The Silversmith

Then burn, it shall.

Available at Amazon.com

The Silversmith
LJ Claren
Hardcover edition, 475 pages
ISBN 9798218800390
Kindle edition, 475 pages
ASIN B0F9ZCTN4T
Independently published July 13, 2025



Power is awakening. Love is a liability.

And the fate of the world rests in the hands of a grieving girl who never asked to be chosen.

Still reeling from the deaths of her father and brother, Ary Gold survives only by sheer will in the icy wilds of the North. But when friends arrive with stories of long-lost magic and a power buried in her newly discovered royal blood, Ary is thrust into a fate far larger than her sorrow.

The realm of Nyrida is under threat. An ancient shadow wielder is determined to claim Ary’s power and plunge the world into corrupted darkness. To stop him, Ary must marry the commander she’s been promised to—a man whose army could help them win the war—and train to fight alongside him.

But her fiercest challenge may not be on the battlefield.

Assigned to shape her into a warrior is a man cloaked in violence and secrets. Cold, commanding, and maddeningly unreadable, he isn’t her betrothed… but he may be her undoing. As sparks fly and loyalties are tested, Ary must decide whether to follow the path laid out for her—or risk everything for a love as wild and dangerous as the power awakening inside her.

Eighteen months ago, Ary woke up to no memories of the first seventeen years of her life.

Nine months ago, she found the dead bodies of her father and brother in their beds. Their throats slashed and an X marked upon their chests, through their clothes.

And three months ago, her mother abandoned her. Her last words: I would give you up to have my boy back. I am done being your safe haven.

So Ary is far from living her best life. And now, she's starving to death. Fortunately, her Aunt Gemma makes one hell of a grand return, foul mouth and all, on the eve of four grown, handsome and strange, men showing up as well. Caz. His brother, Finn. Ezra, her cousin by marriage.

And Mister I found you... her wolf slayer... Gavin Smyth.

All here, according to Caz, for her protection and companionship.

Because, surprise! Your father wasn't really your father. Your dad's name is Simeon. He's hundreds of years old and you're destined to save the world. By the way, you're the queen of Nyrida. Because as long as there was a female alive in the bloodline, a female would rule. And your dead paternal aunt's prophesy has you betrothed to a man named Elias, the commander of your army and "Prince of the People".

I would have been an hysterical laughing mess. But Ary? She just needs some air.

I was in trouble with this book. Labeled a Slow Burn and yet, here I was, swooning at every word that came out of Gavin's mouth less than ten percent in.

"You don't like coffee."
I didn't like coffee. But even if I did, his conviction could convince me I didn't.

Gurl, same. He brought her her hat, gloves, and a blanket. He gave her his jerky. Threw all his coin into paying for groceries and raged against the idea of her sleeping on the floor. And he knew her for less than a day! Aaaand he's in her head with the honey in the tea? That's it. Mark it down. I'm gone.

The sparks were sparking. The gazes were gazing. Somebody shut this man's mouth; my processors can't take it.

He built the library ffs!

So he's not really in her head. He's... :sigh: I do love this kind of trope, which I won't divulge, because believe it or not, I don't like to spoil everything. But if you're into 'Touch her and die' and then bodies actually start dropping, then this is a book for you. And he will unapologetically kill for less when it comes to her. From the moment he finds her in the barn, he zeroes in and does not look away.

Tried to pace myself. Tried to make the goodness last as long as possible. But I devoured this book. It is a slow burn that actually burns. The intensity with which these two went at eachother in their arguments. The ache in their longing. So pained. So desperate. I don't think I took a breath during chapter twenty-nine.

And when I turned to thirty-two, I had to ask myself if I was ready as the author gave what every romantic fiction writer should give until the end of time: the male main character's point of view.

5 out of 5 stars. The forget-me-nots adorning the cover are a beautiful touch. The moment the flowers were described in the story, I flipped to the cover and well, ...damn.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback

Aurora's End (Aurora's Cycle #3)

Squad 312 forever.

Available at Amazon.com

Aurora's End
Amie Kaufman (Website)
Jay Kristoff (Website)
Aurora's Cycle, book three
470 pages, Kindle Edition
Audiobook, 15+ hours
First published November 2, 2021
ISBN 9781524720889

Is this the end?

What happens when you ask a bunch of losers, discipline cases, and misfits to save the galaxy from an ancient evil? The ancient evil wins, of course.

Wait... Not. So. Fast.

When we last saw Squad 312, they were working together seamlessly (aka, freaking out) as an intergalactic battle raged and an ancient superweapon threatened to obliterate Earth. Everything went horribly wrong, naturally.

But as it turns out, not all endings are endings, and the team has one last chance to rewrite theirs. Maybe two. It's complicated.

Cue Zila, Fin, and Scarlett (and MAGELLAN!): making friends, making enemies, and making history? Sure, no problem.

Cue Tyler, Kal, and Auri: uniting with two of the galaxy’s most hated villains? Um, okay. That, too.

Actually saving the galaxy, though? Now that will take a miracle.

Nobody—but nobody—does a recap better than the authors of this book. This final installment opens up with Scarlett, whose self confidence rivals the best of them, and Finian as they wake up to find that they are not, in fact, dead. Which is weird, because that's what usually happens when you, ya know, blow up.

And they realize it again, and again, and again, as we repeat the chapter over and over and over while stuck in a time paradox. In a different place. In a different time.

They're no longer in 2380. They're in 2177. And the galaxy is at war.

Kal and Aurora... they're twenty-seven years into the future. So... 2407.

And Tyler and Kal's villain sister, Saedii (aka Lexa from The 100) are in the present. And speaking of...

Tyler is Saedii's mate? Oh my.. yes! Tears for Cat, but oh yes! I am here for this. For this psycho wench that parades around with a necklace of her past suitor's fingers and our dear, beloved captain.

She’s rage. She’s fire. Pushing like a knife into my chest.

I do what I wish.
I go where I please.
I take what I want.

And I see it then. As her eyes drift from mine, down to my lips and back up again.

Maker’s breath, she wants me.

We crash together, so hard the split in my lip opens again. She breathes into my lungs and my fingers weave into her hair, and the thought of how stupid this is is drowned out by the feel of her in my arms as I lift her off the ground.

She cinches her legs tight around my waist, gasping as we collide with the wall, her fingernails drawing lines of fire across my bare back as my hands squeeze her tight, pushing her hard against the metal. Stupid as this feels, crazy as it is …

The whole galaxy might be at war tomorrow.

We might all be dead.

Live for tonight. Tomorrow we die.

Her mind is entwined with mine, drenching me with her want and redoubling my own. It’s hard to breathe. To think. I’ve never felt anything like this, never needed anything so desperately, but this is insane, this is…

“Saedii,” I gasp, twisting my head away.

Stop speaking, Tyler Jones, comes her voice in my head. There are better things for you to be doing with your mouth.

Yeah, okay.

Hard to argue with that.

But then we're back with Kal and Aurora in the future, hanging with Kal's villain father, reuniting with a very angry Tyler and... Saedii's dead. And Zila. And Fin. And Scar. They're believed to be dead, too. And we lost the battle because the weapon we need, the weapon only Aurora and Kal's father can wield, never came.

And a third Tyler chasing Cat, who died in the first book? Or is it the o.g. Tyler? How many Tylers are in this book?!

And how many of those Tylers will die?

Gah! All the feels. The ache! How dare you take such a fun ride and hit me right in the chest in the end!

I should have loved her better. I should have loved her more. And I try to tell her, with the breath I have left in me, with the lips I press to hers, opening my mind and pouring into her, telling her I’m sorry.

I love you.

And then I drive the knife right into her neck.

Dang, Tyler.

And Saedii with her daughter, Lae. Finian and that damn pen. Kal with his Be'shmai. Zila.

There's so so much. And, yes, it's all about time.

5 out of 5 stars. I'm going to miss Kal most of all.



Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

Heir of Fire (TOG #3)

To whatever end.

Available at Amazon.com

Heir of Fire
Sarah J. Maas
TOG, book three
Hardcover, 576 pages
Published February 14, 2023
ISBN 9781639730988


Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak-but at an unspeakable cost. Now, she must travel to a new land to confront her darkest truth... a truth about her heritage that could change her life-and her future-forever.

Meanwhile, brutal and monstrous forces are gathering on the horizon, intent on enslaving her world. Will Celaena find the strength to not only fight her inner demons, but to take on the evil that is about to be unleashed?

Nehemiah is dead, Dorian has magic, and Chaol, knowledgable of Celaena's true identity, has sent her away. Okay, we're caught up after skipping book two, Crown of Midnight. Could have gone without the tidbit about Celaena bedding Chaol but at least I avoided the details.

Celaena has reached her fuck-it-all-to-hell point. Depression and apathy have settled in after all she's lost and has failed to achieve. Having all but given up on the task set to her, to kill Prince Galan Ashryver, she spends her time brawling and gambling in the taverns of Wenslyn. Which is where she's been for the last two weeks.

But then a deep male voice chuckled from the shadows behind her.

Sam could never beat her. With Chaol, she imagined all kinds of ways she could overtake him. Dorian was no challenge to her at all. But Rowan... In the moment they met, she feared Rowan.

And to my jaw dropping surprise, Celaena managed to travel in the company of another in actual silence.

Let me be clear: I'm here, in TOG, for Rowan. I am here for that moment that he punches Celaena in the face—and she so fucking deserved that hit—and the love story that comes after. Which I do realize is just sprinkles to this story.

The bite, however, did not go down the way I was led to believe.

Allow me a moment to vent here. The anguish and guilt that so heavily overtook Calaena with Nehemiah's death pisses me off. That pain is what I expected her to endure from Sam's death and, granted, Maas did practically skip that year in the mines, but, urgh... She knew him for a decade. He was her constant. She knew Nehemiah for what, weeks? Months?? Was it even a year???

Liked Chaol in book one. Here, not so much. He's floundering, but at least he's trying.

Dorian... I did not care for him in book one. He's better now. I know I drag Calaena across the coals at times but, in fairness, she did make Dorian a better man. Still has aways to go though. His main focus remains finding a bed partner.

Manon... Where the hell have you been? I needed you on day one! Her, with Abraxos, and the spidersilk... Now, we're cooking with fire. When I was told this was a series about an assassin, it is *this* level of cunning and deathblowing that I was anticipating. Certainly not the jewel collecting, boy-crazy, kiss-hungry chick I met in Throne of Glass.

Gods, he was brilliant. Cunning and wicked and brilliant. Even when he beat the hell out of her. Every. Damn. Day.

Well, at least we made it past sixty percent before she started kissing again. I applaud her for regulating it to his cheek. And applaud Rowan more for wiping it away.

I struggle to rate these TOG books because I'm just so bored for so much of the story. So many words for so little gain. And it doesn't have to be that way.

4 out of 5 stars.



Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

Gild (The Plated Prisoner #1)

True kings don't give up their armies for cunts.

Available at Amazon.com

Gild
Raven Kennedy
Plated Prisoner, book one
Audiobook, 9+ hours
Published October 16, 2020
ASIN B0D45XYS7C


The fae abandoned this world to us. And the ones with power rule.

Gold.

Gold floors, gold walls, gold furniture, gold clothes. In Highbell, in the castle built into the frozen mountains, everything is made of gold.

Even me.

King Midas rescued me. Dug me out of the slums and placed me on a pedestal. I’m called his precious. His favored. I’m the woman he Gold-Touched to show everyone that I belong to him. To show how powerful he is. He gave me protection, and I gave him my heart. And even though I don’t leave the confines of the palace, I’m safe.

Until war comes to the kingdom and a deal is struck.

Suddenly, my trust is broken. My love is challenged, and I realize that everything I thought I knew about Midas might be wrong.

Because these bars I’m kept in, no matter how gilded, are still just a cage.

But the monsters on the other side might make me wish I’d never left.

The myth of King Midas reimagined. This compelling adult fantasy series is as addictive as it is unexpected. With romance, intrigue, and danger, the gilded world of Orea will grip you from the very first page.

