Review: Akarnae

Akarnae by Lynette Noni (Book 1 of The Medoran Chronicles)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Akarnae by Lynette Noni is a young adult, coming-of-age, fantasy. Although there aren't any wizards or witches, the story reminds me in many ways of the Harry Potter books, with a touch of Magic Kingdom For Sale...Sold! by Terry Brooks tossed in for good measure.

16 year old Alexandra Jennings, Alex to her friends, steps through a door and finds herself stranded in Medora, and quickly enrolled in Akarnae Academy, a school for gifted students. With no way to return home, she settles in with her friends' help, and becomes more comfortable in most of her ... unusual ... classes. She also uncovers some of the school's mysteries, and, perhaps most surprising, she learns she may have a larger role than just being a student.. a role that may be crucial in preserving the Medoran people against an ancient threat that has reappeared. 

Akarnae is terrific tale of found family, full of adventure, secrets, surprises, hidden places and unexpected danger. The story is an intriguing, fun, fast-paced read, and I was reluctant to put it down at night. I'm really looking forward to reading Noni's second book in the series, Raelia. 

Recommended especially for tweens and teens, and anyone who enjoys a fun fantasy full of adventure and intrigue!

Thanks to Astra Publishing House for providing an eARC to review via #NetGalley 

The US edition of Akarnae releases on Sept 22, 2026.

#MedoranTeamUS #MedoranABFYR

Review: Ender's Tribe

Ender's Tribe by Orson Scott Card
My rating: 4 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ender's Tribe is a collection of 8 stories set in the Ender Universe. Those who are familiar with Ender's Game - the novel, NOT the mediocre film adaptation from 2013 - will feel right at home diving into this collection which includes, among others, the original Ender's Game short story.

Each of these stories involves at least one character from the Ender Universe, and reading them is like visiting with an old friend, and hearing tales of their adventures since the last time we got together. 

What this collection is missing is something new. The 8 stories included here have all been published elsewhere, but collecting them as they are in this book provides a nice overview of the events that occur before, during, and after the final battle with the Formics.  All in all, this is a solid, enjoyable collection, but I recommend reading the Ender's Game novel first, to avoid spoilers and gain some familiarity with many of the characters featured here. 

Some of my favorites from this collection are: 

Ender’s Game - 

The original short story that was the basis for the longer Ender's Game novel and the series of stories that followed. I read this when it was first published in Analog magazine many years ago and it is as compelling a tale today as it was back then. 

Ender’s Stocking - 

Focuses on the Wiggins family, mainly older brother Peter and his mother, as Christmas approaches and they each deal with their reactions to Andrew (Ender) being away at Battle School. Ever ambitious, and jealous, Peter tries to find ways to gain influence and recognition, while his mother mourns the absence of her youngest and the impact that the Formic Wars have had on her family.

The Gold Bug - 

A story set on one of the Formic colony worlds which has been occupied by humans since the total destruction of the "Buggers." In this story a pair of colonists head out on an expedition to explore more of the planet and find some unusual, and dangerous, remnants of the Formic colonization. 

Renegat - 

This story stood out for me in large part because it reminded me of the original Speaker For The Dead novel. Andrew Wiggin, and his sister Valentine, arrive on a planet "speak the death" of a brilliant xenobiologist, and to learn whether his death was connected to his study of possible intelligence within local creatures. 

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for providing an eARC to review via NetGalley!

Ender's Tribe releases on Oct 20, 2026

Review: The Extra

The Extra by Annie Neugebauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

   I scrub my hands over my face beneath my hood, breathe slowly into my damp palms-mustn't seem annoyed to the participants-and walk to a different spot to get a new view of the area. 

   I get ten plus me again. It's not a mistake. There are eleven people here right now. 

   There's an extra.

-- Annie Neugebauer, The Extra

10 people get out of a van and set out on a university-sponsored camping/hiking trip. That evening 11 people arrive at the campsite ... only Matt, the leader, and his 2 assistants realize there is an additional person, but since they recognize and have memories of each and every person in the group, none of them can tell which one it is. 

The Extra is Annie Neugebauer's first book in The Outsiders Sequence and is set in a remote, forested area in Arkansas. The story is told from Matt's perspective as he tries to keep the camping neophytes safe while he struggles with the questions raised by the appearance of the extra: how did they join the group without anyone else realizing it, and why? Which member of the group IS the extra? And, most important of all, what are they going to do about it? 

As the story unfolds the leaders try to unravel the mystery of the extra, and you can feel the tension increase as Matt tries to master his own panic and uncertainty about what to do to keep the group safe.

The Extra is a gem. It doesn't have (or need!) jump-scares, physical violence or gore; what it offers is a suspense-filled, psychological thriller/mystery tale set in a wonderfully atmospheric location. It should be on your TBR pile along with The Other, the second (but standalone) book in Neugebauer's The Outsiders Sequence. 

Review: Stretch-Neck: A Veil Story

Stretch-Neck: A Veil Story by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Stretch-Neck: A Veil Story by Jonathan Janz is a fantastic short story, released as a limited edition chapbook, that provides background of one of the main characters in his ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ sci-fi/thriller/horror tale Veil.

Although connected, readers don't have to have read Veil to appreciate the suspense and action of Stretch-Neck

My review of Veil can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

View all my reviews

Review: The Other

The Other by Annie Neugebauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Other by Annie Neugebauer is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, mind-messing, twisted psychological thriller!

Imagine what you might feel or how you might react, if you and your spouse were to encounter your doppelgangers: two other people who look, act, and speak exactly as you do, and who have all of your memories as well. Then, imagine that there's a bit of a scuffle, and when the dust settles you realize that you don't know for certain which one is actually your spouse, and neither do they.

In The Other, that's exactly what happens to married couple Elise and Logan as they're on a hiking trip, hoping to reconnect and make some decisions about what their future together might look like.

And just in case your brain hurt isn't already hurting, consider that Elise and Logan now have to figure out who is really whom, and then they must also find a way to evade the other couple before they can go back to their lives; otherwise they might not go back at all, or even worse, one of them may very well end up going back with The Other.

Telling the tale by alternating the viewpoint between Elise and Logan, Neugebauer sets up this situation masterfully, and her storytelling swept me right along the trail with Elise and Logan. The tension in their marriage, and their obvious desire to find a way forward together are strong elements on their own, but then to mix in the confusion of the "identity crisis" and the very real possibility that Allison and Bryce intend to cause harm, and you have a recipe for a gripping, wonderfully paced, psychological thriller.

Thanks to Shortwave Publishing for providing an eARC for review through NetGalley.

View all my reviews

Review: Friction: Dark Tales of Suspense

Friction: Dark Tales of Suspense by Paul Michael Kane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Friction: Dark Tales of Suspense is a fantastic collection of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ dark tales by Paul Michael Kane. While each of the 9 stories are quite different from each other, they share common threads of fascinating characters, dark humor and suspenseful plots that will leave you thinking of them long after you've turned the final page.

Available directly from the author.

=====
Kane has described CASK as "a futuristic take on Poe's tale of revenge" and it is absolutely all of that... a wonderful homage without being a copy. Taking place on a space station orbiting Neptune, CASK goes beyond Poe's work by providing more depth to the main character's motivation and in the detailed setting, which almost becomes a character itself. This story will draw you in and grab hold of you in all the right ways.

======
REST ASSURED
"And the living, as always, were looking for someone to make a promise they could afford."

Who knows how to deal with death better than an underworld boss and his men? But Don Angelo Moretti knows it's going to be bad for business if the dead won't stay dead...

======
THE DEVIL'S MARTINI
"The first bargain is always the easiest. No paper, no witnesses. Just desperation.”

With THE DEVIL'S MARTINI you'll learn that the deals made with whispered promises in the night count... and when payment is due, payment IS due. You'll feel like you've walked right into a local bar and pulled up a seat alongside a mysterious stranger as he gives the bartender a choice - make the perfect martini, or lose his soul.

This story serves up a fantastic blend of confusion, fear and desperation as Eddie Carver attempts to meet his guest's demands, knowing what is at stake if he fails.

======
THE PURPLE DOOR
"...they were two unfortunate souls plagued by relentless bad luck, volatile tempers, and an uncanny ability to stumble into chaos."

Kane delivers a short, but eerie tale of two would-be thieves who decide to break into a decrepit house in search of anything valuable to steal, and find far more than they bargained for.

=====
IN TENT CITY
"Death is a loud guest."

In most places, the homeless population is often ignored, and usually invisible... unless there's a problem. In King's Alley, there's a problem: the homeless are being targeted in what appear to be ritual killings, and the police aren't motivated to investigate the cause.

Stephen King Constant Readers should keep an eye out for some subtle nods to the master.

=====
THE FORGIVEN is a fantastic tale, told from an interesting and unusual point of view. The characters may seem familiar at first, but are surprising in unexpected ways. The accompanying illustrations are not only beautiful but they fit the story well.

=====
THE HOLLOW CHOIR is a superb, atmospheric tale that delivers tension, dread and hope as private investigator Vic Everstone tries to free a client's sister from the grip of a horrific cult. Echoes of THE HOLLOW CHOIR will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

There is a connection to another story in this collection which makes this all the more fun to read.

=====
FOLLOW, SHARE, SUMMON
"Blood was honest. Blood was a signature nobody could forge."

In the internet era, keeping your audience engaged demands commitment. Passion. Sacrifice. And sometimes, when you pour yourself into your work, you get more out of it than you expected ... much more.

=====
19 WAYS TO MURDER YOUR HUSBAND
"Because leaving required hope, and hope felt like a language she no longer spoke."

For years Mara struggled with insomnia as her husband Grant slept peacefully beside her. Some people count clouds or sheep to try to relax... she found something darker.

Who knew the simple act of trying to go to sleep could be filled with so much ... possibility?

View all my reviews

Review: Saving Tommy

Saving Tommy by Ian Gielen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Saving Tommy: A Horror Novella by Ian Gielen is a well-written, fast-paced, tension-packed story. A quick, but horrifying read!

Desperate and struggling parents, Boyd and Isla, get much more than they bargained for when they enroll their ten-year old son Tommy in an experimental, early clinical trial in an attempt to treat his deep depression. The trial involves pairing Tommy with a "Bliss Buddy", a genetically modified pet intended to help him feel safe and protected. While the results are positive and practically miraculous at first, Boyd and Isla quickly become concerned about the "Bliss Buddy" and the impact it may have on their son and their lives.

In this novella Gielen does a fantastic job conveying the impact of mental illness on families, and the extent to which parents will go to find ways to help their children.

Review: M.I.R.E.: Memory Implantation for Rehabilitation and Empathy

M.I.R.E.: Memory Implantation for Rehabilitation and Empathy by Aaron R. Tyler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Aaron R. Tyler's latest novel, M.I.R.E.: Memory Implantation for Rehabilitation and Empathy, is a visceral, grab you by the throat and squeeze, experience. In this medical thriller monsters are all too human, and the line between hero and villain is thin.

I'll warn you up front. This novel is graphic - Tyler pulls no punches in his descriptions of physical and sexual violence throughout the story. This is intended, I think, to ensure the reader has a more than casual understanding of what far too many victims experience.

Brilliant brain surgeon, Dr. William Stonehurst, has discovered he can cure PTSD by removing the memory of the traumatic event - a blessing for veterans and many others who find their lives severely limited by the trauma they re-experience. His research also leads him to the understanding that those removed memories can be stored and later implanted in another person's brain. He suspects these memories can trigger PTSD in violent criminals and generate empathy for their victims, preventing future attacks.

But Dr. Stonehurst has a secret - his research was inspired by his twin sister who committed suicide due to trauma she continued to experience after being brutally assaulted and raped. He also has a desire to exact vengeance upon her attacker, John Kiel, who got away with the crime on a technicality. When the M.I.R.E. procedure gets approved as a sentencing option for repeat, violent offenders, he may finally get his chance for revenge.

Tyler doesn't shy away from the moral questions raised by M.I.R.E. To say that many of the characters are not nice is an understatement, but do the ends justify the means? Is it appropriate to knowingly inflict PTSD, even on violent criminals, in hopes of preventing future crimes? Is this justice or vengeance... or both? These are questions that Tyler's characters have to find their own answers to, as we all must.

I was kept riveted by this story throughout. It was fascinating, and disturbing. At times I had to put it down to process what I read, or in anticipation of what was to come.

View all my reviews

Review: Artemis

Artemis by Andy Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Artemis by Andy Weir is a fun read. It's a fast-paced, sci-fi adventure story with an intelligent, but down-on-her luck heroine (Jazz Bashara) who is trying to make up for past mistakes while making a living as a porter/part-time smuggler in the Lunar city of Artemis. She seizes the opportunity to finally get ahead by accepting a job from a wealthy businessman to help put a rival company out of business. It's a dangerous job that could get her deported back to Earth if she's caught, but the reward is too great to pass up.

It's a decent story, with plenty of humor, wise cracks, action and surprises that reminds me in many ways of some of Heinlein's young adult stories.

View all my reviews

Review: Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ryland Grace is an unlikely hero tasked with saving Earth from a space-born catastrophe that threatens to plunge the world into another ice age. He and the other members of the crew undertake a multi-year space mission to find a solution and get the information back to Earth in time to save it. His job is further complicated by the fact that the other crew members have died, and he suffers from amnesia that only slowly resolves itself as the story unfolds.

In spite of a couple of minor quibbles** I have, the story is fantastic - optimistic in tone in spite of, or perhaps because of, the consequences of failure. Weir reveals the characters and circumstances in a compelling way, building tension while unraveling mystery as he goes. The conclusion was an extra treat, well conceived and executed!

**My quibbles: The first is the relative ease Grace has accomplishing multiple EVAs during the course of the mission, some under incredible conditions. The second is the ability of the alien engineer, Rocky, to construct any object needed at will - in some ways a series of Deus ex machina moments.


View all my reviews

Review: Annihilation

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

By the time we were ready to cross the border, we knew everything … and we knew nothing.

I'm not sure how to feel about Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer's first book in the Southern Reach series. I found it to be intriguing, but not compelling.

A group of scientists are the latest in a series of expeditions that are sent across a strange, invisible border into the mysterious Area X to explore and document the region. They're given limited information about what previous expeditions found in the area and are provided very little in way of tools to conduct their research or weapons to protect themselves from whatever dangers might be present. And dangers do exist within Area X - some members of previous expeditions never made it back, others reappeared mysteriously back at their homes, but appear to be changed in some way.

Annihilation is told from the viewpoint of an unnamed biologist, one of the four never-named members of this latest expedition, whose husband had been a member of the previous group. She describes her experiences and observations of Area X and the other members of her group, and their encounter with a "Crawler" found within an underground Tower located near their base camp but missing from maps provided to them. As members of the expedition experience the effects of Area X, the biologist begins to suspect that what they have been told by their superiors about the region and the fate of previous expeditions was incomplete at best. Exploration of a previously identified Lighthouse further away from the base camp leads to more questions than answers.

I know that many readers have enjoyed this book and its sequels, but I think my journey into the Southern Reach series ends here. As I said: intriguing, but not compelling for me.

View all my reviews

Review: Veil

Veil by Jonathan Janz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Veil by Jonathan Janz is Predator meets Falling Skies and The A-Team all rolled into one fantastic, wild ride!

What starts out as a simple story of John Calhoun, a father desperately trying to keep his family from falling apart, turns horrific as first his son, then his separated wife, and finally his daughter are abducted in the midst of nation-wide series of unexplained disappearances. Rumors spread that the abductions are part of an alien invasion as reports surface of people literally vanishing into thin-air. As the world around him devolves into chaos, John wants nothing more than to bring his family back together, and joins with a small group of misfits who have a risky and radical plan to find and battle the abductors and bring their loved ones home.

With Veil, Janz has crafted a tension-filled story that evolves into an action-packed thriller, with strong and interesting characters and skillfully applied echoes of government and citizen reactions to the 2020 pandemic.

I'll be looking for more books by Jonathan Janz.
Recommended!

Thanks to #NetGalley for the early review copy of #Veil

View all my reviews

Review: The Third Rule of Time Travel

The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received an early copy of The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi from #OrbitBooks through #NetGalley. I had gotten about 1/3 of the way into the story, reading briefly before bed each evening, and then I picked it up over the weekend and I could NOT put it down...This is an absolutely fantastic, mind-bending, fast-paced story. It has the feel of classic science fiction brought into the 21st century with a unique twist.
I'll be ordering a physical copy.

The Three Rules of Time Travel
First: Travel can only occur to a point within your lifetime.
Second: You can only travel for ninety seconds.
Third: You can only observe.
The rules cannot be broken.

Before his tragic death, Dr. Beth Darlow and her husband Colson achieved the impossible and found a way to make a form of time travel a reality, and managed to secure the backing of a mega-corporation to continue their research to understand and control their creation.

Beth and her daughter Isabella have mostly managed to move on with their lives in the year since Colson died, but strange events both in and out of the research lab have Beth wondering how well she really understands the machine she helped create, and whether her goals and the goals of those she works for are aligned... As pressure mounts to deliver results she wonders who she can trust, what else will be taken from her, and how much more she has to give ...

View all my reviews

Review: Dune

Dune by Frank Herbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A science fiction masterpiece! Weaves religion, politics, ecology and mysticism together in a tale of treachery, resurrection, and redemption.

Young Paul Atreides must find a way to survive the harshness of the desert planet Arrakis, known as Dune, and find a way to avenge the wrongs done to his family by the Imperial Emperor and the Atreides' arch-rival the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

View all my reviews

Review: House of the Wolf

House of the Wolf by M.K. Wren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun, fast-paced read with plenty of plot twists/surprises.

 
Similar in many ways to the original Dune trilogy - science fiction, futuristic feudal system of government with a strong religious element for certain segments of the population.. not as grand in scope but well worth a read (along with the other two books in the trilogy)

View all my reviews

Review: Shadow of the Swan

Shadow of the Swan by M.K. Wren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun, fast-paced read with plenty of plot twists/surprises.

 
Similar in many ways to the original Dune trilogy - science fiction, futuristic feudal system of government with a strong religious element for certain segments of the population.. not as grand in scope but well worth a read (along with the other two books in the trilogy)

View all my reviews

Review: Sword of the Lamb

Sword of the Lamb by M.K. Wren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun, fast-paced read with plenty of plot twists/surprises.

Similar in many ways to the original Dune trilogy - science fiction, futuristic feudal system of government with a strong religious element for certain segments of the population.. not as grand in scope but well worth a read (along with the other two books in the trilogy)

View all my reviews