S. Lee Spelbring's Blog

Tattoo Tarot: Ink Intuition by Diana McMahon-Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ok the artwork here is beautiful. It’s classic tattoo imagery and design. It’s gorgeous, no complaints for that. It’s based on the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot and is easy to read as it’s pretty much the same tradition.

Now that I’ve said that, I’m going to talk a little bit about the booklet that comes with. It is a booklet. It’s simple. It’s succinct. No frills. You get a brief introduction of Tarot and Tattooing, followed by a couple spreads (nothing new here), and then brief, overarching descriptions. We are introduced to the Wands, Swords, Cups, and Coins, then the court cards (Kings, Queens, Knights, and Pages), and then the numbers themselves.

From there each card has it’s own set of adjectives. If you have several tarot decks, you know what this means, but essentially its a set of words that the card is implying and you are to use your intuition to determine from those words what is going on.

This is not a novelty deck, which I think works very well here. I’m going to continue reading with it for the rest of my summer and enjoy the artistry represented in the cards.

View all my reviewsMore Books to Read:Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot by Lon Milo DuQuetteThe Wild Unknown Tarot Guidebook by Kim KransThe Labyrinth Tarot Deck and Guidebook by Minerva Siegel

The Complete Horse Mistress Collection by R.A. Steffan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an ebook series of four books, the first one is free on Amazon and I do suggest reading that one before commiting to reading the entire series. Though the series is “free” on Kindle Unlimited. I say this because not everyone is going to enjoy reading about LGBTQIA+ characters and this is an unfortunate situation because this is a very good book about finding yourself and belonging.

Our main character is AFAB transgender, though she never really defines a label for herself other than a boy’s soul in a girl’s body. She does use she/her pronouns which is also addressed in the book. The situation is also compounded by her lovers, which leads us to a very loving threesome, that is explored socially throughout the series.

The other characters react to their relationship in different expected and unexpected ways that feel realistic given the situation. There is an actual plot through the series, not just a focus on the romance and self-discovery.

I found the whole series really eye-opening and heart-warming, and will be reading more from this author in the new year (I did read this in 2024 and am only reviewing it now in 2025.)

View all my reviewsMore Books to Read:The Horse Mistress: Book 1 by R.A. SteffanPegasus by Danielle SteelWith Open Arms by Nora Roberts

How to Piss Off Men: 106 Things to Say to Shatter the Male Ego by Kyle Prue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First of all, I should put out here that this is meant to be comedic, the author does not take themselves too seriously and you shouldn’t either. This is meant to be a funny take on some of the things the male side of society take a little too seriously.

There has been some fun social media posts about this book, and I couldn’t help myself. Though, having said that, you probably don’t need the entire book if you’ve seen the amount of posts I’ve seen so far, but I’m always going to side with the author and say if you enjoyed the posts, get the book.

This book does what it says in the title, it pokes fun at toxic masculinity and fragile male ego. I’ll give you a couple examples here and then send you on your way.

“Did you know that early men were accessories for women? They were used to defend territory and procreation.”

“Is that a furry thing?”



View all my reviewsMore Books to Read:Alexa, Tell Me a Joke by AlexaOne Glass is Never Enough by Jane Wenham-JonesThe Complete Works of Confucius

The One Minute Manager by Kenneth H. Blanchard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was recommended reading from my day job, as part of a leadership training session. I’m still not sure how I view non-fiction titles that read as stories. It actually reminded me a bit of “Our Iceberg is Melting” but with less penguins.

It’s essentially an hands off managerial approach to employees, that gives the employees freedom to manage themselves with the support of the actual manager. I am still not sure if I’ve used or applied any of the strategies suggested by this book and feel like I should read it again to see if I’ve missed something or if it just wasn’t as impactful as I thought it was when I first read it.

I’m sorry but the jury is still out on this one. At least it’s a quick read.

View all my reviewsMore Books to Read:Our Iceberg is Melting by John P. KotterBaby Steps Millionaires by Dave RamseyMastering Online Marketing by Magnus Unemyr

The Girl With Violet Eyes by Hope Dwinell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Okay so I got sucked into one of those advertisements on social media, where you can read about a chapter of story and then get directed to an app where you pay per chapter to read the entire thing.

I did not do this as there are ways of reading some of things online for free, and some of them are even on Amazon (!!). So this is a review of the entire marketing scheme in general and a bit about the book itself.

1) It’s not worth it. If you do go about finding the app you’ll end up spending way more money than you should for a book. Just don’t. Also, if you go about finding the free version, it’s typically full of ads and viruses and malware. Neither one is a good user experience, and only one of those benefits the author (unless the app is unscrupulous and stole the story to begin with then it’s a lose lose situation).

2) The story itself was pretty decent, short, but decent. It’s a supernatural romance with werewolves, though the girl has something else going on that isn’t fully explained. There is no resolving anything since it’s almost like a prologue to the series(?). Good, but leaves you a little disappointed.

Overall, we can do better.

View all my reviewsMore Books to Read:Fool Moon by Jim ButcherDark Wolf by Christine FeehanWomen of the Night by Various Authors

Supernatural – Tarot Deck and Guidebook by Minerva Siegel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is very obviously a novelty deck, but if you are a fan of Supernatural, it actually fits in fairly well with the theming.

Blades, Pentagrams, Goblets, and Bones – not terribly off putting with their choices of suits. Pentagrams, Goblets, and Blades are all self explanatory and even common after a fashion. Bones makes sense for the novelty factor and the Earth suit so I can’t really complain about those choices.

I do really enjoy the Major Arcana – all the main characters (including the Impala) are included here. As a Supernatural fan (of course I am, why would I have the deck otherwise?), I am delighted with the choices that were made.

The Minor Arcana, well, it has room for improvement. Some of the Major Arcana was recycled into the Minor Arcana and I’m not a big fan. I was hoping for more of the intermediate characters, some fun weapons (could have used more Angel Blades honestly), even some of the generic monsters would have been great. Don’t get me wrong here, the intermediate characters on the Minor Arcana were great – I just want more of it.

I had a ton of fun reading with this deck and I can’t wait to cycle it back into rotation again.

View all my reviewsMore Books to Read:Thoth Tarot Deck by Aleister CrowleyThe Wild Unknown Tarot Guidebook by Kim KransMoon Magic Book & Card Deck by Marie Bruce

Labyrinth – Tarot Deck and Guidebook by Minerva Siegel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Okay, I’m going to start this review off by pointing out my personal bias – I love the Labyrinth movie, I love David Bowie, and because of those things I already have a fondness for this tarot deck. The art is also inspired by Brian Froud and he does the foreword, so there is another thing in favor of this deck.

I used this tarot deck for my daily draws for two months to get a good feel for it, and I truly loved it. There are a couple of quirks I will point out, though. This deck follows the basic Rider-Waite-Smith standard, but with two changes on the cards. The Labyrinth is meant to be fantasy movie, so The Lovers were changed to The Dancers, and Death was changed to Fate. Which, honestly went better with the theming of the deck, but took me a few tries to read the cards when I pulled them.

As with most guidebooks there are some themed spreads at the end of the book, for fun and a quick start to get reading. While interesting, they aren’t anything new. There’s a basic three card draw that’s relabeled, and then a couple others to find the “hidden meaning” behind the doors of truth and lies (that one was kind of fun). The guidebook does have reversed meanings for the cards, which I do appreciate, though I don’t always use reversed meanings myself when I draw.

This is basically a long, drawn-out way of telling you I went into this review already liking the deck and my view has not changed after using it. It is what’s on the packaging, it’s a novelty tarot deck, but I like it that way.

View all my reviews

How to Stop Picking at My Skin: 25 Proven Tips to Help You Stop Picking at Your Skin IMMEDIATELY by Anne C. Mapehrson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was not sure what to expect with this one, and to be completely honest I picked it up on a whim from the Amazon freebie section. I mean, who of us hasn’t popped a pimple or two? Or gotten after a itchy bit of skin hard enough to make it bleed?

Well, this little ebook centers more so around the reasons you’re doing it in the first place, things like perfectionism, bad habits, even OCD and other self-destructive behaviors. I was not expecting that, but I probably should have.

The author does provide 25 tips, some of which include seeing a doctor, not only for your acne (which that could reduce the reason you’re picking in the first place), but to address the behavior itself, especially if it is the result of a mental illness or other condition.

The rest consist of of cognitive behavioral therapy, and tricking yourself into doing something else instead. Otherwise known as “how to break a bad habit”. Which, for the majority of us I’d like to say that all it is.

Again, it does what it says on the box. No complaints here.

View all my reviewsMore Books to Read:Bad Habits No More by Steve ScottDrink This, Not That! by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding77 Habits for Highly Successful Living by Greg Parry

An Easy Guide to Meditation by Roy Eugene Davis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is not a guide to the new age of mindfulness and being present in the moment type of meditation. This a guide to the kind of meditation that allows your thoughts and being out into the open vastness of the infinite.

And if you’re like me, a person dealing with the every day mental stress, anxiety, depression, or burnout, this may not be the book for you. It even says so: if you’re dealing with mental illness, deal with that first.

It does give some helpful tips for calming down, centering yourself, and clearing your thoughts, albeit as a way to get ready for deep, soulful meditation with universe.

This book does what it says on the cover, the guide is easy enough to understand, even if it might be a bit difficult to put into practice. It does give the caveat that it takes time and practice to be able to meditate for longer than 2o minutes (I can barely manage 5 before my brain decides I’m done). So it’s not a get into a meditative state quick type of book, but it is an easy to understand, easy to read guide to meditation.

View all my reviewsMore Books to Read:50 Things to Know Happy Life Series by Lisa M. RusczykWaking Up in Heaven by Crystal McVeaLove Your Life, Not Theirs by Rachel Cruze

Learn German – Word Power 101 by Innovative Language
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

You will not learn German with this book. What you will learn are German words and phrases that may or may not help you, it depends on what you’re looking for or trying to do.

You are given words for different body parts and how to use them in a sentence.
You are given words for different fruits and vegetables and how to use them in a sentence.
You are given the numbers one through ten, and how to use them in a sentence.
You are given the basic colors and how to use them in a sentence.

You are not given anything on sentence structure, grammar, verb conjugation, or anything to help you put together a string of words on your own. I’m not even sure you could use this book to ask for directions.

I did add to my vocabulary with this book, but some of the sentences and structuring is a bit beyond my ability yet.

In short, this is a phrase book, it can help expand your German vocabulary, but you’re not going to be doing much language learning here.

View all my reviewsMore Books to Read:Painting with Words -Ted-EdDaring Greatly by Brene Brown66 Tips & Tricks for Everyday Live by Kerstin Ordelt