#BookReview: Heart of a Witch (Embracing Darkness Collection) by Rebecca L. Garcia

Synopsis: A vengeful fantasy standalone romance perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom and A Touch of Darkness

I’d never particularly liked humans, but I’d never wanted to kill one. Until now.

Hidden in a kingdom that hates witches, I’m forced to hide what I am. With my sister working in a secret dark magic club, and our family’s shop gaining unwanted attention, things couldn’t be worse when the notorious witch hunter, Damian Shaw, comes to town.

When my sister shows up dead, and my family’s name is called into question, we’re forced to adopt new aliases and leave the home we cherished. As I watch my life fall apart, I vow to destroy the hunter responsible, but his punishment would not be swift. Death was too easy.

Redforest is a quaint town, with a church, pretty shops, and like any good town, a dark past. When my family and I move in, I set my sights on the Shaw family, quickly learning everything I can about them. Damian’s son, Elijah, is the hunter’s greatest pride. His heir. His confidante. The only family he trusts.

I come up with a plan. I am going to shatter every good thing in Damian’s life, ending with his son. My goal: make Elijah Shaw fall in love with me, twist him into the very thing his father hates, then kill him.

With my heart challenged, the attraction growing, I find myself trapped in a deadly game. In a twist of fate, Elijah might just end up being the death of me.

Embraced by Darkness is a collection of standalone books set in the same world without an overarching plot, which means you can start with any books in the series and pick and choose which ones you want to read. This collection of novels follows different couples as they go from enemies to friends to lovers, while facing dangerous obstacles in a world split between humans, shifters, witches and gods, set in two kingdoms that separate them.

#BookSirens: Forbidden Healing (Chronicles of the God-Sage #1) by Rachael Watson

Synopsis: A mysterious deity, power-hungry priests and two young people fighting to stay alive.

Kyla Tarthwen longs to join the ranks of the religious elite, the God-Sage’s Sacred Core. But Kyla has a secret that could kill her. When an acolyte is murdered during Kyla’s initiation, Kyla wonders if she is next. Can she do what it takes to secure her place in the Sacred Core, before the religious elite turn their watchful eye on her?

Marlowe Tide is grieving the deaths of his parents, executed as traitors to the God-Sage. He is desperate to keep his sister safe. But Valora is a healer, and healing is a crime. She ought to be dead already. When Kyla Tarthwen arrives at Marlowe’s door on a mission for the God-Sage, can Marlowe save his sister?

When Marlowe and Kyla meet, events take place that will change the course of both their lives, if they don’t kill each other first…

#BookReview: Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass, #7) by @SJMass

Title: Kingdom of Ash

Series:  (Throne of Glass, #7)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: Hardcover, 984 pages
Published: October 23rd 2018
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA

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Synopsis:  Years in the making, Sarah J. Maas’s #1 New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series draws to an epic, unforgettable conclusion. Aelin Galathynius’s journey from slave to king’s assassin to the queen of a once-great kingdom reaches its heart-rending finale as war erupts across her world. . .

Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.

As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.

#BookReview: Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) by @SJMass

Title: Tower of Dawn

Series:  (Throne of Glass #6)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: Hardcover, 672 pages
Published: September 5th 2017 
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

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Synopsis: In the next installment of the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass series, follow Chaol on his sweeping journey to a distant empire.

Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.

His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica—the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.

But what they discover in Antica will change them both—and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.

#BookReview: Heart of the Impaler by Alexander Delacroix

Synopsis: Ilona Csáki has no desire to marry the voivode's eldest son, but love and marriage are the least of her worries. 

The royal family's enemies have already tried to put an arrow through her back—and if anyone discovers her blossoming feelings for her betrothed's cousin Andrei, and younger brother, Vlad, she may just wish they'd succeeded.

Beneath the shadow of impending war, the only battle that will be deadlier than the one for Ilona’s life will be the one for her heart.

In this dark, historical YA debut, two young men—one scarred and dutiful, the other wickedly magnetic—fall for the same young woman. But is it safe for her to love either of them back?

#BookReview: Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West

Synopsis: Talking to other people isn't Kate Bailey's favorite activity. She'd much rather be out on the lake, soaking up the solitude and sunshine. So when her best friend, Alana, convinces Kate to join their high school's podcast, Kate is not expecting to be chosen as the host. Now she'll have to answer calls and give advice on the air? Impossible.

But to Kate's surprise, she turns out to be pretty good at the hosting gig. Then the podcast gets in a call from an anonymous guy, asking for advice about his unnamed crush. Kate is pretty sure that the caller is gorgeous Diego Martinez, and even surer that the girl in question is Alana. Kate is excited for her friend ... until Kate herself starts to develop feelings for Diego. Suddenly, Kate finds that while doling out wisdom to others may be easy, asking for help is tougher than it looks, and following your own advice is even harder.

Kasie West's adorable story of secrets, love, and friendship is sure to win over hearts everywhere. 

#BookReview: The Lost Apothecary by @SL_Penner

Synopsis: A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them - setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course. 

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose - selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate - and not everyone will survive.

#BookReview: Ravensgaard Heir (Shifters Fated, #1) by Melle Amade

Synopsis: Fated mate shifters, forced into a marriage that neither can accept unless they both do.

Davin has lived in Dublin on the outskirts of shifter society her whole life. A soldier among soldiers she has battled the Hunters until her cell is wiped out by a devastating hit.

She heads to Castle Brannach for reinforcements but is thrown into the center of the Ravensgaard court, only to discover she is fated to marry the Lord’s strikingly handsome son, Riordan. But the longer she stays at the Lord’s castle, the more she realizes his self-righteousness and entitlement are weaving destruction against their own people.

Riordan has lived in the shadow of his father his whole life. Controlled and trained to be the next Lord of the Ravensgaard he has become disillusioned with the choices his father has made for their people, but he lacks the ability to do anything about it.

Until her.

Davin. The fiery red head who is his fated mate. He feels it from the second he sees her, but she is aloof and disinterested. The only way he can get her interest is to break with his father and go after the Hunters in Dublin with Davin.

Will these two be able to forge a new alliance and go against the very power that holds the Ravensgaard throne? 

#BookReview: To Tame a Rancher's Heart (Coyote Valley #2) by Kadi James

Synopsis: Gabe wants to be left alone. That's perfect for Madison. She took the job at Guardian Redwood Ranch to avoid the troubles she had back home. But the owner, Gabe, looks like a whole lot of trouble to Madison. He's tall, dark, handsome and other than his naturally grumpy personality, he was really quite generous and thoughtful.

As he starts to warm to her, Madison has to battle her own need for independence against the thriving security she feels with Gabe. When he goes missing in a forest fire, though, they both start to realize just what they mean to each other. Will these two overcome themselves to realize the value and love they bring to each others' lives?

#BookReview: Regen (Penchant for Trouble #1) by Cassie Greutman

Synopsis: Life is finally shaping up for Trisha. For the first time, she’s with a foster family she doesn’t hate. Her new school is decent, and she even has a boyfriend. Until the night she finds herself waking up in the woods covered in blood, a bullet hole in her dress. 

Without her fae abilities, she’d be dead, but now the Faerie Council has given her an ultimatum. She has to help find an escaped fugitive, or be taken to Faerie, a place her missing mother told her horror stories about. 

Now, Trish has to keep her day job a secret from her foster parents, join forces with the ex-boyfriend who killed her, and hunt down a dangerous criminal before he comes into his powers. Should be a piece of cake.