End of May/First of June Reads (and where Ive been!) @ChautonaHavig

Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

What I read the last week of May and first of June. It’s been a rough first week of June, but I’m off to my summer writing retreat, and boy do I need it!
Music in the Hills by D. E. Stevenson
Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson
Carnival of Lies by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards
Silent Menace by Angela Carlisle
Murder on the Rocks by T. E. Kinsey
Skin and Bone by Lisa Phillips
Sixpenny Holding by Margaret Scutt
Corpse Path Cottage by Margaret Scutt
The Charity Shop Detective Agency
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End of May/First of June Reads (and where Ive been!)

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$Episode 570: A Chat with Niki Florica The Blood of Kings: Legends has another fabulous addition. Niki Floricas Son of Embers promises a great story. Listen in to learn more note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. A scarred squire and a girl with poison in her slippers must outrun the dark before it claims them both. Son of Embers by Niki Florica Hes the slave a dozen masters threw away. Shes the lady no one in ErRets knows what to do with. Now, theyre both wanted by a town full of traitors… and one anothers best chance of escape. Born to serve, slave-turned-squire Mezaedo Chevyah was sent to Har Shaar with a simple plan: investigate a noblewomans disappearance, and prove to the Kingsguard that hes worth keeping. Instead, he finds a bounty on his head, the voice of a dead villain stirring in the back of his mind, and two unlikely allies — one, a traitor, the other a lady as strange as her poison-toed slippers. Lady Halona Pitney — anomaly, herbalist, and self-proclaimed harbinger of chaos — came back to Har Shaar to find her missing grandmother and confront her childhood friend, Erro Coble. But Erro has changed, and the secrets hes keeping are the kind that get people killed. So when he asks her to help him smuggle a wounded squire out of the village — alive — how can she refuse? Forced into an alliance no one wants, Mezaedo, Halona, and Erro have one chance to escape Har Shaar alive before every bounty hunter in the mountains closes in. But the wilderness beyond the walls hides a darkness worse than any of them imagined. Loyalties will fracture. Secrets will surface. And whats growing between the squire and the lady may cost more than they know how to pay. To survive what waits, Mezaedo and Halona will have to trust each other — and the God who carried them this far — before the dark swallows everyone they came to save. Two unlikely hearts. Enemies on every side. A faith that may be the only thing left standing. From the bestselling fantasy author of the Blood of Kings and Kinsman Chronicles, Son of Embers is a stand-alone, faith-forward romantasy set in Jill Williamsons beloved ErRets — perfect for readers who enjoy slow-burn romance wrapped in quirky characters, courageous faith, and prose that crackles like a hearth in a winter storm. READERS WILL LOVE… A slow-burn romance built one stitched wound and shared fire at a time. A slave-turned-squire whose smiles will completely undo you — even with a bounty on his head. An audacious noblewoman the world has never known what to do with, with poison in her slippers and chaos in her shoes. A childhood friend turned traitor — and the impossible question of whether love can pull him back. A trio of misfits forced into the wilderness beyond the walls. Faith that gets tested in the snow, the cave, the ash — and a town full of traitors hunting their every step. You can listen to the first interview HERE. Learn more about Niki on her WEBSITE and follow her on GoodReads and BookBub. And dont forget her YouTube channel. Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at: Apple Castbox Google Play Libsyn RSS Spotify Amazon YouTube and more!$

Chautona Havig |

End of May/First of June Reads (and where I've been!)