ARC/ALC Book Review: Our Wicked Gifts by Kathryn Foxfield

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Rating: ★★
Audience: YA Paranormal Thriller
Length: 422 pages
Author: Kathryn Foxfield
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: July 7th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The daughter of a sinister magical family who made a deal with the devil must stop the man killing them off, one by one, in this deliciously dark fantasy thriller that’s House of Hollow meets Succession, laced with a kiss-or-kill romance.

Cicely is the black sheep daughter of the powerful Winter family, who made a deal with the devil in exchange for riches and ruthless magic. Soren is the boy her family banished to the underworld. Their fates intertwine when Cicely’s loathsome Uncle Dorian winds up dead at a masquerade ball.

Once overlooked for her lowly gift of discovering secrets, Cicely is now her family’s only chance at survival, tasked with finding the killer before he takes out every last Winter. With time running out, Cicely narrows her sights on Soren, who she suspects is back for vengeance.

Yet the more Cicely investigates Soren–and gets to know him–the more she begins to question how much family loyalty is worth. After all, when it comes to being a Winter, one can have love or power, but rarely both…

Thank you PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook and Get Underlined for the copy.

I DID NOT LIKE THIS.

Unfortunately this book just was not for me and I clocked that early on (but since it was an ARC I feel like I need to read the whole thing and tried to find something to like, but alas).

This was a bunch of way too wealthy people with too much time on their hands and with no redeeming qualities. This kind of character line up gets very old very fast to me. It’s easy to plot from a mile away and I become uninterested in every person as the book goes on.

There is an attempt at romance but don’t hang on to it. It wasn’t well crafted and should have probably been left out or handled with a better arc.

I couldn’t explain any of the world or magic to you because none of it makes sense. Things kept popping up to try and satisfy the plot with no such luck. I’ve tried twice to explain this book to friends and it is a feat each time.

I’m going to tell you to skip this one.

Oops, thought of a positive. The audiobook is good! If you feel so inclined I did like the narrator.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Paranormal Thriller
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: murder, attempted murder

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Book Review: Glorious Rivals (The Grandest Game #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Mystery
Length: 432 pages
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Release Date: July 29th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Millions, hearts, and lives are on the line in this heart-stopping sequel to The Grandest Game by #1 bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

Seven players arrived on Hawthorne Island, each with their own secrets and motivations to win the Grandest Game. Millions are at stake, but so are hearts—and lives. The players now must race to win the game, solve myriad mysteries, and survive the twists and turns of Glorious Rivals.

The stakes get higher, the game gets twistier, and everything heats up in this newest installment in the TikTok sensation Inheritance Games Saga.

GREAT READ.

I have such an enjoyable time reading these books. I’m liking this spin off a lot more after reading this book. AND BLESS, there are multiple narrators with multiple romances and multiple all the things. I like the complexity and diversity of each character and I am loving seeing where their decisions are coming from.

This had a fantastic cliffhanger and I loved seeing the characters from the previous books. The worlds colliding led to the intense kind of chaos and I will absolutely be picking up book three.

I know this all sounded really vague but it’s a middle book and I don’t want to spoil where everyone is!!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Mystery
  • Language: low
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: Fever Dream (Emerald Lake #1) by Elsie Silver

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Rating: ★★★★.25
Audience: Cowboy Romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: Elsie Silver
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: May 19th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Elsie Silver comes a small-town, forbidden, rivals-to-lovers romance, the first book in the brand-new Western romance series Emerald Lake.

Professional bull rider Emmett Bush is not looking for love. He’s looking for a paycheck to save his family’s farm from bankruptcy. So, when he agrees to be the leading man on a hot new reality dating show, Romance Ranch, he’s already decided it’s all one big performance.

Until Julia Silva walks onto his property. Smart, snarky, beautiful, and off-limits in more ways than one. As the location consultant on set and the little sister of his most bitter professional rival, she’s the last woman who should pique his interest.

Julia has been warned about Emmett. She knows better than to fall for his cocky swagger, broad shoulders, and smoldering good looks. Plus, she’s sworn off relationships.

But as Julia and Emmett work together, mutual distaste grows into an unexpected connection and then… something more.

Soon, they find themselves searching for excuses to spend time together and out of reach of the cameras. Knowing glances. Stolen kisses. Secret rendezvous.

Still, Emmett signed up to play the role of an eligible bachelor searching for the one. His family’s land and legacy depend on him completing the show.

The problem is, he’s already fallen in love.

Just not with a contestant.

WELL HERE WE GO.

Alright, it might surprise many of y’all that I’ve only read one Elsie Silver book. But I ended up listening to my sister when she said to go read it and it’s DUET NARRATION so like, of course I had to??? And yes, I do plan on continuing!! I just really love a cowboy romance y’all.

My nitpicky thing is that I don’t love bachelor-esque plots. I kept getting frustrated over the TV drama and the awful people and wanted to keep going back to Julia and Emmett.

And wow did I love Julia and Emmett. I’ve read multiple books recently where the guy is tearful about something and these emotions are everything??? ILOVEITSO. Emmett is incredibly stoic until he isn’t and I’m here for his head over heels fall for Julia. The forbidden vibes did work for me at least. These two were hella magnetic.

Minus the TV show the setting was stellar. Give me all of the ranch settings with amazing side characters who are a cheering section for the leads. This a small town I can’t wait to see more of and the future pairs too!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Cowboy romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 4ish open door
  • Violence: mildish
  • Content warnings; mentions of attempted SA through drugging of a drink, attempted blackmail, illegal surveillance

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ARC/ALC Book Review: Armor for Liars by S.E. Grove

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Historical Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
Author: S.E. Grove
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: July 21st, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A brilliant girl risking it all to infiltrate a secret society of enchanters gets unexpected help from one of their victims—now a vengeful spirit—in this historical dark academia novel by New York Times bestselling author S. E. Grove.

In a world where magic is drawn from the realm of the dead, enchanters—always men—go to great lengths to steal it. Voyaging to the spirit realm, an enchanter will claim a dead woman’s spirit as his own and make her a servant, a tool for his own magical ends. Enchanters maintain great secrecy around their practices, so only a wealthy elite have access to this members of a secret society shrouded within Commonwealth University, the nation’s premiere institution for the study of enchantment.

When Sam—the son of islander immigrants of modest means—dared to use magic to blend into the blueblood world of Commonwealth, it cost him his life. Now a spirit, he’s determined to avenge his murder and uncover the secrets of the Cisneros Society from beyond the grave.

When Sam encounters Clementine Quinn, a young woman disguised as a male student at Commonwealth, he quickly sees that Clem is putting herself in grave danger at the school. But as he tries to warn her of the peril, it becomes clear that his past and her fate are inextricably entwined. To avenge his murder and prevent hers, they’ll need to help one another and thereby prove, ultimately, that friendship and love can transcend everything, even death.

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook and Simon Teen for the gifted ARC.

NOT FOR ME.

I kept trying to get into this and nothing ever GRABBED me.

I think the point of view was an intriguing idea but kind of lost me in connecting with the other characters. Maybe the beginning was a bit more confusing than I’m remembering? It was more clear as things went on what the situation was so that at least made for an easier read.

The mystery worked for me on some levels though I think if the pacing/page count was tightened up a bit things would have moved better. There’s a lot of meandering and trying to combine Sam’s story with Clementine took a long time. Then to add a “romance” in the epilogue? Not quite what I was expecting. And I’m still not sure how that works.

There’s some dark academia, secret societies, and a historical fantasy vibe. Things that usually work for me but might work for you with this book. I also did like the characters. They weren’t part of the issues I was having with the overall plot.

🎧: I do think the audiobook narrator was great. If you’re going to try this book out, that can be option for format! I liked the narrator.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Historical Fantasy
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: racism, sexism, loss of a parent

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