Book Review: The Book That Held Her Heart (The Library Trilogy #3) by Mark Lawrence

April 15, 2026April 20, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 384 pages
Author: Mark Lawrence
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: April 8th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The secret war that defines the Library has chosen its champions and set them on the board

The fate of an infinite library hangs on one book, a book that holds the power to break the unbreakable. In the face of such forces, fragile things like hearts, family, and the world seem certain to fail.

The people most vital to Livira are scattered across time and space, lost, divided into factions, in mortal peril. Somehow, she must bring them together and resolve the unresolvable argument that fuels the library’s war. The bond between Livira and Evar has stretched and stretched again. Can it hold at the end, when things fall apart? Can it bring them together against impossible odds? This is the last chapter, the final page. The end threatens and no one, not characters, readers, or even the author, will emerge unscathed.

IDK Y’ALL.

I have been enjoying this series and I don’t know if it was a case of right book, wrong time but I could never get into this one. It was like the words went in one ear and out the other immediately. I appreciated that the author started the book with a series recap though. Those are always a huge positive with big and dense fantasies.

I think the amount of characters got to me, plus the fact that my favorites were all separated for so long throughout. I kept waiting for a bit more and that didn’t happen until the closing moments. I’m mostly happy with how things wrapped up and I still think I’d try a future series by this author.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy
Language: low
Romance: one fade to black
Violence: moderate

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ALC Book Review: Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai

April 14, 2026April 13, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Tesia Tsai
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: April 14th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A sweeping debut inspired by the Chinese folk practice of necromancy, Deathly Fates is perfect for fans of Descendant of the Crane, The Bone Shard Daughter, and A Magic Steeped in Poison.

As a corpse-driving priestess, a holy servant paid to guide the deceased home, Kang Siying has never feared death. But when her beloved father collapses due to his declining health, Siying realizes that even she is not free from the cruel grasp of mortality. Desperate to provide her father with the medical aid he needs, Siying accepts a dangerous job that promises a generous commission, and travels to a hostile state to retrieve the corpse of a missing prince.

But the moment Siying places her reanimation talisman on the dead prince’s head, rather than make the corpse obedient to Siying’s commands, the talisman brings the prince back to life. Worse, he won’t stay alive for long―not unless he absorbs enough qi, or life force, to keep his soul anchored to his body.

In return for a reward worth twice her original commission, Siying agrees to aid the frustratingly handsome prince in finding and purifying evil spirits for their qi. But as they journey across the countryside, encountering vengeful ghosts and enemy spies alike, they gradually uncover dark secrets about the prince’s death―secrets that could endanger both Siying’s father and their entire kingdom.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

GREAT DEBUT.

I had a good time with this one! I feel like it’s hard to find fantasy standalones that work well and this is an exception. I loved the audiobook narrator and it made for an easy listen.

I loved the soft romance between Slying and Ren was just right and I appreciated it was young adult appropriate. It’s more so in the background and just right for the plot. I liked the unlikely allies aspect and how they learned to work together while Ren removed the wool from his eyes about his situation.

It wrapped up well for me and I think it closed the loop on enough storylines to not have any major issues. There wee some tender family moments and heightened action that were balanced well. I will be keeping an eye out for Tsai’s next book!

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: moderate
Content warnings: murder, attempted murder, loss of a loved one

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC/ALC Book Review: I Could Give You the Moon by Ann Liang

April 14, 2026April 5, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Magical Realism Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Ann Liang
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: April 14th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Everyone loves Chanel Cao—except Ares Yin.

While Chanel has spent her entire life curating a picture-perfect social media personality—from her body to her hair to her camera-ready smile—Ares has spent his trying to hide in the shadows. But Ares’s brother is missing, and Chanel’s parents have secretly separated, and their only hope is each other.

Ares is willing to do whatever it takes to find his brother, and Chanel will do anything to keep her parents’ secret. When the two meet and share a vision of the future—where Ares’s brother appears, as Chanel’s house burns to the ground—they are determined to use each other. Ares believes Chanel is the key to finding his brother, but Chanel is convinced if she gets Ares to fall in love with her, she’ll save her family house—and her parents’ crumbling marriage.

But Ares isn’t interested in the fake personality that Chanel has used her entire life to get affection and adoration. If she’s going to save her reputation, she’s going to have to let Ares get to know the real her—and risk real feelings.

Thank you to the publisher for an ALC and Storygram Tours for the gifted copy.

WHAT A RIDE.

I have read and loved many of Ann Liang’s books so I jumped in head first when this came across my email and it did not disappoint.

Note: I do need to go back and read If You Could See the Sun because that is one of the few I haven’t read. I had no issues with reading Moon though!!

Any who, this was a JOURNEY. It read like a coming of age novel, add in a romance, character arcs and romantic suspense?! I was glued to my headphones. I loved the push and pull between Chanel and Ares. It’s a short book that brings a well executed slow burn.

The little touch of magical realism worked perfectly. It didn’t overwhelm the plot but rather influenced it enough to keep things moving. It brought the intensity up and kept me wondering how things were going to settle.

I loved the growth for both Chanel and Ares AND the fact that it was dual POV (not dual narrators though FYI). There’s a lot of good conversations in here and while tough I do think it stayed in the young adult category well.

it was just a really dang good book y’all.

Overall audience notes:

YA Magical realism romance
Language: low
Romance: closed door
Violence: mild-moderate
Content warnings: kidnapping of a child, arson, street fighting

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor

April 13, 2026April 20, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Emily J. Taylor
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s
Release Date: February 25th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The New York Times bestselling author of Hotel Magnifique returns with another glittering dark fantasy about a deadly mystery that spans worlds and a teenage girl who must risk everything to uncover the truth.

Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father’s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.

Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words Your father was innocent.

To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she’ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father’s past draws more attention than she’d planned.

Her secretive, infuriatingly handsome mentor knows she’s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. For Maeve to unravel the mystery of what happened seven years ago, she may have to forfeit her life.

COLOR ME SURPRISED.

This was not on my radar until I had multiple friends reach out and say that I needed to go check it out. THEY DID NOT LET ME DOWN. I enjoyed this one a lot. It had some Divine Rivals vibes that I could get behind but felt like its own story.

I thought the magic system was interesting (if not, slightly confusing, I’m not sure I still 100% understand). All of the script writing and enchantments were intriguing to see and watch at how that progressed the story.

I liked Maeve as the FMC though she also drove me up a wall with the amount of times she spent running away or saying she was going to run away. There was a repetitive nature to her monologue that took me out of the story.

The romance was sweet though. I enjoyed Maeve and Tristan. They had my favorite kind of banter filled scenes but also a lot of moments where they could be closer and let each other in. It’s not the main focus of the story but I thought genuinely enhanced it. The mystery mostly kept my attention too which was nice.

Overall audience notes: