Where Fiction and Reality Meet
Title: It Helps With the Blues Author: Bryan Cebulski Publisher: tRaum Books Length: 171 Pages Category: Teen Fiction Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: The angst and woe in this short novel is intense, real, and frequently painful. These are teenagers being teenagers, for better and for worse, just trying to cope, and there are... Continue Reading →
Title: Heppel Ever After Series: Learning to Love: Book Five Author: Con Riley Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: Novel Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: As has been the case throughout the series, Heppel Ever After is composed of compassion, understanding, and it takes great care to include friends and family who ensure... Continue Reading →
Title: A Taste of Gold and Iron Author: Alexandra Rowland Publisher: Tordotcom Length: 505 Pages Category: Fantasy, Alt-History Rating: 3 Stars At a Glance: To put a fine point on it, A Taste of Gold and Iron seems to suffer from an identity crisis, and I feel the story could have been half as long... Continue Reading →
Title: Stone Wings Series: The Gargoyles of Arrington: Book One Author: Jenn Burke Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 200 Pages Category: Contemporary Fantasy Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Stone Wings hits all the romantic beats and offers the truth that sometimes love is a lightning strike, and sometimes it sneaks up like a thief of... Continue Reading →
Title: Subtle Bodies Series: PsyCop: Book Thirteen Author: Jordan Castillo Price Publisher: JCP Books Length: 305 Pages Category: Urban Fantasy Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Castillo Price has the boos and the wigglies down cold in the PsyCop series, delivering the chills that come naturally with the territory and that readers have come to... Continue Reading →
Title: Pack of Lies Series: Monster Hunt: Book One Author: Charlie Adhara Publisher: Carina Adores Length: 310 Pages Category: Paranormal, Murder Mystery, Romantic Suspense Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Pack of Lies is, simply stated, a fast paced and action packed mystery elegantly intertwined with the relationship between a prickly and secretive Eli and... Continue Reading →
Title: His Lordship's Return Series: His Lordship's Mysteries: Book Three Author: Samantha SoRelle Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: Novel Category: Historical Romance, Murder Mystery Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: I am entirely infatuated with these characters as well as with Samantha SoRelle's storytelling and the historical elements she brings to the illustration. These books have... Continue Reading →
Title: My Name Is Jimmy Author: Garrick Jones Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 90 Pages Category: Historical (Post-World War II) Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: My Name Is Jimmy is a gritty, lusty story of vengeance and endurance, set in a lawless frontier in the aftermath of World War II. Not a romance by the... Continue Reading →
Title: A Clap of Thunder Series: Arcane Hearts: Book Six Author: Nazri Noor Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 322 Pages Category: Fantasy Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: It's not often a Fantasy series offers an equal measure of sweet romance, delightful narration, and life-threatening encounters, and balances them so cleverly. Noor manages it effortlessly. Reviewed... Continue Reading →
Title: High Times in the Low Parliament Author: Kelly Robson Publisher: Tordotcom Length: 162 Pages Category: Fantasy Rating: 2 Stars At a Glance: High Times in the Low Parliament is a short novel that had potential, but in the end, I was left with too many "hows?" and "whys?" unanswered for it to satisfy. Reviewed... Continue Reading →
Title: Dark Water Series: Daniel Owen Welsh Mysteries: Book Two Author: Ripley Hayes Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 192 Pages Category: Mystery Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Ripley Hayes has a knack for compiling interesting characters and placing them in a small town atmosphere that can feel homey and, at the same time, claustrophobic. That... Continue Reading →
Title: Stolen Token Author: Felix J. Léon Publisher: Self-Published Length: 119 Pages Category: Fantasy Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: There is no doubt Felix J. Léon loved telling this story and held his characters in great affection. That sincerity endeared them to me as well, by simple virtue of realizing I was being introduced... Continue Reading →
Title: His Lethal Desire Series: West Coast Mobsters: Book One Author: Leighton Greene Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 410 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Suspense Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Age gap, only one bed, and forced proximity are just a few of the juicy tidbits that round out this romance. What makes it work is... Continue Reading →
Titles: No Accident at Abergwyn & No Friends at Abergwyn Series: Tudor and Stewart Abergwyn Mysteries: Books One and Two Author: Ripley Hayes Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 108 Pages/202 Pages Category: Cozy Mystery Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: If you’re looking for some cozy summer reading, with a little murder to spice things up,... Continue Reading →
Title: The Final Sin Series: Brooklyn Sinners Author: Avril Ashton Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 147 Pages Category: Contemporary Romance Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: The race to find and punish Càtia’s captor takes readers through our emotional paces. The Final Sin is quite the send-off, just as I’d expect from Avril Ashton. Reviewed By:... Continue Reading →
Title: The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse Series: The Gumshoe: Book One Author: Keith Hartman Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 532 Pages Category: Sci-Fi, Murder Mystery Rating: 3 Stars At a Glance: It takes some patience and perseverance to get through the subpar editing and to the meat of this story, but I finished... Continue Reading →
Title: Emerald Earth Series: The Witch Brothers Saga: Book One Author: Adam J. Ridley Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 200 Pages Category: Fantasy Romance Rating: 3.5 Stars At a Glance: There are no surprises or unexpected turns to this story, which makes it a sweet, low-drama read, predictable but still interesting for the inclusion of the... Continue Reading →
Title: The Sins of the Orc Author: Finley Fenn Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 192 Pages Category: Fantasy Content Notes: dark situations and power dynamics causing current and past trauma (not between main love interests); intense intimate scenes (including in public); discussion and depiction of abuse and its effects; depression and suicidal thoughts; discussion of war... Continue Reading →
Title: Burning for You Author: Joel Abernathy Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 298 Pages Category: Fantasy Content Notes: Action violence, substance abuse, extreme enemies-to-lovers dynamics, nonconsensual ritual bloodletting, heat sex, knotting, technical suicide in a supernatural context (not self-harm). Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: For as angsty as it had the potential to be, the... Continue Reading →
Title: Deceiver of Minds Series: SPECTR Series Three: Book Five Author: Jordan L. Hawk Publisher: Self-Published Length: 105 Pages Category: Urban Fantasy Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: For fans of the SPECTR series, we know to anticipate the chaos and danger as well as the lovely teases at the end of each novella that... Continue Reading →
Title: The Bachelor's Valet Series: Flos Magicae Author: Arden Powell Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 148 Pages Category: Historical Romance, Fantasy Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: The Bachelor’s Valet is a gentle and charming story with happy endings for all involved, short on drama and long on anticipation, waiting for Alphonse to suss out his... Continue Reading →
Title: Hell Followed with Us Author: Andrew Joseph White Publisher: Peachtree Teen Length: 412 Pages Category: YA, Fantasy, Monster Fiction Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Hell Followed with Us is not my story. I will never know firsthand what it means, or feels like, to walk in Benji’s shoes. That doesn’t mean I can’t... Continue Reading →
Title: Labours of Stone Author: EM Harding Publisher: Self-Published Length: 164 Pages Category: Fantasy Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Labours of Stone is one of those happy little accidental finds: a quick, sweet summer read that I'm glad I happened upon. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Day after day, Ephra Stone labours away on trashy... Continue Reading →
Title: Swimming in the Dark Author: Tomasz Jedrowski Publisher: HarperCollins Length: 224 Pages Category: Literary Fiction Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Tomasz Jedrowski’s deeply moving and stunningly portrayed novel of love set against a backdrop of political unrest and divided loyalties reads like both memoir and confessional. It is a passionate novel, beautiful and... Continue Reading →
The Novel Approach Reviews 