Eternal is the Night by. Alayna Ravenwood| ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: Eternal is the Night (The Cursed Realm Saga, #1)

Author: Alayna Ravenwood

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 524

Publication Date: 3/12/26 (ebook); 9/16/26 (Paperback and Hardcover)

Publisher: Aurelia Press

Categories: New Adult, Mystery, Romance, Portal Fantasy, Dark Academia

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

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

An elite private college. Missing Initiates. A truth that will change everything.

Twenty-year-old Anna was already different before her mother was murdered—and before she vanished for a year she can’t remember. When her former mentor returns, Anna embarks on a dangerous journey to Nightfall Castle, the mysterious private college her mother once attended, desperate for answers about her past—and the dormant power she’s ignored her entire life.

But Nightfall is not an ordinary college.

Something is terribly wrong within the castle’s ancient corridors. Initiates are disappearing, and the Aurkai—Nightfall’s most elite—know more than they’re willing to say. Blake, the most alluring and dangerous of the Aurkai, may be the key to uncovering Nightfall’s secrets—or the reason she never escapes them.

As the danger closes in, Anna realizes she may be next, and the truth behind Nightfall may cost her everything.

Discover the truth hidden within Nightfall Castle in this dark, seductive debut of The Cursed Realm Saga.

Content Warning: sexual harassment, violence, death

+~ I thought this story started off pretty good. Told in two POVs, Anna and Blake, but mostly Anna’s – Anna is a 20 year old, who lost her mom, and she lost her memories of a whole year. Sounds very mysterious. Also, her guardian (mom’s friend), Derrick, has been training her all her life to fight. To fight what though? She knows something is different about her and her life. And he shows up again to tell her she needs to go to a place called Nightfall which is a mysterious college, it’s for her protection. And this is my biggest issue with the whole book – I was never sure of anything and not in a good, gripping way. Everything is a mystery but the execution didn’t work for me, I was getting frustrated and tired of being fed breadcrumbs. I needed some answers to all the questions being brought up in the first half, some is explained in the second half but by then I lost some interest. But there is magic eventually and more.

+~ This story has a big cast of characters. For the most part I like Anna, she’s strong and determined. Something is special about her – that’s another mystery. She meets some new students, Isabella becoming the closest one too her. Blake the MMC is okay, kind of bland. I would have loved a little more character depth. I think the ones that really stood out to me were Melanie and Malakai because they are the villainous twins.

+~ It’s dark academia with the usual topics of study – history and combat. And I read a lot of dark academia so there was nothing really new here. Anna’s combat training was fun to read but then some of her classmates start to go missing and it’s hard for her to get any answers about them because people don’t remember them or the Aurkai are tight-lipped about everything (so frustrating). There are some twists and turns that I enjoyed…but why were they having a play in the middle of the story when more pressing things were happening? That play kind of took me out of the story for a little bit.

+~ The romance between Anna and Blake was sort of a slow burn, but I felt like she fell too fast and I just wanted more build-up. There is a spicy scene but even that was just okay to me.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I think this has lots of potential because it’s addictive – it has all the things I like in a dark academia fantasy but some of the execution just didn’t work for me. I’d love more character depth, and less of questions without answers because it left me frustrated. And I love a mystery, but there has to be someone other than Melanie telling Anna the truth. The romance was okay but I want more. Hopefully, book two can deliver a story with more depth and answers to questions brought up in this book.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Library of Amorlin by. Kalyn Josephson| ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: The Library of Amorlin (The Age of Beasts, #1)

Author: Kalyn Josephson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: 3/3/26

Publisher: Erewhon Books

Categories: Fantasy, 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 Erewhon Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A brilliant con artist and a secretive librarian collide in New York Times bestselling author Kalyn Josephson’s enchanting new adult fantasy debut packed with twists, tricks, and magical creatures, perfect for fans of S.A. MacLean’s The Phoenix Keeper and The Book that Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence.

Kasira used to be a masterful con choosing her target, building trust, judging the precise moment to make her move. Now, she’s working off a lengthy prison sentence by hunting dangerous magical creatures on behalf of the fanatical kingdom of Kalthos.

But Kasira’s past catches up to her when the ambassador from Kalthos arrives at her camp with a her freedom in exchange for infiltrating and destabilizing the magical institution meant to protect all six kingdoms—the Library of Amorlin.

When Kasira assumes the role of the new Assistant Librarian, she enters an enchanting world brimming with books and beasts, tempting her with a life she can never have. But Kasira’s real future depends on her long con to bring down the Librarian. Unfortunately, Allaster is as prickly as he is handsome, and his monstrous secrets are about to catch up with them both . . .

