Waiting on Wednesday #760, December 3rd

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!

A Devious Brother by Day Leitao

Expected Publication: December 23rd, 2025
From Goodreads:
The thrilling and romantic conclusion of the series Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom.

An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole

Expected Publication: December 30th, 2025
From Goodreads:

A modern-day dark academia fantasy with a twist, perfect for fans of Babel and A Deadly Education.

Warren University has stood amongst the ivy elite for centuries, built on the bones―and forbidden magic―of its most prized BIPOC students…hiding the rot of a secret society that will do anything to keep their own powers burning bright. No matter who they must sacrifice along the way.

Ellory Morgan is determined to prove that she belongs at Warren University, an ivy league school whose history is deeply linked to occult rumors and dark secrets. But as she settles into her Freshman year, something about the ornate buildings and shadowy paths feels strangely…familiar. And, with every passing day, that sense of déjà vu grows increasingly sinister.

Despite all logic, despite all reason, despite all the rules of reality, Ellory knows one thing to be true: she has been here before. And if she can't convince brooding legacy student Hudson Graves to help her remember a past that seems determined to slip through her fingers as if by some insidious magic…this time, she may lose herself for good.

Just 2 books to wrap up the year (and I combined them because there's just 2, and because I want to get a bit more space between these posts and these releases.) These are both authors that I love, and I can't wait for them to be out! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #713, February 3rd

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #712
Teaser Tuesday #720
WWW Wednesday #720
WOW #716
Will the Time Come #713
Third Sentence Thursday #703
Random Reads #689
First Lines Friday #716
Book Blogger Hop #382

Monthly ARC's March Round Up

Monthly Series February Round Up

Monthly ARC's Update 106
The Reward Challenge Update #698
Wheel of TBR #245
How Well I Stuck to It #550
Wrote that Review Update #547

Week 5 Reviews:
Hearts that Cut 

The Crimson Crown

The Man Who Died Twice 

The Bullet That Missed 

The Last Devil to Die

A Language of Dragons

Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters

The Party

Secret of the Broken King

Surrender of the Brutal King

Sacrifice of the Brave King

The Dryad Storm

Upon a Starlit Tide

The Traitor Sister

The Empress

Return of the Vengeful Queen

Bone Crier's Dawn

Capitana

An Alchemist's Vow

Blood & Steel

Bloodwoods Bonus Scene

I Am the Dark that Answers When You Call

Vilest Things 

For She is Wrath

Phase Out Your TBR: 

Update 16

Update 17

Update 18

Update 19

Update 20

Update 21

Update 22 and Wrap Up

Phase Out Your Seriesathon: 

Update 4

Update 5

Update 6

Update 7

Update 8

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 

Update 4

Update 5

Update 6

Update 7

Random:

The Bookworm Revolution February 2025 TBR

Book Battle February 2025 TBR

OK, so I got 53 posts in 7 days, and I had a pretty good week, I still had Jax, he's getting picked up today, but I got him an extra night because of how the flights are turning out. So I'm happy with that, and the reading, and reassembling my book room. I still have a lot of books to reorganize, but I'm hoping I'm in the final steps. What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read whatever I want! 

Week 5 Review: A Traitor Sister

From Goodreads:

Hearts will mend and break while a moving castle heads towards an abyss.

Free of her master's manipulations, Astra's ready to embrace her powers and learn about her origin—until her fae prince is caught in a dark magic prison. Now she'll need to unearth long lost secrets and use magic more powerful than she's ever dreamed. With no guidance and no training, she'll need to act fast if she hopes to save her husband and her friends.

Meanwhile, the Crystal Castle is rushing to a pit of fire. When it gets there, it will open a chasm and destroy the kingdom.

The court's false king will do anything to acquire magic and steer his castle away from this doom. His last hope is to seduce Astra, whose unique heritage could provide the solution he seeks. Problem is, there's an impostor in her place—while enemies close in.

And time's running out for everyone.

A Traitor Sister is the thrilling, romantic, and sexy sequel to A Cursed Son. It's book 2 in the series Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom, a romantasy series perfect for fans of enemies to lovers, fae courts, epic action, hilarious banter, and heroines embracing their power.

My Review:
I had such a fantastic time reading this book! I really enjoyed the first book, and I was excited to see where this sequel would go! Spending more time with these characters, getting to know this world better, it was all really great!

That ending of the previous book was such a cliffhanger! That she is back in the custody of her master, and he's being held captive by his brother who doesn't have much care for his well-being, yeah, that was something that I wanted them both out of as soon as possible! 

It has been a minute, but I'm fairly certain that the first book was mainly, if not almost entirely, in Astra's perspective. In this book, however, there are a whole bunch more perspectives that widen our view of what is going on. It was pretty interesting to see what the other characters had going on, and their opinions of the other characters, because some of them have thoughts about Marlak. But it also meant that not a lot of this story was time spend with Astra. Which was fine, because she deserved some down-ish time, because she did still have a story. And with that ending, yeah, she's going to have a lot to deal with in the next book! 

The fact that we get Marlek's brother, Renel's perspective, really showed just how much of what we understood of this world was wrong. That Renel remembers their stepfather, and sister in a different light? Plus getting Marlek's side of what happened? Yeah, it's more complicated than it seems. There were a lot of complicated emotions, and feelings where reason says there shouldn't be, and I loved it! I'm so excited to see how it's going to play out in book 3! 

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to continue on with this series! 

Author: Day Leitao
Series: Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom #2
Read: January 29th, 2025
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Loved the first book, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2025 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Sparkly Wave
Published: February 12th 2025

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

WWW Wednesday #720, January 29th

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

Thanks to MizB of Should Be Writing now A Daily Rhythm for starting this meme! And thanks now to Taking on a World of Words for reviving it! 

I'm currently reading Upon a Starlit Tide, and oh, I'm really enjoying it!

I'm also reading A Traitor Sister, and it's a really fantastic sequel! 

I read The Dryad Storm, and oh, it was a fantastic end to the series! 

I'm going to be reading The Empress, and I can't wait, it sounds fantastic! 

What about you guys? Happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday #715, January 22nd

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!
 

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Expected Publication: February 11th, 2025
From Goodreads:

The third installment in the heartwarming and enchanting Emily Wilde series, about a curmudgeonly scholar of folklore and the fae prince she loves

Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm—as its queen.

Along with her former academic rival—now fiancé—the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures.

Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal How can an unassuming scholar such as herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in, for Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic—and Emily’s knowledge of stories—to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.

Scythe & Sparrow by Brynne Weaver

Expected Publication: February 11th, 2025
From Goodreads:

Doctor Fionn Kane is running from a broken heart, one he hopes to mend in small-town Nebraska, far away from his almost-fiancé and his derailed surgical career. It’s a simpler life: head down, work hard, and absolutely no romantic relationships. He wants none of the circus he left behind in Boston.

But then the Silveria Circus finds him.

Motorcycle performer Rose Evans has spent a decade on the road with Silveria, and it suits her just fine, especially when she has the urge to indulge in a little murder and mayhem when she’s not in the spotlight. But when a kill goes awry and she ends up with a broken leg, she finds herself stuck in Nebraska at the home of the adorably nerdy town doctor.

The problem is, not every broken heart can be sewn back together.

. . . And the longer you stay in one place, the more likely your ghosts are to catch up.

The Forest King's Daughter by Elly Blake

Expected Publication: February 11th, 2025
From Goodreads:

For fans of Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black, The Forest King's Daughter is an enemies-to-forbidden-lovers romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Frostblood.

Once upon a time, among the bloodred trees of Thirstwood, a young forest princess became friends with a lonely demon boy. He gifted her an amber ring, a worthless trinket…or so he thought...because no sooner did he slide it onto her finger than the demon queen and forest king declared war.

Years later, Cassia is a crucial force in her father’s army, wielding her ring of light that can blind and disorient hundreds of demons at a time. Then battle-hardened Zeru abducts her, planning to steal the ring back to fix his costly childhood mistake. Exhausted, terrified, and more than a little mistrusting, Cassia is forced to travel with Zeru to a place they both believed only existed in storybooks, one where their childhood friendship slowly rekindles into something much more. But it's only a matter of time before the war they've escaped comes for them, and a hidden threat to forest folk and demons alike grows in the shadows.

From the author of the Frostblood Saga comes the first book in an enchanting, adventure-filled fantasy series about the daughters of the powerful forest king, sure to leave readers breathless and desperate for more.

A Traitor Sister by Day Leitao

Expected Publication: February 12th, 2025
From Goodreads:

Hearts will mend and break while a moving castle heads towards an abyss.

Free of her master’s manipulations, Astra’s ready to embrace her powers and learn about her origin—until her fae prince is caught in a dark magic prison. Now she’ll need to unearth long lost secrets and use magic more powerful than she’s ever dreamed. With no guidance and no training, she’ll need to act fast if she hopes to save her husband and her friends.

Meanwhile, the Crystal Castle is rushing to a pit of fire. When it gets there, it will open a chasm and destroy the kingdom.

The court’s false king will do anything to acquire magic and steer his castle away from this doom. His last hope is to seduce Astra, whose unique heritage could provide the solution he seeks. Problem is, there’s an impostor in her place—while enemies close in.

And time’s running out for everyone.

A Traitor Sister is the thrilling, romantic, and sexy sequel to A Cursed Son. It’s book 2 in the series Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom, a romantasy series perfect for fans of enemies to lovers, fae courts, epic action, hilarious banter, and heroines embracing their power.

Just a couple of books, from authors and series that I like, and 2 that might be the end of trilogies, or at least the 3rd book each in their series, which would be interesting! Can't wait for them to be out! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Week 31 Review: A Cursed Son

From Goodreads:

In her dreams, he envelops her in love—in real life, he imprisons her in ice.

Assassin, liar, impersonator—dreamer.

As a decoy princess, trained to replace Her Highness even in a political marriage, Astra's life is not her own. With a duty like that, how can she dream about love?

And yet she knows she has a kindred soul. She can feel his presence every night, holding her in his arms, surrounding her with his warmth. But ice-cold reality crashes in when Astra's carriage is attacked by the Crystal Court's disgraced prince.

Exiled for horrific crimes, not only he's a wielder of powerful magic, he can also penetrate minds.

It turns out that he is the man in her dreams.

And this is about to get very, very awkward…

A Cursed Son is a fun, sexy, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance for fans of fae, elemental magic, forced proximity, dream connection, and snarky banter.

My Review:
I had a really great time reading this book! I loved reading Astra's story, learning more about this world, and rooting for her as she dealt with conflicting loyalties, because this one kingdom raised her, but this prince is not what he seems. I had to know more! I was full to the brim with giddiness reading this book, the set up and these characters were so cute!

Astra's life is not her own, she's been raised to be the body double of this princess, to put her life in danger to keep this girl safe. She was housed in the castle, but kept secluded, trained, but wasn't paid. And she has a secret about her heritage, which makes things all the more complicated.

That they are soulmates, with that dream connection, was so much fun to read, because she feels embarrassed by the contents of the dreams, whereas he thinks she's that powerful, that she's making it up, which causes a lot of banter which was hilarious to read. I was a tad bit confused-was it a mix of things that'll happen in the future, and a more loving version of the present? Because there was that once scene where he was poisoned and that was happening in real time, but the other ones, they seemed to be at a time that hasn't happened yet...I'm not sure, maybe we'll find out more in the sequel! 

Yeah, that ending got me! I'm glad that she figured out at least a part of the truth of what was going on, and was making a plan to get him out-but in the meantime, he's being held prisoner by someone who doesn't wish him well, and I know it's not going to go well, and I need him not to be in that awful situation! 

Loved reading this book so much, and I'm so exhilarated for the sequel! 

Author: Day Leitao
Series: Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom #1
Read: August 1st, 2024
Source: NetGalley  
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2024 Book! 
Publisher: Sparkly Wave
Published: June 25th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

ARC August Update 1

So I read my first book for ARC August, and it was A Cursed Son and I'll be reading Cold as Hell next! 

My Reading Journey:

A Cursed Son by Day Leitao

Started On: August 1st

Finished On: August 1st, 3:30 PM

Pages Read: 462

Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong

Started On: August 1st

Currently On: Page 0 of 352

Goals: 31
Read: 1
Pages Read: 462