Category: Fantasy

Review:  Painting the Blues in Gretna Green: Paranormal Cozy Fantasy Novel (Midlife Recorder Book 2) by Linzi Day

Rating: 5⭐️

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.

Must recommends from me. 

Gorgeous Covers that absolutely drew me in. 

Cover Design: Axe Designs

Midlife Recorder series:

Midlife in Gretna Green #1

Painting the Blues in Gretna Green #2

Ties That Bond in Gretna Green #3

Seeing Red in Gretna Green #4

Code Yellow in Gretna Green #5

Market Forces in Gretna Green #6

Coming next

Spilling The Tea in Gretna Green #7

Half An Orange in Gretna Greene #8-Oct 30,2026

Buy link

        Painting the Blues in Gretna Green: Paranormal Cozy Fantasy Novel (Midlife Recorder Book 2)

    

Blurb 

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.

Publication date

November 5, 2022

Language

‎English

Print length

590 pages

Book 2 of 7

Midlife Recorder

Review: MidLife in Gretna Green (Midlife Recorder Book 1 ) by Linzi Day

Rating: 4.75⭐️

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. 

Just outstanding work. 

Gorgeous Covers that absolutely drew me in. 

Cover Design: Axe Designs

Midlife Recorder series:

Midlife in Gretna Green #1

Painting the Blues in Gretna Green #2

Ties That Bond in Gretna Green #3

Seeing Red in Gretna Green #4

Code Yellow in Gretna Green #5

Market Forces in Gretna Green #6

Coming next

Spilling The Tea in Gretna Green #7

Half An Orange in Gretna Greene #8-Oct 30,2026

Buy link

        Midlife in Gretna Green: Cozy Contemporary Celtic Scottish Fantasy (Midlife Recorder Book 1)

    

Blurb 

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.

Publication date

July 4, 2022

Language

‎English

Print length

474 pages

Book 1 of 7

Midlife Recorder

Review: Demon Dance and Other Disasters (A Spirit Mage’s Journey, Book 1 ) By BR Kingsolver

Rating: 4.75 ⭐️🌈

Demon Dance and Other Disasters, the first in an urban fantasy series, A Spirit Mage’s Journey written by BR Kingsolver, is such an amazing story.

We immediately meet the main character on a vicious hunt for a dangerous vampire. She’s a bounty hunter, 16 year old orphaned Katy Brown ,tough street mage. Thrown out on the streets with nothing by her grandparents after the murder of her parents, she’s done what it takes to live for 5 years, learning how to use her magic, hunt, and barely get by on bringing in the bounties posted. 

Kingsolver’s story is dark, gritty, and grounded in details of rawest realities of homelessness, especially as a child, meshed with a fantastical urban fantasy world building. Using the sort of spare fast paced narrative that I’ve come to associate with Kingsolver, it’s that detailed concise scenes, the street children relating their current experiences or circumstances calmly without any real emotion, that lends this it’s own despair and reality of their lives.  Or the homeless tent cities that Katy visits for information. It’s believable and heartbreaking. 

That it’s fantasy too. Because we’d expect it not to have changed that this aspect of life would have disappeared. 

Katy’s recent kill brings her to the notice of the head of the Guild Mages, an offer of a job and perhaps even more. 

Such an incredibly well woven tale, horrifying, full of mystery and complexity as well as the realities of life as a teenager with no real support or trust only trauma in her background. Katy is fantastic, so convincing as a street worn teen, tough, yet still vulnerable underneath all those walls she’s erected. Just a fabulous connectable character. 

And when I read this, I was unaware there was a second book in the series and. Kingsolver ties up all the plot points, bringing to a satisfying resolution all the storylines of the book and for Katy Brown. When it comes to the finish, she’s ready for a new stage of her life.

Even if I hadn’t seen the second one, I would have been so happy with this novel. 

That’s saying something about how completely well written and beautifully crafted it is. 

Grab it up if you love urban fantasy fiction. There’s no love or romance. The characters identify themselves in multiple ways, bi, gay heterosexual, nonbinary

Honestly, she’s a teenager. And as many of the street kids here see sex as transactional, a form of survival. FYI 

Highly Recommended. 

 

Cover art by Lou Harper

A Spirit Mage’s Journey:

Demon Dance and Other Disasters #1

A City of Swords and Fangs #2

Buy link

        Demon Dance and Other Disasters: (An Urban Fantasy Book) (A Spirit Mage’s Journey Book 1)

    

Blurb 

I hunt the lost, the dangerous, and the damned. It’s how I survive. This time? It’s how I might die.

Since my parents were murdered, I’ve survived by hunting down whatever—or whoever—needs finding. Rogue vampires, runaway dogs, missing kids, even deadbeat spouses. If it comes with a paycheck, I take the job.

This hunt is different. A master mage offered me a reward I couldn’t refuse—track down a rogue summoner, stop the demon, and get out. Simple.

But as the bodies pile up and the vulnerable start vanishing, I realize this job is darker, deadlier, and more twisted than anything I’ve faced before. It isn’t just about stopping a summoner—it’s about stopping what comes next.

The hunt is on. Dare to join me in the shadows?

Publication date

August 18, 2024

Language

‎English

Print length

264 pages

Book 1 of 2

A Spirit Mage’s Journey

Welcome to Queen City—Where Magic Hunts in the Shadows 

for readers who crave dark, gritty Urban Fantasy 

If you love high-stakes magic, relentless action, and heroines who refuse to back down, Demon Dance and Other Disasters will pull you in and never let go. 

Set in the same world as BR Kingsolver’s bestselling Rosie O’Grady’s Paranormal Bar and Grill—twelve years after Erin’s journey—the story introduces a new kind of fighter. 

Katy Brown isn’t a warrior trained in secret or a chosen one destined for greatness. She’s a survivor. When the Mage Guild hires her to stop a rogue summoner, she takes the job for the payout—until the hunt turns into something far deadlier. 

This is urban fantasy at its most intense, packed with magic, mystery, and danger lurking in every shadow. Fans of BR Kingsolver’s work will recognize the sharp storytelling, immersive worldbuilding, and unforgettable characters that make every page pulse with energy. 

Join the Hunt: What Lies Ahead 

  • A world where power is rutheless and the vulnerable pay the price. 
  • A fierce, street-smart heroine who never wanted to be a hero. 
  • Dark, high-stakes magic—raw, unpredictable, and deadly. 
  • Mystery, action, and da

Review:    Mech and Magic: An Epic Fantasy Steampunk Adventure (The Knack Book 2) by Kim McDougall 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

“Magic runs the machines. Secrets run the city. And Squad 54 stands between order and chaos.”

Another excellent story in The Knack series, albeit really different from the previous book. In A Knack for Metal and Bone we saw the characters come together for an impossible mission. Squad 54 survived, but not without losses, learning some devastating truths about their own lives and setting them up for a new journey upon their return to New Torwood City.  And Princess Rowan Andula, who was the mission’s tech has to stay in the City, looking for answers about the traumatic event that left her an amputee, her brother the heir in a coma, and her father the King dead. That means that her love, 

Conall, werewolf Commander has to leave her and the City on his own mission to find out what happened to his brother, and the rest of the mages they were fighting. 

This story divides into two journeys and sustainably different tales of high suspense and action. One is Conall’s as he’s dangerously crosses the Meadows and wastelands in search of knowledge about his family and brother. His journey continuously ties into the ongoing struggles back in the City and Princess Rowan’s story against hidden and not so hidden enemies of the court and her past. She’s surrounded by those who would see her not just fail but perish. And her part of the story is emotional and fraught with anger. 

They are ties together by multiple sources, elements and somethings I won’t give away. 

Each relationship, each person is beautifully rendered by their own words, cultures, clothing and even religion. Defined by their details and their deep of connections, to the land and each other. 

I will warn the reader, much like the first story, a character dies here. One we’ve come to know and care about. Such is the nature of this world. I expect this to happen again as the series continues. 

There’s a strong cliffhanger type of ending as there is no resolution to part of one major conflict and storyline. But the author has no information as to any further series book release. 

 

It’s a wait and see status.  This is a long book but it flew by fast for me. It’s that excellent. 

I’ll be happy to wait for the next however long it takes. 

This series is a must read. Highly recommended. 

Published by Wrongtree Press. 

Cover art and design by Christian Bentulan

The Knack (2 book series to date)

A Knack for Metal and Bone #1

Mech and Magic #2

Buy link:

        Mech and Magic: An Epic Fantasy Steampunk Adventure (The Knack Book 2)

    

Blurb 

Magic runs the machines. Secrets run the city. And Squad 54 stands between order and chaos.

Conall thought he’d buried the past with his brother. But when a cryptic summons surfaces—tied to a long-vanished village and a wolf who should be dead—he’s forced to retrace the path of the disbanded Squad 54. What he finds in the shadows could unravel not only their fate, but the fragile balance between elf and human kind.

Back in New Torwood City, Princess Rowan Andula is done playing the figurehead. With a seat on the ruling council, she’s ready to fight for her family’s legacy—until the city’s giant mech guardian begins to fail. Talos isn’t just a machine. He’s the heart of the city. His collapse could bring down everything her ancestors fought to preserve.

As enemies close in and new treacheries are revealed, Conall and Rowan must face the same question: How far will you go to protect what you love?

Mech and Magic is the second thrilling installment of The Knack Series—where ancient tech, dangerous politics, and fierce loyalties collide.

December 5, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

494 pages

Book 2 of 2

The Knack

Review: Dragons Don’t Eat Meat: A Dark & Humorous Urban Fantasy (Valkyrie Bestiary Book 1) by Kim McDougall 

Rating: 3.5⭐️

“The Flood Wars have come and gone, leaving a world at the mercy of magic. Kyra Greene is an exiled Valkyrie who finds her place in Montreal Ward as a pest controller of extraordinary creatures. She already has an apartment full of rescues, including a basilisk who thinks he’s a turkey, a banshee nanny, and a pygmy kraken. She might take care of them, but they also fill her need for family. And when that family is threatened, she’ll risk everything to save them.”

I picked this book up because I really enjoyed Kim McDougall’s The Knack series and her female characters in particular. That series was my first time reading this author and I thought to explore other books as well. 

Unfortunately, I found that Dragons Don’t Eat Meat, the first book in the completed 9-book Valkyrie Bestiary series isn’t going to be nearly as interesting or entertaining as I hoped. 

Written four years earlier, it has many elements and aspects of the story that I found engaging. But ultimately it comes down to the main character of this series itself that I find the least enjoyable. 

First to the positive aspects. The exotic animals in her Bestiary, including Ollie, the baby dragon. While not exploring much of the dragon’s history or much of any of the other creatures in her care, they remain an important and engaging part of her life and story. Which unfortunately, comes with a negative side in the narrative as well. Another plus is Jacoby, a dervish. His plight, and need for a home made me connect to the story and situation in a way that Kyra never did. 

The gargoyles, are introduced as though they were a bigger part of some previous story. So it feels like the reader is missing something, key information. Especially as one, Henry Mason a gargoyle she had a brief kiss with, doesn’t seem very layered as a character or have much chemistry with Kyra.

Things that I found needing further clarification or better explanation or just something. 

Plot points or holes. Her shop which is also her home, and the home for her creatures and banshee? Not warded or alarmed. A huge question mark considering a dramatic event that occurs in the story that causes minor character deaths. FYI. That’s absolutely illogical. 

One villain is easily spotted, at least by the reader. Does anyone in this story think that maybe that person is acting strangely. Yes. Do the main characters continue on course. Why yes. SMH. Keep in mind the fact that the main characters are immortal or immortal somethings. 

To short it up, my last big issue is with Kyra. 

She’s a Valkyrie. With an amazing soul eater sword. Powerful weapon, powerful woman. Right? 

Except for the fact that McDougall has written her as an apologist. I’m so sorry for my actions. I’m so sorry for my sword’s actions. I wish I wasn’t a Valkyrie. I wish. Well, you know. 

Everything I’m so over in seeing in a woman character. Haven’t women characters stopped apologizing enough. For what and who they are? This is supposed to be comedic fantasy fiction but I see nothing funny about this. 

I may try to read one more book in the series to see if it gets better. But usually once it starts out with this kind of characterization it continues on in this vein. 

Luckily, The Knack is different. Read that series. That’s my recommendation. 

Published by Wrongtree Press. 

Cover and book design by Castelane, Cover art by Pamela Francescut. 

Valkyrie Bestiary (9 book series):

Dragons Don’t Eat Meat #1

Buy link

 Book 1 of 9: Valkyrie Bestiary 

Blurb 

One lost baby dragon. One fae pest controller. And a city on the brink of civil war.

Kyra Greene is a sucker for a vulnerable critter. The exiled Valkyrie turned pest controller shares her chaotic home with a banshee roommate, a pygmy kraken, and a basilisk who thinks he’s a turkey. But when she rescues a baby dragon that swallowed a dangerous artifact, she’s stuck working with a mysterious gargoyle who kissed her a year ago and then ghosted.

With a rogue fae prince after the relic stuck in the dragon’s belly, Kyra and her irritating companion venture into the magical and lawless Inbetween to find the dragon’s elders. And as attraction brews and enemies converge, she fears they might not make it out alive without triggering a supernatural civil war.

Can she reunite the lost dragon with his thunder and save her quirky family of magic creatures? Or will Montreal fall to chaos and monsters?

Dragons Don’t Eat Meat is the laugh-out-loud first book in the now complete Valkyrie Bestiary urban fantasy series. If you like feisty female leads, smart snark, found-family fantasy, and romance that’s just right, then you’ll love Kim McDougall’s action-packed adventure.

Dive into a world of magic and fantastic beasts—buy Dragons Don’t Eat Meat today and start your adventure!

WrongTree Press

Publication date

August 15, 2020

Language

‎English

Print length

288 pages

Book 1 of 9

Valkyrie Bestiary

Review: Dark Running Exile of the Winter Court By BR Kingsolver 

Rating:  4.75⭐️ 

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. 

Highly recommended, the author included. 

No romance. All action and suspense. 

Love this cover. 

Cover art by Heather Hamilton-Senter

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comDark Running: Exile of the Winter Court eBook : Kingsolver, BR

Blurb 

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.

Review: A Knack for Metal and Bone: An Epic Fantasy Steampunk Adventure (The Knack Book 1) by Kim McDougall 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

“A royal tinker and a rogue soldier must unite to stop the monsters threatening their city—and unravel the secrets lurking within it.”

I’ve been incredibly lucky lately as the books I’ve grabbed up by “new to me” authors have turned out to be fabulous novels and, in some cases, great series. This is one of those. 

I wasn’t familiar with Kim McDougall before but she’s firmly in my TBR list now.  A Knack for Metal and Bone, the first in her series, The Knack, is a fantastic steampunk fantasy novel. Inventive, full of magnificent characters and epic storytelling, once I started I couldn’t put it down. 

The characters are richly detailed and beautifully crafted in their variety of backgrounds and forms. From mech to shifters to elves to extraordinary creatures that emerge from the Meadow, the world is full of characters the engage both mind and heart with their journey and their own unique abilities. 

Rowan is one I count as my favorite character and a uniquely crafted hero in this genre. She’s a royal princess who prefers her mechanics and workshop, avoiding her role in society and court. She’s a mech engineer, with a unique talent and touch, one that comes with an own story. She lost her arm as a child in an attack, one that sent her older brother, the heir into a 20 year coma, and cost the Kingdom their father who died. 

Now she works in her tower workshop, with her mech arm and mech bird as companion, visiting her comatose brother daily and beloved Aunt. Until a mission changes her life.

Rowan is a masterful character. Multilayered, believable, grounded by her intelligence and ability with machines. Brace without stupidity, thoughtful and just an impressive personality. And her equal is the wolf shifter, Conall. An ex-commander in the Kingdom’s Rangers, he’s been hiding due to his actions in a past war. But this mission brings them together with others of equally strong or strange abilities. 

The mission, their journey through wildly unpredictable situations and weird environments is exciting, dangerous and compelling. It’s breathtaking reading. And watching the growth of the individuals coming together, well most of them, into a cohesive unit is everything. The relationships between them are believable, grounded and real.

Which often makes the events suspenseful and nerve wracking. Because the danger is high at each stage of the journey.

The ending sets up the next story. It’s a steady progression as they set out to continue forward on the knowledge they’ve gained. 

They’ve finished one stage but the next one, the very dangerous one is just starting. 

This is such a fantastic story, full of outstanding characters and epic storytelling that I’m excited to share it.

Grab it up.  The second book too. 

Published by Wrongtree Press. 

Cover art and design by Christian Bentulan

The Knack (2 book series to date)

A Knack for Metal and Bone #1

Mech and Magic #2

Buy link

        A Knack for Metal and Bone: An Epic Fantasy Steampunk Adventure (The Knack Book 1)

    

Blurb 

A royal tinker and a rogue soldier must unite to stop the monsters threatening their city—and unravel the secrets lurking within it. 

Rowan doesn’t just work with machines—she hears them. The hum of engines, the whisper of gears and wires—they speak to her through the magic that flows from her mech hand. Whether she’s fine-tuning the colossal automaton that protects New Torwood City or toiling in her workshop, being a mechanic is the only life she truly enjoys. But the Regent’s Council wants more. They demand a princess who will embrace the pomp and ceremony of royal duty, not a tinker with oil-stained hands. 

When she’s unexpectedly recruited into Ranger Squad 54 for a mission deep into the wild Meadows, Rowan leaps at the chance. Finally, a way to serve her city and put her unique talents to use—far from the glittering halls of royalty. 

Conall, an ex-commander, knows the dangers of the Meadows firsthand. Discharged from the Rangers when his inner wolf broke free during battle, he now makes a living running rare artifacts between New Torwood and the southern cities. But the Rangers have a new mission for him—one that could clear his tarnished record. A group of international scientists has vanished, and recovering them is critical for the future of New Torwood. Failure could push the city into a war it cannot afford.

Thrown together on a high-risk mission, Rowan, Conall, and the Rangers of Squad 54 will face unimaginable dangers in the wilderness and uncover dark secrets that could shake the foundations of the city they’ve sworn to protect. But the real menace might be at the heart of New Torwood itself. 

Embark on a thrilling adventure with A Knack for Metal and Bone, the first book in an epic new fantasy-steampunk series from the author of The Valkyrie Bestiary.

December 5, 2024

Language

‎English

Print length

450 pages

Book 1 of 2

The Knack

Fantasy, steampunk/fantasy, epic fantasy adventure, steampunk science fiction/fantasy, 

Review:  Kissed By The Gods (The Eternal Wars Book 1) by Caty Rogan 

Rating: 4.75⭐️

What an unexpected thrilling experience! And why aren’t more readers talking about this book? 

I’m actually surprised by the lack of media attention to given to this fabulous epic fantasy romance . As it’s a romantasy much in the same vein as many of the other highly successful/popular novels like the Fourth Wing series (I do like those) , I don’t understand why this hasn’t found its audience. 

Rogan’s universe and characters are ones I actually find more compelling. Unlike almost every other series and novel these days, there’s no dragon involved. 

However! Here there is a highly dangerous and sentient flying war horse/animal to bond with, one that’s emerges from the void and is equally terrifying as any dragon of recent stories. Honestly, they’re fabulous and here we’re just getting started with their history and powerful abilities. 

It’s the female main character that sealed the deal for me. Leina is an incredible character, compelling from the tragic moment we meet her. She’s fierce, rage personified, full of secrets, damaged by her past yet empowered by them as well. 

And unlike other FMC’s when assisted by the MMC, in this case, Ryot, one of a special group of “gods-blessed warrior” who decides to be her protector, doesn’t need him to be. She’s got a different agenda, perhaps several. And she’s not going to wait for him to go off and save the Kingdom or even go to war. 

That’s on her. And how Rogan develops Leina’s character and powers within the many layers of the story is complicated and believable. In fact, there are many other characters whose growth charts new areas of exploration in this series that’s just as interesting and exciting as those that we started with. 

Ryot’s storyline is partially why this story didn’t get a 5 ⭐️ rating. How the novel ended, with a cliffhanger, wasn’t surprising. And it contains two elements meant to be shocking but are easily guessed at from the events mentioned during over the course of the story. 

Did it bother me? Not a bit. In fact, it made any forthcoming book and relationship dynamics that more fascinating. I can’t wait. 

I’m just upset that there’s no mention of a sequel yet. I adore this book, its universe and especially its main character of Leina. 

More, more as soon as possible. 

Highly recommended. Just amazing work here. And love the flying war horses. What scary sentient creatures!

Grab it up!

Love the covers too. 

Artwork:

Map © Haley MacRae: @hmmr.art Chapter art © schankz/Shutterstock.com 

Cover art and design by Daqri Designs. 

Cover © 2025 Hachette Book Group, Inc.

The Eternal Wars Series :

Unwritten by the Gods (prequel novella) 

Kissed by the Gods #1

Buy link

 Book 1 of 1: The Eternal Wars, 1 

Blurb 

She might be deadly, but she is not their weapon. Fourth Wing meets Dire Bound in this captivating romantasy, brimming with romance, deadly stakes, and unforgettable magic. 

 

Survivor. Rebel. Weapon.

 

Leina has spent a lifetime submitting, starving amid wheat fields reserved for the king, standing by while his men crush her loved ones. When soldiers come for her brother, her divine fury erupts in a bloody massacre.

 

She expects to be executed for her crimes—her people have met bloody ends for far, far less. Instead, Ryot, a gods-blessed warrior born to privilege, delivers her to a military fortress renowned for its brutality.

 

There, a gift from a goddess drags Leina into a realm of war, where her survival depends on her ability to ride a winged horse.

 

As Ryot pushes her to master the power she never asked for, a battle rages within her heart. Each lesson, every touch, binds them tighter—but love is a dangerous weakness in a world designed for war.

 

Soon, Leina must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to protect the family she has found…and the one she left behind. Because while her divine gift could save the kingdom, it could also shatter its very foundation.

 

With immersive lush writing, an unflinching heroine, and an inventive fantasy world, Kissed by the Gods is the gripping fantasy debut you won’t want to miss.

 

Featuring iconic romance tropes: 

  • He falls first 
  • Forbidden romance 
  • Found family 
  • Trial by combat 
  • She saves him 
  • Spicy slow burn 
  • Feminine rage

Publisher

Requited

Publication date

December 2, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

619 pages

Book 1 of 1

The Eternal Wars, 1

Review:  Ravenwood (Tanyth Fairport Adventures Book 1) by Nathan Lowell

Rating: 4.5⭐️

“You’re never too old to make a bad decision.”

That was the line that hooked me. And one I may have printed out on a sweatshirt. 

From there I tumbled gently into the fantasy world of Tanyth Fairport, a older woman who’s been traveling around for 20 years, learning her craft, teaching others, and hoping for word of her son who got away from his abusive father as soon as possible. 

Her backstory is one that unfolds along with the other characters she encounters, as the situation develops.

She travels alone, dresses in clothing that could be either gender, disguising herself on the road from those who would victimize a woman. That’s a perfect representation of her on the cover, with her metal tipped staff. 

She has a goal to achieve. She wants to learn from one of the last Witches of the Woods before that woman dies. If Hermit of Lammas Wood will teach her.  And she must reach there before the winter comes. 

Of course, things will not go as planned. People will need help. And as Tanyth must decide whether to stay or go, we learn about the herbal remedies and medicines, communities, and religious rituals in a way that is real and meaningful. It’s built slowly and carefully grounded in these characters and their lives and beliefs. 

And then comes the magic, seeping into the world and storylines on the wings of a Raven. 

For a novel that was a slow start I was absolutely absorbed by the concept, characters and the journey that Tanyth was taking midway through. By the end I was sorry to see this stage end but excited for the next chapter to come. 

I’m late to the writing of Nathan Lowell but I’m so impressed by the stories and worlds I’ve encountered. 

Here’s one more recommendation I’m happy to share. 

Tanyth Fairport Adventures (3 book series) :

Ravenwood #1

Zypheria’s Call #2

The Hermit of Lammas Wood #3

I wish I knew who did that amazing cover and artwork. That’s a perfect illustration of Tanyth on the road right down to her staff. 

Buy link 

 Book 1 of 3: Tanyth Fairport Adventures 

Blurb 

You’re never too old to make a bad decision.

After twenty winters on the road, Tanyth Fairport makes one last pilgrimage in her quest to learn all she can about the herbs and medicinal plants of Korlay before settling down to write her magnum opus. Her journey is interrupted when she decides to help a small village and learns that much of what she knows of the world may not be quite as it seems. 

Nathan Lowell blends wiccan tradition and shamanistic lore into a fantasy quest for a new – if unlikely – heroine. She learns that the familiar sometimes hides the fantastic and that, even when you think you’ve made your decisions, life doesn’t always agree.

Publisher

Durandus

Publication date

October 26, 2011

Language

‎English

Print length

382 pages

Book 1 of 3

Tanyth Fairport Adventures

Review:  The Dog Mage By James A. Haddock III

Rating: 3.5⭐️

Ok this is going to be a different sort of review. Mostly because I believe readership might break down differently here . Those who read it one way and then those who see other aspects of the story. 

I finished Dog Mage, my first book by James Haddock, and I thought it was a good book. Very entertaining, fast paced fantasy adventure with some interesting magical system elements that I hadn’t really seen explored before. 

The magic is certainly very thoughtfully crafted and I love how it is fitted into the narrative in multiple ways. 

The plot of Jack, orphaned as a small child, finding his magic to becoming one of the most powerful mages in the known Kingdom is oddly straightforward. Jack as his magic grows and accumulates objects that helps his with his magical abilities has streamlined his approach to his life. Continue forward doing what he wants as his own person, if anything tries to get in his way more than once? Then he brutally and efficiently eliminates them, by dog, knife, whatever means necessary. 

Turns out Jack is a bit of a psychopath. Not that it’s ever even remotely hinted at here. That’s my take on him. 

But Jack’s answer to about everything is death, (not animals, just people, sometimes in mass quantities) in multiple ways, starting from childhood. And he’s not wasting any time, thought or emotion on it. 

He chooses to change his face, name, and “character “ easily. Jack’s a chimera. That’s how he presents himself…to me. Often to others as well. 

Which actually doesn’t bother me much because the story is a fantasy adventure. And had Haddock left it simply at magical battles where Jack is always the shining hero, where he vanquishes hundreds of enemies by himself, where it’s Jack in his fabulous glowing armor doing impossible things, well, it’s fun, and superficial.

But then there a romantic component and it gets problematic.  Spoilers.

There’s an older princess to escort to a ball, looking for a matrimonial match. Jack’s her guardian/escort as assigned by the king. It’s a short time frame. Without any real sense of this couple having any real connection or time with each other, it’s “instalove”.

Other stories have done this. Not the issue. However,Jack isn’t one for the stationary life and he’s got things to do.There’s turmoil afloat so he needs to leave and do stuff. A man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do. Or Jack does whatever. Because that’s what Jack does. 

She says no, don’t go and many other things in the same vein. None of which land well with him.So he’s done, he abandons her, engaged and all. No talking. She’s cut off, as are her folks he calls family. No contact.

Two yrs later. She’s been miserable and pining. He hasn’t given her a thought ( literally that what he said). 

Someone royal else gets them together and he’s oh, I guess I missed you (she’s crying her eyes out). Let’s get together again. Wink. 

Yeah,the psychopath says it’s convenient for him you’re back. And his projects are well underway. So it’s phase two.  Doesn’t this make you feel all cozy? Huh. I see a bunch of flags. 

Because I don’t think it’s supposed to be taken that way. 

To quote the description:

“So, let the bodies fall where they may; you’ve been warned.”

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comThe Dog Mage – Haddock, James: Kindle Store

Blurb 

My name, well, they call me Jack. Though I’ve been called and named other things. Kings have named me, though that has sometimes gotten me into trouble. You see, when a king names you, he wants something. Nothing is free. Anyway, I’m an orphan. Fortunately, I’m a mage. That doesn’t make up for not having parents, but it helps . . . except when it doesn’t. The problem with being a . . . child mage is that everyone wants to use you for their own ends. The guilds, for instance. Not just one guild, all of them, everyone is looking for an edge, including me. My strongest talent is music, though no one sees that. What they do see is that my music . . . renews things, makes them new.

One of the first things I renewed was a pair of full-sized wooden dogs. I renewed them so well that they came to life and became my protectors. 

Circumstances forced me to protect myself from those who would force me to work for them. Unfortunately, bodies were left on the floor, and I was forced to leave one city for another. I became too good at protecting myself, and the bodies kept piling up. That’s when the king and his spymaster took notice of me. They saw me as a means to an end and wanted to use me as a weapon against their enemies.

The problem was, their enemies weren’t necessarily my enemies, and I hate being forced to do things against my will. So, the bodies that piled up were of those who tried to force me into bondage. All I wanted was to be left alone, but no one seemed to understand that.

So, let the bodies fall where they may; you’ve been warned.

Matron Publishing

Publication date

November 6, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

230 pages