Tag: book-blogger

Review: Lovely by Rin Sangar

~ likelystory18 ~ Leave a comment

Synopsis:

Heather Strand is seventeen years old and wants nothing more than to escape the small town she was born and raised in, until she learns there is something far more sinister at play in her life. A gothic horror set in the bible belt of the American south, LOVELY is filled with fear and teenage life, creating both a coming-of-age story and a late-night creature feature.

Favorite Lines:

“Tomorrow morning, a child’s dead body will rise up from the depths of the lake, pale and bloated. Tomorrow afternoon, a city cab will carry Heather Strand back into town after a three month absence. Tomorrow everything would change – but for tonight, there was a moment of blissful ignorance hanging in the air.”

“It was still out there, too still. The woods waited.”

My Opinion:

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

There’s something off about Lovely from the very first page, and it doesn’t try to hide it. The opening feels calm, almost pretty, with this quiet small-town evening settling in. But then it immediately undercuts itself with that line about a child’s body rising from the lake the next day. That contrast sets the tone for everything that follows. It’s not trying to scare you in big, dramatic ways. It’s more about that slow realization that something is deeply wrong here.

Heather is not an easy character to like, but she is very easy to believe. She comes back to town already cracked open, carrying something heavy from wherever she’s been, and the story doesn’t rush to explain it. The way she moves through the world feels numb and sharp at the same time. Her relationship with Tyler adds another layer that feels messy in a very human way. It’s not romantic in a clean or comforting sense. It’s complicated, sometimes uncomfortable, and that fits the tone of the book really well.

What stood out to me most is how the town itself feels like the main character. Lovely isn’t just a setting. It feels aware, like it’s watching everything happen. The interwoven stories from different time periods build this sense that whatever is happening has been happening for a long time. The archivist discovering patterns in old deaths, the summer camp massacre, the stories about people who pass through and don’t make it out. None of these are thrown in randomly. They stack on top of each other until it starts to feel less like coincidence and more like a system.

The writing leans heavily on atmosphere, and it works. There are a lot of quiet moments that stretch just long enough to feel uncomfortable. The woods, the lake, even the empty streets all carry this weight to them. There’s also this recurring idea that something is mimicking people, blending in just well enough to go unnoticed. That concept sticks in the back of your mind and makes everything else feel more unsettling.

The pacing is interesting. It jumps between present day and different points in the past, which can feel a little disjointed at first, but it starts to click once you realize each piece is adding to the same pattern. It’s less about following a straight plot and more about slowly uncovering what this place is capable of. By the time Heather and Tyler start digging into Max’s death, it doesn’t feel like an isolated event anymore. It feels like they’ve stepped into something much bigger than either of them understands.

This isn’t a clean mystery where everything gets tied up neatly. It leans more into unease than answers. You’re not just asking what happened. You’re asking what kind of place this is, and whether it was ever safe to begin with.

Summary:

Overall, this was a slow-burning, atmospheric horror set in a small town that feels alive in all the wrong ways. It’s less about solving a single mystery and more about uncovering what the town itself might be hiding. Best for readers who like eerie, layered stories with multiple timelines and a lingering sense of unease rather than fast-paced horror. Happy reading!

Check out Lovely here!

 

Review: The Knight’s Last Stand by Bear Pardun

~ likelystory18 ~ 1 Comment

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.


If you enjoyed The Way of Kings, The Blade Itself, and The Shadow of What Was Lost, you’ll love Battle of Lindly.

Favorite Lines:

“For all the military training, for all the knowledge that one could learn, humility was to be the shroud of an authentic hero of the light.”

“The way I see it, half-pal, you gave this man a heart—based on who you are as a human. Charismatic, kind-hearted, heroic, loyal—you are a good man. I would dare say a great man. A testament to your race. Yes, you have trained and disciplined your son to be a warrior. He will bring destruction and doom
to those who stand against righteousness. You taught him when and how to fight. It is actually remarkable to see such a young human so beyond his years. Some of your kin live to their twilight years without even a quarter of what that boy has in his head. You have done right by him and by me, personally.”

My Opinion:

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

There’s something kind of earnest about The Knight’s Last Stand that’s hard to ignore. It’s not trying to reinvent fantasy. It’s not trying to be clever or ironic or subversive. It just… commits. Fully. To knights, gods, blood oaths, dark magic, and the idea that honor still means something.

And honestly? That works more often than it doesn’t.

The book opens brutal.  The whole ritual with Desa sets the tone in a way that doesn’t really let up. It’s dark in a very old-school fantasy way, almost grimdark-adjacent, but without the cynicism. It’s more like: this world is cruel, but there are still people trying to be good anyway.

That’s really where the story lives.

At the center is Aris, but the emotional backbone is actually Victus. The father-son dynamic is what gives the story weight. You can feel how much of Aris is shaped by Victus’s choices, especially the choice to walk away from something bigger (archdom, power, legacy) just to raise him. That’s the kind of thing the book doesn’t over-explain, but it lingers in the background of everything.

The early sections with Aris feel almost deceptively light. There’s training, joking, small-town interactions, Serin sneaking around being chaotic. It almost reads like a coming-of-age story for a while. But there’s always this sense that something is wrong under the surface. And when it shifts, it shifts fast.

Nibarn is a really solid antagonist. Not because he’s intimidating, but because he’s weak. Addicted, unraveling, desperate. The kind of villain who knows he’s in too deep and keeps going anyway. That whole thread with Lestar and the manipulation is honestly one of the stronger parts of the book. It gives the evil side some texture beyond just “dark elves bad.”

Where the book really shines is in the action and momentum. The fight scenes are constant, detailed, and very physical. You always know where people are standing, what they’re doing, what it costs them. It leans hard into that tactile style — blood, weight, exhaustion, mistakes. Aris especially gets put through it. He loses fights. He gets humiliated. He keeps getting back up anyway.

This is a story about:

  • choosing duty even when it costs everything
  • trying to be good in a world that punishes it
  • legacy, especially between fathers and sons
  • and what it actually means to stand your ground when you know you might lose

By the end, it leans fully into that last idea. The title isn’t subtle, and the book doesn’t try to be.

It earns it.

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. Happy reading!

Check out The Knight’s Last Stand here!

 

Monthly Features – March 2026

~ likelystory18 ~ Leave a comment

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: SETTUP by TK Thoits

~ likelystory18 ~ 1 Comment

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.

Favorite Lines:

“Sometimes having the loudest voice in the decision-making process didn’t matter.”

“Filling out the death report was his way of delaying that which he dreaded the most. Notification of the parents.”

“‘You can be a real dick sometimes. How does your better half, no, your extremely superior half put up with you?’ ‘She tells me that I was lucky to marry up.'”

My Opinion:

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

SETTUP opens in a way that immediately tells you what kind of story you’re stepping into—fast, clinical, and a little unsettling. The ER scene with the teenage patient in status epilepticus isn’t just dramatic for the sake of it—it feels real. The details are sharp, almost uncomfortably so, and you can tell right away that this book is going to lean heavily on medical realism. It doesn’t ease you in. It drops you straight into it.

From there, the story expands quickly into something bigger than just a single patient case. What starts as a medical situation turns into something that feels more like a layered thriller—part hospital drama, part research conspiracy, part crime story. Stella Murray is probably the emotional anchor of the book. She’s competent, driven, and grounded in a way that makes the more chaotic elements around her feel believable. Her concern about the study drug doesn’t feel dramatic—it feels like someone who knows something is off but doesn’t yet have proof.

And then the book takes a turn.

The introduction of the corporate side—and especially the darker thread involving the trial, the pressure to suppress adverse events, and the decision to eliminate a problem rather than solve it—is where things shift from grounded to unsettling. The email exchange with KFAP is honestly one of the most jarring parts of the book, but in a way that works. It’s bizarre, a little darkly comedic, and also deeply uncomfortable. The contrast between the tone of those emails and the seriousness of what’s actually happening creates this strange tension that sticks with you.

KFAP as a character is… a lot. He’s unpredictable, unsettling, and written in a way that almost makes him feel detached from reality. But that’s also kind of the point. He’s not meant to feel normal. He’s meant to feel like someone operating outside the rules everyone else is trying to follow. And when his storyline intersects with the medical plot, the stakes suddenly feel very real in a different way.

The detective side of the story adds another layer that I actually liked more than I expected. Evans is methodical, grounded, and a nice counterbalance to the chaos happening behind the scenes. His sections slow things down in a good way—they give you space to process what just happened while also pushing the mystery forward.

If there’s one thing this book does well, it’s juggling multiple threads without losing the core tension. The medical mystery, the ethical gray area of clinical trials, the corporate pressure, and the crime element all feed into each other. You can feel the pieces moving toward something bigger, even when the story jumps perspectives.

This story reads like a hybrid between a medical drama and a conspiracy thriller with a darker edge. It’s not subtle, but it is engaging. And once things start connecting, it becomes hard to put down.

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. Happy reading!

 

Check out SETTUP here!
Book Trailer

 

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

~ likelystory18 ~ 2 Comments

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.

Favorite Lines:

“I love it! The scenery. The people. Everything except the weather.”

“I will never, ever let anyone make me feel small again.”

“Only my Paudie could have done this”

My Opinion:

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

There’s something about this book that feels… personal in a way that sneaks up on you. At first, it reads like a nostalgic, almost dreamy memoir—young American girl goes to Ireland, chases adventure, maybe finds love. But the deeper you get into it, the more it becomes about memory—how it lingers, how it distorts, and how some people never really leave you.

What stood out most to me was how vivid everything feels. Ireland isn’t just a backdrop here—it’s practically a character. The rain, the accents, the chaos of the castle, the humor in the culture clash—it all feels lived-in. You can tell this is a story that’s been carried for decades. There’s a kind of softness to the way it’s told, like someone revisiting a younger version of themselves with both fondness and a little bit of ache.

And then there’s Paudie. The book really hinges on him—not just as a love interest, but as this larger-than-life presence that kind of defines a whole chapter of the author’s life. Their relationship feels intense in that early-20s, everything-is-heightened kind of way. It’s romantic, but also messy and a little idealized—which, honestly, makes it feel more real. You can see how he becomes this benchmark that no one else quite reaches later on.

What I didn’t expect was how much of the story is about after. Not just the summer in Ireland, but what happens when you leave something like that behind. The long-distance, the letters, the years passing, the “what if” feeling that never fully settles. That’s where the book hit harder for me. It’s less about a love story that was and more about a love story that stayed—even when life moved on.

Overall, this feels like a memoir written from a place of reflection more than resolution. It’s not trying to tie everything up neatly. It’s just… remembering. And I think that’s what makes it work.

Summary:

Overall,  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. Happy reading!

Check out Searching for Danny Boy here!

 

Review: Enoch Mast’s Ballroom by Paul H. Lepp

~ likelystory18 ~ 2 Comments

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.

Favorite Lines:

“The lion’s share of history consists of anonymous people and random events.”

“The past always surrenders its secrets to fate…“

“Let the cube explain to them the present can’t exist without the past, and  the future can’t exist without the present—the present trapped between the two.”

My Opinion:

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

Enoch Mast’s Ballroom opens quietly, almost deceptively so, with a stonemason, a cemetery, a single object placed with care. At first, I thought I was settling into a historical piece. Instead, I realized pretty quickly that this book is interested in something slower and stranger: how stories get embedded in objects, how history speaks when people don’t, and how much meaning can be hidden in what looks ornamental.

What struck me most is how patiently the novel builds its scaffolding. The voice lingers. It circles. It pauses to look backward before it ever moves forward. At times, this felt indulgent—but more often, it felt intentional. The book seems deeply aware of time: how people experience it, how nations mark it, how individuals are crushed or shaped by it. Enoch Mast himself is less a traditional protagonist and more a gravitational center. Lives, events, and ideas orbit him, sometimes loosely, sometimes with uncomfortable closeness.

There’s a heavy historical weight here—slavery, class divisions, labor, wealth, power—but it’s filtered through a personal lens that keeps it from becoming a textbook. Still, this isn’t light reading. The book asks you to sit with uncomfortable truths and to notice patterns that repeat themselves across generations. The metaphor of the ballroom works especially well: a space meant for beauty, display, and privilege, sitting atop systems that are far less elegant. I found myself thinking about how often wealth hides violence simply by polishing its surfaces.

That said, this book won’t be for everyone. The pacing is deliberate, sometimes slow to the point of testing your patience, and the narrative voice can feel distant. If you’re looking for a tight plot or constant forward motion, this may feel frustrating. But if you’re willing to let the book unfold on its own terms, it rewards attention. By the time I finished, I didn’t feel like I had just read a story—I felt like I had walked through a long corridor of American memory, stopping at doors that are usually left closed.

Summary:

Overall, 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. Happy reading!

Check out Enoch Mast’s Ballroom 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 Ravishing Heartless Prince by A P Von K’Ory

~ likelystory18 ~ 2 Comments

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?

Favorite Lines:

“She emboldened, motivated, encouraged, and inspired me tirelessly over the months.”

“But above all else, I have half the entire planet’s butterflies residing merrily in my belly.”

“I love her like the devil loves sinners and God loves the devil for being capable of that.”

“For that, I’ll love him even after death and in every other entity form I become.”

