Menagerie in the Dark-Stories by Chris Kauzlarich


Menagerie in the Dark-Stories by Chris Kauzlarich
Publisher: Phantom Quill Press
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Holiday, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Life often appears darkest just before the dawn of a new day.

In Menagerie in the Dark, Chris Kauzlarich immerses us in a speculative journey that explores the darker aspects of the human condition before bringing us back to the surface with the light of a new day. Through fourteen stories, this menagerie of characters faces trials of sorrow, death, loneliness, regret, deception, murder, delight, wonderment, and bliss, revealing what will either strengthen them enough to survive or plunge them to their demise. A boy’s home burns down, forcing him to confront a terrifying new world. A man enters a door where he witnesses his wife’s death, leaving him devastated; yet, he cannot stop returning to the scene, convinced he can save her. A nurse’s patients continue to perish under her care, but she harbors a dark secret—an administered cocktail for nefarious purposes.

These and other stories will stretch the limits of your emotions, from heartbreak to horror, leaving you yearning for more.

Fear comes in many mysterious forms.

Katelyn was in severe pain and desperately seeking more medication in “Echoes.” What I found most interesting about her tale was how many different ways it could be interpreted. Yes, she had a back injury that could explain why she needed her pain pills so regularly, but she also showed some signs that her reliance on them had possibly grown past what they were originally prescribed for. There were also inconsistencies in her memories that had multiple possible meanings as well. Other readers should decide for themselves which explanations they think fit the clues best, but I sure enjoyed the process of coming up with my own theories.

I loved the twist on what zombies are like in “Scalpel.” This was actually one of the biggest reasons why I chose a full five-star rating for this collection as the cause of the outbreak was as creative as it was original. It’s not easy to surprise me with this subgenre, so I must tip my cap to the author for pulling it off and making horror feel so relevant to life in 2025. The references that were included about current events from the past several years not only fit into the storyline nicely, they also made me chuckle in a few places which isn’t easy to do when I’m simultaneously scared.

While they were walking around trick-or-treating, Connor told his friends a terrifying local legend about a supernatural killer in “The Legend of Chucky Mudd.” What made the tale even more memorable was that the main character lived in the same house Chucky used to live in! I enjoyed seeing how Connor’s friends reacted to this conversation and how they changed their Halloween plans as a result of it. These scenes reminded me of things like Bloody Mary that used to scare me as a kid, although, of course, these characters were in serious danger and didn’t realize what their games were going to lead to. This was deliciously spooky, just the right amount of gory, and made me want a sequel.

Menagerie in the Dark was a perfectly balanced mixture of genres.

Being Broken – Tales and Essays of Survival and Death from Narcissistic Parental Abuse by Geoffrey R. Jonas


Being Broken – Tales and Essays of Survival and Death from Narcissistic Parental Abuse by Geoffrey R. Jonas
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A young woman dies alone in a hotel room, her fentanyl-poisoned cocaine still on the desk. She had been missing for nearly 2 weeks. Social Services had been trying to find a place for her to live with her 3-year-old son, whom she had left with her parents. Six months later her father fights for his life in intensive care, but succumbs to his illness because of a lifelong use of alcohol and tobacco. A month after his death her mother is assessed by doctors to be unable to care for herself because of her Alzheimer’s and mental health issues brought on by benzodiazepine and alcohol addiction.

The son, brother, stepson is the only one left to pick up the pieces. He begins a journey of the self and finds out the truth of his family. After going over letters, notes, emails, videos, and text messages, he uncovers a disturbing picture of the abuse his sister suffered at the hands of their parents. He also begins to better understand his own struggles with mental health and substance addiction because of the trauma and abuse he also suffered from their parents.

Follow the son as he looks through his family history to discover the generational abuse that trickled down through the years. Learn about how parents who suffer from narcissistic personality disorder emotionally abuse and manipulate their children. See how the abuse and trauma becomes mental illness in the abused, and how they fall into vicious traps of addiction, eating disorders, self-harm, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Witness the transformational change of the son as he works on the recovery of his inner child and tries to become the man he was meant to be.

Every choice has consequences, and some terrible choices echo through families for generations.

I appreciated the author’s thoughts about how medical providers and society in general could improve the way they treat people who are struggling with mental illness, domestic abuse, trauma, and Substance Use Disorder. His ideas were sensible and included plenty of straightforward advice on everything from changing the way one thinks of someone who is struggling with these challenges to ideas for legislation that could make treatment and recovery easier for this population as well. These are not easy problems to fix by any means, but there are things people from every walk of life can do to make the world slightly better for everyone affected by the sorts of things that Mr. Jonas experienced as a child, teen, and young adult.

While I loved this book in general, my all-time favorite scenes were the ones that showed how people who have Narcissistic Personality Disorder can manipulate nearly any conversation or situation to their own benefit, especially in cases when their victims are not already well-versed in how this disorder can destroy relationships. This isn’t always an easy topic to talk about, so I appreciated the care the author took in describing what his childhood was like without demonizing anyone or downplaying the deep trauma this mental illness caused in his life. It was a delicate balance to maintain, but it added extra layers to his story that were necessary in order to understand why everything unfolded the way it did.

One of the most remarkable things about this memoir was how brutally honest Mr. Jonas was about his faults. He shared multiple stories about things he had done that hurt other people or, in a couple of cases, animals without making any excuses for his choices or softening the blow by passing the blame to others. This is a difficult thing for many people to do, especially for someone who had such a traumatic start to life, so I have to commend him for doing all of the hard work that is necessary in order for a person to not only face up to their worst moments in life but also to genuinely apologize for them. He is a talented writer, and I hope to read more of his work in the future.

Being Broken – Tales and Essays of Survival and Death from Narcissistic Parental Abuse was exactly what it needed to be in order to tell this tale.

Storybook Ending by Moira Macdonald


Storybook Ending by Moira Macdonald
Publisher: Dutton
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Rate: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon

April, a smart and lonely tech worker, worries work from home has gotten out of hand: She’s left an anonymous note in a book for Westley, the clerk at her Seattle neighborhood bookstore who has a gentle smile and looks great in flannel. But thanks to fate, Laura—a busy single mom who had given up on love—buys the book, finds the note, and thinks Westley has left it for her. A handsome man who loves books seems like just the plot twist she has been looking for.

Meanwhile, Westley—not the most perceptive—is too distracted by the movie filming at the store and the ambition it’s unlocked in him to notice either of the two women. But as April and Laura’s anonymous correspondence continues back and forth, their mundane routines are challenged, sparking a glimmer of hope. Is a happy ending in the cards for them?

Moira MacDonald’s new ‘Storybook Ending‘ is a fun twist on that shy-person’s bold attempt at a romance.

It might not seem bold to some, but “officially-lonely” April, decides to take a leap she almost immediately regrets. She sends a note to a handsome gentleman, of not-quite her acquaintance.

To her surprise and delight, she is answered. Oh, it might seem she was not especially daring, as her venture kicks off in the perfect place for her: A bookstore. An utterly charming new-and-used bookstore, inhabited by a truly pleasant, patient, and this mildly handsome man.

The setting is just right, the character, just right…and then there is Laura. Whoops, this adds a twist! We, the reader, are in the know from the start, and can see this is not headed in the way April believes. In fact, we might well believe that we can, where this is headed.

This is no silly rom com, however. It’s more of a fascinating psychological plunge into the lives of several people. It is an exploration. The introspective characters allow us to see developments, not only in the action, but each little step that the characters take. Each decision, each well-thought out, overly considered and very analyzed moment in each of their lives is revealed to us. It is not long before we feel we know them, and I have to admit, are firmly tied to each of them. It is hard to believe that this will work out well for all of them (or even, at times, any of them) but you will find yourself trying to imagine some way this will work out for all.

The very likable characters carry this story, at least at first. Curiosity builds, even though these seem like such ordinary lives.

Throughout, there is a thoughtful tone, a slow but hopeful pace, and a sense of something coming, something that, the more we read, the more we find we must know.

Ms. MacDonald’s writing is beautiful; her character studies are like written portraits. I found Storybook Ending to be utterly unlike anything I expected, and I heartily recommend it to all.

Movie Review: Murderbot


Murderbot
From AppleTV+
Writers: Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz
Directors: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz, Andrew Milano, David S. Goyer, and Keith Levine
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tamara Podemski, and Tattiawna Jones
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, LGBTQ
Rating: 5 Stars (10 Stars on IMDB)
Reviewed by Astilbe

A security android struggles with emotions and free will while balancing dangerous missions and desire for isolation, evading detection of its self-hacking as it finds its place.

Safety is no laughing matter…but just about everything else is!

As someone who has yet to read “All Systems Red,” the book by Martha Wells that this series is based upon, I started watching with only the vaguest notion that the plot had something to do with a robot. Immediately, I felt empathy for Security Unit 238776431, or SecUnit as he preferred to be called. This was a show that doesn’t require any previous knowledge of the characters or plot to be funny, relatable, or surprising, although I’d love to hear from viewers who did know what to expect in advance to see what they thought of the small screen adaptation of it.

