Categories: Alternate History, Historical Fantasy, Romantasy, Fae, Young 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 HarperCollins for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The Cruel Prince meets The Selection in this captivating duology opener brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition, and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.
Every citizen of England is granted one bargain from their immortal fae queen.
High society girls are expected to bargain for qualities that will win them suitors: a rare talent for piano in exchange for one’s happiest childhood memory. A perfect smile for one’s ability to taste.
But Ivy Benton’s debut season arrives with a shocking twist: a competition to secure the heart of the Queen’s fae son, Prince Bram. A prize that could save Ivy’s family from ruin… and free her sister from the bargain that destroyed her.
Yet every glittering fae deal has a rotting heart—and at the center of this contest is a dark plot that could destroy everything Ivy knows.
Sweepingly romantic and deceptively enchanting, this alternate history romantasy will enthrall readers of Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, and Adalyn Grace.
+ This story has an interesting concept – alternate English history with a Fae Queen ruling. Now Prince Bram is looking for a wife and there is a competition for his hand in marriage. I thought the bargain people made with the Queen was fascinating – what would you give up for the thing you want?
+ Ivy’s trying to marry Bram, but all the girls are trying to marry him to help their families in some way. But Ivy meets Bram’s half-brother first, Emmett, and they have a lot of chemistry and it’s nice to see Ivy be herself around him as the story progresses. I thought maybe there would be a love-triangle with how some things were playing out – but there is a twist on that.
+ I thought it was nice getting to know the other girls even though some don’t get along. They eventually become like a found family during this competition.
+ There is quite a plot twist at the end of the story. I can say it wasn’t expected at all and I was quite surprised at what was taking place.
~ The trials were pretty weak. I think I wanted something more thrilling.
~ So this story is told mainly through the main character, Ivy Benton. But each girl remaining, the top six, tells their POV also, which at times got me confused until I realized what was happening and had to check the chapter to see which character was speaking.
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was more like The Selection than The Cruel Prince as this is being advertised. I thought the ending was a good twist in the story and I liked seeing what bargains people made with the Queen. I did wish the trials were more thrilling and I did get sometimes confused on who’s POV I was reading (if I didn’t pay attention to the chapter names) but other than that, I thought it was entertaining, especially the ending.
+ The Philadelphia Eagles are going to the Super Bowl woo-hoo! My nerves couldn’t take it so instead of my hubby bringing the kids to Sunday school, I did LOL….and I went at got a massage at the spa. That was long overdue. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to watch the Super Bowl game next weekend lol.
+ Every day under this current administration feels like one long year. SO…yeah it’s not cool. I hate seeing the news every day. What is happening to the USA? I feel like we are being attacked – but by our own government. 💔. Only 2 weeks have gone by…😭
+ My heart breaks over the plane/helicopter crash that happened in Washington D.C. And then a second plane crash just two days later in Philly! 💔 What is happening?!🙏🏽
+ January is FINALLY OVER. Please, please, please…February be kind to all of us.
I hope you all have a great week!
Blog Posts:
I must be stressed out – I barely had any posts this week. 😒
Over the Moon (on Netflix) – watched it again with my daughter, brought back memories of being stuck home watching it during the pandemic.
FireAID Los Angeles – I donated and watched for 4 hours lol…I had to turn it off to go to bed, but at least my son and I caught Olivia Rodrigo.💜
Interstellar (on Netflix) – LOVE this movie! The music, the story…so good! And how timely with what is happening in my country. 😩
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!
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?
Is it STILL January? I’m so over it – this month has been the LONGEST ever. The daily news gets me stressed so I haven’t really had the motivation to read. And oh also, my son said someone at his school is drawing swastikas in the boys bathroom and their teacher had to give them a talk. So yeah…with the news, Elon Musk’s “gesture” 😡, and just everything else – I am over it….SIGH…let this month be over, please.
But since it’s Lunar New Year, Kung Hei Fat Choy to those who celebrate it! Here is what I am trying to read and I do try but I haven’t been in the right mood, so it’s been very slow going. I thought I would be finished with Onyx Storm by now but I’m not. Hope you are having a good week so far!
+ I have TikTok back yay…but boo? Because it may be gone in 75 days again (less than 75 now) unless someone buys it so at least now I can prepare myself.
+ It’s been a LONG week. TikTok was shut down for 12 hours. My nerves were shot and I couldn’t watch the Eagles/Rams football game without my heart feeling like it was popping out of my chess. And then the doom and gloom feeling the morning after the game (Eagles won-yay) because of the Inauguration (I didn’t watch, just saw clips here at there on TikTok). I can’t believe only one week has gone by…January has felt like a whole year has gone by.
+ And because I need to escape – my sister asked me if I want to join her on a shopping tour in South Korea. It’s in June and I just paid my deposit woohoo! It’ll be nice to get away and enjoy some good Korean food. My parents and I are also trying to plan a visit to the Philippines. My parents are in their early 70’s and I want my kids to visit the Philippines with them while they can still travel. That trip might be at the end of December, so we shall see!
Football – BARELY…I couldn’t watch the Eagles/Rams game, it was too close but I’m glad the Eagles won.
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!
Get caught up in the puzzles, games, danger, romance, and riches of this lush new chapter in the #1 bestselling Inheritance Games saga—set a year after we last saw Avery and the Hawthornes.
Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime.
Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year’s game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win.
Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets. Amidst it all is Grayson Hawthorne, tasked with a vital role in this year’s game. But as tensions rise and the mind-bending challenges push the players to their limits—physically, mentally, and emotionally—it soon becomes clear that not everyone is playing by the rules.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes delivers a new series in the world of The Inheritance Games, where fan-favorite and new characters collide in a game you’ll never forget.
Do you have what it takes to play?
Okay I loved the Inheritance Games series and honestly…all I wanted was a book about Grayson finding a happy ever after and now I’d also love a book about Rohan. But The Grandest Game was about so many characters, all in one game and I don’t think it really worked for me.
The riddles, the puzzles, all of that and the suspense of piecing clues together is all there, so if you love all the riddles and puzzles you will continue to love it in this book.
I loved Rohan and Savannah’s interactions, Gigi and her group, and then Grayson and Lyra. But I’d rather have it all be separate books I think, so I can get to know these characters more.
Final Thoughts:
If you are still invested in The Inheritance Games world then you will definitely like this one, but I think my interest in this series has waned. I just wanted a Grayson book. Maybe I’ll wait? Maybe I won’t. But I don’t think I’m going to continue The Grandest Game series.
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?
What a week! 🫠 I did get some reading done and of course, Onyx Storm came out so I’m reading it but I’m trying to take my time since it’s a chunker (but I have do ebook thank goodness)! Are you reading it? And then just trying to finish some arcs up as well. Hope your week is well and you are reading some good books!
Went to lunch with an ex-coworker. I met her back in 2005 when we both worked at a college library. So we’ve been friends for 19 years? I’m always amazed when I add up the years how long I have been friends with someone ❤️ even though we only worked together for 5 years. And we only see each other once a year but it always feels like we’re back in 2005, chit-chatting about life. I was happy to see her and exchange, birthday and Xmas gifts lol.
Friends I am SAD and stressed about the Tiktok ban. I joined during the pandemic and honestly it got me through those stressful times. I’ve always wanted to post my book reviews there but I never did. Only one of friends are on there with me and we send videos back and forth to one another but it’s my entertainment. It’s so much fun! I love booktok, the pets and animals I see on there, the funny comedic videos, or just seeing how people are living wherever they are. So I am sad. I’m still on Facebook – VERY HARDLY, I don’t scroll much because there is too much ads and I want to delete it but my Mother in law and mom and relatives international are on there). I’m on IG too but again…I found myself mostly posting to Stories (because it disappears) and once again, it’s to show my relatives pics of my kids. But I want to delete that one too lol. Twitter (X) SUCKS now. SO tiktok was my fave. Sigh…😞.
Kids and I had some appointments this week, so yay got that done but my daughter will need braces or aligners. 💸. My son is almost done with his aligners thank goodness so yeah…daughter will be next!
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!
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?
What are you currently reading?
Just Listen by. Sarah Dessen (Libby) – 2% – I chose this also for my Spell the Month TBR list and it’s a re-read but I haven’t read it in 10+ years. So I wanted to read it and review for my blog since I was obsessed with Sarah Dessen books back in the day.
Immortal Dark by. Tigest Girma (library) – 33/420 – slow going! This was overdue but my library renewed it for me lol. How considerate of them!
My daughter had her 8th birthday party at my mom’s house and it was SO nice seeing my cousins and their kids. It was chaotic and it’s funny how we always had parties there growing up with more people than who was there last Sunday and we were wondering how we had parties like that before because the space looks so small now (even though it’s not!). We had a blast and my body/legs/feet hurt so much after. I think my body knew that was it for the holidays and I felt it!!
We had two days to relax before kids went back in school. Took the decorations down (Bye Christmas and 2024)…Kids went back to school on Wednesday so back on the routine…can’t believe they will be done with school again in 5 months!
Had to check on so many friends because of the Los Angeles fires. I went to college in Los Angeles and I had the best 4 years there and my stomping grounds were Santa Monica, Sunset Blvd, all of it. The Palisades fire was near my college and a friend of mine was near the Altadena/Pasadena fire – her friends’ schools burned down (she’s a teacher), many lost their homes. I was on the phone texting her to make sure she was okay and had a plan just in case she had to evacuate. She has no family so I was very worried and she was freaking out too. What a scary situation. It reminded me of the Lahaina, Maui fire where we had high wind warnings all over Hawaii that day, and one little spark caused a raging inferno. 2025 has not started off so good with so many tragedies! My heart has been sore since the New Year. 😩
Went to lunch with 2 friends and 2 of our elementary school teachers! 🤯
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!
