Eight Enchanting Elixirs Book Review

 

Eight Enchanting Elixirs

Book 8 of Kitchen Witch Mysteries

By: Lynn Cahoon

Publish Date: July 28, 2026

Publisher: Kensington Publishing/Kensington Cozies

Mysteries and Thrillers

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Book Review:

I enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars. It did take me a minute to get back into this world because I haven't read all the books and I was a little confused. Once I got back into the world, I enjoyed myself and got invested into the story. 

Someone is after Mia and isn't happy that she is testing so well. She has to do retest sooner than she planned and she is a little stressed. Her Grandma is also stressed because an ex-lover is back in town and she is engaged to someone else. Grandma is also Mia's trainer, so she stressed about that. Mia's test was really hard, and it almost kills her because the tester thinks she cheated the first time and ends up being furious when Mia's test results are higher than last time.

Mia doesn't want to be at the new level because she just wants to be a kitchen witch and cook for people. This higher level has a lot more responsibilities. 

The day after her test results the small town finds the tester dead. She has frozen to death. Who killed her and why. Luckily Mia is able to prove it wasn't her because she had friends and family over waiting for the results of the test. 

Mia's boyfriend and the police chief's wife and daughter are stuck in a home for training of their hellhounds and aren't able to help her figure out who is after her. 

The coven wants her to join the local group and keep pushing her, but she is more interested in who killed the tester than becoming a member of the coven. Soon it comes to the acknowledgement of the small town that the incident is ruled an accident, but in actually means that the incident is a coven problem and they will take the case into their hands and figure out who the killer is. 

What I like about this book is the family and friendships between all the characters and the love they show each other. I would recommend this book but also read them in order so you are able to follow the story line better.

Japanese Gothic Book Review

 

Japanese Gothic

A Folk Horror Novel of Japanese Mythology, murder, and Family Duty Across Two timelines

By: Kylie Lee Baker

Publish Date: April 14, 2026

Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing/Hanover Square Press

General Fiction (Adult)/Horror/ Mystery and thrillers

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Book Review:

This is Kylie's second book, and I enjoyed it but not as much as her first book. I gave this book 4 stars. 

I wouldn't call this book horror because I wasn't scared, but it did have some moments that I was given the eek. This book takes place in Japan during two timelines. Present day and 1877. 

In present day a young man comes to Japan to be with his father who has a heart condition. They are both originally from the states, but his father decided he wanted to be in Japan for the time being. The young man, Lee, is taking a break from college and he has some mental issues. 

In 1877 there is a young woman, Sen who is training to become a samurai by her father. This is unusual for the time period. During this time women are not thought of as warriors and the samurais are coming to an end. She isn't sure where she fits in the world.

They meet through the closet in the house that Lee's father has rented which use to be Sen's home.

The story was very interesting, and you can tell that the author did a lot of research on this subject. I like how she was able to combine two different time periods together and make it interesting. I love how the two characters got along for the most part and tried to help each other out. The ending of the story was one I had to read twice before I was able to figure it out. 

The Mountains We Call Home Book Review

 

The Mountains We Call Home: The Book Woman's Legacy

By: Kim Michele Richardson

Publish Date: April 21, 2026

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark/Sourcebooks Landmark

General Fiction (Adult)/Historical Fiction/Women's Fiction

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Book Review:

I loved this book and gave it 5 stars. It was great to back in Cussy's world. We find out what happens to her and her small family after the first book. You can read this as a standalone, but you would have no idea what she went through and be a little lost in their story. I would advise you to read the two books before this one.

In this book Cussy and Jackson are in prison because they are married. Cussy is a Blue and so considered colored. She isn't ill or anything like that she just has a genetic defect that not too many people have. There is a shot that she can take to make her "normal", but the side effects make her ill and she can't live a normal life. While in prison Cussy is able to work in the kitchen and befriends a person who is the grandmother of her daughter Honey. Cussy not only cleans the kitchen but keeps the books and has helped greatly with their budget. Eventually she gets the job of prison librarian and makes a big difference in the prison, and she becomes well liked even by the guards. She has even gone over to the men's prison and help over there.

Soon Cussy is loaned out to help a colored library with the literacy program. Just before she goes, she finds out she is pregnant and is hoping she doesn't have return because once she returns, they will abort the baby and sterilize her. 

She has been a great help and again everyone likes her. 

I won't tell what happens when she is helping the library because I want you to read Cussy's story in full.

This is a great series, and Kim does an excellent job with her research. You are rooting for Cussy and her family and you are cussing out the government at the same time.

The Fervent Whites Book Review

 

The Fervent Whites

By: De'Shawn Charles Winslow

Publish Date: June 6, 2026

Publisher: Random House/One World

General Fiction (Adult)

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Book Review:

I gave this book 4 stars. I really enjoyed myself while reading it.

This book is set in a small New York town that is now mostly a black neighborhood. One of the residents in the area are returning back home after being in prison for 18 months. People are trying to figure out why they would want to return to the old neighborhood after what happened. There are two residents who are worried because of what they did. They didn't do anything wrong but are scared, nonetheless. What did they do; one testified against them and the other told a secret. In their defense they thought the couple were locked up for life. 

The author does a great job because you get to know all the characters and you feel for them. Even the couple from prison. As the story goes the couple who were released from prison have issues and they let everyone know and they aren't nice.

This is a short book, so a lot happens and it is full of action. What I like about the story is the friendships and the small-town togetherness. 

The book takes place in the year 1982, so during this time is the HIV virus and one of the characters is gay. There is also hatred about the gays and the blacks even in this small town and the towns surrounding it. Just beware when you read it because the n word is used a couple of times.

No Mercy for the Innocent Book Review

 

No Mercy for the Innocent

By: Nancy Herriman

Mystery of Old San Francisco #8

Publish Date: May 6, 2026

Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing

Historical Fiction/Mystery and Thriller

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Book Review:

Even though this is book eight in the series it is the first book I have read. I did enjoy it and I gave it 3 stars. I would suggest that you start with the first book so you can follow all the characters from the beginning. The author does do a great job on giving you the information that you need so you don't feel lost.

In this book Celia is going to the Geysers with an acquaintance and her cousin for a small vacation. What she doesn't expect is for a murder to happen to the acquaintance. She was traveling with a group of people, and this group is a troubling group with unknown secrets and issues. They meet up with a stranger as they travel to the geysers. This stranger is being accused of the murder. Which makes thing bad for him is that he has stolen a horse and taken off.

They head back home sooner than planned and Celia wants to investigate what happened to her acquaintance because it doesn't feel right. She finds things out and which causes her to have more questions and no answers.

When she gets home there is another murder and she wonders if it is connected to her acquaintance. Can she solve the murders before they come after her? Are the murders connected and if so, why were they killed?

Coconut Drop Dead Book Review

 

Coconut Drop Dead

By: Olivia Matthews

Publish Date: December 26, 2023

Publisher: St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books

Mystery/Thriller

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Book Review:

This is the third and looks like the final book in the series called Spice Isle Bakery Mystery. It does end where another book can be written and I hope so because there are a few things that were left hanging and I am dying to find out some answers.

This book starts off were book two ended and that is that the Caribbean American Heritage Festival is about to take place.

The festival proves to be all that Lyndsay thought it would be and the business is really starting to take off.  Everything seems to be going well until the body of the lead singer to an upcoming band is found at the bottom of some stairs. This band was well liked because of the charity work they were doing for the Caribbean countries.

Lyndsay's cousin Manny who runs the studio were the band recorded their music is saying he thinks there was foul play because the body was found face up which makes him think that the singer was pushed and not just fell. He proves his point to Lyndsay by doing a reenactment and she agrees with him. She brings this up with police who are looking into it. At first, they don't want to agree but once the report comes back from coroner, they seem to be more interested. 

This time no one in Lyndsay's family is being charged with the murder but the police have officially asked her to be a consultant in the case. She is able to get people to be more open and reveal a little more information than the police can.

Things don't seem to be happening until about 3/4 of the way through the book but then someone says something and this makes Lyndsay think about something that happened near the beginning of the book.

Does Lyndsay finally figure out who did it? Will she do so without getting herself killed? You will have to read the book to find out.

What I like about these books is the family is pretty much always supportive to the main character and the friendships that are being built in the story.

Slow Burn Book Review

 

Slow Burn

By: Katy Grant

Publish Date: April 1, 2026

Publisher: Rosen Publishing Group/West 44 Books

Middle grade/outdoors and nature/Parenting, Families, Relationships

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Book Review:

This was a quick read, and I gave the book 4 stars. This book is in verse which makes for the quick read. It is a story about a young man and his father trying to connect.

Baylor is being raised in a single mom household, and his father doesn't come around much. His mom has been making excuses for the father. One summer the father has asked for Baylor to come stay with him and help him with his job, which is being a fire watcher. Baylor doesn't really want to go but decides to go to hopefully get to know his dad better. There is a lot of adjusting for both of them and they are learning things about each other. Some of the things Baylor is learning isn't what he was hoping for. Do they learn how to get along and are they able to finally build a relationship between them. You will have to read the book to find out.