Brimstone
By: Callie Hart
Raynee Review 04/11/2026
Fans of Quicksilver waited anxiously with high expectations for this release. When it finally came, there were mixed reviews. I tried to ignore them until I read it myself. At the end, I understood why some were disappointed, but it met my own expectations. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book, but I still liked it.
I knew going in that it would be difficult to beat the first book, so I didn’t read it with that expectation. Overall, though, I did enjoy it! I thought it was a good continuation from Quicksilver and I was still invested in continuing the journey when I got to the end. I loved the characters and the plot was amazing.
One criticism I’ve seen of the book is that there were some editing issues. Normally, I wouldn’t put much thought into that since I’m pretty merciful about it. That said, I spotted a few sections that maybe needed some editing attention, so I think there is some merit to this critique. There wasn’t enough to detract from the story for me, but it did make me stop and flip back a few pages to see if I read things correctly.
The dynamic between Kingfisher and Saeris is definitely different, but that’s to be expected as the relationship develops. However, I did miss the tension and banter from the first book. I loved that we got more of Kingfisher’s POV this time, though.
I found myself more invested in Carrion’s story here than I was in Quicksilver. His character development is arguably the best in the book, and I saw much more depth to him in Brimstone than I did in Quicksilver.
There were portions that made me tear up, the banter made me laugh, and the plot is engaging, so at the end of the day, it was worth it to continue this series. In summary, if you like Quicksilver, keep going with Brimstone. I think middle books can be hard, but for me the journey so far is worth taking.
Trial of the Sun Queen & The Rule of Aurora King (2 book review)
By: Nisha J. Tuli
Raynee Review: 02/20/2026
I listened to this one on audiobook while taking a long trip in the car. It was a decent read to distract me on the journey, though I wouldn’t call it my favorite. I procrastinated in writing the review for book 1 and in the meantime, finished book 2. Consequently, this review will be a 2-part posting.
Book 1: Trial of the Sun Queen
The story follows Lor, a woman who has been imprisoned since she was a child. She is unexpectedly taken from the harsh prison and thrown into the Sun Queen trials, where she competes in a series of deadly competitions to become the Sun Queen. If the trials themselves aren’t bad enough, she must deal with the conniving mind games of the other contestants and members of the court, while forging alliances to try to survive.
This was an entertaining read, though there were times I found Lor to be rather aggravating and a little annoying. I was rooting for her, but I found myself yelling at my audiobook more than once. The book does have a good plot, plenty of action, and I was engaged.
You might like this one if you liked Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, or you might hate it because of the similarities. It is a very slow burn, and while there is some spice, don’t expect the romance to be a heavy part of the plot in this book. All in all, I did enjoy it, and I would give it an average rating on my scale.
Book 2: Rule of the Aurora King
I can’t post too much of a summary without ruining the ending of book 1, but I’ll do my best. Lor reveals her identity and survives the Sun Trials. She and Nadir, the Aurora Prince, form an unsteady and reluctant alliance to recover her lost heritage. Nadir has his own agenda and reasoning for wanting Lor to reclaim her inheritance, but as they work together the attraction between them is hard to ignore.
If I found Lor a little annoying in book 1, she was downright obnoxious in book 2. I had a hard time enjoying this one because of it. There were plenty of eyerolls and sarcastic commentary on my part, and a part of me had to force myself to finish the audiobook. There was a good amount of spice, plenty of plot going on, and I am engaged enough that I will probably continue with the series, but it’s not the highest title on my TBR.
f you enjoy the “reluctant allies to lovers” trope, slow burns, and a equal amount of plot to romance, you might enjoy this series.
Arcana Academy
By: Elise Kova
Reviewed: January 4, 2026
I’m a mood reader, and I just really needed a dark academia. Not just the vibe, but the kind with mystery and intellectual obsession that draws the reader in with its gothic aesthetic. I wasn’t expecting to be as blown away as I was with Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House series, but I was hoping this would satisfy my craving. I don’t know why, and I can’t exactly explain it, but I finished this book without my itch being scratched.
The story takes place in a world where those with the ability to wield magical tarot cards are only allowed to practice after they graduate from the Arcana Academy. Clara is a prison inmate for the unauthorized use of magic. She is released from her prison by the second son of the king, who is also the headmaster of the academy; however, there are conditions in place. She must maintain her cover as the headmaster’s blushing bride-to-be, not the escaped convict she really is, and she must use her abilities to help him create the most powerful and dangerous tarot card in the deck.
All in all, it was a decent romantasy. The worldbuilding and magic systems were great, and the story was good. It just also felt like a typical romantasy instead of the dark academia I was hoping for. I think it fits the elements for the genre of a dark academia, but it just felt like something was missing for me. I also felt like the author tried to fit too much into the last hundred pages of the book. There were a lot of twists and additional information that was dumped towards the end, so it felt a little rushed, and a few scenes felt forced.
I probably wouldn’t recommend it for someone looking for a dark academia, but I would suggest it for a romantasy reader who likes more plot than spice.
The Spellshop
By: Sarah Beth Durst
Raynee’s Review: November 10, 2025
Maybe it was because I was in a transition period in my own life, or maybe it was because there was something about an anti-social book-lover who avoids having to deal with people that I just identified with, but this was one of the best books I’ve read or listened to in a long time.
It’s a cozy fantasy about a reclusive librarian named Kiela who flees from a revolution in the city with a hoard of rescued books and her assistant Caz, a talking spider plant. She flees to her childhood home, a small island far from the burning city, and takes refuge in her deceased parents’ old house. There, due to a necessity to eat and survive, she finds that she must socialize with the people of the village (the horror) and decides to open a jam shop to make ends meet that doubles as a “remedy” shop as well. No one needs to know that the remedies Kiela sells actually consist of illegal magic that she learned from the stolen books…I mean rescued books!
This book was amazing! It was hilarious and adorable. I loved Kiela and Caz and all of the wonderful characters she meets along the way. It was a great break from the heavier fantasy and romance novels I’ve been reading. I listened to this one on audiobook and the narrator did a splendid job.
If you’re looking for something light and funny, even if you’re not a big fantasy reader, I would recommend this one in heartbeat!
House of Blight
By Maxym M. Martineau
Raynee’s Review: August 31, 2025
House of Blight was one of those I enjoyed, but I can’t really explain why. The magic, the story, the writing, it just worked for me. It was a fantasy romance that was a little predictable yet was interesting and unique enough that it kept my attention.
The story is told at the point of view of Edira Brillwyn, a human who has the rare gift of Threadmending, or healing. But using that gift comes at the cost of her own life’s time, so every use limits her own lifespan.
When her brothers fall ill with blight, a consuming disease ravaging the land that even she cannot cure, she is recruited by the elusive and immortal Orin Fernglove, an Ever, to come back with him to his family’s estate and complete the research of prior Threadmenders into the cure for the disease. But the Fernglove family has secrets and Edira finds herself amidst intrigue, curses, and powerful beings in the fight for her brothers’ lives and the lives of so many more.
I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with this book, but I did. It was fun, intriguing, and well-written. If you want an easy-to-read fantasy with equal parts plot and romance, you will love this book.
When the Moon Hatched
By Sarah A. Parker
Raynee’s Review: June 8, 2025
Absolutely beautiful five-star masterpiece! My only regret in reading this book was that I put it off for so long. Sarah A. Parker delivered a wonderfully written story that kept me engaged from beginning to end. In defense of my delay, I had heard that there was some intense world-building, and the paperback copy of the book was almost 700 pages long. I was intimidated, and beginning the book, I was a little overwhelmed with the details and information I needed to remember so the world Parker built made sense. I am so glad I stuck with it because once I got through the initial introduction, the story flew by. I finished the book a lot faster than I thought I would.
The book tells the story of Raeve, living in the cold, icy part of the kingdom and working with a rebel group against the crown. When a job goes disastrously wrong, she is imprisoned and sentenced to death. There she meets Kaan, the Burn King.
Kaan is a reluctant ruler on a mission to obtain shards of a fallen moon to piece together the tragedy of his past. When he meets Raeve in a cell, that tragedy comes blasting back in the face of an unexpected miracle.
At first glance, this may look like a typical romantasy, but it breaks the mold. If all romantasy books are starting to feel the same to you, this one will stand out from the crowd. It is an incredibly slow burn, and there is romance, but the romance only plays a role in the story instead of the entire plot being centered on it. It is poetically written with intricate detailing that made me sit up and pay attention.
There is witty banter, action, spice, romance, and, of course, a lot of dragons, which, in my book, always adds an extra star to the rating.
Who Would I Recommend this Book to:
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romantasy or is even just a fantasy reader. There are a couple of chili peppers on the spice rating, so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone under the age of 18. I would also warn anyone who is just getting introduced to reading fantasy that this one might not be the one to start with. There is a lot of world-building that can get overwhelming, so if you aren’t used to reading fantasy, it might feel slow. That said, this is a beautiful story, and I fell in love with it. It is worth the work to read it, so I would be tempted to hand it to anyone, fantasy reader or not. I could go on and on about it, but I think it sums it up to say there are not many hands I wouldn’t put this book in.
Wings of Ink
By: Angelina J. Steffort
Raynee’s Review: May 8, 2025
I was really looking forward to reading this one. The summary sounded great, and the concept was interesting. I had seen it recommended a few times, so I decided to give it a shot.
The characters and story were pretty easy to follow, and the world Angelina J. Steffort created was intriguing. The tale follows Wolayna, a pirate who is imprisoned by the crown for her crimes until she is turned over to the Crows as the next Crow King’s bride. The Crow King, Myron, marries a new wife every year, and Wolayna discovers that she is just one in a long line of women that have come before her, all who have mysteriously died within the year. It’s not long before she figures out that her monstrous husband is not all he seems and there is a sinister sort of magic at play against them. Myron is a disheartened king in a fractured and divided court trying desperately to hold it all together, and he needs Wolayna if he is going to succeed in helping his people. Wolayna and Myron soon come to an understanding as Wolayna discovers that she has a part to play in unraveling the evil set against the Crow King and his kingdom.
The book had great vibes, and the plot itself was interesting. There was some decent banter, and some of the internal monologue made me smile. That said, I had a hard time feeling the tension and chemistry between the main characters, leaving the romance feeling a bit forced. The writing style wasn’t for me, mainly because it felt a bit repetitive. For instance, when the author attempted to convey an emotion, she would reiterate facts surrounding the reason for the emotion instead of discussing the emotion itself. This made it a bit hard to connect with the characters.
Who I would recommend this book to:
I would recommend this one to someone who likes a book with darker vibes and has a soft spot for a Beauty and the Beast-type romance, one who isn’t super picky about writing style. Spice level: It has one scene that isn’t closed door, but I wouldn’t describe it as heavy spice.
HEARTLESS HUNTER
By: Kristen Ciccarelli
Who among romance readers doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers slow burn? The best ones, for me, are where the main characters don’t just dislike each other, but are true enemies. The ones where the tension and hatred between them are well written and the goals and conflict make it difficult to decide who is right and who is wrong.
At first, it’s easy to label the villain as Gideon Sharp, the cruel and determined witch hunter responsible for marching more than his share of witches to their executions, but as you delve into the story, you realize quickly that things are not nearly as black and white as they may appear. The witches once thrived in wealth and power, with three witch queens ruling over the country. After a violent rebellion by the non-witch citizens, all witches were hunted and executed along with anyone deemed their sympathizers.
Rune Winters is a witch hiding in plain sight among society’s elite and masking as a frivolous party girl. At night, she takes the identity of the Crimson Moth, working against the witch hunters to free and smuggle witches out of the country to safety.
Gideon knows the Crimson Moth is someone hiding among the wealthy socialites and has reason to suspect Rune is the culprit. Despite the fact that his younger brother is clearly in love with Rune and has been her oldest and closest friend, he begins courting her to get proof of her secret identity. He is determined to catch the Moth, and he must protect his younger brother if Rune is indeed a witch. Gideon knows better than most the evil that witches are capable of and the pain and suffering they can cause.
There were a few things I found refreshing about this book. One was the shades of gray surrounding each of the main characters’ causes and the issues. I was immediately rooting for Rune and loved her character from the start. She is fierce, easily the smartest person in the room, and unwilling to ever stop fighting for the survival of her people and the end of their persecution. Even if that fight means she must pretend to court the ruthless Gideon Sharpe in order to gather information to further her mission.
Gideon is our typical cold heartless hunter who fights against what he perceives as the evil of the witches, but as the story progresses and you find out more about Gideon and his back-story, the reader is confronted with the issues of power imbalances and the evil that can come from the abuse of that power.
The two characters dance around each other, each working to outsmart and outmaneuver the other until an attraction naturally grows as well as an understanding of each other. This romance was a satisfying slow burn that did not disappoint. I found myself loving each character and yelling at my audiobook in frustration at them at the same time. They are both far from perfect, and each one made decisions that resulted in me having to stop myself from chastising them through my car speakers like a lunatic. I’m sure the other drivers just thought I was talking to someone on the phone, right?
The themes I took note of in this book dealt with the issues of unchecked power, villainizing entire groups of people based on the actions of a few, and the empathy of seeing things through another’s eyes and with knowing their experiences.
This book is part of a duology.
Who would I recommend this book to?
If you are a fan of a slow burn enemies to lovers, fake dating, or fantasy romance, or if you enjoyed the series Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin, this one is for you. It does contain some spice and adult themes, and references to sexual assault, so I would not recommend this book for anyone under the age of 16.