#BookReview: The Last One (Deluxe Limited Edition) @RachelHowzell @RedTowerBooks

Explosive and enthralling romantasy debut from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Howzell Hall...

Thrown into a desolate land of sickness and unnatural beasts, Kai wakes in the woods with no idea who she is or how she got there. All she knows is that if she cannot reach the Sea of Devour, even this hellscape will get worse. But when she sees the village blacksmith fight invaders with unspeakable skill, she decides to accept his offer of help.

Too bad he’s as skilled at annoying her as he is at fighting.

As she searches for answers, Kai only finds more questions, especially regarding the blacksmith who can ignite her body like a flame, then douse it with ice in the next breath.

And no one is what—or who—they appear to be in the kingdom of Vinevridth, including the man whose secrets might be as deadly as the land itself.

#BookReview: It's Elementary by @elisembryant

A fast-paced, completely delightful new mystery about what happens when parents get a little too involved in their kids' schools, from NAACP Image Award nominee Elise Bryant.

Mavis Miller is not a PTA mom. She has enough on her plate with her feisty seven-year-old daughter, Pearl, an exhausting job at a nonprofit, and the complexities of a multigenerational household. So no one is more surprised than Mavis when she caves to Trisha Holbrook, the long-reigning, slightly terrifying PTA president, and finds herself in charge of the school’s brand-new DEI committee.
As one of the few Black parents at this California elementary school, Mavis tries to convince herself this is an opportunity for real change. But things go off the rails at the very first meeting, when the new principal's plans leave Trisha absolutely furious. Later that night, when Mavis spies Trisha in yellow rubber gloves and booties, lugging cleaning supplies and giant black trash bags to her waiting minivan, it’s only natural that her mind jumps to somewhere it surely wouldn’t in the light of day.
Except Principal Smith fails to show up for work the next morning, and has been MIA since the meeting. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Mavis, along with the school psychologist with the great forearms (look, it’s worth noting), launches an investigation that will challenge her views on parenting, friendship, and elementary school politics.

Brilliantly written, It's Elementary is a quick-witted, escapist romp that perfectly captures just how far parents will go to give their kids the very best, all wrapped in a mystery that will leave you guessing to the very end.

#BookReview: Defy the Night (Defy the Night, #1) by @BrigidKemmerer

The kingdom of Kandala is on the brink of disaster. Rifts between sectors have only worsened since a sickness began ravaging the land, and within the Royal Palace, the king holds a tenuous peace with a ruthless hand.

King Harristan was thrust into power after his parents' shocking assassination, leaving the younger Prince Corrick to take on the brutal role of the King's Justice. The brothers have learned to react mercilessly to any sign of rebellion--it's the only way to maintain order when the sickness can strike anywhere, and the only known cure, an elixir made from delicate Moonflower petals, is severely limited.

Out in the Wilds, apothecary apprentice Tessa Cade is tired of seeing her neighbors die, their suffering ignored by the unyielding royals. Every night, she and her best friend Wes risk their lives to steal Moonflower petals and distribute the elixir to those who need it most--but it's still not enough.

As rumors spread that the cure no longer works and sparks of rebellion begin to flare, a particularly cruel act from the King's Justice makes Tessa desperate enough to try the impossible: sneaking into the palace. But what she finds upon her arrival makes her wonder if it's even possible to fix Kandala without destroying it first.

#BookReview: The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2) by @jenlynnbarnes

ntrigue, riches, and romance abound in this thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Inheritance Games perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.

The Inheritance Games ended with a bombshell, and now heiress Avery Grambs has to pick up the pieces and find the man who might hold the answers to all of her questions - including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery, a virtual stranger, rather than to his own daughters or grandsons.

Thanks to a DNA test, Avery knows that she's not a Hawthorne by blood, but clues pile up hinting at a deeper connection to the family than she had ever imagined. As the mystery grows and the plot thickens, Grayson and Jameson, the enigmatic and magnetic Hawthorne grandsons, continue to pull Avery in different directions. And there are threats lurking around every corner, as adversaries emerge who will stop at nothing to see Avery out of the picture - by any means necessary.

With nonstop action, aspirational jet-setting, family intrigue, swoonworthy romance, and billions of dollars hanging in the balance, The Hawthorne Legacy will thrill Jennifer Lynn Barnes fans and new readers alike.

#BookReview: The Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Dare Chase doesn’t believe in ghosts.

Privately, she’s a supernatural skeptic. But publicly, she’s keeping her doubts to herself—because she’s the voice of Attachments, her brand-new paranormal investigation podcast, and she needs her ghost-loving listeners to tune in.

That’s what brings her to Arrington Estate. Thirty years ago, teenager Atheleen Bell drowned in Arrington’s lake, and legend says her spirit haunts the estate. Dare’s more interested in the suspicious circumstances surrounding her death—circumstances that she believes point to a living culprit, not the supernatural. Still, she’s vowed to keep an open mind as she investigates, even if she’s pretty sure what she’ll find.

But Arrington is full of surprises. Good ones like Quinn, the cute daughter of the house’s new owner. And baffling ones like the threatening messages left scrawled in paint on Quinn’s walls, the ghastly face that appears behind Dare’s own in the mirror, and the unnatural current that nearly drowns their friend Holly in the lake. As Dare is drawn deeper into the mysteries of Arrington, she’ll have to rethink the boundaries of what is possible. Because if something is lurking in the lake…it might not be willing to let her go.

#BookReview: The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos by @MelissadelaCruz

Evan Saatchi can’t keep his eyes off his new co-worker, Dalisay Ramos. Newly arrived from Manila to lead their travel app’s Asia division, nothing matters more to Dalisay than tradition and family. When Evan asks her out, she soundly rejects him for his cheek. Evan learns from his Filipino friends that Dalisay expects more from potential suitors. If he wants a chance with her, he’s going to have to go through the Five Stages, the same courtship ritual that lovers in the Philippines have performed for generations. At first, Evan is skeptical—what, exactly, does “servitude” entail? And he has to sing?! But when Dalisay bets Evan that he doesn’t have the nerve to make it through the stages, the game is on. As Evan attempts to prove to Dalisay that he can win her heart—and the bet—Dalisay is driven to distraction by Evan’s sexy labors, and soon their “courtship” turns into a sizzling secret. But when modern love and family expectations collide, Dalisay and Evan must find a way to carry a rich history into a shared future.

#BookReview: Dark and Shallow Lies by @stageandpage

A teen girl disappears from her small town deep in the bayou, where magic festers beneath the surface of the swamp like water rot, in this chilling debut supernatural thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Karen McManus, and Rory Power.

La Cachette, Louisiana, is the worst place to be if you have something to hide.

This tiny town, where seventeen-year-old Grey spends her summers, is the self-proclaimed Psychic Capital of the World--and the place where Elora Pellerin, Grey's best friend, disappeared six months earlier.

Grey can't believe that Elora vanished into thin air any more than she can believe that nobody in a town full of psychics knows what happened. But as she digs into the night that Elora went missing, she begins to realize that everybody in town is hiding something - her grandmother Honey; her childhood crush Hart; and even her late mother, whose secrets continue to call to Grey from beyond the grave.

When a mysterious stranger emerges from the bayou - a stormy-eyed boy with links to Elora and the town's bloody history - Grey realizes that La Cachette's past is far more present and dangerous than she'd ever understood. Suddenly, she doesn't know who she can trust. In a town where secrets lurk just below the surface, and where a murderer is on the loose, nobody can be presumed innocent--and La Cachette's dark and shallow lies may just rip the town apart.

#BookReview: Burden Falls by @el_kat

Riverdale meets Stephen King in the terrifying new thriller from the author of Harrow Lake.

The town of Burden Falls drips with superstition, from rumors of its cursed waterfall to Dead-Eyed Sadie, the disturbing specter who haunts it. Ava Thorn grew up right beside the falls, and since a horrific accident killed her parents a year ago, she's been plagued by nightmares in which Sadie comes calling—nightmares so chilling, Ava feels as if she’ll never wake up. 

But when someone close to Ava is brutally murdered and she’s the primary suspect, she begins to wonder if the stories might be more than legends—and if the ghost haunting her dreams might be terrifyingly real. Whatever secrets Burden Falls is hiding, there's a killer on the loose . . . with a vendetta against the Thorns.

#BookReview: A Bond with the Dark (The Beautifully Broken Saga, #1) by Inara Gage

In “A Bond with the Dark,” a reluctant witch, Sayah Thorne, finds herself thrust into a world of danger and deception. When her family perishes in a mysterious fire, Sayah's quest for truth leads her on a perilous journey alongside her witch aunts. Meanwhile, Dominic Sangravelli and his siblings battle grimspawn, reanimated dead plaguing their existence.

Fate intertwines their destinies when a prophecy designates Sayah as a catalyst for change. Despite opposition from Dominic's vampire family, he is drawn to Sayah, sparking a forbidden romance. But amidst their burgeoning love, dark forces gather, and Sayah becomes the target of those who believe her death will bring about balance.

In “A Bond with the Dark,” love and magic collide as Sayah and Dominic navigate a treacherous landscape, where betrayal lurks around every corner. Can they defy fate and save their world from impending doom, or will the shadows consume them? Delve into a world of mystery, romance, and supernatural intrigue, where alliances are tested, and the line between light and dark blurs.

#BookReview: The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood

A recently deceased woman meets “the one” in the afterlife waiting room, scoring a second chance at life (and love!) if she can find him on Earth before ten days are up….

If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, she’s also now standing in her "sparkle and shine" nightie in front of the hottest man she’s ever seen. And he’s smiling at her.

As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise. That is, until someone comes running through a door yelling something about a huge mistake and sends the dreamy stranger back down to Earth. And here Delphie was thinking her luck might be different in the afterlife.

When Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to Earth and reconnect with the mysterious man, she jumps at the opportunity to find her possible soulmate and a fresh start. But to find him in a city of millions, Delphie is going to have to listen to her heart, learn to ask for help, and perhaps even see the magic in the life she’s leaving behind. . . .

#BookReview: Devil in the Device (Goddess in the Machine #2) by Lora Beth Johnson

The thrilling, much-anticipated conclusion to Lora Beth Johnson's Goddess in the Machine duology.

Zhade's power might be going to his head.

He's still getting used to wearing Maret's face, but he can't deny that the influence it affords him has its perks. But when the magic of Eerensed starts to turn deadly, Zhade must master the Crown if he's going to save his people, and Tsurina's destructive plans for Eerensed aren't going to make that easy. Worse, he's starting to see her point.

Meanwhile, Andra is in hiding.

Assumed dead by the people of Eerensed, she must stay underground if she's going to live long enough to build the rocket that will finally save the colonists from this dying planet. But when Andra hears voices urging her to destroy everything, she starts to dig deeper into her subconcious. What she finds leads her to question whether she's destined to be a savior after all.

Battling the dangerous forces buried within their minds, can Andra and Zhade truly decide their own fates? They must find a way to work together before two power-hungry leaders and a deadly swarm of rogue technology destroy humanity for good.

#BookReview: The Gilded Crown (The Raven's Trade #1) by @theIvyandtheOak

The Witch’s Heart meets The Priory of the Orange Tree in this debut novel about a woman who can bring people back from the dead, and the princess—and only heir to the throne—that she must protect, no matter the cost. The first time Hellevir visited Death, she was ten years old… Since she was a little girl, Hellevir has been able to raise the dead. Every creature can be saved for a price, a price demanded by the shrouded figure who rules the afterlife, who takes a little more from Hellevir with each soul she resurrects. Such a gift can rarely remain a secret. When Princess Sullivain, sole heir to the kingdom’s throne, is assassinated, the Queen summons Hellevir to demand she bring her granddaughter back to life. But once is not enough; the killers might strike again. The Princess’s death would cause a civil war, so the Queen commands that Hellevir remain by her side. But Sullivain is no easy woman to be bound to, even as Hellevir begins to fall in love with her. With the threat of war looming, Hellevir must trade more and more of herself to keep the Princess alive. But Death will always take what he is owed.

#BookReview: Edie in Between by Laura Sibson

A modern-day Practical Magic about love, loss, and embracing the mystical.

It’s been one year since Edie’s mother died. But her ghost has never left.

According to her GG, it’s tradition that the dead of the Mitchell family linger with the living. It’s just as much a part of a Mitchell’s life as brewing cordials or talking to plants. But Edie, whose pain over losing her mother is still fresh, has no interest in her family’s legacy as local “witches.”

When her mother’s teenage journal tumbles into her life, her family’s mystical inheritance becomes once and for all too hard to ignore. It takes Edie on a scavenger hunt to find objects that once belonged to her mother, each one imbued with a different memory. Every time she touches one of these talismans, it whisks her to another entry inside the journal—where she watches her teenage mom mourn, love, and hope just as Edie herself is now doing. Maybe, just maybe, Edie hopes, if she finds every one of these objects, she can finally make peace with her loss and put the past to rest for good. But this journey to stake her independence from her family may actually show Edie who she truly is…and the beautiful gifts that come with being just a little different.

#BookReview: A Secret Deep and Savage (The Lost Garden Book 2) by Lisa Amowitz

Rosalie Gatell may have saved Salttain Island, but her triumph comes at a devastating cost. With Liam cursed and her own scars still raw, she's plunged into the perilous depths of the Institute, surrounded by whispers of conspiracy and potential traitors.

Faced with an impossible choice, Rosalie must embrace her family's dark legacy or forfeit her memories and any hope of saving the boy she loves. Fate forces her hand when a terrifying new threat emerges, binding her destiny to her fiercest rival, Jessica. Their explosive connection hints at unimaginable powers, but it also puts both girls in grave danger. Jessica might just be the key to Liam's salvation, but can Rosalie trust her?

As darkness closes in and the clock ticks down, Rosalie and her unlikely allies find themselves on the run. Liam's life hangs in the balance, and unimaginable evil breathes down their necks. They must race against time to thwart a disaster that could obliterate not just their world, but the entire planet.

#BookReview: A Promise Bright and Fragile (The Prequel to An Island Strange and Wild) by Lisa Amowitz

Orphaned young and thrust into foster care, 18-year-old Tyler Fredericks remembers nothing of Salttain, the mysterious Maine island where he was born. His only link to his past is the shadowy Uncle Randy, a man whose unsettling presence makes Tyler feel as if his thoughts are being twisted.

Desperate to break free, Tyler relies on his stellar academic record, his uncanny knack for winning people over, and his secret love for Rosalie Gatell, the brilliant and beautiful daughter of a legendary climate activist. Rosalie is still grieving her father’s death, and Tyler has promised to never attend the Maine university where he taught—to always be there for her.

But when Uncle Randy dangles an irresistible scholarship offer, Tyler’s plans unravel, dragging him back to the one place he swore he’d never go. As inexplicable events begin to threaten the fabric of his reality, he must fight to maintain his sanity—and discover whether it’s true that you can’t go home again.

#BookReview: An Island Strange and Wild (Lost Garden, #1) by Lisa Amowitz

Live for today, before the island eats you alive…

When her fellow climate activist and secret crush dies unexpectedly, 18-year-old science prodigy Rosalie Gatell ditches her prestigious summer program for the remote, uncharted island where he was born. There, she discovers shocking secrets about her own past—and an island that defies the laws of nature, complete with a vanishing walled garden, a miraculous healing plant, and an unknown aunt trapped in a tree. But nothing confounds Rosalie as much as the enigmatic Liam, a reckless and beautiful island boy with a supernatural green thumb.

Falling for Liam is the worst idea imaginable, especially since he’s under a diabolical curse—but Rosalie can’t help herself. The closer she gets to unraveling his secrets and the island’s mysteries, the more she discovers that she possesses unexpected abilities of her own. But there’s no time to revel in her newfound magic. An ancient evil is stalking Salttain Island. And Rosalie will have to rely on her powers, instead of logic or science, to free Liam from his curse while keeping the corrosive threat from consuming her and everyone she’s ever loved.

Dive into this lush, haunting, romantic fantasy retelling of The Secret Garden, where no one is what they seem, and one wrong move can cost you your life.

#BookReview: Rebel Rose (Queen's Council, #1) by @eltheriault

Happily ever after is only the beginning as Belle takes on the responsibility of becoming queen and learns to balance duty, love, and sacrifice, all while navigating dark political intrigue—and a touch of magic.

It’s 1789 and France is on the brink of revolution. Belle has finally broken the Enchantress’s curse, restoring the Beast to his human form and bringing life back to their castle in the province of Aveyon. But in Paris, the fires of change are burning, and it’s only a matter of time before the rebellion arrives on their doorstep.

Not so very long ago, Belle dreamed of leaving her provincial home for a life of adventure. But now she finds herself living in a palace, torn between her past as a commoner, and her future as royalty. While Belle grapples with her newfound position, there are those who would do anything to keep her from power.

When she stumbles across a magic mirror that holds a dire warning, Belle wants nothing more than to ignore the mysterious voice calling her to accept a crown she never desired. But violent factions of the revolution may already be lurking within her own castle, and doing nothing would endanger everything she holds dear. With the fate of her country, her love, and her life at stake, Belle must decide if she is ready to embrace her own strength--and the magic that ties her to so many female rulers before her--to become the queen she is meant to be.

Rebel Rose is the first in the Queen's Council series, an empowering fairy tale reimagining of the Disney Princesses-and the real history behind their stories-like you've never seen before.

#BookReview: Still the Sun by @CNHolmberg

An ancient machine holds the secrets of a distant world’s past for two intimate strangers in the latest romantic fantasy adventure by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.

Pell is an engineer and digger by trade—unearthing and repairing the fascinating artifacts left behind by the mysterious Ancients who once inhabited the sunbaked planet of Tampere. She’ll do anything to help the people of her village survive and to better understand the secrets of what came before.

Heartwood and Moseus are keepers of a forbidding tower near the village of Emgarden. Inside are the remnants of complex machines the likes of which Pell has never seen. Considering her affinity for Ancient tech, the keepers know Pell is their only hope of putting the pieces of these metal puzzles together and getting them running. The tower’s other riddle is Heartwood himself. He is an enigma, distant yet protective, to whom Pell is inexplicably drawn.

Pell’s restoration of this broken behemoth soon brings disturbing visions—and the discovery that her relationship to it could finally reveal the origins of the towers’ strange keepers and the unfathomable reason the truth has been hidden from her.

#BookReview: The Rumble and the Glory (Sacred Trinity #1) by @JAHuss

Collin Creed is a killer. But he's Lowyn's killer. And after a twelve-year separation, she wants him back.

Deep in the hills of West Virginia, three small towns have found a way to flourish in the face of extreme poverty. Disciple runs a side-show tent revival that brings in millions of dollars a year. Bishop flaunts traditional ways in the vein of Colonial Williamsburg, luring weary city people to the slow-living lifestyle. And Revenant offers them an experience of sin filled with tattooed bikers and live-music dive bars.

It’s a sacred trinity that worships the almighty dollar and everyone plays their role like a well-trained Broadway actor.

But these hills have secrets, and so do the people.

Twelve years ago, when he was just eighteen and dreaming of a future with his high school sweetheart, Collin Creed learned something about himself. Something so disturbing he left Disciple to join the Marines and didn’t once look back. But all that came to a screeching halt with the congressional hearings, forcing Collin to return home and rebuild his black-ops empire brick by brick.

Lowyn McBride’s heart broke when Collin shut her out and left town without an explanation just as they were getting ready to start their adult lives together. The death of her mother the following year was a make-or-break moment and Lowyn rose to the occasion, giving up her university education to parent her younger sister while building an empire of her own as a specialty antiques dealer.

Anger and desire, guilt and shame—the return of the enigmatic Collin Creed ignites the town and sparks an explosion of emotions inside Lowyn. But he’s not the only one with a secret in his past.

Lowyn has always played the good girl to Collin’s bad-boy reputation. But it turns out—she’s just like everyone else up in these hills—not as wholesome and pure as she looks.

The Rumble and the Glory is a cinematic and spicy small-town secret, second-chance romance wrapped up in a cloak of mystery and suspense. It honors the themes of found family, redemptive anti-hero, and is filled with bigger-than-life, morally-grey characters against a backdrop of deceit and deception.

TROPES:
Small Town Secrets
Touch Her and Die
He Falls First
Enemies to Lovers
Morally Grey
Found Family
Second Chance
Childhood Sweethearts
Anti-Hero

#BookReview: Beyond the Ruby Veil (Beyond the Ruby Veil, #1) by Mara Fitzgerald

A dark, queer YA fantasy that's perfect for fans of the Three Dark Crowns series. After Emanuela Ragno kills the one person in Occhia who can create water, she must find a way to save her city from dying of thirst.

Cunning and unapologetic, Emanuela Ragno is a socialite who plays by her own rules. In her most ambitious move yet, she’s about to marry Alessandro Morandi, her childhood best friend and the heir to the wealthiest house in Occhia. Emanuela doesn’t care that she and her groom are both gay, because she doesn’t want a love match. She wants power, and through Ale, she’ll have it all.

But Emanuela has a secret that could shatter her plans. In her city of Occhia, the only source of water is the watercrea, a mysterious being who uses magic to make water from blood. When their first bruise-like omen appears on their skin, all Occhians must surrender themselves to the watercrea to be drained of life. Everyone throughout history has obeyed this law for the greater good. Everyone except Emanuela. She’s kept the tiny omen on her hip out of sight for years.

When the watercrea exposes Emanuela during her wedding ceremony and takes her to be sacrificed, Emanuela fights back…and kills her. Before everyone in Occhia dies of thirst, Emanuela and Ale must travel through the mysterious, blood-red veil that surrounds their city to uncover the source of the watercrea’s power and save their people—no matter what it takes.