Category: Serena’s Reviews

Serena’s Review: “The Things Gods Break”

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Book: “The Things Gods Break” by Abigail Owen

Publishing Info: Entangled: Red Tower Books, October 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: from the library!

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

Book Description: She has won the games of the gods, can she stand against the titans? Lyra may have survived the Crucible, but now she faces an even more dangerous test – a deadly race against time begins in Tartarus.

The games continue in the thrilling and highly anticipated follow-up to the bestselling romantasy The Games Gods Play. Welcome to Tartarus!

Previously Reviewed: “The Games Gods Play”

Review: Per my usual approach to Decembers, a notoriously light month for publishing, I’m back to checking out books that came out a few months ago that I was too busy at the time to check out! I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed “The Games Gods Play;” from the book description, it sounded like yet another tired deadly-competition romantasy novel. But instead I found an exciting, witty adventure with an actually developed romance at its heart. Yes, I had a few nitpicks with some of the magic elements, but overall, it was just a fun time all around. It did, however, end on a massive cliffhanger!

This one picks up right where the first book left off, which means readers are thrown right back into the action! I was actually a bit concerned with how this all would go. On one hand, it’s been an excellent fantasy adventure so far. But on the other, the central romance between Lyra and Hades has served as the emotional backbone of the series. So, now, with them separated, how do you maintain that relationship without immediately undercutting or making light of the dangerous and impossible-seeming circumstances that these characters have been thrown into? Well, I don’t want to get into too many details about how it all works, but I will say, I was incredibly impressed with how Owens managed this tricky threading-of-the-needle.

To my primary concern, the story in no way walks back on the true dangers of Lyra’s situation, now being stuck down in the deep depths of Tartarus, surrounded by the Titans, mad gods that the Olympians locked away thousands of years ago. But, of course, nothing is as it seems! And now, somehow this author has managed to write not only one “trials-based” fantasy novel that didn’t feel derivative or overly familiar, but has now written a sequel that heavily features another competition at its heart! Like the first book, the actual trials in these tests were incredibly creative, and Lyra didn’t simply waltz through them with ease. It’s only through grit, determination, and a growing reliance on the bonds she has with those around her that she continues forward.

What’s more, the book wisely doesn’t spend the entire story focused on these trials. Instead, the majority of the book is dedicated to fleshing out the history of the Titans and the Olympians. There were so many incredible twists and turns here, and I was impressed by how successfully the author was able to flip my emotions on a dime for many of the characters in question. By the end, there were definite tears, and not for the characters I would have expected!

And, of course, Lyra and Hades remained central to the story. Again, I can’t go into exactly how this was accomplished, but I was so impressed by the way this love story was expanded upon. Indeed, Owens actually managed to retroactively deal with and address some of the questions and problems I had with their love story in the first book! A truly impressive feat! Even without trying to keep up the intensity between two characters who are separated for almost the entire book, second books are notoriously hard for authors of romance trilogies.

All too often, the move is to introduce ridiculous and contrived angst and drama in an attempt to increase “tension” or something. For me, this usually backfires spectacularly, making me dislike one or both characters and struggle to continue. It’s all the more frustrating because it’s not like people fall in love and then all other challenges in their relationship and world magically disappear! There is plenty to explore in a new relationship without introducing ridiculousness everywhere. All that to say, hurrah for Abigail Owens for understanding this and giving readers an excellent second book in a romantasy trilogy that avoids the sillier side of angst.

Rating 9: Not only did I like this one, but it even made me like the first book more!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Things Gods Break” can be found on this Goodreads list: All the New Romantasy Books Arriving in October 2025.

Serena’s Review: “Children of Fallen Gods”

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

Book: “Children of Fallen Gods” by Carissa Broadbent

Publishing Info: Bramble, December 2025

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

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

Book Description: No war can be fought with clean hands. Not even the ones waged for the right reasons. Not even the ones you win.

Tisaanah bargained away her own freedom to save those she left behind in slavery. Now, bound by her blood pact, she must fight the Orders’ war — and Max is determined to protect her at all costs.

But when a betrayal tears apart Ara, Max and Tisaanah are pushed into an even bloodier conflict. Tisaanah must gamble with Reshaye’s power to claim an impossible victory. And Max, forced into leadership, must confront everything he hoped to forget: his past, and his own mysterious magic.

All the while, darker forces loom — far darker, even, than the Orders’ secrets.

As Tisaanah and Max are ensnared in a web of ancient magic and twisted secrets, one question remains: what are they willing to sacrifice for victory? For power? For love?

Previously Reviewed: “Daughter of No Worlds”

Review: One of the great things about traditional publishers picking up books that were already published as indies is the fact that each title in the series can be released quickly! It’s only been a few months since the first book in this trilogy released, and here we are already with the second one!

