Romance
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[Book Review] Jillian Spectre & The Dream Weaver By Nic Tatano & Paramount Coffee Almond Amaretto
When last we saw seer/astral projector/healer Jillian Spectre and her also-paranormally-gifted friends, they were busy getting through their senior year of high school and stopping Jillian’s deadbeat, technopathic (and kind of psychopathic) dad from taking over society. Now, while facing the challenges of their first year of college, the group is once again called upon to save the world as they know it – this time from the Dream Weaver, a powerful enemy who can bend a person’s reality and manipulate them into a dream-like state, even if they’re wide awake at the time.
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[Anthology Review] Lovecraft’s Monsters Edited By Ellen Datlow & Boca Java Spiced Vanilla Bean Coffee
I've only ever been a casual fan of Lovecraft, having never delved much into his work or Mythos, but I love his monsters – their intense otherness, the fear of the unknowable they strike in the heart of readers. An anthology paying homage to these monsters, kicked off with the work of Neil Gaiman, was a perfect fit for me.
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[Book Review] Crane By Stacey Rourke & Coffee Shop Of Horrors Ichabod’s Dame
Crane is a very unique and imaginative take on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow that manages to stay true to the essence of the original while adding in its very own dark twists and turns. The story unfolds in chapters that alternate between present day, with the return of the murderous Headless Horseman, and flashbacks to when the original tale took place in the late 1700's, telling the real story of what transpired all those years ago in Sleepy Hollow.
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[Book Review] Takeover By Anna Zabo & Cafe Du Monde Coffee and Chicory
Sam Anderson cuts a fine figure in his perfectly tailored power suits. A high-powered CEO, Sam commands respect in the boardroom – sadly he feels he has to hide the fact that he’s gay to keep that respect. And if he’s worried about the truth about his sexual orientation getting out, he’s absolutely terrified about others finding out about his submissive and masochistic bedroom preferences.
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[Book Review] Getting It Right By A.M. Arthur & Aroma Ridge Georgia Peach
Getting It Right is the story of two men, best friends since college, whose relationship comes to a boiling point when an unexpected kiss opens the floodgates on feelings both have been suppressing for the last 15 years. And it’s not as easy as simply confessing all to each other; lies, serious physical assault, alcoholism, and a serial killer on the loose stand in between these two guys and their happy ending.
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[Book Review] The Dark Victorian: Risen By Elizabeth Watasin & ReAnimator Coffee Foundation Blend
The Dark Victorian is a steampunk paranormal detective series featuring senior agent Jim Dastard, a top hat-wearing talking skull, and his new partner, an artificial ghost named Artifice (Art for short). Both are resurrected criminals who have been given a “second life” working for Prince Albert’s Secret Commission, dedicating their talents to protecting crown and country from supernatural threats. The Dark Victorian: Risen is the first volume in the series and sees Jim and Art being assigned as partners and working their first case together – a string of gruesome deaths attributed to a rogue re-animator.
