Book Review: Her Hidden Fire (Her Hidden Fire #1) by Cliodhna O’Sullivan

April 18, 2026March 8, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 440 pages
Author: Cliodhna O’Sullivan
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Perfect for fans of Powerless, Lightlark, and Red Queen, this heart-pounding romantasy forces a girl to make an impossible watch the boy she loves get exiled for lack of magic, or pass her formidable powers off as his own.

In a world where dragons soar through the skies and magical abilities are an elite privilege, the ruling family of Ailm’s Keep is on a Can their son Ionáin prove that he can channel magic, or will his entire family be cast out in disgrace?

Éadha, a servant girl who loves Ionáin, is shocked to discover shortly before the test that she can wield magic herself. It’s extremely rare for a girl to have this talent, especially outside the few great Families. At Ionáin’s moment of truth, when it’s clear he is about to fail, Éadha makes a desperate gamble to save him from humiliation by pretending her magic is his, forfeiting her own claim to power.

Her decision sends them both to an academy of magic, where she must shield her secret from every grim Master and scheming apprentice—especially the handsome but enigmatic Gry. As Éadha enters this whirlwind of patriarchy, class, heartache, and jealousy, she also learns about magic’s terrible cost—the human price that Channellers willingly pay to maintain their power.

How far would you go to empower the one you love?

NOT SO MUCH.

This was only on my radar because I get the YA book-only sub from Fairyloot. And well, this one was a bit of a miss for me. I think the general idea is there but it lacked in the execution spheres.

Mostly I was really tired of Eadha defending, interacting with, trying to save Ionain. He wasn’t worth her breathe and showed that over and over, meanwhile she keeps going back, they keep making out and thus created a cycle of torture for me. I don’t mind different love interests or a love triangle but I feel like this didn’t work for the situation. It caused plot drag and lack of attention. Combining that with the repetitive prose and I am grateful this wasn’t a super long audiobook.

I do enjoy a dark academia setting and of course, dragons. Maybe that plays out better in the next book? I’m kind of tempted to try but might have to wait to see some reviews first. I did like the audiobook narrator a lot so that was a plus too. I’m intrigued by the ending and a few things here and there. The FMC has a great opportunity for an awesome character arc, we’ll see!

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Romance
Language: very low
Romance: make-outs
Violence: moderate
Content warnings: sexaul assault

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Book Review: The Notorious Virtues (The Notorious Virtues #1) by Alwyn Hamilton

March 30, 2026April 22, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy + Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Publisher: Viking Books
Release Date: April 1st, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A glittering fantasy thriller about a glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.

At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money—and all the magic—in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.

But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.

And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random—it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.

While the dangers of the Veritaz competition threaten each of the Holtzfall girls, and the stark class differences turns political outrage to terrifing violence—the new cousins must fight to stay alive, no matter what.

Incredible tests, impossible choices, and deadly odds await both girls. But there can only be one winner.

NO COMPLAINTS HERE.

Did anyone else read the Rebel of the Sands series and promptly wonder where Hamilton went for years and then finding out she has a new series and it absolutely hits as well as Rebel did?? BECAUSE IT ME.

I had such a good time reading this one. I loved that the audiobook had multiple narrators for multiple POV. It made it easy to keep everyone separate and I don’t think there was a weak POV in the mix. I loved seeing every angle of this dystopian-esque novel. It was kind of steampunk, dystopian, and fantasy all rolled into one and it worked for me!

There’s good twists and turns with plenty of action with some quieter moments where a few romances were starting. It was engrossing and I didn’t even notice this was a 15hr audiobook. I can’t wait for book two!!

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: moderate

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Book Review: Meet Me Under the Lights by Cassie Miller

March 26, 2026March 9, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Sports Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Cassie Miller
Publisher: Viking Books
Release Date: March 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

My Life with the Walter Boys meets The Notebook in this small town baseball romance perfect for fans of Kasie West and Carley Fortune.

High school junior Eliza Crowley is known as the Princess of Fairfield, a farm town in North Carolina that loves two things—tradition and baseball. Although Eliza loves “the game,” her life goal is to become a lighting designer on Broadway. Shaking off her reputation as the rich girl and focusing on her town’s community theater production are what she’s set her sights on this summer, and nothing will stand in her way. That is until Reed Fulton, the grandson of a struggling Fairfield farmer, and ace pitcher of the Fulton Hawks, returns to town. Reed dreams of putting the catastrophe of last season behind him and leading the Hawks to a championship victory against the Crowley Cardinals. When his childhood friend turned stranger, Eliza, strolls back into his life, she makes his heart accelerate quicker than his fastball, and he’s not sure he can stay away from the girl he’s supposed to despise. Small-town summers and baseball draw Reed and Eliza together, even though the Crowleys and the Fultons are determined to run each other out of town. When the families make a deal to settle their thirty-year-long dispute once and for all, Eliza and Reed are stuck in the middle during the most important summer of their lives.

PROGRESSIVELY BETTER.

I was a bit mixed when this started and worried it just wasn’t going to work for me but by the second half I really fell into the story and the character arcs for Eliza and Reed. I appreciated that this felt [mostly] true to the young adult genre. There is some under age drinking but the language was low and the romance was kisses only.

I’m not a theater girlie so those pieces didn’t hit as hard for me but the parallels to Romeo and Juliet were well done. I enjoyed this style of retelling. I liked the audiobook narrators too and wish there had been more chapters from Reed’s POV. It felt a little imbalanced.

I loved the baseball content and the back and forth between families. And I especially loved seeing Eliza’s Dad grow and acknowledge his faults too. It’s a reminder that parents aren’t perfect either and I loved seeing those bridges mended and genuine effort in reestablishing relationships.

I’m still just really obsessing over the colors on this cover too.

Overall audience notes:

YA Baseball romance
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: mild
Content warnings: arson, underage drinking

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Book Review: House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt

September 25, 2025September 13, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Dark Academia Romance
Length: 288 pages
Author: Skyla Arndt
Publisher: Viking Books
Release Date: September 2nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Solving her best friend’s murder means infiltrating a secret society, resisting a forbidden love, and running from a vengeful ghost in this sophomore novel by the author of Together We Rot.

Violet Harper knows her best friend was murdered. Even if everyone else has labeled her death a “freak accident,” Vi is sure she’d been trying to tell her something right before she died. Cryptic messages about her friend’s elite boarding school, her whirlwind romance, and the mysterious secret society she was entangled in all point to a more sinister fate.

So, Violet does what no one else seems willing to do: She transfers to the same fancy school to dig into the society’s murky history and find out what really happened to her friend. She knows the truth might not be pretty, but what she doesn’t bargain for is the handsome boy at the center of it all—Calvin Lockwell, the brother of her prime suspect and descendant of the school’s founder. He’s obnoxious and privileged, and Violet can’t deny their haunting attraction. It soon becomes clear his family is hiding a dark secret that may not be of this world, and suddenly Violet’s following her friend’s doomed footsteps down the rabbit hole. Even as details emerge of a deadly curse plaguing the school, she can’t escape her true feelings for Calvin. But loving him may be the last thing she ever does.

Thank you to Storygram Tours and the publisher for a gifted copy.

GREAT FOR AUTUMN.

If you’re craving something haunting and heavy on the dark academia, definitely try this one out. It was a quick solid young adult read that kept the mystery alive.

I liked seeing how the curse was controlling so many aspects of the characters and the reveals kept me listening. The FMC was enjoyable and the romance was more on the subtle side but I liked the dynamics between them. I could have used a bit more oomph from them if anything.

It’s perfectly atmospheric and has a great edge of danger and suspense. I would definitely like to read another book from this author!

Overall audience notes: