The third book in the Bells Pass series, Jam and Jingle Bells: A Small Town Diner Christmas Romance, starts with cosmetologist Addie Collop giving a haircut to the town’s newly arrived yoga instructor, Ellis David. Twenty-five-years-old yet white-haired, Ellis is mysterious yet charming, and Addie resolves to get to know […]
For a long time, I’ve wanted to read a retelling by Melanie Cellier. She’s retold most of the popular fairy tales and a few of the ones rarely retold (e.g. “Swan Lake” and “The Princess and the Pea”). I wondered how she would approach a Snow White retelling after writing […]
I was writing a blog about the traditional fairy tales and my novel Kingdom Come. At the end I recommended some fairy tale retellings of that particular story. I suddenly had an idea. What if I read them to compare their treatment of the Snow White character? Not rate the […]
Mysterious, isolated island? Check. List of victims…er, guests? Check. Atmospheric setting? Check. Victim? Uh…victim? Hello? The Guest List is a mystery without a victim through most of its story, and therein lies the genius. Lucy Foley has concocted a story where the reader has to make it through most of […]
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 […]
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 […]