#BookReview: The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Synopsis: From USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw comes The Salt Grows Heavy, a razor-sharp and bewitching fairytale of discovering the darkness in the world, and the darkness within oneself.

You may think you know how the fairytale goes: a mermaid comes to shore and weds the prince. But what the fables forget is that mermaids have teeth. And now, her daughters have devoured the kingdom and burned it to ashes.

On the run, the mermaid is joined by a mysterious plague doctor with a darkness of their own. Deep in the eerie, snow-crusted forest, the pair stumble upon a village of ageless children who thirst for blood, and the three 'saints' who control them.

The mermaid and her doctor must embrace the cruellest parts of their true nature if they hope to survive.

#BookReview: The Grimoire of Grave Fates Margaret Owen, Hanna Alkaf

Synopsis: Crack open your spell book and enter the world of the illustrious Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary. There's been a murder on campus, and it's up to the students of Galileo to solve it. Follow 18 authors and 18 students as they puzzle out the clues and find the guilty party.

Professor of Magical History Septimius Dropwort has just been murdered, and now everyone at the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a suspect.

A prestigious school for young magicians, the Galileo Academy has recently undergone a comprehensive overhaul, reinventing itself as a roaming academy in which students of all cultures and identities are celebrated. In this new Galileo, every pupil is welcome—but there are some who aren't so happy with the recent changes. That includes everyone's least favorite professor, Septimius Dropwort, a stodgy old man known for his harsh rules and harsher punishments. But when the professor's body is discovered on school grounds with a mysterious note clenched in his lifeless hand, the Academy's students must solve the murder themselves, because everyone's a suspect. 

Told from more than a dozen alternating and diverse perspectives, The Grimoire of Grave Fates follows Galileo's best and brightest young magicians as they race to discover the truth behind Dropwort's mysterious death. Each one of them is confident that only they have the skills needed to unravel the web of secrets hidden within Galileo's halls. But they're about to discover that even for straight-A students, magic doesn't always play by the rules. . . .

Contributors include: Cam Montgomery, Darcie Little Badger, Hafsah Faizal, Jessica Lewis, Julian Winters, Karuna Riazi, Kat Cho, Kayla Whaley, Kwame Mbalia, L. L. McKinney, Marieke Nijkamp, Mason Deaver, Natasha Díaz, Preeti Chhibber, Randy Ribay, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Victoria Lee, and Yamile Saied Méndez

#BookReview: Deep Melanie by Bokstad Horev

Synopsis: Welcome to Deep Blue a submerged dystopia where the president's death sparks a dangerous quest for three friends. Can they break free from the oppressive underwater forces before it's too late? Dive into this thrilling YA novel of survival and rebellion.

***

Ryler is a young resident of Deep Blue, an underwater colony that's home to the last survivors of a global environmental disaster. A disaster that wiped out humanity hundreds of years ago, leaving the surface air toxic and the last hope of humanity beneath the waves. After the devastating and unexpected death of his grandmother, Marna, who also happens to be the president of the colony, Ryler teams up with his friend Anna to uncover the truth behind her suspicious demise.

Their investigation takes them down a dangerous path, as they discover shocking secrets and a killer on the loose who will stop at nothing to keep the truth hidden. With time running out and their own lives on the line, Ryler, and his friends must race against the clock to solve the mystery and escape the clutches of an invisible enemy. Will they make it out alive?

#BookReview: Unfortunately Yours (A Vine Mess #2) by @mstessabailey @avonbooks

Synopsis: A down-on-her-luck Napa heiress suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can't stand... only to discover there's a fine line between love and hate.

After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she's sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she's ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember? But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him--and kiss him, in equal measure.

August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn't know jack about making wine. He's determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy's legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around... and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door. Natalie has haunted his dreams since the moment they met, but their sizzling chemistry immediately morphed into simmering insults.

Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways--assuming they make it out alive. How hard could it be? There's just one thing they didn't account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.

This title will be released on June 6, 2023.

#BookReview: Ciao For Now by @kbromleywrites @HarlequinBooks

Synopsis: When an American interning at a fashion house in Rome butts heads with her professor's surly son, sparks fly!

With her thirties rapidly approaching and a mountain of student debt looming over her, Violet Luciano’s dream of finishing design school and working in fashion has cost her everything. So when she lands an internship at an up-and-coming fashion brand in Rome, she brings her A game to Italy. With nothing left to lose, Violet plans to win the competition among the interns for the ultimate prize—a job at a New York label.

But when a coffee run goes wrong and Violet accidentally destroys a stranger’s laptop, all of the apology Americanos in the world won’t help her. Because it turns out that the man from the café is Matteo, her professor’s eternally grumpy son, who thinks she’s a clumsy American…and  maybe  a stalker. Their animosity (and undeniable chemistry) grows as together they’re forced to face a summer of chic parties, adventures through Rome and sharing a home…with the person they can’t stand the most.   

The more time she spends with him, the more distracted she finds herself. With her chance to win the competition slipping out of her grasp, Violet has to decide whether to say ciao to Matteo—or ciao to her dreams. 

This title will be released on June 6, 2023.

#BookReview: The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst

Synopsis: Claire’s grown up triple-checking locks. Counting her steps. Second-guessing every decision. It’s just how she’s wired – her worst-case scenarios never actually come true.

Until she arrives at an off-the-grid summer camp to find a blackened, burned husk instead of a lodge – and no survivors, except her and two other late arrivals: Reyva and Mariana.

When the three girls find a dead body in the woods, they realize none of this is an accident. Someone, something, is hunting them. Something that hides in the shadows. Something that refuses to let them leave.

#BookReview: Where the Lightning Goes (The Impossible Series #1) by Jackary Salem thanks to @Netgalley

Synopsis: After a powerful wizard tears Elle’s soul apart and steals her memories, she’s locked in a house to rot. Her only remaining memory is of falling from the sky, though even that raises more questions than it answers. Upon her escape, she falls into a world that’s equal parts vicious and beautiful. Magic is everywhere, everyone is out for themselves, and every truth is accompanied by a lie. Her lack of memories grows maddening and painful. She’s positive that the key to recovering her memories is in the sky-castle from her dreams, but getting there will require magic she doesn’t have. Traversing an enchanted painting, stealing a sword from a dragon’s den, and outwitting a demon are only the beginning. And this time, she’s got more than freedom and memories on the line.

Without magic, there is no survival.

#BookReview: Kezia by T.J. Velliquette @bookbrewbistro

Synopsis: Spirits exist all around us. The Maravillas de Madera Circus attracts many because my Abuela can hear them. She uses that ability to read palms and tarot cards. The ones that stay behind usually have two motives. Spending time watching over the family they lost or hurting the living they despise.
The women in my line bear the responsibility to communicate with them. It is a gift that is passed from mother to daughter when we are of age to be trained.
It is now my time, and I am scared. Because I have seen what it does to my Abuela, she is one of the strongest. Soon Abuela will give her magic to me. But I do not think she is ready to let it go.

#BookReview: Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall @quicunquevult @penguinusa

Synopsis: A young noblewoman must pair up with a rumoured witch to ward off a curse.

It is the year 1814 and life for a young lady of good breeding has many difficulties. There are balls to attend, fashions to follow, marriages to consider and, of course, the tiny complication of existing in a world swarming with fairy spirits, interfering deities, and actual straight-up sorcerers.

Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into high society hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at a high-profile ball, a scandal she narrowly manages to escape.

However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, Miss Mitchelmore must seek out aid, even if it means mixing with undesirable company. And there are few less desirable than Lady Georgianna Landrake—a brooding, alluring young woman sardonically nicknamed “the Duke of Annadale”—who may or may not have murdered her own father and brothers to inherit their fortune. If one is to believe the gossip, she might be some kind of malign enchantress. Then again, a malign enchantress might be exactly what Miss Mitchelmore needs.

With the Duke’s help, Miss Mitchelmore delves into a world of angry gods and vindictive magic, keen to unmask the perpetrator of these otherworldly attacks. But Miss Mitchelmore’s reputation is not the only thing at risk in spending time with her new ally. For the rumoured witch has her own secrets that may prove dangerous to Miss Mitchelmore’s heart—not to mention her life.

This title will be released on June 6, 2023.

#BookReview: The Hollywood Jinx by @sariahwilson @bookbrewbistro

Synopsis: When Hollywood comes to small-town Ohio, the scene is set for an unpredictable romance in a fun and flirty novel by Sariah Wilson, the bestselling author of The Chemistry of Love . The small town of Patience needs a financial boost. Temporary librarian and aspiring film-score composer Jane Wagner’s plan? Invite movie star Nick Haddon to the town’s harvest festival and stand back for the tourist surge. No one thought he’d say yes―much less that he’d bring a documentary crew to stream his visit. Given Nick’s affinity for trouble, his reputation and films are tanking. Patience is the perfect stopover on a journey of self-improvement and his chance to put good karma out in the universe. Spending time with a sweet and lovely guide like Jane is a bonus. But Jane’s heartbroken past keeps her on guard against men. Especially when they’re jinxed. The truth is, Jane’s falling hard. But she can’t ignore the differences between them. He’s famous. She isn’t. He’s here for two weeks. This is her home. Where can it possibly lead? She’ll see. Because day after blissful day, Nick’s encouraging Jane to trust again and, best of all, to dream beyond Patience.

This title will be released on July 25, 2023.

#BookReview: Delevan House by Natasha Sinclair & Ruthann Jagge @bookbrewbistro

Synopsis: Delevan House is a brazenly executed contemporary story that brings fresh blood to the genres and timelines it crosses; breathing life into folklore and horror fantasy. 

Set in the village of Badb, the hulking majesty of Delevan House has eyes everywhere, reflecting secrets of the old ways that are a necessary evil for survival.

This seductive and sophisticated gothic tale is rooted in Scottish folklore, dark history, and what we all desire – freedom.

Delevan House is where literal worlds collide. 

Lady Lenore Delevan is waiting. 
Do you dare enter under the eyes of her menacing stone beast and obsidian flock?

#BookReview: Courting Fate by A.R. Kaufer @BookBrewBistro

Synopsis: When she’s not working at the bank or playing video games with her best friend, Ana’s nose is in a book. She is comfortable with her simple life until one night, on her way home from work, she is mugged and left for dead. Fate or luck, army medic Rafe was passing by and saves her life.

Grateful as she is, she can't shake the feeling she knows him from somewhere. Their lives become intertwined as she learns more about him and more about herself.

Is she ready to face the truth? Will it answer her questions or break her in the process? Ana must find her strength and become who she was born to be, before it’s too late.

#BookReview: The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Synopsis: Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script.

Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.

Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?

Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.

The True Love Experiment is the book fans have been waiting for ever since Fizzy’s debut in The Soulmate Equation. But when the lights come on and all eyes are on her, it turns out the happily ever after Fizzy had all but given up on might lie just behind the camera.

#BookReview: Mile High (Windy City #1) by Liz Tomforde

Synopsis: Zanders

Chicago hockey isn’t complete without me—everyone’s favorite player to hate. I know my role, and I play it well. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy spending the majority of my game time in the penalty box before leaving the arena with a new girl on my arm each night.

What I don’t like is the new flight attendant on our team’s private plane. She works for me, not the other way around. But I’ll be sure to remind her of that, and I can guarantee, by the end of the season, she’ll be begging to quit her job.

But every road trip blurs the lines, and I can’t quite figure out if I keep pushing that flight attendant call button in order to push her buttons or if it’s more than that.

Stevie

I’ve been a flight attendant for years. I thought I’d see it all, but when my new job lands me onboard working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL, I start to second guess everything. Including the promise I made to myself of never hooking up with an athlete again…no matter how annoyingly tempting he may be.

Evan Zanders is unfiltered, unapologetic, and too attractive for his own good. He loves his image, but I hate everything about it.

Everything but him.

#BookReview: Spell Borne by Auden Llyr

Synopsis: Some curses start with “Once upon a time...”

I thought this semester would be easy - just my thesis and attending some seminars in Lointaine. And who doesn’t love spending time in an enchanting, small town?

But it turns out Lointaine is straight out of a fairy tale, quite literally, and the spell affecting the town is determined to turn me into a princess. You know, the kind that gets chased by murderous huntsmen, assaulted in their sleep, or cleans up after stepsisters… Not my idea of a great time.

However, according to the resident expert, it’s dangerous to try to avoid my fairy tale. I can’t take that risk since I’m already in a bit of trouble with the police.

I’m not sure I have it in me to fight my professors, the police, and magic spells, but if I don’t I’ll be letting go of my own dreams for my future. Is there any path through this grim tale that leads to a happily ever after?

#BookReview: Bewitched Shadows (The Wicked Belles #1) by Autumn Blake

Synopsis: A fiery witch...
Ember Belle is a total mess. When she's not partying with the local shifter pack or causing mayhem around New Orleans with her three sisters, she does anything to avoid confronting her out-of-control fire magick and the grief from losing her parents. However, when an opportunity arises to obtain a magical item that could solve all her problems, she decides to take her life into her own hands.

A cold-as-ice demon...
Killian Inferno's only desire is to spend his final weeks of freedom in New Orleans, away from his duties as the future Lord of Pride. What he doesn't expect, is to be summoned by the amateur witch who has been haunting his dreams. A seductress who needs his expertise to solve a recent murder by any means necessary. Even sorcery.

Ember now has no choice but to enter a demon pact with Killian. The terms are simple: remove the spell she may have cast on him before Samhain, or return to Hell with him, kicking and screaming. Can the two enemies set aside their animosity to uncover the city's secrets and unlock Ember's true magical potential, or will they be undone by the enemies they didn't see coming?

Bewitched Shadows is Book 1 in the sizzling, new Wicked Belles series.

#BookReview: Truth in Blue Mirai Amell

Synopsis: Sometimes life is better as a lie.

Malakai wanted to protect his kingdom from threats beyond its borders. Instead, stripped of his magic and on the run, he now needs to save it from his brother, the king himself.

Amaryllis wanted to have nothing to do with humans. Instead, stranded in the wrong realm, she now needs to retrieve a lost fae relic with powers no one comprehends.

Una wanted to be a knight in shining armor. Instead, haunted by the memories of a life she never lived, Una now needs to find answers from someone she doesn't remember meeting.

When their paths cross, each must decide what matters to them the most.

Or risk losing everything they hold dear.

In a world where Angels and Shades battle for souls while the Devil sips his tea, the fate of one country, two races, and four realms hangs in the balance when love and loyalties are tested to their limits.

#BookReview: The Unforgettable Alexandra Shaw (The Forgotten Academy, #1) by A. Lloyd Spanton

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Alexandra killed her father.

It was an accident, but he’s dead all the same. Now all she wants is to find her place in her new school, keep her head down until graduation, and try to fix her relationship with her resentful mother.

But then a stranger named Logan shows up, claiming he knows her. And that’s not even the weirdest thing. According to Logan, her father wasn’t the only one killed in the accident—she was too.

While trying to uncover her past, Alexandra and Logan discover a horrifying truth about her new school and the more they dig, the more dangerous it becomes for Alexandra and her friends.

With no idea who to trust, she races to piece her life back together and take hold of her future before she loses it – and herself – completely.

#BookReview: The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett

Synopsis: An inventive and fantastical reimagining of Anne of Green Gables—with magic and witches!—that explores found family, loss, and the power of a girl's imagination, from the acclaimed author of The Language of Ghosts and The School Between Winter and Fairyland.

Grace has never been good at anything except magic—not that anyone believes her. While other children are adopted from the orphanage, nobody wants Grace. So she decides to make a home for herself by running away and offering herself as an apprentice to the witch in the nearby woods. After all, who better to teach Grace to use her magic? Surely the witch can’t be that bad.

But the witch is that bad—she steals souls for spells and gobbles up hearts. So Grace offers a deal: If she can learn all 100½ spells in the witch’s grimoire, the witch will make Grace her apprentice. But if Grace fails, the witch can take her magic. The witch agrees, and soon an unexpected bond develops between them. But the spells are much harder than Grace expected, and when a monster from the witch’s past threatens the home Grace has built, she may have to sacrifice more than her magic to save it.

Inspired by Anne of Green Gables, this is a magical story of found family, loss, and the power of a girl’s imagination.

#BookReview: The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Synopsis: A sumptuous, gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales—the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi. 

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after—and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past. 

But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife’s secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage . . . or their lives. 

Combining the lush, haunting atmosphere of Mexican Gothic with the dreamy enchantment of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a spellbinding and darkly romantic page-turner about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.