Nothing Compares to the Duke by Christy Carlyle

June 8, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Nothing Compares to the Duke by Christy Carlyle
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Historical
Length: Full length (368 Pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Bluet

His Only Regret…

Rhys Forester, the new Duke of Claremont, lives his life by four words: Enjoy All, Regret Nothing. He’s devoted to the pleasure of his wild soirees, reckless behavior, and shocking the ton with his interests in trade. The debts that come with his title don’t fit the carefree lifestyle he’s created and when he’s forced to return to his family’s estate, he’s also forced to confront his one and only regret: the beautiful girl he left behind.

May Be Falling in Love…

Arabella Prescott has been the belle of more balls than she cares to remember. After three seasons and five rejected proposals, she’s done with the marriage mart. Bella’s hopes to live a comfortable life, alone, come crashing down when her parents demand she marry. But her salvation may come in the form of the man she hates the most.

Bella has never forgiven Rhys for what he did to her, but desperate times call for fake engagements. With a few dozen rules, their scheme begins, but it’s not long before the former enemies find themselves breaking every single rule, including the most important of them all: don’t fall in love…

Arabella Prescott and Rhys Forester live on neighboring estates, and have been best friends since they were young children, even though Rhys is four years older. Although much of their youth was spent running about and playing, Bella is remarkably intelligent, and helped Rhys with his reading disorder. The years pass, and it’s now time to celebrate Bella’s eighteenth birthday. She’s nervous about having to give a speech in front of everyone, and is counting on Rhys’s face front and center to focus on. She also has been feeling her love for Rhys turn in a new direction, and hopes that he returns her affection. When Rhys isn’t part of the crowd, Bella runs off to seek him. And she does find him, unfortunately, it’s in the arms of an obliging older lady. Bella’s young heart is broken, and she is too distraught to listen to Rhys’s apology.

Rhys realizes he has ruined his beautiful friendship. Unknown to Bella, he had already begun to live the rakish lifestyle that he would become notorious for over the next five years. His life in London consists of some genuine business ventures with his two close friends, but is full of wild parties, gambling, and a string of affairs and liaisons. When Rhys’s father dies, and there are serious financial problems, Rhys knows he must go back to his country estate and try to sort out the mess, as he’s now the duke.

While Rhys has been living as a libertine, Bella made her debut, and has turned down numerous marriage proposals. She is hopeful that her parents will give up on trying to marry her off, and allow her to happily become a spinster, and to write her puzzle books, which she hopes to publish. Her world is turned upside down when she hears Rhys’s voice for the first time since that awful party five years ago.

I’m all team Bella in this story, as I hated Rhys’s actions from his awful deed five years ago to the frivolous and ridiculous life he chose to live since then. Having said that, he does have an abundance of good qualities which were buried underneath the persona he created. He also felt genuine guilt and remorse over how he hurt Bella, and accordingly lost his best friend. I admire that he had the courage to ask her forgiveness, albeit five years later. I loved watching Rhys change the more time he spent with the “new” Bella, becoming a better person, and vowing that he would never break her trust again.

Bella was easy for me to like, as who doesn’t remember and sympathize with their first experience at heartbreak? What made this sadder was the decade of solid friendship before their falling out. I commend Bella’s resolve not to marry just for the sake of being wed, and how she worked at building her own future of becoming a published author. It takes a good person to forgive someone who has hurt you that badly, and I applaud Bella’s finally being able to do so.

Nothing Compares to the Duke is well written and enjoyable to read, with plenty of emotional scenes and some steamy moments. I think it will appeal especially to those readers who enjoy drama and many hurdles to overcome. I have to confess that I was left with a kernel of doubt as to whether Rhys could truly stay faithful to Bella, or whether the siren song of his former life would lure him back. I know I’m rooting for them.

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

A Winter Knight by Barbara Bettis

June 5, 2020 By 18 Comments


A Winter Knight by Barbara Bettis
Publisher: Self Published
Genre: Historical Romance
Length: Short (146 pgs)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rated: 4 stars
Review by Rose

He’s running from his past; she’s running from her future. But on a snowy winter night, they find each other and the surprising gift of love.

Sir Nicholas has given up on marriage. These days he’s content to captain his friend’s troops and avoid entanglements—until one winter night when he rescues a half-frozen woman from a snowstorm. Her irrepressible spirit and kindness to others reminds him that all ladies aren’t like his former intended, who wed his brother while Nick was on crusade. But he can’t open his heart to Lady Clare. She’s bound to another, and Nick won’t forfeit his honor. Even if she were free, he has nothing to offer but love, and this lady deserves everything.

Lady Clare’s dying grandfather has arranged her betrothal, but the arrival of the man she’s to wed sends her fleeing into a snowstorm. Injured when her horse stumbles, she’s rescued by a mysterious knight. She recovers at his run-down manor, safe at last—until her betrothed tracks her down just days before Christmas. Trapped at home with the wedding imminent, she longs for the winter knight she’s come to love.

Only a miracle can bring Clare and Nick together. But at Christmas, anything is possible.

This is just a sweet story of a love that can transform a person. It’s part of a series, but can definitely be read as a standalone (though I would like to go back and read the first book in the series. I’m assuming it’s his friend’s story).

The characters are well drawn for such a short work (less than 150 pages and, if I had had the time I could have easily read it in one sitting). My favorite character, besides Nicholas and Clare, is Tom… what a wonderful character. I would love to see him get his own story..maybe a coming of age tale?

And, what can I say about Nicholas and Clare.. I fell in love with them both. I loved how the title aptly describes not only the season, but also Nicholas himself. His heart was certainly frozen due to being hurt previously.

If you are looking for a sweet romantic tale of two people finding each other, give this one a shot. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more of this author’s works.

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

Anunnaki to AI: The Hidden History of Mankind by Rick Giernoth

June 4, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Anunnaki to AI: The Hidden History of Mankind by Rick Giernoth
Publisher: Champagne Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (199 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Earth’s history is ancient; civilizations came and went. But one has always remained. And it’s not the one you think.

What if the history books were wrong about how certain parts of humanity’s past played out?

Yes, the cast of characters was large. It honestly needed to be for a story that covered so many millennia. I always was able to keep everyone straight, though, because of how much time the author spent developing all of the important characters. Each one of them was so unique that it was easy to remember who was who.

There were a few times when the plot felt uneven to me, especially at about the fifty to seventy-five percent mark of the book when the pacing appeared to slow down. I enjoyed the quicker pacing of the beginning as well as the slower one of this portion. It was simply a little uncomfortable for me as a reader to suddenly adjust to a much slower sort of storytelling after growing so accustomed to the quicker speed earlier on. This is a minor criticism of something I otherwise had a great time reading.

The world building was excellent. Mr. Giernoth struck a smart balance between explaining what unfamiliar terms meant and allowing his readers to discover for ourselves what similarities and differences existed between the Anunnaki and humans. This close attention to detail was repeated again and again in the descriptions of technology, social mores, and many other things that were critical to making this world come alive.

I’d recommend Anunnaki to AI: The Hidden History of Mankind to anyone who enjoys reading about alternate histories, conspiracy theories, or aliens.

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

Hex Life by Various Authors

June 3, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery by Various Authors, edited by Christopher Golden and Rachel Autumn Deering
Publisher: Titan Books
Genre: Contemporary, Historical, Paranormal
Length: Full length (384 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

These are tales of wickedness… stories of evil and cunning, written by today’s women you should fear. Includes tales from Kelley Armstong, Rachel Caine and Sherrilyn Kenyon, writing in their own bestselling universes.

Hex Life: Wicked New Tales of Witchery will take the classic tropes of tales of witchcraft and infuse them with fresh, feminist perspective and present-day concerns–even if they’re set in the past. These witches might be monstrous, or they might be heroes, depending on their own definitions. Even the kind hostess with the candy cottage thought of herself as the hero of her own story. After all, a woman’s gotta eat.

Bring out your dread.

We’re fed the idea of the wicked witch, all dressed in black, her haggard face glaring evilly back at you, from a very young age. But what if all witches weren’t evil? What if they did what they did for a good reason? Of course, not all witches are altruistic, but what if some of them were? That’s where Hex Life comes into play. Within the collection, you’ll find all kinds of witches with all kinds of motives. Are you brave enough to take a chance?

Witches have been a favorite subject of mine for a long time. Despite the Wicked Witch of the West and all of the evil witches Disney has given us over the years, I was still drawn to them. So, when I stumbled across this anthology, I knew it was something I needed to read. I’m happy I did because it did not disappoint me in any way. The witches in Hex Life are as varied and unique as the authors writing them.

An Invitation to a Burning by Kat Howard. You go into this thinking one thing and discover it’s quite something else. An excellent way to kick off the anthology.

Widow’s Walk by Angela Slatter. This was probably my favorite of the group because it focuses around three older women, all witches, and the community they live in. It’s sort of like what would happen if Sleeping Beauty’s fairy godmothers grew to be old and bitter, but still cared for the innocent.

Black Magic Momma by Kelley Armstrong. I love her Women of the Otherworld series and getting a bit of Eve’s origin story was a nice surprise.

The Night Nurse by Sarah Langan. This was one heck of a creepy story, but I loved it. As an overwhelmed mother, I could relate to it on a personal level. However, the ending was a bit of a surprise.

The Memory of Trees by Mary SanGiovanni. An odd and, for me, a confusing, story about nature battling back against technology.

Home by Rachel Caine. I’ve always wanted to read her Morganville Vampires series so this was a nice little introduction to her writing style and some of the characters. Definitely makes me want to delve into the series more now. A bit of humor and a lot of fun.

The Deer Wife by Jennifer McMahaon. The only romantic story in the bunch, very sweet and different from your usual fare. There is a heart-stopping moment near the end that nearly made me cry, too.

The Dancer by Kristen Dearborn. I love a story with supernatural powers. I think this was less witchy and more Firestarter, but one of the best stories in the collection in my opinion. I really felt for the young girl in this as her family was creepy and abusive.

Bless Your Heart by Hillary Monahan. Nothing makes me happier than a good revenge story. Especially when the revenge is so well deserved. Bonus points for mom going to such great lengths to defend her son who is being buillied for no other reason than because he’s gay. A bit of a warning though because this one gets rather gross rather fast.

The Debt by Ania Ahlborn. This was an odd, yet intriguing story. It was very fairy tale-like in its structure, but dark and foreboding as well. The end caught me off guard, to be honest.

Toil & Trouble by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Madaug Kenyon. This one started strong and lost me about halfway through. I generally enjoy the Dark-Hunters books so I’m not sure what went wrong with this story. I’ll blame it on me though.

Last Stop on Route Nine by Tananarive Due. This wavered between alternate universes and ghost story but was wholly frightening as well. The heavy overtones of racism only added to the oppressive and scary atmosphere. One of the best in the collection.

Where Relics Go to Dream and Die by Rachel Autumn Deering. I finished this story and was left utterly confused. I’m not sure what really happened in the end, but still somehow enjoyed it. Weird, I know, but that happens to me sometimes.

This Skin by Amber Benson. What a creepy, frightening story! It’s tough being a teenager, but it has to be even tougher to be one who’s homicidal. Really enjoyed this one a lot, despite the creep factor.

Haint Me Too by Chesya Burke. Historical fiction is a huge draw for me, so finding a witchy story sed during the times of sharecroppers intrigued me. It also enraged me because of the way Shae and her family are treated by the white people in the story.

The Nekrolog by Helen Marshall. I went back and forth on this story. It was long and interesting, but I also got confused a time or two. There are a couple of point-of-view and time period changes that threw me off. But overall, it was a decent story.

Gold Among the Black by Alma Katsu. I’m a sucker for a poor waif living in a castle as staff kind of story. Every girl deserves her prince (or princess), right? Jesper was the best part of the story and I’m glad that Greta got what she deserved in the end.

How to Become a Witch-Queen by Theodora Goss. Tied with Widow’s Walk for the number one position, honestly. A unique and fun spin on Snow White that left me smiling at the end. There were so many little things about this story that made me happy. It was the perfect story to end the collection with because it left me feeling good.

Overall, the authors came together to create an exciting and varied collection of stories. They hit many time periods and genres that there’s sure to be something for everyone in this anthology. While there were a few names that drew me to this collection – Kelley Armstrong and Sherrilyn Kenyon for example – I also discovered many new-to-me authors that I’m excited to explore.

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

A Shadowed Fate by Marty Ambrose

June 2, 2020 By Leave a Comment


A Shadowed Fate by Marty Ambrose
Claire Clairmont #2
Publisher: Severn House
Genre: Historical, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (180 pages)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

A shocking revelation from an old friend leads Claire Clairmont on a dangerous quest in this second in a fascinating historical trilogy based on the ‘summer of 1816’ Byron/Shelley group.

1873, Florence. Claire Clairmont, the last survivor of the ‘haunted summer of 1816’ Byron/Shelley circle, is reeling from the series of events triggered by the arrival of Michael Rosetti two weeks before, which culminated in a brutal murder and a shocking revelation from her old friend, Edward Trewlany.

Stunned by her betrayal at the hands of those closest to her, Claire determines to travel to the convent at Bagnacavallo near Ravenna to learn the true fate of Allegra, her daughter by Lord Byron. But the valuable Cades sketch given to her by Rosetti is stolen, and Claire soon finds herself shadowed at every turn and in increasing danger as she embarks on her quest. Is the theft linked to Allegra, and can Claire uncover what really happened in Ravenna so many years ago?

Will Claire ever know the truth about Allegra’s fate?

First, anyone wishing to read this book must first read the previous book, Claire’s Last Secret. This novel picks up exactly where the other left off and builds upon events and characters previously introduced.

I truly enjoyed getting to know Claire in the first book, and I relished the opportunity to spend more time with her not only to learn more about her past, but also to follow her quest for the truth about her daughter’s fate. Claire has always had a vibrant personality, and while she is less impulsive than she was in her youth, old age has done little to dim her spirit. I’m also pleased to say I saw a lot of character growth in Claire in this installment. In the first book, Claire seemed like a woman still haunted by her past in many ways. She never got over Byron, and she carries a lot of hurt regarding her relationship with him. Claire and her sister Mary did not part on good terms either. In A Shadowed Fate, Claire begins to find some closure. As Claire travels through Italy, she has the opportunity to reflect on various parts of her past, and in doing so begins to forgive not only others, but herself. These glimpses into the past reveal the events that made Claire the woman she is.

Ms. Ambrose has chosen to tell this story in a slightly different format. Claire’s Last Secret was told with sections that alternated between Claire’s life in 1816 and 1873. This book alternates between Claire’s adventures 1873, old journal entries from Allegra, and sections Claire reads from Byron’s confession. I enjoyed the different perspectives, and I especially enjoyed seeing Byron through the eyes of his daughter in her journal entries.

As with the first novel, A Shadowed Fate is not a story to race through. While the danger surrounding Claire and her mission are very real, the beauty of the scenery and atmosphere is what I’ll remember most when I think about this book.

The conclusion is satisfying if a bit abrupt given the story’s leisurely pace. Some pieces of the mystery surrounding Claire’s daughter have been solved, but Claire’s journey is far from over. Ms. Ambrose has again left me wanting to know more!

I’m delighted that I had the opportunity to continue reading this series. I highly recommend A Shadowed Fate to anyone wanting to lose themselves in the Italian ambience Ms. Ambrose has created.

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

The Summer of Guinevere by John V. Madormo

May 27, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Summer of Guinevere by John V. Madormo
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc
Genre: Historical
Length: Full length (244 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Ginger

Paulie Passero, underachiever, high school junior, wants the courage to talk to a girl. A road trip from Chicago to rural Pennsylvania doesn’t interest him until his father emphasizes the need for a second driver. Why must they go? Paulie’s dying grandmother disowned her son twenty years ago, and fences must be mended. Unprepared for Smalltown USA, Paulie is bored at first but notices a girl in the back of a passing pickup and is immediately enamored.

Guinevere Thompson lives just down the road from Paulie’s grandparents. She wants nothing to do with him. It’s not that she doesn’t like him; she likes him too much to see him beaten up by her three nasty brothers…or worse, her father.

Paulie yearns to help this troubled girl escape the clutches of an abusive father, but will his interference only cause her more harm?

What sixteen year old is thinking about 1968 world events? Not Paulie Passero.

When I first started reading this book my thoughts were, oh no a sixteen-year-old boy that’s girl crazy, I’m not sure if this is the book for me,  a forty-six-year-old female. I am so glad that I continued reading. This book is so much more than a sixteen year old being crazy over every cute girl he sees. This book is about family …dysfunctional, abnormal, broken families. Paulie has only heard about his dad’s side of the family and, this summer, he’s about to take a road trip from Chicago to Pennsylvania with a dad who he’s not that close with.

I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s writing. I looked forward to each chapter to see what Paulie was getting into. Following Paulie’s point of view through out the book was well written from a teen’s point of view. Though the topics of the book are a variety of deep subject matter, Paulie’s personality adds in a taste of humor. I think the storyline is unique and very well told. I felt that the author gave a lot in making the story so full of lively characters and events. I enjoyed seeing Paulie’s growth. He stared out as an unpopular kids with one friend, and mediocre grades. Now he is being faced with meeting a family he doesn’t know, in a small town where everyone knows everybody. The first day he lay eyes on Guinevere Thompson, a girl who has three mean and bullying brothers and a evil father.

As the story advances I was proud of Paulie at the end. He went from a guy who didn’t have a voice around girls to standing up to bullies, taking chances on being punished by his dad for not listening. Paulie matured into a teenager with courage and heart. Though the book is told by a teen and about a teen, the story evokes subject matter that may not be suitable for teens. The subject matter, though hard to digest I think is what set the book apart from other teen love stories. I would like to read more about Paulie as he adjusted to his return home. You’ll miss a great experience if you don’t read this book.

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

The Eidola Project by Robert Herold

May 26, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Eidola Project by Robert Herold
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery, Paranormal, Horror, Historical
Length: Full Length (293 pages)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

It’s 1885 and a drunk and rage-filled Nigel Pickford breaks up a phony medium’s séance. A strange twist of fate soon finds him part of a team investigating the afterlife. The Eidola Project is an intrepid group of explorers dedicated to bringing the light of science to that which has been feared, misunderstood, and often manipulated by charlatans. They are a psychology professor, his assistant, an African-American physicist, a sideshow medium, and now a derelict, each possessing unique strengths and weaknesses. Called to the brooding Hutchinson Estate to investigate rumored hauntings, they encounter deadly supernatural forces and a young woman driven to the brink of madness. Will any of them survive?

There are some things even science can’t explain yet.

The paranormal genre is something I read regularly. With that being said, I can’t remember the last time I read about characters who not only sought out scientific explanations for the bizarre things they experienced in haunted locations but tried to find a way to stop them using logic among other tools. While I can’t go into much detail about this part of the plot without giving away spoilers, I was quite happy with how these characters responded. They were immensely sensible!

I struggled to remember who all of the characters were in this book. Not only were dozens of them introduced, they were written about in ways that didn’t always make it immediately clear who was going to be important to the plot in the longterm and who might only be mentioned occasionally. As interested as I was in the storyline itself, this made it harder to stay engaged with what was going on than I would have like to be.

Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones that featured paranormal content. Mr. Herold did a great job of explaining what was happening in them, especially when it came to showing how the character who was able to see spirits dealt with her special ability. This was something that brought plenty of complications to her life, so I was glad to see how much attention was paid both to her ability and the dead people who tried to get her attention.

The Eidola Project should be read by anyone who is a fan of ghost stories.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Running out of Time: The Disease by Elisabeth Martin

May 25, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Running out of Time: The Disease by Elisabeth Martin
Publisher: Jopoto Publishing
Genre: Time Travel, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Short Story (54 pages)
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

“After a global pandemic and the loss of those closest to me, i used a time machine to try and save the world before we run out of time. There’s a problem. One wrong move can cause a ripple effect and harm rather than help.” James

James didn’t want to see his partner die like this.

But, when a mysterious disease comes and wipes out over half the human race, including his long-term partner, he knows what he must do. When he travels back in time though, James realizes that the actions he does do affect the future. But, will he be able to understand and work through all this?

It’s a race against time, against the actions he does, and when James realizes who the real patient zero is, he knew for a fact that the future would be determined by whatever move he’d make next.

Will James figure out how to eliminate the threat in a humane way? And will the actions he does really change the future for the better?

With his time machine he built as a hobbyist project years ago, James has the power to travel through time, but what he doesn’t realize, is that sometimes, when the past changes, the future can get a whole hell of a lot worse as well.

This is the first in a series of time-travel books and has the exciting and scary premise of trying to survive a global pandemic. A man, James, figures out a way to go back in time when he sees so many people around him dying. Humanity is in serious trouble. He must go back and find patient zero but then kill her. If anything with his plan goes wrong, the consequences are unthinkable.

When James goes after the unfortunate young lady at the root of this, people do not know his real motive and go after him. James can feel time breathing down his neck. His adventures into the past are interesting, and the people he recruits are important to his end goal. It’s a short story, but we get to know some of the characters enough to worry for them and their future. This story is painted with inventive details that push the plot forward. The world building is well done, and the moral questions brought up will have one thinking. Even if James succeeds in his task, will the future really change for the better? That is another sticky question.

This quick read was entertaining and worth a look for fans of time-travel stories.

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

His Second Chance by Marie Medina

May 19, 2020 By Leave a Comment


His Second Chance by Marie Medina
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Historical, Paranormal
Length: Short story (114 pages)
Other: M/M, Anal sex
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Moonflower

When Petyr had to choose between the fated mate he hardly knew and his pregnant former lover, he told himself rejecting Rollo was his only option. Even when life brought him more heartache, he felt it was all worth it when he looked into his children’s eyes.

Rollo never forgot about his fated mate. When Petyr shows up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, there’s no time for joy as Rollo finds out all his mate has been through since they parted. Petyr is dying, and though Rollo’s blood could save him, he asks for nothing more than Rollo’s promise to care for his children.

But this time, Rollo isn’t going to give up. The gods have given them both a second chance, and he’s going to prove that to his mate.

In a historical world where years are given names, we get the opportunity to see a second chance in motion.

Petyr met his fated vampire mate but did the right thing when Nora told him she was pregnant. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Petyr is left holding two babies when he finds out he is ill himself. Thinking only of his children, he returns to Rollo to ask for help. Rollo is prepared to do more than help the children and makes no bones about wanting Petyr to return to him.

This was a lovely read with more emphasis on the relationship between these two rather than just a tumultuous roll in the hay. There isn’t much ‘detail’ here which seems absolutely perfect for this story. Time moves on so you don’t feel like Rollo and Petyr are rushing into things.

I thoroughly enjoyed the world-building in here and the characters were a delight. I would love to read more in this series, and I sincerely hope Jonah has his HEA.

A wonderful, gentle read that I absolutely recommend.

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

The Beat of Black Wings by Josh Pachter (Editor)

May 13, 2020 By 4 Comments


The Beat of Black Wings by Josh Pachter (Editor)
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Historical, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (362 pages)
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

With nine Grammys, multiple lifetime achievement awards, inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and a Top Ten ranking on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time,” Joni Mitchell has established herself as one of the most important singer/songwriters, not only of her generation, but in the history of popular music.

In this collection, 28 crime writers pay tribute to Joni’s musical legacy with short stories inspired by her lyrics, representing each of her seventeen studio albums from 1968’s Song to a Seagull to 2007’s Shine.

Many of the classics are represented here, including “Both Sides, Now” (in the first literary collaboration between Art Taylor and Tara Laskowski, who have each won major awards for their fiction), “Big Yellow Taxi” (by Kathryn O’Sullivan, author of the Colleen McCabe series), and “River” (by Stacy Woodson, winner of the 2019 Readers Choice Award from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine), plus such equally fascinating titles as “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire” (by Donna Andrews, author of the award-winning Meg Lanslow series), “The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines” (by Amber Sparks), and “Ray’s Dad’s Cadillac” (by Michael Bracken). This anthology also includes contributions from Alison McMahan, Brendan DuBois, Edith Maxwell and many other talented writers.

The best songs are the ones that tell unforgettable stories.

An insurance clerk fell for a showgirl in “The Pirate of Penance.” He dreamed of whisking her away from the nude dancing she did to pay the bills. I was immediately entranced by their relationship and curious to see what would happen to them next. While I can’t go into any more detail than that, I will say that the twist in the end was delightful.

Charlie, the protagonist in “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire,” was a homeless guy who had a secret weapon to fight against an enemy that only he could see. I had a lot of sympathy for him. He was clearly dealing with some hard stuff and had few resources to draw upon other than the one I already mentioned. Seeing how he dealt with conflict kept me reading. It was well written and compelling.

“Ray’s Dad’s Cadillac” told the tale of a family that bought a new vehicle that seemed to be too expensive for their lifestyle. Figuring out how they could afford it was a great deal of fun. I had a few different theories in mind and was eager to find one which of them, if any, might actually be the correct one. What was truly delightful about the plot was the big twist in it towards the end that I didn’t see coming at all. As much as I’d liked the main character before, my opinion of her only grew even more positive by the final scene.

The Beat of Black Wings was a beautiful anthology that I’d heartily recommend to anyone who is a fan of Joni Mitchell or the mystery genre.

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