“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.”
Of Ash and Iron – Eliza Raine
Discovering she was used her entire life by her weak royal parents to store blackmail material via her rare memory magic, Maddy finally reclaims her independence and settles into the Bear Wing with her powerful, summonable spirit companion, Thyrvie. However, her new peace is instantly shattered when her best friend Sarra goes missing and returns on the brink of death, corrupted by a sinister dark magic that can only be cured by a rare feather from dangerous territory. To save her friend, Maddy risks everything by volunteering for the perilous Oskerella, only to be hit with a devastating betrayal that lands her captured and hauled off to the frozen, unforgiving realm of the Ice Giants. Balancing breathless survival stakes, shocking betrayals, and the unbearable, high-chemistry tension of her forbidden bond with Kain, this phenomenal sequel answers every burning question to deliver a spectacular 4.5-star read.
Of frost and feather – Eliza Raine
As Maddy pushes through her grueling Valkyrie training at Yggdrasil, she faces a dangerous step up in stakes as she uncovers the truth behind her mysterious medical condition. Her progress is constantly threatened by a rival clan determined to eliminate her, as well as a freezing reunion with her family that reveals her beloved sister Freydis now harbors a bitter, cold hatred for her. The tension reaches a breaking point during a high-stakes swimming exhibition when her bullies play dirty and attempt to drown her, only for Maddy to be rescued by the sudden, dramatic manifestation of her guardian spirit. This incredible event reveals that Maddy’s emotions summon a rare, universally visible Val-tivar named Thyrvi, flipping the academy dynamics on their head.
Of blades and wings – Eliza Raine
Hidden away in the Ice Court due to her fragile health and fainting spells, Maddy grows up as a forgotten, magicless secret princess until she is unexpectedly chosen by Odin to become a Valkyrie instead of her favored sister. Thrust into the brutal training grounds of Yggdrasil with nothing but a sparkling party dress, she quickly becomes the ultimate laughingstock and a target for ruthless bullies who want to see her fail. Her only hope for survival comes from a terrifying, wingless fire Fae Valkyrie who offers her protection, though his motives are purely selfish as he uses her presence to finally locate a secret vault that has eluded him for two decades. While this quick read wasn’t the absolute best fantasy I’ve picked up, the gritty training arcs and Norse mythology elements were enough to earn it a solid 3.5 stars and keep me on board for book two.
The Agathas – Kathleen Glasgow & Liz Lawson
After a staged runaway attempt left former popular girl Alice Ogilvie under house arrest and completely isolated by her boyfriend-stealing best friend, she is forced into a reluctant tutoring arrangement with Iris Adams, an invisible outsider from the “Zoners” clique. The two polar opposites are suddenly thrown together when that same ex-best friend, Brooke Donovan, vanishes into thin air after a dramatic party fight and is later discovered dead at the bottom of a ravine. Frustrated by a lazy police department that rushes to arrest an innocent suspect without properly fitting the puzzle pieces together, Alice and Iris combine their social intelligence and eavesdropping skills to launch their own investigation. Digging into the dark secrets of Castle Cove requires crossing a few legal lines, but their brilliant amateur sleuthing ultimately exposes the real killer and secures this addictive mystery a solid 4 stars.
ZA #2 Ruthless Fae – Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
Following the brutal hazing and emotional trauma of their first term at Zodiac Academy, changeling Fae princesses Tory and Darcy initially consider fleeing back to the mortal world but are completely broke. To fund their escape, they attempt to rob their tormentors, leading Tory to successfully steal Darius’s magical gold and spitefully torch his entire bedroom in the process. Realizing they refuse to let the arrogant Celestial Heirs win, the twins decide to stay on campus and secretly orchestrate a series of hilarious, vengeful pranks to sabotage the Heirs’ prized Pitball game. Though a slow-paced middle section slows down the momentum, the explosive introduction of a dangerous threat on campus delivers a fast-paced, high-stakes ending that safely locks in a 4-star rating.
The secrets we hide – Karin Slaughter
Small-town sheriff Emmy is shattered when a routine call leads her to the horrific crime scene of her friend Allison, a retired cop who was frantically packing to flee town before being brutally murdered alongside her daughter. The chaotic double-homicide leaves Emmy’s sister injured and the local police force dealing with a crime scene where the pieces just don’t add up. Channeling her late mother’s love for puzzle-hunting, Emmy decodes a cryptic voicemail left by Allison to uncover the hidden files the retired officer was desperately working on. Digging into the secrets Allison died to protect unleashes a massive hornets’ nest of dirty cops, wrongful deaths, and dangerous cover-ups, making this addictive thriller an easy 5-star read.
Caller Unknown – Gillian McAllister
While visiting Texas for a long-awaited mother-daughter camping trip, English restaurateur Simone is plunged into a living nightmare when her daughter Lucy vanishes from their Airbnb overnight. Discovering a burner phone left behind by the kidnappers, she is forced onto a high-stakes, frantic goose chase across the Mexican border to smuggle a mysterious package, all while keeping the authorities entirely in the dark. Though her maternal desperation drives her to survive the dangerous cross-border ordeal and successfully rescue Lucy, the chaotic aftermath leaves both mother and daughter on the run as wanted fugitives with zero evidence to clear their names. While this author normally delivers total bangers, this particular thriller felt too far-fetched, landing it a disappointed 2.5 stars.
Crown me Yours – Liv Zander
Now crowned Queen after the devastating events of the first book, Elara faces the impossible task of deciphering her late king’s final clue to break the kingdom’s curse before the rot claims her brother. Her desperate quest leads her to a high-stakes game of wits with Death himself, outsmarting him to force a marriage pact that sets a dangerous assassination plan into motion. However, as she cozies up to the literal grim reaper, she discovers a surprisingly passionate lover and a deeply guarded soul who is merely existing rather than living. Ultimately, this beautifully poignant and deeply romantic conclusion explores the profound connection between love and grief, earning another enthusiastic 5 stars.
Crown me Dead – Liv Zander
To save her rotting, bedridden family from a kingdom-wide plague, a resilient gravedigger named Elara accepts a dark bargain to become the caretaker of a cursed king. She is tasked with a seemingly impossible mission: make the tyrannical, foul-tempered Monarch fall in love with her so she can sacrifice her life to feed the sentient crown that sustains him. However, her first encounter with King Kael is a literal living nightmare, as he exists as a decaying, pus-dripping corpse who is kept perpetually alive and suffering by the artifact on his head. Despite an incredibly gory and stomach-churning introduction, this flawlessly written dark romance kept me absolutely spellbound and earned a well-deserved 5 stars.
Psycho Fae – Jasmine Mas
Betrayed and dragged to the Fae realm, Sadie and her Alphas are stripped of their shifting powers and forced into the deadly Fae Games. As Sadie takes a brutal physical beating in the arena, her mates vow a strict “hands-off” pact to keep their focus, driving her to look elsewhere to finally lose her virginity. While the ruthless survival tournament and shocking royal secrets were highly entertaining, the extreme level of spice ultimately ruined the plot for me. I’m giving this sequel 3 stars and officially dropping the series.
Psycho Shifters – Jasmine Mas
After enduring years of brutal abuse under the assumption that her unique white hair and red eyes meant she was a powerless “Null Shifter,” twenty-year-old Sadie risks everything to test her blood and escape her captor. Instead of a weak result, her blood turns the enchanted lake blood-red, marking her as the first female Alpha in ages and landing her in a military camp run by three suspicious, incredibly powerful male Alphas. Mistaken for a spy because she can’t initially shift, Sadie endures brutal combat training until a deadly portal breach forces her to finally unleash her true form: a legendary saber-toothed tiger. Balancing high-stakes military tension with intense, page-melting spice, this uniquely gripping shifter romance earned a solid 4 stars.
The Final Girls Support Group – Grady Hendrix
Years after surviving their respective horrors, a low-profile support group for “Final Girls” is thrown into absolute chaos when one of their own is brutally murdered. While the other survivors think paranoid Lynette has finally lost her mind, a sudden, deadly shootout forces her onto the run to protect the remaining women. Desperate to uncover the truth, Lynette orchestrates a frantic, high-stakes investigation that leads her to suspect everyone around them—including their own therapist. With breathtaking writing that kept me completely hooked, the jaw-dropping final plot twist completely blindsided me and earned this thriller a flawless 5 stars.
Shot in the Dark – Mary Dublin & Anne Kendsley
Curious fairy Sylvia breaks the strict rules of her isolationist community to explore a nearby human mansion, completely fascinated by a world she was always taught to fear. Her rebellion backfires when she is captured by a group of hunters who, contrary to fairy bedtime stories, aren’t bloodthirsty monsters at all. Instead, she forms an unlikely bond with her captors and uses her unique ability to sense magical anomalies to help them track a deadly werewolf. While the premise had potential, this fantasy missed the mark for me, earning 3 stars and making it the end of the road for this series.
Daggermouth – H.M. Wolfe
Living in the impoverished, rebel-heavy Boundary, elite assassin Shadera “Shade” Kael takes on a dangerous contract to assassinate Greyson Serel—the ruthless executioner and son of the president who murdered her parents. Shade successfully infiltrates the city’s heart, but an unmasked hesitation right before the fatal blow forces her and Greyson into a mandatory, politically charged marriage to avoid execution. As the forced allies spend time together, Shade is shocked to discover that her sworn enemy—and the elite world he inhabits—isn’t as purely evil as she always believed. Packed with brutal torture, endless tension, and jaw-dropping final twists, this captivating fantasy earned a solid 5 stars and left me desperate for the sequel.
Zodiac Academy; The Awakening – Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
Aging out of foster care and desperate for cash, twins Tory and Darcy Vega are shocked when a mysterious stranger reveals they are actually long-lost Fae princesses of Solaria. Thrust into the chaotic and magical world of Zodiac Academy, they must learn to harness their latent powers while navigating an entirely unfamiliar realm. However, survival won’t be easy as four ruthless, powerful heirs paint targets on their backs, determined to bully them into giving up their rightful inheritance. Packed with intense bullying, high-stakes danger, and a looming Nymph threat, this chaotic fantasy earned a well-deserved 4.5 stars.
The Verdant Cage – Jess Lourey
Faced with a forced marriage that will strip away her affinity for medicine, Rose’s life is permanently upended when her twin brother, Jonas, is accused of attacking their mother and sentenced to a deadly exile over the community’s vine-covered wall. Forced to live with her betrothed’s family, she vows to make them pay while desperately trying to uncover the dark truth hidden in the forbidden Record Keepers’ vault. Navigating the strict curfews and heavy surveillance of Noah’s Valley, Rose joins forces with a group of rebellious peers to learn how to fight and resist the increasingly gruesome rules imposed by their power-hungry leader. This high-stakes fantasy earns a solid 4.5 stars, delivering a mind-blowing ally reveal and a gripping, wide-open ending that will leave readers demanding a sequel.
Blood Bound – Ellis Hunter
In a high-stakes fantasy world where warring realms must battle to the death for a life-giving magical source, Princess Astrid prepares for a centuries-old duel against a surprise opponent. While the intricate world-building delivers a rich tapestry of dragons, familiars, and magical blood bonds, the story’s sluggish pacing and near-absent romance ultimately hold it back. Furthermore, the constant perspective shifts between chapters needlessly inflate the book’s length. It is a solid fantasy concept that earns a lukewarm three-star rating.