Category: Contemporary

One Dark Night: A Spooky, Steamy Small-Town Romance Anthology by Various Authors

On By TracyIn Author Collaboration Series, Contemporary, First Person Narrative, New To Me Author, Novella, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Romantasy, Series Crossover, Standalone Title, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

One Dark Night: A Spooky, Steamy Small Town Romance AnthologyOne Dark Night: A Spooky, Steamy Small Town Romance Anthology by Andrea Jenelle

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone & Connected to Ongoing Author Series

Release Date: September 15, 2025

One Dark Night is a collection of spooky and steamy small-town romances, featuring the following novellas: No Ghosts by Andrea Jenelle, Scared to Love by Angi N. Black, Fascinated by His Fangs by Christi Barth, Love is a Thorn by Karson Dickinson, A Knight for Fears by Kay Lucas and One Little Dare by Nikki A. Lamers.

All the novellas are well-written and have varying levels of spookiness and steam, but if I had to pick my favorite it would be, Fascinated by His Fangs by Christi Barth, which is the story of Anthropologist and supernatural podcaster Lucy Hinton who has traveled to Badnaban PA, dubbed the “Scariest Town in the Country” for a Halloween podcast, which she hopes to have at the uber spooky MacKillop Mansion. She meets the mansion’s new owner, Duncan MacKillop, a lawyer from NYC who just inherited the property from a grandfather he never met. After getting over a frighting introduction to the mansion and the shock of learning the Duncan and most of the townsfolk are vampires, she agrees to work with Duncan to figure out the secrets of the house and the mystery of Life Art and shadow warriors. As the only novella written in the third person, I really enjoyed this story, it was the perfect blend of spookiness and steam, and I would love to read more about Lucy and Duncan.

Overall, this is a great collection of spooky and steamy romance novellas that are perfect for the Halloween season!

*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. *

Dealing with a Desperate Demon by Charlotte Stein

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Fairytale Retelling, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Rom Com, Romantasy, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Dealing with a Desperate Demon (The Sanctuary for Supernatural Creatures, #2)Dealing with a Desperate Demon by Charlotte Stein

Tracy’s Rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: The Sanctuary for Supernatural Creatures, #2

Release Date: October 7, 2025

Nancy is a bookseller with a troubled past and a heart of gold who has practically given up on ever finding her happily ever after. But when the town misfit, Jack Jackson, enters her store to get a book, but runs off without it after a minor mishap, Nancy decides to take it to him. After a very awkward and confusing meeting, Nancy realizes that Jack needs help navigating dating and life in general. She offers to help him win his dream girl and tries to keep herself from falling for him herself.

Jack, the demonic son of Satan, is portrayed as a grump with a surprisingly gentle heart, struggling to live up to his father’s evil expectations. His awkwardness in the romance department is both endearing and comical, making him something of a cinnamon roll hero.

I was really looking forward to reading this book, the blurb gave me hope of a grumpy/sunshine trope with steam, magic and Beauty and the Beast feel. Well, this story definitely has a Disney-like “Beauty and the Beast” vibe, with humor and warmish love scenes that results in a fun, if somewhat chaotic story. And while I found the premise intriguing, the execution left a lot to be desired, the pacing is uneven, slow in the beginning, rushed in the latter half and disorganized in between. I thought the book was a bit wordy, and yet oddly, both the characters and the world building felt undeveloped. Overall, it was a light, fun paranormal romance with likeable characters and a happy ending, but it is not a book I would read again. This is the second book in the series, and I don’t know if I would have felt different about this book if I have read the prior installment, but I don’t feel like I missed anything by not reading it.

*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. *