Tag Archives: Book Reviews

February 20, 2025 · 1:00 am

A Review of Priye

Title: Priye

Author: Lynn Strong

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 3, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Alternate History

Length: 63 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Wander the world of the Catsprowl with a Miyazaki-style look through the eyes of a catfolk kitten in a large, multicultural, multi-religious city which is full of book-keepers and bath-houses, priests and prophets and pigeons, and even one small kitten’s nemesis: soap and water. (This is one of the three novellas collected in Chai and Cat-tales.)

Priye

For a small alley-kitten, human words make a tricky tangle of misunderstandings that bite back. Purring and hissing and yowling are much more clear.

A human named her Priye, though, and he taught her that it means someone who is darling, someone who is treasured.

Growing up in the nooks between three cultures is hard, but Priye wants to make her own way. And she wants to repay the kind people who feed small hungry kittens.

But it’s not always easy to hunt when everyone else is bigger and stronger and faster. The humans who named her like soap and water entirely too much.

But maybe they have a point about sharing things instead of hunting things? (They absolutely do not have a point about soap, though. Soap is the most horrible thing ever.)

For the neurospicy folks who struggle with the words people expect, this one is for you. For the disabled folks and those who need to hear that your value isn’t in your work output, this one is for you too.

Content Warning: An accidental injury.

Review:

Cozy fantasy is underrated.

Xenofiction is one of those micro genres I’m always excited to discover! The world looks different when viewed through the eyes of a kitten who is regularly flabbergasted by the ridiculous things humans say and do. Honestly, my favourite scenes in this piece were the ones that described silly human customs and choices in vivid detail without Priye quite understanding the significance of them in that moment. What a fabulous opportunity to view the world from a different perspective while wondering if the main character might someday understand some of these things a little better.

I would have liked to see a little more attention paid to the world building, especially when it came to what cats are and are not capable of doing in this universe. Without giving away too much information, the cats in this world are different from the ones in ours in a few significant ways, and I was surprised that those moments were given more time to shine. There was more the author could have done with these details, and I would have gone for a full five-star rating if that had happened.

The conflict was understated and suited the plot nicely. It was exactly the sort of thing I’d expect a kitten to eventually have to deal with, and I liked the way her feline and human companions rallied around her once it occurred. This remained firmly in the cozy niche of the fantasy genre while still leaving room for a reader to wonder what might happen next. It was a smart balance between providing a challenge for Priye to overcome and remaining true to the playful and relaxing vibes of this tale as a whole.

Priye made me yearn for more.

1 Comment

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2020s, Alternate History, Book Reviews, Disability, Fantasy, Lynn Strong, Novella, Self-Published, Xenofiction

February 13, 2025 · 1:00 am

A Review of The Witch of Cromer

Title: The Witch of Cromer

Author: Benjamin Parsons

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 2, 2011

Genres: Fantasy

Length: 34 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Besotted Steven is so desperate to make Bridget love him that he decides to try supernatural means to win her heart. But is he ready to face the consequences of dabbling in witchcraft? And dare he try to outwit the famous and fatal Witch of Cromer? Part of the collection The Green Lady and Other Stories.

Content Warning: Murder

Review:

Love is a gift…right?

While this wasn’t specifically set during Valentine’s Day, the themes reminded me of the pressure society puts on people to couple up. Steven believed his life wouldn’t be complete unless he could share it with Bridget, and he was determined to convince her to feel the same way. Unrequited love is a painful but normal chapter in life for many of us, so I enjoyed the author’s take on what could happen when this feeling slammed up against the societal expectation that everyone ought to find their special someone.

There was a small but purposeful mistake Steven made early on that I wished had been revisited in greater detail. Would his fate had been different if he had made a different choice instead, or would he have ended up in the same place in life either way? I’m the sort of reader who looks forward to pondering about these sorts of loose ends, but in this particular case I think the storyline would have been even stronger if the author had spent even a few sentences on in the final scene to give the audience some hint as to what he thought might have happened if that earlier moment in Steven’s life had turned out differently.

The twist at the end was something I wondered about in advance, but it wasn’t the sort of thing that has to be a surprise in order to be satisfying. I liked the way it answered some of the most important questions this reader had while also leaving room for interpretation for most of the other stuff that wasn’t wrapped up succinctly. If this review inspires any of you to check out this tale for yourselves, I’d be excited to hear your takes on it as well as your theories about what might have happened next. There are so many details I had to leave out here in order to avoid spoilers, but this was a thought-provoking spin on love and romance for sure.

