ARC Review: Sybylline by Melissa De La Cruz

Three teens infiltrate the magical ivy league in this heart-stopping dark academia romantasy, the first in a young adult duology from #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz.

Raven, Atticus, and Dorian have dreamed of attending Sibylline for as long as they can remember. But when the magical ivy league rejects them, the friends’ plans of a future together studying the arcane begin crashing down.

Until they decide to steal an education.

Getting jobs on campus, they sneak into lectures and swipe forbidden texts, dodging the administration’s watchful eye. In the quiet of night, in the thrill of secrecy, their magic awakens. And so do long-buried attractions that turn their friendship into something more.

But like magic, love can create, and it can destroy. As unrequited feelings and resentment threaten to fracture their bond, the trio discovers an insidious magic that has sunk its claws into Sibylline, killing students and corroding the very bones of the university. Now the three intruders may be the key to saving the institution from wreckage . . . if they don’t wreck one another first.

Title: Sybylline

Author: Melissa De La Cruz

Publisher:

Expected Publication Date:

Review:

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

What drew me in initially was the cover of this book, it is EXQUISITE. This is definitely a case where I judged the book by it's cover. It's what drew me in to read the blurb to see if I'd like it. Then I read the blurb and it was magic and dark academia and mystery and I was sold. Melissa De La Cruz has been hit or miss with me with her books but I really felt like I connected to the theme of this one and needed to see where it would lead,

The book started out strong. I was really liking the relationship between the three main characters: Raven, Atticus, and Dorian. I loved their close friendship and was excited to see them grow and develop throughout the book. I was waiting for the background or maybe some flashbacks to show how their tight friendships developed. Unfortunately this did not happen and they were all very flat, generic, and uninteresting. Much of the book is focused on how each character has a thing for the other character creating a throuple type situation that felt forced. They go from A liking B who likes C to all of a sudden being polyamorous without the journey of really getting there. Zero chemistry between the characters or development of the romance between them. And, while I'm all about letting characters explore who they are, since there's barely any development it was hard to really connect with the characters or feel for them in any way. Throw in the fact the characters are college age but certainly do not act as such and it made it even harder to try and find any depth to them. I'm all about people experimenting and finding themselves. I love to see diversity in books. But there was so much focus on each of the characters being obsessed with another it got in the way of the plot and story line. It was messy and totally frustrating to read on the page.

The premise of the magic system was interesting at the beginning. I was excited to watch the world build and see how the system was created. But, honestly, that development never really happened and it remained shallow throughout. There was zero background as to how the magic evolved/came to be. Why the world was the way it was. Who was important. And so much more. The pacing was fast but because the plot was lacking, I never really saw where the story was going or why it was getting where it was going. The story was bogged down by the romance. It's a shame because underneath all that romantic fluff lies a plot that could be quite intriguing and fun but remained one-dimensional. Add to this the fact that there is a ton of telling and barely any showing and it just drew the short straw when it came to remaining interesting. I pushed through in the hopes it would maybe evolve and get better but it, sadly, did not.

Then there is one scene where the three are together creating a threesome. This seemed so out of place for a YA book. Not only was it out of place, but one of the characters was barely conscious when it happened! I was actually shocked to read it and totally uncomfortable with the content. It was totally jarring. And it's not that I don't like spice, I actually love it and read it often. But I was literally shocked when it happened on the page and was not closed door at all. I know upper YA can be more racey, but there wasn't even a lead up, it just kind of happened. I feel like had this been edited appropriately, we would have never seen such a descriptive scene in the book. Was it put in for the shock factor? I'm not really sure but it just didn't fit for me. And my rating quickly dropped a star because of it.

I can see the ending leads to another installment but I do not think I will be moving forward with reading it. This book started out as a solid 4 stars for me and I was hoping it would continue to become a 5 star read but it slowly deteriorated down to 3 and ultimately ended up at a 2.5. This book could have been so much more than it was. Such a great premise of magic and interesting dark academia overshadowed by too much worry about who loves who and how they will never have that love returned.

2.5 stars rounded to 3

Author:

Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.

Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.

She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.

Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).

She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.

 

ARC Review: House of Hearts by Skylar Arndt

 

Solving her best friend's murder means infiltrating a secret society, resisting a forbidden love, and running from a vengeful ghost in this sophomore novel by the author of Together We Rot.

