BlueWaterLily

A reader of fantasy and romance and sometimes historical fiction. I stay up too late reading and I have a thing for cowboys. Kindle Reader. Open to new genres. 🇬🇧

1551 points

0% overlap

My Taste

The Book of Azrael (Gods and Monsters, #1)

A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #4)

City of Lies and Legends (House of Devils, #3)

Reading...

Queens of Moirai (Descendants of the Fates #1)

Daughter of the Drowned Empire (Drowned Empire, #1)

BlueWaterLily started reading...

16h

Spark of the Everflame (Kindred's Curse, #1)

Penn Cole

When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn. In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village. Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind. With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind. Spark of the Everflame is the first book in The Kindred's Curse Saga, a four-book fantasy romance series. This slow burn, enemies-to-lovers epic is perfect for lovers of magic, dragons, angst, and banter and will appeal to fans of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, From Blood and Ash, Gild, and The Serpent & the Wings of Night.

BlueWaterLily started reading...

20h

Wanting Daisy Dead

Sue Watson

They all had a reason. Only one had the nerve. Twenty years ago, student Daisy Harrington went out for the evening and never came home. Her body was found a week later. The killer was caught. Case closed. Now, on what would have been her fortieth birthday, her five university housemates are invited to a weekend gathering. None of them want to go. But none of them can refuse—the invitation makes it clear that if they don’t attend, the past they’ve spent two decades hiding will finally come to light. Because the man convicted of Daisy’s murder was innocent. And one of the five has known this all along. As the weekend unfolds, the truth threatens to finally be revealed… They all wanted Daisy dead, but one wanted it more. The question is…who? And why?

BlueWaterLily wrote a review...

BlueWaterLily

Jan 10, 2026

4.0

Enjoyment: 4.0Quality: 4.0Characters: 3.5Plot: 4.0

I read this with my book club. I was pleasantly surprised by this. I've never read anything by R.F. Kuang before and I'll definitely read more of her books in the future. I love her writing style, it was engaging and I completely drawn into the story. It was a bit slow at times but it was well paced aside from that and the plot was interesting. I thought the concept was unique. If I connected more with Alice and Peter, this easily could have been a 5 star read. Overall, I enjoyed this book and I would recommend.

BlueWaterLily started reading...

Tress of the Emerald Sea

Brandon Sanderson

#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson brings us deeper into the Cosmere universe with a rollicking, riveting tale that will appeal to fans of The Princess Bride. The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?

BlueWaterLily started reading...

Uprooted

Naomi Novik

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.” Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood. The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

BlueWaterLily finished a book

Katabasis

R.F. Kuang

Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own. Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault. Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.

BlueWaterLily TBR'd a book

The Poet Empress

Shen Tao

Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House.But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love.The Poet Empress is an epic fantasy that explores darker themes, subjects, and scenes that may not be suitable for all readers. Please see the author's content note at the beginning of the book.

BlueWaterLily wrote a review...

BlueWaterLily

Jan 09, 2026

3.0

Enjoyment: 3.0Quality: 3.5Characters: 4.0Plot: 2.0

I wanted to like this book more than I did. As an autistic woman, I really appreciated the autism rep in this. The book isn't afraid to be frank about autism and living with a disability and chronic illness. I felt really seen in that, and it can bring awareness to these issues which I think is important.

However, the rest of the book was just meh. Frankie and Ren were both great characters but I didn't feel connected to either of them and I didn't really feel that much chemistry between them. The story was flat and predictable and there were a few cringeworthy moments. I was intrigued by the side characters so I'll continue the series but this book wasn't very memorable unfortunately.

BlueWaterLily made progress on...

Katabasis

R.F. Kuang

100%

BlueWaterLily started reading...

MUSIC IN THE SHADOWS

Shweta Kistan

The Pied Piper Meets The Cruel Prince and Throne Of Glass in this Dark Fairy-Tale Retelling Romantasy In a world where magical creatures like the fae are thought extinct, arena warrior Morana is forced to become the bodyguard of the cunning, ruthless, egotistical and let’s not forget, achingly handsome prince of Apollo. Morana would rather be in the arena instead of guarding a prince whose arrogance makes her want to put a blade to his throat, but refusal isn’t an option. One wrong move and her found family pays the price. Yet as the threats against Prince Adrion escalate, Morana finds herself growing closer to him, their reluctant alliance turning into something neither of them can ignore. These dangerous encounters also force her to use her suppressed powers to help them escape impossible situations and though her purpose is to protect him, her greatest challenge resides in accepting her identity and facing a truth she’s long denied. For years, Morana convinced herself she is nothing but a warrior, but as shadows obey her call, the truth resurfaces. She is the last being of her kind, sworn enemy to the Kingdom of Apollo. Morana has fought beside the prince, bled for him, even loved him. But if Prince Adrion learns what she truly is, will he see the warrior who saved his life- or the monster he was raised to destroy?

BlueWaterLily made progress on...

Katabasis

R.F. Kuang

50%

BlueWaterLily started reading...

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

Alix E. Harrow

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.

BlueWaterLily finished a book

Always Only You (Bergman Brothers, #2)

Chloe Liese

It’s an office romance on the ice rink in this heart melting story about love’s power not in spite of difference but because of it. Ren has known Frankie Zeferino was a woman worth waiting for since the moment they met. She’s a master of deadpan delivery, has a secret heart of gold, and a rare one-dimpled smile that makes his knees go weak. But as long as Frankie’s the team’s social media manager, she’s off limits. Frankie is a self-admittedly blunt, grumbly grump, but even she isn’t immune to sunshiney Ren Bergman. Who could be, when he’s a six-foot-three hunk of happy with a hockey player’s physique? Maybe in the past, Frankie would have gone for a guy like him, but since being burned too many times by people who learn about her diagnoses and see a problem, not a person, she’s wised up. After waiting years for the right time to make his move, Ren learns Frankie plans to leave the team to pursue a new career. But what he didn’t anticipate is how hard he’ll have to work to convince her to let him have his shot at winning her heart.

BlueWaterLily made progress on...

Always Only You (Bergman Brothers, #2)

Chloe Liese

100%

BlueWaterLily made progress on...

Always Only You (Bergman Brothers, #2)

Chloe Liese

25%

BlueWaterLily wrote a review...

Human Reborn (The Kingdom of Disce Book 1)

BlueWaterLily

Jan 06, 2026

3.0

Enjoyment: 3.0Quality: 4.0Characters: 3.0Plot: 4.0

ARC Review: I was given an advanced copy of this book by the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Overall rating: 3 🌟 Available now on Kindle unlimited

I'm really on the fence about this book. It had all the elements of a good romantasy but I'm not sure it was executed as well as I hoped. The plot was interesting but it was slow paced and took a while to start. I liked the world-building as well and the romance was solid. I liked the chemistry between Alexis and Keane. I would have liked it better if the romance was more slowburn.

My main issue was I didn't like Alexis the FMC and I struggled to be invested in her storyline which affected my enjoyment of the book. I read a lot of romantasy and while I do think it's a well crafted book, I've read a lot of these tropes and themes before, so it wasn't anything new for me.

Overall, I think I would recommend the book as a whole but I don't think it's for me personally. Thank you to the author for sending me this ARC.

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