I received an electronic ARC via Gay Romance Reviews.

Hailey Turner shifts her focus to the fae with her newest novel, Bright Dead Things. Readers follow Cillian Dunne, a ranger who cares for the forest where he grew up alongside Bran Gallagher. Until one instant split them apart. Bran had fled, but news of the violent deaths of his mother and stepfather forces his return to Pelham. Unknown to Cillian, Bran is a witch and must assume his mother's duties to the land and the town. But the lights which local folklore has always warned against are back and likely responsible for more deaths than just Bran's parents. While Bran carries iron to protect against the evil in the woods, Cillian carries lifelong warnings to never trust a witch and the balm Bran's mother made which soothes his iron allergy. Generational secrets, magic, and an undeniable bond unfold.

Turner leans heavily into Celtic traditions when building her magic and her fae folklore. These fae are cruel and separate from the mortals, which is honestly my favorite presentation of the fae. Cillian and Bran are silly in that their entire issue is based off of miscommunication, but clearly are well suited to one another. Turner also features beings from Celtic mythology with really cool ways of presenting them.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book and will absolutely be exploring Turner's backlist while I wait for book two.

An accumulation of Knoxville Journal columns written by Vic Weals which provide historical account of life in Cades Cove and the Great Smoky Mountains. A valuable source based off of oral history that was documented by Weals. A bit dry, unfortunately.

I received an electronic ARC via BookSprout.

Actual rating: 3.5

Cara Dee returns to the Hillcroft Group with The Stowaway. Readers follow Hillcroft Operator and pilot James Hyatt and aid worker/nurse Kiera as Kiera stows away on the helicopter Hyatt is piloting out of Afghanistan. While Hyatt commits to getting Kiera home, he still has a job to do in the meantime. This leads to forced proximity in a safehouse while awaiting Kiera's journey home. And perhaps, they can make something of a life together once they return.

While the Hillcroft Group series does consist of mostly standalone romances and the stories absolutely can stand alone, I did not want to miss information about recurrent characters in the series. I do not typically read MF romances, but the series, the author, and the novella length convinced me to give this one a shot.

Pregnancy is a theme in this story, much to my chagrin, given that I typically avoid pregnancy/motherhood content. That said, I still enjoyed learning about Hyatt and his relationship with Kiera. I am glad to have read their story, but acknowledge that I probably genuinely could have gotten the information I needed in context from other books in the series. Cara Dee always develops her characters well and even in this novella-type format, Hyatt and Kiera had clear character-building beyond the context of this story.

Always happy to see another Cara Dee book on the release list.