The Reading Frenzy: October 2025

Monday, October 27, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews - Three Mages and a Marguerita by Annette Marie

Three Mages and a Marguerita by Annette Marie

#1 Guild Codex: Spellbound

Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Self-Published

Published: 9.14.18

Pages: 312

Rating: 4.5 stars

Format: ebook

Source: KU borrow

Sellers: Amazon

GoodReads:

GoodReads Synopsis:

Broke, almost homeless, and recently fired. Those are my official reasons for answering a wanted ad for a skeevy-looking bartender gig.

It went downhill the moment they asked me to do a trial shift instead of an interview - to see if I'd mesh with their "special" clientele. I think that part went great. Their customers were complete dickheads, and I was an asshole right back. That's the definition of fitting in, right?

I expected to get thrown out on my ass. Instead, they...offered me the job?

It turns out this place isn't a bar. It's a guild. And the three cocky guys I drenched with a margarita during my trial? Yeah, they were mages. Either I'm exactly the kind of takes-no-sh*t bartender this guild needs, or there's a good reason no one else wants to work here.

So what's a broke girl to do? Take the job, of course - with a pay raise.

Sophia Rose Reviews - The Serpent in Heaven by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Eva Kaminski

The Serpent in Heaven by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Eva Kaminski

#4 Gunnie Rose

Post-Apocalyptic Thriller, Alternate History

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 11.15.22

Time: 8 hours 53 minutes

Rating: 5 stars

Format: Dramatized Adaption

Source: Library borrow

Sellers: Amazon

GoodReads:

GoodReads Synopsis:

#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns to her alternate history of the United States where magic is an acknowledged but despised power in this fourth installment of the Gunnie Rose series.

Felicia, Lizbeth Rose’s younger half-sister and student at the Grigori school within the capital of the New Holy Russian Empire in San Diego, is caught between secrets and powerful family struggles. As a distant relative to the Tsar, she provides an essential service to him by providing blood transfusions for his hemophilia, and she is thus given rare access and dismissed as if cattle. At the Grigori school she is seen as a charity case, a poor orphan with no prospects and no sign of magical prowess—the latter which Felicia keeps purposefully hidden. And yet, when a kidnapping attempt is made upon Felicia her past and her future crash together in violent ways.

Continuing immediately after The Russian Cage, this fantastical fourth book takes a side step, exploring the Holy Russian Empire while also showcasing the dynamic depths of magic within Harris’s alternate North America in curious mysteries. Felicia, it turns out, is far more than the Russian-Mexican waif Lizbeth rescued, and the journey of discovery she is on is filled with magical assassins and desperation, but above it all is her courage to never give in to the limitations imposed upon her.

Sophia Rose Reviews - A Moment’s Shadow by Anna Lee Huber

A Moment’s Shadow by Anna Lee Huber

#8 Verity Kent

Historical Mystery

Publisher: Kensington Books

Published: 8.26.25

Pages: 389

Rating: 4 stars

Format: eARC

Source: NetGalley

Sellers: Amazon

ADD TO: Goodreads

GoodReads Synopsis:

Violence, reprisal, and intrigue abound in post-World War I Ireland as the bloody conflict between the Irish Republican Army and the British authorities continues to escalate. But former Secret Service agent Verity Kent must deal with a more immediate concern—the possession of poisonous gas by a ruthless adversary . . .

August 1920, Dublin, A fraught task keeps Verity and her husband Sidney in the country after their initial clandestine mission has been the traitor Lord Ardmore is scheming to employ the deadly phosgene gas he’s stolen for some terrifying purpose, and the couple will need both the Crown forces and the rebels’ help to thwart him.

As they pursue their quarry, they are drawn into a case involving a series of cunning and brazen jewel thefts. Many believe it is the work of the Irish rebels, seeking to fund their revolution, but when Verity and Sidney are also approached by Michael Collins and the IRA to unmask the thief, they suspect he may instead be an opportunist using the political unrest as a cover for his crimes.

As the thief continues to pull ever more risky jobs—including targeting Verity and their friends—the couple receive new intelligence that the gas they seek may be intended for a crowded event, one that the entire world will be attuned to. They must stop Lord Ardmore at all costs—or the consequences will be devastating . . .

Sophia Rose Reviews - Shakespeare’s Counselor by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Julia Gibson

Shakespeare’s Counselor by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Julia Gibson

#5 Lily Bard

Mystery

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 11.13.09

Time: 7 hours 50 minutes

Rating: 4 stars

Format: audio

Source: library

Sellers: Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads

GoodReads Synopsis:

Cleaning lady and karate expert Lily Bard is a woman with a complicated past. Doing her best to cope with her terrifying memories, she decides to join a therapy group in her adopted hometown of Shakespeare, Arkansas. As it turns out, the group members' feelings aren't the only things that need sorting out, as they assemble for a session only to find a woman dead, left on display as some kind of twisted message.

Lily soon finds herself embroiled in the murder and its aftermath. Some of her own terrible secrets have been dredged up, and she may not be able to rest until she can untangle the 'who' and the 'why' of this shocking crime. But can she do so before the killer strikes again - and before her own nightmares send her over the edge?

Sophia Rose Reviews - Beyond Her Reach by Melinda Leigh

Beyond Her Reach by Melinda Leigh

#10 Bree Taggert

Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Montlake

Published: 9.16.25

Pages: 312

Rating: 5 stars

Format: eARC

Source: NetGalley

Sellers: Amazon

ADD TO: Goodreads

GoodReads Synopsis:

In the wake of a woman’s savage murder, the suspects and motives are only mounting for Sheriff Bree Taggert in a twisting novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.

In a quiet suburban neighborhood in upstate New York, single mom Kelly Gibson is slain in her home—the victim of a rage killing. Right away, Sheriff Bree Taggert has three persons of interest: an angry soon-to-be ex-husband, a furtive rebound boyfriend, and an obsessive neighbor.

But as Bree and investigator Matt Flynn work together to narrow the field, there’s a shocking twist in the case: a second woman is murdered in the same brutal fashion.

While investigating, Bree is attacked and left for dead. When another woman is kidnapped, Bree and Matt must act quickly to unravel the deceptions in Kelly’s life and death and find a killer before someone else dies.