Category: Serena’s Reviews

Serena’s Review: “West of Wicked”

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Book: “West of Wicked” by Nikki St. Crowe

Publishing Info: Bramble, April 2026

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

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

Book Description: Dorothy Gale doesn’t know where she came from. She has only the vaguest memory of her life before landing in the dull, gray world of the vast Kansas prairie.

Then a cyclone rips through the night and carries her, her dog, and the farmhouse somewhere a lot farther than Dorothy imagined. She’s in a strange land that’s apparently cursed, shrouded in shadow. And to get home, Dorothy needs to seek out a wizard, following a treacherous path and watch out for a never-ending list of forest beasts, witches, a cursed mercenary, and perhaps most dangerous of all, the wizard himself.

Nikki St. Crowe vividly reimagines the world of the Wizard of Oz, where the villain gets the girl…and the girl gets the power.

Review: I had heard of this author before because I looked into a “Peter Pan” retelling that she wrote at one point. That one seemed like it was a “reverse harem” romance, so I gave it a pass. But this one sounded like the more straightforward “enemies to lovers” trope, and, combined with my nostalgic love of “Wizard of Oz,” I thought this might be a good entry point to this author.

And, while I didn’t outright love it, I can also see the appeal of this author for sure. Right from the start, she has a very compelling style of storytelling. The pacing is quick, but I never felt like the author was skimping on the characterization or world-building. I had a decent understanding of just who Dorothy was and what was important to her fairly early in the story. As her arc continues, there were added layers given to her motivations and changes in perspective, so I appreciated that growth was there.

I also enjoyed the twists and turns taken with the world of Oz and the original characters. Frankly, this carried much of the book for me, as I was always eager to meet new characters or see new locations and explore the unique take the author was bringing to these classic elements. That said, if you feel at all “precious” about these originals, this book might not be for you. The author plays fast and loose with any original characteristics; I found this fun, but it could also be jarring if you were hoping to find characters that were more in line with their original versions.

Probably not surprising anyone, I mostly had gripes with the romance and the spice. On the spice side, the story starts out with a completely unnecessary erotic scene between the main character and a throwaway character. Now, I know that some readers enjoy spice for spice’s sake. But for me, these kinds of unnecessary spice scenes so early in a book make me feel as if the author thinks that readers are just hornballs who will put down a book if they don’t get a sex scene in the first 25 pages. This scene literally had zero impact on the story and could have been removed with no one the wiser. I wish it had been.

The romance itself was more interesting and developed at a slower pace (this made the initial jump right into a sex scene with the soon-to-be ex all the more weird!). There were also some big twists that came toward the end that I enjoyed. However, as always it seems, the book definitely sets up a secondary romance in the end as well. This is purely a subjective thing, and readers who enjoy love triangles and bait-and-switch romances may enjoy this aspect more.

As it stands, I think I’ll wait and spoil myself on how the entire trilogy ends before committing to reading more of the series, largely due to my feelings regarding the romance. I enjoyed the overall writing and Dorothy as a character, but the romance is a big question mark, and I’ve been burned too many times in the past to blindly keep going.

Rating 7: I liked this interpretation of “The Wizard of Oz” and its classic characters, but the spice and romance raised some big question marks for me personally. Other romance readers who enjoy certain tropes, however, may enjoy it more!

Readers Advisory:

“West of Wicked” can be found on this Goodreads list: April 2026 Most Anticipated Romance Releases.

Serena’s Review: “Smoke and Summons”

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Book: “Smoke and Summons” by Charlie N. Holmberg

Publishing Info: 47North, February 2019

Where Did I Get this Book: own it!

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

Book Description: As a human vessel for an ancient spirit, Sandis lives no ordinary life. At the command of her master, she can be transformed against her will into his weapon—a raging monster summoned to do his bidding. Unlike other vessels, Sandis can host extremely powerful spirits, but hosting such creatures can be fatal. To stay alive, she must run. And in a city fueled by smoke and corruption, she finds a surprising ally.

A cunning thief for hire, Rone owns a rare device that grants him immortality for one minute every day—a unique advantage that will come in handy in Sandis’s fight for freedom. But Sandis’s master knows how powerful she is. He’s determined to get her back, and he has the manpower to find her, wherever she runs.

Now, to outwit her pursuers, Sandis must put all her trust in Rone and his immortal device. For her master has summoned more than mere men to hunt her down…

Review: After absolutely loving “The Shattered King” and “The Half-Hearted Queen,” I eagerly jumped into Holmberg’s back catalog. Seriously, I think I bought probably two or three e-books in one night after turning the last page on that duology. Out of the many options I purchased for myself, I wanted to try another series, so I picked up this, the first in a complete trilogy.

This didn’t quite live up to the high that was “The Shattered King” duology, but I definitely enjoyed it for what it was! And, honestly, if the bar hadn’t been set quite so high, this one would have landed even better, so any/all qualms I had felt very much a product of unreasonable expectations more than anything else.

To start, I absolutely loved the world-building and magic system introduced here. For the world, our characters live in a highly corrupt city-state, essentially, that eats up its poor and doesn’t allow any past their gates. Right from the start, we see a system that doesn’t care about justice and, if you’re poor or unimportant, you can be disappeared without so much as a bat of the eye. In this world, our MMC, Rone, has pried out a life for himself and his mother by creating a name for himself in the criminal underworld. As for our FMC, Sandis, her side of the coin is the more unfortunate tale of those who have lost everything and been lost themselves, caught up by powerful players with very few options for escape.

The magic system was also great. There are hints of an ancient world that had magical resources that have been lost to this time, except for a few rare trinkets, including a device that allows Rone to be unkillable for a very short period of time once every 24 hours. Sandis’s story, however, is the one that centers more fully around the true magic of this series, that of summoners and the powerful beings that can be called forth from within them. But the process by which this happens is brutal and oppressive, with dire requirements for the body of the one who turns into the summoned creature and a horribly oppressive dynamic often coming from the summoner who controls them.

I also really liked both Rone and Sandis. This might actually be one of the rare books where I think I enjoyed the MMC POV more than the FMC. Sandis was a great character, but she was also a bit too perfect and too naive at times. She treaded the ground of the “perfect victim” stereotype a few times. That said, I did still very much enjoy her. For his part, I think Rone’s voice was stronger, and his character was often the driving force behind much of the action of the story. His arc is also the more complicated, with his attempts to balance protecting his mother as well as this new woman he finds himself working alongside. He doesn’t always make all the right decisions, and I liked him all the more for it.

Overall, I really liked this one! The pacing was a bit uneven at times, with Sandis and Rone playing out a bit of a circular pattern of being on the run, finding temporary safety, and then being found again and again. But their love story was lovely, and the end of this one set up some pretty high stakes for the next book. Of course, I already own it and will be jumping in again soon!

Rating 8: The FMC was a bit weaker than I prefer, but the world-building, magic, and MMC were all excellent, and I’m excited to see where the trilogy goes from here!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Smoke and Summons” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Slow-Burn Romance and Best Kindle Unlimited Books.

Serena’s Review: “An Arcane Study of Stars”

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Book: “An Arcane Study of Stars” by Sydney J. Shields

Publishing Info: Orbit, April 2026

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

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

Book Description: When Claudia Jolicoeur is rejected from Cygnus University, a devilish stranger named Dorian appears in her nightmares and offers her a bargain: he will get her into Cygnus if she learns how to free him from a prison of stars. He takes a bite of her soul to seal the deal, and Claudia wakes to a letter from the High Sage of Cygnus stating she will take the place of Odette Dufort, a Rhetoric student who passed away.