Content Warning: death, violence

+ First off, I love this book cover and might have to get the book trophy for my shelf. It’s one of the reasons why I requested this book on NetGalley. Also, it’s about a library? So I had to read it.

+ The world building is great. The Library of Amorlin is a neutral, and independent body of the 6 kingdoms surrounding it. There is a political battle going on – a religion that deems beasts to be monsters and sympathizing with them a sin, is sweeping the kingdoms. The Library is a place of study, and sanctuary to some of these wild beasts in the land. It’s not a library in the common sense, but a place to research and study the beasts and other things about all the kingdoms. The Librarian in this space is powerful and almost it’s own ruler of the Library, it’s Assistant, the second in command. But an Ambassador from one of these kingdoms will do anything and everything to infiltrate the Library, and take it for it’s own uses and power. There is magic in the Library, which makes this story very magical and the beasts adds to the fantasy.

+ Kasira, is our morally grey con-artist. Love her or hate her, she kept me on my toes and I was wary of her. As a kid she was taunted for being a beast sympathizer, as an adult she turned into a beast killer. But she grew up an orphan and joined a crew of con-artists to survive until a con went wrong and killed her friend. Kasira will do anything to survive. Allaster can sense something isn’t right with her and he’s right about her motives but she worms her way into everything at the Library to make them believe her con. I sympathized with her rough upbringing but oh did she frustrate me the longer she was at the Library. Her character couldn’t stop conning and lying and my patience was wearing so thin with her! But I pushed through the story because I had to see what she would choose in the end and I wasn’t disappointed.

+ I also loved the secondary characters, like the spirit leopard, Iylis! May, who is First Mage, and others.

+ There are so many twist, turns, political intrigue and moments I was surprised. But I loved it all – it kept me on my toes and I could not put the book down. I love how the con-woman was being conned and I wanted to see who was going to win out at the end! The way it ends felt satisfying but there are some things left open since this is a series.

+~ There is barely any romance in this story and maybe it’s coming in book two but this is light on the romance, with no spice at all. There are some moments of closeness. But Kasira is a liar and Allaster is distrustful (rightly so), so it all comes down to the end but I’m rooting for these two and hope Kasira can help Allaster out!

Final Thoughts:

I could not put this book down! If you like fantasy that is detailed on the world-building, but easy to read and light on the romance – definitely try this one out. I loved the magical Library and all the beasts they are protecting. I loved the politics, twist and turns that kept me on my toes and the morally-grey FMC who I didn’t trust but like Allaster, hoping I could trust by the end. I even enjoyed the very little romance between Kasira and Allaster, she with her schemes, and he with his love for the Library and everything in it. I’m looking forward to book two!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From this Author:

Book Review: The Storm Crow ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

ARC Review | The Crow Rider (The Storm Crow, #2) ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

In Time With You by. Kristin Dwyer | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: In Time With You

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Author: Kristin Dwyer

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 3/3/26

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Magical Realism, Grief, Time Travel

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!

Can she get it right the second time(line) around?

You’ve Reached Sam meets Before I Fall in this gripping speculative romance about one girl saving her first love’s life by falling for the last person she ever should – his best friend.

Nieve Monroe is devastated after her boyfriend Carter dies saving her from drowning. Even worse she blames herself for his death… and so does his best friend, Max. He was there with them on that fateful day, and he’s never liked Nieve.

Unable to pull herself from her grief and wanting to hide from the accusation in his eyes, Nieve goes to stay with her grandmother, who has always had strange stories to tell of uncanny happenings, of magic and make believe. The next morning, Nieve wakes up on the first day of college, the year before.

This time she plans to make sure Carter never follows her into that river. She’ll do everything in her power to keep him safe, even if it means losing him in other ways. But the more distance she puts between her and Carter, the closer she gets to Max, drawn to him in ways she never expected. But is she betraying Carter if the only way she can save him is to move on? And can she ever forget her past to embrace her future?

Kristin Dwyer’s In Time with You is a heartbreaking story of first love, loss, and one chance to change everything.

Content Warning: grief, death, drowning, PTSD, anxiety, underage drinking, family estrangement

+ I don’t know what I was expecting from this story but what an emotional rollercoaster. I have lost someone in the past, in an accident, so a lot of the questions Nieve has in this book – hit a little too close to home. So if you lost someone, just know this story can be triggering.

+ Nieve’s boyfriend Carter dies in an accident that involves her. She is lost in the darkness of grief and can’t quite move on. She blames herself. She tries to go back to college but she can barely get out of bed and then her grandmother rips the yarn threads from her blanket. Now Nieve’s grandmother and their ancestors before them are very superstitious and they are artists who founded this college that Nieve and her cousin goes too. But yarn is magical in their family, each color represents emotions, and certain colors can help do things like ward off nightmares – Nieve and her cousin Linden have been working on their own blankets all their lives, and the yarn being stitched a little at a time represented a time of their life or something special too them. This blanket is their timeline and when Nieve’s grandmother rips out the threads that was Nieve’s memories of Carter – Nieve travels back in time to the moment she meets Carter. Her goal? Not to date him so she can change his future – but will it work?

+ I was hooked on this story because I needed to see how this would work out. I don’t particularly love time travel stories and there were times while reading this my mind said no, Nieve can’t do this, or else she will mess everything up. But it’s because I was afraid for her, I was afraid what her actions may mean, and what outcome would be or what if she tries to change his future but he dies again anyway. Because yes, she lost Carter in the first timeline, but isn’t she also losing him again in this second timeline? She’s losing him as a boyfriend, but keeping him alive. It’s emotional devastating and bittersweet.

+ And because Nieve is pushing Carter away, someone else (who she thought hated her in the first timeline) becomes the person she wants and it’s confusing feelings all around. I was rooting for her with this other guy but also gutted about it because things change drastically and in unexpected ways. There is romance but not with who I thought it would be with – which was a bittersweet feeling. But I did love him for her, come on, Max reads Pablo Neruda poems – I fell in love with him for that alone! There is a little spice, but it was just enough. But it was just really interesting to see how Nieve could see Carter with a different perspective in this second timeline.

+ I love Nieve’s family and their traditions. There’s a rumor her grandmother is a witch and I could definitely see the witchy and magical elements of the story. I love how close she is to her grandma and cousin, because she clearly wasn’t close to her mom but it was…expected. It just seemed like in Nieve’s family, it is what it is. I’m just glad she had her grandma and cousin. I also love how this story revolves around art – the college they go to is a small college focusing on art whether it’s writing, dancing, or creating with paint and pencil.

~ Like I said above, time travel is not my favorite trope, and there were times when I thought how could Nieve even function when she changed one thing, a ripple would happen and altogether things would change. I felt like I was going crazy with her because it was out of her control! That part got a little frustrating for me because she could kiss someone and the next day it didn’t happen because the timeline would change a little. Her grandma’s advice was to make only ripples of changes not big changes and I felt like Nieve followed the instructions as best she could but still something huge would change. So I felt her madness and anxiety as she neared the day Carter would die. I just wish she had more guidance and explanation about the yarn and the ripples and the timeline. But grandma just trusted Nieve whole-heartedly, she was kind of bad-ass.

~ Things change a lot in the new timeline and when Nieve pushes Carter away, he ends up with someone else and yikes, I would have hated to be in Nieve’s shoes. You can tell she really loved him enough to keep him alive and look past him dating other people.

Final Thoughts:

I found this story emotional, engrossing, heartbreaking, and complicated. I was hooked on this story from the start and I found myself feeling everything Nieve was feeling. I may not have understood some of the timeline changes but I went with it and found myself invested until the very end. It’s definitely the kind of story that will stick with me for awhile. I’ve read three books now from this author and each time, it grabs me by the heartstrings. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Some Mistakes Were Made by. Kristin Dwyer | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Atlas of Us by. Kristin Dwyer | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Caged by Fallen Crows: Part One by. Ava Larksen | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Caged by Fallen Crows: Part One (Of Crows and Thorns, #2)

Author: Ava Larksen

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 635

Publication Date: 2/11/26

Categories: Romantasy, Dark Romance, New Adult, Series

Living together? That’s a war Graysen was never trained for.

Imprisoned in Graysen’s tower, Nelle Wychthorn finds herself ensnared by something far more dangerous than chains.

The sway is awakening. His tamer influence bleeds into her thoughts, seizing hold of her will—and he doesn’t even know it.

If he ever discovers the hold he already has… she’s lost.

Escape is her only chance. Convince him to open the door, find the hidden tunnel, and run.

Graysen Crowther walks a knife’s edge. He defies his family by keeping Nelle in his tower instead of the dungeon. She’s a pawn to force her father’s hand—surrender the god‑forged weapon, or lose his daughter.

But living together?
He’s utterly out of his depth.

Nelle wages war, tormenting him mercilessly, upending his carefully ordered world. Yet within the intimate chaos as roommates, fury and heat collide. Wild. Consuming. Ruinous.

When Graysen is ordered into the catacombs to hunt an elusive beast, long‑buried memories resurface of his mother’s secret life—and a mysterious Horned God who may know the truth about her final day.

To right the terrible wrong that haunts him, he must find the Horned God to unlock everything he desperately needs… if his family doesn’t uncover his true intentions first.

Content Warning: violence, death

This is book two in the Of Crows and Thorns Saga, so I’m not sure why this one is called Part One?

~ I gave book one three stars because though I was intrigued with the characters, I thought book two would have more world building which it needed badly in book one. Once again, this story is focused on the characters and there is no new world-building at all. I need world-building. This story mostly stays in the Crowther family fortress or keep. Graysen does leave and we sort of follow him on a mission but again…it needs more world-building.

+~ This is a very character-driven story. Graysen is stuck between a rock and a hard place, either to save his mom, or save Nelle. He knows what he and his family is doing to Nelle is wrong, but he needs to find a way to appease everyone, which sucks. Nelle is a prisoner at the Crowther’s fortress and they plan to auction her off in order to find their mother. I liked learning more about Graysen’s home life, but I need him to step it up big time and do the right thing and let Nelle go. As for Nelle, I wish she was older than 19, because she does act like a teenager. The bickering should be funny, but they were just like two kids fighting at times. So I’m still waiting for Nelle to grow, but I know there isn’t much she can do stuck at the fortress- actually I want to see her carry out her promise and burn the place down but nothing like that happened. I do love her wolf-wraith, Sage.

+~ I can’t believe I’m happy about a book having LESS smut, but yay, it has less smut than book one. Though Graysen and Nelle are forced to be together, there is the issue of him betraying her and her being a prisoner that keeps them apart emotionally and physically for most of the book. There is eventually some spice because she’s a Wyrm and he’s her Tamer and it is a kind of mating bond that is hard for them to deny. I feel like they finally get to know each other better in this book but I still want to see more of an emotional connection between them. And speaking of smut…it felt so comical at times! I think it’s supposed to be funny because these two are always fighting. I was laughing at times but also rolling my eyes at these two – I could not take them seriously.

~ At this rate, I want to learn more about Silas Boone and less about the Crowthers. 😒. The story barely budged forward and this is a 635 page book (but it does read quickly because I kept waiting for something to happen). We learn a lot about Tabitha, Graysen’s mom, but I want to learn more about the Horned Gods – what is their deal? I mean, can Nelle have another romance option, like maybe Silas? I’m open to it because Graysen needs to lose her and hurt about it. 😅

~ I wanted Graysen to grovel, but he hasn’t even said sorry…it’s the only reason I read this book actually. To see how Nelle would punish the Crowthers…but except for some pranks she pulls on Graysen, there is no punishing happening, except to Nelle. I actually haven’t read a book that’s made me so mad at the characters before 😂.

~ And speaking of lack of world-building…I have no sense of what this world is, but they name drop brand names a little too much.

Final Thoughts:

This book feels like filler, because nothing much happens to move the story forward. I still want more world-building, character growth, and emotional connection in the romance. I want to see Nelle enact her revenge and leave Graysen actually, which I know won’t happen – maybe that’s why I’m mad at the story 😅. She’s going to forgive him and help his family out, isn’t she? I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Bound in Inked Flame by. Ava Larksen| Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sun and the Starmaker by. Rachel Griffin | ALC Review | Audiobook

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: The Sun and the Starmaker

Author: Rachel Griffin

Narrator(s): Suzy Jackson

Format: audiobook (NetGalley)

Pages: 448 Listening Time: Approximately 11 hours 7 min

Publication Date: 2/17/26

Publisher: Recorded Books

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Fairy Tale

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

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

There once was a village so far north that most considered it the top of the world… and in that village, the Sun fell in love with her Starmaker. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches comes a whimsical and sweeping romantic fantasy.

Nestled deep in the snowy mountains of the Lost Range, the small village of Reverie endures on a miracle. Beyond the reach of the Sun, Reverie is dependent upon the magic of the mysterious Starmaker: every morning, he trudges across a vast glacier and pulls in sunlight over the peaks, providing the village with the light it needs to survive.

Aurora Finch grew up on tales of the Starmaker’s magic, never imagining she’d one day meet him. But on the morning of her wedding, a fateful encounter in the frostbitten woods changes everything. The Starmaker senses a powerful magic within her and demands she come study under his guidance. With her newfound abilities tied to the survival of the village, Aurora is swept away to his ice-covered castle at the mountain’s peak.

The Starmaker is as cold and distant as the dark woods, leaving Aurora to explore his enchanted castle with only an immortal rabbit for company. Yet the more she discovers about the sorcerer, the stronger their ruinous attraction grows, pulling her closer to the secrets he refuses to share. A deadly frost approaches, and Aurora must uncover what the Starmaker is hiding before she is left in an endless winter that even the Sun cannot touch.

Content Warning: death, grief

+ The narrator did a great job voicing all the characters in this story.

+ This is a beautifully told story that starts off with a fairytale. It definitely gave me Frozen + Beauty and the Beast vibes. Aurora loved the story of the Starmaker as a child, a Sun goddess who fell in love with a human, who then becomes the Starmaker. And when Aurora becomes the next Starmaker Rising, her whole world changes! I loved all the magical elements of the story. This story is set in a very cold climate and it felt like it from start to finish.

+ Aurora has a deep love for her family and she does a lot of things for them. I liked that about her. Her character goes through a few things and find that she wants to shine on her own, without being a bride until it was her choice to marry. She trains to be the next Starmaker with the current Starmaker’s help. The Starmaker (Caspian) is not a happy man, he’s a grouch and wants to be left alone – he’s been alive too long, lived with loss and pain and now with Aurora becoming the next Starmaker, he knows his own time was coming to an end. So they clash a lot because Aurora is so stubborn.

+ The romance is emotional, heartbreaking and bittersweet. Aurora and the Starmaker clash a lot, but being forced to train and live together, makes something more grow between them. Friendship and then love. There is a big price to being a Starmaker – it causes pain, it causes death, and yet without a Starmaker, a whole village could die. So there is big responsibility in the role, but the price that has to be paid is painful – as Aurora finds out. This is categorized as young adult, but there is one spicy scene which isn’t very graphic, but it is there. So I don’t know if this is more New Adult? Not sure.

~ I enjoyed the story a lot but Aurora was so stubborn and always fighting Caspian for no real reason except being mad at him because he revealed she was the next Starmaker and it changed her life. Yet it wasn’t his fault, it was the sun who chose her! He keeps telling her if she fights her role as Starmaker she will die, but she keeps fighting it and him. She took out her anger on him every chance she got…which was frustrating. I wanted her to grow up. So I didn’t totally love her character – there is growth at the end when she is again forced to face her responsibilities, but she is very stubborn.

Final Thoughts:

This story is told like a fairytale with magic, lovable creatures, and themes of family. I didn’t quite love Aurora all the time throughout the story but I guess her stubbornness is what kept her love with Caspian going. I still enjoyed her story about falling in love with the Starmaker, it’s beautiful and heartbreaking. This is a beautifully told and narrated story about love, magic, fate, sacrifice, stubbornness and grief.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Bring Me Your Midnight by. Rachel Griffin | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Nature of Witches by. Rachel Griffin | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by. Emma Simmerman | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart

Author: Emma Simmerman

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 2/3/26

Publisher: Avon a

Categories: New Adult, Mystery, Thriller, 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 Avon a for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets Tell Me Lies in this binge-worthy debut murder mystery about a college student whose senior year takes a deadly turn when her exes start turning up dead…

Every time a guy breaks my heart, I write him a eulogy in my journal. It’s kind of my thing—closure through creative mourning. They don’t actually die… or, at least, they didn’t.

Now? These guys aren’t just dead to me, they’re dead to everyone. And I’m the prime suspect.

With my senior year at Pembroke College—and my entire future—on the line, I’ve got no choice but to play detective. Unfortunately, that means teaming up with my long-standing frenemy, Asher, who is insufferable and somehow always there when I need him the least. We bicker, we banter, we occasionally almost hook up, but with the body count rising and my name all over the suspect board, there’s no time to get distracted.

Between college parties, messy exes, suspicious deaths, and a murder investigation I never asked to be a part of—one thing’s for this is not how I thought my last year would go.

Here’s to hoping I can find out who the real killer is… before someone ends up writing my eulogy.,

Content Warning: alcohol use, drug use, violence, death, murder, cheating

I went into this book thinking this was young adult – I bumped it up to New Adult because there is spice in this one, which I didn’t mind at all. I actually want more New Adult mystery thrillers like this one!

Sloane is in her senior year of college but this girl is messy. She’s had a few scandals, and has a reputation but all she’s looking for is love – except the guys she picks aren’t the best. And it doesn’t stop her from writing a eulogy for each on in her journal, whenever things fizzle out. But now her journal is missing and the guys she writes about are ending up dead. But who is the killer?

This one kept me on my toes and I didn’t figure out who the killer was, which fun! There are a few suspects that could credibly be the killer, but it was twisty enough to make me not see the betrayals coming.

The messy romance kept me invested. Sloane wants Wes, her friend who she hooked up with and who is back with his girlfriend. Asher, Wes’ cousin, is a total a-hole, but he makes a deal with Sloane to keep her secret of hooking up with Wes, if she fake dates him to make Wes jealous and she can convince him to give up being owner their family resort (which Asher wants). Sloane and Asher are frenemies to lovers but can it last? And what about Wes? Does she still want him? Wes is the nice guy, but when Sloane is with Asher – fireworks, they are always fighting, but I loved it, and the banter was funny!

Sloane is NOT good at picking her men, plus she’s always drinking, always partying, and at times I was tired of her antics. But I found all this college partying so accurate, and them hooking up with whoever is just realistic, so I cut Sloane some slack.

I don’t know how I feel about the ending – there is closure, but also, it felt rushed and I wanted something more concrete!

Final Thoughts:

This one is a fun, twisty mystery thriller that kept me on my toes. The messy romance was keeping me invested along with the murder mystery. There is spice, a little cheating too, but it’s too be expected with Sloane and her friends I think. Would have loved the ending to have more closure but I guess I can imagine what happens next in my own way. Overall, I enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more books from this author!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Book of Blood & Roses by. Annie Summerlee | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Book of Blood & Roses (The Castillo Chronicles, #1)

Author: Annie Summerlee

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: 1/13/26

Publisher: Del Rey

Categories: Dark Academia, Vampires, LGBT+, Romance, Fantasy, New Adult

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

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

In book one of a seductive sapphic paranormal fantasy, a vampire hunter goes undercover at a mysterious university and falls in love with her roommate, an alluring vampire.

“Then her red eyes are on mine, gentle, deadly. She takes her time kissing my neck. I pull her closer and say: Bite me.”

In the mists of the Scottish Highlands is a university where vampire students study alongside humans.

Rebecca Charity is a vampire hunter undercover at the university, searching for the mysterious Book of Blood and Roses, a lost compendium of ways to kill vampires. If she finds it, she’ll be one step closer to avenging her parents, who were slain by those creatures of the night.

But when Rebecca arrives, she finds something unexpected: a coffin. Her new roommate is Aliz Astra, scion of one of the most powerful vampire families… and the most beautiful woman Rebecca has ever met.

The maddeningly gorgeous Aliz is everything that Rebecca has always hated, but also everything she ever wanted, and now Rebecca doesn’t know if she wants to kiss or kill her.

When Aliz rescues her from a vampire attack one moonlit night, she accidentally makes Rebecca her familiar. Now, they must work together to break the curse, but as they get closer to solving the mystery, Rebecca and Aliz get closer, too.

But can a vampire hunter ever fall in love with a vampire?

Content Warning: violence

A vampire hunter goes undercover at a university home to vampires. Her task? To find the book of Blood & Roses because it has all the answers on how to hurt vampires, or so she’s been told. Rebecca has to make friends, but she is on edge being surrounded by her enemies.

This story has a sapphic romance which is very enemies to lovers, especially on Rebecca/Cassie’s part because she is undercover and really hates vampires. So her falling for Aliz, who is a vampure and has a reputation around campus, and is her roommate that sleeps in a coffin, is really against Rebecca’s values! It’s a major conflict for her but the attraction between them is undeniable and soon they can’t get enough of one another and things get spicy too.

There are some twists and it was fun to see everything connect in the end.

Rebecca as a character was very strong in her hate of vampires and I needed her to chill out for a moment especially if she was going undercover. I thought her hate for them was going to make her blow her cover right away. It was nice to see her finally relent a little, the forced proximity to Aliz helped a lot with that though.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I thought this was an entertaining story about vampires with a sapphic enemies to lovers love story. If you like academic settings and a romance between and hunter and vampire, you might enjoy this one.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Lies of Lena by. Kylie Snow | ALC Review | Audiobook

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Lies of Lena (The Otacian Chronicles, #1)

Author: Kylie Snow

Narrator(s): Kieran Regan; Natalie Van Sistine

Format: audiobook (NetGalley)

Pages: 462 Listening Time: Approximately 12 hours 34 min

Publication Date: 1/6/26

Publisher: Gollancz

Categories: Romantasy, New Adult

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

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

A SECRET MAGE. A VENGEFUL PRINCE.
WILL FORBIDDEN LOVE UNITE THE REALM – OR BURN IT DOWN…
*please check trigger warnings before diving in

In Tovagoth, Mages like Lena Daelyra live in hunted, outlawed, and reviled. Even after fleeing to Otacia, Lena hides her magic, cloaked in silence. But when she meets Quinn Callon, a quick-witted swordsman from the Inner Ring, her walls begin to crack. He trains Lena to fight, never suspecting the truth she hides. But as their connection deepens, so does the danger… and Lena knows love is a risk she can’t afford.

Silas La’Rune, Crown Prince of Otacia, has been caged within the Kingdom castle since the kidnapping and murder of his sister, the Princess. Until one day beyond the castle walls reveals a Kingdom rotting beneath its guiled surface – and a girl who shouldn’t exist.

When tragedy tears Lena from Quinn, as destiny would have it, Lena and Silas’ paths collide. For the future of Magekind depends on them, and love could just about be the deadliest weapon…

Content Warning: violence, torture, sexual assault, rape, grief

I remember seeing this book all over the booktoks and book socials this past year and I even downloaded but I don’t know why I never read it. I can’t say I love the original cover, but I do like this new one for the audiobook. I decided to try it out the story this way to see if I could actually get into the book.

This story was a little all over the place. It’s got a lot of the usual romantasy tropes like secret identity and forbidden love. A teenage girl who is secretly a Mage, meets a handsome boy on the streets who has his own secret and from there they train together and a sweet romance grows. Sweet….but spicy. Yes, there as spicy scenes between teens in this story which was very surprising to me because it is graphic. Didn’t love that but I really did believe in their teenage love story and was rooting for them since both characters seemed like good people.

The world-building I thought was pretty light, a kingdom called Otacia is ruled by a king who has oppressed mages. In this world they use copper, silver, gold for currency, they wear tunics and then out of the blue a character will mention they have pizza as food? Sometimes modern clothing is mentioned. Even modern speech was used in this world so I had a lot of questions about the world-building. There is also a time-jump in part two of the story where it jumps ahead 5 years. I’m glad for the jump because the sixteen year olds having spicy scenes early on was kind of jarring. They also mention vampires, and the undead, so this world seems to have everything.

As for the characters? Lena is naive and acted like an impulsive, love-struck teenager, making wrong decisions. At least with the 5 year jump, I feel like there is a lot of growth there. Gone are the sweet teens. Lena’s stronger, has grown without Silas, knows her magic better and now is thrust into a position to lead. Silas, went from a sheltered prince to a cold, violent, damaged one. There are other characters, like Torrin, who just disappears, which I though was kind of strange.

As for the romance, like I said it’s a sweet love in the beginning. But with the time jump, and Silas and Lena having moved on with their lives, their reunion is not a happy one. Now they both have other options, trauma from the past, and I know it’s going to be very dramatic when these two ever get back together. It was just strange to me that they are fated but Lena is looking at every attractive guy – like what?

But despite all these issues the narrators did such an amazing job at bringing this story to life. All the stars I’m giving is mostly for them. I feel like if I read this book as an ebook or hardcover I would have DNF’ed because of the naivety of the characters, and the light world-building, but their voices made this story kind of addicting which surprised me!

Note the triggers for this book because there are some ugly scenes it in. It’s violent, there is grief, there is rape. But I will say even though it was awful, I felt like the author never stayed in the darkness for long and moved past certain events quickly. There was a feeling that things just moved quickly in the story, without dwelling in certain feelings, thoughts or emotions for the character. The story lacked depth.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, this audiobook was great. I really don’t think I would have been able to continue this book if I read it in another form, but this audiobook really brought the story to life. There are a lot of issues with the story but I will say because the audiobook was addicting, that this is the kind of story you sit back with your popcorn next to you and just read for the messiness of it all. It’s filled with drama, and eye-rolling moments to the point it made me cackle. I’m not here for the writing quality or the plot really – I think I’m here for the drama, so yes I will be reading book two soon.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

An Arcane Inheritance by. Kamilah Cole | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: An Arcane Inheritance

Author: Kamilah Cole

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: 12/30/25

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Categories: New Adult, Dark Academia, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Magical Realism, LGBT+, 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 Sourcebooks for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A modern-day dark academia fantasy with a twist, perfect for fans of Babel and A Deadly Education.

Warren University has stood amongst the ivy elite for centuries, built on the bones―and forbidden magic―of its most prized BIPOC students…hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright. No matter who they must sacrifice along the way.

Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her Freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely…familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of déjà vu grows increasingly sinister.

Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can’t convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic…this time, she may lose herself for good.d

Content Warning: violence, racism, classism

+ I was intrigued with this story right away. Ellory is a Jamaican immigrant, who’s parents sent her to America to live with her Aunt, so she could get a better life and education. She’s studied so hard but even with good grades, money was never easy to come by so she worked – saved and now is a 21 year old freshman at Warren University. Ellory wants to be a lawyer to make her family proud. I found Ellory so relatable. Her immigrant story is like many in this country and her trying to get a good education is her ticket to success.

+ There are many issues that are brought up throughout the story from colonialism, elitism, racism, and classism. It’s interesting to see how Ellory tries to uncover secrets of Warren University’s past to expose how the wealthy and privilege get away with atrocities. A few elements are woven together in this story and I think it worked, at least for me! I loved the dark academia, and the creepy atmosphere of the library and some other parts of campus. There is a sinister feel that is there throughout the story as Ellory tries to figure out what is going on with missing memories she is experiencing and feelings of being in another space/time. There are mentions of magic and alchemy and maybe a secret society at work. It gave me Legendborn and Inception vibes.

+ I loved how realistic Ellory’s life as a college student was from the studying, going to parties, living off of coffee and trying to make new friends. Now as strange things happen to her on campus and she does more digging though, she comes off as an unreliable narrator – because what are these memories, or missing memories and dejavu she has been experiencing?

+ I did like the slow burn love story between Ellory and Hudson. Clearly there is something there, a sense of dejavu and we don’t know why until the end. But they are rivals in their constitutional law class and I thought their interactions, the bickering and arguing was fun. Also, the reveal at the end was devastating but made me love their romance more.

~ As much as I was hooked onto this book, I did have some issues. This story leads up to a very unexpected and surprising plot twist but I would have liked more information on the secret society, and the magic leading up to it. Things felt vague, maybe on purpose, but I wish we got a just a little more information just so when the plot twist happens it doesn’t feel confusing or weak. I had to sit with it for a moment just to make sure it made sense in my head.

~ I wanted more between Ellory and Hudson. I loved that they were rivals, and then he starts helping her with trying to find out what’s going but I wanted a few more kisses in there! But that’s a personal preference. They are rivals, but except for their first meeting and a few descriptions about why they are rivals, we don’t see it in action. I just wanted more interactions between them since it is very important to the twist.

Final Thoughts:

I could not put this book down because I needed to find out what was going on. I liked Ellory and Hudson and the whole atmosphere of Warren University with the gothic library, and dark secret past. I do wish we had more information about the magic since there is a huge plot twist in this story that involves magic. Also would have loved more interaction with Ellory and Hudson because their love story is wonderful, and one of the main reasons everything devastating happens in this story. Overall, even with the issues I had with it I was very entertained.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Not in My Book by. Katie Holt | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Not in My Book

Author: Katie Holt

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 12/10/25

Categories: Romance Contemporary

Rosie Maxwell has a move to New York, get her creative writing degree from NYU, become a bestselling romance writer. But that plan is derailed when she ends up in class with her archnemesis and ex-crush, Aiden Huntington, an obnoxious, surly, unreasonably gorgeous literary fiction writer who has no patience for romance – or for Rosie.

Exhausted by Rosie and Aiden’s constant verbal sparring, their professor gives them an leave her class, or cowrite a novel that blends their respective genres.

As Rosie and Aiden collaborate on their (accidentally steamy) novel, they try to put their differences aside. Could their manuscript-in-progress be just the outlet they need to confess their feelings – and explore their mutual attraction?

But a potentially career-changing opportunity soon reignites the flames of their old rivalry. Rosie and Aiden’s once-in-a-lifetime love story is once again at risk of being shelved – unless they can find a way to end the book on their own terms…

Content Warning: complicated relationship with parent

+ I had borrowed this book last year and didn’t get a chance to read it. So I borrowed it again because I needed to read a contemporary romance and this hit the spot!

+ Rosie and Aiden are writers taking a workshop class at NYU. Rosie writes romance, and Aiden writes literary fiction. They do NOT get along. They fight so much that their professor asked them to drop of out of her class or they can stay but work on a story together. This forces them to hang out together and work out their differences and it mostly works.

+ I loved the secondary characters: Rosie’s friends, her roommate and also her family. I loved the Peruvian representation since Rosie is half.

+ The romance was very rivals to lovers, almost enemies to lovers, but the tension is so strong that their attraction is as strong also, which made the spicy scenes unexpectedly spicy! Who knew Aiden had it in him 😅. Throughout the book I didn’t think he would turn out to be a dirty talker in bed! When they eventually give one another a chance, they have a fun and lovely relationship.

~ Aiden is grumpy and Rosie is sunshine but sometimes they both got on my nerves! The third act break-up actually made me so pissed off at Aiden that I didn’t want her to go back to him. But also, Rosie, really went off accusing of him of lying when really if they could just both control their tempers and talk, things wouldn’t have had to take a dramatic turn. He did do a big gesture at the end so I eventually forgave him but yeah both of them got on my nerves at times!

Final Thoughts:

I’m glad I finally read this book and I enjoyed the rivals to lovers, academia world (writer’s life), the setting of New York and how it also had some holiday scenes. Sometimes their fighting was immature or they could have had better communication but overall, I enjoyed the story.