Fantastic Spooky Library Fantasy Read

The first two books that I read for October as ARCs each featured librarians who were extraordinary in some way and both were set in our contemporary world. Since I've already featured The Haunted Librarian as a blog book spotlight, today I'm focusing this week's review on Emma Hinds's novel Nightcurse.

image copied from bookshop.org

Having read several books already this month, I can say with confidence that Nightcurse has been my favorite fall read this year! It is unusual in both its premise and its characters. Told from the first-person point of view of Emrys Swift it follows his coming-of-age journey to remember how he died while trying to save the only after-death home he's ever known.

Emrys is a librarian of witchlore for Never-End Library and he is also a revenant. One who died at seventeen and has been undead and seventeen for one hundred and fifty-seven years. At the start of the novel, he is hopeful that he will finally be offered a true title beyond volunteer as a tutor for the new teenage revenant who has arrived at the library. Not only do things not go as Emrys planned, but he is forced to team up with a shapeshifter, his arch nemesis Aubrey Vale, to investigate why some books and other magical artifacts have gone missing from Never-End. If their collaboration is unsuccessful then Emrys might lose more than any hopes of being more than a volunteer, he might lose his revenant family and Never-End as well.

From the first, Emrys's voice drew me into this story and didn't let go. He is sardonic, prickly, fussy and insecure. But I still found myself sympathizing with him all the same. Who wouldn't empathize with someone who died so young and has spent the last hundred and fifty plus years trying to prove himself while doing what he loves, reading and caring for books and knowledge. The ways he reacts to being forced outside of his comfort zone by investigating the thefts with Aubrey Vale were both poignant and funny. Emrys is sure that he knows himself and knows what he wants in the beginning. But the more he is forced to travel beyond the safety of Never-End the more his certainty of both is called into question. Throw in the sharp, witty banter between him and Aubrey as they begin to become allies rather than enemies. Add in all of the magical creatures and hijinks they encounter with ghosts, mermaids, and witches. Then mix in the twists in the mystery as it unfolds, and Nightcurse became something I just couldn't put down. I couldn't anticipate where the plot was taking me next, and the way this magical world was set up was different from any other academia focused fantasy that I've ever read before.

That doesn't even cover all of the themes that are explored in this book. More than just great characters and a fun and adventurous plot, Hinds also explores themes of found-family, self-discovery, grief, spiritual faith, and all the different variations of love. Family, friendship, self love and romantic love are all explored. None of them are simplistic either. Each variation explores the complexities of human connections and the things that sometimes stand in the way of that. The way the sexuality is explored is also deftly handled and a broad spectrum for that is introduced in a very believable way through Emrys as he tries to understand his own. All of these aspects of the story make it more than just another fun fantasy read, it makes this novel a tender and poignant one. 

If you love inclusive, enemies-to-lovers fantasy set in a unique magical world with original, fully developed characters, then I cannot recommend this one enough! I have to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review of it. Nightcurse will be available wherever books are sold November 10th, so put it on your TBR list, and preorder it now. In case you missed my book spotlight of The Haunted Librarian last week, I've copied my impressions of it below as well. It was another fun read that features an extraordinary librarian, this one sees dead people instead of being dead.

image provided by publisher

This was a perfect cozy paranormal fantasy read for the start of the fall season. I loved Amelia and all of the ghost side characters we get to know right along with her as she starts her dream job as a librarian.

Unlike some cozy fantasies this story is set in a real world place. But because it takes place in a fictional library in Cavendish on Prince Edward Island in Canada, it still fits well within the cozy genre that I’ve grown to love.

Both Amelia and Simon were characters that I could empathize with and root for to get their HEA.

The ending was also lovely and touching. I highly recommend this for readers who enjoy cozy fantasies in a modern real-world setting. If you'd like to secure your own copy, simply click on the book title link to order one on bookshop.org. The Haunted Librarian is also available wherever books wherever books are sold.

