#tbrbeyondtours

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb:

A vampire escapes the thrall of Dracula and embarks on her own search for self-discovery and true love in this epic and seductive gothic fantasy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide.

“Fiercely empowering and gloriously vengeful.”—Heather Walter, award-winning author of Malice

Her name was written in the pages of someone else’s story: Lucy Westenra was one of Dracula’s first victims.

But her death was only the beginning. Lucy rose from the grave a vampire and has spent her immortal life trying to escape from Dracula’s clutches—and trying to discover who she really is and what she truly wants.

Her undead life takes an unexpected turn in twenty-first-century London, when she meets another woman, Iris, who is also yearning to break free from her past. Iris’s family has built a health empire based on a sinister secret, and they’ll do anything to stay in power.

Lucy has long believed she would never love again. Yet she finds herself compelled by the charming Iris while Iris is equally mesmerized by the confident and glamorous Lucy. But their intense connection and blossoming love is threatened by outside forces. Iris’s mother won’t let go of her without a fight, and Lucy’s past still has fangs: Dracula is on the prowl once more.

Lucy Westenra has been a tragically murdered teen, a lonesome adventurer, and a fearsome hunter, but happiness has always eluded her. Can she find the strength to destroy Dracula once and for all, or will her heart once again be her undoing?

Review:

A sapphic take on Dracula told from the perspective of Lucy as she recounts both her past and her present in a story about revenge filled with betrayal, romance, and vampires! Lucy Westenra is known for being one of Dracula's victims... and in this new take we follow Lucy from the beginning as we go past her death to the present day. Lucy and Mina were inseparable and it's known that Lucy had famous suitors, yet the moment she becomes a vampire what truly happens to her? In this story we explore Lucy's side of events as she grapples with her choices and her forbidden love, as she deals with a whole new life style and the thirst for revenge against the monster that turned her. Spanning decades, we see her grow and see her hunt down the vampire who continues to elude her... and then she meets Iris, the first person to see her for herself and to love her wholly. Iris has her own secrets though... secrets that could destroy them both. Can Lucy's past and Iris's own dysfunctional family tear them apart or can they find a way to work together and overcome it all? If you love unique takes on characters that further flesh them out and give a fresh take on the classic story, absolutely add this book to your tbr. As a huge fan of Dracula and a lover of sapphic vampire stories, this book hit all my boxes. It's a delightful read that manages to keep both the true gothic undertones of the original story while adding a fresh new spin that will absolutely captivate you while you read it.

Release Date: September 10,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

Author Info: Website

Book Tour: TBR Beyond Tours

Thank you to the author, the publisher and TBRandbeyondtours for allowing me to be apart of this tour!

Title: Of Silver and Shadow

Author: Jennifer Gruenke

Read: December 2019

Rating: 5/5 ✰’s

“But Markus was their mother’s son. Rebellion swam in his blood”

Wow! That’s all I can say for a moment... Ok

I’m back haha. I actually stayed up late to keep reading this! This book was amazing. I love how the story dives into action from the very beginning and the world descriptions were beautiful! I thought the concept of “The King’s Children” was creative and very interesting. The magic was amazing, the characters were phenomenal and I enjoyed each POV - Darek gave me serious Rowan Whitethorn vibes when we first met him haha

If you read my reviews you know how much I love slowburns, forbidden romances and the enemy-to-lover scenarios which this book tackled beautifully haha. I love when I can actually enjoy the main character(s) without wanting to strangle them. Ren was probably my favorite. she was awesome!

This book also made me laugh. I love banter and this story had plenty of it. That made me smile in the way that The Gilded Wolves did.

Favorite Quotes:

“You think with your heart. And hearts are dreadfully weak things. Yet without them, we’d all be dead.”

“It wasn’t never. And then the things they felt would no longer be dangerous, and they wouldn’t have to hide.”

“Can I ask what brought on this change of heart? He questioned. Because you’re still here, Ren thought. No matter how hard I try to get rid of you.”

Book Info:

Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publishing Date: February 16, 2021

Synopsis:

Ren Kolins is a silver wielder—a dangerous thing to be in the kingdom of Erdis, where magic has been outlawed for a century. Ren is just trying to survive, sticking to a life of petty thievery, card games, and pit fighting to get by. But when a wealthy rebel leader discovers her secret, he offers her a fortune to join his revolution. The caveat: she won’t see a single coin until they overthrow the King.

Behind the castle walls, a brutal group of warriors known as the King’s Children is engaged in a competition: the first to find the rebel leader will be made King’s Fang, the right hand of the King of Erdis. And Adley Farre is hunting down the rebels one by one, torturing her way to Ren and the rebel leader, and the coveted King’s Fang title.

But time is running out for all of them, including the youngest Prince of Erdis, who finds himself pulled into the rebellion. Political tensions have reached a boiling point, and Ren and the rebels must take the throne before war breaks out.

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Shadow-Jennifer-Gruenke/dp/1635830540/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RPTRKHHTF4E8&dchild=1&keywords=of+silver+and+shadow+jennifer+gruenke&qid=1607112042&sprefix=of+silver+and+shadow%2Caps%2C1305&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/of-silver-and-shadow-jennifer-gruenke/1133209308?ean=9781635830545

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Silver-Shadow-Jennifer-Gruenke/9781635830545?ref=grid-view&qid=1607112122807&sr=1-3

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/of-silver-and-shadow/9781635830545-item.html?ikwid=jennifer+gruenke&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=6245dfd413e8248491aa7c639d1bd3df

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb:

The Last of Us meets The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in this stand-alone dystopian romance about survival, sacrifice, and love that risks everything.

By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society.

Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt—enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus’s livestreamed assassination spectacle: the Lamb’s Gauntlet.

Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. The product of neural reconditioning and physiological alteration, she is a living weapon, known for her cold brutality and deadly beauty. She has never failed to assassinate one of her marks.

When Inesa learns that her mother has offered her as a sacrifice, at first she despairs—the Gauntlet is always a bloodbath for the impoverished debtors. But she’s had years of practice surviving in the apocalyptic wastes, and with the help of her hunter brother she might stand a chance of staying alive.

For Melinoë, this is a game she can’t afford to lose. Despite her reputation for mercilessness, she is haunted by painful flashbacks. After her last Gauntlet, where she broke down on livestream, she desperately needs redemption.

As Mel pursues Inesa across the wasteland, both girls begin to question everything: Inesa wonders if there’s more to life than survival, while Mel wonders if she’s capable of more than killing.

And both wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love. 

Review:

A gorgeous dystopian sapphic romance with a touch of Hunger Games. In a world where the the poor can clear some of their debts by selling someone into the televised hunting game show called the Gauntlet, created by an evil corporation known as Caerus, where they are marked as "lambs" and hunted for 12 days by "Angels", girls who have been modified to be killers, one girl finds herself completely thrown into chaos when her mother sacrifices her. All Inesa has ever done was try to survive, by day she works as a taxidermist who creates beautiful taxidermy from the animals that her twin brother hunts and sells it to the wealthy class by night she returns home to her home in a half-sunken town where her mother spends her days wasting their money and putting Inesa down. Inesa's mother's latest act of cruelty is to put Inesa into the Gauntlet... and now inesa has 12 hours to get ready before the hunt begins. Melinoë is an Angel, a girl who was sold by her parents as a child and the altered through many procedures to become part machine but fully one of the best most merciless killers of the Game. Melinoë has a problem though, her last kill haunts her, no matter how many times she tries to get her memory wiped of it... its stuck on a loop in her head and she hasn't been the same since. Her handler assigns her to the newest game and it is her chance to make it up or else she will be decommissioned and wiped to become an empty husk and sold off to become the wife of some politician with her entire mind being empty. Melinoë wants nothing more than to win the game but things take a turn when the moment the game begins she begins to get more flashbacks and when monstrous creatures attack both Melinoë and Inesa in the woods, they have to team up to survive.... but can they trust each other long enough to survive the deadly creatures outside the woods or the society that is bent on twisting them into something neither girl wants to be. A soft romance built on survival, on finding someone who sees you for your worth, and in the midst of chaos is born through this story. I had so much fun with this story and need a whole second book because the way this ends is just too heartwrenching, too sad, for everything that they go through and everything that is done... please I am begging send me some kind of extra epilogue because I don't want Melinoë to suffer more. I have always been a fan of the way Ava Reid writes and the way she builds her romances and worlds is just so beautiful. The story is just so compelling and the world building was fantastic. I love the way Ava writes enemies-to-lovers and this was just so good!

Release Date: March 4, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

Tour : https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/

Author info:

Website:https://avasreid.tumblr.com/about

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/avasreid

Rating: 4.5/5

Book Blurb:

magical training by breaking a powerful family’s curse. But her own affliction—to never find true love—gets in the way when she falls for the girl she’s trying to save.

Magic is in Delilah Bea’s blood. Her absentee father is the world’s most famous cursebreaker, while all the women in her family are fated to never find true love. So when Delilah sets out to complete her magical Calling and gain her full powers as a witch, she has the perfect task in mind—breaking the Bea family curse.

But Delilah’s Calling is hijacked by Kieran Pelumbra, the spoiled son of the most powerful family in the country, and breaking his curse suddenly becomes her official assignment. Every generation, a pair of Pelumbra twins is doomed, with one twin draining the other of their life and magic. Kieran grows weaker while his sister, Briar, becomes…something monstrous. 

As Delilah and the twins set out on their quest, they quickly realize that breaking the Pelumbra curse isn’t going to be simple. For one thing, the rest of the Pelumbra family doesn’t actually want their curse broken—and they’ve sent hunters after the trio to ensure they fail. For another, something about Briar gets under Delilah’s skin, distracting her and making her want to kiss the perpetually grumpy look off her face. But with time running out for the twins and Delilah’s own true love curse getting in the way, they may not stand a chance of finding their happily ever after.

Review:

A delight sapphic witchy romance about breaking curses, falling in love, and getting your happily ever after. This was a touch of Practical Magic meets Howl's Moving Castle, Delilah Bea's family is cursed so that any man who falls in love with a Bea woman will forget all their memories of said lover once they fall in love. Delilah is a witch who's father is a famous cursebreaker and when it's time for her Calling, a ceremony in which she is tasked to perform a magical feat to prove that she should be allowed to keep her magic, she opts to break the family curse.... too bad someone objects and sets a new task for her: to break his family curse. Kieran Pelumbra is the spoiled son of the most powerful family in the country and breaking his family curse has become her official assignment. Delilah should be mad but when she finds out that Kieran is dying and he doesn't have much time left and he is sorry for doing this to her but she is his final hope before he dies... she relents. Keiran needs Delilah to help him break his family curse: a curse that has killed every single set of twins in the family, and Keiran needs Delilah to help him find his twin Briar who has run away. Delilah is determined to break both her own curse and Keiran's curse, yet when she meets Briar she doesn't expect to be so completely taken aback by the prickly, eye patch wearing snarky girl who would sooner wrap vines around someones neck than ask for help. Delilah and Briar immediately get off on the wrong foot but the longer they spend together the more Delilah is beginning to realize that the reason Briar gets under her skin so much might be because she is falling for her. But can she fall for a woman when she is cursed to have all her lovers forget her? With the clock ticking and so many curses to break, can Delilah do it all? This was such a cozy romantic read and I loved the witchy atmosphere and the banter between Briar and Delilah was really cute. It's a great read for the autumn time and it's got a sweet love story at the center. I've loved Kayla Cottingham's books and this one was another great read! If you want a witchy sapphic read I would absolutely recommend this one!

Purchase Link: Amazon

Tour Link: TBR Beyond

Author Info: website

Release Date: August 27,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb:

Bridgerton meets The Bachelor in this queer regency romance of a vampire competing for the heart of a duke.

After being run out of his castle by vampire hunters, Count Lucian encounters the god of vampires, Vrykolakas, while in hiding. Unhappy with how many vampires have been bested by hunters, Vrykolakas gives Lucian a test: Infiltrate the future duke’s marriage games as a suitor and uncover the clandestine vampire hunters Vrykolakas suspects lurk in their midst. The god strips Lucian of his immortality so he can walk amongst mortals-making him human for the first time in centuries. If Lucian succeeds, Vrykolakas will make him the most powerful vampire in existence, but if he fails, the god of vampires will torture him for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, Lucian isn’t prepared for the emotions that come with humanity, nor the treacheries of courting season with fellow nobles posing as friends, enemies, and wholly unsuitable romantic.

Review:

Regency vampires meets The Bachelor in this queer story about a vampire turned human who must court a count in order to be turned back into a vampire... except he is falling for the wrong duke. Count Lucian loves being a vampire but when his sire tells him that he has to court a Duke and win said Duke’s hand in marriage in order to thwart a group of vampire hunters... while being turned back into a human, Lucian knows his hands are going to be full. Lucian will do anything to get turned back into a human but when he begins to live amongst them he begins to feel very human feelings... something he has not felt in so long. He also finds himself embroiled in a mystery to uncover a missing heir with a very handsome and charming duke... that he absolutely should not be falling for. All the while fellow vampires who have had it out for him are also coming for him now that he is vulnerable. Lucian will now have to decide how far he is willing to go to become a vampire again and if he is willing to give up the love that he has begun to feel. To stay a human or to become a vampire again? To stay with the man he’s fallen in love with or give it all up for a chance at immortality?

This was a really fun queer romance! I am always excited to read more queer vampire romances and one with a backdrop of regency era was a really fun read. I loved the dynamic between Lucian and his own familiar, as well as how he adjusts from feeling nothing to feeling everything. We get to see him grow into his feelings and his heart begin to open again. It’s a fun read if you want a vampire romance and with a touch of drama!

Release Date: October 22,2024

Purchase link: Amazon Tour link: tour Author Info: instagram

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

Rating: 3/5

Book Blurb: The Honeys meets The Secret History in a work of dark academia like no other -- a boarding school thriller about a queer teen from Mississippi who finds himself swept into a world of old money, privilege, and the secret society at the heart of it all.

When Cal Ware wins a scholarship to an elite New England boarding school, he's thrilled to leave his past behind. Back home in Mississippi, he was the poor, queer kid who never fit in. But at Essex Academy, he'll be able to reinvent himself. Or so he hopes...

But at Essex, Cal's classmates only see his cheap clothes and old iPhone. They mock his accent, and can't believe he's never left the country, or heard of The Hamptons. Cal, at his breaking point, is about to give up and return to Mississippi when he learns about a secret society on campus -- the key to becoming Essex royalty.

Cal knows he's not exactly secret society material, but to his surprise, he finds an unlikely champion in the handsome, charismatic, and slightly dangerous Luke Kim. As they get swept up in the mystery and glamour of the Rush process, Cal finds himself falling in love for the first time.

But as the initiation rituals grow riskier -- and increasingly nefarious -- Cal must decide how far he's willing to go, and how much of himself he's willing to sacrifice, to save everything and everyone he cherishes most. Because nothing at Essex -- not even Cal's first love -- is quite what it seems.

Review:

A fresh chance to start at an elite New England boarding school turns into something much darker as one boy is pulled into the school's secret society, twisted games, and and a doomed romance. Cal Ware has won a scholarship to an elite boarding school, it's the opportunity that he's been waiting for, to leave behind his past and escape "the incident." Yet he's a fish out of water and compared to all the other wealthy privileged students, he's seen as a hick and an outsider...until he is invited into to join the secret society on campus. if he passes all the tests and manages to win a spot he'll be royalty on campus... but everything has a price and the deeper he gets entangled in the society the more he is beginning to realize that they will ask things of him that might be impossible... and that he might not be an initiate but a sacrifice. All the while he meets Luke, a handsome jock who has his own secrets and reasons for being part of the society... but has begun a relationship with Cal... but when Cal discovers his secrets it might destroy everything. First secret society, first love, and most of all an endless lists of betrayal and devastation await Cal. This book was definitely a book that leaned heavy on the dark academia secret society and queer romance, which is fantastic, however the things that happened and the actual characters were a bit of a miss for me. I really started off enjoying the book but the further we got in it the less I actually liked it. Not to say it wasnt an interesting read overall and that I would definitely recommend it for anyone who likes dark academia queer romance novels with a bit of a thriller aspect to it though. The relationships in the book were twisted and the actual ending left me wanting for more and I just kind of felt meh with it all. However, yes i would say that it is a book for anyone who enjoys dark academia to at least give it a go. I think it should be added onto people's tbr who enjoy dark academia, twisted romances, and queer romances!

Purchase Links: amazon

Tour Schedule: tbrbeyond

Rating: 4.5/5

Book Blurb:

There's nothing more thrilling than being behind the wheel when the flag drops, a stretch of track ahead and her foot on the gas. Racing is in Jojo's blood. Or at least . . . it was.

Jojo Emerson-Boyd should be on the fast track to her own wildly successful racing career. Instead, she's spending the seemingly endless summer working at her grandmother's auto shop in the small town of Dell's Hollow. Everything changed when Jojo lost her mom, a celebrity NASCAR racer, in a tragic racing accident. Now, according to her dad, even getting her license is out of the question, so she might as well forget about racing. For the first time, her future seems foggy. But something comes into focus when Eliana "El" Blum turns up at the shop with an adorable scowl, a tough-girl vibe, and a mystery to solve.

A Motorcyle Girl™ at heart, El grew up on the sidelines of the motocross circuit, watching Maxine, her idol of an older sister, compete. When she suddenly loses all contact with Max, El won't give up until she's found. She's determined to follow Max's trail of clues, the first of which leads straight to the auto shop and to Jojo.

Jojo and El form a quick bond, and their relationship only deepens as they investigate Max's disappearance together. Falling for each other feels effortless—El the steady, measured pace to Jojo's fast lane. Impromptu road trips, heists, street races, and ever heightening stakes that feel ripped from a Fast & Furious movie test their resolve and the strength of their relationship. When the final laps of their search reveal surprising emotional truths, they'll have to trust each other and confront the grief woven into their complicated families if they hope to chase down their dreams.

Review:

Living her life on the fast track towards a racing career, one girl will do everything she can to chase her dreams and the mysterious girl who has come into her life. Jojo Emerson-Boyd is the daughter of a celebrity NASCAR racer who died from a tragic accident. Jojo spends her days workng at her grandmother's auto shop in the small town of Dell's Hollow, just waiting to finally apply to the f1 academy and pursue her own dreams of being a racer. Then she meets motorcycle girl, Eliana "El" Blum, a tough-girl vibe girl who is looking for her sister Max. El has been following Max's clues and is determined to find her... and her first clue leads her straight to the auto shop where Jojo works. Jojo and El strike up a quick relationship and they both begin to investigate Max's disappearance together as they race towards every new clue.... yet from impromptu road trips, heists, street races, and their growing feelings for each other... can they find Max and when they find the truth can they overcome both their own grief and family dramas? This book was just a delight of a book to read, especially for anyone who enjoys Fast and Furious. I loved the homage to the franchise and the journey that both El and Jojo go on was such a fun one to read. I had so much fun with this book and would absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys fast cars, family drama, road trips, and relationships where you both can quote the fast and furious movies to each other.

Release Date:June 11,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Page Street Publishing | Page Street YA and TBR Beyond Tour for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Purchase links: amazon

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb:

Power plays, spilled blood, and lethal romance abound in this thrilling sequel to the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller Immortal Longings, inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra.

Calla Tuoleimi has succeeded in the impossible. Despite the odds, she has won San-Er’s bloody games and eliminated King Kasa, her tyrant uncle and the former ruler of Talin. She serves now as royal advisor to Kasa’s adopted son, August Shenzhi, who has risen to the throne.

Only Calla knows it isn’t really August.

Anton Makusa is still furious about Calla’s betrayal in the final round of the games. In an impossible feat, he took over August’s body to survive, and has no intention of giving up this newfound power. But when his first love, the beautiful, explosive Otta Avia, awakens from a years-long coma and reveals a secret that threatens the monarchy’s authority over Talin, chaos erupts. As tensions come to a boiling point, Calla and Anton must set their conflicts aside and head to the kingdom’s far reaches to prevent anarchy…even if their empire might be better off burning.

Review:

The stunning sequel in the Flesh and False Gods series filled with even more betrayals, heartbreak, and vicious vile feelings. Calla Tuoleimi has killed the king, she's won the blood games, and is now the new advisor to the king's adopted son, August Shenzhi.... only her victory meant she had to kill the one person she was falling in love with, Anton Makusa... who just happened to body swap and jump into August's body at the last moment. To say Anton is mad that Calla killed him is an understatement and now that he is in the new king's body... he's going to make her pay. Anton was never meant to swap bodies but he somehow did and still fresh from Calla's betrayal he has no intention of giving up this new body or his new power. But things only take a turn when his first love, the beautiful Otta Avia awakens from a year long coma with a thirst for her own power and a personality that has him questioning if he ever even loved her at all. Anton is warring between his feelings for Calla despite her betrayal and the old feelings he has for Otta... she is up to something and he wants to know what. Yet when he discovers August's own secrets, how long can he keep up the act before someone figures out its him... and can he get his old body back before its too late and he's trapped in August's body? Calla knows Anton is in August's body and she wants to make amends, yet he gave her no choice when he chose Otta over her and she chose the kingdom over him... but with Otta back and scheming to put the kingdom in ruins, can August and Calla put aside their differences to long enough to prevent the ruination of their empire... or will are some betrayals too deep? Finding out that this was only the sequel in what I thought was a duology when in fact it was a trilogy makes it a very interesting read. I loved that we get to jump immediately into the events of the previous book and the fall out of the relationship between the main characters. This was truly a roller coaster from start to finish. You can understand both character's flaws and why they decided to act the way they did, yet when they are together it's an undeniable connection. I cannot wait for the third book and to see how this all wraps up. The political games, the betrayal, and the romance were just so much fun to read in this book and I definitely think this does not fall into the sequel slump many books tend to do when they are in a trilogy. Its got such a fun "enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers again" vibe and I can't wait to read the conclusion!

Release Date: September 10,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

Author Info: Website

Book Tour: TBR Beyond Tours