HUMMINGBIRD MOONRISE

By Sherri L. Dodd

Paranormal Thriller / Fantasy / Magical Realism / Witch-Lit

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Pages: 304

Publication Date: October 9, 2025

Synopsis

The past two years have taken their toll on Arista Kelly. Once an eternal optimist, now she has faced the darkness and must recalibrate what true happiness means for her. Meanwhile, Shane, her ex-boyfriend, is pulling all the right moves to help keep her sane from her heightening paranoia. But it doesn’t help that Iris, her Great Aunt Bethie’s friend, has disappeared.

Still, one additional trial remains. While searching for Iris, Bethie and Arista stumble upon a grand revelation in the eccentric woman’s home. With the discovery, they realize their run of chaos and loss of kin may have roots in a curse that dates back to the 1940s, the time when their family patriarch first built Arista’s cottage in the redwoods and crafted his insightful Ouija table.

This pursuit will not follow their accustomed recipe of adrenalized action, but the high stakes remain. Will the mysterious slow burn of unfolding events finally level Arista’s entire world or be fully extinguished, once and for all?

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Review

While all good series must come to an end, this last novel does not disappoint. I might even go as far as to say it is my favorite of the three.

This book brings everything together that has been leading up to this moment. I gained a better understanding of Arista’s background and family lineage, and how what happened four generations ago impacts her life today. We even “see” some of those ancestors in this novel, whether in their spirits or in a flashback to what started the family feud.

I have enjoyed watching Arista grow in her beliefs and strengths, and even finding love again with Shane. She and her aunt are quite a duo, and together they are formidable. The magick they perform is intriguing to watch because of how it impacts the story and those around them.

There are parts of this book that are humorous. One of those is with two strangers who appear suspicious but, in the end, are not. I don’t want to spoil anything, so you’ll have to read the book to uncover these characters. Other passages are descriptive, and I felt like I was in the book with these characters.

To me, Iris’ character is the most intriguing of all. The facets of this character kept me guessing time and time again. I was never sure if she was being honest with Bethie or controlled by the past.

It is highly suggested that you read the first two books in this series before diving into this one. It will make more sense, especially with Iris and Fergus. It has been a year or so since I read the second book, so it took some time for my brain to jump back in and decipher the relationships among all the characters.

This has been a rollercoaster ride with this series, as I’ve been learning new aspects of the Occult and Paranormal world, since this isn’t a forte of mine.

While I’m sad to see the series end, these books were worth reading, and we give it 4 paws up.

About the Author

Sherri L. Dodd was raised in southeast Texas. Walking barefoot most days and catching crawdads as they swam the creek beds, she had a love for all things free and natural. Her childhood ran rampant with talk of ghosts, demons, and backcountry folklore. This inspired her first story for sale, about a poisonous flower that shot toxins onto children as they smelled it. Her classmate bought it for all the change in his pocket. Shortly thereafter, her mother packed the two of them up and headed to the central coast of California. Since that time, she has worked in the corporate world, married, raised two sons, and now writes full-time, creating atmospheric paranormal fiction. Her debut novel – Murder Under Redwood Moon – shot straight to #1 on Amazon, holding firm as a Best Seller in the Occult Supernatural genre.

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