When Marise Leeson gets her hands on a crystal ball, she believes her knowledge of Wicca is about to expand. The magic, however, goes horribly wrong. In short order, she’s thrown into an alternate world, attacked by a dragon, and rescued by Javeer, a young male dragon in search of a friend.

Marise is desperate to get home alive. Instead of dabbling in scrying and spells, she must now use her Wicca skills to survive in Moerden―navigating rival dragon factions, riding Javeer without falling, and dodging unknown perils of an alien landscape. Through a series of adventures and mishaps, she learns that the dragons face slow extinction from a mysterious disease. Some see Marise as part of the cause. Some hope she’s a key to a cure.

Marise grows up fast as her focus switches from escape from Moerden to saving the dragons. She draws upon her powers, intuition, and some help from home as she and Javeer begin a quest to solve the puzzle of the stagger. If they survive, and if their trust and courage are strong, they may succeed. If they do not, the dragons of Moerden will cease to exist.

Anything that is remotely like a portal fantasy, or someone getting kicked into another world is something I’m willing to look more into. In this story Marise plays with some occult things and ends us getting sucked into a world with dragons. With all the dragon hype that has happened lately this book is definitely coming at a great time and I found it a fun start to a series. I certainly could have used some more world building and background, but when thinking about it in respect to the target audience more backstory could have proved overwhelming. The writing was easy to read and though there was some pacing slow downs here and there, it was never to a point that I put down the book. Overall an enjoyable dragon fantasy and a good start to a series.

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Behind every great hero is an Aristene.

Aristene are mythical female warriors, part of a legendary order. Though heroes might be immortalized in stories, it’s the Aristene who guide them to victory. They are the Heromakers.

Ever since she was an orphan taken in by the order, Reed has wanted to be an Aristene. Now, as an initiate, just one challenge stands in her way: she must shepherd her first hero to glory on the battlefield. Succeed, and Reed will take her place beside her sisters. Fail, and she’ll be cast from the only home she’s ever known.

Nothing is going to stop Reed–until she meets her hero. Hestion is fiery and infuriating, but what begins as an alliance becomes more, and as secrets of the order come to light Reed begins to understand what becoming an Aristene may truly cost. Battle looming, she must choose: the order and the life she had planned, or Hestion, and the one she never expected.

Since I’ve enjoyed Kendare Blake’s writing in the past I was hoping for this to be a fantastic start to a YA fantasy series, and it was even more than I was hoping for. The worldbuilding this book, as well as some of the unique portions of the world itself, were very well done and definitely kept me interesting. The book itself is very fast paced, but never to the point that I felt like it was going too fast. Overall I really enjoyed the characters, plot and the world that she had set up. This is a solid start to what looks to be an action packed and fantastic series.

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Poppy Banks would rather be writing mysteries than writing listicles for her dead-end job at Thought Buzz. But after a series of rejections, she’s ready to accept life on the sidelines as a plus-size woman. Her aunt Margot is the one person unwilling to give up on her niece’s dreams and tells her so at their secret yearly lunches.

But all of Poppy’s beliefs about herself are challenged when her beloved aunt dies and leaves her niece a grand surprise—a trip to her villa in the French Riviera. There, she learns her aunt intends to leave her stunning villa and secretive writer’s residency to Poppy—if she can finish her novel in six months.

When the writing countdown begins, Poppy realizes she has more to confront than her writer’s block. Family drama, complicated romances and self-doubt all threaten to throw her off course. In this fun and heartwarming debut, Poppy must decide if she can live up to her aunt’s—and her own—desire to be the main character in her own life.

Buy Links | HarperCollins.com | BookShop.org | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Books-A-Million

This book was quite the journey. Where we start Poppy has kind of reached a crossroads so to speak, there are a lot of things stacking against her and making her feel like she needs a change. Cue changing things up and challenging herself, while also trying to get back into her groove so to speak. I did really enjoy the journey and definitely found this read to be very fun read. I would say it has a very similar vibe to some other books about women going to a foreign country to find themselves, especially after a hiccup in life, but it definitely had enough that set it apart to make it a unique experience.

Jamie Varon is an author, branding expert, course creator, and graphic designer living in Calabasas, California. Her nonfiction book Radically Content was published in 2022 with Quarto and is currently being adapted into a feature film with Camilu Productions LTD. Main Character Energy is her debut novel.

Social Links | Author Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Dracula lives—and he’s hunting for his bride.

Vampires may not walk among us, but FBI agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter know real monsters exist. They’ve witnessed firsthand the worst humankind has to offer. They’re still catching their breaths after the apprehension of two such monstrous killers when they’re met with horrific news: Stephan Dante, the self-proclaimed king of the vampires, has escaped from prison, followed only by a trail of blood.

All too familiar with Dante’s cruelty, Della and Mason know the clock is ticking. But as Dante claims more victims, a chilling message arrives. The vampire killer seeks his eternal bride—Della herself. Playing into Dante’s desires might be the only way to stop the carnage once and for all, assuming they can outwit him. Della is confident the agents have the upper hand, but Mason knows every gamble runs the risk of not paying off, and this time, the consequences could be deadly.

Buy Links | BookShop.org | Harlequin  | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Books-A-Million | Powell’s

So I may have read this one thinking it was the second book in the trilogy, then realized it was actually the third – that was my bad. That being said, as with most of Heather Graham’s books in her series you can pick them up without reading the previous books, you just may miss out on some foundation or background information. I’ll still go back and read the second one though so I can put the pieces together. This one did feature the villian from the first book so it was interesting to see that return of that villian and the interaction between him, Della and Mason. The pacing was really good on this one and I’m super glad I got the chance to pick it up, even though I read out of order.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels. She’s a winner of the RWA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Thriller Writers’ Silver Bullet. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. For more information, check out her websites: TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com, eHeatherGraham.com, and HeatherGraham.tv. You can also find Heather on Facebook.

Social Links | Author Website | Facebook: @Heather Graham | Twitter: @HeatherGraham

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When darkness falls, there’s nowhere to hide.

Four bodies have been discovered along Europe’s riverbanks, placed with care—and completely drained of blood. Pinpricks on their throats indicate a slender murder weapon, but DNA found in the wounds suggests something far more sinister. Tasked with investigating, the FBI recruits Agents Della Hamilton and Mason Carter to Blackbird, an international offshoot of the Krewe of Hunters. If you want to catch a vampire killer, you need agents who can speak with the dead.

The pair travel to Norway, where the shadowy forests of Lillehammer reveal a gruesome scene. The killer is thirsty for more victims, and the bloodless trail soon leads Della and Mason to a group that believes drinking blood is the key to immortality. To catch the culprit of such an intimate crime, the agents will have to get close. Mason’s already lost one partner; he’s not ready to risk Della as bait. But sometimes justice requires a sacrifice…

I’ve been reading Heather Graham’s books for a long time so anytime I hear about a new paranormal series she is starting I’m interested. This one definitely lived up to the Krewe of Hunters series which it’s a spinoff of. I enjoyed that it had an international setting and that it was a bit more fast paced than some I’ve read before. I didn’t fall in love with Della and Mason as a couple off the bat, but since there will be more than one book focused on them it did give a good starting foundation to their relationship. All in all a solid start to an exciting trilogy.

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Somewhere between fantasy and reality, Dottie finds new life in her relationship with the mysterious girl. But Dottie’s entanglements with Magdalena, a curious centenarian, a compelling stranger, an ex-mobster, and a murder of crows thrusts this once cloistered woman into a frenzy of public scrutiny. To quell the rumors, Dottie keeps returning to pen and paper, the place where only she can distinguish the fiction from what truly happened. In sharing her story, she discovers something as frightening as it is liberating – her voice.

Though her prose has been compared to Shirley Jackson, Sary’s writing stands in a class of its own. MAGDALENA is a swirling and mystical debut, part ghost story, part tender tale of love, loss, and longing, inspired by the author’s personal experiences. Sary’s mesmerizing and haunting debut will keep readers under its spell long after the final page.

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Anytime something is compared to Shirley Jackson I’m intrigued, so I was excited to hear about this one. I would definitely agree with that comparison and thoroughly enjoyed this read. While the story is about Dottie and Magdalena, I really enjoyed the offshoots and additional stories within the town itself. This was my first ready from Candi Sary and I really enjoyed not only the writing style but the overall atmosphere of the read. I will definitely be picking up more from this author!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Candi Sary is an award-winning
writer and graduate from the University of California, Irvine.
Her writing has won Reader Views Literary Award, a
Chanticleer International Book Award, and was First Runner-Up
in the Eric Hoffer Book Award. A mother of two adult children,
Sary lives in Southern California with her husband, a dog, a cat
and several ducks. She can often be found surfing and paddling
boarding in the waters of Newport Beach. She is a proud
steward of a Little Free Library.

Author website | Author IG | Author Facebook | Goodreads

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All it takes is the right book to turn a Book Hater into a Book Lover…

That was Elliott’s belief and the reason why he started The Book Haters’ Book Club—a newsletter of reading recommendations for the self-proclaimed “nonreader.” As the beloved co-owner of Over the Rainbow Bookstore, Elliott’s passion and gift was recommending books to customers. Now, after his sudden death, his grief-ridden business partner, Irma, has agreed to sell Over the Rainbow to a developer who will turn the cozy bookstore into high-rise condos.

But others won’t give up the bookstore without a fight. When Irma breaks the news to her daughters, Bree and Laney, and Elliott’s romantic partner, Thom, they are aghast. Over the Rainbow has been Bree and Laney’s sanctuary since childhood, and Thom would do anything to preserve Elliott’s legacy. Together, Thom, Bree and Laney conspire to save the bookstore, even if it takes some snooping, gossip and minor sabotage.

Filled with humor, family hijinks and actual reading recommendations, The Book Haters’ Book Club is the ideal feel-good read. It’s a celebration of found family and a love letter to the everyday heroes who run bookstores.

I was definitely intrigued by the concept of this book but found it a bit hard to get into it. The first section of the book definitely was slow in pacing, but once I got past that and got more into the meat of the story I did find myself enjoying it more. I enjoyed the amount of humor injected in the story as it helped it move more and increased my enjoyment in it. I did end up overall enjoying the story and found the writing style easy to read even when the pacing felt slow.

Happy reading!