Review: Grace by A.M. Shine

Grace

by A.M. Shine

Release Date: February 10, 2026

2026 Head of Zeus - an Aries Book

Ebook ARC; 304 Pages

ISBN: 978-1804547984

ASIN: B0FB37BFS5

Audiobook: B0FD43DR87

Genre: Fiction / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Off the west coast of Ireland lies a lonely island, isolated and wilfully forgotten. Some say there hasn't been a child born on the island for thirty years. Others speak of strange deaths there, decades ago. But no one really knows what happened. Locals believe that the dark times are behind them.

They are mistaken.

Grace, adopted at four years old, has never known where she came from. A mysterious phone call leads her back to the island where she was born – and where a terrible evil has been disturbed.

As the evil starts to spread, Grace finds herself dragged back into a living nightmare that threatens to engulf anyone who steps into its path.

 

My Thoughts

Grace had a fantastic setting and the atmosphere was downright eerie, an island off the coast of Ireland called Croaghnakeela Island.  I have since learned that this island is an existing island and the author incorporated the island as well as Irish folklore into the story. I am currently reading a history of the British Isles and understand there are thousands of islands in the area so while the name of the island exists, I am assuming (hoping) the author took liberties with the story and the people who actually live there. 

 

Let me start with the setting as that was the best part of this book.  We have this island where no children exist, houses are falling into disrepair, the only delivery man refuses to step foot on the island, fog shrouds it perpetually, and legends abound as to what is going on on the island.  A priest was transferred there six years ago and the islanders have successfully kept him in the dark as to its secrets and what happened thirty years go, but he senses the malevolence of the island and the spirits focused on the people.  I loved the blend of folklore with what was happening as that was truly interesting and kept me engaged.  I love it when things are eerie, ghostly, and there are big, dark secrets.

 

Unfortunately, the setting wasn't enough to elevate the story as I found it meandering and the characters weren't fully developed.  Yes, the author tried to give a few of the characters a voice by telling their stories as to what happened all those years before, but by doing so, lost the overall tension and fear that was so prominent in the first third of the book. Even though there were some very interesting things that were revealed through these POV, I did wonder if there was a better way for the story to be told. I really enjoyed Father O'Malley's POV and would have preferred the story stay there as he was ignorant of what was happening and as he discovered what was going on, the tension and the fear would have increased substantially as he learned more and more.  As I've previously mentioned, some really interesting things were revealed, but they were lost in the meandering story line, and other things that I found fascinating were glossed over as if they weren't important, things I think the priest would have questioned. As a result, the overall story felt unfinished or incomplete. 

 

Verdict

Grace definitely had a lot of potential and the setting just screamed atmosphere with the fog and the unsettling stories, but the overall story line fell a little short, in my opinion.  Although I loved the folklore and the legends, I would have liked more information on what was happening.  I really enjoyed the first third of the book, but the ending felt a bit rushed and honestly, predictable.  Overall, I do recommend that you read this novel if you love horror just for the atmospheric elements in the book as they were great, but I will acknowledge the execution fell a bit flat for me.  And the twists? Honestly, when you read a lot of horror you don't get surprised by them anymore as you sort of expect them so not being surprised by them didn't affect my overall rating.   

Review: Ghosted: A History of Ghost Hunting and Why we Keep Looking by Alice Vernon

Ghosted: A History of Ghost Hunting and Why We Keep Looking

by Alice Vernon

Release Date: September 2, 2025

2025 Bloomsbury Sigma

Ebook ARC; 304 Pages

ISBN: 978-1399418706

ASIN: B0F4FX2HTG

Audiobook: B0F9FXJ7P8

Genre: Non-Fiction / Paranormal

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Ghosted follows the journey of paranormal investigations from the Victorian era to the modern day, examining how our fascination with ghost hunting has changed alongside technology and culture. Where we once gathered around tables, observing and recording every movement of the medium, we now take electronic equipment and app-laden phones around haunted locations to catch ghosts digitally. Where theatres and concert halls held sold-out performances by conjurers recreating the tricks of fraudulent mediums, we now delight in picking apart and exposing the evidence presented on reality television programmes.

In this book, Alice Vernon embarks on a journey to encounter a ghost, travelling to some of the UK's most haunted locations and encouraging readers to interrogate their own scepticism and belief. Ghosted examines what we are looking for, why we are looking for it, and why have we never given up the ghost.

 

My Thoughts

Ghosted was an interesting book that delved into the history of ghost hunting and we we have been so fascinated with the paranormal throughout the centuries. While the history of ghost hunting goes back thousands of years, with the development of science and technology, the rise of interest in the subject has grown exponentially and this thought does exist that perhaps we are on the cusp of discovering why ghosts exist and capturing scientific evidence, a concept that drives even more and more people to 'ghost hunt' and to be interested in the paranormal.  The author mentions that our interest in the subject goes far deeper than simple curiosity, that we are looking for comfort, for something that helps us when we are suffering, something that I did find interesting.  However, while I did find the material to be fascinating, there wasn't anything really new in this book and I didn't feel like the scientific exploration went deep enough.

 

The book traces our journey from earlier times to Victorian times when it was quite popular to attend seances, gathering around tables, using spirit cabinets, and other paraphernalia to attract spirits, to modern times where it is popular to go to haunted locations with expensive technology and videotape the experiences.  Like today, there were societies set up to investigate the claims put forth by these mediums and even magicians, like Houdini, were able to show how some of the fraudulent schemes worked in their acts.  Again, while I enjoyed the discourse around the events that happened, I would have liked to have seen a more rigorous discussion around the events, especially the use of the so-called 'spirit cabinets'.  I am not necessarily an unbeliever, but I am a skeptic, and as a scientist with a history background, the lack of discussion of the sources did bother me quite a bit.  I understand the author wanted to let the reader make up their own mind about what was happening, but the surface-level thinking was too shallow for some of the sources that were used. The book was quite easy to read however, and it moved along chronologically. I especially enjoyed the chapters during the Victorian era as that is when the rise of spiritualism occurred, and I did find it interesting how even the aliens were brought into the discussions in order to make sense of what was happening. Quite an interesting time period! The author interjected a lot of humour into the book and I chuckled over the Scooby Doo references.  

 

Verdict

Ghosted was interesting as a non-fiction history book, but it was definitely lacking when it came to the scientific exploration as that was done on a quite superficial level.  And if you think, well, this is the paranormal, how can you analyze that? You can definitely analyze documents, especially someone who has training in the field.  The interrelated/independent data can be analyzed and discussed as there were plenty of people who wrote about what they saw and experienced. However, I did enjoy this book, the author had a good sense of humour, and I especially loved it when the author bought a haunted doll off EBay and her colleagues would not go near it. Now, I am a skeptic, but I have to admit, the porcelain dolls my mom gave me are secured in their respective closets. I did watch the first Chucky film when I was about 14 and am not taking any chances.  

 

Review: Never: The Autobiography by Rick Astley

Never: The Autobiography

by Rick Astley

Release Date: January 13, 2026 (First published October 10, 2024)

2026 Pan

Ebook ARC; 304 Pages

ISBN: 978-1035049417

ASIN: B0FG3K6X7J

Audiobook: B0D5MP3Y78

Genre: Non-Fiction / Autobiography / Music

Source: Review copy from publisher 

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

'Fame didn’t actually make me happy. I was an insecure twenty-year-old and being famous made things worse. It was an era all about the way you looked and I still don’t know how I squeezed through. I did enjoy myself for a lot of it, but, at some point, you’re looking in the mirror and 'Is this it, then?' Clichéd as this sounds, success is never going to mend something that is broken. You just have to work that out for yourself. And something was a bit broken in me – I think it is with almost everybody who gets on the stage.'

 

Balancing nostalgia, fresh perspectives and introspection, Never begins with family and unconventional upbringings; journeys through the tumultuous and glamorous world of pop; and takes pause for self-reflection. Rick goes beyond the blinding lights of the stage – giving an intimate look at the man behind the hits – and is a portrait of truth, artistic evolution and the astounding power of contentment.

 

My Thoughts

Never: The Autobiography was heartwarming, and I definitely enjoyed reading about his early childhood and his early years in the business.  I was a huge Astley fan as I really loved his voice, and because he was popular before the days of the Internet, I remember trolling through magazines to get more information about him. It was such a different time period in terms of how music reached the world.  Because of this, I never really gave it a thought when I didn't hear about any more of his songs being released or if he was working on a new album.  Again, so different from today when you could just look up to see if he had a podcast, website, etc... to get information.  

 

The memoir was quite well-written and he was quite candid about the difficulty of growing up with both a father and a mother who both suffered from some type of mental illness and the impact that had on his life and affected his overall relationship with both of them.  He talked about the years of therapy it took to work through the effects it had on his life, his decisions, and how he avoided confrontation or how he avoided standing up for himself, especially in terms of his music career.  At the same time, he developed close relationships with his siblings and with Lene, the woman who would eventually become his partner in life, stable relationships that gave him a support system to grow and develop into a more confident and secure individual.  But in order to grow and develop, he had to give up his music career for a while, and this is the part I found the most fascinating.

 

Rick Astley shared the difficulties he had in the music business, how he doesn't really have any regrets with the decisions he made, but at the same time, there is also this lingering sense about what would have been if he had had more control over his own musical career.  There are so many stories out there about careers being destroyed because record companies wouldn't allow an artist to grow and develop and make the music they really wanted to make, not really understanding the talent they had within their hands, and this is probably the case with Rick Astley as well.  He was able to understand that he needed to break free before he lost himself completely, and took a fifteen year break from music, but how many musicians burn out and get lost in that web of exhaustion that Astley explained in this book? How many of these musicians succumbed to alcohol and drugs because of the pressure to go, go, go, all the time? Reading about how he came back was a treat and definitely sent me down a few rabbit holes, listening to music I haven't listened to in quite a while.  The book did drop quite a few names, but it was not pretentious and I loved his reaction when he met Paul McCartney the first time. 

 

Verdict

Never: The Autobiography was fun to read and I definitely added some new Rick Astley songs to my playlist as I was not aware he had put out three new albums the past few years, and they are albums I really, really like. The book was a personal journey through his life and accepting the things you can change, but also the things you can't. It was also about taking hold of what's important in your life and realizing there are times you have to put yourself first, and that's not necessarily a selfish thing to do. It did enable him to return to something he loves and to something he continues to pursue passionately.  Honestly, if you are a fan of 80s music, I would definitely recommend this book.  

 

Review: The Murder at Redmire Hall by J.R. Ellis

The Murder at Redmire Hall (Yorkshire Murder Mysteries, #3)

by J.R. Ellis

Release Date: September 13, 2018

2018 Thomas & Mercer

Ebook Edition; 299 Pages

ISBN: 978-1503904941

ASIN: B07C23S4D4

Audiobook: B07G7FBN41

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

2 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Lord Redmire’s gambling habit has placed him in serious debt. Determined to salvage his fortune by putting Redmire Hall on the map, the aristocrat performs an impossible locked-door illusion on live TV. But as the cameras roll, his spectacular trick goes fatally wrong… Special guest DCI Jim Oldroyd has a front-row seat, but in all his years with the West Riding Police he’s never witnessed anything like this. He sees Redmire disappear―and then reappear, dead, with a knife in his back. As Oldroyd and DS Stephanie Johnson soon discover, nearly everyone at the event had a reason to resent the eccentric lord. But how did the murderer get into the locked room―or out, for that matter? When the only other person who knew the secret behind the illusion is brutally silenced, the case begins to look unsolvable. Because as Oldroyd and Johnson know, it’s not just a question of who did it and why ―but how ?

 

My Thoughts

The Murder at Redmire Hall is the third book in the Yorkshire Murder Mystery series, and while I love a locked-room mystery, this one fell a bit flat for me.  The author obviously loves Agatha Christie, and I am not opposed to a more modern-day tribute to her mysteries, but I also don't think her style always works very well in the modern world.  

 

First of all, I do enjoy Oldroyd as a main character and I have no gripes with his character development. I was happy to see a bit more of Steph in this book and to learn a bit more about her, but realistically speaking, I don't read these books for the character development of the police detectives as I am interested in the murders and the motives behind them. This is where I think an author needs to really push the development. In this case, this book fell flat on its face.  I personally thought the list of suspects was so stereotypical that I was rolling my eyes a lot of the time. Let's take a look shall we? We've got the victim, a lord who is a gambler and about to lose everything. Then there is the covetous brother who thinks everything should have gone to him and is extremely jealous and frankly, annoying. Next, we have the divorced wife who is perfect because she put up with ex-husband's doings over the years and naturally, raised one spoiled child and one perfect child who is set to inherit the estate. And of course, we have the ex-fling who is invited even though the ex-wife is there. What? And then there are the servants. And I am using that word because that's exactly how they were treated in this book.  So, did we time travel to 1920s or are we in the 21st century? I get that this was a bit of a spoof on the characters from Christie's books, and the author did try hard to bring that aspect to this book, but I don't think it worked. You can do an homage to Christie and still have interesting characters. 

 

So. why is this important? Well, in the modern world we have this thing called forensics and actual police procedural work.  You know, when you bring in SOCOs and other personnel to actually investigate and send things to a lab. They would have been tearing everything apart and found a lot of the things that were mentioned in passing, like a safe, for example. But no, we have interview after interview, with little being revealed. And even then, one of the biggest clues got missed.  So, this didn't sit right with me at all. But the plot moved along in its bumbling way and we got the big reveal at the end, ala Hercule Poirot style.  Yup, you got it. Let's bring everyone back to the table, let's reveal things that aren't really necessary because you have a beef against rich people, and when the person is finally revealed, they reveal all their motivations no problem, as if they aren't going to be roasted on a spit in prison for the next 25 years.  Oh, and despite no one figuring out the locked-room mystery for years, naturally Oldroyd figures it out. Of course.

 

Verdict

The Murder at Redmire Hall is a locked-room mystery and definitely an homage to Agatha Christie, but really, that's as far as it should have gone. I did like the concept of the locked-room and I am, and will always be, a fan of locked-room mysteries as I think they are fascinating, probably going back to my Agatha Christie reading days.  I would have liked to have seen some actual police investigation into the murder however, as there was so little it was almost laughable.  The characters were cliched and stereotypical and I almost bowed out when the author had Oldroyd do his big reveal the way he did, but I stuck it out. I will probably read the next book in this series (mostly because the publisher gave me the whole series to review), and while I did enjoy the first two books in this series, I was not a fan of this one. 

 

Review: The Library at the Edge of the Wood by Liz Delton

The Library at the Edge of the Wood (Cozy Cottage Series, #2)

by Liz Delton

Release Date: February 16, 2026

2026 Tourmaline & Quartz Publishing LLC

Ebook ARC;  265 Pages

ISBN: 978-1954663336

ASIN:  B0GCVDZ5FX

Audiobook: B0GMKDWDJD

Genre: Fiction / Fantasy / Cozy

Source: Review copy from author

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

On his way back from delivering a parcel one day, Everson stumbles across an empty cottage at the edge of the wood, where he quickly discovers its there’s magic within these walls, and he can make this place into the secluded home of his dreams.  His dreams, of course, include wall to wall books. 

 
Born with silver hair and pointy ears of the “cursed” faerûn, Everson has always had to hide his identity, particularly ever since his mother married the lord of Wrestia—and he’s kept to himself ever since.

Can he create the welcoming library of his dreams, or will it crumble to ruin before he even gets started?

My Thoughts

The Library at the Edge of the Wood was exactly what I needed at this time, a lovely, cozy fantasy that was fun to read and with delightful characters.  I read a lot of heavy material including historical non-fiction and grimdark fantasy, so I have really taken a huge nosedive into searching out these slice-of-life fantasy stories and love them because I don't have to worry about the MC being punished, being destroyed, being downtrodden, being destroyed again, being punished again and again, you get the point. While there was some tension, it was relaxed and enjoyable. 

 

The plot did move along quite quickly, but this book represents a lot of what I look for in cozy fantasy.  It was very much character-driven with a host of wonderful secondary characters and a MC in whom I could definitely relate. It was comforting and relaxing as I knew that the stakes would be low for our MC and everything would work out for him, everything a cozy fantasy needs to be. However, don't underestimate the themes in this book as it does explore childhood trauma, prejudice, loneliness, poverty, illness, and other themes, but does so lightly and a lot of them were resolved quite easily. This is the reason why I didn't give the book a full five stars as I did feel like themes could have been explored more deeply without destroying the overall comforting feel of the book, but I do understand why the author chose not to do so. I definitely enjoyed the theme of family woven throughout the book, and how family does not necessarily include your blood relations, but can include different kinds of family as well. I think this is where the author managed to add a good layer of complexity and nuance to the book as well as a bit of tension, but not too much as I knew it would all turn out well.  

 

Everson was a delightful main character, one who is thoughtful, kind, and caring. Because he is part faerun and has 'cursed' blood running through him, he has spent his life hiding his true identify, and I enjoyed watching him break out of his shell and grow to embrace every part of his heritage.  He always kept that hopeful attitude of building something great for his community and never hesitated in sharing every gift he received, something I enjoyed reading about.  I loved his interactions with the people in his community and enjoyed watching his library grow and develop.  

 

Verdict

The Library at the Edge of the Wood was a delightful cozy fantasy and I enjoyed both the world-building and the development of the main character. It was exactly what I needed at the moment, a low-stakes fantasy that only had a little bit of tension, but honestly, still contained some themes that are worthy of discussion and could have been explored a little bit more without destroying the overall comforting feel of the book.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an engaging read, comfort, and low-stakes tension, but at its heart, is about a welcoming library and a love for reading.