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Six Scorched Roses (Crowns of Nyaxia #1.5)by Carissa Broadbent)
What is it about:Six roses. Six vials of blood. Six visits to a vampire who could be her salvation… or her damnation.
Lilith has been dying since the day she was born. But while she long ago came to terms with her own imminent death, the deaths of everyone she loves is an entirely different matter. As her town slowly withers in the clutches of a mysterious god-cursed illness, she takes matters into her own hands.
Desperate to find a cure, Lilith strikes a bargain with the only thing the gods hate even more than her village: a vampire, Vale. She offers him six roses in exchange for six vials of vampire blood–the one hope for her town’s salvation.
But when what begins as a simple transaction gradually becomes something more, Lilith is faced with a terrifying realization: It’s dangerous to wander into the clutches of a vampire… and in a place already suffering a god’s wrath, more dangerous still to fall in love with one.
What did I think of it:First: a confession: I totally tried to read and failed to finish The Serpent and the Wings of Night.I really liked the writing and worldbuilding, but I loathed Oraya and Raihn. This whole lets act awful toward each other instead of just f@ck and get it out of our system is not my thing! No live or death tournament could persuade me to keep reading about those two jerks.
So it was with a bit of apprehension that I picked this novella up. And I totally fell in love!
This is such an amazing story. I loved Lilith from the start, and then Vale was introduced and he's amazing as well. I read this novella in one sitting, and I will most certainly reread it in the near future.
As I mentioned: Broadbent's worldbuilding is great, I loved discovering all about this world and its vampires and religion. The romance was sweet and intense at the same time, and everything I wish was in The Serpent and the Wings of Night. I will not give that book another try, but I might investigate other books by Broadbent.
Why should you read it:It's a wonderful Fantasy Romance read.

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy/ Paranormal/ Manga
Length: 186 pages
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: December 16, 2025
ASIN: B0FGX7L2JM
Stand Alone or Series: 34th volume in the Black Butler series
Source: Bought in Paperback
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Compared to the evils Finny and Snake were expecting in the wake of the Sphere Music Hall’s carnage, F.O.L. appears to be on the up-and-up. Here, the orphans receive a progressive, sophisticated education and the skills they’ll need to serve their new family after fledging. But a young girl’s abrupt departure piques the curiosity of Finny, Snake, and certain students. As they follow the clues, their instincts, and the most recently fledged child―what secrets might the grounds of this orphanage whisper in the dark of night…?”

Series Info/Source: This is the 34th volume in the Black Butler series. I bought this in paperback format.

Thoughts: It took me a bit to get back into this story (it would be nice if these had a quick synopsis up front). This book is more about the Aurora Society, which is a storyline that I have not been loving all that much. The illustration remains beautiful, and I did enjoy some of the new characters introduced.

I had forgotten that we were heading to the orphanage, F.O.L, to follow another part of the Aurora Society storyline. Finny and Snake head there posing as new staff, and at first, everything looks fine. Finny is surprised to see that his old friend from the circus, Doll, is there as well. However, things take a suspicious turn when one of the students has a Fledgling Day and mysteriously disappears. Finny and Snake end up joining forces with the other head students to solve the mystery of what happens to students after their Fledgling Day. They end up finding out that both F.O.L and Doll are not at all what they appear to be.

I continue to enjoy the illustration here, and it was fun to spend time with Finny and Snake. I didn’t love the story as much though. This Aurora Society storyline is getting old and felt boring to me last volume, and this volume wasn’t much better. However, once I remembered what was going on again I did get sucked into the mystery of solving what was happening at F.O.I. Some of the new characters introduced were fun as well (I really liked Theo).

I am kind of on the fence with this one. We have really strayed from some of the original storyline and seem to be stuck with this Aurora Society one, which I wish would wrap up soon. I have been missing Ciel and Sebastian, we don’t see them at all in this volume. I was wavering between 3 and 4 stars for this one because we just haven’t been making a lot of progress here. I went with 4 stars because I still enjoy the illustration, liked some of the new characters, and did end up getting sucked in to this mystery.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this is a decent addition to the Black Butler series but is still stuck in the Aurora Society storyline which is really starting to feel old to me. I miss some of my favorite characters (Ciel and Sebastian) which have been practically non-exisitant the last few volumes. I will continue reading this series because I feel like I’ve been reading it forever at this point, but the last few volumes have definitely been slower and less exciting than previous volumes.

The guy from Mars didn't know I was coming. "Hi?" he says, with an upward inflection that asks who I am, what I want, and why I'm standing here when he's already checked everybody off his list.

(page 1, Red Star Rebels by Amy Kaufman)

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their  TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

A young girl named Leena is desperate to save her ailing brother pleads her case to the Saint of Silence (AKA St. Silas), the most dangerous man in the city. He collects secrets and more, but in turn, provides the bearer of those secrets with their heart’s desire. Leena’s secret – she can see the…

I’m doing hard time here.

I’ll play you a lament if I can pick up the world’s smallest violin here.

I understood that reference!

Russian Judge (Red Guardian) gives your joke three of four paws down.

I’m in hell. I’m literally in hell.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/LitRPG
Length: 16 hours and 57 minutes
Publisher: Soundbooth Theater
Release Date: August 16, 2023
ASIN: B0CDCM4F92
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Mimic & Me series
Source: Audiobook from Audible
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Damon has become a monster…sort of.

Betrayed and left for dead by a group of slaving nobles, he thought there was nothing left but to bleed out as he counted the number of bricks on the ceiling. But fate had other plans.

Moments before Damon’s death, a gelatinous, gluttonous mimic reveals itself to him. Fearing a more gruesome and horrible death down the mimic’s gullet, Damon offers the food in his pack—sandwiches, cookies, and everything else! Encouraged by the (admittedly forced) generosity, the Mimic fuses with Damon, enhancing his body and transforming him into a half-man half-mimic monstrosity.

Once a poor, down-on-his-luck scout, Damon now has new capabilities far beyond anything anyone on Basania has seen before.

The only problem? His new bodymate’s insatiable hunger for cake…and human flesh.”

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Mimic & Me series. I got this on audiobook from Audible.com.

Thoughts: This was an okay LitRPG. I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook quality was amazing. I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the characters here, but the premise is unique and fun. I never found myself really drawn into the story at all. The writing was only so-so and the dialogue felt awkward.

Damon is a Scout. Scouts are lower class adventurers in The System; they are taken advantage of by the nobles and never allowed to advance. All that changes for Damon when he offers a Mimic a sandwich, and the Mimic decides to merge with Damon. Now Damon is something very different, and he can gain powers, levels, and new skills by eating other adventurers. I mean it is a bit yucky but Damon is kind of here for it.

What did I like about this….Well, the audiobook quality was amazing, and the Mimic voices were especially well done. The premise is intriguing, and I thought watching Damon gain new and unique powers in odd ways was somewhat interesting.

What did I not like about this book? Well, all of the characters in here are kind of jerks and mostly out for themselves. I didn’t really enjoy any of them. Partly because of this, I never really found myself engaged in the story. The other reason it was hard to engage in the story is that this is basically a party-building book. Throughout the book, Damon encounters new people that end up joining him, hence forming an adventuring party by the end of the book. There isn’t a solid main storyline really.

I also struggled with the world here; it is controlled by The System which is never well explained. It is just accepted that all these characters live in this odd System run world. I am going to assume later books in the series get into that more, but I will never find out because I didn’t enjoy this enough to continue the series. The writing here is okay but not great, dialogue is awkward at times, and the pacing is only so-so.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this was an okay LitRPG with an intriguing premise that ended up not being all that engaging. I liked the premise and the audiobook quality. I didn’t enjoy the characters, the world, or the lack of an engaging story. I finished it but won’t be reading any other books in the series. If you enjoy classic dungeon delvers but with a twist and mean characters and lack of world-building don’t bother you, give this a try, I guess. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t that good either.

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James

Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 4.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Mystery, Horror

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Penguin Audio (January 20, 2026)

Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins

Author Information: Website

Narrators: Anna Caputo, Saskia Maarleveld, Ari Fliakos

Simone St. James is one of those authors whose work I’ll happily read without needing to know much going in because I’m just so confident that she’ll deliver. Which is why I went into A Box Full of Darkness almost completely blind, preferring to be surprised. As such, it’s safe to say I had high expectations, but this book still managed to blow me away. From the start, the very moment I realized we would be heading back to Fell, New York, I just knew this was going to be something special.

If you’ve read the author’s The Sun Down Motel, the setting is going to feel familiar. While it’s not a perquisite, returning readers will catch the subtle references and understand the layers of uneasiness that seem to permeate the small town. A Box Full of Darkness is a new story, centering on Violet, Vail, and Dodie Esmie, three siblings who reunite at their childhood home in Fell after being summoned by what they believe is the specter of their younger brother Ben, who disappeared years ago when he was only six years old. “Come home,” was what the message had said. The siblings had never been able to deny their beloved Ben anything when he was still with them, and they can’t now either.

Violet, the oldest, has always seen ghosts, and she has no doubt in the significance of those two simple words. Vail, the middle child, has been making a living as a UFO investigator, drawn to the otherworldly and unexplained in order to fill the void left by Ben’s mysterious disappearance. And then there’s Dodie, a hand and hair model whose unresolved grief from losing her little brother has left her unable to form healthy emotional relationships. Of course, everything changes now that it appears Ben is back, even if it’s not in the way they’d hoped. But is the message really from him? Or might it be something far more sinister?

That hook alone is hard to resist, containing echoes of a haunted house story but also with strong emphasis on family relationships and shared trauma. Each sibling carries the loss of Ben differently, with the bulk of the first half delving into how the boy’s disappearance has defined their lives in separate ways. To be clear, if you’re looking for a horror novel that dives straight into the thrills and chills, this isn’t that kind of book. It’s slower, more deliberate, and very much character driven. That’s what ultimately gives this story its weight.

It’s also why the multiple perspectives work so well here. Alternating POVs between the siblings reinforces the tensions embedded in their shared history, and St. James gives each of them a distinct voice, their individual personalities coming through loud and clear in the audiobook. Dodie’s narration is flippant and performative, projecting a confidence that masks her fragility. Vail carries a heavy burden of guilt, convinced that if he had acted differently, the outcome might have changed. And then there’s Violet, whose ability to see ghosts has shaped her life in the most heartbreaking ways, forcing her to hide a part of herself, leading to a breakdown, a divorce, and a strained relationship with her daughter. At times, we experience the same memory or event in slightly different ways, depending on how it is remembered.

The horror itself is classic St. James. This is a paranormal story, but doesn’t play out like a conventional haunting, even if it does contain a few familiar elements. The mystery surrounding Ben unfolds in ways that feel unexpected, and I liked that it avoids the most predictable ideas. The style here is subtle, eerie, and atmosphere-heavy, perfect for creating a sense of dread by accumulation, where every odd sighting or fragment of local lore adds to the town’s mystique. Fell becomes much like Stephen King’s Derry or Hawkins in Stranger Things, a place that feels complicit in the horror.

In the end, A Box Full of Darkness is definitely one of Simone St. James’ stronger novels, and it made for an absolutely brilliant listen in audio format. It’s a paranormal horror that hits all the right notes, with family drama and a payoff that is absolutely worth it. If we get more books set in Fell, I’m all for it. Already looking forward to what she writes next.

It’s well known that a genre  – any genre – often relies on its tropes – some might say cliches. You know, fantasy involves elves, dragons and swords, SF involves spaceships, and so on. It’s part of the fun, and also the elements that fans love. To that group I must add the preponderance of…

 

The Seventh Brideby T. Kingfisher
What is it about:Young Rhea is a miller’s daughter of low birth, so she is understandably surprised when a mysterious nobleman, Lord Crevan, shows up on her doorstep and proposes marriage. Since commoners don’t turn down lords—no matter how sinister they may seem—Rhea is forced to agree to the engagement.
Lord Crevan demands that Rhea visit his remote manor before their wedding. Upon arrival, she discovers that not only was her betrothed married six times before, but his previous wives are all imprisoned in his enchanted castle. Determined not to share their same fate, Rhea asserts her desire for freedom. In answer, Lord Crevan gives Rhea a series of magical tasks to complete, with the threat “Come back before dawn, or else I’ll marry you.”
With time running out and each task more dangerous and bizarre than the last, Rhea must use her resourcefulness, compassion, and bravery to rally the other wives and defeat the sorcerer before he binds her to him forever.
What did I think of it:This is a very interesting and cool reimagining of Bluebeard.
I was invested from the start and loved finding about all of Lord Crevan's wives. Rhea is a great lead character and she encounters lots of fun and creepy things on her quest to save herself and the other wives.
So yet another book for the keeper shelves.
Why should you read it:It's a cool fairytale reimagining.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 416 pages
Publisher: Hodderscape
Release Date: February 19, 2026
ASIN: B0DZ243W7W
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Brilliant Soul Duology
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 3/5 stars

“In a holy walled city where sin and sanctity are revealed through touch, Csilla – a girl born without a soul – is worth little to the Church that raised her. But when a series of murders corrodes the faithful magic that keep the city safe, the Church elders see a use for her flaw: she can assassinate their prime suspect, a heretic with divine heritage, without risking the stain of sin.

The heretic, however, makes Csilla a counteroffer: clear his name by helping him catch the real killer, and he’ll use his angelic gifts to grant her very own soul. Meanwhile, ruthless Ilan, desperate to earn back his position as Church Inquisitor, sees the case as his chance at redemption: he’ll bring in the murderer – or, failing that, Csilla and the heretic – and regain his title.

But as the death toll rises, and their hunt pits them against the all-powerful and callous Faith, Csilla finds herself torn. Will her salvation come at the cost of everything she believes in?”

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in The Brilliant Soul Duology. I got a copy of this on ebook through NetGalley.

Thoughts: I enjoyed the atmospheric writing and the intriguing world here. This is a dark world, and the city we spend our time in runs off of religion, and not in a happy, positive way. However, the lack of any engagement with the characters and the slow pace of the story had me constantly putting this down. I ended up giving this up at 40% of the way in (adding to my rather large DNF pile so far this year).

The story follows two points of view. The first is that of Csilla who has been trained by the church as Mercy. She goes out into the city and helps the poor. She also doesn’t seem to have a soul, which makes her lesser in the eyes of the Church. She is tasked with the job of poisoning a troublesome religious rebel, something that goes completely against the healing nature of a Mercy but feels she has no choice but to comply. The second POV is that of Ilan, who is a church Inquisitor. Ilan has a fondness for order and torture but is slowly loosing his status within the church. With a serial killer on the loose in the city and the seal failing, Ilan is trying to root out the source of this evil without loosing his coveted position of Inquisitor.

Like the last book I read, I really struggled with the characters here. I just never engaged with them or enjoyed them. Csilla comes off as incredibly naive, I know she is supposed to be gentle and caring because she was raised as a Mercy. However, you can be those things without being naive. She has been going out and caring for the sick and injured for years; you would think she would be more worldly. Ilan, the church Inquisitor, is an intriguingly complex character but was also very creepy. Then there is the Izar, who is part angel and comes across as a creepy and manipulative jerk.

While I did enjoy the serial killer mystery in this, I was frustrated at how unfocused the story was and at how slow the pacing was. Are we trying to solve Csilla’s lack of soul?, are we part of an insurrection?, are we solving a series of murders?…who knows. This is more a soap opera about these characters rather twisted lives than it is a good mystery. In the end, the slow pace and wandering story was not for me, and I stopped reading this about 40% of the way in.

I did enjoy the setting here and this dark religious city steeped in tradition and lore. There is a lot about angels and demons lurking around the edge of this story, but all of that never seems to become a big part of the story. The serial killer leaving demonic messages on bodies was intriguing but kept falling to the wayside throughout the book. I just didn’t have the patience for this.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this book has some strong points; I loved the dark and atmospheric setting and this darkly religious world hiding from demons. Some of the plot points were intriguing, like the serial killer on the loose and Csilla’s lack of a soul. However, I did not enjoy the characters, felt like the story was poorly paced, and that the plot wandered a lot. I also just don’t generally like stories heavily based around religion. If you are looking for a dark fantasy that focuses on religious corruption, you might enjoy this. It just wasn’t for me.

One week from today, I’ll be doing the first quarterly virtual book recommendations event with the Ashland Public Library in Massachusetts of this year. Unlike last year, I’ll primarily be focusing on fantasy books instead of fantasy and science fiction. There may still be the occasional science fiction recommendation, but I’ll mostly be featuring fantasy and author Elizabeth Bear is focusing on SF recommendations this year (and just did her first event last night!). I’ll be sharing these fantasy book […]

The post February 2026 Virtual Fantasy Book Recommendations Event first appeared on Fantasy Cafe.

 

Daggerbound (Swordheart #2)by T. Kingfisher
Four hundred years ago, three warriors were trapped inside enchanted swords, cursed to be immortal servants of whoever wielded the blade. One of them is the Dervish, a restless, fiery soul who hates his captivity and hates his wielders even more, but has never found a way to escape the sword’s magic.
Then one day, a disillusioned scholar named Learned Edmund is tasked with delivering the sword to a distant city, and, in the greatest of peril, draws the blade. The Dervish finds himself bound to a sweet, brilliant, and above all kind young man. And while he may be able to protect Edmund from bandits, cultists, dragons, and strange inhuman diplomats, he may find it much harder to protect his own heart.
Expected publication August 25, 2026

 

FORMAT/INFO: Enchanting the Fae Queen was published on January 27th, 2026. It is 304 pages long and available in paperback, audiobook, and ebook editions.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: For years, the chaotic Queen Lorelei has flirtatiously sparred across ballroom floors with General Gerard de Moireul, the hero leader of a rival kingdom's army. Lorelei believes that underneath the stiff exterior and strict rule-following is a man who wants to do good - he just needs Lorelei to give him a little shove. So when tensions between the two kingdoms reach a breaking point, Lorelei does the only logical thing: she kidnaps Gerard to finally seduce him away from his king. As the two get caught up in a deadly fae tournament, they realize that their opposite personalities make them a perfect match - and only together can they stop Gerard's kingdom from spreading its cruel ways across the continent.

Enchanting the Fae Queen is a solid fantasy romance bolstered by the madcap energy of its lead heroine, Queen Lorelei. She's one of my favorite character archetypes: a person of seemingly pure whimsy and chaos who secretly has a crafty plan underneath. Her unpredictability and randomness mask her true actions and goals, outwitting many of her opponents until it's too late. I absolutely loved watching her work and found her a definite highlight of the book.

General Gerard is a great foil, exceedingly polite even while adhering to his unwavering moral code. Due to some past trauma, he believes he cannot put a single toe out of line, lest he bring dishonor on his family name. It takes the whirlwind force of Lorelei to force him to confront that goodness and blindly following the rules don't go hand in hand.

Although the characters themselves are enjoyable, I thought the romance itself was simply serviceable. I find it's hard to pull an audience into a romance where the characters have already been building romantic tension before the story begins. I like watching the build-up of a relationship, but here they're already halfway in love when we meet them - they just don't realize it yet. It made the story a pleasant escape, but not a romance that swept me away.

So far the Queens of Villainy romance stories have been a delight: powerful women refusing to be "put in their place" and finding men who whole-heartedly support them on that journey. I'm definitely looking forward to the upcoming third and final installment - a sapphic story no less!

 

 

Masquerade of Mirrorsby Samantha Hartwood
What is it about:The only thing more dangerous than falling for a lieis falling for the liar.

Don’t look at the desert. Don’t think about the desert. Never step onto the sand. Taera has followed these rules her entire life—until he arrives.
Impossibly gorgeous, with a face masked in magic, Nikolai kidnaps Taera and drags her deep into the dunes. He says she’s powerful and needs to be trained…if she ever wants to see her family again.
Thrust into a deadly school of illusions and lies, Taera can’t trust anyone. Especially not her breathtaking, ruthless captor. Top student and notorious liar, his secrets run deeper than the sand. He’s her worst nightmare—and everything she craves.
The cutthroat Halls of Glass have a mind of their own. Trapped within their looping corridors, Taera is surrounded by hostile students and forced to rely on Nikolai.
Taera knows she shouldn’t fall for his illusions. But magic requires a partnership, and he’s the only mage who can handle her wild, untamed power.
And the only way he’ll help her is if she pretends to be his.
What did I think of it:I totally fell for the fake dating trope and the story set at a school so had to give this book a try.
And I will confess I really didn't like Nikolai for at least 50% of the book. Yes, he's meant to be a grey hero/villain, but the least he could have done is actually explain some things to Taera, in my opinion. Would have made things easier for himself as well, but instead he decides to be an insufferable jerk.
I liked Taera, though, so I kept reading to see what would happen to her. Nikolai finally shaped up enough to understandTaera's feelings for him, and from that point on, I enjoyed the book a lot more.All in all, it's a nice read. Probably better enjoyed by readers who like their male main characters a bit more assholish than me.
I might read more books set in this world as the worldbuilding certainly lends itself to lots of other potentially interesting stories.
(received a digital ARC from the author)
Why should you read it:It's an enjoyable Fantasy Romance
Expected publication February 17, 2026

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Length: 615 pages
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: September 10, 2024
ASIN: B0DDKHNVWF
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Fae and Alchemy series
Source: Borrowed ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 2/5 stars

“Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.

Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen’s reservoirs for as long as she can remember. In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.

When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently reopens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares…but it turns out they’re real, and Saeris has landed right in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.

The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist’s magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him… or her. Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he’s the only way Saeris is going to make it home.

Be careful of the deals you make, dear child. The devil is in the details… “

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Fae and Alchemy series. I borrowed this on ebook through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: I didn’t finish this, which means I would usually give it 3 stars, but after writing the review, I just couldn’t go that high. I did get about 60% of the way through the story, but was really struggling with it. I disliked all of the characters in here. I thought the world-building was weak and the story was poorly paced; I just was not a fan.

The story follows Saeris a poor but fierce woman who steals a gauntlet (we will never understand why) and gets caught for that. She finds herself under threat of death in the castle when she is strangely able to melt the metal under her feet and ends up in a Fae realm. In the Fae realm she finds out that her ability to work with metal makes her a rare alchemist. The ruler of the Fae realm plans to hold her captive until she figures out who to awaken the Quicksilver that allows the Fae to travel through portals between worlds.

I hated the characters in this book with a vengeance. I kept forgetting Saeris was supposed to be in her 20’s because she acted like a horny teenager. She was overly angry, not too bright, and had the worst comebacks (they felt flat and made you feel like “oh poor girl, who wrote your dialogue”). The main love interest here is Kingfisher (aka Fisher), who was supposed to be a bad ass enemy-to-lovers type. He was an asshole (but of course he has excuses, so that is okay) and Saeris finds him super sexy right from the get go. She complains about him but is always hot for him, which felt very yucky to me.

The way the “romance” is handled is sloppy and again gave me a bit of the yucks. Saeris pretty much throws herself at Fisher at one point (with an ulterior motive) and they both really get into it. However, the characters are so immature and this was so sudden that it made me feel squeamish…like I was reading about two kids making out. There was no tension, there was no getting to know each other, and this was totally not something I was in to.

There is an odd section of the book where Saeris strikes a deal with Fisher for him to rescue her brother. Fisher comes back with a guy Saeris slept with. Another yuck moment, like “OMG, was Saeris sleeping with her brother”? However, this is explained further on in the story.

The world-building is thin here. We are thrown into an alternate fey world that seems fairly generic. I did like the addition of alchemy, which we finally got into around 45-50% in. However, somehow, the author managed to make even alchemy feel really boring with repetitive scenes of Saeris failing at various experiments.

The pacing is all over the place, and the whole thing feels sloppy and unfinished. I kept trying to push through on this one, but I just did not enjoy it. So, I gave up. Sorry to the people who recommended this to me, but this is just not for me. It felt like poorly done dark fae romantasy fan fic.

I have been having more DNFs than normal lately. Not sure if I just don’t have the patience for these books or if my tastes are shifting. I know I don’t have the patience for adult romantasy that feels like badly done YA fantasy fanfic (with more explicit sex scenes of course).

My Summary (2/5): Overall I did not like this. I appreciate the alchemy that was brought into the world, but the rest of the world feels so generic. My main beef was the characters here; they were all mean, immature, and kind of stupid. The dialogue between them feels forced and awkward. The pacing was all over the place, with the beginning fairly fast-paced and the middle super slow. I really wanted to like this but really struggled to pick it up and read it. Unless you are super hard up for a dark romantasy fae read I would look elsewhere.

My neighbor across the street wants flowers blooming in her front yard from spring until the end of summer. To do so, she’s planted dozens of tulips, daffodil, California poppies, wildflowers, and other random bloomers.

Her yard is bright and colorful for months.

Autumn is creeping in, though—just the breath of it cooling the breeze and tempering the sunshiny days. Her flowers have done their job spectacularly, but now their colors have faded.

I love autumn, I do. But seeing her yard go fallow made me realize summer went by far too quickly. I stood at my gate wondering if I had enjoyed the sun enough. Had I drank lemonade, dipped my feet into lakes, rivers, oceans? Had I taken time to run through a sprinkler, sleep outside beneath a wide starry sky, told the people I love just how much I love them as we laughed and sang old songs?

Had I savored it enough, the sweet summer-ness of summer?

I’m happy to say YES! I did all those things! Summer was wonderful. I mean, Life has still been Life, with happy days and really sad days, hard things and joys. But time moves us all forward, and the seasons are turning once again.

I think this autumn I’ll take a hint from my neighbor. I have buckets of daffodil, iris, and tulip bulbs down in the shed. Maybe it’s time to plant them, a small hope—a promise—of more sweet summers to come.

Worldcon was a very fun experience for me this year! Here I am on day 1, waiting in the registration line. Even though I arrived just after noon on Wednesday, it took an hour for me to make it to the front of the line and there were even more people arriving behind me.

I headed straight to the dealers’ room, and was happily shopping all the tables (So Many books and authors present!) when I heard a familiar voice. Who should I see but…

the fabulous, amazing author (and terrific friend!) Nina Kiriki Hoffman!! We strolled more of the dealers room together and eventually went out for a bowl of chowder at Pike Place Chowder.

I’d just had a bowl of Mo’s Chowder a few days before, and sorry, Mo’s, Pike Place Chowder was the superior bowl.

I can’t quite remember the order of things but eventually Nina and I ended up going to Martha Wells Q&A session:

I thought it was a wonderful Q&A, and that Martha had thoughtful, interesting comments about her writing process, what she’s writing next, and even a bit of what she would take away from the Murderbot show and possibly use in her upcoming work (it’s the costuming, and how the people from Preservation leave obvious patches on their clothing to acknowledge both injuries and recovery.)

I finally caught up with my fabulous roommate (and writer friend) Diana Pharaoh Francis by the evening and if I remember right, we talked for hours and called it a day.

 

HELL OF A WITCH
coming out Oct 1, 2024!The hotly anticipated sequel to HELL FOR HIRE...

One month ago, Bex, the demon queen, and Adrian, witch of the Blackwood, pulled off the upset victory of the century. Now, they find themselves facing the question all unexpected champions must answer: what next? They declared war on Heaven, but how do you actually bring down a divinely powerful tyrant when your army’s still in the single digits and your magical fortress is an illegally modified Winnebago?

It seems like a hopeless situation. As always, though, Adrian Blackwood has a plan, and this time, he’s going big. He’s got an idea to take down the Seattle Anchor, the giant magical fortress that houses the Anchor Market and every other bit of critical infrastructure that connects Heaven to Earth.

