Tag: YA fantasy

The Thorn Queen by Sasha Peyton Smith | ARC Review

Posted April 14, 2026 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

The scream I scrumpt when I saw I had been approved for The Thorn Queen on NetGalley was truly something. One of my top anticipated releases of 2026, The Rose Bargain was a sleeper hit of 2025 (IMO at least- I don’t see nearly enough people talking about it!) that left off on quite the cliffhanger. I often dislike comp titles because it often does books a disservices, but this series truly feels like Bridgerton x The Selection x The Cruel Prince and I am here for it. *Spoiler Warning- This review contains some spoilers for book one in the […]

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith | Review

Posted April 13, 2026 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

I used to be an avid YA reader, who then over the years pivoted mainly to adult, and romantasy before “romantasy” was even a word. Sometimes it can feel like I’ve seen it all, and while still enjoyable, many of the books I read can feel formulaic. Therefore, I was so thrilled to find The Rose Bargain to be a fresh, compulsively readable addition to both the YA category and romantasy genre, and its sequel is going to be one of my most anticipated reads of whatever year it’s released! The synopsis touts the novel as a cross between The […]

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig | Review

Posted October 3, 2025 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

“He came for the girl… And got the monster instead.” I feel like I am the last person in the world to read this book, but I was finally lured in by wanting to read something seemingly darker for spooky season + some really pretty special editions coming out. I was thrilled to see it on Kindle Unlimited and downloaded it to see if I enjoyed it enough to purchase the pretty physical copies (these days I usually only buy books AFTER I’ve read them and know I enjoy them). I can confirm that this book lived up the hype! […]

Blog Tour | Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Posted November 13, 2018 in Blog Tours, Books, Reviews / 6 Comments

Today I’m partnering with The Royal Polar Bear Reads and Bookable Reads for the Empress of All Seasons Blog Tour! Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play | Book Depository Empress of All Seasons may be another title in a sea of YA fantasy releases, however it immediately stood out to me within the first few chapters for several reasons, the strongest being the feminist themes and inversion of tropes generally associated with the male and female privilege in society. Protagonist Mari lives in a village comprised of shape shifting “Animal Wives” who are a kick-butt, take no prisoners, matriarchal society who highly value the […]

Caraval by Stephanie Garber | Review

Posted April 3, 2017 in Reviews / 11 Comments

Caraval was heavily marketed as pretty much THE BOOK of 2017, coming out in the first month of the year with an outrageous amount of hype. Usually I would be super wary of any book released under such circumstances, but I found myself SO excited to read this one after meeting Stephanie, attending the launch, and seeing how genuinely excited she was about her book finally making it into readers’ hands. I’m happy to report that I found Caraval to be utterly enchanting and strangely unique, and it’s nearly topped the list of fantasy worlds that I would eagerly volunteer […]

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas | The Ultimate Book Hangover

Posted April 13, 2016 in Reviews / 7 Comments

“You make me want to live, Rowan. Not survive; not exist. Live.” It was only a few weeks ago that I was shouting from the rooftop (of my blog) about how much I loved Heir of Fire, and how the Throne of Glass series has come to shatter all of my preconceived notions of it after reading the first book. Now four books in, I have given each book that followed the first novel a solid 5 star rating. I am completely, devastatingly in love with this series, these characters, this universe, and anything Sarah J Maas writes in general. […]

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas | Review

Posted March 14, 2016 in Reviews / 13 Comments

“She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.” I never thought I’d be a Sarah J Maas fangirl. I read Throne of Glass and was underwhelmed. I read Crown of Midnight, and it was shockingly good, but I was suspicious that it was more due to certain plot elements rather than an overall love for the series itself. However after I discovered my love affair with A Court of Thorns and Roses, I decided it was time to give the Throne of Glass series another chance to wow me. And wow me it […]

An Unpopular Opinion on Winter by Marissa Meyer | Review

Posted December 21, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 30 Comments

I am an outlier. A black sheep. The reader who seemed to have missed the memo that this was an amazing, flawless, work of utter perfection. So I’m going to start with a disclaimer: I love Marissa Meyer. I’ve met her twice. I think her skill at writing fairy tale retellings is magnificent. Her characters have depth and feel like my own friends. I coveted the release of Winter. I dragged myself to Barnes & Noble after an eleven hour work day to buy it in person to ensure that I received a copy that was in pristine condition. And […]

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas | A Review of Redemption

Posted March 25, 2015 in Books, Five Star Reads, Reviews / 20 Comments

“Then Celaena and the King of Adarlan smiled at each other, and it was the most terrifying thing Dorian had ever seen.” I’ll admit, I was a skeptic. Going in, I was NOT expecting this to be a five star, or even a four star read. I was really underwhelmed by Throne of Glass, and I felt like a total outlier because of it. Everyone raved about the series, so when I was at the bookstore the other day looking for a new paperback, I decided to give the series another shot. And I am SO glad I did, […]

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski | Review

Posted March 19, 2015 in Books, Five Star Reads, Reviews / 27 Comments

“People in brightly lit places cannot see into the dark.” How did I not read this book sooner? Sure I’d heard about it enough. I just went about my business, thinking this was nothing more than the usual and currently popular fantasy/dystopian YA love story. I am so delighted to have been proven wrong. I loved everything about this book, from the plot to the characters to the beautiful writing to the Greco-Roman inspired society. I don’t think I’ve been so passionate about a book since I finished Trial By Fire in January. The Winner’s Curse is the book […]