Dragon Marked: The Legend of the Flame by Kara Knightlee

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kara Knightlee makes a confident and polished debut into the Epic Fantasy / Romantasy genre with this exceptional, superlative book.

From the ashes of a dying world rises a legend — and Dragon Marked is nothing short of breathtaking. This is fantasy at its most alive: a symphony of molten prose, heart-wrenching romance, and dragons that don’t just soar off the page — they sear your soul.

From the very first page, Dragon Marked: The Legend of the Flame ensnares you in its world of smoldering magic and unforgettable characters. This is the kind of book that doesn't just tell a story—it brands itself upon your soul with prose as sharp as dragon talons and as luminous as Heartfire.

It’s Unputdownable:

🔥 A HEROINE WHO BURNS BRIGHT

Aura Caelanth isn’t just a warrior—she’s a conflagration. Her journey from survivor to living myth is raw, real, and radiant. When she touches the Flameroot Tree and whispers "I come for remembrance," you’ll feel it in your bones.

 

🐉 DRAGONS LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THEM

Ashari’s return is the most transcendent dragon resurrection in modern fantasy. Her bond with Aura isn’t magic—it’s memory made flesh. Scales like starlight, wings that rewrite the sky—this is how dragons were meant to be written.

Ashari's return is a revelation – a moment of such mythic grandeur that it lifts the entire story into the realm of timeless legend. The bond between dragon and marked one has never felt more sacred or more devastatingly beautiful.

Ashari didn’t just return to Emberfall—she crashed into my soul and built a nest.

 

💔 A LOVE THAT CUTS DEEPER THAN BLADES

Kaelen Ravaryn is a triumph of tragic allure. Their romance is a blade balanced on the edge of betrayal— it's a riptide of longing and secrets that will leave you gasping. Every glance, every scar, every unspoken truth hurts so good.

Kaelen and Aura's love story is a masterpiece of tension and tenderness. Their connection burns with the heat of a forge and cuts with the precision of a blade. Every stolen glance, every aching separation, every moment of vulnerability is pure narrative alchemy.

🔥🤫💘 A breathless, private inferno of want and wonder. 

Every intimate scene between Kaelen and Aura is visceral passion and totally swoon-worthy.

 

⚔️ 🎭⚫ MYSTERIOUS VILLAINS THAT CREATE DREAD

The mysterious but dreadful Void (the physics of unmaking), the Shadebound (the turned Flametouched) and the Shadow Soldiers. Chilling perfection.

 

✨🗡️🔥🐎🤣⚔️🕶️AWESOME CAST OF SECONDARY CHARACTERS including 

• Magnetic Rewa: A mentor with hidden storms beneath her calm. Her whispered "Ealá, Aura" carries the weight of centuries—and that final dagger scene? Iconic

• Skyburst: The MVP (Most Valuable Pegasus-Dragon?). Her sassy huffs and soul-deep bond with Aura prove love needs no words—just side-eye and shared courage.

• Irrepressible Elin with her sassy comments—pure gold.

• Enigmatic Selyra and her eerie ways—chilling.

• Sharp-tongued Teyne—and her casual insults hiding a devastating truth—shock reveal

• the whole friends' group (Bran, Derran, Saela, Mira, Vess, Corren and Kye) are beautifully defined. Each one shines and is crafted with care. Their toast to Aura’s Dragon Mark ("Looks like we’ve got ourselves a dragon-caller!") is pure found-family gold—equal parts humor and fierce loyalty.

Also, a quick nod to: 

• 🕶️ Commander Vael ⚔️🌑 (A man or a ghost? — "I’ve seen centuries. You’re special. Don’t make me say it.")

• The Akmuo stone 🪨💬 ("I witnessed the first flame. Your angst is cute.")

🌀✨👤Plots twists and unexpected, breathtaking character arcs.

⚔️💥🎬👀Stunningly written fight sequences that you can actually see. 

Dragon Marked has an engrossing story, an immersive world, careful world-building, unforgettable characters, dramatic plot twists, cinematic fights, lush writing and a beautiful (but ultimately devastating + cliffhanging) romance. 

Dragon Marked: The Legend of the Flame isn’t just a book—it’s a living flame. It grips you with the fury of a dragon’s roar and the tenderness of a whispered vow. 

This one has everything I ever wanted in a lesbian fantasy book 

• The emotional depth of The Priory of the Orange Tree
• The fiery romance of Fourth Wing
• The mythic grandeur of The Jasmine Throne

I 💓 this book so hard.

Also, it has one of the most stunning covers I've seen.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Synclair by Rachel Gold

 

⭐⭐⭐★

Teenage is the time of exploring, of searching and of defining oneself. Gold writes about teens and their struggles with panache in her books. The first book that we read by this author was In the Silences which is one of the most powerful, moving and beautiful books we’ve ever read (and re-read). Synclair is a story about a teenager during a watershed summer. 

The main players: 

Emma Synclair: Seventeen, gay. Older brother, Mac. Parents active atheists who strongly discourage any religious or theistic explorations. In love with her best friend, Kinz.

Kinz: Synclair’s rock. Deeply religious and unforgiving father resulting in poor home life and an active dislike for everything religion. Has a girlfriend, Camden. 

Camden: Loves her God and religion. Loves Kinz. Mature and articulate. New to Kinz’s group of Synclair, Kinz and Duke. Brings along her BF, Jay, into the group.

Jay: Outdoorsy, cool, rolls with the punches, ends up with Duke.

Duke: Cheerful, rock solid, struggling with a medical condition that affects him on a physical level too.

Avery: Synclair’s old friend who had disappeared before sixth grade. More spiritual than belonging to any organised religion, Avery explores all sorts of free-flowing beliefs building her own belief system.

Besides these characters, there is Synclair’s brother Mac and there are smaller appearances by various parents. 

It is summer vacation and Synclair’s parents are travelling while their house is being remodelled so their house ends up becoming the gathering spot for everyone. Synclair has always been interested in understanding various theological beliefs but keeps her interest hidden from her parents. During this watershed summer, she intends finding God / religion/ spirituality – anything that resonates with her. She is also confused about and exploring love and attraction because she is attracted to Avery, Kinz and Camden. 

There are so many books about children rebelling against unforgiving religious beliefs and feeling boxed in by their parents’ theological demands and non-acceptance. It’s an opposite perspective in this – Synclair’s parents are completely accepting of her sexuality but she has to work to make them accept her need to understand and/or find religion. It’s startling to realise that acceptance needs to be more expansive and encompassing. It is accepting a person for everything that they are. 

This book is mostly about acceptance. Within the cast, Gold covers different types, shades and depths of belief. There is a very Looking for Alaska vibe to the book with the teenagers experiencing, exploring, expounding and explaining within their group. The dialogues flow, there are some hilarious moments and snappy back chat. The interactions and relationships are believable and every single person is extremely likeable. 

Quite a nice read, this. 

⭐⭐⭐★

The Year Shakespeare Ruined My Life by Dani Jansen

⭐⭐⭐☆

A very well written and engaging teen story.

Alison Green dreams of being the valedictorian. Nerdy, socially awkward, a little emotionally clueless, gay (out to her parents, sister and best friend), Alison is really every girl. She harbours a secret crush on Charlotte, a super cool girl but cannot imagine doing anything about it. Her best friend, Becca, has a crush on Alison's friend, Jack, and is always tongue-tied in his presence. 

Without meaning to, Alison finds herself the producer of the school play -- a role she's wildly incapable of handling. 

The story is about Alison's action packed school year.

The writing is just so easy, funny and engaging that reading this is so much fun. Twitterpated -- its been a decade since we've seen an author use this delightful word.

Alison is a real person who makes mistakes, creates messes, hurts people, apologises, has some level of self-awareness -- just a complete human being. We love the whole show-not-tell way the characters, their strengths and failings and their growth is written. 

There is not a single character that we didn't like -- Becca, Annie (Alison's sister), and one really tertiary character, Jenny -- particularly stand out. The romance between Alison and Charlotte has some cute moments, but it's not like there is any major focus on it. 

This is a super-light, breezy, extremely entertaining read.

⭐⭐⭐☆

Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power, Narrated by Lauren Ezzo (Audiobook)

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Review-Lite

because...Speechless!

• Good Lord!
• That whole dysfunctional co-dependence between the mother and daughter! Can’t even begin naming all the emotions that gave rise to.
• Disturbing.
• Intense.
• Intensely disturbing.
• Disturbingly intense.
• Awesome narration by Lauren Ezzo

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #2) by Tamsyn Muir, Performed by Moira Quirk (Audiobook)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You think: WTF did I just read (okay, listen to)?

And: I can’t wait to take that trip again.

And: When is the next book due?

And: I adore Harrow.

And: I adore Gideon.

And: OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!

Repeat.

This is a mindbending, mindblowing rollercoaster of a book that makes you think you’re in the midst of a fevered dream. Just when you think you’ve got into the groove and can maybe think about what could happen, there is a sharp turn and you’re hurtled down a path you didn’t even know was there. And then you’re in another fevered dream – albeit not as mind-scrambling as the first fevered dream, but a fevered dream all the same.

Synopsis? Here it is (using a quote from the book because that’s the best way to encapsulate it): Do not fucking ask me for information. I could not be more lost right now.  

And: I was not following all of this, because necromantic theory is a lot of hot bullshit even when I'm not busy having Complex Emotions.

In an interview with Three Crows Magazine, Muir said about Harrow the Ninth:

“In many ways it is a book where I am not kind to the reader — it is one long puzzle, told out of order, and two stories running alongside each other, and Gideon the Ninth has very little bearing on it — but it is very much for anyone who came out of Gideon having a soft spot for Harrowhark Nonagesimus. It’s a book that is very frank about mental illness, trauma and grief. It is also a book with an extended makeover scene and some awful set-pieces involving dinner parties.”

Non-linear narrative: Check

Two parallel stories: Check

Frank about mental illness, trauma and grief: Check

Came out of Gideon having a soft spot or Harrowhark Nonagesimus: Check (multiple times check against this one)

Muir is all sorts of brilliant. Rich imagination, masterful narration, fantastic multi-dimensional characters, an amazing command over the language, inventive expression, crazy great sense of humour, unpredictable plot – we can rhapsodise about her for light years.

We had loved Gideon the Ninth. It was (and is) undoubtedly a masterpiece. We thought that Gideon was a pinnacle of masterpiece-ery and hoped fervently that Harrowhark would get an equally good book. Given how brilliant Gideon is, we prepared ourselves for disappointment. But Harrow the Ninth surpasses Gideon with psychedelic gorgeousness and depth and darkness and excitement and jolts of adrenalin.

We are awestruck by the delicacy with which Muir builds the dimensions and depth of Harrow and Gideon. Even more awestruck by the gentle beauty with which she writes about love amidst all the mad action. In fact that last third of the book is as much about love as about the action-packed climatic drama. By the end, we came out of this experience only feeling the love.

Moira Quirk gives an astounding performance. Her talent in voice performance matches Muir’s gift as an author, that is: she is devastatingly brilliant.

This series is absolutely unmissable.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

⭐⭐⭐☆★
Reimagined fairytales has become quite a thing now but this one does much more than just reimagine Cinderella and the premise is super exciting.

In Lille, the city of the almost mythical Cindrella, Sophia is a sixteen year old headstrong young lady in love with her friend, Erin. Since the fabled Cinderella's ball, things have devolved in Lille. The tale has become a religion and following Cinderella's footsteps has become the law. The year a girl turns sixteen she's expected to attend the annual ball with the hope that someone will choose her. Each girl is allowed three balls and if she's not chosen, she becomes 'forfeit' i.e. she's claimed by the palace never to be heard from again. This is just one of the many, many horrible rules governing the land and subjugating women. 

Sophia attends the ball but doesn't play ball and runs away from there setting in motion many events with her determination to end the restrictive and destructive regime of cruelty. 

Every character, no matter how tiny their appearance, is finely defined and etched. The atmosphere is evocatively described. The dark reimagination of the fairytale is unexpected and detailed. We were shaken by the ruthlessness with which Bayron did away with characters and the physical abuse against women, but it all goes towards creating the circumstance, the society and the king's character. The take on the benevolent fairy godmother is unique. Sophia's and Cinderella's stories are excellently interwoven and superbly narrated. 

The book draws the horrors of patriarchy very effectively but doesn't quite pull off overthrowing patriarchy. It is more a fight against the King -- his megalomania, his corruption and his cruelty -- than against patriarchy. 

This was an engrossing, though rather disturbing, read which kept us awake and involved an entire night.

PS: There is a huge list of trigger and content warnings for this one starting with homophobia, toxic masculinity, physical, verbal and emotional abuse and going on to encompass many, many more issues.

⭐⭐⭐☆★

Everything She Desires by Christine L'Amour

⭐⭐★

Catarina is a shy young Brazilian lady whose best friend is a gaming buddy Al from the US. Al’s visually impaired sister, Teresa, is on her way to São Paulo as an exchange student and Catarina is roped in to familiarise Teresa in the initial days. Teresa is fiery and feisty with a long-term plan of actually moving to São Paulo sometime is the future. As of now, she is excited about the new university, her course and Catarina. It doesn’t take long for sparks to fly between Catarina and Teresa.

This book is like reading a millennial Brazilian telenovela – rather far-fetched storyline, dramatic (veering towards melodramatic), working class ethos and pretty heavy on overreactions. The writing is riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. Names are often incorrectly used. Inexplicably and strangely we kind of decided to see it to the end rather akin to the feeling of watching a a soap opera despite all its flaws.

If you’re in for badly written version of a telenovela with a HFN ending, this one’s for you. 

⭐⭐★

You Should See Me in a Crown By Leah Johnson

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a cute, cute, cute high school contemporary story.

Liz Lighty feels she doesn't fit. Tall, black, queer in a largely white environment, Liz has her escape plan hinging on Pennington, the best private college. With excellent grades and a talent in music, only the scholarship needs to come through for her better tomorrow to become a reality. So when her scholarship is rejected, Liz is crushed. She knows that if her grandparents get a whiff of this they'll sell their house to make it happen for her and she totally doesn't want that. The one slim chance is to enter Campbell's prom queen drama since part of the winner kitty is a scholarship. Her intrepid friends, led by childhood best friend, Gabi, rally around her to make it happen.

This is a feel-good story with a cute sapphic romance thrown in. All the typical high school elements are nicely mixed -- staunch friends, misunderstandings, an old friend who'd rejected her returning, unexpected peer support, a stereotypical mean girl, challenges in the family (disease in this case). The pacing and writing is excellent -- humour, banter, well-etched characters, sweet, sweet relationships (siblings, friends, romantic relationship).

Somehow, YA books cover a huge gamut of emotions and this one does it exceptionally well. Johnson sweeps you with the highs, the lows, the ability to feel with abandon, and overall just, you know, living, that is the life of a teenager.

This book is utterly and completely enjoyable.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Brew in Time by Robin Roseau

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a perfect all-things-bright-and-beautiful YA novella.

Lydia Davis has just turned eighteen. Her aunts have gifted her a skydiving session as a birthday gift and her mom has the adulting and rules talk with her just before her party during which Lydia comes out to her. A girl, Lamia, who had piqued Lydia’s interest a year back is a surprise guest and becomes the catalyst for her decade old friend Janie Winter to ask Lydia out.

Written in first person, the book is about a slice in time of Lydia’s life in the months following her eighteenth birthday, her first date, first kiss, first many things. Also her decisions about college, future plans, relationships with family and friends.

The synopsis cannot say much, but this is such an enjoyable read. Wonderful characters, excellent pacing, great dialogue and fantastic relationships between parents, children, siblings, friends, aunts, great-aunts, romantic partners.

Roseau creates a utopia in this books. Of how parents ought to be. How children can and should be caring and responsible. Looking after and looking out for younger siblings. And how when you love someone, they come first. And communication. Above all communication and honesty between people.

Initially we were a little wary that it would be teen triangle angsty drama but were thrilled it wasn’t. This is a completely happy-sappy little bit of enjoyment that we totally dig. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