Tag: new adult romance

ARC Book Review: Magic at Midnight by Courtney Millecam

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Rating: ★★★★.5
Audience: Historical Fantasy + Romance
Length: 444 pages
Author: Courtney Millecam
Publisher: Laurel Ink Press
Release Date: May 12th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

All magic comes with a price…

Gemma Spencer lives in a cruel twist of fate: she has access to everyone’s memories but her own. With no recollection of her past, Gemma survives as a con artist on a small island where magic hums beneath the surface of daily life.

When a tourist arrives with a newspaper article about a missing girl who looks eerily similar to Gemma, she realizes the truth about her identity lies in the glittering city of Linness—where the mystical is outlawed and gangsters rule the streets. But magic can still be found…if you know where to look.

While there, Gemma meets Hendrik, an investigator, who offers Gemma a dangerous bargain: impersonate the missing girl and go undercover inside the infamous Copperleaf Club. It’s the big break Hendrick needs to solve his father’s murder. For Gemma, it might be the only way to find answers about her past.

The deeper Gemma and Hendrik get inside the world of illegal magic and rival magicians, the more their fragile alliance—and growing feelings—begin to unravel. And as Gemma gets closer to the truth, she suspects her own memory was taken from her for a reason.

And remembering could be deadly.

For readers of Six of Crows and Stalking Jack the Ripper— this gaslamp romantic fantasy is perfect for fans of forbidden magic, reluctant allies with hidden motives, and a high-stakes deception where love may be the biggest gamble of all. This book includes a no-spice romance, but the gritty world and darker themes make it suitable for older YA audiences and above.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

SUPERB STANDALONE.

Courtney has done it again! What a fabulous book y’all. Good closed door fantasy standalones feel like finding a needle in a haystack. This is the needle!! Go read it!!

I loved the world and setting. The gas lamp vibes with the air of historical atmosphere worked incredibly well. I liked the way magic used and the interesting landscape it created.

And the characters were amazing. I loved the portrayal of friendships and the soft found family aspects. I especially liked Gemma’s character arc and seeing how she grew from start to finish. The romance is more in the background but still present enough to be enjoyed. Gemma and Hendrik are reluctant allies that push each other’s buttons in all the best ways.`

Everything came together well and I think all the necessary plot points were satisfied. The hidden motives and deceptions will keep you turning pages.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Historical Fantasy Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: murder, loss of a parent

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ARC Book Review: Storm Breaker (Storm Breaker #1) by Nisha J. Tuli

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: NA Dystopian Fantasy Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Nisha J. Tuli
Publisher: Entangled: Mayhem Books
Release Date: May 5th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the publisher who brought you Fourth Wing comes your next romantasy obsession…

For nineteen-year-old Poet Graves, New Manhattan has always promised safety―if she obeys. Raised within the ruling Houses and betrothed to a powerful heir, she enters Amery Academy knowing her future has already been decided.

But Amery is nothing like she imagined. Its trials are brutal, its loyalties conditional, and its rules designed to expose weakness. As Poet struggles to survive, she must hide the truth that could get her executed: the storms don’t fear her―they answer back.

When a dangerous outsider from beyond the city walls enters the academy, Poet is drawn to him despite everything she’s been taught to believe. He threatens the life she’s been promised. And choosing him could cost her not just her future, but her freedom.

A gripping dystopian romance filled with forbidden power, ruthless challenges, and a heroine who refuses to burn quietly―perfect for fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games.

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted ARC.

IT WAS ALRIGHT.

I wasn’t initially planning to read this but when a book shows up on your doorstep you take a chance! I did like this more than Trial of the Sun Queen. But overall my vibe here was…predictable. From the first few chapters I could map the whole book and I wish it had brought something more to the story to overlook that fact.

I didn’t mind the FMC, Poet. She goes through a coming of age that works for the story. I think her arc had a good start and I that will only grow in the sequel.

The romance was fine. I would have a few more quiet moments. I think some of the pacing or scene line ups didn’t flow well and that’s my hold up. Even though I knew where it was going I still liked the ending because it led to an opening I wanted to see.

This book luckily didn’t become a hate read, it was just missing that element that feels engaging and like I HAVE to keep reading to know what happens next. I’m at least interested to hear about the next book.

Note, I don’t consider this YA, more NA.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Dystopian Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 1-2ish low explicit open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: loss of life, weapons violence, assault, near death experiences

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Book Review: Nightshade (Sorrowsong University #1) by Autumn Woods

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: New Adult Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Autumn Woods
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: June 24th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When Ophelia Winters accepts a scholarship at a prestigious Scottish university to prove that her parents’ death was the fault of Cain Green, an American aviation tycoon, her plan is simple; keep her grades up and her head down. The last thing she wants is to wind up in a mafia war or step on the toes of royalty.

Her plan gets off to a rocky start when the mysterious man that almost kills her on her first day turns out to be Cain’s eldest son. As far as she’s concerned, Alex Corbeau-Green is a younger version of his billionaire father. A monster hiding beneath a beautiful facade.

Loneliness has been Ophelia’s only dependable companion for years, but when anonymous threats and mysterious occurrences start to haunt her time at Sorrowsong, she wonders if she really can survive there on her own.

Between being paired together for a project and ending up as each other’s alibi for a murder, avoiding Alex becomes increasingly impossible. She begins to fall for the soft heart that hides beneath his hard exterior.

Tormented by a malicious stalker and growing closer to Alex, Ophelia’s desperation for revenge wavers for the first time. Can she really bring herself to pull the trigger on Cain now that she knows the family it’ll split into two?
__________

Dark Academic Romance – Enemies to Lovers – Slow Burn – University Setting

This work is dark in places and contains several triggers throughout. Please heed the warnings before reading.

I THINK I LIKED THIS?

I’ve decided that I will continue with this duet. It’s got the dark vibe I love and things started to grow on me in the second half. It kind of has Maxton Hall vibes? But with a much darker angle. Did anyone watch My Fault: London? Kind of on that wavelength.

This had a dark academia mood that I thought was balanced well with the characters. I loved the brewing found family and getting the backgrounds on many of the students.

Ophelia and Alex had a good connection and I thought the banter worked well between them. I wish there would have been more of them in the first half. I loved how many interactions they had in the second half of the story. THOUGH, the ending made me a bit cranky, but I can’t explain it without spoilers so it is what it is.

I feel like reading the next book? It was different than the usual rom-coms I read so it was nice to mix it up. I have many questions and want to see the fallout from the ending.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: open door, low explicit; innuendo
  • Violence: moderate – high
  • Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, loss of parents (recounted), declining mental health of a parent, anxiety, drowning

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Book Review: Something Like Fate by Amy Lea

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Amy Lea
Publisher: Skyscape
Release Date: March 1st, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

During a summer in Italy, two best friends discover whether true love is up to destiny or free will in this winning romantic comedy by the international bestselling author of Woke Up Like This.

For generations, the fortune-telling women in Lo Zhao-Jensen’s family have foreseen The One—the great loves of their lives—before ever meeting them. Except for Lo, who has zero psychic abilities. Just memories of old rom-coms and a lot of poor judgment when it comes to love.

Until now.

When Lo finally has the vision she’s been waiting for, her delighted aunties are convinced she’ll meet The One on her backpacking trip in Italy. Vero amore, here she comes.

Along for the summer is Lo’s best friend and confidant, Teller Owens, her opposite in every way. Upon arrival in Venice, Lo is saved from a runaway trolley by Caleb, a fellow backpacker. It’s a meet-cute so swoony, it has to be fate. But with each destination, Lo’s complicated feelings for Teller are becoming harder to ignore. From the cobblestone streets of Rome to the rocky cliffs of Amalfi, Lo begins to wonder if fate has other plans.

THIS DIDN’T WORK FOR ME.

I love a lot of Amy Lea’s book and unfortunately this one is officially lowest on that ranking. I loved the traveling plot and setting, I did like Lo an Teller, I just struggled with the handling of many situations.

This is where the magical realism didn’t work for me, being so beholden to an idea that it ruins what you have in front of you dragging out the story longer than necessary. The miscommunication, as tends to be the highlight of friends to lovers romances, was frustrating too.

There’s some charming moments and I did love a few of the romantic ones too. Teller is a sweetheart and I was grateful when Lo finally decided to stop being oblivious and work things out with him.

It does read very much like a movie and honestly I think would have been better in that format.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2ish vague open door
  • Content Warnings: loss of a parent (recounted)

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