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Rewind to Us

Rewind to Us follows Big, a burned-out K-pop idol desperate to escape a suffocating industry, and Kelly, an ordinary young woman who finds herself pulled into his world by chance and fate. Their connection grows into something real amid chaos, danger, and the strange appearance of supernatural “dealers” who trade in human desires. The story builds from a tense escape narrative into a romance, then finally into grief as Big’s life is cut short and Kelly must navigate the aftermath with those who loved him most. It is a blend of real-world pressure, fantasy elements, and emotional fallout, tied together by a central yearning for freedom and belonging.

I found myself swept up in Big’s restlessness. His unhappiness sits right under the surface, and the writing shows it in a simple, raw way that hit me harder than I expected. I could feel his exhaustion and the tiny sparks of hope that appear whenever Kelly enters his thoughts. I loved how the book lets their relationship grow slowly, almost shyly, in the middle of everything falling apart around them. At times, the dialogue feels blunt, which works because it mirrors how trapped Big is and how unsure Kelly is about her own life. The supernatural dealer concept surprised me. It comes in quietly, then starts echoing through the whole story until it becomes a major force. That little creature showing up at the end made me stop and think about the whole journey in a new light. It added a strange, eerie charm to the book.

There were points where the pacing jumped fast, especially when the story shifted locations or introduced new conflicts. Yet there is an honesty in the writing that kept me reading. Characters say exactly what they feel. Sometimes it is messy. Sometimes it is harsh. Sometimes it is sweet. I liked that because it gave the story a heartbeat.

Rewind to Us is a heartfelt story for readers who enjoy character-driven romance with a twist of the surreal. It is especially suited for fans of K-pop fiction, soft fantasy, and emotional journeys that do not shy away from pain or complicated endings. If you like stories about people trying to rewrite their lives and finding love in unexpected places, you’ll enjoy reading this book.

Pages: 230 | ASIN : B0FTDTGBGW

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Prima Nocta: A Mystical Quest for Love

Prima Nocta is a sprawling, intimate, and deeply passionate novel that moves through time and culture to explore the idea of soul connections, those rare and fated relationships that transcend logic, distance, and even death. Through a series of interconnected vignettes told from different perspectives and historical settings, the book traces recurring meetings between soulmates over centuries. It begins with a hunted philosopher in 16th-century France and moves to a grieving daimyō in Edo-period Japan, a nobleman in Renaissance England, and onward into modern and future lives. Each tale crescendos in a moment of intense emotional and erotic connection, all part of a larger narrative arc about love, memory, and the spiritual bonds that tether us across time.

From the very first page, I was struck by the raw emotion Pratt brings to the prose. It doesn’t hide behind elaborate metaphors or highbrow literary tricks. Instead, it opens its heart right to you. The writing is so personal. There’s a genuine ache that lives in every chapter. I felt it most in the quiet moments, those simple exchanges of glances, the gentle touches, the characters’ longing to be seen and understood. The dialogue doesn’t try to be clever. It tries to be true. And it is. That’s what makes it hit so hard. It’s not clean or tidy. It’s messy and complicated and bursting with yearning. The characters aren’t perfect, and neither are their lives, but the connections they form are electric. You believe in them. You want them to win. Even when they can’t.

There’s something haunting about the way Pratt weaves the spiritual and the physical. These aren’t just love stories. They’re meditations on fate, identity, time, and what it means to truly know someone. The way the book blends sensuality with existential questions is bold and surprisingly tender. It’s not erotica for the sake of titillation. It’s about finding divinity in the act of connection. The erotic scenes feel earned, not gratuitous. They’re emotional revelations just as much as physical ones. And that’s where the book shines most. It dares to suggest that sex, love, and meaning are all wrapped up in the same tangle, and I completely bought into that.

The pace is slow in places. It lingers, it wanders, it reflects. But if you’re someone who likes your stories soaked in feeling and not afraid to be a little weird or mystical, you’ll find something special here. I’d recommend Prima Nocta to readers who crave emotional intensity, who love deeply romantic fiction with spiritual undertones, and who are open to a narrative that feels more like a journey than a destination. This book isn’t afraid to look you in the eye and ask big questions.

Pages: 333 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F1YTBGR1

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The Mysteries of the Sea

Margaret Izard Author Interview

Stone of Faith follows a sea captain searching for a legendary stone of faith, who comes across the siren of the sea, and he realizes he has found his fated love, but she is held captive by a monster unwilling to release her. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The inspiration came from my love of Celtic Lore and the sea’s timeless mysteries. I’ve always loved stories of sirens, but I chose to make her something other than the usual temptress. I imagined her as the one imprisoned—longing for freedom. The sea captain grew from Scottish maritime history, where men risked everything on storm-tossed waters, often carrying the weight of legacy and loss. Bringing the two together allowed me to explore how love and faith can become the greatest treasures of all—more powerful than magic or curses.

I found Captain Ewan MacDougall to be an interesting character. What was your inspiration for that character and his role in the story?

Captain Ewan MacDougall springs from my fascination with Scotland’s seafaring past and the resilience of men who live by the sea—bound by duty yet longing for freedom. I wanted him to carry the weight of his family’s legacy, threaded with both honor and tragedy —a man haunted by ghosts but still clinging to hope. His role as captain gave him not only authority but also isolation—he commands the sea, yet his heart yearns for connection. Meeting the siren forces him to confront what he’s been missing: faith in love and in himself. Ewan became the bridge between the mortal world and the mystical one, demonstrating how courage and devotion can even break the strongest chains.

I felt that there were a lot of great twists and turns throughout the novel. Did you plan this before writing the novel, or did the twists develop organically while writing?

Most of the twists and turns I planned—I’m very much a plotter—but some still developed organically as the story unfolded. The seafaring theme of Stone of Faith actually grew directly from Stone of Lust, which ends with the stone slipping into the sea and vanishing beneath the waves. That loss became the natural bridge into Ewan’s world, driving both the maritime setting and his quest. While I had the major arcs mapped out, I always leave room for discovery, and a few surprising turns surfaced as I outlined and wrote. Those moments of spontaneity often bring the most magic to the page.

I hope the series continues in other books. If so, where will the story take readers? 

Next in the series: 
Highlander’s Holly and Ivy, a Christmas companion book coming December 1st, 2025. Features Alex MacDougall, Mary, and Roderick from Thistle in the Mistletoe son. A forbidden love between a Highlander and an English lady intertwines with magic, betrayal, and the fate of a nation as they fight to unite their worlds and reclaim Scotland’s legacy.

Stone of Destiny, book 7. Kathryn MacArthur, Evie’s BFF, love story. The exciting conclusion to the Stones of Iona Series, where a woman torn between fate and forbidden love must defy a Fae prophecy and battle dark forces to reclaim her future—and the heart of the Fae warrior she can’t forget. Look for this one early 2026.

This series leads into another connected series, Dragons of Tantallon, a dragon-shapeshifter series revolving around the magic Iona Stones.

Author Links: GoodReads | X | Facebook | Website

Haunted by a family legacy that threads magic through the ages, Captain Ewan MacDougall and his ghostly crew sail between worlds freeing enslaved people. A worthy goal, yet he longs for what eludes him true love. When he crosses paths with a legendary siren of the sea, bound to a cruel, power-hungry madman, Ewan finds the woman destined to claim his heart. Trapped and forced to use her voice to lure ships into the clutches of evil, the spark in Ewan s eyes awakens hope in Lorelei s soul a chance to break free and protect her Fae family. Yet, the wicked monster holding her captive will stop at nothing to kill the human who touches and loves her as no one has ever done before. Will the fated connection they share break the chains of dark magic or claim two more victims in a quest to find the Stone of Faith?

Stone of Faith, Book 6 Stones of Iona Series

The story is a sweeping mix of time travel, seafaring adventure, romance, and myth. At its center is Ewan MacDougall, a man torn between his life in the twentieth century and his calling across the centuries as a pirate captain with a conscience. He frees enslaved people, battles rival captains, and searches for the legendary Stone of Faith while haunted by visions of a mysterious red-haired siren who may hold both his destiny and his doom. The novel blends Scottish folklore, Fae magic, and high-stakes clashes on the sea with a deep undercurrent about love, sacrifice, and the meaning of faith.

I found myself caught up in the action. The writing has a pulsing energy, full of sword fights, cannon fire, and heated confrontations, but what grabbed me most was the way the quieter moments landed. Ewan’s doubts, his search for belonging, and his hunger for something more than adventure made him feel relatable. At times, the dialogue leaned a bit theatrical, but the ambition of the story and the emotion it carries more than made up for that.

I also really admired how the myth and family legacy were woven into the narrative. The fables within the story felt like campfire tales passed down through generations, both charming and ominous. There’s a kind of wild joy in how Izard throws together pirates, ghosts, Fae kingdoms, and love stories without apology. I sometimes shook my head at the boldness of it all, but I kept turning the pages. It made me smile that the book never lost sight of the heart, the way faith, in love or in destiny, can carry someone through storms.

Stone of Faith is a book for readers who like their romance tangled with fantasy, who enjoy folklore alongside duels at sea, and who don’t mind when the story goes big rather than subtle. It’s heartfelt, dramatic, and fun, and while it can be a bit over the top at times, I think that’s exactly what gives it charm. If you like your adventures with a mix of magic and tenderness, this book will be worth your time.

Pages: 246 | ISBN : 150926275X

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Ash of the Fallen Star

Ash of the Fallen Star follows Caelin, a restorationist in the ruined city of Lowen’s Fall, as she uncovers ancient glyphs, haunted memories, and a strange connection to a forgotten divine past. Her dreams are filled with wings of violet flame and a voice calling a name that isn’t hers. As mysterious symbols react only to her, and relics stir with unsettling familiarity, a long-dead guardian named Lucan awakens from his tomb, bound to her by a soul-mark and a forgotten vow. The book weaves two stories. Caelin’s cautious descent into myth and Lucan’s desperate rise from death into a tale about memory, loss, and love that spans lifetimes.

The writing is lush, sometimes lyrical, but it fits the world Novane built. It’s dense with memory and layered. I loved how the city itself felt alive, rearranging itself, holding its breath. The glyphs, the rituals, the Restoration Society, all felt real, like they existed before the story even began. Caelin is cautious, observant, and deeply lonely, and her quiet unraveling was as fascinating as it was heartbreaking. Her slow realization that something inside her remembers things she had never lived was powerful. And Lucan, oh, Lucan. His resurrection was brutal and beautiful, and watching him cling to his identity while unraveling was one of the most moving parts of the book for me.

There were moments when the prose felt a bit heavy. At times, I felt the abundance of sensory detail and metaphor made it hard for certain emotional beats to land as sharply as they could have. The dual POV added depth and intrigue, but now and then it slowed the emotional momentum just a touch. Even so, these are minor things in the grand scheme. They didn’t take away from the overall power and beauty of the story. The story had weight, and the emotional threads between Caelin and Lucan, tender, aching, restrained, left me feeling wrung out in the best way.

I’d recommend Ash of the Fallen Star to readers who love fantasy steeped in mystery and mood. If you enjoy the quiet build of The Broken Earth trilogy, the tangled timelines of The Starless Sea, or the intimate scale of The Night Circus, this book will feel like a gift. It’s for those who like their stories soaked in ruin and wonder, with characters who carry the weight of ancient promises and unspoken love. I’m still thinking about the final chapters.

Pages: 280 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FHJCJ8K1

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Making it Believable

H. R. Cole Author Interview

In Daughter of the Void, a young woman must learn to navigate her own magical abilities in a world divided by war and forgotten secrets. Where did the idea for this book come from? 

As odd as it might sound, the concept for Daughter of the Void came from science and not fantasy. I have a secret love of astronomy and theoretical physics, and I’ve always been fascinated by the concepts of dark matter and antimatter. I wanted to create a magic system that captured the mystery of our world’s unseen particles in a unique framework. In Daughter of the Void, you get to experience magic as a substance only visible to those with a gift for it, and you get to witness antimagic in the form of Raelyn’s power. While my magic system doesn’t follow the same rules as dark matter and antimatter, those concepts were my inspiration.

Who was the inspiration for Raelyn’s traits and dialogue? 

I put a little bit of myself into all my characters, and Raelyn got more of me than I care to admit. Her quiet, contemplative approach to life mirrors my own. Neither of us is going to be the belle of the ball or the social butterfly. I also gave her my love of nature and solitude, and her little bit of sass is mine, too. As for her stubbornness, kindness, and commitment to seeing the best in people—those were traits of my grandmother, to whom the book is dedicated.

How did you balance magic and its use throughout the story to keep it believable?

This was an important sticking point for me. I think it’s easy for magic to become overpowered in any world. When a magic system doesn’t have regulation, it makes readers wonder why the characters aren’t just blasting their way to the end goal. To keep Daughter of the Void’s magic system realistic, I limited who could use it and made it extremely time-consuming and difficult to master. Only the most talented and dedicated mages could become truly powerful, and even then, they could only specialize in one or two types of magic due to its complexity. Of course, the ultimate balancing agents are wardens, such as Raelyn.

Can we get a peek inside the next book in this trilogy? Where will it take readers? 

I would love to share a sneak peek! I am so excited for book two; it has been so fun to write. In this next installment, you’re going to spend time on The Grey Isle, where you’ll get to know the Holy Knights, Saints, and another “special” cat named Alphesior. Now that the world knows Raelyn is a warden, her assumed destiny starts to look more and more inescapable, and she accepts an offer of formal training as forces around the world seek to claim her power. In the mix, we’ve got smugglers, traitors, magic battles, a murder mystery, a conspiracy, necromancy, essence magic, and Laris doing his best to protect Raelyn despite some big roadblocks. Be prepared for an unexpected alliance at the end of it all.

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Her power holds the promise of unraveling the fabric of the world, but using it will chain her fate to the gods.

In a world where tendrils of magic envelop all things, Raelyn discovers she’s one of the last of her kind: a warden. As a conduit of the gods capable of creating holes in the fabric of magic, she is a daughter of the void. Forced to flee as her city burns and her best friend is kidnapped, she finds herself in an unexpected partnership with Laris, a mage whose abrasive personality hides a desire to keep her safe. The pair are chased deep into the Vast, a treacherous mountain range filled with hostile feyfolk, where Raelyn grows ever closer to her companion and learns the consequences of being directly connected to the gods.
Guided by the spirit of the last Holy King and unknowingly hunted by Saraht, an enemy warden with a personal vendetta of her own, Raelyn and Laris embark on a journey to seek answers. Along the way they must confront the growing threat of war and the knowledge of Raelyn’s true purpose: a devastating power she will need to embrace to defeat Saraht, but one that will alter her fate forever.

Daughter of the Void

H.R. Cole’s Daughter of the Void, the first book in the Chains of Fate trilogy, follows Raelyn, a young woman caught between duty and destiny in a divided world haunted by magic, war, and forgotten secrets. The story begins with a forbidden excursion that sets the tone for an epic unraveling of personal identity, looming war, and hidden powers. As political alliances form and dangerous truths bubble to the surface, Raelyn must navigate complex relationships and a growing sense of her own magical abilities, all while being tethered to a prophecy and a mysterious past that could remake the world.

I was completely pulled into this world. The writing is smooth, but not overly polished. H.R. Cole has a talent for atmosphere. You feel the chill of ancient forests, the oppressive silence of stone castles, and the heat of tension between characters who know more than they let on. Raelyn as a protagonist isn’t perfect, and that’s what makes her work. She’s sharp but hesitant, brave but emotionally guarded. The relationships, especially between Raelyn and Ellisand, felt raw and real. And Laris—well, he’s complicated in all the best and worst ways. Their interactions were electric, uncomfortable, and often intense, and I honestly didn’t know how I wanted things to turn out. That kind of uncertainty kept me turning the pages, though.

But it’s not all sunshine and sword fights. A few scenes in the middle of the book lingered longer than needed I think. And while the world-building is strong, there are many moving parts—factions, magical laws, military structures—and some of it felt like it was waiting for the next book to really pay off. That said, there’s no shortage of intrigue. Secrets hang over every chapter like storm clouds. I found myself rereading certain passages just to catch all the foreshadowing. And the way Cole threads emotional stakes through the political drama? Honestly, it got me more than once.

In the end, Daughter of the Void is a slow-burn fantasy adventure with a lot of heart and a sharp edge. It’s for readers who like complex women, moral gray zones, and stories that aren’t afraid to bruise their characters a little. If you enjoy the emotional tension of Kristin Cashore’s Graceling or the slow, layered world-building of The Queen’s Thief, this book will be perfect for you. I’m already hungry for book two.

Pages: 374 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F8ZZ7JPB

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The Lost Princess

The Lost Princess is a romantasy novel that blends high-stakes political intrigue with personal discovery. It follows Elena, a young woman raised in an orphanage, who discovers she is the last surviving heir to the throne of a secretive realm called Zurdonia. Thrust into a life she never asked for, she must face assassins, unravel hidden truths, and confront a destiny tied to her mysterious lineage. Alongside her fiercely loyal best friend Hannah and her enigmatic protector Alexei, Elena navigates a world of danger, romance, and ancient secrets.

This book pulled me in right from the start. Kutney’s writing style is punchy and vivid. There are lots of quick dialogue, emotional sparks, and fast-moving scenes. There’s something deeply satisfying about how Elena’s voice carries the story. She’s grounded and relatable, but also sharp, stubborn, and wonderfully defiant. I loved how the book didn’t waste time. It throws you into danger within the first few pages and keeps that tension simmering the whole way through. Alexei, the stoic protector with his secrets and steel, is exactly the kind of brooding mystery you want in a romantasy. Their chemistry crackles, and even though some of the tropes are familiar, Kutney injects enough personal warmth and emotional stakes to make it feel fresh.

The book’s ideas about duty, destiny, and identity hit harder than I expected. There’s a rawness to Elena’s internal conflict—choosing between freedom and responsibility—that made me pause more than once. I felt her hesitation in my gut. The exploration of found family versus birthright tugged at me emotionally, and I liked that the book didn’t tie everything up in a neat bow. Not everything was clear-cut. Some of the pacing toward the end could’ve been tighter, and a few side characters blurred together, but it didn’t take away from the emotional core. What stuck with me most was the dreamlike intensity of Elena’s journey—both the external battles and the personal ones.

I’d recommend The Lost Princess to anyone who loves fantasy with a romantic edge and emotional grit. If you enjoy books where secrets unravel, relationships deepen under pressure, and ordinary girls discover they were anything but—this one’s for you. It’s a story about strength, sacrifice, and the power of knowing who you really are when everything else is taken away.

Pages: 254 | ASIN : B0F5KJVQQV

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