“In-hiding hedgewitch florist by day. Powerful demigoddess by blood. Shapeshifting immortal by accident.”- book 1 hook
Well, it’s taken seven books to get here but Shifting of the Wild is the story I’ve been waiting for and so, so satisfying.
In all my reviews I’ve made it clear that the character of Caelan has been one I consider a being I’m absolutely not a fan of, especially in the toxic relationship he’s had with Evie. He’s been the epitome of a controlling, dangerous, narcissistic personality who’s only interested in power and dominance.
And the sad, damaging nature of this relationship has been one of the worst aspects of the series. Domestic violence and abuse are front and center here. Cheating and humiliation as well in the previous story.
So this book is where Evie begins with her healing, her understanding of her past relationships , of Caelan, their abusive dynamic , and slowly starting to change and move happily forward.
Shes in Rowan’s territory after the last battles and ordeals suffered in the previous story. The damage incurred is devastating. Physically and emotionally. She’s needed space and time to heal and recover.
And yes, Rowan has been a great favorite of mine. What a great and well balanced character, including his own secrets and powers.
This narrative has multiple layers, including a new huge threat to the world from unknown sources. And Cernunnos and Moira are setting up a new plot and role for Moira with her new powers.
I just love this story, and really want the trajectory of Evie’s new relationship to continue. Fantastic work and series.
When Mother Earth comes calling, you’d better answer the door…
Evie has asked for sanctuary with Rowan, and he’s accepted, allowing her into his territory to lick her wounds and heal. Things are good for a while, until strange occurrences start happening when Rowan and Evie are together.
With similar magic, Evie feels like she’s found a kindred soul in the Shifter Lord, but other forces are about to shatter her rest and respite time and plunge them both into a type of danger they’ve never experienced before.
Someone is poisoning Rowan’s land and attempting to wrest his territory away from him. This time, the Lord isn’t powerful enough to win. But the enemy never counted on the fae heir and Floromancer’s visit, and one thing Evie is very good at is fighting for her friends.
Complications arise when Caelan figures out where she is and attempts to bring her home. But Evie never abandons a friend, and certainly not for a man who wouldn’t fight for her when she needed him to. Between fighting Caelan and fighting for Rowan, Evie is mentally and physically exhausted, something the enemy jumps on.
When the chips are down and the future looks grim, Evie will have to muster all her strength and power to fight back for Rowan, for herself, and to save Mother Earth from total annihilation.
My reading stars have been aligned lately because There Be Dragons Here by S.L. Rowland is the third stellar book by an undiscovered author in a fantasy genre that I’ve read in a row and I’m just overjoyed to with my reading lucky stars.
This is a side story to the Tales of Aedrea series of four fantasy novels, so I also have an additional world to meander through. I’m so excited.
But let’s start with this book, an amazing emotional journey of friendship, loyalty, and rediscovery of one’s inner fire.
Hilda Rockfall, 182 years old, grandmother, mother, beloved wife. But once, for 70 years she was renowned throughout the world as a Ranger in the Stone & Splendor adventurer group, a tight found family of four beings, who fought and explored together. Until she retired and married, putting that life behind her.
Now a funeral calls her away from home and leaves her the last remaining member of her group.
I love this book and Hilda so much. Her grief in losing her old friend, the journey his last quest takes her on. The stories that she tells, the people who she meets, and the inner person she rediscovers along this tortuous path, so inspiring.
And yes, there be dragons.
So many fantastic stories here. Memorable scenes, heartbreaking moments. And there’s war goats. Amazing!
This is one that’s both shiny and beautiful, a gem to treasure.
At 182 years old, Hilda Rockfall thought her adventuring days were long behind her.
For over seventy years, she roamed the realm as a ranger with the adventuring party Stone & Splendor—taking quests, slaying beasts, and collecting monster teeth like trophies from the boundless sea to the edge of the wilds. But for the past eight decades, she’s traded her sword for slippers, living the quiet life of a proud grandmother nestled in the mountains, telling tales no one quite believes and baking a mean honey crumble.
That peace is shattered when an old friend—and former party member—passes on and leaves Hilda one final quest: scatter his ashes at a secret location marked on a map they looted back in their glory days.
Hilda figures it’ll be a nice little hike. Maybe a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
But then she opens the map.
And scrawled across the bottom in faded ink are four unsettling words:
There be dragons here.
About the Series: Welcome to the enchanting world of Tales of Aedrea, where small-scale stories, low-stakes adventure, and cozy fantasy come to life within an epic, high-fantasy realm. Each tale can be enjoyed as a standalone novel.
There Be Dragons Here is a cozy, low-stakes fantasy of family dynamics, friendship, and proving that it’s never too late to find adventure. Perfect for fans of The Hobbit and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
Well, this book is just so outstanding. I’m still thinking about it.
You never know when you pick up a book from an author you’re not familiar with based on the cover (love it) and story description. But what a fabulously magical and compelling journey Gil Hess sent me and his character, Wren Alder, into for the first book in this series.
What do I deeply love and admire about this book and Hess’s writing? Its subtlety and simplicity of language, beautifully crafted in a way that’s both remarkable, poetic and yet able to convey the essence of the characters and situations. The awe of a magical moment to the sublimely silly scenes of a found family letting of their emotions. We are there with them, especially Wren, as he struggles with his new life and sense of duty. As a very special young man.
That’s another element here. A feeling of historic accuracy in a magical world. Where teenagers and preteens were already in “adult mode” because that’s how that life drew on people. Grow up fast, used up fast, die faster. So having a character like Stella, as bookkeeper, at the old age of 18? Perfect because she’s been learning that trade since she was much younger. It feels believable and Stella feels real, older than her age, worn, and layered in her knowledge and reliability. All the characters have this same energy, this deep sense of realism that makes them so relatable and emotionally able to relate to the world and story.
The plot is compelling in itself, has multiple storylines that makes it interesting, emotionally intriguing and suspenseful. Especially when you consider how the author started his story. With a daunting prologue that puts a shadow over the rest of the story.
Do not let this slow you down! Proceed immediately through!
Categorized, accurately, as a cozy fantasy LitRPG adventure story, the LitRPG aspect of the novel is minimal at best. And that will help for those readers who aren’t familiar with LitRPG stories (Literary Role-Playing Game where a character can level up, see stats, have quests is fused with a fantasy or scify storyline) can happily be engaged in this remarkable narrative and enjoy that aspect without relying too heavily on gamer knowledge.
What makes The Inn Side Shop a great success, and truly riveting fantasy adventure is Wren, his story, his ability to create a found family among his new community’s struggles and and how he’s stays true to himself and the values that he brings with him. This is an absolute gem. Honestly I found myself in tears in places, so raw in the moment and emotional scenes that I was caught up in the moment.
There is mention of a sequel but I can’t find it anywhere. Perhaps it in progress. This was a long book although it doesn’t seem like it.
Among my top findings this year. One I think should find a place next to the bed if people ask you to read to them. Choose this!
Fourteen-year-old Wren Alder never planned to be an adventurer. He just wanted a place to tinker in peace. But when his great-aunt hands him the key to a forgotten supply room at the Crossroads—a sleepy outpost perched between dungeons, cities, and the deep wild—Wren inherits more than a dusty shop.
Because this shop… levels up.
Each sale unlocks new features. Each discovery stirs old magic. A ledger learns to write back. A dungeon wakes beneath the roots. And a boy who thought he wanted quiet finds purpose in the chaos of travelers, quests, and growing friendships.
Heartfelt, clever, and brimming with quiet wonder, The Inn Side Shop blends cozy fantasy with the satisfying progression of a LitRPG—perfect for readers who love slow-burn worldbuilding, endearing characters, and magic that feels just within reach.
