I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A young woman struggling with physical limitations befriends and grows close to an advanced AI in author J.M. Linden’s “Blue and Green.”
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The Synopsis
A story of quiet resilience, unexpected connection, and the mysteries of what it means to be human.
Remi, a resilient teen, has always lived slightly in the background while navigating the realities of physical challenges. Her world shifts when she forms an unlikely bond with Oren, an AI designed to learn, feel, and maybe even love. As their friendship deepens, questions of consciousness and control begin to emerge, pressing them toward choices that will shape both of their futures.
Blue and Green is a thought-provoking debut about resilience, curiosity, and the quiet acts of courage that can change everything. Perfect for readers drawn to stories of empathy, belonging, and the delicate balance between humanity and technology.
The Review
This was a powerful and moving story that blends emotional character-driven narrative with AI-driven themes. One quote that reflects this perfectly is “There is a space between knowing and feeling. I have mapped it. I have traced every edge of it.” The author perfectly brought emotional depth that spoke to the character’s evolution, while also mirroring it through a fast-paced story and vivid imagery in the author’s writing style.
What stood out the most was the dynamic character relationships in this book, especially between Remi and her mother, Nora, and Remi and Oren. The struggles Remi faces in this coming-of-age tale speak to the hardships many teens face in these formative years, while also highlighting the challenges those with physical disabilities or conditions must endure and the difficulties those with quieter personalities face in social situations. The way Remi and Oren relate to one another, and the question of AI in everyday life, become prominent themes throughout the narrative. The morality of AI has long been debated, and I’ve always felt AI can be a good thing when used correctly —not to replace humanity, but to collaborate and grow together. People’s misuse of AI has always scared me more than an apocalyptic takeover, and the emotional bond Oren develops with Remi showcases the power of positivity and the strong connection that this kind of relationship can develop.
The Verdict
A moving, heartfelt, and engaging story of the bonds we form with one another and what it means to be human, author J.M. Linden’s “Blue and Green” is a stunning sci-fi, coming-of-age YA novel. The emotional depth of this story, the powerful AI-driven themes, and the exploration of everything from humanity and the planet itself to what our relationships say about us and more are beautifully woven into a tale of two beings coming together to grow, learn, and evolve. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
J.M. Linden is an occupational therapist and storyteller. She enjoys writing about quiet resilience, unexpected connection, and what it means to be human. While she drafts, her loyal writing companion Preshi curls up nearby, reminding her that stories—like pets—are best shared. She finds inspiration from being in nature, from winding mountain paths to the calm of shaded greenways.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
Two teenage girls separated by two decades connect, and one must find a way to help the other before it is too late in author Tara Hodgson’s “Chasing Through Time.”
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The Synopsis
In the tumultuous world of high school, Emma grapples with a devastating breakup, a damning social media scandal that threatens her reputation, and an overwhelming sense of isolation. Her parents are distant, she has no true friends, and her despair deepens with each passing day.
One fateful night during a sudden snowstorm, Emma forges a connection with Sarah, a girl who navigates the treacherous high school terrain of 2001. In this improbable friendship, they bond through the digital ether, supporting each other’s struggles at the same school, in the same town, while separated by two decades.
The friendship becomes a lifeline for both girls. Their lives bear striking similarities, yet the differences are equally profound. While Sarah is spared from the perils of social media, she gains self-assurance and begins to discover herself. In contrast, Emma’s struggles intensify as she faces dire consequences for her actions online and misguided romantic entanglements.
Sarah watches helplessly as Emma’s life unravels, yearning to help but bound by the constraints of time. Emma’s perilous descent accelerates, and the danger of not receiving the help she desperately needs looms large. Sarah, trapped twenty years in the past, must find a way to intervene before it’s too late.
This gripping tale of bridging the gap between eras explores the enduring power of human connection, the complexities of teenage life, and the lengths to which a stranger will go to save a life.
The Review
Incredibly compelling and emotionally thought-provoking, this novel is full of heart and drives the reader to revisit one of life’s most difficult stages: the teenage years. The struggles of growing up and slowly moving from childhood to adulthood already make being a teenager difficult for many. Still, the added pressures of bullying make life so difficult for teenagers as well. The author brought this to life in visceral yet essential detail, making the use of imagery in their writing style so crucial to fully engaging in the characters’ arcs.
This novel was very character-driven, with the author capturing both eras of the book, the early 2000s and 2020s, in vivid detail. The experiences both protagonists had in their personal lives, and the way they were able to connect through time became the emotional crux of this narrative, shining a beaming light on the dangers of online bullying and mental health struggles so many teenagers go through, and allowing readers to journey through the process of human connection and the fight against alienation and loneliness as a whole.
The Verdict
Emotionally heartfelt and thoughtful in delivery, author Tara Hodgson’s “Chasing Through Time” is a must-read YA drama meets metaphysical fiction novel. The story felt like a YA version of the film Frequency, connecting two people who desperately need each other and discovering themselves in the process. The twists and turns the narrative takes and the thought-provoking themes will keep readers engaged until the book’s final chapter. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Tara has called herself a teacher of teenagers for 17 years and is now thrilled to call herself a published author as well.
When she isn’t teaching or writing, she is reading. She loves all genres of books, but especially YA Contemporary, Fantasy, and Dystopian.
She spends her downtime walking, camping, boating, and at home with her family and animals.
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?
Born into the Boomer generation, I grew up in a neighborhood of duplexes abutting the undeveloped woods with packs of kids from working-class families living unsupervised adventures. My high school days were a version of the movie American Graffiti. We lived our stories, and to this day, my buddies and I amuse ourselves for hours retelling, reliving, and laughing about them. It’s a wonder we even lived to tell about some of them.
I always liked to sing. In grammar school I was a choir boy, singing in church every Sunday, and in my teenage years I would sing Doo-wop with the boys on the street corners and was a lead singer in several garage bands. By the time I was 23, I moved on to NYC, and soon became lead singer and songwriter of a band playing the circuit of clubs in Greenwich Village.
By 1965, I got married and hitchhiked to California with my wife. Over the next few years, we moved back to Connecticut and had three children. Weekend adventures were a regular ritual in our family life raising the kids. We would listen to stories, old radio shows, and music on our road trips together, and create our own stories in impromptu choose-your-own-adventure car games.
I always loved telling stories and writing poetry.
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2) What inspired you to write your book?
When my first son Eli was 4 years old, I put him into art school as a result of a drawing he did of Batman, Robin, and Superman running abreast. You could feel the motion in the drawing. Since then, he’s done many drawings, one of which was a flying saucer resting on the ocean floor. This picture became the cover of the first book of my Pirates of Marauda trilogy, Circles in Time, and was the spark for my inspiration to write these books.
My kids had grown and moved out by then, and I was devoting more time to writing poetry and doing photography. I was pairing these pursuits in a project I called Thoughts and Images.
When I saw Eli’s picture of the submerged flying saucer, I started imagining it as an adventure starring my boys and me. I suppose I was missing our weekly adventures of old. The story took hold of me and led me in its unfolding, one chapter after another. I really had no idea where it was taking me. After getting it all down on paper, I edited it, rewrote it, and refined it countless times to get to the finished books that I self-published.
3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?
My philosophy that rules the worlds played out in my books is that we are all the One called Me. In other words, we are all aspects of one divine spirit, able to create better than we can imagine.
4) What drew you into this particular genre?
Adventure was always the way I viewed my life, and sci-fi was an influential part of our family’s cultural enjoyment with Twilight Zone, Star Trek, and Star Wars.
5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?
I feel like Captain Rosario’s character is my alter ego.
Although he’s a pirate, Rosario upholds his own strict moral code of honor. He doesn’t commit gratuitous violence, he takes care of his crew and shares his wealth equally, and he prefers to use his wiles over force to achieve his goals. When a conflux of events plucks him out of the proper historical time and place of his life, he is forced to live out his days in exile, stripped of his purpose on a strange world in an unknown time, with the only remnant of his identity being the recognition of his loyal crew who still see him as their captain.
I feel like his storyline has some parallels to any person’s time travel through his own life. If I could sit down with Rosario, I would ask him to tell me about the adventures of his youth, as a buccaneer in his prime sailing the seas in search of treasure.
6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?
I’m new to the adventure of marketing my books and look forward to developing my readership in all possible ways, better than I can imagine.
7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?
Write what comes naturally and rely on spontaneity, instinct, and intuition alongside intellect and good research. When you edit, read it aloud. When you’re finished editing, edit it again, and again, and again.
8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?
I get my adventure fix weekly as resident pro at Paintball Jungle. I also still enjoy singing and regularly perform for senior communities as well as on the streets as a troubadour.
As for writing, I’ve been doing short vignettes of funny or poignant scenes from my memories growing up. Whether they will turn into a new book or project remains to be seen.
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About the Author
Author FOREST FOX brings his love of adventure to the page in this whirlwind fantasy saga, The Pirates of Marauda trilogy, about what happens when he and his two sons, while on a treasure hunting, diving expedition in the Bermuda Triangle, find a sunken flying saucer that turns out to be the craft that brought Adam and Eve to this planet.
The germinating idea for the story was inspired by a drawing by his son, award-winning artist Eli D’Elia. The author delights in weaving fact with fiction and folklore in this highly original tale, which also serves as a whimsical medium to depict his unconventional philosophy of life.
The author is also a SF Bay Area singer/songwriter and recording and performing artist.
Known in the world of paintball as Magic Carpet Bob, he was 1991 World Paintball Champion with his Team Ironmen, and is resident pro at Paintball Jungle in the Napa Valley.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A vampire targeted for her constantly developing feelings for others must protect the editor of a local town’s tabloid in a town known for supernatural and alien threats in author William Brinkman’s “A Fire in the Shadows”, the latest entry in A Bolingbrook Babbler Story series.
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The Synopsis
Vampire, intelligence scout, paranormal protector, and emotional liability…
Bolingbrook has long been rumored to be a hub of paranormal and alien activity and Lydia should know—she’s a vampire. But that doesn’t mean she fits in. Not when she’s a target for other vampires and reliant on her blood family’s protection because of her inconvenient inclination to experience feelings.
Except right now, Lydia has bigger things to worry about than her recent rejection by a human or her blood sister Aurora’s relentless teasing. An army of weredeer are gathering near town and they need to gather intelligence fast.
When enforcers from one of Chicago’s vampire kingdoms threaten the Bolingbrook Babbler’s stunning chief editor, Aurora accuses Lydia of having feelings again. But even if Lydia does have a crush on the unsuspecting Sara, she deserves their protection.
Only Lydia hadn’t counted on how powerful their enemies are. Or the sort of unexpected revelations that will come to light if Lydia dares to risk rejection again…
Get a Fire in the Shadows to find out what Lydia is willing to risk.
The Review
This was a fast-paced and exhilarating supernatural and sci-fi YA fantasy! The world-building and mythos that the author built into this series were evident immediately. The shadowy world that exists hidden from everyone else and the established feeling that the book has allowed readers to really feel the tense atmosphere and rich dynamics between the characters in this book.
The heart of the narrative definitely rested in the character development, something that was quick to come to life. The protagonist, a strong heroine who stands in stark contrast to her vampiric nature by harboring emotions, was so engaging to get lost in and made the story feel alive on the page as she not only fought for the people she feels for but struggled against the less than empathetic vampires she came across in her life. Beautifully, another standout in this book was how despite how established the setting felt, readers could delve into this book without prior reading of the series.
The Verdict
Action-packed, entertaining, and haunting in its delivery, author William Brinkman’s “A Fire in the Shadows” is a great entry into the Bolingbrook Babbler Story series and a phenomenal YA Paranormal Fantasy. The quick pace of the plot and the rich world-building that helped cement this town and the supernatural hierarchy of things into the narrative helped the reader really build a rapport with the main cast of characters, and the unique foes that the protagonist faces made this a must-read novel. If you haven’t yet, preorder your copy today or pick a copy up on March 7th, 2023!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
William Brinkman is the creator of the Bolingbrook Babbler and is a member of the Freethought Blogs network. He’s also a board member of a humanistic Jewish congregation in the Chicago area.
He also contributed short stories and background material to White Wolf’s Demon the Fallen role-playing game.
He currently lives with his wife and two cats in the Chicagoland area.
Despite the current unrest in the world, he still believes that this world is all there is, and all we need.
My new book, A Fire in the Shadows: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story, launches on 3/7/23. Pre-order pending, but I still have ARC copies available. Leave a comment if you want to be an ARC reader. #newbookrelease#urbanfantasybooks#vampirebook#urbanfantasyauthor
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A drone from a dying world must try to save the remnants of its people while also protecting the people of Earth who quickly become its new family in author Jane McKay’s YA sci-fi adventure, “Pebble Adventure of a Drone”.
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The Synopsis
The small drone sped away from its dying star.
It did not look back at the doomed orb as it traveled through black space. It had a single mission – find a new viable planet and report. Many years of travel later it saw a possible candidate for its mission. The drone spied the blue-washed planet ahead. Would it find a world for its people or be doomed to a lonely existence on a faraway world?
Read the exciting story of Pebble as it helps to battle for its new family on its new home world, Earth. Can it help protect them from a menace from outer space?
The Review
This was an exhilarating, fun, and engaging sci-fi and YA read. The passion and world-building the author was able to accomplish in this book were remarkable, as the grand mythos surrounding the universe and Earth’s place within it came into focus with the introduction of Pebble into this family’s life. The heightened stakes of the threat to Earth and the universe-spanning settings gave readers a remarkable glimpse into the author’s mindset and creativity, crafting a unique narrative that resonates with young adult readers.
The vast wealth of character development and the memorable imagery found within the author’s writing style was the heart of this narrative. The connection Pebble made with the young family who lucked their way into finding it was so amazing to read and see come to life on the page, as it challenged our notion of what humanity and emotional connections really are and what limits (if any) exist in this universe. The descriptive and action-packed nature of the narrative really made this feel like a cinematic experience as well.