Please Note: This book contains explicit content and darker elements, including mature language, violence, and non-consensual sex. It is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. This is book one in a series.

If you're in the mood for dirty words and depraved acts with an overly possessive MMC, this is your book. If sexist, irredeemable men are your trigger, steer clear. Abort mission. This is not and may never be for you. And while this book is many things, a tale of romance it is not. If, however, you're in the mood to fuel a raging fire of misandry and let your feminist flag fly, then by all means, this is going to give you your moment.

She is his most coveted possession. Touched by his hand, every part of her skin is gold. Kept in a cage. Never shared, not once, in the ten years she's existed in his care.

Until she becomes the bargaining chip in an alliance that will get Midas an army to join him against Fourth Kingdom.

Hate him. Curse him. Do your absolute worst. But Midas, the villain that he is, is a master of the chess board. And Digby! That Dark Rhysand turned king slayer that he was! And Sail! Oh, Sail. Not Sail!

Oof. My heart. I'll never hear that Awolnation song the same way again.

For the first dozen chapters or so, I was certainly questioning what I'd gotten myself into. But after that first twist... Oh, this was so much fun! Don't get me wrong, it's dark. So dark that I had the urge to vomit at one point. But Auren was a delight and the voice of the reader in the audiobook was superb. Definitely did the character justice.

5 out of 5 stars. To a book with zero romance. What the hell?

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Throne of Glass (TOG #1)

That's not even the best part!

Available at Amazon.com

Throne of Glass
Sarah J. Maas
TOG, book one
Hardcover, 406 pages
Published February 14, 2023 (reprint)
ISBN 9781639730940


In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion.

Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

"I hate women like that. They're so desperate for the attention of men that they'd willingly betray and harm members of their own sex."

Oh, Celaena. We do not owe loyalty to people because we are of the same sex. This 'women supporting women' bs needs to die and rot. Gender is irrelevent to being a decent person. Betrayal is betrayal.

So when Celaena isn't pissing me off... I like her. The woman can banter with the best of them. Even if her go to is always and forever going to be threatening bodily harm and she uses the same tactic to flirt with just about every human male that gets close to her. These Maas FMCs be on my nerves like it's their own personal vendetta.

Chaol. Dorian. Both have their merits. Both also have their faults, and the greatest of those was their responses to Celaena's menstrual cycle. Chaol ran away and Dorian, the damned idiot, thought his best course of action was to antagonize her. Oh hell no! Stab him. Stab, stab, stab!

In the garden, the Captain of the Guard stared up at the young woman’s balcony, watching as she waltzed alone, lost in her dreams. But he knew that her thoughts weren’t of him.

She stopped and stared upward. Even from a distance, he could see the blush upon her cheeks. She seemed young—no, new. It made his chest ache.

Still, he watched, watched until she sighed and went inside. She never bothered to look below.

Chaol was the better of the two. Although... his "What did you do to deserve it?" comment really did sum up what his mentality was towards her. Truth be told, I would have phrased it the exact same way because let's not pretend Celaena doesn't knowingly put herself in consequential situations.

Dorian's "Your scars are awful" was far worse.

How does one become the Captain of the King's guard without ever taking a life? That's some serious nepotism right there.

After The Assassin and the Empire, I did expect that losing Sam would have haunted her more. Granted, it's been a year and I suppose her hormones wield more power than her heart and brain at this age. Just a bit disappointed there. I do need her to learn how to just be friends with a male. There’s no need to keep kissing everybody.

She actually made me miss Feyre with that crap.

3 out of 5 stars. I have no intention of reading this entire series. Actually, I'm skipping to book three. Because, frankly, I don't give a damn about book two. I'm more than ready for Rowan to punch Celaena in the face.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

The Assassin's Blade (TOG novellas)

You're a damned idiot.
You're a moron and an ass and a damned idiot.

Available at Amazon.com

The Assassin's Blade
Sarah J. Maas
TOG, novellas
Kindle edition, 451 pages
Published February 14, 2023 (reprint)
ISBN 9781619632219
ASIN B01865MIFK


Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful and ruthless Assassin’s Guild, Celaena yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam.

When Celaena's scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, she finds herself acting independently of his wishes—and questioning her own allegiance. Along the way, she makes friends and enemies alike, and discovers that she feels far more for Sam than just friendship. But by defying Arobynn’s orders, Celaena risks unimaginable punishment, and with Sam by her side, he is in danger, too. They will have to risk it all if they hope to escape Arobynn’s clutches—and if they fail, they’ll lose not just a chance at freedom, but their lives...

A prequel to Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas offers readers a deeper look into the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling—and deadly—world.

Included in this volume:
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
The Assassin and the Healer
The Assassin and the Desert
The Assassin and the Underworld
The Assassin and the Empire

Read it fourth. Read it third. No, fourth. No, third. Read it first. Fourth! Third!

I almost didn't read this book because, godsbedamned, if everybody and their mother didn't have an opinion on what order to read the TOG series. But here we are. Here is where I ended up.

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord

Celaena sighed through her nose. This was why she’d been awakened? She tapped a slippered foot on the marble floor. “Then kill him,” she said.

Well damn, Celaena. As they say, did we just become best friends?

Sixteen year old, Celaena Sardothien, and her fellow assassin, Sam Cortland, are sent to deliver a letter to Rolfe, Lord of the Pirates, that, unbenownst to them, negotiates the purchase of a hundred slaves.

Things take a turn when Celaena and Sam decide to free the slaves instead.

The Assassin and the Healer

Celaena took a beating from her master, Arobynn, for her actions in the first novella and has been sent to the Red Desert for further training as additional punishment.

As part of her journey, Celaena stays a few days at the White Pig where she meets Yrene, a barmaid who longs to be a healer but whose powers have deserted her.

I imagine Yrene will reappear later in the series.

The Assassin and the Desert

This story... grated. Celaena needed to achieve in one month what Ansel has not achieved in eight years of trying. Do what I do and maybe it'll prove you worthy. Like, fool, why tf would she want to copy what you're doing? It's obviously not working for you, so...

Yeahno. Not a fan of Ansel.

Throughout though, Celaena's mind wanders back to her beating and Sam's cries as he screamed threats against their master while it took three men to keep him restrained.

Zero surprise that Ansel ended up the villain. Very surprised that Celaena didn't gut her with her father's blade. I hate that shit. When women kill men but spare women. Seriously hate that shit.

You were willing to end Gregory for getting caught but this bitch betrays her master and entire guild and you hand her her sword and send her on her way. What the actual fuck, Celaena?!

The Assassin and the Underworld

Celaena finally returns home. Sam is well. Alive, and with Lysandra's hand on his arm.

Oh, I do like a jealous Celaena. And this was easily the best of the five novellas.

The Assassin and the Empire

In saving the life of the Lord of the Silent Assassins, Celaena has earned enough gold to settle her debt with Arobynn. Hers and Sam's.

Free at last, they leave the Keep and settle into their own home atop a warehouse where all they seem to do is argue as if bickering is Celaena's love language.

I knew Sam was going to die. I expected it to happen, though, in book one. So, no, I was not prepared and I cried and I was sad because... why was she not with him? Why'd he die alone at the hands of a sadist??

So...

I do like Celaena. In certain situations. Such as when she's fighting or shopping. How can one truly hate a woman who invests just as much energy and coin into her cloaks and fighting leathers as she does into her heels and delicate undergarments. She seriously needs to chill tf out though sometimes.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

Dance With the Devil (Mercenary Librarians #3)

See a problem. Stab a problem.

Available at Amazon.com

Dance With the Devil
Kit Rocha
Mercenary Librarians, book three
Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Published August 16, 2022
ISBN 9781250209399
ASIN B09C4FBKTB


POWER IS NEVER GIVEN, ONLY TAKEN

Tobias Richter, the fearsome VP of Security of the TechCorps is dead. The puppetmaster is gone and the organization is scrambling to maintain control by ruthlessly limiting Atlanta's access to resources, hoping to quell rebellion. Our band of mercenary librarians have decided that the time for revolution has come.

Maya uses her wealth of secrets to weaken the TechCorps from within. Dani strikes from the shadows, picking off the chain of command one ambush at a time. And Nina is organizing their community—not just to survive, but to fight back. When Maya needs to make contact with a sympathetic insider, Dani and Rafe are the only ones with the skill-set and experience to infiltrate the highest levels of the TechCorps. They'll go deep undercover in the decadent, luxury-soaked penthouses on the Hill.

Bringing Dani face-to-face with the man who turned her into a killer. And forcing Rafe to decide how far he'll go to protect both of his families—the one he was born to, and the one he made for himself.

Victory will break the back of Power. Failure will destroy Atlanta.

The long awaited culmination of Dani and Rafe's constant flirting and heated tensions... and it did not disappoint!

When Dani and Rafe have to go undercover in order to infiltrate the elite's most exclusive parties with the intent of making contact with someone from Maya's past, the two are forced to confront the feelings they've been long evading.

And they do so beautifully. With maturity and a sensible conversation. They actually talk. And from there, the job comes first. Their safety and the success of their mission.

I absolutely loved how this played out for these two characters. And I loved how whenever they gravitated to one another, the result was an embrace. Not lust. Not mindless passion. But they clung to eachother as if they'd finally connected to their lost halves.

3 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

Betrayer (Cursed Bloodstone #1)

Neither of us trust each other. When we do—everything will change.

Available at Amazon.com

Betrayer
LiAnne Kay
Cursed Bloodstone, book one
Kindle Edition, 344 pages
Published January 31, 2023
ASIN B09ZRR6CP1


She marries him for revenge.

He marries her for her serpent mark.

On the eve of her twentieth birthday, Sol is kidnapped by a barbarian. He wants her to use the magic she doesn’t have to heal someone. She wants to avenge her mother by killing his chieftain.

Desperate to get close to their leader, she marries one of their warriors. Her husband vows to never bed her. She vows to win his favor.

When she’s plunged into his city, she realizes the depth of his people’s prejudices. They will never accept her if she doesn’t become like them. Even then, it may not be enough to obtain the vengeance she craves.

Author note: From the same world as Tattered. Betrayer is an enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance with plenty of tension and steam. It’s suitable for 18+. It’s the first in a series, ending with a cliffhanger.

I appreciate a book that hits the ground running and Betrayer does just that.

Sol is a Kyanite that has abandoned her people for a quest of vengeance against the Bloodstone, a fierce race of warriors that attacked her village years ago and slaughtered her Mother. Specifically she's after their chieftain, Roland.

But to get close enough, she has to infiltrate their tribe and as luck would have it, such an opportunity comes when Luc bribes a barmaid where Sol also works to abduct the seemingly powerful Kyanite in order to save his sister, Leah.

As a Kyanite, Sol should possess the magic of healing that her people are renowned for. And yet, while she may have the knowledge, she lacks the ability. Fortunately, her education in medicinal herbs allow her to treat Leah and earn her a chance at joining the Bloodstone.

A chance Gabriel is determined to block.

But Gabriel is a man of his beliefs. And the Seer has divulged that the mark of a serpent is tied to his future.

It is a mark that Sol bears on her wrist since the time when the gods cursed the Bloodstone and took away their powers.

When Sol offers herself as a wife to any of the Bloodstone in order to stay among them, it falls to Gabriel to bind with her.

I could go on and on with retelling this story because I was that invested in it. And after my last read (Avidian) it was nice to have a lead female with an actual focus on her mission. Gabriel, I adored. Things were simple for him. "I have no intention of bedding you." "I don't trust you." "Everything you say is a lie."

That's right. Fight the good fight, Gabriel.

He won't bed her, but he'll sure as hell help her get rid of a dead body when the need arises.

He doesn't trust her, but he forges her a dagger easy to conceal.

Yeah, I'm going to side eye you with that call.

The secrets swirling around Sol and Gabriel feed into the tension between them. Not just her secrets, but his. This book very much needed a POV chapter from Gabriel. His suspicions. His inner battles. I didn't have any expectations for the ending but even if I had, it wouldn't have included the Hector spin. It didn't make sense to me. Had the people never seen Hector? It was not an ending I predicted. It was not an ending I particularly liked. Nor was it the ending I wanted.

3 out of 5 stars. That ending just sank it.

Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

Also in this series:

Avidian (Demon & the Savior #1)

You think you've won? You haven't even seen the board yet.

Available at Amazon.com

Avidian
Ashley R. Odonovan
Demon & the Savior, book one
Kindle Edition, 358 pages
Published March 25, 2025
ASIN B0DBM2XLYL4
Free Read from Amazon

If Shatter Me and Divergent had a morally gray baby raised by ghosts—it would be Avidian.

This is a spicy, binge-worthy romantasy set in a dystopian world where she’s forced to solve a murder using her rare ability to see the dead—and the man offering her a way out might be hiding the most dangerous secret of all.

I can see the dead. They tell me their secrets. But this time, their secrets might get me killed.

My name is Kat Sinclair, and the Volkov family owns me. People like me, born with special abilities, are called Avids. But my gift doesn’t spare me from the demands of Marco Volkov, the ruthless family patriarch who keeps me in line with the ever-present threat of violence.

When a grisly double murder involving a family nephew and a cook shakes the household, I’m forced to uncover the truth. The whispers of the dead reveal more than I bargained for, unearthing secrets that could destroy the Volkovs—and me.

But I met a charming stranger who might be able to help. Except he doesn’t know about my gift, my scars, or the dark past I can’t escape. But in his eyes, I see something I thought I’d lost long ago—hope.

If I want to escape, I’ll have to play along. But this murder might be hiding something even more dangerous. If I’m not careful, I’ll be the next one the dead are whispering about.

We're going to just dive right into this one...

Malachi is annoying. A complete nuisance. His personality is like that of a trickster god but without any redeeming charm to his words.

Until Kat decides that her best plan to secure information is to play the whore route and Malachi has to start slicing throats to get her out of it. Yes. Do that. Talk less, Malachi. More blade action.

Meanwhile, Kat... talk more. Ask more questions. What does he mean he has people. Who are these people? Who's the guy with the slanting head?

Eventually the unasked questions get answered and my, what a shift. We have an entire undercover, underground, operation making moves. The Sindicate, whose base is in a silo miles deep into the earth with layers of scientists, combatants, and more gearing up to overthrow the ruling families.

And damn, I found myself longing for new episodes of Silo on AppleTV.

Anyway, Malachi's mouth is finally providing useful intel and the story begins to pick up about midway. Before that, it was basically a murder mystery wherein Kat is tasked with identifying the unsub in the murder of her master's nephew. Despite the fact that she can talk to the dead, the nephew is an arse and totally uninterested in communicating anything helpful to the situation.

He's not dead.

In one ear and out the other. I can't even begin to try to understand why the character would ignore something like this. Not even a second thought. Not a fraction of a fraction of a second thought. But hey, makes for a great time to go on a winter wonderland date and ride the ferris wheel. What is happening?! Who's not dead? Because the only person that's not suppose to be alive and yet, we've seen no evidence of their death is...

I have never wanted to slap some sense into a character so hard before. Kat has the attention span of a fruit fly. Good gods, woman, when someone hands you the journal of a murder victim, you don't just tuck it into your waist band and you sure af don't start at the beginning when you finally crack it open!

Without it, I would have come to the same conclusion, but it did speed up the process.

Chiiild! You didn't solve a damn thing. They didn't even need you had they just read the journal in the first place. This is some bs right here.

3 out 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Born of Blood (The League #14 / Eve of Destruction #3)

Dumbass! Do. You. Want. To. Die?

Available at Amazon.com

Born of Blood
Sherrilyn Kenyon
The League, book fourteen
Eve of Destruction, book three
ebook, 142 pages
First published August 23, 2022
ASIN B09D2DHSDW


Jayne Erixour believes she knows everything about the universe. As a bounty hunter and assassin, she's seen the worst dregs of humanity and every sentient species ever spat out of a hell realm. To her, there is no truth outside of her blaster’s recoil and her resolve to let no one get too close.

Hadrian Scalera is on the run from the same brutal assassins who slaughtered every member of his family, both birth and foster. He has no refuge and no one he dares to call friend, as it will mean the end of them. He expects no mercy from anyone, until the day one assassin hesitates to pull the trigger.

An assassin’s code is simple: Kill or be killed. No prey, no pay. Every life has a price.

If Jayne doesn’t fulfill her contract and kill Hadrian, she’ll be the next target on the League’s menu. But as old enemies return to hunt them both, they quickly learn that neither will survive unless they can learn to trust each other. Yet things are never so simple and survival means only one of them can be left standing...

So did I hear that right? Is the math mathing? Jayne is eighteen? Is this the youngest we've ever gone in the League series?

Whatever the numbers, this story takes place a year after Eve of Destruction where Jinx met Eve and subsequently broke Jayne out of her undeserved prison cell.

What should have been an easy retrieval contract becomes anything but when Jayne takes on a mission to locate and return a runaway prince and the terms get altered to a Spill-kill before the metaphorical ink is even dry. Suddenly she's faced with a kill or be killed predicament and it's her life or Hadrian's, or both, on the line.

Alexios Hadrian Vicarius Scalera.

The younger brother of the one and only Nero.

A brother no one should even know still exists much less alive enough to have a contract put out on him. Another Trisani. Capable of reading a person's mind or imploding their very brain with ease.

But Jayne is a clusas, a rare breed of the Trisani which he can't read.

Jayne and Hadrian must evade any and all hunters out for the credits that killing them both would pay. All while seeking out the person that put out the contract in the first place, which is its own can of worms.

5 out of 5 stars. I swear, the world of the League is my happy place. And the fifteen years later epilogue was a nice touch.



Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Previously in The League:


Previously in Eve of Destruction:

Eve of Destruction (The League: Eve of Destruction #1)

"Since I have no friends... yeah."
"Because you killed them?"
"Really? You went there?"

Available at Amazon.com

Eve of Destruction
Sherrilyn Kenyon
The League: Eve of Destruction, book one
Kindle Edition, 90 pages
Published March 15, 2022
ASIN B09JZSFY8Q


Eve Erixour is a mercenary with a past no one would envy and more enemies than anyone should have. Death stalks her relentlessly. So when she gains the attention of a League assassin, she considers it par for the course.

But Jinx Shadowbourne isn't after Eve. Someone has it in for him and his brethren. High-ranking assassins are falling, and Jinx is convinced one of their own is selling them out. He's on the trail of his key suspect when fate throws him headfirst into Eve's life. Now the two of them have to find the League leak and plug it or neither one of them will live to face another enemy, and the ones they love, and the universe at large, will be left alone to face a power-crazed madman.

Contains mature themes.

Eve and Jinx's path cross briefly. He, a lethal, legendary League assassin, and she, a woman who's given into the temptation to call that walking death slinger "cutiepie".

When they meet again, Jinx is unconscious and nearly dead and Eve doesn't think twice about loading him up and taking him home. Even though it could bring the League right to her door.

Jinx doesn't easily comprehend why Eve would risk herself for him. As a member of the League, he knows he's a tool to everyone that comes into his life so suspicion is at the forefront of his triggered responses when he comes to. But Eve's sincerity gives him pause. And her kindness touches his long jaded heart.

They share one evening together. Neither expecting more.

Jinx needs to report in before his life becomes even more in jeopardy. And Eve has her own problems. Her sister, Jayne, is being held in a League prison.

But she isn't asking for his help.

Nor does she have to.

4 out of 5 stars. I do love how Syn keeps showing up in these installments.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook

Introducing… Reaver, the second of his name.

On July 3, 2010, I ordered my first Kindle. Corvis.

Then, in 2014, came Reaver Voyage Kindle.

Today, July 3, 2025, my third Kindle, a paperwhite, takes up the mantle. Long may he reign.