Fields of Asphodel - Moving retelling on trust, bonds and family

 Ravishing and lyrical ode to the trending Greek myths focusing on the lesser known deities! If you loved Circe but wanted a more youthful countenance with some quests thrown in, then this is the marvelous coming of age story for the youthful flower goddess who claims back everything she thought she had lost at birth, with agonizingly thoughtful quotes and remonstrations.

Callie Rowland bears spotlight on Thanatos, the gentle god of Death and Asphodel or Del, the Flower Goddess and child of Persephone and Hades. Del, raised by her maternal grandmother, Demeter, has spent her life knowing a curse was placed upon her at birth - to never love a God from the Underworld, by her mother Persephone. Under the ministrations of Hecate (Cate) and Demeter (Yaya), she has learnt potion making and tending of her Isle, where she reigns supreme and no one can question her absolute control. Wary of her parents, she remains a third wheel in their family, attending only feasts and plotting with Demeter on how to disenchant Persephone and bring her back into the light.

Things go awry when she is informed of her betrothal to Thanatos, her father's loyal lieutenant, erstwhile God of Gentle Death, beloved teacher to her triplet siblings, and more a member of her family. Her rage and frustration lead her to kidnap Thanatos to her Isle, and what follows is a beautiful tale of trust, betrayal, loss and understanding. 

Drawing on themes of family, cycles of vengeance, seasons of resentment and blossoming of trust and companionship, the story unfolds leisurely, like a walk along a sandy shore, collecting shells in an infinite world of possibilities. There is definitely some sizzle involved, but the tale itself was like the timeless compositions that make Greek retellings romanticized!

My heartfelt thank yous (Styx swear) to 47North and Netgalley for providing me with the arc!

#greekretelling #comingofage #calliemrowland #fieldsofasphodel #augustreleases

Immortal Game - Deadly fae chess competition where the winner takes all

 Atmospheric, intense and all consuming!!! For anyone who thought a chess match could be anything else - dare you to read this and be unmoved!

Allison Saft brings to fore the pressure, the preparation and, finally, the nerves to be held in a simple game of chess, where lives, loves and lost ones are at stake. The book is absolutely CRUSHING, whether you know chess or not, you will get sucked into the vortex of plays, counter plays and psychological warfare and a brash of power plays that hits you anew - and harder than any battle scenes with the faes. The strategic, tactical and psychotic plays employed by these players of the immortal game just bring the competition to unhinged levels!

In the background are bargains with the fae, littered with loss and found family tropes, united by their supreme levels of confidence in ruling the 64 squares and finding joy in the play. Daniil was my ultimate favorite - he brought back memories of Artemis Fowl with his obscene intelligence, attitude and wealth! Ciara and Shae are caught in a web of causal loss, obsessing over each other's moves and their slow burn is beautifully wrought from the sheer joy of chess!

Shae - unsure, yet determined, Shae finds humility, acceptance and finally joy in just being and playing the game, one that has haunted her life, since her sister was taken six years ago. Her growth and her quirky interactions with the prickly players was absolutely delightful! Her equation with Eideen and her real life, the snubs from her mother (who I adore for her willful acrimony) and the way they find each other is also a lyrical closure to this marvelously thrilling tale

My checkered thank yous to St Martins Press, Wednesday Books and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to revel in the arc!

#ImmortalGame #StMartinsPress #Netgalley #slowburn #faecompetition #dastardly

A Court of Venus - Novel magical system and burning love

 If your mind races with new magical systems, and your inner scientist loves a mélange of astrology and magical abilities that wax and wane, if your heart chases for political intrigue, belied by an aging king and a cutthroat court waiting to take over, if prophecy and death light your fires and a sizzling undercurrent of past and present lovescapes frame your mood boards, then look no further!

Bel Banta builds an absolutely epic opener with a nest of vipers in the Court, where Biance Mortlake aka mouse, goes back to unravel the mystery of prince Hal, her best friend since childhood. Her powers come from the moon magic and include transformation and the ability to guide or remove emotions - her nemesis is the current Lord Chancellor - Roland, whose Venus magic allows him to read emotions and manipulate lust. 

While the larger arc spins about Hal's murder and its mystery, the trouble brewing with an aging and cruel king and his power plays and the general ambience at the royal chambers are fraught with danger and an undercurrent of coups. Roland and Bianca are coerced to join forces to ensure Alvion does not fall - with a magician tourney ongoing, they battle loyalties, emotions and ultimately face off their worst fears about themselves to rise above the tide.

The growth of Bianca from the fearful mouse to the moon blessed siren was nothin short of EPIC! Samantha Hydeson lends her tones to bring out the various magics and planetary systems at play. Her emoting of the scenes between Roland, Hal and Bianca were gutting and rivetting all at once! The audio production leaves nothing to be desired and lends support to a fascinating tale, which I cannot wait to hear more of...

My Venus infused thank yous to Macmillian audio and Netgalley for providing me with the ALC!

I would be remiss if I didn't call out the absolute cracker of the ending! It was unexpected, exhilarating and the perfect cliffhanger to jump to the next book in the series!

#Septemberreads #Thecourtofvenus #macmillianaudio #romantasy

Tradwife - hynpnotic, static and disturbing

 Hypnotic, disturbing and wildly addictive....

I know what you did last summer X Stepford wives

Michelle Brandon crafts a unique thriller, which focuses more on the traditional wife concept and the expectations to live upto in a small town where everybody knows everybody and being seen is being judged. With a picturesque, all knowing neighborhood, we meet the main group, who each harbor secrets and leverage that information. More than the thriller, the montage of bread, sandals next to the body and the chapter on the body itself were more riveting, in my opinion.

The tale is choppy and cuts in and out - like static affecting the storyline, it added to the psychotic overhang and i enjoyed it the same way... If you are interested in a proper mystery - this may not satisfy that itch but if you, like me, enjoy a book for what it offers, then this is an unapologetic look into modern day organic momhood, its demands, pitfalls and impact on all the tradwives, especially when facing a modern world and when their role is cancelled.

My sourdough thank yous to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the arc! this book is best enjoyed with homemade jam, or a clean mocktail...

#augustreads #avonharpervoyager #tradwife #thriller

The Iron Hex - Powerful witch with lost memories rediscovers her roots

 " May the iron in your blood stregthen the iron in your soul"

If you love a cross country chase in world building with small taverns and a hero with a haunted past and a militant coup that overthrew the monarchy, if forbidden magic titillates your senses, and withes rock your world, if feisty heroines and found friendships make your pages turn faster and a slow burn gets you all the way, then look no further!

Victoria Walsh crafts a potent portion of a tale with a red haired voluptuous FMC, and her trustworthy rabbit Penny Royal (of course), who may or may not be harboring some forbidden magic. Add in a commander who deserted his post to find her, only to discover the Viscountess Eira has lost her memories of her former personal guard and the commander is being hunted by the Iron Empire, with a quest to find the missing princess who was her bosom friend, its a rollercoaster of a tale with themes of grief, forgiveness and acceptance. 

With parallel chapters told in multi character arcs, the pace and suspense and hand offs are so tight and keep the tale running. The development of Sir Rona and Maeve was also tastefully built with the rot spreading across the Iron Empire and Sir Rona's thirst to prove herself is magnificently wrought. I LOVE tropes where the best friend and boyfriend trade insults and this one absolutely BROUGHT it! The massive plot twist at the end was min boggling and I CANNOT wait for the sequel.

The narration was absolutely perfect and brought the shock, disbelief and the complete breakdown in certain scenes truly stole the show for me!

My ironclad thank yous to harlequin Audio and Netgalley for providing me an opportunity to enjoy the ALC! And of course, doffeth I my hat to Victoria S Walsh and the enchating tones of Jeremy Carlisle Parker, for the tale and the accompanying narration!

#Augustreleases #Harlequinaudio #TheIronHex #romantasy 

Vow of Eternal Night - Dark beauty and beast retelling

 Would a dark castle atop a prosperous valley with a wicked prince at its helm, perchance, grab your interest? A gothic twist of vampiric proportions and an enchanted castle where a maid is forced into a bargain with the very darkness that haunts her hometown, leaving behind her mayoral father and her besotted fiance and a starving township with a vow for revenge... Think Beauty and the Beast but with a epic personality twist that is deliciously riveting!

Lily Crozier crafts this dark, seductive and mesmerizing vampiric novella, with a personality plot twist to die for - I fell HARD for the contrast between Clara and Raleigh, one with spunk and an intrepid drive and the other sensitive and nuanced and oh so troubled! It is a heady mix of adventure, mystery, dark topics, suffering and uncertainty and the ending explodes in a terrifying twist to bring the story to a beautiful close.

My sanguinary thank yous to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for providing this Arc!

#Augustreleases #gothicretelling #entangledpublishing

A Bargain So Bloody - dark, slow burn of a series starter

 If you love a broody she's mine love story that slowly simmers, no explosion of heat, if you dream of broken societies and revel in underdog to powerful nobility transitions, if intrigue mystery and a clueless protagonist make you turn pages faster, then this is absolutely the book for you!

Vasilisa Drake pens a series opener with panache, a prison, a emancipated heroine, who's past is turmoiled and misdemeanors not clear, forced to serve in the prison. One day, a vampire is brought in as a new prisoner and she realizes she will never be freed of her service, unless she helps the prisoner escape. What follows is a journey across the kingdom, a quest for a lost book, a failed monastery conversion attempt, lots of ruthlessness and a swell of secondary characters - Demos and Thea - The reminded me of a youthful Cadsuane from wheel of time...

Caught between court intrigue, societal norms and her own naive idealism, Samara totters through the novel plucking at half truths and trembling to understand the tides of power and myth that are flowing through the tale...

I am hoping that the next book will draw out more of her childhood and her fractal memories of her past, while also granting her a queenly grace!

Thank yous to Scarlett Press and Netgalley for providing the arc!

#Julyreleases #hefallsfirst #abargainsobloody #scarlettpress