Crown Me Dead review

 

Book: Crown Me Dead

Author: Liv Zander

Pages: 270

Date(s) Read: June 1^st, 2026 to July 14^th, 2026

Date Published: April 10^th, 2026

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Gothic, Romantasy

Characters: 4/5

Writing style: 5/5

Story: 5/5

Ending:  5/5

Cover: 3/5

Format: Kindle

Date Bought: May 22^nd, 2026

Book Cost: $4.99

Review:

Crown Me Dead is a very unique work of fantasy fiction that is times as grotesque as it is beautiful.

 

I'm not gonna lie or sugarcoat it: there are scenes in this book that straight up had me running to the toilet to dry-heave. My husband asked me several times while I did that, if I was okay. I assured him I was.

 

And you know what? I was. This novel is grotesque. It's gross, it's vile, even shocking but this novel is good. Like seriously good. It will have you guessing on what's really going on until the end.

 

In Crown Me Dead, undertaker Elara is enlisted to seduce the king into taking her as his queen and killing her to satisfy a curse on the crown but all is not as it seems.

 

I liked Elara and felt interested in both love interests Kael, and Vale. I loved the love triangle dynamic and was gripped, wondering who she would choose only to lament that maybe she chose wrong.

 

This book will have you on the edge of your seat. Despite the gross-out moments, it's worth reading for that shocking ending and the will-they-won't-they aspect. This book is a must for those who love gothic fantasy and dark fantastic worlds.

Seven Days in June review

 

Book: Seven Days in June

Author: Tia Williams

Pages: 336

Date(s) Read: June 7^th, 2026 to July 2^nd, 2026

Date Published: June 1^st, 2021

Rating: 4/5

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Characters: 5/5

Writing style: 5/5

Story: 4/5

Ending:  4/5

Cover: 5/5

Format: Hard Cover

Date Bought: January 7^th, 2025

Book Cost: $9.60

Review:

Seven Days in June is a deep and moving romance that is truly heartfelt.

 

In Seven Days in June romance erotica author Eva runs into literatures bad boy Shane. Their run in brings up old feelings from a shared past in their youth. As they become entangled again we also follow Eva as a teen during the time that leads up to those Seven Days in June she spent with Shane.

 

This book was such an emotional roller coaster. Its a lot like real love -- wonderful, messy, and chaotic. The chemistry between the two characters was off the charts. Eva and Shane together make disparate match of passion, chaos, and fire. There’s so much longing here too that’s reminiscent of older romance books.

 

Eva is really easy to identify with given her invisible disability.  She is lovable, talented, and does what she can to provide her daughter with a safe and well grounded life, the kind she never had growing up. Shane is a man trying to heal, I also found him easily relatable. He cant write now that he's sober and I understand the sentiment well because my best art is always done on Adderall. Without it I feel stuck in a rut. As we follow Shane we see him try to grapple with life as an writer who can't write while he mentors young people.

 

This book was a fascinating character study on both Shane and Eva. Both characters are so multifaceted. They truly feel like real people. If your looking for some depth in your romance then this is a book you can't miss.

The Poet Empress review

 

Book: The Poet Empress

Author: Shen Tao

Pages: 400

Date(s) Read: May 12^th, 2026 to July 2^nd, 2026

Date Published: January 20^th, 2026

Rating: 3/5

Genre: Asian Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Characters: 3/5

Writing style: 4/5

Story: 3/5

Ending:  4/5

Cover: 3/5

Format: Hard Cover

Date Bought: January 31^st, 2026

Book Cost: $23.12

Review:

The Poet Empress is a beautiful and moving story, but it is by no means a fun or enjoyable read.

 

In the Poet Empress a poor village girl named Wei becomes the bride to Terren, a true terror of a prince. As he tortures his bride, maims servants, and kills animals she learns to read so she can write the ultimate poem that will be able to kill him.

 

I found Wei desperately wanting, she didn't feel three dimensional at all. We never truly get to know her, her inner thoughts, her goals, her likes and dislikes. She is a shell of a person. Other characters such as Maro are similar. Terren, the villain, feels like the closest we get to knowing a character and even that lacks a kind of authenticity.

 

That being said it is a well written and beautiful story. The ending was lovely. This wasn't a bad book but I felt myself really wanting more out of it, especially after all the hype surrounding it.

Neighborhood Story Volume 3 review

 

Book: Neighborhood Story Volume 3

Author: Ai Yazawa

Pages: 328

Date(s) Read: June 17^th, 2026 to June 18^th, 2026

Date Published: August 4^th, 2024

Rating: 4/5

Genre: Comics, Manga

Characters: 5/5

Writing style: 5/5

Story: 4/5

Ending:  4/5

Cover: 3/5

Format: Soft Cover

Date Bought: June 4^th, 2026

Book Cost: $19.99

Review:

Another great volume of neighborhood story. This one features the culmination of mikakos hard work at school and more relationship drama for our motley crew of characters.

The Summer King review

 

Book: The Summer King

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Pages: 615

Date(s) Read: April 10^th, 2026 to June 23^rd, 2026

Date Published: April 7^th, 2026

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Fae,

Characters: 5/5

Writing style: 4/5

Story: 5/5

Ending:  5/5

Cover: 3/5

Format: Soft Cover

Date Bought: August 3^rd, 2025

Book Cost: $15.99

The summer king is a fabulous ending to what was already a really good trilogy. 

In The Summer King we follow Brighton as she tracks down the fae who killed her mother. Caden, the summer King tries to stop her from her pursuit in order to protect her. As they clash romance blooms. 

My emotions were so high reading this. The tension between Caden and Brighton gave me emotional whiplash. I even cried a few times!! I never cry during books. 

I loved the closure you get in not only Brighton and Cadens story but also Ivy and Rens. This was equally as compelling as the wicked trilogy with an even better ending that felt fully fleshed out.

If you liked the Wicked trilogy you absolutely cannot miss the Summer King.

Smoke and Scar review

 

Book: Smoke and Scar

Author: Gretchen Powell Fox

Pages: 404

Date(s) Read: May 7^th, 2026 to June 23^rd, 2026

Date Published: March 10^th, 2025

Rating: 4/5

Genre: Fantasy, Fae

Characters: 4/5

Writing style: 4/5

Story: 4/5

Ending:  4/5

Cover: 5/5

Format: Hard Cover (aurora crate edition)

Date Bought: July 2025

Book Cost: $40.00

Review:

Smoke and Scar is an epic fantasy adventure that is exciting for even long term romantasy fans.

 

25 years ago Elyria Lightbreaker lost the love of her life to the Arcane Crucible. Now his sister enters. In order to stop and protect his sister Kit from ending up like her lost love she enters this time around where she meets a motley assortment of champions, including a human named Cedric Thorne who stirs her feelings and heart for the first time in over two decades. Can they get through the trials of the crucible together or will their differences tear them apart?

 

This was a lot of fun and I absolutely loved Elyria. She's a fresh female character and shadow daddy. I loved her interactions with Kit. She's tough, with true inner darkness and turmoil but shes also loving and supportive. There was a lot of chemistry between her and Cedric but I didn't care for him as a character much. Hes impulsive and quick to anger. I felt she could do better.

 

That being said, the romance is a wonderful slow burn. This is the perfect romance speed. I also enjoyed the found family. All of the characters are equally compelling and interesting. I could read whole books about the others.

 

If you're looking for a romantasy thats heavy on the fantasy than this is a book worth reading.

Molka review

 

Book: Molka

Author: Monika Kim

Pages: 292

Date(s) Read: May 1^st, 2026 to June 23^rd, 2026

Date Published: April 28^th, 2026

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Thriller, Horror

Characters: 4/5

Writing style: 5/5

Story: 5/5

Ending:  4/5

Cover: 4/5

Format: Hard Cover

Date Bought: April 1^st, 2026

Book Cost: $16.00

Review:

Molka is a brilliant feminist horror novel that tackles spy cams.

 

In Molka we follow Dahye as she becomes embroiled in a hidden camera scandal with her paramour Hyukjoon. While her life falls apart, Junyoung, a coworker who used spy cameras to watch her intimate moments in the bathroom  becomes obsessed with her.

 

This novel was really genius, it shows how toxic masculinity and male entitlement can ruin lives. It shows the indifference of the police and society as a whole when it comes to the plight of women who are used and hurt by hidden cameras. Socioeconomic backgrounds also play into the story where Dahye is ignored in while there's a desperate search for the missing and extremely wealthy Hyukjoon. Consent also plays a role here in regards to the illicit films.

 

The ending, while not completely satisfying for our heroine is very realistic. It really puts a mirror to societies indifference of women in general and shows the apathy society have for women, especially ones who have been victims of sex crimes and hidden camera crimes.