Tag: 7 Rating

Serena’s Review: “Faithbreaker”

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Book: “Faithbreaker” by Hannah Kaner

Publishing Info: HarperVoyager, April 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: War has come. The fire god Hseth is leading an unstoppable army south, consuming everything in her path. Middren’s only hope of survival is to unify allies and old foes against a common enemy.

Elo navigates an uneasy alliance with Arren; his friend, his enemy, and his king. Now they each must decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice to turn the tides of war.

Meanwhile, Inara joins her mother on their ship, the Silverswift, to seek aid. Still grappling with her powers, Inara must reconcile who she is and where she belongs, while Skediceth has to question if their bond will be enough to keep them safe.

Kissen has no allegiance to the old ways of Middren. But, as she tries to find her family, she is forced to question what, and whose, future she is fighting for.

Previously Reviewed: “Godkiller” and “Sunbringer”

Review: I’ll be honest, I’ve put off writing this review for a bit. On reflection, this trilogy has been a challenging experience. Mostly because the first book hit it out of the park for me, and now each subsequent book has been a step further and further away from that high. While this book does stick the landing of the overall plot itself, it wasn’t enough to temper my disappointment with various other aspects of the story.

But let’s start with the good. Like the two books before it, this one capitalizes on the intricate world-building that has been created over the course of the trilogy. There’s been excellent exploration of themes regarding religion, devotion, and the extremes to which individuals can be driven to under the influence of strong ideologies. This one continued in these veins. And, like I said, while it takes a while to get everything and everyone in place, the final confrontation and climax of the trilogy hits well.

The pacing is also fairly slow throughout. But this is true for the first two books as well, so readers should essentially expect a similar reading experience to those stories. Personally, I think the slower pacing works for the sort of story being drawn here. Never does this series claim to be an action-packed romp. But instead, it’s very character-based, and, as such, spends a lot of time in various characters’ heads exploring their personal arcs.

Now, unfortunately, we get to my complaints. First off, from the start I’ve mentioned that delicate balance that has been struck between the shared POVs. In the first book, all three POV characters were strong enough to make this approach work well. And, as they all spent the majority of their time together, these different POVs didn’t take us away from the two other characters, allowing the reader to still spend time with them all. In the second book, one of my complaints had to do with the lessening impact of these various POVs. Inara remained mostly the same, but Elo’s story took a massive dip, with much of his subplot feeling tacked on. And, in a strange turn, the excellence of Kissen’s chapters only served to further undermine the story, as it began to feel as if any chapters focused on the other two dragged even more than they should have in comparison.

Well, here, where I had so many hopes now that our main trio were finally reunited, this problem has only been expanded upon. Not only do they get immediately broken up into various groups again and sent off in different directions, but the story added in TWO more POVs. And, honestly, I couldn’t have cared less about Arren or Hestra! Not only did these chapters feel as if they were taking up precious page space from the characters I actually cared about, but in Arren’s case, the entire project behind him was DOA.

I get that the author thought that this added POV for him was necessary to attempt to make him a sympathetic character, but frankly, it was too little too late. I couldn’t simply sweep under the rug all of the actions I’d seen from this character in the first two books. Perhaps if these chapters were attempting to simply lighten opinions on him some, it would have worked. But to attempt to re-create him as a romantic interest for Elo? NO THANK YOU! I was so upset by this switch. Not only did it feel like the excellent dynamic that was created between Elo and Kissen was swept under the rug for no apparent reason (and frankly, this is the kind of stuff that just makes me furious because it makes me feel as if the author set me up for disappointment from the start), but Elo’s entire story has played out in him coming to realize what he deserves and what he doesn’t. What he absolutely doesn’t deserve is to end up with a character like Arren, who treated him so poorly and, frankly, betrayed him to a point that even if forgiveness could happen, romantic love certainly shouldn’t.

And it was more of the same for Kissen. Yes, her natural charisma as a character carried this new relationship further than my total disinterest in Elo’s relationship. But still. This felt like a late-game switch that simply wasn’t necessary and wasn’t set up to succeed. We had two entire books with plenty of other lore and action that needed to be resolved in the rather short page count of this last book. To attempt to wrap all of that up while also adding in two new relationships that only really appear in this last book? Something’s got to give, and it was with these romances.

It’s hard to be objective with this book. Once I saw where things were going with these new romances, I was so frustrated with the trilogy as a whole that I had a hard time focusing in on the rest of what the story was trying to accomplish. There was a solid ending, and one that pulled at the heartstrings in some meaningful ways. But what I loved best about this series were the three main characters. And as the trilogy wore on, it felt like more and more, that’s where the story struggled. Readers who are perhaps less invested in the main trio as a core group may enjoy this more than me. And that said, I do enjoy this author’s style of writing, so I’ll definitely check out what comes next (though, I’ll be honest, if it’s another series, I might wait for it to complete before starting up, so I know what I’m getting into. I really hate having the rug pulled out from under me, and it’s one of the few grievances that I have a hard time forgiving in authors.)

Rating 7: For me, personally, this was probably a 6. But as I know that I got caught up in my feelings, I’d say that on a whole, this one was still a solid conclusion to the trilogy, just not as good as the first book.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Faithbreaker” is on this Goodreads list: 2025 Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Serena’s Review: “Exquisite Ruin”

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Book: “Exquisite Ruin” by AdriAnne May

Publishing Info: Gallery Books, March 2025

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

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

Book Description:

Review: Sadaré wakes in a labyrinth, remembering nothing except that she is a powerful sorceress. Her only companion is a hostile immortal named Daesra—beautiful, dangerous, and demonic—who bound his divine soul for power and revenge.

Despite their animosity, the two have no choice but to work together to reach the center and defeat the monster who prevents their escape. But the longer they wander, the more deadly and alive the maze becomes—and the more Sadaré finds herself drawn to Daesra in ways she can’t explain.

As sorceress and demon develop a tenuous truce, the labyrinth gives Sadaré glimpses of their shared history of passion and pain that make her question everything she knows. Unlocking the secrets of her past may be the only way to survive and heal their entwined fates—but as she learns more about the betrayals that brought them to the labyrinth, Sadaré begins to fear that the monster at the center could be Daesra … or even herself.

Review: Regardless of my “hit and miss” track record with the romantasy genre, I was immediately intrigued by this one given its ties to the Minotaur myth. What a unique story! The only other version I know of that tackles this myth was the excellent short story by Naomi Novik in her latest short story collection. Now, that entire collection was probably my favorite short story book ever, so the bar was fairly high. But still, given how rarely this tale has been adapted, I felt confident that there was still a lot of room for exploration, especially with a romance angle added on.

That said, I didn’t pay tons of attention to the summary, and when I opened it up and started reading and realized that it was an amnesia story…I was less than thrilled. Totally subjective take, but amnesia is one of my least favorite tropes. For one thing, I think it’s very rare that an author can properly pull it off, and we saw plenty of examples of this stumbling block here: Sure, Sadare claims to remember nothing, but again and again, she makes assertations about her own history/motivations/preferences that she couldn’t possibly know. It’s hard to truly write a blank slate character, as would be true of an actual amnesiac, and Sadare is definitely not it. Beyond that, I have little tolerance for much of the flip-flopping we got from her, one minute drawn to the MMC and the next fearing and hating him once again, often with little given on the page to motivate a change from one emotion to the other.

The writing was also fairly stilted and it took me a long time to get invested. I think this comes down to an over-reliance on a telling vs. showing style. Sentence after sentence begins with Sadare saying “I…” did something/said something/thought something. As this was an early version, more polishing could be done here before the finished copy comes out, but often those changes are things like missed words or spelling rather than sweeping style changes.

So far this has been rather negative, but I do want to touch on what I did like. Whenever the story was given some breathing room from the romantic tension, I liked the exploration of the original myth and their wanderings through the maze. It could feel a bit repetitive at times with dead end met after dead end. But, on the other hand, this is a story about two individuals trapped in a maze. It should feel hopeless at times!

There were the pieces of a lot of good things here. I think both Sadare and the MCC had good foundations and the world-building was also very interesting. I think this author simply still needs some room to grow as far as the actual quality of the writing itself. With a more solid grip on the basics, this could have been a great read! As it stands, I think it will definitely appeal to the romantasy readers who enjoy monster fics. But if you’re generally a fantasy reader first and foremost, this might not be for you.

Rating 7: A unique romantasy with some creative world-building, but it was held back by an overly “telling” style of writing.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Exquisite Ruin” can be found on this Goodreads list: Greco – Roman Fantasy.

Serena’s Review: “The Prince Without Sorrow”

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Book: “The Prince Without Sorrow” by Maithree Wijeskara

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, March 2025

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

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

Book Description: A prince born into violence, seeking peace.

Prince Ashoka is the youngest son of the tyrannical Emperor Adil Maurya. Considered an outcast by his father for his rejection of the emperor’s brutal onslaught against the witches of the empire, Ashoka longs for change. When the sudden and unexpected death of his father leaves the monarchy in disarray, Ashoka is sent to govern a tumultuous region annexed by Emperor Adil that is terrorized by nature spirits—a task many see as doomed to fail. Suspected by a disdainful governor and evaded by distrustful witches, Ashoka must question his rigid ideals and fight against becoming the one person he despises the most—his father.

A witch shackled by pacifism, seeking revenge.

Shakti is a a witch bound by a pacifist code. After witnessing the murder of her aunt and village at the hands of the emperor, Shakti hurtles down a path of revenge, casting a curse with unexpected consequences. Posing as a maidservant in the famed palace of the Mauryas and armed with newfound powers beyond her imagination, Shakti attempts to dismantle the monarchy from within by having the royal progeny ruin themselves and turn their father’s legacy into nothing but ash.

In a world where nature spirits roam the land, and witches are hunted to extinction, Ashoka and Shakti will be forced to grapple with the consequences of to take it for themselves or risk losing it completely.

Review: I have to say, the cover was doing a lot of heavy lifting for me with this one! I don’t know if I even really looked at the summary much before requesting it! It’s such a lovely, unique image, one that definitely stands out from the typical fantasy crowd!

That said, the book didn’t quite live up to my high expectations. On the other hand, what it does have to offer feels very unique to the genre, so readers looking for a new entry point to fantasy fiction may appreciate what this one has to say. I was particularly intrigued by the exploration of pacifism and the building conflict between the main characters with regards to their approaches to moving through this world. We have one character who is actively trying to approach the world in a less violent manner, and another whose life has been one tragedy after another and who feels shackled by the restraints of nonviolence taught to her.

That said, I don’t feel like the author took full advantage of this premise. By the end of the book, I was left wondering if I had somehow missed the point that was trying to be made? But I also suspect that while a lot of interesting questions regarding pacifism and necessary violence were introduced, the author was unwilling to truly stake a position on these issues, which, ultimately, undercut much of what was presented here.

I also thought the magic system itself was fairly wobbly. The witches can’t use their powers without accruing bad karma, but Shakti is seemingly rewarded for doing just this? And then, later in the story, the other witches are also convinced to do away with what we’ve been told is a deeply held moral conviction? It all felt a bit too convenient. Add that on top of several other conveniences (the good guys and bad guys are almost cartoonishly one dimensional at times and very prone to giving speeches that clear up everything for every one), the story telling itself felt shaky. This was compounded upon by some structural issues with the writing like over-use of certain words and unclear metaphors.

All of that said, I do think there are readers for this book! As I said, the themes regarding pacifism were strong (even if I wish more had been done) and I did like the two main characters, which goes far for me. If you’re looking for a new-feeling fantasy novel, this may be one to check out!

Rating 7: There were strong themes regarding justified violence and pacifism, but some of the other story elements tripped up my reading experience in the end.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Prince Without Sorrow” can be found on this Goodreads list: 2025 – Paranormal Romance (Standalones and 1st in Series).

Joint Review: “The Bane Witch”

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Book: “The Bane Witch” by Ava Morgyn

Publishing Info: St. Martin’s Griffin, March 2025

Where Did We Get This Book: ARC from the publisher/Netgalley

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

Book Description: Piers Corbin has always had an affinity for poisonous things – plants and men. From the pokeweed berries she consumed at age five that led to the accidental death of a stranger, to the husband whose dark proclivities have become… concerning, poison has been at the heart of her story. But when she fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her volatile marriage and goes to stay with her estranged great aunt in the mountains, she realizes her predilection is more than a hunger – it’s a birthright. Piers comes from a long line of poison eaters – Bane Witches – women who ingest deadly plants and use their magic to rid the world of evil men. Piers sets out to earn her place in her family’s gritty but distinguished legacy, all while working at her Aunt Myrtle’s cafe and perpetuating a flirtation with the local, well-meaning sheriff to allay his suspicions on the body count she’s been leaving in her wake. But soon she catches the attention of someone else, a serial killer operating in the area. And that only means one thing – it’s time to feed. In Ava Morgyn’s dark, thrilling novel, The Bane Witch, a very little poison can do a world of good.

Serena’s Thoughts

There are a few go-to authors that Kate and I like to joint review, as we’ve both reliably enjoyed their books in the past. This author, I believe, is new to both of us! But we’ve both enjoyed “Practical Magic,” so with a comparable like that, plus the promise of a thriller-like mystery at its heart, we both thought this would be a good candidate to check out!

Unfortunately, for me, this was just ok. And part of that is the simple fact that it skewed further into the thriller genre and away from the fantasy genre than I typically prefer. So that’s nothing against the actual quality of that portion of the story (see Kate’s opinions there for a more reliable source on this genre!), but it does speak to the balance of this book. And I think for fantasy readers, specifically those looking for a read-alike for “Practical Magic,” this might feel like a bit of a let down. Instead, I think the “Gone Girl” reference made a lot more sense, and better fit, tonally, with what this book had to offer. Sure, the witchy stuff was definitely there, but the general plotting and themes fell much more in line, I think, with a thriller than with a typical fantasy story.

I also struggled to really enjoy Piers herself. In the beginning, she comes across as incredibly competent and thoughtful, as one would need to be to successfully pull of faking one’s own death. However, as the book continued, and especially towards the end, she began to make an increasing number of ridiculous decisions that just didn’t vibe with the sort of person we had first been introduced to. Her actions and various plot points felt jammed together in unnatural ways that served to push the story forwards in the direction the author wanted to go, but didn’t necessarily make sense on their own.

For me, this was just an ok read. I didn’t think the magical elements really lived up to my hopes, and I didn’t really connect with its thriller roots. I also struggled to enjoy Piers as a main character. However, readers how are more interested in the mystery and the serial killer angle might enjoy this more than I did!

Kate’s Review

Well, Serena knows me very well, because this one worked for me on many levels! Part of that was the mystery and thriller elements, to be sure, as I love a story with a serial killer and a woman who has to play a cat and mouse game with him. I also liked the suspense that builds up within the book as the story goes on, whether it’s due to the aforementioned killer that Piers is trying to track, albeit against her will, or the stress involving her abusive ex husband Henry and the cops on her tail after her faked death. Heck, I even liked the suspense regarding whether or not the other bane witches are going to accept Piers into their circle. I will say that as we got closer to the end, things went a little bit off the rails, which put a bit of a wrench in the pacing and how I connected to the story, but I thought that the plot itself was strong enough that I wasn’t too put off by it.

But what worked the most for me were the magical systems that Morgyn created for this book, as the idea of a witch being able to consume poison and transfer it to dangerous and deadly men to take them out is SO appealing to me as a horror reader who also loves witchy books. And I actually disagree with Serena a little bit, because I did get “Practical Magic” vibes from this, specifically the darker themes of that movie (I may not be speaking for the book, it’s been awhile since I’ve read it so lets just stick to the film) like violence against women, women taking their power into their own hands in dire circumstances, and the complicated relationships between families where estrangement and trauma is a very real wedge between people. So many of these things really click for me in my witch fiction, and I thought that Piers coming into her own as a dangerous but righteous bane witch was a fun and engaging arc (though I definitely agree that she does make some REALLY dumb decisions in the later third of the novel, no arguments there). And I always like witch stories that work outside the expected box, or outside of what we usually see in the sub-genre, and a bunch of mountain witches using poison magic was VERY fun and not something that I see as much.

Overall I found “The Bane Witch” to be a really entertaining witch tale, hitting all of the notes I had hoped it would.

Serena’s Rating 7: An interesting concept with the poison magic, but I struggled to connect to Piers and wanted more from the fantasy elements in the story.

Kate’s Rating 8: A fun and deliciously wicked witch tale with poison, empowerment, and a unique magical system. Add in a solid suspense vibe and it’s overall a winner.

Reader’s Advisory

“The Bane Witch” is included on the Goodreads lists Vampires and Werewolves and Witches…Oh My! and Poisonous Plant Fiction Titles.

Serena’s Review: “Nightweaver”

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Book: “Nightweaver” by R.M. Gray

Publishing Info: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, March 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

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

Book Description: Six hundred years ago, Nightweavers, cursed beings with untamed power, claimed the continents for their own. The ocean was meant to be a safe haven for humanity, including seventeen-year-old Aster Oberon and her pirate family. But after Aster’s brother is killed in an epic battle at sea against Nightweavers, Aster and her family are thrust into a new life on land.

When a handsome Nightweaver named Will offers the Oberons protection and work at his opulent estate, Aster is suspicious. As the arrogant and entitled right hand to the wicked prince, Will is everything that she has been taught to hate. But as he shows empathy and kindness, Aster can’t ignore a blooming attraction. And even more, Will opens her eyes to a new There are monsters worse than Nightweavers, monsters who may be behind her brother’s death.

As Aster hunts the creatures responsible, dark secrets threaten to unravel everything she once believed about her family, herself, and her world.

Review: Well, while “The Otherwhere Post” reminded me earlier that YA fantasy can still work for me, unfortunately this book reminded me why I also often struggle with the genre. That’s not to say it was all bad, not by any means. More that I think this is the exact sort of book that will work well for its actual target audience of teen fantasy readers. However, adults who often stray into YA fantasy for their reads may have more frustrations with it, like I did.

Let’s start with some good things! I definitely went in intrigued by the pirate angle of the story. This felt particularly fresh in the current YA fantasy genre, and what bits of this we got were all good. Unfortunately, we get most of the actual pirate stuff in the first 25% of the book; after that the story re-located to the land and spends the majority of the rest of the story there. This seems like a missed opportunity to me, but I did enjoy those bits we got at the beginning. On top of that, there were a lot of different tropes here that readers may enjoy, including multiple love interests, chosen one plots, and various kingdoms that have their own goals and politics.

