Category: Debut Novel

(Mostly) Human Resources by Grace Viall

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Contemporary, Debut Novel, Horror, Mystery, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Romantasy, Thiller / Suspense, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

(Mostly) Human Resources (Entity Case Files, #1)(Mostly) Human Resources by Grace Viall

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Entity Case Files #1

Release Date: August 4, 2026

Alexys Keane works as a human resources manager for Entity, a company specializing in understanding, classification, conservation and management of cryptids. She is in charge of district 13, which is located primarily in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia. She manages 4 wardens who investigate cryptid sightings in the field. So, when one of her wardens goes missing, she heads to West Virginia to find him. She arrives at the hotel where her warden Elliot Harman had been staying to learn that he left the previous day. She plans to follow him, when Nic Dyre, the head of Research and Cataloging for Entity and the most annoying (and good looking) man she has had the misfortune of working with shows up to “help”.

Nic Dyre feels a bit guilty, he had spoken to Elliot (unofficially) about rumors of sightings of the Hollow Walker, an ancient monster that has never been cataloged, Nic would love nothing more than to find the monster and be the youngest R&C manager to ever record an unknown monster, but he never intended for Elliot to go looking for the beast alone! When he learns that Elliot is missing and Alexys is going to look for him, he decides to tag along. But Alexys is not having it and tries to ditch him at every turn. Eventually, after a rather terrifying solo expedition into the woods, she agrees to work with him and what they find will be more than they ever could have imagined.

This book was 100% not what I was expecting, I read the blurb and thought it was going to be a sort of monster-infused low-key rom-com. And while there were monsters aplenty, there was nothing funny or romantic about this book. The book was more horror than romance, and I can only assume that Alexys and Nic will team up in future installments and presumably have some sort of romance, but it didn’t happen in this book. Overall, I liked the writing style and would consider reading the next installment.

*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. *

 

Maggie and Arthur’s Magic Moment by Leslie René

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Debut Novel, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Rom Com, Romantasy, Standalone Title, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Maggie and Arthur's Magic MomentMaggie and Arthur’s Magic Moment by Leslie René

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone (?)

Release Date: July 28, 2026

Dr. Magnolia “Maggie” Linden along with her best friend and fellow professor, Dr. Dahlia Hawberry goes to the Beltane Night celebration at nearby Brigs Beach. She had gone to the bonfire every year since she moved to Galloway and began teaching Linguistics & Incantation Translation at Hawthorn College, so she was expecting a night of dancing, drinking and fun – she never imagined she might meet someone while wearing an enchanted mask, but she does and has a magical night that ended with an amazing kiss with a man that thanks to the mask, she won’t remember and who’s name she doesn’t know. She tries to forget him, but can’t and Dahlia is determined to help her find him – but does she want to find him?

Before she can give too much thought about her mystery man, a bigger problem occurs, thanks to the college’s resident celebrity professor – Dr. Arthur Taliesin, the lead alchemist & director of labs at the college. A man she despites for cutting her budget and for being annoyingly handsome. Arthur was demonstrating a complicated spell to his students when he was distracted and the spell went awry, causing a magical pall to open on the third floor of the building. A pall that should have been easy enough to reverse, but for whatever reason is resistant to the dissipation spell. To make matters worse, the professors will now have to share offices, and Maggie learns that she will have to share hers with Arthur! They agree to work together to dissipate the pall, which leads to friendship and then more. But Maggie has been burned before and even though Arthur is nothing like her ex – she can’t risk her heart again.

What a fun read, Maggie and Arthur are such wonderful characters, and I felt their chemistry right away. I also enjoyed the magic system in this book, it was a bit more subtle than some of the books I have been reading lately, but it was definitely easier to understand. I appreciate that the author provided readers with a glossary of magical terms used throughout the book, making understanding the magic even easier. This book has a mashup of tropes – enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, secret identity, and temporary/conditional relationship. Mixing those tropes leads to this book offering readers an interesting magic system, amazing secondary characters, steamyish love scenes, witty banter, a bit of heartache, emotional healing, a pinch of spookiness, and the promise of happily ever after. The only thing that kept this from being a 5-star read for me was that I did feel that Maggie held on to her past a little too long and tended to make unfair assumptions about Arthur, but she does grow as a character and despite her flaws, I loved her! This book is so well written and flows so nicely that I was genuinely surprised to learn that this was a debut novel, and I hope this author has more stories to share!

4.5 stars

*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. *

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