Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 7 hours and 2 minutes
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Release Date: February 24, 2015
ASIN: B00TIXW5AI
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Fred, the Vampire Accountant series
Source: Audiobook from Audible
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Some people are born boring. Some live boring. Some even die boring. Fred managed to do all three, and when he woke up as a vampire, he did so as a boring one.

Timid, socially awkward, and plagued by self-esteem issues, Fred has never been the adventurous sort. One fateful night – different from the night he died, which was more inconvenient than fateful – Fred reconnects with an old friend at his high school reunion. This rekindled relationship sets off a chain of events thrusting him right into the chaos of the parahuman world: a world with chipper zombies, truck driver wereponies, maniacal necromancers, ancient dragons, and now one undead accountant trying his best to “survive”. Because even after it’s over, life can still be a downright bloody mess.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in the Fred, the Vampire Accountant series. I got a copy of this on audiobook from Audible.

Thoughts: This was a fun and cute collection of stories about an accountant named Fred who gets turned into a vampire. He has adjusted to vampirism fairly well but his life gets further turn upside down when he goes to his high school reunion and meets his old friend Crystal. She has changed…a lot…and ends up drawing Fred into a world of paranormal that he never knew existed.

This was a set of stories that were connected and progressed through time. The first couple of stories have us meeting people that become Fred’s “crew”; the later stories involve Fred and his crew going on a series of unexpected missions to help our various paranormal people.

This whole book basically features paranormal creatures that are the opposite of their tropes. It was cute and fun and a bit predictable as well. I enjoyed it. I didn’t realize this was the first book in a series and am unsure whether I will continue the series or not.

I listened to this on audiobook and it was well done. At the beginning, the narrator struggled a bit with some of the female voices but then seemed to find his stride. This was a great book for listening to while driving; it didn’t require too much concentration and was entertaining.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a fun collection of loosely related stories about an unlikely vampire accountant and his unlikely crew. There is a lot of turning typical paranormal tropes on their heads. It was a cute, fun read, with a decent amount of action. If you like humorous paranormal reads, I would recommend. Right now I have a lot on my plate to read, and liked this but didn’t love it. Still, it was fun and I liked the characters, so I might pick up the series again at some point in the future.

In June I read 8 books. You can see the reviews for all of them, which ones were my favorite, etc. below.

Hope you all had a great month of reading!

I started the following series:

• The Inheritance (Breach Wars, Book 1) by Ilona Andrews, Narrated by Hillary Huber, James Konicek (4/5 stars)

I finished the following series:

• None!

My Favorite Books of the Month Were:

• The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden (5/5 stars)
• Sea of Charms (The Spellshop, Book 3) by Sarah Beth Durst (5/5 stars)

– Goodreads Reading Challenge (Progress: 39/150)

The full list of books that I read this month are shown below:
1. The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden (5/5 stars)
2. Mudlark by Mary Helen Specht (3/5 stars)
3. The Inheritance (Breach Wars, Book 1) by Ilona Andrews, Narrated by Hillary Huber, James Konicek (4/5 stars)
4. Green City Wars by Adrian Tachaikovsky (3/5 stars)
5. Swords and Fallen Lords (Mitzy Moon Mysteries, Book 7) by Trixie Silvertale, Narrated by Coleen Marlo (4/5 stars)
6. The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee (4/5 stars)
7. Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher (4/5 stars)
8. Sea of Charms (The Spellshop, Book 3) by Sarah Beth Durst (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Cozy Fantasy
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Bramble
Release Date: July 28, 2026
ASIN: B0FMSDB8JY
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in The Spellshop series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Marin had always belonged on the great blue sea. When the man she thought was the love of her life schemed to ruin her parents’ business, she did what her heart knew best: she fled to the sea.

Now working as a supply runner on her own boat, Marin sails from island to island, delivering a varied array of goods: letters, flour, stories, and even the occasional enchanted statue. It’s a lonely life, but it’s hers. Besides, she’s got the company of Perri the sea serpent and Ree the sailor shrub. They’re the best crew she could ask for.

On one of her routine trips to the capital of the Crescent Islands Empire, Alyssium, Marin finds the city on fire and a revolution underway—so she offers transportation to Dax, a composer friend who refuses to leave behind his instruments. What starts as a rescue evolves into a deal: Marin will keep Dax on as a (temporary) member of her crew if he becomes her pretend boyfriend at the End-of-Harvest Festival back home.

Against her better judgment, Marin finds herself intrigued by his stubbornness, his passion for stories, his charming smile—and realizes that perhaps she isn’t saving him. Maybe it’s the other way around.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 3rd book in The Spellshop series. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley.com.

Thoughts: This is the third book in the Spellshop series and I really loved this book, just like I have loved this whole series. I am a big Sarah Beth Durst fan and have read, and really loved, many of her books.

This book follows Marin, who we met in the last book. Marin left a toxic relationship that financially hurt her family and has taken to the seas as a supply runner to help pay that debt. One of her regular stops is Alyssium, the capital city, and there she regularly meets Dax a musician who loves to hear Marin’s stories. As Alyssium finds itself in revolution and in flames, Marin ends up rescuing Dax along with some other musicians. She carries the musicians to safety, but Dax wants to stay on as crew. Suddenly, Marin the loner, finds herself with a sea serpent, a sentient shrub, and a musician on board….and maybe also with the courage to confront her past.

This was an incredibly fun read with amazing characters, lots of adventures, and lots of magic. The book has a very cozy vibe to it. There is adventure and danger, but there is also a lot about found family and finding your people.

This was an uplifting and magical read that I enjoyed every minute of it from the beginning to the end. We get cameos from all of the characters in the previous books as well, and it was fun to see where they all are now.

This was very easy to read and flowed nicely, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this. It is a wonderful fantasy adventure with fun characters and magic, and lots of adventure. The whole story has a very uplifting, magical, and cozy feel to it. I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a good fantasy adventure with a lot of cozy, feel good vibes. I can’t wait to read “The Magical Cheese Emporium” when it is released next year.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction / Horror
Length: 283 pages
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Release Date: March 24, 2026
ASIN: B0F5PG3Y7Q
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed ebook from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Sonia Wilson is a talented scientific illustrator—but she is only able to follow her dream because of her father’s reputation as a renowned scientist. Such is the lot in life for a woman in science in 1899. And after his death, she is left without work, prospects, or hope.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this on ebook from my library.

Thoughts: This was a well done historical fiction/horror novel by Kingfisher. I have read nearly every novel Kingfisher has written and really enjoyed the majority of them. This one was very creepy, a bit odd, and definitely gruesome.

We read the story from the point of view of Sonia, a talented scientific illustrator. Sonia is in a bit of a tough spot, she was able to follow her dreams to be an illustrator because her father was a renowned scientist, when he suddenly died she was left struggling to make ends meet. Getting this onsite assignment with an entomologist is a huge win for her. However, when strange animals start staring her out of the dark, and an odd secret shed in the woods is revealed, she is concerned about what she is becoming part of.

If you don’t like reading about bugs, especially parasitic bugs this is not for you. I had a variety of horrific nightmares about bugs while reading this and that’s part of why I finished it so quickly. The descriptions here are gruesome and fairly terrifying especially if you know anything about bot flies. I unfortunately worked at a veterinarian clinic during high school and got to see some of the things discussed here in real life action, so that may have been part of my revulsion…I could really picture all of this very accurately.

I really enjoyed the characters here, they are well done and strangely engaging. There is a theme of women trying to control of their own lives and escape the men that try to control them in the background of the story. There is also some discussion of discrimination, especially in the South. The entomologist is a jerk in this story but he is equally a jerk to everyone regardless of their sex or skin color which is strangely endearing.

The story is an excellent gruesome mystery with some fantastical, somewhat paranormal, elements to it. Some of these remain a bit ambiguous and you are left to determine if these fantastical things are a result of unknown or rare biology or something more.

This was a quick and entertaining read. Some parts were a bit too gut-churning for me and as I said bug nightmares were a thing while I was reading this. It was well done and entertaining through. I enjoyed learning more about these parasitic bugs, and also really enjoyed learning more about scientific illustration as well.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a well done, if gruesome, historical horror story with some fantastical elements to it. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery here. I liked some of the background themes as well. This was another Kingfisher win for me and I look forward to her future stories. Again though, if parasitic bugs make your squeamish, I don’t think you will enjoy this.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Cyberpunk
Length: 523 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: May 5, 2026
ASIN: B0FPCBH5NG
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed ebook from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Isako is a legendary swordswoman, but every legend has to come to an end. When her long-time client unexpectedly retires, she plans to follow–to walk out into the frozen wasteland of their planet with her head held high and her family enriched by her legacy. But when a competitor offers her a final mission, it’s one she can’t refuse. Soon, she’s thrust deep into a world of corporate espionage, duty-bound duels, and shadowy secrets. What she uncovers will change humanity’s existence in the stars forever.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this on ebook from my library.

Thoughts: This was a very well done book that is set on another planet that humans are trying to terraform. This planet is run by the corporations doing that terraforming. The corporate leaders have high level assisstants similar to samurai that advise them in strategy and perform difficult jobs for them. This has a very cyberpunk feel to it with a lot of asian influence in regards to the samurai/ronin mentality. Previous to this I attempted to read the first book, “Jade City”, in Lee’s Green Bone Saga. I got 50% of the way through that book and stopped reading it, I just wasn’t a fan of the Mafia-like politics.

Isako is a legendary samurai on exclusive contract to a promising corporate executive, when her company loses a war against another company she is forced to layoff a bunch of workers to the ultimate resignation. Then when the corporate executive she works for resigns himself, she is left as a ronin without a leader. That is until she finds out she isn’t. Her contract has been transferred to another corporate executive and she is given one final contract before she also must resign.

The first half of this book is told primarily from Isako’s perspective. We watch as she tries to hunt down clues and resign herself with her new situation. The second half of this book is told from the viewpoint of one of her apprentices.

The world building here is intricate and complex. We find out more and more about the world as the story unfolds. This is a colony of humans far from Earth on a very inhospitable planet. I felt a bit disappointed as the “why” behind these people’s situation unfolded, it seems like greed and power rule everything here.

I enjoyed the first half of this book despite it being a bit slower paced then I would like. Isako is a woman who is amazing at her job but she is still a real person with feelings and needs, she’s trying to balance everything and this is very well protrayed. I also enjoyed that Isako is older and trying to deal with all the body limitations and hormonal tumult that entails. I love that the society created here tries to lean into people’s strengths. Isako has a full kith to support her in raising her daughter and there are people there that enjoy the work of raising children. It allows Isako to still be part of her daughter’s life while doing what she is good at and enjoys.

For the second half of the book we switch to the POV of one of her apprentices. I found this a lot less interesting. We already know what happens because we have been through this timeline from Isako’s perspective already. The moment Isako walks into that clinic I realized what had happened. Then we have another couple hundred pages of story basically laying out how things got to this point from another perspective. It was too long and too repetitive. This second half should have been more concise.

The end also leaves something to be desired. It is very open-ended. You get some resolution on things but not much. I believe this is a stand alone book, but the way things are left this could be the start of a series. If it is I probably won’t continue it. This was a tough read for me and I struggled to be excited to pick this up, especially through the second half.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a mixed bag for me. I really liked the world-building and the blend of cyberpunk with samurai themes. I also really enjoyed Isako as a character. The first half of the book was a bit slow but I liked how Isako seems so real and her decisions so hard. The second half I thought was repetitive and unnecessary. I think all in all Lee builds amazing worlds but that they are a bit too politically heavy and the story moves a bit too slow for me. I most likely won’t pick up the next book in this series if this is a series (I wasn’t clear on if is a stand alone, but the open ending makes me think maybe it’s not).

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Length: 5 hours and 13 minutes
Publisher: Sittin’ On A Goldmine Productions LLC
Release Date: November 22, 2021
ASIN: B09MDLWBMT
Stand Alone or Series: 7th book in the Mitzy Moon Mysteries series
Source: Bought Audiobook from Audible
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Mitzy Moon is no fan of the Renaissance Faire. But her interest is suddenly piqued when a jousting exhibition turns deadly. Following a clue from her magicked mood ring, she’s ready to take up the sword and fight for the realm.

Refusing to heed the handsome sheriff’s warnings, Mitzy dons a wench’s wardrobe and dives into the case. But she’ll need the help of her meddling Ghost-ma and spoiled feline to root out the canker. With doxies, scoundrels, and panderers aplenty, it won’t be easy to ferret out the truth!

Can Mitzy serve up the knave on a pike, or will she find herself on the wrong end of the lance?”

Series Info/Source: This is the 7th book in the Mitzy Moon Mysteries series. I bought this on audiobook from Audible.

Thoughts: This was a solid addition to the Mitzy Moon series. I liked the Renaissance festival theme to this one and enjoyed getting a peek at what Eric does for fun. I continue to listen to this series because the audiobooks are the perfect length for me to finish on a monthly road trip I need to take for work. They are light-hearted and easy to listen to without having to concentrate a lot.

Eric is taking Mitzy on a date to the local Renaissance festival (Mitzy didn’t even know that was a thing) when a jousting match goes horribly wrong. A jouster ends up dead, and there is evidence of foul play. Mitzy immediately decides to don festive dress and get a job at a pickle stand to infiltrate the festival and try to solve what she is certain is a murder.

I enjoyed the Ren Fest setting here and some of the mythology around the sword in the story. However, we didn’t spend as much time at the book shop so there was a lot less Piwacket and ghostma, and I missed them. It was nice to see Mitzy and Eric trying to make a go of things as a couple, they have some very cute scenes together.

The mystery was well done, and I also enjoyed finally getting to visit Silas’s house. He’s an intriguing character, and learning more about his background was interesting.

The audiobook quality is well done and easy to listen to; the narrator does a good job with character voices and emotion. I enjoy listening to these on audiobook.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a solid addition to the Mitzy Moon Mysteries. There were some things I liked more about this story and some things I liked less. I enjoyed the Ren Fair setting and getting to learn more about Silas. I also enjoyed getting to learn what Eric does in his spare time. I missed spending more time with Piwacket and ghostma. If you enjoy light-hearted paranormal mysteries and are looking for a series of shorter books that are quick and easy reads I would recommend this series.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: June 23, 2026
ASIN: B0FMS9W445
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

“In the solar cities of the future, the humans relax in the sun and the animals work in the shadows. Genetically engineered Little Helpers, serving humanity—unseen, unheard.

Meet Skotch. Raccoon, PI—yours for a few buttons as long as the job isn’t too illegal, whatever that means.

A mouse has gone missing. Normally this wouldn’t raise any hackles, nor any alarms, but this mouse has something that everyone seems to want, though nobody appears particularly eager to say what that something is.

The fee is good—perhaps too good. Certainly not something Skotch can easily turn down.

If only Skotch can work out where the mouse is hiding, what he’s hiding, and why his secrets are upsetting a lot of animals caught up in the Green City wars.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley.com.

Thoughts: I have read four other Tchaikovsky novels prior to reading this one, and he’s been a bit hit or miss for me. I absolutely loved “Service Model”, I also really enjoyed “Alien Clay” and “Children of Time”. However, “Shroud” was a bit of a miss for me.

“Green City Wars” was pretty different from all the above and was definitely a miss for me. I ended up putting it down at 20% of the way in. This book focuses on world-building and less on the story or characters. There is a lot of exposition in the first 20% of this book, and I kept loosing track of the story because of all the complex world-building and background we are told.

The story follows Skotch, a genetically altered raccoon, who is dependent on the drugs provided to sentient animals in order keep his wits and intelligence in working order. He is trying to freelance and escape the company that made him, but gets pulled back into the fold to lead an investigation looking for a mouse in the war zone. In this world, sentient animals support the labor required for human comfort and are dependent on the drugs provided to them to keep their mental capacities.

I liked the creative premise of an animal dystopia supporting human survival in the future. This is an intriguing idea and a thought-provoking premise. However, this is set-up to be more of a gum-shoe, detective type of story, and the complex explanations of the background kept getting in the way of the story.

I also wasn’t drawn to our main protagonist, Skotch. At least in the first part of the book, he bent to the whims of his maker and was very hard to engage with or relate to. We meet a lot of characters very quickly, and they seem to be more background than important parts of the story. The writing in general, was fairly dense and didn’t have anything to really engage and pull the reader through it.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this wasn’t for me. The idea is intriguing, but the world-building overshadowed any story plot or character development. If you enjoy exposition-heavy stories about complex world-building, you might enjoy this. If you were picking this up for an engaging mystery or intriguing characters, I would look elsewhere. Giving this three stars because I stopped reading it 20% in and there is always the chance it redeemed itself later on in the book.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 8 hours and 14 minutes
Publisher: NYLA
Release Date: January 28, 2026
ASIN: B0GGTLCCWR
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Breach Wars series
Source: Bought Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“We are at war. The interdimensional invasion brought us unimaginable suffering, but it also awoke talents slumbering deep within us, a means to repel and destroy our enemy. Every day new gates open, leading to breaches filled with monsters and valuable resources. If you are a Talent, your country needs you. The world needs you. Be the hero you were born to be.

Adaline is a Talent. Ten years ago, she had a happy marriage and a job she loved. The invasion shattered both. Now she works for the government, searching the breaches for magic metals and medicine to help Earth repel an interdimensional enemy. Two kids, one cat, bills, benefits, mortgage and school tuition…Risking her life became routine.

She had gone into the dimensional gates hundreds of times. She was always well protected. This time everything goes wrong. Now Ada is trapped in the labyrinth of alien caves unlike any other. Her only companion is a scared German Shepherd named Bear. Together they must uncover the breach’s secrets and escape, because Ada promised her children that she will come home.

The future of humanity depends on it.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 1st book in the Breach Wars seres. I bought a copy of this on audiobook from Audible.com.

Thoughts: While I love the Ilona Andrews writing team, I have been struggling with the fact that they start so many projects they don’t finish. Normally, I would have snapped this up right away, but I waited for a bit because I am worried that this is another side project where they are going to start something but not follow through on it. I am still waiting for the resolution to The Innkeeper Chronicles, the continuation of The Iron Covenant, the continuation of Aurelia Ryder, and possibly some more Wilmington Years…

This book is a near future sci-fi where inter dimensional portals called breaches started opening on Earth and flooding our planet with monsters/aliens. Oddly, at this same time humans started gaining special talents that help them to fight and repel these monsters. The story follows Adaline whose Talent is assessing material in breaches for their worth; she can identify valuable minerals, and dangerous objects. Things go very wrong in the current breach she is assigned to and Ada ends up trapped in the breach with a German Shepherd named Bear as her only companion. She needs to find a way to escape the breach or at least survive until a team comes in to rescue her.

This was very typical Ilona Andrews. There is a lot of action, some adventure, and a lot of overly dramatic angsting about kids. The story goes back and forth between two POVs. The first is Adaline, who we hear the majority of the story from. The second is the leader of the group that Adaline was working for, who needs to go into this Breach to find out what happened. While Ada is trying to survive, he’s trying to get a team put together to enter the breach to assess the situation.

While I enjoyed this, there was a lot in here that was very similar to other books this team has written. There are lots of very well done action scenes and some intriguing monsters. The world-building is a bit gimmicky and contrived feeling, but feels complete. The characters have sharp senses of humor but can be overly dramatic and a bit too in their own heads at points. I liked Adaline, but she is a very typical Ilona Andrews type protagonist; she is smart, tough, has a weak spot for children and pets, and gets way too powerful too quickly.

In the end, I felt like this was fine. If you are a big Ilona Andrews fan, then you are familiar with the style and types of characters here. This is more of the same from them. That isn’t necessarily bad; a lot of people want more of the same. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of anything new here. I liked the characters, but they are very similar to many other characters that this writing duo has come up with. The world-building was intricately done but seemed very contrived and implausible. The story went exactly as I expected it would go. Will I continue with this series? I think the bigger question is will Andrews actually finish one of their “side” projects…so we will see another book in this series?

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. There are two narrators, and they both do an excellent job with their parts of the story. If you enjoy audiobooks I would recommend listening to this on audiobook.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was fine, I enjoyed the action and adventure here. The characters were decent but similar to characters in other series by this writing team. The world-building was well done but felt immplausible and contrived. The story was very predictable. I am on the fence about whether or not I will finish this series. I really wish the Andrews team was working on finishing up some of their other spin-off series first.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopian
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: July 21, 2026
ASIN: B0FX7WZZQ2
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Jenny Sweet’s marriage is ending—and with it her band and maybe even her fragile relationship with her thirteen-year-old daughter, Neko. A reluctant wife and mother, Jenny plans a new journey of self-discovery after one more gig at Burning Man. But when Neko disappears amid the chaos of the festival, Jenny fears that everything that mattered to her has been lost. As she races against the dark, Jenny finds herself thrown into the past, and into the heart of a gathering storm.

Now twenty-five, Neko is a mudlark: a trained recruit who braves the rival factions and feral survivalists in the ruins of a crumbling, flooded Manhattan for resources that grow scarcer by the day. When she stumbles upon the master of her mother’s long-lost solo album and later hears that someone else is searching for it—someone who could be her mother, missing for over a decade—she embarks on a perilous adventure with a ragtag crew that will take her from treetop societies to decadent raves to the underground bunker where she will, finally, confront her mother’s fate—and her own.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley.com.

Thoughts: This was okay. The book jumps back and forth between Jenny Sweet (a musician from the near past) and her daughter (Neko). The timeline is fairly fluid here and can be a bit hard to follow. Sometimes we are hearing from Jenny in the far past or in the near past and sometimes we are hearing from Neko in the current timeline or the near past (when she is a teen) or during her childhood. The jumping around in time and between POVs made this a meandering story, that took a lot of patience to read.

In the near past, Jenny is a musician and a reluctant mother. She knows her husband, Max, has been cheating on her but has been struggling to deal with this because her daughter, Neko, adores Max and Jenny doesn’t want to break up the family. Jenny and Max perform a last set with their band at Burning Man; they will be announcing the break up of both their marriage and the band soon. During this performance, Neko goes missing, and what follows will define Max’s, Neko’s, and Jenny’s lives.

In present day Neko is ekeing out a living with her partner, Iggy, and their crew in The Sink (what is left of parts of New York City after it flooded during a historic hurricane) as a mudlark. Neko and crew dive below the watery depths of the Sink to retrieve what others have lost. Then one day Neko retrieves a solo album from her mother, an album she didn’t know existed. She wants to know who requested this album and if it will lead to her mother, who is assumed to have died in the flooding of NYC.

This book is more poetry than story. It is written in a very lyrical and wandering way. The characters spend a lot of time thinking about the world around them in complex imagery. The story is dreamlike and dives into the relationship between daughters and mothers in a world that is a bit broken (both in the past and the present). These characters spend a lot of time in their heads questioning their own motives and whether or not their actions are selfish or necessary.

The post-apocalyptic world presented here is a bit vague. We know New York City flooded, as did some other areas of the Eastern seaboard. However, we don’t have a good idea of how that affected the rest of the world. We get small glimpses, but no broader picture. The story doesn’t have much resolution either; so if you like your stories with a clear ending, I would steer clear of this one.

If you have the patience and like this sort of wandering imagery that is more of a story-as-poetry you might enjoy this. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn’t wandered between timelines so much and had been a bit more concise.

My Summary (3/5): Overall I respect the imagery and idea behind this, however it wasn’t really for me. Things were just too ambiguous here, and the story took too long to get anywhere. The language and descriptions were a bit over the top for me, and we spent too much time in our characters’ heads. If you enjoy a sort of poetic post-apocalyptic book that focuses on mother/daughter relationships this might be for you.

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: June 2, 2026
ASIN: B0FPL1PXN6
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Anne of Brittany was a child when France invaded and drove her royal father to his death. Now she is a young woman, sovereign duchess of an occupied realm, and France means to crown their conquest by marrying her to their king. Such an alliance would put her title, her lands, and her body forever in the hands of her enemies.

But Anne refuses to be the last duchess of Brittany.

Her only hope of resisting conquest is another alliance sealed with marriage, so Anne arranges a daring last gambit: a secret betrothal to Charles of France’s greatest rival. But secrets are hard to keep in a world where rival courts spy on each other with diviners.

The forest of Brocéliande was once the haunt of Merlin the Enchanter and the long-lost faerie queen. But magic is long gone from Broceliande, except for the occasional sight of a unicorn and one critical quirk: This ancient forest is completely hostile to divination.

While pretending compliance with France, Anne plans a unicorn hunt in Brocéliande. A bit of pointless pageantry. A diversion so she can wed in secret.

Or so she thinks.

In this rich and epic novel, the author of the acclaimed Winternight trilogy turns the real history of a remarkable woman into an unforgettable tale of mystery, enchantment, and the price of power.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley.com.

Thoughts: This was an amazing fantasy read. It reminds me of a more classic fantasy read with kings and duchesses, wars and adventures, faerie and sorcerers. This was impossible to put down, and I absolutely loved the characters and world here. Prior to reading this I had read Arden’s Winternight Trilogy (loved it), Small Spaces series (liked it) and “The Warm Hands of Ghosts” (loved it). So I was thrilled to read this book as well.

Anne of Brittany was a child when France invaded, and then her father passed away. Now Anne is doing all she can to come up with a strategy to keep Brittany independent from France. She has a plan to delay the machinations of the French, who want to force her to marry their king. She has arranged a secret betrothal to France’s greatest enemy and convinced France’s general to go hunting for unicorns while she sets things in motion. Unfortunately, she never could have planned for some of the magical elements she accidentally set in motion; the unicorn is real and a man who was lost for hundreds of years has returned from the haunted forests of Broceliande.

This was a wonderful read. I love the world here; this is very much historical fiction with a touch of faerie magic. I also really love the characters. Anne is saddled with a big task, and she performs her duties with intelligence, grace, kindness, and a toughness that most don’t expect. I loved how supportive everyone is of each other and enjoy that Anne does find people to help support her. This really tackles the issue a strong woman faces when having to stand on her own and support a whole kingdom while being limited to the bounds of her era.

This is beautifully written; the plot keeps you guessing, the characters are intricate, and the writing flows seamlessly. I enjoyed every second of reading this book. I have really enjoyed all of Arden’s books, and this one was another fantastic story by her.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved everything about this book. The beautiful writing, the complex characters, the world, and the story were all masterfully done. I would highly recommend this read, especially if you enjoy a more classic historical fantasy featuring a strong female lead. I can’t wait to see what Arden comes up with next.