For my next blog book review, I've decided to switch things up a bit. Since I've already featured a book spotlight for Winter's Teeth by R. A. Betzer, my next review will be over Rachel Gillig's The Knight and the Moth. As the final book in the series just came out recently, now seems like a great time to revisit my impressions of the first book, which I was a little behind the times in finally reading earlier this summer. Its a great read for fall with its gothic tone and unusual fantasy world. Plus, Gillig's writing is lyrical and lovely. The book cover and blurb pasted below are both copied from bookshop.org.

Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming of having no dreams at all. Like the other foundling girls who traded a decade of service for a home in the great cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur, and lords and common folk alike travel across the kingdom of Traum's windswept moors to learn their futures by her dreams.

Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil's visions. But when Sybil's fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral's cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she'd rather avoid Rodrick's dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god.

Debut Dark Paranormal Romance Book Spotlight

 My second book spotlight features a debut release by R. A. Betzer, Winter's Teeth.

image copied from bookshop.org

Perfect for fans of gothic-toned paranormal romance

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Rae Bennett, a morally ambiguous college student raised by the local ax throwing gym, is doing her best to assimilate into adulthood after a tumultuous upbringing set her back in every way. Then, Fox Winter crashes into her life on an ice float in the creek. He's a frozen corpse when she finds him, only to violently wake and take off into the woods before she can figure out what's really going on.

She finds him again two weeks later when her sister goes missing at the rustic wedding venue run by the Winter family. Dragging Fox back into her life against his will, Rae enlists him to aid in the search for her sister. He has only one rule for their tentative new relationship-don't go into the woods-which she flouts liberally to get to the bottom of things. With a reluctant Fox in tow, she discovers the darkest parts of the forest full of centuries old legends and dangerous secrets surrounding his family.

In the dead of winter, a twisted tradition unfurls with supernatural shifters and their arranged marriages to kidnapped humans-her sister being one of them. Rae fights to rescue her sister before the tradition is complete, all while warring with a traitorous heart that begins to fall for one of the Winter villains. Somewhere along the way, she starts fighting for more than just her sister, hoping to rescue the man she loves, as well.

But in the end, she may only be able to save one of them.

MY IMPRESSIONS

I was immersed in this story from the first page. Rae is said to be a morally gray character and I think she sees herself that way. But considering the fact that she is willing to risk her life to save a complete stranger, I found her to be someone who has a strong impression of what she feels to be right and wrong. The man she saves, Fox, was also an intriguing and complex character. Both are broken and have been conditioned to believe they are unworthy of love.

The setting of a winter retreat deep in the mountains and forests of Northern Appalachia was also eerie and stark. It made the events of the story as they unfold that much more tense and otherwoldly.

This is a fast-paced and compelling paranormal romance that is steamy without being too much so for an older young adult or new adult audience. If you like dark, gothic paranormal romance set in a remote Appalachian setting, then you should give this one a read. 

Again, if you'd like to secure your own copy of this book simply click on the title link for it. Winter's Teeth is out wherever books are sold.

Blog Tours and Book Spotlights

 I'm featuring book spotlights for a two books that launched today. As part of a blog book tour, the first book I'm spotlighting is Auralee Wallace's newest release The Haunted Librarian.

cover image provided by publisher

Perfect for fans of Cozy Low-Spice Fantasy

About this Book

A lonely librarian finds love, friends, and a few ghosts between the shelves in this cozy, paranormal tale from beloved bestselling author Auralee Wallace.

It’s a dark and stormy night…and Amelia Bates is caught in the rain. Life hasn’t always been kind to her, and being a ghostseer certainly doesn’t make things any easier.

Glowing warmly through the autumnal downpour is her safest haven: the library. Amelia, the newly hired librarian, has always relished the comfort of curling up with a novel, vastly preferring it to the company of humans (alive or ghostly).

But Amelia is shocked to discover the building is full of more than quiet stories and warm cups of tea. There are curious, talkative patrons, a shy, bespectacled head librarian who makes her heart skip a beat, and three quirky spirits causing paranormal havoc that endangers the future of the library.

To help the ghosts and save the building, Amelia will have to gather all her bravery and wits, because learning to trust others might just be the first step to a happily ever after she only thought was possible in books.

My Impressions

This was a perfect cozy paranormal fantasy read for the start of the fall season. I loved Amelia and all of the ghost side characters we get to know right along with her as she starts her dream job as a librarian.

Unlike some cozy fantasies this story is set in a real world place. But because it takes place in a fictional library in Cavendish on Prince Edward Island in Canada, it still fits well within the cozy genre that I’ve grown to love.

Both Amelia and Simon were characters that I could empathize with and root for to get their HEA.

The ending was also lovely and touching. I highly recommend this for readers who enjoy cozy fantasies in a modern real-world setting. If you'd like to secure your own copy, simply click on the book title link to order one on bookshop.org. The Haunted Librarian is also available wherever books wherever books are sold.

Stay tuned!! Later today I will be spotlighting another new release for a debut author. 

Exciting Sequel in Kate Golden's Harker Academy Series

 

Book Spotlight

image provided by publisher

Perfect for fans of YA Dark Academia Urban Fantasy

About this Book:

To rescue someone close to her, Viv must team up with Reid’s violent, unpredictable older brother, Deacon. Her uneasy truce with him offers Viv something Reid never could: the chance to embrace her darkness.

Viv’s mission takes her to the center of Astera's seedy underbelly with none other than the White Stag as her guide. But when a bounty on Viv's head puts those she cares about in danger, Viv will be forced to go to lengths she never dreamed in order to protect them.

With enemies closing in from all sides and a ticking clock on her life, Viv must save the Half City from destruction while surviving a betrayal that strikes at the heart of everything she’s fighting for. Because in a world where monsters wear familiar faces and temptation cuts deeper than any blade, making it through her second semester at Harker will take more than skill—it will take everything Viv has left to give. Who can she really trust in a city that thrives on lies?

My Impressions:

This was a solid sequel to the first book in the series. But while I did enjoy Cursed City overall, it took me longer to get into it than it did the first book.

However, the revelations throughout the plot and the character development of Deacon were what kept me reading. The reward for that was the second half of Cursed City where Viv finally begins to realize that the black and white world between good guys and bad guys that she's always held as a hunter isn't so clear cut. That Deacon is more than what he appears and so is Reid. I also enjoyed learning more about the different factions that control this world, more about the history of aeons and of the syrabraxa curse. And while the ending wasn't quite as big of a shock as a cliffhanger for me, I still was left wanting more at the end like I was with the Half City. I am still invested in Viv's story, especially now that she seems to have come full circle in not just accepting who and what she is, but has learned to take some pride in that. Of course, without giving away any spoilers, her world has been turned on its head once again and we are left wondering how in the world she's going to make it out of her current situation.

I truly hope that when the third comes out I'll be able to read it right away to see how this trilogy concludes.

A Spellbinding Horror Suspense

Cover copied from Bookshop.org

As we come to the end of September we draw closer to All Hallow's Eve. This time of year, I love to read and watch things that involve supernatural, spooky stuff whether it be ghosts, witches, or those pesky vampires. I've already reviewed a book about a ghost. So, for this week, I'm focusing on witches. 

Along with being very well researched in terms of some of what happened during the real-life Salem Witch Trials, Whispers of the Pale Witch by S.A. Sizemore also carries on the theme of the month around change. In the novel, several characters experience changes. Some involve changes that are physical, such as moving to a new place to start fresh and learn more about one's own heritage. Others involve changes or new beginnings after self-destructive patterns place loved ones in jeopardy. This novel is more than just a thrill ride of suspense and facing down dark magic. It delves into themes of coming into one's own, learning to trust one's own heart to another, and facing secrets or wrongdoings in one's past and accepting responsibility for them. Issues surrounding mental illness and abuse are also tackled.

