alternate history

The Last Wizards’ Ball

Gunnie Rose #6

by Charlaine Harris

coming July 22, 2025

(3.5 / 5)

Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

The Last Wizards’ Ball is the 6th (and I believe final) book in the Gunnie Rose series, so you’ll want to be sure to read the previous books before this one. I’ve generally loved this series, though the last two books seem to be my least favorite.

This book kept my interest well enough. Like the other books in the series, there’s plenty of drama and mystery, though it felt less adventurous than some of the other books. Since the story centers around the Wizards’ Ball, a lot of new characters from around the world are introduced, and sometimes I had a little trouble keeping track of who was who. We get to see many returning characters as well, though I felt much less of a connection to Felicia than I had before. A major plot-point of this story was the lead-up to World War II. In some ways it was interesting to see how those events might play out in this alternate history, but sometimes it also felt a bit forced. Honestly I wasn’t thrilled with how things ended after the long journey with these characters, but I also wasn’t completely surprised. All in all I’m glad to have followed this series all the way through.

A Longer Fall

Gunnie Rose #2

by Charlaine Harris

Review originally written in 2020.

(5 / 5)

A Longer Fall is the 2nd book in the Gunnie Rose series and continues to build on the alternate history world that the first book started. I highly recommend reading the books in order, as a lot of character/world building and background was established in An Easy Death.

A Longer Fall begins shortly after the first book leaves off. Lizbeth has found a new crew, and is on her first job since the events in An Easy Death. They are traveling by train, transporting a crate to Dixie, a nation made up of the southern states of the former United States. It doesn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worse, and soon there is a trainwreck and the cargo disappears. The story is filled with action and mystery as we follow Lizbeth on her quest to track down the cargo.

I was thrilled to see that the character Eli, a wizard from the Holy Russian Empire, returned in the story. He was one of my favorite characters from the first book, and I liked the relationship that had started to build between Eli and Lizbeth. Their relationship is complicated for sure, and neither seems to know where they stand with each other, but there’s lots of hints of how they each really feel. The romance isn’t the main theme of the story, but there are some non-graphic descriptions of adult relations.

While the book takes place in a fictional world, the racism and sexism that are portrayed aren’t so different from actual events, especially in that part of the country. It gives a lot of insight about how those people were treated and must have felt.

This series feels like a wonderful blend of many genres: alternate history, fantasy, romance, western, adventure, thriller. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would like this series since I don’t usually read some of those genres, but it’s done well and I love it. I literally devoured these books, especially A Longer Fall. A few things are left unresolved at the end of the book, so I’m really looking forward to seeing where this series takes us next!

June 8, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle 0

All the Dead Shall Weep

By Charlaine Harris

Coming soon on September 5, 2023

(3.5 / 5)

All the Dead Shall Weep is the 5th book in the Gunnie Rose series, and since it continues the stories of Lizbeth and Felicia, the previous books should be read first. That said, it’s been several months since I read the previous books, and I didn’t have much trouble following what was going on since the author gave little hints and reminders of things that had happened previously.

In general, I’ve really enjoyed reading this series, but this book was probably my least favorite. It doesn’t mean it was a bad book, it just didn’t seem to have the adventure and excitement that the previous books had. There was very much an “air of sadness” throughout the book- right from the start we learn that Lizbeth recently miscarried a baby and Eli has been distant, then Eli (and his brother Peter) are gone for most of the book. With the love interests gone, there isn’t much of any romance in this book. There was a little bit of adventure, but most of the story took place in Lizbeth’s hometown of Segundo Mexia. Honestly, a lot of the book felt like we were waiting around to see if Eli would come back and wondering what was going on with a mysterious militia. There’s more excitement in the end, but honestly this whole book feels like it’s leading up to bigger things that haven’t happened yet. And I just don’t feel like there was a lot of character development over the course of the story, though there is growth in the relationship between the sisters. I enjoyed the book well enough since I like the characters and world that was built from the previous books. But I’m hoping there will be a book #6 that feels more like the previous books and dives into some of the things that weren’t wrapped up in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the free advance copy of this book. All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

August 15, 2023 by danimae1981 eBook Fantasy Fiction 0

The Serpent in Heaven

By Charlaine Harris

(5 / 5)

The Serpent in Heaven is the 4th book in the Gunnie Rose series, which takes place in an alternate history where the United States has fallen and been replaced by multiple smaller countries. While it probably can be read without reading the previous books, I highly recommend reading them first. I really love the mixing of genres in this series: fantasy/magic, western, alternate history, action, mystery, and romance.

Unlike the first 3 books that are from Lizbeth’s perspective, this book follows Felicia, Lizbeth’s younger half-sister. While I initially missed following Lizbeth and Eli, I enjoyed this new perspective, which gave us a lot more insight into Felicia and her background. Since Felicia is around 15 years old, this book has a “younger” feel to it than the previous books, but I don’t think it took away from the story at all. The book is engaging with plenty of action and good flow that kept it hard to put down. I’m hoping this series will continue since I have really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the free review copy of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

November 29, 2022 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle 0