Book Review: Blood of the Sands (The Ballan Desert #1) by S.C. Grayson

October 13, 2025October 21, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 412 pages
Author: S.C. Grayson
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: September 17th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Keera is used to protecting herself from the dangers of the Ballan desert. Guarding her heart may be the most difficult challenge of all.

Keera is an exile struggling to survive, forced to rob passing travelers or face starvation. When she steals from the wrong man—a vicious masked warrior named the Viper—his hand around her throat awakens an ancient magic within her, and she uses it to escape his clutches. Now, Keera must master her power to protect the city of Kelvadan—the only place an exile like her can find a home—from the Viper and his growing army.

The Viper serves the magic of the desert, but the sins of the past threaten to destroy it. To protect his home, he will do everything it takes, even marching on the great city of Kelvadan. However, the real key to healing the desert’s magic might lie in the infuriating but intriguing exile who slipped through his fingers and now fights for his sworn enemies.

Keera and the Viper are on opposite sides of a war to save the Ballan desert, but the strange bond they share could be the key to saving their home—or destroying their world as they know it.

Blood of the Sands is a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent and L.J. Andrews..

…no.

Oh y’all I tried. I tried so hard. And I was interested through about 30-40% and then I felt my grip on this book loosen and I became increasingly more frustrated.

For one, it bugged me the main pair didn’t truly meet until like halfway through the book but have had raunchy dreams about each other? And then there’s 3+ open door scenes (and the writing of them made me cringe so hard y’all) in the second half that I don’t feel matched the pace of the characters and felt like a push to call this book “spicy.”

There’s some good bones to the plot, yet I got lost the more I thought about the magic system. I don’t expect to have all the answers in the first book, but I didn’t get enough to keep me going. It was somehow fast and too slow with a predictable story line.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: low – moderate
Romance: 3+ open door scenes
Violence: high
Content Warnings: blood/gore, battle themes

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ARC Book Review: Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber

October 4, 2025October 1, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Stephanie Garber
Publisher: Flatiron
Release Date: October 7th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It starts with a class in an old movie theater.

Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor. Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the Watch Man, who can supposedly tell you when you’ll die, the world finally makes sense. Except that the Watch Man tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow unless she finds an ancient object called the Alchemical Heart.

With the clock ticking, Holland is pulled deeper into this magical world in the heart of Los Angeles—and into the path of a magnetic stranger. Everything about him feels like a bad idea, but he promises Holland that her sister sent him to protect her. As they chase clues and stories that take them closer to the Alchemical Heart, Holland realizes everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her, even this stranger. And if she can’t figure out whom to trust, not even the Alchemical Heart will save her.

Thank you to Flatiron for an eARC.

CARAVAL REPEAT?

This one was interesting for me. I’m a big fan of Stephanie Garber’s Caraval/Once Upon a Broken Heart series. LOVED both of them and I knew going into this to expect something different. And while yes, that was the case, it also felt like a repeat of Caraval? Just add in older characters and an urban fantasy setting instead. I haven’t decided how that makes me feel about my overall impression of the book.

The romance was 100% lacking on the swoon. Now that I understand this is a series I CAN see what the author is going after but I don’t think that will all click until book two [hopefully]. I didn’t know what direction I was supposed to lean in and that made me pause a few too many times throughout. I will say this was a kisses only adult romance and I appreciated that it wasn’t unnecessarily spice forward.

I’m definitely going to continue the series because I do have questions. I think the folklore aspects were interesting and the POV change made me think too. I have my eyes on a few characters and want to see how they fold into the larger plot. This was a decent beginning but lacking that punch of something to give it an edge.

Overall audience notes:

Urban fantasy
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: mild-moderate

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Book Review: Trial of Bronze and Blood (Bronze and Blood Saga #1) by M.K. Deoradhan

October 2, 2025July 29, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 434 pages
Author: M.K. Deoradhan
Publisher: Aethon Books
Release Date: April 15th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Gladiator meets Heartless Hunter meets Bloodguard in this new adult fantasy romance.

Four deadly trials will reunite them. One secret will tear them apart.

When a mission goes wrong and ends with her best friend dead, Drusilla Valerius is rescued by someone she never expected to see again: Marcus Scaevola. The only man she’s ever cared for—the man who spurned her feelings six years ago.

Marcus should’ve known Dru wouldn’t be the same woman he left all those years ago, and he’s unprepared for her distrust of him – and her uncanny ability to kill. But he has a purpose for seeking her out.

Bound by loyalty, he convinces her to train King Cato of Anziano, one of the last countries yet to fall to the tyrannical Imperium, in the Valorem Blood Trials.

Unlike years’ past, the Imperium has a heavy hand in it, hiding beneath the guise of peace and unity between their two countries. When both Dru and Marcus find themselves joining the competition – Dru to take the place of an innocent and Marcus to protect the king – they’re forced to trust one another with their lives.

Now inescapably entrenched in the gory, duplicitous world of the blood trials, feelings long-buried surface, blurring the lines between duty and honor, love and loyalty. But Marcus carries a devastating secret–one that could destroy the foundations of Dru’s world…

Don’t miss this adult romantasy debut combining the second-chance romance of Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli with the deadly trials of Gladiator.

I THINK I’LL READ BOOK TWO.

I thought overall this was a good debut. It covered a lot of ground in the world building and while the magic system is still elusive and needs better rules, I can see the potential in future books.

The same goes for the romance. This is a second chance romantasy (which I feel is very uncommon for me to come across) so I don’t know that it worked super well. And while I appreciate that it wasn’t spice forward and that there was a slow burn I wanted more from the romance in regards to the emotional build and conversations.

There’s enough here though that I think for a debut there’s a chance for upward trajectory in future books. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the leads and the king. There were a few things throughout that felt fresh and different for this genre which gives me hope for book two!

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: mild
Romance: 2ish open door
Violence: moderate +

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: September 2025

September 30, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

THE BER MONTHS.

I always love seeing these line ups because all of the covers together feel like a quilt of my reads. And I’m continually surprised at what I get through and all of the different genres and niches I fall into.

HAPPY READING!