How the Anchors work is a closely guarded secret, and getting to the good stuff will require going deep into the heart of Gilgamesh’s power. There’s a reason even the Queen of Wrath has never attacked one directly, but now that Adrian’s on her team, Bex thinks they can do it. She’s finally got the power she needs to actually move the needle on this war, and she’s going to hit that Anchor with all the fire she’s got.

But the enemies of Heaven aren’t the only ones making plans. After the fiery return of his most persistent annoyance, Gilgamesh has ordered his princes to take care of the demon queen problem personally. It’s time to roll out the big guns and show these rebels what divine wrath really means, starting with the Hell of a Witch who made it all possible.

Coming out October 1 in ebook, Kindle Unlimited, paperback, hardback, and an absolutely incredible audio edition!Preorder Now!Boston, what are you doing? Get out from in front of the title!

*Attempts to push familiar away with broom. Broom and cat team up. The author is forced to retreat.*

Ahem... It's sequel time! Y'all made HELL FOR HIRE one of my best new launches ever, and now the second book is almost here. HELL OF A WITCH has more of everything you love, and it's coming out all formats on October 1! Hooray!

Thank you all so much for making this series such a success. I'm so grateful you're enjoying the story, because I love these misfits to death. So much that I've already written book 3, which will be coming out in early 2025! So many books! It's the best of times.

I really hope you'll give HELL OF A WITCH a try, and if you haven't cracked into my Tear Down Heaven series yet, what are you waiting for? It's awesome! The audio book in particular is *chef's kiss*. One of the best things we've ever done. Highly recommended. 

Again, thank you all so so much for being my readers and listeners. I hope you love this book as much as I do. It's just so much fun and I can't wait for you to get into it. This series is going to be a truly epic ride.

Thanks again for making my dreams come true! Yours always and forever,

Rachel AaronWitch Career Counselor Assistant to the Familiars
HELL OF A WITCH is the second book in the Tear Down Heaven series. If you're new, start from the beginning with HELL FOR HIRE. I promise you won't be sorry!

 

From the BLURB: 
Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met.
They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers. 
What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888. 
Their murderer was never identified, but the name created for him by the press has become far more famous than any of these five women. 
Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, historian Hallie Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, and gives these women back their stories. 
⦾
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold, read on audiobook by Louise Brealey. 
“Poor women were expendable …”
I listened to the audiobook of this, via my library's BorrowBox app - even though I've also owned the B-format paperback since about 2020, I could just never bring myself (or my heart) to pick it  up and read it of my own volition, but on audiobook I tore through it. And under the talent of Brealey's narration, who could bring out various regional accents to really help things along - it was superb. 
This was such a tough listen but I’m really really glad that I finished this book and I found it to be an extraordinary non-fiction work and by far one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read in a long time. 
I was completely upended, however to discover that this book has pissed off so many people and specifically “Ripperologists” to the point that Hallie Rubenhold has been horribly abused and harassed because she did to research into the canonical five victims of Jack the Ripper - and put fourth credible evidence that not all of them were prostitutes as the sick lore of this madman murdering spree dictated for so long. 
Her book is a gracious and human examination of what it meant to be a woman in the 1880s and the impossible position that they were put in to either be Madonna or whore. She digs into the Victorian mindset of the time that insisted that their murders had to somehow be prescriptive to the wider public and so they were painted as Scarlet women. Their stories absolutely broke my heart and patterns did emerge in all of them — domestic violence, alcoholism (if only to have some alleviation from the drudgery of being a woman at the time) …  the way people were kept impoverished and women in particular who had to bear the burden of childbirth and child rearing. Lack of education being the lightning rod overarching issue for so many people of this time. Just an incredible historical examination of everything never said about these women that I found to be so touching and crucial.
As I was reading, I was repeatedly struck by the realisation of how true it is now - just as it was in 1888 - that all it takes is a bad bout of luck, illness or injury for any one of us to experience houselessness and our fate to be completely undone. I thought that about each of these women at so many points in their life as Hallie unpicked them for us ... and my god, did my heart go out to them - across space and time. 
The very final chapter in the book is the Author listing all of the items found on four of the victims upon their death; in one of their pockets was one red mitten — and that visual is just touching and heartbreaking, as was the entire book.
5/5

 

From the BLURB: 

A BOY MEETS A GIRL. THE PAST MEETS THE FUTURE. A FINGER MEETS A TRIGGER. THE BEGINNING MEETS THE END. ENGLAND IS FOREVER. ENGLAND MUST FALL. 

In the near future, a disaffected civil servant is offered a lucrative job in a mysterious new government ministry gathering 'expats' from across history to test the limits of time-travel. 

Her role is to work as a 'bridge': living with, assisting and monitoring the expat known as '1847' - Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin's doomed expedition to the Arctic, so he's a little disoriented to find himself alive and surrounded by outlandish concepts such as 'washing machine', 'Spotify' and 'the collapse of the British Empire'. With an appetite for discovery and a seven-a-day cigarette habit, he soon adjusts; and during a long, sultry summer he and his bridge move from awkwardness to genuine friendship, to something more. 

But as the true shape of the project that brought them together begins to emerge, Gore and the bridge are forced to confront their past choices and imagined futures. Can love triumph over the structures and histories that have shaped them? And how do you defy history when history is living in your house?

'The Ministry of Time' is the debut novel from British-Cambodian writer and editor based in London, Kaliane Bradley. 

So, this may well be my favourite book of 2024. WOW-ee. What an enjoyable read, especially for a low-science fiction girly whose particular proclivity is time-travel tales (those are always my fave 'Doctor Who' episodes, the back-in-time ones). So, some random observations; 

⦿ I am very fond of 2005 YA novel 'The White Darkness' by Geraldine McCaughrean, which is about a teenage girl who is genuinely in love with (the long-dead) Captain Lawrence 'Titus' Oates from the doomed Terra Nova Expedition. So when I read the blurb for 'The Ministry of Time' about Britain having harnessed time-travel and successfully bought six travellers from various eras to the modern-day, including Commander Graham Gore from the doomed Franklin expedition - I was all in. *Especially* when the blurb hinted that Gore's present-day "bridge" - the protagonist of the novel who is tasked with helping him acclimatise and who maybe starts to develop feelings - I was *ALL IN*. 

⦿ Time-travel has always been my bag. Modern-day women falling for out-of-time men is my particular favourite sub-genre ... I know exactly when this started; 'Playing Beatie Bow' by Ruth Park, and the time-travelling Abigail falling for Judah in the 1800's. This was particularly cemented when I read 'Outlander' by Diana Gabaldon as an 18-year-old; WWII army-nurse Claire passing through the stones to Jamie Fraser in the 18th century. No doubt there's some Marty McFly 'Back to the Future' Michael J. Fox appreciation thrown in there too. But this sub-genre of sci-fi and time-travel is my jamboree. And 'The Ministry of Time' gave it to me in HEAPINGS of timey-wimey goodness. The romance is slow-burn but makes up for it because our protagonist (whose name we don't know, but we get an intimate first-person account from) crushes HARD on Gore and that amps up the burn. But I was also very sucked into the mechanics and politics of the time-travel itself, so it wasn't like I was ever cooling my heels and checking my watch for the low sci-fi to get good ... it was ALL good. 

⦿ The politics of time-travel in this book reminded me of the Norwegian sci-fi series 'Beforeigners', about people from different time-periods suddenly randomly appearing in Oslo, becoming refugees of time that the Norwegian government has to deal with. It's also a little bit like the (brilliant) Aussie TV series 'Glitch' set in a small outback town where; 'Seven people from different time-periods return from the dead with no memory and attempt to unveil what brought them to the grave in the first place.' I like this connection in particular because there's a shady organisation linked to the raising of the dead, a big-pharma laboratory called "Noregard" (best in-universe name for a corporation, ever.) It's also a wee bit like the 2001 rom-com starring Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan, 'Kate & Leopold' about an English Duke from 1876 falling for a modern-day New Yorker when he's unceremoniously dragged into the future. If any/all of those recs are your picnic; this book is for you. 

⦿ He filled the room like a horizon ... the writing was sumptuous, and gorgeous at times. Sometimes Bradley had a turn-of-phrase of description that made me go "ohhhhh." When something changes you constitutionally, you say: ‘the earth moved,’ but the earth stays the same. It’s your relationship with the ground that shifts. 

⦿ I actually first heard about this book, in a Guardian round-up of British debuts to look out for, and the description of Kaliane Bradley's idea made my spine sizzle and then I Googled her even more and found that she partly wrote the idea for 'The Ministry of Time' during Covid and lockdowns and because she kinda fell in love with the only photograph of Graham Gore. No, really. 'Kaliane Bradley Fell in Love With a Dead Man. The Result Is The Ministry of Time' ... if that's not an *amazing* sales-pitch I don't know what is. 

⦿ I just loved this. It's extremely cinematic and I wouldn't be surprised to find it is being developed into a movie or limited-TV series. It both feels appropriately head-nodding to plenty of other fabulous low-sci-fi time-travel that will make aficionados happy, but also sparkly-unique enough to keep adding to the conversation about the space-time continuum. Even if I guessed the small twist that comes, I did so because I know this sub-genre so well and expected certain markers along the way and Bradley did not disappoint. I loved this so much, I was only one-chapter in when I knew it'd give me the best bookish hangover and be hard book to follow-up, probably throwing me into a reading-rut.

5/5