Courtiers: Intrigue, Ambition, and the Power Players Behind the House of Windsor by Valentine Low

For its entire history, the British monarchy has relied on its trusted courtiers—the unseen advisers who handle both the forward public-facing activities of the royal family and its behind-the-scenes feuds and scandals. For better or worse, with their guidance and influence, they have been instrumental in some of the biggest events in British history.

In Courtiers, Valentine Low has given readers not only an in-depth examination into the reigns of King George and the unprecedented 70-year-long reign of Queen Elizabeth II, but we also gain insight into how the current courtiers of King Charles III and Prince William are working with them to shape the future of the monarchy in Britain.

Valentine Low has been a fixture in British journalism covering the royal family for the past fifteen years. Traveling on assignments with the late queen to Russia, with the now King Charles III to the Galapagos Islands, and with the new Prince and Princess of Wales to Bhutan, Low has gained the trust of both the monarchs and the courtiers and is sharing their stories of what it is like to work behind the gilded doors of Buckingham Palace. 

There is little doubt that most readers who pick up this book will grab it because of the ongoing drama between The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and The Prince and Princess of Wales. And that’s the publisher and author’s goal, to get the reader to grab the book thinking there will be a no-holds-barred account of the fights between warring factions of the Sussex team and then Cambridge team-- the cover of Courtiers has their photos on it even though they are only in the last 3-4 chapters of the book. It is worth noting that Valentine Low is the journalist who first broke the story of Markle’s abusive behavior toward her courtiers in May 2021 and a subsequent inquiry was conducted by Buckingham Palace, results of which have never been released. 

This is a fascinating look into court life for any British history buff, but sadly it will most likely only be read by those who want the dirt on Harry & Meghan and William & Catherine. 

 

3 out of  5 stars. It is a great book for a history buff, but most will read it for the scant coverage of the Sussex/Wales drama.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review: All Hallows by Christopher Golden

  Halloween night, 1984—all over Parmenter Road, anticipation hangs in the air. Kids prep their costumes for an evening of trick-or-treating, teenagers plan a night of drunken debauchery in the woods, and their parents set up a neighborhood party to let loose. And Tony Barbosa is setting up his town famous Haunted Woods to scare and thrill his neighbors for one last time before moving away.

While the adults are drinking and gossiping about their neighbors, the kids and teenagers are roaming the streets trick-or-treating—and they are not alone. Four unknown trick-or-treaters dressed in odd vintage costumes have joined the groups of kids of Parmenter Road, putting them ill-at-ease. When the neighborhood kids confront the interlopers, the strange children beg them for help and protection from an entity known as The Cunning Man. With the adults distracted by scandalous revelations that rock their neighborhood, it is up to the Parmenter Road kids to protect these strange kids from The Cunning Man.

Strengths- I liked that the book is told in multiple perspectives. In a story like this, it is the only way it could be told effectively, one character could not have achieved it. The time period chosen was perfect—1980s was the last time period where kids could roam free without parents hovering over them. If the book were set in modern day, how scary would it be in the era of cell phones, the internet, and Tik Tok videos?

Weakness- I would have liked a little less of the family drama.

I feel the publisher really missed a big opportunity not releasing All Hallows during the fall, capitalizing on the “spooky” season. This book gave me big Stranger Things meets Trick-or-Treat vibes. I could see this becoming a movie in the future, but only if Golden is involved with the screenplay.

 

4/5 Stars

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions of this work are my own.

Review: No Gods For Drowning by Hailey Piper

  

The ancient gods have left Valentine, and the monsters they protected mortals from are now seeking to hunt and destroy humankind. A serial killer has begun to ritually sacrifice victims as an offering to a blood god, who just happens to be her mother. Lilac Antonis will do whatever it takes to save her city and those she loves, especially her lover Arcadia Myrn, even if it involves murder.

While out on assignment as a flood fighter, Arcadia comes across the murder scene of Lilac’s sacrifice victims. Unable to fight her instinct as a former cop to investigate the murders, she seeks out her former partner Alex who has been assigned to the case, along with his new partner Cecil. While investigating the case, Alex and Cecil learn more about the gods and learn that they may have not left willingly and that they all may be in far greater danger than they ever suspected.

Like other works I have read by her, Piper has once again excelled when it comes to character-building. I love books with morally gray characters and this book has them in spades. I also love that this book isn’t specifically one genre—it is mythology, noir, fantasy, has Lovecraftian described gods and monsters, it is a procedural thriller, and has LGBTQIA characters as protagonists.

I both read the ebook and listened to the audiobook provided by #Netgalley and Dreamscape Media. I was instantly taken in by the voice of Jodie Harris. She could read a telephone book and I’d be riveted and hooked on every word. I hope to find more of her narration work soon.

 

4/5 Stars

Thank you to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for providing me with a review copy of the audiobook of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

Review: The New Girls Patient by Ruthann Jagge

I fell in love with Ruthanne Jagge’s writing after reading her a short story she wrote in the Good Southern Witches anthology. When the opportunity came up to review The New Girls’ Patient, I jumped on it. I knew she could write the hell out of female characters in the short story format, I wanted what she would create in a longer format. This tiny tome did not disappoint. In 41 pages, Jagge packs a whole lot of bang in this little book!

Jaimie Carver, our titular New Girl is an empathetic young woman working as a new nurse in a care facility for the elderly in the dead-end town of Crees Corner. When one of her patients dies, she leaves Jaimie a tattered notebook labeled “My Recipes”—but this notebook has more than grandma’s coconut cake recipe in it.  A lot of nasty people, some of them who call themselves friends of Jaimie’s, want this book for nefarious reasons and will do whatever it takes to get it.

I can’t say any more about this story without giving it away, and oh boy, do I want to say more! I loved this story—it is grungy, dirty, witchy, gory, atmospheric, and scary as heck. There are characters you hate and want to be punished and characters that will break your heart. Jagge packs a whole second story within this one that I want to read a whole book of. This novella is small, but it is mighty, and I cannot recommend it enough.

 

5/5 Stars

Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions of this book are my own.

 

Review: These Lingering Shadows by Last Waltz Publishing

These Lingering Shadows is a collection of fifteen gothic tales compiled by Last Waltz Publishing with a little something for every flavor of horror fan—ghosts, witches, revenge, vampires, haunted houses, demons—both literal and personal, and so much more.

 

“The Far Field” by Heather Miller - a secret romance between a field worker and the field owner’s son, once sweet soon becomes inconvenient and must be handled. Haunting, beautiful tale of vengeance.

“Hallow House” by Jo Kaplan – Sixty years ago on Halloween night, Jordan’s friends went missing after a dare gone wrong. Now as an elderly man of 72, he is going back to Hollow House to find his friends. Dizzyingly creepy and unsettling!

“Nory’s” by Michael J. Moore – An old-timer out for his daily stroll overhears a group of teens sharing an outlandish tale about the creepy origins of local pizzeria. When he arrives at the pizzeria to share the laughable gossip with his friend who owns it, he gets the shock of his life.
 “Behold, Death Arrives, A Duet of Ash and Fang” by Jae Mazer- Vero lives with her dead sister and feeds a monster in the woods to gain its loyalty to exact revenge for her family.
“Hell Hath No Fury” by Diana Olney – After receiving a bouquet of roses from her ex-lover, Claire is ill at ease. Dark, heart-wrenching, haunting with an unexpected ending.

“A Halloween Ghost Story” by Christy Aldridge – After teenage Kenzie is grounded after a drunk driving incident by her parents she is forced to stay home on Halloween and can’t go inside until she gives out every single piece of candy. If she runs out of candy before a particular trick-or-treater arrives, things will not go well for Kenzie. A creepy good campfire-type tale.

“Mine” by Matt Scott- A power-obsessed man is intent on building his mansion, to his exacting specifications and disregard for the lives of his workers, in the town that bears his name. The townspeople are fed up and want him gone, by any means necessary. Years pass, and the mansion is associated with numerous deaths, when a descendent of the original owner takes ownership of the mansion. The past meets the future of one family with a violent explosive result.

“The Dare” by Tony Evans - Tim, the new boy in town, takes a dare to walk through every room of the rumored to be haunted Baily House. The prize—a date with Gina! Footprints in the house lead Tim to believe that others have taken the dare before him, and he’s not sure what he will find inside.

“Cries of the Night” by Guy Quintero – Matilda is forced to serve her drunken father’s wishes and take his abuse without complaint. On her nightly chore to fetch his ale, she is captivated by a stranger who kidnaps her. A life-changing event bonds her to a being who seeks to avenge her innocence to those who have wronged her.
 
“The Feeding” by D.E. Grant- Selene is born into a line of witches and offered up as a sacrifice to the vampires by her mother, a powerful mage. Now a powerful Witch Vampire hybrid, she seeks to create a clan of her own kind. A vampire and witch war erupts and only one side can win.
“Belladonna’s Curse” by Danielle Manx - Grace is a witch whose cancer hasn’t responded to traditional or holistic treatments. Next best plan is a body switching spell on Halloween with a guest of her B&B who has issues of his own.