SecUnit’s understanding of human culture kept me guessing from the first episode of season one to the last one. He was grossed out by simple things like hugging or kissing but generally unmoved by violence unless one of his clients was in immediate danger. These contractions only made him more interesting to me as I never quite knew how he was going to react to any given situation. He didn’t have a human mind, and it showed in all sorts of surprising ways.

I loved the offbeat humor in this series. Not only did it highlight the many differences between humans and sentient robots, it also provided relief from the dramatic scenes. It’s not always easy to balance the two, especially with shows that include as many gun battles and other dangerous moments as this one does, but when it’s done right it’s a great way to draw in a wide variety of audiences and give everyone something to enjoy.

Murderbot made me want to dive even more deeply into this universe.

The Song of Achilles By Madeline Miller


The Song of Achilles By Madeline Miller
Publisher: Ecco
Genre: Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction’s brightest lights—and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.

Oh my, what a story. A story I did not think I would enjoy. It sure turned out very different than I thought. This book, The Story of Achilles, is a sort of adaptation of the Iliad/Odyssey. A Homeresque story made, well, readable in my mind.

This story shares some of the same characters as The Iliad, but I never once felt like I was wading or struggling through the heavy language of Homer’s book. This was so flowing, such a strong story and vivid too. There is a bit of everything in Madeline Miller’s book. The tale is filled with Greek mythology, the lives of the wealthy and the gluttonous, as well as the tender lives of those struggling to care about one another in a world of war and death.

We’re discussing a book with over a million ratings on Goodreads. An author with many other best sellers. If this all sounds dramatic, I meant for it to have that effect. This is a five-star read that made me cry and yet set my heart on fire all in the same 300+ pages.

Secrets of Lakeluster House by Diane Scott Lewis


Secrets of Lakeluster House by Diane Scott Lewis
Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sage, at fourteen, grows up in turmoil in Nahant, Massachusetts. Her changing body, her parents’ rocky marriage. When her cousin Patrick visits for the summer, his parents’ divorce has given him a reckless anger. He insists they explore the creepy mansion in the woods. Nate, Sage’s younger brother, is reluctant to approach the manor where a beloved teacher was found hanged months earlier. The children’s great-great grandmother worked at Lakeluster House in a previous century and was under suspicion of shooting another servant.

Now an old lady and her butler have moved in and the kids bring a welcome cake. Invited inside, Sage encounters a strange little girl who shows her the manor’s dark secrets—sparking Sage’s curiosity. Will the butler—a man with his own mysteries—throw them out for snooping? Who is real and who is a ghost? Was her relative guilty? And what danger lingers in the attic? Sage must gather her courage, risking her life to find out.

Genealogy is a window to the past…but is every story about previous generations true?

I loved the way Ms. Lewis described the slow transition from being a kid to being a teenager. Old hobbies can fall to the side as a thirteen or fourteen-year-old suddenly realizes they are interested in things that never caught their attention before, but it can also happen so gradually that one hardly notices the change at the time. This can be a tricky life stage to capture in fiction due to how quickly moods and interests can shift then, so I must tip my cap to the author for portraying it so well. Bravo!

Sage, Nate, and Patrick were given the perfect balance of adult supervision and freedom to explore their town as they tried to figure out what was keeping the ghosts from moving on. Did they sometimes make rash choices and ignore the sensible advice of the adults in their lives? Yes, because that’s what everyone does at their ages, and the storyline needed a little jolt of courage to keep moving along. This isn’t something I read about in young adult novels quite as often as I’d like to, but teens getting into a little mischief is such an important part of the genre.

The exciting plot twists in this book kept me reading. There were exactly the right number of clues about what was coming, and in a few cases the big reveals were allowed to be complete surprises instead. I enjoyed guessing what may happen next and then comparing my assumptions with what I actually read. Paying close attention is key to getting the most out of Sage’s adventures.

Secrets of Lakeluster House thrilled me.

Cowboy for Annabell by Jovie Grace


Cowboy for Annabell by Jovie Grace
Mail-Order Brides on the Run series, Book One
Publisher: JG Press
Genre: Historical, Romance
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Mistflower

To dodge a group of ruthless debt collectors, an impoverished southern belle agrees to become the mail-order bride of a rugged cowboy in this sweetly suspenseful historical romance!
After refusing to marry the cruel new owner of her childhood home, Annabelle Lane finds herself on the run from the scoundrels he hires to change her mind. In desperation, she signs a mail-order bride contract and hops on the next train, praying the groom she is matched with is a man worth running toward.

The most sought-after range rider in the west, Ethan Vasquez is highly skilled at protecting livestock from bears, wolves, and rustlers. But it’s a job that leaves no time for courting, no matter how determined he is to have a family of his own someday. When a dare from friends has him scrambling to send off for a mail-order bride, he never imagines how quickly she will arrive or how much trouble will follow. It’s a good thing he knows a thing or two about handling predators. He can only hope she finds his heavily scarred hands worth joining with hers in holy matrimony after the first wave of danger is past.

An engaging, faith-rooted romance with heart and hope.

I’ll be honest—I can’t imagine being desperate enough to sign a mail-order bride contract, but for Annabelle, the heroine in this story, there truly was no other option. After losing her family, her home, and her way of life, she’d endured more than most, and the pressure of Mr. Featherfall’s vile behavior left her with a single escape route. Thank goodness she had her dear friends—Penelope, Olivia, Magnolia, Emmaline, and Eliza Jane—who had also suffered during the war. Their fierce loyalty and resourcefulness helped her survive long enough to board that life-changing train.

This is where the plot really takes off. The author masterfully paints Mr. Featherfall as the kind of villain you love to hate, and I found myself flipping pages anxiously, just waiting for Annabelle to meet her prospective groom. I was praying right alongside her and her friends that this cowboy would be kind, stable, and capable of rescuing her from her dire situation.

Enter Ethan Vasquez—and wow, what an entrance! Like Annabelle, my eyes went wide at their first meeting. He made an unforgettable impression, and I quickly grew fond of his tight knit, loving family. Their warm, protective embrace of Annabelle was a highlight of the story for me.

Despite the hopeful new beginning, Annabelle’s troubles didn’t instantly vanish. The plot held strong with tension, conflict, and well-paced twists that kept me deeply invested. I had full faith in Ethan’s unwavering desire to keep Annabelle safe—his strength and protective nature were truly admirable.

The romance between Ethan and Annabelle is sweet, respectful, and gently passionate. While their chemistry is clear, the intimacy is implied rather than explicit, which I appreciated. Their emotional connection is built on kindness, honesty, and patience. Watching them slowly open up to one another was both satisfying and heartwarming.

As someone who enjoys faith-based romance, I was comfortable with the light inspirational thread woven throughout. However, there is one particular scene with a strong spiritual tone that felt a bit jarring compared to the rest of the book’s more subtly integrated messages. Even as someone who values scripture, the shift in tone caught me off guard, though the story soon returned to its original flow.

The author did a fantastic job establishing a core group of characters with rich backstories, and I’m already tempted to dive into book two, which focuses on Penelope and one of Ethan’s brothers (yes, I read the sneak peek!). Ethan’s family and Annabelle’s circle of friends are sure to bring more heartwarming moments in the next installment.

Words of Power by Shami Stovall


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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The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters


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.

The Party by Mona Ingram


The Party by Mona Ingram
Dear Santa Christmas Romance series, Book One
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Contemporary, Holiday, Romance
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Mistflower

He’s the town’s most eligible bachelor. But he’s more than that… much more Exhausted after catering a high-profile company Christmas party, Paige accepts an invitation to relax with the man in charge of the clean-up crew. He’s handsome and intelligent, but most of all he’s a good listener. When they say goodnight, she has no idea that the meeting will trigger consequences that will change her life.

I woke up craving a little winter-holiday romance to cheer me up—and to cool me off on this typically hot and humid Florida day. The Party is book one in the Dear Santa Christmas Romance series, and it was exactly the feel-good fix I needed.

This cute, short novel made me feel lighter and happier. At just 91 pages, it’s a fast and furiously fun read. This was my first Mona Ingram book, but it definitely won’t be my last. The Party charmed me enough to want to explore the rest of the series—especially if they’re as delightful as this one.

Jake Donovan is 100% a gentleman. Almost too good to be true, which made the story so sweet and easy to enjoy. He’s drama-free, kindhearted, and genuinely tender—the kind of man you’d hope your daughter falls in love with and marries.

Paige is an independent, successful career woman, also caring for her younger brother. She’s hardworking, honest, and grounded. Her chance encounter with Jake had me smiling from the start, and the consequences of that meeting made the story all the more endearing. The chemistry between Jake and Paige is swoon-worthy, respectful, and refreshingly free of baggage.

One of the things I appreciated most was Jake’s acceptance and support of Paige’s brother, Simon, and his two friends, Kimberley and Randy. For such a short book, the characters were surprisingly well-developed and relatable. Jake’s best friend Damian owns a motorcycle repair shop, and Paige’s best friend Dana specializes in home décor. Dana and Damian’s own spark added an extra touch of charm and possibility. I loved how the author brought everyone together like one big happy family.

If you’re looking for a heartwarming story to lift your spirits and make you smile, I highly recommend The Party. Paige and Jake are the embodiment of kindness and goodwill. My only wish? That there had been an epilogue—I wasn’t ready to close the book on their happily ever after.