Tag: fantasy romance

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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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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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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Assassin of Fire and Sacrifice by Mary Mecham

13+ (if you wanted you could read this one around 12, while i think a little older will probably enjoy it more, it has no content I wouldnt be comfortable giving to a tween.)

I love this book so much! I have already read it twice in the last year because it has all of the famous tropes like just one bed and arranged marriage but without any of the spice or even a hint of it leaning that way which I love.

Azora and Tarquin’s banter was amazing –  I love that she didn’t hold back or pretend to be someone else for her mission! It makes the romance so much more realistic because Tarquin was falling for her not a persona. Also – the training scenes *swoon*!

Its fantasy romance but we also got a good dose of the fantasy side of it – the world, wars, strange customs and Phoenix shifters! I cant believe I haven’t mentioned the shifter part of it yet – we have this rich culture centred around fire and heat (even including spicy food!) because they are fire birds and the world just radiated of the page!

The ending – no spoilers! – was something I don’t think I have seen done before but I loved it so much! The plot twists and the romance and the gorgeous world make this a no-brainer 5 star!

World – 5/5 – yes! I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Plot – 5/5 – the twists, the turns! The everything! The romance and then the war and just everything between! I always struggle to talk about plot without spoilers so let me just say read it – you’ll be sucked into the whirlwind within a chapter!

Romance – 5/5 – honestly heart wrenching – I think my heart attually skipped around some of those twists but true to fantasy romance form I was 100% behind the couple the whole time!

Characters – 4/5 – I really did enjoy the characters, they aren’t usual for fantasy, an assassin and a prince but the reveal about the government and the way the kingdom is ruled was really interesting and I neeed more details (I think that is world tho and I’ve already gushed up there about that!). Tarquin I loved, Aloza was just the perfect FMC and the little cute fire baby godson of Tarquins stole my heart from the first page!

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

Violence Rating: Level 3 – Medium threat and danger. Medium combat scenes with injuries described non graphically. Death and violence are present and regularly part of the storyline and plot.

Content Warnings: death (past and present), betrayal (medium).

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March Book Club Pick!

Our March Read is Reckless by Lauren Roberts! I rated Powerless five stars and have reread it twice but somehow Reckless has sat on my shelf for a few weeks without being read which is a tragedy. Kai and Paedyn were 100% my romantasy favourite of 2024 and they might be of this year as well! Click the link here to join us over on Storygraph as we read Reckless, chat about it and books generally and prepare for the release of the end of the saga!

We’d love for you to join us over on Storygraph and every bookworm, dragon or wyvern is welcome!

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