All of this while also giving us a truly scary villain willing to do whatever it takes to get vengeance on their enemies. It begins on page one with the Pale Witch digging in a cemetery. From there we are invited into a world that is mystical, spooky and full of intrigue and danger. The setting plays into this in as well. It was so vividly portrayed that I felt like I was discovering Salem Massachusetts right along with one of the main characters, Kylie Beckett, who has just moved there. I've never been there before, but after reading this novel I feel like I've traveled there virtually. And don't even get me started on the mysteries and secrets that are revealed bit by bit as Kylie, Elizabeth, and other secondary characters in the novel, all of whom are witches, struggle to understand what happened to one of the scions of their community. 

Even though this was a book well over three hundred pages in length, I had no trouble speeding through it. It was a true page-turner that I tried not to read too much late at night. However, I will admit that I am a real weenie when it comes to anything too scary and while there are some very tense moments near the end of this book, I didn't have a problem finishing it. It does delve into some dark stuff, there is murder, violence, and crooked-path style magic that takes place in the story. So, if any of those things might be triggering to you, then be aware of that going in. But if you like edge-of-your seat thrillers that keep you wondering who is even likely to survive to the end, and you enjoy novels that weave together history and magic as part of the plot, then I think you'll truly love Whispers of the Pale Witch by S. A. Sizemore. 

As for my next reads and reviews for October, I will be discussing more stories that involve magic and possibly a little mayhem. Two of the books that I'll be reading for October deal with magical library's. The other book that I'm considering reviewing for October involves cryptids and is set in the Appalachian mountains of Pennsylvania. Below are book covers and blurbs for each. Stay tuned to see which one I feature first in October. Each of the covers and blurbs were copied from Bookshop.org. with the exception of The Haunted Librarian. The book cover and blurb for it were both provided by the publisher.

A lonely librarian finds love, friends, and a few ghosts between the shelves in this cozy, paranormal tale from beloved bestselling author Auralee Wallace.

It’s a dark and stormy night…and Amelia Bates is caught in the rain. Life hasn’t always been kind to her, and being a ghostseer certainly doesn’t make things any easier.

Glowing warmly through the autumnal downpour is her safest haven: the library. Amelia, the newly hired librarian, has always relished the comfort of curling up with a novel, vastly preferring it to the company of humans (alive or ghostly).

But Amelia is shocked to discover the building is full of more than quiet stories and warm cups of tea. There are curious, talkative patrons, a shy, bespectacled head librarian who makes her heart skip a beat, and three quirky spirits causing paranormal havoc that endangers the future of the library.

To help the ghosts and save the building, Amelia will have to gather all her bravery and wits, because learning to trust others might just be the first step to a happily ever after she only thought was possible in books.

Cursed with eternity, haunted by love–discover the truth about living forever in this achingly atmospheric dark academia fantasy.

Emrys Swift is so dead. One hundred and fifty seven years worth of dead, to be exact. He’s a Revenant, nightcursed, destined to be stuck being seventeen forever. Hidden away, he spends his infinite days as an undead librarian of witchlore at the NeverEnd library–until a new Revenant arrives and magical artifacts start going missing, jeopardizing his beloved home.

Emrys’s mortal enemy and annoyingly attractive shapeshifter Aubrey Vale is determined to solve the mystery–with Emrys’s help. Suddenly Emrys and Aubrey are magically bonded together on a quest into the dark and frost-bitten world of night-kin. But as Emrys and Aubrey interrogate ghosts and face drowning by mermaids, deathly creatures aren’t the only spectres haunting them. With the ghoulish Night Hunt chasing them down, can they outrun the secrets of Emrys’ death and Aubrey’s life? And if they can save NeverEnd’s future, can they have a future together?

Hauntingly gorgeous and tender, Emma Hinds’ Nightcurse is both a Gothic mystery and an enemies-to-lovers romance about navigating life and love in the face of death.

Rae Bennett, a morally ambiguous college student raised by the local ax throwing gym, is doing her best to assimilate into adulthood after a tumultuous upbringing set her back in every way. Then, Fox Winter crashes into her life on an ice float in the creek. He's a frozen corpse when she finds him, only to violently wake and take off into the woods before she can figure out what's really going on.

