The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch

July 22, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch
Publisher: Gollancz
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Where the Marble Arch stands today in London was once the Tyburn gallows – also known as The Hanging Tree. The walk toward those gallows along Oxford Street and past the Mayfair mansions has a bloody and haunted history as the last trip of the condemned. Some things never change. For both blood and ghosts have returned to those mansions of the super-rich. And it’s up to Peter Grant – England’s last wizard and the Metropolitan Police’s reluctant investigator of all things supernatural – to get to the bottom of the sinister doings.

PC Peter Grant doesn’t usually get involved with any old suspicious death, not even when the young adult who died is extraordinarily wealthy and the apartment where the death occurred is inside one of the most exclusive apartment complexes in the rich section of London. But Lady Ty’s young daughter was at the party in question and Peter owes Lady Ty a big favour. And as seems to always happen with Peter, nothing is quite what it seems. And when it comes to asking difficult questions at inopportune times, Peter just can’t help himself.

This has been an exceptional series and I am really enjoying the blend of humour with a paranormal world and some really excellently plotted police procedural murder mysteries. Readers might want to have read one or two of the previous books in this series as a number of the characters aren’t given a whole lot of background in this book and so coming in blind might make it difficult to initially work out how everyone is connected, but this is such a great book and a fabulous series reading some – or all – of the previous books really shouldn’t be too hard.

I did enjoy that a number of the longer term plot arcs got a fair bit of traction – both with Lesley May and the other magical practitioners, as well as Peter gaining some momentum with his magical skills and training. The actual plot of the murdered young adult and the rich and famous party goers was also very interesting and well paced so I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects to this book.

A great blend of dry British wit, with a large dose of police procedural mystery and a lovely sense of the absurd I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more in this series. Recommended.

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

Runaway Home by Camille Anthony

July 10, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Runaway Home by Camille Anthony
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Fleeing the shame of being rejected in favor of an Omega, Jackson Southerly, alpha wolf, has run away to one of his family’s ski resorts.

Fleeing the shame of being left at the altar, Sioux Brown has traded in her tickets to the Bahamas and run away to the snowy slopes of Colorado, where she plans to lick her wounds in solitude.

The snow in their hearts melts as they share the deserted lobby in the dark of night, but will their growing attraction survive the light of day?

After being rejected for an Omega, Jackson Southerly decides to run away to his family’s ski resort. Sioux Brown has also fled after being literally left at the alter. Going to polar opposite of her longed for honeymoon in the Bahamas, Sioux finds herself knee deep in the snow alongside Jackson. Even though their attraction is instant, they are both at rock bottom. Will their tenuous attraction survive the long haul?

While I do admit the general concept of this story is not very unique – I did enjoy how the author managed to squeeze in quite a few twists within the first chapter to have this very short story feeling fresh and different to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the fast pace and feel readers who are wanting just a quick and tasty spicy read should find this highly enjoyable.

Disconnect your brain, sit back with a delectable drink and just enjoy the ride. I laughed in quite a few places – so don’t expect to find a complicated plot or anything too deeply serious in this lovely short story. Just enjoy the steamy shenanigans and relatable characters.

A fun and super quick read – this was a good story I enjoyed.

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

Out of Body by Lina Hansen

July 9, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Out of Body by Lina Hansen
A Magical Misfits Mystery Book 3
Publisher: Literary Wanderlust
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A skeleton unearthed, a coven in peril, and meddling villagers with a penchant for mayhem—Myrtle Coldron’s life is about to get wicked.

Myrtle Coldron, owner of the Witch’s Retreat B&B and leader of the Magical Misfits, enjoys a hike and stumbles upon a skeleton. The unwelcome discovery unleashes a series of bizarre events that shake the quaint village of Avebury to the core. And to top it off, she has scary dreams haunting her nights.

With the help of her loyal partner Chris and her quirky friends and familiars, Myrtle must navigate the tangled web of suspects to flush out a killer holding the keys to a secret from the coven’s past.

Should she fail, the Magical Misfits will be history….

Being a witch isn’t easy, but it sure is worth it.

I enjoyed the descriptions of magic, especially when it came to all of the research and prep work that Myrtle and her fellow witches had to do ahead of time before casting group spells. Those scenes were so vivid and exciting. Of course such things would take plenty of effort in order to work properly! If everyone could do it, casting spells and performing magic wouldn’t be half as special as they are in stories.

It was tricky to keep track of the large cast of characters, especially since most of them had brief introductions that did not provide many details about their personalities, interests, or physical appearances. It’s easier for me to keep track of characters who have something unique about themselves that will trigger my memory once I encounter them again, and I wished I had more of those clues here.

The plot twists kept me guessing. I especially liked the way the identity of the skeleton Myrtle discovered while out on a hike was revealed. It wasn’t what I was expecting, and it made me wonder what other surprises the author had in store for me. Luckily, this pattern repeated itself as I continued on, so I had several other chances to once again be surprised.

I would recommend reading this series in order for character and plot development reasons. There was a lot of material from the previous instalments that was only briefly mentioned. Knowing about it in advance makes understanding what was happening much easier.

Out of Body was an interesting read.

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

Sex On The Beach? by Willa Okati

July 2, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Sex On The Beach? by Willa Okati
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal, LGBTQ
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Warren might be a vampire, sure, but he’s getting the knack of it. He’s cool — he can handle the wicked urge for hot blood right from a vein and has these bitchin’ fangs. He does miss the sunlight, though. No problem — he also has a lover, Dusty, the biggest-hearted, goofiest but also kinkiest vampire you’ll ever meet. When Warren gets the urge to get away, Dusty comes up with the perfect way to make unlife a beach.

Sort of.

Warren loved Dusty and since they were both Vampires they were guaranteed an eternity together to share their adventures. But when Dusty’s latest idea involves their spare room, a bunch of floodlights and an enormous amount of brown sugar even Warren isn’t sure there’s a way to come back from this.

I found this to be a highly amusing and rather sweet (sugary!) tale. While it’s clear Dusty’s heart is in the right place the more practical side to my brain was flummoxed at how virtually impossible it was going to prove to be for the two men to return their guest bedroom into any semblance of order. That said, it was a really sweet and highly fun idea that Dusty had and once the sex began I doubt Warren cared how impossible it would be to clean everything up.

Disconnect your brain, make yourself a frothy, beachy drink, and relax back to enjoy this short and funny ride. I found the two characters well matched and there were quite a few laugh aloud lines exchanged between them and their attraction burned off the pages.

Short and steamy – I found this to be a fun and enjoyable quick read.

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

Camp Effigy – A Ghost Story by I A M Watson

June 21, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Camp Effigy – A Ghost Story by I A M Watson
Publisher: Regenesis Press
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“Rule number one: no one is to leave designated camper areas for any reason. You will not leave camp without permission. Do not attempt it. And stay clear of locked doors and anything marked as off-limits.”

Camp Effigy is an unusual summer camp destination to say the least. As they pass through the foreboding gates of Hopewell Manor, Dahlia, Serena, and Aria anticipate a bootcamp for troubled girls (and boy, are they troubled). It doesn’t help that the surrounding camp is built on ancient burial grounds deep in some very haunted woods. Strange things happen quickly, leaving our heroines to band together as unlikely friends and fight for their lives at the place where the land of the living and the dead meet and merge. Everything goes off the rails when the campers discover that their own family secrets may tie them to the hauntings that threaten their lives, and that only they hold the key to solving a cold case from 1851.

Every kid breaks a minor rule or two while at summer camp, right?

The horror elements of the storyline were delightfully scary. I shuddered my way through the ones that involved bodies of water and the various entities that can sometimes be found lurking in their depths. They reminded me a little of the various urban legends that are sometimes told around the campfire on warm nights when the looming darkness just past the edge of where flickering flames can cast their light makes every spooky sentence feel bigger and more ominous than it seems during the day. This is a good pick for middle grade or older readers who enjoy being frightened without being grossed out.

There was strong character development for all three protagonists. I enjoyed seeing how Aria, Serena, and Dahlia got to know each other better and worked together to solve the mystery of what was really happening at Camp Effigy. What made this even more impressive was that the author managed to pull it off in a fast-paced novel that didn’t leave a lot of space for long conversations. Much of what I learned about them happened while they were on the run or exploring parts of the camp they had been clearly told were off-limits to them. This gave everything a strong sense of urgency that made it impossible for me to stop reading.

I grinned as Dahlia, Serena, and Aria figured out how they were connected to the cold case from 1851. It was a clever way to tie the present closely to the past and give the characters understandable motives for behaving the way that they did. While I was already enjoying this tale before these details were revealed, I became even more excited to see how it ended once such crucial information about all three girls was revealed.

Camp Effigy: A Ghost Story was the perfect summer read.

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

Obedience by Isabella Jordan

June 13, 2024 By 1 Comment


Obedience by Isabella Jordan
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A princess with a problem… Meela must marry a prince from another planet in order to ensure the security of her people. Trouble is Meela’s known to be a bit feisty, and sometimes that gets her into trouble. It’s bad enough she has no say in who she’ll marry. Worse still, the queen places an obedience curse on Meela to thwart her errant ways. As a result of the curse, Meela finds herself in plenty of predicaments not exactly fit for a princess. But what’s a princess to do when two gorgeous hunks come along and place sensual demands on her Meela’s not sure she can — or even wants to — deny?

Meela might be a feisty princess, but she knows she has to marry a prince for the good of her people. But when the Queen puts an obedience curse on her to curb her feisty ways the magic has some unexpected consequences.

I found this to be a fun and rather sassy short story. I thought the twist in the tale about the Obedience curse was a stroke of genius and I really enjoyed the slant to the story as a whole. The first chapter really setup the situation Meela had found herself in – and both the good and bad aspects to the queen’s curse – and all the sexy shenanigans rolling in from those consequences was a fun delight to read.

I thought the author showed a good balance between Meela being unable to refuse a command and having the curse force her to obey, but equally not pushing past the ilne of non-consent. I do admit that while the ending felt just a little cliched to me, it was very satisfying, and I feel most readers should be very happy with the twist.

Sexy and fun, this is a quick read I feel many readers will enjoy.

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

Scars by G.A. Bassier

June 5, 2024 By 1 Comment


Scars by G.A. Bassier
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

They say love can heal all wounds…but some scars may run too deep.

Eight months ago, while in a werewolf rage, Lily escaped her cage and killed an innocent person. Every moment since then, Lily’s guilt has grown heavier and more suffocating. Just as it threatens to engulf her, she meets a kind stranger who is struggling through his own turmoil after losing his beloved wife.

Sitting in a coffee shop with Jack, Lily smiles for the first time in eight long, dark months. She and Jack love all the same things: Star Wars, banana bread, even cheesy eighties movies. In spite of her lingering guilt, Lily starts to fall for him. Jack makes it easy. He trusts her. He worries about her. He never compares her to his lost love. Jack makes Lily want to live again–and she does the same for him.

There’s just one problem:

The innocent person Lily killed was Jack’s wife.

It’s never too late to turn things around and try again.

The premise of this novella grabbed my attention immediately, and I thought the author handled the dilemma of a werewolf falling in love with the widower of the woman she accidentally killed in a sensitive and beautiful manner. The tension between their developing relationship and Lily’s terrible secret made it impossible for me to stop reading. Of course, she would have no idea how to bring this topic up to Jack and would struggle to figure out what to do!

Given the tragedy that brought them together, it made total sense for things to develop slowly and unevenly between Jack and Lily. This was exactly what needed to happen in order for me as a reader to want them to live happily ever after, and their chemistry was perfect. What made it even more impressive was the fact that the characters evolved from meeting each other, to falling in love, to discovering the truth, to reaching the climax of this tale within such a short time period. Many authors would need a few hundred pages to reach the same conclusions, so getting it done in about forty pages instead was impressive.

I was blown away how many layers of detail and meaning the author was able to include as well. Yes, the main plotline was romantic, but the writing also included thoughtful messages about the meaning of life and how one can begin to heal from something that may feel insurmountable. This is the sort of story I’d especially recommend to readers who might not normally like the romance genre but who are willing to try the cream of the crop of it.

Scars couldn’t have been better. Bravo!

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

Operation Congo by William Meikle

June 4, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Operation Congo by William Meikle
Publisher: Severed Press
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A mission to the Congo starts badly for S-Squad and gets worse fast as they trace a team of captured WHO medics to a lost world in the interior.

The Squad are isolated, split up, and face terrors long since thought extinct.

Mokele-mbembe walks this jungle.

And he is not alone.

The S-Squad has been sent deep into the jungles of Congo, far from where even a satellite phone can call for help. A WHO team of medics have been captured and more than just the natives are restless. As usual things quickly move from bad to worse as the team is split up and the monsters start coming from all directions. Can the team and their targets return back to safety?

I absolutely love this series and I was thrilled the Scottish lads finally managed to get a ticket to somewhere warm. I also really enjoyed how a few of the squaddies had some profound growth in their character arcs and this was a true joy to read – along with the big beasties and everyone needing to steer clear of being a tasty snack for the monsters.

If you’ve read even one of the previous books (and I can’t recommend strongly enough you give them all a whirl – this is the best series) you’ll know roughly what to expect. Our team of Scottish heroes are sent into the back of beyond to rescue a group of civilians. Things are nothing like what they appeared to be at first glance and soon monsters are trying to eat everyone in sight.

With loads of bullets flying and more than a few wise cracks from our squaddies this is yet another delightful romp of a book. I was particularly impressed with both the high number (and decent quality and placement) of the quotes managed by the squaddies referencing the movie, Aliens. A few scattered quotes are normal for this series, but in this book the author really outdid himself.

If you’re looking for a complicated plotline or an intricately woven story this won’t suit what you’re after. But if you love a bunch of wise-ass soldiers being brave, fighting the monsters and rollicking along then this is definitely the book for you. I love this series and can strongly recommend them all – especially this addition.

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

Cryptid Bits by Jess Simms

May 29, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Cryptid Bits by Jess Simms
Publisher: Last-Picked Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Cryptids. At the movies and at the bar, cryptids. In china shops and running for office, cryptids. Cryptids, cryptids everywhere.

Mythical beings need to earn a living, too!

The world building was incredible. Getting glimpses of so many different residents, notable spots, and moments in time in this neighborhood gave me a well-rounded understanding of what it would be like to visit The Fairy District if it were a real place. If the author ever decides to write a sequel, I’d love to dive even more deeply into the many different species that call this area home and how they are being affected by human gentrification.

I would have loved to see more character development. Meeting the characters was a memorable experience, but there was never a lot of time to get to know most of them better due to how brief each section was and how many different folks there were to meet. Louise, a local mortician, was one such creature that I wish I could have had more time with as she seemed to have a fascinating life as an undertaker. This pattern was the only thing holding me back from choosing a full five-star review.

Some of this flash fiction was written in the style of online news articles or reviews of different businesses. What made these pieces even more unique were the comments included by various members of the community and visitors who had strong opinions about the event, business, or topic being discussed. I loved the originality of these sections, especially when it came to the many types of feedback that can be shared in such places. A kind commenter might be immediately followed by someone who had a harsher perspective, but the variety of it all made it feel incredibly realistic.

Cryptid Bits was delightfully creative. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

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

Beyond Mortal Bounds – Memoir of a Ghost by Gina Easton

May 20, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Beyond Mortal Bounds – Memoir of a Ghost by Gina Easton
Publisher: Touch Point Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Heather Radcliffe, a successful author, is approached by Fiona, a ghost, to write Fiona’s memoir. What follows is a tale of love, betrayal, madness and the quest for atonement. It is the story of two women—one living, one dead—and the man they both love . . . and the issue of love’s ability to endure beyond death itself.

Death is the beginning, not the end.

The dialogue was smooth and believable. Often I could tell who was speaking before I finished the sentence because of how uniquely the two main characters were written. As much as they had in common, there were important differences between them that influenced how they spoke. It takes a lot of work to pull something like this off, so I must acknowledge the effort there and share my gratitude for it. This is the sort of flourish in a story that makes reading even more enjoyable than it already is.

I was surprised by how quickly Heather believed the ghosts who approached her for help. As much as I liked her innocent and trusting personality, there were times when I wondered why she didn’t make any efforts to verify what she was told and only spent a small amount of time trying to protect herself from anything in the spirit world that might try to attach itself to her. There was one scene that described a ritual she went through after talking to spirits in order to discourage them from sticking around. This reader was fascinated by that process and wished that the protagonist had spent more time describing it as well as taking additional precautions to protect herself from spirits she was still getting to know.

Some of the most memorable moments in my opinion were the ones that explored Heather’s previous lifetimes and how they helped to explain why her personality clicked so well with certain people she met in her most recent body. Reincarnation is an interesting explanation for why this happens, especially when it is explored in fiction that shows how those individuals knew each other in previous lives and why their fates have remained so tightly entwined. This is a trope I’m always happy to discover in books, and I thought Ms. Easton made good use of it here.

Beyond Mortal Bounds: Memoir of a Ghost was satisfying.

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