Category Archives: Fantasy

Review: Lord of Blade and Bone by Erica Ivy Rodgers

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Lord of Blade and Bone by Erica Ivy Rodgers

Lord of Blade and Bone (Waking Hearts #2)
Erica Ivy Rodgers
Peachtree Teen
Published November 11, 2025

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About Lord of Blade and Bone

A harrowing companion to the romantic fantasy adventure, Lady of Steel and Straw

The kingdom of Niveaux’s most vulnerable are being hanged—their bones mercilessly collected for an arsenal of wraiths. With young Prince Artus locked away and the Order of the Guardians driven from the capital, Cardinal Lorraine the Pure fixes her gaze on conquering bordering nations. To succeed, she’ll have to convince Captain Luc de Montaigne to embrace the power he’s been running from his entire life.

But even in chains, Luc yearns for the light of Lady Charlotte Sand. Proclaimed an outlaw, Charlotte and her lavender scarecrow Guardian, Worth, are staging rebellion with the underground network, the Broken Bird. Three new Guardians have also woken to aid their cause, but someone in their ranks is not who they seem. And with corruption spreading, the Guardians’ hearts are weakening. Can Charlotte trust Luc to abandon his former master and secure peace for the kingdom? Or will the darkness haunting Charlotte’s Guardian destroy any chance for reconciliation?

An exhilarating second installment in the Waking Hearts duology, this YA fantasy was inspired by The Three Musketeers and offers a beguiling dose of dark magic.

My Review

This book was at the top of my list of most-anticipated books coming out this year. I loved Lady of Steel and Straw. I don’t think I spotted the similarities to The Three Musketeers in that first book, but I definitely loved the whole magic system based on guardians with magical hearts that woke when placed inside a scarecrow body laced with herbs.

Lord of Blade and Bone started off a little rough for me, if I’m honest. It’s been a year since I’d read the first book, so I remembered the broad strokes but no details about the political scene or minor characters. The opening scene doesn’t include anyone I remembered from the last book. It sets up the action in this book nicely. Once I finished the book, I went back and reread that first chapter. It made a lot more sense.

There’s not a lot of recap in the opening chapters of this book, despite the fact that it’s almost 500 pages. While I love that I got to read the whole story at once, I wonder if the book would have been better as two novels so there was a little more time to catch up forgetful readers or introduce characters more slowly.

Because there are a LOT of characters, which is something I generally struggle with anyhow. It would have been cool to see a list of all the guardians and their herb-infused abilities somewhere, too.

Though the book started off a little rough, once I remembered who everyone was and what was happening, I didn’t want to stop reading. Charlotte and Luc’s slow burn romance is so sweet. Micah and Viggo are adorable, too.

The book has a lot of political intrigue and wrestling over whether magic abilities are good or evil. There’s a character recovering from addiction. It’s got a lot of intriguing elements.

Conclusion

Lord of Blade and Bone is packed with political intrigue and reads more like an adult fantasy that’s light on romance. If you liked King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo, definitely check out this duology. Be sure to start with Lady of Steel and Straw.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
Wielders use forbidden power to disturb dead spirits, raising them as wraiths who inspire fear, pain, and torment in others. Very rarely, when someone dies, they become a Guardian, or an immortal warrior bonded to a person who will fight someone wielding the dead or settle disturbed spirits as part of the Order of old gods.

Under the cardinal’s rule as regent, the people worship a new duo called the Silent Gods, and the old ways are forbidden.

One theme that emerges in the story explores whether the magical ability to wield wraiths is itself evil or whether it’s a neutral ability that can be used for good or bad.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle scenes. References to torture. References to the murder of civilians. Some brief descriptions of execution.

Drug Content
One character is recovering from a chemical addiction. A few references to alcohol served at social events or adults drinking socially.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

MMGM Review: The Beasts Beneath the Wind edited by Hanna Alkaf

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The Beasts Beneath the Wind: Tales of Southeast Asia’s Mythical Creatures
edited by Hanna Alkaf
Harry N. Abrams
Published October 21, 2025

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About The Beasts Beneath the Wind

A sweeping and magical story collection showcasing the mythical creatures of Southeast Asia, including work by two-time Newbery medalist Erin Entrada Kelly and National Book Award finalist Shing Yin Khor

A turtle the size of an island. A cricket that can possess you if swallowed. A giant who turns enemies to stone. The legends of Southeast Asia—or “the lands below the winds,” as explorers used to call it—are populated with a whole menagerie of colorful beasts that inspire awe and fear in equal measure. Yet, passed on as they are through story and song, so many of these stories remain rooted in some long-forgotten past and bound by the borders of the region, creatures of myth and memory and nothing more. Until now.

Welcome to The Beasts Beneath the Winds, a collection of Southeast Asia’s most elusive cryptids by a team of bestselling and award-winning authors. Within these gorgeously illustrated pages, readers will find the stories of seventeen regular kids who encounter these mythical creatures in the here and now, and—fortunately or unfortunately—live to tell the tale.

My Review

I love how upbeat the tone of this whole collection is. Between each story, a two page spread that looks like pages from a journal introduces a cryptid. Illustrations show what the creature looks like while text describes where it lives, its temperament, and what it’s known for.

The stories often center around family relationships and connecting or reconnecting with the protagonist’s culture. Some stories are set in Southeast Asian countries while others happen in the United States. Sometimes the main character learns something unexpected about a friend or relative through their experience with the cryptid. At other times, the beast appears to impart wisdom or simply remind the protagonist that the world is a larger, more mysterious place than they realized.

I also love that this book introduces Southeast Asian mythology to readers in the context of short stories. This would be a perfect book to begin with for readers interested in folklore but who don’t generally reach for nonfiction. A list of further reading recommendations would have been amazing to add.

All in all, this is an entertaining collection that’s sure to engage readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Contains stories about mythological beasts from Southeast Asian folklore and myths. Reference to Muslim holidays and prayer practices.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. In one story, characters stop poachers. In another, a character intervenes to help a creature battling an evil being.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.

Review: The Tear Collector by R.M. Romero

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The Tear Collector
R.M. Romero
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published October 14, 2025

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About The Tear Collector

This darkly fantastical climate change tale explores hope, memory, and what really makes a monster—set after the end of the world.

Climate change culminated in the Flood, an enormous wave that wiped out entire countries. Malka and her younger brother Ezra survived and now live with Dr. Jonas Hollman on the Island, the only piece of land left on Earth. Scavenging useful things from the shoreline under the watchful eye of the Island’s sinister leader Mr. Gray, Malka and her family get by. Barely.

But an illness called the Sorrow is changing people into monsters when their memories of the Mainland grow too sad…and Ezra is the latest to get sick. Desperate not to lose her brother, Malka throws herself into helping “Uncle” Jonas with his research to find a cure.

Then her family’s dismal lives are turned upside down by the mysterious Olivia, who crashes a plane on the beach. More people are out there, she says. The world isn’t lost forever. To save Ezra and the other Islanders, Malka will have to uncover the secrets of her flooded world—and the lies even the people she loves have told her about the true nature of the Sorrow.

R.M. Romero tackles our fear and anxiety surrounding climate change and weaves it through with hope in this beautifully told adventure that will resonate with readers young and old.

My Review

With her signature darkly whimsical writing, Romero introduces readers to a small island populated with survivors of a catastrophic flood. They subsist on items that wash up on the shore, scavenging for signs of life before the flood. The island community has a very rigid hierarchy, with a rich man at the top. He kidnaps any residents who become the Sorrowful, people who lose hope and grow animal-like characteristics. It’s a desperate way to live, and one that no one challenges until Olivia and her plane crashland on the island.

Olivia’s presence changes everything. Suddenly, someone voices the injustice and asks the difficult questions out loud. Someone offers the islanders hope, the thing they most desperately need and are most afraid to grasp.

I really enjoyed the reminder of how important hope is. Earlier in the story, the islanders are scared of remembering the past and feeling sad. They worry that if they think of sad things, they’ll lose hope. But, of course, they come to discover that sometimes remembering the sad things gives them reasons to hope for the future. I liked that the story explored that nuance a bit.

At one point Olivia needs a new engine for her plane. She and another character carry one from a car over to the plane to install it. I don’t think that would work in real life, but I was content to suspend my disbelief.

Throughout the book, I kept asking myself whether the story was stigmatizing depression. It clearly isn’t the author’s intent, and the difference between grief and depression doesn’t really come up in the story. That might have been something interesting to explore or to include in a note at the end.

All in all, I think readers who enjoy standalone fantasy about siblings will love this one. Give this to fans of The Firebird Song by Arnée Flores.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
People who lose hope transform by growing extra limbs, fur, wings, antlers, etc.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. One character enslaves others and imprisons them in his basement.

Drug Content
An adult character drinks champagne at a party.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.

Review: The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18

The House Saphir
Marissa Meyer
Feiwel & Friends
Published November 4, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The House Saphir

From the #1 New York Times bestselling “Queen of Fairytale Retellings” and author of Cinder and Heartless, this is the tale of Bluebeard as it’s never been told before—a thrilling romantasy and murder mystery.

Mallory Fontaine is a fraud. Though she comes from a long line of witches, the only magic she possesses is the ability to see ghosts, which is rarely as useful as one would think. She and her sister have maintained the family business, eking out a paltry living by selling bogus spells to gullible buyers and conducting tours of the infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place.

Mallory is a self-proclaimed expert on Count Bastien Saphir—otherwise known as Monsieur Le Bleu—who brutally killed three of his wives more than a century ago. But she never expected to meet Bastien’s great-great grandson and heir to the Saphir estate. Armand is handsome, wealthy, and convinced that the Fontaine Sisters are as talented as they claim. The perfect mark. When he offers Mallory a large sum of money to rid his ancestral home of Le Bleu’s ghost, she can’t resist. A paid vacation at Armand’s country manor? It’s practically a dream come true, never mind the ghosts of murdered wives and the monsters that are as common as household pests.

But when murder again comes to the House Saphir, Mallory finds herself at the center of the investigation—and she is almost certain the killer is mortal. If she has any hope of cashing in on the payment she was promised, she’ll have to solve the murder and banish the ghost, all while upholding the illusion of witchcraft.

But that all sounds relatively easy compared to her biggest learning to trust her heart. Especially when the person her heart wants the most might be a murderer himself.

My Review

First of all, I have to say I love that this is a standalone book. The story is nonstop, so there were a couple of moments where I wondered if it would be a duology, which would have been okay. I love that it’s a whole story in one book, though.

Writing a story centered on a character like Mallory strikes me as a little bit of a risk. We’re often so hard on imperfect female leads, even when they’re sincere. Here, we get this girl whose whole success plan is based on lying and swindling. Yet, I think Meyer really makes this work.

At first, Armand’s sincerity and open heart had me worried that he and Mallory together would lead to his broken heart. And, had things unfolded differently, that might have been true. I don’t want to spoil what happens, but I will say that I thought that as characters, they were well-matched.

I appreciated the way that the story centered around the female characters. To tell a story about essentially a serial killer while not letting him overshadow the whole story can’t be easy. Through the ghosts of his victims appearing as characters, the story reminds readers that these women have more significance than the moment of their deaths. I thought that was nicely done.

The magic in the story also feels pretty unusual. The mythical creatures are based in French mythology, which is neat. The book includes a glossary describing the different monsters that appear in the story. Different characters have different types of magic. The system feels pretty intricate in its creation. Though the whole story is wrapped up in this one book, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a companion novel about Mallory’s sister and her adventures. It seems like there is more to explore with the magic system and a side character with a quest to break a curse.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used a few times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. One character transforms into a human, and appears nude.

Spiritual Content
The story contains mythical creatures/monsters. Some characters are ghosts. One character can summon the dead and communicate with them for five minutes. Seven different gods gift some humans with different kinds of magic. Characters try to summon the ghost of a person who has died.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to murder. Some characters appear as ghosts that bear the wounds that caused their deaths. Monsters attack characters. Someone stabs another person through the back with a sword.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol as part of a funeral ritual. One character drugs another without their knowledge/consent.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Sleepless by Jen Williams

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The Sleepless
Jen Williams
Wednesday Books
Published September 30, 2025

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About The Sleepless

Godkiller meets Powerless in this epic gods-and-monsters romantic fantasy from British Fantasy Award-winning author Jen Williams.

Welcome to a world where gods and monsters roam the earth . . .

Elver is the guardian of the wild and dangerous monster forest. Saved from the brink of death by a god, her skin will poison anyone she touches.

Artair is on a mission—one that takes him face-to-face with Elver at her most ruthless. But her defenses are useless when she discovers he’s the only human impervious to her deadly gift. For Artair isn’t human: he’s one of the Sleepless, cursed to share his body with an evil spirit.

Lucian inhabits their body while Artair sleeps, and he is hell-bent on manipulating Elver for his dark purposes. But Elver is harbouring secrets too, and she has her own reasons for feigning an alliance with these two souls.

Caught in the crossfire of gods, monsters, and a dangerous magic they can barely understand, it is only a matter of time before the paths the three of them choose to take will set alight the very foundations of their world.

With a love triangle like you’ve never seen it, incredible world-building, brilliant writing, and a dangerous quest, The Sleepless will have you spellbound.

My Review

Yeah, I have to give the cover copy credit; this book definitely had me spellbound by the end. The story world is so different. In some ways, there’s so much worldbuilding that I felt really immersed in the pantheon of gods and their history with each other. Both main characters are deeply devoted to their way of life. They come from very different backgrounds, but they find some critical common ground. Both are incredibly isolated, and they’ve each assumed their lives must be that way. Their experiences make it impossible for them to return to those isolated, closed lives, though. I loved that for them, and I love that as part of their character growth.

Lucian is also a really interesting character. I flip-flopped back and forth on how I felt about him multiple times. Is he misunderstood? Evil? Has he changed because of Elver’s kindness? What happens if he recovers his memories and remembers who he was?

There’s also a very slow-burning romance/love triangle in the story. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, but actually, I think the author pulls the romance together nicely.

This is the first part of a duology, and the ending shows that. There’s a partial resolution, but it’s clear that the characters have more still to do before they can be truly free.

The Sleepless is the first novel by Jen Williams that I’ve read, and I definitely want to read more. Currently, the conclusion to the duology is scheduled for publication in May 2026. I’ve already got it on my list to read next year!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used a few times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Brief, very vague reference to sex.

Spiritual Content
The story world contains a pantheon of gods, each of whom have different abilities, temples, and followers. One god demands blood sacrifices in exchange for power or attention. Another god uses light to burn away the presence of magic from other gods, which sometimes causes death.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A group of people throw a child over a cliff into the sea to appease a god. (She does not die.) Some characters do not sleep. Instead, when they go unconscious, another person “wakes up” inside them and that alternate person is sometimes violent. These Sleepless are imprisoned in a monastery where their others cannot hurt anyone. One character intends to sacrifice others to their god in exchange for power. One character’s touch is toxic to humans. She uses this to incapacitate or hurt those who wish to harm her or her allies. Brief battles between characters occur. References to the death of children as a result of a conflict between gods.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol at one point. It’s unclear whether they knew the drinks were alcoholic. They received them while hiding from pursuers.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Crimson Throne by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

The Crimson Throne
Sara Raasch and Beth Revis
Sourcebooks Fire
Published October 7, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Crimson Throne

Powerless meets Reign in this new historical romantasy from the New York Times bestselling authors of Night of the Witch.

Samson Calthorpe’s curse has isolated him from everyone he has ever cared about. So, when the opportunity arises to break the curse, he grabs it. All he has to do for his freedom is risk his life and become a royal spy, using every bit of the skills and resolve he’s picked up on the streets of London to infiltrate the court of the Scottish Queen and uncover a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth.

For years, Alyth Graham has been protecting Mary Queen of Scots from threats both physical and magical, including the Queen’s own husband, Lord Darnley. Alyth is more than meets the eye though, the child of a fae prince and a human mother, she is among the most powerful protectors in Scotland: guardians sworn to defend against the Red Caps, a bloodthirsty fae clan . . . that Lord Darnley is in league with to overtake Scotland.

As Alyth and Samson circle each other in the volatile and glamorous Scottish court, both seek to uncover threats to their own countries. They have one unifying link: their shared hatred and suspicion of Lord Darnley…and their undeniable pull towards each other. Using secret codes, hidden messages, and a little bit of magic, Alyth and Samson unravel a plot centuries in the making. Lord Darnley is only a pawn, and in this game, the queen takes all.

“A biting historical fantasy series launch that fuses Tudor-era courtcraft with Celtic fae legend… …confronting duty, destiny, and betrayal” —Publishers Weekly

“An atmospheric fantasy brimming with intrigue and heart.” —Kirkus Reviews

My Review

I really liked Night of the Witch, so I had this book on my reading list as soon as I saw it announced. This one is steeped in Scottish history with legendary creatures threaded throughout. I liked the way the authors blended history and myth together to tell a sort of alternate, magic-infused account of the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots.

As you’d expect with a romantasy, Alyth and Samson have an immediate, powerful connection, though it takes some time for them to stop denying it. I think it really works because though they should be enemies, they both have many reasons to question what’s happening and whether they really belong on opposing sides. I like that it takes a bit for them to overcome their resistance to their feelings of attraction. It created a lot of tension, which really kept me reading.

I’m very happy that I read this book. I think I like this even more than Night of the Witch, though I enjoyed that one, too. The sequel will absolutely be on my reading list next year.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
References to Queen Mary’s Catholic faith. Alyth is part fae, and has some ability to do magic. Other characters share similar lineage. The story contains other characters and creatures from Scottish folkstories.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Characters use magical artifacts to control and/or kill others. Brief descriptions of characters attacking and killing someone.

Drug Content
One character is often drunk.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.