#BookReview: Innocence (Beaumond, #1) by Adrienne Woods

Synopsis: Welcome to Beaumont Academy! We’re here to mold your supernatural abilities into the best they can be. Remember to submit your abilities test results, or we will deny your application.

After Maxima Lane turns into a bat, her acceptance into Beaumont Academy was a given. It means freedom from her horrid stepmother and equally terrible stepsisters. However, her freedom isn’t long lived as her stepmother claims she doesn’t have the x-gene and if Max can’t turn into a bat before the Magic Sector comes, she might get expelled from school.

Gabriel Hendrix’s life is simple. Capture the villains and don’t fall for a witch. Until he meets Maxima Lane. She has an X-gene that allows her to turn into a bat. Meaning she can follow the falcon, and he can put a stop to the Shadowed—if only it was that simple. The girl comes with a lot of secrets, and it drives Gabriel insane. Why is her stepmother obsessed with her? Why is there yellow in her eyes when it’s supposed to be red and why can’t she activate her bat?

When people die and Max gets kidnapped from the academy, time is running against Gabe. He needs to find answers and Max before it’s too late.

If you are fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout and Bella Forrest, you don’t want to miss out on this new paranormal/fantasy series by Adrienne Woods. Scroll up to order your copy!

#BookReview: Underneath the Sycamore Tree by B. Celeste

Synopsis: Time is a luxury we don't all have...

Emery Matterson's life has been broken for a while. First, she lost her twin sister to an incurable autoimmune disease, then her father left, then her mother fell apart when Emery herself was diagnosed with the same disease that killed her sister. The only option for Emery seems to be to move in with the father she hasn’t seen in ten years, and start over.

Enter Kaiden Monroe, the brooding athlete who has baggage of his own. Kaiden makes Emery feel normal. Hated. Cared for. Loathed. And...loved. Somewhere along the way, Emery finds solace in the guy with the sad eyes.

But everything happens in stages. And nothing good ever lasts.

From fan-favorite author B. Celeste comes an raw, real, and unforgettable story of love and loss between two young people grappling with the harsh reality of invisible disease.

#BookReview: Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

Synopsis: A deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love.

Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. 

But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.

August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed—Emery. 

The town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.

#BookReview: Beguiled by Cyla Panin

Synopsis: A dark and enthralling story about a young woman who makes a deal with a spirit to try and gain her independence—and the twisted price she has to pay for it

Ella is a 17-year-old weaver whose entire livelihood depends on her loom. She dreams of opening her own shop, but when her father died in debtor’s prison, she had to support herself by taking whatever clients she could get. In order to buy her supplies she goes into debt of her own, and when her loom breaks, Ella realizes she needs more help than a repairperson can give her. She, like everyone, has heard about the old washerwoman spirit called the Bean-Nighe who will grant any one wish—for a price.
 
But Ella is desperate, so she asks the Bean-Nighe to fix her loom. And it works. The loom is fixed, and she's creating beautiful pieces she could have never imagined before. All she has to do is feed the loom a drop of blood each time she weaves—a small price to pay for such magnificent silks. And when she brings two bolts to a rich client, she meets a mysterious young man named Callum and bargains for an invitation to his exclusive party. At that party, he's so mesmerized by her talent, he offers Ella a place to live and patronage for her art. It seems like Ella's fortune is finally turning for the better . . . until she begins to notice the loom taking more from her than she offered.
  
As she becomes entangled in the lives of the city’s rich, swept into Callum's allure, and trapped by the Bean-Nighe’s magic, Ella must figure out a way to secure her future while she still has a future at all. 

#BookReview: A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers

Synopsis: In this spectacularly imaginative and ghoulishly fun Gothic murder mystery brimming with romance, betrayals, and chills, a fake spiritualist is summoned to hold a séance for a bride who died on the eve before her wedding, but as nefarious secrets are revealed, the line between hoax and haunting blurs.

Be careful what you conjure...

In Victorian London, Genevieve Timmons poses as a spiritualist to swindle wealthy mourners--until one misstep lands her in a jail cell awaiting the noose. Then a stranger arrives to make her a peculiar offer. The Lord he serves, Mr. Pemberton, has been inconsolable since the tragic death of his beautiful bride-to-be. If Genevieve can perform a séance persuasive enough to bring the young Lord peace, she will win her freedom.

Soothing a grieving nobleman should be easy for someone of Genevieve's skill, but when she arrives at the grand Somerset Park estate, Mr. Pemberton is not the heartbroken lover she expected. The surly--yet exceedingly handsome--gentleman is certain that his fiancée was murdered, even though there is no evidence. Only a confession can bring justice now, and Mr. Pemberton decides Genevieve will help him get it. With his knowledge of the household and her talent for illusion, they can stage a haunting so convincing it will coax the killer into the light. However, when frightful incidents befall the manor, Genevieve realizes her tricks aren't required after all. She may be a fake, but Somerset's ghost could be all too real...

