#Young Adult Fantasy Romance

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3/5

Book Blurb: For fans of Leigh Bardugo, enter a world on the brink of war where one more Roll from a magical dice may set a witch with a secret down a dangerous path. Calliope Rosewood is a witch with a long streak of bad luck. Like all witches in Illustros, her fate is directly tied to Witch’s Dice—powerful artifacts that have blessed her kind with limitless magic but also set them on a path toward destruction. Cursed with unspeakable powers that terrify even the most dangerous witches and fae, Calla deserted her coven four years ago and has been in hiding with her two best friends since. But Calla is also hiding a grave secret: She is only three Rolls away from becoming the last Blood Warrior and starting the Fates' War that will decimate her people and eradicate their magic. After a betrayal from her ex leads her one step closer to fulfilling that age-old prophecy, Calla is desperate to do whatever it takes to reset her fate . . . even if that means journeying into the deadly Neverending Forest with said ex and his enigmatic older brother to find the one being who can help her forge her own path. As Calla ventures farther into the enchanted woods, she finds her heart torn between her past desires and alluring new possibilities. But she soon learns that choosing your own destiny may come with dire consequences.Featuring a charming ensemble cast of characters, this first book in a planned series by debut author Kaylie Smith will sweep readers away with its utterly immersive world building, swoon-worthy romance, and action-packed storytelling.

Review:

In a world on the bring of war, and dice rolls dictate the fates of witches, Calliope Rosewood has been on a roll of bad luck and the final straw is when she is tricked by her ex and now forced to go on a journey with a prince who just might be as cursed as her. Calliope is a witch who’s fate is tied to Witch’s Dice, powerful artifacts that give witches limitless magic but also gives them fates that lead toward destruction. Calla herself has a particularly bad curse, she is the last blood Warrior, fated to start the Fates’ War that would decimate her people and eradicate their magic. she’s only two rolls away from becoming the monster... well now one after her ex tricks her and forces her to roll the dice that will lead her to her doom. On top of the fact that he broke her heart and  betrayed her he also left her to deal with kidnappers who tried to sell her in an auction... except a handsome stranger who looks related to said ex arrives to save her and tells her that he needs her help in his quest. Said stranger is none other than Prince Gideon, brother to Exra (her ex), who also is one roll away from his doomed fate and is determined to change his fate and offers to help her change hers too if she helps him go on his quest to collect the artifacts he needs. now Calla finds herself in the company of her ex, his handsome brother, her two best friends ( a siren named Delphine and another witch named Hannah), Gideon’s ex who also happens to be the grumpiest most jealous person, and Cass, a funny and wonderful friend. They’ll have to face off against monsters, play dangerous games that not only test their strength but their hearts, and fight fate itself if they want to make it out alive. It doesn’t help that Calla finds herself fighting between her feelings for Ezra and his brother Gideon, going back and forth between what her heart wants. This story has three love triangles if you can believe it, THREE, and I hated them all. I’m gonna be honest, for characters who are 19-20 a lot of them act like they’re 16 year olds. The story felt juvenile and honestly, I could have done without the love drama, the fate and questing of the story however was fun. This carried a large cast of characters and is the first book in the series. So while I might have had some “eh” feelings about certain things, I did find myself interested in seeing where the next book goes after the emotional cliffhanger of this book. The story is good for people who enjoy fantasy romance with a touch of Dungeons and Dragons and lots and lots of romance drama and love triangles. 

*SPOILER*

Gideon turned out to be the fabled Heartbreak Prince, cursed to die any moment after he fell in love, and while he and Calla both went to the Witch Eater to finish the spell and change their fates they ended up swapping their curses and now Gideon is the Last Blood Warrior and Calla has his curse. They previously bargained with a Valkyrie who had a thing for Cass, in exchange for Gideon’s heart she would give them a feather, however now that they are protected by Fate, she can’t take his heart... so she takes Ezra’s instead, killing him. Delphine was taken by the sirens and Hannah lost her voice ( they’re sort of in love with each other). Gideon and Calla have fallen for each other, despite earlier in the book Ezra and Calla made up and made out, only for Calla to kiss Gideon while playing a game against nymphs who would have taken one of her memories if she lost the game, and then Ezra and her broke up officially after that. Before dying Ezra confesses his love to her. Kes was Gideon’s ex lover who is also part of the journey but ditched them after Gideon and Calla left to find the Witch Eater and then he returned to Gideon and Ezra’s mother, the Queen to betray them because he feels jilted over Calla getting Gideon’s affection despite Gideon making it clear that there was never going to be anything serious between him and Kes and that their relationship ended. Yup, now Calla and Gideon have to find a way to break their new curses and play Fate’s new game.

*Thanks for Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[laurahepworth-author]

The second sample chapter of my high fantasy, fairy tale retelling just posted to Patreon! After checking with Amazon to make sure I wouldn't be breaking the terms for being in KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited's exclusivity clause, I've started sharing the first five chapters as a free sample. You can find the first chapter here.

[jolenes-book-journey]

Curses of the Midnight Springs Series by Valerie Jo

Curses of the Midnight Springs Series by Valerie Jo

Curses of the Midnight Springs Series by Valerie Jo. Brooke and the Wolf: A Clean Shifter Romance Book 1. Book 2 is Raven and the Ghost: A Fake Relationship Paranormal Romance. The third book is Juliet and the Assasin: A Memory Loss Paranormal Romance. Book 4 is called Holly and the Unseen: An Enemies to Lovers Paranormal Romance. When a lost wolf shifter meets a beautiful thief, their lives…

[lavender-lemon-ade]

I made three "blind date with a book" books for my cousin who's starting to get into reading young adult fiction! Titles of the books in the tags.

[moondrawss]

misery lark and ✨her husband✨lowe moreland from BRIDE by Ali hazelwood

[quotingmyjourneys]

“I think there are lives that make it easy to be good. Or what most people call good. When you have wealth, status, family, it’s easy to be a saint, it costs you nothing. I can’t say if you’re a good person or not. But the more I know of you, the more I understand that the world keeps making you choose between survival and martyrdom. No one should fault you for wanting to live.”

— Margaret Owen (Little Thieves | Little Thieves #1), first pub. 2021, USA

[bluetalenerd]

"She was supposed to be my forever. Now I'll watch her become someone else's because beasts dont get the beauty."

— Kai Azer, Powerless by Lauren Roberts

[how-bout-i-tell-you-anyway]

ok, i'm just going to say it. there's a reason that some of us like reading monster/alien romance just as much as maybe even more than regular romance.

and no, it's not about the supernatural dicks (at least not for me).

in short, it's about respect. obviously, the monster/alien comes from a place somewhere other than human society on planet Earth. because of that, he is completely ignorant of the sexist bias inherent in our society. (and by inherent i mean literally trained into us since birth and embedded in every aspect of our society)

sometimes the monster's views are more misogynistic — but in those stories the heroine manages to change his views by earning his respect as they navigate their inter-special differences (aka, he learns and fixes himself).

usually, the monsters believe strongly in equality between the sexes, and they are often shocked and horrified if/when they learn of how human men treat their partners. [and yes, i know some of them are over-the-top protective to the point of being controlling, but even then it's because they view the heroines as someone to continuously be protected, cherished, and respected.]

TLDR: it's an escape into a romantic fantasy where the love interest is GUARANTEED to be a good partner because he literally could never think to harm, insult, or disrespect the heroine

[my-adorable-fox]

---------------------------- ----------------------------- --------------------

ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART

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“For anyone who has ever made a bad decision because of a broken heart.”

Evangeline Fox X Jacks of the Hollow

[jessread-s]

TW: kidnapping, sexual assault, sexual harassment, drugging, misogyny

✩🎁❄️Review:

If you are hoping for a fluffy, festive romance, this is not it. 

Set after the Caraval series, “Spectacular” follows Donatella Dragna as she embarks on the ultimate holiday adventure to find the perfect gift for Legend. 

I LOVED the first half of this book. It was a joy to return to Valenda and spend more time with Scarlett, Tella, Julian, and Legend. Rosie Fowinkle’s gorgeous illustrations truly bring them to life! The red accents Fowinkle added to her images paired with Garber’s whimsical writing definitely got me into the holiday spirit. 

Unfortunately, this book took a turn for the worst near the halfway point that left me feeling uncomfortable. Simply put, this book fails to take consent into consideration. 

🚨‼️SPOILER ALERT‼️🚨

To go into more detail, Tella is drugged and kidnapped at one point in the story. She wakes up in the Spice Quarter—a place riddled with gambling pits, drug dens, and brothels. Soon after, she is forced to change into an outfit that leaves her scantily clad so that she can show off her backside to a man whose identity is not known. She is then taken to his private room where she is blindfolded, gagged, and restrained. Once there, the man touches and kisses her without her consent. The reader ultimately finds out that the mystery man is Legend, but honestly, that did not make the whole series of events better in my eyes. Had she known it was him all along, what transpired would still be considered assault given that she did not consent to any of it. Readers fresh off of Finale might be able to connect what happened here to the letter Tella wrote in which she asked Legend to kidnap her. Why Legend thought this would be such a great holiday gift is lost on me. As someone who hasn’t read Finale in years, I did not make the connection. Neither did Tella, which is what made the whole thing icky. 

🚨‼️END OF SPOILERS‼️🚨

I was hoping for more ScarJulian content at the very least, but their presence is more akin to a cameo. I hope that the next one (which is alluded to in the epilogue) does not follow in its predecessor’s footsteps. 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[charliejaneanders]

Marcus Aurelius crashed my attempt to make a cool tableau to let y'all know that my YA threequel PROMISES STRONGER THAN DARKNESS is out in paperback today 😹🚀🎉🎸⚡💕💃

[lovelessning]

“We—Rhys, Cass, and I—will occasionally remind each other that what we think to be our greatest weakness can sometimes be our biggest strength. And that the most unlikely person can alter the course of history.” “The Nephelle Philosophy.”

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah Maas 🗡

[writtenroses1813]

Just putting this out here cause I had to explain it to my mom, but here are the types of fiction (sorry if I leave out any)

Urban fantasy aka “I live in a modern society but turns out the creatures of old live in the forest” Ex: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Paranormal (Romance) aka “My sexy neighbor is secretly a werewolf/vampire and I’m a human teenage girl” Ex: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Epic Fantasy aka “This is a crazy quest isn’t it my dear found family” Ex: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

High Fantasy aka “This is a crazy quest of prophecy isn’t it my dear found family oh look a dragon” Ex: The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien

Dystopian aka “This future world is apocalyptic and quite obviously favors the rich” Ex: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Utopian aka “This future world seems peaceful on the outside but that just covers all the absolutely insane problems only this 16-year-old can fix” Ex: The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

[boosreads]

Can’t believe eva went from “he felt like her home” to “stranger” when talking about jacks☹️

[sentinels-and-spellcasters]

Hello!

I am a new author who is working on my first book. I dont have alot of friends irl so id like to share and get feedback on my work.

Some stuff you should know about my story :p

♡ High fantasy with heavy romance elements.

♡ Multiple perspectives including those of an antagonist. 

♡ a fully (i hope) fleshed out magic system 

♡ A trans girl protagonist (because i've been able to find exactly 0 fantasy adventure books with a trans-fem as the love interest let alone the protagonist)

♡ Animal sidekick 

♡ Smut 0_o 

Basic Synopsis:

In a realm divided between those with magic and those without, a long-held grudge ignites. Seeking retribution for past wrongs, a powerful figure leads a magi uprising against non-magi society. Amidst the clash, loyalties are tested, alliances form, and a looming battle threatens to shatter the kingdom's fragile peace.

Ive always dreamed of being an author. I really enjoy fantasy books but most lack proper trans rep. I hope i can be the of the people. 

[haveyoureadthispoll]

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen. That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time, Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here — it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.