Book Review: Direbound (The Wolves of Ruin #1) by Sable Sorensen

April 29, 2025April 7, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Dark Fantasy Romance
Length: 650 pages
Author: Sable Sorensen
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 26th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials. She’ll risk her life—and her heart—to be one of them…

Meryn Cooper has never dreamed of being one of the Bonded, the King’s elite warriors who form mental links with massive, vicious direwolves. She’s made peace with her life scraping by in poverty in the shadows of the castle. But then her younger sister Saela is kidnapped, stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting.

And Meryn’s world falls apart.

Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army—only to discover that there are Bonding Trials this year, where all soldiers are forced to risk their lives in an attempt to connect with a direwolf. It’s too late to turn back; Meryn is thrown into the deadly competition against her will.

Now, she’ll need to survive the next four months of training at the castle if she wants a chance of finding Saela. Everything here is a test, from the brutal classes where one mistake means death, to the glittering court parties where every smile hides a knife.

To make things worse, Meryn is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her gorgeous instructor, Stark Therion, is as malicious as the wolves himself.

Everyone is out to get her—everyone but the dangerously handsome crown prince, Killian Valtiere. But if she loses her heart to him, she may also lose her life.

And the castle is hiding dark secrets…

Fourth Wing meets The Hunger Games in dark action-packed fantasy series, perfect for romantasy fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses , The Serpent & the Wings of Night , When the Moon Hatched and Quicksilver!

GIMME BOOK TWO.

A friend asked me to buddy read this one with her and we both devoured it over the course of a weekend. It was pitched as a fourth wing but with wolves and I gotta say, that actually tracks (but it is not a copycat, do not fear). I loved that this wasn’t a shifter book, the humans bond with wolves in this military-esque fantasy romance that had me locked in.

I love a complicated romantic plot line. I love enjoying the journey of tiny moments and quiet moments, the angry proclamations and the jaw dropping reveals. I got it all here. If you’re reading this without reading the summary, skip it and just go read it!! Trust me!!

Even more surprising was the fact that I was blindsided by a few of the reveals (a few I could see coming, but wasn’t mad about). ANYWAYS, I loved all the twists and turns. There’s a good level of politicking mixed in with action and there’s a ball??? I mean come on, I had to read this book.

The ending left me without breath and begging for the next book. AHHHHHH.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: strong
Romance: 4-5 open door
Violence: very high
Content warnings: high levels of blood/gore/violence, kidnapped children, loss of loved ones, murder

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Book Review: Tomb of the Sun King (Raiders of the Arcana #2) by Jacquelyn Benson

April 26, 2025March 31, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Fantasy Romance
Length: 622 pages
Author: Jacquelyn Benson
Publisher: Vaughan Woods Publishing
Release Date: October 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Respectable lady scholars shouldn’t be dodging evildoers, escaping lost tombs, and chasing down magical artifacts.

Archivist and suffragette Ellie Mallory always dreamed of putting her scholarly skills to work in the ancient sands of Egypt. She never imagined she would be doing so in order to save an object of legendary power from a batch of ruthless villains. Racing baddies to an arcanum of Biblical proportions is only one of Ellie’s problems. Her hopelessly academic and perpetually mortified step-brother, Dr. Neil Fairfax, is about to learn that she’s been gallivanting around the globe with his danger-magnet best friend, Adam Bates—the roguish surveyor for whom Ellie harbors increasingly complicated feelings. Add the petite and terrifyingly fearless Constance Tyrrell to the mix, and Ellie either has a crack team of artifact-saving experts to hand… or a recipe for disaster. Together, they’ll need to follow a trail of three-thousand-year-old clues from the necropolis of Saqqara to the temples of Luxor and beyond, where the ruined capital of a heretic pharaoh hides a secret with the potential to upend history. To keep an earth-shattering magic from falling into the wrong hands, Ellie will need to pull out all the stops—even if that means resorting to fisticuffs, ignoring proper archaeological processes… and facing a terrible choice between doing what she knows is right or breaking her own heart. Dive into Tomb of the Sun King now to experience the next action-packed historical fantasy adventure in the Raiders of the Arcana series!

IN LOVE.

I’m so glad I jumped into this book quickly after finishing book one. I am in love with this series and can’t wait for more books. They are quirky and humorous while also tackling some heavy conversations and topics. I find the balance fitting and it continually draws me into the story wondering where the next turn will happen.

And we got a second romance in this one y’all!! Two new characters to fall in love with as they fell in love with each other. I adored this pairing. I loved seeing the conflicts and resolutions that arose as characters grew and changed with all the things they were learning on this expedition.

It’s got just a touch of magic that I think has been woven well into the historical elements. The audiobook is awesome and I’m still smitten with the original couple (Ellie and Adam) too.

Overall audience notes:

Historical Fantasy Romance
Language: low
Romance: closed door
Violence: moderate

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Book Review: When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall #1) by Sarah A. Parker

April 23, 2025March 12, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 718 pages
Author: Sarah A. Parker
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: January 13th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Creators did not expect their beloved dragons to sail skyward upon their end. To curl into balls just beyond gravity’s grip, littering the sky with tombstones. With moons.

They certainly did not expect them to fall.

As a valued Elding Blade of the rebellion group Fíur du Ath, Raeve’s job is to kill. To complete orders and never get caught. When a renowned bounty hunter is employed by The Crown to capture a member of the Ath, Raeve’s world is turned upside down. Blood spills, hearts break, and Raeve finds herself at the mercy of the Guild of Nobles—a group of dual-beaded elementals who intend to turn her into a political statement. Only death will set her free.

Crushed beneath a mourning weight, Kaan Vaegor took the head of a king and donned his melted crown. Now on a tireless quest to assuage the never-ebbing ache in his chest, his hunt for a moonshard lures him into the belly of Gore’s notorious prison where he stumbles upon something that rips apart his perception of reality. A shackled miracle with eyes full of rage and blood on her hands.

The echo of the past sings louder than the Creators themselves, and even Raeve can’t ignore the truths blaring at her from a warmer, happier time.
However.
There’s more to this song than meets the eye, and some truths …
They’re too poisonous to swallow.

When the Moon Hatched is a fast-paced fantasy romance for fans of witty banter and strong, sassy protagonists. Beneath the cover is an immersive, vibrant world with mysterious creatures, a unique magic system, and a love that blazes through the ages.

I AM AS SURPRISED AS YOU.

Well hey.

I wasn’t a big fan of this author’s previous series (never made it past book one), but I had multiple people mention this one to me and I really needed a five star, and this was that book!!

It in incredibly slow and intricate with beautiful writing that brought me deep into this world, the magic system and the lore of the lands (and did I mention, DRAGONS? All the dragon content y’all). While slower, do not mistake this for not also being dark and gruesome. There is some ACTION that is intense and heated and might make you cringe a bit. This is why I love dark fantasy.

The romance was the best kind of enemies to lovers slow burn. I was INVOLVED. And in an absolute puddle when pronouncements and those really hidden deep feelings started showing up and being spoken. The soft moments balanced beautifully with the heavy.

I am floored by the ending and the things happening. I love the set up for book two and scenes I know are coming. Very happy I took a chance on this. It was just the book I was looking for.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: strong
Romance: 3+ open door; mild innuendo
Violence: high; lots of blood and gore
Trigger/Content Warnings: are listed at the beginning of the book!

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Book Review: Lore of the Wilds (Lore of the Wilds #1) by Analeigh Sbrana

April 21, 2025March 10, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 339 pages
Author: Analeigh Sbrana
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: February 27th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A stunning Romantasy debut about an enchanted library, two handsome Fae, and one human who brings them all together.

A library with a deadly enchantment.

A Fae lord who wants in.

A human woman willing to risk it all for a taste of power.

In a land ruled by ruthless Fae, twenty-one-year-old Lore Alemeyu’s village is trapped in a forested prison. Lore knows that any escape attempt is futile—her scars are a testament to her past failures. But when her village is threatened, Lore makes a desperate deal with a Fae lord. She will leave her home to catalog/organize an enchanted library that hasn’t been touched in a thousand years. No Fae may enter the library, but there is a chance a human might be able to breach the cursed doors.

She convinces him that she will risk her life for wealth, but really she’s after the one thing the Fae covet above all: magic of her own.

As Lore navigates the hostile world outside, she’s forced to rely on two Fae males to survive. Two very different, very dangerous, very attractive Fae males. When undeniable chemistry ignites, she’s not just in danger of losing her life, but her heart to the very creatures she can never trust.

I LIKED IT.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting getting a chance to read this one. And it turned out pretty good. I’m excited to read the second book and see how the journey continues.

I enjoyed Lore a lot. She’s filled with strength and a sense of self I love to see. I liked her perseverance to accomplishing her tasks and figuring out ways to subvert the situation she had been forced into. I want to see those aspects grow even more as this series (or is it just a duology??) continue.

The romance is a bit meh. Things go from 0-100 quickly and I would have loved to have seen more development between Lore and Asher. There was initially a nice slow burn that I enjoyed. And then the love triangle was added in. I’m not mad about it though because when do I ever go for the first guy??

For the ending, I found it predictable based off of the fact that I’ve read multiple love triangles that essentially had the same scenario. It didn’t turn me off of the book but I didn’t have any jaw dropping moments either.

I loved the audio and recommend that format!

Overall audience notes: