Review: Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

Rating: 4.5⭐️

I’ve been reading several 2026 Hugo Awards winners and nominees recently and John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series won for Best Series so I thought I’d check it out as I’m obviously late to discovering this author. 

Old Man’s War, the first book in the series was written in 2007 and is an excellent read.  The plot is so well written and one that is easy to understand and relate to one multiple levels. 

John Perry is 75. His beloved wife has died and he mourns her and their life together deeply. Their son is grown up, settled down and has a family of his own. John is mentally and emotionally adrift from his life without his wife. And has made plans to move on. He’s joined the Army. 

Along with a massive number of other 75 year old seniors from around the world. 

There’s an interstellar space war going on and soldiers are needed to fight for humanity’s survival. Old men and women will be made young again in order to fight for humanity against the aliens.

That’s the plot. And it’s a great one. How Scalzi pulls it off, the mental and physical impact of this on those who become the “next generation of fighters”.   

All these people leaving Earth and their old lives behind forever for the unknown. The way that will impact them, their way of thinking and understanding humanity. And even relationships. The possibility of even having one in a war that stretches on forever. 

All those ethical or emotional dilemmas that John or the others might have are quickly dealt with by the realistic military structure as necessary to win the war and continue the increasingly complex alien engagements. 

Interesting elements will emerge as important themes of the series, such as cellular memory and philosophical questioning about what makes a being a person.  Even identity comes into play towards the end when the possibility of cellular memory is introduced.

Scalzi in his Author’s notes talks about what books he found informative, including Heinlen’s Starship Troopers and later on  (my favorite) Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War. I see that in the Starship Troopers as many have written. 

The characters that surround John are notable in the sense that they are only just above one dimensional level. We are just getting started with connecting to each of them emotionally and then it’s time for reality to set in. They’re frontline soldiers.

Events are fast paced and full of military action in space. Strange aliens and space ships and bloody battles that have killed thousands, perhaps even more. 

The ending is open for the next book. Where some of the questions raised here might be given further exploration. Can’t wait to read it next. 

Highly recommended. Especially if you’re a fan of the books I mentioned. 

Cover design by Jamie Stafford-Hill

Old Man’s War (7 book series)

Old Man’s War Series

#1 Old Man’s War

#2 The Ghost Brigades

#3 The Last Colony

#4 Zoe’s Tale

#5 The Human Division

#6 The End of All Things 

Short fiction: “After the Coup”

Buy link

        Old Man’s War

    

Blurb 

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army.

The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-and aliens willing to fight for them are common. The universe, it turns out, is a hostile place. 

So: we fight. To defend Earth (a target for our new enemies, should we let them get close enough) and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has gone on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity’s resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force, which shields the home planet from too much knowledge of the situation. What’s known to everybody is that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don’t want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You’ll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You’ll serve your time at the front. And if you survive, you’ll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine-and what he will become is far stranger.

Old Man’s War Series

#1 Old Man’s War

#2 The Ghost Brigades

#3 The Last Colony

#4 Zoe’s Tale

#5 The Human Division

#6 The End of All Things 

Short fiction: “After the Coup”

Tor Books

Publication date

April 1, 2007

Language

‎English

Print length

308 pages

Book 1 of 7

Old Man’s War

Review:  Move Your Ash: A Midlife Paranormal Dark Comedy (The Scales of Justice Book 2) by Lara McKenzie

Rating: 5⭐️

Move Your Ash is my favorite book of this series and of the recently released connected novels associated with the same universe characters. 

It’s reminiscent of the early Maya Blog stories in which the character was really introspective, here journaling instead of blogging, through some major personal issues with relatable humor, often deep rooted pain, and continuing fears from her past family history of family violence and abuse.

Charlotte has a new home, new neighborhood and is working with Nico to rebuild their relationship after his betrayal and the devastating events in the first book. It’s only going so so, along with her perimenopause and all that brings with it. 

It’s a lot. 

McKenzie gives us a woman who is trying to, once again, establish herself in a new situation, one where she’s in control, but not letting the past fears restrict her ability to live her life. She’s in therapy, trying to understand how to handle her emotional pain as well as the perimenopausal symptoms that are associated with her fluctuations in emotions, rage being the most common, unacknowledged fears being one of the others. 

Her new neighbors, a mixed bag of human beings and otherworldly beings are a fascinating group that add humor, tightly written tension, and a lot of relatable community dynamics to the story. Absolutely loved this and the characters. 

But, as with this author and universe, it’s always about the main character, her development and personal growth. Charlotte has been through enormous tragedy, betrayals, and damaging emotional abuse by her kidnappers/traffickers. And she’s continuing dealing with the trauma and aftermath of this experience. The journaling is a very important part of this. 

They impart her intelligence, insight into her moods, daily thoughts and even hot flashes. These entries start each chapter and remain the highlight of the book for me.  Tidbits of joy, hilarity and often, poignant stories. 

Nico’s part here is equally important. He’s aware of his role in working to make their relationship better, equal and communicative with understanding that was missing from it before. Their fights and interactions are just as important as anything else here but the discussions between them are deeply rooted in being adults and handling each other’s flaws and feelings. 

For some reason Move Your Ash: A Midlife Paranormal Dark Comedy (The Scales of Justice Book 2) by Lara McKenzie reads like a finale book to me. So many characters make appearances.  It’s absolutely satisfying and I love it. 

I really hope not. I’m so fond of this universe and these people. I want to see what happens to them next. But if McKenzie leaves them here, I’m ok with that. 

Highly recommended. But read the books in the order they are written. 

Cover Illustration by Mansitha

MAYA’S BLOGS

Espresso Yourself

Diligence 

Uncharted Grounds 

Flat White Flag 

Little Bean 

Stir Crazy 

 

THE SCALES OF JUSTICE 

Kiss My Ash #1

Move Your Ash #2

Buy link 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H7XPHS29?binding=kindle_edition&qid=1788730014&sr=1-1&ref=dbs_dp_awt_sb_pc_tkin

Blurb 

The toughest thing a perimenopausal woman with no patience left can grow—other than chin hair—is roots.

Charlotte has a new house, nosy neighbours, and a mission to live her life without fear.

But her new life is proving tougher than she expected, especially when her work at White Flag House’s new legal clinic brings her more attention than she’s comfortable with, her hormones play havoc with her emotions, and her relationship with Nico still hasn’t recovered after his betrayal.

Can Charlotte learn to stand on her own without shutting out the people who want to stand with her?

Perfect for fans of midlife paranormal comedy with just a touch of darkness.

September 2, 2026

Accessibility

Learn more

Language

‎English

File size

2.7 MB

Screen Reader

Supported

Enhanced typesetting

Enabled

X-Ray

Not Enabled

Word Wise

Enabled

Print length

269 pages

Page Flip

Enabled

Book 2 of 2

The Scales of Justice

Review:  The Lost Reliquary (Divine Thrall Book 1) by Lyndsay Ely

Rating: 4.75⭐️

The Lost Reliquary by Lyndsay Ely is just an astonishing piece of dark fantasy storytelling.  The author is a new discovery and this is a remarkable way to dive into her writings. 

It’s the first book in Ely’s Divine Thrall series, grounded in a universe where once there were many gods who warred among themselves.  In the aftermath of centuries of battle, a lone victor emerged, the goddess Tempestra-Innara, the Enduring Flame. 

Ely starts the story with a rebellion against the goddess in play. The perspective of the story is that of Lys, one of the divine warrior’s of Tempestra-Innara. Taken as a child to serve the last goddess, her dark childhood events are revealed as the story progresses, Lys has ulterior motives as she serves as potentiate of the Dawn Cloister, one of two divine guard forces for the goddess. 

After an assassination attempt against the goddess is foiled, the goddess sends Lys out to track down the heretics and the religious weapon that can be used against her. One that Lys hopes to obtain for herself. A plan complicated by the fact that another divine warrior is sent along with her with his own plans and agendas. 

Ely has created raw, powerful characters full of complex personalities, with dark damaged histories and the magical powers to go along with them, each suited to their unique needs. 

One , Lys, who looks at the goddess, and silently remembers her mother, their history, and the traumatic events she’s endured since becoming a divine warrior. The other? A man solid in his faith and his religious convictions, and those above him who are directing his actions, no matter what they are and who they affect. Both are credible in their own beliefs and roles. 

