I’m a fickle fantasy reader. I like the fantastical elements light and the world-building grounded and accessible. When I picked upDivine Rivals, I wasn’t sure about a war between Gods with mythical creatures and magic typewriters. From the first chapter, I could tell this story wasn’t going to lose me in fantasy.
Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt are the classic enemies-to-lovers, at first competing for a coveted journalism position but develop into brave, emotional characters who fall madly in love. And I fell in love with them. The writing is beautiful, the characters extremely well developed, and it felt like a whirlwind war romance I could lose myself in.
This book left me wanting more, and it’s a good thing because the sequel, Ruthless Vows, releases in December 2023.
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish―into the hands of Roman…
Ruta Sepetys never disappoints. The Fountains of Silence looks at young love under a Spanish dictatorship in 1957. This is such an unusual setting for historical fiction, and I devoured the book in a weekend. Daniel, the son of an oil tycoon, moves to Madrid and sees his privileged world through the lens of his camera.
He uncovers secrets and falls in love with the hotel maid Ana, whose life is affected in every way by the Spanish Civil War. The wealthy young photographer learns life lessons and bravery from the hardships of Ana’s life, with another rich, layered love story that stayed with me for a long time.
A fantastical version of bullfighting but with dragons. What a unique premise!
While many fantasy novels rely on worldbuilding to fascinate the reader, Together We Burn uses action, and I loved it. Zarela’s Dragonador father is injured, and she must step into his role. Her success depends on the brooding dragon hunter Arturo.
This feminist, action-packed book gave me all the fierce vibes of an adventure story while still making me swoon with romance—bonus points for an epic family redemption plot.
Enter the scorching arena of dragons and dance in this Spanish-inspired swoonworthy fantasy where Fireborne meets A Natural History of Dragons. Fans of Marie Brennan and Naomi Novik will love this richly imagined world full of excitement.
An ancient city plagued by dragons.
Eighteen-year-old Zarela Zalvidar is a talented flamenco dancer and daughter of the most famous Dragonador in Hispalia. People come from miles to see him fight in their arena, which will one day be hers. But disaster strikes during one celebratory show, and in the carnage, Zarela's life changes in an instant.
Magnolia Parker must protect her sick little brothers, but when the authorities send the boys to an unknown orphan asylum, Magnolia vows to bring them home.
She's lost everything but still holds a promise from Eleanor Roosevelt, the most famous woman in America. Setting out on a cross-country quest, she befriends two unlikely travelers: Hop, a migrant worker with a big heart, and Red, a young girl traumatized into silence. Hunger and dust storms aren't the only dangers this found family faces on the rails.
After an assault, they're forced to outrun the police, all while trying to track down the First Lady. But time is running out, and Magnolia's chance to reunite her siblings depends on one thing—finding Eleanor.
