+ I think I forgot to post a weekly recap last week! So just quick, last weekend was Thanksgiving weekend and we went over to my mom’s house for a Thanksgiving lunch. No one really loves Turkey so we did other foods, but it was fun as always and nice to be around family.
+ My hubby came back last weekend also – he got the keys to the house in Japan, met the neighbor who is a really nice older man who lives with his sister (I think they are both single?), but they took my hubby to the hardware store and to a piano recital and dinner. My hubby came home and said he would love to go back in March and take our son for spring break. We can’t all go because the price of tickets during spring break is ridiculous. Just for the two of them was a lot – so we have to plan a family trip in 2027. We have enough going on in 2026! I might have to back on the book buying ban because we have trips to plan!
+ My son’s piano recital was yesterday and that was great. He practices two months out so we’ve been hearing his Christmas piano piece since October! 😅
+ My kids have two of school until Winter Break! Yay! It’s a busy month for us.
Stranger Things (Netflix) – Season 5, Part one – so good!
Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Netflix) – 😒
Christmas songs!
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!
In the Kingdom of Kalyn, humans are good for two things. Hunting and owning.
Adina Barron was bred to serve the ruling-class vampires. Owned from birth by Blackwood House, her only desire has been to keep herself and her sister safe. But Adina harbors a dark secret. She possesses the power to turn her blood into a deadly poison that kills vampires. An ability she swore never to use until she learned that her sister was dying. After discovering that vampire venom can extend life, Adina has spent the last year risking exposure and execution to hunt and kill the creatures she was born to obey.
But desperation leads to foolish mistakes, and when she accidentally reveals her power to a mysterious stranger, she is forced to make a difficult choice. Use her ability to assassinate the Crown Prince or watch her sister die.
The decision is easy, and it’s not long before Adina manages to use her wits and cunning to embed herself into the prince’s life. But making the kill is not as simple as she anticipates, especially when fate seems hell-bent on drawing the pair together. And when whispers of a war start to arise, Adina realizes that there may be bigger issues than just saving her sister.
But time is closing in, and soon she will be forced to make a choice. Her sister? Her kingdom? Or her heart? Because one thing is clear, she cannot save them all.
Content Warning: violence, death
I saw this on Kindle Unlimited, saw it had good reviews and that it was a vampire book so I downloaded and I was not disappointed!
+ I love a good Vampire romantasy, but I would say this was more fantasy with a little bit of romance. In this world, vampires are in charge and humans are enslaved. Adina, belongs to Blackwood House and is a blood donor. But when she can, she’s killing vampires, so she can take their fangs because their venom has magic that can help her sister, Willow, who is sick. Adina will do anything to help her sister, which was one thing I admired about her. But when Adina’s ownership changes hands and the vampire Prince, Karius, wants her, her life changes drastically.
+ World-building is easy to consume, humans and vampires were in a war a long time ago. Vampires won and ruled and there are some humans that accept their fate, some who want to try to escape to a settlement where they can be safe, or are like Adina and trying to survive their rule. I did want a little more world-building though. There is also a new element to the story, which brought a little horror, which I found really fun. But what I really loved about the story was the twist and turns, there are so many things that happen and it kept me on my toes. The more I read, the more I could not put the book down! I like all the fighting scenes and I did predict some of what happened in the end, but it was still fun getting there. The ending was devastating!
+~ Adina is a strong character but one of those FMC’s that make so many mistakes and is so stubborn that it makes you want to shake her. Her mistakes put people in danger! I love that she loves her sister, it’s her only motivation in this world to save her. She has to train with some of the vampires when she is bonded to Karius because if she dies, he dies, so she eventually creates a found family with them. I was so invested in so many of the side characters! Karius is the typical gorgeous, powerful, shadow daddy vampire prince but I like that he has a lot of restraint where it comes to Adina and her stubbornness.
+ The romance is a slow burn, there is one spicy scene and I really was hoping for more, but that’s all we get and it was good! I do feel like Karius and Adina don’t seem to have many scenes together, which is actually fine because she’s growing on her own as a character. Plus fated mate books can sometimes be hit or miss for me but I like how this is slow, and the word “mate” isn’t thrown all over the story. They are reluctant mates but the bond is strong and the attraction was growing but I wanted more! Because Karius seems to fall fast for her but we don’t see them together enough for all the things he wants to do for her – he will burn the world down for her. I still ate it up, but I just wanted more.
Final Thoughts:
In the next book I want to see Adina grow, and maybe learn how to give up some of her stubbornness. I don’t know what is going to happen with the romance but I found this to be a fun, binge-able, addictive vampire fantasy. I can’t wait for book two!
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.
This week’s topic is:
December 5: Festive Reads
Prompts: Do you read holiday/winter-themed reads? Do you have any on your TBR this December? What have been favorites from past years? Are there any festive books you like to re-read during the holidays?
**********
Do you read holiday/winter-themed reads?
I read holiday/winter-themes arcs and they are published in October usually so I’m reading them in September, which kind of defeats the purpose for me lol. Because I’m probably reading horror in September also since it’s Fall.
But if I don’t have arcs, I sometimes don’t seek out holiday reads. It’s also very hot right now still in Hawaii and I’m not feeling wintery at all. So I think I’m skipping them this year unless I see something on Kindle Unlimited that catches my eye.
Do you have any on your TBR this December?
I do not.
What have been favorites from past years?
When I was into historical romances, years ago, decades ago 😅 I used to love anything by Lisa Kleypas. But the most current holiday romance I read and enjoyed is My Favorite Holidate by. Lauren Blakely.
Are there any festive books you like to re-read during the holidays?
No, I don’t.
December Topics:
December 5: Festive Reads
Prompts: Do you read holiday/winter-themed reads? Do you have any on your TBR this December? What have been favorites from past years? Are there any festive books you like to re-read during the holidays?
December 12: Goodreads Choice Awards
Prompts: The 2025 Goodreads Choice Award winners were announced on December 4th! Do you vote for or keep up with the awards? Have you read any of this year’s winners or nominees? The categories have also changed in recent years, creating some controversy: the Romantasy category was added in 2024, and the Children’s and Middle Grade category was removed. What do you think about these changes? What categories would you like to see go away or come back? Are there any other changes to the awards that you’d like to see?
Prompts:What 2026 releases are you most excited for? Are there any sequels you’re looking forward to reading? Are there any debut authors you’re excited to see release their first books? Any favorite authors coming out with something new?
Prompts:Do you set annual reading and/or blogging goals? Have you decided on any bookish/blogging resolutions for 2026? How do you decide what goals you want to pursue for the year ahead?
Don’t listen to the whispers of the woods. Don’t trust the man cloaked in shadow. Don’t earn the wrath of the scattered spirits. Don’t go out after dark.
The Great Hunt begins once every fifty years and only the Champions willing to face death to shatter the curse dare to enter.
The Champions…and me.
I’m no warrior, no swordsmith, and certainly no Fae, but the forest is my only hope. To enter those trees is to walk willingly to my demise. But I need the boon the forest will grant the winner and I’m willing to risk it all for a chance at claiming it.
I just never expected to face him beneath those trees. The beast who strikes fear into the desperate people of all lands. The monster who commands the legion of Hollows and makes our plight a thousand times worse.
The Hollows are empty of all things but none are so heartless as him.
Prince Bane intends to be the death of me. But I have an oath to fulfil before I’ll let him have me. And I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve it.
I am Ferris Creed and I’m going to unite the lost spirits who once bound the wandering trees in place, return the scattered amulets to the core of its corruption, and use the winner’s boon to change my fate. Come wretchedness or torment, through trickery and deception, I will get what I came here for. And no one will stand in my way. Not even Prince Bane.
*** Hollow is a dark Romantasy from the bestselling authors of Zodiac Academy, Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. It is a heady cocktail of Summoners, seduction and spirits, set to get your heart racing and feet kicking. There will be a ruinous, black hearted love interest, a rebellious, ruthless FMC, plot twists, cliff hangers, dark humour and a healthy seasoning of make-you-blush spice. It is not for the faint of heart. All those who enter the forest are bound by its terms – will you walk willingly into the dark? ***
Content Warning: violence, grief
This is the first book I’ve actually finished from the Twisted Sisters (this author duo). I did try to read Zodiac Academy but I didn’t get past chapter one. But Hollow, I did actually finish.
The world in Hollow is filled with humans, Fae, and magical spirits in a deadly forest. Ferris decides to partake in the Great Hunt. The person who can collect all spirt amulets in the forest can ask a boon and she wants to help save her sister, Rissa, who was taken into the forest as a sacrifice. Ferris isn’t a warrior, which I thought was interesting. What she had going for her was pure determination and I admired her for that.
But spirits aren’t the only ones lurking in the woods – Hendrix is too. He is a disgraced Fae prince, who is a a mission of revenge. I thought his story was very interesting and tragic.
When Ferris and Hendrix/Bane meet, she basically becomes his prey. But he realizes he can use her as bait for the spirits they are hunting. Ferris hates the Fae and Hendrix looks down on humans so they didn’t get along at first but an attraction grows. It’s enemies to lovers and things get spicy between them! I did enjoy the bickering between them but I wanted to see more of an emotional connection and some banter but for some reason it fell flat for me.
As much as I enjoyed the scary adventures in the woods, and the quest of collecting these amulets, I did want a little more out of our main characters because they didn’t captivate me. I don’t know if it’s the writing, but I wasn’t connecting to them.
There is a lot of action at the end and some unexpected things happen.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I’m not sure if the writing style is for me or maybe I just didn’t feel like there was anything new about the story. I enjoyed the cursed forest, the spirit animals and the Great Hunt. I also enjoyed the bickering between Ferris and Hendrix and even the spice, but I don’t know if I’m interested in continuing the series. But this a binge-able romantasy with no heavy world building so it was an easy read.
Title: A Dance with Waves and Flame ( The Circle of Stars, #1)
Author: M.B. Reese
Format: ebook (gifted)
Pages: 450
Publication Date: 10/29/25
Categories: Fantasy, Romance
In a world where the power of the zodiac signs shapes one’s destiny, Amanda is named Princess of the Water Realm.
As the supreme Cancer, she must prove her abilities and earn her place among the Circle of Twelve. But when her latent powers fail to manifest, she becomes a liability. Secrets, intrigue, and dangerous rivals threaten to shatter her fragile new world.
The rulers of the Fire Realm seize the opportunity, publicly questioning Amanda’s right to the throne.
Forced to navigate a maze of political tension and betrayal, Amanda must embark on a perilous journey to uncover her true identity. She will discover that courage isn’t just facing your destiny; it’s finding friends and love where she least expects them.
A Dance with Waves and Flames is the first volume in The Circle of Stars series, a thrilling new Fantasy adventure filled with elemental magic, thrilling secrets, and a central quest for truth and belonging.
Content Warning: violence
Thank you to the author for gifting me this ebook and here are my thoughts on it:
+ I really liked the world-building about the Zodiac signs. Each sign has a leader. Cassandra, is a Scorpio (my sign), and she kind of comes off as the villain – which is understandable! Her sister, Amanda, is a Cancer, or that is what Cassy is hoping for so she can rule beside her. But Amanda doesn’t feel any powers yet.
+ The story revolves around Amanda, who is trying to make her sister happy by lying about receiving Cancer powers, but in essence she doesn’t know what she feels. She feels like a Cancer but there are other powers that are emerging in her. There is political intrigue because everyone wants to find out what powers she has, and her sister insists she go with her plan and say she’s a Cancer.
+ There is a little bit of romance between Amanda and the Leo, Kilian. She goes to his land to spend time with him and there is an attraction between them, mostly coming from Kilian. Amanda eventually develops feelings for him. He’s a Leo, basically like a lion, and kind of possessive.
+ I also loved all the character profiles at the back of the book! It helps because there is such a big cast.
~ Though I like the Zodiac signs, I kind of didn’t understand the role of the Jurors. Also there are a lot of characters in this book, a few for each sign that Amanda meets and it was a little hard to keep up with who was who and why they were important. There is a lot of repetition also maybe because Amanda is trying to find her place, but she just doesn’t know what she is.
~ I didn’t connect to the characters as I would have liked. I think I just want more depth from Amanda and some of the other characters as well. I think Cassandra feels very true to herself. For me, the story didn’t flow well, but the second half did have much more action than the first half.
Final Thoughts:
I really like how this story is built around the Zodiac signs. This is a story about Amanda and how she’s trying to find where she belongs and what sign she rules. It has political intrigue, romance and an action filled ending but for some reason I couldn’t quite connect to the story as I would have liked. Overall, I think this story has a lot of potential though especially because of the unique world-building.
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?
Happy December! I’m trying to catch up as much reading as I can and trying to stay ahead of my arcs, woohoo! So far, I’ve been doing good and almost finished with January arcs and will be starting on February arcs. I can’t believe I’ve been on top of it!😅.
I think because I’m ahead of my arcs, I have been reaching for anything and everything on Kindle Unlimited that I’ve been wanting to read. Or just new titles I’ve been seeing here and there on socials or just looking on Amazon. I like that I have this “free” time to read. I really should also tackle my hardcover books but I only have 2 that I haven’t read yet.
A propulsive, electrifying and enraging retelling of the life ofGreek goddess Hekate, child of war turned all-powerful goddess of witchcraft and necromancy, by internationally bestselling poet Nikita Gill.
Born into a world on fire, Godling Hekate has never known safety. After her parents are on the losing side of the war between the ruling Titans and new Olympian Gods, Hekate is taken by her mother Asteria to the Underworld, where Styx and Hades agree to raise her. Meanwhile, Asteria is pursued across the world by Zeus and Poseidon and, to escape their clutches, transforms herself into an island in a stormy sea.
Orphaned and alone, Hekate grows up amongst the horrors and beauties of the Underworld, desperate to find her divine purpose and a sense of belonging in the land of the dead.
When Hekate finally uncovers her powers and ascends to Goddess status, she realises that even the most powerful Olympians are terrified of her. But when immortal war breaks out again, threatening to destroy everything from Mount Olympus to the Underworld itself, the Goddess of witchcraft and necromancy is the only one who can bring the deadly conflict to an end. . .
~~ I love the muted color palette for this book cover but also love all the details!~~
Two kingdoms on the brink of battle. One prophesied empress to unite them, who finds herself caught between two princes, and the fact that love alone may not stop the coming war. A thrilling romantasy from the bestselling author of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods.
Two princes. One prophecy. A fate she cannot outrun.
The night Fei was born, a prophecy was made: she would one day become the Empress of All Empresses.
Torn from her family as a child and raised in the palace to one day marry the Crown Prince of the most powerful empire in the land, Fei has only ever known loneliness. When the opportunity arises to seize her own destiny for the first time in her life, Fei sets out to hunt a legendary tiger, knowing it might cost her everything. What she doesn’t expect is to fall under the mercy of Yexue, the beautiful runaway prince from a rival kingdom. Blessed by the night, harboring a dangerous magic, and capable of commanding an army of deadly vampires, Yexue could be the key to Fei gaining more than just her freedom.
But to outrun destiny, Fei must spark a wave of events that will change the world as she knows it. Torn between two princes and plagued by nightmares of bloodshed, she finds that the stars might be more inescapable—and more irresistible—than she ever considered before. . . .
The stakes are even higher in this epic, romantic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Crimson Moth duology.
A WITCH… Rune Winters is on the run. Ever since the boy she loved, Gideon Sharpe, revealed who she was and delivered her into enemy hands, everyone wants her dead. If Rune hopes to survive, she must ally herself with the cruel and dangerous Cressida Roseblood, who’s planning to take back the Republic and reinstate a Reign of Witches—something Cressida needs Rune to accomplish.
A WITCH HUNTER… Apparently it wasn’t enough for Rune to deceive Gideon; she’s now betrayed him by allying herself with the witch who made his life a living hell. Gideon won’t allow the Republic to fall to the witches and be plunged back into the nightmares of the past. In order to protect this new world he fought for, every last witch must die—especially Rune Winters.
AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE… When Rune makes Gideon an offer he can’t refuse, the two must pair up to accomplish dangerous goals. The more they’re forced into each other’s company, the more Gideon realizes the feelings he had for Rune aren’t as dead and buried as he thought. Now he’s faced with a terrible choice: sacrifice the girl he loves to stop a monster taking back power, or let Rune live and watch the world he fought so hard for burn.
In Kristen Ciccarelli’s Rebel Witch, the exciting conclusion to The Crimson Moth duology, love has never been so deadly.
~~ I love the dark, bold red color of this cover!~~
Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming of having no dreams at all. Like the other foundling girls who traded a decade of service for a home in the great cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur, and lords and common folk alike travel across the kingdom of Traum’s windswept moors to learn their futures by her dreams.
Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil’s visions. But when Sybil’s fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral’s cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she’d rather avoid Rodrick’s dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god.
Truyan Saigas didn’t choose to become a con artist, but after her father is lost at sea, it’s up to her to support her mother and two younger sisters. A gifted art forger, Tru has the unique ability to paint the future, but even such magic is not enough to put her family back together again, or stave off the gangsters demanding payment in blood for her mother’s gambling debts.
Left with few options, Tru agrees to a marriage contract with a mysterious dragon lord. He offers a fresh start for her mother and sisters and elusive answers about her father’s disappearance, but in exchange, she must join him in his desolate undersea palace. And she must assist him in a plot to infiltrate the tyrannical Dragon King’s inner circle, painting a future so treasonous, it could upend both the mortal and immortal realms…
A breathtaking romantic fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast about a girl who paints the future and a cursed dragon lord, bound by love and deception in a plot to bring down the gods.
~~I really love artwork for Asian Fantasy books – they are always so gorgeous! I love the color blue on this book cover. ~~
November was my birthday month, and my best friend’s birthday month, so it was a fun month! I got to see friends, then family for Thanksgiving and I feel like the month went by FAST. I’m excited that I can read non-arc books right now because I finished all my 2025 arcs. I have already started on January and February ones so I’m excited that I’m ahead of my list.
I read 24 books and posted 18 book reviews in November.
Books I Read – 24 booksand 1 – DNF
Atmosphere by. Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Kiss of Hammer and Flame by. Amy De La Force
I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by. Kylie Lee Baker
Something Wicked by. Falon Ballard
Persephone’s Curse by. Katrina Leno
Trail Rides & Starry Eyes by. Katrina Emmel
The Uninvited by. Nancy Banks
The Ordeals by. Rachel Greenlaw
Spark of the Everflame by. Penn Cole
The Housemaid by. Freida McFadden
Dead Fake by. Vincent Ralph
Night Terror by. Vincent Ralph
An Arcane Inheritance by. Kamilah Cole
A Curse of Shadows and Ice by. Catharina Maura
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood by. Elizabeth May
Brimstone (Fae & Alchemy #2) by. Callie Hart
Sword Catcher by. Cassandra Clare
All We Once Had by. Katy Upperman
Drive Me Crazy by. Lizzy Dent
We Have No Gods by. Liza Anderson
The Ragpicker King by. Cassandra Clare
Your Knife, My Heart by. K.M. Moronova
We’ve Hit Turbulence by. Jessica L. Cozzi
The Rebel and the Rose by. Catherine Doyle
**DNF – Vesselless by. Cortney L. Winn – wasn’t feeling in the mood for this one no matter how I tried. Maybe will come back to it again.
Cameron Mortem has a problem―he can’t stop killing his partners. Officially labeled clinically insane, he’s also one of the most lethal assets in the Dark Forces, a brutal underground military operation built on obedience, survival, and silence. But an experimental drug has fractured his control, making him a liability whenever someone else is on the field. As punishment, he’s thrown back into the Under Trials―a merciless boot camp designed to break the weak and sharpen the ruthless.
His one directive? Don’t kill the new girl.
Emery Maves narrowly escapes a death sentence after her own brutal crimes, only to find herself forced into the same violent world. Assigned to Cameron, she’s expected to survive the Trials and her partner’s unstable nature. But Emery quickly realizes there’s more to Cameron than bloodlust and body counts. Beneath the madness lies a terrifying allure―and a strange, dangerous tenderness.
As the Trials push them to their limits, Emery must navigate the brutal demands of the Dark Forces while resisting the pull of a man who could just as easily kill her as protect her. And Cameron must fight the one urge he’s never been able to overcome.
Their bond is intoxicating, chaotic, and born of violence. And if it doesn’t destroy them both, it might just save them.
Content Warning: violence, gore, bullying
+ Two things come to mind when I think about this book: violence and sex. Cameron “Mori”, is a part of the military special forces or dark forces as they call it – dark? Because they are ruthless killers, especially Mori. His problem? He can’t stop killing his partners. He is also the military’s test subject on all kinds of drugs. The one he is addicted to prevents him from feeling pain, but they have taken the drugs to the next level and now Cameron is wondering if the addiction to them will kill him. But he’s been given another chance, they paired him up with Emery and his objective? Not to kill her. Cameron is a walking red flag, with a British accent and, he’s hot.
+ Emery has a past of her own. Daughter of a powerful, wealthy man, she grew up being his trained assassin until she got caught and was supposed to go to jail. But she gets a second chance too – pass the deadly trials the dark forces have set up for recruits, not die at Cameron’s hands, and she will be part of his unit, Fury. I found Emery very interesting – she’s a reluctant killer, but when she did kill for her father she positioned the bodies in artistic ways in protest to her father. So, does she like killing? No. But she does it well, and she does it to survive.
+ The romance is insta-lust, due to the forced proximity put upon them. It’s very physical, definitely a release from the high stress they are all under in that facility, sometimes it was even happening after some violent scene. It’s very spicy. And basically Cameron is the red flag that Emery wants to help change. Her humanity, and caring for others (even though it’s a kill or be killed kind of environment), really opens Cameron’s eyes to the possibility that maybe someone could really care for him. It’s a lot of pushing and pulling on his part though, so it was normal that she get frustrated with that.
+ Most of the story is about training, Cameron and his downward spiral, and then the deadly trials. I think with how it ended, we’ll be getting to know more about Emery’s past in book two since now the two sides will intertwine.
~ Although I loved the chaos, and mayhem of Cameron and Emery’s relationship. I wanted a little more than the spice and more of an emotional connection but it was almost impossible since Cameron has a lot of attachment issues. I’m hoping this guy breaks open in book two, just to win Emery over.
~ Emery has a reputation but I thought it was interesting that in this group of killers she is one of the weakest of them all. She has a specialty for guns, but we don’t even get to see her using it. I guess it was for the purpose of her learning and growing, but I wanted her to at least shine using her strength. She kicked some ass, but Cameron was basically her shield most of the time.
Final Thoughts:
This was a quick, binge-able read and I was highly entertained with Cameron’s crazy. I will definitely be reading book two after how things ended, I need to see what happens with Emery and how her past and family comes up to catch up with her!
Title: The Ragpicker King (The Chronicles of Castellane, #2)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Format: ebook (own)
Pages: 557
Publication Date: 3/4/25
Categories: High Fantasy, Romance
Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace—and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane’s underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where among decadent nobles and glittering parties a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold—a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores.
Meanwhile, Lin Caster must face the aftermath of the greatest risk she’s ever taken. To save the life of a dying friend, Lin has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn, the legendary heroine destined to save her people. Now the terrifying—but strangely magnetic—leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.
Then Prince Conor reappears in her life, demanding that she use her healing powers to cure the madness of his father, the King. Lin soon realizes the King is gripped by an ancient and terrible magic, one whose lure she cannot deny any more than she can deny her growing passion for Conor.
As the simmering tensions in Castellane reach a fever pitch, Lin and Kel must decide who to trust when any false move means death—or worse.
Content Warning: violence, death
I jumped right into book two after book one because I felt like if I waited again, I might forget the many characters.
+ There are a few things I wanted more in this book, that it be shorter and there would be romance. And it is shorter than book one, and there is more romance, but not the kind that made me feel any surer or okay about the romance.
+ The list of characters grows in this one. But everyone I feel like is pertinent to the story. There are a lot of twists and turns especially in the second half of this book. The first half we get to know Aron, the Exilarch, who is going to test Lin to see if she is the Goddess. I liked the advancement of Lin’s character and her connection with King Markus (Conor’s dad) and then there is an introduction of Elspeth who seems to be the villain in this complicated web of politics, secrets and betrayals.
+ I really liked Kel’s growth. Since book one he was already questioning his role as Sword Catcher and what it means when Conor no longer needs him. Their relationship is complicated and there are a few instances that I was just so upset with Conor. There is a lot of growth for Lin too who is trying to help her people and in the end gets punished for it. I can’t wait to see what happens with all of them in book three.
+~ There is romance and there is spice (yet still very mild) but this forbidden romance is killing me – at one point I was hoping Lin would just get over Conor and maybe something with Aron would grow but no – the yearning Conor has for Lin is heart-wrenching but he is a tortured man right now and he doesn’t know who to trust. I’m still hoping things can change for Lin and Conor but there was no happy romance in this sequel. Right now they are breaking my heart instead of giving me any giddy feelings. It’s not any better for Kel and Antonetta, but I think they have a better chance at love!
~ The twists and turns are all reliant on these different characters and how they play the game of royal politics. I really love it but also, it can be hard to keep up with what is going on. I feel like at times I needed a whiteboard to take notes with. A lot of the first half of this book is investigating the massacre that happened at the end of book one and protecting the Prince. It feels like nothing much happens until the second half of the book but I think it’s all important to the story even though it makes for slow reading.
~ Please just give me some happy romance moments in book three? 😅 Make them delusional for one another, I don’t care, but I feel like book three will be more heartbreak, yearning, wanting, and not having. 😩
~ I feel like Kel and Lin are the main characters, but I think we need more about Conor. He is very important to this story, it revolves around his life! Especially after that ending! We need more of him in book three. There is so much happening with his character! Also would love to learn more about the magic.
Final Thoughts:
Maybe I should have read this when book three comes out? And I don’t even know if it’s a trilogy or what but I am so hooked on the politics of this book because it has so much secrets, betrayals, twists and turns! The royal court life is ruthless and I’m loving it. I just hope Lin and Conor can be together at the end. It’s still somewhat a slow read but that ending has me needing the next book ASAP.
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 