ARC Review: I, Medusa by Ayana Gray

Title: I, Medusa
Author: Ayana Gray
Series: Standalone
Genre: Fantasy/Mythology/Retelling
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: November 18, 2025
Edition: Ebook
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Synopsis:

    Meddy has spent her whole life as a footnote in someone else’s story. Out of place next to her beautiful, immortal sisters and her parents—both gods, albeit minor ones—she dreams of leaving her family’s island for a life of adventure. So when she catches the eye of the goddess Athena, who invites her to train as an esteemed priestess in her temple, Meddy leaps at the chance to see the world beyond her home.
   In Athens’ colorful market streets and the clandestine chambers of the temple, Meddy flourishes in her role as Athena’s favored acolyte, getting her first tastes of purpose and power. But when she is noticed by another Olympian, Poseidon, a drunken night between girl and god ends in violence, and the course of Meddy’s promising future is suddenly and irrevocably altered.
   Her locs transformed into snakes as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Medusa must embrace a new identity—not as a victim, but as a vigilante—and with it, the chance to write her own story as mortal, martyr, and myth.

   Exploding with rage, heartbreak, and love, I, Medusa portrays a young woman caught in the cross currents between her heart’s deepest desires and the cruel, careless games the Olympian gods play.

  

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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.