Waiting on Wednesday: Heir of Storms

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that originated at Breaking the Spine but has now linked up with Waiting for Wednesday at Wishful Endings. It is always a fun chance to display books that are going to be joining our bookshelves very soon in 2025!

Thanks to Puffin and Net Gallery for this e-ARC
Pub: **5 Jun 2025**
Age Category: YA
Genre: fantasy, elemental magic

Heir of Storms by Lauryn Murray

14+

This book just felt like a nostalgic fantasy read in the beginning but it evolved into so much more really altering a few genre expectations in a way I loved. The world is very reminiscent of a traditional fantasy world with a five elemental system but we also got lots of little worldbuilding details about the kingdoms interaction with the Otherlands. I really liked the way we were rapidly drawn into the action with centuries of tradition behind it that is driving all the characters. I honestly would love to have another book that covered previous trials of the Council because this idea of competing for crowns and the Heirs being from the same families just ups the tension and excitement of the trials.

Blaze already being such a notorious figure in the world having created a huge empire wide storm at her birth was a nice change from people just learning about their power (we do get good power development tho which I always like).

It was a really good book and I cant wait for the sequel!

World – 5/5 – I loved the world, it was quite a traditional world and magic system but the way it was presented was amazing and I really enjoyed that.

Plot – 4/5 – we had the trials, we had Blaze’s growth and power and we had all the other subplots that wove together very nicely. I enjoyed it and it moves quickly so there is always something new on the next page.

Romance – 3.5/5 – Suggestive Romance – it is a romantasy but I feel like the romance hadn’t quite stabilised or developed yet for me to truly decide if I like the love interest so this rating will likely go up after reading the sequel. In some places I thought the romance went a little darker than I usually like – the love interest did lean a little bit more towards violence – but it isn’t enough to raise the rating or add a B. There was a twist on the usual romance trope triangle which I loved but wont give any more spoilers on!

Characters – 4/5 – we had all the good elements in the characters, I really liked Flint, his confidence in his own abilities highlighted just how society really supports and uplifts people born with the expected power but people like Blaze who are given a power that isn’t supposed to exist are feared.

Things to be aware of: Fantasy violence (I would say quite low, maybe 2/5), slavery that is just excepted by everyone in the world as the norm. There are a few spots where the romantasy comes through stronger and we have a few kissing scenes if you mind that.

January 30, 2025 1

Waiting on Wednesday: Nightweaver

Thanks to NetGallery and Puffin for this e-ARC read!
Pub Date – **6^th of March 2025**
Age Category – YA
Genre: Romantasy, Pirate

Nightweaver by RM Gray

14+B

I just love the world!

The world in this is just gorgeous, layered on top of each other with so many different details and layers that it somehow feels like a pirate adventure, a regency demon hunting romance and yet a vivid fantasy world in its own right! Every location in this world has a vivid crispness and distinctness which I really enjoyed from the delicate magical feel of the manor conservatory to the rough decks of the Lightbringer ship at the beginning.

The story moves rapidly but the characters mindset is quite stagnant during the early few chapters. I actually enjoyed her resistance to the plot, it counterbalanced the ease of the elite with the situation and the flexibility of her family and really made it feel more realistic. Aster has been raised as a pirate for seventeen years and the abrupt change to household servant is one she resists but goes along with because of loyalty to her family. I really enjoyed how she still missed the sea despite the hardness of life there and her surprise in seeing a horse for the first time may be my favourite moment of the whole book!

The premise of the magic system is something we discover alongside Aster, but also as she unwinds and works through prejudices and perspectives she has been taught that have been instantly skewed by her own experiences on land. The Nightweavers (powerful elementals who rule the land) are something she has been taught to fear and they most certainly have the power to be feared. There are four different types of elementals but they are not the standard fire water earth and air, they really delve deeper than the element, controlling more that is connected to their ability. This level of depth to the reach of elemental abilities is rarely explored and I just loved it!

World – 100000/5 – just loved it, I’ve gushed enough about it but it really is the stand out thing for this book!

Romance – 4/5 – Soft Romance – very romantasy, all the elements are there!

