Royal Scandal by Aimee Carter (Royal Blood book 2)

 

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Royal Blood, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“American girl turned monarchy nightmare, Evan Bright, has gotten used to the press about her but the media attention has only seemed to get worse. 

From desperate clickbait articles about her and the President's son to Royal Record headlines pitting her against Princess Maisie, it seems everyone is dying for Evan to return back to America for good. Meanwhile Evan is receiving mysterious threats about her real story being revealed in a tell-all biography. 

When more information is leaked about Evan, she fears she will always be Britain's media villain. But the threats escalate when there is an attempted assassination with no suspects...and Evan believes the person is in the palace's walls. 

They say what doesn't kill you will make you stronger...but what if it's the royal family who wants you dead?” - taken from Goodreads.

Six months have passed since american teenager Evan Bright was outed as the illegitimate daughter of Alexander II,the king of England. The road hasn’t been easy for Evan either in the media spotlight or privately with the royal family. When an assassination attempt on Evan’s life almost succeeds, she takes it upon herself to uncover who wants her dead. And that person is closer than she wants. Uncover all of the dark secrets that the British royal family would like undiscovered as Evan finds out who is determined to be rid of her, once and for all.

Book three is due out in 2025.

Visit Aimee Carter’s website.

The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe (The Girls I’ve Been book 1)

 

“Nora O’Malley’s been a lot of girls. As the daughter of a con-artist who targets criminal men, she grew up as her mother’s protégé. But when mom fell for the mark instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con: escape.

For five years Nora’s been playing at normal. But she needs to dust off the skills she ditched because she has three problems:

#1: Her ex walked in on her with her girlfriend. Even though they’re all friends, Wes didn’t know about her and Iris.

#2: The morning after Wes finds them kissing, they all have to meet to deposit the fundraiser money they raised at the bank. It’s a nightmare that goes from awkward to deadly, because:

#3: Right after they enter bank, two guys start robbing it.

The bank robbers may be trouble, but Nora’s something else entirely. They have no idea who they’re really holding hostage…” - taken from Goodreads.

This was an unexpected book that wasn’t on my radar but I’m so glad that I picked it up. Imagine going to the bank to make a deposit with your ex-boyfriend and current girlfriend and hoping that it will be quick. If that isn’t enough of a nightmare, before you can leave, wwe bank is held up for a robbery that goes terribly wrong. Readers get to meet Nora O’Mallery (not her real name) as she tries to figure out a way to get everyone out of the situation alive. Told in present day with flashbacks to Nora’s previous lives with her con artist mother and hoe she escaped, readers will be clamoring for the ending to see if everyone survives and what Nora chooses to divulge about her past.

Book two, The Girl in Question, is out now.

Visit Tess Sharpe’s website.

Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew

 

“Wyatt Westlock has one plan for the farmhouse she's just inherited -- to burn it to the ground. But during her final walkthrough of her childhood home, she makes a shocking discovery in the basement -- Peter, the boy she once considered her best friend, strung up in chains and left for dead.

Unbeknownst to Wyatt, Peter has suffered hundreds of ritualistic deaths on her family's property. Semi-immortal, Peter never remains dead for long, but he can't really live, either. Not while he's bound to the farm, locked in a cycle of grisly deaths and painful rebirths. There's only one way for him to break free. He needs to end the Westlock line.

He needs to kill Wyatt.

With Wyatt's parents gone, the spells protecting the property have begun to unravel, and dark, ancient forces gather in the nearby forest. The only way for Wyatt to repair the wards is to work with Peter -- the one person who knows how to harness her volatile magic. But how can she trust a boy who's sworn an oath to destroy her? When the past turns up to haunt them in the most unexpected way, they are forced to rely on one another to survive, or else tear each other apart.” - taken from Goodreads.

Once again, Kelly Andrew has written a fantasy romance story that is a horror tale at its core. Wyatt Westlock is prepared to burn down the family home after her fathers death until she makes a shocking discovery that derails her plans. The more she digs into her father’s past, the more twisted her family’s legacy becomes. Determined to right the wrongs of her family's past, the more she must rely on the boy who broke her heart. 

Peter just wants to end the Westlock line and his suffering. But the closer he gets to Wyatt, old feelings begin to resurface between the two of them. Plans begin to change as the two decide how to break the cycle and move forward. But not everything is as it seems and not everything can be put back the way it was.

Visit Kelly Andrew’s website.

Plus One by Kelsey Rodkey

 

“They say that those who can’t do, teach.

Lahey Johnson is notorious for helping her friends and classmates find love. Sure, she’s never had a boyfriend herself. But she could. If she wanted to. Right? She just hasn’t had a reason to focus on her own love life—but now, with her detested cousin Summer’s sweet sixteen coming up, she’s got the ultimate reason: revenge.

