Title: The Robin on the Oak Throne (The Oak and the Holly Cycle, #2)
Author: K.A. Linde
Narrator: Stephanie Németh-Parker
Format: audiobook (Libby)
Pages: 480 / Audio Reading Time (approx.): 19h
Publication Date: 6/16/25
Categories: Romantasy, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Series
The only thing worse than fearing a monster is falling for one …
Kierse McKenna just shattered the Monster Treaty. Again.
It wasn’t entirely her fault. The job was supposed to be steal a goblin-made bracelet off of the Queen of the Nymphs in her own palace. Trade the bracelet for a way to uncover the truth about her past. Except everything goes sideways.
And then he shows up to save her.
Graves—the warlock who ensnared her, betrayed her, and left her to fend for herself. He’s a villain. A monster draped in charm and shadows. And gods help her, he always knows exactly what she wants.
But Graves never does anything for free. He has a job for his favorite little thief. One that will pit her against the most powerful monsters in existence, including his mortal enemy, the Oak King.
An ancient artifact has been located, and only together can they hope to steal it. She just has to let him in.
But once she lets a monster in, he’s impossible to forget … and even harder to resist.
Content Warning: violence
+ There is one narrator for this audiobook and she really did a great job doing all the voices – and this is a big cast, so credit to her! I gave the first book The Wren in the Holly, 3 stars. I didn’t love it but I wanted to see if hearing the second book as an audiobook would make me enjoy this series more. I did like listening to it as an audiobook and I enjoy the world building of this urban fantasy world.
+ Kierse is a fun character – I like her personality. With everything going on, I feel like she stayed constantly upbeat. Graves was his usual dangerous self and the two of them have a few spicy scenes together. They have trust issues between them because of what happened in book one but they can’t deny their physical attraction to one another and they act on it a few times.
~ Kierse is trying to find a magical object, but she’s also trying to remember things from her past that have been repressed and for the first half of the story this is what is happening – but it was a slog to get through. The beginning is fine, but the middle was boring. It does pick up again in last 25% of the book, but I just wish things were happening. I felt like they kept coming to dead ends.
~ Not sure where this story is headed but I think I might stop the reading the series.
Final Thoughts:
This series isn’t for me. I thought listening to is as an audiobook would help me enjoy it more and I did enjoy it more than book one and even thought it would be a higher rating, but the middle was slow and boring. If you liked book one, you will definitely like this one but for me, I won’t continue the series.
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.
Prompts:Do you like to use quotes from books in your book review? If so, do you prefer to keep them at a minimum or do you include as many as you can? Do you like to make posts with excerpts or extracts from novels? Do you think that quotes and excerpts/extracts make readers more or less interested in reading the book? Why or why not?
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Do you like to use quotes from books in your book review? If so, do you prefer to keep them at a minimum or do you include as many as you can?
I used to try to include quotes from books in my book reviews but I either got lazy or I didn’t highlight the quotes I liked in the book (because I was lazy😅).
Do you like to make posts with excerpts or extracts from novels?
I would LIKE to be that kind of person who has patience to make posts with excerpts and extracts – but again, I’m too lazy.
Do you think that quotes and excerpts/extracts make readers more or less interested in reading the book? Why or why not?
I love quotes so I feel like it would make readers more interested but I’m not sure how other people feel about it. I think a quote or excerpt can give someone an idea of what the book is about – it can either turn them on to the book or off. In that way, I think they are super helpful.
August Topics:
August 1: Multiple Copies of Books
Prompts:Do you have multiple copies of any books? What makes you want to get more than one copy of a certain book? What books do you have multiple copies of? Are there any books that you want to get more copies of in the future?
August 8: Reading Slump vs Bookish Hangover (Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)
Prompts:What’s the difference between a reading slump and bookish hangover—do you think there’s a difference? How do you get out of both situations? What are examples of books that put you in a reading slump and books that caused you to have a book hangover?For more information, Book Riot has some really interesting articles about using neuroscience to understand reading slumps and the psychology of a book hangover.
August 15: A Change in Bookish Opinions
Prompts:Have your bookish opinions changed over the years, and if so, in what ways have they changed? Do you think your bookish opinions have changed because of being part of the bookish community (including on social media), reading more books, or book blogging? Have your bookish opinions changed in ways you didn’t expect?
Prompts:Do you like to use quotes from books in your book review? If so, do you prefer to keep them at a minimum or do you include as many as you can? Do you like to make posts with excerpts or extracts from novels? Do you think that quotes and excerpts/extracts make readers more or less interested in reading the book? Why or why not?
August 29: Six Years of LTB: An Anniversary Freebie
Prompts:How quickly does time fly for us to now be celebrating six years of bookish discussions?! 🎉 Whether you’re new to LTB or have stuck around for years, thank you for joining us in these weekly bookish discussions! To celebrate, we’re making this week an anniversary freebie. Revisit a topic that you’ve done before, go back to a topic that you’ve missed, or write about something else you’re interested in. Check out our blogs—Aria, Dini and Rukky—for ideas!
Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Paranormal, 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 Tor Teen for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
From New York Times bestselling author Susan Dennard comes The Executioners Three, a mystery filled with rivalry, romance, best friends, and a gruesome curse that dates back centuries.
Freddie Gellar didn’t mean to get half the rival high school arrested. She’d simply heard shrieks coming from the woods, so she’d called the cops like any good human would do. How was she supposed to know it was just kids partying?
Except the next day, a body is found. And while the local sheriff might call it suicide, Freddie’s instincts tell her otherwise. So, like the aspiring sleuth (and true X-Files aficionado) she is, Freddie sets out to prove there’s a murderer at large.
Content Warning: violence, murder, death
+ This was a really interesting book and one I wasn’t quite expecting. This book is set in the 1990’s and the clues was definitely how Freddie loved the X-Files and NSYNC (she LOATHES The Backstreet Boys and hi, I was a BSB fan, not NSYNC 😅). This story gave me Stranger Things vibes minus the demi-gorgon, it was the time period that was similar and the way the characters talked and acted.
+ Freddie is a fun character. She’s trying to investigate something that has been happening in town but also, she’s a prankster. Her and her best-friend Divya are literally hanging with a group of kids at school who does pranks at their rival school. These kids are in high school, so it’s very young adult.
+ Freddie and Theo’s romance is too cute! I loved it.
+ The murder mystery was interesting and I liked how it built. The ending reveal was full of suspense and thrills.
~ I wasn’t sure what I was reading at first and how I felt about it but I’m glad I pushed through because things get dark. But for all it’s darkness because of the murders I felt like there was enough humor to keep things light.
Final Thoughts:
Here is another book you should pick up for the fall season! It’s dark (but fun) with a murder mystery and it has Stranger Things vibes. I thought it was cool it was set in the 1990’s, Freddie and her friends are fun and pranksters, and the romance is really cute.
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
Are we really almost at the end of August? Will I really have a teenager next week Wednesday? 😭 I can’t believe my son will be a TEEN. Sigh…where has the time gone? I’m trying to finish up September arcs and then I think I will feel freer for the rest of the year because my arc load will be much less! Just in time for the busy holidays right? Hope you are having a great week!
Brynn has spent the better part of her life waiting for the chance to attend the annual market hosted by the Kenta, the very same people who exiled the Alaha to live a life over the sea. A rite of passage for all young guards, she’s not sure what to expect from it, but breaking a century- long peace treaty certainly isn’t on her map.
Neither is the encounter with an enemy soldier.
Returning home to Alaha, she’s confronted with the aftermath of the day’s events. The future is uncertain as the threat of hunger looms over the people. With rumors of a growing rebellion, Brynn and her closest friends promise to stick together.
When an unexpected visitor arrives, Brynn’s loyalty will be tested as she learns of a world of magic and treachery. Once her enemy, always her enemy, right? But the dark, knowing eyes of a stranger make her question everything…
…including her heart.
My Thoughts: I saw the hype on BookTok about the plot twist and yes I was shocked but for me it didn’t make sense. So I wish I loved it as much as other people do.
In this addictive new fantasy series set in a world where magic is fueled by pleasure and pain, an obsessive detective infiltrates a brutal gang of dark mages—knowing that one wrong move will get her killed. . . .
Two decades ago, the Bloodmoons ruthlessly murdered Saffron Killoran’s parents, destroying her idyllic childhood. Hell-bent on revenge, she lies her way into Silvercloak Academy—the training ground for her city’s elite order of detectives—with a single goal: to bring the Bloodmoons to justice.
But when Saff’s deception is exposed, rather than being cast out, she’s given a rare opportunity: to go undercover and tear the Bloodmoons down from the inside.
Descending into a world where pleasure and pain are the most powerful currencies, Saff must commit some truly heinous deeds to keep her cover—and her life. Not only are there rival gangs and sinister smuggling rings to contend with, but there’s also her growing feelings for the kingpin’s tortured son, with his vicious pet fallowwolf, his dark past, and the curious prophecy foretelling his death at Saffron’s hand.
With each day testing her loyalties further, Saff finds her web of lies becoming harder to spin. And when one false step could destroy everything and everyone she’s ever loved . . . the detective who’s dedicated her life to vengeance just might die for it.
My Thoughts: Love this one, but I did give it 3.5 stars because of some issues. But it’s actually a book I can’t stop thinking about and can’t wait for book two. Hopefully I love book two more!
Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials. She’ll risk her life—and her heart—to be one of them…
Meryn Cooper has never dreamed of being one of the Bonded, the King’s elite warriors who form mental links with massive, vicious direwolves. She’s made peace with her life scraping by in poverty in the shadows of the castle. But then her younger sister Saela is kidnapped, stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting.
And Meryn’s world falls apart.
Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army—only to discover that there are Bonding Trials this year, where all soldiers are forced to risk their lives in an attempt to connect with a direwolf. It’s too late to turn back; Meryn is thrown into the deadly competition against her will.
Now, she’ll need to survive the next four months of training at the castle if she wants a chance of finding Saela. Everything here is a test, from the brutal classes where one mistake means death, to the glittering court parties where every smile hides a knife.
To make things worse, Meryn is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her gorgeous instructor, Stark Therion, is as malicious as the wolves himself.
Everyone is out to get her—everyone but the dangerously handsome crown prince, Killian Valtiere. But if she loses her heart to him, she may also lose her life.
What do you get if you mix Harry Potter with Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy, a dash of Arthurian legend, and lots and lots of vampires? Bloodwing Academy.
I didn’t sign up for this.
A half-fae in a school of highblood vampires? That’s a recipe for torment.
I’m Medra Pendragon—last of the dragon riders, or so they tell me. Funny thing is, there are no dragons left. Not a single one. But somehow, that hasn’t stopped the vampires from deciding I’m worth capturing. Now I’m stuck at Bloodwing Academy, where the highbloods run everything and blightborn like me? We’re just blood in their veins, pawns in their games.
But that’s not even the worst part. Enter Blake Drakharrow. Cold, arrogant, and way too gorgeous for his own good. He’s been tormenting me since the moment we met, and now, thanks to some ancient ritual, we’re betrothed. He acts like he owns me, but I’m not going down without a fight.
Bloodwing isn’t just a school—it’s a battlefield. Highbloods fight for power, and if you’re weak? You’re dead.
Between deadly competitions, lies that could get me executed, and a dragon-shaped secret looming over my head, all I have to do is survive. Easy, right? Except I’m starting to think the real danger isn’t the academy—it’s what I’m becoming in this twisted game of power.
And Blake? He might just be the one who pushes me over the edge.
They think they can control me. They think they can use me.
But they have no idea what they’ve awakened.
My Thoughts: Another hyped book on BookTok that I was curious about. Tried it out and didn’t love how long it was, don’t love the main love interest…I did read book two but hated the MMC even more. 😅
Like everyone else in the settlement of Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped. Founded by an ambitious Scottish lumber merchant, the tiny town on the edge of the American continent is blessed with rich natural resources that have made its people prosperous—but at a cost. The same woods that have lined the townsfolks’ pockets harbor dangerous beasts: wolves, bears, and the Bright-Eyeds—monsters beyond description who have rained utter destruction down on nearby settlements. But Mistaken’s founders made a deal with the mysterious Benevolence: the Warding Stones that surround the town will keep the Bright-Eyeds out—and the town’s citizens in. Anyone who spends a night within Mistaken’s borders belongs to it forever.
Greer, a mapmaker and eccentric dreamer, has always ached to explore the world outside, even though she knows she and her longtime love, Ellis Beaufort, will never see it. Until, on the day she and Ellis are meant to finally begin their lives together, Greer watches in horror as her beloved disappears beyond the Warding Stones, pursued by a monstrous creature. Swiftly realizing that the stories she was raised on might be more myth than fact, Greer figures out a way to escape Mistaken for the very first time. Determined to rescue Ellis, she begins a trek through the cold and pitiless wilderness. But Greer is being hunted, not only by the ruthless Bright-Eyeds but by the secret truths behind Mistaken’s founding, as well as her own origins.
Playfully drawing from Scottish folklore, Erin A. Craig’s adult debut is both a deeply atmospheric and profoundly romantic exploration of freedom versus security: a stunning celebration of one woman’s relentless bravery on a quest to reclaim her lost love—and claim her own future.
My Thoughts: I love this author, she’s a must read. I enjoyed the atmosphere of this book but the story goes in a different direction and it feels like 2 books. I still enjoyed it but wish I enjoyed it more.
The finale in the contemporary fantasy Only a Monster trilogy from Vanessa Len—which New York Times bestselling authors Holly Black, Chloe Gong, and Stephanie Garber called “delightful,” “captivating,” and “unputdownable”—will take Joan into the darkest timeline in the monster world, as she fights to restore the world she remembers.
Joan has failed to stop Eleanor.
Now, Eleanor rules over a cruel new timeline where monsters live openly among humans, preying on them and subjugating them.
Nick – once a hero to humans, and Joan’s first love – is tormented by the choice he made to save her over the timeline itself. And Aaron – the ruthless heir to a powerful monster family – now finds himself a world where monsters have power beyond imagining, while his feelings for Joan grow.
But, wrenched between love and rivalry, the three of them must negotiate their fractured pasts to survive the new world and restore what was lost. Because only they remember that there was once a better timeline.
To save the world they love, they’ll have to outmaneuver an all-seeing queen who controls time itself. Lethal consequences await any failure in this final breathless race against time.
When a demonic presence awakens deep in a Mexican silver mine, the young woman it seizes must turn to the one man she shouldn’t trust… from bestselling author Isabel Cañas.
In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their teeth: Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong.
Elías, haunted by a troubled past, came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family’s legacy of greed. Alba, as his cousin’s betrothed, is none of his business. Which is of course why he can’t help but notice her every time she enters a room or the growing tension between them… and why he notices her deteriorate when the demon’s thirst for blood grows stronger.
Princess Yulana has a few problems. Her late grandfather has died without naming an heir, civil war threatens to tear the Morning Realms apart, a strange waking dreamer sickness is sweeping through the land, and a plague of hungry ghosts roam the steppes. On top of all of that, Kho, her former best friend turned rival, is getting under her skin. A struggle for power divides the north, and the outcome rests on the winner of the Grand Game―a competition that will determine not just the future of her people, but the course of the entire empire.
When the world is out of balance, the Guardians of Dawn are reborn.
As the Guardian of Wind, it is Yuli’s responsibility to bring order to chaos, along with the Guardian of Fire and the Guardian of Wood. But can she restore balance to the Morning Realms when she can’t even win the political games being played at home? The fate of the Morning Realms depends on the Guardians of Dawn, and whether Yuli can manage both the demonic and political chaos at once.
#1 New York Times-bestselling author Tricia Levenseller makes her adult debut in What Fury Brings, a sexy, empowering romantasy featuring a warrior general who must kidnap and train a husband in order to take her rightful place as queen.
There’s a shortage of men in the kingdom of Amarra. After a failed rebellion against the matriarchy, most noblemen in the country are dead. Now the women of Amarra must obtain their husbands (should they want one) by kidnapping them from other kingdoms.
Olerra, a warrior princess vying for the throne, is determined to prove her worth by kidnapping a husband. And not just any husband. To outmaneuver her treacherous cousin, she needs the best. Fortunately, the second-born prince of their greatest enemy is widely known for both his looks and his sweet, docile temperament. He’s the perfect choice to secure her claim to the throne.
Sanos, heir to the Kingdom of Brutus, has nothing but contempt for the idea of a society run by women. Trained from birth to fight, lead, and follow in his father’s overbearing footsteps, his path has always been set. Until he takes his younger brother’s place in a drunken prank and finds himself kidnapped, carted off to the Amarran Palace, and informed that he is to become the husband of Queen Potential Olerra. Sanos needs to escape before anyone learns his real identity, but the more he gets to know his captor, the less sure he is of what he truly wants.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
This week’s topic is:
Books with a High Page Count That I Read This Year | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 8/19/25
Books have been having high page counts on the regular now which is surprising to me. I consider 500 pages long so here are the longest books I read this year that are 500 pages and more.
Anathema by. Keri Lake – 688 pages – from what I remember, I enjoyed it but did think it was long.
Onyx Storm by. Rebecca Yarros – 758 pages – this felt like it.
Oathbound by. Tracy Deonn – 656 pages – this book went by fast, especially the second half.
July 1: Freebie/Throwback (Come up with a topic you’d like to do or go back and do an old topic you missed or just want to do again!) July 8: Books I’d Like to Re-read (Share either your favorite books that you enjoy re-reading or books that you’d like to read again!) (Submitted by Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog) July 15: Books with Honorifics in the Title (“…an honorific is a form of address conveying esteem, courtesy or respect. These can be titles prefixing a person’s name, e.g.: Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Mx., Sir, Dame, Dr., Cllr, Lady, or Lord, or other titles or positions that can appear as a form of address without the person’s name, as in Mr. President, General, Captain, Father, Doctor, or Earl.” For more info, click here.) (Submitted by Joanne @ Portobello Book Blog) July 22: Books Set in/Take Place During X (Pick a place, time, era, etc. Examples: Books set in Europe/Italy/Australia/Chicago, books set in Regency England, books that take place during the 1900s, books set in imaginary worlds/post-apocalyptic/dystopian worlds, books set on the ocean, books set it castles, books that take place during WW2, etc.) July 29: Beach/Beachy Reads (Share books you’d take to the beach OR books that take place at the beach.) August 5: Genre freebie (Pick any genre you’d like and build a list around it. You can even narrow the topic if you’d like, such as: thrillers with unreliable narrators, fantasy romance with fae characters, or historical romance with suspense elements.) August 12: Books Guaranteed to Put an End to Your Book Slump (Which books would you recommend to someone (it’s me, I’m someone) dealing with the dreaded book slump? No book is grabbing their attention or making them excited to sit down and read and they are suffering for it.) August 19: Books with a High Page Count (Share those doorstop books!) August 26: Non-bookish Freebie (The sky is the limit here. Make a top ten list on any topic of your choosing, bookish or not!) September 2: Books With Occupations in the Title (Submitted by Hopewell’s Public Library of Life) September 9: Villains (favorite, best, worst, lovable, creepiest, most evil, etc.) September 16: Literary/Bookish Candles I’d Make (Pick a book and assign it a fragrance or fragrance combo that would make a nice candle.) (Submitted by Heather @ The Frozen Library) September 23: Books on My Fall 2025 to-Read List September 30: Book Covers that Give off Fall Vibes (Or, if you’re not a cover person, share the books in general that feel like Fall.)
The very day Blaze came into the world, she almost drowned it. A Rain Singer born into one of the most powerful fire-wielding families in the empire, Blaze’s birth summoned a devastating storm that left thousands dead. She’s been hidden away ever since with a dark secret: the same torrential power that branded her an outcast disappeared that fateful day. And she’s not sure she wants it back.
When an unexpected invitation arrives for Blaze and her twin brother, Flint, to compete as future rulers of the empire, she’s suddenly thrust into the limelight again — and into battle. Threats abound at the Golden Palace, where intrigue and romance await with not one but two handsome suitors: the enchanting Crown Prince and a dangerously alluring newcomer at court.
As Blaze explores her untapped power, she discovers the throne may be within her grasp. But in order to take it, she’ll have to leave behind the stories that others have told about her, and find the courage to write her own.
Content Warning: violence, grief, death
+ I finally read my gorgeous Fairyloot edition of this book. It’s the prettiest book on my shelf!
+ This book has a lot going on in it like court intrigue, trials, balls, elemental magic, family and friendship bonds. I loved how the story flowed and it had great pacing. Once I got into the world-building I couldn’t put the book down.
+ Blaze is from a family with fire magic, but she doesn’t have that. Her power actually flooded the kingdom when she was younger which actually caused many deaths. So people who don’t know her only know of her devastating power and how it devastated families – they hate her, or are afraid of her but she has no choice now since the Gods have branded her as an Heir. So she has to take part in trials, while undergoing people’s perceptions of her. I like that she has an awesome family, and for someone who had no friends before the trials, she starts to make friends with the help of her twin brother, Flint. There is a lot of growth for Blake who starts off wanting to hide from people and in the end claiming her power.
+ There is a love triangle romance but I don’t want to spoil it so I’ll say it’s done pretty well. It’s young adult so there are only kisses in this story. Hal is the Crown Prince and takes an interest in Blaze. But then his half-brother, Fox, shows up and he’s got quite a reputation of his own. I liked the interactions between Fox and Blaze because he gets under her skin. We’ll see what happens in the next book.
~ There isn’t nothing new in this story, it’s the usual young adult fantasy story but I really did enjoy it a lot.
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a fun young adult fantasy which had a lot of the things I enjoy in this genre: elemental magic, court intrigue, romance, fun side characters, and family themes. I look forward to reading book two.
+ Short week for the kiddos so I got to read a little more, which was nice.
+A friend invited me to a concert at the Waikiki Shell. It was Alex Warren who sings that very popular song, The Ordinary. It’s so funny because I knew that song on booktok edits – they would always use his song on romantasy book reviews or edits! And now he’s on tour 😅. Anyway, it was a little adventure to get to the Waikiki Shell at rush hour on a Thursday! Good thing is my kids had a holiday the next day. I didn’t wanna drive though, so I took the rail for the first time since it started operating I think…last year? I took the rail to near where my friend lived which totally worked out. I avoided traffic and she could pick me up at the rail station and then we both hit rush hour traffic trying to get to Waikiki but she was driving not me. And I forgot how hard it was to find parking around the venue – so we had to circle a few times. Anyway here’s a little video of my adventure:
I didn’t realize Alex Warren’s wife was from Hawaii! I thought his show was very good, he was funny and his voice sounded great live. I only really knew that one song though and it was short since he only has so many songs to sing. He even brought out his mother-in-law to dance a hula which was really cool! It was a nice girl’s night out!
The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video)– Season 3 – how was that scene where Belly is cleaning up Conrad’s wound. She needs to call that wedding off NOW.
Chief of War (Apple+) – Episode 4 – still watching with my son and enjoying it!
Wednesday (Netflix) – Season 2 – Episodes 1-3 – I’m trying to draw this out because I hate how Netflix breaks up a season in 2 parts. RIDICULOUS. 🙄 But enjoying it so far – how can I not? I love Wednesday’s whole personality lol.
Love Next Door (Netflix) – wanted to watch a K-drama rom-com and so far loved episode 1.
Listened to Conan Gray‘s new album: Wishbone – LOVE IT!!!
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
Pages: 450 / Audio Reading Time (approx.): 14h 45m
Publication Date: 8/1/25
Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Brynja spent her childhood as a captive performer in Tenebris, the imposing mountain palace of King Kallias. Every night she risked death for the king’s entertainment until his rebellious son, Prince Ballast, helped her escape. Now twenty, Brynja has never forgotten the brutal king. Or forgiven him. Under the cloak of a three-month-long Winter Dark, Brynja is returning to Tenebris for revenge.
Accompanied by a rival court, including the alluring Prince Vil, Brynja poses as diplomatic royalty to barter peace between nations. No one is better equipped to infiltrate the palace than Brynja—she remembers every hidden passage like a bad dream. But her quest to destroy Kallias is complicated by her feelings for Prince Ballast, whom she isn’t sure she can still trust. And Kallias’s own quest to mine a catastrophic weapon of war buried in the mountain’s heart will threaten them all, and force Brynja to face the darkest parts of herself.
The lives of everyone she loves depend on the choices she must make. So, too, does the fate of the world.
Content Warning: violence, violence towards children
+ There is one narrator for this audiobook and I thought she did a great job with doing all the character voices.
+ I thought the world-building was pretty good. Three different kingdoms, with some animosities between them. The main kingdom this story takes place is in Tenebris who is ruled by King Kallias. He’s a cruel king who uses children as entertainment. These kids are abused and even killed if they don’t please him. Brynja and her friends Saga and Vil, part of the Skanda delegation to Tenebris, are going there under the pretense to make a trade deal, but their ultimate goal is to end his reign.
+ Brynja is an interesting character – she was one of these children in King Kallias’ collection of kids. Her talent was as an acrobat. At her time in Tenebris she befriends, Ballast, who is one of the king’s sons. Brynja does escape Tenebris eventually but coming back brings back bad memories of her time there. While she was at Tenebris, she also befriends Saga who is from Skanda, and in a way when they escape, Saga’s family becomes her found family.
+ The romance between Brynja and Ballast doesn’t really pick up until the end because of their complicated past. It’s a real slow burn and almost an enemies to friendship to lovers kind of story.
+ I enjoyed the politics and there is a plot twist that explains more about Brynja’s past and changes some relationships in the book.
~ This story is told in flashbacks which I don’t usually love and it happens a lot in the story but I did not have a hard time following even though I was listening to it as an audiobook. But I just don’t love the back and forth knowing what year we are in and the years are like 4150 or something like that.
~ The beginning is a bit slow as Brynja, Saga and Vil travel to Tenebris. There is a lot of stories about their gods which I think could be cut back a little because my attention wavered when those stories were told.
~ Brynja got sick a lot in this story when her anxiety hit. I don’t know why that stood out to me but I would always think – she’s gonna be sick, again?! 😅
Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed the audiobook though I did think the story was a tad bit too long especially with all the time jumping I had to pay attention too. I like the world-building though and was invested in Brynja’s journey back to the place she was traumatized and learning more about her past. The plot twist was there for shock value but I’m glad it didn’t end in a cliffhanger but was at least explained afterwards.
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 