Book Reviews

Here you can find reviews of books I've read. Many of these books are by independent authors, and I encourage you to check them out. The reviews are posted from the most recent to the earliest.

Review: The Den of Stone

By Roger Sandri

[Reviewed on Goodreads June 30, 2023]

What would you do if you learned the hard way that gargoyles are more than just ugly statues on buildings? Well, Courtney Mays has some hard decisions to make when that reality hits home - the home she shares with her Uncle Hank. Drawn unwillingly - and unwittingly - into the world of gargoyle (and other monsters) hunters, Courtney must learn to deal with keeping this reality about her world hidden from her friends as long as possible (spoiler, that doesn’t last for long).

The Den of Stone is a high-octane ride that blows way past 60 in the first few chapters and rarely slows down after that. Courtney is a fascinating, multi-layered character with her own demons to deal with even before she learns about the ones her uncle has been fighting for years, along with a deathless Russian named Ivan and others in their little community of Drake’s Landing. The story is full of action, violence, blood, and trauma, so readers should go into the book aware that things will get very nasty along the way. There are deaths along the way - some expected (one character really should have been wearing a red shirt) and some not so much unexpected but definitely unwanted.

If you like a darker urban fantasy with plenty of horror overtones, this may be the book for you. Sandri does not shy away from the details of Courtney’s growth into a gargoyle-killing badass with a mouth to match, and he does not hesitate to put his characters through very traumatic experiences. This is the first book of the Blood Key series, and I look forward to the rest of the series.

Review: The Torn Map

By Alessandra Coco

[Reviewed on Goodreads December 29, 2022]

After reading Alessandra Coco’s debut novel, The Conspiracy, I was excited to read the sequel, The Torn Map - and I was not disappointed. Now, to be honest, there were a few more spots in this book that gave me pause - particularly some of the details about the Shikazi (I won’t spoil anything) - but overall it was as engaging and entertaining as the first book. The Torn Map continues the adventures of David Thompson and Pam (Pameluna) Kendall as they attempt to find a missing professor who may hold the key to the secret of Pam’s existence. The trail takes them from Athens, Greece, to a chalet in Switzerland with a climactic confrontation with shadowy antagonists.

Alessandra is a master of description, painting word pictures that put you in that lovely chalet in the Swiss Alps or on a storm-tossed smuggler’s boat in the Mediterranean Sea. She also excels at writing personal interactions between her characters and making the reader root for them, even when you don’t especially like some of them. As much as I enjoy adventure, I’m also one who likes a happy ending, and I am hoping from some of the clues she has dropped that there will be happy endings for my favorite characters. All-in-all, this is an excellent addition to The Legend of the Winged People.

Review: The Conspiracy

By Alessandra Coco

[Reviewed on Goodreads October 24, 2022]

The Conspiracy is the debut novel of Alessandra Coco and the first book in her Legend of the Winged People series. As a future debut novelist, I was excited to read this book to see how another author’s first effort into fiction came out, and I was not disappointed! Although it took me a couple of chapters to really get into the swing of the story, it was not long before I was invested in the major characters, Pamela and David. Alessandra’s writing is descriptive and evocative, and I soon found myself rooting wholeheartedly for this mismatched pair. I am already looking forward eagerly to the next book (a snippet is included at the end of The Conspiracy), and I have some happy and gruesome endings that I am wishing for some of the characters.