Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert

December 10, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, LGBTQ
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Dicentra

Icarus may not have flown particularly close to the sun, but he has fallen…right into the rough hands of Olympus’s own Poseidon. Being held captive by the gentle giant wouldn’t be so bad if Olympus wasn’t on the eve of destruction…or if Poseidon stopped looking at him with those irresistibly stormy eyes.

Poseidon doesn’t have time to babysit his increasingly bratty prisoner, but he has no choice: Olympus is officially at war, and someone has to keep their best bargaining chip out of harm’s way. The thing is, the longer Poseidon is with Icarus, the more he starts to care for his sworn enemy…and the more he realizes that Icarus isn’t the villain he’s been made out to be. There’s a warmth to him, a vulnerability, that Poseidon finds difficult to ignore or deny.

Now with Circe and the Aeaens at the gate and Olympus a hair’s breadth away from falling, Poseidon will have to make a difficult choice: about himself, about his allegiances, and about the man who woke his heart from its long slumber only to threaten to break it for good…

Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert is the first M/M romance of her Dark Olympus series, and it has both a scorchingly hot romance and lots of action to set up the ending of the series.

Poseidon is one of the three legacy titles of Olympus but he has a very different energy than Hades or Zeus. First of all, this Poseidon was never meant to be Poseidon. He inherited the title when his cousins passed (along with all the responsibilities that come along with it). While he can be assertive and dominant when the situation calls for it, he really doesn’t want to be. Enter Icarus. As the child of Minos, Icarus has spent a lot of time learning to survive in cut-throat environments. With the threat of Circe’s invasion looming (and Icarus being a political prisoner of the Thirteen), they end up leaning on each other for support. And it leads to a lot of spicy scenes (which Katee Robert is known for), but also a surprising amount of emotional depth. Poseidon is a massive dude, but it was palpable to see how much relief he got from surrendering control to Icarus, even if only for the night. And for Icarus, Poseidon helped him see his worth beyond that of a tool for his father and that relationships (both romantic and otherwise) don’t have to be so transactional.

We’re creeping towards the final confrontation, and I am so ready for it. Both Zeus and Hera show their true stripes in this book, and it makes me that much more eager for their story to be told in the next book (even in the original myth their relationship was messy and there’s no doubt in my mind the author will turn that up to 11). I will say being at book 8 of a 10 book series can make things feel a bit draggy at times (especially when Hermes’ book has me even more excited/borderline bouncing out of my seat), but for those who are interested in romance and reimagined Greek mythology I think it’s worth the time investment.

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

We Will Speak Again of the Red Tower by Author Joelle Killian, Carson Winter, Jack Klausner, Joe Koch, Rhiannon Rasmussen, C.J. Subko, TJ Price, and RSL

December 4, 2025 By Leave a Comment


We Will Speak Again of the Red Tower by Joelle Killian, Carson Winter, Jack Klausner, Joe Koch, Rhiannon Rasmussen, C.J. Subko, TJ Price, and RSL
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“The ruined factory stood three stories high in an otherwise featureless landscape…”

With these words, Thomas Ligotti begins one of the most influential short stories in the canon of horror and weird fiction. “The Red Tower” is a singular work, extraordinary even within Ligotti’s exemplary oeuvre, and has long been admired by scholars and enthusiasts alike. It is unlike any other story you’ve ever read.

“We are all talking and thinking about the Red Tower in our own degenerate way…”

The eight artists of these pages have come together, if not as representatives of the Tower itself, as adherents of its twisted, creative force. Each of them have seen the blasted factory, been touched by its encrimsoning, and have produced for your consideration these novelties from its ruddy depths. Perhaps once you have read them, you too

“…will be able to speak again of The Red Tower.”

Few things are scarier than not having any idea what’s happening in a strange situation.

The plot twists in “Jar of Arms” kept me guessing. I never would have thought that glass jars could be so scary or be used in such interesting ways. I also enjoyed the different reactions that children had to what was happening in this tale as compared to the adults around them. Various age groups can experience the same phenomenon in discordant ways in real life, too, so of course the same can be true in fiction.