Lahey will do anything to prove that she can get a date to Summer’s party—anything, including juggle six prospective suitors in seven days. She’s matched people before—all she needs to do is figure out who these guys are looking for and become that girl. Easy.

The only issue? Her older sister’s irritating friend Adler has decided to take a front-row seat to the spectacle that is Lahey’s life. He can bother her all he wants—nothing will distract Lahey from her goal of one-upping Summer.

But as the party creeps closer, the panic sets in.

Can a matchmaker ever really meet her own match?” - taken from Goodreads.

I really enjoyed this book even though I wanted to shake Lahey at times for her selfishness. For someone who was so good at being a matchmaker for others, she failed miserably when it came to herself. Thankfully, she came to her senses before it was too late.

Visit Kelsey Rodkey’s website.

Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White by Amelie Wen Zhao (Song of the Last Kingdom book 2)

 

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“The Demon Gods have risen. Skies’ End has fallen to the colonizers. And Lan and Zen have chosen sides.

But they will not fight together.

Though Lan inherited the power of the Silver Dragon, she understands the path she must take. She believes the Demon Gods to be the cause of war, conflict, and turmoil, and that the future of the Last Kingdom depends on their being eliminated forever. Worse, she knows that if the Elantians manage to bind one of the legendary beings, their army will be unstoppable and any hopes of Hin rebellion will be crushed. To save her kingdom and her people, Lan will need to find the only mythical weapon capable of destroying the Demon Gods: the Godslayer.

Zen knows the only way to defeat the Elantians and free the Last Kingdom is to use the power of the Demon Gods. When he bound the Black Tortoise, he paid the ultimate price: to inherit its strength, he will forfeit his body, his mind, and his soul. Yet one Demon God is not enough against the might of the Elantian Empire. In the ruins of the northern Mansorian lands slumbers a magical army of demonic practitioners capable of facing off against the Elantians—but Zen must find the Seal to awaken them to fight by his side.

At the center of both Lan’s and Zen’s journeys is the fabled desert city of Shaklahira, a former stronghold of the Imperial Court that vanished without a trace when the Elantians invaded. Its location is a mystery, and both are sure that it holds the answers they need, but the past it hides might be more dangerous than anything they’ve faced yet.

The battle for the Last Kingdom rages on. But to win the war, Lan will have to face the ultimate choice—will she kill the boy she loves to free her people?” - taken from Goodreads.

I don’t want to give too much away about the ending of this story but fans will be satisfied with the ending.

Visit Amelie Wen Zhao’s website.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

 

“Lights. Camera. Lies.

18-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.

But the case is dragged up from the past when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.

Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And – could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .” - taken from Goodreads.

Bel has never known her mother, only what she knows about the day she disappeared and left her behind. Now, sixteen years later, a documentary filmmaker is in town telling the story of the disappearance of Rachel Price. Bel cannot wait for the nightmare to be over and get back to her normal life. Having left filming one day, she comes across a woman who looks like her mother. Running home to safety from her worst nightmare, Bel realizes that she cannot hide from the truth, her mother has come back from the dead. 

The reunion isn’t what Bel expected and everyone’s reactions seem to be of relief. The more time Bel spends with her mother, she begins to realize that Rachel’s story doesn’t seem to add up. Why has Rachel Price suddenly reappeared after sixteen years? And is Bel justified to question her mother’s return?

This book kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end! Definitely my favorite book of 2024.

Song Like Sliver, Flame Like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao (Song of the Last Kingdom book 1)

 

“Once, Lan had a different name. Now, she goes by the one the Elantian colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed her mother, and outlawed her people's magic. She spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak'gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and spends her days scavenging for remnants of the past. For anything that might help her understand the strange mark burned into her arm by her mother, in her last act before she died.

No one can see the mysterious mark--an untranslatable Hin character--except Lan. Until the night a boy appears at the teahouse and saves her life.

Zen is a practitioner--one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom, whose abilities were rumored to be drawn from the demons they communed with. Magic believed to be long lost. Magic to be hidden from the Elantians at all costs.

When Zen comes across Lan's unusual qi, he recognizes what she is: a practitioner with a powerful ability hidden in the mark on her arm. He's never seen anything like it--but he knows: if there are answers, they lie deep in the pine forests and misty mountains of the Last Kingdom, with an order of practitioning masters planning to overthrow the Elantian regime.

Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep within. Fate has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten. Both hold the power to liberate their land. And both hold the power to destroy the world.” - taken from Goodreads.

This book was a bit of a beast to get through. There is lots of worldbuilding and back story to get through before the plot really gets going. With a slow burn romance between Lan and Zen and plenty of mystery surrounding each of their backgrounds, readers will be flipping the pages at the end to see all of the secrets that are revealed. Because of a cliffhanger ending, readers will be ready to start book two, Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White.

Visit Amelie Wen Zhao’s website.