Karen Diem’s fourth superhero novel, Monster, starts out with an international incident of city-sized proportions. When our three favorite heroes: Arca, Muse, and Wingspan show up to take care of business, they are immediately upstaged. Much like the opening segment to an Indiana Jones adventure, this episode serves to introduce […]
A creative magic system, a well-defined caste organization, an intriguing mystery, and a deep friendship set the stage for Beggar Magic, a fantasy novel by H. L. Burke. When Leilani, a Commoner (low caste) meets Zebedy, a Highmost (high caste), it seems they make an unlikely pair. However, the two […]
Lou Wilham’s The Girl in the Clockwork Tower is a steampunk, fairytale retelling of a trapped, tender-hearted Rapunzel. The world is split between humans and the preternatural beings called “the enhanced” with humans acting in the role of oppressors of any other creatures. Persinette, the girl in the clockwork tower, […]
Proxima by Chase Hildenbrand is a science fiction action adventure in which humans have ravaged Earth’s natural resources and must find a way to survive. The situation leaves the human race no choice but to build space arks and head for the nearest habitable planet, Proxima. However, not everyone wants […]
A hero who stands alone, malicious bandits, wild animals. Does that sound like a western? Surprise! It’s a fantasy. With western underpinnings but fused heavily with its fantasy elements, Calico Thunder Rides Again makes for one thrilling read. Inheriting a traveling circus from his father, Jake Strickland has been managing […]
Dead Leaves: 9 Tales of the Witching Season by Kealan Patrick Burke is a trick and a treat. The anthology contains nine short stories set in autumn closer to a night of ghouls and ghosts than of evenings of blessing food. Nothing juvenile about these stories, though. They are literate, […]
I reviewed the first book in the Havok series, Havok: Reborn, when it was published and immensely enjoyed it. Genre flash fiction that mostly hit the mark, the first offering was an entertaining read and has a place prominently on my bookshelf. I was excited to learn the second book […]
Pumpkin Spice Pie-Jinks by Selina J. Eckert is a delightful retelling of a famous short story I’ll leave for the reader to discover. The story introduces Reese, a baker, who lives in a small New England town co-inhabited by the fae. In fact, some special fairies are visiting from the […]
Hope Bolinger’s Den, a sequel to her first novel Blaze, is a contemporary take of the Bible’s Book of Daniel. Danny Belte enjoys fun times with girlfriend Rayah, hangs around with best friends Michelle and Hannah, and goes to a premier school: King’s Academy. The academy should be his ticket […]
H. L. Burke’s Reformed, the first in a superhero series, imagines a world of super enabled people, called sables, mixing with normal people, named normies, where superheroes are monitored by the government agency called the Department of Super-Abled (DOSA). In the first installment, sable Prism is revitalizing the supervillain reformation […]