So Passes the Night by Cassidy McKay

August 3, 2026 By Leave a Comment


So Passes the Night by Cassidy McKay
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

One wild night, two sexy seamen and a voluptuous woman — three broken souls seeking completion.

First Mate Cade Talbot disobeyed a direct order, sacrificing himself to save his best friend. Since then, Captain Grant Rowen rules his ship with an iron fist, demanding strict compliance from all aboard.

Coffers are low, and when a lone woman requests passage to St. Thomas, Captain Rowen accepts her payment. But the stormy sea crossing holds more than just nature’s surprises.

Aurora Journade reveals that she not only speaks to spirits, she makes love to them –and she doesn’t follow orders. With Aurora’s help, Cade has one last chance to reach out to his captain. Not even death can keep them from seeking passion’s redemption.

Healing comes in many different forms.

The setting was as unique as it was well-suited for this erotic tale. I wasn’t initially sure if it was supposed to be set in contemporary or historic times, so figuring that out was part of the fun of reading it. Other readers should discover for themselves exactly when this was set, of course, but do keep an eye out for clues along the way as they do influence how everything played out. It was also interesting to see how the characters dealt with such a violent storm when help could be so far away due to the technology of the time.

I would have liked to see more plot development in this piece, especially as it related to Grant’s relationships with Cade as well as with the mysterious woman who asked to board his ship on a stormy night. The bonds between them were incredibly important later on in the storyline, so it was a little disappointing for me as a reader to not have as much information about them as I would have preferred by that point.

The slightly ambiguous ending suited these characters well. While the most important conflicts were wrapped up, there was still plenty of space for readers to speculate about what might happen next and fill in the gaps about the things the narrator didn’t spell out directly. Yes, it would have been nice to have more resolution about them, but it also left room for a sequel if the author decides to write one!

So Passes the Night was a sexy romp.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Kiki by Tommy B. Smith

July 31, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Kiki by Tommy B. Smith
Publisher: Black Diamond
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Action/Adventure, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

An unmarked plane crashes in the desert. A creature escapes from its burning wreckage, a byproduct of experiments in biological and chemical warfare—a cat.

As the multi-eyed feline mutant known as Kiki roams the Mojave Desert, terrorizing the crumbling town of Calpacia at its border, some seek to capture her. Gun-for-hire Salvadore Shaw, disgraced former Soviet Petrov and his group of mercenaries, and a professor and his chimpanzee assistant commence a vicious race to intercept Kiki’s rampage.

Who will survive the savagery of the Mojave Cat? Not many, if any.

Never underestimate your opponent.

A kitten is just about the last animal I’d imagine could pose a threat to mercenaries, so the premise of this tale appealed to me immediately. Mr. Smith has a creative imagination, and I enjoyed seeing how much he stretched it in order to come up with scenarios in which full grown adults could be terrorized by such a creature despite all of their weapons and history of engaging in dangerous activities as they lived outside the scope of mainstream society.

As intrigued as I was by the first chapter or two, the storyline wasn’t able to sustain that buildup of tension for me later on. Characters made decisions that didn’t always quite make sense given their backgrounds, and the plot began to feel a little too dramatic for my tastes as Kiki began testing the boundaries of their abilities and attempting to satiate their deep hunger. This is something I’m saying as someone who enjoys wild animal horror in general and was expecting to be a huge fan of this adventure in particular.

The final scene set this up nicely for a sequel if the author ever decides to write one. While I don’t know if that will actually occur, it’s always nice as a reader to see such possibilities on the horizon, especially in cases like this one where not every conflict was thoroughly resolved and there are plenty of ways to return to the setting to see what could happen in the future.

Kiki made me shudder.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Toll For the Dead by MS Morris

July 30, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Toll For the Dead by MS Morris
Publisher: Landmark Media
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A solemn funeral. A bitter schism. A brutal murder.

When the much-loved lord of the manor, Henry Burton, passes away, the villagers of Hambledon-on-Thames gather to pay their respects at his funeral. But the day is marred when the churchwarden is found brutally battered to death in the north transept of the church.

Called to investigate, Detective Inspector Bridget Hart soon unearths a tangled web of old grudges and simmering feuds beneath the tranquil idyll of this sleepy South Oxfordshire village.

Bridget and her team must look beyond the thatched cottages and rose-covered houses to uncover the truth and prevent another death.

Almost every villager in the small township of Hambledon-On-Thames have gathered for the funeral of the old squire. After the service, when the bell-ringers are doing their toll for the dead, the local churchwarden is brutally murdered as she cleans up after the service goers. Bridget and her team are called in to investigate – only to find this case has a number of complications.

I have found this to be an excellent addition to an enjoyable series. The ending really left me feeling as if the author plans to leave this series here. The final chapter or two really seemed to me to tie up a number of the more longer-running story arcs and leave this in a good place.

While this might be the final book in the series – I still feel that the story, and the murder plot in particular, really was well encapsulated in this book. While the team and a lot of the history between them working together has a longer reach than just this book I felt the author explained everything really well and there was a good flow to the story that means I do think readers should feel comfortable if they pick this book up having had no exposure to any of the previous stories.

I also enjoyed the fact this was a multi-layered plot and held my attention throughout the book. There were some interesting secondary characters and quite a few different wheels turning so I found myself invested and interested throughout the story.

For a solidly written British police procedural style of mystery this is an excellent author and a book I can definitely recommend.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Death in Little Puddlebury by B.L. Bandy

July 29, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Death in Little Puddlebury by B.L. Bandy
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Harriet Harbottle came to Little Puddlebury for peace, quiet, and perhaps the chance to write the sort of cozy mysteries she once edited for London’s famed publishing house, Wetherby & Finch.

Instead, she finds a corpse.

At the village spring fete, Harriet purchases a battered Edwardian ledger from a table of unwanted books. Hidden inside is a forgotten will tied to the grand manor house of Swincombe Hollow. The document threatens to overturn generations of inheritance and expose secrets the village has long preferred buried.

Before Harriet can learn more, the village solicitor is found dead in his office. The police call it an unfortunate accident. Harriet is not convinced.

With the help of her loyal Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Bramble, an endlessly gossiping neighbor named Gladys, and a foul-tempered stray cat who despises rain, Harriet begins untangling the history of Swincombe Hollow and the people desperate to keep its past concealed.

But in Little Puddlebury, old money hides sharp teeth behind polished smiles. And someone is willing to kill to keep a dead woman’s final wishes
from coming to light.

Harriet Harbottle is a retired book editor having moved into a cottage left to her by her aunt in a village named…you guessed it…Little Puddlebury. This is the perfect English cozy in a little English village. Not the stuffy type of village, but definitely the “let me put the kettle on dear” type. Puddlebury is a place where everything is everyone’s business. In fact, Harriet finds they sometimes know what she is going to do before she does it.

This is a well-written, quick 170+ pages. The characters are quite visible, and a few have their own personalities. I did find it a bit slow now and then but not enough to stop me reading it. What did keep me reading it was Harriet’s delightful bit of sarcasm and humor and her wonderful King Spaniel named Bramble.

This is Book 1 in the series, and it looks as if Book 2 is already published. I’ll have to see what Harriet and Bramble get into next.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Dark One by Angela Knight

July 28, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Dark One by Angela Knight
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Dark Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Kaska means to make Matia the centerpiece in an erotic ritual to honor his Dark god.

Matia of Ruza is one of the legendary Battlemaids — a woman warrior who has taken an oath of celibacy in service of the Maid of Light. When mercenary Kaska of Artane helps Matia defeat a gang of brigands, the two become partners.

Matia finds her oath of celibacy tested by her handsome Shieldmate’s erotic appeal. But Kaska means to do more than test her. He worships the Dark One, and he wants to make Matia the centerpiece in a sizzling erotic ritual in honor of his god.

But first, he must defeat her in combat — and win her heart.

Matia is a legendary Battlemaid, a warrior woman who has taken an oath of celibacy. She meets Kaska, a mercenary, when he assists her to defeat a gang of brigands and the two become partners on the road. Matia is tempted by Kaska – but holds firm to her vows. Only Kaska has other plans in mind. Can he defeat her in battle and win her heart?

This is a short but seriously steamy book and one I most thoroughly enjoyed. From Kaska and Matia’s first meeting their chemistry is clear and enjoyable. Matia is a fierce and strong woman – everything I can enjoy in a modern heroine despite the fantasy/old style books setting. I especially enjoyed how even though Kaska and Matia had some sizzle from their first moment, they each understood timing was important. They each had their own paths and duties so this gave the reader a little time to enjoy watching them interact together as equals and dance around each other for a while.

Readers who like their spicy romance a little on the darker side – but not too dark – should find this a good fit. There are a number of darker elements here (BDSM, spanking, capture etc) but they weren’t written too harshly, or included for shock value. These aspects of the story were clearly woven into the fabric of the plot and characters and were quite tastefully handled. This story is dark, yes, but still spicy, sexy and a pleasure to read. Readers maybe looking to dip a toe into the newer Dark Fantasy genre might find this a good, quick story to see if this style of book is up their street.

Readers looking for a short but seriously smoking hot sexy read should find this a delectable book to indulge in. Filled with Fantasy, two strong characters and enough sizzle to set you on fire this is a fun read that’s sure to add some spice into your day. Recommended.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Move Fast and Break Things by T. C. Weber

July 27, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Move Fast and Break Things by T. C. Weber
Publisher: Freedom Thorn Press
Genre: Horror, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Luis García is a suburban family man whose life is turned upside down when immigration officers bash down his door and arrest him, along with his wife and kids. They are taken to a detention camp, separated, and subjected to harsh and unsanitary conditions. But Luis’s nightmare is just beginning. He and his fellow prisoners are targets for an organ harvesting scheme. And Luis is chosen for an experimental brain procedure that could drive him to madness.

Nothing in life is guaranteed.

Luis was a gentle and quiet man who assumed the best of everyone around him. He was honestly just about the last person I’d ever expect to find in such a scary story, and that made his experience all the more attention grabbing. What I found most interesting about him was how his trusting approach to the world affected everything he did, from small things like his use to technology to huge decisions he needed to make in the last few scenes.

It would have been helpful to have stronger plot development, especially as it pertained to the experimental brain procedure. There were times when my credulity was strained during the passages that explained what the doctors were doing to Luis and how his body reacted to those procedures. This is something I’m saying a reader who loved the premise overall and would have happily given it a higher rating if those scenes were given more time to shine.

The ending was as horrifying as it was memorable, and I mean that in the best possible way. I liked seeing how the author incorporated real-world events, including the development of AI, into his storytelling while stretching the possibilities out to root this firmly in the horror genre. Those last few sentences in particular are going to live on in my imagination for a long time as I explore all of the possible directions the plot could have gone from there.

Move Fast and Break Things was a wild ride.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Academy of Unusual Skills by Matt Baker

July 24, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Academy of Unusual Skills by Matt Baker
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Welcome to The Academy of Unusual Skills, the only school where balancing a broom on your face, flipping an oven mitt, and turning a towel into a chicken can land you on the honor roll.

Part comedy book, part hands-on training manual, The Academy of Unusual Skills teaches readers more than 100 strange, silly, oddly impressive tricks using everyday objects. From coin snatching and card throwing to hat tricks, snack-based stunts, minor miracles, science illusions, juggling, balancing, and other strangely cool life skills. This book is your official guide to becoming unusually impressive.

Written by professional comedian, stunt performer, and three-time Guinness World Record holder Matt Baker, this book combines step-by-step instructions, hilarious faux-academic nonsense, and over 350 illustrations. Each skill is designed to build coordination, confidence, creativity, and showmanship, or at the very least, give you something weird to do at parties.

Whether you’re a curious kid, a bored adult, a future variety performer, a teacher looking for fun activities, or someone who simply believes life should contain more silliness, The Academy of Unusual Skills is your ticket to a world where useless is useful, silly is serious, and being bad at boring is practically required.

Classes are now in session.

Being called weird is a compliment at this academy.

There were such a wide variety of tricks included here that I suspect there will be something for everyone. Some of them looked like they’d require a good deal of practice given how many different steps were required to make them work, while other ones could probably be mastered in a single afternoon or even sooner than that. I appreciated that and thought it made this a better read.

Some of the entries made me a little nervous due to the risk of injury associated with them. For example, throwing food up into the air and then attempting to catch it with one’s mouth can be incredibly fun, but it can also be a choking hazard when the edible item in question is the same size and shape as a person’s windpipe. As much as I loved the concept of a school for learning unusual things in general, I do wish there had been a few safety warnings included before those ideas as this is a topic that could easily appeal to kids or young teens who might not yet have the life experience to realize the dangers of certain actions.

Mr. Baker has a playful sense of humor that works well with the themes of this book. I especially enjoyed the sections that sent readers off for breaks that were included in a few different spots. For spoiler reasons, I won’t share the exact natures of these pauses as they’re best left as surprises, but they showcased his creativity and made me chuckle as I took note of which tricks I might want to learn in the future.

The Academy of Unusual Skills was an amusing book for adults who want to learn a few party tricks.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

July 23, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
Publisher: Hanover Press
Genre: Historical, Fiction, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and drawn curtains that she finds on her arrival are not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.

Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.

Moved my heart. This was such an enjoyable read. It has good times and bad times. It has a bookshop, a curmudgeonly but sweet old man, a lonely old woman having lived through the hells of wars, and young girls trying to make their way in the world all in the midst of World War 2. Don’t get me wrong. This book is not all set during WW2. The story begins as Grace and Viv grow up in a small town and dream of leaving their unfortunate lives and running to make or break it in London. It’s a story of dreams. One of people who know they must work hard to succeed and find they can live through more than they ever dreamed.

This could be perfect for Young Adults, and yet I enjoyed every minute of it as an adult. There might be a lot of sweetness here, but there are some very realistic parts of the British living in London during the bombings in WW2. And in today’s world, a sweet story isn’t such a bad idea.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Hillary’s Final Case by Faith Martin

July 22, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Hillary’s Final Case by Faith Martin
Publisher: Joffe Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Can Hillary finally close the case of the missing young women?

Can she take down one of Oxfordshire’s most wanted criminals?

Can she handle her new boss?

Can she help one of her team get answers on his long lost sister?

And will she really get married and leave her beloved boat?

FIND OUT THE ANSWERS IN THE FINAL HILLARY GREENE BOOK!

Hillary Greene has returned to Thames Valley Police HQ, acting as a cold-case consultant for the Crime Review Team, looking into murders which the police have never been able to solve.

This is a crime mystery full of well-observed characters, which will have you gripped from start to the absolutely thrilling conclusion.

Hillary’s life is reaching another changing point – with a new boss, a new series of linked missing girl cases and a huge change in her personal life. Can Hillary keep her wits about her as things reach their inevitable tipping point?

I was pleased to see that – despite the title – this is not the final book in the series. The author had taken a sabbatical from the series so it was quite a relief to find there are still a few more books to come.

Retired DI Hillary Greene has been solving cold cases for a while now, but her last case opened a can of worms that I was pleased to see take center stage in this book. This particular plot has been percolating a while in the background and I found it deeply satisfying to see it all come to a head. I was even quite impressed I guessed some of these answers myself though there was still plenty of mystery to keep me eagerly turning the pages.

I do feel this book can be enjoyed by itself – but have to admit readers who have read some of the previous installments might find a greater emotional connection and satisfaction than someone just picking the book up on a whim. This is quite a culmination and having read the series myself I could see some of the hooks and I grasped the slightly different sense this book had.

Readers who enjoy a British police procedural mystery should find this a solid read with a good and complicated plot and a fresh, somewhat modern take on the regular mystery. I have been greatly enjoying this whole series and found this an excellent addition. Recommended.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Awareness: Listening Deeply-A Journey into Presence, Perception, and the Sacred Language of Life by Tiberius Ryuu

July 21, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Awareness: Listening Deeply-A Journey into Presence, Perception, and the Sacred Language of Life by Tiberius Ryuu
Path of Becoming #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What if awareness is not something to be achieved — but remembered?
In a world that rewards distraction and constant motion, Awareness: Listening Deeply invites us to return to stillness, to reawaken the art of attention, and to rediscover the quiet wisdom already living within us.

This book is the second in The Path of Becoming series — a sacred journey designed to help readers restore connection to themselves, to others, and to the living world. While it builds upon the principles of Acceptance, it also stands fully on its own as a guide to presence, perception, and intuitive understanding.

Through gentle teachings, reflective essays, and simple daily practices, Awareness explores:

The Practice of Stillness — how quiet allows truth to surface.

Listening to the Body — learning to trust somatic wisdom as guidance.

Emotional Literacy — transforming feelings into understanding through awareness.

The Language of Symbols and Synchronicity — recognizing life’s sacred communication.

Awareness in Relationship — seeing others as mirrors for our own growth.

Grounding and Centering — staying rooted amid life’s constant change.

Living with Attentiveness — making awareness a daily devotion.

Each chapter concludes with a reflection — a single phrase or meditation that captures the heart of its teaching — and practical exercises to help integrate awareness into ordinary life.

At its core, this book is about learning to listen. To listen not only with the ears but with the body, the heart, and the soul. To notice the subtle threads connecting all things. To discover that awareness is not a skill to master, but a relationship to nurture — one that deepens each time we pause, breathe, and choose presence.

Whether you are beginning your healing journey or walking an established spiritual path, Awareness: Listening Deeply offers a quiet companion for the inward traveler. It will guide you toward a grounded, embodied understanding of yourself and the world — where attention becomes devotion, and every moment becomes sacred.

The truth will always be revealed eventually.

I deeply appreciated the focus that was placed on listening to one’s body and caring for it physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This is something that can be especially difficult for some people who have endured any type of trauma or abuse that lead them to pull away from what was happening to their physical form in the past, so what seemed like a simple technique at first glance could be more complicated to put into practice in one’s daily life.

Once again, I did find myself wishing that the author had gone into deeper detail about how to use the techniques in his book to not only develop greater awareness but to continue this pattern over a long period of time. Techniques ranging from body scan meditations to paying close attention to the sensory experience of eating a simple meal were mentioned, but few of them were explained more thoroughly. My hope is that later instalments in the series will share practical tips for how to make this change as I’m quite interested in Mr. Ryuu’s perspective of the world in general and think he has some fascinating ideas about how to gradually but permanently change one’s life for the better.

Some of the most meaningful passages in my opinion were the ones that gave examples of how to remain aware and continue to live in the moment while going through one’s ordinary daily routine. Figuring how to do this while also working, volunteering, caring for relatives, looking after their own health and well being, and doing the million and other tasks the average adult often needs to do on a typical day is where lofty ideals are put to the test. The self-help genre works best when it approaches problems from the perspective of the average person if you ask me!

This is the second instalment in a series that I’d recommend reading in order. Healing takes time and effort, and the first book shares some important coping techniques that I believe one should be familiar with before moving onto step two.

Awareness – Listening Deeply-A Journey into Presence, Perception, and the Sacred Language of Life deserves to be savored slowly. It was filled with wisdom and hope for readers who are struggling with many different types of trauma.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »