Between Tides and Thunder

At least your fear was one truth.

Available at Amazon.com

Between Tides and Thunder
Leena Kazak
ebook, 496 pages
Published March 31, 2026
ASIN B0G4RDHHQZ
ISBN 9798991767477


She was raised to hate him. Now she shares his bed.

Princess Mayah of Tundrayn isn’t allowed to want. Not freedom. Not love. Not even her own future. Instead, she’s spent her life healing others’ pain and swallowing her own. But when her father strikes a fragile alliance with enemy-kingdom Arbinj to crush a rising rebellion, she is bartered into a marriage she didn’t choose for a crown she doesn’t want.

She expects a prince. She gets the Dark Commander.

Zevayr is ruthless, unyielding, and a stormwielder with a reputation soaked in blood. He is everything Mayah was taught to fear. Yet as they race across rebel-torn lands, the less certain she is of where the monster ends and where the man begins.

In Arbinj’s glittering courts, the Rebellion surges and dangerous secrets stir from Mayah’s past—secrets that could shatter her kingdom, and her heart, if she lets them.

The question is not if Mayah will betray, but who: her people, her love, or herself?

Mayah is both a princess and a healer. Her people have long waged war with those of Arbinj in a world where the blessed are given the ability to wield powers over forces such as water, earth, heart, storms, and so on. Those lacking such gifts are referred to as Commons in Mayah's land. A slur for the lesser citizens of Tundrayn, a land of ice and snow.

Food is rationed. Citizens are ranked. And those unwielders will go without so that their betters can continue the fight.

Mayah is selfless in her plight to heal the wounded. Wielders and unwielders alike. And when she's worn herself into exhaustion, it's with Daak she finds her rest. He's her friend, her trainer, and her lover. Or, as much of a lover as he can. For Mayah's been promised in marriage to the crown prince of Arbinj and her chastity is demanded as his bride to be.

The Dark Commander.

This man opened his mouth and from there, I could not put this book down.

Zevayr, second born son and commander of the Arbinji army, is not her betrothed but is sent to stand in for Faramir in the betrothal ceremony and escort her to her husband.

Upon their first meeting Mayah chastises him only to follow it up with defying him, headbashing him, and promptly slapping him.

Daak was right. She's a tidesdamned force of nature.

Every time Zev opened his mouth, I swooned. He apologized. He bent the knee. He was her shield. Her warmth in the cold. Her comfort in the storm. He assuaged her fears and empathised with her pain. Struggled to keep his thoughts from being spoken, but willingly shared the parts of himself that he could.

Zev is top tier.

They travel for weeks and arrive only to be told that plans have changed. Faramir will marry the princess of Volca and Mayah is betrothed to Zevayr.

The wedding?

"Tomorrow," Zev insists. Tomorrow.

Easy, right? Too damn easy.

But they wed and all seems to be going splendidly, but... Mayah's holding back. She won't consummate the marriage.

Then the trauma of Metal Slinger begins to tickle my brain. And the foreshadowing begins to drip from the pages.

"Because I have to."

“There’s nothing I hate more than a liar.”

A few weeks is all it takes for the first plot twist to drop.

It's unexpected. There's a brutal reveal. And the story veers from there with death after death. Torture and hate and so much spiralling.

At one point or another, Mayah has managed to betray every character that matters.

RIP Daak. Sorry, ...not sorry? The guy that always pulled away didn't stay away. It was magnificent and I may have cheered Zev on despite the emotional damage it inflicted on dear Mayah.

Dear traitorous Mayah.

"If you attack me,” he murmurs, his voice a silky threat, “I will kill you. If you betray me, I will kill you. And if you try to run…” His gaze drops to my lips before he drags it back up. He reaches for my cheek—then grabs my jaw instead. “I’ll let you go.”

Second plot twist. Third. Fourth. Her mother. His mother. Rebels everywhere.

You want an emotionally and physically tortured MMC? Look no further.

Absolutely will be reading the companion book, Between Sky and Sea, for Zev's POV. Must know what else he was doing with that hidden secondary power. Side note: Much prefer Vayru.

5 out of 5 stars. The best closed door spice I've ever read.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback

Companion Book: (MMC POV)

2026/28

Starfire's Heir (The Soul of Serentyn #1)

There is a this.

Available at Amazon.com

Starfire's Heir
Megan Phillips
The Soul of Serentyn, book one
ebook, 564 pages
paperback, 564
Published June 23, 2026
ASIN B0G6WHHVZ3
ISBN 9798993030623
ARC


Destiny called her. He awoke her.

Lexa Andrever has always believed she was nothing more than a farm girl. But when a stranger reveals she is the lost heir of a distant realm, Lexa discovers she alone stands between the kingdom and the deathly darkness pressing at its borders.

Written into an unsettling prophecy, carrying a responsibility she never sought, Lexa sets off for her homeland with Griff Narvene, the warrior sworn to protect her. As she grapples with her new role as prophesied savior, the inscrutable soldier stirs something deep within...

To keep the shadows at bay, Lexa must harness the powers of her birthright to protect the people and home that demand her duty. With the fate of the kingdom—and a fragile new love—at stake, can she survive long enough to save them both?

Starfire’s Heir is the first book in The Soul of Serentyn trilogy—perfect for fans of fated mates, found family, and slow-burn romance woven through sweeping fantasy adventure.

For those who love a fiery, spirited leading lady, very much sheltered and immature, but with all the room in the world to grow, this may be a story for you.

No spoilers, but perhaps too much information for some.

I am not a person that responds positively to naive and rebellious characters that are constantly praised despite having no control over their powers and zero achievements to their name.

Lexa frustrated me to the core. Her ignorance had its own personal vendetta against my nerves.

She didn't know it was dangerous. I facepalmed so hard it left a bruise.

Her people are tormented, hunted, and dying, and she's spending most of her energy basically playing He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not in her head.

Zachary. You could not make me hate him. He's probably the character I connected with the most. Ruling as regent over a kingdom that has been at war with a phantom enemy for decades, they're still no wiser on how to attain victory than when they started. His mate has abandoned him. His children are dead. I'd be angry and desperate, too. His feelings of impotence and recklessness in such a scenario are valid.

A prophecy is all they have. And it's a prophecy that has been meticulously edited to the point that it's meaningless. In part by the regent's own daughter!

Finn. This man needs to be reacquainted with the concept of personal space and boundaries. The immediate first-name basis of addressing her and the constant touching? No. Just no.

Griff. The calm and controlled white knight. The nice guy. Ever loyal. Ever true. But when he let his temper flare, that is when I was the most invested in him.

Violet. I adored her. And I would dive head-first into her story and that of the Wraith. The what, the why, the mental processing that backed her decision-making... I'm here for it.

Chapter 32 had me near tears. And it was there that I found my turning point for this book. Everything that flowed after was exactly what I wanted and where I wanted to be.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback (The New Romantics) | Special Edition Hardcover (The Crafty Bookstore)

2026/27

The Binding (Heirs of the Shattered Veil #3)

I am yours, Little Fox.
Completely. Untouched. Yours.

Available from the Author

The Binding
Celeanne Dorrington
Heirs of the Shattered Veil, book three
ebook, 429 pages
Published May 1, 2026
ARC


The day the Veil shattered, the world broke—and every soul was marked. Every fae now bears a soulmark. Luminar or Shadowmarked. Revered or enslaved.
But our fae heroine was born with both.
And he was forged to destroy her.
Some say their bond is prophecy.
Others call it a curse.
Either way—if it completes, it could end the war…
or end the realm.

Dark fae trilogy, Real enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, fated mates, morally gray, the chosen one, found family, and level 3 spice but with deep themes and epic fantasy world.

I survived the ending of book two, and Chapter 8 of The Binding was my reward.

Kill the king. Heal the Veil. And more than anything else, save the scribe.

We have arrived to the final battle, a rather epic conclusion teeming with that Winter Is Coming vibe and the long anticipated moment when the Rupture and the Crownforged accept their prophesied fates.

What I loved: This is a found family where everyone manages to save themselves and each other. Some of the best scenes were where this group of 'strategic allies' just existed in one another's space. Bonding. Healing. Surviving. Together.

And, other than Chapter 8, my most adored scene was in the midst of the plotting of their attack as Amaria and Eryndor moved in tandem with one another over the battle maps. Mirrored in action and thought, complementing each other inside and out. A fated pair at its best.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook from the author | paperback (Amazon)

Previously in the series:

2026/26

Resonance (Soulren #1)

My name... Say it when you break.

Available at Amazon.com

Resonance
Ketley Allison
Soulren, book one
ebook, 556 pages
Published April 23, 2026
ASIN B0GLHVV7MP
ISBN 9798246935446


I did two things I can't take I raised my cat from the dead, and I killed the boy who saw me do it.

Necromancy is forbidden. Erased from history. The kind of magic that gets you hunted by the Academy's best, Elite Soulren who've spent decades killing anything that threatens their power.

Falcen Reaves finds me, anyway.

He's cursed, ruthless, and supposed to drag me to the Academy to be broken or destroyed like every other late awakener before me.

Instead, he keeps me alive. Trains me. Watches me with a cruelty that feels like hunger.

Because my power isn't normal. There's something inside me, ancient, violent, and growing stronger every time I consume a soul.

It recognizes him. His curse. The darkness he's drowning in.

And gods help me, I want him despite it all.

Every training session becomes more dangerous. His control is slipping. So is mine. We're bound by a curse neither of us understands, a pull between souls that shouldn't exist, and a hunger that matches violence for violence.

He's my captor. My teacher. The only person who knows what I am.

And the bond between us might kill us both.

Resonance is a dark romantasy drenched in soul-magic, deadly trials, and a love forged in blood and Void. Perfect for fans of morally gray heroes and heroines who refuse to be broken.

TROPES:
Morally Grey MMC
Touch Her and Die (Literally. He will consume your soul).
Captor/Captive
Bad Boy/Good Girl
Black Cat Heroine
Boy Falls First
Close Proximity
Fated Mates
Dark Academia
Grumpy/Sunshine
Guarded Hearts
Loathe to Love
Guardian Ward
Kidnapped
Power Imbalance

Boy Falls First?

Our leading lady is heavily in the thralls of lust from the moment she lays eyes on the MMC, but he falls first? Okay, we'll go with that.

(Plot twist: He fell first.)

This is not a book for those that need to consult trigger warning pages when it comes to dominant males or abuse. This is deliciously dark. The MMC is not gentle. He is not soft. He will command her. He will harm her. He will strive to break her, because it is his duty and if he doesn't, the Academy will.

Their first kiss was a bit of mess. It felt like something was edited out. Something vital: the actual kiss. One moment he's pulling her against him and in the next his tongue is darting into her mouth. Immediate reread of the situation and all I could envision was some kind of serpentine creature molesting her face and groin. I'm not certain how that made it past the editor. Not certain how a number of instances (grammatical, factual, etc) made it through the final edit actually.

And I was this close to turning the word 'sternum' into part of a drinking game.

Adored Verily. A leading lady that continuously left me flabbergasted. Where every other chapter is either Girl, what are you doing? or Are you for real right now?!.

Woman is being accused of screwing an Elite for special treatment one minute and we've barely turned a cheek before, in a very public place, she's throwing down the What do I mean to you/Where is whatever this is going conversation.

She is an optomist with empathy to spare.

Falcen, I loved. He is my spirit animal. Morally grey from head to toe.

He calls her Veilbreaker. 💕

But what the hell am I suppose to do with that ending? Our man's soulless corpse got turned into a nether drake!

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | paperback

2026/25