Thank you to Reedsy Discovery for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I hear the word vampire and I say, “beam me up, Scotty.” I might be mixing genres but the sentiment is there. I grew up reading vampire novels, and as it turns out it wasn’t just a phase. It’s a lifestyle. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to see a vampire novel pop up on Reedsy Discovery’s list of books for review, and jumped at the chance to read it.

I flew through the first 150 pages of this novel in one sitting. It was a quintessential meet cute, if the meet cute started as a direct result of what appeared to be, but was in fact not, a suicide attempt. Which reminds me, here are some trigger warnings: suicidal ideation/discussion, PTSD, kidnapping, murder, and some very graphic scenes. All pretty par for the course when it comes to paranormal or supernatural romances, but still worth noting.

We meet our main characters, Norah and Ethan, and watch as they fall in love, despite Norah’s laundry list of misgivings and internal debates. Ethan slowly, and lovingly pries her out of her shell, and teaches her how to enjoy living again. This part of the novel was undoubtedly my favorite. I found myself giggling and punching the air at their romantic date nights, and sweet intimate moments together.

Sadly, that feeling didn’t last forever as the plot of the novel kicked up a notch. The more I kept reading the more I started seeing some of Ethan’s red flags. I’ve contemplated whether these are personal red flags that other readers will equate with characteristics of a sweet, overprotective, alpha male boyfriend, or if he’s just a flawed character and Norah chooses to overlook those less appealing attributes (again, I’m projecting). Believe me, I really tried falling for Ethan as much as Norah did, but in the back of my mind I kept wondering if Ethan would end up being a major plot twist.

The more I read the more I started to get annoyed with some of the dialogue. What moments before had felt sweet and endearing, became oversaturated and soured on the page. It left me uninterested in the conversations being had when every other sentence ended with something to the effect of ‘baby, I love you so much’ for no apparent reason. I think the romance could have been so much more powerful and compelling if we had seen more actions displaying the characters' love for one another, and less of the characters telling us repeatedly how they felt.

While the romance in this novel didn’t live up to the initial hype, I think it has the potential to work for many other readers. I also personally felt like this novel would have been more digestible in smaller doses as three separate novellas. The first 150 pages of this book would have received a 5 star rating from me if it existed as a novella. The giddy anticipation of watching two brand new characters meet, fall in love, and live their day to day lives going on dates all over town was everything I could have asked for in a romance. Add in the suspense that only one of them knows Norah’s a vampire. Sold. Take my money.

As it stands now, the novel has two other major plot twists that would stand on their own as the second and third novellas respectively. I’m not saying the author has to do anything with their work based on my review alone, but I see the potential this story has, and think it would be so much fun to read quick little snippets of Norah and Ethan’s lives moving forward.

Overall I think the first half of this book, and the major event in the last few chapters, were the strongest points. The dialogue at times didn’t seem inherently natural or conversational, which left me disinterested in actually listening to what the characters were saying. There are some interesting supernatural vampire talents and lore that is explored through Norah and her lifestyle, and I see how that could be expanded upon and explored in future novels.

I’d be very curious to know what other readers and reviewers thought about this novel, since I just can’t put my finger on whether it’s me? Am I the problem? I really wanted to fall in love with this story and the characters. There is a book for every reader, and a reader for every book. This one just might not be for me.

I love a good pirate tale, though admittedly I haven’t read many. I was excited for Amina al-Sirafi to take me on an adventure, to give me a window into her wondrous world, and to explore the unknown together.

I immediately loved how this book was set up to tell Amina’s story. We weave between the present day with Amina and a scribe, as Amina quips about language and being true to herself, and the past that is interspersed with articles depicting these current events and magical, celestial lore. The craft with which these writing and storytelling devices were included was so seamless; I never felt frustrated when we changed from past to present, or vice versa.

This novel had a few predictable moments, but I was so happy to see my heart’s desires for this story come to fruition. I loved the character development not only for Amina, but for her three most trusted crewmates. Getting to flit in and out of each of their personal lives for a few chapters while they were introduced, before officially rejoining Amina on this new journey, was such a great way to get a sense of these characters and what was driving them.

The fantastical elements in this novel caught me a little off guard if I’m being honest. While I had mentally been prepared for demons, I could not have predicted the magical island Amina washes up on. That was genuinely one of the strangest reading experiences I’ve had in quite some time. It was so far removed from what I normally read in fantasy novels, and yet so painstakingly descriptive that I can still vividly picture each dastardly creature.

I loved reading this book so much I didn’t want to finish it. What was supposed to be a week (or so) long reading challenge, ended up taking the better portion of the month. The biggest shock of all, and I’m truly kicking myself for not piecing it together, was the ending revelation. I’m so excited that this novel left off with the chance at future adventures with Amina and her crew. I’d love to be back in this world with them again.

Some things I didn’t mention at length but really enjoyed or appreciated: Amina’s religious practice and the conversation around her (and others) beliefs, a transgender character who is just starting their transition, the discussion on political power and how it can make one person safe while for others it means their genocide.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This is one of my long overdue ARC reviews, and because of that I also purchased my own copy of this novel - which is what I read from in order to complete my review. I always like to make this distinction between reading from the ARC copy versus the finished copy in case there are/were discrepancies between the two.

This story threw me head first into a new magic system, political structure, and new spoken vernacular. I found the map, as well as the caste system graph, in the beginning of the novel extremely helpful in acclimating to this story. I love stories that include magical hierarchies, with each group having distinct specialties. This of course can lead to discrimination and oppression of groups of people, because even in a magical setting people are still people (unfortunately). 

Our main characters are part of the lowest, and in my opinion most underestimated, caste known as the Crows. They’ve survived purely on ingenuity and their abilities, while reminding the other groups (sometimes in very appropriately drastic measures) why their survival is vital. The money dance the Crows performed in the first few chapters didn’t just ensnare the queen. It also trapped me into continuing further into this book, and discovering as much as I could about their lifestyle and profession.

Fie is going to be a chief one day, and her attitude doesn’t change one iota when she realizes she’s in the presence of royalty. I loved how steadfast she is in her understanding of her position in the world, all the while working to make it better for herself and her future crew. I had some misgivings in the beginning when I realized we might be entertaining a set up for a love triangle, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that the prince himself was openly gay.

As far as the romance goes, I didn’t completely fall for this one. I personally felt so much of Fie’s internalized anger that I couldn’t allow myself to accept that she had fallen for someone who had done nothing (before meeting her) to make the Crow’s lives more humane. However this element of the story wasn’t in any way off putting, and the sweet interactions were a much needed respite from the anxiety-inducing journey this trio was embarking on.

I flew through this novel in three sittings, and really enjoyed the pacing up until the last handful of chapters. I was so fed up with them getting captured or experiencing a near death, near miss, betrayal moment. My threshold for danger around every corner had reached its limit, and I was ready for the finale.

Thankfully the finale was one I enjoyed, and I finished the novel with even more burning curiosity about this magical world and the people in it. I believe this story is a duology, and I would be interested in reading the next book. I’ll have to wait a few days and see if this story lets me move on to something else, or if I need to dive into book two immediately.

*Disclaimer: I have a lot of Netgalley ARCs I requested when I was working as an Assistant Librarian. These ARCS are years old at this point, but I still want to post my reviews as soon as I get around to reading the books. I want to honor my agreement with Netgalley by reviewing as many books as I can this year, and getting my backlog down significantly. Thank you for understanding, and my apologies for the delay.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I also had a hardcover, finished copy of this novel that I purchased which is the version I will be basing my review off of.

Spin the Dawn was one of my most anticipated reads, and an ARC I deeply coveted. I’m so disappointed that it took me so long to finally read this story, but I think I read it right when I was meant to. This story is a young adult fantasy novel that follows a young girl on her quest to become a Master Tailor, a title that is forbidden to women.

As we learn about Maia’s family life, we also learn about her culture. Magic, demons, gods, goddesses, and enchanters, are all well known elements in the stories her brothers weave for her when she’s a child. We learn that Maia is a character who relies heavily on what she can see – which includes her innate and natural skill.

I thoroughly enjoyed the pacing of this novel. We spend just enough time with Maia and her family to understand her motivations for becoming a Master Tailor, and how that quest has the potential to save her family from starvation. The first step involves Maia’s first of many deceits: becoming her brother and entering the Emperor’s competition to become his Master Tailor.

Maia is described time and time again as a character who cannot lie. That is her one major ‘flaw’, and the one aspect of this character I deeply connected with. As I’m writing this review I’m realizing how interesting it is that the one character who is known to be incapable of lying, lives her life masquerading as an injured man. If her scheme is detected, not only does she face execution, but the same fate could be brought down on her family she is so desperately trying to save.

I cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoyed the construction of the romance in this story. (Minor spoilers ahead). We meet Edan, the Emperor’s Enchanter, after he takes an interest in Maia. Their dynamic was so much fun to watch as they evolve from his curiosity versus her animosity, to a mutual understanding after he saves her life (twice), to Maia realizing he might even be her friend, to them both realizing they are in love.

The romance was so beautifully woven into this journey that when our characters finally come together in a vaguely described, mostly fade to black sequence of events, I found myself overcome with emotion. I may or may not have started sobbing, but you have no proof of that. I could lament on and on about why this romance worked so well, but we would be here for days. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

The other aspect of this novel that worked for me was the continuous, sometimes life threatening, trials Maia had to overcome to try and win the title of Master Tailor. Whether her life was being threatened by her competitors, the Emperor, the soon to be Empress, or the Gods and Goddesses themselves, I was filled with anticipation as we followed Maia from one outlandish task to the next.

My only teeny tiny, miniscule complaint is that I wanted more world building. Maia has an incredible opportunity to travel far and wide from the kingdom, and we only get brief snippets describing the landscape and weather. I would have loved to see more of the people, or fun facts and stories from Edan about his past in these new places. What was provided in this novel was enough to satiate, but also just enough to pique my curiosity.

If you’re like me and you haven’t picked up Spin the Dawn yet, let me persuade you to wait not a minute longer! The magic system, demons, ghosts, and fated interventions were so interesting to read about alongside our main character who learned to assert herself while falling in love. I was super excited to see that this series is a duology (I love duologies), and I’ll be picking up book 2 on Kindle as soon as I post this review.

I was provided an e-ARC of this novel through the author’s discord. Please check out the author’s instagram page for more information on how to best access this series. This review will contain my honest thoughts on the novel, and was in no way influenced by current events with the author or publisher.

I have been following Whitney Dean for a while on social media, and as with any other book enthusiast, I kept adding more books to my tbr list on Goodreads. However when the opportunity came up to get an e-ARC of this series I jumped. I was just finishing another fantasy novel that left me longing for more angst, world building, fiery characters, and political intrigue. The timing was too good to pass up.

The opening scene of this novel is one of my favorites. I found myself thinking back to this introduction of our characters, and their home, more and more as secrets were revealed later in the story. I connected so quickly to Dean’s writing, world building, and her characters that it felt like I’d known them all along.

We meet Raven, who was thrown into her queendom by a king she never knew, and discover that she hasn’t shed her innate sense of relatability. While she may have duties pertaining to a queen, she still enjoys the primal pleasures of any commoner (which include but are not limited to drinking while disguised at the local bar, hooking up with strangers, and blending in with the crowd).

It was also clear from the first introduction that there is a tight, but complicated, bond between Raven and her advisor Cade. This relationship begins to spiral when visitors from a neighboring land arrive unannounced, with their focus solely on Raven.

I cannot adequately explain how connected I felt to Raven. I could so clearly feel her desire for Zeke, and her conflicted feelings for Cade. I could understand her internal struggle with her power, as she attempted to master her dark secret. I could also understand, as the story progressed, her willingness to allow those closest to her to hurt her, during the times when she seemed to forget her own agency.

This story made me reflect a lot on the growth I’ve had as a person, and as a reader. If I had read this story when I was in college I would loath Raven. I would hate her choices, and despise the progression of the story. Instead I felt compassion for her situation, empathy as she struggled, and a yearning for her to stand on her own. While I might not make the same choices as Raven in my real life, I could logically and emotionally see how she ended up in this tangled web of heartache, and was making questionable choices to soothe her wounds.

The most powerful part of this story is the emotional connection between the characters, and their physical responses to one another. This story thrives off of love, lust, and power dynamics. We had little teasers, alluding to the true darkness hidden deep within Raven, and I genuinely wanted more than just a glimpse of her thirst for blood. This story was so character driven that the plot sometimes felt submerged under the emotional weight of the characters actions.

Throughout the novel Raven is struggling to untangle her feelings for Cade and Zeke, while also coming to terms with her power, who she is in the world, and where she came from. As the reader we oscillate between Raven’s point of view, and Zeke’s, which means we know more about Raven’s past and Zeke’s motivations.

The only time I felt disconnected from Raven was during the last few chapters when some of the bigger secrets were finally uncovered. I tried so hard to put myself in Raven’s position, and understand her reactions, but my foreknowledge as the reader kept getting in the way. Her reactions felt overdramatic, and even like they were intentionally made to fit the plot instead of aligning authentically to her character.

While this story does have elements of magic, murder, and a tiny hint of political discourse, it is mainly a study of relationships between characters. While this novel could be triggering for some readers (there are full trigger warnings on the author’s website), I also think that, depending on Raven’s actions in the next two novels, this could eventually lead to healing. I’m very interested to see what choices Raven will make in books two and three. I’m looking forward to seeing who she becomes next.