I’ve seen Stacking the Shelves on a few blogs and I decided to do it to replace my book haul posts because, why not? It is hosted by Reading Reality and this is how the meme is described: “Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! And audiobooks. Don’t forget audiobooks!so go check out her blog!”
Book Purchases – (ebook or physical)
Haven’t bought anything in awhile and hoping to keep that streak going!
Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime.
Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year’s game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win.
Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets. Amidst it all is Grayson Hawthorne, tasked with a vital role in this year’s game. But as tensions rise and the mind-bending challenges push the players to their limits—physically, mentally, and emotionally—it soon becomes clear that not everyone is playing by the rules.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes delivers a new series in the world of The Inheritance Games, where fan-favorite and new characters collide in a game you’ll never forget.
The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House in this dangerously romantic dark academia fantasy, where a lost heiress must infiltrate an arcane society and live with the vampire she suspects killed her family and kidnapped her sister.
It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.
Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.
To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.
When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.
Last year, Annabel was “the girl who has everything” — at least that’s the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf’s Department Store.
This year, she’s the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.
Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen’s help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.
From #1New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw comes a haunting romantic contemporary fantasy about a teen navigating her family’s love curse that blooms with their enchanted tulips every year.
Seventeen year-old Lark Goode wants only one to escape her small town of Cutwater and the history of her family name. It’s a history that began during the Dutch tulip mania of 1636, when Lark’s ancestor stole the last remaining tulip bulbs and fled to America. But when the tulips bloomed on American soil, madness sprouted from their snowy white petals.
The madness was love.
Now, generations later, the Goodes remain cursed—the unnatural flowers outside their home causing locals to fall helplessly in love with anyone carrying Goode blood in their veins. While her brother embraces the strange power, Lark wants nothing more than to be free from it.
But when she meets a boy who seems unaffected by the family curse, Lark finds herself falling headlong into a feeling she’s spent her whole life trying to avoid. Yet, all curses and magic come with a price, and the town of Cutwater soon sinks into a dangerous sickness tied to Lark and the ill-fated tulips.
To save the town, Lark will need to sacrifice everything—even true love—to break the spell. Because in the Goode family, love has a way of destroying everything.
Return to the immersive, lush, and dreamlike world of the instantly bestselling dark academia fantasy A Study in Drowning as the aftermath of their first discovery pulls Effy and Preston on a final adventure and brings their haunting love story to its end in this stunning sequel and final book in the duology.
All stories come to an end.
Effy learned that when she defeated the Fairy King. Even though she may never know exactly what happened at Hiraeth, she is free of her nightmares and is able to pen a thesis with Preston on the beloved national fairy tale Angharad. She has finally earned a spot at the literature college, making her the first woman in history to enroll.
But some dreams are dangerous, especially when they come true. The entire university—and soon the entire nation—is waiting for her to fail. With the Fairy King defeated and Myrddin’s legacy exposed, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy. Who is she without her stories?
With Effy under threat, Preston is surprised to discover a rage simmering inside him, ringing in his ears like bells. He begins to dream of a palace under the sea, a world where he is king—visions that start to follow him even in waking.
As the war between Llyr and Argant explodes, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy losing her dreams and Preston losing himself in his.
A teen girl’s dream job aboard a luxury train derails when she discovers the strange cargo being transported—a mysterious and beautiful greenhouse—but its flowering façade may hide deadly thorns beneath, in this atmospheric and lush novel from the author of Those We Drown.
Lara Williams is desperate to get away. When she gets a job working aboard the luxury train The Banebury for her gap year, she this is her chance to reinvent herself, after the incident that wrecked her relationships and her college prospects several months ago.
At first, the train is everything Lara expected—a five-star escape from her past, demanding customers and all. Even after she learns that her ex-friend, Rhys, who she definitely did not have feelings for before their relationship imploded, is one of her new coworkers, she’s determined to make things work.
But on the first night of their journey, the trip takes a strange turn when two mysterious carriages, filled with an array of beautiful and rare plants, are attached to the end of the train in the middle of the night. With them come a pair of siblings. Gwen and Gwydion are wealthy, Welsh, and alluring as they are odd–not to mention, incredibly protective of their botanical cargo.
The siblings claim the plants they’re transporting are for research, yet Lara can’t shake the feeling that there’s something…otherworldly about them. Something that calls to her, night after night, whispering in her dreams.
Soon, Lara will you can’t outrun your troubles. You have to grab them by their roots. And if she can’t dig up the secrets of the Banebury, they might just consume her whole…
From #1New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw comes a haunting romantic contemporary fantasy about a teen navigating her family’s love curse that blooms with their enchanted tulips every year.
Seventeen year-old Lark Goode wants only one to escape her small town of Cutwater and the history of her family name. It’s a history that began during the Dutch tulip mania of 1636, when Lark’s ancestor stole the last remaining tulip bulbs and fled to America. But when the tulips bloomed on American soil, madness sprouted from their snowy white petals.
The madness was love.
Now, generations later, the Goodes remain cursed—the unnatural flowers outside their home causing locals to fall helplessly in love with anyone carrying Goode blood in their veins. While her brother embraces the strange power, Lark wants nothing more than to be free from it.
But when she meets a boy who seems unaffected by the family curse, Lark finds herself falling headlong into a feeling she’s spent her whole life trying to avoid. Yet, all curses and magic come with a price, and the town of Cutwater soon sinks into a dangerous sickness tied to Lark and the ill-fated tulips.
To save the town, Lark will need to sacrifice everything—even true love—to break the spell. Because in the Goode family, love has a way of destroying everything.
A princess determined to survive an arranged marriage to a heartless faerie prince is saved by a twist of fate that could destroy their world in this all-new standalone fantasy romance.
As the half faerie daughter of a human king, my days were spent tucked out of sight—until the Seelie Fae sought an alliance with our kingdom. In exchange for my father’s help in defeating their Unseelie enemies, I would wed Atakan the heartless.
The Seelie prince loathed everyone, but none more than me. Throughout the years leading to our nuptials, each encounter grew more terrifying than the last as he demonstrated how he’d earned his infamous reputation.
Fear would only doom me faster. So I learned to hide it with games I soon became happy to play. I wasn’t supposed to crave a monster. But just when I’d thought I might tame the untameable, fate intervened.
A spellbinding gothic dark fantasy about a shunned woman who is forced beyond the mortal realm’s forbidden boundary, into a terrifying world of cursed souls and grotesque creatures.
Only the banished know what lies beyond the woods …
There are whispers about what lurks in Witch Knell—the forest where sinners go to die. The villagers call it The Eating Woods because what’s taken is never given back. Only those who’ve lost their senses would dare to go near it.
Or the banished.
Maevyth Bronwick knows better than to breach the misty labyrinth of trees, but a tragic turn of events compels her beyond the archway of bones, to a boundary no mortal has crossed before. One that cloaks a dark and fantastical world that’s as dangerous as it is alluring.
Of all the worlds and life they created, the gods favored their children the most. But with that favor came the fear that their Legacy would one day become too powerful and overthrow them. Devram was created. A realm hidden amongst the stars. The gods gave their Legacy the best of all the worlds, and then they left, a sworn agreement to never return and to never interfere. Forced to a life of servitude, the Fae are required to provide for the Legacy in more ways than one. Every five years, the eligible Fae are gathered for the Selection and assigned to serve in one of the six Kingdoms. To be chosen as the personal Source for a Kingdom Heir is the greatest honor, and for the first time in a millennia, all six Kingdoms have heirs choosing a Source. But their selections could tip the power balance a little too far.
Tessalyn Asura was as forgotten as the realm. But when she finds herself the personal Source to the Heir of Endings, she winds up serving in the darkest Kingdom of them all . The secrets within the Arius Kingdom are meant to be learned and kept, but this was never the life she wanted. Fighting not only the fate thrust upon her, but the temptation to lose herself to desire, Tessa will do anything to escape her new destiny. Until she starts to realize maybe their world wasn’t as forgotten as they thought, and maybe she’s the reason why.
Rain of Shadows and Endings is book one in The Legacy Series and ends on a cliffhanger. This is new adult dark fantasy romance series and includes elements that may be triggering to some readers.
Teacher and fix-it queen Rowan Mackey avoids attention. Afflicted with serious burns as a teenager, she gets too many unwanted stares already. Consequently, her difficult dating history has taught her to dislike romance, too. So, it’s no surprise when her boyfriend’s extravagant public proposal goes sideways.
Longing for a safe, quiet life with Dean and believing his “independent together” arrangement is her best hope for companionship and a family, Rowan buys the perfect little house to fix things.
Problem is… she shares a property line with Jack Graham, a bestselling romance writer and party-centric playboy, who quickly becomes her next door nemesis. He makes it very clear—he doesn’t want a new neighbor. But when clashes with Rowan end his year-long writer’s block, he must explore his creative fascination with his reluctant muse under atypical Neighbor. Engaged. Off-limits.
These opposites attract, forging a surprise connection. Boundaries vanish as tension rises between them, and they face emotionally charged choices.
Will Rowan risk her safe life with Dean for a chance with the grumpy playboy next door? And will Jack change everything to find the inspiration he craves with the one woman he shouldn’t?
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 