C. J. Daley

I received this novella to judge for SFINCS. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team. I did also happen to purchase this on audible, as I am busy, and audiobooks are helping me keep up. The narration is very solid. 
Right off the bat, this novella hits us with a group of clone soldiers. They're used to wage someone else's war, never given a choice. And while there are many of them, it's obvious that they come from only a couple of original sets of genes, only changing certain aspects based off desired jobs in the military. John, seemingly just another clone, gives us unique thoughts and personality. It makes me think of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and how it humanized and personalized the clones. 
When wanting more is a death sentence, John might just find out that there really is more to life than what he's been offered, but will he live to get it?
I just felt like it was lacking a little bit in lore, building and description of what the world is. This partially works because as a clone, John would not be privy to everything, but I do think there are ways that more could have been included. 
Personally 3.5/5*, an enjoyable quick read! 

I was gifted a copy of the audiobook narrated by Kim Bretton to judge for the Indie Ink Awards for Best Audio Narration. Sad I don't own it now because the cover is too damn good. 

This was amazing. You get sucked right into a world utterly different from ours. It makes you want to know more and more. It's transformative with action that lights up visually. The world is very Asian inspired. Kind of like ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'-esque with the action styling. But with vengeful reanimated spirits throughout! 

The author does a great job with a group of completely different characters. They do learn and grow, but they are also so definitely themselves through the story. My favorite is ‘The Whispering Blade', Itami Cho. Her character has personality and purpose and she was such a cool fighter. 

The narration is absolutely top notch. The narrator's accent and voices are perfect for the distinct characters she's bringing to life. You can tell who's talking right by the voice she's doing and that's pretty unique. I would 10/10 recommend going the audio route.

Personally a 5/5*. I need more. And again, I'm really loving this new age run of short fantasy books!

I had been following the author for some time, and seeing his covers everywhere, so naturally for this Spooky Season I had to grab some of his work! (I got Nana and Hope Wharf)

This novella has virtually ruined my view of elderly people for the rest of my life, irrevocably. It is gross, gruesome, horrifying. The worse part being that my grandmother goes by Nana too. Now I'm not sure if I can ever view her the same...what has this world become. 

To me, this really had the feeling of an adult version of The Witches by Dahl. Maybe because of the venue for the climax, or because all the boil-covered, drooping, seeping elderly people made me think of the exposed witches. Maybe because of the disregard for children. It had a good effect for me, especially because the are certainly wicked!

The writing was great, the story is balanced nicely, and the pacing is awesome. Nana loves you, she knows what's best...just don't trust her. 

I loved the cover, so I signed right up for the ARC team and I was happy to be approved. 
Let me start with saying, WOW, that is how you write an ending! The climax is just so incredibly epic and beautiful and dark at the same time. Threads that were weaved throughout the entire story coming together to make a beautiful little sweater of gut-punching, heartbreaking action and tension. I am blown away. 
An epic debut with heavy emotion, heart, power, and gravity. Written in part as a study of colonialism, this fantasy brings a completely new world with incredible characters, magic, and histories. 
The main character, Kaylo, is a jaded loner. He has been through the ringer, and connecting with others is not his thing. When Tayen crosses his path, he's faced with a choice—let her be captured, or worse, killed. He makes his choice, and the novel has its momentum. With a story like this, for me at least, it reminded me heavily of The Last of Us. As with TLOU, both characters bounce off each other, bickering and fighting, before finding caring. It's such a good dynamic, and the author brings some new things to the plate with it. The side characters are just as important and fully imagined as well though, it's just super solid. 
The magic system is brought to the world's inhabitants through the Great Spirits, or worshipped godlike presences. The gifts bestowed to the people allow them to call upon these spirits, altering the world around them in various ways. It was refreshing that this didn't have limits attached for the users, but it was simply understood that it isn't limitless either. 
 The writing is fantastic, and I loved that the teacher told the story of his life as a way to give her lessons as opposed to the regular fantasy teaching scenes. It also gave the story two timelines which were both great. 
Personally a 5/5*. I'll be thinking about this one for a while. Bring on book two asap. 

This is a prequel novella to the Nightfall Wars Series. It is also the latest completed out of the free Podium Audio prequels on Audible. You will stop seeing me say this one day, but it is not this day. 

Overall this is a set up for a series about ‘good vs. evil.' It is posed as the battle between light and dark, and in this series, it quite literally means day and night, or darkness. The heroes of old, the ones that predate even this prequel, were the chosen ones, or priests imbued with powers above those of mortal men to face the dark. Although this novella does not show any of that action, I felt myself heavily leaning on the movies ‘Priest' (2011), and ‘Legion' (2010), to fill in the blanks of what that looked like...aka Paul Bettany as an assassin priest with angel powers. 

The novella follows two parents that are ex-church spies turned merchants. As merchants they deal in lanterns, wicks, oils, flint, aka all things light...just like when they worked for the church, but hopefully less dangerous. To me this did a good job of making the characters interesting and real even though the set up is obviously for their son, Alesh, who the series is about. (I have not read it though). 

Unlike the author's other novella I just finished, The Silent Blade, this one totaled over 4 hours of listening, double that of the first one I completed. With that came a bit more lore and world building, some of which did end up feeling kind of like a dump, and there were things that I found repetitive. Still enjoyable though, and I am tempted to continue the series because of how I've been picturing the world. This series is a total of five books, but with the last one releasing mid-2020 I don't know if it's finished yet. 

Personally a 3.5/5* for me. Both prequel novellas are currently free with an audible subscription, and the quality is good! 

I'm really happy I found this author's account as this spooky novella is brand new this month, so what a better book to add to my reading list? This released 10/9/22, so please add it to your lists or get yourself a copy and read before Halloween! 

This is a story of desire, loss, grief, guilt, obsession, and sacrifice. This was a bit bone chilling honestly. It's short and to the point, but manages to be elegant and eerie at the same time? The writing is great and pulled me right in. 

A daughter lost too soon and a mother that can't let go. A loving husband that has a viewing window installed so that his grieving wife can visit their daughter...but what if that isn't enough? Shouldn't a mother be able to do more? 

Honestly this novella has a story thread that deals with adultery. That's something I think is seen in horror all too often and I most often absolutely hate it. It is often overdone and overused as a sexual basis for the scenes. This author did not do this. It's handled deftly and they expertly handle the behavioral pulls behind why someone would do that, not the act themselves. I am impressed and thankful as it really added to me enjoying. 

Twists and turns abound. I was surprised more than once reading this! 

I received this novella to judge for SFINCS. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team. I did also happen to purchase this in paperback, as I prefer to read physical, and I liked the cover.

This book takes place in the future. It is a science fiction based novella, and as it’s the future, there have been many shifts in the countries of the world and the major powers. This leads to an incredible amount of new names, as well as many abbreviations. This felt authentic for SF, but I was also definitely confused and flipping back and forth a bit.

The story follows the likable character of Kep, a guide to the new arrivals at the Sol system. I thought the idea of her shifting her appearance, personality, as well as her style to lighten the blow of arriving at a new place was very unique. And probably something that would genuinely happen as well. Some of these travelers have left home, never to return again, so waking up from stasis to something semi-familiar would definitely be a blessing.

The story takes on a kind of thriller vibe to it when a delegate from the (thought) long-lost Dacic has arrived. The powers of the Sol System covet their technology, so even though they intended to share them freely, no one in Sol wants to share.

This was an interesting and enjoyable novella, I do just wish the ending was a bit more definite. Personally a 3.5/5*

This is a prequel novella to The Godling Chronicles, and the latest I've finished from the included prequels on Audible. 

I really liked how this one started. Lee is a man born of lower status that was later in life left an inheritance that allowed for him to parade around as a nobleman. Mention of parties every night, a butler like assistant, expensive horses and swords. That's not to say that I liked him, he is a pompous prick in this, but I liked that it was a different approach on the character set up. Oh, and did I mention that he's a godling? That fact kind of threw the lowborn status up in the air for me, but I liked that seemingly no on at all knows this. 

The world building/lore isn't a lot, but it is present. I liked what I heard, but this one really closely follows what the character is doing with little information or deviation. 

The jewel part of the story itself was kind of convoluted to me though. Not to mention that the jewel speaks to people and tampers with their brain in an all-too-Gollum like way. The climax was kind of dull and ended quickly to the point of almost being pointless. I guess though, if you have read the series, the backstory may be a nice pay off. I don't think I'll continue though. 

“Endeavour to have the common sense.” “Never, never will you use the brains the good God has given you.” Hastings is a punching bag I don't know why he sticks around.

I liked how this one started with Captain Hastings recounting how their neighbor, a doctor, liked to stop by for intelligent conversation with Poirot. Even he himself doesn't realize he's an idiot by design. This is one story that is short but sweet. I enjoyed the simple twist as opposed to the many seen in some of the other ones.

I've been seeing this all over bookstagram for some time now and when I saw that like 90% of this author's work is free on audible, I decided to give it a shot. 
This is a quick listen, so therefore I'm going to assume it would be a real quick read too. For me this would be best labeled as a comedy-horror. It's not very serious, the copycat IKEA setting is pretty funny, and the writing itself isn't really anything to write home about. But again, this one is kind of silly in its entirety. 
It still has some good spots, and the horror is still present for sure. I especially enjoyed the chapter headers being done by another person and how they get progressively more unhinged. Both performances are good! 
Personally a 3.5/5* for me. 

This is graphic novelizations of The Horror at Camp Jellyjam, The Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes, and Ghost Beach. I felt that Dean Haspiel, Kyle Baker, and Ted Naifeh all did a good job, but Ghost Beach definitely had my favorite art style. 
As always with graphic novels/comics, these get right to the point. If you could imagine goosebumps with even less exposition and explanation, these are it. Taking the already fast paced books into 30-40 page comics. It's breakneck from the go. Kind like a picture book for goosebumps. Image spark notes... 
All of these are fun, and of course I had to pick the summer inspired one for my #GoosebumpsJuly this time. The only one that stuck out to me was The Horror at Camp Jellyjam looked a lot more like newspaper art than actual comic work, style just wasn't for me! Personally a 3/5*. 

Grabbed the paperback to give a go, as this is perfect for Spooky Season. I love the author's shared universe of Devil's Hill, so I always come out and support, as I am doing (trying) similar with ‘Cemetery.' 
This novelette has some heavy content material and is deserving of a contents warning, although the dedication is a clear indicator of what's the come. Domestic disputes, trafficking, and assault against women. Due to the loss of a loved one, Jack Forest takes the law into his own hands, both for retribution, as well as his own sanity. This choice leads him to work for Satan. He dishes out judgment to those that seek to cause harm, and brands them for judgment. 
Even with this being a heavy read, it's also fun, at times even funny. As the afterward states, Reyes has created this Deadpool/vigilante/red dead redemption looking/acting-esque character. There are some laugh out loud, almost cartoonish comments made by the soul collector. 
Personally a 4/5*, I will read more when it comes out, and I wish this one was longer. 

This is a prequel novella to the Sword of Truth series. I haven't read the series before, but I saw free audible fantasy, and I said yes. 
Firstly, I think this would have been more enjoyable (and made more sense) if I had read any of the series before. This is one of those novellas that came out after the series was releasing (a lot like The Wheel of Times ‘New Spring'), so it's not written with too much of the lore or world building in mind. It's really only setting out to tell a singular tale. I'm pretty curious if this is mentioned in the series itself and then the author later wrote it out as a novella? 
Secondly, the thing that this one does the best is tell a single concise tale. It's only 150 pages (or 3.5hrs audio) and that really worked for me here. I didn't feel bogged down by series references or name drops (although I'm sure there are some) and I actually think this adds up to a good starting point for the story chronologically. 
Thirdly, if you're wondering if this is for you...it has heart, love, anger, and twists all packed into a little storyline. Family ties, kidnappings, war, and magic all wrapped up into one. The only reason I think I'll hold off on the series is my mind, body, and soul are not ready to start another 12+ book series right now. 

I believe this is the story someone confused with ‘The Million Dollar Bank Robbery' because I saw a review saying he solves a crime without leaving his armchair and obviously that is this story instead. Poirot makes a bet with Japp that he can solve the case without leaving... although this includes updates from Japp and he is allowed to ask for things (pretty much the same as being there...???). I liked how both Poirot and Japp thought it was like stealing from a child from their POV with the bet. Otherwise it was as silly and ridiculous as most of the other short stories, but enjoyable nonetheless.

A copy of this was sent to me by the author through my bookstagram (@CJDsCurrentRead—shameless plug....) and it definitely took me a little bit to get to it, but I find that I was not disappointed whatsoever. 

