By Elizabeth Suggs
Hope Screams Eternal is a collection featuring over two dozen horror, sci-fi, and fantasy short stories, flash fiction, and poems. This anthology was edited and published by the hosts of the Unsettling Reads Podcast: H Dair Brown and Robin Knabel. Be sure to check out Robin’s guest post: Hope Screams Eternal: An Unsettling Reads Anthology on the Collective Tales Publishing blog.
Read MoreWilliam Ottoway's Utopia and Other Stories by Christopher Griffith is a short, abstract collection of stories written in a poetic style.
There were five stories in this collection, with a writing style that got progressively better the longer I read. In fact, it was the last two stories that brought my rating up to a 3, as I didn’t enjoy the first three. I felt the earlier stories to be jarring, and “Break out the Bubbly” was a roller coaster of emotions, leaving my head spinning at the end.
Read MoreDeep Level by Richard E. Rock is a horror novella where a small group explores a secret underground Victorian network.
The characters are three-dimensional, and I really enjoyed the insight into Rich’s world, but I didn’t love how much dialogue was throughout the story. It often felt telly or slowed the pacing down a lot. Some of the all-capped words threw me off too.
Read MoreFrankie Funder by Patrick E Douglas is a horror novel that isn’t like any horror novel I’ve ever read.
This book, from cover to story, is a great read. When I was given the book in exchange for an honest review, I was struck with what design went into crafting the book. At first, I thought I wasn’t holding a book; rather, I was holding a slab of meat! It’s clever and my all-time favorite cover. I want this nominated for an award!!
Read MorePages From the Garden Aisle by G.B. Cast is a collection of heartfelt and beautifully written love poems.
I really enjoyed how the collection starts with “The Poet’s Prayer.” Right off the bat, we’re exposed to the importance of poetry, why it’s more than just words on paper. Poetry, Cast explains, is a blessing—exposed stars—a light. It is the very thing that repairs the soul, and it’s why I love poetry so much. There’s something real and raw with a poem that can’t always be replicated in a novel.
Read MoreIf you are looking for a sweet and sultry RH (reverse harem), shifter romance with mystical undercurrents, and a fresh modern vibe, you have to check out Ray of Hope.
A camping trip unravels into the most delicious road trip with four gorgeous shifters. In a world of vampires, witches, and werewolves, elemental magic flares whenever one of the deliciously hot wolf shifters gets cozy with our fun and feisty MC.
Read MoreImprint by Nicholas Adams is a sci-fi novella about a husband, Malcom, and a wife, Cynthiana, seeking a way to bring mobility back to Cynthiana’s body.
Cynthiana suffered a terrible paralysis from “The Scald.” There were no hopes of her ever walking again—that is until Malcom found a way. Using both dedication to help his wife and his knowledge of science, he created a synthetic human, which Cynthiana could use as a means to move around.
Read MoreNow, this is by no means an "insert method of fixing everything" sort of article. I am not an expert in, well, anything. But that does not mean that we can't write up an opinion piece to give some people a new frame of perspective, right? So, methods to overcoming writer's block as a result of the world around you.
Read MoreToday I want to talk about two erotic books by Regina Grimm: Snow White and the Wicked Queen Chapter 1 and Snow White and the Vicious Curse: Chapter 2.
The reason I want to bring up both books is that they are closer than sequels. These two books are like their titles: chapter 1 and chapter 2.
Read MoreBeautifully Broken: Good Girl, Bad Girl series by E.R. Stowell is a compelling story about one woman’s struggles through life, love, and her own self-worth.
Our protagonist, Sarah Cook, is the ultimate Good Girl, or at least, that’s what she has made herself believe.
By Elizabeth Suggs
Reflections of an Anxious African American Dad by Eric L. Heard is a short, insightful read about a dad telling his son his experiences.
It took me a bit to get in, but once I was in, I couldn't pull myself out. This story is a collection of many stories told through a father's eyes. It felt very warm and intimate like I was listening to the author as if I was his child.
Read MoreDead Man Walking by David Green is a quick, grungy detective novella with fantasy and supernatural elements.
Like any detective story, we’ve got our drunk private eye—the guy who’s seen “too much.” Unlike most detective stories, this one’s got ghosts, demons, and the devil.
Read MoreMoon In Bastet by E.S. Danon is a memoir turned thrilling fiction about Danon's life.
We follow an orphan fourteen-year-old girl named Eva who lives in the Negev desert of Israel and works as a custodian of Cirque Du Christianisme, controlled by a drunk woman. Eva's only reprieve from her life is her thirteen-year-old friend Jack and a small cohort of Bedouin sister-wives.
Read MoreCan you say steamy?! Tamsin Ley takes you on a wild, adventurous ride so fantastical that you almost forget that mermen don’t exist. In her stories, the contrast of mermen and mermaids creates a tangible culture of these beings that makes the heartache for the doomed mermen. Our heroine is likable and tragic in a beautiful, heartbreaking way, and you cannot help but get swept away by the passion and intensity of the MC’s interactions.
Read MoreSophie Queen’s back at it again! The Krino Blade, book two in Riley's Excellent and Not-At-All Fake Exorcism Service, is just as fun, and the characters are just as endearing.
While the first book will always be in my heart because it introduced me to the world and exposed me to awesome characters, this sequel will not disappoint!
Read MoreThe Girl in the Storm by Christopher Stanfield is a YA fantasy about seventeen-year-old Genevieve Reidell, who learns of her destiny from an angel after a school shooting.
What I really loved about Stanfield’s story was his writing. There were times where he pulled me into a setting just by his words alone. I really loved this.
Read MoreSmolder by Michael R Goodwin is a horror novella about a recently divorced man named Eric. Who must deal with his new life as a single man and the foreclosure of his dream home. The story really starts when he takes a late-night walk in the woods nearby his home.
Read MorePrincess of Thorns by Saga Hillbom is a historical novel about Great Britain in 1483.
This story centers around Edward IV and his family, specifically Cecily and her life going through change, age, and despair.
Read MoreThe Scarring of the Roshanra by Kara S.B. Brown is a psychological fantasy novel with very dark elements. This book is not for all readers as it deals with torture, rape, and PTSD, which draws on experiences from the author’s life. This gives the book a very raw, real feeling for the intricately built world, and I think that really works for this heavily character-driven novel.
Read MoreAtonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobes by Evan J. Corbin is what happens when a world, including unforgiving churches, must accept all types of love and ways of life.
Corbin gives us a fast-paced, quirky story about learning to accept others. There is gay romance, homophobes learning (successfully and unsuccessfully) how to accept people and be okay with one’s self.
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