Tag: booktok

Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik

This is a short story collection that includes some stories from the Scholomance and the Temenarie series. While you dont have to have read the Temenarie series to read its short stories (no spoilers there) the scolomance shorties do essentially spoil the huge ending of book two and the ending of book three (which I haven’t read yet but could have guessed). Either way, it’s full of so many stories that even if you skip the scolomance ones then you’ll still have a lot of Naomi Novik to luxuriate in.

Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This one was first and honestly not my favourite of the collection. It’s a fun short story set in the regency period with a female main lead who has a talisman that helps her survive when her ship is attacked by pirates because it turns her into a man. I enjoyed it at the time, but it wasn’t very memorable for me however its a good start to the collection because its a familiar premise with Noviks sharp wit and prose before she truely shows what she can do with some of the later ones which are some of the most original fantasy I’ve read in a long time!

After Hours
I did skip this one once I realised there were spoilers for the third book in it but I’m planning on returning after I’ve read the golden enclaves book.

Vici
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lots of people dont like this one from reviews but i loved it! It was mark Antony with dragons and the founding of the dragon corps. It was short sweet and had literally everything I like in it. My only complaint is that it was too short for me to really give it those full five stars because we only saw a few pages of this but it was so good!

Dragons & Decorum
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a pride and prejudice retelling with dragons set in the Temenarie world and I loved it! The wit of the dragons, the connection between Elizabeth and Darcy and the fact that Naomi Novik can so closely mirror the chemistry and cleverness of the first in a short story is amazing.

Commonplaces
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was essentially fan fiction of a character from Sherlock and while it was interesting and engaging enough because i had not read the book that this one was based on I think i missed some of the callbacks that people who have read the book may have enjoyed.

Buried Deep
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This story was so sad. It was the retelling of Ariadne and the Minotaur but focusing on their brother sister relationship and the pain of having someone you love torn away from you. The pain of the characters truely came through and i could feel every time Ariadne stomped the pattern across her brothers labyrinth to remind him she was still here for him in my heart. It’s almost making me cry even now it was so beautiful and i wish that Naomi Novik would write more Greek myths.

Seven Years from Home
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was the one that for me felt like a novel. It was beautiful and complex featuring a soldier sent to colonise a nation but grows to learn that she in fact respects their way of life but she is still loyal to her Confederacy. The magic system in this book is so so strong I’m taken aback by it, the exploration of how you can seperate morality and reason and the way that such a short time somewhere can leave a lasting impression on you was so beautifully explored. Another one that almost made me cry by the end, it’s rare i read something as perfect as this.

The Long Way Around
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I hope she does like she hinted make this into a novel this is a sea journey that explores strange lands through the perspective of some of the best shipbuilders in the land. Tress was capable and logical and i loved her pragmatism against her brothers romantic and optimistic ways. We have a doomed romance between secondary characters in this, strange buildings and a possibility to change the course of their world’s shipping lanes. I cant wait to see if we are going to get more in this world!

Spinning Silver
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’ve read the book of this and i enjoyed it so the shorter version that was the original was fun to read! I loved the way that it delved into her economic sense. It’s so rare for a heroine to be smart and actually have some business sense in a YA book that i was in love from the beginning. I love cruel practical heroines and this one was perfection.

Lord Dunsany’s Teapot
⭐️⭐️⭐️
So so short but fun to read – despite being about a magical artifact in the world wars! Definitely worth a read it has some gorgeous imagery and hope and humanity to it!

I cant remember much about the rest of them, i think there were a few more but they weren’t long enough that I found them memorable personally. Still there were none that i disliked and would have rated lower than three stars which is super impressive considering some of them were literally only about twenty pages.

Romance and Violence Ratings are both very low for all, Seven years from home is the only one that had some described death and pain. Romance wise all the kisses are G rated and no description.

0

Mini Mention Monday

This is where I have all my little mini reviews (that you can also find on Fable, StoryGraph and Goodreads, although Fable is my primary short form reviewing platform) for books that were three stars or under and so I’m not going to write a whole blog post for but still want to give you my thoughts and the violence/spice ratings for them!

Royally Off Limits by Kate O Keeffe

This is the fourth book in this series, and it held up to the fun romcom expectations I had for it. This one is I think my favourite of the series so far – Max and Valentina had this amazing tension and chemistry and I always love a good secret identity/backstory. We alternate povs throughout book and overall it was a solid fun rom-com. It didn’t rock my world but it comfortably sat within it and I enjoyed the ride. My favourite part was when Max and Valentina were still in the interview phase, i would have loved more scenes of them interacting like they did at the archery range. Overall if you want a quick light rom-com this is the one to read and it’s a great series to binge over the holidays.
I will say that that terse vibe between them in the beginning is perfection though and I really enjoyed it.

Romance Rating: Soft – kissing, little to no description.
Violence Level – Level 1 – it’s a romcom we don’t have any violence in it.
Content Warnings: none.

0

Mini Mention Monday – Picking Daisies on Sundays by Liana Cincotti

This is the place where I mention all the reads that dont quite merit a full review because they are under four stars, but I also have things to say so I can let you know what content is in them (if i finished them or not, i do include DNFs if i read over half way because that has wasted enough of my time that i can have opinions).

I’ve had this book on my TBR for a while and when i saw it came onto Kindle Unlimited i thought why not I’m in the mood for a calm predictable romance. This didnt surprise me, it was exactly what i thought it would be, but i enjoyed it. I felt like the main character was the saving grace of this book, she was interesting and flawed enough to make me continue but I struggled with the chemistry between the characters. I felt like Levi was so perfect that he wasn’t almost real and this may just have been because we were seeing him through Daisy’s eyes whom was head over heels in love with him but i really just thought the romance was underdeveloped. They had this epic love story on paper, but what it really was was a not quite unrequited love from high school and a random meet up that threw them together. This would work as a hallmark romance big city story but i just struggled with the lack of depth anywhere except in Daisy/Dani’s personal journey.

Romance Rating: Sweet – we get a few described kisses, but they are in very little detail.

Violence Rating: this is a tricky one to rate because Daisy is assaulted in the book, she gets away before he can do more than touch her leg but it still raises this quite a lot from a level one. I’m going to put this at a level two because there is no other violence in the whole book at all, and so a level four doesn’t fit it either.

Content Warnings: body dysphoria (experienced by the main character but not named), sexual assault on the main character (she gets away after he touches her leg and tries to pyschologically abuse her into thinking her only chance at success is if he helps her but it is still a significant plot point which was unusually violent in a otherwise calm novel), parental death of a father from cancer

0

Burn the Sea by Mona Tewari




Pub Date: 21st of April 2026
Publisher: Bindery Books
Genre: Fantasy, retelling,
Age Category: 

As I was reading this book, I was thinking that it almost was historical fiction in feel except set in a fantasy world. And I think that that is a really good way of describing the luxurious world but always realistic political landscape in this book – so many fantasy books ignore what you actually have to do to rule a country, and so I loved that this didn’t shy away from the fact that sometimes an arranged marriage is the only option for the countries future even if it isn’t the best for yours. Of course when I read the authors acknowledgments at the end which discussed how this was actually a fantasy retelling of the story of Rani Abbakka Chowta, an amazing queen whom like so many others has been diminished in history books but this I feel was a worthy tribute because honestly it has no faults. Every piece of language is beautiful and lyrical and all the emotions feel so real. I will admit to staying up late for this book and I’m so happy that I started November with this book because it’s a five star of five stars!

The “othering” of the colonisers is one of my favourite things I’ve read this year, just twisting the narrative to show a different perspective which is what all fantasy should do.

The arranged marriage relationship was so strong because the man she marries isnt her happily ever after but he isnt the worst human imaginable which are usually the two ways that the arranged marriage storyline goes so I LOVED that!

I can’t wait until this comes out because I need someone else to gush over all the little beautiful heartwrenching things in this book!

World – 5/5 – yess! I love Mantana and the birds so much, and the way that she interacts with them as a child and then as an adult. The world itself is so vibrant and seems to come off the page with food and smells and textures.

Plot – 5/5 – I loved it.

Characters – 4.5/5 – I’ve already talked about Mantana the green lion so let me talk about the others! They were all really individual strong characters which I loved but I wish that we had got a taste of Thevon and his childhood a bit more but I think that will come in the next book because the cliff hanger is a two hundred feet one!

Romance – 4/5 – we don’t get much at all, but its very promising so I cant wait!

Romance Rating: Sweet – kissing and making out are described and mentioned. We know that they sleep together but it is less than a paragraph in past tense and euphemistic on page.

Violence Rating: Level 4 – nothing unusual in fantasy but there are sustained bloody fights which go on for more than a chapter which I loved but might be a bit much for some people.

0

The Baby Dragon Bookshop by A T Qureshi

 




Pub Date: 12th of February, 2026
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Cosy Fantasy, Romance
Age Category: Adult

I have loved every page of the previous two books and so this one was a no brainer for me instant ARC request and first on my reading list once it was approved. This was extraordinarily good as all of her books are and once again it proves that romance books can be five stars for me just as much as epic fantasy and historical fantasy because honestly it was like she had read my mind and written the perfect book. Let me dive into it.

To begin with Emmeline and Luke have this raw chemistry that is so present in every line and gesture towards each other. It means that even something as simple as handing her a thermos of tea has so much emotional charge and feeling behind it and the whole book was devoured by me in one sitting because I couldn’t go to sleep before I had inhaled every word of this gorgeous gorgeous book.

Their history and rivalry is offset against moments where they genuinely connect and we get this slow growth throughout the book towards each other which is so beautiful to see. Often with enemies to lovers or rivals to lovers which this is, they go from rivals to lovers, its instant and overnight and usually just because they find the other physically attractive. However the way this is crafted makes it a love story that will last not just a lust story that will fizzle out when the pages close like a lot of romance books I read and yes. Just read it. This book is everything that the romance genre should be and it swirls in some gorgeously humerous baby dragon moments too (and also a few references back to the last couples if you’ve read the first two books!)

The character of Emmeline is eldest daughter incarnate, and I love that it isnt hammered home that point but slowly shown and developed through her actions. I may have got a tear in my eye when Luke noticed her efforts and helped her – okay I definitely did – because everything about this book was emotionally perfect and romantic and yet somehow builds upon the world that was established in the first two books. I loved seeing the Chimeras side of the valley and I’ve just got all my fingers and toes crossed that we get another book because this is AMAZING!

World – 5/5 – is it a hardcore epic world no but is it perfect and settled and everything that I need to to be yes.

Characters – 5/5 – literal perfection. I’m going to create a list of the top books I’ve read this year and this is going to be on it because PERFECTION!

Romance – 100000/5 – it’s so good that I cant describe it in any other way than perfectly imperfect and swoony!

Plot – 4.5/5 – I knew what was going to happen, it’s a romance book, they follow a three act structure but the way it happened? The way it was developed? If tropes were always represented like this I wouldn’t get bored of them!

Romance Rating: Suggestive Swoony B – we get some steamy making out and a very slow fade to black/less than a page sex scene with euphemistic language.

Violence Rating: Level 1 – its romance.

Content Warnings: mention of a girl getting her drink spiked at a party years ago and what could have happened if she hadnt been found in time. The man who drugged her drink interacts with some of the characters at one point but no justice is found.

1

Bad Blood by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

14+

I absolutely devoured this and I cannot wait for the novella to come out on the 25th!

We get so much more of Lia’s story, and also Cassies own life with her mother. Now on the track of her mothers attacker, Cassie and the rest of the Naturals are in a town with a cult on its borders and a poison museum, oh and did I mention that this was the home of a serial killer? And that Cassie has realised she had forgotten the life she lived there with her mother.

