ARC Review: Last of His Blood by Melissa Cave

Title: Last of His Blood
Author: Melissa Cave
Series: Empire of Stars #3
Genre: Fantasy Romance/Cozy
Publisher: Owl and Bear, LLC
Publication Date: November 1, 2025
Edition: Ebook
Source: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon US 

 

Synopsis:

They have survived the war, the devils, and each other. Now they face the long cold of winter…and the clamoring ghosts of a bloody legacy.
   It began with a summer of devils.
No. It began with seven years of war, and a valley left in ruins after a century of violence.
   Or perhaps even earlier, with the first life Remin took at thirteen years old, because he was determined to live when the Divine Emperor commanded he should die.
   But as the ragged survivors of his outlying villages begin to arrive, Remin is forced to reckon with the cost of his own life, even as threats grow against the people he loves. And as the coils of Imperial intrigue tighten, a virulent fever sweeps through Tresingale. Among the first to fall: Remin himself.
   It leaves his young wife Ophele to take command of a town under siege, testing her fragile strength against fever, fear, and worse foes that lurk unseen. Family secrets stretch beyond the grave, threatening to detonate everything they have, and a knife from the capital seeks the very heart of Tresingale.
Even for those who survive the winter, their lives will never be the same.

Last of His Blood is the third book in Empire of the Stars, a romantic epic fantasy of enduring love, dangerous secrets, and deathless loyalty. Begin the series with Traitor Son, and discover a love that could redeem an Empire.

 

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Review: Children of Fallen Gods by Carissa Broadbent

Title: Children of Fallen Gods
Author: Carissa Broadbent 
Series: The War of Lost Hearts #2
Genre: Fantasy/War/Romance
Publisher: Self-publish
Publication Date: March 30, 2021
Edition: 636 pages, Kindle Edition
Source: Purchased 
Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

 

Synopsis:

  No war can be fought with clean hands. Not even the ones waged for the right reasons. Not even the ones you win. 

  Tisaanah bargained away her own freedom to save those she left behind in slavery. Now, bound by her blood pact, she must fight the Orders’ war -- and Max is determined to protect her at all costs. But when a betrayal tears apart Ara, Max and Tisaanah are pushed into an even bloodier conflict. Tisaanah must gamble with Reshaye’s power to claim an impossible victory.

  And Max, forced into leadership, must confront everything he hoped to forget: his past, and his own mysterious magic. All the while, darker forces loom -- far darker, even, than the Orders’ secrets. As Tisaanah and Max are ensnared in a web of ancient magic and twisted secrets, one question remains: what are they willing to sacrifice for victory? For power? For love? 

 

 

 

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Review: The Sleepless by Jen Williams

Title: The Sleepless 
Author: Jen Williams
Series: The Sleepless Duology #1
Genre: Fantasy/YA
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: September 30, 2025
Edition: 327 pages, Kindle Edition
Source: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

 

Synopsis:

Welcome to a world where gods and monsters roam the earth . . .
Elver is the guardian of the wild and dangerous monster forest. Saved from the brink of death by a god, her skin will poison anyone she touches.
Artair is on a mission - one that takes him face-to-face with Elver at her most ruthless. But her defenses are useless when she discovers he's the only human impervious to her deadly gift. For Artair isn't human: he's one of the Sleepless, cursed to share his body with an evil spirit.
Lucian inhabits their body while Artair sleeps, and he is hell-bent on manipulating Elver for his dark purposes. But Elver is harbouring secrets too, and she has her own reasons for feigning an alliance with these two souls.
Caught in the crossfire of gods, monsters, and a dangerous magic they can barely understand, it is only a matter of time before the paths the three of them choose to take will set alight the very foundations of their world. 
With a love triangle like you’ve never seen it, incredible world-building, brilliant writing, and high-stakes swoony romance, The Sleepless will have you spellbound.

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Bulk Review: Manga & Graphic Novels pt. 9

I haven't read as much manga in the second half of the year as I did in the first half. Which is what I was trying to do. I still have a lot of novels I want to read hopefully I can get through some of them before the end of the year.

Review: Of Deeds Most Valiant by Sarah K.L. Wilson

Title: Of Deeds Most Valiant
Author: Sarah K.L. Wilson 
Series: Poisoned Saints
Genre: Epic Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: June 01, 2023
Edition: 540 pages, ebook
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

 

Synopsis:

Eleven paladins walk into a monastery. Only one knows it's a trap.
   When Victoriana Greenmantle is summoned to represent her paladin order in an unusual quest, she's out of her depth from the very beginning. Victoriana has only just been made a paladin and she has none of the resources or experience that the others have. On top of that, she has no idea how she will fulfill her orders -- to find and claim for her superiors the God's own Cup of Tears.
Her rivals are stronger, smarter, and more experienced. They want this just as badly as she does. And one of them might not be a paladin at all.
   When Adalbrand Von Menticure arrives at the monastery with the other paladin representatives he sees the obstacles before him as one more way to dedicate himself to his healing arts. What he does not expect is murder. Or the young female paladin who keeps insisting that they have a traitor among them. Or how she makes him start to feel things that have long been forbidden.
   Together, these two unwieldy allies must discover who the traitor is, how that one is killing the others, and whether the Cup of Tears is really worth the bloodshed and danger within the monastery walls before time runs out and they are trapped forever.
   A complicated mission, you say? Oh, but it gets worse, because forbidden love is slowly stalking them both, complicating everything, and leaving them each more vulnerable than they can afford to be in the face of a danger worse than either of them ever imagined.
   Will this pair find strength in their strict discipline and careful practice in time to escape, or will they fall before the twin daggers of a rogue killer and an attraction more deadly than the simple risk of death?

 

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