ALC Book Review: The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

January 8, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: January 6th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this lush and romantic novel from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi, a prince is only as good as his beating heart and a maiden is only as good as her honest word. But when love and the truth become impossibly tangled, the two must figure out how to survive together, or fall completely apart.

To find love is a curse …

Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. Thanks to a poorly worded wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand of the kingdom’s heir. Historically, this has been construed quite literally.

Thus, Arris expects that the day after his marriage and murder he will wake up as a sentient tree alongside the rest of his predecessors. His only chance at a long life is finding true and lasting love. When Arris’s parents announce a tournament of brides to compete for his hand and heart, a slew of eligible, lovely and (possibly murderous) bachelorettes make their way to Rathe Castle. Amidst glittering balls in ozorald caves, strolls through menageries of daydream trees and pearl crocodiles, tea time on glass boats and kisses that leave his head spinning, Arris cannot tell who is here out of love for him…or lust for power.

Until he meets Demelza.

As a veritas swan, Demelza’s song wrings out the truth. Forced into hiding, Demelza strikes a deal. Arris will provide her with safekeeping in exchange for her truth-telling song to sort through his potential brides.

While Arris is used to dodging death threats and Demelza is accustomed to fighting for her voice to be heard, to survive the tournament of brides requires a different kind of bravery. And perhaps the bravest thing one can do is not merely protect one’s life, but find the courage to chase a life worth living.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

THIS WAS FUN.

I went purely off of the cover x author on this one without knowing a single thing about the book. And it was fun! It’s kind of in the same vein as Assistant to the Villain where it’s fantasy but has a more humorous and cheeky air to it. With that frame of mind I enjoyed the story.

This doesn’t scream ROMANCE to me but it is heavily featured in the plot and alongside that is a whimsical plot with Arris trying to find a bride that won’t kill him. I loved Demelza and her ability to forge her own path and what her love story was going to look like.

I actually really enjoyed Demelza’s parents too. It was a different vibe than I usually read in fantasy and it made them all the more interesting. The rotating POV’s worked well too and I thought it wrapped things up well for a standalone.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Romance
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: mild

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: October 2025

November 4, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

I had to amp up the reading to combat the fact that I had EIGHT arcs coming out on November 4th. But all is good, all has been read. Reviews will be out over the next few months!

Town of Shadows (Slanted London #1) by Jessica Scarlet
The Weaver Bride (The Weaver Bride #1) by Lydia Gregovic
[ARC] Marriage is Shore Thing (Wilks Beach #2) by Laura Langa
Throne in the Dark (Villains & Virtues #1) by A.K. Caggiano
Unending (The Unseelie Duology #2) by Ivelisse Housman
Our Beautiful Mess by B.K. Clark
The Mummy Snatcher Curse (The Wand Keepers #2) by Tiffany McDaniel
Grave Flowers by Autumn Krause
[ARC/ALC] Secret Haven (Sparrow Falls #6) by Catherine Cowles
Ghost Business (Boneyard Key #2) by Jen DeLuca
A Steeping of Blood (A Tempest of Tea Duology #2) by Hafsah Faizal
The Sound of Summer (The House on Harrison Blvd #1) by Meagan Williamson
[ALC] Red City (The New Alchemists #1) by Marie Lu
[ARC]The Demon and the Light (The Floating World #2) by Axie Oh
House of Dragons (Royal Houses #1) by K.A. Linde
[ARC/ALC] An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew
Summoned to the Wilds (Villains & Virtues #1) by A.K. Caggiano
Kill the Beast by Serra Swift
The Arrow and the Alder by Barbara Kloss
The Last Tiger by Julia Riew & Brad Riew
[ALC] The Heir (Crownhaven #1) by Sophia Travers
[ALC] Never Ever After (Never Ever After #1) by Sue Lynn Tan
Sonnets and Serpents (Casters & Crowns #2) by Elizabeth Lowham
[ARC] Against a Crescent Storm (The Balkan Legends #3) by A.L. Sowards
For No Mortal Creature by Kenshe Chow
[ALC] The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
[ARC] The Prince of Mourning by Jenn Bennett
[ARC] The Maid of Sherwood Forest (A McQuivey’s Costume Shop Romance #2) by Sian Ann Bessey
Every Spiral of Fate (This Woven Kingdom #4) by Tahereh Mafi
[ALC] Fallen City (Fallen City Duology #1) by Adrienne Young
[ARC] Through Each Tomorrow (Timeless #6) by Gabrielle Meyer
A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig
[Novella] A Very Merry Matchup by Becca Kinzer
[ARC/ALC] A Queen’s Match (A Queen’s Duet #2) by Katharine McGee
[ARC] Ship of Spells by H. Leighton Dickson
[Novella] Holly (Belladonna #3.5) by Adalyn Grace

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Fearful (The Powerless Trilogy #3.5) by Lauren Roberts

September 17, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 224 pages
Author: Lauren Roberts
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: September 2nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Set during the time of Fearless, a mysterious figure arrives in the kingdom of Ilya to witness the fight for the throne and the price it costs those sworn to defend the land in this beautiful and heart-wrenching story in the #1 New York Times bestselling Powerless trilogy.

Love too grand, it kills.

Mara never intended to set foot in Ilya again. But when the king makes a life-altering decision, her interest is piqued, and Death is determined to understand Kitt Azer’s mind if he is destined to join her in the Mors.

Spending time with the king while observing the castle’s inhabitants reminds Mara that there is more to life than just death. There is love. But even the purest of intentions spur revenge and the pursuit of power. And fate will have its way with all of them—to live, to rule, to love, and most certainly, to die…

Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted copy and Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I was going to give this three stars and move on with my life. I don’t think it added to the trilogy, it’s just sad, and honestly boring.

And then the ending??? Well that just made me rage like I haven’t at a book in a long time. I hate open ended moments that could lead to spin offs of series THAT DON’T NEED IT. Oh my gosh just let the MC’s be happy and move on.

Having this from the POV of death made little sense to me. Once again, not adding anything to the story and opening up more questions rather than giving me any answers.

This came off as a money grab with another unnecessary novella and has soured my feelings to the original trilogy (of which I love).

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Novella
Language: low
Romance: flirting (?)
Violence: mild

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Floating World (The Floating World #1) by Axie Oh

September 7, 2025September 7, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Author: Axie Oh
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release Date: April 29th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in this romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens.

Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. An ex-soldier, he can remember little of his life from before two years ago, when he woke up alone with only his name and his sword. Now he does odd-jobs to scrape by, until he comes across the score of a lifetime—a chest of coins for any mercenary who can hunt down a girl who wields silver light.

Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is a cheerful and spirited acrobat traveling with her adoptive family and performing at villages. But everything changes during one of their festival performances when the village is attacked by a horrific humanlike demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light—a power she has kept hidden since childhood—and kills the monster. But her efforts are not in time to prevent her adoptive family from suffering a devastating loss, or to save her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded.

Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off over the mountains, where the creature came from—and from where Ren herself fled ten years ago. Her path sets her on a collision course with Sunho, but he doesn’t realize she’s the girl that he—and a hundred other swords-for-hire—is looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts—and destinies—are far more entwined than either of them could have imagined…

WAS IT JUST ME?

I don’t know if it was just me & my mood or if other’s kind of struggled with this one? I’ve read many Axie Oh books and this one fell a bit flat for me. It mostly felt like it went in one ear and out the other. Nothing was compelling enough to glue me to the story. I think that having dual POV but not two narrators made the audiobook hard too because I had a hard time knowing who’s POV I was in sometimes. I might need to eyeball read for the next book.

The whole concept of a floating city was cool and I did like the world building. It kind of reminded me of Our Violent Delights (of which I loooove) with the medical/demon moments. The romance is more on the subtle side but I did like both of the main characters.

I will read book two because I do want to see where things will go. I’m hopeful for the sequel.

Overall audience notes: