Audiobook Review ~ Sugar Cookies and Sirens by Danielle Garrett

The witch who can talk to animals meets the witch with a talking cat. What could go wrong? It's Valentine's Day in Winterspell, but not everyone appears to be feeling the love. And no, I'm not talking about my date-less self. Instead of being wooed by candlelight, I'm working in a candle shop. Cora Hearth, Winterspell's magical chandler, has teamed up with Sugar Shack to create party favors for the lucky couples, and they're counting on us to spark some magic for their special night. So, when a thief breaks into my delivery van and swipes the goodies, Cora and I--and her persnickety talking cat--have to join forces to track down the culprit in time to save Valentine's Day.

Audiobook Review ~ Mermaids and Meringue by Danielle Garrett

It’s New Year’s Eve and Rosella Midnight has a date with danger.

A handsome date for New Year’s Eve? Check.

Red lipstick and a killer party dress? Double check.

A kiss when the clock strikes twelve? Undecided.

If I’m going to be stuck in Winterspell a little longer, I may as well have fun with it. But you know what they say about the best laid plans...

When my romantic evening turns into a kidnapping investigation, I can’t wait around to watch the ball drop. There’s a mermaid-snatching monster on the loose, and it’s up to me to stop them.

Luckily for me, my date always comes loaded for dragon.

Audiobook Review ~ Grimoires and Gingerbread by Danielle Garrett

Christmas in Winterspell means ice skating, hot cocoa by the barrel, and frosted gingerbread houses.

I was almost looking forward to it.

The merriment screeches to a halt when two elves show up, claiming to have been sent by Santa himself, on a mission to track down an ancient grimoire.

A grimoire with the power of Christmas itself woven through the pages. Without it, Christmas isn’t happening, and Santa himself is in grave danger.

Could Winterspell hold the key to saving Christmas?

**Grimoires and Gingerbread is a holiday-themed novella in the Sugar Shack Witch Mysteries series by Danielle Garrett. This festive novella falls after the events in the first book, but could also be enjoyed as a standalone.**

Friday Featured Spotlight ~ BBNYA2025 Blog Tours: Finalists 3 & 2

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

The Write Reads Spotlight ~ The Driftborn by Simon Bullock

A forgotten wreck. A forbidden map. A gate that should never have been opened.

On the salvage moon of Veyra’s Fall, Kade Renn only wants one thing: a working air filter for his sick sister, Lira.

Instead, he finds a buried courier ship older than the official history books. Inside it is a dying Driftborn pilot, a forbidden star map, and a message from Kade’s mother, Elian, who supposedly died nine years ago.

The Directorate says the gates saved civilisation. It says the Driftborn are criminals, free-route smugglers and a threat to every recognised human world.

The Directorate is lying.

Forced to flee with Lira, their strange scrap-mech Nix, and a half-illegal ship called The Moth, Kade is pulled into a hidden war over the true origin of the gates. The deeper they travel beyond authorised space, the more dangerous the truth becomes.

The first crossing was not what humanity was taught.

The gates were not built by us.

And something has been waiting for us to understand what we woke.

For readers who enjoy grounded space opera, ancient alien mysteries, damaged ships, found family, dry humour and human stakes beneath the scale of the stars.

The Driftborn is a tense, character-driven science fiction novel about control, memory, survival and the danger of mistaking every door for an invitation.

Goodreads | StoryGraph

Sci-Fi | Space Opera

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Simon Bullock is a British-born author living in the Netherlands. He writes psychological thrillers, historical fiction and speculative novels with a focus on believable characters, emotional tension and dark, understated humour. His work often explores ordinary people under pressure, hidden truths, and the consequences of systems that fail the people inside them. He also writes selected speculative fiction under the pen name Richard Randon.

Website | Instagram

BBNYA2025 Blog Tour Book Review ~ 3rd Place Finalist: Time-Marked Warlock by Shami Stovall

Adair Finch is the most powerful warlock in the world, and one of the best private investigators for hire. He has dealt with corporate vampires, murderous werewolves, and even fae royalty. Everything was perfect until he lost one case—the case where he also lost his brother.

So Finch retired. From magic. From PI work. From everything.

Bree Blackstone, a twelve-year-old witch, doesn’t know or care about any of that except Finch’s reputation. In the middle of the night, she bangs on Finch’s door. Her mother has been murdered, and now the assassin is after Bree as well.

Reluctantly, Finch agrees to help, only to discover something sinister has been brewing in town while he ignored the world… He’ll need to dust off all his old skills and magic before it’s too late.

BBNYA2025 Blog Tour Book Review ~ 8th Place Finalist: Soul Fraud by Andrew Givler

Matthew Carver has a terrible life. Seriously - it's awful. It is so bad that Dan the Demon is shocked when Matt turns down his infernal offer: ten years of a blissful life in exchange for his soul.

But Dan is a salesman behind on his quota and his demonic managers are running out of patience. He forges Matt's signature on the dotted line, stealing his soul and thrusting him into a supernatural world he never knew existed.

Now Matt must figure out how to get his soul back and stop a war before it is too late...

Welcome to Cottonmouth by Jay S. Bell ~ Audiobook Review

What does the US government do with spies and special operators when they pass their expiration date? They retire them to a small town deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas, where they’re certain to cause no trouble.

A collection of broken spies, former double agents, and retired operators lives in secrecy, under the watchful eye of the government in the small, deep-woods town of Cottonmouth, Texas.

Devlin Mahoney is the de facto mayor of these special citizens, charged with keeping them in seclusion, hidden from the world, which he does from the office of the town’s only motel.

But the peace of this sleepy village is shattered when a pair of women, on the run from a vicious criminal, drops into Mahoney’s lap and he’s forced to choose between doing what’s right and doing what he’s told.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman ~ Audiobook Review

 

According to "The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" (the world’s only “completely” accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.

So the armies of good and evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to divine plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and fast-living demon—both of whom have lived among Earth’s mortals since the beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.

And someone seems to have misplace the Antichrist…

2025 Book Round Up

This year hasn't been my worst year in terms of numbers. That award goes to 2023 with 55 books. This year I had 60 books read (or listened to) including five re-reads on my birthday. Unfortunately, I have 54 reviews to write (some from 2024 *cringe*), so you'll see nearly all without links for now. Eeek! 

2025 has been another year to remember. Mostly in a good way. My brothers and I sold the family farm (very sad) and I used my inheritance to pay for my divorce and do some major renovations to my house. From February until November we've had work going on and while it's been very stressful, it has turned out gorgeous. I absolutely love what's been done! And hopefully, 2026 means I will have more time to read. AND write reviews. 

Anyway, 60. Not as bad a year as I thought I would have only because I listened to audiobooks from Chirp when driving my son to and from work. About 45 minutes a day (M-F and some Saturdays) when I'm alone in the car. Then Anna started working at the same place in October and my audiobook listening went down to nothing. Except when he had to go in early and she didn't.

33 audiobooks

7 tour books (BBNYA & The Write Reads)

It's been a pretty good year in terms of quality, 

with 42 of the 60 rated 4 bites or above.

5 bites ~ 14

4 bites and a nibble ~ 17

4 bites ~ 11

Spotlight ~ Arvia: Fangs of the Frost by D.H. Willison

Being sent on a quest to save an entire city and granted the city’s full resources is a grand honor. Unless that city is Xin, with no resources to speak of.

A magical secret from Xin’s past threatens the city’s future, and Darin must lead a rag-tag group to a frigid city at the end of the world to save it. Their dilapidated old trade schooner may be haunted, but it survived conversion into the world’s first harpy aircraft carrier. And more importantly, it was cheap.

Can a misfit crew of humans and monsters overcome creepy creatures, mysterious magical phenomena, and the whims of the Empress of the Ice? How does a couple get alone time on a ship, when one of them is the size of the ship? And will Darin and Rinloh finally put the naughty in nautical?

Join Arvia's most eclectic heroic duo for adventures on the high seas! Caution: may contain questionable relationship advice, gratuitous human + nonhuman cuddle sequences, and/or singing.

Cover Reveal ~ Arvia: Fangs of the Frost by D.H. Willison

Being sent on a quest to save an entire city and granted the city’s full resources is a grand honor. Unless that city is Xin, with no resources to speak of.

A magical secret from Xin’s past threatens the city’s future, and Darin must lead a rag-tag group to a frigid city at the end of the world to save it. Their dilapidated old trade schooner may be haunted, but it survived conversion into the world’s first harpy aircraft carrier. And more importantly, it was cheap.

Can a misfit crew of humans and monsters overcome creepy creatures, mysterious magical phenomena, and the whims of the Empress of the Ice? How does a couple get alone time on a ship, when one of them is the size of the ship? And will Darin and Rinloh finally put the naughty in nautical?

Join Arvia's most eclectic heroic duo for adventures on the high seas! Caution: may contain questionable relationship advice, gratuitous human + nonhuman cuddle sequences, and/or singing.

Friday Featured Spotlight ~ BBNYA2024 Blog Tours: Finalists 8 & 7

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

BBNYA2024 Blog Tour Spotlight ~ 7th Place Finalist ~ Glunda the Veg Witch by Keith W. Dickinson

“A witch’s boots told the story of her life. They showed you where she’d been, where she was going, and what kind of a witch she would be when she got there. And, most importantly, they were proof that said witch was not someone to be trifled with. She was to be listened to, and obeyed, and yes sometimes even feared, because her wisdom was hard earned and her wrath swift and mighty. They would have to be, for her to have lived in such boots for so many a year. No one trusted a witch in brand new boots, and rightly so as far as Glunda was concerned.”

Glunda Ashwillow is on top of the world. About to become head witch, and the youngest ever Guardian of the Golden Key, the only thing standing in her way is her old enemy, the Drupe Mages. They have the key, and they're not willing to give it up without a fight.

With a coven of quarrelsome witches to contend with, and a fief full of farmers on the verge of revolt, can Glunda beat the mages and get the key before she runs out of veg? Or is there a cold, hard, carrot-less winter ahead for all concerned?

A tale of heroism and hotpots, Glunda The Veg Witch is a fun fantasy adventure everyone can enjoy.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ~ Audiobook Review

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker’s Guide (“A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have”) and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox—the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod’s girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!

BBNYA2024 Semi-Finalist Spotlight ~ In Which A Demon King Does Not Have A Romantic Interest in His Human Gardener by Rori Thornton

 

Demon King Jurao returns from his successful thirty-year Union Campaign and discovers something amiss - the castle gardens have a secret caretaker.

Using his authority over the sentient plants, he discovers the gardener is... a human! But after hearing the man out, Jurao decides to appoint Braelin as the official Royal Gardener for all his hard work.

Now he just needs to figure out why everyone seems to believe he is romantically interested in the human...

BBNYA2023 Blog Tour ~ WINNER ~ Perception Check

Her favorite tabletop roleplaying game is real, and her kidnapped childhood best friend is trapped in a far off land. Will she be able to save her? Let's roll initiative!

Violet Spence wants nothing more than to have a normal life. After witnessing her childhood best friend get abducted by monsters, that’s easier said than done. At twenty-three years old, Violet cannot seem to move past that fateful night ten years ago. Her only solace is Mages of Velmyra, a tabletop roleplaying game filled with goblins, fairies, and all-powerful magicians. But of course, that’s all fantasy.

Or, so she thought. As it turns out, the land of Velmyra is very real and the home of the monsters that took her best friend.

With the help of her friends (and the creator of the game itself), Violet must navigate the once-fictional creatures and powerful mages of Velmyra to retrieve a set of ancient relics—all in the hopes that the journey will lead her back to her friend. But for Violet, fighting monsters and magic workers doesn’t seem nearly as terrifying as confronting her own demons. And she’ll soon realize fighting the battle within herself can be just as tough as those fought against demigods.

Perception Check is the magical first installment of the Mages of Velmyra Saga, great for fans of Dungeons and Dragons, Critical Role, and The Magicians. With endearing and hilarious characters, an exploration of mental health and trauma, LGBTQ+ representation, gut-wrenching twists, and a whirlwind of an ending, you will never want to leave the world of Velmyra.

NOTE: Perception Check deals with the topics of mental health (specifically depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidality) with mentions of childhood sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and animal violence.

Friday Featured Spotlight ~ BBNYA2023 Blog Tours: Finalists 3 & 2

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

BBNYA2023 Blog Tour ~ 2nd Place Finalist ~ A Rose Among Thorns

No one said anything about an attack vine.

Rose Thorn should never be left unsupervised around plants. Potted things tend to die around her as if on principle. But when her great-aunt calls and asks Rose to watch her garden nursery for a few days, Rose can hardly say no. After all, Aunt Lily is the closest thing Rose has to a grandmother—and the only family she has left—so Rose doesn’t mind driving out to her tiny mountain town to look after the place.

Aunt Lily never mentioned anything about an inspection, however.

Rose is taken aback when an agent from an organization she’s never heard of arrives and panics to find Aunt Lily missing. As it turns out, Aunt Lily hasn’t been entirely straight with Rose. She’s not visiting a sick friend—she’s in danger and on the run. She keeps a hidden greenhouse on the property in which she grows highly regulated magical plants. And she’s an elf…as was Rose’s grandfather.

Though stunned to witness magic at work and shocked that no one ever divulged the family secret, Rose refuses to abandon the nursery until her great-aunt is safely home. But as she and the agent, now awkward housemates, try to keep up their cover story and find the missing grower, they realize that whatever led to Aunt Lily’s disappearance might not be the only magical crime in progress.

And while Rose has no green thumb, another talent of hers may be budding…

Dead To Me ~ Audiobook Review

Seeing dead people and solving their murders is Darby Adler's bread and butter.

What's not on the menu?

A nosy Fed poking around her crime scenes who seems to know a hell of a lot more than he's saying--especially about the ghosts surrounding Darby and the murderer who's desperate for her attention.