in flames? Read my thoughts…

The Necromancer’s daughter by D. Wallace Peach

Reviewed: October 5th, 2023
Released: August 25th, 2022
Genre: Epic Fantasy

A healer with the talent to unravel death. A stillborn child brought to life. A father lusting for vengeance. And a son torn between justice, faith, and love. Caught in a chase spanning kingdoms, each must decide the nature of good and evil, the lengths they will go to survive, and what they are willing to lose.

As the king’s life nears its end, he defies the vicar’s warning and summons the necromancer’s daughter. For his boldness, he falls to an assassin’s blade. Armed with righteousness and iron-clad conviction, the Order’s brothers ride into the leas to cleanse the land of evil.

To save her father’s life, Aster leads them beyond Verdane’s wall into the Forest of Silvern Cats, a wilderness of dragons and barbarian tribes. Unprepared for a world rife with danger and unchecked power, a world divided by those who practice magic and those who hunt them, she must choose whether to trust the one man offering her aid, the one man most likely to betray her—her enemy’s son. Read My Thoughts …

Star Sick by Amy Marie Myers

Introversion is illegal in 2084.

But the lovely people at Friendlee.Face.s, a front for the SUPER.V1S.1ON corporation, insist this is for the betterment of Earth.
All those deemed introverted are lazier and less productive than the most recent incarnation of artificial intelligence.
And with the latest wave of brainwashing, most have accepted this reality.

But Luccee Winterscott refuses to comply. Her only hope is to escape Earth on her terms and find a planet with different rules. Or even better, a distant, uncharted star with no rules at all.

She will find such a place. And with the help of the alien race Coodaura, and a group of forgotten misfits, she will find her tribe. She will find love.

She will take on the SUPER.V1S.1ON. Read My Thoughts…

A Song of Mange and Poison by Caroline Noe

Reviewed: September 22nd, 2023
Released: September 19th, 2023
Genre: Humourous Fantasy

It was all going so well…
But I might have guessed a dark side sequel was on the horizon.

No sooner had this Menopausal Madam nabbed her Mangy Wolf, and the jumbled pack of wolves, bears, snakes and an eagle howled their way to a Happy Ever After, than up pops the Messenger of the Alpha of Alphas, announcing the imminent arrival of the stinky Southern Pack.

A shed load of furry trouble descends, chief of whom being Curt’s Auntie Yelena, known as Yellfire to her enemies.
I’m one of them, apparently.
Before you can say ruffle my fur, we’re paw deep in backstabbing, arson, poison and attempted murder.
Everyone’s heart is in danger, especially mine.

Don’t turn your back. Don’t turn tail. Read my Thoughts…

Dragon’s Fear by Sloane McClain

Reviewed: September 17th, 2023
Released: June 29th, 2023
Genre: Arthurian Fantasy

When the man who raised Roane Pendragon as a son sends a woman in need of protection, what is Roane to do? Well, one thing he shouldn’t do is sleep with her.

            Caitlin McGregor is the latest in a long line of Sword Maidens. As the latest Keeper of Roane’s sword, it means both she and Roane are now targets on the radar of the evil sorceress, Morgause.

            Morgause needs to stop Roane from using his sword to turn his key. The easiest way is to stop Cait from giving it to him in the first place. If Morgause can get her hands on it before Roane, not only will her lover, Mordred be released, but so will a creature powerful enough to subjugate multiple universes.

            Will Cait give Roane the sword before Morgause stops her? Will Roane be able to use it to do his part to lock away the evil creature? Will Cait and Roane have any chance for a happy-ever-after? Read my Thoughts…

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Reviewed: September 12th, 2023
Released: May 2nd, 2023
Genre: YA Fantasy

Welcome to the brutal and elite world of Basgiath War College, where everyone has an agenda, and every night could be your last . . .
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general – also known as her tough-as-talons mother – has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away . . . because dragons don’t bond to ‘fragile’ humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter – like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Alliances will be forged. Lives will be lost. Traitors will become allies . . . or even lovers.

But sleep with one eye open because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die. Read my thoughts…

Christmas on Outcast Station by Jeanne Adams and Nancy Northcott

Reviewed: September 1st, 2023
Released:
Genre: Science Fiction

The Princess Problem
by Jeanne Adams

It’s Christmas on Outcast Station and Chief Station Marshal Brad Carruthers has a princess problem. It seems one of orphans from the station’s accidental plague is a princess––soon to be queen––and several people want to kill her. Brad isn’t about to let that happen on his watch.

Scorpions for Christmas
by Nancy Northcott

For Federated Colonies Deputy Marshal Hank Tremaine, the only bright spot in his posting to the back end of beyond is its proximity to the Drachan Empire. Fascinated by the scorpioid Drachans, he’s eager to learn more about them. He should’ve been careful what he wished for. A Drachan has been murdered at the local spaceport and a priceless religious artifact stolen. As diplomatic tensions mount, Hank and his comrades race to find the killer and the missing relic before interstellar war breaks out. Read my thoughts…

A Wolf So Grim and Mangy by Caroline Noe

Reviewed: September 3rd, 2023
Released: September 20th, 2023
Genre: Humourous Fantasy

A Land of Darkness drowns in despair.It’s called My Office. When I’m not typing manifests, I churn out fantasy books no-one reads. Less Young Adult, more MAD: Middle Aged Disappointment.So, when I’m gifted a magic book for Secret Santa, I can’t believe my luck. One miserable ‘Once Upon a Time’ later and I’m marooned on a frozen mountain, heaving with weirdos, biting each other’s throats.
The Snake’s oily,
The Eagle’s bald,
The Bear’s accident prone,
My ‘Handsome Prince’ is more cheesed off Wolf, busy scratching, and I’ve no idea who the Villain is (unless it’s me).
Worst of all…I’ve no way home and the Mangy Wolf’s got the hots for me. Growing old is no fairytale. Read my thoughts…

Mosaic by RA Harrison

Reviewed: August 31st, 2023
Released: September 1st, 2023
Genre: Science Fantasy

Declared a renegade
The life you knew in shatters
How do you pick up the pieces?

Bekah and Lan are young professionals, at the beginnings of their careers, but have fallen foul of the Consortium, the huge mining and industrial conglomeration with its stranglehold on the colonies. Into their lives comes the enigmatic Zandra, with a secret so well hidden not even she knows of it, but which will change all of their lives. But an invitation from Captain Pendryl, to join him aboard the Caladrius, may provide the solution they are all searching for.

