seeing that last 10% as the characters look to the future happily: i’m in danger
the way i knew the [redacted]SARAH HAWLEY YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES
seeing that last 10% as the characters look to the future happily: i’m in danger
the way i knew the [redacted] was going to serve [redacted] but my jaw was still on the floor in those final chapters
kallen: blood dripping down his face, smiling: did you see my girl beat me up?
Sarah Hawley’s, Shards of Magic entraps six opposing fae houses beneath the earth to grasp at power and immortality while prey to the machinations of a merciless king. This series put down precarious roots in Servant of Earth, when Kenna Heron, a young woman, braved the treacherous bogs to cross into the fae lands, becoming servant and spy to the ignoble Earth House. Princess of Blood returns us to a world reeling in the aftermath of a bloody uprising and hinging on a civil war as loyalties sunder and forbidden love takes root within the cavernous underearth. With few weapons in her arsenal Kenna, newly turned fae, stands alone as princess of the broken Blood House. Armed with Caedo, a shapeshifting talking dagger with a thirst for blood, and two unlikely allies—an excommunicated Earth Fae rendered powerless, and a murderous Void Fae and executioner, Kenna will confront her new charge in a world seeking her destruction. I already knew the Shards of Magic series was doing something special back in book one, delicately connecting tropes and story cornerstones to deliver a unique fae touched tale of rebellion and survival. Princess of Blood is where my heart latched onto this series for good. Sarah Hawley brings a sequel into being that is bloody and unapologetic, equal parts brutal as it is a hopeful beacon for change.
“I can’t sleep so I'm watching crimson peak” are you trying to romance me?
When you’re a horror author who’s movie is being adapted and the primary act“I can’t sleep so I'm watching crimson peak” are you trying to romance me?
When you’re a horror author who’s movie is being adapted and the primary actor for the part is just WRONG but also the set is being haunted by a pair of ghosts from the regency wreaking havoc with their unhinged lesbian-yearning-for-what-can-never-be vibes. Guys Nadia El-Fassi simply never misses and her sophomore novel is written for the chaos demons and bisexuals in mind. As a representation and a purveyor of both, Love At First Fright was inherently a Robin classic and a romance sensation from its very first moments. Love At First Fright is the epitome of what a modern romance should be with a healthy dose of the paranormal and hate to love on a gothic horror movie set where the ghosts are real and so are the feelings. Horror writer Rosemary Shaw hates her adaptation's film lead, suave action star Ellis Finch, who is just a little burnt out and hoping playing a sickly Victorian man in a gothic horror film is the cure. Spoiler alert it’s that and romancing a talented horror writer. Love At First Fright finds romance in the unlikeliest of places, like telling someone you watched Crimson Peak when they mentioned it one time, debating Jane Austen’s best work, and helping the two regency lesbian ghosts move past their internalized homophobia and find peace. Nadia El-Fassi’s sophomore novel reasserts her immense talent for grounded, meaningful modern love stories. Call me a ghost lover because I want to be haunted by this novel for all eternity.
me viciously denying the hot lesbian demon the soul i bargained for centuries just so we can engage in a toxic romance tinged with obsession and the hme viciously denying the hot lesbian demon the soul i bargained for centuries just so we can engage in a toxic romance tinged with obsession and the hate that can only come with knowing someone so deeply
Drawing together Faustian bargains, gothic splendor, and reincarnation across three distinct periods of English history, As Many Souls as Stars is a historical novel for the ages and Natasha Siegel’s masterpiece. A witch desperate for survival bargains away her soul, a demon endlessly hungering for souls discovers the brightest, and both will be ruined in their association by journeys end. The Faustian bargain is not a new concept, not in the slightest, so to stake claim on such a tale is to promise something inventive and unique in the telling. In As Many Souls as Stars, Natasha Siegel ingeniously twists the Faustian bargain into a lesbian game of cat and mouse spanning multiple centuries and incarnations as an immortal and a witch engage in a toxic romance tinged with obsession. Cybil Harding and Miriam Richter, witch and demoness, hunger both—for love, for souls, and for the continuance of their survival. Drawn into a demonic bargain to suit their purposes, neither intends to lose the parts of themselves they believed intrinsic, nor ill-fated love taking flight. Questioning fate and personhood, Natasha Siegel’s As Many Souls as Stars is a tangled dance of violence, hunger, and destructive romance, in everlasting opposition as misguided bargains can ever be.
reuniting with your soulmate on a cruise ship in the underworld except she’s reincarnated and does not remember you? good thing you’re vacationing witreuniting with your soulmate on a cruise ship in the underworld except she’s reincarnated and does not remember you? good thing you’re vacationing with your brother and your psychologist!
this series is such a delight. sophie kim has her characters down to a T and this sequel just further proves her talent for humor, romance, and high stakes intertwined together in one novel.
i would KILL for a tv series of this it’s that good.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing this arc to review.