“Devlin’s Manse” by Daemon Manx - Devlin's Manse, a once beautiful Victorian house, is in dire need of renovation due to decades of vacancy. When workers come into the house and begin to work and bring it back to its former glory, the lives of inhabitants James and Mary become more threatened.

“Flesh and Chocolate” by James G. Carlson – Felix has been looking forward to Halloween night and going trick-or-treating with his older brother Parker and his friend Tig, much to their dismay. Eager to be one of the treated like one of the older kids, he follows their plan to go trick-or-treating in the rich area of town. When bullies steal Felix’s candy, he encounters a stranger and makes a bargain with her—she gets the bullies and he gets a wish granted, one that yields sweet results.
“Riding the Ghost Train” by Jack Wells - An affluent, but angry drunkard has sunk to a new low—he has now struck his wife in front of their children. In shame and remorse, he has exiled himself to the family cabin to detox alone —so he believes. Is he going insane from alcohol deprivation or is he really losing his mind? Very creepy and atmospheric story.
“A Dream of Dead Leaves” by Jeremy Megargee – Years after her sister Fiona has taken her own life in a haunted house on Halloween night, Olive enters the house seeking a connection to her sister and is met with dreams of Fiona beckoning her to an unending Halloween. Haunting and heartbreaking.

 

This anthology was excellent, and I really loved how the stories were arranged to achieve the maximum emotional impact on the reader.  Heather Miller’s story “The Far Field,” “Hell Hath No Fury” by Diana Olney, Daemon Manx’s story “Devlin’s Manse,” and Jeremy Megargee’s “A Dream of Dead Leaves” were emotional gut punches that hit me especially hard. I also loved how the Halloween-themed stories, “A Halloween Ghost Story” by Christy Aldridge and “Flesh and Chocolate” by James G. Carlson were also spread out through the book along with the haunted house stories, “Hallow House”, “Mine,” and “The Dare” were sprinkled throughout so as not to lose their effect. They were perfectly placed. I absolutely LOVED “Behold, Death Arrives, A Duet of Ash and Fang” by Jae Mazer. Last Waltz Publishing knocked this anthology out of the park and I look forward to their next outing.

 

5/5 Stars

Thank you to Last Waltz Publishing for providing me with an eArc for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions of this work are my own.

Review- The Queen : Her Life by Andrew Morton

In his newest book The Queen: Her Life, Andrew Morton centers his journalistic lens on the most revered member of the British royal family, Queen Elizabeth II.

From her birth in 1926 up to the death of her beloved husband Prince Philip in 2021, in The Queen: Her Life, we are given an in-depth account of the life of Queen Elizabeth II--from her childhood confidants, family members, and those who served during the highs and lows of her unprecedented seventy-year reign.

The Queen: Her Life is a testimony of a life of devoted, unwavering service to her people and her country.

4/5 Stars

Thank you to #GrandCentralPublishing and #NetGalley for providing a review copy of #TheQueen for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
 

Review- Grim Fate by Nicho Young

Grim Fate is the story of paranormal investigator Marcus Grimm being called into the home of a family who recently experienced the death of their wife and mother. The father has noticed strange occurrences since her death and is concerned that whatever is occurring may harm his children. Well-versed in situations where children are abused by their parents, and feeling ill at ease with the father’s interference in his investigation, Marcus’s main concern is the protection of the children—but from what and whom?

Using his own powers, Marcus communes with spirits in the home and slides between realms to see the dangerous situations that are befalling the family—as well as learn more about himself and his connection to the events at hand. Actions from his past have unexpected effects on not only Marcus’s future but also of the family he is trying to save.

I love everything about this book—I love how Nicho Young uses Grim in the title of the book, as the last name of the protagonist (different spelling, same effect,) and as the overall feeling of this story. Most of all, I love the character of Marcus Grimm. I honestly think he may be on the top ten list of my all-time favorite protagonists. He is the guy you call in to investigate if an event is a cheap grab for fame and money, or if it is the real deal. Marcus, in my opinion, ranks right up there with some of the best fictional paranormal investigators of all time—the Winchesters, Dresden, and even occult detective John Constantine. Young did a great job of character-building in the book, even those who were only seen in small glimpses. You genuinely care and become attached to this family, and to Marcus, over the course of the many twists and turns in the story.

5/5 Stars

I received a copy of this book for review, the thoughts and opinions included in my review are my own.