Her arrival raises suspicions, rumors that she had a hand in Odette’s death spread like wildfire, and Cassius MacLeod, the High Sage’s apprentice and Claudia’s fellow Rhetoric student, seems hellbent on humiliating her. Determined to clear her name, she searches for any evidence that could prove her innocence. When someone—or something—starts slipping her pieces of Odette’s diary, Claudia uncovers a horrifying truth: over the last century, celestial witches at Cygnus have been murdered. Odette was one of them, and Claudia could be next. For her own protection, Claudia needs to free Dorian—and fast.

By night, she studies the stars, slowly unraveling the mystery of Dorian’s prison. By day, she and Cassius wage rhetorical war as debate partners in class. What begins as a fierce rivalry devolves into something deeper, darker, and dangerously sensual. As Claudia inches closer to the truth, she must decide: would trusting Cassius be the last mistake she ever makes?

Review: Well, here we go again. Every once in a while I seem to hit a reading slump where I pick up one book after another and keep bouncing off of them. I should have perhaps been a bit more wary of this one, as I didn’t love the author’s first book, “The Honey Witch.” But I keep looking for a book to scratch that dark academia itch, so here we are.

Let’s start with some positives, though. The book starts off with an incredibly strong opening chapter, setting the stage of a trapped god who is awoken by a woman’s scream. And as the story continued, I kept wanting to get back to this energy! Not only did the writing of this opening chapter feel superior to much of what was on offer in the rest of the book (I’m not sure if this was due to a tone change, veering away from the more serious “high fantasy” tone used in this prologue or what), but the world-building and history explored in this subplot were by far the most interesting parts of the book. It was only here that the story came near to anything resembling the “dark” portion of “dark academia,” and it was also the only portion of the book that felt like it had any true stakes involved.

That said, even here, I felt like most of the twists and turns were projected so far in advance that the impact was completely lost when these reveals actually landed. We get to the end, and there’s supposed to be this major twist, and I just found myself raising my eyebrows at it all. Wasn’t this obvious from practically the start? Beyond that, there were some late-game twists in the romance that I really hated. I’m not going on another rant about this; I can’t. But I’m so sick of these romance twists.

But unfortunately, the romance and the characters were the biggest letdown. We had another example of “enemies to lovers” turning into “instalove” almost immediately. There wasn’t enough time to build up any sort of real antagonism between these two. And, likewise, there wasn’t enough time for me to buy into the extreme levels of devotion being proclaimed on the page shortly after this shift in their relationship occurs.

Beyond that, the romance took a distinct turn into the BDSM realm that I wasn’t expecting at all. I usually look for the label “dark romance” when making my selections, as I know that BDSM love stories aren’t for me. But, again, this one didn’t give any hints that this was the sort of spice content that would be on offer. I don’t think it was particularly extreme by any means, but again, this is a romance topic that is never going to work for me, and I wish I could more easily discover it going in so that it wouldn’t hit as a surprise halfway through a book I’m now committed to reading/reviewing.

Overall, this book might work better for dark romance readers. I think many of the tropes that the romance plotlines follow will work much better for these readers. I also know that I was an outlier in my opinions of “The Honey Witch,” so there are definitely fans of this author who will enjoy this. Indeed, based on the strength of the captured god subplot, even I could find the appeal in parts of what this author has to offer. Unfortunately, the romance was really not for me.

Rating 7: While I liked some aspects of the fantasy world and there is potential in the overall world-building, I didn’t enjoy the love story at all.

Reader’s Advisory:

“An Arcane Study of Stars” can be found on these Goodreads lists: 2026 Fantasy Romance/Romantasy books to look forward to and 2026 Fantasy (All sub genres w. romance).

Serena’s Review: “We Become Darkness”

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Book: “We Become Darkness” by Grace Morrow

Publishing Info: Alcove Press, April 2026

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

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

Book Description: Thalia, Princess of Agripa, has spent the last four years hunting her ex-lover, Cassius—the man who shattered her heart and betrayed her kingdom by becoming a Vampyr. Vampyrs and humans have had a tenuous past since Thalia’s father and sister were murdered thirteen years ago. But with Agripa’s ore supply—the lifeblood of human cities—running out, Thalia’s mother strikes a desperate and dangerous deal: Thalia will marry a Vampyr prince in exchange for their ore.

Thalia is blindsided by the arrangement—and horrified to find Cassius, now serving as the prince’s Hand, is the man tasked with bringing her to the Vampyr kingdom safely. To save her people, she agrees to the marriage: but plans to dismantle the Vampyr kingdom from within by killing the prince.

The Vampyr court is rife with danger and secrets, and Cassius is always watching. When a monstrous new threat emerges, Thalia realizes the safety and security of their world is far more fragile than she ever believed.

Caught between duty and desire, Thalia must grapple with her feelings for Cassius and decide if she will fulfill her duty to the human crown or embrace the darkness within herself to protect both realms.

Review: This one had a lot of potential, but unfortunately, the romance fell into a few early pitfalls that are always struggle points for me. But to talk about the positives first, I think the world-building here was one of the strongest parts of this book. The author had clearly put a lot of thought into this world and the various components that make it up, from the political landscape to the geographic layout that influences the relations between the humans and the Vampyrs.

Speaking of Vampyrs, I also think that the version we have here is fairly interesting. Much of it was familiar, but with just enough twists and turns to make this version feel unique from the standard fare. There were some interesting factors making up their own politics as well as elements of their culture, like the value placed on the forest that surrounds their mountain.

However, the book really fell apart with the characters. At first, I went in with high hopes. Thalia felt like your rather standard stabby, feisty heroine, but her inner voice and backstory gave her enough weight to feel slightly different than all of the other characters like this we have seen. However, as the book went on, this tragic backstory was repeated so many times that it began to lose any emotional weight. And further, Thalia’s decision-making began to become so ridiculous that no amount of tragic history could justify it.

And, of course, the romance. This went off the cliff almost immediately. I was initially intrigued by the “second chance” romance that was being set up, since, if done well, that can be one of my favorite tropes. However, things took a downturn almost at once. Practically from the very first scene in which he appears, it’s glaringly obvious to the reader what happened the night he became a Vampyr. And then, a few short scenes later, he even offers to clarify to Thalia what really happened. Is she curious to hear what he says? Has she ever wondered before why a man she loved and knew deeply would suddenly make such a traitorous decision? NOPE! Instead, she just stomps her foot like a petulant child, and thus the “angst” continues. It was so, so stupid. I couldn’t take her seriously as an adult woman after this fact. Honestly, it was one of the worst “miscommunication” tropes that I’ve seen in a long while, and it really tanked the entire experience for me.

I didn’t enjoy this one. That said, I think the author has potential, and readers who are less turned off by the miscommunication trope might find themselves enjoying it more. So, on a personal basis, I would rate this a “6,” but objectively, it’s probably closer to a “7” if you’re interested in these sorts of romance tropes.

Rating 7: The miscommunication trope reared its ugly head and damaged my ability to appreciate this one, but the bones of an interesting fantasy world were definitely there!

Reader’s Advisory:

“We Become Darkness” can be found on this Goodreads list: April 2026 Most Anticipated Romance Releases

Serena’s Review: “The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains”

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Book: “The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains” by Reena McCarty

Publishing Info:  Orbit, April 7

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher

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

Book Description: When Poppy Hill was a child she was stolen from her family’s Montana homestead and taken to the land of the fae, where she spent more than a century as a cook in the Wild King’s castle. Now back in the human world, she works for a company that brokers fairy bargains, looking for loopholes in their contracts.

Then a bargain that Poppy is negotiating goes disastrously wrong and she has to return to the world she grew up in to try to rectify her mistake, facing danger, intrigue and a pesky ex-boyfriend along the way.

Review: Once I settled into what this book was, I ended up really enjoying it. But let’s start with what it isn’t: looking at that description above, I went into this one fully expecting some sort of “second chance” romance wrapped in the trappings of a fantasy world focused on faerie bargains. Well, part of that is true, but it was definitely not the romance part. While there are hints of a love story here, the romance took a decided back burner, was not following the trope that this description hints toward, and then, sadly, seemed to fizzle out towards the end. It seems like there could easily be a second book which might retroactively make this love story more compelling, but from the start, readers should not go into this one expecting a romantasy of any kind (and publishers should knock it off with trying to cash in on the popularity of the genre by misleading book descriptions, which just pisses people off and doesn’t get you readers in the long run).

What I did like was the main character and the concept of this world. I’ve always loved the versions of faeries that focus highly on the duplicitous nature of faerie bargains. We’ve seen comedy versions, dark/horror versions, and here, we have the bureaucratic, where faeries interact with our world through a business front, conducting their bargains dressed up in the trappings of our modern society. This was all very creative, and I enjoyed the ins and outs of how this all worked. If anything, I wish the book had focused even more on these bureaucratic shenanigans, which, on the face of it, doesn’t sound like a good thing. But in the context of this book, it was great!

I also really enjoyed Poppy and the challenges she faced. Her backstory, that of a child stolen away for one hundred years to the land of the fae, was incredibly compelling. This left her with a distinct feeling of being a “fish out of water,” even now that she is back in the human world, presumably where she belongs. Her time spent in the land of the fae naturally left her with unique skills for understanding the small print of their tricky bargains, and so her work helping humans find loopholes was fun. But her inner story, that of trying to find her place, her people, and herself, was very compelling.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this one. The writing was strong throughout, and I really enjoyed the world-building in this one, especially the unique ways that the human and fae worlds interacted. The romance was definitely a letdown, as it might as well have not existed, really. But I’m hopeful that there will be a second book that might resolve this aspect better. If you enjoy stories of fae bargains with heroines who have an interesting inner arc, then this might be one to check out!

Rating 8: Light on the romance, but the focus on Poppy’s journey to find her place between two worlds was more than enough to carry me through!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Everything Fae.

Serena’s Review: “Burn the Kingdom Down”

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Book: “Burn the Kingdom Down” by Addie Thorley

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, April 2026

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

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

Book Description: One year ago, Rowenna Harrack, the crown princess of Tashir, left her homeland in a wedding dress of chains—sent away to the enemy nation of Vanzador as a captive bride.

Now, Rowenna is dead. Brought home in a coffin after an alleged fall from a cliff.

Second-born princess, Indira, knows her sister’s death was no accident. Desperate for truth and vengeance, Indira agrees to wed the prince so she can infiltrate Vanzador, find Rowenna’s murderer, and burn their kingdom to the ground.

Indira’s plan is simple, she will make nice until she can find out how to avenge her sister and free her country from the rival nation’s stranglehold. But when Indira arrives, nothing is as terrible as Rowenna described. As Indira grows closer to her new husband, Prince Alaric, and uncovers more about Vanzador, the source of its powers, and what happened during Rowenna’s final days, she’s no longer sure what—and who—to believe. Because everyone, even her sister, has secrets. Deadly ones.

Review: This one wasn’t actually on my radar at all until it randomly showed up on my door, but the book description sounded interesting. And, well, we all know that I’m a sucker for sister stories, so even if the sister in question seems to die immediately to set up the plot itself, it’s still an intriguing driving force for our FMC.

So, this was a fun enough read. What probably stands out the most was the mystery aspect of the story, which you don’t often get in romantasy books these days. That being the case, the plot structure of this one felt very different than the typical action-oriented romantasies with the “stabby” heroines doing their “stabby” thing every second of the day. Instead, the story focuses down much more narrowly on the political situation that Rowenna finds herself in, the myriad dynamics going on between the players at court, and her attempts to unravel exactly what happened to her sister.

This did lead the middle of the book to drag a bit, with the plotting and pacing feeling like they were bottoming out at times. Rowenna spends much of this period of the book circling around the same questions with only the barest hints of any progress to be found. As the story is a slower experience as a whole, this didn’t bother me overly much, but it did feel as if it could have benefited from some editing to tighten up the plot to only what is necessary.

Of course, alongside this slower structure, the romance itself was a slow-burn affair. These are my favorite kinds, so I was happy enough to follow along as our characters slowly began to trust and care for one another. I thought the author did a decent job using this slow-burn approach to build up the tension between the two, and the payoff, when it came, was well worth the wait.

That said, neither of these characters stood out to me particularly. Again, neither was a bad character, but I also never felt deeply invested in them or their burgeoning relationship. The author relied a bit too heavily on simply telling readers how Rowenna was feeling for me to ever have the chance to fully try to understand her, and in the attempt, grow to care about her.

I think this was a decent romantasy read, however! Readers who enjoy political fantasy with court intrigue will enjoy the general plot, and romance lovers who enjoy slow-burn love stories will likely be pleased with the way that portion of the story plays out.

Rating 8: It didn’t blow my socks off, but in a very crowded romantasy field, this one did a great job of introducing a mystery and a true slow-burn love story into the standard plot we’ve come to expect from this sort of book.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Burn Down the Kingdom” can be found on this Goodreads list: April 2026 Most Anticipated Romance Releases

Serena’s Review: “Where No Shadow Stays”

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

Book: “Where No Shadow Stays” by Sara Hashem

Publishing Info: Holiday House, March 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Seventeen-year-old Mina is always focused on what comes next: exams, school dances, opportunities for a picnic by the lake. Filling up the future keeps her from lingering over how little she knows about her history or where she comes from. Anytime she asks her father questions about Egypt–or about her mother’s mysterious death–he struggles to open up.

When Mina receives an invitation from an aunt she’s never met to visit the Haikal mansion, her mother’s childhood home in El Agamy, Mina accepts. She can’t resist the chance to learn more about her roots or what happened to her mother, even if it means lying to her loves ones for the first time in her life.

But when Mina returns from El Agamy, she doesn’t come back alone.

A sinister entity follows Mina from the Haikal mansion to her tiny California town. Mina is forced to abandon her friends, her father, and everything she loves in order to prevent the entity from violently possessing them. Isolated and fighting for her life, Mina must seek help from an unlikely ally: Jesse Talbot, the mortician’s hostile son and the only person who proves immune to possession. Jesse would rather floss with barbed wire than team up with social butterfly Mina, but he doesn’t exactly have a choice—after all, he’s running from family secrets of his own.

As Mina and Jesse dig deeper into Mina’s family lore, they uncover a bloody debt that must be satisfied if Mina wants to finish senior year alive.

Review: I have once again stolen a book from Kate’s genres, but Hashem wrote one of my favorite fantasy romance duologies of the last several years, so….yeah, I don’t care! I’m going to read whatever she writes at this point!

So, while I don’t typically read horror, this was the kind that I can get behind. Probably because it’s also YA, so the truly horrific stuff that Kate wades into is largely absent here. That said, Hashem does a great job of blending historical fiction and horror together in ways that are both intriguing and disturbing. The tension was perfectly wound tighter and tighter, only to release unexpectedly before starting it all up again.

I really liked the mystery at the heart of this story and learning more about Mina’s family and history. And on top of this central mystery behind what is making up this curse and how it can be defeated, Jesse also had mysteries of his own that were slowly revealed as the story continued.

Hashem also reconfirmed that she excels at writing compelling, swoon-worthy romances. I was a bit unsure how her talents would translate being removed from all of the fantasy trappings, but she definitely proved me wrong. Jesse and Mina’s relationship was so lovely, a slow-burning, tension-filled affair that drew me in right from the start.

I don’t want to go into spoilers with regards to the ending, but it was truly heart-wrenching. I guess I don’t know this for a fact, but I’ve always assumed that horror, as a genre, has a greater tendency to end in tragedy or, at best, an unclear future. And such is the case here. It all played out so well for the story that was being developed, but tissues were definitely needed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! Sara Hashem is just an excellent author, all things considered, and I’m happy to genre hop alongside her! If you’re a fan of YA horror stories, I definitely recommend this one!

Rating 8: Tension-filled in every way, both the romantic and the horrific!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Where No Shadow Stays” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Novels of 2026.

Serena’s Review: “Bloodsinger”

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

Book: “Bloodsinger” by Juliette Cross

Publishing Info: Bramble, April 2026

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

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

Book Description: Lela Bihari’s village was invaded on her wedding night, her betrothed murdered right in front of her. While her sisters were either dragged away or escaped, Lela was sold to Valerius, a consul of Rome.

When she tried to kill Valerius her first night as his slave, her bloodsinger gift manifested… and she was punished for it. Now she’s paraded in front of the other senators for their amusement.

But Trajan Tiberius, the newly elected tribune to the senate, is different. He has no love for the brutality around him. When he frees Lela from enslavement and hides her, Lela is set on a path of vengeance, and using her gift puts her in more danger than ever before.

Now trapped inside the walls of Rome while deathriders circle the skies, how can she possibly trust a Roman dragon? Especially when it is clear Trajan has ulterior schemes of his own? As her powers grow stronger, danger draws closer, and Lela realizes it isn’t just her life at stake, but also her heart.

Review: I didn’t love the first book in this series, but when I realized that this second book would follow a new couple, I was definitely excited to check it out. While I struggled some with the writing itself, one of my biggest complaints about the first book was the dynamic set up between the couple, with the power differential being decidedly skewed and giving it a bit of a questionable foundation. Here, while there is the potential for a similar thing happening, the way the romance actually plays out quickly puts a stop to recreating the same problems the first book had.

Speaking to the relationship dynamic, I think this book did a much better job tackling the difficult topic of slavery, freedom, and the power dynamics involved. Here, not only is the love interest, Trajan (like “Trojan”…cuz it’s Rome…get it??), not involved in Lela’s enslavement, instead taking part in freeing her, but Lela herself is given the opportunity to reclaim much of her own power early in the book. Much of this has to do with her own bloodsinger gift, an ability that can give her control of the men around her. Yes, this was a bit simplistic, all things considered, and there wasn’t much subtlety in the way it was used to highlight how “not like other men” Trajan was, but still, all things considered, it was an improvement on the first book.

That said, much of the rest of the book is very surface level. There were some expansions on the worldbuilding here and there, but it’s clear that much of the design is simply there to prop up the characters’ stories and their romance. And this isn’t a criticism! Romantasy is a romance novel first, with only the trappings of fantasy set around it, so it’s correct that the love story comes first. But I did find myself wishing for a little bit more from the Roman setting, even with that being the case. Perhaps because I wasn’t as enraged by the couple’s dynamic here, I found myself more interested in the world surrounding them and wishing for more.

The pacing was a lot a bit uneven, with the first half taking a while to really warm up. Once the story picks up towards the middle, the pacing settles in a bit more, and I found myself having a better time with it all. That said, the writing is fairly straightforward, often relying on either one of the dual protagonists simply telling us how they feel about everything around them. Again, I wish romantasy editors would try to push these authors a bit more in the writing department; romance readers deserve well-crafted prose just as much as readers in other genres!

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this one more than the first. I found both main characters much more enjoyable and was better able to appreciate the love story unfolding between them. That said, the writing and world-building were still nothing to write home about, and the slow start could challenge readers to remain with it before things truly pick up at the halfway mark. Fans of the first book are definitely the best-suited readers for this one. However, if you were intrigued by the first book but put off by the couple, this one might be a better fit for you as well!

Rating 7: A much more sympathetic couple improved my experience with this second book. However, the lackluster writing and world-building were still a disappointment.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Bloodsinger” can be found on these Goodreads lists: 2026 Highly Anticipated ADULT Romantasy Releases and Greco – Roman Fantasy.

Serena’s Review: “Wolf Worm”

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Book: “Wolf Worm” by T. Kingfisher

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, March 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: The year is 1899 and Sonia Wilson is a scientific illustrator without work, prospects, or hope. When the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house and put her talents to use. But soon enough she finds that there are darker things at work than the Carolina woods. What happened to her predecessor, Halder’s wife? Why are animals acting so strangely, and what is behind the peculiar local whispers about “blood thiefs?”

With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a dark road full of parasitic maggots that burrow into human flesh, and that his monstrous experiments may grow to encompass his newest illustrator as well.

Review: Here I am, back with another T. Kingfisher review! Honestly, this one might have fallen better under Kate’s genres, but I got here first! Seems like every other month I’m reviewing a book by this author, but that’s the great thing about prolific authors, especially when they always deliver.

There was a lot to enjoy about this one for sure. Most especially, I enjoyed the combination of the time period of history alongside the classic gothic trappings of a mysterious house hidden away in the woods and under the care of an even more mysterious owner. But unlike the typical gothic story, there’s no romance to be found here, just body horror galore.

I wouldn’t say that I’m the sort of person who is squeamish about bugs. If anything, my husband is always busy squashing them on first sight while I quietly work behind the scenes to simply transport them to safety outside. All my protestations about spiders being useful bugs seem to fall on deaf ears. THAT SAID, Kingfisher may have turned me around on all things creepy crawly. I don’t live in the south (obviously), but after reading this book, I pretty much never want to visit there again. Bot flies?? No thank you! Forget the creepy mushrooms that reanimated the dead, this thing takes body horror to an entirely new level and man, was it gross at times. Even thinking about some of the scenes now gives me a major ick. That said, it was definitely successful in being creepy for this very same reason. Your fear factor will likely greatly depend on your relationship to bugs, but, like I said, even the most hardened are likely to be grossed out here.

As for the rest of it, we have many of the staples of Kingfisher books. A solid, sympathetic, yet funny, leading lady character. A cast of assorted quirky side characters. And a villainous presence lurking behind it all. Of these all, I think the main character stood out the most. I enjoyed the side characters and villain (such as it was), but they also felt fairly familiar at this point. The main character also felt familiar, but her experiences as a woman working in a male-dominated world and her struggles with imposter syndrome were a compelling personal arc to follow.

I will say that this book is on the slower side. While the characters are the true heart of the story and were enough to pull me in right away, the story takes a while to truly set its scene. There’s a lot of slow buildup as Sonia begins her work and only gradually begins to suspect that all is not right around her. Once the midpoint of the book hits, things pick up from there. But it does create a situation where readers really need to stick with it through some of the quieter moments in the beginning to get to the payoff in the end. For my part, I feel that a lot of this slow buildup is a staple of gothic horror, slowly ratcheting up tension and atmosphere before building to a crisis point. However, it does leave for a bit of an uneven reading experience.

Overall, this was an excellent horror, gothic novel. The bug stuff was truly horrifying, and there are more than one scenes that I wish to scrub from my memory permanently. I have been missing the romance in the last few Kingfisher books I’ve read, but this one is a solid entry in the gothic genre and well worth checking out, especially for those who enjoy body horror.

Rating 8: Bugs have never been more gross, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Wolf Worm” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Horror to Look Forward to in 2026 and Nature Horror.

Serena’s Review: “Aicha”

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Book: “Aicha” by Soraya Bouazzaoui

Publishing Info: Orbit, March 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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