Month: June 2026

Review of Owl is Calm by Leanne Leeds

/ authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Synopsis:
A wellness retreat for the magically exhausted.
A guru floating in a sensory tank.
A “relaxing” weekend that’s anything but zen.

After fighting an elf for the soul of her sister, Astra Arden is ready for a nap. Her sister Althea, fresh from a dimensional kidnapping, needs serious R&R. The solution? A girls’ weekend at Serenity Springs. It’s supposed to be all lavender mists, crystal grids, and silence… until that silence is shattered by a scream.

When the retreat’s charismatic guru is found floating face-down in a sensory deprivation tank, the “no stress” policy is officially void. Trapped behind wards that dampen their magic to ensure “deep healing,” Astra and her sisters must root out a killer among the zen-obsessed guests without their usual powers.

With Lothian trying to smuggle in contraband caffeine and Archie engaging in a turf war with the retreat’s peacock mascot, Astra has to find the truth before her relaxing getaway becomes a permanent vacation.

Review:
Someday the Arden family is going to have a reprieve; but this wellness retreat is not that day. This book did great at giving a good mystery that I personally figured out quite early on but despite that, I was more concerned with the people. Having experienced life without magic for the first time ever, the Arden sisters are forced to consider what and who they are if they cannot rely on magic. It can be easy to take something that you had innate talent and wonder if you actually are good at it or if you were just lucky, but as the Arden family discovers, what you can do is very much linked to how you spent your time honing the skills around those talents. A quick an easy read, missing only the sass of our favourite bacon loving owl. Would recommend to anyone looking for a cozy mystery with no spice.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of Unveil by Greer Rivers

/ authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Synopsis:
A dark Swan Lake retelling where the ‘villain’ steals the girl, set in a world of secret pacts, feuding families, and primal obsession.

He’s her curse, but she’s his salvation, and he’ll do anything to keep the ones he loves safe.

Rebellious ballerina Luna Bordeaux may be the darling of the New Orleans elite, but she’s destined to dance in her parents’ shadows. Her twenty-second birthday was supposed to be her escape. One last performance, one necessary breakup, then? Freedom.

Except her white knight of a boyfriend just proposed on stage.

And now her masked stalker has crashed the engagement party…

Orion Fury has protected Luna for years, counting the seconds until he can claim his future wife, honoring a vow made between their fathers decades ago. His discipline has only ever slipped once, but his enemy just crossed the line. All bets are off, and a night that began with a party ends in kidnapping and murder.

Now Luna is a stolen bride with blood on her slippers and a target on her back, trapped in the wilderness with the man who hunted her. But Orion isn’t the only predator in these woods, and the men coming for her will do anything to stop the Fury-Bordeaux alliance.

Her villain may be the one person she’s determined to hate, but is he the only one dangerous enough to keep her alive?


Review:
“Once again, I blame dark romance books, and maybe the fact this so-called “meet-cute” runs in the family.” (Page 122)

This book had me from the very beginning. Greatly paced with lots of action–both dangerous and dangerously romantic. I loved the Swan Lake tie in and the ballet, and how Luna wants to set herself apart from her mother. There are so many intricate thoughts and feelings of someone trying to find their place and not see themselves through another’s eyes or in another’s shadow that is very relatable. This book also touches on the serious topics of parental loss and mental health disorders, in a respectful and believable manner. As with previous Greer Rivers novels, I absolutely love Masque and that sort of masked connection–masterfully done. A mixture of Phantom of the Opera and Appalachian mountains/being in the outdoors was pure perfection. That being said, while this is a dark romance, there were some aspects that I didn’t personally resonate with regarding certain red bodily fluids. There was also a bit less build up/connection between Orion and Luna than most Tattered Curtain couples have, leaving a little too much potential Stockholm Syndrome. Regardless, a fabulous book, and great seeing the Tattered Curtain couples with their families a bit later in life.

I would recommend this book if you’d like a dark romantic Phantom of the Opera retelling, entwined with ballet (Swan Lake), mixed with the mafia where the villain gets the girl.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of Night Maze by Helen Harper

/ authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Synopsis:
It’s one thing to be dealing death. It’s quite another to deal with the undead.

Kit McCafferty has never been fond of vampires but she can’t refuse the opportunity to learn more about their kind. When she is invited into the clandestine underground world of the Understream to investigate the mysterious disappearance of some giant worms, she soon discovers there is far more to the fanged creatures than she’d ever realised.

Danger, secrets and mysteries abound in every dark, twisting tunnel. Is there anyone in the depths who Kit can trust? Or will she have to rely on her wits – and her cats – alone?

Review:
“He might look like the winner on paper—but life wasn’t lived in ink and books.” (Page 107)

This book was a wonderful whirlwind from start to finish. Kit, despite her intentions, continues revealing more and more of herself beyond cat lady to preternaturals. There was a great mystery to be solved, and it is great to see that Kit has begun to see a new world for herself beyond just being in early retirement as it’s obvious she was used to keeping busy. All of the relationships had great depth; it is always especially amusing to see what happens with each new cat Kit has to engage in hair giving adventures. I absolutely loved the tie in between this Cat Lady Chronicles adventure and Squib. I cannot wait to read more in this universe.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Stir Crazy by Lara McKenzie

/ authoramysbrown / Leave a comment

Synopsis:
After Scorpion and Dax’s devastating fallout over Project Purity, Maya finds herself walking on eggshells around the shadow demon she loves. The bond between them is strained, and Ashvale Nocturn is feeling less like a sanctuary and more like a pressure cooker.

Meanwhile, Dax is carrying secrets, guilt, and enough emotional damage to destabilise the realms, while Genevieve launches Claw & Order into full investigative chaos with ghost shrimp professionalism and no ethical restraint.

Packed with brutal honesty, dark humor, and the messy reality of forgiveness, Stir Crazy is the sixth instalment in the Maya’s Blogs series about love, loyalty, rebuilding trust, and what happens when emotionally repressed warlords finally start talking.

Review:
This book was the first that while part of Maya’s Blogs, didn’t really read the same. All the parts about Genevieve were absolutely fantastic; she maintains her wit and banter admirably. Unfortunately, this book fell a bit flat for me. There wasn’t an overall arching climax, and while many things from previous books/issues were resolved, the biggest problem Maya faced in this book was not in any way fixed by the end. While some may argue that is how life is, this book, while touching on trauma, motherhood, and how things get left behind, missed the urgency and plot of previous Maya’s Blogs books.

Star rating: ✯✯✯