She finds him again two weeks later when her sister goes missing at the rustic wedding venue run by the Winter family. Dragging Fox back into her life against his will, Rae enlists him to aid in the search for her sister. He has only one rule for their tentative new relationship-don't go into the woods-which she flouts liberally to get to the bottom of things. With a reluctant Fox in tow, she discovers the darkest parts of the forest full of centuries old legends and dangerous secrets surrounding his family.

In the dead of winter, a twisted tradition unfurls with supernatural shifters and their arranged marriages to kidnapped humans-her sister being one of them. Rae fights to rescue her sister before the tradition is complete, all while warring with a traitorous heart that begins to fall for one of the Winter villains. Somewhere along the way, she starts fighting for more than just her sister, hoping to rescue the man she loves, as well.

But in the end, she may only be able to save one of them.

 

A Ghostly YA Mystery Perfect of Back-to-School Time

Image Copied from Goodreads

September is one of the biggest times of transition throughout the year. It not only marks the change for many of us from summer to fall, but also, to a new school year for students. In honor of that I'm focusing this month's reviews on books that highlight the idea of change or transition as one of the themes for the story. This terrific debut by Jo Mallory, Lexi Cherry is Dead, hits the mark on change or transition perfectly. Not only does it feature a ghost who has yet to come to terms with her demise, but it begins at the start of a new school year and features a sweet sapphic, first love story as well. 

As someone who has enjoyed the book series The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson as well as TV shows like Ghostwhisperer, I was excited to read this one.

I was not disappointed! Mallory does a wonderful job of exploring complex family dynamics and friend dynamics for her main character, Casey, while also balancing in a twisty murder mystery, ghostly elements, and a sweet sapphic romance.

Casey's family is already fractured, but when her sister Lexi disappears, things go from bad to worse. Not only that, but Casey blames herself because she wasn't there to walk her sister home the day Lexi vanished. Instead, she was with friends. Now, she can't bring herself to be around those friends. Her guilt at choosing time with them over her sister make it too painful for her to face them. But even isolating herself in her room becomes problematic when she becomes haunted by her little sister's ghost. To distract herself from facing what Lexi's ghostly presence means, Casey decides that she has to get justice for her sister and figure out who killed her.

There are a number of suspects that Casey can choose from. As the mystery unfolds, the storyline goes back and forth between the past and present, offering the readers clues to follow as they, along with Casey, discover what really happened the day Lexi disappeared. The friend dynamics are also complex. Casey has secrets of her own she's been keeping from her friends that she finally realizes she will have to face if she ever hopes to reconcile with them.

In Lexi Cherry Is Dead, Jo Mallory has woven together a complex plot that explores themes of self-acceptance, friendship, first love, and sisterhood into a tightly paced young adult romantic suspense. I had no trouble reading through this quickly and was never completely sure until almost the very end who the culprit really was. As a ghost, Lexi was a great secondary character who was a lovely counterpoint to Casey. Their relationship made Casey a very empathetic character it was easy to root for. If you enjoy sapphic young adult mysteries with complex, sympathetic characters, then preorder your copy of this one today! Lexi Cherry is Dead hits shelves this September 22, 2026. 

Other books that I'm excited about releases for this month are two sequels in two different series. One is the conclusion for the YA Weaver Bride duology by Lydia Gregovic. The other is the second in the Harker Academy trilogy by Kate Golden. Checkout the blurbs and book covers for those below, both copied from Goodreads. 

Love will be tested in this high-stakes, spellbinding sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller The Weaver Bride—the perfect read for fans of The Rose Bargain and Thorn Season.

Lovett Tamerlane is engaged.

A silkwitch whose magic can only be harnessed through marriage to a Weaver, Lovett was facing life in the cloisters when Eliot Lear offered the deal of a an invitation to the Vainglory to compete for wealthy Weaver heir Noé Allaire’s hand in marriage, in exchange for her solving his sister’s murder.

While they both got what they wanted, the competition was full of surprises. Lovett never expected to fall in love . . . and Eliot never anticipated that she’d betray him.

Now Lovett has one to take down Bastian Alaire and end his corrupt Weaver reign at any cost. But though the Vainglory may be over, danger still lurks at Fortblanche. And when Bastian presents Lovett with one last challenge—solve a murder that occurred within his walls, before the day of her wedding—she realizes the tests aren’t over. To pass this one, she’ll have to partner with the only person she hates more than her father-in-law his son, Noé.

But as Lovett will learn . . . sometimes love and hate are two sides of the same coin.

Welcome back to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense, where the line between hunter and hunted has never been thinner.

Viv Abbot will do whatever it takes to rescue Reid Graveheart, the reformed Brood demon she loves—even if it means teaming up with his violent, unpredictable older brother, Deacon. Her uneasy truce with him offers Viv something Reid never could: the chance to embrace her darkness.

As the search for Reid intensifies, Viv and her friends must maintain appearances on Harker grounds while wading into Astera's seedy underbelly with none other than the White Stag as their guide. But when a bounty on Viv's head puts those she cares about most in danger, Viv will be forced to go to lengths she never dreamed in order to protect them.

With enemies closing in from all sides and a ticking clock on her life, Viv must save the Half City from destruction while surviving a betrayal that strikes at the heart of everything she’s fighting for. Because in a world where monsters wear familiar faces and temptation cuts deeper than any blade, making it through her second semester at Harker will take more than skill—it will take everything Viv has left to give. Who can she really trust in a city that thrives on lies?

My next September book review will be of Whispers of the Pale Witch, a horror suspense novel by S.A. Sizemore. The book cover and blurb for it are both copied from bookshop.org.

"A perfect mix of history, mystery, and magical thriller. Sizemore expertly juxtaposes the horrors of a supernatural murder mystery with something even more terrifying: family relationships."

-Jillian Pagan, Themed Entertainment Writer

Some secrets just can't stay buried.

After the sudden death of her great-aunt, Kylie Beckett lands her dream job as a forensic photographer in the small seaside town where she was born.

But once there, a series of murders and the dark truth about her family's past forces Kylie to harness unconscious powers to protect her newfound family from the murderous Pale Witch of Salem, Massachusetts, and keep a dangerous relic from the unstable witch before she unleashes a demon on Salem once again.

Shall we begin?

A Nonagenarian Caper with Loads of Humor and Heart

image copied for bookshop.org

In my continued quest to read caper-style mysteries as inspiration for my current work-in-progress, I stumbled upon this one by C. J. Wray and absolutely loved it. Josephine, Penny and their nephew Archie had me laughing and crying throughout this romp. Each is a lovable character that you can easily follow through whatever adventure they become embroiled in. 

Told in a dual timeline, the story begins with Archie trying to corral his two ninety-year-old aunts from lunch out to a ceremony meant to honor them for their service during WWII. Along the way we realize that the younger of the two sisters, Penny, might be a kleptomaniac. That is just the tip of the iceberg as Archie ponders all the excitements his aunts have brought to his life. From there, we are taken into the past when Josephine and Penny were both teenagers, enjoying a visit with their godparents in Paris, France months before the German invasion and occupation. Josephine is experiencing first love with a young Jewish refugee, while long-suffering younger sister Penny is just trying to keep from dying of boredom now that Josephine is too busy to spend time with.

Switching back and forth between the past and present kept the plot of the story intriguing. I was thoroughly engrossed in figuring out how all of the characters and plot threads would eventually come together. I, along with Penny, also constantly questioned which characters were on the side of right during the war years and what happened to their friends in France and the priceless jewels revealed to Penny and her sister one memorable afternoon before the war began. Just when I thought I'd begun to figure it all out, a new twist in the plot would occur. 

This story truly contains it all, forbidden romance, jewel heists, plot twists, danger, and heartbreak, combined with lovable characters and loads of humor. If you love stories with all of these elements combined or have ever been a fan of Miss Marple, then you should add The Excitements to your must-read list.

For my September reads, I'll be reviewing some great books that feature ghosts and witches to get me ready for spooky season.