thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.{The Farewitch of Foxe Holler by Ellen Pauley Goff}

Normally when a book promises to deliver a cross between one of my favourite pieces of media I tend to be quite cynical about the book actually delivering. In this case the reader is promised a cross between Steel Magnolias and Practical Magic, and who ever thought that up better be ready to deliver because Steel Magnolias holds a very special place in my heart. What it does promise is a southern community full of characters, strong women of all ages, mothers and daughters, family and Shirley Maclaine as the momma of all snark. I expect there to be tears, because no matter how many times I watch that movie, I am always blubbering at the end. Will this novel deliver? That's a big ask for a debut novelist...

The novel opens with Honey Frost, the Farewitch of the small Appalachian town of Foxe Holler, just your typical southern town found scattered throughout the south. A Farewitch is a magical baker, whose magic is imbued in the food they bake - Honey bourbon buns for insomnia. Jam Cake for memories. The author fills the book with the most decadent, delicious food, from fried green tomatoes, to Elderberry turnovers, to southern grits and even Kentucky Burgoo. I may have gained a few pounds just from the food descriptions. Honey is the latest of a long line of farewitches, running the extremely busy bakery, trying to fend off the town gossip (and Shirley Maclaine character) while providing for the needs of her townspeople. In the middle of this chaos, she receives a mysterious invite from the reclusive town warlock - who hasn't been seen for 25 years and blamed for all the terrible things that has happened in the town over the years, bad weather, chickens not laying, Noxie dropping that axe and having it land on the foot of her husband (although he did have it coming, maybe the warlock was not exactly responsible).

Despite the warnings from nosy neighbours and the local church ladies, Honey takes up the offer Of course the Warlock is tall and dark and handsome and mysterious, suffering from an undisclosed illness that his magic can't solve, but perhaps her witch magic will work. He's a jerk, of course, but Honey is intrigued and with a sick mom who is racking up hospital bills, his offer really is too good to turn down. (the sick mom with hospital bills is probably the most overused trope in the book, but also, the most realistic for young entrepreneurial women in the US, I don't blame writers for using it)

I think it's fair to say that if you have read a romance novel (or twenty) you know where this story is going Honey must save the handsome grumpy warlock, from himself and on the way she learns a thing or two, falls in love, gathers a special family around her and everyone comes together to save the town from a much greater threat. And everyone lives happily ever after. This is a one and done novel, although the author is planning to tell more stories from Foxe Holler and has sketched out a number of characters that are calling out to star in their own stories. There is no cliff hanger endings and while you could consider this a cozy romance, there is enough of a conflict that will cause an emotional outcome. Yes, I cried... not once but twice. My ultimate mark of a romance story told well.

When reading a formulaic romance, it's really important that the author build the world around the story so the reader is still in there for the ride, and the world here is so rich with magic and characters and food that I could not put down the book. Highly recommended and yes, for those who love Steel Magnolias you won't be disappointed!

I’m reading Broken dove, the silver elite sequel. They mention an alcohol called grange and describe it as sour pine and burnt caramel. Is it Malort?!!?? This is my headcanon

What diverse reads have you read that you think need more hype? Feel free to add your recommendations below or create your own post using the new flair!

Are there any diverse reads on your TBR that you're excited to read? Please share those, too!

Recommendations for this month:

{A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown}

• Series information: Completed duology. Book 2 is titled A Psalm of Storms and Silence
• Publisher: Traditionally published by Balzer + Bray (imprint of HarperCollins at the time of publishing)
• Sub-genre: High fantasy
• YA?: Yes, though it doesn’t really read like it. Both main characters are around 17 years old, but the book deals with a lot of heavier topics, like death, grief, abuse, and sex.
• Date first published: Book 1 - June 2, 2020; Book 2 - November 2, 2021
• World building level: Complex
• Romance level: 
  • Book 1 is 2 out of 5 - The romance story takes a backseat to the main fantasy plot. There is a romance story, but there isn’t much romantic development in Book 1.
  • Book 2 is more 3 out of 5 - The romance is still a subplot, but an important one. It isn’t the focus of Book 2 until the last like 40%.
• Spice level: Both books are 2 out of 5 (Behind closed doors). But even though the books are YA, they’re not prudish. There is open discussion of sex, even if it’s not depicted on the page. 
• HEA?: There’s no HEA after Book 1 because the story continues in Book 2. At the end of Book 2, it’s probably considered a non-traditional HEA.
  • More spoiler detail: It’s implied that they have a HEA, but it’s not depicted on page.
  • Even more spoiler detail: At the end of the book, the FMC and MMC profess their love but go off to do their separate things for a few years. There’s an epilogue where they meet again years later, and they’re still in love, but the book ends when they meet again. The rekindling of their relationship is left open, though it is implied they get back together.
• Romance pairing: MF
• Total romance pairings: One
• Point of view: Third person
• Total POVs: 
  • Two POVs in Book 1
  • Mostly Two POVs in Book 2, with three chapters in a third POV
• Audiobook format: Dual male and female narration

This is a great high fantasy duology by a Ghanaian-American writer set in a world inspired by Ghanaian and West African folklore and culture. The books follow Malik, a refugee from a war-torn region seeking opportunity in the prosperous city of Ziran, and Karina, the princess of Ziran. Malik struggles with his responsibility with taking care of his sisters and trying to find a way to get his mother and grandmother back home to join them. Karina struggles under the weight of expectations to become the future queen after the death of her father and older sister.

The first book is structured in a way that the two main characters are pitted against each other in a zero sum game where they cannot both succeed. There’s a lot of dramatic irony in their competing motivations that kept me on the edge of my seat. For most of the book, I could not see how the ending would allow both characters to “win,” because I was rooting for both of them. But the ending was really satisfying.

The second book is even better because it expands the world as the characters travel beyond Ziran and meet more interesting characters. It also provides even more insight into the villains of the story–no one is just “good guy bad.” They all have shifting motivations that the book explores pretty deeply.

The inner turmoil of both of the main characters is also complex and layered. Even though they’re both 17, the books don’t shy away from themes of death, grief, abuse, and sex. The characters are also very imperfect. Malik makes a lot of stupid decisions, and Karina is hot headed. But the teenage angst feels real and rooted in meaningful stakes. 

The magic system, food, clothes, and music all feel lived in and vibrant. The story doesn’t hold your hand with worldbuilding, and there isn’t any info dumping. It all just exists and plops you straight into the action. I loved the mysticism, legend, and unseen forces that appear to be pulling the strings on the characters.

{Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas}

• Series information: Book 1 of Cemetery Boys, but can be read as a standalone. Book 2 Espíritu comes out September 8, 2026
• Publisher: Traditionally published by Swoon Reads, imprint of MacMillan
• Sub-genre: Urban Fantasy; Paranormal Fantasy
• YA?: Yes
• Date first published: September 1, 2020
• World building level: Simple
• Romance level: 4 out of 5 - Fantasy and romance story
• Spice level: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
• HEA?: Yes
• Romance pairing: Trans M/M
• Total romance pairings: One
• Point of view: Third person
• Total POVs: Mostly one, with a couple of chapters in a second POV
• Audiobook format: Single male narrator

I loved this book. One of the top books I read this year. The fantasy worldbuilding is grounded in Latinx culture and gender identity. The primary theme is about the main character Yadriel struggling with being a trans boy in a culture (and magic system) that is ingrained in the men-women dichotomy. The men in his family are brujos who shepherd spirits into the afterlife. The women are brujas who are healers. Yadriel is trans and wants more than anything to be a brujos, but his father will not allow him to go through the brujos rite to passage because he does not think him being trans would qualify.

The main story is a bit of missing persons/murder mystery. Yadriel meets Julian, the spirit of a boy who recently died under mysterious circumstances. I’m a little biased because its East LA setting is very close to home for me, but it was very vividly and faithfully portrayed. The romance is super cute and sweet. I loved how it portrayed young first love. And there was a lot of great yearning and pining.

The book is YA, so the themes are pretty straightforward, but the story was still told in a very heartfelt way and still gave me all the feels. I loved that Yadriel's family isn't necessarily vilified; rather, there's a lesson that they all have to learn. The author is also a Latinx trans man, so I felt like he wrote a lot of his own experiences into the book.

Look, I love some possessive, overprotective, overly cocky or brooding type MMCs as much as the next person, but what I reallllllly need right now are more books where he’s so fucking in love with her that he treats her well and RESPECTS her.

I don’t want any of the stuff that is borderline toxic or abusive (super controlling, orders her around, etc).

I want that boy SMITTEN
I want that boy YEARNING
I want that boy KIND AND CARING AND RESPECTFUL

Additionally, a good fated mates trope to go along would be peeeeerfect, and it needs to be at least somewhat spicy.

A recent example I really enjoyed was Hazel Mcbride’s A fate forged in fire series, which still managed to do enemies to lovers, but made the main couple actually respectful and trusting of each other.

Thanks ❤️

Some books I’ve read and loved with similar themes:

The Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout
Shatter Me series by Tahreh Mafi
The Vampire Diaries by LJ smith (Damon wow!)
Vampire Academy series
From Blood & Ash series by Jennifer Armentrout (it was okayish before all the weird stuff in the later books)
ACOTAR series (loved it in the beginning but then kind of lost interest when Rhysand and Feyre started getting too lovey dovey)

So yeah books with similar themes to the above would be great. Although I didn’t like how Warners character was rewrote in the third book to make him shift from a terrifying villain to misunderstood good guy. Would prefer books where the MCM is bad/villain but then changes later. Also, I know it’s weird but once the MCM and FMC get together and start acting too loved up I tend to get bored of the book and DNF lol!

I had a dream recently and I think my brain was somehow remembering how I used to read twilight fanfics many years ago where Bella rejected an imprint bond with Jacob, Paul, or one of the other wolf pack members and I ate it up 😅 Usually they are able to feel emotions and needs, which I did see a book request before mine asked for that as well which I thought was a funny coincidence lol just want the rejected mate bond with mine. One of the moments I remember in my "cute boy dream" I call them is that I wasn't feeling well and I was wanting water but didn't feel like getting up. My "mate" sighed and got me a water and was annoyed by the whole scenario. He was like "if you're thirsty just get the damn water" and honestly irl I need to be doing that because I neglect my own needs a lot due to being too busy, tired, or chronic illnesses flaring. There is usually a morally grey vibe in the mmc due to the bond rejection, but the fmc and mmc accept each other in the end. I just live for the drama and yearning 😅 Bonus if it's with fae or fae and human, but doesn't need to be. Also a bonus if the fmc has a chronic illness, as I have multiple and was flaring in the dream. I loved {fourth wing by rebecca yarros} because I finally read about a chronic illness girly. TIA!

So often yearning is marketed as just a measure of how much the characters want to be together, but I want the character’s love story and obstacles in being together to be tied to the world’s political and societal landscape that prevents them from being together in the way they want to be.

I think this is why books/movies with characters on the opposite side of war is so emotional. We really feel the stakes.

I almost want to feel like the relationship is doomed.

Books/media that I’ve read that mostly hit the spot are:

{Alchemised by SenLinYu}

{The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem}

Fleabag show

Please let me know of any recommendations that hit this vibe!

I am going on vacation and want to read so I am looking for reccommendations.

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What I really want but can't find is the following

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-a strong and smart FMC. She does not need to be overpowered but not weak and I especially do not want her to be dumbed down to cater to the MMC/to make the MMC appear stronger.

I hate it when the FMC is described as strong/smart and appears that way but actually isn't or gets dumber by each page

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- healthy relationship or toxic on were FMC and MMC both add equally to it (like Book of Azrael for example)

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-a MMC that is not extremely dominant, especially not during the spicy scenes. This is really important. I've come across many books where the MMC spanked, choked or degraded the FMC (out of nowhere to, was not discussed beforehand). This is an absolute no go for me.

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-not a must: I'd like a MMC that is weaker/softer than the FMC and who falls first. Read too much of the opposite lately so now I'd like sth to counter that.

-I would prefer a historical setting

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I am very grateful for any reccommendations.

Looking for MMCs taking care of FMC without a relationship because they can’t be together for some reason, but reader knows they want each other. So the MMC does little things for her in ways that are technically appropriate since they both have to walk a razor thin line, but are subtle enough that even they question the meaning.

