Blog Tour: Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Release date: 21st March 2023

Read: 23rd March 2023 – 25th March 2023

Genre: YA Fantasy

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Rep: Latinx coded setting and cast, lesbian main character, sapphic love interest, f/f relationship

CW: drug use & addiction, child abandonment, child abuse & neglect, threat of sexual assault from an authority figure, on page death, death of a parent (in backstory), fantasy violence, kidnapping, imprisonment, possession, very brief reference to suicide

Synopsis:

An edge-of-your-seat fantasy about a girl who will do anything to protect her sister – even if it means striking a dangerous bargain. Dark forces, forgotten magic, and a heart-stopping queer romance make this young adult novel a must-read.

A scorned god.
A mysterious acolyte.
A forgetting drug.
A dangerous forest.
One girl caught between the freedom she always wanted and a sister she can’t bear to leave behind.
Under the cover of the Night Forest, will Lucha be able to step into her own power…or will she be consumed by it?

This gorgeous and fast-paced fantasy novel from acclaimed author Tehlor Kay Mejia is brimming with adventure, peril, romance, and family bonds – and asks what it means for a teen girl to become fully herself.

Blog Tour: Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz

Release date: 14th March 2023

Read: 11th March 2023 – 12th March 2023

Genre: YA Fantasy

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Rep: biracial bisexual side character, brown sapphic side character, side f/f relationship

CW: on page death (including of family members and of main character), suicide, murder, explosions & fire, violence, gun violence, racism & bigotry, referenced colonialism, bullying, reference to bestiality, referenced torture, alcohol consumption

Synopsis:

In this explosive fantasy debut with a time-loop twist, a provincial girl must work with a roguish prince to stop an attack on the royal family and escape a nightmarish curse that forces them to relive the same night again and again.

Seventeen-year-old Anaïs just wants tonight to end. As an outsider at the kingdom’s glittering anniversary ball, she has no desire to rub shoulders with the nation’s most eligible (and pompous) bachelors — especially not the notoriously roguish Prince Leo. But at the stroke of midnight, an explosion rips through the palace, killing everyone in its path. Including her.

The last thing Anaïs sees is fire, smoke, chaos . . . and then she wakes up in her bedroom, hours before the ball. No one else remembers the deadly attack or believes her warnings of disaster.

Not even when it happens again. And again. And again.

If she’s going to escape this nightmarish time loop, Anaïs must take control of her own fate and stop the attack before it happens. But the court’s gilded surface belies a rotten core, full of restless nobles grabbing at power, discontented commoners itching for revolution, and even royals who secretly dream of taking the throne. It’s up to Anaïs to untangle these knots of deadly deceptions . . . if she can survive past midnight.

Review of Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi

Release date: 21st February 2023

Read: 18th February 2023

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rep: brown gay main character, achillean main character, m/m relationship, East Asian non-binary side character, sapphic side character, Black disabled side character who uses a wheelchair, brown side character, various other queer and non-white side characters including the villains

CW: medical experimentation, confinement, character death (both on page and in backstory), grief, misgendering (brief, not malicious, quickly corrected)

Description:

For fans of Kiss Number 8 and On a Sunbeam, this debut graphic novel is a fast-paced time travel adventure with a hint of romance that has garnered 1.5 million views as a Tapas webcomic.

Ren Mittal’s last memory in the year 1996 is getting on a bus to visit his mystery pen pal Georgia. When he wakes up in 2122, he thinks he might be hallucinating…he’s not!

Tech conglomerate Chronotech sponsors a time-travel program to help students in 2122 learn what history was really like…from real-life subjects who’ve been transported into the future…and Ren is one of them.

In 2122, Ren’s life in the 1990s is practically ancient history–and Ren’s not sure how to feel about that. On top of it all, he learns that his memory will be wiped of all things 2122 before he’s sent back to the ’90s. Adding to Ren’s complicated feels, he’s forming a crush on his student guide, Mars.

And when he crosses paths with the absolute last person he expected to see in the future, he has a bigger problem on his hands: What if Chronotech isn’t the benevolent organization they claim to be, and he and his fellow subjects are in great danger?

Review of Girls of Ash and After by Alex Nonymous

Release date: 12th March 2023

Read: 10th February 2023

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rep: sapphic main characters, f/f relationship, brown disabled main character who walks with a cane, sapphic side character

CW: ableism, blood & gore, body horror, injury detail including injuries to fingers and eyes, death, on-page child death, death of a parent, kidnapping & confinement, murder, nightmares, physical abuse & torture, religion-based homophobia, internalised homophobia, possession, physically & emotionally abusive parental figure, witchcraft & monsters

Description:

There is something in the forests of After. Something powerful. Something dark. Something out for blood.

After was supposed to be a safe haven for those who understood the dangers of magic. When Ever’s father first founded it, it was. But recently, something’s changed. Children are disappearing. Creatures are crossing the forest boundary. And Ever’s going to put a stop to it.

After has never been free of magic and Alisa knows that more than most. As the daughter of a practicing witch, she’s grown up with magic just a short walk away. But recently, something’s changed. Someone is playing with something dark. The forest is becoming angry.

As Ever and Alisa race against time to save their loved ones, their paths become irrevocably intertwined. Both carry hatred. Both carry secrets. And both can’t seem to resist the forest’s call.

Review of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Release date: 14th February 2023

Read: 11th February 2023 – 17th February 2023

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Rep: Brown main character (likely Persian or Indian though she is unsure), Bedouin main character

CW: strong threat of sexual assault from a parental figure, toxic friendship, emotional abuse, self harm, bullying, death, death of a sibling (in backstory), suicide, attempted murder, major injury, death of a parent (in backstory), child abuse (in backstory)

Description:

A sumptuous, gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales—the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after—and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.

But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife’s secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage . . . or their lives.

Combining the lush, haunting atmosphere of Mexican Gothic with the dreamy enchantment of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a spellbinding and darkly romantic page-turner about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

Review of This Cursed Crown by Alexandra Overy

Release date: 6th December 2022

Read: 23rd November 2022 – 29th November 2022

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rep: sapphic main character, sapphic love interest, f/f relationship, deaf side character

CW: fire, burning, on-page death, fantasy violence, major injury, torture, magically-induced suicide attempts, references to physical and emotional abuse, mind control, death of a parent (in backstory)

Description:

Awakening to find herself trapped in a strange tower, Izaveta knows she must find her way back to the Tóurensi palace and claim the throne. But even with an unexpected ally’s help, she worries she might not be able to get news of her survival to her sister and escape this frozen land.

Back at home, Asya enlists Nikov’s help to prove Izaveta is still alive, even as she finds herself forced to navigate the political world she always sought to avoid to save her queendom, her loved ones, and herself.

But as the sisters work independently to reunite, a dangerous force lies in wait, trying to regain power in order to overthrow the monarchy…

Review of One for All by Lillie Lainoff

Release date: 7th February 2023

Read: 6th February 2023

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rep: main character with POTS, sapphic side characters, f/f side relationship

CW: ableism, death of a parent, referenced sexual assault

Description:

An OwnVoices, gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness trains as a Musketeer and uncovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love.

Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone in town thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl”; even her mother is desperate to marry her off for security. But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father—a former Musketeer and her greatest champion.

Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for a new kind of Musketeer: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a swordfight.

With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels for the first time like she has a purpose, like she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her first target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He’s kind, charming, and breathlessly attractive—and he might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to lean on her friends, listen to her own body, and decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.

This debut novel is a fierce, whirlwind adventure about the depth of found family, the strength that goes beyond the body, and the determination it takes to fight for what you love.

Review of Stardust in Their Veins by Laura Sebastian

Release date: 7th February 2023

Read: 7th January 2023 – 14th January 2023

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rep: gay side characters, m/m side relationship

CW: grief, on page death, death of a sibling (in backstory), imprisonment, discussed executions, discussed filicide, murder, kidnapping, potential harm to children, discussed sexual assault (none occurs)

This review will contain spoilers for Castles in their Bones

Princesses Beatriz and Daphne have lost their older sister, but their mother’s grand scheme of taking the continent of Vesteria is far from complete. With the country of Temarin now under the Empress’s control, only the nations of Cellaria and Friv remain free from her rule. What’s worse, an ominous prophecy has begun to shine through the constellations: the blood of stars and majesty spilled.

Usurped by conniving cousins Nico and Gigi, Beatriz fears for her life, while in icy Friv, Daphne continues her shaky alliance with the rebels even as she struggles to stay a step ahead of them. But when an unlikely ally offers Beatriz a deal, she finds herself back in her mother’s sights.

With enemies around every corner and the stars whispering of betrayal, Daphne and Beatriz can’t trust anyone–least of all each other. If they’ve learned anything, though, it’s that the Empress’s game is constantly changing. And the arrival of surprise visitors from Temarin just might tip the scales in the princesses’ favor… if they manage to avoid meeting their sister’s fate before they can make their next move.

Immerse yourself in the second book in a fantasy trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Ash Princess series. The sequel to Castles in Their Bones is the story of three princesses and the destiny they were born for: seduction, conquest, and the crown.

Review of Earthbound Hearts by Alex Nonymous

Release date: 12th January 2023

Read: 23rd December 2022

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rep: asexual lesbian main character, autistic sapphic main character, f/f relationship, trans girl side character

CW: negative self talk, implied autistic meltdown from pov of autistic character, accidental outing (not of a main character and only to one other person)

Description:

There was once a mysterious girl hidden away in a blue roofed house harbouring a magical secret.

There was once another girl too stubborn to let her get away with that.

Skye Eaton has been obsessed with the blue roof girl since she was eight, much to the dismay of all the adults around her. Spreading constant rumors about a housebound child isn’t exactly a good look. Until one day, miraculously, she hears back from her. Skye has been obsessed with the blue roof girl since she was eight, but it’s not until the two start up a secret correspondence that she finds herself incapable of not thinking about her.

With high school coming to an end, Skye’s counting down the days until she can escape their small town. If only she wasn’t in love with a girl who’s never walked past her doorstep.

Earthbound Hearts is YA autistic magical realism following two girls trying to navigate falling in love amongst fitting in, counteracting curses, and deciding where they want to belong.

Blog Tour: Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson

Release date: 17th January 2023

Read: 7th January 2023 – 12th January 2023

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rep: disabled bisexual love interest who walks with a cane, aroace side character

CW: death of family members (in backstory), grief

This review will contain light spoilers for Sorcery of Thorns

Description:

In this sequel novella to Sorcery of Thorns, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas must unravel the magical trap keeping them inside Thorn Manor in time for their Midwinter Ball!

Elisabeth Scrivener is finally settling into her new life with sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn. Now that their demon companion Silas has returned, so has scrutiny from nosy reporters hungry for gossip about the city’s most powerful sorcerer and the librarian who stole his heart. But something strange is afoot at Thorn Manor: the estate’s wards, which are meant to keep their home safe, are acting up and forcibly trapping the Manor’s occupants inside. Surely it must be a coincidence that this happened just as Nathaniel and Elisabeth started getting closer to one another…

With no access to the outside world, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas – along with their new maid Mercy – will have to work together to discover the source of the magic behind the malfunctioning wards before they’re due to host the city’s Midwinter Ball. Not an easy task when the house is filled with unexpected secrets, and all Elisabeth can think about is kissing Nathaniel in peace. But when it becomes clear that the house, influenced by the magic of Nathaniel’s ancestors, requires a price for its obedience, Elisabeth and Nathaniel will have to lean on their connection like never before to set things right.