Gold (Plated Prisoner #5)

I promised her I'd be the villain on her behalf.
So that's what I'll fucking be.

Available at Amazon.com

Gold
Raven Kennedy
Plated Prisoner, book five
Paperback, 754 pages
ISBN 9781464224454
Kindle edition, 646 pages
ASIN B0B4F9G5JD
Published December 7, 2023


Every end is also a beginning.

I thought I was going to die, and would have if it weren’t for Slade. The only way he could save me was to open a rip between worlds. The only way for me to save myself was to go through it.

Sometimes, fleeing one dangerous place just brings you to another.

Annwyn.

The realm of the fae.

There is magic and beauty here, though around every corner, threats lurk.

But I’m a threat too.

I’m not a girl in a gilded cage anymore, and no one is going to stop me from finding my way back to Slade.

But returning home means facing danger and secrets. So I have to burn bright enough to light my own way…

Or else I might be swallowed by the dark.

Please note: This adult fantasy book includes dark elements that may be triggering, including violence, cruelty, death, adult language, and explicit romance. It is intended for ages 18 years and older. Read at your own discretion.

This post will contain spoilers. A lot of spoilers.

The last book ended as Rip tore a hole in the world, allowing Auren to escape into the void where he could not follow. Although he expected to. Eventually. It was an emotionally devastating scene that ripped my heart out. Why must we relive this?!

Auren falls... flies... and lands in Annwyn. Home of the Fae. Her home. And I am screaming, my eyes welling with tears right along side her, as she finds her ribbons *finally* restored. Even if only in part.

And Slade, desperate to find her, desperate to find his mother, desperate to find his people... is left spiralling and the only path he can cling to is one that focuses his attention on those responsible for every wrong Auren ever suffered in a strategically orchestrated rampage that spans the entire series.

Manu for abducting her.

Queen Isolte for torturing her.

King Merewen for the Conflux forced upon her.

Rotting. Torturing. Executing.

He even took revenge on the pirates for taking Auren's damn horse! The traffickers in Derfort. The dew dealers that provided the drug that subdued her back when Midas hacked away at her ribbons.

And lastly, Queen Kaila.

Some have said this book is the filler of the series. While I would say I understand, I also disagree. This isn't filler. This is natural progression.

Malina is falling for the assassin sent to kill her. I swear, this woman needs to spend more time in self reflection. What do you mean you're 'still married in the eyes of the gods'? You've been riding your own exclusive saddle for years. If your gods are okay with that then I highly doubt they're going to smite you for kissing a man.

All the while, the Fae have invaded from over the bridge that Malina herself helped restore and are waging their own death march on the people of Orea.

Unfortunately, Kaila has already won the hearts of the people of Sixth Kingdom. They don't heed Malina's warnings and curse her instead.

Osrik is in his own agony over his Yellow Bell. Rissa hasn't woken up since Manu and his accomplice left her for dead with a knife in her gut. The way they left the knife. Ffs. And now the wound is infected.

Os just wants to buy some yellowbell flowers from a flowershop. Why does that have to be so hard?!

Jude is operating as an envoy to First Kingdom, the only kingdom seemingly not on the receiving end of Slade's fuck it all to hell parade. Until the fool king calls for Slade's attention. It is so not the time, man.

Ryatt? MIA for the most part. He basically shows up long enough to keep Digby from raining fists upon Slade then grounding his brother before he rots himself to death. Ryatt has taken command of the army after Slade promoted him in order for Rip to step down. To be let loose.

Lu? She's more MIA than Ryatt but finally arrives, at the worst forsaken moment, to inform Slade of the Fae's invasion.

Auren is searching the sky every hour for the rip to return. For Slade to find her. Even as the Loyalists begin to gather to welcome their lost princess and protect her from the currently reigning king. Auren is the seemingly last of the Turley line and heir to Annwyn's throne.

Of course, once they start going in on about their plans of revolution, Auren responds with a firm "No" that sounds more like "Nope. No, thank you" and "Negative".

She is so over being a pawn.

But once the threat closes in, Auren's beast lashes out. Our lady is just as feral as her man.

There's so much happening. It's a lot to take in.

And the piece of Slade's power, that part of himself that held firm within Auren is now too far away and the rot is leaking into his body, rotting him from the inside out. He's dying.

The man is truly dying from a broken heart.

While Auren watches the skies, she journeys with Wick, the rebel leader, as he builds his Vulmin army. With Emonie and Ludogar and so many more new characters.

And the return of Stanton Cull.

Auren claims she has no interest in a crown. Even if it were in Fourth Kingdom? The way I'm waiting for Slade to broach that subject. Although... not sure if there will be a place for Slade and Auren in any of the Orean kingdoms after this. Fae that they are. Fae vs Oreans. Fae vs Fae.

Finally. Finally! We come full circle back to Gild and Glint and Gleam and it's confirmed in black and paperwhite that the aura that Slade followed, the beacon that brought the "last two fae" in Orea together has a deeper meaning. Fated mates.

Bonded fated mates.

Päyur, you and I.

It's true. Not for a single second are Auren and Slade together in this book.

5 out of 5 stars. I'm so not prepared for this series to end.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

The Queen of Nothing (Folk of the Air #3)

I knew little else, but I always knew you.

Available at Amazon.com

The Queen of Nothing
Holly Black
Folk of the Air, book three
Hardcover, 308 pages
Published November 19, 2019
ISBN 9780316310420


'HE WILL BE THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CROWN AND THE RUINATION OF THE THRONE.'

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked King Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.

Now, as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is left reeling from Cardan's betrayal. She bides her time, determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose life is in peril. Jude must return to the treacherous Faerie Court and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan.

But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing, and she becomes ensnared in the conflict's bloody politics. When a terrible curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing Jude to choose between her ambition and her humanity...

Well. It finally happened. Someone finally bested Jude.

This book, as with the last two, is divided into two parts. The first here was a tad dull and drawn out. Jude remains exiled from Faerie, living with her sister, Vivi, and foster brother (and Cardan's nephew), Oak, in the mortal world. Until eventually, her twin sister, Taryn, arrives needing help.

And my, were we robbed! Turns out, Taryn has slain her husband. Yep. Locke has died off page and we were robbed of it.

There's to be an inquest and Taryn needs Jude to take her place so that Jude, immune to being compelled by fey magic thanks to Dain's bargan, can lie.

So, Jude returns to Elfhame, despite her exile, fulfills the task, and faces Cardan.

Cardan, who wants to know why she hasn't responded to any of his letters. Why she's pretending to be her sister. Why she expected him not to know the difference. And why... oh why.... has she not pardoned herself and come home.

But before all that, Jude is "rescued" by Madoc and his army while under the pretense of being Taryn.

She thus needs a re-rescue and in sweeps the team to do it. Roach. Vivi. Taryn. Grima Mog. All led by, of all people, Cardan. The man actually did some work!

I tell you, the evolution of Prince Cardan to High King Cardan of Elfhame is something to behold.

After two hundred pages, we are no longer in YA territory.

I slide to my knees in front of him. “Is this what you imagined I’d be like, back in your rooms at Hollow Hall, when you thought of me and hated it? Is this how you pictured my eventual surrender?”

He looks absolutely mortified, but there’s no disguising the flush of his cheeks, the shine of his eyes. “Yes,” he says, sounding like the word was dragged out of him, his voice rough with desire.

“Then what did I do?” I ask, my voice low. I reach out to press my hand against his thigh.

His gaze shimmers with a sharp spike of heat. There’s a wariness in his face, though, and I realize he believes I might be asking him all this because I’m angry. Because I want to see him humiliated. But he keeps speaking anyway.

“I imagined you telling me to do with you whatever I liked.”

“Really?” I ask, and the surprised laugh in my voice makes him meet my gaze.

“Along with some begging on your part. A little light groveling.” He gives me an embarrassed smile. “My fantasies were rife with overweening ambition.”

Ghost! Garrett, you shadow stepping heathen, I knew you were better than betrayal.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2025/44

The Wicked King (Folk of the Air #2)

I want to tell you so many lies.

Available at Amazon.com

The Wicked King
Holly Black
Folk of the Air, book two
Hardcover, 322 pages
Published January 8, 2019
ISBN 978031631035


I have heard that for mortals the feeling of falling in love is very like the feeling of fear. Your heart beats fast. Your senses are heightened. You grow light-headed, maybe even dizzy. Is that right?

Jude has bound the wicked king, Carden, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were biddable. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her, even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

The first book in this series was so pleasantly ridiculous that I've actually been itching to get back into the Folk of the Air.

As Malakai Azer would say: What the hell is wrong with me?

The characters are just bizarre. Cardan, the epitome of "I don't want to be here" and Jude... strategic little Jude who can be utterly oblivious in some regard and a rockstar genius mastermind in others.

You love it. You hate it. You're disgusted. You're enthralled.

It's been five months since Jude managed to have Cardan crowned High King of Elfhame and she is now deep in her life lesson that power is far easier to grasp than it is to maintain a hold of. And despite Cardan being under her command, bound by his vow, it seems far better to leave him to the revelry while she plays at the politics.

Jude's the one doing all the work and yet, somehow, it's still Cardan that's carrying this book. Jude can't read him whatsoever. There's no anticipating the shenanigans Cardan's going to wander into next what with Locke pulling at his strings, Madoc plotting wars with the sea, Nicasia firing off crossbows at his would-be lovers, and everybody else dancing in every corner of the castle.

And yet, when he starts unfurling into his role as High King, ...dayumm.

From

“I have heard that for mortals, the feeling of falling in love is very like the feeling of fear.”

to

“Jude," he’d said, running a hand up my calf, "are you afraid of me?”

Meanwhile... Nooooo! Ghost, why????

In the end, Cardan offers Jude a new bargain in exchange for his freedom. A bargain that will see Jude Duarte, mortal though she may be, as Queen of Faerie.

5 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook | collectors edition

Previously in the series:

2025/43

Powerless (Powerless Trilogy #1)

I want to call you mine.

Available at Amazon.com

Powerless
Lauren Roberts
Powerless Trilogy, book one
Hardcover, 528 pages
Published January 31, 2023
ISBN 9781665954884


She is the very thing he’s spent his whole life hunting.

He is the very thing she’s spent her whole life pretending to be.

Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya—the exceptional, the empowered, the Elites.

The powers these Elites have possessed for decades were graciously gifted to them by the Plague, though not all were fortunate enough to both survive the sickness and reap the reward. Those born Ordinary are just that—ordinary. And when the king decreed that all Ordinaries be banished in order to preserve his Elite society, lacking an ability suddenly became a crime—making Paedyn Gray a felon by fate and a thief by necessity.

Surviving in the slums as an Ordinary is no simple task, and Paedyn knows this better than most. Having been trained by her father to be overly observant since she was a child, Paedyn poses as a Psychic in the crowded city, blending in with the Elites as best she can in order to stay alive and out of trouble. Easier said than done.

When Paeydn unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyas princes, she finds herself thrown into the Purging Trials. The brutal competition exists to showcase the Elites’ powers—the very thing Paedyn lacks. If the Trials and the opponents within them don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for certainly will if he discovers what she is—completely Ordinary.

Picked this up in hardcover and seriously, could you have picked a smaller font?! /s

I've seen a number of book boyfriend lists, a game of which I do not partake, but consistently within the top five are Xaden Riorson and Kai Azer. Now that I have experienced both... I get why Azer trumps Riorson on most lists.

Less than forty pages in and I was spiralling into this world. The darkness... the bitterness... Kai and Kitt. Paedyn and Adena. The magic. The Purgings. The trials. Hunger Games be damned. This was that and more.

In my tour of book fandoms, I've hit the motherload of bantor and smooth talk.

There isn't anything I could say that hasn't been said before. The hype is real for this book, and so very well deserved.

Loved Kai's darkness. Although he didn't appreciate it as much as I did. Resigned he is to his fate in life though. Didn't care for his smooth talk. "Darling" came way too soon. His POV chapters though? Best parts of the book.

And when my gears started to grind, I took a mental step back and for a time dwelled on what it was he was doing and the "masks" he wore while enacting it. The mask that smiled and said, I'm happy and I'm charming and I'm okay.

And damn it, Malakai, I did not want to feel that much for you. But the author delivers him so exquisitely. He's not a monster. He takes no joy in the executions, the banishments, or the torture. He plays the part, if only to spare it from defaulting to his brother.

That said, he is not without darkness.

I loved what the author did with chapters 4 through 6 with the overlapping pov's accompanied by the rewind. Expected the tactic to continue throughout but was unfortunately disappointed in that regard.

So what was this book about?

Paedyn Gray. An Ordinary girl living in a world surrounded by magic while she herself has none. Taught to fight by her long deceased father so that she'd have a mere chance at surviving in a kingdom where the Ordinary have been deemed diseased and executed for the greater good that is the survival of the Elite.

Since that devastating night when her father was murdered in their own home, Paedyn has survived on the streets of the Loot by thieving, pickpocketing, and lying.

Until one fateful day when her path intersects with the future Enforcer and he unwittingly becomes her mark.

Kai Azer is the second born prince but a spare not to be wasted. Kai was molded at his father's direction and very hand into a ruthless and unyieldingly loyal killer destined to be his brother's most feared tool. A weapon that can take on the power of any within his vicinity.

She's caught in a storm. He's drowning in an ocean.

Paedyn pockets half his coin, and his heart, before disappearing into the shadows. Leaving Kai to wander into yet another's plot as he's attacked by a Silencer, the one power that brings Kai to his knees in agony.

And Paedyn, in a rage spawned from flashbacks of her father's death, is the lone spectator that chooses to intervene.

Saving the man who believes himself unworthy of any such mercy.

What does she get in return for the savage display of putting such a powerful wielder on his knees? Voted into the Trials. A chance to win a better life. A greater chance to die in the name of entertainment.

And once she's thrust into the royal castle alongside the princes and fellow competitors, Paedyn is introduced to a dangerous new path. That of the Resistance.

Which hands her a new mark: the future king and Kai's older, half-brother, Kitt.

And I'm having to remind myself that this is a woman on a mission and not a girl playing with the hearts of boys because there's a triangle forming and of those I am not a fan.

Nor am I a fan of authors pulling a big fuck you to the reader and calling it a plot twist. False memory? Really?

No. Absolutely not, Paedyn. You have no standing to judge him. As morally bankrupt as you are. As gullible as you have become. As much blood that has been spilled because of you... Don't you dare hold him accountable for what he was forced to do.

Forced to kill your "father".

While you chose to kill the king.

Damn it, Paedyn. Now I have to take a mental step back for you, too.

Kitt. I am disgusted by you. I have been from the moment you watched your brother making a connection with someone and your response was to drag that person into the gardens and demand she look at you.

Thankful to bookstagram and their many spoilers for putting me at peace with an ending that will ultimately follow many a plot twist in this enemies-to-lovers, found family (ha!), star-crossed lovers, arranged marriage saga that will result in a daughter's name that my hands are itching to edit in the metadata. If only. Well, there's always redactions to be made in a hardcopy.

So while this is basically the Hunger Games with magic, complete with the necessity of eliciting the support of the devoted fans, it is, at the heart of it, the story of a boy falling in love with a girl.

And her many threats against his life.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

......

2025/42

Keys to the Crown (Rellmira Duology #1)

I can't seem to run in any direction that does not lead to you.

Available at Amazon.com

Keys to the Crown
Leah Mara
Rellmira Duology, book one
Kindle edition, 460 pages
Hardcover, 522 pages
Published January 9, 2025
ASIN B0DKB4Y8DC
ISBN 9781965527023


A princess-turned-spy goes undercover to catch a dangerous criminal—and falls for him instead.

After her mother’s assassination, Kiera gave up her crown to become a spy. She’s spent years training to earn the title of High Enforcer—the elite embodiment of justice in Rellmira. But first, she must prove she's worthy by hunting down any threat to her father's rule.

When a mysterious prisoner becomes such a threat, Kiera goes undercover to learn his true intentions.

But Aiden won’t reveal his secrets easily. His charming tongue spins lies as deftly as Kiera’s does, and he claims he’s just a thief looking for gold. Upon their escape, Kiera proposes they work together on a risky heist—and Aiden agrees.

But the line between allies and enemies begins to blur as he slowly surrenders the trust she is now reluctant to destroy.

When the embers of rebellion, secrets, and desire ignite their world, Kiera must decide who she will be among the ashes—a traitor to her kingdom or to her heart.

Keys to the Crown is the first book in a fantasy romance duology filled with steamy slow-burn romance, found family, and epic intrigue. Perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, Serpent and the Wings of Night, and Blood & Steel. Kiera and Aiden’s story concludes in Book 2.

When a mysterious man infiltrates the Den of the night guard Shadow-Wolves, disguised with a dead Wolf's uniform and weapon, and fails to confess anything of substance after being caught and tortured, it falls to Kiera to extract his secrets.

The princess, now spy, has trained for years, since the assassination of her mother, to be a tool capable of protecting her remaining family and securing her brother's ascension to the throne.

Renwell, High Enforcer of the kingdom of Rellmira and Kiera's mentor and trainer, sends her undercover with the task of freeing the prisoner and earning his trust. And I'm having Metal Slinger flashbacks that bring my heart rate up to a dizzying speed. It's nice to be on this side of the intel this time around though.

Don't fall for it, Aiden!

But damn if our girl isn't about to lose her heart the moment he steps between she and the jailer.

Kiera is starved and thirsty.

And it turns out, Aidan had a plan of escape all along. His friend, Maz, appears, having subdued however many guards, and we're out and off.

Applause for Aiden for side eyeing our girl from the onset. Despite his lack of trust, however, the both of them are mutually tripping over themselves as they fall hard and fast for the other.

Am I a fan when the leading couple's first kiss is a result of a ruse? No. But am I upset about it here? Not a bit. "Not for a single moment."

Kiera eventually discovers Aidan's endgame and her own is one and the same—to put her brother on the throne. And she does what I had ranted and screeched at Brynn of Metal Slinger for not doing when confronted with new intel: reevaluate!

Godsdamnit, Brynn! I hope Acker hunts you down and spanks your ass!!

But here, with Kiera, we basically have Metal Slinger meets Direbound in that she stands in somewhat the same position as Killian. If she hadn't given up her place in line, she would be a false heir to the throne as Killian was. But while Killian sought to unite the false heir to the true heir in marriage, neither Kiera nor Aidan want the crown. Leaving Everrett as both of their choices to take the throne subsequent to Wenlyn's demise.

And no, the comparisons with other books do not end there. Because then I'm screaming out at Slade from Gleam and the whole Plated Prisoner series. Holy Four, this is how you're suppose to talk in the bedroom, Ravinger! If one is so inclined to talk at all.

Now, if we can just get around this betrayal business. I figured early on, since Aiden had already come to terms with the possibility that she was a spy, that he'd be willing to forgive. They had a chance at an easy happy ever after, as long as he wasn't the one that killed her mother.

Oh, ffs.

Touch her and die. One horse. One tent. Mine.

Chapter thirty-four? I read it twice. And immediately, after finishing the book, hunted down the bonus Aiden POV. Go 'head, Aiden, with your "Dance on me, beautiful."

This was such a romantic and suspenseful story with a spy vs spy premise and supporting characters that brought action, bloody violence, and a bit of humor pouring in on all sides.

5 out of 5 stars.

One question though: Why is this promoted as Found Family?

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback

2025/41

Cruel Prince (Folk of the Air #1)

Do not expect others to share my depraved tastes.

Available at Amazon.com

Cruel Prince
Holly Black
Folk of the Air, book one
Harcover, 370 pages
Kindle edition, 385 pages
Published January 2, 2018
ISBN 9780316310277
ASIN B071XQ6H38


Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

I may be cruel, a monster, and a murderer, but I do not shirk my responsibilities.

Well there you go. Words to live by, ladies and gents.

The fan art made me pick this one up. I was so not prepared.

Seven-year-old Jude was just watching her cartoons and munching on fish sticks with ketchup on the night her mother's redcap husband, Madoc, finally tracked down his wife.

Tracked her down, shoved a sword into the gut of Jude's father, and then threw said weapon into the woman's back.

How's that for a prologue?

Madoc had come for his daughter, Vivienne, Jude's older sister, but left the mortal home with also Jude and Jude's twin, Taryn, in tow, back to Faerie.

Ten years later, the real story unfolds as Jude and Taryn are whisked off to the palace for a royal party by Madoc and his wife, Oriana. Vivi? Like hell if she'll be attending. Total rebel that one.

And so the parade of characters begins. High King Eldred and his six heirs: thorned Balekin, the firstborn; lark Elowyn, the eldest daughter; third born Dain, part deer and leader of the Falcons; their younger sisters, Rhia and Caelia...

And the youngest of the bunch: Cardan, whom Jude proclaims is the absolute worst of them.

And the way my jaw dropped at what happened next. Nope. Won't get an argument from me in that regard. Cruel prince, indeed.

I stand in front of my window and imagine myself a fearless knight, imagine myself a witch who hid her heart in her finger and then chopped her finger off.

Jude Duarte, thou art a glowing a red flag.

Jude is tortured by her classmates in an endless barrage of bullying from Cardan and his trio: Nicasia, Valerian, and the lesser aggressive of the beasts, Locke.

And then Dain recruits her to be his spy against Balekin as rumor of the king's impending abdication slowly comes to fruition. She accepts his bargain in exchange for his protection against being glamoured, controlled, and likewise.

It's during her first mission that she stumbles erroneously into Cardan's bedchambers, intentionally steals his copy of Alice in Wonderland, and unintentionally witnesses his suffered abuse at the whims of his brother, Balekin.

She'll kiss Locke. She'll stab Valerian. Bury a body. Then ultimately stand in the center of a coup.

And my, what a savage coup it was.

These aren't the Fae of our beloved romantic fantasy. Here dwells the classics, the fey, the little shites that steal babes and make wicked bargains.

This is akin to the boy who pulls on a girl's braids in class and pushes her down on the playground. It's annoying and wrong but allowances can be made if we stop holding others to our own predisposed standards. Perception does not dictate intention. Her truth isn't his truth. And so on and so forth.

Have I mentioned I was ill prepared for this? For Cardan!? Absolutely flabbergasted at the cretin. No idea whatsoever what to do with him. He and Jude are their own mood. And Madoc? Live long and prosper, you monster. The way he handled Jude dueling with Taryn—chef's kiss. I could not hate him. Wouldn't trust him, but still couldn't hate him.

4 out of 5 stars.



Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

2025/40

Storm of Flames (Bound by Dragons #4)

I have my cruelty planned and it doesn't include you.

Available at Amazon.com

Storm of Flames
Alisha Klapheke
Bound by Dragons, book four
Kindle edition, 105 pages
Published April 3, 2025
ASIN B0F2J8JPDK


Tahlia, Marius, Fara, and the rest of the dragon-riding Mist Knights are off on another mission...

When the order flies north to fight the pirates harassing the coastline, they discover the infamous Eelsmen have a new high captain.

Not only is this individual unknown, he is an Unseelie—a powerful Seer from the Realm of Night.

And Tahlia's weaver magic sees a dangerous connection between this enemy and her dearest friend, Fara.

What does this mean for the Healer? For the order?

Dive into this bonus book today to enjoy runic magic, new enemies to lovers romance, banter, sea monsters, spicy romance, and of course, dragons!

"Who is he?"

Fara! Gurrrrl! It's your time to shine.

Tahlia may be mated to the Commander of the Mist Knights, but Fara's intended is so much more powerful than Marius.

He's bored by him, too.

Teague, an Unseelie, pops up in this story as the new pirate Captain with his own plan of vengeance ready to be enacted. But first, he needs to steal away his mate.

It's simple. It's quick. But when it's done then the real spice happens because *finally* the author delivers on what she oh so dastardly skipped over in the second book: the consummation of Marius and Tahlia's relationship.

It's a bonus scene that shan't be missed!

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | audiobook

Previously in the series:


Also part of the Lady of the Skies omnibus:

2025/39

Crown & Dragon (Bound by Dragons #3)

Please stop cataloguing my sounds.

Available at Amazon.com

Crown and Dragon
Alisha Klapheke
Bound by Dragons, book three
Kindle edition, 215 pages
Published October 24, 2024
ASIN B0DB2TF19X


What do tomatoes, scowling, and artifacts that could end the entire world have in common?

You guessed it—Tahlia and Marius.

When the Fae king sends dragon riders Tahlia and Marius on an undercover mission to recover the invisible crown, an artifact that gives the wearer the ability to control minds—and a host of other nasty things—it’s clear there will be danger.

For one thing, the madman currently in possession of the crown has a bit of a god complex. But danger is nothing new. And the mission will finally allow Tahlia a chance to cross the Veil and explore the world of humans, not to mention making Marius wear a ridiculous costume, which is pretty much Tahlia’s favorite part of the whole thing.

Tahlia is fairly certain they’ll win the day. But when they discover the crown is hidden behind a labyrinth of deadly traps, her hope withers. If they don’t succeed, her soul-bonded dragon will never fly again. She might even die.

So yeah, failure isn’t an option.

Crown and Dragon, Bound by Dragons Book Three, is a lighthearted fantasy romance with Fae, boatloads of banter, spice, and page-turning excitement. Great for fans of Rebecca Yarros’s Fourth Wing, Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses, this series will have you gasping and grinning at every turn!

This story was just silly and odd with a bit of spice thrown in.

Undercover on a secret mission to collect a magical crown during a Tomato Festival, Marius gets attacked by an imaginary minotaur and nearly drowned by a siren. After that, he was done with the bs and being surrounded by humans. Slamming doors. Smashing locked boxes. The typically cool and collected Commander wants this thing done.

They finally find the crown, just as the king with evil intentions walks into the room, and Marius shoves the crown onto his head. Thus giving him the power of mind control. And how does our dear Tahlia respond?

"This is great!" Tahlia whispered. "Oooh, tell me to do something. I want to see how it feels."

Smh. She truly is a ray of fucking sunshine.

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:


Also part of the Lady of the Skies omnibus:

2025/38

Kingdom of Spirits (Bound by Dragons #2)

I will shout for you, my lady. Does that please you?

Available at Amazon.com

Kingdom of Spirits
Alisha Klapheke
Bound by Dragons, book two
Kindle edition, 302 pages
Published May 30, 2024
ASIN B0CJK44VQK


Her life, or her love. Tahlia can’t have both.

When Tahlia’s commander dies under mysterious circumstances, the only suspect is her former mentor’s daughter…their new commander. If Tahlia accuses her without proof, she’ll lose everything she’s worked for. Including her soul-bonded dragon.

To make matters worse, something is wrong with her captain. Marius won't meet her gaze, and he won't utter one word about the new commander. Like, not a syllable. As if maybe he isn’t able.

But Talia can't just walk away from him. A pull deep within her says they might be fated mates, and he is about to set off on a secret mission. She can't let him go alone, not with that creepy, clouded look in his eyes. And not with the fate of the dragon riders resting in such dangerous hands.

Dark magic and evil forces are rising in Kingdom of Spirits, and Tahlia is determined to uncover the truth. Even if it means risking her life.

If you liked Fourth Wing, but are searching for a lighter-hearted read with humor and just a dash of spice, this series is perfect for you.

This is NOT a standalone! Check out Bound by Dragons Book One for Talia and Marius's first encounter.

With fae, dragons, dragon riders, banter, found family, and touch her and die, this fantasy romance will have you flipping pages all night long.

***This series is upper YA/NA and contains mature language and situations.

It's been two weeks, and for the most part, Tahlia is getting along fine in her new role as a Mist Knight. Although being accepted by her fellow knights proves itself an obstacle to be overcome. On a positive note, she has fully bonded to her Seabreak dragon, Vodolija.

Meanwhile, Marius, the planner that he is, is scribbling a q&a that is probably considered a red flag by today's generation. What would you change about your past? Do you like to travel? If so, where? Younglings? Younglings?

Marius Leos Valentius. Chill out, my guy. Just two weeks ago, you asked for Ophelia's hand in marriage. This isn't an episode of The Bachelor.

