Review: The Last Valkyrie (The Last Valkyrie Trilogy Book 1) by Karina Espinosa

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Karina Espinosa has a terrific trilogy in her Last Valkyrie series. It starts with Raven Romero, the last Valkyrie left on earth when all the other Valkyries sealed themselves away in Valhalla, leaving the despised mortal humans to their fates. 

Raven now lives on doubting her choice to remain behind, subsisting on sex, drugs, and alcohol, her wings torn off in a self inflicted rage. Her warrior’s life locked in away in a box that she has no intention of opening. 

The author gives the reader Raven‘s past in alternating chapters, some that should come with trigger warnings. Especially an early chapter where Raven’s induction into Valkyrie life includes a graphic non-consensual threesome forced upon her by an older woman. FYI. 

Her earthly quiet existence starts to unravel when a body is found with runes carved into it, a message meant for her. And old enemies are appearing wanting her magical sword. 

The story is full of Norse mythology, twisted tales and betrayals. I like the author’s own use of cultural references within the established mythology. I do wish she’d explored the strained dynamics between the Valkyries and the power imbalance there. 

However, it’s implied throughout most of their relationships and storylines. The toxicity of Odin and the unquestioning nature of the Valkyries following his orders is everywhere. 

Especially in Raven’s history. It’s a perspective that you can view Raven as someone who has been indoctrinated into a godlike cult since a small child. Taught by abusive methods to insure that their “Father’s” rules and wishes are followed without question. Deaths, Wars, whatever he wants. Favorite’s are “blessed His attentions. 

Then come his absence, and his mysterious abandonment. And things fall apart.

Raven’s actions on Earth reflect a person who is isolated from the only family and foundation she’s known. Even if she’s the cause of her situation. It’s a raw and believable character. 

And as events go sideways and it looks like she’s at the center of a new otherworldly disaster targeting humanity. 

The trauma, the fast paced action, and the complexity of the relationships between the different characters are all well crafted. Espinosa’s narrative twists and flows as hidden agendas are revealed and Raven fights her long held beliefs to see what is true about the people and paths open up to her.

If sex scenes, blood shed and raw material isn’t your thing, this might not be the best read for you. 

Well done and about to get better. 

Cover design by © Orina Kafe

The Last Valkyrie Trilogy (3 book series)

The Last Valkyrie #1

The Sword of Souls #2

The Rise of the Valkyries #3

Buy link 

        The Last Valkyrie (The Last Valkyrie Trilogy Book 1)

    

Blurb 

She tore out her own wings. She can’t outrun what she is.

Raven Romero used to be Odin’s favorite — a valkyrie, a warrior, a daughter of Asgard. Now she pours cheap whiskey at a dive bar in Portland, sleeps off her hangovers, and keeps her head down among the humans she was once sworn to protect. The wings are gone. She burned them off herself. As far as Raven’s concerned, the gods can rot.

Then a body turns up carved with ancient runes — a message meant for her — and the quiet little life she built starts to unravel. The dead won’t stay buried, an old enemy is moving in the shadows, and a stolen sword could crack the nine realms wide open.

The only one watching her back is Fen: infuriating, magnetic, and far more dangerous than the bad-boy charm lets on. Raven swore she was done with gods, monsters, and men who growl when they’re angry. She was wrong about all three.

To stop what’s coming, the last valkyrie will have to pick up the blade she swore she’d never wield again.

Perfect for fans of snarky, hard-drinking heroines, Norse mythology with teeth, and a slow burn that bites. The first in a completed urban fantasy romance trilogy.

K.E. Media Enterprises, LLC

Publication date

August 3, 2018

Language

‎English

Print length

272 pages

Book 1 of 3

The Last Valkyrie Trilogy

Review: The Rising Wave (The Rising Wave #0.5) by Michelle Diener

Rating: 3.75⭐️

The Rising Wave is the prequel story to the first book of this series, setting out the characters and the series arc. 

Ava is a princess of unusual magical abilities who’s been imprisoned for years in a castle and now seems destined to die shortly because of her captor’s agenda. A new prisoner, Luc, changes her plans for escape to include himself and together they flee the prison and that kingdom.

That’s the short story. 

The more in depth version goes into their backgrounds, growing relationship, her magical powers which are highly sought after by multiple kingdoms, and the wars that are going on which Luc is a major part of. 

I liked several aspects of this story. The unusual magical system is interesting, although after thinking about it overnight it also raises many questions about its uses. Part of this is that I just don’t sew. The idea of using thread and sewing patterns into fabric as vehicles for magical powers is unusual. I don’t think I’ve read this before the way it’s used here. However, afterwards, I did find myself wondering how useful this would be in instances where the mage or witch doesn’t have time to stop and stitch whatever pattern is needed. Even the simplest item takes time with needles and threads. As in “oh no, I need to stop and sew a dog(s) on fabric “. Yes, indeed. That happened. 

I can’t imagine it. Standing still, let alone on the run. Or is that just me? Too subtle ? Give me a kaboom spell? Stitch a kaboom? Idk many questions.

The other thing is the rushed romantic aspect of the story. They meet up as brutalized prisoners, each hiding their own secrets. They’re on the run. And it’s instant love? 

Made zero sense to me. As well as the author not building a relationship or solid foundation for this. There’s books to come so any instant love could happen later as well. 

So some parts work. Others not so much. 

I’ll be interested in seeing what the magic system does in different events and how Ava is going to handle it. 

The Rising Wave (4 book series)

The Rising Wave #0.5 prequel 

The Turncoat King: (Includes The Rising Wave Prequel Novella

The Threadbare Queen #2

Fate’s Arrow #3

Truth’s Blade #4

Buy link 

 Related to: The Rising Wave 

Blurb 

A princess intent on escape . . . Ava has everything ready for her last chance at escape from her years’ long imprisonment. She knows if she doesn’t succeed this time, she will die. When an injured warlord is thrown into her cell with her, upsetting her plans, she faces a dilemma . . . leave him to die or try to take him with her.

A warlord intent on rebellion . . . Luc may lead a rebel army, but now he’s at the mercy of his enemies, and they have no mercy to give. All except the woman imprisoned with him. She not only has mercy, she has a plan to escape. He just has to convince her to let him come along . . .

A partnership forged in adversity . . . Unable to leave him behind, Ava includes Luc in her plans, but escaping the castle where her cousin has imprisoned her is only the first step. Hunted by their enemies, she and Luc will have to trust each other, no matter how many secrets they’re keeping.

NOTE: THE RISING WAVE was first published as part of Warlords, Witches & Wolves: A Fantasy Realms Anthology in November 2020. It is the prequel novella to the Rising Wave series and is followed by THE TURNCOAT KING.

Eclipse

Publication date

March 10, 2021

Language

‎English

Print length

111 pages

Review: Resting Witch Face (Journals of Forbidden Witchery #1) by Maya Daniels 

Rating: 4⭐️

I picked this up because I thought the title was clever. The rest of the series are also terrific word plays. 

Maya Daniels’ book introduces Hazel Byrne, a witch from the prestigious Byrnes family, the only one who doesn’t have any powers. Maya is the last of her powerful line, her parents deceased, and she’s been brought up by her grandmother, the head of the political magical coven in charge. 

Hazel is a tough character to connect with. She’s young, quick to act and quicker to anger. Impulsive, clothed in the latest high fashion, the author wants the reader to see her as an engaging personality but often portrays her in scene after scene whining and acting like an entitled child. So just the opposite happens. 

We’re told she and her best friend Sissily, were bullied horrendously as children by others in the coven, which resulted in Hazel’s current attitude. But we don’t see enough evidence or any of the dynamics to make it real. 

The grandmother’s relationship with Hazel doesn’t ground the reader either. 

There’s enough fast paced drama and action that the story moves quickly. And new elements are layered in to keep the reader’s attention going.  

The character development will be key here in this series. Hazel is going to have to grow past this stage she’s in here to remain a relatable character imo. 

Check it out if you like urban fantasy mystery and young woman main characters with witchcraft elements. 

Chronicles of Forbidden Witchery (4 book series)

Resting Witch Face #1

Pitch A Witch #

Witch Please #3

Payback is a Witch #4

Buy link

 

        Resting Witch Face: An Urban Fantasy with a snarky witch too powerful to hide (Chronicles of Forbidden Witchery Book 1)

    

Blurb 

I didn’t mean to unleash hell. But here we are.

I was born into the Byrne bloodline—pure witch royalty. Too bad the universe skipped me when it handed out actual powers. No spells. No spark. Just attitude, fists, and a resting witch face sharp enough to cut glass.

With zero spells to my name, I became the coven’s best demon-slayer just to prove I wasn’t useless. Spoiler: no one was impressed.

My grandmother looked at me like I was a broken heirloom. The other witches either pitied me or wanted me gone. Only Sissily—my loud, loyal, batcrap best friend—stuck by me.

I’m Hazel Byrne, and magical disappointment was kind of my thing.
Right up until I blew up the coven library.

That little disaster woke something inside me. Turns out I wasn’t powerless—I was sealed. Bound by blood pacts and buried secrets. And now that my magic’s out, every supernatural creep with a grudge wants a piece of me.

Now demons are circling, the coven’s in chaos, and I’m not sure if the magic inside me will save us—or tear everything apart.

If fierce witches, feral magic, and unhinged best friends are your thing, you’ll love Resting Witch Face. It’s the explosive first book in the Chronicles of Forbidden Witchery, a paranormal women’s fiction and urban fantasy series packed with chaos, heart, and hexed high drama.

Vinci Books

Publication date

June 9, 2021

Edition

1st

Language

‎English

Print length

236 pages

Book 1 of 4

Chronicles of Forbidden Witchery

Review: Pork Pie Pandemonium: Albert Smith’s Culinary Capers Recipe 1 by Steve Higgs

Rating: 3.75⭐️

Yes, the German Shepherd on the exquisite cover trapped me once again, along with the “must have” note that the dog doesn’t die.

The setup is really good . 

There are multiple terrific aspects of this book. Higgs does a wonderful job in bringing his main character of Albert Smith to life. 

Higgs has crafted Albert Smith’s character so beautifully that we see him . A once tall man, now stooped in his age, struggling with his aged body and his retirement. But it’s as a recent widower of one year, the loss of his beloved wife of decades that’s left him with an empty house that’s prompted him to set off.

Albert, when we meet him is engaged in a cooking class. Aged 75, a retired detective superintendent from Kent, he decided after his wife’s death to attack his bucket list of taking a trip to learn to make his favorite foods , some of the British Isles famous meals.

 

He’s in Melton now learning to make their famous pork pies. And he’s got company. A recently acquired German Shepherd dog called Rex Harrison. 

Part of getting away from home and away from his grown children’s oversight was the acquisition of an assistance dog to accompany him, that ensure that his family would be agreeable to his plans. 

I liked the murder, the location, the investigation and even learning how the famous Molton pork pies are made. Interesting and it makes the whole story credible in this aspect. 

Less believable and more problematic is how the author uses a two character perspective and, unfortunately, an unrealistic view of an assistance dog, especially one who was once a trained in police work. 

Albert Smith is great as the narrator of his new journey through baking adventures but to include Rex’s perspective is a error, imo, of the author’s that the story and more likely the series doesn’t recover from.

Rex is never treated like an assistant animal. Here in the US, people who are lucky enough to have one, go through extensive training, as does the animal. Separately and together. It’s an extraordinary partnership. 

Here Rex, a police dog, who’s dismissed after training because of his attitude ( another poorly written element) is purchased online. I have no words for this. No training whatsoever. Here’s your dog. Which is not only dismissive of the actual trained dogs but the service they provide for the people and organizations. 

The entire story has Albert ignoring Rex’s “tells” about the crime and criminals which the reader hears from Rex’s pov. And we also then have repeated as well as Albert stumbles away from whatever Rex is trying to direct him to. Consistently frustrating for dog and reader. 

Does this change? No. This relationship stays much the same. I’m not sure why. Does Britain not have the same level of respect or training with assistance animals that we do here? 

Anyway, I was less interested in the fact that it was about British food than about how the investigation was handled and the dog/human interaction between Rex and Albert developed. 

So this has its good points and those that made it clear that it’s probably not for me. 

Elements that are of interest to others include the fact that each book visits a new location to learn about and cook a different famous dish.

Lancashire hotpot, Eton mess, Eccles cakes, Cumberland sausages . And The Melton Mowbray pork pie .Each book includes a different location and dish. As well as a murder and recipe at the end.

If the dog aspects don’t bother you as much as they do me, check it out. 

Along with writer Steve Higgs’ note about how the book came about and the inspiration behind the characters, he’s added a real plus for those fond of British food.

Don’t miss out on the recipe and history of The Melton Mowbray pork pie at the end of this book. Great idea. 

I do love the covers although I can’t find an artist credited. 

Albert Smith’s Culinary Capers (16 book series) complete series 

Pork Pie Pandemonium #1

Bakewell Tart Bludgeoning #2

Buy link

        Pork Pie Pandemonium: Albert Smith’s Culinary Capers Recipe 1

    

Blurb 

When a retired detective with a nose for trouble wanders into a town hiding a deadly secret …

‘When Steve Higgs writes, he hits it out of the park. I find myself laughing out loud and often.’

** Complete Series. Read every book (the dog doesn’t die) **

Melton Mowbray is world famous for its pork pies, but beneath the façade lies an undercurrent of lies and deceit, and Albert Smith just saw something that made him curious.

The operation hiding in plain sight is worth a lot of money. The kind of money people will kill to protect and now they need to make him vanish.

Quietly. Permanently.

Good luck with that. Albert spent decades taking down criminals and his mind is as sharp as it ever was.

Get ready for pandemonium.

‘This series has it all; everything I want in a story and series … humour, suspense, and colourful characters. It’s one of my top all-time favourite series.’

This series of books contains no cussing and no graphic descriptions of violence or bedroom activities. It is suitable for all ages.

May 29, 2020

Language

‎English

Print length

218 pages

Book 1 of 16

Albert Smith’s Culinary Capers

Review: Magick For Hire: The Complete First Trilogy: An Urban Fantasy PI Thriller (Knightstorm Arcane Investigations) by G. J. Ogden and Sabrina Vale

Rating: 3.5⭐️

I thought this would be a complete trilogy but it’s not. It’s just the first 3 part section to a longer multi sectional storyline arc. 

The three books included here are

Shadowed Relics #1

Twisted Fae #2

Infernal Gate #3

Astrid Knightstorm is a powerful earth mage who is called on to solve paranormal mysteries around the world. Her familiar is a brain of an ancient dark sorcereress in a jar and her assistant is a Fae who does her researches and handles all inquiries for her small business. 

It’s a good premise and works well for the most part. The beginning novel is terrific, has interesting characters and gives you a good idea of what Astrid’s life is like. 

But it starts to go off by the second novel. The issue primarily falls into the relationship between Ember, her Fae assistant, who takes zero responsibility for her own actions in and out the Fae Realm, and Astrid. Astrid seems to feel she is responsible for everyone’s problems and actions, even though they are not only adults but perhaps beings older than she is.  Accountably exists nowhere really here and that’s extremely difficult to accept as a reader. 

This carries over to her unpleasant brother who remains a character who is someone who is underwhelming and one-dimensional. 

That’s the biggest issue with the trilogy. It’s a fast paced action adventure urban fantasy. But low on character development and any real believable character growth and interactions. 

Elements thrown in for plot twists but given little narrative depth or explanation. 

So read it for the action sequences and adventure scenes. Not for the characters. Or if you follow the authors. 

Buy link

 Collects books from: Knightstorm Arcane Investigations 

Blurb 

Astrid Knightstorm is a wizard private investigator who handles the cases no one else will touch. Her clients include fae, werewolves, vampires, and creatures that slip between worlds. Being a tough Texan helps, but it’s her wits and command of Earth Magick that keep her alive in a world where supernatural threats lurk in every shadow.

When ancient artifacts fall into the wrong hands, demonic forces tear at the edges of reality, and fae politics ignite dangerous rivalries, Astrid is pulled into conflicts that reach from Austin to the Vatican to realms most mortals never survive. Each case draws her deeper into a hidden war involving dark alchemy, unstable boundaries between worlds, and a power determined to unravel time itself.

With unlikely allies at her side, including a fae assistant, a werewolf, and the family she thought she lost, Astrid must confront monsters, destiny, and the secrets of her own past.

Some cases test your skills. Some threaten the world. And some force you to face the truth about who you are.

Magick For Hire: The Complete First Trilogy brings together the first three novels of the Knightstorm Arcane Investigations series, this action packed urban fantasy saga delivers a snarky wizard detective, supernatural mysteries, and a world where Magick hides in plain sight.

Ogden Media Ltd

Publication date

January 6, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

807 pages

Review: The Dusk Reapers (Cursebreaker #1) by J. T. Lawrence 

Rating: 4⭐️

The Dusk Reapers (Cursebreaker #1) by J. T. Lawrence is the first book in her urban fantasy mystery series about a witch assassin in South Africa.

The location is one of the better elements, an unusual one that I don’t run into often. This first book is also features amnesia storyline around the main character. It’s resolved here by the end of the novel.

Asha Rook wakes up in a hospital. She’s been the victim of a horrific attack, suffered a significant brain injury and has amnesia. No idea who she is other than her identity from her identifications and driver’s license. 

And the idea she’s in danger as well as the fact that she’s implicated in a murder, has her fleeing the hospital for answers. 

Lawrence does an excellent job building the character of Asta, a woman scrambling to discover who she is in the middle of a murder investigation, and layout the structure of a urban fantasy world of witches, mages and spirits and dark realms existing within the city of Johannesburg.

A fluctuating pov that didn’t always work because the reader wasn’t sure whose perspective we were in made things confusing or complicated. Nicola or Asta? Sometimes we had no clue. 

I don’t mind unresolved plot lines, especially in a first book. Usually they will carry over through the series. Here it’s the case of missing children left hanging as well as who was behind the original attack. 

The character of Sam, the police officer, the maybe romantic interest, is ok. Perhaps he will be more fully developed as the series progresses. 

Overall, a good start with some interesting elements. 

If you are interested in something new, give it a try. 

Cursebreaker: An Epic Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (6 book series)

The Dusk Reapers #1

The Haunted Portal #2

The EverShade Ring #3

The Obsidian Castle #4

The Pick Pocket’s Curse #5

The Eternal Betrayal #6

Buy Link

Source: Amazon.com The Dusk Reapers: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (The Cursebreaker) – Amazon.com

Blurb 

Her heart was flatlining. Her magic wasn’t.

Asha wakes up in the hospital with thirty-six stitches in her head and no memory of the attack that put her there. The damage to her skull was catastrophic, but she surprises the medical team with her lightning-quick healing—and by inexplicably sending their equipment flying across the room.

She soon learns that she is Asha Rook—The Cursebreaker—and she’s just become the prime target of every ruthless bounty hunter wizard in the Realm of Magic & Mayhem.

To add to the high stakes, a curse has landed an innocent woman in a terrifying asylum, and it’s Asha’s job to save her.

Asha must rely on her eccentric found family, finding belonging and banter with allies who accept her complex and dangerous nature. This includes an unnervingly attractive and steadfast cop (an epic slow burn), a sassy goblin who trades portal magic for tacos and lime milkshakes, and her beloved steampunk dwarf godmother, who is equally talented at roasting perfect potatoes as she is at creating magitech weapons.

Join Asha and her ragtag team as she embraces her destiny, navigating pocket realms and battling evil to break the ultimate curse. With more twists and turns than you can shake a wand at, this is a dark magic mystery with humor, adventure, and a whole lot of heart.

Fans of Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, and Ilona Andrews will burn through this totally addictive urban fantasy series.

Read the complete 6-book series now!

TROPES:

• Curses and curse-breaking

• Kick-ass female protagonist

• Amnesia

• Hidden Magical World

• Gritty Urban Setting

• Diverse Supernatural Creatures

• Haunted houses; ghost children

• Secret Societies and Organizations

• Found Family: banter and belonging

• Slow burn deep connection romance

• Huge, satisfying happy ever after

Fire Finch Press

Publication date

August 28, 2024

Accessibility

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Language

‎English

File size

2.9 MB

Screen Reader

Supported

Enhanced typesetting

Enabled

X-Ray

Not Enabled

Word Wise

Enabled

Print length

468 pages

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Book 1 of 6

Cursebreaker: An Epic Urban Fantasy Action Adventure

Review:  Cold Fury (Frost Mage #1) by Ryan Attard

Rating: 4.5🌈

What an unexpectedly great find. Different on so many levels, Ryan Attard is another new writer for me and his main character is a powerful Frost Mage. Shes just also happens to be bisexual, angry and lonely. Freydis, Frost Mage and town Executor, carrying out justice for the supernatural world in Vigrid Falls. When she’s not going to college. 

Freydis, Frost Mage, is a conflicted character, whose backstory is slowly revealed over the course of the story as events unfold. Incredibly and unashamedly strong, she works out to maintain her physique, which is intimidating to match the reputation she’s gotten as someone who is cold and emotionally hard. Which is far from the truth. 

Attard lays out the complex universe and supernatural politics of Vigard Falls where underneath the beautiful town and college campus where the wealthy students attend to their university studies, is another otherworldly city, complete with transportation systems. 

It’s there where Freydis operates and reports to her boss on her daily enforcement of the laws and takes on whatever missions she’s given. 

It’s werewolves against mages, against vampires with other fae or mythical beings thrown into the narrative. 

Including small side stories of romance or crushes (Freydis is bi so while most of her romantic interests are women in this book I wouldn’t rule out that she might have a vampire in her life in the future. Romance really isn’t a main aspect of the book, it’s primarily about a larger supernatural suspense or intrigue element that is going to continue throughout the series. And how Freydis’ developing powers fit into this. 

I absolutely got into the characters and the various aspects of the town and world building. 

Can’t wait to see where the author takes them next. 

A winner. 

Buy link

        Cold Fury: Frost Mage Book 1

    

Blurb 

Vigrid Falls looks peaceful — until you look beneath the surface.

The supernatural runs the world.
Mages keep the balance.

Until a shifter is brutally murdered — and the victim’s family wants blood.

Enter Freydis, Frost Mage and town Executor. She’s young, brash, dangerously stubborn… and a college student trying to survive midterms while enforcing magical law. Keeping her double life separate is hard enough.

Then the murder turns personal.

What should have been a routine investigation spirals into something darker. This wasn’t random. It wasn’t simple.

It was planned.

As vampires quietly pull people off the streets, shifters call for open war, and the Mage Council hides behind ancient arcane law, Freydis uncovers a conspiracy that could tear Vigrid apart. In this city, secrets are currency. Trust is weakness. And magic is a weapon.

Good thing she’s angry.

Cold Fury is the gripping first book in the Frost Mage series — a sharp, noir-tinged urban fantasy packed with supernatural politics, deadly alliances, and a heroine who hits back harder than she’s hit.

Review: Good To The Last Death series by Robyn Peterman

Rating: 4⭐️

I started out reviewing each one as I read this series. At the beginning, as the character of Daisy, as she finds out she’s a Death Counselor, and proceeds through a committed relationship with the Grim Reaper, changes jobs, has a child, evolves, gains friends and family, all while facing constant otherworldly battles and divine deadly challenges. 

In every single novel which ends with a cliffhanger and someone who is dear to her in a perilous situation. 

At first that’s fine. The snappy dialogue, funny scenes and great characters make up for the fast paced storyline that doesn’t really stop for any real relationship development. 

But after 7 books or so, I started to think that maybe the characters and readers needed a break from the constant tension and battling between Daisy and whoever the high villain was this time (seems to switch up every 3 or 4 books leading up to the biggest “villain “). Give every character some sort of downtime to see the relationships as they are without any real drama happening. 

Also the author starts making chapters 1 and 2 of each book a repetition of the last chapters of the previous novels. So if you are like me, you are just flipping pages here. That’s feeling a bit skimpy. These books aren’t long to begin with. Now new material is even shorter. It’s down to a novella.

Not feeling like it been shortchanged just there but aspects of the characters are sped up for the storyline. Infants become children, children become adults, and how would that make a reader feel invested in their characters in any way? They’ve effectively become removed from the narrative in a layered manner.  I was far more interested in the Four Horsemen.They were hilarious and well written.

It got so I enjoyed reading them but if you asked me which of them stuck out after the fifth book I couldn’t tell you. They run together. 

So read them as entertainment. I’m putting down the first one as the book contact.  And listed the rest. It’s a complete series that’s finished quickly. 

I had to take a break from reading it all at once. Just found the exhausting from the relentless events. But picking it back up after reading other books works. 

A fun read taken over time. 

Cover design by Cookies Inc

Good To The Last Death (16 book series)

It’s A Wonderful Midlife Crisis #1

Whose Midlife Crisis Is It Anyway? #2

A Most Excellent Midlife Crisis #3

My Midlife Crisis, My Rules #4

You Light Up My Midlife Crisis #5

It’s A Matter of Midlife and Death #6

The Facts of Midlife #7

It’s A Hard-Knock Midlife #8

Run For Your Midlife #9

It’s A Hell of A Midlife #10

A Leaner Meaner Midlife #11

Having the Time of My Midlife #12

Someone Save My Midlife Tonight #13

Semi-Charmed Midlife #14

Got To Get You Into My Midlife #15

Spice Up Your Midlife #16

Buy link

                

                Robyn Peterman (Author) and 2 more

                

            

Blurb for the series:

This paranormal women’s fiction follows a widow navigating life at forty when she discovers an unexpected ability to see and interact with ghosts seeking help. As a self-appointed “Death Counselor,” she uses superglue to repair transparent residents and guides the deceased through unfinished business. Her world expands beyond earthly concerns as angels, demons, and other immortals reveal themselves, transforming her quiet widowhood into a supernatural balancing act. A romance develops with the Grim Reaper while cosmic threats escalate from personal crises to world-ending stakes.

Blending midlife humor with paranormal adventures, the series explores themes of aging, identity, and found family through a protagonist who faces hot flashes alongside hellish adversaries. The narrative voice is conversational and self-deprecating, with wine and close friendships serving as anchors through increasingly chaotic situations. From helping ghostly squatters to confronting celestial powers, the story celebrates women embracing new chapters with sass and resilience, proving that supernatural abilities and personal growth aren’t limited by 

Review:  Fire Marked by (Alchemy of Witches Book 1) by L.A. McBride

Rating: 4.25⭐️

I really enjoyed this urban fantasy story. There’s apparently a prequel out there that fills in the background for the main characters here and how she arrived at her current situation. As well as all the other secondary characters interacting with her that come from that prequel.

However , the author gives us enough information about that time period so we’re not at a disadvantage here as the story goes forward. 

Olivia “Liv” is a retired fire elemental assassin who at the age of 16 was framed for a crime she didn’t commit. As a result Liv was forced to work for as a Shadow for the Conclave (magical ruling body) for a decade.

Now she’s free, name cleared and she’s back in Kansas City where she’s opening a magic shop. Until her old life comes back to interrupt her new start. 

I love so many of the characters that McBride has created for her book and series. The older group of witches, including Liv’s aunt are fabulous and among my favorites. From their environmental battles with toxic gardeners to their hula hoop classes, every scene memorable and often hilarious. They’re real, intelligent people who care about Liv, going about things in their own ways. 

Rafe, a werewolf black op who is the enemy to lovers maybe aspect of the story and series, is suitably flawed, and mysterious in his own ways. Where he fits in is left open-ended, which works. 

There’s an ongoing storyline that starts with the reason Liv was framed, but eventually moves on into a much larger, more complicated plot that involves demons, hell fire, and prophecy at the end. 

The end book leaves the reader immediately wanting the next story to see what happens with the characters and their lives. I am thoroughly hooked. 

I had certain reservations about why Liv was so determined to do something on her own but later on, she answered that during a heartfelt conversation with Rafe. It was the answer that I wanted to see her grounded in the reality of the dangers of her situation.  That one scene made all the difference. 

I now need to track down Inferno Bound for the history of this series and main character while waiting for the next one to be released.

New author discovery and series unlocked. Fantastic!  A winner!

This is set in the same universe as another of L.A. McBride’s series but as it’s the first book I’ve read of hers, that’s a series for another time. But the characters do crossover.

Cover and Illustrations by NMT Design Studio

Alchemy of Witches (2 book series)

Inferno Bound #0.5 prequel 

Fire Marked #1

Blaze Born #2 – Jan 27, 2027

Buy link

        Fire Marked (Alchemy of Witches Book 1)

    

Blurb 

Ten years as a supernatural assassin did not prepare me for customer service.

Once I was called the strongest fire elemental in a generation. All that got me was sentenced to serve as a supernatural assassin for a crime I didn’t commit. Now that my name’s been cleared, the powers-that-be cut me loose.

Their only rule? Keep my head down and leave missions to other Shadows.

Sinking my blood money into a magic shop, I try to be a good little witch. I run my shop, join a geriatric coven, teach fire hula hooping classes on the side, and adopt a klepto packrat as my familiar. Avoiding Rafe Blackwell, the golden-eyed lone wolf charged with keeping me in line, is harder. And ignoring the vampires attacking witches in Kansas City? Impossible.

When bodies turn up with veins full of the same blood additive that landed me that ten-year sentence, I can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. Going rogue risks my newfound freedom, but the alternative is a city overrun with demons and Nectar-addicted vampires in a feeding frenzy. When my fire magic fails, it’ll take every skill I earned as a Shadow to take down the Nectar ring despite the enforcer determined to keep me out of it.

But if running a witch shop has taught me one lesson, it’s how to face anything with a potion bomb and a smile.

Fire Marked is the first book in the Alchemy of Witches series. If you love fast-paced urban fantasy with a witch ready to burn down the establishment, quirky found family, and a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance, this series is for you.

September 10, 2026

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Language

‎English

File size

5.8 MB

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Print length

302 pages

ISBN-13

978-1957445328

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Book 1 of 2

Alchemy of Witches

Review: The Vampire and the Case of the Ghastly Golem (The Portlock Paranormal Detective #8) by Heather G. Harris and Jilleen Dolbeare

Rating: 5⭐️

It had been a while since this terrific series has been updated and through author’s comments at the end, I found out that, sadly, her long-time friend and co-author, Jilleen Dolbeare, had passed away last October 2025 from cancer.

Jilleen Dolbeare wrote many great urban fantasy series as well as the wonderful collaborations with Heather G. Harris. She’s going to be deeply missed by so many. My sympathies to her family and friends. 

I’ve loved this series from the beginning when Bunny first arrived in hidden paranormal town of Portlock, Alaska. She was a newly turned (against her will) vampire with a rescue German Shepherd in tow, and became a part of the town and small Sheriff’s Department, solving mysteries and magical crimes in a very different way, involving mythical creatures and fantastical monsters. 

And finding love and a mate along the way with a vampire Prince. 

