For help understanding the star and rating system of this newsletter, please refer to the About Me page on Substack.
Reviews From This Past Week
The Orc from the Office by Kate Prior
Release Date: 1 October 2022
Content Notes
Size Difference
Accidental Mates
Office Romance
Past Relationship Trauma
Adorable Nerds
Corporate Life
Kate Prior has given us an adorkable fluff fest with The Orc from the Office. I would call it a cathartic read for the office workers among readers. You can breeze through it in a long evening or a dozen coffee breaks. Just don’t use your work computer to read it!
This book is going on my growing list of sweet and light monster romances. If you want something that has a balance of familiar, everyday drama but is still set in fantasy, this makes those checkmarks. Plus, it doesn’t skimp on its spice.
ARC provided and voluntarily reviewed.
Riding The Headless Horseman by Molly Likovich
Release Date: 22 September 2022
Content Notes
Fated Mates
BDSM
Broody MMC
Sarcastic FMC
Witch FMC
Witchy Vibes
Halloween
Wax Play
A quick and cute read, Molly Likovich’s novella hits almost all the right spots for me when it comes to a spooky season story. Lovers of all things sweet and morbid would be in for a lovely time tucked into this for a fall evening.
Likovich’s style balances moving the narrative right along and setting a moody New England scene. I merely found myself wanting a touch more moodiness, maybe even a bit of foreboding. I wanted to be spooked.
For some readers, that point would be a feature and not a bug. I respect that and regardless am putting it on my working Halloween reading recommendations list.
ARC provided and voluntarily reviewed
Backlist Beauty
Once Upon a Forbidden Desire: Fairy Tales and Other Stories by Various Authors
Release Date: 13 September 2022
The Pepper Rating varies by the story and every story gives its rating at the beginning.
Content Notes
Fairy Tale Retellings
Child Endangerment
Kidnapping
Imprisonment
Varying Heat Levels
The Once Upon a Forbidden Desire anthology is an enchanting collection of 20 diverse tales by authors I’ve already been fond of and other authors I’m excited to discover.
This anthology helpfully provides a content guide and “Heat Levels” system. Both are meant to help readers navigate to a reading experience best suited for them. There is a variety to choose from.
That variety is something I also loved. Fairy tales are so foundational to modern story-building, it shouldn’t ever be hard to get really creative about how we retell them. This anthology delivers on just that. Fans of historical, contemporary, and fantasy settings should all feel satisfied with this collection. I may have liked some representation from science fiction, but that is this reviewer’s personal preference.
I cannot say enough that I think anthologies like these are good bargains for readers. Not only do you get a lot of entertainment for your money you get to discover new writers that didn’t just pop up from the great Zon algorithm. Anthologies in the indie author world rarely suck around long. It is likely worth the couple bucks to secure your copy, monster lovers.
My personal top ten picks are below in order that they appear in the anthology:
How to Marry a Winged King by AJ Lancaster
Into the Bargain by Colleen Cowley
Call of the Dark Piper by Zoey Ellis
Three Knights by S. L. Prater
The Big Bad Wolf by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Wish Upon a Frog by Jaycee Jarvis
By the Skin of a Bear by November Dawn
The Troll’s Daughter by Dani Morrison
Idyllwild by Maria Vale
The Sadder But Wiser Girl by C.M. Nascosta
ARC provided and voluntarily reviewed