The Thing Under Your Bed by Stephen Kozeniewski

February 2, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The Thing Under Your Bed by Stephen Kozeniewski
Publisher: French Press Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

There’s something under your bed.

It hates you. It wants to devour you and everyone you love.

Dad’s at work. Mom’s dead drunk and no help whatsoever.

Maybe your stuffed rabbit can help, since he seems to be alive and talking now. Then again, maybe that just means you’ve finally gone around the bend.

Whatever plan you come up with to survive the night, though, you’d better not let so much as a fingertip stray off your mattress. If you do, you’ll be ripped to bloody chunks by…

THE THING UNDER YOUR BED.

Fairy tales might not be pure fiction after all.

Childhood can be frightening for all sorts of different reasons. Ordinary things that make perfect sense to adults can feel terribly random and nonsensical to a kid. The fact that this particular little girl was also growing up with an abusive, alcoholic mother only deepened her confusion about how adults are supposed to behave and what rules someone should follow to stay safe. Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that explored the many types of fears kids can have, from the mundane ones about odd noises in the middle of the night to far more terrifying and dangerous ones.

This novella sometimes felt like it was written for adults but at other times seemed like it was intended for a much younger audience. I found myself wishing that the author would more fully commit himself to one of these audiences as this was far too gory for kids but also had a fairytale-like quality to the conflict and plot development that many children would find appealing if they didn’t know what they were getting into. Part of this was due to how young the unnamed protagonist was, of course, but I would have gone with a full five-star rating if the age group this was written for was clearer.

The narrator spent a great deal of time playing around with the idea that what she was experiencing may or may not have been real. For example, think of the sensation of waking up from a nightmare and not being alert enough yet to tell where bad dreams end and real life begins. This was one of several ways Mr. Kozeniewski challenged the readers’ assumptions about what was really happening and who should or should not be trusted as new plot twists were revealed. I enjoyed the process of testing out various theories as I waited to discover what would happen next.

The Thing Under Your Bed was deliciously scary.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cobalt Blue by Matthew Reilly

February 1, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Cobalt Blue by Matthew Reilly
Publisher: Pan MacMillan Australia
Genre: Contemporary, Action/Adventure, Paranormal
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

For 35 years, the United States and Russia each had their own superhero.

Three days ago, America’s hero died. Today will be bad.

In the face of an overwhelming attack, one young woman – unassuming and anonymous – might be America’s only hope.

Her codename … COBALT BLUE

An accident in the Antarctic unleashed a strange substance and the two infected individuals became the world-renown superheroes – Cobalt from America and the Fury of Russia. In the decades that have followed each have had a number of children – all superheroes in their own right, though only half as powerful as their famous parent. When Cobalt dies, the Fury storms America, devastating the entire country and wreaking havoc. Through the rubble of the damage, it appears the fate of the world rests on the slender shoulders of just one, hidden woman who has never been in the spotlight before. Cobalt Blue.

I really love Matthew Reilly’s books and this was an exceptional stand alone novel that went immediately onto my keepers shelf. With a rollicking fast pace this was an action orientated thrill of a ride and I loved every page. There are a number of moving parts to the plotline and I was really impressed how small sections of the story are in different colours and fonts to help the reader easily understand when perspectives change or something important is said from one of the other colours. There are a few (four or five I believe) colour illustrations that really helped me see and understand exactly the superhero characters that were being described. I really loved this too and it made the book feel even more special than the words and storyline itself.

I can’t say a lot about the plot without giving stuff away, but I was impressed how the main thrust of the plot was very simple – bad guy is trying to destroy the world and good guy tries to stop them – but with about a dozen or so main characters and a number of jumps back and forth in time the book was so much more layered and complicated than at first glance. I also really enjoyed how the story didn’t get bogged down with those layers either, like a good movie the pace kept up a good clip and I easily kept reading for more and more. This is a very hard book to put down.

While there are a few very small aspects to the plot that might not be teen or YA friendly, for the most part I feel this is a book that should appeal to both adults and YA/teen readers. Parents might want to read the book first just to gauge the small parts of plot that are more adult-centric, but I do feel many YA readers will really enjoy this story too.

Fast paced and with some excellent characters and plot this is a great book and one I will absolutely be reading again soon. Recommended.

Filed Under: Other, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Book of the Month Poll Winner ~ The Turnbull Murders by R.J. Koreto

January 31, 2024 By 8 Comments


The Turnbull Murders by R.J. Koreto
Publisher: Level Best Books
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rated: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

Movie star Nicky Tallon selects architect Wren Fontaine to renovate Turnbull House, where he’ll be filming his next movie. Even to Wren, used to old homes, this one is special: a 200-year-old federal-style home on a private island in New York harbor, designed by the most celebrated architect of the day. But Turnbull House hides many secrets, such as the disappearance of the sea captain who built it. That’s just a historical curiosity, until a studio executive no one likes is killed.

Wren just wants to keep her worksite safe, but then another murder occurs, and she starts noting eerie connections between the mysteries surrounding the Turnbull family and Nicky and his entourage. The handsome star seems to have two girlfriends, a childlike folk singer and a cynical fashion model. Meanwhile, renowned actress Veronica Selwyn renews a friendship with Wren’s father, which Wren finds more disturbing than she wants to admit. She concludes it’s time she and her girlfriend Hadley take the next step and find a place together, an exciting but stressful change.

As the attacks continue, Wren realizes she will have to solve the mysteries surrounding Captain Turnbull and Nicky Tallon. Turnbull House speaks of order and harmony, and Wren must dig deep to see how the house has affected its owners, old and new. Fortunately for her, the eminently practical Hadley is by her side, pepper spray at the ready—because a frighteningly clever killer is about to find that Wren is getting too close to the horrific truth.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings, Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Embracing Amelia by Elaine Violette

January 31, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Embracing Amelia by Elaine Violette
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Historical, Romance, Holiday
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Chamomile

Lady Amelia Pierce has a forbidden dream: riding in equestrian competitions. When she loses a family ring in the stable, her brother finds her foraging for it in the hay with Lucas Grey, a duke’s bastard son. Amelia’s outraged father sends her to London to salvage her reputation and find a suitable match.

Despite his ignoble birth and rakish reputation, Lucas is much admired for his management of Winston Equestrian Stables. He and Amelia are fascinated by each other. But the missing emerald ring and a viscount’s greed lead to disaster and imprisonment for Lucas. Will scandal and secrets keep him from Amelia forever?

The blurb on this one intrigued me, but it wasn’t until I started reading that I realized how much I was going to enjoy this one! Embracing Amelia by Elaine Violette is a lovely British regency tale that had all the swoon of a regency read, with some added twists that made this one fun and unique! Amelia isn’t your typical heroine, sure she is excited to fulfill her role in planning for the upcoming winter holiday parties, but she also has a secret. She aspires to compete at the horse jumping arena she’s so fond of!

Lucas has a reputation, one he’s quite proud of. At least, in part, but is there more to this broody bachelor than a notorious reputation that follows his every step? When he ends up in the middle of yet another scandal, and this one quite by accident he finds his life and the Lady Pierce’s suddenly become both intriguingly complicated.

Will Amelia be able to salvage her reputation and earn her father’s forgiveness in time to finish the holiday planning? And how will she ever explain the away the fact the Lucan Grey seems to find a way into her already messy life at every turn?

There’s so much I enjoyed about this one, the delightful twists and swoony romance were spot-on! This is a sweet romance that was overall clean. As for language, there were a few minor curse words and a instance or two with innuendos, mostly about past events. There is also one place where Amelia has to run away from an unwelcome advance from another character, but it is vague and dealt with quickly. This is a quick read, and once I started I couldn’t stop reading! I was pulled into their story immediately, and am so glad I got to read their story!

I loved meeting Amelia and Lucas, but also really liked her banter with her Aunt Libby, and meeting Georgette as well! The characters were wonderful and fit so well into this wintery tale! Amelia’s love for horses and Lucas’s devotion to Mr. Winston gave the story a deeper tone that also played beautifully into their story. Such a good read, I definitely recommend this one!

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Lion Man: The First and Greatest Black Superhero by Demetrius Sherman

January 30, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Lion Man: The First and Greatest Black Superhero by Demetrius Sherman
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When no Black comic book heroes existed, he battled the most dangerous villains in the world.. He was Lion Man. Discover the fascinating history of African American journalists and cartoonists. Learn why Lion Man was the first and greatest Black superhero.

World War II changed the world in many ways…including when it came to what people expected from superheroes!

One of the many things I learned from this novella was just how much some adults fretted over comic strips in the 1940s. There were fears that children would prefer this style of entertainment over reading novels, so some parents tried to discourage their kids from picking up comic strips at all. I have seen some modern parents share similar concerns about what their children are reading and whether graphic novels should be counted as reading time at all. The solution to this dilemma that Evans came up with made a great deal of sense for his era as well as for our own.

It would have been helpful to have more examples of how the last few sections were intended to tie into Lion Man’s groundbreaking accomplishment. While I understood that they were giving other examples of how African-American artists and creators were producing all sorts of toys and content beginning in the early 1900s, it did feel a little disjointed to me to suddenly leap to this topic after spending so much time on Orrin C. Evan’s career specifically. As much as I wanted to give this a full five-star rating, I needed stronger connections between these sections in order to feel justified about doing so.

I appreciated all of the time Mr. Sherman invested in explaining the historical context for Lion Man and the other African-American comic book characters that Orrin C. Evans invented. There were some scenes from these strips that could be read in very different ways today due to how much American culture has changed over the last eighty years, so knowing the original intentions behind them was as educational as it was interesting.

Lion Man: The First and Greatest Black Superhero made me smile.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Iced by Felix Francis

January 29, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Iced by Felix Francis
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Seven years ago, Miles Pussett was a steeplechase jockey, loving the rush of the race. But after an unfortunate event, he left horseracing behind and swore he would never return. Now he gets his adrenaline rush from riding headfirst down the Cresta Run, a three-quarter-mile Swiss ice chute, reaching speeds of up to eighty miles per hour.

Finding himself in St Moritz during the same weekend as White Turf, when high-class horseracing takes place on the frozen lake, he gets talked into helping out with the horses. Against his better judgement, he decides to assist, but things aren’t as innocent as they seemed.

When he discovers something suspicious is going on in the races, something that may have a profound impact on his future, Miles begins a search for answers. But someone is adamant about stopping him—and they’ll go to any length to do it.

Miles Prussett is a former steeplechase jockey but now gets his adrenaline rushing shooting head first on a toboggan down a Swiss ice chute reaching speeds in excess of eighty miles per hour. While he swore seven years ago never to return to horse racing, he finds himself inexplicably helping out with the White Turf, a high-class racing event that takes place once a year on a frozen lake. Miles uncovers suspicious activity around the horse racing, and against his better instincts he starts to look into it. It’s only too late when he realizes his questions might have consequences and someone is determined to stop him no matter the cost.

I was really pleased to find I enjoyed this book right from the beginning. I am a little hit and miss with Felix Francis so it was a pleasure to find I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was a little surprised that most of the book delves back and forth in time, the story both explaining how Miles comes to be assisting in the horse race out on the ice, but also how he rose – and then left – the horse racing community from his younger teenage years. I found the author did an excellent job balancing the two timelines, weaving them together to both culminate on the ice in the Championships under the freezing conditions and to where Miles presently was. I feel this back and forth from the past to the present could have gone very badly and Francis did some exceptional writing to make it both well paced and retain my interest throughout.

About a third of the way into the book the mystery aspect to the story really picked up and I feel most readers should thoroughly enjoy both the different setting to the story as well as the more usual mystery aspects to the plot. I felt this was quite a different outlook both on a more regular Dick Francis/Felix Francis horse-racing based mystery book and I really enjoyed the fresher perspective to the story as a whole.

Readers who enjoy any of the Francis previous books should find they can appreciate this story to an equal degree, and readers who simply enjoy a well plotted and paced mystery should find this story really suits them.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

*Merry Pucking Christmas by Kelly Jamieson

January 26, 2024 By Leave a Comment


*Merry Pucking Christmas by Kelly Jamieson
Publisher: Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Larkspur

Harley Reid
My holiday plans? Boxed wine, flannel pajamas, and Netflix minus the “chill”. I hadn’t planned on getting off my apathy until after New Years—until I accidentally crash into my ex’s new girlfriend’s car. But it’s the motivation I need to flee to my Aunt Nora’s place in NYC for Christmas.

Colliding with a typically grouchy New Yorker isn’t my best foot forward. But sweet Jesus on a cracker, he’s a lickable, Viking-size hunk of hotness. As we somehow keep running into each other, I begin to believe I can shed the hurt and humiliation and be fearless.

Nils Axelsson

My holiday plans? Spending my hockey team’s break alone. My friend Nora, however, won’t let me escape her vortex of holiday cheer, and I find myself agreeing to take her niece to a Rockettes show.

I was expecting an awkward teenager in braces, but it’s the same woman who plowed into me in the elevator. A knock-me-sideways stunning blonde whose beauty and kindness hits me like a puck to the chest. The more time I spend with her, the more I want as much as I can get before she has to go back home. Unless I can give her a reason to stay.

This is a heartwarming Christmas novella about Nils and Harley, two broken-hearted people not interested in celebrating Christmas.

When Harley decides to go to New York for Christmas, she meets Nils and as they spend time together, they start to fall in love. I love reading stories about hockey players and Nils is the perfect guy for Harley. I liked both Nils and Harley and they share tons of chemistry whenever they are together. I was cheering for them and hoping they would get the happy ending they both deserve.

I enjoyed reading this enchanting novella. It put me in the holiday spirit and left me with a smile on my face.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Candy Magic by M. C. Roth

January 25, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Candy Magic by M. C. Roth
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Holiday, LGBTQ, Paranormal
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Sweeter than candy—hotter than magic.

Crean is trying to leave it all behind—the closet, his overbearing family and, of course, his magic. In a world where vampires and shifters are hidden among humans, Crean is the odd one out. Born as a human to a family of shifters, he’s been hiding his orientation and his magic for his entire life.

In search of a new start, he sets out on a journey to a different province. The only condition is he has to live with his brother and his three roommates.

Living with a vampire, a werewolf and a faerie is bound to be a disaster, and Crean does his best to avoid the strangers. But everything he’s been told about others is wrong, and his life is about to change forever.

What would you do in order to be free? To stop having to hide all that you are? For Crean, that means leaving home and moving in with his younger brother, Rian, and his roommates. What starts out as a risky and possibly disastrous situation turns into more than any of them could have ever imagined.

Crean is a fun character. I enjoyed watching him grow into his sexuality and really own it. His interactions with his brother are fun and very realistic. He also has very different relationships with the other roommates, too, which I appreciated.

Rian’s roommates were a crazy bunch. A vampire, a wolf shifter, and a faery. Even more amusing is that Rian’s a panther shifter himself, so a dog, a cat, a biter, and a fae all in the same house. This diversity of paranormals makes for an enjoyable bit of banter throughout the story, as well as different experiences for Crean as he bonds with each man. It’s hard to choose a favorite, too, because each had a fun or quirky personality trait that endeared them to me.

One small thing that bothered me with the story is that Crean’s magic wasn’t really addressed. He hid it from everyone, but even his lovers don’t know about it. While reading, I assumed that the reason why Nate could feed off him and be sated for a long period of time was due to the magic. The same goes for what transpired with Tristan as well. But it’s a small thing and didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the story overall.

Candy Magic is a super steamy, funny, and magical romance. Mixing an awkward, inexperienced ‘human’ in with a house full of more experienced paranormal beings is indeed a recipe for disaster, but it can also be a recipe for love, passion, and joy. I’d love to know more about their lives after this story ends, I just couldn’t get enough of Crean and his boys.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The End by Kayleigh Dobbs

January 24, 2024 By Leave a Comment


The End by Kayleigh Dobbs
Publisher: Black Shuck Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary, Horror
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A series of micro-collections featuring a selection of peculiar tales from the best in horror and speculative fiction.

Why choose between horror and humor if you can have both at once?

Four witches who used directions as pseudonyms were interrupted by East’s younger sister while trying to summon a demon in “Just Like Baking.” I loved the playful tone of this story and how the sibling relationship affected such a serious and dangerous spell. The horror elements were a nice touch, too, given the powerful forces these characters were dealing with and how cautious they needed to be in order to get what they wanted from their demon.

As much as I enjoyed reading this, there was one thing holding me back from giving it a higher rating. It involved the way mental illness was discussed in this book and how characters who struggled with it were written about. For example, there were times when I was uncomfortable with how Jen’s mood swings were described in “Catch Fire” or how Billy’s paranoia in “The Claim They Stake” was used to drive him and other characters to do all sorts of awful things they never would have otherwise done. I know so many people who have either previously dealt with mental illness or are currently struggling with it that I’d be hesitant to mention this book to them without including caveats about the way this topic was handled and how negative stereotypes about people who have mental illnesses were sometimes reinforced. With that being said, I still thought Ms. Dobbs was a great storyteller and would like to read more from her in the future if she’s willing to accept this feedback in the warm and friendly tone in which I hope she will receive it.

“Dead” showed what happened when a stubborn woman named Emily decided to remodel her basement but kept running into frustrating and confusing obstacles as she pulled up more and more of the floor. I adored the plot twists in this tale, especially once the main character suffered a life-threatening wound while working. Emily wasn’t always an easy character to like due to her refusal to listen to others, but she sure was an entertaining one as the consequences of her choices began to change her life forever. I know this is a little vague, but the details of her terrible injury and what happened afterwards are best left up to other readers to explore for themselves.

The End was a memorable mixture of horror and humor.

Filed Under: Horror, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Bamburgh by LJ Ross

January 23, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Bamburgh by LJ Ross
Publisher: Dark Skies Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY…

When a cantankerous old woman dies at her home in the sleepy, picturesque village of Bamburgh, DCI Ryan doesn’t think much of it—except, that is, for the small matter of it having been his wife who happened to find her body. Then another body turns up amongst the sand dunes at the base of the mighty castle fortress, and he decides it can’t be a coincidence…

Meanwhile, after a recent revelation about her sister, DC Melanie Yates’ quest to avenge her death is becoming an obsession—much to the concern of those around her. With a new DCS to contend with and hundreds of cold case files to sift through, the chances of uncovering a dormant killer seem unlikely. But as Melanie delves deeper into the secrets of the past to uncover the truth, she soon realises it lies much closer to home…

Murder and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit, set amidst the spectacular Northumbrian landscape.

For the first time in fifteen years since the murder of her twin sister, DC Melanie Yates has concrete evidence the monster she has searched for is not only still active, but remains nearby. Determined to eke out her revenge, Melanie is not deterred when she is sidelined from the investigation. Meanwhile DCI Ryan and his team are kept busy not just with the hunt for this murderer, but also discover an old woman dead in her home near the sleepy township of Bamburgh. They wouldn’t have thought much of it, except they had all met the lady shortly before her death at a masquerade ball at the castle, and DCI Ryan’s wife was the one to discover her body. Can the team work these two cases in tandem and find justice before it’s too late?

I found this to be a well balanced and interesting story. While the series is quite long, I feel readers should certainly be able to pick this book up with very little history and still enjoy the two murder mysteries contained inside. Though I do admit I found it far more emotional and deeper for having known the complexities tying all the main characters together and their histories.

I have to be honest and I was quite disappointed with a number of Melanie’s decisions in this book. Despite multiple conversations with her team-mates and her partner, Melanie consciously decided to chose a path not just of revenge but also of taking actions where the future ramifications were quite dire. I can fully sympathise with Melanie’s character, and I can even comprehend how in the moment she wasn’t thinking about the future or where her actions were going to lead. But I really struggled to feel empathy when a number of her choices were entirely selfish and destructive to her loved ones and Melanie recognized this – but chose to keep going anyway. I really disliked how Melanie put her personal need for revenge above the safety and emotional wellbeing of her supposed life-partner and the love and friendship of her nearest and dearest. I’m not sure I can forgive her character for acting like this.

To be fair, this absolutely made the plot more interesting, and made the danger lurking much stronger and a more conflicted and interesting read. Indeed, this overshadowed pretty much everything else in the book for me, personally – this massive metaphorical bomb going off in the character’s lives and relationships overshadowed most of the rest of the book for me. It made gripping reading and was very well written. I also have to admit that much of this plot – and its seriousness – would have sailed right past me had I not known and understood the histories between all the characters. I do feel the book and its main plots would have still been quite enjoyable as a read had I picked this up with no prior history, but for sure the depth would not have been there without that prior knowledge.

An enjoyable read – and quite explosive for fans, I expect – this is a well written police procedural with a good murder mystery, a small but delightfully layered cast of characters and a series I plan to continue to enjoy more of.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,
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