Today marks ROUND THREE of having one of my very best friends, Kelly Wuyscik, on the blog. Today she is sharing with you the best romance and fantasy novels! Mixing things up this month with a little extra fantasy and young adult, which I love! I mean, who doesn’t extra romance and fantasy novels? Fantasy novels and young adult fiction are my guilty pleasure reads. Kelly knocks it out of the park with these recommendations. Read on for her top 4 picks that are MUST reads this season as you cozy up by the fire.
Guest Blog By: Kelly Wuyscik
A Royal Disaster (Royally Engaged #1) By: Jennifer Bonds
Fiction, Romance
Well this book was a delightful surprise, that’s for sure. I went into it knowing only a few things:
1) I loved the cover
2) I loved the idea of a royal fake dating one of us common folk
3) It sounded funny
Honestly, it was even better than I expected. Not only were the characters witty and sometimes just outright funny, but they were also real and vulnerable, and were believable. On top of that? It wasn’t some stupid miscommunication that caused the inevitable blowup, and that alone made this book a breath of fresh air.
After all, #disaster was the story of her life.
In Conclusion:
Y’all, I wasn’t kidding when I said this book was funny. I laughed out loud a few times, and honestly when Lena had her embarrassing klutz-tastic moments, it was cringeworthy but not like, terribly so that you just wanted to run and hide. You felt for Lena, but you also could roll your eyes and say “yup been there.” She was funny, she was smart, and she was also someone I desperately want to be friends with, if only for her Tia’s cooking.
Liam? DREAMBOAT. The man knew how to court a woman and he definitely ramped up the steam factor of this book about 10x. He was a wonderful hero and an excellent book boyfriend. 10/10 would date Liam Stanley.
This book was fun, it was cute, it was funny, had great supporting characters (Nia + Ethan = 4ever), and I loved every minute with this crew. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read it and I can’t wait to read more from Jennifer Bonds in the future.
***Many thanks to Entangled for the review copy!!***
Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove #1) By: Shelby Mahurin
Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy
Let me start by saying this book was not perfect, but it’s been an incredibly long time since I read the first sentence of a new book and never wanted it to stop. I was hooked from the very first line and it was unexpected, it was delightful, and it was just a treat. I’ve seen a lot of reviews where one of the complaints is that you’re thrust into this world with very little backstory. I love that. I love having to run around with the characters and catch up. And I love learning as I go and as I watch the story unfold. Yes; I laughed out loud, I cried, and I ran the gamut with these characters.
Let’s talk about the real reason I loved this book though, shall we? Louise LeBlanc was 110% the most wonderful thing about this story. I loved every stinkin bit of her. She was strong, she was fiery, she was cunning, and she was vulnerable. She grew, she loved hard, and she learned, all while running her mouth and turning heads with the shit that came flying out of her brain. Lou was incredibly unexpected and I am so happy to know her now.
Enemies to Lovers:
You know what else I love? Enemies to lovers. Fake relationships. Banter. When the love between two characters sneaks up on them so slowly they don’t even realize it, but you do. You notice. In the way the descriptions slowly change, in the way their tone shifts, in the way they suddenly start thinking of their partner first. And I got this with Reid and Lou. A witch hunter and a witch. Two people that should never be together, thrust into a marriage to save face. It was *chef’s kiss* and there is still so much room for growth which I think is the best part.
We also can’t forget Coco and Ansel because they were the icing on top of this Serpent & Dove cake and had me laughing super hard on more than a few occasions. (I honestly cannot wait for more of Ansel that boy has big things ahead of him, I can feel it)
In Conclusion:
And like I said, this book wasn’t perfect. There were a few details thrown in we never came back to, I sometimes had trouble keeping track of whose parent was whose, and I would have loved a map, but at the same time, I never wanted to stop reading. I know things will get fleshed out further in Blood & Honey, and honestly some of the things I tracked but were never resolved might reappear which is why I’m not overly worried about it.
The best way I can describe my reaction to this book is this: Serpent & Dove was exactly the book I needed at exactly this moment. It gave me a reprieve and it sucked me in, and that’s not something that has happened in quite a few months. I’m thankful for that, I’m grateful for these characters, and I cannot wait to continue this story. I put in my hold request for Blood & Honey before I was even 2/3 of the way through this book because I just knew I’d want to keep going. This book is going to be a favorite of mine for a while.
The Bright and Breaking Sea (Captain Kit Brightling #1) By: Chloe Neill
Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Romance
I am delighted!!!!
This book was so much fun and it was so incredibly unexpected. Kit Brightling was wonderful; she was smart, she was clever, she was sarcastic, and she was driven. She was so enjoyable to read and the journey we went on with Kit was just so much more than I expected or was even ready for.
Kit, an “Aligned” person (magic!) with a link to the sea, is a captain in the Queen’s navy, and the fact that we got a fantasy novel with a female at the helm (literally and figuratively!) just warmed my heart. She was someone who was completely invested in her job, but she also had this underlying desire to do and be good. She was someone I think we all should strive to be. I really appreciated her character and can’t wait for more of her.
In Conclusion:
I really did love this one. I loved the story, I loved the use of multiple perspectives, I loved the adventure, I loved the realistic avenue of Grant and Kit’s relationship, how it evolved, and I can’t wait to see what comes next for them. I’m glad their story is just starting and that we keep getting these pieces of Gant that are little morsels of who he is and what makes him tick. They make him that much sweeter and more charming, and as we chip away at the rough growly exterior, I like that we’re there with Kit figuring him out (and maaaaaybe seeing a different side of him *wink wink*). And the best part is that not only does he frustrate the living daylights out of her, but he also cares and challenges her while still respecting her authority. It’s just so enjoyable and fun.
I laughed, I cried, I ate this one up and didn’t want to put it down. I cannot wait for more of Captain Kit Brightling and Colonel Rian Grant; their adventure was a breath of fresh air.
Thank you so much, Berkley and Netgalley for the review copy!!
From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash #1) By: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Fiction, New Adult, Fantasy
When you listen to me, I think the stars will fall.
I don’t think I could be objective when writing a review for this book if I tried. To summarize: I read all 600ish pages in one sitting. Yes, I got up to move every once in a while. I read the entirety of this thick monster in one day.
One day.
While kind of slow to start. It did feel a bit like a history lesson every other page. This book quickly changed my mind after a few momentous situations. This resulted in me rage-texting the one friend I know who had read this book because all of a sudden I had FEELINGS. And a lot of them. Poppy isn’t a character that you fall in love with right away. She slowly opens up to you like a new friend. Once she does, you never want to let her go. Poppy is strong, she’s witty, she’s a complete imbecile (her words), and she’s funny. The moment her personality really started to shine was when I fell in love with her. I wanted to keep her forever. She was a great character and her repartee and inner monologue were just wonderful.
Hawke I would protect with my life. Does that explain how I feel about his character? It should. I would die for Hawke Flynn. He is protective, he is funny, he is motivated, and he wants Poppy to flourish. He is SO GOOD for Poppy, and does so much to help her that it’s just hard not to love him. Even if you do pick up on subtle hints and clues throughout the book and KNOW what’s coming but absolutely do not care.
Plot Twists:
So yeah, the plot twist (twists?) were predictable. I didn’t give a crap. I loved the buildup of getting to those moments and I loved seeing what happened after they unfurled (and there was one I didn’t catch!). My investigative prowess didn’t dampen my love for this story or how much it impacted me when everything unfolded. And while I see a lot of reviews saying “Poppy should have figured it out it was so obvious” I never felt that way. Based on how Poppy was brought up and how her life had to be lead, I never expected her to be more clever than she already was. She was smart, and she was clever, but she was also sheltered and she was naive. Her life was not her own, and she incredibly alone, so I think she deserves a bit of grace.
In Conclusion:
Overall, I cried roughly seven times while reading this book, laughed out loud even more, and fell absolutely 100% in love with the characters. My emotions ran the gamut with this book, and it was an incredibly wonderful surprise. I felt everything from joy and warmth to outright rage and devastation. Not once, when the story picked up, did it feel like I was reading a very long 613 page book. It felt like I was on a journey and I was sucked in, and I probably could have kept going. The secondary characters were an added bonus, and they helped to round out Poppy and the life she’d been living. This book was full of villains and heroes, and uncovering who was who was part of the fun.
From Blood and Ash was beautifully written. I requested the second book in the series while I was only halfway through with this installment. I can’t wait to see what happens to Poppy and Hawke next. This book is going to stay with me. While I hate my friends for putting me through the emotional ringer with this one, I also am so grateful that I got to experience it.
*All Reviews by Kelly Wuyscik
Wanting to check out more of Kelly’s reviews and find more amazing romance books? Visit @andkellyreads via Instagram & Goodreads
*Disclaimer: The books mentioned in this blog were gifted to Kelly in exchange for her honest reviews.
