A brilliantly modern take on the werewolf slayer trope where a growing, changing character discovers that the real predators are usually the men in her life.

There's much more to this book than how Elkie kills werewolves and works out where they're coming from. Her relationships change, she finds out what she's capable of, not just killing 'furred-up' beasts, but farming, rescuing, growing.

I proofread this book for the author, thinking it wouldn't be my kind of thing, but I LOVED IT! Loads of fun, really creepy in parts and full of magic and danger.

Set in Leeds, it includes references to actual magical practices and Yorkshire's thriving magic sub-culture.

A great, fast-paced story with a strong 'Do It Herself' female lead. Can't wait to proof read the sequel.

A Duet for Invisible Strings is a romance novella filled with music, mystery, and love, with a paranormal twist, and is my perfect romance story.

The writing is often haunting, and at other times, sweetly hilarious. Which, in all, paints the most wonderful picture.

A beautiful romance that I just couldn't put down. A must read for anyone looking for deep characters in a short book.

The beauty of the prose is only matched by the imagination behind the world-building. This novella, while short, breaks my heart, reforms it, and breaks it once more.

While the writing itself might not be to everyone's tastes, you cannot deny its beauty. Each sentence is carved and crafted, each paragraph moulded into art.

Reading Kai Ashante Wilson's work is an experience not to be missed.

Another beautiful romance novella from Llinos Cathryn Thomas.

The North Wales setting. Bethan's return to her childhood village. Revisiting her feelings about growing up, differences, acceptance are all treated with care and love.

Mali's approach and experiences reflecting back on Bethan's - gently holding up a mirror to her life and what she really wants.

A lovely Christmas read.

What an absolutely lovely, fun, and extremely well-written book!

The funniest story I've read in years, and with such heart.

The descriptions of the natural world surrounding Anne are... sublime. Lucy Montgomery's writing should be taught as the pinnacle of its particular kind of author/narrator storytelling.

A fantastic collection of gut-wrenching tales.

The imagery will stay with you, as will the depth to which Shane Hawk is willing and able to explore his indigenous Cheyenne and Arapaho heritage. Crafting tales that provide a refreshing point-of-view and unique imagery that get into your brain and writhe behind your eyes.

Can't wait to read a longer work by the author. Need more!

Arachne is an unique entry in the cyberpunk genre. It steps between the dystopia of William Gibson and the otherworldliness of Phillip K. Dick.

Full of 'almost' body-horror, corporations so mega that they transact court cases in nanoseconds, and AI characters with more spiritualism in their circuits than the humans that inhabit this post Big-One San Francisco.

A must-read for cyberpunk fans!

This isn't your propaganda-and-trope filled flag-waver. B-Mecha is fully aware of its place in Mech vs. Kaiju lore, and up-ends it in glorious West Yorkshire fashion.

We're given a concise yet comprehensive view of the lay-of-the-land, and the personal toll when Michael receives very little thanks for the dangerous work he does.

Love it!

Gaie Sebold has created such a rich universe of worlds and characters in her Babylon Steel novels, that you can't help finding something to enjoy.

For me the two books have been a complete blast and I can't wait for the third... when it arrives.

They are FUN! That's not to say there's no emotion, pathos, danger and risk in them. Not at all.

An absolute riot of multi-world fantasy fiction.

Fans of urban fantasy looking for a protagonist who is a little more... mature, will love Becoming Crone.

Claire has seen it all, or so she thinks. Her world-weariness, her highly-developed lack of trust, and her not-unexpected ability to expect things to go wrong make her the perfect character to introduce us to a world of witches, gargoyles, werewolves, and witches, plenty of witches.

I love a good zine! And Between the Scanlines hits the sweet spot for me; not too long that it stretches each issue, yet filled with plenty of retro gaming info.

Sasha and Kit are doing amazing work here. Buy as many issues as you can, and fill your eyes with gaming goodness with a lovely helping of personality and passion!

Absolutely loved this occult murder mystery novella!

It's so much fun! It's fast-paced, has tonnes of likeable characters, some f/f smoochieness, magic, demons, and vampires. And while it's the start of a series, it has a complete story of its own - ensuring you get a nice neat-ish ending at the same time as teasing more adventures to come.

Will definitely read this series!

Filled with flawed characters, a corrupt police force, bought and manipulated by a wealthy local family; it's a rich background to the main tale of redemption, coming to terms and moving on.

Slow in parts, it is however, a worthwhile read in itself, serving as an insight into the mining communities of the region and their demise as a local industry and employer.

Crime fiction is a genre I rarely venture into, but Ruth Sutton's Cumbria-set series may be my gateway.

The story nips along at a nice pace, providing plenty of information while avoiding info-dumps. The characters are likeable in their own ways and the late 60s setting is nicely done, especially the insight into the Cumbrian coastal region of that period.

I can't wait to start the sequel.

Europe in Autumn, Europe at Midnight and Europe in Winter by Dave Hutchinson, combine a believable and prescient view of a soon-to-be Europe with a strange, almost fantastical twist.

It reminds me in part of China Miéville's The City and the City, while also showing flashes of William Gibson's Pattern Recognition, with its "technocultural future-present" setting.

All three are great reads!

If you haven't read any of Cat Hellisen's books before, read this first.

A beautifully crafted tale. Otherwordly, sinister, near-horror, it has sides and edges I couldn't grasp, as my eyes slid off them, unable to focus while it slowly insinuated its pages, paragraphs, sentences, words, and letters into my brain.

A MUST READ, and it will only be the beginning of your journey!

This book got me hooked!

It delivers hard science fiction, pathos, beautifully dark comedy, a dig at every lazy sci-fi trope in existence, plenty of laughs, and is simply a must-read.

You know what you're getting into from the clever book titles. The humour is Jonathan Swift meets Red Dwarf. And the science is terrifyingly accurate...

...unfortunately!

The Phone Job continues the journey we're all on together, and concludes it in the most space opera way possible. Not only with a bang, but with hope.

Fermi's Progress is a collection of novellas that read like Red Dwarf meets DS9, crashes into Blake's Seven, by way of every single Gerry Anderson series, and a whole lot of Space 1999.

This is great science fiction you'll love.

The Fermi crew is a mess, but in Planet of the Apiaries, they're starting to come together. Starting to discover their roles, and what each of them means to the others... even if they can't remember them all.

The sci-fi references come thick and fast, but are never exclusionary. This fantastic third instalment ups the ante and drops a bombshell in its final line!

Must read sci-fi!

My absolute favourite Fermi book so far!

For the Trees is a stunning, heartbreaking, mind-blowing novella that should be winning awards everywhere.

Chris shows the heights his writing can reach with this story. Peeling back layers as the true nature of both story strands unfold.

Read this today!

I was expecting to be impressed. But instead I was STUNNED!

FIYAH Literary Magazine is an essential work. While the included stories can all be considered speculative fiction, the breadth of ideas is astounding.

It's all finished off with a nice sample of a self-published work. A great idea.

If the subsequent issues are half as good as this first one, you should definitely subscribe.

A beautiful, heart-breaking, and hopeful book.

The cycle of it, the 'world outside'. And an enduring message of simply being.

A really fun read, with more depth and suspense than you might expect.

A parallel world, murder, a seemingly-sleepy village hiding deadly secrets.

A surprise hit with me, this is the first on a series that I really want to get back to.

A beautiful, contemplative journey.

It's hard to slot Jaran into a genre. It's been called "anthropological science fiction", and that kind of fits. But it doesn't cover the ideas of wonder, nature, culture and love, found with a new people on a new world.

If you liked Rosemarie Kirstein's Steerswoman series, Jaran let's you explore and fall in love with another way of life all over again.

A fantastic and fantastical short tale that provides a much-needed respite from medieval-styled Western fantasy.

Written in a mythological format, Jiwe gives us a world of magic, gods, and the usual evils of man. Curses intended to redress balance and strong women working to save broken lives.

Kiko Enjani's work is sublime, and I can't wait to read her longer stories.

Y llyfr Cymraeg cyntaf i fi ddarllen am sbel.

Ni'n byw mewn bwthyn lan yng Nghymbria. Y fi a'r wedjen, y ddwy gath a'r ci... a'n merch fach saith mis oed.

