Lies that Bind (The Ember War #2)

My love, it will always just be you and me, not us and them.

Available at Amazon.com

Lies that Bind
Leia Stone
The Ember War, book two
ebook, 340 pages
Published December 28, 2024
ISBN 9781951578473


When empires fall, love is the ultimate sacrifice.

When Aisling ascends the throne as empress, the weight of the crown is heavier than she ever imagined. Her father’s brutal murder leaves her with two burning purposes: find the killer and make them pay.

But her quest for vengeance leads to an act of retaliation that shifts the tides of war—and awakens a formidable new enemy.

Through the chaos, Kohen is her anchor. His unwavering love and loyalty are the only constants in her life. Yet when a shocking revelation emerges, Aisling is forced to question everything she believed to be true—even the bond she thought unbreakable.

In a world where trust is a fragile weapon, can Aisling hold her empire together, or will her pursuit of justice cost her everything?

At the close of book one, the emperor had been assassinated. And why Aisling wasn't side eyeing Meera I have no clue. I suppose her bias and prejudice against the Luskins is just that strong.

Aisling is now empress, tasked with avenging her father and leading her people forward. Bear in mind, the Amerseans are very much the problem at the heart of this story. Imbria has been conquered and is now controlled with miniscule rations from their overseer and Luska—

Luska fights for a fair share of the ember that fuels the land's energy sources. It's a noble fight and I haven't managed the slightest urge to condemn them for it.

As I said in my book one post, if Kohen is here playing the long game, I'm here for it.

This sequel is the typical bridge. It's the stepping stone that furthers the story to its inevitable conclusion. Aisling is adjusting to her new role, giving orders, training, and taking cover. It was in this installment that it cemented for me that I was experiencing the story through a side character's POV. Kohen is the main character. He's the one making moves. He has the plot. Aisling is purely reactive.

And now we know why Kohen was so deeply disturbed by Alec.

I appreciate Aisling. She's a young woman virtuous enough to save herself for marriage while also being a combatant that's not above war crimes. And although war and death bears heavy weight, this is a strong Young Adult themed tale that can't help but sink into shallow and downright juvenile scenarios. A new threat rises to power, demanding bloodshed or submission by way of marriage, and the answer her loyal governess and most trusted adviser proposes as a response: Steal his underwear.

Gods smite me now.

Stop it.

The assassin is revealed. Nothing unanticipated there.

Amersea presently faces war on two fronts. Luska is now led by Maxim, an unknown with two bonded creatures and a twin sister aware of Aisling's hidden power.

And with Imbria. Kohen, Anika, and the others have retreated home, declared sovereignty, and proclaimed Kohen their rightful king.

Kohen orders Aisling's death. And as she dies, expected to be reborn in three days' time, his message is resounding. Everything he has done is to protect her. Seek the truth. He'll be waiting.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2026/10

Lies that Bleed (The Ember War #1)

My stars, Aisling, you’re my best friend
and you don’t even know it yet.

Available at Amazon.com

Lies that Bleed
Leia Stone
The Ember War, book one
ebook, 412 pages
Published June 23, 2024
ASIN B0CYCW6KH8
ISBN 9781951578367


For tonight, we either lived or died in The Wilds. Nothing else mattered.

As the daughter of the emperor, Aisling Everhart was born into privilege. She has trained her entire life to go into The Wilds and have a chance at bonding with a creature that can give her unknown power. Half of the candidates will die the first night, and only a few will make it out. Those who survive the bonding are quickly conscripted into the Imperial Fleet to join the war.

What Aisling never could have prepared for, was Kohen Badshah, former prince of Imbria, her father’s sworn enemy. When Kohen proposes an unlikely alliance, she accepts. They enter The Wilds together, and Aisling realizes that she was woefully unprepared, especially when nothing goes to plan.

After barely surviving, she’s thrust into the Imperial Fleet to learn how to control her new gifts, but as her power grows, so do the dangers—including multiple attempts on her life. When you don’t know who is friend or enemy, it’s hard to trust, but Kohen Badshah appears to be protecting her.

It’s that or he’s playing one excellent long game. Which one, only time will tell.

As future empress, Aisling has long prepared for the day she would enter the Wilds and risk her life to bond with a magical creature that would bestow upon her, and all other worthy candidates, a magical power that could be used not just in the war against Luska but also grant the lesser privileged a higher standing within society.

As her father's heir, her chance is a given. For others, the opportunity is left to a lottery. And to the rigging by the powers that be. Aisling is well aware of her father's schemes. First, to have her betrothed enter the Wilds with her, ensuring their mutual success would also provide a stronger rule. And secondly, to have the son of the late infamous traitor be put to death without any political backlash.

