Category: Women’s Fiction

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. *

 

BLOG TOUR – Henry Tudor Must Die by Jillian Laine

On By TracyIn Blog Tour, Book Publicity, Historical Fiction, Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, Paranormal / Fantasy, Release Day Blitz, Standalone Title, Tracy's Reviews, Tudor Era (1485-1603), Women's FictionLeave a comment

Henry Tudor Must DieHenry Tudor Must Die by Jillian Laine

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone (?)

Release Date: July 21, 2026

Once King Henry VIII set eyes on Jane Seymour, Anne Boylen’s days as queen were numbered, but what Henry didn’t realize was that Anne wasn’t the weak woman he believed her to be. Anne was a powerful witch and a member of the Hellebore Sisterhood, but without her spellbooks and her bloodletting knife, she is powerless – or so she thought. While awaiting her execution, Anne is visited by the last person she ever expected to see, the late Queen Catherine of Aragon. But Catherine “Lina” is not dead as everyone believes, she was saved by the Hellebore Sisterhood and has been sent to save Anne.

After performing the magic necessary to convince the world that she was executed, Anne is weak and at the mercy of Lina – a woman who should want her dead. Everything in Lina rages against helping the woman who was responsible not only for her own downfall, but the reason her daughter Mary was no longer heir to the throne. But when Princess Marguerite d’Angouleme, the sister of the French King and the leader of the Hellebore Sisterhood saved her from a life of exile, she couldn’t say no when the Princess asked her to save Anne. After nursing Anne back to health, the women travel to Spain and spend the next few years working for the Princess. But the rage and hatred for Henry is always simmering under the surface, so when Anne’s young cousin Catherine Howard, catches Henry’s eye, Anne knows the time has come and that Henry Tudor Must Die…

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I started this book, but I have to say, this was one of the better Anne Boylen fictional retellings that I have read. I loved the idea of Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boylen working together, I felt their pain, their anger and their rage, and rejoiced in their friendship and commitment to the sisterhood. For me, the story did drag in the middle, but the ending was great (although heartbreaking) and I loved the interactive “footnotes” throughout the story. Overall, it was an interesting fictional historical retelling with a magical twist, and I would definitely read another book by this author – in fact I have my fingers crossed for a story with Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth!

*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. *