Tag: romantasy

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

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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: The Serpent and the Wolf (Dark Inheritance Trilogy #1) by Rebecca Robinson

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Rebecca Robinson
Publisher: Saga Press
Release Date: November 19th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Perfect for fans of Raven Kennedy and Thea Guanzon, Rebecca Robinson’s thrilling romantasy debut combines high-stakes political intrigue and a steamy, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance.

All her life, Vaasa Kozár has been sharpened into a blade.

After losing her mother—her only remaining parent—to a mysterious dark magic that has since awakened within her, Vaasa is certain death looms. So is her merciless brother, who aims to eliminate Vaasa as a threat to his crown. In one last political scheme, he marries her off to Reid of Mireh, a ruthless foreign ruler, in hopes that he can use her death as a rallying cry to finally invade Reid’s nation. All Vaasa has to do is die.

But she is desperate to live. Vaasa enters her new marriage with every intent to escape it, wielding the hard-won political prowess and combat abilities her late father instilled in her. But to her surprise, Reid offers her a deal: help him win the votes to rise in power, and she can walk free. In exchange, he will share his knowledge about the dark magic running through her veins—and help keep it at bay.

This proposal may be too good to refuse, yet Vaasa and Reid’s undeniable attraction threatens to break the rules of their arrangement. As her brother’s lethal machinations take form, everything is at stake: Vaasa must learn to trust her new husband, but how can she, especially when their perfect political marriage begins to feel like the real thing?

SO FUN.

This is another one of those romantasy books that I don’t look too hard into and enjoy all the more. It’s chaos but it’s also marriage of convenience and that’s my favorite so of course I read it. I loved the anger and passion between Vaasa and Reid. It feels perfectly gritty for the setting and the slow burn burns well.

There’s probably a few plot intricacies that were a bit lost. I feel a fantasy romance needs a stable plot and while spice didn’t overwhelm the plot, it was too far in the background that I would get lost occasionally between all of the politicking.

But, I’m in love with the whole romance dynamic and will absolutely be needing to get my hands on book two. The audiobook was fantastic and I’m glad I took a chance on this one.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: open door
  • Violence: high

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Book Review: Trial of Bronze and Blood (Bronze and Blood Saga #1) by M.K. Deoradhan

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 434 pages
Author: M.K. Deoradhan
Publisher: Aethon Books
Release Date: April 15th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Gladiator meets Heartless Hunter meets Bloodguard in this new adult fantasy romance.

Four deadly trials will reunite them. One secret will tear them apart.

When a mission goes wrong and ends with her best friend dead, Drusilla Valerius is rescued by someone she never expected to see again: Marcus Scaevola. The only man she’s ever cared for—the man who spurned her feelings six years ago.

Marcus should’ve known Dru wouldn’t be the same woman he left all those years ago, and he’s unprepared for her distrust of him – and her uncanny ability to kill. But he has a purpose for seeking her out.

Bound by loyalty, he convinces her to train King Cato of Anziano, one of the last countries yet to fall to the tyrannical Imperium, in the Valorem Blood Trials.

Unlike years’ past, the Imperium has a heavy hand in it, hiding beneath the guise of peace and unity between their two countries. When both Dru and Marcus find themselves joining the competition – Dru to take the place of an innocent and Marcus to protect the king – they’re forced to trust one another with their lives.

Now inescapably entrenched in the gory, duplicitous world of the blood trials, feelings long-buried surface, blurring the lines between duty and honor, love and loyalty. But Marcus carries a devastating secret–one that could destroy the foundations of Dru’s world…

Don’t miss this adult romantasy debut combining the second-chance romance of Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli with the deadly trials of Gladiator.

I THINK I’LL READ BOOK TWO.

I thought overall this was a good debut. It covered a lot of ground in the world building and while the magic system is still elusive and needs better rules, I can see the potential in future books.

The same goes for the romance. This is a second chance romantasy (which I feel is very uncommon for me to come across) so I don’t know that it worked super well. And while I appreciate that it wasn’t spice forward and that there was a slow burn I wanted more from the romance in regards to the emotional build and conversations.

There’s enough here though that I think for a debut there’s a chance for upward trajectory in future books. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the leads and the king. There were a few things throughout that felt fresh and different for this genre which gives me hope for book two!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: 2ish open door
  • Violence: moderate +

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ARC Book Review: Darkness Births the Stars by Sarah Lee Wohn

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Rating: ★★★.75
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 700 pages
Author: Sarah Lee Wohn
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: September 3rd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Their forbidden love tore the world apart.
Now two broken gods might be the only ones able to heal it.

Haunted by his past and the evil forces he commanded, Noctis, once the God of Darkness, cannot forget Rada, the former Goddess of Light—and the queen who ruled at his brother’s side. Condemned to mortality, thought dead to the whole world, Noctis craves one last meeting …

Stripped of her magic and exiled for treason, Rada has built an idyllic new life on a farm at the edges of the realm. But her peace is shattered one stormy night when Noctis—the enemy who caused her downfall, the lover she betrayed in turn—appears at her door, wounded and desperate.

When a sinister attack reveals the powers of Chaos are stirring once more, Noctis’s dark past begins to unravel. As desire and duty entwine, Rada faces an impossible choice. Can she become the ally of the man who broke her heart to save everything she holds dear?

Inspired by Nordic mythology, this first book in a series follows star-crossed lovers, their fall from grace and their quest for redemption. Sizzling, tension-filled romance, high-stakes magical battles, and morally-grey characters make this the perfect read for fans of Gild, The Cruel Prince and When the Moon Hatched.

Are you prepared to touch the Darkness?

Thank you to the author and MTMC Tours for the gifted copy.

I KIND OF WANT BOOK TWO.

I was really into this for probably the first 30-40%. The length hadn’t started to show and the story was interesting! But then I started to see some cracks.

There is no way this needed to be 750 pages. Some condensing would have made the plot move steadier and still allowed for the same growth and arcs. And something that tends to bug me is when flashback chapters are used to add spice. It flirts with that line I have about needing plot > spice if the flashbacks aren’t truly adding much to the story. NOW there were some scenes that absolutely did add more world system set up. It wasn’t a total lost cause.

The MC’s were probably my favorite of the book. I enjoyed Noctis and Rada the most. Especially Noctis with his brooding ways and self sacrificing nature when it comes to anything involving Rada. I love villainous love interests and he plays the part expertly.

While it was a bit of a slog to get to the last quarter I think the book started to shine again. I enjoyed the ending and the hinted set-up for the next book (I definitely thought this was a standalone so you’ve been warned!!). No big cliffhanger at least.

For a debut, it was good. I genuinely could see the effort and care for the story, even with my hang-ups. I’m curious about book two and how this will spiral the plot.

Overall audience notes:

  • Romantasy
  • Language: moderate – strong
  • Romance: 4ish+ long open door
  • Violence: high

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