Tag: romantasy

Book Review: Blood & Steel (The Legends of Thezmarr #1) by Helen Scheuerer

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 504 pages
Author: Helen Scheuerer
Publisher: Alchemy
Release Date: February 13th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend.

Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.

The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone.

All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr – or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?

If you like fierce sword-wielding heroines and brooding, tortured heroes, you will devour this sexy, addictive fantasy adventure.

Perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, From Blood and Ash and The Witcher, BLOOD & STEEL is an epic romantic fantasy with enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn spice, found family, and a sprawling world of magic and monsters. Blood & Steel is the gripping first book in the heart-pounding, epic romantic fantasy series, The Legends of Thezmarr.

WANTED TO LOVE.

My thoughts kept waffling back and forth. This is NOT a bad book, and I still have plans to read the second one. There’s just some things in here that didn’t quite work for me.

I love a slow burn, and at times this romance felt forced. The innuendo didn’t hit well and it took me longer that I wanted to feel connected to them. It’s enemies to lovers adjacent but true enemies actually have some conflict for a bit before they’re already lusting for each other. It’s a series, bring the angst. By the end I was feeling their whole vibe enough and that’s probably the main reason I want to continue.

There’s a good building of found family and sibling dynamics. I love strong sister bonds and I love the way Thea and Wren took care of each other. I also absolutely adored Thea’s new friends and how they formed a connection to look after one another.

Occasionally I skimmed some stuff that seemed repetitive. There was a LOT of training and mock battles, etc. And while I love seeing a character actually work for improving skills I think it could have still been condensed more and then there would have been more time for world building and some magic explanations.

Overall audiece notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: innuendo + 1-2 open

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Book Review: House of Beating Wings (The Kingdom of Crows #1) by Olivia Wildenstein

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Rating: ★★★★
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Length: 490 pages
Author: Olivia Wildenstein
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: September 27th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Free the crows, Fallon, and they will make you queen.

Until an oracle predicted my regal future, I’d never imagined myself rising above the curve of my round ears. After all, I was the magicless halfling loved by beasts but loathed by every pure-blooded faerie at court. Well . . . by all but one.

Dante Regio, prince of Luce, had owned my heart since he gave me my first kiss. If gathering a slew of iron relics could help me overthrow the current monarch and crown his brother to rule at my side, then treasure hunting I’d go.

If only the oracle had warned me what winged demon I was releasing into the world.

And that I’d become this demon’s obsession.

I’M SOLD.

Well hi there new fantasy romance indie book. I LIKED YOU A LOT.

This was a pretty good start. I liked the beginning but there was a particular scene I’m still thinking really didn’t need to be added. And after that point things slowed down a bit so I was in limbo wondering how I would feel about the book overall.

The second half showed up big time. It had many things I always turn back to in fantasy romance reads. I love hidden identities, a FMC who’s realizing her own worth and power, changing alliances and allllll of those secrets revealed. I do think Fallon was a bit on the naïve and super oblivious side, but I’ll cut her some slack to make it up in the next book.

I enjoyed the plot too. It’s a good mix of warring kingdoms, with new people rising to the throne and even kingdoms you didn’t see coming. I can’t wait to further explore those politics and dynamics in the series too. This was just a really nice beginning and my first book by this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: one open door; innuendo throughout
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: blood/gore depiction, loss of life, loss of loved ones, physical and magical altercations

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Book Review: Slaying the Vampire Conqueror (Mortal Enemies to Monster Lovers) by Carissa Broadbent

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 432 pages
Author: Carissa Broadbent
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 27th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She was commanded to kill him with a single strike to the heart. She didn’t expect her own to betray her. Sylina has sacrificed everything for her goddess–her soul, her freedom, her eyes. Life in service to the Arachessen, a cult of the Goddess of Fate, has turned Sylina from orphaned street-rat to disciplined killer, determined to overthrow Glaea’s tyrannical king. But when a brutal vampire conqueror arrives on their shores, Sylina faces an even deadlier adversary. She’s tasked with a crucial mission: infiltrate his army, earn his trust… and kill him. Atrius is a terrifying warrior carving an unstoppable path through Glaea. Yet when Sylina becomes his seer, she glimpses a dark and shocking past–and a side of him that reminds her far too much of parts of herself she’d rather forget. Sylina’s orders are clear. The conqueror cannot live. But as the blood spilled by Glaea’s tyrant king runs thicker, her connection with Atrius only grows stronger. A connection forbidden by her vows. A connection that could cost her everything.

Slaying the Vampire Conqueror is a standalone fantasy romance set in the Crowns of Nyaxia world, full of heart-wrenching forbidden romance, dark curses, and epic battles – perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom and the From Blood and Ash series. It i s an installment of the heart-pounding fantasy romance series, Mortal Enemies to Monster Lovers . If you like forbidden romance, dark curses, bad*ss heroines, and morally-gray heroes, you’ll devour this sexy, addictive series.

I LOVE THIS WORLD.

After four books in this world I just love it. I love being back in it and seeing another couple and other parts of the land.

I really enjoyed this romance! I liked that the main vampire, Atrius had a different vibe than the previous love interests we’ve seen so far. He’s almost soft. He’s a warrior with a back story, and we love a backstory folks. I liked the slow burn build he had with Sylina. I wouldn’t flat out call it enemies to lovers, but there’s some tension from not knowing if you can trust another person and that worked well here.

Plot wise, there were a few slower moments. Especially initially it took me a second to feel invested. Once things got going I did enjoy the progression. The spice fits well into the story and the ending has some good reveals and I can easily see how this will work into future books in the Crowns of Nyaxia world.

Definitely recommend reading this because the author mentioned we’ll see Atrius and Sylina again (!!).

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: physical and magical altercations, loss of life, battle themes, creature attacks, weapons violence

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Book Review: Lady of Shadows (Lady of Darkness #2) by Melissa K. Roehrich

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 560 pages
Author: Melissa K. Roehrich
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: December 1st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

ANOTHER PRETTY CAGE.
Whisked away to the Fire Court, Scarlett Monrhoe finds herself in the hands of the man who killed her mother. The Prince of Fire. Thrust amongst the Fae court she loathes, she is at their mercy. She doesn’t know what plans he has for her, but she has plans of her own. She just hasn’t decided how thoroughly she wants to break him yet. If only he didn’t tempt her with every breath, every touch, every kiss. It’s another dangerous game that has her wondering if she will be the one irreparably broken in the end.

ANOTHER DANGEROUS GAME.
The Fae Queen has plans of her own. She’s determined to get to Scarlett in any way she can, and that includes using a mortal prince that followed the lost Fae princess across the border. Crown Prince Callan is desperate to get Scarlett back from the Fire Prince and return to Baylorin. The question is, what is he willing to sacrifice for the Wraith he loves who’s trailed by shadows?

ANOTHER RACE AGAINST TIME.
Every day that passes, Lord Tyndell and Mikale get closer to finding where she is hidden in the Fire Court. Every day that passes puts those Scarlett left behind in more danger. Every day that passes, more secrets are revealed. Truth has been buried in history that has long-since been rewritten, but in order to separate facts from lies, they will be forced to cross other borders and seek answers from kingdoms far more terrifying than the Fire Court.

BOOK TWO SYNDROME.

This started off really strong for me. It did. BUT THEN. Somewhere near the middle I started to notice the cyclical, repetitive nature of a lot of the conversations, arguments and ideas that led me to speed reading to the last little bit to reconnect back to this story.

I am still waiting for Scarlett to really DO something. It’s a lot of wallowing and waiting. For a 550 page fantasy book the lack of action was outstanding. There was plenty of arguing and make-up kissing which worked for the first 3 times it happened. I’ll concede I did like that the romance got some major development (which makes me curious how it’ll play out over another three books). Scarlett has a lot of work to do to actually be a good character that isn’t hella frustrating.

The found family aspects were great. I enjoyed the side characters and getting to know more about them. I really liked having more points of view too. It balanced the plot and seeing multiple sides to what was happening from other perspectives. I hope those continue!!

An intense plot is there, I just need some more execution. I loved book one, but did listen to it and I wonder if that had some bearing on my rating. I noticed little things here and there that I didn’t pick up on in the audio version. I am still invested though and want to see where this goes. There’s definitely an ACOTAR/TOG vibe that’s undeniable. Luckily I’ve seen enough differences that I’m fine continuing [for now].

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: multiple open; moderate explicit
  • Violence: moderate-high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, PTSD, mentions of sexual assault, kidnapping, physical and magical altercationsv

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