His Secret Illuminations by Scarlett Gale

When the prince randomly saved the MC’s ass because he found her attractive, I lost my patience. The blurb did make it sound like there might be some hurt/comfort hidden in there, but there wasn’t much, the love interest was horribly stereotypical, the worldbuilding was thin and made no sense, and overall it was just…very very tropey, poorly written YA with a lot of ass pulls and deus ex machina. I’m not sure why I thought it was a good idea to try this one. If the idea of a fake dating f/nb historical romance sounds appealing to you, you’ll probably like it, but I’m out.Ĭontent warnings: abuse The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni No matter how realistic, it’s anxiety-inducing and it grates. I hate fake dating and I hate reading about women being extremely constrained by society and forced to find a man to marry even more. I was looking forward to reading a f/nb historical romance SO much, but…nope, not for me. The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley Really wanted to make it to at least that book in the series where they go to Vienna, but welp. Referencing characters from various classics felt a little lazy and pointless, but that I can easily forgive if the story is good. It interrupted the story, broke my immersion, and added absolutely nothing. I usually give books at least 20% before I quit, but the meta commentary in the form of dialogue randomly inserted in the text was driving me absolutely bonkers. The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss No quicker way to knock a couple books off the TBR. Spanning the whole spectrum from the books that were just kinda mediocre, to those others might like but I very much didn’t, a betrayal leading to a rage quit, and a couple genuinely bad stinkers. My choices were questionable and my luck was worse, ending in a staggering six DNFs, which is more than the rest of the year combined. His holy magic is both vital to their mission, and dependent upon his purity.December was not a good month for reading. She purchases his contract, hurling him headfirst into an adventure that will test both his skills and his self-control.Ī sacred vow : Inexorably drawn to the She-Wolf's strength, surprising kindness, and heated touches, Lucían fights temptation at every turn. When she needs a mage to track them down, she chooses Lucían for both his adorable blushes and his magic.

By night, he dreams of the world outside the cloister-a world he knows only in books and scrolls.Ī mysterious warrior: A mercenary known as the She-Wolf hunts for a shipment of stolen manuscripts. A sheltered monk : By day, Lucían brews potions and illuminates manuscripts in service to the monastery that took him in as a child, wielding magic based in his faith and his purity.

His Secret Illuminations by Scarlett Gale