Category: Standalone Title

Druid Cursed by C.J. Burright

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Paranormal / Fantasy, Romantasy, Standalone Title, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Druid CursedDruid Cursed by C.J. Burright

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 7, 2025

Kellen Ravenwood is an Irish Druid who was cursed centuries ago by a witch named Sorcha, for a crime he did not commit, thankfully his twin brother Caedmon was able to cast a spell that allowed Kellen to be free one week every 50 years, and offered them time to try and break the curse, but the catch is that Kellen is trapped in the enchanted prison for the rest of the time and is not able to help find a way to break the curse, but their time is running out and this will be the last time Kellen will have a reprieve before he is trapped for eternity. When Caedmon summons Kellen from his prison, he is happy to tell him that he may have finally found a way to break the curse. They will need to sacrifice Sorcha’s descendant, and Caedmon has invited her to the Ravenwood Samhain festivities. Kellen refuses to even consider spilling the blood of an innocent to save himself and insists that Caedmon find another way. A conviction he holds on to even stronger about once he meets Maggie O’Malley, Sorcha’s descendant and realizes she is his soulmate.

The last year has been hard for Maggie O’Malley, her marriage ended in divorce and then she learned that her ex not only hadn’t paid the taxes on the house her father built and left her, but unbeknownst to her, took out a loan against the house and defaulted on it, leaving her jobless, and on the brink of losing her home. Thankfully her best friend Wendy has stood by her throughout it all and somehow managed to secure Maggie an invitation (with Wendy as her plus one) to the Ravenwood Samhain festivities in Ireland giving her the opportunity to win enough money to save her house and set her up in the business she has dreamed of starting for years. But almost from the moment they arrive, things start to go wrong, and Maggie finds herself navigating the house party alone. Even more troubling is her reaction to Kellen, she has just gotten out of a relationship and has no desire to start something new, but Kellen makes her feel things that she has never felt before, but can she trust him?

This was such a nicely paced, well written story with wonderful characters and a complex, mysterious plot with a bit of spooky vibe, that had me wondering how this could possibly have a happy ending. The story is filled with emotion, loss, curses, lies, secrets, a crazy ghost witch, possession, warm love scenes, magic ending in an epic battle of good vs evil. I have read reviews of other readers who felt the ending was a bit cliché, but I loved it. I am hoping that there will be another book so Caedmon can find his soulmate!

*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. *

Ghost of a Chance by Katherine Garbera

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

Ghost of a ChanceGhost of a Chance by Katherine Garbera

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone Title

Release Date: September 30, 2025

After a long day promoting her newest book, Kirsty Henson AKA cozy fantasy mystery author K.L. Henson, needs to unwind and as luck would have it, her favorite band, the Dead Boys were playing at a club in town. Things get even better when she meets Jasper, an extremely hot guy who is also a super fan. Sparks fly between them, and they go back to his place, but too much tequila cuts their night short, and she leaves in the morning thinking she will never see him again. She returns to her hotel and gets ready for a television interview on a popular morning talk show, Live with Bri O’Brien. But while in the green room she comes face to face with her almost one night stand and he begs for her help. Jasper tells her his old college roommate Paul is haunting him via physics book, and he wants her to help him move on. Kirsty thinks he deceived her and refuses to help him, not just because she is angry, but because despite her author bio saying she is able to talk to ghosts, just like the heroine in her books, she can’t. But when Bri overhears their discussion and blindsides Kirsty during the interview by inviting Jasper to join them. When Jasper’s ghost makes itself known, Kirsty is backed into a corner and ends up agreeing to help the ghost move on. She plans to fake it until she can make it, but she doesn’t count on falling for Jasper and wanting to give him closure.

Jasper Cotton believes the ghost of his college roommate Paul is trapped in a physics textbook. In the years since Paul’s death, not only has the book has been following him but the ghost has been communicating with him via his phone’s playlist and the Judge Judy show. He is wracked with guilt about Paul’s passing and has never really dealt with his grief. Meeting Kirsty seems to be fate, not only is she beautiful, smart and has great taste in music, but she can talk to ghosts. If he can get her to talk to Paul, maybe he can finally move on with his life and maybe he can convince Kirsty to be a part of it. But first they will have to figure out why Paul hasn’t moved on and how to be honest with themselves and each other about their past experiences.

I was hooked on the first page and had a hard time putting this one down! I loved Kirsty and Jasper, both as a couple and individuals, they are both intelligent, considerate people with a lot in common. Their lives have been similar, but at the same time vastly different. Being forced to spend time together will cause them both to face themselves and decide what they want from their lives. The book is filled with emotion, great characters, witty banter, spicy love scenes, an adorable dog, frat parties, temporary tattoos, a ghost who wants to be heard, grief and healing. Overall, I found this story to be a well-written and fast-paced third person POV romance with an actual “happily ever after” ending not just a “happy for now” ending. I was lucky enough to both read the print edition and listen to the audiobook – both were great, and I would happily recommend this book to anyone who loves a dash of paranormal in their romance novels.

*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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