Alyce Caswell - Author
  • Home
  • Books
    • The Galactic Pantheon >
      • The Tortured Wind
      • The Twisted Vine
      • The Flickering Flame
      • The Shifting Ice
      • The Whispering Grass
      • The Creeping Moss
      • The Galactic Pantheon Novellas
      • The Adventures of Grace Pendergast, Galactic Reporter
    • The Shadow of the Gods
    • Dealing with the Demon
    • Love and Lockdown
    • The Eyes of Charon
    • Sweet Delights
  • Other Works
  • Book Reviews
  • Get in Touch

Book Reviews

Consider Me Wooed

10/6/2025

0 Comments

 

Wooing the Witch Queen (Queens of Villainy #1)
​by Stephanie Burgis

Picture
Felix has escaped the clutches of his in-laws and has sought sanctuary with their enemy - Queen Saskia, the witch queen of Kitvaria, whose powers and nonhuman friends make her dangerous. Felix doesn't expect a case of mistaken identity to land him as her librarian. Saskia believes she's hired a dark wizard, not her magic-less foe. Very soon it's not just Kitvaria at stake but her heart as well.

*flailing*

It's been ages since I accidentally read a book in one sitting. I had meant to do things today (dang it!), but obviously this book was just too good to put aside. The Hidden Identity trope is my weakness in romance. Just add a fantasy setting and I'm done for! (Side note: No, I can never say "romantasy" with a straight face, because fantasy/romance has existed for decades without needing a portmanteau). Ahem. Did I mention the library featured in this book? Who doesn't love a library - especially when it's full of books about magic? And yay! Bi rep. Which makes my bi heart so happy.

Wooing the Witch Queen should just be called "these are a few - A LOT - of my favourite things".

0 Comments

In the Beginning

28/11/2024

0 Comments

 

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Picture
Tori Spring exists. The world exists around her. Apathy keeps her from seeing anything real in her school or her supposed friends - and she doesn't care that maybe something should be different. Then strange pranks start happening at school, enacted by the mysterious so-called Solitaire. Tori has no interest in Solitaire at first. But soon she realises it might have everything to do with her.

I was very disappointed in this book, having read some of Oseman's other work. It definitely reads like a first novel penned by a teenager. I suppose some of my reaction is due to my experience of teen depression and suicide ideation being quite different from Tori's... but also because this book was in dire need of more editing and redrafting (and apparently I read the newer version!). I'm not saying it had to be as slick as other YA novels published in 2014, but I did expect a certain quality.

0 Comments

A Charming Read 2.0

15/8/2024

0 Comments

 

One Enchanted Evening by Katie Fforde

Picture
Meg is determined to become a professional cook in 1960s England. She has it all planned. But when her mother urgently calls for her help, Meg finds herself working in a kitchen in a quaint Dorset hotel that has seen better days. She soon falls in love with the hotel and its people - except Justin, of course, the owner's son who it seems would rather see the hotel shut instead of thrive.

This is my second outing with Katie Fforde and once again I found myself drawn in by the charming setting she'd created (though I will admit that I find her writing slightly unpolished - the charm helps smooth things over!). I had found the other book too old fashioned for the modern era, so the 1960s setting solved that issue for me this time around. It was a very pleasant read.

Side note - I'd have finished it sooner, had Influenza A not robbed me of my ability to read for a whole week.

0 Comments

A Charming Read

24/7/2024

0 Comments

 

A Secret Garden by Katie Fforde

Picture
Philly and her grandfather have run away from home - that is, moved to England to pursue their independence and indulge in gardening and cooking respectively. Philly's work leads to a friendship with Lorna, who is trying to make a rundown estate respectable again - and trying to move on after decades of unrequited interest. Gardening is rewarding...and so is cultivating new relationships.

This was a charming, uncomplicated read that managed to smooth out a stressful week for me. Philly and her grandfather were my favourite characters, though I really did feel for Lorna. This book was oddly old fashioned for 2017 and seemed to reflect that the author hadn't updated her view of the world (and familial relations) in a really long time. Perhaps it should have been set in an earlier decade.

0 Comments

Oh no. Oh no no no no.

18/7/2024

0 Comments

 

Icebreaker (Maple Hills #1)
by Hannah Grace

Picture
Anastasia is aiming for gold at the Olympics in paired figure skating and she does not have time for a committed relationship - and she absolutely does not have time for Nate, whose hockey team is the reason that Maple Hills now has only one ice rink that everyone has to share. But Nate isn't the type to give up. He's determined to make her like him. He'll even get his face between her legs to do it.

This was... not what I expected - and I really, really dislike it when a blurb misrepresents the story of the book it's attached to. Nate being a stand-in skating partner was such a tiny part of things and could have been excised from this bloated mess. You can't convince me that a structural edit occurred at any stage. As for characters... most of them felt like names on a page instead of actual people. As for steamy scenes... hey I'm usually into that, but I prefer to read books where these scenes are used to convey the development of a relationship. It gets boring when they're just filler.

I've read a lot of debuts. Some can be rough. Few feel so amateurish as this one. Maybe the author gets better with the other books in this series, but I have limited time and I'm not risking any of it on another attempt.

EDIT: Oh. Just discovered that this started as a Wattpad book. This explains A LOT. I avoid these for reason... damn it, I should have checked and saved us all from a grumpy a review.

TW: eating disorder, sexual assault, emotional abuse

0 Comments

All's Well that Merriwells

29/6/2024

0 Comments

 

Never Wager with a Wallflower (The Merriwell Sisters #3)
by Virginia Heath

Picture
Galahad Sinclair is ready to pour his funds into a leisure establishment in London. The problem? He's bought the building right next door to the orphanage that Venus Merriwell feels extremely passionate about. Venus has had it with men betraying her. What she doesn't expect is her changing feelings for Galahad - or that he's been hiding the real reason for pursuing a connection with her.

I've loved every book in this series and so I'm sad to see it end, because its strength was the amusing array of characters connected to the Merriwell family. I also enjoy reading about a hero who makes mistakes and has to make it up to the heroine... so naturally, I enjoyed Never Wager with a Wallflower! I will say that there were some long passages that lingered inside characters' heads. This bogged things down a bit. Can't honestly remember if this was an issue in the previous books, though.

0 Comments

Ghosts and Ghosted

8/6/2024

0 Comments

 

The Man Who Didn't Call by Rosie Walsh

Picture
Sarah and Eddie meet and have a wonderful seven days together - and for Sarah, this short amount of time is enough to fall in love. She is sure Eddie feels the same way. So then why doesn't he answer her messages or calls, even though he promised to keep in contact? Where has he gone? Sarah's friends think she's wasting time trying to find out. But Sarah has to know - what happened?

I think I'm becoming a tad jaded, but it seems that nearly every British women's lit book I pick up lately is depressing AF and deliberately lays red herrings while preparing a secondary twist (which you know is coming, so you sigh and ignore the aforementioned red herrings). It's...tiring. That all said, this is a solid book and Walsh's prose is experienced and easy to roam through.

0 Comments

I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside

20/4/2024

0 Comments

 

The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

Picture
After a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to join a convent, Sasha goes on leave to recover from the burnout her job has given her. Her holiday in Devon is going to be about mindfulness and health. She has the beach to herself - until she has to share it with Finn, who is also handling burnout. Sasha's annoyance with his presence fades when mysterious messages start appearing in the sand.

I actually haven't read anything by Sophie Kinsella before and now I wish I'd found her books sooner. I was hooked from the moment Sasha was being chased by a nun. Oh, how I cackled. This was such a charming and at times amusing story that had me fondly reliving memories of my own adventures in Devon (including a detour to some caves, ha!). I was a bit bemused that Sasha's supposed friend was more of a name instead of a character, but the rest of The Burnout is so good that it's easy to overlook this minor flaw.

0 Comments

A Big Warm Hug

17/4/2024

0 Comments

 

The Switch by Beth O'Leary

Picture
After suffering a breakdown, Leena Cotton is forcibly put on leave and no longer has work to distract her from her grief. Meanwhile, her grandmother Eileen is frustrated with the lack of suitors available to her in her village. The solution is as simple as it is ridiculous - a swap! Eileen heads to London, on the hunt for romance, and Leena returns home. Just how much can change in two months anyway?

Oh my goodness. This book is beautiful. I don't often weep when reading, but obviously this is an exception. I'm glad I persevered with Beth O'Leary's backlog. Because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been wrapped up in the warm embrace of The Switch and its loveable characters - who I will dearly miss. I am so fortunate to have such remarkable women in my own family or I'd wish Eileen was my very own grandmother.

0 Comments

Epic 180

11/4/2024

0 Comments

 

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

Picture
Tiffy needs to get out of her rubbish ex's place but she's got a shoestring budget. Enter Leon, who needs the extra income of a flatmate. But there's only one bed! Not that Tiffy and Leon will ever share it, or be home at the same time, or ever actually meet. They start leaving notes for each other... then their lives begin to slowly mesh, until it's inevitable that they'll finally come face to face.

I've had to read O'Leary's books out of publication order, as I'm at the mercy of the local library's availability. The last two I read were sooo not for me and I was anxious about reading her first one. Well, I'm confused because this feels like an entirely different author. The Flatshare is awesome! The concept is wonderful, the characters are incredibly loveable (even the side randoms), and I'd happily share my bed with this book forever (alas, I must return it to the library). Tiffy's trauma is handled sensitively and so well... makes me wonder why similar themes fell so flat for me in The No-Show and The Road Trip. I suspect it's the execution.

Whew. That was a relief. Now I should go pick up The Switch, which is currently waiting for me on the hold shelf. Wish me luck with that one! xD

Content warning: gaslighting, emotional abuse, stalking

0 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture

    About

    ​Alyce Caswell, when she isn't drinking her way through a giant pot of tea, can be found dabbling in multiple genres and writing forms. She has self-published several titles in her space opera family saga, which is divided into two series: The Galactic Pantheon and The Pantheon War. Her most recent book is The Shadow of the Gods.

    Picture

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Alt Hist
    Anthology
    Ashley Poston
    Australia
    Australian
    Barbara Hambly
    BIPOC
    Book Review
    Brazil
    Canada
    Canadian
    Chicklit
    Classic
    Collection
    Comedy Of Manners
    Comics
    Community Unravels
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Crime
    Denmark
    Diversity
    Emma Baird
    Endometriosis
    Fairy Tales
    Fantasy
    Female Relationships
    Gamebook
    Ghosts
    Harlequin
    Healing Fiction
    Heist
    Heroic Fantasy
    Historical
    Historical Romance
    History
    Hugo Award Winner
    Irish
    Italian
    Jack Campbell
    Japan
    JNR
    Julia Quinn
    Kim Harrison
    Korean
    LGBTQIA+ Representation
    Literary Fiction
    Lorraine Heath
    Lynsay Sands
    Malaysian
    Martha Wells
    Meg Cabot
    Memoir
    Messy Family
    MG
    Mills & Boon
    NA
    Netgalley
    Neurodiverse
    New Adult
    Noir
    Non Fiction
    Non-fiction
    NOPE NOPE NOPE
    Norse Mythology
    Novella
    Paranormal Romance
    Patricia Briggs
    Paula Quinn
    Philippines
    Prequel
    Problematic
    Queer Romance
    Reference Material
    Romance
    Romcom
    RUBY
    Rural Romance
    SA
    Sarah J Maas
    Sci Fi/fantasy
    Sci-fi/fantasy
    Scottish Romance
    Sequel
    Small Town Romance
    Sophie Barnes
    Space Opera
    Spin Off
    Star Wars
    Suspense
    Tea
    Television
    The Epic EU Read Through
    Time Travel
    Timothy Zahn
    TW: Emotional Abuse
    TW: Gaslighting
    TW: Paedophilia
    TW: Pregnancy Loss
    TW: Self Harm
    TW: Sexual Assault
    TW: Stalking
    TW: Suicide
    UK
    Urban Fantasy
    US
    Vampires
    Video Games
    Wattpad
    Werewolves
    Witches
    Woman With A Sword!
    YA
    Zimbabwe
    Zombies

    RSS Feed

User-agent: GPTBot Disallow: /

  • Home
  • Books
    • The Galactic Pantheon >
      • The Tortured Wind
      • The Twisted Vine
      • The Flickering Flame
      • The Shifting Ice
      • The Whispering Grass
      • The Creeping Moss
      • The Galactic Pantheon Novellas
      • The Adventures of Grace Pendergast, Galactic Reporter
    • The Shadow of the Gods
    • Dealing with the Demon
    • Love and Lockdown
    • The Eyes of Charon
    • Sweet Delights
  • Other Works
  • Book Reviews
  • Get in Touch