Tag: Fantasy

Serena’s Review: “The Things Gods Break”

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

Book: “The Things Gods Break” by Abigail Owen

Publishing Info: Entangled: Red Tower Books, October 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: from the library!

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

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

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

Previously Reviewed: “The Games Gods Play”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Joint Review: “Mate”

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

Book: “Mate” by Ali Hazelwood

Publishing Info: Berkley, October 2025

Where Did We Get This Book: the library!

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

Book Description: Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey to the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left—if he’ll have her.

As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn’t matter if Serena doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe.

But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her—and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…

Previously Reviewed: “Bride”

Serena’s Thoughts

I deeply disliked this book. Part of the reason comes down to the natural comparisons to its predecessor, but some of it also includes a spoiler for the book. I think it’s a pretty obvious part of the story (a big part of the problem actually is how obvious it is), but I wanted to give people a heads up before they read on!

Anyways, so yes, I really, really didn’t enjoy this one. For one thing, I don’t think either Serena or Koen hold up well in comparison to Misery and Lowe. For her part, Serena was almost too similar to Misery to come across well. She felt like a non-stop snark fest from the start to finish, but somehow missing the heart that Misery brought to her wit. What’s worse, much of Serena’s character arc involved exploring some of her very damaged perceptions of self. Indeed, these themes were so strongly touched on in the first half of the book, that I was confidently waiting for the scenes where she was forced to confront these toxic views of herself. And I waited, and I waited, and nothing really came of it, except for more snark, of course.

As for Koen, the very first scene with him set him up in a fairly poor light, and it just never recovered. Beyond this initial poor impression, the story also included a series of flashbacks that also painted him a very negative light. The conflict that was set up in Koen and Serena’s relationship was incredibly contrived (and equally conveniently hand-waved away at the end) and easily explained between adults. Of course, it wasn’t. But beyond failing basic communication, Koen was unnecessarily cruel to Serena again and again. For absolutely zero reason. He only started behaving better late in the book, and by that point, my dislike had hardened pretty solidly.

I also really, really hated the romance itself. I’m not into the whole breeding kink as it is, but even if I was, I don’t think I would have enjoyed this version of it. For one thing, it boggles the mind that readers are expected to buy that not only one but TWO werewolf doctors failed to recognize the incredibly common condition of heat in a female werewolf and instead proclaimed her as dying of a super rare and unlikely condition. Perhaps there was meant to be some commentary on healthcare services and women, but if there was, it didn’t land.

Beyond this, from a love story perspective, the heat thing combined with the fated mates trope sucked the romance entirely out of the story for me. At no point did I feel any true connection between Koen and Serena. Instead, we had two characters who were biologically drawn to and tied to one another, and the story never did much to advance their relationship beyond this. Indeed, even by the time we got to the steamy bits (and there was much of this, though all crammed into the last quarter of the book, which hurt the pacing), it never felt like there was much of an impetus behind their coming together beyond these biological factors. As such, it felt like lots of steamy sex scenes, but no actual romance.

So yeah, I didn’t like this one. Perhaps if readers are fans of the fated mates trope and heat/breeding kinks, they might enjoy it more than me. But even those aspects aside, I think Koen and Serena were weak characters and the plot, for what there was, was all over the place and solidly an afterthought to the spice. This was a stark contrast to the first book, where we not only had solid leading characters, but a developed love story and a plot worth caring about.

Kate’s Thoughts

Okay, so…… I didn’t hate this book as much as Serena did. There were definitely things about it that I liked, and I will start with those because a few of said things I found to be pretty interesting. The biggest thing that I DID like was the way that Hazelwood brings in pack politics and dynamics, and the offshoot fringe group (led by a megalomaniac named Constantine) that had a huge run on power in the past that shook the Northwest Pack (the group that Koen leads) to its core, involving lots of violence, death, enslavement, and bad tensions between Weres and humans. Which has left a huge mark on the group as time has gone on. This kind of thing is always interesting to me, with cult stuff and fringe extremists catching my eye in basically anything I’m reading, watching, consuming. I enjoyed that aspect of the book (incredibly predictable plot reveals about it aside). And Serena’s (character) characterization didn’t bother me as much as it did Serena (blogger), as I’ve just kind of come to expect this from Hazelwood in many of her female main characters: they’re going to be quippy, they’re going to be cute, and they’re going to be hand wringing about their attraction to the guy they can’t believe they feel attracted to.

But generally, I do agree with a fair amount of the other stuff that she said at least a little bit (I do think that the misogyny in medicine leading to a crap diagnosis landed more than she did, but I also think that it was kind of ludicrous just as a plot device to lead to Koen’s magic dick banging it all out for our characters). I also really didn’t enjoy Koen as a male main character, as he is hostile and he is a huge jerk to her throughout a lot of the narrative. I get why it was happening within the narrative, but it was still just kind of a rough character to have to follow and root for romantically, especially since Hazelwood CAN write standoffish and conflicted male main characters that don’t feel like flat out assholes. I’m guessing that there is an audience for this kind of character in a exploring this type of dynamic through fantasy, and I’m not going to yuck anyone else’s yum in that regard because explore away! But it rarely clicks with me.

I also think that overall I just wasn’t as entertained by the story as other books that Hazelwood has written. And I do think that it’s because 1) I’m not really an Omegaverse reader (though I’m not against it, don’t misunderstand me), and 2) the characters just didn’t hit because of the lack of chemistry and the way I just couldn’t gel with Koen. Not to mention some predictability in the plot points. There is almost assuredly an audience for this book, but I was just kind of bored. I still appreciate Hazelwood exploring all sorts of sub-genres, but with the huge swath of story types they will almost certainly not all be winners for me. “Mate” fits into that category.

Serena’s Rating 4: I have a clear memory of coming up for air about halfway through and realizing that I was actively hate reading the book. As I continued, nothing swayed me from this perspective.

Kate’s Rating 5: I liked some of the lore, but the main plot at hand was just kinda middling for me.

Reader’s Advisory

“Mate” is included on these Goodreads lists: Gimme a Beast and (because I can) “Serena”.

Serena’s Review: “Children of Fallen Gods”

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

Book: “Children of Fallen Gods” by Carissa Broadbent

Publishing Info: Bramble, December 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Previously Reviewed: “Daughter of No Worlds”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Serena’s Review: “The Bookshop Below”

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

Book: “The Bookshop Below” by Georgia Summers

Publishing Info: Redhook, November 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

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

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

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

Publishing Info: Wednesday Books, October 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Serena’s Review: “The House Saphir”

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

Book: “The House Saphir” by Marissa Meyer

Publishing Info: Feiwel & Friends, November 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Serena’s Review: “Fallen City”

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

Book: “Fallen City” by Adrienne Young

Publishing Info: Saturday Books, November 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reader’s Advisory:

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

Serena’s Review: “Road of Bones”

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

Book: “The Road of Bones” by Demi Winters

Publishing Info: Delacorte Press, November 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Silla Nordvig is running for her life.

The Queen of Íseldur has sent warriors to bring Silla to Sunnavík, where death awaits her. When her father is killed, his last words set Silla on a perilous travel the treacherous Road of Bones–a thousand-mile stretch haunted by warbands, creatures of darkness, and a mysterious murderer–and go to Kopa, where a shield-house awaits her.

After barely surviving the first stretch of road, a desperate Silla sneaks into a supply wagon belonging to the notorious Bloodaxe Crew. To make it to Kopa, she must win over Axe Eyes, the brooding leader of the Crew, while avoiding the Wolf, his distractingly handsome right-hand man. But the queen’s ruthless assassin has other plans and hunts Silla obsessively.

Will Silla make it safely to Kopa? Or will she fall prey to the perils of the Road of Bones?

Review: I knew very little about this book when I picked it up this month other than the fact that it had been long neglected on my NetGalley backlist and maybe had something to do with Vikings? Turned out, I’d been sitting on a real winner! (The other side of this, of course, is that now I’m committed to a series that is already up to three books and seems to be continuing on!)

There was a lot to like about this one! For one thing, I always appreciate it when I pick up a fantasy romance that is written in third person and not the pervasive first person that has taken over the genre recently. Beyond that, the author included several POVs beyond Silla herself. We get into the heads of two of the men of the Bloodaxe Crew as well as see through the eyes of the ruthless woman hunting her down. This kind of variety not only lessens the weight of the high page count, but through it, the story and world were expanded in a way that pushed the narrative toward an epic-like feel. Always a good thing to see in a fantasy series that is setting out for a long-ish run!

Silla is the main character, however, and I really enjoyed her. There were a few secrets presented early in the story that are, perhaps, a bit predictable if you’re familiar with the conventions of the genre. But as the story doesn’t lean too heavily on these mysteries (or, indeed, even recognize them much as mysteries at all!), I was OK with a few easily anticipated twists. Beyond that, I enjoyed the fact that Silla was a rather unique leading lady, or at least unique to the sort we often see nowadays. She’s not a badass fighter. She’s not overly snarky. Instead, her strength lies in her persistence in the face of terrible odds and her courage when thrown into situations far above her pay grade.

There were also hints that Silla is being set up as the “sunshine” side of a potential “grumpy x sunshine” romance. And that being the case, I appreciated that the “sunniness” wasn’t overdone. She can be optimistic and have moments of pep, but she wasn’t foolish or silly, traits that all too often are mistaken for a “sunny” disposition.

I also enjoyed the other POVs we had. Both men were interesting, though I didn’t love even the bare strokes of a love triangle that was set up. Luckily, that wasn’t overly emphasized, and it ended up going in the direction I expected, which made it much more tolerable in the meantime. I also always love getting to see inside the head of the “villain” of the story and really appreciated that aspect of this book. Beyond adding greater complexity to the stakes, this character’s POV gave us even greater insights into some of the larger political dynamics going on.

For all of that, this is a long book. There was a lot of action in the first third of the book, but things did start to drag a bit toward the middle. This also coincided with some of my least favorite bits with the relationship dynamics between Silla and the two male leads. However, there was still enough going on (and I haven’t even touched on the other crew members of this little gang) that I didn’t get overly bogged down in the slower pacing.

In the end, I really enjoyed this one. All of the “reveals” at the end set up even greater stakes for the books to come, and I’m excited to see where all of our characters go from here!

Rating 8: A great start to a new fantasy series with an excellent cast of characters at its heart!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Road of Bones” can be found on this Goodreads list: Best Paranormal & Fantasy Romances.

Kate’s Review: “King Sorrow”

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

Book: “King Sorrow” by Joe Hill

Publishing Info: William Morrow, October 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC at ALAAC25

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

Book Description: Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters, exceptional library, and beautiful buildings. But his idyll—and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot—is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for comfort and help. Together they dream up a wild, fantastical scheme to free Arthur from the cruel trap in which he finds himself. Wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren suggests using the unnerving Crane journal (bound in the skin of its author) to summon a dragon to do their bidding. The others—brave, beautiful Alison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen—don’t hesitate to join Colin in an effort to smash reality and bring a creature of the impossible into our world.

But there’s nothing simple about dealing with dragons, and their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying bargain in which the six must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow every year—or become his next meal.

Review: Thank you to William Morrow for giving me an ARC of this novel at ALAAC25 and to Joe Hill for signing it!

Ever since I was a kid I have loved dragons. I think it was the dragon in “Sleeping Beauty” that really solidified my hyperfixation at 2 years old, I used to collect dragon figurines, and well into my adulthood I have just loved these creatures. Hell, my absolute devotion to Daenerys Targaryen on “Game of Thrones” even after she did the whole ‘burn King’s Landing to the ground’ thing probably had to do with the fact Targaryens have dragons. And of course “The Hobbit”‘s Smaug has always been a favorite. When I heard that Joe Hill’s newest novel (his first in nearly ten years!) “King Sorrow” had a dragon in it, I was already sold. I mean, it’s one of my favorite authors and one of my favorite magical creatures. And we had waited so long. Let me tell you right now: it was well, WELL worth the wait. And WHAT A DRAGON!

He’s beauty and he’s grace…. (source)

Hill takes the reader on an epic dark fantasy/horror journey in “King Sorrow”, following a group of friends who, in hopes of helping group member Arthur in an hour of desperate need (i.e. he is forced to steal books from his employer by a couple of low life drug dealers, or else his imprisoned mother will be hurt or even killed), summon a dragon named King Sorrow from a mystical book (part of the library collection Arthur has been caring for/stealing from) to dispose of his tormentors. The only issue is that King Sorrow will require a human sacrifice every year. The set up is classic fantasy, but the way that Hill approaches it combines coming of age, shifting friendship themes, trauma, connection, changing technology, and a broad scope of decades to create a masterpiece of dark fantasy/horror. We mostly focus on Arthur at first, but we also get the perspectives of the other friends in the group, whether it’s steadfast and empathetic Gwen, the rage filled and snide Donna, her twin Van who is far more lackadaisical but also addiction prone, the sweet but secretive Alison, or the confident and ambitious Colin. Hill takes his time exploring all of the characters, fleshing them out and giving them time to grow, changing motivations, and evolving connections as the power of King Sorrow either overwhelms or corrupts each of them as they all have to pick a sacrifice every year.

I loved the ethical explorations of this book as well, as many of them try to pick their sacrifices based on the potential for reducing harm and death, though more often than not things never quite work out they way they want them to. I loved seeing all of these characters go through their various journeys, especially Gwen and Arthur, and loved seeing some of them shift from well meaning to downright villainous due to the way that this kind of power will corrupt a person. They are such a well rounded group of characters with nuances, intricacies, and flaws, and I enjoyed all of them (even Donna, who basically represents everything I stand against in terms of her values).

And as for the horror and dark fantasy aspects of this book, it’s no shock that Hill nails every single theme and every single plot point. Not only do I love King Sorrow as a snarky and imposing villain (with a dark sense of humor to book), I also loved the other fantastical beats of this book, whether it’s magic books, literal trolls who then turn into Internet trolls, or magical objects like dragon tears. Hill puts a unique spin on the fantasy beats, and I found myself grinning from ear to ear one moment, then feeling my heart race as we jumped to an extended action or horror sequence. There is an entire extended sequence on a plane where a character is hoping to prevent disaster while other passengers are seeing King Sorrow bolting through the air outside their windows, and the intensity of this section was basically hovering around a 10 the entire time. I also just loved King Sorrow himself. At one point he is described to sound like Quint from “Jaws” and my GOD if that isn’t wholly inspired. He’s scary and menacing but also, at times, incredibly hilarious, and it just captures the essence of a smug and cruel dragon in the perfect way. Hill is truly at his best in this book when it comes to how he can meld horror, thriller, and fantasy together, and this truly feels like an opus. I was amazed that a book that is almost one thousand pages doesn’t feel like it has a wasted moment or page. It’s so well conceived and it kept me fully hooked until I turned the last page.

“King Sorrow” is phenomenal. A masterwork from Joe Hill, who already has so many masterworks to his name. I was completely blown away. This will surely be a top three read of the year for me.

And with that, Horrorpalooza 2025 comes to an end on the highest note possible. Thank you all so much for coming along on this horror based journey, and I hope that you all have a happy, safe, and spooky Halloween!!!

Rating 10: Simply brilliant. A masterwork. I absolutely loved every bit of it.

Reader’s Advisory:

“King Sorrow” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror Books 2025”.

Serena’s Review: “The Everlasting”

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

Book: “The Everlasting” by Alix E. Harrow

Publishing Info: Tor Books, October 2025

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

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

Book Description: Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters―but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.

Centuries later, Owen Mallory―failed soldier, struggling scholar―falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives―and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.

But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend―if they want to tell a different story–they’ll have to rewrite history itself.

Review:I got to meet Alix Harrow at ALA, which was incredibly fun all on its own. But as anyone knows who’s been to a convention, much of your time is spent standing in line. That being the case, I got to overhear her conversations with many other readers in the same line as me, and they all went along a similar line: the reader would come up and wax poetic about their love for Starling House and how excited they were for her new books; Alix Harrow would begin to look more and more nervous and then say something like this at the very end, “…well, the next one is a VERY different book, but I hope you like it..!!” I wasn’t too concerned, as I’ve loved everything I’ve read by her so far. But after picking this one up, I can understand why she was concerned. For, readers, this book is written in a combination of first- and second-person perspective! And I loved it!

The really funny thing about this is that right before I started reading this one, I was talking to my husband about how I thought that first person was one of the most difficult perspectives to write from and that I’d only read one book/series EVER that had pulled off second person (N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy). And then I picked up this one and had to eat my words! The biggest concern with this sort of thing is that it could come across as a gimmick. But, wisely, Harrow created the perfect story for this format, with the plot and themes of the story directly tied to the reason the story is told the way it is. I don’t want to go into too many spoilers, but not only did these perspectives not distract from the reading experience, they greatly enhanced the emotional impact of what was going on in the story.

Time travel is another tricky concept to pull off, and I think Harrow does an excellent job exploring different ways to use this device without getting too bogged down in technicalities. Whenever I felt myself getting too caught up on details, I was hit with another massive twist or emotional gut punch, of the sort that I quickly forgot any questions I may have had. By the end, I feel like everything was neatly tied together in a way that left all of my most pressing questions answered.

As for characters, there are three main characters in the book: Owen, the scholar; Una, the knight; and the primary villain. Each of these three was fantastic. We probably spend the most time in Owen’s head, and his story explored themes of courage, heritage, and history. Una, however, was probably my favorite, with her complicated, tragic story that only becomes more so as the book progresses. Her life is tightly bound by duty, loyalty, and sacrifice, and the discovery of a love that doesn’t ask anything of her shakes her world. I don’t want to discuss the villain too much, but there were so many fascinating layers here as well. By the end, I both despised and sympathized with this character, as misled and terrible as they ultimately turned out to be.

This book is a work of art; there’s no other way to say it. It’s like a perfectly tuned machine, with every aspect working together perfectly: theme, format, voice, and characters. While Harrow is correct that this book is very different from Starling House, I think she failed to account for a simple fact: readers will follow a talented author through any narrative device in pursuit of an excellent story. And such was the case here.

Rating 10: Nothing less than a work of art, and The Everlasting is a masterpiece!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Everlasting” can be found on these Goodreads lists: My favorite Medieval Fantasy novels and All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in October 2025.