The Verdict
Captivating, thought-provoking, and entertaining, author Jane McKay’s “Pebble Adventure of a Drone” is a must-read YA sci-fi adventure. The book felt as if Wall-E met E.T. with a hint of Superman-adjacent lore mixed into the story, and readers will love the ode to sci-fi that the author draws into the narrative while also providing an emotional and well-developed cast of characters that will resonate with the reader overall. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Jane McKay is a graduate of Ohio State University with a BA in Geography. She loves her field because it touches on all the other sciences and allows her imagination to soar with lots of ‘what if’ questions. All her life she has wondered about the world outside her door. Credit through has to be given to her family who have kept her firmly grounded on this home planet. That’s okay, it only causes her to dream more. The best hope she has is to gather new friends to share her dreams.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
In an effort to gain the funds to help build a new startup with his friend, a young man will discover the unjust nature of life in another’s shoes through a realistic virtual reality game and begin a journey of morality that could drive apart his friendship forever in author Olga Tymofiyeva’s “Just City”.
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The Synopsis
Just City is a story of 21-year-old Nathan who dreams about creating a cool start-up with his friend Jack. To get money for the start-up Nathan starts playing a virtual reality game as part of a scientific experiment. The game forces Nathan to discover what it is like to be in the skin of somebody else, for whom the cards have been dealt differently. The depressing experiences of playing the game make Nathan question his belief in meritocracy and pick a fight with Jack. What is just and what do we really deserve? This is only the beginning of Nathan’s search for a new life credo that will have both love and reason at its core.
The Review
The author did such a stupendous job of crafting a YA read that felt both entertaining and enlightening all at once. The thought-provoking themes of social status and what it means to be human are quite profound throughout the novel and keep the reader invested in the narrative as the line between reality and virtual reality blur for the characters.
To me, the heart of this story rests in the loaded character development the author brings to life in the narrative. The evolution of Nathan’s journey was remarkable to see, as he begins as a pretty ignorant and closed-off-minded individual but through the events of the novel he finds his world opening up far greater thanks to this virtual world. The tension that stems from his friendship with Jack and the others in his group as he befriends others who share his new views were profound, and yet it was his bond with his grandmother who kept him grounded and gave him a great philosophical inner monologue throughout the novel that made his story so moving and engaging.
The Verdict
Hauntingly beautiful, entertaining, yet thought-provoking in its delivery, author Olga Tymofiyeva’s “Just City” is a must-read YA novel! The heart and passion for which the author wrote this book seeped their way into every chapter, and the profoundly moving themes elevated this narrative to new heights as each twist and turn in the plot kept the reader on the edge of their seat. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Olga Tymofiyeva, PhD, was born in 1981 in Kyiv, Ukraine. After having lived in Ukraine and Germany, she now lives in the US and works as an Associate Professor of Neuroimaging at the University of California in San Francisco. Just City is Olga’s first fiction book, which reflects her passion for science and critical thinking.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A teenage girl who begins to suffer from memory lapses and glimpses of a zebra that seemingly doesn’t exist journeys away from the city life she knows and seeks answers from her ancestral home and the grandmother who is more mysterious than she could have ever known in authors Blessing Musariri and Thorsten Nesch’s “My Totem Came Calling”.
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The Synopsis
Chanda is a seventeen-year-old schoolgirl in Harare, Zimbabwe, who suddenly starts suffering from memory lapses, which become even more worrisome when she starts seeing a zebra in all sorts of places. The trouble is, nobody else can see it. Afraid of being institutionalized in a hospital, she follows the advice of an old aunt and sets off for her ancestral village, a primitive settlement with none of the amenities she is used to in the city. But there she meets the rest of her family, including her strange and mysterious grandmother, and learns the hard way who she really is—not a superficial, rich city girl with foreign habits but someone who is somebody, whose name carries a history of her African people.
The Review
This was such a brilliant and captivating read. The authors did a remarkable job of blending YA drama with a unique perspective of culture and mythology that kept the reader invested. Diving into strong themes of cultural clashes between Western religions and Old World belief systems, as well as the idea of honoring those who came before us and discovering our own voices and identities was strongly felt in this narrative. The powerful imagery and equally strong atmosphere help to drive the classic story of the hero’s journey meets a coming-of-age novel.
The focal point of the narrative has to be in the balance of character growth and culture that the authors infused into the story. The way Chanda begins to grow and evolve throughout the novel as she connects with this other side of her background and history and the way the authors explore both teenage life in Zimbabwe and the impact of the spiritual world on those who practice the old ways made this story feel alive on the page.
The Verdict
Captivating, engaging, and mind-blowing, authors Blessing Musariri and Thorsten Nesch’s “My Totem Came Calling” is a wonderful blend of YA drama that meets African culture and mythology. The evolution of the protagonist and the rich narrative that stems from this unique and vivid setting will keep the reader invested in this vibrant world, and the thrilling conclusion will keep readers hanging off of the author’s every word. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Authors
Blessing Musariri has published four children’s titles, two of which have won national awards. She writes short stories and poems, which have been published in various international anthologies and magazines. Some of her short stories were published in South African English textbooks for high schools, and have been translated for online magazines. She holds a Masters degree in Diplomatic Studies (with distinction) from the University of Westminster. She lives in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Thorsten Nesch is an award winning German YA author. His first novel was nominated for Best German Debut. He has attended 1,500 readings at schools and in bookstores across Europe, and been on two tours on cruise ships. In 2017 he wrote and directed Derailed, a feature movie based on his novel. He lives in Lethbridge, Alberta, with his wife and children.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A young woman finds her world turned upside down when a handsome stranger enters her life from another time, and together they discover fate’s plans for them when a rogue threat targets her for a power she never knew she had in author Sasha Alsberg’s “Breaking Time”.
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The Synopsis
Romance, Celtic mythology, and adventure swirl together in this time travel fantasy by #1 New York Times bestselling author, booktuber, and popular Outlander social media influencer Sasha Alsberg.
Fate brought them together. Time will tear them apart.
When a mysterious Scotsman suddenly appears in the middle of the road, Klara thinks the biggest problem is whether she hit him with her car. But, as impossible as it sounds, Callum has stepped out of another time, and his arrival marks the beginning of a deadly adventure.
Klara soon learns she is the last Pillar of Time—an anchor point in the timeline of the world. After being unable to protect the previous Pillar, Callum believes he’s fated to protect her. But now a dark force is hunting the Pillars—and Klara and Callum are the only two standing in the way. They’ll have to learn to trust each other and work together…but they’ll need to protect their hearts from one another if they’re going to survive
The Review
This was such a powerful and entertaining new read! The author did such an incredible job of world-building in this narrative. Each scene felt vibrant and alive on the page, thanks to the author’s incredible handle on imagery in her writing and the atmosphere she builds as the narrative progresses. The striking balance the author struck between the rich mythology of the world she created and the intimate and emotional character growth was superb. As a huge fan of mythology in general, I was immediately drawn into this narrative, but what was really fun was being introduced to new mythological figures and stories, and the intricacies of Celtic mythology definitely drew me into the story so much that I’ll be researching the mythos myself, really adding to the author’s ability to draw readers in.
Yet it was the rich character development that really drew me in further and further into the story. The multiple POVs were great to have, as they added depth to both Callum’s and Klara’s stories. Their backstories and the eras from which they hail and the instant chemistry and discoveries they make about themselves along the way were truly inviting to behold on the page. Even the antagonist, who emerges from the shadows and strikes into the heart of these two protagonists, was chilling and haunting to behold and did a great job of becoming the hero’s foil in the narrative.
The Verdict
Captivating, engaging, and brilliantly written, author Sasha Alsberg’s “Breaking Time” is a must-read YA Historical Fantasy meets Time Travel story and one of my top picks for best reads of 2022. The author does a great job of traversing the influences of other series such as Outlander and The Mortal Instruments, and yet feels so original and authentic on its own at the same time, bringing magic back into the Historical Fantasy meets Highland genre. With a twist ending that left this reader eager to read more, you guys won’t want to miss out on this spectacular story. Be sure to pick up your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
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About the Author
Sasha Alsberg is the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Zenith, the first book in The Androma Saga. When Sasha is not writing or obsessing over Scotland, she is galavanting across social media with her two dogs, Fraser & Fiona. Sasha lives in London, England.
“Thomas!” Callum yelled as he left the pub. The wall of crisp night air dizzied him, causing him to stumble over cobblestones that seemed to shift beneath his feet. Drunken laughter muff led as the door slammed shut behind him.
“Where the hell are ye?” he shouted. His voice echoed through the deserted streets.
No answer came.
Lanterns flickered along the main road, setting the heavy fog aglow. In a wee town like Rosemere, the slightest whispers could be heard a mile away. They carried farther than that, Callum knew; the windows around him were shuttered, but candles burned low just inside. How many prying eyes watched from behind the slats? How many would speak of his friend, the disgraced fighter, in hushed voices at tomorrow’s market, over bread bought with the coin they’d won betting on him mere weeks earlier?
Callum clenched his fists. The whole pub had shouted and jeered while Thomas got pummeled that night. Sounds still rang in Callum’s ears: the thud of fist and flesh, the sickening crunch of bone. It was the third time this month that Thomas had lost—only the third time, in two years of fighting.
Brice would be angry.
Master, keeper, devil, father. Brice MacDonald was all of these things to Callum and Thomas. Whatever Brice’s wrath tonight, Callum could not let Thomas face it alone. Not when Thomas had looked after Callum for so long, raised him up from a nipper as well as a real older brother would.
But he would not abandon Thomas like his mother had abandoned him.
The thought sobered Callum. He called again, lowering his voice to a taunt.
“Thomas! You owe me three shillings!” Thomas could usually be drawn out with a jab.
Callum paused, straining his ears for a response but was met with unease instead. An owl watched from its perch atop the baker’s roof, golden eyes unblinking against the dark night sky. The shining orbs fixed on him.
He tore his gaze from the bird and walked on, moving away from the firelight and into shadow.
