The Party by Mona Ingram

July 7, 2025 By Leave a Comment


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.

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

What My Refrigerator Said to Me by Bruce Wetterau

July 1, 2025 By 1 Comment


What My Refrigerator Said to Me by Bruce Wetterau
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Fiction, Humor, Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

To Coldly Go Where No Refrigerator Has Gone Before…

What can a talking refrigerator possibly have to say? Well, if you listen to all the AI hype, you’ll believe computers will be doing all the talking and thinking for us.

What My Refrigerator Said to Me’s twenty-one tales take you on a journey into the comic possibilities of life in the digital age, now and in the years to come. After all, why should the likes of Bill, Jeff, and Elon have all the fun imagining this futuristic stuff!

You’re sure to be amused by this book’s absurdly funny answers to such burning questions as: If computers can think, will they choose a life of crime? If your pet can talk, what will it tell you? Can science turn your brain into a desktop computer? Will there still be fortune cookies in 2052?

As is so often true of comedy, along with the laughs you’ll also find thoughtful insights into the people and devices populating our futuristic, digital world.

You get the idea. These richly imaginative tales will have you boldly going where no one has gone before–again and again! This collection of witty, laughable tales makes for a great read or great gift.

This book presents twenty-one humorous short stories that delve into the comical and occasionally bizarre aspects of our technology-saturated lives. Rather than focusing on dystopian fears, the author uses playful imagination to highlight quirky or disquieting possibilities that come from the technological progress. Readers will sometimes laugh at the absurdities of this digital age.

The premise prepares us for the lighthearted and speculative tone. The author tackles questions of the digital age with comedy. Though humor is central, the stories offer moments of thoughtful insight into humans. Scenes are outlandish but relatable.

Sometimes the tongue-in-cheek humor explores potentially sensitive topics concerning race and gender that may not resonate with all readers. There are cliches. Overall, the book is humorous and creative.

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

All the Small Things by Sharon Noble

June 17, 2025 By Leave a Comment


All the Small Things by Sharon Noble
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Tilda Asquith-Hyde has it all, or so it seems. An apartment overlooking the Thames, a flash car, designer clothes and money. Plenty of it. But Tilda’s world is crumbling. The death of her mother and the breakup of her long-term relationship opens a void in her life that pushes alcohol from being reliable friend, to dangerous partner.

After a chance encounter with a friend and her baby, Tilda seizes upon the idea that motherhood will be the missing piece in her lonely life.

Lana Edwards and her partner Joel are scraping along in life. Lana is desperate for a child, but age and deteriorating health are against her. In one final effort, Lana and Joel agree to divert the only money they have into private IVF treatment – seemingly, their last realistic chance to have a child.

Unknown to each other, Tilda and Lana access IVF treatment, Tilda opting for a sperm donor and Lana and Joel using their own fertilised egg. Both women successfully deliver healthy babies. Their prayers surely answered.

Yet, within moments of birth Tilda emphatically rejects the child that is placed in her arms, whilst Lana is going through her own rollercoaster of emotions. Her joy visible to all, her doubts hidden from even those closest to her.

Lana and Tilda’s lives are about to intersect, setting off a devastating chain of events with far-reaching implications.

Will Lana and Tilda be able to ‘do the right thing’ for their children? And at what cost?

Parenthood is a privilege.

The ethical dilemma presented in this tale was suspenseful, complex, and thought provoking. Is it more important for a baby to remain with the parents who raised her or the ones who share her DNA? I had a strong opinion on this topic when I began reading, but I enjoyed listening to other perspectives and looking at the benefits and drawbacks of every possible solution to this problem. Mixing up the blastocysts was an error that never should have happened at the IVF clinic, but now that it had occurred someone was going to be hurt no matter what the judge decided.

I struggled to connect with the large cast of characters. While there were enough reminders sprinkled here and there for me to keep track of how everyone was connected to each other, there wasn’t much time to develop their personalities in the vast majority of cases. I could give a quick description of the two narrators, but everyone else was a blur. It would have been helpful for me as a reader to have a smaller cast to work with so I could know more about everyone’s flaws, strengths, interests, and other relevant information about them.

Addiction is a terrible disease that isn’t always easily understood by outsiders. I was intrigued by the passages that described how the overwhelming desire to drink can overshadow everything else in life, including things as important as looking after an infant. Having empathy for someone in this position without making excuses for the harmful things they do is a difficult but important task that must be completed in order to be immersed in this story. The author did a good job of exploring this issue while also holding that character responsible for their actions.

All the Small Things kept me guessing.

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

For Love’s Sake by Kelli A. Wilkins

June 12, 2025 By Leave a Comment


For Love’s Sake by Kelli A. Wilkins
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Historical, Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Mistflower

She left everything behind to be with him.
He risked losing everything to stay with her.
They were willing to sacrifice everything… for love’s sake

Through a case of mistaken identity, Prince Kevan of Alborg narrowly avoids an assassination attempt and wakes to find himself trapped in mad King Torok’s rat-infested dungeon. Just when he is about to give up hope, he is rescued by an unlikely ally—Torok’s daughter, Princess Adrianna.

Adrianna is desperate to flee her father’s kingdom and agrees to help the handsome stranger escape, but only if he takes her with him when he leaves. Although Kevan knows bringing Adrianna home will not sit well with his father and lead to other complications, he agrees.

They make their way to a waiting ship captained by Kevan’s brother, Mikhael, and set sail for Alborg. Along the way they are lost at sea during a ferocious storm, battle a murderous mercenary sent by Adrianna’s father, and try to deny their intense romantic feelings for each other.

When they arrive in Alborg, Kevan’s father, King Lenard, disapproves of Adrianna and drops the bombshell that Kevan is already engaged to be married. While Kevan tries to get out of the arranged marriage, Mikhael introduces Adrianna to members of the nobility in an effort to win over the king.

At his engagement ball, Kevan is forced to choose between his duty to his father and his loyalty to Adrianna. Soon after, Adrianna is kidnapped and Kevan and Mikhael band together to hunt down her abductors and rescue her before it’s too late.

Yes, it’s true that the heroine, Adrianna, left everything behind to be with the hero, Kevan—but the reality is, she didn’t have much to leave behind. Her father certainly wasn’t winning any “Father of the Year” awards. On the other hand, Kevan risked everything, including his life, to be with Adrianna—and that kind of sacrifice was utterly swoon-worthy. Since both of them were putting so much on the line, I felt compelled to put my own life on hold and read For Love’s Sake uninterrupted.

Kelli A. Wilkins is one of my favorite authors, and this book is another perfect example of why. Her writing is fast-paced, vivid, and always emotionally gripping. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! With a whirlwind of mistaken identity, being lost at sea, abduction, and a steamy romance, there was never a dull moment. I genuinely had no idea what was going to happen next—and I loved every second of it.

In fact, I feel like I need to read this book a second time just to savor it properly. I devoured it the first time, rushing to the next scene because I couldn’t wait to see what came next. If you enjoy historical romance filled with drama, danger, and a deeply satisfying happily-ever-after, I highly recommend For Love’s Sake.

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

Lincoln by Alisa Jean

June 11, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Lincoln by Alisa Jean
Los Angeles Quakes Hockey – Book 1
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Mistflower

L.A. Quakes’ fans stomped their feet to cheers of “Caveman!” when I made incredible saves in the crease, leading the team to two Stanley Cup victories. I thought I could go on forever, but at thirty-six, the clock’s counting down even for Lincoln Cavanaugh. Social media and fan sites are filled with rumors of me being traded. Or worse. My future looks as uncertain as a loose puck on the ice.

My fate rests in the hands of Catherine Bishop, daughter of the team’s owner and a power to be reckoned with. And what fine hands they are, along with everything else about her. A chance encounter leads to sparks between us, but is falling in love with this incredible woman worth the risk?

