Sally Bend's Blog

Stacking The Shelves (Reading Reality) and The Sunday Post (Caffeinated Reviewer) are both blog memes about sharing the books we’re adding to the shelves and sharing news of the week ahead.

A trio of new purchases this week. First up is Her Subtle Investigations, the surprise new entry in the Warrior’s Guild series by Scarlett Gale—a sequel to one of my all-time favorite reads, His Secret Illuminations.

Next up is the Stephen King-inspired The End of the World As We Know It, a gorgeous hardcover collection of stories set in the world of The Stand, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene. Joining it on the shelves is a used paperback copy of Black House by Stephen King & Peter Straub, the second book of what is soon to be The Talisman trilogy.

Just one review title this week, but a very exciting one!

Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree

November 11, 2025

Return to the cozy fantasy world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes series with a new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller Fern.

Two books on the go this week, splitting my time between them. On the off-the-shelf paperback front, we have Darksong Rising, the third Spellsong book, by L.E. Modesitt Jr., and plucked from the digital review shelf, it’s an advance copy of The Ethical Werewolf Society by B.J. Frazier & Jessie Spectre.

And the reason I’ve been a little behind in my reading and reviewing is that I have officially signed the contract and will be editing my first professional anthology for Bold Strokes Books!

Gender Ever After is a sapphic romance (and erotic-romance) anthology celebrating the full, beautiful spectrum of gender expression and identity.

I’d love to give equal space to both established voices and rising stars in sapphic fiction, so whether it’s your first story or your hundred-and-first, please don’t be shy.

Check out the official Call for Submissions and feel free to submit.

Well, if it’s another weekend, then it must be time to bend our hearts and minds around preparing for the week ahead, and how better to do that than with some Weekend Freebies!

Every weekend I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might interest visitors to the ruins. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Enjoy!

Stacking The Shelves (Reading Reality) and The Sunday Post (Caffeinated Reviewer) are both blog memes about sharing the books we’re adding to the shelves and sharing news of the week ahead.

Two purchases this week, but they just shipped, so I’ll wait until they arrive to feature them.

A pair of highly anticipated review titles this week – both of the horrific variety:

Herculine by Grace Byron

October 7, 2025

A “paranoid, self-annihilating” (Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt and Cuckoo) horror debut following a woman who seeks refuge at an all-trans girl commune only to discover that demons haunt her fellow comrades—and she’s their next prey!

Teenage Girls Can Be Demons by Hailey Piper

September 16, 2025

13 terrifying coming-of-rage stories from the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, perfect for fans of Clive Barker, Mariana Enriquez and Eric LaRocca

Two books on the go this week, splitting my time between them. On the off-the-shelf paperback front, we have Darksong Rising, the third Spellsong book, by L.E. Modesitt Jr., and plucked from the digital review shelf, it’s Blood and Treasure by Ryan Pote.

Well, if it’s another weekend, then it must be time to bend our hearts and minds around preparing for the week ahead, and how better to do that than with some Weekend Freebies!

Every weekend I search through the free titles on Amazon, looking for those that might interest visitors to the ruins. Even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can still download the titles through one of Amazon’s free reading applications.

Please do be sure to check the price before downloading anything, as most freebies are limited time offers, and some are specific to certain regions.

Enjoy!

An altogether enjoyable read, Kate Elliott’s The Witch Roads is a wonderfully imagined epic fantasy that combines stellar worldbuilding, a fantastic concept of magic, and one of the strongest casts of characters I’ve encountered in recent epic fantasy.

The heart of the story is Elen, a courier whose job is to patrol the perilous Witch Roads—ancient pathways with a strange, enduring magic that holds back the deadly Pall, a fog that spreads Spore infections and mutates everything it touches. As loyal to the memory of her dead sister as to her nephew, Kem, she still feels like an outsider in so many ways, but loves the open road of her rounds. Things look rough when her journey intersects with a haughty prince, but enter a mysterious spirit known as a haunt, and suddenly things get very interesting.

The characters are where this book truly shines. Elliott makes every relationship matter—whether it’s the complicated family bond between Elen and Kem (who is quietly transgender), the fraught trust-building with the haunt, or the tense clashes with members of the prince’s retinue. Their conversations, secrets, and shifting loyalties create a sense of intimacy that balances beautifully with the scale of the epic world around them. The characters really come alive, and while some remain enigmatic mysteries (deliberately, I suspect), others grow and evolve throughout the journey.

The mythology and magic are equally compelling. The Witch Roads themselves are steeped in mystery, the Pall and its Spore outbreaks create a subtle sense of dread, and the lingering echoes of sorcerer-kings and long-buried histories add a layer of mystery. Rather than relying on heavy-handed exposition, Elliott reveals her lore in fragments, letting the reader piece it together like a puzzle—which makes the setting feel both ancient and alive.

The narrative momentum flags a bit entering the second half, with travel sequences and repeated interactions beginning to blur together, but not so much that I felt myself growing impatient or dissatisfied—especially not with the big reveals near the end. It’s a captivating start to the duology with its vivid characters, fresh take on fantasy mythology, and quietly powerful relationships. If you enjoy character-driven epic fantasy with unique magic and a strong emotional core, this is absolutely worth the read.

Rating:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Length: 98,000 words
Series: My Mobster, book 1
Prior Reading: n/a
Genre: Dark Mafia
Tropes: Grumpy / Sunshine, Opposites attract, Forced proximity (only one apartment), Rich / Poor, Age gap (Nine years. Early twenties & early thirties), Sexual awakening, A boy who needs a firm hand, and the man who is willing to give it to him, Slow burn (Not because they don’t want to, because they can’t), Pining, so much pining, Hurt / Comfort, “I will burn the world for him”
Trigger/Content Warnings: as expected for a dark mafia romance
Designer: Jessica Jackman

The only man I want is the one man I can’t have.

Molly is beautiful. Feisty. Sensual. Passionate. 

A pretty boy who knows his trade.

He is also the very epitome of high-maintenance. Rude. Stroppy. Always aiming to unnerve people with his brazen words and attitude.

It makes me want to hold him tight and show him he doesn’t need to put on an act. Not with me.

But he belongs to my boss. And when your boss is a mafia capo, that’s a line you do not cross.

My role is to guard Molly. Keep him safe. Stop him running away. Prevent anyone from knowing my boss has a boy.

I’m not supposed to crave him. 

I’m just supposed to watch him. Day after day. Night after night.

Watch and never touch.

I’m his jailer. 

He’s my damnation.

PreOrder the series now!

My Best Friend is Broken (Friends to Lovers) → getbook.at/MyMobster2

[image error] Absucted by the Femboy (Captive and Captor) → getbook.at/MyMobster3

The Wrong Man (Possessive Romance) → getbook.at/MyMobster4

about the author:

Coffee, spicy books, and a profound disrespect for tomorrow (aka reading until four in the morning). My three favorite things.
I write the kind of stories that keep you up way too late, while squealing, kicking your feet, and falling hopelessly in love with your new book boyfriend (or two… I don’t judge).
Grab that triple-shot brown sugar shaken espresso. Trust me, we’re both going to need it.
My debut novel, He Should Be Mine, hits shelves in August 2025.
Let’s spread those pages.
Love,
Jessica Jackman.
Books to ruin your sleep schedule and raise your standards.

Newsletter sign up:
https://subscribepage.io/JessicaJackman

Samantha Shannon once again proves why she’s one of the most exciting voices in epic fantasy. Among the Burning Flowers is a beautifully written, richly atmospheric prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree, filled with the same detailed worldbuilding and polished prose that’s made her a must-read. Even at novella length, she makes the world feel expansive, detailed, and alive.

It should be no surprise that the strength of this story is to be found in its female perspectives. Marosa, the imprisoned princess of Yscalin, is the beating heart of the book, her story a darker take on a fairy-tale like situation. Her chapters are layered with grace, intelligence, and quiet defiance that grows into something extraordinary. Estina Melaugo’s sections add some wonderful depth, expanding the scope of the narrative while keeping women at the center of the tale. Together, their points of view are the ones that linger long after the final page, and they give the story its emotional weight.

By contrast, Prince Aubrecht’s storyline is less compelling. While it helps to flesh out the broader political stakes, his chapters lack tension and drama. Since this is a direct prequel to Priory, ending where it began, his perspective feels inevitable rather than suspenseful.

That said, this novella—and at 300 words it is a novella, at least compared to the others—succeeds as both a companion piece and an introduction to Shannon’s world. It doesn’t quite stand on its own—there are threads left dangling, and the ending slides directly into Priory without offering a full resolution—but as a glimpse into the fall of Yscalin and the origins of key players, it’s rewarding and satisfying.

Overall, this is a gorgeously crafted expansion of the Roots of Chaos universe. The female-led storylines shine the brightest, making this a must-read for fans who want more context (and more time in Shannon’s world). It’s not as powerful or complete as a standalone, but still a richly immersive addition.

Rating:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

BOOK BLAST

Book Title: Interview with the Tarot Reader

Author: Kathy Kaye

Publisher: Vanguard Press, Cambridge, UK

Cover Artist: Image licensed from Adobe Publishers

Release Date: May 29, 2025

Genres: Contemporary F/F Romance, Slightly Speculative

Tropes: Intrigue, romance, spiritual insight, wisdom of the universe

Themes: Human connection and loss, coincidence and destiny, self-discovery

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 40 000 words/201 pages

It is Book 1 of 3. Books 2 and 3 are being written. Book 2, The Tarot Connection, will be published in mid 2026.

This book ends on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK

A captivating tale of love, fate, and the power of the unknown.

Blurb

In the heart of San Francisco, two strangers find themselves inexplicably connected in a moment that transcends time and space. As they navigate this unexplainable bond, they are drawn into a world of mystery and self-discovery that will change their lives forever.

Interview with the Tarot Reader weaves a captivating tale of love, fate, and the power of the unknown. Join Marie Cameron, a renowned tarot card reader, as she delves into the depths of the human soul and uncovers the secrets that lie within. With a blend of intrigue, romance, and spiritual insight, this novel will leave you questioning the boundaries of reality and the true nature of connection.

Interview with the Tarot Reader is a mesmerizing journey, where the answers you seek may be found in the most unexpected of places.

Excerpt

“Welcome, viewers. My name is Cole Hardigan with San Francisco at Night. We are delighted to have a special guest with us this evening, Tarot Card Reader Marie Cameron.

“Marie, thank you for being here.”

Marie smiled. “My pleasure.” She felt her heart flutter, nervous as she sometimes became at the beginning of an interview or mingling in the public eye.

“As many of you are aware, Marie is a well-respected tarot reader, lecturer, and writer here in the Bay area. And she is a celebrity in her own right, with more than thirty years’ experience reading tarot cards for the famous as well as the infamous, the ordinary as well as the quite extraordinary.

“Marie has just published her best-selling memoir, The Messages of Tarot: Keys to an Intentional Life, which details her years and the people she has met practicing her profession.

“So, let us begin.” He tuned to his subject. “Marie, several years ago you experienced what you describe in your book as the defining moment in your career, in which you helped two young adults come to an understanding of an event, an occurrence that is ‘not of this world.’ This event, this connection between the two individuals, is so rare, you say, that it is often not discussed.”

Marie: “That is correct.”

Cole: “We want to open up that world tonight. Can you explain for us just what it was that happened?”

Marie: “Yes, of course.” She folded her hands and began. “I had the good fortune of meeting two individuals of different races, ages, genders who met by chance on a San Francisco sidewalk and instantly connected or, more accurately, reconnected, experiencing a bonding between them that, as you described, is not of this world. This type of connection with another has been defined in tarot literature as of another realm, but of a connected realm that is the entirety of the universe.”

Cole: “But how does it occur, this so-called connection?”

Marie: “It is when time and motion stop. There are no decades, no centuries, no millennia. There is nothing that separates one period in time from another. People describe the first recognition of a connection as time standing still and a continuum of being. What was, is. And will be. What this connection brings is peace within oneself and with another beyond anything imaginable.”

Cole: “Can you talk about that a bit more? About the peace you mention?”

Marie: “My understanding is that it is a feeling of oneness, of knowing, and finally of understanding the universe. And oneself.”

Cole: “Some might say this is heading into woo-woo territory.”

Marie smiled. “The closest I can describe it is the sense of grace and peacefulness that occurs for some within their religion.”

Cole: “So tarot is religious then?”

Marie paused, having been asked this question many times. “Tarot is a pathway that may lead to understandings that certainly could be construed as spiritual and, yes, religious.”

Cole: “I see. Has tarot been that way for you?”

Marie hesitated again, the question personal. “I found answers within tarot that I did not find anywhere else. And that occurred because tarot helped me reframe and refine my own questions about life. It can help others do the same.

“For example, the question ‘Will I be rich?’ can be rephrased to ‘Will I find wealth in a way I had not anticipated.’ That question opens possibilities, redefining wealth as not just about money. For some individuals, monetary wealth is not an answer. It really shouldn’t be a question.”

Cole: “Thought provoking. Getting back to the two individuals, what did their so-called connection do for them?”

Marie: “It gave them an awareness of their place in time and to one another that will be unending and unbroken.”

Cole: “Did you believe, at first, that this connection had actually occurred?”

Marie: “I did.”

Cole: “How is it you came to be associated with them?”

About the Author

Kathy Kaye is a former writer and editor for the American Medical Association, Harvard Medical School, and Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. She received a degree in English Literature from Illinois State University and completed a certificate in Wine Technology at South Seattle College’s Northwest Wine Academy. For many years she was co-owner of a small vineyard in eastern Washington State. She resides in Shoreline, Washington.

Kaye is currently writing two story series: the Warehouse Winery Mystery series, a police procedural, set in Woodinville, Washington, where, in real life, she sold winemakers the grapes she grew; and the Tarot Reader series. Interview with the Tarot Reader is book one of three in this series. Book two, The Tarot Connection, will be published in 2026.

LuckyMACK Studios, Seattle

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

Length: 123,000 words
Series: standalone
Prior Reading: n/a
Genre: contemporary
Tropes: Escort and first client, hurt/comfort, grumpy/sunshine, taciturn billionaire
Trigger/Content Warnings: On page sexual assault, discussion of childhood trauma
Designer: Natasha Snow

Kiss him, sleep with him, but don’t ever fall in love with him.

The first time Wes Archer steps into Jack of Clubs, an exclusive London pleasure club, he’s completely confident he can heed the tried-and-true advice about becoming an escort. Wes gives himself away for free with casual hookups all the time. Why not make some cash doing what he already loves? And cash is something he desperately needs. His brother’s gambling addiction has taken their family’s home, saddled Wes with insurmountable debts, and compromised his chances for finishing his degree.

Accepting an offer to spend a few hours of fun with a rich bloke will be a simple business transaction, right?

Wrong.

Wes’s first client is Cormac Reilly. The handsome billionaire is grumpy, funny, and commanding in a way that unlocks desires Wes never knew he had. Cormac is icily determined to keep their arrangement strictly business, but that doesn’t stop Wes from finding him fascinating.

As their one-night contract becomes something much more, Wes can’t deny he’s falling for his client. He knows he’s flouting all the rules, but breaking down Cormac’s barriers is an irresistible challenge, and his reward might be the best prize of all — love.

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a passionate love story set in London and Paris about two astonishingly different men and one very pretty mess.

Please see the disclaimer at the beginning of the book for content some readers may find triggering.

about the author:

Lily lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven’t had a proper conversation with her since she bought her first Kindle.
She has spent her life with her head full of daydreams and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing, because how else could she get to spend her time with hot, funny men!
She loves chocolate and Baileys and the best of all creations – chocolate Baileys! Her lifetime’s ambition is to have a bath in peace without being shouted by one of her family.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008647656545

Facebook Readers Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/SnarkSquad

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LilyAuthor

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/lilymortonauthor

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LilyMorton-Newsletter

Stacking The Shelves (Reading Reality) and The Sunday Post (Caffeinated Reviewer) are both blog memes about sharing the books we’re adding to the shelves and sharing news of the week ahead.

Nothing new in terms of purchases this week, unless you count a trio of Friday Freebies that I’m really excited about.

Keeping with the theme of threes, a trio of exciting review titles this week.

Throne in the Dark (Deluxe Edition) by A. K. Caggiano

November 4, 2025

For fans of Kimberly Lemming and The Princess Bride comes the first book in AK Caggiano’s Villains & Virtues series, following the son of a demon on his way to fulfill his dark legacy, and the blonde pickpocket he accidentally magically links to him along the way.

The Duke by Anna Cowan

April 28, 2026

A sapphic regency romance about the duke who fears nothing… until the woman she never forgot walks through the door and brings her to her knees.

Trust No One by James Rollins

February 24, 2026

From the #1 New York Times bestselling master of international intrigue comes a shocking new stand-alone thriller that thrusts a group of university students, falsely accused of murder, into a treacherous hunt across Europe, all to unlock the secrets buried within a centuries-old book that could change humankind forever.

Haven’t had a lot of time for reading this week, as I’ve been working on a project that I’m hoping I’ll be able to formally announce this week. However, I did finish Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon (review to come), and I’m just racing through The Witch Roads by Kate Elliott (and loving it).