June’s Recommendations

June the 24th is international fairy day and no I am not making that up that is something that actually does exist! In honour of that I am going to be giving my ultimate Fae read- and if you have any faerie ones that are no-spice/low spice then I would LOVE to have them!

A Court of Midnight and Deception by KM Shea

The second trilogy of the Magiford Paranormal Books (so you can read the first and get your vampire hit and then read this one! Spoilers are present for the previous trilogy, but only surrounding the main couple of the last series which is probably predictably going to happen so you can take a view on that!).

This has Fae. Tea drinking, etiquette obsessed, monarch-less but snobby about the one they are given, fae. With quirks and charming cultural details, it is set in an America that knows that paranormal exist but they have to present to be charming and less threatening than their faerie myths declare. They are none the less the fae of the myths, bound by tradition and powerplays within them but when the half-human Leila becomes their queen, the Night Court is at its most vulnerable.

If you like tropes here are some!

  • Marriage of convenience
  • Reluctant Monarch x Grumpy Assassin
  • Horsies but dangerous ones
  • Fae Power Games
  • No-nonsense heroine.

Content Details

These are what is generally called ‘clean’ fiction, no swearing and no sex (or allusions to it!). I would rate this Soft on my Romance Ratings, and Level 2 or 3 on the Violence Ratings. Genuinely no content warnings either! For a general age rating I would probably say 13 and up would enjoy it the most – it’s a Paranormal Romance, and I don’t think many people in middlegrade are looking for that, but I would have enjoyed it then and I do now so honestly this is sutiable for 12+!

If you want to know what kind of world you are going to be addicted too… then here is a timeline of the rest of the Magiford Books!

 Also a link to KM Shea’s website where you can learn more!

Rapunzel’s Gambit by Mary Mecham

(ARC personally sent by author, part of the All that Glitters release team, but all opinions are my own!)

Release Date – 24th of May – (it’s on KU so you can read it there if you have the subscription!)

This was honestly the Rapunzel retelling I NEEDED! Instead of a captive naïve princess held at the will of a witch we have a strong tactical princess who makes a deal with a dragon!

Pollux (the dragon she goes up to offer herself as the kidnapped to) is just so much more than I expected. Yes he is tactical and hoards gold like a dragon but he is also wickedly intelligent and genuinely cares for both Rapunzel and her ‘hoard’ or kingdom.

 The plot twists and turns and completely dumps the fairytale on its head, pulling out a few elements and weaving them into a fairytale retelling that feels like something new and nostalgic!

Also the drugged lipstick? Genius.

World – 4/5 – I will say that the world isn’t really the focus, it is the characters and the romance set within it but there were no moments it really made me trip up like some books and fit the plot perfectly.

Characters – 5/5 – This is the big change from the usual fairytale, it has been taken from Rapunzel being a naïve princess to one who is dangerously manipulative and I love both Griffin and Pollux so so much.

Romance – 5/5 – I am too worried I’ll drop a plot twist spoiler so let me just say wow – this was such an enjoyable change from predicable plots!

Plot – 4/5 – changes a few things here and there, but we kept the tower, we kept the royal heritage and I enjoyed it very much!

Romance Rating: Soft

Violence Rating: Level 3

Content Warnings: None.

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