Book Review: The Sea Spinner (Reign of Remnants) by Julie Johnson

The Sea Spinner (Reign of Remnants)
by Julie Johnson
April 28, 2026
Genre: Romantasy
Blazing with reawakened magic, a young woman challenges the tides of fate in this highly anticipated sequel to the #1 Sunday Times bestseller The Wind Weaver.

Rhya Fleetwood is tired of being a pawn in other people’s wargames.

The fledgling wind weaver wants—needs—to master her magic before anything else is taken from her. She’s already lost her friends, her newfound home…will she lose Penn too? There’s no denying the scorching heat between them but, in the aftermath of battle, the Remnant of Fire burns more than anything to rebuild his kingdom and sate his inextinguishable need for revenge.

And he’s not the only one whispering to Rhya across the wind. From the distant island city of Hylios, another voice calls. Another bond pulls.

King Soren, Remnant of Water, is as different from Penn as sparks are from mist. The more insight he offers into the magic that binds them together, the more confused Rhya feels—about her future as a Remnant, about her deepest desires, and about her role in the coming war.

Torn between fire and sea, between the king who could break her heart and the king who understands her potential, Rhya will have to finally step into her power…or risk losing it altogether.

Amazon

I didn't read the first book in this new series, The Wind Weaver, so I may have lost a bit going into this one. Sometimes I need all the back drama and character building, sometimes I can just jump right in. It's a toss-up. But, with all that said, this was a very good book!

TONS of action, just how I like it! Love a great adventure tale that takes you all around the story world. Loved reading about the complex and diverse characters, both fire and water, trying to make it work in a world that is out to get them. Some hard decisions that draw our leading pair even closer just sucks you further.

Really enjoyed the magical nature; the pictures painted on the pages were so vivid and lifelike. At times, I swear some Enya was playing in the background of my mind, just adding to the overall whimsical journey.

Enjoyed this one from the start, can't wait to read the next! 

Getting 5 Sheep

 

 

KD

About the author
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JULIE JOHNSON is the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wind Weaver. When she's not writing, Julie can most often be found sitting on the beach near her home in her native Massachusetts, adding stamps to her passport, drinking too much coffee, and avoiding reality by disappearing between the pages of a book. She published her debut novel on a lark, just before her senior year of college, and she's never looked back. Since, she has published twenty other novels, which have been translated into more than a dozen different languages and appeared on bestseller lists all over the world.

You can connect with Julie on her Instagram (author_julie), in her natural habitat (the bookstore), or in her exclusive reader group (The Johnson Junkies).

Book Review: A Crime Through Time (Miss Darcy Investigates Book 1) by Amelia Blackwell

A Crime Through Time: The Pride and Prejudice Mystery With A Time Travel Twist (Miss Darcy Investigates Book 1)
by Amelia Blackwell
July 10, 2025
Pemberley, 1799. When Miss Georgiana Darcy attempts to escape an unwanted marriage proposal, she isn’t expecting to end up quite so far from home. But after encountering a mysterious object in the nearby woods, she finds herself transported almost two hundred years into the future.

Saltram, 1995. At a grand country house where a film crew are busy shooting the latest Jane Austen adaptation, a terrible crime has been committed. And Miss Darcy – newly arrived, impeccably dressed and thoroughly confused – is the only witness.

It soon becomes clear that, somehow, Georgiana was meant to solve this riddle. With the help of a distractingly handsome Irishman named Quinn and a border collie named Watson, she sets out to stop the killer before they can strike again. But trouble is brewing back at Pemberley and time, it seems, is not on her side . . .

Amazon

June 25, 2026

I really enjoyed reading the book- it was written in the 18th century style jargon and the late 1990's. You have to read it to really get the style and language. The story was witty and fast, and I liked the short paragraphs- you had a real understanding of the switching between the time frames- never got lost in nether land. I hope George and Quinn reunite. Love the note left at the end. All in all, I will read any of Ms. Blackwell's work. It was a very fast and enjoyable read.

I am looking forward to reading the next Miss Darcy Investigates- "The Haunting of a Bronte". 

I give it 4.5 Baaarts, as I really enjoyed the original style of writing, but it may not be for everyone. But be sure to give it a chance if you come across a copy of the Miss Darcy Investigates series.

About the Author:
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Amelia Blackwell has a master’s degree in Creative Writing, a corn snake called Colin, and a deep love of the works of Jane Austen. Although the Boleyns appear in her family tree, it’s through marriage, not blood, which is probably just as well. Georgiana Darcy’s most persistent suitor, Baron John de Halighwell, takes his name from one of Amelia’s distant great-grandfathers, who lived in a mansion that even Lady Catherine de Bourgh would admire. Amelia lives with her husband and children in a tiny house by the sea in Cornwall.

NA Urban Fantasy: Nearly Werewolves by Harper A. Brooks

Nearly Werewolves
by Harper A. Brooks
April 25, 2026
Genre: NA Urban Fantasy
Cover Designer: Covers by Christian
Hosted by: Lady Amber's PR
They say a werewolf’s first shift is like a meeting of two souls.

I wouldn’t know.

The moon never called to me. Moonlocked, they call it—a were without a wolf. No bite, no claws, no strength. As a pureborn werewolf, daughter of the alpha, I’ve kept that shameful secret buried from everyone.

Except Grayson. He knows the real me.

He wasn’t born a were. He was bitten and turned, so we both know what it’s like to not really fit in. But when he gets sick with moon madness, his only hope is a powerful shaman who might know the cure.

To make matters worse, the packs have hired a hunter to track down all the moon-mad wolves and eliminate them before the disease spreads any further.

And Grayson is next on his list.

To save my friend and the rest of my kind, I’ll have to find a way to unlock the beast inside me. But what if, in the end, I’m the true monster everyone should be running from?

NOW LIVE & AVAILABLE ON KU!

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Harper A. Brooks lives in a small town on the New Jersey shore. Even though classic authors have always filled her bookshelves, she finds her writing muse drawn to the dark, magical, and romantic. But when she isn't creating entire worlds with sexy shifters or legendary love stories, you can find her either with a good cup of coffee in hand or at home snuggling with her furry, four-legged son, Sammy.

She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

RONE Award Winner
USA TODAY Bestselling Author
International Bestselling Author

NOW LIVE & AVAILABLE ON KU!

Excerpt: Stay at Castle Dracula…and Other Short-Short Stories by Jim Nemeth + giveaway

Stay at Castle Dracula…and Other Short-Short Stories
by Jim Nemeth
Genre: Horror Short Stories
Do you enjoy a good drabble? No, not America’s most popular word game—that’s Scrabble. No, not those cute, furry little creatures from Star Trek—those are tribbles. A drabble is a form of intense fiction writing consisting of 100 words. Not 100 chapters, not 100 paragraphs, nor even 100 lines. 100 words. Exactly.

Author Jim Nemeth loves the format and is an accomplished dabbler in drabbles. “Whenever I explain to friends what a drabble is,” Nemeth relates, “I get the exact same expression of disbelief: ‘100 words?’ In fact, I took these reactions and wrote a drabble about it, “Impossible Assignment,” which leads off the collection.”

Stay at Castle Dracula and Other Short-Short Stories, a chapbook, collects 26 tales, 23 of which are drabbles. With the three other stories, the author “splurged” and indulged himself with an additional 100-200 words.

Other tales of five score words include “Disgruntled,” where a joyous family Christmas celebration turns horrific when a little boy doesn’t get the toy he wanted; “Love Potion” relates what happens when a witch’s magic works too well. And in the title story, another young English traveler debates his decision in staying in Count Dracula’s centuries’ old castle.

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It’s What’s Inside That Counts

“Why does Christy have to come over to play,” six-year-old Chloe asked in the petulant voice in which she exceled. “She’s ugly and I hate her!”

“Chloe!” the girl’s father shouted in reprimand. “Don’t talk like that. Christy may not be the prettiest of girls, but ‘beauty is only skin deep,’ as they say. It’s what’s inside a person that counts.”

Later that afternoon in her room, Chloe lay aside the dripping, red-drenched scissors with which she’d used to slice open Christy’s midsection. Closely examining its contents, she frowned in confusion. “I don’t see what’s so special about her insides…”

About the Author:
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In 1993, Nemeth won first prize in a national magazine’s short story writing contest for which legendary authors Ray Bradbury and Robert Bloch were judges. The award held special meaning for Nemeth, as Bloch remains his favorite writer and main literary influence. Nemeth is the author of two additional books: It Came From...The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction Films and Robert Bloch: An Unconventional Bibliography, as well as being the webmaster of The Robert Bloch Official Website (robertbloch.net).

A long-time community activist, the author is particularly committed to the cause of animal rescue. He lives in the historic harbor town of Marblehead, MA. 

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway! Enter the Stay at Castle Dracula Giveaway Here… If You Dare…

Riley Doesn't Want To Fight Evil by D. R. Mills

Riley Doesn't Want To Fight Evil
by D. R. Mills
October 13, 2025
Genre: thriller, supernatural, dark humor
Riley Thomas is the main character of this story – whether he likes it or not.

Riley Thomas has always been a normal, regular, average guy. He has a crappy job, a few friends, and a boring homelife–and that’s just fine with him.

Unfortunately for Riley, fate has other plans.

Death gods, immortal psychopaths, haunted dolls, and serial-killer neighbors are only a handful of his problems. So far, he’s managed to sidestep his responsibility as the main character, but all that changes when he finds himself wrapped up in a prophecy that holds the fate of the world in the balance.

An ancient force of Hell is rising up. Reckoning is coming.

The path of a hero is a hard one, but with enough tenacity and quick thinking, Riley might be able to stay completely out of it. Or at least, he’s going to try.

 

About the Author:
D. R. Mills is a young-adult horror author who is currently hard at work on his debut series, MONSTERS. He was born and raised in Wyoming, where he’s still lurking around somewhere. When he isn’t writing, he’s playing video games a borderline unhealthy amount or spending time with his beautiful wife.