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Immortal Game by Allison Saft

Review: Immortal Game by Allison Saft

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Immortal Game
Allison Saft
Wednesday Books
Published August 4, 2026

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About Immortal Game

In #1 New York Times bestseller Allison Saft’s enthralling new romantic fantasy, a chess grandmaster will go to any length to save the person she loves the most.

Six years ago, Shea Fury’s sister was whisked away by the High King of the Otherworld, the ruler of the treacherous land of fae. Although Shea has spent the years since dreaming of rescuing her sister from captivity, the Iron Veil that separates the human world from that of the fae has made it only a wish. That is, until an invitation to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime chess tournament in the Otherworld arrives on Shea’s doorstep. The winner of the tournament may ask the High King to grant one wish, and Shea is finally within reach of hers.

But entering the tournament and winning it are two different matters. Dark magic lurks around every corner in the Otherworld, and Shea’s cutthroat opponents are willing to bend the rules to make their own wishes come true. To make it to the end—and to find her sister—she is forced to strike an alliance with her longtime rival, the sharply beautiful fae princess, Ciara of Bri Leith. One wrong move, though, and Shea could lose more than just the competition: She’d lose her sister, her dignity, and maybe even her life.

In Immortal Game, Allison Saft has written a high-stakes sapphic love story brimming with competitive tension set against a lush, Irish folklore-inspired fantasy world.

My Review

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that had so much chess theory or chess playing in its pages. Though I know the rudimentary basics, I’m not deeply familiar with the game of chess. I still followed the story without any difficulty, but I have a feeling I missed some of the jokes or interesting moments due to my lack of familiarity with some of the finer points of the game.

I really enjoyed the whole Fae-chess-tournament part of the book. The magical setting kept things off-balance. Shea’s focus on the game and her need to find her sister kept the stakes high. If you know me at all, you already know I have a special place in my heart for sister books.

Though Shea is super focused on rescuing her sister, the story doesn’t deeply revolve around their relationship. Instead, it shows how Shea’s understanding of her sister evolves from her view of her sister while Shea was a child to now reflecting on her choices as an adult.

The romance might seem a little unbelievable at first. After all, Shea has a reputation as having a single-minded focus, and she has been working toward the competition for years. It seems a wild time for her to get distracted. That said, I was very willing to suspend my disbelief about that as Shea falls unexpectedly (to her) in love.

I’ve read Saft’s other young adult novels, and this one definitely held up to my expectations based on her previous work. The pairing of chess and Irish folklore was a lot of fun here.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some F-bombs. Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Some characters are Fae and have some ability to do magic or curse others.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Shea witnesses the gruesome deaths of several other characters.

Drug Content
Characters drink socially. They are of legal age to drink alcohol.

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 Spell for Unraveling by Rochelle Hassan

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The Spell for Unraveling (The Buried and the Bound #3)
Rochelle Hassan
Roaring Brook Press
Published April 28, 2026

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About The Spell for Unraveling

Author Rochelle Hassan delivers a pulse-pounding conclusion to her dangerous and alluring trilogy, The Buried and the Bound, inviting readers into the realm of witches that churns beneath the surface of the mundane—just as it threatens to boil over. . .


After the chaos of the summer solstice, elder hedgewitch Anne Sterling steps in to take Coven Blackthorn under her wing—and to enlist their help. There’s damage control to be done as threats of a fairy war loom and the upheaval in Elphame spills into the human realm. Leo, in particular, is uniquely positioned to influence the course of events.

But Aziza’s top priority is to rescue her oldest friend and former librarian, Meryl, a selkie whose mysterious captor may have closer ties to Blackthorn—and Aziza herself—than she ever realized. To find him, Aziza will venture into the secretive community of witches hidden beneath the surface of mundane society and confront her deadliest foe yet.

Meanwhile, Tristan delves deep into the study of necromancy, certain it will be their best defense against the danger closing in on all sides. But mastery of the infernal arts is not without its own risks. And there are some things you can’t come back from.

My Review

I have been a huge fan of Rochelle Hassan’s books since I read her really imaginative middle grade debut fantasy, The Prince of Nowhere. This young adult series has been a lot of fun to read. The magical world is intricately built and contains so many facets. There are Fae courts. Selkies. Witches. Hags. All kinds of magical creatures with their own alliances and values.

The point of view alternates between the three main characters, Tristan, Aziza, and Leo. Each of them has a different connection to the magical world and different reasons to protect it. Across all three novels, we get to know each of them pretty deeply. Leo is a hopeless romantic searching for the true love he is cursed to forget. Tristan’s connection to magic also came through a curse when he was bound to a vicious hag. Aziza is the daughter of powerful witches, and she travels the borders between magical lands and the regular world, fostering peace between the creatures who live there and pursuing her own magical ability.