So the plot for this sequel fell flat for me. Commander Gaius ends up dead. Tahlia questions Ophelia's version of events of allegedly finding the body. And Marius ends up cursed by Ophelia via runes, unable to divulge said curse and his touching of Tahlia would lead to her death.

Yeah. No. Sorry, not sorry. I'm not impressed with the curse bit.

But at least the Katk livened things up with a battle and we got to have a wedding.

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:


Also part of the Lady of the Skies omnibus:

2025/37

Bound by Dragons

We will find the culprit and I will see them weep on their knees before you.

Available at Amazon.com

Bound by Dragons
Alisha Klapheke
Bound by Dragons, book one
Kindle edition, 246 pages
Published June 30, 2023
ASIN B0C415N992


This grumpy/sunshine fantasy romance about a feisty peasant and a dragon-riding Fae knight will keep you up until dawn!

I was born to ride dragons and no one can steal my fate...

All half-Fae Tahlia ever wanted was to become a Mist Knight, a dragon riding warrior defending the kingdom's wild north coast. Sadly, she never had the right blood, the right ancestors, the right anything. But when an opportunity to take her employer's place arises, she's willing to risk death by fire and sneak into the tournament that will name the next Mist Knight.

Second in command of the Mist Knights, full-blooded Fae noble Marius prides himself on living a strictly disciplined life. He has his Wed the commander's daughter. Rise to his father-in-law's role when the time is right. But he never saw Tahlia coming... Tahlia is determined to burn her way into the Mist Knights' world and take that handsome Marius along for the ride.

*This is an upper YA/NA novel with mature situations and language. Though this book stands on its own, you will get more Tahlia and Marius in books coming up, and the heat level will rise with each book. Bound by Dragons is the fifth book in the Starry Kingdoms of the Fae Collection. These books are all standalones written by your favorite fantasy authors and are the perfect read for your summer vacation. Prepare to be swept away into magical worlds with tropes you obsess over and swoon-worthy romance.

Tahlia is a Fae/human mix convinced that she belongs in the sky.

Marius is the High Captain of the Mist Knights, the second ranking rider in the regime and his dragon, Ragewing, is the alpha of the beasts.. He is rigid in his expectations. Whether it be a rider's well kept, unwrinkled uniform or the meticulous care of their dragons, he will suffer no excuse for the failure to maintain standards. He is, also, a Fae with a plan: To marry the Commander's daughter and one day take his place. Duty demands it. His Mistgold blood requires it.

Tahlia wanders into his path when she arrives at the stables. She doesn't know who he is and he doesn't care enough to enlighten her. But then she throws herself between his dragon and Ragewing's kin, and he goes from leaping after Tahlia to giving her the scolding only the fool that she is would deserve.

If "my bad" were human incarnate, it would be Tahlia. Half-human anyway.

And then she's erroneously submerging herself in the men's bathing pool while he's there and yeah, fortune's not working in her favor in that regard. She chuckles, blushes, excuses herself with the sincerest of apolgies, and hightails it out of there.

And he almost smiles.

Oh, she is charming him.

And she's kind of charming me, too. The woman is adorable.

Tahlia ultimately passes Marius's inquiry, earning her a place to compete to be a Mist Knight. But just as she changes her fate, her lies are discovered and she'll face the dire consequences of her deception.

And Marius will choose to sacrifice everything to stand beside her.

This is a whirlwind romance built heavily on mutual attraction. Maybe fated mates? No mention of it, but there's a charged air, instant attraction, and an instinctual wrist grab that certainly supports it. Also, what do you mean, the heat level will rise? Marius' imagination is doing just fine with the spice.

The reviews are a bit mixed on this one, so it ended up being better than I had anticipated. Ate it up in one day.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Also part of the Lady of the Skies omnibus:

2025/36

Watching Wednesday: Summit of Our Youth

Summit of Our Youth

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Drama
Cast: Sun Zhen Ni, Chen Jing Ke

Rated: PG-13

Year Released: 2025

Synopsis from Viki.com

Watch on Viki | First 12 episodes for FREE

While Gu Xue Jiao (Sun Zhen Ni) originally dreamed of being a top student, she couldn't help but get swept away by ideas of romance, and she eventually failed her college entrance exams. Even though she got a job, she consistently underperformed, resulting in her boss Lin Zhi Hua (Chen Jing Ke) firing her. When Xue Jiao confronts him, a strange incident transports her back in time to her third year of high school!

Xue Jiao is determined to change her future, dedicating her life to studying and making wiser choices based on her experiences as an adult – like finding past-Zhi Hua and roping him into becoming her tutor. Will Xue Jiao's second chance succeed, and will her relationship with Zhi Hua become something different in this timeline?

This drama was adapted from the web novel "Tan Lian Ai Bu Ru Shang Qing Hua" by Shi Wei Tu.

Glow (Plated Prisoner #4)

I'll find you, Goldfinch. I swear to you.
Now fly.

Available at Amazon.com

Glow
Raven Kennedy
Plated Prisoner, book four
Kindle edition, 738 pages
Paperback, 832 pages
Published June 25, 2024
ASIN B095G183J6
ISBN 9781464224447


"I was nothing but a road to Midas. A means to get to where he wanted to go, and I paved that path in gold."

My life has been made up of gilded lies. But death has been shaped from rot.

Like a phoenix caught fire, I will need to rise from the ashes and learn to wield my own power. Because my wings may have been clipped, but I am not in a cage, and I'm finally free to fly from the frozen kingdoms I've been kept in.

Yet the world doesn't want to let me.

That's the thing when you turn against a king—everyone else turns against you.

Good thing I have a different king in my corner.

But even with the dark threat of Slade Ravinger, the other monarchs are coming for me.

So I will fight for him and he will kill for me, and if we need to become the villains, then so be it.

Because so long as I live in this world, I won't be used again.

Please note: This is an adult fantasy series with dark elements that may be triggering, including past emotional and physical trauma, violence, adult language, and explicit romance. Read at your own discretion.

True to form, this book picks up right where book three, Gleam, faded to black. The castle is in chaos.

Auren lost control, almost burning out. Molten gold ravaged the place, killing countless in its path. Midas included.

Ravinger begged Auren's forgiveness as he was left with one recourse, to use his powers against her in order to save her from herself.

Queen Kaila of Third Kingdom survived, and tah-dah! We've unlocked another POV. It's with her that the first chapter opens up. And with the very pregnant saddle, Mist, spewing all kinds of ridiculousness about Auren stealing Midas' powers.

Convincing Kaila that Auren could steal hers as well.

With her would be fiance dead, Kaila pulls out a backup plan for seizing power over Sixth and Fifth Kingdom. Make the people, who are still rioting over Midas' wife, Queen Malina's seizure of the throne (her rightful throne, mind you) and her alleged murder, love her. Accept her.

Slade has fled Fifth Kingdom, with Auren, on the back of Argo, a timberwing. And now, the fanart finally clicks into place.

He's counting the seconds, well the fuck aware of how crucial it is that he pull his rotting power out of her before it's too late.

They land. He pulls. Most of it flows freely but there's one last speck that resists. He panics. He curses. And he tries once more to rip the last of the rot out of her, sending his body careening backwards into the snow.

But the speck remains.

And Auren still doesn't wake up.

And again, Slade is counting the seconds.

And Digby is shouting.

And the Wrath is sensing the alarm.

And this series is something else, because how are we only four percent in and my heart is pounding in my chest! Paragraph after paragraph. Page after page. Until finally, Ryatt slams his fist into Slade's face and the spell of panic is finally broken. Sort of.

Back on his feet, Slade scoops Auren back into his arms, hauls them both back onto Argo, and we're off to Deadwell while the Wrath is directed to go back for the army.

But does anyone listen to orders anymore? Apparently Lu and Ryatt have transcended that bit of expectation. And Judd just doesn't follow orders that he deems stupid.

So chapter after chapter, we're riding in Slade's POV while taking trips into his past with his brother and mother and father and then talks of Lu's past of when she came into Slade's army at just fourteen years of age. Talula Gallerin.

“She’s gonna wake up, you know.”

I swallow hard, all the light amusement draining back out of me. “You sound sure.”

“That’s because I am,” she says before she unfolds herself and gets to her feet. “You took my belligerence and tossed a uniform in my face. You met Osrik’s kill drive and decided to give him your sword. You saw every jail cell that couldn’t hold Judd and, instead of tossing him in another one, let him keep the keys. This time, you found your goldfinch and watched her leave her cage. She’ll open her eyes, just like you got the rest of us to do.”

Throughout the beginning, I was in awe as the author takes King Rot and shows him for the human that he half is. For the boy that he was, and the man that he became. One that makes mistakes, that doesn't think of everything, that loses himself in panic and desperation but has the loyalty of his comrades and the grounding of his friends to hit him, distract him, comfort him—whatever needed to get him through. And as much as I was ready for our Lady Auren to wake the hell up, I was there for Slade's story. There, beside Ryatt, and Lu, and Judd, and Digby.

Osrik alone has gone back for the army, kicking their butt into high gear to get out of dodge with haste. And cue happy dance because...

Osrik and Rissa's side quest has commenced!

Frowning, I straighten up, and then my eyes adjust to the darker lighting and the warmer air, and my gaze immediately zeroes in on the woman wearing some fancy ass dress that has no business being worn out here in these conditions. The little coat she has on isn’t doing shit either.

The blonde stands up to face me, crossing her arms in front of her indignantly. “And just who are you?” she demands.

I blink at her, then at the second woman who’s lying on the pallet next to her, white as a sheet as she sleeps. “I’m captain of the whole damn army right now. Who the fuck are you?”

Give this woman one hell of a romance! She deserves it!

And then the words I've been waiting for...

"I'm finally going to tell you why they really call me Rip."

::squeal::

Nope. There was no expecting that.

Home is Annwyn.

I truly believed Gleam would win out as my favorite of this series, but Glow was proving to be a notable contender as time went on. Of any of the books, this is just as much Slade's story as Auren's, if not more so. He's an open book here. Sure, he prefers to turn the pages slowly, but gone is the deception. And he's his mother's son to the core.

Auren stands trial for her alleged crimes: killing Midas and stealing his powers. But, like our own system of justice, the process is rigged in one side's favor. But this time, Slade is there. Rip is there.

And the Bridge of Lemuria is restored.

Bring on the Fae!

5 out of 5 stars. Despite each book picking up right at the end of its predecessor, I've never really felt there was much of a cliffhanger. But the ending of this book? Holyfruckingshyt.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2025/35

By Blood & Magic (Dragon Portal #2)

...you're not those Fae, and I'm not those dragons.

Available at Amazon.com

By Blood and Magic
Jamie A. Waters
Dragon Portal, book two
Kindle edition, 403 pages
Audiobook, 14+ hours
Published March 26, 2020
ISBN 9781949524185
ASIN B07XYCBKMQ


A priceless treasure is hidden within the ocean's depths...Sabine barely managed to escape from Akros with her life.

But the ocean isn't safe for someone whose power stems from the forests.

When their ship is attacked on the high seas and one of Sabine's companions is taken hostage, only an agreement forged by blood and magic may save her friend's life.

The pearl of the sea is also the key to the gods' revenge...

With the dragon portal failing and the gods' magic threatening to destroy their world, Sabine must choose between following her heart or upholding a sacred oath.

The cost of ending a centuries-old feud may be higher than anyone expected.

All magic demands a sacrifice--even if it's hers.

A brief summary, with spoilers, rolling in...

Sabine escapes the Wild Hunt by joining Malek on his ship in a quest to find the lost Fae artifacts that powered the sealing of the portal. She is joined by Bane, the paranoid and overprotective demon. Also, Blossom the pixie, and Esme the witch.

Then the merfolk attack the ship and Esme and a dozen of Malek's men go overboard and become hostages. Sabine takes over, captures a merman, and they negotiate. If she finds their missing mermaid, Pearl, they'll return her people.

Malek transforms into his dragon form and flies the ship somewhere to get repaired.

Soon after, Sabine, Malek, and Bane are taken captive by raiders. Sabine and Malek alter their connection marks, and the goddess siezes the opportunity to use their power combination to smite the entire raiding party.

Bane then chooses to go back to oversee the work on the ship as he's also *finally* come to terms with the fact that Sabine has no intention of keeping distance from Malek.

Sabine, Malek, and their cheerleader, Blossom, set off to find Pearl. They end up in a village on the verge of their traditional burning ceremony in which they set fire to all magical creatures. In return for aiding the granddaughter of a woman with sight, Sabine is given a hint where to look for the lost mer.

Malek uses what's left of his energy to save innocents, and Sabine once again alters their connection to give him the strength to get out of the city. And when Malek finds out the details of that significant act, he's not happy. She's disrupted the balance between them. He can pull from her magic at will, void her glamour, leaving her vulnerable. He pushes her to change it back, but that's not possible. So he offers to make it equivalent. Which she accepts. Only, she can't handle the intensity of the flow of his dragon power and it burns at her. Suddenly, Blossom, is darting at Malek's back, poking and biting and stabbing with pixie dust and yelling at him to release her.

And as I laugh I wonder... did she just mate bond him?

A few revelations come to light. For one, although Malek believed Sabine to be about a century old, she's only twenty-seven. Secondly, Sabine's father and brother aren't the only ones that want her dead—her mother did, too. Malek can connect to Sabine's consciousness despite their distance. A couple more unseemly characters, and they end up in Faerie with a gong announcing her arrival and recognizing her as the rightful heir. It's a short visit, but it ends with Sabine spearing one of the True Folk for corrupting the treeheart.

They reunite with Bane, who all but instantly throws himself into an attack at Malek. Dammit, Bane! The demon senses how much their connection has altered Sabine's magic. It's bound her to the light and as she has both Seelie and Unseelie powers... this complicates her claim to the Unseelie throne. Too much light, and she becomes her Seelie father's subject.

Artifacts acquired, in addition to the chalice in book one: Pearl.

4 out of 5 stars. And I believe we could have a new drinking game for every time Malek pushes Sabine's hair behind her ear.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2025/34

In the Veins of the Drowning (Siren Mage #1)

Lady Imogen, I have eyes.

Available at Amazon.com

In the Veins of the Drowning
Kalie Cassidy
The Siren Mage, book one
Kindle edition, 377 pages
Published July 15, 2025
ASIN B0D1BMW3F3
ISBN 9780316587617


The monster is always slain…

Imogen Nel is in hiding. Hiding from a cruel kingdom that believes Sirens are monstrous, blood-hungry creatures. Hiding from a king and his captain who viciously hunt her kind. Hiding from her own alluring abilities. By keeping herself from the sea, Imogen’s bloodlust is dulled, and her black wings remain hidden beneath her skin.

When a neighboring king comes to visit, Imogen can no longer hide. He knows precisely what she is, and he believes she can save both their kingdoms from an even greater monster. But Imogen’s power threatens to violently reveal itself, and the two form a blood bond that protects them both. They flee the kingdom together, traversing waters teeming with the undead. As the lines between duty to their people and desire for each other begin to blur, Imogen worries her own ancestral powers may not be enough to kill what hunts her—the only way to defeat a monster may be to become one herself.

This book did not start out well for me. The first chapter alone was far too cryptic and downright depressing. Is the king her fiance? No. Is he her father? No. The captain is her fiance. King Nemea just adopted her, doing so for her inheritence after the death of her parents.

And the mysterious man atop the fortress walls is Theodore. The love interest? With that name. Gah.

The fiance, Evander, is... not awful. Except that his response to her being sick off the wine is to give her a chunk of bread and she's tired and short of breath, so his remedy is to take her to her room, remove her clothes, and have her dry mount his cock. What am I reading?!

I take it back. He's awful. But it's Imogen that disgusts me. And then she's going off on how Theo (Yes, Theo because Theodore is a chipmunk) has never done this and never done that. Uh, excuse you. You just met this man. You shared two whole conversations and a dance. You know nothing about him!

I haven't been this repulsed by a FMC since Feyre.

She's been resigned to this pitiful existence for years, had accepted the fate as Evander's bride, but now, now, that she wants out, well *snap snap* everybody needs to throw caution and reason to the wind, tempt war and whatever else to give the poor, unfortunate siren what she demands. Save her, because for some damn reason she can't save herself.

Oh wait, she can. And I can't roll my damn eyes hard enough. If that wasn't the most anticlimactic death of a 'villain' I've endured in a long while. A man being lured to drown by a siren.

Perhaps I'm being unfairly harsh. This is my first siren story afterall. But... it is what it is. This is an honest blog.

“You killed your fiancé,” he said in a brutal whisper, “and then you came here moments later to beg me to leave in the middle of the night and take you with me?”

“No.” I looked him squarely in the eye—I had nothing left to lose. “I came to bind myself to you.”

The air around us thinned. His voice was deadly quiet. “You’re out of your mind.”

“Perhaps.” I didn’t bother to hide the desperation in my voice. “But I have nothing left to armor myself in except your protection and you refused to give it.”

His gaze was filled with the embers’ light, with incredulity. “I did not refuse. I said I needed time.”

Out of her mind, or has the brain of a fish. Either way, I'm one hundred percent with Theo on this. And he did say he needed time. That's not a refusal despite what her twisted mind has concocted.

24% completed. And I'm done.

DNF

Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

Daughter of No Worlds (The War of Lost Hearts #1)

I stood with her, only her, until the end of our stories.

(2025 cover edition)
Available at Amazon.com

Daughter of No Worlds
Carissa Broadbent
The War of Lost Hearts, book one
Kindle edition, 520 pages
Published January 7, 2020
Hardcover, 512 pages
Published October 14, 2025
ASIN B082FRD429
ISBN 9781250405364


A former slave fighting for justice. A reclusive warrior who no longer believes it exists. And a dark magic that will entangle their fates.

Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life.

Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organizations of magic Wielders in the world. But to join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises the Orders.

The Orders’ intentions are cryptic, and Tisaanah must prove herself under the threat of looming war. But even more dangerous are her growing feelings for Maxantarius. The bloody past he wants to forget may be the key to her future… or the downfall of them both.

But Tisaanah will stop at nothing to save those she abandoned. Even if it means gambling in the Orders’ deadly games. Even if it means sacrificing her heart.

Even if it means wielding death itself.

Fans of epic romantic fantasy like Sarah J. Maas and Raven Kennedy will devour this tale of dark magic, passionate romance, vengeance, and redemption.

Tisaanah survived the catastrophies of war only to be delivered into slavery as a child. And eventually ended up with a master that promised her freedom if she could only afford the price: one thousand silvers.

And today, at twenty-one years of age, she's finally done it.

But, her master is a liar. And now Tasaanah is forced to flee with help from her best friend, Serel, who stays behind to give her time to escape and make it to the ships. She must sail to Ara, to the Orders.

Tasaanah's one hope is to learn to master her magic and return for her friend and for her people.

Max is a loner. He's done with the politics. Done with the wars. Buuuut Tisaananah's intentions are noble. Hopeful. Desperate. And so, he succumbs to Nura's insistence that he take on the role as Tasaanah's teacher. She becomes his apprentice and he begins to train her.

And despite the pretenses, Max is a sweetheart. As Miraselle said, he's just so nice. When he wants to be.

Tasaanah, Max, and Sammerin are recruited by Nura to be a part of a show of force against Pathyr Savoi who is refusing to abdicate now that his family has been removed from power following his father being declared a traitor and violently slain in the street. There was to be no bloodshed.

But then Pathyr decides to blow the place up instead and suddenly we're in a battle and magic is slinging up, down, and sideways. Tasaanah is wielding daggers. Sammerin is building a dam of dead bodies. Max is shaking, barely keeping it together. And I'm triggered enough to yell "Objection, Foundation," because where the hell is all this coming from?!

They're moving in sync, gaining ground as a unit, and still, where does a dancing slave from Threll get this training?!

But okay, I'm along for the ride.

Especially when Tasaanah slips into Max's mind to give him sight beyond what they could physically see from their standpoint. And then her mind is riding his flames, winding through the halls of what's left of the castle, seeking the enemy, intent on breaking their spell.

And. So. Much. Is. Happening.

Then Tasaanah's mind flashes back to her whipping and the twenty-seven lashes that preceeded the death of her master. And I can finally take a breath as everything goes dark.

Tasaanah and Max are absolutely precious together. His words often mirror her thoughts. They compliment one another and fit almost seemlessly as their relationship goes from strangers to mentor and apprentice and effortlessly into friendship.

I appreciate how this author doesn't waste paragraphs going on and on with descriptive nonsense trying to build some kind of atmosphere or scene. Somehow, with so few words, the reader is drawn into the mood, into the moment in this world, just by the characters, their actions, and their words. The focus is the conversation and somehow that alone gives light to everything else one could imagine around them. It's with every Clip, Clip, Clip instead of droning on about the flowers themselves, their colors and the size of their blossoms or the strength of their fragrance.

This is world building at its finest, for me. Leave more to be imagined.

And may we spare a moment to appreciate how these two characters can fall asleep beside one another in the garden and not wake up wrapped around one another? The innocence of these two war-beaten souls, I tell you. It's a whole other form of intimacy.

But the attraction is there. And the heat of the slow burn is sizzling while their friendship and subtle romance is just divine.

This isn’t what I want.

It all depended on the definition of “this” — whether those words were unshakably true or the biggest fucking lie I had ever told anyone else or myself.

If “this” was the sensation of her lips against my neck, or that little sound that I suspected she didn’t even know she’d made, or the way that she felt enveloped in my arms...

If “this” was the sound of her voice, or the way she saw the world, or her stupid jokes...

"I never expected this from you, Tisaanah,” I choked out. We were still so close. Our noses almost touched. I could barely focus on the words I forced out of my mouth. “Almost every single person in your life has used you. And I’m not— This isn’t—"

And I wouldn’t be another one of those people, unwittingly or not.

This isn’t what I want.

If “this” was her lips, her body, her kiss, her touch, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about those things. If I hadn’t had to shove them into a dark corner of my mind, never to be disturbed, never to be addressed.

But if “this” was her friendship, her companionship, her trust? Her happiness? Her safety?

Those things were worth more to me than anything else ever would be. Downright precious.

And for that, I would throw everything else into a box and lock it away never to be acknowledged, permanently, if that’s where they needed to be.

Spoilers ahead.

Tisaanah succeeds in her trials, only to be presented with a test greater than anything she or Max had anticipated. Because they (Nura and Arch Commandant Zeryth) have plans for Tisaanah. Plans that Max had unwittingly, and so foolishly, played into all along.

There is a magic strong enough to end any war. A sentient magic that selectively chooses its host, bonding itself to them. And they expect it to choose Tisaanah, just as it had chosen Max so many years ago.

And despite Max's pleas that she not go, that she not accept anything offered to her, there is nothing Tisaanah would not give of herself to save her people.

Tisaanah agrees with Zeryth's plan, albeit with well thought out conditions, and the story takes a turn as she awakens with a voice in her head. Reshaye. And not just a voice, but memories. Max's memories.

She's now basically possesed by Max's haunted past and his demon, a demon (my word, not the author's) that has been cast aside, abandoned, and tortured. Reshaye is a force that is no stranger to its anger, fueled by its repeated suffered betrayals.

And with its arrival, so, too, do we get a continuous pattern of Max's POV. Ascended above, what a POV it is! Just like The Silversmith, I found myself just about highlighting his every word. Oh, Maxantarius—the friend, ally, and battlemate that you are!

5 out of 5 stars. This is an extremely underhyped book. And of all the books I've read, this, if nothing else, deserves a film adaptation. The story is so simple but would be glorious on the big screen.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook (Not recommending this in audiobook)

2025/33

Come For Me (Hunt #1)

Interesting. It seems murder is my love language.

Available at Amazon.com

Come For Me
C.J. Sweet
The Hunt, book one
328 pages, Kindle Edition
Audiobook, ~14 hours
Published October 4, 2024
ISBN 9798990912007

Alaina
He’s waited a long time for me, but I’ve waited longer for the truth. Not even the king himself could keep me from the only ties left to my identity. Then I meet him, and I’m stuck between uncovering who I am and discovering who I’m meant to be.

Dax
After seven years I finally found her, my true mate’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect. With the rogue and vampire attacks increasing in vigor, my kingdom needed a strong leader now more than ever. They needed us. Only together, did we have a chance. But she’s fighting her destiny, fighting me. It’s only a matter of time before my enemies plaguing my kingdom would see this and try to take what’s mine.

This book features a menu of over forty of the best (and what some may deem worst) tropes and kinks of dark romance. There's something for everyone, especially those with a healthy sense of adventure or those looking to unlock new kinks.

Everyone knows how mate bonds are severed: either the true mate is killed or a wolf is claimed by another before the fated mate can. Once marked, I would quickly lose my ability to recognize my mate, and he would eventually die of a broken heart.

Would I rather my mate be killed than live somewhere else? Would I choose his agony over my own?

Find your true mate or choose to bond to another.

But if you choose another, your true mate will wither and die.

Alrighty then. Ouch.

Alaina doesn’t want her true mate. Not if it means leaving the Bloodhound pack, the only pack she’s ever known and the only link she has left to a mother she never knew. A mother who had wandered into the pack’s territory, pregnant and alone, seeking refuge. The mother who had died giving birth to her.

When the alpha’s son, Caleb, her best friend and occasional lover, tells her that his father is forcing him to choose a mate at the next traditional mate hunt in order to secure his place as heir, he also informs her that he intends to choose her should he fail to find his true mate.

It’s a solution to both of their predicaments. And, would be a bittersweet full circle that started when they had first become friends with benefits back when Alaina was eighteen only to discover on her twenty-first birthday that Caleb was not her true mate.

The day arrives. The hunt begins. And straight away, Alaina detects a new scent. Her wolf responds Mate while Alana's eerie brain takes the 'Caleb needs to kill him' route.

Meanwhile... Dax had nearly given up on finding his fated. After the first five years of failure, he no longer joins the hunt. His last was three years ago.

As we near the castle grounds, my plans to take advantage of a willing subject are sabotaged by the sweetest smell of black raspberry and vanilla. Her scent infiltrates my plan and overcomes my darkest intentions. This dark lord’s storm is calmed by her aroma as I inhale further. As I drink in this newfound heaven, my [redacted]. Her natural fragrance alone, whoever she is, has caught this demon’s attention, and I won’t be satisfied until I’ve possessed her very soul. Tension and the weight of my duty to the throne rolls off me like sand recedes with the waves—for the first time in eight years. All because of her.

“Mate,” I mindlink to my beta.

Like a meerkat, Sam’s head pops up, wide-eyed and alert. “What?”

He never thought he’d ever hear the word. None of us did.

Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Arden! Anthony Palmini will always be my favorite reader, but Joe. Arden. The inflection. The emphasis. The growls.

Oh, Caleb. You in danger, boy.

And I should have read this before Raven Kennedy's Gleam because compared to Dax, Ravinger's a choir boy.

Alaina has every intention of allowing Caleb to claim her, but with her true mate's scent in her lungs, she finds herself fighting with her wolf. His touch revolts her, burning her, and her wolf snarls and whimpers to get away.

And then Dax arrives. A king that will have his queen.

Let the battle of wills commence.

“All you have to do is stake your claim.” I bare my neck to her, baiting her. “Take what’s always belonged to you, darling. Be my queen.” I growl the honorific.

Her heart skips a beat, lip quivering, and her canines descend unintentionally as she fights her wolf’s instinctual urge.

We know what this would mean. I can be calm in any battle, but she leans in, and it takes everything for my heart to not beat out of my chest. I’ve never wanted anyone more than I’ve wanted her. I fucking worship my mate.

Alaina leans in to mark me. I don’t move, more than ready for her to seal the bond officially.

Then moisture hits my cheek.

Did she just spit on me?

This book had me clutching my pearls and shielding my ears and eyes. I cringed. I laughed. I blushed. It is the be-all and end-all of wolf shifter smut. That's it. I need not one more book in this genre despite the cliffhanger end.

5 out of 5 stars. Dax is positively unhinged. Audiobook or nothing with this one.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

2025/32