Roots

by Alex Foster

Collins Cove Island is cursed. The roots of ancient magic bought with the souls of its inhabitants run deep and are strangling the life from the island.

Maggie Warshaw’s family helped bring that curse to the people and profited from it. After the death of her mother, she left the island to start a new life free of the arcane and the legacy of her family’s name.

Now after years away she has a normal life enrolled in law school, a best friend, and has put the horrific events of her childhood firmly behind her. But with the death of her estranged father, she is drawn back into her old life where she must face the consequences of her family’s curse.

Threatening Collins Cove is a demon that wants revenge and will not stop until the founding families are dead or driven insane. Maggie must find a way to end the curse and embrace the arcane legacy of the Warshaw name without sacrificing her soul in the process.

A Post-Lovecraftian style novel starring a neuroatypical asexual heroine.

264 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2019

About the author

Alex Foster was born in Chicago and raised in the deep south giving him a dual nature that is hard headed, appreciates deep dish pizza, cheers for the Blackhawks, while also non ironically waves to neighbors and fellow motorists at intersections and enjoys Gothic manors that are probably haunted.

He likes to write books and novellas that deal with mysteries, the supernatural, and members of the LGBTQA+ community and other marginalized groups given voices. Occasionally there are some superpowers and kissing thrown in to keep things interesting.

He currently resides in the desert southwest where it is much too hot and he hopes to one day see greenery and trees again.

Reviews

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie Warshaw left her privileged childhood on Collins Cove Island to attend college without the specter of her family's power and tragedies hanging over her head. But she can't escape the curse that waits for her. Upon the death of her father, she returns to the place that haunts her dreams and colors her life with her college roommate, Sara, and is soon drawn into the mystery regarding the source of the wealth of the original four families of the Island. Despite her plan to leave immediately after the funeral service, she's forced to rethink her plans and take on the terror that waits for her. This is a well-written story that grows into ratcheting tension as the pages fly by. There are a lot of pesky editorial errors, including a lack of commas and some repeated words, but they didn't detract too much from the story. I'll be looking for more by this author.

[Kimm · Rating 4 out of 5]

good, but

It’s a good story, but the editing can be painful, so just ignore that bit. I felt it ended a little too soon, tbh. I would have liked one more night of weirdness or a night spent reading old tomes to figure out what happened.