The Spell for Unraveling is the third book in the series, and one of the books I most looked forward to this year. Once I got the book, though, I almost dreaded reading it. This always happens to me with a series conclusion. I desperately want to know what happens, but I don’t want the story to be over.

Once I actually started reading, all the things I love about the series came rushing back. The relationships between Tristan, Aziza, and Leo are lots of fun. I love the way Aziza teases Leo, and how Leo protects Tristan. The three of them together make a pretty well-balanced team.

As the last book in the series, this one brings a potential romance to conclusion and hints at a new romance beginning as well. Though there’s a lot of pining and romantic tension across the series, this is largely a closed-door romance. Characters may fall into bed together, and the story picks up when they wake the next morning.

This isn’t the kind of series you could pick up from the third book. If you like the sound of the characters and story world, definitely start with book one, The Buried and the Bound.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. Characters in a relationship sleep in the same bed.

Spiritual Content
Some characters can do magic. Fae and other mythological creatures exist within the story.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Scenes depict battles with injuries and fatalities.

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: Tides of Fortune by Lauryn Hamilton Murray

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

Tides of Fortune (Storm Weaver #2)
Lauryn Hamilton Murray
Roaring Brook Press
Published July 21, 2026

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About Tides of Fortune

“Bears all the hallmarks of addictive YA fantasy. . . This is going to be huge.” —Laura Steven, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Our Infinite Fates, on Heir of Storms

Return to the spellbinding world of Heir of Storms in the explosive second installment of the Storm Weaver trilogy, perfect for fans of Red Queen, Throne of Glass, and The Rose Bargain.

Having survived three treacherous trials to win her crown, Blaze is now Queen of the Aquatori. But before she can take the throne, she must set out to find the Eye of the Soul, one of the realm’s most powerful weapons, before another claims its power for themself.

Her journey will take her deep into the forests of Ostacre and into a temporary alliance with the infuriating but undeniably compelling Fox. She can’t help but feel drawn to him. . . but can she trust him? Fortune favors the brave, but will it protect the Storm Weaver on her most dangerous mission yet?

Narrated by not just Blaze, but her brother, Flint, and the newly-discovered Shadow Magi, Elva, the epic journey that began in Heir of Storms continues in the sweeping adventure of Tides of Fortune.

My Review

I think this series is just not for me. I can see how a lot of elements are on trend and will appeal to other readers. It’s definitely got a strong romantasy vibe, and the fact that this follows three different characters, offering readers three different romances, means there’s very likely something for everyone.

It also has some elements that I’m discovering are personal pet peeves. I really struggle with books where part of the romance hinges on her reverence for him because he knows her better than she knows herself. Here, one way this plays out is that she wants to follow her quest to a certain endpoint. He has inside knowledge that this is a bad idea. Rather than confronting her with his inside knowledge, he drugs her and simply takes her where he wants to go. His explanation is that it would have been too hard to convince her to drop her plan in favor of his. While she’s frustrated with his tendency to keep secret knowledge to himself over and over, she never really confronts the way that he doesn’t treat her like a partner in their quest but rather someone he can overpower when he wants to.

Another of the couples in the story is a prince and someone his kingdom has enslaved. He privately offered this woman her freedom, and she has “chosen” to stay and operate as a servant. The whole private freedom thing seemed odd to me. Like, if she did try to leave, how would she be protected? Wouldn’t anyone else see her as an escaped servant? I get that the offer of freedom was supposed to make the romance something other than a master and enslaved person romance; I just had a hard time seeing that it materially changed anything for the enslaved character.

There’s room in literature for all kinds of romantic relationships, but I think I’ve just reached a point where I can’t enjoy or root for a romance in which the characters don’t at least confront these kinds of toxic behavior patterns rather than romanticizing them.

All that said, the plotlines surrounding the magic and the brewing war between the prince and his uncle continue building here. We learn more about Blaze’s past and why she is such a pivotal character in the upcoming war. I can see how the story would appeal to readers interested in stories with big, sweeping fantasy elements and political intrigue. For me, I think some of the story’s other elements will deter me from continuing the series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
Some characters can perform magic.

Violent Content
Some characters have been enslaved by a colonialist culture. References to torture. Someone drugs a woman because she doesn’t want to go where he wants to take her. Situations of peril. Brief battle scenes. Some instances of trauma responses related to past battle experiences.

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: Killing Sadie by Rachel Peterson

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Killing Sadie
Rachel Peterson
Simon Pulse
Published August 4 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Killing Sadie

Perfect for fans of How to Survive Your Murder and Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets, this young adult thriller unspools the truth behind a tragic murder through multiple unreliable narrators who all have secrets to keep.

Here’s what we do know: there was another infamous barn party at the McClain family farm last night, and things went horribly wrong. By the end of the night, there were two dead bodies in the old barn: seventeen-year-old Sadie Cooper and her killer, Mason Vreeland. The murder was heartbreakingly witnessed by Sadie’s twin sister, Jayne, and Sadie died in her arms. Mason was killed by Sadie’s boyfriend, Ben, in an attempt to save Sadie.

Aside from figuring out Mason’s motive, it should be an open and shut case.

But it’s not.

The story unfolds just after the murders, and Jayne, Ben, and Sadie’s best friend, Liz, are telling the cops what transpired at the party and the events leading up to it. But little details don’t match. And those little details start to add up to big discrepancies. But who’s lying, and why?

The shocking truth is revealed in the third act, when the POV shifts to victim Sadie herself, in the days leading up to the party. Witness exactly what happened—and see if you can piece it all together. Because poor Sadie totally missed what was right in front of her.

My Review

I really enjoyed the format of this book. The first two acts are written by characters who are being interviewed by police following the deaths of two of their classmates. They each have secrets and things they’d rather not bring up with law enforcement, which may or may not impact the case.

The storytelling puts the reader very much in the role of detective. We read the testimony of each character as they answer questions and remember key events. As each chapter unfolds, we piece more and more of the story together, deciding whom to trust and zeroing in on who’s telling the biggest lies.

The final act of the book reverses course and reveals the perspective of a murdered girl. She recalls details leading up to the party and her final moments, giving readers a chance to test out their theories about what happened against her description of events.

I found this book nearly impossible to put down. I wasn’t particularly rooting for any of the main characters, but I quickly invested in learning what happened to Sadie and who contributed to her death. The author doesn’t waste any words in the book, keeping the story moving quickly. The whole book is just about 300 pages, but it feels a lot shorter. I had a lot of fun reading this one. It’s worth checking out if you enjoy young adult mysteries.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to sex.

Spiritual Content
Vague references to prayer.

Violent Content
Brief descriptions of murder.

Drug Content
Descriptions of teen drinking at parties and with permission of parents.

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 Wish with Wings by Sarah Guillory

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A Wish with Wings
Sarah Guillory
Roaring Brook Press
Published May 19, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Wish with Wings

A tender tale of courage, hope, and holding onto yourself even when everything around you seems to be falling apart — perfect for fans of Katherine Applegate and Barbara O’Connor.

Everyone says twelve-year-old Evan Calais is feral. She likes to spend her time outside, fishing and having mud fights in her small town of Little John Island, Louisiana. But when a sinkhole causes the town mine to collapse, trapping all forty-eight miners, everything in her life comes to a standstill. Because Evan’s dad is one of the miners trapped inside.

Evan seeks solace the only way she knows how—in the outdoors—and comes upon the most peculiar thing. An egg.

It’s a large egg. And it’s alone. So while Evan waits for her dad to come home, she also finds herself caring for the strange, abandoned egg. If this egg can hatch…maybe her dad has a chance of coming home, too. But as she incubates the egg, Evan will need to make a big decision. For she has a secret—she might know what caused the cave-in.

Sarah Guillory’s latest middle grade novel is a deeply heartwarming exploration of the importance of imagination, the freedom in nature, and the power of the truth.

My Review

In 2023, I read Nowhere Better Than Here by Sarah Guillory, which I really enjoyed. I tend to love Southern fiction, especially stories that emphasize preservation and depict life in rural communities. Guillory does this really well in both books of hers that I’ve read.

In A Wish with Wings, Evan’s dad is trapped in a salt mine following an accident. While the story centers on her and her family, it introduces readers to life in a small mining community, where most families depend on the mine. It also showcases a rural Louisiana setting and highlights the endangered whooping cranes.

I liked Evan as a character. There’s something about a strong-willed, messy little girl protagonist that never gets old for me, especially in a Southern setting. It’s easy for me to relate, I suppose. I also like how her relationships with others change throughout the course of the story. At the beginning, she strongly dislikes her dad’s Aunt Tildy, who seems to constantly chastise her for her unruly behavior. As Evan spends more time with Aunt Tildy during the family crisis, she comes to view her differently and develops more respect and understanding for her.

Evan finds Sofia, a girl known for her obsession with caring for farm animals, annoying and avoids her, until Evan finds herself in desperate need of help caring for an egg. As she gets to know Sofia, the two find common ground.

An Author’s Note at the end clarifies some of the choices that Guillory made in the story, such as having Evan take an egg from a wild nest, and why someone should not do that. She also includes a bit more information about whooping cranes and what to do if you spot one in the wild.

I can’t think of another novel that I’ve read that includes a child whose parent works in a mine, especially in contemporary fiction, but I think it’s an important experience to show in a middle grade story. Fans of books by Kate Messner or Nancy Cavanaugh will want to put this on their reading lists.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Evan makes a wish and believes that when her egg hatches, her dad will wake up.

Violent Content
References to injuries and death from a mine collapse. Injuries to a parent, visiting a parent in an uncertain condition in the hospital.

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: Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai

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Deathly Fates
Tesia Tsai
Wednesday Books
Published April 12, 2026

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Deathly Fates

“Rich and wholeheartedly poignant. Deathly Fates sings with profound spirit, exploring the consequences of war and the scars cut by nobility during trying times. An entrancing world that will certainly linger.” —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights

A sweeping debut inspired by the Chinese folk practice of necromancy, Deathly Fates is perfect for fans of Descendant of the Crane, The Bone Shard Daughter, and A Magic Steeped in Poison.

As a corpse-driving priestess, a holy servant paid to guide the deceased home, Kang Siying has never feared death. But when her beloved father collapses due to his declining health, Siying realizes that even she is not free from the cruel grasp of mortality. Desperate to provide her father with the medical aid he needs, Siying accepts a dangerous job that promises a generous commission, and travels to a hostile state to retrieve the corpse of a missing prince.

But the moment Siying places her reanimation talisman on the dead prince’s head, rather than make the corpse obedient to Siying’s commands, the talisman brings the prince back to life. Worse, he won’t stay alive for long―not unless he absorbs enough qi, or life force, to keep his soul anchored to his body.

In return for a reward worth twice her original commission, Siying agrees to aid the frustratingly handsome prince in finding and purifying evil spirits for their qi. But as they journey across the countryside, encountering vengeful ghosts and enemy spies alike, they gradually uncover dark secrets about the prince’s death―secrets that could endanger both Siying’s father and their entire kingdom.

My Review

The idea of benevolent reanimation of the dead drew me to this book. Usually, that’s something pretty soundly reserved for the villains, or heroes slipping toward a villain arc. Here, it’s more of a compassionate relocation effort to allow burial rites to be performed in someone’s hometown. It’s a fascinating premise.

Some moments in a book beg to be acted out on screen. The moment that Ren, the dead soldier she’s been sent to recover, speaks to her, making a joke and sending her spinning into shock, has to be one of those. I loved that.

The relationship between Siying and Ren was a lot of fun. I loved seeing it unfold. His playfulness disarmed her and helped her unbend. Her seriousness made him work for things he might have otherwise considered out of his reach.

Siying is also dealing with a lot of grief over her parents. Her mom has died and left her to care for her dad, who is in fragile health, and her younger sister. That felt very raw and present throughout the story. At first, she’s desperate to bring Ren home because the money it will bring could save her father’s life. Eventually, she wants to save Ren for his own sake, in addition to using him as a vehicle to help her dad. I found the slow-burn romance between Siying and Ren really sweet.

Throughout the book, Siying encounters many different faces of grief. She meets a woman lost in despair and rage over the death of her infant daughter. She visits a healer banished after being wrongfully blamed for her mistress’s death. A whole village shares its grief over family members executed as traitors by an unjust ruler.

The echo of the weight and power of grief, both to cause further harm and to motivate people to protect one another, rings throughout the whole book. As Siying faces her own grief, she has to decide how she will respond.

Conclusion

All in all, I liked this book more even than I predicted I would. The characters are engaging, the fantasy landscape intriguing, and the pacing kept me hustling to read one more chapter until the end. I think fans of Lori M. Lee and Joan He will enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Siying is a priestess of an order that uses spells and sacred objects to reanimate the dead and walk them to their homes, so the families can bury them and grieve. Evil spirits of the dead emerge when someone dies in dark circumstances. These spirits can drain the qi (life force) and harm or kill anyone they encounter. Siying must refill the prince’s qi by collecting and purifying the qi of these spirits.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to war and the deaths of soldiers. References to death by suicide and murder. Battles between Siying and powerful evil spirits bent on killing her.

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.