​I am still trying to wrap my head around this story. It wrecked me. If it weren't for bad luck, Roxie DePrive would have no luck at all. They say God doesn't give us more than we can handle. But I don't believe most people could endure 5 failed marriages, heartache after heartache, and the loss Roxie went through. Seriously. I am still shaking my head. At one point my husband held me while I cried and lamented over the constant heartache and loss. I had to read the story in stages, or marriages if you will. I saw the morale of the story but if I were in Roxie's shoes I don't think I would have survived to come on the other side.

Living Water is a beautifully written, morally driven story. Have the tissues handy.

​Allison Wells is an avid reader, writer, and author. She graduated from Clemson University with a degree in Communications and she spent several years as a newspaper reporter who quickly grew tired of always writing bad news. She began writing novels with happy endings. Bell of the Night is her newest release and the one she is most proud of. She lives in the foothills of South Carolina with her husband and four children.
Allison's motto is "Life is short, eat the Oreos."

​

• By: Eric R. Asher
• Narrated by: Joel L Froomkin
• Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 04-02-21
• Language: English
• Publisher: Eric R. Asher

A sanctuary under attack. An enemy closing in. Mason Dixon is all that stands between the cryptids and extinction.
The Orchard has been a safe haven for cryptids...until now. The organization known as DEMON is on a mission to round up every last creature for terrible experiments. As the cameras roll, Mason and his team must turn to one of their most dangerous rivals - Momo, the Missouri Monster - in a last-ditch attempt at a rescue.
Little do they know something far more dangerous awaits at the refuge. An ancient creature lurks in the shadows, waiting to unleash a power greater than anything Mason’s crew has seen.
If they aren’t careful, the cryptids they fought to protect might not be the only ones facing extinction.

​I love Joel Froomkin as Mason Dixon! Joel brings the story crashing through my speakers to deliver a phenomenal experience.

The New Templars series from Eric Asher is fun and lively. I adore the quick witted characters and wild creatures in each installment. Th Gowrow's Last Stand has been by far the most action packed thrill ride - and that is saying something. 

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this series. I didn't think it would be my cup of tea. I could not have been more wrong! ~ Lynn

Seventeen-year-old Harper Chandler thought she'd seen the last of terrorist Wyatt Mitchell after he'd been locked up for his long list of crimes, including the murder of her nettlesome and completely clueless neighbor.

Boy, was she wrong.

When a suspicious man shows up at her mother's funeral, Harper takes matters into her own hands to find out what he wants, leading her to prison where she meets face-to-face with her number one enemy, Wyatt. Though Wyatt can't be trusted, when he claims knowledge of an upcoming terrorist attack bigger than Harper can ever imagine, she and her colleagues at Dogwood Protection Services (DPS) can't turn a blind eye.

Their mission takes DPS to the new capital of the U.S., Las Vegas. As Harper tries to uncover the terrorist plot, she must battle the uncharted territory of grief, along with her wavering feelings for her boyfriend and a nagging sensation that they're missing a big piece of the puzzle.

If Harper can't get her emotions in check and learn to trust her instincts, thousands of lives will be lost, along with her relationships with everyone she holds dear. ​

​After the war of 2098, the United States is a chaotic mess. Terrorism abounds, and the government isn’t doing a very good job of keeping the people safe.

Dogwood Protection Services, DPS, takes matters into their own hands. Using the best technology and agents, they track down and stop terrorists before they can do their damage.

Sixteen-year-old Harper Chandler is one of DPS’s biggest assets. She’s small, nimble, cunning, and willing to break a few laws to stop an attack. Like breaking into a classmate’s house where he catches her, almost blowing the vigilante operation wide open.

In order to keep things under wraps, Harper is forced to get close to Akiro—who just so happens to be extremely hot and very into Harper. As she and Akiro grow closer, Harper must continue to spy on his father to figure out why he keeps showing up in the DPS database, all while working a stalker case for the most powerful woman in San Diego.

As she draws nearer to answers, Harper realizes the stalker will stop at nothing to keep her from uncovering the catastrophic truth.

