Death Meets Cute by J. Penner

Death Meets Cute by J. Penner

Tracy’s Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: April 28. 2026

Iris Weyward is the middle sister in a family of witches. For years she has been working together with her sisters Dahlia and Poppy plotting to enhance their villainous natures and hopefully find a way to build an evil empire and take over the realms. But when their magic starts to fail and they begin to turn on each other, Iris has had enough and leaves them. She settles on the outskirts of Fraywell with her familiar, a hedgehog named Quince and starts an evil potion & hex business. Things were going OK, but recently her magic has been getting weaker and her bodyguard leaves and doesn’t return, and she is not sure what to do. But when everything changes when an injured orc bangs on her door and then dies in her backyard. Since she is in need of a bodyguard, she sees this as an opportunity for evil. She casts a spell that lets her interview the dead orc and when she decides that he would be perfect for the job, she casts another spell to “re-alive” him. But the re-alived orc is nothing like the dead orc and she is pretty sure she is going to have to re-unalive him, that is until her sisters show up and chaos ensues.

Talon Gefroy has only vague memories of his life before he woke up in Iris Weyward’s house. But he is immediately smitten with her and dives right into setting her house in order and baking. He accepts his new position and when her sisters show up, he is happy to take care of all of them and help them find a way to regain their powers. He settles in and feels like he is finally happy with life and thinks he might have a future with Iris, but then he learns the truth of how he ended up in her house and he is heartbroken. Can he reconcile the truth of who he is and what he has done with the orc he is now and can he forgive Iris for keeping the truth from him?

OMG! I loved this book, Iris and Talon were so cute together and Iris’s reactions to her feelings had me laughing out loud. This book was a quick, easy read with likable characters, a lot of emotion, wonderful secondary characters, a journey of self-awareness, acceptance, reconnecting with family and finally finding love and happiness. The story is promoted as a romantasy, but it is definitely geared more towards a young adult reader, as there is no intimacy beyond chaste kissing. So, if you are looking for a fun read with amazing characters, laugh out loud dialogue and a low heat romance – look no further – this is that book! I highly recommend this story, and I am hoping that there will be more stories featuring her sisters in the future.

*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. *

 

A Fellowship of Librarians & Dragons by J. Penner

A Fellowship of Librarians & Dragons (Adenashire, #2)A Fellowship of Librarians & Dragons by J. Penner

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Adenashire, #2

Release Date: June 3, 2025

After competing in the Langheim Baking Battle and befriending the other contestants, dwarf Doli Butterbuckle decides to settle in Adenashire. She finds work at the “It’s About Tome” bookshop and shares the apartment above the shop with fellow contestant named Jez, a fennex. She settles into her new life, but something is missing. Doli left home hoping to find her place, she loves her family, but she doesn’t share their mining magic, her magic is conjuring tea and putting people at ease – things her family just don’t understand. When she receives a box from her parents, she discovers that it is an inheritance from her uncle. The box contains a necklace, a vase and a dragon egg, but it isn’t until after she opens it that Jez recalls a letter that was with the box – a letter from her parents informing her they will be arriving the next day to open the box – oops! Things just go from bad to worse, she is immediately stressed about her parents visit and to make matters worse – the egg is hatching!!

But not everything is bad, because just before her life got turned upside down, she met Saron, a gargoyle and was instantly captivated. And as luck would have it, Saron seems to know quite a bit about dragons and offers to help her. Help she is grateful for once her dragon hatches. The pink baby dragon is adorable and informs Doli that her name is Evvy and that she has chosen Doli to be her guardian. Let the adventure begin!!

This was a cute, well-written, coming of age story with wonderful characters and lots of magic. It was easy to get sucked into this book and the author did an amazing job with building the world of Adenashire. Doli was definitely the star of the show, and her story is filled with friendship, insecurity, magic, a low-key romance, personal relationships, lots of diversity, finding oneself and lots of love. I was hoping for a romantasy, but this story has a definite YA feel, however, it was a fun read, and I am looking forward to reading the first book in the series while 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. *