Book Review Alert: The First Ethereal by E.L. Williams

Reviewed: September 7th, 2024
Released: October 29th, 2020
Genre: Contemporaray Fantasy

Lost magic, buried secrets, love, and found family. Can Lilly and Storm find the First Ethereal before all is lost?

Super empath Lilly is almost relieved to be living her last human life. With only her spirit guide, Jack, for company and the world unravelling around them, she longs for the peace of the Eternal Forest.
When catastrophic floods force Lilly from her home, fate intervenes, and she finds refuge with Storm, a widowed ex-witch who has mysteriously lost her magic.

As Lilly falls in love with life and finally finds the family and community she has always dreamed of, the two become entwined in a desperate mission to find the First Ethereal – the one being prophesied to save the world from imminent destruction.

But they’re not the only ones seeking this mythical being. Dark forces, driven by fear and greed, are closing in, determined to seize the Ethereal’s power at any cost – and they’ll destroy anyone who stands in their way.

As the clock ticks down, Storm must unlock the secret of her missing magic, while Lilly confronts the devastating truth about who Jack really is. Are some truths better left buried?Read My Thoughts…

Book Review Alert: The Bookworm and the Cat’s Meow by Jeanine Lauren

Reviewed: September 5th, 2024
Released: Septeembr 10th, 2024
Genre: Romance
eARC: Hidden Gems

When life gives you a second chance, sometimes it comes with claws.

Recently divorced and looking for a fresh start, Lance Reed swaps his business in the city for the cozy charm of a bookstore in the heart of Sunshine Bay. What he doesn’t expect is the slew of community commitments that come with it—especially the agreement to display cats from the local pet shelter in his store.

There’s just one problem: Lance hates cats.

Enter Raven Johnson, the spirited, cat-loving woman behind the pet shelter. Also, in her mid-fifties and divorced, Raven has dedicated her life to her daughter and her feline friends, leaving little room for romance or other personal ambitions.

To her chagrin, her cat sanctuary is now linked to the bookstore, where her cats, the cat-hating Lance, and his books must somehow coexist.

Will Lance learn to open his heart to the furry friends he never wanted, and can Raven find room for a new chapter in her own story? Read My Thoughts…

Sentinals Banished makes the 2024 CIBA OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction Short List

I am so excited to share that Sentinals Banished, the fifth book in the epic fantasy Sentinal Series has made it through to the Short list for the 2024 Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA) OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction!

The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books in the Ozma Awards featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out-of-this-world fiction. These books have advanced to the Long List in the 2024 CIBAs OZMA division.

Sentinal Banished has moved forward in the first look rounds from the 2024 OZMA Book Awards long list to the SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Ozma Semi-Finalists List. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.

Sentinals Banished is the fifth book in the saga of Remargaren, a vibrant, ancient world of high fantasy suffused with magic and adventure.

Sentinals Banished is set seventeen years after the fourth book, Sentinals Across Time.

Sentinal Birlerion has watched from the shadows for so long he doesn’t know how to stop. Always there when the Lady’s Captain needed him. He did what was necessary to keep those he loved from harm.

When the king banishes the Lady’s Captain, Jerrol Haven, from Vespiri and disbands the Sentinal guard, the Sentinals are at a loss, some bitter, some eager to retire, all angry at the king’s decision.

Birlerion moves to Old Vespers to watch over Jerrol’s daughter as she begins her journey to become a King’s Ranger.

Old Vespers is in turmoil, the king unpredictable, and the Sentinals are unwelcome. Unexplained deaths are occurring, and bodies begin to appear in the city streets. As Birlerion continues his search for the place he can call home, he has to step out of the shadows as he is drawn into a tangled web of deceit and lies. He must hunt down those responsible and clear the Sentinals name before anyone else goes missing.

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If you enjoy epic fantasy then check out my award winning Sentinal series, which is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love my SoulMist series, start with SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fantasy? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

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Book Review Alert: Apprentice’s Luck by K.L Noone

Reviewed: August 25th, 2024
Released: July 22nd, 2023
Genre: MM Fantasy Romance

Apprentice magician Talisman Morning has always been lucky. It’s a problem.

Talis knows his luck is a magical talent — but he can’t control it. And good luck for him can mean bad luck for other people, and a lot of trouble. He’s beginning to wonder whether he belongs with the magicians at all, or whether he should give up and run away … until he meets a royal guard who asks for his help.

King’s guard Jeryn de Machaut could use a magician. He thinks he’s overheard a plot against the king, but he has no evidence and no support. But a wayward apprentice with a knack for being in the right place — and stumbling over hidden objects — might be exactly the luck Jer needs.

Together, Jer and Talis will uncover a palace conspiracy, save a king, and find their own best chance at love. Read My Thoughts…

Sentinals Banished makes the 2024 CIBA OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction Long List

I am so excited to share that Sentinals Banished, the fifth book in the epic fantasy Sentinal Series has made it through to the Long list for the 2024 Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA) OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction!

The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Sentinals Banished has moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2024 Ozma Fantasy Fiction entries to the 2024 Ozma Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries are now in competition for 2024 Ozma Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the FINALIST positions. Finalists will be selected from the Short List. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC25) on April 3rd, 2025.

Sentinals Banished is the fifth book in the saga of Remargaren, a vibrant, ancient world of high fantasy suffused with magic and adventure.

Sentinals Banished is set seventeen years after the fourth book, Sentinals Across Time.

Birlerion moves to Old Vespers to watch over Jerrol’s daughter as she begins her journey to become a King’s Ranger.

Want to know more and follow my journey? Then make sure you sign up to my newsletter below.

Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

2024 Global Book Award Winners

Very excited to announce that both Harmony, my standalone dystopian fantasy and Sentinals Across Time, Book Four of the Epic Fantasy Sentinals series won awards in the 2024 Global Book Awards.

Checkout the Award winners here.

Sentinals Across Time won the first place GOLD MEDAL in the Epic Fantasy category.

Sentinals Across Time is the fourth book in the saga of Remargaren, a vibrant, ancient world of high fantasy suffused with magic and adventure.

Jerrol’s fragile balance between duty and family life took two years to refine and one brief moment to tear apart as the Lady Leyandrii and the Oath conspire in a desperate bid to protect the Birtolian Empire. As a result, Jerrol finds himself stranded in the middle of an ocean, lost across land and time and seas.

Unsure what is expected of him, Jerrol learns to appreciate the idyllic life of the Birtolians, the vibrant people and the beautiful coastline. To his growing horror, he realises the devastation which lies in their future.

Can Jerrol prevent the destruction of the gentle people he has grown to love? Is he meant to? Desperate to find a way home, he begins to leave clues in anything he thinks will survive the test of time. Taelia and the Sentinals are his only chance of ever returning to his own life but can they find him before the Lady sunders the Bloodstone and changes the Birtolian Empire forever?

The fourth installment of the Sentinal Series takes us to the beautiful Island Empire of Birtoli. Only once, it wasn’t an archipelago of islands, it was a land of majestic mountain ridges, mystical forests and exquisite sandy bays joined as one to the southern Vespiri borders.

Harmony won the second place SILVER MEDAL in the Dystopian Science Fiction/Fantasy category.

He’s always tried to do what’s right. When ugly truths surface on their sentient planet, will he have the courage to vindicate the wronged?

Kiefer Gallante yearns to prove his worth. Son of two prominent scientists, the dedicated soldier is determined to ensure their legacy and protect their new home’s caring native sentience. So when a power sabotage by rebels leaves a destitute population vulnerable, the heroic young man throws himself into the conflict.

Shocked to discover much of what he’s been taught is a lie, Kiefer reels after learning how his superiors are exploiting the world. But when the revolutionaries plead with him to join their cause, the thoughtful idealist is torn between the life he loves… and fighting for justice for the people.

With the fate of millions at stake and enemies in his inner circle, can Kiefer restore hope for humanity?

Harmony is a page-turning, standalone dystopian science fiction novel. If you like compassionate heroes, awakening to the truth, and immersive world-building, then you’ll love Helen Garraway’s gripping adventure.

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Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

Book Review Alert: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

Reviewed: August 15th, 2024
Released: September 3rd, 2009
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge. These words are spoken by Iris Chase Griffen, married at eighteen to a wealthy industrialist but now poor and eighty-two. Iris recalls her far from exemplary life, and the events leading up to her sisters death, gradually revealing the carefully guarded Chase family secrets. Among these is The Blind Assassin, a novel that earned the dead Laura Chase not only notoriety but also a devoted cult following. Sexually explicit for its time, it was a pulp fantasy improvised by two unnamed lovers who meet secretly in rented rooms and seedy cafés. As this novel-within-a-novel twists and turns through love and jealousy, self-sacrifice and betrayal, so does the real narrative, as both move closer to war and catastrophe. Margaret Atwoods Booker Prize-winning sensation combines elements of gothic drama, romantic suspense, and science fiction fantasy in a spellbinding tale. Read My Thoughts…

Sentinals Awaken audiobook $1.99 deal on Chirp

For a limited period (one week from August 8th, 2024) you can get the audiobook of Sentinals Awaken via CHIRP for $1.99.

Start my award winning epic fantasy series in audio! The first four books are now available in audiobook from a platform of your choice, via my online store and via Chirp in the USA.

Looking for a complete epic fantasy series, immersing you in a magical world filled with myth, legend and engaging charcters? Then the Sentinal series is for you.

When a long-forgotten threat starts to reemerge, one man stands as the last defense against darkness…

Jerrol Haven serves his king without question. When he finds evidence of corruption and is attacked, the loyal soldier’s mind spins after his touch of a sacred tree awakens the dormant spirit of a three-thousand-year-old protector. But he fears he has failed after the crown prince accuses him of treason and orders his execution…

Fleeing the city, Jerrol is stunned when the goddess appears to him, appoints him captain of her warriors, and charges him with a quest to find artifacts that can save the realm. And as he runs into danger and more betrayals, the steadfast hero discovers a rare gift that may be the world’s only hope…

Can Jerrol rally the forces of good to stop a rising evil?

Sentinals Awaken is the first book in the Sentinal epic fantasy series. If you like endearing characters, immersive world-building, and gritty conflict, then you’ll love Helen Garraway’s award-winning tale.

Want to know more and follow my journey? Then make sure you sign up to my newsletter below.

Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

2024 Global Book Award Finalists

Very excited to announce that both Harmony, my standalone dystopian fantasy and Sentinals Across Time, Book Four of the Epic Fantasy Sentinals series are finalists in the 2024 Global Book Awards.

Medal placements are announced on August 15th, 2024.

Sentinals Across Time is a finalist in the Epic Fantasy category.

Sentinals Across Time is the fourth book in the saga of Remargaren, a vibrant, ancient world of high fantasy suffused with magic and adventure.

Harmony is a finalist in the Dystopian Science Fiction/Fantasy category.

Want to know more and follow my journey? Then make sure you sign up to my newsletter below.

Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.

Book Review Alert: Scarlett Legacy by Shelli Rosewarne

Reviewed: July 26th, 2024
Released: April 4th, 2024
Genre: Fairytale Retelling

Natalia doesn’t believe in fairytales. Until she’s thrown headfirst into one. Now she has to trust a big bad wolf with both her life and her heart.

Natalia is done with men. Her cheating scumbag of an ex-boyfriend just the latest in a line of disappointments. She’s definitely not going to be taken in by a sexy Scotsman with an honest-to-God castle, a disturbing affect on her libido, and a shit-ton of secrets.

Damian knows she’s his fated mate. He’s waited his whole life for her after all. But Natalia doesn’t believe in destiny, or wolf shifters, and she sure as hell won’t trust him to keep her safe. But if she doesn’t then her life and his whole pack are in danger.

Scarlett Legacy is the first in the Highland Wolves series, a set of stand-alone but interconnected paranormal romance stories. If you like fairytale retellings and sexy Scotsmen in kilts, then you’ll love this fast-paced shifter romance. Read My Thoughts…