This is a lovely blog review for The Cultist’s Wife!
Category: Others’ writing
The Hencha Queen by J. Scott Coatsworth
An author friend of mine, the prolific and talented Scott Coatsworth is releasing the third book in his Tharassas Cycle series, The Hencha Queen, a sci-fi fantasy with queer romance elements.
SILYA COMES INTO HER OWN, BUT WILL SHE BE ENOUGH?
Silya finally has everything she always wanted. She’s the Hencha Queen, head of the Temple, and is working to master her newfound talents. So why does the world pick now to fall apart?
Her once-nemesis Raven is off riding dragons, and their mutual friend (and her ex) Aik is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, a new threat menaces the Heartland from the East, and if she can’t convince a reluctant Gullton city council to prepare for the worst, she may lose everyone and everything she’s ever cared about.
As she uses her magic-like abilities, wit and sheer determination to try to save the city, she’s joined by Raven and his new friends. Will their help tip the scales? And will they finally find out what happened to Aik as a dark storm threatens to sweep them all away?
Forget messy. Things just got apocalyptic.
Universal Buy Link: https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com/book/the-hencha-queen/
The Tharassas Cycle is a four book sci-fantasy series set on the recently colonized world of Tharassas. When humans first arrived on planet, they thought they were alone until the hencha mind made itself known. But now a new threat has arisen to challenge both humankind and their new allies on this alien world.
The First Two Books are On Sale (& Get a Free Book)
Books 1 & 2 are on sale through March 31st for just 99¢ each (eBooks, all vendors). And if you buy one (or all three) of the main series books, email scott@jscottcoatsworth.com and let him know and he’ll send you a free copy of Tales From Tharassas, the prequel.
Sale Details: https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com/the-hencha-queen-pre-release-deals/
Hunting Sirens: a romance?
Mary Mecham’s Hunting Sirens is billed as a sweet romantic retelling of the Little Mermaid.
But I wasn’t sure what to expect: how do you make a romance with a Deaf, grumpy blacksmith and the creature she’s sworn to kill? While one lives on land while the other in the sea? No spoilers here but Mary Mecham managed it very cleverly.
There’s a lot of action and adventure with plenty of thrilling heroics. Mostly on the part of Treva, the Siren Hunter, a very tough young woman forced into fighting the sirens because of her immunity to their call. Her resistance to her feelings for one of the sirens and her (eventual) falling in love with him feels real, not forced by the plot.
I enjoyed this gender-switched retelling of the Little Mermaid a lot. The main characters are great and even the side characters well-fleshed out with plenty of their own agency and motivations.
Sirens. With every fiber of my being, I hated them. I hated that their existence trapped us on our island and that our people were starving. More than anything, I hated the feeling that we were powerless to stop them.
Come one, come any to Grimmfay!
One more, no matter what must be done, there shall be…
Twelve years ago, Queen Zelandra escaped Grimmfay’s hold on her soul, leaving a vengeful circus in her wake. Now, Grimmfay has returned to reclaim what it lost, and it will not leave without its fourth mistress. Barricaded in her palace, Zelandra will do anything to fight the siren call threatening to drag her back.
But Grimmfay has not come for her. It’s come for her daughter.
Told from alternating perspectives, all with a different view of the circus, Grimmfay is a story of the enemies we face, the sides we choose, and the battles we must fight, even when we’re not sure we can win. Come one, come any to the place where wishes are granted and dreams come true…but not always in the way expected.
My review (5/5 stars)
The story of Grimmfay, a circus rooted in the darkest of fairy tales, drew me in, as it draws in the people who walk through its gates. I read the prequel novella and the enchantment of the traveling magical circus Grimmfay was unsullied by the darkness that touches every page of this book, the full length follow up.
The story is told by many characters, including familiar characters from fairy tales, over the course of a single night, and following their threads through the night never felt confusing. Every piece of the story was important, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, that came together to create a picture.
A dark and beautiful debut novel about a circus that serves as a gilded cage with irresistible temptations for its inhabitants. The creeping tension is well done and the ending not what I expected. The writing style is poetic and evocative. A satisfying, tragic tale of the Grimmfay.
I received an ARC and this is my honest review.
For a free story from the world of Grimmfay, join MT DeSantis’s newsletter, the Seeing Pool: https://bf.kitnkabookle.com/seeing-pool.
Bastille day books!
In honor of Bastille day (which didn’t happen in the Roboticist of Versailles because no French Revolution of 1792, ergo, no fall of the Bastille and no Bastille Day), I’m stealing BookBub’s idea of a list of novels set in France. But my list is more skewed towards France in the 18th & 19th centuries, so no WWII dramas here (not that there’s anything wrong with WWII dramas, I happily read those too). I haven’t read these books yet but they are on my TBR!
First up is Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman because The Scarlet Pimpernel with vampires? Oh yeah. It’s billed as a supernatural swashbuckler that appeals to royalists. <grin> Sounds like fun, non? This is the first in a trilogy.
Next, a gender-bending version of the Three Musketeers, One for All by Lillie Lainoff. A young girl with a chronic illness is sent to a finishing school that actually exists to train young women defend their country. A YA historical fantasy that sounds like a ton of fun. I mean, look at the cover, right? http://www.lillielainoff.com/one-for-all
A female artist in Paris during the Belle Epoque? Check, check, and check. Plus there are duchesses and it’s a historical romance with people of color? And there are LGBTQ folks represented? I’m in.
For all those reasons, An Island Princess Starts A Scandal by Adriana Herrera is definitely high on my TBR. https://adrianaherreraromance.com/an-island-princess-starts-a-scandal/
I’ve always wondered about the story behind those (kinda creepy) wax statues. I didn’t realize that Madame Tussaud got her start during the French Revolution. So this one definitely looks like an interesting read.
http://www.michellemoran.com/books/madame-tussaud-a-novel-of-the-french-revolution/
And finally, some more scandal. The School of Mirrors is a “discreet villa” where potential mistresses for Louis XV were groomed by Madame de Pompadour. I love books about behind-the-scenes of historical events and a bit of scandal is fun too. https://www.evastachniak.com/project/the-school-of-mirrors/
So do any of those books look intriguing? Let me know if you’re read or are going to read them in the comments.
Adversarial Conflict: Who Is Making Trouble In Your Story?
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2023/05/adversarial-conflict-who-is-making-trouble-in-your-story/
This is a great article on all the different types of antagonists but there is one missing.
The ex, as in ex-lover, ex-spouse, ex-partner. Just ask Adelaide (from The Vitruvian Mask). Her ex Henri is most definitely an antagonist.
The ex is even more of an antagonist when there are children involved. 😝
Taming the Rake by Erica Ridley Book Tour + Book Review = enter daily to win books!
Hello friends!
I am so excited that I was chosen to be part of a blog tour for Erica Ridley’s new book, Taming the Rake. I love her books; they are so much fun. The characters are likeable and she does a great job of making the book world feel real and authentic.
Erica Ridley will be awarding a Winner’s choice ebook or paperback copies of the first TWO books in the Wicked Dukes Club series! (ebooks international) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions book tour, please click on the link in the image above. Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better you chances of winning.
Erica Ridley is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of witty, feel-good historical romance novels, including THE DUKE HEIST, starring the Wild Wynchesters. Why seduce a duke the normal way, when you can accidentally kidnap one in an elaborately planned heist?
In the 12 Dukes of Christmas series, enjoy witty, heartwarming Regency romps nestled in a picturesque snow-covered village. After all, nothing heats up a winter night quite like finding oneself in the arms of a duke!
Two popular series, the Dukes of War and Rogues to Riches, feature roguish peers and dashing war heroes who find love amongst the splendor and madness of Regency England.
When not reading or writing romances, Erica can be found eating couscous in Morocco, zip-lining through rainforests in Central America, or getting hopelessly lost in the middle of Budapest.
https://www.EricaRidley.com
https://twitter.com/EricaRidley
https://facebook.com/EricaRidley
https://instagram.com/EricaRidley
https://goodreads.com/EricaRidley
https://amazon.com/author/ericaridley
https://facebook.com/groups/HistRomBookClub/
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/erica-ridley/
My review:
Erica Ridley’s second installment in the Lords’ in Love series, Taming the Rake, is a delight. In this series, we’re in the fictional town of Marrywell, the site of a marriage festival, the May Day Matchmaking Festival! You just know there are going to be all sorts of goings-on in that setting.
In this book, I loved seeing the romantic convention of rake seducing innocent upended into a tale of a woman taking back her power. Gladys, our heroine, is smart and bookish while managing to be a sensual, lovely sought-after courtesan. She is so cool and collected while being witty. Her nemesis (and love interest) Reuben is all rakish charm on the outside while being horribly insecure. His evolution from a superficial jerk into a lovable, sweet man worthy of Gladys was great fun. Gladys kept Reuben guessing without it getting tiresome. I kept waiting to see what she would do next to torture him. I particularly loved her use of an hourglass to keep him on his toes. There was plenty of heat between them without a great deal of physical action. And as always, Ms. Ridley’s humorous writing kept me smiling throughout.
I recommend this one highly to anyone who enjoys a funny, sexy (without a sex scene in every chapter) historical romance.
**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**
Enjoy a fiery, passionate enemies-to-lovers revenge romance from a New York Times bestselling author!
All her life, Miss Gladys Bell was a wallflower whose parents despaired of her ever attracting a suitor. Then she met the man of her dreams, who said she was the woman of his. One passionate night later, Gladys awaits a marriage proposal that never comes. Reuben Medford, the ton’s most notorious rake, doesn’t even remember her name.
Thanks to his cold-hearted callousness, Gladys lost her reputation, her dowry, and her chance at love. But now she’s back, and bent on revenge. He’s trifled with the wrong woman: This wallflower has thorns. Once Gladys holds that damnable rake’s arrogant, fickle heart in her hands… She’ll crush it, just as he did to her.
This time, he’ll remember her name.
https://books.apple.com/us/book/taming-the-rake/id6443430309
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFP2NPBC/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taming-the-rake-erica-ridley/1142269126?ean=2940186632672
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/taming-the-rake-1
https://books2read.com/2TamingTheRake
Here’s an Exclusive Excerpt!
Reuben smiled. “If you’re wondering why our paths haven’t crossed before, it’s because I rarely
attend gatherings of the beau monde.”
She gazed back at him, neither indicating she’d held any curiosity as to why they hadn’t met
before, nor asking any of the obvious questions, like Why would you avoid the aristocracy? Or,
What have you been doing instead?
“May I accompany you through the maze?” he offered.
“What about your friends back at the grotto?”
“They…” don’t mean anything to me was absolutely the wrong answer.
In fact, Reuben couldn’t think of a right answer. It was as though his mystery woman had laid a
verbal trap for him, which was absurd. Reuben himself had chosen to entertain his harem in the
grotto. It was nobody’s fault at all that this woman happened to walk past an extremely public
place in the center of a celebrated landmark in the middle of a festival.
He ground his teeth in consternation. Usually he was much smoother than this. Or rather,
usually he needn’t try to be smooth at all. The women he surrounded himself with didn’t much
care what Reuben had to say. They wanted what his body could give them, and he was happy
to comply.
Being forced to impress a woman in a rapidly diminishing minute-and-a-few-seconds was
dizzying and confusing. He’d never had to work this hard. If anything, he’d never had to try at
all. He was the one who could pick and choose, who never dallied with the same woman twice,
who had a waiting list a mile long.
“Are you staying for the entire festival?” he blurted out.
“I had planned to.”
“Are you here to find a husband?”
“Are you here to find a wife?”
“No,” he answered honestly. If she didn’t know of his wicked reputation, the least he could do
was set that much straight. “I’ve no intention to marry.”
“No one has caught your eye?”
Everyone caught his eye. It was his heart that would never be caught.
Enter to win two books – a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway info: a randomly selected winner will get their choice of ebook or paperback copies of the first two books in the Wicked Dukes Club series. Like this post and comment to enter the contest. And don’t forget to go to the other stops on the tour to enter there too.
Published! Next Stop on the #13
I love the number thirteen. I was born on the 13th of March and turned 13 on Friday the 13th. I decided that thirteen would have to be my lucky number.
There’s even a word for it: triskadecaphilia. Technically, it means obsession with the 
number thirteen and I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed. I think.
Which leads me to a story titled “Triskadecaphilia” by the Haiku Ninja herself, Dover Whitecliff, in a new anthology we’re both in, Next Stop on the #13. This anthology contains a whole lotta punk: steampunk, dieselpunk, and solarpunk, plus some historical fantasy and straight up historical fiction.
My own story is “Riverhag,” a story set 500 years in the future, in a London 40 meters under water. I’m exploring the #solarpunk genre and this is my first foray.
The characters run a rusty freight barge up and down the Thames basin, skirting the remains of skyscrapers. It’s a light-hearted story (What? No heartbreak?) about one of their trips involving exotic pets and river monsters. Something about monsters in the water keeps turning up in my stories. Hmm. Must be something Jungian going on. One of the characters was loosely based on my caustically funny grandmother and I had a blast using quotes from her.
A whole array of other authors contributed to this anthology: Harry Turtledove, Anthony Francis, T.E. MacArthur, Katherine Morse, David Drake (aka Drake and McTrowell), Lillian Csernica, Madeleine Holly-Rosing, Chip Michael, Eddie Louise, and Michael Tierney.
What’s your lucky number? Any fellow triskadecaphilians out there?
Not one but TWO anthologies
The folks at Thinking Ink Press are releasing two of the anthologies I helped create! They are reissuing Twelve Hours Later, the first book of the Later trilogy, and they are publishing Some Time Later, the third book of the trilogy. The Later books are charity steampunk anthologies that I edited. I also contributed stories.
Some Time Later: Fantastic Voyages in Alternate Worlds will be available soon through booksellers in print and e-book editions and at Clockwork Alchemy 2017. Fifty percent of the proceeds will be donated to local literacy programs.
Fantastic Review! SeriousReading Magazine — A Volcanolady’s Blog
The suspense filled scenes and unique mix of history and fascinating technology used by the author give this book an upper hand in the market.
via Fantastic Review! SeriousReading Magazine — A Volcanolady’s Blog
T.E. MacArthur, a fellow author, writes thrilling steampunk-esque adventures (she likes to call it “Victorian science fiction”) starring a “lady scientist” so of course I’m going to love them. The third in the Volcano Lady series is great and we are anxiously awaiting book four, available for preorder now.
BJ Sikes, author 