A Dreadful Splendor is a wickedly whimsical brew of mystery, spooky thrills, and intoxicating romance that makes for an irresistibly fun and page-turning read.

#BookReview: Reaper's Touch (Reapers #1) by Eleri Stone

Synopsis: Abby is a Ranger, part of an elite group who defend the border against Reapers—humans infected with a parasite that turns them into mindless cannibals. Rangers are immune to Reaper infection, and as one of the only female Rangers, Abby is expected to settle down and breed more Rangers—a fate she’s keen to avoid. When she’s ambushed on the plains, she’s ready to go out with guns blazing—until a mysterious, handsome cowboy rides to her rescue.

Jake has his own motives for helping Abby, beyond aiding a damsel in distress. He’s a Reaper, and while he’s learned to wrest control of his mind from the parasite, the effects won’t last without a permanent cure. And he needs Abby to get it.

Abby and Jake are natural enemies and unlikely partners. But when their search reveals a conspiracy between Reapers and the rich industrialists who own the mountain cities, they must work together to find the cure—or lose the border, and each other, forever.

#BookReview: Twisted Love (Twisted #1) by Ana Huang

Synopsis: He has a heart of ice...but for her, he'd burn the world.

Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can't escape.

Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.

But when he's forced to look after his best friend's sister, he starts to feel something in his chest:

A crack.
A melt.
A fire that could end his world as he knew it.

***

Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can't remember.

But despite her broken past, she's never stopped seeing the beauty in the world...including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn't want.

Her brother's best friend.
Her neighbor.
Her savior and her downfall.

Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen-but when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both...and everything they hold dear. 

#BookReview: The Bitterwine Oath by Hannah West

Synopsis: Every fifty years, a cult claims twelve men to murder in a small Texas town. Can one girl end the cycle of violence - and save the boy who broke her heart?

San Solano, Texas, is a quaint town known for its charm, hospitality, and history of murder. Twice now, twelve men have been brutally killed, and no one knows who did it. A shadowy witch? A copycat killer? Or a man-hating murderess?

Eighteen-year-old Natalie Colter is sure that the rumors about her great-great-grandmother's cult of wronged women are just gossip, but that doesn't stop the true-crime writers and dark tourism bloggers from capitalizing on the town's reputation. It's an urban legend that's hard to ignore, and it gets harder when Nat learns that the sisterhood is real. And magical. And they want her to join.

The more Nat learns of the Wardens' supernatural history, the more she wonders about the real culprits behind the town's ritualistic murders. Are the Wardens protecting San Solano from even darker forces? There are shadows in the woods, bones on the outskirts of town, and questions Nat needs answered.

But everything becomes more urgent when people start getting marked as new victims--including Levi Langford, the boy whose kiss haunted Nat for a year. With Levi in danger, doing nothing would be harder than fighting back.

Nat knows that no one is safe. Can she and the sisterhood stop the true evil from claiming their town? 

#BookReview: Sugar by Lydia Michaels

Synopsis: Avery Johansson is borrowing against her youth and beauty to afford a better future by working as a sugar baby. Men think she’s everything they desire, soft, delicate, and able to stroke their fragile egos with a mere sweep of her lashes. The more they pay, the sweeter she becomes. If only they knew the woman behind the façade. Oh, she could bring them to their knees, make them beg, and unburden their minds to a point of ecstasy. The true Avery doesn’t care for roses. She prefers the thorns. Because behind her beautiful exterior, she’s more leather than lace, and beneath the sugar there’s nothing but spice. The only thing missing is a strong and submissive man to make everything nice.

Noah Wolfe is used to getting exactly what he wants when he wants, and as he sets his sights on Avery Johansson, nothing will stop him short of having her. He’s determined to bury himself in her mind and body, and plans to unravel every dark secret she hides. 

As two dominant hearts collide in an explosion of sin and secrets, boundaries come tumbling down. But their future lies in someone’s surrender, a sacrifice neither is prepared to make—and everything their happiness depends on.

#BookReview: The Priory of the Orange Tree (The Roots of Chaos #1) by Samantha Shannon

Synopsis: A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door. 

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

#BookReview: VAMPS: Fresh Blood by Nicole Arend

Synopsis: Sink your teeth into this exciting new paranormal series that transports you to an elite vampire academy where a half vampire, half human must hone his bloodthirsty side in order to survive in a cutthroat world. Perfect for fans of The Atlas Sixand True Blood. 

Nestled in the Swiss Alps, VAMPS is the ultimate academy for the children of the most wealthy and powerful vampire families. Unfortunately for Dillon, he’s an outsider—to be more specific, he’s a dhampir: a vampire that is half human.

If he wants to survive more than a single term, he’s going to need to embrace his fangs. But blood never lies and soon, it becomes clear there is something special and deadly in Dillon’s veins. But as his power grows, so does the target on his back…

This title will be released on January 3, 2023.

#BookReview: The Oceanography of the Moon by Glendy Vanderah

Synopsis: A heartfelt novel of shedding secrets, facing the past, and embracing the magic of love and family by the Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Where the Forest Meets the Stars.

After the untimely deaths of her aunt and mother, young Riley Mays moved from Chicago to her cousins’ Wisconsin farm. Here she found solace in caring for her extraordinary adoptive brother, exploring the surrounding wild nature, and gazing at the mystical moon—a private refuge in which she hides from her most painful memories. But ten years later, now twenty-one, Riley feels too confined by the protective walls she’s erected around herself. When a stranger enters her family’s remote world, Riley senses something he’s hiding, a desire to escape that she understands well.

Suffering from writer’s block, bestselling novelist Vaughn Orr has taken to the country roads when he happens upon the accommodating, if somewhat unusual, Mays family. He’s soon captivated by their eccentricities—and especially by Riley and her quiet tenacity. In her, he recognizes a shared need to keep heartbreaking secrets buried.

As the worst moments of their lives threaten to surface, Riley and Vaughn must find the courage to confront them if they’re to have any hope of a happy future. With the help of Riley’s supportive family, a dash of everyday magic, and the healing power of nature, can the pair let go of the troubled pasts they’ve clung to so tightly for so long?

#BookReview: When Life Gives You Vampires by Gloria Duke

Synopsis: A paranormal Dumplin' for adults, When Life Gives You Vampires is part a journey of body positivity, part a story about learning how to accept love at face value, and part a hysterical romcom told through a paranormal lens.

Twenty-five year old Lily Baines is used to waking up hungover, overweight, and underemployed. Waking up with fangs? Not so much. But when it turns out a little light necking has more serious consequences than she ever imagined, Lily's determined to get to the bottom of it.

Tristan hadn't meant to turn Lily—it's against vampire law—but now that she's here, they need to team up to save their hides. They strike a truce, fending off other vampires, Lily's work-rival-turned-slayer, and her mother's tone-deaf romance and fitness advice—all while Lily faces down her insecurities about the fact that she lives in a diet-obsessed world with a body that will never age, never die, and never change. Can she learn to love the (plus size) woman she'll be forever more? 

#BookReview: The Girl in the Castle by James Patterson, Emily Raymond

Synopsis: Beloved #1 bestselling authors James Patterson and Emily Raymond deliver a thrilling novel about a teen caught between two worlds and the truths that could set her free—or trap her forever.

My name is Hannah Dory and I need you to believe me

NOW: Hannah is brought to Belman Psych, told she is suffering from hallucinations and delusions. Hannah knows the truth: she must return to the past and save her sister. Could Jordan, the abnormal psych student who seems to truly care, be the answer she’s looking for?

1347: Hannah and her village are starving to death in a brutal winter. Hannah seeks out food and salvation in the baron’s castle. If she is caught stealing, she will surely hang. But if she and her friends succeed, she’ll save everyone she holds dear.

NOW: Jordan isn’t sure what to believe, and Hannah has even bigger problems: if she doesn’t make it back, her sister will die, but if she keeps going back, she might never escape.

#BookReviews: Ignite the Sun by Hanna Howard

Synopsis: Once upon a time, there was something called the sun... In a kingdom ruled by an evil witch, the sun is just part of a legend about light-filled days of old. Luckily for everybody in the kingdom, Siria Nightingale is headed to the heart of the darkness to try and restore the light--or she will lose everything trying.

Sixteen year-old Siria Nightingale has never seen the sun. The light is dangerous, according to Queen Iyzabel, an evil witch who has shrouded the kingdom in shadow.

Siria has always hated the darkness and revels in the stories of the light-filled old days that she hears from her best friend and his grandfather. Besides them, nobody else understands her fascination with the sun, especially not her strict and demanding parents. Siria's need to please them is greater even than her fear of the dark. So she heads to the royal city--the very center of the darkness--for a chance at a place in Queen Iyzabel's court.

But what Siria discovers at the Choosing Ball sends her on a quest toward the last vestiges of the sun with a ragtag group of rebels who could help her bring back the Light... or doom the kingdom to shadow forever.

#BookReview: A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #1) by K.F. Breene

Synopsis: A spicy new twist on an old classic - a deliciously dark Beauty and the Beast reimagining.

I could save him, but he would ruin me.

The beast.
The creature that stalks the forbidden wood.
The dragon prince.

He has suffered a fate worse than death. We all have. A curse put upon us by the mad king.

We are a kingdom locked in time. Shifters unable to feel our animals. Stuck here by a deal between the late king and a demon who seeks our destruction.

The only one keeping this kingdom alive is Nyfain, the golden prince to a stolen throne. The last dragon shifter.

He’s our hope.
He’s my nightmare.

When he catches me trespassing in the forbidden wood, he doesn’t punish me with death, as he’s entitled.

He takes me, instead. Forces me back to the castle as his prisoner. Seeks to use me.

Apparently, I can save him. I can save the whole forgotten kingdom, locked away by the demon king’s power.

But it would mean taming the monster beneath his skin. It would mean giving myself to him.

It would mean my ruin.

_ _ _ _ _ _

This is a dark and sexy Beauty and the Beast retelling, featuring a strong heroine, a dangerous anti-hero, and a humorous supporting cast. It is a full-length novel at 80k words and suitable for 18+. This is the beginning of a trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. Buckle up. The author was let off her leash. 

#BookReview: All This Time by Mikki Daughtry, Rachael Lippincott

Synopsis: Kyle and Kimberly have been the perfect couple all through high school, but when Kimberly breaks up with him on the night of their graduation party, Kyle’s entire world upends—literally. Their car crashes and when he awakes, he has a brain injury. Kimberly is dead. And no one in his life could possibly understand.

Until Marley. Marley is suffering from her own loss, a loss she thinks was her fault. And when their paths cross, Kyle sees in her all the unspoken things he’s feeling.

As Kyle and Marley work to heal each other’s wounds, their feelings for each other grow stronger. But Kyle can’t shake the sense that he’s headed for another crashing moment that will blow up his life as soon as he’s started to put it back together.

And he’s right.

#BookReview: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Synopsis: In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying. 

#BookReview: The Summer of Christmas by Juliet Giglio, Keith Giglio

Synopsis: Experience a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a Christmas movie in July in this charming romantic comedy by writing duo Juliet Giglio and Keith Giglio!

Ivy Green, an up-and-coming screenwriter, can only watch as her life is turned upside down. Her script, based on her love story with her high school sweetheart, Nick Shepherd—who broke up with her days before Christmas five years ago—is being filmed in her hometown! In the middle of summer, during the month of July, the production crew creates a winter wonderland Christmas.

Now back home, Ivy is forced to face Nick for the first time, which he isn't too happy about. To complicate matters, Ivy isn't sure of her relationship with the producer, the town is overflowing with movie stars and adoring fans, and worst of all—the actress playing Ivy develops a crush on the real Nick! Now, with renewed and confusing feelings about Nick, Ivy is determined to see if there is anything left between them, but in the end, Ivy will need to re-write her life script to get back everything she thought she lost.

#BookReview: The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne

Synopsis: Sitting side by side on the clifftop, he turns to her solemnly and says, ‘The water witch is real.’ She rolls her eyes and grins, teasing him. ‘Sure. A psycho mermaid. Got it.’ But now he’s gone forever… will she find the truth beneath the waves?

Brittany, France. Ariadne Walker’s fiancé Simon drowned in the stormy Atlantic Ocean doing what he loved: searching for the lost underwater city of Ys. Local legend says it was destroyed centuries ago when the princess of Ys became a water witch, cursing the name of the man who betrayed her.

Ari never believed these tall tales. And the letter Simon sent before he died finishing their relationship is a devastating secret she’ll take to the grave. But arriving in Brittany, Ari encounters a man emerging from the sea in a rocky cove, saltwater dripping from his dark hair. Rafael swears the legends are true: and his ancestor was cursed by the water witch. Now, his own life is in terrible danger. And the secret to breaking the curse lies hidden in the lost city.

When Ari finds a cryptic map and a golden mask of a woman’s face amongst Simon’s things, she has no choice but to believe Rafael’s plea. Can they follow the trail and save Rafael’s life? Pouring over the map by candlelight, the flickering flames only add to the heat between them… but will Ari’s fragile heart soon be shattered all over again? And will they ever find Ys and break the curse – or will the water witch demand another sacrifice?

An absolutely addictive romantic fantasy read filled with passion and mystery, that will sweep you away to the wild coast of northern France. Filled with real myths and legends from this magical place, The Water Witch is perfect for fans of Luanne G. Smith, River of Shadows and Jennifer L. Armentrout.