#BookReview: The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen

Synopsis: Rage burns brighter than any spellfire… Deep in the birchwoods of Norway, magic courses through the veins of two sisters. For years they've been alone, but sweet-tempered Kaija is tired of living in shadows and longs for a life filled with community, even if it means stifling her magic. But Minna is a witch through and through, with wrath always simmering just below the surface. 

Different as they may be, both will never forget the day they were driven from their village. The day their mother burned. When Kaija leaves to pursue a new life, Minna is left alone in the darkness of the forest. 

Devastated and outraged at the betrayal, Minna casts a curse to punish those who took everything from her. What she doesn't realize is that this act will incite a deadly chain of events. Soon it will destroy everything, including the life Kaija has lovingly built. But once a witch's rage boils, regret means nothing—she can't take back what's already done.  

Someone will have to burn.

#BookReview: Curious Tides (Drowned Gods, #1) by Pascale Lacelle

Synopsis: Ninth House meets A Deadly Education in this gorgeous dark academia fantasy following a teen mage who must unravel the truth behind the secret society that may have been involved in her classmates’ deaths.

Emory might be a student at the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magics, but her healing abilities have always been mediocre at best—until a treacherous night in the Dovermere sea caves leaves a group of her classmates dead and her as the only survivor. Now Emory is plagued by strange, impossible powers that no healer should possess.

Powers that would ruin her life if the wrong person were to discover them.

To gain control of these new abilities, Emory enlists the help of the school’s most reclusive student, Baz—a boy already well-versed in the deadly nature of darker magic, whose sister happened to be one of the drowned students and Emory’s best friend. Determined to find the truth behind the drownings and the cult-like secret society she’s convinced her classmates were involved in, Emory is faced with even more questions when the supposedly drowned students start washing ashore— alive —only for them each immediately to die horrible, magical deaths.

And Emory is not the only one seeking answers. When her new magic captures the society’s attention, she finds herself drawn into their world of privilege and power, all while wondering if the truth she’s searching for might lead her right back to Dovermere…to face the fate she was never meant to escape.

#BookReview: Heartless (Chestnut Springs #2) by @AuthorElsie @Read_Bloom

Synopsis: Working as a nanny for the world's grumpiest single dad should be simple…except she can't keep her eyes off him. And he can't keep his hands off her. Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than Willa Grant, and he barely looks her way, even though she's living in his house for the summer. That is, until she gets him into the hot tub one night for a game of truth or dare. Then, all bets are off―and so are their clothes. Cade is gruff, a little rough around the edges, but broad-shouldered ranchers with calloused hands and filthy mouths are this city girl's kryptonite. So who is she to resist? But it's in their quietest moments together that he softens. It's in the unexpected way he takes care of Willa that she realizes his hardened exterior is just a façade. And it's when she watches him go all sweet with his little boy that she starts to fall for him, whatever the consequences. Someone once convinced Cade that his best wasn't good enough. But Willa has never felt more cherished than she does in his arms. Her contract says this arrangement is only for two months. But her heart says this is forever.

#BookReview: Things We Left Behind (Knockout, #3) by Lucy Score @Read_Bloom

Synopsis: There was only one woman who could set me free. But I would rather set myself on fire than ask Sloane Walton for anything.

Lucian Rollins is a lean, mean vengeance-seeking mogul. On a quest to erase his father’s mark on the family name, he spends every waking minute pulling strings and building an indestructible empire. The more money and power he amasses, the safer he is from threats.

Except when it comes to the feisty small-town librarian that keeps him up at night…

Sloane Walton is a spitfire determined to carry on her father’s quest for justice. She’ll do that just as soon as she figures out exactly what the man she hates did to—or for—her family. Bonded by an old, dark secret from the past and the dislike they now share for each other, Sloane trusts Lucian about as far as she can throw his designer-suited body.

When bickering accidentally turns to foreplay, these two find themselves not quite regretting their steamy one-night stand. Once those flames are fanned, it seems impossible to put them out again. But with Sloane ready to start a family and Lucian refusing to even consider the idea of marriage and kids, these enemies-to-lovers are stuck at an impasse.

Broken men break women. It’s what Lucian believes, what he’s witnessed, and he’s not going to take that chance with Sloane. He’d rather live a life of solitude than put her in danger. But he learns the hard way that leaving her means leaving her unprotected from other threats.

It’s the second time he’s ruthlessly cut her out of his life. There’s no way she’s going to give him a third chance. He’s just going to have to make one for himself.

#BookReview: The Square of Sevens by @LauraSRobinson

Synopsis: An orphaned fortune teller in 18th-century England searches for answers about her long-dead mother and uncovers shocking secrets in this immersive and atmospheric saga perfect for fans of Sarah Waters and Sarah Perry.

Cornwall, 1730: A young girl known only as Red travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient Cornish method of the Square of Sevens. Shortly before he dies, her father entrusts Red’s care to a gentleman scholar, along with a document containing the secret of the Square of Sevens technique.

Raised as a lady amidst the Georgian splendor of Bath, Red’s fortune-telling delights in high society. But she cannot ignore the questions that gnaw at her soul: who was her mother? How did she die? And who are the mysterious enemies her father was always terrified would find him?

The pursuit of these mysteries takes her from Cornwall and Bath to London and Devon, from the rough ribaldry of the Bartholomew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England. And while Red’s quest brings her the possibility of great reward, it also leads to grave danger.

Laura Shepherd-Robinson, “the queen of modern Georgian literature” (Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora), has written a dazzling and Dickensian story of mystery and intrigue, with audacious twists and turns.

#BookReview: Flawless (Chestnut Springs #1) by @AuthorElsie

Synopsis: The rules were keep his hands off his agent's daughter and stay out of trouble. But now he's stuck with her. There's only one bed. And well, rules are made to be broken. Rhett Eaton is the face of professional bull riding. The golden boy. Or at least he was until it all blew up in his face after a public brawl. Now his agent says he has to clean up his image, and sticks Rhett with his ball-busting daughter for the rest of the season as "full-time supervision." But Rhett doesn't need a goddamn babysitter―especially one with skin-tight jeans, a sexy smirk, and a mouth she can't stop running. A mouth he can't stop thinking about. And he quickly learns that Summer Hamilton isn't just another conquest. She sees the man behind the mask, and she doesn't run―she pulls him closer, even when she shouldn't. She says this means nothing. Rhett says this means everything. She says there are boundaries they shouldn't cross. That Rhett's reputation can't take any more hits…and neither can her damaged heart. Rhett says he's going to steal it anyway.

#BookReview: Omen of Ice (Omen of Ice, #1) by Jus Accardo

Synopsis: Keltania Tunne has spent her whole life training to become a bodyguard for a Winter Fae. It’s the highest of honors for a druid…only when Tania arrives at the Winter Court for the first time, nothing is what she expected.

Her assignment is the heir to the throne, Valen, and he doesn’t want her protection. In fact, he wants her gone. Yesterday. But Tania will not compromise, even if he is the most arrogant jackass she’s ever met―because something isn’t right in the Winter Court.

Everyone has secrets. From the Winter Lord to the kitchen maids to the rising faction that wants the prince dead―no one is who they seem. And now it’s up to Tania to keep her sacred oath and protect Valen, even when his smart mouth makes her skate the razor-thin edge between love and hate.

But the more she gets to know him, the more she realizes his secret is the biggest of all―and might just get them both killed.