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

June 17, 2026June 25, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

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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ARC Book Review: House of Shadows (Royal Houses #2) by K.A. Linde

January 8, 2026December 24, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 544 pages
Author: K.A. Linde
Publisher: Bloom Books
Release Date: January 6th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

New York Times bestselling author K.A. Linde returns to the Royal Houses series with House of Shadows: the story of Kerrigan Argon, a half-Fae, half-human as she seeks her place in an unforgiving world filled with magic, mayhem, and romance. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Holly Black, and V.E. Schwab.

A half-Fae outcast. A forbidden prince. A world teetering on the edge of collapse.

Kerrigan Argon was never meant to be chosen. As a half-human, half-Fae pariah, her admission into the Dragon Society breaks every law of her world. Now she’s bound to a dragon—and to a brutal year of training that could claim her life.

But first, she must survive a journey into the infamous House of Shadows, led by the dark Fae prince Fordham Ollivier. No half-Fae has ever returned from its halls. In a place built on cruelty, secrets, and absolute power, Kerrigan must battle not just enemies—but centuries of prejudice and the slow unraveling of magic itself.

Something ancient is cracking. A long-buried spell is weakening. And Kerrigan may be the only one who can stop the collapse—or cause it.

Thank you Bloom Books for the gifted ARC.

I SHALL CONTINUE.

I feel like I can enjoy book one and be ready for book two, but book two is ultimately what helps me decide if I want to continue a series. And alas! I do want to continue this series. I am having a great time with this whole setup. It’s a bit dramatic (lean into it), there’s a lot of great characters and the romance is creating a stable slow burn that I can work with.

Not to mention, the dragons! I don’t think I’ve read a series recently where dragons are at this much of the forefront and I forgot how much I enjoy it. I know this is a reprint of an already complete series so if you’ve been missing dragons too, try these!

I like the FMC, Kerrigan plenty. She does not have it all figured out and honestly that’s what I’ve enjoyed most. The longer series vibes really lends to character arcs you can see slowly build and I am curious how that will continue for her in the third installment.

Overall audience notes:

NA Fantasy Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: 2ish open door
Violence: high

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Book Review: House of Dragons (Royal Houses #1) by K.A. Linde

October 25, 2025October 18, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Upper YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: K.A. Linde
Publisher: Bloom Books
Release Date: October 7th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

New York Times bestselling author K.A. Linde introduces the Royal Houses series with House of Dragons: the story of Kerrigan Argon, a half-Fae, half-human, as she seeks her place in an unforgiving world filled with magic, mayhem, and romance. A YA romantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Holly Black, and V.E. Schwab.

She’s the half-Fae outcast. He’s the cursed prince. Their choices could reshape the realm.

Ten years ago, half-Fae, half human Kerrigan Argon was discreetly dropped off onto the steps of Draco Mountain with nothing but a note. Her life changes completely as she’s swept into the care of the House of Dragons—an elite training program for gifted Fae.

On the year of her seventeenth name day, each student will be chosen by one of the twelve houses of Alandria to enter society.

Everyone is chosen…except Kerrigan.

So, she strikes a bargain with the Dragon Society: convince a house to select her or give up her birthright forever. With the unlikeliest of allies—Fordham Ollivier, the cursed Fae prince, who escaped his dark throne—she must chart her own destiny to reshape the world.

Thank you Bloom Books for the gifted ARC.

I’LL CONTINUE THE SERIES.

This wasn’t on my radar but when surprise book mail shows up and I thought, what the heck, let’s try it. And it made me realize I’ve been missing dragon based fantasy books.

I do think there’s a little confusion on writing style vs. content. The writing came across as definite YA while some of the content/plot points leaned a little more NA/Adult. Not necessarily a BAD thing but it did throw me a little and I wish the characters had been 20+ instead of 17.

The overall story though was pretty solid and I liked the slow burn romance too. There was good banter and chemistry and the beginnings of a strong found family. I’ve missed the era of series that go over 3 books so I’m looking forward to reading through all of these. I adore the new covers too!

Overall audience notes: