The Best I Never Had by. Amy Buchanan | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Best I Never Had

Author: Amy Buchanan

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 8/18/26

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Second Chance Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

They staged a romance, faked a breakup, and this time around, anything can happen—even something real.

Thea Pappas has always been the storm in her own life—fiery and unpredictable—traits that led her and her younger sister, Addy, through a series of foster homes. But with Addy’s whirlwind engagement, Thea is determined to be the perfect maid of honor, even if she finds it odd that she hadn’t heard of the fiancé until the ring was on Addy’s finger. She believes she can survive a week in the Blue Ridge Mountains with a group of strangers without causing any trouble.

But upon arrival, Thea realizes these aren’t strangers. Among the familiar faces is Owen Hayes—the man who, three years ago, paid her to pretend to be his girlfriend at a family wedding. Now, he’s looking at her with the same panicked expression.

Owen’s life has always been about control—managing his mother’s matchmaking schemes, his family’s expectations, and the career path he never truly chose. Thea was his one rebellion, a beautiful lie that ended with a “heart-destroying” fake breakup. Now, with his younger brother’s wedding underway and his mother on the prowl, Owen begs Thea to reprise their roles. One week. Same fake breakup. No feelings.

But as old sparks reignite and the lines between pretense and reality blur, Thea and Owen will have to choose: carry on their greatest performance yet or admit the truth—that it was never fake at all.

Content Warning: complicated family

+ I thought this was a fun second chance romance! Thea and Owen fake dated in the past when Owen needed a date and now her sister Addy is engaged to Owen’s brother Harrison. So now they have to fake their relationship again so that Owen’s mom doesn’t find out and get upset.

+ The best thing about this story was the theme of family. Thea and Addy had a hard childhood and went into foster care, so they have only one another. Thea is the older sister and is overprotective about Addy. Owen became the man in his family after his father died and he does everything for the family business and tries to keep everyone happy. Both Thea and Owen know the burden of taking care of family and trying to please them, which makes them bond. And like any family, there are complicated relationships. Owen’s family is large and fun but can also be a pain, it was funny to see their interactions.

+ The romance was sweet with some spice. Owen is someone always taking care of people so being with Thea makes him feel a bit more free. Whereas Thea feels safe and taken care of by Owen. I thought they were cute together and I thought it sucked that they had to hide their feelings because of Addy and Owen’s mom!

~ I didn’t like Addy, especially how she acted towards Thea and asking Thea to stay away from Owen so that nothing bad happens to ruin the wedding. But honestly the both of them had a lot to work through when it came to their sister relationship.

Final Thoughts:

This was a cute read and it was interesting to see what happens after you fake date and are caught in the lie. Thea and Owen were cute together and actually deserve some happiness with one another. I didn’t like Addy and Owen’s mom but the rest of Owen’s family was so much fun!

Read if you like:

family themes
second chance romance
fake dating

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Weekly Wrap Up | 8/16/26

Aloha friends!

+ We’re under a storm/hurricane watch so we’ll see what happens today! At least I get to stay in and read.

Blog Posts:

These Vile Hearts by. Melody Robinette | ARC Review – 4 ⭐️/1 🌶️
New Book Releases This Week | 8/11/26
Books I Was Reading On This Day Over the Last Ten Years | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 8/11/26
Nest of Tongues by. Randy Ribay | ARC Review – 3 ⭐️
The Lion & the Deathless Dark by. Carissa Broadbent | Book Review – 5 ⭐️/2 🌶️
WWW Wednesday | 8/12/26
Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore by. Brittanée Nicole | ARC Review – 4 ⭐️/3 🌶️
Wrecked by. Bree L. Mina | ARC Review – 3.5 ⭐️/2 🌶️
Want Me, Take Me, Haunt Me, Make Me by. Isabel Crowley | ARC Review – 3 ⭐️/2 🌶️

Books I Finished

The Best I Never Had by. Amy Buchanan
Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore by. Brittanee Nicole
Want Me, Take Me, Haunt Me, Make Me by. Isabel Crowley
The House That Eats the Dead by. Maty Doty
When the Universe Sings by. Gillian Eliza West
Full Throttle by. J.K. MacLaren
Sorrow & Strangers by. Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune
The Queen’s Bodyguard by. Lauren Blackwood
This Wretched Alchemy by. Tina Mars

Currently Reading:

In the Veins of the Drowning by. Kalie Cassidy
The Calamities by. Chuck Wendig
The Wolf Queen’s Curse by. Kaylee Archer
Storm Caller by. Nisha J. Tuli

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

+ Still by. Karol G and Bruno Mars – so good!

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

Instagram | Tiktok

Want Me, Take Me, Haunt Me, Make Me by. Isabel Crowley | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Want Me, Take Me, Haunt Me, Make Me

Author: Isabel Crowley

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 8/11/26

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Categories: Paranormal, Romance, Horror

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Hazel Lewis has a serious problem. The guy who hired her to conduct a seance before he died turned out to be a serial killer with a demonic contract, and the seance itself was a trap. Hazel escaped with her life, but not as she knew it: the bite of a demon is spreading through her body, letting the supernatural bleed into the world around her, and the now-dead serial killer is waiting to take over her body if she dies.

Hoping to contain the damage, Hazel moves to a small house in a remote location. She figures she’ll stay on her own until she gets a handle on her new dark reality, but she soon finds out that she’s not alone. There’s the reporter demanding answers, the friendly neighbor with chemistry she doesn’t need and problems he can’t talk about…and the mysterious face she sees beyond her window, watching her every night with glowing red eyes.

Making her hunger.

Hazel knew a little bit about the world beyond the physical. Now she’s learning how much she doesn’t know, including who she can trust…and who she can become if she trusts herself enough to give in to the shadows stalking her dreams.

Content Warning: violence, stalking, gore

+ The title for this book caught my interest and the premise sounded intriguing. Hazel is a medium who performs a seance and gets marked by a demon instead. The demon sends his henchman, Ligat, to keep an eye on Hazel and report to him but instead Ligat is attracted to Hazel. So plans change for him and her.

+~ I did enjoy the paranormal elements of the book. I love that Hazel can do rituals, and her job is very interesting. She even has a group of friends who help her out with research and there is the cutest ghost dog named Casper! The house she lived in has some hauntings but overall I just didn’t feel it was creepy enough. Hazel has to figure out how to fight this demon and so I was expecting more horror, but this mostly felt like a paranormal romance rather than a thriller story. There’s even a twist in the story but I wasn’t shocked about it, just maybe a little confused until it is explained.

+~ Speaking of the romance, even this felt a tiny bit lackluster. The spice is fun, and there are frequent moments of it but it isn’t anything super spicy. I don’t know if it’s because Hazel and Ligat are mature people who are just mature and hook up because they are attracted to one another, but I wanted more from them, a little more emotion. I think with a title like this I was expecting way more darker devouring and more passion.

+~ The story starts off strong but the pacing slows down from middle to the end of it, which surprised me. It’s why I felt like it turned more into a romance than a thriller.

Final Thoughts:

I think I went into this story with different expectations because of the title, and the synopsis. It started off strong and I was expecting something really dark and expecting the spice to maybe fit it but overall the story was kind of mild. I did like Hazel and her unique talent and job. Ligat was unexpected because I was expecting a scary demon henchman but instead he’s a nice one. The paranormal romance had spice, but I wanted a little emotion from the two characters. I did respect that they were mature adults and actually acted like it though! Overall, I wanted a little more thrills and chills from the story. It was an okay read, I just wanted more.

Read if you like:

paranormal romance

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Wrecked by. Bree L. Mina | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Wrecked (The Westin Legacies, #1)

Author: Bree L. Mina

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 466

Publication Date: 8/18/26 (paperback deluxe)

Publisher: Simon Maverick

Categories: Dark Romance, Second Chance, Survival, Contemporary

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from Simon Maverick in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Simon Maverick for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Fate is a fickle thing.

