Innocent & Sweet by Megan Slayer

July 22, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Innocent & Sweet by Megan Slayer
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Anissa Dunn wants one man — Kameron. He’s got looks, brains and a boatload of attitude… and all that muscle. A girl can only take so much, and he’s her heart’s desire. She’s not afraid to give as good as she gets and she wants him to be her teacher in all things carnal.

There’s only one catch — he’s her bodyguard and the rules state she can’t date the staff.

But rules are meant to be broken…

Anissa knew she wasn’t meant to want her bodyguard, Kam, but she couldn’t help herself. She might be a virgin, but she was certain what she wanted – now if only she could capture Kam’s attention. When her plan didn’t go exactly to plan Anissa figured she’d missed her chance, only Kam has finally caught on and now he’s being offered everything he wants he can’t deny either of them their chance to be happy.

This is a steamy and fun short story. In some respects, this book is a little cliched – but the author made both Anissa and Kam modern and relatable. With an understandable set of mutual goals – both the lusty and safety kind – this quick read had a solid plot and plenty of steam to capture most readers’ attention. Readers might not find this story as unique as they would hope, but the tone was light and fun – and just a little tongue in cheek in places – and the chemistry between Anissa and Kam was intense and satisfying.

Find yourself a nice cool drink and disengage your brain. Readers can just sit back, relax and enjoy being carried away by this short story and the shenanigans these two come up with together. The book is flirty and fun and just a little spicy, exactly what you’d want in a quick, short story.

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

The Friendship Fling by Georgia Stone

July 21, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Friendship Fling by Georgia Stone
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

No one would ever call Ava Monroe a people person, which isn’t ideal for a barista in a busy London coffee shop. She’s sarcastic, blunt, and cynical, and her relationships are strictly no strings attached. With her best friend Josie soon leaving for a year, Ava knows she’ll be all alone unless she shakes up her routine. But she can’t risk bringing chance back into her carefully controlled life.

Then insufferably cheerful, country-hopping, undeniably gorgeous Finn O’Callaghan rolls into her coffee shop with a horrifying proposal —a strictly friends-only summer fling. Finn needs a local to help him complete his London bucket list, and Ava needs to reassure Josie she won’t be on her own. And it’s only for a few months.

To Ava’s surprise, their mismatched friendship of convenience becomes oddly tolerable, and as they work their way through Finn’s list and around the sun-drenched city, from rooftops and floating bars to nights at the museum, their adventures—and Finn’s company—start to feel . . . nice. Incredibly, terrifyingly, dangerously nice.

Still, rules are rules—Ava has good reasons for them—and as the days get shorter, Finn’s departure gets closer. Because that’s the thing about summer: it always ends. Right?

Sunny to cloudy…I enjoyed this book.

This book is a twist on the sunshine/grump trope in that she’s the grump. I liked that it wasn’t the usual. He’s pure happy and that was refreshing. Ava and Finn are very much opposites, but this touches on the opposites attract trope and was a fresh telling.

Georgia Stone’s writing is simple, but that’s a good thing because it allowed me to breeze through the book and get emotionally attached quickly. I rooted for these characters. I liked that there was a shelf-life to the relationship and how the characters worked through it. It was nice.

This is an easy read, it’s breezy and would be good for a hot afternoon. It’s a good beach read. If you’re looking for a slow burn romance that’s fun, then this might be the one for you. Give it a shot!

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

Wild Evolution by C. Fern Cook

July 21, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Wild Evolution by C. Fern Cook
Book 1 of the Wild series
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When Dan defends his livestock against a wild dog attack, he is put in a ‘kill or be killed’ battle. When he takes the head of a wild dog in to be tested for rabies he discovers he has the head of a human male instead of a wild dog. Now he is forced to cover up a self-defense killing because no one would believe he killed a wild dog when he has a human head. A werewolf by contamination, Dan’s life spins out of control. All his senses are heightened including his passion for the wild. His passion for the wild compels him to try to stop a new housing development that threatens the local wildlife from loss of habitat, but things don’t go according to plans and now he has a second body to dispose of.

It’s hard to keep a secret in a small town.

The mystery storyline was exciting and well-paced. One of the things I appreciated the most about it was that it was told from the killer’s point of view which isn’t something I’ve seen very often in this genre. This was a refreshing way to explain why someone might commit such a crime and what goes through their mind as they hide the evidence afterwards. There were so many twists and turns that I was never quite sure what to expect next. If the author is willing, I’d like to review the rest of the books in this series to see if my guesses about future events are anywhere close to being correct.

It would have been helpful to have more descriptions of the characters and settings. I struggled to imagine what many of the scenes looked like because of how little time was spent discussing what it would be like to stand in the middle of them and look around. This is something I’m saying as a reader who can generally easily picture a scene if I’m given a few details to work with, and I would have chosen a higher rating if this were easier for me as I was reading. The plot itself was exactly the sort of mystery I am drawn to.

Dan wasn’t immediately, much less entirely, aware of how he was changing after being bitten which made it even more interesting for me as a reader to take note of both the things he had noticed were different about himself as well as the ones that he seemed to be overlooking based on the descriptions of his personality and habits that were provided. Honestly, this is one of the best things about werewolf tales in my opinion because of how many different ways a plot can develop as someone slowly or quickly transforms, so I was glad to see it included here.

Wild Evolution kept me guessing.

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

32 Days in May by Betty Corrello

July 18, 2025 By Leave a Comment


32 Days in May by Betty Corrello
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Nadia Fabiola wants to lose herself in Evergreen—the Jersey Shore town where she grew up vacationing with her family—and never look back at her glamorous, gainfully employed former self. After a shocking lupus diagnosis turned her life upside down, she’s desperate for a sense of control over her body, her life, and her mental health. Nadia plans on keeping her life small and boring, while continuing to ignore her sister’s relentless questioning.

Nadia’s sister isn’t the only person worried about her. When her rheumatologist not-so-subtly sets her up with his infamous former-actor cousin, Marco Antoniou, Nadia is skeptical. But Marco is gorgeous—despite carrying his own baggage from a very public burnout. After a messy (but fun) first date, they decide that a May-long fling could be just what the doctor ordered: no commitment, no strings, just one month of escape.

Their undeniable chemistry starts to feel a lot like something more and while Marco pulls Nadia deeper into his life, she is dead set on keeping her diagnosis from him. But there are only so many days in May, and only so much pretending she can do. As the stress of their whirlwind romance takes its toll on Nadia’s health, she’s forced to decide if a chance at love is worth the risk of trusting someone new.

Travel from the Jersey Shore to Rome and back in this delightfully funny, beautifully honest exploration of love, intimacy, and vulnerability while living with a chronic illness.

A protagonist with a chronic illness. What a great concept.

At times, this isn’t an easy read, but it’s a good read. Why would I start with that? It’s not an easy read? The main character, Nadia, has a chronic illness. She has lupus and that’s not always fun to live with. It’s actually never fun to live with. But she isn’t letting it get her down.

I liked the author’s writing style. The author drew me right into the book and made me root for the character of Nadia. I liked the pairing of Nadia and Marco because they’re fun together. It’s just plain fun to have them together. I liked the time limit on the relationship and how the author handled that problem.

If you’re looking for a good slow burn romance for characters that aren’t the usual, then this is the one you’re looking for. Give this book a read. You won’t regret it.

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

The Book of Outcasts by Matt Nagin

July 18, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Book of Outcasts by Matt Nagin
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The Book of Outcasts is a short story collection featuring dynamic characters in surreal, often imaginative worlds. The stories run the gamut; in one, the narrator is stripped of his job, his apartment, and his civil liberties for refusing a brain implant; in another, a compulsive gambler is so desperate to repay his debt he robs a casino; in a third, a writer, tormented by a pernicious doppelganger, goes to all lengths to exact revenge. There is also a film festival operator framed for ghastly murder on The French Riviera; a game show host who profits off a deadly pandemic; and a former nightclub comedian who gets abducted by aliens and taken to a planet where cannibalism is the norm.

Not everyone finds it easy to fit in.

“Retirement” was written from the perspective of Harry, a retired senior citizen who may or may not be a reliable narrator. I changed my mind about him several times, and I’m still mulling over some of the things he shared with readers and how other characters around him might describe the same events. There is definitely something to be said for trusting readers to come up with our own conclusions about a character and what sort of person they might be.

Some of the stories in this collection would have benefitted from more development in my opinion, and “The Failure” was one of them. Bill, the main character, was someone who graduated from college but didn’t achieve most of his biggest life goals after that point. I empathised with how stuck he felt in his routines and the regret he felt for how his choices had panned out. What didn’t make sense to me was his response to a marvellous twist in his life later on in this tale as it didn’t seem to match up with what I’d earlier learned about his personality. It would have been helpful to have information in order to know why he made the choices he did, and that was a pattern that repeated itself elsewhere as well.

The idea of doppelgängers immediately becoming sworn enemies kept my interest level in “Nagin vs. Nagin” high. Why wouldn’t they try to be friends if possible? That question bounced around in my mind as I read this one and began to understand why both Nagins hated each other so much as the social media war between them heated up. It was especially entertaining to see how one act of bad behavior triggered something a little worse in response and how neither of these characters seemed capable of de-escalating their conflict.

The Book of Outcasts made me wonder what might happen next.

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

A Kiss In The Dark by Shelby Morgen

July 16, 2025 By Leave a Comment


A Kiss In The Dark by Shelby Morgen
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Stranded. Nothing to warm her but the heat of his body. A stranger, holding her in the dark.

She wanted things she had no right to even imagine. Ever since she’d taken The Purity Test online the questions have been nagging her.

Have you ever:

* Had sex on the first date?
* Had sex with someone whose name you did not know?
* Had sex with someone whose face you never saw?
* Had sex with someone where there was an age difference of more than 20 years?

No. Not her. She hadn’t done anything. Ever. Until the storm of the century dropped her in the arms of a stranger. Now she can’t get him out of her mind…

Ever since a good friend showed her The Purity Test, Jen has struggled to get it – and her abnormally high score – out of her mind. So when a freak storm has her briefly stranded in the dark with a very warm stranger, Jen throws caution to the wind. Can a kiss in the dark between two strangers change everything for the both of them?

I really enjoyed this short story. While it began along a well-worn line I was pleased there were a few differences that set this story apart from many of its similar tales. The fact that neither of the main characters were young was an added bonus for me, and I found myself quickly and eagerly reading along to see how the rest of the tale would unfold.

While the Purity Test has been around for a very long time, I found this hint of nostalgia refreshing and quite an enjoyable vehicle to move the plot along. Readers looking for a comfortable but still sexy and fun quick read should find this absolutely fits the bill. I found the attraction between Jen and Tom believable – even with the speed with which they connected – and while it did feel a little like insta-lust to me I thought the author handled the plot very well and I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

A quick and steamy story, this is a fun and lighthearted read.

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

On Two Legs and Three Wheels – The Travel Adventures of a Couple Overcoming Age and Disability by Cary D. Lowe

July 15, 2025 By Leave a Comment


On Two Legs and Three Wheels – The Travel Adventures of a Couple Overcoming Age and Disability by Cary D. Lowe
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Can you continue traveling as you get older or if you are disabled? On Two Legs and Three Wheels answers that with an emphatic, “Yes!”

Multiple sclerosis disabled the legs of the author’s wife twenty years ago, making her rely on a mobility scooter, and now both the author and his wife are in their seventies. But none of that stopped them from traveling. On two legs and three wheels, they have traveled to twenty countries and twenty states. Perseverance, ingenuity, and flexibility have enabled them to overcome virtually all obstacles. These characteristics are on full display in the two dozen tales of their travels to locales as diverse as Alpine peaks, Caribbean beaches, desert canyons, and urban boulevards, via planes, trains, cars, buses, and ships.

Their adventures will inspire disabled and older people to keep traveling, while engaging in activities that thrill fully abled partners, as well. And their travel tales will delight and entertain readers of all ages and physical conditions.

A little help goes a long way.

One of the quietly difficult parts of having a chronic illness or disability is figuring out what one’s new limitations are. Sometimes what can be accomplished on a good day is impossible on a bad one, while at other times the restrictions are permanent. As someone who has personal experience with this issue although not with Trish’s specific diagnosis, I loved Mr. Lowe’s descriptions of how he and his wife figured out what she was capable of and adjusted to her new realities as multiple sclerosis slowly changed the rules of what her body could and couldn’t do. They had such creative and playful approaches to finding new ways of enjoying their trips together, including activities like scuba diving that at first glance might not seem like very accessible hobbies for someone who has limited mobility.

There were times when the descriptions of the places they visited felt a little repetitive due to the focus on wine and food. I found myself wishing that more time had been spent talking about what made their various destinations unique as I haven’t been to most of those locations myself. Of course, there were areas of many places that were not wheelchair accessible, but I would have liked to know more about their climates, cultures, historical places, museums, music, friendly locals, and other things that the author may have strong memories about.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that explored how Cory and Trish responded to other people’s curiosity about her illness and assistive devices and other accommodations she needed on her travels. Striking a balance between educating strangers on things like assistive devices, what it feels like to be disabled or chronically ill, and why some people need certain accommodations while also protecting one’s privacy isn’t always easy. The frustration they occasionally felt was understandable, but there were also empowering moments when a brief conversation with a stranger may have permanently changed that person’s mind for the better about these topics. It’s a delicate balance to strike at times but based on this memoir they sure seem to be doing a fantastic job of living their lives to the fullest and also educating the public about topics the average able-bodied person might not know much about.

On Two Legs and Three Wheels was a beautiful adventure.

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

Black Summer by M.W. Craven

July 14, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Black Summer by M.W. Craven
Publisher: Constable
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Jared Keaton, chef to the stars. Charming. Charismatic. Psychopath . . . He’s currently serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his daughter, Elizabeth. Her body was never found and Keaton was convicted largely on the testimony of Detective Sergeant Washington Poe.

So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station with irrefutable evidence that she is Elizabeth Keaton, Poe finds himself on the wrong end of an investigation, one that could cost him much more than his career.

Helped by the only person he trusts, the brilliant but socially awkward Tilly Bradshaw, Poe races to answer the only question that matters: how can someone be both dead and alive at the same time?

And then Elizabeth goes missing again – and all paths of investigation lead back to Poe.

A number of years ago, DS Washington Poe was instrumental in getting Jared Keaton – renown celebrity chef – put away for life for murdering his daughter, Elizabeth. So when a young woman staggers into a remote police station and all the blood work confirms that she’s the six years missing Elizabeth, no one is under more scrutiny than Poe. Racing against time before he’s railroaded with internal investigations, Poe and Tilly have to find answers for some critical questions.

This is the second book in the Washington Poe series, and I found it just as well plotted and well-paced as the first. Tilly is still hands down my favourite character – I don’t know how the author manages to get her to be so relatable and enjoyable while being so very different, but I find Tilly refreshing, delightful and just a joy to read. Obviously, I quite enjoy Poe as well, but I have to admit the first few chapters were very Poe-centric and while I found them good reading and I was happily sucked into the story, I noticed a real shift and heightening of my enthusiasm of the book when Tilly came more onto the stage.

I really felt this book had some solid twists and turns in the plot. While I could foresee a few of them, quite a few of the twists took me by surprise and this absolutely delighted me. I’ve read a huge number of mysteries and so I often don’t expect to be really taken by surprise by a plot twist. There were a few I didn’t catch in this book and that was lovely and refreshing to me.

While I did find this book slightly grittier than the more usual British police procedural style of mystery, I definitely didn’t find the pace to be action riddled. I thought this was certainly more of a step-by-step investigation – and those are the style of books I usually prefer – but the subject and the general air of Poe and his working methods were a little on the edgier and grittier side than many British books that I read, so I do feel that’s something readers should be conscious of before setting out in this series.

I thought this book stood very well by itself – as the second in the series there isn’t an enormous history or past to these characters and the mystery plot absolutely is well encased in this book alone and doesn’t have any lurking connections to other books. Readers should feel quite comfortable picking this up by itself and enjoying it in full. A solid mystery and I’m eager for the next in the series.

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

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

July 11, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
Publisher: Catapult
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 5 stars
Review by Snowdrop

July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come.

In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.

Did you ever wonder why you didn’t look like the rest of your family? Maybe your hair color is different, your skin tone a different shade. Didn’t your family always laugh it off and say it was because your great-great Aunt Hilda had dark hair or some such thing? In The Blueberry Pickers, Norma asks about this a lot, only to have her mother say it’s the sun, or that your thoughts are farcical. And when you grow up in a loving, caring family, you accept these things.

This hard-to-put-down book of loss and of love is written around the seasonal berry pickers in Maine. It never occurred to me that people came from Nova Scotia or Canada to pick berries. I only pictured workers from Mexico coming to earn summer work. Even though this is fictional, it is true about the varied cultures coming to the same places to pick berries each summer.

Amanda Peters writes in a sort of lyrical way. I’m using this term to explain how easy this book is to read.

I’m not fond of chapters being composed from a different POV. Sometimes this can make the story somewhat disjunct, hard to keep track. Peters has written chapters from the point of view of various characters. But somehow, I was never lost, never had to look back. I think that the reason for cohesiveness is her ability to not just describe her characters well, but to make you see them. Each one had his or her own story, but somehow, they all intertwined to make a special story with a special outcome.

This is not a beach read. It is something that could and has happened to many. Racial injustice might be somewhat fairer but still exists today. But the poetical way in which it is told, the emotions it will evoke in you, make it well worth the time to read it.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Lazybones by Mark Billingham

July 10, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Lazybones by Mark Billingham
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

The first corpse was found hooded, bound, and naked, kneeling on a bare mattress in a seedy hotel room. This was no ordinary murder but rather the work of a killer driven by something special, something spectacular. The fact that the dead man was a convicted rapist recently released from prison only increases the bizarre nature of the gruesome crime … and the police’s reluctance to apprehend the perpetrator. It’s the body count that troubles Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, as brutal slaying follows brutal slaying, each victim more deserving than the last. Though he has no sympathy for the dead, Thorne knows he must put an end to a cruelly calculating vigilante’s bloody justice before time runs out — and a horrifically efficient serial killer targets a life worth fighting for.

DI Tom Thorne and his team are pulled into a new investigation when a recently released convicted rapist is brutally murdered. While plenty of his colleagues feel this was simply justice being meted out, Thorne knows they still have a job to do. And when a second recently released rapist is killing in a nearly identical manner, Thorne knows things will only get more difficult from here on in.

I’ve been enjoying this slightly darker, gritty British police procedural series. I’m pleased that the main character isn’t some perfect hero – he’s a fairly regular guy and has his share of flaws. I also am enjoying getting to know Holland, Thorne’s colleague, and delve a little more into the complications of his personal life as Holland and Thorne become more friendly with each other.

I could understand if this won’t be every reader’s cup of tea. British crime novels often have a slightly different tone, and this series is no exception. A little grittier, a little harder in some respects I personally find this sort of story well worth the effort of reading. I admit that I guessed a few aspects to this mystery about halfway through the book, though I was wrong about a few of the other points that I missed so there was still plenty in this book that did keep me in the dark. I thoroughly enjoyed the complications and twists in the plot and ended up very happy with the final few chapters and everything untangling itself.

Readers looking for a different style of murder mystery book and who don’t mind the different British style of writing should give this series a try.

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