Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling This is such a fun book. I mean, supernatural food inspector! Keith could have epitomized the word “average.” Not good-looking or bad looking. Brown hair and eyes. Nothing beyond that to report. He was the kind of man nobody noticed for very […]

Rogue Protocol, Audio Edition (2018) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free (Murderbot) Murderbot, Book 3 ART’s official designation was deep space research vessel. At various points in our relationship, ART had threatened to kill me, watched my favorite shows with me, given me a body configuration change, provided excellent tactical support, talked me into […]

Artificial Condition, Audio Edition (2018) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free More Murderbot. I didn’t care what humans were doing to each other as long as I didn’t have to a) stop it or b) clean up after it. Constructs sometimes fall under the same category as bots, sometimes under the same category as […]

All Systems Red, Audio Edition (2017) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free Murderbot. Audio version. I COULD HAVE BECOME a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or […]

Kneading You, Joy, The Color of You (2019, 2017) C.S. Poe The Haven Investigation series was excellent, but emotionally rough. So I decided to reread the Lancaster series, for some comfort. No one deserved to lose access to books simply because of where they lived. Kneading You All I did was give a guy tacos. […]

A Little Light Mischief (2019) Cat Sebastian (The Turner Series) Set in England in 1818 Alice Stapleton has spent her life keeping house for her father and taking care of her siblings and nieces and nephews. So it came as a rude surprise when her father threw her out and disowned her, and she was […]

One Bed for Christmas (2018) Jackie Lau (Baldwin Village) Wes Chang has been in love with Caitlin Ng since she almost knocked him unconscious with a door their freshman year in college. But Caitlin is a successful CEO and Wes… Wes is now living a life that makes him happy, but he is a disappointment […]

Minor Mage (2019) T. Kingfisher Oliver is a minor mage. He might become more powerful, because he’s only twelve, but right now he only has three spells. Unfortunately, the town has decided that he must go to the mountains to fetch the rain, before the drought ruins everyone. Of course, the townspeople waited until Oliver’s […]

Red Dirt Heart (2014) N.R. Walker (Red Dirt Heart) For the first time since Charlie’s father died, Sutton Station is going to have an agronomy exchange for a month during round-up. Charlie is hoping whoever they get will be competent and helpful. He doesn’t expect to fall in love. One of the things I enjoyed […]

The Labours of Lord Perry Cavendish (2021) Joanna Chambers (Winterbourne) Set in England in 1824 Six months ago, Perry Cavendish had been shocked to discover his best friend–Lysander Winterbourne had the same inclinations he did–and was in love with the man he was working for. After several months of drowning his sorrows, Peregrine finally takes […]

Mischief: A Daydream, Colorado Short Story (2021) A.M. Rose Dylan loves running the pizza parlor, almost as much as he loves his rescue dog, Buck. Dylan pulled up outside the familiar house and barely had time to get his helmet off and butt off the seat when he heard a thundering BARK! from inside. A […]

Pierced Peony (2021) Dahlia Donovan (Motts Cold Case Mystery Series) When an inspector from London comes to visit Motts about a cold case from her childhood, the two unexpectedly discover another body–opening another cold case. “You’ll never guess what I’ve learned.” “Marnie.” Motts was amused at how everyone around her, aside from the policemen in […]

Scandal at the Salty Dog (2021) Josh Lanyon (Secrets and Scrabble) Ellery Page seems to have gotten his man. He and Police Chief Jack Carson may be seeing each other, but Jack isn’t pleased when Ellery gets involved in another mystery–especially since he’s just recovered from the events of the previous one. Ellery was able […]

Photographs & Phantoms (2011) Cindy Spencer Pape (The Gaslight Chronicles) Set in England in 1855 Kendall Lake has gone to Brighton to check on the great-niece of Lord Drood, who has reported a strange happening at her photography studio. She didn’t consider her photos a labor—they were an extension of her very soul. Giving it […]

Scenes from the Holidays (2021) K.D. Edwards (Tarot Sequence) “The Playground” (7 pages) “The Sanctum” (7 pages) “The Ghost” (10 pages) “The Principality Ciaran” (13 pages) “The Tree” (7 pages) “The Dinner” (20 pages) “The Equinox” (13 pages) Scenes from the Holidays consists of short Tarot Sequence vignettes, released serially beginning in December 12, 2020, […]

Uncommonly Tidy Poltergeists (2017) Angel Martinez “I drove … down to Dover a few weeks ago.” “To the farmer’s market?” Ben said around a mouthful of pie. “Long way to go for strawberries.” Luka gave Ben an odd look. “He didn’t say anything about produce.” “Well, no, but why else go all the way—” Ben […]

All the World’s an Undead Stage (2018) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) “Best stay elevated,” Carrington murmured when Tim climbed out of his house to stare at him. How Tim managed to look surprised when he had no facial features was one of the mysteries of the universe. “We decided to call it a zorpse,” Kyle […]

Jackalopes and Woofen-Poofs (2017) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) “Kinda wish I could take you with me, Mom,” Wolf mumbled around a bite of toast. “I wish I could go too, sweetie. But then all the other officers would want to take their moms and the poor board of inquiry members at State probably wouldn’t survive.” […]

Feral Dust Bunnies (2017) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) While he did hiss and snort, Krisk never spoke a word, probably because his mouth and throat weren’t the right shape for it. They got by, communicating in gestures and texts, and after four years, they understood each other damn well. Dinner. “Yeah, I’m almost done here.” […]

Skim Blood and Savage Verse (2017) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) How could he have even thought about not celebrating his thirty-fifth birthday? Especially if it meant it gave her an excuse to invite all the old money and local officials to the affair. And outside? Of course it had to be outside. The weather in […]

The Pill Bugs of Time (2016) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) “Should get an Odo bucket,” Vikash murmured. “A what?” Kyle chuckled into his coffee. “Seriously, Carr? You never watched Deep Space Nine?”” It was the first time Vikash had experienced Greg’s particular talent being useful. He heard emotions, but only negative ones and only avian […]

Lime Gelatin and Other Monsters (2016) Angel Martinez (Offbeat Crimes) Between them, in the chair a suspect would take while he was being booked, was a leather jacket. Not odd if the jacket had behaved normally and stayed draped over a chair arm like a good, proper jacket, but this one was sitting up with […]

Damaged Goods (2018) Talia Hibbert (Ravenswood) The worst thing about Samir’s parents— worse than the cruelty, the manipulation, the toxicity— was the fact that Samir had loved them. She was pregnant, and pregnant people were like the Pope, right? You had to treat them with total respect, even in your own head, just in case […]

Not So Cookie Cutter (2019) Aidan Wayne He clasped his hands behind his back, at-ease stance so he wouldn’t cross his arms. He’d been told enough times that it made him look like a thug, so he tried to avoid doing it. He tended to hyper focus when it came to certain subjects, and to […]

Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter (2017) R. Cooper (T)hey’d searched all around for suitable men for Cole. They hadn’t ever done that for Scott, and he saw nothing in Kathy’s expression that said she had ever considered it. He ought to demand why he wasn’t good enough, but he wasn’t going to like the answer, […]

Exit Strategy (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) MURDERBOT! (Possibly I was overthinking this. I do that; it’s the anxiety that comes with being a part-organic murderbot. The upside was paranoid attention to detail. The downside was also paranoid attention to detail.) After escaping mostly unscathed from the discovery that GrayCris had not been terraforming […]

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 […]

Interlude: Snow & Winter Collection Volume One (2021) C.S. Poe (Snow & Winter) This is what it says on the tin: A collection of Snow and Winter short stories. Dopamine: Take Only as Directed Lunch Date Credit Scores and Cohabitation The Ghost of Durango Interpersonal Relationship Studies on the Way to the Coffee House Someone’s […]

Waiting for the Flood (2018) Alexis Hall (Spires) If you’ve read Alexis Hall, you may think you know what to expect from this story. Chances are you are completely wrong. It has been two years since Marius decided he was no longer in love with Edwin, and moved out of the house they had bought […]

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 […]

Grasmere Cottage Mystery (2018) Dahlia Donovan This is actually three novellas, but since I read it as one book, I’m going to review it as such also. Dead in the Garden Dead in the Pond Dead in the Shop Valor Scott and Bishan Tamboli have been best friends since their days at Harrow, and have […]

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 […]

Rogue Protocol (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) MURDERBOT! Murderbot is still trying to figure out what happened with GrayCis corporation their teams tried to kill the group Murderbot was working for. So off Murderbot goes to look for evidence. Purely for selfish reasons, of course. If Dr. Mensah had proof of that, the investigation […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Hockey Player’s Snow Day (2021) Jeff Adams (Hockey Hearts) Nick is heading to his friends’ place for a short vacation during the All-Star Weekend. But failing to pay attention to the weather leaves his stranded alongside the road, trudging to the nearest sign of humanity. Shawn loves his home in the woods, and the […]

Fake Date Flip-Flop (2021) Hank Edwards Nash is looking forward to his niece’s wedding. He isn’t looking forward to all the questions and comments about his ex. Tobias is back in town for his 30th high school reunion, but isn’t looking forward to it, since he’s only there to support one of his friends who […]

Candy Hearts (2000) Erin McLellan (So Over the Holidays) If you’re read this blog for more than a handful of months, you know that casual sex doesn’t work for my in stories. It’s a me thing, and I’m ok with that. But I’ve been struggling, and needed something that was over-the-top sweet, and remembered this […]

Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut (2018) R. Cooper I am struggling pretty hard right now, so I needed a story that was going to let me feel things, but in a soft way, and that would be a hug. This is a love story in two parts. First, of Jericho’s love for his family and their […]

The Hideaway Inn (2020) Philip William Stover (Seasons of New Hope) Vince Amato heading to New Hope for an investment. To make money after everything in New York went down in flames. He may be built and fit and wear bespoke suits, but inside he seems to still be Skinny Vinny, the bullied boy who […]

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 […]

Artificial Condition (2018) Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries) Murderbot wants to go back to RaviHyral Mining Facility Q Station to see if it can figure out what caused it to go rogue and kill a bunch of humans. My memory of the incident was partially purged.” SecUnit memory purges are always partial, due to the […]

Grumpy Jake (2019) Melissa Blue Bailey Thorne doesn’t have time for Jake the Rake. He may be a great dad, but she doesn’t need to be involved with a parent–and she needs to make sure all the kindergartners in her class are looked after. So, despite being a serial monogamist, Jake isn’t a bad guy. […]

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 […]

Mr. Right Now (2019) Annabeth Albert When Russ offered to make Thanksgiving dinner for his sister’s family (including her mother-in-law who is also Russ’ boss) his new boyfriend was going to help him. But when Soren dumps him the day before Thanksgiving, he decides to try it on his own, to show that he is […]

Let Your Heart Be Light (2019) J.R. Lawrie This is a collection of three short stories, two of which are about the same couple. Kind Of A Big Deal For Services Rendered The Farringdon Club This first story is “Kind Of A Big Deal” features Zack, who is a stand-up comedian, and Richard, who is […]

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 […]

So We Meet-Cute Again (2019) Geneva Vand Aiden and Jason keep seeing each other everywhere–at the coffee shop, and the local market, at the grocery store, on the street–so much that each feels like he’s stalking the other. There was nothing at all wrong with this story. My problem is that once the two had […]