Tag: Royalty

The Ascended | Grenwich & Lennox

Posted 02/20/2026 by Hilarye in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Ascended | Grenwich & LennoxThe Ascended by Parker Lennox, Bree Grenwich
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Spice Level: 3 Flames
Series: The Aesymarean Duet #1
Published by ONYX Publishing on 10/07/2025
Genres: Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy
Format: Kindle (758 Pages) πŸ“– Purchased
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Revenge demands the ultimate sacrifice. When twins Thais and Thatcher are thrust into the deadly Trials of Ascension, they'll navigate brutal competitions and forbidden desires, discovering some secrets are worth dying forβ€”and others are worth killing for.

In a world where divine power bleeds into the mortal realm, Thais Morvaren has mastered the art of deception. To her seaside village, she's just a fisherman's daughter, serving oysters to summer tourists. In secret, she hides her ability to forge weapons from starlightβ€”a power that would force her into the deadly Trials of Ascension.

But when a priest's ritual exposes her divine heritage, Thais is seized and conscripted into the trials against her will. Now trapped in a competition she never wanted to enter, she transforms her fear into purpose: to kill Olinthar, King of the Godsβ€”the father whose divine touch proved fatal to her mother.

To take down a god, she must become one, even if it costs her everything.

Worse still, the selection ceremony binds her to a mentor: XΓΌl. A necromancer prince with blood-soaked hands, a sharp tongue, and dark secrets of his own. From the moment they meet, sparks fly. He's insufferably arrogant, she's stubborn to the bone, and neither has any intention of yielding to the other... or to the heat between them.

Each trial survived brings her closer to godhood, but beneath the spectacle of competition, something ancient and malevolent stalks the shadows of the divine realmβ€”a darkness that threatens to unravel the heavens themselves.

Thais may have been forced into the Trials seeking survival, but she'll finish them seeking vengeance.

And the cost of godhood is rising.

Because some stars aren't meant to be weapons.

Some stars are meant to fall.



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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) πŸ“– 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 meβ€”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’tβ€”add it to your watch listβ€”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 blinkedβ€”or breathed. I was utterly […]