Tag: macmillan audio

ALC Book Review: The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: January 6th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this lush and romantic novel from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi, a prince is only as good as his beating heart and a maiden is only as good as her honest word. But when love and the truth become impossibly tangled, the two must figure out how to survive together, or fall completely apart.

To find love is a curse …

Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. Thanks to a poorly worded wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand of the kingdom’s heir. Historically, this has been construed quite literally.

Thus, Arris expects that the day after his marriage and murder he will wake up as a sentient tree alongside the rest of his predecessors. His only chance at a long life is finding true and lasting love. When Arris’s parents announce a tournament of brides to compete for his hand and heart, a slew of eligible, lovely and (possibly murderous) bachelorettes make their way to Rathe Castle. Amidst glittering balls in ozorald caves, strolls through menageries of daydream trees and pearl crocodiles, tea time on glass boats and kisses that leave his head spinning, Arris cannot tell who is here out of love for him…or lust for power.

Until he meets Demelza.

As a veritas swan, Demelza’s song wrings out the truth. Forced into hiding, Demelza strikes a deal. Arris will provide her with safekeeping in exchange for her truth-telling song to sort through his potential brides.

While Arris is used to dodging death threats and Demelza is accustomed to fighting for her voice to be heard, to survive the tournament of brides requires a different kind of bravery. And perhaps the bravest thing one can do is not merely protect one’s life, but find the courage to chase a life worth living.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

THIS WAS FUN.

I went purely off of the cover x author on this one without knowing a single thing about the book. And it was fun! It’s kind of in the same vein as Assistant to the Villain where it’s fantasy but has a more humorous and cheeky air to it. With that frame of mind I enjoyed the story.

This doesn’t scream ROMANCE to me but it is heavily featured in the plot and alongside that is a whimsical plot with Arris trying to find a bride that won’t kill him. I loved Demelza and her ability to forge her own path and what her love story was going to look like.

I actually really enjoyed Demelza’s parents too. It was a different vibe than I usually read in fantasy and it made them all the more interesting. The rotating POV’s worked well too and I thought it wrapped things up well for a standalone.

Overall audience notes:

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

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ALC Book Review: Fallen City (Fallen City Duology #1) by Adrienne Young

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Adrienne Young
Publisher: Saturday Books
Release Date: November 4th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the great walled city of Isara, political turmoil ignites a rebellion one hundred years in the making. But when a legionnaire falls in love with a Magistrate’s daughter, their love will threaten the fate of the city and the will of the gods.

Luca Matius has one purpose—to carry on the family name, maintaining its presence in the Forum once his powerful and cruel uncle dies. But his noviceship with the city’s Philosopher places him in the middle of a catastrophe that will alter the destiny of his people.

Maris Casoeria was raised amidst the strategic maneuvers of the Citadel’s inner workings, and she knows what her future holds—a lifetime of service to a corrupt city. But her years of serving as a novice to the last Priestess who possesses the stolen magic of the Old War has made her envision a different kind of future for the city. When she meets Luca, a fated chain of events is set into motion that will divinely entangle their lives.

Thank you Saturday Books for the eARC and MacMillan Audio for the ALC.

IT WAS ALRIGHT.

By the time I picked this up I knew of one person that gave it over four stars. I was definitely nervous when I knew I needed to get to this.

I will say, the audiobook? Good. I loved that there were two narrators for both POV’s. Great narration. Easy listen.

I honestly didn’t mind most of this book and loved the Roman-esque influence woven throughout. I liked the main characters and there’s a good story at the core of the pages.

What I struggled with was being tossed into the romance rather than being led in. It starts at an awkward junction and to get your footing in a short fantasy novel was a quest on its own. It felt like it was trying to be romantic but missed a few of those key notes that would have been helped with stronger character development over the heavy focus on the world/politics.

I’m not a fan of flashback chapters, especially in fantasy books. And this made me stand by that statement too. A reorganization is in needed.

BUT. I’ll read the next book. I’ll keep with my audiobook format. I love a dramatic cliffhanger so hopefully the sequel follows through.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: brief open door
  • Violence: high

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ALC Book Review: The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: October 28th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From Alix E. Harrow, the New York Times bestselling author of Starling House, comes a moving and genre-defying quest about the lady-knight whose legend built a nation, and the cowardly historian sent back through time to make sure she plays her part–even if it breaks his heart.

Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters—but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.

Centuries later, Owen Mallory—failed soldier, struggling scholar—falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives—and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.

But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend—if they want to tell a different story–they’ll have to rewrite history itself.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

OH THIS WAS IMMACULATE.

I never know quite what I’m getting when I pick up a book from Alix E. Harrow. Her books have taken me on many journeys and I’m still throwing five stars at them. THEY ARE ALL SO GOOD.

This romantic story was full of tender longing, angst, a will they/won’t they, OH MY GOSH JUST LET THEM BE HAPPY, and finding peace all in one. I was glued to my headphones (incredible audiobook production). I love that you can’t pin down where things are going and then watching it all unfold becomes this magnificent fanciful tale of two people who love each other DEEPLY.

I was astonished at the depth of my own emotions as things progressed. It is nuanced and delicate and the interweaving of the plot lines was never confusing. The pacing was never at fault. I am shocked this was only 320 pages because I felt like I lived a few lifetimes [as a compliment] reading The Everlasting.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: murder, death, some war themes, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: Kill the Beast by Serra Swift

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Serra Swift
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: October 14th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Witcher meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this debut original faerie tale of revenge, redemption, and friendship―for fans of T. Kingfisher, Naomi Novik, and cozy fantasy with a dash of gritty adventure.

The night Lyssa Cadogan’s brother was murdered by a faerie-made monster known as the Beast, she made him a promise: she would find a way to destroy the immortal creature and avenge his death. For thirteen years, she has been hunting faeries and the abominations they created. But in all that time, the one Beast she is most desperate to find has never resurfaced.

Until she meets Alderic Casimir de Laurent, a melodramatic dandy with a coin purse bigger than his brain. Somehow, he has found the monster’s lair, and―even more surprising―retrieved one of its claws. A claw Lyssa needs in order to forge a sword that can kill the Beast.

When the witch Ragnhild decrees that Alderic and Lyssa must gather the other ingredients to forge the weapon together, or else the spell will fail, Lyssa gets more than she bargained for. Alderic is ill-equipped for the task at hand, and almost guaranteed to get himself killed.

But as the two of them search for the materials that will be the Beast’s undoing, Alderic reveals hidden depths: dark secrets that he guards as carefully as Lyssa guards hers. Before long, and against Lyssa’s better judgment, they begin to forge a blooming friendship―one that will either lead to the culmination of Lyssa’s quest for vengeance, or spell doom for them both.

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

THIS GOT ME.

What a genuinely solid and beautiful standalone beauty and the beast retelling. Easily one of the best ones I’ve ever come across. This covered a multitude of themes and moments that made the book hit hard and hit well.

I loved the evolution of the relationship between Alderic and Lyssa. There’s banter and tumultuous scenes. Intense and quiet too. They really went from strangers to friends to more and truly saw each other for everything they are. And the depth of Lyssa’s character growth was remarkable. Working through grief and anger is not a straight line and I loved seeing her story play out.

This was a wonderful debut and I hope future books from Serra Swift are coming because I look forward to reading them.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance Retelling
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate+
  • Content warnings: loss of a loved one, parental abandonment, creature attacks, blood/gore depiction

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