Broken Souls and Bones, the first book in L.J. Andrews’ Stonegate series, promises magic, mystery, and a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance set in a Viking-inspired fantasy world. Unfortunately, the execution is uneven, leaving much of the story feeling as if it too needs a good melding—its pacing, characters, and world-building don’t quite come together into something…
Mythology is a long-time love of mine, especially when it collides with history. Add in a Gilded Age backdrop, and I’m already halfway to devotion. So when I read the description of The Gods Time Forgot—a historical romantasy where Irish mythology entwines with turn-of-the-century Manhattan—I had high hopes. I finished it deflated. What begins with…
Narrated by Michael Ferraiuolo Betrothed to the Emperor is the first book in the new Emperor’s Assassin series by not-quite-new-to-me author, Kai Butler (I have a couple of their other books in audio but haven’t got around to listening to them yet!) I liked the sound of it; a fantasy romance between an assassin and…
Rachel Greenlaw’s Shadow and Tide, the second book in her Compass and Blade trilogy, doesn’t lose its way, but it does drift. It expands the world, raises the stakes, and complicates its characters, yet in its effort to do more, it sometimes loses the tight, gripping focus that made Compass and Blade so compelling. The…
A cross between Ghosts and The Haunting of Hill House, with a melancholy gothic spirit that’s all its own, The Spirit Collection of Throne Hall is a romantic and engrossing tale of a girl sentenced to forever soothe the spirits, and the contractor’s son who becomes her one ticket to freedom. The novel blends emotion…
This is a truly fun, chilling, engrossing book with one big flaw – it kept pulling me out of a great narrative with unnecessary multiple PoVs. The Rose Bargain is The Bachelor touched with fae magic, and though it’s slightly uneven it’s still a fun ride. The novel concerns itself with an alternate British history…
Jude Deveraux helped popularize time travel romances in the 1970s and 1980s, so she’s a natural to jump into the Romantasy field with her new duology, Blue Swan. I did expect some old skool tomfoolery in Order of Swans and got it; unfortunately, along with that old-school crazysauce, I also got that hoary old chestnut…
Readers came out full force—many in costume! —to get a copy of the latest book sensation, then feverishly poured over the pages and filled social media feeds with predictions and memes. Onyx Storm, the third installment in The Empyrean series has arrived and, as Rebecca Yarros says, Get your leathers. We have dragons to ride….
Melissa K. Roehrich’s Lady of Darkness is a new adult fantasy that combines familiar tropes into a character-driven narrative filled with assassins, romance, and secrets. Despite its intriguing premise, the book struggles to deliver an interesting story, often feeling like an attempt to mimic popular romantasy series such as Throne of Glass and A Court…
Narrated by Finty Williams The Lord of Stariel is the first in a five book series and as such, spends a decent amount of time on worldbuilding and character introductions. That said, it feels necessary and not overdone. After the death of the late Lord of Stariel, his children and closest relatives gather for his…
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