Month: June 2025

Review: Guardians of Glyndor: The Disappearing Creatures

Title: Guardians of Glyndor: The Disappearing Creatures
Author: Nicoleclaire C.
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Independent
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 25, 2025
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Jesse is always counting—the forty-two tiles in his café, the 37.8 percent chance of rain on Thursdays, and the stubborn minutes that keep him stuck behind the counter. It’s how he makes sense of a world that’s never quite made sense of him. Halfway across the globe, Emilyfeels too much, drowning in emotions that don’t belong to her, in a world that always asks her to be less.

Their lives change when a mysterious green-haired woman appears with an invitation to Glyndor, a prestigious school hidden in Eldora—the First Earth. In this world, magic is deeply personal. Jesse and Emily train alongside students from all over Earth, where quirks, traits, and personalities shape the magic they wield.

But Eldora is dying. Its magic is fading. The wealthy hoard what remains, while the Blanched are left powerless. As the Three Moons align, Eldora’s guardians start to disappear. Strange creatures emerge. Whispers of an ancient darkness grow louder. And amid it all, Jesse and Emily find themselves drawn together by something neither of them can ignore.

In this coming-of-age tale of magic, love and friendship, Jesse and Emily must decide who they are and what they stand for—before all they hold dear is lost.

Review:

This is a fun fantasy story set in a magical school. There were a few main characters, including Jesse who was neurodivergent. One part of the book that I really liked was the illustrations of the characters throughout the book. I love being able to see exactly what the characters look like on the page. There were some exciting twists in the story too!

Guardians of Glyndor is an exciting YA fantasy!

Thank you Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!

Content warning: death, parental death (off page)

Have you read Guardians of Glyndor? What did you think of it?

Review: Bad Guy

Title: Bad Guy
Author: Ana Diamond
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Ebook
Release Date: February 10, 2025
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Luke Daniels has done his fair share of bad things. But when the FBI offers him a deal in exchange for infiltrating the local Mafia’s infamous Costa Crew, Luke has no choice but to accept the challenge.

Beautiful, smart and tough, Sophia Costa wants out of the Crew. Appointed boss by her brother after he’s sent to prison, she wants no part in the murder, deceit and secrecy typical of Mafia life.

Just as things heat up between Luke and Sophia, a mysterious hitman targets Sophia, and Luke’s handler starts to wonder if Luke is up for the task.

As the lovers face the possibility of losing everything in order to be together, the line between loyalty and betrayal blur.

Review:

I really enjoyed this story. It was a fast paced mafia story, and it was quite short at under 200 pages. The events kept moving quickly. The characters were well developed from the beginning, which can be tough to do in a short book. There was also a bit of romance. 

Bad Guy is a great mafia thriller!

Thank you The Wild Rose Press for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!

Content warnings: death, parental death, broken bone, gun violence

Have you read Bad Guy? What did you think of it?

Review: Haunted Gem

Title: Haunted Gem
Author: Gabriella Lucas
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Ebook
Release Date: February 24, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

She talks to ghosts. He talks to God.

Gemma Martelli knows where all the bodies are buried—and she talks to their spirits to help detectives solve cases. All she needs is a piece of jewelry from the deceased to make contact. When a detective asks for her help on a cold case, the unsolved murder of Judith Walsh, she’s eager to get involved … until she finds out who the young woman was engaged to—Reverend Luke Bailey, the man Gemma is crazy about.

Luke wants to move on from the tragic loss of his fiancé, and he’s falling for Gemma. But how will he feel when he discovers that it’s Judith’s spirit she’s talking to?

Review:

I’ve always loved stories about people who can talk to ghosts. I liked the premise in this story, that Gem could communicate with ghosts through their jewelry from when they were alive. It was the perfect technique for a jeweler. The mystery she had to help the police solve was intriguing and fast paced. I really enjoyed reading this mystery!

Haunted Gems is a great mystery!

Thank you The Wild Rose Press and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!

Content warnings: death, stabbing, gun violence, parental abandonment

Have you read Haunted Gem? What did you think of it?

Review: Archipelago (The Herb Society Mysteries #2)

Title: Archipelago (The Herb Society Mysteries #2)
Author: E. William Podojil
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Science Fiction
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 7, 2025
Rating: ★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Following a tragic event, The Herb Society, along with Lukas and Taylor are unwittingly pulled into Baptiste’s twisted plan to not only find a lost continent but unlock the secrets to a precious material that is only found near an archipelago he believes to be the remainder of this sunken world. Baptiste knows this material is more precious than all the gold in the world and he has big plans for it. When The Herb Society discovers Pierre Baptiste’s nefarious agenda, they unlock a global conspiracy led by the world’s rich and powerful that would completely alter civilization to their advantage for generations to come. Now The Herb Society ladies, Lukas, Taylor, Tory and her boyfriend, Pepe are thrust into the plot and must fight the forces of nature and evil to save mankind from an unimaginable future. But will they be able to stop Pierre and his clever friends from initiating the countdown to an apocalypse?

Review:

This story had a bunch of twists and turns. The direction of the story kept changing, from what I thought would be a crime thriller to a story with some science fiction and fantasy. The science aspects were interesting, but it seemed a little far fetched at times. The story was fast paced and intense, which kept me excited to read it!

Archipelago is a fast paced thriller. 

Thank you The Wild Rose Press for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!

Content warnings: death, gun violence, heart attack, tsunami, earthquake

Other books in the series:

  • The Poseidon Project (The Herb Society Mysteries #1)

Have you read Archipelago? What did you think of it?