Rogue Vampire by Pamela Turner

January 18, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Rogue Vampire by Pamela Turner
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

I work with the dead. Now, I work with the undead.

My name is Amber McAllister, and I’m a deputy coroner. Until recently, I didn’t believe in the supernatural. Then what I thought was an insect stung me. The next day, I see that a medical examiner is an angel with black wings, and a co-worker is a skeleton woman.

It turns out the insect was a vampire. I won’t be looking at blood the same way.

But bodies are showing up, drained of the life force. It’s my job, along with the detectives in the Louisville Paranormal Investigation Agency, to find and stop the killer. Only problem? The murderer might be the vampire who attacked me. If he or she dies, so do I.

A label is never a destiny.

The friendships in this book were strong and meaningful. Some of the most memorable scenes were the ones that explored how the characters built, maintained, and benefited from the platonic relationships in their lives. I smiled as I read their banter and took note of all of the small ways they supported one another through difficult moments in their cases. Kudos to Ms. Turner for devoting so much time to this topic. It’s not explored often enough in many modern fantasy novels for my tastes, so it was refreshing to find it here.

I was surprised and confused by how quickly Amber adjusted to the idea that supernatural creatures are real and that some of them were her coworkers. The claims were so extraordinary that I really would have thought she’d struggle with them more. It would have been helpful to have more information about why she was so trusting there when many other folks would have at least temporarily been suspicious of such claims. She didn’t strike me as a gullible person in other areas of life, so this never quite sat right with me. I would have happily gone with a full five-star rating if this had been explained better as everything else about it was well done.

With that being said, I did enjoy the world building once Amber dug more deeply into her new life. It was interesting to see how many monsters from folklore and fairy tales popped up here and what the differences were between their real selves and what stories said about them. No sooner did I assume that I’d met all of them than someone would mention yet another mythical being who was running around in this universe. The author did a nice job of reinventing these characters and linking them all together in her universe.

Rogue Vampire piqued my curiosity.

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

Steel Tree by Sarena Ulibarri

January 17, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Steel Tree by Sarena Ulibarri
Publisher: Android Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The voyage from Earth to Petipa isn’t cheap, but those who can’t afford it can pay off the trip by working the farms of Eta, the fertile moon that feeds humanity’s new colony. Klara Silber’s parents paid their debt, but left her behind, in charge of the orchards and the android nutcrackers. She’s sure if she follows their example, she’ll earn her invitation to ascend the space elevator and join Petipa Colony in no time. Only, the android nutcrackers have been malfunctioning all season, and some of the other farmers have suddenly gone missing.

They were told Eta didn’t have any native animal life, but the annual winter party is abuzz with rumors of large creatures lurking in the shadows. When one of the party guests inexplicably transforms into a giant rat and goes on the attack, Klara is sure the night can’t get any stranger. That is, until a fairy-like creature who communicates through dance appears, and a whole hidden history unspools about how the humans conquered these alien lands. To prevent the nuts that caused the giant rat mutation from being sent to Petipa, Klara needs to get two very different communities to work in harmony, even if it means she may never earn her way to the colony.

Christmas makes everything a little more magical.

The world building was perfect. I loved seeing how the characters related to each other, especially if they weren’t from the same social class, clan, or species. There was exactly enough information included about the complexities of both human and fairy societies to keep my interest levels high while also leaving room for a sequel if the author ever decides to write one. In the meantime, I had a good time comparing the many different personalities in this piece and wondering what they might do next given how rapidly relations between certain groups shifted from one day to the next.

I’d never actually seen The Nutcracker, so I looked it up quickly before I started reading this retelling of it. If you’re in the same boat, I recommend doing the same thing. The plot can work perfectly well for readers who don’t know the source material, but there are multiple scenes that will have a little something extra in them for readers who already know about the Sugar Plum Fairy, dancing lifelike dolls, and other iconic moments from that play. There’s something special about tales that pull such things off successfully, so kudos to the author for making this appeal to multiple audiences simultaneously.

One of the things I liked most about this novella was how relatable the main antagonist was. Did I agree with the methods he used to chase his goals? Of course not! I did understand why he was upset, though, and could see why he was so frustrated by certain choices Klara had made. It isn’t easy to write such a well-rounded bad guy, but it’s certainly worth the effort. Based on how much I’ve enjoyed Ms. Ulibarri’s work in my first few experiences with her, I will be keeping an eye out for what she comes up with next.

Steel Tree was a heartwarming Christmas tale.

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

Solarpunk Creatures by Christoph Rupprecht (editor)

January 16, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Solarpunk Creatures by Christoph Rupprecht (editor)
Publisher: World Weaver Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A newly sentient AI inhabits a Roomba to escape from their research office, and a robotic dog hunts for rain in a drought-ridden world. A murder of crows disrupts production on a solar farm, and a young woman communes with a telepathic fungal network to protect a forest. A suspicious cat follows bees across the rooftops of a solarpunk city, and a rabbit hitches a ride to the Grand Canyon to fulfil a prophecy. The path toward better futures is one we must walk alongside other creatures, negotiating the challenges of multispecies justice. Solarpunk Creatures introduces a whole new cast of more-than-human organic and digital, alien and fantastic, tiny and boundlessly large.

A better world is possible.

“The Colorful Crow of Web-of-Life Park” showed what happened after an epidemiologist’s pet parrot was accidentally released and went to live with a murder of crows in a ecologically-friendly city just as a dangerous new strain of the flu began circulating in the avian population there. I enjoyed the rising tension in this story as Veronica attempted to create a vaccine for this type of flu and find her lost bird. She had a limited amount of time to fulfill her goals, and I couldn’t wait to see if she succeeded. The ending was also well written and suited all of the characters nicely.

As someone who is fascinated by those communication buttons some people have trained their pets to use, I loved the fact that “The Business of Bees” was written from the perspective of a cat who was frustrated by the lack of choices in her buttons and her humans’ inability to understand how concerned she was about the weird bees in their yard. When she left home to follow the bees and see where they went, I imagined all sorts of scenarios she might find herself in. The author’s imaginative take on how cats think and why bees could be so alarming made it hard for me to stop reading.

The title of “Quarropts Can’t Dance” was just as good as the storyline itself. Li desperately wanted to use a boombox and some fresh dance moves to entertain those who passed by, but not everyone was interested in that sort of Earthling tradition. It was amusing to see how the various species reacted to this spectacle and how Li changed once they realized that their act maybe wasn’t having the effect they hoped it might.

One of the biggest reasons why I gave this anthology a five-star rating had to do with the wide variety of creatures and writing styles that were included in it. Some of them appealed to me more than others because everyone’s tastes are different, but I can’t help but to admit that all of them were well written and compelling. There were no weak spots here in my opinion, and that’s an incredibly difficult thing to accomplish. The editor did an excellent job of curating this collection. I can’t wait to see what he and all of the contributors might release next.

Solarpunk Creature was the perfect distraction.

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

Lavender Is a Boring Color by Kevin Courtney Black

January 12, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Lavender Is a Boring Color by Kevin Courtney Black
Publisher: Satin Colorway Publishing
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Lavender is a Boring Color follows a collection of poetry woven together through the vivid experiences of the author, as he depicts his early adulthood struggles with debilitating depression, anxiety, heartbreak, self-doubt, and his journey of self-love. The author wrote this book longing for better days when life feels blissful and fragrant as if it were lavishly engulfed by the fiery sweet nectar of lavender. Divided into three sections, Lavender Is A Boring Color takes the reader through the turbulence of life-questioning thoughts and reflective healing. This is his first book of poetry.

Life is full of second chances.

Some of the most memorable poems were the ones that explored how relationships can be affected by mental illness. “A Somber Sky of Aurora Lights” was one of the best examples of this in my opinion. Part of it was dedicated to the speaker’s relationship with a woman who was as dark, gloomy, and beautiful as an aurora borealis against a cloudy night sky. Interspersed with these descriptions were allusions to how her deep, unrelenting sadness was forever changing their relationship. It’s important to remember who a person is beyond their illness, but it’s also a good idea to recognize how diseases like depression can affect not only the person suffering from them but also everyone who cares about that individual.

It would have been helpful if some of these poems had gone into more detail. “Please Find Us in Me and Our Alternate Universe” was one such example of this. No sooner had the narrator described the overwhelming thoughts of the character in this poem than the whole thing was finished without much of a resolution. As much as I appreciated Mr. Black’s brevity when he had a quick thought or image or share, I would have loved to see him dive even more deeply into what it feels like to go through a day with the heavy thoughts that often roll around in his head. This is something I’m sharing as someone who has struggled with many of the same things he has. While I was able to make educated guesses about what he left unsaid, readers who don’t have this same personal experience with the subject might not be able to do the same. My hope is that his next book will do just that as I’m quite curious to read more from him.

I resonated with the descriptions of what it’s like to have anxiety and depression. There were far too many examples of this to list as almost the entire collection fit into here in some way. Those diagnoses can make even simple tasks feel insurmountable and can also wildly distort the way one thinks about oneself and their relationships with others. As someone I know once said, depression lies. Not every frightening thought the human mind comes up with has any basis whatsoever in the truth.

Lavender is a Boring Color was thoughtful.

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

The Lighthouse Back Home by Jodi L. Auborn

January 4, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Lighthouse Back Home by Jodi L. Auborn
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

It’s been a year since 11-year-old Dylan and his family moved to the lighthouse his father had inherited in Maine. After finding a human skeleton in the woods one day, Dylan and his friend, Alex, are astonished when a mysterious artifact sends them back in time to the year 1893.

Stranded in the past, with Dylan’s sailboat as their only way home and Alex posing as a boy, Dylan seeks help from his old friend Matthias, the town lighthouse keeper. Despite Matthias’s reluctance, they settle into his seaside cottage where they make a new friend, face a deadly storm, and try to blend into their confusing new world. But when a sinister local family discovers their secret, they find themselves held captive by a cruel and remorseless old sailor with secrets of his own. Can Dylan and Alex find their way home and uncover the facts about an unsolved crime involving murder and stolen treasure?

Time travel is a wild ride.

The mystery was slow to unfold but satisfying once Dylan and Alex began to figure out possible reasons why they’d been thrown back in time. I had no problem waiting patiently for them to begin piecing the clues together. Honestly, I liked the fact that the author allowed more pressing matters to be resolved like where the kids were going to sleep at night and how they’d find food before they turned their attention to figuring out why they were in the late 1800s to begin with. That was definitely the most sensible thing to do, and it gave this reader plenty of opportunities to come up with my own theories along the way.

I struggled with the slow pacing at times. As much as I appreciated having extra time with the characters, I think this tale would have been stronger if it had been closer to the length of “Matthias: The Ghost of Salvation Point” which was about 100 pages shorter. There were multiple scenes that, while interesting to read, slowed down the plot and character developments enough that I couldn’t justify giving this a higher rating even though I was initially thrilled to have another chance to see what Dylan had been up to.

With that being said, I did enjoy the many comparisons the characters made between life in 2014 and 1893. Imagine explaining a cell phone, a Spider-Man t-shirt, or an airplane to someone who has never seen anything like that stuff and who has no cultural context for what they mean! Ms. Auborn did a great job of highlighting the social difficulties of adjusting to life in another century and explaining just how much the world can change in roughly 120 years.

This is the second book in a series that does not have to be read in order. If you like this one, though, do be sure to check out Dylan’s first adventure as well.

The Lighthouse Back Home was an adventurous read.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Dawg-Napped! by Anne Kane

December 12, 2023 By 1 Comment


Dawg-Napped! by Anne Kane
(Holiday Howlz 1)
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Holiday, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When one of Santa’s elves stops at the Prairie Dawg Saloon on his vintage motorcycle, Cyndi can’t resist taking a closer look at the classic bike. Then Bruce comes back outside unexpectedly and Cyndi panics, shifting to hide in one of the saddlebags. She doesn’t realize the bike is a matchmaking reindeer in disguise. Comet knows all about the sexy little critters of Dawg Town, and he’s decided the cute little prairie dawg is just what Bruce needs to cuddle up with him in his North Pole cottage.

Even the busiest weeks building up to Christmas should still leave room for a little fun, right? All work and no play will leave any elf feeling dull.

The dialogue was witty and delightful. I enjoyed the way the characters reacted to each other’s quips and thought of new ways to keep their conversations going and the heat building up between Bruce and Cyndi. They all had great senses of humor that worked nicely both together and with this lighthearted and sexy storyline.

Yes, this was a short story, but I still would have liked to see more world building in it. There were plenty of questions I had about how the North Pole worked that weren’t answered. For example, Santa’s opinion of the extra-curricular activities of his elves could have been explored better, and she also could have shown how the reindeer learned how to talk and what they thought of what certain elves get up to on their downtime! While I don’t know when the author is planning to write any sequels, there is a lot of room for expanding the audience’s understanding of such things if she does.

Cyndi and Bruce had fabulous chemistry. Sometimes two people – or, in this case, a person and an elf – click immediately, and that’s exactly what the plot needed to work. Everything happened so quickly that these two had to immediately be interested in each other, and they most definitely were. Bravo for pulling that off so successfully.

Dawg-Napped! was a playfully erotic Christmas tale.

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

The Storybook Coroner by A.J. Schaar

December 11, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Storybook Coroner by A.J. Schaar
Publisher: Black Chicken Unlimited
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Kidnapping. Robbery. Death Queens. PsychoPumps. Master Plans. Hell Holes. Gods. Dragons. True Love. Sandwiches.

This is a tale full of irreverent humour, with a broad cast of gods introduced, mysteries uncovered, and grand rescue plans concocted… Easily readable and whimsical… An interesting and entertaining romp through mythology, with a modern twist.

Love conquers all…right?

Greek gods like Hermes and Pan were included in this tale, but the narrator made sure to describe them in ways that were understandable for all sorts of readers. One didn’t need to have any prior knowledge of the Greek pantheon in order to find this amusing, but readers who did know a little – or a lot – about the topic would discover additional layers of meaning. That is a difficult balance to strike when writing about this sort of topic, so I tip my cap to the author for figuring out how to make this appealing on so many different levels.

The storyline seemed non-linear at certain points, and the portions of it that were shared in chronological order didn’t always make sense to me until I learned some other details about those scenes later on. I had trouble keeping track of what happened when, especially for characters who weren’t always clear about when their memories happened. While I commend the author for taking risks with how they pieced together this tale, this reader often found the execution of it to be confusing and more complex than it needed to be.

Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones that described the romance. They were perfect for a teenage audience and felt so much like developing a crush or falling in love for the first time. The excitement and uncertainty of that stage in life is a wonderful, if also sometimes bittersweet, experience. I thought the author did a great job capturing that stage of life and how it can affect everything else that’s going on in someone’s life – or afterlife – at the same time.

The Storybook Coroner was a unique tale that made me reminisce about life as a teenager.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

A Barista for Christmas by J. Hali Steele

December 8, 2023 By Leave a Comment


A Barista for Christmas by J. Hali Steele
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Holiday, LGBTQ, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

With a lot of hard work, Aspen Ferris’ dream of owning his own coffee shop has finally come true. Unfortunately, renovations are almost complete on a nearby mall that will house a chain coffee establishment. Not only that, Christmas is a few weeks away! When the electricity goes out at the mall, the construction company’s owner visits Asp’s store. Insulting the pushy brute gets Aspen thoroughly told off and… kissed! A kiss he can’t forget.

Dandridge St. Clare speeds to his worksite to handle an electric outage and misses his morning coffee. Locating a place to grab his caffeine fix, he’s offended by the barista at Your Coffee Cup. Anxious and upset, Dan pulls the man over the counter and can’t resist kissing the handsome jackass. On top of that, he enjoys the best cup of coffee ever. More unsettling still, he can’t erase the taste or feel of the man’s mouth. Dandridge returns for more of both.

The holidays are approaching and neither man expects much. Both get more than they bargained for.

Anything is possible at Christmas time.

Most of the LGBTQ stories I read are set in cities, so I was intrigued by the small town setting here. It didn’t take very long at all for the characters to explain what it was like for them to live in such a rural area while being part of a minority group. I liked the fact that this was included as it added another layer of tension and intrigue to the plot without distracting the audience from the main storyline.

As much as I thought Eric and Aspen were well-suited for each other, I was never quite convinced that they were ready for something much more than a fling due to the emotional baggage both of them carried from previous relationships that ended on sour notes and other difficult life experiences. Honestly, I wanted to send them both to counselling for a few months and then have them try again. It would have been helpful to see more examples of how these characters were overcoming their fears and facing their pasts in order to have a better future together.

The plot twists in this novella made me smile. For example, who knew that an argument with a stranger could be stopped in its tracks with a kiss? That was such an interesting way to start things off that I was eager to keep reading and see how else the author was planning to surprise their audience. I’ll leave it up to other readers to find out what happened next, but it was certainly worth the read.

A Barista for Christmas was a wild ride.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Hello Around the World by Sindhu Narasimhan

November 30, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Hello Around the World by Sindhu Narasimhan
Publisher: Self Published
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Non-Fiction, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“Hello Around the World: Learn to Say Hello in 20 Languages – A Practical Guide with Pronunciation, Flags, and Traditional Dress for Kids Across Cultures” offers an immersive learning experience for children aged 2-6. This paperback book is designed to open young minds to the richness of global cultures and the power of simple greetings.

Saying hello can be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

I appreciated the pronunciation guides for saying hello in all of these different languages. It made it easy to sound them out and practice this greeting with all of the characters I met in this picture book. I was surprised by how many syllables are required for this greeting in some languages as well as how similar some of the answers were depending on which parts of the world they came from and how closely related they were to similar tongues. What a fun discovery that was!

It would have been nice if the children’s names were given the same treatment. While I already knew how to pronounce some of them, others weren’t so familiar to me. Knowing someone’s name is such an important part of socializing and learning about other cultures, so I wish there had been some assistance here as well. I would have chosen a higher rating if this had been included.

This little book was the perfect length for toddlers or young preschoolers. Those aren’t always easy ages to write for by any means, so I commend the author for condensing his messages about kindness, inclusion, and learning small pieces of new languages down to something that can be read in a few short minutes and adapted to even the shortest attention spans. What a good job he did with that. I look forward to seeing what he might come up with next.

Hello Around the World made me smile.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

2024… Your Year of More by Noah William Smith

November 28, 2023 By Leave a Comment


strong>2024… Your Year of More by Noah William Smith
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

ELEVATE YOUR LIFE WITH THIS UNIQUE SELF-HELP NEW RELEASE

2024… Your Year of More is your go-to book to set goals and mindfully invest your efforts. It appeals to adults of all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds who wish to improve their lives. Its pages are packed with something special for everyone.

The pages contain practical ideas from A to Z, thought-provoking questions, and self-reflective exercises that inspire you to live your best life.

The book is an ideal companion during your moments of solitude. You can read it in the early morning before the rest of the world wakes up or during the evenings after a long day. You may also find it enjoyable while writing in your journal or taking a lunch break.

Enthusiastic indie author Noah William Smith knows the blessings and challenges of intelligence, creativity, high sensitivity and being a minority, underdog and outsider. While his books are based on his experiences, they offer valuable insights without being prescriptive or offering advice.

The book’s authenticity and invaluable insights make it a compelling read that will remain relevant for many years!

Are you considering investing in yourself or searching for the perfect gift for someone special? 2024… Your Year of More is a life-changing book that you cannot afford to miss!

The new year is a fabulous time to turn over a new leaf.

This was a gentle look at self-improvement that included plenty of tips for self-care and for determining if the things you might have wanted in 2023 (or 2013 or 2003!) still resonate with you today. Incremental changes over time are often the most effective way to begin any sort of new habit or lifestyle change, so it was nice to be reminded regularly to be kind to myself and to focus on small steps one at a time instead of trying to drastically change everything at once.

The repetition made it difficult for me to remain interested in reading this at times. Every section began with an anecdote or two from the author’s life before diving into the same series of questions about goals the reader might want to set in three-month increments in 2024. I must admit that due to this I felt the urge to skip ahead to sections that appealed to me more, although I did read the entire thing in order.

One of the things I appreciated most about this book was how much it could be customized. It made few if any assumptions about the ages, backgrounds, or values of the people who will read it. This meant that nearly ever section could apply to anyone in any stage of life from being a student to being retired. The few that were more specific could still easily be altered for people who are disabled, stay-at-home parents, otherwise out of the workforce, working multiple jobs or long hours, or who feel out of step with most other adults for any other reason. There is definitely something to be said for making goal setting so accessible to anyone who wants to change a few things in their lives next year!

2024… Your Year of More was a thought-provoking look at how to make goal setting easier for everyone.

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