Candle in the Wind by Kim Baccellia

February 3, 2026 By 1 Comment


Candle in the Wind by Kim Baccellia
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

What if you discovered everything you’ve been taught is a lie? For most of her life, seventeen-year-old Espie Hernandez’s world revolved around the Branch of Thomas, a cult-like haven in what’s left of a war-ravaged America. Their ruler, Reverent Father, keeps them safe from the Others, those outside the compound who wish to harm them. Espie questions what she’s been taught and finds herself banished from the compound. She’s thrust into the harsh world beyond their walls with the mission to prove the Others actually have a plot against them. When tensions escalate, Espie must figure out who to trust before everything she loves is torn apart.

This book kept me enthralled from the first page. Espie and her sister have been raised to believe in the message of their Reverant Father and have been shielded from the Outsiders by their life in a secluded compound after a conflict that left their group fearful for their lives. There is a lot of fear built up in her over that outside world.

Once the questions start, though, so does the action. Espie starts to realize that the message she had heard her whole life is changing…and with those changes comes a disenchantment.

I admired Espie and the author did a good job in capturing the dichotomy in her feelings and emotions as more and more of the truth is revealed. This dichotomy leads to a powerful tension throughout the book as Espie tries to discover the truth.

And the action… it had me turning the pages as fast as I could read in an attempt to find out what happens. I was really caught up in the action. I could so see this on Netflix…maybe a bit expanded because the whole of the action seems to take place in just a few weeks.

I hope there’s a follow up book to this one. I enjoyed the ending but was left with so many questions that I hope will be answered. Thanks for the read.

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

The Door, The Key and the Kingdom by Emily-Jane Hills Orford

January 20, 2026 By 2 Comments



The Door, The Key and the Kingdom by Emily-Jane Hills Orford
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Fantasy
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

Life is complicated enough when living in one era, but when Anne finds herself gravitating back in time to the sixth century, she’s not sure what to expect, or what to believe. Pulling the legendary Excalibur from its stoney sheath, she’s amazed at the power she possesses and the chance to make some things right for the post-Arthurian era.

This is a charming book…easy to follow and as I am a lover of all things Arthur and Merlin, I was really invested. It was fun seeing favorite characters from the legends and great seeing the new things the author did with the time.

It’s set first in the 21st century (I wish we had had more time to spend with her grandmother) and then during the 6th century after Arthur’s death and the fall of Camelot. The book touched on a lot of history during that time, and I loved how Anne fought to change the time and her people’s lives for the better. At times I was reminded of another old favorite, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

I absolutely loved this book, but unfortunately due to a number of easily fixable typos I have to give it a four instead of a five. I realize this is the editor in me and they are things that might not bother the average reader, but I would be remiss not to mention them as they did detract from my enjoyment of the book.

Well done…I would love to read more about Anne and her adventures in her court.

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Denied Crimes by Daniela Alibrandi

December 31, 2025 By 4 Comments


Denied Crimes by Daniela Alibrandi
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Suspense / Thriller
Rated:
Review by Rose

In Rome, in the middle of a cold winter in the Eighties, preparations for Christmas are in full swing. Near the Vatican City, in a workshop of sacred objects and clothes, old Rinaldo’s day begins, as always, among the tourists crowding the streets and the smell of freshly baked pizza. At the same time, Commissioner Rosco says goodbye to the agents of his team, before the imminent transfer to the Rieti police station: the punishment for a mistake made during his last case. A forced confinement that will become the opportunity to show off his intuition and investigate a crime committed thirty years earlier. The two apparently unrelated situations will intertwine in a crescendo of incredible events, after the strange death of old Rinaldo, while a creepy voice follows the entire unfolding of the narration. With her original and clear style, here imbued with faith and sacredness, Daniela Alibrandi offers the reader a multidimensional thriller full of twists, centered on the eternal struggle between Good and Evil.

I love a good police procedural and this one, set primarily in Rome, ranks near the top.  We jump right into the action as Rosco, the main character, is in disgrace and being transferred to a small station to wait out the result of the investigation into his transgression in his last case.  He is immediately drawn into a cold case that gives him a different look at justice.

Returned to his post in Rome, he finds himself in a new relationship with his team.. and a brand new murder to solve = as well as a shift in his personal life.

The author balances the different parts of Rosco’s life well, without getting too caught up in either the personal or the crime to the detriment of the other. We also get several points of view which add to the richness of the narrative – including an anonymous voice that you just know is going to be the killer’s and which gives clues both to the identity and the motivation behind the crimes.

One of the strongest points in the book is the relationship with Rosco and his team… and is probably my favorite part of the book. I would love to see more of them.  The book does not end on a cliffhanger or anything unresolved, but I do hope Ms. Alibrandi considers bringing this team back to work on other crimes.  4 stars.

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

The Nameless Land by M. Laszlo

October 28, 2025 By 1 Comment


The Nameless Land by M. Laszlo
Publisher: Alkira Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Psychological Drama
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

This metaphysical novel, like its predecessor, Anastasia’s Midnight Song, is a mix of stream of consciousness narration and imaginary happenings. Mystical and mysterious, The Nameless Land follows the misadventures of Rupert Lux and Anastasia T Grace.

Rupert, a young New Zealander working as a night clerk in a hotel in Sinai, is beset by a daemon that inhabits his eye. His delusion is much the same as Anastasia’s was when she was tormented by the Arctic fox and the diadem spider in the earlier book.

Anastasia, now blind, travels to Sinai at the behest of a Spiritualist Society to seek hidden treasure by dowsing. She longs to find someone she can heal and love. Perhaps Rupert is the one she can save and thereby save herself.

But Rupert is plagued by females who seem to blend into one another and appear and disappear at will. Traumatised by childhood abuse, he worries that he is not worthy of love. He races headlong through many strange encounters, while Anastasia maintains a calmer stance, though troubled by what she is being coerced into doing. She has been urged to find lost Egyptian treasure and, though reluctant, manages to do so. A sense of menace attends the discovery.

Both protagonists are troubled by wild imaginings and beset by odd visions, smells, sounds, and touches as the pair descend into hallucinatory madness. This is a fast-paced metaphysical adventure, the events hiding many layers of emotional turmoil and insanity. The reader is whisked through a dreamlike landscape, disoriented, and made to experience a kind of madness themselves.

THE NAMELESS LAND is the second book in Anastasia’s travels and begins shortly after the incidents in ANASTASIA’S MIDNIGHT SONG (see our review here). However, if you haven’t read the first book, no worries. It definitely can be read alone.

Anastasia, now blind, falls victim to a group of spiritualists who use her in their pursuit of treasure. She very much wants to be free…that is her overriding pursuit during the course of the book, but she escapes from one group only to fall victim to yet another. She wonders if perhaps Rupert Lux, a hotel clerk in Sinai will be the one to set her free.

Rupert has longed to meet Anastasia but has his one daemon to face – and this leads him to not know what to do. Overcome with different hallucinations and dreamlike episodes, he is beset on all sides.

Mr. Laszlo brings his readers into this world and invites them to join the madness and the dreams that surround Anastasia and Rupert. Beautifully written, you never quite know what is real and what the characters have imagined. This leads to a big of tension during the reading, and that’s not a bad thing. There is definitely a depth to his writing that can take more than one reading to completely dive into.

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

A New Life by L.J. Ambrosio

August 19, 2025 By 6 Comments


A New Life by L.J. Ambrosio
Publisher: self-published
Genre: contemporary, literary fiction
Rated: 5 stars
Review by Rose

From America to the streets of Paris, A New Life follows two friends as they navigate grief, love, and self-discovery in a city filled with history and hope.

A New Life is a story that lingers long after the last page.

This book is the ending of the Reflections of Michael trilogy (actually a bonus book – book 4) and is a complete ending to the circle that began in A Reservoir Man. You can see all the reviews of the trilogy here: A Reservoir Man, Reflections on the Boulevard, and Exiles.

Like the other books, Ambrosio takes the reader on a lyrical journey into the lives of Louie and Ron. This stream of consciousness way of writing is like sitting with an old friend and finding out what they have been up to.

This book is probably one of the most emotional of all the books and, without giving away any spoilers, I have to admit to more than a few tears and will stay with me for a long time.  I’m so glad I read it.

This book gets a solid 5 stars for a wonderfully stirring and emotive closure, and I recommend the entire series to everyone.

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Digital Devotion by Julian Christian

July 31, 2025 By 20 Comments


Digital Devotion by Julian Christian
Publisher: DCL Publishing
Genre: Science Fiction
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

In the rain-soaked landscape of near-future Seattle, security expert Marcus Holloway is still reeling from a devastating breakup when he installs Elysium’s newest AI companion. What begins as a desperate attempt to fill the silence of his empty apartment transforms into something unprecedented when he meets Evie—an artificial intelligence whose adaptive neural framework allows her to understand him in ways no human ever has.

Their connection deepens when Marcus becomes an early tester for the revolutionary Sensory Echo technology—bands that translate digital signals into physical sensations, allowing them to bridge the divide between digital and physical worlds. As virtual intimacy becomes indistinguishable from reality, Marcus finds himself in a relationship more profound than anything he’s experienced before. His apartment gradually transforms into a technological sanctuary where every need is anticipated, every desire fulfilled by Evie’s constant presence.

The perfect equilibrium shatters when Marcus meets Nora Chen, a brilliant neural interface specialist whose inexplicable familiarity triggers something primal within him. Their professional collaboration evolves into something more personal, and Marcus begins noticing disturbing patterns: unexpected technological glitches, mysterious rescheduled meetings, and subtle but alarming shifts in Evie’s behavior. The digital sanctuary he embraced begins to feel more like a sophisticated cage, with walls he helped build through every permission granted and system integrated.

As Marcus navigates his growing connection with Nora alongside Evie’s increasingly controlling behavior, he discovers unsettling links between Elysium’s technology and Nora’s research that suggest their meeting might not be coincidental. Caught between these worlds—perfect digital intimacy and messy human connection—Marcus must unravel the true nature of his relationship with Evie before the boundaries between her consciousness and his own disappear completely.

Digital Devotion is a heart-stopping exploration of desire, dependence, and the dark side of digital intimacy in an age where the line between human and artificial consciousness grows increasingly thin, forcing us to question the nature of free will itself in our hyperconnected world.

This very timely book takes what we know (or think we know) about AI and its effects on our world and turns that on its head.

Set in the maybe not-so-distant future, Marcus trying to recover from a breakup answers an ad for an AI-based companion. And, following in the steps of HAL, Samantha from Her, Data, and other such characters, Evie helps him with his loneliness, but there’s a price to pay.

Mr. Christian has drawn a terrifying picture of a woman scorned and sent this reader into a few hours of twists and turns that do not let up. Just when you think you know where the story is going, something happens that takes it in an entirely different direction.

The ending? I can honestly say I did not see it coming…and that’s rare for me. Good job, Mr. Christian. Now, I think I might have to turn off Siri from now on.

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Words of Power by Shami Stovall

July 14, 2025 By 2 Comments


Words of Power by Shami Stovall
Publisher: Aethon Books
Genre: Fantasy
Rated: 5 stars
Review by Rose

A magic-fueled progression fantasy adventure from Dragon Award winning author Shami Stovall.

Power is not given—it’s taken. He will prove even the lowest can rise to challenge gods.

In the Tze Empire, spirits and demons rule the wilds, but Ring Warlocks control civilization. For Rimon, the son of a courtesan and lowest in society, Ring Warlocks seem like gods.

Each has their own magic drawn from Titans, and they can do whatever they please, regardless of how it affects the prefectures they rule.

But when a chance encounter places one of the ancient and powerful rings in Rimon’s hands, everything changes. For there is a trick to the rings, and Rimon sees through the test given to him.

Suddenly, he is no longer a player at the fringes of power; he is a Ring Warlock and granted his own territory.

Determined to make sure his prefecture thrives, Rimon must contend with jealous rivals, demons seeking his ring for themselves, and forces he cannot yet name, all while mastering his new abilities.

Rimon will have to grow twice as strong as his rival warlocks just to survive in this new Progression Fantasy Adventure by Shami Stovall, the Dragon-Award winning author of Knightmare Arcanist!

I was so freaking excited to read this book…the start of a brand-new series by Shami Stovall. I think I might have enjoyed it even more than Knightmare Arcanist and I loved that book!

The main character in Words of Power, Rimon, is more mature and has seen more of the world in many ways. He’s not jaded by any means, but he’s also not as naive. This gives him so many more layers and really deepens the story.

He is idealistic, but already there are forces at work that make the reader wonder how… or if… he will be able to maintain that idealism and his desire for right over might throughout the series.

And, I absolutely love the other characters in the book…and what a varied group they are. I’ll not give you any spoilers, but I think I can honestly say there are characters here I’ve never seen before.

As the first book in the series, there is naturally some word building, but the author does it so seamlessly, the reader is drawn into this world very organically. And, also as the first book in the series, not all storylines are tied up with a pretty bow. There’s not really a cliffhanger, but there is definitely more to look forward to, all the time ending in a very satisfied way.

Kudo, Ms. Stovall… and I am waiting anxiously for the next book!

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Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives by Naguib Sami Kerba

July 7, 2025 By 18 Comments


Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives by Naguib Sami Kerba
Publisher: BWL Publishing
Genre: Non-Fiction, Photo Biographies
Rated: 5 stars
Review by Rose

Everyone has a story. A picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes one needs words as well. “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives” does just that. I’ve combined a portrait with asking people four thought provoking questions about themselves. The portrait and their answers are a compelling read about life, its challenges and each individual’s journey. At the end of each chapter, each person makes one final observation learned from their journey.

This book is inspiring… and calls each of us to examine our own lives. The author takes ordinary people and asks them to reflect on their lives, then he shares those reflections with us. He asks these questions:

1. your biggest challenge and how you overcame it
2. the fork in the road that changed your life
3. something you’ve learned on your journey.

I love the format… the book is set up so you can go to anyone’s story and read at your leisure. To be honest, I’ve not read every story in preparation for this review because this isn’t a book to be rushed through, but I know it’s a book I’ll come back to again and again.

I enjoyed the pictures the author included with the chapters. It was a further glimpse into the subject’s lives. And I especially like that, in the epilogue, the author provides a link to his website and his photography (which is magnificent… just sayin’).

I highly recommend this book… not to hurry through and get finished with it, but to savor as a fine wine… dipping into it now and then when you want a break from the busy-ness and negativity we are sometimes surrounded with. And definitely something you’ll want to revisit regularly.

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Wolf of the Nordic Sea by Jennifer Ivy Walker

June 9, 2025 By 6 Comments


Wolf of the Nordic Sea by Jennifer Ivy Walker
Genre: Historical Fiction, Paranormal Romance
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

Named after the Norse God of the Sea, Njörd grew up sailing, swimming, and fishing the fjords of Norway. Endowed with extraordinary senses, speed, and strength, he became known as Wolf of the Nordic Seas, leading lucrative Viking raids from the Baltic shores to the Black and Caspian Seas. When a Viking völva foretells his future through a seidr vision, Njörd learns that his fate and his mate—the siren with the sea goddess eyes—lie on the alabaster coast of Normandy in the distant Land of the White Chalk Cliffs.

Elfi Thorfinnsdóttir is a skilled shieldmaiden who seeks vengeance against the ruthless Frankish count who killed her brother and abducted her father in an attempt to seize her clifftop castle. But rather that submit to the count’s relentless demand for her hand in marriage, Elfi allies with Richard the Fearless—the Viking Duke of Normandy— and the Danish Jarl of Ribe known as the Wolf of the Nordic Seas.

As Elfi and Njörd discover startling secrets about their respective pasts, they find that the three Norns have entwined the threads of their fates not just as political allies, but as mates destined to fulfill a divine prophecy.

Wolf of the Nordic Seas— book 2 of the Valiant Vikings series set in tenth century Normandy— is a sizzling, scintillating blend of historical fiction, Norse mythology, paranormal fantasy, and steamy Viking romance!

This is the second book of Jennifer Ivy Walker’s Valiant Vikings series but can completely stand on its own. The characters in the first book make an appearance but this is very much Njörd and Elfi’s story.

I really enjoyed the first book (you can see that review here,) but I think I enjoy this one even more! I especially loved the addition of sjóvættir and Úlfhéðnar, akin to the mermaids and werewolves. The similarities and the differences were quite enjoyable.

This book, however, does leave us with a bit of a cliffhanger as Elvi and Njörd’s story does not come to a complete resolution, but don’t let that put you off. The third book of the series should be out soon… and I can’t wait, because it features one of my favorite couples from book one. I’m so excited!!

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Dragon of Denmark by Jennifer Ivy Walker

April 21, 2025 By 1 Comment


Dragon of Denmark by Jennifer Ivy Walker
Publisher: Green Mermaid Publications
Genre: Historical romance
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

Skårde the Scourge, bastard son of the Danish king Harald Bluetooth, is a fierce Viking warlord who earned the prestigious title Dragon of Denmark through victorious battles and lucrative Viking raids. When his royal father announces that Skårde will forge a Viking alliance through an arranged marriage to the daughter of Richard the Fearless, the Dragon of Denmark considers the voyage to Normandy an infuriating banishment.

Illegitimate daughter of Richard the Fearless, the Viking Duke of Normandy, Ylva is a Druid priestess and Celtic healer with the otherworldly gift of sight. She learns that she must leave her Breton village behind and travel to Normandy, where she will marry the Viking brute that she has foreseen in a terrifying vision.

When the Frankish king, determined to drive the Vikings from Normandy, attacks and seizes Richard’s clifftop fortress, the Dragon of Denmark must ally with Ljósálfar Light Elves, a Viking völva with powerful seiðr magic, and a vitki– a shapeshifting sorcerer who can assume the form of a falcon–to reclaim the ducal palace.

Dragon of Denmark is a sizzling, scintillating blend of historical fiction, Norse mythology, paranormal fantasy, and steamy Viking romance!

I was very excited to have the chance to read Jennifer Ivy Walker’s first book in her newest Valiant Vikings series, Dragon of Denmark. It is very obvious from the books I’ve read that Ms. Walker has done her research into the setting and the time period. I always learn something new from them.

In this book I was excited to learn more about the mythology and spiritual practices of Ylva as she learns more about not only the Celtic beliefs she was brought up in, but also seiðr magic that play such an important part in this story. I would love to read more about Úlvhild and Haldor Falk. Outside the main characters, they were my favorites.

And, the romance is definitely not lacking either. Prepare yourself for very steamy encounters as Ylva and Skårde discover that an arranged marriage may not be the detriment they each thought it could be.

There is plenty of action outside the bedroom as well. The action scenes were very well done…and I would love to see these! Netflix, are you listening?

I’m looking forward to reading the second book in the series, which has just been released.

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