★★★★★

📖 Between Tides and Thunder is a fantasy standalone written by Leena Kazak in which we follow the princess Mayah, who must marry the prince of an enemy kingdom in order to strike an alliance and end the war between the two kingdoms, and Zevayr, the ruthless brother of the aforementioned prince, who is tasked to protect the princess during their travel across the lands.

❄️ I knew I would love this book as soon as I read the synopsis, and it did not disappoint. Enemies to lovers? Check. Political intrigue? Check. Elemental Magic? Check. Forced proximity? Check. Slow burn? Check. And the banter? Double check, do not get me started on this because I loved it a lot. This book had everything it could possibly have to satisfy my romantasy reader cravings, and now, I only want more. The worlbuilding is interesting, the plot has many twists and turns, and yet, it is really easy to understand them. The writing is absolutely perfect, the story is fast-paced and the dynamics between the characters is very complex. My only regret is that it is a standalone and not part of a series, so I guess I'll read her other books until she publishes another masterpiece like this one.

I can only recommend that you read this book!

⋆˚｡⋆ – princess of the moon

★★★★

📖 Princess of the Moon is the first instalment in a book series, originally written in German, in which we mainly follow Leetha, the princess of the light, as she must choose between love and duty and wonders if everything she was taught was a lie.

🌙 I must admit that this book felt like a breath of fresh air in the fantasy world ; its worldbuilding and lore with the bright and the dark side of the moon was very unique. The story, with its many twists and turns, will lead you to the Moon and to the Earth, and although I quite liked the idea of travelling between these two locations, I think the two worlds were too different and seemed to be a part of different books (the story on the Moon felt like an epic fantasy, while the one on Earth was more like an urban fantasy). The dynamics between all the characters are very complicated, and I liked the love triangle trope (I'm always a sucker for that one). Marlen B. Reese gave me the opportunity to read the translated version of the first book in her fantasy series, and I am really grateful for this. As a translator, I can gladly say that it did not feel or read like a translation at all.

I hope the next books will be translated into English!

📖 Scars Beneath a Serpent's Scales is the first instalment in Nicole Platania's new adult romantic fantasy, in which we follow Emmeline and Roremar, two characters with magic who are forced to work together in order to solve a case of disappearing women.

🌟 A romantic fantasy and a murder mystery? Count me in. As soon as I read the synopsis, I wanted to read this book and I knew that I would love it, and omg, what a book that was. It is very hard to be surprised now in the fantasy world, because I feel like everything has been done a thousand times, and yet, I have never read a book like this one and it feels like a breath of fresh air. The magic system? Perfect. The worldbuilding? Spectacular. The plot and its twists and turns? Insane, and I am still thinking about the last big twist (iykyk). The characters and their dynamics? Amazing. The forced proximity? I was definitely here for that. And the banter? Do not even get me started on this. People with celestial magic and solving a crime is my new obsession, and Nicole Platania just defined a new standard of the slow burn trope (and trust me, it is sooooo slow it makes your heart ache). The question, now, is: how will I wait for the release of book 2 in fall 2026? I guess I'll read the author's other series, the Curse of Ophelia.

★★★☆

💌 First of all, I would like to thank the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I requested this book because the cover was too pretty to ignore, and the synopsis was very appealing.

📖 The Quiet Light is the first book in the Sage's Sanctuary trilogy, in which we follow Yora, the Sage of Wrath, as she is awaken from her stasis to help Zan, a dragon shifter. Together, they'll have to fight in order to prevent dark forces from disrupting the peace of their sanctuary.

🫐 First of all, I have to admit that I loved the magic system in this book, where users have to use katas to power their magic (as a martial artist, I know katas are very hard to master, so this was an unexpected discovery, but very pleasant nonetheless). The worldbuilding was quite easy to understand as well, and I love a cosy story with a dragon shifter. The characters are quite unique, and together, they form a really cute found family. Also, the chapters headers and dividers? Very very cute. Unfortunately, I had imagined a whimsical story, almost like an anime, based off of the cover's vibe, and it's not quite what I read in the end. The plot was really good, although a bit too centered on blueberry ice cream, but the ending felt somewhat rushed and anticlimactic. I also had issues with immersing myself in the story at times, and the relationship between Yora and Zan felt a bit forced at the beginning.

I would love to see what happens in the next books!