Tag: fantasy romance

Book Review: Curse of Shadows and Thorns (The Broken Kingdoms #1) by L.J. Andrews

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 348 pages
Author: L.J. Andrews
Publisher: Bowker
Release Date: September 24th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A rebellious princess. A cursed rogue. A forbidden love that will bring a kingdom to its knees.

As niece of the king, Elise Lysander cares about two things: sneaking into gambling dens, and avoiding an advantageous marriage at all costs.

When her uncle holds the life of her deathly-ill father over her head, reluctantly, Elise puts her fate into the hands of Legion Grey, the handsome and mysterious dowry negotiator. He may be arrogant and infuriating, but soon Legion incites a blistering, forbidden passion she can’t ignore.

As their attraction grows, so do the dangers: attacks from black-eyed people, a cursed enemy who is more beast than man, and rumors of fae returning for the crown they believe was stolen from them long ago.

After a bloody coup upends the kingdom, Elise flees with Legion, but nothing is as it seems. The man she allowed into her heart reveals his own secret plans with the return of magic—and he has every intention of using Elise to see them through.

With war between magic and mortal on the horizon, Elise must pick a side to protect her kingdom. Does she stand with her people who stole the throne? Or with a man who lied his way into her heart and whose secret past could bring her destruction?

I’LL CONTINUE.

This was a good start. And if you didn’t know this NINE book series does not follow the same couple the whole time. I was worried based off how this book went that that would be the case and I was confused if it would work. I’m glad that there will be future couples and I look forward to that too.

A solid start with a hidden identity trope. That’s one of my favorites, especially in fantasy books, and I liked how it played out. I really enjoyed Elise’s character. She was willing to try and make a difference. I thought there was good chemistry between Elise and Legion too.

The twists were fairly predictable but that didn’t take away from my general enjoyment. It made me curious to see how this world expands and changes. Especially since I’ve already read the Ever King series so I’m intrigued to see how we get there.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: make-outs with touching
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: attempted sexual assault, blood/gore

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Book Review: We Who Will Die (Empire of Blood #1) by Stacia Stark

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 423 pages
Author: Stacia Stark
Publisher: Avon Books
Release Date: December 30th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the bestselling author of the Kingdom of Lies series comes a slow-burn romantasy set in a Roman-inspired world ruled by merciless vampires. Filled with breathtaking combat, vengeful gods, and magical creatures, We Who Will Die is the epic first installment in an enthralling new series perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent, Jasmine Mas, and Rebecca Yarros.

Life in the perilous Thorn district is a constant battle for Arvelle and her younger brothers. And the vampire standing on her doorstep is about to turn their world upside down.

Faced with an unthinkable choice, Arvelle makes a magically binding vow to do the impossible: kill the emperor, an ancient vampire created by the god Umbros. But first, she must enter the Sundering—an arena where only the fastest, strongest, and deadliest survive long enough to be selected for the emperor’s elite guard.

She quickly draws the ire of the Primus, the powerful figure charged with protecting the emperor. But the vampire under the armor is the last person Arvelle expects to encounter in the emperor’s court.

With her brothers’ lives in the balance, Arvelle has no choice but to ally with the man who once shattered her heart… and with the emperor’s sadistic son, Rorrik—two vampires whose motives are impossible to pin down. Rorrik holds the key to understanding the powers Arvelle is developing—abilities that would put a price on her head if discovered by the emperor.

To survive the arena and complete her mission, Arvelle must get to the bottom of a conspiracy that will change everything she thought she knew about herself—and the two vampires who are deeply entwined with her destiny…

Thank you LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

I GET IT.

I’ve been sitting on this audiobook for just a little bit because there was a lot of hype surrounding it amongst my friends (and I don’t know why that makes me nervous) BUT LO AND BEHOLD. I enjoyed it and I’m excited to read book two!

Y’all know duet narration is my kryptonite so bless this audiobook for making it such a great listen. I liked the narrators and that they did a good job in executing the storyline.

I didn’t quite understand why Arvelle would be chosen to kill the emperor when she had no big marketable skills? But I mostly rolled with it and liked seeing her slowly grow (and I hope that continues in the next book).

The romance was…a little meh to me? BUT I can’t really say why without spoiling it so I think I’ll have to keep that to myself and see if I’m right. If I am, then I think I’d love this book even more. The wait is on to see!

For the world building and magic, I didn’t know just how brutal this was going to be but I’m here for it. I love a gritty dark fantasy and this hit those marks. I liked how the vampires functioned in society and the gladiator vibes could be felt throughout.

Overall audience notes:

  • Dark Fantasy Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 2ish open door
  • Violence: high ++
  • Content warnings: blood & gore, loss of loved ones, murder, animal cruelty, grief

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Book Review: The Robin and the Oak Throne (The Oak and the Holly Cycle #2) by K.A. Linde

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Rating: ★★★.75
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 642 pages
Author: K.A. Linde
Publisher: Red Tower
Release Date: June 17th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The only thing worse than fearing a monster is falling for one…

Kierse McKenna just shattered the Monster Treaty. Again.

It wasn’t entirely her fault. The job was supposed to be steal a goblin-made bracelet off of the Queen of the Nymphs in her own palace. Trade the bracelet for a way to uncover the truth about her past. Except everything goes sideways.

And then he shows up to save her.

Graves—the warlock who ensnared her, betrayed her, and left her to fend for herself. He’s a villain. A monster draped in charm and shadows. And gods help her, he always knows exactly what she wants.

But Graves never does anything for free. He has a job for his favorite little thief. One that will pit her against the most powerful monsters in existence, including his mortal enemy, the Oak King.

An ancient artifact has been located, and only together can they hope to steal it. She just has to let him in.

But once she lets a monster in, he’s impossible to forget…and even harder to resist.

BEFUDDLED.

We’ll get to the good stuff first. I do think this book progressed well off of book one. I liked the expansion of the plot and world, getting to see more settings and characters, and the romance had good developmental moments too. I genuinely had a good time listening to this audiobook and the cliffhanger brings the damage.

BUT.

Y’all, there was like 8? Maybe more (idk I lost count)? open door scenes and that kept taking away from the story. They started to feel out of pocket and used to call the book *spicy*. Not to mention there was a k!nk involved that is not my cup of tea and I felt meh over it all.

This has turned me off of wanting to pick up book three if this is the way things will continue to progress.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: high
  • Romance; way too many scenes
  • Violence: high

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Book Review: Their Will Undone by R.J. Valldeperas

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: R.J. Valldeperas
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: June 2nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A debut YA fantasy must-read for fans of The Winner’s Curse, What the River Knows, and This Woven Kingdom.

When a maiden is selected to marry the emperor, her journey to the palace will see her fighting both a spark of magical power and her growing feelings for her broody escort in this romantic fantasy duology opener, inspired by a true story from the Inca empire. 

In the Amaru Empire, it’s considered an honor to be chosen for the annual harvest. But when guards stole Nina’s brother away, it devastated her family. So, when the guards returned for Nina’s sweet sister, she threw herself into their clutches instead. And Nina has spent every moment since then in the acllahuasi, a gilded cage where women are trained to become servants or wives.

When Kasik, an obedient lieutenant in Amaru’s army, is sent to the acllahuasi to retrieve the emperor’s new wife, it’s only the promise of his own command—and a chance to escape his controlling father—that forces him to accept.

Kasik has no reason to trust Nina, nor she to trust him. But, as they begin their journey, their chemistry is hard to ignore. Also hard to ignore? The tugging sensation of magic in Nina’s chest, awakening more questions than she can possibly answer as she travels with a handsome stranger to her unknown fate.

Thank you HarperCollins for the gifted book and LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

SAVED BY THE SECOND HALF.

🎧 The audiobook was good. I liked the narrator. This was dual POV though so I would have loved it had been dual narrators too. Luckily it was fairly easy to tell the POV’s apart.

This book started off iffy for me when I clocked into the insta-attraction/love. I’m someone who pretty much only ever wants a slow burn and I was confused by the supposed chemistry between Kasik and Nina when they are by all accounts, enemies. Luckily this connection started to disperse as conflict arose and different scenarios actually brought some needed stressors. I’m more endeared now to the story after the second half and I think it’s much better set up for the sequel.

I did enjoy the main characters and the different perspectives they come from. There’s a good battle of wills and understanding that all the information before them is not actually all of the answers. I liked the complicated political dynamics and trying to find the right answer for all involved. The feminine rage doesn’t overwhelm the story and added an edge that I was here for.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate

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