Book Review: The Poet Empress by Shen Tao

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
Author: Shen Tao
Publisher: Bramble
Release Date: January 20th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.

In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.

Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.

Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House.

But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.

To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death…and love.

The Poet Empress is an epic fantasy that explores darker themes, subjects, and scenes that may not be suitable for all readers. Please see the author’s content note at the beginning of the book.

TOOK ME OUT.

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this up. I’ve just been hearing great things so I found an audiobook and dove in.

WHAT A STORY. THIS IS A DEBUT AUTHOR????? I’m sat.

This was dark and heavy and deep on the characters. Wei is set on this intense journey of brutal decisions while trying to maintain a semblance of self and the why of her decision to go to Azalea House. I could hardly predict Wei’s next move and was glued to my headphones. An incredible strength of soul to become The Poet Empress.

And please don’t go in thinking this is a romance. It’s an epic fantasy and you’ll still get many character relationships of all different levels and see how they all create this world. The politicking and battles and the magic system?? The combinations were lethal. And this writing style is easy to follow. I got a sense for every piece of this aching puzzle.

The constant battle to find a measure of hope and trying to find what good is left and is it good enough? are present themes throughout. It’s one of those stories I know will stick with me and I can’t wait to see what Shen Tao writes next.

[I might not have caught them all so please double check content warnings before reading]

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: physical violence, sexual violence/abuse (including minors), alcohol abuse, partner abuse (often physical), blood/gore

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Book Review: Code Word Romance by Carlie Walker

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Carlie Walker
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 18th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two exes. One mission. A trip she’ll never forget…

Max is just your average girl. She works odd jobs, has a soul-crushing amount of debt and just happens to have an uncanny resemblance to Europe’s youngest female prime minister, Sofia Christensen . . .

So when the prime minister receives a credible death threat, the CIA approaches Max with a a life-changing amount of money if she pretends to be Sofia on the prime minister’s annual Italian trip.

It would be a dream if it weren’t for those pesky assassins and Flynn, Max’s ridiculously hot handler – the man who broke her heart years and years ago.

With her life now on the line, Max knows she has no choice but to lose herself in the role. But losing her heart to Flynn again? Now that’s a risk that she isn’t willing to take . . .

Red, White and Royal Blue meets Emily Henry in this opposites-attract, fake-dating romcom. Perfect for fans of Katherine Center and Ali Hazelwood.

THIS WAS FUN.

I have really enjoyed the spy romcom sub genre of romance. They are a lot of fun and have a different vibe than my usual books and I appreciate the smiles it brings amidst all of the chaos of the journey.

This was a fantastic second chance romance. I was INVOLVED with Max and Flynn’s past and current relationship. I loved the slow burn tension and the bodyguard moments?? YES PLEASE.

The audiobook is great, an easy and fast listen with a solid narrator. I loved the turns the plot took and seeing Max kind of come into her own in an impossible situation. There’s romance and action and political betrayals that will keep you busy. Such a gem and can’t wait for more!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: mild – moderate
  • Romance: brief open door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: weapons violence, attempted murder

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Book Review: Heart of Mischief (Soul of Shadow #2) by Emma Noyes

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Emma Noyes
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: March 10th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The thrilling sequel to Soul of Shadow, a contemporary romantasy for fans of Twilight, and Teen Wolf, where love, magic, gods, and monsters collide with devastating consequences – featuring beautiful color, designed endpapers and a foil case stamp for a stunning package.

I will make myself strong.
I will find Elias.
I will kill Elias.
I will never trust a boy with my heart again.

These are the vows Charlie Hudson made the day after Elias Everhart betrayed her, nearly killing everyone she loves most. One month later, revenge is still her priority, even as she navigates a harsh new reality: one where her brother and friends can now see Asgard, making them just as susceptible to its dazzling delights – and deadly dangers – as she is.

But when two bodies turn up in the forest outside town, and Elias waltzes back into her life with an offer to help find out what’s happening, Charlie finds herself accepting his offer—but only because feigning an alliance is her best chance to figure out how to kill him. And if it feels like the more time she spends with him, the more her heart softens, it must be a trick of the unusually warm fall air. Because there’s no way she would make the grave mistake of falling for Elias Everhart twice… right?

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

BETTER THAN BOOK ONE.

I wasn’t sure I was going to read this one but then it came across my email and I decided I wanted to try it and here we are! I did like it more than the first (which usually doesn’t happen) and I’m invested enough to finish the trilogy. I liked the evolution of the plot and thought the general situation was overall engaging. That, or it just happened to catch me at the right time, and that’s fine too!

The romance worked for me too. There was a better slow burn dynamic to it and I liked the push and pull between them. Kind of an enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers scenario that I am here for.

There’s still some scenes I didn’t mesh with or didn’t quite work for me and that’s okay.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Urban Fantasy Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: heated make outs
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: under age drinking, near death experiences, murder

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Book Review: The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Author: Freya Sampson
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 30th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Strangers aboard a London bus unite to help an elderly man find his missed love connection in the heartwarming new novel from the author of The Last Chance Library.

When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, brokenhearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 that he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like hers. They made plans for a date at the National Gallery art museum, but Frank lost the bus ticket with her number on it. For the past sixty years, he’s ridden the same bus trying to find her, but with no luck.

Libby is inspired to action and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she papers the bus route with posters advertising their search. Libby begins to open her guarded heart to new friendships and a budding romance, as her tightly controlled world expands. But with Frank’s dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl on the 88 bus is slipping away.

More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chances for happiness—before it’s too late—in a beautifully uplifting novel about how a shared common experience among strangers can transform lives in the most marvelous ways.

UNEXPECTED.

I didn’t even know this book existed until a week ago when a friend texted me about it, and since I love her dearly I said I would read it too. AND HERE WE ARE. I think this was an unexpected gem that I grew to love. Now, it is definitely more fiction than romance so know that going in.

As Libby rides the bus after a miserable turn of events in her life she meets many characters who turn to impact her future and the way she learns to handle trials. I loved all of the side characters and learning their stories and paths that they have walked. Some are joyful and some are more filled with sorrow, but there was this sense of hope and that things worked out in the end that I loved.

There is a little dash of a romance with some tropes I love and some not so much. I do think everything came together in the end really well and the epilogue is just the absolute best. I thought the answers needed were given and I am not upset I picked this one up at all.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Fiction
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: Kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, dementia

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