Review:  A Witch’s Legacy (Drakethorn Legal Book 1) by Michael Anderle and Isabel Campbell

Rating: 3⭐️

Michael Anderle is an extremely prolific author who often co writes his books and series with several other authors, Isabel Campbell among them. 

And I admit I often pick up a book by him because the premise is intriguing, offering something I haven’t seen before in a paranormal/fantasy or science fiction novel. 

That happens with A Witch’s Legacy, the first book in the Drakethorn Legal series.  

It has a really great storyline about a main female character who is a lawyer who turns out to be a dragon. There’s so much potential there for interesting character history, courtroom drama, and, well dragon related stuff. 

Stacy Drake, a lawyer who has an eye for cases for the underdog, doesn’t know she’s a dragon until she starts blacking out . Turns out she’s a dragon or the offspring of a dragon and a witch. 

It starts off entertaining and with all the drama and elements that drew me into this story. But then begins to lose me. 

Anderle is very good at writing action and fantasy stories. He can build worlds and make them real. But here the bridges between Stacy’s character and storyline and how we get to her father and his past and the fantasy isn’t well established. 

She’s mad at dad. He’s fabulously wealthy. Huge castle and estate. She sees him again and wonder of wonders, the servants are gone, estate is looking shabby, and our young lawyer says nothing about it. Her dad doesn’t look so hot either. Any chance of Stacy mentioning that? No. 

She’s supposedly extremely intelligent, great attorney. Yet time after time, things slide right by her. Not just her father and the past. But SMH plot points that make a reader wonder about the character’s motivations and smarts. 

Then there’s the entire she’s supposed to be a dragon but we get the magic of her mother, so there’s that. A bit disappointing and the magical system we do get is never explained but more on the poof, it’s magical thing. Not very exciting.

I finally finished it but nothing made me feel as though I had to go further. 

Interesting. But the potential for more was what brought me here. 

Cover by Mihaela Voicu

Drakethorn Legal (With Michael Anderle) 

A Witch’s Legacy (Book 1) 

Scales of Truth (Book 2)

Buy link

 Book 1 of 6: Drakethorn Legal 

Blurb 

You don’t read books about lawyers.

Neither did she — until the lawyer turned out to be a dragon.

Stacy Drake champions the people no one else will fight for. Evicted single moms. Bullied shop owners. An entire nation the city wants to bulldoze. She buried her old-money family name so every courtroom win would be hers and hers alone — and she’s very, very good at making smug, powerful men squirm.

Then a masked man jumps her in an alley with a knife and a warning. She blacks out. She wakes up with no memory, a bloodied shirt, and a headline about three attackers found torn apart — “WITNESS CLAIMS SUPERHUMAN ATTACK.”

The truth is older than she could imagine. Her estranged father is the last Red Dragon. Her dead mother was a powerful witch. And Stacy is both — just as the rival she keeps beating in court hires something inhuman to bring him her head.

A snarky, big-hearted urban fantasy for readers of Annette Marie and Lindsay Buroker — dragon fire, witch magic, found family, and an underdog you’ll be c heering by page two. Clean read, no spice, all bite.

One-click A Witch’s Legacy and start the series readers binge in a weekend.

Review: Dark Horse (Class 5 Book 1) by Michelle Diener

Rating: 4⭐️

Dark Horse, the first book in the science fiction series Class 5 by Michelle Diener, was given several awards for science fiction in 2016, one of the reasons I grabbed it up. 

I’m always curious to see how well science fiction stories will age from publication point, given their author’s storyline, scientific elements, and any imaginative alien aspects that are presented here. 

I’m really enjoying this series and growing groups of characters. While there’s some overall series plot elements that I have been questioning, the characters and storytelling just draws one into the narrative and each women’s struggle to adapt and survive her new life in space among aliens. 

The first story is that. The first for  multiple characters, cultures and the beginning of a major galactic mystery and heinous crime that will take the entire series to investigate and unravel.

Yes, I’m on book 2 now. 

Rose McKenzie, a linguistic professor, has been abducted by the Tecran, tortured and experimented on. The one who saves her? The Class 5 Battleship, Sazo, who itself has been a prisoner of the same race and needs Rose to free it. They form a formidable alliance and friendship to free themselves. 

Here Sazo is called a thinking machine, which I found unwieldy. But most importantly it’s one of only 5 in existence that survived a AI war in which they were killed off and banned. 

So it’s not just about Rose’s recovery from her ordeal, her trauma and her struggles to adapt but it’s Sazo’s too. With Rose’s guidance, learning empathy, emotions, and what its emergence as a self aware being means. To itself and those around it. Especially when so many mean it harm because of prejudice and past history. 

Their relationship and dynamics is layered and has a depth that is emotionally strong with the reader. As well as containing some surprises. 

The aliens are humanoid, the Grif especially with their elf life ears. Maybe this aspect of the series will expand into more complex worlds and less human like aliens as I get into it, but for now, it’s just human-like aliens in space. Something I see quite a bit of in space exploration fiction. When it’s not cat-aliens in space. Wish there were more imagination used here in this capacity. Not that I don’t enjoy the characters, I do. 

The references are fun, the characters are engaging and the plots well executed. Things that i would thought were underutilized were later shown by the author to be a long-term storyline. Loved this.

I originally thought the author missed an opportunity for Rose as a professor with the sociological aspect of singing both species looking at songs and singing from very different perspectives. From an Earth cultures/ peoples perspective, singing and songs are viewed as an integral part of life, from lullabies to dirges, entertainment to dance. The Grih are at the other end of the spectrum, seeing songs and the few who sing them as solemn rituals , reverent and cherished. 

However, Diener is using this idea of singing and songs as a series thread that multiple characters are using to express themselves and create bonds between species. In some cases, beginning to see a cultural or ideological shift,for better or worse.

 Its elements like this, along with engaging characters and just plain old terrific storytelling that has me hooked. 

No it doesn’t always science, but it’s highly enjoyable. I’m recommending it. And I’m onto the third!

Class 5 Series (7 book series)

Dark Horse #1

Dark Deeds #2

Dark Minds #3

Dark Matters #4

Dark Class #5

Collision Course #6

Crash Course #7

Buy link

 Book 1 of 7: Class 5 Series 

Blurb 

Some secrets carry the weight of the world.

Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she’s made a powerful ally–a fellow prisoner with whom she’s formed a strong bond. Sazo’s an artificial intelligence. He’s saved her from captivity and torture, but he’s also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided.

Captain Dav Jallan doesn’t know why he and his crew have stumbled across an almost legendary Class 5 battleship, but he’s not going to complain. The only problem is, everyone on board is dead, except for one strange, new alien being. She calls herself Rose. She seems small and harmless, but less and less about her story is adding up, and Dav has a bad feeling his crew, and maybe even the four planets, are in jeopardy. The Class 5’s owners, the Tecran, look set to start a war to get it back and Dav suspects Rose isn’t the only alien being who survived what happened on the Class 5. And whatever else is out there is playing its own games.

In this race for the truth, he’s going to have to go against his leaders and trust the dark horse.

Winner of a SFR Galaxy Award 2016 and the Prism Award 2016 for Best Futuristic.

The Class 5 science fiction series is set in a galaxy where Earth women are abducted and thrust into conflicts between alien civilizations. The United Council governs multiple planets, while powerful AI battleships known as Class 5s navigate tensions between warring species. The Tecran have been abducting humans in violation of UC law, and the Grih Battle Center works to rescue abductees and prevent interstellar war. Each woman becomes a catalyst in diplomatic crises that could shift the balance of power between nations on the brink of conflict.

Exploring themes of survival, agency, and adaptation far from home, the series blends military science fiction with character-driven narratives. The abducted women must forge alliances, navigate political machinations, and fight for their own destinies while caught between species racing toward war. With AI battleships as both allies and unpredictable forces, the series examines individuals who refuse to remain pawns in larger conflicts. Perfect for readers seeking space opera featuring women who take matters into their own hands when facing impossible odds.

Review:  Sweet Something (Wood Hollow Stories Book 2) by Lane Hayes 

Rating: 3.5🌈

Sweet Something is the second book in Lane Hayes’ Wood Hollow Stories, a contemporary romance novel set in a Vermont landscape of 4 small towns that are very close together and connected socially with each other. 

Four Forest area of Vermont are : Wood Hollow, Elmwood, Pinecrest, and Fallbrook.

I loved This Guy and getting to know more about the community of Wood Hollow. But Sweet Something just doesn’t feel the same. It’s not as well executed or all the elements don’t add up to a warm hearted feel good story. Somehow it’s not realistic enough in the components that Hayes has written in to be a completely happy story. 

Dexter the donut shop guy is very engaging. He’s outgoing, helps run and organizes the community flag football teams, and loves his adopted town. There is a side story about his dysfunctional family and controlling mother , a brain injury, ex wife, but it’s not well developed . So the scenes and resolution with his mother feel forced. Especially after so many years of pain and hard feelings between them. 

Viggo the lumberjack is initially a character that is hard to connect with, especially after his aggressive angry introduction and interactions with Dexter. To be honest, that entire conversation and element would have had me with serious concerns about the entire situation with the surrogacy. She violated Dexter’s privacy rights. And sent an unknown man to scream and yell and threaten the person who will be the father of the baby. That’s never ok. 

No matter how Hayes used this , it makes it seem as though surrogacy and the tight laws and regulations surrounding it are incredibly fluid. I would think if you were going to include such an important topic as surrogacy, you’d make sure every aspect of it was thoughtfully addressed. It never really felt like it was here. At least to me. 

Anyway, I end up thinking about consequences, then other things like character dynamics, as well as other aspects of the story that don’t have a good flow. The entire Mother factor is another. She appears, often threatens, leaves. Epilogue. Everything is fine. 

Plus his brain injury that’s mentioned, gives him headaches and forgotten again. Was there any lingering issues? 

Anyway they all lived together HEA. It’s sweet and left me feeling less than satisfied. 

Looking forward to the next one. 

Cover Design by Sleepy Fox Studio

Four Forest towns  of Vermont Universe – see note below 

The Elmwood Stories (6 book series)- I love this series ❤️ it mentions the lumber mill and introduces the Four Forest towns. It’s hockey meets Vermont small town ❤️.

Wood Hollow Series:

This Guy #1

Sweet Something #2

Mountain Man #3 – Oct 12,2026

Four Forest area of Vermont are : Wood Hollow, Elmwood, Pinecrest, and Fallbrook. The Elmwood Stories ❤️ series is complete

Buy link 

 Book 2 of 3: Wood Hollow Stories 

Blurb 

The baker, the grumpy lumberjack, and a new dad journey…

Dexter

The donut business is booming in Wood Hollow, along with my flag football program. Now I’m ready to take on a new challenge—parenthood. See, I’ve always wanted to be a dad and it’s finally happening. Wood Hollow is the perfect place to raise a child. It’s quiet, safe, and the folks here are friendly.

One glaring exception is the grumpy lumberjack…who ends up being besties with my surrogate. What are the odds?

Yeah…this will be interesting.

Viggo

I’m a logger. I like wood. That’s it. Maybe that makes me a solitary person, but so what?

Unfortunately, I can’t ignore the handsome donut man’s new dad-to-be situation. Not when it concerns an old family friend.

Look, I don’t want to be involved, but I have no choice. And if that means I’ll have to step outside of my comfort zone and do people-y things to make sure Dexter is a going to be a good dad, so be it.

It doesn’t mean I like Dexter. He’s accidentally funny, kind of sweet, very hot, and—

Okay, fine.

Maybe I like him too much.

Sweet Something is an MM bisexual, grumpy/sunshine, small-town romance featuring Wood Hollow’s hottest baker and the grumpy lumberjack with a big heart.

July 21, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

286 pages

Book 2 of 3

Wood Hollow Stories

Review:  Age of Deception (The Firebird Chronicles Book 2) by T. A. White 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

The author does a remarkable job of seamlessly flowing the end of each book into the next, so if they end in cliffhangers, they are immediately resolved and the reader rewarded with a new chapter of the journey and a sense of purpose. 

This author has become a new favorite of mine and I’ll admit I’ve blown through this series. It’s fantastic. Now to catch up on my reviews.

Age of Deception sees Kira caught up in another web of plots from all factions that see her as their best player in the galactic political power struggle and potential new war that is about to begin. 

From one house to the another, one of her parents to her father’s clan, now it’s as a daughter of House Roake who has staked their claim and wants her to prove herself one of their race and warrior class. 

White’s plot has a multitude of strong storylines that she continues to explore, among them the effects of the horrors of the abuse, violence and experimentation that the children of the Sorrowing underwent. Whether it’s Kira or Jin or any other of the lost, bit by bit, what actually happened to them is slowly revealed. And that works so more powerfully than if we get the information all at once.

The political intrigue is complex and another aspect of the story that has its own twists. Because between the different planetary systems and ruling powers, and what roles each played in the last war, the intrigue and structures are still being rolled out. It’s riveting and suspenseful.

 

The best is the torn relationships and divided dynamics between species and that of Kira and her new family and that of her old found family of military crew, the Curs.  Humans are not regarded by other species as anything but weak animals. But the Curs are special. 

Kira with a long history with the Curs, has a heartbreaking secret, and Jin, a being who is regarded as “demonic “ on the new world, is the incredible complicated elements here. Highly emotional, physical and beautifully written in every aspect of this book, it’s a page turner in the best way. 

White juggles many storylines and characters without losing the depth of plot or character dimension. We’re watching this, exploring the new territory, culture and world just as the characters do. It’s fabulous.

And as it ends, on a cliffhanger. It’s easy to swing right into the next book and right into the plot without a hitch. 

Which is what I did. 

Highly recommended. A real winner for lovers of strong women, great storytelling and fast paced action. 

The Firebird Chronicles (6 book series)

Rules of Redemption 

Age of Deception 

Threshold of Annihilation 

Facets of Revolution

Trials of Conviction #5

Echoes of Insurrection #6

Connected new series:

(Picks up right after Echoes of Insurrection)

Cosmic Dryad series:

Botanical Mischief #1)

Buy link 

 Book 2 of 6: The Firebird Chronicles 

Blurb 

War hero and daughter to two Houses, Kira is just beginning to learn how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Agreeing to accompany her father’s people back to their homeworld, Kira Forrest prepares for the fight of her life. She’s agreed to undertake the Trial of the Broken, a rite of passage every member of her father’s House must pass. It offers a path to independence and freedom that is too tempting to deny. 

Not everyone welcomes this lost daughter of Roake. There are those who fear what her presence might bring to light. Betrayal stalks the halls of Kira’s birthplace—its roots embedded deep in the events that claimed her parent’s lives and set her on her current path.

Walking the wire’s edge between truth and deception will test the person Kira has become as she separates ally from betrayer. An old enemy has put into motion a plan that could topple the balance of power in the universe. Letting them succeed spells doom—but the price might be more than Kira is willing to pay.

Review: Shadowspell Academy : Year of the Chameleon Book 6 by Shannon Mayer

Rating: 4.75⭐️

Shannon Mayer brings the Shadowspell Academy series and the Year of the Chameleon mini trilogy to a thrilling conclusion here in the sixth and final story. 

Wild, Gregory, Wally, Johnson and the rest of her crew have 3 days to stop Frost or all is lost. It’s a terrifying race to find the all the keys and figure out how the magical pieces work together to become the ultimate weapon to defeat a enemy whose powers are growing.

The author’s manages to gather all her characters, the main circle of friends as well as the older characters, ghosts and outliers together, as well as their past shared histories , in this magical powerful confrontation with evil. 

And it takes Wild back to her beginnings and returns the series to its own roots. A really great narrative touch. 

The ending was harrowing, heartbreaking in scenes and emotionally charged. How it finally felt after the battle was over? Drained and right. 

It would have gotten a higher rating but there’s still too much left unfinished. Characters who are important but have no resolution. Same goes for Wild’s siblings and father. 

For a “academy/trials” trope, outside of the first book, the school and any type of academic work is not addressed here. The very idea of an academy going forward with Wild and crew and their schooling would have to be a continuing part of the series. 

What would come after The Year of the Chameleon? 

Anyway, this was excellent. Absolutely exciting, highly suspenseful, thrilling storytelling. I’ll definitely be recommending it for lovers of this genre and paranormal fiction. 

A real pleasure to share.

Shadowspell Academy (6 book series)

The Culling Trials #1 through 3

Year of the Chameleon #4 through 6 written by Shannon Mayer

Buy link 

        Shadowspell Academy: Year of the Chameleon: (Book 6)

    

Blurb 

You Don’t Choose the Academy. The Academy Chooses You.

Broken, bruised, and battered beyond anything else, I’ve survived what I shouldn’t have. 

But my day isn’t done yet. We finally have the key to stopping Frost—literally. Even if we don’t know how to use it. 

One last time my friends and I have to scour not only the city but the supernatural world to find the pieces of this final puzzle—and we have three days to do it. 

One final showdown brings us back to where it all began, and I face off against the woman who killed my brother. Who hunted my mother down. Who broke my uncle’s spirit.

Hijinks Ink Publishing

Publication date

May 18, 2021

Language

‎English

Print length

326 pages

Book 6 of 6

Shadowspell Academy

Review:  Rules of Redemption (The Firebird Chronicles Book 1) by T. A. White 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

I found this series and author by accident but I’m thrilled that I did. Rules of Redemption, the first book in The Firebird Chronicles by T. A. White, is a absolutely fantastic read and gripping space tale of a woman seeking  knowledge and revenge against those who both tortured her and others and who she fought against in a galactic war. 

Kira Forest, along with her AI companion, Jin, is now a space scavenger.  But during a visit to a space station to retrofit her ship, a selfless move by her ends up bringing her back into the attention of those she’s been avoiding. 

I consumed this book. Up til the early morning hours and then started reading the next because Kira and Jin’s saga has me completely hooked.

I’m not going to spoil anything but there so much to this. Author T.A. White is laying out the story arc so that Kira’s past and Jin’s is slowly revealed over the series, as events in the books make it clear what happened to them. 

It’s alien invasion, galactic wars, alien abductions, genetic engineering and manipulation, so much more. Various alien societies and cultures and their own historical traditions that impact on Kira and her people. 

It’s funny, dramatic, highly emotional, action packed with great sequences of battles and fights and even sentient sea beings. 

But my favorite relationship? Kira and Jin, the AI, a tightly connected, deeply engaging dynamic that’s still unfolding. I’m holding my breath as to how this relationship will end. 

So many mysteries, so many complications, and expanding casts. 

I don’t think this series is going to be long enough. 

Highly recommended. 

The Firebird Chronicles

Rules of Redemption 

Age of Deception 

Threshold of Annihilation 

Facets of Revolution

Buy link

 Book 1 of 6: The Firebird Chronicles 

Blurb 

The war everyone thought was over is just beginning.

Kira Forrest is a survivor. She’s risen above the pain of her beginnings to become a war hero only to leave it all behind in the pursuit of a simple life. Now a salvager, she makes a living sifting through the wreckage of dead alien ships from a war that nearly brought humanity to its knees.

After her ship takes damage, she’s forced to re-route to a space station where her past and present collide with dangerous consequences.

Kira’s existence holds the key to a faltering peace treaty with the Tuann—a technologically advanced alien race who dislikes and distrusts all humans. Winning her freedom should be easy, but a powerful and relentless Tuann warrior stands in her way. Deceiving him seems impossible, especially when he strays dangerously close to secrets she struggles to hide.

Can Kira reconcile the pain of her past with the possibilities of her future? The fate of two races depends on her success.

The war everyone thought was over is just beginning.

Kira Forrest is a survivor. She’s risen above the pain of her beginnings to become a war hero only to leave it all behind in the pursuit of a simple life. Now a salvager, she makes a living sifting through the wreckage of dead alien ships from a war that nearly brought humanity to its knees.

After her ship takes damage, she’s forced to re-route to a space station where her past and present collide with dangerous consequences.

Kira’s existence holds the key to a faltering peace treaty with the Tuann—a technologically advanced alien race who dislikes and distrusts all humans. Winning her freedom should be easy, but a powerful and relentless Tuann warrior stands in her way. Deceiving him seems impossible, especially when he strays dangerously close to secrets she struggles to hide.

Can Kira reconcile the pain of her past with the possibilities of her future? The fate of two races depends on her success.

Review: Shadowspell Academy : Year of the Chameleon Book 5 by Shannon Mayer

Rating: 4.75⭐️

We’re at the penultimate book, the real villain has been identified, and the scramble is on to stay alive, find a way to stop her and save Wild , her family and friends and the world magical order as it is.

And things aren’t looking so good. 

Shannon Mayer’s storylines are flowing into one another fluidly at this point, so this is picking up where the previous book ends. 

Helped by not just her own close knit group of paranormal friends, but the ghosts of her brother and mother, Wild is desperately looking for the magical instrument or instruction to help her defeat their enemies. 

 

The author has plenty of revelations about Wild, her family, as well as the history of the school to unlock as part of this highly suspenseful, action packed, and emotional storyline. 

Wally (a fantastic character who has had tremendous character development here), Johnson, and the rest of Wild’s crew get a lot of attention from the narrative as they are separated from Wild. Each striving for the same end before they reunite. 

It’s a great story, and the characters are so amazing with their own storylines and growth. 

Of course, as everyone heads towards the final battle, it ends in a cliffhanger. 

Fantastic work. Highly recommended. 

FYI. The academy has been pretty much left behind. 

Love it. 

Buy link 

        Shadowspell Academy: Year of the Chameleon

    

Blurb 

You Don’t Choose The Academy. The Academy Chooses You.

The Shadowkiller is back.

And he is hunting me down like a dog in the streets of New York City using every tool and ally he has—including people I once trusted.

I have never been so alone in my life, and yet if I turn to my friends that puts a target on their backs too. Which means I have to keep running.

So, I do what I know, and I set myself to finding the trail of breadcrumbs that will lead me to the one who is still pulling the strings.

Frost. A Chameleon just like me. Just like the Shadowkiller. Worse, she’s seeking out my friends to pick them off, one by one. To drain their lives in order to feed hers.

To stop her, I have to find her—a task easier said than done in a city this size.

What I don’t expect to find is a truth that this world and its secrets run far deeper, and far darker than I could have ever suspected.

But is any of that going to stop me?

Not a chance.

Hijinks Ink Publishing

Publication date

March 30, 2021

Language

‎English

Print length

314 pages

Book 5 of 6

Shadowspell Academy

Review: Drop of a Hat (Wicked Witches of Cauldron Hollow Book 6) by Sara Bourgeois 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

I love this so much. Where to start. 

Drop of a Hat sort of epitomizes why I love this author’s writing style so highly.  In 213 pages, Sara Bourgeois concisely delivers a story that is intriguing, quietly compelling, with elements that manage to be puzzling,horrifying, poignant, occasionally funny and sometimes exceedingly terrifying. And end up with a solid warm hearted note. 

All while leaving the characters where they belong , for now, and the reader satisfied but needing the next book. 

That’s when there’s multiple mysteries, only one of which is resolved, the villain’s story and resolution will likely keep you thinking, and the latest addition to the family, a zombie raccoon, is absolutely one of the most heartwarming aspects of the story! 

Not all but one! Then there’s Moira back from the dead. 

Such an incredible story. Ok off to reread it now. 

If this prolific writer isn’t on your radar, she should be. I’m reading two of her series now. Read the books in the order they are written. 

I’m highly impressed by this one and recommending it.

Love the author and series. Can’t wait to read the next book.

Wicked Witches of Cauldron Hollow (4 book series)

If the Hat Fits #1

Under The Hat #2

Hat Out of Spell #3

Hat Trick #4 

Bear Many Hats #5

Drop of a Hat #6 

Veil of Doom #7 – September 29,2026

Buy link

        Drop of a Hat (Wicked Witches of Cauldron Hollow Book 6)

    

Blurb 

Sometimes the dead don’t stay buried

Blythe Fairfield finally has her life together. A tea shop with her name on it. A talking cat who runs the place from the windowsill. A sheriff who just told her exactly what she means to him… right before her dead great-aunt knocked on the door.

But the real trouble starts when one of Cauldron Hollow’s oldest witches is found dead. The poison? Brewed from a recipe out of the Tallowmere family collection. The suspects? Start with the witch who just walked out of her own grave, and work your way down to the niece who took her in.

Blythe has solved murders before. This one is different. The victim had secrets. The suspects have more. Every clue she follows leads somewhere she doesn’t want to go. Every alibi has a hole in it, and one person who might be innocent refuses to account for herself.

Meanwhile, the witches of Cauldron Hollow are muttering about the old ways, the mundane authorities are circling a case they can’t be allowed to understand, and Blythe’s own familiar is taking sides… against her.

The clock is ticking. The town is watching. And the killer is closer than anyone thinks.

Turns out some hats never go out of style. They just come back.

July 13, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

213 pages

Review:  Shifting Allegiance (Shifter Lords Book 11) by S. E. Babin

Rating: 5⭐️

I’m not sure how each of these stories manages to get increasingly complex and more devastating by the book but with Shifting Allegiance, Shifter Lords Book 11, Moira’s journey takes a truly dark, intensely horrifying turn of events which ends with a terrifying cliffhanger. 

Babin has created for her Shifter Lords series a case of remarkable characters, including a group of women , goddesses, faes, vampire, otherworldly beings who have close ties to each other through family bonds or friendships that are now so tightly woven together that they are a force of nature and magic. Each woman comes with her own unique identity, often traumatized past and depths of character. The series may have begun with Evie’s journey but these same women have grown and developed over time and as events has changed them all. 

Now they circle and surround Moira as her evil witch mother returns to reclaim her daughter and seed her revenge against her own daughter who escaped from her mother and the tortured life she inflicted upon her. 

I’ve loved Moira from the beginning of the series. She’s been a great character, true friend, one who not only told Evie the truth about her relationship as the toxicity with Caelan was increasing but stayed true to support her. Even though her own issues. 

My heart breaks for Moira here over and over. Especially when Ethan’s past is revealed in the harshest, most tragic way.  And let’s not for Cerunnos’ and his own personal reasons for being in Moira’s life.

Layer upon layer, Babin builds a narrative that is dramatic, deeply rooted in family, trauma, love and devastation. There’s past child abuse mentioned as well as torture. Truly tragic and dark. 

But for all the characters who aren’t redeemable, Babin gives us those who are. Like the goddess Cliome, Evie’s mother, who started off the series in the role of villain and now is a permanent part of the inner circle that surrounds her daughter and friends. And, even Caelan, who I absolutely despised, has made a tremendous turnaround here. 

That’s why this is so incredible and the writing so fascinating and well executed. 

But now I have to wait, probably for another cliffhanger too. It’s just the way this series is rolling. 

And it will probably be one of my favorites. 

It’s one I highly recommend reading right now. 

Cover design by Covers by Christian

Shifter Lords (14 book series):

Shift of Heart #1

Shift of Morals #2

Power Shift #3

Shifting Winds #4

Shifting Resolve #5

Shift of Rule #6

Shift of the Wild #7 

Goddess Shifting #8

Final Shift #9 – finale to Evie’s story 

Moira’s story begins 

Shift Happens #10 

Shifting Allegiance #11 

Shift of Shadows #12 – Nov 17,2026

Karmic Shift #13 – Dec 15,2026

Shift of Fate #14 – March 2,2027

Buy link 

 Book 11 of 14: Shifter Lords 

Blurb 

Moira has spent years outrunning her past. Now it’s finally caught up with her.

What should have been a routine job with Soren goes disastrously wrong, forcing Moira to come face-to-face with the one person she never wanted to see again. As old wounds reopen and long-buried secrets claw their way to the surface, the vampire hybrid must confront the darkness she’s spent a lifetime trying to escape.

Then Ethan becomes the target of a devastating spell.

Overnight, every memory of the connection growing between them vanishes, leaving Moira as little more than a stranger in his eyes. Worse, the magic continues to spread, twisting Ethan’s thoughts and reshaping his reality one lie at a time.

Determined to save him, Moira hunts for the source of the dark magic before it consumes him completely. But the deeper she digs, the more she uncovers a conspiracy tied to her own past—one that threatens not only Ethan’s future, but her very existence.

With time running out and enemies closing in from every side, Moira faces an impossible choice: walk away and save herself, or sacrifice everything for the man who no longer remembers her.

Because some monsters can’t be outrun.

And some futures are worth dying for.

Oliver Heber Books

Publication date

July 7, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

246 pages

Book 11 of 14

Shifter Lords

Review:  Unpredictable Magic by Faith Hunter 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Unpredictable Magic by Faith Hunter brings us back into the lives of witches Angelina and Evan Everhart-Trueblood, characters who were children in Faith Hunter’s fantastic Jane Yellowrock series. 

Aunt Jane, the Dark Queen, is a solid character and continuing presence in their lives now that both Angie and Evan are adults with pasts that haunt each of them.

For Angie, it’s an abusive marriage and a ex-vampire husband that has ramifications throughout this story. For Evan, it’s his past black ops service in the Vampire/Demon wars that’s giving him unrelenting nightmares of his battles then. For both of them, Everhart Investigations, a PI firm in Chattanooga, has been a way to reunite as siblings and to try to find a new path separate from their families and the Royal family. 

A case puts everything they’ve struggled for into jeopardy, including those they love. 

This story is just fabulous. Highly suspenseful, full of twists, and great storytelling. Some crossover characters from the Jane Yellowrock series occur as these two are tied tightly together with that other series. That’s just another great reason to read this.

But the characters, Angie and Evan, as well as those who they gather around them, exhibit their own growth and development here. 

It was interesting to see them as adults because my memories are of them as children. And they have gone through some traumatic experiences and events that we hear about through memories or scenes that past history is brought up. 

If I had a wish? It’s that Angie was more realistic about their  “freedom “ from her family and the Dark Queen. She goes on about losing her freedom while not mentioning once that her ties with her family and aunt are the ones that have saved her repeatedly. Over and over. And over. 

Were there times I wanted to say grow TFU? Why yes there was.  Maybe future stories will see that happen. I do look forward to those.

I’ve seen elsewhere that this is the first book in a Everhart Investigations series and I really hope that it’s true. 

This was a fabulous wild ride. The side characters are just incredible. Cousin Wacko? Love her. And their vampire bodyguard with his own complicated past. Amazing stuff!

Highly recommended!

Jane Yellowrock (15 book series)

Also related:

Soulwood (6 book series)

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comUnpredictable Magic: Hunter, Faith – Books

Blurb 

Witches Angelina and Evan Everhart-Trueblood take a case that spirals out of control until the whole city is at risk in this exciting new novel from New York Timesbestselling author Faith Hunter.

Angelina Everhart-Trueblood and her brother Evan run Everhart Investigations, a PI firm in Chattanooga that solves paranormal crimes committed by supernatural beings. When their new client wants help finding her friend, who supposedly disappeared during a reception at Angie’s aunt Jane’s winter residence, things get . . . complicated.

The client is not who she appears to be, and demons strike the city for the first time since the Witch War. On top of that, evidence is pointing toward the involvement of an overly ambitious vampire—who just happens to be Angie’s ex-husband.

As Angie and Evan team up with CPD, they will have to dig deep into their magical reserves—and rely on some friends in high places—to rid Chattanooga of the danger creeping into their city.

Ace

Publication date

July 14, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

556 pages