BBNYA Spotlight - Perfect by Lisa Kessler

About BBNYA and the Spotlight Tours

The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the books that made it to the semi-finals with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (18 in 2026) and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. 

Book Summary

Perfection.

Juliet Huff’s life depends on it.

She’s never been outside, had friends over, or attended school. She’s also never had a cold, a bruise, or a scrape.  

Her parents are researchers, part of the secretive Genesis Foundation, and they have one goal. Utopia. No one will ever lose another child to disease or birth defects. They’ll achieve their goal through cloning perfect children. In order to attract funding, any imperfect subjects are terminated.

As she nears her eighteenth birthday, she discovers she will become the first Genesis child to reach this milestone and will be “preserved” as a permanent record of their work unless she can break free.

But Juliet has a secret. She met someone from the outside world once, the boy from across the street. Breaking free of her house, she finds help from Bill Manning and his friends, but time is running out and she must expose the Genesis Foundation…

Because she’ll never be perfect again.

Author Bio

L.A. Kessler is the pseudonym of award-winning horror and paranormal romance author Lisa Kessler. She's a two-time San Diego Book Award winner for Best Published Fantasy-Sci-fi-Horror and Best Published Romance. Her books have also won the PRISM award, the Award of Excellence, the National Excellence in Romantic Fiction Award, the Award of Merit from the Holt Medallion, and an International Digital Award for Best Paranormal.

Her horror short stories have been published in print anthologies and magazines, and her vampire story, Immortal Beloved, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker award.

When she's not writing, Lisa is a professional tarot reader and vocalist.

You can learn more at Lisa-Kessler.com 

BBNYA Spotlight - Not Lucille by Mike Steele

About BBNYA and the Spotlight Tours

The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the books that made it to the semi-finals with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (18 in 2026) and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. 

Book Summary

It’s 1931, and children should be seen and not heard.

Ten-year-old Lucy Contento can’t help but be seen and heard. And she’s always in trouble for it. She talks too much. She’s impulsive. She writes with the wrong hand. Her parents would be mad enough knowing she routinely earns afterschool detentions. They’d be furious if they found out she’s been sneaking onto the campus of the nearby Trenton Academy for the Deaf. But there, Lucy has met Florence, a lonely and profoundly deaf girl her own age. Florence doesn’t mind Lucy’s flaws. Though Florence can’t speak, she has a unique way of communicating. If Lucy can figure out how to learn Florence’s special language, the two could be friends.

Lucy devises a plan, but it’s going to cost a whopping $7.98—more money than she’s got. She can’t tell her parents why she wants the funds without revealing she’s been visiting Florence. Besides, her parents don’t have a penny to spare. Her father has been out of work for months. And nobody else in the Contento family has an income. Or do they …? Lucy soon discovers she’s not the only member of her family hiding something. Can she get the money she needs while keeping everyone’s secrets? Or will her scheming land her in the biggest trouble of her life?

In this story of friendship and belonging, a young girl navigates prejudice, punishment, and identity while establishing her voice in a world that often tries to keep her silent. 

Author's fun fact about the book:

The book is inspired by a real neighborhood in the city of Trenton, NJ, as well as a real school for the Deaf that used to be in that neighborhood. This same neighborhood is the setting of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series (set in a very different time and written for a very different audience). 

Author Bio

Mike Steele is an elementary school librarian and children’s playwright with eight plays published and licensed for production. Not Lucille is his debut middle-grade novel. In his spare time, he likes to attend musicals, create mixed-media artwork, and win prizes from claw machines. He lives at the Jersey Shore with his tabby cats, Karen and Sox. If you spot him in the wild, he usually has a bubble tea in one of his hands.

Jekyll vs Hyde: The Potion of Doom by Jack Meggitt-Phillips

This was one of my most anticipated proofs so I was overjoyed to get a copy! I'm looking forward to seeing the finished version, I bet the illustrations are amazing.

If the Beast and Ebenezer Tweezer created a child together, it would be Henrik. Beastier than the Beast, and more self-centred than Ebenezer (if that's possible) but with none of their charm. His actual parents may not like each other but they are devoted to him and spend all their time trying to prove who loves him most.

Dr Jekyll leaves the house to Henrik, giving him access to whole load more chaos, particularly the laboratory with all it's creepy jars and medical implements. Is the house sentient, will Henrik finally make a friend, and who exactly is Lady Deadlock??? What a twist! And then another twist! I would really love for this to be a series.

Book Summary

In a whimsical twist on the classic Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by RL Stevenson, spoiled young Henrik Jekyll has been left his ancestor Dr Jekyll’s house, laboratory, and ― most importantly ― secret, life-altering Hyde Potion recipe. Henrik’s curiosity soon leads him down a dark path, unleashing a chaotic alter ego named Eddie. With Eddie's strength and mischief wreaking havoc in the local town, Henrik must confront the consequences of his reckless actions. Can he learn to control his inner Hyde before it’s too late, or will he succumb to the chaos? And what darkness lurks in the foundations of Jekyll Manor itself?

I've created the Eddie Hyde cocktail. In a tall glass, add 30ml vodka, 10ml blue curacao, 10ml lemon juice, 60ml Lemonade. Add a sprinkle of sparkling gunpowder*. Add 3 or 4 cubes of ice and stir then top up with tonic. Make sure to stir carefully so the gunpowder doesn't explode!

*edible yellow shimmer powder

BBNYA Spotlight - Jester by Tim Carter

About BBNYA and the Spotlight Tours

The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the books that made it to the semi-finals with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (18 in 2026) and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. 

Book Summary

In a realm ruled by idiots, their only hope is the Fool.

You’d think an army of zombie trolls and undead ogres would catch the nobility’s attention. You’d be wrong. The rulers of Halfsock are deeply in denial. Besides, they have taxes to avoid, neighbors to plunder, and relatives to backstab.

With war looming, a goblin latrine slave named Shelly resolves to save Castle Halfsock from itself. He must take on many roles… jester, detective, spy, and political fixer. But his most challenging role—especially after a lifetime spent cleaning other people’s toilets—is as a confident secret agent worthy of trust, friendship, and maybe even love.

Can the least powerful person in the realm overcome his insecurities to depose rulers, forge alliances, and fend off an undead horde?

A comic tale of politics, friendship, and found family for fans of Nicholas Eames, Terry Pratchett, and J. Zachary Pike. 

Author's fun fact about the book: It's inspired by the anti-goblin prejudices of my covid D&D group. 

Author Bio

Tim Carter writes fiction, video games, and movies. He draws inspiration for his fiction and movies from a lifelong love of strategy and role-playing games, especially Dungeons and Dragons.

He lives with his wife and two dogs in Vancouver, Canada. He is best known for writing the novels Jester and Majordomo, the console game Sleeping Dogs, writing and producing the Dead Rising movie series, and producing the digital series Mortal Kombat: Legacy. 

BBNYA Spotlight - Devil Inside by Tom Lloyd

About BBNYA and the Spotlight Tours

The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the books that made it to the semi-finals with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (18 in 2026) and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. 

Book Summary

My name is Eve Carnell. I’m 29 years old, single and have a devil in me. It’s not as cool as you might think.

My entire world fell apart when I was sixteen. Now all I want is a normal life, but that’s not easy when you’re on every “usual suspects” list going. And normal goes out the window the day MI5 come to ask me about my dead grandfather. They’re hunting a spy and while I may be the absolute worst choice for the job, apparently I have a very particular set of skills. Who knew, right? 

Author's fun fact about the book: Some of it is based on actual events (just not the magic bits) 

Author Bio

Tom Lloyd was born in 1979 in Berkshire. After a degree in International Relations he went straight into publishing where he still works. He never received the memo about suitable jobs for writers and consequently has never been a kitchen-hand, hospital porter, pigeon hunter, or secret agent. He lives in Oxford, isn’t one of those authors who gives a damn about the history of the font used in his books and only believes in forms of exercise that allow him to hit something. Talk to him online on BlueSky.