royalty

Royal Summer

by Kass Morgan

coming May 12, 2026 (audio available May 5, 2026)

(4 / 5)

I want to thank HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperAudio Children’s, and NetGalley for providing free review copies of the ebook and audiobook of Royal Summer. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

In Royal Summer, an American girl, Hannah, is supposed to be working abroad in Scotland with her favorite author for the summer. When her plans fall through, a prince, Finn, helps her get a new job at a castle.

I really liked this book! The story pulled me in easily from the start, and it kept my interest right through to the end. I loved how it could make me smile and laugh, especially when it came to the banter and interactions between Hannah and Finn. The romance between them was really sweet too. Hannah was a relatable narrator who had some tough things from her home life that she was dealing with. It was nice to see her character grow over the course of the story! I’ll admit, some of the situations seemed extremely unlikely to happen in real life, but it was still made a fun escape. There’s a bit of spice to this one… more than a lot of the YA that I read but not super graphic. The book is probably best suited to older teens and college age.

I was able to listen to the audiobook version of the book, and while it wasn’t bad, the narrator wasn’t my favorite either. I noticed that sometimes she had an accent where she dropped r’s, but it wasn’t consistant and didn’t feel like a good representation of Hannah’s voice. She also tended to pause unexpectedly in the middle of sentence, then not pause between sentences. A few words were also mispronounced (for example, double instead of doable). Since I was reading the ebook along with the audiobook, it’s possible that some of my complaints were more noticeable than if I was just reading the audiobook by itself.

Deathly Fates

by Tesla Tsai

coming April 14, 2026

(4 / 5)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book! All opinions about the book are completely my own.

When I first started reading this book, I have to admit I was a bit unsure about it. I wasn’t feeling very connected to the characters and also didn’t feel like there was much world building at first. I’m really glad I stuck with it though. It’s funny, because it was one of those books that just sneaks up on you, and suddenly I realized just how invested I’d become and how attached to the characters I was.

The story was heavily rooted in Chinese folklore, introducing me to things that I wasn’t at all familiar with before. Since it revolved a lot around death, it did have a lot of sad undertones, but I also found it left me with feelings of hope. There were recurring themes about seeking justice and things not always being what they appeared to be on the surface. It had some really insightful messages. Our main characters had their flaws but really did learn and grow. I liked the dynamic between Ren and Siying and thought it was very sweet. The romance wasn’t front and center but enjoyable to watch amidst the adventure and thrills of the story. The book had some plot reveals that really ended up surprising me along the way too! In the end I really enjoyed this debut book and look forward to seeing more from the author.

February 23, 2026 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

The Beasts We Raise

The Broken Citadel #2

by D. L. Taylor

coming February 24, 2026

(4 / 5)

First off, thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Henry Holt and Co., and NetGalley for the free review copy of The Beasts We Raise! All opinions are completely my own.

The Beasts We Raise takes place several months after the first book left off and continues the story of Mance and Silver. While I didn’t like this book quite as much as the first one, I still enjoyed reading it. It had a different feel to it, maybe partially because it centered around Mance’s new ability. She just felt a bit stripped down, but ultimately it was intentional something that led to character growth. I wasn’t expecting the addition of some new points of view, but I really enjoyed seeing those perspectives. I liked the themes of acceptance and facing fears that the book dived into. Things often felt pretty dire and I wondered how the story could possibly have a happy ending. I was hoping for a bit more closure out of the ending, but I was still happy enough with the direction things went.

January 14, 2026 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Romance Young Adult 0

The Swan’s Daughter

A Possibly Doomed Love Story

by Roshani Chokshi

coming January 6, 2026

(3 / 5)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

I’m sure this book has its audience, but honestly it wasn’t my cup of tea. It felt slow and took a long time to get to the part of the plot I was expecting. I did enjoy the world building and descriptive nature, and at first it had me feeling like I was reading a fairy tale. As I read more, though, I started to lose interest, and then I never really recovered from that. The author’s style felt verbose to me, and I think sometimes I got lost in the words and missed what they were actually trying to say. The romance in the book wasn’t really what I was expecting or hoping for either. In the end, the book had its moments that I enjoyed, but it wasn’t really for me.

December 15, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

The Demon and the Light

The Floating World #2

by Axie Oh

coming October 21, 2025

(4.5 / 5)

Thank you to MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book. All opinions are completely my own.

The Demon and the Light is the 2nd book in The Floating World duology and picks up shortly after the first book ends. I really enjoyed reading this book and continuing the story. Our main characters had some tough challenges to overcome, and I liked how they grew and evolved through it all. Ren and Sunho felt very relatable, and I loved the dynamic between them. It was great to see the return of many of the side characters, and I think I especially enjoyed getting to know Wook better. The story had a lot of action and excitement throughout it. I managed to find myself pretty surprised about things a few times too. My only complaint is that the ending seemed to happen very quickly and maybe not quite as dramatically as I thought it would. I think I would have liked to know a little more about what happens to the characters in the epilogue, but I’m happy enough with the way things ended and feel like most of my questions were answered. Maybe I just wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to these characters after enjoying the series so much. I really like the author’s writing and vivid descriptions, and I look forward to reading more of her books!

April 27, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

The Encanto’s Curse

The Encanto’s Daughter #2

By Melissa de la Cruz

Coming March 4, 2025

(4 / 5)

The Encanto’s Curse is the 2nd book in the The Encanto’s Daughter duology and takes place a few months after the first book left off. I found this story had a similar feel to the first one, though it had more romance involved. I’m not sure if I was completely a fan of the love triangle aspect, but it added a bit of mystery about how who she would end up with (though I had a pretty good idea of how that would go). I thought the ties to Filipino folklore were interesting, with the manananggal sounding downright terrifying. The book definitely didn’t lack in action and excitement, so it kept me engaged and interested in the story. I was happy with how this series ended and liked that there were some directions the plot went that I didn’t see coming.

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for the free review copy of The Encanto’s Curse! All opinions are completely my own and voluntary.

February 7, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

When You Renovate a Grump

When in Rotheberg #6

By Lia Huni

Coming February 10, 2025

(4 / 5)

When You Renovate a Grump fits right in with the rest of the books in this series of sweet romcoms. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the others though, this one could easily be read as a standalone. In this story, we follow Andi, a former princess who is now trying to provide for herself without the help of her family. She happens to meet Reece in London when he comes to her rescue, though they part ways without exchanging contact information. So imagine their surprise when they discover that they are both living in the same small town in Oregon.

I enjoyed reading this book! Andi has a lot of spunk that makes her relatable despite her former status as royalty. It was certainly interesting to see her helping out with a home renovation! Reece comes off a bit aloof at first, but I liked his dry sense of humor and could tell he was a decent guy. The personalities played against each other well, and I respected that each of them was trying to find success on their own. There were a lot of lighthearted moments, keeping the story fun. The book kept my interest the whole way through, and it was hard to put down!

Thank you to Lia Huni for providing a free review copy of When You Renovate a Grump! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

January 28, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

Heir, Apparently

By Kara McDowell

(5 / 5)

I absolutely loved The Prince and the Apocalypse, so when I saw there was going to be a sequel, I knew I had to read it. And holy cow, it did not disappoint. I devoured the book in a single day, which is not something that I usually do, but I just couldn’t put it down. I loved Wren and Theo as characters, with all the tension and banter between them that I loved from the last book coming back again. I wasn’t sure if it would be possible, but Heir, Apparently carried that same rollercoaster of emotions amidst tragedy, adventure, drama and romance. It was fun to meet some new characters along the way, giving the story a fresh dynamic. This duology of books was really well done, and I’d love to read them again!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of Heir, Apparently! All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.

January 5, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

The Beasts We Bury

By D. L. Taylor

Coming February 4, 2025

(4 / 5)

The Beasts We Bury is a young adult fantasy story that follows Mancella, an heir to the throne who has the magical ability to summon animals, but only after she has killed them. We also follow Silver, a thief who has been tasked with infiltrating the castle and deceiving Mancella. Things become complicated as the two get to know each other better.

I really enjoyed this book and thought both of the main characters were likable. They each had distinct personalities that were relatable. There were some interesting side characters, and Mancella’s father was a special kind of evil that made him quite a villain. I thought the magic in this world felt different and unique from other books I’ve read. Mancella’s magic could definitely be hard to read about at times since it involves killing animals, but I could also feel her despair about it all. I liked the relationship between Mancella and Silver, feeling it was believable and enough to create tension without being the focus of the story. I’m not sure if this book is the beginning of a series, but I’d definitely like to dive back into this world if it were.

I was able to listen to the audiobook version, which I thought was done very well. There were two narrators to represent the two main characters. I thought both narrators did a great job at representing the emotions and personalities of both characters.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, and NetGalley for the free audiobook copy of The Beasts We Bury! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

November 26, 2024 by danimae1981 Audiobook Fantasy Fiction Young Adult 0

This Will Be Fun

By E. B. Asher

Coming September 10, 2024

(3.5 / 5)

Ten years ago, four heroes saved the realm, an event that is joyously celebrated by the Queendom… except for the heroes themselves. After losing their leader in the battle, the remaining three heroes split on bad terms. Now the queen is getting married, and the heroes must face each other again for the event.

I had a hard time getting into this book. It’s more character driven than plot driven, which wasn’t quite what I was expecting. For the first half, it felt like not a lot was happening, and there was a lot of eluding to past events without completely revealing what exactly happened (until around the 40% mark). Things did pick up a bit maybe around the halfway mark, but I wasn’t really feeling either of the romances. The magic in this world led to a lot of modern-world parallels – chain coffee shops, riding sharing, tabloids, social media, video streaming, etc. It made the story a bit quirky, though for me this magic almost felt a little too convenient at times. In the end, this book didn’t capture my interest as well as I thought it would, but I could see how others might really enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for the free review copy of This Will Be Fun! All opinions in my review are completely my own.