#BookReview: The Never List (Never List, #1) by @jadepresleyauthor

Synopsis:
The four princes of Lumathyst need a mate, and everyone wants a chance...except for her.

Threatened by invaders, the kingdom of Lumathyst is on the verge of chaos, and no one can stop it. Unless the four immortal god-princes find their fated mate―and safeguard the throne―Lumathyst will fall.

Five women have tried. Five have failed. And tonight in the royal city, the princes need to find their Chosen and hope she can survive the transformation that will make her immortal.

Only Rylee Gray wasn’t supposed to be here. She snuck in for her own dark reasons―and now they claim they've found their perfect match. Her. Of course, they have no idea she’s concealing a secret big enough to damn them all.

The four princes have no choice. They’ll use every delectably wicked skill they have to make Rylee fall for all of them…or watch their kingdom collapse.

#BookReview: Firebird (The Fire That Binds #1) by @juliettecrossauthor

Synopsis:
DELUXE EDITION—featuring beautiful original illustrated stenciled edges with a foil case stamp, and designed endpapers!

An instant New York Times bestseller!

House of the Dragon meets From Blood and Ash in this epic, scorching dark romantasy.

A conqueror captivated…
A witch prophesied to save them all…
An unforgiving world where dragons rule Rome.

Julian Dakkia, Roman general and nephew to the emperor, has played his role as conqueror well. Yet, the moment he laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him, a captive on a scarred battlefield, her life in danger. He instinctively shifts into his fierce dragon form to save her, an action that may mean his head on the imperial gate.

The rules of their world dictate that he is the conqueror and she is the captured. But he and his dragon know one thing: their bond has nothing to do with the laws of mighty Rome. She belongs to them. And they belong to her.

Fierce and powerful, twenty-one-year old Malina has survived the loss of her family and she is determined to fight until her dying breath. Still, she can’t believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality…and now holds her life in his hands. Nor can she deny how her soul has always seemed to answer his. Slowly she learns that Julian is caught in his mad uncle’s machinations for domination, and helps him plot the downfall of the empire itself.

As they navigate a world where flying deathriders conquer and burn, their love will ignite a firestorm that can only end in heartbreak or death. Or both.

Firebird is a fantasy with some dark themes, including elements of master/slave relationship, attempted sexual assault (not between MCs), and dubious consent (not between MCs). Readers who may be sensitive to these elements, please take note.

Beyond Smut: The Art and Evolution of Erotic Fantasy Selene Wilderwind

Synopsis:
Erotic Fantasy is rarely examined as literature. More often, it is dismissed, marginalized, or misclassified—treated as indulgence rather than as a meaningful narrative form.

Beyond Smut is a work of literary criticism and cultural analysis that examines Erotic Fantasy as an artistic, historical, and symbolic genre. Rather than approaching sexuality as provocation or entertainment, this book analyzes how desire functions within myth, worldbuilding, symbolism, and narrative power—alongside themes such as transformation, authority, ritual, and identity.

Tracing the genre’s roots from ancient mythologies and sacred traditions through periods of censorship and moral regulation, Demosthenes Ignis maps how Erotic Fantasy has been shaped, constrained, and misunderstood across time. The book explores how intimacy operates as a structural narrative force—one capable of driving character development, cultural meaning, and imaginative systems as profoundly as war, prophecy, or political conflict.

This is not erotic fiction. It contains no explicit scenes and is not written for arousal. It is a critical examination of how sexuality has been encoded, suppressed, and reclaimed within speculative and fantastical storytelling traditions.

Written for readers, writers, and theorists interested in literature, semiotics, and cultural power, Beyond Smut argues that Erotic Fantasy deserves recognition not as a niche indulgence, but as a legitimate and historically grounded mode of artistic expression.

#BookReview: Savage Proposal (Savage Mafia Kings, #1) by @bellaash_author

Synopsis:
Isabella:
Sold by my own father to Lorenzo Vitali—a man carved from violence and draped in cruelty.
I became a prisoner in a gilded cage, bound by chains heavier than steel.
He demands an heir. His touch burns, unravels, consumes. I should hate him. I should fear him.
But it’s not the demand that terrifies me.
It’s him.

There’s a darkness in Lorenzo—seductive, merciless, and impossible to escape.
Every glance pulls me deeper into the abyss. Every stolen breath blurs the line between loathing and longing.
And my heart, the traitor, begins to beat for the very man who holds it hostage.

But men like Lorenzo don’t just break women like me.
They devour.
They erase.
And I refuse to be swallowed by his darkness.

Lorenzo:
The night they took Sienna from me; I swore vengeance and buried what remained of my heart.
Nothing could ever break me again.
Until Isabella Rossi fell into my hands—scarred, defiant, and hauntingly like Sienna.

She was meant to be a pawn. A vessel for the heir that will secure my legacy.
But her fire doesn’t bend—it provokes.
Her defiance fuels an obsession I never wanted.

She thinks she can resist me.
But in my world, resistance isn’t survival.
It’s the spark that feeds the fire.

Trigger Warning: This book is a dark romance intended for mature audiences only. It contains explicit sexual content, graphic violence, forced pregnancy, assault, captivity, kidnapping, criminal activity, and a cliff-hanger ending. Read at your own risk.

This book was previously published as part of the Vitali Duet, and has now been expanded into the Savage Mafia Kings series.

#BookReview: This Monster of Mine (This Monster of Mine #1) by @shalini.writes

Synopsis:
She knows the taste of death. He'll stoke her hunger for it.

Eighteen-year-old Sarai doesn't know why someone tried to kill her four years ago, but she does know that her case was closed without justice. Hellbent on vengeance, she returns to the scene of the crime as a Petitor, a prosecutor who can magically detect lies, and is assigned to work with Tetrarch Kadra. Ice-cold and perennially sadistic, Kadra is the most vicious of the four judges who rule the land - and the prime suspect in a string of deaths identical to Sarai's attempted murder.

Certain of his guilt, Sarai begins a double life: solving cases with Kadra by day and plotting his ruin by night. But Kadra is charming and there's something alluring about the wrath he wields against the city's corruption. So when the evidence she finds embroils her in a deadly political battle, Sarai must also fight against her attraction to Kadra - because despite his growing hold on her heart, his voice matches the only memory she has of her assailant...

A dazzling Ancient Rome-inspired romantasy debut, This Monster of Mine is a bloodbath of manipulation, deception, and forbidden love.

#BookReview: Faithbreaker (Fallen Gods #3) by @hanfrankan

Synopsis:
THE EPIC FINALE TO THE INSTANT NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING FALLEN GODS TRILOGYIn the epic finale to the #1 internationally bestselling Fallen Gods trilogy that started with Godkiller, the fate of Middren hangs in the balance as mighty gods and mortal heroes clash in a final battle for supremacy.

War has come. The fire god Hseth is leading an unstoppable army south, consuming everything in her path. Middren’s only hope of survival is to unify allies and old foes against a common enemy.

Elo navigates an uneasy alliance with Arren; his friend, his enemy, and his king. Now they each must decide how much they're willing to sacrifice to turn the tides of war.

Meanwhile, Inara joins her mother on their ship, the Silverswift, to seek aid. Still grappling with her powers, Inara must reconcile who she is and where she belongs, while Skediceth has to question if their bond will be enough to keep them safe.

Kissen has no allegiance to the old ways of Middren. But, as she tries to find her family, she is forced to question what, and whose, future she is fighting for.

In Faithbreaker, Hannah Kaner delivers a powerful conclusion to the Fallen Gods trilogy, masterfully weaving together love and sacrifice, loyalty and betrayal, and the true meaning of faith.

#BookReview: Kingdom of the Two Moons (Fallen Angels #1) by Alexandra Thomashoff

Synopsis:
"In the world of shadows, safety is a fleeting illusion. A gift can become a dangerous burden."

A dark, immortal angel.

A savage world on the brink of war.

A sinister prophecy. And a girl who holds the power to change it all forever.

In a world where destiny is a cruel captor, Melody has never known freedom. Her life has been a prison, shackled by a ruthless magic harvester hungry for her rare gifts. She has been a pawn in a game she cannot win—until one fateful night, when she manages to escape.

But her fleeting hope is crushed when the mesmerizingly beautiful fae warrior Riven captures her and drags her into the shadowy Court of the Two Moons, ruled by the Dark Lord Caryan, a fallen angel cloaked in icy cruelty.

Enslaved and with her destiny now in Caryan’s unforgiving hands, Melody begins to unravel the harrowing truths behind her captivity. Little does she know, she is ensnared in a treacherous web of lies and longing, caught between her deep, rippling attraction toward Riven and the otherworldly allure of Caryan, whose very essence is everything she fears—and desires.

When her own slumbering powers awaken, they bind Melody helplessly to Caryan’s unholy magic, and to a sinister prophecy that cleaves her soul into pieces.

As mighty armies clash and shadows threaten to consume this world, she must make a decision that could cost her everything.

Who can kill an immortal angel?

Only a silver elf. 

And Melody just happens to be the last.

#BookReview: A Song in the Storm (The Leviathan's Call #1) by @rileysknight

Synopsis:
The fae king’s soiree attracts the most unlikely guests: a thief masquerading as a bard, an exiled prince, and the lost heir to an ancient kingdom.

Forced into an unlikely alliance, the bard champions an impossible heist while an army across the world crumbles beneath strange new magic.

Yet both events are connected. When the world forgot its gods, so too did it forget their power. And a centuries old plan has just begun to unfold.

Fionn alone can remember. Watched by the prince’s wary eyes, she must earn his trust lest she face the darkness the way her journey began: desperate, and alone.

For darkness is a tricky thing: An age old lie, a falsehood long made fact, an assassin with no face. And it has moved unseen to all the world.

#BookReview: Bad Blood by Sarah Hornsley

Synopsis:
A double murder. A toxic past. A family secret. There's no law against keeping secrets...My name is Justine Stone.I left home twelve years ago, never to return.Now my ex-boyfriend, Jake, has been accused of a double murder in the town where we grew up. It's my job as a barrister to make the case against him.But to face the courts, I need to know the truth. The real truth about what happened when we were young - not just the story I'll spin the jury.To reach the heart of it, I must face up to the part my own family played.Even if it means risking my life.

#BookReview: Dawn of the Firebird by Sarah Mughal Rana @sarahmughal769

Synopsis:
For fans of The Poppy War, She Who Became the Sun and The Will of the Many, a breathtaking fantasy novel about the daughter of an overthrown emperor from an exciting new voice

Khamilla Zahr-zad’s life has been built on a foundation of violence and vengeance. Every home she’s known has been destroyed by war. As the daughter of an emperor’s clan, she spent her childhood training to maintain his throne. But when her clansmen are assassinated by another rival empire, plans change. With her heavenly magic of nur, Khamilla is a weapon even enemies would wield—especially those in the magical, scholarly city of Za’skar. Hiding her identity, Khamilla joins the enemy’s army school full of jinn, magic and martial arts, risking it all to topple her adversaries, avenge her clan and reclaim their throne.

To survive, she studies under cutthroat mystic monks and battles in a series of contests to outmaneuver her fellow soldiers. She must win at all costs, even if it means embracing the darkness lurking inside her. But the more she excels, the more she is faced with history that contradicts her father’s teachings. With a war brewing among the kingdoms and a new twisted magic overtaking the land, Khamilla is torn between two impossible vengeance or salvation.

#BookReview: Dragonhart (Dragonhart #1) by Abbie Eaton

Synopsis:
The brand new Sunday Times bestseller fantasy romance debut for fans of Sarah A. Parker and Rebecca Yarros. The dragons are gone, and the kingdoms are falling. Not even the gods can save them now…

Arla Reinhart, personal assassin to the King of Hadalyn, doesn’t believe in the gods and their dragons who once served the people – not after they abandoned her when she needed them most. But when shipments start going missing and the kingdoms begin to crumble, they may be the only ones who can help.

Forced into working with the arrogant – yet unmistakably handsome –ambassador of the kingdom that killed her parents, Arla must place her hatred for Hark Stappen to one side as they journey across kingdoms, dining with royalty and fighting in taverns, and make an alarming discovery that shatters her heart and forces her to question everything – and everyone – she knows…

#BookReview: Seven Deadly Thorns by Amber Hamilton @amham_writes

Synopsis:

Deluxe limited edition will include stenciled edges, patterned endpapers, and a designed case cover!

The Cruel Prince meets Powerless in this dark academia romantasy that will tattoo itself onto your heart.

In the cursed Kingdom of Aragoa, the punishment for magic is death.

Even the students at Vandenberghe Academy aren't spared. When Viola Sinclair's deadly shadow magic is discovered, the queen gives her assassin a new assignment and a new cursed tattoo: seven-thorned rose on his arm for the seven days he has to hunt Viola down and kill her. If he doesn't, he will be the one to die.

The assassin is Roze Roquelart--entitled prince, arrogant fellow student, and the one person Viola hates more than anyone. Roze should revel in the chance to end her life, but he desperately needs something from Viola and her magic. And he's willing to spare her life--and fake their engagement--to get it.

Forced to work together, Viola and Roze must contend with deadly threats, dangerous secrets, and an impossible attraction. Will they give in to their deepest desires, even if it means destroying Aragoa--and risking both their lives?

HER WORST ENEMY. HIS ONLY CHANCE.

Be swept away by the sizzling, irresistible enemies-to-lovers romantasy with magic more destructive than your darkest nightmares.

#BookReview: Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

Synopsis:
"I'm in your blood, and you are in mine…"

The Netherlands, 1887. Lucy's twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, mumbles nonsensically, and is increasingly obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband's grand estate. The doctor has diagnosed her with temporary insanity caused by a fever of the brain. To protect her twin from a terrible fate in a lunatic asylum, Lucy must unravel the mystery surrounding her sister's condition, but it's clear her twin is hiding something. Then again, Lucy is harboring secrets of her own, too.

Then, the worst happens. Sarah's behavior takes a turn for the strange. She becomes angry… and hungry. 

Lucy soon comes to suspect that something is trying to possess her beloved sister. Or is it madness? As Sarah changes before her very eyes, Lucy must reckon with the dark, monstrous truth, or risk losing her forever.

#BookReview: A Kiss of Hammer and Flame (Fated for Hael #1) by @amydelaforce

Synopsis:
An immortal bound in darkness. A shattered empire at war. And a blacksmith whose heart could tip the scales of fate.

When young blacksmith Cahra is commissioned to forge a sword, she uses her imagination to design a symbol. But this symbol invokes an age-old prophecy and awakens Hael – an immortal with the power to shape or shatter worlds – sealed away in a chamber deep in Hael’stromia, the lost capital at the heart of a civil war between three kingdoms.

Now hunted for the sword, Cahra must flee with the very stranger who commissioned it. But what does she truly know about the handsome and charming noble, Terryl?

On the run through the darkly magical Wilds, she is drawn ever closer to Hael, who visits and beguiles her in dreams. With tyrant kings vying to capture Hael and wield him as a weapon, she alone stands between Hael and their deadly ambitions. Will Cahra risk everything to free him in time to save the empire?

A sizzling, action-packed romantasy, perfect for fans of The North Wind, Throne of Glass and The Book of Azrael.

#BookReview: Exquisite Ruin (The Labyrinth #1) by AdriAnne May

Synopsis:
In this darkly romantic reimagining of the Minotaur myth, a sorceress and a demon are entwined in sensual battle to escape a deadly maze and reclaim their freedom.

In this deadly maze, the most dangerous thing may be the passion between them.

Sadaré wakes in a labyrinth, remembering nothing except that she is a powerful sorceress. Her only companion is a hostile immortal named Daesra—beautiful, dangerous, and demonic—who bound his divine soul for power and revenge.

Despite their animosity, the two have no choice but to work together to reach the center and defeat the monster who prevents their escape. But the longer they wander, the more deadly and alive the maze becomes—and the more Sadaré finds herself drawn to Daesra in ways she can't explain.

As sorceress and demon develop a tenuous truce, the labyrinth gives Sadaré glimpses of their shared history of passion and pain that make her question everything she knows. Unlocking the secrets of her past may be the only way to survive and heal their entwined fates—but as she learns more about the betrayals that brought them to the labyrinth, Sadaré begins to fear that the monster at the center could be Daesra ... or even herself.

#BookReview: Original Sinner (Original Sinners #1) by @kait.ballenger

Synopsis:
Seven deadly—and ultrarich—sins rule NYC, and though she came here to escape her past, one woman’s true path to freedom might be the devil’s bonds in this scorching hot romantasy from Kait Ballenger.

The seven deadly sins keep high profiles in the Big Lust runs brothels, Sloth’s a media streamer…you get the picture. Pride, though, he’s more mysterious. You might know him as Lucifer—temptation irresistibly embodied. The paparazzi are dying for some burning-hot gossip. So when someone publishes my scathing but private rant about him, they eat it up. And now my job is on the line. After all, he is my boss.

With his vicious siblings vying for his power, Lucifer needs to distract the press, so he reframes my tirade as a lovers’ spat, demanding I play the devil’s fiancée. I need to be a good girl, smile for the cameras, nothing more.

But cocky and cruel as he is, his darkness awakens something wicked in me. Sexy and in control, he might just be the cure—an extra dose of sin to heal me from a lifetime of shame and subservience.

And I like it.

#BookReview: My Demon Hunter (Hell Bent, #2) by @aurora.ascher.author

Synopsis:
LIMITED EDITION FIRST PRINTING featuring sprayed edges, designed chapter headers, full color inside covers, and front cover foil with spot gloss—while supplies last!

For fans of Jenna Levine and K.F. Breene, the steamy, laugh-out-loud paranormal romance about learning how to love—including the darkest parts of ourselves—complete with HEA, clothes-ripping-hot love scenes, and a crew of devilish demon brothers who are supposed to be the bad guys . . .

From the instant New York Times bestselling author of SANCTUARY OF THE SHADOW!

The hunter shall become the hunted . . . And the timid shall become the fierce.

Enslaved to an evil demon queen for millennia, Mishetsumephtai has only ever served one purpose. He is the Hunter, the one who drags the guilty back to Hell. But finally tasting freedom on Earth has changed him, and for the first time, Mist questions his duty. The human female who smiles at him with no idea what a monster he is, draws him in, and he’ll do anything to possess her.

Lily Donovan thought the most dangerous thing about running to the corner store at night would be the aisles of junk food. She didn’t bargain on encountering chaos in the form of a man with unusual tattoos and beguiling amber eyes, stalking her through the ice cream section. Since the death of her parents, Lily has tried to forget what she is. But denial is not an option when she’s confronted with everything she’s been running from.

Neither Mist nor Lily can ignore the burning magnetism between them. But Mist’s reprieve from Hell was always temporary, and the punishment for disobedience will be worse than death. Yet he can’t relinquish the woman whose scent calls to him like nothing he’s hunted before.

#BookReview: Blood Iron and Bone (The Lightbringers #1) by Sera Foxe @the_write_fox

Synopsis:
Aurelia , a mortal girl, hears a strange call in the night and is compelled to answer...

In another world, Andar, betrothed to the future High Queen of Áithrim , can't understand why his supposed fated mate looks so right, but feels so wrong...

Duty, fate, blood iron and bone collide under a cursed sky...

In a kingdom on the precipice of the fulfillment or failure of its most famous prophecy, thrown together by fate and terrifying circumstance, a motley band of Fae and Human alike must come together for the good of the realm, even as the darkness that covers the land threatens to become permanent.

Fans of Rebecca Yarros, Holly Black, Sarah J. Maas, and Jennifer L. Armentrout will love this epic Fantasy Romance series featuring fated mates, found families, and chosen ones — Lightbringers — prophesied to break a darkness that threatens everything.

#BookReview: An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole @wordsiren

Synopsis:
A modern-day dark academia fantasy with a twist, perfect for fans of Babel and A Deadly Education.

Warren University has stood amongst the ivy elite for centuries, built on the bones―and forbidden magic―of its most prized BIPOC students…hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright. No matter who they must sacrifice along the way.

Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her Freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely…familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of déjà vu grows increasingly sinister.

Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can't convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic…this time, she may lose herself for good.

#BookReview: The Iron Dreamers by @modernday_eratosthenes

Synopsis:
Uncover the Truth Behind the Dream

When 17-year-old Lexi Carvalho is abruptly taken from her small-town existence, she awakens to a startling Earth was destroyed centuries ago, and her previous life was merely a simulated reality. As one of 700,000 "Iron Dreamers," Lexi's mission is to address the immense challenges that humanity faces aboard a vast space station. Recruited by the enigmatic Artemis to apprehend a saboteur threatening humanity's remnants, Lexi confronts her deepest fears and questions the nature of her existence in this dystopian science fiction tale.

Entrapped in a simulation. Selected for a perilous mission. As Lexi's world unravels, she navigates a crumbling reality where illusions and truth intertwine. The boundary between simulation and actuality blurs as she discovers that the technology meant to safeguard life might also dominate it. Each step brings her closer to a revelation that could either rescue humanity or lead to its demise. This young adult dystopian novel is ideal for fans seeking YA sci-fi books about simulated realities and narratives featuring strong female leads in sci-fi.

The fate of humanity hinges on a perilous secret. Artemis offers Lexi a chance for answers—but at a significant cost. In a world where reality is fabricated, whom can she trust? Lexi's journey through layers of deceit challenges her to outsmart formidable adversaries and uncover her true purpose. Readers will be captivated by this science fiction adventure that delves into women in sci-fi, blending dystopian thrillers with strong female characters.

Inside, you'll 

A thrilling blend of dystopian fiction and sci-fi intrigue. A strong female protagonist navigating a mind-bending reality. A captivating mystery that questions the nature of existence. When reality is a lie, what is the truth?

If you liked Red Rising, Scythe, or books on simulation theory, you’ll love The Iron Dreamers.