Over the last month, my review for King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair has been getting a lot of views and, that has put me in the mood to read more fantasy romance. Seeing the title in my stats so often apparently makes me think about it a lot, ha! But February was the perfect time for me to start reading more Fantasy Romance.
February is FaRoFeb, and though I won’t be picking up brand new books…I’d like to read a few and keep an eye on the events they have going on. I know some booktubers are interviewing authors, or are holding reading sprints, so they could be fun to watch.
What I’ve decided to do myself is pick a few Fantasy Romance books this month and read them. I want to try and review one or two of them too, but if not, then maybe this post will at least give you some recommendations. I’m not sure what I’ll like when it comes to Fantasy Romance, so I’m not sure which I’m actually going to like, but this is going to be fun. I won’t be following any of the bingo boards on the FaRoFeb website, but there are some on there if you do want to!
A Touch of Darkness – Scarlett St. Clair
Obviously, I had to pick up another Scarlett St. Clair, right? I’ve actually picked this up physically, and I didn’t know when I would manage to get to it. If you don’t know, I am interested in Greek mythology. I was kind of tempted by this book before, but I thought I wouldn’t like fantasy or paranormal romance as the paranormal romance I picked up in the past rarely worked for me. Mostly as it is usually in an immortal guy’s POV who was thirsting over some human girl with all that gross alpha male junk. I did not get that with King of Battle and Blood, so now I really want to read this one.
In this book, we follow Persephone, goddess of the Spring. But her title is one she has in name only. Embarrassed by her lack of power, she moves to New Athens, where she plans to live as a moral journalist. Only, while there, she runs into Hades. Hades is not only the god of the Underworld, but he also has a gambling empire in the mortal world. Realising who she is, Hades draws her into a bet where Persephone has to make something grow in the underworld. She’s terrified as not only could this reveal her lack of power, but she winds up falling for him.
The more I read about this book, the more I want to pick it up. So unless I wind up not jiving with it, which is possible if I don’t like this take on the mythology, you can expect a review of this one!
Amazon UK (on Kindle for £1.39 when posting) | Amazon US (on Kindle for $1.89 when posting) | Waterstones | Bookshop Org
A Deal With The Elf King – Elise Kova
Another book that I already own and have since it came out last year. Ooops? I do like Elise Kova. I’m reading her Air Awakens series currently, and I have another book by her to read too. I think the reason why I’ve been a little cautious is the fae aspect. I’m very picky about fae books, so I am a little worried that I won’t like this one. But since I have this on my Kindle app, I do want to give it a go this month.
3000 years ago, humans were hunted by the magical races until a treaty was signed. In return for their protection, a human queen is chosen. Luella was lucky to have escaped being chosen as a girl, but one day, the Elf King appears to claim her. She’s taken to his land and discovers that his land is dying and only she can save it. Torn between saving one world and returning to another, Luella doesn’t know what choice to make, but unexpected feelings for her new husband may be what breaks her.
I’m still unsure about this book. It does sound like it could be so much fun, but there are aspects that I’m not sure if I’ll like. Either way, this month will be when I finally find out. If I do like it, I might have to grab the second one in the series soon.
Gild – Raven Kennedy
Another book I’m unsure about, but I’ve heard enough about to be intrigued. This book is also on Kindle Unlimited, and since I’ve got it for a few months, I thought, why not give this one a go? Once again, this takes inspiration from Greek mythology. I believe that it’s set in a traditional fantasy world though, so I am a little less wary of how the myth will be retold. Especially as I have heard that this book isn’t necessarily what you’d expect from a Midas retelling.
Auren was pulled from the slums and gold plated by King Midas. He keeps her locked in his castle, where she knows she’ll be safe until war comes. A deal is struck, and Auren realises that Midas isn’t the man that she thought he was. She comes to realise that as safe as she was and as beautiful as her home was, it was still a cage.
The summary doesn’t give me very much information on the book, so I really don’t have a clue how I’m going to feel about this one. If I DNF any of these books, I feel like it might possibly be this one. But I’m still excited to give this one a chance, and I hope I’ll love it.
A Fate of Wrath and Flame – K.A. Tucker
I stumbled across this one on Kindle Unlimited the other day. I liked the cover, and when I read the summary, I was immediately intrigued. It’s somewhat fae focused, with elves being mentioned in the summary. Still, it sounds like a lot of fun, and I’m trying to actually use Kindle Unlimited while I have it and yeah… Why not? The cover is so pretty too.
Romeria is a gifted thief who lives in New York City. She works for a mob boss, stealing jewels from the rich until a mysterious woman demands her services at swordpoint. Her quest sounds straightforward. She just has to steal a stone from Islor’s sacred garden without anyone discovering her true identity. Unfortunately, the person she is pretending to be is the captured Princess who was betrothed to Islor’s prince before killing the King and Queen. The newly crowned King Zander detests her but needs her help to discover a plot against him. She’s freed provided she helps him, so Romeria agrees and plays the smitten-queen-to-be until she can find a chance to escape, but doing so means she gets closer to Zander than she ever expected.
This book does sound like a mix between urban fantasy and one that’s a lot more traditional. I like the idea of the deal, and I want to see how Romeria is going to play this. It should have plenty of mystery too, and I’m genuinely excited to read this one. There are two books out, and if I like the first one, I plan on buying both physically. So fingers crossed!
The Warlock of Westland – Jack Brightside
I had to put at least one queer book on this list, and I found this one on the FaRoFeb website. It was on their list of books that you can get on sale for this month, so I’m glad I found something queer on there. There may have been more but I did have to stop myself somewhere.
Sam is an immortal warlock who is currently trying to save a failing hardware store in rural Connecticut as part of self-imposed isolation. The Warlock Council has other plans and assigns him to help an evil sorcerer living in his village. Kevin is recently unemployed, so has been having fun causing trouble, and he doesn’t want some good warlock ruining that, especially not his ex-boyfriend. But after Kevin accidentally releases a dangerous ghost, the two warlocks have to work together to try to hunt it down. During their search, Sam decides that Kevin might be his last chance at romance and decides that he’ll do anything, including putting up with his self-serving magic even if Kevin isn’t sure if they’ll work.
This is an enemy to lovers novel, so that’s a bonus for me. It does have warnings for animal death and animal cruelty, which can definitely put me off a book. But I still want to give this book a go. If I DNF this one, it’ll probably be for that reason. I’ve been wanting to read more paranormal romance for a while, and this sounds like one I could adore.
Amazon UK (on sale for 77p for Feb) | Amazon US (on sale for 99¢ for Feb)
Blade & Rose – Miranda Honfleur
I’ll be honest, this was a total cover pick. I saw the cover on the FaRoFeb website, clicked on the book and read the summary. It sounded so much fun, and I’m thinking about buying myself a physical copy of this one. Even if it is a little bit pricey with it being self-pubbed. I kind of want this book on my shelves though. It looks like a lot of fun, and it’s one I think people will like.
Rielle is stuck in a betrothal with a cruel werewolf. To keep away from him, she works with the Divinity of Magic. They agree to keep her on, but her desperation means they push all the jobs that no one else wants onto her. When an enemy of the Divinity then invades their roles, she’s tasked with escorting him home with no stops. But a rebellion is going on outside their walls, and Rielle’s best friend Olivia is involved. Rielle wants to save her, but she can’t abandon this evil knight either, so he comes along with her. As she spends time with him, she begins to fall for him, but the longer she’s with him, the more danger they’re in from both his past and her fiance dogging their footsteps.
I wasn’t planning on adding another traditional fantasy romance to this list, but I couldn’t resist this one. It sounds right up my alley and like it could have a lot of humour in as well as good romance. If I don’t read all of the books on this list, I do want to make sure that I have time for this one.
A Fire in the Glass – Jacquelyn Benson
The final book on this list is a Historical Fantasy Romance because if I’m giving this genre a go, I might as well give something a bit more historical a go. This one isn’t set during a time I’m tired of yet, so hopefully, I will enjoy it. This is another I could be a little picky with, as it has to feel historically accurate but be written in a modern enough way that I enjoy it. Yeah… I’m awkward with historical fiction.
A monster stalks the streets of 1914 London draining the blood of mediums, and Lily knows who is next. Lily is a medium herself, but when someone she loves is threatened by this monster, she wants to save her life. Sadly, she can’t do that alone. Lord Strangford has powers of his own, so she reveals hers to him in the hope that he will help her. She doesn’t like him, but together they have to dive into London’s eugenics movement and hope that she can escape.
This book does sound fascinating. It’s set just before the first world war, so it should be somewhat modern, and it’s supposed to be pretty suspenseful. The rising eugenics movement isn’t something that’s really talked about in British history, so I’m fascinated with that.
Do I have any Fantasy Romance fans here? Is anyone else trying to read a lot of it this month? Or are you interested in any of the books above? Let me know in the comments down below.
Lace and Dagger Books 
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