OWL ABOUT YULE

Owl About Yule by Leanne Leeds
Book 5 in the Owl Star Witch Mysteries
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook

About Owl About Yule:

Do you remember the Christmas story about the chain-rattling ghosts who taught life lessons? Well, how about a Yule tale involving a beachfront mansion, multiple Greek gods, an Orphic priest, and a kidnapped divine panther?

It’s my first Yule at Mom’s in fifteen years, and she can’t stop complaining about that. (That I hadn’t shown up for fifteen years, not that I was there.) It doesn’t make much of an impact, though — I have a great job as a psychic consultant with the Forkbridge Police Department, the “goddess” has been leaving me alone with no sparkly star cards in sight, and my family — including the persnickety owl, Archie — and I are getting along.

For the most part.

It appears that my holiday vacation will be uneventful until a Dionysian priest arrives on the Arden doorstep to report that the Greek god's favorite panther has vanished. Worse, the god accuses his sister, Athena, of the prank — and blames the priest for assisting her. Their divine argument threatens to derail our holiday festivities — and even the Orphic's life.

The absolute worst?

I don’t believe in any of this “gods” bunk, but Detective Emma Sullivan never met a mystery she didn’t want to solve — unfortunately, this one may be far more than she bargained for.

Source: Info in the "About Owl About Yule" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60560223-owl-about-yule on 20/05/2022.

Buy Link(s):

Pantera

My Thoughts:

There are certain kinds of people who are just unable to sit still! Give them vacation time and they wouldn't know what to do with it. They'd be swinging from the rafters before long. And boredom breeds trouble... And then you get into all sorts of mischief!

The character development is wonderful as always! Even the panther! So we went from holloween to christmas. As always the story telling quality is fabulous! As one of the characters commented, this is a re-telling of the Scrooge story told in a different way. However the story is too philosophical and I am not totally convinced that it actually flowed... Not the best book in the series, but still an enjoyable read!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 5
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 3
Ending = 3
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = 3
Plot = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books In Owl Star Witch Mysteries:

 

Meet The Author

About Leanne Leeds:

Leanne Leeds writes witty, funny, and exciting paranormal cozy mysteries that are light-hearted explorations of offbeat small-town America. With a cast of quirky characters inhabiting her fictional world, Leanne provides a unique blend of comedy, clues, and twisty action — all with a touch of magic that keeps readers turning pages.

You can also visit her at leanneleeds.com for free stories, to join her newsletter.

leanneleeds.com | twitter | facebook | instagram | bookbub | amazon | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook were bought with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE ORDER OF ARCHITECTS (Book 1)

Order Of The Architects (Book 1) by Oleg Sapphire and Yuri Vinokuroff
Book 1 in The Order Of The Architects series
Narrated by Kevin T. Collins
Genre: urban fantasy / portal progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Order Of The Architects (Book 1):

I used to be the greatest Earth Mage in my world. The head of the entire Order of Architects. But the older you get, the more you come to realize that at some point, you need to retire, so that you can have the chance to enjoy a peaceful life and to cede your place to the young, some of whom have already turned two thousand years old…

So that’s what I did. I had everything I could ever want, and even more besides. But I failed to account for one thing: during the course of my long life, I’d accumulated too many enemies, and they had decided to spoil my retirement. So they died along with me. And I hope their deaths were final. But mine was not!

I’ve been reborn in a strange new world, and I now need to start over. I still have all my experience and memories, but what about my power? I’ve managed to climb to the top once already; I can do it again! And it’s crucial that I do so before this world is consumed by the beasts from the Shadow Plane…

Source: Info in the "About Order Of The Architects (Book 1)" was taken from amazon on 25/04/2025.

Buy Link(s):

 

My Thoughts:

First chunk of a bigger book.

In the first several chapters, we are introduced to Theodore who is an asshole! Because the main protagonist was not at first likeable, I lost interest in the book. It was not until later where I was reading a, more or less, the same book, Bastard by Alexey Osadchuk that I remembered this book because Max of the Bastard reminded me of Theodore. Having forgotten my ire of Theodore, I started reading this book again.

The book ended in a big whooping cliffhanger. I am so not fond of cliffhangers!

There isn't a plot. There is only the beginnings of one. Presumably, the plot continues in the next book.

The world building is beautiful, though.

I am not very fond of this narrator but after sometime as one gets pulled into the story, he reads ok.

If you are going to buy this book, keep in mind that this is only a chunk of a bigger book, thus you will need the entire series to appreciate the story.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 2
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 1
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (9 hrs and 54 mins listening time)
Plot = 2
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Order Of The Architects Series:

 

Meet The Authors

About Oleg Sapphire:

Oleg Sapphire was born in April 1993 in the city best known as “Little Paris”. He’s always been a good-natured banterer constantly in the thick of his fun-loving friends. This didn’t prevent him from getting two degrees though, in law as well as in IT. He used his expertise in both areas to pen his LitRPG series. His hobbies are archery and reading, but the one pastime that really moves his soul is coin collecting, hunting for rare specimens with quite a bit of history behind them. Ever since childhood, he’s been an artist at heart. His other passion is painting, and he’s made his way through an inordinate amount of books.

Oleg has been surrounded by pets from an early age, so animals take a large place in both his heart and in his books, much to his readers’ joy. Writing is his life and his livelihood; he relates to every moment of his characters’ journeys, sympathizing with them in both his heart and his mind.

facebook | amazon | goodreads

About Yuri Vinokuroff:

Yuri Vinokuroff was born in 1976 in Sevastopol. An avid reader from an early age, he was especially fond of fantasy and science fiction. Already back then, he knew he wanted to write books rather than just read them.

But as it often happens, all of his time and energy were consumed by his successful career, his family and his French Bulldog breeding kennel. His professional activities involved designing and constructing power plants and facilities, which couldn’t be further removed from his teenage dream of writing fiction.

Still, Yuri didn’t give up. Eventually, he began writing for Facebook and even created a small challenge for himself, completing 100 posts in 100 days. It was there that he gained his first fans. During the 2020 lockdown, he used the opportunity to enter a major LitRPG competition. Although his novel didn’t win, it still went viral, soon followed by the rest of the series.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Kevin T. Collins:

Kevin T. Collins is an actor, singer, and recording artist with a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has performed in numerous theater performances, including Angels, City of Angels, Paradise Lost, and on television in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, As the World Turns, and The Guiding Light.

www.kevintcollins.com | twitter | instagram | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The printed book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.