Book After Book

Publication: 12th December 2023 – Berkley

Murder is on the menu and Phaedra Brighton is called on to serve up justice in the latest Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery.

While Phaedra Brighton might not have a Mr. Darcy (yet), she’s quite content with her loving family and loyal cat. Phaedra’s sister Hannah is the Jane to her Elizabeth, and Phaedra is ecstatic that Hannah has decided to move home for her next adventure—opening a business. 

All of Laurel Springs is out in full force to celebrate the grand unveiling of Hannah’s new patisserie, Tout de Sweet, including local celebrity Rachel Brandon. Hannah is a master of her craft, with confections so divine, one bite will make you think you’ve died and gone to heaven.

Of course, you never want that to happen literally. 

When one of Hannah’s famous dark chocolate cupcakes sends Rachel’s assistant to the hospital with poisoning, Hannah begs for Phaedra’s help to save her reputation and budding business. But Phaedra has more questions than answers: Who was the cupcake actually meant for? And how far is the culprit willing to go to take their target off the menu—permanently?

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English Professor and Jane Austen scholar Phaedra Brighton is back to solve yet another murder, but this time it hits closer to home than ever before.

It’s almost Christmas time and, between giving lectures and grading essays, Professor Brighton is helping her sister Hannah prepare for the opening of her French bakery (or patisserie), Tout de Sweet. Everyone in the small Virginia town of Laurel Spring is attending, including the famous journalist Rachel Brandon and her entourage. However, things don’t go as planned. First, the fire alarm goes off, and then Rachel’s assistant is killed after eating one of Hannah’s delicious dark chocolate cupcakes. The cupcake was poisoned with cyanide, but was Rachel’s assistant the intended victim? With Hannah’s reputation and future on the line, Phaedra is determined to find out the truth.

Cyanide and Sensibility is yet another entertaining and intriguing novel in the Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery series. Its unique protagonist, Phaedra Brighton, who dresses in Regency dresses during her classes, can quote all Jane Austen’s novels, and can “communicate” with her cat Wickham, involves herself, once again, in a murder investigation, despite the warnings of detective Morelli, and she’s helped by her loyal friends and members of the Jane Austen Tea Society whose book of the month is none other than Sense and Sensibility. And like the two sisters of Austen’s novel, Elinor and Marianne, Phaedra and Hannah are now living together while dealing with some romance trouble as Phaedra tries to figure out her relationship with Shakespeare Professor Mark Selden.

The mystery is gripping and full of twists, but also cozy. The story is very well-developed and I enjoyed that the chosen murder weapon is a chocolate cupcake. I loved the Christmas atmosphere, and while everyone is busy buying Christmas presents, Phaedra needs to figure out if one of them is the killer and, as more poisoned chocolate appears, the list of suspects just keeps growing.

Cyanide and Sensibility is a mix of fun, mystery, and romance. Fans of Jane Austen will love the many references not only to Sense and Sensibility, but her other novels as well, and the fans of mystery will love the suspense, the twists, and thanks to Phaedra’s family’s mystery bookshop, quite a few recommendations of crime novels. Engaging, witty, and immersive, Cyanide and Sensibility is another win and I am already looking forward to the next one!

A huge thank you to Austenprose and Berkley for providing me with a proof of this brilliant novel.

Katie Oliver is known internationally as a writer of Jane Austen rom-coms with a hint of mystery. In the US and the UK, she is the bestselling author of the Dating Mr. Darcy and Marrying Mr. Darcy series.

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PRAISE FOR CYANIDE AND SENSIBILITY

“This is the first book I have read in the Jane Austen Tea Society series, but it won’t be my last…If you enjoy cozy mysteries, then this is a book you will enjoy.”— Book Looks by Lisa

“The book is filled with great characters and a fun, twisty plot. Highly recommend.”— Cara Putnam, author of Come What May

5 STARS— Gwendalyn’s Books

Publication: 7th December 2023 – Hodder & Stoughton

Years ago someone got away with murder… But time’s up.

2009
During a summer heatwave, teenagers are going missing. Junior officer Alex Finn takes the case and fears that the disappearances are linked. In a race against the clock to find and rescue the children alive, Finn and his team are only partially successful. Two of the children are saved, but they were too late for Oliver.
And the killer got away.

2023
DI Alex Finn is still tormented by the cases of his youth – none more than so than the 2009 kidnappings. And it seems someone else has not forgotten either. They want answers after all this time, and with a gun in their pocket and their sights set on Alex, they’ll do anything to get what they’re after…

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The DI Alex Finn series is one of my favourites and Will Shindler is an amazing author. His novels are brilliantly-written, intense, and full of twists and, as expected, his latest one, The Cold Case, is a thrilling read that I couldn’t put down. 

Told in two timelines, in 2009 and in the present day, the story sees DI Alex Finn facing one of his old cases, involving the kidnapping of three teenagers, that affected him so personally that he is still in touch with the victims and his families. And, when one of the victims is found dead, he starts to wonder if mistakes were made and the real culprit may still be out there. Did they arrest the right person? And what really happened to these three teenagers on that hot summer of 2009?

DI Alex Finn and his team at Cedar House race against time to find out the truth before it’s too late, but they are still recovering from the murder of one of their own and the betrayal of another, while welcoming a very enthusiastic new member. And while the old case brings back to Alex memories of his past and of meeting his wife, the capable and unflappable newly promoted DS Mattie Paulsen finds herself plunged into her new role while facing her own family problems.

I really enjoyed The Cold Case. It’s dark and gripping, some of the scenes are not easy to read and others are quite emotional. It kept me on edge from the first to the last page and it left me already looking forward to the next book.

A huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Will Shindler has been a broadcast journalist for the BBC for over twenty-five years, spending a decade working in television drama as a scriptwriter on Born and Bred, The Bill and Doctors. His time on these leading prime time dramas has given him a rich grounding in authentic police procedure, powerful character development and gripping narratives. He currently combines reading the news on BBC Radio London with writing crime novels and has previously worked as a television presenter for HTV, a sports reporter for BBC Radio Five Live, and one of the stadium presenters at the London Olympics.

Publication: 30th November 2023 – Gollancz

Calladia Cunnington knows she’s rough around the edges and her hot temper can get the best of her. So when she stops a demon attack one night, she’s horrified to realize the man she saved is none other than the cold-hearted Astaroth.

Astaroth is a legendary member of the demon high council – or at least he was. Suffering from amnesia after being stripped of his immortality and banished to the mortal plane, Astaroth doesn’t know why a demon named Moloch is after him, nor why the angry, hot-in-a-terrifying-way witch hates him so much.

Calladia grudgingly agrees to help Astaroth find the witch who might be able to restore his memory, vowing that once Astaroth is cured, she’ll kick his ass. But the more time she spends with the snarky yet utterly charming demon, the more she realizes she likes this new, improved Astaroth… and maybe she doesn’t want him to recover his memories after all.

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If you enjoyed A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, you are going to love A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch (and if you haven’t read them, what are you waiting for?). There is a quest, magic, some tense moments and quite a few steamy ones, many wonderful magical creatures, laugh-out-loud scenes, and an adorable enemies-to-lovers romance.

The protagonists are a formerly powerful demon, Astaroth, now powerless, suffering from amnesia, kicked out from the demon’s council, and banished to Earth. Helping him, initially unwillingly, a lively witch, Calladia. After a first disastrous meeting in which they had almost killed each other, Calladia had never thought that she and that arrogant Astaroth would ally, but as they hike through the forest in search of the witch who could help them, she finds it hard to resist his charm, even as they are followed by their overbearing mothers, a group of wolves who haven’t yet decided if they want to kill them, her worried friends, and a group of demons who definitely wants to kill them. 

A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch is such a fun read. There is lots of action and adventure, romance and family drama. We meet again some of the characters from the first book, including Astaroth who now turns from villain to quite an adorable and swoony hero. I loved the chemistry between the two protagonists, how they turned from enemies to lovers, and their sexy banters. This is a charming and heartwarming novel that will make you laugh and swoon. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to Gollancz and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Sarah Hawley lives in the Pacific Northwest, where her hobbies include rambling through the woods and appreciating fictional villains. She has an MA in archaeology and has excavated at an Inca site in Chile, a Bronze Age palace in Turkey, and a medieval abbey in England. When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats.

Publication: 3rd January 2023 – Berkley

Phaedra Brighton is on the case when an innocent murder-mystery weekend turns into the real deal, in the newest Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery.

Phaedra Brighton has her life all figured out—she has a profession she enjoys, a wonderful (if exasperating) cat, and a cozy carriage house on the grounds of her aunt’s inn. She needs no Captain Wentworth to sweep her off her feet (though, she would not mind a Mr. Darcy).
 
But when Aunt Wendy decides she is selling Laurel Springs Inn, Phaedra faces losing her beloved home. In a last-ditch attempt to drum up more business, Phaedra convinces Wendy to host an immersive Persuasion-themed murder-mystery weekend. It is a fool proof plan to draw attention to the establishment in the hopes of saving it. 
 
Until make-believe becomes reality and one of the participants winds up dead. 
 
With more suspects than she knows what to do with, Phaedra finds herself on the hunt for a killer once again. But with time running out, Phaedra quickly realizes that with this investigation, there will be no second chances.

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She’s back! Professor Phaedra Brighton is once again involved in a murder investigation, but, this time, during a Jane Austen Murder party. After Pride, Prejudice, and Peril, Phaedra and her Jane Austen Tea Society are reading Persuasion, so it seems just appropriate to organise a Jane Austen Murder Party based on it at her aunt’s hotel to help and save it from closure. Among the guests, a historical romance author and her husband, a journalist, a failed writer, a custom designer, a real estate agent and his assistant, and a certain striking Shakespeare professor from Oxford, who makes Phaedra’s heart skip a bit despite their very different opinion on literature. Things are right off to a wrong start when the historical romance author is not happy about the character she is going to play and things take a turn for the worse when she is found murdered outside the hotel. Since no one seemed to like her, the cast of suspects is quite long and, despite Detective Morelli’s warnings, Phaedra sets out to investigate on her own.

After Pride, Prejudice, and Peril, A Murderous Persuasion is another entertaining read. Most of the characters from the first book return, including Phaedra’s possible love interest, Oxford professor and Shakespeare scholar, Professor Mark Seldon. I love the chemistry between her and Mark. I guess if you can fight over English literature it could be true love, right?

There is an intriguing mystery, suspense, romance, family drama, and lots of Jane Austen references, besides a cast of engaging characters, two unusual cats, and a list of suspects full of secrets to uncover. I adore the character of Jane Austen scholar and English professor Phaedra Brighton, with all her quirks and unique characteristics, and I truly enjoyed this second book in the Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery series and I am already looking to the next one!

A huge thank you to Austenprose and Berkley for providing me with a proof of this brilliant novel.

Katie Oliver is known internationally as a writer of Jane Austen rom-coms with a hint of mystery. In the U.S. and the U.K., she’s the bestselling author of the Dating Mr. Darcy and Marrying Mr. Darcy series.

Publication: 16th November 2023 – Hodder & Stoughton

May 1940.

With Nazi forces sweeping across France, invasion seems imminent. The English Channel has never felt so narrow.

In rural Sussex, war veteran John Cook has been tasked with preparing the resistance effort, should the worst happen.

But even as the foreign threat looms, it’s rumours of a missing child that are troubling Cook. A twelve-year-old girl was evacuated from London and never seen again, and she’s just the tip of the iceberg – countless evacuees haven’t made it to their host families.

As Cook investigates, he uncovers a dark conspiracy that reaches to the highest ranks of society. He will do whatever it takes to make the culprits pay. There are some lines you just don’t cross.

