Category: Serena’s Reviews

Serena’s Review: “In the Veins of the Drowning”

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Book: “In the Veins of the Drowning” by Kalie Cassidy

Publishing Info: Little, Brown and Company, July 15

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

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

Book Description: The monster is always slain…

Imogen Nel is in hiding. Hiding from a cruel kingdom that believes Sirens are monstrous, blood-hungry creatures. Hiding from a king and his captain who viciously hunt her kind. Hiding from her own alluring abilities. By keeping herself from the sea, Imogen’s bloodlust is dulled, and her black wings remain hidden beneath her skin.

When a neighboring king comes to visit, Imogen can no longer hide. He knows precisely what she is, and he believes she can save both their kingdoms from an even greater monster. But Imogen’s power threatens to violently reveal itself, and the two form a blood bond that protects them both. They flee the kingdom together, traversing waters teeming with the undead. As the lines between duty to their people and desire for each other begin to blur, Imogen worries her own ancestral powers may not be enough to kill what hunts her—the only way to defeat a monster may be to become one herself.

Review: This book had so much potential, but ended up falling a bit flat for me, unfortunately. The concept itself is really interesting, with the focus on sirens rather than the much more common mermaids. I especially appreciated that the author didn’t “clean up” the nature of sirens. Yes, they are hunted and our main character is in hiding. But they are also incredibly powerful and vicious in their own right. At its peak, the book highlighted the dichotomy of beauty and terror, with sirens perfectly representing the mixed emotions we feel when admiring deadly, powerful beings.

The main character also had an interesting set-up, and in the first few chapters, I was definitely drawn into her story and excited to see where she went from there. Unfortunately, it was kind of nowhere? Much of the middle of the book felt as if it was made up of Imogen flailing around, primarily reacting to whatever was happening around her, but not driven by any goals or motivations of her own. I couldn’t latch on to anything as a true driving force for her, and struggled to remain invested in her story.

The writing, while beautifully strung together at times, also lacked in the world-building department. As the book continued, I kept waiting for more clarity with regards to this world’s history, politics, and the lore of the sirens. But unfortunately that information never really came. I’m ok with initial nebulousness in fantasy books, but as the story continued, I was disappointed to find that there simply wasn’t anything more coming and many of my questions would remain unanswered. That said, worldbuilding is very important to me, and those who are more interested in the romance than the fantasy elements may not be as bothered by this lack of clarity.

I also enjoyed the love interest. I thought he was incredibly interesting and well-written. However, the romance itself moved way too quickly for my preference. Yes, I enjoyed what we got, but I would have enjoyed it even more had the book pumped the brakes a bit more and allowed these two to settle in to their burgeoning feelings before jumping right into the actual romance of it all.

I think this is one of those fantasy romance titles that will definitely work better for romance readers than it will fantasy readers. The love story, while too quick for me, was well done and the MMC was appropriately swoon-worthy. There was also just enough worldbuilding to add a fantasy flavor to it all, especially with the interesting subversion of the “monster romance” subgenre with the FMC being the “monstrous” one. However, if you’re more of a fantasy reader who enjoys fully thought out world-building and established lore, this might be a more frustrating read for you.

Rating 7: Scores well on the “romance” side but struggles a bit with the “fantasy” elements.

Reader’s Advisory:

“In the Veins of the Drowning” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Epic High Fantasy/Romance/Mythology in 2025 and “Imogen”.

Serena’s Review: “The Enchanted Greenhouse”

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Book: “The Enchanted Greenhouse” by Sarah Beth Durst

Publishing Info: Bramble, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.

This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home.

But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.

This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.

Previously Reviewed: “The Spellshop”

Review: While I didn’t love “The Spellshop” as much as other readers did, I definitely still wanted to give this sequel a chance. As many of my struggles with the first book came down to my dislike of the main character, I had a lot of hope for this one as it is following a new character; I mean, she’s a librarian, so….. And, as predicted, I did enjoy this book more for this very reason!

Overall, I thought Terlu was a much more interesting and sympathetic character to follow. I enjoyed the set-up, with her having spent the last six years frozen as a statue as punishment for creating a sentient plant. Thus, when she wakes up, she, like the reader, is seeing her world through fresh eyes. Yes, there were times where her internal monologues and reflections became a bit repetitive, and I think the book could have benefitted from some editing down. But, overall, her story was exactly the sort of low stakes cozy experience that readers of this genre are looking for.

I also think that the love story worked better here. Again, I did have a few quibbles with it (it was a bit too fast burn for my personal taste), but the grumpy/sunshine nature of their relationship worked much better here than it did in the first book (if indeed that was even trying to be a grumpy/sunshine relationship; I’m still not convinced the heroine wasn’t meant to be a better character than how she came across).

I also enjoyed the quirky cast of characters found in the greenhouses. As I was returning to this world, I was better able to turn my brain off a bit as far as the world-building goes, but the entire set up of the new location we explore in this one helped with many of my qualms from the first. Here, I think the whimsical nature of the greenhouses worked in natural-feeling manner and left me with few questions about how this all worked.

I have to say that I struggled with some of the inner narrative word choices at times. I just don’t like modern lingo in books like this, and there were too many instances of a casual “yay!” and such for me to fully settle in to the story. But, again, this is highly subjective, and there were many other parts of the writing that I enjoyed more, particularly some of the descriptions of the world and its magical creatures.

However, in many ways, this book was very familiar. This can be seen as a good or bad thing, depending on how you feel about that first entry. I think there were definite improvements with the main character and with the love story. But many of the beats of the plot felt very familiar, as well as the cozy elements. They were cute and quirky, but just a bit too shallow for me to fully enjoy any of them. That said, I’m not a huge cozy fantasy reader, and given the popularity of the first book, some of my negatives here will be definite positives for others! So, for readers looking for more of the same, this will likely be a hit! And even for those who were a bit on the fence with the first book, this may be worth a read!

Rating 8: Perhaps aggressively cozy at times, but I still enjoyed the love story overall!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Enchanted Greenhouse” is on these Goodreads lists: CozySFF and Heartwarming Books of 2025.

Serena’s Review: “The Jasad Crown”

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Book: “The Jasad Crown” by Sara Hashem

Publishing Info: Orbit, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: Held deep in a mountain refuge, Sylvia has been captured by the Urabi, who believe she can return their homeland to its former power. But after years of denying her legacy and a forbidden alliance with Jasad’s greatest enemy, Sylvia must win the group’s trust while struggling to keep control of both her magic and her mind.

In the rival kingdom, Arin is caught between his father’s desire to put down the brewing rebellion and the sacred edicts he’s sworn to uphold. Arin must find Sylvia before his father’s army, but his search will call into question the very core of Arin’s beliefs about his family and the destruction of Jasad.

War is inevitable and Sylvia cannot abandon her people again. The Urabi plan to raise the Jasadi fortress, and it will either kill Sylvia or destroy the humanity she’s fought so hard to protect. For the first time in her life Sylvia doesn’t just want to survive. She wants to win.
The fugitive queen is ready to come home.

Previously Reviewed: “The Jasad Heir”

Review: I’ve been waiting for so long for this sequel that I had begun to question whether the first book was really as enjoyable as it was. (This is an established coping technique for readers, when we have long waits between books, to prevent the onset of madness due to anticipation!) But the minute I turned the first page on this one, I remembered just how satisfying that first book was. And now, with the duology complete, I can say that the entire experience was all-around excellent!

There’s a lot of great things to talk about with this one, but given the current proliferation of the “enemies to lovers” trope in romantasy, I think this is an area where this book really shines. So much so that I’d almost say this should be required reading for how to correctly write this sort of romantic storyline. There are many ways in which the love story is successful, both in the first book and carried over to this one. The first book is appropriately a slow-burn, with both characters slowly, naturally progressing through their negative associations with the other. As is typical with this sort of plot, that book ends with a bombshell, revealing all of the secrets and lies between them.

The important part is now how this romance is handled in this book. The author does so many things right! For one thing, it’s not as if both characters suddenly, inexplicably, lose all of the friendship, trust, and even love that had built up between them. Yes, obstacles have been introduced, but both are mature characters who, to some extent or another, trust their own original judgement and, frankly, have more important things to worry about than too much ridiculous angst. Sure, these reveals have an impact, but there’s no overly YA “but she betraaaayyyeeed meeee” nonsense where it doesn’t make sense.

Further, and this goes back to work done in the first book, the author created two characters who are fully realized beings on their own, who have built-in personality traits, strengths, and weaknesses, that would independently drive their choices and actions through an enemies-to-lovers romance. For example, Arin has been well-established as a character who is highly strategic and highly invested in understanding everything that goes on around him. Thus, by the time the truth about Sylvia is revealed, his journey towards re-thinking his understanding of his own nation and the history of this world at large is based on his own intrinsic character traits, not just “but I luuuuv her!!” Too often, the entire journey from “enemy” to “lovers” requires one character to simply change who they are or change teams based on almost nothing but their love for the other character. Here, Arin’s journey has practically nothing to do with his feelings for Sylvia, and this makes it all the more realistic and interesting to read! It’s this point, giving characters their own inner motivations for change outside of the love story, that I think is so often missing in these sorts of romances.

Further, Sylvia doesn’t magically transform into the perfect leader of this rebellion. Indeed, she’s pretty terrible at it all the way through the entire book! What’s more, however, the book does an excellent job of portraying the foibles of the rebellion itself! All too often, again, stories like this have a frustrating tendency of dumbing down their political conflicts to the point that you can pretty much guarantee that whatever rebellion group you find will be coded as purely good and righteous at every turn. Here, this group is made up of humans, with their own grievances, misunderstandings, and tendencies towards self-centered motivations. Sylvia’s journey is one of balancing imperfections, both her own as well as the group of displaced Jasadis that she’s trying to lead.

Lastly, as far as the romance goes, I appreciated that the author didn’t string us a long with the love story! Even given their circumstances, Hashem found creative ways to throw Arin and Sylvia back in each others orbits at regular intervals, beginning fairly early in the book. I always find it incredibly annoying and contrived when authors feel the need to keep their characters apart to drive up “tension,” especially in books that are the last in a series’ run, as this is our last time getting to spend time with these characters. And for pages and pages to be wasted on unearned pining is the peak of annoyance for me.

I also enjoyed the introduction of a few chapters from various side characters’ perspectives. There weren’t tons of these, but through them, we got a better insight into various interested parties, all with their own priorities and motivations. These perspectives helped to further flesh out the world and raise the stakes for the ultimate conflict, one that affected more than just Jasad itself but magic as a whole!

I also really enjoyed the expansion of this world’s magic system and history. The book definitely took some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and the answers to many lingering questions were incredibly satisfying. I think the book also wrapped up in an excellent manner. It’s bittersweet, of course, but it also technically checks off the HEA requirements, so never fear!

This book is peak romantasy, as far as I’m concerned. It’s also criminally under-appreciated in a packed genre where, too often, lesser titles rise to the top based on nothing more than #vibes. This is a fantastically written, fully realized and developed, romantasy title that should be used as the gold standard for properly pacing an “enemies to lovers” romance. This is a great read for romantasy and fantasy romance readers alike and I can’t recommend the duology enough!

Rating 10: Great world-building, excellent prose, spot-on dialogue, and a love story that hits all the right notes, this book has it all!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Jasad Crown” is on these Goodreads lists: Arabian, Egyptian, and Indian Fantasy 2 and 2025 Adult Fantasy/Sci-fi/Speculative Releases by BIPOC Authors.

Serena’s Review: “Soulgazer”

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

Book: “Soulgazer” by Maggie Rapier

Publishing Info: Ace, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: Saoirse yearns to be powerless. Cursed from childhood with a volatile magic, she’s managed to imprison it within, living under constant terror that one day it will break free. And it does, changing everything.

Horrified at her loss of control, Saoirse’s parents offer her hand to the cold and ruthless Stone King. Knowing she’ll never survive such a cruel man, Saoirse realizes there is only one path forward…she must break her curse. 

On the eve of her wedding, Saoirse seeks out the legendary Wolf of the Wild—Faolan, a feral, silver-tongued pirate. He swears to help rid her of the deadly magic, if she’ll use it to locate a lost mythical isle first. Crafted by the slaughtered gods, it’s the only land that could absorb her power.

But Saoirse knows better than to trust a pirate’s word. With the wrath of her disgraced father and scorned betrothed chasing them, Saoirse adds one last condition to protect if Faolan wants her on his ship, he’ll have to marry her first.

Review: Ok, I’ll admit it: I was first drawn to this book based purely on the romantic and whimsical nature of the cover art alone. This artist has illustrated a number of fantasy book covers, and I’ve never once not immediately wanted to pick that book up! Doesn’t hurt that this one also promised pirates!

While this book didn’t quite work for me the way I had hope, there were still plenty of strengths to be had. One thing that stood out immediately, both as a pro and a con, was the style of writing. This book leans heavily towards a sort of lyrical, lush style of storytelling. There is a lot of imagery used and many lovely turns of phrase that I couldn’t help but admire. However, conversely, there were times that even as I was wowed by the beauty of the writing, I was left wanting in actually understanding what was meant to be portrayed. At times I found it difficult to place the setting in which the story was taking place, or how the action flowed from one scene to another.

This was particularly challenging at the start of the book, when the reader is plopped down in the middle of a busy scene, full of magic, religion, and political power moves. Even a few chapters in, I still didn’t feel as if I fully grasped the social-political situation of the scene the story was taking place within or the heroine’s magical abilities. That said, as the book continued and the plot focused in on the main characters and the action surrounding them, I had less trouble. Even here, though, there were still times where this focus on beautiful strings of words was prioritized over clarity of description. Ultimately, I think this is a case where the author has a lot of potential, but still needs to grow a bit in her craft.

I did enjoy the romance at the heart of the story for the most part. I didn’t necessarily need as many of the steamy scenes as we got, but the development of the love story on an emotional level was done well. This was largely helped by how well-done the love interest was written. He felt complex, interesting, and well-suited for the sort of romance that was being explored. On the other hand, I found myself struggling a bit more Saoirse. This was unfortunate, because there was a lot I liked about this character.

For one thing, she was very much outside of the typical romantasy heroine mold, being much more reserved, with her journey focusing on her slowly coming out of her shell and escaping the mental and emotional abusive systems that she had been raised within. Even at the end, she was in no way a “girl boss” or “badass” sort of heroine. This was refreshing! However, she was also hard to enjoy at times, being sometimes incredibly naive. There were also several points in which conflict could have been easily handled with simple communication, which made her silence all the more frustrating to follow.

Overall, while this book wasn’t a favorite of mine, I think the author has a lot of potential! There were the bones of a really great story to be found here, and with a bit more polish, I think this book could have been a hit! That said, even as it stands, I think there are a number of readers who will really enjoy this one, especially romantasy fans who are looking for a quieter heroine and a swoon-worthy hero!

Rating 7: While I struggled at times with some of the writing, there is a lot to enjoy in this romantasy story, not least of which is the excellent romantic lead!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Soulgazer” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists but it should be on Beautiful Covers.

Serena’s Review: “Red Tempest Brother”

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Book: “Red Tempest Brother” by H.M. Long

Publishing Info: Titan Books, July 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: NetGalley!

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

Book Description: In the wake of the events of Black Tide Son, Hart flees into pirate-infested waters to shelter on the island where former rogue James Demery and the Fleetbreaker, Anne Firth, now rule.

Reeling from their discoveries about the truths of the Mereish-Aeadine war, Mary and Sam hover on the precipice of a terrible, world-altering choice – they can stay silent and maintain their good names, or they can speak out, and risk igniting total war across the Winter Sea.

Meanwhile, Benedict captains The Red Tempest, a lawless ship of deserters and corrupted mages in search of an Usti spy with incendiary stolen documents. Benedict is determined to make the truth known, consequences be damned.

As rumours spread of a new Ghistwold sprouting in the Mereish South Isles, May and Sam sail once more into intrigue, espionage and an ocean on the brink of exploding into conflict. They must chart a course toward lasting, final peace, at the heart of the age-old battle for power upon the Winter Seas.

Previously Reviewed: “Dark Water Daughter” and “Black Tide Son”

Review: It was such a joy to pick up this book! Not only has this author never led me astray, but it’s always a relief to be able to close the last page of a trilogy and feel like the entire story came together just as it should. Such is the case here!

This book picks up right after the events of the second book, and of course Mary and Sam land themselves smack dab into trouble once again. The stakes of this book were just as high as ever, perhaps even higher as now our characters are not only grappling with their own futures, but the futures of Stormsingers and the Ghist as well.

Throughout the series to this point, there has been a strong focus on freedom (a perennial topic for pirate stories, it seems), and we’ve seen the ways that groups of people and beings have been harnessed and their powers used for others’ purposes. And from the start of this one, we see how fragile Mary’s own situation is, even with Sam and their crew behind her. I really enjoyed the way this book continued these stories, particularly the expansion of how the magical beings of this world are understood. Looking back at the trilogy as a whole, it feels like layers were carefully peeled back from one book to the next to finally land us on this conclusion where we finally get a more complete understanding and see how everything weaves together.

I also continued to love Mary and Sam’s story. As much of the journey of their romance had been completed in the first two books, this one was more focused on them working together to make a future for themselves where they can thrive. I loved the balance between the subplot of their continued love story (blessedly free of unnecessary drama or angst!) and the larger focus on the action-packed plot, with each of them getting strong arcs both separately and together.

This book also introduced chapters from Benedict’s perspective. I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about these at the start. Hong is an excellent character writer, and Benedict is an interesting character, but I also have a strong memory of his actions from the first two books, many of which were pretty close to unforgivable. But I think his arc was explored in a fantastic way, these things considered. He doesn’t do an about-face; instead, his story is given plenty of time to fully explore the slow evolution if his feelings and his realization of the choices and future that lies before him, depending on what he does now. He is the embodiment of a true morally grey leading character. You’ll definitely hate him at times, and even by the end, he is very much still a work-in-progress type of person.

I also really enjoyed the expansions we see in the world-building. The story takes us south, introducing new factions and locations, all vying for different things and often violently clashing with one another. Further, we get a host of new magical beings, most of which are horrifying to varying degrees, per the usual of this world, it seems. Again, the word that comes to mind is “balance.” This book manages to equally divide its attention and time between large-scale political/national conflicts, swashbuckling adventuring, and new fantasy creatures and elements. All while firmly holding true to the main trio of characters at the heart of the story.

This was a fantastic conclusion to a fantastic trilogy. It’s also criminally under the radar as far as I can tell, and all epic fantasy readers should immediately check it out!

Rating 9: A perfect landing on a fantastic trilogy; this is a must-read for all epic fantasy fans!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Red Tempest Brother” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2025 and End of Series in 2025.

Serena’s Review: “The Nightshade God”

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

Book: “The Nightshade God” by Hannah Whitten

Publishing Info: Orbit, July 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher

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

Book Description: Lore has failed. She couldn’t save King Bastian from the rotten god speaking voices in his mind. She couldn’t save her allies from being scattered across the continent—their own lesser gods whispering to them in their dreams. She couldn’t save her beautiful, corrupt city from the dark power beneath the catacombs. And she couldn’t save herself.

Banished to the Burnt Isles, Lore must use every skill she earned on the streets of Dellaire to survive the prison colony and figure out a way to defeat the power that’s captured everything and everyone she holds dear. When a surprise ally joins her on the Burnt Isles she realizes the way forward may lie on the island itself. Somehow, her friends must help her collect the far-scattered pieces of the broken Fount—the source of all the god’s powers—and bring them back together on the Burnt Isles, returning all magic to its source and destroying, once and for all, the gods corrupting the land.

But as Lore gets closer to her goal, her magic grows stronger… and to a woman who’s always had to fight for survival, that kind of power may be hard to give up.

Previously Reviewed: “The Foxglove King” and “The Hemlock Queen”

Review: Well, this was a bit of a let down. It’s always disappointing to see a series take a downward trend, especially when you look back at a high point at the start. The first book introduced a compelling cast of characters, a well-thought out, complex world, and a hidden history with promises of many exciting reveals to come. The second book languished a bit with “middle book syndrome,” little plot actually took place and several of the characters seemed to stall out in their progression (I also began to see the writing on the wall of a romantic arc I was less interested in). And here we are with the third.

To start with what I did like. I continue to enjoy Whitten’s style of writing. She has a way of drawing me in, even when I’m struggling to enjoy the relationships being portrayed or there isn’t necessarily a lot of plot to speak of. In less capable hands, that second book could have really gone another direction. Here, too, she takes the risky choice of swinging the focus away from our main three characters and back towards the gods they have come to embody. Now, I didn’t love this choice, but her writing is of such a high quality that I still pushed through what might otherwise have been a DNF from me.

But that urge to DNF was there, especially when I got to the middle section of the book and realized that I was halfway through the conclusion to a trilogy about three main characters and I had spent most of my time focusing on three OTHER characters (the gods in the past) and my main trio weren’t even together on page. Bizarrely, this book read almost like another middle book, where the author introduces a bunch of new characters and keeps the main group apart, with the expectation that this will all pay off in the end.

But this is the end! I get that the three gods are reflections of Lore, Bastian and Gabe. But no matter how closely they resemble those characters or their relationships mirror those of our main trio, they are still, demonstratively, not those characters. That being the case, I was frustrated with how much of the story focused on the interplay between these gods and their histories. Further, unlike an actual middle book, this one was our last chance to see our main trio together, so to spend so much of the story with them separated was truly unfortunate. For her part, Lore remains a good character on her own. But the dynamics between the characters is really what helps Bastian and Gabe to shine, so by distancing them all from one another, there was a decline in overall character quality to be found.

Lastly, I didn’t enjoy the romance. This is a completely subjective take, and I know many readers’ primary interest was in the throuple at the heart of the story. And, stepping back from my own preferences, I think all of those readers will be completely satisfied with this book. However, romance is a genre/topic that is incredibly subjective. Of all the genres, I think it is the one best served with tropes/hashtags assigned from the very start. A reader who enjoys dark romance is going to be into very different scenes and topics than a cozy romance reader. And the latter is best served by knowing right from the start that its a dark romance that they are picking up. So, too, with various pairings. Some readers enjoy reverse harems and throuples, while others are solidly monogamous/fated mates/etc. readers. I’m definitely the latter, and that being the case, this love story wasn’t for me.

This is one of those exact situations where I wish the book had been properly tagged from the start. Now! Don’t get me wrong, I probably still would have read this trilogy and been pleased I had, because I enjoy this author’s work and it’s not like throuples/polyamory are dealbreakers in any way. However, my expectations would have been properly aligned from the start. As it stands, the first book set up a love triangle, but I finished it still with the expectation that the trilogy would conclude with Lore ending up with one or the other, not both. So I was ultimately disappointed when I saw the direction the love story took, as throuples aren’t really my thing

All of this to say, this was just a fine read. As a whole, I don’t think the trilogy was properly paced, with the last two books both floundering a bit after the tightly plotted first book. That said, I think readers who are heavily invested in Lore/Bastian/Gabe will be incredibly happy with the way this book wraps up! I’ll definitely check out what Whitten writes next, but this trilogy won’t go down as one of my favorites from her.

Rating 7: This will definitely work for some, but I think it suffers from losing its focus on the main three characters at the heart of the story.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Nightshade God” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Romantasy TBR 2025 and Baroque Fantasy.

Serena’s Review: “Never the Roses”

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

Book: “Never the Roses” by Jennifer K. Lambert

Publishing Info: Bramble, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: The Dread Sorceress Oneira has retired. She’s exhausted from fighting the endless wars of kings and queens, and has long accepted that her death is near. Alone at last but for a few uninvited companions―a near-mythical wolf, a goddess’s avatar, and a feline that embodies magic itself―Oneira realizes that she’s bored. On a whim, or perhaps at the behest of fate, she makes an unlikely trip to the most extensive library in existence: the home of her most powerful rival, the sorcerer Stearanos.

By recklessly stealing a book from him, Oneira inadvertently initiates a forbidden correspondence. Taunting notes and clever retorts reveal a connection neither has found―nor could ever find―in any other.

But Oneira soon learns that Stearanos, bound to a vile king, is tasked with waging war on the queen she once served. A relationship with him is far too dangerous to pursue despite their mutual desire―and yet, Oneira can’t seem to stay away.

A bond with Stearanos could alight the long-extinct flame of life within her… or it could destroy her entirely.

Review: This was such a fun read! From the mature main characters, to the slow (ish) burn of the romance, to the stand-alone (with an open ended conclusion) nature of the story, this is the kind of romantasy novel that is few and far between in a crowded but often too similar-feeling genre.

One of the first things that stood out was how committed the author was to establishing not only this world, but our main characters, disconnected from one another. So often, it feels like romantasy falls into the trap where the entirety of what makes up the characters is tied up in their dynamics together. Here, the book is largely focused on Oneira’s personal arc, one where she explores themes regarding regret, responsibility, and repentance. Through this journey, she almost backs her way into the relationship with Stearnos. And even there, through their love story, both she and Stearnos further these greater themes, even as they fall in love.

I also really enjoyed the slow-burn nature of the romance. The book gets through a solid quarter of the page count before there’s any interaction between the characters at all, and it’s not until closer to the halfway mark where they even really meet in person. That said, between the shifting perspectives and the interesting magical elements that make up this world, there was more than enough plot to go around. However, the story is definitely on the slower side, overall. I, personally, really enjoyed the more reserved approach to storytelling that was used here, as I think it matches well with some of the heavier themes explored throughout. But readers looking for more action may not connect as well. And, as much as I enjoyed the slow nature of the love story, the true highs of the story were found when we did finally get to see these two together. The banter was everything, and the author did a fantastic job with showing this relationship progress in a truly lovely way.

With this strong focus on the love story and the characters’ personal journeys, the greater plot conflict did fall a bit to the side and was wrapped up fairly succinctly towards the end. However, it never felt like any of these greater plot points were the true focus to begin with, so I felt satisfied with the way they were handled. There were moments where I perhaps would have liked to see a bit more fleshing out of the political systems at play and ways in which magic was used and monitored, but I was still happy enough with what we received.

The ending definitely fell on the bittersweet side of things. Though, again, I think the nature of this conclusion fit perfectly alongside the themes that were so strongly centered in the story. As of now, I don’t see anything indicating that this is the beginning of a duology or series, but the door is definitely left open for a return to this world. Readers looking for a beautiful stand-lone love story with a focus on mature main characters should definitely check this one out!

Rating 8: Luscious and deeply romantic, this book is a beautiful portrayal of forgiveness and redemption.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Never the Roses” can be found on this Goodreads list: Epic High Fantasy/Romance/Mythology in 2025.

Serena’s Review: “Bound by Stars”

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Book: “Bound by Stars” by E. L. Starling

Publishing Info: Entangled: Teen, July 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: She never belonged in his world. He never thought he’d leave it.

When Weslie Fleet wins a golden ticket aboard the Boundless, humanity’s most opulent starliner, it’s a dream―and a danger. Raised in the dust-ridden ruins of Earth, she is thrust into the gleaming luxury of Mars’s elite, where every whispered word carries weight and every glance is a silent judgment. And none watch her closer than Jupiter, the golden boy of Mars’s high society, bound by duty, legacy, and a future he never chose.

Their reluctant partnership was supposed to be a one-off assignment. Instead, it becomes a battle of wills, a spark that ignites, and a love neither of them anticipated. But fate is as cruel as it is unpredictable, and when the Boundless veers off course, love won’t be enough to save them.

The ship is failing. The odds are impossible. And in the darkness of space, survival is the only thing that matters.

But some loves are worth defying the stars for.

Review: This is one of those odd reads where what drew me to the book (science fiction re-telling of “Titanic”) is the specific aspect of the read that I most disliked. That is to say, there was a lot to like here whenever I could disconnect my brain from the parallel’s to the movie. While there weren’t any groundbreaking science fiction moments, the struggles between Mars and a vastly reduced Earth was an interesting political stage upon which to set the story. And the overall conflict and themes of the story (mostly centering around classism) were fairly well handled, especially for a young adult novel. The discussions of these themes was also done well and avoided straying too far into preachiness, a perpetual problem it seems in books like this. Further, the disaster itself that befalls the starliner was action packed and intense. However, this is a perfect example of how the comparisons to “Titanic” don’t work in the book’s favor.

Maybe I’m being nitpicky, but to me at least, there is a huge difference between the natural disaster that befell the Titanic with its ramming of the iceberg and a rebellion attack upon a luxury starliner. I picked this book up looking for a disaster and survival story; indeed, anyone who is promised a book that is a re-telling of “Titanic” would expect the same. A rebellion attack is a very different thing, and while not bad on its own, not what I been expecting or wanting from this read.

And you might say at this point “well, just try to read it as an original story, disconnected from the re-telling.” But you can’t! There are scenes that are direct call-backs/re-imaginings of scenes from the movie. From little things, like the FMC winning her ticket onto the starliner at the start of the book to a full scene devoted to re-imagining the “you jump, I jump” scene from the movie. There’s no getting away from the callbacks. (And I didn’t want to get away from the re-telling POV ultimately, I just wish the book had more confidently stuck to that premise in the first place!)

