This is maybe not the Alyssa Cole book I should've started with. It was a slow starter that almost had me DNFing, an extremely rare occurrence. I was happy that I stuck it out, but it's just not for me. Royalty, especially modern royalty, isn't really my thing, but I had a particularly hard time warming up to these royals. The parts of the plot revolving around the culture, religion, past queens, etc., were interesting. And I see that the next book is about a certain investigative fireball/agent of chaos that makes a too-brief appearance in this one, so I might still give that one a try.

Content notes: emotional manipulation, anxiety, death of a parent, steamy sex scenes

I usually put content notes at the end, but I feel compelled to warn readers up front that this is a pretty brutal read — worse than I was expecting. Violent death of soldier-children as punishment and in combat. Constant threat of torture and rape for enslaved children. See content notes at the end for more details.

"This life is not always what we think it will be," Cain says. "You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it."

"You are … full of life and dark and strength and spirit. You are in our dreams. You will burn, for you are an ember in the ashes. That is your destiny."

In a world of no mercy and no hope, of brutality and betrayal and the iron fist of the Empire, an elite soldier in training longs for true freedom and a scared little sister wishes for the courage to save her brother. What they find is heart and soul, strength and spirit, in this magical, militaristic fantasy.

Though the violence at the beginning was off-putting, it lets you know immediately what you're in for — which is a compelling, heart-pounding tale of high stakes, high loss, high ideals, and high adventure. I read this in one evening that stretched into the wee hours of the morning and immediately made sure the rest of the series was waiting for me (the fourth and final book came out at the end of 2020). The world building is smart and interesting, weaving together a Romanesque Empire with elements of Middle Eastern folklore and culture. The writing is fast-paced and well written, with character and culture reveals perfectly place. There's a little bit of monologuing near the end that was heavy-handed enough for me to notice but didn't ruin an otherwise immersive tale.

Content notes: violent death of soldier-children by whipping and combat among peers, violent death of enslaved children by torture and suicide, torture and disfigurement of captured resistors and enslaved people, constant threat of torture and rape, sexual assault and attempted rape, merciless indoctrination and sadistic military training, merciless colonization and enslavement, child abandonment, death of parents (off screen), violent death of grandparents, evil spirits, hostile supernatural beings, supernatural possession, branding and cutting, tattooing,

Urban fantasy, comedy of manners, romance, paranormal, alt-history, steampunk, mystery — this was a sub-genre salad and I kinda loved it.

Full review to come, perhaps, but for now: Yes, this is full of cute couple banter in the form of very corny jokes and some steamy sex scenes (full marks for consent and condom use!), but it's also full of the aftermath and current threats of a previous abusive relationship (complete with assault, gaslighting, threats of revenge porn, etc.; but again — full marks for the realistic but sensitive portrayal of intimate partner abuse and for including help hotline numbers). So it's not just a simple contemporary romance that features a flirty to-do list and the resolution of a slight work complication. But it IS a contemporary romance that features a smart, strong, biracial, professional woman who is recovering from the trauma of abuse, killing it at work, and learning how to get her groove back.

Dedicated to “anyone who has ever gotten into a pool with their shirt on,” HERE THE WHOLE TIME is a sweet, tone-perfect, coming-of-age story about Felipe, a contemporary Brazilian 17-year-old who is fat — not chubby or heavy or big boned, but fat — and his former friend/crush Caio.

Looking forward to a school break so he can relax at home with his lively, supportive mom and escape the constant fat-shaming bullying of his peers, Felipe is horrified to learn that perfect, beautiful Caio will be staying with them. The whole break. Sharing his tiny room. Sleeping on a mattress right next to his bed. Well, this will give him plenty to discuss in his weekly therapy sessions.

Vitor's writing is deceptively simple and straightforward, beautifully capturing the fumbling teen timeless human attempts to understand the world and themselves. The story is also a deceptively simple and straightforward tale of knowing, being known, and finding happiness rather than just escaping unhappiness, but it's laced with so much candor, humor, and positivity that it glows with warmth and good vibes by the end — and so will the reader.

Topics, tropes and themes: #OwnVoices, LGBTQ rep, coming of age, first kiss, first love, mother-son relationship, contemporary Brazilian culture, self esteem, therapy, single parent, bullying, homophobia, body positivity, forced proximity/sharing a bed trope

Content notes: non-acceptance and homophobia by a parent, peer bullying, fat shaming, underage drinking, kissing, small amount of (empowering) strong language

This continues to be a brilliantly imagined, well-written, high stakes, high adventure series, but I can't devour all four books in a row as I intended. I just can't tolerance the brutal violence right now.

Full review to come closer to the July pub date, but Dev's modern Austen retellings continue to impress me with their representation, depth of character, and strength of translation to modern life.

3.5 rounded up | A cozy, nostalgia-infused contemporary romance/mystery for anyone who has ever enjoyed a vacation in the Dells — complete with cheese curds, duck boats, supper clubs, and water parks. Oh, and ghosts.

Sabrina is home in the Wisconsin Dells while she's between jobs as a journalist — a career that isn't a great fit for an introvert with pretty severe anxiety. The only thing stronger than her aversion to making phone calls as a reporter, however, is her aversion to having ghosts pop in anytime and anywhere for her help. Since that family business/curse is inescapable when she's home, the Dells isn't a particularly good fit for her either. As she struggles to make ends meet, keep the homefront ghosts and bullies at bay, and keep her unsettling attraction to the new supper club owner in check, she finds that some people and places have unexpected ways of fitting together after all.

There are just a few too many balls in the air here, but most of them do end up working pretty well. The Midwestern setting is perfect, the ghost-side mystery is an interesting and well-developed twist, the relationship is a feel-good treat, and the main characters are unique but relatable and represent their struggles well. Fans of Reichert's "The Coincidence of Coconut Cake," and authors Abbi Waxman, Kelly Harms, and Maddie Dawson should like this one!

Topics, tropes and themes: fake dating, foodies, going home, helping ghosts resolve issues, first time, Prohibition speakeasy, anxiety, small town life, mean girls/ bullying, mental health, office supply love

Content notes: main character has severe anxiety with panic attacks, death of a family member, hospital bedside scene, dementia, bigotry, classism, bullying, sexual harassment, sexual assault, lots of alcoholic beverages (and a recipe for a Wisconsin-style Brandy Old-fashioned), edibles, PG-13/fade-to-black sex scenes

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC!