It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see you as you are. Sometimes I feel the same as you: I can‘t risk having people behold me as I truly am. But there‘s also a small voice in the back of my mind, a voice that tells me, “You will miss so much by being so guarded."

“What I want in this life doesn‘t matter. I‘ve been dancing along the edge of death‘s tune for a while now.”
He‘s quiet for a moment.
“You should never have to dance to death‘s song alone, little demon.”

Some things to expect:
- hidden identity
- Who did this to you?
- feisty FMC
- 3/5🌶
- fae, gods and monsters
- masked ball
- shadows
- Nicknames🫠

"Your first mistake was assuming a measly four-letter word could encapsulate the way I feel for her. Your second was assuming I‘ll ever let her go.”

I feel like this series is one of those you can't get enough off. When you finish reading it, you'll want to just dive right back in.

✔️ Complex plot
✔️ Imersive worldbuilding
✔️ Nuanced characters
✔️ Delicious slow burn
✔️ Mental health rep

“You are a mystery, Mr. Krow. How does one become so… dark?”
“It is a long story, I am afraid.”
She shivered nervously. She‘d just sat with a man in a dark garden. She‘d talked to the man who the police had been looking for for years.
“Would you like to talk again some time?” the shadow asked.

I can't believe I waited this long to read this, but I was sort of intimidated by the possibility of a too complex world structure and politics.
It took some time to wrap my head around it, reminding me of a mix between Star Wars and Ocean's Elleven, but OMG was it worth it. I laughed, I cried and I enjoyed it immensely ❤️

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lotus will bloom into the most magnificent flower, even when its roots are in the murkiest of waters.

A moving and inspirational love story in the midst of tragedy.

Recomended for people who likes: friends to lovers, emotional reads, held captive, dark themes (see TW), romance and a HEA.

“I loved you then, I love you now, and I‘ll love you until my dying day.”

"Every love story is worth writing, no matter how messy it might be,”

”All those I touch,” Death whispered, “die.” His other hand pressed against her cheek suddenly, and he breathed out a wondrous sigh so heavy that Signa‘s entire body warmed. “Except for you, Signa Farrow. When I touch you, I feel you. On you, my influence is temporary.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's been a while since I've enjoyed a YA book as much as this one. I loved the romance and gothic vibes, mixed with paranormal elements.

“Are you afraid?” he asks, and I catch a glimpse of sharpened canines.
“Should I be?”
“Yes.” He brushes my hair off my shoulder with a look that pilfers my soul. “I‘m far worse than anything you‘re imagining.”

"What I want, what I need, and what is right are three entirely different things."

While vacationing on an island myself, it's a great book to enjoy on the beach.

“Someday a man will come along who won‘t like what you do. He‘ll want you to himself because he thinks you‘re nothing more than a body he can control, and it will be because he‘s insecure. A real man knows that truly possessing someone is a privilege, and it‘s not their body you‘ll own. It‘s so much more. I want you to know the difference, Mia.”

"Maybe there was no right or wrong, no black or white, only a thousand shades of gray when it came to pain and what we each held ourselves responsible for."

"That's the thing about women. There's no good way to be one. Wear your emotions on your sleeve and you're hysterical. Keep them tucked away where your boyfriend doesn't have to tend to them and you're a heartless bitch."

Well, I've still got no clue as to what lies beyond the veil...

It contains really bad writing, almost zero plot, a terrible MMC and the twist at the end was predictable from the start.

You really can just read From Blood and Ash instead, It's basically the same, but at least it had a better MMC.

“Why is she laughing?” one asked. “Does she not realize her crew threw her overboard to save their own hides?” “She‘s mad as a March hare,” the second lieutenant said. “Oh, my foolish lads.” Grinning maniacally, I pushed to a sitting position and straightened the shirt to cover my nudity. “You have no idea what you just invited onto your ship.”

“I can‘t seem to make sense of you.”
“It‘s easy, Commodore. Just think of the smartest man you know, remove all the hauteur and bigotry, and add a larger pair of testicles.”
“Disturbing.”

She is only five, yet already she has learned that there is no point in askin her mother for a bedtime story, that inviting friends over is something only other children can do, that new toys are a rare luxury, that at home Kit and Tiffin are the only ones who get their own way. At the age of five she has already come to terms with one of life's harshest lessons: that the world isn't fair...

"You‘re my personal hell, Red.
And God help me. I don't want to fucking leave."

I‘ve never seen the point of fancy dress parties. You have two choices: either you make a massive effort and wind up looking like a dick, or you make no effort and wind up looking like a dick. And my problem, as always, was not knowing what kind of dick I wanted to be.

"I won't be lectured by a human who entered my world days ago. And certainly not by one who has never ruled a day in her life."
"Good," I say. "Because I have no interest in lecturing a man who won't listen."

"Pain doesn‘t get easier. You just have to get stronger."

"These are the stars. This is your life. These were your choices."

I went into this thinking it would be a romance. It's not.

We meet Santi and Thora over and over again, every chapter a new life, a new way of knowing one another; as friends, colleagues, lovers, enemies.

I desperately wanted to unravel the mysteries of this and it gives it to you, slowly, until it smacks you in the face towards the end.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"We are not promised a long life, Cassia. Just a life. Take what happiness you can. Hold tight to it."

The first thing you ought to know
is that it wasn‘t my father‘s fault.
Not the bad luck, not the lies.
Certainly not the curse.
I know some will try to blame him,
but he had little to do with it.
And I want to be clear that
it wasn‘t entirely my fault, either.
Not the bad luck, not the lies.
Certainly not the curse.
Well.
Maybe some of the lies.

You put in expired contacts?” He sounded personally offended
“Just a little expired.”
“What‘s ‘a little‘?”
“I don‘t know. A few years?”
“What?” His consonants were sharp and precise. Crisp. Pleasant.
“Only a couple, I think.”
“Just a couple of years?”
“It‘s okay. Expiration dates are for the weak.”

"There are no monsters in this world, and no saints. Only infinite shades woven into the same tapestry, light and dark. One man's monster is another man's beloved."

"Every time you take one path, you must live with the memory of the other: of a life left unchosen."

Rating: 4⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was just so magical and the perfect read for Christmas. I know the Author did ballet herself and there are a lot of ballet references. I don't know the first thing about all the Croisé, Plié and Arabesque. I just pictured her dancing pretty😅

“I am yours and you are mine, Miriam—"
I quake at those words.
“—but I am not like you, and you should never forget that.”

About 200 pages in and loving it so far?I read Pestilence when it first released and liked it a lot, but sort of forgot the rest as time went? seems fitting to continue the series now, as the fourth book is right around the corner?

“You may destroy me yet.”

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

One of my most anticipated releases this year and it did not disappoint 👏 😍🔥🤯👌

Next book, please 😇

"Every story has the potential for infinite endings".

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Like her previous books, this had all the magic and wonder I enjoyed from her Caraval series. I loved Jacks and Evangeline. Next year can't come soon enough, I need the second book, preferably now?

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4,5

This went in a different way than I was expecting, but in a really good way. They had tension, they had history and they had problems. All in the confined space of a hotel they were forced to work together in. A great read!

"You are so much more than a thing.
In fact, you're everything."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

"They were two very different men who knew each other inside and out. They were somehow too intimate and too apart at the same time. It was a paradox."

I'm addicted to this series of standalone romances. They're so good.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A wonderful story wrapped in poetry and I loved every minute of it. I will be getting a physical copy of this.

"You asked me to tell truths. I have. What do I want? Understanding. Exchange. Victory. A game—hiding and discovery. You‘re a swift opponent, Blue. You play long odds. You run the table. If we‘re to be at war, we might as well entertain one another."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

"The Wolf‘s story was one of mythic beasts, and as it was told through the centuries, he became one, too."

For some reason, I thought this was an adult dark fantasy, but it was neither adult nor very dark. I probably would have enjoyed it more if it were.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4,5

"They would fight, tooth and nail, to survive the next year of their lives, and if they were as steadfast and talented as the Society presumed them to be, most of them would. ​
Most of them."

This book kept me reading, kept me wondering, curious how it would end. ?

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ah, this book... this was truly everything you could ever want in a fantasy romance and then some. It had politics, great worldbuilding, rich characters, magic and swooning romance all neatly wrapped in one standalone book. This is definitely a new favorite of mine ❤ Highly recommended 👌

"Now I know that grief is a whetstone that sharpens all your love, all your happiest memories, into blades that tear you apart from within."

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another Beauty & the Beast retelling, only this time, Beauty is the Beast.

I never get tired of this retelling and this was a fresh take on the familiar farytail. I devoured it in ine sitting, staying up far into the night to finish.

"Humans and dragons? They don‘t mix very well.”
“Because you monsters are always trying to kill us?” I crossed my arms.
“Because we don‘t take the time to understand one another.”

“We like to believe we have some measure of control over who we love,” she said soft, resigned. “But the heart goes where it will, and once it chooses we have no choice but to follow or stay away from the one it is crying out for.”

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

One of the best reads this month. If you're a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope, you should definitely give this a try.

"Like life, what gives a story its meaning is the fact that it ends. Our stories have lives of their own—and its up to us to make them mean something."

I picked it up this morning, meaning only to read a few chapters, but then night came and the pages ended. The story is great and, in addition, deals with anxiety and depression.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This just keeps getting better and better. The only complaint I have is that Darkdawn haven't arrived in the mail yet😭

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It took me a few chapters to get used to the writing style, but once I did, I went on quite a ride. I loved all the annotations at the bottom of the pages and I loved Mia and Mister Kindley. The entire story was dark and thrilling, and I'm reaching for the second book.

I've been trying to get my hands on a physical copy for months and it finally arrived in the mail today. 🙏

“You really shouldn‘t stare at a woman like that.” He blinks a few times. “I wasn‘t staring.” “You were.” Averting his gaze, he returns to face the fire. “Oh, and how should I look at a woman then?” “Not like they‘re prey.”

A Beauty and the Beast retelling with a dash of Bridgerton. This was so good. The tension, the plot, the smirk and sweetness of it all.

"To gain everything and lose everything in the space of a moment. That is the fate of all princes destined for the throne."

A bit abrupt ending, but a truly wonderful character driven story. I loved this series so much❤