after synali’s father, a duke, kills her mother, a commoner, synali’s out for revenge. she starts with her father, but she won’t be2024 reads: 253/250
after synali’s father, a duke, kills her mother, a commoner, synali’s out for revenge. she starts with her father, but she won’t be satisfied until his entire house is torn down. several members of his house helped him take her mother down, and synali’s set on making them regret that the assassin didn’t kill her, too.
i had been eyeing this book for quite some time (definitely judging this book by its cover, just in a positive way). this was not as romantic as i expected it to be, but i still enjoyed the plot and what romance we did get. i wasn’t expecting ai to play a role in this book, but without getting too deep into spoiler territory, i wanted to mention that i liked that aspect!
overall, this was a pretty enjoyable read, and i’m looking forward to book two!...more
i received an advanced listening copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
when hera 2024 reads: 248/250
i received an advanced listening copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
when hera helped her brother zeus overthrow their father, she didn’t expect zeus to be just as tyrannical. she knows she was born to rule, but she begins to question her role at zeus’s side.
hera has always been an interesting character to me, so i was excited to receive this book. as the synopsis points out, she’s often portrayed as not much more than a jealous wife...which, with a husband like zeus, is a bit hard to blame her for. (not to say all of her actions are entirely right.) i think this book did a great job of showing hera’s side while still not completely excusing her, in my opinion.
narration: naomi frederick did a great job bringing hera’s voice to life! though i will say, i now have to brush up on my greek pronunciation...
overall, this was an interesting story, and i’d recommend it to anyone who likes greek mythology. i’m excited to read more from jennifer saint!...more
in this novella, rowan is visiting her aunt, winnie the hedge witch. rowan is hoping this is the opportunity she needs to get some 2024 reads: 238/250
in this novella, rowan is visiting her aunt, winnie the hedge witch. rowan is hoping this is the opportunity she needs to get some peace and quiet from her annoying sisters. however, when mysterious things start happening around town, rowan starts attempting to hone her hedge craft to get to the bottom of it.
i really loved rowan in threadneedle, so i was very excited to learn this novella was about her! there were quite a few moments i found myself relating to her. rowan’s character growth throughout this novella was wonderful. her journey of self-discovery was well-explored.
lady trent is the world’s most renowned dragon naturalist. this book tells the story of how she started off in this path, from a cu2024 reads: 236/250
lady trent is the world’s most renowned dragon naturalist. this book tells the story of how she started off in this path, from a curious little girl to a headstrong married woman.
i went into this book expecting emily wilde but with dragons, and honestly, that expectation wasn’t far off. i would say, though, this was less focused on dragons than i expected, but there are quite a few more books in this series, so this could very well change. with that said, while we didn’t see very many dragons on-page, we did get to see lady trent’s love for dragons grow and grow, which i think is just as important. i read her as being autistic and will continue doing so for the rest of the series...more
sai has led a quiet life by keeping the family teahouse up and running and taking care of his mother. he also has a side hustle of matchmaking, as he’s been given the special gift of seeing the red threads of fate that run between soulmates. so far, he’s been content to not follow his own thread, the only one he’s ever seen that’s grey and fraying. but soon, his life is turned upside down, leading to him running from the ruthless emperor and into the arms of a mysterious dragon.
i LOVE books with a fated soulmates aspect and with inspirations from east asian mythology, so i was very excited to dive into this one! i ended up really enjoying this book. i thought it was interesting that the lead was a male, because i honestly don’t read that many male-led books. i really loved this because sai was so down-bad for jyn and we got to witness that firsthand.
overall, this was a lovely book that i’d recommend to fantasy romance fans. i will be adding katrina kwan’s other books to my tbr!...more
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating2024 reads: 269/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
when wren, a deadly manifestation of people’s frightening dreams, is punished for failing to retrieve information on a deadly weapon intended for her creator, para warwick, she decides to join the rebellion in finding it. she meets alaric, a fellow nightmare wanting to atone.
prince caine, warwick’s son, prepares to wed queen ila, who’s looking for a weapon and will do anything to retrieve it. caine discovers ila opening a portal and follows her through it. in this other world, he finds out his father is more monstrous than he knew.
this was such an interesting book! i really enjoyed it the entire time i was reading it. despite its length, it’s very fast-paced, and i never felt like it was dragging on. i loved reading about the different worlds and the main characters. we get four points of view, and each one was engrossing.
i received an advanced listening copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rat2024 reads: 240/250
i received an advanced listening copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
rae seizes a second chance at life through a magical bargain allowing her to become part of her favorite fantasy series. she wonders if her life isn’t just as threatened in the fictional world, though, when she awakes in a kingdom that’s on the brink of war and filled with dangerous monsters. despite this, she’s elated to have the chance to get to know her favorite fictional character, the once and forever emperor…until she finds out that she’s not the hero of this story, but the villain.
this was such a cool concept, so i was very excited to read it. i didn’t have very many expectations going into this, but i was still surprised. i enjoyed how the plot played out, from the magical bargain that placed rae into this world to her taking on the role of villain. the juxtaposition of the world of time of iron (rae’s favorite series) and rae’s upbringing in the modern world was pretty funny at times.
overall, this was a fun book, and i’m eagerly awaiting the sequel!
narration: the narrator, moira quirk, did a wonderful job bringing this story to life!...more
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating2024 reads: 229/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
psyche has captured the eyes of every suitor in—and beyond—town. while these men are happy to look at her, none seem to want to marry her. this stresses out her father, who becomes desperate when the townspeople begin blaming their family for failed harvests, so he seeks out the oracle’s advice. the oracle, guided by the jealous aphrodite’s child eros, instructs psyche’s father to hand her over to a monstrous husband. instead of a monster, though, psyche is swept away to an idyllic palace, where her spouse, eros, visits her at night. psyche thinks it’s odd that her prophesied husband is neither man nor monster and that she’s not allowed to see her, but she soon falls in love with eros (who she calls pteron) and her life there. when she becomes filled with doubts, though, she breaks eros’s one rule by looking at her face, which brings about trouble in her home and on olympus…
as soon as i saw this, i knew it’d be at least 4-5 stars for me. i adore greek mythology retellings, and i haven’t seen many of eros and psyche. i was only vaguely familiar with the story of eros and psyche before reading this, but refreshing my memory with quick descriptions, this seems to have captured the essence of the story. i loved the decision to make this a sapphic love story. this representation is definitely lacking when it comes to greek mythology retellings. additionally, eros is nonbinary and i found her discussions of her gender interesting.
overall, this was a beautifully-written retelling, and i’d highly recommend it to greek mythology lovers. i can’t wait for whatever’s next from caro de robertis!...more
this is the sixth and final book in the bonds that tie series.
after thousands of years apart, oli and her bond group’s god bonds ar2024 reads: 224/250
this is the sixth and final book in the bonds that tie series.
after thousands of years apart, oli and her bond group’s god bonds are reunited. this time, oli and her bonded have an advantage, but will it be enough to survive the gods, or will history repeat itself?
with all the buildup from the previous five books, i would have expected this book to be more action-packed, as this is the finale. however, while it was anticlimactic in this way, it was plenty climactic in other ways…
overall, i enjoyed how the story wrapped up. this was more character-focused than the previous books, and i liked the character and relationship development we got to see. i’d be interested in reading more from j. bree!...more
disclaimer: i received a finished copy of the book from the publisher as part of a book tour hosted by bibliolifestyle. this did no2024 reads: 234/250
disclaimer: i received a finished copy of the book from the publisher as part of a book tour hosted by bibliolifestyle. this did not affect my review/rating.
content warnings: genocide, racism, war
coa has been captured and subjected to public humiliation and potential execution as part of the great hunt, a gruesome spectacle held by the nationalist regime known as the allied force. if she doesn’t survive, neither will her family, so she has to find allies quickly.
while i haven’t seen this being compared to the hunger games, i do think this is one of the few books that deserve a comparison to it. a lot of hunger games comparisons have a deadly competition without the social commentary, but this had both. we get the perspectives of coa, a forced participant in the hunt, and princess ife, who comes from a conquered nation and is hoping to take the empire down from the inside following her marriage to a man who ranks high in the allied force. seeing these two different, yet similar, points of view helped put the whole story into perspective.
i highly recommend this book, and i can’t wait for the sequel!...more
this is the fifth book in the bonds that tie series.
oli’s bonded group has been torn apart, but they’re hellbent on getting revenge2024 reads: 205/250
this is the fifth book in the bonds that tie series.
oli’s bonded group has been torn apart, but they’re hellbent on getting revenge. now, they’re done waiting on the enemies to come to them.
as i guessed in my review of the previous book, what happened at the end of that book was, indeed, reversed. however, i didn’t mind that much, and i actually liked getting nox’s backstory. and, while we got a lot of character development from most everybody, this story was packed with action from start to finish. i can’t wait to see what the conclusion brings!...more
i received an advanced listening copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
content wa2024 reads: 226/250
i received an advanced listening copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
content warnings: child abuse, animal death
cordelia knows her mother is unusual, but it’s more than simple eccentricity that sets her mother apart from others—her mother is a sorcerer. after a suspicious death in their town, her mother whisks cordelia away to a remote manor belonging to a wealthy older man, the squire, and his sister, hester. hester sees the way cordelia acts around her mother, and is determined to save cordelia and her brother from bewitchment.
at some point, i actually need to read the goose girl, because i’ve read a few retellings of it by now and have enjoyed them all. this has also convinced me to give some of t. kingfisher’s other books a try; i’ve tried one, and it wasn’t for me, but since this one was, i’ll check out her other fantasy books!
when i started this book, i didn’t know just how prominent of a character hester would be. i loved getting to know her through her own chapters! as a “spinster,” she’s not your typical fantasy protagonist, but i loved her personality and her relationship with cordelia. i think she played a big part in cordelia’s character growth, as well.
narration: eliza foss and jennifer pickens narrated this book. i think they both did a lovely job of bringing their respective characters, and by extension this story, to life!...more
heather and moth have been stolen away to the faerie realm from which moth was banis2024 reads: 193/250
this is book two of the mothman in love series.
heather and moth have been stolen away to the faerie realm from which moth was banished. while getting to know his past, heather begins to question their future.
i really liked dipping into the faerie realm in this book! of course, it came with its problems: not all of moth’s family welcome heather, and she doesn’t have access to her medicine. i loved seeing how they worked through these issues and i can’t wait to see them again in book three!...more
this epistolary novel follows e., a recluse, and henerey clel, a renowned scholar, as they bond through letters over their shared i2024 reads: 190/250
this epistolary novel follows e., a recluse, and henerey clel, a renowned scholar, as they bond through letters over their shared interests of the underwater world. but then, a seaquake destroys e.’s home, and she and henerey vanish. a year later, their siblings are trying to piece together their disappearances from the letters, sketches, and field notes they left behind.
i haven’t read an epistolary novel in so long, and when fairyloot announced their gorgeous edition of this, i was so excited to read it. i absolutely loved getting to know the characters through their letters. i’m not sure if it was intended this way, but e. definitely read as autistic to me, which just made me love her even more.
i’d recommend this to any adult fantasy fans, especially if you enjoy epistolaries!...more
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating2024 reads: 243/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
this is the conclusion to the ending fire trilogy.
as a vigilante known as the truthsayer raises an army against the wardens, sylah and hassa search for anoor…who’s currently being praised as the child of fire.
i still can’t believe this trilogy is over! i’ve been lucky enough to have received each book early, so i’ve been following this series since before book one came out. needless to say, i had high hopes for this book. i’m so glad that this exceeded my expectations! i really enjoyed how each character’s arc played out. the plot was also very interesting, and the author used the 500+ pages well.
i highly recommend this to anyone who’s enjoyed the previous books in this series, and i’m looking forward to more from saara el-arifi....more
experiencing burnout, heather abandons all social media and moves to a desolate cabin. what she’s not expecting is for a wounded cr2024 reads: 175/250
experiencing burnout, heather abandons all social media and moves to a desolate cabin. what she’s not expecting is for a wounded cryptid to come crashing into her life.
i fell in love with this book as soon as i saw its title on libby. mothman is my favorite cryptid, so i just had to give this book a try. sometimes a girl needs a campy paranormal romance, okay? anyway, i was not expecting this book to also have some great rep. heather has hashimoto’s disease and is bisexual, and i liked how these topics were discussed throughout the book. mothman is also queer, though i don’t think a specific label was used for him. anyway, i can’t wait to see where their story goes in book two!...more
before peter pan and wendy, there was a boy named james who was desperate to return t2024 reads: 165/250
this is the ninth book in the villains series.
before peter pan and wendy, there was a boy named james who was desperate to return to neverland. he learns to be a pirate on blackbeard’s ship, leading to captaining his own ship he wants to use to return to neverland.
just like the other books in this series, this was a quick, but fun, read. i really liked the role fate played in this book, even though it was cruel to our protagonist. we also got some more explanation as to how all the stories are linked together, which was pretty interesting. i’m excited to read the next book!...more
this is the fourth book in the bonds that tie series.
oli finds herself on the front lines of the war against the resistance. she ha2024 reads: 163/250
this is the fourth book in the bonds that tie series.
oli finds herself on the front lines of the war against the resistance. she has her bonds by her side, but will that be enough?
this book was pretty interesting and i’m glad we got to see a lot of character and relationship development. it seems like most of oli’s bonds are working to put aside their differences which was nice to see.
i will say that i’m pretty happy with the ending since i had been secretly hoping for that outcome throughout the book. however, i have a feeling the author will take back this decision in the next book…i guess i’ll just have to see!...more
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating2024 reads: 257/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
as lennon’s life begins to come apart, she receives an odd phone call from the mysterious drayton college, a school of magic hidden in savannah. at drayton, she learns how to wield her gift of persuasion like a weapon. she also becomes enamored with her advisor, dante, who both intimidates and enthralls her. as the school year progresses, though, she begins to learn more and more about this secret world she has stumbled upon.
i’ve read alexis henderson’s other two books, so i had some expectations going into this, mainly that this would be a haunting story. i also knew this would have dark academia vibes. besides these two aspects, i really didn’t know what i had in store for me. while these expectations did come to fruition, this book was so much more than that. one of my favorite aspects was the depiction of grief, not only for what could have been, but also for those lost throughout the story. by the end of the story, i was tearing up (which is always a compliment from me).
overall, this story was hauntingly beautiful, and i’d recommend it to anyone looking for a dark academic book intended for adult audiences....more
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