A Literary Escape

SFINCS Review: The Shadow Dancers of Brixton Hill by Nicole Willson

Published on March 7, 2025March 6, 2025 by Celeste5 Comments

Today’s review is about THE SHADOW DANCERS OF BRIXTON HILL by Nicole Willson. This standalone novella follows Kate as she meets an old family friend to find a new act for her family circus. What she discovers is mindboggling and saddening.

This review is brought to you by my participation in the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS). SFINCS, pronounced “sphinx”, is a yearly competition to recognize, honor, and celebrate the talent and creativity present in the indie community. It’s a sister competition to both SPFBO and SPSFC, and it highlights greatness in the novella format in all areas of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc.). I am part of Team Behind the Musings. You can find out more about us here.

Author: Nicole Willson
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Cemetery Gates Media
Publish Date: June 13, 2023
Print Length: 95
Purchase: Bookshop.org or Amazon

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WWW Wednesday: March 5, 2025

Published on March 5, 2025March 5, 2025 by Celeste14 Comments

I’m not up to as much as last week, but I still think I’m making decent progress. Once I finish my current read it’ll be a big step forward because it’s such a chonk.

WWW Wednesday was revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

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Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird by Mike Stark

Starlings by Mike Stark

Published on March 3, 2025February 23, 2025 by Celeste7 Comments

Today’s review is about STARLINGS by Mike Stark. This is a nonfiction account of why so many in the U.S., especially historically, hate the starling bird. Stark relays their introduction and the various ways society at large tried to get rid of starlings.

Author: Mike Stark
Series: None
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Bison Books
Publish Date: March 1, 2025
Print Length: 272

Want to support local bookstores? Buy a copy of Starlings on Bookshop.org!*

*These are not affiliate links and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using these links.

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March 2025 TBR: Trope-ical Readathon

Published on March 1, 2025March 30, 2025 by Celeste16 Comments

Happy March, everyone! Like last August, I’m using the Trope-ical Readathon as a template for my March 2025 TBR. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve participated in this. But it’s just about the only type of reading challenge I participate in because it’s so chill. You can learn more about Trope-ical Readathon and sign up here. I like to use this readathon as a big push to read from my physical TBR and upcoming (or overdue) ARC list.

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February 2025 Book Blog Wrap-Up

Published on February 28, 2025February 27, 2025 by Celeste14 Comments

I started off February thinking I wouldn’t have a great reading month. But I showed myself that I was wrong and actually read 11 books. That’s pretty good for me considering this is a shorter month and I’m not a quick reader. Anyway, this February 2025 book blog wrap-up is your one-stop shop in case you missed any of my blog posts this month.

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