To Dream in Darkness by. Ann Liang | ARC and ALC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 0

Title: To Dream in Darkness

Author: Ann Liang

Format: eBook (NetGalley) and audiobook (netgalley)

Pages: 368

Listening Hours: approx. 12 hrs

Publication Date: 10/27/26

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press & Macmillan Audio

Categories: Chinese Mythology, Gods, Fantasy, 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 Press & Macmillan Audio for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Two gods strike a bargain that leads them on a journey with devastating consequences in this lush historical fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Ann Liang.

China in the age of brilliance, where gods freely wander the three realms. Amongst them is the cruel and beautiful Death God, who has never failed to collect a soul on time. Until now. For when he seeks out Rujia, the noble god of healing―and the only god he is fated to kill with his own hands―she makes him an offer he can’t refuse: she will help lift the excruciating, century-old curse placed upon him if he gives her a one-month reprieve.

Rujia knows she isn’t as noble as everyone believes. Her deal with Death is merely an excuse to buy herself time while she figures out an escape plan. But when her plan causes the Celestial Palace’s collapse and the beloved crown prince’s disappearance, she and Death are both held responsible. The only way to avoid the wrath of all the other gods is to travel across the realms and safely retrieve the crown prince themselves.

Yet the journey proves far more treacherous than expected. As the unlikely alliance between them blooms into more, and Death’s resolve to kill Rujia weakens by the day, neither can outrun their intertwined fate without devastating consequences: A mysterious plague. An empire-destroying flood. A thousand deaths―and rising―to restore the balance Rujia’s disrupted. And if Rujia continues to live despite the will of the Heavens, this is only the beginning…

Content Warning: death, violence

First off, the narrator did a fantastic job and she’s becoming one of my favorite narrators when listening to audiobooks!

Ann Liang is a must read author for me so I was very excited to get the arc and alc for this book. I started off with the audiobook and I would refer to the ebook when I got confused about something. I did finish off the book by reading the ebook.

The story is about the god of healing Rujia, she’s minor god and the death god, Keran – who obviously is a big deal. Both have tragic pasts but when he comes for Rujia and she’s not ready to die yet, they enter into a reluctant pact. He will give her a month for her to figure out how to cure his pain, but while she has the month Rujia will come up with a plan to escape him. Only that doesn’t happen because as Rujia prolongs preventing her death, the Celestial Palace starts to collapse and the crown prince, Junyi, is missing, and now they have the task of finding him or else they will both be punished.

While listening to the audiobook and it switched to Junyi’s POV, I got confused. So that’s where the ebook helped a lot. I did feel like the pacing was off, it was slow in the beginning but it does pick up in the second half. We learn about how Junyi and Keran’s lives intersect and what caused Keran’s pain. We learn about Rujia’s parents and how she wants to make them proud. I loved learning about the different gods and their world. I also really enjoyed the humor woven throughout the story.

The romance between Rujia and Keran is a slow burn with no spice and it was entertaining because he is a grumpy death god, and Rujia is the first one to accept him for all that he is. Their banter was fun once he opened up more. And when the love confessions come, they are so beautiful, Keran had a way with words and describing how much he loved her but the ending is so heartbreaking. Their destinies are bound to one another, in the saddest way.

There is no happy ending here, it’s a story about trying to escape your fate and the consequences of doing so only for fate to play out as it was supposed to. 💔 But I understood why it ended that way because Keran’s job as a death god – he cannot be escaped.

Final Thoughts:

I love this author’s writing, but the pacing for this one was off for me. I still enjoyed the story about Rujia, Keran and Junyi and how their destinies are intertwined. There is no happy ending in this one, it broke my heart after watching Rujia and Keran fall for one another – ugh, this one hurt, but no one escapes death.

Read if you like:

tragic love story
Gods – Chinese mythology
destiny/fate

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

I Could Give You the Moon by. Ann Liang | ALC Review | Audiobook – 3.5 stars/1 🌶️

If You Could See the Sun by. Ann Liang | Audiobook – 4 stars

I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by. Ann Liang | Book Review – 4.5 stars

This Time it’s Real by. Ann Liang | Audiobook Review – 4 stars

A Song to Drown Rivers by. Ann Liang | Book Review – 4 stars

Firstborn by. M.J. Hastings | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Firstborn (#1)

Author: M.J. Hastings

Pages: 464

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Categories: Dystopian, Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Magic, Series

In this epic dystopian romantasy, one eldest daughter must fight for her survival in a world where birth order determines your fate—and defiance comes at a deadly cost.

The first children take up arms. The second children take up books. The third children are taken.

The Long Night is the final trial for Firstborn soldiers, and Bryn Ruelle must prove she can take a life—or face immediate exile. If she survives, she’ll graduate to defending the country’s borders against their magic-wielding neighbors. Bryn has never made a kill before tonight. By dawn, someone will be dead by her hands.

But when Bryn discovers a plot to kidnap the Lastborn, she must discern if the threat to her youngest sister is real, or merely a ruse to throw Bryn off her game. Her search for the truth forces her to work side-by-side with an alluring traitor-born enemy. As adrenaline and rage ignite a dangerous desire she refuses to name, Bryn must choose: her country, or her family? Her siblings, or herself?

Content Warning: death, violence, kidnapping, child abuse

+ Durst and Arcania are enemies and to help fight the war the Durst government put out a rule that mothers have to give brith to 3 children. First one enters the military, second one goes to study at university, and the third…well it’s a mystery what they do with them but Bryn is desperate to find out because her youngest sister is about to be taken away since she is the third born. I thought this world was very fascinating. Arcanist have magic, and Durst deems magic is evil (except when they use it to their own advantage). We mostly learn more about Durst because that’s where this story takes place.

+~ Bryn is the FMC and oh my is she stubborn to the point of unlikable. She frustrated me with how arrogant she was, always fighting people who try to help her and trying to dominate them and yet she can’t even kill someone in a trial. She’s supposedly the best and yet I didn’t see her real fighting skills until the end of the book. So she was not my favorite. She’s deep in her Dursti propanga and training even though she sees things that are wrong, feels that it’s wrong and yet her mind tries to convince her everyone else is wrong. There is growth, but it is slow and she has to see with her own eyes that she has been lied to all her life. But I did love the other characters like Ash and Poe – Poe is my favorite. Someone had to tell Bryn off at times and I’m glad it was Poe! Oberst, was a character we barely got to know. But Bryn’s siblings are interesting, Asa and Wren but would like to learn more about them. The program of having 3 children sacrificed to the government also left broken families because the kids are taken away and put into their perspective jobs so Bryn’s relationship with both is almost nonexistent and tense.

+~ Right away I liked Ash’s vibe but there is a love triangle in this story that wasn’t needed and also didn’t have real time to develop so I’m not sure how or why Bryn cared for the other guy, Oberst at all. It feels so forced and just wasn’t needed. Bryn has issues with figuring out what love is because she was never shown or given love, but this situation with her and Ash, grew because of forced proximity. And I just didn’t buy the feelings she supposedly has for Oberst ~ seems a bit toxic but we’ll see what happens in book two. Also it’s a slow burn but there is spice so I’m not sure why this is tagged as young adult on Goodreads.

+~ This was a story that was hard to put down but also I felt like the story was a little all over the place maybe because Bryn’s emotions are so volatile. There are a few POVs which I did like because some things are happening separate from what is happening to Bryn. But also a lot of changing POVs in the sense Bryn’s is told in first person, and then other characters in third person so I think it was jarring at times. There are a lot of moments of info-dumping also, which I think made the pacing for me a bit off. There is a lot going on here I found fascinating with the world building and the technology they were using but also the magic. So I was hooked on the story but there were just times I wish things were reigned in or tighter.

Final Thoughts:

I couldn’t put this book down because I liked the world building and premise, but I also had some issues with Bryn, the info dumping and the pacing. Bryn is a force, but she’s ignorant and arrogant, she’s broken and hiding a lot of pain, but she eventually sees the light at the end, I’m just amazed it took so much bad things to happen for her to open her eyes. I’ll definitely be reading book two, after all the twist and turns that happened at the end but I do hope book two shows us Bryn growing even more.

Read if you like:

dystopian romance
political intrigue – war
strong FMC
interesting world building

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

White Mountain by. Ruby Jean Cottle | ALC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: White Mountain (Black River, #2)

Author: Ruby Jean Cottle

Pages: 368

Format: audiobook

Listening Hours: 12 hrs 15 min (approx.)

Narrator (s): Geraldine Hakewill

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Publication Date: 10/13/26

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Paranormal, Vampires, Romance, Series

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

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

In the second book in Ruby Jean Cottle’s dark and romantic Black River duology, a group of teens must face new supernatural threats while guarding the secrets that could tear them apart.

It’s been months since the Silver sisters’ life changed forever. Dusty should be focused on her new relationship, but how can she, when her visions of the future show her little sister in trouble? Something is waking beneath the mountain, and it’s getting harder to ignore.

When an old foe returns with an army of vampire fledglings and a dangerous new agenda, the Silver sisters and their friends are forced to confront him once again. And after a body turns up in the woods, an unrelenting detective begins digging into the town’s string of unsolved deaths, threatening to expose everything they’ve all hidden.

As new romances bloom and loyalties are tested, the group is forced to face impossible questions about themselves and their relationships.

Whatever is hiding in the mountain isn’t finished with them. And the worst may still be yet to come.

Content Warning: complicated sibling relationship, blood drinking

+ I thought the narrator did a pretty good job with bringing this story to life.

+ This is book two and the conclusion of the Black River Duology and I thought book one ended very abruptly. Things pick up right after the ending of book one. Opi (Ophelia), Dusty’s younger sister, is trying to deal with being a vampire. She and Dusty butt heads on a lot of things, but they work things out eventually. Dusty has a premonition that Opi is in danger so Eli, her best friend, takes on the job of keeping an eye on Opi.

+ My favorite part of this story had to be the romance storyline. Dusty is solid with Will, they are happy together. But I was really invested in Opi’s love life. She’s someone who is growing and learning to accept what she has changed into and I liked her growth and the romance that came with it.

~ As much as I love the young adult romance relationships in this story, I wanted a resolution about JD and the story moves a bit too slowly for me on that. Dusty and her friends are trying to keep on the down low but a detective is in town asking questions. To top it off Dusty has the premonitions about Opi and they are all trying to figure out what happened to JD. Nothing comes to light about JD until the very end. I feel like most of the story was about Dusty, Opi and Eli adjusting to being vampires and doing teenage things – like going to a party, formal and falling in love. I don’t mind those things but I did want the JD storyline to be stronger.

Final Thoughts:

I think I enjoyed this reading experience as an audiobook more than I enjoyed book one as an ebook, so I’m glad I got the alc for this book. I did think this was more romance focused, which I really enjoyed, but I did want to know more about JD and I feel like we didn’t get too much of that. Things again moved slowly in this story but I the romance kept me invested. There is an explanation about JD and the dead bodies at the end but I felt the explanation was rushed. Overall though I think this is a solid ending to the duology.

Read if you like:

young adult romance
vampires
small town mystery

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Black River by. Ruby Jean Cottle | ARC Review – 3 stars

The Scarlet Ball by. Nghi Vo | ALC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Scarlet Ball

Author: Nghi Vo

Pages: 336

Format: audiobook

Listening Hours: 11hours 21 min (approx.)

Narrator (s): Natalie Naudus

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Publication Date: 10/6/26

Categories: Gilded Age, Paranormal, Gothic, Dark Romance

From USA Today bestselling author Nghi Vo, this all-consuming tale of ballrooms and bloodshed weds The Gilded Age with the Gothic vision of Guillermo del Toro.

Pick a face, pick a fate.

Judith Ban, former convent girl, courtesan, and failed thief, is on the lookout for her next identity. The daughter of a Vietnamese adventuress and a French naval officer, she’s no stranger to risk, but she’s unprepared for the secrets of New York’s legendary Four Hundred, or for the women who build their power at the city’s heart through blood-soaked, gold-etched rituals of demonic marriage.

In exchange for enough wealth to outrun her past, Judith strikes a deal with the matriarch of the powerful Howard family: she will stand in for the missing Howard granddaughter, who was poised to make her debut when she disappeared. With Miss Iphigenia Marshall’s face stitched over her own, Judith is white, rich, and about to risk body and soul in the deadly games that determine which girls will find a match—and which will be devoured. If she can keep her wits and her life, her reward will be a husband with undreamt-of power who will be hers to command… so long as she can keep his infinite hungers fed. But to survive the season, Judith will have to seduce a storm in the shape of a man, before the night to which everything has been leading—the Scarlet Ball where the demons choose their brides.

A razor-sharp subversion of romance tropes and nightmare of manners, Vo’s fusion of history and fantasy does for Edith Wharton what her acclaimed debut The Chosen and the Beautiful did for F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Content Warning: death, violence, body horror, self harm, drug use

+ I am a fan of this narrator, since I’ve listen to her narrate a few books now. She did a great job with this one as always.

+ This is a dark story about Judith, who is half French and Vietmanese, trying to survive New York City during the Gilded Age. She takes a job to stand in for someone’s granddaughter, she wears her face – it is stitched on and entertain men, but these are not just men, under their skin they are demon lords. And demon lords need to be fed or else they will eat you. The atmosphere of the balls and wealth with the darkness of the men being entertained was really intriguing, especially when one man, Sebastian starts to single Judith out.

+ There are some very interesting characters in this story, like the Howard family who are powerful in society. Mrs. Howard is who takes Judith in, entices her with money, but also throws her out to the wolves, knowing what these men are. Sebastian is a man but a monster underneath, he is an actual “storm” come to life and he needs to eat or no matter how much he wants and loves Judith, she will be consumed – he was fascinating.

+ The romance is unconventional because Judith is not who she is pretending to be, she’s trying to survive this world of the powerful, wealthy and demon lords. Sebastian though, wants her and even with the strange circumstances between them an attractions builds. I thought the ending and what happens between them was very interesting!

+~ I did think the first half of the book was a slow build and maybe I would have connected more if I read it as an ebook so I could visualize everything better, but things definitely pick up in the second half which was my favorite part. That’s when horror comes into play and I found the body horror quite gruesome, but so fitting for the climax of the story. We watch Judith finally able to fight and be herself.

Final Thoughts:

This is the first book I’ve read from this author but I’ve seen her name around. I think the narrator was great, but I do think the first half of the story moved too slowly for me. I did like the setting of the Gilded Age, the balls, gowns, wealth, debutants and then the demon lords. It definitely touches on a woman’s lack of power in a wealthy society. The second half was great and there is action, a monster romance, and some horror too. Overall, I enjoyed and will hopefully read more from this author.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing by. Marshall J. Moore | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing

Author: Marshall J. Moore

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 9/22/26

Publisher: Bantam

Categories: Horror, Humor, Fantasy, Paranormal

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

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

A mad scientist’s apprentice, a witch’s cat, and a vampire’s wife walk into a haunted mansion…

Humor meets horror in this heartwarming tale of friendship, solidarity, and stolen body parts.

As the laboratory assistant to the brilliant but demanding Doctor, Igor spends his nights robbing graves, stitching together body parts, and ensuring that his master doesn’t electrocute himself (too badly). It’s thankless work, but Igor knows it’ll all be worth it once they finally succeed in the Doctor’s all-encompassing quest to create new life from dead flesh.

When a mob of peasants wielding torches and pitchforks drives them out of town (again), Igor and the Doctor relocate to the isolated Ravenwald Manor to resume their experiments. But Igor and the Doctor are not the only ones seeking refuge within the walls of Ravenwald. The manor is already home to a vampiric Count and his highly dissatisfied bride, Cornelia—and an enigmatic witch and her feline familiar, Grimalkin, intend to use it as the site of a magical ritual.

At Igor’s suggestion, the three pairs come to an uneasy agreement to cohabitate in Ravenwald, lest they attract the suspicion of the nearby village. In the wake of this truce, Igor, Cornelia, and Grimalkin soon begin to realize that they might have more common with one another than their respective masters. When the trio discovers that they’ve been unwitting participants in a horrible plan to destroy the world as they know it, they must work together to stop their masters from bringing on armageddon… and stop the increasingly suspicious villagers from reaching for their pitchforks and torches.

Igor, Grim, and Cornelia must unite to cast off the chains of their masters and embrace life on their own terms in the hilarious, heartwarming, and just-spooky-enough The Henchperson’s Guide to Unionizing.

Content Warning: grave robbing, body horror

This was gifted to me by the publisher and it is not usually the type of book I would pick up or read but I was curious. The writing is great and it kind of gave me The Nightmare Before Christmas vibes in that it’s horror but kind of cozy. Like I adored Igor and Grim. Igor is the Doctor (mad scientist) assistant and he is not being treated well by his master so it was nice to see him Igor grow and come into his own at the end.

There’s a bunch of interesting characters from all walks of the paranormal world in this one, and it was fun getting to know them.

But because it’s not the type of book I usually read and I needed to be in the right mood to read this I found myself taking awhile to read this one.

Final Thoughts:

If you love horror with humor and a little bit of cozy vibes I think you will enjoy this one. For me, it was outside of the genres I usually read so it took me awhile to get into the mood to read this but the writing is great and the characters were charming.

Read if you like:

cozy horror
paranormal
humor

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The False Vow by. Lydia Gregovic | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️ (fade to black)

Title: The False Vow (The Weaver Bride, #2)

Author: Lydia Gregovic

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 528

Publication Date: 9/29/26

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Mystery, Series

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

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

Love will be tested in this high-stakes, spellbinding sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller The Weaver Bride—the perfect read for fans of The Rose Bargain and Thorn Season.

The gorgeous first edition of The False Vow will feature stunning, stenciled edges and printed endpapers!

Lovett Tamerlane is engaged.

A silkwitch whose magic can only be harnessed through marriage to a Weaver, Lovett was facing life in the cloisters when Eliot Lear offered the deal of a an invitation to the Vainglory to compete for wealthy Weaver heir Noé Allaire’s hand in marriage, in exchange for her solving his sister’s murder.

While they both got what they wanted, the competition was full of surprises. Lovett never expected to fall in love . . . and Eliot never anticipated that she’d betray him.

Now Lovett has one to take down Bastian Alaire and end his corrupt Weaver reign at any cost. But though the Vainglory may be over, danger still lurks at Fortblanche. And when Bastian presents Lovett with one last challenge—solve a murder that occurred within his walls, before the day of her wedding—she realizes the tests aren’t over. To pass this one, she’ll have to partner with the only person she hates more than her father-in-law his son, Noé.

But as Lovett will learn . . . sometimes love and hate are two sides of the same coin.

Content Warning: violence, death

This is book two in The Weaver Bride series and I was looking forward to see what happened to Lovett and Eliot. Well, a lot happens in this book, some very unexpected things. Lovett and Eliot are trying to figure out the murder of Sybil, so they can best Noé’s dad, the weaver king, Bastian. Lovett and Noé are engaged but she still loves Eliot which makes this a love triangle. And the silkwitches who competed for Noé’s hand are trying to kill Lovett.

My favorite part of this story was actually the romance even though it’s a love triangle and I actually wasn’t sure who Lovett was going to end up with. I was a little disappointed with Eliot’s character because it wasn’t what I expected after how close he was to Lovett in book one. But I guess people change. Noé is filled with so much yearning that his confessions at the end really melted my heart. I love seeing their relationship grow. And there is a fade to black steamy scene.

As for the story, I felt like the beginning was half was slow. I only really got into the story at probably the 40% mark. I liked the first book because of the trials but now that is missing, so what takes it’s place is people trying to kill Lovett. Lovett’s competition, now bridesmaids, are all trying to kill her under Bastian’s request and Lovett is trying to figure out Sybil’s murder. I liked getting to know some of the bridesmaids more like Anais and Manon. There was never a warm relationship between Lovett and the girls because it was a competition and Lovett is not someone who allows people to get close to her and vice versa (which is why I loved her with Noé).

Final Thoughts:

I feel like I was more attracted to the romance story in this one than the mystery because the murder mystery felt slow. But if you like mysteries I think you will enjoy this one. The romance is a love triangle, and I wasn’t expecting the direction it went but at the end I wasn’t mad at it and actually loved getting to know Noé more. That guy is filled with so much yearning. Overall, I think this is a solid sequel to The Weaver Bride.

Read if you like:

love triangle
murder mystery
magic

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

The Weaver Bride by. Lydia Gregovic | ARC Review – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Monstrous Kind by. Lydia Gregovic | ARC Review – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Dangerous Haven by. Luna Pierce | ALC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Title: Dangerous Haven

Author: Luna Pierce

Pages: 464

Format: audiobook

Listening Hours: 15 hours (approx.)

Narrator (s): M.K. Blackwood; Kayden Lukakis

Publisher: Keeperton Audiobooks

Publication Date: 9/22/26

Categories: Dark Romance, Contemporary, Audiobook, Billionaire Romance, Series

From Amazon bestselling author Luna Pierce comes Dangerous Haven – a standalone dark romance and book one in the Brothers of Sin series. From the first reckless kiss to a wildfire of forbidden desire, Dangerous Haven draws you into a shadowed world where survival means risking everything… especially your heart.

London Gardella is running; broken, bruised, and desperate for safety. When she arrives in New York City, she’s clinging to the last hope she has left; finding sanctuary with a stranger who wants nothing to do with her.

Archer Sin is a reclusive billionaire hacker—tattooed, brooding, and razor-sharp— he thrives in the shadows. He reluctantly agrees to keep her safe, but only if she follows his two rules:

No touching his computers.

No falling in love.

Archer’s inked fingers rarely leave his keyboards, but his eyes never stop watching London… stalking her every move, sparking a fire neither can ignore. Then comes a reckless, forbidden kiss.

Rules shatter. Walls crumble. Desire ignites.

Trust is a risk neither can afford, but survival means facing the truth: sometimes, the safest haven is the most dangerous place of all.

Content Warning: death, violence, stalking, being sold into marriage

London is running for her life and finds safety with Archer Sin, who is a hacker and very, very grumpy billionaire.

London is from a crime family but Archer’s family was more interesting because they are a crime family also, but it’s a found family. He and his siblings are from foster homes, and though each one has their own quirks, one even being a little insane, I loved their interactions. Soon London finds that she likes them too.

Though London is hiding out from her soon to be husband and healing from the injuries and trauma inflicted on her, I felt like most of this story was about the dark romance between her and Archer. And in that sense, I felt like the story moved slow and not a lot happens until the end of the book but I did like the twist. Most of the book is about London and Archer in a dislike to like relationship, he’s stalking her every move to keep her safe but the more he keeps an eye on her the more his desire grows. She’s meeting his family and she’s trying to make a life for herself and making new friends. Archer is so grumpy and anti-social but I did love how he took care of her and fell in love with London, even though he fought it so hard. London, is a survivor and wasn’t afraid of Archer or his family since she was raised by a monster. The third act break-up was a little dramatic but that’s how Archer is – so dramatic with his big feelings. I will their spice was spicy but also emotional which I appreciated.

This story is told between 2 POVs, Archer and London, and I did listen to the audiobook. For the most part I enjoyed the narration but there were times the voices just weren’t doing it for me. I think the narrator doing Archer’s voice was grumpy yes but like I said, kind of too dramatic. I liked him doing Seven’s voice for some reason but everyone else’s was just okay. So I kind of wish I read the ebook instead.

Final Thoughts:

I thought this was a pretty good billionaire dark romance, mafia vibes story but I think I would have enjoyed it better reading then ebook than listening to the audiobook. Archer’s grumpy, stalker personality clashed with London, but I like how she could handle him, it made things entertaining. I do think the second half of the book was better because that’s when things started happening and I liked the plot twist. Overall, I think if you like dark romance with mafia vibes and billionaire romances, you will like this one.

Read if you like:

dark romance
mafia romance
billionaire romance
grumpy MMC

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Age of Blood and Magic by. Hannah Mathewson | ARC and ALC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: The Age of Blood and Magic

Author: Hannah Mathewson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 432

Narrator (s): Ashleigh Haddad

Listening Hours: 16 h 52 m (approx.)

Publication Date: 9/15/26

Publisher: William Morrow

Categories: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Murder Mystery

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

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

Magic built their empire. Blood will decide who rules it next. When a CEO falls, one family’s battle for control becomes a brutal game of betrayal, desire, and power in this sharp, seductive debut for fans of Succession—with fangs.

A hundred years ago, magic ran wild—belonging only to the fae, the witches, the vampires. Then the mortal Martin Maddock stole its secret. With it, he forged Mythos, a company that bottles spells for humankind. Now his descendants rule a trillion-dollar empire—and Valentina Maddock is determined to inherit its throne.

The world’s wealthiest elites descend on the Maddock estate for a lavish, ultra-exclusive weekend to unveil Mythos’s latest magical breakthrough. But when Valentina’s CEO father suddenly collapses, the race for his heir begins—and the claws come out. Valentina is pitted against her playboy brother, her brilliant scientist mother, and her father’s long-time CFO. Even the guests and staff are choosing sides—and someone intends to eliminate Valentina entirely.

Then an unexpected guest arrives: a vampire. Luc Sayle has no known ties to Mythos, yet he carries a private invitation from the CEO himself. Drawn to the enigmatic and dangerously handsome stranger, Valentina senses Luc may be her only ally. But his polished words hide a bite, forcing her to question who the true monster really is.

Set in a world of dark enchantments, glittering wealth, and cutthroat ambition, The Age of Blood and Magic blends paranormal fantasy, locked-room mystery, and romantic suspense into a razor-sharp, intoxicating tale where magic is power—and everyone’s out for blood.

Content Warning: death, drug use, toxic family

+ The narrator did a fantastic job with bringing this story to life! I enjoyed her voice.

+~ This urban fantasy is about the Maddock family who is fighting for the family company and wealth, while their patriarch is on his death bed. The Maddock family have a very interesting history – they stole the secret of magic from the vampire, witches and fae and they have made an empire out of it by making it accessible and selling it. But now with Martin on his death bed and the family fighting for power, the family is vulnerable to attack. I was very invested in this story and thought the world building about the magic and tech was really interesting. Now only is there family drama between siblings, but also outside players who want to try and get a piece of the company too. There is a murder mystery in this story plus a high stakes quest to find the antidote to a poison. Would have

+ Valentina does have a trauma from her childhood, which she holds against her brother/cousin Jude. It’s a very messed up relationship but because of their past trauma, they are also always planning against one another. It’s so toxic though they don’t know who they are without one another. Valentina isn’t a likable character – but I don’t think any of the characters were – they were flawed and all had an agenda. But I was still interested to see how she was going to try to get this company from her brother and how she was going to save her life. Also there is one steamy scene but there isn’t a romance in this story.

+ There is a list of suspects and I thought a lot of the secondary characters were interesting. I was suspicious right away of the vampires. Valentina barely has any friends or allies, so it was a case of trying to find out who had something against her and I just felt like she was not doing well with trying to figure out who was trying to kill her.

~ I was very into the story but the ending is left open ended and it was unsatisfying which was a bummer. I want to know what Valentina chose to do!

Final Thoughts:

I wasn’t sure about this one with the first few chapters but then I locked in and was invested in this succession story of the Maddock family, the drama, scheming and backstabbing. There is interesting magic tech for the modern age, a murder mystery, vampires and fae so overall I was entertained but then the ending was left open ended. I was bummed about that because I really wanted to know what choice Valentina made! Still, I did enjoy this one despite how it ended.

Read if you like:

succession – family drama
vampire
murder mystery
open ending

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Heart of Thieves by. Jessica S. Olson | ALC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: Heart of Thieves (The Devious, #2)

Author: Jessica S. Olson

Pages: 384

Format: audiobook

Listening Hours: 12 hours (approx.)

Narrator (s): Dylan Reilly Fitzpatrick; Emily Ellet

Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners

Publication Date: 9/15/26

Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult, Audiobook, Romance, Series

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

Thank you to Macmillan Young Listeners for giving me a chance to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review!

A cunning thief turns the tables on the feuding brothers who betrayed her in this thrilling conclusion to the Den of Liars Duology, perfect for fans of Powerless and Lightlark.

Lola St. James is trapped in a web of lies and deceit. But that only makes her more determined to find the truth. The truth about her past. The truth about her magic. And the truth about the curse that binds her to two warring brothers who she both hates and loves.

With the Liar’s Dice Tournament now only a painful memory, Lola dons a new alter ego, Nocturne, and creates her own elaborate game designed to lure both the Liar and the Thief into her clutches, certain this is the only way to give them a chance to break their curses.

But Lola is not the only one with plans for the brothers. When a powerful figure from their past comes back to haunt them, will Lola’s love be enough to hold them all together? Or will the lies they’ve told tear them apart forever?

Content Warning: death, violence, loss of body autonomy

This is book two in The Devious serious and I really loved book one, Den of Liars, and wanted to see what happened next in the story. The narrators did such a great job, the female narrator was practically acting out all her scenes, especially a dramatic one at the ending! I loved the sound of the male narrator also but at times I couldn’t distinguish when it was Nic or Enzo speaking.

The world building really goes more into the magic in this sequel and conclusion. We learn about Laurel, Nic’s first love, and I totally didn’t like her. She’s controlling Nic, and making him out to be someone he is not. Lola is trying to help break the brothers’ curse but she has to accomplish this by keeping secrets and trust with Enzo is already so shaky. I honestly wish I had the ebook to read while reading because a lot of the magic and world-building kind of went over my head.

I did like Lola’s relationship with Enzo which was strictly platonic and more of a found family vibe. Whereas it was clear her relationship with Nic was a romance. But Lola is barely with Nic in this book because he is stuck in Laurel’s clutches. Speaking of relationships, the brothers never got along because of their past but it does end cordially and happily for them. The other loose end in the story was Lola’s dad, the crime lord who is looking for her. Things are complicated there but there is closure.

Overall, I’d say this was a solid conclusion.

Final Thoughts:

This one was filled with secrets, lies, betrayal, and some very interesting magic and world-building. There was only a little bit of romance. The narrators were fantastic, but story-wise I don’t think this held my attention like book one did. I think it was a pretty solid conclusion though.

Read if you like:

Den of Liars (first book)
magic
found family

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Den of Liars by. Jessica S. Olson | ARC Review -4.5 stars/1 🌶️

Winterveil by. Ava Reid | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Winterveil

Author: Ava Reid

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: 9/15/26

Publisher: HarperCollins

Categories: Dystopian, Cold War, Dark Academia, Sci-Fi, Young Adult, LGBT+, Series

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

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

There is no application process for Valeran Academy, but it boasts the brightest – and precociously criminal – students in the nation.

A disgraced politician from a powerful American dynasty.

A coldly brilliant strategist who will sacrifice anything to win.

A former pageant queen with a talent that could change the world.

A prodigious female soldier with an enigmatic past – and a dangerous secret.

With eerie war simulations, cutthroat competitions and foreboding new technology, Valeran trains its students to be elite assets in a Cold War that has dragged on for nearly a century. But as a sinister conspiracy takes shape and these four are drawn together for a mysterious mission, their loyalties are tested, their convictions shaken and they all begin to are they ushering in a new era of freedom, or tyranny?

Content Warning: violence, death, sexual harassment/assault, mentions of abusive parent

Set in 2037, the Cold War, with Russia (USSR) is still going on and USA is still trying find ways to win the war. Already I had to suspend my belief a lot, so I was wary about this book and didn’t think i would like it. But to my surprise, I could not put it down.

I like the different teenagers that are assembled at Valeran Academy to supposedly help end this war. They are misfits, some of them are criminals of a different variety, which made things very interesting. The main four characters are Nadiya, Giselle, Klaudia and Julian. They are all flawed which I enjoyed. I got attached to the three girls because they had fascinating backgrounds and skills. I loved Nadiya and Giselle’s growing relationship and I was drawn to Klaudia and her ice princess personality. Julian was at times detestable and I don’t know if that was on purpose but I don’t know that he can redeem himself in my eyes in the sequel. But I did like his rivalry with Klaudia.

Valeran Academy is a secret institute training the best of minds to help with the war efforts and they train students through simulations. They have other classes to round out their education but the simulations are what will ultimately help them with their missions. The kids are vying for top rankings so they can get a good job after graduation maybe with the CIA or other government sectors but the competition is fierce.

There were some instances that made me feel uncomfortable in the story, but I’ve noticed with the two books I’ve read from this author, that this is a common feeling while reading her books. It can get dark, for example there are teachers being inappropriate with the students. Or Julian and some of his thoughts about Klaudia, especially during a certain scene. It definitely gave the tone that Valeran Academy and the people that run it, though it is all for protecting the USA, have some sinister motives. Also, some of the aspects about the simulations did go over my head because we are in it with them, it seems so real, and I still don’t know how Giselle can do what she does – she doesn’t either so I’m hoping it will be explained more in book two.

Despite that, I flew through this book because of Klaudia and her intelligence, Nadiya and her protectiveness and Giselle with her rare skill or powers (not sure yet). I like the high stakes and puzzles as this team has to figure out their mission.

Final Thoughts:

This was a quick read for me, I really liked the pacing. And although I didn’t care much about the Cold War and what the government was doing to end it, I cared a lot about the characters especially Nadiya, Giselle and Klaudia. I think they are what made the book so enjoyable. They are complex and I admired their intelligence and what they brought to the table. They had different traumas, and fascinating backgrounds. Okay, I guess Julian is a part of the team with his charm, but there are things about him I just don’t like. The only part I did like about him was his rivalry with Klaudia. The story has high stakes, fierce competition, and some betrayal. I’ll definitely be reading book two to see how the story progresses!

Read if you like: