Shadow Wars (Secret War #1)

We all have pain to bear.
It just wears different faces and attacks us in different places.

Available at Amazon.com

Shadow Wars
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Hinako Hishinuma & Madaug Hishinuma
Secret War, book one
255 pages, Kindle edition
Published May 27, 2025
ISBN 9798200751044


From bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon and debut authors Hinako & Madaug Hishinuma comes a middle-grade fantasy adventure unlike any other, where demons rub shoulders with gods and one boy must learn to control his power before it's too late.

Banished, isolated, and hunted for a destiny he doesn’t understand, Ryuichi must learn to master the powers he inherited from his mother in order to protect the sacred gates that separate the mortal world from the realm of demons. If he doesn’t, kami, yōkai, and demons who are determined to make humanity suffer will flood the human realm.

No one can be trusted. Not even his own guardian … And here he thought puberty was the worst thing to threaten his sanity.

If he’s going to survive, Ryuichi must figure out who his real allies are—and who wants him dead. He’ll learn that sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right, and to overcome evil, you might have to bend the rules—and believe in people others tell you not to trust.

This book, written by one of my favorite authors in collaboration with her children, was a part of my son's assigned summer reading.

It is a good book. It's fast paced. There's a lot of characters that seem to swoop in and out. Multiple POV changes. To put it succinctly, my head was spinning.

That said, the characters are fantastic. There's many deep, haunting themes but also there's humor throughout. And although I'm not the biggest fan of making light of alcohol addiction, it certainly is no where near as offensive as Jiraiya's affliction. And I make that reference because this book obviously has all the anime feels and anyone who is a Naruto fan should find some enjoyment in the reading of it.

What I appreciated most were the many proverbs dispersed throughout the pages. The pantheon of Japanese mythology. The folklore. The culture.

Ryuichi is an orphan without a family name. His mother and father are long forgotten by the mortals that roam in and out of his young life. He is bullied but is he far from broken and as he comes of age, the powers he inherited from his parents are surging to the surface.

With the help of his guardian, a ronin, a couple kitsunes, and a few capable kids, Ryuichi discovers he is someone of value. He is not worthless. He is loved. He is not forgotten.

3 out of 5 stars.



Available in ebook | hardcover |  audiobook

Eidolon (Wraith Kings #2)

Promise you'll be here for me to return to.

Available at Amazon.com

Eidolon
Grace Draven
Wraith Kings, book two
ebook, 291 pages
First published April 18, 2016
ISBN 9781310196522

In a bid for more power, the Shadow Queen of Haradis has unleashed a malignant force into the world. Her son Brishen, younger prince of the Kai royal house, suddenly finds himself ruler of a kingdom blighted by a diseased darkness and on the brink of war. His human wife Ildiko must decide if she will give up the man she loves in order to secure his throne.

Three enemy kingdoms must unite to save each other, and a one-eyed, reluctant king must raise an army of the dead to defeat an army of the damned.

A tale of alliance and sacrifice.

It’s been ten years since I read this book’s predecessor, but this sequel took me back to all the warm feels of Brishen, a spare prince of little value, his hag of a bride, Ildiko, (I jest. Sort of.) and their fantastical love story.

When Brishen's mother unleashes a horde of galla (demons) into their world, it is left to Brishen, the seemingly lone survivor of their royal line, to save the kingdom. Now, the Kai prince whose only worth was to be wed to a human noblewoman to secure an alliance, is left with the feat of betraying his people's access to their magic in order to sever his spirit from his body. To become an eidolon. To become a Wraith King. To raise an army of the dead in order to force the galla back through the breach and seal it shut. And now, the same duty that forced a wife upon him would require him to put her aside.

For Ildiko is a human and, as such, she can never produce an heir for Brishen. And while Brishen may be willing to die for the kingdom, he will not surrender the wife he has grown to love. Ildiko, though, is under no illusion of her own value in the predicament, and begins strategizing a worthy replacement to serve as Brishen’s wife and queen. Even as her heart is breaking.

Mercifully, and fortunately, a loyal nursemaid and two royal guards have secured the infant daughter of Brishen’s brother. Their only task is to see her safely delivered to Brishen to be raised as queen. If the spirit of Brishen’s vile mother doesn’t possess her first.

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

A Court of Thorns & Roses (ACOTAR #1)

What do I care?

Available at Amazon.com

A Court of Thorns & Roses
Sarah J. Maas
ACOTAR, book one
Paperback, 419 pages
Published June 2, 2020
ISBN 9781635575569

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

I don’t know how I’ve never heard of this series but I managed to be convinced to read book two, A Court of Mist and Fury, and I can’t very well in good conscience skip over book one so, without even reading the blurb, here we are.

Smh. I should have just skipped to book two.

The first chapter was sad. And the main character is a bigot. Not off to the best start.

But Tamlin made me smile (once, and never again) and Lucien’s hostility was intriguing enough so on I continued as the two Fae worked on eradicating Feyre’s prejudices.

The plot - Feyre is a young woman of nineteen tasked with providing for herself, her father, and her two older sisters. Her mother is long deceased and any riches the family once possessed have dwindled to a tiny cottage. This doesn’t shy the woman from looking down on everyone though. Resentful and oh so judgmental.

On a hunt to sustain the family, Feyre crosses paths with what appears to be a wolf targeting the same deer in the woods. Wolf kills deer. Feyre kills wolf. Feyre skins wolf. Feyre leaves wolf’s corpse to rot in the winter woods.

But that wolf was a Fae. And that Fae had friends.

And so, Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court, invokes the rights to a life for a life as dictated by the treaty between their two peoples and collects Feyre to join him in Prythian as not his prisoner or slave, but as his guest.

There you have it. Beauty and the Beast. At the most diabolical level.

Spoilers and a profane rant below.

Beauty and the Beast meets... Saw? Because wtf else did I just read??

She's his pet.

About halfway through this book, I had a question that was nagging to be answered because apparently I’m developing a habit of questioning the role of the love interest… Am I suppose to like Tamlin? I knew he wasn't endgame thanks to Booktok and what little I'd pieced together about book two, but was I suppose to even like him? Despise him? Was I suppose to despise everyone? Because aside from Lucien, that was the path I was on.

And then Rhysand shows up and what a breath of fresh air... Yes, you beautiful, dark creature! Avenge me for the pain they’ve put me through! Torture them all!

If only I had skipped the first seventy percent of this book... Feyre is awful. Tamrin… fucking hell. The entire plot is based on a lie and a curse. Fuck him. Fuck his whole court.

Pages 290 through half of 415 was all I needed. Didn't even finish the last bit because Rhysand was gone and to hell if I was going to suffer through Tammy again.

The bond between us went taut.

Are we really not going to talk about that? ^^

Am I going to still give it a go with book two? A grumbled yes.

Why? Because Rhysand is the devil and I hope to see all these characters, aside from Lucien, burning in hell.

And because I’ve already purchased it.

“Well, good-bye for now,” he said, rolling his neck as if we hadn’t been talking about anything important at all. He bowed at the waist, those wings vanishing entirely, and had begun to fade into the nearest shadow when he went rigid.

His eyes locked on mine, wide and wild, and his nostrils flared. Shock—pure shock flashed across his features at whatever he saw on my face, and he stumbled back a step. Actually stumbled.”

2 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Dire Bound (Wolves of Ruin #1)

Welcome home, my queen.

Available at Amazon.com

Dire Bound
Sable Sorensen
Wolves of Ruin, book one
Kindle Edition, 682 pages
First published February 26, 2025
ISBN 9780316601405

Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials. She’ll risk her life—and her heart—to be one of them.

Meryn Cooper has always hated the Bonded, elite warriors who form mental links with the massive, vicious direwolves they ride. While they live in luxury, Meryn struggles to keep her family out of poverty. When her little sister, Saela, is kidnapped—stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting—Meryn’s world falls apart.

Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army and is thrown into the deadly Bonding Trials, where any mistake will cost her life.

Now Meryn must survive four months of training at the castle. She is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her cold and beautiful instructor, Stark Therion, is eager to punish any weakness.

Everything is a competition, and everyone is out to get her—everyone except the dangerously handsome crown prince, whose attention adds another target to her back. In the castle, every smile hides a knife…and the halls hide dark secrets.

It’s bond or bleed. Duel or die. Failure is ruin.

Hunger Games meets Fourth Wing. That's what I was told. And they did not disappoint.

This will contain spoilers. You’ve been warned.

Meryn Cooper lives in a war torn world where the army and the Bonded, the king's elite warriors, face off against the Siphons, a vampire like enemy that has allegedly been abducting children for as long as Meryn can remember. Few have survived a Nabber's encounter, and those that are taken are never seen again.

Meryn is a fighter. Literally. It started ten years ago when her father was killed in the war and Meryn was left at twelve years old to care for her mentally ill mother and raise her newborn sister, Saela. She began picking fights with older boys in the alleys on a self destructive path that would have led to her death had Igor not taken her in under his tutelage and trained her properly. When her inherited job at the Laundry barely paid the bills, afforded her sister's tuition, or covered her mother's very necessary medication, Meryn turn to fighting professionally for the extra coin. She gained herself confidence, survival skills, and even a romantic partner that stood ready to patch her up once the fight was over.

That would be Lee. He works in the castle as a Messenger. He's a good guy. He supports her. He helps her take care of her family. He has zero apparent red flags. Which caused me to side eye the hell out of him because this is a fantasy romance so, obviously, he needed to go away.

With her mother's delusions worsening and the Nabber's strike closer than ever before, Meryn begins to train her sister and the local children in self defense, weighing the option of selling her skills to those of wealth and privilege in the Northern Quarter so that she may finally have the funds to get her family further out of harm's reach.

But then Saela is gone; taken in a moment of distraction. And when Meryn finally pulls herself out her depression and seclusion, she takes the only path left to her: she enlists in the army. Her goal is the front lines and a chance to make it past the border and recover her sister. 

Her timing is impeccable. For she enlists, unbeknownst to her, on the eve of the Bonding Trials. 

Bonding a Dire Wolf? Not the plan. Despite the magic she could tap into by doing so. She survives the Ascent, makes a few allies, and gets herself claimed by Anassa, a she-wolf far older than any of the other direwolves. It's the first time Anassa has ever bonded to a human and Meryn's ungrateful ass likely convinces Anassa to make it her last as well. 

Within this army are four packs that are separated based on their designations. The Phylax are the guardians. The Kryptos are the spies. The Strategos are the leaders and tacticians. And the Daemos are the warriors. Wolf determines pack. Anassa is Strategos so Meryn goes with the leaders.

And here we are offically introduced to the alpha of the Daemos: Stark Therion, and his dire wolf, Cratos. To which I respond: No.

No… no no. Nononono. Not this guy. This guy? This is the potential love interest? The guy who disemboweled a deserter in the middle of the street and, before the heart even stopped beating, threw the body to his direwolf as a snack? This guy.

But okay... Trust the process. 

And then there it was—the red flag.

I have never slammed my kindle shut so fast.

His name is Killian.

Crown. Prince. Killian.

And he would not be going away.

The absolute savagery. And it’s not just the wolves. Although… oof. But don’t fuck with Meryn. Unless you want your offending hand severed and shoved down your throat.

Oh, well. Earned herself a tat at least.

He leans down, his breath now hot against my neck. And his tongue streaks over my skin.

The alpha warrior, or the prince? The one that shoves you into battle, or the one that patches up the wounds when you return?

The man that delivers an all out attack the first time you’re alone together, or the man that watches over your ill mother and sees to the repairs of your dilapidated home?

Two very strong contenders. Both with their charms and their faults.

Stark, or Killian?

His Princess, or his Kitten?

Anassa certainly had an opinion.

I wasn’t feeling Stark at first. Not that he gave me much to work with. He’s basically skirting the light for half of the book, every so often serving as Meryn’s tattoo artist. But then Sorensen gives him a library.

And there I go slamming shut my kindle again. Because how am I anywhere but in Stark's corner after that?

But next I'm fighting the urge to throw the book across the room. And by the end, I had dropped it twice because: Mind. Blown.

Sure, any reader would have suspected the call was coming from inside the house. But the depth and breadth and length that these two men had traversed… The horse. The deserter. That dress. The dress that made her heart sing. The room, of all the rooms. You fucked up, Stark! And well played, Killian.

Well done, Annie and Eliza.

Make me your instrument of vengeance.
Let my hands act out your every savage, depraved thought.
Use me. I’m yours.

Hands up. Knees down. I submit.

5 out of 5 stars. This is the kind of book you want to flip back to the beginning and experience again.

Available in ebook | paperback | hardcover soon to be released

The Emperor's Wolves (Wolves of Elantra #1)

Available at Amazon.com

The Emperor's Wolves
Michelle Sagara
Wolves of Elantra, book one
Audiobook, 17+ hours
First published October 13, 2020
ISBN 9781488056482


Multiple races carefully navigate the City of Elantra under the Dragon Emperor’s wing. His Imperial Wolves are executioners, the smallest group to serve in the Halls of Law. The populace calls them assassins.

Every wolf candidate must consent to a full examination by the Tha’alani, one of the most feared and distrusted races in Elantra for their ability to read minds. Most candidates don’t finish their job interviews.

Severn Handred, the newest potential recruit, is determined to face and pass this final test—even if by doing so he’s exposing secrets he has never shared.

When an interrogation uncovers the connections to a two-decade-old series of murders of the Tha’alani, the Wolves are commanded to hunt. Severn’s first job will be joining the chase. From the High Halls to the Tha’alani quarter, from the Oracles to the Emperor, secrets are uncovered, tensions are raised and justice just might be done…if Severn can survive.

Severn Handred was the first morally grey character I was ever drawn to. The first (and only?) character I ever fancasted. The one character that, with newly acquired book in hand, I would flip through the pages in haste to find any and all occurrences where “Severn” appeared.

So imagine my excitement when I learned that the Severn Handred was the center of Sagara’s newest (and I use that world loosely) installment in the world of Elantra—The Emperor’s Wolves.

I was obsessed with this character. This man who would slaughter two children to save his… hell, what was Elianne to him? His ward? His best friend? His family? His only would be confidant? His only anything?

When the deed was done and Elianne had fled, Severn finds himself being recruited by the Wolves. I expected an initiation. I expected training. I expected Severn’s story to finally be told.

But this wasn’t that. Not really.

I don’t know what this was.

Some of it was there… Once I dragged myself past seventy percent of the book.

And then came the audacity of this revelation:

I distinctly remember the scene where Elianne and Severn are reunited. It’s been twenty damn years since I’ve read that book but I still recall Severn saying he didn’t recognize her new name. But he did! He knew her name! He’d known it for years. Severn lied.

That sum of a bitch lied.

I didn't love it. I don't hate it. I'm just sitting here being the fool I am for having expectations because I have never been so disappointed.

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook 

Where it all began...

Onyx Storm (Empyrean #3)

Yes, love, I’m jealous.

Available at Amazon.com

Onyx Storm
Rebecca Yarros
Empyrean, book three
Hardcover, Deluxe, 544 pages
First published January 21, 2025
ISBN 9781649377159

After nearly eighteen months at Basgiath War College, Violet Sorrengail knows there’s no more time for lessons. No more time for uncertainty.

Because the battle has truly begun, and with enemies closing in from outside their walls and within their ranks, it’s impossible to know who to trust.

Now Violet must journey beyond the failing Aretian wards to seek allies from unfamiliar lands to stand with Navarre. The trip will test every bit of her wit, luck, and strength, but she will do anything to save what she loves—her dragons, her family, her home, and him.

Even if it means keeping a secret so big, it could destroy everything.

They need an army. They need power. They need magic. And they need the one thing only Violet can find—the truth.

But a storm is coming...and not everyone can survive its wrath.

There are details in these Empyrean books that irk me in a way that truly isn’t worth the effort of putting onto digital paper but just know that my mental image of Violet is with her head on a constant swivel.

Be that as it may...

There are books a reader can’t bring themselves to put down. And there are books a reader must close and so very intently step away from in order to breathe again. To do so in order to think clearly enough to process the clusterfuck of emotions that drive the entire ordeal into a love-hate relationship. 

I am there with Onyx Storm.

The more I read, the longer the book became. 

And wtf was with Chapter 62? Why are we suddenly jumping into another character’s POV, and Rhiannon no less?! Don’t get me wrong, I like the gal, but being in her head was the last place I needed to be in that moment. Why not Ridoc? Why not Bodhi?? Why not anyone but Rhi???

"I am the second-largest dragon on the Continent and a revered warrior. My tales are legendary. My mate unparalleled. My feats unmatched-"

 

The unmitigated ego of Tairn... I love him so. Xaden. Andarna. Ridoc. Even Aaric and Bodhi were shining brightly in this installment. The way Ridoc tore into Violet and gave Xaden the what's what. The way Aaric showed Dain again and again how utterly worthless his presence was on their mission to find the irid. The boy was there to play fetch and I enthusiastically applaud it. Violet... She gets the most improved award.

"You don't owe me your friend's secrets."

Hallelujah, girl. Enough with arguing about secrets and the whole I-know-you-can't-tell-me-everything-but-you're-not-telling-me-everything whining. Ugh. These damn Iron Flame flashbacks.

Is it a cliffhanger ending? Yes.

Is it a damn good ending regardless of that fact? Hell. Yes. And if Yarros had stopped it at chapter sixty-five, I don't think we'd have that WTF response going viral through Tiktok. That last chapter... is much.

4.5 out of 5 stars. This series is exhausting. 

Available in ebook | hardcover | graphic audiobook

Previously in the series:

Shield of Sparrows

What if I was yours?

Available at Amazon.com

Shield of Sparrows
Devney Perry
Hardcover, Deluxe, 511 pages
First published May 6, 2025
ISBN 9781649378514

The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel. I’ve spent my life kneeling―to their will and to my father's.

As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king. I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood.

But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life. Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him―bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know. Everyone wants me to be something I’m not―a queen, a spy, a sacrifice.

But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated?

And what if―for the first time―I reached for it?

It has been years since I picked up a story that was classic fantasy romance. This all but abandoned blog is evidence of that. But, that being said, this was a damn good book and with no news, or whisper of rumor, of when book two of this series will release, I'm going to attempt a bit of a recap. It will contain minor spoilers so click off and away if that's a problem. 

Odessa Cross is the eldest daughter of her father, the king of Quentis. But she is not his chosen to take on the fate of the Sparrow, the bride of one kingdom sworn to the prince of another. She is not his chosen spy. Nor his chosen assassin. That title, each of them, has always been held by her half sister, Mae―a worthy lead female character in her own right. 

Until the Guardian chooses Odessa, claiming her to fulfill the Chain of Sevens and also the treaty of the Shield of Sparrows as the prince's wife and future queen of Turah. 

 ::sigh:: 

I was enthralled by this book. Page after page, I struggled to put it down. 

The story is the journey. Odessa travels via sea and land, accompanied by her lady's maids, through a world plagued by monsters. The migration is coming, and with it, the worst of the worst of them will fly. They will hunt and they will savagely kill. 

Her protection lies with the Guardian, a prince, and men whose loyalty proves true again and again. 

But Odessa wants a sword. She wants to fight. She wants to save herself, and her people. Most of all, she wants to prove to her father that she is worthy. And, yes, she wants to kill the Guardian. 

 So who better to give her a blade and train her? 

Shit, my face was hot.

The Guardian's finger hooked under my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. "Need a moment?"

I swatted his hand away and took a step back, raising my fists. "No. Let's get on with it."

"Your wish." He mocked a bow, then slapped me in the face.

Oh that Guardian. "I speak on the prince's behalf," he says. Sure you do. You do that. Hell, I'm game. Let's play. 

"Praise is for the bedroom, Cross. Not the training field."

On to the spoilers... 

They will never make it to their destination: Allesariah, the capital of Turah. Odessa will prove herself a terrible spy and a worse liar. She will face betrayal. And she will not yet know why the magic of the Voster makes her skin crawl. 

But she will choose her husband. She will take a life. And she will save many. She will befriend a princess. And she will uncover the origin of the cursed Guardian. 

Never dull, but much is left unresolved. 

"Are you angry, Sparrow? Use that rage. Fucking. Fight."
I hate you.
If he could read my mind, I wanted that at the front. I hate you.
A slow grin streched across his mouth. "There's my queen."

5 out of 5 stars. And I will be preordering the next book immediately when it becomes available.

Available in ebook | hardcover | audiobook

Lights Out (Into Darkness #1)

User the.faceless.man has started following you.

Available at Amazon.com

Lights Out
Navessa Allen
Audiobook, 13+ hours
First published February 14, 2024
ISBN 9781638932239

The viral TikTok stalker dark romance, burning with high heat, hilarious banter, and a love story like you’ve never seen before. Can you handle the ride?

I want someone with a soul as black as night. Someone who would burn the world down for me and not lose a single minute of sleep over it.

Trauma nurse Alyssa Cappellucci doesn’t need any more kinks. She likes the one she’s landed on just fine. To her, nothing could top the masked men she follows online. Unless one of those men was shirtless, heavily tattooed, and waiting for her in her bedroom. She dreams about being hunted by one in particular, of him chasing her down and doing deliciously dark things to her willing body. She never could have guessed that by sending one drunken text, those dreams would become her new reality.

I want things most people don’t, craving darkness and depravity instead of light and love.

Joshua Hammond has an infamous father—the kind of man that true-crime podcasts love talking about. Josh has spent his life avoiding the limelight, but his online persona is another story. At night, he posts masked thirst traps for his millions of fans to drool over, but one follower has caught his Aly. After reading a comment begging him to break into her house wearing a mask, he decides to take her up on her offer.

Together, Aly and Josh live out their darkest fantasies, unaware that Aly has captured the attention of someone else. Someone with far more sinister intentions than a little light stalking. As Josh turns from predator to protector and the stakes heighten, he must ask himself how far he’s willing to go for the woman he’s obsessed with.

Lights Out is a fast-paced dark romance with a morally gray male lead. Some themes and scenes may be disturbing to readers. Please check the TWs at the beginning of the book.

I laughed. I blushed. I questioned the mental health of the author. And yeah, I cringed on a few occasions. 

But the one thing I could not do is predict this book. He wouldn't. Oh he would! He's not. Damn it, he is! Could not keep my jaw off the floor.

Dark, contemporary romance may not be my thing but if you're going to experience this book, do it through the audiobook because Josh is amazing and the casting for his part... Chef's kiss.

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | audiobook (highly recommend!) | paperback

Iron Flame (Empyrean #2)

My house. My chair. My woman.

Available at Amazon.com

Iron Flame
Rebecca Yarros
Empyrean, book two
623 pages, Hardcover
First published November 7, 2023
ISBN 9781649375858

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | graphic audio 

Previously in the series:

Fourth Wing (Empyrean #1)

A dragon without its rider is a tragedy.
A rider without their dragon is dead.

Available at Amazon.com

Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yarros
Empyrean, book one
517 pages, Hardcover
Published May 2, 2023 by Entangled: Red Tower Books
ISBN 9781649374042

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

"I know exactly who and what you are, Violet Sorrengail."

What is she? 

I have questions. So many questions.

3.5 out of 5 stars. And those stars earned are strictly for Xaden Riorson, Tairn, Andarna, and Ridoc, because Violet... I'm not there with her yet.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | graphic audiobook