Tag: catherine doyle

Book Review: The Rebel and the Rose (The City of Fantome #2) by Catherine Doyle

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Upper YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 528 pages
Author: Catherine Doyle
Publisher: Margaret K. Elderry Books
Release Date: December 2nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The path of destiny burns with love, magic, and betrayal in this second book in the City of Fantome enemies-to-lovers romantasy series perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Caraval.

From a remote hilltop haven, far from the city of Fantome, Seraphine Marchant and her Order of Flames plot to eradicate shade magic with lightfire. But as Sera struggles to control her blooming powers, destiny calls her back to Fantome—and to the assassin who haunts her dreams.

Ransom Hale can’t get Sera out of his head. As their rivalry grows and he grapples with the responsibility of leading the Order of Daggers, he feels himself slipping further from who he wants to be. Is he doomed to a life in the shadows? Or can he forge another path?

Meanwhile, rebellion is stirring in the kingdom, and a dangerous prince grows in power. Forced to work together by order of the king, Sera and Ransom’s conflicted hearts are tested to their limits. And all the while, an ancient prophecy is unfolding that will change the fate of Valterre forever…

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

GOOD SEQUEL.

I had a good time with this one! I enjoy Doyle’s writing style and getting to see more of this world. The magic system continued to grow and I think this is leading up to an awesome third book (conclusion? I’m not sure).

The romance delved deeper and dragged out the slow burn really well. I love the opposite worlds Ransom and Sera inhabit and how they continually find each other. The audiobook does a good job of conveying their voices as well.

Everything amped up well and I look forward to the next book!

Overall audience notes:

  • Upper YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: mild+
  • Romance: one open door
  • Violence: moderate

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Dagger and the Flame (The City of Fantome #1) by Catherine Doyle

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★.75
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 510 pages
Author: Catherine Doyle
Publisher: S&S
Release Date: September 26th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the number one bestselling author Catherine Doyle comes the most fiery enemies-to-lovers romantasy of the year. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo and Stephanie Garber.  

In the dark underbelly of a beautiful city, two rival assassins are pitted against each other in a deadly game of revenge, where the most dangerous mistake of all is falling in love…

In Fantome, a kingdom of cobbled streets, flickering lamplight, beautiful buildings, and secret catacombs, Shade-magic is a scarce and deadly commodity controlled by two enemy the Cloaks and the Daggers – the thieves and the assassins. On the night of her mother’s murder, 17-year-old Seraphine runs for her life. Seeking sanctuary with the Cloaks, Sera’s heart is set on revenge. But are her secret abilities a match for the dark-haired boy whose quicksilver eyes follow her around the city?

Nothing can prepare Sera for the moment she finally comes face-to-face with Ransom, heir to the Order of Daggers. And Ransom is shocked to discover that this unassuming farmgirl wields a strange and blazing magic he has never seen before… Among rumours of monsters stalking the streets and the rival guilds grappling for control of Fantome’s underworld, Sera and Ransom are drawn together by something more than just magic and must face a deadly choice – forgiveness or vengeance? Kiss or kill? Dagger or Flame? 

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THIS ONE.

Ooooo y’all. This review feels tricky. I enjoyed the story and characters in a vibe kind of way. I liked the audiobook and I was never upset at what I was reading, it just didn’t match.

For a “young adult” (it is definitely not YA) there was so much out of pocket language. I’m not generally bothered by language but with the way these characters were written it didn’t sync with the story. The writing felt young YA and the characters were trying to be new adult. I would categorize this as new adult too based off of the spice that felt very out of place and at the wrong times too.

The reveals are easy to guess from the beginning. I wasn’t surprised in any way. And while that’s not always a bad thing, since I wasn’t fully engaged by the time things were coming together I was ready to move on with a new book.

I do plan to read the next one, I’ll definitely keep going because I’m curious enough to see if book two shakes out these intro cobwebs. Once again begging for traditional pubs to make new adult an actual genre.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: high
  • Romance: 2 open door
  • Violence: high

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Burning Crowns (Twin Crowns #3) by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 457 pages
Author: Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Release Date: May 7th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Twin queens Rose & Wren survived the Battle for Anadawn and brought back magic to their kingdom. But danger lurks in Eana’s shadows.

Wren is troubled. Ever since she performed the blood spell on Prince Ansel, her magic has become unruly. Worse, the spell created a link between Wren and the very man she’s trying to forget: Icy King Alarik of Gevra. A curse is eating away at both of them. To fix it they must journey to the northern mountains—under the watchful guard of Captain Tor Iversen—to consult with the Healer on High.

Rose is haunted. Waking one night to find her undead ancestor Oonagh Starcrest by her bed, she receives a warning: surrender the throne—or face a war that will destroy Eana. With nowhere to turn and desperate to find a weapon to defeat Oonagh, Rose seeks help from Shen-Lo in the Sunkissed Kingdom, but what she finds there may break her heart.

As Oonagh threatens all Rose and Wren hold dear, it will take everything they have to save Eana–including a sacrifice they may not be prepared to make.

BEST OF THE BUNCH.

I haven’t been a WILD FAN about this series, but I have genuinely increasingly enjoyed each book in this series. Holy cow though y’all, this last book brought it as is easily my favorite. A fantastic conclusion that had everything I needed and reminded me why I love young adult fantasy books so much. This writing duo aced it.

I loved Rose and Wren. I have loved seeing their character growth over the story and how much they have risen to their individual callings. There’s strength in their souls and the unfailing loyalty and love they have to each other. These are the kind of sister books that squeeze my heart. I loved this relationship so much.

Other relationships I enjoyed were the romances!!! Gosh I felt like I was in a chokehold the entire time. For romances to be perfectly drawn out over three books is an impressive feat and this truly accomplished that goal. I still felt giddy every time our pairs (each sister has a romance) glanced each other’s way and those lasting moments of love confessions made me WEAK Y’ALL. ABSOLUTELY WEAK.

I felt like everything came together and wrapped up it should. I loved how the villain was taken down, how the romances worked out and where the ending scenes landed. Beautiful series, I can’t wait for more from these two!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: vague fade to black
  • Violence: moderate-high

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Cursed Crowns (Twin Crowns #2) by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber
Publisher: Balzer + Bay
Release Date: May 9th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns . . . but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana’s throne.

Cool-headed Rose sets off on a Royal Tour to win over the doubters, but soon finds herself drawn to the Sunless Kingdom. Here secrets are revealed about those closest to her, and Rose finds her loyalties divided.

Meanwhile rebellious Wren steals away to the icy north to rescue their beloved grandmother, Banba. But when she accepts King Alarik’s deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba’s freedom, the spell has unexpected – and far-reaching – consequences . . .

As an ancient curse begins to arise from the darkness, the sisters must come together and unite the crown. Their lives – and the future of Eana – depend on it.

Break the ice to free the curse,
Kill one twin to save another.

I LIKED IT.

I know that may not seem like much but I kind of tore book one down but still wanted to give this one a chance and thought the development was much better.

One of the things I love most is that these sisters actually work together. There’s care, love and taking care of one another. Rose and Wren don’t always see eye to eye but I appreciate that that strong sister bond is always holding them together.

The romances swooned it up a bit more too. I finally got on board with Rose and her leading man. There were some good twists there that I like for the future story too. Wren’s was good, and then left me head scratching by the end. I don’t know if the added love triangle was actually necessary, crossing my fingers it makes sense.

I liked the story more and the magic, world building, etc. The action is kicked up a notch and the plot thickens. I look forward to book three.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: implied closed door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, battle themes, reincarnation, kidnapping

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph