Tag: enemies to lovers

Big Demon Energy (Bedeviled Book 1) by Deborah Wilde

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Deborah Wilde writes such wonderful books and great unusual main female characters that once I found her it’s been hard not to just binge her entire catalog. 

Elements that Wilde includes into her storylines and universes as well as character designs are those of Jewish history, culture, and religious traditions. From the names of the characters to their stories and even the agencies they serve, what it is to be a Jewish person is part of their identity and this book.

And her stories are mostly urban fantasy. So how she continues to fold Jewish mythology, history and religious beliefs and traditions into her urban fantasy worlds and series is smooth, unique, and fascinating. 

Aviva Fleischer is an agent for the Maccabees, a government agency that regulates and deals with otherworldly events and beings. This includes having a team of diverse individuals, including vampires. 

What’s not so inclusive is anyone or being that’s identified as a demon. Or part demon. Which is what Aviva is hiding, she’s part demon. And the daughter of a high ranking official in the Maccabee organization. 

Wilde excellently crafts both an alternative world where vampires and humans now exist, although not exactly in harmony. Otherworldly realms can be visited but it’s a dangerous place to go if you’re a human, and there’s hidden secrets and agendas everywhere waiting to be revealed.

Aviva is a complicated character, with mother issues. An ex-boyfriend who’s come into play again and a murder mystery that’s as complicated as she is.

Just a fabulous story and it lays the groundwork for the next story to come. 

Highly recommended! As is this author. 

Cover by: Covers By Christian.

Bedeviled:

Big Demon Energy #1

Demon on Deck #2

Better the Demon You Know #3

Demon in Disguise #4

The Demon’s Due #5 – Aug 18,2025

Buy link 

        Big Demon Energy: An Enemies-to-Lovers Urban Fantasy (Bedeviled Book 1)

    

Blurb 

She’s just a demon, standing in front of a vampire, trying not to punch him. 

Aviva Fleischer hides a dangerous secret. She’s carefully concealing her infernal heritage, a.k.a. Cherry Bomb. Maybe it’s weird naming her demon side and referring to her in the third person, but guys do the same with their junk, and unlike most of them, Avi isn’t deluded about Cherry’s prowess.

Avi’s been working her ass off, climbing the ranks of a supernatural policing organization to enact change and empower those like her forced to hide their true nature. Sure, she’s bent the rules now and then, but her arrest record speaks for itself. Her promotion is in the bag.

Instead, the director strikes a deal with Avi: spy on the operative sent in to work a rash of bizarre murders and prove she can be a team player, or kiss that new rank goodbye.

No problem.

Okay, maybe just one.

Her co-leader, Ezra Cardoso, is a charming, ruthless vampire with his own agenda, whom she fantasizes about: mostly staking him then vacuuming up his remains.

But when the killer sets Aviva’s team firmly in their sights, she’ll have to decide whether to keep playing by the rules or show everyone exactly what she—and Cherry Bomb—are capable of…

Featuring a smart, funny heroine and a banter-fueled vampire romance, this wickedly addictive urban fantasy will keep you reading way past bedtime.

Dive in now for a fiendishly good time!

  • Publisher: Te Da Media Inc.
  • Publication date: August 21, 2023
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 358 pages
  • Book 1 of 5: Bedeviled

Urban Fantasy, vampire thrillers, humorous fantasy, paranormal suspense 

Review:  Riftborne (Esprithean Trilogy, #1) by Grenwich & Lennox

Rating: 3.75⭐️

Riftbourne represents new authors and a new fantasy trilogy to explore in the first of the Esprithean trilogy novels.

Authors Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox include maps of the territories (be still my heart) and dictionaries of terminology and pronunciation to help readers understand the world building and character foundations. 

I was involved in the storyline of Fia Riftbourne, an adopted orphan of uncontrollable powers who is conscripted into the formidable Sidhe Guard, to be trained by the General and be used as a new weapon against their enemies. 

There’s a lot of world foundational structure and elements such as history and current events that the authors have to lay out in the novel as well as build Fia’s narrative and the magical elements and systems here.

With all that to pack in one book , unless absolutely brilliantly written, some aspects have to feel less than complete, and that’s a bit of everything. 

We don’t exactly know what the magical elements are and how it works. Fia’s adopted mother seems to have some kind of powers, but those aren’t really ever mentioned or defined. Nor is Fia’s adolescence fully understood. We arrive at her life pretty much as the tale begins with only the barest hints of her background. 

The conflicts, the war that destroyed her country and caused her and her countrymen to lose everything, become branded, isn’t really defined either except in an paragraph at the beginning. 

So it’s emotionally not as strong a factor it could be but more a ‘as a told to’ element. That weakens much of the other characters perspective’s of the story. We get fanatical bigotry but no real emotional connection to its foundation. 

The romance or in reality the  relationship that develops between the characters , Fia and Laryk, here feels genuine, the uneven power balance and unexplored power dynamics add to the tension between them. It’s hot, tense, and unpredictable. 

I felt that, Fia and Sidhe General, Laryk Ashford, were possibly the best elements here.  

Too many other things were left undefined or hidden, most likely due to the coming second novel’s storyline, that it felt underwhelming or less convincing in the plot, than some of the other better written aspects of the novel. 

Most have to do with Fia’s character and powers, hinted at and described. But her muddy beginnings are a factor too. 

So I’m left with a book and characters I feel are good, a universe that the authors are clearly expanding with a second novel, and a large amount of unresolved and undefined aspects of the various storylines. 

It ends on a cliffhanger. But it’s not exactly an unexpected one. 

Headed to Duskbound now. 

Cover art and Map by Parker Lennox

Esprithean Trilogy:

Riftbourne #1

Duskbound #2

Buy link

        Riftborne (Esprithean Trilogy Book 1)

    

Blurb 

He was striking in a cold-blooded kind of way, like his beauty was tinged with poison. Unassuming, alluring even.

I brought my eyes up to meet his.

“Fia Riftborne?” The words dripped from his lips like blood from a dagger.

Twenty years after a rebellion branded her an outcast, Fia Riftborne navigates a city rife with prejudice so deep, it’s often deadly. But she harbors a secret, one that would paint an even larger target on her back. A hidden power within her is growing, threatening to destroy everything she’s built for herself.

Enter the elusive Sidhe General, Laryk Ashford, who is building a unit of powerful wielders within the Guard to face a growing threat. Wraiths of darkness devour the Western border, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.

When Fia’s power erupts, and two daughters of Nobility are seemingly dead, General Ashford offers her a chilling choice: join the Sidhe Guard or face execution.

Because Fia might be the only hope for the Isle’s survival.

Torn between surrendering to the chaos or becoming a weapon for those who took everything from her, Fia must confront her growing feelings for the General and face a dark truth that could shatter everything she’s ever known.

  • Publisher: ONYX Publishing
  • Publication date: September 3, 2024
  • Edition: 1st
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 428 pages
  • Book 1 of 2: Esprithean Trilogy 

Review: Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

Rating: 5⭐️

In a recent group of highly anticipated and majorly media-hyped romance releases, Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry is one that lives up to its promise and excitement.

I’m unfamiliar with the author and wary or is it weary now of the various books being “super pushed , highly gushed about “ on many media platforms, especially prior to release.

These books are often compared to other books and series that are well established , very well written and already have enormous fan support, rightly or wrongly.  Maybe the soon to be published books fit in the genre, maybe they don’t. But pre-slotting them into a category does the book or author any favors. 

Rant over.  Onto this amazing book. 

Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry does a fantastic job of capturing a unique world of fantasy and horror, of Kingdoms and magical beasts, of princesses marrying to maintain a balance that’s not exactly what it seems. 

And princes to die for. 

The only thing I’m upset about is I don’t have the sequel in my hands already. 

Devney Perry’s world building is extraordinary, from the perilous waters their ships sail over and the creatures that lurk underneath to the realistic, harsh and beautiful nature of the Kingdom most of the novel takes place in. 

Perry’s descriptions and locations are visually stunning, imaginative and beautifully written. They capture our imagination and its people our hearts moment by moment, as Odessa learns more about her new life and the people around her. 

The characters, especially the main character of Odessa, is engaging and wonderfully layered, leaving her fully aware of her struggles and able to develop her strengths as she grows more aware of the challenges and realities of her situation. 

Less said due to spoilers about the male characters the better as they figure greatly in the narrative plot elements and twists. I’m sure many readers will see the surprises coming but it’s still a very real moment for the story and characters. And worked through with a terrific backstory. 

Is this “spicy” romance? That’s a term I feel is being used now for a wide range of sexual content in a romance novel, including some I find offensive like SA. This story is a long novel that features a true slow burn romance with a kiss and finally some sexual romance towards the end. That’s it. 

Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry has left plenty of room for the magical elements and mythology to expand with the next novel. I can’t wait to see what the author has planned for the characters and their journey. 

Highly recommended!

Cover design by LJ Anderson Edge design by Bree Archer

Buy link 

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comShield of Sparrows (Deluxe Limited Edition): Perry, Devney

Blurb 

 Now in development as a feature film with Amazon MGM Studios, with John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad attached to write the script!

Don’t miss out on the stunning DELUXE LIMITED EDITION while supplies last. This breathtaking collectible is only available on a limited first print run in the U.S. and Canada, a must-have for any book lover.

Shield of Sparrows is a slow-burn, high-stakes romantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros―where enemies become lovers, monsters stalk a cursed realm, and a forgotten princess finds the strength to tear off her crown and become the warrior she was never meant to be.

The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.

I’ve spent my life kneeling―to their will and to my father’s. As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king.

I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood.

But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life.

Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him―bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know.

Everyone wants me to be something I’m not―a queen, a spy, a sacrifice.

But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated?

And what if―for the first time―I reached for it?

  • Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books (May 6, 2025)
  • Publication date: May 6, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 666 pages

— Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

Entangled Publishing LLC

Review:  Wild Knight (Midnight Empire: The Tower Book 1) by Annabel Chase

Rating:  4.25⭐️

Wild Knight (Midnight Empire: The Tower Book 1) by Annabel Chase is a slow burn paranormal thriller romance. It has terrific world building, and some great elements to its series universe that make it even more exciting.

This world has been plunged into a forever darkness created by Earth’s super volcanoes all erupting at the same time, throwing enormous quantities of ash into the atmosphere that has created an endless night for the Earth. 

Vampires took advantage, taking control over the remaining regions, peoples, and spaces. And protecting their territories from the monsters still emerging from the craters in certain countries not under their control. 

The main protagonist is a magical warrior with a secret. That’s London Hayes, a Knight of Boudica, an all female group of soldiers who do everything from enforcing the laws to acquisition of items, taking jobs their male counterparts won’t. 

Forced by an unfortunate situation to accept a job for the ruling Vampire family, House Lewis, to find a mysterious stone, London now faces another challenge in vampire Prince Callan.

Chase sets a fast pace with the events of the story, the dark atmosphere of the world and several hidden secrets, all vying for the reader’s attention in the narrative. 

There’s also a menagerie of exotic creatures, including a three-headed Cerberus and a raven named Barnabas to help keep us invested in the story and London’s mystery. 

This is a complete series so I’m happily moving to the next book to see what happens going forward. 

I’m excited to make this author an auto read, and recommend the series to anyone who enjoys the trope. 

Cover design by Trif

The Tower series 

Wild Knight #1

Three Dog Knight #2

Deadly Knight #3

One Knight Stand #4 – finale 

Buy link

        Wild Knight (Midnight Empire: The Tower Book 1)

    

Blurb 

SERIES COMPLETE*

In a world of darkness where royal vampires are in charge, I spend my days working as a knight in the city formerly known as London. Instead of a lance and a horse, I rely on my trusty axe, Babe, and ride the occasional dragon. Every day new threats emerge that require a dash of magic and a dollop of attitude.

Good thing I have both.

Naturally danger comes with the territory. What no one knows is just how dangerous it is for me. If our vampire overlords discover what I am, they’ll execute me on the spot—no questions asked—which is why I avoid them at all costs.

Until now.

If only this one didn’t have a lethal reputation, a princely pedigree, and a quest that leads to more questions than answers. The heat between us doesn’t help matters.

Unfortunately I can’t refuse a royal command, so I’m stuck until the job is complete.

And even if the job doesn’t kill me, the truth just might.

If you like humor, heart, a kickbutt heroine and an enemies-to-lovers romance, check out Wild Knight,Midnight Empire: The Tower, the first book in a new urban fantasy series.

Don’t miss all the books in the Midnight Empire world!

Midnight Empire: The Tower
Wild Knight
Three Dog Knight
Deadly Knight
One Knight Stand

Midnight Empire: The Restoration
Endless Knight
Red Rook
Glass King

Midnight Empire: New Dawn
Golden Hood
Twilight Rebel
Midnight Burns

  • Publisher: Red Palm Press LLC (November 4, 2021)
  • Publication date: November 4, 2021
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 244 pages

Review : Enchantra (Wicked Games #2) by Kaylie Smith

Rating:  4.5⭐️

What initially appeared to be a duology, Wicked Games is clearly expanding into a full series with this novel and the addition of the paranormal Silver family to a universe that had focused solely on the Grimm sisters, Ophelia and Genevieve Grimm, and Ophelia’s love Salem. 

Enchantra picks up from the events in Phantasma, a novel where Ophelia Grimm , recipient of the Grimm matriarchal necromancer powers, enters a gothic mansion looking for her sister, Genevieve Grimm , and ends up having to play a sinister deadly game, Phantasma. 

It’s a fantastic story and horrifying game , which ends with Ophelia leaving with a romantic demon love, Salem, and her sister safely out of the mansion. This couple and Salem himself have a great impact on Genevieve’s reasons for her trip. 

Enchantra is a new devilish game, a location, as well as being Genevieve Grimm’s story, all taking place in Italy. Genevieve or Vivi is a complex, layered character. The younger sister born into a matriarchal family of necromancers, Genevieve always felt like an outsider in her world of magical women. The one left to her own devices, the one not given any real affection or sense of belonging. 

Smith builds into her character all the emotional aspects of a person wounded by her childhood and events in her adolescence. When a reader gets frustrated ,as i did, by her impulsive actions, it’s easy to think about the situation and reason behind her reactions. 

This is also a marriage of convenience, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, dark fantasy romance. With deadly games and demonic monsters. 

The Silver family, starting with Rowen Silver the person who greets her at the door and immediately tells her to go, are an intriguing bunch. With each new stage of the game, both the reader and Genevieve will have a better understanding of each of them. 

The world building and supernatural elements are frightening, violent and full of twists. The Silver family, all the many siblings and familiars are violent, terrifying and magical. 

The only member who didn’t have much of a role or well defined character is the father, a surprising aspect of the story.  This factor and one other thing makes me think that the author is waiting for another book to bring him back into this series. 

The ending is fantastic. Emotionally powerful and extremely satisfying. But it also has one strange twist, a element that is a pivotal part of book one and is mentioned a couple of times at the start here, and that’s the fact that Salem’s true name was forgotten by all by terms of agreement.

And yet there’s this ending. I can’t imagine that the author doesn’t keep track of her own notes on important series elements or aspects of characters . So it would seem this too is a big part of the series going forward.

Either way, it makes for delicious suspense and fun for the next novel in Wicked Games. 

Highly recommended.

Great covers. 

Cover design Alexandra Purtan/ Fenix Cover Designs

Wicked Games series: 

Phantasma # 1

Enchantra #2

Buy link

        Enchantra: A spicy fantasy romance (Wicked Games Book 2)

    

Blurb 

Welcome to Enchantra. There’s only one rule: Never, ever trust your heart.

When Genevieve Grimm’s mother is killed, Genevieve wants answers nobody can give… until she receives an invitation to Enchantra, a cursed palace filled with temptations and illusions.

Arrogant and dangerously handsome, Rowin Silver meets her at the door and refuses to let her inside. But Genevieve finds her own way in… And soon realizes her mistake.

Enchantra is a twisted labyrinth of marble and thorns, where Rowin’s family are trapped forever in a deadly game. Now, Genevieve must win or die.

Rowin offers her a deal. They can compete together… if they convince everyone watching that they’re desperately in love.

Genevieve knows she can’t trust Rowin, but she’ll do whatever it takes to survive. As they hunt and hide together, Genevieve tries to ignore the desire burning between them. She absolutely cannot fall for this man. Cannot forget that she’s only pretending to be in love.

After all, it was Rowin who taught her Enchantra’s first rule… Never, ever trust your heart.

Packed with deadly intrigue and spicy romance, Enchantra will transport you to a world of feisty heroines and morally gray love interests, fake dating, forbidden desire and family secrets. If you love books by Kerri Maniscalco, Carissa Broadbent and Lauren Roberts, prepare to discover your new romantasy obsession.

  • Publisher: Second Sky (April 8, 2025)
  • Publication date: April 8, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 443 pages

Review: Puck Love (The Elmwood Stories #6) by Lane Hayes

Rating: 4.5🌈

It’s fitting that Lane Hayes brings her heartwarming series, The Elmwood Stories, to a close with one of the boys who we met in the earlier books.  

Now grown and playing in the NHL, Jake Milligan is one of the boys we met from the first Elmwood junior hockey camp, and along with Denny Mellon, who’s been a character we’ve watched as their parents got their own romances in the early books. 

So it’s perfect that the series finale will have Jake’s own story and we get to see many other familiar faces in this book as Jake’s enemies to lovers story unfolds. 

The “enemy” is hockey arch rival Mason Trinsky, a trash talking, exuberant player who has made their  rivalry a media firestorm to Jake’s chagrin.

Elmwood’s Junior Hockey Camp is now a huge success, with famous players participating as coaches and that’s how both Trinsky and Jake end up as partners for a camp weekend.

It’s a terrific story that Lane manages to bring together elements of bi awakening, Trinky’s family members with special needs as well as his mother’s history of addiction and recovery. That balances so well with the fears and need for control of Jake’s upbringing.  

But we get juicy, sexy scenes of discovery, great characters, hockey, adorable kids in Eddie, Nathan, Ella and Charlotte.  Truly a fabulous heartwarming story of love , family and finding your forever home. 

Elmwood and its magical, small town places hold a special place in my heart. I know that I’ll be revisiting it and it’s love stories. 

Lane is going to bring us a new series based in the neighboring town, Wood Hollow, and hopefully we will see some crossovers in characters.  Vermont’s fictional Four Forest area has so much to offer and more towns to explore.

A highly recommended and heartwarming sendoff of a fantastic series. I love it. Read them in order and fall in love with this town and its people. 

The Elmwood Stories:

You, Again #1

Next Season #2

Holiday Crush #3

Thin Ice  #4

Hot Shot #5

Puck Love #6

Buy link

        Puck Love: MM Small Town/Hockey Romance (The Elmwood Stories Book 6)

    

Blurb 

Two rivals, one secret, and a shot at forever… 

Jake

Favorite things and peeps: hockey, family, friends.

Least favorite person in the entire history of the universe: Mason Trinsky.

I have my reasons, but since you’re curious, Trinsky is a showboat and a loudmouth. Sure, he’s a great athlete. Good for him. I accept that we have mutual friends, and I grudgingly accept that he’ll be a coach at w this summer—however, I plan to keep my distance.

Of course, some wise guy pairs us up for a camping expedition, and everything that can go wrong does go wrong.

Guess who I’m stuck with?

Trinsky

Favorite things and peeps: hockey, surfing, and my kid brother

Least favorite person in the entire history of the universe: Jake Milligan

Look, I might be in the minority, but if you ask me, Jake is a nitpicking diva who wants everything his way. I hope my NHL team crushes his, and this summer, I want my campers to out-prank his. Childish? Nah, it’s all in good fun.

Until it starts to feel…complicated. I shouldn’t care if he’s happy, should I? I don’t want to be Jake’s friend. I don’t want to have feelings for him at all.

The only thing that matters is hockey. It’s all about the puck. Not love.

Or is it?

Puck Love is an MM bisexual, small-town romance featuring hockey’s hottest rivals, a hiking trip gone wrong, and a shot at forever…

  • Publication date: March 21, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 280 pages

Review:  Betrothed to the Emperor (Emperor’s Assassin Book 1) by Kai Butler 

Rating: 4.5🌈

Kai Butler’s new fantasy series, Emperor’s Assassin, gets off to a fast, and absolutely magical start with Betrothed to the Emperor.  Right from the beginning, Butler plunges the reader and her protagonist into a strange, and mystical realm where the wealthy are masked by not only the makeup and outfits they wear but the rigidity of the culture and politics of the Empire that has consumed so much of the Kingdoms around it. 

It’s a highly detailed and disturbing place, a perfect place to start a plot of assassination. And a story full of twists and tricks and incredible creatures . 

Butler really is creating a universe that can expand with its series storylines, going forward into other parts of the world, exploring new cultures and their unique instruments of war. 

As this happens, so does a remarkable relationship between Emperor of the Southern Imperium, Emperor Tallu and Airón of the Northern Kingdom, who gets chosen to be his consort. 

 

Exactly how that occurs and all the events that happen afterwards are just why I can’t wait for the next book to be released.  The chemistry is excellent, the cast that surrounds the pair amazing and equally interesting.  And the various layered aspects of the storyline that are being generated by Butler are so intriguing that I want to see more of everything the author is planning. 

If you are a fan of this author, like me, I’m sure you’ll have grabbed this up. I’m highly recommending it to fantasy lovers too. 

Emperor’s Assassin series:

  • Betrothed to the Emperor #1
  • Emperor’s Wrath #2 – June 23,2025

Cover by Hannah Latham at oexasart. 

Buy link 

        Betrothed to the Emperor (Emperor’s Assassin Book 1)

    

Blurb 

I was born to kill the emperor, but first, I must marry him.

I trained as an assassin while my twin sister trained to be the empress. My life will be forfeit once I murder the most powerful man on the continent, but I have no choice. If I fail, the Imperium will consume our nation and anyone who rises against them.

Too soon, we walk into the glittering imperial court, each step taking us closer to the dangerous man on the black throne, my sister’s future husband, the newly crowned Emperor of the Southern Imperium. Emperor Tallu has more spies than fish in the sea. He poisoned his own father to secure the golden crown.

When his sharp eyes skim over us, they don’t catch on my sister. They land on me, his killer.

“I choose you, Prince Airón of the Northern Kingdom. You will be my consort.” Tallu’s smile is mirthless. “Or I will reduce your entire nation to ashes.”

Betrothed to the Emperor ends with more story to tell, but the characters end on a HFN

  • Publication date: February 24, 2025
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 282 pages

Review: Blood & Steel (The Legends of Thezmarr Book 1) by Helen B. Scheuerer

Rating: 4.75⭐️

YOU DO NOT BECOME A LEGEND OVERNIGHT

HE TOLD HER QUIETLY “A LEGEND IS FORGED WITH

BLOOD AND STEEL”

Another new author, another great series and strong heroic female character.  Albeit one with a highly tragic twist to launch her story and goals. 

Althea Zoltaire knows that she will die at the age of 27. It’s a fate she’s always known will happen. Now she’s got just 3 years to become the legend she needs to be. A Legendary Warsword.  In a land that’s forbidden women to hold weaponry.

That’s the dynamic theme and the epic storytelling that takes Thea forward towards her goals along with her sisters is such a compelling emotional journey.  Thea Zoltaire is rapidly becoming one of my favorite characters of the season.  Tragic background that’s she’s used to push her towards a forbidden goal of becoming a female Warsword. And not just a powerful Warsword but a legendary warrior in the time left to her is a a woman of strength and character.  

The trials, the challenges and battles she faces, from family to those of royal legality are ones that the reader is so emotionally invested in, right along with her. 

Scheuerer brings in a cast of equally diverse and interesting characters to surround and support Thea here. The first being Wilder Hawthorne, a Warsword whose role varies from frenemies to reluctant mentor to more. There’s the other people trying to become Warswords and facing the same trials, and her Alchemist sisters. 

The world building is great and will be expanded upon in the next books as Thea’s story continues. 

Highly recommended as a favorite of mine this season. Plus it’s a complete trilogy. Another plus.

The Legends of Thezmarr – 4 books completed:

Blood & Steel #1

Vows & Ruins #2

Fate & Furies #3

Shadow & Storms #4

Buy link

        Blood & Steel: An epic romantic fantasy (The Legends of Thezmarr Book 1)

    

Blurb 

Perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, From Blood and Ash and The Witcher, BLOOD & STEEL is an epic romantic fantasy with enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn spice, found family, and a sprawling world of magic and monsters.

With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend.

Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.

The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone.

All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.

Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr – or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?

If you like fierce sword-wielding heroines and brooding, tortured heroes, you will devour this sexy, addictive fantasy adventure.

Blood & Steel is the gripping first book in the heart-pounding, epic romantic fantasy series, The Legends of Thezmarr.

  • Publisher: Alchemy (February 16, 2023)
  • Publication date: February 16, 2023
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 550 pages

Review:  Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy, #1) by Callie Hart

Rating:  4.5 ⭐️

The world building by Callie Hart in Quicksilver is truly astonishing. Incredibly detailed and rich in imagery, Hart’s worlds, yes multiple connected ones, so well crafted that each feels absolutely unique. Fundamentally different from their species of beings, mythological perspectives, life spans even their suns in the sky . 

 Hart’s female main character is a stunning figure.  Saeris Fane is a thief, a fierce fighter, a resourceful woman. She’s had to do what it takes to survive and protect herself and her irresponsible younger brother in a walled off section of the City where the worst of their kingdom is concentrated by authority of the Queen. 

Saeris’  sad history and that of dangerous diseased slum , The Third Ward, of Zilvaren City, are heavily intertwined. How will be slowly revealed throughout this story with great impact. It’s enough that we see how living in such conditions has formed her, including the fact she’s able to work a forge. And it introduces other great characters that have been important figures in her life. 

How dramatically the Fae and the figure of The Kingfisher is brought into this narrative is something I’ll leave to the story but it’s a fantastic one.  So is the creation of the element of quicksilver and all the unusual aspects of this magical material.  It’s one astounding revelation after another, and I absolutely loved it because it was so unexpected. 

The relationship between Saeris and Fisher is complex and uneasy.  I liked the way there’s a fated mate storyline but it’s not automatically acceptable. Given the circumstances and, a lack of communication, it shouldn’t be.

Main characters who don’t communicate are an issue for me but here the rationale and the foundation laid for any such actions are part of the beautifully crafted storytelling.  

There’s passion, mythology, battles, magical horrifying creatures, and a cliffhanger. 

Did I have a quibble? Yes. Fisher calls Saeris “Little Osha”, a shorter version of the name of a short lived butterfly.  He uses that instead of Saeris for most of the story.  Why he does this is explained in the story, however, I’m generally, and certainly not here,  a fan of male characters calling female characters “little” anything. It’s intentionally dismissive (as it is here) and turning it into some kind of weird cute nickname doesn’t work. 

The ending is stunning and unexpected. It’s a cliffhanger that leaves a reader wondering how the next book will go forward from these events.  I can’t wait.

Highly recommended. And what a gorgeous cover.

Fae & Alchemy:

Quicksilver #1

Brimstone #2 – Nov 18, 2025

Buy link

        Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy Book 1)

    

Blurb 

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!

The global phenomenon by Callie Hart–a highly addicting enemies-to-lovers Romantasy with razor-sharp banter, heart-stopping action, and blistering hot romance. 

Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate.

Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen’s reservoirs for as long as she can remember. In the land of the unforgiving desert, there isn’t much a girl wouldn’t do for a glass of water. But a secret is like a knot. Sooner or later, it is bound to come undone.

When Saeris comes face-to-face with Death himself, she inadvertently reopens a gateway between realms and is transported to a land of ice and snow. The Fae have always been the stuff of myth, of legend, of nightmares…but it turns out they’re real, and Saeris has landed right in the middle of a centuries-long conflict that might just get her killed.

The first of her kind to tread the frozen mountains of Yvelia in over a thousand years, Saeris mistakenly binds herself to Kingfisher, a handsome Fae warrior, who has secrets and nefarious agendas of his own. He will use her Alchemist’s magic to protect his people, no matter what it costs him… or her. Death has a name. It is Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate. His past is murky. His attitude stinks. And he’s the only way Saeris is going to make it home.

Be careful of the deals you make, dear child. The devil is in the details…

Review: False Comeback  (Goliaths of Wrestling book 4) by Lily Mayne

Rating:4.5🌈

False Comeback continues to expand and explore Lily Mayne’s unique paranormal romance series set in an otherworldly underground wrestling world, Goliaths of Wrestling. 

The intense energy and high emotions that have been resonating between the lord high elf wrestler, Crossbody, and the egregious ghoul with a chip on his shoulder, Vince Burke, come crashing into a head in this crazy, great story, False Comeback.

The set up for this romance starts in the previous book with a huge argument between the two characters that requires a court Wrestling mediation and in-house counseling sessions from the fabulous Corey. 

The absolutely combustible, compelling relationship that Mayne is building between Crossbody and Vince captures our entire attention as  the layers of history and depth of their personalities are revealed. As their animosity lessens and their intensity of attraction/intimacy becomes even stronger, the characters become increasingly complex and relatable.

Their interactions with the other wrestlers, their fears, and unvoiced feelings, it’s all there, beautifully laid out by Mayne.

And I have to say that last quarter of the story is a fantastic narrative ride! Part thrilling adventure, all sustained suspense and wild moments! Along with some great comedy and sublime characters and storytelling.  I read several parts of this twice. Gotta love Ethel. 

For additional world expansion, we also get a group of new wrestlers added to the Goliaths of Wrestling found family.  What a fascinating new group they are! I can’t wait to meet them in depth.

This has grown to be a favorite new series for me this year.  Highly recommended.

Read the warnings. Sexy, kinky, in this case a D/s relationship, otherworldly, hilariously spew worthy, and a definite recommendation.

Cover illustration: Vic Gray/Bloodwrit

Goliaths of Wrestling: 

🔷Impromptu Match #1

🔷Clean Finish #2

🔷Cheap Heat #3

🔷False Comeback #4

🔷Double Shot #5 – tbd release 

Buy link

        False Comeback (Goliaths of Wrestling Book 4)

    

Blurb 

High Lord Crossbody

I’ve given up a lot to pursue a career in professional wrestling, and I’m not going to have it all derailed by an uncouth ghoul with a huge chip on his shoulder, who decided he disliked me for no reason on his very first day at Goliaths.

Vince Burke has been the thorn in my side for five long years, but things have taken a turn for the worse. The management is threatening to get involved. I refuse to let Burke take the life I’ve worked so hard to build from me, so I try to be on my best behaviour at work, but something about him just gets to me. He consumes my thoughts. I can’t stand him.

And when something happens between us that leaves me feeling completely unmoored, I find myself thinking about him constantly. He’s taken all the control, and I need to get it back. Because I liked it too much, and I can’t let myself feel that way about him.

Vince “Rolling Rimmer” Burke

I love everything about my job as a professional wrestler at Goliaths of Wrestling, an underground supernatural wrestling organisation. I love the showmanship. The costumes. The crowds. The ring and the arena. My co-workers.

Well, except one.

High Lord Crossbody, the royal fae who’s an actual prince, is a pompous snob and a pain in my backside. Everything about him rankles me—his clipped drawl, his disdainful sneer, his stupid long legs and eerily perfect face and sultry hooded eyes…

I hate everything about him. I do. So when our mutual dislike boils over in a very public argument, then explodes into something even hotter and completely inappropriate, I’m left confused and even more annoyed.

Because now I want him. And I hate that I want him.

  • Publication date: December 6, 2024
  • Language: English
  • Print length: 515 pages