Puppet Master (Puppets & Property #1)

Selfish... Yet self-sacrificing. Clever... Yet blind.

Available at Amazon.com

Puppet Master
Nicole Cypher
Puppets and Property, book one
ebook, 322 pages
Independently published July 17, 2026
ASIN B0H98TWMYP


He says his job is to train me.

Miles from civilization, buried in the wooded hills of New York, lies a cult compound known as the Shadow Sanctum. Sawyer Hansley—a man who’s made a career out of conditioning women into obedience—is their newest weapon.

When I wake up alone in a cold, dark cave, he tells me the cult has claimed me as their next member.

They want him to force my submission. My adoration. My obedience.

In other words: they want him to break me. And he’s all too willing to oblige.

What he doesn’t know? I’m not like his previous victims.

By the time we’re through, it won’t be me who’s broken.

A note from Nicole: This trilogy is for readers who crave dark romance with depth — intelligent characters, layered psychology, slow-building obsession, and strong thriller vibes. It includes cult elements, intense themes, psychological manipulation, and dark, mature content.

If that’s your kind of story, welcome in.

Luna awakens in a cell, inside a cave, with the taste of copper in her mouth and fragments of a memory of falling asleep in her bed.

Cue the mile-a-minute thoughts. Her brain is spitfiring at a rapid pace. It's a choppy writing style that you're either going to gravitate to or recoil from.

I am in the camp that gravitates.

And then, we meet Sawyer.

Color me intrigued.

He's a con artist with a history. One that involves an island and gullible women.

I did cringe a bit at that minor detail.

But he's a highly intelligent male who has crafted his gifts of memory and manipulation to outwit the best of them. And his next target is the infamous and richly funded cult, the Shadow Sanctum.

To infiltrate, he'll be tested. Sawyer has three weeks to break their newest victim potential Seraph.

Luna.

The spice hits a bit sooner than I had anticipated. Then again, when one is being abducted with the purpose of being groomed into a soul purifier, whose basic function is to f### the demon out of you... I suppose that's not too abrupt at all. All in the name of "training".

I was introduced to this book via a Facebook dark romance book influencer, and while I knew little, I was aware of a potential plot twist. That, and the blurb, had me side-eyeing Luna from page one and therefore softened any shock that might have fallen from the reveal of the Puppet Master's true identity. No less awe, though. And shout out to the stereotypical sibling rivalry angle. My tiny complaint would be all the things Sawyer is up to off-page. It loses focus of the plot and takes away from the rhythm of the story.

Neutral on the semi-cliffhanger ending. They basically flip the table and reset the board.

Anticipating a return to this series to discover what these two manage to inflict upon one another next.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook

2026/38

Once Written in Gilded Blood (Cruel Fates #2)

Together, then, wife?

Available at Amazon.com

Once Written in Gilded Blood
K. M. Moronova
Cruel Fates, book two
ebook, 400 pages
Published August 18, 2026
ASIN 1464293627
ISBN 9781464293627
Netgalley eARC


Love is the sharpest weapon of all….

Born with gilded blood, Alira is a demigod knight forged for war - her rare gift makes her both priceless and disposable in the eyes of the gods she serves. When centuries of bloodshed threaten to consume the world, she is sent into a political marriage with Kalel Lornhelm, the infamous Blood Knight and demon commander of Devicit.

Devicit is a kingdom of beauty and terror, hidden behind a shimmering magical veil. As Alira is drawn into demon life, mistrust slowly gives way to desire, and Alira learns that Kalel has been bound to her fate far longer than she ever knew.

But beneath the city’s splendour lies a devastating secret. As gods rise, war reignites, and the systems that shaped them both demand blood once more, Alira and Kalel must confront the cost of peace….

I'm a fan of Moronova, especially her Dark Forces duology.

The first book in the Cruel Fates series, Once Upon a Demon's Heart, was a strong 4.5-stars from me. I enjoyed it so much that I hunted down the release date for book two, added it to wishlists and shelves, and even set an alarm when the Netgalley drop was announced.

What an unfathomable disappointment it turned out to be.

It's dull. The pacing is excruciatingly slow. The FMC is undoubtedly the most complacent protagonist I've encountered in a long while and her leading male (a demon; not a man!) is too busy wallowing in his self-pity to be bothered to right any wrongs.

Neither of them manages to keep the story engaging, and if it weren't for the gods forcing their hands, they would have been perfectly fine withering away in Mortem while time continued to matter to any and everyone else.

Time certainly felt slower while dragging myself to the end of this book.

It's a book two. And, a book two, should never be this damn slow in its pacing.

The first quarter of the story is Kalel lying and Alira sensing those lies. That's about a hundred pages of dull, going nowhere dialogue filled with brunch, backburner suspicion, and an arranged marriage that felt as dry as reality would expect it to be.

She sold herself into a marriage to end the war but, unwittingly, became a Trojan horse instead.

And it couldn't have felt more drawn out.

This is a lovers to enemies tale... and I was begging for the enemies stage for half the book. And even that was bleh when it arrived.

2 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover

Previously in the series:

2026/37

Crown Me Yours (Heartstring Duet #2)

The best thing that ever happened
to the worst thing in existence.

Available at Amazon.com

Crown Me Yours
Liv Zander
Heartstring Duet, book two
paperback, 254 pages
Independently published April 13, 2026
ASIN B0FWQWR3HX
ISBN 9781955871174


Wed him. Bed him. Slit his throat.

I killed the king.
Crowned myself in his blood,
But the curse still festers.

To break it, I need Death,
On his knees,
A ring on his finger.
My blade at his throat.

The god fights me to the grave,
Evades my touch,
Mocks my wanting.

He would rather tear himself apart,
Than let me close enough to end this.
But I didn't come this far to lose. I came to crown him mine.

Welcome to your wedding, my love.

Rip out the last three chapters.

Rip. Out. The. Last. Three. Chapters.



4.7 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2026/36

The Ever King (The Ever Seas #1)

I'm not the broken hero you wish me to be.
I'm the one who slits the hero's throat.

Available at Amazon.com

The Ever King
L.J. Andrews
The Ever Seas, book one
Audiobook, 13+ hours
Paperback, 408 pages
Independently published August 29, 2023
ASIN B0F144XV8H
ISBN 9798989076802


For years Erik, the scarred king of the Ever Kingdom, has thought of nothing but vengeance against the man who killed his father and trapped him beneath the waves, making him a prisoner in his own realm.

Until his enemy’s daughter unintentionally breaks the chains on the Ever, and Erik makes her the unwitting pawn in his vicious game of revenge.

She’s innocent. He’s vicious. But he will take back what he lost, no matter the price.

Unless she steals his heart first.

This book was not properly marketed to me, or else I would have picked it up a looooong time ago. And no, I don't remember what actually made me add it to my TBR to begin with. Enemies to lovers, maybe. The villain gets the girl, possibly. Somehow, though, I didn't manage to grasp just how delighfully vengeful and morally grey our dear MMC, Erik Bloodsinger, would be. Although I'm late to this series, I will recap this book nonetheless.

Turns and turns ago, Erik Bloodsinger, son of the king of Ever, was tortured by his father's enemies. In retaliation, or in a quest for justice, the king attacked those who stole his heir and lost his own life in the process. Erik, years later, would be banished to the Ever Seas, beneath the depths of the ocean surface, and imprisoned behind a Chasm sealed with his own poisonous blood.

Enter Livia Ferus, daughter of the man who took his throne and his father's life. She was a young, innocent thing that sneaked near Erik's cell and offered him comfort with a story. The story of the Songbird and the Serpent.

Comfort, or taming.

A bond was forged. A claim was made.

And despite the years that have passed, Erik's need for vengeance festers and grows. Then Livia breaks the lock. She unwittingly unseals the Chasm and Erik feels the call of his mantle, and the pull to her.

Deadly and unapologetic. Erik returns to land to take back his mantle and cut down his father's killer. Instead, he abducts Livia. Now a grown, spitfire FMC, who can't manage to shut her mouth or stifle her disgust.

The magic. The language. The grit. The violence. Fae of the earth. Fae of the sea. Heartwalkers. Bonekeepers. Tidecallers. The cast is casting.

Him. Her.

Ugh. Her.

I am drawn to FMCs that have had the worst of the world thrown at them, and they still come out a sweetheart. Auren. Suren. Tisannah. These are my queens. And now. Livia fucking Ferus.

Daughter of warriors. Princess of earth magic. Blood of the Night Folk fae. Painter of windows. Rebuker of the Ever King. And on and on.

She was so good for Erik. She challenged him. She stood for him. She left no room for debate in that she claimed him.

“If I cry your name,” she whispered against my lips. “Then you better shout mine, you bastard.”

Chef's kiss. Tip of the tricorne. Riotous ovation.

5 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Next in the series:

2026/35