Hi! Hello friends, thanks for coming back!
My life was turned upside down for most of Feburary due to flooding in my house and no real access to TV, but this actually ended up being a good thing for me. I started reading, and I got through more than I have in a long time, and accepted that I need to read differently due to my ADHD. I read fastest when I listen to audiobooks, and this is a big part of it. I finished 2 series and started several more!
Most of my life has been caring for others and preparing for a licensure test in May. I let myself read a ton in March, but I will slow down the rate of book completion in April. Life is slowing down to focus, because I went into a career that has one really difficult licensure test, the toughest in the masters-level of counseling. I took it once already, and I didn't pass, but I have a better idea of what the test will be like it when I retake it.
Also, the kitties are settling in and we are family now! I love them and they are my babies, officially. It's so nice to have cats around the house again, they bring so much life to it.
So, let's get down to the reading I did in March of 2025! As always, I do not link to high-corporate websites like B&N and Amazon, but I do link to an independent bookstore you can order the books from and get them shipped to you called Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee. I do not work for them, and I do not get any kind of money for linking to them or free books, but this to assist with keeping independent bookselling alive in our country. Every book I review is a book I have either purchased new, used, or in ebook form, or have borrowed from my local public library. Let's pay authors for all the labor they went through to write these books and don't pirate, please!
The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith.
I got to meet Sasha Peyton Smith when she visited Parnassus Books at a book signing in Nashville. I thought the cover was really pretty, but my first impression of the premise sounded really predictable. Think Bridgerton meets the Selection with fairies, but to my surprise, it was so much more than that! The characters were really fleshed out, my favorite of the supporting characters was Marion. The plot was really good and not predictable at all, but it made sense in the end. During the War of the Roses, the Fae Queen Mor made a deal with King Edward for him to win, but she would inherit the throne upon his death. So, she’s ruled for 400 years, and makes bargains with people, like if you want a perfect singing voice or a large plot of land, she might as for your fingernails or a toe. This year, there’s a contest for the prince’s hand in marriage, and the terms of the contest is all the girls who sign up have to agree to never marry if they are not chosen. I felt like the romance in it was great, it was a little bit spicy for a YA novel, but enjoyable. The ending was a cliffhanger, so the sequel will address it, which I am looking forward to.
Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy #1) by Lauren Roberts I got a ticket to see Lauren Roberts speak in person in April when the third book in the Powerless trilogy debuts, so I started the series on Audible. There’s two books already and one novella called Powerful, which I’m going to read next. Powerless is YA, but it reminded me a lot of the Hunger Games with magical abilities. The romance was very much a slow burn, but the ending was a cliffhanger as well, leading into the next book, Reckless, the second official novel in the series. The novel is set in the Kingdom of Ilya, a land where everyone has a magical ability, except the ordinaries. There’s the Elite Guard, the royal guards who server the King, and then there’s the mundane people who are just regular townsfolk. It’s criminal to be an ordinary, or someone who doesn’t have any abilities at all, per the king. All ordinaries had the opportunity to cross the Scorches, a desert, to leave Ilya. Our heroine, Paedyn, was born without abilities, but can fake one in particular and is a pickpocket and thief, since she’s homeless and an orphan. Our male lead is a morally grey antihero named Kai. He’s a hottie, but is supposed to be the Enforcer of the law the king set out, which is to go out and kill Ordinaries who are hiding. The king has an annual trial where he chooses 6 people to compete, like the Hunger Games.
While I got a little spoiled with Adult Romantasy novels, it kind of jaded me for this one. The romance is incredibly sweet, not spicy, but the male lead, Kai, the spare to the heir to the throne, is an antihero, which is very Edward Cullen-style. I didn’t write this review until I finished the second book in the series, and I had to give this book a break. It's for teens, not adults. While it's violent and graphic, we can't have a lot of spice. Also, Lauren Roberts was 18 when she finished the manuscript for Powerless, so I think that’s a big deal and really important. Eighteen-year-olds can write manuscripts that are worthy of publication in a traditional press, too, okay? I can see why teens and twenty-somethings would revel over the characters in this book for sure. Kai is pretty hot, I must admit.
I gave this book 4/5 stars, but I’m going to read the others and use my ticket.
The main character is Elowen Atareh, she’s the lost princess of the Kingdom of Imareth. She ran away a while back with the help of her uncle and she’s been underground and “missing” to the rest of the world, but she’s started her own kingdom in Aestellian, which she hands-on helped build herself with the townspeople. Elowen has a lot of trauma, but she’s still active in her community. She and her best friend Finnian spy on soldiers from Varaveth and she comes across the Commander of the guard, Cayden Veles, who is quite intriguing. Elowen was the only true heir to Imareth, and that’s because she can command the 5 dragons that she had to leave behind when she ran away.
I think the part of this book I liked the most was the friends she made in Imareth and the relationship with Cayden and Elowen. The dragons were really interesting, especially their psychology. It was pretty spicy, and the ending was a cliffhanger for me. I thought it was going to be predictable and corny, but it really wasn’t, it was exciting. I’d give this one 5/5 stars.
Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy #1) by Callie Hart This one was a little difficult for me, just due to my own history and what’s going on in my own life. Trigger warnings of child abuse, parental loss, parental abandonment, violence, gore, explicit open-door romance scenes, blood play, and war violence, if I’m remembering correctly.
The main character of Saeris Fane seems to think a lot of herself in the beginning, like she’s some kind of legend the 3rd ward. She steals some gold-plated armor, a guantlet, off a guard and tries to run away with it, only to get herself in a lot of trouble with the 1000 year old queen, Queen Madra, who is quite a ruthless leader. She gets transported from her desert world to the Fae world, and meets Kingfisher, the fae who saved her, and his sister, Everlayne. There are a lot of fun secondary characters in this, and Saeris is sentenced by the King to figure out how to work the Quicksilver as an alchemist, and Kingfisher and several other fae she befriends help her with learning how to use it along the way.
I think the aspect I enjoyed the most was the banter between the characters. I had a difficult time understanding how the Quicksilver worked, but it made sense in the end. While I felt like Saeris thought a lot of herself in the beginning, she’s wasn’t so annoying by the time she got to the Faelands. It picked up towards the end. 4/5 stars.
Unlock the Dark by Sasa Hawk. I got to see Sasa Hawk at Parnassus books a few weeks ago in Nashville, and she was very nice, I also met Erica Ivy Rodgers, who was great, too. Sasa actually has a degree in creative writing, and had some great advice. This YA fantasy stand-alone novel is her debut, and it really was a great example of an appropriate YA book for teens of all age and adult readers, too. The romance was sweet and the main character, Elia, was very family-oriented and faced with some difficult obstacles. The male lead was not the dark hero, the antihero, or a villain, he was a little more the one in distress. The trigger warnings I’d assign to it are fantasy violence and parental death, family separation, and religious abuse. Don’t worry, the religions are made up in this book, so it’s not picking on any particular religion in real life.
The opening chapter was amazing, no spoilers, but I loved it. I think it really set the tone for Elia through the whole book. The Male Lead was a little bit on the naive side, Prince Trystoferian, but I think a lot of the naivety came from him being a sheltered and protected Prince and scholar, he didn’t interact with the harshness of the real world very often. But one big lesson is you don’t always get what you think you want, and repairing your wrongs. The hero of this story is Elia.
I’d find this book appropriate for young teens as well as older teens. It’s very clean, there’s no spice in it. My favorite thing about this book was how much Elia grew and learned the challenges and sacrifices surrounding making agreements, which are great lessons and you don’t feel like the author is talking down to the reader. The magic was a little gross, but understandable. I think the hardest part of this book was watching what happened to Elia’s little brother Myron, as a warning. I’d really like Orin’s ability with the needle and thread, though! That would be my pick of a magical ability. 5/5 stars, I encourage you to go read it!
There’s a lot of really cool characters in this book, really neat magic, and really heroic acts. The male lead, Luc, is the captain of the Cardinal’s Guards and I think he’s really good deep down, but is super loyal to the cardinal, despite her being manipulative and power hungry, trying to stop the Prince from ascending to the throne. I got to meet Erica Ivy Rodgers at Parnassus books in Nashville when she co-hosted Sasa Hawk’s Unlock the Dark debut event. She was really nice and she’s been writing for a while, so she had some really good advice about it for me. I really enjoyed this one, so I’m giving it 5/5 stars for relatable characters that are likeable, and for Rene, of course!
Powerful: A Powerless Story (the Powerless Trilogy #1.5) by Lauren Roberts. This was a really good version of the grumpy/sunshine trope in YA romantasy. It’s very sweet, no spice, and the relationship is very innocent between the two characters. There’s Makato, or Mak, and Adena, who is Paedyn’s ride-or-die in the slums of Ilya. Mak is trying to get into the Palace to get to his cousin, Hera, who’s a mundane in the Trials. Mak’s backstory is sad and painful, and so is Adena’s, but Mak is the only one that let it affect him.
I liked the romance, and it was a nice story, but the ending was horribly sad, no spoilers. I knew how things ended because I had read Powerless. Irony is the names were so similar, when I asked to see if I could find Powerless in Hardcover at Parnassus, the associate grabbed another copy of Powerful. While the titles of the books are very thoughtful, I think it’s very confusing, too, unless you’ve actually read them. I suppose this one was PowerFUL because even their powers didn’t save them, while Powerless is more of a response to what it felt like to hide NOT having an ability. Overall, I’m giving this one 4/5 stars.
Reckless (the Powerless Trilogy #2) by Lauren Roberts So we pick up Reckless right as we left Paedyn and Kai after the Purging Trials. Paedyn is on the run and the King is sending Kai to track her down and bring her back to Ilya.
For the Wolf (Wilderwood #1) by Hannah Whitten. I read this book about two years ago but it look me like 4 months, which it not optimal for me. I need to read a book quickly so I don’t forget the small details that affect the ending, which if what I did with this one. The magic in this fantasy was very different and original. The two storylines start with Redarys, or Red, the younger twin, who has been destined to be given to the Wilderwood, which is basically a deadly, spooky forrest bordering her Kingdom, and her older twin, Neverah, or Neve, who is to take the throne. Red gets sent int the Wilderwood to the Wolf, and that’s where the stories diverge. Red is attacked by the Woods and she’s driven to the Black Keep, a sanctuary in the woods where the Wolf is, and he is not what you think. The prophesy says the Royal second daughters will be sent to the Woods every generation until they bring back the 5 Kings that made the pact with the wolf that they’d stay until the Shadowlands stopped invading the woods, but they never returned. It’s assumed Red died upon entering the woods, but there’s a sliver of hope she’ll come back with the 5 Kings.
I liked For the Wolf in how dark and mysterious is was. I wasn’t sure I this book was going was going to be like Red Riding Hood or Snow White and Rose Red, but it turned out, neither! That’s cool! It’s like Hannah Whitten wrote a new fairy tale. I found it feminist in that Red started to make her own choices, and wasn’t pressured to do what men wanted after she entered the Wilderwood. I love that Hannah Whitten is another local writer here in Middle Tennessee and probably got her inspiration from the local rural areas. Being a native to the area, I can say that the woods in Tennessee can be spooky quite often. There’s a lot of Appalachian folklore that drifted west to Middle Tennessee about spirits in the woods, which is fascinating. The morbid part of me likes to learn about those.
I give this book 5/5 stars for the world-building, the characters, and the original plot.
For the Throne (Wilderwood #2) by Hannah Whitten. I’m glad I reread the first book in the series so the detail were fresher in my mind than the first time I tried to read it and it took me forever. Only problem is, this book was just not for me. I hate saying this. I’m not a petty person, so I’m just going to say that I struggled with Neve’s portions of the book. I didn’t understand the magic system, and why it did what it did, that may be why it didn’t feel right for me. Maybe I need to reread it, that might help, but I’m going to take a break from it for a while, and then reread. I don’t think it was a bad book, just one that I didn’t connect with.
3/5 stars
Lights Out (Into Darkness #1) by Navessa Allen. Sometimes, after a tough read, you just need a book that’s a mental reset. This book was just that for me. It was an exciting, smutty romp that was funny too, it's listed as a dark Rom-Com. I got through this book quickly, and I am definitely reading the sequel, Caught Up, when it comes out in June. Lots of trigger warnings, though, not for the kids. In the open pages, she lists an entire page of Trigger Warnings. I guess me feeling like this was reset for myself basically means I've heard it all (I mean, I'm a therapist in my muggle job, I've heard some messed up stuff).
Lights Out was a TikTok idea by Navessa Allen that took off when she began writing it. It does cover a lot of kink, but it starts with a nurse named Aly who works at a hospital in the bad area of town, and the way she relaxes is watching thirst-trap videos of masked men on what’s presumed to be TikTok, and one in particular, the Faceless Man, takes an interest in her. She doesn’t know who he is, but he begins to show up in her life. His name is Josh, and he’s got a traumatic backstory of his own. It’s told from two points of view, and it’s fun. Maybe not the most realistic story ever, but sometimes, I need that to clear my mind and get my mind off of heavier subjects in the real world. It's extremely spicy, but duh, didn't you expect that?
I gave this one a 5/5 stars for being so fun and having a satisfying ending, but I do heavily encourage you to consider all of the Trigger Warnings that preface the manuscript and consider them.
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