Tag: young adult fantasy

Book Review: Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance Retelling
Length: 390 pages
Author: Erin A. Craig
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: September 1st, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, spotlighting Christine Daaé as she rises to fame while torn between love, ambition, and the haunting secrets of the opera house from #1 New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig, in a deluxe hardcover edition.

Inspired by Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, Le Fantôme de L’Opéra, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a mysterious masked figure who lurks beneath the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with a young soprano, Christine Daaé, and devotes himself to nurturing her extraordinary talents, employing all of the devious methods at his command. Our Strange Duet centers Christine’s emotional journey and her agency within this sweeping, atmospheric opera.

Thank you to Get Underlined for the gifted copy.

WELL I LIKED IT.

Now, this review is coming from someone who knows the general plot of Phantom but has only seen the movie once in middle school choir SOOOOO. Take that for what you will.

To me it felt like a pretty true to form retelling. I especially liked the audiobook because there were multiple narrators and it read like a graphic audiobook and even added in moments of singing the songs from the play and ambient background sounds really made this book. Since I didn’t know many of the details I had a good time listening and not quite knowing where the story was going to go. It’s definitely chaos, but a kind you want to be involved in.

I think I would have liked more POV’s but I enjoyed having this only from Christine’s POV well enough. The back and forth between Eric and Raoul is complicated and a love triangle I didn’t mind. The ending felt just right for this kind of story and I’m glad I read this!

Overall audience notes:

  • Upper YA Historical/Fantasy Romance Retelling
  • Language: low
  • Romance: one fade to black
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: murder, loss of life, near death experiences, stalking, attempted murder, child abuse, parental abandonment

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Book Review: An Embroidery of Souls by Ruby Martinez

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Ruby Martinez
Publisher: Knopf Books
Release Date: September 9th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Jade can manipulate souls with the tug of a thread–it’s up to her, and a boy with a soul as bright as the universe to stop a creature on the loose before it claims its next victim in this lush, Mexican & German inspired romantasy.

Jade Aguilar can kill a man with nothing more than a needle and thread. Like her mother, a thread speaker in the queendom of Mérecal, she has the unique ability to stitch love, beauty, intelligence and to unravel even death. When her mother goes missing, the queen orders Jade to find her or be conscripted into a life of servitude.
Lukas Keller is desperate to feed his family and makes a deal with a vicious gang leader. Though he swore never to seek the help of a thread speaker, he’s in over his head and it might be his only option.
Jade and Lukas form a mistrustful alliance. But as Mérecal erupts into chaos and the killer closes in, they must cling to one another for survival–and perhaps . . . something more?

LACKED DEPTH.

While I do think this is appropriate for YA audiences I was missing depth for multiple aspects of the story. The romance leans towards insta-love and that is always a problem for me. I do think there were some sweet/cute moments in here, but gimme MOOOORE.

The concept of the magic system was really cool. I liked learning more about it. There needed to be some boundaries to the way it worked because every time a new issue came up, all of a sudden the magic system could fix it.

The villains and twists aren’t anything surprising and you can see from far away. I did like the writing style and would be interesting in at least trying another book from this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: Hawk & Sparrow by Ayana Gray

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Historical Fantasy Mystery Romance
Length: 341 pages
Author: Ayana Gray
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: September 1st, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sparks fly in this Gilded Age novel of mystery, magic, and romance by the author of the New York Times–bestselling Beasts of Prey.

Nineteen-year-old Vesper Evans has always resented Basalton’s high society, and the sorcery that provides them with a luxurious life unimaginable to most. Orphaned as a child and rescued by the editor of TheBasalton Globe, Vesper is now an ambitious reporter determined to keep her newspaper afloat.

While covering a lavish society gala, Vesper happens upon a shocking the murdered body of an inventor whose new machine promised to bring the benefits of sorcery to everyone. Several of the powerful magical elite may want the man dead, but the prime suspect is wealthy industrialist Maximilian Kite.

Max soon makes Vesper a tempting Find the culprit and restore his reputation in exchange for a substantial fee. Despite her distaste for Max’s world, Vesper agrees—the money would save the Globe, and the story would be the scoop of a lifetime. There’s only one In order for her to infiltrate society, the two must pose as a courting couple.

Their investigation takes them from the highest echelons of privilege to the seediest backstreets of Basalton. As they unearth the city’s secrets and scandals, Vesper finds herself in grave danger—while falling for one of the most infuriating, arrogant, handsome men she has ever met.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

IT WAS FINE.

I feel super neutral about this book which is making this review hard to write. I did like the audiobook! The narrator was fantastic and if you want to try this, that format would be a great option.

This just wasn’t anything…new? or engaging? I wasn’t mad I was reading it but I also didn’t have a lot of feelings towards the book. There were a LOT of characters and I remember getting confused as to who was who, especially when the reveals started showing up.

I did like the romance. It’s sweet and a light subplot. The reluctant allies to lovers had charm. I especially appreciate that it was young adult appropriate. Kissing only without odd innuendo. There’s a low level on language too. And I like that at least I could recommend it to that age group. The FMC is great too. Strong willed and tenacious in pursuit of the truth.

This is a murder mystery set in an URBAN HISTORICAL (Gilded Age) setting. I made the mistake of assuming it was all fantasy (I don’t read summaries often) and that threw me off a bit. I was kind of hoping for a full fantasy setting so please know that going in. This was a standalone and does wrap up things well.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban historical fantasy mystery + romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: murder, attempted murder

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: August 2026

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Fall is in sight! We’re almost to the -ber months and it was a great month of reading. I love seeing the combination of all of these books. Check out my Instagram for reviews or they will be out on this platform in the future!

  • Out of Her League by Ava Rani
  • [Reread] A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.5) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ARC] Rebel Season (Hockey Boys of Loft 3B #3) by Katie Bailey and Leah Brunner
  • The Assassin’s Way by J.M. Kearl
  • Abby Offsides by Anna McCallie
  • The Lion and the Deathless Dark (Crowns of Nyaxia #5) by Carissa Broadbent
  • [Non-Fiction] The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
  • In the Wake of the Wicked (The Siren Mage #2) by Kalie Cassidy
  • [ARC] Well Versed (Well Met #5) by Jen DeLuca
  • [Reread] House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ARC] The Bodyguard’s Fall (Falling for Autumn) by Cindy Steel
  • Adversary to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain #4) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
  • [ARC] House of Curses (Royal Houses #3) by K.A. Linde
  • Tropesick by Lauren Okie
  • The Gilded Blade (The Grandest Game #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • [ARC] The Wretched Divine (The Wretched Divine #1) by Adalyn Grace
  • [ALC] Autumn on My Mind (Falling for Autumn) by Gracie Ruth Mitchell
  • The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy (Dearly Beloathed #2) by Brigitte Knightley
  • The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren
  • City of Lost Kings (Lost Kings Duet #1) by Kristen R. Moore
  • Cursed Ever After by Andy C. Naranjo
  • [ARC] This Change Everything by Danielle McKechnie
  • [ARC/ALC] Daughter of the Dark (Daughters of Auquis #1) by R.J. Valldeperas
  • Star-Crossed Summer by Devon Daniels
  • [ARC] Miss Beresford and the Beast (Daughters of Somerset #1) by Mimi Matthews
  • [ARC] Here We Go Again (Georgia Jaguars Hockey #2) by Jenny Proctor
  • The Butcher’s Masquerade (Dungeon Crawler Carl #5) by Matt Dinniman
  • [Reread] A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses #5) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ARC] Harbinger by Geneva Lee
  • [ALC] Love Felt Like This by Julie Olivia
  • To Drown a Witch by Lindsey Olsson
  • Ashwalker (The Emberfall Trilogy #1) by S.M. Gaither
  • Immortal Rose (Immortal Rose Duology #1) by Alexandra Bracken
  • [Novella] All the Time in the World by Cara Bastone

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