#BookReview: Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN…

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both 'brilliant' (Holly Black) and 'supremely satisfying' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

#BookBlitz: Surviving Karma by Mark Nistor @RABTBookTours

The Karma Series, Book 2

 

Literary Fiction, Mystery

Date Published: November 9, 2024

 

Officer Bella Streit's abduction has yet to make headlines. Her captor once again humiliates police by nabbing Captain Stark's protective detail from the precinct parking lot. Her predecessor, the third officer taken, adds to the comedic nature of embarrassing the police. Taken from the scene of an accident, Officer Tauron Sandoval's handling reflects the lengths at which Pin will go to feed his hunger. Now with Bella secured, Pin no longer needing Tauron leaves her to a fast moving hourglass of life. Her minimal sands flow as two other officers succumb.

Pin seeks revenge through torturing those he deems as old police. Detectives Rix and Jain work the case. They find a roadmap offering clues to the serial killer's endgame. The roadmap given to them by informants. However, unknown by the detectives is Pin also has informants feeding him information. Double agent informants play their roles as if trained spies. Both parties question the loyalties while traversing to the ultimate showdown.

Surviving Karma will require finding the common ingredient to their sandwiches of life.

#BookTour: Growing Up Girl Untethered by Caroline S. Fairless @RABTBookTours

Growing Up Girl, Book I

 

Fiction

Date Published: September 10, 2024

 

 

In Growing Up Girl: Book One, a young Bernadette Aller floats through her life - job to job, lover to lover, place to place. She is an untethered spirit trying to find her way in a world that's not been too kind.

Now, as she barrels toward her seventies, she wants to tell her story, not because it's hers alone, but because it's a surprisingly common story. It's a story much of which happens behind doors that display the word unspeakable. Bernadette hires Scully Trippe to ghost write, translating Bernadette's personal experience into the third person, in what might (or might not) be a misguided attempt to extend the story's reach.

The time frame is malleable, with the storytelling moving back and forth through several stages of Bernadette's life.

In this first book of the Growing Up Girl trilogy, BernadetteWorld is populated with Patience, her housekeeper; Maddie, a former lover and now a ghost; and Lucinda, a time traveler who drops in and out.

It's a quirky group.

#BookishDiscussion: Tell Us About the Books You WISH Existed!

Bookish Discussion: Tell Us About the Books You WISH Existed!

As readers, we often get lost in the pages of a book, imagining what could be next, or wishing for a story that would capture our hearts in just the right way. Sometimes, there’s a gap in the book world—one where the book we really want to read doesn’t yet exist. Whether it’s a niche genre, a unique plot twist, or a character dynamic we’ve never seen before, there are always books we dream about but have yet to find.

So, let’s talk about it: What are the books you wish existed? Here are some ideas to get the conversation started: Know any books that match these prompts?  Let us know in the comments!! 

#BookReview: Death Scene (Witch City Mystery #14) by Carol J. Perry

It takes a lot for Salem locals to get excited about their historic Massachusetts town being known as “the witch city.” But when a major studio arrives to shoot a witchcraft-themed movie, folks go Hollywood. For WICH-TV’S program director and chief documentary-maker, Lee Barrett, however, the project may come complete with a real-life death scene . . .

Between documenting the progress of the movie, corralling starstruck autograph seekers and fans, and managing unmanageable traffic on Salem’s narrow streets, Lee and her police detective husband, Pete Mondello, are beyond busy. Even Lee’s best friend, River North, tarot card reader and practicing witch, gets in on the action, landing a job as a stand-in and body double. But it only takes one interview for Lee to realize that the male and female leads—whose roles include torrid love scenes—despise each other. Yet the problem is short-lived, literally . . .

When the gorgeous lead actress is found dead on a set staged to replicate the room where suspected witches were tried in 1692—and her on-screen lover, in full costume, is discovered sound asleep in her trailer—the hunt is on for a killer on the loose. Nevertheless, the producer decrees “the show must go on!” Now, even with help from River, Lee’s Aunt Ibby, and O’Ryan, a remarkably clairvoyant gentleman cat, sorting out a witch’s brew of secrets, sorcery, and special effects might turn Lee’s documentary into her own final act . . .