“Second Hand Rose” by D.E. Fox

Second Hand Rose (Amazon link)

When her grandmother died, Abigail inherited her antiques shop and house. Moving back to the town where she had grown up and bringing the dog she had adopted with her, Abigail intended to reopen the antique shop and enjoy a quiet life reconnecting with old friends as well as building a new life for herself. She was not aware of the many dark secrets that had long existed in the small town, but she soon enough found herself in the middle of everything, and needed to find a way to end the horror that controls the town and its residents.

This was an interesting first horror novella written by a new author. There is a fair amount of blood & gore in this story, so if horror is not something you enjoy, this book likely isn’t meant for you. I also need to warn you that there is some spousal abuse that takes place in this book.

It is a short tale and a fairly quick read. I felt like there were a few instances of awkward phrasing in the story, but that might have something to do with the author being in the U.K. and my being in the U.S. Sometimes phrases that are common in one country seem a little odd to those in another.

Overall, it was an interesting tale that had a couple of potential ways that it could have ended. It also leaves things open for there to possibly be a sequel in the future. If you enjoy horror that does include some blood and gore, as well as having a touch of paranormal beings in the mix, then you will likely enjoy this book. I enjoyed reading my review copy of this book.

This book may also be found through the following:

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“Extraordinary Voyages” by Steven Paul Leiva

This book consists of multiple parts, all of which I found very entertaining. The first is a novella entitled “Made on the Moon.” The second is a number of poems written by the main character in the first story. The third part is a short story. And after that are some insights and information about the author. All of which I would recommend reading.

The easiest way for me to describe the first part of this book, is to ask a question. If you had always dreamed of going to the moon, even before anyone had ever thought it possible, what would you do to make your dream a reality? This story tells the tale of one man and his lifelong dream of going to the moon. There are some very interesting twists in this story, as parts of it touch on real life historical events, though others are purely fictional. And following this story are a number of poems written by the main character during his lifelong quest to visit the moon.

Following those two items is a short story involving Cyrano de Bergerac and Baron Munchausen travelling to Mars. It’s a fun little story that I found quite amusing. I think others will too.

But I almost think that my favorite part of this book was the two sections about the author that followed the fictional stories. Those two segments gave me an interesting and very entertaining look behind the curtain at the author and his life. If you read this book, I would urge you to not skip reading the author's history & bio at the end of the book. For me, they were every bit as entertaining & interesting as the fictional tales he has provided for us within these pages.

"Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Cat Magic" by Lydia Sherrer

This is a novella in the Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus series featuring Sir Edgar Allan Kipling.” He is the magical feline companion of Lily Singer, a human wizard who is employed as a library Archivist.

This tale was told from Sir Kipling’s point of view (or Kip, as he is often called). He takes his responsibilities of protecting his human and her belongings very seriously. When Lily has left for a few days on a trip where she cannot bring Kip along with her, he finds himself in the midst of a small adventure protecting the Library from a few evil beings determined to steal something from the magical portion of the Library. Clearly they didn’t realize that while the wizard may be gone, Sir Edward Allan Kipling is more than capable of protecting things in her absence.

I really enjoyed this story. While it is not the first book in the series, as a standalone novella it does a very good job of introducing us to the characters in the Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus series. It does not matter if this is the first book in the series that you have read or not. This book makes for a good introduction point for readers who are new to the series.

It was a fun adventure tale told from the cat’s perspective and very easily explains many of the reasons behind many of their feline behaviors as well as this particular cat’s thought processes and his magical abilities. I thought it was a very enjoyable book and am looking forward to reading more of the books in this series. I believe others will enjoy reading it too.

"Miss Kane's Christmas" by Caroline Mickelson

Carol Claus, the daughter of Santa, is about to follow a tradition among her family where the children of Santa Claus spend some time away from the North Pole living and working among normal humans. She has taken a position as an au pair for a family of three to help out while the children are on winter break and their father must work. Ben is writing a book about why it is a bad thing to perpetuate the myth of Santa among children during their younger years and part of Carol’s mission is to change his mind and help him to once again find the joy and love of the holiday again.

This was a very sweet little tale that evokes all the joy the holiday can bring while showing a hint of the sadness and disappointment among children and adults who deny themselves and others the enjoyment that we all deserve to experience during the holiday season. I greatly enjoyed this one and believe that others will as well. Recommended.

"Wolf Trek" by Maria J Estrada

This is an entertaining novella that I finished reading in one sitting. It is set in a post-apocalyptic future where there is great danger in the world. Resources are scarce and hard to find. In what towns that still exist, people must trade for items rather than purchase them with cash. Life may be harsh in this future, but there is still love and ready assistance. But the biggest danger comes from what appear to be werewolves. Those who have succumbed to this disease must be killed and their bodies burned as they cannot be cured.

Summer Hunter is someone who hunts down those who are infected to keep others safe. He travels with his 2 sons, Saad and Jak. They are happy together, though life is not easy for them. But there is something unusual about Saad’s younger brother Jak. Lately he has been very quick to anger and almost too violent when something angers him. He hasn’t been bitten or infected, so what is happening to him?

This was primarily the story of Saad and how he must deal with everything happening around him. It was a very short tale, but very interesting. I would have liked to know more about what will happen to all of them in the future, but I suppose I will need to wait for another book to be released about them. This book could have used another round of editing, but most of the errors I ran across were minor. I enjoyed reading this story and will be keeping my eyes open to see if the author decides to continue these characters tale in the future.

"Margaritas, Mayhem, and Murder" by Mary Cunningham

In the middle of the night, Andi Anna Jones is woken by a phone call from her former step-mother. She’s calling from the Cancun police department where she’s been locked in a jail cell and accused of killing a former Las Vegas performer on a cruise ship.

Being the only family member who is available to travel, Andi Anna must go to Cancun to find out what really happened and to bring her step-mother home. This is one time that being a travel agent definitely comes in handy.

I really enjoyed reading this novella. It held my interest and I honestly couldn’t put it down until I finished reading it. This book was very well written and well-edited. I would highly recommend reading this fun little mystery. It’s a quick read and very entertaining. I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading the next one in the series whenever it becomes available.

"Kingsbane" by T.L. Branson

The pregnant Queen is quite ill and no matter what the healers try, it appears that she may not survive to give birth, and even if she does she will almost certainly not survive the birth of her child. The devastated King cannot bear the thought of losing the woman he loves and consults with every healer and midwife he can find to try and discover a way to save her. Unfortunately, all of them seem to have the same answer... they can do nothing to save her life.

The only possible solution comes in the form of an ancient legend known to one of the King’s personal guardsman; a legend that may be nothing more than a tall tale. But the distraught King will not ignore anything, not even a legend or rumor that might save the life of his beloved wife. He and a handful of his most trusted guards take off that very night on a quest to locate and bring back the soul stones as they are the only possibility left to him to save the life of the Queen.

I’m not really sure how I feel about this novella. It is well-written and well edited, with very few typos that I could notice, but one aspect of the plot left me confused. I understand that King is desperately in love with his wife and cannot stand to be left without her by his side. Unfortunately death during childbirth is often a fact of life in the world that this story is set in. The part that truly bothers me is that the King himself insists on going on this quest. He has no heir to rule while he is gone, only the other council members. He chooses not to inform them in advance that he is going on such a dangerous quest.

It bothers me that a King would leave in such a manner, knowing that not all the nearby kingdoms are likely to ignore the fact that he is no longer around, leaving his kingdom ripe for a possible invasion. No matter how badly he may want to undertake this quest himself, what responsible King would leave his Kingdom in the hands of his council members, no matter how trusted, for an unknown amount of time? While the story was interesting to read, this itself feels like a problem to me. I know he wants to save his wife, but in going on this quest himself he is leaving her to suffer without him nearby to comfort her in any way, knowing that there is a very good possibility that he may never manage to return to her side. Despite my wondering about this plot point, I did find this to be an interesting story.