A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas (2018)

Book 3 in A Court of Thorns and Roses series

**SPOILER ALERT: This post mentions plot-lines of book 1, 2, and 3 in the series**

Feyre and Rhysand have fought together for several months, along with a team of Night Court warriors and advisors, when Wings and Ruin begins. Feyre has transformed into a fierce warrior herself, but she has also become something more: she has become Rhysand’s “mate” and together their love and commitment to spend a lifetime together has become an unbreakable, magical force. Their bond not only connects them to one another, but gives them both powers that alone neither could wield. This love also makes it clear that the Fates never intended for Tamlin to be Feyre’s partner; a fact that Tamlin struggles to accept.

Having escaped the horrors of Under the Mountain, the pair were only granted a few months of peace and healing before it becomes clear that War is on its way to Prythian. With the enormous power the two of them possess, they know that fighting is the only option.

Fighting means more than sword fights and bloody clashes on the battlefield, it also means infiltrating behind enemy lines to gain vital information on the enemy’s war efforts. So Feyre leaves her beloved Rhys and the home she has made at Night Court and returns to Spring Court.

Here, she pretends to have been brainwashed by Rhys and begs Tamlin to take her back as his bride-to-be…and (most importantly) to let her in on his horrible plans to join the conquering army and take down Prythian. Cut off from Rhys — from their love and the power of their bond — is heartbreaking for Feyre, but she knows saving her people is more important than a separation from her mate.

Gaining information vital to her cause, Feyre flees Tamlin once again and returns to Rhysand. They find themselves desperate to convince the other High Lords that Tamlin has become a traitor and that the conquering armies of Hybern are on their way.

On the eve of war, Feyre and Rhys realize that the lifetime of love they promised one another might be much shorter than the millennia they had hoped for; both know that risking their lives to live free is worth it.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas (2016)

Book 2 in A Court of Thorns and Roses series

**SPOILER ALERT: This post mentions plot-lines of book 1 and 2 in the series**

Well, if I liked A Court of Thorns and Roses then I would have to say I LOVED A Court of Mist and Fury. Book Two in the series picks up a few months after the dramatic ending of the first novel and allows us to get reacquainted with Feyre now that she is an immortal High Fae female.

As the story opens, however, it is not the fierce, fiery Feyre that we have come to love that greets us, but a sick, unhappy woman who is being told she is loved while being kept prisoner. Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court and Feyre’s betrothed, has decided that the only way to keep Feyre, his prize possession, safe is to refuse to let her do anything, see anyone, or go anywhere. Nor will he allow her to talk about the horrors she endured Under the Mountain. As a result, Feyre is fading away and her new, untested powers, lay fallow.

Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court, and Feyre’s savior (or perhaps her second jailer?) appears at just the right moment to take Feyre to his home for their agreed upon monthly visit. Feyre is terrified and furious at her abduction, but also privately relieved to be free of Tamlin and his suffocating control.

With Rhysand, Feyre is liberated from the rules that she is forced to abide in Spring Court and she finally begins to come back to life. Night Court is not full of the horrors she was told to expect and she is granted something there that she has not experienced in months: total freedom. Along with that freedom comes the chance for Feyre to see just what powers her transformation from human to Fae granted her.

Slowly, she and Rhysand begin to form a relationship: tentatively friends, then training partners, then — perhaps — something more.

Inheritance by Nora Roberts (2024)

The Lost Bride Trilogy, Book 1

Readers of this site know that I love Nora Roberts books and I have read every single one (more than 300 to date!) Inheritance marks Roberts’ return to one of my favorite formulas: a trilogy that blends strong women falling in love with good men while facing a supernatural threat. (Her best versions of this category are her Three Sisters Island Trilogy and Signs of Seven Trilogy).

Inheritance opens with our heroine Sonya bravely recovering from the shock of her engagement ending when she is suddenly faced with an entirely new set of surprises. She learns she has inherited a mansion and several million dollars from a long-lost uncle. Deciding there is no better time to restart her life, Sonya moves to a tiny Maine town and into her very own mansion…a haunted one, none-the-less.

Sonya befriends the ghostly inhabitants of the house the best she can, but she senses they want something from her. Obligingly, she begins to look into centuries of mysterious deaths that have happened in the house, the vast majority newly married women: the so-called “lost brides.” Sonya also befriends members of her new community and, with their help, she tries to build a new life; solve a few cold cases; and start a steamy romance with a local lawyer while she is at it.

Midnight by Amy McCulloch (2023)

While I have read and enjoyed McCulloch’s other books, certainly her mountain-climbing expedition turned deadly story in Breathless, I have come to realize that while she sets the stage wonderfully, her characters and story-lines are slightly disappointing.

In Midnight, we follow the story of Olivia, a young woman who — after tragedy strikes — left her wild and adventurous childhood behind her in order to pursue a safe, financially stable adulthood in order to provide for her mother. Olivia is stressed and unhappy, but accepts these feelings as necessary to make sure her ill mother is well cared for.

When Olivia meets Aaron and he draws her into the glamorous world of high-end art sales, she is dazzled. Aaron and the demands he makes on her to make his art gallery a success are stressful, but just the distraction Olivia needs from her unhappiness. Then Olivia has a nervous breakdown and loses her job. Suddenly, Aaron’s failures and successes become very important to them both.

Against her better judgment, Olivia agrees to take part in a luxury expedition to Antarctica with Aaron and a group of millionaires who he hopes to charm into buying million-dollar artworks. Olivia is still not recovered from the trauma of losing her father while on a sailing expedition and is terrified of spending weeks at sea. However, the money they stand to make is too tempting and she sets sail.

From the minute she climbs aboard the luxury icebreaker, problems arise. Small at first, the problems quickly become crises: missing people, sabotaged gear, stolen jewelry, and finally murder.

Olivia must decide if she is a meek and powerless victim or a strong and decisive adventurer.

Iron Flame, Empyrean Book #2

SPOILER ALERT: I try, but I cannot completely avoid mentioning things in this post that might reveal secrets from book 1! Read with caution.

In the follow-up to her best-selling book, The Fourth Wing, Yarros returns her readers to the exact moment where the first book left us: with Violet, Xaden and their fellow classmates hidden away in a village that should not exist, recovering from a brutal attack that nearly claimed their lives, and wondering if they should return to Basgiath war college or stay in hiding.

Recent events have forced Violet to completely reconsider information she thought to be fact: that her country’s leaders were the noble and benevolent, that her family is broken beyond repair, and that her love for Xaden would never dim. Shocked and unsure about how she will move forward when everything she believes in has crumbled; Violet faces the challenges this new year brings, but does so while she battles with fear, uncertainty, and heartache.

When the group returns to the war college, they cause chaos with their (partially true) story of harrowing battles and miraculous survival. The powers-that-be who sent the squad into battle hoping they would all die are shocked and furious to find this band of rebellious troublemakers back at Basgiath; most of all the college’s cruel and vindictive new leader.

Fellow students are hungry for information that the squad cannot share without risking the lives of thousands, but Violet’s secrecy means she feels isolated and bereft without friends she can be honest with; knowing to share her story would mean they would all be in danger.

Furthering her sadness and confusion, Xaden has left college and been stationed far away in a dangerous part of the country and the military leaders are doing all they can to keep the pair apart. Of course, even when they are together, Violet’s mistrust of Xaden means that their passionate love has now dimmed, leaving them both heartbroken.

When it becomes clear that the real enemy intends to invade and kill millions, Violet, Xaden and the rest of the Fourth Wing must decide if their loyalty is to their government or to their people.