C Gockel Writes

Featured Fantasy: Stolen Magic (Shadow of Immortals Book 1) by Marina Finlayson

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Featured Fantasy: Stolen Magic (Shadow of Immortals Book 1) by Marina Finlayson

FREE as of May 18, 2025
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Lexi Jardine may be a thief, but she’s not stupid. When a crooked fireshaper wants her to steal a ring from the boss of his order, she knows it’s a one-way ticket to sleeping with the fishes. Her answer is to drop off the face of the earth.

Safely hidden in a quiet seaside town, she just needs to keep her head down and pretend to be a regular human. Since her only magical ability is the power to control animals, that should be easy, right?

Then a new fireshaper shows up in town. He’s hot as hell but oddly hostile. With his suspicious eyes watching her every move, her safe haven starts feeling more like a trap. When her best friend disappears, Lexi knows the time for hiding is over. Though the fireshapers are more powerful, Lexi’s not one to abandon a friend—but it will take everything she’s got to save them both from the flames.

Featured Sci-fi: Eversion by Alastair Reynolds

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Featured Sci-fi: Eversion by Alastair Reynolds

$2.99 as of May 18, 2025
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Editor’s Note: I checked out the Audible version. It sounds riveting. I may have to get it. Not that I don’t have hundreds of other books I want to read …

From the master of the space opera comes a dark, mind-bending adventure spread across time and space, where Doctor Silas Coade is tasked with keeping his crew safe as they adventure across the galaxy in search of a mysterious artifact.In the 1800s, a sailing ship crashes off the coast of Norway. In the 1900s, a Zepellin explores an icy canyon in Antarctica. In the far future, a spaceship sets out for an alien artifact. Each excursion goes horribly wrong. And on every journey, Dr. Silas Coade is the physician, but only Silas seems to realize that these events keep repeating themselves. And it’s up to him to figure out why and how. And how to stop it all from happening again.

Featured Sci-fi: BEYOND (BEYOND Series Book 1) by Maureen A. Miller

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Featured Sci-fi: BEYOND (BEYOND Series Book 1) by Maureen A. Miller

FREE as of May 18, 2025
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From USA TODAY bestselling author Maureen A. Miller comes this exciting young adult adventure.

The day after Aimee Patterson’s high school graduation, her dreams of college and becoming an engineer are interrupted. On an early evening walk, her cocker spaniel charges into the woods, and Aimee follows. In the stillness of the forest, the unthinkable happens. She becomes paralyzed and watches in horror as her hands vanish before her eyes.

She wakes to find she’s been kidnapped and is now far from home. A group of human-like aliens fleeing an epidemic travels the galaxies seeking an antidote, and Aimee is mistakenly taken during one of their missions.

Now, Aimee must navigate the advances of an awkward young scientist who seems intent on dissecting her as her own fascination turns to the exotic young warrior, Zak. Having fallen in love with Zak, she faces a difficult choice: return to Earth or live beyond the stars.

Featured Fantasy: Stolen Sight (Air Series Book 4) by Amanda Booloodian

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Featured Fantasy: Stolen Sight (Air Series Book 4) by Amanda Booloodian

99¢ as of May 18, 2025
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Suck my soul out? I’ll get over it. Try to kill me? Whatever. Send me a dead bunny? Watch your back.

Life’s not perfect, but I didn’t realize it could be this good. Family, job, friends, that’s all covered. Caring boyfriend, Ethan, was icing on the cake. As each strand of happiness is ripped away, I’m forced to see how bad things can get.

When we’re called into a civilian crime scene, it makes it impossible to hide my secret from Ethan. After a madman and a killer crash our date, Ethan learns more than he can handle, so he’s out the door. For me, there’s no time to stop. The arrival of deranged gifts tell me that I’ve been marked for death, and I’d like to return the favor.

The trouble is, can you kill someone if they aren’t alive?

Don’t miss Stolen Sight, the third book in the AIR series by Amanda Booloodian. If you like Paranormal Fantasy or Paranormal Mysteries, then the AIR series will have you turning the pages.

Book Review: Putin by Philip Short

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Book Review: Putin by Philip

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This is meticulously researched, and very readable. It starts with the life of Putin’s grandfather and gives a good overview of Russia from the early 1900s to the present. If you want to understand not just Putin, but that part of the world, I would highly recommend this book.

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Featured Fantasy: Barely Magic (Maddy Madrigal Mysteries Book 1) by Debra Castaneda

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Featured Fantasy: Barely Magic (Maddy Madrigal Mysteries Book 1) by Debra Castaneda

99¢ as of May 15, 2025
Click for current price: Amazon US (Full-price: United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia)

“Fans of early Anita Blake will definitely appreciate this!”

“I highly recommend this book – and I can’t wait for the next in the series!”

“The novel expertly balances suspense and supernatural elements”

Maddy Madrigal doesn’t believe she’s magic. If she were, she wouldn’t be busting her butt every day working for the Los Angeles Police Department’s Occult Affairs division, rounding up the strange and nasty entities unleashed by the last earthquake. At forty, if she were magic, she’d have less aggravation and more money.

So, when a security job opens up in an exclusive gated community, she takes it. Better money, great perks, and best of all, no entities.

At first, her problems are solved—the job’s great, she’s made new friends, and a good-looking man has caught her eye. She even has time to cook her favorite Mexican dishes while her new cat watches, though there’s something not quite right about him.

But the fancy neighborhood she was hired to protect hides a secret: something supernatural is attacking the residents, and as Maddy tries to unravel the mystery, she discovers a secret of her own: she may have inherited magical abilities from her famous great aunt, a Mexican witch.
With monsters roaming the hilly streets, residents up in arms, and her boss breathing down her neck, Maddy must decide how far she’s willing to go to preserve her new life.

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