Urban Fantasy: With All My Haunted Heart by Isabel Sterling

With All My Haunted Heart
by Isabel Sterling
Sept 8, 2026
Genre: LGBTQ, paranormal, urban fantasy, witches
A witch hired to ethically haunt a small-town B&B instead finds herself spellbound by her non-magical client in this cozy and enchanting sapphic romance.

Steadily losing clients to the new DIY-magic shop on the other side of town, Pippa Ainsley is getting desperate. Instead of hiring the witch to correct their magical maladies, local mundanes have been taking their chances with the cheaper—and unpredictable—crystals and herb blends. So when Pippa’s best friend hires her to inspect his newly acquired bed-and-breakfast for ghosts, she doesn’t think twice about it.

That is, until she learns that his unfairly attractive co-owner, Elle Thompson, doesn’t want Pippa to rid their business of spirits. She wants Pippa to give them an edge over the competition by haunting their B&B.

It’s the perfect challenge for Pippa’s experimental magic, but just because she could figure it out, doesn’t mean it’s a smart or safe idea. But Elle is persistent, and the financial boost could save her own business if Pippa succeeds. Soon, Pippa finds herself testing the limits of her magic… and her ability to stop the growing attraction she feels toward Elle, a woman with a painful secret of her own.

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Praise for Isabel Sterling
"With All My Haunted Heart deftly weaves humor and steam with deep, true emotions in a gorgeous queer romance full of both literal and metaphorical ghosts and magic."—Stephanie Burgis, USA Today bestselling author of Wooing the Witch Queen

“With All My Haunted Heart contains everything I could want in a paranormal romance–found family, a cozy setting, plenty of humor, and lots of fun magic. Isabel Sterling deftly weaves in themes of letting go and daring to let others in, conjuring a spellbindingly sweet sapphic romance that's full of heart and hope.”—Tori Anne Martin, USA Today bestselling author of This Spells Disaster

“Heartfelt and cathartic, Sterling weaves a story that grounds the fantastical with relatable characters and predicaments. With All My Haunted Heart reminds us that even the strongest magic can't fix family trauma, a flagging business, or an inconvenient crush.”—Kiri Callaghan, USA Today bestselling author of A Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic and Murder

“In With All My Haunted Heart, Isabel Sterling has created a love story that goes beyond its (incredibly hot and sweet) central romance—an absolutely beautiful exploration on family, grief, healing, friendship, and what it means to reach for something new when your whole world feels shattered. This is a stunning adult debut.”—Shelly Jay Shore, USA Today bestselling author of Rules for Ghosting

“With All My Haunted Heart is an utterly spellbinding sapphic romance that’s as charming as it is surprisingly moving. Full of witchy shenanigans and big swoons, this book swept me up in the magic of its cozily haunted bed and breakfast. Sign me up for a stay!” —Bridget Morrissey, author of That Summer Feeling

“With All My Haunted Heart is profoundly emotional and bewitchingly sexy! I was fully entranced by Sterling’s cozy paranormal sapphic romance—a stunning and hopeful exploration of love, grief, and other ghosts that linger in our hearts.”—Jessica James, author of For Our Next Song

“Sterling’s rich, magical world dazzles readers with its fantastic intricacies. Suspense, romance, and wit go hand in hand, and the thrills run right up to the last page.” —Richelle Mead, #1 international bestselling author of The Glittering Court and Vampire Academy series, on These Witches Don't Burn

"An enchanting mystery, simmering with intrigue. Once you start These Witches Don't Burn, you'll be utterly spellbound." —Sarah Glenn Marsh, author of the Reign of the Fallen series

"These Witches Don’t Burn is an original, thrillingly romantic spin on the classic teen witch tale. Infused with page-turning suspense, bittersweet romance, shocking twists, and tragic turns, Sterling has written a standout debut. Never sentimental, often sweet, but unafraid to break your heart, the writing is as lovely, vibrant, and ruthless as its characters." —Dana Mele, author of People Like Us

"An enchanting debut from Isabel Sterling. I'd be in for the note-perfect f/f romance alone, but These Witches Don't Burn perfectly blends a fun teenage relationship story with a delightfully dark and twisty supernatural thriller. A lovely witchy book full of complicated girls and a world rich with queer characters. It'll leave you wanting a coven of your own." —Britta Lundin, author of Ship It and writer on Riverdale

"Sterling's debut meshes high magical stakes with the raw, real human emotions of broken hearts and new love, creating a book that's utterly bewitching in every way." —Dahlia Adler, author of Under the Lights on These Witches Don't Burn

“A fun, fresh contemporary fantasy with one of the most endearing and authentic casts I've read. Complicated friendships, deeply relatable romantic entanglements, and Salem's long history make this book an unforgettable read.” —Katherine Locke, author of The Girl with the Red Balloon on These Witches Don't Burn

About the Author
website
Isabel Sterling writes stories about queer love and resilience with a witty magical twist. She is the author of several YA and adult novels, including: These Witches Don’t Burn, This Coven Won’t Break, The Coldest Touch, and the forthcoming With All My Haunted Heart. Isabel is also a master certified life coach, the founder of The Confident Author Academy, and the host of The Author Burnout Cure podcast. An alum of Purchase College and Syracuse University, Isabel spent a decade working in higher education and LGBTQ non-profits before striking out on their own to write and coach full-time. Isabel lives with their spouse and fur-babies in Central New York, where the winters are frigid, the summers are too hot, and autumn is perfect.

4.5 Sheep Book Review: Hexy Beast (The Sherwood Witches, Book #3) by Avery Flynn

Hexy Beast (The Sherwood Witches, Book #3)
by Avery Flynn
Book 3 of 3: The Sherwood Witches
September 8, 2026
An impulsive witch and a buttoned-up werewolf discover love is its own beast in this spicy rom-com from USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn.

As the eldest daughter of the magical Sherwood family, I’m supposed to have everything together. Well, joke’s on them—I, Effie Sherwood, am chaos incarnate, and you’ll never be able to guess my next move.

Like jumping on the back of Darius Aetos’ motorcycle. Not only is Darius grumpy, gruff, and hot, he’s also the head of the Aetos werewolf pack.

My spur of the moment decision has quickly become a much bigger commitment, because a pack elder is convinced this hunk of a man (or wolf, depending on the hour) is my fated mate.

Even though I’m a witch and he’s a werewolf, we’re stuck together until we can find our way out of the tricky pack politics. But under the light of the blue moon, it’s almost starting to feel like Darius doesn’t want to stay away from me. And I’m not sure if it’s my magic going haywire or the starlit skies, but I can’t imagine leaving his arms either.

Amazon 

Hexy Beast (The Sherwood Witches) book 3 of The Sherwood Witches in this rom-com paranormal series. It is freaking hilarious!!!

Talk about banter and snark, this one is dripping with many actual laugh out loud moments. I loved all the back and forth between our leading couple. They are super believable as a couple and just overall the whole world this author created.

Tons of added spicy moments and deep love connection between two people you are actually rooting for. Add in some really touching heartfelt pages and overall this one is a fun adventure in a light-hearted story.

Enjoyed it from start the finish!

Getting 4.5 Sheep

 

 

KD

About the Author:
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USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling romance author Avery Flynn has sold more than a million books, which have been translated into multiple languages. She has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip. She lives outside of Washington DC with her family and a pack of five dogs all named after food. If she’s not reading romance or binging reality TV, she’s most definitely plotting to take over the world so she can banish Crocs from existence. Also, if you figure out how to send Oreos through the Internet, she’ll be your best friend for life.

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Excerpt: Holes in the Somewhere by Richard R. Brown + giveaway

Sometimes grief sneaks up on you and hunts you down.

Sometimes it walks right up and punches you.

Holes in the Somewhere
by Richard R. Brown
Genre: Speculative Fiction, Horror Stories
Holes In The Somewhere is a collection of short works, anchored by a personal memoir of the author's own experience with grief and loss after the passing of his father from cancer, by speculative fiction author Richard R. Brown.

A single mother encounters insanity in the worst possible person; an estranged parent loses his reunited family to a mysterious bathroom wall; a group of strangers come together to fight a fungal pandemic; college students prepare for the extinction of the Sun... these are a few of the challenges faced by the desperate characters in Holes In The Somewhere. The choices they make, the dilemmas they wrestle with, all have very supernatural consequences, but are felt with very human emotions.

These stories will tug at strings your heart thought were too well-hidden for anyone to know about, and cause the mind to probe the gray areas between wrong and right. Between normal and paranormal. Behind what's real and only to the side of what's unreal. A perfect mix of quick, unsettling reads, and longer, heart-wrenching escapes.

