C Gockel Writes

Book Review: Wolf’s Head (The Forest Lord Book 1) by Steven A. McKay

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Book Review: Wolf's Head (The Forest Lord Book 1) by Steven A. McKay

Click for current price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

I picked this very accessible retelling of the Robin Hood legend on recommendation of my author friend, Steve Beaulieu. I really enjoy the books from the time period, I respect Steve’s opinion, and I decided to take a chance.

The descriptions of the 1300s aren’t as detailed as in the Dooms Day Book (one of my favorite book of all time!) and Winter Pilgrims (also highly recommended.)

That said. I’m now three books in. The characters are very relatable, the tone upbeat, it’s very exciting, and the plot is fast paced, but with enough introspection to make me care.

If you’re looking for a rousing adventure in the middle ages, and a great retelling of Robin Hood, I recommend it.

Currently, Wolf’s Head is only available on Amazon. It is in Kindle Unlimited if you are a subscriber in that program.

Featured Fantasy: Defender of Histories (The Witness Tree Chronicles Book 1) by Haley Walden

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Featured Fantasy: Defender of Histories (The Witness Tree Chronicles Book 1) by Haley Walden

Expected to be 99¢ July 2, 2023
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Apple, Nook, Kobo, Scribd

A young historian. A hidden power. And a dark history poised to repeat itself…

Introverted bookworm Silira Mór is the most promising historian to serve the city-state of Iathium in centuries. When Lira is selected to inherit the city’s archive as the next Defender of Histories, she can hardly believe her good fortune.

Lira has more than she could have ever dreamed possible: true friends, meaningful work, and even a budding romance with Iathium’s young ruler, Rí Eremon. In a cruel twist of fate, Lira learns her beloved histories have been falsified—and that a forgotten, long-suppressed magic is surging across the continent.

With the help of Eremon and her childhood friend, Aidryn Tarlach, Lira sets out to learn the real truth about her world. But when tragedy strikes, she finds herself completely alone, with enemies at every turn.

If you love epic fantasy with strong friendships, tragic romance elements, and a friends-to-lovers slow burn, you will love Defender of Histories.

Featured Science Fiction: Traitor (Collaborator Book 1) by Krista D. Ball

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Featured Science Fiction: Traitor (Collaborator Book 1) by Krista D. Ball

99¢ on Most Vendors as of June 22, 2023
Click for current price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

Apple, Nook, Kobo, GooglePlay

Seven years ago, Rebecca St. Martin took the coward’s path to save her skin.

She has lived with that decision, eking out a life as an indentured servant on a space station far from home.

Only now, fate has decided to give Rebecca another chance. A ghost from her past plans to execute a daring rescue from the prison bowels of the station Rebecca now works. Rebecca has to face the same decision she made all those years ago.

Could she watch her friends be murdered? Or could she, just for once, be a hero?

Featured Fantasy A Dream So Wicked: A Sleeping Beauty Retelling (Entangled with Fae) by Tessonja Odette

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Featured Fantasy A Dream So Wicked: A Sleeping Beauty Retelling (Entangled with Fae) by Tessonja Odette

New Release on Amazon
Click for current price: Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

A vicious rivalry.
A forbidden desire.
A curse only her enemy can break.

After twenty years stuck in a fae convent with no word from whoever abandoned her there, Briony Rose is all out of hope. But when her parents suddenly claim her and reveal she’s a lost fae princess, she’s burdened with the weight of a kingdom on the brink of collapse. To secure her family’s precarious position, she must marry a wealthy human stranger. She would have done her duty with pride…if it weren’t for Thorne Blackwood.

Thorne Blackwood harbors three things: a secret name, a love for baked goods, and a long-standing plan for revenge on the family that destroyed his own. Briony Rose—a woman born to be his nemesis—provides the solution. With a single touch, he controls her. And through that control, he tricks her into triggering a curse that sends her family into one hundred years of enchanted sleep.

But Briony isn’t the soft princess he expected her to be. She’s just as sharp and cunning as he is, and when she traps him in a bargain to reverse her family’s curse, he has no choice but to join a tense alliance. He too stands to gain from her plans, for if they break the sleeping spell, his own family will return from their forced slumber.

To accomplish their goal, they must cooperate on one task: pair Briony with a husband who will make her parents proud. It should be easy. Thorne has connections while Briony has wit and beauty. What neither of them expects is the forbidden desire that burns in their darkest hearts…

ACOTAR meets Kingdom of the Wicked in this standalone fairytale retelling of Sleeping Beauty. If you like enemies-to-lovers romance where the villain gets the girl, you’ll love this swoon-worthy story in the Entangled with Fae series.

Featured Science Fiction: Molting of a Queen (A Vol’kris Chronicles Sci-fi Novella) by Peter J. Foote

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99¢ on Amazon
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Can a new world heal an old wound?

Nina Carson is a part of a health & safety team and wants nothing more than to curl up with a bottle of wine to drown out the voice of her long-dead twin brother.

But when the team’s helicopter hits a mysterious storm and falls through a hole in the sky, it crashes on an alien world ruled by insects, and everything changes.

Survival in this alien world requires more than finding water & shelter. It also means Nina must learn to trust her own instincts — even when they go against all she’s ever learned. Because something in this strange world is trying to make a mental connection with her, and its intent is unknown.

If you like lost worlds, daring adventure, and unique aliens, you’ll love Molting of a Queen, the latest sci-fi adventure from author Peter J. Foote

Featured Fantasy: A Thief in Fashore (The Farshore Chronicles, Book 1) by Justin Fike

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99¢ on Amazon
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I’m Charity, and before I saved the world I was just a common thief.Also a drunk, rabble-rouser, harlot, and blasphemer according to the magistrate who sentenced me to ten years of forced labor in Farshore, the emperor’s new colony across the great sea. You’d think that stepping off of a prison ship on the ass-end of the world was bad enough, but everyone in Byzantia has heard the stories…

The pioneers who first settled this strange new world discovered horrible monsters, wild magic, and mythic creatures in the hills and forests beyond the city walls. Turns out all those nasties we didn’t believe in were waiting on the far side of the world to eat us for lunch.

A smarter girl than me would have kept her head down until she figured out which end was up. But how did I spend my first day in Farshore? Assaulted the governor, offended the gods, and got myself sentenced to fight in the bloody games of the arena before sundown.

I survived Byzantia’s tangled streets by thinking fast, running faster, and never letting anyone get too close. But I soon realized that I was going to have to do the one thing I’d sworn I’d never to again if I wanted to survive long enough to make it home…trust someone.