REVIEW: DRACUL by Dacre Stoker & J.D. Barker

Title: Dracul
Author: Dacre Stoker & J.D. Barker
Series: -
Genres: Gothic, Vampires
Publisher: Putnam
Release: October 2nd, 2018
Source: ebook
Pages: 512

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BLURB:
The prequel to Dracula, inspired by notes and texts left behind by the author of the classic novel, Dracul is a riveting novel of gothic suspense that reveals not only Dracula's true origins but Bram Stoker's -- and the tale of the enigmatic woman who connects them.

It is 1868, and a twenty-one-year-old Bram Stoker waits in a desolate tower to face an indescribable evil. Armed only with crucifixes, holy water, and a rifle, he prays to survive a single night, the longest of his life. Desperate to record what he has witnessed, Bram scribbles down the events that led him here...

A sickly child, Bram spent his early days bedridden in his parents' Dublin home, tended to by his caretaker, a young woman named Ellen Crone. When a string of strange deaths occur in a nearby town, Bram and his sister Matilda detect a pattern of bizarre behavior by Ellen -- a mystery that deepens chillingly until Ellen vanishes suddenly from their lives. Years later, Matilda returns from studying in Paris to tell Bram the news that she has seen Ellen -- and that the nightmare they've thought long ended is only beginning.

 

REVIEW: BAND SINISTER by K.J. Charles

Title:  Band Sinister
Author: KJ Charles
Series: -
Genres: LGBT, Historical Romance
Publisher: KJC Books
Release: October 11th, 2018
Source: ebook
Pages: 224

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BLURB:
Sir Philip Rookwood is the disgrace of the county. He’s a rake and an atheist, and the rumours about his hellfire club, the Murder, can only be spoken in whispers. (Orgies. It’s orgies.)

Guy Frisby and his sister Amanda live in rural seclusion after a family scandal. But when Amanda breaks her leg in a riding accident, she’s forced to recuperate at Rookwood Hall, where Sir Philip is hosting the Murder.

Guy rushes to protect her, but the Murder aren’t what he expects. They’re educated, fascinating people, and the notorious Sir Philip turns out to be charming, kind—and dangerously attractive.

In this private space where anything goes, the longings Guy has stifled all his life are impossible to resist...and so is Philip. But all too soon the rural rumour mill threatens both Guy and Amanda. The innocent country gentleman has lost his heart to the bastard baronet—but does he dare lose his reputation too?

 

REVIEW: RAG AND BONE by K.J. Charles

Title: Rag and Bone
Author: K.J. Charles
Series: Rag and Bone 1
Genres: LGBT, Historical Fiction
Publisher: KJC Books
Release: April 17th, 2017
Source: ebook
Pages: 202

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BLURB:
It’s amazing what people throw away…

Crispin Tredarloe never meant to become a warlock. Freed from his treacherous master, he’s learning how to use his magical powers the right way. But it’s brutally hard work. Not everyone believes he’s a reformed character, and the strain is putting unbearable pressure on his secret relationship with waste-man Ned Hall.

Ned’s sick of magic. Sick of the trouble it brings, sick of its dangerous grip on Crispin and the miserable look it puts in his eyes, and sick of being afraid that a gentleman magician won’t want a street paper-seller forever—or even for much longer.

But something is stirring among London’s forgotten discards. An ancient evil is waking up and seeking its freedom. And when wild magic hits the rag-and-bottle shop where Ned lives, a panicking Crispin falls back onto bad habits. The embattled lovers must find a way to work together—or London could go up in flames.

This story is set in the world of the Charm of Magpies. Previously published by Samhain.

 

REVIEW: THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller

Title: The Crucible
Author: Arthur Miller
Series: -
Genres: Fiction, Plays, Historical, Drama
Publisher: Penguin Classics,
Release: March 25th, 2003
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 143

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BLURB:

Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch-hunts" in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing, "Political opposition... is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence.

REVIEW: A QUEER TRADE by K.J. Charles

Title: A Queer Trade
Author: K.J. Charles
Series: Rag and Bone 0.5
Genres: Historical, LGBT
Publisher: KJ Charles
Release: February 2nd 2016
Source: ebook
Pages: 59

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BLURB:
Apprentice magician Crispin Tredarloe returns to London to find his master dead, and his papers sold. Papers with secrets that could spell death. Crispin needs to get them back before anyone finds out what he's been doing, or what his magic can do.

Crispin tracks his quarry down to waste paper dealer Ned Hall. He needs help, and Ned can’t resist Crispin’s pleading—and appealing—looks. But can the waste-man and the magician prevent a disaster and save Crispin’s skin?

A 16,000 word story set in the Charm of Magpies world, and a prequel to the novel Rag and Bone (March 2016). This story was first published as part of the Charmed & Dangerous anthology.

Cover design by Catherine Dair.

 

RESEÑA: LA CASA DE LOS ESPÍRITUS de Isabel Allende

Título: La Casa de los Espíritus
Autor: Isabel Allende
Serie: -
Géneros: Historical Fiction
Editor: Editorial Diana
Publicación: Primera edición 1982
Fuente: Tapa dura
Páginas: 474

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SINÓPSIS: El libro, como muchos de los siguientes, utiliza el estilo conocido como realismo mágico, incorporando cosas inverosímiles y extrañas a lo ordinario. La historia relata la vida de la familia Trueba a lo largo de cuatro generaciones y sigue los movimientos sociales y políticos del período post-colonial en el país en que viven (Chile). La novela es narrada desde la perspectiva de dos de sus protagonistas. Incorpora una mezcla de acontecimientos que tratan sobre el amor, la familia, la muerte, los fantasmas, las clases sociales, la revolución, la política, los ideales y lo maravilloso.
Según ha confesado Isabel Allende, para crear el personaje de Clara, la esposa de Esteban Trueba, se inspiró en su propia abuela, una mujer que confiaba más en la telepatía que en comunicarse por correo. El 8 de Enero de 1981, el abuelo de la autora estaba a punto de morir, ella comenzó a escribirle una carta la cual se convirtió en el inicio de esta novela.

REVIEW: NECROPOLIS by Jordan L. Hawk

Title: Necropolis
Author: Jordan L. Hawk
Series: Whyborne & Griffin 4
Genres: Historical, Paranormal, LGBT
Publisher: Createspace
Release: May 5th 2014
Source: ebook
Pages: 200

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BLURB:
Introverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has spent the last few months watching his lover, Griffin Flaherty, come to terms with the rejection of his adoptive family. So when an urgent telegram from Christine summons them to Egypt, Whyborne is reluctant to risk the fragile peace they’ve established. Until, that is, a man who seems as much animal as human tries to murder Whyborne in the museum.

Amidst the ancient ruins of the pharaohs, they must join Christine and face betrayal, murder, and a legendary sorceress risen from the dead. In the forge of the desert heat, the trio will either face their fears and stand together—or shatter the bonds between them forever.

 

REVIEW: THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern

Title: The Night Circus
Author:  Erin Morgenstern
Series: -
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction,
Publisher: Doubleday
Release: September 13th, 2011
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 387

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BLURB:

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

REVIEW: SALT TO THE SEA by Ruta Sepetys

Title: Salt to the Sea
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Series: -
Genres: YA, Historical Fiction, War
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Source: ARC
Pages: 400
Publishing date: 4th February, 2016

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SYNOPSIS:
Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies…and war.

As thousands of desperate refugees flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom.

Yet not all promises can be kept.

Inspired by the single greatest tragedy in maritime history, bestselling and award-winning author Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray) lifts the veil on a shockingly little-known casualty of World War II. An illuminating and life-affirming tale of heart and hope.

REVIEW: SPECTRED ISLE by K.J. Charles

Title: Spectred Isle
Author: K.J. Charles
Series: Green Men 1
Genres: LGBT, Historical
Publisher: KJC Books
Release: August 3rd, 2017
Source: ebook
Pages: 271

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BLURB:
Archaeologist Saul Lazenby has been all but unemployable since his disgrace during the War. Now he scrapes a living working for a rich eccentric who believes in magic. Saul knows it’s a lot of nonsense...except that he begins to find himself in increasingly strange and frightening situations. And at every turn he runs into the sardonic, mysterious Randolph Glyde.

Randolph is the last of an ancient line of arcanists, commanding deep secrets and extraordinary powers as he struggles to fulfil his family duties in a war-torn world. He knows there's something odd going on with the haunted-looking man who keeps turning up in all the wrong places. The only question for Randolph is whether Saul is victim or villain.

Saul hasn’t trusted anyone in a long time. But as the supernatural threat grows, along with the desire between them, he’ll need to believe in evasive, enraging, devastatingly attractive Randolph. Because he may be the only man who can save Saul’s life—or his soul.

 

REVIEW: THE SECRET CASEBOOK OF SIMON FEXIMAL by K.J. Charles

Title: The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal
Author: K.J. Charles
Series: The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal 1
Genres: Historical, Romance, LGBT
Publisher: KJC Books
Release: March 25th 2017
Source: ebook
Pages: 232

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BLURB:
A story too secret, too terrifying—and too shockingly intimate—for Victorian eyes.

A note to the Editor

Dear Henry,

I have been Simon Feximal’s companion, assistant and chronicler for twenty years now, and during that time my Casebooks of Feximal the Ghost-Hunter have spread the reputation of this most accomplished of ghost-hunters far and wide.

You have asked me often for the tale of our first meeting, and how my association with Feximal came about. I have always declined, because it is a story too private to be truthfully recounted, and a memory too precious to be falsified. But none knows better than I that stories must be told.

So here is it, Henry, a full and accurate account of how I met Simon Feximal, which I shall leave with my solicitor to pass to you after my death.

I dare say it may not be quite what you expect.

Robert Caldwell September 1914

 

REVIEW: THE OCTOBER GAME by Ray Bradbury

Title: The October Game
Author: Ray Bradbury
Series: -
Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Short Story
Publisher: Knopf
Release: 1948 in The Stories of Ray Bradbury
Source: Audiobook / Online


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BLURB: One of Ray Bradbury's famous short stories about a wicked game that scares the most deepest part of your body and soul.

REVIEW: THE RED QUEEN by Philippa Gregory

Title: The Red Queen
Author: Philippa Gregory
Series: The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels #3
Genres: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Touchstone
Release: August 3rd, 2010
Source: Paperback
Pages: 400

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BLURB: The Red Queen tells the story of the child-bride of Edmund Tudor, who, although widowed in her early teens, uses her determination of character and wily plotting to infiltrate the house of York under the guise of loyal friend and servant, undermine the support for Richard III and ultimately ensure that her only son, Henry Tudor, triumphs as King of England. Through collaboration with the dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret agrees to a betrothal between Henry and Elizabeth's daughter, thereby uniting the families and resolving the Cousins War once and for all by founding of the Tudor dynasty.

REVIEW: A CASE OF POSSESSION by K.J. Charles

Title: A Case of Possession
Author:  K. J. Charles
Series: A Charm of Magpies #2
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Publisher: KJC Books
Release: March 28th, 2017
Source: eBook
Pages: 211

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BLURB: Magic in the blood. Danger in the streets.

Lord Crane has never had a lover quite as elusive as Stephen Day. He knows Stephen’s job as justiciar requires secrecy, but the magician is doing his disappearing act more than seems reasonable—especially since Crane will soon return to his home in China. When a blackmailer threatens to expose their illicit relationship, there's only one thing stopping Crane from leaving the country he loathes: Stephen.

Stephen has problems of his own. As he investigates a plague of giant rats sweeping London, his sudden increase in power, boosted by his blood-and-sex bond with Crane, is rousing suspicion that he’s turned warlock. With all eyes on him, the threat of exposure grows. Stephen could lose his friends, his job and his liberty over his relationship with Crane. He’s not sure if he can take that risk much longer. Crane isn’t sure if he can ask him to.

The rats are closing in, and something has to give…

 

REVIEW: AN UNSUITABLE HEIR by K.J. Charles

Title: An Unsuitable Heir
Author: K.J. Charles
Series: Sins of the Cities 2
Genres: LGBT, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Loveswept
Release: October 3rd 2017
Source: eBook
Pages: 246

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BLURB:
A private detective finds passion, danger, and the love of a lifetime when he hunts down a lost earl in Victorian London.

On the trail of an aristocrat’s secret son, enquiry agent Mark Braglewicz finds his quarry in a music hall, performing as a trapeze artist with his twin sister. Graceful, beautiful, elusive, and strong, Pen Starling is like nobody Mark’s ever met—and everything he’s ever wanted. But the long-haired acrobat has an earldom and a fortune to claim.

Pen doesn’t want to live as any sort of man, least of all a nobleman. The thought of being wealthy, titled, and always in the public eye is horrifying. He likes his life now—his days on the trapeze, his nights with Mark. And he won’t be pushed into taking a title that would destroy his soul.

But there’s a killer stalking London’s foggy streets, and more lives than just Pen’s are at risk. Mark decides he must force the reluctant heir from music hall to manor house, to save Pen’s neck. Betrayed by the one man he thought he could trust, Pen never wants to see his lover again. But when the killer comes after him, Pen must find a way to forgive—or he might not live long enough for Mark to make amends.

 

REVIEW: THRESHOLD by Jordan L. Hawk

Title: Threshold
Author: Jordan L. Hawk
Series: Whyborne & Griffin 2
Genres: LGBT, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Jordan L. Hawk
Release: June 4th, 2013
Source: eBook
Pages: 249

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BLURB:
Introverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne wants nothing more than to live quietly with his lover, ex-Pinkerton detective Griffin Flaherty. Unfortunately, Whyborne's railroad tycoon father has other ideas, namely hiring Griffin to investigate mysterious events at a coal mine.

Whyborne, Griffin, and their friend Christine travel to Threshold Mountain, a place of dark legend even before the mine burrowed into its heart. A contingent of Pinkertons-including Griffin's ex-lover Elliot-already guard the mine. But Griffin knows better than anyone just how unprepared the detectives are to face the otherworldly forces threatening them.

Soon, Whyborne and Griffin are on the trail of mysterious disappearances, deadly accidents, and whispered secrets. Is Elliot an ally, or does he only want to rekindle his relationship with Griffin? And if so, how can Whyborne possibly hope to compete with the stunningly handsome Pinkerton-especially when Griffin is hiding secrets about his past?

For in a town where friends become enemies and horror lurks behind a human mask, Whyborne can't afford to trust anything-including his own heart.

 

REVIEW: THE FIRE by Katherine Neville

POSSIBLE SPOILERS FROM BOOK #1
Title: The Fire
Author: Katherine Neville
Series: The Eight #2
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: DeBolsillo
Release: (First published 2008)
Source: Paperback
Pages: 552

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BLURB: 2003, Colorado: Alexandra Solarin is summoned home to her family’s ancestral Rocky Mountain hideaway for her mother’s birthday. Thirty years ago, her parents, Cat Velis and Alexander Solarin, believed that they had scattered the pieces of the Montglane Service around the world, burying with them the secrets of the power that comes with possessing it. But Alexandra arrives to find that her mother is missing and that a series of strategically placed clues, followed swiftly by the unexpected arrival of a mysterious assortment of house guests, indicates that something sinister is afoot.
When she inadvertently discovers from her aunt, the chess grandmaster Lily Rad, that the most powerful piece of Charlemagne’s service has suddenly resurfaced and the Game has begun again, Alexandra is swept into a journey that takes her from Colorado to the Russian wilderness and at last into the heart of her own hometown: Washington, D.C.

1822, Albania: Thirty years after the French Revolution, when the chess service was unearthed, all of Europe hovers on the brink of the War of Greek Independence. Ali Pasha, the most powerful ruler in the Ottoman Empire, has angered the sultan and is about to be attacked by Turkish forces. Now he sends the only person he can rely upon—his young daughter, Haidee—on a dangerous mission to smuggle a valuable relic out of Albania, through the mountains and over the sea, to the hands of the one man who might be able to save it.

Haidee’s journey from Albania to Morocco to Rome to Greece, and into the very heart of the Game, will result in revelations about the powerful chess set and its history that will lead at last to the spot where the service was first created more than one thousand years before: Baghdad.

Blending exquisite prose and captivating history with nonstop suspense, Neville again weaves in this sequel to The Eight an unforgettable story of peril, action, and intrigue.

REVIEW: THE MAGPIE LORD by K.J.Charles

Title: The Magpie Lord
Author: K. J. Charles
Series: A Charm of Magpies #1
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, M/M Romance
Publisher: Samhain
Release: September 3rd, 2013
Source: eBook
Pages: 222

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BLURB: A lord in danger. A magician in turmoil. A snowball in hell.

Exiled to China for twenty years, Lucien Vaudrey never planned to return to England. But with the mysterious deaths of his father and brother, it seems the new Lord Crane has inherited an earldom. He’s also inherited his family’s enemies. He needs magical assistance, fast. He doesn't expect it to turn up angry.

Magician Stephen Day has good reason to hate Crane’s family. Unfortunately, it’s his job to deal with supernatural threats. Besides, the earl is unlike any aristocrat he’s ever met, with the tattoos, the attitude... and the way Crane seems determined to get him into bed. That’s definitely unusual.

Soon Stephen is falling hard for the worst possible man, at the worst possible time. But Crane’s dangerous appeal isn't the only thing rendering Stephen powerless. Evil pervades the house, a web of plots is closing round Crane, and if Stephen can’t find a way through it—they’re both going to die.

REVIEW: THE NINE DAY QUEEN by Karleen Bradford

Title: The Nine Day Queen
Author: Karleen Bradford
Series: Beneath The Crown #1
Genres: Historical fiction, History, YA
Publisher: Gimtasis Žodis
Release: 2017
Source: Paperback
Pages: 157

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BLURB:

At fifteen years of age, upon the death of her cousin, Edward, Lady Jane Grey was forced to accept the crown of England. She was queen for only nine days, however. Edward's eldest sister, Mary, soon challenged Jane for the throne, with tragic results. This is the true story of a bright and intelligent young woman who was manipulated and betrayed by the ambitious people who surrounded her.

 

REVIEW: AN UNNATURAL VICE by K.J. Charles

Title: An Unnatural Vice
Author: K.J. Charles
Series: Sins of the Cities 2
Genres: LGBT, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Loveswept
Release: June 6th 2017
Source: eBook
Pages: 250

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BLURB:
In the sordid streets of Victorian London, unwanted desire flares between two bitter enemies brought together by a deadly secret.

Crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is determined to expose spiritualists who exploit the grief of bereaved and vulnerable people. First on his list is the so-called Seer of London, Justin Lazarus. Nathaniel expects him to be a cheap, heartless fraud. He doesn’t expect to meet a man with a sinful smile and the eyes of a fallen angel—or that a shameless swindler will spark his desires for the first time in years.

Justin feels no remorse for the lies he spins during his séances. His gullible clients simply bore him. Hostile, disbelieving, utterly irresistible Nathaniel is a fascinating challenge. And as their battle of wills and wits heats up, Justin finds he can’t stop thinking about the man who’s determined to ruin him.

But Justin and Nathaniel are linked by more than their fast-growing obsession with one another. They are both caught up in an aristocratic family’s secrets, and Justin holds information that could be lethal. As killers, fanatics, and fog close in, Nathaniel is the only man Justin can trust—and, perhaps, the only man he could love.