Book Reviews

For the past few years I have kept a journal, which then turned into a notebook file on my computer, of all the books I’ve read, including the date and time I started them and the date and time I finished them. Now I’ve decided to modernize my original notebook idea, and write a review of each of the stories I read.

Review of The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

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Synopsis:
In Wisdom, Shelter. That’s the official motto of the Scholomance. I suppose you could even argue that it’s true—only the wisdom is hard to come by, so the shelter’s rather scant. 
 
Our beloved school does its best to devour all its students—but now that I’ve reached my senior year and have actually won myself a handful of allies, it’s suddenly developed a very particular craving for me. And even if I somehow make it through the endless waves of maleficaria that it keeps throwing at me in between grueling homework assignments, I haven’t any idea how my allies and I are going to make it through the graduation hall alive. 
 
Unless, of course, I finally accept my foretold destiny of dark sorcery and destruction. That would certainly let me sail straight out of here. The course of wisdom, surely.
 
But I’m not giving in—not to the mals, not to fate, and especially not to the Scholomance. I’m going to get myself and my friends out of this hideous place for good—even if it’s the last thing I do.

With keen insight and mordant humor, Novik reminds us that sometimes it is not enough to rewrite the rules—sometimes, you need to toss out the entire rulebook.

The magic of the Scholomance trilogy continues in The Golden Enclaves

Review:
HOLY ENDING ON THE WORST POSSIBLE CLIFFHANGER EVER! If I were reading this before the series was finished, I would have immediately started bawling. These authors know how to draw you in and leave you NEEDING the next installment, which I will be starting as soon as I post this review.

This book featured so much more development of El as a person, and of the sorcerers and school. It’s interesting how the golden child and the prophesized bringer of doom have such different desires and needs, and again the question of nature versus nurture is brought up. Everything that happens is designed to draw in El and make her realize that there is more to life and people and magic and protecting the young than what the scholomance can provide. All in all, this book is a great continuation of the Scholomance legacy, and now I must immediately go and read beyond that haunting last line!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

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Synopsis:
I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life.

Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans.

I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts, I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, make myself the dark queen of the world.

At least, that’s what the world expects. Most of the other students in here would be delighted if Orion killed me like one more evil thing that’s crawled out of the drains. Sometimes I think they want me to turn into the evil witch they assume I am. The school certainly does.

But the Scholomance isn’t getting what it wants from me. And neither is Orion Lake. I may not be anyone’s idea of the shining hero, but I’m going to make it out of this place alive, and I’m not going to slaughter thousands to do it, either.

Although I’m giving serious consideration to just one.

Review:
This book has everything anyone who loves dark fantasy, YA, and magic schools would love. There are daring heroics, and the constant balance of good versus evil, and the paths/steps that must be taken to definitively choose one. From the beginning you’re left wondering if there’s anything redeeming about our protagonist but she immediately draws you in as the underdog. El is an exceedingly negative person, but she finds herself alone with no allies and insurmountable odds trying to do her best to not give in to people’s expectations of her and not get killed in the process. The problems she goes through, while severe, mirror what many feel and experience regularly when trying to fit in and find a place of their own where they can truly be seen, heard, and appreciated. There is a serious question of nature versus nurture, as she seems to inherently desire to do the wrong thing, but her mother has spent so much time teaching her a lighter path that she finds herself trying to stay on. That being said, while this book is from El’s perspective, Orion Lake, the first of which we hear of in the opening line of “I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life,” isn’t quite the glittering perfect hero he appears to be.

While the character depth and development are amazing, the scholomance, a special cylindric school, is quite unique and awesome as well. The school has rotating levels where freshman start at the top and every year you go down. In order to graduate you must go against a large selection of mals, evil magic creatures, and try to get out. A large part of the school’s job is to teach young sorcerers how to fight mal, but also how to actively do magic and whatever their affinity is. Some people, such as El, seem drawn to the dark and must make a choice about how they will continue. The power for magic can be drawn from two things: mana (energy you create) or malia (taking from others). This book could be compared to so many others, and yet, it stands completely on its own with a gothic brilliance that isn’t often seen or appreciated in YA.

All in all this book is amazing and I had to actually make myself come and write this before starting the next. The ending has stuck with me all day since I finished it this morning and I cannot wait to see what happens next!!!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Elemental Claim by Miranda Grant

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Synopsis:
When Emma wakes up tied to a bed, she believes the mafia has finally caught up to her.

But the truth is so much worse.

She’s been mistaken for her twin sister, her sweet, lovable sister who’s been charged with mass murder and helping a vampire destroy the Seven Planes. If she doesn’t confess all, her kidnapper will pull the water out of her blood and into her lungs. Dragged into a reality where monsters and gods exist and mercy is nowhere to be found, how can she possibly survive long enough to save her sister? Because there’s only one thing she knows for certain anymore: Liz is innocent. And she’ll do everything she can to prove it.

He’ll see her imprisoned for life or dead at his feet.

Tasked with bringing in a forbidden child of the gods, Rogan never expected this job to be easy. But finding out she’s his lifemate, the literal other half of his soul, has just made his mission a hel of a lot harder. For now he has to make a choice:

Use his lifemate as bait.

Or damn the worlds to Niflhel.

Review:
I have never felt so betrayed and lied to by booktok as by this book. This book had an interesting premise, but was full of clichés and insta-affection and love with a token virgin and honestly, I kept reading to see if it ever picked up and got better and it never really did. By chapter 27 Emma decides to “stretch and exercise”, going on about how she’d trained that previously with her mom despite having done nothing to indicate this ever throughout the novel previously. A lot of things seemed to gratuitously disappear or reappear, such as her “nightmares” which were never truly explained and just disappeared off. The use of a lifemate, and one soul being ripped in two and needing to find it’s match was a neat idea but ended up with instant love and weird magic issues that made no sense. As for the spicy scenes, there sure are a lot of them, and for being a virgin she sure seems able to go a multitude of times and never any mention of being sore etc. A very peculiar and weird tale. I did like some of the background characters and would have enjoyed hearing more about them, but overall would like to wipe this from my memory and pretend I never heard of it. This book is not on kindle unlimited, so I did buy a copy, but honestly… just… skip this one.

Star rating: ✯✯

Review of Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

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Synopsis:
Andromeda is a debtera—an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. She would be hired, that is, if her mentor hadn’t thrown her out before she could earn her license. Now her only hope of steady work is to find a Patron—a rich, well-connected individual who will vouch for her abilities.

When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rorschach reaches out to hire her, she takes the job without question. Never mind that he’s rude and demanding and eccentric, that the contract comes with a number of outlandish rules… and that almost a dozen debtera had quit before her. If Andromeda wants to earn a living, she has no choice.

But she quickly realizes this is a job like no other, with horrifying manifestations at every turn, and that Magnus is hiding far more than she has been trained for. Death is the most likely outcome if she stays, the reason every debtera before her quit. But leaving Magnus to live out his curse alone isn’t an option because—heaven help her—she’s fallen for him.

Review:
This book was absolutely amazing! I was drawn in from the very beginning and couldn’t put it down and get enough. It was very much a gothic tale, and I loved the debtera angle. The layers within the story were awesome; I absolutely love Jember and Andromeda’s relationship because sometimes relationships aren’t always clean and pretty. I didn’t quite love Magnus. While he is quirky there was no real relationship development between Andromeda and Magnus, despite there being multiple times where shared trauma is eluded to, it is never spoken of at length/depth between them. I also quite enjoyed that this was about two different ethnicities and set in the desert- a unique setting and character/class set up.

While this is mentioned as a Jane Eyre retelling I very much liked that there are only very loose resemblances to the novel. While I did think this book was amazing and I couldn’t put it down, I did feel that the very ending was a bit flat and would have liked it to have more pomp and definition of what life looked like at the end, how things were settled between characters. That being said, this is great and you should definitely read it!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of The Book of G by Lily Archer

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Synopsis:
Villains don’t get happily ever afters, do they?

I have a glorious past full of achievement and renown. I mean, I feel like I must, right? The problem is, I can’t remember it. I can’t even remember my own name. I was found in a river, body mangled and face scarred, with nothing to identify me besides a single embroidered letter.

My memory is a murky blur, but I have a quest, one that will give me back everything I’ve lost. The voice in the water told me so. But the voice seemed to miss a few important highlights—namely the woman who challenges me at every twist and turn of my journey. The woman who tells me I’m a villain. The woman who becomes every fervent whisper of my heart, and every last thought in my head.

If I can complete my quest and recover what I’ve lost, she’ll see we’re meant to be. But villains don’t get happily ever afters, do they?

Lily’s Note: Sometimes falling from a great height can lead to a whole new life. This is a full-length standalone fantasy romance. Let your imagination run wild about who G is and just how wide his evil streak can be (hint: massive.)

Review:
Holy. Crap. I knew I liked morally grey, and enemies to lovers can be amazing, but this Beauty and the Beast retelling is one I never expected to find, and a “villain” I never thought I’d love and resonate with. While I did know who G was from the start, I absolutely fell headfirst into this story and was held captive. I didn’t want to put it down! The writing is concise, the world building on point. The spice was incredible and a 5/5 on that alone. There was never a point where I thought I had the ending figured out, and there were still surprises up to the very epilogue. In taking away G’s past, we’re left seeing why he might think of things the way he did: nature vs. nurture, as well as a general lack of education beyond being a manly man. I absolutely love that while he did grow as a person his quirks and flaws remained the same and became understood and almost endearing. The banter and tension in this book is absolutely perfect. All that being said, this book was amazing and I quite loved it, and strongly recommend it if you like: morally grey, enemies to lovers, Beauty and the Beast retellings, and a whole lot of spice.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Castle of Dusk and Shadows by Rachel L. Schade

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Synopsis:
She’ll do anything to save her family—even marry a fae and face the dead.

Years ago, Elle Blackford’s parents made a desperate deal with the fae kingdom of Ashwood. While her mother and sisters reconciled themselves to a future among dangerous immortals, Elle and her father studied forbidden magic, hoping to find a loophole.

Until Elle’s father dies, forcing Elle’s sister to marry Prince Fitz, heir of Ashwood.

But Elle has a plan to change their fate. For she knows that ghosts wander Ashwood Forest until the royal family sends them into the afterlife. Ghosts that can be returned to life. And she’s determined to save her father from his premature death.

All she needs is powerful magic—magic Prince Fitz possesses.

Taking her sister’s place, Elle marries Prince Fitz to steal his power. But in a world of bloodthirsty fae and vengeful ghosts, being a mortal comes with constant risks. As Elle navigates a kingdom of monsters and tragic secrets, she realizes she might not survive to save her family.

And the key to her salvation might be her arrogant, cold husband—the one she’d planned to rob and abandon. If only she can trust him.


Pride and Prejudice meets Gothic fae fantasy in this loose retelling, full of plenty of romantic tension (not spice).

Review:
When you make bold claims that your novel is similar to Pride and Prejudice you better have the ability to back that up. Unfortunately, this book has a plot that loosely resembles some of Pride and Prejudice, but the order is wrong. While enemies to lovers is a great trope, Elle, despite being intelligent, spends so much time hating her husband, then learning about him, but is easily swayed to believe the worst despite knowing Fitz better than what she’s led to believe. In the counterpart, when Lizzy believes Darcy to be capable of horrible things via what she’s been told by Wickham, she didn’t know Darcy at all.

The storybuilding of fae magic is great, as is the idea of someone having to let ghosts pass on and having a glade of souls. The mystery was interesting, with enough hints given along the way for a reasonable person to have an inkling what is going on, just to have that idea dashed by clashing information, despite your heart KNOWING you weren’t wrong the first time. The characters were mostly well developed and had you rooting for their happily ever after. While there is some spice, it isn’t over the top; nothing above kissing.

Overall, a cute, quick read, but The House Witch was a tough act to follow.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of The House Witch 3 by Delemhach

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Synopsis:
House witch Finlay Ashowan is pulled out of the kitchen—and into the fire—as war, family, and love collide in the third book of this fantasy romance series.

Having somehow convinced Lady Annika Jenoure to marry him, all Finlay Ashowan wants to do is settle down, cook some good meals, and enjoy a quiet life in Daxaria. But fate has different plans.

Fin’s father, Aidan Helmer, fire witch and servant of King Matthias of Troivack, has arrived in the kingdom with devastating news: Annika’s brother Charles has been taken prisoner, and the only way his life will be spared is if Annika or Fin goes to plead his case. Given that an attack from Troivack is imminent, there’s no way some trickery isn’t involved in this plot.

Now it’s up to Fin, with the help of his family, friends, and wily kitten familiar, Kraken, to attempt a daring mission of rescue and espionage. But he’ll need to move quickly—because if he can’t find a way to fend off his father and keep Daxaria safe, all his dreams might go up in flames.

With twists and turns around every corner, The House Witch 3 brilliantly concludes this irresistible trilogy, replete with romance, magic, courtly intrigue, mystery, and humor.

Review:
Despite some sad parts, I would say that this book was an absolutely phenomenal end of Finlay’s adventures. Kraken shows that, just like Annika and Finlay, opposites can attract. His tenacity and ingenuity always leave one laughing and amused, though also thoroughly impressed. I absolutely adored seeing everyone come into themselves and realize that you don’t have to compromise yourself or your morals to be the best you can be. I also 100% love seeing Annika through this book, and the reminder that she is a very capable person, but that sometimes even hyper capable people end up being softened.

I love this series so much, and I cannot wait for the next two series, Princess of Potential and The Burning Witch. You can even join Delemhach’s Discord server.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of The House Witch 2 by Delemhach

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Synopsis:
House witch Finlay Ashowan must contend with matters of the heart, hearth, family, and kingdom in the second book of a whimsical and winning fantasy series.

As a wielder of domestic magic, Finlay Ashowan likes to keep his affairs as neat and orderly as his kitchen. But between his work for the King and Queen of Daxaria and a new (secret) relationship with Lady Annika Jenoure, his life is anything but tidy.

For one thing, if Annika and Fin are to continue their romance, they’ll need to sort out the pesky issue of Fin’s being a commoner—before Annika is forced into a political marriage that interferes with her own carefully laid plans.

For another, pressure is mounting as the war with Troivack draws ever closer. When Fin requests time away from the castle to rest, the King agrees but under a very particular condition: Fin must brave the streets of Austice as a spy, sleuthing out the plans of the Troivackian troops allegedly hidden there.

Further complicating things, Fin’s estranged father is on his way to Daxaria, an unexpected and unappreciated arrival that’s bound to wreak even more havoc in his son’s life.

As Fin forges new friendships and alliances—magical and non-magical alike—he becomes even more enmeshed in courtly intrigues, old feuds, and very personal problems. And the more he tries to clean up the various messes in his life, the more apparent it becomes that his troubles are only just beginning . . .

Review:
This book was absolutely everything I didn’t know I wanted and needed in a continuation of Fin’s story. Fin seems to get himself into quite a lot of trouble while managing to also work his way into good graces and freedom in most cases. The story is quite intriguing, and Fin just feels a bit like home. I believe most people can relate to him and would love this portion of his story because the journey was very much about what he can do and believe himself capable of outside of merely being a witch and having magical powers. Everyone goes through imposter syndrome at some point in life, and it’s good to see that when you learn to trust in yourself, things may work out better than you had dreamt.

A few quotes I absolutely adored regarding home and Fin are, “You found your own reason and strength to go after your fate. You didn’t let others push it upon you, or let it be taken away.” (Chapter 6, page 48) As well as Fin’s own thought that, “A true home gives people hope.” (Chapter 17, page 133) Of course, we cannot forget his quip that “Anything a mage can do, a witch can do better.”

At the time of posting this review I had already finished this book as well as the conclusion of the trilogy. I cannot wait to get both reviews out so I can get the next book by Delemhach, The Princess of Potential, but unfortunately it isn’t out until June 27th!!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of The House Witch by Delemhach

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Synopsis:

A heartwarming and humorous blend of fantasy, romance, and mystery featuring a witch with domestic powers and the royal household he serves . . . dinner.

When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he’s an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He’s satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals.

But Fin’s secret identity doesn’t stay hidden for long. After all, it’s not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs. As his powers are gradually discovered by the court, Fin finds himself involved in a slew of intrigues: going head-to-head with knights with less-than-chivalrous intentions, helping to protect the pregnant queen, fending off the ire of the royal mage, and uncovering a spy in the castle. And that’s only the beginning—because Fin’s past is catching up with him just as his love life is getting complicated . . .

Filled with fascinating characters, courtly intrigue, political machinations, delicious cuisines, cuddly companions, magical hijinks, and will-they-won’t-they romance, The House Witch is the first in a captivating new series, guaranteed to satisfy the tastes of any reader.

The first volume of the hit romantic-fantasy series—with more than a million views on Royal Road—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!

Review:
This book pick was a luck of numbers, where I asked my husband to pick a number and the number he picked was the one for this novel!

Fin is everything we didn’t realize we need in a character. He’s absolutely perfect, and from the beginning his distinct personality had me chortling. Fin is both sarcastic and incredibly defensive over the people he cares about. While he might be slow to open up, given his unique abilities, he finds himself making friends where he least expects it when they realize he just wants everyone to be respectful and caring. This book is cozy and wholesome; a story where people realize they are more than just what they appear to be on the outside and that everyone has the potential to greatness.

I absolutely adore the way the magic system in this world works. Magical people have an affinity, but how strong and capable they are also depends on their own feelings towards themselves and their powers. I also quite love the hidden sides to all the characters we meet and get involved with along the way; you never know what people may be hiding. There was one blaring error throughout this novel, however, in that Finlay’s mother’s name changes from Katherine to Katelyn from the beginning to the end of the novel. It does stay consistently Katelyn from chapter 46 on, but I do wish the author had gone back and changed the name in the beginning. A great quote from Katelyn during this book is: “The Goddess talks to you about what you alone can do.”

At the time of writing this novel I am already the majority of the way done with book 2. I highly recommend this book for a nice cozy humourous fantasy with a hint of romance and a little mystery.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

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Synopsis:
From bestselling author Scarlett St. Clair comes a dark and enthralling reimagining of the Hades and Persephone Greek myth.

“Let me worship you,” he said.

She remembered the words she had whispered to him in the back of the limo after La Rose. “You will worship me, and I won’t even have to order you.” His request felt sinful and devious, and she reveled in it.

She answered, “Yes.”

Persephone is the Goddess of Spring in title only. Since she was a little girl, flowers have only shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hoped to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist. All of that changes when she sits down in a forbidden nightclub to play a hand of cards with a hypnotic and mysterious stranger.

Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible. But nothing has ever intrigued him as much as the goddess offering him a bargain he can’t resist.

After her encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead, and his terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever. The bet does more than expose Persephone’s failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows—a love that is both captivating and forbidden.

Review:
I’m not quite sure why everyone is enamored with this book. I found it somewhat lackluster in development. While one may argue that the characters grow during the novel, it is almost a secondary thought to how their instant connection and love match can continue. So many parts of this novel hinge on how naive and too trusting Persephone is and instead of organically allowing her to grow it seems as if she chooses to only accept Hades at his word/face value in matters of the flesh and not those of morals. While there are plenty of Greek Mythology based persona within the novel, in many cases it seemed as if the name was used without the connections for which they were so widely revered and known. Hades is the one God who appears to be better in reality than how they are portrayed. While there are plenty of steamy scenes, any sort of true love story is overshadowed by how physicality becomes the main connection between Hades and Persephone, especially when they mention not even knowing anything about what the other likes to do for hobbies, when they had been allegedly spending time together for around 5 months.

All in all, it’s a retelling, sure, but if you’re looking for something that hits more of the classic misunderstood but not just in need of an instant connection stories, I’d recommend Meg Cabot’s Abandon.

Star rating: ✯✯✯