Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!
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I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!
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Fright Before Christmas: 13 Tales Of Holiday Horror
By Shannon Delany
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Genre: Ya / Middle Grade / Horror / Collection
MY REVIEW
I want a Christmas just like the one on the cover! Me thinks that want should be revisited after reading this collection.
I love Christmas. The excitement leading up to it. The decorating. The holiday shows and movies. Time spent with family. And I love horror. The spooky. The eerie. And the long lasting. Put those together and I can’t resist.
These tales provide many different views on the holiday season in twisted, scary ways. I wouldn’t want any of them left under my tree to open on Christmas morning. If you thought the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future were scary, just wait until you meet the things bumping around in here.
I had a blast. There wasn’t a bad one in the batch!
4 STARS
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Synopsis
It’s the most wonderful time of year…or is it?
Christmas Eve is a night of mystery and magic, but not always in ways we expect. Things lurk in the shadows and they’re not the least bit jolly or merry. Let’s just say some presents are better left unopened.
‘Tis the season to be screaming along with our thirteen tales of holiday horrors. Ghosts. Monsters. Demons. And more!
This Christmas, be careful what you wish for…
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Click on the covers for more Thrills And Chills reviews.
Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Me, Mom & The Monster organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.
Author Corinne Brown will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!
And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
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Me, Mom & The Monster
By Corinne Brown
Genre :Memoir
Synopsis
“The results of your predictive testing are here, and they show that you did inherit the gene for Huntington’s disease.”
Those words, delivered by the neurologist to 57-year-old Mae Brown, forever changed her life and the lives of her family. Me, Mom & the Monster is a soul-stirring memoir that follows the path of this farming wife, businesswoman, mother and grandmother who lived a life with a monster of a disease. Interwoven with Mae’s story is that of her third child, Corinne, whose life is intrinsically connected to her mother’s diagnosis. Told from alternating voices of Corinne and her mother, this is a candid account of the harrowing effects of living with a fatal, genetic disease. Me, Mom & the Monster captures the authenticity and vulnerability of a mother and daughter who find themselves entwined in a long dance with a neurodegenerative disease.
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Enjoy this peek inside:
MOM
I remember hearing stories of distant aunts and uncles who were afflicted with the Devil’s Dance—a colloquialism used in some circles to refer to those who were afflicted with HD. They were said to have the Devil’s Dance because of the chorea—a movement disorder causing involuntary spasmodic movements—that looked like an awkward, uncontrolled dance. Chorea is a primary symptom of HD. The Devil’s Dance was whispered about because of the shame, stigma and fear of this disease no one knew much about.
Times were different back then. There was no genetic testing or genetic counselling. Families just waited to see if symptoms would appear in them or in loved ones. Not much was known about the genetics of this disease or what the probabilities were of being affected if a parent had the disease. All I knew was what I heard about family members being sheltered and, in some instances, locked up so they wouldn’t harm themselves. They were deemed to have the Devil’s Dance, and not everyone behaved the same way. There was shame among afflicted families. There was also incredible fear.
This was in the early to mid-1900s in a remote community in northeast Newfoundland, where not many people talked about HD. Partly because there wasn’t much known about it, and no one in these small towns knew what to do anyway, especially if the afflicted person had rage tendencies and dramatic outbursts. My aunt Edna, who, along with my aunt Marg, helped in raising me after my own mother died, often became quite violent and would hit her husband, and hit him hard. She was sent away periodically for shock therapy because that was the preferred “treatment” of a disease that no one knew much about. I had an uncle who took his own life after he started exhibiting symptoms.
I suppose they call it the Devil’s Dance because those who are afflicted can’t keep still, legs going, feet going, torso bending. And the devil part? Well, that probably doesn’t need much explanation or observation. Only the devil could conjure such a tragic infliction. Some days I do feel like I’m in hell, to be honest. Fitting, I suppose. Not like I have a choice to dance with anyone else except with this devil of a disease.
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About Author Corinne Brown:
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Corinne was 10-years old when she told her teacher that when she grew up, she was going to be an author. A few decades may have passed since then, but the author dream was realized with the publication of her debut novel, Me, Mom & the Monster in the summer of 2026.
Corinne, a native Newfoundlander, grew up surrounded by books, newspapers and magazines. Her environment must have had some impact since she graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland with a Bachelor of Arts and then went on to pursue a Journalism diploma at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta.
Although her initial intention was to write fiction, Corinne says the story of Me, Mom & the Monster needed to be told first. She says sharing the intimate story of being part of a Huntington’s disease family opened the space for other ideas.
When she isn’t creating characters, and envisioning scenes and scenarios, she finds comfort in being outside. She lives in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada where she is continuously adding to her To Be Read stack and where she is currently writing her second book.
Soldier’s Joy: Book II of The Sentinel Heart Trilogy
By M.F. Jones
Category: Adult Fiction (18 yrs +) Genre: Romance: historical, supernatural, military Publisher: Fieldwood Books Release date: Sep 28, 2026 Content Rating: PG-13 + M: Soldier’s Joy contains wartime violence, the suicide of a minor character, two slightly explicit sex scenes though without gratuitous detail, and profanities like s**t, a**hole, and God damn it, though no f-words.
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Book Description:
Avery Gowan is barely home from Iraq when a ghost appears to him—one that looks disturbingly like him. The apparition says that Jessie Gibbs, a woman he’s just met, can help him escape the guilt of the mission that killed three of his friends and maimed another.
A few days earlier, at a service honoring his family’s Civil War relative, Lemuel Sanders, Avery was drawn to Jessie’s quiet strength and calm presence. Jessie, a musician, had been camping with her Civil War-style band the previous year when she discovered Lemuel’s unmarked woodland grave, leading to his identification and proper burial after 145 years.
Jessie and Avery begin a relationship, but his anger, recklessness, and self-doubt threaten to tear them apart. When the ghost saves him from a deadly motorcycle crash, Avery hides the truth about his spectral guardian, afraid Jessie will see him as broken beyond repair.
But Jessie is hiding something too—a secret about her true connection to Lemuel Sanders that may cost her Avery’s love.
The sequel to the award-winning Stones River, Soldier’s Joy nonetheless stands alone as a haunting, emotionally charged story about how the past refuses to stay buried, how healing demands facing it, and how love gives the courage to do so.
Thanks so much for the chance to talk about my writing! I thought it might be helpful to share some things I wish I’d known as a beginning writer.
1. Just do it. It’s strange how reluctant we writers can be to actually sit down and do what we most want to do. I think it’s because the fear of doing it badly stops us. Try to produce something every day, even if it’s short.
I trick myself sometimes, telling myself, “Just write for 15 minutes and if it’s going nowhere you can stop.” Usually that carries me past the initial resistance and I get into the flow.
2. Don’t expect it to be any good at first. What kept me from pursuing my writing dream for far too long was how cringe-inducing my first attempts were. Believing that a real writer with real talent would never produce such junk, I quickly gave up.
But as I learned more about the writing process, I discovered that, for the great majority of writers, first drafts require suspension of all judgment as you hack your way through thickets of tangled ideas and slog through swamps of mucky language toward the goal of getting something—anything!—on paper or on screen. Because once you have that first draft, you’re on your way. You can cut it, add to it, shape it, polish it, and make something truly worthwhile of it.
Also, it’s virtually certain that, along the way in that messy first draft, you’ll produce sentences, paragraphs, scenes, maybe whole chapters, that give you chills of joy and may even make you think, did this really come from me?
Having realized all this, my self-made obstacles toppled and I was able to write my way through this trying first stage to produce five books – so far.
3. Block negative self-talk. If, as you write, your inner disparager says something to you that you’d never say to a friend, tell it to get lost in your most vivid language, and keep on writing!
4. Find a supportive writers’ group. We writers can only improve through criticism, but that criticism has to be, first, kind, and, second, insightful. A good writers’ group, whether in person or online, is an invaluable asset. Look for fellow writers to share work with, in local writers’ organizations, through colleges or the library, or on websites devoted to writing. (Writers Digest magazine publishes an annual guide to best websites for writers.)
5. Filter feedback. At the same time as you need to be open to criticism, you also need to be selective. With my first effort at a novel, now in a bureau drawer never to emerge, I was a member of a group of smart and opinionated writers. Being a newbie, I accepted each of their critiques as a necessary change I needed to make. As a result, I gave up my own voice and vision in trying to please others, and the result was what could be expected from creativity by committee.
