Category: Contemporary

These Ancient Bones by Heather Graham

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Mystery, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Thiller / Suspense, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

These Ancient Bones (The Crows)These Ancient Bones by Heather Graham

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Crows #2

Release Date: August 24, 2026

After completing an assignment in Rome, Special Agent Grant Markham returns to his hometown of St. Augustine, FL only to find a similar crime has occurred there and has captured the attention Special Agent Jackson Crow, head of a special unit known as the Krewe of Hunters. Jackson’s people are all gifted with special supernatural abilities, and Grant has worked him before. But this time, Jackson has found a partner for Grant, another “Krewe” agent, Special Agent Shelly Mahoney from the west coast. They meet at the crime scene, the home of George Maynard, a well-known and well-liked investigative journalist, who has recently uncovered a huge scam involving a major security company. The burned remains of their victim are found outside his home and presumed to be George. Unfortunately, due to the state of the body, they can’t make a positive ID and Grant is not able to use his own power to confirm the victim’s identity. The only clue they have to go on is a stone tablet found near the front door with what appears to be a curse directed at George in it.

With the body count rising and each one with a new curse tablet, Grant and Shelly will follow the clues, which lead them not only through the St. Augustine area, but back to Rome. They will be joined by Special Agents and fellow Krewe members, Zach Erickson & Skye McMahon, and together they will try to untangle the mystery of the tablets before they end up on the killer’s hit list.

I am enjoying this spin off series, Grant and Shelly have an instant connection and work well together. I was also delighted to catch up with Zach and Skye who were the leads in the previous book. The mystery was chaotic at times, but everything comes together at the end and what an end it is! This book has an intriguing mystery, lots of secondary characters and even more suspects, a bit of paranormal activity, curses, a bit of spice, a brewing romance, action, twists and turns and finally a satisfying ending, complete with an epilogue. My only qualm with this book was there were a couple of dropped storylines that I would have liked to have seen tied up, but as they didn’t impact the final outcome, I was able overlook it and still thought it was a very good read. This is the second book in the series, but they are loosely connected so each book can be read as a standalone title. If you enjoy a good mystery with a bit of romance and a dash of paranormal, you need to read this book!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

I Haunt It That Way by Isabelle Popp

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Standalone Title, Tracy's Reviews, Women's FictionLeave a comment

I Haunt It That WayI Haunt It That Way by Isabelle Popp

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: August 25, 2026

For years Thora Williamson has worked for best-selling author Bryony Brooks as her personal assistant and in the end as her nurse/companion. To her surprise, Bryony left her an outrageous inheritance, and in doing so, gave Thora the means to follow her own dreams, whatever they may be. Thora starts by divorcing her husband Cody Briscoe and setting out to visit her cousin Mackenzie “Mack” who is living in the Adirondacks with her wife Jade and struggling to open a B&B. She plans on surprising Mack with the money she needs to renovate the property, she also plans on buying Juniper, the family’s summer retreat, since her Uncle George passed on three years ago and the property is to be auctioned off by the town to cover the back taxes. She is looking forward to some time spent reflecting on the past and deciding how to incorporate those memories into a children’s book she wants to write. She is just settling in when she gets her first visitor, Lee Halliday, her ex-husband’s best friend and the bane of her existence.

Thora harbors a lot of anger against Lee, she blames him for her uncle’s death, because Lee partly renovated Juniper, enabling George to stay alone in the home year-round. Sadly, George was a recluse and passed away alone but wasn’t found for quite some time. Thora lays that directly on Lee, so she is furious when he shows up without warning. But Lee had no idea that George passed away and is genuinely heartbroken. Thora wants to kick him out but knows that George cared for Lee and knows he needs closure, so she agrees to let him stay for a few days. She is even more annoyed that she finds him attractive and doesn’t want to like him. But when things start happening in the house, she secretly admits to herself that she is glad he is there.

This book was not what I was expecting, I thought it was going to be a paranormal rom-com with a enemies-to-lovers trope, but there was nothing even remotely “rom-com” about this book. Thora is one of the angriest heroines I have ever read, and for the life of me, I couldn’t find a way to justify her anger – I understood some of it, but I couldn’t understand why she held onto it so tightly and kept regurgitating it. The book is filled with snarky banter, spicy love scenes, a heroine filled with rage at life in general, a heart of gold hero, some interesting secondary characters, a spooky house filled with memories and some paranormal activity, and ending with a horrifying twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. Overall, once I accepted that it wasn’t a rom-com and just enjoyed it as a sort-of-fantasy read with spicy love scenes and a heaping helping of feminine rage – I actually liked it. If you are looking for an emotional read with a bit of supernatural and some spice – you should give this book a try.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *