Category: Paranormal adventures,

Review: Bound By Fate (Blind Fury Book 1) by Annabel Chase 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Bound By Fate (Blind Fury Book 1) is a new series by Annabel Chase and the first book is a terrific one.

I absolutely love the premise of a paranormal retirement community, along with the attendant issues of its otherworldly residents in their “later, much much later years “ of existence. Witches, vampires who have lived extremely long and rich lives and now live out their lives together. Some lively souls, enjoying their ancient lives while others exhibit significant signs of dementia. 

It’s a familiar setting and group made fantastical in a complex and intimate story. One that will flow together with a weekly meeting of cardsharp players and fanatical cliques of pickleball teams. All beautifully written and believable. 

Chase treats them with kindness, respect and compassion. These people are layered with degrees of history and poignancy of life at its for some.

The assistant head of their security team is an enigma, Maya August, an intriguing figure herself. She’s in hiding on this retirement island off of Savannah,Georgia. She’s been personally isolating herself from everyone.  And that gives Chase ample room for her to develop Maya’s personality and reveal bits about her background as events happen.

And, wonderfully, Chase does this by bringing Maya into the community. She finally fully acknowledges her role as protector and part of them. We are enveloped by their presence as well as Maya’s ability to make her own choices for herself.

But there’s also mystery, murders, and outside forces of power here. One of those includes a person called Zale, someone who will figure into the series. 

I love everything about this. The many characters, types of beings, the various mythology the author is introducing (she’s excellent at it), but above all, this realistic yet not retirement community of powerful paranormal beings. All who have issues we can identify with but on extraordinary levels. 

I really can’t wait for the next story to arrive. 

Btw, HOA’s are still awful no matter what the setting. FYI. 

A winner and so happy to share with you. 

Cover design by Trif

Blind Fury:

Bound By Fate #1

Bargain With Fate #2 – May 26,2026

Buy link 

 Book 1 of 2: Blind Fury 

Blurb 

 Most people move to a magical retirement island for peace and quiet—and pickleball.

Maya August moved there to disappear.

As the assistant director of security for Evermore Island—a secret community where elderly paranormals fade into obscurity—Maya has built the perfect hiding place. Her days consist of magical mishaps, avoiding the clothing-optional tennis courts, and definitely not getting attached to the island’s strays (feline or otherwise).

Then her boss vanishes. A resident turns up dead. And Maya’s carefully constructed refuge begins to crumble.

She could handle a murder investigation. She’s handled much, much worse. What she can’t handle is the HOA president forcing her back to the mainland after five years in self-imposed exile to meet Vale, the mysterious and powerful figure who’s claimed jurisdiction over her case.

But Maya isn’t interested in playing by his rules or anyone else’s.

Because if Maya can’t solve this case and keep her past buried, there are fates far worse than letting a killer walk free.

Perfect for fans of morally gray heroines, slow-burn tension, and retirement home chaos meets magical noir, Bound By Fate is the first book in the new Blind Fury-urban fantasy series.

Publisher

Red Palm Press LLC

Publication date

February 12, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

276 pages

Book 1 of 2

Blind Fury

Review: Not Dead Yet By Jenn Burke

This was a DNF but I read enough to rate it for creativity of premise and the main character’s backstory. 

Rating : 3🌈

I like Jenn Burke as an author which is why I bought this book but immediately the character of Wes Cooper, the “not ghost” who died and was resurrected but in a different state, one where he’s not exactly alive, is the issue. 

What sort of person is Wes? Has Wes used the opportunity for a new life, no matter what form, to progress in his development as a person? Matured or at least, become grateful to those who saved him, given back, or in any way done anything that would make the reader not immediately write him off as a waste of our time? 

Nope.  He’s cowardly, content to do as little as possible to get by and maintain his life, such as it is. 

For me, every interaction with Wes was a constant fight not to just not quit the story right there. He’s that much of a reminder of everything that I avoid in RL atm.

The story is short. Extremely short. There’s no realistic scenario where Wes decides that years of stagnation and avoidance is overcome and he accumulates all the missing assets and pieces in that time period. 

Unfortunately this is a no go for me. 

Burke has other excellent series and characters to explore. This isn’t one of them. Wes and Hudson, his “silver fox” police detective are underwhelming in their dynamic and chiefly the reason it’s a DNF. 

NOT DEAD YET (book one) 

GIVE UP THE GHOST (book two) GRAVEYARD SHIFT (book three)

Buy link

 Book 1 of 3: Not Dead Yet 

Blurb 

Don’t miss this thrilling and suspenseful second chance romance, book one in a fan-favorite supernatural detective series from Jenn Burke.

Dying isn’t what it used to be.Wes Cooper was dead. Then he wasn’t—though he’s not exactly alive, either. As an immortal not-ghost, he can transition between this world and the otherplane, which makes him the perfect thief for hire. For seventy years he’s made a “living” returning items to their rightful owners, seeing his fair share of the bizarre in the process. But he’s never witnessed murder. Until now.

His latest mission brings him more than he bargained for: a very-dead actor who is definitely going to stay that way. It’s just Wes’s luck that his ex-boyfriend, Detective Hudson Rojas, is assigned to the case. Hudson broke Wes’s heart years ago—and could again, given he’s rocking a hot silver-fox look that shouldn’t be legal.

As they work together to track down the murderer before anyone else gets hurt, it becomes clear Wes and Hudson have unfinished business. And when a secret Hudson’s been keeping threatens more than just their happiness, it might mean the end of their not-life together—permanently.

Review: Squib (The Coldstream Chronicles Book 1) by Helen Harper 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Squib is a side story to The Cat Lady Chronicles that features Kit McCafferty, retired assassin/agent living in the paranormal city of Coldstream. 

Harper has chosen two of her more intriguing, often irritating secondary characters from The Cat Lady Chronicles to feature in the first of The Coldstream Chronicles, the crossover series. And it works beautifully on multiple levels. 

Mallory has popped up numerous times in Kit’s stories because she’s a powerful information broker. She trades in secrets and the ability to deliver items that no other person or company is capable of doing. What she deals in is absolute promises. Which as a “mere” human in a paranormal world makes her powerful.

Her companion in the story is another frequent character as well in Kit’s series. Another powerful player in Coldstream, the werewolf Alpha Enter Alexander MacTire.  He’s got an interesting mission for her. 

Harper has their interactions playing out with intelligence, great dialogue, and believable chemistry. 

Plus a terrific mystery that’s not totally resolved but will have ramifications for both series. 

I am very excited to see how Harper is going to weave in the storylines and sustain the many characters that crossover throughout this mystery.

Another great winner. And honestly, I loved how these characters became so much more well developed and relatable here than they were in the first series. 

The Coldstream Chronicles 

Squib #1

Crossover from:

The Cat Lady Chronicles 

Buy link

 Book 1 of 1: The Coldstream Chronicles 

Blurb 

She’s supposed to find him the perfect match. Falling for him herself was not part of the deal.

Mallory has zero magic. No spells, no shape-shifting and no flashy Preternatural strength. But in the magical city of Coldstream, Mallory has made knowledge her power and she turns secrets and favours into currency. 

Enter Alexander MacTire: alpha werewolf, wealthy businessman, and walking temptation. He wants Mallory to find him a mate. She wants absolutely nothing to do with him.

But MacTire isn’t used to hearing no—and Mallory’s not immune to his charm, no matter how hard she tries. What starts as a reluctant business arrangement soon turns into something dangerously personal. Because the more she gets to know him, the less she wants to help him find love … with anyone but her.

The first book in the Coldstream Chronicles is jam-packed full of magic, mayhem, and slow-burn heat. It can be read as a standalone or alongside The Cat Lady Chronicles.

January 13, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

303 pages

Book 1 of 1

The Coldstream Chronicles

Review:  Hidden Storm (The Witch’s Bestiary #1) by Evangeline Hunter

Rating:  4.5⭐️

Hidden Storm is a great start to this complete series about Alicia Stormwell , a powerful witch who runs The Bestiary, a paranormal animal rescue for all types of supernatural creatures. She also goes out at night undercover to save those who need her help from exotic fantasy animal trafficking or worse. 

A murder and a vampire detective set off the mystery of the story which brings Alicia into the investigation of the death of a local girl and the wolf lying beside her.

The paranormal animals that live with her and how her Bestiary is set up is imaginative and intriguing. I could have spent so much more narrative time in there just exploring the spaces and creatures she’s saved. 

The mystery is excellent although the resolution is a bit too quickly resolved. 

Neither male character is particularly well developed but I hope future stories will show them as more defined and fleshed out. They both have so much potential. 

The setting is atmospheric and believable. It’s in the small details, the barest of memorable elements that make this world real, sad and heartbreaking at times. 

I’m looking forward to seeing more of the characters and their stories. 

A winner for those who love paranormal mystery and fantasy fiction. 

The Witch’s Bestiary (5 book series):

Hidden Storm #1

Midnight Storm #2

Island Storm #3

Dragon Storm #4

Rising Storm #5

Buy link

 Book 1 of 5: The Witch’s Bestiary 

Blurb 

**COMPLETE SERIES**

Rescuing fantastic beasts is child’s play. Clearing the name of a ridiculously handsome werewolf? Hold my broomstick. 

My name is Alicia Stormwell. By day, I run The Bestiary, a nonprofit that saves and rehabilitates legendary critters. By night, I don my witch’s hat and battle the dark underworld of supernatural animal traffickers.

When a witch is found dead and a wolf is accused of murder, a vampire detective from the NYPD’s Magical Crimes Division hires me as a consultant. I take in the suspected hound only to discover he’s not just any fabled creature, but a werewolf. And he’s been framed.

Now, with a murderer on the loose and a hunky shifter in my care, I’ve got to use every bit of my powers and questionable instincts to uncover the truth before the killer turns his sights on me, and I end up the next witch in a body bag.

The Witch’s Bestiary includes:

· Witches, Werewolves, and Vampires

· Hidden magic and a magical underworld

· A slow-burn / RH romance

· Fantastic creatures

· A badass female main character with snark and humor

Bouquets and Blades Press

Publication date

August 26, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

184 pages

Book 1 of 5

The Witch’s Bestiary

Review: Virtual Games (The Digital Detective Mystery Series Book 5) by P.L. Matthews 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Although it’s not specifically mentioned, Virtual Games brings The Digital Detective Mystery Series to a happy ending where all the characters have moved forward in their lives, growing up in some ways and developing new relationships and friendships, finding new powers and potential partners. 

And it happens in a very surprising way. With Vampire Games and visits from characters from an another Matthews series, the Green Witch. Those who have read this series will love this crossover element. I haven’t and it will likely send me there to see what it is about. 

But the story here has more than enough to keep a reader engaged. Several plots, an interesting murder mystery included that brings back part of Skye’s past and an old college painful memory. 

Matthews balances the needs of Skye and Seb’s relationship to move forward along with those of the other characters, as well as the individual characters whose personalities and powers continue to be developed by the events and storyline.

It’s a dynamic narrative, one that’s so powerful and jammed with interesting elements and characters that it leaves room for additional drama and stories even though it’s a satisfying finale as well. We want more but are happy with this too. 

Perhaps Matthews will pick up this universe with the sister, Zephyra’s story. That would make sense and for great storytelling.

Very entertaining and engaging. I even liked Bob finally!

The Digital Detective Mystery Series (5 book series):

Murder By Code #1

Fatal Error #2

Kill Switch #3

Storm Signal #4

Virtual Games #5

Buy link

        Virtual Games: A Digital Detective Mystery (The Digital Detective Mystery Series Book 5)

    

Blurb 

Level up… or get eliminated. Permanently.

Skye Sanders, tech mage extraordinaire, is on the trail of a hit-and-run—only to discover it’s tangled up with the infamous Vampire Games.

Her boyfriend Seb’s invitation to “help from the sidelines” quickly becomes a front-row seat to sabotage. The Games test skill, strength, and cunning. Physical gauntlets, brain-bending riddles, and the occasional death-defying stunt are fair play.

With rival teams closing in and tensions simmering hotter than Sydney in January, Skye must unravel a sabotage trail before it claims its next victim. But in a contest where every competitor guards secrets like treasure and alliances shift faster than a server crash, even her sharpest code might not be enough to keep everyone alive—least of all Seb, who’s squarely in the crosshairs.

The stakes are literal. And losing? Not an option.

If you enjoy urban-fantasy mysteries with magic, humour, and a clever heroine—think books by Patricia Briggs, Hailey Edwards, Heather G. Harris, Annette Marie, or Kim Harrison—Virtual Games should be right up your alley.

Publication date

December 17, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

358 pages

Book 5 of 5

The Digital Detective Mystery Series

Review: A City of Swords and Fangs (A Spirit Mage’s Journey Book 2 ) By BR Kingsolver 

Rating: 4⭐️

A City of Swords and Fangs picks up almost immediately after the events of Demon Dance and Other Disasters, the novel where we meet 16 year old Katy Brown. Street toughened by loss, hardened by homelessness and abandonment and trauma, she’s a powerful self taught mage and hunter surviving alongside the monsters in the streets of the city. 

But now she’s on a different path, one that’s brought her to Zurich as the student of one of the world’s most powerful mage’s of the Guild. She’s 17, soon to be in college and eager for her new adventures and life.

Unfortunately politics and the religious order has a different plan for Europe and magic that will disrupt her life and those who have taken her in. 

I found this story very interesting and absorbing. It moves at an extremely fast pace, packed with history and current events of the world this is situated in. The paranormal, mundane and religious aspects of the European setting are very familiar coded, if that makes sense.  The elements that are stirring up the political atmosphere and hatred here, while layered with magical or paranormal overtones, still have that racial and religious and ethnic tension and bigotry that’s been present throughout history.  It’s urban fantasy and current reality. 

The school and all the various other groups within the Guild are interesting but, like much of the relationships between the characters, don’t get the same detail and exploration as the political aspect of the story. She’s sent to certain groups and we see her as being part of a larger community but there’s no depth in the design of this particular part of her life. We know nothing about these characters or the school or even her lessons. Which is why she was sent there to begin with.

Everything other than the political instability becomes a non-element in the story. That means a whole lot of narrative is left behind or discarded in favor of another plot line that loses track of her character development.  She’s moved quickly from A to Z without any further learning, real believable relationships with others, and although she’s said that Zurich feels like home, I’m astounded. Because the author hasn’t made her case for it. 

And there’s no realistic connection between a vampire she’s just worked with on a dramatic short time case and immediately overcoming her issues about trust etc. That entire scene felt entirely unrealistic.

So yes to the action packed adventure, yes to the political drama and magical moments. But this was disappointing after the well crafted characters seen in the first novel. Those relationships were absent. 

A mixed bag but enjoyable.

Cover art by Lou Harper

(Note: Pls take time to appreciate the wonderful cover art for both novels done by Lou Harper who has passed recently. She will be missed. )

A Spirit Mage’s Journey:

  • Demon Dance and Other Disasters #1
  • A City of Swords and Fangs #2

Buy link

        A City of Swords and Fangs (A Spirit Mage’s Journey Book 2)

    

Blurb 

“In my world, keeping my head on my shoulders has always required paying attention to what goes on around me. I’ve seen chaos, and I’ve seen evil…”

In Zurich—the wealthy, peaceful city where I plan to attend university—I walk into a war zone. Vampires, werewolves, Knights Magica, and the Mage Guild battle for supremacy. Apprenticed to a man considered the greatest living mage, I have a lot to learn—if I survive.

“Balance is messy. Freedom is messy. People and their social constructs aren’t always pretty.”

A dark, character-driven urban fantasy where magic is power, alliances are fragile, and survival means walking the line between order and chaos.

Perfect for readers who love:

  • Dark, immersive urban fantasy with political depth
  • Complex heroine with untamed magic
  • Magic vs. morality stories where no side is clean
  • High-stakes danger, evolving friendships, and hard-earned power

date

May 21, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

254 pages

Book 2 of 2

A Spirit Mage’s Journey

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:  The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow

Rating: 4.5⭐️🌈

This is a harrowing excellent short story by Alix Harrow, an author I associate with imaginative, thoughtful fiction. 

Set in a dystopian world, hundreds of years after a catastrophic event has permanently changed earth’s environment as well as humans beings themselves, Harrow has intriguingly narrowed down the location to a dying community of outsiders, the Appalachian community of Iron Hollow.

They, like other struggling poor people, live outside the walled compounds of the rich.  High in the Mountains, living in the hollers near the poisonous streams and changed vegetation, they live life hard, dying young and often, sometimes from the very monsters emerging from the mountains itself.

Harrow creates, in the richly colored, sometimes horrifying world, a tale of love lost, love deeply mourned, and finally, love changed and found again. 

It’s not a romance. Each main character has lost their wives. Both Shrike the Secretary, the young mountain woman and the legendary Knight who’s come to slay the monster. 

What follows is an amazing story. One of anger, ruthless determination, dedication and finally, deep love. 

I absolutely love that ending.

Highly recommended, both story and author. 

Cover design by Tree Abraham Cover illustration by Colin Verdi

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comThe Knight and the Butcherbird: A Short Story eBook : Harrow, Alix E.

Blurb 

In this dystopian fairy tale from the New York Timesbestselling author of Starling House, a small town’s storyteller struggles to protect a local demon from the knight hired to kill it.

Hundreds of years after the end of the world, the Appalachian community of Iron Hollow finds itself beset by demons. Such horrors are common these days in the outlands, where most folks die young—if they don’t turn into monsters first.

When a legendary knight is summoned to hunt down the latest unearthly beast to haunt their woods, the town’s new oral historian, Shrike, has more reason than most to be concerned. Because that demon was her wife. And while Shrike is certain that May still recognizes her—that May is still herself, somewhere beneath it all—she can’t prove it.

Determined to keep May safe, Shrike stalks the knight and his demon-hunting hawk through the recesses of the forest. But as they creep through toxic creeks and overgrown kudzu, Shrike realizes the knight has a secret of his own. And he’ll do anything to protect it.

Review: The Little Shop of Curiosities Cursed Object 1 The Music Box – Part 1. (Crawshanks Guide to the Occult) by Vawn Cassidy) 

Rating: 4🌈

With this crossover series in the The Dead Serious Universe, two previously supporting characters are finally getting their own story and relationship series.  

That’s which Harrison Ames, recently relocated to town to look for his mother. And former DI, now PI Sam Stone, with his own connections to Danny and Tris, and magical powers of his own. 

Both characters have figured largely in prior stories, and author Cassidy takes many of these impactful moments and dramatic events from these novels and repurposes them here.  The reader gets to see certain scenes again, only this time from either Harrison’s or Sam’s perspective. 

I have to admit I loved (spoiler alert) seeing Chan meet Death all over again. I can’t get enough of this couple, so this was an enormous surprise and plus for me. 

I think Sam turned out to be my favorite character, more mature and better defined character of the pair. 

Or maybe it’s because Harrison spends the entire story lying to everyone around him. Sam, Tristan, Danny. Even as the mystery and investigation surrounding the magical bookstore, the portal, and other aspects of that storyline, Harrison, knowing full well he had important information and details about the events surrounding the ongoing crisis, kept quiet. 

He’s not a teenager. He’s in his thirties. Not communicating highly needed information to people who consider him a friend in a time of crisis. 

No, I long ago learned that I’d had enough of this type of character. Whether the author needed him to be incommunicative due too plot purposes or considered it a necessary part of his personality, either way it led to a disconnect for me. 

Yes to Sam, no to Harrison. And there are things I do like about him. Like his dynamic with his dads. So funny. But everything else? No. 

I’ll continue to read because all the wonderful crossover characters and scenes.  Maybe Harrison will win me back over. Who knows. 

A definite winner otherwise. 

Cover design by Natasha Snow

Crawshanks Guide to the Occult:

The Little Shop of Curiosities Cursed Object 1 The Music Box

Connected series:

The Dead Serious Universe,

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed (6 book series)

Crawshanks Guide to Mischievous Spectres & Spirits(2 book series)

The Grim Adventures of Death & Chan Vol 1-3 (on the author’s website)

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 Book 1 of 1: Crawshanks Guide to the Occult 

Blurb 

The Music Box – Part 1.

Despite being raised and well loved by his two adoptive fathers Harrison Ames has always felt alone. As an incredibly powerful witch he’s never come across anyone else who can do the things he can. Moving to London from Devon, he’d hoped that if he finally gathered the courage to confront the biological mother who’d given him up as a baby, he might finally have some answers.

Sam Stone, carries scars of his own, both physical and otherwise, but he’s determined to ignore them and get on with his life. But when fate drops a gorgeous prickly red haired witch in his life, he figures his luck is finally changing.

With mediums, dead drag queens, and supernatural beings as his new friends Harrison finds himself drawn into a world of magic and chaos. But amidst all the insanity that is his life, there’s Sam, his anchor when the secrets of his biological family begin to tear his life apart…

Underside Press

Publication date

December 25, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

320 pages

Book 1 of 1

Crawshanks Guide to the Occult

 Book 1 of 1: Crawshanks Guide to the Occult