What readers are saying:
"The debut is speculative fiction in form: weird, unsettling, occasionally cosmic. But it reads less like a genre exercise than like grief that has been given permission to take unusual shapes." - Justine Castellon, Author/Reviewer

"I guarantee there is a 'gotcha' story in there for just about anybody, and if you don't find at least one that bothers you just as you're about to fall asleep, you're made of sterner stuff than I am." - Kenneth Crist, editor-in-chief, Black Petals Magazine

“These stories are weird and creepy and heart-wrenching in all the best ways. If you enjoy fiction that makes you question everything and wrecks you emotionally, this is for you!” – Valerie S., 5 star Amazon Review

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Excerpt from ‘The Final Butterfly’, a novella in ‘Holes In The Somewhere’

Prologue

“Janice, honey, stay next to Mommy!” Janice’s mother knows the tell-tale signs of humans and wildlife noticing each other unexpectedly – her daughter’s sudden silence, the oddity of a four-year-old standing stock-still (and what does that mean? Are stocks more stationary than other inanimate objects?), Janice’s freshly-picked blackberry stopped in its inevitable trajectory to her mouth by her unmoving hand – but Peggy can’t see the wildlife that has so entranced her daughter.

She bends low to whisper in Janice’s ear. “Honey, what is it? What do you see?”

Janice slowly extends her berry-stained, purple hand and points to a red fox. It, too, stands still, watching the humans with the utmost concentration, ready to run.

Peggy is amazed. The fox is prepared to run away from them! It isn’t growling or barking.

“What is it, Mommy?” Janice’s voice is small and filled with wonder.

“It’s a – “Then the fox breaks its intense stare. It no longer cares if the humans see it at all. It snaps at a butterfly that frantically flutters around the fox’s head. In moments, dozens of butterflies harass the fox.

Peggy gasps in horror, then picks her daughter up with an arm around the young girl’s waist, and runs. Ten meters away, Peggy enters the code and opens the door to the bomb shelter. As she turns to close and seal the door, she pauses long enough to look for the fox. It is completely hidden, but Peggy instantly finds the writhing mass of thousands of brightly colored butterflies that cover the healthy but unfortunate fox. She slams the door shut.

“What happened, Mommy?” Janice has tears brimming in her eyes.

The time has come.

“Honey, that was a fox. It’s a wild animal.” Peggy tells her child.

“What’s a mammimal?” Janice asks.

Oh boy. This is going to take a while.

“Umm… it’s something that’s alive, like us. People are animals. Animals live all over the world,” Peggy begins.

“How come we never see any?” Janice asks.

There it is. Peggy wishes Bert was there to help her with this.

“Five years ago, there was a car crash. A lot of people said that’s what started it, but your Aunt Candace- “

“She lets me call her Auntie Candy,” Janice says, pride beaming from her face in the revelation of this honor.

“Does she?” Peggy is impressed. “Well, she told me that it actually started when Aunt- Auntie Candy…bumped into a man who couldn’t see.” Peggy stops. The import of what she had seen outside dawns on her. “Before I tell you this, you have to promise me something very, very important. You’ll never go outside without me, okay? And you’ll tell me right away if you ever see anything, I mean anything, move. Okay?”

Janice nods, wide-eyed.

“Say it,” her mother persists.

“I promise.”

“Even if it’s pretty, like those butterflies,” Peggy insists.

Janice nods again. That is an easy promise to make. Janice loves showing her mommy pretty things.

Peggy nods in return. “Okay, here goes…”

About the Author:
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Richard R. Brown is a legally-blind author of speculative fiction, horror, and thrillers. He writes from experience, having lived through paranormal events, alien attacks, and cosmic horrors -- at least, in his mind and in the books he listens to. He and his Guide Dog live in the Pacific Northwest. Richard is between Guide Dogs at the moment as Edison retired last summer. Edison was at Richard's side through every story in his book. Richard has no such guidance for his current novel, but will likely have one for editing help.

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Enter the Holes in the Somewhere Giveaway Here

Excerpt: Dragon Descending (Fire and Claw, #2) by Jennifer Allis Provost + giveaway

Dragon Descending (Fire and Claw, #2)
by Jennifer Allis Provost
September 1st 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Dragons value family above all else—but when a dragon shifter can’t shift, how will he protect the ones he loves?

Lochlyn Blackmoor, the last dragon shifter in Alessia, has lost his ability to shift. Heartened by a prediction that he will shift again, Lochlyn retreats to Dragon Ridge with his beloved wife, Rosalie. They’re content to enjoy a quiet life, until they receive unsettling news from the capital city.

The king’s seer has been marked for death, all because she helped him free Rosalie’s sister from the king’s clutches.

Despite his current weakness, Lochlyn embarks on a mission to rescue the seer with his brother-in-law and spymaster in tow. Almost immediately, one of their few allies—Arthus Flameborn, Grand Master of the Order of the Phoenix, who also happens to be Rosalie’s grandfather—abandons them. As they run out of time and options, Lochlyn turns to a former foe for assistance: Basilisk, the same rogue shifter he freed from the Order’s dungeon, and nearly killed him.

Basilisk proves himself a worthy ally, and his vast knowledge Alessia’s royal family comes in handy more than once. As more of Basilisk’s past is revealed, Lochlyn learns Alessia’s darkest, most dangerous secret, information so deadly It could unravel everything he’s ever known. To make matters worse, the ruthless Grand Master wants to form a relationship with his granddaughter, Rosalie, and he doesn’t care who he hurts in the process—not even Rosalie.

And only a dragon can overpower the Grand Master.

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EXCERPT:
Lochlyn Blackmoor hated waiting.

Yet it was all he’d done for months—waiting for blowback from Serpens about their daring rescue of Caterina and Curran. For news of the rampaging basilisk he and Curran had freed from the palace dungeons. Or for the Grand Master to appear in the courtyard demanding to see his family.

Waiting to be able to shift again.

Nothing happened.

Lochlyn set his hands on the balcony’s railing, and watched the early morning activity in the castle’s courtyard. While he appreciated the calm days and nights they’d enjoyed at Dragon Ridge, retribution was inevitable. He’d insulted the king, committed several acts of treason, and set the palace on fire. King Olivar wasn’t a forgiving man; he was more likely to take Lochlyn’s head and mount it on his wall.

Still. Nothing.

Perhaps Olivar was taking his time so Lochlyn would slowly descend into madness.

Laughter floated toward him, a bright sound that Lochlyn would know anywhere. He turned toward the gardens, and saw Rosalie walking with her sister, Caterina. They both carried baskets of flowers, but behind Rosalie’s basket was her rounded belly, and inside her belly was their child.

Their child’s birth was something else Lochlyn was waiting for, and for that he was most impatient of all.

He and Rosalie already had three adopted children, and he loved them and his nephew, Jonathan, dearly. Somehow, he found yet another measure of love in his heart for this child he’d yet to meet, a babe who would be a dragon, like him.

As the strongest of the Otherworldly creatures, Lochlyn’s own dragon blood meant the child would definitely take after him, but they wouldn’t know if the child would be able to shift until he was around a year old. While Lochlyn could attain both dragon and warrior forms, his eldest brother could only shift to warrior, and his middle brothers couldn’t shift at all.

Whether the child could shift or not didn’t matter to Lochlyn. Either way, he couldn’t wait to meet their baby. Before Rosalie fell pregnant, Lochlyn had been the last living dragon in Alessia. Now both his kind and his name would live on, thanks to his beautiful wife.

“Lochlyn,” Rosalie called from the courtyard, waving to get his attention as if he hadn’t already been entranced by her every move. “There were some daisies in bloom, and the birds spared us some blackberries.”

“And elderberries,” Caterina added, holding up her basket. “Madchen can make more of her famous wine.”

Lochlyn laughed softly; there were enough casks of Madchen’s elderberry wine in the castle’s cellar to get half of Alessia drunk. “Are you two coming in for lunch?”

Rosalie opened her mouth to reply, but whatever she said was drowned out by the thunder of a dozen hooves. Lochlyn looked toward the gate and saw three gigantic stags enter the courtyard. The central and largest stag approached Rosalie and bowed.

“Hello, Cervus,” Rosalie said as the stag’s antlers scraped the ground near her feet. “And you really don’t need to be so dramatic. Will you join us for lunch?”

Cervus raised his head, and after he glanced at the balcony, he and his two companions went toward the stables. Lochlyn watched them depart, then he returned his gaze to his wife. His leisurely afternoon with Rosalie would have to wait. As Lochlyn’s spymaster, Cervus had been in Serpens for the past three weeks, gathering information. For him to personally return to Dragon Ridge instead of sending one of his messengers, he must have learned something especially dire.

About the Author:

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Jennifer Allis Provost writes books about faeries, orcs and elves. Zombies, too. She grew up in the wilds of Western Massachusetts and had read every book in the local library by age twelve. (It was a small library.) An early love of mythology and folklore led to her romantic fantasy series, Fire and Claw, and her degree in environmental science helped shape her urban fantasy, Poison Garden. When she’s not writing about murderous plants or sexy dragon shifters she’s working on her MFA in Creative Nonfiction.

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Book Review: I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell by Mackenzie Reed

I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell
by Mackenzie Reed
Sept 1, 2026
Genre: urban fantasy
When staying late at the office leads to witnessing an exorcism, Brie Benson's mundane life takes a hellish turn…literally.

After her parents' death, twenty-seven-year-old Brie has mastered the art of compartmentalization to survive her mind-numbing routine as a receptionist at a life insurance company. But when she accidentally catches her hot, uptight boss, Luke, performing an exorcism on Debra from accounting, her carefully ordered world implodes.

Swearing Brie to secrecy, Luke reveals he's from a line of demon hunters and that demonic activity is spiking. But when her emotional support coworker vanishes, Brie is determined to find her. With nothing left to lose, she convinces Luke to let her join his rescue mission.

The problem? Their destination is hell. And the entrance is in Times Square.

Now Brie and Luke must navigate a corporate underworld of monsters and bureaucratic nightmares while racing to save their colleague and repair a tearing veil between worlds. All before their growing feelings become irrelevant and hell claims them forever.

Amazon

I Hope This Email Finds You in Hell by author Mackenzie Reed is a funny and enjoyable Urban Fantasy story that would translate very easily to TV.

This one is an absolute ride that takes off after a pretty normal and average start. I wasn't sure where it was going, but wow does this one just kinda take off. It was super enjoyable and crosses over in such an epic way from the human world, to Hell.

Like mentioned from the start, this story could very well be an ongoing show. It has all the great points you would want to see come to life from page to screen. Hopefully the powers that be can make that happen at some point!

Fantasy in the world of today done in just the right way, recommend this one!

Getting 4 Sheep

 

 

 

KD

About the Author:
website
Mackenzie Reed is the author of young adult fiction, including her debut thriller THE ROSEWOOD HUNT and upcoming novel THE WILDE TRIALS. She cultivated her love of storytelling at Nazareth College, where she graduated with a BA in Communication and Media. A native and resident of Rochester, New York, she loves going for brainstorming walks when the weather’s behaving and spending time with her family. In the sparse moments she’s not writing or daydreaming about her next book, she’s usually winging her eyeliner and hunting for the best slice of pizza in town.

Humorous Sci-Fi: Still Lost: Tales from the Year 2080 by Sam A Miller

A sardonic, irreverent, interconnected collection of short stories that imagines what would happen if a hyper-intelligent alien race took over and solved all of Earth’s problems (or did they?), STILL LOST bends reality just enough for it to become a mirror and takes its readers on a daring and strange ride—an ultra-timely, sardonic collection that makes a meal out of humanity’s absurdities. For the formerly gifted kids and fans of the Green brothers, Lindsay Ellis, and Andy Weir, STILL LOST is for anyone who has felt existential dread and wondered if it might just be better if the aliens took over.

 

Still Lost: Tales from the Year 2080
by Sam A Miller
Sept 1, 2026
From the beloved creator of the wildly popular Sam O’Nella Academy YouTube channel, an irreverent and timely science fiction collection that offers a wry look at the not-so-distant future

Sam A. Miller, the creator behind Sam O'Nella Academy, has spent ten years teaching his 4.8 million subscribers about the past and the present. Here, he turns towards fiction—and the future…

A hyper advanced alien race seemingly solves all existential threats—no climate change, no nuclear weapons, no singularity crisis...and yet, in crisis we remain. Because humans are their own existential threat in the not dys- or u-topian, but simply “topian” world of this interconnected collection: In “Four Little Words” scientists discover the shocking truth about grass. In “Eggs For Roman,” a baboon with human intelligence gets cyberbullied. And in “Beat,” a young man must save his own life from the music that’s taken it hostage.

Often funny and always profound, Still Lost bends reality just enough for it to become a mirror and takes its readers on a daring and strange ride—an ultra-timely, sardonic collection that feasts on the follies and earnest absurdities of humanity.

About the Author:

YouTube

As a comic and educational YouTuber, Sam has spent the last 10 years teaching his 4.8 million subscribers through deeply researched and quirkily illustrated videos about everything from the Salem Witch Trials to presidential pets to the brief history of animals in space. Along the way, his enthusiastic fans have fallen in love with his witty, irreverent, absurd, and ultimately informative take on the continued folly of humanity throughout history. When he announced the publication of STILL LOST, Sam revealed his face and name to his audience for the first time, bringing his devoted fans into his wry take on humanity after aliens fix everything for them—yet everything continues to remain the same. As it turns out, humans really are their own dystopia.