𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘩. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭.

Thank you to Alina Kramer for the opportunity to be a part of The Midnight Serpent street team and the opportunity to ARC this book!

The Midnight Serpent by Alina Kramer is book two in the Star Crossed Crown Series and, ostensibly, fits squarely within the romantasy genre. There's a lady knight (though she would probably punch me for calling her a lady) and the golden retriever MMC. A bad "guy" and a psycho ex-girlfriend. Magic, mischief, and malice are deeply ingrained into the storyline. But it goes beyond the typical romantasy novel to introduce issues of heresy, belief, and the foundations of the tenants of faith. I would go into it more, but there's a reason that as part of the tropes list, Alina includes "cosmic horror (as a little treat)"!

The most impressive part of this novel for me was the way that the characters, who recognize their trauma, do not use their trauma as a weapon against others or as a means to make their relationship implode. Syran and Lyanndra have led very different lives, but that doesn't stop them from being able to be present with one another. Rather than trying to fix one another-- a job they clearly seem to understand is not theirs-- they sit with one another and allow each other to be in the moment that they find themselves in when they are in need of help and support. This is by far the healthiest and honestly sexiest relationship I've read in fantasy-- romantic or otherwise-- in a long time. There's no desire to fix the fact that Syran is occasionally an asshole or the fact that Lyanndra has all of the courtly manners of a drunkard in a tavern. They love each other for who they are and who they might become.

Beyond the relationship that just had my heart in my throat the whole read (if you've made it to chapter 30 and haven't lost your mind, I don't know what to tell you), the whole "mood" of the book is a good, slow build toward spooky and the sublime feeling of being in the presence of something bigger than yourself-- bigger than the human mind is capable of processing. The characters have to make hard decisions and face enormous losses to get to the other side of this story and they still aren't done with the trials that face them and Alastria by the end of the novel. I'm looking forward to all of the chaos and sexy dreams of book three in the series. If you love the sublime feeling of being in the presence of god/gods, like in a cathedral or a ruin, the heat and passion of a relationship that is built on absolute trust and fidelity, and the unhinged antics of a woman with a lot to lose and a great sword in hand (and a kelpie willing to eat people out of loyalty), you HAVE to pick up this book.

𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦. 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦. 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥d𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.

Thank you so much to Deidra Duncan and The Nerd Fam for the opportunity to ARC this book!

Until I Die by Deidra Duncan is a dystopian romance set in a world that is the natural extension of a megalomaniac, Christian-right backed president deciding to abolish the presidency, establish an autocracy, and destroy the United States' Constitution in favor of a more restricted world view. Women are no longer full citizens. If you're queer, you might as well be dead. And to resist-- to defy-- is to sign your own death warrant.

I would like to start this review by saying this book is very much both a satisfying read and a hard read. So if your mental health is struggling in the current political and social climate, especially if you live in the United States, I strongly recommend finding a more extensive list of trigger warnings than is provided at the front of the novel. While the book is perhaps not difficult for people who have the optimism to believe we will survive where the world is currently at, it was definitely a stressful read for me in many ways. The content warnings, for where I was when I started reading, did not feel strongly worded enough, but I made it through the stress to the other side.

All of that being said, this book is an emotional ride from beginning to end. Sophia, despite being the FMC, is on a path of self-destruction that culminates in her agreeing to be the contact for a defecting, high ranking military leader within the new government structure. And what follows is both a path to utter decimation and salvation. Sophia's struggles feel real and heartfelt. They feel human to a degree that makes them very easy to empathize with. Perhaps what feels most genuine to me is the fact that she exists in a world where two things can be true at once: she is both moderately to severely depressed and self-destructive, and simultaneously deeply and humanly afraid. While many books might take a one side or the other approach to the character, the fact that Until I Die decides that straddling the line is the only way to be true to a character living through the end of their world and the beginning of a potentially even more terrifying one.

The relationship between Lucas and Sophia feels like something born of trauma bonding but has the potential to develop into something that is richer because they have both been through hell, lived in hell, and have still decided to choose each other when walking away may have been safer or, at the very least, easier. While I would definitely never go so far as to call Lucas Scott a cinnamon-roll-for-her character, he comes close. No one will touch Sophia and bring her to harm-- including him. Which is essentially what the title of the book-- Until I Die-- is born from. A deep need to protect her for who she is, rather than her namesake (a spoiler I will not include in this review).

This book ultimately reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood meets the hopelessness and propaganda machine of The Hunger Games if they decided to have a baby with the sociopolitical moment of 2025/2026. It is a hard, stressful read that, to the very end, makes you question whether there can be a happy ending in the world of the book-- a world that is torn apart by loss and violence. Small spoiler: there is a happy ending, even if it doesn't look the way you may have hoped half way through the book.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘒𝘢𝘷𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.

Thank you to the author for the opportunity to ARC read Undead Oaths!

Undead Oaths by Caitlyn Battelle, book two in the Undead Gods series, picks up its romantasy pace in this very, very spicy continuation of Elysia Parker's journey to save Kava and figure out her place in a world that has magic, but for how long? While book one of the series could not be rightly considered romantasy, as the romantic relationship in the story was just a backdrop to the larger overarching plot, all of that goes away in this book and it plows headlong into the world of romantasy and brings sex, consent, and a queen of the underworld with a praise kink along with it.

What I enjoyed the most about this book is probably the fact that, for once, the god in the equation is powerless. Aidan can do nothing to aid Elysia in her death voyage. All he can do is keep an eye on her, and even that can only be accomplished with the help of Grim, his co-ruler in the underworld, who is in charge of the reapers. Instead, Elysia is the one with agency, the one who can act, and the one who has to come to understand that just because she has been alone for so long-- even during her "relationship" with Topp-- that she doesn't have to be anymore. For the first time, she has something to lose. And she'll fight everyone-- including the Fates-- to make sure that she doesn't lose him.

Overall, the plot of the novel is very emotionally tense. For much of it, you aren't sure whether this is going to be a book-- or a series-- with a happy ending or if you're watching the slow descent into madness of an endearing character and the man who wants nothing more than to love her, but knows that every moment they have together is literally stolen time. The ending of this book sets up new misery for the next installment and while I can't wait to see Elysia step properly into her role as queen of the underworld, I know there's new heartbreak waiting to happen. If you love Hades and Persephone, but wish Persephone was more like an assassin-trained badass with the ability to bring the world to its knees while Hades brings her to hers? Then this book is an absolute must read.