Unfortunately, this one was not for me. It took a bit to put my finger on why exactly I found this so lackluster, and I think it’s because there's nothing distinct or memorable about the story, the characters, or the setting.

The characters had absolutely no personalities and their backstories were pretty vague and generic. Our FMC Fox is a servant and thief with no family and no memories of where she came from. Though her lack of memories gets explained near the end of the book, in the meantime, she was devoid of personality, motivations, growth, and a backstory. For me, there needs to be at least one of those things to grasp onto as a reader to stay interested in what happens. The prince is much the same – all we know is that he's different and nice, but we don't know why. There just wasn't enough for me to be invested in either of them.

The world-building was also bare-bones and forgettable, which made it really hard to understand the stakes. The kingdom has tension between the royals and working class, but the emperor’s cruelty is just alluded to heavily – we're not shown it.

This same "tell, don't show" problem pops up again with the romance. The class differences are used to create an enemies-to-lovers/forbidden love dynamic, but it fell flat for the same reason. Our FMC didn't want to get together with the prince because he's royalty and she’s not, but the reason doesn't get deeper than that. When they finally got together, it was strange because they never really talked through their issues enough for them to feel resolved.

And don't get me started on the pacing. The first 30% was interesting, but it then flatlined until about 70% of the way through the book. Admittedly, interesting new stakes are introduced at the end, which makes me a tiny bit more hopeful that the sequel might be stronger. However, there was so much idle time in the plot that I still wouldn’t recommend Ember Eternal.

Overall, if you're looking for an easy, engaging read, there are so many better books out there. This one was just too generic, flat, and missed a lot of details that would have brought this story to life.

I went into reading The Jasad Heir not too sure what to expect, but I was looking for something with more politics and a slow-burn romance, and this one ticked those boxes. This might be one of my favorite reads of 2025.

Hands down, my favorite part of the story was the characters. Our FMC Sylvia is clever, hilarious, and has satisfying growth throughout the story. Arin is our enigmatic, ultra-perceptive, controlled male love interest, which happens to be my favorite type of male love interest. We got a little bit of his story and inner thought process through two POV chapters, though I wished we got more.

Sylvia and Arin's dynamic is that of two people being seen for who they truly are for the first time. They both seem to see right through each other's acts. Their romance is a real slow-burn, so we mostly just get glimpses of their connection, but it's believable and has some of my favorite “I want to kill you but in a flirty way” banter in a long time. I'm excited to see how their romance will be developed further in the next book.

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the side characters. Sylvia’s quirky friends, Sefa and Marek, Fairel, and Arin’s guards really stole the show. Without them, I think the book would have been a bit boring but they added a ton of levity to the story.

The writing was stunning. There are lines that will make you reflect, gasp, laugh, and tear up – sometimes all in the same chapter. Buried beneath the jokes and clever quips are thought-provoking lines about power, perception, and the fact that history is written by the victors. I have many quotes highlighted that will live rent free in my head for a long time.

My main gripes with this book have to do with plot, pacing, and world-building. The delivery of the world-building is dense and we spend a lot of pages rehashing events from different perspectives. This made the pacing drag and the story convoluted. Once we got to the first trial, the story finally felt like it was moving, but the first two-thirds of the book could have been much tighter. That said, since we got so much world-building and everyone's perspective upfront, I hope the sequel can jump straight into the action without much setup.

Overall, I highly recommend this one if you’re interested in Egyptian-inspired stories or are looking for a book with a slow-burn romance, lots of lore, and politics between kingdoms. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.

When I was younger, I was absolutely obsessed with Ancient Rome, so when I saw this was a Roman-inspired romantasy with vampires and gladiator trials, I knew I wanted to pick it up immediately. I had a lot of fun reading this and thought it was a good "brain-off" read, though it definitely had some issues that kept me from loving it.

The story took a while to get moving, with the first half of the book being mostly setup and world-building coming at us in little snippets scattered throughout. I felt like the author was trying to avoid info-dumping, but the piecemeal delivery of context made the world-building feel incomplete and unclear. I found myself constantly searching my Kindle for missing explanations or definitions, which pulled me out of the story.

That said, once Arvelle hit her stride in the trials and I had enough information to piece together the stakes, it was hard to put down. The action and bloody trials were entertaining, and I genuinely liked Arvelle as a tough FMC who knows how to look after herself.

Now, the romance: The main romance is a childhood-friends-to-lovers and second chance romance between Tiernon and Arvelle. Tiernon is the sweet male love interest who never hesitates to protect Arvelle and put her first. We got just enough of their backstory for me to get emotionally invested. There is spice between them, but nothing to write home about.

