The Elder Races series by Thea Harrison is a Paranormal Romance series that started in 2011 and made quite the impact – book 1, Dragon Bound, won the RITA (the RWA’s highest honor) for Best Paranormal Romance in 2012. With nine primary works (and countless novellas in the universe), Elder Races follows the politics and relationships of the seven Elder Races that share the world with humans: the Wyr, Light and Dark Fae, the Elves, Demonkind, Nightkind, and Human Witches. There is an aspect of portal fantasy here as well in that there are pockets of Other land that can be accessed through passageways throughout the mortal world, and the characters often enter these lands as part of the stories.

I read the first three books , because I find that with these longer-running PNR series, you don’t really get an accurate impression until you are a few books in. In addition, I was intrigued by the fact that the first three MMCs were non-traditional shapeshifts in that they were mythical creatures – first a dragon, then a thunderbird, and finally a gryphon. So, this review tackles both the book I read for the square as well as the series.

This review was originally written as part of a personal project to complete an all Fantasy Romance card for r/fantasy’s 2022 Book Bingo. You can read an introduction to my project here. All opinions are my own.

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Dragon Bound RELEASE DATE: 01/05/2011 STAR RATING: 3/5 ✶

Storm’s Heart RELEASE DATE: 01/08/2011 STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

Serpent’s Kiss RELEASE DATE: 04/10/2011 STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

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The world-building stage is set in the first book, but it really isn’t until the second and third books that we see just how expansive the world is and get a sense of the politics and machinations of the various races. It isn’t often you get to read a book where you have a gryphon, vampyre, medusa, and djinn all in one scene! The world-building is rich enough to provide the backbone for a series with staying power.

In terms of the romance, it has a heat level on par with a series like Psy-Changeling by Nalini Singh – it is steamy and explicit, but not to the point where it detracts from the plot. The MMCs are alphas, straight up, so if you don’t like that trope, these books are not for you. In fact, the MMC’s of the first two books are some of the most brutish, out-of-touch-with-my-feelings alphas I’ve read in a while. However! The character transformations are profound and definitely come across on the page.

In terms of FMCs, one of the things I really appreciated about this series is how genuinely nice the FMCs are. I absoluletly love a “strong” heroine, but sometimes the stereotyping of what a “strong” heroine means can become grating – they are often set up as assertive to the point of aggressive, in constant conflict with the MMC. It was refreshing to read “strong” heroines that instead were simply kind. For example, toward the beginning of the first book, prior to even starting a relationship, Pia literally cuddles Dragos and falls asleep on top of him. When they are captured by the goblins and thrown in a dungeon, she saves a struggling beetle in her cell from falling down a crack. In the second book, Niniane is often found simply listening to her subjects, connecting with them to make them feel heard. She wants to use her resources to set up a school for her people so that they can integrate into the human world. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to read FMCs like these, but apparently I did – it was a nice change of pace.

The writing was a little rough for me, but I think that’s a personal taste thing. I sometimes struggle with an author that flips between “elevated” language and colloquialisms; it gives me whiplash to read a beautiful sentence followed by a character using the word “freaking.” It did improve as the series progressed, but it is the reason Serpent’s Kiss (which was my favorite of the three books I read) was not a five-star rating for me. I wanted to give it five stars SO badly, but unfortunately, I do have a hang-up about prose. That, combined with repetitive words and phrasing, and sometimes odd construction, kept the book at a four for me.

Interestingly, the dual POV is not split up into sections like most modern Romances – hello head hopping! You bounce between the two POVs throughout the chapters, but it was done in such a way that, although I noticed it, it didn’t pull me out of the story.

The focus of the third book – my favorite of the three, and the book I used for r/fantasy Book Bingo – is Carling. She is an old vampyre who is bored with life, essentially waiting for death, and her ennui is palpable. She undergoes a “rebirth,” if you will, finally attempting to pursue a second chance at life, in part due to the MMC. I highlighted this passage, because as Carling’s character evolves, and she begins to be pulled out of her complacency, it beautifully captures the impact of his love and support: “Or maybe that was just Rune, reawakening her soul.” Make no mistake – this book is about the FMC and her journey, and the MMC simply plays a supporting role.

I enjoyed the maturity of the characters – Rune and Carling are much older than the characters of the first two books – and the somber tone. Serpent’s Kiss is mature and poignant, and its themes resonated with me. Although Rune is an alpha, he is much more of a cinnamon roll than the previous two heroes. He’s a laid back, ripped jeans and Jerry Garcia t-shirt wearing, easy-going guy. But make no mistake, he can flip on a dime when his friends or mate are in trouble. It does lend a different dynamic to this couple and this book, because he is far more sweet – there is a scene where he does Carling’s makeup, for example, because she hasn’t worn any in hundreds of years and doesn’t know what to do. And Carling being as old and powerful as she is does not stand for any high-handedness at all. I thoroughly enjoyed their dynamic.

I’m usually not a huge fan of books that mess with time. I often find them confusing. But I think this book did a good job of addressing paradoxes and laying out the impacts of their forays into the past. I never felt like the time-travel was contrived. The plot was well-constructed around it and the characters abilities naturally shaped in support of it. The explanations were not confusing and all the typical time travel pitfalls were addressed. It was well-done.

Serpent’s Kiss was by far my favorite of the three books. If you’re interested, you can read it standalone although you’d miss some of the context and world-building that preceded it. I don’t think I will read on in this series. I liked it well enough, but it didn’t really grip me in a way that propels me to keep reading. I think that’s in part due to the prose. This is a solid PNR series however, and I think many fans will find it enjoyable.

Fire of the Frost is a Fantasy Romance anthology consisting of four distinct novellas, which is quite an ambitious undertaking. Writing Romance novellas is hard, and compiling four well-executed Romance novellas even harder. Why? Because Romance novellas often suffer from the problem that there isn’t the page time to develop the characters in enough detail to make the plot or the romance believable. Layer on top of that a genre like Fantasy, and you’re faced with an even trickier prospect – now you also need page time to flesh out the world-builidng to the degree needed in support of the story or the romance. 

However! It can be done! In the right hands, an author can construct a novella-length story that delivers on the promises of the premise of both Fantasy and Romance. In my opinion, Fire of the Frost accomplishes that, and I’ll try and unpack why it is so successful here by looking at each of the four novellas separately.

This review was originally written as part of a personal project to complete an all Fantasy Romance card for r/fantasy’s 2022 Book Bingo. You can read an introduction to my project here. All opinions are my own.

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RELEASE DATE: 05/01/2022

STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

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A Wynter Fyre by Darynda Jones – 5/5

This is the shortest novella in the anthology, and despite the story being standalone, it really worked for me, I think, for three reasons. First, much of the page-time is dedicated to the world-building, and since the world itself is what drove the plot, the author made a good choice here. This is great literary device for managing page time – tie your world into the driving plot points and suddenly you’ve created a page efficiency that you wouldn’t otherwise have.

Second, the steaminess is not tied to the HEA. I know – you’re thinking gratuitous sex? Well, maybe a bit gratuitous, but I don’t think so. If you don’t have time to have your characters fall in love, add steam another way, avoiding insta-love altogether. That’s what the author did here. I’d be remiss if I didn’t add a content warning – there is dubious consent in the opening scene where the FMC is assaulted by vampires after being bitten and injected with what is essentially aphrodesiac vampire venom. This didn’t bother me and, like I said, I thought it was an ingenious way of getting the FMC and MMC into a steamy situation (he did not perpetrate the assault – their encounter came after), but I know that this is a big trigger for some folks, so reader beware!

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this book had an HFN as opposed to an HEA, making the relationship arc far more believable. Our couple doesn’t go all the way to love and a full HEA, but you get the sense that their HFN will lead to a true HEA and that is enough to make you feel complete while avoiding the feelings of the end being contrived and reeking of insta-love. The plot twist and relationship reveal is key to achieving this story. It was unexpected and made the plot work.

Of Fate and Fire by Amanda Bouchet – 4/5

Another way to make a Romance novella work? Write the story of a secondary character from an ongoing series. The world has alrady been established, the backstory of at least one of the characters is already in the mind of the reader, and you’re able to use your page time to develop the plot and Romance. That’s exactly what Bouchet does in Of Fate and Fire, which is a novella set in her Kingmaker Chronicles world. It contains the story of what happens to Piers after he is banished from Thalyria by Athena.

For me, that was always a tough scene – I was SO conflicted about Piers’s fate, and for him to get a bit of character redemption and an HEA was extremely satisfying. The story is set in NYC at Christmastime, and the “big bad” is this billionaire tech mogul, both of which were extremely satisfying plot points (especially the downfall of the billionaire). I also love how much Bouchet leans in to her Greek heritage and mythology. She really leveled up with those elements in this novella, having the FMC being a part of a Greek immigrant family and a descendant of Heracles. I’m really looking forward to book 4 in the Kingmaker Chronicles series, which comes out this fall!

The King of Hel by Grace Draven – 4/5

If you follow my posts and reviews, you know that I’m a huge Grace Draven fan. She consistently delivers, and this story is no different; it has the tone, prose, and world-building I’ve grown to love in her works. This was the first story she ever published, expanded into novella for this anthology. It is standalone, and effortlessly tackles world-building and character development within the confines of a novella’s short length. Draven is truly a master of Fantasy Romance.

The novella is as much a love story between Castil and her best friend as it is between Castil and Doranis. The tone is rather somber, tackling themes of inequity and loss. Each of the three main characters is bound by the expectations of their birth, relegated to class expectations and rights. Yet amid the unfortunate outcomes of being forced to live within those societal strictures, love and friendship perservere. A poignant tale that fans of Grace Draven will thoroughly appreciate.

Familiar Winter Magic by Jeffe Kennedy – 3/5

This novella was my least favorite of the anthology, but that had more to do with my personal taste in tropes than anything else. In general, I am not a big fan of magic schools or YA-leaning characters, and since this story followed the relationship of two students of the Convocation Academy – the magic school in Kennedy’s Bonds of Magic world – it wasn’t my preference. However, I know this isn’t a turn off for others, so if you like that series and Kennedy’s writing (which is fantastic!) and want to delve deeper into the unique world-building that is an allegory for slavery and caste systems, this might be a great novella for you!

Familiar Winter Magic is another example of a novella set in an existing world, but unlike other examples I’ve read that employ this approach, this novella is far more tied into the main storyline of the series than usual. Although the characters and relationship are well-developed, it reads almost like a prelude to book 3, with multiple references to the series plotline and a cliffhanger ending that ostensibly will be resolved in book 3. I recommend this novella primarly to fans of the Bonds of Magic series as its an excellent and compelling entry into that world.

I get my recs for Fantasy Romance from a lot of places, and this particular book was rec’ed to me on r/RomanceBooks over a year ago as part of a request for well-written, adult Fantasy Romance books (not YA, not NA, no romantic subplots, etc.). It’s been sitting on my TBR since that time until I recently started the process of culling my TBR and searching for books that might fit my all Fantasy Romance r/fantasy Book Bingo card. I didn’t know anything about Emma Holly going into this book aside what I’d learned from some online book buddies – she is best known for Erotic Romance (Romance that is steamier than most, packing more explicit sex than your average Romance) as well as late 1990’s early 2000’s SFF Romances. So, I decided to give it a try.

I continue to marvel at the luck I have falling into books that seem to be made for me. This book screams Kat; it checks so many boxes for me, it’s almost scary. Look – I’m not going to say that what I like is close to being universal. This review is going to be more of a list of why this book works for me, and if you read it and you find that what works for me also works for you? Well, then I highly recommend reading The Demon’s Daughter by Emma Holly, because it was absolutely satisfying.

This review was originally written as part of a personal project to complete an all Fantasy Romance card for r/fantasy’s 2022 Book Bingo. You can read an introduction to my project here. All opinions are my own.

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RELEASE DATE: 02/11/2004

STAR RATING: 5/5 ✶

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I really enjoy the approach to world-building that fuses a quasi-historical settings with a completely different world. I’ve read this a couple of times, and this book solidified my love of this approach. The author took late Victorian era London and pieces of its history and plunked it down inside a secondary world and alternate history on another planet with a race of demons. She then deepens the immersion through the use of chapter epigraphs that are meant to be excerpts from various historical texts. The world-building was this amazingly creative fusion of ideas and histories, and I was totally diggin’ it.

The theming in this book draws on this world-building, focusing on both the human-demon interactions as well as the class structure within both races. Much of the conflict stems from racism between humans and demons, with both Adrian and Roxanne struggling given their unique ties to the demon race. Layer on top of that the classism that exists in both worlds, and you have a solid foundation for a plot rife with societal tension.

I loved Adrian and Roxanne, the main characters in this book; I felt very connected to them and wanted them to find happiness both for themselves and with each other. Like most modern Romance books, this book is dual-POV, and the development of each character is rich and engaging. I will admit that my preferences tend to older protagonists given my age and the point I am in in my life, and so it was a pleasant surprise to find that the MMC is in his early 40’s and the FMC around 30.

Adrian is not Alpha in any way, but an emotionally-connected man deseparate to find love after a failed marriage and a lonely life dedicated to his job as a Inspector (this book gives off a strong detective noir vibe). He wants the type of family he grew up with, and we get to see a glimpse of what that looks like when he visits his parents. His parents wanted a better life for him than they had, and his drive, the choices he makes with his first marriage, and his decision to take the demon implants all stem from these familial drives. The themes of race and class dynamics and family all tied together nicely to form Adrian’s character arc.

But the same is true for Roxanne. She is alone in this world, never knowing her father and losing her mother at a young age, but she creates a family for herself adopting two children and shapes a life around her art that is uniquely her own. This book has a tremendous message of women’s independence – Roxanne is a force to be reckoned with in an era where a woman’s worth was associated with her husband and her family. She stands apart, making her own living with her art and conducting her day-to-day life in the manner that suits her regardless of societal expectations.

By the end of the book, I realized that The Demon’s Daughter is very much a book about family. It’s a theme that is revisited and explored throughout the story, from Roxanne’s adopted children, to Adrian’s massive family, to the difficult relationship Roxanne has with both of her parents, and finally the formation of a family of their own.

The Demon’s Daughter is a deeply sensual book, and I didn’t realize how much I’d been craving that. Yes, this book does get steamy – Emma Holly is known for her Erotic Romance – but what stood out for me was the intense sensuality of the couple for much of the first half of the book in the form of simple touching, caresses, and foot massages, as an example. That being said, this book does pack a lot of steam, so if you like your explicit sex scenes on the thinner side, this might be a bit much for you.

Finally, the prose. I found this book extremely well-written. It didn’t feel basic, nor was it overwrought. Instead, is struck the perfect balance for me, reflecting the tone the author wanted to deliver with nary a hiccup.

I highly recommend this book. I adored it. I’m not sure if I will read the other two full-length entries in this series – I felt complete at the end of this book – but I am so pleasantly surprised and happy to have read The Demon’s Daughter.

There are many wonderful books out there, but few manage to tick all the boxes for elements I love as much as The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah did. I inhaled this – and I admit, I may have inhaled it a bit too quickly, as my memory of the plot is getting a bit hazy – but it was so worth it. I am already looking forward to diving back into the world of this wonderful book, and I hope I get to love it as much as I did this time around for many more reads.

Many thanks to Nazia at Orbit for sending me an ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

RELEASE DATE: 19/05/2022

STAR RATING: 4.5/5 ✶

SUMMARY: Neither here nor there, but long ago…

Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp.

With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan’s oldest son to find the artefact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen and confront a malicious killer from Loulie’s past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything – her enemy, her magic, even her own past – is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality. (from Orbit)

OPINIONS: I adored this. My current gremlin brain has already forgotten far too much other than that – and I’m looking forward to rereading it soon to refresh my memory. But the story was delightful and dark, gritty and compelling, and all-around wonderful. I fell for this book within just a few chapters, and its many twists and turns kept me engrossed until the very last page. The worldbuilding in this is rich and plastic, which just adds to the book as a whole transporting you into its realm.

This is the sort of fantasy that takes its cues from mythology and stories, but turns them into something wholly its own. The focus is laid on character development and platonic relationships, with romance being very much on the backburner (which I really appreciated, especially as the most obvious comp to this is S.A. Chakraborty’s Daevabad series, which is wonderful, but also very focused on its romance). The main story is interwoven with in-universe tales, which I loved too, as it added another dimension to the linear storytelling which you don’t see too often. The characters are varied and amazingly well-developed, from Loulie, a merchant of stolen magical artefacts, to Qadir, her bodyguard or Aisha, the resident thief. Each of them brings something unique to the table as they are somewhat unwillingly thrown together on the book’s central quest – and I’m excited to read more when books two and three come out, as The Stardust Thief is announced as a trilogy.

One of the elements I loved most as a reformed historian was the inclusion of magical artefacts, old, valuable and highly sought after. I adore old things, and it’s catnip for me if they’re used as a plot device in books… Combined with the inserted stories and nods to A Thousand and One Nights, this was a book I was always going to love – and what is not to love in a thrilling story based on Arab mythology, with a fantastically diverse cast of characters and an epic quest?

Add The Stardust Thief to your Goodreads here, and pre-order a copy via Bookshop here (affiliate link).

I have been having a massive writing block in recent weeks – which is why my review output has been much slower than it has been. But luckily, it hasn’t affected my reading as much (though, looking at the huge pile of books that need writing about, that may not be such a good thing after all…). One of the books that have been sitting next to my laptop is The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning. A weird and wacky fantasy adventure inspired by a love of 1980s films that is immensely loveable and immersive – and one that managed to hit exactly that nostalgic love for The Neverending Story that I grew up with (as a child, one of my family nicknames was “Fuchur” – the German name for Falkor, the dragon from that story).

Many thanks to Lydia at Titan for sending me a copy for review. All opinions are my own as usual.

RELEASE DATE: 22/03/2022

STAR RATING: 4/5 ✶

SUMMARY: Jack Corman is failing at life.

Jobless, jaded and on the “wrong” side of thirty, he’s facing the threat of eviction from his London flat while reeling from the sudden death of his father, one-time film director Bob Corman. Back in the eighties, Bob poured his heart and soul into the creation of his 1986 puppet fantasy The Shadow Glass, a film Jack loved as a child, idolising its fox-like hero Dune.

But The Shadow Glass flopped on release, deemed too scary for kids and too weird for adults, and Bob became a laughing stock, losing himself to booze and self-pity. Now, the film represents everything Jack hated about his father, and he lives with the fear that he’ll end up a failure just like him.

In the wake of Bob’s death, Jack returns to his decaying home, a place creaking with movie memorabilia and painful memories. Then, during a freak thunderstorm, the puppets in the attic start talking. Tipped into a desperate real-world quest to save London from the more nefarious of his father’s creations, Jack teams up with excitable fanboy Toby and spiky studio executive Amelia to navigate the labyrinth of his father’s legacy while conjuring the hero within––and igniting a Shadow Glass resurgence that could, finally, do his father proud. (from Titan Books)

OPINIONS: I absolutely devoured The Shadow Glass. I was reading this while traveling across London on the tube, and was very upset when my journey was over and I had to pause – only to race through the rest on my way home. Lydia from Titan sold me the book as her favourite book of the year in the publicity email, and I’m so glad I listened and requested it, as the blurb had it sounding quite out there and I wasn’t sure if it would click with me. But this is brilliant and manages to hit those nostalgic feels without going too far into absurdist comedy. The Shadow Glass is fast paced and plot-driven, but its characters don’t suffer because of it.

I really enjoyed Jack undergoing extensive character growth throughout the story and developing as a person within a relatively short span of time. We also get to know the deceased Bob fairly well, which I liked a lot, as well as some of the stranger creatures from the eponymous film. As a whole, it served as wonderful escapist entertainment, with big dashes of humanity and nostalgia. This will make readers of my generation and that before mine connect with this – it is very much a book aimed at those of us who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, and makes for a refreshing change in the current market.

Add The Shadow Glass to your Goodreads here, and order a copy via Bookshop here (affiliate link).