Tag: magic

Review: Managing the Vampire’s Mansion (Magiford Supernatural City story) by K. M. Shea

 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

I was absolutely delighted to see K.M. Shea’s new book in the Magiford Supernatural City universe, Managing the Vampire’s Mansion.

It’s a fantastically entertaining read, and the main character of Abi is absolutely endearing. I loved watching Abi slowly embed herself into the community around her and into Beckett’s undead life, changing and challenging him to do better. 

And the surprise crossover characters was amazing and great in every aspect of the storyline. And each one made me want to go back and read their series again.

There’s a mystery and investigation involved here that will pull various elements of the community together that’s very well crafted. And a hilarious bit from the gnome group that wants Beckett to do things for them and has a special way of asking. 

The love aspect I thought was rushed but the relationship was built really solidly, through believable interactions and genuine friendship. With some help from special fae tea. 

The author has said that this is a standalone and that other characters in this small lakeside town will have their stories told.  I look forward to reading every one. 

Definitely recommend reading this and the other series in the universe.

Cover Art by Melody Simmons

Magiford Supernatural City is a registered trademark of K. M. Shea LLC.  

Related Series Magiford Supernatural City universe series-all fabulous:

Magiford Supernatural City (5 books)

Gate of Myth and Power (3 book series)

Hall of Blood and Mercy (3 book series)

Magic on Main Street (3 book series)❤️

Court of Midnight and Deception (3 book series)❤️

Buy link

https://www.amazon.com/K-M-Shea/e/B005ANPMZU/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Blurb 

Starting over as a house manager in a charming small town sounded perfect. Until my new boss turned out to be a vampire. 

After burning myself out at my corporate career, I take a job managing a mansion in a picturesque tourist town to reset my life.

The house is historic. The town is charming. The locals are welcoming. And, as I accidentally discover, my unfairly handsome employer, Beckett Kinge, is a vampire in hiding.

Beckett prefers order, privacy, and absolutely no supernatural mishaps.

Unfortunately for both of us, a rogue vampire is attacking the locals. The same people who have been nothing but nice to me. As attacks escalate and secrets unravel, staying uninvolved is no longer an option.

And somehow the only person who steps up to find the vampire is me—the mansion manager with poor people skills who knows absolutely nothing about supernaturals. 

At least… I think I’m the only one working this case. But somewhere between tracking a killer and trying not to die, I realize Beckett isn’t just protecting his secret. He’s protecting me. And that might be far more dangerous for my emotional well-being. 

Regardless, the rampaging vamp has to be found, or no one in town will be safe. Not even me.

This stand alone cozy urban fantasy story is set in the same world as the Magiford Supernatural City trilogies, but is located in a different (real life!) town in Wisconsin. If you’re searching for a stand alone story with cast of characters that will make you laugh while they try to solve a mystery and muddle with the supernatural, pre-order this book today

April 24, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

271 pages

Review:  Warlock’s Menace: Magical Usage Council Misadventures Book 1 by MJ May

Rating: 4.5🌈

MJ May is one of those authors whose books and enlarging universe get keeps getting better and more intriguing with every new addition. 

First, May introduces us to the fabulous world of the Perfect Pixies, which wasn’t frankly all that wonderful but full of past trauma and a series plot of enormous horror and unimaginable violence. One that carries over subtly into the next series. We meet incredible characters and their moving stories. 

Then it’s the next series.Necromancer Tales, where a character we’ve met, Erasmus Holland, the son of a human woman and one of the world’s most powerful warlock, Nikodemus Holland, gets his story told.   It’s a fantastic tale of family, magical creatures, deathly powers and an unexpected path to a great loving relationship with a police detective. 

And many of the fantastic characters will cross over into this series, because of the intense storylines, the interconnected plots that the author continues to weave together throughout this universe, and how each of them are part of each other’s lives now. 

Warlock’s Menace starts with Nikodemus returning home from Erasmus and Franklin’s wedding. That’s his necromancer son from the series and his detective SIL. And the warlock has picked up an unexpected surprise from the wedding. 

Well, not unexpected for anyone who read that last book. Because we’ve been waiting for this. 

The Kitsune, Hikaru, who is a tragic character, has taken a very serious interest in Nikodemus. Why is a great element of the story and magical world. 

The magic that surrounds the warlock and the usage is revealed and seen from Hikaru’s perspective, which makes him even stronger a character. 

The plot, or plots are again tied to various events and other aspects of the world, this is simply one angle that will be explored by May. Its suspense filled, emotional and so well written.

I absolutely adore the way the characters were allowed to build their relationship. And bring in other characters too that Nikodemus usually isn’t well acquainted with. 

It’s just another fantastic story and great start into expanding on this outstanding universe. Can’t wait to see more.

Cover design by cheriefox.

Connected Series starting with the first:

Perfect Pixie Series (5 book series)

Necromancer Tales (4 book series) 

Magical Usage Council Misadventures:

Warlock’s Menace #1 -Nikodemus Holland and Hikaru 

Buy link

 Book 1 of 1: Magical Usage Council Misadventures 

Blurb 

Warlock Nikodemus Holland is a master of his craft. Arrogant, powerful, and reserved, Nikodemus is the epitome of a warlock in every way save one—his love and commitment to his necromancer son, Erasmus Boone.

Hikaru is a seven-tailed kitsune still mourning the loss of his eighth tail and the betrayal that took it from him. Crafty, mischievous, and easily bored, Hikaru needs a distraction, and he needs it now. Lucky for him, he’s found the perfect candidate in a handsome and stuffy warlock. Hikaru just knows he’ll be oh-so-good for his Niki.

Returning from his son’s wedding, Nikodemus has acquired an unwanted tagalong kitsune that he just can’t shake. Walking through his front door, Nikodemus discovers Hikaru is the least of his worries when he finds a letter from the Warlock Council informing him that they’re investigating damning allegations and threatening to bind Nikodemus’s powers if he’s found guilty.

Someone’s been tampering with Nikodemus’s charms, turning them deadly. Nikodemus has no idea what the Warlock Council’s endgame is or what it has to do with the struggling Magical Usage Council. What he does know is that he’ll be damned if he sits back and allows himself to be framed, or worse, his loved ones threatened. Oddly enough, that category has expanded to include an ornery kitsune.

If pressed too far, the Warlock Council won’t just have a livid warlock to contend with, but the unleashed fury of a smitten kitsune. Nikodemus’s enemies are about to learn the word menace isn’t always an endearing sentiment but can be a vicious threat.

Warlock’s Menace is a mm supernatural fantasy/mystery. Expect to find arrogant warlocks (some with redeeming qualities and some sadly lacking), a mischievously ornery kitsune who is confident he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to Warlock Nikodemus Holland, an off the morality rails Warlock Council, seven fox tails that don’t know the meaning of personal space, misbehaving charms, the satisfaction proper payback brings, and HEA’s.

Warlock’s Menace is the first in the Magical Usage Council Misadventures series and is meant for adult readers. Each book will concentrate on a different couple. This is a spin off of the Necromancer series. While characters from this series are mentioned and/or make occasional appearances, one does not have to have read the Necromancer series to enjoy Warlock’s Menace.

March 19, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

331 pages

Book 1 of 1

Magical Usage Council Misadventures

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:  Skulls and Sunlit Secrets (The Haunted Ranch Mysteries Book 7) by Sara Bourgeois 

Rating: 4.5 ⭐️

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries is my first dive into the writings of Sara Bourgeois but I just love what she’s accomplishing here with her characters, location and overall mystical aesthetic.

Skulls and Sunset is one of the best books in the series so far, combining the all the great elements of the series and the haunting emotional aspects of the story into one beautifully crafted tale of motherhood and obsessive love. 

This novel moves Claire’s powers and abilities forward as well as resolves a previous storyline about that huge dark mysterious creature that’s seen flying over the desert in the past story.

But the anchor of this tale is the human being who has lost her life. One we meet briefly and yet immediately becomes someone we know and identify with. Amelia Sanders, so happy and bright. 

That’s what is so impressive about this author is her capacity to make a character have such impact on the reader and story in such a short time. Like Amelia does. We are heavily invested in Claire’s investigation and want to know what happened.

 

It’s a heartbreaking mystery, with absorbing side stories to go along with it. And the ending is just as it should be, poignant and moving. 

I love this series and story. It’s not a standalone. Each builds upon the previous one .

Highly recommended! Excellent read!

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

 Book 7 of 8: The Haunted Ranch Mysteries 

Blurb 

Everyone in Perdido Springs was looking up when Amelia Sanders died.

A total solar eclipse has turned the little desert town into a tourist destination, and Claire Caldwell just wants to survive the weekend without someone asking if her ranch does birthday parties. But when the moon covers the sun, Claire sees things the darkness reveals… creatures, pathways, and the outline of something vast moving through a world layered on top of her own.

Then the light returns. Amelia is dead outside the bar. The sheriff calls it a scorpion sting. Her friends call it impossible. A massive owl that shouldn’t exist keeps circling a house on the edge of town. And Claire is starting to realize that the murder and the owl might have nothing to do with each other, which means she has two problems, not one.

April 20, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

198 pages

Book 7 of 8

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries

Review: Vision & Venture: The Glyphwright Chronicles – Book 4 by Jeremy Fabiano

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Reading Jeremy Fabiano’s The Glyphwright Chronicles is like coming home, to a cosy warm village that feels like a somewhere you feel safe and comfortable, happy and wanted. Where the people are those you’ve gotten to know, the shops are now familiar, and when the carriages spot the turning wheel of the mill and the lights of the town on the return road home, your heart is just as filled with joy as that of the characters. 

The author rarely makes a single error in his series of two journeymen glyphwrights as they’ve become first friends, now partners, who have found themselves together with their fiancé or wives, friends and family members in a community that values them and their contributions. 

Vision & Venture picks up right after the events of the last story. Marcus and Felix are buying the building that will house their families, sister Rose, visitors, their businesses and warehouse as well as sales front. 

It’s a heartfelt narrative that brings both sides together, the science behind all the various aspects of the magic or technology each character has and the real power of community that Fabiano continues to grow here. We meet new people and shops, get ingenious new ideas and devices, and, of course, a dramatic challenge that each person here must face in their own way.   It’s realistic, engaging and the engineering and technology is incredibly interesting. And it’s always fiercely connected with the people who are working on it and with it. 

That’s what’s really exciting. There’s no separation of human elements from the technology or magical aspects of their work. They make mistakes, recognize when they need to go in another direction. 

In other words, this feels so relatable and we can really connect with each of them. 

The only misstep I could see was with Felix’s mother, who has been deeply abusive emotionally to him for years. His father has been reconnecting with him, without saying anything to his mother. But there’s an entire dramatic scene here where his mother changes her “attitude “ about his future wife, job, partner, in an emotional outburst. It’s very nice to see and have that happen. But is it realistic to think that after years of mental cruelty and emotional abuse she’s immediately going to be a different woman? I don’t think so.  That’s a child’s wish for everything to be okay, for things to be normal. A golden fairytale glow. 

But maybe that’s what the author is going for. The golden glow of the hearth, the warmth of the fire and the joy of friendship at the end of the day. A cozy little town at the end of the road. 

We will leave it there. And enjoy Vision & Venture: The Glyphwright Chronicles – Book 4 by Jeremy Fabiano for the heartwarming tale it is. 

Two more books to go. I’m there for all of them. 

 Cover design by Jacqueline Sweet Design

 Glyphwright Chronicles (4 book series):

  • Ashes & Anchors #0.5 (Erasmus’s backstory)
  • Ink & Intent  #1
  • Wards & Measures #2
  • Trades & Treaties #3 
  • Vision & Venture #4
  • Glyphs & Merit #5 – 
  • Legacy & Succession #6

Buy link

 Book 4 of 6: The Glyphwright Chronicles 

Blurb 

Marcus and Felix have a building to fix up, a best friend preparing for his Master certification, and a wedding that’s already taking on a life of its own. For the first time, everything feels like it’s falling into place.

Then the Guild rejects all four of their advancement applications. Instead of explanations, the Guild throws them into a public test against a real food shortage with real consequences.

Millbrook bets their food supply on them anyway.

Now they have to prove their methods work at scale, under full Guild scrutiny. Everything they’ve built depends on what happens next.

A cozy fantasy with LitRPG progression, found family, community trust, and the discovery that sometimes the people who believe in you are the ones you didn’t know were watching.

Pour yourself something warm, settle into your favorite reading spot, and discover that building a future is harder than saving a kingdom.

April 8, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

394 pages

Book 4 of 6

The Glyphwright Chronicles

Review:  Mercy Blade: A Jane Yellowrock Novel Book 3 by Faith Hunter 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Mercy Blade is a book whose description is one I think was deliberately kept succinct and vague for a reason. And that was to keep the readers from any plot spoilers that might have been picked up from a longer blurb.

Mercy Blade itself opens up an entire introduction to new characters, paranormal species, and several areas of ways that the various beings govern themselves, or have the ability to. 

Hunter has really constructed a complex universe that is just starting to emerge here. And it’s going to spread throughout the course of the series and over the country.

The few things I will say is that Mercy Blade sees the official emergence of a African black were-leopard group, in New Orleans to meet with Leo, a tumultuous revelation that includes Rick, and yet several more paranormal species that will have ongoing conflicts and roles for the future. 

Jane’s life will be more heartbreaking, dangerous and in an unstable state where she’s scrambling for trust and support.

It’s a danger greater than anything before and makes for a fantastic story.

I’m so hooked into this character and universe. 

Jane Yellowrock (15 book series): 

Skinwalker #1

Blood Cross #2

Mercy Blade #3

Raven Cursed #4

Death’s Rival #5

Blood Trade #6

Black Arts #7

Broken Soul #8

Dark Heir 9

Shadow Rites #10

Cold Reign #11

Dark Queen #12

Shattered Bonds #13

True Dead #14

Final Heir #15

Buy link

        Mercy Blade: A Jane Yellowrock Novel

    

Blurb 

Jane, a shapeshifting vampire-hunter-for-hire, crosses paths with a stranger who has arrived in New Orleans, enlisted to hunt vampires who have gone insane-or so he says…

Publisher

Ace

Publication date

January 4, 2011

Language

‎English

Print length

322 pages

Book 3 of 15

Jane Yellowrock

Review:  Dragon Blood Curse (Emperor’s Assassin Book 4) by Kai Butler 

Rating: 4.5🌈

Dragon Blood Curse was an exciting, immersive experience all around, as Butler’s penultimate story brings more mythical characters and magical regions into play with this fantasy action adventure.

Prince Airón and King Tallu have multiple schemes at work and not all are going according to their intended intentions. With their enemies bringing larger powers and armies against them,  Airón and Tallu race to find a cure for the deadly curse that affects both brothers.  And their own council falls into chaos and loyalties are divided as the enemy attacks.

It’s high politics, subterfuge, magical terrorists, and wars between enemies being waged across their borders and territories, and everything and everyone suffering. 

Of course, there’s a prophecy or two, sacrifices that figures mightily in the coming novel, angst and some really great layering of information and people (look to the North) that just ups the stakes here.

No spoilers but this just grabs the reader from start to finish. For me, the relationship between Airón and Tallu is the least compelling element here. So many other great aspects of the series and story to focus on.

Great job. And I love the Spider. Awesome. 

Cover by Hannah Latham at oexasart Lettering by Laura at Covers by Aura

Emperor’s Assassin (5 book series)

Betrothed to the Emperor #1

Emperor’s Wrath #2

Shadow Throne King #3

Dragon Blood Curse #4

Crown of Ash #5 – Oct 26,2026

Buy link

        Dragon Blood Curse (Emperor’s Assassin Book 4)

    

Blurb 

The generals that once served Emperor Tallu now pursue us across the continent. General Bemishu and Kacha have made their move and we find ourselves trapped by the role Tallu has been playing his entire life. As we search for allies, the rules of imperial politics force Tallu to act more and more like his deranged father.

Still, we have a hint of hope: somewhere in the dangerous Tavornai swamps, another animalia spins her webs and rearranges fate to her own desires. Can she change ours?

We have one chance to save our lives, one hope at a future that we both so desperately want. With new allies and old nemeses, we have to risk our lives to create a world for our love.

March 16, 2026

Language

‎English

Print length

362 pages

Book 4 of 5

Emperor’s Assassin

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:  How Not to Kill a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #5) by Shannon Mae

Rating; 4🌈

How Not to Kill a Hellhound  is the fifth book in the Hellhounds of Paradise Falls series by Shannon Mae, a fated mates paranormal/urban fantasy series set in Paradise Falls, a location where several of her interconnected series take place.

Mae’s actually working towards an overall universe storyline that encompasses all her series and characters I’m guessing, and one of the ultimate main characters has an impactful role here.

I appreciate that it was left to Sebbie , mostly, to decide when he was emotionally ready for the next step in his quest to remember everything that happened and move forward. This is 90 percent Sebbie’s journey. Who he is, the past and how those characters around him support this journey. He’s a sweet, engaging person and I loved reading his story.

It’s a good tale with many creative elements, including mythological aspects, but leaves the Hellhounds mostly removed from this even as Corbin is a major player as Sebbie’s fated mate and Hellhound.  The Crow familiar is on the same level with Corbin here. Except for the many sex scenes with the emphasis on Sebbie’s appendage size being “cute”.  

I ended up wanting more exposition, less sex, more exploration of their developing relationship and each person’s history as opposed to their body parts. 

When things get interesting, things get misty.  I did like the interpretation of Charon and the boat ride. Amazing.

And loose ends were tied up finally from Aiden’s story while setting up Jude and the Sheriff for their fated mates romance. That should be interesting!

Cover design by Morningstar Ashley

Hellhounds of Paradise Falls: (Paranormal Romance) 

How to Flirt with a Hellhound #1

How to Hack a Hellhound #2

How to Tame a Hellhound #3

How to Trust a Hellhound #4

How NOT to Kill a Hellhound #5

How To Catch a Hellhound #6 – Oct 1,2026

The Revenge Playlist: A Collection of Afterlifer Revenge Stories (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls)

Linked series:

Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures (8 book series) fated mates romance set in Paradise Falls 

Buy link

        How Not to Kill a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls Book 5)

    

Blurb 

Sebbie 

Life’s pretty good. I love my job, I feed the crows in my yard, and I have some awesome friends. Sure, I was kidnapped by a cult recently, but my friends rescued me, so no harm done. And, okay, people do tend to die around me, but I work in a hospital. That’s normal… right? Death isn’t scary anyway—it’s just another beginning. Unfortunately, most guys I date don’t see it that way. My love life has been pretty empty, but I just met someone new. He’s ridiculously cute and even likes crows. I just hope he’s not scared off when he learns about my job. 

Corbin 

I take great satisfaction in removing hellbound souls from the world—especially the ones who prey on the weak. With my pack and my familiar, Crow, at my side, life is steady and peaceful. At least, it was until Sebbie. The cute, bubbly man is far more than he realizes, and he’s about to turn everything upside down. There’s just one little problem: he doesn’t know the supernatural exists… or that he’s a supernatural being. I want to help him harness his powers, but there’s a catch—if I’m not careful, Sebbie might end up killing me in the process. 

Tags: Crows hold grudges; Death is actually cheerful; Corbin’s as obsessed with shiny things as his birds; The pack shows up to create chaos; Thea is determined to be Sebbie’s new bestie; Jude doesn’t get arrested (or maybe he does?); 

Review:  Death Rides The Desert (The Haunted Ranch Mysteries Book 1) by Sara Bourgeois

Rating: 4.25⭐️

“When a city girl inherits a remote Arizona ranch, she discovers two things: dead bodies keep showing up, and she can see the ghosts who might have witnessed the murders. With a mysterious fox who won’t leave her porch and a handsome veterinarian who keeps stopping by, Claire must solve crimes the living can’t… and the dead won’t rest until she does”

That’s the hook for the book and series and it’s a terrific one. 

Death Rides The Desert is the first book in The Haunted Ranch Mysteries by Sara Bourgeois, a completed paranormal murder mystery series that I just started reading.   

This story starts off strong, as Claire Caldwell, arrives in Perdita Springs, Arizona from Chicago, Illinois. She’s been fired from her longtime marketing job, dumped by a cheating fiancé, and trying to figure out what she is doing with her life. Her deceased aunt has left her a mystical ranch, and lands with some old mines. A legacy she’s has avoided dealing with until now. 

But the story begins as she arrives weeks after the funeral. The ranch should be closed. But that’s not what she finds. 

It’s the beginning of huge development in her character as she learns about her aunt, the supernatural beings , ghosts, and strange happenings , that make the ranch and land home. It includes a spiritual fox with one white paw that glows.

I love the cultural elements the author weaves throughout the story and series . It’s in the families and their food and history. It’s in the town and its traditions and tragedies. All conceptually important and beautifully rendered.

The mysteries that stem from the mines, the past territorial disputes, and the town’s shady developments that impact the region and its inhabitants are inherently dangerous and real. The reader understands these issues and their significance to the people and their families.

By the end, Claire has become a strong advocate for herself and the people of the town. She’s got a vision for the ranch. And this series is really ready to launch into remarkable status.

I loved the ghosts, the animals at the ranch, Luis the young ranch hand and TikTok enthusiast, and,, Claire, who absolutely grew on me. 

I can’t wait for the next book to see what the ranch has become!

If you enjoy murder mysteries with a supernatural or paranormal aspect, this is absolutely charming. 

And it’s completed! What a win!

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

 Book 1 of 8: The Haunted Ranch Mysteries 

Blurb 

A haunted ranch. A clever fox. Ghosts who won’t shut up.

Claire Caldwell came to Arizona to sell her great aunt’s ranch, lick her wounds, and escape back to Chicago.

Then the ranch decided it wanted a new owner.

A copper furred fox starts leaving gifts on her doorstep. Translucent cowboys appear in the barn. A woman who died in 1985 cooks tamales in Claire’s kitchen like she never left. And somehow, the dead all seem to know one thing Claire does not.

She can see them.

When the most hated man in Perdido Springs turns up dead on Claire’s property and the sheriff waves it off as an accident, the ghosts make it clear. Someone in town is lying. Someone is dangerous. And everyone had a reason to want the victim gone.

With a mystical fox at her side, a house full of chatty spirits, and a too handsome veterinarian who keeps showing up just when she needs him, Claire has to solve a murder nobody wants solved.

Before she becomes the next ghost haunting Whispering Saguaro Ranch.

Welcome to the desert, where the dead do not rest and the living keep secrets.

October 3, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

323 pages

Book 1 of 8

The Haunted Ranch Mysteries