Book Review: "The Dragon's Rose" by Tati R. Alvarez

“The Dragon’s Rose” by Tati Alvarez is the first book in the Grym Hollow series. “The Dragon’s Rose” follows leading lady Rose Briar in her quest to save the younger sister who betrayed her, while also trying to get away from a painful past.

Rose finds herself seeking the help of The Guardian, an elusive, magical figure who lives on the fringes of her small community and assists those in need - for a price. Rose’s deal for an escape from her current reality leads her to Mescos, a magical realm filled with dragons, krakens, shifters, and more - and straight to the castle of the Dragon King, Malix, whom she’s agreed to marry as part of her deal. 

Now, the novel wasn’t horrible. Apart from the grammatical errors that littered the ARC, the story was interesting enough to keep me reading. I enjoyed the premise of a bargain for a new life, with all the twists that came with it. I would have loved to see some more development of Rose and Malix’s relationship - it felt superficial at best and the romance fell flat of what I’d expect from a romantasy. The dual POV also left much to be desired; I felt the voices weren’t distinct enough from each other to tell much of a difference between one and the other. 

That being said, I would love to see where the author takes this series - as there were definitely hints at what a sequel might hold in this first book. I enjoyed Alvarez’s writing and think with more editing, the next book could be a hit.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Book Review: "Dance of Stars and Ashes" by Nisha J. Tuli

“Dance of Stars and Ashes” by Nisha J. Tuli is a fantasy romance read, inspired by South Asian culture and Indian mythology and is the second book in the Nightfire Quartet. Just as captivating as the first book, Tuli continues the story of our heroine, Zarya, a magically gifted bad-ass who’s finally coming into her own self in this part of the series, after having been sequestered from the rest of the world for a large part of her young life.

This sequel was a wonderful follow-up to the first book in the series. I enjoyed seeing Zaraya’s character and relationships develop and deepen. Not only do you see her growth throughout the story, but her companions (and secondary characters) also have their own self-revelations and growing pains as well. In this sequel, Zaraya begins to learn more about her own heritage and why she was spirited away as a young child and raised by Row (who, despite all his short-comings is really making an effort to get back in Zaraya’s good graces!)

The action and story development in this book definitely picked up more than the first book and - in my opinion - remained relatively on pace for most of the sequel. The surprise/not-so-surprise villain in the story and the subsequent take-over that happened was emotion-inducing - like, I wanted Zaraya to kick their ass so bad! It was almost maddening. 

Finally, the developing romance between Zaraya and Rabin was EVERYTHING! You see each become vulnerable in their feelings for each other and it’s truly magical to see where their vulnerability and trust in one another takes them. His fierceness in wanting to protect Zaraya and keep her safe, while also giving major Dragon Daddy vibes just checked all the right boxes in this romantasy! 

I absolutely enjoyed this book as much as I did the first one - maybe even more so. I look forward to the next book in the series!