ARC Book Review: Gilded Wicked Mirrors (Wicked Mirrors #1) by Hazel St. Lewis

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 440 pages
Author: Hazel St. Lewis
Publisher: Hidden Siren
Release Date: August 6th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In New Swansea, a glittering city once inhabited by vampires, power rests not with the royal class but with the Bargainers—deities trapped in magic mirrors, who exchange power, wealth, and knowledge for a cost . . . often a wretched one.

Quinnevere Ashelle wants nothing to do with the Bargainers, but at twenty-three, she is getting too old to make it into the Royalle Ballet, and with only one shot left, she’ll do anything—including make a twisted deal with an evil god. The agreement is passionately kiss her archnemesis, Prince Emrys, and she will receive her dream spot in the Royalle Ballet.

Unfortunately, when Quinn’s deal with the Bargainer backfires, her beloved friend turns up dead, entirely drained of blood, and with puncture wounds matching the long-extinct vampires.

Feeling utterly responsible, Quinn vows to get vengeance and use her medical examiner skills to solve the murder, but she is far outmatched in this world of immortals—especially when she discovers she’s being hunted, as is the killer’s next target. If she wants to survive, she must team up with the devilishly attractive but wicked Prince Emrys to track down the murderer before she gets cornered herself.

***Author’s note: Gilded Wicked Mirrors is a New Adult Romantasy featuring enemies to lovers, knife to throat, and deadly bargains. The steam level is mild, but the sequels will be much spicier. This single-POV fantasy romance is perfect for fans of Crescent City’s gritty investigations and Caraval’s lush world.

Thank you Book of Matches Media and Hazel St. Lewis for the gifted ARC!

FELT FRESH.

This book really had my attention. While you can definitely draw some similarities to other fantasies I’ve read, I did feel like much of this was unique and had a different vampire twist that has me wanting book two ASAP.

I loved that Quinn was a dancer and part-time mortician. The combination of athleticism and science are things I personally enjoy and those character dynamics were a cool part of this plot. Found family is a big aspect of the book too and I loved all of these side characters.

The romance was a bit lusty for me in the beginning, but luckily grew on me. When that backed off and I got to see the banter between Quinn and Emrys I was much more interested in watching their connection grow. I think the slow burn settled in well and I can’t wait to see how the relationship continues in book two.

All of the mirrors, and vampires and other world building aspects created a complex city full of mystery. I liked that it had plenty of action balanced with soft moments that made it easy to turn the pages.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: high
  • Romance: 2ish brief open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: blood/gore depiction, murder, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: Off the Beaten Path (The Mountains are Calling #1) by Madison Wright

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Madison Wright
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 26th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Wren Daniels is in over her head.

Between organizing a charity auction and trying to renovate a cabin she can’t afford, she’s barely keeping her head above water. The only bright spot is her new friend she met on an anonymous dating app four months ago. That is, until she discovers he’s the last person she would have expected—her grumpy neighbor who she’s never gotten along with.

Holden Blankenship likes his life just the way it is.

After his wife left him, he spent years putting his life back together. Now he’s got his daughter who is the light of his world, his family, and surprisingly, an anonymous friend. But when his anonymous friend turns out to be his neighbor who drives him crazy, he’s not sure what to make of it. Especially when her contractor backs out of her cabin renovation project and he finds himself offering to help her. Now Wren is getting under his skin in a completely different way and turning all his carefully laid plans upside down.

As Wren continues to show up for Holden and Holden keeps proving to Wren that he’s not really as standoffish as he seems, the lines between friendship and more start to blur.

Their relationship may have gotten off to an unusual start, but some of the best things in life are just a little off the beaten path.

ALL THE STARS.

Good heavens I could not put this book down, I LOVED IT SO MUCH. It’s that perfect level of sexy without being spicy. That reallll good sweet spot where gosh dang those kissing scenes were fire. FIRE. And I absolutely adored that this was dual POV. I loved both Holden and Wren. They were this beautiful blend of messy and heartfelt and human. And June??? Are you kidding me. Loved her too. The new little family they built MELTED MY COLD HEART.

And I loved the setting. I’m really into the mountain and woods and all things rainy and foresty. I must go cozy up in my own cabin now. This had the best small town vibes. No overwhelming drama, just some quirky side characters and antics but also how they all came together?! I can’t. Like I said, this book got me in the feels good.

Loved it all. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. This is an incredible gem of a read I’ll be begging others to pick up.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: heated kisses

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Book Review: Ruling Destiny (Stolen Beauty #2) by Alyson Noel

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy + Historical Romance
Length: 496 pages
Author: Alyson Noel
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: June 6th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The second I stepped through the doors of Gray Wolf Academy, my world disintegrated. Here, time is malleable. It can be manipulated, shifted. Changed. And for those of us who Trip—or travel through time—the possibilities are infinite and perilous.

Now my life is caught in the secrets of everyone around me. Arthur, the eccentric billionaire who rules this school. Killian, who could be the only honest person here…or the biggest liar. And Braxton, magnetic, gorgeous, and unfathomable. The only thing I trust about him is our electric connection.

Whether we’re Tripping through Renaissance Italy or thieving from a ball in Regency England, my life’s become a web of lies and strange truths. And beneath the surface is an elaborate puzzle, filled with cryptic symbols and priceless treasures scattered across history—all somehow connected to my strange ability to see through time.

But Arthur has a dangerously ambitious agenda. And if what my dad taught me is true, I’m not just a threat to everyone at Gray Wolf.

…I’m a threat to time itself.

WELL.

I honestly don’t know what to think of this series but this ending was wild enough that I’ll give it four stars (I was hovering around 3-3.5). The audiobooks are good at least and I’m entertained to some degree.

First, these are definitely upper YA, basically NA reads. Which is fine for me, I read it all, but worth noting for those who don’t.

This kind of went the same way as Stealing Infinity. Go to a location, steal some stuff, don’t die, make it back. And that repetitive nature wore me down for a lot of the book. The romantic love triangle though? Has me in a chokehold. I’m honestly still not quite sure where this is going and I like that I keep flipping back and forth right now. Bring the drama.

I’m curious enough to see what happens next and I wonder how things will continue to play out. Hopefully this series wraps up in the next book???

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Historical Fiction/Sci-Fi Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: two almost scenes with vague descriptions
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, loss of loved ones, physical altercations

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ARC Book Review: The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 382 pages
Author: Danica Nava
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 6th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A Chickasaw woman who can’t catch a break serves up a little white lie that snowballs into much more in this witty and irresistible rom-com by debut author Danica Nava.

Ember Lee Cardinal has not always been a liar—well, not for anything that counted at least. But her job search is not going well and when her resumé is rejected for the thirty-seventh time, she takes matters into her own hands. She gets “creative” listing her qualifications and answers the ethnicity question on applications with a lie—a half-lie, technically. No one wanted Native American Ember, but white Ember has just landed her dream accounting job on Park Avenue (Oklahoma City, that is). Accountant Ember thrives in corporate life—and her love life seems to be looking up Danuwoa Colson, the IT guy and fellow Native who caught her eye on her first day, seems to actually be interested in her too. Despite her unease over the no-dating policy at work, they start to see each other secretly, which somehow makes it even hotter? But when they’re caught in a compromising position on a work trip, a scheming colleague blackmails Ember, threatening to expose their relationship. As the manipulation continues to grow, so do Ember’s lies. She must make the hard decision to either stay silent or finally tell the truth, which could cost her everything.

Thank you to PRHAudio for the audiobook and Berkley for the gifted book.

SO MANY LIES.

I desperately wanted to love this book, but I could not get past all of the lying. It was rampant, it was over done and I felt like Ember deserved what was coming to her because of it, some I understood, and then it just spiraled. I do think there were a lot of important topics and discussions throughout and I felt like I learned a lot.

I had kind of the same thoughts about the romance. I liked some pieces of it, I thought Danuwoa was sweet and endearing and easily my favorite person in this book. I loved his honest demeanor and the way he cared for Ember.

The audiobook is well done and if you’re interested in trying this book I would easily recommend that format. While everything didn’t come together for me, I would like to read another book by this author. I think the potential is there for future books.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Content Warnings: racism, racial slurs, cultural appropriation, abandonment, classism

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