Per Broadbent’s standard approach at this point (at least as far as I can tell), this second book takes an already ambitious world and cast and then expands it out exponentially. She takes it to the very edge of leaving the reader lost and confused, but always manages to reel things back in at the last minute. This was definitely the case here.

First off, while the complicated politics of this world and its history were introduced in the first book, the actual plot and Tisaanah’s arc were fairly straightforward, following her quest for revenge and to save the friend she left behind. But through the brief glimpses into Max’s past and the few brushes against other political forces, it was clear that not all was well. And this book starts with a bang on this front, throwing the entire tower of cards into disarray and setting the stage for the larger conflicts to come.

As much of the story deals with war and conflict, both in the present and in continued exploration of Max’s past, this is by no means a happy book. Both of our main characters are already hauling around a ton of trauma, and the author doesn’t go any easier on them here. Indeed, much of the story is focused on the world-weary soldiers who are once again called upon to fight. That said, these darker elements were nicely balanced by the sweet and deepening romance between these two. While there perhaps wasn’t quite as much on the love story front as I would have liked, everything we did get was excellent, living up to the high expectations that I have for Broadbent’s romances!

Like the more intricate plot, the character list is also expanded, adding two other POV characters. Honestly, this took me a bit aback when I first ran into it in the first few chapters, as I thought I had a pretty good handle on how these books would play out. That said, I was easily drawn in to these two new characters, and they added a whole new layer to the story. I really liked Aefe right away and came to enjoy Caduan as well, though his story is definitely one that shows a different sort of path than what we usually see in books like this. Indeed, the relationship between these two was very different than between our original characters and, by the end of the book, was again a point of tragedy and darkness. I’ll be curious to see how all of this will be handled going forward!

There were a few big twists and turns towards the end of the book as well. I felt like the big one was fairly well telegraphed, but that didn’t mean it didn’t land when it arrived. For being so lengthy, and a middle book to boot, the story did a great job of keeping me invested throughout, and now I can only wait with bated breath for the final entry!

Rating 9: Even grander in scale than the first, but just as swoon-worthy in the end!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Children of Fallen Gods” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Under the Radar Page-Turners and New Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Serena’s Review: “Tailored Realities”

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

Book: “Tailored Realities” by Brandon Sanderson

Publishing Info: Tor Books, December 2025

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

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

Book Description: Spanning the genres of fantasy and science fiction, this collection features stories from beyond the bounds of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe. Along with the never-before-seen novella “Moment Zero,” Tailored Realities will include “Snapshot,” “Perfect State,” “Defending Elysium” (a novella set within the world of Skyward), and five other stories that were originally published individually elsewhere-never before collected into one volume, and many never before available in print.

Review: I’ve known that Brandon Sanderson has published a number of short stories and novellas over his career (because writing a bunch of hundreds-of-pages-long novels simply isn’t enough!), but I haven’t managed to check many of them out myself. That being the case, while this book also includes a new novella, all the stories here were new to me!

While I tend to prefer fantasy over science fiction, and this holds true for my taste in Sanderson’s collections of work as well, this book was a great reminder of how the genre can sing in the hands of a talented author! I’m not going to cover them all here, but I will say there is a good mix on offer, with some stories more strongly focused on action while others are clearly examples of Sanderson testing the boundaries of genre writing. I’m not sure all of these experiments were clearly successful, but I loved the included notes that gave readers further insight into the ideas behind each story and how they came to be. These postscripts on their own made the book well worth reading for any Sanderson fan out there!

I’m sure many reviewers will also note this fact, but it’s pretty amusing that Sanderson, an author known for producing brick-like tomes, has included a “novella” in this story that is close to 200 pages long, the same length as many other authors’ typical novel. However, as I don’t often love short stories, this fact worked out perfectly for me, as I got to read a short story collection while also sinking into what felt like a fully realized novel all on its own as well.

Beyond this lengthy one, “Moment Zero,” there were a few others I enjoyed as well. The first story in the collection, “Snapshot,” was one of my favorites. The story felt very Inception-like, with two detectives traveling back through a crime scene photo to investigate a serial killer. The entire concept was interesting, and I would absolutely gobble up a full-length novel of this story. I also really enjoyed “Defending Elysium,” even though I haven’t read the Skyward books that it is connected to. That said, I’m always going to enjoy a great “first contact” story, and this one definitely lived up to my expectations for that sort of tale.

I don’t think any of the stories here were bad, though there were a few that were a bit weaker, in my opinion. For example, “Probability Approaching Zero” is a flash fiction story, meaning it was incredibly short. Too short for me to really get much out of it, honestly. The story “I Hate Dragons” was one of those odd experiences where I really appreciated the creativity of the story (a character who can hear spelling and grammar), but the actual execution left something to be desired.

In the end, I enjoyed the majority of the stories here, and even the ones that didn’t perfectly land were still very interesting, especially when adding in the postscript explanations for how the story was conceptualized. I do think that this is the sort of collection that will best be appreciated by current Sanderson fans and perhaps a bit less approachable by readers who have never read any of his books before. But you also don’t need to be fully up to date with his entire massive catalog to appreciate it either!

Rating 8: Everything that I’ve come to expect from Brandon Sanderson: adventurous, creative, and never lacking in heart!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Tailored Realities” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Short Story Collections – Single Author.

Serena’s Review: “Tender Cruelty”

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Book: “Tender Cruelty” by Katee Robert

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Casablanca, December 2025

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

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

Book Description: The barrier that’s protected Olympus for generations has fallen. The enemy’s breached the gates and the Thirteen are scrambling to protect themselves, their loved ones, and the city they’ve sworn to protect. At least they would be if they weren’t at each others’ throats instead.

Hera has no intention of letting her husband, Zeus, survive the oncoming storm. But despite the white-hot hatred burning between them, when Hera and Zeus are forced to work together, enmity crystalizes into something brighter. Hotter. Too powerful to deny or destroy.

Hera never bartered on falling in love with the man she married―the man she once swore to kill. But now, standing back-to-back in the ruins of Olympus, she may be forced to admit that she’s been wrong about Zeus all these years…and there may be something about their marriage worth saving if they can survive long enough to turn sworn enemies into something more.

Review: As I mentioned in a fairly recent “Not Just Books” post, I’ve been obsessively playing Hades recently. As such, I’m in deep on tons of Greek mythology and am on a constant lookout for more of the same! That being the case, I was excited to check out the most recent book in the Dark Olympus series. I’m obviously not up to date on the entire series, but as this entry is dealing with Hera, a favorite Olympian of mine, I still wanted to check it out!

So, I’ll admit that this was perhaps not the best one to jump into the series with. For one thing, I didn’t realize it was the second to the last in the series. But as such, a lot of the focus was on the greater political maneuverings of all the various characters as the book set up the conclusion of the series that will come next. I probably wasn’t able to appreciate all of these various plotlines to the same extent that fans of the series will, but I was definitely intrigued by what I did see. I’ll probably go back and read earlier books to get some of the individual stories for characters we see here.

One thing that I can say, even without being current with the greater plot points, was the necessary emphasis on these greater story beats did leave the romance and story between Zeus and Hera feeling distinctly second fiddle at times. There simply wasn’t enough time in the book to feel as if their story was given the proper page length to feel truly fleshed out and resolved by the end.

As for Hera and Zeus, I did enjoy these characters. Again, not having read the earlier books, I can only guess that I might have largely hated Zeus in other books. But having his perspective here did make him a fairly compelling character. And Hera, as expected, was great. As one of the goddesses who I think gets done worst in many stories of Olympians, I was happy to see an intriguing take on the character here.

As for the romance, this wasn’t my favorite. I’ve become increasingly agnostic towards the “enemies to lovers” trope, as I think the romance/romantasy market has been truly saturated by the full takeover of this one style of love story. Like I said earlier, the balance between greater plot and romance felt off, and I think more focus on the emotional transition from enemies to lovers would have improved this for me. Also, subjectively, I just don’t really enjoy smut scenes between characters who are still fully in the “hate” portion of the romance. Truly, the book starts out and the characters are already down and dirty in the first chapter. I’m not sure how consistent this is in the other books, but this veered too close to erotica for my own taste.

Overall, I think that this book will be a hit for fans of the series, but is probably not the best place to jump in (fully my bad!). However, I think the worldbuilding and politics of this world were definitely interesting, and I think I’ll plan on checking out earlier entries in the series to see the buildup to this point!

Rating 7: I’m never going to love a romance that has the “enemies” fully engaged in the smut scenes within the first few pages, well before any sort of “lovers” has been earned, but I think the greater worldbuilding is very intriguing!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Tender Cruelty” can be found on this Goodreads list: [ATY 2026] Part of a Series,

Serena’s Review: “The Bookshop Below”

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

Book: “The Bookshop Below” by Georgia Summers

Publishing Info: Redhook, November 2025

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

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

Book Description: If you want a story that will change your life, Chiron’s bookshop is where you go. For those lucky enough to grace its doors, it’s a glimpse into a world of powerful bargains and deadly ink magic.

For Cassandra Fairfax, it’s a reminder of everything she lost, when Chiron kicked her out and all but shuttered the shop. Since then, she’s used her skills in less ethical ways, trading stolen books and magical readings to wealthy playboys and unscrupulous collectors.

Then Chiron dies under mysterious circumstances. And if Cassandra knows anything, it’s this: the bookshop must always have an owner.

But she’s not the only one interested. There’s Lowell Sharpe, a dark-eyed, regrettably handsome bookseller she can’t seem to stop bumping into; rival owners who threaten Cassandra from the shadows; and, of course, Chiron’s murderer, who is still on the loose.

As Cassandra tries to uncover the secrets her mentor left behind, a sinister force threatens to unravel the world of the magical bookshops entirely…

Review: I really enjoyed The City of Stardust when I read it last year. Though, admittedly, as I was reading and now afterwards looking back at it, it was a very strange book compiled of many unique and interesting pieces that may have been excellent on their own, but never quite lined up the way I hoped. However, like I said, overall, I had a positive experience reading it, so I was excited to see the author was coming out with a new book.

Now, looking at this book description, I think I’d generally be really excited. Who doesn’t like magical bookshops? Add some dashes of sinister secrets and powerful hidden figures, and you have a banger on your hands! However, I was also uniquely concerned because much of this sounded like it could fall into the same trap as the first one. Namely, tons of excellent ideas and pieces of a puzzle, but perhaps a rather middling story when put all together. And ultimately, that’s kind of what we got.

Let’s start with what I did enjoy, and that was everything to do with the magical system and world at the heart of the story. While I have quibbles with the way in which much of this information was conveyed (our main character already knew much of it, so the story was always stumbling over itself with what she would know but the audience might not and how to bridge that gap), the magic itself was whimsical and intriguing. The idea that one could buy books to solve problems in life, and the exorbitant prices that those books would cost (many in the unusual, often unnerving, style of bargains found in fairytales, like firstborn children) was incredibly compelling.

However, much of this worldbuilding and magic system was held together with scotch tape and the fairy dust of magical ideas. Sure, much of it sounded good on paper, but put all together, I had a hard time picturing how any of this worked, from the details regarding the actual process of reading a book and having a wish granted (except when it didn’t) to the various players involved and how anyone was fooled by a main character named Cassandra who had a secret identity as a person named…Cass.

Speaking of Cassandra/Cass, I really struggled to connect to her as a main character. At best, I found her very bland. And at worst, I was often frustrated with her decisions and overall level of incompetence. Of course, some of that is built into the premise of the story, with her taking over a run-down bookshop. But it also felt like a bit too much incompetence for my taste. Even the love interest had something to say about her management (or lack thereof!) of all of this. The love story hit in a similar way: I wasn’t actively offended by any of it, but I also really didn’t care that much about anything that was going on between these two.

So, yes, this was a fairly middling experience. I think the author has a vast wealth of creativity and whimsy. However, after two books, there does seem to be a struggle fitting those aspects into what feels like a fully realized world and story. Instead, both books feel peppered with interesting concepts, but left teetering on a structure that barely holds together. Readers who enjoy cozy fantasy are probably the best audience for this book, so if you enjoy whimsy and are happy to go along with fairly loose worldbuilding, this may still be a book worth checking out for you! However, if you didn’t fully connect with this author’s first book, this one had similar weaknesses as that.

Rating 7: Chock full of creativity, however the worldbuilding is severely lacking, leaving me feeling disconnected from much of the story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Bookshop Below” can be found on this Goodreads list: All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in November 2025

Serena’s Review: “A Curious Kind of Magic”

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

Book: “A Curious Kind of Magic” by Mara Rutherford

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, October 2025

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

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

Book Description: Everyone in Ardmuir knows that Willow Stokes is a charlatan, including Willow herself. Her father’s shoppe hasn’t sold anything magical in decades, and it’s only hanging on by the skin of the fake dragon’s teeth Willow sells as charms, along with “enchanted” ostrich eggs, taxidermied chimeras, and talismans made of fools’ gold.

Until outlander Brianna Hargrave appears and turns Willow’s fakes into exactly what they’re purported to be. But try as Willow might to enlist Bri’s help, she wants nothing to do with Willow and her curiosities.

Because Brianna is harboring a secret of her own: everything she touches turns to magic, and the consequences have chased her all the way to Ardmuir. All she wants to do is find a particular missing grimoire, which contains a spell that can finally put an end to her curse.

Desperate to keep her father’s shoppe, Willow proposes a bargain that could save them both. Together with the frustratingly handsome printer’s assistant, the girls will uncover a plot that goes far deeper than either could have imagined. But when Willow is forced to participate in an ambitious collector’s quest for the rarest magical object in the world-a quest that risks almost-certain death-she learns that not all treasure is for sale, and that true magic is closer than she ever could have imagined.

Review: This is one of those books where I closed the page and my only thought was, “Well, what’s next?” Everything about this one was almost aggressively just okay. Nothing was bad enough that I wanted to get out my laptop right away and start a rant. But nothing was good enough either that I wanted to think much more about the entire experience.

Part of this comes down to the fact that nothing really stands out in this book. It’s set in some nondescript “historical” time period and setting. The magical elements are just your typical fairytale sort of thing where certain people have access to magic and others don’t. And the characters are all fairly familiar archetypes, from the prickly leading lady to the cinnamon roll romantic interest.

None of this is particularly helped by the slow pacing of the story. I’ve struggled with this aspect of Mara Rutherford’s writing in the past, and it was the same situation here. These YA books aren’t particularly long, but given the actual plot and content of the book, like her others, this one felt as if it could be 50 pages shorter at least. Some of this can be explained away by the cozy subgenre, a particular subset of genres that often rely on slower pacing and day-in-the-life motifs. But even within this category, I think this one felt particularly uneven in its pacing and plotting. However, cozy fantasy is often a struggle for me, so bigger fans of the genre may be less bothered by this aspect of the book.

I also struggled with the characters. The main character is written to be prickly and standoffish, but more often than not, this translated into me simply disliking her much of the time. Much of the spare 50–75 pages worth of content in this book is taken up by Willow’s poor decision-making and insistence on keeping everything and everyone at arm’s length. Bri, perhaps, was a bit better, but again, I never felt like I had enough to really grasp onto her as a unique and interesting character. And Finlay, for his part, was a sweet character, but too often this sweetness took a turn towards bland and left me feeling distinctly underwhelmed.

Perhaps “underwhelmed” is the best description for my feelings for this book. I’ve enjoyed Mara Rutherford’s books in the past, but I think that some of her particular writing foibles (slower and sometimes uneven pacing) were not benefitted by the cozy subgenre. Her previous books had darker themes and elements which I think elevated some of the weaker portions (characterization and pacing). Whereas here, with less plot to speak of, these flaws rose more to the forefront. However, I will say that this may appeal more to general fans of YA cozy fantasy, so if you’re a fan of that subgenre or a big Rutherford fan, this one may still be worth checking out!

Rating 7: Just okay. There was nothing bad about this read, but nothing will really stick with me either, unfortunately.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Curious Kind of Magic” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Cozy Fantasy and Cozy and Cold Weather Reads (YA and Children’s).

Serena’s Review: “The Wolf King”

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

Book: “The Wolf King” by Lauren Palphreyman

Publishing Info: Bloom Books, November 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: When a princess is kidnapped by an alpha , war rages between the humans and the wolves. But soon, forbidden attraction starts to grow. . .

Princess Aurora longs to escape the castle and the marriage that has been arranged for her.

But on the night before her wedding, at a dog fight where captured werewolves are made to fight for sport, she spares the life of a young wolf. It puts her on the radar of the powerful alpha who was going to kill him. And it changes everything.

That night, when the alpha escapes, he kidnaps her and takes her to the rugged lands north of the border — where the once warring werewolf clans are beginning to unite. He thinks that she is the key to winning the war against the humans.

Only, as they spend time around one another, forbidden attraction starts to grow. And as Aurora learns that not all wolves are bad, the alpha discovers that she is in danger from both his enemies, and those he once considered friends.

With monsters on both sides, a bloodthirsty war between humans and wolves raging, and undeniable passion growing between them — will their story end in love? Or tragedy?

And will Aurora ever get home?

Does she even want to?

Review: I’m going to be honest, this was a really tough one to think about reviewing. To sum up my experience, for the first third of the book, I was absolutely loving it. The main character was interesting enough, if a bit generic and predictable. But the romantic interest was a breath of fresh air! Funny, friendly, considerate, gasp blonde… I have a very clear memory of thinking, “Finally! A breath of fresh air to the standard romantasy fare, proof that there is more to the world than dark, secretive, shadow daddies!” And then… the shadow daddy entered the scene, and I actually slammed my Kindle down in immediate frustration. Honestly, I would have DNF’d it on the spot if it wasn’t for the fact that this was a NetGalley request, and I wanted to follow through on a review.

Now, to be fair, this is an incredibly subjective reaction per my own preferences—so much so that I’m going to go on a rant about this later in the review. But it’s not fair to review the book purely on the rage this “twist” induced in me as one unique reader. For those who enjoy ACOTAR and the sort of romance that has (unfortunately) taken over the romantasy genre ever since, I think this book will be a great fit. Indeed, I was having enough fun with the readability of the prose itself that even I, hating everything about what’s happening with the love story itself, am considering checking out the next book. So, yes. It’s incredibly readable. The main character is not insufferable. And the primary love interest of this book was a character I enjoyed.

So that’s my fair review of the book. Now on to the rant! There will be spoilers for this book and predictions for the next included, so be warned!

I’ve mentioned this point before, but I think romance is one of the few genres that not only benefits from but should almost require some sort of tags for tropes. It’s just such a subjective thing, and it’s all the more infuriating when a book summary sets the reader up to expect one thing and then delivers something completely different. In this case, we have the Tamlin/Rhysand situation where an entire first book is devoted to one love interest, but a secondary (the true!!!) love interest is introduced toward the middle/end. The expectation is then that something will occur in the second book to either make the original love interest intolerable, dead, or otherwise unavailable so that the true romantic lead can slot in.

And boy, do I hate this! I have a long TBR list—so long that I’m never going to get through it. And what this horrible trope has essentially normalized is taking what should be a passing comment found in many romance novels—“My ex was a jerk”—and turning that line into an entire, freaking, hundreds-of-pages-long book! I’m reading romance, for heaven’s sake! One of the primary conventions is a “happily ever after.” And when I start a book and am given two romantic leads, I think it is fair that I then expect those characters to have that happy ending. But no. Instead, I get an entire book devoted to a character who is going to be, essentially, a throwaway line in the main character’s toxic relationship history. That’s not romance! That’s… I don’t even know what!

And the author herself has pointed out the reason that she—and I imagine other romance authors—does this: it’s to get to the smut scenes sooner. And frankly, I find that kind of demeaning as a romance reader. Look, it’s fair to want to read erotica for the, well, erotica of it all. But that is a genre in itself, and there are plenty of options to be had there. Romance is a love story. Yes, there are steamy sections often, but the love story between two people is the heart of it. That being the case, why am I being given an entire book of smut scenes between the main character and her soon-to-be ex? Just because I, the reader, can’t go twenty pages without a smut scene, according to authors and publishers in romantasy? It’s belittling, is what it is.

Of course, this entire rant is very much just my opinion on this matter. And, of course, it’s completely fine to disagree with me, as I imagine many romantasy readers do. But this gets to my final point about tags. I had to read over a hundred and fifty pages of this book to even get an inkling of the fact that this book was taking on this trope. And I’ve looked ahead at reviews for the next book, and it looks like I’d have to go AN ENTIRE BOOK MORE only to find this all completely confirmed. At that point, as a romance reader, I’d have read two entire books about two characters who aren’t going to have a happily-ever-after. And I just think that’s the sort of thing I should know before opening book one. Heaven forbid I had actually paid money for this, having been given zero reason to expect a bait-and-switch like this.

So, yes. Ultimately, I think this author has a compelling style, and I was completely on board for the situation that I was originally sold: Outlander but with werewolves. Unfortunately, that is not at all what we got (Jamie Fraser would never end up being the probably toxic ex). All of this said, if you enjoy the old Tamlin/Rhysand switcheroo, this book is definitely for you! However, if you don’t enjoy this trope, definitely steer away.

Rating 7/4: On its own merits, this is the score I’d give it. Based on my own preferences, this is probably around a 4 due to the sheer gall of writing an entire book about an FMC and her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend and calling it romance.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Wolf King” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Only one horse scenes in romantasy and Historical Fiction/Fantasy with Werewolves.

Serena’s Review: “The House Saphir”

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Book: “The House Saphir” by Marissa Meyer

Publishing Info: Feiwel & Friends, November 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Mallory Fontaine is a fraud. Though she comes from a long line of witches, the only magic she possesses is the ability to see ghosts, which is rarely as useful as one would think. She and her sister have maintained the family business, eking out a paltry living by selling bogus spells to gullible buyers and conducting tours of the infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place.

Mallory is a self-proclaimed expert on Count Bastien Saphir—otherwise known as Monsieur Le Bleu—who brutally killed three of his wives more than a century ago. But she never expected to meet Bastien’s great-great grandson and heir to the Saphir estate. Armand is handsome, wealthy, and convinced that the Fontaine Sisters are as talented as they claim. The perfect mark. When he offers Mallory a large sum of money to rid his ancestral home of Le Bleu’s ghost, she can’t resist. A paid vacation at Armand’s country manor? It’s practically a dream come true, never mind the ghosts of murdered wives and the monsters that are as common as household pests.

But when murder again comes to the House Saphir, Mallory finds herself at the center of the investigation—and she is almost certain the killer is mortal. If she has any hope of cashing in on the payment she was promised, she’ll have to solve the murder and banish the ghost, all while upholding the illusion of witchcraft.

But that all sounds relatively easy compared to her biggest learning to trust her heart. Especially when the person her heart wants the most might be a murderer himself.

Review: Well, this was a delight of a read! I’ve only read a few Bluebeard retellings, but I can say that this is easily my favorite! Per Meyer’s typical approach to fairytale fantasies, this one is quite removed from the original story, and I think that only strengthened it. Beyond allowing original characters and a whole new story room to shine, I loved the ways that the older story wove in and out of the current version. There were several twists and turns, particularly in the second half, that interwove both tales together in incredibly creative ways.

I also really loved the gothic vibes of this book. From start to finish, the book has a distinctive flavor: creepy, fantastical, and just verging on the horrific. Of course, it also has a cast of ghosts who are hilarious, often in a fairly macabre manner. But like any good gothic story, the house itself often feels like a character, full of creeping sounds and mysterious locked doors. And to balance all of this gloom, we have our con artist of a main character, vigorously doing absolute nonsense to “cleanse” the ghosts from this house. The combination of the true menace exuded by the house alongside the antics of Mallory and her sister perfectly balanced the overall tone of the book. The world-building also expanded out from the house itself toward the last third of the book, adding an entirely new level to the magic of this world.

I also loved Mallory as a main character. She was funny, brave, and gloriously unapologetic for her con artist ways. Of course, as the story continues, we learn more about her and her family’s unique history, thus adding greater depth to her motivations and reactions. There are dark secrets here, many of which were tied up in her relationship with her mother and sister. I’m, of course, a sucker for sister relationships in fantasy stories, so this was all right up my alley.

I also really enjoyed the romance in the story. This was definitely a subplot to the book, but it was sweet, funny, and endearing in every way. Bastien was a lovely character, full of an earnest desire to earn Mallory’s trust but hiding secrets of his own. There were some really good twists tied up in his character as well. I was able to guess a few of them, but that didn’t make it any less gratifying to see them play out. Between him and his creepy ancestor, the book did a great job exploring some tough themes, like domestic violence, while still maintaining an approachable tone.

My one complaint here, however, is that Mallory routinely refers to Bastien as a “boy.” This is an adult man who, while young, is running an estate and business and living an adult life. I get that the book is straddling a tough line, as it’s marketed as a young adult title, but it’s just ridiculous to listen to two characters who are considered to be and behave as adults in their world refer to each other in this way. More than anything, I think this book should just embrace the “new adult” genre, refer to Bastien as the man he is, and do away with silly YA nods of this sort, especially when they make zero sense within the context of the story. Kind of a silly nitpick, but it bothered me throughout.

Overall, however, I really loved this book! Meyer continues to hit it out of the park, and this one is another fairytale banger! All the better, it is a stand-alone novel—a truly rare beast in the fantasy world recently. I definitely recommend this to all fairytale fantasy fans!

Rating 9: Gothic fairytale fantasy at its best! Meyer deftly navigates tough themes of domestic violence and manipulation while crafting a sweet and funny romance to boot!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The House Saphir” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Bluebeard Retellings and November 2025 Romance & Fantasy Book Releases.

Serena’s Review: “Murder Most Haunted”

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Book: “Murder Most Haunted” by Emma Mason

Publishing Info: William Morrow Paperbacks, October 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

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

Book Description: A grand country estate.
On her last day as a Detective, Midge McGowan is given the retirement present from a ticket to take part in a haunted house tour. She’ll have to spend the weekend before Christmas ghost-hunting in an isolated mansion with a group of misfits, including a know-it-all paranormal investigator and a has-been pop star.

An impossible crime.
It isn’t long before the tour starts to spiral out of control. Midge and the guests see an unsettling figure walking the grounds late at night. Then the unthinkable happens – someone is murdered in a room that’s been locked from the inside.

A Christmas they might not survive.
Heavy snow cuts them off from help, the house’s own dark secrets begin to surface, and Midge can’t shake the creeping sense that they are walking into a nightmare. Could a ghost really be responsible, or is the culprit one of the guests?

Review: I’m always looking for another mystery book or series to pick up, and this one sounded like a great place to start, what with its Christmas vibes on top of the haunted house. In one fell swoop, I covered two holidays at once (and timed my review for the month that falls between them!)

Ultimately, this one was a bit hit-and-miss for me. But one thing I unquestionably enjoyed was the overall vibe of the story. Some of the haunted house portions were the best part of the book, and I enjoyed the juxtaposition of gothic creepiness with the inherent cozy factor found in the Christmas holiday. The setting itself was perfectly set up for a closed-door mystery, and I think the author did an excellent job setting the stage for this story.

I both did and did not enjoy the cast of characters. On one hand, there was a lot of variety to be found here, and I enjoyed the interactions between the many strong personalities making up this group. There were plenty of good red herrings and potential suspects for the murder as well, which will surely keep readers on their toes until the last minute. However, I also found almost everyone incredibly unlikable in some way or another, which made it tough for me to become too invested. I was perfectly fine with any of them being the murderer because I didn’t care about any of them enough to want them to be innocent!

I did enjoy Midge for the most part, though I think she may be hit-or-miss for some readers. Much of the story is seeing her slowly come out of her shell and push through her own insecurities. She’s familiar with murder, but her experience was working in the background, so finding herself in the middle of an active crime scene and needing to stand up for her own opinions is clearly a new experience. I thought she was a refreshing change from the typical detectives you find in this kind of book, though I will say that there were times I felt like her insecurities overwhelmed other portions of her characterization.

