Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits is a collection of five stories, two by Robin McKinley – “Hellhound” and “First Flight,” and three by Peter Dickinson – “Phoenix,” “Fireworm,” and “Salamander Man.” As a topic, these “fire elementals” make for a great story collection. As for the stories themselves, there is a major difference in the two authors’ styles, and this makes for an uneven collection.
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Time-travel used to only be a thing of hardcore sci-fi. It has only been within the last few years that it has become a more mainstream trope as authors started making time-travel less a thing of machines and more a thing of extraordinary genetic make-up. Myra McEntire’s Hourglass is one such novel.
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Lark LaTroy’s first NeoDruids novella, Druids Dawning, is a fast-paced, tightly-plotted thriller. It does have some erotic elements, but those are easily eclipsed by the suspense LaTroy expertly weaves.

After his initiation as a Druid, Mitch Walker, aka Falnon to the other Druids, learns that he has been blessed by the goddess with two gifts—one of them exceedingly rare. His fellow Druids can help him master Foresight, but very little has been written about Blink-Stepping. All his master, Galnor, knows is that Druids are only bestowed two gifts when they need to use them in conjunction to fight a terrible evil. (more…)

Lynn Kurland definitely has a knack for writing romantic fantasy that still appeals to the average epic fantasy fan. Sure, no man is probably going to pick up and enjoy (or at least admit to enjoying) her Nine Kingdoms series, but women fantasy fans who shun romance will find Spellweaver a delightful addition to their library.
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Jessica Verday’s latest book, The Haunted, is the sequel to The Hollow, and they must be read in that order (and I suggest not even reading this review if you plan on reading The Hollow – there is a major spoiler that cannot be avoided).

The Haunted starts a few months after The Hollow ended. Abbey is living with her Aunt Marjorie where she is finishing up sessions with her psychiatrist. (more…)

Lucy Valentine is back, and although her career is now on track, her love life sure is not. Heather Webber’s second Lucy Valentine novel, Deeply, Desperately, is just as fun as the first, even if Lucy has more mystery in her own life than in her cases.

Having been outed as a psychic who can find lost objects, Lucy has finally found a way to help with the family business. While she may not be able to make matches like her aura-seeing father, she can help people reunite with lost loves — assuming they gave their former flame a gift. (more…)

Lauri J. Owen’s  Fallen Embers is very difficult to classify. It is a fantasy, that much is certain, but figuring out with sub-genre is where it gets tricky – there are alternate worlds, shape-shifters, romance, a BBW heroine, magic, and political intrigue.

Keira is comfortable with herself and her life, even if it is not perfect. (more…)

In just a few short years, Lauren Oliver has really made a name for herself in the YA market. Delirium, the first in the trilogy of the same name, is a shining example of why.

Lena Haloway has spent the first seventeen years of her life just wanting to be normal, unlike her mother who took her own life after failing the treatment for the dreaded amor deliria nervosa multiple times. She has only months to go before she has the procedure that will cure her forever and mark her as an adult, but things are about to change in a major way for Lena. (more…)

In stories with a modern-day setting, mutations have become a staple of the sci-fi genre as they make for great superheroes. A new YA entry into this genre is Synapses by Ashley Mann.

Sixteen years ago, a man volunteered in the hospital nursery, rocking newborns, until he was relieved of his duty when he was seen waving a strange object over the infants. Thirteen of the babies he tended to die of SIDS within a year. But some did live and are now finding they have strange powers.
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This is the author’s revised edition of Ghosts, a novel Noel Hynd originally wrote in 1993. As I have not read the 1993 version, I cannot say what has changed other than some obvious modernizations such as the use of Blackberries. There were a few spots it seems that Hynd missed updating as the dates or ideas do not fit with the rest of the narrative, but if readers can overlook this, they will be in for one hell of a terror ride.
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Shane Briant has made a stunning debut into the world of horror. Worst Nightmares is great scarefest in the style of Stephen King.

Author Dermot Nolan is suffering from a bad case of writer’s block. Because of this, his life is slowing falling apart. His wife, Neela, wants to start a family, but there are bills to pay. (more…)

If you are looking for a fairy tale reminiscent of old, look no further than Deva Fagan’s Fortune’s Folly. This enchanting tale will touch your heart and have you laughing out loud as you cheer on Fortuna in her quest to save her father and win the love of a prince.
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Darkwood by M. E. Breen is very different from most of the YA fantasies out there. While it is set in a place that feels long ago and far away, it does not have a fairy tale feel to it. It is dark, as the title suggests, but with plenty of hope.
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In the next installment of Jo Ramsey’s Reality Shift series, Filtration System, we get to see things from Jonah’s point of view. Unlike the first book, Connection, which had some exposition to get through, Filtration System starts off strong and quickly picks up speed. (more…)

There is no type of book I enjoy more than a good ghost story – one that is just scary enough without going into slasher gimics. Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell is such a story.

Iris and her best friend, Collette, get bored easily in their small town of Ondine, Louisana. Too young to drive but too old to play with dolls, they spend their days trying out various spells. When Iris manages to connect with the ghost of Elijah Landry, the only real mystery Ondine has ever encountered, she is determined to get to the bottom of his death. (more…)

Julie Berry’s The Amaranth Enchantment is a very cute fairy tale. It has everything a classic fairy tale has: a put-upon orphaned heroine, spiteful guardians, a handsome prince, and a touch of magic.

When Lucinda’s parents die in a coach accident, she is sent to live with her biological aunt’s widowed husband and his new wife in their jewelry shop. (more…)

Yes, Hero is m/m erotica – and hot erotica, at that. However, it is so much more, too. Heidi Cullinan has crafted a unique fantasy world where two men must learn to come to terms with who they are if they are ever to be together.
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I have read Emily Veinglory’s work before and know she writes good m/m paranormal romances, but “Blue Murder” felt a little flat. The romance was good, but the story seemed to drag in too many places and left a few unanswered questions.
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I have read many dark fantasies and a few books that deal with abusive parents, but oddly enough, I have never really encountered one that gives equal weight to both until now. In Connection, the first in her Reality Shift series, Jo Ramsey has created a darkly realistic world where the mysterious unknown is not the most terrifying element.
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Ruby by Amanda Taber is not the best written book, and a lot of it is exposition. So why am I giving it a four? This was by far the most likeable YA ebook I have ever read. Taber has a way of drawing the reader in immediately and making them fall in love with the main character, Ruby.

When her parents die after supposedly being hit by a drunk driver, nineteen-year-old Ruby is taken in by her paternal grandmother, Esther, a woman she has not seen since she was a baby. Esther, though, apparently loves her grandchild, and takes her to live on her nice estate. (more…)