4.5 star

Review: Oathbound by Tracy Deonn

Legendborn #3

Severed from the Legendborn. Oathbound to a monster.

Bree Matthews is alone. She exiled herself from the Legendborn Order, cut her ancestral connections, and turned away from the friends who can’t understand the impossible cost of her powers. This is the only way to keep herself—and those she loves—safe.

But Bree’s decision has come with a terrible price: an unbreakable bargain with the Shadow King himself, a shapeshifter who can move between humanity, the demon underworld, and the Legendborn secret society. In exchange for training to wield her unprecedented abilities, Bree has put her future in the Shadow King’s hands—and unwittingly bound herself to do his bidding as his new protégé.

Meanwhile, the other Scions must face war with their Round Table fractured, leaderless, and missing its Kingsmage, as Selwyn has also disappeared. When Nick is detained by the Order’s Merlins, he invokes an ancient law that requires the High Council of Regents to convene at the Northern Keep and grant him an audience. No one knows what he will demand of them…or what secrets he has kept hidden from the Table.

As a string of mysterious kidnappings escalates and Merlins are found dead, it becomes clear that no matter how hard Bree runs from who she is, the past will always find her.



I have been long awaiting the end of the trilogy, but guess what? There’s a fourth book coming. Nevertheless, although of course this book ends on a sort-of cliffhanger, in a way it does have a sense of finality to it as well. Many loose ends are tied up and I think it’s in preparation for the finale that will be the fourth book (we’ll see about “finale”).

It was such a long wait though, that I honestly had to Google so many things to catch up on memories I myself had forgotten. However, due to the fandom, there was enough information out there to catch me up without having to resort to re-reading the first two books, though I may want to do that sometime regardless. This was a good third book though, and judging from the review of my second book, I enjoyed this one more.

Continue reading “Review: Oathbound by Tracy Deonn”
4 star

ARC Review: These Vengeful Gods by Gabe Cole Novoa

Years ago, the descendants of the god of Death were murdered. The few that remain are in hiding, including Crow, a teen who survived the genocide and hides their magic to stay alive. After fleeing their village, Crow now lives with their uncles in the lowest part of the the Shallows.

Life in the Shallows is tough, but Crow’s even tougher. Hiding their magic has made Crow resourceful, cunning, and unbeatable — which comes in handy as a fighter in the city’s lucrative underground fighting ring.

Then, Crow’s uncles are arrested for harboring Deathchildren.  

With fists tightly clenched, Crow vows to set their uncles free. But to do that, they’re going to need to enter a world that threatens Crow’s very existence. Carefully navigating the politics of the wealthy and powerful, they enter the Tournament of the Gods — a gladiator-style competition where the winner is granted a favor. As they battle their way towards the winner’s circle, Crow plans to ask the gods for their uncles’ freedom as their reward.

But in a city of gods and magic, you don’t ask for what you want.

You take it.



**These Vengeful Gods comes out May 27, 2025**

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

For me, this was The Hunger Games if it were a fantasy. And lots of representation. Timewise, the period of time does match the Hunger Games a lot. However, this story was not focused on the Tournament of the Gods itself, but rather an exploration of Crow’s character as they learn about how to fight back against the gods that rule.

Continue reading “ARC Review: These Vengeful Gods by Gabe Cole Novoa”
4.5 star

ARC Review: A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim

A breathtaking romantic fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast about a girl who paints the future and a cursed dragon lord, bound by love and deception in a plot to bring down the gods.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes!

Truyan Saigas didn’t choose to become a con artist, but after her father is lost at sea, it’s up to her to support her mother and two younger sisters. A gifted art forger, Tru has the unique ability to paint the future, but even such magic is not enough to put her family back together again, or stave off the gangsters demanding payment in blood for her mother’s gambling debts.

Left with few options, Tru agrees to a marriage contract with a mysterious dragon lord. He offers a fresh start for her mother and sisters and elusive answers about her father’s disappearance, but in exchange, she must join him in his desolate undersea palace. And she must assist him in a plot to infiltrate the tyrannical Dragon King’s inner circle, painting a future so treasonous, it could upend both the mortal and immortal realms. . . .



**A Forgery of Fate comes out June 3, 2025**

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t read Six Crimson Cranes, but reading this synopsis, I knew I had to read this. I love any myth retelling, and fairytale retellings are a close second. Retellings are always a great chance to show off an author’s creativity, since the original story (or stories) have some level of restrictions before it’s not even close to the same story anymore. I have always enjoyed the same story from a different perspective, or a “side story” that is fully explored. I really enjoy the elements that the authors put in that makes you immediately think of the original story, and I definitely chase that feeling in these kinds of books.

And this book does not fail to deliver. Advertised as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, the author also puts in that there are many other elements of other stories that she weaves in, and I completely believe it. Every aspect of this story feels like a myth or a story from somewhere, and I really enjoyed that whimsical feeling. The protagonist was also a strong lead, and it didn’t feel like she was left to the whims of the story, but that rather she drove her own story—something you don’t find in most fairytales.

Continue reading “ARC Review: A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim”