Category: Standalone Title

Heir of Prophecy by Analeigh Sbrana

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Paranormal / Fantasy, Romantasy, Standalone Title, Tracy's Reviews, Young AdultLeave a comment

Heir of ProphecyHeir of Prophecy by Analeigh Sbrana

Tracy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: August 25, 2026

Audra is a human whose life changes when magic and the Fae become unavoidable parts of her world. She begins as someone connected to her home and family, but her abduction and arrival at Holyvere Academy place her in a setting where she has to manage fear, secrecy, and the possibility that she may be the foretold Heir. The supporting characters include fellow prisoners, Fae Priestesses, academy figures, and a dangerous prince tied to a competing prophecy, though several of these relationships remain more lightly developed than the premise suggests.

The plot follows Audra as she is taken from the human realm and brought into a magical academy where she and others are expected to train, survive, and potentially serve a larger ritual connected to ending the Desolate Winter. The story blends Fae politics, prophecy, magic, guilds, academy lessons, visions, and conflict between two possible destinies. Much of the middle portion centers on Audra adjusting to the academy and trying to hide or understand her unstable power before the larger stakes become clearer near the end.

Overall, I liked the idea of the story and thought the premise had a lot of elements that usually appeal to me, especially the academy setting, prophecy angle, and fantasy worldbuilding. However, the pacing felt slow, the romance did not have as much intensity as I expected, and the darker elements did not fully come through until later. Personally, it seemed more like a young adult fantasy novel than the dark academia romance I was expecting, so while I can see the appeal for readers who enjoy detailed academy-focused fantasy with light romance, it did not completely work for me.

*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. *

 

Want Me, Take Me, Haunt Me, Make Me by Isabel Crowley

On By TracyIn Contemporary, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Romantasy, Standalone Title, Thiller / Suspense, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Want Me, Take Me, Haunt Me, Make MeWant Me, Take Me, Haunt Me, Make Me by Isabel Crowley

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: August 11, 2026

When medium Hazel Lewis is called to do a séance for a dying man, she had no idea much her life was going to change. She arrives and almost immediately realizes that she was duped, Clarence Chapman seems like a feeble, helpless old man, but in reality, he is a serial killer who made a deal with a demon and needs Hazel to use her as a conduit for the demon. She fights her way out of the house but is bitten by the demon in the process. Protection spells and warding can only do so much, so she needs to lay low until she can figure out how to defeat the demon and reclaim her life. She finds an old house in the wilds of Pennsylvania and tries to figure it out, but it doesn’t take long for Ligat, the demon’s minion, to find her and much to her dismay, she finds herself attracted to Ligat and the two become close, not quite friends, not really enemies. And if her life wasn’t complicated enough, she meets her handsome neighbor, Maxwell and is attracted to him too. As they say, when it rains, it pours…

Ligat has secrets, he is indentured to the demon Perthrux and cannot tell Hazel who his master is. Luckly for him, after years of servitude, he has earned a bit of slack from the demon, but his will is still controlled by his master and as much as he hates Perthrux, he cannot defy him. The problem is he is falling hard for Hazel and wants nothing more than for her to defeat Perthrux, even if it means his own destruction. To that end, he will do whatever it takes to save her.

I have mixed feelings about this book, I liked the story it started out fast and hard, but then it started to drag and it dragged until about last 10% of the story. That is not to say that it wasn’t good, but it was hard to stay immersed in it and very easy to put down. This story was filled with demons, minions, ghost dogs, druids, spicy love scenes with a Phoebe/Cole vibe (IYKYK), a bit of gore, a touch of horror, interesting secondary characters, a strong heroine, a cinnamon roll hero and twist at the end that changes everything. Overall, this book had a lot going on but the author managed to keep the central plot in the forefront and gave readers a satisfying ending, but I did have some lingering questions, so I am hoping there is a sequel in the works. So, while I don’t think I would read again, I did enjoy it and would recommend it to fans of dark romantasy.

*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. *