My Opinion:

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

There is something wildly unapologetic about this book. From the first chapter, Alyssa announces herself as messy, sexual, ambitious, and emotionally reactive in a way that feels both over-the-top and strangely honest. She is not a soft heroine. She is sharp-edged, proud, dramatic — and I kind of loved that about her.

Carl-Theodor, on the other hand, is less brooding prince and more simmering strategist. His inner monologue runs on discipline, revenge, family honor, and suppressed desire. The tension between them is not sweet. It’s combative. Competitive. Magnetic in a way that feels dangerous rather than tender.

What really drives this book is pride. Hurt pride. Family pride. Social pride. Romantic pride. The entire story pulses with ego clashes and misinterpretations that spiral into obsession. Their chemistry thrives on restraint and retaliation. Every conversation feels like a fencing match. Sometimes they wound each other deliberately. Sometimes they do it accidentally. Either way, sparks fly.

The world-building is lavish — castles, heiress empires, royal jewelry, elite universities, helicopter landings at Burj Al Arab. It leans hard into opulence. If you like billionaire/royalty romance that fully commits to excess, this delivers.

That said, this book is not subtle. It is dramatic in all caps. Characters monologue. Emotions explode. Internal thoughts can be theatrical. But there’s a sincerity to it that makes it compelling even when it’s chaotic.

At its core, this is a story about two powerful people who refuse to yield first. It’s ego vs ego. Attraction vs revenge. Control vs surrender. And honestly? Watching them circle each other is half the fun.

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. Happy reading!

Check out Her Ravishing Heartless Prince here!

 

Review: The Journey of the Wish – Part I: The Grey Winter of the Enslaved by Stefanos Sampanis

~ likelystory18 ~ Leave a comment

Synopsis:

I perceived the world and acknowledged all of its colours. There was truth; the kind you cannot simply speak of. A tale suits the cause better. It is a disguise that anyone can enjoy and if intrigued, look behind it. This is my testament. A fantasy saga exploring the most human reality. A Journey that lies ahead and matures with each page turned.

Favorite Lines:

“Yet, though that name somehow remained, most of his knowledge from those days is useless and forgotten – belonging to a life vastly different from the cursed existence he now endures.”

“More important than anyone, but least important to all.”

My Opinion:

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

The Grey Winter of the Enslaved is a book that doesn’t ease you into its world—it immerses you, then asks you to endure it. From the opening pages, it’s clear this is a story built on suffering, memory, and consequence, told through a mythic lens that feels both ancient and emotionally immediate. The prose leans lyrical and deliberate, often reading more like a lament or an oral history than a conventional fantasy narrative, which suits the story it’s trying to tell.

What stood out to me most is how deeply this book commits to the idea of loss as a permanent condition rather than a temporary obstacle. Glimm’s story isn’t about overcoming trauma in a neat, redemptive arc; it’s about surviving it, living alongside it, and being shaped—sometimes deformed—by it. The physical transformations inflicted on the Enslaved mirror the emotional ones, and the book never lets you forget the cost of endurance. Winter here isn’t just a season; it’s a system, a sentence, and a state of being.

The worldbuilding is dense and methodical, layered with gods, rituals, hierarchies, and mythic laws that govern who belongs where and at what cost. This isn’t the kind of fantasy that explains itself quickly or cleanly. Instead, it trusts the reader to keep up, to sit with uncertainty, and to piece meaning together over time. At times, this can feel heavy—especially when paired with the book’s emotional weight—but it also gives the story a sense of gravity and purpose. Nothing here feels accidental or decorative.

This is not an easy book, either emotionally or structurally. It lingers in grief, cruelty, and moral ambiguity, and it often refuses the comfort of hope. But there’s something quietly powerful in that refusal. The Grey Winter of the Enslaved feels less like a story meant to entertain and more like one meant to be witnessed. By the end, it leaves you with the sense that survival itself can be a form of resistance—even when it costs more than it gives.

Summary:

Overall, The Grey Winter of the Enslaved is a dark, myth-heavy fantasy that leans into grief, endurance, and moral cost rather than heroics or easy redemption. I found it to be an emotionally demanding and richly imagined story where survival comes at a steep price and loss is never fully undone. It’s immersive, somber, and unapologetically heavy. This story could be for readers who enjoy lyrical, myth-inspired fantasy; stories centered on suffering, memory, and survival; and worlds governed by harsh systems rather than hopeful destinies. Best for patient readers comfortable with slow pacing, dense worldbuilding, and emotionally heavy themes. Happy reading!

Check out The Grey Winter of the Enslaved here!