THE LAST LINE is a blistering action thriller combined with a smart noir mystery, played out expertly against the taut backdrop of the British home front.

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It’s 1940 and, while the war is raging in Europe and England is preparing for a possible Nazi invasion, something darker and unexpected is going on in a village in Sussex. John Cook is a war veteran who has already gone through the first war and he wants to fight again, but his country has other plans for him: he must lay low in his farm and, should the Nazi invade, lead the resistance and kill as many of them as he can. 

While he waits, John becomes involved in a murder investigation. A young girl is found brutally murdered in his land and when it becomes clear that the police is not doing enough, John decides to investigate on his own. What he initially thinks is an argument between lovers which ended badly turns out to be a more disturbing case linked to missing children. A few months earlier, when the threat of bombing on London seemed certain, thousands of children had been evacuated to the countryside, but it seems that one of them, twelve-year-old girl Elizabeth, never made it to destination. And she may not be the only one…

This is a fantastic read. In the background, a war is almost on England’s doorstep as tales of the invasion of France arrive and war veterans are still suffering the consequences from the first war while the young ones are eager to fight. At the centre of the story, a violent murder and the only one who seems to care about it is John. Trained to kill, he is determined to find out the truth, even if it means using the force. Helped by a fantastic supporting cast of friends, he sets out to uncover a truth of conspiracies, smuggling, spies, and violence.

Very well-written and well-researched, The Last Line is a fast-paced, gripping, and compelling thriller and I am grateful to the author for reaching out. I was completely immersed in the story and I am already looking forward to his next one.

Stephen Ronson grew up in Sussex, and spent a large part of his childhood exploring the woods and fields around Uckfield, many of which were still dotted with reminders of WW2 – pill boxes, tank traps, nissen huts, and graffiti left by soldiers awaiting D-Day. He is a passionate student of local history, and when he learnt about Auxiliary Units – groups of men who were instructed to lay low during the predicted nazi invasion and lead the fight back, he knew he had to write about a Sussex farmer, one with a love of the land, and a natural desire and ability to get the job done. Many of the locations and characters in the John Cook series are inspired by real places and real people. In particular, Stephen was inspired by his grandparents, Eric, Bessie, Peter and Vera, each of whom did their bit on the home front.

Nowadays, Stephen divides his time between Vermont, USA, and Uckfield, East Sussex. When he’s not writing, he can be found renovating his house, or walking the woods and the fields.

Publication: 7th December 2021 – Berkley

Jane Austen meets reality TV and murder in this quirky cozy mystery—the first in a new series!

Phaedra Brighton is perfectly content with her life of lecturing college students, gossiping with her best friends, and dreaming of Mr. Darcy. As a young, respected (if somewhat peculiar) English professor, her expertise lies in all things Jane Austen—but she knows that the closest she’ll ever get to being a real-life Elizabeth Bennet is in her dreams.

When Who Wants to Marry Mr. Darcy, a new reality TV show, starts filming at her best friend Charlene’s estate, Phaedra is intrigued. And when the producer asks her to lend her Austenian knowledge as a consultant on the show, she’s over the moon. But on the first day of filming, when Charlene’s new husband is found electrocuted and Charlene herself is accused of the crime, Phaedra comes crashing back to reality.

With murder on the syllabus and her best friend in dire straits, there’s no Mr. Darcy around to help Phaedra—she’ll have to get to the bottom of this mystery herself.

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I see Jane Austen and a mystery murder together and, of course, I am intrigued. Pride, Prejudice, and Peril is the first book in the Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery series and it introduces its fantastic protagonist, an English Literature professor and renowned Jane Austen scholar, who dresses in Regency dresses and, somehow, gets involved in murder investigations.

Professor Phaedra Brighton is known for her knowledge of Jane Austen and the Regency era so it’s no surprise when she is asked to consult for a new reality show where the Bachelor meets Pride and Prejudice: Who Wants to Marry Mr. Darcy?. The show is filmed in the Marling mansion, recently on the news following the death of its owner who left all his estate to his nephew, William Collier, leaving his wife and four daughters with almost nothing. On the first day of filming, a storm rages, the lights go out, and first there is a theft and then William Collier is found murdered in the tub. And when the first suspect turns out to be none other than the victim’s wife, a close friend of Phaedra, she decides to investigate on her own. Dodging the warnings of detective Morelli to stay out of the investigation, organizing the annual Jane Austen festival, and welcoming the new arrogant and yet striking Shakespeare professor to the university keep Phaedra busy, but she’s convinced of her friend’s innocence and there were many people who wanted to see the victim dead…  

I had so much fun reading Pride, Prejudice, and Peril. It’s entertaining, immersive, and with quite a few twists. Professor Phaedra Brighton is a surprising heroine. She is not a typical professor. She dresses in Regency clothes to make her classes more realistic and entertaining and she is quite popular among the students. Her love for Jane Austen slips into real life as she waits for her own Mr. Darcy, while avoiding her mother’s attempts to match-making. She lives in a carriage house with her unusual cat Wickham and she holds monthly meetings of her Jane Austen Tea Society where, due to recent events, book talks have turned into murder talks and a murder board. I love her (in real life, we would be great friends, sharing our love for Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy)!!!

Pride, Prejudice, and Peril is an enjoyable and intriguing cozy mystery with a sharp, witty, and determined protagonist and I am already looking forward to her next adventure!

A huge thank you to Austenprose and Berkley for providing me with a proof of this brilliant novel.

Katie Oliver is known internationally as a writer of Jane Austen rom-coms with a hint of mystery. In the U.S. and the U.K., she’s the bestselling author of the Dating Mr. Darcy and Marrying Mr. Darcy series.

Publication: 7th November 2023 – Headline Eternal

The sainted Miss Venus was up to something – and he was damned if that didn’t intrigue him.

Venus Merriwell knows exactly what she wants in a husband: a selfless academic, free from all the wretched vices of her gambling father. Unfortunately, at twenty-three and after several romantic disappointments, the one true love of her life is a bursting-at-the-seams Covent Garden orphanage that desperately needs to expand into the empty building next door.

Gambling isn’t just Galahad Sinclair’s life, it’s in his blood. Following a childhood in a New York tavern, he’s spent the last five years making a success out of his East End gaming hall and saving for the pleasure palace of his dreams in Covent Garden. The only fly in his ointment? His perfect building just happens to be right next door to Venus’s orphanage.

With Venus’s malevolent orphans doing their darndest to sabotage Galahad’s lifelong dream, the two soon find themselves locking horns. Will either of them ever take the ultimate gamble and learn to love their neighbour?

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I loved the Merriwell Sisters series from the very beginning and I have been looking forward to the final book, Never Wager with a Wallflower, whose protagonist is the youngest sister, Venus “Vee”.

When she was 14 years old, Vee had dreams of romance and a husband who would love her above everything else. But after many failures and disappointments, Vee has had enough. She is no longer looking for love and she would happily settle for a husband she could have good conversations with and who loves books as much as her. Unfortunately, the only option seems to be a boring and pompous viscount. Luckily, her work at the orphanage keeps her busy and distracted, especially since Galahad Sinclair is always around to goad her and challenge her.

Never Wager with a Wallflower is a fantastic ending to a brilliant series. I have been waiting for Vee and Gal’s book since their first disastrous and hilarious meeting in Never Rescue a Rogue. I expected sparkles to fly between these two characters and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved how well Venus, who loves books and is a master at card games, has developed since the first book. Just like her sisters, she’s been burnt by their father’s abandonment and betrayal, but she’s found her foot volunteering in the orphanage. On the other hand, after the death of his grandfather and his mother, Gal hasn’t found a place to call home, but he’s determined to make a success of his gaming hall, even if it means to collide with Vee. As they exchange witty banter and challenge each other at card games, they realize they have more in common than they expected.

An enemies-to-lovers romance, a meddling found family, and an ending that left me slightly emotional, Never Wager with a Wallflower is engaging and immersive and I couldn’t recommend it enough!

A huge thank you to Headline Eternal and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

When Virginia Heath was a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older, the stories became more complicated, sometimes taking weeks to get to the happy ending. Then one day, she decided to embrace the insomnia and start writing them down. Twenty-one books and two Romantic Novel of the Year Award nominations later, and it still takes her forever to fall asleep.

Publication: 26th October 2023 – HQ

A long-lasting friendship
Every year, Erica, Claudia, and Anna reunite for their book club holiday. They’re bonded by years of friendship and a deep love of books, but there is still so much they keep from each other…

A perfect Christmas escape
At the cosy Maple Sugar Inn, Hattie specialises in making her guests’ dreams come true, but this Christmas all she wants is to survive the festive season. Between running the inn and being a single mother, Hattie is close to breaking point.

The start of a brand-new story…?
Over the course of an eventful week, Hattie sees that the friends are each carrying around unspoken truths, but nothing prepares her for how deeply her story will become entwined in theirs. Will this Christmas be the end of the book club’s story or the start of a whole new chapter?

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It’s not Christmas without a Sarah Morgan’s novel! And I read The Christmas Book Club is two sitting while dreaming of Christmas in snowy Vermont.

Four women and an idyllic hotel in the snow. Hattie never thought that at 28 she would find herself widowed, taking care of a 5-year-old and a dog, and managing the Maple Sugar Inn, a cozy hotel in Vermont. While dealing with a couple of rude staffers, still grieving over the death of her husband, and struggling with her feelings for her handsome neighbour – and Christmas tree man – Noah, she must put on a smile and welcome her guests and give them an experience that will make them return. 

Workaholic Erica is not one for relationships or emotions. After her father abandoned her and her mother mere minutes after her birth, she’s been raised with the belief that you can’t rely on anyone, but yourself. Her only family is her two best friends to whom she hasn’t yet told the real reason why she has chosen the Maple Sugar Inn as the hotel for their annual book club meeting.

Claudia had thought that she and her boyfriend would have been together forever, but, after ten years together, he left her for another woman. Six months later, she’s also lost her job – not that she’d mind, as she hated it – so she is really looking forward to the annual book club meeting with her best friends. But, looking at their perfect lives, she can’t keep wondering what she is going to do next.

Her friends think her life is perfect, but Anna is dreading the day her two teenage children leave home. She loves being a mother and being always there for them, even if it means giving up on time alone with her husband, but they don’t seem to need her anymore.  

I really loved The Christmas Book Club. I loved the evocative Christmas atmosphere, the beautiful village and the sense of close community. And I loved the characters, authentic, relatable, and well-developed. Well-written, heart-warming, and entertaining, The Christmas Book Club is the perfect book to cozy up in front of a fire with hot chocolate!

A huge thank you to HQ and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Sarah Morgan is a USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She has sold more than 21 million copies of her books and her trademark humour and warmth have gained her fans across the globe. Sarah lives with her family near London, England, where the rain frequently keeps her trapped in her office. Visit her at www.sarahmorgan.com

Publication: 2nd November 2023 – Pushkin Children’s Books

Eighteen-year-old Sorinda is a deadly assassin with a reputation to match. But her latest assignment is like no other. The pirate queen, Alosa, has tasked her with captaining a handpicked crew on a dangerous rescue mission, and her sailing master is none other than the infuriating Kearan.

But as they navigate through treacherous waters, they accidentally awaken the King of the Undersea, who summons an army of undead soldiers from the depths. With Kearanby her side, Sorinda must fight tooth and nail to survive. Will Sorinda and her crew manage to save the world, or will she face a fate worse than death – becoming an undead queen controlled by the King himself?

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I loved the first two books in the series and I was thrilled to return to this world of sirens and pirates, even though the protagonist is no longer Alosa, now the Pirate Queen, but her best assassin, Sorinda.

