Contemporary – Page 2 – Baskerville Book Reviews

Review: A Werewolf State of Mind

Anneke’s typical day at the office is thrown into disarray when she finds her next patient is an unwitting werewolf. And it doesn’t end there.

From the moment Caleb Kitt walks into Doctor Anneke Lund’s office for his psychiatry session, she knows his problem isn’t mental. He’s been experiencing night terrors, having violent and bloodthirsty dreams, and waking up naked in strange places. But he’s not losing his mind, as he suspects. He’s actually a werewolf – he just doesn’t know it yet.

Anneke isn’t just a psychiatrist – she’s also an empath, meaning she can read minds, and influence thoughts and behavior. She rarely uses her powers, but recognizes she may have no other choice as Caleb must be convinced of his supernatural status before the next full moon arrives. When it does, though, she finds herself going way beyond her duty of care to ensure Caleb doesn’t hurt or kill anyone when he transforms. But at what cost?

Review: Blinded by the Light

Good girl Danyelle Fitzgerald’s perfect image is shattered the moment she crashes into Ian Fogg’s car at a stop sign. An unexpected agreement and the lure of the handsome and witty Ian leave Danyelle’s head spinning and her heart in danger. The more she tries to learn about Ian, the more he resists. What is he hiding and why does he have Danyelle questioning her own morals? Are his secrets too much for this good girl to handle?

Review: Dragons in the Clouds

‘’Dragons in the Clouds’’ is a epic adventure that takes place during a time period when Dragons were alive and freely roamed the land. The people during this time were getting eaten by a vicious species of Dragon. The ruling King finally orders the total annilation of all living dragons. A powerful wizard, named Merlinus, who is a friend to the king, does not agree with the Kings order, for Merlinus knows all Dragons are not what they seem. So he does what he must to protect a family of Dragons that he had befriended. And to protect his Dragon friends, Melinus performs the spell of weightlessness and tells the Dragons to fly up and to hide in the cover of the Clouds. An unforeseen ability of the Dragons weightlessness spell is that a Dragons fire now looks like that of lightning and their roar is like that of thunder. Melinus tells the Dragons to live within the clouds and to only come down at night to eat. An apprentice to the wizard who has grandeur of his own has a plan for Dragons that he has hidden deep within a mountain cavern. Now enters a widowed mother, her young boy, who had also befriended a dragon, though a very young one. They suddenly find themselves caught between the Kings order and a battle that has begun between two species of Dragons. A battle that would determine control of the skies above the Kingdom of Albian. This Apprentice’s plan has consequences that may bring the Kingdom and perhaps the very world we live in today to an devastating end.

Review: Persephone Plus

After a year of banishment in the modern world Persephone must convince Olympus that love comes in many forms.

Persephone and Aphrodite must settle an old rivalry regarding their shared lover, or forfeit them to the mortal realm forever in this LGBTQ+ romantic fantasy short story. As their time runs out and the Goddess of Love shows no sign of wavering, it is up to Persephone to find a way to save the mortal she loves, without hurting the immortal she married.

If you like old myths with modern twists and complicated romance, you’ll love Persephone Plus.

Review: From What’s Broken

Amanda and Matthew are on the cusp of their happily ever after. They have a stable marriage and a lovely daughter, and they are eagerly awaiting the birth of their second.

Tragedy strikes suddenly, and the couple’s picture-perfect life crumbles. Ivory, their firstborn child, dies in an accident. Not knowing how to deal with their pain, Amanda and Matthew blame each other for their loss and drift apart. They soon realize their relationship might not bear the burden, leaving their surviving daughter to cope with the aftermath of two grief-stricken parents.

Review: Death Tally

Taliesin Throckmartin killed her family on her wedding day.

She remembers everything. Her own two hands ripping them apart. The screams. The shocked, blood-spattered face of her fiancé. The only thing she doesn’t know is…why? She loves her parents, and likes helping people. She might be a little different, as an autistic druid, but that doesn’t make her a murderer. With no other culprits in sight, however, her fiancé commits her to the Broadmoor Asylum, where she will be forced to live out the rest of her days on medication that stunts her magical abilities.

Enter the wild and likely insane Louis Blou, a man who claims to be the last of an extinct clan of shapeshifters. Refusing to let Taliesin waste away with the rest of the inmates, Louis orchestrates their escape, leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. On the way home to his ragtag pack of criminals, evidence of a conspiracy is uncovered. The Five Families who hold sway over Louisiana territory are plotting to resurrect forbidden magic, using it to enslave an entire race. With a chance to finally discover the truth of Taliesin’s tragedy, heal old rifts and thwart dastardly plans, Taliesin and Louis must join forces to stop the Five Families before it’s too late.

Review: Edge Case

When her husband suddenly disappears, a young woman must uncover where he went—and who she might be without him—in this striking debut of immigration, identity, and marriage.

After another taxing day as the sole female employee at her New York City tech startup, Edwina comes home to find that her husband, Marlin, has packed up a suitcase and left. The only question now is why. Did he give up on their increasingly hopeless quest to secure their green cards and decide to return to Malaysia? Was it the death of his father that sent him into a tailspin? Or has his strange, sudden change in personality finally made Marlin and Edwina strangers to each other?

As Edwina searches the city for traces of her husband, she simultaneously sifts through memories of their relationship, hoping to discover the moment when something went wrong. All the while, a coworker is making increasingly uncomfortable advances toward her. And she can’t hide the truth about Marlin’s disappearance from her overbearing, eccentric mother for much longer. Soon Edwina will have to decide how much she is willing to sacrifice in order to stay in her marriage and in America.

Poignant and darkly funny, Edge Case is a searing meditation on intimacy, estrangement, and the fractured nature of identity. In this moving debut, YZ Chin explores the imperfect yet enduring relationships we hold to country and family.