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Review: I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by Kylie Lee Baker

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,
I'll Find You Where the Timeline Ends by Kylie Lee Baker

I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends
Kylie Lee Baker
Feiwel & Friends
Published November 18, 2025

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About I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends

A teen descendant of a Japanese dragon god must team up with a cute rogue agent to subvert a corrupt time travel organization and find out the truth of what happened to her missing sister in acclaimed author Kylie Lee Baker’s magical new YA romance, I’ll Find You Where the Timeline Ends.

When you’re ready, come find me. I will keep you safe. -Hana

Descended from a Japanese dragon god, Yang Mina was born with the power to travel through time, and has spent her life training to take her place in the Descendants, a secret organization whose purpose is to protect the timeline. Then Mina’s world is uprooted when she moves to Seoul and finds a note from her sister–a sister who no one remembers, as if she had been erased. The only people who could have made her sister vanish so completely are part of the very agency that she’s been working so hard to join. So now Mina has a new mission, infiltrate the agency as quickly as possible to find her lost sister.

And, as if things weren’t complicated enough, a strikingly handsome rogue agent has determined that Mina is the only person who can help him put an end to the Descendants’ corruption. Placed in an impossible situation, Mina must decide how much she’s willing to risk to find the truth.

My Review

At first, this story might look like a love triangle between Mina, Jihoon, the boy she’s supposed to seduce into a kiss, and Yejun, the rogue agent desperate for her help righting a wrong in the timeline. It becomes clear pretty quickly, though, that poor, sweet Jihoon really doesn’t stand a chance against the unpredictable Yejun.

It took me a long time to invest in the Mina-Yejun connection. He seemed too pushy, and too determined that she should just take orders from him, no questions asked. That didn’t sit well with me. It seemed like it was exactly the same way that her superiors within the organization treated her. He was asking her to go rogue, risk her life, and just trust him that it would all be okay. Seemed like a big ask to me.

I’m glad I stuck with the story, though. I don’t want to give spoilers. But I will say that by the time I reached the end of the story, I understood why certain things happened the way they did. It’s a pretzel-y story, which I enjoyed. For example, both Mina and Yejun encounter future versions of themselves in the present taking action to alter what happens. Later, we see those same scenes, and they make a lot more sense from the vantage point later in the story.

Time travel stories have got to be hard to write. I love that this one plays with some of the common tropes and elements of time travel. I also grew to appreciate the love story as the full landscape of what was going on became clear.

If you’re looking for a time travel romance, check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters are descended from the gods and have magic abilities. They use these abilities to navigate to different parts of the timeline and make changes.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief gun violence. References to tragedies that caused deaths, such as a bridge collapse. One character witnesses allies punishing a woman by “erasing” her from the timeline. (They force her to eat her own magic and she disappears.)

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.

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

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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.

Review: A Traitorous Heart by Erin Cotter

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

A Traitorous Heart
Erin Cotter
Simon & Schuster
Published January 7, 2025

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About A Traitorous Heart

A noblewoman in the scandalous French court finds herself under the dangerous and watchful eye of the Parisian royalty when she falls in love with the handsome king who is betrothed to her former lover in this bisexual The Three Musketeers by way of Bridgerton and F.T. Lukens.

Paris, 1572. Seventeen-year-old Jacqueline “Jac” d’Argenson-Aunis is lady-in-waiting to her best friend and former lover, the French Princess Marguerite “Margot” de Valois, but she dreams of more. If Jac plays her cards right, one day, she’ll become a full member of the Societas Solis, a secret society of spies—just like her uncle and guardian, Viscount Gabriel d’Argenson-Aunis.

But it’s hard to think about her own ambitions while France is on the brink of war, and the only thing that might save the country is an alliance—a marriage between the Catholic Princess Margot and Henry, the awful son of the Huguenot queen. Who would be the perfect person to play matchmaker? Jac, of course.

Jac resents lying to her best friend almost as much as she resents the brazen and arrogant King Henry, but it’s her one chance to prove to the Societas Solis that she belongs among their ranks before her uncle can marry her off or worse. The more time Jac spends in the French Court’s clandestine corners, though, the more she starts to wonder if Henry is…not as terrible as she once believed. And the Societas Solis may not be what they seem.

Politics. Spies. Chaos in the French court. Perhaps even witchcraft? Everything’s more dangerous when love is involved.

My Review

I enjoyed this book, but it took me longer to read than I expected. I liked the main characters for the most part. Truthfully, I wanted to like Margot more than I did. I felt like the plot kind of easily dismissed her as selfish and frivolous, though there was obviously more to her. Her goal was to open a school where women and people of any class could be educated. So she obviously had a lot of depth.

I appreciated the development of the romance between Jac and Henry. At first, they don’t like each other at all, but as they’re forced to work together on a common goal, they each surprise the other, and gradually, they grow to like one another. I appreciated that the relationship developed more slowly, giving us time to savor it as it developed.

Jac’s complex relationship with her oncle also added some layers to her character and backstory. Sometimes she interpreted his behavior to mean pretty dramatic things, but I felt like that fit her character and her age. I appreciated that the story included some changes in their relationship and how they saw one another and understood what the other needed from them, if that makes sense.

All in all, I enjoyed this one, and I can see how the marketing comparisons to Bridgerton and F. T. Lukens fit. If those ideas appeal to you, I think you’d enjoy ]A Traitorous Heart.

Content Notes for A Traitorous Heart

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
I don’t think there was much in the book in terms of profanity. Maybe some mild profanity infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and references to sex.

Spiritual Content
Reference to religious differences between the Catholics and Huguenots (Protestants). References to spells, potions, and occult practices. Jac investigates a graverobbing group, looking for evidence of occult activity, possibly reanimating the dead.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. An assassin comes after Jac and her allies. After she ties him up, Jac tosses one would-be assassin over a wall into a moat. A fire consumes a building with a child inside. Jac attempts to save him and his cats. References to a prisoner potentially being tortured. (Not shown on scene.)

Drug Content
References to drinking alcohol at social gatherings. The King of France is consistently embarrassingly drunk at the events.

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: Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

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

Of Jade and Dragons (Fall of the Dragons #1)
Amber Chen
Viking Books for Young Readers
Published June 18, 2024

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About Of Jade and Dragons

Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying dreams of becoming a brilliant engineer just like her beloved father – but her life is torn apart when she arrives a moment too late to stop his murder, and worse, lets the killer slip out of reach. Left with only a journal containing his greatest engineering secrets and a jade pendant snatched from the assassin, Ying vows to take revenge into her own hands.

Disguised as her brother, Ying heads to the capital city, and discovers that the answer to finding who killed her father lies behind the walls of the prestigious Engineers Guild – the home of a past her father never wanted to talk about. With the help of an unlikely ally – Aogiya Ye-yang, a taciturn (but very handsome) young prince – Ying must navigate a world fraught with rules, challenges and politics she can barely grasp, let alone understand.

But to survive, she must fight to stay one step ahead of everyone. And when faced with the choice between doing what’s right and what’s necessary, Ying will have to decide if her revenge is truly worthwhile, if it means going against everything her father stood for . . .

My Review

This book definitely has some Mulan vibes. It reminded me a bit of Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim, especially in the first quarter. (Girl goes to a big city and attempts to enter an elite, male-only guild.) I liked the relationships Ying cultivates with the other guild hopefuls, especially a younger one who becomes a close ally. (I hope book two includes this character.)

When I first saw this book, for some reason, I thought it was a middle grade book. It’s not. It’s clearly intended for a young adult audience. Sometimes, the writing and the way the characters related to one another felt more in line with a middle grade story. That isn’t to say anything is wrong with the writing or character relationships. It’s possible I felt that way because I had the other age group stuck in my head already.

There is a romantic subplot in the story, too. I love that the author doesn’t follow every expectation readers might have with a romance story. Ying is a strong character and has a deep commitment to her mission. She doesn’t want anything to distract her from finding out who had her father killed. She wants entry into the engineers’ guild to finish his work.

I love that this book includes so much about engineering as a field of study. A lot of the lessons and tests shown in the story involve defensive or offensive vehicles and weaponry, but some characters mention other kinds of engineering. I would have enjoyed seeing more of a spectrum of engineering projects, but I can see why those focuses would fit better in the story because of the push toward war.

On the whole, I enjoyed this one. It looks like the start of a series, so I’m curious to see where the story goes from here.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Characters are Chinese-coded.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Characters pray to and mention Abka Han, the god of the skies and guardian of Ying’s homeland. When a good or bad thing happens, it’s taken as an omen from Abka Han.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Characters face assassins and armed enemies in several scenes. References to and reports of warfare. In one scene, an assailant stabs an unarmed man after ransacking a room.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol at social events.

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: Vengeance of the Pirate Queen by Tricia Levenseller

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

Vengeance of the Pirate Queen (Daughter of the Pirate King #3)
Tricia Levenseller
Feiwel & Friends
Published November 7, 2023

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About Vengeance of the Pirate Queen

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN meets THE MUMMY in VENGEANCE OF THE PIRATE QUEEN, a beautifully designed standalone YA fantasy romance set in the world of Tricia Levenseller’s DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING.

You can’t be afraid of the dark when you’re the monster lurking in the shadows.

As an assassin working for the pirate queen, eighteen-year-old Sorinda is surprised when Alosa’s next task for her is not to kill a new target but to captain a handpicked crew on a rescue mission. Unfortunately, her sailing master is twenty-year-old Kearan. He may be the best helmsman the pirate queen has, but Sorinda finds him a real pain in the arse. Sadly, there are few places on a ship to hide from an attentive man.

As the crew of the Vengeance faces dangerous waters and deadly sea creatures, they accidentally awaken the King of the Undersea, a being who can control the dead. Their rescue mission quickly turns into a fight to save the world, but first, Sorinda must save herself from becoming an undead queen.

My Review

I remember Sorinda from The Daughter of the Pirate King series. She was a minor character in those books but a deeply interesting one. I vaguely remembered Kearan and some other characters as well. It was fun to revisit that story world and learn more about some of the other characters.

I struggled with some elements of the story, though.

First, the portrayal of the younger characters in real time or in flashbacks. At one point, a seven-year-old character makes a speech that sounds like it would have to come from an older child. Some of the ideas were really abstract and complex, and I felt like a kid that age would have maybe had similar feelings but been more likely to say things in a simpler way.

Is this romantic?

I also struggled with the romantic arc. Sorinda is a loner, an assassin with a dark past that she hasn’t really grappled with, and I love those things about her. One of the crew members has decided that she needs a friend and nominated himself to be it.

Over and over Sorinda refuses to engage with him. He refuses to accept her wishes and continues to pursue her. At one point, he follows her belowdecks into a dark, secluded area where she’d gone to be alone. I couldn’t get my head around that as a gesture of friendship. If someone follows me, uninvited, into a dark room with only one exit, I don’t know how to read that except as a creepy move.

So that made it hard for me to invest in the romantic arc of the story. I kept wanting her to confront him about not respecting her boundaries. Instead, she decides she’s the problem and just needs to give him a chance. Eventually, her feelings change, and she realizes she enjoys the advances.

Which, you know, really isn’t how consent works? Someone who keeps asking to be your friend when you’ve continued to refuse that offer isn’t being kind. They’re not respecting your boundaries. He isn’t wrong that she’s isolated and hurting. But he is wrong that he has the authority to decide who she should be friends with.

Pirates of the Caribbean Vibes

Anyway, that relationship didn’t resonate with me at all, so I ended up really reading this for the pirate adventure and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN vibes.

I did enjoy that, and I liked the scenes in which Sorinda really got to shine. I also really enjoyed the young character whose speech didn’t ring true. She is a little fireball, and I loved her tenacity.

Conclusion

Readers who loved The Daughter of the Pirate King series will enjoy revisiting Alosa’s world and reading a story focused on some of the series’ most memorable side characters.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Sorinda is described as having dark brown skin. Other members of her crew have darker skin tones. One crew member is an alcoholic in recovery.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. A man pursues a woman despite her stating she is uninterested.

Spiritual Content
After a crew member dies at sea, pirates light lanterns on deck to help the dead find their way to the light and the afterlife.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle violence and brief gore. Battles against the undead.

Drug Content
One crew member asks if the captain will lock up the rum rations after a particularly traumatic day.

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: Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Foul Lady Fortune (Foul Lady Fortune #1)
Chloe Gong
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published September 27, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Foul Lady Fortune

The first book in a captivating new duology following an ill-matched pair of spies posing as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders in 1930s Shanghai.

It’s 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue.

Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging—and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption from her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country.

Code name: Fortune.

But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind’s new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of her people are killed.

To reduce suspicion, however, she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong, and though Rosalind finds Orion’s cavalier attitude and playboy demeanor infuriating, she is willing to work with him for the greater good. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets that she wants to keep buried. As they both attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.

My Review

I feel like historical novels are always hit or miss with me. It has to be hard to find the right balance between anchoring the story in a setting of a different time and not letting those setting details intrude into the story too much.

At any rate, I thought Chloe Gong did a great job keeping her novel grounded in 1930s Shanghai. I definitely felt the historical components and how they worked with the story, and I loved getting lost in the politics and intrigue.

The only thing that really confuses me about this book is that it’s not really young adult. Like, at all? I think Rosalind is supposed to be nineteen, and Orion is twenty-two. All but one of the other point-of-view characters seem to be older. And all but one of them are finished with school and working in full-time careers. So I’m guessing the decision to market this as young adult has a lot more to do with capturing the adult audience who gravitate toward young adult books, probably because of the story’s speculative elements.

Anyway. I enjoyed the story a lot. It’s got a fake marriage partnership and a lot of spy/assassin action, which kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked the inclusive cast, and I felt like all the different points of view contributed to the story really nicely.

While this isn’t a sequel to THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS and OUR VIOLENT ENDS, it’s in the same story world, so there are connections between the two duologies. If you haven’t read THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS, then reading FOUL LADY FORTUNE will spoil some of the plot outcomes. I had no trouble following the story without reading the other duology, though.

All in all, I did really enjoy this one. My reviews will probably be posted out of order, so by the time you read this, you can jump straight back to my review of FOUL HEART HUNTER, which I’m really excited about reading.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are Chinese. Orion has had romantic relationships with boys and girls in the past. Celia is transgender.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A man suggests that he will keep Rosalind’s identity a secret in exchange for sexual favors. Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some scenes show an operative killing a target with poison. Some scenes show experimental drugs given to a person who is strapped down. Scenes show a person injecting an unknown substance into the arms of civilians, causing them to die. Battle scenes include characters exchanging gunfire and at least one explosion.

Drug Content
Rosalind (and another killer) use poisons to kill targets. Some characters drink alcohol.

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