Book Review: Tempest (The Lyrian Sea #1) by Victoria Aveyard

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 686 pages
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: September 8th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard comes an epic adventure of love and betrayal, amid a brutal war for the high seas.

May the sea always sing for you

Cat Rose knows what it is to live in two worlds, in two times. Before—as Lady Catrine Rose of the Meridian Empire, chained to a loathsome lord with a dwindling fortune. And after—as the Widow Rose, queen of a pirate tavern in the Lyrian Sea, determined to be the master of her own fate.

But tides turn and winds change. The Meridian Empire looms on the horizon, the full weight of her navy falling on the Lyrian, bent on reclaiming the wealthy colonies and crushing the pirate republic once and for all. Ship after ship is captured, save for one, captained by a pirate who continually evades both noose and blade: the legendary Valerian Kane.

With his fearsome ship and uncanny connection to the song of the sea, Valerian is the only man who might rally the pirates who remain. The only man who threatens the Empire. And the only man Cat has ever loved, blazing in and out of her life like a star.

Desperate for victory, the Empire offers Cat a devastating choice: bring them Valerian or hang. In truth, no choice at all.

But Cat Rose is nothing if not a survivor.

A storm is rising on the Lyrian Sea—the question is, what will it leave in its wake?

Thank you to LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

I’LL READ THE SEQUEL.

I really didn’t know what I was getting into when I picked this up. I think it would be prudent to point out now that it is not a romantasy. This is much more an epic fantasy with romance as a super small sub plot. Manage expectations before diving in. I don’t think it was marketed as a romantasy but it would be a disservice to the things I enjoyed about this book going in with the wrong hype.

As someone who’s always loved books at sea and involving pirates this was no different. I loved the swashbuckling tale and the FMC, Cat. She’s fierce and committed to her survival no matter the cost. The book rotates between flashbacks/present timeline and I do think it worked for this story line. Seeing the inevitable crash between the past and present widened my understanding of the world.

I do admit though I wish there had been a little more romance, or a strong friendship would have worked too. I think Cat was missing that kind of connection that would have leveled up the story for me.

The audiobook is great and highly recommend that format. I do think I would have found it much slower without the audio. I’ll definitely be reading the sequel.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: light innuendo
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: sexual assault, physical/weapons violence, murder, loss of life, domestic abuse

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Book Review: Second Down and Second Chances (River Foxes #2) by Leah Dobrinska

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 310 pages
Author: Leah Dobrinska
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: September 8th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lawrence Poe, tight end for the Green Bay River Foxes, is a type-A control freak who functions best when his house is clean, his spreadsheets are updated, and his protein shakes are precisely measured. Adding a four-year-old to his structured schedule isn’t going to be easy, but his sister needs him to watch his niece, and he always shows up for his family. Still, with training camp and other football commitments, Lawrence can’t watch Ana alone. Enter Beni Fitzgerald—his sister’s best friend and Ana’s Godmother—a woman who threatens every aspect of his controlled, orderly life.

An artistic free spirit, Beni Fitzgerald is a type-B dreamer who lives by the mantra all will be well. No, she wouldn’t choose to spend the summer living with a man who is her polar opposite, but she’ll do anything for her Goddaughter, even if that puts her directly in the path of Lawrence Poe. Beni has always yearned for a place to belong, and Lawrence made it clear it’s not with him after he gave her the best kiss of her life five years ago only to pull away and call it all a mistake.

But their forced proximity requires compromise, and as the duo grows in understanding and trust, both Lawrence and Beni realize this could be a summer of second chances.

Three months. Two enemies. Under one roof. Everything could go wrong. But what if they’ve stumbled into something right?

Second Down and Second Chances is a snappy and sizzling closed door romance with kissing only and no implied intimacy, perfect for fans of the opposites attract and enemies to more tropes. This is the second book in the River Foxes Football Romance series. All titles can be read as standalones.

FANTASTIC READ.

I liked this one so much!!! With a MMC who has OCD (like yours truly) and a FMC who is rarely ever put first when she’s giving everything to everyone else (also yours truly) this hit hard multiple times. And I loved how they came together in compromise and conversation to see that they could be together.

I love a good forced proximity trope and these two had be in each other’s orbit constantly. It kept the focus on the romance and seeing them go from snappy quips to flirty banter to tender words was the best. I adored it. I loved having little Anna around and all of the football moments too. Even though it’s not the actual season there were plenty of practices and time at the stadium for this to feel like a SPORTS romance. And I always love getting to see previous couples and they strong friendships/found family that’s present.

Y’all know I struggled with the third act. The gesture and conversations to solve everything were solid at least (and it didn’t last too long). I just don’t like ex content often.

Leah Dobrinska is a smaller name in the closed door romance community and I think she deserves so much more hype. If you haven’t tried one of her books please do!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings: emotionally distant parents, loss of a parent (recounted), OCD on page

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Book Review: A Foolish Proposal (The Gentlemen’s Gamble) by Kasey Stockton

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 256 pages
Author: Kasey Stockton
Publisher: Golden Owl Press
Release Date: February 5th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

One careless remark. One outrageous proposal. One Season to discover love where they least expect it.

Tristan Shepherd never expected the London Season to throw him back into the path of Caroline Whitby—the spirited girl from his youth who once declared she detested both him and his horses. But when a single careless remark at a glittering ball damages Caroline’s prospects with a promising suitor, she lays the blame squarely at Tristan’s feet.

Determined to make amends—and needing a wife himself—Tristan offers marriage. Caroline flatly refuses. Still, with the Season slipping away, they strike an uneasy bargain: he’ll help her find a husband, and she’ll help him secure a bride.

But as they navigate crowded ballrooms, stolen moments, and the dangerous game of matchmaking, their sparring gives way to a far more perilous discovery: the one match they both swore was impossible might be the only one they truly desire.

SWEET BOOK.

This series has been full of sweet, quick reads. And I have enjoyed mixing it up with more historical romances. The audiobook for AFP was great! I love having two POV’s and two narrators to really bring the story to life.

Tristan was so in love from the get-go and I liked how he flirted and bantered with Caroline. There were good family moments (I love when a family is overall more supportive than not), good friendship moments and even a bonus love story too.

If you’ve enjoyed Kasey Stockton books or have been wanting to try them, this one would be great to pick up!

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Book Review: Golden Flight (The Keeper’s Records of Revolution #2) by S.K. Ali

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: YA Dystopian / Sci-fi
Length: 528 pages
Author: S.K. Ali
Publisher: Penguin Teen
Release Date: September 1st, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Concluding S. K. Ali’s powerful duology, The Keeper’s Records of Revolution, Golden Flight returns to a divided world with war on the horizon.

How difficult is it to crash the party of the decade? Literally crash it?

The Golden Flight happens once every ten years — a gala to honor elites fallen in service of Upper Earth’s brutal hold on earth’s remaining populace and dwindling resources.

It’s a party where cunning new technology gets unveiled to masked revelers thirsty for fresh entertainment.

It’s also a party Raisa and Nayf plan to infiltrate to bring Upper Earth down for good.

Even with a known traitor, and a mysterious, ruthless avenger in their midst, pulling off a dangerous mission in enemy territory feels entirely possible with record-keeper Khalda at the helm. To crack into Upper Earth, simply find strategic details hidden in the records.

However, they soon discover the toll of running a crew with competing, secretive  the lines between friend and foe begin to blur to violent ends.

But on an oil rig at the edge of the world, the sun rises and shines on a team member no one knows about.

Will she bring the seed of hope or be the source of ultimate chaos?

Just who is she — and why does she know how to end the world?

Thank you Penguin Teen for the gifted copy.

IT WAS FINE.

I remember enjoying the first one enough to continue this duology but after diving in I realized what the problem was, this book just didn’t stick out in a memorable way to me. I liked the characters, I think the themes remarked upon were good. It has some of the classic young adult dystopian vibes I know many of us love. Yet, it was still missing *something* that would have made it stand out more.

The audiobook was fantastic though. It’s multiple POV with various narrators for each one. It made it easy to follow and know what was speaking each time.

I would be interested in reading more books from this author. I liked the way things came together in the end and I do think the writing was good too.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Dystopian/Sci-fi
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate

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