Audiobook Review: Locusta by Emily Dexter

Title: Locusta
Author: Emily Dexter
Series: The Poisoned Empire Duology #1
Publication: September 15, 2026 by Hay House LLC
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Find it on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo
Rating: 3/5★

Circe meets The Lost Apothecary in the first book of this historical fantasy duology featuring Ancient Rome’s most infamous poisoner who changed the course of history to save the woman she loved.

Born in the ancient region of Gaul, Locusta is the last of her kind—a Druid whose communion with the spirit world grants her the dangerous gift of identifying and wielding deadly substances. When Roman soldiers attack her home and slaughter her mother, Locusta is captured and enslaved, taken to the heart of the empire where political plots abound and death commands a high price. Guided by Arawn, the god of death, she must learn to survive within the brutal, glittering world of ancient Rome.

Her strange talents soon catch the attention of the Roman elite, and she becomes ensnared in a double life—poisoner by night for the cunning Antonia Augusta, and lady-in-waiting by day to Livia, the Emperor’s ambitious cousin. As Locusta plants the seeds of revenge against those who destroyed her home, her connection with Livia deepens into a passionate, forbidden romance that threatens them both. Surrounded by danger and deceit, Locusta’s poisons become their only protection against the increasingly unstable Emperor Caligula and the enemies lurking in every shadow.

Locusta reimagines the rise of one of history’s most complex women through a lens of myth, power, and feminine rage. Rich with ruthless twists, deadly magic, and a sapphic love story that burns from sweet to spicy, this is a story of survival, defiance, and the dangerous alchemy of love and death in a world ruled by men.

Locusta by Emily Dexter is a historical fantasy set in ancient Rome during the reign of emperor Caligula and Claudius.

I was really looking forward to this book because I'm very intrigued by the historical figure of Locusta. Historian don't actually know a lot about her, only what the ancient Roman sources say about her and as we all know how they thought about people from outside their Empire. I liked how the story started and enjoyed reading about Locusta becoming a Druid even though the circumstances of it were quite sad. I also liked her connection she forms with the god of death. However this is where my interest kinda of stopped.

I feel like as soon as Locusta was brought to Rome and she met Livia (cousin of the emperor) that she was instantly obsessed with her and that she sort of disappeared inside the obsession. I also didn't like how things evolved with Agrippina and how the author made her a villain.

This said, the audiobook was quite good. I enjoyed the narrator and it was quite suspsensful at times. However, I'm not sure I'll be picking up the second book of the duology.

About the author:

Emily Dexter is a writer and creator whose work explores the intersection of history, mysticism, and the human spirit. Emily is a deep believer in the magic and power of fiction to change the world and has yet to find something she likes more than creating it. She has cultivated an expansive international audience of readers and viewers across multiple social platforms, where she shares insights on history, mythology, and the unseen forces that shape our lives. Through her writing, she seeks to uncover the wisdom and resilience of women whose stories have been lost to time, inviting readers to see the ancient world, and themselves, through a lens of wonder and truth. When not doing magic, reading, or creating you can find her somewhere in the forests of Lake Tahoe, with her three children, wonderful husband, and stick hoarding dragon dog. 

Website | Instagram  | TikTok | Patreon

 

Cover Reveal: Heartless Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood

Welcome to the cover reveal of Heartless Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood, a fantasy romance.
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Heartless Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood
(Wylder Tales, #4)
Publication date: March 31 2027
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Blurb coming soon…

A slow burn fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast, the Wylder Tales series includes:

rival queens
forced proximity
enemies to lovers
found family
magical bonds
wicked witches
burly beasts

Add to Goodreads / Pre-order

Author Bio:

Jennifer Silverwood lives in the middle of an enchanted forest surrounded by cursed books, nosy spirits, and mischievous goblins she calls her children. After beginning several nonsensical degrees, she found her calling helping other authors bring their books to life. Jennifer is the author of two fairy tale fantasy series: the Borderlands Saga and Wylder Tales. Because she wasn't satisfied writing in one genre, she also invites you to explore uncharted space with the Heaven’s Edge Novellas—and dare to fall in love again with the standalone romance titles Stay and She Walks in Moonlight.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok

Review: Worry Box by Chris Panatier

Title: Worry Box
Author: Chris Panatier
Publication: September 22, 2026 by Angry Robot
Genre: Horror
Find it on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | Waterstones
Rating: 5/5★

The Martins need a new home for their growing family. For Alison, Nathan, daughter Dru, and foster child Lailah, it’s love at first sight when they see the house in Tumbling Hills. It even has a cozy attic, which is great for Lailah: she needs a quiet place to be alone when her intrusive thoughts creep in.

(crack an egg into the coffee machine)

The family gets settled. The house is perfect, and so is the timing – Lailah’s adoption will soon be finalized. But as the date approaches, her intrusive thoughts become worse, and bad things start to happen. Lailah fears she’s losing control.

(push your sister down the stairs)

The family is on edge, pointing fingers and taking sides. And even though they love each other very much, the cracks begin to show. Something has got to give.

(burn them alive in their beds)

Worry Box by Chris Panatier ended up being one of the best haunted house books I've ever read. It offered such a unique take on a classic and well-used trope. Told through multiple points of view, the story slowly unravels, keeping me on edge and making me increasingly anxious to find out what would happen next with each chapter. It had exactly the kind of tension I love in a horror novel like this.

The story follows the Martin family: Alison, Nathan, their 9-year-old daughter Dru, and their 11-year-old foster daughter Lailah, whom they hope to adopt. When they move into a new house, Lailah’s dark and unwanted intrusive thoughts start manifesting in disturbing ways. Despite using a worry box to help manage these thoughts, things take an even darker turn with the arrival of baby Evan.

I loved how the sense of dread kept building throughout the story, leaving me increasingly uneasy and on edge, making the story all the more effective as a horror novel. The idea of Lailah’s intrusive thoughts seemingly manifesting in real life made the whole story even more unsettling. I loved how the story kept me questioning who I could trust, never quite knowing whether Lailah was responsible for what was happening, if someone else in the family was involved, or if the house itself was to blame.

Besides the family’s POVs, Andy’s perspective added another layer of strangeness to the story and made everything even more intriguing and unpredictable. Of course I won't reveal who Andy is but I thought this was such a brilliant addition to the story.

Overall, Worry Box by Chris Panatier was a deeply unsettling read that kept me on edge and left me anxious about what disturbing turn the story would take next. It's easily become one of my favourite haunted house novels!

About the author:

Chris Panatier is the author of Stringers and The Phlebotomist. He lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, daughter, and a fluctuating herd of animals resembling dogs (one is almost certainly a goat). He writes short stories and novels, “plays” the drums, and draws album covers for metal bands.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

 

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Masterpiece by Hannah Rothschild

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read.
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Masterpiece by Hannah Rothschild
Expected publication: February 4, 2027 by Penguin

Tuscany, 1470: in the bright light of a new day, an artist is lying awake. He is thinking about a new painting, a fresco, that will shape his future, and echo down the centuries.

In the 1920s, a member of the Bloomsbury Group writes to her secret lover about a painting that has changed how she thinks about her life, certain it will do the same to him.

As the Second World War draws to a close, a young British captain is ordered to bomb a Tuscan hill town. Inside it hangs a painting he believes is the greatest ever made. To save it, he must defy orders thereby risking his career and even his freedom.

2014: A young conservator arrives in Sansepolcro to work on one of the masterpieces of the Piero della Francesca's The Resurrection. Her instructions are to preserve, stabilise, interfere as little as possible; simple enough, until she meets a man who resists all such rules, and finds that restraint, in work as in life, is harder than it looks.

Spanning more than five centuries, and drawing on original unpublished diaries and letters of the period, this is a story of art and war, illicit passion and personal heroism, and of the extraordinary lives bound up with the creation and survival of a single, transcendent work of art - a masterpiece.

Set in different timelines, art, and drawing on original unpublished diaries and letters of the period. It sounds right up my alley and I can't wait to read it!!

US edition published on April 20, 2027 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux:

What book are you awaiting today?

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers Featuring Autumnal Colors

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

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This week's topic:
Book Covers Featuring Autumnal Colors

Regina by Kate Williams
Slay by Jasmine Elmer

Death's Daughter by S.A. Barnes
The Governess Game by Tessa Dare

They Burned Women, Not Witches by Peg A. Lamphier
She Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovatcheva

Newbourne Park by Jennifer Thorne
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Mothers of Invention by Dr. Moiya McTier
Worry Box by Chris Panatier

Have you read any of these books?

Review: The Lost Mu Civilization in the Pacific Ocean by Stephanie K.L. Lam

Title: The Lost Mu Civilization in the Pacific
Author: Stephanie K.L. Lam
Publication: November 14, 2025 by Inpress International
Genre: Nonfiction, History, Archaeology
Find it on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Rating: 2/5★

The Lost Mu Civilization in the Pacific Ocean by Stephanie K.L. Lam (Linguist Cultural Researcher Educator with Cross-Disciplinary Expertise) - A meticulously researched, balanced exploration of one of history's most enduring legends, designed for enthusiasts of ancient mysteries, alternative history, and archaeological inquiry. Moving beyond sensationalism, Lam bridges pseudoscience and hard evidence, tracing the Mu myth's 19th-century origins while uncovering the genuine wonders of Pacific civilizations-proving truth is more compelling than fantasy.

Rooted in Lam's academic rigor (Master's in Language Studies) and cross-cultural experience (translating sacred texts, teaching diverse audiences), the book avoids one-sided advocacy to deliver a nuanced investigation. It dissects the Mu legend: its rise in esoteric circles, the purported "evidence" (submerged structures, shared mythologies), and mainstream archaeology's counterarguments. More than a debunking, it guides readers through real Pacific marvels-from Nan Madol's stone cities to Oceania's seafaring heritage-while exploring deeper themes: humanity's hunger for origin stories, how we interpret historical evidence, and why lost civilizations captivate modern imaginations.

Verified by a 5-star rating and acclaim as a "well-researched, intellectually stimulating" guide, the book balances curiosity with critical thinking. It's an indispensable resource for anyone seeking to separate myth from history, inviting skeptics and believers alike to ponder uncharted chapters of human prehistory. Backed by Lam's reputation for accessible, rigorous nonfiction, this work upholds YMYL standards (history/archaeology content) by prioritizing accuracy, transparency, and scholarly balance.

The Lost Mu Civilization in the Pacific Ocean by Stephanie K.L. Lam explores the legend of the lost continent of Mu. The book examins its origins, supposed evidence and the real archaeological wonders of the Pacific. While the book didn't entirely work for me, I could still appreciate the fascinating archaeology and history of the Pacific that it explored.

I'm someone who's very much against pseudoscience but I still wanted to keep an open mind since the synopsis says that the book avoids one-sided advocacy to deliver a nuanced investigation. And I tried, I really did, but I still felt like it landed a little too much on the side of pseudoarchaeology. And on top of that, there was quite a lot of repetition, with certain points and sentences being repeated throughout the book in different words.

Despite my issues with the book, I found the exploration of Pacific archaeology genuinely interesting. I also think it's always a good thing to have more books that explore histories outside of the usual Western perspective.

Book Blitz: After the Fall by Wendy Roberts

Welcome tot the book blitz of After the Fall by Wendy Roberts. Check out the excerpt and enter the giveaway below to win a $25 Amazon gift card (open INTL).
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After the Fall by Wendy Roberts
Publication date: October 9th 2026
Genres: Adult, Thriller

“This is an excellent read for those who want true psychological crime built around family secrets. Very highly recommended.”
Asher Syed for Readers’ Favorite

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Amber clings to the wreckage of a shattered life; a hermit drowning in the ghosts of what used to be.

When someone dumps a mutilated body on her wilderness property, a cryptic clue makes her the prime suspect. To clear her name, she must confront the dark secrets of her tragic past while a shadowy executioner is closing in.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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EXCERPT:

When the blade of death whittled my family of three down to only me, I ran. Grief had scraped me empty, so fourteen months ago I fled to a shack in the northeastern Washington wilderness. I was seeking sanctuary and hoping the pines would mend my shattered soul. Maybe that was too much to expect of the trees. At least they didn’t judge the monument to my failure; a recycling bin overflowing with wine bottles.

The morning light struggled through my grimy windows and poked at my hangover. I took my coffee mug outside and stood on the splintered porch of the small cabin. The air was deceptively still and heavy, carrying the sharp scent of sunbaked pine needles and the silent, shimmering threat of an approaching scorcher of a day. My cabin sat at the dusty elbow of two dirt roads. Between my door and the ditch was half an acre of thigh-high, dewless grass that stood stiff and dry alongside leggy wildflowers and a single tree.

The western hemlock tried for the heavens at nearly two hundred feet, and it was the area under the tree that drew my critical gaze. A woman sat in the tall grass, back against the tree. What was someone doing way the hell out here?

With an eye roll I left the house and stormed toward her.

“Hey!” I shouted.

The strap of her checkered sundress had fallen from one shoulder and as I reached her, I lifted a hand to tap her arm. As my finger got close, a cloud of flies lifted and re-settled into gaping, torn flesh. The wind shifted direction and a thick miasma of putrid decay stung my nostrils. I stumbled backward as my stomach lurched.

Dead!

I couldn’t stop the tremor in my jaw; my teeth clattered together as I whispered broken words, “I-I should check to be sure . . .”

But my voice trailed off because nothing that smelled like that could be anything but gone.

Author Bio:

Wendy Roberts is an armchair sleuth, fan of all things mysterious but a huge chicken at heart. Her mind is often in the secretive, cloak and dagger world of intrigue while her physical presence is usually at home or on the road in her camper van. Wendy resides in Vancouver, Canada where she happily writes about murder and is always at work on her next novel.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok

GIVEAWAY!

After the Fall Blitz

Cover Reveal: Captain Meets Captain by Lottie McLaren

Welcome to the cover reveal of Captain Meets Captain by Lottie McLaren!
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Captain Meets Captain by Lottie McLaren
Publication date: November 16th 2026
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance, Sports

Atlas

Did I mean to rant on TV about the inconvenience of sharing the ice with San Jose’s brand-new women’s hockey team? 

No, of course not. I’m not an idiot, whatever my second-grade teacher might have written in my quarterly progress reports. 

But I probably should have noticed my teammates’ frantic arm movements. And I definitely shouldn’t have blurted out that I’m actually supportive of women’s hockey because I’m dating Diana Marsh, the captain of the San Jose Pumas.

Because the fact is… we’re not dating. Even if maybe, we sort of did, uh, sleep together. Before I ghosted her. 

But now our teams’ billionaire owner is eager for our ‘romance’ to be public, and since my face is all over his health app, I can’t say no to him. 

Besides, the Pumas will get publicity, and my reputation as captain of the San Jose Jackals will be salvaged. 

Hopefully. 

Once I explain the fake dating plan to Diana.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Worship by Alice Winn

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read.
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Worship by Alice Winn

Expected publication: February 23, 2027 by Knopf

A dazzlingly inventive new novel from the bestselling author of In Memoriam: Arthurian legend cracked open.

Princess Isode is happy with life in medieval Ireland. Her hair is as shiny as thread of pure gold, every knight she heals with her medicinal powers falls madly in love with her, and she will become a great queen once she marries Sir Palomides, the second-best knight in all the world--the moment he converts to Christianity. Her plans, however, are shattered when a mysterious newcomer defeats her beloved in a tournament.

Handsome, unfriendly Sir Tristram is fast becoming the strongest knight--yet has no interest in marrying Isode. He wants only to win approval--worship--from his idol, Palomides, and a seat at the Round Table. Palomides is too preoccupied with whatever is going on with him and God. Meanwhile, civil war is brewing in Camelot. As Princess Isode tries to regain control of her once glittering future, she and Tristram set out on a perilous voyage, and begin to see each other in a new light.

Worship is the stuff of legend, a wickedly funny, endlessly surprising novel about hope in the face of uncertainty--how far we might go, and what we're willing to lose, for the ones we love.

I love me some Arthurian tales so this just sounds really good to me. Also, I adore this cover!

UK cover:

What book are you awaiting today?