Tag: blog for book reviews

Monthly Features – April 2026

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SETTUP by TK Thoits

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Respected neurologist and researcher Stella Murray was confident the FDA would approve the experimental medication based on its demonstrated superior efficacy. Knowing a serious side effect would not derail the approval process, she reports that a patient had a significant reaction to the investigational drug.

Shortly thereafter, Grand Rapids Detective Troy Evans is called to investigate the suspicious death of a Site Monitor who, he learns, worked with Murray. Evans asks Murray to educate him on the unfamiliar world of medical research. She discloses that conducting investigational drug studies has become a multibillion-dollar industry, with power brokers providing more oversight than the government.

When Murray informs Evans that a second Site Monitor has been killed, they team up to take down the corruption that is mercilessly burying unwelcome researchers and results of a promising drug trial.

Summary: Overall,  SETTUP is a fast, detail-heavy medical thriller that starts in the ER and expands into a layered story involving clinical trials, corporate pressure, and a criminal subplot. The medical realism is strong, and the tension builds as the threads begin to connect. The tone can shift a bit—especially with the assassin storyline—but it adds a darker, more unsettling edge. Best for readers who like medical dramas with conspiracy elements and multiple POVs rather than a single, straightforward narrative. 

See the full review here: SETTUP
Purchase here

 

The Knight’s Last Stand by Bear Pardun

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: In a world where gods walk among mortals and divine tyranny crushes the innocent, one knight’s investigation into ritual murders uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to consume an entire city. Commander Victus Andreas discovers that the seemingly random cult killings in Lindly are part of a far darker plan—the dark elven goddess Lestar seeks to harvest the souls of every citizen to feed her master’s insatiable hunger for power.
When Victus returns from his annual pilgrimage to find his city overrun by disguised dark elves posing as holy inquisitors, he must rally a small band of loyal soldiers, his adopted son Aris, and unlikely allies to stand against overwhelming odds. As ancient magic tears through the city and divine politics threaten to destroy everything he’s sworn to protect, Victus faces an impossible choice: save his people or preserve his own soul.
With breathtaking battles, complex characters wrestling with duty and honor, and a magic system that explores the cost of power, Battle of Lindly launches an epic fantasy series that challenges the very nature of divine authority. In Bear Pardun’s richly imagined world, heroes are forged not by destiny, but by the courage to defy gods themselves.

Summary:  Overall, I found this book to be a gritty, sincere fantasy that leans hard into classic themes of honor, sacrifice, and legacy. The writing had an emotional core — especially the father-son relationship and the relentless sense of duty.  If you like fantasy that is sincere about honor, duty, and sacrifice, then this book could be for you. 

See the full review here: The Knight’s Last Stand
Purchase here

 

Review: Silence Beneath Fire by Magda Mizzi

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Synopsis:

Silence can heal. Or it can be where danger learns your name.

Annie thought she had saved Jude from his past. But the world around them has fallen into a quiet that feels wrong—too still, too watchful. As she tries to protect what remains of him, guilt follows her for everything he’s endured, and every choice she makes could cost them both.

Moving through hostile territory, they uncover secrets, betrayals, and a threat years in the making. From the ruins of Kooragang to experiments gone terribly wrong, survival will demand more than courage. It will demand trust.

But trust has a price.

As danger closes in, Annie and Jude must rely on each other in ways that strip away fear, pretence, and the distance they’ve kept between them. What begins as a fight to survive becomes something deeper—a reckoning that will redefine loyalty, love, and what it truly means to be human.

Favorite Lines:

“You don’t have to apologize…Not for being alive.”

“That kind of love didn’t flinch. It held on through silence, through fear, through ever kind of ruin. She remembered thinking, even back then, that maybe she wanted something like that—not the drama, not the war-torn madness, but the truth of it. The knowing. Someone who saw her, really saw her, and didn’t look away.”

“She wanted a love that endured fire—and came back whole.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

From the first few pages, you’re dealing with a world where things have gone very, very wrong—corporate experimentation, engineered children, a virus that’s reshaped humanity into something violent and unrecognizable. And instead of slowly explaining it all, the story just trusts you to catch up. It works more often than not.

At the center is Jude, though it takes a minute to fully understand what that means. He’s not just a survivor. He’s something altered. Enhanced, maybe. Damaged, definitely. The book slowly pulls that apart instead of dumping it on you all at once, which keeps him interesting even when the plot starts moving fast.

Annie, on the other hand, is the anchor. She’s practical, sharp, and just grounded enough to keep the story from drifting too far into the sci-fi side of things. The dynamic between them is probably the strongest part of the book. There’s history there, but also a lot unsaid. You feel it more in what they avoid than what they actually talk about.

The pacing is quick, but not careless. There’s a constant sense of movement—walking, hiding, running, surviving—and it gives the book this restless energy. Even the quieter scenes, like the campsite conversations, don’t really feel safe. They feel temporary. Like something is always about to go wrong. And usually it does.

The infected—VFPs—aren’t exactly reinventing the genre, but they don’t need to. They’re effective because the story doesn’t overcomplicate them. They’re fast, violent, and unpredictable. That’s enough. The real tension comes from everything around them: the collapsing infrastructure, the isolation, and especially the people who are still trying to control what’s left of the world.

That’s where the book starts to open up.

The “Chimera” concept adds another layer that pushes this beyond a straightforward survival story. Jude isn’t just surviving the virus—he’s tied to its origin in a way that feels personal and unsettling. The reveal isn’t subtle, but it lands because of how it reframes everything you’ve already seen.

There’s also a noticeable shift once they reach the island. Up until then, it feels like a survival story with emotional undercurrents. After that, it becomes something heavier. Trust, fear, community, and how quickly all of that can collapse. The sequence there is chaotic in a way that feels intentional. You don’t get clean resolutions. You get panic, mistakes, and consequences.

Ultimately, it is very clear that this is a world where no one really gets to rest.

Summary:

Overall, this is a fast-moving post-apocalyptic survival story with strong character dynamics and a sci-fi edge, following two survivors navigating a virus-ravaged world while uncovering a deeper conspiracy tied to one of them. Happy reading!

Check out Silence Beneath Fire here!

 

Review: The Brighter the Light, The Darker the Shadow by Verlin Darrow

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Synopsis:

Kade Tobin needs every bit of his wisdom as the leader of a rural spiritual community to remain true to his core values as murders pile up around him. Drawn into helping to solve the mystery by a sheriff’s detective, Kade sorts through the array of quirky seekers on the community’s land, only to end up as the defendant in a suspense-filled trial. He struggles to maintain a stance of kindness while he endures bullies in the jail, a vengeful DA, and the pending judgment of twelve strangers. As the prosecution parades witness after witness, the mounting evidence against Kade becomes alarmingly damning. If he were a juror, Kade believes he might vote to convict himself at this stage of his trial. But he also trusts the universe. Kade remains confident that a force greater than himself–and the justice system–has other plans for him. Or does it?

Favorite Lines:

“Most of us humans are burdened by the tyranny of continuity—the ongoing, sequential storylines we feel compelled to construct. What about directly experiencing life—letting it tell us about itself?”

“The world isn’t going to adapt to suit us. We need to transform ourselves to match it as best as we can in order to step away from an adversarial relationship with it.”

“The truth is what matters…If telling it brings up feelings for me, it’s my job to manage those internally. I’ve found that when I avoid something uncomfortable, it just sets up a day of reckoning. It usually ends up worse than whatever the original experience would’ve been.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one opens in a way that feels deceptively calm. A man, his dog, a quiet morning in a spiritual community tucked into the Santa Cruz mountains. Then there’s a body. And just like that, whatever sense of peace existed gets pulled apart.

What makes this book interesting isn’t really the murder itself. It’s the lens we’re forced to look through. Kade Tobin isn’t your typical protagonist. He’s not scrambling, panicking, or even especially reactive. He’s… observing. Processing. Filtering everything through this spiritual framework that’s supposed to keep him grounded, even when something objectively horrific is sitting a few feet away.

And honestly, that tension is the most compelling part of the book. There’s this constant push and pull between detachment and reality. Kade wants to “experience everything fully,” but when faced with something truly brutal, he flinches like anyone else. That contradiction feels very human, even if the surrounding philosophy sometimes drifts into abstract territory.

The community itself is where things really start to take shape. The Brethren of Congruence is filled with people who are, for lack of a better word, messy. Not in a dramatic, over-the-top way, but in a very believable one. You’ve got people running from past lives, people trying to fix themselves, people who probably shouldn’t be living in a secluded group dynamic at all. The interviews with each member are where the book slows down, but also where it gains texture.

Some of those conversations feel intentionally frustrating. Characters dodge questions, spiral into philosophy, or fixate on things that seem completely irrelevant to a murder investigation. At first it reads like distraction, but over time it starts to feel more like a point. These people don’t operate on the same wavelength as the detective, and that disconnect creates a kind of quiet friction throughout the story.

Detective Cullen is a solid counterbalance. He’s grounded, practical, and increasingly irritated by everything he’s dealing with. His skepticism gives the story structure when it threatens to drift too far into introspection. The dynamic between him and Kade works because neither fully respects the other’s worldview, but they still need each other to move forward.

This is not a traditional mystery. If you’re expecting tight plotting and constant forward momentum, this might feel slow. The narrative is more interested in ideas, personalities, and internal dialogue than in building suspense in a conventional way.

That said, there’s something quietly effective about how it all unfolds. The sense that something is off, not just with the crime but with the people around it, lingers in the background. And the deeper you get into the community, the less certain everything feels.

It’s less about solving a murder and more about understanding the environment it happened in.

Summary:

Overall, this is a slow-burn, character-driven mystery set inside a secluded spiritual community. The story leans heavily into philosophy, interpersonal dynamics, and psychological nuance rather than fast-paced plot. Readers who enjoy introspective or philosophical fiction that feature more character studies than action may enjoy this book. Happy reading!

Check out The Brighter the Light, The Darker the Shadow here!

 

Review: A Friend for Hope by Amie White with Illustrations by Olena Oprich

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Synopsis:

Nine-year-old Zoe Meadows is the new kid in Ivy Creek. For homeschooled Zoe, every day starts the same: breakfast, then to the living room where Miss Ellis awaits. Only today, Zoe can’t focus—not when she notices neighborhood children playing outside, children she’s yet to meet. Watching all this unfold, Zoe’s parents decide it’s time for a companion—the furry kind, to be precise.

Everything changes when Zoe meets Hope at the dog shelter for the first time. The two girls form an inseparable bond over the following months and find in each other the one thing they both craved for a long, long time: a forever friend.

Favorite Lines:

“Zoe gazed into the dog’s warm, glossy eyes. Two quiet hearts beating the same.”

“She’s a senior, but she still has plenty of love to give.”

“At last, they’d found what they both needed most: a forever friend.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

At its core, A Friend for Hope is about loneliness and connection.  The story follows Zoe in a way that feels soft and a little introspective for a picture book. There’s a quietness to it that stands out, especially compared to more high-energy, plot-heavy kids’ books.

What I liked is that it doesn’t rush the emotional shift.  For a younger audience, the pacing could actually be really effective, especially for kids who might be dealing with similar feelings but don’t have the words for them yet.

The illustrations are really where the book finds its personality.

They lean soft and expressive, with a clear focus on emotion over detail-heavy worldbuilding. The color palette does a lot of the storytelling work. You can feel the difference between the quieter, lonelier moments and the warmer, more connected ones just through the tones and lighting. That shift is subtle, but it’s doing a lot behind the scenes.

The characters comes through well visually. The expressions are readable without being exaggerated, which will make it easier for kids to connect without it feeling cartoonish. There are also small details in the backgrounds that give you a little more to look at on repeat reads. I can absolutely picture kids pointing out the same tiny thing five nights in a row.

This book is not trying to be flashy. It’s not trying to be the next big “message book.” It’s just a soft, steady story about finding connection when you feel alone, and it handles that with a kind of quiet confidence.

Summary:

Overall, this is a gentle, emotionally focused picture book about loneliness and friendship, supported by soft, expressive illustrations that help carry the story. Best suited for younger children who enjoy quieter, reflective stories and for caregivers looking for a calming, connection-centered read. Happy reading!

Check out A Friend for Hope here!

Monthly Features – March 2026

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Her Lethal Crown Assassin by A P Von K’Ory

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: A MAFIA PRINCESS
DARK KNIGHT BRITISH ARISTOCRAT
WHO’D BURN DOWN THE PLANET FOR HER

When powerful Mafia fathers need to settle debts, even daughters become currency. But Ambrosia Gianovecci Derossa has never been anyone’s pawn—and at twenty-one, she’s done playing by her father’s rules.

Ambrosia

Kidnapped from my Swiss holiday by a lethally gorgeous knight and whisked off to London on his private jet, I should be terrified. Instead, I’m fascinated. My captor is a stone-cold Crown assassin with impeccable manners and a plan to use me as bait for my notorious father. What he doesn’t know? There’s no love lost between the Phantom and his rebellious daughter.

Enjoying my captivity baffles my royalty abductor. The twisted attraction crackling between us floors him. Mafia princess. Knighted British gentleman killer who’s honor-bound to treat me respectfully. Kryptonite. I plan to take full advantage and charm him out of his rigid self-control.

Unfortunately, he’s about as easily swayed as the Rock of Gibraltar.

Damien

The Crown tasks me with one mission: capture the Phantom, an American crime lord more powerful than the Vatican and twice as elusive. A Royal Marines Commando, I’m built for impossible missions. Kidnapping his daughter to smoke him out should have been simple.

Think again. Now I’m trapped in a London penthouse, playing bodyguard to a 21-year-old who’s pure temptation wrapped in designer silk. Any involvement violates every code of ethics in my profession and threatens my knighthood. She’s forbidden territory.

But she flirts without boundaries, pushing me toward something dark and possessive that has nothing to do with duty. She shatters my armour, makes my resistance chains disintegrate, and awakens a hunger I’ve never known. With her, sin looks so devastatingly beautiful. I need divine f*cking intervention.

And I’m starting to wonder if I even want that.

Summary: This story is a high-stakes collision between a furious mafia heiress and a calculating British operative tasked with kidnapping her. Set against a backdrop of extreme wealth and global power politics, the story blends dynasty drama with tactical espionage. The writing leans bold and sometimes theatrical, but the tension, scale, and cinematic ambition keep it gripping. If you enjoy morally gray characters, elite military strategy, mafia power struggles, and attraction layered over danger, this delivers intensity from start to finish. 

See the full review here: Her Lethal Crown Assassin
Purchase here

 

Brilliant Genesia by Eva Barber

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: In a society that cages women’s minds, a young girl’s disturbing visions lead her to Dr. Mitchell, a psychiatrist who helps her escape her predestined existence. Zara must now hide her true identity to follow her dreams of becoming a scientist studying dark matter. But when a tragic explosion shatters her world, she must flee to a different continent with her forbidden lover and their unborn child. In that new world, the foe from her past resurfaces and kidnaps her daughter. Zara must now follow her foe into a different realm.

Years later, her daughter, Emery, emerges from a different dimension with amnesia, forced to piece together her mother’s fragmented legacy to rediscover her own identity and the extraordinary power she possesses. Taunted by figures from her past she can’t remember, Emery must confront a multi-generational conspiracy that threatens to alter reality itself.

Summary: Brilliant Genesia is a layered dystopian novel that blends psychological tension with broader sci-fi elements. It asks big questions about gender, autonomy, institutionalized falsehoods, and inherited control — and then explores what happens when those questions refuse to stay buried. Readers who appreciate both slow-burn intellectual rebellion and later plot-driven momentum will likely find this one compelling. 

See the full review here: Brilliant Genesia
Purchase here

 

Enoch Mast’s Ballroom by Paul H. Lepp

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Plantations filled the Antebellum Period and mansions the Gilded Age. Much is known about those who lived and designed them, little is known about those who built and renovated them. At the time, the public had their halls and theaters to discuss their issues, and the wealthy had their private auditoriums or ballrooms to weigh what the public was saying. The story of Enoch Mast’s Ballroom takes place on the eve of World War I and covers all types of terrain, ending where it began in Cleveland, Ohio. It revolves around a contract Enoch Mast entered with the Lasbrith family to renovate their ballroom on Euclid Avenue, a location better known as Millionaires Row. He entered this agreement against the advice of associates and friends who told him they never pay the full amount. The Lasbriths’ have an army of lawyers on retainer and who always give any work to be done to the highest bidder and then have their lawyers beat the contractor down to the price found on the lowest bid. This approach didn’t work on Enoch Mast. He succeeds in taking over their ballroom, it becomes his. There he leaves his mark on the ballroom and history.

Summary: I would recommend this to readers who enjoy literary historical fiction, idea-driven narratives, and books that linger on symbolism, class, labor, and the long shadows of American history. As a slow, reflective historical novel that’s more concerned with memory, power, and what gets buried than with plot momentum, this book may be best suited for patient readers who don’t mind a deliberate pace and prefer atmosphere and reflection over action-heavy storytelling.

See the full review here: Enoch Mast’s Ballroom
Purchase here

 

Searching for Danny Boy: Falling in Love with Ireland and Basketball Legend, Paudie O’Conner by Deb Trotter

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Debbie, a North Carolina-born recent college graduate, is determined to write a life on her own terms. Her quest for agency leads her far from home, beginning with a summer job opportunity at an Irish castle that promises adventure and a chance to prove herself. When Debbie and her best friend, Marygray, arrive in Ireland in 1972, they discover a country brimming with beauty, tradition, and danger, where rigid expectations collide with their friendly American energy and attitudes.

The two friends’ exciting prospects of working in a romantic Irish castle are quickly dashed when they are fired, thrown out into the rain, and forced to thumb across Ireland, penniless and in search of new jobs. Their journey plunges them into Ireland during The Troubles, a period of intense political upheaval. What begins as carefree exploration becomes a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse as they evade unexpected IRA encounters.

As they thumb across Ireland, a kindly tour guide helps Debbie and Marygray navigate a landscape of shifting loyalties, and they land at a famous hotel in Killarney, where they find work as waitresses. It is here that Debbie encounters Paudie O’Connor—a charismatic basketball player and future star whose impact on the sport in Ireland and across Europe will eventually become magnetic and monumental. Their romantic connection is instant. Passionate. Impossible to ignore. Paudie’s presence on the court—and in Debbie’s life—serves as a catalyst for her his steadfast support, disciplined passion, and belief in her potential empower her to claim her voice in a world that often tests her resolve.

When a return to the United States becomes inevitable, Debbie’s journey expands beyond romance into a broader, future-facing dream—one that centers on her own path and the life she must build at home.

Back in America, her week with Paudie and later memories of him, as well as her self-discovery, broaden Debbie’s world. In 2015, she learns the full extent of Paudie’s basketball legacy in Ireland and Europe, discovering that his achievements and influence ripple through Irish sport and culture. Their connection remains a lifeline across time, a quiet undercurrent that persists even as the future remains beautifully unsettled.

Searching for Danny Falling in Love with Ireland and Basketball Legend, Paudie O’Connor is a bold, intimate memoir of risk, identity, and the power of love to redefine a life. It blends courage with Irish history, offering a travelogue of escape, exploration, and a stubborn, generous pursuit of one’s truth. Readers are invited on a journey where friendship, resilience, romance, and transformation intersect, and where the question of what comes next lingers long after the last page.

Why you will love it …

A bold coming-of-age story set against The Troubles and the intertwined worlds of Irish basketball. A heroine who forges her own path, prioritizing agency, courage, and empathy, inspired by Paudie O’Connor’s love and leadership. A deep friendship between two strong, loyal women. A romance that shapes how a woman chooses to live her life, and a man who becomes a cultural icon in the history of Irish sport. A vivid cross-cultural travel memoir tracing a life from North Carolina to Ireland and back – A thoughtful meditation on friendship, memory, legacy, and how a single romantic encounter can reshape a life.

Summary: This is a nostalgic, emotional memoir that starts as a travel/love story but becomes something deeper about memory, timing, and the kind of love that lingers long after it’s over. Not perfectly polished, but very genuine and easy to get swept into.

See the full review here: Searching for Danny Boy
Purchase here

 

The Long Return by Scott E. Adams

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: In the forgotten logging town of Blowville, some memories refuse to stay buried.

Decades after the hemlock mills fell silent, Jonas Clarke has built a new life far from the shadows of Bailey Run. But when fate draws him back to the place he once called home, he returns as a man with only fragments of his past; haunted by a name, a feeling, and the sense that something in those woods still waits for him.

As Jonas begins to piece together the life he lost, he is pulled into the long-quiet mysteries that shaped Blowville’s darkest years: a troubled town, secrets sealed beneath the hollow tree, and the uneasy pact forged by the men who tried to bury the truth. With each revelation, Jonas uncovers not only the story of a town swallowed by its own history, but the part he played in it, and the price that was paid to keep its secrets hidden.

Book Three brings the saga to its final reckoning, bridging past and present as Blowville’s last unanswered questions rise to the surface.

Summary: The Long Return is a slow, atmospheric story that starts as a quiet “man rebuilding his life” narrative and gradually turns into something deeper and more haunting. The first half is grounded and almost comforting, but there’s always a subtle unease underneath. The second half pulls everything back to the past, revealing a heavier, more emotional truth that recontextualizes everything that came before. Not action-heavy, but very deliberate—best for readers who like slow reveals, emotional payoff, and a slightly eerie, almost folklore-like ending.

See the full review here: The Long Return
Purchase here

 

Review: The Long Return by Scott E. Adams

~ likelystory18 ~ 2 Comments

Synopsis:

In the forgotten logging town of Blowville, some memories refuse to stay buried.

Decades after the hemlock mills fell silent, Jonas Clarke has built a new life far from the shadows of Bailey Run. But when fate draws him back to the place he once called home, he returns as a man with only fragments of his past; haunted by a name, a feeling, and the sense that something in those woods still waits for him.

As Jonas begins to piece together the life he lost, he is pulled into the long-quiet mysteries that shaped Blowville’s darkest years: a troubled town, secrets sealed beneath the hollow tree, and the uneasy pact forged by the men who tried to bury the truth. With each revelation, Jonas uncovers not only the story of a town swallowed by its own history, but the part he played in it, and the price that was paid to keep its secrets hidden.

Book Three brings the saga to its final reckoning, bridging past and present as Blowville’s last unanswered questions rise to the surface.

Favorite Lines:

“He felt as though he had just clawed his way back from somewhere real.”

“You’re becoming yourself. Not whoever you were before, but who you choose to be now.”

“They aged together quietly, without hurry or drama. Their love did not flare; it glowed, steady as a coal ember in winter.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

There’s something quietly unsettling about The Long Return, and I don’t mean that in a horror sense right away. It starts soft. Almost too soft. A boy wakes up with no memory, in a hospital, with nothing to hold onto except a single name—Clara—and a body that remembers more than his mind does. From the first few chapters, you can feel the story leaning into that slow, patient unraveling of identity. It doesn’t rush you. It lets you sit in the discomfort of not knowing.

What really surprised me is how much of the book isn’t about the mystery at all—at least not at first. Jonas builds an entire life in Altoona. He heals, he works, he marries Evelyn, he has children, and for a long stretch, the story almost convinces you that the past doesn’t matter. That maybe it shouldn’t matter. There’s something oddly comforting in those middle sections—like watching someone choose peace over truth. But underneath it, there’s always this quiet tension. The name Clara never fully goes away. The symbol, the dreams, the flashes of snow and water—they linger in the background like something waiting its turn.

And then the book shifts.

The later sections—especially once Jonas returns north—feel like a completely different layer of the same story peeling back. What I appreciated is that the payoff isn’t just “oh, here’s what happened.” It’s heavier than that. The truth isn’t just memory—it’s responsibility. When Jonas finally confronts the past at the clearing, it’s not just about remembering Clara—it’s about reliving it. The scene at the tree is one of the strongest in the book, because it collapses time completely. You’re not reading about what happened—you’re in it. The river, the attack, Clara calling his name—it all hits at once.

And Clara herself… I think this is where the book either works for you or it doesn’t. She isn’t just a lost love or a tragic figure. She becomes something more symbolic by the end—memory, guilt, unfinished truth, maybe even something tied to the land itself. When Jonas finally reunites with her—not as a memory, but as something real, something waiting—it’s less about romance and more about release. The ending leans into that almost spiritual, folklore-like tone where the valley remembers, where people become part of it. It’s not clean. It’s not overly explained. But it feels intentional.

If I had to sum up the experience, it’s a slow-burn story about choosing to forget—and what happens when the past refuses to stay buried. It’s quieter than most books in this space, but when it finally hits, it hits in a way that feels earned.

Summary:

Overall, The Long Return is a slow, atmospheric story that starts as a quiet “man rebuilding his life” narrative and gradually turns into something deeper and more haunting. The first half is grounded and almost comforting, but there’s always a subtle unease underneath. The second half pulls everything back to the past, revealing a heavier, more emotional truth that recontextualizes everything that came before. Not action-heavy, but very deliberate—best for readers who like slow reveals, emotional payoff, and a slightly eerie, almost folklore-like ending. Happy reading!

Check out The Long Return here!

 

Review: While Rome Burnz by Michael Stewart Hansen

~ likelystory18 ~ Leave a comment

Synopsis:

In a world ravaged by a zombie virus, President Abraham Price sees not catastrophe but opportunity—a chance to expand American power and fill U.S. coffers while other nations collapse into chaos. As the infection spreads across continents and his military wages a ruthless campaign from Afghanistan to the borders of China, Price dismisses warnings from his own Cabinet about nuclear retaliation and the deteriorating situation at home. While Vice President Ariel Perez and Secretary of Homeland Security Elias Rogers desperately plead for resources to protect American citizens from the encroaching hordes, Price remains fixated on his geopolitical chess game—even as Washington D.C. itself falls to the infected. From the White House war room to a struggling gun store where ordinary Americans like John scramble to protect their families, While Rome Burnz reveals a nation torn between a leader’s megalomaniacal ambitions and the brutal reality of survival, where the greatest threat may not be the shambling dead, but the living who refuse to see the fire consuming everything around them.

Favorite Lines:

“Everyone wants to point fingers…The truth is uglier and far more terrifying.””

“She was holding them together through sheer force of will, maintaining the routines and rituals that kept them human, that reminded them they were more than just survivors scrambling through wreckage.”

“The memory was a wound that never closed.”

“He turned to face his chief directly; his expression carried a determination that came from some deep place of need and love that transcended duty or mission or survival calculations.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book drops you straight into chaos—and I mean immediately. There’s no slow build, no easing into the world. From the first few pages, you’re thrown into a full-scale collapse scenario where society doesn’t just crack… it basically implodes overnight.

What I liked most is how big this story feels. It’s not just one group of survivors trying to make it—it’s global. You’re seeing the outbreak from multiple angles: government breakdown, military operations, families trying to get out before it’s too late, and even underground broadcasts trying to make sense of it all. It almost reads like a mix between a thriller and a documentary of the end of the world.

The zombie concept itself isn’t reinvented, but the execution feels more grounded and brutal than a lot of others in the genre. The idea that everyone is already infected and only turns after death makes everything feel more inevitable—and honestly more unsettling. It’s not about avoiding infection, it’s about delaying the inevitable as long as possible. That alone adds a layer of tension that carries through the whole book.

I also appreciated how much attention is given to the human side of things. The scenes with John and his family stood out to me the most. They feel real in a way that a lot of apocalypse stories don’t always hit—worrying about bills, kids, whether to leave, what’s actually safe. It’s not just action, it’s that quiet dread of realizing your normal life is slipping away piece by piece.

That said, the pacing and writing style can feel a bit heavy at times. There’s a lot of detail—especially in the military and political sections—which makes the world feel expansive, but can also slow things down. It reads almost like you’re being briefed on the end of the world rather than just experiencing it. Some people will love that level of detail, others might find themselves skimming a bit.

This feels like the start of a much larger story. It’s less about resolution and more about setting the stage—showing just how bad things are going to get. If you like apocalyptic stories that go big and don’t hold back, this one definitely delivers.

Summary:

Overall, this is a large-scale apocalypse story that throws you straight into the collapse of the world, blending global chaos with smaller, personal survival moments. It’s heavy on detail and world-building, which makes it feel realistic and immersive, though sometimes a bit dense. It’s a strong start to a series that focuses less on action alone and more on the overwhelming scope of everything falling apart—and what that actually feels like to live through. Happy reading!

Check out While Rome Burnz here!

 

Monthly Features – February 2026

~ likelystory18 ~ Leave a comment

Twin Rivers by Jeremy Bender

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: The High Priest rules the city of Twin Rivers in the name of the Lord of Mercy, his AI god. In this land, where robotic Brothers complete all labor and humans are left to enjoy the fruits of this Eden, something rotten grows. Yonatan, a newly ascended Priest in the sclerotic Priesthood, is meant to shore up the faith of those left behind. Yet as Yonatan’s preaching takes him deep into the city’s bowels, he must confront heresy far deeper rooted than he ever imagined. When he sees one of the city’s paramilitary Keepers leave a young woman to die because of her unsanctioned implants, Yonatan must decide whether his faith in the Lord of Mercy outweighs his own belief in human exceptionalism.

Summary: Overall, Twin Rivers is a dense, unsettling dystopian sci-fi novel about a city that calls itself paradise while feeding on control, faith, and violence. Through priests, enforcers, and those left outside the walls, it explores how power hides behind ritual and how mercy becomes a weapon. Dark, intense, and uncomfortable in the right ways, it’s a story about what people are willing to ignore to keep believing they’re safe.

See the full review here: Twin Rivers
Purchase here

 

The Dog Years of Ananias Zachenko by Paul H. Lepp

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: What do you do when you run out of time? Ask Ananias Ezra Zachenko what he did after he was diagnosed. He set an agenda, took care of finances, delved into relationships, considered the heroic act. Didn’t go into denial, but defiance, there’s a difference.

He put it all in motion during the time he had left. A dog gets seven years to our one. Chenko rationalized the relationship by taking the best from both, our days the dog’s years and began to calculate. Anything to lengthen the short leash he is on.

During his dog years he planned for everything, but nothing turned out as expected. He concentrated on time, when he should have been looking at weight. No matter the type of year, when one runs out of time on this side, one has to figure out how to make weight on the other side.

Summary: Overall, The Dog Years of Ananias Zachenko  is a quiet, thoughtful novel about illness, time, and the way diagnosis forces a person to renegotiate their relationship with living. Grounded, reflective, and emotionally restrained, this story explores how we measure time when the future becomes uncertain — and whether time can ever really be controlled at all. 

See the full review here: The Dog Years of Ananias Zachenko
Purchase here

 

Her Ravishing Heartless Prince by A P Von K’Ory

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: He’s a European prince with a thousand-year lineage—and he hates her as much as he craves her.

Alyssa:

Prince Carl-Theodor Frederick Maximillian Christoph Albert Maria Johann Anselm is as insufferable as his name is long. Arrogant, powerful, entitled—everything I despise wrapped in devastatingly gorgeous packaging.

So I do what I do best: verbally eviscerate him and his precious bloodline with razor-sharp insults. I avoid him like the plague.

But avoidance only delays the inevitable.

Soon he has me exactly where I’ve been secretly fantasizing—on my knees before him. The problem? I can’t tell if this is seduction or revenge. Prince Hot and Cold swings between arctic ice and molten lava, dragging me to the edge of beautiful insanity.

The real question: will I survive the fall?

Prince Carl-Theodor:

Alyssa obliterates my world like a derailed train the moment we meet. Her beauty blinds me—then her vicious tongue insults thirteen thousand years of noble bloodline.

No one has ever dared.

As Head and Defender of the House of Saxony-Bremer, I vow on my ancestors’ graves to make her pay. I’ll bend her. Break her. Make her beg until she drowns in regret.

But here’s the twisted irony that threatens everything: hurting her destroys me too.

I can watch her crumble, hear her wounded cries—but the moment she surrenders, something in my chest stops cold.
Have I sworn an oath that will damn us both? And why does her pain feel like my own destruction?

Summary: Overall, this is a high-drama, ego-heavy royal romance where attraction and revenge walk hand in hand. If you enjoy dominant alpha tension, pride-fueled misunderstandings, and romance wrapped in luxury and lineage, this delivers an intense, indulgent ride.

See the full review here: Her Ravishing Heartless Prince
Purchase here

 

The 7 Albums of Stovepipe by Paul H. Lepp

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: From 1948 to 1982 nothing was as high mileage as a turntable. The speed limit was set at 331/3 rpms to take a spin down a highway of tunes on a ten-inch vinyl LP (Long Play) record album. The turning point 1982 when Compact Discs began to put the albums in our attics and closets. To some the change from LP to CD was a turning point on the same level as BC to AD. A wealthy collector has a well-trained staff they spend their time on finding the artifacts the turning points of the Boomer Generation left behind, items like Lee Harvey Oswalt’s belt, Jack Ruby’s cuff links. His staff comes across a nine word offer on the net, “Any Albums Made by the Stovepipe – Name Your Price.” He allows his staff to investigate, the project becomes an obsession. What they find out is a group known as The Chronologists are also interested in the authenticity of Stovepipe, the Musical Massiah between LP and CD, master of voice and instrument, lord of technology. Both Collector and Chronologists want to prove Stovepipe beyond a myth like Paul Bunyan or Johnny Appleseed, but for different reasons. One wants to prove he is alive, the other dead, and only one can be right.

Summary: Overall, a dense, unconventional novel that blends conspiracy, cultural history, and myth-making, The Seven Albums of Stovepipe is less about proving whether its central figure exists and more about why we need him to. The book rewards patient readers who enjoy experimental fiction, unreliable narrators, and stories that feel part oral history, part conspiracy file — especially those interested in music culture and how influence gets erased or mythologized. 

See the full review here: The 7 Albums of Stovepipe
Purchase here

 

Review: Her Lethal Crown Assassin by A P Von K’Ory

~ likelystory18 ~ 2 Comments

Synopsis:

A MAFIA PRINCESS
DARK KNIGHT BRITISH ARISTOCRAT
WHO’D BURN DOWN THE PLANET FOR HER

When powerful Mafia fathers need to settle debts, even daughters become currency. But Ambrosia Gianovecci Derossa has never been anyone’s pawn—and at twenty-one, she’s done playing by her father’s rules.

Ambrosia

Kidnapped from my Swiss holiday by a lethally gorgeous knight and whisked off to London on his private jet, I should be terrified. Instead, I’m fascinated. My captor is a stone-cold Crown assassin with impeccable manners and a plan to use me as bait for my notorious father. What he doesn’t know? There’s no love lost between the Phantom and his rebellious daughter.

Enjoying my captivity baffles my royalty abductor. The twisted attraction crackling between us floors him. Mafia princess. Knighted British gentleman killer who’s honor-bound to treat me respectfully. Kryptonite. I plan to take full advantage and charm him out of his rigid self-control.

Unfortunately, he’s about as easily swayed as the Rock of Gibraltar.

Damien

The Crown tasks me with one mission: capture the Phantom, an American crime lord more powerful than the Vatican and twice as elusive. A Royal Marines Commando, I’m built for impossible missions. Kidnapping his daughter to smoke him out should have been simple.

Think again. Now I’m trapped in a London penthouse, playing bodyguard to a 21-year-old who’s pure temptation wrapped in designer silk. Any involvement violates every code of ethics in my profession and threatens my knighthood. She’s forbidden territory.

But she flirts without boundaries, pushing me toward something dark and possessive that has nothing to do with duty. She shatters my armour, makes my resistance chains disintegrate, and awakens a hunger I’ve never known. With her, sin looks so devastatingly beautiful. I need divine f*cking intervention.

And I’m starting to wonder if I even want that.

Favorite Lines:

“God, give me strength. And Devil, please rip it the fuck away.”

“The gods aren’t heroes, the assassins are. The villains aren’t monsters, the angels are. The titans shy away from cruelty, the heroes drink it to survive. Give the villain your heart and he’ll save it in anticipation of possible further use for it down the road. Give the hero your heart and he’ll crush it under his feet on his way to his heroic deeds. The bad boys are the ones who take and admit they’re doing so, take it or leave it. The good boys are the heart-stealers who slip silently into it and then away with it, never to be seen again, leaving you with an empty hollow in your chest.”

“In the darkness, I hold her close and wonder if healing can really be this simple— if love can truly be stronger than shame.”

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

Within the first pages we get birthday betrayal, mafia politics, a controlling father known as The Phantom, and a daughter who is done being traded like hard currency. Ambrosia Giannovecci Derossa is not soft. She’s sharp. Angry. Wounded. Gothic. She walks into rooms like she’s both the bomb and the fuse.

And then we get Damien. 

Elite Royal Marine. Calm. Surgical. Tactical. The kind of man who runs chemical simulations for breakfast and treats kidnapping like a chess problem. His perspective shifts the tone from emotional rebellion to strategic surveillance. Where Ambrosia burns, Damien calculates.

What makes the book compelling is that it’s not just a romance — it’s a collision course. A mafia princess raised to be bartered. A British operative tasked with using her as bait. Neither of them fully what they appear. Both more dangerous than advertised.

The setting leans fully into excess — private jets, Swiss Alps penthouses, rooftop helipads, armored SUVs. But the luxury isn’t decorative. It’s part of the tension. Every opulent space is also a potential trap. Every high-end suite doubles as a battlefield.

The pacing feels cinematic. Surveillance scenes. Tactical planning. Chemical mixtures. Helicopter arrivals. You can practically hear the score swelling under it all. It reads like a blend of mafia dynasty drama and espionage thriller, layered with simmering attraction neither side wants to admit.

The writing is bold and unapologetic. It doesn’t whisper. It declares. Internal monologues can run long. Metaphors occasionally stretch. Dialogue sometimes leans theatrical rather than subtle. But there’s ambition here — big themes, big stakes, big power dynamics. It commits fully to its world.

At its core, this story is about control. Who has it. Who loses it. And what happens when two people who are used to operating at the highest levels of power find themselves circling each other. It’s intense. It’s dramatic. It’s morally gray.

Summary:

Overall, this story is a high-stakes collision between a furious mafia heiress and a calculating British operative tasked with kidnapping her. Set against a backdrop of extreme wealth and global power politics, the story blends dynasty drama with tactical espionage. The writing leans bold and sometimes theatrical, but the tension, scale, and cinematic ambition keep it gripping. If you enjoy morally gray characters, elite military strategy, mafia power struggles, and attraction layered over danger, this delivers intensity from start to finish. Happy reading!

Check out Her Lethal Crown Assassin here!

 

Review: My Family and the End of Everything by Joe Graves

~ likelystory18 ~ Leave a comment

Synopsis:

The end of everything begins closer than you think. Of course, it always includes such foul practices as bureaucratic corruption, disregard for science (or the overindulgence of it), and corrupted religion. But this is not where it starts. It begins much closer to home-smart homes to be exact, and well-intentioned inventions (they really did think it was a good idea)-and human consolidation, and old men doing their best to retire.

My Family and the End of Everything follows generations of the Profeta family as they march naively towards the setting sun. The ending doesn’t come with explosions-at least, not at first. It arrives quietly, in funerals, final meditations, historical preservation, and decisions no one remembers volunteering for. From networked houses and autonomous bots to terraformed worlds, time travel, dying suns, and suspiciously ceremonial banquets, these stories track humanity’s ongoing attempt to stay human, in all our gloriously human ways.

This isn’t one apocalypse, but several, for the world ends far more often than we’d like to admit. Yet somehow, through all of them, a family-and their stubborn faith in each other and in their God-finds a way to endure and present to us this question: If we could change the future, would we?

Favorite Lines:

As I do with all of my short story collection reviews, rather than favorite lines, here are a few of my favorite stories: The House, The Pivot, and The Day the Sun Died.

My Opinion:

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is one of those books that feels quiet while you’re reading it — and then very loud in your head afterward. I went in expecting a more traditional sci-fi dystopia: smart homes, neural implants, generational timelines, the sun literally going dark. And yes, all of that is here. But what surprised me most is how personal it feels. The novel is structured as a collection of short stories that tell family histories. Each story stands on its own, with its own setting, tone, and central character, but they’re stitched together by bloodlines, history, and a shared looming reality: the slow unraveling of humanity under the weight of technology, time, and its own ambition.

The early stories, like The House and The Water That Shapes Us, are intimate and unsettling. They explore smart homes that optimize autonomy away and villages wrestling with the moral cost of hyperconnection. But those are just the opening notes. As the book unfolds, we move into space brokers and gravity trials, time-traveling historians chasing the elusive “Pivot,” off-world settlements, generational missions, political maneuvering, and ultimately the literal death of the sun. Each short story feels like a snapshot from a different era of the same extended family — different centuries, different planets, different moral dilemmas — but all orbiting the same core questions: What shapes us? What do we inherit? What do we sacrifice to survive?

Because it’s structured as a collection, the pacing feels episodic. Some stories hit harder emotionally, some lean more philosophical, and others feel almost like thought experiments wrapped in narrative. That variety is part of the experience. You’re not meant to sink into one continuous arc; you’re meant to see evolution over time — spiritual, technological, familial. The repetition of certain themes across generations (connection vs. isolation, faith vs. efficiency, autonomy vs. optimization) is deliberate. It builds a cumulative weight rather than a single crescendo.

What makes the format work is the throughline of family. Even when the timeline jumps or the setting shifts from Earth to orbit to distant systems, you feel the continuity. The book reads like an archive passed down through centuries, asking whether progress always equals improvement. It’s ambitious in scope — far bigger than just one storyline — and that ambition is both its strength and its defining characteristic. If you go in expecting one protagonist and one conflict, you might feel untethered. But if you lean into the anthology-style structure, the mosaic effect becomes the point.

This collection is less about the end of the world and more about the slow rewriting of what it means to be human.

Summary:

Overall, I found this book to be a reflective, generational sci-fi that explores what we lose when everything becomes connected. Instead of flashy dystopia, this book offers quiet, unsettling plausibility — smart homes that optimize away autonomy, neural networks that gently suppress prayer, and families wrestling with what shapes identity across centuries. It’s thoughtful, faith-tinged, and morally gray in the best way. If you like speculative fiction that prioritizes emotional and philosophical depth over action, this one lingers. Happy reading!

Check out My Family and the End of Everything here!