This book is also marketed as a love triangle. It needs further development, but the vibes are definitely there. Rorrik, the emperor’s cruel elder son, is clearly being set up as the cold, morally gray male that’s typical in romantasies. A lot has to happen to get to a believable love triangle, but the intrigue is there and I'm going to continue the series just to find out which male character ends up being endgame.

Overall, I recommend this for anyone looking for a popcorn read or if you typically like deadly trials, vampires, and gritty FMCs. Just go in knowing the world-building isn’t perfect and there is a potential for a love triangle to develop in later books in the series.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

Burner Kindle Book Blog

The Rebel and The Rose was exactly the sequel I was hoping for. It has been a while since a book has made my jaw drop multiple times, but this one kept me on my toes.

This story picks up right where The Dagger and The Flame left off, and the main plot is a quest where the Daggers and the Flames (former Cloaks, aka the Dagger’s archenemies) are forced to work together to root out a new threat to the kingdom. It had the perfect setup for a ton of tension, forced proximity, fighting, and potential betrayals. Just like the first book, the writing was super digestible too, so I flew through it.

Both our main characters are flawed, which I think makes the character growth in this book really satisfying. While Seraphine spends this book figuring out her power and what role she'll play in the kingdom, Ransom is struggling with wanting to leave the Daggers but not knowing if he’s salvageable as a person. The book is also dual-POV so it was great seeing what they were thinking throughout. The found family was once again top tier. I look forward to seeing more of these characters in the final book.

And I can’t forget to mention that the author did a great job writing villains who are genuinely evil and made my skin crawl. The fact that they are so horrible made the stakes of the story feel real.

Of course, the romance between Sera and Ransom is still a big part of this story. After the ending in the last book, I was bracing myself for the dreaded miscommunication trope. I'm so glad the author didn't take that route. Their feelings for each other were never in question — they were just held back by the circumstances and positions they found themselves in. The romance had tension and longing without the drama, which I love for them (and us).

My only complaint is that the story took a long time to set up because we were being introduced to other players, their backgrounds, and then the whole mission they all went on. Once we got past all that context, I couldn't put it down. The magic system with the saints, shade, and lightfire is really interesting too, though I hope we get to hear more about it in the last book.

Overall, you loved The Dagger and the Flame, this sequel will not disappoint. It delivers jaw-dropping reveals, character growth, and a sweet and satisfying romance. I recommend this entire series if you’re interested in a story with warring secret societies, prophecies, found family, and a unique but easy to follow magic system and lore.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the ARC!

Needed a quick palette cleanser and this did the trick! I know novellas are supposed to be quick and fast-paced but the romance was so insta-love and felt out of left field. However, the plot and the adventure to break the curse were fun to follow.

I have mixed feelings about this book and the overall series. Brimstone was entertaining and hard to put down, but had major issues that made the book hard to read and difficult to understand at times.

First, things I liked. Once again, Carrion singlehandedly carried this book. I'm so glad we got even more of him in this book. Saeris is finally including him in the plans more and giving him important tasks. Kingfisher's POV during his quest with Carrion was a treat. I would've happily read an entire book with just them! I also enjoyed the big picture plot and the direction the story went in. It is completely chaotic but impossible to look away from.

The execution is where things went off the rails. This book was over 650 pages, but a lot of it felt like a collection of random events that popped up out of nowhere, were handled, and then never brought up again. Many things that happened weren't grounded in what we already know about the world, so my brain was doing backflips trying to make it make sense. Sometimes, the characters would even talk about how they didn't know why that crazy event we just spent 10 pages reading about was possible. It was like the author was just making things up as we went.

On a smaller note, there were many, many errors throughout the version of the eBook I read. Some details recalled from the previous book were flat out incorrect, there were grammatical errors, continuity errors, and other things that all made the book incoherent at times. I moved on after realizing these were mistakes, but they were a little distracting to deal with.

Lastly, in my review of Quicksilver, I commented that I felt the mate trope was used as a shortcut to building a romance. Unfortunately, the lack of chemistry between Kingfisher and Saeris bled into this book as well. Sure, the spice was good but other than them being mates, I don't see why they care about each other and I certainly don't see why they love each other.

Overall, if you’re a huge fan of Quicksilver, just want something entertaining to read, and/or Carrion is your fave, you might enjoy parts of this. But if you were hoping Brimstone would deliver a tighter plot, better world-building, or a believable romance, you’ll probably be disappointed.

Went in with no expectations and had a great time. This novella was so entertaining and cute! My only complaint is that it was only like 90 pages. I could have easily read a full length novel with these characters and their romance.