Category: Serena’s Reviews

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”

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

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.

Serena’s Review: “A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace”

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

Book: “A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace” by Emily Skrutskie

Publishing Info: Del Rey, June 2025

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

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

Book Description: On the eve of the battle that will decide the realm of Telrus’s fate, Katrien takes a hard look at her prospects. A mere legionnaire, she and her spear will be at the fore in the morning, facing off against the Demon Lord and his wretched army, and it’s all but certain she’ll perish in the fight. But if the end of the world is mere hours away, there’s no reason not to hook up with her handsome, dedicated battle partner Emory—despite any anti-fraternization policies their centurion may have in place.

Only, the world doesn’t end the next day. Instead, an insufferable prince raised in hiding comes out of nowhere with a plucky band of heroes, defeats the Demon Lord, and seals the rift to the hellish plane. The realm is saved. The war is over. And Kat suddenly has a lot more future than she knows what to do with. It’s a future that could include Emory . . . if only he weren’t so set on staying enlisted with the very army Kat was unwillingly drafted into.

And while the Demon Lord has been destroyed, peace is still a long march away. When Kat inadvertently draws the eye of the prince, she, Emory, and the rest of their motley unit are pulled to the fore of the formation—and the heart of the danger—as the army embarks on one last campaign. The mission: laying a road as a foundation for the prince’s future rule. The real mission: scouring the last of the Demon Lord’s servants from the material plane.

As Kat and Emory work to secure a lasting peace, they’ll have to decide what they want their futures to look like—and if there’s room for love at the end of the road.

Review: This was a breath of fresh air in the romantic fantasy/romantasy genre! I do think it skews more closely to romantic fantasy than romantasy, with a heavy focus on world-building and most of the conflict of the story coming down to plot points rather than the smaller amount devoted to internal, romantic conflict.

Some of this also has to do with the fact that we have a partners/friends-to-lovers love story, rather then yet another enemies/rivals-to-lovers. And boy, did I love that! The author makes the bold choice to start the story off right after Kat and Emory have gotten together for the first time. Of course, they both thought they would be dying the next day, so the rest of the story revolves around them now working out the consequences of changing their long-standing dynamic. Everything about their relationship was so lovely and wholesome. Their insecurities and fears were realistic and handled in a mature fashion (for once!), but I particularly appreciated the focus on how important their friendship remained to them. We see their growing passion, of course, but much of the emotional workings of the story relies on the deep friendship and respect that has driven their partnership for several years.

I also enjoyed the larger plot and fantasy elements. For one thing, in fantasy stories like this, we often follow characters who are either already leaders or rare in some way or are building towards a leadership role based on their emerging “special abilities.” Here, while Kat does have some magical growth, the story is much more narrowly focused on the lives of the foot soldiers. Kat is thrust into a leadership role against her will and spends the majority of the book trying to sidestep her way back to being a regular soldier. It was definitely refreshing to approach a story like this through this lens, with the bravery, teamwork, and skill of the regular people who make up these armies being the true heroes.

There were also some good themes explored regarding the balance between following one’s own dreams and what we owe to one another. Much of Kat’s internal struggle comes down to this fact. She is in a privileged position with her access to magic, so what does that mean for her choices going forward? Is she obligated to give up the life she wants in pursuit of using this rare ability for the greater good? For his part, Emory must also confront the realities of life after wartime. It’s not a huge focus of the story, but I think the book did a great job of exploring an aspect of military life that is often left unexplored.

Overall, this was a great read! There was an interesting world peopled with a great cast of characters, and the central love story felt fresh and new. What’s more, this was a stand-alone book, so it’s perfect for readers looking for perhaps their next beach read to bring along on vacation!

Rating 8: If you’re getting a bit worn out on enemies-to-lovers, this is the perfect book for you!

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Legionnaire’s Guide to Love and Peace” can be found on this Goodreads list: June 2025 Most Anticipated Romance Releases.

Serena’s Review: “The Rushworth Family Plot”

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Book: “The Rushworth Family Plot” by Claudia Gray

Publishing Info: Vintage, June 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney understand each other perfectly; it’s a pity their families do not. A series of misunderstandings, misplaced pride, and—indeed—prejudice, has led their parents to deem the pair unsuited to wed. Now, with the Season approaching, Juliet’s grandfather, General Tilney, has sent her to London with a new wardrobe and orders to prove herself worthy of someone better than the snobby Darcys. Meanwhile, Jonathan has been forced to accept an invitation to stay in town with old friends Edmund and Fanny Bertram at the house of Edmund’s brother, Sir Thomas. Oblivious to and undesiring of female attention outside of Juliet’s, Jonathan is at risk of being ensnared by Caroline Bingley’s previously rebuffed plans to make herself—or her daughter—mistress of Pemberley.

But when Mr. Rushworth, the former husband of Edmund’s sister Maria, is discovered dead in his home, Jonathan and Juliet find themselves with problems far weightier than the marriage market. In one of the greatest scandals of its day, Maria abandoned her new husband in favor of the notorious rake Henry Crawford, and when he wouldn’t marry her, was forced to flee to the continent in disgrace. Now Maria is back, accompanied by a daughter she claims Mr. Rushworth fathered after their divorce—and who he wrote into his will just before his death. To spare Edmund and Fanny further social shame, Jonathan and Juliet must unmask a killer before the drama surrounding the Rushworth family fortune claims another victim.

Previously Reviewed: “The Murder of Mr. Wickham” and “The Late Mrs. Willoughby” and “The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh”

Review: Another entry in the Mr. Darcy/Miss Tilney mysteries and just as enjoyable as the rest! I went into this one both excited (because Claudia Gray has yet to set a single step wrong) but also a bit nervous (because the characters from “Mansfield Park” and especially the dynamic between Edmund and Fanny seem like the most challenging of Austen’s originals to re-create). But, as always, I shouldn’t have worried at all!

Let’s start with the mystery itself! Like always, Gray does an excellent job setting the stage for the murder at the center of this story. There are a number of excellent suspects and red herrings, and every time the reader (or Miss Tilney or Mr. Darcy, for that matter) feel as if they might begin to get a reading on the situation, another twist will be thrown in. I also enjoyed the other, smaller mysteries that made up many of the subplots, such as the Bertrams’ handling of the sale of their plantation in Antiqua.

The story also delved into Fanny’s character and her struggles with childbirth in a very deep way. Poor Fanny. She’s always getting the most rough end of the stick, both in her original story and now here with all of this tragedy. However, I think the way that infertility and miscarriage was handled was incredibly sensitive, and some of Fanny’s internal thoughts and struggles are of the sort that you don’t often see portrayed well on the page. On a lighter note, I enjoyed her interactions with Edmund, and it we even got a bone thrown to some of the Edmund/Fanny/Mary Crawford drama from the original book.

Of course, the main draw is, as always, Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney themselves. Their relationship continues to be hindered by their ridiculous parents, but I was incredibly excited to see Catherine Tilney finally in person on the page! It’s also poetic justice that she immediately gathered a better reading on the situation between Jonathan and Juliet than her husband did in the last book. Their letters discussing the matter were particularly fun! Of course, as this is a series that is ongoing, sticks continued to be thrown in the cogs of them actually formally pursuing things (Darcy and Elizabeth really need to get their act together!). But the story definitely took a twist in this area that I wasn’t expecting and that lead to some of the major action at the end of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! It didn’t perhaps reach the highs of some of the previous books (mostly because the secondary characters are largely unlikable or fairly depressed through most of the book which lead to a bit less humor). But I really liked the mystery and I will be first in line to check out the next one!

Rating 8: Full of unexpected action and twists and turns galore, this is another incredibly showing in the series!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Rushworth Family Plot” isn’t on any Goodreads lists but it should be on: Austen Retellings.

Serena’s Review: “Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night”

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

Book: “Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night” by Kresley Cole

Publishing Info: Gallery Books, June 2025

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

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

Book Description: Bowen MacRieve of the Lykae clan was nearly destroyed when he lost the one woman meant for him. The ruthless warrior grew even colder, never taking another to his bed—until a smoldering encounter with his enemy, Mariketa the Awaited, reawakens his darkest desires. When sinister forces unite against her, the Highlander finds himself using all his strength and skill to keep her alive.

His slow, hot touch is irresistible…

Temporarily stripped of her powers, Mari is forced to take refuge with her sworn adversary. It’s rumored that no one can tempt Bowen’s hardened heart, but soon passion burns between them. Though a future together is impossible, she fears he has no intention of letting her go.

No deed is too wicked for her seduction…

If they defeat the evil that surrounds them, can Mari deny Bowen when he demands her body and soul—or will she risk everything for her fierce protector?

Review: It’s been a while since I’ve checked out a paranormal romance read on this blog, so I was excited to see that Kresley Cole’s “Immortals After Dark” series was getting a new look and republished. I’ve had the first one down on my TBR list for a while (but honestly, those OG covers threw me off every time). After looking into it, the series seems like the sort where the world is connected, but each book follows a new couple. So I felt comfortable picking up the series with this, the third book, that was releasing in June. Let’s dive in!

This was a bit of a mixed bag right from the start. And I really do mean “right from the start.” The first chapter left me very confused about how I was feeling about the book. We jump right into the action (great!) and I really enjoyed some of the early grumpy/sunshine banter that we got from our two main characters. On the other hand, within a page or two (I kid you not!), these two were already getting hot and heavy. We went from zero to 60 in no time flat! What’s more, after shooting out of the gate at a gallop, after the first chapter, the book screeches to a stop, separating our characters and adding a bunch of backstory and other characters. Now, all of this backstory and the extra characters themselves weren’t bad by any means (indeed, much of the backstory for the MMC was incredibly important), but it did leave the pacing in a strange place and me floundering to settle myself in this world.

As the book continued, I was better able to piece things together. I can confirm that it was approachable as a stand-alone book, but also that there were numerous references to characters and portions of this world that I likely would have better understood had I started with the first book.

This also read as rather dated with its approach to the love story. We have a large age gap (not something that I typically quibble with), fated mates, and a lot of internal conflict driving the love story. All of these tropes are quite delicate to handle well, in my opinion, and this book walked right up to the line on a few of them. Particularly with the way the werewolves and their need to “claim” their mate was handled. There was the tiniest bit of “ick” to the entire thing, with how compulsive it all felt. This in particular was a bit that made the book feel a bit dated, as it was the sort of thing you often found in older romance book but that is more carefully handled nowadays.

This carried over a bit to the dynamics between the FMC and the MMC. Again, I don’t have an issue with age gaps on their own, but this one felt a bit egregious, especially when paired with the grumpy/sunshine trope and the fact that Mari was “fated” for Bowen. None of these things were bad on their own, but there was something about the way they all layered on top of one another to make me not fully able to invest in their love story.

All of this said, I very much enjoyed the world and society of this series. There was a ton of creativity to be found in the ways these various different creatures interacted with one another and shared a world. I’m definitely interested in checking out another book in this series, just to see more of this world and experience the dynamics between two other characters. (I’m going to avoid the first book, however, as a cursory look at it highlighted the fact that the whole “claiming” thing is perhaps even worse there). However, if you enjoy paranormal romances, I can definitely see the appeal in this series and I’m excited to see if another book/couple might be a better fit for me!

Rating 7: I didn’t feel like a few of the romantic tropes worked well together, but the world itself was super interesting, and I’ll likely check out the next book!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night” can be found on these Goodreads lists: So you love a Bad Boy or Tortured Hero and Best Highland/Scotland Romance Novels.

Serena’s Review: “A Dance of Lies”

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

Book: “A Dance of Lies” by Brittney Arena

Publishing Info: Del Rey, June 2025

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

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

Book Description: Vasalie Moran was once a dancer in King Illian’s court, until he framed her for murder. Barely surviving her two years in the dungeons, she’s suddenly called to face her king. He offers her a deal: become his spy at the six-week royal Gathering and he’ll grant her freedom.

As Illian’s orders grow bloody and dangerous, forcing her to harm and betray those around her, Vasalie discovers that the monster she serves may be aligned with a bigger monster—one far closer to home. With her world threatened, Vasalie enlists the help of Illian’s brother and greatest adversary, the infamous King of the East.

As the rivalry between brothers escalates, with Vasalie caught in the middle, the horrifying truth of her past comes to light. If she wants to survive, she must decide who to trust, who to fight for, and how much of her soul she’s willing to damn in the process.

