Compass and Blade by. Rachel Greenlaw | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Compass and Blade

Author: Rachel Greenlaw

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 2/27/24

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Sirens, Pirates

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

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

This world of sea and storm runs deep with bargains and blood.

On the remote isle of Rosevear, Mira, like her mother before her, is a wrecker, one of the seven on the rope who swim out to shipwrecks to plunder them. Mira’s job is to rescue survivors, if there are any. After all, she never feels the cold of the frigid ocean waters and the waves seem to sing to her soul. But the people of Rosevear never admit the truth: that they set the beacons themselves to lure ships into the rocks.

When the Council watch lays a trap to put an end to the wrecking, they arrest Mira’s father. Desperate to save him from the noose, Mira strikes a deal with an enigmatic wreck survivor guarding layers of secrets behind his captivating eyes, and sets off to find something her mother has left her, a family secret buried deep in the sea.

With just nine days to find what she needs to rescue her father, all Mira knows for certain is this: The sea gives. The sea takes. And it’s up to her to do what she must to save the ones she loves.

Content Warning: violence

+ I feel like this story started off strong. Mira and her friends and family on Rosevear are wreckers. When a ship wrecked on their shores, they pillaged the ship for survival. The world-building is interesting because it’s a world of survival in the seas and islands around Rosevear. There are pirates, magic and sirens.

+~ I liked the found friendship Mira has with the crew that takes her on her journey but again it would have been nice to get to know each of them more. The story needs more character building.

+~ The story moved quickly but at times I think too quickly. I wanted to learn more about the wreckers but Mira leaves the island right away into the story, so she can help save her friend and her dad who were caught by the watchers and are about to be hung. So she basically island hops in order to find this treasure her mother left for her and she thinks whatever this treasure is, can help her save her dad. I wanted to learn more about the Sirens but I just think we needed more world-building in general.

~ Mira was an interesting character until we had to follow her on this journey to find the treasure and she just came off so naive in so many situations. She falls for a boy she hardly knows – this story takes place in the span of one week – and her feelings for him puts her in the worst situations. Not to mention, he betrays her multiple times and she forgives him the first time! This girl had no business going on this journey without anyone she could trust, but she wanted to be a hero. And also she feels other things about another boy so yes there is a love triangle brewing. I was pretty frustrated with her as a character by the end.

My Thoughts:

This book had so much potential because I like a good pirate book but the more I read, the more Mira, the MC seemed so naive and clueless. I think she has a chance in book two to really embrace the side of her that will wreck vengeance on her enemies but yeah this book was just okay. I did feel like the writing is for a younger audience but there is a sex scene. Anyway, this was somewhat entertaining despite the love triangle, and the issues I have with the main character. I would love for more world-building and character building in the next book but I’m not even sure I want to read the next book!

Book Links:

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The Bad Ones by. Melissa Albert | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Bad Ones

Author: Melissa Albert

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 2/20/24

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Categories: Young Adult, Horror, Suspense, Contemporary, Fantasy, Magical Realism, 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 Flatiron Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Goddess, goddess, count to five
In the morning, who’s alive?

In the course of a single winter’s night, four people vanish without a trace across a small town.

Nora’s estranged best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to untangle the truth of Becca’s disappearance, she discovers a darkness in her town’s past, as well as a string of coded messages Becca left for her to unravel. These clues lead Nora to a piece of local folklore: a legendary goddess of forgotten origins who played a role in Nora and Becca’s own childhood games…

An arresting, crossover horror fantasy threaded with dark magic, THE BAD ONES is a poison-pen love letter to semi-toxic best friendship, the occult power of childhood play and artistic creation, and the razor-thin line between make-believe and belief.

Content Warning: semi-toxic friendship, missing people, grooming, death of a parent, death

+ What interested me in reading this book was this line “the occult power of childhood play and artistic creation, and the razor-thin line between make-believe and belief” because as a kid in the 80’s, all we did was make-believe play but I remember also when we played with Ouija boards and wanted to find ghosts or spirits or was fascinated with ghost stories. So in many instances does this book speak to my childhood and young adult self. It reminded me of kids yelling “bloody mary”, or singing that rhyme from Freddy Kruger movies “one two, Freddy’s coming for you…” that stuff freaked me out as a kid so I wanted to see if this book would give me that same creepy feeling.

+ Four people go missing, one of them is Nora’s best friend, Becca. Becca has had a hard life with her parents dying and her being all alone except for Nora. But their friendship changes along the way and becomes a bit toxic when they start playing the goddess game. The Goddess Game is something born of an urban legend at their high school, there is a story, but people have different versions of it. I loved how Becca and Nora was so creative and created their kingdom and made more goddesses!

+ The writing really is immersive and made me want to keep reading to find out what happened to these missing people and what happened to Nora and Becca. Also something was happening to Nora and I just needed answers. I felt like the author really captures their semi-toxic friendship though, and their emotional journeys with one another.

~ I kept reading because the writing is wonderful but it started to drag. I didn’t feel like we were getting much details about the disappearances. I also felt like the big reveal was a disappointment which is a bummer. The story kind of glosses over why three of the people disappeared and I guess I wanted more details. Then ending feels rushed.

My Thoughts:

The book started off strong but the ending to me was rushed which is a bit disappointing. I did like all the themes in the story about grief, toxic friendship, childhood stories turning into maybe something real, and urban legends that start from a story that takes on a life of its own. I just wish it ended as strong as the beginning but I was left wanting more.

Book Links:

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Book Review | The Hazel Wood ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

ARC Review | The Night Country ⭐️⭐️💫

Our Crooked Hearts by. Melissa Albert | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

These Deadly Prophecies by. Andrea Tang | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: These Deadly Prophecies

Author: Andrea Tang

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 256

Publication Date: 1/30/24

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Sorcery, Magic, Romance, Contemporary Fantasy, Thriller

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

A teenage sorcerer’s apprentice must solve her boss’s murder in order to prove her innocence in this twisty, magic-infused murder mystery perfect for fans of Knives Out and The Inheritance Games .

Being an apprentice for one of the world’s most famous sorcerers has its challenges; Tabatha Zeng just didn’t think they would include solving crime. But when her boss, the infamous fortuneteller Sorcerer Solomon, predicts his own brutal death—and worse, it comes true—Tabatha finds herself caught in the crosshairs.

The police have their sights set on her and Callum Solomon, her murdered boss’s youngest son. With suspicion swirling around them, the two decide to team up to find the real killer and clear their own names once and for all.

But solving a murder isn’t as easy as it seems, especially when the suspect list is mostly the rich, connected, and magical members of Sorcerer Solomon’s family. And Tabatha can’t quite escape the nagging voice in her head just how much can she really trust Callum Solomon?

Nothing is as it seems in this quick-witted and fantastical murder mystery.

Content Warning: death, violence

+ I was very intrigued by the synopsis especially because it revolves sorcerers and magic. Tabatha is an apprentice to one of the most world-renowned sorcerers and he dies. Now it’s a race to find out who actually killed him because she’s on the list of suspects, along with everyone else in the Solomon family. So this is very much a mystery.

+ There is a big cast of characters and everyone is a suspect – which is kind of fun! I love messy family drama. We follow Tabatha on her investigation into Sorcerer Solomon’s death. During her investigation we get to learn a bit about the Solomon family, his ex wives and his children from each union. I thought Tabatha was a fun character because she’s not a part of the family, so we get to see how they function through her eyes.

+ There is a little romance going on with Callum Solomon (the youngest son) and Tabatha but it takes a backseat to the investigation.

+ I did find the second half of the book more exciting than the first, maybe because that’s when Tabatha is getting close to figuring things out and a bunch of wild things happen that I did not expect! I liked the twist.

~ It’s a mystery and mysteries are not my favorite because they can be too slow for me. I do think the reader gets thrown into this world of sorcery. It’s told in second person POV so that caught me off guard because I rarely read any books in second person but I think it works well. It’s a contemporary world but with sorcerers in it and there isn’t much world building since the story focuses on the who-done-it part. It would have been nice to see the sorcery in action, outside of the murder mystery.

My Thoughts:

This was a quick read and if you like mystery, magic and some messy family drama, I think you will like this one. I do wish there was more world-building. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Book Links:

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A Study in Drowning by. Ava Reid | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Study in Drowning

Author: Ava Reid

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 378

Publication Date: 9/19/23

Categories: Young Adult, Gothic, Mystery, Romance, Academia

Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she’s had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad—Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him—is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny.

But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

Content Warning: sexual assault, neglectful parent, misogyny, grooming, smoking

Okay this book has been on my radar for awhile and I saw good and bad reviews for it so I had to read it for myself.

+ It has very gothic, academia vibes to it which was nice and it was what I was expecting. Effy is an architect and takes on a project for the estate of one of her favorite writers, Emrys Myrddin. The estate is a fantastic gothic setting with tales about the Fairy King and the “drowning”, and the mystery about Myrddin and his writings. I like how Preston and Effy were investigating his writings.

+ Effy is a fascinating character and at times an unreliable one. She’s beautiful, all the men tell her so and they are drawn to her – she even got into a situation with her professor, which has caused her to be an outcast at school. She’s afraid of men because of what happened to her and she deals with a lot of misogyny. Her mother basically hates her – which is awful. She’s alone and needs help but doesn’t have anyone on her side until she meets Preston, who off the bat, she doesn’t like at all. Effy also has these nightmares about the Fairy King and takes sleeping pills so she is mysterious herself. The themes about misogyny and power imbalances are very present in this book though and there were a few quotes that hit home.

There was an intimacy to all violence, she supposed. The better you knew someone, the more terribly you could hurt them.”
– A Study in Drowning by. Ava Reid

Lying was a form of survival, a way out of whatever trap had been set.”
– A Study in Drowning by. Ava Reid

You don’t have to take up a sword. Survival is bravery, too.”
– A Study in Drowning by. Ava Reid

+ I did like Preston and Effy’s interactions because he’s this stuffy, uptight literary student. I think the most Effy has ever stood up to a guy was to Preston – she wasn’t afraid of him and he didn’t make her feel unsafe, which I liked about him. As for the chemistry between them – there is tension for sure, but I also felt at times they would have been great just been really good friends.

~ I think there was a lot going on in this book and I chose to stay focused on the Myrddin mystery – basically that’s the whole reason Preston and Effy are at the estate in the first place. There is a war also going on in the book and there is Effy’s nightmares about the Fairy King and I was confused at times if Effy was experiencing things with this Fairy King or it was all in her head.

~ At times the setting or I should say time period, was confusing. I know it’s basically an alternate Earth, countries names are all made up, and the world they live in kind of felt like the 1940’s-ish and I’m just going off of them smoking cigarettes and drinking hard liquor a lot. Effy also mentioned something like girls at school usually come away with a ring and engaged – so that sounds like to 1940’s or earlier to me. I enjoyed the setting but at times I felt like I was confused about certain things about this world.

My Final Thoughts:

I think I read this at the right time – the weather here has been rainy and the gothic setting of this book and the lyrical writing was perfect for my mood. It is a dark story dealing with misogyny, parental neglect, power imbalances and even grooming. I do think the world building at times was somewhat confusing or something was mentioned and not explained fully. The romance was a sweet spot in the story with Preston and Effy being a sort of rivals to lovers relationship. I thought Effy’s journey from being alone to finally having someone in her corner and being kind to her without wanting anything in return was amazing for her. If you like lyrical prose and a gothic setting, you’ll like this one.

Book Links:

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Somewhere in the Deep by. Tanvi Berwah | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Somewhere in the Deep

Author: Tanvi Berwah

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 1/9/24

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Categories: Young Adult, Thriller, Fantasy, South Asian

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 Fire for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Seventeen-year-old Krescent Dune is buried under the weight of her dead parents’ debt and the ruinous legacy they left behind. The only way she can earn enough money to escape her unforgiving island is by battling monstrous creatures in an underground fighting pit. After a fight goes terribly wrong, she’s banned from the pits. Now hopeless, she is offered a deal: in exchange for the erasure of her debts, she must join and protect a hunting party for a rescue mission deep within the mining caves beneath the island.

Krescent is determined to keep her head down and fulfill her role as the dutiful bodyguard, even though she is trapped underground with her childhood enemy and a company of people who would gladly kill her if they knew who her parents were. As they come across creatures she believed only existed in legends, it becomes clear they are in far more danger than she could have imagined. But someone doesn’t want her to make it out alive. And she’ll have to figure out who before she’s left alone… in the dark.

From the author of Monsters Born and Made comes an action-packed South Asian inspired fantasy that will have your heart racing at every turn.

Content Warning: violence, killer insects

+ I read a book by this author last year and thought it was pretty good and this book is set in that same world. What I really enjoyed about this book is that it’s in the same world, so we get to learn more about it but it’s inspired by South Asia and I love that representation. I like that is it unique.

+ This has a lot of action. Kress is a fighter in the ring, but she has a bad reputation because of something her parents did. I love that she’s a strong character. Kress is an outcast but because she’s a fighter she gets chosen to go on this expedition deep underground. She is part of this expedition group of miners and other people but not everyone is trustworthy so there is a lot of tense moments underground with this group of people and monsters coming for them.

+ There is a little bit of romance going on with Kress and her best-friend, Rivan. It’s a friends to lovers situation so it takes them awhile to really admit their feelings but there is a lot of angst and longing in both but they are kind of stuck in a harrowing situation so it takes them awhile to figure that out.

~ I didn’t totally connect to any of the characters but I did still enjoyed the story. Would have loved to be more invested into the characters though but for some reason I just couldn’t.

My Thoughts:

I like the South Asian inspired setting and the action is great. I just wish I could connect to the characters so I could be invested in the high stakes of their situation but despite all that I did enjoy this story for the most part.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Monsters Born and Made by. Tanvi Berwah ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Hallowed Games by. C.N.Crawford | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Hallowed Games (#1)

Author: C.N. Crawford

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 410

Publication Date: 12/1/23

Categories: Adult, Forbidden Romance, Fantasy, Vampires

If he’s death, I crave oblivion.

I’m cursed to kill with a brush of my fingertips. My worst fear is attracting the attention of the kingdom’s magic hunters. Maelor is their mysterious, gorgeous leader–and my world falls apart when he learns my secret.

When he arrests me, my only hope is to survive a deadly competition, to win the mercy of our god. Strangely, Maelor is immune to my touch. Turns out, that’s because he’s secretly a vampire—lethally sexy, and dangerous as hell.

He’s as drawn to me as I am to him. Can this beautiful monster help me survive, or will our dark attraction lead me to ruin?

Hallowed Games is the first book in a new series of fantasy romance, morally-grey characters, and deadly trials: perfect A Court of Thorns and Roses and Serpent and the Wings of Night.

Content Warning: violence

I haven’t read a forbidden love story in awhile so this was interesting!

+ It’s forbidden! Maelor is the Raven Lord who is part of the society that is similar to a devout priest but in this story they worship Archon. Anyone with magic is killed so think – the Spanish Inquisition or witch trials, except with a few twists. And Maelor can’t control himself when he’s around Elowen – who’s magic is a death touch. Anyway it has the religious fanatics hunting the witches kind of situations.

+ I did like the twist in the story with Maelor and another character who is a bit suspicious, Sion. I’m not sure what’s going to happen there between the three of them but in this book it’s about Maelor and Elowen’s forbidden attraction which gets steamy.

+ It’s a quick read – not as much depth as I’d like, but it’s a story for easy reading and escape.

~ I just wanted more world-building. I love the vampire aspect of the story, just wanted more from some of the characters. Maybe it’ll get better for me in book two?

~ I hope this doesn’t turn into a love triangle! I mean I kind of giggled when Elowen was turned on by Maelor’s exposed clavicle! lol I was like, OKAY, that’s how it’s going to be. There is lots of angst and pining on both sides but I’m not convinced they are going end up together? I don’t know.

My Final Thoughts:

I kind of needed this one to get out of my reading slump. It was a quick and easy read, nothing to deep and fun because of the forbidden love and vampire elements. I did want a little more depth to the characters and some world-building but I’ll just take it as is and wait to see if it gets better in book two.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Mini Reviews | Court of the Sea Fae Trilogy by. C.N. Crawford

Mini Reviews | Institute of the Shadow Fae Series (Books #1-4) by. C.N. Crawford

Mini Reviews | Hades Castle Trilogy by. C.N. Crawford

City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials, #1) by. C.N. Crawford | Book Review

Lord of Embers by. C.N. Crawford | Book Review

Garden of Serpents by. C.N. Crawford | Book Review

Frost by. C.N. Crawford | Book Review

Ambrosia by. C.N. Crawford | Book Review

A Curse for True Love by. Stephanie Garber | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Curse for True Love (#3)

Author: Stephanie Garber

Format: ebook (own

Pages: 385

Publication Date: 10/24/23

Categories: Series, Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance

Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.

Content Warning:

I had to read this one to end the series but I think I went in with higher expectations? I love the first two books in this series. But this is what I thought about this conclusion.

+ Jacks is why I read this series and I felt like he came too late into the story. But once he is there, I get the Evangeline/Jacks romance I’ve been waiting for.

+ The writing is consistent with the other books and keeps that magical, fairytale storytelling.

~ I mentioned this above but I was reading this book for more Jacks and I think there was too much Apollo! I was not expecting that ugh…I had to skim through parts of the book because I wanted Jacks and wasn’t getting enough of him early enough in the book. I didn’t want to spend my time reading about Apollo.

My Final Thoughts:

I did like the fairytale storytelling but I feel like there was too much Apollo and not enough Jacks. And it was Jacks who I was here for throughout the whole series! I actually skimmed through parts of this book because it was not holding my attention. So unfortunately I didn’t quite enjoy it – but the three stars are for the first half I did read at least and the second half which I skimmed. I didn’t feel invested in this last book unfortunately.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Ballad of Never After by. Stephanie Garber ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Once Upon a Broken Heart by. Stephanie Garber ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To Kill a Shadow by. Katherine Quinn | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: To Kill a Shadow (Mistlands, #1)

Author: Katherine Quinn

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: 11/28/23

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Jude Maddox knows nothing of love or even light. He knows only his grim duty as the Hand of Death, to lead the Knights of the Eternal Star into a land filled with nightmares and certain demise. It’s only when he sees her ―a young woman with wild, amber eyes who’s as fierce, defiant, and swift as the shadow beasts themselves―that he feels the warmth of life in his blood…

The other Knights may fear their lethal commander, with his hard, merciless demeanor. Outcast Kiara Frey sees only a leader, a man who knows how to survive. Someone like her . But wanting him is as treacherous as the shadows themselves…and just as seductive.

With a kingdom on the verge of collapse, the Knights must now venture into the darkest heart of the land and uncover the secrets of the misted shadows, where evil will prey upon their minds and feast on their flesh.

It will betray their senses.
It will surpass their nightmares.
Most of them will die.

But they have no other choice. Because the only way to fight the darkness… is to become it.

Content Warning: violence

I was intrigued with the premise of this book and Goodreads has pretty good reviews for this book so I gave it a try:

+ I like that it had lots of action and it didn’t shy from being brutal at times. It made the Mist seem like a very dangerous place. Characters were getting killed off with no mercy!

+~ Kiara is a fighter. She’s bold, arrogant, the only girl among boys and men (which makes her super “special”) and she’s bi-sexual except this is definitely a romance between her and Jude. She mentions giving her all to a girl in the village very early in the book but there’s nothing else about it. I didn’t love her although I did admire her bravery and willingness to fight for her friends – I just felt like some things about her were so forced – like her relationship with Jude and then her becoming like a mother to her guy friends in her group.

+ Some interesting plot twists to the story that I wasn’t expecting, especially about one of the side characters.

~ I didn’t connect to any of the characters or the story and I think it’s because it lacks world building. I couldn’t even get into the found family aspect of the story because it just felt like it happened too quick. I wanted to know more about the curse and it didn’t seem like any of the characters really knew about it either.

~ The romance happens too quick for my liking. I wanted a little bit more tension between them. He thought she was the most amazing thing days after knowing her, so it’s a bit of insta-love.

My Final Thoughts:

I must be in a crazy mood because I like how characters were being killed off because that’s the thing that surprised me most about this book! I think the romance is okay if you are into insta-love romantasy and the “special girl” trope. I think it lacked the world building I needed to be hooked on the story. Not sure if I will continue with this series but I know a lot of people will enjoy this book.

Book Links:

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Her Dark Wings by. Melinda Salisbury | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Her Dark Wings

Author: Melinda Salisbury

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 12/11/23 (first published 7/6/22)

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Greek Mythology, Retelling, Friendship, Contemporary Fantasy

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!

In this powerful, passionate reimagining of the Persephone myth for fans of Lore Olympus and Melissa Albert, two former best friends–split apart by betrayal–find themselves reunited in the Underworld. But will either one make it out, or will the darkness that’s growing in each of them consume them whole?

For all of Corey’s life, it’s been Bree and Corey, Corey and Bree. Best friends, the girls are inseparable—until a devastating betrayal leaves Corey shattered and alone. Corey is sure nothing could hurt more, until Bree suddenly dies. Now Corey is heartbroken and furious. How can she mourn her one-time friend when she is still so angry at her?

Yet Corey and Bree’s tale is far from finished. When Corey accidentally catches a glimpse of Bree’s spirit passing into the afterlife, she finds herself face to face with a god pulled from the darkest myths of her Hades, lord of the dead.

Turns out, the legends are real. But Hades is different from what Corey imagined—and so are the Furies, terrifying and beautiful creatures who encourage Corey to embrace her rage. The more Corey discovers about the Underworld, the more her own power stirs. But can she resist the lure of the darkness within?

Content Warning: death

+ I wanted to read this book because of the Hades and Persephone retelling. I think it did a fairly good job at keeping this story a modern retelling of the mythology but I do wish there was more romance between Corey and Hades since that’s what I like about the myth. I did like the trip to the Underworld and Furies in the story though – they added a little bit of danger to the story. I also like Hermes!

+ The young adult aspect of the story centered around Corey’s drama with her best friend Bree who basically stole Corey’s boyfriend and when Bree dies – Corey has no closure about their friendship and the betrayal. It is something she works through the story.

~ It’s a really quick read, which is great but I just wanted more, especially between Hades and Corey. They were barely together in the book I feel since Corey was stuck with the Furies.

My Thoughts:

I like that it was a quick read and it was a modern retelling about Hades and Persephone but I just wish there was more world-building and more chemistry and time between Hades and Corey. This was just an okay read for me.

Book Links:

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This Cursed Light by. Emily Thiede | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: This Cursed Light (The Last Finestra, #2)

Author: Emily Thiede

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: 12/5/23

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy

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

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

The highly-anticipated sequel to the epic romance hailed as one of the best fantasies of the year!

When the gods make the rules, the players must choose: Sacrifice their love to save the world, or choose love and let it burn?

Six months after saving their island from destruction and almost losing Dante, Alessa is ready to live happily ever after with her former bodyguard. But Dante can’t rest, haunted by a conviction that the gods aren’t finished with them yet. And without his powers, the next kiss from Alessa could kill him.

Desperate for answers, Dante enlists Alessa and their friends to find the exiled ghiotte in hopes of restoring his powers and combining forces with them to create the only army powerful enough to save them all. But Alessa is hiding a deadly consequence of their last fight–a growing darkness that’s consuming her mind–and their destination holds more dangers than anyone bargained for. In the mysterious city of the banished, Dante will uncover secrets, lies, and ghosts from his past that force him to ask himself: Which side is he on?

When the gods reveal their final test, Dante and Alessa will be the world’s last defense. But if they are the keys to saving the world, will their love be the price of victory?

In This Cursed Light, Dante and Alessa face their most daunting challenge yet when the Gods demand they prove their worth by choosing the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity, once and for all.

Content Warning: violence

I enjoyed the first book in this series, This Vicious Grace a lot and was very interested to see where the story would go.

+ Alessa and Dante are back together with their banter but there are many challenges between them. Dante has lost his powers and Alessa’s powers hurt when they touch so they can’t be together physically which makes the tension between them rise. But I like how they can also focus on the matter at hand and that is trying to defeat Crollo. There is a few steamy scenes between them but it lacks the details to make it spicy so I’d say it’s pretty PG-13.

+ We get to learn more about Dante’s past and present and people who used to be in his life. He takes on a leadership role as he tries to make the ghiotte into an army that can help them in their fight. It takes a lot of trust and revisiting his feelings about his past though but Dante really overcomes and rises to the challenge.

+ The found family with Alessa and the side characters are one of the things I liked about book one. They are here again supporting Alessa and the fight against Crollo.

~ So this happened with me in the first book where the whole story is a lead up until the battle that lasts only a few chapters at the end of the book. It happens in this book as well where all we hear is Crollo is coming, the chapters even tick off the days leading up to the battle but I feel like nothing much is happening during those days except relationships being fixed. Yes they are building an army but there is so much going on like: Alessa and Dante’s relationship and not being able to touch, and the secrets they are both are keeping from one another. Also Dante’s past and being with his people again conjuring up all kinds of feelings that he has to work through. I felt like the battle again was anti-climatic after the whole book being so much about the build up to it.

My Final Thoughts:

I didn’t feel like this one was as good as the first one but I did enjoy Alessa and Dante’s romance – they are cute together. I do think it’s a solid conclusion to the duology.