Drowned Country by Emily Tesh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Drowned Country is Emily Tesh’s sequel to the wonderful Silver in the Wood. This book takes place two years after the first book, and Silver and Tobias are no longer together (but they want to be). Silver, the new Green Man of the Wood, is asked by his mother and Tobias to help find a missing girl. Silver is forced to contend with himself when not only put into supernatural danger, but also when in close proximity once again to his love.

This sequel was just as wonderful as…

there is no poetry for the unemployed
it seems counterintuitive
we have all the time in the world for poetry
the writing
the reading
the absolute critiquing mostly of the self…

The Ghost Garden by Emma Carroll

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Ghost Garden takes place just before the start of WWI. Fran is a young girl working with her father in the garden on the estate where they live. One day, Fran finds a bone in the garden. She thinks this is odd and mysterious, until more odd and mysterious things start to happen around the estate.

I wouldn’t call this a ghost story; rather, it is a coming-of-age story with ghosts in it. I really like how Emma Carroll portrays the mystery and childhood wonder in Fran’s…

I am present I am here I am all and everything

I want to be talked about like people talk about god

she is present she is here she is all and everything

all of the time

and aren’t we all

presented by and for the vast universe

here in the world that we know so big and bright

we connect to all and everything because we cannot help ourselves

our nature

so why in death are we no longer godlike?

are we not more so having lived

having made so many connections that our minds are bursting with want

…

Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J.W. Ocker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Twelve Nights at Rotter House is about Felix, a travel writer who writes about haunted places. His goal is to stay in the purportedly haunted Rotter House, or Rotterdam Mansion, for thirteen nights. He doesn’t believe in ghosts. But when he’s joined by his estranged best friend, and believer in ghosts, Thomas, strange things start to happen in the house that even Felix can’t explain.

This was a very enjoyable read, or I guess listen, as I listened to the audiobook on Scribd. It was really…

Bulwark by Brit Lunden

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Bulwark is about a sheriff of a town in Georgia of the same name, named Clay, whose daughter was recently kidnapped, leaving his marriage and psyche in shambles. When a car accident leaves two people rambling about witches and stolen children, Clay starts to wonder if there is a connection to the kidnapping of his child.

As any of you know, I’m a sucker for a good ghost story, and for witches, so you can understand why I was drawn in by this book. I also love me a good…

The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Magpie Lord, the first book in K.J. Charles’ series, is about the reluctant Lord Crane who is the target of a malicious and magical murderer. Stephen Day, a practitioner of magic, is hired to help Crane discover who is trying to murder him and why. Their search takes them to Crane’s ancestral home, where the two discover more about magic and Crane’s ancestry, as well as possible feelings for one another.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was the perfect balance of paranormal, murder mystery, and romance…