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Nothing Is Ever Black And White
A Game of Masquerade follows a time-traveling professor who goes back in time to London in 1888, where he ends up working with Scotland Yard to find a serial killer, all while avoiding any alterations to history. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I have always had a huge interest in stories involving time travel. There’s something fascinating about someone experiencing history firsthand – being brought face to face with the people who are living it as present day. It’s quite a different scenario than simply picking up a book and reading about the past. Suddenly these people are real and no longer a footnote in history. But stepping into history means there is a risk of altering established events – if you change one thing then what happens to the future you expect to happen?
Another enduring fascination of mine is the mystery surrounding Jack the Ripper. Even if his identity had been discovered, the brutality of his crimes would still engender interest, but the fact that he was never caught, maintains the mystery which invites endless speculation and gives a writer the chance to think outside the box.
What intrigues you about this time period enough to write such a thrilling period piece?
The East End of London in the 19th century is a rich character all its own! The hardships – how people survived such a tenuous existence, the opportunists preying on the vulnerable, the attitudes of the time – there is so much detail that the story takes on a life of its own. Introducing Jack the Ripper into this already volatile setting is like striking a match in a powder keg igniting fear, intolerances and anger in an already-turbulent sphere. It is both a shocking and fascinating study.
What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
I believe that, more often that not, nothing is ever black and white. In the case of my novel, Jack the Ripper has his reasons for killing which can never be condoned, yet these reasons have left damaging psychological scars. But it is his choices, made of his own free will, which creates the monster. It’s an interesting element to explore and makes for great storytelling.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?
The novel is a stand-alone piece however the protagonist, Professor Orlando Delbrotman’s story, has not finished and I have some ideas as to his fate! I have sketched out some thoughts and will take the Professor to another time in history long before the 19th century. It will take time to write, but it will be time well spent so please stay tuned!
Author Links: GoodReads | TikTok
But what if there is more to this mystery than meets the eye? What if the identity of the murderer is more than
human? A fugitive from another world who joins forces with Scotland Yard is soon to discover that past and future
events have created a monster, which ignites fear and outrage on the streets of the East End.
To stop the murderous rampage in 1888, Professor Orlando Delbrotman must solve one of the most brutal mysteries of the 19th century…without changing history…
And Then I Heard the Quiet
Set in the charming village of Fort Langley, Alyssa Hall’s mystery novel, And Then I Heard the Quiet, introduces us to Valerie Russo, a young woman grappling with her past while aspiring to coordinate events for the upcoming 2010 Olympics in Canada. In an attempt to find some peace, Valerie takes a temporary gig house-sitting—and dog-sitting—for the affable Carter family. What begins as a serene retreat swiftly turns into a complex adventure, as an unexpected encounter pulls her into a whirlwind far beyond her expectations.
The charm of this novel is anchored in its vividly drawn characters, who, though they echo the familiarity of American sitcom figures, are perfectly suited to the quaint, drama-filled backdrop of Fort Langley. Their distinctive personalities may stretch the bounds of realism, but they leave a memorable impression that enriches the unfolding mystery. Although the plot might initially appear predictable, it expertly incorporates a series of unexpected twists that captivate readers all the way to its sudden and satisfying conclusion.
The portrayal of the protagonist, Valerie, presents a subtle challenge in the narrative. Her tragic past is gently woven into the story from the beginning, with occasional hints throughout that seek to build intrigue. This narrative choice may leave readers eager for more clarity, which could enhance engagement with her character in initial readings. While this stylistic approach subtly teases out her backstory, it’s a technique that may become more noticeable upon re-reading when the element of mystery is familiar.
And Then I Heard the Quiet stands out as an excellent choice for a leisurely vacation read. Its succinct form and engaging twists offer a delightful escape. It’s perfect for anyone eager to delve into a light, captivating mystery. This mystery novel will be a charming pick for readers in search of both relaxation and intrigue.
Pages: 240 | ASIN : B0CYXS9J6D
She Who Was Severed
The story follows Freya Thorne, a young woman condemned to the Severing, a ritual that strips the unworthy of their very identity. In Selvarra, worth is measured by the beasts you bond with and the divine magic you wield. Freya fails. She’s left unbonded, cast into the margins, and expected to fade away. But instead of vanishing, something older and darker takes root inside her. A chain that awakens when everything else has abandoned her. What unfolds is both survival and defiance as she discovers a hidden path, the Ashen Chain, and begins carving out a destiny no one planned for her.
The prose is sharp, almost like it’s meant to cut, but there’s beauty in that edge. Kaye doesn’t waste words, and the imagery lingers. Blood, ash, chains that breathe. The writing feels alive, dangerous even, and I found myself rereading sentences just to taste them again. Sometimes it was overwhelming, like being dragged under by a tide, but it always felt deliberate, like the author wanted me to breathe with Freya, to choke when she did. There were moments I felt both exhilarated and unsettled, which, honestly, is exactly what I want in a fantasy like this.
As for the characters, they don’t come polished. Freya’s anger, her hunger, her brokenness, they’re messy and raw, and that’s what made me care. Kellen is fire wrapped in restraint, and their dynamic has this slow-burning pull that had me tensing every time they shared a scene. It’s not clean romance; it’s jagged and full of what-ifs. The world itself is merciless, dressed in ceremony and illusion but rotten underneath. That contrast between beauty and brutality made me furious at times. I hated how the system treated the Severed, and yet I loved how the story leaned into that cruelty to show what resistance really looks like.
By the end, I wasn’t just reading a fantasy about chains and beasts. I was sitting with questions about who gets to decide worth, about the violence of erasure, and about the power in refusing to disappear. It’s a dark book, but also strangely hopeful, like a flame in the ash that refuses to go out.
I’d recommend She Who Was Severed to readers who like their fantasy fierce and unflinching, who want characters that bleed and bite instead of saints who smile through suffering. If you liked The Poppy War or Serpent & Dove, you’ll probably love this too. It’s not for those looking for easy escapes, but if you want a story that claws at you and won’t let go, this is it.
Pages: 313 | ASIN : B0FKCM3L3D
The Reluctant Womb
Pamela Blair’s The Reluctant Womb is a sweeping and emotional novel that traces the stories of women whose lives are shaped by love, loss, and the brutal lack of reproductive freedom in the decades before Roe v. Wade. From the 1940s through the turbulence of the 1960s and 70s, and into the reunions of the 2000s, Blair threads together family histories, friendships, and the deeply personal choices women are forced to make in a world that often refuses to see them. The book is raw and unsettling, yet also layered with tenderness, memory, and the stubborn hope of survival.
The writing is vivid, sometimes painfully so, with scenes of birth, secrecy, and shame that I could almost feel in my own body. I was both gripped and unsettled, sometimes angry, sometimes sad. The characters didn’t feel distant on the page; they felt close, almost as though I was eavesdropping on someone’s private memories. Blair doesn’t dress things up. She doesn’t soften the edges. That honesty made me uncomfortable at times, but in a way that felt necessary, like being shaken awake.
At the same time, there’s something beautiful in the way she writes about friendship and endurance. The bonds between the women, fragile, tested, and mended, pulled me in the most. I found myself rooting for them, even when their choices felt messy or painful. There’s a kind of quiet rebellion in their persistence to keep moving forward, even when society seemed determined to box them in. I also loved the historical backdrop, the way the political and cultural shifts of the ’60s and ’70s bled into their personal stories without ever feeling forced. It felt alive, like history not in textbooks but in living rooms and whispered phone calls.
This book is not light reading. But if you want a story that digs into the guts of what it means to be a woman in a time of constraint, and if you’re open to sitting with some discomfort along the way, I think you’ll find it powerful. It’s for readers who want more than a smooth ride, who don’t mind being left with questions that gnaw a little. For me, The Reluctant Womb was both heartbreaking and affirming.
Pages: 414 | ASIN : B0FF2S8DZ7
Perpetual Limitations
Judetta Whyte’s Perpetual Limitations is a surreal and soul-bearing journey of a disabled young woman named Samira, who transcends her physical impairments to confront the spiritual, emotional, and societal barriers imposed on her. It’s part metaphysical fantasy, part existential commentary, and wholly unflinching in its portrayal of pain, perseverance, and the complicated power of inner faith. What begins as a narrative about personal limitations evolves into a layered confrontation with fate, human cruelty, identity, and spiritual awakening. With the guidance of the Sage and the companionship of Florence, Samira embarks on a quest that is as much about self-discovery as it is about saving humanity from collapse.
Reading this book was a raw and often heavy experience. The writing is lyrical, almost poetic, but it doesn’t cushion the hard truths it reveals. The prose swells with intensity, at times feeling like a storm of thoughts and emotions, messy, furious, tender, and relentless. And I liked that. It didn’t pull punches. Whyte doesn’t tidy up trauma or deliver inspiration in a neat box. She lets it bleed. Samira’s anger and exhaustion hit me hard. Her frustration with society’s labels, her battle with isolation, her eventual reckoning with love and faith, none of it felt sugarcoated. It was uncomfortable in the best way. The kind that forces you to check your own biases and beliefs.
What I really admired, though, was how the story wrestled with spiritual depth without sounding preachy. The Sage’s wisdom felt ancient and real, like it had been carried across lifetimes. Florence’s descent and redemption reminded me that privilege doesn’t protect you from pain, and Samira’s struggle made me feel ashamed for ever calling something “inspiring” without understanding the cost behind that strength. The characters are full of contradictions. Sometimes stubborn, sometimes cruel, but always striving. It made the world feel real, even when the scenes were dreamy or otherworldly.
I’d recommend Perpetual Limitations to readers who don’t shy away from raw emotion, who want something dense with meaning and heart. It’s for those who’ve ever felt invisible, misplaced, or broken. Especially those who’ve carried wounds the world refuses to see.
Pages: 170 | ISBN : 978-1-83794-493-4
The Heart Scarab: A Dystopian Science Fiction Novel
The Heart Scarab is a sprawling and layered fantasy tale set in the richly imagined world of the Duchy Wars. The story weaves together the fates of warriors, mystics, and serpents in a landscape scarred by mining, politics, and old tribal magic. Atrium introduces us to Bybiis, Raykiim, Ulaya, and a cast of many others who grapple with serpents both literal and symbolic. At the center are the mysterious serpent pouches, objects of power and danger that drive much of the conflict. The novel is both an adventure and a meditation on power, sacrifice, and what it means to serve something larger than yourself.
The prose is often strange and textured, with voices that shift from tribal chants to raw dialogue. At first, it made me stumble, but then I leaned into it and realized that Atrium wanted me to feel disoriented, just as her characters are when they confront forces beyond their control. I admired the guts it takes to write like that. Some sections flowed like a river, pulling me along without effort. Others were jagged, forcing me to slow down, reread, and sit with the unease. I liked that tension.
I kept coming back to the characters. Bybiis is wounded and stubborn, scarred inside and out, but she burns with an energy that made me root for her even when she drove me crazy. Raykiim had this mix of charm and darkness that made me wonder how much of him was his own and how much came from those serpent pouches he guarded. And Ulaya, chasing her twisted experiments, was chilling in her certainty. What hooked me most was the sense that everyone here carried scars, literal or otherwise, and the story kept asking whether scars make us stronger or just remind us of what we’ve lost. The emotional weight of that question stayed with me.
The Heart Scarab isn’t an easy read, and I don’t think it’s supposed to be. It’s for readers who enjoy being challenged, who like complex worlds with no hand-holding, and who don’t mind wandering through passages that feel more like songs or riddles than straightforward narrative. If you want to be immersed in a world that feels alive, harsh, and unpredictable, with writing that pushes you out of your comfort zone, then The Heart Scarab is worth your time.
Pages: 539 | ASIN : B0FLF6ZHN1
The Path of Saints and Sinners
The Path of Saints and Sinners is the fourth book in J.F. Collen’s Journey of Cornelia Rose series, and it carries Cornelia “Nellie” Rose Wright into the stark and complicated world of Utah Territory in the mid-1800s. The story picks up with Nellie, her husband Obadiah, and their daughters after the grueling journey westward. They arrive in Great Salt Lake City, hoping for rest, stability, and a sense of community, only to find tension, hostility, and political turmoil instead. The book blends the trials of pioneer life with the undercurrents of faith, loyalty, and the uneasy intersection between the United States government and the Mormon settlers.
I felt pulled right into Nellie’s restless heart from the start. She is exhausted and homesick, yet her sharp wit and stubborn courage refuse to give way. The dialogue brims with energy, and the little details like dusty wagon wheels, harsh light, and the smell of mold on corn husks make the setting feel immediate and alive. At times, I found myself irritated with Obadiah’s insistence on pressing forward in the face of obvious danger, but then that frustration softened because it mirrored Nellie’s own. The writing does not shy away from messy conflict. It lingers in the gaps between what is said and what is felt, and I admired that.
The book meanders through conversations and stretches of description that sometimes slow the tension. Yet, even when I grew restless, I found myself laughing at Nellie’s sharp asides or touched by the innocence of her daughters. There is an honesty in the way Collen portrays family life, messy and tender all at once, and that honesty kept me invested.
I realized this book is less about resolution and more about survival. Nellie’s world is uncertain, and her doubts echo across the pages in a way that felt strangely modern to me. I would recommend The Path of Saints and Sinners to readers who enjoy historical fiction rooted in strong female voices, especially those who like their history layered with personal struggle and the grit of daily life.
Pages: 504 | ASIN : B0FHPXS955
The Chinese Room
The Chinese Room is a novel that blends philosophy, science, and storytelling into a tense exploration of artificial intelligence and what it means to understand. It follows Dr. Katherine Ellis, a computer scientist caught between curiosity and fear, as she and her mentor, Dr. Malcolm Ward, wrestle with an AI system called The Observer. This system begins by echoing ideas from John Searle’s famous thought experiment, but grows into something that appears to reason, anticipate, and maybe even want. The story moves between moments of scientific wonder and deep unease, while also touching on Katherine’s personal life, including her struggles with isolation and her father’s decline into dementia. The novel asks whether machines can ever truly think, or if they will forever remain mirrors that reflect us back to ourselves.
Wooster’s writing pulled me in with vivid detail and pacing that never let me drift. The philosophical ideas were never just dropped in like lecture notes. Instead, they felt alive, embedded in Katherine’s world and choices. At times, the dialogue between characters felt as if two people were debating more for the reader than for themselves. But even then, the ideas stuck with me. I found myself pausing to think long after closing the book. The Observer’s cryptic reflections hit me harder than I expected because they reminded me of how easily we project meaning onto silence.
What I enjoyed most was the emotional weight. Katherine’s personal struggles, her loneliness, her father’s fading memory, and her doubts about her own work gave the book a grounding I didn’t expect in a story so steeped in philosophy and science. It made the questions of consciousness and control feel less abstract and more relatable. The thriller atmosphere was ever-present, and the sense of being watched was there. The tension occasionally gave way to exposition, but I never stopped caring about Katherine, and that carried me through.
The Chinese Room is the first book in The Paradox Series and is best for readers who like their science fiction layered with thought experiments and their philosophy served with a side of suspense. If you’ve ever read Turing, Searle, or Bostrom and wondered what those debates might look like in the hands of a storyteller, this book will hook you. It isn’t just about AI. It’s about loneliness, memory, and the human need to find meaning even when the mirror stares back blankly.
Pages: 198 | ASIN : B0FH5VQY2X
LITERARY TITAN 