The Prince Of Hell Goes To College – My Roommate From Hell by Cale Dietrich @caledietrich

Posted on November 11, 2025 by fundinmental

MY REVIEW

My Roommate From Hell by Cale Dietrich is exactly what I thought it would be. A fun romp through Owen’s first semester of college with the Prince Of Hell as his roommate. I love the colorful cover, which is what made me pause and consider reading the book.

I love the whole exchange program between Hell and Earth. Definitely a different take on the Prince of Hell. That and he’s also gay.

It’s not bad enough that he rooms with Zarmenus, who he thinks is sizzling hot, but dream up a plan to fake a romance to help Zarmenus to clean up his devilish acts and Owen to get his dream internship.

I enjoyed my visit to Point College and Zamenus and Owen. We had some laughs, some teenage angst and some coming of age moments. By taking a chance, Owen has some life changing experiences. Isn’t that what college is for? To expand your horizons?

I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to share my thoughts on My Roommate From Hell by Cale Dietrich.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 3 Star

GOODREADS BLURB

“A hilarious and charming descent into love, fake dating, and actual Hell. I couldn’t stop grinning.” – Aiden Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys

A swoon-worthy YA rom com about an ambitious college student whose plans get derailed when he discovers his roommate is the prince of hell.

Owen is not going to college to have fun. Nothing is going to stop him from achieving his study hard, get a good job, and set himself up for the rest of his life. The last thing he needs is to have a loud, obnoxious, and infuriatingly hot roommate. Especially since said roommate just so happens to be the prince of hell.

Prince Zarmenus has come to Point University for the first-ever Earth/hell exchange program, and he’s determined to make the most of it. Which may or may not include wild parties, bringing in random boys to his and Owen’s room, and accidentally setting Owen’s furniture on fire. Sparks fly (literally) as Owen and Zar clash, but Zar’s actions threaten to not only ruin Owen’s peaceful college life, but demon-human relations as well. To clean up his image, he asks Owen to be his fake boyfriend and teach him how to be a better human in exchange for an internship that will secure Owen’s future. That, and Zar will consider being a better roommate.

A deal is struck, and the two start pretending to be in a relationship where they each have agendas of their own. Only Owen has a secret—dating his mortal enemy, even if it’s fake, is the most fun he’s ever had.

Charming and fun, My Roommate from Hell is a rom com with a magical twist. Think just one bed, but that bed is in hell, surrounded by fire and brimstone.

Genre: Demons, Fiction, Queer, LGBQ+, Paranormal, Romance, Supernatural, Young Adult
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication November 11, 2025 by Wednesday Books

ABOUT CALE DIETRICH

Cale Dietrich is a YA devotee, lifelong gamer, and tragic pop punk enthusiast. He was born in Perth, grew up on the Gold Coast, and now lives in Brisbane, Australia. His debut novel, The Love Interest, was named a 2018 Rainbow List Selection. He can be found on Twitter.

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Review – The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens #netgalley #thehitchhikers @ChevyStevens

Posted on October 15, 2025 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens sounded like Tom and Alice bit off more than they could chew. I felt like very bad things were headed their way, I wasn’t sure what twisty turns they would have to travel and whether or not they would come out of the experience whole.

Alice and Tom have hit a rough patch in their marriage and Alice has a lot of baggage she struggles to get past, as she tries to navigate her way back to Tom. She felt Tom was making a mistake when he offered Ocean and Blue a ride to the next town. She should have paid attention to her instincts. I felt a sense of anticipation, an eerie feeling that there was a shit load of bad that was going to come down on them.

Up in the front, Alice spun the radio dial. Jenny’s thoughts flipped into new fears. She hadn’t thought about the radio. Would they be on the news?

Wondering who Jenny is? Think about it. Who names their children Ocean and Blue? It had me wondering what they did. What are they running from?

Tom…well, he spends most of the trip in serious straits. As they move from town to town, things only become worse, more frightening for Alice. How many bodies will drop? How can anything end well for Ocean and Blue? I felt empathy for Blue, but…

The ending, I thought something like that would come about, but I wasn’t sure how we would get there. I loved it. And when the facts for their life on the run are fully explained, well, I didn’t see that coming. I was surprised, but it also made perfect sense. A cornered animal will be forced to defend itself.

I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens.

GOODREADS BLURB

On the remote Canadian highways in 1976, Tom and Alice set out to heal their fractured marriage.
An RV, a new beginning, and the hope of recovery after a devastating tragedy.
Then they meet two young hitchhikers,
Ocean and Blue—a seemingly innocent couple who aren’t who they seem. . . .
They are Jenny and Simon.
And they have left a trail of blood, destruction, and madness behind them.
Now Tom and Alice are trapped—prisoners in a deadly game, with nowhere to turn.
But as the tension builds and the lines blur,
the question becomes, In whose heart does evil truly lie?

A chilling, twist-laden ride to the final page—THE HITCHHIKERS is a master class in suspense and shock.

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Kindle Edition
Expected publication October 7, 2025 by St Martin’s Press

ABOUT CHEVY STEVENS

CHEVY STEVENS lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and daughter. When she’s not working on her next book, she’s spending time with her family and their two dogs. Chevy’s debut novel, STILL MISSING, was a New York Times bestseller and won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel. Her books, including THOSE GIRLS which Stephen King called “incredibly scary” have been published in more than thirty countries. Her seventh novel, DARK ROADS, is now available. Please visit her at www.ChevyStevens.com.

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Review – To Cage A Wild Bird by Brooke Fast #brookefast #tocageawildbird #netgalley

Posted on September 15, 2025 by fundinmental

To Cage a Wild Bird tropes like enemies to lovers and slow burn romance

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I couldn’t find any information about Brooke Fast on Goodreads or Amazon. To Cage A Willd Bird is her debut novel and she knocked it out of the park.

Imagine, if you will, that by committing one single crime, you are given a life sentence. Pretty hard to put yourself in that position in this day and age. The prison is not like any prison you can imagine. I’m not sure of how much to share, but seeing it isn’t mentioned in the blurb, I won’t spoil the events that take place in the prison. Think our prisons are brutal…this one takes incarceration to a whole new level.

Raven Thorne is a bounty hunter. I love strong female main characters The romance between Raven and a prison guard develops slowly. It’s not easy to know who to trust. There are plenty of corrupt, lecherous guards who felt they could do whatever they want, but one guard tried to do whatever he could to protect the inmates from them.

I had some minor issues, but for the most part I got hooked from the very beginning. Brooke Fast had some unique and original thoughts for her dystopian novel and I am always on the lookout for a fresh take on a familiar tale.

I want to thank NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read and review To Cage A Wild Bird. I can hardly wait to find out what comes next.

GOODREADS BLURB

Enter the brutal world of Endlock, a prison where the wealthy hunt the inmates for sport. The first novel in an electrifying dystopian romance series, this high-octane debut about forbidden love, found family, and a fight for survival will leave you breathless.
In the city of Dividium, the law is simple: commit a crime, and your punishment is a life sentence in Endlock.
Raven Thorne is Dividium’s most notorious bounty hunter, living on the edge of society. But when her younger brother, Jed, is sentenced to Endlock, Raven will do anything to save him—even if it means getting herself arrested.
Now trapped in a prison where danger lurks around every corner, Raven must use all her cunning and strength to protect Jed—and herself if she is to complete her perilous mission. But there’s one obstacle she never expected: the prison guard who stirs something deep inside her. The man she should hate. The man whose true motives seem impossible to pin down.
In a world where trust is a weapon and love is a liability, Raven must decide if she will risk everything to tear down a vicious system,

Genre: Adult, Apocalyptic, Dark Romance, Dystopian, Enemies to Lovers, Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction,
368 pages Kindle
March 3, 2026 by Avon

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MY REVIEW

Review – Wings Of Steel & Fury by Sarah J Daley #WingsofSteelFury #NetGalley #sarahjdaley

Posted on August 26, 2025 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Wings of Steel & Fury by Sarah J Daley is a fabulous fantasy that gave me hours of reading pleasure. We have a lot of characters and each has a special place and purpose in the story. We have Eleazar Starson, a prince and heir to the throne of Honor, but he must earn it. Little does he know, those closest to him will betray him. He falls to Earth, to the human world, where someone who was used to light and beauty will have to learn to survive in a world of darkness, with monsters and chaos. Lucky for him, he meets Fury.

…she’d come into the world screaming and her mother had anointed her ‘Fury’ and she’s spent her life living up to the name.

Diver, Fury’s brother, Fury will work together to keep Eleazar alive. Eleazar’s brother will be back to finish off what he started, so he may have the throne. Diver is a lovable character, and, though Fury felt he had been spoiled rotten, he will rise to the occasion and become one of my favorite characters.

Wings Of Steel & Fury felt like fantasy, and steampunk rolled into one, with a splash of the apocalyptic/dystopian genre. The battles between the ‘gods’ and the humans are brutal, savage, and amazing. It is a fight to the death and I feel the loss of many of those who fall, who willing give up their life to save others. Both sides see things from their own perspective, instead of how they really are and much will be learned as they have to work together to survive.

I want to thank Angry Robot and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Wings Of Steel & Fury by Sarah J Daley. I was sad to come to the end of this wonderful novel.

GOODREADS BLURB

The human world is no place for a god, but toiling on Earth may just teach an angel how to fly once again…

Eleazar Starson, prince of Splendour and heir to the Great Throne of Honor, is living his worst nightmare. Betrayed and grievously injured, he has been cast from a world of light and beauty to suffer in the Below, a world of darkness and despair populated with demonic ghouls and vile creatures. It is a terrible world, a human world. It is an awful place for a god, especially one as beautiful and brilliant as Eleazar.

But, broken and lost, he is a god struggling in the muck, his only allies a pair of atheist siblings who would sooner worship a burnt ghoul than show him proper obeisance and the closest gateway back to Splendour is half a world away through a wild and daunting landscape of chaos, monsters and men. He has no choice but to endure the unspeakable horrors of this human place, this war-torn world of carbines and steel rails and smoke-belching factories, not if he wishes to return to Splendour and reclaim his place among the Angelus.

Genre: Angels, Gods And Godesses, Fantasy, Fiction
Kindle Edition
Expected publication August 26, 2025 by Angry Robot

ABOUT SARAH J DALEY

Sarah J. Daley is a former chef who lives and writes in the Chicagoland area with her husband, son and very fat cat. Her debut novel, Obsidian, was a finalist for the 2022 Compton Crook Award. She has also published with Warhammer’s Black Library and continues to churn out work featuring indomitable MCs who get dumped into impossible, and usually violent, situations. She is also a proud stepmother to three adult children who definitely don’t consider her wicked.

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Review – Too Old For This by Samantha Downing #TooOldforThis #NetGalley

Posted on August 15, 2025 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

How old is too old for murder? If you are Lottie Jones, no age is too old.

I love serial killer stories and Samantha Downing has created a good one in Too Old For This. She allows us to meet the serial killer, Lottie Jones early in the story. She has retired but when an investigative journalist, Plum Dixon, comes knocking at her door, asking questions, wanting to make a docuseries of her life, she has to put a stop to it. So far, no one knows she was a serial killer and she wants to keep it that way. How can she stop Plum? What do you think? I will say that Lottie has to charge her chainsaw overnight. LOL

I had some laugh out loud moments and. at times, found myself shaking my head, wondering…Why didn’t I see that coming? And why didn’t Lottie? I do love a good book surprise and Samantha Downing did keep me on my toes. I didn’t anticipate the ending and I love it. Great job, Samantha.

My thanks go out to Berkley and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Too Old For This by Samantha Downing.

GOODREADS BLURB

A retired serial killer’s quiet life is upended by an unexpected visitor. To protect her secret, there’s only one option left—what’s another murder? From bestselling author Samantha Downing.

Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.

Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.

When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Psychological, Serial Killer, Suspense, Thriller
Kindle Edition
Expected publication August 12, 2025 by Berkley

ABOUT SAMANTHA DOWNING

Samantha Downing is an internationally bestselling thriller author. Her novels include My Lovely Wife, He Started It, For Your Own Good, and A Twisted Love Story. Her debut novel, My Lovely Wife, was nominated for Edgar, ITW, and Macavity awards in the US, the CWA award in the UK, and was the winner of the Prix des Lectrices award in France.

Website / Instagram / Facebook / Bookbub

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Review – The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan #thewitchsorchard #NetGalley #archersullivan

Posted on August 14, 2025 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

It looks like The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan is a debut novel, and I must say, it was a great start to Archer Sullivan’s writing career. I was quickly drawn in by Annie Gore, a Former Air Force Special Investigator turned private investigator. Three little girls had gone missing ten years ago. One was returned, but the brother of one of the girls that was never found wants to hire her to discover what happened.

Annie knows about small mountain villages and knows her poking around will make a lot of people uncomfortable. That doesn’t stop her from seeking out the answers to her questions. I love watching an outsider come in and stir up a hornets nest in a place where everyone knows everyone else, but do they? Do we ever really know what someone is thinking or doing?

“Does chaos just happen to follow you around or do you invite it along for rides in that ugly clunker of yours?”

Through the horror and sorrow that Annie investigates, we have some light hearted moments. I love stories that take place in small towns and I love watching the secrets being exposed. The novel moves along at a steady clip. I would categorize The Witch’s Orchard more a mystery than a suspense or a thriller. It lacks those intense nail biting moments that move at a rapid pace, but do deliver on the steady work of Annie as she uncovers what others wish would remain buried.

I would like to thank Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan.

GOODREADS BLURB

A ninth generation Appalachian herself, Archer Sullivan brings the mountains of North Carolina to life in The Witch’s Orchard, a wonderfully atmospheric novel that introduces private investigator Annie Gore.

Former Air Force Special Investigator Annie Gore joined the military right after high school to escape the fraught homelife of her childhood. Now, she’s getting by as a private investigator and her latest case takes her to an Appalachian holler not unlike the one where she grew up.

Ten years ago, three little girls went missing from their tiny mountain town. While one was returned, the others were never seen again. After all this time without answers, the brother of one of the girls wants to hire an outsider, and he wants Annie. While she may not be from his town, she gets mountain towns. Mountain people. Driving back into the hills for a case this old—it might be a fool’s errand. But Annie needs to put money in the bank and she can’t turn down a case. Not even one that dredges up her own painful past.

In the shadow of the Blue Ridge, Annie begins to track the truth, navigating a decade’s worth of secrets, folklore of witches and crows, and a whole town that prefers to forget. But while the case may have been buried, echoes of the past linger. And Annie’s arrival stirs someone into action.

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal, Supernatural, Suspense, Thriller, Witches
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication August 12, 2025 by Minotaur Books
Setting: Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina, United States

ABOUT ARCHER SULLIVAN (from Amazon)

ARCHER SULLIVAN is a ninth generation Appalachian. She’s moved thirty-seven times and has lived everywhere from Monticello, Kentucky to Manhattan, New York and from Black Mountain, North Carolina to Beverly Hills, California. Her work has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Tough, Shotgun Honey, Reckon Review, Rock and a Hard Place, and The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2024.

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Review – The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark #julieclark #netgalley #theghostwriter

Posted on June 2, 2025 by fundinmental

NEW RELEASE – 6.3.25

GOODREADS

MY REVIEW

I was scrolling through NetGalley, checking out the new arrivals and saw The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. I haven’t read any of her work, but I was intrigued by the premise of the story. Julie Clark was able to grab my attention from the opening pages and keep me engrossed in Olivia’s story until the very end.

Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont is having financial problems, so when she was approached to ghost write her father’s memoirs, she said yes.

Her father, Vincent Taylor, a famous horror writer, has Lewy body dementia, which creates difficulties when it comes to figuring out what is true and what is false. Olivia will have to face her father’s past. His family had been murdered and he was the only one left standing. That fed the rumor mill. Was he involved? Did he kill them himself?

We float from past to present and I loved Poppy as much as I loved spending time with Olivia.

I quickly became involved in Olivia’s story, watching the past unfold, wondering what was true and, even when the story was finished, was it the truth? I love an author that can keep me flipping pages, unable to put the book down, having to know, having to reach the end and have all the secrets exposed.

I love when I find a new author to love, keeping my eyes open for new books to come.

GOODREADS BLURB

Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is the only child of legendary horror author Vincent Taylor, famous not only for his novels but for being the prime suspect in the brutal slaying of his siblings. On the brink of financial ruin, Olivia reluctantly agrees to ghostwrite her father’s last book, not realising she will be forced to reckon with the ghosts that live at the centre of her family.

Genre: Mystery, Psychological, Suspense, Thriller
368 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication: June 3, 2025 by Sourcebooks Landmark

ABOUT JULIE CLARK

Julie Clark is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ones We Choose and The Last Flight, which was also a #1 international bestseller and has been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and a golden doodle with poor impulse control.

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Review – Hidden Angels by Carolyn Arnold @Carolyn_Arnold #NetGalley #HiddenAngels

Posted on February 20, 2025 by fundinmental

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Carolyn Arnold is a go to author for me. Her ability to spin a web of mystery keeps me following along in her step by step investigation. Detective Amanda Steele is on the case in Hidden Angels.

Her body had been hidden in the walls of the church for twenty years. How could it be that she had never been missed? As the story unfolds the ugliness of their community is exposed. Lives will be changed forever.

Amanda’s long term relationship is over and she is single again. She finds it hard to balance work and family, but isn’t that a common problem for all of us? Especially for a homicide detective? Their job is no nine to five job. Her partner, Trent is in a relationship, so she puts aside the feelings that she has for him. Zoe, her adopted daughter who is nine years old going on teenager, is her anchor.

When Amanda and Trent were questioning Audrey:

The woman’s elaborate storytelling had drawn her in.

It made me think of my husband’s ability to stretch a story out.

As the investigation develops, dirty secrets are exposed. The victim had been used and abused and tossed aside like trash. Those involved are despicable and I hope they get their comeuppance. Knowing Carolyn Arnold, she will make them pay.

I want to thank Carolyn Arnold, NetGalley and Bookouture for the chance to read Hidden Angels.

GOODREADS BLURB

As the wall is peeled back, everyone falls silent. Then they see her. The near-perfect remains of a young female, two jelly bangles and a neon necklace being the only clues to how long she had been hidden there. But who was she? And who could have possibly wanted to take such an innocent life?

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Format
353 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication February 20, 2025 by Bookouture
Series: Detective Amanda Steele #13

ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD

CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from police procedurals, hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures. Her crime fiction series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining. This led to her adopting the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.

Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.

She currently lives near London, Ontario, Canada with her husband and two beagles.