You’re the authority on your work. Be open to criticism, but weigh it carefully against your vision and your individual style. Reject any outright negativity; it reflects more on the limitations of the critic than on the work. Remember that reading taste is highly subjective.
6. Read a lot. It will develop your inner ear for language and sense of pacing and form. You’ll discover what you love in a book or story or essay, and that love will find expression in your own work. If you have a particular genre you’re writing in, read widely in that genre and join online groups devoted to it.
Give yourself praise. No matter how a particular writing session may have gone, congratulate yourself for doing it. You wrote today. Tomorrow you’ll write again, a little or a lot better. You’re doing the work. You’re a writer.
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Meet Author M. F. Jones:
M. F. JONES is a former editor for Viking Press book publishers, and Redbook, Family Circle, and Reader’s Digest magazines. When not writing, she can be found reading, knitting (while listening to audiobooks), singing in a choir, or hiking in the beautiful Tennessee woods near the home she shares with her husband, composer Douglas Hedwig.
All’s Wool That Ends Wool (Clear Creek Mysteries) by Rebecca McKinnon
All’s Wool That Ends Wool (Clear Creek Mysteries) Cozy Mystery 7th in Series Setting – Rocky Mountains Independently Published Publication date : October 8, 2026 ASIN : B0HCXL9GSC Paperback will be available too.
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Wedding Bells Are Ringing Christmas Threats are Singing
Holiday cheer has spun through the tiny Rocky Mountain town of Clear Creek, leaving everyone excited for the annual Christmas festival. But the real event of the season — Jemma and Brandon’s wedding — won’t happen until the tourists head home.
While Jemma is fulfilling her one festival assignment of helping vendors set up, she learns a man has swapped the ornaments he’d listed on his application for a book he’s written about the string of local murders. To avoid reigniting everyone’s emotional distress, the event organizer asks him to leave. When Jemma and Brandon check back, instead of finding an empty booth they find the man dead.
Before Jemma can reassure anyone that her focus is on the wedding, not the investigation, unsettling gifts that twist The Twelve Days of Christmas start appearing at her shop. The holiday tune has never been more threatening.
The killer’s grudge is personal, but Jemma has more to protect this Christmas than her life. She needs to wind up the investigation so she and Brandon can finally tie the knot!
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About Author Rebecca McKinnon
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Rebecca McKinnon enjoys playing with her imaginary friends and introducing them to others through her writing. She dreams of living in the middle of nowhere, but has been unable to find an acceptable location that wouldn’t require crossing an ocean.
Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!
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.
I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!
~~~~~
Wild Spaces
By S. L. Coney
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Genre: Horror / Fantasy
MY REVIEW
Well, the synopsis sure hooked me. A young boy was living his best life with his supportive parents and his trusted companion, his dog Teach. His grandfather descended on this idyllic life and everything changed.
If you notice that I didn’t give the boy’s name, it’s because the author only named one character, the dog, Teach. I enjoyed the character’s being named as what they were, not who they were. It allowed me to see them for myself, and as the foreboding and darkness fell upon the family, the more clearly I saw them.
Right from the beginning I could feel the suspense looming over the events even before anything really occurred. It was almost like a flavor sprinkled over the words. And as my curiosity grew, I anxiously waited for the other foot to drop. Boy, did it. And in a way I was hoping it would. This may be a coming of age tale but it also had some pretty dark, disturbing and scary elements. Gotta love it when your heart rate speeds up.
4 STARS
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Synopsis
Robert R. McCammon’s Boy’s Life meets H. P. Lovecraft in Wild Spaces, a foreboding, sensual coming-of-age debut in which the corrosive nature of family secrets and toxic relatives assume eldritch proportions.
An eleven-year-old boy lives an idyllic childhood exploring the remote coastal plains and wetlands of South Carolina alongside his parents and his dog Teach. But when the boy’s eerie and estranged grandfather shows up one day with no warning, cracks begin to form as hidden secrets resurface that his parents refuse to explain.
The longer his grandfather outstays his welcome and the greater the tension between the adults grows, the more the boy feels something within him changing —physically—into something his grandfather welcomes and his mother fears. Something abyssal. Something monstrous.
Secrets. Betrayal. And the woman left to pick up the pieces.
At seventy, Katrina Johnson thought she understood the shape of her life. She was a devoted wife, a mother who did her best, and the keeper of a Victorian farmhouse that had held her family’s joys and sorrows for generations. Then her husband dies and everything she believed about her marriage begins to unravel. As grief gives way to long-buried secrets, Katrina faces a devastating medical diagnosis, mounting financial pressure, and the very real possibility of losing the home that defines her past. Old fractures in her family deepen. Her relationship with her daughter remains painfully distant, while her son, caught between loyalty and resentment, attempts to hold what little remains together. When Katrina is forced to rent out rooms in her farmhouse, the presence of a young tenant unsettles her in ways she can’t ignore, awakening memories and betrayals she thought she had survived that now refuse to stay buried. Katrina now must confront the cost of the choices she made to preserve her marriage. With the past pressing relentlessly into the present, Katrina must face the life she built through silence and sacrifice and the parts of herself she left behind. She must decide whether reclaiming herself requires embracing the very wounds that shaped her. Tender, reflective, and emotionally resonant, this novel explores love, betrayal, identity, and the quiet courage it takes to begin again. It asks a haunting question at the heart of many lives: when so much has been lost, is it still possible to choose yourself?
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Praise for All That Was Left Unsaid:
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“Through an emotionally engaging plot and nuanced characters, Danielle Dragona’s All That Was Left Unsaid elegantly explores the process of discovering the person you want to be and figuring out how to get there.” ~ IndieReader Approved Review “In All That Was Left Unsaid, Danielle Dragona has created complex characters involved in fragile relationships. The plot is intensely charged, and a couple of bombshells are dropped, which threaten to destroy these relationships. The author has a way with words as well, identifying old age as the evening of life and the bucket list as the Love List. This story is about nurturing and valuing all our relationships, no matter their source.”” ~ Donna Stevenson, Readers’ Favorite ★★★★★ Five-Star Review “All That was Left Unsaid is a poignant, powerful novel, exploring heartfelt, realistic issues. Readers will connect with the characters and their intense emotional journeys, finding the story both heartbreaking and beautiful, yet ultimately uplifting. Danielle Dragona’s lyrical style will appeal to fans of Anita Shreve and Jodi Picoult. An outstanding debut!” ~ Valerie Biel, award-winning author of Haven and Beyond the Cemetery Gate “All That Was Left Unsaid by Danielle Dragona is a heartfelt story. The book was beautifully written, and the author handled sensitive topics with great care. I enjoyed reading the book and found myself pondering over it.” ~ Alma Boucher, Readers’ Favorite ★★★★★ Five-Star Review “… the author, takes you on a heart wrenching yet heartwarming ride through the main character’s journey of self discovery and self healing. The book will make you cry, will warm your heart and make you root for all the characters in her book. If you only read one book this year, I recommend reading this one because you wont regret it!” ~ Vered Cecilio “This book is great! I couldn’t put it down! Danielle really takes you along an emotional rollercoaster of Katrina’s journey and has you feeling what Katrina is feeling. The character development throughout the book is beautiful and the twist at the end, amazing! I love when a story has a good twist! I highly recommend this story!” ~ Nicole Stallone
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All That Was Left Unsaid Trailer:
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Book Details:
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Psychological Fiction
Published by: Book Publishing Plus Publication Date: July 15, 2026 Number of Pages: 274 ISBN: 9798950388514
At once, I’m transported back to the night when the image of what I thought was our perfect family erupted like a raging volcano. We were seated at our dinner table for Sam’s fifty-fifth birthday. The smell of freshly baked lasagna floated through the air like a scrumptious cloud atop our laughter, and the aroma of my spiced apple tea greeted my nose with its irresistible fragrance. Up until a few months prior, Sam and I were having our fair share of marital issues as well as intermittent difficulties from his untreated PTSD that lingered on, so we decided to restore our love for each other to get our relationship back on track and inject some happiness back into our bond. Except for a few hiccups, which were to be expected, I truly believed we were on the path to regaining what we’d lost. Filled with a renewed commitment to strengthening our marriage, I anticipated his birthday with such eagerness that year. To that end, I commissioned a surprise gift specially made just for him. I purchased a watch he had been ogling, and had it engraved with the words, “When I met you, time stopped,” with the date of our marriage underneath. We sang Happy Birthday, and when I went to the counter to cut his birthday cake, instead of placing a slice on his plate, I positioned the box with the sparkling bow on it instead. With zeal, I requested he open it. He unwrapped the dazzling box, his robust hands deftly undoing the multicolored ribbons. As he revealed the treasure, his eyes lit up brighter than a star in a glittering night sky. When he read the engraving, a smile emerged like gold on his face. I fastened the watch on his wrist and kissed his lips, which tasted of red wine. Just as our celebration was winding down, there was a knock at the door. I opened it with the plate in my hand that housed Sam’s precious present a short time before. A younger woman with luxuriously long brown curly hair and emerald green eyes was on the other side, wearing a little purple dress with sunflowers and white stiletto heels. When I gazed at Sam to discern who this woman could be, his eyes glazed over, and the blood drained from his face, rendering him as white as a ghost. “Sam, who’s this?” I asked as my eyes searched his, my heart beating out of my chest. “I’m so sorry, Katrina,” was all he could say, guilt and remorse plastering his face, mixing in one ugly heap. “Sorry for what?” I gasped, but deep down I knew, and everything I thought was true crashed down around me like meteors striking at my heart. “Tell her who I am,” the woman bellowed as she shoved herself into our home, the aroma of her cheap perfume gagging me. “Gloria, what are you doing?” Sam moaned plaintively, and life as we knew it shattered all around us into irreparable pieces. “You’ve been telling me you were going to leave for years. It’s just excuses after excuses. Be honest with your family. Be honest with yourself,” she shrieked, the veins bulging out of her neck in a fit of rage, her words punching me in the gut, knocking the wind out of me. “How could you do this to me, Sam, to our family?” I howled as the glass plate that held bliss and love moments earlier slid out of my hand, crashing onto the floor into a million pieces like our life together. My body went numb. “I thought you loved me.” “I do, Katrina,” he protested, but the words were hollow, and I felt nothing except ice and emptiness. “You’re such a phony, Sam. He tells me how much he loves me all the time, and how he wants to leave you,” Gloria bellowed, spitting in my face. Billy shot up out of his chair like a blazing rocket ship. “Get the hell out my house you pathetic whore,” he screamed ominously, in a pitch I never heard before. “I’m your father’s whore, and he loves every minute of it,” Gloria declared with a caustic snicker. “Enough, Gloria,” Sam retorted viciously, his eyes ablaze with anger that his secret had been unleashed into the world. “Don’t talk to me like I’m some submissive and docile woman with no backbone like you tell me she is,” she spewed, her perfectly manicured index finger pointing in my direction. “This is it, Sam. You either make up your mind, or I’m done, and this time I mean it. Oh, and happy birthday. I hope I made it a special one,” she screamed, slamming the door behind her. My legs buckled, and I fell to my knees in despair, plummeting into the glass shards from the broken plate that sparkled like gems, cutting my skin as I tried to push myself back up. Tears streaked down my face like a raging waterfall. I couldn’t catch my breath. I was drowning, sinking into hell. Disbelief suffocated my brain, disorienting me as I realized what I was living before was a lie. Billy helped me to my feet as Sam sat motionless in his chair, his face expressionless and vacant, a stranger to me now. In the months that followed, I realized that I was weak. I was submissive and docile. I couldn’t let go. Instead of hating him, I started to loathe myself for not being able to leave, for loving him so much that I was willing to accept the lies, the deceit, and the infidelity. I despised my powerlessness, and in turn, I detested myself. *** Excerpt from All That Was Left Unsaid by Danielle Dragona. Copyright 2026 by Danielle Porciello. Reproduced with permission from Danielle Dragona. All rights reserved.
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About Author Danielle Dragona:
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Danielle Dragona has always possessed a passion for the written word. As a child, she kept fledgling journals, but as she matured into young adulthood, the chronicles acquired a more complex narrative, dissecting feelings, beliefs, and working through challenging emotions originating in childhood while trying to find the meaning in it all. Danielle is captivated by the human condition—riveted by its beauty even amidst chaos, tearing apart the messiness of existence to ultimately unearth the glimmering pearl. As an explorer of emotion, she continually works to uncover what lies beneath the surface in an unapologetically raw, real, and authentic manner. When she’s not writing, Danielle enjoys travelling, exploring new places, historical sites, music of all kinds, spending time with her family and friends, and being a perpetual student of life. She has a degree in English literature from William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ and lives in Northern New Jersey with her husband and young son.
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Head Over Heels? Enter to Win!
This giveaway is hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for All That Was Left Unsaid. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.
Superstorms flatten cities. Coastlines collapse. Climate change is no longer
theoretical—it is lethal. When a near-apocalyptic storm nearly kills
their family, teenage siblings Jimmy and Lizzie Marshall urge their brilliant
but reluctant father, nanoscientist Greg Marshall, to deploy a technology
before he’s brave enough to release it.
WhiteGrass—a self-replicating nanotechnology capable of removing carbon
from the atmosphere is the parent technology. It saves golf courses and ski
resorts and the towns they serve. Icarus could reverse climate change on a
global scale. It could also reshape global power forever.
To protect the technology, Greg and his wife Ginny, an elite AI expert,
reprogram the world’s most advanced humanoid android, Valada. Designed
as property—an object without rights—Valada begins to evolve,
developing emotional awareness, moral judgment, and something disturbingly
close to humanity.
As governments unravel and climate disasters accelerate, a covert alliance of
oligarchs, corporations, and political power brokers moves to seize
WhiteGrass/Icarus for themselves. Led by the President of the United States,
the syndicate will stop at nothing—surveillance, blackmail,
assassination—to control the technology that could save the world or
enslave it.
They deploy their own deadly android.
Now the Marshalls are trapped in a global sci-fi political conspiracy, hunted
by forces with unlimited resources, as skyscrapers fall, cities burn, and
artificial intelligence begins to ask questions no human is prepared to
answer.
“We call it ‘Climate Change,’” Lizzie interrupted,
“because it’s not just the heat.”
“It’s everything—the rains, the droughts, the storms, the
sea level… even the acidification.” It could change everything.
At its core, WhiteGrass is a gripping near-future climate change thriller about family survival, technological power, and the terrifying moment when
artificial intelligence stops serving humanity—and starts judging it.
Blending nanotechnology science fiction, AI humanoid emotional evolution, and hard-science realism, WhiteGrass delivers relentless pacing, cinematic stakes,
and deeply human emotion. It is a story about parents willing to risk
everything to protect their children—and a world forced to confront
whether it deserves saving at all.
Perfect for fans of near-future disaster thrillers, technothrillers with
political intrigue, and science fiction where artificial intelligence becomes
human, WhiteGrass is a powerful warning—and an unforgettable ride.
Richard H. Smith, MSc., is a futurist, technologist, and climate policy expert
whose career has placed him at the intersection of nanotechnology, artificial
intelligence, healthcare innovation, and climate change foresight for more
than three decades. Drawing on real-world experience working alongside
scientists, engineers, Fortune 50 companies, and Ohgovernment agencies, Smith
writes hard science fiction grounded in plausible futures, where technology
collides with political power, ethics, and human survival.
Smith’s professional background spans leadership roles in nanotechnology
R&D, AI-based medical diagnostics, strategic technology forecasting, and
science policy, including serving as research director at a major university
medical center and founding multiple technology ventures. He has advised U.S.
and international governments on emerging technologies and was formally
trained on climate change science by Al Gore, giving him a rare combination of
technical depth and policy insight.
Raised in Virginia, Smith built his career while raising a family—an
experience that deeply informs the emotional core of his fiction. Today, he
lives in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, a coastal community already facing the
realities of sea-level rise. He teaches courses on climate change and coastal
vulnerability, witnessing firsthand how future scenarios are rapidly becoming
present-day realities.
WhiteGrass is Smith’s first full-length novel and the culmination of a
lifetime spent studying how advanced technologies shape—and
endanger—civilization. The novel explores nanotechnology, climate
collapse, political conspiracy, and artificial intelligence becoming human,
all through the lens of family survival in a destabilized near-future world. A
prequel, The Iliad Virus, is available now, with the sequel Icarus Rising currently in development.
Smith writes with one driving purpose: to expose uncomfortable truths about
climate change, technological power, and political control—while telling
a story compelling enough to feel like a blockbuster movie unfolding on the
page.
Welcome to My 31 Days Of Thrills And Chills 2026! I’m so excited to do it again. I’ll be sharing reviews and lots of extra spooky stuff every day leading up to Halloween. I hope you’ll join me!
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I’m sharing all kinds of books, movies, and other spooky stuff for every day in October. Gots to get those scares on for the 31st!
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Night Magic
By Jenna Black
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Genre: Horror / Urban Fantasy / YA
MY REVIEW
After loving the first book, Nightstruck, I had high hopes for this next book. The ending had left me very concerned for Becket. She wasn’t herself anymore, fully embracing the change.
Becket wasn’t recognizable anymore. She looked the same but her sense of self was buried, pushed aside since becoming Nightstruck. It really saddened me. The influence of her boyfriend took her farther and farther out of reach of her friends and family. The city was in peril as were the residents and Becket couldn’t care less.
This book was intense. It was creepier and darker. More character development, something I always appreciate, and more danger amped up my anticipation. And the finale…. woop woop.
5 STARS
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Synopsis
Jenna Black returns to the quarantined city of Philadelphia, where an unsuspecting seventeen-year-old has unknowingly unleashed a dark power that transforms the city into a monstrous hellscape in Night Magic.
Philadelphia is locked in the grip of an evil magic that transforms its streets into a nightmare landscape the minute the sun sets each night. While most of the city hunkers down and hopes to survive the long winter nights, Becket Walker is roaming the darkened streets having the time of her life.
Once, the guilt of having inadvertently let the night magic into the city―and of having killed her onetime best friend―had threatened to destroy her. But now she’s been Nightstruck, and all her grief and guilt and terror have been swept away―along with her conscience. So what if she’s lost her friends, her family, and her home? And so what if her hot new boyfriend is super-controlling and downright malevolent?
Mesmerized by the power and freedom of not having to care about anyone but herself, Becket is sinking ever deeper into the night magic’s grasp. But those who love her refuse to give up on her―even if she’s given up on them. If they can’t find a way to help Becket break the night magic’s hold, the entire city might soon find itself shrouded in perpetual night. But the last thing Becket wants is to be “rescued” from her brand new life, and she will fight tooth and claw to stay exactly where she is.
Billionaire businessman Sloane Davidson needs a wife—fast. And although Halayna
Tanaka is ten years younger than him, and an enticing temptation he managed to
resist years ago, she’s perfect for the role. But she thinks he’s some
gold-plated scumbag and wants nothing to do with him.
After a devastating string of bad luck, Halayna is struggling to stay afloat in
a world that keeps knocking her down. So when Sloane, her best friend’s
brother, offers a marriage of convenience as a solution to both their problems,
she’s tempted. The thing is she can’t stand him. He may be the sexiest man on
the planet, but he’s also arrogant, infuriating, and overbearing. She shouldn’t
want him. Shouldn’t even give him the time of day. Yet, her body ignites with
desire whenever he’s around.
Is selling out to a billionaire worth it? Especially if he tempts her beyond
her control. Or is this marriage of convenience the path to the love she always
dreamed of?
Running as if her ass was on fire, Halayna took the steps two at a time and burst into
her bedroom suite, slamming the door behind her. Struggling to get air into her
lungs, she paced the length of the room a couple of times before collapsing
face first onto the king size bed.
.
What the heck had just happened?
.
One minute, she and Sloane were talking, laughing, and eating, and in the next
minute, they were hugged up together kissing.
.
“Oh my God!” Halayna groaned into the mattress as the full weight of what they’d
done hit her. He was her best friend’s brother. A man who was so far out of her
league, it was laughable. Yet, he had kissed her, and it hadn’t been just any
kiss, but a kiss that had her questioning her sanity.
.
Sloane kissed me… and I liked it… a lot.
.
Oh man, she more than liked it. She wanted a repeat. A repeat of his full,
demanding mouth taking what he wanted from her. A repeat of the way he held her
close to his big, hard, muscular body, and she wanted a repeat of how good it
felt being held in his strong, unyielding arms.
.
For those few minutes, with their tongues tangling, all Halayna’s thoughts and
worries had fallen away, and in their place had been a peace she hadn’t felt in
months or maybe even years. Sloane had somehow made her feel more cherished
than she’d ever felt by a man. Which was saying a lot since she’d been engaged
to be married and supposedly crazy in love with Owen.
.
She snorted at the thought. Talk about her picker being off when it came to
choosing men. It was a good thing her relationship with Owen had imploded.
Marrying him would’ve been a huge mistake because kissing and being with him
had felt nothing like what she had just experienced.
.
Kissing Sloane had felt like a dream. Like something straight out of a sexy fairy tale,
an X-rated fairy tale. But this wasn’t a fantasy. His kiss and the way he’d
held her had been very real. She still felt his lips covering hers and the
taste of him lingered on her tongue.
.
How was that possible when it had been just one kiss? One soul-stirring, passionate
kiss.
.
It was clear she and Owen hadn’t had a strong connection. Not like what she had
felt a short while ago with Sloane, and that realization had her shook. She
almost married a man she was sure she’d been in love with. Yet, she never felt
the intense desire and passion swirling inside of her. Never felt that
I-can’t-live-without-you vibe.
.
How was that even possible?
.
Halayna flipped onto her back, and as her heart rate slowly went back to normal, she
stared at the ceiling, her mind reeling at these new realizations. The most
shocking one was Sloane wanting her to agree to a marriage of convenience… with
him.
.
She shook her head. Sloane Davidson, the wealthiest man she’d ever known, had asked
her to marry him. He wanted her to be his fake wife. No, not fake. Just
convenient. Wait. Not convenient. He wanted a marriage of convenience. But what
the hell did that even mean?
.
,
.
USA Today
bestselling author Sharon C. Cooper loves anything involving romance with a
happily-ever-after, whether in books, movies, or real life. She writes
contemporary romance, romantic suspense, as well as romantic comedy. She enjoys
rainy days, carpet picnics, and family game night. Her stories have won
numerous awards, including The Rochelle Alers Best Series award for her
Atlanta’s Finest Series (2022) and The Beverly Jenkins Author of the Year award
(2021). When she isn’t writing, Sharon loves hanging out with her amazing
husband, doing volunteer work, or reading a good book (a romance of course). To
read more about Sharon and her novels, or to sign up to be notified of her
latest releases, visit www.sharoncooper.net
Publication date: October 9th 2026
Genres: Adult, Thriller
“This is an excellent read for those who want true psychological crime built around family secrets. Very highly recommended.” Asher Syed for Readers’ Favorite
__
Amber clings to the wreckage of a shattered life; a hermit drowning in the ghosts of what used to be.
When someone dumps a mutilated body on her wilderness property, a cryptic clue makes her the prime suspect. To clear her name, she must confront the dark secrets of her tragic past while a shadowy executioner is closing in.
When the blade of death whittled my family of three down to only me, I ran. Grief had scraped me empty, so fourteen months ago I fled to a shack in the northeastern Washington wilderness. I was seeking sanctuary and hoping the pines would mend my shattered soul. Maybe that was too much to expect of the trees. At least they didn’t judge the monument to my failure; a recycling bin overflowing with wine bottles.
The morning light struggled through my grimy windows and poked at my hangover. I took my coffee mug outside and stood on the splintered porch of the small cabin. The air was deceptively still and heavy, carrying the sharp scent of sunbaked pine needles and the silent, shimmering threat of an approaching scorcher of a day. My cabin sat at the dusty elbow of two dirt roads. Between my door and the ditch was half an acre of thigh-high, dewless grass that stood stiff and dry alongside leggy wildflowers and a single tree.
The western hemlock tried for the heavens at nearly two hundred feet, and it was the area under the tree that drew my critical gaze. A woman sat in the tall grass, back against the tree. What was someone doing way the hell out here?
With an eye roll I left the house and stormed toward her.
“Hey!” I shouted.
The strap of her checkered sundress had fallen from one shoulder and as I reached her, I lifted a hand to tap her arm. As my finger got close, a cloud of flies lifted and re-settled into gaping, torn flesh. The wind shifted direction and a thick miasma of putrid decay stung my nostrils. I stumbled backward as my stomach lurched.
Dead!
I couldn’t stop the tremor in my jaw; my teeth clattered together as I whispered broken words, “I-I should check to be sure . . .”
But my voice trailed off because nothing that smelled like that could be anything but gone.
.
About Author Wendy Roberts:
Wendy Roberts is an armchair sleuth, fan of all things mysterious but a huge chicken at heart. Her mind is often in the secretive, cloak and dagger world of intrigue while her physical presence is usually at home or on the road in her camper van. Wendy resides in Vancouver, Canada where she happily writes about murder and is always at work on her next novel.
