The Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

16+

Wow!

While I don’t read Adult fantasy usually (especially because of the sexual content) I did enjoy this one and picked it up because I had checked it didn’t have a lot of open door scenes.

The complicated politics and morals of the main characters was really interesting especially as Kel (the sword catcher) refused to adknowledge that he was essentially a slave to die for the prince. This idea of a child being chosen from an orphanage and sent to essentially make friends with a prince so he can die for him is stunningly executed. Kel himself is so interesting because he almost sees himself as one of them, until later on he doesn’t even realise that people don’t see him as him, they see him as his persona of the princes cousin. He has been raised as a noble – but never as one of them. He exists in their society as a shadow of Conor, the prince, and even when he interacts with ‘their’ friends, they are Conor’s friends and it is always in defence or to aid Conor.

Conor himself who is the other end of this Sword Catcher relationship is so interesting because he is cruel and thoughtless and for a lot of the book drunk but his actions have such huge ramifications that he is completely unaware of. He has Kel’s complete loyalty because Kel loves him like a brother and hasn’t realised yet that the boy prince he knew has grown up to be honestly one of the most complex and hatable yet pitiable characters I have read for a while!

Lin is the other POV in this book and her perspective is so much different from Kels and Conor’s that we really get to see just how oblivious the Hill are to the politics and what is happening in the city. Lin’s goals are so clean cut compared to the other characters and whenever she enters a scene she changes it because Conor and Kel and the other nobles don’t know how to react to a woman who doesn’t care about their power plays and reacts to injustice as injustice not twisted protection.

I am so bowled over by the characters that I havent talked much about the world while is so eqistiately done or even the plot which was aborbing and had me reading for hours none stop but I need to move on to the star ratings so let me just say this! All the minor characters were fledged out and I really enjoyed some of them like Antonetta and Vivanne and loved to hate a few of the others! If an author can make you feel such strong things about side characters then the main characters’ arcs and morals and complexities are even more delicately done.

Romance – 3/5 – Swoony B – I’m not sure if you can call it romance, there is just a lot of sexual references and presence throughout which does give it this romance rating. The shortfall of romance ratings is that when there is sexual content out of a relationship or even the named cast it can be tricky to define so look at the content warnings!

Plot – 4.5/5 – I was captivated from page one, this is political fantasy but it doesn’t feel hard to read or understand. I would say that if you are looking to read an adult fantasy then this is probably a good place to start!

World – 4.5/5 – honestly stunning I loved it so much and I cant wait to return to it!

Characters – 5/5 – oh you know I gushed about them in my answer and honestly I cant deny that these are some of the best characters I have ever read. So I loved it and I need to read more of them!

Genre: Adult Fantasy, Political 

Damsel Reader Recommendation: 16+B but only if you are comfortable with the content warnings!  

Romance Rating: Swoony B

Violence Rating: Level 4

Content Warnings: there is a lot of prostitution and brothels present on page, (many of the main characters hire courtesans regularly and spend time in brothels), naked portraits of women are passed around at one point (minor detail, just says they are nude). The amount of courtasans on page made it definitely worth a Swoony B rating even if we get few romantic moments between the characters it is happening around them. There is also racism between different fantasy cultures. 

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Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lin

13+

I wasn’t expecting this but oh my goodness did I love it! We have this gorgeously vivid world full of little details and quirks that make it fantasy. It reads like a fairytale especially closer to the end – I read it was a beauty and the beast retelling but honestly it is so far away from the original and improved that I wouldn’t have made the connection otherwise! When I did realise it made for a happy discovery because then I could link all the little bits and pieces!

Tru as a heroine is so delightful to read because she bonds two of my favourite heroine attributes together: she is strong and has been strong in her own right for years and her ability is not ‘discovered’ by the romantic interest, it is something that she has already wielded for years on her own. She is a painter, forging early masters in dead artist’s style so that her and her family can survive on the little food and shelter that she can work for. Unlike a lot of heroines who are warriors she is a creative which was so lovely to read and definitely memorable!

The imagery and world of this book were honestly just exquisite especially for the first 30% or so when we were in Tru’s world. It felt so real and all the little details that had been added as we jumped into Tru’s ‘just on the slight side of illegal’ life style was honestly flawless.

I also love that Elizabeth Lin didn’t make Tru’s sisters unlikeable or vain or shallow like a lot of retellings and original versions do. It made it so much sweeter of a read for me that I wasn’t annoyed over that.

To the star ratings!

Romance – 4/5 – Soft Romance – This was such a lovely romance, I really loved the scenes they got together and the ending was just *chefs kiss*

Plot – 4/5 – While it was relatively predictable I still enjoyed it and as the focus was on th relationship and the resolution of the enemy I didn’t mind it!

Characters – 4/5 – honestly these characters were beautiful they were so distinct and yet tied together by various things that honestly I can remember them all – which I always like to be able to do by the end of a book! Some books characters just fade away instantly but these were really good and I enjoyed them!

World – 5/5 – gorgeous. Just gorgeous.

Age Recommendation: YA –  12+ – while I think that older readers would also enjoy this it is a romance that I would be happy to give to a 12 year old and it feels on the lower age end of YA.

Romance Rating: Soft

Violence Rating: Level 3

Content Warnings: None

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Fire by Kristen Cashore

15+

This reminded me what fantasy truly can and should be. I had a stream for the last few months of okay books that weren’t quite bad enough to put down but not overall worth remembering after I closed the last page so this really stood out and I am so glad I picked it up.

This is the second book in the Graceling Realm Series but you could also read it first as it has no spoilers and chronologically comes before Graceling. I would however recommend reading it second because not only does it give us a new world it also gives  a villain origin story.

Fire is such a different lead to Katsa but I don’t love her any less! As a ‘monster’ she has such beauty that people around her become entranced and often attack her or stalk her for her beauty. She can read minds and so she is constantly surrounded by a barrage of people who hate her for the beauty she possesses and yet love her because they are attracted to her.

As you can probably tell this book does have more sexual harassment than Graceling (check the content warnings!) and yet it never feels overpowering just an exploration of how even a girl who can see everyone’s intentions is often ensnared in their predatory desires.

The rest of the cast are honestly great in their own right. Most of them I love to hate like Nate and Archer (the later of whom the narrator Fire never holds fully accountable because they used to be lovers and she still views him very fondly but from a readers perspective he is absolutely abhorrent by the end). Others I love to love and I am definitely going to have to reread this one very soon because it is just so so so good.

And the world. That animals could manipulate humans with their minds? That the whole world revolves around monsters and humans yet Fire is somehow both? And above all Fire’s determination to use her powers for good after she saw what her father used them for.

Read this. Honestly one of the best series I have ever read.

Romance – 5/5 – Soft – not really heavily present in the story but I love what’s there.

World – 100000/5 – perfection. Literal perfection.

Characters – 100000/5 – EVERYTHING I WANT AND MORE. I am obsessed with these characters and I think I may continue to be until my dying day (Taylor reference!).

Plot – 5/5 – it isn’t a quest plot, a romance plot or a become powerful plot it’s a plot which incorporates war, politics, self discovery, betrayal and a terrifying magic that only you believe is happening.

Age Recommendation: 14+B/Upper YA/Adult Crossover

Romance Rating: Soft

Violence Rating: Level 4

Content Warnings: Rape (mentioned in the past to other characters), Sexual Assault (happens on page to the MC in various degrees of severity but she is able to extract herself before it goes very far) Teenaged Pregnancy, Animal Abuse (past)

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Ties of Starlight by Celeste Baxendell

13+

This was a quick fun read and I am glad I picked it up!

Honestly I admire the author so much for making her MMC relise in the first part of the book that he had been completely of the charts in his relationship with the FMC and he had made mistakes. The premise is a couple who are supposed to get married and perform ceremonies so that the magic of their eleven tribe is renewed for another period. However when the groom flees the morning of his wedding King Nyrunn decides to step in. WITHOUT TELLING HER. I wholeheartedly hated him at that moment but by the end I had relaxed a little in my hatred even through I still don’t like his actions.

The FMC was the really interesting point of this book – she had lived multiple lives and in all of these lives she had been chosen to perform the ceremony. She and the man who ran from the wedding had been constantly engaged and married over the years and he had repeatedly cheated or ignored her in their marriage. Obviously this treatment especially as she was murdered in her previous life as led to her being guarded and wary of anything that changes from the perfect ceremony which would allow her to end this cycle.

Romance – 3/5 – Soft Romance – I just cant get over his actions.

World – 3/5 – it is there in the background but we don’t get much details of it – but it also isn’t very relevant too. This is a fantasy romance so the focus is all on the ROMANCE not the fantasy world itself which is a background detail.

Characters – 3.5/5 – Nyrunn is a good character even if I don’t like him, the FMC was engaging enough to the plot and the supporting characters worked well however I didn’t have any characters that I loved but they did work for the plot.

Plot – 4/5 – intriguing plot, I liked the many lives thing and will probably look for it in more of my reads because it does add an extra level.

Age Recommendation: 13+, YA

Violence Rating: Level 3

Romance Rating: Soft

Content Warnings: cheating, murder.

Overall it was a 3 star read (which means good, i finished it easily and dont regret picking it up, i would recommend to specific people and maybe read the author again) and I think other people who want a more romance heavy book would enjoy it more than I did.

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Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

13+

Okay so this is a YA classic, Judy Blume has wrote so many YA books and so far this is the third of hers I have read! I whipped through this in a few hours, it was easy to read and yet the emotional impact behind the story was really powerful and honestly when it finished I would have read another 300 pages of Daveys journey.

To me this book felt like a snapshot of a time which Davey will never revisit again in her life, a time of upheaval and grief but also one of the most important periods of her life with people she will never forget. Grief is something that is really explored in this book, Davey’s father has been shot in his convienence store and the entire family is left in shambles after this.

Going to live with their relatives in New Mexico to live out the aftermath and get away from the horror of what happened Davey and her family are introduced to this really capsule town. Everyone works at the Lab, everyone is defined by were and what position they work in the Lab and even the houses like Bathtub Row are linked to the ever present factory. The paranoia of her aunt and uncle, the alcoholism of her new friend Jane, the mysterious boy Wolf and above all dealing with the fact that her father is not coming back.

I honestly have no words for this book, it is raw, it is full of grief and exploration of what it means to be safe in a world that has shown you betrayal and in the end I am going to have to read more of her work!

Romance –5/5 Soft – barely present really and not the focus of the book.

World – 1000/5 – I have talked about it above but the idea of going to live in a town that is full of people who create bombs and other warfare and are incredibly paranoid because of that is something I havent seen explored before.

Characters – 5/5 – all of them are so distinct and real except Wolf who isn’t supposed to be. I really want to know what happens to Davey after the events of this book, after she returns to New Mexico and her old life and how much her time away changed her.

Plot – 5/5 – I was there, I loved it, the plot isn’t as driven as some books I have read recently and that’s because its not supposed to be an adventure its supposed to be the story of violence and grief and yet everyday teenager experiences.

Age Recommendation: 12+ is when I think you would probably enjoy it best but honestly this book feels so timeless that I think you could read it earlier around 11 if you wanted to.

Romance Rating: Soft – as in barely there, I honestly debated putting a NA on it because it really isn’t very relevant to the story.

Violence Rating: Level 2 – this was tricky because it does have Gun Violence in it and a lot of grief however on the page there isn’t much violence.

Content Warnings: Gun Violence, Death, Grief, Child Alcholism, mention of SA (briefly mentioned by a character as something that happens) Racism (one mention, less than a sentence.)

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Aphrodite by Bryony Pierce

16+

I loved this one so much! The rapid plot takes us from Aphrodite’s birth from the sea and we get to see not only a retelling and a delve into Aphrodite’s myths which are often ignored in mythology retelling but Pierce also doesn’t flinch away from portraying a heroine who is vengeful and dangerous. Aphrodite herself narrates this tale and as she learns more of the world her perspective changes and we get this glorious depiction of Olympus in the eyes of someone who is on one hand only a few weeks old and yet cynical and powerful.

I love how other characters – especially her handmaidens reflect the world of Olympus. Anyone who is powerful, any woman who could be anything other than a marriageable pawn is reduced to a shallow facet of their true power and there is nothing better than seeing it unfold. Her handmaiden has experienced it before and yet Aphrodite is now experiencing it first hand but she can be supported by her.

I honestly can say that this will stay with me for a while! I can’t wait for another reread once it releases and a sequel because this stunning masterpiece has me hooked!

Bold, powerful and still loyal to the cruelty of the original myths with an exploration of personal power and patriarchy.

World – 5/5 – oh my goodness was the world beautiful and stunning in the cruelest of ways! Greek mythology retellings always have to bridge the gap between changing the myths beyond recognition and setting them in a time that allows the story to flow. Myths come from over thousands of years and so it is set in a relatively timeless but pre-Roman empire Greece just before the Trojan War.

Plot – 5/5 – how could it end like that? My one qualm with this book was the abrupt ending, I honeslty would have loved to see Aphrodite continue on her journey. We know from myth what happens but I would have loved to see Bryony Pierce’s interpretation of it.

Romance – 4/5 – Swoony B – Ares and Aphrodite is a couple that have gone down in myth for their affairs and yet their devotion to each other (if you ignore other paramours which aren’t present in this book) and the cruel separation by Zeus. The most infamous Aphrodite/Ares scene is present for fellow myth lovers but you could also read this if you know nothing!

Characters – 5/5 – complex, cruel and sadistic, these are the Greek gods and I love that they haven’t been changed because that is one of the things about the Greek myths. Their gods often were the worst of humanity and I enjoyed the parallel between what Aphrodite made the mortals do and what Zeus made her do which was very interesting.

Age Recommendation: Upper YA/Adult – 15+

Romance Rating: Open Door – Swoony C – very euphemistic, less than a page for one, less than a paragraph for another

Violence Rating: Level 6 – there is both physical violence throughout and fights as well as sexual violence which happens regularly and there is the threat of it throughout.

CW: SA, Rape, a lot of sexual undertones and innuecendo. If you are familiar with the golden net entrapment of Aphrodite and Ares naked from the myths that does happen and it is a particularly nasty bit because of the embarrassment and nudity and shame of Aphrodite.

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Fearless by Lauren Roberts

14+B

Wow. This only came out yesterday and my copy was only delivered at eight but I raced through this one in only a few reading hours! Let me just start by saying that Powerless as a series has been one of my favourites that I found in 2024 and I have been slightly stalking on all the socials any teasers or snippets but oh my goodness was it so much better than I could have dreamed!

This book returns to the format of Powerless with three trials, however these are centered around Bravery, Brutality and Benevolence which are the three things that the last king thought a good ruler needed to be. Paedyn is engaged to Kitt as we know from the last few pages of Reckless and this time she is solo tackling these challenges which will prove to the court that she deserves to be queen – even if she is Ordinary. I really enjoyed how Paedyn doesn’t flinch away from saying that she wants power, she enjoys it she says that it is everything she wanted since she was a child. In a league of romantasy books where the FMC wants to be a ‘normal girl’ Paedyns character has stuck out to me from page 1 of Powerless. She welcomes any power that she survives to get and she will become so powerful that the powerless like her have no choice but to be welcomed back into Ilya.

Of course this is a romantasy so how could I not chat a little about the romance! Kai Azer won my heart from the first page but this book really showed just how their relationship was in someways inevitable, in some ways because of other people’s decisions but overall the tension and chemistry that pulls them together even when she is engaged to his brother. All my reviews are spoiler free so I wont continue but oh my goodness did they have to weather a lot of storms but by the end I honestly don’t think any other ending could have worked as well as the one Lauren Roberts wrote!

Let’s go to the star ratings!

World – 4/5 stars – it is solid and I really enjoyed seeing a little bit more of it in the second trial but it is a relatively normal fantasy world that I have seen portrayed a lot before so I can’t say that it is completely original and new but I can say that it fits the story perfectly and illustrates the divide between powerful and the ordinary!

Plot – 5/5 – Romance may be the plot but the plot isn’t all romance! We have so many twists and turns and reveals that I am going to have to go back through and reread the first ones with new eyes!

Characters – 4.5/5 – I love them so much, Kai and Kitt really show the differences that an upbringing can make and also the different damages of psychological abuse and physical on how people grow up to view the world. Paedyn as always is amazing and her POVs are always so distinct in contrast to the royals Kitt and Kai as well as (little tiny spoiler here Edrics pov) which shows the divide in the world viewpoint very well!

Romance – Suggestive/Fade to Black after little buildup – 5/5 – it’s a romantasy this is what we are here for! We had some really great romantic moments that I definitely need to quote over and over again in all of my reviews forever more but I just loved this one!

Age recommendation: YA, 13+

Romance Rating: Suggestive/Fade to Black after little buildup. This is not steamy making out at all, it feels very soft and honestly it almost borders on sweet.

Violence Rating: Level 4. While violence does happen its not as much as a lot of books I read and it never feels graphic or gorey.

Content Warnings: Betrayal, infidelity.

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This Rotting Heart by Celeste Baxendell

Thanks to Net Galley, Celeste Baxendell and Victory Editing for this ARC, as always every opinion expressed is my own.
 Pub Date: 1st of April, 2025
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Age Category: 13+ but with cross appeal.

 

13+

This was a quick heartwarming fantasy romance that I enjoyed! I just finished Ties of Starlight this morning and started this straight after (yes I read it in under 12 hours) and I loved the little cameo of the main couple from that book!

This Rotting Heart is a Persephone and Hades reimagining – and you know that sometimes these can go very wrong for me on the toxicity of the relationship but this one didn’t! The main element of a Persephone x Hades retelling is that the fmc is kidnapped and made to marry the mmc which can be a lot for me to get over – but I did for this one!

That the personality traits of the two were switched, the fmc was the death obsessed one and the mmc was the Sun king was such a gorgeous little touch which is why I love reading this myth and fairytale reimagining’s.  

World – 3.5/5 – the world isn’t the focus, this is a fantasy romance so I don’t really mind that much. We had what we needed for the story, the world was believable and I didn’t mind not having a lot of worldbuilding because this is more romance than fantasy.

Romance – 4/5 – I struggled with the kidnapping thing, to be honest she was stealing something sacred to his land and from his perspective she had agreed to marry him so I do get that!

Plot – 4/5 – it resolved pleasingly with potential for another book – perhaps with Callahan as the lead?? – and I have no complaints!

Characters – 4/5 – they felt solid and fleshed out and true to themselves. I enjoyed Hellsbore – what a name! I love it that the name ties in with the Greek myth itself! – she was very interesting as a character because she didn’t react to anything. As someone who has read a lot of annoying FMCS who react to the wrong things, blow up over tiny things and ignore big things it was refreshing to read a FMC who was actually the calculating alchemist she was portrayed to be! It may not be healthy to be so restrained but it was certainly fun to read for a change!

Romance Rating: Soft – a few kisses, closed mouth, no detail.

Violence Rating: Level 2 – minor injuries with small non graphic descriptions. Short combat scenes and limited threat.

Content Warnings: betrayal, kidnapping.

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Reckless by Lauren Roberts

13+

This was the March Damsel book club pick and I NEED fearless immediately! Powerless was one of my favourite reads of 2024 – I read it twice and bought a paperback copy – so Reckless had a lot of pressure going in and it held up!

Paedyn is running from the king she killed, and the princes she betrayed across the desert and Kai is forced to follow her at the orders of his brother, now king Kitt. The romance, the chemistry and the emotion between the two of them is undeniable – much as they try to pretend – and they may be enemies but can they truly forget having been lovers?

In the desert city of Dor, far away from the Elite kingdom and without any powers for Kai to wield he is just as Ordinary as Paedyn which levels the playing field. Paedyn does nothing better than survive, but Kai always achieves his missions even when they emotionally destroy him. From illegal fighting rings to a shady gambling brothel to sewers and cells we are taken on a gorgeously vivid romantasy adventure that I could have devoured over and over.

I also love how ‘pretend’ is repeated over and over especially in Kai’s POV chapters. He knows he isn’t pretending, he knows that everytime he kisses Paedyn he loves her more but ‘pretend’ is the shield they both hide behind as they know that both of them have hurt each other – and this book could end up with one of them dead.

I see a lot of people not liking Kitt but I totally get his perspective. He was betrayed by a girl he risked the security of his kingdom and personal safety for, he lost his father, his stepmother is dying and he knows that his brother might pick the girl over him. Of course he is out for revenge – but that ending!

Here are a few of my favourite quotes from the characters before we launch into the star ratings! Don’t worry, none of these are spoilers because they are out of context and I have removed any spoiling titbits!

Kai had some of the most gorgeously poetic dialogue throughout and these I couldn’t not include!

“Out here I am Kai and nothing more.” His throat bobs. “Out here I am powerless. A monster without an ability to hide behind. An Enforcer free from his masks. A man shouting his love for a women.” – Kai Azer

“Because the Beast doesn’t get the Beauty” – Kai Azer

“Oh, but you are my undoing. My deliverance. My downfall disguised as a deity. You are my ruin.” – Kai Azer

“Call us even. Call me crazy, I don’t care. Just…Just call me yours.” – Kai Azer

“I may be a monster, but if you cut me, I’ll bleed. And if you break my heart, Pae, you’ll break me. So, if even a sliver of your soul longs for mine, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to deserve it.” – Kai Azer

A few more quotes!

“A ballad of betrayal, a sonnet of sorrow. I’m tired of writing from the villain’s perspective.” – Kitt Azer

“At my weakest, I wish for him. And at my strongest, I wish I could say it wasn’t the same.” – Paedyn Gray

This book had the swooniest quotes ever! But on to the star ratings!

Romance – 100000/5 – Suggestive Romance – I love Kai and Pae so so much. That’s all. but I also like Kitt. And I cant decide.

World – 5/5 – its real, its present but the world is never the focus, it is always the romance so I cant say much more about it other than it feels so real!

Plot – 100000/5 – WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?? No spoilers just read it and then come talk to me – I need people to rant over that ending with!

Characters – 5/5 – I love them all, or I love to hate them. Just perfection.

Romance Rating: Suggestive – more physical making out, mostly clothed, discussions of sex, can have some innuendo. This is still VERY clean and YA appropriate.

Violence Rating: Level 3

Content Warnings: they do go to a brothel at one point, but it (or the women) aren’t described in detail. Threat of drowning. Child death.  

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Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

13+

My copy of Sunrise on the Reaping just arrived and I realised that I haven’t done any reviews for the original trilogy or Ballard so today I am going to remedy that before I start reading it.

Hunger Games is famous for a reason – the stunning dystopian world, so harsh and merciless yet portrayed in a way that expertly and subtly satirises our own world. It is just everything and honestly this book belongs on the best YA books for a reason.

We get introduced to Katniss on the most terrifying day of the year – the Reaping day. Instantly the world is painted for us in bright colour, the harshness and divide between the districts and capital as well as the injustice within the drawing of the slips from the Reaping ball. Essentially gambling your life on the fact that your slip wont be drawn so you can get a meager amount of grain to bring home is so dystopian yet we don’t doubt for a second that the whole of district 12 has done this at some point – and the slips are cumulative. The poorer you are the more chance you have of death by starvation which means you put more slips in which means you have more chance of dying on live tv.

I could talk about the stunning dystopian world forever – but I suspect everyone knows the basics of this series so let me continue to the star ratings!

World – 100000/5 –  so so much within it. Every little detail has so much more linked to it – we are in a world that Suzanne Collins has so much more going on than we ever know! With little snippets into other games, and the fact that everyone thinks that this is normal – it is a truly dystopian world unlike any other.

Romance – Sweet – 5/5 – the romance and the emerging love triangle and the fact that Katniss and Peeta’s relationship is based entirely on survival and what will get them sponsors – right?

Characters – 5/5 – from the Tributes who have been raised to think that dying for the Capitals amusement will get them honour and that they should volunteer to Rue to Prim, Katniss’s motivation for survival and to the over the top Caesar Flickerman who seems so jovial but is literally making childrens deaths into a sport they are all so real I feel like I could hold conversations with them! Katniss herself is a heroine who is truly strong, she has the skills that despite her disadvantage and the fate of 12 tributes before her she will do her best to come home!

Plot  – 5/5 –  yes. Just yes. From reveals to plot twists to fights and interviews we have a plot which is almost completely contrived by Gamemakers who want to make the games as entertaining as possible. But as always humans are not controllable and especially when it comes to survival!

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

Violence Rating: Level 5

Content Warnings: obviously death, on page and off page, grief, survival, starvation, dehydration, manipulation.

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