Sorinda is the person who the Pirate Queen sends to take care of her enemies. They don’t see her coming and she gets the job done. But when Alosa asks her to captain a crew to find some of her girls undercover on a ship of the Land’s King, Sorinda is not exactly thrilled. Still haunted by her past and its monsters, she doesn’t feel up to the job and she doesn’t want to disappoint Alosa. Even worse, Kearan is part of her crew. She doesn’t like the attention he reserves her or the belief that he stopped drinking because of her. But her queen has tasked her with a mission and she has every intention to accomplish it. And if surviving a Kraken-like sea monster was hard, facing the King of the Undersea is even worse. But Sorinda is determined to save her crew, even if it means sacrificing herself…

I really enjoyed Vengeance of the Pirate Queen. The beginning was a bit slow, but then the story really picked up pace and I turned page after page. There are monsters, undead, pirates, sirens, a quest for revenge, alliances are formed, and curses are broken. And of course, a fantastic slow-burn romance that kept me completely immersed.

If you haven’t read the first two books, I think it can be easily read as a standalone as there is some backstory, which helped me, too, as I couldn’t remember some of the characters from the previous books. That said, if you love stories of pirates, romance, a fantastic world-building, I recommend the entire series!

A huge thank you to Pushkin Children’s Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Tricia Levenseller is from a small town in Oregon and now lives next to the Rocky Mountains in Utah with her bossy dog, Rosy. When she’s not writing or reading, Tricia enjoys putting together jigsaw puzzles, playing Overwatch, and watching her favorite TV shows while eating extra-buttered popcorn. Her books include Daughter of the Pirate King, its sequel Daughter of the Siren Queen, Warrior of the Wild, The Shadows Between Us, Blade of Secrets and its sequel Master of Iron, all published or forthcoming from Pushkin.

Publication: 12th October 2023 – Jo Fletcher Books

Captured by the king of darkness, she was forced to find the light within.

Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King.

Arwen knows better than to face the ancient, wicked woods that surround the castle on her own, which means working with a fellow prisoner might be her only path to freedom. Unfortunately, he’s as infuriating as he is cunning-and seems to take twisted pleasure in playing on Arwen’s deepest fears.

But here in Onyx Kingdom, trust is a luxury she can’t afford.

To make it out of enemy territory, she’ll have to navigate back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and deadly beasts. But untold power lies inside Arwen, dormant and waiting for a spark. If she can harness it, she just might be able to escape with her life-and hopefully, her heart.

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A Dawn of Onyx is yet another brilliant debut fantasy that I had the pleasure to read lately.

There are kingdoms at war, magic, and a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance that I really enjoyed. Arwen’s magical abilities allow her to heal everyone in a few minutes, except her chronically ill mother. And as the war between her kingdom and the ruthless Onyx king perseveres, Arwen fears for the life of her brother and his best friend on the front line. But, an unexpected turn of events forces her to make a deal with the enemies to protect her family, so she is taken to Onyx to work as a healer. While she tries to find a way out, Arwen discovers that the truth about the war is much more complex and darker than she thought and that maybe she can’t really trust anyone, not even the man she’s been falling in love with.

I had so much fun reading A Dawn of Onyx. I liked the characters, starting from the protagonist Arwen who, even though at times was a bit naive, I found strong and quite resourceful, determined to protect her family, even at the cost of her life and I enjoyed how her relationship with her broody and evasive love interest develops, with lots of banter and chemistry.

There are also an intriguing world-building, twists, magical creatures, loyalties tested and secrets revealed, with an ending that promises more exciting things to come in the sequel.

A huge thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.

Kate Golden lives in Los Angeles where she works full time in the film industry developing stories with screenwriters and filmmakers. A Dawn of Onyx is her debut novel, and the first in the Sacred Stones trilogy. In her free time she is an avid book reader, movie fanatic, and functioning puzzle addict. An embarrassing LA cliché, she likes to hike, brunch, and go to the flea market with her fiancé and her puppy.