“Allow the fire that drives you to burn brighter than any flames around you. Many fear getting their wings for the first time. But consider the butterfly. If it had remained a caterpillar, would it not grieve when all its peers flew away, so free and elegant? The struggle is brief, but your rewards are infinite. “
-Finding your Inner Fire: How to Claim your True Self by Peggy Hwybon (Warmly recommended by His Majesty Mabon ap Modron)
I’ve been remiss in forgetting to include memorable passages from the all important “texts” that drive each new book and characters as they journey into new areas of growth, revelation, and new relationships.
Seeing Red , naturally we’re diving into the Red Celt realm and dragons, is such an important and compelling story.
It starts off with Niki going to visit Dai, Prince Dafydd ap Modron, heir to Mabon, the king of the Red Celts, a man who was once her childhood friend.
I won’t say anything more. Only that the events of this story have ramifications for the rest of the series and the characters. Ones that continue to play out.
Day’s plots are labyrinthine. They hold the keys to the fabric of each character’s lives and personalities, their back histories and the damage that’s been inflicted on them. And how all of that has come together to create the situation and events that are in place now.
It’s an ever changing narrative masterpiece, subtly designed, beautifully crafted, heartfelt and deeply emotional.
And we’re engaged with every single character as they are hurt, involved in the process of growing into their own power, and potentially something stronger.
I want to spoil this so badly. But I’ll leave you with the pleasure of reading it and then wanting to reread this book again.
Highly recommended. It’s a must read! And it does end on a heavy cliffhanger. But no worries. The next book is ready to read! It only gets better.
Gorgeous Covers that absolutely drew me in. With the ever changing Recorder Star and Gateway in the center that’s pertinent to each book
Have you ever agreed to something and, when the time came, wondered what planet your mouth had been on when it accepted the invitation?
Welcome to my freaking world.
A warning from a Fae seer didn’t help Tilly and me get into the right mood for our break in Prince Dai ap Modron’s ‘lovely mountain home’ for the St. David’s Day festival.
What was supposed to be a well-earned holiday quickly turned into a nightmare.
Did I mention the unbelievable cold? The snowstorm? The complete absence of drinkable coffee?
As if that wasn’t enough, King Troels of the Vikings launched a surprise attack on the Gateway, leaving us scrambling to fend off the invaders. But then the power took a liking to Prince Rollo … nope, enough. No spoilers!
You just need to read the book.
“The best new series I’ve read this year.”
Revisit the bizarre mix of Celtic realms trapped in history when Niki—with the help of her sentient house, Dola—discovers not everyone can be trusted. Join all your favourite characters as they reunite in the Red Celt realm for a gruesome and hilarious sentencing hearing. And Niki learns more about dragon politics than she ever wanted to know.
Seeing Red introduces new faces while rekindling the magic and humour with old favourites. This cosy contemporary fantasy novel will keep you enthralled, laughing, and craving doughnuts from beginning to end.
Don’t miss out on this fun new adventure with the Midlife Recorder – grab your copy today!
“Allow the fire that drives you to burn brighter than any flames around you. Many fear getting their wings for the first time. But consider the butterfly. If it had remained a caterpillar, would it not grieve when all its peers flew away, so free and elegant? The struggle is brief, but your rewards are infinite. “
-Finding your Inner Fire: How to Claim your True Self by Peggy Hwybon (Warmly recommended by His Majesty Mabon ap Modron)
I’ve been remiss in forgetting to include memorable passages from the all important “texts” that drive each new book and characters as they journey into new areas of growth, revelation, and new relationships.
Seeing Red , naturally we’re diving into the Red Celt realm and dragons, is such an important and compelling story.
It starts off with Niki going to visit Dai, Prince Dafydd ap Modron, heir to Mabon, the king of the Red Celts, a man who was once her childhood friend.
I won’t say anything more. Only that the events of this story have ramifications for the rest of the series and the characters. Ones that continue to play out.
Day’s plots are labyrinthine. They hold the keys to the fabric of each character’s lives and personalities, their back histories and the damage that’s been inflicted on them. And how all of that has come together to create the situation and events that are in place now.
It’s an ever changing narrative masterpiece, subtly designed, beautifully crafted, heartfelt and deeply emotional.
And we’re engaged with every single character as they are hurt, involved in the process of growing into their own power, and potentially something stronger.
I want to spoil this so badly. But I’ll leave you with the pleasure of reading it and then wanting to reread this book again.
Highly recommended.
Gorgeous Covers that absolutely drew me in. With the ever changing Recorder Star and Gateway in the center that’s pertinent to each book
Have you ever agreed to something and, when the time came, wondered what planet your mouth had been on when it accepted the invitation?
Welcome to my freaking world.
A warning from a Fae seer didn’t help Tilly and me get into the right mood for our break in Prince Dai ap Modron’s ‘lovely mountain home’ for the St. David’s Day festival.
What was supposed to be a well-earned holiday quickly turned into a nightmare.
Did I mention the unbelievable cold? The snowstorm? The complete absence of drinkable coffee?
As if that wasn’t enough, King Troels of the Vikings launched a surprise attack on the Gateway, leaving us scrambling to fend off the invaders. But then the power took a liking to Prince Rollo … nope, enough. No spoilers!
You just need to read the book.
“The best new series I’ve read this year.”
Revisit the bizarre mix of Celtic realms trapped in history when Niki—with the help of her sentient house, Dola—discovers not everyone can be trusted. Join all your favourite characters as they reunite in the Red Celt realm for a gruesome and hilarious sentencing hearing. And Niki learns more about dragon politics than she ever wanted to know.
Seeing Red introduces new faces while rekindling the magic and humour with old favourites. This cosy contemporary fantasy novel will keep you enthralled, laughing, and craving doughnuts from beginning to end.
Don’t miss out on this fun new adventure with the Midlife Recorder – grab your copy today!
The Hitman’s Guide to Stately Fences and Killer Defenses is the eighth book in the suspense filled , violent, and often hilarious series by Alice Winters.
It’s followed the tumultuous path that Leland “The Sandman”, a lonely contract hitman, finds himself on when he meets an equally lonely PI named Jackson who’s caught on a backyard fence while on a job. Book after book, they find themselves together, working through deep issues (and criminal investigations) towards a complex relationship. One that brings them a strange wonderful future of odd mixture of friends, found family, scary happenings and hilariously funny stories. It’s found them engaged then happily married, with dogs and an illegally adopted teenage son.
Book eight brings in all the many characters from their multiple stories when Waylon, 15 yr old illegally adopted son of Jackson and Leland, is threatened along with his new best friend.
Who is behind the newest danger to Leland and Jackson’s family and life is one of the best elements of this story. There’s so much to it. It’s all the various characters, their partners coming to help. And a new police officer who’s highly suspicious of Leland and his past to add additional tension and drama to the already established growing suspense and anxiety about the situation.
Winters has written a fantastic novel. It’s a fast paced, white knuckle roller coaster narrative ride that keeps the reader on the edge of the seat. With her dialogue that has elements of pain, hilarity and life’s deepest realities. Guns, dogs, friends , love and family. Maybe blow up dolls. And a car. And now a cat.
And with those final reminiscences from Jackson as he watches his “boys” walking ahead, if this is where Winters leaves them, I’m happy.
There’s no indication that this is the finale but somehow it feels like it. While there’s a few things where the author could return to this universe to open up a new chapter, that last sentence feels like a closing scene.
I’m good with that. They are in a wonderful place.
A great story in a highly recommended series.
Cover by Natasha Snow Designs
The Hitman’s Guide series:
The Hitman’s Guide to Making Friends and Finding Love
The Hitman’s Guide to Staying Alive Despite Past Mistakes
The Hitman’s Guide to Tying the Knot Without Getting Shot
The Former Assassin’s Guide to Snagging a Reluctant Boyfriend
The Hitman’s Guide to Righting Wrongs While Causing Mayhem
The Hitman’s Guide to Codenames and Ill-Gotten Gains
The Mercenary’s Guide to Mishaps and Romance
The Hitman’s Guide to Stately Fences and Killer Defenses #8
During my long, lonely years as a hitman, I never realized that one day, I would have a family to call my own.
