READER ADVISORY: JULY

By Age

Children’s

Title: Between Monsters and Marvels
Author: Alysa Wishingrad
Age: 9-12
Vibe: Weird Animals, Adventure, Coming of Age
Genre: Fantasy
Stars: 5
Intrigue: 5
Best Part: There’s a chinchilla!
Summary: Our main character, a young girl named Dare, is a Wendy Addams energy with a deeply defiant streak and the urge to uncover the secrets revolving around her father’s suspicious murder and her unceremonious casting off the island, pushed by her new stepfather, the governor, who insists he knows best.

Young Adult

New Adult

Title: Shield of Sparrows
Author: Devney Perry
Age:  New Adult
Vibe: Romantasy and monsters and handsome villains
Genre: Romantasy
Stars: ALL OF THEM. ALL THE STARS
Intrigue: ALL OF THEM. ALL THE ONIONS
Best Part: the plot twist, 1000000%
Summary: The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel. I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood. But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him – bopping to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know. But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated?

Title: A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon
Author: Sarah Hawley
Series: Glimmer Falls #1
Age: New Adult
Vibe: fantasy and sarcasm and magic
Genre: Cozy Fantasy
Stars: 5 Stars
Intrigue: 3 onions
Best Part: All of it is an accident, and yet it’s all delightful and on purpose.
Summary (pulled from Storygraph): When a spell to summon flour goes very wrong, Mariel finds herself staring down a demon who now expects a soul bargain. Ozroth the Ruthless is a legend among demons but he can’t leave Mariel’s side until they complete the bargain, which she refuses to do. As Ozroth and Mariel struggle with their opposing goals and maintaining a fake relationship, real attraction blooms.

Title: Phantasma
Author: Kaylie Smith
Series: Wicked Games #1
Age: Adult
Vibe: Devil games
Genre: Fantasy
Stars: 5 Stars
Intrigue: 5 Onions
Best Part: The plot twist is unmatched.
Summary: When Ophelia’s sister disappears, Ophelia must enter a mystical game and claim its prize – a single wish. Phantasma is a maze of twisting corridors, lavish ballrooms, and demons and temptations. Ophelia will face nine challenges, each more dangerous than the last. But just as Ophelia’s fears threaten to overwhelm her, a mysterious stranger offers her a bargain. Charming, arrogant, and infuriatingly attractive, Blackwell claims he can guide her through the lethal trials ahead. All he asks in return is ten years of her life.

 

Title: Enchantra
Author: Kaylie Smith
Series: Wicked Games  #2
Age: Adult
Vibe: Spooky sexy shadow daddy
Genre: Fantasy
Stars: 5 Stars
Intrigue:  5 onions
Best Part: Genevieve is delightfully violent
Summary (from Storygraph): When a mysterious invitation draws Genevieve Grimm to a palace in Italy, she expects magic and secrets, maybe even a ball. She doesn’t expect the owner’s handsome son to slam the door in her face. Rowin Silver is tall and dark and exceptionally rude. Rowin and his family are caught in a deadly game where there can only be one winner. The catch: everyone but Genevieve is immortal. As Rowin and Genevieve race through a labyrinth of gold and marble, their instant loathing  turns to irresistible attraction. Can Genevieve evade Rowin’s ruthless family, uncover devilish secret of the game and end it forever?

Adult

Title: The Bones Beneath My Skin
Author: TJ Klune
Age: Adult
Vibe: LGBTQ+, Grief, Adventure
Genre: SciFi
Stars: All of them
Spice: 2, Intrigue: 5
Best Part: Artemis Darth Vader. ‘enough said
Summary: In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything he thought was important to him.  With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family’s summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty. It’s not. Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary ten-year-old girl. Soon, it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.

Title: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
Author: V.E. Schwab
Age: Adult
Vibe: LGBTQ+, Vampires, Adventure

Genre: Historical Fantasy
Stars: All of them
Spice: , Intrigue: 5
Best Part: GAY VAMPIRE LADIES. WHAT COULD BE BETTER
Summary: Three women, three different times in history, three different reasons to want to be new people. All of them prefer blood and women. Who’s the real victim here?

Title: A Day of Fallen Night
Author: Samantha Shannon
Age: Adult
Vibe: LGBTQ+ fantasy chaos
Genre: Fantasy
Stars: 3 of them (for the confusion, probably? Idk I was HOOKED and by the end it was a 5 star but looking back, the beginning is very confusing, so if you’re not into that, this might be too slow burn for you. But BOY when it burns, it burns HOT)
Intrigue: all of them
Best Part: MATRIARCHY PERSISTS
Summary: Tunuva Melim is a sister of the Priory. For fifty years, she has trained to slay wyrms-but none have appeared since the Nameless One. To the north, in the Queendom of Inys, Sabran the Ambitious has married the new King of Hroth, narrowly saving both realms from ruin. Their daughter, Glorian trails in their shadow-exactly where she wants to be. The dragons of the East have slept for centuries. Dumai has spent her life in a Seikinese mountain temple, trying to wake the gods from their long slumber. When the Dreadmount erupts, these women must find the strength to protect humankind from a devastating threat.

I have a few on going (and I’ll be doing some rereads for the rest of the month! Join me in sharing reviews! Fill out my reader advisory form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeryjdcg48-_Sv5oJsGHauDuSKzucQx1YNXR9HHWLgb1EWmxQ/viewform