Tag: fantasy romance

Book Review: The Things We Water by Mariana Zapata

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Rating: ★★★★.25
Audience: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 717 pages
Author: Mariana Zapata
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 2nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Once upon a time, a girl found a magical puppy, and her life was never the same again.

Nina Popoca needs help.

So, so much of it.

The only place she can find that help is on a sprawling ranch in Colorado. A place hiding more than a community filled with magical creatures trying to live their lives in safety and in peace. A village that might hold the answers to questions she’s had her entire life.

And if that ranch is owned by her best friend’s hunky cousin?

…there are worse things in the world than having to live right by Henri Blackrock.

SHE DID IT.

I would absolutely read more paranormal romances from MZ. I loved this one!

My one little issue is the length. I really felt it this time around. The 720 pages could have been tightened up a bit but otherwise it’s a fantastic book.

I adored Henri and Nina. They are some beautiful souls. Spark fueled banter, chemistry for days and all of these soft tender moments that brought the connections between them. AND THE JEALOUS MOMENTS? Gosh those send me every dang time y’all. A perfectly well placed possessive scene? GIVE IT TO ME ALWAYS.

I loved seeing all of the different mythical creatures (of which I will not mention any, go read it!!). They all added a little something to the story and the setting. There’s also a big theme surrounding motherhood and that got me in the feels a few times. Wanting to do right by your children and making those hard but loving decisions to give them everything you can. It delivers a beautiful and impactful novel.

Now I’ll just be sitting here waiting for the next MZ release.

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Violence: mild

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ARC Book Review: The Knight and the Moth (The Stonewater Kingdom #1) by Rachel Gillig

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy + Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Rachel Gillig
Publisher: Orbit Books
Release Date: May 20th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From BookTok sensation and NYT bestselling author Rachel Gillig, comes the next big romantasy phenomenon: a gothic, mist-cloaked tale of a prophetess who is forced beyond the safety of her cloister on an impossible quest to defeat the gods with the one knight whose future is beyond her sight.

Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming of having no dreams at all. Like the other foundling girls who traded a decade of service for a home in the great cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur, and lords and common folk alike travel across the kingdom of Traum’s windswept moors to learn their futures by her dreams.

Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil’s visions. But when Sybil’s fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral’s cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she’d rather avoid Rodrick’s dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god.

Thank you to Orbit Books for the gifted ARC and LibroFM for the audiobook.

OH WOW.

I loved the journey this book took. I admit it was a bit slow on the uptake for me but once the mystery started I was really invested. I love the way that Gillig writes and the torturous atmosphere created by the depths of the storytelling. It has the feeling of sitting in a medieval bar listening to a bard tell a tale.

The romance was filled with snarky banter and that slow burn vibe I often crave. I loved how the character arc for Sybil wove into the romance and how she grew to stand on her own. I love when characters take in new information and really DO something with it. There’s a lot of adventure with a traveling plot as the secrets of the cloister are ripped to shreds.

Honestly I could have seen this being an amazing standalone but I’m not upset that we get more books in this world. I loved the dark ambiance and characters. OH MY GOSH BARTHOLOMEW. I can’t forget about him. There’s seriously so many little aspects of this story that I can’t get out of my brain. The complicated craft of the world x magic system is like none other.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: open door (2-3 scenes)
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: drowning (repeatedly), murder, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: The Shadow Bride (The Scarlet Veil #2) by Shelby Mahurin

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 624 pages
Author: Shelby Mahurin
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: March 25th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the thrilling conclusion of the duology set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Serpent & Dove series by Shelby Mahurin, a vampire and the woman who tried to kill him prove that true love can conquer anything, even Death. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Mass.

Célie’s life is over. She took her final breath trying to save the people she loves—including the powerful and enigmatic vampire king, Michal, who refused to let her go. When Célie wakes, she cannot walk in the sun; she can hear her friends’ heartbeats and she craves their blood. Michal has cursed her to the eternal existence of a vampire.

But Célie isn’t the only dead roaming the earth. Her sister, Filippa, has returned as a shadow of her former self, and other revenants are rising from their graves intent on revenge. The fragile balance between life and death has broken, awakening an even darker force—and he is coming for Célie, ready to claim her as his Bride. With the fate of their world at stake, Célie and Michal must set aside their searing attraction to mend the veil and right the balance, once and for all.

WELL I LOVED THIS.

This one found me at the right time because I just had a good time with this. 600 pages who? It did not matter because I was glued to my headphones devouring this story.

I loved Celie’s journey. With a substantial character arc woven throughout, you definitely got a feel for everything she went through. I loved that she maintained a soft, feminine nature while also showing how strong and filled with perseverance you can be too. It’s a beautiful balance.

And I was obsessed with the romance (it is very open door so I would not call this a YA book). I loved the heat and swoon and all of the between Michal and Celie.

I felt satisfied with how everything wrapped up with the ending. The characters had the conclusions I needed and getting a little epilogue was exactly what I was hoping for.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Violence: high

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ARC Book Review: The Enemy’s Daughter by Melissa Poett

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Melissa Poett
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Release Date: May 6th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A stunning reimagining of Tristan and Isolde set in a dystopian world woven with magic. An addictive debut YA enemies-to-lovers romantasy—perfect for fans of Rebecca Ross and Sarah Underwood as well as books like Curious Tides, The Hurricane Wars, and Belladonna.

It’s been thirty-seven years since the Republic was destroyed. Now two settlements—the five clans and the Kingsland—fight for control of the untainted land. Though the five clans are outnumbered, they’ve finally struck, killing Kingsland’s brutal leader.

In the war that follows, Isadora, an eighteen-year-old healer, risks her life to help injured soldiers. But when she stops an attack from Tristan, a Kingsland assassin, his soldiers shoot her with a poisoned arrow. As Isadora lies dying, Tristan does the unimaginable: He offers to save her life using a rare magic.

In choosing to live, Isadora is unknowingly bound to the mysterious Tristan. Worse, even acknowledging the attraction between them allows him to glean fragments of her memories and the very knowledge he needs to destroy the five clans. But their magical connection works both ways. So to save her people, Isadora will have to open her heart to her most cunning enemy. Because in a race for ultimate survival, she’ll need to destroy Tristan and his people first.

Thank you Book Sparks and Quill Tree Books for a gifted copy.

OOOMPH.

The first half of this? Good. I liked the bones of the plot, I liked the romantic twists and I thought the world building was easy to follow. The dystopian edge with a hint of fantasy was distinct and worked well. It is a standalone and does wrap up main storylines okay enough.

I think this was missing a lot. With love confessions before even the halfway point hit, my interest immediately tanked. The exploration of feelings and chemistry wasn’t all the way there and my investment level waned because I was behind on all the things they were apparently feeling.

Everything plot wise is very easy. I can’t say that one thing wasn’t highly forecasted or was the only option to move the pages forward. Had this been a duology with an expansion of the world and relationship I truly think this could have been grand.

I’d be curious to see what the author writes next though.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Dystopian Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate

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