Now, instead of stalking my targets and taking down people with a flick of my wrist, my specialties lie in things like planning sleepovers (why does Waylon look terrified?), The Fence hour (those are screams of joy), and involving others to help our child succeed (no, of course I didn’t abduct anyone).
But for a guy like me, things can’t stay good for too long. Someone seems to think that I should still be the ruthless hitman I used to be. They want to draw me back into the limelight and prove to me that what I’m living now is a lie.
But they don’t realize how much they’re going to regret meeting the Sandman–especially once they threatened my family.
Jackson
This person seems to be obsessed with an image of Leland from the past, and because of it, we now have a crime boss on our tail and a bounty on Leland’s head. The stalker has no idea that Leland comes with multiple ex-assassins, a sketchy Scotsman, and the chief of police who likes to pretend he doesn’t want to be involved.
I adore my life with Leland just the way it is (someone, please burn down The Fence), and no one is going to ruin that (I will pay well).
They’d better be afraid to sleep because the Sandman is coming (and if they took down The Fence while they were at it, I wouldn’t mind).
“And the little girl realised that just because things were going to be different, it didn’t mean they had to be scary. Different could be fun, and new things could be exciting, and she thanked the Recorder and admitted that perhaps her mother had been right all along.”
-The Recorder Always Knows Best: Cautionary Tales for Incautious Children by Margarita Encimera
Yes! We’re back in Gateway Cottage, Gretna Green, Scotland. It’s book 3 and yes, there’s another fictional tome to give Day’s characters guidance within the fantasy novel! Be still my heart!
Another extraordinary story that brings in multiple new characters, allows the ones we’ve met important new developments in their own lives and storylines, and layers in powerful elements that will impact them individually and the realms . It’s a series of revelations, a story of compelling surprises and mysteries that hit emotionally.
One aspect of Linzi Day’s writing that I find most intriguing and beautifully crafted is the depth of her character development. Each character may appear to have a specific personality and arc but that’s too superficial. For Day often has plotted, supremely I’ll add, far ahead in this character’s journey. There’s hidden information, surprising history and damaging events that will be revealed, novels later, if then, to make the character and their storyline an integral part of the entire plot.
The Hobs, Katy, her ever growing conflicted memories of her grandmother, the bonds, the Kings that factored heavily into her childhood and now as a Recorder, Dola, the sentient being that’s the Gateway House! Each has huge storylines here.
It is difficult to separate out individual aspects of the book because it’s a magnificent magical tapestry of tightly woven narrative threads. Linzi Day’s stories and this series has become my favorite of the year, and I’m predicting that it will land in my top ten of series once completed.
It’s Valentine’s week in the Gateway, and Niki McKnight is preparing to conduct her first bondings for the fated, soul-bonded mates of the Kingdoms.
She was a registrar who married thousands of people in her former job—this will be a breeze … Right?
Wrong! The bondings don’t quite go to plan. Cue hilarity, heartbreak and mysterious magical prophecies for some of our favourite characters.
Niki’s goddaughter Autumn is visiting, and her heart’s desires are to ride a unicorn and be a bridesmaid for the first time. So no pressure then!
And there are mysteries to solve:
Why is the Recorder forbidden from bonding the members of an entire race?
Why is Prince Charming Dai, her childhood crush, suddenly avoiding her?
Why were so many bondmates trying to deceive her gran?
Why is Dola sending everyone gifts?
Why are there no doughnuts, brownies or other sugary goodness?
But in what’s supposed to be the busiest week of the Gateway’s year, Niki finally has some time on her hands to sort her own life out. Even if she still can’t manage to get her hair cut.
In this full-length, light-hearted addition to the Midlife Recorder series, you’ll find humour, tension and magical food as the Recorder confirms the soul bonds for Celts, Galicians, Vikings, Hobs, Picts and Fae.
Now Linzi Day has done it! I’m book immobilized. Her fabulous urban fantasy series and cast of beautifully crafted characters has me so hooked that all I can do is binge read these books until I have no more of them available for devouring! Onwards!
“With the eyes of your realm upon you, it can be too easy to revert to tradition in an effort to avoid an embarrassing mistake. Change is often feared, but a rare person can choose to innovate. Why not you? Demonstrate to your subjects that times change and so must we. Or would you prefer to return to the days of forced marriage, high infant mortality and syphilis and wait patiently for someone to invent coffee?”
-Ruling Regally: A Monarch’s Guide to the 21st Century by Margot Hobart-Smythe
Just one of the many reasons why I love this series is that each novel starts with a quote from a different, albeit totally fictional tome, one that will make a impact on the various rulings factions, including the Recorder herself. Ruling Regally is quoted often and with great precision throughout this story, to my delight and absolute joy in how Day has written and layered her series and world building.
Painting the Blues in Gretna Green brings Niki, the new team that she’s assembling to support her role as Recorder, and Dola, the sentient being that’s the gateway house, new dangerous challenges, major events that offer revelations, bringing growth and powerful development to Niki and those around her.
Author Day has created Kingdoms and cultures of Fae, Viking, Celtic and other mythological figures that will be seen throughout the series and gates in the Recorder’s house. Each being richly detailed, deep in its own history, and culturally distinct from the others.
And the characters from each of them are as intriguing as the realm they originate from. There’s past and current warfare, pain and suffering, loss and love.
It’s what makes them and the series so extraordinary.
In this case there are several ancient injustices that Niki must face and find a way to heal or a way to begin healing a long term damage. And some of it rests with the inaction of past Recorders.
Niki’s own personal trauma and tragedy is tangled with current events and its handling of her emotions and struggles feels every bit as important and meaningful as the other situations that require her attention.
Day has layers upon layers of intricately connected, subtly written storylines, ones that will only emerge to “ping” a aha moment a book later. Just an amazing piece of narrative writing.
As you can imagine, I’m merrily ahead here. But this series will find itself as hardback’s groaning on my shelves.
My powers are growing, and my tolerance is low. My second week in my new role as the Gretna Green Recorder is making the first week look relaxing.
I have quite the to-do list.
✅ Fix a thousand-year-old injustice that threatens the future of the Pictish royal family and their realm? Check.
✅ Test my new Knight Adjutant candidates? Check.
✅ Discover one of those candidates is the guy I had a huge crush on when I was twelve? Oh yeah. Check.
❌ Feed the cat? No, she’s not hungry—which is worrying, very worrying.
❓ Prevent a bloodbath? Let’s freaking hope so.
Niki McKnight is settling in as the new Recorder in the Gretna Gateway in Scotland. She’s joined by the usual colourful cast of magical beings.
Celtic, Fae and Viking royalty all have their own agendas, but none more so than the Pictish royal family.
Magic, psychic powers, a stroppy, condescending cat goddess, and lots of coffee smooth the way.
Niki plans to make her gran proud by reminding everyone that kings and queens are ten-a-penny in the seven realms, but there is ONLY one Recorder, and now she has more power than anyone expected.
Painting the Blues in Gretna Green is perfect for readers who’d enjoy an uplifting story with cozy paranormal fantasy elements. Set in a sentient Scottish house with a woman who needs to learn to wield her increased powers before lives are lost.
Linzi Day and her fantastic series Midlife Recorder are both new to me. And I’m so very excited and thrilled about this new author and urban fantasy adventure she’s sending me on.
It’s got everything I look for and love in main characters and world building. Both are complex and realistic in their respective forms and have so much potential for deeper exploration and growth.
It begins with Niki McKnight, an older woman who has just been widowed and is now mired down in loss. She’s cut herself off from her small group of friends, and she’s bullied by her boss at work. Only her small Maltese dog, Tilly, is keeping her grounded.
Day paints such a raw, painful portrait of a woman who is so despairing, so lost, unable to breathe, she’s incapable of movement. And at this point, she’s hit with one more awful event. A letter from a lawyer with a notice about her grandmother’s death and estate.