Fe ddinistriodd y llyfr 'ma fi.

Nofela tuag 40 mil o eiriau sy'n cynnwys llawer mwy na geiriau, na stori, nag emosiynau, na beth bynnag sy'n creu beth wi newydd orffen ddarllen.

Gobeithio fydd hwn ar silf lyfrau pawb.

An amazing story that more than fulfils my need for great world-building. Such a creative mix of the unrecognisable, beautiful prose, and an uncanny skill for weaving technology into mythology.

Memory is slow to build, but when it does, it does so steadily. As our characters explore the 'Ring of the World' we learn with them, understand with them and fight back with them.

A wonderful read.

This book pulls you into a richly detailed 12th Century world of politicking lords, dangerous Welsh border raids and a likeable protagonist in the form of Guy of Maebury. A careful, steady feed of recognisable, but not yet legendary, characters tops it all off.

The slow build-up is worth it and does contribute to a much livelier, fuller world and more meaningful character motivations.

Bought the full book immediately after enjoying the sample from Book View Cafe!

This magical, period adventure moved along at a quick pace. Plenty of events, but not al all rushed. The language, descriptions and sense of location & time seem spot-on.

It's the first in a series too, so I'm excited to read more.

Books like this are why I love buying and reading indie ebooks!

Well I certainly loved this sample!

Moved along at a nice pace. Plenty of events, but not rushed. Language, descriptions and sense of location & time seem spot-on. It's the first in a series too.

I'm intrigued and excited to read more. Just what a sample should do. And it's from Book View Cafe, so I know 90% my money will go to the author.

Off to buy the full book asap!

What a fantastically fun read.

This novella was my first experience of T. Kingfisher's books, and I'll now be buying any and all the others I can get my hands on.

The lovably ragtag troop of goblins comprising the Whining Niners make the Fellowship of the Ring seem like some dull kids on a Sunday school outing. And I have to say, the Bear is my favourite.

Go read it. A light, fast story.

Finding the print version of Nonplayer in a local comic shop blew my mind.

The amazing digital artwork is absolutely beautiful. The story - as much of a short snippet you get in a single comic book issue - is cyberpunky and fresh, to me at least.

I only recently realised it was available from Image Comics, along with issue 2. So I'm heading back into its lush artwork and enthralling world.

As wonderful and entrancing as the first issue.

This beautifully illustrated second comic from Nate Simpson, opens up the world, broadens the scope and sets up some interesting conflict.

I can't wait for the third in the series. This is a story to get lost in.

Well done Nate and Image Comics.

This is the most stunning science fiction novel I've read in years. To see such scope and grandeur in an independent title makes my heart sing!

You'll come for the mechs and ancient alien horrors, but you'll stay for the archaeology and one of the best robot-human buddy pairings since Iain M. Banks' Culture series.

Amazingly-written, weird, claustrophobic, space, alternate Earth, horror story from a brilliant author who consistently nails it!

A tale of the Outside, what's beyond and, ultimately, fear of what may or may not be there. If there is something, stay hidden! If there isn't anything but a vast void, then stay home, be nice, don't explore, we're alone...

A story about our culture.

Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples, Saga is a beautifully intimate space opera.

It touches on race, religion, conflict, family and love, with a deft hand and imagery that is just sublime.

Proof that Image Comics' creator-owned approach really works. These are the kinds of stories that comics were made for.

You know how you sometimes get too comfortable in familiar genres and need a book to come along and kick you out of your comfort zone? Well, this was mine.

We fall into the world-weary lives of a newly-married ex-pat couple. The author explores sex, pain, abuse, assault, desire, trauma... and the relationships, even love, based on all these things.

An uncomfortable, but rewarding read.

What a fun read! Menopausal werewolves, a town to protect, and a love to be found.

Becca didn't think the change was THAT literal. But that's what you get in Wolf's Point, I suppose. The name must come from somewhere...

A great concept, and lovely, warm, fast-paced writing.

Looking forward to reading Book 2!

I'm always intrigued by novels that are inspired by tiny snippets of historical events.

A sliver of history taken as a seed, with enough facts to place it in a believable context, can be a rich seam for a skilled author. Ned Hayes has recreated a dark period of British history and, taking little-known facts, has wrapped them in a heart-wrenching tale of loss, vengeance, treachery, and grief.

As stunning, different, deep, exhilarating, and as wonderfully written as Origin Complex, but with a rawness that its successor lacks, in place of sequel polish.

Two exciting books in this science fiction universe is simply not enough. Sorry, Andrew.

This weird, wild, violent, dangerous, almost-fantasy, New York setting is pure Chuck Wendig.

Mookie Pearl is to the gangland thug what Miriam Black is to the care home nurse. If this is what happens when Chuck Wendig is given free rein to create his own universe and populate it with strange gods, demons and magic, then I want more of it!

Read it and the sequel. Well done Chuck!

A ripping yarn of disguise, deception and misdirection, propelled along by a brilliantly written period style that firmly places you in the world.

A rollicking ride through alternate-history Britain after the Luddite uprisings. Recognisable locations mixed with carefully applied genre tropes keep this book from becoming yet another steampunk adventure and raise it above its fellows.

What a fantastic 'Weird West', magic, action, adventure tale!

This carefully constructed alternative Western story is populated with interesting, but not always likeable, characters. The magic is strange and unpredictable, and is very much part of the world, not added on top.

While a YA fantasy, the book never shies away from addressing the very real violence and horror of genocide.

Yes, The Fisherman is a little Lovecraftian, with its ancient gods, cultists, and watery... things. But it has much more going for it. The Fisherman is a work of beauty that Lovecraft never came close to.

You grieve with Abe as he tries to pick up the pieces. You worry about what Dan will do... and when he'll break. You wonder which story you are actually reading and who is telling it.

Another beautiful read by S.E. Robertson!

I'm really enjoying this slice-of-life fantasy genre I've only just learned about. The Healers' Home gives us a more stable setting, some new drama as past-acquaintances re-appear, and work to do as Agna and Keifon try and fit in to their new lives.

Family expectations, awkward commitments and trying relationships flesh out this wonderful book.

I absolutely loved this book!

Recommended in @paracactus' 'Slice-of-Life Fantasy' list, it provides a place to go, a world to just sit in and enjoy.

Like the contemplative and cozy parts of The Steerswoman series, Jaran, and The Guy of Gisborne books, you simply get lost in the subtly portrayed world.

A fantasy setting without the usual tropes or stereotypes. A fantasy book to love.

There's weird fiction, then there's Chuck Wendig weird fiction.

In this sequel to The Blue Blazes, our gangland enforcer with a heart of gold, Mookie Pearl, must save his daughter and the whole world from the schemes of demons, demi-gods and more weird stuff before it all ends.

Call it a Chuckpocalypse, or even Wendigeddon!

Loads of fun and a must read for any Chuck Wendig fan.

What a great short read!

Can't wait to get started on Simon's other novellas.

An amazing instalment in the Steerswoman fantasy series.

We're back to the Inner Lands now and we're learning more and more about this world and what's going on.

In this book, we finally see what wizards can do. And the steerswoman and the Outlander take the fight straight to their door.

If you enjoy excellent world-building and puzzling plots, start reading The Steerswoman series. Now!

The Last Words of Madeleine Anderson by Helen Kitson is a post-modern tale of friendship and fate, where the truth is only a simulacrum of itself. It's probably literary, but it's far more accessible than that suggests.

This is a truly accessible modern classic that should be winning all the awards.

It's tense while cozy. It's suspenseful while relaxed.

And it's very, very good.

A very different book to the previous two in the series.

The Lost Steersman takes a different turn about half-way through, where the scope and scale of the world and its inhabitants undergoes another astonishing twist.

I got a definite Jane Goodall vibe from this book. Our understanding of the steerswomen grows in this wonderful instalment in a fantastic and surprising series. Loved it!

What a fantastic, quick, witty, deep, and deeply promising tale!

Promising a world of wonder in longer books to follow.

Can't wait to read more by the author.

The amazing second book in what is, so far, an outstanding fantasy series.

The Outskirter's Secret expands on the concepts in the first book, but takes us out of the relative safety of the Inner Lands and into the wilderness of the Outskirts.

I can't believe I've only just started reading this series and am already on the third book.

Still a MUST READ.

I don't normally like the whole zombie genre.

But what Crowley has done with his undead POV, uprising, mutiny, sea monster, revolutionary, thoughtful treatise on life (then death and then more life) tale is absolutely stunning.

Took a bit of effort to get going, but it's definitely worth sticking with it. A great addition to the New Weird.

Nate Crowley's book put me off scampi for months!

This book is so tense it gave me chest pains!

A thrilling ride, with chapters counting down towards an approaching storm.

It reads quickly, and refuses to ease up, bringing you to surprising but cathartic conclusion.

If you liked Olivia Wilde in the film A Vigilante, you'll LOVE Imogen in The Silent Place.

My first Skyla Dawn Cameron book, but definitely not my last!

An amazing fantasy tale that slowly unfolds to reveal a surprising twist.

At first, all seems familiar. You recognise the world of wizards and the ranger-like steerswomen. But, just like the steerswomen themselves, the more you learn, the more sense you begin to make of this world. Something isn't quite right.

Rosemary Kirstein has me hooked! I've already started the next book in the series.

This wonderfully crafted novella was my introduction to Aliette's work, and what a first impression!

The story references Conan Doyle's Holmes and Watson while showing the utmost respect to the work. You could almost call it a wonderful sci-fi character analysis of A Study in Scarlet.

A beautiful science fiction tale. And a must read for any fans of science fiction or Sherlock Holmes.

I was intrigued by the promise of a living fantasy world, instead of the usual "I was there three thousand years ago, Gandalf. And look, we're still using swords!"

A world where characters have lives, likes and concerns. Where technologies and discoveries change over time. This is epic fantasy that covers the passage of time in a meaningful way.

A fantastic series.

What a fantastic book!

Gorgeously illustrated. I loved the limited use of colour to introduce a new character and their different ideas.

At the end the artist describes how they always run to topics on creativity when they're lost in their own creative journey. This book speaks to craftspeople everywhere.

A stunning find I was lucky to come across at the ShortBox Comics Fair.

The Town is a fucking rollercoaster of a ride.

This Australian horror is written in a kind of jarring prose. The story is brilliant, terrifying, and utterly refuses to share its secrets with you.

On finishing this book, I promise that the first words out of your mouth will be "WHAT THE FUCK!".

Reminds me of books by China Miéville, John Langan, and Michael Marshall Smith.

Get it now!

A. J. Fitzwater has written a beautiful, hopeful, light-filled and joyous book!

This mosaic title filled with anthropomorphic rodents, sea creatures, mer folk and... cats, will more than make you smile. With a swashbuckling capybara pirate captain and chinchilla kraken-communicating ship's mate adventuring with their pure hearts to... bearded islands...? You'll never want this adventure to end!

What a fantastic book!

Loved every minute, there's never a lag, and the characters are full, interesting, and complicated.

Now that some secrets have been revealed, the ante has upped, and things or GOING OFF!

Immediately started the sequel.

What a fantastic book!

A brilliant story and introduction to Appalachian communities.

Kate is an unlikely, but enthusiastic protagonist who has had enough of being messed about, and is out to learn from her grandmother, a witch.

Lots of fun, really tense and exciting. Another occult thriller with heart that you just won't want to put down!

Virginia teases the twist right from the off. But The Year We Lived is so finely written and enchanting that you lose yourself in the world and simply enjoy it, forgetting about this possible twist.

You'll quickly relax and let the sun-dappled fens, the reeds, woods, the description of the Hall and its inhabitants wash over you and pull you like a slow current into its 11th Century setting.

A fantastic middle book!

New characters, new plans, new plots and schemes, and new enemies join the existing and brilliantly realised characters from the first book.

The underlying evil is still on the edges. We're never sure who truly represents it - which makes this series a wonderful read for fantasy fans looking for more meat on the bone.

Another must read!

The Yamada Monogatari series, by Richard Parks, is a rich, detailed insight into both the Japanese period I enjoy so much and the mythology of ghosts, demons and spirits that filled the storytelling and superstition of the time.

A thrilling read in the style of Raymond Chandler's Sam Spade stories.