Crewed almost entirely by the Gifted, the Caladrius will be the flagship of a taskforce protecting telepaths and telekinetics in the colonies. But the mission is not without danger … too many of the colonies have become isolationist and regressive, and see the Gift as witchcraft. Read my thoughts…

Recruitment by K.A Riley

Reviewed: August 20th, 2023
Released: 28th November, 2018
Genre: Dystopian Fantasy

In the Valta, no matter what month you were born, everyone is assigned the same birthday. November 1st. It’s the anniversary of the day when the government declared war on the Eastern Order.
The day you turn seventeen, the Recruiters come to take you away. And no one ever hears from you again.

It’s October 31st. Today, Kress is sixteen years old. Tomorrow, she’ll be taken.

The good news? So will her best friend Cardyn, and Brohn, the handsome, enigmatic boy she’s avoided all her life.

The bad news? Recruitment isn’t what any of them expected.

Weeks of training await. Military and psychological tests, escape rooms, hand-to-hand combat. The Recruits are told they’re the key to winning the war. But with each day that passes, things begin to make less sense.
If only Kress had been able to bring her trained raven, Render, with her.
If only none of them had ever had to come to this place. Read my thoughts…

Sea of Souls by N.C Scrimgeour

Reviewed: August 25th, 2023
Released: August 4th, 2023
Genre: Folklore Fantasy

Dark be the water, and darker still the creatures that lurk within…

Free-spirited Isla Blackwood has never accepted the shackles of her family’s nobility. Instead, she sails the open waters, searching for belonging on the waves.

But when tragedy calls Isla home, she realises she can no longer escape the duty she’s been running from. Selkie raiders have been terrorising the island’s coasts, and when they strike at Blackwood Estate, Isla is forced to flee with her hot-headed brother and brooding swordmaster.

To avenge her family and reclaim her home, Isla will have to set aside old grudges and join forces with an exiled selkie searching for a lost pelt. The heirloom might be the key to stopping the bloody conflict—but only if they can steal it from the island’s most notorious selkie hunter, the Grand Admiral himself. Read my Thoughts…

A Descent of Dragons by Jasmine Young

Reviewed: August 15th, 2023
Released: July 31st, 2023
Genre: Epic Fantasy

One hatchling’s fall will break a continent.

A hatchling will descend from the skies.

It will forever change the fate of one rider.

But this is far from a dragon. Better that it had never come at all.

This is the portentous truth about what caused it to fall into the world of men…

An event that will precede the breaking of a continent.

Only available by subscribing to Jasmine Young’s Epic Legends mailing list.

Read my thoughts…

The Stone of Time by Pamela Chartrand

Reviewed: August 13th, 2023
Released: July 31st, 2023
Genre: Wicca Fantasy

When you recognize your destiny, you’ll know what to do.

Paige Delaney is coming to terms with her identity as a bloodline witch. Although she’s one of the most powerful of her line, she struggles to access her magical gifts.

Returning to the Wiccan bonfire, she receives a mystical vision of a monk attacking a hooded figure, and she knows she must pursue it. She travels to France to find the enigmatic bookseller who introduced her to the sacred text that started it all. With his mentorship, and the mysterious Stone of Time, she time-travels to 14th-century Avignon on a daring mission to rescue the Herbarium.

There, she meets the Companion who is attempting to save the life of a young man, but risks falling into a trap set by the Papal counsel.

Overwhelmed, Paige fears her tenuous grasp on her powers will fail.

And when fate reunites her with her timeless love, Paige must make a heart-wrenching choice—

Return to the present, or remain and leave behind everything she knows and holds dear. Read My Thoughts…

Reviewed: August 9th, 2023
Released: July 4th, 2023
Genre: Space Opera

A door never closes, but a window opens . . .

With origins in the Old Universe, the malevolent, acquisitive intelligence of Tinsori Light sought to infect others with itself and send those agents out into the wide new universe to infect even more.

For centuries, two heroes stood between Tinsori Light and the vulnerable universe—Light Keepers Jen Sin yos’Phelium and Lorith of the Sanderat.

Just when it seemed that they—merely human—must fail, Tinsori Light, enfeebled by aged systems, succumbed to the stress of a unique spatial event—and died, leaving the station a shell.

Luckily, the light keepers have back-up. A mismatched team of arcane specialists are on-station, working nonstop to preserve the Light, build trustworthy systems, and open the refurbished station for business.

In fact, ships are already incoming, and it becomes a matter of urgency to sort friend from foe. In particular, the Lyre Institute wishes to acquire Tinsori Light, and will do anything, spend anyone, to achieve that goal. Read My Thoughts…

Too Many Shadows, Not Enough Light by LC Ainsworth

Reviewed: August 6th, 2023
Released: January 12th, 2023
Genre: Science Fiction

Princesses are born to defend their people.
Being the best Imperial Air Force cadet, spending time with her friends and maybe meeting a cute boy is all Princess Astrid Zainab Korsning better known as Izzy wants.

If only Yanar, her country, was not at war with Petra. If only she wasn’t forced to become regent while her mother was fighting on the front lines. If only she had not come face to face with the unknown enemies while investigating signs of infiltration on earth by dark forces. If only she was not in danger of falling in love with the wrong boy during her first trip to London.

Princesses are born to die for their people

The kingdom of Petra: once upon a time the best place in the galaxy for art, literature and music. That was until the war against The Alliance, a federation of planets led by the Yan empire.

Petra, Hendu and The Backhand agree, the empire must fall.

And it starts with the death of a 17-year-old princess. The only problem, Izzy is not just a princess, she is also an Omni, a human who possesses five supernatural powers. Read My Thoughts …

Night Orchid by M.G Hernandez

Reviewed: August 1st, 2023
Released: April 21st, 2021
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

Nothing happens in Wakefield…

But Josephine “Jo” Ligaya wakes up to find Alexa Ocampo, standing next to her window, black hair illuminated by the moonlight, gazing out of the frosted glass. No reason exists in Jo’s solitary world for the cheerleader to be in her room—except for two. She died and found her way to the young medium. The missing girl. Dead at eighteen.

Forced to join forces with Julian Taylor, the town’s celebrated athlete and a former friend, she must traverse the land mines of the spiritual realm and the equally intense halls of Wakefield High. This unlikely pair—a high school loner and a popular jock—must learn to work together to find the remains of a murdered teen with only communications from the dead as their guide.

Night Orchid is a coming-of-age tale of severed friendships, broken promises and the enduring powers of love. It’s Ghost Whisperer, but with hot-tempered teenagers and a strong female lead. Get ready for a wild ride. Read my thoughts…

Of Deeds Most Valiant by Sarah K. Wilson

Reviewed: July 25th, 2023
Released: June 1st, 2023
Genre: Epic Fantasy

Eleven paladins walk into a monastery. Only one knows it’s a trap.

When Victoriana Greenmantle is summoned to represent her paladin order in an unusual quest, the timing couldn’t be worse.

The summoning requires Victoriana to journey to the newly revealed Aching Monastery and there to search for and recover the fabled Cup of Tears on behalf of her order.

But her order is not the only one seeking this relic. And her rivals are stronger, smarter, more experienced and just as motivated as she is. Will this cynical paladin have the faith to find the truth?

When Adalbrand Von Menticure is summoned to the Aching Monastery he is unamused. Far from his holy work healing the sick and injured, this quest seems a waste of his time. But when the murders start and he’s thrown together unwittingly with a young female paladin who keeps breaking all the rules and drawing everyone’s ire, he is forced to confront ghosts of his past. Can he push past his guilt to accept this tempting ally?

Together, these two holy paladins may be the only ones who can discover what or who is killing their compatriots and whether the Cup of Tears is really worth the bloodshed and danger within the monastery walls before time runs out and they are trapped forever. Read My Thoughts…

A Thin Witchline Between Love and Hate by T.L . Brown

Reviewed: July 23rd, 2023
Released: March 29th, 2022
Genre: Dark Fantasy

Witch politics, maddening men, a desperate demon, and monsters from above blow apart Lucie Bellerose’s world. Can she still save her thinning witchline?

The confident witch next door? She’s a hot mess. The reliable, level-headed friend you know you can count on? She’s broken and hiding big lies. The powerful woman who finds herself at the center of an old prophecy? She’s overwhelmed.
Witches hide things.
Lucie Bellerose holds secrets in her heart, fear in her belly, and her Tarot cards close to her chest. She’s a witch among too many men, with too many problems, and one thinning witchline.

Join Lucie Bellerose as she navigates infuriating men, witch politics, controlling her growing power, a fiery temper, a crazed demon… and ‘monsters and beasties’ when doors to other worlds begin to open. Read my Thoughts …

The Blood Crystal by Matt Twinley

Reviewed: July 12th, 2023
Released: April 26th, 2022
Genre: YA Fantasy

Some secrets run deeper than blood…

Long ago, a battle was fought against the dark Etheria, creatures who wanted control of the world. Now, Etheria are kept hidden by Trucekeepers. They’re just myths… or are they?

Hannah is a frustrated sixteen-year-old—fed up with school, her diabetes and desperate to find somewhere she belongs.
Daegan is a Trucekeeper—a fearless warrior with a dark past, sworn to keep the existence of mythical creatures a secret.

Their lives couldn’t be more different… But everything changes when a magical blood crystal brings them together. Read my Thoughts…

Darkblade Assassin by Andy Peloquin

Reviewed: June 30th, 2023
Released: July 6th, 2021
Genre: Dark Fantasy

All in Voramis know the legend of the Hunter.
Relentless. Immortal. Death walking. The greatest assassin who ever lived.

Pay the master killer his due and the Hunter will execute any target, carry out any contract, no matter how impossible.

But when the Bloody Hand crime syndicate harms the innocents under his protection, they foolishly make an enemy of the one man they can’t afford to anger. The price of the Hunter’s vengeance is high—paid in blood and eternal damnation. Not even an army of crooks, cutthroats, and demonic creatures of nightmare can stand in his way.

He’s far more than just one man…he’s the Keeper-damned Hunter of Voramis. Read my thoughts…

The Bell Tolling by Amena Jamali

Reviewed: June 23rd, 2023
Released: December 15th, 2021
Genre Epic Fantasy

An epic spiritual, political, and military fantasy full of profound thoughts about the meaning of freedom, human compassion, women’s empowerment, true leadership, and the stark contrast between absolute good and absolute evil

The Blood-soaked Sorcerer tyrannizes the land of Icilia with every form of cruelty imaginable, dying his armor red in the blood of innocents. Crushed to pieces under such savagery, the people of Icilia abandon hope and begin to forget the gifts of civilization that had once been their dearest blessings.

In Amena Jamali’s The Bell Tolling, Book One of the The Lord of Freedom series, we meet Lucian, the divinely-appointed hero of Icilia and Leader of the Quest of Freedom. Educated in all of the ancient arts, Lucian has the virtue and power necessary to cleanse evil from the land. But not alone—answering the call of his sacred destiny, Lucian gathers his four divinely-chosen companions and embarks on a journey to free his world. He is determined to restore the forgotten laws, heal the tormented, and unite the land behind his banner.

But how can it be possible for him to succeed? His companions seem too shattered to save anyone, while his people might be too blind to see the light…Read my review…

Foothills Fae Academy by Callie Woodridge

Reviewed: June 16th, 2023
Released: March 31st, 2023
Genre: YA Fantasy

Welcome to Foothills Fae Academy, where four thirteen-year-old students begin their journey to harness the power of the elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Wind. Ben, Amber, Ellen, and Michael soon become friends as they navigate the challenges of the school, but they soon discover that their training is not just for when they reach adulthood- there are dangerous Dark Magic Welders that threaten their world. As the four friends learn to control their abilities and become true Fae, Ben and Amber discover that they have a special gift that puts them in grave danger. Set in 1999, this thrilling fantasy adventure follows the four students as they learn to prepare themselves against the Dark Magic Welders while also training to be Fae. Read my thoughts…

Don’t Fade Away by Natalie Pearce

Reviewed: June 15th, 2023
Released: January 1st, 2023
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

For Elle, haunting a share house comes with a unique set of challenges. Living tenants come and go, leaving her with nothing to fill her days except a crush on longstanding housemate, Dean, who literally doesn’t know she exists. Talk about unrequited love.

Just as she despairs at being stuck halfway to the other side for the rest of her afterlife, the newest resident sparks hope for something more than the humdrum of everyday death.

As far as mediums go, Ethan barely knows he is one. He just wants a place to knuckle down and finish his medical degree. But as soon as he moves in, he senses a presence. He tries to ignore it – but Elle is insistent…

The more Ethan uncovers about Elle, the more he suspects her death was no accident. Can he help her move on, or will greater forces intervene?

Erika’s journey includes a trek through childhood friendships, narcissistic family, an obsession with 80s rock music, and the trials and joys of being a wife and mother. With relationships tested and secrets revealed, can she face the stakes of her quest and become who she needs to be? Read my Thoughts…

The Mom Group by Jennifer A. Jones

Reviewed: June 11th, 2023
Released: September 15th, 2022
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction

Loneliness can motivate a woman to put herself out there, to meet new friends. But when it doesn’t go as planned, what’s next? Perhaps a little revenge…

Erika Thompson is a lonely housewife. With her kids recently off to college and her husband working long hours, she spends much of her time reading, hanging out with her dog, and trying to figure out what her next steps should be.

But an invitation to join a local mom group is about to change everything. After numerous attempts to fit in and make new friends, Erika is all but shunned. Her sorrow over this unexpected outcome quickly turns to anger, and she retaliates against the moms who’ve done her wrong. But things don’t go as planned for Erika, and she’s in for some surprises of her own.

Erika’s journey includes a trek through childhood friendships, narcissistic family, an obsession with 80s rock music, and the trials and joys of being a wife and mother. With relationships tested and secrets revealed, can she face the stakes of her quest and become who she needs to be? Read my Thoughts…

Hammer of Fate by G.N Gudgion

Reviewed: June 8th, 2023
Released: June 1st, 2023
Genre: Epic Fantasy

“No surrender. No retreat.” With twenty enemy swords at their backs and a broken bridge ahead, the last knights of an outlaw order turn to fight. A young woman with forbidden magic joins their final stand. And as blade meets blade, she starts to sing…

Adelais was raised in the far north, learning stories of the old gods and the skill of weaving runes into magic. Now, she is locked in a convent far from home, forced to kneel to a foreign god.

When inquisitors arrive with plans to torture an innocent man, Adelais cannot stand by. She aids an attack to free the prisoner and joins the raiders as they flee into the night.

Her new companions are the last of the Guardians—once a powerful holy order, now ragged fugitives, hunted almost to extinction.

The knights carry a secret treasure, precious and powerful enough to shape kingdoms. Their pursuers, desperate to possess it, will crush any who stand in their way.

Adelais must summon all her courage and all her memories of the old gods’ magic as the noose tightens around her and a thunderous final reckoning approaches. Read my thoughts…

The Clan of Mist by Krysta Lyn and Johnna Dee

Reviewed: June 7th, 2023
Released: January 23rd, 2023
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

A war is brewing on the horizon; choices will have to be made that will bring unexpected allies together or tear apart clans forever.

Isolated her whole life in a village of fellow sirens, Thess finds her world turned upside down after she sets her eyes upon the tall mysterious male who walks into her life while training for the clan’s tournament that would decide her fate. Kage, a crocodile shifter from a lowborn family, has been trying to redeem his family’s name and pull them out of the mud. Kage finds his next mission will not only change his life but impact the lives of those around him.

The Clan of Mist is the first book in the Calpa Series, a new adult fantasy romance featuring shifters, magical amulets, fated mates, and enemies to lovers tropes. Read My Thoughts…

The Watchmaker’s Daughter by C.J. Archer

Reviewed: May 20th, 2023
Released: June 28th, 2018
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Audiobook Narrated by Emma Powell

India Steele is desperate. Her father is dead, her fiancé took her inheritance, and no one will employ her, despite years working for her watchmaker father. Indeed, the other London watchmakers seem frightened of her. Alone, poor, and at the end of her tether, India takes employment with the only person who’ll accept her – an enigmatic and mysterious man from America. A man who possesses a strange watch that rejuvenates him when he’s ill.Matthew Glass must find a particular watchmaker, but he won’t tell India why any old one won’t do. Nor will he tell her what he does back home, and how he can afford to stay in a house in one of London’s best streets. So when she reads about an American outlaw known as the Dark Rider arriving in England, she suspects Mr. Glass is the fugitive. When danger comes to their door, she’s certain of it. But if she notifies the authorities, she’ll find herself unemployed and homeless again – and she will have betrayed the man who saved her life. Read My Thoughts…

Spells and Sensibility by K.L Noone and K.S Murphy

Reviewed: May 16th, 2023
Released: January 29th, 2022
Genre: MM Historical Fantasy

Theodore Burnett has never been a hero. He prefers comfort to combat-spells, and jam-slathered scones to muddy boots. Fortunately, as the youngest-ever head librarian at the Royal College of Wizardry, Theo can spend his days with books and bibliomancy in place of battle-magic or politics — and in any case Napoleon’s been defeated and the war’s been won.

But now there’s a wounded captain of the Magicians’ Corps in Theo’s library. And he needs Theo’s help. And Theo can never resist a mystery, especially when that mystery’s tall and tempting and handsome.

Captain Henry Tourmaline, formerly of His Majesty’s Army and the Magicians’ Corps, requires assistance. He’s returned to London with scars on his body, soul, and heart — war, after all, will do that to anyone. But one of those scars refuses to heal, a curse that’s slowly draining Henry’s magic and eventually his life. The physicians have no answers, so Henry turns to the College’s books … and the College’s attractive head librarian. But the curse is unpredictable, and the last thing Henry wants is to drag someone else into the line of fire, particularly someone as kind and innocent and brilliant as Theo.

Theo wants to save Henry. Henry wants to keep Theo safe. Together, perhaps they can do both … while uncovering a perilous secret behind a spell, a deadly puzzle in the archives, and their own heart’s desires. Read My Thoughts…

Circe by Madeline Miller

Reviewed: May 11th, 2023
Released: April 19th, 2018
Genre: Greek Mythology Fantasy fiction

Woman. Witch. Myth. Mortal. Outcast. Lover. Destroyer. Survivor. CIRCE.

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is a strange child – not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. Scorned and rejected, Circe grows up in the shadows, at home in neither the world of gods or mortals. But Circe has a dark power of her own: witchcraft. When her gift threatens the gods, she is banished to the island of Aiaia where she hones her occult craft, casting spells, gathering strange herbs and taming wild beasts. Yet a woman who stands alone will never be left in peace for long – and among her island’s guests is an unexpected visitor: the mortal Odysseus, for whom Circe will risk everything.

So Circe sets forth her tale, a vivid, mesmerizing epic of family rivalry, love and loss – the defiant, inextinguishable song of woman burning hot and bright through the darkness of a man’s world. Read My Thoughts…

The Starlight Witch by Kim Richardson

Reviewed: May 2nd, 2023
Released: October 31st, 2022
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Finding my husband in bed with another woman was not how I planned to start my day.

Or homeless the next minute. And broke.

So, when a job comes my way from The Twilight Hotel—a paranormal hotel in midtown Manhattan that serves as a sanctuary and residence—I take it.

Cue in tattooed, sexy as sin, grumpy restaurant owner Valen, who can’t do drama or high-maintenance women. The problem? He’s cruel and dangerous.

And he’s hiding something.

Rumors arise of a dark spell that would mean the hotel’s closure, and I don’t know who I can trust. Do I have what it takes to fight this new evil? We’ll see. Read My Thoughts…

The House Witch by Delemhach

Reviewed: April 28th, 2023
Released: June 21st, 2022
Genre: Humourous Fantasy Romance

A heartwarming and humorous blend of fantasy, romance, and mystery featuring a witch with domestic powers and the royal household he serves . . . dinner.

When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he’s an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He’s satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals.

But Fin’s secret identity doesn’t stay hidden for long. After all, it’s not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs. As his powers are gradually discovered by the court, Fin finds himself involved in a slew of intrigues: going head-to-head with knights with less-than-chivalrous intentions, helping to protect the pregnant queen, fending off the ire of the royal mage, and uncovering a spy in the castle. And that’s only the beginning—because Fin’s past is catching up with him just as his love life is getting complicated.

Read My Thoughts…

The Bandalore by DK Girl

Reviewed 21st April 2023
Released: Fenruary 25th, 2021
Genre: Gaslamp Fantasy

His second chance at life will be the bloody death of him.

Silas Mercer is a dead man. Or at least…he was.

Upon waking in his grave, he finds himself without a single memory of the life he once lived. Silas is bewildered and lost, and apparently, now in the employ of the mysterious Order of the Golden Dawn. A secretive organisation who specialise in all things supernatural.

To begin with, their plans for him seem to involve nothing more than making a spectacle of himself in front of London society, with his terrible dancing skills and inept attempts to host the occasional séance.

But Silas’s odd new life takes a startling turn when the Order partners him with the scandalous rake, Tobias Astaroth. A quick-tempered, dangerously beautiful man who harbours some hellish secrets.

Their unlikely, and infuriating, partnership soon faces its first terrifying challenge. A monster straight out of a nightmare is haunting the woods of Leicester, and the Order want Silas and Tobias to end its rampage.

But nothing in this world is as it seems. Not the Order. Not Silas himself, and certainly not the incorrigible and utterly beguiling Mr Astaroth.

For Silas, the perils that lie ahead are many.
But few are as dangerous as the bewitching man at his side. Read more…

The McConnor Curse by M.J Padgett

Reviewed: April 15th, 2023
Released: October 26th, 2022
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Audio book narrated by Kristen Saburn

Charlotte McConnor has all the luck of the Irish… until she doesn’t. When she agrees to marry Colin, her boyfriend of several months, things go downhill fast. The second the engagement ring slips on her finger, things get strange—and hot. As in, he burns her hometown to the ground every night in a sick game of cat and mouse.

Unbeknownst to Charlotte, she’s just met her sin-eater—the man cursed by her family to carry her sins to Hell and keep her cup of luck overflowing. Now he’s out for revenge, unless, of course, they can figure out a way to break the centuries-old curse that has enslaved them both. Read My Thoughts…

Where Shadows lie by Allegra Pescatore

Reviewed: April 13th, 2023
Released: March 20th, 2020
Genre: Epic Fantasy

The Chosen One is dead.

Only his sister can take his place.

Disabled since childhood, Elenor was content to live in her brother’s shadow, besting her cousins at cards and sneaking her girlfriend into her room at night. Now she’s next in line for the throne and beset on all sides by factions out for blood. With time ticking down until someone manages to kill her too, Elenor will be forced to choose between accepting her father’s despotic rule or risking everything for her late brother’s lofty ideals.

Meanwhile, from the rainy streets of Lirin to the scorching dunes of the Mondaer Desert, the death of the Chosen One has inadvertently broken a chain of events five centuries in the making. Ancient forces move in the shadows, calling in debts and striking deals. A monster with a thousand faces fingers his knife, ready to kill, and a pair of fugitives run for their lives, unaware of the danger they carry with them. Read My Thoughts…

Wicked Hunt by SK Alexander

Reviewed: April 10th, 2023
Released: June 25th, 2022
Genre: Paranormal Crime Thriller

A vicious sniper on the loose in Los Angeles. A grief-stricken empath. A ticking clock…


For Nathaniel Colt, Los Angeles is not the City of Angels. For the empath, LA is hell. A quick visit turns into a nightmare when the former special agent becomes embroiled in the hunt for a ruthless sniper terrorizing the city.

When the lurking evil puts the profiler and those closest to him in his crosshairs, a race against time begins and the consultant must rely on his psychic abilities before their time runs out.

Can Nathaniel save those close to him or will LA, once again, prove that it is hell on Earth for the empath? Read My Thoughts…

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett

Reviewed: April 7th, 2023
Released: January 24th, 2022
Genre: Crime Thriller

It’s time to solve the murder of the century….

Forty years ago, Steven Smith found a copy of a famous children’s book by disgraced author Edith Twyford, its margins full of strange markings and annotations. Wanting to know more, he took it to his English teacher Miss Iles, not realising the chain of events that he was setting in motion. Miss Iles became convinced that the book was the key to solving a puzzle and that a message in secret code ran through all Twyford’s novels. Then Miss Iles disappeared on a class field trip, and Steven has no memory of what happened to her.

Now, out of prison after a long stretch, Steven decides to investigate the mystery that has haunted him for decades. Was Miss Iles murdered? Was she deluded? Or was she right about the code? And is it still in use today?

Desperate to recover his memories and find out what really happened to Miss Iles, Steven revisits the people and places of his childhood. But it soon becomes clear that Edith Twyford wasn’t just a writer of forgotten children’s stories. The Twyford Code has great power, and he isn’t the only one trying to solve it…. Read my Thoughts…

Soul Marked by Lissa Bolts

Reviewed: April 5th, 2023
Released: October 26th, 2022
Genre:Urban Fantasy

Oh, hey. Nora here.

Just over here trying to process everything I’ve learned lately—the least of it being that magic is real, and I’m the last in a long line of practically extinct jinn.

Me? Magic? What?

You might be wondering why all of that isn’t taking center stage in my currently mind-blown state. Well… I’ve got bigger problems.

Namely, I trusted the wrong person.

We’ve all been there, right? But of course, when I do it, I wake up not knowing where I am or how I got there. To top it off, something isn’t quite right with me. I’m off. But maybe that’s just what happens when your heart is splintered into a million tiny pieces.

Whatever the case, I’m done with all the half-truths and secrets. It’s time for me to figure out why everyone seems to know more about me than I do. Why the entire magical world is watching every move I make with bated breath.

But most of all, I’m going to find out why he did this to me. And then I might just make him pay with the one thing that’s ripe for my taking…

His soul. Read My Thoughts…

Messenger by A.L Morrow

Reviewed: April 1st, 2023
Released: March 31st, 2023
Genre: MM fantasy

Hell on Earth? Not if these angels can help it.

Nothing has been the same for Messenger angel Cyrus since Jace was exiled from the celestial community. Night after night, he searches Sin City for the demon who might have the answers he needs to find his lost love. But his quest hasn’t gone unnoticed. Dark forces reach Cyrus first, and a brutal encounter with his enemy leaves him at the mercy of the ruthless warrior who once broke his heart.

Believing Cyrus has been killed, Jace returns to Sin City with a death wish and one thought in mind: vengeance. Instead, he finds Cyrus alive and the unsuspecting center of a plot that will change Sin City—for the worse—forever.

Time has never been a friend to Jace and Cyrus, but now the clock is ticking faster than ever. With the fate of the city on the line, they’ll need to choose between saving each other or saving their souls. Read my thoughts…

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Reviewed: March 30th, 2023
Released: August 13th, 2020
Genre: Science Fiction Fantasy

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting blockbuster novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place. Read My Thoughts…

Twice Upon a Name: A charity anthology of short stories

Reviewed: March 29th, 2023
Released: April 20th, 2023
Genre: Fairytale short stories

Double the name and double the magic, mystery, and mayhem

Once upon a time, a fairy tale name generator issued a challenge to a group of authors. Volume Two of these quirky stories brings double trouble.

In this clean YA anthology, spy on thieves discovering their princely identities, accompany villains seeking redemption along with accident-prone geese, and rejoice in the reunion of siblings separated at birth. Side with twins split between good and evil, giggle over mistaken identities, and discover the secrets of royal doppelgängers. When fates are intertwined by a namesake, mayhem and mischief are sure to follow.

Venture into this collection of adventurous stories by award-winning and up-and-coming authors and see if what happens once . . . happens twice!

Pssst…some characters from Once Upon A Name might make a comeback, but the two sets and all stories in them can be read as standalones.

All proceeds donated to charity in support of reading and literacy. Read my thoughts…

A Threat of Shadows by JA Andrews

Reviewed: March 25th, 2023
Released: September 6th, 2018
Genre: Epic Fantasy

Alaric betrayed everything he believed to save Evangeline — and failed.

His last chance to save the woman he loves lies in an ancient Wellstone, a repository of power, buried and lost long ago.

Luck—or something more troubling—leads him to a small group searching for the same stone.

A disgruntled dwarf, a bumbling wizard, and an elf with an unsettling amount of power.

If he can gain their trust, they might help him find the cure.

But the Wellstone holds more than he knows, and a terrible evil he’d thought defeated is stirring again, searching for the stone.

Can the companions survive a traitor, a dragon, and their own pasts to reach the stone before time runs out? Read my Thoughts…

Wish Marked by Lissa Bolts

Reviewed: March 19th, 2023
Released: August 1st, 2022
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Hi. I’m Nora, and I bring people’s worst nightmares to life.

Everyone needs a hobby, right? Well, in my case, that’s making people’s wishes come true, but in the worst possible way.

Sometimes people even wind up dead.

I know, I know. It sounds crazy. But the truth is, I don’t do it on purpose. I’m cursed, and I’m running out of time to fix it.

Enter Rafe Morgan, the dangerously gorgeous and impossibly stubborn man I just met at a bar in my search for answers. I never invited him on my curse-breaking she-quest, but that didn’t stop him from coming along anyway.

He’s already saved my life more than once, so for now… he can stay. But how can I be sure he’s really on my side? He knows more than he’s saying, and I can’t help but question his motives.

Unfortunately for me, there’s more at stake than I realized, and I’m about to learn the hard way just how far I’ll go to stay alive.

I’ve searched my whole life and found nothing. No answers. No cure. Not one hint about making this nightmare curse disappear.

Well, that is… until today. Read My Thoughts…

Gemini Queen by Laura Navarre

Reviewed: March 7th, 2023
Released: July 26th, 2022
Genre: RH Paranormal Fantasy

I summon the lightning.
I claim my power.
The warlocks of Icarus Academy claim me.

I start my night as a cat burglar in Singapore and I end up queen of the witching world. Too bad this rags-to-riches fairytale’s a gig I never applied for and won’t accept. My witchcraft is wild and lethal, so I’ve renounced my power. I’m a fish out of water at Icarus Academy.

But these four sexy warlocks who rule the school just won’t take no for an answer.

They want me to claim my power. They want me to summon the lightning. And they want to claim me as their consort.

Because the witching world is dying, and I’m their last chance. But there’s a queen killer on the hunt. Unless I figure out how to claim my power before the killer claims my head, there’s a global extinction event looming.

With my name written all over it.

An intense dark witch academy why choose paranormal romance that delivers teacher-student forbidden love, steamy group interactions, possessive males, sexy shifters, first-time M/M, bi awakening, a lightning witch heroine who doesn’t have to choose, and enough heat to set your Academy uniform on fire.

Read my Thoughts…

Released by Julie Embleton

Reviewed: February 28th, 2023
Released: Decemebe 25th, 2014
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

Does a killer deserve redemption?
Michael Vincent believes he doesn’t. But can he ignore the discovery of his mate or the menace threatening his former pack as a chance for atonement.

Desperate to escape the memories of the horrific acts committed against his former pack, Michael Vincent has spent the last year running as a lone, tormented wolf. Fearful for his weakening humanity he returns to human form, but chooses to live in solitude, deep in the Rochfort Mountains. When he discovers his mate, a fragile hope slowly begins to ease the burden of the guilt he bears, but the evil that splintered his former life is casting its shadow anew forcing Michael to reunite with his pack mates as they brace to confront a terror thought long buried.

Read my thoughts…

The Crimson Scar by Hannah Penfold

Reviewed: February 24th, 2023
Released: August 30th, 2022
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

Scarlet Seraphine should never have been born. Living in the House of Raven – the home of a race with magic and vampire blood – she is an outcast and wants nothing more than to escape her life of confinement.

But everything changes with the announcement of the Hex Trials – a deadly competition in which Ravens lose their lives at every turn. Scarlet is forced to abandon her plans to leave for a chance to claim one of the trials’ most valuable prizes, the only medicine that can save her sister’s life.

With time running out and her sister’s fate hanging in the balance, Scarlet has no choice but to compete. Death follows closely in every trial, and with a target on her back, Scarlet must decide whether fighting for her sister’s life is worth losing her own. Read my Thoughts…

Gild by Raven Kennedy

Reviewed: February 17th, 2023
Released: October 1st, 2020
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

The fae abandoned this world to us. And the ones with power rule. Gold.

Gold floors, gold walls, gold furniture, gold clothes. In Highbell, in the castle built into the frozen mountains, everything is made of gold. Even me.

King Midas rescued me. Dug me out of the slums and placed me on a pedestal. I’m called his precious. His favored. I’m the woman he Gold-Touched to show everyone that I belong to him. To show how powerful he is. He gave me protection, and I gave him my heart. And even though I don’t leave the confines of the palace, I’m safe. Until war comes to the kingdom and a deal is struck.

Suddenly, my trust is broken. My love is challenged. And I realize that everything I thought I knew about Midas might be wrong. Because these bars I’m kept in, no matter how gilded, are still just a cage. But the monsters on the other side might make me wish I’d never left.

The myth of King Midas reimagined. This compelling adult fantasy series is as addictive as it is unexpected. With romance, intrigue, and danger, the gilded world of Orea will grip you from the very first page.

Please Note: This book contains explicit content and darker elements, including mature language, violence, and non-consensual sex. It is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. This is book one in a series. Read my Thoughts…

A Peddler of Chains by Allegra Pescatore and E. Sands

Reviewed: February 2nd, 2023
Released: October 19th, 2022
Genre: Epic Fantasy

Asherah of Vine died five times in bloody service to her Queen, but now her Queen is dead.

The cycle of reincarnation has ended, and Ash is ready to set her trusty bow aside and live out the rest her days in peace. All she wants is to live a quiet existence on the Rim, but her past, it seems, is intent on catching up with her. She’s tried to outrun him, but he’s not a man to be trifled with.

Willow of Herb has been hunting the butcher Asherah for over two hundred years. She slaughtered his parents and his people, and he intends to bring her to justice. It is because of her that he was turned into a weapon of war, and it is her face that haunts his darkest nightmares. When he finally catches her scent nothing can stop him, but what happens when he captures his greatest enemy and finds out that not everything is what it seems?

As they travel through the icy Lands of Nadir chased by a rival band of bounty hunters, Willow and Asherah must face their pasts and learn to work together if they wish to survive. Trust between enemies isn’t easy to build, but as they fight Feral Fae, face down snowstorms, and run from Retribution, Will and Ash find that maybe they’re stronger as allies than as enemies. Read my thoughts…

Beyond the Sea by Keira Andrews

Reviewed: January 30th, 2023
Released: March 9th, 2016
Genre: MM Romance

Two hot guys. One desert island.

Troy Tanner walks out on his boy band’s world tour rather than watching his little brother snort his life away. Screw it. He’ll take a private jet home and figure out his life away from the spotlight.

But Troy doesn’t make it home.

The plane crashes on a jungle island in the South Pacific. Forget dodging the paparazzi—now Troy’s desperate for food and water. The turquoise ocean and white sand beach looks like paradise, but danger lurks everywhere. Thank God the pilot survived too. At least Troy’s not alone. He has Brian.

Brian’s smart and brave and strong. He doesn’t care that Troy’s famous. Brian’s real. As days turn into weeks with no sign of rescue, Troy and Brian rely on each other. They make each other laugh despite being stranded. They go from strangers to friends.

What happens when they want more?

Although he and Brian both identify as straight, their growing desire burns hotter than the tropical sun. If they explore their sexuality a thousand miles from anything or anyone, can their newfound love survive in the real world when they’re finally rescued? Read my thoughts…

Ranger of Kings by C.J.R. Isely

Reviewed: January 29th, 2023
Released: March 1st, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy

There are secrets more deadly than blades…and they are coming for him

Living as a lowly village boy, Will finds himself thrown into a world he could only dream of when he meets the mischievous son of an influential Lord and a calculating last heir of a powerful Count. Brought to Alamore castle, he can not believe his luck when he is invited to join his two new friends in training to become knights of the realm.

But training isn’t all the grandeur and chivalry he imagined.

There are dangers, secrets, and traitors lurking within the walls of Alamore and Will realizes more than fate brought him to the castle.

Now he must find answers – to save the Kingdom and to save himself.

But the person who might be able to help him is the one he fears most; the aloof cloaked figure known only as the Ranger of Kings… Read my Thoughts…

Fugitive’s Vow by Gail Z. Martin

Reviewed: January 22nd, 2023
Released: October 26th, 2017
Genre: Fantasy/ Sword & Sorcery

Buddy flick epic fantasy! The third in the Assassins of Landria series from the award-winning, bestselling author of Scourge: A Novel of Darkhurst and The Chronicles of The Necromancer.

Rule-breaking, unconventional assassins Joel “Ridge” Breckenridge and Garrett “Rett” Kennar are back, and the stakes have never been higher.

The Witch Lord remains at large, orchestrating his plot against Landria’s throne from the shadows. Then tragedy strikes, the kingdom is in jeopardy, and Rett disappears. Framed for murder, Ridge flees with a bounty on his head, still intent on fighting the Witch Lord’s threat. Landria’s fate hangs in the balance, leaving only hard and dangerous choices.

Can an unlikely alliance of outlaws and fugitives turn the tide for justice and vengeance? Read my Thoughts…


Kidnapped by the Pirate by Keira Andrews

Reviewed: January 21st, 2023
Released: October 26th, 2017
Genre: MM Romance

Will an innocent captive surrender to this pirate’s sinful touch?

Nathaniel Bainbridge is used to hiding, whether it’s concealing his struggles with reading or his forbidden desire for men. Under the thumb of his controlling father, he’s sailing to the fledgling colony of Primrose Isle, where he’ll surrender to a respectable marriage for his family’s financial gain.

Until pirates strike and he’s kidnapped for ransom by the Sea Hawk, a legendary villain of the New World.

Bitter and jaded, Hawk harbors futile dreams of leaving the sea for a quiet life. But men like him don’t deserve peace. He has a score to settle with his captive’s father—the very man whose treachery forced him into piracy—and he’s sure Nathaniel is just as contemptible.

Yet as days pass in close quarters, Nathaniel’s feisty spirit and alluring innocence beguile and bewitch. The desire to teach Nathaniel the pleasure men can share grows uncontrollable. What’s the harm in satisfaction?

Hawk would never feel anything for him…

Nathaniel realizes the fearsome Sea Hawk’s reputation is largely invented. He sees the lonely man beneath the myth, willingly surrendering to his captor body and soul. As a pirate’s prisoner, he is finally free to be his true self. With danger mounting, the time for Hawk to relinquish his prize looms. Will his greatest battle be with his own heart? Read my Thoughts…

Soul Mage by Lisa Blackwood

Reviewed: January 18th, 2023
Released: December 6th, 2022
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Format: KU

A stoic warrior-maiden and a villainous priest-king make the most unlikely alliance in the history of the five kingdoms.

When a rescue attempt to save a clutch of dragon eggs from the soul mages goes terribly wrong, Warrior-Priestess Verdria of High Rock finds herself on the wrong side of a portal, deep in enemy territory.

She soon learns she’s in the heart of the soul mage’s empire and when Honryn, the future priest-king of the mages, takes a liking to Verdria and saves her life, she’s pretty sure she’s facing down a ‘fate worse than death’ scenario.

Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, Priest-King Honryn introduces her to the Royal Court of the Soul Mages, the most morally corrupt and bloodthirsty court in existence.

Life is cheap. Souls are currency.

And Verdria has caught the fancy of the young priest-king, and while he doesn’t want to steal her soul, he’s set on winning her heart.

And she’s equally set on having his heart, after she’s carved it out of his chest.

But when she discovers Honryn’s most monstrous secret, a secret he’s even hiding from his fellow soul mages, she’s moved to pity and offers to aid him. Read my thoughts …

Bound by Julie Embleton

Reviewed: January 16th, 2023
Released: August 1st, 2014
Genre: Paranormal Shifter Fantasy
Format: KU

Would you sacrifice love to stay alive?

Nyah’s wolf has been bound by dark magic. Defenceless and terrified she finds sanctuary on the run, but choosing to live demands an impossible price.

The new alpha of Nyah Morgan’s pack has aligned with dark forces, and his plans for Nyah break the most absolute of Lycan Laws. With her entire pack under his thrall, and her own wolf maimed by his magic, she turns rogue, her incapacity landing her in unfamiliar territory where she catches the unwanted attention of Dean Carson, an alpha determined to learn the truth she hides.

As her crazed alpha closes in, Nyah is forced into making a choice. Her bound wolf is killing her, both alphas can save her, but which one, and at what cost?

Bound launches the suspenseful Turning Moon series, a contemporary world where wolves, vampires, and witches defy prejudices, join forces, and fall in love. The heroines are feisty, the heroes gutsy, and the villains heinous. Read my thoughts…

The Borderlands Princess by Ophelia Wells Langley

What her people need, or what her heart wants?

Destined to unite the war-torn kingdoms of humans and Fae, Princess Sorcha must do her duty. But her heart has other ideas.

The road to Fae-lands is long, and her Fae escort, Lord Conall, is handsome, dashing, and brave-all things a loyal knight should be. Yet no fae wants a human queen, and more war is on the horizon. Her betrothed, High King of the Fae, has secrets of his own, and she’s not sure that he’s her destiny. But her handsome knight and her heart will have to stand aside, for the princess has a duty-her people need this alliance. Until terrible secrets are exposed and the princess must choose between upholding her duty or following her dreams.

One mistake, one wrong choice and it’s not just her heart that will suffer, it’s her entire kingdom… Read my Thoughts …

The Reluctant Companion by H.L Day

Reviewed: January 5th, 2022
Released: May 2nd, 2022
Genre: MM Fantasy

Sebastian might have the power to summon animals, but winning Jack over? Far more difficult.

As first encounters go, Jack and Sebastian’s isn’t ideal, leaving Jack nursing a grudge he’s not about to let go of in a hurry. Yet, if Jack is to find his missing sister, and Sebastian is to rescue his captured prince, they’ll need to set their differences aside and work as a team.

Jack is stubborn and somewhat volatile. Sebastian is vain and clearly in love with himself. But as the unlikely companions face all manner of dangers together, they grow closer. Rescuing the prince should be easy. Rescuing him from an impenetrable tower guarded by dragon-shifting knights? Okay, that part is harder.

But once the adventure is over, letting Sebastian go might be the hardest thing Jack has ever had to do. Read My Thoughts…

Daughter of the Deep by Lina C. Amarego

Reviewed: January 3rd, 2023
Released: August 15th, 2020
Genre: Fantasy

A wedding to end a war. It’s been four years since the blood feud between the Branwens and Mathonwys started. Four years of sunken ships and loved ones lost, four years of wounds both seen and unseen. Keira Branwen is no stranger to duty. As the first mate of a legendary pirate ship, blessed by the sea-god Lyr, and heir apparent to her clan, she would sail to the Otherworld and back to keep her family safe. But when the Council threatens banishment for her people, Keira is faced with a choice; she must either marry her father’s alleged killer, the sea-snake Ronan Mathonwy, or curse her family to the deep. But in the Seven Isles of the Deyrnas, secrets sleep just beneath the surface of the water. Her father’s death is still shrouded in mystery, and Ronan—her childhood friend, the man she once loved — is hell-bent on proving his innocence. As enemies become friends and friends become suspects, Keira must wade through the waters of doubt to expose the truth, save her family, and restore her father’s legacy. But Keira soon learns that there are ties thicker than blood, and there is more than one way to sacrifice a life. Read My Thoughts…

ARCHIVE

2022 Book Reviews

2021 Book Reviews (July-Dec)

2021 Book Reviews (Jan-June)

2020 Book Reviews