Leanna

I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook version of this collection of poetry and I can honestly say it is the ideal way to experience Diary of an Artist in Love.

The audiobook is read by the author, The Muse Frequency but “read” feels like an understatement. This audiobook is fully immersive with ethereal music playing behind the ASMR style narration. The book description says it is best experienced with headphones and your eyes closed and I totally agree as this makes the experience feel like an uplifting conversation.

My favorite poem of the collection was “Let's Try This”. It felt so personal and romantic and honestly just gave me the warm fuzzies. I couldn't keep the smile off of my face for that poem.

The book version of the collection is also stunning, filled with dreamy line drawings and excellent page layout (sorry, I'm a graphic design nerd!).

4/5 stars for this poem collection, those in love will adore it and those not in love will long for it even more.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Contains minor spoilers.

After becoming well acquaintated with Xarcassah Marys -Cass- in Caught in the Basilisk's Gaze, I was so eager for his book! Unlike the other books in the Monsters of Faery series, this one is not standalone. Without the context from Caught in the Basilisk's Gaze, many parts of Crowned by the Fae King won't make sense.

Quyen is definitely one my favorite MC's from the series. She is the first non-white main character, and the author did a great job sprinkling in bits of her Vietnamese culture. She's also fiery and a bit mean! Given how she arrived in faerie, I felt her reactions were genuine and relatable. I would probably be mean too if I was displaced into a world of immortals who turned me into slave.

The reader gets to know Cass pretty well in Caught, but in Crowned we get to know a totally different side of him. He's self conscious, insecure, and has a bone deep loneliness that Quyen spends much of the book trying to combat. Despite being the least monstrous of the male leads so far in this series, Cass' self consciousness feels all the more heart breaking because it's so real. He doesn't have monster parts, he doesn't have claws or even a tale and despite all that, he has spent his entire life being looked at as ugly by the fae. He's tall and imposing, a rugged brute instead of the ethereal beauty the fae usually appear as. The fact that his soul mate is a mortal is just salt in the wound, as he was always told that only mortals would want him.

Watching Cass and Quyen balence each other out throughout the book is such a perfect journey and I loved every step of the way.

Crowned is also the nexus of the series so far, finally connecting events from all the other stories and laying ground work for what will likely be a strong finale in the next book, Captive of the Shadow Prince.

Since Cass is a powerful mage, this book is much more magic heavy than the others. I struggled a bit to understand the magic system on a deeper level and it took me rereading certain passages a few times for things “click” for me. That being said, I enjoyed the ideas once I understood them. Dunlin is great at writing balanced characters. It can be frustrating when a character is oh so powerful with no explanation, and makes the obstacles feel petty. Dunlin's magic system holds just enough checks and balances to keep the reader on edge. There is no reassurance that a character will make it out alive just because they are powerful!

While Varis is still my favorite Monster Faery, I thoroughly enjoyed Cass' book and I give Crowned by the Fae King 5/5 stars. I am so excited for the final installment of this series, but in the meantime I'll likely catch up on her other series, Echoes of the Void.

✨ There's nothing frail about her ✨

DNF at 35%

I received a free ARC of Holy Terrors in exchange for an honest review.


I cannot believe it was only April this year that I first read Little Thieves. Since then, this series has taken up space in my brain that I never expected.


Holy Terrors was the perfect ending. The story itself was full of twists and turns but the true perfection lives in the fulfillment of the character arcs. 


After finishing Painted Devils I was heartbroken. Vanja and Emeric are one of my favorite on page couples. How could it end this way?? 


Then, I began reading the Fallow Year. If you haven't heard of it, it is a series of 10 short stories that take place between Painted Devils and Holy Terrors and it's available to read for free on AO3! Right now there are only 7 stories out, though I am assuming all 10 will be released by the time Holy Terrors is released in April. While those stories aren't necessary to read before Holy Terrors, they did give a lot of insight into references and character choices. 


As usual with Margaret Owen's writing, Holy Terrors had me laughing and crying throughout the story. Vanja has grown so much and though this is a historical fantasy, I think every girl who has ever faced bullies, insecurities, or cruelties can easily relate to her and learn to grown as well.


I never would have guessed that romance would become the main plot of this series after reading Little Thieves (though it was of course intertwined with the story of Painted Devils). Holy Terrors resolves the romance with so much bittersweetness and it kept me on my toes. I usually find myself bored when the couple gets together halfway through the series but Vanja and Emeric's relationship develops in a slow and realistic fashion. This is highlighted by both of them being on the asexual spectrum, as they are both Demisexual. I really liked how Owen treated this character point. They certainly felt different from their peers but they had solace in understanding each other and the loss of that comfort was noticeable when they have new partners. 


The resolution of Vanja and Emeric's relationship was my most anticipated part of this read but the story was interesting as well! It continued to flesh out the magic system and people's relationship with the Gods as well as providing another intriguing mystery to solve. It gets a bit complicated towards the end which is hard to explain without spoilers but just know it is important to keep track all the little details and all the names. Honestly, a character chart in the front would have been nice but I still managed without it.


I notoriously hate endings and find myself struggling to finish stories because I don't want it to be over, but Holy Terrors felt like a perfect conclusion. Owens has enough characters and lore that I hope she returns to this world at some point, such as a spin off series, but if she doesn't I would still be happy for the amount of content from this universe.


I give Holy Terrors 5/5 stars. Fans of the series should be excited to hear this wonderful ending to the trilogy. 

I recently read an ARC of Secrets and Sacrifices by Cath Lauria. My husband and I have been playing a Call of Cthulhu tabletop campaign for going on 3 years with a group of friends and it has totally sucked my into the mythos that Lovecraft created.
 If you know me you know I LOVE a good romance so when I found out about Secrets and Sacrifices I had to read it! As I read, I ended up jokingly calling this book “Pride and Prejudice and Cthulhu” because the LI gave me MAJOR Mr. Darcy vibes. I think I preferred the romance aspect of this story more than the mythos related mystery that drove the plot. The progress felt a little too fast and too slow at the same time. Cassandra's whole plan was immediately ruined in the first couple chapters by the arrival of Thomas but she was quickly able to pivot and come up with a new plan.
The mystery aspects felt a little too easy and predictable, but it was fun to read nonetheless. I felt there were a few missed opportunities as far as the consequences of a well known figure also being a devout cultist, but without spoiling anything, there was a character death near the end that genuinely made me gasp with surprise. Honestly I felt maybe the author was too focused on giving the reader a HEA but as someone who has played Call of Cthulhu and other games in the Arkham family as much as I have, it felt a little unrealistic but it was still a fun read.
Cassandra and Thomas's romance kept my giggling and swooning through the whole story. “Regency couple solves a mystery and falls in love” might be one of my new favorite genres! 
Overall, I give Secrets and Sacrifices a 3.5/5 and recommend it for those who like regency mysteries as well as those who are fans of Lovecraft stories! 

This book had an interesting and fun idea but the execution was not great. Reviews on Goodreads mentioned it was originally a Wattpad book and it is clear it was not professionally edited.

Didn't hold my attention. None of the plot was very surprising and I found it hard to keep picking it back up.

DNF at 39%

I received a free ARC of Holy Terrors in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot believe it was only April this year that I first read Little Thieves. Since then, this series has taken up space in my brain that I never expected.

Holy Terrors was the perfect ending. The story itself was full of twists and turns but the true perfection lives in the fulfillment of the character arcs. 

After finishing Painted Devils I was heartbroken. Vanja and Emeric are one of my favorite on page couples. How could it end this way?? 

Then, I began reading the Fallow Year. If you haven't heard of it, it is a series of 10 short stories that take place between Painted Devils and Holy Terrors and it's available to read for free on AO3! Right now there are only 7 stories out, though I am assuming all 10 will be released by the time Holy Terrors is released in April. While those stories aren't necessary to read before Holy Terrors, they did give a lot of insight into references and character choices. 

As usual with Margaret Owen's writing, Holy Terrors had me laughing and crying throughout the story. Vanja has grown so much and though this is a historical fantasy, I think every girl who has ever faced bullies, insecurities, or cruelties can easily relate to her and learn to grown as well.

I never would have guessed that romance would become the main plot of this series after reading Little Thieves (though it was of course intertwined with the story of Painted Devils). Holy Terrors resolves the romance with so much bittersweetness and it kept me on my toes. I usually find myself bored when the couple gets together halfway through the series but Vanja and Emeric's relationship develops in a slow and realistic fashion. This is highlighted by both of them being on the asexual spectrum, as they are both Demisexual. I really liked how Owen treated this character point. They certainly felt different from their peers but they had solace in understanding each other and the loss of that comfort was noticeable when they have new partners. 

The resolution of Vanja and Emeric's relationship was my most anticipated part of this read but the story was interesting as well! It continued to flesh out the magic system and people's relationship with the Gods as well as providing another intriguing mystery to solve. It gets a bit complicated towards the end which is hard to explain without spoilers but just know it is important to keep track all the little details and all the names. Honestly, a character chart in the front would have been nice but I still managed without it.

I notoriously hate endings and find myself struggling to finish stories because I don't want it to be over, but Holy Terrors felt like a perfect conclusion. Owens has enough characters and lore that I hope she returns to this world at some point, such as a spin off series, but if she doesn't I would still be happy for the amount of content from this universe.

I give Holy Terrors 5/5 stars. Fans of the series should be excited to hear this wonderful ending to the trilogy. 

Didn't get very far in but before even starting I found myself not really caring how the story ended.