Review: Tombstones with a View (The Haunted Ranch Mysteries Book 4) by Sara Bourgeois

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Tombstones with a View is great and really expands on the series with several new characters and insights into established ones. I absolutely loved it.

We’ve met Mavis, owner of the Desert Rest Motel before. Primarily because that place is full of Mavis’s antique doll collection, hundreds of dolls everywhere throughout the motel, in every room. Staring at you. In prior stories.

Here Mavis is the center of the story. Her dolls too. Which makes for a unique investigation when Mavis goes missing. We and Claire learn about her in her absence.

Claire’s long time friend, Sara, a journalist from Chicago ,arrives to spend time together. There’s someone who is cutting fences and leaving threatening notes at the Sanctuary. And Sam’s still trying to propose.

Tombstones with a View accomplishes several things along with a terrific mystery. It brings in a new, actually 2 new connected characters and develops an established minor character into one who looks to become one of the found family that Claire is forming around herself.

This also gives Buster, a deputy Sheriff who’s normally shown as useless, a chance to demonstrate extra depth, something I appreciate.

The ending not only ties up all the various plot threads giving us a couple of interesting elements and terrific surprises, but a lovely note for Claire and Sam.

Sara Bourgeois continues to give us a realistic sense of the beauty and atmosphere of the Arizona desert while layering it with the most interesting of mysteries and engaging characters. This series is a real treat!

Cover by Book Covers by Melody

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries (8 book series)

Death Rides The Desert #1

Bones and Cactus Blooms #2

Spirits of the Saguaro #3

Tombstones with a View #4

Body Beneath the Wither #5

Death Waits at Dead Rock #6

Skulls and Sunlit Secrets #7

The Bone Charm #8

Buy link

Tombstones with a View (The Haunted Ranch Mysteries Book 4)

Blurb

The dolls are always watching.

Claire Caldwell learned that the hard way in Room 7 of the Desert Rest Motel. But now their owner has vanished, and those glass eyes might be the only witnesses to what happened…

Sheriff Dobson isn’t concerned. “Woman finally got tired of those creepy dolls and skipped town. Can’t blame her.”

But Claire knows Mavis would never abandon her collection. Those hundreds of Victorian dolls aren’t just decorations… they’re her life. Her family. Her obsession.

With the sheriff refusing to investigate, Claire finds herself drawn into the dusty rooms of the Desert Rest, surrounded by glass eyes that follow her every move. The dolls saw what happened to Mavis. If only they could talk.

Meanwhile, someone is stalking Whispering Saguaro Ranch. Cut fences. Threatening notes. A shadow in the barn at midnight. Claire’s made some enemies, and one of them wants what she has… no matter the cost.

As Claire searches for answers, she discovers that Mavis has secrets of her own. The Pioneer Cemetery behind the motel holds more than old bones. The dolls hold more than sawdust and porcelain. And the eccentric woman everyone dismissed as harmless may have been hiding something worth killing for.

Now Claire must untangle two mysteries at once, with help from an unlikely source: her veterinarian fiancé Sam, whose rounds through the desert bring whispers of things people don’t want known. Together, they’ll learn that in Perdido Springs, the strangest people often have the darkest secrets.

And some collections are worth more than anyone imagined.

January 11, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

283 pages

Book 4 of 8

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries

Review: Spirits of the Saguaro (The Haunted Ranch Mysteries Book 3) by Sara Bourgeois

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Spirits of the Saguaro, the terrific third book in The Haunted Ranch Mysteries by Sara Bourgeois, sees the small Arizona desert town of Perdito Springs still trying to recover from the death of bank manager, Robert Harrison. Harrison was a man who was hated by the town’s residents for his crimes and cruel treatment.

Now a well known artist is coming to town and several people are hoping that her popularity will help them recover their losses and rebuild.

But artist Aurora Brightwater brings more than popularity, she brings antagonism, old hatred’s and divisions with her. And that leads to murder.

Spirits of the Saguaro is a fabulous book. The story went in different directions than I had anticipated, the characters were very well drawn and the side plots are great.

There’s a side story about a filmmaker as well as the plot that’s following the slow burn romance between Claire and Sam.

The entire community, the shops and their owners are very involved, and we’re getting to know each one better as the mysteries play out.

The mystical world of Perdita Springs, which includes the Fox guardian, the ghosts of the ranch, and the mysterious past of the area and mines is a developing element.

This excellent story and series is one I’m very excited about. And one that’s hard to stop reading once you’ve started.

Highly recommended! A real winner.

Cover by Book Covers by Melody

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries (8 book series)

Death Rides The Desert #1

Bones and Cactus Blooms #2

Spirits of the Saguaro #3

Tombstones with a View #4

Body Beneath the Wither #5

Death Waits at Dead Rock #6

Skulls and Sunlit Secrets #7

The Bone Charm #8

Buy link

Spirits of the Saguaro (The Haunted Ranch Mysteries Book 3)

Blurb

Claire Caldwell has finally settled into her strange new normal. Two months after the Robert Harrison incident, she’s learned to trust her spirit fox’s warnings and Rosa’s ghostly advice as she runs her animal sanctuary in the desert.

But some visitors bring their own darkness to Perdido Springs.

When famous artist Aurora Brightwater arrives to paint the “desert spirits,” she brings more than just her canvases and her sparkling laugh. She brings grudges, theft, and a cruelty that hides behind flowing scarves and talk of universal energy.

Then Aurora turns up dead in her studio, a palette knife through her heart, and everyone she’s wronged becomes a suspect. The artist who steals others’ work… dead. The documentary filmmaker who seems cursed… filming everything. The exhausted ex-husband she abandoned… watching from the shadows.

As Claire investigates with her veterinarian boyfriend Sam, she discovers Aurora left a trail of destroyed careers and stolen dreams across the Southwest. But in a town where the dead talk, the dolls in the motel have their own agenda, and something that used to be human roams the desert at night, finding the truth means distinguishing between those who wanted Aurora gone and whoever actually made it happen.

In Perdido Springs, the veil is thin, the spirits are watching…

Welcome back to the desert, where inspiration can be deadly.

December 15, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

315 pages

Book 3 of 8

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries

Review: Witch At Heart: A Cozy Witch Mystery (The Jinx Hamilton Series Book 1) by Juliette Harper

Rating: 4.25 ⭐️

I thought Witch At Heart: A Cozy Witch Mystery (The Jinx Hamilton Series Book 1) by Juliette Harper a step above the rest of the stories I’ve read in this trope of books.

There’s an entire genre of books and series based around a woman who inherits a store from a relative, usually an aunt who turns out to be magical. There’s a mysterious animal included, hers, the relative’s or the store’s, normally a cat. And it’s a cozy mystery.

On the whole, they are pretty good. Similar but each different enough in their elements to be entertaining.

But the ending here, elevates this one into something more interesting. Takes the characters, their pasts, and the entire community and suddenly gives it an edge, an entire new layer.

Wasn’t expecting that.

For 3/4 of the story, we get the typical plot of small town, Jinx Hamilton quits her waitressing job when her beloved crazy aunt dies the next town over and leaves her with her shop and belongings.

She also bequeaths Jinx her magic and a mysterious death to investigate.

The shop, its contents are slowly revealed as is the community of the small town that Jinx is now a part of. It’s a small village where Jinx has been a member of, along with her childhood friend, who quickly becomes a part of the story.

There’s ghosts, an adorable rat named Roderick, and a killer to find and murders to solve. And a new magical role to accept.

It’s charming, the characters are engaging and interesting. And the potential for a very intriguing world is just getting started.

It’s a quick read and the series is complete. Another win!

I love a terrific cozy story and mystery. No romance, although there’s a slight attraction between Jinx and the cobbler.

I’m recommending this one!

The Jinx Hamilton Series (16 book series): complete and all released.

Witch At Heart #1

Buy link

Book 1 of 16: The Jinx Hamilton Series

Blurb

Magic begins in the heart.

Jinx Hamilton is ready to trade in waitressing for becoming her own boss. The shop she inherits from her eccentric aunt in Briar Hollow, North Carolina, seems like the perfect fit. As Jinx handles the enchanted inventory and the unruly clientele, she discovers her aunt also willed her magical powers without an instruction manual.

As if that weren’t enough, she’s forced to deal with four cats, several homeless ghosts, and a potential serial killer.

With a little help from her best friend and a dreamy new neighbor, Jinx must keep the business afloat and the murderer at bay. And it’ll take more than clever bookkeeping and spellcasting to keep the store…and herself…from going under.

*Note: This is a republished version of Witch At Heart

Publisher

Cabot Publishing Group

Publication date

September 4, 2025

Edition

2nd

Language

‎English

Print length

227 pages

Book 1 of 16

The Jinx Hamilton Series

Review: Bones and Cactus Blooms (The Haunted Ranch Mysteries Book 2) by Sara Bourgeois

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Bones and Cactus Blooms , the second book in The Haunted Ranch Mysteries by Sara Bourgeois, is exactly what I hoped for in the series. It’s the potential I saw in the first book fulfilled and more.

The author has a fantastic mystery and story here. Shes developing Claire , the ranch which is now a thriving animal sanctuary and those who are a part of it, as the mystical heart of Perdita Springs. Or maybe the land upon which all of it stands.

The beleaguered citizens of the town, under siege by developers and the bank, have our sympathy and emotional connection. Each one feels believable and raw. And Claire, as she continues to make her way into this town and its pain, is an interesting empathic woman who wants to make things happen. In their lives and her’s.

So of course, there’s a murder.

It’s a complex story with lots of interesting elements around the person who is killed.

And the side stories, especially the one about Claire and Sam Redhorse, the vet, is very well written . Slow developing with stumbling blocks that, again, are ones that any person can easily understand and relate to.

It is wrapped up emotionally with layers that are so powerful. Sad but necessary. And the author adds an extra twist that shows another layer of the story and series going forward.

Fantastic work and highly recommended.

I’m onto the next.

Cover by Book Covers by Melody

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries (8 book series)

Death Rides The Desert #1

Bones and Cactus Blooms #2

Spirits of the Saguaro #3

Tombstones with a View #4

Body Beneath the Wither #5

Death Waits at Dead Rock #6

Skulls and Sunlit Secrets #7

The Bone Charm #8

Buy link

Bones and Cactus Blooms (The Haunted Ranch Mysteries Book 2)

Blurb

Claire Caldwell has finally found her footing. Six months after solving her first murder, she’s turned Whispering Saguaro Ranch into a thriving animal sanctuary and embraced her ability to see the dead.

But the desert has more secrets to reveal.

When volunteers preparing for the Cactus Bloom Festival unearth human bones that have been hidden for thirty-five years, the whole town starts whispering about old scandals and vanished souls. Then one of the most powerful man in Perdido Springs turns up dead in his office, and everyone Claire knows had a reason to want him gone. The man who foreclosed on half the town… dead. The festival meant to save local businesses… in chaos. The ghosts in Claire’s kitchen… warning her that death isn’t finished yet.

As Claire digs into both the old bones and the fresh corpse, she discovers the two deaths are connected by threads of family, loss, and long-buried grievances that someone would kill to keep hidden. With her fox, Rusty, bringing ominous warnings, the ghost of a long-dead librarian helping her research, and her relationship with Sam strained by family obligations, Claire must navigate a town full of desperate people harboring deadly secrets.

In Perdido Springs, old wounds never heal… and some debts can only be paid in blood.

Welcome back to the desert, where the past never stays buried.

November 10, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

282 pages

Book 2 of 8

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries

Review: Review: Shifting of the Wild (Shifter Lords Book 7) by S.E. Babin

Rating: 4.75⭐️

“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.

Highly recommended!

So well written and beautifully executed.

Cover design by Covers by Christian

Shifter Lords (11 book series):

Shift of Heart #1

Shift of Morals #2

Power Shift #3

Shifting Winds #4

Shifting Resolve #5

Shift of Rule #6

Shift of the Wild #7

Goddess Shifting #8 – April 14, 2026

Final Shift #9 – Aug 26,2036

Shift Happens #10 – 8/26

Shifting Allegiance #11 – Oct 6,2026

Buy link

Shift of the Wild (Shifter Lords Book 7)

Blurb

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.

Even if she loses herself in the process.

Oliver Heber Books

Publication date

March 3, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

249 pages

Book 7 of 11

Shifter Lords

Review: Midnight Storm (The Witch’s Bestiary #2) by Evangeline Hunter

Rating: 3⭐️

After enjoying Hidden Storm, the first book in The Witch’s Bestiary by Evangeline Hunter, unfortunately, I found Midnight Storm suffering from second story syndrome.

It just doesn’t carry through on the potential from the original story. Many of the interesting elements, the Bestiary itself are relegated to just barest scenes and the fact that Alicia Stormwell is a powerful rescuer and ally of exotic species is an inconsistent aspect of this story.

The werewolf shifter she helped and is now her assistant, Kyle Matthews, is the most problematic character here. He’s still in search of his missing sister and wants Alicia to continue to help him find her. No issue here.

However, his behavior is extremely immature. For a grown adult. When they run into dead ends and Alicia, reasonably wants to enlist all the assistance they can get, police aid included, he objects. Whining, throwing tantrums.

As a reader, I both want to stop reading or put that character in a timeout. He’s that childish.

Only the author wants us to continue to connect with him and accept that this intelligent,highly powerful woman is attracted to this toddler? Just no.

And the storyline is further proof that the series has lost its original path when during the last section where the sister, just as irritating as her brother, has been located, it’s among the very abused exotics Alicia’s life is focused around.

But that’s hardly mentioned except for a sentence at the end of the story.

It should be a huge deal but it’s not. And even the sister doesn’t mention her role in their damage. It’s all about her.

I’m surprised I finished this. And I’m debating going forward. The only reason why I would is that wolf boy isn’t in the next book . A plus.

No recommendation here.

The Witch’s Bestiary (5 book series):

Hidden Storm #1

Midnight Storm #2

Island Storm #3

Dragon Storm #4

Rising Storm #5

Buy link

Midnight Storm: A Fast-paced Humorous Urban Fantasy Book (The Witch’s Bestiary Book 2)

Blurb

A brutal tournament, a missing sister, and a witch with nothing left to lose.

I’m Alicia Stormwell, a witch who spends her days rescuing fantastic creatures and my nights battling the dark underworld of magical animal trafficking. But nothing prepares me for the mess I’m about to walk into.

When my hunky werewolf friend, Kyle Matthews, asks for my help in finding his missing sister, Sabrina, I’m all in. Our search leads us to the Velvet Claw, a shadowy organization running a supernatural fight ring where lives are currency and losing isn’t an option.

As the tournament reaches its sinister climax, I must race against time and use every ounce of my magical skill to rescue Sabrina before the Velvet Claw gets its claws deeper into her life, Kyle’s, and mine.

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

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

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