Tag Archives: Romance

Review: A Matter of Murder by Tirzah Price

Book Review and Content, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,
A Matter of Murder by Tirzah Price

A Matter of Murder (A Lizzie & Darcy Mystery #2)
Tirzah Price
Storytide
Published November 11, 2025

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About A Matter of Murder

The thrilling conclusion to the Lizzie & Darcy Mysteries duology, following Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy from the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries series!

A Bingley family curse looms over Lizzie’s sister and Darcy’s best friend—but are the dark forces at work supernatural or human?

Lizzie Bennet’s beloved sister Jane has just married Darcy’s best friend, Bingley, and the Bennet family and Darcy are paying the newlyweds a visit at Bingley’s family home, Netherfield Park. It doesn’t take long for their country retreat to turn into an investigation, though, when a long-dead body is discovered stuffed up the parlor chimney.

The locals are convinced that Netherfield is cursed, but Lizzie and Darcy know better than to believe in such nonsense and are determined to uncover the truth about what happened to the mysterious man in the chimney. But as they dig deeper into the history of Netherfield Park, they find that danger is waiting for them around every corner. Soon enough, they’re forced to consider if the curse might have some merit to it, or if there’s something—or someone—far more sinister behind their near brushes with death….

This duology closer is a daring and delightful conclusion to the chronicles of supersleuths Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy!

My Review

More cozy mysteries featuring Jane Austen characters! Yet again, I find that this book arrived in my life at just the right moment. It was a joy to read this. The writing is smooth, so I flew through the pages. The characters are engaging, and the setting enjoyable.

If you’re a stickler for your historical fiction *sounding* like historical fiction… the writing here might feel too modern for you, especially if you are looking for something written more like the original work. But if you simply need more adventures with Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy at the helm, you definitely want to check out this series.

This is the second book in the “Lizzie and Darcy Murder Mysteries” duology, so if you’re new to this story universe, start with Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price, which is part of her “Jane Austen Murder Mysteries” series. (Sense and Second-degree Murder is still my favorite!) From there, you’ll want to pick up In Want of a Suspect, which is book one in the spin-off duology.

I especially love that the author offers Charlotte Lucas, who is a biracial woman in this reimagining of the story, an alternate, happier romance. I will always love the original story and respect Charlotte’s pragmatism, but I love that this story offers her the happiness she deserves.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity a few times. I love Georgiana Darcy’s response to this.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
References to attending Anglican church services. At one point, a character wonders whether another is. *gasp* a Catholic.

Violent Content
Mr. Darcy discovers a body (sort of a mummified skeleton) in the fireplace flue. He examines the clothes and personal items the murder victim carried as well as noting evidence of a head injury. (Later, characters briefly recount a recap of what happened to this person.) A heavy object falls from above, seriously injuring someone. Someone kidnaps a character and holds two people hostage in exchange for another’s cooperation. Someone fires a handgun at another person. References to someone being sentenced to hanging. (Not shown on scene.)

Drug Content
Adult characters drink alcohol occasionally. One character appears drunk at a funeral.

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: These Bodies Ain’t Broken edited by Madeline Dyer

Anthology or Collection, Book Review and Content, Horror, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

These Bodies Ain’t Broken
edited by Madeline Dyer
Page Street YA
Published October 7, 2025

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About These Bodies Ain’t Broken

A monstrous transformation within your own body.
A sacrificial imprisonment.
A fight to the death against an ancient evil.

These stories showcase disabled characters winning against all odds.

Outsmarting deadly video games, hunting the predatory monster in the woods, rooting out evil within their community, finding love and revenge with their newly turned vampire friend—this anthology upends expectations of the roles disabled people can play in horror. With visibly and invisibly disabled characters whose illnesses include Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, PTSD, and more, each entry also includes a short essay from the author about the conditions portrayed in their stories to further contextualize their characters’ perspectives. From breaking ancient curses to defying death itself, these 13 horror stories cast disabled characters as heroes we can all root for.

Contributors include bestselling and award-winning as well as emerging authors: Dana Mele, Lillie Lainoff, Soumi Roy, Anandi, Fin Leary, S.E. Anderson, K. Ancrum, Pintip Dunn, Lily Meade, Mo Netz, P.H. Low, and Carly Nugent.

My Review

I love the premise of this collection and how it’s set up. The anthology opens with a note from Madeline Dyer commenting on how horror often limits the presence of disabled characters to the villain roles. (For more on this, please read Amanda LeDuc’s incredible book, Disfigured: On Fairytales, Disability, and Making Space.) This collection gives its disabled characters protagonist roles. A brief essay by the author accompanies each short story, where the author will, if desired, offer information about their experiences that informed the writing in the short story. The essay offers some context about the disability represented in the work, too.

I really like how the disabilities represented in each story impact the protagonist’s experience. There’s no magical healing. There’s no special exception to the rules simply because plot. These protagonists must fight their way through literal horrors despite the limits of their bodies.

The stories span many places and range from long past to present-day settings. Some characters are in the midst of adjusting to or preparing to leave for college while others navigate grief, military capture, and long distance moves.

Because horror has so many layers and often requires buildup, I imagine it was challenging to write succinct, compelling tales. While a few had some meandering moments, most drew me immediately into the strangeness of the story and had me rooting for the main character to make it through.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Reference to romantic feelings. Kissing. Mentions of marriage and pressure to become pregnant. References to child marriage.

Spiritual Content
Reference to spiritual beliefs and practices, including sacrificial rituals. Reference to Catholic services and practices.

Violent Content
Some stories contain instances of ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and bullying. Some instances of body horror and gore. References to murder, imprisonment, and assault. One story has implied sexual assault, reference to child marriage, and emotional abuse. Some stories show self-harm, suicidal ideation, or mention of suicide. A couple stories include references to cannibalism, and one includes human sacrifice.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol in several stories.

