The Library Ladies

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Aicha” by Soraya Bouazzaoui

Publishing Info: Orbit, March 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: The ultimate female rage fantasy, Aicha is a fierce and devastatingly powerful romantic epic fantasy perfect for fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree and She Who Became the Sun.

The Portuguese flag has been planted across Morocco, its empire ruling with an iron fist. But eventually, all empires must fall.

Aicha, the daughter of a Moroccan freedom-fighter, was born for battle. She has witnessed the death of her people, their starvation and torture at the hands of the occupiers, and it has awakened an anger within her. An anger that burns hot and bright, and speaks to Aicha’s soul.

Only Aicha’s secret lover Rachid, a rebellion leader, knows how to soothe her. But as the fight for Morocco’s freedom reaches it violent climax, the creature that simmers beneath Aicha’s skin begs to be unleashed. It hungers for the screams of those who have caused her pain, and it will not be ignored.

Review: I’ve gone on rants about this before, but simplistic writing is by no means synonymous with “YA.” However, the reality is that, for whatever reason, books published as young adult are more prone to watered-down writing. Whether this is due to the publisher pushing an author in this direction or some combination of both the publisher and the author not trusting their audience, the stereotype here is based on at least something. All of this is to say, had this book not included a random-feeling spicy scene, it reads like an example of one of those YA books that is lacking in the writing department.

Not only was the writing fairly bland, but the book heavily relied on telling the readers everything: how the characters felt, how a scene should be interpreted, how the reader should feel about everything that is going on. This wasn’t helped by the slow pacing and the lack of any real tension. For a book about a rebellion and a siege on the horizon, I felt incredibly removed from what was going on on the page and struggled to retain even the barest hint of interest in what was going to happen next. Again, why would I need to invest much in all of this when the author would surely lay it all out for me explicitly shortly thereafter?

None of this was helped by the main character, a woman who, again, read as very immature, both in her actual decision-making and then later in her inability to take responsibility for the poor outcomes of her own choices. The magic system, such as it was, came into play with her powers. These only came into play late in the book and were more confusing than anything by the time they arrived.

I’m also convinced that somewhere in the process someone, be it publisher or agent, told the author that she had to have a smut scene to catch the romantasy gravy train. This scene felt so strange alongside the juvenile writing and shallow characterization, which otherwise would have made it solidly read like a teen book. Beyond that, the romance itself was lackluster, so this scene failed to deliver even there.

Overall, I was very disappointed by this book. This is a debut, so I hate having to write such a negative review for it right out of the gate. But honestly, the writing itself left a lot to be desired. While I think there were some good ideas here, a few solid editorial passes could have helped in a myriad of ways, from tightening up transitions from paragraph to paragraph to reducing the “telling” style of the prose itself. I can’t honestly recommend this book at this time.

Rating 5: A disappointing read. What should have been a tension-filled plot was instead mired in a “telling” style of prose and lackluster characterization.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Aicha” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Debut Poc Authors of 2026 and The Most Beautiful Covers of 2026.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “The Geomagician” by Jennifer Mandula

Publishing Info: Del Rey, March 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Mary Anning wants to be a geomagician—a paleontologist who uses fossils to wield magic—but since the Geomagical Society of London refuses to admit women, she’s stuck selling her discoveries to tourists instead. When an ancient egg hatches in her hands, revealing a loveable baby pterodactyl Mary names Ajax, she knows this is the kind of scientific find that could make her career—if she’s strategic.

Mary contacts the Society about her discovery, and they demand to take possession of Ajax. Their emissary is none other than Henry Stanton, a distinguished (and infuriatingly handsome) scholar… and the man who once broke Mary’s heart.

Henry claims he believes in the brilliant Mary, and that he only wants to help her obtain the respect she deserves. She knows she can’t trust her fellow scholars, who want to discredit her and claim Ajax for their own—but can she even trust Henry, who seems intent on winning Mary back?

Now Mary has a new mystery to solve that’s buried deeper than any dinosaur She must uncover the secrets behind the Society and the truth about Henry. As her conscience begins to chafe against her ambition, Mary must decide what lengths she’s willing to go to finally belong—and what her heart really wants.

Review: This book wasn’t quite what I expected. That didn’t necessarily make it bad, but I definitely had to realign myself to the sort of book that I was reading. Once I did that, I was better able to enjoy what this book had to offer.

For one thing, it’s clear that the author had a lot to say about faith, religion, and the marriage between them and science. It’s a worthwhile theme for sure, as so many people in either camp are resistant to the idea of merging these two sides in any way. So I applaud what the author was trying to do with this theme. That said, because of this focus, there’s a lot of emphasis on religion and faith throughout. I found these discussions interesting and could appreciate the aspirations here, but it may not be for everyone.

What I enjoyed the most, however, was the world itself. I always love books like this that marry a historical period of time with some sort of fantasy element. The “Emily Wilde” books come to mind as the most recent examples of this. And it felt like that trilogy was a bit of an influence here as well. However, instead of faeries, we have dinosaurs. I enjoyed exploring how the existence of magic in this world affected its history, economics, and political landscape. While, at the same time, some things remain the same, like Mary’s struggles to be taken seriously for her achievements in a male-dominated field.

I did enjoy the characters for the most part, particularly Mary’s internal reflections throughout. That said, readers who are expecting any serious amount of romance here will likely be disappointed. While there are tiny hints of a love story, it’s the barest of subplots, and even by the end, there wasn’t necessarily the grand conclusion that readers often expect from romances.

This was also a fairly long book, all things considered. I feel like it was fairly readable and easily approachable, but it also did start to drag a bit toward the middle and the end. I think it accomplishes what it sets out to do, and if it gets in the hands of the right readers, it will do well. However, for general fantasy romance fans who go in with an expectation of the second coming of “Emily Wilde,” I think they may end up disappointed.

Rating 7: I enjoyed the exploration of themes regarding science and faith, but the story itself felt a bit plodding and the romance was decidedly in the background.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Geomagician” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Light Academia Fantasy Books and Adventure academia.

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Daughter of Crows” by Mark Lawrence

Publishing Info: Ace, March 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: The Academy of Kindness exists to create agents of retribution, cast in the image of the Furies—known as the kindly ones—against whom even the gods hesitate to stand. Each year a hundred girls are sold to the Academy. Ten years later only three will emerge.

The Academy’s halls run with blood. The few that survive its decade-long nightmare have been forged on the sands of the Wound Garden. They have learned ancient secrets amid the necrotic fumes of the Bone Garden. They leave its gates as avatars of vengeance, bound to uphold the oldest of laws.

Only the most desperate would sell their child to the Kindnesses. But Rue … she sold herself. And now, a lifetime later, a long and bloody lifetime later, just as she has discovered peace, war has been brought to an old woman’s doorstep.

That was a mistake.

Review: Somehow I’ve never gotten around to reading a book by Mark Lawrence up to this point. He’s put out several duologies/trilogies that have sparked my interest (I think I even had a few loaded on my Kindle), but for whatever reason, I just never managed to pick one up. Well, THAT will be changing now!

Because I loved this book. Pretty much everything about it, from the fantastic characters, to the brutal world, to the dry wit, to the rising stakes as the book progressed. I’ll also note that it was a bit refreshing to read a fantasy book that didn’t feature a romance. My favorite genre, honestly by far, is probably fantasy romance. But lately I’ve felt so burned by what feels like the cannibalization of the genre by romantasy slop that I’ve gotten to the point that I see a romance introduced, and I’m immediately put on high alert. No one is sadder about this fact than me. But Lawrence was here to remind me of the absolute gems that can be found back in the good ole “basic” epic fantasy genre.

One of the notable features of this book is the format in which it is told. The book description kind of mildly hints at this, but throughout the book, the story alternates between two timelines: Rue’s current life, when she’s well beyond her prime but facing a rising challenge, and the past, where students fight for their lives in the brutal Academy of Kindnesses. This seems like a simple enough set up, one that is familiar in many ways. But Lawrence took all of my expectations for how this formula would play out and tossed them straight out the window.

It was one major twist after another, to the point that by the halfway mark, I was careful not to take anything for granted. It was destabilizing in the best of ways. The problem with a format like this is that the future section could spoil events from the past. That is in no way the case here! This book is only the first entry, and sure, I can see where Rue has ended up, but I probably have even more questions than I started out with in regard to her life up to this point.

The characters were also fantastic. Of course, Rue is the main character, and her current POV chapters were sharp, poignant, and heartbreaking at various points. No punches are pulled about the realities of age and its effects on the body, but this juxtaposition between Rue’s physical state and her unkillable spirit only served to heighten the tension playing out in this timeline. Her story ends on a definite cliffhanger, and, like I said, by the time we reached this final page, I was left with only burning questions about not only what happened in her past but where the story was going to go from here. There were a few late-game reveals that truly ratcheted this up; the next book can’t come fast enough.

As for the other timeline, it’s harder to go into many details without spoiling some truly epic and surprising moments. It’s been a long time since I was truly as shocked as I was by a few of these twists and turns. Even by the time I had a better idea of the type of book I was reading, there were still swerves in the road that I wasn’t expecting.

I will say, I think the Academy was a brilliant interpretation of a very tired trope: the deadly school/trials plotline. We can all name a half dozen books like this off the top of our head at this point, and one of the biggest challenges for this trope is the premise. The author has to come up with a believable world/system in which a school with a death rate like this would be in any way believable or viable. Well, Lawrence knocked it out of the park. At every turn, there he was with an explanation behind the philosophy of the school, the greater role it plays in society, and the how/why of the people who participate within it.

Further, once we begin to follow students through the day-to-day life of the Academy, he doesn’t overplay his hand with the brutality. Instead, it lingers in the background, building a simmering sort of tension that then explodes at the most unexpected times. Instead of non-stop violence and death, the story focuses on the lives of the girls going through this grueling life. It was immersive in the best way, where I easily became invested in even some of the side characters involved. And, of course, this building of emotional stakes only highlights the horror and terror of the school when it hones in on the more brutal moments.

Beyond this, the story’s greater geopolitical world, its religions, its society, were all incredibly well done. While the true heroes of the story are its characters, the world-building effectively set the stage for the more grand conflicts that we can see simmering in the future.

So, yes. I loved this book. If you enjoy epic fantasy, this is a must-read for sure. You also better believe that Lawrence’s back catalog has taken a massive leap up my TBR list!

Rating 10: Brutal and heartbreaking; a must-read for all epic and grimdark fantasy readers!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Daughter of Crows” can be found on these Goodreads lists: 2026 Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction and Most Anticipated Adult Fantasy & Sci-fi of 2026 (Standalones & New Series)