Niki is forced into a reluctant journey that becomes an emotional roller coaster of revelations, magical moments,and intense memories as everything Niki is forced to understand that she’s been living with a faded life.
Such a richly crafted, intelligent and inspiring story. Time after time, Nike comes to a point where she’s got to make new connections and decisions about her life, where old perceptions have to change and new ones formed. It’s a remarkable journey and the relationships she forges as she grows are ones the reader engages with as well.
So many amazing characters here to connect with and love. That’s including a sentient house whose storyline is as powerful as Niki’s. What I love is I think the author is giving the readers so many subtle details and elements to think about alongside the amazing storylines that are happening. Tiny little things I puzzle with as scenarios work themselves out. Love that.
The magical moments and systems are intriguing and I can’t wait to see how they expand as her powers as a Recorder grow.
This will definitely be a great favorite of mine. And Niki? She’s right there too!
There is a potential for romance but she’s a widow and the relationship was abusive. She’s in no hurry to go into another relationship.
She’s building something new here. That’s her focus. And I’m here for every single step of her journey.
It’s never too late to learn how to stand up for yourself
Niki McKnight has spent her entire adult life being bullied—first by her husband and then by her boss.
Recently widowed, she’s in dire need of an extreme life makeover. But she never expected it to come in the form of her beloved Gran leaving her a magical Celtic estate and a mysterious new job as a Recorder—whatever the hell that is!
She and Tilly, her adorable Bichon Frise, head to Scotland to claim her inheritance with no freaking clue what’s in store for them.
In Gretna Green, they meet a colourful cast of characters, including a sentient house, talking cat, Celtic god, Fae king and a sketchy lawyer.
Can the woman who wouldn’t stand up to her husband and was bullied by her boss find and wield the authority required to keep Vikings, Pict and Fae royalty in line?
With the help of her family’s psychic gift and some magic – she just might!
MidLife in Gretna Green is perfect for readers who’d enjoy an uplifting story of found family with cozy paranormal fantasy elements. Set in a magical house with a woman who wants to find and use her own voice and finally claim her power.
Books with fae characters and/ or fae realms are prevalent in current fantasy and romantasy genres, so much so that I sort of look for stories with elements outside of this genre. But Kingsolver, a gifted author who’s novels I don’t read enough of, has written a fabulous novel of adventure, fae privateers, complex fantasy political betrayal, royal scheming and fiery battles on land and sea, set on alternate historical landscape.
This is a world where one event, wherein King Charles II, in 1680, kidnaps the fae daughter of the Summer King has catastrophic consequences. The fae invade England across the very Veil erected to keep the races and realms separate , destroying multiple European cities and England’s empire forever. Leaving the human landscape, political parties and governments changed.
These aren’t your typical Fae, the ones that are human coded as written by other authors. Kingsolver has created fairies and a variety of different fae that are as alien to humans as I would like and hope to read. Even the fae courts look and act differently to humans and to each other. Not that any human being would ever want to willingly go to either court or the Fae realm.
From their physical appearance to their personalities and perspectives on the human race and humanity’s ideas of emotions, from love to empathy, it’s clear they are a complex, and clearly defined older race. Apart and superior.
Which makes Alanis Nightshade, the fairy pirate and trader, a fascinating character. A high born daughter of the dark Winter court, she’s the owner and Captain of the unique magical Fae ship, the Merry Prankster, who sails the seas through both sides the Veil in search of cargo to sell and profit to make.
It’s her ship that makes her a target of political scheming and hidden enemies. It’s a ship that is prized by more than one group of individuals who have their own agendas.
The fabulous tale of intrigue and high suspense and survival is nerve wracking, complex, and highly entertaining. It’s beautifully detailed with Edinburgh’s landscape, imaginative creatures and wildly appealing designs of the Fae Realm. And the indescribable beauty and horror of the fae who rule there.
The only reason this doesn’t have a 5 star rating is that i wanted the ending to have been fully executed, more details and the drama that was expected given everything that came before.
And honestly? I wanted to see those fae on their dangerous unicorns riding into battle, obliterating the army before them. What an amazing scene! My mind is still engaged with their wild journey.
When Charles II kidnapped a Sidhe princess in 1680, her father didn’t send diplomats—he sent armies. The Fae stormed through the Veil, leveled cities, and rewrote history. Centuries later, Humans and Fae still share the Mortal Realm uneasily… and England never recovered its empire.
Alanis Nightshade, Winter Court Fairy, smuggler, and occasional pirate, prefers to stay far from royal drama. She flies under the radar, smuggling rare goods between worlds and minding her own business. But when she’s stranded in Edinburgh during a coup, she’s dragged straight into the kind of trouble she tries to avoid.
A new Sidhe king has seized Scotland.
He’s hungry for conquest, and he wants what Alanis possesses—
a ship that can cross the Veil and carry an army straight into Faerie.
If she doesn’t outwit him, outrun him, or outright kill him, both realms may pay the price.
If I could give this book and series a higher rating, I would. It’s just phenomenal.
I’m just upset that I have to wait for the third book to be released for my journey with these incredible characters to continue.
Marcus Fairwind and his now partner/friend, Felix Penwright are set to take their journeyman exams after winning through the events of the last novel. Each has gained new levels, acquiring new skills, abilities and magical knowledge that will help them achieve their goals as Wardmakers. Along with their new friends Sarah, Katherine, Ben, and now brilliant 14 year old Rose, Marcus’ young sister who has her own unique skills and talents to bring into play.
Fabiano shows off a wonderful talent for creating fully realized characters of both genders and ages here. Whether it’s Marcus or Felix, Sarah or Rose, Erasmus (their enigmatic Master) or any of the parents scrambling to understand and support their children, each of these people are believable, breathing, layered beings. People we can connect with and invest in emotionally.
And we will. For here some of their biggest achievements, problems and adventures lies ahead.
For what started as a two Grandmasters waging war, now the horrific ramifications are left to those who have to use innovative methods to solve them or all may be lost.
What follows is a completely absorbing story. There’s so much to this. The magical systems alone is incredible and throughly detailed and minutely executed. FYI, if you’re someone who likes magic done with a ‘wave of a wand’, and then everything explodes. Well, this might not be the thing for you.
Here different magical applications and approaches are imaginatively and clearly defined and detailed in scenarios by scenarios. It’s fascinating, gripping, sometimes scary, often suspense filled, and life threatening. I couldn’t tear myself away from the book. And the characters in whatever situation they were in.
The RPG aspect of the story is present as levels that each character obtains but it’s woven into the story in a manner that makes sense and doesn’t require any special attention from non-gamers.
The sense of found family, community and friends that builds here, especially at the end is so heartwarming. It feels real and satisfying. And even after such a long journey, I wasn’t ready for it to end.
A fantastic experience and grand adventure. Love this series and group of characters.
A highly recommended read. Just amazing work by the author.
The journeyman exam was supposed to be the hardest thing Marcus and Felix faced this year. Then Erasmus sent for help.
After passing their journeyman examination, Marcus and Felix expected to settle into their new partnership. Instead, Erasmus sends word from the capital: he needs their help in the Eastern provinces. War disrupted the region’s magical infrastructure, and he needs glyphwrights who know how to adapt when traditional solutions won’t work.
The ward networks are failing. Dungeon containment is corrupted. Preservation systems are breaking down. It’s the kind of widespread repair work that hasn’t been needed in five hundred years.
Their royal escort, Prince Adrian, spent years training in combat and protocol to earn his abilities. Marcus’s fourteen-year-old sister can see magical patterns the Prince never will. The resentment is immediate. And somehow, Marcus has to get them all working together before minor failures cascade into disaster.
The Glyphwright Chronicles continues with infrastructure crises, unlikely allies, and the lesson that sometimes the most important work isn’t glamorous—it’s the foundation that keeps everything else standing.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 