When a witch goes up against MLM huns...

When a witch goes up agains MLM huns, you get a LOT more than just a spooky season rom-com. Ritual Income by B.L. Brown is a book that I picked up during one of the many "Stuff your e-reader" events I've come across this year.

Our protagonist, Milla, is a witch living in St. Augustine, Florida, hiding from her past. She's grieving the loss of her mentor and just wants to be left alone to run her creepy antique shop. But C.R.O.W., one of the governing bodies for witches, has other ideas.

They want her to take on an apprentice, but before that she has to be assessed by an Aural Insurance Adjuster. On top of that, she upset a MLM hun who was shopping in her antique store and now all of the hun's downline are review-bombing Milla's store.

But Milla's dark past is more tangled into her current problems than she could possibly imagine. And the consequences facing Milla could be catastrophic.

Ritual Income was a much deeper, complicated and and exciting story than I anticipated and I loved it. The world building was awesome, and the magic system was interesting. And the Insurance adjuster being an adorable Scotsman was definitely a plus too. :)

It's a perfect October read.

Krampus is coming...

I recently was able to read a physical ARC of Rebecca F Kenney's new book "A Heart so Cold and Wicked".

Set in the same universe as her Nutcracker and Christmas Carol reimaginings, this is a Krampus reimagining, where Krampus is part of the Wild Hunt, ruthless fae ghosts who are being punished for crimes they committed while alive.

In this tale, Krampus is tasked with punishing people who hurt children. To his confusion, he is sent to the rescue of an actual adult woman, who has been held captive for years by a delusional, sadistic killer.

Will this young woman with no name be his salvation or his destruction? Will he be able to bring healing to her broken soul or will he damn her to the same hell he endures?

A Heart so Cold and Wicked has cemented itself as my absolute favorite Rebecca F Kenney book of all time and is a perfect winter holiday read for all who adore dark, spicy fairytale reimaginings.

Krampus art by Zoe Holland

Devil's Delirium Review

I received an e-arc of Devil's Delirium by Dahlia Drake in September. The first installment of Dahlia's Cirque de Sanguine series is dark, horrific, gory, spicy and perfect for spooky season. Make sure you read the trigger warnings before starting because it starts out with difficult subject matters right out of the gate!

The protagonist, Tess, is a witch in a gritty, magic-filled urban fantasy world where power is the most important currency. As a starving, homeless teenager, Tess gives up her freedom for protection. Sadly, the person that was supposed to protect her ends up abusing her horrifically for 10 years and she can't do anything about it because they are magically bound in a way that gives her abuser all the power.

One of Tess' powers is having visions of people's demise if she touches them bare handed. After finding out that her boss is joining an annual event called Devil's Delirium in a bid to grow his sinister powers she has a vision about him meeting his end there at her hand.

In the winner-take-all gore-fest of the Devil's Delirium she teams up with the mysterious and devilishly handsome Reaper to try and take down her boss/abuser and somehow escape alive.

If you like your reads dark, gritty, smutty and full of horror, check out Devil's Delirium!

Hurricane Relief Auction

I have a small business where I make and sell all sorts of geeky/nerdy/bookish things. I have donated 14 of our bookish stickers to the Ashville Book Auction. All auction proceeds will be going to BeLoved Asheville, a nonprofit organization that has been on the ground everyday working for the community of Asheville, NC.

Here is the link to our listing! https://www.32auctions.com/.../170536/auction_items/5663184

And if you want to check out all the other items up for auction, here's the link to the main auction page. There's tons of special edition books, tickets for bookish events, and other amazing things that have been donated. https://www.32auctions.com/orga.../123233/auctions/170536...

And if you want to donate directly to Beloved Ashville, here's their website. https://www.belovedasheville.com/

Just another book blog

 Since I don't already have enough going on in my life, I decided that I should also start a book blog so that I have another place to post my book reviews. 

So hi, this is me. I'm Bailey, an elder millennial living in KC, and lover of the written word.
 

So you can put a face to the name