Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Steampunk
Length: 422 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: May 19, 2026
ASIN: B0FMS8WC25
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Trials of Irody Harp series
Source: eBook for Review from NetGalley
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Irody Hasp is a Mortedant, a cleric tasked with reading the last thoughts of the dead—though no one thanks him for it. No Mortedant is popular, but Irody is scarcely tolerated even by the other members of his own guild, and rarely selected for anything but the lowliest of jobs.

This impoverished existence would be dismal enough—but after reading the corpse of a low-level records keeper, Irody’s troubles quickly multiply when his own apprentice is murdered, and all fingers point to him as a suspect. The only way to save his own skin is to find the real culprit himself, an investigation that quickly attracts powerful enemies with few scruples, and draws him into a plot that threatens the entire corrupt yet wondrous city he calls home.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in The Trials of Irody Harp series. I got this on ebook from NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: I ended up really loving this. The characters are interesting, and the world-building is amazing. This is a murder mystery wrapped into an intriguing city of strange magic powers and steampunk elements. I have been meaning to read some of Barker’s books for years; this is the first one of his book’s I have read, and I loved it! I will definitely be adding his other series to my “to read” pile.

Irody Hasp is a Mortedant and a good one, he can read the last thoughts of the dead. However, he is disliked by his guild and ends up on some of the lowliest of jobs. When his apprentice ends up murdered, Irody is stuck trying to find the killer or be blamed for the death himself. With someone trying to assassinate him and a guard placed on him, he must navigate this complex city in order to clear his name. Along the way, he starts to unravel some truly awful secrets of both the ruling parties of the city and secrets of the city itself.

The description in here made me feel like I was walking through this world first hand; it was incredibly well done. Irody Hasp is not a likable person, no one likes him, however he ends up strangely likable and engaging by the end of the story. He ends up pulling together a sort of odd found family in a young thief girl who becomes his Neophyte and a strange “person of the sea” named Whisper who is assigned as a guard to him. The three of them end up dodging assassination attempts and unraveling the deep secrets of this complex city as they try to figure out who murdered Irody’s original Neophyte.

I found this story incredibly compelling. Part of what drives the story is unraveling the secret behind the murder of a low tier accountant that Irody is asked to read. You can’t help but wonder if Irody will solve the mystery before he is put to death himself. The other part of what drives the story is the complex city of Elbay. Elbay has so many layers to it and each is more mysterious and complex than the last.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this and was constantly looking forward to picking this up to read. I was absolutely transported to this amazing world every time I started reading. I loved this complex and mysterious city and the complex and mysterious characters who dwell there. I look forward to the next book in the series, “Mortedant’s Enigma”, which is scheduled to release in May 2027. This had similarities in tone to the Ana and Din Mysteries (Shadow of the Leviathan series) by Robert Jackson Bennett. I think if you enjoy the Shadow of the Leviathan series, you would enjoy this one as well.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal/Romance
Length: 351 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 1, 2026
ASIN: B0G4M77H6L
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eBook for Review from NetGalley
Rating: 4/5 stars

“After her parents’ death, twenty-seven-year-old Brie has mastered the art of compartmentalization to survive her mind-numbing routine as a receptionist at a life insurance company. But when she accidentally catches her hot, uptight boss, Luke, performing an exorcism on Debra from accounting, her carefully ordered world implodes.

Swearing Brie to secrecy, Luke reveals he’s from a line of demon hunters and that demonic activity is spiking. But when her emotional support coworker vanishes, Brie is determined to find her. With nothing left to lose, she convinces Luke to let her join his rescue mission.

The problem? Their destination is hell. And the entrance is in Times Square.

Now Brie and Luke must navigate a corporate underworld of monsters and bureaucratic nightmares while racing to save their colleague and repair a tearing veil between worlds. All before their growing feelings become irrelevant and hell claims them forever.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this on ebook from NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: This was a fun read, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I was going to. There is some adventuring through hell, a lot of humor, surprisingly engaging characters, and some romance. I was not expecting the whole monster hunter vibe to this, and I really enjoyed it. Prior to reading this book I had read Mackenzie’s “The Rosewood Hunt” and really loved that.

Brie is recovering from her parents’ death by completely starting over in life with a new job as an admin at an insurance company. She ends up working late one night only to stumble upon her boss, Luke, exorcising a demon from horrible Debra in accounting. When women start disappearing (one of them being Brie’s new friend), Brie is determined to help find her. Unfortunately for Brie that means journeying into the depths of hell with her uptight, hot, demon-hunter boss Luke.

This was fast-paced and fun with a lot of action and some adventure. We get to journey through hell’s landscape which is more like a corporate hellscape with bureaucratic nightmares than some fiery pit. Brie finds out her skill in beating a fax machine into submission might be more useful than she ever knew. Brie is incredibly resourceful, and Luke finds that incredibly hot. So, things happen along the way, and Brie and Luke get to really know each other in some pretty steamy ways.

I enjoyed the characters and the dark corporate humor throughout. Even the side characters were well done and fun. I liked the action and the fast pace to this. This was just a lot of fun. It is a quick, one-off sort of story that is entertaining and easy to read. Was it really thought-provoking or super creative? No, not really, but I enjoyed it for what it was. I seem to really connect with Reed’s writing style and pace.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this a lot. This was a fun and darkly humorous read that had engaging characters, a fast-paced plot, some good adventure, action and romance. It was an excellent balance of a lot of things I enjoy. I enjoyed this book and “The Rosewood Hunt” so much that I will definitely be checking out what other books Reed has written and keep an eye out for future books by her.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Cozy Fantasy
Length: 412 pages
Publisher: ‎ Independently published
Release Date: July 7, 2026
ASIN: B0GRWM3V9B
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the MEOW series
Source: Borrowed ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Sable’s life is colliding in strange ways. As the steady heart of the Magical Emporium of Wares, she thought she’d finally mastered the art of brewing magical lattes and managing interdimensional foot traffic. But as the shop’s foundations begin to hum with a restless energy, the role of Shopkeeper and the long-buried secrets surrounding her own family are finally coming to light.

They say gifts shouldn’t come with strings attached, but what about ripples through fate? In a rare moment of vulnerability, the Cat offers Sable a selfless present: a gesture of kindness that should have been a blessing. Instead, it triggers a cascade of unintended consequences, leading them both down roads better left untraveled.

Every decision pulls on the silver threads that tie the Cat to the shop, and the shop to a tree older than memory. The roots are deep, the magic is binding, and the clock is ticking. If Sable can’t find a way to untangle the knots of the past and free the Cat, he may be bound to the shop, and his feline form, forever.

As the Emporium’s floorboards tremble and ancient powers stir, it all comes down to a single question: is the Cat capable of trusting Sable? Or will his own stubbornness be the downfall of them all?”

Series Info/Source: This is the 3rd book in the MEOW series. I borrowed this on ebook through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this continuation of the MEOW series. As with previous books, pacing feels a bit off in this one. We get a lot of day to day life in the first 3/4’s of the book and this weaves into the broader story, and then bam! a ton happens in the last part of the book. While I enjoy the day to day operation of the Magical Emporium, I would have liked to have time to enjoy all the revelations towards the end of the book as well.

Sable is getting better and better at navigating the Emporium’s magic, and her own magic is growing as well. Indigo is growing by leaps and bounds, but the Cat has been odd. The Emporium seems to have an agenda of its own, one that the Cat cannot use the Book to predict. Sable is determined to free the Cat from his curse, but what will doing that cost her?

As with previous books, the majority of this book is day to day operations of the Magical Emporium. We visit more intriguing worlds and meet new intriguing characters, which I adored. A lot of time is also spent navigating the relationships within the shop and dealing with Indigo’s schooling and the dragons.

I loved how Sable is learning more about her magic and how she is collecting intriguing magical items. It broke my heart how the Cat felt like he needed to keep so many things secret and didn’t trust Sable enough; it’s like history repeating itself over and over again.

I also continued to really enjoy all the characters in the story and the cozy, yet strangely, adventurous feel to the whole series. This is well written and easy to read, even if it is slow at points.

There is so much that happens right at the end of the book that I had to go back and re-read it. So much changes so quickly with Sable’s birth family, with her magic, and with the Cat. I really would have preferred getting to this point earlier in the book so that we could have learned more about all of this and spent a bit more time processing it all.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. I continue to love the premise, the interesting worlds we hear about, and the intriguing characters we meet. I love the characters and enjoy the progress the story makes; both in regards to Sable’s growing magic and to Cat’s curse. The pacing is off at points. Some of the beginning was a bit slow, and the ending felt too rushed. I look forward to reading the next, and I believe final, books in this series “Harmony & Home” when it releases later this year.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy / Paranormal
Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Release Date: September 22, 2026
ASIN: B0GPJG4FQW
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley for review from NetGalley
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Cleo is a willfully aloof college student with an impossible secret. When she meets Wes, a brooding musician, at a Halloween party, their connection is instant, electric, and impossible to ignore. Their romance takes a mystical turn when Wes discovers what Cleo’s been hiding: sometimes she takes the form of his pet cat.

Enter Bailey and Ollie—their magical counterparts—who reveal a deeper tie between Cleo and Wes: he’s a witch, and she’s his familiar. As past secrets collide with their entangled present, Cleo faces her greatest fear—losing Wes. With long-gone threats returning and danger looming, Cleo must confront her role in their dark and violent shared history and decide if she’s willing to fight for their future.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this on ebook to review through NetGalley.

Thoughts: This was okay but a bit of a mess. I finished it because it is one of those books where it’s kind of a disaster you struggle to look away from. The pacing was off, the characters were awful to each other, and the storyline kept getting lost in the drama.

Cleo is a college student with a huge secret; she occasionally turns into Cat. With the death of her aunt, she’s decided to rent out the main house to other college students for income and make a studio apartment of sorts out of the shed. Cat has been drawn to Wes and when Cat accidentally shifts into Cleo in front of him, Cleo’s secret is out. When two strangers, Bailey and Ollie, show up at the house the world Wes and Cleo knows is turned on its head. Bailey and Ollie are a witch and a familiar. They believe that Cleo is Wes’s familiar. The four of them form a Coven and start performing magic. However Bailey and Wes both want to know what happened to their parents so they keep pushing to scry the past, which is something better left in the shadows.

This was an oddly paced book. It had side characters that went in and out of the story a bit willy nilly. I struggled throughout to find the thread of the story: is this about Wes and Cleo? Is this about witches? What about the Nots that Cat hunts? In they end, they all tie together…kind of. It is a mess to get through and the reason behind of the Nots and the actions from the past feel forced and contrived because they are brought into the story so abruptly.

So why did I finish it? Honestly, it’s a bit like a train wreck you can’t look away from. I think my main driver in finishing this was to find out if Cleo ever finds any happiness or peace. Yes, a familiar in Cleo’s past did a bad thing, but the past isn’t Cleo’s present. Yes, Cleo was prickly, but she had a lot of reason to be. I found the way people turned on her repeatedly to be disappointing. I also found the way that she is forced to sacrifice her happiness again and again to be depressing. The ending left me disappointed and angry.

This is okay. I did find the look at a witch and this sort of shape-shifting familiar interesting. If your whole purpose in life is to support another person’s, what does that do to you? There are interesting parallels between the scenarios here and the whole blooming trad wife culture. Beyond that, this was a hot mess and needed to be better edited. I was oscillating between 2 stars and 3 stars, but I did finish it and it was a quick read, so 3 stars it is.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this was a mess; the storyline is all over the place, the characters are cruel, and the pacing is off. It was engaging enough for me to finish, but I found the ending sad and disappointing. I don’t plan to pick up any books by Mortlock in the future.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 456 pages
Publisher: Bindery Books
Release Date: September 22, 2026
ASIN: B0GHZKF6QZ
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley for review from NetGalley
Rating: 4/5 stars

“There are many ways to bring down the man who betrayed you—and Myria Cadessa has thought of them all.

Cracking the Elysius Vault should’ve made Myria the richest thief in all Carintheum. Instead, it shattered her crew and left her rotting in jail while her double-crossing master walked away with everything that should’ve been hers.

But now she’s out, and it’s time to settle the score. Reunite her crew? A pleasure. Steal back everything her erstwhile leader took? And then some. She’ll just need to trick the king of all tricksters, with the law on her heels, and a troublesome new ally whose loyalties seem as conflicted as his feelings for Myria. It’s the most audacious heist she’s ever attempted, but she failed her crew once. This time, she’ll make it right—at any cost.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this on ebook to review through NetGalley.

Thoughts: This story started out a bit rough but ended up picking up pace and started to really hold my interest at about 25% in. This is a well done revenge story that has an intriguing cast of characters and is set in an interesting world.

Myria and her team have been given a task to rob the Elysius Vault and then everything goes wrong. Myria finds herself in a light security prison for three years in exchange for her silence. However, once she gets out she is bound and determined to make the person who betrayed her pay. Unfortunately, she didn’t account for an officer being charged with helping her to “blend” back into society. Myria is trying to run her schemes, reform her crew, and dodge an inquisitive (and very helpful) lawman.

This starts out rough. We are very quickly introduced to multiple characters, who then all end up missing or dead…I mean very quickly…like in the first chapter. It left my head spinning a bit and left me wondering why all these people had been introduced and then quickly removed from the story. It does make sense in the end, but it would have been nice to have more time to get to know all these characters before they are taken out of the story. It left me feeling like, okay why am I supposed to care what happens to all these thieves?

The story alternates POV between the officer, Felix, and Myria. I enjoyed both POVs. This is a pretty straight-forward revenge story but also weaves in some other unique elements. Felix has shattered his magic and desperately wants it working again. Myria doesn’t have magic which is odd in this world. This is an intriguing world of magic and has a bit of a steampunk feel to it as well. While the world wasn’t laid out in a lot of detail, it has a lot of potential.

I kind of felt the same way about the characters as I did about the world. The side characters are all very interesting people in their own right, unfortunately we never get to learn much about them and they come across as lacking depth because of this. I would have liked time to get to know all of these characters (including Myria and Felix) better.

I appreciate how the author made this into a stand alone fantasy. I also greatly appreciate that this didn’t devolve into a romantasy; there is very little to no romance in this book. However, I can’t help but feel this could have made an even better duology or trilogy. I would have loved more time to delve into this intriguing world and get to know these fascinating characters.

This was well written, easy to read, and fast paced. It just felt a bit rushed and not as detailed as it could have been. I did enjoy the way things wrapped up, but again it felt rushed.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I am happy to have read this, it was entertaining and presents the reader with an intriguing world and fascinating characters. I believe this is Lockwood’s debut novel and it is well done. My main complaints are that I wanted to know more about this world and I wanted to get to know these characters better. I hope Lockwood writes more books set in this world and possibly features some of the side characters in new stories. I would recommend if you enjoy revenge fantasy and like intriging magical worlds.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal/Mystery
Length: 4 hours and 55 minutes
Publisher: Sittin’ On A Goldmine Productions LLC
Release Date: March 17, 2022
ASIN: B09VRDJXQF
Stand Alone or Series: 10th book in the Mitzy Moon series
Source: Audiobook from Audible
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Mitzy Moon doesn’t do sports, but girlfriends are supposed to try new things. And watching her handsome sheriff’s team strut their stuff across the ice has its perks. But the thrill fades faster than cheap lipstick when the opponent’s captain is found murdered, and her boyfriend is the prime suspect.

With no alibi, her main squeeze quickly loses his badge and gets tossed off the case—and the harder Mitzy digs for the truth, the guiltier he looks. She’ll need the help of her interfering Ghost-ma and a spoiled feline to clear her beau and still have time to make a special pie for the holiday potluck!

Can Mitzy score a win for the home team, or will her dreams of a clean sweep be forever frozen?”

Series Info/Source: This is the 10th book in the Mitzy Moon series. I listened to this on audiobook from Audible.

Thoughts: This was another fun addition to the Mitzy Moon series. If you enjoyed previous books in series this is more of the same. I get these to listen to on audiobook for a 4 hour road trip I need to do each month for work and they are the perfect length for that.

This time Sheriff Harper is in trouble after a broomball match goes bad and the man Sheriff Harper (Eric) was arguing with turns up dead the next morning. With Eric in the clanker, Mitzy has to figure out the what really happened…because Eric wouldn’t really kill someoen….would he? This time Mitzy is going undercover at the local college and investigating a dead professor/broomball player.

If you have liked previous books, you will enjoy this one. It is very much more of the same…with the twist that the accused murderer is Eric this time.

I continue to enjoy the quirky characters and small town of Pin Cherry Harbor. Mitzy is still discovering her powers and it is fun to see both her sense of self and her powers grow some in each book. At this point, while I never find these books amazing or anything, I do enjoy visiting these characters and reading about a goofy new mystery. I also really enjoy the northern setting on a Great Lake (since that is where I live).

I listened to this on audiobook and the narration is very well done. Marlo does a great job with character voices and helps the reader to really engage with and stay in the story.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a solid addition to the Mitzy Moon series. I continue to enjoy the humor, the quirky characters, and northern great lake small town vibes. I love that Mitzy continues to grow both as an individual and in her powers. This was a well done mystery that was a lot of fun to listen to. If you like humorous cozy small town paranormal mysteries I would definitely recommend this series.

In August I read 10 books. You can see the reviews for all of them, which ones were my favorite, etc. below.

Hope you all had a great month of reading!

I started the following series:

• Demons and Diplomacy (Ministry of Supernatural Affairs, Book 1) by Megan Frampton (4/5 stars)
• Tea and Empathy (Tales of Rydding Village, Book 1) by Shanna Swendson, Narrated by Elizabeth Sastre (4/5 stars)
• Devour Me (Devour Me, Book 1) by Emily Rath (4/5 stars)

I finished the following series:

• Conquering Reality & Other Misconduct (The Guild Codex: Warped, Book 6) by Annette Marie, Rob Jacobsen (5/5 stars)

My Favorite Books of the Month Were:

• A Trade of Blood (Shadow of the Leviathan, Book 3) by Robert Jackson Bennett (5/5 stars)
• Conquering Reality & Other Misconduct (The Guild Codex: Warped, Book 6) by Annette Marie, Rob Jacobsen (5/5 stars)

– Goodreads Reading Challenge (Progress: 104/150)

The full list of books that I read this month are shown below:
1. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston (3/5 stars)
2. A Trade of Blood (Shadow of the Leviathan, Book 3) by Robert Jackson Bennett (5/5 stars)
3. Portrait of a Witch Undone by K.S. Shay (2/5 stars)
4. Demons and Diplomacy (Ministry of Supernatural Affairs, Book 1) by Megan Frampton (4/5 stars)
5. Tea and Empathy (Tales of Rydding Village, Book 1) by Shanna Swendson, Narrated by Elizabeth Sastre (4/5 stars)
6. Devour Me (Devour Me, Book 1) by Emily Rath (4/5 stars)
7. Conquering Reality & Other Misconduct (The Guild Codex: Warped, Book 6) by Annette Marie, Rob Jacobsen (5/5 stars)
8. All Hail Chaos (Time of Iron, Book 2) by Sarah Rees Brennan (3/5 stars)
9. In Ascension by Martin MacInnes (3/5 stars)
10. Midlife Magical Rogue (Leveling Up, Book 12) by K.F. Breene (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Length: 558 pages
Publisher: Hazy Dawn Press, Inc
Release Date: March 19, 2026
ASIN: B0DS54C4M6
Stand Alone or Series: 12th book in the Leveling Up series
Source: Borrowed on ebook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars

“As Austin continues his tour to bring shifters into the convocation, he hears whispers about a powerful rogue no one dares bring into their territory—a shifter who strikes first and asks questions later.

Jessie and Austin, however, never walk away from someone in need. Unfortunately, they’re racing against the clock.

Evan, the new gargoyle cairn leader, has asked to meet the Mistress of Ivy House.

What should be straightforward quickly spirals out of control…because nothing is ever simple when Niamh is behind the wheel.

Soon, Jessie’s crew is juggling a volatile rogue and a growing mob of furious gargoyles who don’t appreciate being taunted on their home turf.

As always with this crew, chaos isn’t just possible…it’s inevitable.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 12th book in the Leveling Up series. I borrowed this on ebook from Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this addition to the Leveling Up series. In some ways this is starting to feel a bit repetitive; Jessie and Austin and crew are journeying to different groups trying to convince these groups to join their convocation. This series is starting to focus on other characters a bit more and I still really enjoy the characters and humor here. However, I am ready to move on from this journeying around, facing impossible odds, and showing how awesome they are to coax people into joining them. The books in this series do not stand alone well, you should definitely start from the beginning.

This story is in two parts. The first part involves Austin, Jessie and crew going to a new gargoyle cairn to meet with their leader, Evan, in an effort to get him to joing the convocation. The second part is Austin and Jessie going to track down a powerful rogue shapeshifter. Mages get involved, Niamh has a plan (probably many plans), and things are heating up between Natasha and Tristan.

At this point things are starting to feel a bit formulaic. Jessie, Austin and crew go out to meet some powerful new head of something, end up of in a fight, and have to prove their worth. Then the new head thinks they are awesome and wants to join the convocation. I’m kind of ready for the series to move on to the battle with Momar.

I did like the fact that (although we do spend time with Jessie and Austin) we get to spend time with other characters. Natasha and Tristan were front and center this story and we get to know them better and watch their relationship develop. This was nice because they seem like interesting characters but have always blended into the background with all the other characters some. I also continue to really enjoy Fred a lot, Fred’s hilarious.

This was easy to read and engaging; I breezed through it fairly quickly. However we switch POV a lot on this book. Although I love to hear from all the characters, this definitely messed up the flow of the story at points and kind of took me out of it. It makes the book kind of a lot and kind of slow all at the same. I would prefer if these focused on a couple characters. I do understand with how big the story has gotten and with the number of characters involved this would be really tough to do.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this. This was a fun read and I enjoyed the characters and was happy to spend time with them again. I enjoyed getting to know Natasha and Tristan better. I did find the plot to be a bit repetitive and there is a lot of jumping around between POV. I am curious to see where things go because I think I read somewhere that Breene thinks this series is going to take another 2-3 books to wrap up.