Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett is an interesting story with a mostly likeable character — Emily Wilde is a Cambridge professor visiting the northern village of Ljorsland to document a type of Faery called The Hidden Ones. She’s driven and focused on finishing her Encyclopedia of Faeries when her colleague, Wendell Bambleby, arrives on her doorstep to “help” her. …

Oddjobs by Heide Goody and Iain Grant is a fluffy, easy-to-read series with an end of the world seriousness that makes it enjoyable — Hell on Earth is coming. No, it’s not a threat, but the reality the Consular staff in Birmingham UK (and in other places) have been dealing with for decades. The Vensilarn invaded at some point in the past and their only goal is to bring on a hellscape, where humans…

Rich with tragedy, secrets, and the entanglement of family bonds, The Distant Hours by Kate Morton is fantastic — A long-lost letter from 1941 sets Edith Burchill on a path to discover her mother’s past and the entangled secrets of the Blythe family. Along the way, she finds out more about who she is and where she wants to go than she expects. I read this book on a…

A beautiful tale, Witchmark by C.L. Polk is about love, betrayal, loss, and bravery, but it’s too short Miles Singer is a healer with a secret. When a dying man is brought to the hospital by a good-looking wealthy man and requests Dr. Singer help him, it sets Miles on…

Ghosts, family, and forgiving your past fills The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield with depth and mystery Margaret Lea is shocked to discover that England’s greatest writer, Vida Winters, who never tells any truths about her past, has written her to ask Margaret to write her biography. …

Full of flowers, prose, and family emotion, The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman is good but might be a little long The Sparrow women each are given gifts on their thirteenth birthday. For Elinor, she can tell when someone lies. For Jenny, her daughter, she can see people’s dreams. And…

A story with a strong character journey, The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick held my interest Ren is a con artist, and she comes into town playing the long game of tricking a noble family to take her and her sister in, so that they’ll never be hungry or…

A novella featuring a blind protagonist, The Labryinth’s Archivist by Day Al-Mohamed was so good I wished it were longer Azulea is one of a long line of people who protect and catalog the information of the byways, passages, and secrets of the Labrynth. Due to her blindness, however, she…

The stories selected for The Urban Fantasy Anthology is a good selection, although some are too gritty This book features short stories in the mythic fiction, paranormal romance, and noir fantasy subgenres for urban fantasy. Each subgenre has an introduction to the subgenre and how it came to be. …