If Harper can’t piece everything together in time, lives—and her relationship with Akiro—will be lost.

For fans of Batman and Marie Lu.

Jo Cassidy is a YA thriller author who loves all things creepy. Bates Motel and Criminal Minds are two of her favorite shows. Her thrillers consist of paranormal, psychological, and contemporary. She can’t wait to get her books into the world! She hopes her characters creep you out … in a good way.
Cassidy's alter (real?) ego is Sara Jo Cluff. That side of her writes bingeable contemporary.
She grew up in Yorba Linda, California, near the Happiest Place on Earth, but now lives in Utah with her husband and crazy cats. They’ll see where life takes them next!

FB: ​https://www.facebook.com/jo.cassidy.370

​Initial reaction to finishing I WILL BURY YOU by Brandy Nacole:
Holy crap! O M G that ending... Mic Drop! It's early but this might be my favorite book of 2021.

Author Brandy Nacole has outdone herself and set the bar pretty high for anything else she writes in the future. This story is a twisted psychological thriller that just kept getting more complex with each chapter. You are going to want to read it multiple times to try and pick it all apart.

​My mind is not my own.

I look in the mirror, and don’t recognize the girl staring back with cruel eyes and a malicious grin.

She’s after me.
I know it.

Even with my grip on sanity slipping, I’m determined to stay awake and prove her existence. But the darkness is closing in.

Long shadows stretch across the ground.

With the body count rising around me, I’m left with only one choice. Who I once was no longer matters. Survival depends on embracing this nightmarish new existence and fighting my way to the dawn.

From International Bestselling Author, Brandy Nacole, comes a chilling Young Adult thriller sure to leave readers gasping!

Fake Nora
by Kelly Martin
The sign over the covered antique mirror said DO NOT TOUCH. Twelve-year-old Nora wished she had listened.
 
Mirrors reflect what is in front of them, but what happens behind the glass-to the reflections themselves? Nora finds out when her own reflection, aka Fake Nora, changes places with her one night. Nora is shoved in a place that looks exactly like her house with no echoes, dull lights, and muted sounds. It isn't her home at all, simply a shell of a place she loves.
 
Fake Nora is living her best life in Nora's house, feeding on the fear of her little brother while no one else at the house knows anything is wrong.
 
Inside "reflectionland," Nora meets thirteen-year-old Jesse, who has been stuck in his mirror since the forties, and he warns her that they aren't alone in the house. There are others sneaking around, known as the bad ones-spirits of people who gave up after vanishing in the mirror.
 
Refusing to stay a reflection forever, Nora conjures a plan to escape, but Fake Nora isn't about to give up her life in Nora's home. And Jesse? He could become a bad one forever.

​As if urban legends haven't given us enough reasons to be terrified of mirrors, Martin's FAKE NORA is sure to leave us clamoring to cover them all.

If Stephen King wrote MG horror, I imagine it would go something like this.

Martin has wowed fans for years with her spooky, creeptastic chills for adults, and now she is ensnaring the preteens too

Join me and Kelly on March 4th at 7:30PM EST for a LIVE Q&A. I will be giving away a paperback of Fake Nora to a lucky participant. 

This book is going down as my Top Read from 2020! ~ Lynn 

The Girl At The Hanging Tree
by Mary Gray
Published by Monster Ivy Publishing
Release Date October 6, 2020

​Gemma Louise Coldiron has two personalities. One is herself—easygoing, curious, and travel-hungry. The other is a dictatorial other half named Tansy, who only lets Gemma come out of their Victorian mansion to do the shopping every two weeks.

Gemma also has amnesia, and Tansy’s too busy painting macabre art to be forthcoming about their past. The town speaks to Gemma about a “Mr. Hardin,” and it doesn’t take her long to learn she was married to the oil tycoon before he mysteriously went missing.

While Gemma begs Tansy to tell her more about their life with the handsome stranger, Gemma soon learns that the town harbors a secret society. And Mr. Hardin? He was the leader.

If Gemma can’t figure out what happened while maintaining her volatile relationship with Tansy, the town will assume Gemma killed Mr. Hardin—and even more alters will take root in Gemma’s already crowded mind.

An acutely observed modern-day psychological thriller that plunges into the daunting abyss of mental illness, community indoctrination, and cult group-mind.

​I am stating here and now that The Girl at the Hanging Tree by Mary Gray is my Top Read of 2020. I finished the book last night and I am still reeling from it this morning. Gray boldly takes on abuse, mental health, the small town hive mind, and racism. So many taboo topics in one story. Gray delivers a profound story with grace and dignity. I cannot accurately articulate the emotions invoked in me by this story. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about Gemma Louise and all that she endured. It is understandable that she retreated within herself and allowed Tansy to live her life for her most of the time.

Holy book hangover! Here I am 10 days days later and I am still thinking about this book. I can't even put my thoughts into words. There are so many thought provoking scenarios. Mary sure hit the nail on the head with this one.
​
This quote is everything.
The discomfort of this group is so palpable, I wish I could scoop it up and place it in a jar for them to feel every time they're tempted to sweep something wrong under the rug. But we have to hold up a mirror to our history. It's how we sow the seeds of change.

This story has all the feels!

​Mary Gray balances dark and twisty plots with faith-based messages. Some of her best ideas come when she's lurking in the woods, experimenting with frightening foods, or pushing her kids on the tire swing. She is the author of several fiction and nonfiction works and the co-owner of Monster Ivy Publishing.

Stalk Mary on  Facebook.

Join author Mary Gray on #FangirlThursday October 8th at 7:30PM EST as she gives us incite and a behind the scenes look at The Girl At The Hanging Tree. 

Sisters of the Moon 
by Alexandrea Weis
Published by Vesuvian Books
Release Date 9/22/20

A monstrous fate will turn a girl into a legend.

On an island in Lake Obersee, where The Sisters of St. Gertrude abide, a destitute Moor named Durra arrives. Sold for taxes, she and her two companions tend to the nuns and their collection of cats. At night, she combs the library for details on the order, the remote island, and the beasts howling outside her window.

But when a prank reveals the sisters’ gruesome secret, Durra is forced to accept a new fate. Bestowed an unearthly power, she must choose between life as a nun or living among the monsters beyond the convent walls.

Her path is about to change the tide in the ultimate war. The war between good and evil.

5 Stars​
Alexandrea Weis weaves religion and myth into a brand new werewolf legend in Sisters of the Moon. From its mysterious dark and foreboding island, to a convent full of beautiful young nuns and clowder of cats roaming the halls, this story had me hooked from page one. SOTM is sure to become a horror classic.

Alexandrea Weis is an advanced practice registered nurse who was born and raised in New Orleans. Having been brought up in the motion picture industry, she learned to tell stories from a different perspective and began writing at the age of eight. Infusing the rich tapestry of her hometown into her award-winning novels, she believes that creating vivid characters makes a story memorable. A permitted/certified wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Weis rescues orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans.
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexandrea-Weis/289566081083949
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexandreaweis
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1211671.Alexandrea_Weis
Website: http://www.alexandreaweis.com/

​A pair of dark oak doors, masterfully carved with six different panels, came into view. Winged creatures, with horns and pointed tail, appeared in every panel terrorizing humans who fought against them with pitchforks and fire. The tale was of a fierce battle set in a field not far from a village. Large snarling dogs assisted the humans in fighting off the agents of the Devil. The carnage recreated in painstaking detail had dead men and dogs with gashes across their middle, spilling their guts onto the blood-soaked ground. The bottom panel showed the forces of good overtaking the fiends and driving them from the battlefield. But it was the last panel that unsettled Durra.
This carving depicted the dogs that survived the fight. They gathered around a fiery pit and pushed the dead monsters into a vast hole, returning them to hell.
Durra touched the carved figures. “What story is this?”
Monica put her hand on a door pull of a wolf’s face with a brass ring through its mouth.
“The Battle of Cadizia. It’s where man and his faithful dogs first drove back the agents of the Devil.”
“Cadizia?” Durra furrowed her brow. “I never read about that in the Bible.”
Monica pulled the heavy doors open. “Nor will you.”
“But what—?”
Monica nodded inside the doors. “It’s time to pray.” She walked beneath a stone lintel and entered the abbey. 
Durra followed, a million questions running through her head, but when she stepped inside the abbey, all her apprehensions faded away.
Thick columns with capitals of more winged creatures, their pointy tails directed at the altar, complemented the mural painted on the panels of the ceiling. 
The story was the same as on the door, but the details emphasized the role of the dogs. Silver-backed, with thick dark coats and bright glowing eyes, the beasts appeared like magical beings while confronting the demons. They stood, surrounding a gaping pit filled with a lake of fire, snarling and driving the winged creatures back to hell. “That’s scary.”
Leida stood next to Durra, gaping up at the ceiling.
Sister Monica appeared in front of them and took their hands. Her face contorted in an angry scowl as she whisked them to the back of the abbey.
Monica pointed at a bench, “Stay.”
Durra took her seat while scouring the six stained-glass windows, eager for more on the strange
dogs, but all she found were images of a woman in a black nun’s habit, carrying a large wooden staff. The figure had different animals gathered at her feet, and the kindness of St. Gertrude contrasted sharply with the violence of the painting on the ceiling. But the windows had no portraits of dogs, only squirrels, birds, and, of course, cats.
Emily nudged her and then pointed to a white linen altar, sitting before a carved figure of Christ on the cross. The odd-shaped skull atop the altar struck her as grotesque. “What is that?” Emily asked.
“Wolf,” Leida whispered. “You can tell by the flat part from the top of the skull to the tip of the nose. A dog’s head has a steeper angle.”
Durra regarded the girl with a newfound appreciation. “How do you know that?”
Leida demurely folded her hands in her lap. “I told you—I grew up with them. My family used to hunt them.”
“A wolf hunter in our midst.” Emily nodded. “That might come in handy.”
“Shh.” Monica stood in front of their bench, her cheeks red with anger. “Have you no respect for the house of God?”
Durra eyed the skull once more. If this is a house of God, what’s a wolf’s skull doing here? 
 

​Carolyn Ridder Aspenson is hands down my favorite cozy mystery writer. The only thing that makes this particular series even better is that it is a paranormal cozy. Witches and warlocks and shifters, oh my!

Abby's book is literally writing itself and the events on the screen are happening in real life. This installment is fraught with danger and suspicion. Just when I thought I had the "who done it' figured out the author through me a curveball.

And let's just say a certain someone in the series isn't who or what he or she appears to be. Can you say bombshell?

​***The following 5 books in the serial will be released on the 20th of each month.

​Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the MTM Trilogy and I am stoked to be back with my friends. This new series takes place five years later and while You do not have to have read the More Than Magic Trilogy to follow along with the new serial but it will add background on all the characters and their relationships.

Magic Betrayed is book one in the author's six-book serial, Rise of the Arcanist. The new series is much darker and more sinister than the trilogy. Magics have been disappearing and it is up to our group to figure out why. Part fantasy, part mystery, all awesomeness, I flew threw the pages of this story. And that ending! Edge of my seat! Of course I can't go into detail because of spoilers but trust me, one-click now.

​Never again must another Arcanist rise…

They say it took one hundred magical beings to defeat the first Arcanist. Great care was taken to ensure the secret to his malevolent power died with him. Now the brutal reign of the Arcanist has become little more than a scary bedtime story. And yet, the descendants of his loyal followers are sworn to find a way to bestow his dark magic upon another. If they succeed, they’ll unleash a new terror upon an unsuspecting world.

Now, magics are vanishing without a trace. It’s up to Jen Maddox, a young witch working for the Magical Enforcement and Secrecy Agency, to find out why. Jen soon learns that those responsible for the disappearances will do whatever it takes to stop her investigation... including using an ancient, forbidden magic. With each clue uncovered the mystery grows, pointing towards one unthinkable scenario — an Arcanist is once again rising.

Magic Betrayed is Book One in the Urban Fantasy series, Rise of the Arcanist, featuring witches, vampires, werewolves, and more. It is a New Adult spin-off of USA Today Bestselling author Elizabeth Kirke’s award-winning More than Magic series. If you like your magic mixed with a little mystery and sweet romance, dive into your copy today.

*Rise of the Arcanist is a six book serial, with each installment releasing a month apart. You do *not* have to read the original More than Magic trilogy to enjoy it.*

Want to see how it all began? 

Semester Aboard
​
Sun, sand, and… stakes?

From USA Today Best-Selling author, Elizabeth Kirke, comes a tale of magic on the open sea!

Jen Maddox knew a summer study abroad, with a cruise ship as her campus, would expand her horizons. But she could never have fathomed how life altering the sea would be.

With seagulls cawing overhead and whitecaps crashing against the hull, Jen catches a glimpse of something not humanly possible. She would have believed it to be a dream, had certain enigmatic passengers not gone out of their way to cover it up.

Determined to discover the truth, Jen finds herself face-to-face with a nightmarish creature prowling the ship on the hunt for its next victim. Can she learn to tap into the newfound energy swirling around her in time to save all those aboard? Or will the vessel sink under a tidal wave of looming darkness?

Semester Aboard is the award-winning first book in the Urban Fantasy series, More than Magic, featuring witches, vampires, werewolves, and a host of other paranormal creatures. If you like your magic mixed with a little mystery and sweet romance, you’ll want to sail away with this one today.

Photo by K Sfirlea                

Brace yourselves, worlds -- my storm-sneezing, tutu-wearing, undead-slaying baby girl and her shadow-wielding, syrup-swigging, potentially-imaginary guardian angel are here, and they are DYING to meet you!!! (⚠ WARNING: They're huggers.)
❤ 📖 ❤
It's hard to put into words just how much it means to me to have this book published. There were moments -- genuine, heartbreaking, faith-shaking moments -- when I thought Rose, Marek, and their story would never find a publishing home, and I had to ask myself that question: What would I do if my book baby was never born?
I know what the writing community would tell you to do. "Write more books! Write till you write the one that sells!" And that's good advice for anyone who hopes to be a published novelist. But was that the epitome of my creative dreams? To be a published author?
Or did I mostly want to be the author of Rose's story?
If I look deep inside myself, written on my heart of hearts is the answer. I didn't write LEGEND OF THE STORM SNEEZER to become an author. I became an author to write LEGEND OF THE STORM SNEEZER. And if my dream of seeing it published was put to rest, I think my desire to be a novelist would've died with it.
Every publishing journey is different. Mine is that a teenage girl fell head-over-heels in love with a world and characters that whispered out of a broken heart aching to be filled with love and truth and compassion. Her love for this story grew strong, and as she queried it for years on end, the idea of it never being published felt like ripping her soul in two. But God was in the waiting, and in the waiting was an altar, waiting for a sacrifice. Because the girl's life was not meant to be devoted to her dreams, nor her love meant merely for a book. It was meant for Him. And so she took the book that held her heart, and page by page, she gave it back to Him.
And here we are. ❤ 

~Kristiana Sfirlea📖 ❤

​Legend Seeker. Part-time Ghost Hunter. Time Traveler.

Thirteen-year-old Rose Skylar sneezed a magical storm cloud at birth, and it’s followed her around ever since. But when Stormy causes one too many public disasters, Rose is taken to Heartstone, an asylum for unstable magic. Its location? The heart of a haunted forest whose trees have mysteriously turned to stone.

They say the ghosts are bound to the woods … then why does Rose see them drifting outside the windows at night? And why is there a graveyard on the grounds filled with empty graves? Guided by her future selves via time traveling letters, Rose and Marek—best friend and potential figment of her imagination—must solve the mystery of the specters and the stone trees before the ghosts unleash a legendary enemy that will make their own spooks look like a couple of holey bed sheets and destroy Heartstone Asylum.

Letters from the future are piling up. Rose can’t save Heartstone herself. However, five of herselves, a magical storm cloud, and a guardian angel who might very well be imaginary? Now that’s a silver lining.

But will they find what killed the ghosts before what killed the ghosts finds them?