Review: 14 by J.T. Ellison

14 (Taylor Jackson, #2)

by J.T. Ellison 

Release Date: May 19, 2026 (Originally published January 1st, 2008)

2026 Thomas & Mercer

Ebook Edition; 346 Pages

ISBN: 978-1662541407

ASIN: B0GHZM7J8R

Audiobook: B003JOAK6S

Genre: Fiction / Mystery / Suspense

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Lieutenant Taylor Jackson is no stranger to brutality, but her latest case shakes her to the core. The victims—with their pale skin, black hair, and ruby-red lips—recall a nightmare Nashville suffered decades ago. The Snow White Killer slaughtered ten princess look-alikes and was never caught.

A copycat is methodically recreating the Snow White murders, studying the original crimes and perfecting the craft. As Taylor fights to identify him before he completes his twisted homage, the investigation pulls her into a conspiracy that hits closer to home than she ever imagined.

 

 

My Thoughts

14 is the second book in the Taylor Jackson series, and when I was offered books 2-4 of the series, I immediately jumped at the chance having read the first book all those years ago. It's funny how certain books stick in your mind all these years later as I had no trouble remembering some of the details of Taylor's relationship as well as parts of the first mystery having of course forgotten the minute details. This book grabbed my attention right from the get-go and didn't let up until the end although I could have done without the chapters from a certain person.

 

Taylor is a strong lead and I liked how determined she is. She's intelligent and doesn't put her team into danger by doing stupid things and taking unnecessary risks.  I've always enjoyed it when an author takes things on a much personal level, making cases an emotional and psychological investment and this is exactly what happens with this one, raising the stakes for Taylor both personally and professionally. Because of this, the decisions she made would have profound effects on everyone around her, not just on her personally so the stakes are much higher. I didn't think the secondary characters were as developed in this one and I developed a hatred for Charlotte's chapters which is why I didn't rate this one higher as I didn't see the need for her chapters other than to add silly drama.  I understood why they were there, but they did take away from the tension of the story for me and made it more predictable.

 

The plot moved along quite rapidly which is often the case when you have multiple murders and kidnappings.  However, while I did enjoy the book and it was full of tension, it was a bit on the predictable side.  There were some good twists and turns and there were some that you could see coming a mile away, but it definitely went in a way I thought it would go towards the end. This didn't affect the tension in any way and I did have trouble putting down the book as I was invested.  There were a lot of themes running through this book; abuse, death, murder, the breakdown of family relationships, father-daughter relationships, loyalty, trust, lack of parenting, selfishness, wealth, and the list goes on and on.  

 

Verdict

14 was a decent mystery with a lot of tension even if there were moments that were quite predictable. I do think the newer version was more tightly woven than the older book one that I had read years before so reading the updated version was well worth it. While this was definitely plot-driven, the author didn't ignore the character development, in particular with regards to Taylor and the impact this was having on her as she was analyzing her relationships with her non-existent parents. I am looking forward to continuing this series with Judas Kiss. 

 

Review: Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe

Stay for a Spell 

by Amy Coombe

Release Date: April 14, 2026

2026 Ace

Ebook & Audiobook ARC Editions; 373 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593955536

ASIN: B0FHJSXKT4

Audiobook: B0FHLHG1YR

Genre: Fiction / Fantasy / Cozy / Romance

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Princess Tanadelle of the Widdenmar is disillusioned with life as a princess. She longs for real conversation, the chance to build a life of her own making, and uninterrupted reading time.

During a routine royal visit to the town of Little Pepperidge, Tandy’s dream comes true when she finds herself cursed to remain in a run-down bookshop until she unlocks her heart’s desire. Certain that someone will figure out how to break the curse eventually, and delighted by the prospect of an entire bookstore of her own, Tandy settles into life among the stacks.  
There's just one, minor problem: as Tandy's royal duties go unfulfilled, her frantic parents start sending princes to woo her, each one of them certain their kiss will break the curse. After all, what more could a princess want but a prince?

 

My Thoughts

Stay for a Spell is the first in a planned trilogy, and while I did enjoy this, I did find it a bit predictable and honestly, other than a whole series of princes showing up to kiss the princess, nothing really happened. I understand this a cozy fantasy, but I have read a lot of cozy fantasy as fantasy is one of the genres I read a lot, and I do feel there should be more happening than Tandy crying every time she thinks she has to return to her duties.  She is a princess of the realm after all.  

 

I didn't mind Tandy as a character and I liked the fact she got drunk and went a little wild as I appreciated the fact she was alone for probably the first time in her life and was able to do things she was forbidden to do.  It kind of reminds me of university students let loose the first week and have no parental supervision for the first time in their lives and realize they don't have to answer to curfew or whatever.  I don't really feel like her character was fully developed however as she felt so superficial in her responses.  

 

The secondary characters were interesting, but again, I didn't really feel like I got to know them or understand them as they were developed on a one-dimensional level with little depth. Yes, I know the characters had issues, but they were minor and I didn't really empathize too much as I couldn't really connect with them. And this isn't just because this book is a cozy fantasy as I have read other cozy fantasies where the characters were written in-depth with a lot of personality.  The pirate had so much going for him that he could have been the most interesting character. I understand there is going to be another book, but to withhold too much information for this reason seems sort of silly to me. 

 

The plot was simple and predictable and you could tell exactly what Tandy needed to do to break the curse from the minute it happened. Being a cozy fantasy doesn't mean there aren't any stakes or issues for the MC, but this just rolled along as if Tandy could just ignore the fact she was a princess and just have her greatest desire and this didn't sit right with me.  There were some fun things in this book and I don't want to ignore those as I enjoyed the scene when she gets drunk and I did think some of the scenes with the princes were funny as well, but I did wish the author had spent more time describing the world and how it worked, especially how Tandy's family fit into it.

 

Verdict

Stay for a Spell was a low-stakes cozy fantasy that was quite predictable and had a very simply plot. While I enjoyed it, I did wish both the characters and the plot had been more developed; the characters were one-dimensional with little depth, and the plot just rolled along with little happening and Tandy whining about how she doesn't want to be a princess.  I just felt like there should have been more stakes involved considering she was a princess and it wouldn't be that easy to get away from your duties. That being said, as a whole, the book worked, was fun, and would definitely appeal to those looking for a light fun read.  The next book in this world will be published in 2027, The Dark Wizard Falls in Love. 

 

Review: First Sign of Danger by Kelley Armstrong

First Sign of Danger (Haven's Rock, #4)

by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: February 17, 2026

2026 Minotaur Books

Ebook and Audiobook ARC Editions; 337 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250351821

ASIN:  ‎ B0F5PDG8NF

Audiobook: B0F6FTWB73

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, are entering a new chapter of life as parents to their six-month-old baby. Their family is hidden away in the sanctuary town of Haven's Rock where they can live safe and private lives. But when they encounter hikers too close to the borders of Haven's Rock, they realize they're in danger of being exposed.

When they find one of the hikers dead the next day, they realize that their paranoia was justified, but they're no closer to finding out who these people were and what they were doing in the vicinity of Haven's Rock. Only by tracing the hikers' movements, as well as examining the recent behavior of their closest neighbors, the workers of a secretive mining camp, will they be able to figure out where the threat is coming from and shut it down. Otherwise, the lives of everyone in Haven's Rock--and their safe, secure new existence--are at risk.

 

My Thoughts

First Sign of Danger had an interesting story line in the fact that you can be both paranoid and overly cautious to the point where your paranoia sees things that aren't really there.  I like this book far better than the previous installment as it clears up several loose threads that have been on-going for several books and it always delves into the psychological aspects of living in secrecy and the impact that can have on its people. There was a lot to explore in this book.

 

I have been following Casey and Eric since book one of the Rockton books and reading about them as parents is quite interesting. As one of the only children in the community, it did make me wonder about the child growing up, their teenage years, and how Casey and Eric would cope with that as they are so isolated.  It was fun to see them coping with a teething baby while they still had to investigate the strangers in the forest and how that discovery would impact them. While the author doesn't ignore the character development, because we are so many books into the series, I don't think it is as relevant as it would be at the beginning of the series and the author can focus on the ensemble as well as the psychological elements of being so isolated.

 

The plot was interesting and like I already mentioned, it did clear up some threads that have been continuing throughout the series, and it definitely was not what I was expecting.  The Yukon wilderness comes alive in these books and as an avid hiker myself, I love the descriptions of them in the woods and how they track and search for people and clues.  I am personally deathly afraid of grizzly bears so I don't think I would hike there myself, but I the descriptions were vivid and I could picture myself there.  While the territorial dispute is central to the story, there is underlying plot that has been seeping through the books for a while now and it is finally rearing its ugly head as Casey and Eric realize they have a much bigger problem than they were anticipating.  The author does a great job at building suspense and tension, balancing procedural work with creepy scenes (such as the one with the bear), and when I thought I had it figured out, another twist came along. 

 

Verdict

First Sign of Danger was a step up from the previous book where I had to suspend belief way too much. It was full of twists and turns and the author definitely showed how dangerous the elements in the Yukon (Canada's boreal forest) could be in this one. If you hike, you know how quickly things can turn ugly and I like how she showed that, no holding back.  While I do think this could be read as a standalone, I do recommend you start with the Rockton series to get a full understanding of the characters, their paranoia, and why they live where they live for a richer experience. 

 

Review: Jake's Magical Market by J.R. Mathews

Jake's Magical Market (Jake's Magical Market, #1)

by J.R. Mathews

Release Date: June 30, 2026 (Originally published independently in 2021)

2026 Aethon; Vault 

Hardcover & Ebook Editions; 576 Pages

ISBN: 978-1638493464

ASIN: B09HWX11N9

Audiobook: B09MDLDT2C

Genre: Fiction / Fantasy / LitRPG

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Jake is working at the neighborhood market under his apartment when the world ends. He expected nuclear war, a computer virus, or even climate change burning everyone to a crisp to bring about the downfall of civilization. But cruel and arbitrary gods from another world? Who would have guessed that?

Jake, wasting his day slacking off in the cooler, as he usually did, found himself alone in a completely new and very dangerous world. Can he learn to survive? Can he collect enough cards and create a good enough deck to fight back against the monsters that have overtaken his former home? And why are these strange people that look a lot like elves knocking on the door of the market he is hiding in and asking to buy some of his goods?

 

My Thoughts

Jake's Magical Market was quite a bit different from what I was expecting.  I have read a lot of LitRPG from progression fantasy to portal fantasy to cozy ones to dungeon-core ones, but what I first thought was going to be a nice slice-of-life fantasy turned out to be something a bit different.  Yes, I was drawn in by the more cozy elements at the beginning of the novel, but that did change when Jake's life took a major turn about a third of the way into the book, and I was there for the ride.  

 

One of the things I enjoyed was Jake's personal growth. You can have all the great worldbuilding you want, but if the characters don't grow and develop, the book always falls short for me. Jake is one of those characters who was at a crossroads in his life, not really caring about his job and not really sure where his ambitions lay after leaving college to take care of his mom. With the collapse, Jake was forced out of his comfort zone to do things he would never have done and we see him slowly develop from this lackadaisical figure to one who takes charge and takes chances. He also reflects on his growth as a person and discards those things he doesn't like about himself and works on improving himself so he can do better in the future.  He learns to cultivate friendships and to understand how his depression impacted his life. I actually thought the theme of depression was very well depicted in this novel as well as trust and Jake struggled with both throughout the book.  And some of the things that happened to him definitely would have impacted both of these.  It was interesting to see how Jake dealt with a lot of the things that happened to him in this novel and I thought the author did a great job at showing his growth as well as the challenges his faced while dealing with things. Yes, he may have done some questionable things while suddenly dealing with new threats, but he was the type of character who didn't really do stupid things and learned from his mistakes so I liked that about him.  

 

The secondary characters were also well done, and while not quite as well developed as Jake, were still interesting in their own right.  

 

And now, the plot.  I understand why the author chose to do things the way they were done and I understand the title of the book is more of a play on words as it certainly led me into a false sense of what was going to happen in this book. But that is what reading is all about, isn't it? To get caught off guard. To be unpredictable? And the story definitely sent me in a spiral and caught me off guard. But it was fun!!! I didn't know what to expect from about one-third of the way in and just enjoyed the journey Jake was on and the characters that were introduced.  I thought the world-building was great and liked how the story and what was happening developed. Yes, he does some questionable things in order to do what needs to be done, but Jake also develops as a person as he realizes he doesn't want to be the person who does these things and makes choices that are good for him.  Of course he makes mistakes, otherwise how would he learn for the future. That whole concept bothers me to no end as there is not one person in this world who doesn't make mistakes. It's how we learn from them that shows our character and our growth. The only thing I found to be a problem is that I never really felt that Jake was in real danger or worried that anything would happen to him, and he definitely developed his powers quickly.  But that is more a me issue than an issue with the book. There are a lot of themes to unpack in this book as well, including depression, self-isolation, loss, death, growth, family, trust, found family, abuse of power, and the list goes on. 

 

Verdict

Jake's Magical Market was a fun read, and yes, it totally caught me off guard, but that was why it was so much fun.  I expected a slice-of-life book and got something a bit different; once I wrapped my head around that fact, I really enjoyed the world-building and the characters.  I would have liked to have seen a bit more use of the cards as I found them fascinating, and I did think Jake's growth in the second half was a bit much, but I personally like the struggle as much as I like the action so it's probably just a me issue. Highly recommend this book if you are looking for an interesting post-apocalyptic fantasy litrpg.