romance me over email while we hate each other at queer book club
ravi signing off an emotional email with “best wishes” he’s just like me fr
I needed aromance me over email while we hate each other at queer book club
ravi signing off an emotional email with “best wishes” he’s just like me fr
I needed a book that was proudly pro library in these trying times and Isn't It Obvious answered the call, while asking the question, what if we romanced each other over email while hating each other at queer book club? Yael, a librarian with a secret podcast critiquing the high school reading list, with witty titles such as “A Lack of Reading Comprehension Is a Prerequisite for Serving in Congress,” grates against her new library volunteer. Ravi, a freelance editor precariously balancing a new life, is more than a tad desperate to convince the roommate of his latest hookup that he isn't an asshole, even continuing to volunteer at her queer book club. With hidden identities and exquisite tension in the library, Isn’t it Obvious puts romance on the books and every single page sings with hate to love goodness. Rachel Runya Katz was a relatively new to me author as of this year, but she has quickly become an unrivaled talent and one of my favorite romance authors in the contemporary romance scene. Isn't It Obvious, her third novel, is undoubtedly the best romance of this year. Not just the library representation we deserve, but a reminder of the power in these spaces especially for the queer youth of today, and how much we stand to gain from reaching for love in spite of our supposed shortcomings.
oh no we’re two gothic novelists writing stories inspired by our childhoods together as we subconsciously yearn for the past…what happens if we kiss ioh no we’re two gothic novelists writing stories inspired by our childhoods together as we subconsciously yearn for the past…what happens if we kiss in a decaying manor (that may or may not be haunted)?
this is a love letter to women gothic novelists and the genre + the queer people that found love in this time period despite the odds.
the perfect amount of awe struck, begging, crawling, moaning, groveling, on his knees behavior for the main character who is a powerful siren on a misthe perfect amount of awe struck, begging, crawling, moaning, groveling, on his knees behavior for the main character who is a powerful siren on a mission
head full of many incommunicable thoughts, but “grab the headboard, love” is kinda the only one i can share at this moment
here is a love interest deephead full of many incommunicable thoughts, but “grab the headboard, love” is kinda the only one i can share at this moment
here is a love interest deeply inspired by anthony bridgerton and fitzwilliam darcy for those with eyes to see!! + appreciation for the spectacles
seriously this was so hot and romantic. thank you for coming to my ted talk!!
Gabriela Luna Valdés has long felt the odd one out. As her eldest sisters have all married and gone on to contribute politically to Mexico back home and abroad, Gabi cannot help but feel adrift. After many years away from Mexico, Gabriela intends to return after a scandal leaves her with no other choice but to flee London altogether. Who should be called to provide a watchful eye on the ship bearing her home but Sebastian Brooks, the Duke of Whitfield, and Gabriela’s nemesis. But outside of the expectations of London society, Gabriela and Sebastian soon discover how little they actually know each other, and the sizzling chemistry underlying their years of hatred.
Put simply, Gabriela and His Grace is historical romance perfection. Liana De la Rosa focuses on the end years of the illegal occupation of Mexico by the French as her heroine travels home to a world transformed, and I loved the windows into a part of history long uncovered within this genre. Liana De la Rosa entwines this tumultuous time in Mexican history with an exploration into home and how we can stand for our communities and ourselves. The hate to lovers arc is built up around this with the slowest of slow burns. I love seeing characters removed from their comforts so much that the facades come down and that is central to this romance. Liana De la Rosa really works to make Sebastian and Gabriela see one another, and that in contrast to their upbringings makes for some truly delicious tension. As an aside I don’t think I will be moving on from the sharing-one-bed-on-a-boat scenes, they were really so so hot (thank you Liana De la Rosa). This was a scrumdiddlyumptious romance and I will be yelling about it more in time.
why run from your fears when you can fuck them instead?
also them having an out topping contest (just biswhen both of you can be failures together<3 <3
why run from your fears when you can fuck them instead?
also them having an out topping contest (just bisexual things)
here for this rabid demon creature who would rather sulk inside a snow bank with his antlers sticking out and hang from the rafters like a feral bat than emote/behave normally
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing the advance copy to review.
queen demon, or: the gang does academic research with disastrous consequences
kaiisteron prince of the fourth house of the underearth, the demon that queen demon, or: the gang does academic research with disastrous consequences
kaiisteron prince of the fourth house of the underearth, the demon that you are
After the radiant triumph that was Witch King, Martha Wells returns with a sequel decidedly more world spanning that sees Kai and his crew on the road to the Hierarchs’ Well. Kaiisteron, Prince of the Fourth House of the Underearth, the Witch King, initially endeared me with his demonic nature and violent tendencies. From that first chapter of Witch King, as Kai awakes to his murdered body and a mage trying to control his magic to the “I’m the demon” line, I knew he was going to be one of my all time favorite fantasy protagonists. Uncovering a sinister conspiracy and facing a dark power that would see him enslaved, it is Kai’s inner goodness that manages to shine through the various betrayals, deaths, and even the loss of his family. Martha Wells reassembles our unconventional crew and family in the next installment to her Rising World series, this time embarking on a mission of academic research with disastrous consequences. In this sequel, the dynamics shine and the inner workings of the Rising Coalition and Bashasa’s rebellion are finally unveiled. Queen Demon takes a leap back in time and a step forward in the present, confronting the issues of empire and whether or not true power can be willingly destroyed before it is corrupted.
thank you to edelweiss and the publisher for providing the advance review copy.
a magical boarding school but from the perspective of the director of magic whose job is to keep the school running smoothly, especially from the powea magical boarding school but from the perspective of the director of magic whose job is to keep the school running smoothly, especially from the powerful demon who has had its sights set on the school for decades
demons possessing electronic devices, a hot butch who runs into the fire after her idiot crush, students suffering through coursework (summoning demons), and all the bureaucratic nonsense you would expect but add magic
thank you to tor books for providing the arc in exchange for review!...more