Wow. Just, wow. I don’t even know what I just read. It’s fantasy, it’s horror, it’s supernatural, it’s steampunk, it’s insanely, scarily, good. I don’t even like the horror genre and typically can’t read it because I’m a big scaredy cat, but Swan lulls me into a wonderful fantasy haze and then BAM. Horror. Lots and lots of horror. Not gonna lie. Scared the crap outta me. And yet. I can’t stop reading.
Continue reading “Grave Empire (The Great Silence, #1) by Richard Swan”
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I enjoy his writing style. This book develops more slowly than I normally enjoy, but the narrator did such a great job that I found myself just going with it. Initially the book focuses more on character development, worldbuilding, and political intrigue rather than the typical fantasy elements, but the author eventually gets there. I appreciated the author incorporating the world building through conversations and observation throughout the book rather than a big info dump. It made it much easier understanding the world and how the various characters fit into it.
Continue reading “The Silverblood Promise (The Last Legacy, #1) by James Logan”
I will never get tired of reading books about messed up rich people doing messed up things. I didn’t really know what to expect with this book and it exceeded my expectations. It revolves around the Button family. The father is a crazy rich guy who adopts 5 children (heirs) and experiments on them using his “Button Method”. He’s testing whether nature or nurture will decide the future of people. The children are immediately emersed in a grinding lifestyle of non-stop training and education by the world’s top experts to train the kids to become prodigies in 5 distinct categories. He succeeds in 4 of the 5 children.
Continue reading “The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé”
4.5 stars (release date June 2, 2026)
I loved the feminine rage and girlpower in this book. It’s a twist on Psycho where Marion fights back and Norman ends up dead in the bathroom. That’s just the beginning of Marion’s journey as she tries to help her sister who’s in an abusive relationship. I loved the bond the sisters had and loved women protecting women.
Continue reading “Marion by Leah Rowan”
I absolutely loved this book. I listened to the audio and the narrators did a fantastic job. They instilled the perfect mixture of sweet, snarky, and sarcastic into their voices to bring Elsie/Mabel to life. The story is told in two storylines, present day and Mabel as a young girl. In present day the main character goes by Elsie and as a young girl, she goes by Mabel. Elsie is 81 years old and has lived on her street for over 60 years. She’s the neighborhood curmudgeon that has an opinion about everything and everyone. Her peace is disrupted by the appearance of a little girl named Persephone who relentlessly inserts herself into Elsie’s life.
Continue reading “Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth”
This is book 3 in the Blossom Peak series but can be read as a stand alone. This time it’s sheriff and single dad Rhonan’s time to fall in love. He meets Vienna in a bar while playing wing-man for a friend. They have an instant connection, but before they can act on their attraction, she disappears, leaving Rhonan confused and quietly obsessing about her.
Continue reading “Test of Time (Blossom Peak #3) by Harlow James”
It’s hard to believe this is already book 10 in this entertaining historical fiction mystery series and it still provides plenty of twists, turns, and creative cases. This time the mystery involves a young man entirely drained of blood in a carriage next to a cemetery. He’s got two small holes in his neck a la Dracula. Another young man dies in an apparent suicide. The two are connected by a mysterious society that’s existence is only mentioned once in society.
Continue reading “A Ghastly Catastrophe (Veronica Speedwell #10) by Deanna Raybourn”
This was a fun and twisty mystery/thriller set during the FMC’s senior year of college. Sloan is a pretty good student and has a close group of friends. Her relationship history is not so great and she frequently gets her heart broken. To cope, she writes a fake eulogy in her journal about the boy to put to rest the relationship.
Continue reading “Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by Emma Simmerman”
This is a pretty good YA mystery/thriller about an alleged yearbook prank gone terribly wrong. Best friends Rick and Martina are outcasts and they’re ok with that. Labeled by the Principal as troubled for previous pranks they’ve pulled, when yearbook pictures are labeled with gruesome titles like Homecoming’s Cutest Corpses, he immediately tries to pin it on them. But they didn’t do it (this time) and their pranks have never been gruesome or cruel. When a guidance counselor is found dead in the same manner as his new yearbook label, police name Rick and Martina as their prime suspects. When another body turns up, the duo realize they need to find the killer before they spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
Continue reading “Most Likely to Murder by Lish McBride”
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