Seeds of Dominion (Legacy of Deceit, Book 1)

Posted on by The Novel Girl

Series: Legacy of Deceit

Author: Quincy J. Allen

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: New Mythology Press

Pages: 431

Duke Belverim and his entire family are murdered while they sleep. The king, devastated, send his brother to find out who did this and why they did it. Could this have been political, the Nissra cult, sedition, or something else? The more Rellen, a Guardian, finds out during his investigation the more there is to uncover. The murders of the duke and his family appear to be the most recent piece of a puzzle: a legacy of deceit reaching farther back than anyone can imagine.

You guys!! This book is everything! It combines my two favorite genres, mystery and fantasy, and I was hooked from the beginning. The work building was phenomenal, which is exactly what I have some to expect from Allen and it met my expectations 100%. The characters were fully fleshed out and easy to “feel with”. The descriptions were fantastic. There were not only descriptions of the places, but of spells being cast, object, etc and it was all so easily visualized. The plot moved at a perfect pace so it never felt like it was dragging. I was sad when it ended and I can’t wait for the next book in this world!

Bring on 2022!!

Posted on by The Novel Girl

Happy New Year!!!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday season in whatever way you were able to celebrate this year. Things have definitely looked a bit different for most of us.

I am happy to say that graduate school is finally over and this little blog will be returning from hiatus in the new year! Reviews will be a mix of books that I have been dying to read and haven’t had a chance to, new releases, and not yet releases. I am so happy to be back sharing with you all!

The first review that I have on deck for you is a new novel from the one and only Quincy J. Allen: Seeds of Dominion (Legacy of Deceit: Book 1). This book is part of the Eldros Legacy, which I will go into more in the review. I’ve been reading it, and it’s wonderful! I can’t wait to share it with you!! I’m the meantime, enjoy the cover below!

I hope you all have a fantastic new year!! Happy reading!!

– T

New Release from Lisa Carlisle!!

Posted on by The Novel Girl


Hot in Witch City A Paranormal Chick Lit Novel (Salem Supernaturals Book 2)

A wolf shifter thinks I’m his mate.

Not going to happen. 

I’m half-siren and all single. No way am I giving up my freedom for some delusional furball.

Even if he’s kind of cute. And considerate. And has warm eyes.

Besides, I have enough going on with running my retro rock club. And when an unexpected relative shows up there one night, it shakes me to the core.

The last thing I need is to add another complication to my life, especially something as mundane as monogamy.

Fans of New Girl and What We Do in the Shadows will love the quirky roommates in the Salem Supernaturals series – paranormal chick lit with romance, comedy, and mystery!

Review to come! It’s out now. Go! Buy! Read!!

Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/B08ZQ44M24

What We Devour

Posted on by The Novel Girl

Author: Linsey Miller

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages: 352

Lorena has been hiding a dark secret: she has the magic of the banished gods- both Noble and Vile. So far she’s been able to keep that secret, until the Vile Prince sees through her. He offers a trade that she feels she must accept, and agrees to help him, but at what cost? He’s been trying to repair the Door that hold the Vile, but has been losing. He needs Lorena’s help, and it will take both parts of her if she’s going to survive.

I have been excited about this book since I first saw Linsey mentioning the concept & I was so excited to get my hands on it! She is a master of magical world building, and each one that she builds is so unique in its concept. Her characters are always incredibly well fleshed out and one either loves them or loves to hate them by the end of the book. This book of dark magic, wrights and wroughts, the dead being used as magical objects, and wondering who is really the good and bad here is twisted, phenomenal, and I can’t wait for more.

Another Kind of Eden

Posted on by The Novel Girl

I was super excited to get my hands on an ARC of Another Kind of Eden by James Lee Burke (the latest installment of the Holland family saga). It didn’t disappoint!

In this installment, set in the 1960’s Aaron Holland Broussard heads west trying to outrun his demons from Vietnam, get his writing career off the ground, and in Denver he begins working on a farm where he meets Joanne- the girl who may just be his soulmate. Only Joanne is mixed up with a professor who is mixed up with some shady cult-type people who don’t want to let her go and focus on in Aaron. Now Aaron must fight for both of their lives.

Mr. Burke was my introduction into adult reading/literature when I was 11-12 years old and read Black Cherry Blues (still my favorite book of his!). I’ve since read everything he’s written. He was even kind enough to email with me and assist when I used A Tin Roof Blowdown as a basis for a literature project in college.

I’ve learned over the years of reading his novels (we won’t discuss how many years that’s been😉) that his writing is dependable. It’s consistently great! The characters are always well developed, the plot always moves along at a decent pace (sometimes slower than others, but there’s always “that moment” and it picks up), the stories are character driven, and you feel something. The Robicheaux novels will always have my heart, but the Holland family is fantastic!

Clete here (yes, he’s named after THAT Clete- my husband thought of that. He’s also a huge fan!) thinks that you should pick it up and give it a try when it releases August 17!

*This can be read as a stand-alone, but as always, is better if read as part of the series so as not to miss small details.

My Contrary Mary

Posted on by The Novel Girl

The Lady Janies are back, y’all!! This time they’ve brought us the story of Mary Queen of Scots…if she were a shapeshifter…who turned into a mouse. Her beloved betrothed King Francis is the only one who knows her secret, but he’ll keep her confidence. That is until he meets his end. When Mary is placed on the throne how long will her secret remain a secret? What will happen if her secret becomes known?

I was so excited to get the galley for this book! I wanted it in whatever way that I could get it, and it happened to be the voice galley, which meant that the narration wasn’t amazing but that that’s no fault of the authors.


As expected, the book was delightful! I adored the “Janes” books, but I was so looking forward to the first “Mary” book, as I love Mary Queen of Scots. They didn’t disappoint! Told in shifting POVs, the Janies give us the trademark wit and humor that we’ve come to expect from them. The third person narrators are really where it’s at in this book, though, because they have all the tea! It’s like getting the juicy gossip from your best girlfriends at wine-down Wednesday. I’ll definitely be buying the hardcover to read over and over again, just like they’re previous books, and I can’t wait for more.

This book releases on June 22, 2021.

The Russian Cage (Gunnie Rose, Book 3)

Posted on by The Novel Girl

This is the third book in the Gunnie Rose series, and it continues to be a quality series. Russian Cage picks up where A Longer Fall left off. Lizbeth received a coded message from her sister that her estranged love, Prince Eli, has been taken captive by the Holy Russian Empire. Instead of working with a crew as she usually does, Lizbeth must go this job alone. She will depend on the help of her sister, Felicia, to rescue Eli and we learn a bit more about her along the way.

As you guys know, I’ve been a Charlaine Harris fan for quite a while. While I credit the Southern Vampire series with my introduction to her work, my favorite writing of hers has not been in that most popular series. My favorite is her Midnight, TX trilogy. I re-read it almost every year. I must say, though, this series is coming up hot on its tail! Harris is a master at building new and exciting worlds, and the characters in this series just continue to grow and gain more depth. There was one plot hole in this particular installment, but that can be forgiven, of course. I won’t point it out, in case you miss it! You could read this as a stand-alone, but you will really benefit from reading the books in order. I can’t wait to get more stories of Lizbeth Rose’s life!

This book releases on February 23, but you can pre-order it now!

Many thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.

Rachel Caine

Posted on by The Novel Girl

This is not the post that I wanted to be making today…

One of my favorite authors has lost her battle with cancer. Rachel Caine passed away today.

I first came to know Rachel Caine’s writing through her Weather Warden series many years ago. I continued on reading her work through the Great Library series, Stillhouse Lake series, and her book Prince of Shadows. (Oddly, as a vampire genre reader, I didn’t read Morganville Vampires, arguably her most famous-ha!) Her writing never disappointed me. My favorite will always be the series that introduced me to her, though, the Weather Wardens.

What I didn’t expect, though, was how incredibly kind she would be when I met her. I was finally able to fulfill a dream of mine and attend RT in 2015. I met so many authors that I fangirled over and admired while I was there. Many were nice (some just tolerated us) but Rachel was different. I was so nervous when I went to speak with her. She was so famous by then, but no one was there when I went to her table. She must have talked to me for 15-20 minutes and was surprised that I brought Heat Stroke of all books for her to sign. We talked about Weather Wardens, books she had coming out, other series that we loved, what I do for a living. She was just so kind. I will never forget meeting her and I will cherish that copy of Heat Stroke for the rest of my life.

To her beloved family and friends: I am so sorry for the immense loss that you are feeling. I send my love to you and you will be in my thoughts for the days and weeks to come. Thank you for sharing her with us.

Rachel and I at RT 2015

I’m back!!!!

Posted on by The Novel Girl

Hi everyone!!!

I finally graduated!!!

I’m so sorry that the stress from school and my job took me away from the blog for so long. I’ll start grad school in 2021, but I’ll worry about that then.

For now, I’m back just in time for Halloween reads!!! I’m going to theme my Halloween reads on Vampires this year…

What are you guys reading?! I want to know!!!

Stay tuned for reviews and updates!!

Always,

– T