The change-out from disaster to rebellion attack was annoying enough, but I really began to get fed up with the way our main characters’ love story played out. Yes, classism is present in the dynamic between Rose and Jack in the movie. But there, we are seeing it through the lens of how restricted Rose is beneath the weight of this system, and Jack’s role is to free her from these binds and remind her of the joy and love to be found in life. That’s a lovely story! But here, a huge chunk of the first half of this book is devoted to Wes’s resentment towards Jupiter and his place within the wealthy uber-upper class. The enemies-to-lovers trope struck again, and in one of the most inopportune books you could find. Rose and Jack were NOT enemies! Jack didn’t spend all of his time resenting and lecturing Rose!

Not only does the change in this dynamic hurt a book that is being marketed as a science fiction version of “Titanic,” but it’s frankly a more boring choice. I’ve read a million stories that have this exact same romance and commentary on classism at their heart. And frankly, I didn’t need another. The book would have not only been more true to its concept had it stuck with the original dynamics between romantic interests, but it would have been a more interesting read on its own, as well.

If I really squinted, I could try to read this book disconnected from its “Titanic”-retelling origins. And for the brief moments where I could, it was a fine read. As a YA science fiction story, I think there’s definitely an audience for this book. But at the same time, I was incredibly disappointed with the more direct ties to the movie, especially the significant changes made to the love story at its heart. If you’re looking for a decent YA science fiction story, this may be a good fit. But if you were looking for a “Titanic” story, disaster and romance included, this is probably not for you.

Rating 7: Fine enough as a YA science fiction story, but disappointing as a “Titanic” re-imagining.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Bound by Stars” can be found on this Goodreads list: Books with “Star” in the Title.

Serena’s Review: “The Baby Dragon Cafe”

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Book: “The Baby Dragon Cafe” by A. T. Qureshi

Publishing Info: Avon, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: When Saphira opened up her café for baby dragons and their humans, she wasn’t expecting it to be so difficult to keep the fires from burning. It turns out, young dragons are not the best magical animals to keep in a café, and replacing all that burnt furniture is costing Saphira more than she can afford from selling dragon-roasted coffee.

Aiden is a local gardener, and local heart-throb, more interested in his plants than actually spending time with his disobedient baby dragon. When Aiden walks into Saphira’s café, he has a genius idea – he’ll ask Saphira to train his baby dragon, and he’ll pay her enough to keep the café afloat.

Saphira knows her happy-go-lucky attitude isn’t Aiden’s cup of tea, but everywhere she goes, Aiden seems to follow. Has Saphira finally found the answer to the baby dragon cafe’s problems, and maybe a little love along the way, too?

Review: It looked so cute and yet I struggled so much! And really, by the end of the book, the “cuteness” is really the most this book has to offer. The cover art is adorable, and I’m sure it will do its job selling this book to many fans of cozy fantasy. The concept, also, is fun. Dragons are obviously very “in” right now, and what’s better than an adult dragon? A baby dragon! And when the book was setting up these initial world-building aspects, it was enjoyable enough. But unfortunately, quite quickly things began to fall apart.

Right off the bat, I knew this was going to be a bit of a struggle with the decision to not only use modern lingo, but hyper “online” lingo. This is, of course, a personal bugaboo of mine, so I’m not a totally objective agent when reporting annoyance at this style of writing. However, I do think a legitimate criticism can be leveled when a book relies on these sorts of “quirky” vocab choices as strongly as this one does. And in this case, it’s not just a matter of “modern” phrases or word choices. After all, this is a contemporary cozy romance, for all that it is set in a fantasy world. But the writing seriously read like the author leads her life online and was forming her entire vision of dialogue, description, and interactions based on what was found in Threads conversations. It was cringy to the extreme, and I guarantee it won’t age well. I’m sure authors are primarily focused on just getting their books out the door and into the world, but I do think some attention should be given to the book’s ability to then last in the world and not immediately date itself into oblivion with Bookthreads-speak.

Another of my main struggle points with cozy fantasy is the challenge of striking the correct balance between a homey, comforting vibe with low stakes and simply not having any stakes or plot to speak of. This unfortunately fell firmly in the latter category. As this is a romance story first and foremost, most of the plot revolved around the development of and conflict within the romance, and it struggled in every area. Right off the bat, the story fell into instalove/lust territory, with the characters quickly becoming enamored of one anther. This is annoying but not necessarily a deal breaker.

However, what really took me out of the story was what followed: a series of decisions by the main characters WHOLLY disconnected from any motivation shown to us on the page. With inner dialogue, they would reflect on choosing not so share certain bits of information (for no reason!) and then literally pages later, they would change their mind and just casually mention that same information (again, for no reason!). Quite quickly it became evident that the author was struggling to maintain any sort of tension or arc within this romance, and all of these bizarre decisions and interactions were simply being clumsily slotted in to draw out the romantic resolution.

Beyond this, the writing was simply rather bad, overall. Again and again, the reader was told basic facts about things and how they are meant to feel about it all. There was basically no showing to speak of. The sentence structure and vocabulary was similarly limited and straight-forward (I guess there was some variety in the type of Internet slang you’d be reading from one moment to the next…). Even things like punctuation were off, with a plethora of exclamation points to be found littered across any given page!

Honestly, this book was incredibly disappointing. It’s all the more surprising in that it’s coming from an established author, which makes me suspect that something perhaps was missing on the editing side of things. Too often, we keep seeing authors/publishers trend chasing at a pace that outruns quality and creativity, and such was the case here. Unfortunately, I can’t really recommend this one. There are simply too many other great books to read out there!

Rating 5: With bizarre character choices and drowning beneath Internet slang, this book was a disappointing read.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Baby Dragon Cafe” can be found on this Goodreads list: July 2025 Most Anticipated Romance Releases

Serena’s Review: “Birth of Dynasty”

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Book: “Birth of a Dynasty” by Chinaza Bado

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, July 2025

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

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

Book Description: After witnessing the massacre of everyone he’s ever known and loved, M’Kuru Mukundi, the sole surviving member of the High Noble House Mukundi of Madada, vows revenge. M’kuru flees to a small village where he hides under the guise of farm boy Khalil Rausi… unaware that the real Khalil’s father is the bloodthirsty General of Zenzele army, and under the direction of the King’s scheming son, Prince Effiom, was responsible for the murder of M’kuru’s people. When an imposter claiming to be M’kuru shows up in the village, the real M’kuru—now Khalil—must bide his time amongst his enemies, pretending to be everything that he hates in order to get vengeance.

In another part of the country where giants roam free, young Zikora Nnamani, the only daughter of Lord Nnamani, knows nothing of political intrigue—she wants little more than to be a fierce Seh Llinga warrior. But a well-known prophecy places too much potential power on her small shoulders, and—as far as Prince Effiom and the King know—she is the only living threat to their dynasty ruling forever. However, when a messenger arrives to “invite” Zikora to stay at the palace, her family is not in a position to refuse. Before she is taken away, she begins The Rite of Blessing, a magical inheritance that she will need to learn how to use, but that may also bring the world one step closer to the completion of the prophecy that Prince Effiom so fears.

Between scheming ladies at court, backstabbing princes on the prowl, and paranoid kings, M’kuru and Zikora must do what they can, no matter how terrible, to save their people and claim vengeance for their families. But they are just two young people against an entire kingdom—and a prophecy destined to thwart their dreams—and the last thing they can do is trust anyone…even each other.

Review: This one was a bit rough right from the start. Early on, it was clear the author had some lofty goals for this book, particularly with the political stakes, prophesy at the heart of things, and the ways in which characters would plot to see their own goals forwarded. However, the pacing was incredibly slow in the beginning, which made it a struggle to become invested. On top of that, the information we were given often was dropped in the readers lap via long, rather tedious infodumps. As I began to better understand this world, much of this did come together, and I was fairly invested in how things would turn out towards the end of the story. However, I think there’s a pretty steep ask put on readers right from the start with the story structure.

Some of the oddities of the info dumping/pacing weren’t helped by the stilted dialogue. It was the kind of thing that’s hard to put your finger on exactly or explain in a review. People simply spoke in ways that didn’t feel natural or organic. If I didn’t know better, it almost read as if the book had been translated from a different language and much of the spirit of the original dialogue had been lost in conversion leaving everything rather flat.

I also really struggled with the characters. On the positive side to start, however, I did enjoy that the book’s main characters were two noble children. The story takes place during a few time periods, but even in some of the later ones, they are still very much younger children. This was interesting choice, and I think the author successfully re-created the mentality of two noble children in these situations. Unfortunately, however, realistic depictions of noble kids in these situations doesn’t necessarily leave you with characters you enjoy spending time with. On top of that, you do get a variety of other, adult side characters. However, none of them were particularly likable either! I was really left grasping at straws trying to find someone to root for.

The book was also incredibly violent, with numerous traumatic and horrible events taking place, including sexual assault. The author is clearly writing a grim story, one that is set in a world full of awful, striving people who will do whatever it takes, and I think she does succeeds there. But I don’t particularly enjoy this sort of grimdark fantasy ala “Game of Thrones,” so I was largely put off by the violence and rape involved. That said, readers of dark fantasy may enjoy the way some of these themes are discussed and handled.

Overall, this simply wasn’t the book for me. I think there were some struggles with the writing and pacing over all, but I did become more invested in the overarching plot by the end of the book. That said, I’m never going to love a book where most (if not all) of the characters are some degree of unlikable. However, if you’re a grimdark fantasy reader who enjoys political intrigue, this may be the book for you!

Rating 6: Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me: too dark and with characters I struggled to enjoy.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Birth of a Dynasty” is currently on any lists but it should be on Political Fantasy.