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Book Review – The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain

Thanks to Netgalley for gifting me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The slowest burn is about two characters. One, a young female, Ellie Wasserman, who is a ghost writer specialising in creating cookbooks. But she has her own ghosts as her husband died a few years prior, and she still lives on the same property as her in-laws.

Then we have her latest client, winner of the latest reality cooking comp, Kieran O’Neill, who has app the charm and humour but has trouble expressing what he wants to do with his cookbook.

This is a story of love, loss, and grief but is also a story of self-discovery for both sides.

Book Review – Selene Shade: Resurrectionist for hire by Victoria Dalpe

I am always on the lookout for new authors to try out, and when you combine magic, supernatural, and detectives together, you get Selene Shade.

This book is about Selene Shade, a resurrectionist who visits morgues, hospitals, and other places and resurrect humans who signed up to be brought back. Life is simple for her. She doesn’t have a boyfriend or much of a social life, but she has her work. However, her longtime mentor and best friend, Dot, dies and makes it clear she doesn’t want to be resurrected. Then, a brutal serial killer comes to town, and her life is thrown into chaos when Detective Marlow asks her to consult on the case by bringing back one of the victims to find out about the killer.

After this, Selene’s life is thrown into a life of rituals, magic, witchcraft, and much more. Her life is suddenly turned upside down, but it’s not completely bad.

Thanks to @netgalley for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review – Plea to a Frozen God by C.M Skiera

As you may know by now, I love to support indie authors and read more lesser-known works. I also love the fantasy genre, so I was very interested when this book was brought to my attention. Plea to a frozen god is the 4^th published novel by C.M Skiera.

Thanks to the author for gifting me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Plea to a frozen god is set in cold world of Nuuna. It is a planet made up of 7 realms, also known of as Septum Dominions, with each one ruled by a different group, who believe in different gods. The protagonist of the story, Prince Ligo and Divine Mystic, Riggan, are part of Fiegardia, the southernmost realm named after the god, Fieg.

For a long time, Fiegardia has been under the influence of The Triplets, 3 volcanoes, with the power to bury the whole town under ash and lava. But there are rumours of a Septum which has the power to control The Triplets to prevent an eruption.

Book Review – Death’s Loving Embrace by C.T Ortega

One thing you may not know about me is that I love a good zombie story. But I haven’t really read any zombie books, it’s mainly been movies. So, when I found out that a personal favourite indie author is writing a zombie novel, I couldn’t wait to read it.

C.T Ortega has never disappointed me with his array of fantasy novels from the Warfare of the Gods series which combines God’s and mythology from different countries and eras to create an epic fantasy saga to his equally fantastic standalones each one unique but still set in the same world.

This time, we are transported to Hawaii, where we meet Zoe, a strong, stubborn teenager who has already been through much trauma, having lost her father the year before. Not only this, but her mother is set on trying to resurrect him by using any and all types of magic, voodoo, hoodoo, and any medicines visiting tribes and communities bring. However, disaster occurs after the vikings land and bring their own medicines. This leads to the community fighting for their lives and fighting off “zumbies.”

Book Review – Dream for a Second by Jes Smyth

Having read Jes Smyth’s debut novel, Time for Once (which is up for multiple Indieverse awards, I was excited to read the next book in the series. So, thank you to Jes for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review. We were also honoured to have her on as a guest on our podcast a while ago, which you can listen to via Spotify here.

Dream for a Second introduces us to Lena, who is barely staying afloat in life. After her fiancé suddenly dies in Florida during a scuba diving trip, she becomes lost and unsure of what to do in life. 13 months later and she is still drifting through life like a ghost. But after a call from her ex-fiancé’s father, she is forced back into the world. So, first stop, she goes to visit her sister, Shay, in her fiancé’s vintage Volkswagen van, named Douglas. But, an hour from Shay’s and Douglas breaks down. Enter Palmer, brother to the mechanic, Gregor, friend of Shay, he jumps into the tow truck and rescues Lena and Douglas.

Speaking LITerally Podcast has been nominated for an award!!!

No you didn’t misread that, after almost 3 years of hard work we are proud to announce that Speaking LITerally is up for Best Book Media award at the Indieverse Awards 2024.

Book Review – Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

I read the first book in this duology, One Dark Window last year as part of my “trying to clear a bit of my FairyLoot backlog” and it was one of those books which, after reading it, made me think “Why didnt I read this earlier” this was a really good fantasy, set in a world where power is granted through cards. Each card grants the bearer a different ability, from good looks to strength. But, only a set number of these cards were created, and they all have consequences if used too much.

So, when I saw Netgalley had the next in the series, I jumped at the chance. So, thanks to Netgalley for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review – A taste of Italian Sunshine by Leonie Mack

Anyone who knows me will know that I am a big foodie and that I love Italy and all things Italian. So present me with a romance based in Italy, and I will devour every last morsel, and that is exactly what I did. Thanks to Netgalley for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A taste of sunshine sees the main protagonist, Jenn, a city girl flown across the seas to the picturesque vineyards of Veneto, Italy, to make a deal with some of the local winemakers. An expert in her role of wine procurement specialist, she thinks this will be a breeze, but she couldn’t be more wrong.

Book Review – Graveyard Shift by Maria Lewis

It’s review time again, you lucky people. And it was another arc, so thanks to Netgalley for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This time, we fly across the other side of the world to Melborne, Australia, where we meet Tinsel Monroe, a horror loving radio dj who presents the aptly named late night show, The Graveyard shift. All things are going smoothly for her until one day, someone is murdered live on air.

Book Review – The Cage by Danielle Bannister

I was browsing Netgalley one day and decided I was in the mood for a bit of a dark smutty read. What I got was a whole lot more than that.

Our main character, Amanda Jackson, has had a string of toxic relationships, so she is used to bad men. But all she wants is an apartment and when she finds one in a luxury apartment block for much lower than its worth, she wonders if its too good to be true but still goes along to the viewing.

Connor, the owner of said apartment, has no problem finding his intended target. All it takes is a small classified ad to rent the property, and the offers come flooding in. But, he has to choose wisely, as the apartment is not what it seems. it’s a cage. He works in the pet business, but no animals are exchanged with him. His job is to find, break and train women to become the perfect pet for his client but Amanda may just be his biggest challenge yet, which could also make her the perfect match for a client he has been wanting to bag for a long time.