A Multitude of Dreams by Mara Rutherford

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Retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s Masque of the Red Death!
18yo Seraphina lives trapped in Eldridge Hall with the Royal Family, servants and courtiers since the plague began three years ago. Seraphina masquerades as Princess Imogen after the real princess died four years ago. The Royal sisters were terrified of how the king would react if he discovered Imogen’s death so the sisters found a look alike Jewish girl, Seraphina, and took her away from her family. She’s been Imogen ever since. 19yo Nico goes to Eldridge Hall to see if there are any survivors. He soon discovers that the man who saved him from the mori roja plague years ago, and who claims to be helping plague survivors, is really a monster. Now Nico is compelled to save everyone he can in and around Eldridge Hall.

Likes/dislikes: I love retellings and this is based on Edgar Allan Poe’s Masque of the Red Death with added supernatural and historical elements. The author shares her background and reasoning for creating this story and I’m impressed with her forethought and hindsight. Wonderful characters bring the book to life.
Mature Content: PG for kissing
Language: R for 43 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for deaths.
Ethnicity: Royal family falls to white. Jewish descendants Seraphina and Dalia have olive skin. Lord Greymont has bronze skin. Elisabeth has olive skin. A dark skinned man is mentioned. Colin has brown skin.

Silence and Shadow by Erin Beaty

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Engrossing mystery!
17yo Catrin and Simon flee Collis and travel to the Selanae academy in Londunium to help Catrin learn how to use her moonlight magic. They befriend Martin, a law enforcement officer, when they help capture a violent man trying to harm Catrin. As they get to know each other better, Martin seeks Simon’s and Catrin’s help with a serial killer who has been evading law enforcement for four years. The mystery surrounding the murders is unusual. The group gets deeply entangled and in over their heads.

Likes/dislikes: Simon and Catrin are amazing characters. The murder mystery is unique and interesting. Characters are well developed and the world building is strong.
Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sex.
Language: PG-13 for 30 swears, no f-words.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: falls to white

Chaos & Flame by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland

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Mad Prince Caspian is a great character!

The prophetic High Prince Regent Caspian has drawn and painted pictures of a girl that he sees needs saving. His mother dies and then his aunt Aurora keeps his abilities hidden so the kingdom won’t thinks he’s unstable. 17yo Darling is the girl in Caspian’s artwork and she’s now a young woman trying to liberate her father so she plays the part Caspian wants her to play. At the ball, Caspian announces a tour of the kingdom that he’ll be taking and he plans on his brother Talon and Darling accompanying him. As they travel, their eyes are opened to the true state of their country and citizens and discover plots to take them down.

Likes/dislikes: I like the alternating viewpoints of Darling, Talon and Caspian. The world building is done well. I enjoyed the friction between Talon and Darling and also Caspian’s personality and humor.
Mature Content: PG for kissing and implied sex with no details.
Language: PG-13 for 11 swears and no f-words.
Ethnicity: Darling has deep brown skin. Alvin has an olive complexion. Talon has tan skin. Finn is pale skinned.

Crush by Tracy Wolff

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Second book in the Crave series!

17 yo Grace has just woken up from four months of sleep as a stone gargoyle. For some reason, her gargoyle alter ego isn’t comfortable with Jaxon and his being a vampire. On the morning that Grace wakes up with blood on her hoodie, she thinks she may have drained Cole, the alpha werewolf, of blood – almost to the point of death. She discovers that Jaxon’s evil brother Hudson has somehow taken up residence in her mind. This sequel to Crave is cheesy at times but also full of adventure, action, danger and great world building. The Ludares game, the Boneyard, the Bloodletter’s lair, the Unkillable Beast and the banter between Hudson and Grace make this a fun, interesting read!

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the silly jokes that Jaxon and Grace tell each other. The cheesiness gives humor to the story. The danger picks up in this second book of the Crave series.
Language: R for 179 swears and 57 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for kissing.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody hitting.
Ethnicity: Grace, Macy and Jaxon are white. The bloodletter has light brown skin.

House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig

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Sequel to House of Salt and Sorrows!

Verity is tired of staying home at the Highmoor estate and when she receives an invitation to paint portraits for a family in Bloem, she’s absolutely thrilled. Her older sister and caregiver adamantly denies Verity any hope of leaving. This suffocates Verity and when she asks Camille why she’s denying her any hope of freedom and adventure, Camille confides that Verity talks to ghosts everywhere they go, no one else can see them and this makes her and the family look crazy. Verity denies this accusation until proven wrong when told her nanny has been dead for twelve years and Verity had no idea because she talks to her and receives help from her every day. When Verity sneaks away in the night, she feels truly alone for the first time in her life and what awaits her is beyond anything she can imagine.

Likes/dislikes: I love the author’s writing style. The character development was fun to read. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the family in Bloem.
Language: PG-13 for 12 swears, no f-words.
Mature content: PG-13 for a passionate kiss and implied sex.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: The ethnicity is mixed with copper skin; red hair, white skin and freckles; golden brown skin; chestnut skin and a white older man.

Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

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Will good or evil prevail?

17yo Corayne and her mismatched crew are reeling from the battle to close the Spindle as they observe dead Galland soldiers and sea serpents surrounding them. As they move on, forty Ibal soldiers approach and tell the crew they have orders from their king to take Corayne to him, and the crew travels along because they’re staying together. The group has no idea what to expect when they meet the Ibal king. Erida continues to take kingdoms by force with the help of Prince Taristan and wizard Ronin, both of whom are occupied by the demon What Waits, and when she kills a fifteen year old princess, she gains another kingdom. A new Spindle is found and when Corayne reaches it to close it, she discovers a trap. Will evil or good conquer the realm?

Likes/dislikes: I love the world building and the character development. I enjoyed the intensity of the conflicts. I appreciate how this book and series feel like an epic fantasy.
Language: R for 10 swears and 2 f-words.
Mature content: PG-13 for passionate kissing; implied sex, no details
Violence: R for bloody deaths
Ethnicity: Andry has brown skin. Sorasa has bronze skin. Charlie is pale skinned. Sigil has copper skin. Bronze skinned soldiers. Pale skinned wizard. Corayne has golden skin. Valtik the witch is white. Olive toned, bronze skinned and fair skinned raiders. Black skinned immortal. Prince Oscovko is white.

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace

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Wonderful sequel to Belladonna!

Fate kills Lord Wakefield then nonchalantly blames Elijah Hawthorne in a room full of witnesses who watched Elijah give the Lord a drink that’s later found to be laced with cyanide. Fate reveals that he’s Death’s brother and has never forgiven Death for taking his one true love and now he wants revenge. Signa and Death are trying to help prove Elijah’s innocence by finding the true killer. The situation grows much more complicated and truths are revealed that surprise everyone. Signa begins to doubt who she really is when memories surface from a past life and she’s unsure of her fate.

Likes/dislikes: I love the world building with the wonderful descriptions and the prose. I enjoyed Blythe’s spunk. Signa’s strength and kindness is an inspiration.
Mature Content: R for descriptive sex.
Language: PG-13 for 27 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG for death by poison.
Ethnicity: Signa is white. Death is fair skinned. Fate has bronze skin. Blythe is white. Everett has brown skin.

Neverwraith by Shakir Rashaan

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Stand by the people that love you!
Yasir has moved to Oakwood Grove to live with his uncle. He had to leave Atlanta, where he lived with his Nana. He doesn’t know why he was forced to leave, other than his Nana telling him he was in danger. Now that Yasir is in Oakwood Grove, he’s dealing with new problems with bullies coming out of the woodwork. He feels changes in himself and he’s trying his best to get a grip on life and keep calm. When some of his past is revealed, Yasir starts to wrap his head around the importance of standing by the people he loves.

Likes/dislikes: The slang is difficult to get used to. The story didn’t pull my interest until the last third of the book. I was relieved when the characters stopped saying that everything will be revealed later and finally started explaining what was happening to the main characters.
Mature Content: PG-13 for underage drinking
Language: R for 92 swears and 5 f-words.
Ethnicity: The characters are predominantly Black. Taylor has tawny skin. Kendyl is Afro-Latina. Ms. Tyler has beige skin.

Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou

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Magic born abilities!
18yo Io lives with her sister Ava in the half-sunken city of Alante. The eldest sister, Thais, raised them after their parents died but left abruptly two years ago to be on her own. The three sisters are descendants of the Fates who decide the lives of others. Io is an investigator trying to solve murders and Ava is a performer at the Mob Queen’s casino. Thais is the fiancé of Io’s number one suspect and high ranking politician. When Io finally discovers the truth behind the murders, it’s going to alter her life and all that she believes in.
Likes/dislikes: So many descriptions of magic born abilities that it became confusing. Slow building story, so it took a while to draw me in. I enjoyed the characters Io and Edei and the prophecy that ties them together.
Language: R for 107 swears, no f-words.
Mature content: PG-13 for detailed kissing.
Violence: R for bleeding, dead security guards, bloody injury, bloody death with details, bloody shootings, torn out throats.
Ethnicity: Edei had brown skin but ethnicity predominantly falls to white.

Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto

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Beginning of an intriguing new series!
Wren is competing in the Bonewood Trials where her father instructed her to not just pass, but pass spectacularly to impress her grandmother, the overseer of the trials. When Wren is double crossed, she’s exiled to the Breachfort which is pretty much ignored by everyone because it’s supposedly desolate. She’s doing her guard duty diligently and when the visiting Prince Leo is kidnapped, Wren goes after him to save him. Julian is an ironsmith with the group who kidnapped Prince Leo but when the group tries to assassinate Julian, he and Wren end up falling in a deep crevasse together. The two of them are born enemies but are forced to work together to save themselves, rescue the Prince, and figure out why someone was targeting Julian.
Likes/dislikes: Amazing world building. I enjoyed the character depth, development and growth. I love the characters of Wren, Julian and Prince Leo.
Language: R for 39 swears and 9 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for passionate kissing.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death.
Ethnicity: Wren is fair skinned. Julian has pale skin. Prince Leo has caramel colored hair and light brown skin. Wren’s father has olive skin. Commander has ruddy brown skin.