Review: Well, another romantasy down in the books. Another mixed bag affair. At this point, I acknowledge that I’m probably just a picky reader when it comes to this subgenre, and more often than not, I’m better off in “romantic fantasy” than romantasy, a distinction you wouldn’t think would make as much of a difference as it does! This one had a lot of potential, but in the end, it didn’t work for me in the way I had hoped it would.

Not a lot really worked for me with this one, unfortunately. But some of that is definitely objective. The style of writing, for one thing, felt fairly simplistic, leaving me feeling distanced from the characters and action and not able to fully invest myself in what was happening on the page. Part of this came down to what I felt was an imbalance between inner monologues and outward action/description. Yes, our main character has had a rough go of it, but there came a point in the first third of the story where I simply didn’t need to revisit some of these hardships as often as we were. All of this said, however, readers who prefer a more straight-forward style of writing or who prefer more inward-reflecting main characters may not struggle with the writing as much as I did.

I also liked the general idea of Vasalie’s disability and the inclusion of a character like this. That said, I’m not sure the execution quite worked. Again, a lot of inner narration was devoted to the struggles and adjustments that Vasalie needed to make due to this disability. However, whenever she needed to perform, it felt as if this disability suddenly, magically disappeared! The story didn’t outright say this, but the implication and depiction was that a person affected by a disability could simply “get past it” whenever it was needed. There was nothing egregious in this area, but I did think there was a heavy disconnect between the inner reflections of Vasalie’s disablity and the actual affect it had on her life (very little, especially when her dancing was needed for plot purposes).

I also didn’t love the romance. I didn’t expect a love triangle situation, so I was displeased to see one emerging fairly early on. While not the worst I’ve read, I often found myself frustrated by Vasalie’s choices. I definitely had a preference of her two choices, and I felt like she spent way too much time chasing the wrong one. Beyond that, I’m not sure if I’ve ranted about it before, but I’m so over the cutesy little nicknames that seem to now be a requirement in the romantasy genre. Authors, they’re not cute. Please stop.

Me cringing so hard at the latest “clever” nickname to pop up in my romantasy read

So yeah, this was kind of a bummer of read. Nothing was horribly wrong with it, but on the other hand, nothing was really great. More general fans of romantasy (i.e. less picky ones) will likely enjoy this one, especially those who like love triangles/less defined romantic interests. However, if you’re just a casual fan, I’m not sure this is the read for you.

Rating 6: Unfortunately, this one just didn’t click with me, feeling at once too familiar and too remote to become invested in.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Dance of Lies” can be found on this Goodreads list: June 2025 Most Anticipated Romance Releases

Serena’s Review: “The Palace of Illusions”

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Book: “The Palace of Illusions” by Rowenna Miller

Publishing Info: Orbit, June 2025

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

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

Book Description: In the run up to the 1900s World’s Fair Paris is abuzz with creative energy and innovation. Audiences are spellbound by the Lumiere brothers’ moving pictures and Loie Fuller’s serpentine dance fusing art and technology. But for Clara Ironwood, a talented and pragmatic clockworker, nothing compares to the magic of her godfather’s mechanical creations, and she’d rather spend her days working on the Palace of Illusions, an intricate hall of mirrors that is one of the centerpieces of the world’s fair.
 
When her godfather sends Clara a hideous nutcracker for Christmas, she is puzzled until she finds a hidden compartment that unlocks a mirror-world Paris where the Seine is musical, fountains spout lemonade, and mechanical ballerinas move with human grace. The magic of her godfather’s toys was real. 
 
As Clara explores this other Paris and begins to imbue her own creations with its magic, she soon discovers a darker side to innovation. Suspicious men begin to approach her outside of work, and she could swear a shadow is following her. There’s no ignoring the danger she’s in, but Clara doesn’t know who to trust. The magic of the two Parises are colliding and Clara must find the strength within herself to save them both.

Review: Not only have I enjoyed many of Rowenna Miller’s books in the past, but I’ve long been on the look out for a good re-imagining of “The Nutcrakcer.” And while this one wasn’t perfect, it is by far the best version of this story I’ve read so far!

As always, Miller’s style of writing is excellent. In this book in particular, her prose stood out most in the descriptions of not only the magical version of Paris, but also the real world itself. For the latter, she does incredible work of grounding the story in the specifics of the time and place, noting architectural details of Paris and many of the unique aspects of the city at this time. On the other hand, she does an incredible job with the creation of the fantasy world that mirrors this Paris. It’s easy to understand Clara’s almost inescapable draw to this place, especially given her focus on creation and invention, two themes that are heavily explored in this book.

I also really enjoyed the complicated nature of Clara’s relationship with her godfather. It wasn’t the primary focus of the story, but I think there were some really nice subtle points made about the strength of adult/child relationships and the ways they can be strained as life progresses. The other main relationship in the book was the romance, which, again, wasn’t a huge part of the story but was still quite sweet. It had a nice slow burn arc and it wrapped up nicely in the end.

I did struggle with Clara at times. She’s clearly presented as a very intelligent character, and while it’s understandable that she would be drawn into this magical world, there were several moments where she made incredibly silly decisions. In these moments, she read more like a teen character than the adult woman she was meant to be.

I also think the pacing was a bit hit and miss. The story starts out fast enough, with the introduction of the fairytale elements being introduced quite early on. But as the story continues, the pacing really started to drag towards the middle. Readers’ enjoyment of this section will really come down to how much they enjoy the lyrical style of writing and the many scenes that are more focused on the whimsical parts of this world.

I definitely think this is one to check out if you’re especially interested in “The Nutcracker,” and it will also likely appeal to fantasy fans who also enjoy historical fiction. As I am both of these, I largely enjoyed this read! It is on the slower side, however, so readers focused on fast-paced reads may struggle with it.

Rating 8: A lovely re-imagining of the classic “Nutcracker” tale!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Palace of Illusions” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Nutcracker Retellings and Edwardian Fantasy.

Serena’s Review: “The Mercy Makers”

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Book: “The Mercy Makers” by Tessa Gratton

Publishing Info: Orbit, June 2025

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

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

Book Description: Iriset is a prodigy and an outlaw. The daughter of a powerful criminal, she dons her alter ego Silk to create magical disguises for those in her father’s organization, but she longs to do more with her talent: to enhance what it means to be human by giving people wings, night-sight, and other abilities; to unlock the possibilities of gender and parenthood; to cure disease and even to end mortality itself.

Everything changes when her father is captured and sentenced to death. To save him, Iriset must infiltrate the palace and the empire’s fanatical ruling family. There, she realizes she has a chance—and an obligation—to bring down the entire corrupt system. She’ll have to entangle herself in the lives of the emperor and his sister, getting them to trust and even to love her. But love is a two-way street, and Iriset’s own heart holds the most mysterious and impenetrable magic of all.

Review: I think this book will be very hit and miss for many readers, and mostly this comes down to the style of writing. I enjoy lyrical sometimes even flowery writing, so there were elements of the complex, rather circular descriptions that worked for me. At the same time, however, I think some of this style severely detracted from my actual reading experience. There were times I had to re-read entire paragraphs to even fully understand what was happening on the page. This was also definitely a slower read and the pacing was strongly affected by the ponderous nature of the writing style. I often found myself looking down at my Kindle progress and being surprised by how little progress I had made. Never a great sign!

That said, once I got further into the book and had more fully understood the magic system and world-building, there was a lot to like. The book spends a lot of time exploring the ins and outs of rebellion, the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is best exemplified in our main characters, none of whom are cookie-cutter “good people.” In this way, the entire story was humanized in a way that we don’t often see (usually rebellion groups go the way of “Star Wars,” where everyone’s a hero, the rebellion can do no wrong, and the bad guys are blatantly evil, twirling their mustaches in a corner). The book also explored religion in a way that I wasn’t expecting.

There was also a romance involved that I mostly liked. I was a bit surprised by how spicy this book was at times, as you don’t often see the mix-and-match of this sort of explicit romance with super complex writing/world-building. I was fine with it, but it may come as a surprise to general fantasy fans who check this one out.

The story also had some good twists and turns as the plot progressed. Nothing was truly shocking, necessarily, but these twists helped to pull the pacing through some of the more slog-like portions of the complex writing.

In the end, I feel like this read was a bit of a mixed bag. It doesn’t fit comfortable in any subcategory really and I think there are pieces that will appeal to very different readers, while other sections leave those same readers disconnected. I’d have a hard time knowing exactly who to recommend this to. The writing, however, is the most striking aspect, so I do think that it will hit best with readers who enjoy complex, rather long-winded prose.

Rating 7: With long-winded and rather purple prose making up the majority of the story, this one could feel like a slot at times. But if you stick with it, there are some great themes to explore!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Mercy Makers” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Flowering Writing.

Serena’s Review: “Realm of Thieves”

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Book: “Realm of Thieves” by Karina Halle

Publishing Info: Ace, June 2025

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

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

Book Description: For Brynla Aihr, crime and survival have always gone hand in hand. Ever since she escaped the fanatical dragon-worshipping cult that controls her homeland, she’s had to carve out a life doing the stealing dragon eggs. Egg theft is illegal and, in most cases, fatal. To breach a dragon’s nest means a harrowing journey through the ancient wards spelled to keep the monstrous beasts confined. Dragons can’t get out and only those with a death wish can get in.

Despite the risks, dragon eggs are highly coveted for their magic. A black market flourishes under competing criminal empires, and Brynla’s loyalty has always been to the highest bidder. Until she finds herself kidnapped and blackmailed by Lord Andor, a formidable lieutenant of House Kolbeck, and thrust into the dangerous political games of rivaling dynasties.

Brynla and Andor clash at every turn, sparking heat in ways Brynla’s never felt before. But in a world that’s prophesized to return to the dragons, and rife with betrayal and secrets at every turn…how close to the flames is she willing to stand?

Review: There are so, so many dragon books in romantasy. To be fair, dragons were always pretty popular in fantasy/romantasy, even before “Fourth Wing.” But now it seems out of control! I honestly sometimes lose track of them all, which one’s I’ve read, how many new ones are coming out and what differentiates them, etc. etc. So, yes, here’s another dragon romantasy review!

Unfortunately, I’m still thwarted in this area. I’m starting to think that I may just need to stick with my more traditional fantasy books for my dragon kick, at least until it dies down a bit in massive popularity. As it stands, too often it feels as if authors and publishers may just be trying to cash in on a popular trope instead of following an organic story-making process. Such is the case here. While there were aspects of the world-building here with its use of dragons that I thought were interesting, as the story continued, this book ultimately seemed to turn more into a gangster/mafia romance story. Which I don’t dislike as a romance subgenre on its own, but wasn’t why I was picking this book up.

Ultimately, from early in the story, everything felt rather flat. The author was telling me a lot of things, but I wasn’t seeing many reasons to become emotionally involved. The characters were just kind of there, following along in many of the standard FMC/MMC archetypes that we’ve come to expect from books like this. The pacing was fairly stilted, with the book dragging significantly in the middle of the story only to fall through the floor with the almost bait-and-switch with the genre change from fantasy to mafia romance in the end. And over and over again characters and plot points operated in ways that didn’t make sense other than as quick resolutions to any challenges that presented themselves. Things happened because a problem needed to be solved. And solved quickly with very little conflict being given any time to brew.

Much of this only came to play as I continued reading, but I was already started off on the wrong foot by the way the romance was handled. When I say “fast” I can’t emphasize enough just how fast I mean. The characters meet and that’s pretty much it. Their insta-attraction/lust/love was so extreme that it felt totally unbelievable and threw me out of the book. True, I prefer a slow burn (typically even across multiple books!) but there are numerous romantasy titles I can point to that have an established romance in book one that I enjoyed (see “Shield of Sparrows.”) This book totally missed the mark for me in this department. As a bit of a side note, I’m very over the cutesy nicknames that the MMCs give FMCs. They are getting more and more ridiculous and over-the -top. If someone talked like this in real life, the cringe would be off the charts.

Sadly, this was a miss for me. I know that this author is quite prolific, so I might need to dig around her back catalog and see if I connect better with one of her previous books. I’m sure fans of her work will enjoy this, but if you want a well-developed romance or a book that focuses strongly on the fantasy elements, you may want to pass on this one. That said, if you like mafia romance, this may be the unexpected hit you’re looking for!

Rating 6: With a flat-feeling plot, lack of complex characterization, and a romance that went from zero to one hundred in two seconds flat, this one sadly wasn’t for me.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Realm of Thieves” can be found on these Goodreads lists:Most Anticipated Romantasy releases of 2025