Tag: Young Adult

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Book: “The Gods Time Forgot” by Kelsie Sheridan Gonzalez

Publishing Info: Alcove Press, April 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

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

Book Description: Manhattan, 1870. Rua knows only two things: her name, and that she has no memories. So when the wealthy Harrington family mistakes Rua for their missing daughter, Emma, Rua goes along with the charade, hoping for answers about who she really is. As she tries to blend into a society she doesn’t remember, she’s drawn to a firmly off-limits the Lord of Donore, a newcomer to Manhattan society who is somehow familiar to Rua.

Finn is new to this side of the Atlantic and knows that the best way to fit in as Lord of Donore is to make friends in high places and play by the rules of society. He knows he shouldn’t become involved with a mysterious, recently missing debutante, but he’s intrigued by Emma Harrington, and Finn has an uncanny feeling that this isn’t the first time they’ve met. 

With societal pressures mounting on both sides, Rua is determined to discover the truth about the missing Harrington daughter and her own past. But when her memories begin to return, they’re of a world far stranger than New York and traced in dark magic.

As ancient secrets unfurl in Rua’s memory, Rua and Finn are forced to uncover the mystery of their past and try to save their future. In this gritty and glittering romantasy, nothing and no one is as they seem.

Review: Looking back on my reading experience of this book and what I think will likely happen for other readers as well, I keep coming back to “expectations vs. reality.” No one is done any favors when a book is set up as one thing, but then turns out to be very different. There are two primary areas where this happened: the marketing of this book’s genre and the book summary’s explanation of the romance.

So, first off, the genre expectations. This is marketed as a romantasy title. As we discussed in my subgenres post from a few weeks ago, this would mean the book is first and foremost a romance novel but situated within a fantasy setting. Now, the summary does explain that this book is also set in a particular point in history, so it can only be expected that an exploration of life in this place and time will make up a portion of the book. The problem here is that this actually took up the majority of the book! I got over the half way mark in this book before even remembering that this had been promoted as a romantasy…and other than a few throwaway lines here or there, there had been zero actual fantasy elements involved. I enjoy historical fiction, so it’s perhaps not surprising that I got as far as I did before this became apparent. But for readers who go in with the expectation of a romantsy novel, I think there will be disappointment.

Even on the historical front, I did struggle to really enjoy this book. There were a lot of ball room scenes and society scenes that simply began to feel repetitive, with many people behaving as the worst versions of characters from Bridgerton. Not only these settings, but the fact that every single time, these events would result in Rua making some “shocking” statements about how messed up all of these restrictions were. But more often than not, it just came across as Rua saying the most brain-numbingly obvious fact in the most abrasive manner possible. I think there are ways to write characters who defy societal expectations and thus draw attention to its flaws, but Rua was like a bull in a China shop in all of the worst ways.

The second problem came down to the romance and, again, how it is marketed in the book summary. As you can see above, the summary clearly pairs Rua with a character named Finn. Several paragraphs give us a brief overlay of their story together. But then I picked up this book and discovered, oh wait, it’s another love triangle and a character named Annette (who is NOWHERE TO BE SEEN in the book summary) is going to play a role in the romance. Again, poorly managed expectations don’t benefit anyone! Some readers really enjoy love triangles, but looking at this book description, they’d have no idea that this was a straightforward MF love story. Conversely, other readers (like me) don’t enjoy love triangles and try to avoid them. I know myself well enough to know that almost all love triangles set back my reading experiences fairly significantly, so I try to avoid requesting/reviewing those titles, as I don’t love writing critical reviews, especially when I know this aspect of it is totally subjective.

The story also struggles with its pacing. As I said above, the first half to 75% is largely focused on Rua’s experiences living in this society. But then the last quarter is a mad whirlwind, trying to wrap up all of the plotlines. It is here, too, where the fantasy elements finally really show up.

All of this to say, this book wasn’t for me, but that’s because I wasn’t the correct reader for it! (Well, I could get behind the historical stuff, but I just wasn’t expecting it as much when I went in.) I think there are readers out there who will enjoy this one, but I do think it would have been in this book’s best interest to be more straightforward about the romance tropes at its heart as well as the primary genre focus of the story.

Rating 6: Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me. There was less fantasy than I was expecting, and I felt blindsided by yet another love triangle.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Gods Time Forgot” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Victorian Fantasy and 2025 Debut Novels.

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

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).

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

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.

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

Book: “A Harvest of Hearts” by Andrea Eames

Publishing Info: Erewhon 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: Before Foss Butcher was Snagged, she thought no more of the magic-users than did anyone else in her tiny village. Sometimes gorgeous women in impossible carriages rolled into town and took bits of people’s hearts. Everyone knew hearts fueled their magic. But Foss, plain, clumsy, and practical as a boot, never expected anyone would want hers.