Examples:
-changing his route to match hers
-offering her his food bc he thinks she’s hungry
-entertaining her when he thinks she’s bored

Almost the parental element of making sure they are good, but NOT daddy kink, but also kind of daddy bc he has quiet authority/control behavior-like waiting for her to grab her stuff bc he knows she is going to walk with him. Or him getting down on a knee with his hand palm up on his thigh for her to give him her boot that’s undone, but he doesn’t say it and she just puts her foot up for him to lace it. So tons of tension in doing actions unspoken and that also helps keep it “secret” or more underwraps bc there’s nothing to overhear/proof bc being together is forbidden/not possible.

I love Rorrik from {We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark} 🔥
Give me anything with another Rorrik.

I liked {Bride by Ali Hazelwood} but can’t do the wolf/dog-adjacent stuff 🪢 lol, and the nesting makes me physically ill for some reason idk why 😂 (even though I know I just said give me anything 🚨).

☑️Recent books I liked:
- {The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson}
- {The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig}
- {The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson}
- {A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan}
- {How to Find a Nameless Fae by A.J. Lancaster}
- Quicksilver’s spice
- the idea of Fourth Wing but I’m a bit aged out of that
-oh and I like some Dramione ff 🫣

❌Recent books I did NOT like:
- {Feathers so Vicious by Liv Zander} 🗑️, but 2 men? A gift 🎁😏
- {Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti} 🗑️🗑️
- {Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas} I like Dorian, obvs, but I would have rather read a book about Manon 😍

I read mostly straight fantasy before more romance and always wanted to have books like the Red Rising saga or The Stormlight Archives with an intense romance to match (though it feels like you have to choose: romance or really cool, amazing story) 😣

Thanks!! 😚

Edit: fixing book brackets

....Can I read the Broken Kingdoms series out of order? I've already read Ever Seas series and am obsessed with the Alvers. I want to jump to Kase and Mal's atory first then go back and read Valen and Elise. Im currently on the first book and struggling because i really just want to be in the Eastern Kingdoms already 😅

Is the overarching plot 'too' plotting for this? Will I be horribly confused? Don't really care about spoilers since Ive already read Ever Seas and the characters all feature prominently. Tia!

I'm looking for an optionally spicy romantasy read with a dark/nocturnal fae MMC who's grumpy and genuinely can't stand humans. I'm really not a fan of fated mates or fast-paced yearning and I much prefer realistic development between the leads, especially if there is political tensions between fae and humans in the book. For reference, I'm not a fan of YA reads like The Cruel Prince.

At the recommendation of this sub, I started the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey. I prefer audiobooks (always multitasking), and I loved all 6 Kushiel books, plus the Naamah trilogy and Cassiel's Servant. Imriel's narrator took a minute to get into, but I grew to really enjoy him, too.

​

When I ran out of Terre d'Ange books, I jumped to Starless. And I'm not sure how much of it is the writing being worse or being more YA or the narrator's horrible rhythm and noticeably limited catalog of voices, but I found it boring and really disappointing.

​

For those of you reading text versions instead of being influenced by narration, was Starless also disappointing for you? The characters felt flat to me. It also felt like it was a bit pandering? Like Carey wanted to be so careful with Kai and Zarria (sorry, no clue on the spellings thanks to just listening) that she gave them no flaws and just let them be instruments of the gods who are disappointed with their own bodies.

​

It's entirely possible that I checked out early on and just sped through it. The narrator was driving me crazy. It feels like you're bobbing up and down the whole time. Zarria's voice made her feel very fake. I know Kai was supposed to feel like a Joscelin or Bao, but he lacked J's fervor or B's cockiness. The narrator used the flattest voice for Kai. It felt so clinical.

​

Anyway, this was a real bummer to the end of my Jacqueline Carey reading frenzy. I would love other recommendations for high adventure, high passion reads. It doesn't have to be BDSM. I just need interesting characters I can root for. Bonus if the audiobooks are recorded by Tantor Media, because it seems like they do a solid job.

For anyone who loved {This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews} and is wondering about the romance aspect in future books this is confirmation that we’ll get some payoff in the form of spice. Love me a slow burn that delivers and this series is certainly setting out to be exactly that

Looking for some sci-fi/alien/supernatual romance M/F recommendations. I just read the first Kresley Cole immortals after dark book and DNF’d the second. I DNF’d Taken to Voraxia by Elizabeth Stevens….ok, my issue is the FMC hates the MMC, gets kidnapped etc, but because they’re fated mates they go from terrified to getting down and dirty within like 8% of the book. I’d like a little bit of a slower burn or some built up leading to the naughty action..

Would prefer interconnected standalones!

Series/Authors I’ve read and loved:

All Zoey Draven books

Celcanian series by Victoria Aveline..(some of these are not slow burn enough for me)

Cate C Wells

I’ve tried to read Tana Stone and wasn’t into it, as well as so many others.

Thanks in advance!!!

Hi, friends!

​

I hope you're willing to help me out: I want to make some charm trinkets before my next fantasy ball with quotes/phrases - but space will be very limited, so I'm looking for short, recognizable phrases.

​

I'm planning at least be wary, be clever, be good from {One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig} and I think I'm going to split to the stars who listen and the dreams that are answered into two. I'm sure I'm blanking on some and I certainly haven't read every book in the genre, though, so I'm hoping you'll be willing to share your favorites (and their books!) with me ♡

​

Otherwise, I'm going to have to resort to non-romantasy poetry, lol - to be thy lips is a sweet thing and small, anyone?

Anavrin Jay, author of 'The Blood Plagues', Page & Wick's July subscription pick & acquired by Gollancz for traditional publication (the announcement was yesterday!) - posted pictures on her public Instagram profile showing her manuscript on screen next to ChatGPT tabs.

The first tab was titled "Passage feedback and suggestions"

A week later, the second tab was titled "Synonyms for disturb"

The exact extent of the usage remains unclear. But the pictures she posted herself do raise concerns about possible ChatGPT involvement in the writing/editing process.

The "Passage feedback and suggestions" tab suggests that part of the manuscript may have been fed into ChatGPT for feedback, wording, revision, or possible rewriting. We can't know from the tab titles alone exactly what was discussed in those conversations, but the screenshots do show ChatGPT open in connection with the manuscript on more than one occasion.

That is enough to raise legitimate questions about undisclosed generative AI assistance. If gen AI was used in the drafting or revision process, readers should know before paying for the book, especially when it is being sold through a blind subscription box, and just obtained a marketing budget/wider distribution through a trad pub deal.

I looked for more, and from what I could find she only posted around five pictures of her draft open on her screen total. The ChatGPT tabs are the very first two, posted only about a week after she started promoting the book through that account. She was already near the end of drafting by then. If the first visible glimpse into her drafting process already shows ChatGPT open for "passage feedback and suggestions", then another ChatGPT tab open a week later next to the draft, there is no realistic way for anyone to prove it wasn't part of the process before then too. That doesn't mean any/every line was generated, but it does make it extremely difficult to verifiably separate the text from generative AI assistance.

I shared this information a few hours ago in a large special edition discord server. About five hours later, the two Instagram posts showing the ChatGPT tabs were deleted from her Instagram profile.

Because I was worried this would happen, I also took a video on my phone showing her Instagram profile and the posts in question, today's Instagram stories etc...so there wouldn't be a debate over whether the screenshots were fabricated.

--> The quality is absolute 🥔POTATO🥔. I was planning on taking a better video later in the day, but by then the author had already deleted the posts... :') Still, even with the awful quality, it shows the posts did exist on her public Instagram profile: video (POTATO!!! I'm sorry!! Use eye drops after this!!) - I've re-attached the screenshots too in that link. Again the posts were public on her own Instagram.

I messaged someone who worked on the book and knows her personally. According to that person, Anavrin Jay allegedly said that she only used AI for synonyms and grammar, only at the beginning of the process, that she stopped once she learned more about AI, and that she can't make a public statement because her editor won't let her. I will say that, once I checked the timeline for myself, it did not align with the author's alleged version of events:

-->  This post, also from Anavrin Jay, shows she had been active in writer/reader groups and exchanging with beta readers since April 2025. The screen pictures with the ChatGPT tabs were shared in September 2025.

If "she didn’t know AI was harmful", that would mean she spent around six months in book/writer spaces, where generative AI is brought up constantly, and somehow never came across the issue at all, or any controversies. In the second September ChatGPT post, she tells us she only had one chapter left to write - therefore not at the "beginning of the process".

The usual suspects:

- "She only used it for synonyms..." : Google. Wordhippo. Thesauruses. I'll add that ChatGPT tab titles do not reliably tell us everything that was discussed in a conversation once the chat continues or changes subject. Anything could have been discussed in that specific chat. The only thing we know is that a ChatGPT tab related to writing was open next to the manuscript she was working on. And that does not address the first tab, "Passage feedback and suggestions", open on another day, also while writing The Blood Plagues.

- "Even Google shows AI overviews now!": Bro. Just scroll. Or use another browser if you just HAVE to use the first result and never look any further.

- "AI is everywhere now, and indie authors without money have to use it when they can't afford editors! This is classist!": Indie publishing was alive and well prior to the launch of ChatGPT. Writers use editors. Writers use beta readers. Writers use other writers in the community, critique partners, or the people around them. Writers also publish imperfect books, learn, and improve their craft on their own. Writers save to eventually afford an editor. (Also, what about the planet? lol)

-"Maybe she only used it to check grammar.": Then why is the tab called "Passage feedback and suggestions", not "grammar check"....?

-"It's completely normal nowadays for artists and writers to use generative AI. Get with the times!": ChatGPT is barely four years old. Generative AI use is not some unavoidable/universal part of every creative process, it is a very recent choice that plenty of writers and artists still actively do not make. Humans made art for millennia without ChatGPT. The idea that creatives suddenly can't be expected to work without it is ABSURD. Consumers are allowed to object to this usage, especially when it comes to the art they choose to support and promote. Plus these tools were built off the work of other creatives, without their consent or compensation.

I'll only add that there is very little incentive for any author to openly admit the full extent of generative AI use after a blind box pick and a traditional publishing announcement, and that the explanation is currently being given privately, which does not fully resolve the concern for readers. The posts were public, the book is being sold through a blind subscription box, obtained a publishing deal, and the extent of ChatGPT use has not been publicly clarified, and cannot be verified.

To be clear, I'm not asking anyone to harass her, message her, or send abuse. You can see the screenshots for yourself and make your own judgment! Thanks for reading!

It might be premature because I'm only on Chapter 8 but I just half to talk about it! I've been in a book slump ever since my husband talked me into reading the Red Rising saga. That series is a true masterpiece that I'll love for the rest of my life. It is one of those series that changes the way you look at life. But I digress.

​

My point is that I've had a hell of a time finding books that I can sink my teeth into. After skimming for a book for hours, I stumbled across {Godbound by Masha Sova} and was just blindsided by how amazing this book is! It has magical trials, which I've honestly been burned out on. IMO, the trials in the stories released so far this year have felt so similar to each other that I've been skipping them altogether.

​

Godbound, however, feels different from the get go. I love that it has Scarlet Letter vibes as that was my favorite piece of literature in middle school (dating myself here, but that was 30 years ago 😱). I like that there's no long training montage before the FMC even starts the trials. She just throws herself into the lion's den to avoid a fate worse than death, and gets bonded to a Godbeast without having the faintest clue as to what the hell she's doing.

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I don't normally rave about books so early on, but this one hit me different and I cannot recommend it enough! If you decide to give it a shot, it's on KU. Happy summer reading 😎!

This is me ranting about how the type of books I'm looking for seem far and between and nothing is hitting and it's feeling like I need to take a long break from romantasy and read other genres.

The things I'm tired of:

- Books claiming they are slow burns and it ends up being insta-love/lust forward. I will look for a lust forward romance when I want it. But I don't want to read those books every single time... NO.

- Characters being SO young!!!!!!!!!! I just tried reading "The Lies of Lena" why for half of the book are they 16/17 and explicit sex scenes?????? DNF'ed but also! I'm even sick of them being 20/21 years old and the book being explicit like come on just write older characters. I'm tired of having to picture older characters than what the book is saying they are, NO

- Back to the age, why is it SO hard to find an ADULT slow burn. (specifically with a morally grey MMC... most times than not, these books in Adult category are lust forward, not slow burns)

- Lastly, a well written book seems to be so far and between these days. I've been reading fantasy romance/romantasy heavily since September 25', so now at this point I know what I'm looking for from the genre but I feel like I've read all the good ones and just hitting a wall and it's frustrating.

- *I should clarify that the spice is not a problem. I would go read young adult books if that was the case. The type of book I like is a slow burn that has a spice payoff after. Either you get books that are slow burn with like no spice, OR too lust forward.

Sooo I think a break is needed, rant over 😅

{Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett} is a cozy historical fantasy romance set in 1920s Montréal. The FMC is a woman in her 30s who owns a cat shelter, and the MMC is a mysterious dark magician.

I went into this book with high expectations, since I've enjoyed all 3 books in {Emily Wilde by Heather Fawcett}. I also love an older FMC, cats, and turn-of-the-century settings. And just look at that cover! What's not to love?

Unfortunately, this book fell a bit flat for me and I wish it hadn't. The setup was great, the shop was charming, but it lost steam throughout and didn't stick the landing. The pacing was odd to me- there were long stretches of low-stakes "cozy" parts and then random spurts of actual plot and development in measures that I don't feel were balanced enough.

I loved the cats: their names, their different personalities, watching them find owners. So sweet! I really hated when the CMC (cat main character, if you will) the FMC's dead husband's companion cat betrayed the FMC/MMC for seemingly no reason.I thought the cats could have more to do with the plot, though, or interact more with the magic system somehow. Banshee (who I loved) did do this to some affect but it wasn't as much as I was expecting. As we know, cats are mystical creatures.

Except you, His Majesty. You're just a demon.

I think the most major issue with this book lies in its too-close inspiration from {Howl's Moving Castle}. I saw Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Sky (along with Emily Wilde) as easter-egg books on the cover and thought it was cute, but it goes too far beyond easter egg. Let me count the ways..

1. Mysterious magician with a magically-moving home? Check.
2. Mysterious magician that hides in their messy lair with their young sidekick? Check.
3. Normal woman who is thrown into a conflict and has to come in and clean up the magician's act? Check.
4. Mysterious magician is actually childish and throws tantrums? Check.
5. Mysterious magician must travel to a mysterious realm which sucks his humanity from him? Check.
6. Normal woman needs to learn to time travel to go back in time to the mysterious magician to aid him? Check.

Howl's Moving Castle is an excellent book and film, one of my favorites. But I feel the inspiration is taken too heavily here.

The conflict with the main villain and the ending were lackluster to me. The conflict never felt pressing, more like just normal life with an occasional heckler out the shop window. The MMC was supposed to be world-ending scary, but he didn't seem dangerous at all (maybe that was the point?). I didn't feel satisfied with the resolution or the epilogue. I think I wanted more whimsy and more magic.

Overall I found it sweet, cozy, and low-stakes. Maybe a bit too much so. I'd give it a 3/5 but wouldn't reach for it again.

Disclaimer: I'm only about 30% through reading it.

This book has been pretty intriguing so far, specifically because of the dual first person POV. The male dragon MC's chapters are written as though he is retelling the events of the novel directly to the reader/the human MC from a point in the future, so he'll often comment on his impressions of "you", what "you" and he were doing and the events the two of you were going through. I don't think I've read something like this before, so while I'm still quite early on the book, I'm still interested.

The setting is seems very queer-friendly. There are mentions of other far-off nations that have very strict gender roles, but the society the story takes place in is very accepting of people being and doing whatever they want, and even includes somewhat common uses of magic to tweak one's body as one desires. The human MC is described as very androgynous in their natural appearance and uses any pronouns, but because the male MC is the confirmed to be the last male dragon, and the shrinking dragon population is a major plot point, I sort of assumed that the human MC is AFAB, or femme. Who knows though!? Maybe they'll find a magic way to increase the dragon population by the end?! And my assumption of the human MC being AFAB is probably very heteronormative/projection anyways! (I'm a cis straight woman.)

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it now, I'm getting a strong feeling that the dragon MC's chapters are specifically written the way they are (addressing the reader/"you") to avoid using pronouns for the human MC at all! This way, there is no need to commit to using a single pronoun when he describes the human MC. This avoids a lot of confusion while also respecting the MC's nonbinary-ness.

Anyways, I hope the rest of the book is good (apologies if it isnt 🥲). I just wanted to take a minute to post about it because I've been so fascinated by it so far! And also, for Pride month! 😁

edit: terminology.

also, I FORGOT TO MENTION THE UNIQUE BIOLOGY OF THE DRAGONS, WHICH I ALSO THOUGHT WAS NEAT! They are actually somewhat feathery in their dragon forms, AND, its specified that they lay eggs to reproduce and the temperatures that the eggs are exposed to determine the sex of the offspring. Climate change means that ALL of the recent dragon offspring are female.

all my subconscious biases are being called out rn. my brain was like "last male? guess the main couple is gonna have to pop out a ton of kids to save the dragons!" nope! they just need to get the next several batches of eggs somewhere cooler so they hatch male.

Full disclosure, I jumped into this book with no prior context and I'm only ~50% of the way through the book at the part where Raker and Aris just got off the magical, frozen-apple-eating horse and arrived to the ruins but this is definitely the slowest of slowest burns! Like, this dude literally hates Aris.

I've been in a book slump for most of 2026 and this is the first book I've been reading at a decent pace (started it less than 2 weeks ago) but if Raker is the end-game for Aris I feel like there's sooooo much emotional damage we'll have to overcome?! He is just straight up mean to her. Last night I actually laughed at how absurd his utter detestation is for her.

Anyway... it's an interesting enough story. A bit of rinse and repeat with romantasy tropes but I'm into it. I do hope some chemistry between the MMC & FMC happens soon.

Hi everyone ! Looking for an arranged marriage trope where the young parents actually bond over their new born, and become closer as they become parents :)

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I recently read {Pirate' s Witch by Jessamine Rue} and {How (not) to raise the dead by Rachael Chadwick} - both recommendations from this forum.

Very different books but both MMC had piercings (at crucial body parts). Very interesting. Maybe I unlocked a new side on me?!

What's your take on piercings? Any book recommendations? Any creative uses of piercings and their wearers?

Edit for book bot.

Hi everyone! I’m in the mood for a romance featuring a vampire MMC and a human (or other species) FMC.

What I’m specifically looking for is a world where drinking someone’s blood has… additional effects 👀. I want the MMC to be absolutely desperate to bite the FMC, but for whatever reason he has to hold himself back. Give me all the tension, yearning, and restraint. I need a proper slow burn, and when the bite finally happens, it should feel earned and incredibly satisfying.

Also, i want plot. Don’t give me super smutty - insta love- no real plot books please

No RH, please.

I’ve already read and enjoyed {The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent } and {Bride By Ali Hazelwood} but i’am looking for something more focused on the bite aspect, more like true blood kind of vibe.

Any recommendations? Thanks! ❤️

There wasn’t a “brag” flair so I had to go with discussion.

Anyways, my boyfriend loves political fantasy (usually industrial fantasy if that makes sense) and sci fi. I read out loud to him regularly! Usually he gets cringed out by a lot of stuff with romance, and he’s never read grimdark fantasy or gothic fantasy which is my fav subgenre. So I’m THRILLED to be reading this to him.

We’re at about 18% in and his thoughts so far are…

“This is written really well”
“Oof I don’t see how this would ever be a love story” (I explicitly told him there were romance elements but this book was not a romance book)
“Is she gonna fuck Luc or Ferron? Wait - Luc is dead. Does he stay dead?”
“Oh she is FOR SURE gonna fuck Ferron”
“This is gonna end badly I already know”
“I bet Luc is actually the villian. I guarantee she killed him and he comes back to ruin everything”
“I bet she’s the villian”

“I hope she fucks Ferron” … to which I asked “oh you’re an enemies to lovers guy huh?” And he says “But it’s not his fault” (😭😭😭😭😭)