#BookReview: The Fake Divination Offense (Magic and Romance #2) by @sara_raasch

Synopsis: Sports romance gets a Dungeons & Dragons makeover with the next book in the Magic and Romance series that follows half-giant Orok, forced into a PR relationship with a feisty, fan-favorite cheerleader. 

Orok star defensive tank on the Philadelphia Hellhounds rawball team. Half-giant. Patron Urzoth, god of strength . . . only Orok’s tired of being tied to a god known for aggression. So (don’t tell his mother) he’s planning on renouncing Urzoth.

Until the cult of Galaxrien, Urzoth’s sworn enemy, ends up causing a lot of damage through their ill-advised attempts to summon him, and the followers of both deities find themselves blamed for the long-standing feud and its ramifications. 

Alexo cheerleading intern with the Hellhounds. Smells like apples, which Orok only knows because he picked Alexo up. Accidentally—Orok publicly saves Alexo from a bar fight, and fans go feral for the muscly pro athlete being protective of the pint size dude-in-distress. 

That’s enough to have the Hellhounds and Urzoth’s church both coming to them with a Orok and Alexo will start a PR relationship to put a positive spin on Urzoth. Orok is all set to refuse—and finally separate from Urzoth—when the team offers Alexo a starting spot on the cheerleading squad to play up the star athlete and cheerleader optics. It’s such an obvious dream come true for Alexo that Orok finds himself agreeing to the arrangement like the sap he is.

He can keep living a lie for a bit longer. But Orok starts to wonder if they can drop the fake part of this fake-relationship…

#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.

#BookReview: The Night King’s Court by Elisa A. Bonnin

Synopsis: Caraval meets Flowerheart in this rich and immersive cozy fantasy, where dazzling magic, lush descriptions, and a sweet sapphic romance cast an irresistible spell. 

Ida’s father went missing without a trace seven years ago, last seen at the court of the enigmatic Night King, which comes to life only after dark with magic and revelry.

So when a position opens up for a new court Luminaire, Ida doesn’t hesitate. She inherited her gift for enchantments from her father—and with this position, she’ll use it to find him again.

Ida is swept into the king’s collection of magical beings, those who bring light and entertainment to the Court’s midnight gatherings—and swept away by the Court, where faerie gardens edge into underwater masquerades, dreaming revels offer blissful escapes, and life is a mesmerizing euphoria.

Yet a sinister thread interrupts Ida’s nights of decadence. Memories go missing, the castle’s magic takes on a malevolence, and Ida can’t seem to leave the boundaries of the court itself.

Enlisting the help of the king’s breathtakingly beautiful daughter Lenore, Ida must unravel the castle’s secrets… before this enchanted world destroys her.

#BookReview: A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge (A Saffron Everleigh Mystery, #4) by Kate Khavari

Synopsis: Brilliant botanist Saffron Everleigh faces her hardest challenge yet when she returns to her childhood home in the fourth book in the charming Saffron Everleigh mystery series. 

“A cleverly plotted puzzle” (Ashley Weaver) in the vein of Opium and Absinthe, this is perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Sujata Massey.

Saffron Everleigh returns to Ellington Manor after her grandfather suffers a heart attack. Back in her childhood home for the first time in years, Saffron faces tense family relationships made worse by the presence of the enigmatic Bill Wyatt, hired on as a doctor to the ailing Lord Easting. But the man is no doctor—in reality, he is a mysterious figure involved in the trafficking of dangerous government secrets, and his presence at Ellington can only mean trouble.

When their neighbors, the Hales, invite a spiritual medium into the village who starts angling for Saffron’s mother’s attention, Saffron realizes that there is more afoot in her hometown than she originally thought. Not to mention inviting Alexander to Ellington has put their budding relationship under her family’s microscope.

As tensions rise at Ellington, Bill demands that Saffron hand over old research documents belonging to her late father. With her relatives under his power as their ‘doctor,’ Saffron fears she may be forced to surrender the files along with her hopes of ever understanding her father’s obscure legacy. Nothing and no one is as they seem at Ellington. It’s through the perfumed haze of the séance’s smoke that Saffron must search for the truth before it’s too late.

#BookReview: The Witch Roads (The Witch Roads, #1) by @kateelliottsff

Synopsis: Status is hereditary, class is bestowed, trust must be earned.

When an arrogant prince (and his equally arrogant entourage) gets stuck in Orledder Halt as part of brutal political intrigue, competent and sunny deputy courier Elen―once a child slave meant to shield noblemen from the poisonous Pall―is assigned to guide him through the hills to reach his destination.

When she warns him not to enter the haunted Spires, the prince doesn’t heed her advice, and the man who emerges from the towers isn’t the same man who entered.

The journey that follows is fraught with danger. Can a group taught to ignore and despise the lower classes survive with a mere deputy courier as their guide?

The Witch Roads is the latest epic novel by fan favorite, Kate Elliott.

#BookReview: The Bachelorette Party by Camilla Sten

Synopsis: Scream meets The Guest List in this wickedly compelling and compulsively page-turning thriller of friendship and murder from the author of The Lost Village, Camilla Sten.

On a remote, craggy island nestled off the coast of Sweden, four friends—Tilly, Anna, Linnea and Evelina—meet every year. Best friends since childhood, the idea is to drink beer, dance by the water, and shake off the weight of life's expectations. The location of the island is a secret to everyone but them. One night of reckless fun and secret-sharing, and then they return to their normal lives.

Ten years later. Ever since she was a teenager, Tessa Nilsson has been consumed by the story of four friends who disappeared on their annual trip to a remote island together. As her true crime fervor turned into a wildly popular podcast, Tessa urgently covered Sweden’s most gruesome cases, but could never find the answers behind what happened to these women who disappeared, leaving a few maddening clues but no concrete answers. Now Tessa’s podcast has crashed and burned, any chance she had at uncovering the truth vanishing with it.

Anneliese is Tessa’s best friend, and before she walks down the aisle, she wants to have a bachelorette party. The Baltic Vinyasa, a sleek, sophisticated yoga retreat on a small island off the coast—one with such similar characteristics to the tragedy years ago that it raises the hair on Tessa’s neck. The idea is to drink gallons of cava, do sunrise yoga, and get in their last chance to bond with the bride. Tessa will not pass this up. It’s her last chance to find out what happened to the four women, once and for all.

And it’s someone else’s last chance to get revenge.

#BookReview: Whisked Away (Jewels of the Nine Kingdoms, #1) by Enola M. Douglas

Synopsis: Escape doesn’t always mean freedom…

When Princess Reiyana unexpectedly presents as an Omega at age twenty, her future is no longer her own. Once a Beta with dreams of love and adventure, she is now a political prize—coveted by Alphas across the Nine Kingdoms.

But two half-brothers change everything.

Prince Kaelendrin and Prince Alarik of Asadia enter the royal tournament to claim her hand. Their strength and charm awaken something forbidden within Reiyana, unraveling not only her carefully guarded heart but also the beliefs she’s clung to her entire life.

Determined to reclaim control of her fate, Reiyana plots her escape. But betrayal leaves her stranded in a world where power is reserved for the chosen few—and no position is more perilous than that of an Omega. Now, she must navigate dangerous alliances, confront hidden truths, and embrace the desires she’s long denied—before her destiny is decided for her.

Whisked Away is a why-choose omegaverse romantasy filled with secrets, power struggles, and slow-building passion. It is Book One in the Jewels of the Nine Kingdoms series.

While this series explores shared love, there is no M/M romance between the brothers.

#BookReview: A Crown of Thorns and Magic by E. Evans

Synopsis: Born a bastard to a king and a formidable amazon captain, raised in the shadow of her father's throne, sixteen-year-old Astar had to claim the crown through trial by combat.

She has ruled for only three months when treachery leads her into a devastating trap. Captured by former allies and the Sorceress Seluma, she finds herself chained in the Shadow Keep, a dungeon teeming with undead nightmares and eldritch abominations.

There, she discovers she's not the only captive. Hathan, a broken mage apprentice with haunted eyes, has been Seluma's prisoner and experimental subject for years. Once the apprentice of a great mage persecuted by Astar's father, he has every reason to hate her. Still, they have no choice but to form an unlikely alliance. With his forbidden magic and her unwavering courage, they must escape the labyrinth of horrors and race across enemy territory to reclaim a throne under siege—all before Seluma and her allies crush Astar's homeland forever.

But returning to reclaim her throne would be just the beginning. With dark magic threatening everything she holds dear, Astar must embrace the very power she was taught to fear. In a world where magic corrupts and trust is a luxury, can a bastard queen and a broken sorcerer save a kingdom?

#BookReview: The Promised Queen by Kate Johnson

Synopsis: In a world without magic, only the cunning survive…In a realm where magic has vanished and a kingdom teeters on the brink, Ember Hart, a master thief with a hidden past, is thrust into a strange new world and a destiny she never sought. Anointed as ‘the Promised One’, she is bound by a twister prophecy into an unholy union with the kingdom’s beastly prince. Rumours of his brutality haunt the palace halls.

But Ember is no sacrificial lamb.

Forming a precarious alliance with the dangerous Rhaell, Captain of the Guard, Ember seizes the chance to return home by helping to restore the kingdom’s lost magic. In this land of danger and desire, can she reclaim her freedom or, with every barb and bated breath, will her growing awareness of Rhaell risk everything she yearns for?

#BookReview: What the Gods Left Behind by Zephyr Trillian

Synopsis: For those born with godblood, life begins with a collar and ends with obedience.

When Wisterly escapes her lord’s service, she can't stay visible for long. Her silver collar marks her as an Acolyte. If the guards see her, they'll drag her back—and she’d rather not discover what punishment awaits.

Desperate and hunted, she runs into Mordred, a Guild thief with his own troubles. He offers to help after one last job: stealing the Box of Pathways, a divine Artifact only the godblooded can handle without going mad. With few other choices, Wisterly accepts.

But some treasures are better left alone. When she touches the Box, something wakes inside and takes control. Even worse, the heist goes sideways, leaving them hunted by the Grand Council and the Guild alike.

Now Wisterly and Mordred are fugitives with a capricious power. To stay free, they must outwit their pursuers and discover if the Box will save them—or destroy them both.

#BookReview: A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash (Kingdom of Gods #1) by @jfjohnsbooks

Synopsis: A New Adult Fantasy Romance Perfect for Fans of Fourth Wing, The Bridge Kingdom, and Serpent & Dove!

The eight kingdoms have not spoken for 100 hundred years after destroying the land of the witches, turning the kingdom into a wasteland.
Until now.
Mal blackburn will end the feud between the kingdoms by marrying the fire prince, known across the lands for being cruel.
But Mal is not looking to conquer the cruel prince’s heart.
She wants to stab it.
For if Mal kills the fire prince, she will end the curse no one believes to be true. However, killing him might not be so simple...
The witches want revenge.
And everyone seems to keep secrets in the land of fire and dragons.
Including Mal Blackburn, the girl with witch eyes. The fourthborn child of the kingdom of darkness. The one that is hiding a secret that could doom them all.
Or save them.

Perfect for readers who love enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn romance, court intrigue, and dark magic.

#BookReview: The Oracle of Dusk by @happyhermitltd

Synopsis: An oracle should know better than to fall for a doomed king.

Aurora is a historian—not a prophesied hero. But the day she finds her first artefact, destiny pits her against the primordial monster that has repeatedly destroyed her world. Cornered by the beast, she escapes death when the artefact sends her to the ancient past and gifts her one chance to kill the monster before it’s unstoppable. Except it also lands her in the arms of King Theron, a handsome schemer infamous for his tragic fate.

Theron is a bad man but an excellent king. When a battlefield mishap sends him to an enemy queendom in chains, the last thing he expects to find is a beauty with the knowledge to save his kingdom and crush his foes. Tempted by Aurora’s uncanny foresight, Theron vows to possess her at any cost.

Aurora’s only hope to defeat the monster in the ancient past is Theron’s army. With her world’s future at stake, she knows better than to succumb to his seduction, yet finds herself hopelessly drawn to him. But as she awakens magic that torments her with visions of predestined tragedies, Aurora begins to fear her heart is as doomed as the man—and world—she’s trying to save.

Inspired by The Legend of Zelda, The Oracle of Dusk is the first epic fantasy romance novel in the Cycle of Calamity series. If you love height differences (understatement), time travel, and fated romance, escape into The Oracle of Dusk!

#BookReview: A Fate Forged In Fire (Bonded to Beasts #1) by Hazel McBride

Synopsis: To become the first queen in centuries, a powerfully blessed blacksmith must use her wits and fire magic to overthrow the corrupt powers ruling her kingdom—while also fighting her growing desire for one of her dragon-riding adversaries—in the first book of a sizzling Celtic-inspired fantasy romance duology.

Once a territory built on matriarchal rule and values, Tìr Teine has since grown frail from a long line of fruitless kings. The most recent of which have ruled under the influence of the True Religion, an oppressive group who have steadily poisoned the region with their anti-magic teachings.

Born to rule and blessed by fire, Aemyra has begrudgingly lived in hiding rather than risk her life in court, waiting in anticipation for the current king’s death so she can bond to his dragon, claim her throne, and protect her people. But when the king dies and Aemyra is ready to take what is rightfully hers, her ambitious plan is foiled and she is thrust into a game of vicious politics and plots.

Her biggest adversary is Prince Fiorean, a dragon-rider and one of the most powerful fire wielders in the territory. Cold, arrogant, and blindly supportive of his corrupt family, he is everything Aemyra despises. But as chaos engulfs the court, they find themselves reluctantly entwined, forced to forge an uneasy alliance—one that quickly ignites into something more dangerous than either of them expected.

Behind enemy lines and slowly falling for her so-called adversary, Aemyra uncovers just how far the rot of corruption has spread, and what she may have to sacrifice to claim her throne.

#BookReview: Not So Fast (Fast Track, #1) by Karen Booth

Synopsis: It’s Formula One—getting revved up is all part of the fun in this sizzling high-octane rom-com for fans of Rush and The Hating Game.

When the curves are  this  dangerous, only a race car driver will do…

Mia Neal is a champion overthinker. Find something, fixate on it and spiral down. Fortunately, she puts that energy to good use: in a podcast about Formula One, her favorite sport in the world. There’s nothing about racing Mia doesn’t adore. The speed. The drivers. The fierce competition. The single-minded ambition. Ironic for a woman who’s changed careers more times than she can count.

Only now her salty takes on gorgeous Brit driver Xander Bishop have gone viral, and the podcast feels more and more like what she’s meant to do… Then Xander’s teammate invites her to the Miami Grand Prix to see F1 up close—and get in Xander’s head. He’s not exactly delighted at all the shade she’s been throwing his way.

It should be all-out war. Instead, Mia and Xander are stunned by the sudden crackle of…something sexual arcing between them. It’s irresistible, unbelievably hot—all Mia’s warning flags are waving. Because this reckless attraction is coming at Mia all too fast…

#BookReview: Virgo Rising (Zodiac Defenders #1) by Jermaine Bell Jr. @thenatural71

Synopsis:  Zodiac signs are not horoscopes, they are living, breathing entities in Drokeo Bay with power. Serenity desires nothing more but order without chaos. Typical Virgo. However…

When a dream shows her the genocidal evil that is Argasis the 13th, she must kill him before he executes his one sign repopulation utopia comes to fruition. Failure is a road that leads to death and the loss of her loved ones, all because her and 11 others are vessels for the zodiac signs.

Can she really slay Argasis and not lose herself in the zodiac war? Or was her fate already written at birth by the stars above?

#BookReview: Come As You Are by @missdahlelama

Synopsis: Hot on the heels of a broken heart, Everett “Evie” Riley arrives at Camden Academy ready for a new beginning - one far away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, the sister who stole him, and the best friend who let it happen. But her fresh start is stopped in its tracks when she's accidentally placed in an all-boys dorm, with no choice but to stay.

When rumors and gossip about Evie's housing predicament spread like wildfire, she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable new reputation... but she's definitely going to require help. Her grumpy emo dorm mate Salem Grayson isn't exactly her first choice, but he does need her help to repair his relationship with his parents every bit as much as she needs his to learn how to be cool. And so they make a pact - he'll teach her how to be bad, if she teaches him how to be good.

It's a flawless plan, except while Salem thrives academically, even romantically, and - annoyingly enough - even physically, Evie's quest feels like one dead end after another, and the girl she's becoming certainly doesn't feel remotely cool. But when Evie realizes what she wants more than anything, she'll have to contend with her thrice-broken heart and figure out how to become someone capable of chasing happiness.

Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is about refusing to accept less than you deserve, and realizing that the best relationships are with people who know exactly who you are.

#BookReview: Salvación by @sandraproudman

Synopsis: In this Latinx young adult fantasy inspired by Zorro, Lola de La Peña becomes the masked heroine Salvación in order to save her family and town from a man who would destroy it for the magic it contains...if she doesn't fall in love with a boy in his company first.

Lola de La Peña yearns to be free from the societal expectations of a young Mexican lady of her station. She spends her days pretending to be delicate and proper while watching her mamá cure the sick and injured with sal negra (black salt), a recently discovered magic that heals even the most mortal sicknesses and wounds. But secretly, she is Salvación, the free-spirited lady vigilante protecting her town of Coloma from those who threaten its peace and safety.

But one night, a woman rides into Coloma, barely alive, to tell the horrifying tale of how her town was obliterated by sal roja (red salt), a potent, deadly magic capable of obliterating anything it comes into contact with, and Señor Hernández, the man who wields it. When Hernández arrives the next day with a party of fifty strong men and promises to return Alta California to México, Lola knows it’s only a matter of time before he brings the region under his rule. All Hernández needs is the next full moon and the stolen ancient amulet he carries to mine enough sal roja to conquer the land. 

Determined to protect everything she loves, Lola—as Salvación—races against time to stop his plans. What she didn’t count on was the distracting and infuriating Alejandro, who travels with Hernández but doesn't seem to share his ambitions. With the stakes higher than ever and Hernández getting closer to his goals, Lola will do anything to foil his plans—even teaming up with Alejandro, whom she doesn’t fully trust but can’t help falling in love with.

#BookReview: A Goddess Unraveled by Morgan Rider

Synopsis: A steamy romantasy about a lovestruck demigoddess, unaware of her royal status, who makes a shocking discovery and attempts to flee to the underworld with Hades to escape Zeus's wrath.

Fans of spicy retellings of the Hades and Persephone myth will love this version, which puts its own unique twist on the tale.

Lexi Maxwell has grown up surrounded by wealth and privilege, but also by rules. The rare moments of freedom that Lexi enjoys come when she’s out riding, but even then there are strictures on where she can go—and with whom. 

When she arrives home for a weekend-long celebration in honor of her college graduation, Lexi is surprised by the number of eligible bachelors who vie for her attention. She doesn’t have a lot of experience with the opposite sex, but these loudmouth, arrogant boys fail to impress her. 

Enter the mysterious Luke Carrington. She is instantly drawn to him, but despite his charm and intelligence, her parents and godfather warn her to stay away from him. Lexi, however, cannot be deterred. 

When Lexi learns that her life has been one long lie, and the people claiming to be her family aren't who they say they are, she turns to Luke for solace. It doesn’t take long for him to earn her trust—and her heart—and suddenly Lexi is willing to follow him anywhere to keep him close. Even into the underworld . . .

#BookReview: What Sleeps Within the Cove (Of Flesh & Bone #4) by Harper L. Woods

Synopsis: From the New York Times bestseller, Harper L. Woods comes a brand new, highly anticipated novel in her Of Flesh and Bone series, What Sleeps Within the Cove.

Once, I bartered my soul for my mate.

Offering Mab my bound allegiance was the only way to save Caldris’s life—the only bargain I could make to keep us both from the Void. After cruelly murdering the King of Summer, her own brother, Mab became unhinged and there was no telling what she would do. Caldris is safe for now because of my sacrifice, but at a cost. Queen Mab only wants one thing from me.

Then, I was banished to Tartarus, from where few ever return.

Mab has demanded a tribute—a snake from the crown of Medusa. Navigating through the horrors of Tartarus, I must pass the Trials of the Five Rivers to prove my worth to the primordials and steal the unthinkable. All without my magic.

Now, I must embrace my darkness, my past.

To survive, I must discover who I am—who I’m fated to be. Human, and Fae, and something… other. Embracing all the sides of magic, light and dark, is the only way to escape Tartarus and get back to Caldris. I will save him, the Fae, and the humans from Mab.

Even if it kills me.

#BookReview: A Favor Owed by Marisa Calcara

Synopsis: To everyone else, I look like just another struggling law student. Out here in the dry, sleepy California town of Dos Torres, I’ve got a job serving tables, a cheap (some would describe it as “decrepit”) rental, and every day is a lesson in survival.

No one would ever know that last year, I lived in a mansion in New York, everything I wore was high-end designer, and I had everything I could ever want. And the cost of it all? Knowing that my family—my own dad—committed unspeakable crimes for everything we had.

I’m a former “mafia princess” with a debt to pay to society. No one in “the family” knows where I am or what I'm doing. And they can’t ever find out.

Only now a complication has entered my already too-complicated life—and he’s tall, fit, and has a boy-next-door grin that invites trouble. He has no idea who he’s falling for…or that just being seen with me could get him killed.

But apparently I’m not the only one who’s good at lying—because he’s hiding one hell of a secret, too.