Violet Harper knows her best friend was murdered. Even if everyone else has labeled her death a “freak accident,” Vi is sure she’d been trying to tell her something right before she died. Cryptic messages about her friend’s elite boarding school, her whirlwind romance, and the mysterious secret society she was entangled in all point to a more sinister fate.

So, Violet does what no one else seems willing to do: She transfers to the same fancy school to dig into the society’s murky history and find out what really happened to her friend. She knows the truth might not be pretty, but what she doesn’t bargain for is the handsome boy at the center of it all—Calvin Lockwell, the brother of her prime suspect and descendant of the school’s founder. He’s obnoxious and privileged, and Violet can’t deny their haunting attraction. It soon becomes clear his family is hiding a dark secret that may not be of this world, and suddenly Violet’s following her friend’s doomed footsteps down the rabbit hole. Even as details emerge of a deadly curse plaguing the school, she can’t escape her true feelings for Calvin. But loving him may be the last thing she ever does.

Title: House of Hearts

Author: Sklya Arndt

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

Expected Publication Date: September 2, 2025

Review:

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I love some good dark academia. Add in a secret society of friends and a family curse and I'm hooked.

At first I had a bit of a hard time getting into this book. I will admit, There were a few plot holes I wasn't too thrilled with. I had to suspend my disbelief to engage with the story. Once I did that, I really got into the plot and all it's intricacies. 

The book gives gothic romance vibes with some ghostly hauntings. I really liked this part of the plot. The push and pull of a family curse when two people are drawn to each other but destined to ruin each other. Forbidden love!

This one is definitely firmly in the YA realm. So the writing was easy to read and the pacing was fast. 

I enjoyed all the relationships between the characters. While I was not so sure I would like them at first, they definitely grew on me. And there is definitely a good romance with chemistry that grows throughout the book.

The atmosphere of the book is very dark. It did not strike horror in me, as I thought it might, but it there were definitely spooky moments that had me on my toes.

This book is filled with plot twists and turns you won't be expecting. Overall it was a fun experience and I would recommend it for anyone who is looking for a book filled with secret societies, paranormal hauntings, and doomed romance.

Author:

Skyla Arndt has always loved the creepy, crawly side of life. When she was younger, she thought that love might translate to hunting Bigfoot, but luckily for him, writing proved easier.

You can connect with her on Instagram or Twitter at @arndtskyla. (Howling at the moon works, too.)

ARC Review: The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor

The New York Times bestselling author of Hotel Magnifique returns with another glittering dark fantasy about a deadly mystery that spans worlds and a teenage girl who must risk everything to uncover the truth.

Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father’s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.

Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words Your father was innocent.

To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she’ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father’s past draws more attention than she’d planned.

Her secretive, infuriatingly handsome mentor knows she’s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. For Maeve to unravel the mystery of what happened seven years ago, she may have to forfeit her life.

Title: The Otherwhere Post

Author: Emily J. Taylor

Publisher: Putnam Sons Books for Young Readers

Expected Publication Date: February 25, 2025

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Penguin Young Readers Group for supplying me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

When the blurb says those loving Divine Rivals and A Study In Drowning will love this one, it could not have been more true. This book absolutely gives Divine Rivals vibes for me. I would venture to say you could also compare it to Curious Tides. I love dark academia. This one is a bit of a twist on most dark academia books I've read. The mix of mystery with a cool magic system layered with some nice world building really had me turning the pages.

Maeve is a main character you can definitely relate to. I love that she's not perfect. She has lived her life on the run since her father caused a terrible accident killing many people. She has no training in the magic system. She has no real money. And she's determined to keep her identity a secret. She does a lot of illegal things to get herself into the academic setting that will hopefully help her clear her father's name. While I loved the was the underdog, I will say all the things she gets away with are a bit over the top. She's never caught or found out. It just seems so impossible to me.

Tristan is a great character. I love that he is related to the man who runs the Otherwhere post and is in charge of the scribes. But he definitely is a rebel in his own right. I would have liked to see him use his magic more.

I enjoyed the romance that was built. It was light with a reliance on the chemistry and slow burn between the two characters.

I loved the layering of the worlds. How you have three different worlds lining up parallel. The one thing I would have liked to see is the background of these worlds. Taylor does a good job of building the world Maeve and Tristan reside in, but we don't know much about the other two worlds. I can easily understand not knowing the one which has been closed off, though Maeve lived there so I feel like flashbacks could have helped with that. But I didn't see much difference between the other two worlds.

The side characters were interesting. Lots of personalities were developed. I liked how Maeve was able to make friends, despite her secrecy with who she was. And especially since she didn't really have any friends prior to entering The Otherwhere Post.

I would have liked to see a bit more story revolved around the academia. We don't really see much of the students in class to get the sense of the academic setting outside of being told they are at a university. 

The pacing of this one was really good. I didn't want to put it down. The mystery had me totally intrigued and the world was different from other fantasy worlds I've read in the past. The writing flowed really well.

The story does wrap up in the end, though I see the potential for other stories within this world that she has built. And it did feel just a bit rushed with everything tying up in a neat bow.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. There are a few kinks and some plot inconsistencies that bothered me, dropping my rating to 4.5/5 stars. But I really liked the author's prose, so much so I decided to download the other books by this author.

If you're looking for something to read after your Divine Rivals hangover, this one will definitely fill that gap.

Author:

Emily was born and raised in California and has since refused to stay put. She's lived in four states and two continents, all of which have conveniently given her an endless amount of story fodder. She currently works as a creative director in Minneapolis, where she spends the long winters dreaming up glittering worlds to spin into dark tales.

Follow Emily on Instagram @emilycanwrite
https://www.instagram.com/emilycanwrite/

 

ARC Review: Stranger Skies (Drowned Gods #2) by Pascale Lacelle

 

Ninth House meets The Hazel Wood in this riveting sequel to the New York Times bestselling dark academia fantasy Curious Tides, following Emory, Baz, Romie, and Kai on their desperate quests through space and time!Opening locked doors has a price—even for those who hold a key. After going through the door that called to them both in dreams, Emory and Romie find themselves in the the same verdant world written of in Song of the Drowned Gods, albeit a twisted, rotting version of it. A sinister force has awoken with their arrival, intent on destruction as it spills across realms, and now Emory and Romie must stop it before it reaches their own shores. Meanwhile, Baz and Kai are desperate to follow their friends through the door to other worlds, but a mishap pulls them back in time instead—where they come face to face with Cornus Clover himself, famed author of Song of the Drowned Gods. Stuck together in the past, they must navigate a very different Aldryn as they unravel the school’s darkest secrets. Across time and worlds, Emory, Romie, Baz, and Kai find their fates eerily interwoven with the heroes from Clover’s book. But when stories can’t be trusted, friendships are put to the test, and deadly enemies are not always as they seem, they must decide who gets to be a hero—and who is desperate enough to see themselves become a villain.

Title: Stranger Skies (Drowned Gods #2)

Author: Pascale Lacelle

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children's PUblishing

Expected Publication Date: November 5, 2024

Review:

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books, Edelweiss, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

If you have not read the first book in this series, Curious Tides, stop here. There will more than likely be spoilers for that book below. And you'll need to read that first book to understand what happens in this one.

Curious Tides was my favorite book of 2023. I will admit, when it was sent to me I was unsure I'd really want to read it. The length was intimidating but I also judged the book by its cover and it just didn't look inviting to me. Boy was I WRONG! Not only do I now love that cover, but I am in love with all the characters and the world Lacelle has built. It's a very unique magical system and the world building was amazing.

I was super excited to jump into this one seeing as the first one pretty much ended on a cliff hanger. I needed to know what happened to all the characters! This installment of The Drowned Gods series is full of action and adventure. It delves deeper into the magical system and gives a ton of history and background world. 

This book is told from four points of view. Yep, two new POVs are added and I'm sure you can imagine that changed the story up quite a bit. Having Romie's POV really expanded how the story progressed. And we got a dip into Kai's POV at the end of the first book so I knew he was going to be included! Plus we still hear from Baz and Emory. It's great to watch the story unfold from all these characters who are complex, real, and very reliable. Do their emotions get involved? They sure do. But it brings just the right amount of drama and intrigue to pull the reader along. I loved seeing the two characters we got to know so well in book one through the eyes of their best friends. We're also introduced to a slew of new characters. One of which is the author of the story which started all the characters down the road of this story. 

The romance takes a bit of a turn in this book. We did see it somewhat towards the end of book 1 but it ramps up much more in this book. And those you thought were pining for each other turns out to be a bit different than what we first thought. It's a very slow burn so if you're expecting it to pop out and be real early on, you're in for a surprise. Expect a build until things combust.

This book introduces time travel. Lacelle does a good job with is, as well. I'm always worried that time travel books will have too many complicated things happening and make it hard to understand but that is not the case here. I will say I was surprised at what was reveled by the characters who did travel. I was worried how it would alter the other timeline. The alternating time lines were easy to understand and keep up with. We don't really see the intersection of the timelines until the end, so I'll be interested to see how it plays out in the third book of the series.

Often times the second book of a trilogy suffers from middle books syndrome where the book becomes just filler to get you to the third book that wraps the story up. This is not that book. This book absolutely lends so much to the story. Especially because it explores more worlds than what we saw in the first book. It expands the universe so well. It gives more depth to the characters, plot, and world.

I loved the mystery and intrigue in this book. I will admit it was a long one. I am very intimidated by long books. I did have to take a few breaks. And I did find myself jumping back at times to make sure I understood what was happening as it did get complicated at times. And I love that Lacelle continued using the dark academia introduced int book one in this book. She doesn't take you away from that part of the book which really is so important to the overall story.

While I wanted to love this book as much as the first, I did feel the pacing was not quite as on point with this installment as the first. I struggled at times to understand some of what was happening. There was so much new stuff introduced, such a large expansion of the universe, I sometimes had a hard time keeping it all straight. This brought my rating down. But overall, this is a great continuation of interesting and unique lore with complex characters and time lines that keep you turning the page. Once again we're left with a cliff hanger which leave me wondering just how the author is going to solve the pickle these characters have gotten themselves into! Excited for the next book already!

Pascale Lacelle is a French-Canadian writer from Ottawa, Ontario. A longtime devourer of books, she started writing her own at the age of 13 and quickly became enthralled by the magic of words. After earning her bachelor’s degree in French Literature, she realized the English language is where her literary heart lies (but please don’t tell any of her French professors that). When not lost in stories, she’s most likely daydreaming about food and travel, playing with her dog Roscoe, or trying to curate the perfect playlist for every mood.

Review: Ninth House (Alex Stern #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?

Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

Title: Ninth House (Alex Stern #1)

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publication Date: October 8, 2016

Review:

I'm a huge Bardugo fan. I truly enjoy her Grishaverse so it's not surprise I was itching to jump into anything else she writes. And this one did not disappoint in the least! But this is NOT her Grishverse. And this is not a book for the feint of heart.

This one comes with some trigger warnings. I don't have any triggers so I didn't even look into them, to be honest. But if a dark story with secret societies, murders, occult activity, and magic aren't your thing, then take a pass on this one.

Enter the world of Yale where secret societies abound and Alex Stern is tasked with patrolling what happens. After suffering a horrific event, she is recruited into the world and offered a second chance As she slowly uncovers the occult activities of politicians and well known business men, she has to try to keep herself alive and not reveal who she is, what she knows, or how she knows it.

I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed the narration. The author did a great job with jumping back and forth between past and present to unroll the story. Each chapter leavings trinkets of information as the book unfolded. The pacing was great and I found myself wanting to rush through so I could find out what happened with the characters.

Alex Stern is such a well written and developed character. I really adore a snarky FMC who is tough as nails. Her trauma follows her around like a lead weight on her shoulders, but she still does what she needs to survive. She does build walls between herself and others but they slowly get broken down as she works with others in her circle. She does take chances she probably should not. She does put herself in situations that could cause her harm. But she does this all in the name of preventing the abuse of magic. I easily connected with this character.

Darlington is also an extremely well developed characters. I loved his voice. And he is a prime example of how something evil can actually turn out to be good. He's got a very magnetic personality and just pulls you in. It's truly impossible not to like him. I also loved his relationship with Alex. 

Bardugo built her world in so many layers and I enjoyed every bit of it. She writes an original and authentic story which is completely entertaining. I will say, the beginning is a bit hard to gel with. There is a lot of information presented which seems confusing. But Bardugo does a fantastic job revealing what you need to now in dribs and drabs throughout each and every chapter. There is nothing she writes that isn't important. So pay attention to it all! I had my doubts that I would enjoy the story because I felt like I was a little lost, but I'm so glad I stuck with it to see where the story went. 

This is not the young adult writing I know from Bardugo. This writing is adult, dark, disturbing, and full of triggers people need to look into if they have any. But, I will say this, if you are ok with giving this darkness a try, you will not be disappointed.

Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University. For information on new releases and appearances, sign up for her newsletter.

She would be delighted if you visited her at LeighBardugo.com and fairly giddy if you liked her selfies on Instagram.