Author: Joseph Pietris

Epeolatry Book Review: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

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Title: The Spellshop
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Genre: Cottagecore Romance, Fantasy
Publisher: Bramble
Release Date: 9th July, 2024

Synopsis: A lush cottagecore tale full of stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships, sweet jams, and even sweeter love.
Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people. Thankfully, as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she and her assistant Caz―a magically sentient spider plant―have spent the last decade sequestered among the empire’s most precious spellbooks, preserving their magic for the city’s elite.
Then a revolution begins and the library goes up in flames. She and Caz flee with all the spellbooks they can carry and head to a remote island Kiela never thought she’d see again: her childhood home. Taking refuge there, Kiela discovers, much to her dismay, a nosy―and very handsome―neighbor who can’t take a hint and keeps showing up day after day to make sure she’s fed and help fix up her new home.
In need of income and reluctantly inspired by the beauty and people of the island who have welcomed her into their hearts, Kiela discovers something that even the bakery in town doesn’t have: jam. With the help of an old recipe book her parents left her and a bit of illegal magic, her cottage garden is soon covered in ripe berries that become the town’s, and her handsome neighbor’s, new favorite confection.
But magic can do more than make life a little sweeter, so Kiela decides to open the island’s first-ever and much-needed secret spellshop.
Her plan comes with risks―the empire condemns the use of unsanctioned magic, and the consequence of sharing spells with commoners is death. But Kiela has only just found a place that feels like home and people who feel like family, and she’ll risk anything for a chance at happiness.
Like a Hallmark rom-com full of mythical creatures and fueled by cinnamon rolls and magic, Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spellshop will heal your heart and feed your soul.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Fiasco by Constance Fay

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Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Fiasco
Author: Constance Fay
Genre: Space Opera Sci-fi; Action and Adventure Romance
Publisher: Bramble
Release Date: 4th June, 2024

Synopsis: Equal parts steamy interstellar romance and sci-fi adventure, Constance Fay’s FIASCO is a perfect wild romp amidst the stars.

Cynbelline Khaw is a woman of many names. She’s Generosity, a cultist who never quite fit in. She’s Bella, the daughter who failed to save her cousin’s life. And then there’s Cyn, the notorious bounty hunter who spaced a ship of slavers.

She’s exhausted, lonely, and on her very last legs—but then a new client offers her a job she can’t refuse: a bounty on the kidnapper who killed her cousin. All Cyn has to do is partner with the crew of the Calamity, a scouting vessel she encountered when she was living under a previous alias. One tiny little issue, she’s been given an additional bounty: deliver the oh-so-compelling medic, Micah Arora, to the treacherous Pierce Family or all her identities will be revealed, putting her estranged family in danger.

Hunting a kidnapper doesn’t usually mean accidentally taking your sexy new target to dinner at your parent’s house, a local mystic predicting you’ll have an increasingly large number of children, or being accompanied by a small flying lizard with a penchant for eating metal, but, as they field investigative hurdles both dangerous and preposterous, Cyn and Micah grow ever closer. When a violent confrontation reveals that everything Cyn thought about her past is wrong, she realizes that she has the power to change her future. The first part of that is making sure that Micah Arora is around to be a part of it.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Projections by S.E. Porter

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Title: Projections
Author: S.E. Porter
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Swords and Sorcery
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: 13th February, 2024

Synopsis: Love may last a lifetime, but in this dark historical fantasy, the bitterness of rejection endures for centuries.
As a young woman seeks vengeance on the obsessed sorcerer who murdered her because he could not have her, her murderer sends projections of himself out into the world to seek out and seduce women who will return the love she denied―or suffer mortal consequence. A lush, gothic journey across worlds full of strange characters and even stranger magic.
Sarah Porter’s adult debut explores misogyny and the soul-corrupting power of unrequited love through an enchanted lens of violence and revenge.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Your Blood and Bones by J. Patricia Anderson

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Title: Your Blood and Bones
Author: J. Patricia Anderson
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Horror
Publisher: Root of the World Publishing
Release Date: 27th August, 2023

Synopsis: Kill the monsters when they’re found.

No matter who they used to be.

The girl with secret feathers in her skin and strange bones jutting out beneath her clothes is resigned to her fate. Her deformities mark her a monster and the stories say monsters must die.

When her family finds out and turns on her, a village boy saves her and leads her on a frantic escape. The girl believes her death has merely been delayed—until he mentions a cure.

With the world against them and the monstrous change progressing, they must cross water, forest, and field to chase the rumor that fuels their desperate hope. But is hope enough to keep them going?

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Epeolatry Book Review: Diavola by Jennifer Thorne

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Title: Diavola
Author: Jennifer Thorne
Genre: Ghost Thriller/Witch & Wizard Thriller/Family Life Fiction
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Release Date: 26th March, 2024

Synopsis: Jennifer Thorne skewers all-too-familiar family dynamics in this sly, wickedly funny vacation-Gothic. Beautifully unhinged and deeply satisfying, Diavola is a sharp twist on the classic haunted house story, exploring loneliness, belonging, and the seemingly inescapable bonds of family mythology.
Anna has two rules for the annual Pace family destination vacations: Tread lightly and survive.
It isn’t easy when she’s the only one in the family who doesn’t quite fit in. Her twin brother, Benny, goes with the flow so much he’s practically dissolved, and her older sister, Nicole, is so used to everyone―including her blandly docile husband and two kids―falling in line that Anna often ends up in trouble for simply asking a question. Mom seizes every opportunity to question her life choices, and Dad, when not reminding everyone who paid for this vacation, just wants some peace and quiet.
The gorgeous, remote villa in tiny Monteperso seems like a perfect place to endure so much family togetherness, until things start going off the rails―the strange noises at night, the unsettling warnings from the local villagers, and the dark, violent past of the villa itself.
(Warning: May invoke feelings of irritation, dread, and despair that come with large family gatherings.)

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Woods all Black by Lee Mandelo

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Title: The Woods all Black
Author: Lee Mandelo
Genre: historical fantasy, dark fantasy, romantic fantasy
Publisher: Tordotcom
Release Date: 19th March, 2024

Synopsis: The Woods All Black is equal parts historical horror, trans romance, and blood-soaked revenge, all set in 1920s Appalachia

Leslie Bruin is assigned to the backwoods township of Spar Creek by the Frontier Nursing Service, under its usual mandate: vaccinate the flock, birth babies, and weather the judgements of churchy locals who look at him and see a failed woman. Forged in the fires of the Western Front and reborn in the cafes of Paris, Leslie believes he can handle whatever is thrown at him―but Spar Creek holds a darkness beyond his nightmares.

Something ugly festers within the local congregation, and its malice has focused on a young person they insist is an unruly tomboy who must be brought to heel. Violence is bubbling when Leslie arrives, ready to spill over, and he’ll have to act fast if he intends to be of use. But the hills enfolding Spar Creek have a mind of their own, and the woods are haunted in ways Leslie does not understand.

The Woods All Black is a story of passion, prejudice, and power ― an Appalachian period piece that explores reproductive justice and bodily autonomy, the terrors of small-town religiosity, and the necessity of fighting tooth and claw to live as who you truly are.

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Epeolatry Book Review: An Aliens Search-and-Find Book: Find the Xenomorph by Kevin Crossley

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Title: An Aliens Search-and-Find Book: Find the Xenomorph
Illustrator: Kevin Crossley
Genre: Horror; Science Fiction; Fantasy; Fantasy & Sci Fiction Coloring Books for Grownups
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: November 14, 2023

Synopsis: Official Aliens search-and-find puzzle book, based on the movie, featuring a host of highly detailed full-colour illustrations by artist Kevin Crossley set in familiar film locations.

‘Find The Xenomorph’ is a gorgeous puzzle book that will entertain and terrify Alien fans of all ages. Fourteen original illustrations present our well-known characters in new and horrifying situations – from colonists hiding in egg chambers to marines hunting for facehuggers, this beautiful search-and-find book gives fans a new way to interact with the classic movies.

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Complete Alien Collection: Symphony of Death by Alex White and Tim Waggoner

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Title: The Complete Alien Collection: Symphony of Death
Author: Alex White and Tim Waggoner
Genre:  TV, Movie & Game Tie-In Fiction; Science Fiction Adventure
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: 28th November, 2023

Synopsis: Collected together for the first time, this action-packed omnibus is filled with secrets, lies, and the silver smile of the deadly Xenomorphs. Across three epic novels, see how the Xenomorph doctrine of Weyland-Yutani and Venture is a short and angry road to hell.

The Cold Forge
Weyland-Yutani has suffered a devastating setback: the loss of the Xenomorphs they aggressively sought to exploit. True to form, they have a redundancy already in place… the facility known as The Cold Forge. When company man Dorian Sudler is sent to assess their progress, he discovers that there’s a spy aboard who may destroy the entire station… That is, if the Xenomorphs don’t do the job first.

Prototype
Corporate spy Tamar Prather steals a Xenomorph egg from Weyland-Yutani, taking it to a lab run by Venture… Former Colonial Marine Zula Hendricks has been tasked with training personnel to deal with anything that gets thrown their way, but nothing can prepare them for the horror that breaks out of Venture’s lab.

Into Charybdis
“Shy” Hunt and the tech team from McAllen Integrations thought it was an easy job—set up environmental systems for the brand new Hasanova Data Solutions colony, built on the abandoned ruins of a complex known as “Charybdis.” There are just two problems: the colony belongs to the Iranian state, and the complex is located above a series of hidden caves. Charybdis has a darker history than any could imagine, and its depths harbor deadly secrets.

The deeper they dig, the more Shy is convinced there’s no one they can believe. When a bizarre ship lands on a nearby island, one of the workers is attacked by a taloned creature, and trust evaporates between the Iranians and Americans. The McAllen integrations crew are imprisoned, accused of being spies, but manage to send out a distress signal… to the Colonial Marines.

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