By Vikki VanSickle
** Publication Date 8 September 2026 **
4 stars


Not quite sure if this qualifies as a cozy mystery or not, but it’s a good one. 


Drew Benson returns home to Stanfield after the death of her beloved aunt. Hannah left Drew her store, Good Vibrations, and the apartment above it. At one time Drew had been a promising mystic, like Hannah, but over time they’d drifted apart. Now Drew was back and trying to make a go of it.


When a fellow classmate from high school asks Drew for her aunt’s journals, Drew is taken aback. The classmate, Nick, is now a journalist working on a story about Ginny Evans, a high school senior from Stanfield who had disappeared twenty years ago. Hannah had been involved in the investigation, but her clues led the detectives nowhere. Nick’s request sends Drew poring through Hannah’s journals to find anything that might have been related to the investigation. With this, Drew becomes involved in Nick’s investigation as well, leading Drew to discover things about herself that had been buried deeply for many years.


There are definitely lighthearted moments in this mystery. VanSickle did a wonderful job balancing good and bad, with the story and her characters. Hannah was a larger than life person, and Drew is anything but. I loved all the mystical references to the Tarot and crystals and astrological readings. This novel never felt like it dragged. I was so eager to find out what was going to happen next, I could barely put it down. This is the perfect fall novel.


Also, I understand now that the Death card in the Tarot deck means change, the death of not someone, but something. Good to know.


Really good and worth the read. 

By Sarah Addison Allen
** Publication Date 1 September 2026 **
4 stars




This book threw me back to my junior high years when feathered hair, bell bottoms, and Charlie’s Angels (the TV show) were all the rage. While Wills, one of the main characters, was actually in high school at this time, I could still identify with the era, something that is always fun.


There’s a little bit of ghost story in this one. As the Wester women possess abilities that deem them witches by their town. Wills, or Willamena, is raised in her family home by her grandmother Alice Wester. The Wester women seem to always know things about everyone - and aren’t afraid to use it against them. Wills is expected to marry whom Alice wants her to, and she will inherit it all. However, she can never leave their small North Carolina town. If she does, she forfeits everything.


In her senior year Wills falls for the wrong man, and a terrible thing happens in the Wester house. Something that will forever change Willamena. Yet she vows to not become what her grandmother was.


The story shifts to Willamena’s granddaughter later in the book, and as expected. Wills is distant, but again, vows not to repeat her grandmother’s mistakes. In doing so, Wills seems distant and in some ways admirable to her granddaughter Bailey. But as Bailey grows older, will she become victim to the same mistakes Willamena and Alice made before her?


I was not expecting this book to be what it was. It was mesmerizing. Willamena is a typical teenager in so many ways, but also not because of the restraints put on her by her grandmother. Terrible things happen in the Wester house. Really, Alice and her mother before her are awful people. Allen writes them so realistically. Willamena turns out to be not much better than the women before her, but in different ways. The character development is deep and at times, difficult to fathom. 


A well written book is one that stays with you even after you finish reading. There are elements of this story that will stick with me for a long time.


Definitely not a romantasy, yet I still enjoyed it very much! It was actually a really great deviation from my recent romantasy binge.
​

By Bethan Croome
** Publication Date 1 September 2026 **
4 stars




As I continue on my 2026 romantasy tour, this stop belongs to Reign. There is nothing that notes that this is the first of series, but it sure felt like one. 


Niamh Smith is a young woman from the Wetlands of Lyonesse. She longs to be a blacksmith, as she is far more talented than her brother Finn. For now she helps out in the smithy when she can, helping Finn to finish objects or teaching Finn. But the smithy is no place for a woman.


Her best friend is Avice, the daughter of the Lord of the Wetlands. Avice is royalty and Niamh a commoner. They’ve been friends their entire lives. Avice is promised to the son of the King of Lyonesse. Niamh has no prospects for marriage, or any desire to marry. 


Magic is banned in Lyonesse, ever since the King’s sister tried to take the throne. Anyone found performing magic will be hung in the village square. So when Avice hears Niamh speaking Yfelle, the language of witches and wizards, Avice vows to let her father know. In a panic, Niamh commands the black dog she’s been caring for to attack Avice. Then Niamh is forced to flee the Wetlands, fearing for her life.


Niamh’s mother cuts her hair and puts Niamh in man’s clothing and sends her on her way. To the Walled City is Niamh’s plan. She will go there and become a blacksmith. Only her plans get derailed by the recruitment to the King’s army to fight a war in Cambas. 


I’d give this romantasy a lightly spicy rating. I didn’t think it was going to be as good as it turned out to be. Niamh is tough and independent. She is talented as a blacksmith. And she is a very good friend. She is definitely a character you can cheer on. The novel is a tad cumbersome at times, but the story is great. Woman pretends to be man, finds herself falling for a man whom she befriended. The mythology and magical history is interesting. From the tone of the book, I’d think it was placed in the Scottish Highlands. It has that feel to it. The ending left room for a sequel, but I suppose we'll have to wait to see if that happens. 


Would have loved to give the story 4.5 stars, but most outlets only let you give full stars. If you like romantasy that’s a bit on the spicy side, this is a good one. 

By Nadia Bozak
** Publication Date 25 August 2026 **
​4 stars


Single mothers never have it easy. Kids often think the grass in greener in the other parent’s household. Single moms are frayed from trying to keep it all together. Work, kids, life. In this mom’s life, it all simply became too much.


Kate Smith is in her 40s, a single mom to Ray, 12, and Lucky, 3. Great kids, tired mom. When their a/c goes out in the heat of the summer, it just becomes too much for Kate to bear. While she’s been working at a child care center, playing her music for the kids, she’s still barely getting by. She has a sometime babysitter, so that she can go on runs to expel the pent up energy and anger that seems to constantly be her companion. At nights she sits on her porch with a cold beer and her trusty guitar and plays music until late into the night.


Once upon a time she was Kat, part of the band The Toy Boats. They were on the verge of stardom, on a European tour, opening for big names, when Kat finds out she’s pregnant. By her bandmate. Her sister Danny had recently joined the band, and the beautiful Dannette is upstaging Kat. While the pregnancy continues, and Kat’s rage toward her sister grows, Kat is sent home to Canada. She is no longer needed or wanted. She gives birth and life goes on. The band goes on without her. And here she is now in her 40s.


One morning everything goes wrong. Lucky is hiding somewhere when it’s time to get in the car. Ray is mad at whatever, because Ray is on the verge of teen hood and that’s how boys are. Kate turns her back for just a minute and suddenly her car is gone with Lucky in it. With this turn of events, Kate’s life spirals out of control. The question for Kate is, will she ever be able to reign it back in.


I really loved Kate. I think any mother can relate to never enough sleep and being on the verge of a breakdown far too often. Even though Kate did make this mess of her life, she tries her best with her kids. Even though the flat where they live is falling down around them, Kate tries to make it a home. Even though she never intended to work in childcare, she really loves the kids. It only takes one bad decision to send life spiraling sometimes, and in this, Kate just needs time to see it for what it is. 


Fret shows us that it is never too late to turn your life around. To be a better person for yourself, your kids, and the world in general. That it’s never too late to pursue what gives you joy. I really did enjoy this story. 

By Mai Mochizuki
** Publication Date 25 August 2026 **
​4 stars




The Full Moon Coffee Shop only appears occasionally, and only to those who need it. This was my third book in the series, and I loved it as much as the others. There is something very spiritual and uplifting about these books, even if the subject is sometimes hard.


As with the previous two, the stories are linked through the cats who run the shop, and the characters who visit. In this installment, it is Neptune who will be the guide for the visitors. This is Neptune’s first foray into the books. As the ruler of the sea, Neptune can be thought of as harsh, but we see them in a different light. Neptune rules dreams and creativity. In this, Saturn and Neptune are each side of a scale — Saturn rules human’s common sense, and Neptune rules their hearts or passions.


Fujiko and Wataru become the best of friends while in middle school. Fujiko is fearless and strong, while Wataru is shy and bullied. Again, the balance of the scales. This leads to an unusual friendship. As they grow, they stay close, but as friendships sometimes do, they drift.


Satsuki is a young woman who is an actor. She started with a minor role in a movie written by the great Futakigusa. His books are beloved. After that role, she continues to become more prominent. She lives in Tokyo and has not been home for many years. Now she is making the trip with her fiancé to see her mother. 


As always the cats of the Coffee Shop have plans for all of these people. They guide and encourage the humans to be better. To follow their hearts. To understand the universe and themselves. I will leave it to the readers to find out what happens with these people by reading the book.


I do so enjoy these novels. They introduce elements of the universe and astrology that many of us never delve into. They share wisdom. I leave these novels with a profound sense of peace. They are not novels that are read once, they are novels to be treasured and kept on one’s bookshelf (physical or virtual.) At any time that is needed, they can be revisited. 


Books such as this, I will gladly recommend. While they might not appeal to all, we can all take something from them.