Awakened Ash and Alchemy

 Awakened Ash and Alchemy

Paradox Accords #1

Mel A Rowe

Reviewed by Helen

Angela Duboise is a lawyer not working as lawyer she works in the family run bookstore and apothecary store with her aunt Claudine and on one dark night on her way home from a date gone wrong she is drawn to a dark alley to find a vile creature standing over someone on the ground she is determined to do what she can but then another person appears a man in leathers and with eyes she finds hard to not look at and he is determined to save her this will be a life changing night for Angela.

Captain Zareck is centuries old and comes from a different realm than the mortal one but they are here to keep the mortals safe but for Zareck a man of fire, he touches no one and he needs to erase this woman’s mind so she has no memory of this night but this fails and she can see him and he has this pull towards her like never before.

One thing Zareck knows is he has to protect her at all costs and soon the strong and determined Angela the woman who does not believe in magic finds herself at the keep in Paradox while the Accords try to work out what type of magic she holds but soon Zareck and Angela are feeling things that neither have before and love is forbidden with a mortal for Zareck so they must find answers and when they do everyone is stunned.

Firstly let me say that this is the first Romantasy book that I have read it is not the go to genre for me but Mel A Rowe is one of my favourite authors so there was no way I was missing this one and I loved getting to know Angela and Zareck and the other characters in the story and bring on book two I want more answers.

If you love Romantasy then this is one that I would highly recommend if you want to try a new genre then this is one to pick up, it is action packed and a fabulous read.

My thanks to the author and Booksprout for my digital copy to read and review.

4 stars

September 23, 2026 by R&R Ramblings House

Forget Forever

 Forget Forever

Mel A Rowe

Reviewed by Helen

I am a big fan of Mel A Rowe’s stories and would never miss one of them and I loved this one, so different from her last stories this one is a gothic fantasy and it is fabulous what happens when quiet, shy librarian Chantelle walks into Strathmuir Manor and meets Lord Lucien Strathmuir, handsome and rude in her eyes but then when she finds out that he is a ghost who has been left for centuries to haunt the manor house, this story takes a whole new twist for them both.

Lucien has walked this manor for over two hundred years since the curse that a witch cast on the family back in the 1500’s, very few people have been able to see him a few of his female relatives one of them Greta who still lives in the manor with him and now this wretched creature can see him.

Chantelle keeps to herself with her books and her cooking she has a couple of friends those she works with at the library and she knows Greta who lives in Strathmuir Manor and when the manor is having an open day Greta is insistent that Chantelle be part of the volunteers to help with the library in the manor but her first visit to the manor sees her fall flat on her face and meet a very rude man, how dare he speak to her like that but there is something going on when it appears that she is the only one who can see him, what is going on here?

As Chantelle is filled in on the story of the Strathmuir family Lucien decides that moving to her little cottage will be the best thing to do, encouraged by Greta soon they are forming a sort of bond if you can call it that with a ghost and a librarian as they search through old journals to see if they can find an answer to the curse and change things, of course this opens up a whole new world for them both but they cannot touch each other, where will this relationship end happy or will they lose each other and what of the answers they find, nothing that they expected.

This is a slow burn, witty and fabulous story, I loved the tension that built between Lucian and Chantelle, the emotions that built and the strength that Chantelle showed she had, with witches and spells and all sorts happening this is a story that I would highly recommend to any lover of a good romance. I loved it.

My thanks to the author for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

May 23, 2026 by R&R Ramblings House

Sargasso

 Sargasso

Kathy George

Reviewed by Helen

Where do I start, what can I say? This is a compelling read, the author has pulled me in to this story, had me wondering and guessing as I tuned the pages and when I put it down it was on my mind. I loved the blurb when I read it and knew I wanted to read the book but it was nothing like I expected, although I am not sure what that was.

Hannah moved to Sargasso, a house her beloved father designed when she was five years old, a quiet child she was looking forward to living here she was in awe on arrival, she could almost feel it breathing almost as if the house had feelings of its own. It is not long before she meets a young boy named Flint and they become the best of friends, Hannah only wants to be with Flint and they do a lot of exploring, Flint is not very open about his life and no one else ever meets Flint but he promises that he will always look after her and Hannah learns not talk about him to anyone, she keeps him to herself.

After tragedy strikes the family, Hannah moves back to Melbourne and away from Sargasso and Flint, years pass by but Hannah never forgets Flint, she is happily working as a nurse and in a relationship with Tristan all is good but when her dear Gran passes away she is left Sargasso, not sure what she wants to do with the house she returns to spruce it up while she decides, and again she senses the aura of the house as she arrives just as she did when she first arrived all of those years ago, Tristan visits on the weekends but things are a little tense and then Flint arrives as a grown man and Hannah is lost to his overwhelming presence and realises that she has never stopped wanting to be with him, she is obsessed with him, as their relationship grows so too does Flints possessiveness and his jealousy and when there are a few strange occurrences Hannah starts to think about what is happening.

This is such a mystifying story for me, I didn’t know what was real at times and what was not, it was gripping and captivating and dark, I do know that it is a story that will stay with me for a long time to come, a story filled with secrets, tragedy and a deep, deep love that became obsessive and caused pain for some people, an emotional story. I was feeling lots of different emotions while reading this one Kathy George certainly wrote a story that I do highly recommend, the story is still churning around in my mind.

Thank you to Harlequin HQ Fiction for my copy to read and review

4 stars

Published February 1st 2021 by HQ Fiction

Alien Under Cover by Marie Dry

Reviewed by Desere

This is the second book in a totally out there ( in a very good way) series! Marie Dry really knows how to take something that sounds totally non sexy ( I mean aliens are not high on the drop dead gorgeous list) and turn it into a " Oh my gosh do I want a alien of my very own" !

The book is really easy to follow where as some other similar books have the whole alien here alien there, planet being attached , slaves from earth ( where did they come from did I miss the capture? ) kind of vibe happening and for the most part I have always found it confusing and felt like I was missing chapters, not the case in this read.The author let me follow it all with ease and kept me engaged at all times.

I really love this author's wonderful creative mind, she creates worlds that only come alive on screen, and you know that more than one person was involved in creating it from computer techs to screenwriters and all that , but this author does it all and with absolute amazement!

Keep them coming Marie !! Highly recommended for all fans of fantasy romance!

5/5 star review
" To love or to let go "

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Reviewed by Desere

Kelsea Glynn has spent her whole life in the confinement of the forest , tucked away in a house with her adoptive parents. Over the years she is taught how to fight, how to read, write, and act as a Queen for she is the sole heir to the throne of the Tearling.

On her 19th birthday she is scared but ready to be led back to her kingdom and start her reign as ruler who is fair and just, unlike her mother who was vain and made disastrous spur of the moment decisions before her death and unlike her uncle who only cares for sex and money, and the throne for added good measure to make sure he stays in the lap of luxury he has become accustomed to since Kelsea's mother's death.

Kelsea knows more than one attempt will be made on her life and she will have to along with the help of the royal guards fight her way back into the kingdom. But she also knows this is why she was born, he kingdom needs a fearless leader and if she has to kill her uncle and the evil always looking for her pond of flesh Red Queen so be it. And so starts the journey of one girl said to be the true Queen of the Tearling and her mission to rescue her people and to never give up till she knows just why the mysterious jewel around her neck has suddenly taken on a life of it's own.

The media has described this book as a Game of Thrones for woman, in a way it is that because we do have a brave heroine who kills and fights her way out of countless assassination attempts, and even goes as far as slicing the throat of a gone a stay guard. But also being mentioned in the media is that this is great fantasy romance, that I can tell you it was not. There are one of two glimpses of romance here and there but it 's gone just as quick as it appears. I will say this, from the story line I was able to pick up that in the next part of the series we will be seeing some more hard core romance, after all the heroine is only 19 years old and has never seen a man aside from her adoptive father.

As for the rest of this book it's all guts and glory , as body parts are chopped, burned and splashed all over the place. There is a wonderful mystery along with the true meaning of the jewels that are entrusted to Kelsea, there is also the question of who the real king is to the queen or rather who Kelsea's real father is.

In all honesty I am no fan of game of throne type of books fan, yet this book had me so intrigued I could not stop reading. I wanted to know more about the jewels, the lives of the royal guards and of course the Red Queen.

All of the characters were well written and each very mysterious in their own way, but sadly the author did not do so with the Red Queen , the character was under developed and at the end of the read she was just as mysterious as she was in the start. I presume that in the next part of the series we will get to know more about her and just exactly she is as evil as she is.

To sum up we have a courageous queen to be, a stunning set of royal guards sworn to our queen, a wide range of secondary characters, people dying, children having the life sucked of them by dark forces, an enemy queen that's is over a century old yet looks like she's 22 and an journey into a remarkable world where medieval times rule.

I recommend this read for anyone looking for something a little different than the every day read, and of course for the those game of throne junkies. Word to the wise : if you don't like the odd swear word here and there, then this read is not for you nor will it be if blood and guts creep you out.

4.5 star review
" To save her kingdom she needs to find her inner queen" 

*** Copy provided by Random House Struik South Africa in exchange for a honest review 

A Clockwork Heart by Liesel Schwarz

Reviewed by Desere 

Forget about for better or worse, it's time to meet for better or curse! That is if you're Elle Chance and those are your wedding vows to your new husband, ex Warlock Hugh Marsh.

Not a pretty picture for any bride I can assure you! Elle devotes herself to her duties as the Oracle, who along has the power to keep designs of Shadow at bay. Marsh however finds himself missing the excitement of his former life as a warlock.

So between Elle keeping herself occupied and Marsh walking around in a I miss my life zombie state life for this couple seems pretty non adventurous. But then Commissioner Willoughby of the London Metropolitan police seeks his help in solving a magical mystery. Of course Marsh jumps at the chance to have some form of action in his life again, the catch . he loses his heart literally!

In place of the flesh and blood organ now is a clockwork device, the device makes Marsh a kind of zombie, and he's not the only one. A plague of clockwork zombies is taking over London causing quite the uproar and panic. Now don't forget we have poor Elle who is obviously as dutiful wife meant to do something to try and save her ill fated husband or is that heartless husband? Anyways she joins forces with Marsh's old friend the Nightwalker Loisa Beladodia to track down her husband's heart and restore it to his chest before the clock runs out.

This was my first time reading a book by this author and also my very first steampunk read. So of course I at first thought I was going to be a little lost seeing that I have no insight into the world of steampunk nor to mention that this read picks up from the first book.

I could not have been more wrong. The read played out very nicely and comes together with a fun and fast pace. I adored the whole heart missing replaced by a clock time is going to run out concept, it made for some truly entertaining reading material. I have read some other zombie related reads and it always seems like the same old story , zombie pops up is determined to destroy and gets defeated end of story, but in this read the thrill of the chase and the race against time elements made it so much more exhilarating to read.

What I disliked was the ending, oh my talk about my heart being ripped out, I cried so bad which I tell you I never thought would happen to me whist reading a book about zombies and magical devices. But of course I realize the author's intention , she is keeping us in suspense until she brings this magical world back to life in her next book.

I will also say that the battle's played out in this book in extremely vivid detail, it was as if I was right there seeing it happen, smelling the blood and feeling the fear, the author certainly knows how to send chills down my spine!

I am most certainly looking forward to the next book Liesel!

5/5 star review
" Heartless or gutless either way it's time to play. Game on! " 

Now available from Random Struik House South Africa 

At Stars End by Anna Hackett

Reviewed by Nas

AT THE STAR’S END  is a sci-fi fantasy novel by author Anna Hackett is a March 2013 release.

 Eos was thrown out of the institution but she is determined to find the treasure her mum believed in. The treasure believed to be on Star’s End. She hires the famous but notorious treasure hunters of the outer galaxy, the Phoenix brothers. But would the brothers take this job?

At first Dathan, one of the brothers was skeptical about the truth of Eos claim. Then he decided to take it on to find the long lost Mona Lisa. He is attracted by Eos, and the treasure. But what will happen to their desire and passion as Dathan demands the very treasure they are looking for as his payment.

AT THE STAR’S END is a very fast-paced action filled story. It is a thrill to read.

Recommended to all lovers of the genre. 

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