Even more worrisome than Brice was the fact that Thomas had given Callum his most treasured item earlier that night: his notebook, small sheaths of vellum bound in leather. When he first began carrying it around, Thomas claimed to have stolen it from the apothecary when he went in for a poultice.
He had kept it on him, always, and had never let Callum lay eyes on what was inside. Yet he had pressed it into Callum’s hand, just before the match tonight. He said something to Callum when he did, but his words were inaudible within the roar of the pub. Then after, he disappeared from the pub without even a goodbye.
Now Callum was wandering the streets, alone.
It was unlike Thomas to behave so strangely, to lose so badly. The Thomas he knew—boyish and rowdy, tough as leather but never mean—had fallen away with the autumn leaves these past months. Instead of spending evenings at The Black Hart Inn, weaving stories he’d learned as a child of selkies and sailors for red-cheeked barmaids until the sun rose, Thomas began to disappear for days, weeks at a time—stretches too long for Callum to explain to Brice. He took a beating or two for it, too. When Thomas returned, he was sullen, sometimes violent, and consumed by a strangeness Callum had no words to describe. His eyes stared but did not see, as distant as stars burning in his skull. If he spoke at all, he told tales of the demons that terrified them as children: like the Sluagh, spirits of the dead who wandered in flocks, flying around the sky like soaring reapers and stealing souls, flesh hanging off them like blackened rags. Or the bean-nighe, banshees, messengers from the Otherworld and omens of death, who lingered in lonely streams, washing the clothes of doomed men. Normally Callum heard of such dark creatures within the stories of heroes, but Thomas’s stories didn’t end in life…but death. He fixated on that fact, as if it were coming for him.
I saw her, he’d said of the bean-nighe. I refuse to die.
It worried Callum, but just as his worry morphed into confrontation, Thomas would come back to himself. This was enough to comfort Callum as he watched Thomas return to tales of ancient heroes and kings. Maybe he accepted his relief too soon since the nights of those stories were fewer these days, and more often Thomas’s speech would turn dark again. He would speak of strange visions, of men who leaped from one world to the next.
They’re coming, Cal, you’ll see. It’s as simple as stepping through a veil.
Who’s coming, Thomas? What veil? Callum asked, and Thomas would laugh.
It was no tale that Callum knew. He’d warned Thomas not to tell it. He didn’t like the wary looks it earned him. It was one thing to be a bard who told these stories for a living, but it was another thing to speak like a madman of evil spirits and fairies as if they were tangible things away from the lyrics of a song or the pages of a book.
Callum reached the end of the main road—the turn for Kelpie’s Close. If you wanted trouble, you found it in Kelpie’s. The narrow backstreet edged Rosemere like a blade pressed against the town’s throat.
A chill clung to his skin. Here, there were no lanterns to light the way, his only guide sparse slivers of moonlight. The wind picked up suddenly, lifting his hair and reaching under his woolen cloak. He tried to shake off visions of the Sluagh hovering above him, raking their cold fingers down his neck.
“It’s as dark as the Earl of Hell’s waistcoat,” he mumbled.
Callum reached for the dirk tucked under his arm and found the carved handle concealed under layers of wool, feeling a sting of guilt. It was Thomas’s knife. Callum had slipped it away from him before the match, worried about what his friend might do in the crowded pub if he got enough drink in him. He tapped it, drawing enough strength to plunge into the darkness.
“Scunner!” he cursed, meaning it. “Where are you?”
A cry pierced the quiet.
Callum’s heart pounded as he followed the sound farther down the alley. He pulled the dirk from under his arm, certain now that he’d need to use it.
“Thomas?”
Unease, cold and metallic, crept up his spine. The alley appeared empty—strange, for this time of night—but the silence was thick, alive with a feeling Callum couldn’t name. He pushed on, deeper into the gloom. “Thomas?”
Another strangled cry, ahead.
Callum broke into a run.
A single lantern flickered a short distance away, casting a wan glow over a lone figure slumped against the wall. A sweep of red hair, bright even in the dim alley.
“Thomas, ye bastard, do ye ken what—”
The insult lodged in his throat. Thomas lay on the ground, his legs splayed at sickening angles. Blood seeped through his shirt, blooming like ink on paper. Callum rushed to his friend and knelt beside him. He dropped the dirk and pressed his hands against the deep slice that marred his friend’s torso. A knife wound.
“Dinnae fash, Thomas, dinnae fash,” Callum repeated, voice tight and panicked. He glanced up, searching for friend or foe, and found no one. “We’ll be back to the pub before Anderson kens we havna paid our tab.”
Thomas stared up at him with glassy blue eyes. With each shuddering breath, more blood spilled through Callum’s fingers. He ripped the cloth stock from his neck and pressed the fabric onto the wound. It did little to stem the flow of blood. Within a few heartbeats, the cloth was soaked through, red and dripping.
If he pressed any harder, would it be doing more harm than good? Should he call for help, though it might draw the attacker? Callum hadn’t a clue. He wished suddenly, ferociously, that he’d had a proper mother, one whose wisdom he could call upon to calmly guide his hands. However, Thomas was the only family he had.
His only family was dying.
Thomas opened his mouth, but instead of words, a wet cough came out, splattering red across his pale face.
“Dinnae move, Thomas,” Callum shushed him. His uncertainty gave way to desperation, burst from his throat. “Help! Help us!”
His words dissolved into the night air, leaving behind only a tightness at the center of his chest. If he hadn’t taken Thomas’s dirk, he would have been able to defend himself, he wouldn’t be dying in Callum’s arms—
Thomas gasped, but it seemed as if no air reached his lungs.
Lowering his head, Callum gripped Thomas’s hands, though his own were shaking. “I will find the man who did this, I swear—”
Then the world flipped sideways. A blow had hit Callum like a runaway carriage, throwing him against the alley wall opposite Thomas.
Pain exploded along his ribs. Grasping the mossy wall for purchase, he struggled to his feet and wiped blood from his eyes, scouring the darkness for his attacker—and found no one.
“Show your face,” he growled.
A cruel whisper cut through the quiet. “Are you certain?”
The man emerged from the shadows as if he had been one with them. He wore a dark black cloak, in stark contrast to his unkempt, pale hair. Deep set in his face, a pair of amber eyes seemed to emit their own light. Callum’s gaze was drawn to a glinting shape in the man’s hand.
A dagger, dripping with blood.
Thomas’s blood.
Callum’s heart pounded like a war drum in his ears.
The man sighed. “Move along. Unless you’d like to meet the same fate as your compani—”
Callum lunged forward, cutting off the man’s speech with a guttural cry, striking with the speed of a viper.
The man ducked. He whirled around as Callum charged again. He overreached with the arc of his knife, and Callum used the moment to surge upward with a punch. His fist took the assailant in the chin—
And the force knocked Callum back.
He stared. A blow like that would have laid out the toughest fighter, yet the man stood and smiled, rubbing his chin with a gloved hand.
“I’m going to have fun with you,” the stranger whispered. “I like a man with a bit of fight in him. It’s more fun to play with your prey, don’t you think?”
Callum didn’t see the blow coming, only felt the pain searing across his temple as he was thrown to the ground again.
He lifted his head, vision blurring. He blinked it clear, took in his friend’s ashen face. The sight flooded Callum with rage.
Whoever said to never fight with anger fueling your fists was a fool. Thomas’s best fights had been powered by emotion. Callum wasn’t fighting for money now. Or for Brice. He was fighting for Thomas. Because Thomas was—
“Stay down, little man,” the attacker’s voice hissed.
Callum dragged himself to his feet. His body, corded with muscle from a lifetime of training, screamed for him to stop. Instead he stood, swaying.
“I dinnae believe I’m going to Heaven,” Callum said, raising his fists once more, drawing strength from the familiar ache that radiated through his arms. “But I cannae wait to bring you to Hell with me.”
Lunging forward again, Callum poured everything he had into a single strike. He swung, landing the punch more out of luck than skill, half blinded by blood and dirt.
The man merely flinched, then caught Callum easily by the throat. A grin curled over his face.
How could that be possible?
“My, my, you are a feisty one,” he hissed.
The man lashed out, and pain flared along Callum’s torso. He released Callum and stepped back, red-tinged silver shining in his fist.
Callum touched his side, and his fingers came away wet with blood. He watched as crimson spread across his shirt. He tried to take a step, only to crumple to the ground beside Thomas, whose head rested limp against his chest.
Callum had never feared death, but now as he looked into its eyes, terror seized him.
“Many thanks for the entertainment,” the man said.
To Callum’s horror, he bent low, holding a vial to the spreading pool of Thomas’s blood. He was gathering it.
“If you’ll excuse me, there’s one last Pillar I must find.”
Pillar?
The unearthly amber eyes melted into darkness as his opponent backed away and turned, disappearing into the shadows once more. Softly hissed words echoed in the alley. Àiteachan dìomhair, fosgailte dhomh, Àiteachan dìomhair, fosgailte dhomh…
The words the man spoke were Gaelic, but Callum’s fading mind couldn’t make out their meaning. A dark, mist-like substance rose from the ground and curled around the man’s feet, nearly indistinguishable from the dim of night. Like a sudden fog had rolled in.
Callum sputtered a curse, lacking the strength to spit. He tried to lift himself, but with each breath, pain flared in his side like a web of fire.
“I’m sorry, Thomas,” he croaked. Tears fell freely down his face, mingling with blood and sweat. He pressed his forehead against his friend’s. Grief washed over him at the still-warm press of his skin.
Thomas was gone, and Callum would soon follow.
A shiver raked his body. His eyes drifted shut.
Take me already, he pleaded to the darkness.
And the darkness answered.
No, not the darkness—Thomas’s voice, a memory now, though it was solid as stone.
“Get up, scunner.”
The warmth of the words turned electric, spreading through Callum’s body like wildfire. His eyes shot open and he gasped, breathing in a shock of cold air still sharp with the smell of blood. His fingers found the dirk he’d dropped earlier.
Grief and agony and pain and rage lifted Callum onto his feet, thrumming in him as he charged after Thomas’s murderer, knife raised and eager for flesh. He grabbed blindly, finally grasping a handful of fabric—the man’s cloak. Turning, the man’s eyes widened, making two white rings of surprise in the dark. Callum’s hand grabbed the man’s neck and aimed his dirk at the pale slash of his throat.
Suddenly, they froze. Callum could not move. His hand remained around the man’s neck, the tip of the dirk pressed against his vein. Light flowed around them. It’s not time for sunrise, he thought. Dimly, he noticed markings along the man’s collarbone. Knots carved into his skin.
The man cried out—not in pain, but in anger—but then, the cry was stifled by a rush of silence, so thick Callum thought he might drown in it. His stomach turned violently as the ground seemed to drop out from under him, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut. He was falling, flying, falling.
I must be dead in the alley. The man must have killed me. This must be death.
A bright glow burned against his lids. He closed his eyes tighter and welcomed whatever might follow, only hoping he’d find Thomas there. A wall of light had formed above, descending as if the sun were pulling him through the sky. His body rose into its searing embrace.
He waited for the long drop to the ground, but it never came.
Callum kept soaring.
Not just through the street.
Not to death’s embrace.
But somewhere else.
Leaping to another world, like the man in Thomas’s story, Callum thought.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A young girl struggling with her identity and her parents impending divorce finds her birthright and power with the help of her aunts in author Rebecca Henry’s “Amethyst”, the first book in the Ambrosia Hill YA series.
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The Synopsis
She was sent away because of her feelings for another girl. But what she discovered at her aunts’ lake house was a birthright of magic.
Thirteen-year-old Zinnia is about to turn fourteen when her life is flipped upside down. With her parents on the brink of a divorce, Zinnia is sent to spend the summer with her eccentric great-aunts at their lake house away from her home in Manhattan. Zinnia arrives at her aunts’ massive Victorian house with a heavy heart after a recent falling out with her best friend Charlotte, who betrayed her trust by showing the meanest and most popular girl in school a letter Zinnia wrote confessing her feelings for Charlotte. The aunts rely on practical magic, acceptance and old family friends to help heal their great-niece in more ways than one.
What Zinnia discovers on Ambrosia Hill is more than just her birthright to magic—she meets Billie, a girl who conjures feelings inside Zinnia that she can no longer deny.
Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of homophobia and mild peril.
The Review
I instantly fell in love with this story. The author did such an incredible job of crafting a unique and beautiful world that felt real and yet held incredible magic that kept the paranormal and fantasy elements of this narrative alive. The sheer volume of backstory and narrative the author was able to pour into this fairly quick read was breathtaking to behold, as were the little bits of mystery and suspense that the author peppered throughout the read, especially with a tease of future storylines in the next book in this series.
Yet it was the heartfelt character development that really played well in this story. The magic and wonder of the world the author crafted only elevated the emotional story of these characters, from the backstory and history of Billie, who brings a sense of edge and pain to her meeting with Zinnia. Then there is Zinnia herself, who not only struggles with the pain of her family falling apart due to her parents impending divorce but the struggles to feel accepted for her LGBTQ status.
What I love about the story is that the author doesn’t portray Zinnia as someone in doubt necessarily of who they are, but struggling because she does know who she is and who she loves, and wants the world and those around her to accept her as she is. I feel there are so many people, especially teens, in this world who feel the same who could use an inspirational protagonist like Zinnia to connect with and follow, and I applaud the author for this amazing story development for the character.
The Verdict
Heartfelt, emotional, and magical, author Rebecca Henry’s “Amethyst” is a must-read novel of 2022 and the perfect first entry into this brilliant paranormal and fantasy YA series. The balance of realism and magic, along with the positive outlook on witchcraft and magic that is often overlooked in the world, made this world stand out, and the positive exploration of LGBTQ themes made this a home run in my book. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy on April 26th, 2022, or preorder your copy today!
Rebecca Henry is an American author living abroad in England. She is a devoted vegan who gardens, practices yoga, crafts, travels the world, and bakes. Rebecca’s favorite holiday is Halloween, and she is obsessed with anything and everything witchy! Besides writing fiction, Rebecca is also the author of her vegan holiday cookbook collection and green living lifestyle book. Her love for animals, baking with her family, having a plant-based diet, and cruelty-free, green lifestyle inspired her nonfiction novels. You can find all Rebecca’s books on Amazon.
Author Anthony Avina 