Tag: AK Caggiano

Eclipse of the Crown by A.K. Caggiano

On By TracyIn Book Publicity, Check Content Warning/Triggers, Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Re-Release / Updated Edition, Romantasy, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Eclipse of the Crown (Villains & Virtues, #3)Eclipse of the Crown by A.K. Caggiano

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Villains & Virtues #3

Release Date: July 28, 2026

Blood Mage and evildoer, Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne is on a quest to release his father from his crystal prison, but his journey has been plagued with pitfall after pitfall, mostly thanks to his captive Lady Ammalie “Amma” Avington, a sweet and kind woman who carries a talisman he needs to free his father in her body and who is a bad (rather good) influence on him and someone he is definitely falling hard for. His latest detour is caused when he is summoned to YVLCoN (Yearly Villainous Ledgeration & Convergence of Nafariosity) which is basically a evil doer convention. He refuses to leave Amma alone, so brings her and is forced to pay a price to GOoD (Grand Order of Dread) to save her. He agrees to their demands and plans to leave the next day. But as usual, nothing will go as planned…

Amma is in love with Damien and while she originally wanted nothing more than to return home to Faebarrow, now she knows her home is where Damien is. She wants to help him free his father and hopefully be able to forge a life with him. But as usual, nothing goes right, but this time, Amma is not the one who needs saving, it is Damien who is abducted and Amma will do anything to save him. She will need help and her magic to finally end this quest, preferably with both of them surviving.

This book picks up where the second book ends and takes off immediately. The chemistry between Damien and Amma is even stronger in this book and they both begin to acknowledge their feelings, but there is much they need to accomplish before they can finally give in to those feelings. Their quest will reunite them with Xander, the Righteous Sentries, the Priestess Pippa as well as Damien’s former lover Delphine Delacroix. Their journey will be filled with prophecies, magic, abductions, mini goblins, dragons, secrets, revelations, laugh out loud moments, lots of sexual tension, an oracle, choices, death, reunions, imps, and finally an ending that is incredibly satisfying. This was by far my favorite book in the series, and I can’t wait to read the spinoff series! This is the third book in this series, and I would strongly recommend reading the books in order for the best reader experience.

*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. *

 

Summoned to the Wilds (Deluxe Edition) by A.K. Caggiano

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Historical Paranormal/Fantasy, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Part of a Series, Re-Release / Updated Edition, Romantasy, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Summoned to the Wilds (Villains & Virtues, #2)Summoned to the Wilds by A.K. Caggiano

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Villains and Virtues #2

Release Date: March 24, 2026 (Update Edition)

Lady Ammalie “Amma” Avington, heir to the Faebarrow barony, fiancée to the Marquis of Brineberth and apparent captive of blood mage Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne, is on the run from her home, which is currently overrun by the undead, thanks to Damien. But not everything is as it seems and Amma is far from unhappy about her current circumstances. Well, it would be better if she wasn’t the receptacle of Damien’s talisman and spellbound to him, but overall, she is not mad that she is with Damien. They are on a quest to save her home and to remove the talisman from her person preferably without killing her. Along the way, Amma will learn a lot about herself and discover her own untapped magic, but at the end of this quest will she be able to give up Damien?

Blood mage Damien Maleficus Bloodthorne is trying to find a way to rescue his demon father from his crystalline prison. He created a talisman that he believed would help him accomplish the mission but wanted to test it first – which is why it currently resides in Amma. But what at first seem so simple; test the talisman, kill the girl to retrieve said talisman and then rescue his father, has become complicated and involves messy feelings – not that he would ever admit that out loud. But despite being evil to his core, he can’t bring himself to kill Amma and so they will need to find another way to remove it. But even if he removes it, he knows he could never be what Amma wants, right?

OK, I did not read the first book and that was a HUGE mistake on my part, this is the second book in an epic tale and I was completely lost – I didn’t understand the world, the magic or Amma and Damien’s relationship. The author did give some backstory, but not enough to bring me completely up to speed, so I don’t think I fully grasped the gist of this story. I felt like I was dropped in the middle of a story, so I had no beginning and since this is the second of three books, I had no real ending, basically it was like reading just the middle of a really long book. The story was well-written, and I enjoyed the banter and the humor, but I found the slow-almost-no-burn romance a bit frustrating, and the bonus chapter that was included was just more of the same. The book is filled with magic, vampires, fae, imps, witches, an evil fiancé, some frenemies, a lot of stifled romantic moments, some very vivid action scenes, a bit of heartbreak and finally a cliffhanger ending that did resolve somethings but opened the door to a lot more questions. I am definitely going to go back and read the first book and then dive into the last book, because now I need to know! This is the second book in the series, and I would strongly recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience.

*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. *