Minding Earth – A Collection of Contemplative Geological Science Fiction by Russ Colson

August 12, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Minding Earth – A Collection of Contemplative Geological Science Fiction by Russ Colson
Publisher: Real Dragon Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Action/Adventure, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Take a light-hearted journey to the age of dinosaurs with Nate and Sandy as they consider whether the best inclinations of human nature might sometimes win out over the worst. Join Allan and Anna at an alien dig site as they explore the foundations of belief and bias amongst the petrified artifacts of a vanished race. Grapple with the morality of terrorism with Karzak and Janilla as they fight to save their alternate world from climatic catastrophe and bureaucratic intransigence.

Engage with six contemplative short stories that address the search for Truth, including the complexity of preconceived bias, the value of honoring the past, the importance of sometimes deceiving ourselves, the seductive prejudice of wanting to be right, and others. Each story is followed by short prompts and questions for reflection and discussion.

The past can never be unwritten.

Allen and his colleague Anna were tasked with finding out whether an extinct alien race had practiced any religion in “And the Rocks Cried Out.” One of the most unique parts of this tale was that the characters were investigating a species that had died out a long time ago. Anything that could be learned about what they were like must be found in the things they left behind. This isn’t typically how alien stories go, and I enjoyed the challenge of piecing together the clues along with the protagonists.

I would have liked to see more plot development in “Overturn.” It surprised me that this future version of Earth didn’t necessarily see climate change as a big deal, and knowing more about why they felt that way would have helped me to better understand their reaction to the newest threat to life on this planet that involved methane leaking into the atmosphere. The scientific evidence for why this was happening was fascinating. I simply needed more from the storyline itself.

“A Matter of Stratigraphy” explored what Syana and the other scientists discovered when visiting a planet that had sent out an emergency message a little over two hundred years ago and then gone silent forever. I especially appreciated the philosophical questions that were asked in this story as not everyone is necessarily eager to know the truth if they suspect having that information might conflict with their current beliefs about how the universe works.

Minding Earth – A Collection of Contemplative Geological Science Fiction is making me wish for more from this author. What an intriguing collection!

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

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: , , , , , , ,

TV Review: Widow’s Bay (Season 1)

August 3, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Widow’s Bay (Season 1) created by Katie Dippold
Directors: Hiro Murai, Ti West, Sam Donovan, and Andrew DeYoung
Starring: Matthew Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Kevin Carroll, and Dale Dickey
Publisher: Apple TV
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Horror, Paranormal, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A New England mayor trying to boost tourism on his island must navigate strange events suggesting it might be cursed.

It may be a small town, but it’s anything but sleepy.

The plot twists in this show were fantastic, and I was surprised by them on more than one occasion. What made them even better was how much effort the creator put into not only giving the audience fantastic clues but also making plenty of space for alternative interpretations of them as well. This meant that even when I was wrong about where the plot was headed, I still felt satisfied by my attempts to predict the ending of season one as my theories were perfectly reasonably at the time.

Horror and mystery are even more enticing to me when mixed together, and I loved digging into the history of Widow’s Bay as secrets were slowly revealed and a few explanations as to why this small community had such terrible luck were put forward by various characters. The paranormal themes only made everything scarier and more thrilling, and I’m hoping that these types of scenes are given even more screen time in the future as they provided ample opportunities not only for frights but also for some memorable character and plot development as well.

Speaking of small towns, I thought this was an honest portrayal of both what it’s like to live in a rural community as well as what it feels like to move to one and interact with people who have all known each other for their entire lives and may not always be that interested in getting to know outsiders. The tensions between various groups of people including newcomers, lifelong residents who wanted to see their community grow, and those who strongly preferred for things to remain the same forever were well written, fair, and sometimes downright hilarious. Honestly, I could understand everyone’s perspectives even if I didn’t necessarily agree with all of them, and I thought this added some nice conflict as well early on when the paranormal antagonists weren’t as active yet.

This first season of Widow’s Bay has me eagerly anticipating what might happen next. What a wild ride!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings, Movie Review, Television Show Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Red Tenant by Donovan M. Neal

July 8, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Red Tenant by Donovan M. Neal
The Nain Rouge Chronicles Book 1
Publisher: TornVeil / Independently published
Genre: Horror, Paranormal, Inspirational, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Most horror stories ask a simple question:

What is out there?

The Red Tenant asks something far more unsettling:

What has been with you all along?

1701.
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac sails toward a future he intends to build—a legacy he believes he controls.

But control was never his to begin with.

Because something older than his ambition has already laid claim to his name… and everything that comes after it.

As the ship cuts through the Atlantic, the illusion of progress begins to break apart.

Men lose their bearings.
Objects refuse to remain contained.
Whispers move where no one stands.

And slowly, unmistakably, a truth emerges:

This is not a random terror.

This is something that followed him.
Something that was carried—generation after generation—waiting for the moment it could no longer be ignored.

This is where the transformation happens.

You begin the story expecting fear.

You leave it asking different questions:

What do we inherit that we never agreed to?
What do we carry forward without realizing the cost?
And what happens when what we’ve ignored finally demands to be acknowledged?
The Red Tenant does not offer an easy resolution.

Because the most unsettling realization is not that evil exists…

It’s that it can be carried, protected, and passed on—quietly—until it is too late to pretend it was never there.

Temptation can lurk anywhere, and sometimes it even hides in plain sight.

Strong character development is essential in order to tell a memorable tale, and all of the major characters in this piece were complex and felt like real people to me. It can take time to develop personalities and backstories to this extent, so be patient as everything is being pieced together in the beginning. The payoff later on was not only worth the wait but it made me go back and reevaluate little moments from the beginning of this voyage that take on much deeper significance once one knows more about the moral fiber of those involved. There were many shades of grey in this universe which makes for a nuanced and thought-provoking read.

This was one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of how to seamlessly blend the horror and inspirational genres together in ways that not only complemented them both but also enriched the storyline as the characters wrestled with their sins. While I can’t go into too much detail about this without sharing spoilers, learning more about their lives and the things that tempted them only made me more interested in what might happen to them next.

There was a cliffhanger ending that was as intriguing as it was appropriate for everything that had already been established about the setting. I’m saying this as a reader who generally struggles with this type of conclusion, but in this case it only made me more excited to find out what happened next due to how much care was put into setting everything up and explaining why the audience would need to wait until next time to have certain questions answered.

The Red Tenant kept me perched on the edge of my seat from the first sentence to the last one, and I am highly anticipating any sequels that may be in the works already.

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

Cynthia Peabody’s Big Fat Fake Funeral by Lynne Marshall

June 30, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Cynthia Peabody’s Big Fat Fake Funeral by Lynne Marshall
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Murder: √. Witness: Unreliable. Body: Missing.

Can Cynthia Peabody crack the case?

Book Two: Absentminded Witness

Everything is tickety-boo at The Green Meadows retirement village until Cynthia’s neighbor and dear friend accidentally witnesses a murder. In shock he can’t remember a thing. With the help of the hunky security guard and a sharp young detective, Cynthia works to piece together the details behind the nefarious plot before the cold-blooded assassin hits his next mark. She’ll do whatever it takes to protect her best friend and find out who and what is behind the murder.

Thursday Murder Club meets Cynthia Peabody!

Anything is possible with the right team of people.

Just as I mentioned in my review of The Extraordinary Dreams of Cynthia Peabody, Cynthia remained as fascinating as ever this second time around. Her personality shone through the plot brightly, and both her flaws and her strengths made her feel three-dimensional and relatable. I was especially pleased to see that her stubborn streak remained as this isn’t a flaw I see written for as many female protagonists as I’d like to. There’s something to be said for pushing back against gender stereotypes and writing all sorts of different characters, after all!

One of my favorite things about this book was how it explored the way senior citizens are sometimes mistreated by younger generations. For example, Cynthia had a few incidents where other adults behaved in a condescending manner with her because she was in her 70s and had recently had life threatening health problems. The audacity of these characters to assume that her age and disability status meant that she should be spoken to as if she were a small child was both infuriating and an excellent catalyst for certain plot twists later on. This isn’t something I see acknowledged very often, especially in cozy mysteries, so it was refreshing to find here.

The ending was what ultimately convinced me to give this a five-star read. Ms. Marshall’s willingness to play around with the tropes of the genres she writes had already grabbed my attention, and seeing how far off the path she was willing to tread only increased my admiration of her writing style. It takes courage to take this many risks with one’s storylines, and it paid off beautifully here. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

This is the second instalment in a series, but it can be read as a standalone work.

Cynthia Peabody’s Big Fat Fake Funeral was full of surprises that made me wish this tale would never end.

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

Silver Spider by Lena Austin

June 15, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Silver Spider by Lena Austin
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Dark Romance, LGBTQ, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The secretive Duke of Aberystwyth has invited Madge Majesty to a murder mystery party, but he’s the first victim!

Madge is a harpy, mystery writer, and amateur sleuth with a nose for murder. At her side is her faithful chauffeur, Hayden, who is a telekinetic ex-thief — and a confirmed bachelor.

Now it’s up to Madge to solve the whodunit. Her suspects are a motley assortment of inverts and very nervous heterosexuals, all of whom have more than just their sexual foibles to hide. Is it the cross-dressing vampire, the packless werewolf, the voyeuristic doctor, the gargoyle majordomo, or the promiscuous man who seems bent on getting everyone into his bed, including Hayden?

Some parties can never be forgotten.

This was a good example of how to include a wide variety of characters in a storyline that probably would not have otherwise crossed paths with each other. It was interesting to see how they all interacted, especially the characters who weren’t human and who therefore weren’t necessarily bound to the social norms of this era, much less the typical behavior of human beings in general. While I can’t go into detail about this without sharing spoilers, I was pleasantly surprised by how this played out and how it affected what certain characters wished to do.

I would have liked to see more character development in this piece, though. Sometimes I had trouble keeping track of who everyone was because of how little time was spent describing what they were like. Given how many characters were interacting with each other in the various scenes, this was something that kept me from fully immersing myself in the plot.

With that being said, I thought Ms. Austin did an excellent job of combining the erotic and mystery genres. They both kept the storyline chugging along smoothly and fed into each other in all sorts of creative ways. When combined with what appeared to be a 1910s or maybe an early 1920s setting, there were some fun plot twists involving hijinks both in and outside of the bedroom in a time when people tended to be more reticent about certain things…at least in public.

Silver Spider – A Paranormal Murder Mystery Romance was a wild ride.

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

The Wine Cellar by Chris Hart

June 4, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Wine Cellar by Chris Hart
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

She inherited a house she had never seen. She did not know what waited under it.

When Dr. Rosaria “Rosie” Conti loses the grandmother she barely knew, she also inherits a stone masseria in the hills outside Ragusa – a property no one in her family knew existed, kept in silence for more than eighty years. Burned out from emergency medicine and grieving more than she can name, Rosie travels to Sicily to settle the estate and walk away.

Then she finds the wine cellar beneath the kitchen floor. And the bottle dated 1943. And the man waiting on the other side of one impossible swallow.

Salvatore “Turi” Valenti is an OSS operative working with Sicilian partisans behind German lines during Operation Husky – an Italian-American from Brooklyn living between three names and one war he may not survive. The cellar that brings Rosie to him will only open ten times. After that, the door closes for good.

As Rosie crosses again and again into a country at war, she discovers that her grandmother’s silence held more than grief – and that the choice waiting for her at the bottom of the bottle is not whether to love a man eighty-three years out of reach, but what she is willing to leave behind to stay.

Some love stories are not bound by time.

Love is everywhere.

This was a great example of how to include complex world building into a tale that was fast-paced and didn’t have space for lengthy descriptions. The author made every sentence count, and within a few pages I could imagine Sicily in exquisite detail that included all five senses during both the World War II era as well as today.

There were times when I wished for more information about the budding romance between Rosie and Turi. Life in the 1940s was quite different than it is today, especially for a woman. It surprised me a little that the main character didn’t think about how rare it was for women to become doctors eighty years ago and how her life might change for the worse if she decided to remain in the past. Developing the romance even further would have given the protagonist a solid reason to make this decision, and I would have gone for a full five-star rating if this had occurred due to how well written the rest of it was.

The descriptions of how Rosie treated common injuries and illnesses in a world that didn’t yet have widespread access to antibiotics or other modern medical advancements were among my favorite scenes. This would have been tricky enough during peace time, but during a war it was even more daunting due to how limited certain supplies could be and how dangerous it was to travel some nights. I also enjoyed seeing how these scenes explored Rosie’s calm personality and the relationships she built with people who trusted her to help them during some of the worst moments of their lives.

I didn’t want The Wine Cellar to end. What a heartwarming read!

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

Two Lives With You by Lauren Ho

June 2, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Two Lives With You by Lauren Ho
Publisher: Mindy’s Book Studio
Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

What if they never married? For an overwhelmed husband and wife, that what-if wish comes true in an emotional and bittersweet novel about choices, sacrifice, and the love that they might lose forever.

When Dana and Nigel got married, they had such promise. After sixteen years, the cracks are showing.

Dana is a burned-out ER nurse, and Nigel is a recently unemployed stay-at-home dad whose professional identity is disappearing. Questioning the directions their lives have taken, Dana and Nigel are each granted a wish from a mysterious stranger. For one week they can escape the pressure of their lives in favor of ones in which they never married.

Waking up in an alternate reality where their youthful, individual dreams have come true is, at first, a marvel. When they meet by chance in Bali, Dana recognizes Nigel instantly, but he feels only an inexplicable connection to this stranger. And they discover there’s a catch to their wishes.

Returning to normal—and to the long-haul love they vowed would be forever—won’t be as easy as they thought. As the clock ticks down, Dana and Nigel face an impossible choice that will test the very foundation of their relationship and alter their lives forever.

Perfection is a myth.

Romantic relationships evolve over time, especially when a couple decides to have kids, encounters health problems, or struggles to find work among many other potential stressors in life. There simply aren’t enough romance novels about characters in these busy and sometimes difficult stages of life for my tastes, so I was thrilled to read something about a relationship that has weathered multiple storms and no longer feels quite the same as it used to. While I don’t want to give away any spoilers, I can say that this realistic approach to romance for people who are no longer college aged was refreshing and I loved seeing how Nigel and Dana explored their past together as they contemplated their possible futures as well.

I would have preferred to see more attention paid to character development. While I could easily describe Dana and Nigel’s professions and what they thought of their work on their best days as well as their worst ones, explaining what their personalities were like or how they grew and changed as a result of their magical experiences would be trickier. There were moments that briefly focused on this topics, but not to the extent I’d hope to find in a full-length novel. As much as I enjoyed the storyline itself, I needed a deeper understanding of who these two characters were as individuals in order to select a higher rating.

With that being said, I loved the fantasy and paranormal subplots of this tale. They were well developed and blended beautifully into the main romantic storyline due to how reliant the two protagonists were on figuring out the spell that bound them in order to repair their marriage and hopefully return to their original reality. This was a great example of how to blend these genres together in ways that honor all of them equally.

Two Lives with You was romantic and heartwarming.

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

Love Across Time by Beth Ford

June 1, 2026 By 2 Comments


Love Across Time by Beth Ford
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Ashley and Thomas, a medieval knight, are in 1377 England, escaping from present-day immigration authorities intent on capturing Thomas. Having fled to the past to ensure their togetherness, Ashley is faced with adapting to fourteenth-century life, while Thomas, new to his title as Baron after his older brother’s death, is called to Parliament, encountering enemies there and at court as he struggles to build his own alliances.

Ashley’s work at a monastic hospital is deemed “miraculous” but draws unwanted attention as potential witchcraft. Meanwhile, becoming embroiled in a political movement, she realizes too late it’s a plot against the King.

How can Ashley conform to social expectations, counter the plot, and still keep her relationship with Thomas, in all the turmoil?

