Review: Tears of the Wolf by Elisabeth Wheatley

Title: Tears of the Wolf
Author: Elisabeth Wheatley
Series: Wrath and Weeping #1
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Self-pub/Book Goblin Books
Publication Date: February 20, 2025
Edition: Digital
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Author's Website | B&N | Bookshop |

Synopsis:

   After the murder of her child, Brynn of the Istovari wants nothing more than to escape the shackles of her birthright. As a sorceress and the last of a once-great bloodline, many still seek to use her for their own schemes. Brynn will do anything for the chance at freedom, even if it means marrying an upstart warrior from the far north.
   Cenric needs a wife—but not just any wife—a sorceress. Having recently reclaimed his inheritance after a youth spent across the sea, a sorceress will bring security and legitimacy in his estranged homeland.
A marriage gives both Brynn and Cenric what they want—for now.
   In the far northern reaches lies a land ruled by pride and strict codes of honor. As Brynn and Cenric struggle to navigate the aftermath of their hasty union, they soon realize that rival factions within the kingdom are on the verge of war once again.
   Alone, they will be destroyed by the coming storm. Together, they might stand a chance.

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Review: Bastard's Honor by Elisabeth Wheatley

Title: Bastard's Honor
Author:  Elisabeth Wheatley
Series: Daindreth's Assassin spin-off
Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Adventure
Publisher: Book Goblin Books (self-pub)
Publication Date: September 17, 2024
Edition: Kindle
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Author's Website| 

Synopsis:

A crippled knight.
A widowed sorceress.
And a second chance at love—and revenge.
   Born a noblewoman's bastard, Thadred has risen to become High Inquisitor, tasked with hunting escaped cythraul demons across the land. Despite the injuries that left him maimed for life, he has become indispensable to the empire.
   Sair was a widowed sorceress who has become one of the Empress Amira's most trusted emissaries and confidantes. A skilled healer and spy, Sair works to ensure peace wherever the empress sends her.
   A year ago, Thadred and Sair helped save the world from a fallen goddess, but it's not safe just yet. Unrest ripples through the empire, stray demons lurk in the shadows, and the denizens of a defeated witch still linger.
   Now one of those denizens has taken Sair's young son.
Worse, they soon realize the boy's abduction may have more to do with the cythraul demons than anyone thought. Something evil is at work, and Thadred and Sair must stop it before it rains terror on the unsuspecting empire.

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ARC Review: A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash by J.F. Johns

Title: A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash
Author: J.F. Johns
Series: Kingdom of Gods #1
Genre: Fantasy Romance/Magic/New Adult
Publisher: Indie/Self-pub
Publication Date: May 31, 2025
Edition: Ebook
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US

 

 

Synopsis:

   The eight kingdoms have not spoken for 100 hundred years after destroying the land of the witches, turning the kingdom into a wasteland.
Until now.
   Mal Blackburn will end the feud between the kingdoms by marrying the fire prince, known across the lands for being cruel.
But Mal is not looking to conquer the cruel prince’s heart.
She wants to stab it.
   For if Mal kills the fire prince, she will end the curse no one believes to be true. However, killing him might not be so simple...
The witches want revenge.
And everyone seems to keep secrets in the land of fire and dragons.
   Including Mal Blackburn, the girl with witch eyes. The fourth-born child of the Kingdom of Darkness. The one that is hiding a secret that could doom them all.
Or save them. 

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Bulk Review: Manga/Graphic Novels Pt. 7

 

I didn't read enough manga/short stories to have another bulk-review before the end of last year. I hope to focus my reading this year to novels over manga, but that was also my plan last year. Let's see how it goes. I meant to do this post in March, but I got some of the holds in in early April, and kind of forgot.

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ARC Review: Scorched Skies by E.J. Mellow

Title: Scorched Skies
Author: E.J. Mellow
Series: Way of Wings #1
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Montlake
Publication Date: April 15, 2025
Edition: Digital
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Powell's | 

Synopsis:

   In the divided world of Cādra, where the winged Volari rule over the earthbound Süra, Tanwen has never relished her life of secrecy, but hiding is her only means of survival. As the child of a forbidden union, her very existence is punishable by death.
    As the Crown Prince, Zolya is forced to fulfill his father’s every whim. Acting on orders, he captures Tanwen’s father and brother, whisking them away to his kingdom in the sky. Determined to save her family, Tanwen infiltrates the royal court disguised as a servant.
   Amid the palace’s intrigue, she realizes there’s more to save than just her family and more to Prince Zolya than meets the eye. As their worlds collide, their star-crossed relationship intensifies under the king’s oppression. With their loyalties pulling them in opposite directions, Tanwen and Zolya must decide if their love can bridge the divide or if they have flown too close to the sun.

From the award-winning author of the Mousai series comes book one in an epic duology inspired by the Icarus myth, about an outcast woman and a winged prince torn between forbidden love and born duty.

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