Subscribe to get a little Fury in your inbox!

Join 2,977 other subscribers.

Paper Fury

HarperCollins

The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin, A Gothic Vampire Feast

by 3 Comments

If you’re craving a book dripping in deeply gorgeous gothic aesthetics, then you’ll eat The Scarlet Veil up.

Think VAMPIRES, the seductively dangerous kind, who are as terrifying as they are entrancing. Célie and Michal definitely have an enemies-to-lovers arc going on too. And let’s not forgot the darkly austere gothic castle/mansions and all the secrets seething in the walls!! This book took the vibes and delivered for sure.

The Scarlet Veil is a spin-off series of the very-famous Serpent & Dove trilogy, this time staring Célie. It’s set several months after the events of S&D, and so you get to see how characters are fairing and also how they’re coping with all they’ve been through. Célie is definitely struggling with PTSD and flashbacks and anxiety–but it’s made her fiance (and friends) treat her like this delicate porcelain doll. They make decisions for her and don’t trust her judgement. Célie is there, struggling with her mental health, but also fighting to even be taken seriously. I felt for her immediately. She’s also a total sweetheart!! And she’s so full of determination to do what’s right and fierce loyalty toward her friends, you will fall in love with Célie.

Do you need to read Serpent & Dove to enjoy this series? Look, it depends!! I have only read S&D, not the sequels, so I do think I missed a lot of context while reading The Scarlet Veil. It also definitely spoils the finale of S&D, so if you’re keen to read the original series, I’d say go for that one first. Then start on this one.

“M-Michal—”
Breath low and uneven, he breaks his latch on my wrist to gaze down at me intently. “Célie.”
My blood stains his mouth brilliant scarlet.

It also has a very intriguing murder mystery plot, and there are lots of pieces of the puzzle at play here as we follow Célie when she is kidnapped by a vampire who thinks she’s someone else. It’s also very much a story about living life as a trauma survivor and also looking for the best in people and demanding justice. And there are so big twists that will leave you keen for more.

Read it for:
♡ gothic aesthetics
♡ wicked, seductive vampires
♡ murder mystery plot
♡ soft female MC and darkly morally grey love interest
♡ enemies to lovers
♡ he’ll destroy anyone who touches her
♡ big thickkkkk fantasy stories

Dark, entrancing, and full of mystery, this is perfect for upper-YA romantasy fans who are looking to be sucked into a brand new fantasy series.

Thank you to HarperCollins for the copy!

A dark and thrilling vampire romance set in the world of the New York Times bestselling series Serpent & Dove!
Six months have passed since Célie took her sacred vows and joined the ranks of the Chasseurs as their first huntswoman. With her fiancé, Jean Luc, as captain, she is determined to find her foothold in her new role and help protect Belterra. But whispers from her past still haunt her, and a new evil is rising – leaving bodies in its wake, each one decorated with twin puncture wounds in its throat.
Now Célie has a new reason to fear the dark because someone – something – is coming for her. And the closer he gets, the more tempted Célie feels to give in to his dank hungers – and her own. . .

goodreads | blackwells | dymocks | harpercollins aus

published October 4, 2023

Twin Crowns & Cursed Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber (lighthearted fantasy romp!)

by 1 Comment

If you’re looking for a lighthearted fantasy series, you want to try the Twin Crowns books!

I’ve been reading Twin Crowns and the sequel, Cursed Crowns, this year and they’re such pretty books! The style of fantasy gives me both fairy tale and Disney vibes–you’ll get all the drama and romance and banter you could ask for, with some feelsy moments as a bonus. I appreciate that they’re written with a younger-YA feel, which is so needed, because a lot of YA fantasy seems pretty aged up these days. This would be perfect for ages 12+ teens.

Twin Crowns, book 1, introduces us to two sisters: Rose (queen) and Wren (witch). They’re twins, separated at birth, and while Rose is “ruling” under manipulative guidance, Wren has been training with her witch powers to someday steal back the throne and release the kingdom from its oppressive rule. Wren knows Rose exists…but Rose has been left in the dark to the fact she has a sister. The story is part court-politics and part adventure-fantasy-romp as Rose gets kidnapped by Wren’s witchy people and taken back to their town, while Wren impersonates Rose for the crown as part of her scheme.

The sisters are both very dynamic characters. Rose is toffy and posh, definitely your classic-style princess, while Wren is bitter and impulsive. She will dive into danger. She will swim in it. Cannot be stopped!!

The books are quite long and not fast-paced, so readers who enjoy books that take their time will love this style. And of course there’s plenty of magic, witchy machinations, and a little romance as Rose develops feelings for her unwilling kidnapper, Shen, (aka Wren’s BFF) and Wren starts getting heart-eyes for a guard.

Cursed Crowns takes off pretty much straight after book one finishes. Now that the girls have things “sorted” and are in the castle together, they’ve got a lot of clean up from everything that went down in the finale of the last book to figure out. They’re still learning how to mesh together as estranged sisters, since their personalities are like ice and fire. There’s also pain to deal with, allies and people they love now gone or taken, and there’s still unrest in their kingdom. Everyone has been taught to believe witches are evil and must be stamped out, so now it’s up to Wren and Rose to change public opinion considering they are both, well, witches. And trying to rule here.

The story ends up splitting up the sisters again for separate quests, and I do wish they’d stayed together so we could’ve seen how they grow and develop. But there was a lot of ground to cover in this one. I appreciated Shen got more of a plot line too (love Shen!) and Wren takes off to do a bit of necromancy and get thoroughly out of her depth in the enemy kingdom. The tone is still light though, with plenty of banter and quips. Lots of girlpower and sister bonds and it leaves everything wide open for book 3.

A fun series with all the well-known fantasy tropes and quips, perfect for those who love both adventure and queens and sisterly bonds in their fantasy books.

Thank you to HarperCollins Australia for the review copies!

Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she would steal her sister’s place in the palace. Trained from birth to return to the place of her parents’ murder and usurp the only survivor, she will do anything to rise to power and protect the community of witches she loves. Or she would, if only a certain palace guard wasn’t quite so distractingly attractive, and if her reckless magic didn’t have a habit of causing trouble…
Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility. Marriage into a brutal kingdom awaits, and she will not let a small matter like waking up in the middle of the desert in the company of an extremely impertinent (and handsome) kidnapper get in the way of her royal duty. But life outside the palace walls is wilder and more beautiful than she ever imagined, and the witches she has long feared might turn out to be the family she never knew she was missing.
Two sisters separated at birth and raised into entirely different worlds are about to get to know each other’s lives a whole lot better. But as coronation day looms closer and they each strive to claim their birthright, the sinister Kingsbreath, Willem Rathborne, becomes increasingly determined that neither will succeed. Who will ultimately rise to power and wear the crown?

goodreads | dymocks | amazon | harpercollins

published may 3rd, 2023