Characters – 5/5 – I really loved the supporting characters, the depth they had to their reactions and how it connected to their experiences. The main character Aster felt realistic and pirateish while maintaining a revenge driven plot which I always find interesting to read. Lewis her brother is just such a great character, and I love her sister Margaret as well – make that her whole family I love. They are so distinct and yet tied together so strongly. And Henry is just the perfect brother I just – I cant wait for the sequel!

Plot – 4/5 – it worked well and I really enjoyed it! It was fast paced at the beginning and then medium at others which meant I could have action and detail as well as Aster’s interactions with her family outside of a battle.

Things to be aware of: blood, death, violence, (quite a lot of both and it is quite graphic in places). The last third really steps it up which I wasnt expecting – it is still YA but certainly earns that B so make sure that you are in an emotional state to read it because it is pretty dark. There is a part where it balances between SA and just incredibly violent so be aware of that.

January 29, 2025 1

Waiting on Wednesday: Meet Me at Midnight

Thanks to Net Gallery and Scholastic UK for this e-ARC read!

Pub Date – **Apr 10 2025**
Age Category – YA
Genre: **Romance**

Meet Me at Midnight by Brianna Bourne

13+

Beautiful – just beautiful.

I went into this expecting a fluffy dreamscape full of romance and while I got all of that I wanted I also got an amazing look into the dangers of erasing memory and also how difficult it is to truly see where your relationships went wrong. This book carried me through on a wave of constant enjoyment and it is definitely one I am going to be featuring for my April book club read.

The main character Aria is a joy to read, it is rare I have ever had such similar hobbies and likes as a character and I loved watching her growth throughout the book. Her struggles with her twin Cady who has swept her through life, making every decision for her naiive dreamer perspective of the word. However, her sister has gone into a coma and in this wake Aria has to unravel not only her feelings surrounding Cady but the boy who keeps turning up in her dreams and just may be more real than should be possible.

It had a slowly growing dystopian feel while keeping a really relevant feel – it felt like 2025 and whenever its set. It was a more subtle dystopian feel than most dystopian YA because it isn’t a full blown situationship after an collapse of society but it focuses on an invention that I can imagine a few hundred years later in a proper dystopian adventure and I really loved that.

World – 5/5 stars – it felt really realistic and warm (the best way I can describe it), the world, the dreamscapes and the entire world felt ethereal in places and then really acute at others.

Plot – 4/5 – I really enjoyed it, I cant say much more for spoilers but it was so good.

Characters – 10000/5 – they felt so nuanced especially Aria and Strat and their relationship (both previous and current) with each other. The supporting characters didn’t have as much detail but I felt that that was on purpose, the focus was Aria slowly removing the naive lense she had viewed the world through and acknowledging reality – both the good and bad bits.

Romance – 4/5 – Sweet Romance – I did like the romance, it had the feel of second chance while also maintaining the air of mystery of will their relationship survive the plot!

Things to be aware of: scientific mental manipulation

January 29, 2025 1

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the Broke and Bookish and now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl where bloggers are given a prompt that is usually a list of ten bookish things.

This weeks prompt was –

New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2024

Lauren Roberts – I just love Powerless so much and cant wait for Fearless to come out this year!

Jennifer Lynn Barnes – I cant believe it took me so long to read the Inheritance Games, its so good and I cant wait for my TBR to get down to the next book!

Holly Jackson – a good girls guide to murder had been on my list since forever and I finally read it in early January (but I bought it in December and read half of it in a friends copy a few months ago!)

Naomi Novik’s Scolomance series – she has written the Temeraire series which I had read but I feel like this is such a different series it counts! A Deadly Education definitely stands out among this years reads.

K M Shea – At the beginning of the year I went through a huge K M Shea phase, reading through all her Magiford series and several of her fairy tales (I’m planning on writing reviews of the Magiford series soon because they are amazing!).

Tara Grayce – she wrote the elven alliance (which has a part two series which is going to get its third book this year!) Also planning to write reviews of these for the series before the new book comes out!

Casey Blair – I read Coup of Tea for the first time in 2024 and loved it!

Amelie Zhao – Blood Heir was so good and I’m midway through Red Tigress now!

Emma St Clair – Royally (re) arranged was really good and I’ve read several more of her books since (she has done a series collab with Jenny Proctor if you are looking for sweet romances).

Happy Reading!

January 28, 2025 0

Succession: deep dive review

A deep dive into the world of the Castle by Jessica Day George and just how simple a name can be in worldbuilding.

It can be incredibly easy to take middle grade fantasy worldbuilding at a basic face value and not really decode and appreciate just how much depth it often has. Jessica Day George has written several series, two of which are in my top fifty all time reads. I can reread and reread and love and love them forever despite having left the target age back a few years ago.

In Tuesdays at the Castle, Celie’s father is Glower the Seventy-Ninth. We also get told that the name is inherited with the throne, not given at birth to denote the heir. Celie herself doesn’t know (or never on page says her fathers name) which just highlights how much the name Glower really covers up whom actually has taken the throne. The people of that kingdom if they lived further away might not even know that there had been a coup, a new king can just take over assume the name as all of the heirs do at their coronation and that’s that. There is no huge change of dynasty name, just a swap out of the person who takes on the name of Glower.

It means that the kingdom of Sleyne looks like they have had an incredibly stable reign of the same dynasty to foreign countries. They have had seventy-nine kings when the book starts which to the outside world all bear the same name. In the old world, and in fantasy, sharing a family name often shows whom is eldest, heir and offers a common link to tie people together. Think of people sharing a surname. If there is a King Tristan the III whom dies and his heir is called Tristan the IV then it lends the heir a legitimacy. It also ties the heir to the throne, being christened the royal name that will inherit means that there is no switching around of heirs (or at least if it is then it is a more visible situation).

We learn almost instantly that Celie’s father has already swapped around his heirs at the Castle’s desire. His oldest son Bran’s room had been filled with wizardry things and astrology, so Glower the Seventy-Ninth makes his second son Rolf heir and sends Bran of to the collage. This shows not just the power of the name being given at the coronation not christening but also of the Castle.

Glower makes a decision that will change the history books, and he does it because his Castle swaps around a few rooms. The Castle always selects its kings, and in fact we learn that Glower himself is only the tenth in his direct bloodline. The Kings barber was crowned as Glower the sixty-ninth, instead of the late kings heir. The Castle has almost complete control (at least in the beginning) over the kings ascension.

When (spoiler if you haven’t read the book) the Vhervhish prince Khelsh tries to take over, it is mentioned that he will be crowned after Rolf is assassinated during the ten year period of his regency. What will he be crowned as? Glower the Eighty-First.

Such a small detail, made to supplement the power of the Castle over its residents and its sentience. But such an important one.

January 26, 2025 0

Anti-Heroine vs Classic Heroine

Why are Anti Heroes so attractive?

So what is an Anti-Hero? When do they become the villain? Is doing the right thing for the wrong reasons a villains actions or a heroes?

I love a good anti hero. They are often more complex than the classic hero and their moral compass can differ depending on the situation. It makes an engaging read and in YA and adult it hopefully creates a character that we cant predict. A true anti-hero is someone who balances on the edge of good and evil. They have done evil things, but they in the end are a force for good – at least for now. Celaena Sardothien from a Throne of Glass immediately springs to mind.

Review here! https://damselindelightcom.wordpress.com/2023/12/31/throne-of-glass-by-sarah-j-maas/

She is a classic example of an anti hero. Frequently throughout the series she does ruthless and merciless things but the audience is still rooting for her! Through the novellas (which I really do recommend, they are an excellent starting point to dip your toe into the Throne of Glass world) we really grasp just how much of her childhood was spent forming her into an assassin not a balanced person. When she does choose to do the right thing, it sometimes isnt for the right reasons or not clearly defined ones. She does what she can with difficult circumstances and a flimsy moral compass and shows a fierce loyalty to anyone who does the same.

The Morally Grey Heroine – or the inbetween hero

It is also interesting and sometimes effective when the author balances on the line of an anti-hero. I feel like Ana from Blood Heir is approaching this sometimes.

Full Review Here!https://damselindelightcom.wordpress.com/2024/08/10/blood-heir-by-amelie-wen-zhao/

She is a classic hero, given a dangerous power that people around her fear and punish her for and working to survive and do her best in a world that is rapidly proving to be more complex than she ever imagined. Why I say she sometimes skirts the line is that she is fueled by revenge not justice. However despite this and the fact that her incredibly difficult abusive childhood would lead to the formation of an anti-hero archetype she does cling close to the good side of the world. She still keeps the classic hero character while wielding an ability and a past that leans towards the anti-hero side of things.

Classic Heroine

We’ve all met and loved this hero archetype. They are in so many different books in so many different iterations but they all share one clear thing. They are all clearly on the side of good. They have clear aims, or are at least working towards things they believe in doing. The Classic heroine doesnt have to be boring or predictable – they can still have huge character growth but they always represent the morality of the story and are good. The Classic heroine is someone like Elisa in Rae Carsons Fire and Thorns.

Are we also losing something that is a crucial element in storytelling?

By focusing on villain backstories and morally grey being romancifed and fantasy heroines evolving to balance on the edge of evil are we losing something key in storytelling?

One of the first fantasy series I really loved and reread over and over and over was Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Eragon the eponymous main character of the Inheritance Cycle is a very classic hero and I loved that. He still had complexities in his character, but the plot and world was so rich that the main conflict didn’t have to be in his character. Throughout the four book series he has his ups and downs character wise but I certainly didn’t worry he was going to abandon his duties and the right thing.

HOWEVER – (there is always a however) – We do have an anti-hero. Murtagh is a classic anti-hero. He has the dark past and has made mistakes, usually because his circumstances were so complex that the reader doesnt even know what they would do in that situation. Yet he does have a streak of good! We dont know when its going to appear or disappear or for how long, but he is a complex character. Paolini does explore complex characters incredibly well in general – the leader of the Urgals, Galbatorix and Murtagh all can be seen as villains, victims and freedom fighters all in different lights.

So I do think that anti-heroes are interesting and engaging but I also love the classic hero! Anti-heroes dont necessarily need to be the main character – I would like to put out the opinion that sometimes having a supporting character who is an anti-hero shows just how strong and stalwart the classic hero is for sticking close to their morals. Whether all heroes do end up sacrificing their morals and values and becoming closer in their mindset to the villain to be able to defeat them is another question entirely. One persons terrorist is another persons freedom fighter is a popular saying and I would like to bookify it – “One characters hero is another persons antagonist”. I may do another blog post on this in the future because it is a really interesting thing!

So what do you think? Are villain backstories that make all villains anti-heroes interesting? Do you prefer Anti-Heroes or the Classic Hero?

December 17, 2024 0

Equality and Power

Something I have really been thinking about lately is that a lot of YA (and adult) books market both romance interests as being equal just because they could kill each other. In a lot of very popular books, ones I have enjoyed myself, the power balance is supposedly equal between the fmc and the mmc because they could kill each other. No matter if this is unrealistic, often one of them has had an incredibly in depth amount of training and the other one is still dabbling their toes in their pool of power. That is one of the basics that I really enjoy in two of my favourite couples, Sam and Celaena from Throne of Glass, and Paedyn and Kai from Powerless (the later is complex tho with a few other factors like that he has a much higher social standing than her and more resources so its not equal, it just a step towards it)

However being able to kill each other and being equals both in the relationship and in power are very different things. If the fmc is young, has only just inherited her kingdom, is struggling with the grief of losing her parents/sibilings/mentor, has a war brewing on her borders, is insecure in her own grasp of her countries economic and millitary powers and does not have the support of the people and nobility then she is NOT equal to a secure king whom has been ruling for several years, is excepted and stable in his rule and knows the ins and outs of his kingdom. Of course, it is a little bit murkier than that in most books, especially as they tend to give the fmc a shedload of unpredictable power that somehow makes her the chosen one and often make the mmc the key to securing her kingdoms survival but the basics remain.

They are not equals if they do not share the same emotional and social support (often main characters can be quite alone in their stories without parents/mentors or even friends they can rely on. this means that they latch onto the love interest as the only person they can trust, but they often cant quite trust them because plot reasons. By social support I mean social standing, the prince/princess falls in love with the commoner story is very very common in its different iterations, but is that a balanced and equal relationship if one has the power to completely destroy the others life/family if they dont do what they want?

They are not equals if she relies on him for something – in the book i am reading now she literally relies on him to prove her innocent otherwise she will hang! This does not make an equal power dynamic and for the rest of the relationship there is always going to be the thing is she only staying with him because of some kind of unspoken expectations?

I am so tired of reading books where the characters are constantly described as being eachothers equals, but in reality one (to be honest usually the mmc but I have read it the other way around and it is equally toxic) is incredibly more powerful than the other one in social standing or money or power or just experience. It is one of the reasons I always steer clear of any books marketed as boss/employee or age gap because that is the most obvious power inequality in the fiction world. Its not just in strict Romance too, in fantasy romance and in paranormal romance and in genres that dont even have romance as a big thing in it! At some point in practically every YA book I have read they end up in an unequal power dymanic.

Lets take a genre – paranormal. I admit I havent read many truly exceptional books in paranormal yet because I have only just started reading it so any recs would be great! But back to the genre. Vampires/werewolves/fae are a complex and interesting (and usually) immortal races but some how they so often end up dating the young school or college aged girl. This is a classic example of how power dynamics can be skewed towards one of the characters almost as a genre defining milestone. But it doesnt have to be why cant vampires date other vampires? or other immortals? why has this power dynamic become such a staple of the genre when it isnt even really want the genre is.

Sometimes I even really like the couple! sometimes i am rooting for them to get together! When the book is so strong in other areas it can be overlooked I do but it is still there.

Secrets – especially identity secrets – also can end up really mismatching the power dynamic of a couple. If the reader knows that one of the characters did something that is completely unforgivable to the morals of their love interest, or that their secret is going to make them view them completely differently then it is really hard not just to hate that trope. Secrets/miscommunication can be so so good if got right, really interesting points in relationships when they open up (and I am talking platonic relationships too) or highlight a stress area that is always going to be between the characters then its perfect! it works so well and gives their relationship weight and complexity. But if it tips over into one character is keeping a secret which gives them huge power over the other then that is really not equality.

The thing about reading a novel book is that no book (at least that I have read) has completely no problems. They all have small things, and I can pass over those, usually little things here and there don’t bother me. But the power inequality between especially romantic interests has been driving me up the wall lately because it is just so rampant. I have to say that is what I enjoy in middle grade and books that arent based on romance and it only comes in much much later.

December 2, 2024 0

Romance Rating Guide

Hi and welcome! Most of the Damsel recommendations are non/low spice but the romances maturity does fluctuate and evolve over the ratings, so here is a quick guide to what you can expect from a book that has a tag including the word “romance”.

At the bottom of this page¹ is also my new addition of specific romance heat levels which come in for later reads.

10+ – doubt its present unless its a book that is mostly aimed at older ones but is also suitable in which case it will say in the review

10+ B – same as above

11+ – tiny tiny little amounts less than 0.5/5

11+B – usually this is if romance gets introduced later in the series (for example Anne of Green Gables is completely suitable throughout all seven books but there is a little romance in it)

12+ -tiny amounts of romance, hardly mentionable and rather insignificant over the plot of the book. These are likely to be sweet crushes or a slight blush and maybe a kiss.

12+B – a little more romance may be in the book, but in the end the B is focused on more the thematic content at a 12B than the romance. There may be a kiss or two if you look at the individual review, but in the end, romance wise the B doesnt matter much.

13+ – The romance gauge jumps up on a 13+. These are going to be developing relationships or established ones, and the romance will be slightly stronger and likely more influential in the plot. Kisses and hugs between love interests is to be expected unless stated otherwise.

13+B – If you are being careful about what romantic content is in your books, this is just going to be the bridge between a 13+ and a 14+. It is likely to be given a B for violence, so just check the individual review if you want to know more. Romance here may have a fade to black but usually with low heat!

14+ – By a 14+ we as the reader should expect the romance if present to be stronger and more mature. Kisses, hugging and sleeping next to each other should be expected. Around a 14+, the romances tend to get a little bit more complicated, and this is usually where an ‘enemies to lovers’ mentality will be introduced, if at all.

14+B – not much different from a 14 romance- wise, a few sexual inncendos may raise this or a love triangle if that is ever present in one of my reviews. Can have a Swoony A scene or a fade to black!

15+ – by a 15+ we are dealing with a romantic relationship that may directly mention sex, and even have it on page. Swoony A and B! Kisses and cuddling will be usually frequent.

15+B – same as any other B’s this just suggests a higher level of one or another of the content warnings/themes explored.

16+ – specifics in the review content warnings will always be present for any romantic/sexual things present. Usually, this is a step up from 15, containing content that is more sexually explicit and most Swoony C’s fall here purely for sexual content.

16+B – B’s are given for primarily violence in the lower age categories but these will be given now for sexual content more than previously.

17+ – another step up, this is where I will start adding in books classified as NA but there will always be a warning if they contain extreme graphic violence or sexual content.

17+B – check the content warnings, but it is practically Adult by this point.

Adult – by 18+ then the expectation that there will be sexual content that is higher than other recommendations, if you check the individual review it may be Adult just for content but also open door scenes are to be expected unless the individual review doesn’t say.

However, it is important to remember that there is more than just the romance that goes into my ratings of the books, and on some reviews they would be a 12 for romance but a 14 for violence and themes. It all depends, but my ratings are based on thematic subjects of the book, language, the platonic relationships (this may sound odd, but some YA novels deal with very acute betrayal and toxicity in platonic relationships so this is a consideration) and current/non current societal issues (slavery, racism, homophobia, sexism etc) as well as romantic relationships.

NA:– nothing is really present, it isn’t the focus or a subplot.

Soft: perhaps a closed mouth kiss or two, no detail.

Sweet: Kissing, cuddling, clothes on, mild innuendo.

Suggestive: The flirtation becomes more physical — making out, caresses, breathlessness, mostly clothed but doesn’t take it any further on the page, discussions of sex/sleeping with each other, can have some strong innuendo.

Smokey: Closed Door/Fade to Black: This can float between or slightly above Sweet and Suggestive but we don’t get any details beyond making out.

Swoony: This will have some sex on the page but it is going to be less than a paragraph – not some graphic sex scene. More and more YA seems to be having open door scenes now and sometimes the books are still ones I will recommend but I will definitely mention that they contain this content as always. By ‘low’ spice I mean it’s not going to be some detailed graphic scene and it will focus more on the emotional impact it has on the characters.

I am going to have Swoony A, B, C. A is less than a paragraph and euphemistic, B is less than a page with no graphic description at all, C is rarely used but means scenes of more than one page, with more explicit language and on page sex.

I am going to go back to my old reviews and add these in as much as I can but from now in the Romance star section I will include these so you can find exactly what you are looking for!

I will add these in addition to age ratings so you always know what you are going to be reading!

June 8, 2024 1

Guide to the Damsel rating system

As you all know I make sure to put age ratings and why I have rated them a 12 or a 15 or a B as well as my favourite things about the books and the characters on ALL my reviews, but I thought i would define what I call YA and what my age ratings mean on Damsel in Delight.

YA means young adults and through this can be stretched to cover anywhere from nine year olds to twenty somethings, I focus on the middle around 12- 18 and will report back on books accordingly. Everyone’s reading levels and comfort levels with different topics are completely different, of course, and it is immensely difficult to pin down exactly WHEN you should read books on your tbr, but in the end I am just offering the information so you can decide what you would be comfortable reading.

So my age ratings and what they mean:

10+ – These are books that are about 1/5 on violence and hardly ever have any romance. My reviews mention things to keep in mind when you are choosing to read them so just check those out.

10+B – Might have a little bit more violence or a few darker themes

11+ – Pretty much the same as a twelve ¹ but essentially its just what age group I think would enjoy that book the most!

11+B – Honestly down in the lower categories the B doesnt really up the violence/themes/topics and I wont use it often.

12+ – these are books that are about 1.5/5 on violence, and 1/5 on romance. The exact amounts differ, but there is no truly out there content that would not be suitable for most 12-year-olds. The main themes that absolutely will NOT be in twelves include SA and self-harm as well as tropes that can be morally questionable like assassins being portrayed as heroes or arranged political marriages (even through i love them in some of my older reads, i feel like in a 12 they often are a little too much for especially younger readers )

12+B – These are essentially the 12’s with more violence. Still very little romance, but that might go up to a 1.5 depending on the book (that will be in the specific review). The violence will usually be strictly fantasy violence, and nothing too graphic for most readers, however these 12’s may be a little older than some readers are looking for.

13+ – This is where some of the more complex decisions come in. 13+ on some websites can have some incredibly mature and dark themes, which I adore when I read them portrayed well, but i think its important to read them when you would enjoy them more, and perhaps understand them more than get scared or put off by them earlier. My 13+ does have more violence in general than my 12+B’s, about a 2 or 3 out of 5, but most of them are not too graphic. The romance/sexual context in my 13+ recommendations is slightly higher, but there will be NO smut (non of the books i recommend have anything other than clean romance – look at my other blog post for my definition of that and how they correspond to the age ratings!) and in general will not progress much further than a few kisses.

13+B – this is very similar to a 13+ but is for the books between a 13+ and a 14+. I would usually say that these books will have a 4/5 of violence but the romantic content will be at a 3/5 and a few more complex themes may come in.

14+ – my 14+ do raise the bar from the 13s as they will consider darker topics and tropes/themes. The violence here will rise to a 4/5 for violence, but the romance in each book will vary, however they will remain AT OR BELOW a 4/5 and of course will be clean (see my other blog post for this exact definition). These is the age rating that I start introducing some more mature themes/topics including mentions of prostitution/sex/extreme drunkard behaviour. These will of course have trigger warnings of the individual reviews themselves as 14+s could be solely for violence as well.

14+B – These 14+Bs start drifting towards the significantly older category, but the violence and romance will remain the same, it will just be the darkness of the setting and world that will bump these up to a B. Darker worlds that have very in depth wars or brutal traditions or other themes that I feel justify a B just to let the reader know. (As a side-note, most dystopian books will float between a plain 14+ and that all important B because while they do have some similar topics to fantasy, they are the fictions satire and so are sometimes disturbingly close to reality)

15+ – These are books that can approach a 5/5 on the violence scale and will have a 4.5/5 romance level usually – usually still clean! – but will ultimately be books that look at some of the topics of 14+ and 14+B in a greater depth, and expand them. There may, depending on the book, be mentions of toxic relationships but i will give warnings for those, and off the page SA.

15+B – This is mainly going to be for violent sexual content like SA and harassment which does come in to older YA reads.

16+ – a definite step up from a 15+ this will contain more betrayal/backstabbing and darkness than earlier ratings as well as more sexual content (check individual content warnings).

16+B – B’s are usually for violence, sexual or otherwise.

17+ – this is almost adult so it does contain more graphic depictions of violence etc.

17+B – B’s for sexual content and violence.

Adult – by this point very mature themes are being explored and if you are on the younger end of adult I would definitely encourage a good read of the content warnings.

Some books are really hard to fit into these categories – eg the First Test by Tamora Pierce, i absolutely adore it and read it when i was about 12, but there is a lot of overt sexism towards the main character that may be too much for some readers, which is why I have bumped it up a rating to a 12+B just to be safe.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Different books in the series may have different age ratings, especially as the plot/romances/threat develops, so just make sure that you make sure that the further books in the series are also what you are comfortable with.

On a side note – my book ratings do not collaborate with movie ratings, movie twelves certainly have a LOT more in them violence wise than I would have in a book rec so if you are comfortable reading a little bit more violence or darker themes then have a look at some of the B reviews or go up a category, plenty of these books can be read earlier or later depending on your comfort level!

June 8, 2024 0