Review: The Book of Blood and Roses by Annie Summerlee

Title: The Book of Blood and Roses
Author: Annie Summerlee
Series: The Callisto Chronicles #1
Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Queer
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: January 13, 2026
Edition: Digital
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

   In the mists of the Scottish Highlands is a university where vampires study alongside humans.
Rebecca Charity is a vampire hunter undercover at the university, searching for the mysterious Book of Blood and Roses, a lost compendium of ways to kill vampires. If she finds it, she’ll be one step closer to avenging her parents, who were slain by those creatures of the night.
   But when Rebecca arrives, she finds something unexpected: a coffin. Her new roommate is Aliz Astra, scion of one of the most powerful vampire families . . . and the most beautiful woman Rebecca has ever met.
   The maddeningly gorgeous Aliz is everything that Rebecca has always hated but also everything she’s ever wanted, and now Rebecca doesn’t know if she wants to kiss or kill her.
   When one moonlit night Aliz rescues her from a vampire attack, she accidentally makes Rebecca her Familiar. Now they must work together to break the curse—but as they get closer to solving the mystery, Rebecca and Aliz get closer, too.
   Can a vampire hunter ever fall in love with a vampire? 

 

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Review: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Title: Moon Called
Author: Patricia Briggs
Series: Mercy Thompson #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Mystery/Pranormal
Publisher: Ace
Publication Date: January 31, 2006
Edition: Digital
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

Synopsis:

   Mercy Thompson is a shapeshifter, and while she was raised by werewolves, she can never be one of them, especially after the pack ran her off for having a forbidden love affair. So she’s turned her talent for fixing cars into a business and now runs a one-woman mechanic shop in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State.
   But Mercy’s two worlds are colliding. A half-starved teenage boy arrives at her shop looking for work, only to reveal that he’s a newly changed werewolf—on the run and desperately trying to control his animal instincts. Mercy asks her neighbor Adam Hauptman, the Alpha of the local werewolf pack, for assistance.
   But Mercy’s act of kindness has unexpected consequences that leave her no choice but to seek help from those she once considered family—the werewolves who abandoned her. 

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Review: The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen

Title: The Traitor Queen
Author: Danielle L. Jensen 
Series: The Bridge Kingdom #2
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 1, 2020
Edition: Digital
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

 

Synopsis:

   Lara has only one thought when her husband is taken prisoner: I will do whatever it takes to set you free.
A queen now in exile as a traitor, Lara has watched Ithicana be conquered by her own father, helpless to do anything to stop the destruction. But when she learns her husband, Aren, has been captured in battle, Lara knows there is only one reason her father is keeping him alive: as bait for his traitorous daughter.
   And it is bait she fully intends to take.
Risking her life to the Tempest Seas, Lara returns to Ithicana with a plan not only to free its king, but for liberating the Bridge Kingdom from her father's clutches using his own weapons: the sisters whose lives she spared.
   But as Lara and her companions formulate a plan to free Aren from her father's palace, they soon discover that while it is easy to get in, it will be quite another thing to get Aren, and themselves, back out. Not only is the palace inescapable, there are more players in the game than Lara ever realized, enemies and allies switching sides in the fight for crowns, kingdoms, and bridges. But her greatest adversary of all might be the very man she's trying to free - the husband she betrayed.
   With everything she loves in jeopardy, Lara must decide who - and what - she is fighting for: her kingdom, her husband, or for herself. 

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ARC Review: A Bargain So Bloody by Vasilisa Drake

Title: A Bargain So Bloody
Author: Vasilisa Drake
Series: Kingdom of Dark Magic #1
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Scarlett Press
Publication Date: Augaust 4, 2026
Edition: Digital
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Bookshop | Kobo | Powell's | 

 

 

Synopsis:

   Imprisoned for a crime she didn’t commit, Samara is bullied by guards and tormented by the screams of her fellow prisoners. She’s resigned herself to enduring her fifteen-year term…until she learns the freedom she’s been promised is nothing but a cruel lie.
   Now Samara is faced with a brutal choice: die within the cold walls of Castle Greymere or do the unthinkable and escape. But no one leaves Greymere alive. So to break out, she’ll need help from one of the undead.
   Raphael is the worst kind of monster: a vampire with a thirst for blood—and the same breed that killed her mother. He’s also unspeakably powerful, his supernatural strength tamed only by the enchanted cuffs forced on him. Most importantly, he is Samara’s only chance at a life outside the prison walls.
   The deal is simple: Samara unlocks his shackles, and Raphael helps her escape. But he never promised to let her go once they flee the castle. 

 

(Special Edition Hardback)For the first printing only! This hardcover features gorgeous sprayed edges while the special edition supply lasts. 

 

 

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Bulk Review: Manga/Graphic Novels pt. 12

 I am proud of how many novels I've read in the time that I've also been reading manga and graphic novels. The last couple of years as well as earlier this year I've read far more of one than the other. (I have still not been great at reading my owned books, it's just too easy to use the Libby app.)