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.

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.

Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine

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Whoa! That ending!!!

Olivia is curious about who her biological father is after she finds out her parents have been keeping secrets from her. Reagan continues to move with her mother who is a suspect in the Camp Lost Lake murders of 2008. Olivia and Reagan both end up at Camp Lost Lake looking for answers and meet by accident. Little do they know that they’re walking into another murdering rampage as the Witch of Camp Lost Lake returns. They will get answers but will they survive?

Likes/dislikes: Creepy, twisty, mysterious fun! I couldn’t put the book down after chapter 5! The ending was intense and a shocker and left me wanting more to read!
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 75 swears, no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is predominantly white and Jack is Asian. Hazel is a Jewish Jamaican. Sawyer has tan skin.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

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“Ghosts have warm hands.” World War I historical fiction!

Laura receives her brother’s dog tags and uniform in the mail. This means that Freddie has died in World War I. She’s devastated but has a feeling that he isn’t dead. She leaves her Canadian home and travels back to World War I and takes up her mantle as a war nurse again to search for any information she can find about Freddie. What she discovers will change her life forever.

Likes/dislikes: Laura’s strength, perseverance, and love for her brother makes her a great character. My heart warmed as Freddie and the German soldier helped each other and became like brothers. I appreciated the World War I setting and learned quite a bit about its history. I didn’t know about the Halifax explosion before I read this book.
Language: R for 93 swears and 3 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for adults drinking.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: falls to white.

This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson

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Tale of horse-racing, magic, and power!

17yo Mikira secretly races her horse to earn money for her father and sisters and to save their business of raising strong racing horses. Rezek makes a bargain with her; if she wins the dangerous race coming up, he will leave her family in peace. 20yo Damien sponsors Mikira because he hates Rezek and will do almost anything to spite him. Damien hires 18yo Ari to create a racing horse golem that has speed, endurance, protective instincts and strength. It’s against the rules of the race to use an enchanted horse so they must keep the fact that the horse, Atara, is a magical golem a secret. The race is dangerous and everything is on the line for Mikira, Ari, and Damien.

Likes/dislikes: Jewish mythology adds an interesting factor to the story. I like that Damien wants to help others even though he could use his money and power for anything he wants. Reid is unusual and I want to learn more about his background.
Language: PG-13 for 25 swears, no f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex, off page.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: a variety including dark, alabaster, olive, light brown, tawny, pale, brown, fair, deep bronze, and golden-skinned people.

A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

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“It is imperative to confront history because it repeats itself when ignored.” -June Hur

A young woman in 1504 Korea, 17yo Iseul, and her older sister are orphaned by soldiers who killed their parents on orders from the king. They live with their grandmother until 1506 when the king collects the eldest for one of his own concubines. Iseul will do anything to save her sister but she has to learn patience and observation skills to do it wisely and as safely as possible. An investigator for the soldiers is helping her gain these skills, even though it will mark him as a traitor. Iseul unexpectedly meets Prince Daehyun and eventually they help each other as the Prince plans a coup to take down the tyrant king. Full of intrigue and determination!

Likes/dislikes: I appreciate the research the author took the time to do for this book about a dark part of Korean history. Magnificent character development and world building. I fell in love with Iseul and the prince.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 31 swears and 1 f-word.
Violence: R for repeated bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: Korean