Category: Part of a Series

Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Keeper, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Game of Rogues: A Novel (The Palace of Rogues, 9)Game of Rogues: A Novel by Julie Anne Long

Tracy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Palace of Rogues, #9

Release Date: June 2, 2026

Miss Guinevere “Ginny” Woodville is the very protective elder sister of Hogarth Woodville, Viscount Woodville and the newly minted Earl of Highgrove, so when he returns from a trip to London and confesses that he has lost everything – including his sisters’ doweries, Ginny is quick to jump in and make things right. Ginny promised her dying mother that she would make sure her siblings all married well, but that will not happen without doweries, so, Ginny travels to London and checks into the Grand Palace on the Thames and then goes to meet with Gabriel Marchand, the owner of Lucifer’s Fall – the “gentlemen’s club” that Hogarth lost his fortune. The man is completely infuriating and absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous, she leaves their meeting without any resolution, unless she wanted to consider his illicit proposition – which she didn’t – and feeling desperate, but at least she is pretty sure she knows who Hogarth lost the bulk of his fortune to and hopes that that man will be more willing to negotiate. She thinks she has seen the last of Gabriel and is shocked when she learns he is also staying at the Palace – she tries to ignore him, but he always seems to be one step ahead of her, and as much as she wants to hate that – she doesn’t. She falls hard for him, but knows that she could never be with him and keep her promise to her mother, or can she?

Gabriel Marchand is a self-made man, orphaned into the poverty of St. Giles and has clawed his way to the top. As the owner of a very exclusive and successful gentleman’s club, he should have everything he wants, but meeting Ginny has him rethinking what he really wants. He is drawn to Ginny and against his better judgement begins to help her and in turn, she helps him. He knows he loves her and he knows she is not for him, but the heart wants what it wants, and he sets in motion a plan that may enable them to have their HEA. But his Ginny has made promises and honor might not let her follow her heart.

I love this series; I swear every new installment is better than the last – I can’t even remember the last series I read that could say that about. This story was absolutely my favorite to date – and that is saying a lot – because I have LOVED every book. Gabriel is everything you could want in a hero, he is charming, smart, self-made, has known loss and pain, and loves without conditions (he has earned a spot on my very exclusive favorite heroes of all-time list) and Ginny is his perfect match – their banter and jibes were some of the best I have ever read and I can’t wait to re-read this book! The book has wonderful characters, steamyish love scenes, lots of laugh out loud moments, grief, promises, a bit of angst, a little heartbreak, and finally a sigh-worthy ending complete with an epilogue. This is the ninth book in the series, and it could easily be read as a standalone with no problem, but I recommend reading the entire series because it is so good!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

 

All’s Fae in Love and War by Lee Nichols

On By TracyIn Audiobook, Contemporary, First Person Narrative, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Romantasy, Tracy's Reviews, Young AdultLeave a comment

All’s Fae in Love and War: Fae Isle Trilogy, Book 1 by Lee Nichols

Tracy’s Rating: 2/2.5 of 5 stars

Series: Fae Isle Trilogy #1

Release Date: May 28, 2026

Pandora Voss is a fairykin on the verge of turning thirty, returning from Boston to her childhood island community with the pressure of manifesting her inherited gift before a looming deadline changes her life. Leo Carter, an antiquarian bookseller with a rare-book-focused gift, comes back to the island on a search that pulls him into Pandora’s orbit despite their unresolved high-school history. Around them is a tight-knit network of family, friends, and townspeople whose everyday routines are intertwined with small enchantments, along with a rotating cast of mischievous fairytale creatures—pixies, gnomes, brownies, and other beings—that complicate life when magic slips its leash.

The story is set on an enchanted island off the coast of Maine where fairykin live with an accepted undercurrent of magic, each person expected to come into a distinct gift by age thirty. Those who do not awaken their power begin to lose their connection to enchantment as memories rewrite themselves into mundane explanations, and extended exposure to magic can have harmful physical effects for the ungifted. When a spell misfires and releases chaotic enchantments and storybook creatures across the island, Pandora and Leo are pushed into an uneasy partnership that sends them through the town’s libraries, boathouses, and community landmarks to contain the fallout, track down the source, and restore balance before the situation escalates.

For me, this landed as a middling listen: the premise and whimsical magic-by-deadline hook kept pulling me along, and I liked how the island’s gifts and creature chaos created a steady sense of motion, but the emotional vibes didn’t always feel as earned as the setup promised. I appreciated the audiobook’s energy—especially the alternating perspectives and the narrators’ commitment to keeping scenes lively—though the production choices and character-voice consistency occasionally took me out of the moment. Overall, it felt like a book with a strong concept and a cozy-romantasy surface that didn’t fully come together in execution, I am sure there are readers who would enjoy this book, but sadly, I am not one of them.

Maybe 2.5 stars

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an ARC / Audiobook that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *