Reviewed: March 27th, 2026 Released: July 5th, 2021 Genre: YA Epic Fantasy
Her key to freedom is also her torment.
Mina is an outcast. A childhood accident left her scarred and with a curse that her master exploits to hunt dragons for sport.
She wants freedom, from both her master and the curse, but unless the right dragon is killed, she’ll be a bondservant for the rest of her days.
With Mina’s uncanny ability and her master’s magical strength, the beast responsible for her misery will fall … even if she has to take matters into her own hands.
Reviewed: March 19th, 2026 Released: August 15th, 2026 Genre: Writing Aide
Dawn approaches…
Learn how to confidently write smoldering sex scenes…even if the idea of it has you nervous-giggling into a glass of Chardonnay.
This book is the holy grail for all spicy romance authors. Whether you’re a newbie who isn’t sure where to start or you’ve banged out so many sex scenes that your keyboard needs a cigarette break, this one’s for you.
As the author of nine critically-acclaimed—and very steamy—romances, I understand that lecturing yourself to “write this hotter!” isn’t enough. I’ve been a certified writing coach for nearly a decade, so I can lead you step-by-step through ACTUAL THINGS YOU CAN DO to turn your open-door scenes from “okay, let’s get this over with” to “melt your Kindle.”
Here’s a taste of what you’ll get:
Take the guesswork out of what makes something sexy or not.
Stand out from the herd by writing sex scenes with depth: character specific, emotionally complex, and hot as h*ll.
Deploy sneaky sentence-level tricks that will drive your readers’ subconscious experience.
Choose vocabulary that doesn’t sound like you’re teaching sex ed.
Advice that works for queer and straight romances alike. Nope, we’re not going to be hetero-norming over here!
Break down how to write a Big Kiss scene that has the trumpets swelling.
Analyze examples from authors at the top of their game, like Katee Robert, Tiffany Reisz, Natalie Naudus, and more!
BONUS: I’ll reveal the dirty secret of sex-scene writing that no one is supposed to say out loud–the one that’s going to revolutionize the way you look at sex scenes!
So go ahead. Grab some popcorn, kick your feet up, and let’s have a laugh along the way to making your happy couple even happier!
Reviewed: March 13th, 2026 Released: August 25th, 2025 Genre: Dark Historical Fantasy
Dawn approaches…
Lady Roselle Lamont made an impossible choice a century before. Torn between the life of her twin sister, or new husband Lorcan’s freedom, she paid the ultimate price, resulting in one hundred years of punishment.
For love exacts a sacrifice, one coated in blood and betrayal.
With the century drawing to a close, Roselle resigns herself to facing retribution as she clings to the last vestiges of her humanity. When Lorcan discovers her on route to London, after being summoned by their punisher, Roselle must prove her love to him while plotting out her own revenge.
But the past is not all it seems, and new lies are revealed.
Roselle and Lorcan must decide who to trust in the dark and twisted dance of Court politics if they are to ensure their survival and any hope of a chance at a future together. Yet those who crave power cling to it with every last bloodied fang, and will not relinquish it so easily…
Reviewed: February 20th, 2026 Released: June 11th, 2019 Genre: Epic Fantasy
An Investigation Gone Awry Sometimes, your case takes a left turn. Or three or four. Marten Mingenstern and Boog Eggstrom are provisional inspectors, fresh out of Inquisitor’s Guild training and eager to prove themselves.
Assigned the mundane task of tracking down stolen jewels, they instead uncover a mysterious cult set on destroying the city.
After a thief explodes, they earn the enmity of a vicious noble, the Chief Inquisitor gets bought off and goes rogue, they are seized by barbarians, and they are sentenced to death at least a couple of times. In a final, frantic race with prophecy, they face ruthless fanatics, a city turned against them, and terrible forces long buried.
Reviewed: February 1st, 2026 Released: March 10th, 2026 Genre: Cozy Fantasy
Kickstarter
Immortal dragons can’t mate with humans… or can they?
500 years ago, Yora went into magical stasis to escape her violent life as the Sage of Wrath. Now she’s awoken because a hunted dragon shifter needs help, but the last thing she wants is to go back to war.
She’d much rather stay in her cottage with the dragon, Zan, and eat every kind of ice cream she can imagine. Even if she knows better than to give in to the rush she feels around him… Dragons can’t mate with humans, and soon Zan will have to leave again.
But the dragon’s flight has brought danger to Yora’s doorstep. Dark powers are desperate to claim her destructive powers for themselves, and they’ll stop at nothing to bring her under their control.
Yora knows how to use her wrath to destroy. But if she can harness that same magic to build instead, maybe she can protect her found family in Crystal Hollow—and find a way to stay with Zan for all of their days, too.
Reviewed: January 20th, 2026 Released: August 24th, 2024 Genre: Epic Fantasy
The silverswords have held Tytan in an iron fist for centuries. That fist has crushed the last hope for the continent.
After quitting mage training, fire mage Fig thought her dealings with the crown and the ruthless silverswords who rule Tytan were over. That is, until she’s summoned by her old friend, Prince Devryn Verrence. His father is dead, betrayed by the silversword enclave. And now Dev is on the run, a king without a throne.
They’ll need to escape Tytan on a quest for allies, because it won’t just be the throne of Tytan they’re fighting for… but the fate of the continent, and the freedom of mages everywhere.
Flames of Gold is book one in Legends of Gold and Silver, an epic fantasy series full of hopeful determination featuring a ragtag cast of mages, dwarves, dragonets and dryads in a sprawling saga of twisty politics, magic, and myth.
Reviewed: January 11th, 2026 Released: September 1st, 2022 Genre: M/M Fantasy
Ox Matheson was twelve when his father taught him a lesson: Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.
Ox was sixteen when the energetic Bennett family moved in next door, harbouring a secret that would change him forever. For the family are shape-shifters, who can transform into wolves at will. Drawn to their magic, loyalty and enduring friendships, Ox feels a gulf between this extraordinary new world and the quiet life he’s known. He also finds an ally in Joe, the youngest Bennett boy. Joe is charming and handsome, but haunted by scars he cannot heal.
Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town, and tore a hole in his heart. Violence flared, tragedy split the pack and Joe left town, leaving Ox behind. Three years later, the boy is back. Except now he’s a man – and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them. Read My Thoughts…
Reviewed: January 8th, 2026 Released: October 5th, 2017 Genre: Grimdark Fantasy
Sometimes, coin isn’t enough.
Sometimes, blood is the only payment worth taking.
The Downs, the poor district of the city of Avarest, is home to cutthroats and thieves, pickpockets and prostitutes, all of whom pay tribute to one of two powerful crime bosses. It is also home to Aaron Envelar, a disillusioned sellsword known as the Silent Blade, who cares nothing for the criminal overlords or their schemes, who only wants to survive and make a little coin in the process.
But when a group of unwitting thugs steal his mother’s necklace, the only link he has to his murdered parents, and leave him for dead, Aaron decides that sometimes, surviving isn’t enough. Sometimes, vengeance is the only answer.
After all, when you take everything from a man… What else does he have to lose?
Have you read Sentinals Origins Part Two yet? The eighth book in the award winning Sentinal Series.
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards has given it a Five Star review.
Birler, Tagerill and Serill have accepted the Lady’s invitation to become her personal guards, her Sentinals. They roam the territories of Remargaren in the name of the Lady, protecting those who can’t protect themselves.
But the threat against Lady Leyandrii is growing and Captain Guerlaire is in the Ascendants sights. He has been too successful in disrupting their plans and now time is running out, for him and the Sentinals. The Ascendants are determined to kill them all and show Leyandrii, once and for all, that they hold the power in Remargaren.
Birlerion’s discovery of his innate magic, offers Leyandrii an alternate path, but it’s a last resort and as Leyandrii teaches him how to control it, she is desperate to find another solution.
As the final confrontation looms and the natural world buckles under the backlash from the reckless use of magic, Leyandrii has one last throw to try and save their world from ruin and destruction, but will any of them live to tell the tale?
“A superbly plotted fantasy adventure with a strong cast of memorable characters. Highly recommended!” The Wishing Shelf www.thewsa.co.uk
REVIEW
A good book this! But I’m a fantasy fan ; ‘epic’ is my middle name, so a magical saga like this is perfect for me. It’s the second part of SENTINALS ORIGINS and I have to say, I was enjoying this book so much, I stopped reading it, grabbed a copy of the first, read that – also excellent – then went back to part two! My next job will be to start the other ‘Sentinals’ novels, six in all – I’m going to be busy!
So, why did I enjoy it so much? Well, to be perfectly honest, it’s the planning. You see, a lot of epic fantasy is badly planned and, as a result, it all gets very complicated and confusing, often in the last third of the book when the author can’t work out how to end things. But Helen Garraway hasn’t fallen into this trap. Using alternative POVs, she’s constructed a complex – but never too complex – fantasy adventure with a strong LOTR feel to it.
So, if you happen to be on the lookout for a smartly plotted, character-driven adventure with clever twists and populated with the sort of characters you can enjoy rooting for, then this book is for you. Saying that, I would recommend reading part one first. You don’t have to – part two works as a standalone – but why wouldn’t you? The first book’s a gem too!
Now, I need to go and buy a copy of Sentinals Awaken; let’s see if that’s just as good.
If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and also Sentinals Discovery, the first few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV and get notified when my next books are published.
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Reviewed: January 5th, 2026 Released: April 13th, 2021 Genre: YA/Epic Fantasy
Aletheia was born a heresy: a girl with a man’s magic, in a city where monks and witches are mortal enemies. Training in her powers only under her father’s protection, head of the monastery, she shocks everyone by becoming the best seer in generations.
Until her father is murdered. A suicide, they call it, but she knows the truth: he was murdered for his heresy. For her. Now she must make a harrowing choice: disown everything her father stood for to stay alive, or flee the temple and seek to expose his killers, even as they hunt her down.
Helen Garraway 