Author: thelibraryladiesmn

Serena’s Review: “The Ashfire King”

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

Book: “The Ashfire King” by Chelsea Abdullah

Publishing Info: Orbit, April 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: A merchant and a prince trapped in the crumbling realm of jinn must figure out how to save one world to return to their own in The Ashfire King, the second book in the Sandsea Trilogy.

Neither here nor there, but long ago… After fleeing a patricidal prince, legendary merchant Loulie al-Nazari and banished prince Mazen bin Malik find themselves in the realm of jinn. But instead of sanctuary, they find a world on the cusp of collapse.

The jinn cities, long sheltered beneath the Sandsea by the magic of its kings, are sinking. Amid the turmoil, political alliances are forming, and rebellion is on the rise. When Loulie assists a dissenter—one of her bodyguard’s old comrades—she puts herself in the center of a centuries-old war.

Trapped in a world that isn’t her own and wielding magic that belongs to a fallen king, Loulie must decide: Will she carry on someone else’s legacy or carve out her own?

Previously Reviewed: “The Stardust Thief”

Review: Insert “It’s been 84 years” gif here! But seriously, that’s how long it’s felt since I read and reviewed “The Stardust Thief!” So long that I’ve run into the author of this book not once, but twice, at ALA conventions! So I’ve been super excited ever since I saw that we finally had a publication date for this one!

Wisely, the author included a fairly extensive opening chapter covering all of the action from the first book. I really liked that book, but I’ll admit, I’d forgotten many of the details that were then covered in this introduction. Even with it, I was left a bit floundering when the actual story started up, trying to re-orient myself with not only where our characters were located, but how exactly they’d all ended up where they did. Once I got my footing more under me, I was able to settle in better.

Overall, I think this was a solid second book. It didn’t quite reach the highs of the first one, but it did a good job of reminding me why I enjoyed this world to begin with. Loulie and Mazen remain great characters to follow, though my preference for Loulie continues. Mazen is fine, but it didn’t feel like he had much of an arc to explore in this book, which left his chapters often feeling a bit light or hollow. For her part, Loulie is still reeling from the loss of Quadir, as well as with the new paths she sees for herself going forward. Further, with the loss of this essential relationship, we see her struggle to trust and grow close with Mazen. The barest hints of romance are established here, and I’m definitely excited to see how that is wrapped up in the last book!

Speaking of Quadir, I was disappointed to see him disappear for so much of this book. I get why it was necessary for the plot, but he was a nice balance to the other characters, and I think his loss does effect the overall quality of this book. Especially given the blandness of Mazen’s chapters.

I enjoyed the main plot, for the most part. Though I will say that by the time we get to the end of this book, looking back on the events that took place, much of it felt like side quests, rather than an advancement of the primary story. This book definitely struggled with “second book syndrome,” and I wonder if the story as a whole would have been better served as a duology? There’s always a push for fantasy series to be bigger, longer, and then assumed, better. But sometimes a story works better when it’s tighter, and that might be the case here. Of course, we won’t really know until the third book is out and we see how it all is tied up in the end.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. It didn’t quite live up to the highs of the first book, and I’ll admit to being a bit let down, given the long wait for this one. But it’s also a solid read on its own and sets up some exciting events for the third book. Ultimately, this may be one of those rare books that will read better if you haven’t already read the first one and can instead now read them back to back. The floundering around that I felt at the beginning is definitely best avoided!

Rating 8: A fun return in a long-awaited sequel! This may have suffered a bit from “second book syndrome,” but it was still great to return to this world and these characters!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Ashfire King” can be found on this Goodreads list: Arabian, Egyptian, and Indian Fantasy.

Kate’s Review: “The Staircase in the Woods”

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

Book: “The Staircase in the Woods” by Chuck Wendig

Publishing Info: Del Rey, April 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A group of friends investigates the mystery of a strange staircase in the woods in this mesmerizing horror novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Accidents.

Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what.

Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something a mysterious staircase to nowhere.

One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.

Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods. . . .

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

Chuck Wendig has cemented himself as a must read horror author for me, as his books always keep me on the edge of my seat while also sending me on an emotional rollercoaster. Because of this, whenever he has a new book I am always immediately going to seek it out. His newest novel “The Staircase in the Woods” was no exception, and given the premise involves a super unnerving urban legend that has fascinated me for years, I was eager to get my hands on it and see what Wendig would do. Once again, it did not disappoint.

I really enjoyed the foundation of the horror of the story: a mysterious staircase to seemingly nowhere in the middle of the woods. This urban legend has always fascinated me, and I remember reading threads on this on Reddit years ago, so when I saw that Wendig was taking it on for his new book I was eager to see what he would do with it. There is a lot of wiggle room with this baseline concept, as the staircases in most of the urban legends aren’t ever really explained outside of the uncanny (at least in the experiences that I have with this kind of plot), so Wendig could pretty much do anything. And what he DOES do is so unnerving and unsettling and creepy and unique. I don’t want to spoil much because going in without any hints makes it all the more impactful, and WOW does it have its moments of nightmare fuel. And mind bending weirdness.

