Tag: book-reviews

Let’s Talk: Romances to Read and Preorder This Winter

Robin1 Comment

We’re finally out of January (seriously how was this month 84 years long) and because of how long this month was I managed to read 55 books total, twenty of which were romances. The vibes were very much reading away the horrors while trying to curb the chance of an original thought occurring (haha just kidding……unless?) and the result was far too many books and people being concerned for my health and general wellbeing. This is my first roundup of 2025 and I’m refocusing my attentions on delivering my latest favorite romances and speculative fiction at least once a quarter. Seeing as January was a million years long this list was harder than usual to narrow down but without further ado, here are my favorite romances from the beginning of the year. The theme for my January romances was very much second chance so if that’s not your thing I hope to indoctrinate you by the end of this post.

Left of Forever by Tarah Dewitt

Second chance romance is the gift that keeps on giving and Tarah Dewitt’s latest is a sparkling and angst-fueled road trip between a former husband and wife who attempt to reconnect six years after their separation on the way back from dropping their son off at college. This journey follows Ellis and Wren on the road to discovery as they try to find themselves outside of their roles as parents and caregivers and decide if they can give their relationship another chance. Dewitt flawlessly navigates the emotional reconciliation after many years apart with her hilarious situations and exceptional dialogue. Left of Forever is quite the emotional read as Dewitt exposes what went wrong in this relationship and builds to a second chance. Ellis not wanting to become a parent again after having to parent to his siblings so young was extremely compelling and tied in with why their relationship ended the way it did. Dewitt places emphasis on communication and opening a dialogue up to compromise as Ellis and Wren unearth the past. Communication has, and always will be sexy, and Dewitt understands that wholeheartedly in this second novel. Pepper mishaps, letters, picnics, and one trip to grasp a love lost, Left of Forever is about love that grows deeper in absence and love refortified in the face of vulnerability and forgiveness. Though much of this takes place outside of Oregon it was so nice to be back with the Spunes crew and I am undoubtedly awaiting more from Dewitt.

Preorder – Out 20th May

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Unromance by Erin Connor

A trope filled journey that pays homage to the romance genre and its readers, Erin Connor’s, Unromance deserves its spot on all the romance TBR’s. A plan to ruin romance for a beloved actor you had a one night stand with while finding inspiration for the massive writers block currently plaguing you? That’s just the chaotic setup I live for. Erin Connor takes all my favorite components about romance into a blender and what emerges is a fascinating study on the genre, its tropes, and a love story for the ages. Connor delivers that classic romance meet cute but flips the script with two leads focused on anything but falling in love. Tale as old as time, as Sawyer and Mason adhere to their pact (rather loosely) while slowly opening up to trust and communication and falling for one another. Unromance is about two people that have made their careers around romance, through writing and acting, rediscovering its power in their own lives. Erin Connor moves through the tropes and genre conventions as fluidly as water, employing them in a beautiful love story intimately connected in friendship and understanding. In a setup seeming to flip the tropes, Connor instead recognizes their force for good within the overarching narrative. Unromance has humor in spades, shaken cynicism, and enough romantic moments —equal parts hot and sweet — to be your next favorite. 

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Wild & Wrangled by Lyla Sage

Anyone up on their cowboy romances knows that the Rebel Blue Ranch series is a tried and true staple. Wild and Wrangled brings this romantic saga to a close with the long awaited second chance love story between beloved Camille Ashwood and Dusty Tucker, her neighbor and childhood love. As a reader who eats, sleeps, and breathes second chance romance I can say with confidence that knowing this book was coming made me more than a bit unhinged. Sage has teased this romance in her previous installments and the crumbs were so delicious I knew this had the potential to be my favorite in the series. Integrating moments from their past as Dusty and Cam flirt with a second chance, Lyla Sage proves just how important first love can be and the support gained through vulnerability. Camille’s desire to please others was painfully relatable but her journey towards doing things just for herself was an important component of this romance arc. Now Dusty Tucker is the textbook definition of pathetically in love and I loved it so much. The years apart only intensified his love for Cam and he comes back ready to be whatever she needs. Dusty and Cam were so soft for one another which only enlivened their chemistry and highlighted why they work so well. The tension was tensioning and the chemistry was chemistrying just the way I liked. With Wild and Wrangled the romance is truly in the details and it’s absolutely Sage’s best work to date.

Preorder a copy – Out 15th April

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Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar

Stuck with your Ex in a hurricane while trying to convince him to sign divorce papers? Yes and yes. Naina Kumar said you can have a bit of angst as a treat and I ate it up like a full course meal. Flirting with Disaster is a ravaging storm contained in one life affirming romance. Married young and separated a year after they first tied the knot, Meena and Nikhil couldn’t get far enough away from each other — or at least Meena couldn’t. Nikhil is still living in their home in Texas ignoring her messages. Seven years later, Meena and Nikhil are brought back together when a hurricane leaves them stuck inside together, but the real storm is everything they have taught themselves to leave behind. Flirting with Disaster is not only an exemplary second chance romance, it’s also retelling the romantic comedy classic, Sweet Home Alabama, with South Asian characters at the helm. The longing and angst jumps out from the start as Nikhil and Meena are forced to cohabitate and confront the past. The conflict at the center of Flirting with Disaster is about wanting better for your partner, but how fraught that can be when you believe wholeheartedly that you aren’t good enough. Life goals changing, especially as one steps outside of parental expectations and reach for new dreams was another compelling theme that Kumar explores as she endeavours to bring Meena and Nikhil back together. If you like your romance heavy on the angst and one that addresses the perils and utterly human reality of miscommunication then give this one a try.

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The Partner Plot by Kristina Forest

Second chance romance but it’s the ‘we accidentally got married in Vegas after not speaking for a decade’ variety, The Partner Plot is a perfect romance of reconnection and flawed choices. Kristina Forest returns to her Greene Sister series in a follow up that focuses on Violet, the middle sibling, as she attempts a faux marriage after waking up in bed in Vegas next to Xavier, her childhood love, with a ring on her finger. Both Xavier and Violet quickly realize their marriage could be mutually beneficial, and agree to lie to their friends and the public until they get what they want from their respective careers. Right off the bat, Forest makes you feel the intense history between Xavier and Violet, the connection drawing them back together even as they tell themselves their marriage is a means to an end. The forced proximity on top of this was, in a word, sublime. I love how Forest modernizes romance tropes and uses them as a tool to expose the past between her two leads. Xavier and Forest have to confront how they’ve changed, but also how they have not, if they want to succeed in their second chance. As these two have led such different lives since their breakup, I wondered how Kristina Forest was going to make it all work but every single moment of this book works to build the foundations for a fresh start. I can’t fully describe how obsessed I am with Forest’s vibrant characters and this romance only had me gearing up to dive into the rest of this incredible series.

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Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

As a self described lover of mess, Meryl Wilsner has always been an author after my own heart. In their sophomore novel, Wilsner takes this notion to the next level. The premise: college senior Cassie Klein hooks up with a beautiful stranger at a bar off campus, never expecting to meet them at breakfast the next day when that stranger is introduced as her friend’s mother. Was the hookup a one off? And if not how will Cassie justify pursuing a relationship with a woman so intimately connected to her personal life. When I first started Mistakes Were Made I had my doubts because the mess was high and I had no idea how Wilsner was going to bring it all together. Luckily, Wilsner knows how to set up the messiest situation ever and expertly work to build upon that initial situation with open communication and intensifying chemistry. Though Cassie and Erin were at vastly different parts of their lives their connection becomes something more and they pursue it as they dodge the one person they have in common. Mistakes Were Made is a hot book and the forbidden romance only heightens this. The tension as Cassie and Erin deny that they have a real relationship was quite funny because they were already so compatible and establishing a life where they could be together. Emboldened by moments of vulnerability that shine through its chaotic start, Mistakes Were Made is everything I love about messy queer romance and my favorite novel from Wilsner so far. More of this immediately.

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Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura

Jo Segura’s Temple of Swoon is the perfect fix for anyone that likes their romance heavy on the action and adventure. Writing in the shadow of Indiana Jones and The Mummy, Segura follows up her debut, Raiders of the Lost Heart with a brand new romance adventure. Dr. Miriam Jacobs never expected to be leading an expedition to uncover the legendary City of the Moon in the Amazon, especially not without the aid of her mentor, Dr. Corrie Mejía. Add in the handsome and effortlessly charming journalist Rafael Monfils occupying her thoughts and a dash of sabotage and Miriam is unconvinced she will ever succeed in uncovering this city of legend. Now that I have read two novels by Segura it’s evident her talent for humorous, swoony romance that delivers on the action and a satisfying commentary on archeological pursuit. There are so many components raised in this sophomore novel and all were handled with the correct amount of attention and care. Now Rafe and Mariam were giving that classic action adventure couple and their interactions had me laughing one moment and then blushing the next. Miriam working to overcome her insecurities and raise hell was by far my favorite part of this novel. I also really enjoyed the references to Segura’s former novel and seeing how they connected to this one. Sexy times in the rainforest while a dangerous group works to sabotage your mission? What could go wrong.

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Love is a War Song by Danica Nava

Danica Nava is a relatively new to me author but I now need every book written by her on my desk immediately. Love is a War Song, her sophomore novel, follows Avery Fox, a Native American pop singer who flees to the ranch of the grandmother she’s never met after coming under fire for an insensitive photoshoot and music video. Avery has never met anyone in her family after being raised alone by her mother, but this vacation from the public eye provides her the chance to learn her family history and Muscogee identity. Unfortunately, there’s Lucas Iron Eyes, the man in charge of her grandmother’s ranch and the one person who cannot stand her or her music. Love is a War Song is a romance all about second chances and the fallible nature of first impressions. It’s about building your community and home even when you’ve never had one to begin with. The romance that blossoms between Lucas and Avery is truly heartfelt —stemming from two people who initially met with judgment actively working to unlearn those predisposed beliefs. Alongside the romance, Avery confronts the hurt she caused the greater indigenous community through her music video and magazine cover while becoming acquainted with the Muscogee community in Broken Arrow. Danica Nava addresses a host of issues in this romance from the entertainment industry, to cancel culture, and indigenous stereotypes, and all felt grounded in the story and its place. Danica Nava leaves her mark with this outstanding romance and and I eagerly await what she writes next.

Preorder a copy – out 22nd July

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Let’s Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan

Hate to love workplace romances aren’t anything new, but Amy Buchanan proves there are perspectives missing from this type of story in her debut novel, Let’s Call a Truce. When she started a new job after the passing of her husband, Juliana never expected to gain an enemy on her first day of work. Ben, unfairly attractive and rude, decided to complain not so privately about her leaving early due to an emergency with her two young daughters, and it did not go over well. It’s been two years since then and Juliana and Ben still cannot get through a simple conversation, but beneath their feud lies something else – something Juliana doesn’t dare interrogate. Let’s Call a Truce is a workplace romance surrounding horrific first impressions and a feud long gone astray. Exploring grief, single parenting, and returning to work after raising kids at home, Buchanan attempts a lot, but what emerges is a flawless, well rounded romance. Though they got off on the wrong foot, I could clearly feel Juliana’s frustration with Ben and how that spiralled into years of petty interactions and pointed remarks. It also led to a palpable chemistry which Buchanan builds upon over the course of this novel. The revelation of Ben’s background only served to make this feud more well-founded and the tension all the more delicious. Let’s Call a Truce has the perfect balance of hatred and simmering heat to make me entirely obsessed and I am all but begging for more from Amy Buchanan.

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Kiss Me, Maybe by Gabriella Gamez

Librarian Angela Gutierrez has a penchant for going viral, something her superiors are none too happy about. When she openly admits online that she’s never been kissed, while also sharing her asexual identity, the video goes viral and Angela becomes determined to achieve her first kiss at all costs. Her bold idea: a scavenger hunt across the city where the winner gets her first kiss, but she’ll have to enlist the help of Krystal Ramirez, a gorgeous out of her league bartender to pull it off. Now that I have read two romances from Gabriella Gamez the overarching vision for this series is clear, but this second novel could not be more different from her first. Kiss Me, Maybe is a romance intimately intertwined with sexuality, identity, and the societal pressures to perform against an arbitrary list of experiences. Main character Angela, has found comfort in her identity but her lack of romantic experience has led her to feel behind and out of touch in her own life. Gamez calls attention to this desire to know oneself but also the pitfalls in putting too much pressure on these goals. As she develops the romance, Gamez further explores the ace spectrum and Angela’s developing sense of identity. I appreciated the attention paid to the diverse experiences under the ace spectrum through Angela’s desire to find a label that best fits herself. That and the relationship between growing up queer and these “all important” experiences really served to ground the story. Kiss Me, Maybe is a layered romance that achieves much within the friends to lovers narrative, and I loved every second of it.

Preorder a copy – Out 6th May

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Review: Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Eva Kitt isn’t exactly where she’d like to be. As the host of Sausage Talk —a talk show where she interviews B-list celebrities over subpar hotdogs, her dream of a career in journalism is heavily on the back burner. Frustrated and a little drunk, Eva calls out Rylie Cooper, a popular social media talent for ghosting her during college. When the video goes viral, Eva’s superiors attempt to capitalize on that attention by having her interview Rylie live on the show. In confronting the past and her first real relationship, Eva is on edge until Rylie sits down and proposes something truly outlandish. He’ll take her on six dates to attempt to make up for his behavior during college and they’ll debrief together on his show after the fact. It’s unconventional, but Eva isn’t above making Rylie squirm. Bonus, the continued publicity could launch her out of Sausage Talks’ unfortunate shadow. As Rylie kicks off his apology dates, Eva is more than sure he is above redemption. But the dates, while a little contrived, only make her more interested in righting their shared past that is not quite done with them yet.

If you witnessed the insane levels of chemistry on Andrew Garfield’s Chicken Shop Date interview this past fall and found yourself asking “Is there a book like this?” boy does Mazey Eddings come through. With her signature knack for crafting unusual romantic circumstances, Well, Actually is a quintessential modern love story of effortless humor, second-hand embarrassment, and pop culture references served with mediocre hotdogs and a quest for redemption. It’s messy, so bisexual, and the kind of book I was always going to fall for. Well, Actually introduces Eva, a down on her luck journalist with black cat tendencies, and Rylie Cooper social media’s darling and golden retriever to his core. They seemingly have nothing in common besides the five dates they went on in college before Rylie unceremoniously ghosted Eva. Well, Actually brings exactly the kind of romance setup I go for: heavy on the mess with imperfect protagonists finding love and meaning in their lives. Mazey Eddings has a grasp on the finite ledge between the humorous and emotional situations and she employs it deftly in her strongest romance to date.

In Well, Actually, Mazey Eddings proves the past is never truly past as two chaotic individuals reach for love in spite of their tense history. Eddings brings Rylie and Eva together via an unfortunate PR nightmare that initiates a journey of rediscovery and forgiveness around their complicated past. Eva as someone desperately wanting to be chosen —having been pushed to the side in her family, and Rylie whose grief made him unable to participate fully in their relationship in college is a perfect unsteady foundation for this second chance arc to blossom. Eva Kitt, fashionable and opinionated is everything I want in my romance protagonists. She’s determined and mean when she needs to be and I love her so much. The only person who (maybe) loves her more than me is Rylie Cooper who opens up a space for her to be entirely herself. From the start Rylie was giving Nick Miller energy as Eva being mean to him just made him fall even more in love. As a lover of mean women myself I could not find blame in this.

Mazey Eddings hones her dialogue to perfection and Well, Actually is a pinnacle of her talent for witty, sharp banter. There were so many moments where I laughed, screamed, or put my kindle down out of sheer frustration. Eva and Rylie’s antagonistic, snappy interactions evolving into their deeper arguments and romantic moments was the true highlight of this novel. I’m firmly of the opinion that dialogue can make a romance and nowhere is that more on display than in Well, Actually. Rylie and Eva had so much to unpack as they embarked on a new relationship and Eddings grounds that in open and honest communication. Even though it is difficult and our leads shirk from it at points, that communication opens up an avenue for reconciliation and a true second chance. The individual journeys Eva and Rylie are on are personal, yet grounded in their shared history. Loving the idea of someone is something Rylie confronts as he tries to win Eva over despite not really knowing her, and Eva has to decide if she can move past the hurt Rylie caused. The conversations surrounding anxiety, grief, and forgiveness as these two work to surmount obstacles and reach for a relationship together are outstanding and truly some of the best I’ve read within the romance genre.

Mazey Eddings brings humor and hunger (for connection and hotdogs) in her latest romance that has all the wit, heat, and depth to send you spiraling. Well, Actually is perfection captured and bottled in a second chance romance of awkward manners and resolute natures. Through her leads Eva and Rylie, Eddings initiates a discomforting journey of reconciliation and everything caught up in forging through conflict. Haters of the third act breakup can rejoice because as far as Mazey Eddings is concerned it doesn’t exist and I praise her for it. Well, Actually emphasizes change for the right reasons and loving without conditions. This story is hilarious, it’s tender, and everything my bisexual heart needed to stay sane this winter. Mazey Eddings is still the romance author I turn to for hilarious and grounded contemporary love stories and I encourage everyone to do the same. 

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: grief, death of a loved one

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Review: A Theory of Dreaming by Ava Reid

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Please note this is a sequel and includes references to former events and partial spoilers for A Study in Drowning.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Effy and Preston survived Hiraeth, defeating the once powerful fairy king to return to Caer-Isel where neither occupy any power in the halls of its prestigious literature college. Since publishing their thesis contesting the authorship of the Llyrian writer Emrys Meridian’s, Angharad, further doors have darkened. Unmoored by the loss of the Angharad, both the book and its true author, Effy is left unguarded in a world without magic that wants nothing more than her ruination. As Effy navigates her first semester as a literature student, Preston confronts the magic he never believed that calls out in the night in pealing bells only he seems able to hear. These bells real or imagined take him to the Sleeper Museum where Llyr’s prominent scholars rest, said to protect the nation in the war effort against Argant. In dreams, he finds power in a world free from others and completely under his control. Time is running out for Preston and Effy and as the war effort between Argant and Llyr intensifies their connection may be the only thing saving them from a world that would see them lost—to stories and to dreams.

From the moment Ava Reid first drew me into the swirling tempest of her young adult debut, A Study in Drowning, it became a lifeline entirely of its own and one I have returned to whenever I’ve felt remotely adrift. Something akin to its protagonist, Effy Sayre, a tenacious young woman navigating her first year as the only woman in her architecture college who finds comfort in the Llyrian story the Angharad, a tale of the fabled fairy king more real to her than any waking thing. With this first novel, Ava Reid penned a tale of two lost souls finding familiar ground and navigating a way towards the truth. After becoming fully enmeshed in this evocative fantasy novel, it’s no surprise that I wanted more from this world and its fabulous main pairing. With the authorship of the Angharad contested through Preston and Effy’s thesis and its connections to an unstable time between two warring countries there was undoubtedly more to unpack. A Theory of Dreaming brings readers back to Llyr as tensions rise and Preston and Effy are caught in the current of war and their respective dreams which draw them further apart.

A Theory of Dreaming is a sequel that throws our wandering academics back into the turbulent world of their literature college and a nation rife with hatred for difference and dissent. Questing further meaning beyond her extraordinary first novel, Reid plumbs ever deeper into the depths of the workings of Llyr and the connections between academic institutions, story, and growing nationalism. Far from the front Effy and Preston fight their own battles in the classroom and the streets of Caer-Isel. In spite of their love and the teamwork they found back at Hiraeth Manor, Preston and Effy retreat into their former roles and the struggles they feel they must bear alone. Trusting in the facts, magic has never had any place in Preston’s life yet it is in this sequel that he contends with magic and the power it can wield for him. Effy, who came to represent all of magic’s possibilities in book one has lost her direct access to it—the Angharad unveiled and the fairy king forever eradicated. Without her lifeline, Effy is drowning against a roaring current and scared to show the full extent of her struggles.

A Theory of Dreaming slots perfectly into the conversations that began back at Hiraeth in a manor encroaching into the sea. First and foremost is the power of story in weaving a sense of national identity, and how that is exploited. The authors of these stories are Llyr’s greatest figures—who rest forever immortalized in the sleeper museum where it is said they hold power to aid Llyr in its decades-long war against Argant. Is this a truth or fiction? Reid brings this into focus through her characters Effy and Preston fighting for their place in a system that does not want to acknowledge their humanity. Opening up to his point of view, this sequel sees Preston confronting a dream world entirely under his control and Effy losing herself to her bitter reality. Preston and Effy come to represent the conflict between two opposing worlds, the magical and the real, and Argant and Llyr. But how does one find their footing in a world that exists to marginalize them and profit off of that oppression? Preston finds this immensely difficult as the war effort amps up and he confronts further violence for his Argantian identity, and Effy receives further harassment from her peers for daring to take up space as a woman in the college of literature. 

I love when follow-up novels exemplify the work still needed, and how an established love story doesn’t mean the struggles have come to an end. That is exactly the case with Preston and Effy whose journeys diverge upon their return from Hiraeth. Preston gives into his frustration in the waking world and the peace of the past in dreams—conversations with his father and the literal pedestal he has put Effy upon. His fear of losing her causes him to be blind to her struggles while closing her off completely to his. On the opposite side, Effy’s fear of burdening her partner leads her to hide her pain. Reid continues Effy’s journey most naturally in this sequel in her search for further connection. Effy finds solace in the truth of abused and cornered women who managed to write their stories within the margins, much like her own. The power of story in mythologizing these figures and erasing them for the agendas of men and a nation is an important component of this second novel. As Llyrian writings are unveiled to be merely a prop that served to further a needless war, Reid flawlessly exposes the truth and the tragedy behind Llyr’s agenda. 

A Theory of Dreaming is a sequel that throws you back into the onslaught of the storm but does not lose hope in its eventual passing. No amount of this sequel feels overwrought, its dialogue and thematically rich commentary on a nation stand strong in today’s political landscape. Connecting the power of story in building the ideology of a nation utilized as fuel for propaganda and war, Reid highlights its scars and its lasting legacy. Ava Reid balances this with the continued love story between Preston and Effy as they chafe against the constraints of their world and their place within it. A Theory of Dreaming proves that there is still more to surmount but that love is the reason we can continue to navigate this waking world—and that sometimes we must be the ones to save ourselves. For Preston and Effy that is acknowledging just how much they need each other all over again. The undertow to this duology being Effy and Preston finding love and livelihood even as they confront fascism and violence is life-affirming as it is a form of resistance. It’s been a long time since I’ve been surprised by Ava Reid’s brilliance (it is their natural state after all) and this sequel is not only brilliant it is vitally necessary. Consider me in awe of Ava Reid from now until the end of time.

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing the advance review copy.

Trigger warnings: misogyny, xenophobia, violence, drug abuse, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, sexual harassment

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Review: The Geographer’s Map to Romance by India Holton

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Elodie Tarrant, a geography professor with a penchant for chaos is more than ready to solve any problem. But she’s finally been handed a problem that cannot be neatly solved nor entirely avoided. Her problem is Gabriel Tarrant, another professor of geography and the unfeeling man she is unfortunately married to. Since their marriage crashed and burned over a year ago, Elodie has avoided her husband at all costs—in the shrubbery and campus byways—all to keep from confronting her mistake and his general ire. But in the aftermath of a strange magical event in a Welsh village, Elodie and Gabriel are inconveniently assigned to the case, making avoidance altogether impossible. Together, Elodie and Gabriel travel to Wales to confront this magic and determine its cause before disaster spirals back into England. Discovering how to curb the strange magic could prove disastrous, but no more than reaching for the love they have been denying for so long.

India Holton has long been an author I have turned to for strange, fantastical, and wonderfully magical love stories only she seems capable of charting. The Geographer’s Map to Romance is the latest of her Loves Academic historical fantasy series. In this second installment, two estranged geography professors reunite after their failed marriage of convenience to confront a scholarly mystery in the Welsh countryside—battling magical disasters and growing feelings with varying degrees of success. Give me a marriage of convenience between a woman who is sunshine incarnate and the grumpiest man on earth and the speed at which I will come running will be concerning to everyone around me. India Holton puts her spin on this classic pairing with hilarious turns of phrase, unrestrained magic, and twists on classic tropes within the genre. Grounded in magic and academic pursuit, The Geographer’s Map to Romance might be my favorite novel from Holton to date. Holton’s narrative voice is incomparable, bent towards crafting an imaginative, unforgettable romance. 

India Holton endeavors to suffuse her mixture of whimsy and utter absurdity into her latest historical romantic fantasy that left me far too entertained, swept up in the underlying romantic tension between two misunderstood academics avoiding their feelings as danger ensues. Endearing and entirely bemusing, The Geographers Map to Romance charts out a course rigged with chaos—American tourists turning into cows, waltzing to get out of quicksand, and intensifying versions of the “not enough bed” trope (a superior version dare I say). Holton mixes these moments of strange adventure with slow-burning romance that is the real magic weaving beneath the mystery. Gabriel and Elodie were perfectly matched from the start and Holton draws this out with a begrudging team-up that demonstrates just how well-suited these two are. Across the investigation, Elodie and Gabriel take on roles fairly representative of their dynamic as a couple. Elodie is the person who throws herself headlong into danger and Gabriel is the buttoned-up academic whose heart goes with her every single time. A true recipe for success where their romance is concerned.

As Elodie and Gabriel work towards preventing a calamitous magical cascade, Holton brings their perfectly constructed roles to a standstill. None more so than with our hero Gabriel Tarrant. Despite his emphatic aversion to poetry and anything resembling romance, Gabriel is the true romantic of this story hidden beneath a prickly facade. The grumpiness, the monosyllabic answers, and the carefully curated exterior are certainly part of his charm but they allow him to close himself off to real connection. Far away from Oxford and their academic roles, Elodie and Gabriel grapple with their self-worth. Geography is their shared passion and they’ve wielded it as a weapon against any sort of vulnerability and connection they could have together. India Holton takes her time in excising this conflict. Elodie feeling like she is too flighty for someone like Gabriel, who in turn feels like he has to change himself to be worthy of her love was a compelling center for this conflict. The reconciliation of these differing points of view and complicated feelings of self-worth is an explosion of feeling unfettered even as uncontrolled magic builds to a calamity.

The Geographer’s Map to Romance is an exemplary historical fantasy novel about loving without conditions and being loved for who you are. India Holton knows how to bring disastrous circumstances together and still wind up with a tremendously heartwarming romance by the time it’s complete. I just wanted to stay lost with this one—with Gabriel and Elodie proudly soldiering their hurts and their desire to be truly seen by one another – adding or subtracting a few near-death experiences. India Holton has struck an emotional chord of belonging with this beautiful love story about meeting people right where they are. Elodie and Gabriel bring on the yearning and the not-so-quiet grumbling and all I want is to trek off on more adventures by their side.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: misogyny,

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Review: Modern Divination by Isabel Agajanian

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Aurelia Schwartz has a secret. One she has closely guarded for twenty-three years. Aurelia is a witch, a fact she has hidden away from everyone in her life as she attempts to balance two opposing worlds. All it takes to bring this secret life crashing down is the murder of another witch and classmate during a campus soiree. The last thing Aurelia expects is to witness the aftermath of a murder, but the fact that Theodore Ingram, her academic rival should be by her side feels all the more targeted. Ever since she started at Cambridge, Ingram has made it clear Aurelia is beneath him, but now he insists she accompany him home for the holidays, pressing that neither of them is safe – because Teddy apparently has magic. As Teddy and Aurelia sequester themselves away from prying eyes with his magical family, they attempt to unravel the mystery of the murder, the culprit, and their complicated past. It appears the killer is far from finished and to uncover the truth Aurelia will have to undo her carefully constructed boundaries and set aside her animosity with Teddy, which could prove her undoing.

Modern Divination is the perfect example of a book that only settles deeper into your bones the longer it sits with you. This book is an exquisitely crafted blend of tea steeped to perfection, with dark notes of magic and a hint of bitterness rendered sweet through its stimulating academic rivalry. Having read the independently published version of Modern Divination upon its initial release back in 2023, I never expected to read the revised edition and fall even more in love but somehow that is exactly what occurred. This revised edition of Isa Agajanian’s original text is an addictive combination of witchery and fate, complete with enough yearning to make me feel like I was being repeatedly stabbed in the chest. Isa has completely raised the bar with this revised edition — sharpening the atmosphere and the incredible tension between Aurelia and Teddy into something entirely its own. If reading this for the first time left me longing for its sequel, then the updated version left me a shell of my former self and I will not recover until Quiet Spells is in my hands.

Isabel Agajanian’s, Modern Divination is a painfully relatable window into loneliness, grief, and the connections we close ourselves off to by insisting we bear our paths alone. Where the academic atmosphere of Cambridge and the secluded English countryside enthralls, Modern Divination’s true magic lies in its central duo realizing just how wrong they have been about each other. In a book set so firmly around an academic rivalry with a thread of magic weaving throughout the narrative, characters Aurelia and Teddy are an outstanding pairing. What can I say about Aurelia Schwartz besides the fact that I love her and she can do no wrong? An unyielding and ambitious young woman – Aurelia’s academic vivacity is matched only by her rival and arrogant specter, Theodore Ingram. Teddy is seemingly all ego with a past completely hidden from view, but after becoming targets to a witch killer, the carefully constructed walls these two have defended come crashing down. This is my favorite flavor of romance, there’s brooding, yearning, and snappy interactions as these two hold fast to their dynamic not wanting to be the first to concede to honesty.  

Reexperiencing Modern Divination through a revised edition feels like looking at it through an inverted lens, yet the core of the story remains the same: two rivals finally laying down their weapons and opening themselves up to connection. Casting off the protective bonds that academia has afforded her, Aurelia struggles to let people in after building a life set around pushing them away. This innate struggle is intensified by the longing she feels for Teddy in contrast to the way she’s viewed him for so long. Meanwhile, Teddy is down bad. He’s that specific type of love interest that’s just groveling and disgusting longing stuck together in one body with few ways to make those feelings known and I love it so much. Their slow burn is this wonderful give and take centered around falling for each other because of their flaws, as they unpack why they became rivals. Isabel Agajanian understands how to build a true rivals to lovers story and the layers required to deliver that satisfying emotional payoff. Aurelia and Teddy’s romance reveals the risk of love and connection is in the potential to be hurt and changed, but it is worth it no matter the outcome. Modern Divination examines the consequences of magic with an imperfect love story I’m more than a little obsessed with. Book two cannot come soon enough and I’ll be here yearning away in the meantime.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: murder, blood, violence

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Review: The Dark Mirror by Samantha Shannon

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This is book five in a seven-book series. As such, former books and events contained in this installment will be discussed. Read with caution (I’m serious).

Rating: 5 out of 5.

When Paige Mahoney wakes she finds herself captured and outside Scion-controlled territory for the first time since childhood. Six months have passed since the Paris bombings, but Paige has no memory after the night of the masquerade. Dosed heavily with the White Aster plant by her captors to suppress her memory, Paige’s amnesia threatens to drag her under with no chance of returning to her former self. Yet Paige escapes, journeying to Venice to find allies who thought her long dead, and the world transformed in her absence. The memory of Arcturus’ betrayal still cuts fresh, but in coming face to face with the Ranthen and her clairvoyant allies Paige begins to question the truth behind their last conversation. News reaches the Domino Programme of a new Scion plot, Operation Ventriloquist that will tip the scales of control over Europe in Scion’s favor unless they unravel the means behind this new plan. Though Paige was brought out of her stupor with the White Aster it still has roots deep within her dreamscape and there is only one individual who could help her, if he’s even still alive. Traveling to Italy, the team has one chance to bring themselves out of the shadows and play the first hand in the fight over the remainder of the free world. And it all starts with rescuing Arcturus Mesarthim.

What began in Oxford and the clairvoyant underworld of London to the catacombs racing beneath Paris transforms across the winding streets of Italy in this fifth installment to the Bone Season. With The Dark Mirror, Samantha Shannon presents the fifth chapter of her groundbreaking series and it is assuredly her strongest work by far. This fifth book is this series fully realized, in its themes, characters, and deftly constructed plot finally blossoming with astonishing precision. After the agonizing events that concluded The Mask Falling, this sequel is as much a soul-deep reconciliation between Dreamwalker and revolutionary Paige Mahoney and the warden Arcturus Mesarthim, as it is an expansion in the fight to bring the Republic of Scion to its knees. Paige and her allies take the next step outside Scion to unmask a new threat in Italy that will transform the free world. Teeming with angst and decisive action, The Dark Mirror is everything I could have hoped for interwound in one astounding volume. With so many emotional reconciliations, confessed feelings, near misses, and epic confrontations it’s no wonder I spent most of this book being stressed as hell waiting for the other shoe to drop and the rest basking in its brilliance. Samantha Shannon leaves no holds barred in her fifth Bone Season novel which redefines the world order and the next stage for our revolutionaries.

Reading The Dark Mirror was the most stressful reading experience I’ve ever gone through and I can say that with a finality that should by no means assure you that this is not one of my all-time favorite books and I would not venture back into it willingly (as I already have done several times). The Dark Mirror is made all the more stressful by the concluding moments of book four, with Paige racing across Paris as airstrikes commence desperate to free Arcturus whom she realizes did not betray her – to her capture at the hands of Cordier whose intent we don’t fully understand. The Dark Mirror is full of unfamiliar experiences for Paige who suffers further loss of agency with her capture and exposure to the White Aster, a drug that could destroy her dreamscape from the inside out. Her memory loss is coupled with the startling revelation that she has lost six months of her life to the drug, causing her to question everything about herself and the decisions that led to Arcturus’ capture. As she comes back to herself with limited memory Paige rejoins the fight against Scion and must reconcile all that has occurred in the half a year since she was taken.

The Dark Mirror takes a further leap from Paris to the free world in Italy – a world outside Scion that represents immense possibility, for the Sargas expanding their dominion and for the world still free from its control. Book five presents the first time most characters have left Scion in decades and is fraught with the weight of that freedom. The way they react to this newfound freedom and the costs of knowing it for themselves were some of the most intriguing aspects of this novel. Nick and Paige in particular struggle with the free world and it in contrast to the things that have been done to them simply because of who they are and where they were born. As she wrestles with the reality of this free world, Paige continues to experience the lingering ramifications of her torture at Westminster. The continued impacts of Paige’s torture sink in deep, in Venice with its surrounding water, to Capri where her relationship with water is truly put to the test. Being near a constant trigger is challenging for her but beyond that Paige’s loyalty is tremendous when in rescuing Arcturus she puts herself in the path of something that has the power to drag her back to those horrific experiences. Her connection to water and the mastery of her fear is truly awe-inspiring and it reminds me of why she is such a powerful protagonist – her startling tenacity and guiding loyalty that remains unshaken.

The themes of identity and fate come to a head in this fifth chapter, as Paige sets out to rescue Arcturus from Nashira but finds it’s not so simple. Past motifs like the devil and death inverted cards are finally unveiled with devastating effect and unforeseen ramifications. Never would I have guessed the reality of Arcturus’s rescue and it was excruciating to read the chapters dealing with the discovery and the aftermath. This fifth chapter centers heavily on emotional tension and misperception as Arcturus comes back to himself after his latency and Paige continues to provide support – with a degree of distance. In the aftermath of Capri and Arcturus’ return both Paige and Arcturus struggle with guilt and where they stand with one another. Arcturus wants to hide his experiences of being mentally and physically tortured by the Sargas and the dreamwalker Cade Fitzhours, who used his memories with Paige to psychologically and physically torment him. On the other hand, Paige holds herself personally responsible for his capture and believes that he must as well since he is more emotionally reserved. Despite where they believe they stand Samantha flips their dynamic, with Paige looking after Arcturus and relying on her knowledge of him to bring him peaceful moments. The scene where they perform the Gloaming together is probably the standout of this sequence and a wonderful callback to their beginnings at Oxford.

The emotional reconciliation between Paige and Arcturus is a long time coming, but it is agonizing to read, yet made all the more hopeful on the other side. Paige and Arcturus have always shared their truth no matter how painful and excising their truths after six months apart isn’t easy for either of them. Several scenes carved out a hole in my chest, particularly when Arcturus confides in Paige that their time in Paris in that dark room became his shelter during his torture in Carcassonne. I don’t know what hurts more the fact that Arcturus’ dreamscape was in complete shambles and then his spirit shifted it to the Guildhall, the place he first kissed Paige and where he felt the safest, or that when he was being tortured he only had to think of their night in the dark to take himself out of his physical body. I’m still impressed at the depth of intimacy these two share and how that is represented across this fifth installment. At times it almost doesn’t seem real but then Samantha Shannon reminds us of everything they have done for one another throughout the journey they have been on. Their trust and intimacy have held fast against some of the darkest things anyone should ever have to face and that is fully honored by the sexual intimacy they develop in their reconciliation. The whole duet chapter is a testament to the trust and innate love they share. The connection between the dark rooms and physical darkness being outweighed by the firelight at Orvieto is one such instance. Paige and Arcturus have spent so much time within the darkness, in Oxford, and in dark rooms meeting the feelings that burn through them that it’s crucial for this stage — the consummation of their physical relationship and emotional reconciliation— to reflect a stepping into the light.

Across Venice, Capri, Orvieto, and Rome, Samantha Shannon tightens the knot and brings old allies and new enemies into the fight over the freedom of Italy. Nick and Maria are back in full force and are more than ready to assist Paige in this next stage and it is an utterly heartfelt reunion for the Mime Order crew. I loved all the moments with them standing up for Paige and advocating for her against the organizations that intersect the fight outside of Scion. Maria undeniably stands out in this one and is probably my new favorite side character (her channeling Frodo Baggins was terribly funny). She just wants to light things on fire and hang out with her hot girlfriend and I have nothing but respect for that. The Dark Mirror is a real turning point for Paige, as she opens up to those in her life about her experiences and allows them to support her in her recovery. I appreciated how much of that connected to her coping mechanisms in the past and turning aside from them as she embarks on a new chapter. The Dark Mirror is a reminder for our core characters of just how much they can accomplish together as they reunite and make one of the greatest stands against Scion.

As Paige and her clairvoyant allies unveil the truth to Project Ventriloquist, they unmask three new players on the board – Grapevine, Tin Man, and the Council of Kassandra unfurl a world on the brink of war. It all goes down in Rome, in an epic sequence across streets beset by Buzzers allowed entrance through the cold spots awakened by latent Rephaim hidden underneath the city. This final act layers all the known lore about the Rephaim and twists it into a horrific act by Scion to take control of Italy in the next stage of its European invasion. The final fight at the Colosseum with the Ranthen fighting the Sargas Rephs and Paige coming face to face with Cade while the rest of their allies explore beneath for the final body as Buzzers swarm the ruins was utterly masterful. The Dark Mirror highlights Paige’s desperation as a kind of strength, particularly in her fight against the dreamwalker Cade Fitzours who has spent his life coming into his power. Samantha Shannon makes it clear that Paige didn’t have that luxury, she was quite literally thrown in to her power. She has always made unconventional moves, in her time at the side of the White Binder and her reign as Underqueen and she uses that to her advantage. As she fights a dreamwalker with seemingly unlimited powers, her cleverness is again on her side as she uses her own memories to suffocate him in her Dreamscape.  

The Dark Mirror is a resounding ode to dreamers and resisters and is undeniably the best in the Bone Season series. This flawless installment manages to entwine every strength from its former novels, with the mystery, trauma, and heartbreak coalescing across a pivotal fight in Italy. It is also Samantha Shannon at her most diabolical. I already cried my eyes out to chapters twelve and thirteen, and the journey out of chapter twelve was so intense and genuinely made me feel like I was being hunted for sport. The echoes of certain scenes of books past, and long-awaited developments make this such a treat for fans of the series old and new. The Dark Mirror is a wonderful tribute to the journey this series has taken and is further proof that it is just the best of fantasy right now. The Dark Mirror is certainly a long-awaited sequel but it’s heartrending and masterfully plotted and deserves to be read over and over again. 

Thank you to Edelweiss and Bloomsbury for providing me with an advance review copy.

Trigger warnings: forced drug use, death, blood, violence, murder, panic attacks, grief, suicide, emotional abuse, kidnapping

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Review: Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Emily Walker’s delicately balanced life is almost where she’d like it – she has a teaching job she loves, her historical romance manuscript is ready to query, and she feels perfectly content in her hometown of Rome, Kentucky. The only thing grating on this peace is Jack Bennett, her workplace nemesis and rival since college. The thing is, Jack only rears his ugly side in her presence while everyone else somehow falls prey to his invincible charm. She hasn’t been on the receiving end of that charm since he accidentally spilled coffee all over her on their first day of class. But Jack has gone off into the sunset with his less-than-perfect fiance leaving his classroom and their rivalry abandoned in the rearview, which shouldn’t disappoint her as much as it does. With spring term at its end, the last thing Emily expects to see is Jack Bennett hogging her unassigned assigned seat in their local coffee shop, or that he has just purchased the rundown house directly next to hers. Never one to back down from a fight especially where her nemesis is concerned, Emily wages a small-town standdown but with their professional rivalry in the offseason and their animosity at a tipping point, Emily and Jack might just have to reconcile their undeniable chemistry into something more permanent.

I knew Beg, Borrow, or Steal was going to be romance excellence from the second I read its title and incredible premise. Anything referencing Carly Rae Jepsen and Audrey Hepburn’s How to Steal a Million is high taste and I will drop everything to read it. Happy to report my initial impression did not lead me astray. Sarah Adams continues her immensely heartwarming When in Rome series with a rivals-to-lovers story between two second-grade teachers – Emily, the eldest sister in the Walker family, and Jack Bennet her selectively charming nemesis. Jumping past the bulk of their professional rivalry in action to the summertime, Adams brings us to these rivals with their guards down forced to interact as they navigate their now-shared small town. Beg, Borrow, or Steal has all the accompaniments of a romance that would ruin me for all others and it’s re-enlivened everything I love about this genre.

Beg, Borrow, or Steal burrowed its way into my heart with its small-town antics, rivals to lover’s romance, and use of bickering as a love language. Adams balances the razor-sharp edge of animosity and romantic tension with a finesse that left me gleefully turning the page and hanging on to every interaction between warring teachers, Jack and Emily. It’s rare to see a rivals-to-lovers romance structured quite like this one – skipping past the professional antagonism to a moment of quiet in the summer where Adams completely wrecks the roles these two individuals have comfortably settled into. Beg, Borrow, or Steal focuses on two rivals who just got off on the wrong foot and never quite lived down those first impressions navigating a new side of their relationship as they become neighbors and members of the same community. Adding to this wonderful narrative switch up is the unique way this book engages with tropes and conventions within the genre. There’s something about the sunshine character who is nice to everyone except one person that I absolutely adore. It is such an ingenious trope reversal and I thank Sarah Adams for representing that in Jack Bennet (everyone else take notes please).

As a proud defender of single point of view romance, it isn’t often I concede to the dual perspective, but in the case of Jack and Emily’s love story, it really works. Both protagonists were such strong individuals and I enjoyed relishing in their perspectives and cracking open the bulk of their shared history. Emily Walker is peak eldest daughter energy and very much the representation I didn’t know I needed. She’s the one who feels like she always has to have everything together and prefers to shoulder her burdens alone while throwing all of herself into supporting her family and those she cares about. I could really feel that in connection to Rome, a small town full of people who are Emily Walker supporters who will literally embark on a campaign to shun some random man just because she said so. But on the other side of that controlled world is Jack, truly the most patient man and dare I say the person who understands Emily and her extraordinary capabilities more than anyone. There is something so profoundly HOT about someone not only believing in your competence and approach but expecting that excellence, and that’s just Jack with Emily. Jack pushing her to query her book and the scene of him bursting into her living room holding her manuscript full of his notes was giving married couple and had me rooting for him from the very start. Adams encapsulates not only the tremendous chemistry between these two but the underlying affection and understanding that makes them all the more compatible.

Beg, Borrow, or Steal matches a workplace rivalry with an unmistakable chemistry rendered perfectly against the backdrop of a small Kentucky town. Jack and Emily shifted something foundational for me, in my appreciation for this genre, the execution of the rivals to lovers storyline, and the kind of relationships I want to see represented alongside these romances. I’m especially grateful for the representation of Jack, who grew up with a narcissistic parent and worries about becoming everything he has grown up fearing. It was very gratifying to read Jack owning up to his success as a mystery writer and officially cutting his father out of his life. The reconciliation of Emily and Jack’s unique upbringings in tandem with the romantic arc is yet another reason this novel has launched to the top of my favorites for this year. Beg, Borrow, or Steal has officially shifted the standard for rivals to lover’s romance and I know this will forever be one I recommend and return to often.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: parental abuse (emotional), grief

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Review: First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Lucie Stone has spent so much of her life convincing herself she is fine that she doesn’t know how to believe anything else. A talented mechanic and mother to a chaotic twelve-year-old, Lucie is content with her situation, yet she can’t help feeling stuck in place. Aiden Valentine has spent so much of his career steeped in romance that he has fallen out of love with it entirely. Working for Heartlines, Baltimore’s late-night romance hotline, Aiden fields calls from the infatuated and heartbroken citizens of Baltimore and offers up advice live on the air. Every late-night call drives him deeper into cynicism, and the passion he once had for his work is now gone. Everything changes the night Aiden receives a call from Lucie’s determined daughter Maya, seeking dating advice for her mom, and Lucie’s impassioned call for real romance and magic makes the segment go viral. Lucie’s words have resonated with many, and they all want to see where her search for real romance leads, including Aiden. Now Lucie and Aiden are getting up close and personal with a new Heartlines segment all about Lucie’s quest for romance. On air, Aiden and Lucie have an unmistakable chemistry and their joint quest only brings them closer. With Lucie piloting her love story and owning up to what she wants it could be that the love she’s been looking for is just one call away.

B.K. Borison calls forth the magic in her series debut, First-Time Caller, a romance that pays homage to Nora Ephron and the romantic comedy classic, Sleepless in Seattle. Featuring her signature banter and sizzling charm, Borison pits a cynical radio host against a dreamy romantic on a late-night radio dating segment to test if love without reservations is truly attainable. Main characters Lucie Stone and Aiden Valentine fight the growing sparks on the air and the fact that the love they’ve been denying themselves is just one seat away. If it’s possible to fall in love with a group of characters in just one book, left hopelessly hanging for more, then B.K. Borison has done that with First-Time Caller. I want to soak in all the workplace gossip at the radio station, hang out with the Heartstrings crew in the studio, and get far too caught up in Jackson’s antics and his feud with Delilah. First-Time Caller brings everything into focus for this brand-new romance series encapsulating all the best from classic love stories and it’s left me entirely too excited for what Borison is delivering us next.

First-Time Caller is a comforting and familiar romance that somehow feels entirely different – like slipping back into an old coat to find it still fits yet has nevertheless changed. After falling head over heels for B.K. Borison’s Lovelight series I was reluctant to say goodbye to Inglewild and trek into her new romance, but I needn’t have been. First-Time Caller completely stuns with that wonderful community atmosphere and charm that she captured back in her first series. The lesson here is to never doubt B.K. Borison’s ability to leave you lovestruck no matter which book of hers she is writing. First-Time Caller made my heart flutter, caught up in the endless potential of charting my own destiny as its protagonist Lucie rediscovers the dreams she had not even realized she left behind. On a dating segment with the unfortunately jaded Aiden Valentine, Lucie gets the chance to find love and chase the magic she’s been longing for if she can be brave enough to reach for it. The key with this romance is BANTER. Lucie and Aiden spend an inordinate amount of time recording their radio segment and tap into a repartee that is quite simply divine. The romantic tension builds and dissipates again and again as these two fight the feelings and remain caught in a constant state of denial of the fact that they could love one another. 

What always stands out to me with B.K. Borison’s romances are their lived-in feel – it’s as if you could step onto the page and for a moment be a part of the community she has captured there. In First-Time Caller there’s the radio crew and the extended family unit with Lucie and her daughter, Maya. The unconventional family aspect oriented around Lucie, Greyson, and Mateo co-parenting Maya was really sweet as was their staunch support of Lucie throughout her romance journey. The task of searching for romance live on the radio is daunting enough, but Lucie is supported by so many people in her life. Lucie’s fear in putting herself out there was terribly relatable and Borison does an incredible job revealing all aspects of that vulnerability, the fear that comes with everyone knowing your business but also the courage in knowing that you have to change.

There’s a lot that stands out about Lucie, but it was her unshakable commitment to standing by her truth in all aspects of her life that I deeply admired. Lucie’s decision to raise a daughter and not marry Grayson alienated her from her family, who chose to force their daughter out of their home and sever all future connections. Knowing Lucie persevered and created an extended family of her own is comforting. Yet Lucie has gotten far too comfortable and must get back to finding the magic she’s been missing. Borison adopts “magic” as that rightness in romance, but exposes how magic isn’t just something you find, it’s something you create. The love Lucie discovers with Aiden is scary because it is imperfect, but it’s everything she has been looking for all the same. Aiden shows himself to be the right partner to Lucie almost without realizing it. The scene where he runs to the restaurant after she gets stood up, and the reveal that he keeps a list of her favorite things in his glove compartment in case he forgets were everything to me I fear. First-Time Caller expertly reimagines a Nora Ephron classic and twists it for the modern day while retaining all of its heartwarming charm and unforgettable chemistry. While it attempts a lot, its centering of change is so profound and is further proof that it is never too late for any of us.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: cancer

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Review: Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Every hundred years, a Starfall signifies the arrival of the next queen of Pixie Hollow who will emerge from the embers of the dying star to inherit the crown. Since her fated arrival Princess Clarion, the queen in training, has struggled to learn the teachings of her governing talent and master the magic brimming inside her. Though she inhabits the most renowned position within Pixie Hollow she has never felt more alone, left to spend her days being shunted between meetings and locked inside her bedroom. Not entirely without its charms, Clarion’s bedroom affords a perfect view of the snowy peaks of the Winter Woods – the one season entirely cut off from the other three. No one has seen winter fairies in many years, and the theories of this strange snow-capped world have become extremely far-fetched. When reports of a monster crossing over from winter reach the attention of the palace, Clarion resists the order to remain in place and travels to the boundary between winter and summer. There she meets Milori, the Warden of the Winter Woods and someone just as burdened by duty as she is. Meeting at sunset on the boundary, Clarion and Milori hatch a plan to save their respective worlds but their growing emotional connection could be infinitely more consequential than the nightmares plaguing their lands.

If you watched Secret of the Wings back in 2012 and had your young heart irrevocably shattered, then Wings of Starlight is the book to heal those wounds. When Wings of Starlight was announced a few weeks after I had rewatched the entire Pixie Hollow movie series and dissected at length the plot that should have existed for Clarion and Milori’s love story, it felt like fate and prophecy were working in my favor – not to mention that one of my all-time favorite authors would be writing the love story for the ages. A star-crossed lovers’ plot that resolves in a second chance arc many years later was a job only Allison Saft could accomplish. With her innate ability to give voice to the desperate longing and the callings that connect us across distance, Saft has long been an author I have turned to for romance. No one else could have given voice to a story so full of loneliness and longing, and it’s a wonder that I survived reading this at all. Even if you’ve never seen the iconic films, or stepped into the Pixie Hollow lore, Wings of Starlight is the kind of romance that transcends both things and can be read entirely on its own, although its ending will certainly leave you wanting to experience more from this world and its characters.

Returning to Pixie Hollow, a world that made up so much of my childhood was a comforting slip back into something forgotten, yet indescribably familiar. Allison Saft sweeps you away on a crisp summer breeze into a realm made up of tiny little details down to the colors of the autumn leaves and the sparkling dewdrops on a spider’s web. This intricately detailed world left me wanting nothing more than to sit on the leaves of a tree in the springtime and the overwhelming desire to be a fairy in Pixie Hollow has never been stronger than in reading this novel. Wings of Starlight combines the world of Pixie Hollow against an ardent star-crossed romance between two leaders adrift in a swirling sea of responsibility. With Clarion as queen in training Saft reveals a side of this character previously unseen, someone unsure and alone desperate to master their skills. Clarion’s characterization as someone who feels deeply but has been taught to close off that part of herself to be an effective ruler provides a unique view into leadership and whether or not leaders can retain some semblance of themselves at all. Her profound loneliness as she shoulders the responsibility of her role alone is immensely sad but mirrored in the character of Milori, the Warden of the Winter Woods, her great love. Meeting at twilight on the borders between their respective worlds Clarion and Milori find a similar desire to take action and the borders separating them become insignificant in the face of danger and their growing connection. Containing that quiet yearning that Allison Saft has honed over time, Wings of Starlight pays homage to two iconic characters and the cost of the love that they find with one another. Bringing in dream magic and long-forgotten lore, Saft shapes the mysterious world of winter and all of Pixie Hollow, rounding out this romantic fantasy standalone. Wings of Starlight is a contradiction– a story encapsulating all the beauty in knowing one’s self and the discovery of love, to the agonizing heartbreak in having to sacrifice something you’ve only just begun to call yours. It’s as emotionally devastating as I expected and still, I would not change a thing. Undoubtedly going to return to this one again and again.

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: violence, injury

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Let’s Talk: The Best Books to Read this Fall

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Happy autumn! It’s officially the start of my favorite season and coincidentally the time of year with the best books being published. With so many books coming out over the next few months I’ve been wanting to share my curated list of fall book recommendations. I’ve been buzzing for months about some of these so here is my somewhat complete list of the books that should be at the top of your tbr for the fall season. It can be overwhelming to wade through the sheer amount of books making their debut, to the ones already published so I’m keeping it simple with just nine titles. Whether you’re craving a gothic romantasy, historical fiction, vampires, young adult, witchy romance, or an expansive fantasy epic I have you covered. Look no further for your next fall read!

Heir by Sabaa Tahir

Return to the world of An Ember in the Ashes, following a new generation of characters across the empire as they encounter a grave threat that could endanger their world. Heir is a bittersweet reunion with characters from books past and an introduction to those who are carrying the torch for the future. Come for the cameos of our old trio, and stay for this masterful expose into corruption and vengeance. Sabaa Tahir’s talent for storytelling across three intersecting points of view and unique timelines is undeniable – as is her penchant for putting the characters we love through the most horrific things imaginable. Expect the Sabaa Tahir standard of having the rug swept out from under you in the most ingenious way. Once I figured out what she was doing I had to close my book and stare at the wall for several minutes it was that good. Heir is not only an incredible book, it’s a timely one. The connection to justice being rendered immobile in the face of violence against innocents, particularly children was very clear. That the path to justice accomplished through further suffering is not justice at all. Centering one figure’s descent and others fighting despite, Sabaa Tahir gives voice to resistance and the power of those walking that path, and the task for those of us bearing witness.

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The Republic of Salt by Ariel Kaplan

The sequel to Ariel Kaplan’s, The Pomegranate Gate is out this October. Kicking off a slower pace than its predecessor, but aided by the momentum from its chaotic conclusion, The Republic of Salt brings further context to the mirrored mortal and mazik realms, on the brink of war with La Caceria. The Gate city of Zayit is predicted to burn unless the Cacador’s conquest can be brought to a halt, and Zayit’s salt trade could be the key. Deviating from book one, The Republic of Salt features a variety of perspectives across the realms like scattered pieces within the mirror fracturing and mending against an inevitable destruction. My favorite of these continued character arcs is certainly Toba’s. A buchuk of the original Toba now dead, Toba Bet struggles with her identity in the face of her creator’s beheading and her being the one that remains with those memories and experiences. Despite this, Toba is steadfast in her way forward and finds an unlikely path in allying with her sister, Tsifra, the very person who killed her prime self. Connecting two realms and building up to an irrevocable confrontation, Kaplan’s sequel is as immersive as its first installment, providing further context to a wonderous fantasy series.

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Januaries by Olivie Blake

With fall officially here I am retreating into fantasy worlds and there’s no better break from reality than with Olivie Blake’s upcoming collection of short stories, Januaries. Split into four seasons these fairy-touched tales strike at the monstrous, twisted, fetid, and endearing love and the magic and power-hungry beasts inside us all. The guardian of a magical bridge that grants wishes desires more than her stationary existence, vampirism allows a young woman agency and a way out of her situation, two spouses play a centuries-spanning game of murder, and more. Aided by Blake’s punchy flair and signature prose, Januaries has stories for every kind of fantasy reader. Journey through the year with stories that hit right at the heart of the seasons. While I loved all of these stories my favorites were probably Wish Bridge, The Audit, and The Animation Games. However, this entire collection is top-tier. There are certainly a lot of fantasy story collections coming out this fall, but Januaries deserves to be at the top of your list.

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The Ending Fire by Saara El-Arifi

Saara El-Arifi is one of the best writers in fantasy right now and her Ending Fire trilogy has been one of my favorites to follow over the last few years. The Ending Fire, its conclusion, is just as gripping as its former two books and has only further solidified her as an epic fantasy writer pushing boundaries within the genre. Simmering with magic, blood, and sacrifice, the battle over the future of the Warden’s Empire has begun. Sylah, Jond, Hassa, and Anoor have all been set apart on different paths, but in this final fight, El-Arifi draws them back together to face their pasts and the hurts that have further sundered them. After three books we get some truly gratifying concluding arcs – Hassa standing in her place and having a leading position, Jond choosing the future he never thought he could have, and Sylah and Anoor finding their way back to one another. This trilogy is flawless, from its character journeys to the dissolution of a flawed empire. The commentary on history as a tool for control and the powerless becoming powerful was incredibly well done across this series. While I am sad to be putting this series to rest I will continue shouting about it because it is THAT GOOD.

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Now Comes the Mist by Julie C. Dao

Julie C Dao’s adult debut is a blood-soaked gothic delight that gives the character of Lucy Wenestra the depth and journey into depravity she so justly deserves. Vietnamese and queer, Lucy has always felt isolated in English society, playing a part she abhors and desperate to free herself from the inevitable confines of marriage and motherhood. But it is her fascination with death that leaves her sleepwalking through her family’s mausoleum and caught in a mist that seems to be beckoning her somewhere…or to someone. Unfortunately, her dreams are more than fiction and they have a price. Now Comes the Mist explores the darkness at the heart of immortality and the true cost of freedom for women at this time. Lucy’s desperation is palpable and it’s easy to understand her desire for agency in a world that seeks to confine her. Through vampirism, Julie Dao explores the flawed nature of this freedom, tying in purity culture and an individual who seeks to further limit her. Now Comes the Mist is the best Dracula retelling I have read in years and if you are deciding between the myriad vampire books published this fall, let it be this one.

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One Burning Heart by Elizabeth Kingston

Now this book has no bearing on the fall season, I just happened to read it in September and needed an excuse to talk about it. Elizabeth Kingston is at the heart of my September reading, from her medieval to regency historical romances something about her writing was scratching that itch for me. One Burning Heart is a continuation of her Welsh Blades series and follows William, the ambitious Lord of Ruardean, and his pious wife Margaret, whom he has not been able to stand since they were wed. But what he doesn’t know is that is by her design, as Margaret hides her true self so that she can undermine his plans to aid the king and the Church in funding a new Crusade. One Burning Heart is quite a hilarious novel, featuring a tempting blend of romance and history – specifically the deviations from the Church’s teachings and their consequences. Religious piety as a facade for many to prop up their agendas is central to the plot and the conflict between William and Margaret, who work to build trust while confronting the true nature of the church they serve. I really love how much of this was about moves and countermoves, up until the resolution. This has one of the most astonishing first lines I have read this year. Read it and tell me you don’t want to buckle in for this wild ride.

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Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

Descended from an ancient family known only to the secret society she fled from in childhood, Kidan Adane has spent her life avoiding her fate. In the aftermath of her younger sister’s disappearance, all clues lead back to Uxlay University and Susenyos Sagad, the vampire bound to her family’s bloodline. To unravel the truth, Kidan will enter the grounds of Uxlay and take on the mantle of the Adane heir, because someone took her sister for a purpose, and the plot for control runs deep into the heart of this ancient society. Immortal Dark is a stunning debut that laces vampires with dark academia and just a tinge of romance. With such a unique twist on the vampire mythos, this was already at the height of my list of vampire books to read this season and it did not disappoint. Prepare to delve deep into the history of this secret society, vampires, and family bloodlines as Kidan seeks to discover the truth and contends with the vampire companion determined to best her. There’s more of a focus on the academic aspect, but I fell in with the competing families, emerging friend group, and lore. The enemies-to-lovers romance was also a nice addition and really rounded out the story. Count me in for the sequel and anything else Girma writes!

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Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

A bloody, gothic feast of a debut, Phantasma will trap you inside its twisted walls and a manor full of secrets where bargains are struck and broken, and one necromancer will contend with its deadly competition to save her sister and receive the elusive wish granted to the surviving player. I have long been an admirer of Kaylie Smith ever since her young adult series debuted and Phantasma is quite possibly my new favorite gothic romance and book from her all in one. Combining a foreboding gothic atmosphere, a competition influenced by the nine circles of hell, and a cursed bargain with a mysterious stranger, Smith casts her shining romantasy with formidable claws. Ophelia Grimm confronts the seen and the unseen, what’s real and what isn’t, and Smith enmeshes this with some stellar OCD representation. Phantasma is the very definition of having your cake and eating it too, it’s smart, sexy, horrifying, rageful, and somehow all of those can coexist without being contradictory. I’m completely under Kaylie Smith’s thrall and not at all upset about it.

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Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi

Author Nadia El-Fassi brews up a delightful blend of magic, wedding shenanigans, pesky hexes, and sizzling romance in one bewitching debut. In a magical cafe in London, a kitchen witch fends off a love hex by guarding her heart from potential love interests and focusing on perfecting magical bakes for her clientele. Too bad her handsome new customer is the best man at her friend’s wedding and avoiding him is impossible as they’ll be stuck together for the entire weekend. Best Hex Ever promises a twist on that classic witch story imbued with coziness and served piping hot with a side of chai. Dina and Scott have the kind of instantaneous connection that had me hooked on their every interaction. Best Hex Ever is a wonderfully magical romance with sparks that ignite into an inferno (seriously this book is so hot). Nadia El-Fassi proves that romance and magic are often intertwined and some connections are their own kind of magic. I’m certain many readers will find themselves in this miraculous romance novel about charting your path and opening yourself up to love again. Nadia El-Fassi brings together a one-of-a-kind witchy debut that I plan to read over and over again.

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