Non-Arc Reviews

  • History and Espionage: School for Unusual Girls Review

    Author: Kathleen Baldwin Synopsis Welcome to Stranje House. It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don’t fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished…

    History and Espionage: School for Unusual Girls Review
  • Chilling Filipino Folklore: The Sacrifice Review

    Author: Rin Chupeco Synopsis An island oasis turns deadly when a terrifying legend threatens to kill off visitors one by one in this haunting novel from the highly acclaimed author of The Girl from the Well and the Bone Witch trilogy. Pristine beaches, lush greenery, and perfect weather, the island of Kisapmata would be the…

    Chilling Filipino Folklore: The Sacrifice Review
  • War, Magic, and Power: The Poppy War Review

    Author: R. F. Kuang Synopsis When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to…

    War, Magic, and Power: The Poppy War Review
  • Second Chance Romance: Happy Place Review

    Author: Emily Henry Synopsis Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find…

    Second Chance Romance: Happy Place Review
  • A Complex Tapestry of Magic and Mystery

    Book: Blood Debts Author: Terry J. Benton-Walker Synopsis On the anniversary of these brutal events, Clement and Cristina Trudeau—the sixteen-year-old twin heirs to the powerful, magical, dethroned family—are mourning their father and caring for their sick mother. Until, by chance, they discover their mother isn’t sick—she’s cursed. Cursed by someone on the very magic council…

    A Complex Tapestry of Magic and Mystery
  • Love and Adventure: In the Lives of Puppets Review

    Author: T.J. Kune Synopsis In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe. The day Vic…

    Love and Adventure: In the Lives of Puppets Review
  • Outlawed Magic and Unwritten Destiny: Song of Silver, Flame, Like Night Review

    Author: Amélie Wen Zhao Synopsis Once, Lan had a different name. Now she goes by the one the Elantian colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed her mother, and outlawed her people’s magic. She spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak’gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and her days scavenging for…

    Outlawed Magic and Unwritten Destiny: Song of Silver, Flame, Like Night Review
  • These Hollow Vows Review

    Author: Lexi Ryan Synopsis Brie hates the Fae and refuses to have anything to do with them, even if that means starving on the street. But when her sister is sold to the sadistic king of the Unseelie court to pay a debt, she’ll do whatever it takes to get her back—including making a deal…

    These Hollow Vows Review
  • Unraveling Fate: Threads That Bind Review

    Author: Kika Hatzopoulou Synopsis Descendants of the Fates are always born in threes: one to weave, one to draw, and one to cut the threads that connect people to the things they love and to life itself. The Ora sisters are no exception. Io, the youngest, uses her Fate-born abilities as a private investigator in…

    Unraveling Fate: Threads That Bind Review
  • Poolside Escape: Love Me Do Review

    Author: Lindsey Kelk Synopsis She may have given up on love – but she can still play Cupid for somebody else . . .Lovelorn Brit Phoebe Chapman has barely set foot in her sister’s house in the Hollywood Hills when she’s swept up by lovable Bel, her sister’s personal trainer, and handsome Ren, the sweet…

    Poolside Escape: Love Me Do Review