But, and it comes as no surprise to me because this is usually the case, it’s the very human aspects of this story that elevated it to the levels it rose to. Especially in regards to the complicated friendships between high school friends who grew apart due to time, distance, and a shared trauma that none of them have reckoned with. As someone who keeps up with only three high school friends decades later, the way that Wendig captures the relationships between Owen, Lore, Hamish, and Nick (as well as the now missing Matty) with such bittersweetness, nostalgia, and heartache had a serious emotional impact. I remember those friendships from my teenage years when we were all trying to discover ourselves, and the highs and the lows and how back then we thought we’d never change… only to fall away from each other. Granted, my friend group drifted due to very common reasons, not because one of our friends disappeared at the top of an impossible staircase in the woods, but the melancholy and grief and difficulties of the severed friendships and the tricky reunion felt very, very real. Wendig really just knows how to portray the complexities of human nature and human relationships, and brings it out in the midst of the scary stuff that is at the forefront of this novel.

“The Staircase in the Woods” is another winner of a horror novel from Chuck Wendig. If you still haven’t checked this guy out, what are you waiting for?

Rating 8: Deeply creepy and in many ways emotional and bittersweet, “The Staircase in the Woods” is another winner from Chuck Wendig!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Staircase in the Woods” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward to in 2025”.

Serena’s Review: “The Never List”

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

Book: “The Never List” by Jade Presley

Publishing Info: Red Tower Books, April 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from publicist!

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

Book Description: Threatened by invaders, the kingdom of Lumathyst is on the verge of chaos, and no one can stop it. Unless the four immortal god-princes find their fated mate―and safeguard the throne―Lumathyst will fall.

Five women have tried. Five have failed. And tonight in the royal city, the princes need to find their Chosen and hope she can survive the transformation that will make her immortal.

Only Rylee Gray wasn’t supposed to be here. She snuck in for her own dark reasons―and now they claim they’ve found their perfect match. Her. Of course, they have no idea she’s concealing a secret big enough to damn them all.

The four princes have no choice. They’ll use every delectably wicked skill they have to make Rylee fall for all of them…or watch their kingdom collapse.

Review: So, I’ll be honest, I’m not really a fan of “Why Choose” romances. I usually struggle with them both on a personal preference side of things (I’m a monogamy gal myself) and on a practical level (I think it’s very difficult to write a number of romantic interests who all are equally developed and interesting). But I never want to write off a trope altogether. Love triangles are also not my thing, but I can think of a handful of books that used this trope that I very much enjoyed! So all of that to say, I was happy to check out this book when I was offered an ARC for review! Hope lives eternal!

I’m going to try to review this both from my own subjective take and from a more objective angle, as, again, those who love “why choose” romances are going to have a totally different experience of that aspect of this book than I did. So to start with the obvious positives, this book was incredibly fast moving! Things get started right away and never really let up! Probably not surprising when you have the primary plot to get through, plus the introduction of an entire cast of characters, all who need to be developed enough to serve as romantic interests! While I think the balance was off between the spice and the plot, I will say that what we do get of the trials was interesting and fun to follow.

Our main character, Rylee, was also easy to root for throughout. Between these flare-ups of fun action scenes and the fast moving pace, at the best points in my reading experience, this book reminded me of my experiences reading Armentrout’s books: that is, they’re fun in that “kind of stupid, turn your brain off” sort of way. But still fun!

However, as I mentioned above, this book definitely struggles finding the correct balance between the smut scenes and the plot itself. There were often large jumps in time between scenes, and between that the rather thin descriptions that make up the actual plot elements themselves, it sometimes felt like we were just jumping from one spicy scene to the next. Nothing wrong with some spice, but I never want to pick up a book and feel like that makes up over 50% of the book, and this one felt over that even at times!

I also struggled with the type of tropes used here. I went on a bit of a rant about mix and matching romance tropes and where that can go wrong in another review recently. And I think here we see another example of that. On one hand, you have the “why choose” trope where the FMC ends up in a relationship with numerous love interests. And on the other hand, you have “fated mates,” which is, by definition, tied up in exclusivity and the rarity of the connection between one individual and another. Trying to mix the two waters down the appeal of both, in my opinion. Not to mention, I just don’t think the core fans of either of these tropes are also often huge fans of the other! Like I said, there’s an inherent contradiction between these tropes’ approach to romance, one that would like carry over to readers’ preferences. All of this to say, I’m not sure this book really pulled this off either. The fated mates trope, especially, felt like it was missing the mark of what readers may expect from that sort of romance.

Overall, this was an ok read. I don’t think I’m the primary audience for this one, so I can’t speak to strongly for how fans of “why choose” romances will react. I suspect well! The book is a fast, fun read, so if you’re on board for the tropes at its heart, you’ll probably like it. That said, there’s a pretty stark imbalance between the plot and the spice, so readers should go in aware of that fact.

Rating 7: “Why choose” romance readers will likely really enjoy this! I’m not sure it will speak to “fated mates” fans in quite the same way.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Never List” can be found on this Goodreads list: April 2025 Most Anticipated Romance Releases.

Kate’s Review: “When The Wolf Comes Home”

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

Book: “When The Wolf Comes Home” by Nat Cassidy

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, April 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: One night, Jess, a struggling actress, finds a five-year-old runaway hiding in the bushes outside her apartment. After a violent, bloody encounter with the boy’s father, she and the boy find themselves running for their lives.

