Here at Fresh Fiction, we love book chat, and we have a lot of reviewers with fierce opinions about the authors, characters, and books they love (and about the things that drive them crazy). This is the first in a series of reviewer profiles. Hopefully, these will give other readers ideas about what books to add to their TBR lists, as well as spark some conversations. What qualities make a book super satisfying for you – characters, dialogue, setting, mood? Does it depend on what genre the book is? Any examples? Debbie Wiley: World building and character development are the biggest factors for me in whether I thoroughly enjoy a book or not. My favorite genres are urban fantasy and cozy mysteries, and both of those elements are crucial to the genre. Most of my favorite urban fantasy characters tend to be heroic in nature, even when it goes against their own best interests. For instance, Harry Dresden – the protagonist in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, makes numerous choices that put his own life at risk in order to save others- that’s my kind of urban fantasy hero! For cozy mysteries, I want main characters who are the kind of person I…

by Senior Reviewer Debbie Wiley Streaming companies had a huge economic boost during the last year or so, and I have to admit I’ve hopped on that bandwagon. Normally, I watch very little tv and only go to the movies occasionally, so I blame Baby Yoda specifically for my latest tv marathon viewing, as it all started with The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda! After all, who can resist that little adorable frog-eating, egg-stealing, tiny force-wielding hero?! A few of my favorites since then have been The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and of course, this long-time Godzilla and King Kong fan couldn’t resist Godzilla vs Kong – the movie that made me want to go back into a theater even when it still wasn’t a good idea for me (and is why I now have HBO Max LOL). Obviously, most of my favorite movies and series to watch tend towards the sci-fi or hero themes, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. After all, my all-time favorite book character is Harry Dresden from the Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series as his heroism shines through even in the worst of times as he strives to do the right thing, even when…

I have a confession to make. Not only do I read spoilers for movies, books, and tv shows, I also peek at the end of books. If I don’t like the outcome, I stop reading or watching at the spot that seems “safest.” I’ve always enjoyed spoilers, but it was Stephen King’s novella, “The Mist” that started it all for me. That cliffhanger ending haunted me for years. What happened next? Did the people survive and repopulate the earth? Did the scary mist ever dissipate? I came up with my own stories to answer those questions (which is part of the purpose of open-ended cliffhangers like this novella had) but I wanted a sense of finality… until the movie for THE MIST came out. No spoilers, but that is one movie that I definitely stop watching and leave the cliffhanger ending in place without seeing the new conclusion to the tale–my own imagination has clearly been less horrifying! The final Harry Potter book, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, is another book that I refused to finish until I knew who would live and who would die. Despite standing in line at midnight and immediately starting the book as soon…

by Fresh Fiction Senior Reviewer Debbie Wiley Did you guys hear my loud squeals of joy over some of the recent urban fantasy novels? This summer has been the book equivalent of winning the jackpot as far as I’m concerned. Earlier this summer, we had Kim Harrison return with AMERICAN DEMON but now we have several of my other favorite authors also releasing books. Let’s face it… I’m not really going anywhere regardless (thanks, Covid-19) but who wants to leave the house anyway when such great books are at my fingertips? So let’s skip the chatter and my squeals of joy and jump right into the books! It’s been six years since we’ve had a new Dresden Files book from Jim Butcher. Six looooonnnng years. And now, we have PEACE TALKS out with BATTLE GROUNDS soon to follow in the same year! Ah, this almost makes up for some of the misery of 2020. In PEACE TALKS, various supernatural entities are gathering in Chicago in an attempt to broker a peace deal. The White Council is assisting with security, and Harry Dresden finds himself in a dubious position as his support within the Council is wavering. Worse yet, his vampire half-brother is…

You know the adage; sometimes life is stranger than fiction? Well, I have a little story to share that continues to support this idea. Since early September, I have been working on a contract that takes me to downtown. The drive from my house to my contract is roughly 50 minutes without traffic and closer to an hour and fifteen and sometimes over 90 minutes in traffic. I pass the time with books on CD or books on my iPod. Both are effective entertainment and are helping me whittle down my TBR list (well not really, but I am enjoying some great books this way.) So What Does Harry Dresden Have to Do With It? Want to know why? Click here to read the rest… Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.