Stacking The Shelves [465]

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, ebooks and of course audiobooks now that they are so prominent in the book community!

In other words, no matter the shape or form your book has – it belongs in Stacking the Shelves.

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This week is a big week!!

First, I received the copy of my newest reading journal!!!

The Devoted Reviewer's ARC Journal is here!

If you remember, back in mid August, I asked for ARC readers feedback to create this journal because I wanted to be sure to would fulfill your needs and I got 60 responses. These answers shaped this journal and I built a whole system around it. I am so happy with the result and I really hope you will give this journal a try if you are an ARC reader. I truly think I might help you meet your goals! 

Here's a little sneak peak at the review spread!

(The graphic varies from page to page)

Photos are coming for the website. I still have the unglamorous backstage work of shooting and editing them, but don't let that hold you up — the Look Inside button is already live on Amazon ( shop Canada | USA ) and walks you through the first pages.

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I also received books, of course haha

I pre-ordered:

Fallen Rook by L.J Shen

I also bought:

Crossbones by Devyn Rivers

a gorgeous special edition by Romance Cartel

from them I also received Stardust by R.E. Bond my last free Enchantasy for being a rep for them. My discount code (Tynga10 might still be valid until the end of the month!)

I'm also a happy member of Elle Thorpe's street team, and I won a giveaway!!

I received my prize on Thursday!

How amazing is this special edition set of the Murder Squad trilogy?

I loooooove this series so much!! 

This week was pretty darn amazing if I dare say so myself!

How was yours?

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by Tynga at Saturday, September 26, 2026

 Dark Rom Com, Devyn Rivers, Elle Thorpe, Keri Lake, L.J. Shen, MM, R.E. Bond, Reading Journal, Romantasy, Stacking The Shelves, why choose  2 People left their mark

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Review: On Wings of Blood (Bloodwing Academy, #1) by Briar Boleyn

On Wings of Blood (Bloodwing Academy, #1) by Briar Boleyn ★★★★☆ Read: November 29, 2025 575 pages

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This book felt like a promise it never intended to keep.

From the very beginning, On Wings of Blood sets up a world brimming with intensity—dragon riders, soul magic, an FMC who literally teleports from another realm with a powerful legacy behind her. But somewhere along the way, it forgets to follow through.

Medra enters the story with mystery and power—only to become painfully ordinary. Her magic fades into the background, her origin is barely explored, and her mother’s soul (which fuses with her to save her life!) is all but forgotten after being transferred to a dagger. No closure, no weight. Just… dropped threads.

Drake had potential, but instead of opening up to Medra and building something with depth, he withholds, manipulates, and sabotages a connection that could’ve been genuinely gripping. He’s not a villain—but he’s definitely not the romantic payoff this story needed.

Add in the “mean girl” drama that felt outdated and overused, and a surprising lack of actual dragons in a dragon rider book (they show up, but far too late to save it), and the whole thing ends up feeling hollow.

Not a bad book—but one that could’ve been so much more. I hope the sequel remembers the promises it made.

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by Tynga at Friday, August 14, 2026

 academy, Bloodwing Academy, Briar Boleyn, dark romantasy, Dragon, Review, Romantasy, Vampire  Leave your mark

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Review: A Deal with the Shadow King (Curse of the Fae, #1) by Anya J. Cosgrove

A Deal with the Shadow King (Curse of the Fae, #1) by Anya J. Cosgrove ★★★★★ Read: May 10, 2026 358 pages

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I did not expect this book to grab me this hard, but here we are. I went in for a fae bargain, a shadow king, a princess promised to a dangerous court, and maybe a little morally grey nonsense. I got all of that. I also got a story that kept unfolding in ways I genuinely did not see coming, even when I was convinced I had figured things out.

Nell is exactly the kind of heroine I love in a dark romantasy—not because she walks in already powerful and untouchable, but because she keeps becoming. She starts as a princess raised in a world where women are meant to be obedient, covered, quiet, useful. And then she gets thrown into Faerie, where the rules are crueler but somehow the cage has more space. Watching her realize she wants strength, knowledge, choice, and freedom was so satisfying. She’s compassionate without being weak, brave without being reckless in that hollow “because plot” way, and when she loves, she loves with her whole chest.

