ARC Review: Smoke and Scar by Gretchen Powell Fox

Title: Smoke and Scar
Author: Gretchen Powell Fox 
Series: Shattered Crown #1
Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Action
Publisher: Scarlett Press
Publication Date: Apr 07 2026
Edition: Ebook
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Synopsis:

    A Splintered Kingdom 
 An ancient grudge has kept humans and the magical races of Arcanis at odds for centuries. The Arcane Crucible, a legendary series of trials that occurs every 25 years, offers a chance for peace. 
   A Haunted Warrior 
 Elyria Lightbreaker, once a celebrated fae war hero, is a shadow of her former self. Drowning in grief after losing the man she loved to the previous Crucible, now she must rise to stop his sister from falling to the same fate. 
   A Vengeful Knight 
 Hardened by loss and fueled by hate, Cedric Thorne’s lifelong goal to conquer the Crucible on humanity’s behalf is finally within reach. The only problem? Getting through the trials alive means working with Elyria—the very fae he blames for his parents’ deaths. 
   An Unwinnable Challenge 
 With alliances fragile as spun glass and betrayal lurking at every turn, Elyria and Cedric must navigate deadly trials that test their strength, spirit, and magic… as well as their increasingly complex feelings for each other. 
   This is the Arcane Crucible.

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Review: Mother of Death and Dawn by Carissa Broadbent

Title: Mother of Death and Dawn
Author: Carissa Broadbent
Series: The War of Lost Hearts #3
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Romance
Publisher: Self-Pub
Publication Date: February 10, 2022
Edition: Kindle Edition
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Synopsis:

 Tell me, little butterfly, what would you do for love?
In the wake of a crushing defeat, Tisaanah and Maxatarius have been ripped apart. Tisaanah is desperate to rescue Max from his imprisonment, even as her people’s fight for freedom grows more treacherous. But within the walls of Ilyzath, Max’s mind is a shadow of what it once was… leaving his past a mystery and his future at the mercy of Ara’s new, ruthless queen.
   Meanwhile, in the Fey lands, Aefe has been dragged back into this world by a king who vows to destroy civilizations in her name. But even as her past returns to claim her, her former self is a stranger.
   Tisaanah, Max, and Aefe are thrust into the center of a cataclysm between the human and Fey worlds. The unique magic they share is key to either winning the war, or ending it.
  But that power demands sacrifice. Tisaanah may be forced to choose between love and duty. Max cannot forge his future without confronting his past. And Aefe must decide between reclaiming who she was, or embracing who she has become.
   The choices they make will either reshape this world forever…or end it..

In the harrowing finale of the War of Lost Hearts trilogy, a tale of romance, magic, vengeance, and redemption comes to a close.

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ARC Review: The Shrouded Queen by Ashley Tropea

Title: The Shrouded Queen
Author: Ashley Tropea
Series:  
Genre: Mythology/Adult Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: June 16, 2026
Edition: Ebook
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Kobo | 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

   As a slave to the Ashoran royals, Samira has always known she was expendable. So when the vicious Kaldfolk attack the palace, she is ready to die as a decoy for her princess. But when she’s captured instead, she’s forced to impersonate the princess and survive through brutal trials designed to awaken her divine powers—all under the watch of her dangerously intriguing, shape-shifting captor.
   Amunet Khada—now queen of Ashorah—is on the run following the king’s death. With only her guard-with-benefits, Jasim, by her side, she must evade treacherous allies while racing to contact her father—the god of the underworld—before her long-promised powers slip beyond reach.
   While Amunet embarks on a quest through the wastelands, Samira learns the true reason for the attack and unlocks secrets in her past that could change everything. And with threats growing on all sides, Samira and Amunet must decide...who can they trust?

In the first book in this romantasy duology inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology, a slave and a princess switch places during an enemy attack, igniting parallel journeys of love and survival.

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Bulk Review: Non-Fiction Pt. 2

Continuing on my journey of reading non-fiction. I planned to read some earlier in the year but I hadn't gotten around to it until now. 

I meant to post this before the end of the year, oops. 
 

ARC Review: The Rise of Scarlett Heroux by Elizabeth Watson

Title: The Rise of Scarlett Heroux
Author: Elizabeth Watson 
Series: The North Stars Saga #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Romance/New Adult
Publisher: Elizabeth Watson Books
Publication Date: February 25, 2026
Edition: eBook
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop |

 

 

Synopsis:

   Welcome to Soleil: magic is illegal, politics are deadly, and falling in love is the most dangerous act of all.
When Scarlett Heroux witnesses her father’s assassination from mere inches away, her world shatters. The 22-year-old heiress to a political dynasty is thrust into her newly inherited seat in Parliament, compelled to fulfill her father’s revolutionary dream of opening Soleil’s borders to a world of magic her people have long rejected.
   After Scarlett reveals her intention to open Soleil’s borders to magic, she is threatened, assaulted, and knocked unconscious. She flees to her mother’s homeland where she discovers magic flowing through her veins and a fated bond she shares with her childhood friend, the handsome Brayden Maddox. Their smoldering connection—and years of mutual pining—ignites into a blaze when magic pushes them together. Yet as bodies and magic entwine, Scarlett resists surrendering to fate. How can she choose pleasure when the cost is leaving her country to the politicians behind her father’s murder?
   With Brayden at her side, Scarlett returns to expose Soleil’s corrupt underbelly and open the borders. But another assault pushes Brayden to use his still-illegal magic to protect Scarlett, and the long arm of the law comes for them both. Scarlett must use her new powers to free Brayden and see her persecutors arrested by any means necessary—legal or not.
   If she fails, she’ll pay with her life.

 

The Rise of Scarlett Heroux is the fast-paced first installment in a new adult trilogy. A sizzling romantasy full of seething betrayals and forbidden magic. 

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