The characters are beautifully written, the mysteries are often heartbreaking and complicated, and stretches over multiple books. Even the smallest of roles and characters can become endearing, and pop up later to fill in narrative holes left by characters who have been lost. It’s done well, emotionally satisfying and makes the story feel more like a real community. 

The Vampire and the Case of the Ghastly Golem is a great story. Full of loss, grief, high suspense, mystery and multiple storylines. Bunny and her co-workers and friends face one murder after another. These are people who have deep roots within their community. Harris makes the reader feel that loss, the impact just as deeply.

As the hunt for the killer continues, along with the investigation, there’s another important plot line happening. Connor’s father’s coming to the town. He’s got major plans for Connor, maybe for Bunny too. None of them good or in keeping with what either one wants. 

That continues to be the next novel’s theme. 

Who the villain is surprised me. And the outcome left other questions in place to be answered by the characters and story further down the series itself. 

Heartbreaking, well written, detailed and beautifully executed. 

I’m so sorry for Heather G. Harris for having to go on with this series without her friend and writing partner. But she wrote a very wonderful story that felt like both of them were very much together here in every part of the story and character. 

Highly recommended. And go check out the other books by Jilleen Dolbeare as well as the charity that’s been set up in her name for Indie Fantasy authors . 

Heather G Harrishttps://heathergharris.comWelcome to the Jilleen Dolbeare Scholarship for Indie Fantasy Authors.

Cover Design by Christian Bentulan.

The Portlock Paranormal Detective Series with Jilleen Dolbeare : 

The Vampire and the Case of her Dastardly Death – Book 0.5 (a prequel story), 

The Vampire and the Case of the Wayward Werewolf – Book 1, 

The Vampire and the Case of the Secretive Siren – Book 2, 

The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee – Book 3, The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine – Book 4, 

The Vampire and the Case of the Perilous Poltergeist – Book 5, 

The Vampire and the Case of the Cozy Christmas – Book 5.5, 

The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag – Book 6, 

The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid – Book 7; and

The Vampire and the Case of the Ghastly Golem – Book 8.

The Vampire and the Case of the Raging Revenant – Book 9 ,December 9, 2027

Buy link

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FF3JYSK2  

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FF3JYSK2 

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0FF3JYSK2 

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0FF3JYSK2 

DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0FF3JYSK2 

FR: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0FF3JYSK2 

https://geni.us/GhastlyGolem

Blurb 

 bodies are bad. Dead bodies that break the laws of magic are worse.

Finding a dead fox in someone’s garden isn’t normally a police matter. Finding a dead fox shifter who should have turned human the second he died? Yeah, that’s more my department.

Remmy has no wounds, no blood and no obvious cause of death. He’s simply dead, trapped forever in his fox form. Apparently there’s only one thing that can do that to a shifter: drain every last drop of magic from them.

Great. Because what Portlock really needed was another magical murderer.

I’ve got an eidetic memory, a badge and two extremely questionable sidekicks. One is a traumatised werewolf who prefers being a German Shepherd, and the other is an ever-growing lynx with a criminal disregard for personal property. Between us, surely we can crack one impossible murder.

Then some local teenagers report seeing a huge creature stalking through the woods, covered in branches and leaves with blazing red eyes.

And red eyes are always bad.

I’m starting to think our mysterious monster and our dead shifter might be connected, which means I need to find whatever is prowling Portlock before anyone else ends up magically drained.

Unfortunately, murder isn’t my only problem. Connor’s father, the Vampire King of the US and an all-round arsehole, has announced he’s coming to town. And he’s bringing the other vampire leaders with him.

So now I have a supernatural killer to catch, a creepy forest monster to find and the most powerful vampire in America heading straight for my home.

Portlock has survived murderous shifters, deadly conspiracies and more supernatural disasters than any tiny Alaskan town has a right to. Hopefully we can survive this too.

Preferably without anyone else turning up dead.

Dive into this fast-paced urban fantasy series if you love mystery, humour, found family, and a slow-burn romance.

Don’t miss the rest of the Portlock Adventures!

The Vampire and the Case of her Dastardly Death, a prequel.

The Vampire and the Case of the Wayward Werewolf, Book 1.

The Vampire and the Case of the Secretive Siren, Book 2.

The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee, Book 3.

The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine, Book 4.

The Vampire and the Case of the Perilous Poltergeist, Book 5.

The Vampire and the Case of the Cozy Christmas, Book 5.5.

The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag, Book 6.

The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid, Book 7.

The Vampire and the Case of the Ghastly Golem, Book 8.