Even true love has its limits.

I adored the way this novel explored what romance can be like after a couple has settled into life together and things are no longer quite as fresh and exciting. That is a stage of life that can be tricky at times, but it can also encourage two people to eventually fall even more deeply for each other as they practice solving conflicts and putting each other first even when they disagree about something important. As someone who had not read the first book in this series yet, I quickly began rooting for these two to resolve their differences and figure out how to blend their cultures and personalities together. They seemed so well-suited for each other despite the rough spots.

There were a few times when I struggled with the pacing, especially as it pertained to the stretches of time that Ashley and Thomas spent at Lydiard, his estate. She still had so much to learn about life in England in 1377 that I sometimes found myself wishing she‘d use these quieter moments to ask him more questions about everything from how currency worked in that era to what the social etiquette back then was for people of their station. This would have given Ashley a deeper understanding of just how different life was back then as well as keep my interest levels high enough to justify the five-star reading I wanted to give this piece.

The ending was well done and satisfactory. It made me feel as though the characters were wrapping things up while in good places in their lives while still leaving room for future adventures if the author ever decides to write them. I also appreciated how they approached the logical next steps in their lives after their biggest conflicts had been resolved. That final scene fit both the characters and their setting nicely which was especially remarkable given the many personal and cultural differences between Thomas and Ashley.

This is part of a series, but it can also be read as a standalone work.

Love Across Time was sweet and romantic.

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

The Extraordinary Dreams of Cynthia Peabody by Lynne Marshall

April 29, 2026 By Leave a Comment


The Extraordinary Dreams of Cynthia Peabody by Lynne Marshall
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: LGBTQ, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Mysterious portals, inexplicable abilities, intergenerational friendship, and a reluctant hero who just might be off her trolley!

Cynthia Peabody can’t sleep. Recently widowed, her future seems a dreary blur. While practicing meditation techniques to fight insomnia, she discovers a mysterious portal in her backyard through which her dreams are shockingly realistic.

She runs to her neighbor for help after a dream about a dog leads to a real dog in her yard. The next-door teen offers to be the dog walker, and a surprising friendship develops. Juniper’s natural sincerity influences Cynthia to reevaluate her grumpiness.

While dealing with complicated grief along with her life turning toward the supernatural, Cynthia’s doctor’s report brings lousy news. What else can go wrong? She’s desperate for answers.

Pouring out her heart to her husband’s memory, she fears the only logical explanation is that she’s gone mad. But people in her hometown need help, especially a certain next-door teenager. Wishing she’d had someone looking out for her when she was young, Cynthia will do whatever it takes to protect the vulnerable, even if it means risking her life.

Perfection isn’t necessary so long as there’s genuine effort.

Cynthia’s complex personality and character development made me wish we could be neighbors. She was sweet and kind, but she also had a stubborn streak and a tendency to project her traumatic past onto others that kept me interested in how she might work on these flaws in the future. Knowing more about her past helped to explain the person she had become, metaphorical warts and all.

The magical realism was subtle enough to make this tale a little tricky to classify as far as genres go. This is something I always enjoy discovering in new author’s work due to how many different types of readers it can attract. I shared Cynthia’s opinion on why her dreams seemed to repeatedly come true in her waking life, but there was also plenty of space for other interpretations as well given how much nuance was included in the clues about what was happening to her.

I adored the found family and cross-generational aspects of the storyline as well. The protagonist built some incredible friendships as she mourned her husband, including some with people who were young enough to be her children or even grandchildren. Some of the funniest scenes were the ones exploring the social, technological, and pop culture differences between various generations as what is familiar and comforting to a 75-year-old woman will not always resonate with someone in their 40s, much less a teenager (and vice versa). These scenes were gentle and gave the characters so many opportunities to bond.

The Extraordinary Dreams of Cynthia Peabody was a beautiful and memorable story that I didn’t want to end. While I don’t know for sure if there’s a sequel in the works, I’d sure like to read it if one is ever published.

Filed Under: Other, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,
Next Page »