Personally, I found this plethora of tropes to be counterproductive. Some may enjoy this barrage, but for me, I prefer a more tightly focused story. By the end, the author seemed to be throwing every trope she could find at the wall and seeing what would stick, including a late reveal about the heroine that was so predictable I almost put the book down. In so many ways, this read like too many other YA fantasies I’ve read. It included a ton of things, but didn’t do any of them notably well.

I also didn’t enjoy the main character. She had some strengths, like bravery and such, but she was also clueless to the many obvious things going on around her. Beyond that, the inner voice for this character was simply rather dull. Again, nothing aggressively bad here, but more just bland. Some readers may enjoy her more than I did, particularly actual teen readers. The love interest(s) were equally bland, with some of them disappearing from the page for longer than they were on it, it seems!

Overall, there were some good ideas here, but the entire thing began to feel a bit predictable and mediocre. The author didn’t take advantage of the one truly unique aspect of her story, the pirate angle, and instead pursued story beats that we’ve seen a million times before. The pacing was also incredibly uneven throughout, which left me feeling behind the story at times and, at other moments, as if we hadn’t moved forward at all. Like I said, however, there will be readers for this book! I just think it’s the kind of YA fantasy that reads much better in its actual age range, without much crossover appeal to adults readers.

Rating 7: A YA fantasy that will probably be best enjoyed by actual teen readers; adult fantasy fans may feel underwhelmed by the predictable plotting and rather flat characters.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Nightweaver” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Novels of 2025.

Kate’s Review: “The Haunting of Room 904”

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Book: “The Haunting of Room 904” by Erika T. Wurth

Publishing Info: Flatiron Books, March 2025

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

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

Book Description: From the author of White Horse (“Twisty and electric.” —The New York Times Book Review) comes a terrifying and resonant novel about a woman who uses her unique gift to learn the truth about her sister’s death.

Olivia Becente was never supposed to have the gift. The ability to commune with the dead was the specialty of her sister, Naiche. But when Naiche dies unexpectedly and under strange circumstances, somehow Olivia suddenly can’t stop seeing and hearing from spirits.

A few years later, she’s the most in-demand paranormal investigator in Denver. She’s good at her job, but the loss of Naiche haunts her. That’s when she hears from the Brown Palace, a landmark Denver hotel. The owner can’t explain it, but every few years, a girl is found dead in room 904, no matter what room she checked into the night before. As Olivia tries to understand these disturbing deaths, the past and the present collide as Olivia’s investigation forces her to confront a mysterious and possibly dangerous cult, a vindictive journalist, betrayal by her friends, and shocking revelations about her sister’s secret life.

The Haunting of Room 904 is a paranormal thriller that is as edgy as it is heartfelt and simmers with intensity and longing. Erika T. Wurth lives up to her reputation as “a gritty new punkish outsider voice in American horror.”

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

It is always a double edged sword when it is time for me to approach a book that I have been very much looking forward to. I always try to temper my expectations, because in my own mind something I am SO excited about can get so hyped up. This was always in the back of my mind when I was getting ready to read “The Haunting of Room 904” by Erika T. Wurth. There were so many things I was excited about with this title. It’s a haunting story, and I LOVE a haunting story. It has a medium, and a somewhat reluctant one at that. And it’s Wurth’s newest horror novel, and after how much I loved “White Horse” this one was really, really anticipated. So combining all of these things had be buzzing with excitement and nervousness. The verdict? The nervousness was a LITTLE warranted…

Starting with the positives, I do have a good amount to say. For one, Wurth always knows how to tease out a creepy image onto the page, and for me, there are so many things you can do with ghosts in regards to creepy imagery. There were so many moments here that really unnerved me, be it sobbing ghosts being described in mirrors to uncanny movements of other supernatural beings that Olivia encounters, we have a lot of really great material that really stood out in my mind’s eye, horror wise. I also enjoyed the way that Wurth described and built up the aspect of Olivia’s paranormal investigations, and how we got to see a few of her clients and cases in action. I’ve been a huge fan of the concept of ghost hunting ever since I first saw “Ghostbusters” as a little girl, and I liked the lore and process that Wurth brought through in this story in regards to some of the cases. But the part of this book that stood out to me the most was how Wurth ties the concepts of trauma, generational or otherwise, to the story at hand, not only through Olivia’s family and the loss of her sister, but also through the exploration and connection to the Sand Creek Massacre, one of many horrendous acts of violence against Indigenous People by the United States Government. The chapters that follow the Massacre are devastating and the way that it intersects with the story at hand made it all the more emotionally powerful for me. I also really enjoyed Olivia as a character, with her snark and her scrappiness but also her vulnerability. She’s very easy to root for.

However, I did think that some of the pacing felt a little bit off, and that there was sometimes a bit TOO much stuffed into the story. We had some awkward transitions sometimes, and while parts of the story felt a bit slow, others felt rushed. In terms of overstuffing the story, I liked how we got to see different cultural themes brought into the book, but sometimes it felt like it was going a bit off track from the story that was laid out. For example, there was a piece of the puzzle involving a Golem and a Dybbuk Box and that didn’t feel like it was explored enough to have a solid reason to have it there (especially since the entire concept of a Dybbuk Box is based on a hoax and has perpetuated Jewish stereotypes and exploited Jewish folklore for modern sensationalistic ghost hunting motives; to be fair, though, Wurth does mention the original Dybbuk Box as a hoax). Especially when there were probably other ways that these puzzle pieces could have fit together that didn’t feel like we were getting off into the weeds.

So while this didn’t quite live up to my expectations, I still found “The Haunting of Room 904” to be an unsettling and very emotional ghost story, be the ghosts actual ghosts or the ghosts that still haunt American history.

Rating 7: Though it was a bit muddled at times, overall I found “The Haunting of Room 904” to be creepy, emotional, and a calling out of the way that atrocities of colonialism still haunt Native populations in America.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Haunting of Room 904” is included on the Goodreads lists “Indigenous Books 2025”, and “Horror to Look Forward to in 2025”.

Serena’s Review: “The Trouble with Anna”

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

Book: “The Trouble with Anna” by Rachel Griffiths

Publishing Info: Gallery Books, March 2025

Where Did I Get this Book:

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

Book Description: A tart young woman and an arrogant lord collide in this flirty, sexy, and remarkably modern historical romance, perfect for fans of Bridgerton.

Anna didn’t intend to ride in a high-stakes horse race or start up a betting ring. She certainly didn’t mean to find herself in so many darkened corners with Lord Julian Ramsay, quarreling and kissing. But when her grandfather’s strange will stipulates that Anna must marry or she’ll be left broke, there’s nothing she won’t do to win her fight for independence. Even go head-to-head with Lord Ramsay, with her own heart as the prize.

Review: It’s been awhile since I’ve delved back into the historical romance subgenre. It’s one that I have really loved at times and really struggled with at others. But this one also peaked my inner “horse girl” heart, so I thought it would be a great one to check out!

While it didn’t quite hit the way I wanted it to, there were still several strengths to be found. The author’s writing style was very approachable while also (mostly) reading as appropriate to the time period it was describing. While some of the dialogue walked right up to the line of modernity, the story was written in such a way that this sort of casual style of speaking between characters seemed to fit. It was very “Bridgerton” in this way. I often prefer books that adhere a bit more strictly to the language styles of the time, but I felt that this more casual approach worked here.

I also really enjoyed the parts of the book that focused on Anna’s love and deep knowledge of horses. Her character had a few other weak points, but she was at her best in all the scenes that had to do with her management of the horses and stables she’s hoping to protect. One of my favorite scenes was a small moment where Anna correctly comes down hard on Lord Ramsay when he undermines her authority in front of her employees. Again and again, we see that Anna knows what she’s talking about in this area, and Ramsay quickly comes to respect this about her. If things do go a bit in a wild direction as the story continued with this horse plot line, it was still fun enough to keep me reading.

I also liked the original set up between Anna and Lord Ramsay, with the use of the inheritance being tied to their marriage for reasons that neither of them understand. Unfortunately, the way that this romance played out was one of my primary struggle points (not a great thing for a romance novel!). Here, we had a good example of how hot/cold romances can go wrong. First, these two are written as uninterested in or intimidated by one another. Than they quickly fall into lust and spend several on and off page moments making out about it. Then of course there are troubles. Then more making out. Than a big rift. And of course, ultimately, the happily ever after.

Some of this is to be expected from romance (the equation with the 75% of the way through conflict before the happily every after is almost a given at this point). But I was particularly not sold on how quickly they went from strangers to making out early in the book. And, strangely, it was mostly make out scenes all around, many simply being referenced as having happened off page. Now, I don’t love books that are taken over by spice scenes typically and I definitely don’t need an incredible amount of focus on this. But this read as strangely PG, almost? Something just felt off here.

Overall, I thought this was a fun enough read, though it seemed to struggle the most in its depiction of the central couple’s romantic arc. The writing was compelling and fun, so I was able to whip through it quickly, so I think it will appeal to many readers. Especially those who are looking for less spicy options!

Rating 7: I enjoyed Anna herself quite a bit and her commitment to her horses and estate, however I struggled more with the romance, which is never great in, you know, a romance novel.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Trouble with Anna” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Must Love Horses.

Kate’s Review: “Fence, Vol. 5: Rise”

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Book: “Fence, Vol. 5: Rise” by C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad (Ill.)

Publishing Info: BOOM! Box, August 2022

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

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

Book Description: USA Today best-selling author C. S. Pacat (Captive Prince) and popular web cartoonist Johanna the Mad along with colorist Joana LaFuente (Transformers) and letterer Jim Campbell (Giant Days) reunite for the highly-anticipated next chapter in this fierce and heartfelt GLAAD Media Award-nominated series. Excitement is in the air as Nicholas and his friends celebrate their prestigious invitation to the Halverton Training Camp. They immediately come face-to-face with the best teams in the country, and Nicholas struggles as he suffers defeat after defeat by an old enemy. Will a new addition to the team bring Nicholas closer to the rest of the team and awaken the resilience within he needs to prevail? But Seiji, in contrast to Nicholas, remains unchallenged and let down by the camp. With Seiji’s goal to learn (instead of win) stuck in his head, will Nicholas step up to pose a real challenge to Seiji, even growing their friendship as a result?. Get ready to say “En Garde” to the next installment of Fence!

Review: It has been so long since I’ve revisited the fencers at King’s Row Boys School! Once I realized I hadn’t read the next installment in the “Fence” Series, I hastily requested “Fence, Vol. 5: Rise” from the library, more than ready to jump back into the world of high school fencing and all the slow burn drama that comes with it. Normally I like a slow burn, as well all know. But I will say that when it comes to “Fence”, I’m starting to get a little impatient…

But first I’ll start with that I enjoyed. I do like how Pacat is still really devoting time and explanation to fencing as a sport, and how we are seeing the ins and outs of the fencers and the kinds of competitions they engage within. In this volume we see Nicholas, Seiji, and all the rest of the team (as well as new team manager Bobby!) go to a prestigious training camp to hone their skills, alongside other top tier fencers in their competitive circles. It’s an interesting way to keep things going while also showing the kind of work and dedication elite athletes have to tend to even if they aren’t doing high stakes tournaments. We also get introduced to a few new characters, and while we don’t get to know them terribly well (And how could we? We already have so many characters to keep track of), we see enough of them that I got a feel for the different teams and how they gel with each other. And finally, I REALLY loved how Pacat found a way to bring in Bobby further into the story, as I think that Bobby is just the sweetest. I had been worried when he hadn’t made the team, as I was thinking that meant we wouldn’t be seeing as much of him anymore, but here he is in all his adorableness being able to be a part of the team while using his skills at being the best booster ever for his friends. Perfection!

But there are a couple of things that didn’t work as well, and I think that at this point I am just about done with the very slow pacing of this series. I know that for some people that means that they are waiting for Nicholas and Seiji to finally figure out their feelings for each other (or Aiden and Harvard, who are also lollygagging a bit in their will they or won’t they), but for me it’s about an actual confrontation between Nicholas and his half brother Jesse, who as far as we know doesn’t know that Nicholas exists. That has been a huge driving force for Nicholas in this series, to prove himself as a good athlete as a way to work out his abandonment issues regarding his father, with Jesse being the personification of that (as well as an arrogant prick, as far as this reader can tell). But I feel like it just keeps getting drawn out, and I’m starting to lose my patience. I like the technical aspects of this book when it comes to fencing as a sport and a skill, but I also want to get to some of the emotional pay offs that have been teased for quite awhile now.

ANY DAY NOW. (source)

At the end of the day I’m still invested in “Fence” and am interested to see where we are going next. But I would love it if we could move it along.

Rating 7: Another cute installment to this sports series, though I am getting a bit impatient waiting for some interaction between Nicholas and his half brother…

Reader’s Advisory:

“Fence, Vol. 5: Rise” is included on the Goodreads list “Books About Queer People In Sports”.

Serena’s Review: “Greenteeth”

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Book: “Greenteeth” by Molly O’Neill

Publishing Info: Orbit, February 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

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

Book Description: Beneath the still surface of a lake lurks a monster with needle sharp teeth. Hungry and ready to pounce.

Jenny Greenteeth has never spoken to a human before, but when a witch is thrown into her lake, something makes Jenny decide she’s worth saving. Temperance doesn’t know why her village has suddenly turned against her, only that it has something to do with the malevolent new pastor.

Though they have nothing in common, these two must band together on a magical quest to defeat the evil that threatens Jenny’s lake and Temperance’s family, as well as the very soul of Britain.

Review: This book was a bit of a roller-coaster ride as far as my experience reading it goes. It started off great, with one of my favorite aspects of the book coming to the forefront right away. That being the unique voice of Jenny Greenteeth. The first quarter of the story is fairly closely tied to Jenny’s own narration of what her life has been, what her unique perspective on morality entails, and various other points of interest. While not a lot of action is necessarily taking place, the strength of her narrative voice and unique perspective easily held my interest.

Unfortunately, things became a bit more complicated when our second main character was introduced, Temperance, a witch who had been condemned to death by drowning and tossed into Jenny’s lake. While Jenny’s own story had been unspooled through her interesting narration, Temperance seems to simply word-vomit her entire history in a few pages’ time. It was frankly a bit baffling, as the author had demonstrated a more subtle approach to storytelling before. But here, not only was all of Temperance’s story presented in the most info-dumping-manner possible, but it also threw me out of the story due to the simple fact that no one could possibly talk like this!

From there, it was a bit more of a struggle to become fully invested in the story once again. As I mentioned, the pacing itself is quite slow throughout. In the beginning, with the focus tightly drawn in on Jenny, this worked fine. But as the story continued, I began to struggle. This became especially difficult when the plot seemed to devolve into a string of fetch quests, each as predictable as the last. And to top it off, the story resolved in a way that was a bit predictable in the most disappointing way. I don’t want to spoil it, and there isn’t anything inherently wrong with the story going the way that it did. But I had been hopeful initially that the author was telling a more wholly unique tale, rather than tying it back into familiar source material.

Overall, this was an ok read. There was a lot of potential, especially with the strength of the narrator, but the pacing and plotting became muddled with a string of mundane side quests and resolved in a disappointingly predictable manner. This last point, especially, is particularly subjective, so other readers may appreciate what this book has to offer in this regard more than I did! I do think it’s worth checking out, however, based on Jenny herself.

Rating 7: Jenny herself was a fantastic narrator, but she was let down by lackluster side characters and side quests.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Greenteeth” can be found on this Goodreads list: Botanical and Horticultural Horror

Serena’s Review: “The Outcast Mage”

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Book: “The Outcast Mage” by Annabel Campbell

Publishing Info: Orbit, January 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 glass city of Amoria, magic is everything. And Naila, student at the city’s legendary academy, is running out of time to prove she can control hers. If she fails, she’ll be forced into exile, relegated to a life of persecution with the other magicless hollows. Or worse, be consumed by her own power.

When a tragic incident further threatens her place at the Academy, Naila is saved by Haelius Akana, the most powerful living mage. Finding Naila a kindred spirit, Haelius stakes his position at the Academy on teaching her to harness her abilities. But Haelius has many enemies, and they would love nothing more than to see Naila fail. Trapped in the deadly schemes of Amoria’s elite, Naila must dig deep to discover the truth of her powers or watch the city she loves descend into civil war.

For there is violence brewing on the wind, and greater powers at work. Ones who could use her powers for good… or destroy everything she’s ever known.

Review: I think this book will be one of those odd reads that really works for certain fantasy readers, but then fails to connects to a bunch of others. To start with, the book throws readers into the deep end of an entirely new fantasy world. I’m on the record as very much enjoying this approach to world-building in fantasy, but it’s also a big ask of many more casual readers. For the most part, this approach worked for me here as well. I was more than happy to go along with the story and characters slowly piecing things together as they came.

What didn’t work, however, was that further into the book we did start getting more overt details into these world-building portions. Unfortunately, they often came in long chunks of straight exposition and info-dumping. These larger bits of explanation also came fairly far into the story, meaning that for the readers who would appreciate the straight presentation of facts rather than the immersive nature of the beginning, there’s a decent chance they might have already put the book down by the point they show up.

I also ended up struggling to enjoy many of the characters in this book. For the pros, I very much enjoy mentor/mentee relationships, so I really liked the portions of the book that focused on these two characters. I will also say that there is very little to no romance in this book, so it’s a great option for readers who perhaps feel overwhelmed by the amount of romance in fantasy recently (not me, but I know these readers exist, haha!).

That said, there were simply too many POV characters in this book. I know that I personally have a fairly low bar for the number of characters I want to follow during a book. It typically tops out at around 3, and by far I prefer a single POV altogether. But here there were, I think, 5 or 6 different characters we followed. By necessity, some of those got more page time than others, which often directly influenced my interest in their various stories. However, the sheer overwhelming number of them ultimately decreased my ability to connect to any of them. Beyond that, as I read, it began to be hard to differentiate between them, leaving me unsure of whose story I was finding halfway through a chapter. Again, this is a very subjective take, and I know a lot of fantasy readers enjoy large casts of characters. But it didn’t work for me here.

So this was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the world that was introduced, but there were too many info dumps to make it smooth sailing. And I really like the focus on the mentor/mentee relationship, but there were too many other characters distracting from these two’s stories that I watered down the entire affair. I’ll likely stick around for the next book, as I’m definitely curious to see where the story goes from here.

Rating 7: A lot of potential and a strong central relationship was a bit hampered by shaky world-building and too many POVs to keep up with.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Outcast Mage” can be found on this Goodreads list: All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in January 2025.