Overall, this was a quick, satisfying read. I didn’t come away from it blown away, but I also was able to get through it quickly and enjoyed it for what it was. Readers looking for a good holiday mystery should probably check this one out (though I will warn about the characters being a bit on the weaker side overall).

Rating 7: While the characters were all a bit too unlikable for my taste, the vibes were on point for the holiday season (Halloween or Christmas—take your pick!)

Reader’s Advisory:

“Murder Most Haunted” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Christmas Mysteries.

Serena’s Review: “Fallen City”

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Book: “Fallen City” by Adrienne Young

Publishing Info: Saturday Books, November 2025

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

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

Book Description: Luca Matius has one purpose—to carry on the family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum once his powerful and cruel uncle dies. But his noviceship with the city’s Philosopher places him in the middle of a catastrophe that will alter the destiny of his people.

Maris Casoeria was raised amidst the strategic maneuvers of the Citadel’s inner workings, and she knows what her future holds—a lifetime of service to a corrupt city. But her years of serving as a novice to the last Priestess who possesses the stolen magic of the Old War has made her envision a different kind of future for the city. When she meets Luca, a fated chain of events is set into motion that will divinely entangle their lives.

As a secret comes to light and throws the city into chaos, Luca and Maris hatch a plot to create a calculated alliance that could tip the scales of power. But when an execution forces Luca to become the symbol of rebellion, he and Maris are thrown onto opposite sides of a holy war. As their fates diverge, they learn they are at the center of a story the gods are writing. And even if they can find their way back to each other, there may be nothing left.

Review: I’m a big fan of Adrienne Young and have read most of her books by this point. And now, having read so many of her stories, I’ve noticed something particular about her approach to love stories and romance (all the books I’ve read by her have some form of romance): she seems to gravitate toward “second chance” style love stories where characters have an established history and relationship but have been separated or estranged for some reason and must now come together again within this story. And I think the strengths and weaknesses of this book directly parallel this specific preference of Young’s.

So, the story roughly alternates between both POV characters in the past and then them both now in the present. The strengths of Young’s approach to romance and the story as a whole are definitely seen best in the portions of the story that take place in the present. Our two characters are separated through much of this, but this makes all of the tension and yearning and slow hints as to the full extent of their past all the better. It was easy enough to guess at some of the twists that took place in the past, making all of these hints all the more enjoyable in the present. While the few scenes with the characters together are, of course, bangers, it’s always impressive how well some of the moments when they are separated and reflecting on the other are the most romantic. Young knows well how to write unfulfilled yearning and two characters whose relationship is deep but strained by external factors.

I also enjoyed the storyline of the present more than that of the past. Events take place over only a few days in the present timeline, but that was more than enough time to fully depict a city in the middle of tearing itself apart, full of fear of the future and dread of the past. There was a lot of politics explored in this story, and I appreciated the honest look at the harsh realities of revolution. Tolerating corruption is, of course, impossible, but the book doesn’t shy away from the fact that revolution doesn’t automatically guarantee something better—and can often be much, much worse in the meantime.

I also really liked the history and magic of this world. It took a bit for me to fully grasp how this was all linking together, but by the end, it was clear that Young had been carefully laying the groundwork for her ultimate twist. Readers may have to be patient to see it all come together, but come together it definitely does.

Now, the weaknesses of the story definitely come into play in the portions of the book that take place in the past. Here, we see our two main characters meet and fall in love. And this is where we see the weaker side of Young’s ability to write romances. She’s absolutely excellent at the “second chance” portion, but the initial development of the relationship left something to be desired. Indeed, this was very close to insta-love in a lot of ways. Because the author is such a strong writer, it was easier to read through this quick progression of a relationship (even more so because it was broken up with jumps back to the present), but things still evolved very quickly and with very little development given on the page. These two pretty much just meet each other’s eyes and fall deeply in love, fully trusting one another fairly quickly when they really have zero reason to and much personal history on both sides that should instead make them incredibly wary. The story is definitely a retelling, of sorts, of Romeo and Juliet, so I get how this depiction of the timeline and plot beats of their relationship lines up, but it was still a bit frustrating to get so little actual development of the early portions of their relationship.

However, the strengths of the present timeline, the lovely depictions of our main characters’ relationship at this point, and the increasing conflict that leads to an explosive twist at the end were still more than enough to leave me happy with this book. I’m all the more excited for the next one, which presumably will take place fully in the present time period, doing away with the weaker plotline of this book entirely. Fans of Adrienne Young and political, romantic fantasy should definitely give this one a shot!

Rating 8: Full of pining and romantic tension, this book nicely blends political fantasy with a heart-wrenching love story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Fallen City” can be found on these Goodreads lists: 2025 Romance Duets and High/epic Fantasy by female authors.