Cozy, Historical, Magical

The Italian Secret by Tara Moss


Description

An old family secret leads from the streets of Sydney to Italy’s sun-drenched Neapolitan coast, in this immersive historical mystery from #1 international bestselling author Tara Moss

Pacific Ocean, 1907. A girl embarks on a journey to begin a new life far from home.

Naples, 1943. A woman shelters underground from a wartime air raid, praying her husband will return home. 

Sydney, 1948. Billie Walker, returned from a stint as a wartime investigative journalist, uncovers a dusty box in her father’s old office whose contents—correspondence with a woman on the other side of the world—just might explain how they all are connected. 

Plunged into a perilous search that will take her onto the first postwar luxury passenger ship to sail across the ocean to Italy, Billie finds herself up against a dangerous adversary—someone with a mysterious grudge against her family—as she races to uncover the secrets her father left behind. And as the trail leads her towards two women whose histories may be entwined with her own, she realizes that her father’s Italian secret just might upend everything she thought she knew.

My Thoughts

I need to pay more attention to determining if books new to me are part of series, which is the case here. The author has written multiple series, with this one being the 3rd in the Billie Walker series. I always appreciate the subtle ways a series author seeds the early chapters with bits of information from previous books. Moss does that here, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Despite feeling lost at a few different places, the story here hangs together pretty well, although it takes some time to connect the angry little boy at the beginning with the full story.

I liked Billie and other recurring characters well enough that I will seek out the earlier entries in the series and also try some of Moss’ other work. She writes very well, balancing dialog and description with decent character and plot development.

Recommended for fans of historical mysteries with a bit of romance.

Publication Date: December 2, 2025
Published By: Dutton
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Book Tour, Fantasy, Magical, Mythology, Partners In Crime

Beltany by Valerie Biel


Circle of Nine Series Virtual Book Tour 1 – October 27-December 31

Description


Brigit Quinn has always felt like an outsider. Growing up in a small town where her mom’s pagan practices are the stuff of local gossip, she’s spent her whole life trying to be normal. On her 15th birthday, Brigit makes the same wish she always has—to just fit in. But the universe has other plans.

Instead, Brigit discovers she’s descended from a legendary Celtic tribe—guardians of Ireland’s mystical stone circles. A spellbound book reveals her astonishing family history and the incredible abilities of her ancestors—powers she’ll inherit if she chooses to embrace them.

When an ancient evil resurfaces, threatening her family’s legacy, Brigit is forced to quickly make this impossible decision. Will she accept her magical heritage and fight to protect it? Or reject it to live the “normal” life she’s always wanted?

This thrilling mix of magic, self-discovery, and Irish mythology will captivate fans of coming-of-age stories with a mystical twist. Lovers of ancient legends, enchanted stone circles, and family secrets will be drawn to Brigit’s journey into a world where her true power could be her greatest strength… or her downfall.

My Thoughts

First in a series of four books, Beltany introduces readers to an unusual and appealing clan of magical women. The author skillfully develops the ancient story of the Quinn women through the powerful coming-of-age time of Bridget.

The coming of age of a young woman possessed of powerful magic isn’t new to fans of fantasy and folklore, but Biel does a wonderful job of blending modern teenage life with ancient tradition. Bridget acts like a regular teen while she begins to unravel the mystery of her family. She’s a bit of a brat, but Biel spins a captivating story that shows us how Bridget grows, learns, and matures into her power. Biel writes a compelling narrative about mothers and daughters, which is an added layer to the book.

Beltany is a powerful beginning to an un-put-downable series that will appeal to fans of fantasy, romantasy, and historical fiction with a fantasy bent. The family dynamics here set the stage for the next books in the series, which I devoured over the course of a few days. Watch for those posts later in December.

Author Bio

Valerie Biel writes award-winning books for middle grade to adult audiences–stories inspired by her travels and her insatiable curiosity. Her young adult fantasy series, Circle of Nine, was inspired by the myth and magic of Ireland’s ancient stone circles. She’s also the author of HAVEN, a contemporary middle grade novel, and BEYOND THE CEMETERY GATE, a mystery suspense story. She’s a founding member of the Blackbird Writers & a member of Sisters in Crime & the Wisconsin Writers Association. When she’s away from the computer, she’s likely wrangling her overgrown garden, reading multiple books per week, or traveling the world–often on trips for the The World Orphan Fund charity she and her husband run. She calls a (tiny) portion of her family’s century-old Wisconsin farm home, but regularly dreams of finding a cozy cottage on the Irish coast where she can write and write.

Catch Up With Valerie Biel:

ValerieBiel.com
Valerie’s Substack Newsletter
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @valerie_biel
BookBub – @ValerieBiel
Instagram – @valeriebielauthor
Threads – @valeriebielauthor
X – @ValerieBiel
Facebook – @ValerieBielBooks
YouTube – @ValerieBielAuthor
Pinterest – @ValerieBiel

Find CIRCLE OF NINE: BELTANY on Amazon | KindleUnlimited | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub

Click here to read an excerpt!

Praise for Circle of Nine: Beltany

“This was a truly beautiful read. Valerie Biel has a captivating, almost lyrical quality to her work that helps the flow and the smoothness of the piece wonderfully. You can just feel the words slide along as you read and it’s a remarkable experience. I enjoyed her storytelling as much as I enjoyed the characters and the plot! Circle of Nine: Beltany is a wonderful blend of present and past, mixed with a healthy dose of Celtic mythology to captivate the brainiacs among us.”
~ FIVE STARS from Readers’ Favorite for CIRCLE OF NINE: BELTANY

Magical, Mystery, New Releases, Suspense

The Book of Autumn by Molly O’Sullivan


Description

Try as she might, anthropologist Marcella Gibbons can’t escape the fact that she’s a dimidium, one half of a formidable pair of Magicians, forever tied together to enable the other’s powers. After a tumultuous final year at Seinford and Brown College of Agriculture (and Magic) in rural New Mexico, Cella felt more than a little uneasy about returning to the sun-drenched desert campus ever again. She’d cut ties with her other half—the charming and rugged rancher Max Middlemore—and sworn off Magic, academia, and heartache for good.

Until Max turns up at her door, grinning under his cowboy hat for one last favor. Something is shifting at her alma mater, something bigger than anyone understands. One student is dead. Another is floating midair in the infirmary, growling guttural nonsense and terrifying the staff. Their best, perhaps only, chance to intervene requires Cella and Max to work together. But the origins of the disturbances lie centuries ago. To unravel them, Cella will have to confront the truth about her past—and Max. Because she might be challenging a power she could never rival alone.

My Thoughts

As I read the first chapter, I found myself thinking “oh, this is another magic school derivative. Boring.” That notion, however, was immediately removed from my mind when I got to The Girl chapter. That scene made me sit up and take notice that THIS book was something different. To be sure, there are traces of other dark academia books throughout, but this story is something special. I was especially taken with the unexpected direction of the cult at the end.

I love the concept of dimidiums – two people whose magic can only work through each other – and Cella and Max are a prickly pairing. I often find a magical book based on solid world-building and a great magic system works best and O’Sullivan has done some of the best of that I’ve seen in recent years. The writing is hip and witty, but also quite emotional at times, and some of the characters pop off the page.

While a bit slow to start, fans of magical worlds and magicians will thoroughly enjoy this one.

For readers of Adrienne Young, Olivie Blake, Erin Sterling, Hazel Beck, and Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House, a spellbinding debut about ambition, privilege, second chance romance, and ancient magic set at an enchanted school tucked among the red mesas of rural New Mexico, where a formidable pair of magicians are summoned to pursue an alleged killer.

*A Publishers Marketplace BUZZ BOOKS Selection*

Publication Date: October 28, 2025
Published By: Kensington Publishing
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Detective, Magical, Mystery, New Releases, Suspense, United Kingdom, Women

A Gargoyle’s Guide to Murder by Gigi Pandian


Description

A vanished body. A deadly bookshop. A country house party full of suspects. Can a living gargoyle and an alchemist decipher the clues before poisoned pages claim another victim?

Dorian Robert-Houdin is used to living his life in the shadows, his existence only known to a few trusted friends. When a dangerous book from his past resurfaces, he follows his closest confidante, alchemist Zoe Faust, from Oregon to England to investigate.

Before he can examine the magical book, Dorian witnesses a murder amidst the foggy lanes of Oxford. But when he takes Zoe to the scene, there’s no body—and no evidence a crime has taken place. Using his unique skills as a gargoyle, Dorian sets out to solve the baffling crime nobody else believes occurred.

When Dorian and Zoe discover a dead man in a bookshop filled with arsenic-laced books, the victim isn’t a stranger—he’s connected to the vanishing crime scene. The trail leads to a country house party where a group of bibliophile suspects have gathered and a storm is brewing. Could the killer be the mercurial Agatha Christie scholar? The prickly literature professor? The secretive rare books expert? With an unscrupulous book thief lurking, can sleuths Dorian and Zoe unmask a murderer before the next page brings them to a perilous end?

A Gargoyle’s Guide to Murder is the eagerly awaited new installment in the award-winning cozy fantasy mystery series by USA Today bestselling author Gigi Pandian. Perfect for fans of the quirky charm and found family of Only Murders in the Building and books by Ellery Adams and Travis Baldree. 

My Thoughts

Gigi Pandian’s books just keep getting better!

I have been a fan of the Accidental Alchemist series for years so was thrilled to get an early copy of this one. I was not disappointed. My favorite characters are back – Zoe, Max, and of course Dorian! This time, they are in London checking up on Non Degenera Alchemica, the horrible backwards alchemy book that nearly killed Dorian in a previous book.

As Zoe and Co. get more and more involved with the current iteration of the book, the reader is treated to some wonderful storytelling. I also appreciated the added “country house murder” trope part way through the book, which added a comical element to the story given Dorian’s project of writing a handbook on investigating murder. And the surprise twist at the end? Wonderful!

Overall, this is a solid mystery – well-plotted and paced with good descriptive narrative. I do recommend reading the previous books in the series before you open this one, but this could be a stand-alone read and a nice introduction to the series.

Publication Date: October 7, 2025
Published By: Gargoyle Girl Productions
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Book Tour, Books About Books, Cozy, Family, Magical, Mystery, Partners In Crime

By Hook or By Book by Misty Simon


June 2 – 27, 2025 Virtual Book Tour
The Charmed Inn Mysteries #1

Description

Roxy Gleason, an innkeeper by trade and a bibliomancer by birth, has lived in the same small town on the Susquehanna River in Central Pennsylvania for her entire life. Tradition is strong here. Roxy understands the rules and is willing to play by them most of the time. She runs the Charmed Inn, which has been in her family for decades.

The inn is all set to host a writers’ professional business weekend that’s been planned down to the very last hand-folded napkin, and Roxy is ready for the influx of creatives. She knows she’ll have a lot of different and sometimes unusual personalities to deal with, but this is a yearly function, so she’s not expecting anything to go awry.

Her expectations are completely tanked when she finds a dead body on her daily walk by the river’s shore. Owen Schultz had checked in for the conference a few hours ago, and she’d last seen him having tea with her aunt in the dining room.

How did he get down here on the ferry, and who killed him?

Fans of Lucy Score, Melissa F. Miller, Dianne Harman, Lynn Cahoon, Deany Ray, Kathi Daley, and Merryn Allingham will enjoy Misty Simon.

My Thoughts

I always enjoy the beginnings of a new cozy mystery series, and Misty Simon’s Charmed Inn Mysteries is very promising, indeed. The writing is loose and flowing, lending an air of familiarity and comfort to the reader as the story progresses.

I enjoyed the colorful characters, especially Roxy and her bibliomancy skills. I’ve read a few stories where books “speak” to the protagonist, but Simon handles that piece of the story with colorful imagination, helping the reader to imagine the letters, sparking and dancing in the air, form the crucial messages that help Roxy unravel the mystery.

Simon successfully introduces an endearing and appealing cast of characters who will undoubtedly continue to encounter murder mysteries in future books. I was hooked from the first sentence describing Roxy’s uncle as “Cheezy Rider,” which immediately clues in the reader to expect a fun story.

Recommended for cozy mystery fans.

Author Bio

Misty Simon always wanted to be a storyteller…preferably behind a Muppet. Animal was number one, followed closely by Sherlock Hemlock… Since that dream didn’t come true, she began writing stories to share her world with readers, one laugh at a time.

Touching people’s hearts and funny bones are two of her favorite things, and she hopes everyone at least snickers in the right places when reading her books. She lives with her husband in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel or three. She loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at misty@mistysimon.com.

Catch Up With Misty Simon:

MistySimon.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub – @MistySimon
Instagram – @mistysimonwrites
Threads – @mistysimonwrites
Facebook – @misty.simon.18

Book Details

Genre: Rom Cozy (Paranormal Cozy mystery with Romantic elements)
Published by: Rowan Prose Publishing
Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Number of Pages: 300
ASIN: B0D98KM21B
Series: The Charmed Inn Mysteries, Book 1

Shortlinks:

Author’s Links:

Book Links: 

Series Links:

British, Cozy, Fantasy, Magical, Mythology

Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill


Publisher Description

From an absolutely unmissable new voice in cozy fantasy comes Greenteeth, “an extraordinary tale about the most unforgettable heroine:” (Sarah Beth Durst) a charismatic lake-dwelling monster named Jenny Greenteeth with a voice unlike any other. 

Beneath the still surface of a lake lurks a monster with needle sharp teeth. Hungry and ready to pounce.

Jenny Greenteeth has never spoken to a human before, but when a witch is thrown into her lake, something makes Jenny decide she’s worth saving. Temperance doesn’t know why her village has suddenly turned against her, only that it has something to do with the malevolent new pastor.

Though they have nothing in common, these two must band together on a magical quest to defeat the evil that threatens Jenny’s lake and Temperance’s family, as well as the very soul of Britain.

This is a tale of fae, folklore, and found family, perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Travis Baldree.

My Thoughts

Like many pre-teen kids, I went through a phase where I was fascinated with all things faerie. I devoured books like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip, The Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey, and The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. What really tweaked my imagination though was the book Faeries by Brian Froud. It was in that book that I first encountered Jenny Greenteeth.

For some reason, the short section on Jenny and the accompanying illustration have stayed in my mind over the decades, so I was immediately intrigued when I came across this book by Molly O’Neill.

Folklore fans will love this imaginative look at Jenny Greenteeth, one of the many water “monsters” that show up in British folklore. O‘Neill spins a tale about Jenny combined with some Arthurian lore.

O’Neill has successfully humanized the Jenny in this book, making her a friend, a mother, a deadly foe, and (at the end) something much, much more. The narrative description here is wonderful and the author paints vivid pictures of both Jenny’s underwater realm and the realm of man.

My early reading of Fround’s Faeries led me to discover the fact that scholarly study of the little people actually existed, so maybe, just maybe so do they! In fact, as I I read Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde books last year, I imagined Emily as a young Katharine Briggs.

I am so pleased to see a new generation of writers discovering those old tales and spinning them into something completely new. Greenteeth should surely find an audience among fantasy and folklore readers.

★ “Full of magic that is rich, mysterious, and exciting.” – Booklist (Starred review) 

★ “Full of magic, but even more heart.” –Kirkus (Starred review) 

★”A beautiful story of found family among the most disparate of creatures.” –Library Journal (Starred review)

Publication Date: February 25, 2025
Published By: Hachette Book Group
Thanks to the Chili Public Library for the book

Action Adventure, British, Fantasy, Magical, Mystery, paranormal

Piety’s Fury by Sam Ragnarsson


Description

A missing girl. A town full of secrets. A past that won’t stay buried.

Some families keep dark secrets. Some families *are* dark secrets.

When a young girl vanishes in rural Northern Ireland, Piety, a newly appointed Queen’s agent, must return to the same orphanage she grew up in to investigate.

Lissy isn’t just any child. She has magic in her blood, a power she doesn’t understand and can’t control. It’s been driving her father to madness. It may even have killed her mother.

As Piety digs deeper, she finds more than a missing girl. A dangerous artefact, steeped in ancient power, was left in Lissy’s bedroom. A warning, a weapon, or perhaps something worse. And Lissy isn’t the first girl to disappear.

The trail leads to a quiet family farm where generations of women protect a dark secret. They all share the same magical gift, and the same tragic history; taken in by their new mother, after their real parents mysteriously died. And now that mother has her eyes set on Lissy.

To uncover the final, terrifying truth hidden in Templepatrick, Piety must untangle decades of disappearances—and confront a past that wants to stay buried.

A chilling and atmospheric urban fantasy set in 1960s Northern Ireland, Piety’s Fury is a tale of magic, mystery, and the cost of uncovering the truth.

My Thoughts

What a wild story! I haven’t read such an un-put-downable adventure in ages, and am now mourning the end because I WANT MORE!

The second in the Agents by Royal Appointment series, Ragnarsson has written one of the best fantasy/adventure stories of the year. The characters leap off the pages with smart-ass dialog and heart-stopping action centered on Lissy, a young girl who is just learning about her gift of magic. The concept here is one I’ve not read often – a family of magical beings keeping their line going by “adopting” children gifted with magic. I suppose it’s a bit similar to Mother Malkin’s “family” in Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series, but this story is just so well-developed it seems wholly original.

The action never stops, and Piety and Fitz are two of the most engaging lead characters out there. As I read, I kept imagining this as a movie or TV series. It would be fantastic!

Fans of witty, fast-paced, action-packed fantasy will slurp this one up.

Highly recommended.

Publication Date: April 20, 2025
Thanks to Book Sirens for the review copy


Family, Fantasy, Magical, Magical Realism, Women

The Moonlight Healers by Elizabeth Becker


Netgalley Description

A powerful debut with a magical twist about one woman’s discovery of her family’s secret healing abilities and the mysterious consequences she must contend with when she uses them on someone she loves.

For generations, the Winston women have possessed an unspoken magical gift: they can heal with the touch of a hand. It’s a tradition they’ve always had to practice in secret, in the moonlight hours, when the fireflies dance and the whippoorwill birds sing.

But not every healer has rightfully passed on this knowledge to her descendants, and for young Louise Winston, the discovery of her abilities comes in less-than-ideal circumstances—she brings her best friend back from death following an accident, the day after he professed his long-held feelings for her, five days before she’s supposed to move away.

Desperate for answers, and to avoid this new reality between them, Louise escapes to her grandmother’s lush Appalachian orchard. There, she uncovers her family’s hidden history in a tattered journal, stemming back to her brave great-grandmother who illicitly healed Allied soldiers in war-torn France. But just as Louise begins to embrace her unique legacy, she learns that it can also come with a mysterious cost. And with a life hanging in the balance, she’ll be forced to make the most impossible of choices…

Spanning eighty years, The Moonlight Healers is a deeply empathetic, heartfelt novel about mothers and daughters, life and death, and the beautiful resilience of love.

My Thoughts

There are many great stories out there about women’s power and knowledge passed through generations, and I find I gravitate to this concept time and again. In The Moonlight Healers, I found a lovely, tender, and sometimes tragic story about the power of women healers and the joy and heartbreak the gift has had on past and present generations.

The relationships between mothers and daughters is especially poignant and emotional. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about each member of the family, from Agnes to Helene on down to Camille, Bobbie, and Louise. The overarching theme of how, in history, the persecution of women healers forced them to move their activities to nighttime to avoid scrutiny is not only the source of the title, but also a stark reminder of how dangerous it was to be a woman knowledgeable in the healing arts.

There’s some romance included here, but it’s not the core of the story, which is all about mothers and daughters, endings and beginnings. If you’ve keenly felt the loss of a mother, a grandmother, sister, or a mother figure, I recommend a box of kleenex by your side as you approach the ending.

Highly recommended.

Publication Date: February 11, 2025
Published By: Harlequin Trade Publishing Graydon House
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Fantasy, Folktales, Ghosties, Horror, Magical, Mythology, Short Stories, Victorian, World Literature

Christmas Ghost Stories


I’ve had a lot going on lately so my reading time has been limited. However, given the season, I thought I’d share a bit about one of my favorite things: Christmas Ghost Stories!

I’ve loved ghost stories since I was a child, and delved into the weird and wonderful Victorian tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmastime during an English class in college. Before the advent of radio and television, storytelling was a true art which thrived in wintertime when people gathered closely around the hearth for warmth during the darkest days. Tales of ghostly apparitions provided rich fodder for talented storytellers who entranced their listeners then scared the pants off them with a well-timed BOO! You can learn more about the tradition from History.com – https://www.history.com/news/christmas-tradition-ghost-stories

Some of my favorites are shown below…

My Favorite

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – the quintessential Christmas ghost story chronicling the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge after a night of facing three ghosts. Storytelling at its best!

For Young Readers

Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford – Spend Christmas in a mysterious house high up on a cliff overlooking the equally mysterious Nagspeake with a colorful cast of characters including the “raw nights” performers.

Fotinoula and the Christmas Goblins by R.G. Fraser-Green – Follow Fotinoula as she works feverishly to save her little sister from the fiendish Kallikantzaroi, the Christmas Goblins.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper – Young Will finds himself hunted by the mysterious and threatening horseman who threatens to bring chaos into the world. This classic is a must-read for fantasy fans.

Super-Scary Collections

The Mistletoe Bride by Kate Mosse – Mosse is one of the best writers out there today and here she turns her attention to traditional ghost stories from England and France, including the eponymous “Mistletoe Bride,” truly a gruesome and sad tale.

Christmas and Other Horrors: a Winter Solstice Anthology – The long nights in the darkest time of the year call for scary stories from Garth Nix, Alma Katsu, Tananarive Due, and others.

The Scary Book of Christmas Lore: 50 Terrifying Yuletide Tales From Around the World – Bone-chilling global tales of monsters such as the anti-Santa Krampus, the bloodthirsty ogre Gryla, and the Mari Lwyd (touched on in Greenglass House).

The Haunting Season – a shiver-inducing collection of tales from the English countryside.

Winter Spirits : Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights – original ghost stories from current horror writers Catriona Ward, Stuart Turton, Jess Kidd and more.

If you’re looking for something weird and a little twisted, check out these and other holiday ghost collections.

Merry Christmas!
Family, Food & Drink, Magical, New Releases, World Literature

Restaurant of Lost Recipes by Hisashi Kashiwai


Description

We all hold lost recipes in our hearts. A very special restaurant in Kyoto helps find them . . .

Tucked away down a Kyoto backstreet lies the extraordinary Kamogawa Diner, run by Chef Nagare and his daughter, Koishi. The father-daughter duo have reinvented themselves as “food detectives,” offering a service that goes beyond cooking mouth-watering meals. Through their culinary sleuthing, they revive lost recipes and rekindle forgotten memories.

From the Olympic swimmer who misses his estranged father’s bento lunchbox to the one-hit-wonder pop star who remembers the tempura she ate to celebrate her only successful record, each customer leaves the diner forever changed—though not always in the ways they expect . . .

The Kamogawa Diner doesn’t just serve meals—it’s a door to the past through the miracle of delicious food. A beloved bestseller in Japan, The Restaurant of Lost Recipes is a tender and healing novel for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

My Thoughts

What an absolute gem of a book! The concept is fascinating – a restaurant and chef that recreate recipes from your past. We all have some dish that evokes special and strong memories – maybe a memorable meal you had with a loved one, or, like the first dish in this story, a simple (or not-so-simple) lunch made for you by your parent every day for years.

The power of food and taste is explored in delicate and colorful prose, offering up poignant and heart-warming vignettes for the people who are lucky enough to find the Kamagawa Diner. This would make a wonderful TV series. I hope Netflix picks it up.

What is YOUR “lost recipe?”

Publication Date: October 8, 2024
Published By: Penguin Group Putnam
Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy