Tag: Monsters

Alchemised | SenLinYu

Posted 12/26/2025 by Hilarye in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Alchemised | SenLinYuAlchemised by SenLinYu
Star Rating: 3.5 Stars
Spice Level: 3.5 Flames
Published by Del Rey on 09/23/2025
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Romance, Dark Romance, Gothic Romance, Romantasy
Format: Kindle (1029 Pages) đź“– Purchased
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“What is it you think you’re protecting in that brain of yours? The war is over. Holdfast is dead. The Eternal Flame extinguished. There’s no one left for you to save.”

Once a promising alchemist, Helena Marino is now a prisoner—of war and of her own mind. Her Resistance friends and allies have been brutally murdered, her abilities suppressed, and the world she knew destroyed.

In the aftermath of a long war, Paladia’s new ruling class of corrupt guild families and depraved necromancers, whose vile undead creatures helped bring about their victory, holds Helena captive.

According to Resistance records, she was a healer of little importance within their ranks. But Helena has inexplicable memory loss of the months leading up to her capture, making her enemies wonder: Is she truly as insignificant as she appears, or are her lost memories hiding some vital piece of the Resistance’s final gambit?

To uncover the memories buried deep within her mind, Helena is sent to the High Reeve, one of the most powerful and ruthless necromancers in this new world. Trapped on his crumbling estate, Helena’s fight—to protect her lost history and to preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self—is just beginning. For her prison and captor have secrets of their own...secrets Helena must unearth, whatever the cost.



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Kiss of the Basilisk | Lindsay Straube

Posted 07/11/2025 by Hilarye in Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Kiss of the Basilisk | Lindsay Straube
Star Rating: 2.5 Stars
Spice Level: 5 Flames
Series: Split or Swallow #1
Published by Bloom Books on 02/25/2025
Format: Kindle (525 Pages) đź“– Purchased
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About fifteen years ago, a friend of mine showed up at my house with a DVD in hand. (Stay with me—I promise this story relates to this utterly unhinged book filled with basilisk banging.) The movie in question: Gentlemen Broncos. And if you’ve seen this cinematic fever dream, you probably know where I’m going with this. If you haven’t—add it to your watch list—you can thank me later. For the record, I watched all 90 Yeast-Lord-filled minutes of Gentlemen Broncos. I didn’t fall asleep. I didn’t pause to pee. I’m not entirely sure I blinked—or breathed. I was utterly […]

Ruthless Vows | Rebecca Ross

Posted 02/05/2024 by Hilarye in Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Ruthless Vows | Rebecca Ross
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Spice Level: 1.5 Flames
All-Time Favorite
Series: Letters of Enchantment #2
Published by Wednesday Books on 12/26/2023
Format: Kindle (419 Pages) đź“– Purchased
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While I loved this book equally as much as Divine Rivals, it was very different. The story was less Winnow/Kitt romance, & more Dacre/Enva war story. Roman & Iris spent much of the book apart. Roman acting as Dacre’s war correspondent; Iris trying to find him. Making contact through wardrobe letters, slowly reconnecting, gaining trust; trying to get Roman to remember. Roman falling in love with Iris all over again, regaining his memory & then ultimately having to stay apart so they could work together to end the war. The few precious moments they had together were electric, […]

Divine Rivals | Rebecca Ross

Posted 02/02/2024 by Hilarye in Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Divine Rivals | Rebecca Ross
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Spice Level: 1.5 Flames
All-Time Favorite
Series: Letters of Enchantment #1
Published by Wednesday Books on 04/04/2023
Format: Kindle (368 Pages) đź“– Purchased
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My heart hurts & I am unwell. I don’t even know where to start. The short of it: Divine rivals is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. It was sublime. Transcendent. Positively divine. (IYKYK) I held off on reading Divine Rivals until the duology was complete. On the one hand, I’m very glad I did. Being able to tuck into Ruthless Vows immediately after was (no doubt) imperative to my sanity & mental health. On the other, OH MY GOD, I should have read this book the day it came out. I feel […]

Iron Flame | Rebecca Yarros

Posted 12/01/2023 by Hilarye in Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Iron Flame | Rebecca Yarros
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Spice Level: 4 Flames
All-Time Favorite
Series: The Empyrean #2
Published by Red Tower Books on 12/07/2023
Format: Kindle (624 Pages) đź“– Purchased
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I. Am. Not. Ok. I tried to make this book last. I knew the wait for book 3 would be torture. I finished it, and I was right. The wait for book 3 will be TORTURE. Xaden. Violet. Liam. Sawyer. Lilith. Sloan. Brennan. Mira. UGG!!! Also. JACK F*CKING BARLOW

Fourth Wing | Rebecca Yarros

Posted 07/07/2023 by Hilarye in Book Reviews / 0 Comments
Fourth Wing | Rebecca Yarros
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Spice Level: 4 Flames
All-Time Favorite
Series: The Empyrean #1
Published by Red Tower Books on 5/2/2023
Format: Kindle (498 Pages) đź“– Purchased
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Hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year. Snarky dragons, unique magical abilities, lovable side characters, and on top of all that, a badass FMC with a disability, and a MMC that literally wields shadows. Sign me up. Violet & Xaden are perfect. Dain is the worst, and OMG Liam, sweet Liam. (Sigh) I will forever be scarred by the battle of Athebyne. ❤️ The cliffhanger ending left me reeling, and I can’t wait for book 2.