Tag: romance

The Wings That Bind by. Briar Boleyn | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Wings That Bind (Bloodwing Academy, #3)

Author: Briar Boleyn

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: 3/10/26

Publisher: MIRA

Categories: Dark Academia, Romance, Fantasy, Series

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

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


The night’s chaos left us breathless. Now the real nightmare begins.

In the wake of last winter’s tragedies, through loss and heartbreak, we somehow made it to a new year. But our fight is far from over.

A second dragon has awoken–her heart tainted, and her power commandeered by two ruthless highbloods who will stop at nothing to uncover the dangerous, bloody secrets at the borders of Sangratha. Their cruelty knows no bounds.

Florence, my dearest friend, teetered on the brink of death. A dragon saved her, but now she’s tied to him in a way I can scarcely understand. What will this new bond do to the woman I’ve come to love as a sister?

And then there’s Blake. Once my relentless tormentor, then the keeper of my heart… he betrayed me again, nearly condemning Nyxaris to a cursed, stone-cold fate. But something has shifted in him. His gray eyes hide a secret he’s desperate to protect. I saved Blake’s life, despite everything. Yet with every heartbeat, I have to question where we go from here.

With Bloodwing Academy in turmoil and a new headmaster no one saw coming, only one thing is certain: This is going to be one hell of a year.

This dark fantasy series tackles mature themes. Readers are advised to consult the trigger warnings before embarking on this intense, morally gray/black journey through the realm of Sangratha!

Content Warning: violence, death

+ I don’t have a great love for this series, but I did binge the first two books because there is so much going on and wanted to know what happens next. So I was going to wait to borrow book three, but got a chance to read the arc instead. I still enjoy the elements of this dark academia campus which has vampires, and dragons, but also secret shifters.

+~ If you love Medra and Blake’s story, I think you might not love this book as much because there are two side characters who kind of become the main characters. But for me, I liked seeing other characters grow besides Medra and Blake, because I felt like we had too much about their romance drama in book two. So this kinds of gives us a break from that and I appreciated it. Regan has a redemption arc in this one – is it deserved? I think some people might say no, because she chose power – but we also get to see she cares about her brother too and that maybe this was the only path she saw to finding him. Florence, is Medra’s friend and the studious one who now gets a dragon. So she goes from the studious to trying to believe in herself that she can be a dragon rider.

+~ Because we get a little break from Medra and Blake’s relationship drama, I actually liked the moments we get with them in this book. They have some spicy scenes but we can see their bond turn into something different, something more meaningful as Medra sees the beast in him, literally. But theirs is not the only romance happening here, there are a few new ones, very surprising ones I’d say and I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.

+~ I think the writing in this one flowed better than the first two books, but the story is still just okay for me and it could be the stye of writing that I don’t gel with. I can’t say much happens in the beginning of the book and most of the action comes at the end of this book, so pacing wise, the beginning is slow as we see Regan run the academy and Florence trying to figure out her relationship with her dragon.

Final Thoughts:

If you are a fan of the series, I think you won’t be too disappointed in this book, but Medra and Blake do take a backseat to the other characters that get more page time. I do think the first half moves a little slow, with all the action and new trouble coming at the end of the book. It will be interesting to see how Blake’s character will grow in the next book because that guy has been going through it! Talk about a transformation, and I didn’t love him in book two but I think I like him better in this one. It will be nice to see everyone united on one side trying to fight the villain now, hopefully we get to see more growth in book four and since we got to know more about Regan and Florence, maybe we will get to know more about Kage.

Read if you like:

  • the first two books
  • dragons, vampires, shifters
  • dark academia
  • romance

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

The Bond That Burns by. Briar Boleyn| Book Review ⭐️⭐️💫

On Wings of Blood by. Briar Boleyn| Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Let’s Talk Bookish:  Portrayals of Women in Books | 3/20/26

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:

March 20: Portrayals of Women in Books

Prompts: We’ve previously talked about underrepresented women and women in STEM in books, but let’s take a look at portrayals of women in books. Do you think portrayals of women have changed over time? Are ambitious women portrayed differently than ambitious men? Are “unlikable” female characters judged more harshly? Are girls and women written more complexly in books today? Share some of your favourite books featuring complex empowered women being unapologetically themselves!

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Do you think portrayals of women have changed over time?

Definitely YES. A lot of the historical romances I read back in the 90’s was all about a woman needing to find a husband (which is true of the time period they were writing in), but I noticed after decades of reading, the women have just become stronger, more independent – they still want love which is fine but now the women can love women in books (that was hard to find for years in books).

Are ambitious women portrayed differently than ambitious men?

I still think in the books I’ve read, ambitious women are portrayed as cut-throat but evil? 😅

Are “unlikable” female characters judged more harshly?

Yes…still! Maybe we are conditioned to think of them as bad because they are unlikable? I don’t know! I just read a book where the FMC started off funny but then her actions throughout the book drove me crazy because it was immature though she’s an adult. 😅 But that’s how the character is – I guess we can’t like them all. I will say though I love an unlikable character who has a good backstory, something that shaped her character into what is unlikable.

Are girls and women written more complexly in books today?

I think they are written more complex, which is refreshing! Because women are complex.

Share some of your favourite books featuring complex empowered women being unapologetically themselves!

Here are some of the latest books I read featuring complex, empowered women:

  • The Library of Amorlin by. Kalyn Josephson – Kasira is a con-artist who has to make hard choices but she’s motivated by self-preservation. She’s very morally grey to the point I didn’t trust her. But she uses her new powerful role to eventually do the right thing.
  • The Poet Empress by. Shen Tao – Wei is a peasant who becomes Empress by enduring abuse.
  • Keeper of Lost Children by. Sadeqa Johnson – Ethel, a Black woman who helps mixed-raced children find homes; and Sophia who endures a lot at a young age, but is determined to figure out who she is.
  • Wicked Onyx – Anamaya’s family is exiled from the magic community and she wants to clear her family name.
  • The Sun and the Starmaker by. Rachel Griffin – a young lady is chosen to be the next Starmaker but she learns that she has to sacrifice a lot.

March 2026 Topics:

March 6: Women Who’ve Shaped Your Reading Life

Prompts: March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is also International Women’s Day.  In honour of this month celebrating women, let’s talk about the women who’ve shaped our reading lives. Was there (or is there)  a woman in your life who sparked your love for reading? Who was the first woman author you remember loving? Do you tend to read more books by women authors and do you think that’s for a reason?

March 13: Immersive Reading (suggested by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black)

Prompts: Immersive reading is when you simultaneously listen to an audiobook while reading the physical or digital book. Do you do any immersive reading? Do you prefer it or is it not for you? Do you think it’s a good way to get everything from a book? Is there a genre that is better to do this with? What are your recommendations for immersive reading?

March 20: Portrayals of Women in Books

Prompts: We’ve previously talked about underrepresented women and women in STEM in books, but let’s take a look at portrayals of women in books. Do you think portrayals of women have changed over time? Are ambitious women portrayed differently than ambitious men? Are “unlikable” female characters judged more harshly? Are girls and women written more complexly in books today? Share some of your favourite books featuring complex empowered women being unapologetically themselves!

March 27: Right Book, Right Time? Reading for the Season You’re In (suggested by Alli @ Alli the Book Giraffe)

Prompts: Do you prefer reading about characters who are in a similar life stage as you (age, career, relationships, etc.)? Has your preference changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you ever re-read a book and experienced it completely differently because you were in a different stage of life? Do you think books come into our lives at the ‘right time’ and are there any books you think you’d feel differently about if you were younger or older?

Burn the Kingdom Down by. Addie Thorley | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: Burn the Kingdom Down

Author: Addie Thorley

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: 4/7/26

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Categories: Young Adult, Murder Mystery, Romance, Fantasy

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

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


An action-packed enemies-to-lovers romantasy filled with a romance that will leave you breathless, betrayals that will rip your heart out, and a princess who will stop at nothing for revenge.

One year ago, Rowenna Harrack, the crown princess of Tashir, left her homeland in a wedding dress of chains—sent away to the enemy nation of Vanzador as a captive bride.

Now, Rowenna is dead. Brought home in a coffin after an alleged fall from a cliff.

Second-born princess, Indira, knows her sister’s death was no accident. Desperate for truth and vengeance, Indira agrees to wed the prince so she can infiltrate Vanzador, find Rowenna’s murderer, and burn their kingdom to the ground.

Indira’s plan is simple, she will make nice until she can find out how to avenge her sister and free her country from the rival nation’s stranglehold. But when Indira arrives, nothing is as terrible as Rowenna described. As Indira grows closer to her new husband, Prince Alaric, and uncovers more about Vanzador, the source of its powers, and what happened during Rowenna’s final days, she’s no longer sure what—and who—to believe. Because everyone, even her sister, has secrets. Deadly ones.

Content Warning: illness, violence, murder, death, grief, sexual harassment

+ I thought this story had very interesting world-building. Vanzador offers Tashir protection from the Marauders who have terrorized Tashir in the past. Tashir pays giving them bagrava, a plant that helps Vanzador rulers harness their power. The king and his son, Alaric, has powers to move the earth. Indira has the power to make bagrava and any plants grow. Her older sister, Rowenna is married off to Alaric but then is dead a year later. So now Indira has to take her sister’s place – and while she’s there, she is determined to find out what happened to her sister.

+~ Indira is the second daughter and though she has the power to grow things, it’s her older sister who was the jewel of their family. Indira worked in the fields and gardens where she felt comfortable. So when she is the new wife to Alaric, she does all she can to find out what happened to her sister. I sympathized with Indira’s grief but this girl was so full of rage, she accused everyone of having something to do with her sister’s death. I didn’t love her character because she lead with her emotions so much and it was all over the place. Her sister’s voice was always in her head, so I did like seeing her grow and find her own voice by the end.

+ There are some secrets, suspicious characters, and betrayals that I really enjoyed. It made the mystery and the twists compelling to the point I read this book in one sitting because I was intrigued with the politics, and how everything was being revealed one by one.

+~ There is some romance, but it doesn’t feel like the main focus of the story though it plays a big part at the end. Everything is closed door when it comes to intimacy between Indira and Alaric. I did like how they started off as enemies to lovers because Indira is a hothead, but when they finally get to know one another, and Alaric opens up and is vulnerable, I thought their relationship was sweet. Until some other things happen in the story that I can’t spoil. But would have loved to see more playful interactions between them.

Final Thoughts:

I read this one pretty quick because I thought the murder mystery and politics was interesting. I also really enjoyed the twists and turns that come in the second half of the book. I didn’t love Indira but I felt for her because of her grief, but I question some of her actions. The romance wasn’t the focus but I did love when Indira and Alaric finally get close. The ending is kind of wild though, but overall I enjoyed this one.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Weekly Wrap Up | 3/15/26

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ So we had warnings of severe weather, this week starting on Tuesday, and though it did rain hard during the night, the days were okay with scattered showers here and there, from Tuesday-Thursday. Then they called off school for Friday. Kids were excited for an early Spring Break…but Friday came and it was like a Category 1 Hurricane outside! but it wasn’t…it was just a storm with severe weather. The wind was whipping, the rain was going sideways, it was all day from evening to evening. We lost power at 11:30am and as I’m typing this on Saturday at 2:14pm, we still don’t have power so it has been now…27 hours. The food in my fridge is all bad by now. I’ve been throwing out things here and there. But I’m bummed because food is so expensive right now, not to mention gas…sigh…so it was QUITE a weekend. (Update on 3/15/26: power came back on at 11:30pm last night! Thank god!)

+ But my hubby and my son got to escape our power outage yesterday because they hopped on a plane to Osaka, Japan for Spring Break. I’m hoping the sun comes back out sometime this week so we can salvage my daughter’s Spring Break.

+ The power outage left me with just one thing I could really do because scrolling on social media ate up my phone battery. So I read a lot at least! Ebooks and physical books!

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

  • The Serpent’s Bride by. Kathryn Ann Kingsley
  • The Serpent’s Sin by. Kathryn Ann Kingsley
  • While You Were Seething by. Charlotte Stein
  • Seek the Traitor’s Son by. Veronica Roth
  • Tethered by. Elayna R. Gallea

Currently Reading:

  • Never Ever After by. Sue Lynn Tan
  • The Thorn Queen by. Sasha Peyton Smith
  • The Summer of Second Chances by. K.L. Walther
  • Japanese Gothic by. Kylie Lee Baker

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

+ Bruno Mars, The Romantic, is on repeat!

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!

Instagram | Tiktok

Let’s Talk Bookish:  Immersive Reading | 3/13/26

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:

March 13: Immersive Reading (suggested by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black)

Prompts: Immersive reading is when you simultaneously listen to an audiobook while reading the physical or digital book. Do you do any immersive reading? Do you prefer it or is it not for you? Do you think it’s a good way to get everything from a book? Is there a genre that is better to do this with? What are your recommendations for immersive reading?

**********

Immersive reading is when you simultaneously listen to an audiobook while reading the physical or digital book. Do you do any immersive reading?

Yes, but not all the time and I feel like I stumbled on this accidentally! Sometimes I would have an e-arc and wouldn’t feel in the mood to read it, but I feel an audiobooks gets the the ball rolling, it “reads” for me, so I request it when it’s available on NetGalley. Sometimes, I start off with the audiobook, switch to the ebook, and so forth…sometimes I do immersive reading with both.

Do you prefer it or is it not for you?

I think it just depends on the mood and if I have time to have the ebook open along with my audiobook. Sometimes I’m doing stuff while listening to my audiobook so I can’t do it.

Do you think it’s a good way to get everything from a book?

Oh totally! And it helps with strange names I don’t know how to pronounce – hearing the narrator say it is like a light bulb moment. Also, with audiobooks, I don’t catch everything, so immersive reading helps with that.

Is there a genre that is better to do this with? What are your recommendations for immersive reading?

I think this helps with detailed fantasy stories!

March 2026 Topics:

March 6: Women Who’ve Shaped Your Reading Life

Prompts: March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is also International Women’s Day.  In honour of this month celebrating women, let’s talk about the women who’ve shaped our reading lives. Was there (or is there)  a woman in your life who sparked your love for reading? Who was the first woman author you remember loving? Do you tend to read more books by women authors and do you think that’s for a reason?

March 13: Immersive Reading (suggested by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black)

Prompts: Immersive reading is when you simultaneously listen to an audiobook while reading the physical or digital book. Do you do any immersive reading? Do you prefer it or is it not for you? Do you think it’s a good way to get everything from a book? Is there a genre that is better to do this with? What are your recommendations for immersive reading?

March 20: Portrayals of Women in Books

Prompts: We’ve previously talked about underrepresented women and women in STEM in books, but let’s take a look at portrayals of women in books. Do you think portrayals of women have changed over time? Are ambitious women portrayed differently than ambitious men? Are “unlikable” female characters judged more harshly? Are girls and women written more complexly in books today? Share some of your favourite books featuring complex empowered women being unapologetically themselves!

March 27: Right Book, Right Time? Reading for the Season You’re In (suggested by Alli @ Alli the Book Giraffe)

Prompts: Do you prefer reading about characters who are in a similar life stage as you (age, career, relationships, etc.)? Has your preference changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you ever re-read a book and experienced it completely differently because you were in a different stage of life? Do you think books come into our lives at the ‘right time’ and are there any books you think you’d feel differently about if you were younger or older?

Eternal is the Night by. Alayna Ravenwood| ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️

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

Author: Alayna Ravenwood

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 524

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

Publisher: Aurelia Press

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

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

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


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

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

But Nightfall is not an ordinary college.

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

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

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

Content Warning: sexual harassment, violence, death

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

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

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

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

Final Thoughts:

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

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Weekly Wrap Up | 3/8/26

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ It’s wild times in the news these days and I’m losing myself in books because of it. 😞

+ I got caught in a lock down at my daughter’s school on Thursday. It was 5 minutes to the final ringing, I heard police sirens around the area, but that isn’t new. The school opened the side gate for parents to come in and then the bell started ringing, but 5 times. Teachers then were telling us parents to get inside a room because there was a lock down happening. I think my first thought was why are they doing a lock down drill 5 minutes prior to the end of school? No…the teacher or staff who had her walkie talkie said police were in pursuit of some guy and he climbed the fence at the front of the school. It barely lasted 10 minutes, but I had to text my son I’d be late to pick him up at his school (he was freaking out), and all I could think about was how I was so close to my daughter who was a building away yet still so far from her and I wanted to protect her. I did NOT like those thoughts…the police said they got him (I heard on the walkie), it was all clear but we had to wait for the all clear bell. Us parents went to our kids classrooms, and when my daughter’s teacher opened the door some of the boys ran out laughing but saying “whoa that was scary!”, and the girls…two girls were bawling their eyes out. Other girls had tear streaks and I just was anxious to see my daughter, saw her and she was okay and I gave her the biggest hug. As we walked through campus I saw girls with tears on their faces, I heard parents and grandparents explaining to kids how the school kept them inside to keep them safe. I heard a mom tell her daughter she almost cried (the mom).

My daughter seemed “fine” but I thought maybe it didn’t hit her yet? Because watching your classmates cry – I know it scared her – but she was trying to keep everything normal. In the car ride home, she said some of the kids grabbed their scissors, in case someone came through their barricaded door. These are 3rd graders! 😞. The were hiding under their desks trying to stay very quiet. 💔 At dinner time my daughter’s emotions spilled out – she was frustrated with something and then burst into tears. So we talked about it, I told her I was in the next building waiting to get to her and that I know how scary that was. I told her they did such a good job and the drills helped them prepare for a moment like this. This is their world…and it’s a scary one! I will say though, the school was very prepared and worked fast when that 5 bell system rang – especially because it was almost final bell, they got all of us parents into rooms and locked that door fast. I will say as parents in the room (4 of us and 2 staff) we failed at barricading the door. We didn’t do that at all. A parent even joked if we need to get under the table and we just did the nervous laugh thing.

Also, I gotta give it up to teachers and school staff. Their lives are on the line teaching in this day and age. I’m just glad everyone was safe and it wasn’t a worse situation! But it reminded me things can happen in the blink of an eye.

Blog Posts:

Books I Finished

  • Deathly Fates by. Tesia Tsai
  • The Shippers by. Katherine Center
  • Life: A Love Story by. Elizabeth Berg
  • Half City by. Kate Golden
  • Eternal in the Night by. Alayna Ravenwood

Currently Reading:

  • The Poison Daughter by. Sheila Masterson
  • Burn the Kingdom Down by. Annie Thorley
  • Never Ever After by. Sue Lynn Tan
  • The Thorn Queen by. Sasha Peyton Smith

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

+ Bruno Mars is on repeat – I gotta learn all the songs before the concert in 5 weeks! So excited!

+ Also Olivia Rodrigo made a cover of the song called The Book of Love – for the HELP (2) album created by War Child UK. War Child works in 14 countries – from Gaza to Ukraine, Lebanon to Sudan – to protect, educate, and stand up for the rights of children living through war. All proceeds and donations from HELP(2) support the War Child Alliance’s work around the world.

Check out the song below, it’s such a beautiful song 🥹 and don’t forget to give the album a listen!

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!

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Half City by. Kate Golden | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Half City (Harker Academy, #1)

Author: Kate Golden

Format: hardcover and ebook

Pages: 496

Publication Date: 2/17/26

Categories: Urban Fantasy, Dark Academia, Series, Romance, Paranormal, Mystery


Welcome to Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. Keep your daggers sharp, and your wits even sharper.

Viv Abbot is an average twenty-one-year-old girl. She lives in an expensive city where the rent is too high, works long hours at a thankless job, and is dating a guy she doesn’t even like in the hopes of winning her prickly mother’s approval.

She also happens to be a demon hunter.

Ever since her father’s murder, she’s been forced to hunt deviants alone, meaning everyone, including her family, sees her as an outsider . . . until the day she crosses paths with a dangerously alluring demon, Reid Graveheart. The reformed deviant tells her of a school for people just like her: Harker Academy for Deviant Defense. If she enrolls, she’ll learn to hone her craft, work with other hunters, and never be alone again.

But Viv has a deadly secret. One that not even her new friends at Harker can know about, not if the school might hold the answers to untangling the mystery surrounding Viv’s father’s death. When strange occurrences begin to plague the students, Viv will have to figure out who she can trust, all while trying to ace her classes, avoid falling for a demon, and make it through her first year at Harker in one piece. How hard could that be?

Content Warning: violence, death

+ Set in an alternate Earth, Harker Academy is a place for demon hunters to learn and train to hone their skills. Viv trained since she was a child with her father, who was a hunter – but he never told her about this school. So when Viv gets an invitation to attend, she goes for the sole purpose of finding out more about her father. Being at Harker Academy open Viv to a whole new world and some secrets revealed leads to betrayal. I loved all the paranormal elements and the fights with different species and monsters. I also was invested in the mystery aspect of the story.

+ I like Viv but she definitely has her stubborn moments. She’s dealing with grief and guilt, but she also is the black sheep in the family. Her mom is running for mayor and it’s all about being proper and keeping up with appearances in her family but Viv is a hunter. And aeon hunter at that so the desire to hunt and kill is strong in her blood, not politics. At first she is someone who doesn’t want to get close to people, she has a best friend she loves dearly in the mortal plane, but at Harker she meets hunters like her and I loved how she grows. She is at times impulsively because of her aeon blood that is hyper-focused on stalking her prey, but she learns the longer she’s at Harker that maybe getting help is a good thing.

+ I loved the secondary characters like Sophia (her roommate), and her other new friends Peter and Eliot. I thought there was a good balance of academia and action in the book. I liked both the scenes of Viv learning in her classes and also being out in the streets hunting.

+ The romance is a slow burn between student and teacher but I really liked how it progressed. Reid is a demon but allowed to teach at Harker, even though he is the enemy. But throughout the story we get to know a little more about him each time and I love how eventually their attraction grows and they learn they work better together than separate – since Viv is stubborn enough to not listen to him. And the spice between them was nice!

~ There is a very abrupt cliffhanger ending! I’m so happy book two comes out this year as well.

~ Viv is leading a double life, she spends all her time at Harker, which is on another plane, and she’s lying to her family and best friend of where she is living. But I didn’t know how she could pull off not showing up to work for 3 weeks – it works out too conveniently for her.

Final Thoughts:

I loved this book, and can’t wait for book two which comes out this year. I’m so glad we don’t have to wait too long!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Toe to Toe by. Falon Ballard | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Toe to Toe

Author: Falon Ballard

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 3/10/26

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Ballet and Dance, Sports 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 G.P. Putnam’s Sons for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!


It takes two to tango.

Allegra Hart has been working her whole life to achieve one goal: become a principal ballerina. When her director starts holding auditions for the lead role in the company’s latest production, Allegra sees this as her chance—maybe her last chance.

The catch? The director wants someone with sex appeal, and he doesn’t think she’s up to the task. Determined to prove him wrong, Allegra enlists the help of the lead dancer of an all-male revue, Cord Donovan, a classically trained dancer who is also the sexiest man she’s ever met. In exchange for lessons on how to ramp up her sex appeal, she promises to help Cord choreograph a new partner piece for his show.

As they practice their moves on and off the stage, Allegra and Cord find themselves battling a growing attraction, all the more illicit because Cord has sworn to never partner with a ballerina. Allegra is determined not to let a man derail her career, but what if she could have both love and success? Or will her involvement with Cord jeopardize everything she’s worked for?

Content Warning: sexual harassment, mental health

+ This book has Center Stage x Magic Mike vibes which I thought was really fun. Allegra is a ballerina who is trying so hard to become a principal dancer in her company – but the next show calls for a leading lady who is sexy and her technique is perfect but the director doesn’t feel she has sex appeal. When she sees Cord Donovan dance in a male-revue show, she knows what she has to do – ask him for help so she can learn how to be sexy.

+ I loved the whole ballerina falling for a male-revue dancer. Now, Cord is not a stripper – he has a whole male revue show that includes handsome men removing some of their clothing and doing lap dances but it’s all about dance too. Cord has a history with ballet he doesn’t want to ever remember again, but Allegra being a ballerina makes him face his conflicting feelings about ballet. I loved everything about the dances in both genres, and how Allegra finally learns to appreciate herself and her body. The story does touch on issues that people in the dance world deal with like eating habits, discipline, drive, pushing their bodies, being treated abusively by the director of a company, and sexual harassment.

+ The romance was full of chemistry between Cord and Allegra. We have two dancers doing different kinds of dance and Cord pushes Allegra in many ways to help her be sexy so there are some very tense moments between them and some spicy ones too but I was surprised how there wasn’t more spice – but I think the dances and training between them was the teasing and foreplay.

~ The conflict between Allegra and Cord was tough. Cord cannot support ballet because of what he and his sister went through when they were younger in the world of ballet. He saw the sexual harassment and knew how toxic the ballet world could be – he even sees it in Allegra who is very focused on getting the role and being principal. I could totally understand why he didn’t support ballet. But I could also understand Allegra who worked all her life since she was 3 years old and gave her life to this career path. She had to choose between Cord and ballet, because he wouldn’t support ballet. I just wanted her to do something about the sexual harassment she was receiving from her director though – but that’s just me, I know realistically many people don’t report it because they are afraid of repercussions with their job, so I had to let it go, and wish the best for her.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this one, I just didn’t enjoy how Allegra couldn’t do much about the sexual harassment she was enduring to get the role of her life. But outside of that, I love the Center Stage x Magic Mike vibes, since I’m a big fan of Center Stage and I could see the different elements from the movie. I love the chemistry and tension between Cord and Allegra from start to finish and I was rooting hard for their happily ever after. They had to work through some things but eventually get there.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Something Wicked by. Falon Ballard | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just My Type by. Falon Ballard | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Lease on Love by. Falon Ballard | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Let’s Talk Bookish:  Women Who’ve Shaped Your Reading Life | 3/6/26

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:

March 6: Women Who’ve Shaped Your Reading Life

Prompts: March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is also International Women’s Day. 

 In honour of this month celebrating women, let’s talk about the women who’ve shaped our reading lives. Was there (or is there)  a woman in your life who sparked your love for reading? Who was the first woman author you remember loving? Do you tend to read more books by women authors and do you think that’s for a reason?

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Was there (or is there)  a woman in your life who sparked your love for reading?

A few! I grew up in a house with many people, there were like 5 families, it was a multigenerational household. The matriarch of the house was my Aunt Linda, my dad’s sister-in-law, had historical romance paperbacks on a shelf in the living room. I would look at them but was too young to read them, but I was already fascinated with the covers, a woman in a gown, guy with long hair (Fabio?! lol). It definitely made me curious. But I have an older cousin named Vicky, 10 years older than me, and she was from the Philippines, moved to the Big Island, then moved to Oahu and lived with us so she could go to school to become a medical assistant. She had Sweet Valley High books, and Sweet Dreams books!

She passed down all her books to my sister and I since she felt like she outgrew them. But while she wasn’t reading teen romances anymore…she moved on to historical romances and one of them was Judith McNaught. I don’t know if I just went into her room and borrowed it or how it ended up in my hands but as a teenager, I was hooked on historically romances along with young adult books. So a big thank you to my cousin Vicky!

Who was the first woman author you remember loving?

Judith McNaught. My sister and I were obsessed! We read all the books my cousin had and then fell into a rabbit hole of historical romance authors!

Do you tend to read more books by women authors and do you think that’s for a reason?

Yes, I do. I feel like so many books in high school, the classics, were mostly male authors. And honestly…it was fine but I felt like I didn’t relate much to them. But when I read female authors…wow…the connection. When I read all the romance I could find at my high school library I did read male authors like Stephen King, Nelson Demille, Dan Brown, but I always went back to women authors because I just relate more.

March 2026 Topics:

March 6: Women Who’ve Shaped Your Reading Life

Prompts: March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is also International Women’s Day.  In honour of this month celebrating women, let’s talk about the women who’ve shaped our reading lives. Was there (or is there)  a woman in your life who sparked your love for reading? Who was the first woman author you remember loving? Do you tend to read more books by women authors and do you think that’s for a reason?

March 13: Immersive Reading (suggested by Leslie @ Books Are the New Black)

Prompts: Immersive reading is when you simultaneously listen to an audiobook while reading the physical or digital book. Do you do any immersive reading? Do you prefer it or is it not for you? Do you think it’s a good way to get everything from a book? Is there a genre that is better to do this with? What are your recommendations for immersive reading?

March 20: Portrayals of Women in Books

Prompts: We’ve previously talked about underrepresented women and women in STEM in books, but let’s take a look at portrayals of women in books. Do you think portrayals of women have changed over time? Are ambitious women portrayed differently than ambitious men? Are “unlikable” female characters judged more harshly? Are girls and women written more complexly in books today? Share some of your favourite books featuring complex empowered women being unapologetically themselves!

March 27: Right Book, Right Time? Reading for the Season You’re In (suggested by Alli @ Alli the Book Giraffe)

Prompts: Do you prefer reading about characters who are in a similar life stage as you (age, career, relationships, etc.)? Has your preference changed as you’ve gotten older? Have you ever re-read a book and experienced it completely differently because you were in a different stage of life? Do you think books come into our lives at the ‘right time’ and are there any books you think you’d feel differently about if you were younger or older?