TL;DR Review: Sherlock Holmes meets the League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen. A gothic mystery that sucks you in, with marvelous characters that keep you coming back for more. Synopsis: In this fresh-yet-familiar gothic tale—part historical fantasy, part puzzle-box mystery—the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes collide in a thrilling exploration of feminine power. At the dawn […]
Paranormal Fantasy
Review: The Quiet Stillness of Empty Houses by L.V. Russell
Synopsis: Theodora Corvus can hear the whispers of her crumbling family home. She can hear the whispers of Kingsward Manor, her place of employment. She sees the watchers by the lake, black-eyed and waiting. But Broken Oak is silent. Broken Oak is empty. When Theodora takes the job as governess to young Ottoline Thorne, she […]
Review: A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1) by Deborah Harkness
Synopsis: In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. Review: I picked up this book based […]
Review: A Shadow Over Haven (Nick Holleran Series #4) by David Green
Synopsis Ever heard the saying, “Careful what you wish for?” The phrase is about to take on a whole new meaning for Haven’s one-and-only Paranormal Investigator, Nick Holleran… In the months since ‘One Life Left’ and his reality-spinning showdown with Lilith and the Sin-Eater, Nick Holleran has spent the time making new friends and forging […]
Review: Priestess of Moonlight by K.E. Andrews
Synopsis Trapped in a castle, a queen starves for moonlight. For thirty years, Aysel has been cut off from the night and the moon. After the ancient order of priestesses, the Chiroluna, was destroyed and scattered, plagues and famine grip the Solerium Kingdom. Aysel, one of the last remaining priestesses, longs to escape from her […]
Book Review: The Dissonance by Shaun Hamill
TL;DR Review: Stranger Things meets The Magicians, as written by Stephen King. A dark, brooding, mysterious urban fantasy story of fate-defying friendships. Synopsis: From the acclaimed author of A Cosmology of Monsters comes an epic contemporary fantasy: a story of dark magic, terrible mistakes, and second chances. “You can never go home again,” the saying goes—but Hal, […]
Book Review: Girl of Hearts (The Luck Gods #1) by J. Gabriel Gates
TL;DR Review: A fun, fresh, and fast-paced urban fantasy with neurodivergent representation done right. Synopsis: Four tribes of ruthless demigods rule over luck in our world. Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades. To save her mom, Aggie must join them… As a future scientist, I don’t believe in gods or in luck. My OCD is […]
Review: Evocation (The Summoner’s Circle #1) by S.T. Gibson
Read Evocation when you want a character-focussed, slow-burn romance with a arcane backdrop. While the plot is present Evocation is far, far more about the evolution of David, Rhys and Moira’s relationship, with a special mention for how David and Moira’s friendship, and eventual relationship grows. The plot is really just a backdrop for our trio to bond, and while I did enjoy the plot it’s quite a slow mover until the very last pages where it suddenly concludes in just a few pages.
Review: The Reanimator’s Heart (The Reanimator Mysteries #1) by Kara Jorgensen
Synopsis: A reluctant necromancer, a man killed before his time, and the crime that brings them together. Felipe Galvan’s life as an investigator for the Paranormal Society has been spent running into danger. Returning home from his latest case, Felipe struggles with the sudden quiet of his life until a mysterious death puts him in […]
Review: Eve (Eve #1) by Mark Jonathan Runte
Synopsis: They’ve spent their lives looking over their shoulders – knowing their parents’ pasts and fearing a return to their birthplace until they lost the youngest of their sisters a year ago. One night shatters that tentative peace and sets Phoenix on edge, distracting the city from the growing threat of a viral outbreak. While […]
Review: Pieces of Eight (The Guardian of Empire City #2) by Peter Hartog
Synopsis: How do you stop a killer who’s already dead? Some secrets never die. When the mutilated corpse of an ex-con is found in the bowels of an old church, haunting Biblical verses scrawled at the crime scene speak of divine retribution, and a killer hellbent on revenge. For Special Crimes detective Tom “Doc” Holliday […]
Series Review: The Adam Binder Novels (White Trash Warlock, Trailer Park Trickster, and Deadbeat Druid) by David R. Slayton
Series Synopsis: Not all magicians go to schools of magic. Adam Binder has the Sight. It’s a power that runs in his bloodline: the ability to see beyond this world and into another, a realm of magic populated by elves, gnomes, and spirits of every kind. But for much of Adam’s life, that power has […]