It can lead you down a path of pain, or it can take you on a journey toward happiness.

There is no equity in the unpredictable.

Fate is inevitable.
Not everyone is destined for a happy ending.
Not every story will work out in the end.
Not every love is meant to survive.

Some believe we are in control of our destiny. That we determine the outcome of our lives, the people we love, and the path we walk.

But I didn’t choose to survive a plane crash.
I didn’t choose to be trapped on an island with the man who once crushed my soul.
I didn’t choose to reopen my heart to a love so powerful that the end of it would be unsurvivable.

I didn’t want to fall in love with my sister’s fiancé. To feel the insurmountable pain that followed my rescue. Or let go of a man that would own my heart until the day I die.

But I am no longer allowing fate to decide my future.

This next path is mine.

*Please note this book is a romantic tragedy. The conclusion of this book is the conclusion of this story. There will not be a cliffhanger. This book does not end with an HEA; however, the events of this book inspire the story in book two. Book two will have an HEA*

Content Warning: violence, death, suicide, physical abuse, sexual assault, rape, child abuse

This book is titled so appropriately because by the end of this that’s how I felt – wrecked! Heed the warning in the blurb, this story doesn’t have a happy ending, it is a romantic tragedy.

Elli and Nate have loved one another since high school. She was a sophomore and his tutor. He was a senior and the captain of the football team with a powerful and rich father. A father that abused him. This story goes back and forth from the past to the present…the past where Elli and Nate are so in love with one another, to the present where he is engaged to Elli’s sister, Katie. Yes this story is as messy as it seems. But ultimately it’s about two people so in love but are torn apart because of Nate’s evil dad, and they find their way back together after some crazy event. They have so much to confess and emotions to work through but they eventually get there. And the chemistry between is undeniably spicy.

This is a dark story so please check the trigger warnings. I don’t even know if I liked Nate even though I felt bad for him being manipulated and abused by his father – but just the way he went about pushing Elli away (for her sake), really sucked bad. This is a second chance romance wrapped up in a love triangle. The cheating trope is one of my least favorite tropes even though Nate had an explanation for everything. I don’t even know how Katie, his fiancé could still want him after knowing he loves her sister. I feel like they all needed therapy! By the end of this book I was emotionally drained, I didn’t cry, but I was just sad for everyone involved in this story even if it is fictional.

Final Thoughts:

This story is for the ones that like a tragic romance with some dark themes – check the triggers. Was I engrossed with the love triangle drama? Totally. I had to see how it played out and boy did it end in the most unexpected and sad way. This one will not leave you happy in the end, but I’m still curious to see what happens next in the story. Can there be a happy ending eventually? I’ll be reading book two to find out.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore by. Brittanée Nicole | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Title: Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore (Hope Harbor, #2)

Author: Brittanée Nicole

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: 8/11/26

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Fall Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Settle in with a warm glass of cider and FALL in love beside the bonfire on a crisp autumn evening in this friends-to-lovers fake dating romance about a jilted romance bookstore owner and her handsome failed-writer best friend, from the romance superstar author of The Boston Bolts hockey series.

These old flames are ready to catch fire.

After a very public failed engagement, Penny Darling, proud owner of Bonfire and Bliss Books, is done with love. She’d rather cozy up by the fire with a pumpkin spiced-anything and one of her book boyfriends than a real one any day.

So when her old high school best friend, author Jake “Monty” Montgomery, tells the town busybodies that he’s her new boyfriend and volunteers them to co-host Hope Harbor’s famed Maple Festival, Penny is more than hesitant.

Until Monty admits the real reason he returned his latest book release failed and if he doesn’t turn in something amazing soon, his career as an author is over. Convinced that Penny’s obsession with romance novels makes her an expert on the subject, Monty begs Penny to teach him how to be the perfect romantic hero so he can finally write one. In return, Penny’s “boyfriend” will put a stop to neighbors’ pitying looks and matchmaking.

But as pretend kisses in the apple orchard turn into searing ones beneath the autumn moon, Penny begins to wonder if Monty could really love her, or if she’s destined for another broken heart.

Content Warning: grief, divorce

+ I know we are still in summer but with fall around the corner, I wanted to add some holiday romances to my reading pile. I love the book cover of this one, it screams FALL, and looked like a cozy romance so I requested but I was in for a big surprise. This cover looks sweet but the story was more spicy than I expected! It is set in a small town called Hope Harbor, and I do want to say I did not read book one, but picked this up anyway and I didn’t feel like I needed to read book one – I wasn’t feeling lost at anytime reading this. So I think it’s safe to say they are standalones in a romance series. But I adored the town and the community – I love the quirks of the characters. It definitely gave a cozy, safe, sweet vibe to the story! I thought it was funny that Penny as the owner of a bookstore was giving very interesting romance books to women in town, I love her, she knows her romance tropes and wasn’t afraid to share the knowledge.

+ Penny owns Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore and she’s a sweetheart. Monty is her friend who is back in town because he needs inspiration to write. He’s an author and his books haven’t been selling. Penny and Monty used to be close friends when they were younger but drifted apart when he moved to NYC. They still keep in contact but the moment he comes home, sparks fly. They decide to fake date, to help the community get off Penny’s back to date again after her failed engagement to her ex. And the fake dating would help spark Monty’s inspiration to write. Penny also challenged him to dig in deeper with his characters…so they are using their fake dating as inspiration.

+ Penny and Monty are flaming hot when their fake dating leads to some interesting ways to liven up his writing. He plays the role perfectly and gives Penny everything that she wants. And I went into this thinking I was getting some 2 chili pepper kind of spice, when oh no…I even learned something new in this one which I didn’t think was even possible with how much spicy books I’ve read over the years. 😅 But I loved their relationship because these are two good people, Monty is the sweetest and clearly worships her, they were best friends at one point in their life, and so their scenes together showed the trust between them and I was happy for them in any way they got their pleasure. It was a fun time too! Also he wears glasses…I feel like I’ve been reading more MMC with glasses lately, which I adore.

+~ There is barely any conflict in this story. Monty deals with some personal stuff to do with his family, and it does affect him and Penny eventually but it’s not a huge third-act break-up. Just a situation that is fixed with an apology, and grand gesture, like I said, these two are so sweet on one another.

Final Thoughts:

This is perfect for fall if you are looking for a romance that is sweet yet very spicy. Very spicy in the sense that Penny makes a list of things she’s read about in romance books and wants to try and Monty helps her out with the list enthusiastically. 😅 Though it was more spicy than I expected, I loved the small town setting and the quirky and funny people in the community of Hope Harbor. I thought the friends to lovers romance between Penny and Monty was heart-mealting and I was rooting for them all the way, spice and all! This was a fun read.

Read if you like:

fall romance
spicy
small town romance
friends to lovers

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

WWW Wednesday | 8/12/26

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

I’ve been trying to finish up arcs for August, here’s hoping I can do it on time.

What are you currently reading?

Because I Killed Him by. Erin Birde – 5% – no progress

In the Veins of the Drowning by. Kalie Cassidy – 15%

Every Spiral of Fate by. Tahereh Mafi – 5% – no progress

The Best I Never Had by. Amy Buchanan – arc – 22%

When the Universe Sings by. Gillian Eliza West – 22%

The House That Eats the Dead by. Max Dody – arc – 12%

The Calamities by. Chuck Wendig – arc 5%

What have you just finished reading?

Sorrow & Strangers by. Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune – 3 stars/4 🌶️

The Lion & the Deathless Dark by. Carissa Broadbent– 5 stars/2 🌶️

Immortal Rose by. Alexandra Bracken – arc & alc – 4 stars/1.5 🌶️

Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore by. Brittanee Nicole – arc – 4 stars/3 🌶️

Want Me, Take Me, Haunt Me, Make Me by. Isabel Crowley– 3 stars/2 🌶️

Nest of Tongues by. Randy Ribay – 3 stars

Full Throttle by. J.K. MacLaren – 4 stars/ 2 🌶️

What are you going to read next?

The Queen’s Bodyguard by. Lauren Blackwood

The Wolf Queen’s Curse by. Kaylee Archer

Hawk & Sparrow by. Ayana Gray

Our Strange Duet by. Erin A. Craig

The Age of Blood and Magic by. Hannah Mathewson

What are YOU reading right now?

The Lion & the Deathless Dark by. Carissa Broadbent | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Lion & the Deathless Dark (Crowns of Nyaxia, #5)

Author: Carissa Broadbent

Pages: 560

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Publication Date: 8/4/26

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Vampires, Gods, Series

Some blood tastes like vengeance. Some blood tastes like grief. Some blood tastes like nothing at all.

Under an eternal night, the world has been ravaged by ten years of war between humans and vampires. Kyrene scrapes by as a bounty hunter, bearing a blessed sword from the goddess of justice. But in the wake of a devastating loss, Kyrene commits a crime that makes her a target for mortals and gods alike – and she is still desperate for vengeance.

Her only chance at survival – and revenge – is making a deal with her enemy, the silver-tongue vampire prince, Septimus, who offers her one final to slay the gods themselves.

Together, Kyrene and Septimus must hunt the ultimate marks, all while navigating a web of prophecies and curses. Septimus is calculating and mysterious, masking secrets bloodthirsty enough to consume them both. Yet, most dangerous of all, Kyrene finds an unexpected kinship in him.

But their growing attraction is deadly in a world where the only currency is blood. And Kyrene will stop at nothing to fulfill her ultimate to kill the goddess of vampires, even if it means sacrificing love for revenge.

Content Warning: violence, death, gore, grief

What can I say about another book in the Crowns of Nyaxia that has made me care about the characters, grips me with the story telling and then made me gasp at the end and now I NEED the next book. I can’t even believe the next book will be the last in the series. I have loved this series from book one and it has never disappointed me, which is absolutely amazing. So the thought of it coming to an end in the next book actually makes me sad.

I loved the storytelling which is a given with all the books in this series. The characters, Kyrene, the FMC is filled with rage, wields a godly sword just hacking away at enemies and Gods. She is the Vindica Ultis. There is violence, lots of blood and even sometimes gore. She has no fear, but has so much trauma and a secret that shocked me. Septimus, the Bloodborn cursed MMC, where’s white, smokes vanilla scented cigarillos to keep his curse at bay, has self-control (mostly), wears glasses and reads to Kyrene. What can I say but that I loved both of them, down to their raw, flawed state. Both are anti-heroes, Kyrene has the title and the sword, but she doesn’t have the desire to be the good hero everyone sees her to be. She doesn’t do emotional attachment, which made me hurt for her when she allows herself to feel grief. And Septimus, who wants the curse to end with him, to spare the rest of his family. Both want to kill the Gods for different reasons and they team up to try and carry out this goal.

The romance is slow burn and so good! The banter between Kyrene and was Septimus was great, she’s wild and he’s always in control so seeing her try to always make it lose it is so much fun. And that scene where he drinks her blood? Perfection.

So much of this story was devastating, and the ending is emotional with the twist leaving me needing the next book right away. I was rooting for Kyrene so, so hard. I wanted her and Septimus to achieve their goal and create the world they dreamed.

One thing I found fascinating and different was the machines! I was not expecting this story to have machinists and even a god who was made of parts. But I love how each book opens up the world in this series.

Quotes From the Book:

“What’s life without a few regrets?” – The Lion and the Deathless Dark by. Carissa Broadbent

“Monsters recognize monsters.” – The Lion and the Deathless Dark by. Carissa Broadbent

Final Thoughts:

I love this series and this book was everything I expected it to be. It opened the world of this series even more, it is violent, devastating and emotional. And the only regret I have is I wish I didn’t read it until the next book came out because now I have to wait so long, hopefully not too long! I’m also pretty sure I’m going to be so sad when this series ends because I have loved all the characters and the romance. I’m ready to see what happens to these Gods and if Kyrene and Septimus can take them down.

Read if you like:

Crowns of Nyaxia series
slow burn romance
vampires and Gods
female rage

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk by. Carissa Broadbent | Book Review– 4.5 stars/2 🌶️

The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by. Carissa Broadbent| ARC Review – 4.5 stars

Six Scorched Roses by. Carissa Broadbent | Book Review – 4.5 stars

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by. Carissa Broadbent | Book Review – 4.5 stars

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by. Carissa Broadbent | Book Review – 5 stars

**I’m pretty sure I read Slaying the Vampire Conqueror but never wrote a review so I will be re-reading and doing a review soon**

**I also read Daughter of No Worlds, up to book 2 but never wrote reviews because I just started my blog I believe so I will be doing a re-read of those and reviewing them also!**

Nest of Tongues by. Randy Ribay | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Nest of Tongues

Author: Randy Ribay

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 8/11/26

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Vampires, Filipino Mythology/Folklore

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Random House Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

As Filipino vampires known as manananggal, Lily and her brother Caleb understand the value of a secret. After all, to hide is to survive. To lie is to live. They’d never harm another person—but people only believe their worst fears around creatures of myth. So the siblings stay quiet. They follow their community’s rules.

Until a monster hunter turns up and kills a fellow manananggal, anyway.

Until Caleb is marked as the hunter’s next prey.

Suddenly, he and Lily realize there’s always been more at stake than the lives of their people. Because when doing everything “right” is still a death sentence, what can they take as truth? As the hunter nears, the siblings must decide if they’ll be driven from the only home they’ve ever known . . . or fight to protect a community that may already be lost.

Content Warning: violence, death

+ I was ecstatic to get my hands on this arc because I read one book from this author and loved it. Plus this one was about the manananggal (I’m Ilocano so all I ever knew them as was the Aswang). So the fact that all these scary Filipino mythology and folklore monsters was being feature in a book was exciting to me! I loved learning all about the different creatures and monsters I didn’t know about and was delighted when I read something familiar like the white lady apparition that seems to be common in Filipino ghost stories.

+~ I love that the manananggal was the good guys in this book. I like how it explores the theme of good and evil. I mean there are always two sides to a story right? So most of the story is a mystery about who this bayani could be that is killing the manananggals and it’s a race to stop them before it kills Caleb. And Lily is not about to let that happen. Also, I loved their Lola (grandmother) she made me laugh a few times, and there were times I wished Lily treated her with a little more respect, but I get it – families are complicated, which is explored in the story as well.

+~ Mysteries always feel a little bit slow to me, so there were times I wish it moved faster. There is action, mostly in the second half, and secrets that are revealed in the end. Mostly, I just enjoyed being immersed in the Filipino-American culture that was featured in the book, especially the family and community elements.

+~ This is a young adult book and yes Lily and Caleb, are very young adult in the way they act and speak. These kids curse a lot, which is realistic, but it was a lot more than I was expecting and a bit too much for me at times. But I did enjoy how close they were as siblings, they looked out for one another. Lily was a protective big sister and would do anything to keep Caleb safe.

Final Thoughts:

I’m very excited to see a story based on Filipino mythology and folklore since that’s what I grew up with. Some of the creatures in the book were monsters my parents used to tell me about so I felt seen by that. I’m glad more people will get to learn something about these stories and creatures from this book. I enjoyed the sibling bond, family and community elements that are themes in the book, even if some of these family connections were complicated. There was a little more cursing than I would have liked in a young adult book, but I do think the teens were portrayed very well. I did like the second half of the story more because it had more action and secret reveals. Overall, I think this is a young adult book that people can learn from and also enjoy if they are into vampires, mystery and mythology.

Read if you like:

Filipino mythology/folklore
sibling bond, family
young adult mystery

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Review | Patron Saints of Nothing – 5 stars

Books I Was Reading On This Day Over the Last Ten Years | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 8/11/26

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!

This week’s topic is:

Books I Was Reading On This Day Over the Last Ten Years

Oh this is a challenge since I’ve only been tracking my reading in the last few years because of this blog but let’s give it a go!

2016 – Chasing Lady Amelia by. Maya Rodale – closest thing to 8/11/16 that I could find in Goodreads because I was not putting read dates back then!🤦🏻‍♀️
2017 – It Started with Goodbye by. Christina June – again, wasn’t tracking read dates in Goodreads, but this was the closest to August 2017.
2018 – The Black Witch by. Laurie Forest – another one I had to guess at, it was published in 2017 but looks like I added it and read it in 2018.

2019 – Circe by. Madeline Miller
2020 – The Damned by. Renée Ahdieh
2021- Where Dreams Descend by. Janella Angeles

2022 – Mr. Perfect on Paper by. Jean Meltzer
2023 – Sign of the Slayer by. Sharina Harris
2024 – Butcher & Blackbird by. Brynne Weaver

2025 – The Fallen & the Kiss of Dusk

What’s on your TTT?

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New Book Releases This Week | 8/11/26

Happy book birthday to these new releases this week!

These Vile Hearts by. Melody Robinette

A delightfully wicked, fizzy debut romantasy–an enemies to lovers tale about a desperate mortal woman and a cursed fae prince

Maddox Sinclair has run out of options. No job means no health insurance —a death sentence for a type one diabetic like herself. She flees to the forest to make a desperate deal with a dryad kill the Redwood King and be cured of the illness that threatens her life.

In the redwood treetops, Prince Castor, is cursed– anyone who loves him is doomed to die. Like Maddox, he has made an equally unwise pact with his brother, the Redwood get a mortal to fall in love with him by solstice and be free of his curse forever.

When Maddox mistakes Castor for the king, sparks fly and troubles ensue. Each must decide what is more important—survival and freedom, or the love they (kind of, almost) feel in their traitorous, vile hearts.

Darkly funny and brimming with magic, These Vile Hearts by Melody Robinette manages to be both wicked and warm, beguiling and moving—a richly woven story of survival and fate.

Love and Lies by. Lena Kiefer

Their families rule New York’s high society. Their love could burn it to the ground. The first book in the internationally bestselling Westwell series.

Helena Weston has one goal when she returns to her glittering New York City life: clear her sister’s name. Two years ago, Valerie and her fiancé, Adam Coldwell, were found dead after their champagne-soaked engagement party—and ever since, the powerful Coldwells have blamed Valerie and the Westons for the tragedy. Determined to uncover what really happened that night, Helena throws herself into the same ruthless circle that destroyed her sister’s reputation…only to find herself face-to-face with the one person she should hate the most.

Jessiah Coldwell has spent years trying to survive his brother’s death—and break free from the world that whispered while they buried him. When Helena Weston storms back into his orbit, he knows she’s dangerous. She’s angry, impossible, and a walking reminder of everything his family lost. But she’s also the only one who sees him for who he is—and who understands the pain he’s been trying to outrun.

As the lines between loyalty and longing begin to blur, long-buried secrets rise to the surface—threatening to destroy them both. But some fates you can’t escape, and in a city where love and lies are two sides of the same coin, they’ll have to decide how much they’re willing to risk for the truth—and for each other.

Want Me, Take Me, Haunt Me, Make Me by. Isabel Crowley

Making her hunger.

Bonfire & Bliss Bookstore by. Brittanee Nicole

These old flames are ready to catch fire.

But as pretend kisses in the apple orchard turn into searing ones beneath the autumn moon, Penny begins to wonder if Monty could really love her, or if she’s destined for another broken heart.

Reliquary by. Hannah F. Whitten

Sometimes, you just want to belong.
When Claire’s fiancé mysteriously dies of an unknown neurological illness, seemingly destroying her chances at the belonging she’s sought, she’s prepared to sink back into the lonely life she lived before. Orphaned by a freak boating accident in her childhood, she never expected to find connection like she did with Elias, anyway. Even if sometimes, that connection seemed more like something he felt obligated to than something he wanted.

Their relationship wasn’t perfect—his coldness, his secrets, his strange aversion to the ocean—but what relationship is?

When Elias’s family reaches out—his incredibly wealthy family, from whom he was estranged—and invites Claire to a wake at their family home on a private island, Claire is given the chance to have connection again. To belong to something, just like she’s always wanted. Just like Elias knew she was desperate to have.

Even if that family is a little strange. Even if their home built partially into the sea stirs up memories of the accident that killed her parents and sister. Even if Ash, Elias’s older brother, seems insistent on Claire leaving as soon as possible.

Claire can’t bring herself to be lonely again. And as the strange circumstances of Elias’s familial connection with the sea becomes more and more apparent, her window for escape is rapidly closing.

Does she even want to?

Nest of Tongues by. Randy RIbay

A lyrical, evocative horror about vampires from the Philippines . . . and a hunter on their tail. A brother and sister fight to protect their secrets, their community, and most of all, each other, in this evocative novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Patron Saints of Nothing.

As Filipino vampires known as manananggal, Lily and her brother Caleb understand the value of a secret. After all, to hide is to survive. To lie is to live. They’d never harm another person—but people only believe their worst fears around creatures of myth. So the siblings stay quiet. They follow their community’s rules.

Until a monster hunter turns up and kills a fellow manananggal, anyway.

Until Caleb is marked as the hunter’s next prey.

Suddenly, he and Lily realize there’s always been more at stake than the lives of their people. Because when doing everything “right” is still a death sentence, what can they take as truth? As the hunter nears, the siblings must decide if they’ll be driven from the only home they’ve ever known . . . or fight to protect a community that may already be lost.

Deviant King by. Rina Kent

The villain isn’t supposed to be king.

I have a simple plan.
Finish Royal Elite School and get into my dream university.
One glance from the school’s king blows my plan up in smoke.
One glance and he suffocates my air.
One glance and he issues his death sentence.
His first words spiral my life into irreparable chaos.
“I will destroy you.”
Everything about Aiden King is black.
Black mind.
Black heart.
Black soul.
I should’ve remained quiet and endured the time I have left.
I didn’t.
I made the irrevocable mistake of provoking the king on his throne.
The devil in his hell.
And now, I’ll pay the price.
Being hated by Aiden King is dangerous.
But being wanted by him is lethal.

This book is part of a trilogy and not standalone. The entire trilogy is available.

**Paperback release**

The Hill in the Dark Grove by. Liam Higginson

Carwyn and Rhian – the last in a long family line of sheep farmers – are living out a brutal year in their hillside farm, deep in the mountains of Eryri, North Wales.

When Carwyn stumbles across a stone circle and some sort of burial mound in one of the fields on their land, he quickly develops an obsession. His wife, Rhian, meanwhile, is confronted with the growing realization that the man with whom she shares her life and home is slowly becoming a frightening stranger.

As the harsh mountain winter closes in, Rhian finds herself alone with her increasingly peculiar husband, the mountains and the looming megalithic stones . . .

Exquisitely written and impossible to put down, The Hill in the Dark Grove is a gorgeous story embedded in Welsh folklore. It is about love, growing old, a lost way of life and the lengths we go to to protect what we know.