Category: Reviews

Book reviews give other readers a way to measure whether a book may or may not be appealing to them and so are a crucial part of a book’s potential success and longevity, especially in the indie publishing community. With this in mind, these days I do my best to review each book I read, and feel it’s important to leave a review no matter what my experience with the book is like. Other readers deserve to see a full spectrum of opinions about the material, ranging from those who loved it (and why) to those who did not (and why).

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Review: Imbued

Imbued cover.I was privileged to receive an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Imbued, despite its sometimes dark content, is a lovely story. But don’t get me wrong: the dark content is not a drawback by any means. It’s hard for me to describe how I felt while reading this book (for the second time; I beta read it as well) but imagine, if you will, that satisfying sensation you get from inhaling fresh air full of the scent of spring and new blossoms while a thunderstorm broils on the horizon. It was kind of like that. Continue reading Review: Imbued

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Review: Threads of Fate

Threads of Fate cover.Threads of Fate is a fantastic addition to the Unwritten Runes duology. A collection of short stories, it delves a little deeper into the lives of the characters readers came to know and love from The Goddess of Nothing At All and Epilogues for Lost Gods. The stories are, at times, heart wrenching, but also fun and spicy. I enjoyed them all, and it is too difficult to pick just one as my favorite. I definitely recommend this book!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Review: A Court of Sugar and Spice

A Court of Sugar and Spice cover.This book, by Rebecca F Kenney, is a spicy fae Nutcracker retelling. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went into it, as I’ve never read or seen the original Nutcracker story. Nutcrackers themselves give me the willies (I don’t know why) so it’s not content I’ve ever been fond of consuming.

Two young women, Clara and Louisa, are drawn into fantastic circumstances when they go to live with their guardian, Drosselmeyer. They end up in the fae realm of Faerie with the Nutcracker and the Sugarplum Faerie, and get into all kinds of mischief while in pursuit of their goal: to lift the curse that was placed on the Nutcracker by Drosselmeyer. Continue reading Review: A Court of Sugar and Spice

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Review: The Maleficent Faerie

Maleficent Fairy cover.It was over too soon.

Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite fairy tales. (Not THE favorite; that spot goes to Beauty and the Beast.) But when I saw this spicy fae retelling (and its gorgeous cover) by Rebecca F Kenney, I couldn’t resist picking it up. This was my first Kenney novel.

And, I’ll admit, I had an ulterior motive in wanting to read it: I wanted to see how another author writes spicy content, because I have spice in my own work but little basis for comparison. Continue reading Review: The Maleficent Faerie

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Review: Star Nomad

Star Nomad cover.
Star Nomad by Lindsay Buroker.

This was a quick, cute read. Not “cozy”, as some might take cute to mean, but still…cute. I enjoyed the story a lot and am curious to see where it goes.

I did feel the pace was a bit slow at first, but things definitely ramp up once the ship has left the planet. I also felt like I wanted there to be more developing plot-wise as I read, but I understand this is the first in a long series of books so I suppose the juicier stuff will happen later.

Still a good read. Four stars!

Posted on by — 3 Comments

My Anticipated Reads for 2024

2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge
My 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge progress. :(

In 2023, my Goodreads reading challenge was set pretty low. I set a goal of just five books for the year because I knew I was going to be spending a lot of time working on my own books, and also reading (and rereading) my critique partners’ WIPs. These WIPs are fabulous books, but they couldn’t officially count toward my reading challenge since unfinished works don’t have pages on Goodreads. Continue reading My Anticipated Reads for 2024

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Review: Skylark in the Fog

I was privileged to receive an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Skylark in the Fog is a fabulous and unique space opera that I thoroughly enjoyed. The story is complex, with many layers that I’m certain will reveal new facets upon later rereadings. Skylark is definitely worth revisiting! The universe the book takes place in is rich and diverse. Helyna did a wonderful job creating a world that feels expansive and is highly detailed. There isn’t just one story lurking between the pages of this novel: the characters and places all have life to them, and they could all tell their own stories if given the chance. I’m hopeful to one day see even more material that does exactly that. Continue reading Review: Skylark in the Fog

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Review: Epilogues for Lost Gods

I was privileged to receive an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Epilogues for Lost Gods is the sequel to Goddess of Nothing At All and covers the aftermath of GoNAA, as told from both Sigyn’s and Loki’s point of view. Definitely read GoNAA first in order to properly enjoy what EfLG has to offer. Continue reading Review: Epilogues for Lost Gods

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Review: Iron Widow

What a ride!

The word to describe this book is definitely “rage”. The story is amazingly well done and portrayed so well that I could visualize what was going on almost as if I was watching an anime. I would certainly love to see Iron Widow turned into an animated movie, especially because the special effects would be able to bring the Chrysalises to life so well.

The story gripped me from the first page. I immediately liked all the characters, but especially Shimin. I gasped out loud several times and enjoyed how the writing was so unapologetic about the material it covered. I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

Five stars!