The Witch of Cromer was a wild ride.

4 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2010s, Benjamin Parsons, Book Reviews, Fantasy, Romance, Self-Published, Short Story, Valentine's Day

February 6, 2025 · 1:00 am

A Review of I Wish, I Wish

Title: I Wish, I Wish

Author: C. M. Weller

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: October 4, 2016

Genres: Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 10 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

They always say, “be careful what you wish for”, and Shannon knew that better than anyone. Yet, when the need is great, temptation looms. What would you do, if you had the chance for one wish to come true?

Content Warning: Bullying, destruction of property, and an unknown viral illness.

Review:

Justice comes in many forms.

Shannon was a likeable protagonist I immediately began rooting for. Not only was she significantly physically disabled, she was being raised by a low-income single mother who had limited help. There were so many things stacked against this family that I desperately wanted them to finally catch a break and have something go their way for one. They needed a chance to thrive after all they’d been through together.

The paranormal elements of the storyline were subtle at first but grew stronger over time which was the perfect decision for this piece. I enjoyed seeing how Sharon slowly came to the realization that her wish might actually have been granted and that the plot twists were not a coincidence but were building up to something that both the protagonist and the audience would need to think about.

This tale had one of those glorious endings that made me say, “wait, what just happened?” I mean that in a good way as I immediately flipped back a couple of pages to see if my understanding was correct and if the final scene had really been wrapped up the way it had. In retrospect, it made perfect sense given everything that had happened before, but it also caught me off-guard a little due to how some of the earlier scenes played around with the audience’s expectations about what might happen next. It’s delightful to be surprised like that.

I Wish, I Wish made me question my assumptions about what I’d do to make the world a better place with just one wish.

2 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as Book Reviews, C M Weller, Contemporary, Disability, Horror, Paranormal, Psychological Horror, Self-Published, Short Story

January 30, 2025 · 1:00 am

Winter Gloom: A Review of The Revenge

Title: The Revenge

Author: Benjamin Parsons

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: March 20, 2023

Genres: Horror, Paranormal

Length: 32 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author

Rating: 4 stars

Blurb:

Who haunts the third floor of that shabby seaside hotel – and why? Do the dead thirst for revenge? And if they do – can they ever be satisfied?

In a run-down seaside hotel out of season, a ghost is seen haunting the third floor – a tempting treat for any idle supernatural enthusiast. But what drives the spirit to stalk through the night? What sort of tragedy has brought it back from the dead, hell-bent on revenge? Part of the collection The Green Lady and Other Stories.

Content Warning:

Review:

Gloomy days are perfect for a haunting.

The skeptical tone of this tale was one of my favorite things about it. The protagonist was intrigued by the rumours of a haunting that were being passed around the hotel, but he also had some understandable suspicions about what was going on. No, I’m not going to spoil anything by sharing whether or not his questions were valid or what various people might have actually witnessed. You’ll have to read this for yourself if you’d like to form your own opinions. What I can say is that it’s refreshing to read a ghost story – or maybe a “ghost” story – written about a character who think critically and doesn’t take much at face value.

While I believe I understand the chilling point the author was making, it would have been helpful to have more time to digest and comprehend the ending. Suddenly dropping off like that made me wonder if I’d missed something earlier. After reflecting upon it, I wonder if this was done intentionally to help the reader feel just as shocked as the narrator did, but I would have liked to have some confirmation that this was the impression I was supposed to walk away with. Understanding a storyteller’s perspective is so important, after all.

With that being said, I loved the way this piece captured the monotony of winter. Even though it was technically set in October, the dark, cloudy skies had already formed over the beach and seaside hotel. This could have easily occurred in January instead and it would have had the same damp and dark tone to it when every day like the one before it and there are months to go before its warm and sunny outside again.

I am hoping to review more of Mr. Parsons work in the future, so stay tuned.

The Revenge expects some audience participation…and I think that’s a good thing!

4 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2020s, Benjamin Parsons, Book Reviews, Horror, Paranormal, Self-Published, Short Story

January 16, 2025 · 1:00 am

A Review of A Divine Tale

Title: A Divine Tale

Author: Jonathan Antony Strickland

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 8, 2012

Genres: Fantasy, Humour

Length: 13 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

This is a story about Seglaman the Snow God, and how other God’s use his sorry tale as a reminder to younger less experienced God’s as a warning to never become too comfortable when ruling over mortals who worship them.

Review:

Kindness matters.

While religion was discussed in this tale, this was not at all what I’d consider the inspirational genre. For one thing, the protagonist was a Snow God who, to be frank, was not the nicest deity around. Mr. Strickland also wasn’t shy about pointing out some of the dangers of blindly following any sort of belief whether it’s religious, political, ideological, or otherwise. My hope is that other readers will be intrigued by this approach to what can be a sensitive topic for some and willing to listen with an open mind regardless of your personal beliefs.

This came across to me as more of the first draft of a story than the finished product. There wasn’t much time spent on character or plot development, and that made it more difficult for me to remain interested in what was happening than I hoped I would be. A lot was going on here with Seglaman’s relationship with the mortals he ruled over that I wished had been explained in greater detail. As much as I wanted to give this tale a higher rating, I had too many lingering questions to do so.

With that being said, the ending made me smile. It veered off into the direction I was hoping it would head, so I was able to see Seglaman’s reaction to something he never saw coming in advance. My apologies for keeping this vague, but other readers should be pleasantly surprised by those moments like I was. It went a long way in tying up loose ends for a Snow God and the mortals he ruled over alike.

A Divine Tale was thought provoking.

2 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2010s, Book Reviews, Fantasy, Humour, Jonathan Antony Strickland, Self-Published, Short Story, Social Commentary

January 2, 2025 · 1:00 am

A Review of The Reverse

Title: The Reverse

Author: Benjamin Parsons

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: January 9, 2023

Genres: Romance, Paranormal, Historical

Length: 18 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

An old man tells a tale of his youth, when one snowy night he accepted an invitation to stay in a remote castle. His lovely hostess is so charming that he forgets his broken heart and falls in love with her. But what is the uncanny secret of this ancient castle and its ancient family? Why do the seasons seem to change every morning when he awakes? And is his beloved really what she seems to be… or just the reverse? Part of the collection The Green Man and Other Stories.

Content Warning: Death. Broken engagement. Grief. Brief references to Candlemas, a Christian winter holiday.

Review:

Winter isn’t the best time for traveling.

There was some interesting lore here that required me to think about it carefully to put it together. I especially enjoyed the reactions of the townsfolk in one of the early scenes when they were asked for directions to find Belvay castle. Characters in general would be well served by slowing down and asking the opinions of locals before gallivanting off to find, in this case, a mysterious castle, but if they were sensible enough to do that we wouldn’t have half as many stories to read about what happens when one throws caution to the wind. I know I’m talking circles around the lore here, but I really do want everyone to discover it without any assumptions about what they’re about to read. Just know that it’s worth the time and effort in my opinion.

While the narrator had recently finished grieving a few tragic events in his life and was not in the right state of mind to be making big decisions about what he wanted to do next, I still found myself wishing he had gone into more detail about what was going on at Belvay castle. My impression of this piece was that it was a whirlwind of scenes that didn’t leave the reader much time for contemplation. There were good reasons for it to be written that way that I will allow others to discover for themselves, but this reader would have benefited from as little as one additional scene that provided more context for why things unfurled the way that they did.

The romantic themes in this tale were heavily tinged with grief, anxiety, and an impending sense of doom. This is something I’m mentioning in my review because I want to attract readers who are interested in such things and warn those of you who prefer every ending to be a happy one that this may not be what you’re expecting. With that being said, this is the sort of romance I prefer to read if I’m going to dip my toes into that genre. Sometimes a situation feels odd for excellent reasons, and I enjoyed seeing how the unnamed old man responded to what should have been a happy moment in his life.

The Reverse was a wild ride.

A Review of The Christmas Mourner

Title: The Christmas Mourner

Author: Marian McCarthy

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 10, 2021

Genres: Holiday, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 11 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

A lonely Christmas Eve turns lively for mortician Perrie Spock when a late-night mourner shows up at the Rose Funeral Home.

Content Warning: Funeral home setting. Death.

Review:

Christmas ghost stories are one tradition that should never die.

I adored all of the little moments in this tale that showed Perrie’s dedication to her work. She really seemed to be passionate about preserving the dignity of the dead and giving their loved ones a chance to say goodbye in a peaceful, healing place. Grief is never easy, but it can be less difficult if the people surrounding the mourners are kind and compassionate like Perrie was. Look for the small things this protagonist does when she thinks nobody is watching that demonstrate just how much this matters to her. One of the best ones happened shortly after she turned off the light in the viewing room and prepared for a quiet Christmas Eve.

While I understand that this is part of a series and I did not go into it expecting to understand every reference to past events, it would have been helpful for me as a new reader to have a little more backstory on Perrie. For example, why was she so nonchalant the first time a ghost spoke to her? Even a line or two about how maybe she’d had this happen to her before or she expected it for some other reason would have been enough for me to choose a much higher rating as this was a heartwarming read in general.

The world building was sweet and lovely. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of what it feels, looks, sounds, and smells like to interact with a friendly ghost. Anyone who is familiar with ghost stories, especially of the Christmas variety, will know just what to expect here, but that is not a criticism of this work by any means. Sometimes readers – or at least this reader – find comfort in tropes they’ve read many times before. It’s like eating a favourite meal or putting on a soft sweatshirt after a long day in the outside world and relaxing into the moment. That is to say, it’s blissful.

The Christmas Mourner made me smile.

2 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2020s, Book Reviews, Christmas, Contemporary, Holiday, Marian McCarthy, Paranormal, Self-Published, Short Story

December 12, 2024 · 1:00 am

Winter Solstice Delights: A Review of Midwinter Magic and Mayhem

Title: Midwinter Magic and Mayhem

Author: edited by Frances Evelyn

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: October 15, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Holiday, Romance, Contemporary, Historical

Length: 199 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Short stories for the darkest of nights
Midwinter fantasy from award-winning fantasy authors

Witches, demons, spirits and ghosts haunt these pages, tricking, trapping and seducing unwary mortals. Humans, meanwhile, are wielding magic and the spirits for their own ends, with no guarantee of good intentions or great success. Along the way, God and Lucifer wash their hands of us all.

Real-world and epic fantasy rub shoulders with fantasy romance and horror in this new collection of short stories by much-loved authors. Ration yourself to one a night to colour your dreams or binge through them all in search of your next favourite series.

Why so cheap? What’s the catch?
Don’t you worry about that. Just put out your hand and let us take you into the chill of a winter night. What could possibly go wrong?

Content Warning: Migraines. Ancient curses and ancient blessings. Characters drinking alcohol. Hypothermia. Death. I will not discuss any of these topics in my review.

Review:

Prepare for something delightful.

Galyna received warnings in her dreams from one of her ancestors about various forms of danger that were threatening her and those she loved “The Horse Woman.” This was something established pretty early on on in the storyline, so I don’t consider it a spoiler. What I found interesting about this tale is that Galyna’s ancestor had lived so many generations ago that nobody in the family knew anything about her other than these few sparse facts. Imagine getting warnings from someone so far back in one’s family tree. Where the storyline went from there surprised me and made it difficult to stop reading. What creativity! I’d read an entire book about these characters if such a thing existed.

“Daisy” showed what happened when Janie decided to adopt an odd little stray cat that showed up in her garden one autumn. There are so many details of this story that I can’t share without giving away the plot twists, but what I can say is that I loved Janie’s compassion for her new pet no matter how strange life became for the two of them. One of my all-time favorite tropes involves ordinary people performing acts of kindness for those who can’t possibly repay them. There is something so wholesome about someone who simply wants to make the world a better place in whatever small ways they can without any expectations of being noticed or thanked, and I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of reading about these quiet, sweet moments that happen regularly both in fiction and and in real life.

One of the things that frightens me the most about winter is the possibility of getting stuck outdoors in the cold for too long. After Jessica’s car died, she became so hypothermic she fell asleep and then woke up in a bizarre bar in ‘The Spirit of Winter.” Due to the dangerous beginning of this story, I was pleasantly surprised by where it meandered off to after Jessica’s exposure to the cold weather began to affect her so seriously. It was not at all what I was expecting, but it worked well for the characters and plot and gave me multiple hints about how it could be interpreted depending upon how a reader reacts to certain clues.

Midwinter Magic and Mayhem was the perfect read for the holiday season.

2 Comments

Filed under Science Fiction and Fantasy

Tagged as 2020s, Book Reviews, Christmas, Contemporary, Fantasy, Frances Evelyn, Historical, Holiday, Novels, Paranormal, Self-Published, Winter Solstice

December 5, 2024 · 1:00 am

A Review of Christmas Inc.

Title: Christmas Inc.

Author: Tim Vee

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: November 15, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Satire, Political, Contemporary

Length: about 181 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

When a new US president is elected, and war is declared on illegal immigration, there is one “illegal immigrant” to America firmly in the cross-hairs of this new president, who was always a very naughty boy and was never, not even once, on the nice list.

Christmas Inc. tells the story of Mrs. Claus, four elves, the reindeer, and a little red crab, and their battle to save Santa and Christmas from the forces of greed, hubris, and dysfunction.

Christmas Inc. is an anarchic, subversive, timely, and satirical look at populist politics, greed, capitalism, slave labor, the cult of the billionaire, and (of course) the magic of Christmas.

Content Warning: Reindeer being harmed. Smoking. A detainment camp for undocumented people. A few brief references to waterboarding (but it wasn’t actually shown). Pigeon pie made from pet pigeons. Someone choking on a bone while eating.

Review:

Not even Santa is safe this Christmas.

It takes a lot for someone to end up on naughty list year after year. Santa would much rather see everyone be judged as nice from what I observed! Some of the most memorable passages for me were the ones that explored how the North Pole worked in this universe and what Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the elves did in the lead up to Christmas Eve to ensure everything ran smoothly. As someone who wasn’t taught to believe in Santa, there were a lot of things about his mythology that I quietly wondered about as a kid when children who did believe tried to figure out how it all worked. It was amusing to see how these characters explained it all and what happened to people who consistently disappointed Santa with their naughtiness.

I thought the satirical elements of the storyline were a little heavy-handed, especially in the beginning. In my opinion, satire works better when it requires some additional work from the audience to figure out what the author is poking fun at. It will be interesting to see if other reviewers agree with me there as I do agree this is a subjective topic and that some readers do need things to be spelled out more clearly in order to understand what’s going on.

With that being said, I enjoyed the thought of Santa of all people being one of people the president targeted as immigrants were identified and removed from society. One would think that Santa would be loved and admired by everyone who believed in him, but that wasn’t so for reasons I’ll let other readers discover for themselves. This was a fun twist that helped to smooth over the heavy satire in the beginning as it drove home the author’s points.

Christmas Inc. made me chuckle.

A Review of The World Will Not Miss….

Title: The World Will Not Miss…

Author: C M Weller

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 27, 2024

Genres: Science Fiction, Satire

Length: 12 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

In a world where branding and algorithms are trusted more than common sense… one trillionaire seeks to break ALL the rules.

Review:

Money makes the world go around, right?

The satirical elements of this story were straightforward and honest, as humorous as that may be to say. They weren’t intended to be difficult to figure out, so don’t worry about that if this isn’t a genre you read regularly. A little bit of pondering should soon bring up a well-known person who exists in real life who acts a lot like the arrogant and impulsive Plutarch Eritruscan. I nodded along as this character’s glaring and sometimes dangerous faults were exposed in all sorts of amusing ways.

It would have been helpful to have more character and plot development in this piece. Everything happened so quickly that I never really had the chance to savor any of it. While I know the narrator wanted to keep things moving briskly along to the end, there was space here for more exploration, and it would have made the final scene an even better payoff if it had been included.

I also liked what this tale had to say about the dangers of wealth. Those of us who are ordinary people will generally be informed if we accidentally say something hurtful or have ideas whose flaws we might not have noticed yet. The wealthy don’t always have these chances to to correct themselves, and it can lead to some of them developing very odd and unhelpful notions about how the world works and how much other people – and in this fictional case even the laws of physics themselves – should bend to accommodate their wacky wishes. It was something of note to think about while Plutarch Eritruscan bumbled around and made everyone’s lives ridiculously harder than they could have been. Yes, it was exaggerated for comedic purposes, but the kernel of truth about the very real psychological, physical, spiritual, and emotional dangers of wealth and power remained.

The World Will Not Miss… tickled my funny bone.

Tag Archives: Book Reviews

A Review of Priye

A Review of The Witch of Cromer

A Review of I Wish, I Wish

Winter Gloom: A Review of The Revenge

A Review of The Reverse

A Review of The Christmas Mourner

Winter Solstice Delights: A Review of Midwinter Magic and Mayhem

A Review of Christmas Inc.

A Review of The World Will Not Miss….

Search

Recent Entries

Links