Music Monday's originated at The Tattooed Book Geek's fantastic blog and has shown up hither, thither, and yon since then.
This is how you do a cover.
I thought I’d get this up no later than the 3rd. Oh, well.
Last year was a disaster for my plans and goals…both those stated and unstated. That only bothers me a little—I had too much fun with what I did accomplish, and was so tired because of everything else in life that perspective is easy. This is a hobby—I didn’t hobby the way I wanted to. But, still, hobbying was done.
This year, I think my plans (at least the stated ones) are more achievable…I fell back on the ol’ SMART Goal model, and cut myself a lot of slack (see below)–even stating upfront that I expected to fail with at least one goal. I do really wish my Literary Locals thing had a bit more life to it–I’ve got three Q&As in the works and hope for more soon. I’ve got some pitches for HC Chats, too–I just need to actually send them out. Grandpappy’s Corner has gathered more dust than I like–but I have a stack of those I need to make time for. I’m thiiiis close to just devoting a week to them.
How’s the perennial, “Cut down on my Goodreads Want-to-Read list and the unread books that I own” goal going? It could be better, but overall…?
| Audio | E-book | Physical | Goodreads Want-to-Read |
NetGalley Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of 2025 |
4 | 89 | 112 | 192 | 11 |
| End of the 1st Quarter | 4 | 88 | 118 | 202 | 10 |
| End of the 2nd Quarter | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| End of the 3rd Quarter | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| End of the 4th Quarter | 4 | – | – | – | – |
2026 Book Challenges
Goodreads Challenge
I honestly don’t care about them, I talk about them just as an indicator of how I spend my time (for myself), although it often comes across as something else. I’m also tackling some more thought-provoking and slower reads this year, but it’s not reflecting in that number (so far). I’m okay with that.
My TBR Range Challenge
As the table above suggests, there’s not really a lot of change on the pre-20206 heights—and that 2026 bar is higher than I want. Still…
- A book with a building or cityscape on the cover: City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- A book with a color in the title: Black Bag by Luke Kennard
I could be doing better on this one—but I’ve read two this month, and I have the titles for some of the others already picked. I’m feeling okay.
The 2026 Booktempter’s TBR Challenge
- January–It’s a classic task for a reason: Read the very last book to enter your TBR pile. TBRs come from the habit we have of not reading books because we put them off. You have my permission to indulge yourself—Lit by Tim Sandlin
- February–Partners in crime?: For the month of Valentines you can choose a book about a partnership be it friends, lovers or whatever combination comes to mind—Hidden in Smoke by Lee Goldberg
- March–First Bloom: As Spring arrives for this change I’d like to read a book that is the debut of an author. Who knows this may become someone you’ll follow forever!—Nav’Aria: The Marked Heir by K.J. Backer
Haven’t hit a stretch goal yet, but there’s still time.
25 Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years
Whoops, I stumbled a bit here. But I’ve recovered this month.
2026 Speccy Fiction Challenge
- A speculative novella (less than 250pgs)—Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
- The first book in a speculative fiction duology/trilogy/series—Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
- Speculative fiction that features a creature (animal/monster)—Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson
- A fantasy based on myth, legend or folklore—The Lost Daughter of Sparta by Felicia Day, Rowan MacColl
- A scifi that takes place on a spaceship or space station—Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Cutting Myself Some Slack
I added one goal after the year started. My “To Write About” pile was out of control–seriously. And it was eating away at the back of my mind. So I did two things–I started those Monthly Leftover posts–requiring myself to write a catch-up post at the end of the following month for the books I haven’t gotten to yet (e.g., At the end of February, write about January books; at the end of June, write about the May). I also removed every book from 2003-5 from that list–unless I’d promised someone (an author, publicist, NetGalley) a much-overdue post or the Lewis books from last year I hadn’t tackled yet.
That cut 252 books from my list, and so much anxiety. It’s down to 29 at the moment–which is still daunting, but it’s really doable if I focus a bit (and a couple of those are going to be three-fers, tackling an entire trilogy in one post, etc.) Who knows, I might be back saying the same thing at this point next year…but hopefully not.
20 Books of Summer
Assuming that this is done again—hopefully last year’s hosts are up for it—I’ll be there. It’s a fun tradition.
How’re your reading goals/plans going so far this year?
The image for the Picture book list is taken from the article. The Book stack image by yeliao521 from Pixabay. The “finger scissors” image is from Clker-Free-Vector-Images on Pixabay.
Fantasy with Friends is a weekly meme hosted by the good people over at Pages Unbound. Fantasy with Friends poses questions each Monday about fantasy, either as a genre as a whole or individual works.
This week’s prompt is:
Do you have any favorite subgenres of fantasy such as urban fantasy, historical fantasy, etc.?
Well, I think cozy fantasy is becoming a real favorite—cozy/cozy adjacent books. There’s the pure escapism, the warmth of friendship, family, the nigh-obligatory romance (not always that heavy, so even gruff guys like myself can handle it).
Shining Examples: Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons (etc.), Legends and Lattes (etc.), The Guard in the Garden, Cursed Cocktails (etc.); Mrs. Covington’s.
Are portal fantasies considered a sub-genre? If so, I’d say I have a real soft-spot for them, ever since I read what happened to Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace after they got sucked into that painting of a ship. I can’t say that I’ve read a lot of them—but they’re practically an automatic-like for me.
Examples that jump to mind: The Great Way series (it’s a portal fantasy involving two non-Earth realities, which adds to the cool-factor), The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, The Guardians of Aandor series, The Blackwood Saga, the Nav’Aria series, and the Wayward Children series.
But really, when it comes to sub-genres, it’s all about Urban Fantasy for me. Those who spend too much time looking at the Fiction categories at the top of my page will note that I have 2 for Fantasy—Urban and everything else. I read some things as a child that I think qualify (don’t ask me what—I wish I could remember, I want to re-read them), but moved on to “regular Fantasy” because there wasn’t a lot of options. Then TV’s Buffy Summers came along and reminded me just how great the idea was. A few years later, I met Harry Dresden, and that was so much better than anything Buffy could do (no UPN/WB budget constraints)—and I discovered the genre had a name. Harry was quickly followed by Rachel Morgan and her crew, then Kitty Norville, and a few others I’ve largely forgotten. Soon after that I met Simon Canderous, Mercy Thompson, Toby Daye, Peter Grant and the Folly; the Iron Druid Chronicles, Alex Verus, The Twenty Palaces, InCryptid, The Spellmason Chronicles, Jane Yellowrock/Soulwood; Fred, the vampire Accountant; An Inheritance of Magic series, The Unorthodox Chronicles, The Chronos Chronicles, The Inner Circle…and so many others. One of my sons got me hooked on Skulduggery Pleasant, I should hasten to add—UF is a thing even in the Middle Grade world.
Why does it have an appeal? I think a lot of it comes from the way they ultimately become some sort of detective novel—which is my first love when it comes to storytelling in any format. Throw in magic and the other goodies that come along with fantasy, and I’m as happy as a well-fed ogre.
There was a time—shortly after Rachel, Ivy, and Jenks joined Harry, Murph, and Bob in my “I have to read more like this” list that UF is all I looked for—new-to-me Urban Fantasies—in bookstores and in my library. This led me to read a lot of things that I’d just as soon forget (and largely have)—but it also got me to read some things I really enjoyed, and wish I could remember. But it’s the series that really stuck with me—the way they all deal with the same ideas in very different ways. For example—the Dresden files has 3 types of werewolves, Kitty Norville has multiple lycanthrope species, Mercy Thompson/Alpha and Omega have just one—and they don’t match Dresden’s (but do come close to Kitty’s werewolves); the Iron Druid’s weres seem more like Kitty’s, but aren’t quite; The Cronos Chronicles‘ are along those lines—but significant differences remain. There’s also the way that they depict the non-supernatural world around them. Are some/all of the types of magical/fantasy types known to normies? How do they react/relate to them? Can electronics survive in the presence of a mage/wizard? And so on. Don’t even get me started on the variety of Fae represented by the above, or we could be here a long time. You can get that variety in Fantasy—you can’t come close in the muggle-world detective novels.
So there you go–my favotie subgenre is Urban Fantasy, but it has some competition. Especially if that Nobledark thing takes off.
I’m really looking forward to some of the <a href=”https://pagesunbound.wordpress.com/2026/04/20/my-favorite-fantasy-subgenres-fantasy-with-friends/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener>other posts in response to this prompt–if only because I expect a good recommendation or six.
Do you have responses to this? (either for the comment section below or from your own post)
Three things make a list, right?
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
The Rise of Nobledark Fantasy and What It Says About Us Right Now—Please, oh please, let this subgenre blossom.
The Book News Isn’t All Bad—Molly Templeton points out the good news under the bad headlines
In the same vein, Bookish Diversions: Anything Better than a Bookshop?
My favorite sentence/passage/phrase (or two) that I read this week:
”…the entire building burst into flames. It was not a gradual combustion. One second, the building was a normal not-on-fire warehouse. Then it was all fire, as if it were the head of a match that had been struck.”—Soul Fraud by Andrew Givler
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
Once a Crooked Man by David McCallum
Chaos Choreography by Seanan McGuire
And I mentioned the release of Strike by Delilah S. Dawson.
This Week’s New Releases that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
Cat on a Hot Tin Woof by Spencer Quinn—”Chet the dog is less than enthusiastic about the Little Detective Agency’s next case. Chet and his human partner, PI Bernie Little, have been hired to find a missing person—only the missing person is a cat. Miss Kitty, an internet sensation, has disappeared, and Chet and Bernie have been hired to find her before her many followers realize something is wrong.” I enjoyed talking about it recently.
Electric City Switches by M.D. Presley—Corbin has his hands full trying to track down a thief, keep her safe from bounty hunters and her (estranged) family, while his mentor is confined to their hotel. I tried to talk coherently about it yesterday.
Paranormal Payback edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes—A solid collection of Urban Fantasy revenge tales. I wrote something about it earlier in the week–and forgot to mention that the last story is a must read for the names of the two protagonists alone! (the rest of the story was pretty good, but I want an explanation of the names)
First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston—An “innovative space fantasy, where wizards race to be the first on the moon – also known as the land of the gods.”
Go Gentle by Maria Semple—I don’t know what it’s about (honest!), all I need to read is “Maria Semple.”
Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell—”[A] breathtakingly honest novel about a woman who lost everything — and isn’t sure she wants it back.”
The Signal Beneath the Sand by Hank Garner—I’ve spent so much time listening to Garner talking to authors of every stripe, I’m eager to see what he can do. Also, who doesn’t like a first contact SF adventure?
Spies and Other Gods by James Wolff—A “darkly funny”, possibly Mick Herron-esque, “cat-and-mouse spy thriller, an anonymous whistleblower sends British Intelligence into a frenzy, threatening to reveal secrets that could bring the establishment to its knees.”
Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse, translated by Florian Duijsens—”In this zen and zany crime debut, a shady lawyer transforms his life through mindfulness—and uses his newfound techniques to kill his way to the top.” Oh, and it’s apparently on Netflix.
Electric City Switches
by M.D. Presley
DETAILS: Series: The Inner Circle, #3 Publication Date: April 18, 2028 Format: eARC Length: 311 pgs. Read Date: April 8-9, 2026
What’s Electric City Switches About?
Corbin and Isaac are sent to the Carolinas, basically where Isaac’s origin story begins. Isaac’s former flame is headed there with some sort of recently stolen item. One of the Inner Circle’s best enforcers, January, is also on her way to retrieve the item (and whatever happens to Sheena, happens).
Once there, they have to deal with the local magic establishment, others trying to capitalize on Sheena’s impending arrival, and, of course, January. Thankfully, there’s a motel that caters to magicians and they strictly enforce no-conflict.
And, I have to admit, after a couple of drafts, I still don’t think that’s the best way to describe it. But it’ll do.
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I started this because the first two Inner Circle novels were really strong and entertaining—how could I not?
I stuck with it because it got into my bloodstream almost right away—it’s got all the elements of the other two books, but the type of story isn’t the same (ditto for the other two).
What does this book tell us about humanity?
Presley deals with themes of family, duty, family duty, and other obligations. Some people evade one—or more—of these (because of their character); some embrace them wholeheartedly (and that shapes who they are); some outwardly comply/support, while inwardly rebelling or resenting (which reflects and further shapes who they are). We don’t see any of these characters on their first steps along these lines—most of them have been in their position for years, and they’re brought together (in many cases and configurations, brought back together) here to react with or against each other.
None of this is uncomplicated (not unlike that rambling paragraph)—but the combination of motives, character, morals (or lack thereof), and desires provides reactions that possibly only someone as Machiavellian as Mister could predict. But none of the characters did.
Sure, there’s the magic society stuff—and other magic shenanigans—which are not to be underappreciated. But the heart of this book is that list above—the magic is just the dressing.
So, what did I think about Electric City Switches?
This is my favorite entry in the series thus far. Okay, it’s only the third, so that probably doesn’t sound so impressive. But it’s going to take some work by Presley to top this (work I expect he’s capable of).
Presley isn’t afraid to jam a lot of things into his novels, but this one seems super-loaded (the advantage of doing a pretty good job of building the world in the first two books—he can focus on other things): there’s a network of hotels for the magicians in the U.S. that serve as “Accorded Neutral Ground” (to borrow a label from someone else); it’s possible for non-magicians to wield magic? Oh, that’s cool; magicians can actually go to college and get a degree (even one that’ll work for mundane interests). A novella/novel about any one of these things would be cool—and these are just background material or things that come up along the way.
The fight scenes in this book are fantastic—magic and bladed weapons are generally a fun mix—especially when you put them in a contemporary setting. I don’t think Presley has given us anything like this in the series so far (yes, there’ve been exciting scenes—but not at this level).
And it’s just a lot of fun watching Corbin discovering Indian food—and a touch of the family’s culture, too. In the midst of all the drama, just this little bit of joy really stands out.
Our cast of characters is really pared down—we’ve got two or three of our regulars (depending how you want to count), and that’s it. Honestly, we don’t need more—as much fun as I’ve had with them around. Mister is not around, but his presence is felt throughout the book. We get some good backstory on Isaac that expands our understanding of him. And Corbin finally makes some decent headway on his magic education. Everyone else is new, and all of them—well, the ones that survive—are ones I’d enjoy seeing again. Particularly Sheena, who could easily become my favorite character in the series.
At several points, people ask Corbin why Isaac keeps him around, given his lack of proficiency with anything but dowsing—and honestly, there are other ways to get that result. But over and over again, Corbin shows himself to be more clever and resourceful than they are (with a few blunders, he’s not perfect). Growing up where he did—and without abilities—he learned to outthink those around him. He’s observant, a fast thinker, and doesn’t see things in the same way as those in the magic world. His approach to things is what justifies keeping him around and helps him keep coming up on top of messes.
And now that he’s leveled-up (a bit)…he’s going to have a big future. Assuming he keeps his head.
This would work as a jumping-on point to the series for those who haven’t tried The Inner Circle yet, but you’d probably be better off with the first book, Rites of Passage. If you’ve dabbled in this world before, you’ll be more than pleased with this one. Go grab it now that it’s out!
Enemy of My Enemy
by Alex Segura, read by Michael David Axtell
DETAILS: Series: Marvel Crime, #2 Publisher: Audible Studios Publication Date: March 24, 2026 Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 8 hrs., 28 min. Read Date: April 8-13, 2026
What’s Enemy of My Enemy About?
I don’t need a lot of words to describe this—Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime, is dead. Shot in his own home, and all the evidence points to Frank Castle as the shooter. Well, most of the evidence, anyway. Castle even lets himself be arrested without incident and seems ready to take the fall. Matt Murdock knows the facts don’t match up (for one, a police officer was also killed in Fisk’s office and Matt knows the Punisher wouldn’t do that), and can’t let him get railroaded. So he basically forces Castle to accept his representation.
It’s up to Matt Murdock and Daredevil to make sure Castle goes free and that the right killer is identified.
This was cleverly released shortly after the launch of Daredevil: Born Again season 2, but it’s not that much of a tie-in to the television series. This is the comic book version of Daredevil and the rest. It’s a minor point, but it does explain things like why we get someone so cartoonish* as Hammerhead and why certain characters are dead/alive.
* This is not a criticism, but a description. I enjoy the character.
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I picked this up because I like the idea of this Marvel Crime series, the strength of the Jessica Jones novel, and Segura’s reputation.
I kept at it because this is a smart mystery/legal thriller with some great comic book action. There are plenty of twists, some good curve-balls, and more uses of the word “internecine” than I typically see in a book.
How was the Narration?
There’s only one other voice I’d like to hear as Matt Murdock/Daredevil than Michael David Axtell, but I think it was good for them not to cast Charlie Cox. This was just great—he handled every character in a way that fit perfectly. I was as entertained by his performance as I was the by text.
Really well done.
So, what did I think about Enemy of My Enemy?
I had a lot of fun with this one—for everything I just said in that last paragraph.
Segura nailed every character—well, I’m not sure about [surprise name withheld] because I haven’t read much about them, but given the way he dealt with everyone else, I figure he did right by them. And the cast of characters is large. Segura dove deeply into Marvel’s Hell’s Kitchen here.
Also, he wasn’t shy about killing off characters. It’s clearly outside the Marvel canon.
There’s not much else to say—it’s a solid thriller, a captivating superhero story, and you won’t see what’s coming. Enemy of My Enemy is a heckuva ride that I easily recommend to fans of any of the characters I mentioned.
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
I literally just remembered it was Wednesday. Better get this done.
This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:
What are you currently reading?
 |
 |
| Guns of Brixton by Paul D. Brazill |
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach |
My first Brazill book will not be my last. This is fast, frenzied, and oh so fun (and not nearly as bloody as I thought it would be when I started…although I still have 40 pages to go, so I could be wrong).
Replaceable You is your typical Mary Roach–packed with a lot of info, some interesting conversations, some quality jokes, and jokes I wish she’d lost in editing.
What did you recently finish reading?
 |
|
| Soul Taken by Andrew Givler |
Enemy of My Enemy by Alex Segura, read by Michael David Axtell |
I had a blast with Soul Fraud, as I mentioned a few times earlier today.
Enemy of My Enemy was a great mix of Crime Fiction and Super-Heroes. I should have a post up about it tomorrow.
What do you think you’ll read next?
 |
 |
| Worse than a Lie by Ben Crump |
This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page |
I’m in the mood for some Crime Fiction with a conscience. I’m glad I have Crump’s book sitting on my desk.
This book from Page is either going to annoy me greatly with how treacly it is, or will make me swoon.
Are you using a book to distract yourself from Tax Day? Or are you too busy scrambling to get them done for something that frivolous?
Soul Fraud
DETAILS: Series: Debt Collection, #1 Publisher: Sad Seagull Publishing Publication Date: June 30, 2022 Format: e-Book Length: 364 pg. Read Date: April 13-15, 2026
When you’re a kid, your mother tells you not to let your friends peer-pressure you into drinking, doing drugs, and other stuff. But she never covered what to do if an acquaintance offered to help you summon a demon. Or at least mine didn’t. She completely skipped that chapter.
What’s Soul Fraud About?
Our narrator/protagonist is Matthew Carver, and we meet him on his 24th birthday, while he’s hiding from his friends. It’s also the fourth anniversary of the death of his mother and sisters, and he’s just not up for another well-intentioned attempt to cheer him up on the day.
That night, he also meets a particularly unscrupulous demon. I realize that seems like an unnecessary description—but even demons have to follow rules. Dan the demon works in Hell’s Sales Department—and he wants to give Matt10 fantastic years of life, for the low, low price of his soul.
Matt’s read enough books and watched enough films to know that this is a horrible bargain and turns him down. Dan’s apparently on a streak of no-sales and decides he can’t take one more, so he forges Matt’s signature on the contract and bolts.
Before you know it, unbelievably good things start happening to Matt, who is suddenly a believer in the supernatural.
Still, he knows these things shouldn’t be happening—and he doesn’t want to lose his soul. So he sets out to find a way out of the contract. With the help of a new supernatural (but mostly human) pal, Alex, and some other supernatural heavy hitters, set out to find a way out of this mess.
And let’s just say that isn’t going to be easy.
A Pet Peeve
It bugs me when Christians, anti-Christians, TV/Film/Books do this—which means I’m annoyed by this frequently. But the Nephalim are not the descendants of demons and human women (or, I guess, the reverse). That’s not what Genesis was communicating, and the abuse this view has led to in the hands of fiction writers gets to me. Seeing it here gave me pause.
That said…what Givler does with his Nephalim was a lot of fun. That they’re known as Fae or Demigods (and who knows what else), depending on the nationality of their appearance, was great. So, yeah, Achilles and Hercules are Nephalim (and a couple of others given by name, but let’s let you read them).
Basically, if Givler had called them anything else, I wouldn’t have blinked. If anything, I’d have thought “Oh, cool, he didn’t go with the stupid Nephalim thing” and totally forgotten it.
Matt’s Pet Peeve
There are two types of people: those who need at least twenty minutes of silence after waking up and savages. If you’re smiling before 9 a.m., there’s something wrong with you.
Matt is not a morning person. Particularly when he’s been physically attacked, or has had his soul stolen, or any number of other reasons that this book is full of. He makes this very clear on multiple occasions.
I, for one, related to them all—found his repeated rants about them funny and worth quoting. I really enjoyed Givler taking the time to let Matt talk about this repeatedly.
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
I picked this up because the premise sounded interesting, and it’d been too long since I pitched in for a The Write Reads/BBNYA book tour. Also, I sort of figure anyone who’s paying for a Chris McGrath cover has taken the process seriously enough that the book is going to be worth a read.
I stuck with it because I liked Matt—even through most of his whinging. But his self-deprecating humor, his general outlook on life, and his flailing around to get out of this hole endeared him to me. Also, he’s carrying around a lot of unearned guilt, and I’d like to see him deal with that. Things he does by the end of the book solidify that endearment, but I’ll keep them to myself for now.
Sure, I found his predicament and the other characters interesting—but as I’ve said repeatedly, give me a good narrative voice, and I’m in for the ride—and Matt has one of those.
What does this book tell us about humanity?
This book, in a way that you really only get in Fantasy/Urban Fantasy, is a case study in the frailty of humanity. Matt faces person after person after person (or, better, entity after entity after entity) that could squash him like an already dead bug. And he persists—in fact, he insists on staying involved even when he’s told to let the powerful types handle a situation (very much like Harry Dresden). Nevertheless, he is virtually a nothing compared to everyone he’s dealing with.
Honestly? I think it’s good for fiction—or non-fiction—to remind us of our place in the universe. I’ve read too many things where humans are taking on every challenge without a sweat, or seem equal to anything that comes their way. And all you have to do is look at a blue whale and know how ridiculous that is. You get something bigger/more powerful? (for example, Satan’s girlfriend) It needs to be a nigh-overwhelming challenge. And that’s what we get here.
So, what did I think about Soul Fraud?
…I was tired of not being able to help anyone. I was tired of not being able to control my life. I was tired of hurting the people I cared about. I was going to do something about it, come Hell or high water. Or I would get eaten by a ghoul. One of the two. My tombstone could read: HERE LIES MATT, AT LEAST HE TRIED. ONCE.
I would’ve liked the series title to be explained—or even hinted at—in these pages. But I can be patient. I really don’t care what the series is called, just that there are already a handful of books for me to press on with.
I do wonder about Matt being 24 and having so little experience with alcohol—if he turned 21 at the opening of the book, it’d make sense. I don’t mean to suggest that there’s a requirement that every red-blooded American male has to have a lot of experience with it by the time they’re 24, but he should have some—or at least have an explanation in the text. If it’s there, I missed it.
I also missed any discussion of his job—he has to make money from somewhere. Sure, he and Connor discuss jobs he can look for. But I didn’t register anything that he had—or any attempt to explain to his employer where he is over the couple of days he falls into supernatural shenanigans.
And that’s the sum of my problems with this book. Excepting my personal pet peeve, the rest of it clicked like clockwork for me.
The supporting characters are pretty interesting and well-drawn, and the book moves fast and smoothly (there’s one or two points that might drag a bit, but they provide much-needed world-building and they’re not that long). At one point, Matt compares himself to a pinball at one point—and that’s a great comparison—he bounces from one life-threatening event/encounter to another with just enough time to recover, mostly.
You fill that amount of action with a quippy protagonist, an almost-as-quippy friend, and some super-powered allies/foes? We’re talking a lot of fun.
I’m planning on getting to book 2 quickly, and in the meantime, I encourage you to grab Stolen Fraud right away.
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.
My thanks to The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel) they provided.
I’m very pleased today to welcome The BBNYA Finalist for Andrew Givler’s Soul Fraud! Not only can I assure you that this book is addictively fun, it came in 8th in a crowded field, so you know there’s something good going on. I’ll be posting my $.02 about the book later today, in the meantime, click on the banner below to see what other bloggers are saying about it.
Before getting to this Spotlight, let’s start with a word about BBNYA.
BBNYA:
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 (17 in 2025) finalists and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official.
Book Details:
Title: Soul Fraud by Andrew Givler
Series: Debt Collection, #1
Genre: Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction
Age Category: Adult
Format: Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook/Audiobook
Length: 364 Pages
Publisher: Sad Seagull Publishing
Publication Date: June 30, 2022
About the Book:
Matthew Carver has a terrible life. Seriously – it’s awful. It is so bad that Dan the Demon is shocked when Matt turns down his infernal offer: ten years of a blissful life in exchange for his soul.
But Dan is a salesman behind on his quota and his demonic managers are running out of patience. He forges Matt’s signature on the dotted line, stealing his soul and thrusting him into a supernatural world he never knew existed.
Now Matt must figure out how to get his soul back and stop a war before it is too late…
Book Links:
Amazon Canada ~ Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Goodreads ~ The Story Graph
About the Authors:
Andrew is the author of the Debt Collection and Ironbound series and also a gaming YouTuber known as Sigils. He loves making people laugh, video games, and food. (Not always in that order.) He lives in LA.
To learn more about him you can go to his website: http://andrewgivler.com.
Website ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ BookTubea> ~ TikTok
My thanks to The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the novel) they provided.
This was supposed to go up yesterday…but apparently, the key is to press the “Schedule” button. Just a friendly tip from you to me.
Cat on a Hot Tin Woof
DETAILS: Series: Chet and Bernie, #16 Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication Date: April 14, 2026 Format: eARC Length: 320 pg. Read Date: April 1-6, 2026
Before I get into things…that title is great (not that Quinn’s a stranger to good titles). I want to believe he wrote that title down some time ago and spent a couple of years thinking of a story to go with it.
What’s Cat on a Hot Tin Woof About?
One of the best things about the Chet and Bernie books is the wide diversity in cases they investigate—sure, the Little Detective Agency specializes in missing persons cases—but they do it all. Well, almost all. The clients they have this time are something that Bernie isn’t really ready for—and Chet would’ve been happier if they’d never run into them.
It’s a mother-daughter pair—the daughter had accidentally launched herself (well, her cat) to Internet fame and a very respectable income for a high schooler (well, more than respectable). Her mother is her business manager. Their problem? Miss Kitty is missing. Their sponsors are coming in soon to sign a new deal, and her audience is clamoring for fresh content. So the clock is ticking.
Bernie understands very little of this, but signs on—and quickly learns that despite what his clients believed—the cat didn’t slip out of the house somehow. She’s been stolen.
Naturally, it doesn’t stop with a stolen cat—more crimes turn up, as does an element of danger.
Bernie’s ex-wife, Leda, has some drama of her own, for him to deal with, too. But Bernie’s focus is on the case (although he takes time out for a fun scene to help Leda)
Why did I pick this up? Why did I keep reading?
That’s simple—while Quinn isn’t a stranger to less-impressive books, he’s incapable of writing an un-entertaining one—particularly with this series. And it’s been a while since he stumbled anyway.
Why did I keep at it? There is simply something infectious about Chet’s voice—as much as you want to figure out what happened—who kidnapped the cat and why, will they figure out the other mysteries along the way, will Bernie lose a lot of money doing something foolish, etc.—you want to stay in Chet’s head for longer than it’ll take to finish the book. This book is a textbook example of that.
What does this book tell us about humanity?
There’s a good deal here about the human propensity for making mistakes you’d regret later—if not sooner.
There’s a lot about good parenting and inadequate parenting/parents. There are a couple of good parents in this book (one came so late in the book, you’d almost despair of seeing another one ever again), and several inadequate ones. Most of those didn’t realize they were—but boy howdy, they should’ve.
What this book tells us most about humanity—and this is largely true for every Chet and Bernie book is the importance of a connection between a human and an animal. Even if it’s just a connection for a short-time. We’ve got cats, a pig, and a couple of dogs. The cats enrich (literally, in at least one case) the lives of those they stay with. Chet gets to comfort people going through rough times and gets to support Bernie. The pig? Well, it’s there. The cats and the dogs are just wonderful and will make you want your own (assuming you don’t already).
So, what did I think about Cat on a Hot Tin Woof?
It’s a Chet and Bernie book—of course, I had a good time.
I’d have liked a little more clarity on a point or two about the conclusion. But when your narrator is delightfully unreliable, that’s hard. I think about these cases in a way Chet wouldn’t bother with, so unless Bernie muses about some of the action, there’s just no way that we get the answers I want.
But you have to expect that going in, so it really doesn’t matter.
It’s been a minute since “old man Heydrich” was brought up (and I’m more than okay with that), and I think his replacement could be fun. We get some good Charlie and Leda stuff. Weatherly could’ve been in it more (but was used well). The client herself is the kind that you hope Quinn finds a way to bring back (as he does with another client here), and…well, it’s all just good.
It’s a fun mystery that will keep you smiling throughout—even when Chet solves the mystery (and doesn’t realize it)—maybe it’d be better to say that the reader solves it through Chet’s eyes—and you’re just sitting there waiting for Bernie to catch up. That’s frequently a frustrating experience when I’m that far ahead of the protagonist in a book—but here, it’s just fun.
If you’ve never met our intrepid pair of P.I.s, this would be a perfect book to jump into the series with—honestly, any of them would work, but you might as well start with this one. If you’ve been around the duo before, this is as good as you remember. Either way—check out Cat on a Hot Tin Woof.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post, which contains my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.