Because with her by my side, I’m once again an unstoppable force between the pipes, and victories pile up like never before. However, our love is a ticking time bomb because Catherine has dreams of making history as the first female and person of color to own an NHL team. Sleeping with a player would make that all go up in smoke. I fear when the truth comes out, it will be the final buzzer for us.

A romance story where the hero is a hockey player? I had to read this book! I love hockey—I actually met my husband at a hockey game, and he used to play when he was younger. I put my phone on silent and read this book faster than it takes to make a trick shot.

It was easy to relate to Lincoln Cavanaugh because I understand what it takes to play a sport at a professional level. The dedication, commitment, and perseverance are never-ending. The physical toll is unimaginable, and the responsibility to the team, family, friends, and fans can feel overwhelming. The author, Alisa Jean, did a fantastic job writing a realistic and relatable character in Lincoln Cavanaugh.

I fell in love with Lincoln for many reasons, but the biggest was how he never lost sight of the joy he felt when he played hockey as a kid. He stayed grounded throughout his successful career and humbly gave back to his local youth hockey programs. Often, what begins as fun, competitive, and character-building sadly turns into a business, and players can lose the love for the sport—or worse, become arrogant. Alisa Jean also nailed this reality by creating some arrogant teammates on Lincoln’s NHL team, the Quakes, which added even more authenticity to the story.

Catherine, the heroine, was a perfect match for Lincoln. Their chemistry was strong throughout the story, and the drama between them kept me intrigued. I’ll admit, at first, I found Catherine a little selfish, and there were moments when I felt she wasn’t good enough for Lincoln. However, as their relationship evolved, I saw how they balanced each other out beautifully, and Catherine won me over by the end.

I’m so excited this is Book One in the Los Angeles Quakes Hockey Series because I’m already eager to dive into Book Two!

One thing that was new to me: at the end of the book, there was a QR code to scan for a bonus scene. To get it, you had to sign up for the author’s newsletter. I’ll be honest—I felt a little manipulated. I wouldn’t have downloaded it if I hadn’t loved the story so much. Thankfully, the bonus scene (which felt like an epilogue) was absolutely worth it and gave the book a truly satisfying happily-ever-after.

I’m officially a Quakes fan, and I’ll be eagerly stomping my feet and cheering for the second book in this series!

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

A Loser Like Me by Nathan Burton

June 9, 2025 By Leave a Comment


A Loser Like Me by Nathan Burton
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In the distant future, an ordinary girl from Mars has an extraordinary dream: to be the greatest bank robber the Galaxy has ever known! Experience Beth’s exciting journey first hand as she recounts how she overcame various obstacles and inconceivable odds to finally achieve her unlikely ambition.

If a little planning goes a long way, what happens when there’s a lot of planning?

Beth’s character development was strong and unique. I especially liked her relationship with Rohxann, both of whom complemented each other’s strengths and weaknesses beautifully. No sooner did I think I had them figured out than a new side of their relationship would reveal itself. This kept my interest levels high and gave Beth plenty of opportunities to share every side of her personality with the audience.

I would have liked to see more world building. For example, how did the characters learn Ancient Martian? How had the various species learned that they weren’t alone in the universe? When did people figure out how to travel between Mars and Jupiter so rapidly? These are just a few of the many questions I wondered about as I read. Answering a few more of them would have rounded things out nicely and given Beth even more opportunities to show us how intelligent, resourceful, and cunning she was.

The thriller elements of the plot were exciting and well done. I liked the way Mr. Burton prolonged the mysteries surrounding Beth’s plans until they absolutely had to be revealed. This gave me plenty of opportunities to guess what she might have up her sleeves and why she made certain key career and relationships decisions that she did early on in the storyline. There were a few moments that didn’t quite make sense to me at first, so it was fun to suddenly realize why those events needed to take place later on once I knew more about the big picture.

A Loser Like Me kept me guessing until the end.

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

The Dim Future by Phina Rheads

May 15, 2025 By Leave a Comment


The Dim Future by Phina Rheads
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

“The Dim Future” is a rhythmic, musical poetry collection using profound language to express and unpack themes and concepts such as love in all its different iterations, philosophy, loss, admitting one’s mistakes, complex family environment, mental health, generational trauma, existentialism, temporality, growth, resilience, etc. The use of free verse verbalises and highlights the chanting quality and aesthetics of the poems, as well as the insight that the author wants to convey to the reader. In turn, allows the reader to receive this wisdom and elaborate it for themselves. Be sure that no matter who you are, at least one poem out of the thirty rhyming poems was written just for you.

Nobody’s life is perfect.

One never really knows what other people’s quiet struggles might be. This collection introduced readers to characters who are dealing with everything from racism to grief to a teacher who doesn’t realize how much pressure they’re placing on their students and more. Behind a happy smile might be someone who desperately needs some understanding and a break from the things in their life that feel impossible to fix. The first step to helping is to understand the emotions not everyone feels comfortable expressing, and this was an interesting take on the topic.

I found myself wishing for more details to be included in these poems. It was tricky to visualize what was happening in them because there weren’t many words in them that described any of the five senses or what the characters in them were like as people other than the difficult circumstances they were going through. Paying more attention to such things would have made it easier for me to maintain a high level of interest in every piece.

With that being said, there was some interesting imagery in “Black Teenage Girl.” It talked about the fragility and beauty of the main character who needed to be protected from the outside world, comparing her to an egg in a nest at the top of the tree. That’s the sort of description that makes me perk up as a reader and want to learn more about the metaphor and how it should be understood.

The Dim Future believed in compassion which is something our world needs more of!

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

Groomed by Jody Paschal

May 14, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Groomed by Jody Paschal
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Groomed is a dark comedy coming-of-age story about Myles “Mylo” Gunn, a middle-aged man turning 50 during the 2020 global pandemic and #MeToo Movement. With nothing but downtime with his thoughts, Mylo reflects on what’s next in this new chapter of his life. Little does he know that watching a news exposé about an older politician grooming a teenager to be her husband is going to give him an unexpected reality check. The exposé sounds awfully similar to how his first marriage went, and Mylo realizes that he was groomed, too. Completely shocked by this new revelation, Mylo takes a deep dive into his past. But his trip down memory lane takes an unexpected detour. Groomed is a humorous, intriguing look at how misperception and manipulation can influence growing into ourselves.

It’s never too late to begin the healing process.

Mylo’s character development was strong and nuanced. One of the things I found most intriguing about him was how his abusive relationship stunted his social and emotional development and how he tried to heal from that terrible experience. He was a fifty-year-old man who still sometimes acted like the seventeen year old he’d been when the grooming began. It is not easy to write a character who has this many layers to his personality, especially since the author allowed so many of those layers to be revealed subtly through the way the protagonist reacted to small irritations in life or reminders of his past. The care and concern that was taken with making sure every aspect of Mylo’s life was represented and that his pain never overshadowed his honest and hardworking personality is something this reader noticed and appreciated quickly. Bravo for making this look so effortless and trusting one’s audience to notice these brief but important moments!

I did find myself wishing that the secondary characters had been given more time to be developed, especially when it came to April. Her reason for targeting Mylo made sense, but I would have loved to see it explored in greater depth. For example, knowing what sort of logic she used to justify the manipulative and cruel way she treated him and other people in her life would have been helpful whether it might have been due to how her personality formed, any past trauma she may have experienced, or something else entirely.

One of the biggest questions I had when I began reading this book involved what the responses of the people closest to Mylo were going to be when they learned he was dating a twenty-five year old woman while he was still in high school. Shouldn’t they have all been alarmed and disgusted? The answers to this question kept me reading as his friends and family members each came to their own conclusions about what was going on and how they should best respond to it. No, I can’t spoil anything by going into detail there, but I thought these passages were equally well written and an intelligent snapshot of what different parts of society thought of such things in the 1980s when society was generally less aware of or sensitive to the ways in which young men can be abused by the women in their lives.

Groomed was a thoughtful take on an important topic.

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

Frankie & Chair by Johan Ingler

May 13, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Frankie & Chair by Johan Ingler
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: YA (10-16 yrs old), Contemporary
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Nine-year-old Danny has an unusual best friend: Chair, an armchair. Together, they write The Adventures of Captain Redtail & Sir Winchester, a comic about a squirrel space pirate and his faithful companion, a robot cupboard. Content with life as it is, Danny dislikes any sort of change. He’s already had to endure the hardest change of all: the loss of his father.

But things take a turn when he starts at a new school and meets Frankie, a bold skateboarder whose friendship takes him by surprise. Frankie battles with a looming tragedy of her own, stirring emotions in Danny that he struggles to understand. And with Chair stubbornly opposing Frankie’s presence, the rising tensions set off a series of events that none of them could have imagined.

It’s a rocky journey toward new friendship and an understanding of grief, all mirrored in Danny’s comic world—a place where he explores the emotions he’s still learning to process.

How to learn to let go and grow up…we’re all trying to figure it out.

Ingler has written an interesting story that’s a cross between a YA and a fantasy. Danny has his best friend, a talking chair…Chair. They talk and he deals with his various problems. They even write a comic book together, The Adventures of Captain Redtail and Sir Winchester. It’s cute in that it reminded me a lot of Calvin and Hobbes. But Danny meets Frankie and has to figure out how to move forward. The author captures the feeling of being a kid and confused by the fact that the world never stops. It always keeps going forward.

I liked this tale of adventure and fantasy, but also the theme of growing up and letting go to move onto bigger things. It’s a cycle in life we all have to go through and it was cute to see how Danny does this. I liked how he was dragged out of his safe world and into the rest of the world.

If you want a book that’s comic, silly, cute and poignant, then this might be the one for you.

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

Paranormal Jelly: An Anthology of Whimsical Narratives Regarding the Comical Facets of the Occult by Zwahk Muchoney

May 6, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Paranormal Jelly: An Anthology of Whimsical Narratives Regarding the Comical Facets of the Occult by Zwahk Muchoney
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Paranormal Jelly blends the bizarre with the everyday in the early internet era of 1996. Middle-aged author Albert runs a popular website, sharing tales of eldritch horrors, baby Sasquatches, cigarette-smoking ghosts, and dark cultists. A skeptic at heart, he dismisses it all as fiction—until reality starts to blur. Cryptids and hauntings become alarmingly frequent, always just out of the reporter’s sight, but impossible to ignore. As Albert struggles to document these strange events, he’s drawn into a web of the supernatural that threatens his very existence.

Both skeptics and true believers are welcomed here.

I loved the playful and humorous tone of Albert’s adventures. The fantasy and science fiction themes were subtle in some places, but that only made those scenes even more exciting once they popped up again and made me look at what just happened in a new light. It was a nice contrast to the more skeptical characters who didn’t always believe the stories about ghosts, cryptids, aliens, and other creatures they heard.

As much as I liked reading about the various characters in this novella, there were so many of them that only the protagonist was given a chance to become more well rounded. Even then, I didn’t feel like I got to know Albert as deeply as I would have liked to due to the relatively short length of this piece and how much was going on with the plot. With stronger character development, this could have been a four or five-star work as the storyline and themes themselves were fantastic.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that provided scientific explanations for why things like orbs sometimes appear in photos and why certain types of people are more – or less – likely to believe in conspiracy theories and the paranormal in general. There are many different reasons why strange things happen and why people can have a wide variety of responses to the same event. I thought these passages treated both believers and skeptics fairly and assumed the best of everyone. That makes these sorts of stories so much more interesting to read as I knew the author had good intentions and wanted everyone to think critically about what they’ve read, heard, or maybe even seen with their own two eyes.

Paranormal Jelly: An Anthology of Whimsical Narratives Regarding the Comical Facets of the Occult kept me guessing.

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