As they attempt to evade the boy’s increasingly desperate father, horrifying incidents of butchery follow them. At first, Jess thinks she understands what they’re up against, but she’s about to learn there’s more to these surreal and grisly events than she could’ve ever imagined.

And that when the wolf finally comes home, none will be spared.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this novel!

Every once in awhile I encounter an author that has some pretty solid and good hype around their work, and then when I try it out it doesn’t REALLY click with me. A lot of the time with a one off I am inclined to give said author another go, especially if the hype of future works continues. That’s been my experience with Nat Cassidy, as I didn’t really gel with his book “Mary”, but kept seeing others praise that book as well as his other works after the fact. When I saw that happening with “When The Wolf Comes Home”, I told myself that it was time to give it another go. I hoped that I would have a better result with this book. And it was…. kind of a similar experience as last time?

Firstly, however, there were a lot of things I did like about this book. For one, wow is this a gnarly and gory monster story, with some solid moments of suspense and some breakneck action. We follow Jess, an aspiring actress who has kind of found herself stalled out and working in a diner, who stumbles upon a mysterious young boy who is being chased by his father, who also happens to be taking the form of a monstrous killer wolf. So, at the jump, this starts like a really graphic and absolutely insane (I say this in a praising way) monster tale, with no holds barred monster horror with lots of nasty beats of gore and body horror. I can’t help but cackle a bit at the fact that at the start of the month I was saying how I hadn’t seen much werewolf horror in recent years, and then in April I had three books with werewolf-esque themes. Cassidy brings his usual uninhibited scares to the story, and man, it’s bloody and nasty. But what struck me more about this tale is that it also has a lot of deep and emotional explorations of trauma, grief, and complicated relationships with fathers. For the mysterious Boy it’s pretty clear, but as we get to know Jess we find out that her father abandoned her as a child and it’s something that she has had to deal with and process her entire life. We also get a really poignant author’s note from Cassidy after the ending detailing his inspirations for this story from his own life, and it added another layer to an already intense thematic that I really liked.

But, even with all of that great action and gnarly/poignant characterization, there were a couple things that didn’t quite land for me in this book. The first is that there is a HUGE swerve from what has been laid out as the main issue/plot point of this novel. I definitely thought that was I was getting was a werewolf story when I picked this book up. And, to be fair, there are certainly elements that would make this a werewolf story. But once it was revealed that there was, in fact, something else going on, I was taken aback, but wasn’t quite as enthralled as I had been because it felt so out of left field. It’s not BAD, don’t get me wrong, but it just felt like a huge deviation and it never quite stuck that landing nor recovered from it. On top of that, we had a moment early on that was alluded to as being significant (I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m going to be vague), then was kind of cast aside but still mentioned, and then once we came back to it it threw another grenade very close to the end that blew a huge chunk into the ending and story overall. And then how it wrapped up kind of confused me. This very well could just be a ‘me’ problem, though. But I was left with wanting more.

So another chance on Nat Cassidy had another mixed bag of results with “When The Wolf Comes Home”. The things that worked really really worked, but the things that didn’t were clunky.

Rating 6: I was into it for a good chunk, but then a swerve of a plot twist and a somewhat confusing ending kind of knocked it down a few points for me.

Reader’s Advisory:

“When the Wolf Comes Home” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward to in 2025”.

Another Take: Spring 2025

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

Don’t just take it from us, other readers like these books, too! And we have decided that we would like to showcase other reviewers and bloggers that have their own thoughts and feelings about books that we have loved. Here are a few of the books we’ve enjoyed recently and what other bloggers have to say about them.

Book: “Upon a Starlit Tide” by Kell Woods

Book Description: Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758.
For Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of Saint-Malo’s wealthiest ship-owners, the high walls of the city are more hindrance than haven. While her sisters are interested in securing advantageous marriages, Luce dreams of escaping her elegant but stifling home and joining a ship’s crew. Only Samuel—Luce’s best friend and an English smuggler—understands her longing for the sea, secretly teaching her to sail whenever she can sneak away. For Luce, the stolen time on the water with Samuel is precious.

One stormy morning, Luce’s plans are blown off course when she rescues Morgan de Chatelaine, the youngest son of the most powerful ship-owner in Saint-Malo, from the sea. Immediately drawn to his charm and sense of adventure, she longs to attend the glittering ball held in honor of his safe return and begins to contemplate a different kind of future for herself.

But it is not only Luce’s hopes at stake—the local fae are leaving Brittany and taking their magic with them, while the long-standing war with the English means Saint-Malo is always at risk of attack. As Luce is plunged into a world of magic, brutality, and seduction, secrets that have long been lost in the shadowy depths of the ocean begin to rise to the surface. The truth of her own power is growing brighter and brighter, shining like a sea-glass slipper.

Or the scales of a sea-maid’s tail.

Serena’s Review (9 Rating)

The BiblioSanctum (4 Stars)

Forever Lost in Literature (4 Stars)

Amanda’s Book Corner (5 Stars)

Book: “The Otherwhere Post” by Emily J. Taylor

Book Description: Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father’s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.

Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words Your father was innocent.

