ARC/ALC Book Review: All’s Fae in Love and War by Lee Nichols

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 371 pages
Author: Lee Nichols
Publisher: Second Sky
Release Date: May 28th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Pandora Voss has one last summer to unlock her powers—or lose all memory of magic forever.

No pressure.

Pandora returns to her enchanted hometown in Maine to nurture the magic she knows must be inside her. Time is running out, and the last thing she needs is a distraction…

Which makes the return of her high-school heartbreak, Leo Carter, deeply inconvenient.

The handsome antiquarian bookseller has come back to the island in search of a rare book. Leo still has that warm, devastating smile that sets pulses racing wherever he goes… Not that Pandora has noticed because she is absolutely, completely over him.

But when an unexpected encounter at Leo’s family boathouse ends in a wildly sexy kiss, Pandora’s plans are blown apart. Andwhen she’s “volunteered” to work with him at the library the next day, the tension between them unleashes a spell that goes spectacularly wrong.

As enchantments wreak havoc across the island, Pandora and Leo team up to save the town. Racing to contain fairytale creatures and dodging unresolved feelings, Pandora must decide what’s more untamed magic… or falling for Leo all over again.

With magical mayhem, spicy romance, and laugh-out-loud humor, All’s Fae in Love and War is the first book in a trilogy that’s perfect for fans of fantasy rom-coms like The Ex Hex and Rewitched.

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy.

DID NOT WORK.

On soooo many levels. And honestly I am convinced these two don’t even make it past the last page. That’s how this romance felt.

🎧: One of the few positives was that the audiobook was good and easy to listen to. There’s two narrators for the two POV’s and they do a good job.

I didn’t love that it was written from the perspective of a diary for only Pen’s POV? It came across as breaking the fourth wall rather than an epistolary style story. The romance was just Pen and Carter finding and making up over and over again. And over the same thing. The spice between them was cringey and just didn’t fit the tone of the novel.

There were some things that felt whimsical? Though none of the humor felt humorous. Overall the book felt stale and lackluster. I won’t be continuing the series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2ish open door
  • Violence: moderate

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: April 2026

April showers brings May flowers! And a lot of books. Maybe the most I will get to this year. Have you read any of them?

  • [ARC/ALC] A Deal with a Debutante (London’s Most Eligible #1) by Chelsea Bobulski
  • [ARC/ALC] Start at the End by Emma Grey
  • [Reread] The Assassin’s Blade (Throne of Glass #0.5) by Sarah J. Maas
  • The Speed of Lightning (The Hebridean Shield #3) by Ashley Worrell
  • A Ghastly Catastrophe (Veronica Speedwell #10) by Deanna Raybourn
  • [ARC/ALC] I Could Give You the Moon by Ann Liang
  • Anytime I Want by Meredith Logan
  • Weavingshaw (Weavingshaw #1) by Heba Al-Wasity
  • Rites of the Starling (Shield of Sparrows #2) by Devney Perry
  • [ARC] The Duke’s Bargain by Megan Walker
  • From the Silence of the Shadows (The Veridian Empire #3) by V.B. Lacey
  • [ALC] Stranger Things Have Happened by Kasie West
  • [ALC] Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai
  • [Reread] Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas
  • Because the Beasts Came (Wells of Istri #1) by Madeline James
  • [ARC] The Commons (The Commons World #1) by Rebecce Ihim
  • Beneath (Rebirth #1) by Ariel Sullivan
  • [Non-fiction] Big Kids, Bigger Feelings by Alyssa Blask Campbell
  • The Wicked and the Damned (Dark Inheritance Trilogy #2) by Rebecca Robinson
  • A Desert of Bleeding Sand (A Desert of Bleeding Sand #1) by Lucia Damas
  • The Last Wayfinder by Ellen McGinty
  • [ARC/ALC] Rolls and Rivalry (Gaming and Romance #3) by Kristy Boyce
  • [ARC/ALC] First and Forever by Lynn Painter
  • Heart Check (Varsity #1) by Emily Charlotte
  • Perfect Wreckage (Wrecked #2) by Catherine Cowles
  • Heir of Twisted Lies (Stonegate #2) by LJ Andrews
  • [ARC] This Silent City (The Grim Empire #2) by A.C. Hobbs
  • A Love Most Brutal (Morelli Family #2) by Kath Richards
  • A Foolish Proposal (The Gentlemen’s Gamble) by Kasey Stockton
  • [ARC] Storm Breaker (Storm Breaker #1) by Nisha J. Tuli
  • [ARC/ALC] Student Union (The Undergrads #1) by Julie Murphy
  • Vengeful (Villains #2) by V.E. Schwab
  • [ARC] The Last Page by Katie Holt
  • [ARC/ALC] Spur of the Moment (Willow Creek #1) by Juliana Smith
  • The Thorn Queen (The Rose Bargain #2) by Sasha Peyton Smith
  • [Reread] Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ARC/ALC] The Shippers by Katherine Center
  • I’m Only Me When I’m With Him (Sweeter Than Fiction #3) by Amanda Schimmoeller
  • Wrecked Palace (Wrecked #3) by Catherine Cowles
  • Reckless Refuge (Wrecked #4) by Catherine Cowles

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: March 2026

Oh it’s so nice to be outside more before it gets way too hot to do so. I read many books, check them out!

  • The Sun and the Starmaker by Rachel Griffin
  • [ALC] In Time with You by Kristin Dwyer
  • The Mirror Game (The Blood and Water Saga #5) by Cassidy Clarke
  • An Accidental Marriage (The Gentlemen’s Gamble) by Deborah M. Hathaway
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1) by Matt Dinniman
  • Her Hidden Fire (Her Hidden Fire #1) by Cliodhna O’Sullivan
  • In Her Own League by Liz Tomforde
  • The Determined by Rachel Rueckert
  • Meet Me Under the Lights by Cassie Miller
  • Heart of Mischief (Soul of Shadows #2) by Emma Noyes
  • We Danced Among Shadows (Meadowbrook Ranch #2) by Ashley Dill
  • First Down and Forever to Go (River Foxes #1) by Leah Dobrinska
  • [ARC/ALC] This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Maggie the Undying #1) by Ilona Andrews
  • [ARC] Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen
  • Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2) by Matt Dinniman
  • [Reread] Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ARC] Could’ve Fooled Me (Georgia Jaguars #1) by Jenny Proctor
  • Heir of Illusion (Verran Isles #1) by Madeline Taylor
  • [Novella] Everybody’s Favorite Guy by Katherine Center
  • The Housemaid (The Housemaid #1) by Freida McFadden
  • [Non-Fiction] Spark by John J. Ratey, MD
  • Dawn of the North (The Ashen #3) by Demi Winters
  • What Echoes in the Dark (What Bloom from Death #2) by S.M. Gaither
  • [ARC/ALC] The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst
  • [Reread] Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ARC] We Are Never Getting Together by Janette Rallison
  • Drive Me Crazy by Lizzy Dent
  • [Novella] When Fate is Cruel by LJ Andrews
  • The Night We Met (Say You’ll Remember Me #2) by Abby Jimenez
  • Drop Shot (The Off Court #1) by Vai Denton
  • Scars Beneath a Serpent’s Scales (The Fatesworn Saga #1) by Nicole Platania
  • How to Write a Love Story by Catherine Walsh
  • [ARC] Until Next Summer by Allison Ashley

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: February 2026

The month of looooove.

I always love seeing all of the book covers together because the fluctuation of contemporary to fantasy to historicals is always cool to see. Reviews for these books are either out now or coming soon!

  • His & Hers by Alice Feeney
  • A Heart so Green (Fair Folk #3) by Lyra Selene
  • [ARC] The Cowboy’s Game (Pride and Pranks #3) by Cindy Steel
  • [Novella] Lonely Hearts Day by Kasie West
  • A Fortunate Miscalculation (The Gentlemen’s Gamble) by Karen Thornell
  • [ARC] Mail-Order Baroness (Lords of the Rockies #2) by Misty M. Beller
  • [ARC/ALC] The Trident and the Pearl (The Fisher King #1) by Sarah K.L. Wilson
  • Worth Fighting For (Meant to Be #5) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
  • A Fate so Dark and Delicate (Compelling Fates Saga #4) by Sophia St. Germain
  • [Reread] From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
  • [ARC] A Love Most Daring (Bow Street #3) by Joanna Barker
  • The Poet Empress by Shen Tao
  • Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by Emma Simmerman
  • [ARC] Bridge of Betrayal (Falcon Point Historical #3) by A.L. Sowards
  • Your Knife, My Heart (Dark Forces #1) by K.M. Moronova
  • Jane Stays Dreaming by Britnee Meiser
  • Pride and Prejudice Audible Original by Jane Austen
  • Sunk in Love by Heather McBreen
  • Savage Lands (Savage Lands #1) by Stacey Marie Brown
  • Invictus (Esperance Trilogy #2) by Heather Frost
  • The Silent Canary by Angela Bricker
  • The Darkest Gift by Nikki Welton
  • [ARC/ALC] Across the Vanishing Sky (Starlight Grove #1) by Catherine Cowles
  • A Vow in Vengeance (Immortal Desires #1) by Jaclyn Rodriguez
  • Racing Hearts by Ann Adams
  • A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J. Spann
  • [ARC/ALC] The Dragon and the Sun Lotus (The Three Realms #2) by Amelie Wen Zhao
  • [ARC] To All the Guys I Loathed Before (Lucky in Love #3) by Gracie Ruth Mitchell
  • Half City (Harker Academy #3) by Kate Golden

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