Yes yes yes.

World – 5/5 –  this is dark and psychological, and I love it so much!

Plot – 5/5 – I knew what was going to happen, or I thought it did, but it still surprised me! I loved that there were multiple mysteries within the book.

Characters – 5/5 – wow.

Romance – 5/5 – I love Dean and Cassie, we only get little tiny moments of them but they are so good together.

Violence Rating: Level 5

Romance Rating: Soft

Content Warnings: Rape (in past, resulted in a child), dead animals, murder, serial killers, drugs, torture, child abuse.

0

All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

14+

The Naturals are back in Vegas! I absolutely devoured the third book in this series, we had both Sloanes backstory and an epic complex twisted mystery which I adored. One of my favourite things was how we can see Cassie beginning to understand the people around her more, both Sloane and Lia and her lies.

Against the backdrop of Vegas and luxury, the serial killer roaming the casinos is especially dangerous and elusive, and when all the suspects are expert bluffers then the FBI are stuck at every turn.

One of my favourite things is Sloane and the way we get to see more into her loneliness created by her Natural power and her abusive neglectful family. Her open vunerabilty  and non-explicit but very very obvious autism have solidified her as one of my favourite characters which is a tough spot to claim in a super complex cast that I absolutely adore.

Let’s dive into the star ratings!

World – 4/5 – I love it as always but I wish we had got more of Vegas, a lot of it was inside their apartment.

Romance – 5/5 – oh so so good!

Character – 5/5 – yes yes yes!

Plot – 5/5 – I am speechless. Speechless. Best plot twists yet!

Violence Rating: Level 5

Romance Rating: Soft

Content Warnings: abuse, child abuse, neglect, serial killerism, murder, gambling.

0

Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

14+

I am used to having sequal disappointment, but this one was honestly a worthy continuation to the series and added something to the original plot and world.

In this one a serial killer is now copying Daniel Reddings murder MO, but seemingly erratically – we have a collage class that teaches about Daniel Redding’s genius in his serial killing, various potential suspects and all of the internal drama as the Naturals battle against their own pasts.

I read this one in one day and honestly I adored it. A full five stars because it was so good.

World – 5/5 – gritty and great.

Romance – 4/5 – continuation of the love triangle and I’m not going to say who she ends up with but I enjoyed it a lot.

Characters – 5/5 – I love the way that Jennifer lets us in on small bits of information about the characters so slowly, it’s realistic and also makes every book have so much more mystery and reveals to them than just the main case.

Plot – 5/5 – I was not expecting that reveal at all!

Violence Rating: Level 5, no SA, just psychological murders.

Romance Rating: Soft

Content Warnings: serial killers, murder, abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, misogyny.

0

Age Gaps in Fantasy

Why is age gap EVERYWHERE? I cannot open a fantasy book – even if it is a high fantasy, and the romance is the tiniest of subplots that takes up less than 1% of the book! – and not end up with an age gap. Some books have an equality between their main characters in their romance but it seems so common even in popular books especially if they are non human.

NB: Some spoilers (light or as many as you could find on a blurb) will be present in this post for Poison Study, Order of Blood and Ruin, Lightlark, Throne of Glass.

I am going to break down human age gaps first then move on to paranormal and fantasy races etc.

One of my most recent reads, Poison Study by Maria V Snyder had an age gap. A huge one, 19 and 33. I have read it a few times before when I was younger but it always is something I wince at. It just seems so odd, and exaggerates the power dynamics between them – I have written another post on Equality and Power which talks about power dymanics outside of Age Gap – when honestly it isn’t fully nessacary. Yes, Valek was supposed to help the Commander to power and that had to be early enough that Yelena was in the country and the orphanage, but I really wish something had been done to age up Yelena or nudge Valek down out of his thirties because that is a gigantic age gap.

I am not blaming this book specifically, another book I absolutely adored and read over and over (title retracted because of spoilers) has an age gap which gets worse during the series. In the beginning it is sixteen and twenty, which was pushing it a bit, but I was willling to let that go. Then he gets trapped in a time warp in space and ages to twenty five, and she is still only eighteen. We have gone from four years (with her a minor and him an adult) to seven years with her barely an adult.

This trend of FMCS always being exactly eighteen is weird too, its like they decide to make them the age that they can say they are adults even if they essentially are not especially in comparison to the looonng lives of their love interests.

 I really loved a series by KM Shea which had an age gap that somehow circumnavigated all of the power dynamics that usually come with it in a really wholesome lovely way. In that Jade is twenty six, she has an established career, she has an apartment, she has a very supportive family whom she could return to if she wanted. She is not the lonely vulnerable eighteen year old that so many vampire novels are populated with and so when Connor the vampire (who’s age is old but never quite stated and it’s a spoiler so I wont say) comes along they have a relationship first as friends and then lovers that doesn’t fall into the toxic almost fatherly but sexual relationship which I find so odd in many fantasy books.

We’re on non-human relationships now so lets consider some more!

Lightlark (I’ve only read the first one!) has two love interests both of whom are old. Much older than our eighteen year old heroine Ida (again eighteen! And I honestly am not even annoyed at the author at this point, it is so so common its an industry problem and societal more than a personal thing as the trope is so easy to fall into.) They are fae like elementals and live for a long time and it works with the lore and the worldbuilding. But I refuse to believe that it isn’t possible to a) age up Ida a little bit. B) pop a few more rulers in the timeline so that Oro and Grim are younger or c) do both!  I would love a heroine who is several centuries old (if you have any recs drop them in the comments!) but it is so so rare.

A series I love and haven’t finished, the Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (I’m trying to pick out popular examples but its so frequent I could do more) features a thousands of years age gap between Caeleana and Rowan. Lets not start on the power dymanics of her relying on him to control her magic or that he treats her so badly at the start, but the age gap itself is huge. I believe she is nineteen at this point, possibly even eighteen or twenty but either way she is a long long way from several thousand.

The Trope of the older mysterious man is so so common that I cant even hate the books that they are in (I adore some of these with my whole obsessive bookish heart) but I really think that it needs to stop. The occasional old fae is fine, but it is just so common and none of them acknowledge the difficulties of this like that they are from different generations and often cultures, with different expectations.

I digress to go read but what are your thoughts on this incredibly popular trope that is rampant in so many fantasy books?

Happy Reading!

XOXO

Lottie

0

Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton

Notorious Virtues was a fun trials led fantasy between two heroines from very different pasts. I enjoyed how Lottie and Honora didn’t fall into the trope of the one raised rich is evil and how Lottie wasn’t as innocent as she pretended to be to win the support of her relatives. With a love interest that is a journalist that hates the Holzafall family and a really interesting origin story of the monarchy/goverment this is a must read if you enjoy your fantasy with a side of trials! 

This feels like the Inheritance Games but set in a fantasy world with a rebellion! We have trials, we have a family warring over an inheritance and we also have touches of world building that go delightfully deep and mention the economic power that these families wield.

World – 4/5 – it feels like the quintessential rebellion fantasy world but a little bit more Victorian and I honestly cannot wait for where this goes, I think the way the few locations that are described are all so vivid is really promising!

Characters – 3/5 – I didn’t love love love any of the characters but I didn’t hate any of them either (as characters, morality aside). I think that this books strength is the trials and the world and the characters were for me just a way of exploring that.

Plot – 3.5/5 – trials for me are a very predictable plot because they are so popular in fantasy right now but I did still enjoy it.

Romance – 4/5 – not there much, but what was was cute.

 Violence Rating: Level 3 

Romance Rating: Sweet

Content Warnings: family killing each other, magical slavery (forcing certain members to obey or die by magic, determined by heritage not race).

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