Meryn struggles to take care of her family in the slums. When her little sister is kidnapped and taken across the border by the immortal monsters her country has been fighting for centuries, she enlists in the army. She’s determined to head to the front, slip across the border and rescue her sister. What she didn’t anticipate was having to participate in the deadly Bonded Trials, the test to bond with a direwolf.
Continue reading “Dire Bound (The Rules of Ruin, #1) by Sable Sorensen”
Wow! I’m not a big fan of retellings but this book sucked me in right at the beginning and took me on a wild ride! The story starts with the same premise as the original with Dorothy landing in Oz and setting off on the yellow brick road. I listened to the book and I highly recommend you do the same. The full cast narration was incredible and created an immersive experience as I listened.
Continue reading “West of Wicked (The Great and Terrible Land, #1) by Nikki St. Crowe”
This was a sweet, cozy, queer romance. Oaklin Nettlewood accidentally joined an evil world-ending cult and mind control magic forced them to do unspeakable things. After the heroes crushed the cult and broke the curse, Oaklin is left with holes in their memory and a bucketload of trauma. Oaklin swears never to use magic again and they move to a small farm on the edge of Mossley’s Rest. But the no-nonsense ghost granny who lives in Oaklin’s house won’t stand for it. She slowly coaxes Oaklin back into the world and they slowly form a found family that helps them start to heal. Oaklin even begins to quietly help the residents of Mossley’s Rest, endearing them to the residents. So when an inquisitor comes to town to hunt former cultists, Oaklin is ready to run. What they didn’t expect was the town to work together to protect them.
Continue reading “Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous by Autumn K. England”
This book is so darn cute!! I’ve never read this author before and so my expectations were low, but this book blew me away. I love it when that happens!
Continue reading “Daggerbound (Swordheart #2) by T. Kingfisher”
This was a fast-paced, action packed romantasy that kept my attention. The world is complicated and although there is some worldbuilding at the beginning, I found myself still confused about the structure of the society and the magic system. Hopefully things will become clearer in the next book.
Continue reading “This Wretched Alchemy (Ruinous Fate Saga, #1) by Tina Mars”
This is a YA dystopian romantasy that combines a deadly game with a dating show. We have the typical power dynamic where a powerful ruler surrounds himself with sycophants who live a privileged life. In this world they are the only people allowed to touch another person and fall in love. All others live in squalor with no hope of improving their lives. That is, until the ruler announces the Tournament of Hearts. The winning couple become highborn citizens with all the privileges that come with it. Our FMC Axira is a lowborn smuggler that gets into a sticky situation and makes a deal with the MMC Prince Caelus to enter the tournament to steal something for him. On the day the trials start, Caelus enters the tournament at his father’s command.
Continue reading “The Heart Trials by J. Elle”
I really like dark academia books with unique magic systems so was excited to read this book. The magic system here is definitely unique where magic users can manipulate different elements. Norah is our FMC and she can manipulate probability. When magic users use their magic, however, it can draw possibility beasts whose bites are deadly. When her father is bitten and his health quickly deteriorates, she joins the academy to follow a rumor that a cure can be found there. When she finds out that only senior research assistants are allowed in the archives—and you can only become one by winning a team trial designed to push your navigation abilities to the brink, Norah reluctantly joins a team.
Continue reading “Flickerstate by F. A. Davidson”
This is a slow burn Gilded Age book that combines mystery, magic, and romance. Vesper is a young, ambitious journalist with the failing Basalton Globe. The book opens with her attending a society gala with the hopes of interviewing an inventor introducing this recent magical invention. Vesper resents Basalton high society who use sorcery to fuel their luxurious lifestyles rather than help those less fortunate. Vesper briefly interviews the inventor, however a brief time later finds him dead in the garden. Two men are the police’s main suspects, with the prime suspect being industrialist Maximilian Kite.
Continue reading “Hawk & Sparrow by Ayana Gray”
This book was so freaking cute!! A book about dragon veterinarians? At a dragon sanctuary? Yes, please!! Farren, the FMC, is attending the dragon academy so she can be a dragon vet like her father. She is a “lowly” copper crafter in their magic system. She is not popular and is teased by her classmates. James, the MMC, comes from a rich silver crafting family and is snobby and arrogant, and more importantly, Farren’s main competition for a college scholarship.
Continue reading “When Dealing With Dragons by Dana Swift”