To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she’ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father’s past draws more attention than she’d planned.

Her secretive, infuriatingly handsome mentor knows she’s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. For Maeve to unravel the mystery of what happened seven years ago, she may have to forfeit her life.

Serena’s Review (9 Rating)

Mom with a Reading Problem (4 Stars)

Fantasy Books Obsessed (5 Stars)

The Reading Racoon (4 Stars)

Book: “The Raven Scholar” by Antonia Hodgson

Book Summary: Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, Bersun the Brusque must end his reign. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders compete to replace him. They are exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists—the best of the best.

Then one of them is murdered.

It falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer before the trials end. To do so, she must untangle a web of deadly secrets that stretches back generations, all while competing against six warriors with their own dark histories and fierce ambitions. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.

If she succeeds, she will win the throne. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.

We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.

Serena’s Review (10 Rating)

Realms of My Mind (5 Stars)

The Skiffy and Fanty Show

Every Book a Doorway (5 Stars)

Book: “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones

Book Description: A chilling historical horror novel set in the American west in 1912 following a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice.

A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. This is an American Indian revenge story written by one of the new masters of horror, Stephen Graham Jones.

Kate’s Review (9 Rating)

Books, Bones, & Buffy (4.5/5 Stars)

RA For All

Smitten for Fiction

Book: “Vanishing Daugthers” by Cynthia Pelayo

Book Description: A haunted woman stalked by a serial killer confronts the horrors of fairy tales and the nightmares of real life in a breathtaking novel of psychological suspense by a Bram Stoker Award–winning author.

It started the night journalist Briar Thorne’s mother died in their rambling old mansion on Chicago’s South Side.

The nightmares of a woman in white pleading to come home, music switched on in locked rooms, and the panicked fear of being swallowed by the dark…Bri has almost convinced herself that these stirrings of dread are simply manifestations of grief and not the beyond-world of ghostly impossibilities her mother believed in. And more tangible terrors still lurk outside the decaying Victorian greystone.

A serial killer has claimed the lives of fifty-one women in the Chicago area. When Bri starts researching the murders, she meets a stranger who tells her there’s more to her sleepless nights than bad dreams—they hold the key to putting ghosts to rest and stopping a killer. But the killer has caught on and is closing in, and if Bri doesn’t answer the call of the dead soon, she’ll be walking among them.

Kate’s Review (9 Rating)

Cantina Book Club

Book CLB

Once Upon a Book Blog

Book: “The Unworthy” by Agustina Bazterrica & Sarah Moses (Translator)

Book Description: The long-awaited new novel from the author of global sensation Tender Is the Flesh: a thrilling work of literary horror about a woman cloistered in a secretive, violent religious order, while outside the world has fallen into chaos.

From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find—discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe—cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe.

But when a stranger makes her way past the convent walls, joining the ranks of the unworthy, she forces the narrator to consider her long-buried past—and what she may be overlooking about the Enlightened. As the two women grow closer, the narrator is increasingly haunted by questions about her own past, the environmental future, and her present life inside the convent. How did she get to the Sacred Sisterhood? Why can’t she remember her life before? And what really happens when a woman is chosen as one of the Enlightened?

A searing, dystopian tale about climate crisis, ideological extremism, and the tidal pull of our most violent, exploitative instincts, this is another unforgettable novel from a master of feminist horror.

Kate’s Review (8 Rating)

A Dusti Bookshelf (5 Stars)

Always With a Book

Serena’s Review: “Chaos”

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

Book: “Chaos” by Constance Fay

Publishing Info: Bramble, March 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: He’s a mind controlled killing machine, until her touch frees him

Engineer Caro Ogunyemi thinks she has everything in control. Sure, she has a dark secret in her past and aim so bad that she can’t shoot the side of a spaceship when she’s right in front of it, but those are minor details in the life of a space mercenary. When Caro embarks on a solo mission infiltrating a prison planet that is run by the deadly Pierce family, she embraces the opportunity to prove she’s a hero.

It’s there that Caro meets Leviathan, a super soldier with a chip in his head that turns him into a mindless killer. He’s drop dead gorgeous with an emphasis on drop dead, until she touches him and renders his chip inert. The danger begins when she lets him go.

In the heart of enemy territory, where love is at stake, life is treacherous and time is short, Caro and Leviathan must figure out how to recover his agency, protect her crew from Pierce’s sinister machinations, and stage a prison-break before Leviathan is lost to her―and himself―forever.

Previously Reviewed: “Calamity” and “Fiasco”

Review: I’ve been really enjoying this science fiction romance series! Not only is it a breath of fresh air to see a blending of romance and science fiction instead of always fantasy, but Constance Fay is one of those rare authors who seems to have an effortless handle on the important factors found in both genres and effortlessly blends them into enjoyable, stand-alone novels! That said, while I enjoyed this one as well, it has been my least favorite in the series overall.

But let’s start with the purely positive points! As I said, the science fiction elements in this series have always been great, and this one was no exception. We had A.I., we had a luxury space prison, we had cyborgs, we had new aliens! And, on top of it all, the main plot of this one wove in and out of the greater political machinations going on between the powerful families who run the galaxy and who increasingly seem to be on target for a massive conflict at some point.

Another unique science fiction element is an ability that Caro develops after being exposed to an alien bug whose bite/sting leaves her with the ability (disability?) to essentially shut down any sort of technology with only her touch. Not only is this an incredibly interesting concept and we see many variations on how it can be utilized throughout the book, but I enjoyed the way that this specifically impacted Caro, a character whose entire sense of self-worth is caught up in her technical prowess. It wasn’t explored as thoroughly as I would have liked, but I did enjoy the brief moments of reflection we got from this.

But this also speaks to one of my first stumbling blocks: Caro’s inner journey. The first two books in this series were successful, in my opinion, not only because the romances were excellent, but because the main character’s had incredible backstories and personal arcs that were explored throughout their story. Now, there is an attempt here to give Caro something similar. However, it just doesn’t hold up against the incredible stakes and backstories that came before. Caro’s entire inner journey revolves around an incident that was A.) entirely accidental and B.) one that she immediately tried to remedy. That being the case, there really isn’t a whole lot more to do with this backstory or much of a character arc to explore. This is so much the case that another character pretty much lays it out for her exactly as I have here! In the previous books, both main characters had some dark stuff in their pasts, things that were heavily reflected in the way they saw themselves and the choices they made. This lead to incredible journeys for them to explore. Unfortunately, Caro just didn’t really have that.

I also struggled with the romance in this one. It’s not bad, by any means, and what we did get, especially in the latter half of the book, I really enjoyed. However, the nature of the situation lead to what felt a lot like an instalove situation. Levi barely speaks for the first half of the book almost! And while I liked the idea behind this romance, as well as Levi himself, especially when he became more involved in the story, the actual love story itself felt very truncated.

This wasn’t helped by the inclusion of a second POV character, something we’ve never seen before. And, unfortunately, I think this inclusion worked against this story in a few ways. For one thing, by devoting even a handful of chapters to another character, the book lost much-needed page time that could have been spent on better pacing for the primary romance. For another thing, this is one of those weird situations where I enjoyed this secondary character so much (and the hints of a future romance!) that I almost began to want to spend more time with her than Caro! Definitely not something you want, though I am very excited for what I hope is the next book’s main couple!

The pacing was also a bit strange here. There was a ton of action, which I really enjoyed. But there was also a “Mad Max: Fury Road” situation towards the end where our group of characters spend a significant amount of time breaking out of the prison only to travel for a few days before, for plot reasons, needing to turn right around and break back IN to the prison!

Overall, there was still a lot of great action and romance in this book. It just didn’t quite live up to the highs of the previous two books. That said, I’m incredibly excited for the next book, if the other POV character we had here is going to be the lead! Fans of this series should still definitely check this one out, as it’s still a fun time all around, these quibbles aside.

Rating 7: While Caro’s backstory was a bit weaker than previous characters’ in the series, this was still a fun, romantic science fiction romp!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Chaos” is on this Goodreads list: All the New Horror, Romantasy, and Other SFF Crossover Books Arriving in March 2025

Serena’s Review: “Firebird”

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

Book: “Firebird” by Juliette Cross

Publishing Info: Bramble, April 2025

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

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

Book Description: A conqueror captivated…
A witch prophesied to save them all…
A world where dragons rule Rome.

From the moment Roman general and nephew to the emperor Julianus Dakkia laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him on a scarred battlefield, her life in danger. He instinctively shifts into his fierce dragon form to save her, an action that may mean his head on the imperial gate. But he and his dragon know one thing: she belongs to them.

Malina can’t believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality. His warrior prowess cannot be denied, yet they don’t reveal the secret he hides. All Malina knows is his protection and gentle touch. And she cannot deny how her soul has always seemed to answer his.

As they navigate a world where flying deathriders conquer and burn, their love will ignite a firestorm that can only end in heartbreak or death. Or both.

Review: This is a difficult book to review. On one hand, it’s simply following a tried-and-true romantasy equation, almost point by point at times. On the other hand, within the greater context of the story, I think many of these tropes rubbed the wrong way for me. However, given how standard much of the language and tropes used in this book are to the genre, I fully expect my opinion of this one to be an outlier. Ah well. By this point, I’m well used to being on the wrong side of these dragon romance books. (But wait! I did like “Dragon Unleashed” by Grace Draven, so it’s not all bad all the time automatically or anything!)

As always, I do want to start with a few positives. For the most part, I did enjoy the setting of this book, being based on ancient Rome. I feel like this is a bit of a trend recently, and as I enjoy Roman history, it’s been fun seeing it pop up within the fantasy genre (largely because the history is so long and full of different highs and lows and focal points that you can end up with quite a lot of variety even with this focus).

That said, I don’t think this particular iteration did much with this concept. For example, this book was hyped as a combination of ancient Rome meets George R.R. Martin. Do you know what those two things have in common? A strong focus on political machinations! Do you know what this book had practically zero of? That’s right, political machinations. Anything you do see is so superficial as to be practically worthless. Instead, the comparison to Martin would more accurately come down to the book’s focus on the horrendous treatment of women in this civilization. Obviously, there is historical accuracy behind much of this. But that alone doesn’t justify a heavy focus on the subject unless it’s going to be addressed thoroughly. And, like Martin, there were times where this book seemed to be reveling in the horror of it all, rather than including them for any truly important reason. Pay attention to the trigger warnings on this one, for sure.

My real problem came down to the romance, however. In so many ways, this romance exemplified the many ways that romantasy tropes can go wrong if sprinkled into any old plot line without much care. For some background, an important feature of this book is the fact that the MMC (morally grey with tons of secrets, obvs) participated in the razing of the MFC’s people. Which, again, this sort of thing is a staple of the genre, and the obligatory reveals of his ulterior motivations can be expected. But, necessarily, that explanation has to be incredibly good to counterbalance the actual gruesome harm he participated in, something that cannot be simply erased. Some authors are capable of turning this corner with their MMC. Others…are not.

Beyond this, the entire set up of the book and the romance is based around the fact that the MMC captures the FMC and keeps her as a “body slave.” So, that’s a pretty heavy topic to manage in a romance, that sort of dynamic, where the power imbalance is so extreme. Again, this can be navigated, but it takes a careful hand on the wheel to do so. Unfortunately, we didn’t see that here. Instead, the romance starts up quickly and hits hard, without ever really dealing with the facts of this power imbalance. And for me, this left an inescapable sheen of ickiness over the entire affair.

Further, the inclusion of dragons into this story lead to a strong focus on mating bonds. Beyond the laziness factor of this trope (which allows authors to just handwave away any actual character growth or natural progression of romantic interest/feelings and instead justify instalove/lust), the language that accompanied this choice rubbed up incredibly awkwardly (to put it mildly) against the slave/master nature of the relationship. “You’re mine.” “Say you’re mine.” etc. etc., are all very common phrases in romance/romantasy, especially when you’re dealing with any sort of mating bond situation. However, when paired with the set up of this story and the dynamics between Juliannus and Malina, this all began to feel rather gross. And, again, this isn’t to say that mating bond books can’t be done well! I think “Bride” by Ali Hazelwood is an excellent example of how to navigate this trope, avoiding the instalove pitfall as well as the questions regarding consent. This book, however, did not do any of that.

So yeah, I really disliked this book. I think it’s a perfect example of the “plug and play” style of writing that is all too prevalent in the rising star that is the romantasy genre. Everyone wants to cash in and the results are books that feel as if the author/publisher simply drew popular tropes out of a hat and mashed them together, with no concern for how well they would work together. Mating bonds and the possessive language that often accompany it? Sometimes good! Pair that with a slave/master dynamic and fastburn intimacy? Absolutely not.

I don’t recommend this book. I think there are much better examples of all the tropes included to be found elsewhere, and I think the author’s inability to properly explore the power imbalance of her central romance ruins any attempt to enjoy it.

Rating 4: Tropes gone bad and a rather gross slave/master romance at its heart really ruined this one for me.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Firebird” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Greco – Roman Fantasy and April 2025 Most Anticipated Romance Releases.

Kate’s Review: “The Ballad of Nod (#1): Waking Up From Nightmares”

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

Book: “The Ballad of Nod (#1): Waking Up From Nightmares” by James Burton and Kira Burton

Publishing Info: Scattered Comics, May 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eBook from the author.

Where You Can Get This Book: This first issue has not been published yet, but when it does it will be available at James Burton’s website Angry Brain Artworks when it comes out sometime in May.

Book Description: The Ballad of Nod is the story of a young girl named Fey who is grieving the loss of her Father to cancer. The regrets, fear and pain is attracting the nightmares of the dream world to invade her reality every night. The only thing stopping them is the courage of her Guardian, a Teddy Bear named Patches, who each night fights back the darkness. That is until the worst of the worst a night prince called the Phobetor drags him into the dark. Now Fey must choose to find her courage to go in and save him or hide and loose someone else she loves.

Review: Thank you to James Burton for sending me an eBook of this comic!

I am one of those adults who just couldn’t part ways with a couple of my childhood stuffed animals. There are two in particular that I felt a need to hold on to, the first being Carmichael the Cat, the second being Bump the Bear. Both of them now officially belong to my five year old and reside in her room, but every once in awhile when I’m feeing deeply anxious or down I will bring Bump to my room to hang out for a few days before returning him. So I absolutely understand a bond a child has with a beloved childhood toy. And in “The Ballad of Nod (#1): Waking Up From Nightmares” by siblings James and Kira Burton, we get a really good dark fantasy tale that not only captures the security of a childhood toy, but also the deep grief of mourning a parent who has passed away long before their time.

Judging by the cover of this first issue, you can immediately tell that this is going to be a horror story, with a monstrous face being front an center. But then there is this adorable and quite determined looking silhouette of a teddy bear, and that is part of the real crux of this story: the bond between a girl and the guardian teddy that protects her from monsters and beasts every night as she sleeps. Fey is a little girl whose father died of cancer, and has found comfort in a bear named Patches, so named because when she wakes up in the morning he has rips and tears that need to be mended. I love this concept on its own, feeling like a dreamy dark fantasy that also has some very real human elements. I’ll start with the horror first, and I can say right off the bat it worked well for me. I love the idea of a security toy actively fighting off the monsters under the bed or in the closets, as these toys are so loved and so ingrained in childhood as a way to fight anxiety (I mean hello, I still use the aforementioned Bump to help quell my ADULT anxieties!), so the metaphor worked very, very well for me. And then to flip the concept and to have Fey have to be the one to take the first steps to rescue Patches and to face her fears to do so is also a great twist on the expected plot. We only have issue one that has a fair amount of set up, but the monsters that we saw were effective and intimidating, and it has a lot of promise to be VERY creepy for the audience as the story goes on.

But the other huge theme of this comic is the deeply emotional story about Fey losing her father to cancer, and having to navigate her grief and the trauma around it. This story feels personal, and is very well explored and had me tearing up during certain moments. Our first issue has a lot of exposition to set up Fey’s history and her emotional state, and I thought that it did it very well with flashbacks to her father’s hospitalization, implied times right after his passing, and also seeing how Patches came into her life as a buoy during a very dark and difficult time. It makes Patches’s mission feel all the more poignant, and then Fey’s own mission to be the one to save him feel all the more powerful. The dreamy earnestness of it all reminded me of something similar to the likes of “Locke and Key”.

And finally, the artwork. I thought it was well matched to the tone, and it has the ability to be both unsettling and scary as well as adorable (Patches is ADORABLE).

(source: Scattered Comics)

I definitely want to read more to see how this goes. “The Ballad of Nod: Waking Up From Nightmares” is a stellar start to what promises to be an emotional and heartfelt (and scary) series.

Rating 8: Emotional, creepy, and heartfelt to the core, “The Ballad of Nod (#1): Waking Up From Nightmares” is a promising start to a new dark fantasy comic series.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Ballad of Nod (#1): Waking From Nightmares” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but it gives me serious Joe Hill vibes.

Serena’s Review: “The Raven Scholar”

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

Book: “The Raven Scholar” by Antonia Hodgson

Publishing Info: Orbit, April 2025

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

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

Book Description: Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, Bersun the Brusque must end his reign. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders compete to replace him. They are exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists—the best of the best.

Then one of them is murdered.

It falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer before the trials end. To do so, she must untangle a web of deadly secrets that stretches back generations, all while competing against six warriors with their own dark histories and fierce ambitions. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.

If she succeeds, she will win the throne. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.

We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.

Review: No delay: I absolutely loved this book! It was one of those special reads where I went in with zero expectations and was blown away! I wasn’t familiar with the author (this is her first fantasy novel) and all I really knew about this one was that it featured yet another deadly, magical competition. Which, at this point, is more of a red flag than an interest point, given how flooded the genre has been with these sorts of books for the last several years. But man, this one proved why, in the right hands, even a tired trope can really come to life!

Part of this is the simple fact that, while the competition is the structure around much of the plot is built, it’s not really the main focus of the story. Instead, the central premise of the book is much more heavily focused on what starts as a murder mystery but quickly spirals out into a much larger conspiracy. And this larger mystery encompasses decades of history, some plot points from over 20 years ago, some events from a decade before, and others from more recent years. Much of this is slowly revealed throughout the course of Neema’a investigation, but the author also neatly uses a few chapters of a prologue that follows another character from years before. This was such a brave choice, as this character becomes central to the story, but is also never seen on page again. It’s a show of confidence that the author felt that the narrative voice and Neema herself were strong enough to reclaim the story back from a very different starting focus. With all of this, as the story unfolds, the reader is lulled into a sense of putting things together only to be smacked over the head with several huge late game reveals, some of which truly took my by surprise!

As for the competition, it did stand out from others, both in its simplicity and in its unique points. Some of it is just straight forward fighting, no real gimmicks. And as far as the magical competition portions went, the book was much more focused on the qualities of the groups who put these portions of the event together, what they wanted to see from a winner and a leader. In this way, these trials felt much less like the typical dangerous escapades we’re used to seeing. Instead, several of them are fairly generic, but made interesting by what they say about the individuals who participate in them based on the choices they make. This was also helped by the steady hand the author utilized throughout in creating this cast of competitors. Very early, I felt I had not only a strong understanding of who each of these characters were, but they all felt fully fleshed out and individual from one another, bringing their own baggage and their own motivations to this competition.

And, at the heart of it all, we have Neema and the Raven. Neema was simply excellent, everything I want from a protagonist. Smart, but awkward. Thrust into a situation she was completely unprepared for, we see all the stumbles of a flawed individual, but we also see the way her particular strengths lead her through. And most importantly, the ways in which she navigates these trials and the investigation all felt natural and believable to her history and abilities. Sometimes it’s really easy to see the author’s hand on the wheel with the creation of situations that seem to conveniently just work out for a main character who, by any rights, should fail miserable. Neema doesn’t glide through. People don’t trust her, don’t like her, and if she hadn’t attracted the interest of the Raven, it’s clear she would have done terribly. I also enjoyed the quirks of her characterization, the ways in which her strengths (her incredible scholarly knowledge) has and continues to create barriers to her ability to form connections to others. At times it was hard to see her treated so harshly by those around her, but the bright spots of the Raven’s narration and the very subplot-y love interest balanced these tough moments out.

And, of course, there is the Raven themself. What a unique narrative quality! There’s a way that this could have gone very wrong, that a quirky style like this could have been overplayed and over done. Instead, this has to be one of the most fresh feeling narrative styles that I’ve seen in a while! For those who are concerned, the majority of the story is told in your typical third person past tense approach. But sprinkled throughout, we are reminded that we are being told this story through the eyes of a very specific being with their own goals and perspective. Not to mention, the Raven was hilarious!

This book was pretty much my perfect read! Incredible fantasy world-building, an excellent main character, mystery, action, romance, it has it all! For a book that is 700 pages long, by the final portion, all I could think about was the fact that I wanted it to be even longer and how am I possibly going to wait for the sequel! This one doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, per se, but by the end of the book, this world looks very different than it did when it began and Neema’s journey is a wild ride, sprawling out before her. If you enjoy epic fantasy, this is a must read, as far as I’m concerned!

Rating 10: In a word: magnificent. Hodgson blasts onto the epic fantasy stage with a book that will quickly become a must-read for fans of the genre.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Raven Scholar” can be found on this Goodreads list: 2025 Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction

Kate’s Review: “Another Fine Mess”

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

Book: “Another Fine Mess” by Lindy Ryan

Publishing Info: Minotaur Books, April 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received a hardcover copy from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Making sure dead things stay buried is the family business…

For over a hundred years, the Evans women have kept the undead in their strange southeast Texas town from rising. But sometimes the dead rise too quick–and that’s what left Lenore Evans, and her granddaughter Luna, burying Luna’s mother, Grace, and Lenore’s mother, Ducey. Now the only two women left in the Evans family, Luna and Lenore are left rudderless in the wake of the most Godawful Mess to date.

But when the full moon finds another victim, it’s clear their trouble is far from over. Now Lenore, Luna, and the new sheriff—their biggest ally—must dig deep down into family lore to uncover what threatens everything they love most. The body count ticks up, the most unexpected dead will rise–forcing Lenore and Luna to face the possibility that the undead aren’t the only monsters preying on their small town.

Review: Thank you to Kaye Publicity for sending me a finished copy of this novel!

So the reason that I grabbed “Bless Your Heart” by Lindy Ryan from the library and reviewed it last week was because I had the opportunity to read the new sequel! “Another Fine Mess” is a continuation of this Southern horror series that is part “Gilmore Girls” and part “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” with a little bit of “True Blood” to really tie it all together, and I am pleased to report that it continues to be a fun, charming, and sometimes INCREDIBLY gory ride.

Just to be clear, there will be some spoilers for “Bless Your Heart” in this review. Proceed with caution.

We are picking up shortly after “Bless Your Heart” ended, with grandmother Lenore Evans and granddaughter Luna Evans reeling from the deaths of Lenore’s mother/Luna’s great grandmother Ducey, and Luna’s mother/Lenore’s daughter Grace, who died protecting the community and Lunda from Andy, Luna’s vampire (known as strigoi in this) boyfriend. Who Luna accidentally turned because it turns out her father Samael was a master strigoi that fell in love with Grace. Who has been buried by the Evans’s funeral home. Got that? Okay. Lenore and Luna don’t have much time to grieve, however, as some kind of new monster has started terrorizing the town, as pets start to go missing and animals AND people start showing up mutilated. The horror elements in this are a bit more, shall we say, lupine this time around, and I thought that it was not only a great next choice of monster, but it also makes for more gnarly, and I mean GNARLY, kills. It also gives Ryan the chance to expand upon the lore of the monster mythos and world building for strigoi and other creatures, as well as fleshing out the family history of the Evans and the roles they play in order to balance out the supernatural threats that are constantly creeping up on them. While also showing how damn hard that it can be being an Evans woman, bound to a destiny that makes you so, so burdened.

And I am still really loving Luna’s arc in this story, as now we know that she is part strigoi, and that her powers are a little unpredictable. Which is exactly what an awkward teenage girl who just lost her mother and grandmother needs to make her life all the more complicated. Luna is, for me, the character with the most potential, and her growing relationship with weirdo new kid Crane while also learning more and more family secrets (and perhaps having an opportunity to connect with her strigoi father Samael) made for a very interesting subplot, and I thought that she felt like a pretty real teenager who is dealing with a LOT of shit thrown her way, without feeling shrill or cloying. Seeing more clues and puzzle pieces come together, for ALL of the Evans women, was really fun in general, and adding more friends to their insular circle, like new make-up tech Kim (because corpses need to look nice too!), or a closer relationship to the new Sheriff Taylor (who had been quietly in love with Grace when she was alive), really made this ensemble stand out. Even if one development left me feeling ABSOLUTELY HEARTBROKEN, GOD DAMMIT.

AND LOOK, it was hinted to in a few places that there may be another supernatural path to be taken here, but this was basically my reaction… (source)

But hey, that just means that now I am waiting on pins and needles to see where we are going next!! “Another Fine Mess” made the Evans Women all the more interesting, and made me fall for this world all the more. When does the next one come out?

Rating 8: Another entertaining and utterly charming horror story following a family of women who take care of their town by stopping the undead, no matter the cost.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Another Fine Mess” is included on the Goodreads list “All the New Horror, Romantasy, and Other SFF Crossover Books Arriving in April 2025”.