Tag: science fiction romance

Review: Brew Diligence (Maya’s Blog’s Book 2) by Lara McKenzie

Rating: 5⭐️+

“I’ve had some revelations since moving into my own place: 

-Living alone means no witnesses to my weirdness, which is empowering until you accidentally flood the kitchen while making noodles.  Fairy lights are an emotional support infrastructure.  -There is no middle ground between I am thriving and I just organised my socks by emotional damage level.  -There is no such thing as too many mugs.”

From Maya’s Blog, readership is now climbing up to the millions. 

When we last saw Maya, she’d left her abusive family and finally gotten the one room apartment that she had wanted, decorated with fairy lights and a coffee mug. Safe. But Gary the Grim Reaper who had helped saved her from the serial killer was missing, presumably because he violated his own laws. 

Brew Diligence, a book of endless quotable sentences and incredibly moving moments, follows the same perfect format and flow of the first book. Maya, our brave woman barista continues to blog about her experiences to her followers who became her friends and family. 

From 5 to millions, chapters of her moving forward, overcoming some huge challenges with hilarious stories and enormous amounts of pain and anxiety. And bravery. 

Now she and her friends who are also her colleagues are in the midst of the fight to free Gary the Grim Reaper from his prison sentence for helping her escape from the serial killer. 

Gary, another fabulous character, is missing not from the story but from the hole he left behind in the close relationships he formed. Plus his ghost cat, too, who left behind, is ruling the apartment at Maya’s. 

There’s so much trauma and emotional scars here in this story. It’s balanced by the author’s carefully crafted humor and sensitivity to the subject matter and scenes.  Hilarity and horror. Love and hate. Death and rebirth.  

Despair and hope.  It’s brilliant and brutal that all these things exist within this universe, these characters and their stories. 

Is this really only the second book? Surely not.  I’m astonished at the fact that this is so amazing on every level of excellence. 

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

Love this so much! Including the covers. 

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

        Brew Diligence: A Paranormal Comedy with Heart (Maya’s Blogs Book 2)

    

Blurb 

Just as Maya thinks she can relax into recovery and a budding romance with a demon general, the afterlife throws her a curveball.

The Grim Reaper who saved her wasn’t just locked away—he was erased from existence.

What starts as a rescue mission quickly becomes a masterclass in magical bureaucracy, inter-realm politics, and one seriously unhinged plot twist.

Join Maya as she blogs her way through enough supernatural shenanigans to short-circuit reality.

  • Publication date: June 23, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 304 pages
  • Book 2 of 4: Maya’s Blogs

Review:  Fated Blades (A Kinsmen story) by Ilona Andrews 

Rating: 4.5✨⭐️

Fated Blades comes into play after the wars, with some of the Kinsmen settled on a single planet, becoming divided between powerful antagonistic factions.

It seems I cannot stop reading anything by the authors known as Ilona Andrews.  I see it, and I must have. Same went for this book.

And I loved it, even though I haven’t read the whole series which gave the origin story of the Kinsmen.

This was intriguing in its entirety simply due to the plot and the characters. 

The idea of cheating spouses on this scale of power and antipathy bringing these highly dangerous enemies together for a common goal is immediately entertaining and engaging. 

Especially in the hands of these writers who make the reader believe in this universe and these two genetically engineered, highly complex and of superior abilities, characters who are deeply connected by a military background and painful past. 

Andrews 2 person perspective is perfectly suited for this quick paced, fast action thriller that also includes a powerful attraction romance that has to make sense to the reader. 

I’ll tell you now that it absolutely does. We believe in this relationship because both the characters are so well defined and the development towards a greater level of trust and belief in each other is believable and credible with the events and their personalities. 

There are other outstanding characters here that I would love to see more of and get additional stories about. Just one more of many I’m sure that readers are asking about from these authors. 

Their stories are like this. 

So enjoyable and vastly entertaining. A winner!

Cover design by Faceout Studio, Lindy Martin 

Cover illustration by Luisa J. Preißler

Part of The Kinsmen Universe

the Kinsmen Universe, which includes books 

KINSMEN

Silent Blade {Kinsmen Universe}
Silver Shark {Kinsmen Universe}
Fated Blades

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Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comFated Blades (Audible Audio Edition): Ilona Andrews, Aaron Shedlock, Brilliance Audio

Blurb 

An uneasy alliance between warring families gets heated in this otherworldly novella from bestselling author Ilona Andrews.

At first glance, the planet Rada seems like a lush paradise. But the ruling families, all boasting genetically enhanced abilities, are in constant competition for power—and none more so than the Adlers and the Baenas. For generations, the powerful families have pushed and pulled each other in a dance for dominance.

Until a catastrophic betrayal from within changes everything.

Now, deadly, disciplined, and solitary leaders Ramona Adler and Matias Baena must put aside their enmity and work together in secret to prevent sinister forces from exploiting universe-altering technology. Expecting to suffer through their uneasy alliance, Ramona and Matias instead discover that they understand each other as no one in their families can—and that their combined skills may eclipse the risks of their forbidden alliance.

As the two warriors risk their lives to save their families, they must decide whether to resist or embrace the passion simmering between them. For now, the dance between their families continues—but just one misstep could spell the end of them both.

  • Publication date: November 23, 2021
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 222 pages