As much as I appreciated the scary vibes of this universe, there were times when I wished more attention had been paid to plot development and explaining what was going on with the Red Tower. “[_]he [__]a[__]r[_] of th[_] [_]e[_] [___]r [__] [__]o[___] [_____]t[_]”, the second to last instalment, was a good example of this. The main character found an abandoned child and only then realized that he or she had never met a child before and, what’s more, couldn’t even remember that portion of their own life. This was the sort of detail that I would have loved to see expanded upon as it’s not something I’ve seen before in the speculative fiction genre from what I can recall and there were so many possibilities that could have been explored after that revelation.

All of the tales in this collection had dreamlike qualities about them, and this was especially noticeable in “Tolerance” which began with a nightmarish description of how the Red Tower mysteriously changed shape, color, and size so regularly that no map or chart of it could ever be accurate. It reminded me of nightmares I’ve had about trying to escape buildings that never seem to have any way to exit them even if they do appear to have windows or doors at first glance. Focusing on the logistical problems related to not knowing how this tower works was a smart way to not only describe it in more detail but to also help the rest of this book make more sense.

We Will Speak Again of the Red Tower was a wild ride.

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Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher

December 1, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher
Publisher: 47 North
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt’s house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind.

Because in Quartz Creek, there’s a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena’s ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface. Like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena’s house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn’t ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can’t begin to imagine. And when Selena’s search for answers leads her to journal entries that her aunt left behind, she discovers a sinister truth about her new home: It’s the haunting grounds of an ancient god known simply as “Snake-Eater,” who her late aunt made a promise to that remains unfulfilled.

Snake-Eater has taken a liking to Selena, an obsession of sorts that turns sinister. And now that Selena is the new owner of his home, he’s hell-bent on collecting everything he’s owed.

Selena has nothing to lose. Ditching her partner and taking nothing but the clothes on her back and her ever-faithful dog, Copper, she chooses to start a new life and find whatever it is that she’s been missing. But when she arrives in Quartz Creek, she discovers her only connection to the town has died. Does she stay and try to make it work? Or does she go back to Walter and admit defeat?

Since this was my first T. Kingfisher novel, I honestly had no idea what to expect. What I got, however, was a dark fantasy bordering on horror at times, with more humor than you would imagine. Copper, the black lab, is the source of most of this humor, as labs often are. Grandma Billy, also, is good for a chuckle just when things start to get intense. Thankfully, we had the calming presence of Father Aguirre for when things got truly crazy.

Selena was one of the more interesting characters, in my opinion. Her ex, Walter, was controlling and constantly made her doubt herself. Watching her deconstruct and discover the truth was something special. That moment when she began to realize that Walter’s reality and hers were two different things really stood out.

As someone who has spent most of her life in the desert, everything about this book appealed to me. The bleakness and beauty of the southwest, the native beliefs, and of course, that a road runner was at the forefront of the story. These little birds have fascinated me since I was a child, and it makes me sad that I rarely see them these days. Quartz Creek might seem like a dying town, but there is absolutely more to this sleepy little village than meets the eye. I look forward to reading more of T. Kingfisher’s books in the future. This one certainly lived up to the hype for me.

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Jack Shadow by Graeme Smith

November 19, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Jack Shadow by Graeme Smith
Shadow Dance #1
Publisher: BWL Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Jack Shadow. He’s heard them – every one of them. The jokes. They all start out the same. “See, this guy walks into a bar…” Well, that’s not him. That guy who walked into a bar. He’s the guy who walked out. It’s not amnesia. Near as anyone knows, he just doesn’t have a past. Near as anyone knows – or admits to. He doesn’t walk round a corner, and some guy from a car shoots at him because of something he did long ago.

Sure. Guys shoot at him. Hell, women too. But not for long ago. Mostly for last week. Where ‘last week’ is any week you choose. No, he just walked out of a bar. Were there piles of dead bodies behind him? A stacked deck he was dealing, or one he was dealt? He doesn’t know. Or care. But they were waiting, and they took him. The Dragon. Took him to make a difference. To wait for the time a beat of a gnat’s wing could change tomorrow. And Jack’s the gnat. Jack walked out of a bar.

The rest – the rest will be history. Some day. Not that he’ll be in it. Nobody remembers the gnats. Not if they did their job right. And Jack’s the best there is. Jack Shadow. Because some days – the last thing you need is a good guy.

Danger is the spice of life when one is in certain lines of work.

Jack had a well-rounded, intriguing personality that made me want to learn more about him. I appreciated his wry sense of humor and how intelligently and cautiously he approached every aspect of his work. He was the sort of character I’d want to hang out with during an emergency due to how closely he paid attention to small details in his environment as well as how prepared he was for a wide variety of possible outcomes in life, both positive and negative.

This was one of those tales that tossed the reader into the action and asked us to figure out what was happening as the protagonist attempted to stay alive and well. As much as I enjoy the challenge of this style of writing in general, I did find myself wishing for a little more exposition in the beginning in this case. Even a few more paragraphs worth of it would have catapulted this to a five-star rating for me as I enjoyed everything else about it and thought Jack was definitely someone worth getting to know better.

The time travel aspects of the storyline were handled nicely. It can be a complicated topic, especially when more than one trip is involved or when multiple characters are involved, so I was glad to see Mr. Smith spend some time digging into the risks involved and what the characters hoped to earn from their hard work.

Jack Shadow was fast-paced and adventurous.

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The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter by Brionni Nwosu

November 12, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter by Brionni Nwosu
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ, Paranormal, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Most humans cower in the face of Death. Not Nella May Carter. She sees him. She doesn’t hide. Instead, she bargains.

Born enslaved in eighteenth-century Georgia, Nella still believes in the will to survive amid the most untenable of conditions, in the glory of life, and in the ultimate goodness of the human race. She asks that Death, doubtful and curious, allow her to live long enough to prove it. He’s giving Nella all the time in the world.

Challenged, Nella embarks on an epic journey across the globe and centuries. Each new incarnation records the joys and losses, and the friendships and heartbreaks, throughout her lifetimes. When she meets handsome and passionate professor Sebastian Moore―the first man to whom she has ever revealed her secrets―Nella yearns for the mortality that escapes her. She can’t bear to leave this love behind.

As Death keeps watch, has Nella’s journey come to an end? Or is a new one just beginning?

Love is eternal.

Some of my favourite passages in this book were the ones that debated the true nature of humanity and whether our collective good deeds make up for the horrific things we’ve done to one another throughout the generations. While I tended to agree more with Nella, both protagonists made intelligent points with their arguments, and it was quite interesting to see them go back and forth with evidence for their positions. This is something I’m saying as a reader who generally shies away from philosophical works. Ms. Nwosu did a wonderful job of blending philosophy into an exciting story in ways that made those scenes feel natural and encouraged me to think critically about every argument that was made and refuted.

I would have preferred to see stronger world building in this novel. Some of the settings were easy to visualize, especially the first one in 1774 as well as Nella’s experiences during World War II, but other ones like France didn’t include enough descriptions for me to easily imagine what the main character’s life was like there. Had this been included, a five-star rating would have been a strong possibility from me!

The complex relationship between Nella and Death made it difficult for me to stop reading. It was delightful to see how her reactions to him evolved over the centuries as she grew accustomed to her immortality and began to question some of the rules that Death had put into place about what she could and couldn’t do during her quest. Without sharing too many spoilers, these developments made the last hundred pages or so incredibly rewarding for me as a reader.

The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter was beautiful.

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Gifts Between Us by C.C. Adams

October 30, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Gifts Between Us by C.C. Adams
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Elderly Londoner Augustus has lived a long, miserable life. Having driven his few remaining loved ones away years ago, he now whiles away his time drinking rum and hoping for the end.

One night his death wish is nearly granted by a mugger, but a local youth called Michael intervenes. Much to the old man’s horror (and fascination) Michael promptly begins to devour the mugger’s body.

Slowly, Augustus and his mysterious saviour form an unlikely friendship, one built on sharing the gifts of trust, camaraderie, and acceptance.

And one last gift: a secret. It is the cause of Michael’s cannibalistic nature. And, perhaps, a reason for Augustus to go on living…

Second chances are nothing to sneeze at.

This was an excellent example of how to create deeply unlikeable but still compelling characters. Neither Michael nor Augustus were men I’d ever want to cross paths with, especially in a deserted alley after sunset, and yet I was fascinated by their terrifying secrets and how well they kept them hidden. Anyone who walked past them on the street would have no idea what lay behind their calm and unassuming personas which only made the later events in their lives even more frightening.

The horror in this novella was grisly and violent. It’s not something I’d recommend to the faint of heart, and yet every one of those scenes was critical in order to understand the final one. One must know exactly what these characters have been capable of in the past in order to be prepared for their futures. I thought the scenes that described how Michael had turned into the person Augustus knew were especially important given what they shared about his personality and character before the plot escalated.

Creativity is something I look for in every tale I review, and it revealed itself early here. The plot twists weren’t that common for this genre in my experience, but they worked beautifully with the established character development to create something I couldn’t possibly stop reading. I loved being surprised by where the storyline was headed next and will definitely keep an eye out for more of Mr. Adams’ work in the future.

Gifts Between Us was deliciously scary.

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Murder in the Monashee Mountains by JP Behrens

October 29, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Murder in the Monashee Mountains by JP Behrens
Publisher: Crystal Lake Publishing
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

After barely escaping the haunted streets of Arkham and Miskatonic University, Travis Daniels is on the run with his ward, Leslie Owens. Seeking refuge in the remote woods of Monashee Mountain, their lives take another dark turn when they witness a brutal, savage murder. Now, they’re thrust into a web of deceit, danger, and old grudges as they are drawn into a conflict between warring factions in the small town of Tonasket.

Travis must navigate the escalating tension between the town’s residents, the Native American tribes, and the ancient, shadowy creatures that dwell in the wilderness. The clock is ticking as dangerous rivalries between Sasquatch and werewolves threaten to erupt, and the local logging operations are sabotaged by forces more sinister than anyone can imagine.

As Travis works to uncover the truth behind the murder, he must decide who he can trust before it’s too late. With danger closing in, only one thing is certain: the truth will come at a cost.

Power is never given away freely.

In my review of Missing of Miskatonic earlier this year I wished for a stronger storyline and am happy to report that this second instalment in the series was well rounded in this area. As someone who loves reading about Sasquatch, I immersed myself in all of the details about this famous and mysterious cryptid that the narrator provided. It’s difficult to dig into the details of what Bigfoot is like in this universe except to say that it fits in well with other mythologies about them while also providing new layers of information about what their culture, language, and beliefs were like.

It would have been helpful to have more character development, especially for the characters who were introduced for the first time here. This is such a plot-focused series that I wouldn’t expect pages of introspection or anything, but a few more sentences here and there would go a long way in helping me to get to know everyone better. Here’s hoping that future books that follow Travis’ adventures, if any are in the works, will dive more deeply into this.

The strong pacing kept my interest levels high as I read. I especially enjoyed the action scenes that included both physical and verbal conflicts as they were well written and kept the storyline moving forward at a steady pace. It was easy to imagine what was happening in these scenes due to how clearly they were written and how much effort was put into describing what all of the main characters were doing in those tense but generally brief moments. This isn’t always an easy thing to accomplish, so I must tip my cap to the author for not only pulling it off but also making it look effortless.

This series should be read in order for character and plot development reasons.

Murder in the Monashee Mountains kept me guessing until the end.

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

Silversong by Rhonda Parrish

October 28, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Silversong by Rhonda Parrish
Publisher: Poise and Pen Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Growing up in The Warren — gnomish slums in a big, human, city — Garryn Silversong has one goal. He wants to become a powerful wizard and use that power to rescue himself, his mother and his best friend from the dream-destroying poverty they are forced to exist in.

Armed with only a harp, a stolen book about arcane theory, and single-minded determination, Garryn claws his way up from obscurity, becoming a household name.

But when unimaginable tragedy comes to The Warren, Garryn discovers there are things that fame and money can not buy. Will he find a way to protect those who are most important to him or he will spiral down into oblivion, taking them with him?

Friendship is forever.

Garryn and Lildira had a beautiful lifelong friendship that I deeply enjoyed reading about. They were an excellent example of how family ties can be built between people who aren’t related through typical means like blood, marriage, or adoption. I loved the friendly banter between them and seeing how they fussed over each other when one or both of them were going through hard times. Their genuine platonic love for one another made it hard for me to stop reading this story because of how emotionally invested I was in what would happen to them next.

The pacing did feel a little slow to me at times due to how much world building and character development was sandwiched between more action-oriented scenes. This was especially true in the beginning, and it did become less noticeable as I moved closer to the ending. While it was definitely worth it for me to keep going, it is something I wanted to mention for readers who tend to prefer faster pacing styles.

Being familiar with Dungeons and Dragons isn’t necessary in order to enjoy this book, but readers who have played that game may notice some fun references to it as well as to roleplaying games in general. I sure enjoyed picking them out and trying to guess what might happen to the characters next. It was especially interesting to find out what the various races of intelligent, human-like creatures thought of each other and how they got along – or sometimes didn’t get along – in the cramped quarters of their city.

Silversong made me yearn for more.

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The Headless Horseman by Marteeka Karland

October 23, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Headless Horseman by Marteeka Karland
Jack-O-Lanterns
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Holiday, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

One too many Flying Broomsticks and a phobia about Halloween aren’t the only thing chasing Isabelle Crane into the darkness. She’s got one very real-life family legend on her — err — tail.

Literally.

Anything can happen on Halloween.

This was the most creative instalment of the Jack-O-Lanterns series that I’ve read so far. I liked the way Ms. Karland used the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow to bring a few frights to this tale. It balanced out the steamier scenes nicely and made me wonder what could possibly happen next. While I’d recommend reading the original ghost story first to those who aren’t already aware of it, the plot is still perfectly understandable without that prior knowledge. It’s simply a nice bonus for those who are already familiar with it.

There were some plot holes involving Isabelle’s reactions to the Headless Horseman that I would have liked to see explained better as she behaved differently to him in nearly every scene. She changed her mind about him so often that I was never quite sure how she really felt, especially given the limited amount of time they had together. With more development in this area, I would have felt comfortable choosing a higher star rating.

The ending made me smile as I wondered if a sequel might be in the works. While I don’t know whether or not that will happen, there were hints dropped about the fates of the characters that made me hope it will. There’s nothing like a little foreshadowing to keep a reader interested, after all, and the author did leave space for many different possibilities in these characters’ futures.

The Headless Horseman was a fun take on a classic part of this time of the year.

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Cat Out of Hell by Isabella Jordan

October 21, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Cat Out of Hell by Isabella Jordan
Jack-O-Lanterns
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Holiday, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Joey has gone to Hell.

OK, so it’s not the real hell. It’s still an exciting hotbed of women and sex this Halloween night and that’s just what he’s looking for. When a beautiful blonde dressed as an angel catches his eye, he knows he has to have her and he’s willing to pay to make that happen. Yet, he senses something isn’t quite right here.

Katrina’s been kidnapped by an group of evil werewolves and now she’s being forced to sleep with a man for money. If she resists, they’ll kill her. Still, it could be worse. He’s gorgeous and makes her feel things she’s never felt before.

On top of all of this, when she’s done pleasuring this man, the wolves are coming for him. Will either of them get out alive?

Run faster if you want to survive.

Some of the most interesting scenes in my opinion were the ones that played around with the audience’s expectations of how certain characters should act or what might happen next. This is something I’m always happy to find in any genre of fiction, and it kept my interest levels high as I continued to read. Playing around tropes is a great way to make a storyline fresh and exciting.

It would have been helpful to have more plot development in this tale. I had some trouble understanding the rules of this universe and why, for example, Joey was able to travel freely while Katrina didn’t seem to be able to do the same thing. There were some other rules involving how characters behaved in a crisis that I also would have liked to have clarification on. With a few more paragraphs of exposition, this could have been easier to understand and would have encouraged me to choose a higher rating.

With that being said, I did enjoy how open-ended the final scene was. It left space for all sorts of possibilities for the characters which I thought was a good choice given how much danger they’d already faced and how much more they’d have to endure in the near future. There is definitely something to be said for allowing readers to come up with their own theories about what characters will do once the final sentence is written and the audience is no longer aware of anything.

Cat Out of Hell made me wonder what would happen next.

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