This book introduced some cool ideas, both in terms of world building, and also in the sense of a magic system. The world is both futuristic and primitive, in an apocalyptic-then-refreshed world. And the magic is almost superhero-y powers, but they all pull from natural things. The world to me had an epic fantasy feel to it with its open spaces, and then a more steam punky-type feel for the city area (think Gideon the Ninth-esque...) that I really enjoyed. 

I feel like this book had a lot of heart and it has the guts to be even expounded upon into a full novel if he wanted to. All of the preliminary work is there to be bulked up, but it also functioned well as an action packed novella just the same. 

Personally a 4/5* for me, I'd definitely read more, or reread this one one day.

“You misunderstood me, Hastings. What I meant was that I believe in the terrific force of superstition.” Christie once again tears my heart out by toying with supernatural stories and then taking them away right at the end through Poirot's reason. I find these stories to have the power to be the spookiest and I hope throughout them every time even though I should know what's coming.

The author is possibly best known as WitchKingReads for great reviews, and I was so excited when I saw she was writing! This is book 1 of The Breaths and Depths and there's definitely more to come. Not sure how they can top this cover though!
The world was interesting and the characters come alive. The magic is super important but comes across as more of an undertone than an actual moving piece of the plot. But that in itself is actually part of the plot, which I won't mention because spoilers. Iona's Breath is harnessed by those able and it's kind of like being an airbender or wind controller. 
The thing that stuck out to me—as it took me a full month to read this which is not usual for me—is that part one builds into such a climax, with so much happening and it's so brutal, that afterwards it just feels like starting over. I of course applaud any style attempt that isn't the exact norm, but usually with a journey based fantasy you start on the bottom knowing you're going uphill the entire time to the climax. It certainly doesn't go into slog territory at all, but it was harder for me to adjust. Especially coming off of so much loss in part one, I just didn't feel like I had long enough with the characters. Of course the ending climax is awesome and actiony, it just didn't feel as big as part one. 
I enjoyed the world, and people, and the possibilities. I believe the things left undone or unsaid in this one will built to an absolutely explosive second novel. I look forward to it. Personally a 3/5* thank you for the arc, I preordered one too!

I requested this from NetGalley for a seasonal read, and because I saw that it was an indie release. As usual, I was not disappointed. 
This novel features two characters that can't stand each other. Mason Klaus, a well dressed, but ill tempered man that overtook Lyla Smurfit's birthright. He paid for it, but that's not how she sees it. He sees her as an entitled, ill managed know it all. Until a letter draws him home—a home he hasn't been to in over ten years, a home he can't possibly go back to alone. He takes along the least likely guest ever! 
This was a cute, cheesy romance. I typically avoid romance, which is why they read as cheesy to me, but as a lover of Christmas, this is typically the time of year I let one or two slip in. This one is well done, and I rather enjoyed it. Believe it or not, this is a double troped romance! Enemies to lovers, as well as pretend dating/fiancées turned lovers. 
It delivers on the magic of Christmas and love, and it was an enchanting setting...the North Pole (or Yule)! It is written well, and I would most definitely check out more from the author as I believe they write fantasy normally which is more my flavor. If anything, the typical almost-heartbreak at the end could have gone on a bit longer to really sell it, but I enjoyed it anyway.
I got sucked in, and it hit the feels. Personally a 5/5*. 

This new short is available through the author's newsletter, so get to it! 
Zack yet again proves his ability to write emotion. Just gut-punching, heartbreaking loss. You will feel everything this main character does, in such few pages. I'm again so impressed with the author's ability to pack such a punch. 
This fantasy/horror short story is about love, sacrifice, and loss. This feels like such an interesting and impressive world, with next to no world building in it. I would read a million short stories by him. 

I got this in a free e-book listing I believe. I signed up for the newsletter, and got this awesome little horror short. 
A new couple just won the Galston house at auction and can't wait to move in! Even though they know the history of the place, houses—bricks and mortar—don't hold histories, they can't remember...right?
The author gives us a new, creepy boogeyman in just 48 pages. And he truly is creepy, I could just imagine him on screen. I liked that this story isn't really subverting the genre, it's just telling it's own tale. I feel like it's hard to subvert and do it justice, so I'm glad the author didn't attempt to as a short story. Creepy, eerie, spooky fun. Written well too!

I grabbed this one during the Velox Books rerelease, but decided to also grab the audio so that I'd have time to get through it for Hispanic Heritage Month. Horror anthologies are my jam and this one didn't disappoint. 
Reyes puts some fun, some horrific, and some really unique ideas into this one. I definitely imagined that some of these could have been longer, or later adapted out into full length works. There are just a couple that mesh a few things in a new way, and that would be cool to see it explored further. Not that the short form isn't good too!
A lot of these take place on Halloween night, or close to it, and it definitely works as I personally tend to pick up horror short story collections around Spooky Season. 
Also shoutout to Jack Forest making an appearance, I will definitely be reading that novelette soon too. 
I was lucky enough to be an ARC reader for Devil's Hill II, so it was cool to step back and see where it all started. 
Personally a 4/5*. House of Souls and The Monster Slash were my favorites. 

I was very interested in the author's journey to narrate the novel herself, so when I saw an ARC sign up, I jumped right on it. The narration is vivid, distinct and overall a fantastic job for a first outing! 
Other than following along with the author's narration journey, the only thing I knew going into this was that I was a fan of the cover. I believe this falls under what people are calling romantasy, which is not typically my bag, but this one is done pretty spectacularly. The fantasy world isn't just a backdrop, it's living and deep and filled with lore. The romance is front and center in the plot, but the author doesn't leave the world building or characterization behind. I thought the love interest was interesting and believable, and the climax and twists took it to something other than just romance. 
Now there is a bit of spice...the author teases it several times without going there, but then it finally does. Spice is not for me, but I thought the use of it was in the correct places for sure. 
I'm impressed as this is my first from the author, and I'm sure it won't be the last now. Personally a 4/5*. 

This was included with audible, and it was fitting for Spooky Season, so I decided to give it a go. 
The story takes a group of people through the Grand Hotel as they listen to various stories from the longterm tenants. For all intents and purposes, this is a writing devise used to link a horror anthology series. I know this isn't uncommon, but it's the first of the style I've personally read. 
As a reader, I know stories are all about suspending your disbelief. However, the major thing I thought throughout this entire novel, is that the audio is roughly 10 hours long...who the hell would allow themselves to be toured around for 10 hours?? And the idea of a hotel kept making me think, like...don't they want to go to their rooms? And during each character's tale, the tourists would interject and comment randomly...so it's not even like they were transported into the stories and time didn't matter. It might have just been an odd choice. 
Some of the stories were spooky, some were strange, and some were kind of boring. Also, the novel itself didn't entirely wrap up in my opinion. 

This is story 2 of Amazon's short story collection Creature Feature. I love that these releases include the kindle and the audible version for each. 
I thought this was a very interesting way to open up a story and give out someone's traumatic past. Because it's a short story, that launches the story into action immediately, making the horrific pace breakneck. I really thought this was a great take on the boogeyman, and as creepy as it was, I would have read a full novel of this. The ending was losing me a bit with its almost boogeyman-hunters take, but the description of the creature itself was too good. 
This one again mentions COVID without going into it, so I'm guessing they wrote these during the pandemic? 
Personally a 5/5*, I'd love to nail some creepy descriptors this well. 

I was sent an e-ARC for my reading enjoyment and to review. 
This is an new indie scifi/fantasy on a very epic scale. It involves two beings alive before the existence of space and time. They form the old universe and absolutely everything in it. One fashions themself a god and a ruler, the other merely a protector of time. There's rich worlds and lore and things to build upon. This is like a fantasy novel with X-Men superhero powers of all kinds. 
One thing this novel does very well is the representation. Not just with aliens and beings in the universe, but with strong and differing women represented throughout. From strong protectors and mothers, to entire women warrior clans. 
A few things stood out to me at odds with the overall flow though. The story itself is so huge and so grand, that it does still feel like it's missing detail. For the most part the novel glances over action in large brushstrokes, but I felt like it was missing some of the more vital information needed. The pacing is fast and heavy hitting, but I found that I didn't understand or agree with a lot of the character motivations. I just feel like this novel had so many threads to pull that the sparse details left me wanting. Or many it would have just read better if it was twice as long. 
Maybe this just didn't hit as well for me! Personally still enjoyed, giving it a 3/5*, I hope it's release goes well!