ARC/ALC Book Review: Empire (Heir Duology #2) by Sabaa Tahir

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 528 pages
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Publisher: GP Putnam’s
Release Date: September 22nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The gripping conclusion to the action-packed, ruthless, and romantic fantasy duology that began with HEIR, from the #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award–winning author Sabaa Tahir.

A crumbling empire.
An ancient evil.
A lost homeland.
A lie that could destroy the world.

In the crumbling Martial Empire, crown prince Quil Farrar and his aunt, Empress Helene, are losing a war against the vicious Kegari horde. Quil’s armies dwindle, his faith falters, and the woman he loves vanished months ago, leaving him brokenhearted. Torn between his duty to his people and his desire to discover Sirsha’s fate, Quil embarks on a dangerous quest for aid—from the most treacherous of allies.

Sirsha Westering finds herself tethered to Div, an ancient evil unleashed by a terrible tragedy. Div delights in tormenting Sirsha, hungering for her magical heart. Even as Sirsha struggles for control of her own fate, she is desperate to shield Quil from Div’s destructive power. But Div won’t release Sirsha without a fight. To earn her freedom, Sirsha must uncover Div’s past—and face horrors in her own.

Cero bet-Dafra, former right hand of the Kegari leader, Aiz, now finds himself pitted against her. As Aiz slips further into violence and delusion, Cero must discover if his people have any hope of a future or if they’re condemned to an unending cycle of violence. His journey will force him to confront hidden truths, ancient secrets, and a lie that could destroy the world.

In Empire, #1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir returns to the expansive world of fury and vengeance of Heir, weaving a story of legacy and rebellion, of loyalty and freedom, and of what it means to confront the monsters that lurk within us all.

Thank you Penguin Teen for the gifted copy and PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook.

NO NOTES.

Maybe a lot of notes.

But I also don’t want to spoil one thing for anybody so I shall maintain my vague commentary but TRUST that this book was epically beautiful and I loved all the things and you should read it please!!!

Alright anyways, this is exactly the type of ending I have been hoping for in regards to this story. I was locked in to every POV and every moment. I love the multiple POV and the way each storyline impacts the overall plot. I also listened to part of this on audio and there are multiple narrators for each POV so it is definitely a format you should read!

The situations that arose made sense and I knew some of them were coming and while they TORE MY SOUL APART I also understood. Nobody writes fantasy like Sabaa Tahir. The brutal world building and intricate magic system. The complicated villains that create powerful themes. The close family and friendships. And the way background romances are woven in that have you begging for every crumb. I love all of these characters so much and the arcs and growth that each exhibited.

I’m very hopeful for another spin off featuring two of the POV’s I know would provide another incredible journey. Tahir continues to be one of my favorite fantasy authors.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: loss of life (including children), battle/war themes, near death experiences

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ALC Book Review: Fall Into Me (Willow Creek) by Juliana Smith

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance Novella
Length: 3 hours
Author: Juliana Smith
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Release Date: September 22nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Brimming with Southern charm, Juliana Smith is back with a new adult novella in the same world as her Willow Creek series. When Oak Ridge’s biggest wedding of the year puts Dakota and Elliot face-to-face with their exes—who just happen to be dating each other—the solution is fake date their way through the weekend.

Thank you Sourcebooks for the gifted ALC.

GOOD NOVELLA!

After enjoying Smith’s young adult novel in Willow Creek I jumped at the chance to try out this novella. It is adult!! Just going to declare that again in case you missed it. It’s closed door but there is some light innuendo and overall adult vibe to the story.

I LOVED the duet narration. Gosh it’s just the best way to listen to a book. Both narrators did a fantastic job and it was easy to lock into this romance.

The fake dating to get back at exes isn’t always my favorite because I feel like the exes play too much into the story (and that did happen here to a degree) but I loved all of the moments that Dakota and Elliot had together. There’s a good amount of wedding shenanigans alongside times where they got to be by themselves. I loved the contrasting personalities and the banter. Elliot is such a cinnamon roll and I loved his nature. And I loved that SHE was the professional bull rider.

Things move quickly but without feeling like it’s insta-love. I thought the connection came across genuine and I would love to see these two pop up in a future Willow Creek book to see how they are doing.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance Novella
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses; light innuendo

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ARC Book Review: Harbinger by Geneva Lee

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 500 pages
Author: Geneva Lee
Publisher: Red Tower
Release Date: September 22nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Arden Icaros was never supposed to matter. From the poorest of five noble bloodlines, she prefers life on the family farm with dirt under her nails over the fine dresses at court. She just needs to get through one boring ceremony, inherit her earth magic, and return home.

Instead, she’s handed a dagger and with it, an impossible choice.

Now Arden is branded an omen of war, half the nobility wants her dead, and assassins are tracking her every move.

Her only chance of survival lies with the most feared man in Antares.

They call him Bishop. No one remembers the name he had before he dedicated his life to his order. Empowered to execute first and question later, Bishop is ruthless, terrifying, and utterly loyal to the kingdom that wants Arden dead.

He should kill her.

Instead, he offers her sanctuary.

But the longer Arden stays under Bishop’s protection, the more dangerous he becomes. Because Bishop has secrets powerful enough to topple kingdoms…and a need for Arden that could ruin them both.

Thank you Red Tower / Entangled for the gifted ARC.

SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN.

I eyeball read this one which may have been part of the downfall. As it takes me longer to physically read a book I sometimes notice a lot more, and in this case, the world building has left me questioning way too much. I am fully aware I might not need all of the information in the first book, that’s FINE. But what I do expect is to have some good basic understanding of what’s happening and why it’s happening in the confines of the system.

Instead I was trying to figure out what a scion is, why the bad guy was doing the bad guy things, where this random character came from that’s apparently evil, why is the FMC making obviously stupid decisions, will the love interest tell her anything, why is war coming, wait a second I thought you were dead. AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

I’ll give it points for not really being spice forward. There’s an attempt at a plot and storyline even if it doesn’t make total sense and is filled with long chapters of training montages.

Will I read book two? I don’t know. Might wait for reviews. Would definitely only do it on audio. This was another case of the ending being the most interesting part of the book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate+
  • Romance: 2-3ish open door
  • Violence: moderate – high
  • Content warnings: loss of life, murder, weapons violence

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ARC Book Review: The Wretched Divine (The Wretched Divine #1) by Adalyn Grace

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: Adalyn Grace
Publisher: Feiwel
Release Date: September 22nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Aurelie Chantelune was born to serve. Raised as a knight in a kingdom ravaged by demons, she’s spent her life honing her blade, driven by the memory of the monsters who tore her family apart and by the knowledge that she’s one of the few who can stop them.

If Aurelie can claim her first kill, she’ll inherit a legacy passed down through the Chantelune bloodline: a soulbond with Yuriel, an angel whose power is vital to her kingdom’s survival. But when those she loves begin turning into the very monsters she’s sworn to destroy, Aurelie is forced to seek help from the last place she ever imagined. Desperate, she forges a second and far more dangerous bond with Severin, a demon she can hardly trust, but who claims to know how to end the war for good.

With their lives and fates entwined, Aurelie, Yuriel, and Severin must team up to hunt down a cure capable of turning demons back into humans. But the more they learn about one another and the deeper their relationships grow, the more Aurelie begins to question the war and her place in it. With both of her bonded on opposing sides, she’ll have to make a choice: continue to stand with the angels, or risk everything by trusting a demon.

Thank you to the publisher for an eARC.

WELL I HAVE THOUGHTS.

I read through SO MANY reviews trying to figure out if this was a why choose or love triangle situation. Unfortunately I never figured it out, and even after reading it I didn’t figure it out either??? And that led to a lack of emotional investment for anyone. It was as if Grace was trying to keep it as vague as possible which then when anything did kind of happen it felt like there wasn’t enough lead up or genuine moments between the characters for the “spice” to work.

But that last 25% was LOCKED IN and Adalyn Grace brought all the chaos and reveals and jaw dropping cliffhanger moments. I did call the cliffhanger halfway through but there were some reveals where I was SHOOKETH. And I love that for me. It was very interesting to see the multiple POV’s and how those wove into the present plot + the bit of background story we got too.

This did feel slow at times and stall out with a few plot pieces, but overall it was a good series (duology? starter). I thought the themes woven in were nuanced but noticeable enough to ponder. I liked the push and pull between enemy characters and getting to see many sides to the story. Now that I’ve written this review out I feel like I’ve convinced myself to definitely pick up book two.

I’m obsessed with the cover, but I’m also okay that I didn’t pre-order this. I think the second book will determine if this is a worth having on the shelf read for me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2ish open door; light innuendo throughout
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: blood/gore depiction, loss of loved ones, battle/war themes, kidnapping, murder, torture

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