What Aisling is unprepared for, however, is meeting Kohen Badshah, her best friend's name being pulled in the lottery, and her betrothed's infidelity. The latter of which blamed entirely on a man's need to "scratch an itch". And for the love of all things worthy must we be so cliché?!

Kohen enters the Wilds alongside a number of his fellow Imbrians with a reputation steeped in violence.

And it's a rep that Aisling is practically questioning from the onset. His every act, his every word, has her second guessing the long held prejudice spawned from stories circulated by his enemies and pounded into her by her father.

Three days. Survive three days in the Wilds, claim a beast worthy of an empress (but not a challenge to the reigning emperor) and keep her bestie safe. That's it. That's the goal.

Kohen's motivations are similar. Survive. Survive not only his rival candidates and the beasts of the Wilds but also the many assassins the emperor has sent after him. Protect his kin, those he claims as his family. And bond with a creature that can give him the power he so desperately needs.

While Aisling intends to steer clear of the legendary Talanagi beasts, Kohen is focused on bonding nothing less.

By a third of the book, Aisling has sparked a tentative friendship with Anika (Kohen's steadfast friend and passionate supporter), ensured her best friend has survived and bonded to wolf, commits treason by killing off two of her father's men when they nearly take out Kohen, witnesses that same Kohen fight and bond to a dragon, and she herself bonds to a firebird. Which results in her burning up in a ball of fire, dying, and rising from the dead inside of a bodybag after Kohen carries her corpse from the forest.

Oh, Kohen. That boy had my heart throughout.

From his bonded dragon, Onyx, Kohen inherits a power of fire but also the much feared power of foresight. He can see a future of battles and death but with them, visions of he and Aisling together as lovers. He struggles to reconcile his feelings of possessiveness and the urge to protect her with the very unfortunate present wherein they are strangers to one another and, by extension of her father, practically enemies.

As he contends with the weight of this power, Kohen desperately seeks the connection that has not yet come to fruition. His future lover and best friend wants only to keep him at a distance.

Aisling, meanwhile, has her own powers to conceal. While becoming a living fireball may be a praiseworthy skill, her ability to control one's mind would see her terminated by her very own people for being too strong a threat.

Add on that Aisling's firebird raised Kohen's dragon as if he was her own hatchling and these two main characters have more red strings tying their fates than your average YA leads.

And it all ends on a cliffhanger.

“I want you to remember something, okay?” he breathed.
All I could do was nod.
Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to my ear. “Remember that no matter how things may seem, everything I do is to protect you.”

4 out of 5 stars. Immediately diving into book two and a small part of me is very much hoping that Kohen is indeed playing the long game. Metal Slinger has ruined me for life.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Next in the series:

2026/09

Heartfall: A Fae Isles Standalone Novella

And with every day that passed,
going home seemed a little less relevant.
With every night that passed,
the stories he spun Raghnar tasted closer to lies.

Available at Amazon.com

Heartfall
Lisette Marshall
A Fae Isles Short Story
ebook, ~50 pages
Published 2025


A divine accident gave Rapunzel the power to create gemstones. Locked up in a tower for her own protection, she spends her days scaring off money-hungry visitors... until a particularly arrogant warrior catches her eye in an entirely different way. But will he stop trying to kidnap her long enough to fall in love?

This steamy Rapunzel retelling features stabby enemies to lovers romance, gemstone magic, meddling gods, and a guaranteed HEA. While it is distantly related to the Fae Isles series, it can very well be read as a standalone.

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook

2026/08

To Marry A Fae

How am I to honorably lead my people, when I would sacrifice every last one of them if it meant you were to live?

Available at Amazon.com

To Marry a Fae
Miranda Bridges
ebook, 300 pages
standalone
Published May 5, 2023
ASIN B0C2WPXWWR


He's the fae prince... and the prize for the Bride Games.
Too bad I'm not interested.

Does that stop him from coming into my life and forcing me to compete? No.
Does that stop me from keeping up with my personal agenda? Also no.

The competition is fierce and the contestants are even worse.
As we enter each round of elimination, I wait for my dismissal.
Returning home is my end goal.
Not swooning over some fae.

Even if he's charming.
And he makes me feel alive.
Which I won't be for much longer if I stay in the Games.
The closer I get to the prince, the more my life is in danger.
Or is it my heart that's truly in jeopardy?

This is Steamy Fantasy Romance Standalone with a medium burn.

Tropes: forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, rags to riches, secret identity, fated mates, fish out of water, competition/rivalry, dominant hero, kept secrets, magic (duh), "Touch her and die" vibes, and "Who did this to you?" energy. Phew, all done. (I think.)

Other than the... dangerously close insinuation that the MMC may have been grooming our leading lady by planting a guard that may or may not have manipulated her into becoming best friends... and then having said MMC glamour himself to further mess with her mind all in order to judge her trustworthy... it's a good read. Not for everyone, though.

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

2026/07