True enough, when the only sorcerer in the kingdom stepped from his glossy carriage, he didn’t intend to hook Foss. Sylvester’s riot of black curls and perfectly etched cheekbones caught her eye a moment too long, that was all. Suddenly, Foss is cursed and finds herself stomping toward the grand City to keep his enchanted House, where her only friend is a talking cat and the walls themselves have moods.

But as Foss learns the ways of magic, she realizes she’s far from its only unwilling captive. Even Sylvester is hemmed in by spells and threats. It’s said this sorcery protects king, country, and order for thousands. If Foss wants to free herself—and, perhaps, Sylvester—she’ll have to confront it all . . . and uncover the blight nestled in the heart of the kingdom itself.

Review: I had high hopes for this book based on the unique-sounding summary (plus, who can say no to a cover with an adorable cat silhouette?). Unfortunately, this one started out a bit rough and then never quite recovered. I will talk about some of the good things first though. And primarily among those is the creativity at the heart of the this story. The idea of sorcerers who casually roll through villages and suck up parts of peoples’ hearts to gain power? Super interesting! This book has also been compared to “Howl’s Moving Castle,” and as I don’t think this fully works, there were aspects of the writing that did strike a similar note. Moments of whimsy and small interactions between Foss and Sylvester, some of these did have a certain “Howl’s” vibe to them.

However, for the most part, I didn’t connect with this book. It didn’t start off on a good note, with the very first chapter being essentially a big info-dump from the main character. It was paragraph after paragraph of basic facts about this world. This was made worse by some of the inconsistencies with the writing style for the voice of the main character. She’s meant to be have had a simple upbringing, which the author demonstrated with attempts at “folksy” language. But then some of the exposition would completely conflict with this character style, with Foss conveying information to the reader that it doesn’t seem like she would know (always a challenge with this POV style of writing, but the challenge in and of itself doesn’t excuse the error). Beyond that, this manner of introducing a world and magic system was simply clumsy, at best. From this rocky start, the pacing continued to be a problem, with large lulls happening throughout.

I also struggled to enjoy Foss as a character. I appreciate what the author was attempting to do, creating a character who struggles with self-esteem and self-perception. However, the actual execution of this was, again, very clumsy. Foss would bemoan her own looks and her expectations for a loveless future to such a degree that it felt like she was hitting readers over the head with it. And, from what the reader is given, none of these fears seem based in reality. Yes, people often struggle to view themselves as others do, and this is a believable problem. But the degree to which Foss focused on this aspect of herself was over the top and began to overwhelm any other characteristics she brought to the table.

I was also supremely uninvested in the romance. There wasn’t anything overtly bad here, but Sebastian was such a nothing character that, combined with my struggles with Foss’s self-talk, I couldn’t become invested in their love story. Perhaps others will appreciate these characters more than I did. I think each started with some interesting groundwork, but the story failed to realize them as fully-fleshed out characters.

Overall, this was a very underwhelming read. There were brief moments of light and I think the author could come into her own with future projects. But as it stands now, this book felt underdeveloped with fairly weak characters. Perhaps those fully dedicated to the cozy fantasy subgenre may find this one more appealing than I did, and I’m sure there are readers out there who will enjoy it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t me.

Rating 6: There were some creative ideas at the heart of this story, but weak characters and choppy pacing left me struggling to get through this one.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Harvest of Hearts” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Realistic Hearts and 2025 Cozy Fantasy Romance.

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

Book: “The Otherwhere Post” by Emily J. Taylor

Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, February 2025

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

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

Book Description: Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father’s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.

Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words: Your father was innocent.

To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she’ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father’s past draws more attention than she’d planned.

Her secretive, infuriatingly handsome mentor knows she’s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. For Maeve to unravel the mystery of what happened seven years ago, she may have to forfeit her life.

Review: It’s been quite a while since I read Emily J. Taylor’s debut novel, “Hotel Magnifique,” but I do clearly remember liking it. So I was excited to see that she was releasing another YA fantasy novel! And I ended up liking this one even more than the first!

There are many things to praise, but I’ll start with the writing quality and the world-building first of all. Taylor writes in a clear, confident tone that easily draws readers into her fantastical world while also centering us around the characters and their own personal stakes. The serious nature of Maeve’s situation was clearly conveyed, while the transition towards more comedic or romantic moments was smooth and natural.

As for the worldbuilding, any time an author attempts to create a secondary fantasy world, there’s a risk of falling into info-dumping holes or unnatural dialogue used as exposition. Not so here. Instead, we are slowly introduced this world, its history, and its magical systems. The nature of the magic was incredibly interesting, and I enjoyed the way additional layers were papered upon the original concept as the story progressed. Beyond this, the history of this world is incredibly important to the story, and as Maeve is attempting to work through the mystery of her father’s life and death, she begins to uncover truths about her world as well. By the end, the magic system and the world itself have been built up by leaps and bounds from the foundations that the book starts with. And then, the bow on top, these are woven together for some great reveals in the very end.

Of course, none of this would work if Maeve herself hadn’t been an excellent character. From the start, her perspective and motives are clearly established, and as she works through the mysteries before her, she never loses sight of what is most important. Further, due to the secretive nature of her childhood, she’s incredibly distrustful, struggling to open up to others well past the point when others would feel secure. I appreciated that this aspect of her nature was so firmly established, even when it worked against Maeve’s own best interests.

I also really enjoyed the romantic subplot. There was a moment early in the book where I was concerned the book was going to go in one direction (I personally struggle a lot with books that hold on too long to secret identities), but luckily it jagged at the last minute. Even with certain secrets revealed, this was still a slowburn romance as these two slowly began to open up to one another with their own various secrets. They had excellent chemistry with each other throughout, however, which made all of their interactions a pleasure to read.

I ended up loving this book! There were several incredibly fresh fantasy elements included and, best of all, Maeve was written as a fully-fleshed out, complex YA heroine, something that I seem to have a harder and harder time finding recently. If you’re looking for a YA fantasy novel to restore your faith in the genre and that it’s still a good fit for you, than this is definitely one to check out!

Rating 9: Breathtaking in its creativity and incredible character work; I especially enjoyed the fantastic main character and the slowburn romance.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Otherwhere Post” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Novels of 2025 and 2025 YA Romantasy Releases.

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

Book: “The Blood Orchid” by Kylie Lee Baker

Publishing Info: HarperCollins, October 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: from the library!

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

Book Description: Since Zilan entered the world of royal alchemists, she has learned that alchemy comes at a price. She has lost loved ones in her search for broader justice against the evil Empress and all she wants now is to find some way to bring them back. Resurrection is her specialty, after all.

In search of the myth of Penglai Island, where it’s rumored life can be fully restored, Zilan starts a new adventure. But when old threats come back to haunt her and the path to Penglai Island means facing down unpredictable, sometimes dangerous, alchemists, she wonders just how high of a price she may be willing to pay.

Previously Reviewed: “The Blood Alchemist”

Review: It’s always nice to jump quickly from a first book in a duology straight into the second. And it was especially useful here, as “The Blood Alchemist” set up a fairly intricate world and complex magical system. Further, this book picks up directly after the events of the first, so I benefited from having those plot lines firmly in my head when I started up this one.

This book is largely made of up a quest by our main characters in search of the mythical Penglai Island, a place so powerful they hope it will solve the ongoing threat of the Empress. Through these explorations, the lore of this world was greatly expanded upon, introducing powerful new uses for alchemy, some to detrimental effect. We also got to spend more time in the limbo-esque afterlife, with Zilan desperately trying to cling to those she loves, both in the land of the living and the dead.

The pacing was quite action-packed, moving quickly from one dangerous alchemist to another. I really enjoyed these little side quests that were sprinkled throughout to tie together the larger quest. However, from a broader view, there were a few of these that felt rather convenient. Penglai Island has been lost (or rumored to not exist at all) for ages, and yet Zilan and co. seem to almost stumble into the answers they need by chance. As I was having so much fun with the story, this didn’t bother me overly much. But the convenience of some of these plotlines was a bit too obvious to completely ignore.

I also really enjoyed the characters, once again. Zilan, of course, was as excellent as always. However, if you had asked which characters I had least interest in spending prolonged time with in this book, I would have answered with her brother and her bully rival from alchemy classes. And well, what do you know? Those two end up being her primary travelling companions and each brought excellent flavor to the story! Through Wenshu, the author continued her excellent exploration of the complicated nature between siblings. Here, Wenshu and Zilan must deal with the repercussions of her choice at the end of the last book; that is, her decision to save Wenshu instead of Hong. A simple choice that reveals numerous insecurities and challenges on both sides. We also see a redemption arc for Zheng, the character I never knew I needed more of! In a surprising turn, this is the character that added the necessary comic relief to a book that, at times, could have been too tragic and dark.

Unfortunately, while the focus on Wenshu and Sheng was an unexpected high point, we didn’t see much of Hong in this book. On one hand, that makes sense. The guy is dead, after all. We get a few scenes sprinkled throughout as Zilan works to keep her hold on his spirit until she can revive him, but I still ended up missing the lovely dynamic we had between these two in the first book. By the end, I was happy with the way things resolved, but I do wish we had gotten a bit more here.

Overall, this was an excellent conclusion to the duology. The overall conflict was wrapped up in a truly creative and unique way, and one that felt earned with various pieces of the foundation being carefully laid here and in the previous book. If you’re looking for a well-written, well-rounded, unique YA fantasy duology, I highly recommend this one!

Rating 8: Expanded world-building, excellent side characters, and a satisfying conclusion! My romance-loving heart felt a bit deprived on the Hong front, but otherwise, this was a great read!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Blood Orchid” can be found on this Goodreads list: Best books of October, 2024