Sunday, 27 April 2025

BOOKS | Review: Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage

Name: Done and Dusted (Rebel Blue Ranch #1)

Author: Lyla Sage

Publisher: Quercus

Date published: June 2023

Genre: Fiction, adult, romance, contemporary, small town, cowboys

Pages: 340

Rating: 4/5

She’s off-limits, but he’s never been good at following the rules.
For the first time in her life, Clementine “Emmy” Ryder has no idea what she’s doing. She’s accomplished everything on her to-do list. She left her small hometown of Meadowlark, Wyoming; went to college; and made a career for herself by doing her favorite thing: riding horses. But after an accident makes it impossible for her to get back into the saddle, she has no choice but to return to the hometown she always wanted to escape.
Luke Brooks is Meadowlark’s most notorious bad boy, bar owner, and bachelor. He’s also the unofficial fifth member of the Ryder family. As Emmy’s older brother’s best friend, Luke spent most of his childhood antagonizing her. It’s been years since he’s seen her, but when she walks into his bar and back into his life, he can’t take his eyes off her. Despite his better judgment, he wants to do a whole lot more than just look at her.
Emmy’s got too much on her mind to think about romance. And Luke knows he should stay away from his best friend’s younger sister. But what if Luke is just what Emmy needs to get her spark back? Or will they both go up in flames?

- From Goodreads.

This was such a fun and comforting book. It was very easy to read, had some great humourous moments and some really emotional ones too, it almost had me tearing up at one point!

The setting of Meadowlark was wonderful, it felt very real, I could picture it so clearly and you could really feel the strong sense of community there. The description of the nature and the landscape of the area were especially lovely.

The characters were great, Emmy was very likeable and it was wonderful to see her slowly recover from her riding accident and find the confidence to get back on a horse. I think I would even have liked for the book to spend more time on that part of her story, but it was still heartwarming. I also don't remember ever reading a main character with ADHD, at least not explicitly on page, and I liked that Emmy got to talk about her diagnosis, how it made her feel and how it was affecting her, and that the love interest Luke listened to her and made her feel safe and comfortable and calm and like she could talk about anything with him.

Luke was a great love interest, I liked that he was so surprised by his feelings for Emmy but was not afraid to be honest about them. I also liked that although he had his troubles in the past and had made mistakes, he was trying to do better and become a better person.

I think one of the only things that frustrated me was Emmy's oldest brother's behaviour, I know the protective older brother is a pretty classic romance trope, but it felt pretty old-fashioned the way it was done and some of the moments with him were difficult to read.

Overall though this was a very enjoyable book and I will definitely be continuing in the series. I am looking forward especially to learning more about Wes, Emmy's other brother, as he seemed very sweet and thoughtful. I would recommend this if you're looking for a fun cowboy romance!

Monday, 21 April 2025

BOOKS | Review: Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis

Name: Wooing the Witch Queen (Queens of Villainy #1)

Author: Stephanie Burgis

Publisher: Tor Bramble

Date published: February 2025

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, witches, cosy

Pages: 304

Rating: 5/5


Queen Saskia is the wicked sorceress everyone fears. After successfully wrestling the throne from her evil uncle, she only wants one thing: to keep her people safe from the empire next door. For that, she needs to spend more time in her laboratory experimenting with her spells. She definitely doesn’t have time to bring order to her chaotic library of magic.
When a mysterious dark wizard arrives at her castle, Saskia hires him as her new librarian on the spot. “Fabian” is sweet and a little nerdy, and his requests seem a little strange – what in the name of Divine Elva is a fountain pen? – but he’s getting the job done. And if he writes her flirtatious poetry and his innocent touch makes her skin singe, well…
Little does Saskia know that the "wizard" she’s falling for is actually an Imperial archduke in disguise, with no magical training whatsoever. On the run, with perilous secrets on his trail and a fast growing yearning for the wicked sorceress, he's in danger from her enemies and her newfound allies, too. When his identity is finally revealed, will their love save or doom each other? 

- From Goodreads.

This was just such a delightful book. The writing was perfect for the genre, with a humourous narrative voice that was really fun to read. The world building was just the right amount of detailed, with some fascinating backstory about the world, not too much that it would have bogged us down in exposition, but still enough to leave me curious enough to learn more about the world in future books in the series.

The characters were just brilliant, from the main characters right down to the crow companions that lived with Saskia in her castle, I loved everyone.

The romance between Saskia and Felix was truly wonderful. The build up of both their feelings and attraction growing for each other was done perfectly and you could really feel the tension between them. I really liked the dynamic of Saskia being the more confident, dominant and fearsome character, while Felix was more nervous, quiet and gentle. I think they really complimented each other and brought out the best in each other. 

Overall this was just a lovely romance that I sped through quickly as I enjoyed it so much. I will definitely continue to read more from Stephanie Burgis and continue on with this series.

Friday, 18 April 2025

BOOKS | Review: A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience by Stephanie Burgis

Name: A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience (The Unexpected Adventures of Lady and Lord Riven #1)

Author: Stephanie Burgis

Publisher: Five Fathoms Press

Date published: August 2024

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, vampires, historical

Pages: 72

Rating: 4/5

Margaret Dunhaven may have been forced into marriage with the sinister vampire lord of Shadowcroft Manor in order to fulfill a family obligation, but she's not about to stay trapped there for long. The beastly man doesn't even have any decent tea leaves in his kitchen!
However, when she realizes that she's not the only one who's been forced into this marital union, it's time to join forces with her unwanted new husband. If they can combine her scholarly skills with his ancient history, then, working together, they might just manage to reclaim her inheritance, break his curse, and find their freedom.
...Just so long as they don't fall in love along the way.

- From Goodreads.

This was very delightful and fun to read. The narration had a great, entertaining voice and the world was explained quickly in an understandable way which was good considering it was such a short story.

The author also did a good job of introducing us to the characters and giving us a good picture of who they were in a short amount of time. Margaret and Lord Riven were both very loveable characters and the romance that developed between them was very charming.

The only fault I did find with the story was that it could have been just a little longer to immerse us in the world a little bit more and to give us a bit more time to see the characters getting to know each other, I think just a little more could have been added while still staying within the constraints of a novella and it would have been perfect.

I would definitely recommend this if you love a fun vampire fantasy romance and want something quick to read, and if you like books like the Emily Wilde series by Heather Fawcett and Elise Kova's Married to Magic series, I think you'd like this too. I'll certainly be going on to read more from Stephanie Burgis, and I will be curious to see what her longer books are like.

BOOKS | Review: Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

Name: Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales ( Emily Wilde #3) Author: Heather Fawcett Publisher: Orbit Date published: February 2025 G...