Category: Romantasy

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

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

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Spellshop #2

Release Date: July 15, 2025

With her love of languages Terlu Perna decided that working at the Great Library of Alyssium would be the perfect job for her, so she moved far from her family to the capital of Alyssium and began working. But she never realized how lonely the job would be, so she cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant to be her companion. But only sorcerers were allowed to do magic and despite the support of the head librarian, she was found guilty and the judge decided to make an example of her – Terlu was turned into a statue to be displayed in the Great Library to warn others of the penalty of doing magic.

Terlu believed this was the end of her story, but to her surprise, she wakes one day on a nearly deserted island that is home to an enchanted greenhouse and Yarrow, the grumpy gardener who had asked the government for a sorcerer to help him save the greenhouse, which seemed to be losing its magic. Terlu wants to help, but after learning she was a statue for six years and finally being set free, she is terrified of attempting to doing anything that might see her punished again. But how can she let this wonderful place die or refuse to help the man who set her free and has stolen her heart?

This is a very sweet, heartwarming, cozy fantasy story about second chances, healing and love. Terlu and Yarrow are wonderful, loving, supportive characters who both get a second chance at life. The story has magic, dragons, talking plants, spells that don’t go as planned, a sea serpent, a ghost, found family, reunions, a slow-burn kisses only romance, surprising revelations and a very happy ending. The narrator of the audiobook edition did a wonderful job of giving each character a distinct voice and kept an even cadence throughout the story. My only qualm with the reading was that the narrator occasionally changed the pronunciation of Yarrow’s name, hopefully that will be edited before the book is released. Overall, this was a very sweet story and one I would happily recommend. This is the second book in the series, but I didn’t read the first book and had no problem following this story.

*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. *

Never Run From An Immortal by Victoria Price

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Romantasy, Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

Never Run From An Immortal (Immortals #1)Never Run From An Immortal by Victoria J. Price

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Immortals, #1

Release Date: June 17, 2025

With people disappearing at random, tensions are running high in Demesia, the factions at odds and no one sure who is responsible for the disappearances. Rae Farren is a witch with a plan and a lot of secrets, but when her employee and dear friend witch Nimala “Nim” and her fae boyfriend Reed go missing, Rae knows she needs help. She turns to the Vampire Lord, Aidan Vale and makes a deal – she will help find his lost magic and he will help her find Nim. But to make it believable, Aidan insists they marry, making her his “odalik”. That is fine by Rae, as long as she has access to his resources and he stays out of her mind and her bed.

Aidan Vale knows Rae is hiding something, but he too has secrets and has his own plan for the future of Demesia. But implementing his plan is no easy task, despite being the leader of the Vampire faction, and de facto ruler of Demesia, there is always someone trying to kill him so they can take his place. Add to that the missing people, his missing magic and his inconvenient attraction to his wife and it is clear that Aidan has a lot on his plate. He tries to stay focused on his own plan, but there is something huge going down and his wife is smack in the middle of it.

I have mixed feelings about this book; I was sucked in by the blurb and thought the author did a great job with world building. But it was not an easy book to get into – there are a lot of characters and different types of characters, as well as different types of each type – it is a lot to grasp. I also felt like the author was a bit stingy releasing information to the reader about the character’s secrets, thoughts and their pasts. I also had a hard time connecting with Rae – there is so much anger in her, but the reader doesn’t really understand why until almost the end of the book. And OMG, the ending, to say I felt disappointed would be an understatement. Overall, I did like the book, I was completely invested in the story, and I will definitely be impatiently waiting for the next installment.

*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. *