Tag: Eva Barber

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: Brilliant Genesia by Eva Barber

~ likelystory18 ~ 2 Comments

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.

Favorite Lines:

“Ideas and thoughts are never stupid, Zara.”

“Fourth time is the charm?”

“She is the love of my life. She is my emery. I knew and loved her in a previous life, in another dimension, in another realm. She is my destiny.”

My Opinion:

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

Brilliant Genesia begins as a quiet, unsettling dystopian story centered on Zara, a girl growing up in a rigid society where gender roles are enforced with clinical calm. Her visions of a woman trapped behind glass feel, at first, like a psychological mystery. Is she ill? Is she imagining things? But the more Zara questions the world around her — the aptitude tests, the carefully controlled research, the expectations placed on girls — the more it becomes clear that the real instability lies in the system itself. The early chapters are heavy with tension, not because of explosions or spectacle, but because of silence: what Zara cannot say, what her father will not discuss, and what her doctor may or may not be protecting her from.

What works particularly well in the first half is the slow intellectual rebellion. Zara’s awakening doesn’t come through dramatic speeches. It comes through memory, curiosity, and the terrifying realization that she might be smarter — and freer — than the world wants her to be. The recurring image of the glass barrier becomes a powerful metaphor for confinement, truth, and generational suppression. The therapy sessions with Dr. Mitchell are layered with subtext, and the domestic pressure from her father reinforces how deeply control runs in Andalian culture.

But the book does not stay contained in that quiet psychological space. As the story progresses, the scope widens dramatically. New characters step forward, and the narrative shifts into something more kinetic and expansive. Underground facilities, covert movements, rescue attempts, confrontations with authority — the second half becomes much more action-driven and ensemble-focused. The stakes move from internal questioning to physical survival. What began as a personal awakening evolves into a larger reckoning with systemic control and hidden truths. The world-building grows broader, and the tone becomes more urgent.

This structural shift may surprise some readers, but it ultimately reinforces the book’s central theme: once truth surfaces, it spreads. The later chapters lean into loyalty, sacrifice, power, and the cost of confronting institutions built on deception. Where the first half feels claustrophobic and introspective, the second half feels dangerous and wide open. Together, they form a story that moves from quiet resistance to tangible action.

Summary:

Overall, 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. Happy reading!

Check out Brilliant Genesia here!

 

Monthly Features – November 2025

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The Amalfi Secret by Dean Reineking and Catherine Reineking

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

Synopsis: When Gabe Roslo arrives in Amalfi, Italy, a long-awaited reunion with his grandparents takes a tragic turn. His beloved grandfather is dead—and a cryptic diary left behind is Gabe’s only clue to the mystery surrounding his sudden death. But what starts as a personal tragedy quickly spirals into a high-stakes international puzzle.

Teaming up with Anna, a resourceful Roman local, Gabe follows a trail of hidden truths that stretches from the stunning Amalfi coast to the corridors of global power. Secret codes, powerful enemies, and a legacy of deception pull them into a world where nothing is as it seems. With each twist, they are forced to question their allies and uncover dark secrets that could shift the global balance of power.

But as the walls close in, Gabe and Anna must risk everything to expose the truth before it’s buried forever. Will they decipher the mystery and reveal the sinister forces at play? Or will they become the next victims of The Amalfi Secret?
Perfect for fans of Dan Brown and Robert Ludlum, The Amalfi Secret is a pulse-pounding thriller that will keep you guessing until the final, breathtaking twist.

Summary: Overall, The Amalfi Secret is a richly layered political and historical thriller that blends mystery, faith, and love against a vivid European backdrop. It’s ideal for readers who enjoy intelligent thrillers, religious or historical mysteries, dual-timeline narratives, and character-driven suspense. 

See the full review here: The Amalfi Secret
Purchase here

Blade Rider by Jaime A. Sevilla

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

Synopsis: In a future where stars map the last frontier and infinite space paves the road to dreams, Raven stands at the precipice of her world. In a vibrant, multi-species society filled with possibilities, she yearns to fly amongst the stars as an Air Ranger, an elite group of space pilots that navigate the cosmos and safeguard the world.

There’s only one catch: females aren’t allowed.

As Raven gets closer to her aspirations and learns what it takes to join them, she discovers lasting friendships,  new challenges, and what it ultimately means to be a ranger.

Can Raven push beyond the boundaries of societal norms and break through the stratosphere of glass ceilings, or will her star-filled quest for acceptance remain out of reach? Join her on this high-stakes,  interstellar ride and experience her exciting journey as she blazes her own path amongst the stars.

Based on the musical by Jaime A. Sevilla, “Blade Rider” spins an electrifying and poignant tale of courage, determination, and the relentless pursuit of dreams.

Summary: Blade Rider is perfect for readers who love hopeful science fiction, YA adventure, and music-infused storytelling. Think Ender’s Game if it had a soundtrack and a heroine who refuses to take no for an answer. Sevilla’s background as a composer gives the book a cinematic flow: every chapter feels scored.

For anyone who ever dreamed of flying — or just fighting for the chance to try — Blade Rider delivers that spark. 

See the full review here: Blade Rider
Purchase here

 

The Gift by Eva Barber

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

Synopsis: Emery travels through the dark dimension guided by dark shadows. She drops into a black hole and plummets into a desolate land that she believes is thousands of years in the past. She has to rely on her instincts to survive and her unwavering spirit to endure the harsh conditions.

A tribal chief’s daughter, Visla, finds her after she ingests poisonous berries and saves her life. Their friendship blossoms as they discover they share similar traits and both mourn the loss of their mothers.

Emery learns of the existence of the “bad people” whose description matches that of her mother. She sets out on a mission to find them. Visla leaves the tribe after learning her father held secrets from her. She joins Emery in her quest, which also becomes hers. But the “bad people” find them first, imprison Emery, and threaten to change Visla into a “superior” being against her will.

Emery escapes her prison using her powers and finds herself in a bizarre underground city with advanced technology outpacing the Stone Age. In her quest to find Visla, she befriends two beings whose humanity she questions. A brother and sister help her for reasons they do not fully understand. Emery’s presence cast doubts on their lives. They begin to suspect it is imposed on them by powerful “superior” beings. Looming over their quest to find Visla is the fear of change inflicted on those who rebel.

Captured again by the enigmatic “bad people”, Emery finds unexpected help from an unfathomable being whose identity further deepens the mystery surrounding her.

In the strange gray city, she stumbles on an artifact that shatters her understanding of the world around her and deepens the mystery further, implicating her mother in humanity’s most atrocious acts performed in the name of progress and survival. To find the answers, she forgoes the safety of the world on the surface and dives back into the underground, discovering more secrets and meeting the Masters—the superior beings with unmatched cruelty and depravity.

She barely escapes with her life, with even more questions, but with a budding understanding of what she has to do to get the answers and continue with her mission. If she’s going to save humanity, she’ll have to make choices that weigh losing what is most precious to her against the world’s survival.

Summary: Overall, The Gift  is a genre-bending blend of science fiction, fantasy, and metaphysical adventure, perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven journeys, time travel, and philosophical explorations of love, purpose, and destiny. Think The Time Traveler’s Wife meets Interstellar, with a touch of spiritual myth. It’s beautifully written and emotionally charged, ideal for fans of romantic sci-fi, cosmic or multiverse fiction, and stories where imagination meets heart. 

See the full review here: The Gift
Purchase here

 

Review: The Gift by Eva Barber

~ likelystory18 ~ 2 Comments

Synopsis:

Emery travels through the dark dimension guided by dark shadows. She drops into a black hole and plummets into a desolate land that she believes is thousands of years in the past. She has to rely on her instincts to survive and her unwavering spirit to endure the harsh conditions.

A tribal chief’s daughter, Visla, finds her after she ingests poisonous berries and saves her life. Their friendship blossoms as they discover they share similar traits and both mourn the loss of their mothers.

Emery learns of the existence of the “bad people” whose description matches that of her mother. She sets out on a mission to find them. Visla leaves the tribe after learning her father held secrets from her. She joins Emery in her quest, which also becomes hers. But the “bad people” find them first, imprison Emery, and threaten to change Visla into a “superior” being against her will.

Emery escapes her prison using her powers and finds herself in a bizarre underground city with advanced technology outpacing the Stone Age. In her quest to find Visla, she befriends two beings whose humanity she questions. A brother and sister help her for reasons they do not fully understand. Emery’s presence cast doubts on their lives. They begin to suspect it is imposed on them by powerful “superior” beings. Looming over their quest to find Visla is the fear of change inflicted on those who rebel.

Captured again by the enigmatic “bad people”, Emery finds unexpected help from an unfathomable being whose identity further deepens the mystery surrounding her.

In the strange gray city, she stumbles on an artifact that shatters her understanding of the world around her and deepens the mystery further, implicating her mother in humanity’s most atrocious acts performed in the name of progress and survival. To find the answers, she forgoes the safety of the world on the surface and dives back into the underground, discovering more secrets and meeting the Masters—the superior beings with unmatched cruelty and depravity.

She barely escapes with her life, with even more questions, but with a budding understanding of what she has to do to get the answers and continue with her mission. If she’s going to save humanity, she’ll have to make choices that weigh losing what is most precious to her against the world’s survival.

Favorite Lines:

“To get all the way here through the dark world and the black hole only to die in the desert would be so pathetic and so wrong. Oh, just shut up and keep going. Stop being a baby. You haven’t even walked a whole day yet.“

“You are the embodiment of perfection. Not just your beauty. Your face, eyes, body, and hair couldn’t be more perfect. Everything about you is perfection, the embodiment of human beauty. But not in the sense our media portrays it. Your perfection and beauty stem from something deeper inside of you. It is timeless, primal, sexual, and intellectual. Your magnetism and strength have no limits, but encompass everything around you and make it shine with life. You embody life and love. You are my Aphrodite.”

My Opinion:

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

The Gift is book 2 in Eva Barber’s Dark World series. You can find my review for book 1, Unborn, here.

The Gift is one of those novels that blurs the boundaries between genres — part science fiction, part spiritual odyssey, and part love story. It opens in the afterlife, in a space both beautiful and terrifying, where Emery is pulled through darkness, light, and time itself. What begins as a quest to find her mother quickly expands into something larger — a story about creation, destiny, and the cost of saving the world. Barber writes with a cinematic style, full of color and motion, yet always anchored in emotion. Every scene feels vivid and alive, from the vast black hole to the primitive landscapes Emery explores.

What struck me most was how personal this story feels, even when it’s operating on a cosmic scale. Emery isn’t a detached hero — she’s grieving, flawed, often angry, and full of questions. Her voice feels real. You can feel her exhaustion, her stubbornness, her wonder. The philosophical ideas about time, destiny, and rebirth work because they’re filtered through her very human fear and longing. The story moves like a dream, but it’s grounded by her voice and her will to survive.

Barber also has a gift for worldbuilding. The scenes through the black hole — the eerie blue lights, the strange worlds, the silvery beings — read like visual art. And when Emery finally lands in a prehistoric world and meets the gentle, curious Visla, the novel shifts tone completely. What was cosmic becomes intimate. Their friendship becomes the emotional center of the book, a bridge between two eras and two souls. Through Visla, the story breathes; it becomes about connection, compassion, and the timelessness of human love.

The Gift asks big questions: What would you sacrifice to save others? Can destiny and free will coexist? And what if the greatest power you carry is love itself? It’s a story that balances science and spirit, mythology and physics, light and shadow. It’s deeply imaginative but never loses its heart. I finished it feeling both small and infinite — which is exactly what a story about the universe should make you feel.

Summary:

Overall, The Gift  is a genre-bending blend of science fiction, fantasy, and metaphysical adventure, perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven journeys, time travel, and philosophical explorations of love, purpose, and destiny. Think The Time Traveler’s Wife meets Interstellar, with a touch of spiritual myth. It’s beautifully written and emotionally charged, ideal for fans of romantic sci-fi, cosmic or multiverse fiction, and stories where imagination meets heart. Happy reading!

Check out The Gift here!

 

Monthly Features – October 2025

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Hummingbird Moonrise by Sherri L. Dodd

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

Synopsis: The past two years have taken their toll on Arista Kelly. Once an eternal optimist, now she has faced the darkness and must recalibrate what true happiness means for her. Meanwhile, Shane, her ex-boyfriend, is pulling all the right moves to help keep her sane from her heightening paranoia. But it doesn’t help that Iris, her Great Aunt Bethie’s friend, has disappeared.

Still, one additional trial remains. While searching for Iris, Bethie and Arista stumble upon a grand revelation in the eccentric woman’s home. With the discovery, they realize their run of chaos and loss of kin may have roots in a curse that dates back to the 1940s—the time when their family patriarch first built Arista’s cottage in the redwoods and crafted his insightful Ouija table.

This pursuit will not follow their accustomed recipe of adrenalized action, but the high stakes remain. Will the mysterious slow burn of unfolding events finally level Arista’s entire world or be fully extinguished, once and for all?

Summary: Overall, Hummingbird Moonrise is a paranormal mystery that works because it never loses its human touch. Yes, there are curses, possessions, and supernatural forces, but there’s also cinnamon bread, inside jokes, and the kind of family loyalty that keeps people moving forward even when the odds feel impossible. What I admired most is the way Dodd lets the suspense simmer without sacrificing warmth. The book left me both unsettled and comforted—a rare combination that lingers long after the last page

See the full review here: Hummingbird Moonrise
Purchase here

 

Unborn by Eva Barber

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

Synopsis: Olesya was not born like other people but was found in the Siberian Forest by a couple unable to have children. Plagued by mysterious visions and dreams, she struggles to fit into a society both as a socially inept but brilliant child and as she becomes part of a research team to discover the nature of dark matter. The findings of this discovery never make it to the scientific community as the project leader goes missing and the physics lab blows up, destroyed by a powerful foe with seemingly noble intentions.

Seattle detectives question Olesya in connection with the explosion and the disappearance of her boss. She becomes a person of interest until she herself goes missing. From her kidnappers, she learns that her parents, knowing she lacked a belly button, suspected she was created by the Russian government as part of a scientific experiment, and emigrated to the USA to hide and protect her. She also learns she possesses powers related to dark matter and of the existence of a brother held captive since his discovery by the Russian government. Even though she suspects her kidnappers’ interest in her and their motivations aren’t so noble, she joins them in rescuing her brother. Catastrophic world events following the successful rescue force her to continue working with her foes to save the world from destruction.

While working to save the world, Olesya experiences a moral dilemma and becomes someone she never thought she’d be—a mother. Olesya learns of mysterious chambers scattered around the world, and her visions return to haunt her, until she opens the chambers and learns their secrets, wishing she hadn’t. Now she faces the heart-wrenching realization that she must travel into a dark dimension to save the world from self-destruction. Worse yet, her daughter, Emery, is the key to humanity’s salvation and must follow her mother once she becomes an adult because she is the only being who can travel where no one else can to restore balance to the universe and return with an extraordinary gift for humanity. But powerful entities have reasons to keep the gift away from humanity and will do anything to stop her.

Summary: Overall, Unborn is a haunting, beautiful story about science, motherhood, and the unknowable threads that connect us. It’s the kind of book that lingers quietly after you’ve finished it — the kind that leaves you wondering whether what you just read was speculative fiction or something closer to a modern myth.

If you like stories that mix atmosphere and emotion — think The Time Traveler’s Wife, Never Let Me Go, or The Daughter of Doctor Moreau — you’ll find something to love here. It’s for readers who enjoy a story that makes you think and feel at the same time; readers who don’t mind when mystery lingers even after the answers come. 

See the full review here: Unborn
Purchase here

 

Smoke on the Wind by Syvila Weatherford

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

Synopsis: “Smoke on the Wind” is a captivating tale that weaves the perils and dangers encountered on the Western frontier by Will Lawton, a young Black cowboy, after kidnapping then wedding his young Native American bride, Niabi. He plods a path packed with uncertainty that ultimately winds its way to an unthinkable opportunity – a race for free land.

Follow the characters of Smoke: the beautiful Louisa Ortega, who haunts the memory of the Chief’s son, Nashoba; Captain Horton, head of Fort Townsend, charged with keeping peace between settlers and tribes, and Dakota Sam, a rambunctious Civil War veteran attached to his military blues and backwoodsman ways.

This is the second book in an epic series, following the success of Weatherford’s first novel, “Blessings from the Four Winds.”

In this sequel, new characters are introduced: Liao Ming Chow, a Chinese immigrant, Sargent Thomas of the Buffalo Soldiers, and Mr. Todd Morgan the railroad tycoon. Niabi and Will raise two children and enjoy the protective company of their horses: Rodeo and FireTip. Their journey is marked by resilience, the spirit of community, and the ongoing struggle for safety and belonging.

Summary: Overall, Smoke on the Wind is a vivid continuation of America’s untold stories — where race, heritage, and faith collide. It’s tender and unflinching, full of voices that feel like they’ve been waiting a century to be heard. Weatherford writes history the way it deserves to be written: not as distant fact, but as living memory. For readers who are drawn to immersive, historical fiction.

See the full review here: Smoke on the Wind
Purchase here