The journey they undertake, the lands and seas they cross, and peoples they meet. All have enormous influence on their destiny and outcome. And the relationship between them that starts to develop. 

It ends with a cliffhanger but one that I almost expected. It was logical that it would end up that way.  And now I really can’t wait for the next book to arrive so I can see what happens next.

Lyndsay Ely has created a fantastic universe for her Divine Thrall series. Complex world building with multiple countries and cultures, complete with different architectural styles and religions. And her characterizations are amazing, layered, powerful and realistically brought to life, compelling with dark trauma and painful memories that drive their storylines. 

More now please.  And highly recommended. 

Divine Thrall

The Lost Reliquary #1

The Divine Shadow #2 – Nov 10, 2026

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comThe Lost Reliquary (Divine Thrall): Lyndsay Ely: 9781668148464

Blurb 

A divinely blessed warrior bound to the last living goddess plots deicide to win her freedom in this propulsive epic fantasy for fans of Godkiller and Gideon the Ninth.

The Devoted Lands was once home to many gods. Now, after centuries of brutal wars, only Tempestra-Innara, the Enduring Flame, remains.

As a divine warrior, Lys is outwardly loyal to her goddess. If she dreams of deicide, that’s her business. When a routine heretical execution erupts into a near-fatal assassination attempt on Tempestra-Innara, Lys sees a glimmer of hope for her freedom.

Lys is chosen to hunt down the heretics and find an ancient reliquary with the power to kill a god. Annoyingly, she’s not alone. Paired with Nolan, a warrior from a rival cloister who is as pious as he is determined, Lys must feign devotion if she hopes to keep her own god-killing ambitions within reach.

But as they pursue the heretics linked to the assassination, Lys uncovers a world with more possibility—and peril—than she ever anticipated.

Divine Thrall

The Lost Reliquary

The Divine Shadow – Nov 10, 2026

S&S/Saga Press

Publication date

October 21, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

464 pages

Book 1 of 2

Divine Thrall

Review: Ebony Gate (Phoenix Hoard #1) by Julie Vee and Ken Bebelle

Rating: 4.75⭐️

Ebony Gate (Phoenix Hoard #1) by Julie Vee and Ken Bebelle is one more recent discovery where it’s a combination of both great new book and great new writers. Win and winner. And finished series! Be still my heart! I hit the reader’s trifecta!

Yes, I’m absolutely thrilled with this book. It was another 3am finish and I had to stop myself from getting the second and immediately diving back into this incredible universe and character. 

Set in contemporary San Francisco, the main character is Emiko Soong, oldest child of the magical Soong Clan, a dragon people who fled the destruction of their world to the human realm. One of eight powerful magical families, each with their own abilities and agendas, Emiko has removed herself to San Francisco after a long, bloody history with her family as their assassin.

Of course her past, her family, and clan politics dictate that she is soon pulled back into the magical family life and world she’s trying to escape.

I couldn’t put it down. Emiko’s past is bleak, filled with memories that invade narrative with bodies and vague scenes of her parents and blood. That her parents haven’t been totally honest about Emiko’s past or talent is clear throughout the story. And it’s a thread that will not be revealed here. 

She’s a haunted, martial arts master, The Butcher of Peking, who now lives in San Francisco, remaining apart because of her past experiences and her secret life as a dragon clan.  

I think interesting aspects of her life, the lower families, those outside of the clan’s protective influence that she’s become friends with, but the delicate relationships that are always present within the “invisible social structures“ that must be adhered to, that’s all perfectly defined by the authors. That balance of power and cultural strictures of both Asian and their Dragon magic is wonderfully crafted and laid out. 

That scene alone in the library is everything. 

Emiko’s mother, who is absent physically but whose impact is enormous here, is a character I can’t wait to meet. It’s because of her that Emiko’s presence is required by a shinigami.  Absolutely terrifying and fascinating aspect of the story. 

There’s a mission to save the City, herself and much more. It’s exciting, action packed and thrilling. 

My only issue with it was that the Sentinel aspect took longer than I thought it should. That felt too drawn out. 

Now onto the next book and some new exciting characters (like parents to meet) and locations. 

Highly recommended and thrilled to share. 

Buy link

 Book 1 of 3: The Phoenix Hoard 

Blurb 

A CALIBA 2023 Golden Poppy Book Award Finalist

Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle’s Ebony Gate is a female John Wick story with dragon magic set in contemporary San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Emiko Soong belongs to one of the eight premier magical families of the world. But Emiko never needed any magic. Because she is the Blade of the Soong Clan. Or was. Until she’s drenched in blood in the middle of a market in China, surrounded by bodies and the scent of blood and human waste as a lethal perfume. 

The Butcher of Beijing now lives a quiet life in San Francisco, importing antiques. But when a shinigami, a god of death itself, calls in a family blood debt, Emiko must recover the Ebony Gate that holds back the hungry ghosts of the Yomi underworld. Or forfeit her soul as the anchor.

What’s a retired assassin to do but save the City by the Bay from an army of the dead?

The Phoenix Hoard

#1 Ebony Gate

#2 Blood Jade

#3 Pearl City

Review: Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy by Jacqueline Firkins

  

Rating : 4.75⭐️

I’ve had a great run of recommendations lately that have resulted in not only some fantastic stories but also discovering writers I’ve never read before. 

   

Philippa Flynn’s Year of Panic and Piracy by Jacqueline Firkins is one of these, a beautifully written, heartfelt contemporary story about a woman’s journey to reconfigure her life after a typical bike ride into work nearly turns tragic. It shocks her into rethinking her current career and life. 

And she makes a sea change. One that comes with disapproving parents, realistic struggles, and emotional difficulties. Financial issues too. 

Philippa Flynn is so relatable. Intelligent, the one sibling who is the outlier in her uber successful family in her career choices as a history professor and her single life. And an unexpected event is about to happen to shake her life up in ways no one would have imagined.

Except perhaps for her grandmother, who left her a storied house, its contents, and a pirate ship by the sea. 

As well as a surprise inside the house in the form of a tenant. 

Firkins’ characters are so realistic and richly emotional. Their histories and their struggles with their families and their current situation. Just their initial impressions, and awkward conversations, funny and so beautifully crafted in its raw language and realness. 

And as Philippa and Dylan navigate through their slow journey to a romantic relationship and partnership, fighting family and fears, the reader has become entrenched in their lives, rooted into their journey and emotionally invested in the outcome.

I loved the story. And could have stayed with them for longer. 

And I’ll definitely be seeking out more of this author’s work. 

Highly recommended.

Cover design and illustration by Philip Pascuzzo 

Cover image: MarinaDreams / Getty

Other Books by this author:

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things 

How Not to Fall in Love 

Marlowe Banks, Redesigned 

The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch 

The Goode Girls of Maple Lane

Buy link:

https://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-Firkins/e/B07SSJGYWW/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Blurb 

An introverted history professor and a former romance cover model collaborate on a life-changing endeavor in a witty and swoonworthy novel about new beginnings in unexpected waters.

When a sinkhole nearly swallows her whole, burned-out history professor Philippa Flynn takes it as a wake-up call. Leaving her carefully planned but unfulfilling life behind, she moves into an old seaside house she inherited from her grandmother, a bestselling author of swashbuckling romances. 

Philippa expects the clutter, disrepair, proximity to the family she deliberately moved away from, and reclusive writer she’ll be sharing the house with. She doesn’t expect that writer to also be the cover model who personified Iris Flynn’s bare-chested, cavalier-booted pirate king.

While navigating their awkward cohabitation and searching for creative inspiration, the pair discovers the outlines for six more novels they could work on together. But Philippa’s used to facts, Dylan has writer’s block, and neither can craft a love scene while real sparks are flying.

To write the story on the page, Philippa will have to embrace the one she’s living, even if it means swapping tenure for treasure maps and plans for pirate kings.

Review: Soul of Fire (Chaosborn Book 2) by Madeleine Eliot

Rating: 4.75⭐️

“The Chaosborn romantasy series unfolds in a Norse-inspired world where dragon-bonded warriors known as the Drage protect kingdoms from an awakening threat called the Darkness.”

An incredible book that ends with a heart-stopping cliffhanger. What a shocker!

That should be my entire review. 

Because that ending? Absolutely threw me. Didn’t see it coming. 

Everything else leading up? Excellent work, great plotting, wonderful suspense and storytelling. 

I mean I love the characters and how the author has developed both the mythology and the interplay between dragons and their bonded people. Then overlapped that with the political drama that’s impacting their lives. 

But still . Boom! With those twists and unexpected surprises. 

Nope. No, spoilers about what happens to Eise and Arik. 

Madeleine Eliot has crafted an amazing book and series, complete with Norse mythology, language and history as well as Celtic lore and language included. Don’t miss out on her notes for the characters and storylines at the beginning. 

And need that third book right now. Pretty please? 

If you have an issue with cliffhangers (and this is a doozy), maybe wait until the next book comes out and read right through. Otherwise, hang in there with me, and read it right now. 

Highly recommended. 

Cover clipart by Viktoriia Ihnatovets ArtCreationsDesign 

Map design by Lindsey Staton

Chaosborn:

Heart of Chaos #1

Soul of Fire #2

Buy link

 Book 2 of 2: Chaosborn 

Blurb 

Only a soul of fire can stand against what comes next…

The Rift is stirring, and the Darkness beyond it is no longer content to wait.

As the human king prepares for a war driven by greed rather than survival, newly mated Arik and Eisa are pulled into a dangerous web of politics—one that threatens not only their fragile alliances, but the mate bond that ties their souls together.

When the Darkness breaks free, only a soul of fire born once in a generation can stand against what comes next. And awakening that power may cost more than either of them is willing to lose.

Soul of Fire is the second book in the Chaosborn trilogy, an adult romantasy featuring dragon shifters, Norse-inspired lore, and spicy romance.

August 1, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

425 pages

Book 2 of 2

Chaosborn

Review: Moss’d in Space (Moss’d in Space #1) by Rebecca Thorne

Rating: 5🌈⭐️

Moss’d in Space , the first book in the Moss’d in Space excellent science fiction adventure series is the first book I’ve read by Rebecca Thorne, and I’m absolutely thrilled I’ve found her. 

I don’t even know where to begin to describe the amazing qualities of this book.  It’s so fantastic and funny and uniquely crafted. And it’s a testament to the author’s ability to write great characters and relationships, including a sentient moss who is  emotionally upset with abandonment issues, that the reader is absolutely engaged with the story. 

I picked this up and read right through ‘til morning. Loving every single sentence, scenes, moments and character dynamics within it. 

The first character we meet is Moss, a sentient life support system on an alien spaceship who has been abandoned for over 100 years in a human space station, neglected in the dark.  The ancient odd looking spaceship is bought by Torian Razner, who’s on mission to save her sister’s life. 

Torian is a wonderful character. Earnest, struggling with her sister’s critical illness, and her own life choices. She’s easily one of the most relatable characters in the series, vulnerable and emotionally open. Which is why her relationship with Moss is so strong and funny and true once they begin to trust each other. 

In fact, all the systems are looking at evolving and having distinct personalities. Moss and his “conversations/interactions” with the other systems are blocked out and starts off each chapter. They turn into some of the fun and entertaining moments of the story, highlighting how Moss is changing along with its circumstances and new relationships as events evolve. 

Aliens. All types of aliens. Humanoid and ones that definitely aren’t along human evolutionary paths. Another great factor here. 

Is there a romantic relationship? Sort of. Torian and Amelia, a Captain of a galactic spaceship, have a history between them, a kiss and a “what if” moment before Torian left her service for buying her own ship.  So this looks like a really slow burn cozy romance. 

There’s plenty of other great characters, diverse species, to show off the community that’s starting to grow between them all, despite age, species and culture. 

And I was so immersed in the story and these lives that the cliffhanger ending actually shocked me. 

So I will be waiting until Summer of 2027 for the next book and the next chapter of their journey. I am very excited to see where the author takes them and us!

One of the best books I’ve read this year. Highly recommended.

Buy link

 Book 1 of 1: Moss’d in Space 

Blurb 

USA Today Bestselling author Rebecca Thorne delights in a brand new cozy science-fiction romance series for fans of Martha Wells.

Torian Razner finally bought a starship, and contrary to Amelia’s assessment, it was not “a meteoric sign of stupidity.” Sure, the alien starship may have been abandoned for a century, and it may be covered in moss now… but it’s Torian’s ticket to freedom, regardless of what her ex… ah, captain… said.

Except Torian’s first flight reveals a surprise passenger: the moss is actually an organic computer with a snarky attitude and serious abandonment issues. The target of its loathing? The immortal alien who built it (and then parked the starship, with Moss inside, and forgot about it). The same alien who just found Torian and accused her of “stealing” the ship.

It’s entirely possible that Amelia was right about this meteoric stupidity.

Bramble

Publication date

June 30, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

359 pages

Book 1 of 1

Moss’d in Space

Review: Our Nanny is a Vampire by Lindsey Devin and Roxie Ray

Rating:5⭐️

Well, I’m absolutely flabbergasted by this book.  It’s starts with the cover. I mean, it’s cute, colorful, showing an adorable woman holding a teddy bear in a style that suggests this  story is going to be sweet, entertaining and honestly, lighthearted. 

What the reader falls into is a beautifully written exploration of a family deeply bound up in their grief and loss of their mother and their father’s love for his wife. Their center is gone and they’ve been shattered. After three years they haven’t started reconnecting with their father or outside of the home.  

There’s an equally strong emotional aspect here. A 200 year old vampire who is carrying her own trauma and deep emotional baggage that has never been fully recovered from.

The Lawrence household, overwhelmed, overworked father Conrad Lawrence, youngest girl Billie, middle child C.J, and oldest daughter Bianca, all of whom are brilliant, talented and perceptive in their own right, and hurting for their father, themselves and their loss.  

Immediately, after the children dispatched yet another nanny from the house with an amazing display of engineering enthusiasm, the family heads to the cemetery. And I’m both lost for words for this grieving family and lost in this world and story. 

The authors have me in tears and their grip. The dialogue are beautiful, apt to the characters and ages, clever but also poignant. Powerful and funny and emotional.  We know what they are thinking and how they feel about each moment.

“The cemetery sat behind a small white church twenty minutes from the house, tucked between old trees and a low, iron fence. Jade hadn’t been especially religious, but she’d liked the cemetery. She’d told me that if people had to be buried anywhere, they might as well be somewhere with decent shade and no highway noise.”

The children are so remarkable, real and connectable. I love them deeply. 

“Billie stared out the window with her brows pinched together. “Is Mommy cold?” she asked.”

Oh my heart.

Then , courtesy of the fabulous Lady Ferdinand,  Conrad is given a card and number to call:

Miss Winifred Carrington 

Private Childcare and Household Instruction Discretion Assured

I won’t spoil her entrance or what happened next. I will say it’s scene after scene of things I could picture in my head. The artfully executed conversations, the relatable relationships forming between Winnie and each child, the healing as the family starts to recover and move forward. 

There’s also an important side plot about Winnie’s past that comes with trigger warnings. But everything here is thoughtfully written and woven together with the dynamics of the family and slow burn romance that it’s extremely important for Winnie’s character to grow as well for this element to occur. 

I kept wondering if something would pop up to keep me from loving this. But even that ending was just right. She’s a vampire with eternal life, they are humans. That’s recognized by both Conrad and herself as a reality of their situation. She’s never going to get old. But the way love is treated and discussed here is impressive. 

And it makes sense and so the ending feels satisfying. 

I wondered how I would feel about this given how many writers are involved (each author is actually two writers or more) but it’s an absolute joy to read and a 5 star story. 

Really, that cover is such a mismatch between it and the complexity of the content inside. Love surprises like this.

Highly recommended!

Read the trigger warnings. 

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comOur Nanny is a Vampire eBook : Devin, Lindsey, Ray, Roxie

Blurb 

Conrad Lawrence has lost nine nannies in three years.

There was Nanny Franny McFine (four days). Marie Von Fire, who claimed she’d once worked for a duke. Mrs. Corrinna Rainer, who lasted until Billie released crickets into her suitcase. 

Mademoiselle Joella Frosty, who called his kids “creatively hostile” and blocked his number before she reached the end of the driveway.

So when nanny #10 walked through the door, Conrad wasn’t expecting much. Then Winnie shows up.

She’s calm where his house is chaos. Patient where his kids are relentless. And she sees the grief he’s been quietly carrying for three years without flinching from it — because she’s been carrying centuries of her own.

Winnie has survived two hundred years by never staying long enough to be found. But this house, this impossible family, and this exhausted, good-hearted father are the first things she’s wanted to keep in longer than she can remember.

She should have known better. Because the past doesn’t let go that easily — and hers is coming to collect.

✨ Perfect for readers who love: grumpy widower x unbothered 200-year-old nanny energy, slow-burn nanny romance, found family with a coffin parked under the trees, and exes who show up mid-domesticity like they weren’t already asked to leave

Special Fiction Books

Publication date

July 23, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

‘O567 pages

Review:  The Rut in the Road (Beyond the Veil #11) by K. M. Avery

Rating: 4.5🌈

Rayn’s journey has been one of the most haunting, and tormented of all of the characters to date in this immersive paranormal world where an Arcana virus swept across the world altering the human landscape forever. A large portion of the world’s population perished, others were left altered by the virus, becoming orcs, witches, weres of various species, zombies, vampires and other otherworldly beings. Quickly consigned to hospitals, or institutions or worse when society and families couldn’t accept them or the virus transitions were physically agonizing and long to take hold. 

By book 11, Humans only rights groups, not just the extremists, are fighting to remove the rights the Nids have gained. It sounds very familiar. And the fear and ugly hate groups, the crimes against the Nids going unpunished, is so well written that it feels lifted from events today. 

Rayn,older and working as a touch psychic in alongside Ward and Mason in BTV is still very much the under socialized, on the spectrum person he’s been even as he’s developed physically.  His childhood, and its accompanying deep trauma and abuse along with his lack of knowledge of his own powers, still makes Rayn an introverted, emotionally awkward person. He’s trying to get people to accept him as adult and not as a fragile little traumatized boy most who know his history see him as. 

Avery’s crafting of Rayn is immaculate, he is real in his skin, his efforts to navigate through the communication blocks and issues between Raj and himself are emotionally tough and difficult and feel absolutely credibly raw.  Hart plays a great supporting role here, once again revealing himself to be a fine, intelligent caring man. 

Raj has been a strong presence in the series and his involvement with Rayn starts in the previous book. But the issues between him and Rayn have been building and his extraordinary overprotective nature is a huge problem. 

It’s addressed and seems to be an aspect that he needs to work through. Do I believe that it’s resolved? Not sure. I never know with Avery, maybe it is or maybe it isn’t. There’s one more book in Rayn’s trilogy and the human only faction element has just gotten more complicated and suspenseful by the end of this very amazing story. 

I highly recommend reading it but it’s not something that you can read by itself. Each one should be read in the order that it was written for characters and overall plot development. 

Amazing series and fantastic characters. One of the best paranormal group of storylines I’ve read. Certainly one that has the most impact on current events.

Series couples to date (not standalone and have to be read in the order they are written):

Highly recommended. 

Beyond the Veil Series : 

💀Ward’s story (1-3): 

The Ghost in the Hall 

The Boy in the Locked Room 

The Skeleton Under the Stairs. 

💀Hart’s story (4-6): 

The Dog in the Alley 

The Bones in the Yard 

The Elf Beside Himself 

💀Seth’s story (7-9): 

The Turning of the Tables 

The Badger in his Burrow 

The Past in the Present 

💀Rayn’s Story (10-12) 

The Diamond in the Rough 

The Rut in the Road 

The Rock and the Hard Case (coming 2026) 

💀Dan’s Story (13-15) Coming 2026-2027

Buy link 

 Book 11 of 11: Beyond the Veil 

Blurb 

I was finally getting my life together—I had a job, a boyfriend, was working on my college degree, and was learning to control both my magic and my psychic abilities. I’d reconnected with my sister and I was starting to think that I might actually be able to have something approaching a healthy adult life, even if it wasn’t going to be an even remotely normal one.

And then I hit a rut in the road.

Or, rather, people started hitting other people. What started as a single hit-and-run had become several of them, all targeting Arcanids, and I was being asked to get into the mind of the killer… although I’m starting to think that maybe there’s more than one. Tracking one killer is hard enough, but when you think there might be several, things get a lot messier.

Especially when your boyfriend is a federal agent who just got called in to take over the case. It’s the first time we’ve worked together since we started dating, and it’s definitely taking a toll. I don’t want to have to choose between keeping him and solving the murders.

July 30, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

430 pages

Book 11 of 11

Beyond the Veil

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