And One. God. He is exactly the kind of complicated, dangerous, lonely MMC that ruins me. He is not soft, not safe, not easy. He makes terrible choices. He withholds too much. He tries to protect by controlling the board, and sometimes I wanted to shake him by the shoulders. But there is such a weight to him, such a sense of exhaustion and duty and hunger underneath the mask, that I couldn’t look away. The romance works because it isn’t clean. It’s tense and tangled and full of secrets, and every time Nell gets closer, the story makes you feel how much is being held back.

The world-building surprised me in the best way. There are dreams, nightmares, fantasies, mirror travel, shadow magic, fae courts, blood bargains, and enough layered mystery to keep me feral. I loved that the magic felt strange and dangerous rather than overly explained from the start. The book lets you be disoriented with Nell, and for me, that worked. I was theorizing constantly, and the best part is that some things clicked early while others still managed to slap me across the face later. That balance is so satisfying.

The spice and tension are also woven into the plot instead of feeling tacked on. Desire matters here. Power matters. Consent matters. Secrets matter. The intimacy is charged because it is never just physical—there is always something emotional, magical, or dangerous moving underneath it.

I listened to the audiobook thanks to Podium Audio, and I really enjoyed the narration. It is dual narration, though I admit I would have loved duet for this one because the dynamic practically begs for it. Lilly Drake brought Nell’s vulnerability and growing steel beautifully (and her male voice is truly good!), and Anthoni Palmini was such a good fit for the darker, controlled intensity of the male POV.

This was messy, addictive, twisty, romantic, and far more emotionally satisfying than I expected. I love when a book lets me be right about some things and still manages to surprise me where it counts.

I need the next book immediately.

Tropes: fae bargain · shadow king · promised bride · masked MMC · morally grey love interest · court intrigue · touch-her-and-die vibes · hidden identity · forced proximity · training scenes · dream/nightmare magic · protective sister bond · dark romantasy · “he’s dangerous but exhausted and I’m obsessed”

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by Tynga at Wednesday, June 17, 2026

 Anya J. Cosgrove, dark romantasy, fae, forced proximity, masked MMC, morally grey love interest, Review, Romantasy, shadow daddy, touch her and die  Leave your mark

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Review: Famine (The Four Horsemen, #3) by Laura Thalassa

Famine (The Four Horsemen, #3) by Laura Thalassa ★★★★☆ Read: May 15, 2026 512 pages

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Of the three Horsemen I’ve met so far, Famine might be the cruelest — and somehow one of the most affecting.

Where Pestilence stumbled into love almost against his will, Famine resists it with his entire being. He doesn’t just kill; he believes in it. His indifference to humanity feels ancient, absolute, and immovable, which makes watching that certainty slowly crack the entire engine of the book.

Ana is exactly the kind of heroine this story needed. She arrives with justified rage, a knife, and scars that run deeper than the visible ones, but she never becomes one-note. She’s sharp-tongued, stubborn, funny, and empathetic in a way that feels almost inconvenient. Not soft because life has been kind to her, but compassionate despite the fact that it hasn’t. That distinction is what makes her so compelling.

The slow burn here is thornier than the previous books. Famine doesn’t soften easily. He resists, deflects, misunderstands, and makes horrifying choices even when he’s trying to adjust. But that’s also why the intimacy, when it finally comes, feels earned. This isn’t a clean redemption arc. It’s messy, brutal, and emotionally complicated — which is exactly why it works.

Thalassa does a great job balancing apocalypse, banter, horror, and tenderness without letting the romance erase the violence of the world around them. The Brazilian setting gave this installment its own texture, and Ana’s backstory added real emotional weight without pulling focus from the central dynamic.

The ending definitely makes the next book feel bigger and more inevitable. I’m not rushing into Death yet, because these books are heavy slow burns and apparently I value my emotional stability a little, but I am very curious to see how everything ends.

One production note for GraphicAudio listeners: the performances were good, but the sound design was too heavy-handed for me. Music and ambient effects often overpowered the narration, especially during emotional, intimate, or travel-heavy scenes. If intrusive production bothers you, the standard audiobook may be the better choice.

Pestilence still holds the top spot for me, but Famine pushed War firmly into third.

Tropes: apocalyptic romance · enemies-to-lovers · forced proximity · captor/captive · morally grey MMC · Sex worker FMC · divine being/human romance · slow burn · revenge · reluctant protector · touch-her-and-die energy · emotional caretaking

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by Tynga at Friday, May 15, 2026

 captor/captive, forced proximity, four horsemen, Laura Thalassa, morally grey love interest, Post-Apocalypse, Review, Romantasy, slow burn, touch her and die  Leave your mark

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