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: We Fell Apart by E. Lockhart

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We Fell Apart
E. Lockhart
Delacorte Press
Published November 4, 2025

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About We Fell Apart

This gorgeous edition of We Fell Apart will feature stunning sprayed edges, unique printed endpapers, and an exclusive foil-stamped case!

#1 New York Times bestselling author E. Lockhart returns to the world of her TikTok sensation We Were Liars with all her signature beachy gothic atmosphere, family intrigue, and high-stakes romance.

The invitation arrives out of the blue.

In it, Matilda discovers a father she’s never met. Kingsley Cello is a visionary, a reclusive artist. And when he asks her to spend the summer at his seaside home, Hidden Beach, Matilda expects to find a part of herself she’s never fully understood.

Instead, she finds Meer, her long-lost, openhearted brother; Brock, a former child star battling demons; and brooding, wild Tatum, who just wants her to leave their crumbling sanctuary.

With Kingsley nowhere to be seen, Matilda must delve into the twisted heart of Hidden Beach to uncover the answers she’s desperately craving. But secrets run thicker than blood, and blood runs like seawater.

And everyone here is lying.

My Review

I was so excited to return to the We Were Liars story world, which is weird, because it’s a trauma-filled landscape. I love the characters and the way that everything feels a bit distorted, like looking at a story through funhouse mirrors. While this isn’t a Halloween-themed story, and it has an eerie quality that makes it feel like the perfect October read.

Matilda is great. She’s vulnerable because of her abandonment issues and desperate search for identity and permanence. But she’s fierce and practical and not easily pushed aside or silenced.

When she arrives at her father’s house, she finds a community of people who seem adrift in their own ways. It’s a strange group, and I felt driven to keep reading as much because I wanted to understand why everyone was behaving so strangely as wanting to know whether Matilda would finally meet her father.

At first, the secrets unravel slowly, and they seem fairly innocuous. Okay, so her brother isn’t great at cleaning up after himself. Not too serious. Then, things start to unravel more quickly, and Matilda starts to wonder how deep the treachery goes.

Once I hit the 60% mark, I read straight through to the end of the book. I remember really being enamored with We Were Liars when it came out, but I think I like this book just as much.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

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

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. At one point someone holds a pair of scissors to another person’s throat, threatening them. Someone injects another person with a sedative without their consent. This happens a second time, off-scene. References to a fire that killed several teenagers. (Happens before Matilda reaches the town where it occurred.) References to a car accident that killed two people. A dog kills several young birds. Characters discover the body of someone who has died.

Drug Content
References to addiction and recovery. Matilda and some friends drink alcohol together one night. They wind up sick and faced with terrible hangovers the next 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: 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: Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews

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Hazelthorn
C.G. Drews
Feiwel & Friends
Published October 28, 2025

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About Hazelthorn

CG Drews, acclaimed author of Don’t Let the Forest In, returns with another deeply unsettling and yet hauntingly beautiful tale of murder and botanical body horror, perfect for fans of Andrew Joseph White and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Evander has lived like a ghost in the forgotten corners of the Hazelthorn estate ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall, when he was a child. For his safety, Evander has been given three ironclad rules to follow:

He can never leave the estate. He can never go into the gardens. And most importantly, he can never again be left alone with Byron’s charming, underachieving grandson, Laurie.

That last rule has been in place ever since Laurie tried to kill Evander seven years ago, and yet somehow Evander is still obsessed with him.

When Byron suddenly dies, Evander inherits Hazelthorn’s immense gothic mansion and acres of sprawling grounds, along with the entirety of the Lennox-Hall family’s vast wealth. But Evander’s sure his guardian was murdered, and Laurie may be the only one who can help him find the killer before they come for Evander next.

Perhaps even more concerning is how the overgrown garden is refusing to stay behind its walls, slipping its vines and spores deeper into the house with each passing day. As the family’s dark secrets unravel alongside the growing horror of their terribly alive, bloodthirsty garden, Evander needs to find out what he’s really inheriting before the garden demands to be fed once more.

My Review

If you wanted to read The Secret Garden as a horror novel, you need this book. It’s intense from the early pages. Events unfold so quickly and with so much suspense that there’s hardly a moment to catch your breath.

If you’ve read C.G. Drews work before, the loveable, tortured characters won’t surprise you at all. Evander is so eager to please and so desperate to see the good in others, even if he can’t imagine any good in himself. He believes some truly toxic things as the start of the story. As the plot unfolds, he begins unpacking some of those ideas and discarding the uglier ones.

From the beginning, he’s obsessed with Laurie, the boy who apparently tried to kill him years before the story begins. I was a little hedgy about the obsessive feelings because I struggle to get into a story where the enemies fall for one another too easily because *plot*.

However, by now I should know that I can trust the author to reveal reasons the obsession makes sense, and eventually, Evander’s feelings do make sense.

While this isn’t exactly a Halloween story, it’s got all the goopy, gory, darkness the genre promises, and Drews’ signature tortured, yearning romance. Reading this book was such a wild ride. Sometimes I wanted to look away, but more often, I wanted to know what happened. I’m already looking forward to what the author publishes next.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. In one scene, the kissing leads to some violence.

Spiritual Content
Sentient or paranormally responsive plants.

Violent Content
Body horror, blood and gore. Some scenes show child abuse (locking a child in their room for extended time periods, physically harming them, forcing them to take medication), and disordered eating. One character feels intense shame about the way their mind works, which seems to result, at least in part, from ableist caretakers. Some scenes show a character eating or wanting to eat strange things.

Drug Content
Evander’s guardians force him to take a sedative, telling him it will help with his “episodes”.

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.