A handmaiden left for dead and an immortal mercenary cursed to die and come back to life everyday find themselves bound together on a journey to get their wishes granted. Flora is a handmaiden to the princess of Kaer-Ise, but when the kingdom is ransacked Flora pretends to be the princess to save her... and in turn is sexually assaulted and left for dead. That is until the legendary Ankou, a monster hunting mercenary cursed to immortality comes upon her and rescues her after seeing the scars on her hand... that just might be the first step in helping him find the cure to his curse and allow him to finally die. Flora and the Ankou, also known as Lazarus strike a bargain, he teaches her his monster hunting craft and in turn she helps him find a way to break his curse. Soon they find themselves joined by a magician and fighting monsters, breaking curses, solving mysteries, and racing against a ticking clock as Lazarus’s curse is slowly changing and consuming his body... changing him into “something” else. Flora will have to find a way to cure Lazarus or kill him, but can she kill the one person who has comforted her, become her friend, understood her, and maybe even with whom she’s fallen in love with. This was a beautiful story about two people who have suffered traumatic events, who are healing, and whose inner strength is astounding. This is a story about healing, about starting anew, and about growing. I absolutely fell in love with it and with the soft romance and the fun monster battles and the mystery adventure. So yes, please do read this!

A girl living in fear, monsters, dark family secrets, romance, and a small town in the Scottish Highlands. Alva has lived in fear of her father ever since she believed that he had killed her mother, everyone in town thinks he did it. It doesn’t help that he is so secretive. Her father and her are in charge of monitoring the water levels of the loch... but when upon one of her attempts to escape her home Alva runs into a monster, a pale monster with sharp teeth... and soon finds that her father is being arrested and now that she knows there are monsters escaping from the loch and coming after the townspeople she will have to stay behind and stop them... if only she could get the townspeople to believe her. Soon its up to her, her friend and crush Ren, and her childhood friend Gavan to try and stop these monsters before everyone is killed. However there are constant roadblocks... with the fact that Gavan’s father who was in love with Alva’s mother has some perverse notion to turn Alva into her mother and keep her, and the fact that these vampires haven’t killed Alva... This was definitely an interesting and heartbreaking read, especially that last chapter. My heart just broke a bit for the ending. I didn’t expect this to be a tragedy but my god that last chapter just... :(. I was surprised that this turned out to be a vampire story but it was definitely a fun take on it. Set in a small town, with family secrets, and soft romance. If you’re looking for a vampire story with soft romance, tragedy, set in a small atmospheric village, then this is for you.

A speculative historical retelling of Anastasia Romanov? Sign me up. I didn’t expect the story to be so grounded and historical but it was really well done. I didn’t have a lot of knowledge of the Russian revolution prior to going into this, but reading it through the story was fascinating. The story focuses on the famous mystery of what happened to the Romanovs and what happened to Anastasia? This is definitely a book for anyone who enjoys historical mysteries, or just the Anastasia mystery itself. The characters were interesting a d the relationship between the girls set during such a difficult time and situation was an interesting read. Their journey, their hardships, and the historical backdrop really do make a good read for anyone interested in Russian History but can look at it from the “what if” perspective.

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A cursed girl with a forgotten past, a mysterious husband, and a new kingdom, Maya is cursed, her horoscope foretells death and in a superstitious kingdom... it’s left her outcast to the point where her father arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. However as Maya attempts to get out of the wedding by poisoning herself... she is stopped and as the castle is about to succumb to invaders a mysterious man appears and offers to save her saying her father planned it and offers her his hand in marriage, in a marriage where they will be equals and she will be the only one for him. Soon Maya is whisked to a new kingdom filled with secrets and a husband who hides his face and loves her as if he’s known her all her life. As Amar’s wife Maya finds equality, comfort, love, but with so many secrets between them will she be able to endure it all. Amar’s and Akaran (their kingdom”s) secrets will consume Maya as she discovers her past and her powers... and she will have to fight for her love and her future. This was a very persephone/hades esque story filled with mythology, magic, and romance. It’s a quick read and definitely a great one.

A photographer with a complicated family history and a bookstore owner with an equally complicated love life. Delilah Green swore never to go back to Bright Falls, not after her lonely childhood with her cold and distant step family. She has moved to New York and is determined to finally get her photography career the steam it needs and plus its a city filled with gorgeous women that she can casually hook up with. Too bad for her, Delilah caves and agrees to photograph her estranged step-sister’s upcoming wedding, plus it doesn’t hurt that it comes with a five figure check. Upon coming back into town she runs into Claire Sutherland, one of her stepsister Astrid’s best friends who she considered to be stuck up during their childhood years and makes a bet with Astrid that she could hook up with Claire by Astrid’s wedding. Claire on the other-hand is a single mom and bookstore owner. She’s got a complicated relationship with her ex and the father of her daughter who has a tendency to skip town and show up only when he feels interested. With an 11 year old daughter and running a bookstore by herself Claire hasn’t really opened herself up to dating, especially with an unreliable ex. However, when she runs into Delilah again both of them discover that despite knowing of each other for years, they don’t really know one another. Soon both Delilah and Claire begin to feel something more. On top of that both Claire and Delilah agree that Astrid’s fiancee is a horrible dude.. and that they might have to join forces to stop this wedding from going through. Filled with cute and sweet moments and a few mischievous ones too, this was a wonderful read, I loved getting to know Claire and Delilah and getting to see them fall for each other. Delilah is insecure from seeing her childhood as one in which no one wanted her... but is it really true? Claire is dealing with trust issues from her past relationships and has to decide is this finally the right person to let into her and her daughter’s life? Definitely check out this adorable story and get to fall in love with Claire and Delilah’s Love Story!

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A new home, a new friend, and a new mystery. Tom’s family has just moved into a new home, but he begins to notice strange messages and locks on the bedroom doors. At school he meets a new girl... who happens to have lived in his house before he moved in and she just might have the answer to his questions... except she is more mystery than answer. Tom is intrigued by Amy, she is beautiful, quiet, and is hiding a secret that gnaws at Tom. He is onto a mystery and for some reason it just won’t leave his mind and he is determined to find out what her secret is and how it relates to his house. He can’t tell if Amy is in danger or if she is the danger. This was an interesting mystery story, it was a quick read and keeps you invested in the mystery. It wraps up everything well by the end and I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a quick mystery to pick up!

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire, Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A girl goes on an adventure to discover not only her powers but her own family secrets. Kelcie has always thought that her parents had died or left her and when her social workers take her and reveal that they’re actually fairies and that Kelcie is the “heir” she soon finds herself teleported into The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts. This is where Kelcie begins her training to become a warrior in this new world and discovers that the school she is at trains legendary Celtic heroes. Soon Kelcie is training with swords and learning to control her hidden powers. She soon starts to discover who her parents are and why they left her in the human world eight years ago. Kelcie also discovers that she is a Saiga, one of the most ancient beings in the Otherworld... filled with elemental powers and known as the kin to the Otherworld’s most infamous traitor, soon she will be shunned and people will be after her looking for her powers. Kelcie will soon have to fight with everything she has to not only protect her new friends and world but to find her parents. This was an exciting and fun read and Kelcie is a great protagonist. The Celtic mythology aspect of the story was wonderful and the magic was just so exciting. I would definitely recommend this book!

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Starscape for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

exiled witch who demands payment in love.... since she herself cannot feel it and another girl who is made of magic and has hidden her ability in order to spend her life being the caretaker for her father find themselves on a quest together... and possibly discovering that opposites do attract. Tasmin is the most powerful witch of her generation but after using dark magic she is exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can feel even an inkling of it again is by taking the love from others, thus her payment for any of her services is the love someone feels. Wren is a source, a rare kind of person who is made of magic despite being unable to use it herself. Wren has hidden herself from the Coven despite being required to train with them so she could stay behind and take care of her ailing father. Yet when a plague ravages the queendom and Wren’s father becomes a victim, Wren decides the only person who can help her is Tasmin. Wren and Tasmin make a bargain, Wren will give Tasmin the love she has for her father and in exchange Tasmin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague. This won’t be an easy journey, particularly since both girls are polar opposites and the fact that Tasmin has her own secrets that haunt her. This was a gorgeous story and the slow falling between both girls was amazing. I loved the magic world and the way both Tasmin and Wren both had their own struggles but worked together. Read this if you enjoy magic and romance and characters who will are just amazing!

Three stories set in the Star-Touched world. The first story Death and Night is a prequel to the Star Touched Queen, it follows how Death and Night first meet, their blossoming relationship and falling in love with one another. The second story Poison and Gold follows Aasha and takes place after A Crown of Wishes. Aasha is struggling to control her powers and when her friends Queen Gauri and King Vikram give her an opportunity she takes it and becomes the Spy Mistress but first she must learn from the previous Spy Mistress and what Aasha finds might be a chance to fall in love. The third story Rose and Sword follows Gauri and Vikram after A Crown of Wishes and takes place on the eve of their wedding.... but is it a true story? These three stories are the perfect stories to read after reading the other two books. We get too peak into the lives, both past and present of some of our favorite characters. I have to say my favorite was Death and Night. I loved reading their initial romance and the story behind how they met. All three stories are excellent!