Tag: romantasy

Book Review: Because the Beasts Came (Wells of Istri #1) by Madeline James

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 630 pages
Author: Madeline James
Publisher: Spellbound Worlds
Release Date: April 9th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’s already broken, but this mission may be what shatters her.

A young guardian bearing the burden of a kingdom torn to shreds, Iryana works tirelessly from the shadows to keep her clan’s outpost standing. After the beasts ravaged the lands and the gangs claimed what was left, the survivors can only cling to the scattered settlements, fighting desperately to hold their borders.

But they’re losing.

Her clan’s only hope lies beyond their brittle the ancient magic of the metal-wells, and the ruthless military gangs that control them. Iryana has no choice but to infiltrate a nearby brigade, earn their volatile trust, and see her magic forged in one of their closely guarded wells.

Unfortunately, surviving among liars and killers proves to be harder and more mystifying than expected.

Their cruel and calculating leader sees value in her when no one else does. The bitter soldier with haunted eyes and a devastating smile wants her gone but can’t seem to stop saving her life. As each passing day brings her deeper within the brigade, two devastating paths forward present themselves and her deep-rooted cracks become impossible to conceal.

Iryana came to the fortress to save her family—she never expected someone would try to save her.

Perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom and The Serpent & The Wings of Night, Because the Beasts Came is the first book in a romantic fantasy duology within the Wells of Istri world. Full of aching tension, a brutal world of monsters and fragile hope, and a heroine torn between duty, desire, and survival, you won’t be able to put this book down.

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

WHY SO LONG?

I went into this with decent hopes and am left wondering if it’s worth reading book two? There’s no way this needed to be 600+ pages without more character exploration. Every single character lacked depth. I didn’t have an attachment to anyone.

I was genuinely invested for the first 30%ish. I thought the world building was going well and liked the military training grounds idea. I think overall the writing style was good, just needed dialed in.

I’m always here for a slow burn but the fact of the matter is we didn’t get more than maybe one interaction with the leads until after halfway? And their dynamic was lackluster. No chemistry or banter or anything swoony. There was also a weird situation with the guy’s brother? It wasn’t a love triangle, but it wasn’t good either.

There’s a few more things that made me cranky but it is what it is.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: one open door (literally the last pages)
  • Violence: moderate-high
  • Content warnings: physical/emotional abuse

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Wicked and the Damned (Dark Inheritance Trilogy #2) by Rebecca Robinson

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Rebecca Robinson
Publisher: Saga Press
Release Date: February 24th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the exhilarating second romantasy novel in Rebecca Robinson’s Dark Inheritance Trilogy, a fiery couple forced apart must navigate a deadly maze of politics and power to reunite across a continent at war.
Torn from her husband Reid’s arms and dragged back to her homeland in chains, Vaasa is no longer a ruler, but a political pawn. Now under the control of Ozik—a cunning Zetyr witch with a stranglehold on her magic—she faces annulment, forced betrothal, and a kingdom that no longer feels like her own. As Ozik’s machinations aim to install himself as the true power behind the Asteryan throne, Vaasa is forced to take part in his game.

Meanwhile, across the continent, Reid is done playing politics. But waging war is never simple, and a soldier’s fury cannot stand up against Icruria’s bureaucracy. With allies fading and time slipping away, Reid may have no choice but to infiltrate Asterya on his own to find the woman he loves and bring her home.

As Vaasa’s magic begins to flare, she desperately seeks control, even if Ozik is the only one who can offer it. She then finds a cryptic final message from her mother about a precious missing necklace that might just be the answer to finally freeing her magic from Ozik. Yet when a ghost from Vaasa’s past reemerges among the suitors vying for her hand, escape might be within reach—but will it demand a betrayal that real love may not survive?

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

ALMOST LOST ME.

To be honest, I was worried in the first half. I am just not a fan of keeping a couple apart for so long after they’ve pretty much claimed end game. And then with the addition of a not-an-actual-love-triangle I was almost throwing my phone.

But hey, things picked up and it ended up being a good sequel where I’m absolutely looking forward to the conclusion. I appreciated that this kept of plot > spice element and the politics and world were intense. This whole book was intense. I loved the moments between Reid and Vaasa because the chemistry is still off the charts.

🎧 I liked the audiobook narrator but my only wish was that this had a second narrator for Reid’s chapters. I know he didn’t have as many as Vaasa, yet I think it would have added a bonus element to the story.

A really solid and [currently] underrated series. Y’all check it out!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2-3ish open door
  • Violence: high

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Half City (Harker Academy #1) by Kate Golden

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 496 pages
Author: Kate Golden
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: February 17th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Welcome to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. Keep your daggers sharp, and your wits even sharper.

Viv Abbot is an average twenty-one-year-old girl. She lives in an expensive city where the rent is too high, works long hours at a thankless job, and is dating a guy she doesn’t even like in the hopes of winning her prickly mother’s approval.

She just also happens to be a demon hunter.

Ever since her father’s murder, she’s been forced to hunt deviants alone, meaning everyone, including her family, sees her as an outsider. . . . Until the day she crosses paths with a dangerously alluring demon, Reid Graveheart. The reformed deviant tells her of a school for people just like her: Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. If she enrolls, she’ll learn to hone her craft, work with other hunters, and never be alone again.

But Viv has a deadly secret. One that not even her new friends at Harker can know about. Not when the school might hold the answers to untangling the mystery surrounding Viv’s father’s death. When strange occurrences begin to plague the students, Viv will have to figure out who she can trust, and fast. All while trying to ace her classes, not fall for a demon, and make it through her first year at Harker in one piece. How hard could that be?

THIS WAS SOLID.

I previously enjoyed Kate Golden’s romantasy trilogy so I’ve been excited to pick this one up and yet again, it’s delivered! I’ll definitely be picking up book two to see what happens next. I’m a little curious how it’ll work out based off of romantic plot points. I took off half a star because I felt the page time vs. the *love* that apparently had formed didn’t line up. I would have loved if this great slow burn had been pulled into book two.

This gave me Shadowhunter vibes. There’s vampires and werewolves and demons and hunters who try to take them down. I thought the addition of the college and dark academia setting worked well. There’s an air of mystery that is played out beautifully without heavy info dumping or insanely slow sections. The pacing made me fly through this thick book.

I really enjoyed the FMC Viv and what she brought to the story. A flawed character with a strong personality who is deeply loyal to those close to her. It just worked. She has great chemistry with Reid and the friendships were meaningful too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban fantasy romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3ish open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: loss of a parent, murder, loss of life, weapons/physical violence

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J. Spann

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★.25
Genre: Fantasy + Romance
Length: 530 pages
Author: Shannon J. Spann
Publisher: Entangled: Mayhem Books
Release Date: February 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The gods are dead. All that’s left are the Players…

The performers of the Playhouse are as worshipped as they are feared, their enchanting shows bending hearts, minds, and even reality itself. Vicious, godlike, lethal. Eighteen-year-old Riven Hesper knows the dangers better than anyone, after her own encounter with a Player resulted in a curse that is slowly killing her.

When the Playhouse announces the spectacle of a lifetime—a chance for one mortal to steal a Player’s immortality—Riven sees her last chance to live. Desperate for answers, she infiltrates the competition. There, she finds Jude, the Playhouse’s brilliant, merciless Lead Player, whose charm is as dangerous as his Craft, and strikes a deadly bargain to save her life.

But with time running out and the Playhouse’s secrets unraveling into a disturbing picture, Riven faces a grim possibility: she might not be the hero of her story after all. In fact, she may be the villain.

Because the Playhouse doesn’t just tell stories. It rewrites them.

And Riven’s might end in blood.

Caraval meets One Dark Window in this lush and dark fantasy.

Thank you Entangled for the gifted ARC.

A GOOD DIFFERENT.

I know this is being marketed as a romantasy but I’d like to say that wasn’t quite it. It’s much more FANTASY with a smaller romantic plot line. Which isn’t bad at all, but not knowing that going in was a small let down thinking I would get more swoon.

One of the best things though were the plot reveals!! When one of the bigger ones landed I was flabbergasted. It made so many pieces CLICK that I was in awe. The formatting for this book was really cool. I don’t know how that comes across in the audiobook but I’m glad I eyeball read this one.

I enjoyed the journey and themes. It has a dark theater vibe I was here for and the characters played their parts well. AND, it’s a standalone! AND AND it’s closed door. There’s only kisses which (while I still wished there was more swoon) I was appreciative that it wasn’t spice heavy because I feel that’s harder to find sometimes nowadays.

The banter was top tier and I tabbed multiple passages that made me snicker in the best way. I enjoyed the FMC, Riven a lot. She’s feisty and kind of mean and means business. Her brash personality was such a good play off of Jude’s. I loved them together and needed more!!

Anyways, fantastic debut, I’ll be looking out for Spann’s next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: loss of life,

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph