Book Recap: September 2022

What Hunts Inside The Shadows (Book # 2) by Harper L Woods

I've been waiting patiently for this book ever since I read What Lies Beyond The Veil earlier this year. I've literally had August 30th marked in my calendar since I finished it, so once the date finally arrived, I immediately bumped What Hunts Inside The Shadows up to the top of my TBR. Sometimes it can be hard to follow up a great story with a sequel, but I think Harper L. Woods did it beautifully. I was completely enthralled with the growing dynamic between Estrella and Caelum/Caldris in the first book, and in my opinion it only got better. With the revelation at the end of the first book, we went from enemies-to-lovers-back-to-enemies, so we got to do it all over again but with the underlying tension. I'm a sucker for angst and pining in my fantasy romances and this one had alllll the tropes: fated mates, forced proximity, one horse, FMC with a mysterious power, overprotective MMC and more.

I also have to applaud the pacing of the series thus far. What Hunts Inside The Shadows picked up right where we left off while introducing a couple interesting new characters and uncovering Estrella's mysterious power. The theme of this book is building back trust during an 'epic' journey to the Fae world and it leaves us on a major cliffhanger which will no doubt be resolved in the final installment. And even though it kills me to wait months or years between books in a series, we only have until March 28th 2023 for What Lurks Between The Fates!

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

This was an incredibly emotional read. One that you have to truly be in the mindset in order to get through it. It took me a little time to get into the book, but once I committed, I devoured it in a day. The Grace Year is such a poignant allegory on the way in which women are viewed and treated in society written in a world where The Handmaid's Tale meets The Hunger Games. It highlights the way girls are treated from a young age just for existing in a patriarchal world. Even though it's set in a dystopian reality, these themes hit very close to home—especially in a post-Roe America. I encourage every woman to read this book for its message alone, finding comfort in the tragic, yet uplifting ending. Don't miss the author's note at the very end where Kim Liggett explains an incident that actually inspired the book because that alone left a massive impact on my reading experience.

Haunting Adeline by HD Carlton

Not me reading a dark romance about the main female character falling in love with her stalker in Seattle while I’m visiting Seattle on my first solo trip to Seattle... Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) I didn’t experience a stalker or a romance on my trip, but I could live vicariously through this 5-star read.

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Top tier hockey romance! I got addicted to the hockey romances with the Off-Campus and Briar U series, but this one is right up there with my favorites. Don't be fooled by the cute cartoon covers, this book is full of seriously spicy moments that I loved! Nate Hawkins is the ideal man clearly written by a woman. I mean I don't know how Anastasia didn't give in sooner. While I love reading fantasy romance primarily, the cute rom-coms are my favorite kind of palette cleanser in between series. I may have to continue on with the series now!

Does It Hurt? by HD Carlton

O.M.G. This book was HOT. So spicy. I loved it and that probably means that something is wrong with me like psychologically, but I don’t even care. This is how you do enemies-to-lovers. Like I want them to hate each other, the stakes have to be high. There were certain scenes that I remember just being like “holy shit” (the sharks 👀 + the cave). I had seen so many positive recommendations for this on Tik Tok but totally was not expecting what it ended up being. I’m glad I got myself immersed with H.D. Carlton’s work by reading Haunting Adeline first because it prepared me better for this one. If you’re a newbie to dark romance, definitely don’t start with this one off the bat! I mean, unless you won’t be scared easily lol.

The Broken Kingdoms (# 1, 2, 3) by LJ Andrews

I finished the first trilogy within The Broken Kingdoms series: Curse of Shadows & Thorns, Court of Ice & Ash, Crown of Blood & Ruin. It was a great fantasy romance story with many of the classic tropes like an ancient curse, a mysterious prophecy, hidden identities, forced proximity, found family, Romeo + Juliet-esque family feud.

Of Mist and Shadows by Jenna Wolfhart

I need to stop reading books within incomplete series! I get way too invested in a new book and read it all in one sitting, then realize the next one isn't even out yet. I have way too many calendar notifications of upcoming book releases and now Of Mist and Shadow is one of them. We have the classic Sun King versus the Shadow King and our FMC Tessa caught between them both. While she's unwillingly betrothed to the Sun King, she escapes into the protection of the Shadow King aka Kalen who isn't as horrible as all the stories made him out to be. But at the same time, Kalen isn't telling her everything either. All of the characters are so well-written. The Sun King is the epitome of a villain you love to hate while Kalen is a true morally gray, immortal king who's willing to be viewed as the villain to protect his people. And of course Tessa is our headstrong, cunning mortal girl determined to return to her own family.

From this first book alone, it feels more like a YA fantasy romance, so if you're looking for a lot of spice this isn't the right book for you. On the romance side, it's a slow burn with a lot of budding tension, but you should read it for the world building and intricate curse that divides the lands. There are so many unresolved feelings and secrets that still need to be uncovered, so I'm looking forward to continuing the story in Of Ash and Embers.

Daughter of The Drowned Empire (Book # 1) by Frankie Diane Mallis

I just finished Daughter of the Drowned Empire last night and really enjoyed it! It was a little slow moving at the start if I'm honest, but that was mostly due to the intricate world building and a complex magic system. Plus, just keeping all the names of the ruling families and lands straight was difficult. (Thankfully there's a glossary to explain everything at the end of the book). So far it's an interesting. To me it feels like a story of self-discovery and finding your strength. Of course there is the underlying tension between Lyriana and Rhyan, which is naturally a forbidden romance (and I'd bet a fated one too...). But it's the unyielding devotion and dedication that Lyriana has for her family and the sacrifices she makes in the name of duty that make her character growth most appealing.

While I was initially introduced to the series from Tik Tok reviews comparing it to Throne of Glass, I definitely don't think Lyriana is anything like Aelin. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. I feel like we have a lot of tough, badass, sassy assassin FMCs—which I love by the way, give them all to me—but it was refreshing to read about a FMC whose power isn't in her physical abilities or insanely powerful magic. At least not yet. If I'm picking up on the direction the story is heading, I'm assuming we will still see a kind of hidden power emerging within Lyr. It just feels like a more nuanced view of what it means to have power. I'm really looking forward to getting through the next book to see how everything turns out!

Guardian of The Drowned Empire (Book # 2) by Frankie Diane Mallis

Okay, I get the hype over this series now! I was completely enthralled while reading the second installment in the Drowned Empire series. Even though I said that I couldn't see the comparison to Throne of Glass in my review of the first book, I started to see it in this one. It's not that the characters are similar to TOG, but rather it was the brutal abuse that Lyriana suffers at the hands of her "villains" that brought up the same feelings I experienced while reading TOG. I'm not going to lie, it was hard to read some of those scenes because it made me so angry and frustrated. But that's what a great book and a talented writer do: they make you feel all the emotions. Because while there was anger and frustration, there were also moments of excitement and giddiness. And that was due to the growing tension between Lyriana and Rhyan. Their relationship is so well-written and their mutual pining was agonizingly good. I love and hate the forbidden romance trope for this reason—they just need to be together already! But I love the slow burn, especially when done right. Anyways I NEED the last book now. February 14th cannot come soon enough!