Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! In the spotlight on this special Thursday is a book you might want on your holiday wish list! The Shadowless (At the Corner of Eden and Darkness Book One) by R.J. Garcia. Let’s check it out!
The Shadowless (At the corner of Eden and Darkness Book One)
Release Date: November 26, 2025
Genre: Dark Romantasy
Features 🥀 Modern faery tale vs real-life suspense 🥀 White and black magic 🥀 Family dysfunction 🥀 Hidden realms 🥀 He falls first 🥀 Twists and turns
Mae Dawson returns to her family’s cabin to look for her missing sister. One night, she goes to sleep only to awaken in the depths of the woods surrounded by eerie and indiscernible voices, which lead her to her sister’s grave. Trying to piece her life back together, Mae juggles college and a romance with her best friend-turned-boyfriend, Benji. Yet, everything unravels when strange late-night calls come from beyond, and a malevolent force begins to invade her friends. Adding to her unease is the presence of a mysterious stranger, Brandon Sills, who seems to lurk in the shadows, watching her every move. Despite the warning bells ringing in her mind, Mae feels an inexplicable attraction to him. As mortal and magical forces conspire against her, Mae must trust Brandon to uncover the secrets of the fae—secrets that could change her life forever, if she is able to survive.
R.J. Garcia is a wife and proud mom of two smart kids. She earned her MSW and worked with foster children and as a school social worker. Writing has been her other great love. She has been writing short stories for as long as she can remember. To her amazement, those short stories became novels!
It’s October! So be on the lookout for Spooky Book Spotlights all month long! Starting with THE MONSTERS THEY MADE US by Frank J. Camacho! “The Monsters They Made Us” is a haunting debut that blends dark fantasy, supernatural horror, and dark academia on the rocky coast of Massachusetts.
The Monsters They Made Us (The Heirs of Driftmoor Book 1)
Release Date: October 1, 2025
Genre: Dark Fantasy Horror/ Dark Academia
Featuring ⦁ Supernatural coming-of-age ⦁ Found family vs. bloodline ⦁ Monsters as a metaphor ⦁ Character-driven plot ⦁ Coastal decay ⦁ Generational trauma ⦁ Small-town lore ⦁ Faustian bargains
Some monsters are born. Others are made. But the worst are inherited. Long before Driftmoor was a town, it was a threshold where the veil between the natural and supernatural ran thin. Where wicked bargains were struck in the dark. Bargains that cursed four bloodlines forever.
Dorothy arrives at Driftmoor Academy hoping to leave her past behind and become someone new. But after a car crash leaves her teetering between life and death, dark abilities awaken inside her. Whispers through the halls. Nightmares claw at her sleep. And death follows wherever she goes.
As Dorothy is pulled into the gilded world of Driftmoor’s elite, pieces of a forgotten legacy begin to surface—along with a power she doesn’t understand and a past someone tried to erase. And she’s not the only one marked by what came before.
There’s the boy touched by the sea, who’s drawn to a song no one else can hear. The socialite carved from gold and expectation, clinging to perfection before it shatters. And the son born in shadows, raised by a family that never intended to keep him. Linked by the bargains of their ancestors, the heirs of Driftmoor must each decide: will they surrender to their curses, harness the power they’ve inherited, or let it destroy them?
Frank J. Camacho was born and raised in New Jersey. He grew up immersed in CW shows and fantasy books, which sparked his love for emotionally tangled characters, small-town secrets, and supernatural drama. When he’s not writing, he’s making overly specific Spotify playlists or redecorating a room he swore he was done with. The Monsters They Made Us is his first novel and the first book in The Heirs of Driftmoor series.
Today I’m spotlighting the interesting FLAME IN THE SILVER STORM by Rocio Carranza. A dark fantasy gothic this is book 2 in The Eternal Curse series. How Far Would You Go To Save the Ones You Love? Let’s dive deeper to find out!
Flame in the Silver Storm (The Eternal Curse Book 2)
Release Date: September 30, 2025
Genre: Dark Fantasy/ Gothic
Tropes: Witches & Pirates Forced Proximity Political Intrigue Feminine Rage Found Family
There is a darkness encroaching the lands of Serit. From the Givensmir kingdoms to the Blackthorn coven, bitter rivalries threaten the lives of magic and mortalkind alike.
With the truth of her mother’s demise fresh in her heart, Eve has fled her life of comfort to escape the clutches of Givensmir’s new and vengeful king. Stowing away on a pirate ship bound for destinations unknown, Eve and her familiars must place their trust in its captain. A man with a dark past and a proclivity for secrets.
But no matter how far she runs, the Blood of the Blackthorn continues to haunt her dreams, beckoning her to fulfill its fatal prophecy, and soon Eve is forced to choose her fate.
To risk the lives of those she loves or let the magic consume her.
Rocio Carranza, a multi-genre writer, spent most of her youth with a book in her hand, consuming stories of fantasy and horror as if her life depended on it.
This naturally led into a love of writing stories as an excellent way to get lost in worlds of her own making—fighting epic battles, undoing curses (or casting them), and confronting the things that go bump in the night.
When she isn’t typing frivolously at her computer, you can find Rocio galivanting about Austin, TX with her husband and two kids or with her nose in at least five different books she likes to read at a time.
Curious to know more?
You can find Rocio on social media on IG/Threads/TT @rociocarranzawrites and Bluesky @rociocarranza.
Starring in the spotlight today is INNISFALLEN ACCURSED, a dark fantasy fae story, which is book 1 in ‘The Innisfallen Prophecies.’ Let’s read on for more!
Innisfallen Accursed (The Innisfallen Prophecies Book 1)
Release Date: September 30th, 2025 (Hard cover)
Genre: Dark Fantasy/ Fae Features
Dark fantasy Powerful artifacts Magical creatures - fae, monsters, shapeshifters Good vs evil Heir to the throne Strong female lead
Some powers are buried. Others refuse to be forgotten. And one wants revenge.
The land of Innisfallen is under attack, besieged by shadow beasts under control of a dark power. For four endless years, winter has gripped the fae world—crops have withered, villages stand silent, and the magic that once thrived has vanished, along with all memory of it.
Reagan, an 18-year-old fae, has spent those years trapped in an elite court training program, forbidden from returning home. When she discovers she may never be allowed to see her little sister again, Reagan makes a desperate escape. But her plan is shattered by the arrival of strangers from another kingdom carrying an ancient artifact tied to a forgotten power. The brothers, each more beautiful than the other, ignite passions in Reagan she has never before experienced.
Drawn into the brothers’ mission to break the curse over their world, Reagan faces an army of dark creatures, willing to do whatever it takes to save her sister and all the kidnapped fae. An artifact stirs something in Reagan, awakening a power she never knew she had—a power that could hold the key to Innisfallen’s salvation. Or destroy everything in her path.
Jenny Simard LaBranche is an award-winning author of supernatural, fantasy, horror, and paranormal thrillers. A former IT Specialist and retired Firefighter/EMT, her path to becoming a full-time writer has been anything but ordinary.
Despite a lifelong struggle with dyslexia, Jenny held onto her dream of writing fiction. On August 26, 2021, she left the IT field for good and became a writer, finally embracing her passion. Her debut novel has already earned two literary awards and marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter in her creative journey.
Jenny has been married to Paul LaBranche for 27 years, and together they share their home with their adorable chihuahua, Mojo. When she’s not conjuring chilling tales and fantastical worlds, she enjoys the outdoors, spending time with family and friends, and getting lost in a great book.
Follow LaBranche and her books on IG: @jennysimardlabranche/ TikTok: jennysimardlabranche
In our spotlight today is the first book in ‘The Wrath of Chaos series’, NEMESIS.
Nemesis (The Wrath of Chaos Book 1)
Release Date: August 1, 2025
Genre: Dark Romantasy
Features
• Morally Grey Shadow Mommy • A Fae King who Yearns • One Horse Trope — But it’s a Dragon • Delicious Banter and Tension • Dragons x Dragon Riders
The Asherian War has ushered Earth and its population into a new age. Humankind has gone, giving rise to a tenuous society of other races once confined largely to shadows and stories. The new paradigm is overseen by the Celestials, whose terrestrial ambassadors, the Legacies, wield a potent and manifold elemental magic—one ruled by the astrological sign one is born under. They were instrumental in banishing the dragons—ravenous and mindless beasts—to the gloomier land of a place known as the Outer Edge. Astraea, the powerful general of the Legacy Legion, cannot stand by when two massive dragons descend on the Legacy Compound and abduct her younger sisters. Leaping on one of their great scaly backs, becoming a willing captive to the darker margins of their world, she and her siblings undertake a shocking and revealing journey, one where prior deceptions are lifted, where alliances fall and former enemies become allies and where new, unexpected dangers are born. Dragons, Astraea learns, are hardly the mindless creatures she knew them to be—they are, as one named Nemesis tells her, thoughtful seekers of peace, with a wholly different perspective on the Asherian War, and their banishment to the Outer Edge. As Astraea and her sisters reconcile themselves to this new reality, the fae king, Asher—so named for the war, and who is very much in love with Astraea—pursues them to the Outer Edge. Though he can be pompous and presumptuous, there is no doubt Astraea herself is drawn to him. Now, as she cautiously opens her heart, and arms herself with new understanding, she and the others must also prepare to confront those who stand in the way of peace.
Known to many as “Shania Fillmore” of YTV’s THE NEXT STAR SEASON 4 and THE NEXT STAR: SUPERGROUP, this small-town girl from New Brunswick, Canada, has taken a turn from singing on television to pursuing her writing dreams.
Music, visual arts, reading, and writing are what she lives and breathes. The art world is her truest passion.
Settled back in her hometown, Shania Scichilone has spent her time as Musical Director during show season, and the rest of her time has been filled with writing and learning digital arts.
Her debut series, FATES DIVINE, begins her new career as an author.
A bit of a change this Thursday. As I bring you a book review!
ABSOLUTELY MIND-BENDING!
The Afterlife Experiment (The Altered Planes Book 1)
Published: October 10, 2023
Genre: Dark fantasy/Sci-fi- horror/ American horror
Pages: 310 pages
Reality ends where madness begins.
Atra Hart’s shadow has grown teeth. It moves on its own and whispers her name. She calls it Dread, and it threatens to devour her mind.
When a fire breaks out at the asylum where she’s locked up, Atra seizes the chance for freedom, only to witness an electric-purple rift split the sky open. Like Dread, the rift is visible only to her.
Then, she awakens back in the asylum, unharmed, as if the fire, the escape, and the rift never happened. But everything feels wrong. No one remembers her old life. Her family, her friends—even her past—have vanished. The doctors insist she’s delusional, but the messages scribbled on the mirrors suggest otherwise. The darkness beneath her bed whispers secrets. And the black cat that watches from where the veils thin? It doesn’t belong here.
As Atra ventures deeper into the mystery, she uncovers a chilling truth: this isn’t an asylum. It’s a trap woven between broken realities. The rift isn’t a vision. It’s a crack in the barrier between worlds, and something is trying to come through. Dread isn’t a hallucination. It’s a harbinger, connected to something ancient that moves between realities like a parasite, searching for a perfect host.
If Atra can’t sever her connection to Dread, she won’t just lose her grip on sanity—she’ll become the vessel that lets the horror in. She’ll open the door to something that could end reality itself.
As I prepared to receive my ARC for the upcoming book, “In the House of Root and Rot” (book two in the Altered Planes Trilogy), I had to read book one, which the author had kindly gifted me as well. This book mind *ucked me and I liked it!
We are introduced to Atra, who has spent most of her life in an asylum. She sees a dark shadow companion whom she calls Dread, which no one else can see. We also meet Tom, her father, who had abandoned Atra, leaving her for dead after a sinister experiment went wrong.
A rift has opened in the fabric of time, and only Atra, Tom, and some others can see it. An ancient evil wants to break through. Atra has the final piece it needs.
Think Stranger Things meets Sliders meets The Travellers or Fringe. I don’t know! This book makes you question the very reality you are reading! This is the very first book where I couldn’t predict what would happen next! THE VERY FIRST! I was reading for my sanity, so there was that. These characters become you.
I love unreliable characters, and Weiss delivers cause this whole book is full of them. The ending leaves you craving what is next. What horrors and madness await us in the next book? Stay tuned, as I’m set to read the second book “In the House of Root and Rot” soon!
My overall rating is 5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5 stars. This book gave me a trip, no drugs needed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sam was named after a dog, a fact her mother disputes to this day.
While she’s terrible at writing “About Me”s about her, she’s been told she’s great at writing about what fictional people do. The more miserable she can make them, the better.
Her love of horror films from the 80s, sci-fi shows from the 90s, and alternative music from the 00s have inspired her to write what she’s calling “Dark Science Fantasy” although she’s kind of making that up as she goes along.
When she’s not ready to pull her hair out after discovering another plot hole she’s created, she goes camping with her husband as far away from society as possible. So far, this tactic has been mostly successful and she’s only had to physically converse with a grand total of nine people this year. Next year, she hopes to get that number down to six.
Caught in my book spotlight today is the best-selling spicy forbidden age-gap college romance, NEVERMORE by Monique Shepherd. Intrigued? Let’s take a look!
Nevermore: A Forbidden Age-Gap College Romance
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Genre: Dark Romance
Features 🐦⬛ Forbidden age-gap M/F 💜 Broody Professor X College student 🐦⬛ Edgar Allan Poe Vibes 💜 He falls FIRST 🐦⬛ Touch her and 💀 💜 BDSM Exploration 🐦⬛ Impact play 💜 S/X in a library 📚🥵
“Sometimes the most forbidden fruit is the sweetest.”
Kieran McKnight: Ten years ago, my world crumbled around me. Losing my wife turned me into a shell of a man, stuck teaching entitled Ivy League brats by day and drowning my pain in meaningless sex by night. The club has saved me countless times, until she walks into my classroom. There’s something behind the pain in her eyes that pulls me in, and even though I know she’s forbidden, I can’t stay away, no matter how hard I try. Deirdre Ravencroft: For the last year, I’ve been running from my tortured past, hiding amongst the shadows in hopes that he won’t find me. When I end up in a small town in Connecticut, I’m determined to take control of my life—so I fill my time as a cocktail waitress by night, and a student by day. I stick out like a sore thumb among these snooty frat boys and sorority girls, but one thing draws me in: the broody professor teaching my literature class. I know I shouldn’t cross the lines of temptation. But when an embarrassing incident forces us together, we find ourselves caught in a whirlwind of heated moments, and I start to wonder if I can really stay away… or if I even want to.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Monique Shepherd is an author from Texas who has been an avid reader and writer since she was sixteen years old. Monique is very much a mood reader and mood writer.
When not writing, Monique is a nurse and a mother of four kids who keep her on her toes, and has four fur babies running around.
Monique enjoys exploring different worlds of romance whether it is writing about steamy cowboys in her small town contemporary romances, to obsessive vigilante and Mafia kings, to her Gothic academia romantic suspense duet.
Her favorite hobbies include writing, of course, traveling, attending concerts, improv comedy shows, and spending time by the water with her children.
Follow Monique on IG @moniqueshepherd_author & TIKTOK: @monique.shepherd6
Romantic fantasy and Irish mythology combine in this week’s spotlight with the stunning ALL GODS MUST DIEby Soraya Cole! Full of mystery, betrayal, a unique magic system, and a prophecy, get ready to be brought on one epic adventure, and this is book 1! Let’s read on!
All Gods Must Die by Soraya Cole (All Gods Must Die #1)
Release Date: September 2024
Genre: Romantasy/ Irish Mythology
Features
✨A strong female lead who can fight ✨Fated mates ✨“Who did this to you?” ✨ Fae. Gods. Monsters. ✨Competition with trials ✨Irish Inspired Mythology ✨Shadow and Light powers ✨Sloooww burn (But definite spice in book 2) ✨A prophecy ✨Action. Adventure. Mystery
ENTER A WORLD OF SHADOWS AND LIGHT… Seren was born into a world divided by shadows and light. And yet… she can wield both. She fights against the corruption plaguing her kingdom, but when dark creatures breach the shield and begin slaughtering under the cover of night, her world is thrown into chaos. To save her people, she enters the savage guards’ competition. A deadly game of betrayal, bloodshed, and lies with hopes of winning an audience with the royals. But the competition is only the beginning. As secrets unravel, Seren discovers a world far larger and more dangerous than she ever imagined. Gods. Fae. Monsters. And a prophecy that could destroy everything. In a world of Sidus and Caligo, where fae, humans, and beasts collide, one truth remains: All Gods Must Die.
Soraya Cole is a fantasy romance author. All Gods Must Die is her debut fantasy series and is inspired by Irish Mythology.
When she’s isn’t creating fantasy worlds with strong female leads and swoon-worthy heroes, she is spending time with her family in Ireland or trying to chip away at her never-ending tbr that only seems to grow bigger.
Soraya can be found on TIkTok and Instagram @sorayacoleauthor.
Some like it dark, but these authors like it darker. Hitting while the iron is hot, the collective authors of the Dark Macbe are back with Darker Than Dark Fairytales for the Unloved Volume 2,which has been released. Volume 2 features brand new indie authors and some returning favorites with extremely twisted original fairytale retellings.
Darker than Dark Fairytales for the Unloved: Volume 2 (An Indie Author Collective)
Published: April 26, 2025
Genre: Anthologies, Collection/ Fairytales/ Dark fantasy/ Dark fairytale retellings
Featured authors include:
Brooke Eisenhauer (debut)
Isaac Lotharius
Zaryn Finch
S.D. Paine
Ellen Winter
Alex Upchurch
Bille Nicks
Grace Vice
Hannah L, Evens
Memo Rable
S.A. McDaniel (debut)
Emmy Crimson (debut)
Gareth Davies
Selina Shaw (debut)
Synopsis
Once upon a time, the unloved found solace in the dark.
In this collection of original fairytales, fourteen authors weave stories where love is lost, hope is twisted, and happily-ever-afters rot beneath gilded lies. Here, innocence is devoured, monsters wear familiar faces, and the cruelest wishes come true.
These are not tales of warmth. They are whispers from forgotten corridors, nightmares stitched in ink, and warnings etched in shadow.
Turn the page, but tread carefully–some stories never let go.
Darker than Dark Fairytales for the Unloved Volume Two once again mixes classic fairytale retellings, such as the twistedly romantic retelling of Hansel and Gretel in “Blood Maidens” (Billie Nicks) or the beautifully brutal Sleeping Beauty revenge tale “Greenbrier” (Brooke Eisen)
Along with original fairytale-inspired tales, including the succulent “Feed Me Honey” (Ellen Winter) or the fiercely Fem-rage “ Forest Trials” (S.D. Paine). Or the dementedly disturbing pixie popping forever seared in my mind, “Don’t Curse Me This Way” (Isaac Lotharius).
I think the only story with a maybe happily ever after is “Whispers of a Goblin Heart” (Zaryn Finch) that will make me look at Groot in a whole new way. I also have to mention “The Path” because of the ending…I nearly dropped my Kindle with a scoff. It was horrifyingly brilliant, I loved it. So, have I enticed you enough?
Surprisingly, I enjoyed volume two a bit more than the first volume. I can honestly say Volume 2 traumatized me a tad, and I liked it. Darker than Dark Fairytales‘ goal was to go darker, and they did. They did it superbly, too, as these stories will definitely haunt my mind and soul.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ( 5 out of 5 stars)
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Darker than Dark Fairytales for the Unloved Volume 2 is an Indie author collection. To learn more, follow them on Instagram.
@authorkisarayen_amitygrey
@author.mehdi_fakhrahmad
@authorhannahgardiner
@author.garethiandavies
@gracevicebooks
@authorbillienicks
@opheliasts
@ellenwinter_author
@everafterauthor
@authorfortunalux
This will also be the debut in the author world for:
Freshly released! I am partying with R&R BookTours to celebrate the release of The Imminent Returns of History by Catalina Matei! “In a world shaped by the rippling effects of war, free will became the chain that tied a king’s vanity to his greed…” Now let’s take a deeper look into THE IMMINENT RETURN OF HISTORY! This is book II in the Vials of Fate Trilogy!
The Imminent Return of History (Vials of Fate Book 2)
Publication Date: April 15, 2025
Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance
Features
⦁ Dragons ⦁ Fated mates ⦁ War ⦁ Found family ⦁ Hidden truths ⦁ Banter ⦁ Strong FMC ⦁ Dual POV ⦁ Magical creatures
In a world shaped by the rippling effects of war, free will became the chain that tied a king's vanity to his greed. Having survived her trials, Tiadola discovered that appearances were deceiving. As secrets unravel, she must navigate the darkness clouding her mind while fighting for a chance at happiness with Zadrohn. History repeats itself as magic and power intertwine, shifting the tides in King Tuddn's favour. The looming war between humans and Soronians is inevitable, and every conflict demands a victor. Outnumbered and overpowered, yet resolute, can Tiadola and Zadrohn secure the human nation's independence, or will their efforts crumble under the weight of forces beyond their control?
Matei writes about existential angst in steamy fantasy novels. Even though she started writing in high school, she never thought she’d get here and start an entire trilogy, but here we are.
She is a bookworm at heart and enjoys reading various genres from classics to pitch black horror romances.
She lives in Romania, and when she is not working her full-time job as a software engineer, she spends her days off on road trips through Europe with her husband and overprotective pug, reading and/or writing.
Follow Matei and her books on Instagram at @catalinamateiwrites.
Freelance Writer Janny(Jan Marie)C 