The Rook (2012) Daniel O’Malley narrated by Susan Duerden Dear You, The body you are wearing used to be mine. The scar on the inner left thigh is there because I fell out of a tree and impaled my leg at the age of nine. The filling in the far left tooth on the top […]
Monstrous Regiment (2003) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) Forget you were ever Polly. Think young male, that was the thing. Fart loudly and with self-satisfaction at a job well done, walk like a puppet that’d had a couple of random strings cut, never hug anyone, and, if you meet a friend, punch them. A few years working […]
Digger (2011) Ursula Vernon Published by Sofawolf Press Rating: 8.5/10
Swordheart (2018) T. Kingfisher Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle’s estate… and, unfortunately, his relatives. Sarkis is an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of enchanted steel. When Halla draws the sword that imprisons him, Sarkis finds himself attempting to defend his new wielder. “Begin asking unexpected questions until everyone in […]
Paladin’s Grace (2020) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel) Stephen was a paladin for the Saint of Steel until that god died, and all his paladins went mad. The remaining seven paladins now serve the Rat, in gratitude for taking them in and giving them some purpose. The Rat’s priests fixed things that could be […]
Unacceptable Risk (2011) Kaje Harper (Hidden Wolves) I really enjoy the world-building around supernatural creatures–especially an individual authors choices when there is so much mythology to choose from. His wolf form was outsized, conserving the mass of his human body, but it would look canine, would X-ray canine. As with several other werewolf fantasies, wolves […]
A Haunting at Midwinter (2021) Kai Butler (San Amaro Investigations) Parker Ferro is a supernatural PI. His case seems simple enough–exorcise the ghost haunting a popular rental. But someone has called the cops, claiming a prowler had broken into the house, so now Paker has to deal with a homophobic cop, an alchemist cop who […]
Cry Wolf (2021) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental. Though if you do know of a criminal plot involving werewolves that has taken place at any of these locales, that is a coincidence I would love to know about. Cooper and Park have bought and moved into […]
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (2020) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper and Oliver are house hunting. “So what do you think of this place?” Park asked. Cooper bit his lip. “What do you think?” Park tilted his head and regarded him. “I think your facial expression says you’d rather be drawn and quartered than put […]
Thrown to the Wolves (2019) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper is mostly (but not completely) recovered from the events in the previous book, but not yet back to work, so when Oliver receives a call that his grandfather has died, Cooper heads north to Canada with him. Things go badly from the very start. […]
The Wolf at Bay (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper and Oliver are trying to figure out their partnership–both at work and on a more personal level. Cooper doesn’t want to admit he has feelings for Oliver, because that means he’ll be hurt if/when Oliver leaves. We all know how well that works. When […]
The Wolf at the Door (2018) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper Dayton played on a long career with the FBI, but an attack by a creature that sprouted claws changed everything, and he is now part of the BSI, investigating werewolf crime. This is a reread, because I wanted something I knew I was […]
The Solstice Countdown (2021) Lisa Shearin (SPI Files) Mac and Rake are heading to North Carolina to spend Christmas with Mac’s family. Unfortunately, it looks like the cabal that wants to take out the SPI seers has followed Mac and is still trying to take her out. As with the previous book, the best parts […]
The House in the Cerulean Sea (2020) T.J. Klune Linus works for DICOMA–the department that looks after the welfare of magical children. “It’s just that…” She stood from her desk, arms still folded. “Don’t you wonder?” “Never,” Linus said promptly. Then, “About what?” “What happens to a place like this after you file your final […]
What Abigail Did That Summer (2021) Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London) Set concurrently with Foxglove Summer. Abigail Kamara learned discovered what magic is, and now that she knows, she’ll do anything to learn it–including taking and mastering Latin. If you’ve read the Rivers of London books, you already know just how marvelous Abigail is. I […]
Wild Sign (2021) Patricia Briggs (Alpha & Omega) The FBI has come calling on Charles & Anna. A group of people have disappeared, and the land they were living on in the northern California mountains belongs to Leah–Bran’s wife. I read this in two sittings, so it’s (as expected) fast paced and drew me in […]
Digger, Vol. 2 (2006) Ursula Vernon Digger is still healing from wounds she incurred earlier, and is seemingly not trusted by both the Hag caring for her and the captain guarding the town / temple. But she still has friends. From the statue of Ganesh to Ed the hyena, Digger is determined to figure out […]
A Flight of Angels (2011) Holly Black, Louise Hawes, Todd Mitchell, Bill Willingham, Alisa Kwitney, Rebecca Guay A group of faeries comes upon a fallen angel, and debates what to do, while telling stories of just who the angel could be. There are several stories woven together in and out of the surrounding story, each […]
Bloodlust & Bonnets (2019) Emily McGovern Set in early nineteenth-century Britain, Bloodlust & Bonnets follows Lucy, an unworldly debutante who desires a life of passion and intrigue—qualities which earn her the attention of Lady Violet Travesty, the leader of a local vampire cult. But before Lucy can embark on her new life of vampiric debauchery, […]
Family Matters (2018) Angel Martinez (Brandywine Investigations) My feelings for this book are summed up in just how WONDERFUL this cover is. Because it’s awesome, and so is the book. Plus: Why do you wear a kilt? It’s the tail, isn’t it? Though kilts are cool. As with the previous book, there are three stories: […]
Tarot Sequence novellas & stories (2020) K. D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) I was informed that there were Tarot Sequence short stories and novellas online. After finishing The Hanged Man I immediately sought them out. Most of them can be found in the twitter thread I linked to above. There may be other stories, but […]
The Hanged Man (2019) K. D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) The world changed decades ago. The Atlantean World War was brief. The cost was high. Magically radioactive wastes in the Pacific Northwest and half of Poland; the near-extinction of dragonkind; a viral plague that decimated the Atlantean homeland. A hundred thousand headstones, trillions in damage. […]
Heir to a Curse (2020) Lissa Kasey (Romancing a Curse) This story is set during the pandemic. Zach Frank is struggling with inheriting a cursed house. Not just–or even mostly–because of the curse, but because of the loss of the woman who left the house to him. The woman who was to all intents and […]
Marine Biology (2010) G. L. Carriger (San Andreas Shifters) This is a short story featuring werewolves and merpeople and selkies. Alec is a marine biologist and hides as much of himself as he can from his pack. Because they definitely won’t appreciate that he’s gay. But when a crush from high school shows up, needing […]
Bound by Memories (2020) Kaje Harper (Necromancer) This is a holiday short story. Silas and Darien are sent to deal with a ghost at a Christmas tree farm. And Ferngold (head of the local guild) is not pleased about Pip and is blaming both Darien and Silas for Pip’s existence. I quite liked the story […]
Powered by Ghosts (2020) Kaje Harper (Necromancer) Set in alternate 1963 Darien is free of his ghosts (literally) and has become Silas’ apprentice. However, he still has work to do, being a necromancer, and so the two end up dealing with a ghost problem, in a town where the local necromancer is too busy caring […]
Heartless (2011) Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate) Set in Alternate London in 1874 OK. Fine. Whatever. I finished it. Alexia is about to have her baby any minute now, and the vampires are still trying to kill her. So the solution everyone comes up with: the baby with be adopted by Lord Akeldama. And Alexia and […]
Blameless (2010) Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate) Set in England in the alternate 1873 As the end of the previous book still made me angry, even knowing what was coming, I immediately started reading this book, to see how I felt about the resolution of the issues from the second book. It was… okay. First problem, […]
Changeless (2010) Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate) Set in alternate England and Scotland in the 1873 I read this when it was published, and the only thing I remembered was the ending, and how extraordinarily angry it made me. So angry, I didn’t read another book by Gail Carriger for years. Alexia is now married to […]
Soulless (2009) Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate) Set in alternate London in Queen Victoria’s reign. Supernatural creatures, especially vampires and werewolves, are influential members of British society, although in the united states they are seen as monsters to barely tolerated, of not outright destroyed. Supernatural creatures, be they vampires, werewolves, or ghosts, owed their existence to […]
Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling “Cherries Worth Getting” from Irregulars (2012) “Cookie Jamboree” “The Little Golden Book of Goblin Stories” “Magically Delicious” from Charmed and Dangerous (2015) “The Most Important Meal of The Day” “Bring Out Your Best” Keith Curry is a supernatural food inspector. He works […]
Fire Water (2015) Jaye Wells (Prospero’s War) This is a short story prequel to the Prospero’s War series. Prospero is finishing up at the academy, her final week of shadowing. She’s also trying to find a new place for her and her little brother to move into, which is possibly harder than finishing the police […]
How to Marry a Werewolf (2018) Gail Carriger (Claw & Courtship) Set in alternate London in 1896 Faith Wigglesworth is being sent to England to marry a werewolf. They must be desperate to be rid of me, she thought, to be considering werewolves. Or Mother hates werewolves so much, she would use me to punish […]
Wonderstruck (2021) Allie Therin (Magic in Manhattan) Set in New York and other locales in 1925 Arthur and Rory are searching for a way to destroy the magical artifact that could be used to enslave non-magical minds, not just because it is evil, but because an evil man is searching to control it himself. But […]
Open for Business (2016) Angel Martinez (Brandywine Investigations) Gods are real. They’ve always been around. You just never guessed that mogul was actually the god of thieves or that an agent of chaos now runs the local funeral parlor. Hades has been sued for divorce. Persephone wants to be her own woman, live her own […]
The Last Sun (2018) K. D. Edwards (The Tarot Sequence) Rune is the last member of his house, excluding his Companion, Brand, the man who has been his bodyguard and confidant and friend since he was a child. He is also a mercenary, using as much power and technology as they can afford, to do […]
Marked by Death (2020) Kaje Harper (Necromancer) Set in an alternate 1963. Darien is out of alternatives. Demons or ghosts, whatever keeps invading his mind and body is quickly driving him crazy. So he seeks out the town’s necromancer, in the hope he’ll be able to help. Silas has power, but he doesn’t have any […]
Making Love (2017) Aidan Wayne Carla wants to be cupid that finds and brings about True Love. But although her aim is perfect, her ability to figure out who to aim at… is much less so. “Oh,” Carla said, abashed. She’d seen the travel match in both of their profiles and hadn’t dug deeper to […]
White Trash Warlock (2020) David R. Slayton (Adam Binder) This… did not end as cleanly as I was hoping it would. Adam Binder has the sight. It hasn’t done him much good in his life, what with his brother helping to put him in an institution when he was a teen, and it not being […]
The Tea Dragon Society (2020) K. O’Neill This is an odd little story. It’s about a girl, who is learning how to be a blacksmith. She finds a lost dragon and returns it to its owner, and slowly learns about tea dragons. And also slowly becomes friends not just with the dragons owner, but with […]
Right after New Year I stumbled across Prolific Works Winter Giveaway and picked up a bunch of free ebooks. Since many were short stories, I decided to only do individual reviews if the ebook was a novel or novella and if I really liked it. I haven’t read all the stories yet, but I have […]
Cry Wolf (2021) Charlie Adhara (Big Bad Wolf) Cooper Dayton is under significant pressure: His family wants all the details about his upcoming wedding to Oliver Park and Cooper has none to give them. Cooper groaned. “Who’s coming is the hardest part.” “Well, there’s us, of course. What about Oliver’s family? You’re going to invite […]
The Gangster (2021) C.S. Poe (Magic & Steam) Set in Steampunk New York in 1882. Special Agent Gillian Hamilton of the Federal Bureau of Magic and Steam is back in New York, and hoping to spend New Years Eve with Gunnar the Deadly–who he met in the first book, when he was out west. A […]
Recipe for a Curse (2021) Lissa Kasey (Romancing a Curse) I downloaded this novella as part of a Winter Wonderland giveaway of holiday short stories and novellas. As the first story I read wasn’t good, I haven’t expected too much from the other stories I’ve read. Montana works as a chef for a retreat in […]
Little Wolf (2015) R. Cooper (Beings in Love) Tim Littlewolf ran to Wolf’s Paw to try and (at least briefly) find sanctuary on his run from his uncle and his uncle’s henchman. “Who meant well, Tim?” Nathaniel was right in front of him, larger than before, as if he’d straightened in response to a threat. […]
A Beginner’s Guide to Wooing Your Mate (2015) R. Cooper (Beings in Love) Zeki Janowitz has returned to Wolf’s Paw while trying to figure out what to do with himself now he’s finally graduated college. If attending high school in one of the longest surviving werewolf refuges in the country had taught him anything, it […]
Digger, Vol. 1 (2005) Ursula Vernon Did you know you needed a story about a wombat? I’m sure you didn’t, however you definitely do. Publisher : Sofawolf Press, Inc Rating: 8/10
Lady Mechanika Volume 6: Sangre (2020) by Joe Benitez, M.M. Chen, Brian Ching, Martin Montiel Lady Mechanika has taken a case in Spain. And she goes alone, because Mister Lewis is still not speaking to her, refusing to forgive her the actions she took in the previous book. The story opens 500 years previously, in […]
Blood Cross, Audio Edition (2010) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) The second book of the Jane Yellowrock series finds Jane still in New Orleans, taking a job for the Council of Mithrans–despite the fact that the Master of the City wants her dead for killing what he believed to be his son. […]
Kitty’s Mix-Tape (2020) Carrie Vaughn “Kitty Walks On By, Calls Your Name” (2020) “It’s Still the Same Old Story” (2011) Down These Strange Streets “The Island of Beasts” (2018) Nightmare, December 2018. “The Beaux Wilde” (2014) Urban Fantasy Magazine, December 2014. “Unternehmen Werwolf” (2013) Halloween: Magic, Mystery, and the Macabre “Kitty and the Full Super […]