Category: Uncategorized

Review: Mr Gorzug – Substitute Teacher (Mr. Gorzug Book 1) by Nole Moody

Rating: 4.75⭐️

This was absolutely splendid. A stunning surprise of a story in every way. And that’s including that fabulous cover. 

A note before we get into the just how strong this story is in terms of its characters and the way the author shapes the development of this school and its environment. It’s told from a British pov so the school system reflects that. Writer Moody has included for the readers outside of a British educational system how this would translate into a US school system, age group wise. It definitely helps with thinking about the kids and their lives and mentality.

It’s the equanimity with which the school in every capacity accepts that a 7 ft tall, green war battle orc walks in and intelligently takes on as a substitute teacher for History. And so much more. War Ax in hand !

And the sayings! Every teacher, parent and student should be reading this! It’s one that just resonates with you! Remembered times from when you were someone who walked into school, through hallways that seemed like war zones, and needed some kind of guidance and maybe a guardian orc. 

Unexpected moments and fantastic stories! I love it so much. And Mr. Gorzug! I’m heading immediately to the rest of his series. 

Cover design by: Art Painter

Mr. Gorzug (5 book series):

Mr Gorzug – Substitute Teacher #1

Mr Gorzug and the Required Qualifications #2

Mr. Gorzug and the English Summer #3

Mr Gorzug and the Matter of Home #4

Mr Gorzug and the Matter of Family #5

Buy link

        Mr Gorzug – Substitute Teacher (Mr. Gorzug Book 1)

    

Blurb:

The school needed a substitute teacher. It got an orc war-chief instead.

A towering green-skinned warrior from another world was never part of the staffing plan, but after a magical accident leaves him stranded in modern England, the local secondary school discovers something unexpected:

He is exceptionally good with children.

Not in the approved sense, naturally.

He carries an axe, distrusts educational jargon, treats corridor duty like battlefield positioning, and regards most school policies as elaborate attempts to lose control of a situation politely.

But he listens.
He notices.
And when children are frightened, angry, lonely, or quietly falling apart, Mr. Gorzug stands between them and the world with the calm certainty of someone who has defended walls under far worse conditions.

As Halcyon struggles with failing budgets, exhausted staff, vulnerable students, and the growing threat of something unnatural following Gorzug into England, the school slowly realises that the strangest person in the building may also be the one adult least willing to give up on its children.

Mr. Gorzug – Substitute Teacher is a warm, funny fantasy novel about schools, belonging, safeguarding, and what happens when an orc war-chief accidentally becomes the pastoral support system a comprehensive school desperately needed.

Perfect for readers who enjoy:

  • Wry British humour
  • Found family
  • School-based fantasy
  • Discworld-style observational comedy
  • Kind but capable protagonists
  • Slow emotional storytelling beneath absurd situations
  • Bureaucracy treated as an enemy faction
  • Tea deployed as a stabilising force

Review: My Midlife Crisis (Good To The Last Death Book 4) by Robyn Peterman

Rating: 4.5⭐️

My Midlife Crisis is full of complex situations and equally compelling scenarios involving deeply emotional complicated family dynamics. Relationships that have been hidden, secretive, damaging, and sometimes abusive. 

The author, when dealing with such dark topics, is excellent at offsetting them with down home warmth and humor that hits just right. Pages where I’m laughing out loud along with the characters. Sometimes moments before I’m crying with them. 

It’s that kind of stuff that happens here. When Daisy is a Death Counselor and her job is to help her ghosts, some of whom are children, find out why they are still spectral beings. Whats keeping them there. Their stories are sad, poignant, or just loving. Or maybe they’re something worse. 

Daisy herself is growing more powerful and more empathetic in her role. But it’s changing. 

There’s so much high drama, strong narrative work that went into this. No spoilers. And yes, a really frustrating cliffhanger. Argh!

More thankfully! Love this. 

Cover design by JJ’s Design & Creations

Good To The Last Death (16 book series)

It’s A Wonderful Midlife Crisis #1

Whose Midlife Crisis Is It Anyway? #2

A Most Excellent Midlife Crisis #3

My Midlife Crisis, My Rules #4

You Light Up My Midlife Crisis #5

It’s A Matter of Midlife and Death #6

The Facts of Midlife #7

It’s A Hard-Knock Midlife #8

Run For Your Midlife #9

It’s A Hell of A Midlife #10

A Leaner Meaner Midlife #11

Having the Time of My Midlife #12

Someone Save My Midlife Tonight #13

Semi-Charmed Midlife #14

Got To Get You Into My Midlife #15

Spice Up Your Midlife #16

Buy link

        My Midlife Crisis, My Rules: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel : Good To The Last Death Book Four

    

Blurb 

My midlife crisis. My rules. And if it doesn’t put me six feet under, I plan to live it up in style—possibly for the rest of eternity…

After a Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader moment, I discovered I do indeed have a father. He comes with a hell of a lot of baggage, but I’ve decided to keep him. Not only do I have a father, I have a kickass new sister, a ghostly family, and super powers to boot. If you add to the mix that I’m dating the Grim Reaper, it’s a freakin’ party.

The only thing standing in the way of my happiness is the Angel of Mercy, though Angel of Misery is more appropriate. She’s responsible for almost everyone I have loved, and who has loved me being taken away. With the help of family and friends, I will track her down and show her exactly what a perimenopausal hot flash looks like in action.

Job — Death Counselor — Supergluing ghosts back together and solving their issues is rewarding. For real.

Mission — Bring the seriously evil Angel of Mercy to justice without dying or getting anyone else killed in the process.

Team — A bunch of certifiable Immortals, including one who re-homes vibrators. Yes, you read that correctly.

How to do this? — Wing it. Wine, my Demon boyfriend, a houseful of deceased squatters, and good friends by my side will help. 

Midlife’s a journey. I will enjoy the ride. The crisis is happening whether I’m ready or not.

Robyn Peterman

Publication date

January 25, 2021

Language

‎English

Print length

296 pages

Book 4 of 16

Good To The Last Death

Paranormal demon

Review: The Lighthouse Keeper’s Last Letter by Beatrix Penrose

Rating: 5⭐️ plus 

It was the description and cover that led me to this incredible book, one of those stories that stick with you, a novel that you tuck into pockets and journeys with you, wherever you go. 

I only recently discovered Beatrix Penrose but it still didn’t prepare me for the quiet lyrical truth and beauty of her writing here.  The depths of the narrative and characters found in a tale that is only 58 pages long. But feels like a long dive into a whole world and people we know. 

Luminous. That’s an excellent way to describe this. The journey of Sylvie Carr to a lighthouse at the edge, a small cottage, and something remarkable. 

“And then, one Tuesday in March, she had sat down at her desk and looked at the morning’s work — a collection of correspondence from a Victorian engineer, carefully bundled and awaiting description — and found that she could not begin. Not because the work was uninteresting. Because something in her had simply stopped, the way a watch stops, without drama or announcement, somewhere between one tick and the next.”

Archivist Sylvie Carr takes leave of absence. And through a series of unlikely circumstances, ends up at a decommissioned lighthouse inherited by her Aunt Rosalind. 

I have read this three times now and have found different elements that delight me or aspects of the story that I hadn’t thought of before that digs deep.

I love it so much. It’s books and discoveries like this that make me love reading and uncovering new authors! New find added to my hoard!

Buy link

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Last Letter

Blurb 

When Sylvie Carr, a burned-out archivist, inherits a decommissioned lighthouse on the North Yorkshire coast, she finds a letter on the mantelpiece addressed to her — written in 1947, before she was born.

The ghost of Callum Stroud has been keeper of Dunmore Light for over a century. In life, he wrote hundreds of letters to people in grief, people at crossroads, people who needed a fixed point in the dark. But seven letters he could never finish. Seven people he couldn’t find the words for. And until those letters are complete, he cannot rest.

Sylvie is an archivist. She has spent her career preserving what others made and said and felt. Now, at the edge of the land and the sea, she finally has something of her own to keep.

A warm, quietly luminous story about letters, lighthouses, and the people who stay at the edge of things.

Set in the same world as The Bookshop at the Edge of the Afterlife.

April 16, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

58 pages

Review:  Demon Overlord’s Retirement Plan (Gentle Apocalypse #1 by M. H. Foster 

Rating: 4.75⭐️

This is a great take on the “villain/big baddie turns hero”  trope that is becoming more popular in fantasy and paranormal fiction.

Foster is another new discovery and I really enjoyed the storyline, especially the smartly crafted dialogue and well rounded characters that slowly became important to the “retired” demon overlord in his new role and reader. 

It’s a believable redemption arc, and from the final battle between Devine Hero and Demon Overlord to his journey to the small village of 

The Demon Overlord impetuously kept a bit of Wilhem’ when he took over his body so Galornus decides that best plan for retirement is journeying to the tiny mountain village where Wilhelm wanted to spend his life, being a farmer surrounded by his animals and raising crops. Not that the Demon Lord knows what any of this means.

The story that follows is witty, honest, oddly warmhearted, and believable in its own way. As Galornus learns about the humans around him, he learns to value and care about them and slowly becomes a real heart of the community. Each one of these villagers becomes, not just a neighbor but maybe more. Like family.

Plus there’s hilarious demonic goats and a wonderful demon dog. And children and pickles.

This is one book that continues to surprise and delight you as the story progresses. What a great find!

Highly recommended!

A Gentle Apocalypse (3 book series)

Demon Overlord’s Retirement Plan #1

Love, Politics, and Other Acts of War #2

Band of Others #3 – April 14, 2026

Buy link

 Book 1 of 3: A Gentle Apocalypse 

Blurb 

When destroying the world and killing the hero grows boring, what’s a Demon Overlord to do but quit while he’s ahead?

Galornus Prime was the Scourge of Nations, Ender of Hope, and Master of the Cardinal Sins. After achieving all that, what else was left?

His retirement plan was perfect: Get a goat, farm quietly, and don’t accidentally conquer anything. Evil never sleeps… but it does plant turnips.

When corrupt officials and greedy merchants threaten his infuriatingly loveable neighbors, Galornus faces his greatest challenge yet: saving his village without revealing he’s the very monster parents invoke to make children eat their vegetables.

Demon Overlord’s Retirement Plan is a cozy fantasy with teeth, where the hardest battle isn’t defeating heroes—it’s staying retired and learning how to live after 444 lifetimes of villainy.

Begin the conquest of ordinary life today.

Third Hand Press

Publication date

October 2, 2025

Edition

1st

Language

‎English

Print length

223 pages

Book 1 of 3

A Gentle Apocalypse

Recently Released Books That, Not Surprisingly, Won’t Be Reviewed By Me This Month or In The Near Future 

There’s a short list of books recently published by authors I like and would have normally read and reviewed. However, for several reasons, each book has one or two elements that have made it into my “nope, not going there” category of book reads and reviews. 

Starting off strong and really surprising in the Christmas category is 

💀Merry and Bright by N.R. Walker, one in her Hartbridge Christmas series.  Why is it on the list? Because as an opener, a heartwarming story begins with the main character running over a cat and killing it with his car. Accidentally of course, but nothing says holiday season like dead animals. Unbelievable. What is this author doing? Nothing more to say.

🔷Milo Ashby Needs A Bad Boy : Princes Take New York by K Sterling 

I actually stopped a book prior to this release. It’s stories about billionaires/mega millionaires and royals who despite their wealth need love. Now K Sterling does a great job with nuances in her characters but filthy rich is still filthy rich.  I realize that Sterling started this series years ago however the political climate and current situational dynamics make this an awkward series to continue. 

Particularly as the atmosphere around here in RL is definitely not favorable towards the 98 percent of the RL billionaires and millionaires currently behaving so poorly. So books and characters of this kind feel tone deaf.

So hard pass on billionaires and multimillionaires as main characters unless they’re villains or cadavers.

And royals? Overseas, that’s the audience. But it feels less geared towards an American readership, so more likely an element people can’t connect with.

And Sterling isn’t alone here. There’s several writers, some British authors, some American, who’ve recently published stories about billionaires searching for love. And it’s books that feel out of touch with current reality . 

Like rich influencers trying to complain about the lack of money and views because nobody wants to see them hawking their products in mansions when people are scrambling to buy food and pay bills. 

These stories have lost their credibility with me. I have no interest in this trope. 

PS: Don’t kill any animals, don’t make them disappear. Don’t mess with the animals.  Movie or book. No!

So nope. Nope to all of the above. There’s so many other fantastic writers and tropes to explore that I just don’t feel like reading any of the above. And definitely not reviewing them. 

Your thoughts? Any absolute nopes now in your reading? 

Review: Any House in a Storm (Hidden Sanctuary #1) by Jenny Schwartz 

Rating: 3.75⭐️

A novella set in the Uncertain Sanctuary universe, it’s a good read with huge potential for future exploration in additional stories if Schwartz gets the chance to return to the series.  But the chance to really dive deep into the characters history, magic, and complicated journey into satisfying relationship and new believable start needs a bigger book and narrative. 

The sentient House itself, has itself a horrifying powerful tale of redemption that’s not really told here. And it’s unique haunting connection to its Guardian, Tavor, a mysterious cursed being who doesn’t get the attention he’s clearly due here. Especially since he has so many under explored aspects of his fascinating character. 

This frustration extends to Zelia herself. A world traveler who is more than she admits, with fantastical world walking birds ( I know I know so many elements that just need more), her appearance and assumed heritage based on her human origin of US western high desert alone  cries out for a bit of further history.

This is an author whose detailed novels is fantastic at laying out precision work which makes the holes or lack of detail here more evident.

So it’s a good story but ultimately one that promises more than it delivers. 

And the second book revolves around a lesser character from the Uncertain Sanctuary universe trilogy and elevates him into main character status. So it really should be a side story to that series. 

Ah well, A sentient house that capable of space travel a great idea and definitely captured my imagination. I really hope the author returns to this world sometime in the future. Literally.

Buy link

        Any House in a Storm (Hidden Sanctuary Book 1)

    

Blurb 

No one suspects Zelia is a sorcerer, and that’s exactly how she likes it. Even better, no one suspects she’s human. Masquerading as a goblin Traveler, she roams Reality in her glittering van pulled by her two trusty world walking birds, Warp and Weft.

But when a storm of cosmic chaos strands her in an outer thread, the only refuge in sight is the legendary Darkhouse of Doom. Goblin legend says it is cursed; that the appearance of the wandering darkhouse foretells the appearance of world-devouring monsters and the death of all who see it.

So, Zelia knocks on the door.

Any House in a Storm is a beauty and the beast tale set in an otherworldly, space-traveling darkhouse where nothing is as it seems and no one who enters remains unchanged.

While evil exists, there will always be those who fight it.

*Any House in a Storm is a standalone novel set in the universe introduced in The House That Walked Between Worlds.

Review: Power Shift (Shifter Lords Book 3) by S.E. Babin

 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

The Shifter Lords series by S.E. Babin just keeps getting better with each new book she releases. In the perfectly named Power Shift, multiple characters come to new heights of development and impact in the overall series arc. 

Some have huge moments of personal magical growth and character progression. Others have revelatory scenes that shake up the backgrounds and future of main characters here. And others simply get their long awaited comeuppance. 

It’s all done through a narrative that is written with humor, dramatic scenes and wonderful threads of mystery and mythology. 

I started it and didn’t stop until I finished it, so invested in the characters and events as they rapidly unfolded. Suspense, magical creatures, endearing poisonous fauna and a found family of supernatural beings that I just adore. 

This is a series that I highly recommend and found absolutely amazing. A winner!

Cover design by Covers by Christian

Shifter Lords 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

Buy link 

 Book 3 of 7: Shifter Lords 

Blurb 

Snark. Sass. Sabotage.

Evie Quinn is tired.
Of magical politics. Of cursed bouquets.
Of hot Shifter Lords who kiss her like a promise and then send her potential love interest to another state.

All she wants is to run her flower shop in peace, maybe master the whole “accidentally-a-Chimera” thing, and avoid becoming a pawn in the games of gods and Lords.

But when has Evie ever gotten what she wanted?

When Finn arrives with a warning about a new threat, and her mother starts sniffing around for a lost possession she thinks Evie has stolen from her, the Floromancer feels the walls closing in on her.

Add in some unfortunate magical misfires, Caelan’s insistence on a quickie wedding she never agreed to, and the presence of a god too close to figuring out exactly what she is, and Evie has her hands full with no solutions in sight.

When secrets unravel and ancient enemies rise, Evie will have to choose: play nice to survive … or become the storm they never saw coming.

  • Publisher: Oliver Heber Books
  • Publication date: October 14, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 260 pages
  • Book 3 of 7: Shifter Lords

Review:  Flat White Flag: A Paranormal Comedy with Heart (Maya’s Blogs Book 4) by Lara McKenzie 

Rating: 5⭐️

Again, how to say that Maya’s Blog is an absolute must read series. Each one continues to improve upon its predecessor and show its characters development in a way that’s consistent with the journey and emotional growth of the series. 

It’s fabulous writing and I’m so hooked. 

Plus yes to the great covers that happen to showcase the storytelling within. That’s happening less and less so claps  and kudos. 

This is the story where Maya accepts and comes into her own.  What makes this so special is to understand the time line between the beginning of her journey, when she fled her abusive family and the traumatic events and powerful affirming experiences she’s experienced that have led her here. It’s been just three years.  

Oftentimes it’s felt so much longer. 

So when you think about her life before, her anxiety and other personal issues, on top of the trauma and tragedy, for her to be able to realistically start to accept her own power and new life is extraordinary. And believable within the narrative and her situation. 

Her support and maybe even the lack of here when it comes to this major crisis, is crafted in such a layered, emotional manner. Raw, heartfelt, powerful. And truly written in such a way that the reader can relate to Maya’s feelings and the way she needs to express her reactions to this moment.

No spoilers but fabulous. It’s part horror, romance, comedy and all things fantastic. Just amazing stuff all around. 

I love it when a family comes together to destroy things. Especially the women. What an awesome scene! 

There’s another book coming out. A surprise because this easily could have been the finale. I’m thrilled we’re going forward. 

More and more please.

Cover Illustration Main image by Manuka Madushan, Digital Illustrator.

MAYA’S BLOGS:

Espresso Yourself #1

Brew Diligence #2

Uncharted Grounds #3

Flat White Flag #4

Little Bean #5 (coming soon)

Buy link

        Flat White Flag: A Paranormal Comedy with Heart (Maya’s Blogs Book 4)

    

Blurb 

Maya Rivers’ post-resurrection body has developed magical broadcasting capabilities. Unfortunately, the signal feeds directly into her fiancé’s nervous system. As if that weren’t mortifying enough, she’s also inherited a demonic estate with a flair for psychological warfare and a disturbing passion for cataloguing other people’s trauma for fun and menace.


Maya’s juggling supernatural politics, a shadow-wielding warlord who moisturises with military precision, and her body evolving faster than her coping mechanisms.


She’s starting to realise something horrifying: she might actually be the powerful one now.


Nobody is more alarmed.

  • Publication date: September 1, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 322 pages
  • Book 4 of 5: Maya’s Blogs

Review: Review: Uncharted Grounds (Maya’s Blog’s Book 3) by Lara McKenzie

Rating: 4.75⭐️

Uncharted Grounds, the third book in Maya’s Blog’s series is indeed uncharted territory for the characters here. 

Lara McKenzie’s format of having her character, Maya, chart her growth and  life events through a Blog that’s grown substantially from 5 readers to a inter species paranormal readership of millions , including ones she now includes as friends and found family, has become a stunning journey of inspiring personal growth and self discovery. 

But it’s a realistic one, full of painful and awful moments of despair and even death. Those have been equally terrifying and tragic for Maya and those around her. 

And this deals with the consequences of that event, the aftermath, and the unexpected repercussions that it will bring upon Maya’s relationship with her shadow demon warrior fiancée. 

There are hilarious scenes, terrifying moments, utter heartbreak, and solemn moments of thoughtful reflection upon her own experiences and past history that make her look at her current situation and how she feels about going forward. 

I can’t say enough about how much I love this beautifully written series about Maya and her journey through her new life , her friends and how she has grown up and dealt with each new challenge she’s faced.

While this is a fantasy/science fiction universe, the parallels to a contemporary world are very real and heartfelt. And often heartbreaking. 

Keep your tissues close by. 

This is a deeply personal and emotional story that connects with each reader in differently. 

Highly recommended. 

Love these covers with their specific topics, this one being Genevieve who had a big role here. 

Cover Illustration Main image by Manuka Madushan, Digital Illustrator.

MAYA’S BLOGS:

Espresso Yourself #1

Brew Diligence #2

Uncharted Grounds #3

Flat White Flag #4

Little Bean #5 (coming soon)

Buy link

        Uncharted Grounds: A Paranormal Comedy with Heart (Maya’s Blogs Book 3)

    

Blurb 

Life hasn’t been normal since a mermaid resurrected Maya Rivers.

Between supernatural side effects, the terrifying mermaid mafia who wants more than she’s prepared to give, and a shadow demon who would raze realms to keep her safe, Maya is trying to figure out who she is—and where she truly belongs.

In a world of chaotic friendship and found family, one thing’s certain: Maya isn’t just surviving anymore.

She’s ready to stand her ground.

  • Publication date: July 21, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 310 pages
  • Book 3 of 5: Maya’s Blogs

Review:  Espresso Yourself (Maya’s Blog’s Book 1) by Lara McKenzie

Rating: 5⭐️+

“Follow Maya Rivers, an anxious human barista with a gift for latte art and a blog full of chaos, as she navigates life in the Umbrafore Complex: part supernatural stronghold, part magical mayhem zone.”

That’s the hook, along with a great cover, that pulled me into this brilliantly written series by Lara McKenzie.  A supernatural/paranormal universe that incorporates both human and otherworldly elements and characters, author McKenzie writes it from the standpoint of a very human Maya Rose Rivers, a barista in a new job who has decided to blog about her life and work adventures. 

As McKenzie puts it “ADHD in my family, which often comes with concentration struggles. I wanted to create something for people who still love to read and want to disappear into a world, but need shorter bursts and the freedom to jump in and out without losing the thread. Whether you’re neurodivergent, suffer from brain fog, or prefer things served with fewer info dumps, this one is for you.”

So each chapter is a blog post. You can read it and watch as Maya struggles through her journey, with laughter, tears and coffee foam art. Gaining followers, friends of every species, and growing into new strengths and abilities. 

I was really not prepared for the depths of the topics and challenges Maya faces. And how the author weaves these issues into her story. They are hardly noticeable at first, but as Maya grows and explores her own personal struggles through her blog, the revelations are both heartbreaking and then become a beacon of hope for many. 

When I say you can laugh/cry here, yes, you can do exactly that. And write down sentences to savor. 

Another book to buy for my bookshelf and to give as gifts. 

Yes, highly recommended. If I had more stars in the rating, they’d be there. 

Love this so much! 

Why have I just found this author?

Cover Illustration Main image by Manuka Madushan, Digital Illustrator.

MAYA’S BLOGS:

Espresso Yourself #1

Brew Diligence #2

Uncharted Grounds #3

Flat White Flag #4

Little Bean #5 (coming soon)

Buy link

        Espresso Yourself: A Paranormal Comedy with Heart (Maya’s Blogs Book 1)

    

Blurb 

Follow Maya Rivers, an anxious human barista with a gift for latte art and a blog full of chaos, as she navigates life in the Umbrafore Complex: part supernatural stronghold, part magical mayhem zone.

——

One human barista. One supernatural fortress.

When Maya Rivers takes a job at Pulse, a coffee shop in the heart of the Umbrafore Complex, she expects busy shifts and maybe the occasional grumpy vampire.

What she doesn’t expect is accidentally stumbling into supernatural fame or being targeted by a serial killer with a flair for theatrics.

It’s hard to keep a low profile when you work alongside supernatural warriors who protect humanity from magical threats.

Join Maya as she blogs her way through the ups and downs as a human in a supernatural world.

  • Publication date: May 23, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 294 pages
  • Part of Series: Maya’s Blogs