First off the block was fellow author, blogger, and reviewer Lilyana Shadowlyn. Read her fantastically well-written review here: And if you’d like to know more about my main protagonist, Myrtle Coldron, how about a day in the life of a rookie witch. Read more in Dru’s Book Musings:

“Down the Hatch”, the sequel to my award-winning debut novel was reviewed by Literary Titan and gained praise! Read here what’s it all about: Down the Hatch: A Magical Misfits Mystery by Lina Hansen is about Myrtle Coldron, a witch who is not in complete control of her magic, and as she struggles, others want to take charge of the coven. Myrtle finds herself taking on a lot of responsibilities, including running her family’s bed and breakfast business, while other events unravel around her. When she…Continue Reading “Praise for “Down the Hatch””

You know you’re in trouble when your grandmother is a tree. Summers in the Fields of Bliss is a charming story filled with an amazing cast of (paranormal) types, none of which fits the mold. Vampire – check. But not your average blood-thirsty nightwalker. Fairies- check. But not your average cute fluttery beauties. Trolls, witches, and gods galore (the latter is a royal pain in the patootie). The author basically took her hometown, inserted her love for the place in the story, and then proceeded…Continue Reading “Book Review – Summers in the Fields of Bliss by Elisabeth Comiskey”

Book 2 in the Kea Wright Mysteries, this one works quite well as a standalone. I’m the living proof; I never read the first. It’s called “Cold Flood” and features a volcano erupting under an ice cap together a sneaky killer causing accidents on icy mountain slopes. As Mysteries go, that’s certainly an original idea, and I get the impression the author’s USP is knowledge about intriguing biological, geographical, and other scientific wonders he aptly presents to the readers. For me, that works. Minor gripe…Continue Reading “Fiction Review – The Meerkat Murders by R.J. Corgan”

B.T Polcari Against my Better Judgment This is a lighthearted young adult mystery starring Sara Donovan, a slightly disorganised—nah, let’s be fair about it: super-dysfunctional college freshman with a mortal fear of germs who encounters a bunch of antiquities smugglers – just in time for finals. Mauzzy to the rescue. Mauzzy is not the local sheriff, just in case you wondered. Nor is he a significant other of any form. That’s the privilege of the nicely-butted neighbour. No, Mauzzy’s a dachshund with extraordinary bladder control….Continue Reading “Review of B.T. Polcari “Against my Better Judgment””

I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. What a great story premise. Set in the seedier side of Victorian London, the novel introduces Detective Nathanial Brannick. His wife having died from consumption, he’s given the case of a young Irishwoman who suffered from the same wasting disease that is now ravaging Brannick himself.  To ease the pain, he’s consuming opium – the archetypal flawed detective. There’s more to it. Like a bloody birthmark on his wrist and an eerie…Continue Reading ““Consumed” by Justin Alcala”

THE BAT is part of a string of stories told by the patrons of The Red Grouse Inn. I can see them there, sitting by the fire, a pint in their hands, spinning their yarns. I liked THE BAT, a coming-of-age story since it demonstrates that adult fiction does not have to pivot on adult protagonists. Instead, the friends enjoy Thomas’s tale, and the reader gets to listen in.Actually, while this set-up frames the narrative, it also creates a bit of a distance. We know…Continue Reading “Review of Leslie Garland’s “The Bat””

Original and unique, both the story premise and the setting of Margaret Holton’s TRILLIUM triggered my interest. TRILLIUM tells the story of Canada’s Niagara Peninsula from the advent of the first European settlers in 1750 up to the beginning of this millennium, a story that becomes an epic journey not only through time but also a very specific location. A story? No: an epic saga of three families spanning generations. Three young settlers, Tom, Franco, and Paddy sow the seeds of the novel, that grows…Continue Reading “Review of “Trillium” By Margaret L. Holton”