Review: The Last Witch - Fear & Fire - Various Contributors - September 2021 There’s something rather magical about discovering a new fantasy world that instantly pulls you in  the kind where you can almost imagine curling up with the book on a rainy New Zealand afternoon, a cuppa in hand, and letting the story whisk you away. The Last Witch, a young adult fantasy graphic novel collecting issues #1–5, is exactly that sort of adventure: mysterious, atmospheric, and filled with heart. At the centre of the story is Saoirse, a brave and slightly reckless young girl who lives in a village where the terrifying witch known as the Cailleach hunts children once a year. Instead of hiding away like everyone else, Saoirse sees the annual hunt as the perfect chance to rebel against her father and uncover the secrets hidden within the witch’s tower. Of course, as many fantasy heroes learn the hard way, curiosity can be both a gift and a curse. When Saoirse and her brother Brahm are captured ...

Review: Lumberjanes: Volume Three - Various Contributors - February 2026 Oh friends, gather round because I have the most wonderful thing to share with you today, and I am barely containing my excitement as I type this! When the postie knocked on my door with a review copy from the absolute legends over at Boom Studios, I may have done a little happy dance in my hallway. Boom Studios honestly publishes some of the most joyful, imaginative, and downright brilliant comics and graphic novels out there, and being trusted with one of their titles for review genuinely made my day. But here's the thing  this wasn't just any title. This was Lumberjanes. My Lumberjanes. I fell in love with April, Jo, Mal, Molly, and Ripley over ten years ago when this gorgeous series first burst onto the scene, and that love has never once wavered. They feel like old friends at this point, the kind you'd want sitting round your kitchen table with a mug of tea and a warm biscuit. Book Three collect...

Review: This Might Hurt - Stephanie Wrobel - February 2022 Two sisters, Kit and Natalie Collins, are differently grieving the loss of their mother. Natalie focused on her high-power position at work, while Kit joined a six-month self-improvement program at Wisewood. Wisewood is set on a remote island with no contact with the outside world including family. Natalie receives an ominous email about Kit and goes to Wisewood to bring her home. When Natalie arrives at the island though, it looks like no one was expecting her especially not Kit, but when Natalie discovers that Kit is more invested in Wisewood, will she be able to separate her from this place and bring her back to reality, or are their more suspect things happening that will lead Natalie and Kit in danger? The other storyline in this book was a flashback of a young girl who grew up with a controlling and abusive father, she found her outlet in the art of magic and fell head over heels in love with a boy named Gabe who loved ma...

Winds of Change: A Steamy Paranormal Romance Collection Publication date: October 31st 2024 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance An accident and a magical breeze will forever alter their destinies… Weird stuff happens in San Destino. Some accept it without question. Others know and protect its secrets. Cross the bridge over Starfall Bay to a town where the paranormally gifted live in peaceful anonymity. When ten couples are drawn together during the mystical time of Beltane, their hearts and minds will be challenged and changed. Whose magical world is threatened? Whose ordinary world will be transformed by magic? Find out in this limited-edition collection of steamy paranormal romances by established and emerging authors. Add to Goodreads / Pre-order —

Review: Heir of Fire - Book #3 Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas - September 2014 Every year, I try and make it my goal to read at least one author's complete booklist, and this year as I stood staring at my bookshelf and seeing that I had almost all of Sarah J Maas's books, I picked her. This is also an author that I had been meaning to read for at least 10+ years as well, I just never got around to her books as when she first came out. I had been in a bit of a fantasy burnout stage as it was the end of the vampire era for me. So far I have read the first three ACOTAR books and now the first three TOG books and I am saying I am more Team ACOTAR than TOG, though this series could grow on me. Heir of Fire was a chunky read and has left me this week with a book slump as I haven't started a book since Tuesday night when I finished this one. I think it was because of the size, it took a lot out of me energy-wise. In Heir of Fire we read as Celaena headed to see Queen Maeve...

Review: A Curse for True Love - Book #3 Once Upon a Broken Heart Series - Stephanie Garber - October 2023 The last book of this trilogy, though to be honest the way it finished - had set up the possibility for more stories to be told by this author set in the same universe. You know how sometimes you read a series and then you are holding out to reading the last book as you are uncertain how you will find it? I was this way as I absolutely loved the first book and then the second one, made me feel like it took longer to read than it should have and this one was in the middle of the two books. At the end of Book #2, we were left with a cliffhanger ending as Evangeline opened the Valory Arch and it was revealed what was hidden behind. At the start of this book, Evangeline wakes up but finds her memories have been erased and she is told she is married to Prince Apollo and that it was Jacks who tried to kill her and is a monster. This of course is not exactly how things played out and as w...

Review: Crown of Midnight - Book #2 Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas - August 2013 One of my goals this year for 2024 is to read the entire list of Sarah J. Maas's books, so I found on Instagram an order a friend had put together that combined all of her three series - this was because there is some crossover of a couple of characters/ scenes or places. I have read the first three ACOTAR books and now it jumps to the TOG series and this was the second TOG book to read. Now there must be something with the book #2's in the series as the same thing that happened with the 2nd book in ACOTAR happened with this book. The beginning and most of the story for this one felt quite slow-paced for me and I was in that mindset of "If I wasn't determined to finish her books, then this would be a DNF". I however, persevered and pushed my way through the book and it did take me three days to read - in saying that the first two days I only read a couple of chapters but by da...

Double Vision Shaolin Poe Publication date: July 24th 2023 Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy Magic gifts are rare, and they’re a closely guarded secret for mystos—the name for those who possess such abilities. Wyatt Glasson’s talent is speculomancy—an uncommon type of magic that grants him the ability to see any reflected image. Modern civilization and its reflective surfaces mean people are always in view of Wyatt’s magic. And he’s used that advantage to create a wealthy, insulated existence for himself, tucked safely away from magical society. After all, being powerful offers little protection when you’re part of a tiny minority who would rather cut your throat to protect themselves than back you up and risk their safety. But Wyatt’s comfortable life is about to be turned upside down. When the Arcane building is attacked by a team of rogue mystos, Wyatt is forced to choose between maintaining his anonymity or displaying his unique and powerful ability. Unfortunately for Wyatt, b...

Review: Avocado Magic - Taltal Levi - March 2024 I had been in the past couple of weeks in a really bad reading slump for myself and when I get like this and I am screaming out for books to read, I give myself something quick to read and I know I had a couple of picture books left on my Netgalley shelf to read and review. Avocado Magic by Taltal Levi was one of them and after reading this book, I guarantee it will give you and other readers a new appreciation for the Avocado which is often a tasteless food. In Avocado Magic by Taltal Levi, it is Ellie's birthday. She goes to bed all excited but when she wakes up in the morning, she is disappointed as even though she is now a whole year older, she doesn't feel any different than she did the day before. Nothing has changed, how can a birthday and being a year older not make any significant change? Her Dad, seeing Ellie is down gives her an Avocado seed to nurture and grow and explains that just like this process can be slow and ...