Masquerade of the Heart by Katy Rose Pool

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Will love prevail?

Marlow watches as Adrius announces his engagement and her heart breaks. She knows that Adrius has to marry someone from a rich and powerful family to appease his own family but it hurts all the same. Marlow wants to stop the person who cursed Adrius because that person is wanting to control everyone and everything in Caraza, just as Adrius was controlled by the curse. Marlow gets help from Adrius and a few of their most trusted and clever acquaintances. Together they work together to hopefully put a stop to the tyrant before he takes over.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the intensity of the conflict between good and evil. The curse and the story behind it are so interesting. I love the ending!
Mature content: PG-13 for kissing.
Language: R for 39 swears and 8 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: falls to white. Adrius has warm brown skin. Corrine has dark skin.

Lie Until It’s True by Jessie Weaver

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Haunting or homicide?

Two separate murder suspects are on Amanda’s mind, her exonerated sister Cora and her art teacher from kid camp. Cora was a suspect in the murder of a social media influencer. The art teacher is the suspect in the murder of a very rich man at the Summit hotel. Amanda visits her friends in Summit. She wants to be a better sister to Cora and spend more time with her best friends, Cole, Mallory, and Vince. Cole and Mal are dating and Vince is dealing with the fact that his mother, the art teacher, has been arrested as a suspect in the murder of an art dealer.
Cole shows his true colors by manipulating his friends to go ahead with approving the haunted or homicide show for the hotel that will televise the investigation and publicize everything about their lives, which turns the situation into a disaster.

Likes/dislikes: I liked the double mystery storyline that grew into a possible haunting. The dynamic characters were interesting. The buildup and unraveling of the mysteries were fun to read.
Mature content: PG for kiss.
Language: R for 98 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Vince has brown skin. Amanda, Cole and Mallory fall to white.

Garden of the Cursed by Katy Rose Pool

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Intrigue and magic!

Marlow is a curse breaker who is helping her past crush, Adrius. Adrius has been given a curse that forces him to obey any orders given to him. He only trusts Marlow when he doesn’t even trust his own family. Adrius comes from a rich, powerful family who values money and power above all. When Marlow discovers who placed the curse on Adrius, she also reveals a secret that will change her life forever.

Likes/dislikes: The mystery behind the curse is fun to watch unravel. Marlow’s perseverance is admirable. The secrets revealed are intriguing and make me excited for the sequel, Masquerade of the Heart.
Language: R for 54 swears and 5 f-words.
Mature content: PG for kiss.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: predominantly white. Adrius has warm brown skin. Corrine has dark skin.

Wisteria by Adalyn Grace

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The ending of a perfect trilogy!

Blythe is marrying Aris, Fate, because he saved her father from being falsely accused of murder. Neither are happy about the marriage but their wedding rings force them to be together whenever they venture apart. To show Blythe’s father that they’re happily married, Aris creates a beautiful palace and village to convince him of the comfort and love the two of them share. The couple starts to enjoy each other’s company when Chaos, Solanine, arrives to wreak havoc. Chaos causes plagues and tragedies. Aris and Blythe must work together to stop disaster from happening.

Likes/dislikes: The prose is gorgeous! I enjoy reading what Blythe’s imagination creates. Humorous banter and fun world building make this book even better. Beautiful descriptions of scenery.
Mature content: R for on page sex.
Language: PG-13 for 23 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG for fighting.
Ethnicity: falls to white.

The Darkness Within Us by Tricia Levenseller

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Who will back down first?

Chrysantha is a beast. She and her sister Alessandra are in constant competition and their father expects both of them to keep him out of bankruptcy by marrying someone rich. While Alessandra married the Shadow King, Chrysantha married an elderly Duke but she ends him within two months after their marriage. Since the Duke has no heirs, she inherits everything and thoroughly enjoys redecorating the manor and revamping her wardrobe. She also gives the servants raises and shows them appreciation for their hard work. Eryx arrives, claiming he’s the Duke’s grandson and turns life in the manor upside down. Eryx has a secret and Chrysantha isn’t going to let him get away with ruining her plans without finding out what he’s hiding.

Likes/dislikes: The contradictions of Chrysantha’s character and actions are entertaining. Eryx is an interesting character and I enjoyed the unknown that went along with his secret. I liked Chrysantha’s feistiness.
Mature content: PG-13 for kissing and off page sex.
Language: R for 62 swears and 0 F-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Pale ivory, peach, dark beige, ebony skinned, deep obsidian skin tone, golden skin are all mentioned.

Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui

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Clever tale of a mysterious white painting!

Mae is desperate to find her missing sister Inez. Her parents want to move on from the pain and accept that Inez will never come home but Mae sees how their marriage is crumbling and how they’ve changed since Inez went missing. She goes to New York under the guise of cleaning out Inez’ apartment in search of any possible clues to her whereabouts. She meets Dev, a neighbor of Inez’, and he seems just as interested in finding Inez as Mae is. So they venture out together in search of a mysterious white painting that Inez has many notes of research on. What Mae discovers changes both of their lives forever!

Likes/dislikes: The alternating timelines build suspense. I like how dedicated Mae is to her sister. I’m fascinated with Dev and his background.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 11 swears and 2 f-words.
Violence: PG for fighting.
Ethnicity: predominantly white with the Dev being from India and Mae from Africa.

Such Charming Liars by Karen McManus

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Mystery loaded with con artists!

Kat and her grandmother Gem are in disguise at a posh store scouting items that Gem can make at fractions of the cost with cubic zirconia. Little does Kat know but Gem steals a diamond ring. Liam halts a con that his father is on by setting up a fake lunch date and explaining what his father is up to. Kat’s mom is furious about Gem involving Kat in theft, so she decides to travel to Maine for a job away from Gem. Liam’s dad and Kat’s mom are con artists who were married for two days twelve years ago. They haven’t seen each other since, until they both end up at the very same place in Maine. They’re both furious and are worried that the other one is going to ruin their plans. Unbeknownst to them, other crimes and cons are being committed in secret and these cons will change their lives forever.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the humor and sarcasm of Augustus. The layers of mystery are interesting and fun to see unravel. Kat, Liam and Augustus are great characters.
Mature content: PG for kiss.
Language: R for 172 swears and 26 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Ethnicity falls to white.

The Mirror of Beasts by Alexandra Bracken

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Unexpected turns!

Tamsin and Cabell continue on their mission but they seek different paths. Tamsin is with a group of like-minded and strong individuals searching for the Mirror of Beasts while Cabell is following Lord Death in the deadly and violent Wild Hunt. The Mirror of Beasts is not what they expected; it’s more remarkable than they ever imagined. Cabell faces the decision of leaving all he knows behind, including his sister Tamsin, to follow Lord Death. Tamsin discovers secrets about Emrys, Nash and herself that are shocking and completely change everything.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the alternating narrative between Tamsin and Cabell. Beautiful prose. The mystery of Nash is fun to see unravel. This story is full of great characters!
Mature content: PG-13 for non-detailed sex.
Language: R for 68 swears, no f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: fair skinned, blue-gray and leaf-green skin, brown skin, and tan skin make up the ethnicity.

Reckless by Lauren Roberts

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The ending!!!

Paedyn is on the run after killing the king. She’s hiding in the home of the resistance when Kai shows up with his guards. He sets the house on fire, throws a dagger and cuts Paedyn’s leg as she’s scrambling across the rooftops to escape. She heads to the desert and walks for days. Kai chases her even though he’s thoroughly conflicted about what he’s going to do if he catches her.

He finds her, disguised as a man, fighting to earn money and as the two of them fight each other, Paedyn rips Kai’s bandana off of his face so the crowd sees he’s the prince. They travel far to return Paedyn to the palace per King Kitt’s orders, facing danger the whole way while an unknown future looms over them.

Likes/dislikes: Typos were here and there throughout the book. A large chunk of the book was spent on highlighting banter between Kai and Paedyn. Finally, on page 152, more characters arrived to help move the story along. The prose is nice, for example: “Wind combs its cool fingers across my scalp, and I almost sigh at the feeling. The open air is freeing, tempting me to stretch out my arms and embrace it.” The ending was a good cliffhanger.
Language: R for 111 swears, no f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for kiss.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Paedyn and Kai have fair skin. Residents of Dor have dark skin.

Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren

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Cute romance with suspense!

22yo Ren has dreamed of going to college since she was little and now she’s finally going! She’s leaving parents that treat her like a slave and they’ve manipulated her into believing she should feel guilty about leaving and living her dream. Fitz attends the same college and he has secret plans for his future and he works hard to be at the top of the class. They attend a class together and when the students are given an assignment to take a genetics test, Ren is surprised at her results. She discovers that a man on the eastern side of the country is her real father, not the man she’s been living with for decades. Ren bums a ride with Fitz when he drives to see his loved ones but he has no clue that Ren has no money, hasn’t contacted her unknown father and has no way of returning to Spokane.

Likes/dislikes: I love Ren’s gentle heart and high intelligence. She’s genuine in all she does. Fitz is somewhat of a mystery and his story is interesting. I enjoyed reading this story and getting to know the characters and their backgrounds.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 54 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for kidnapping and abuse.
Ethnicity: falls to white.