Hamlet & Juliet (The Star Crossed, #1) by Clare Edge ARC Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The version I am reading is an ARC - any changes made for the final publication are not reflected in this review. Hamlet & Juliet will be available to purchase on January 5, 2027. Content warnings are available on the author's website, here.

I would first like to thank NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review. The concept of this book really drew me in - I loved my fair share of Shakespeare in high school, and while I have not been as great recently in making my way through his works, this was a nice way to revisit his plays in a new and enticing way. The fantasy aspect had certainly been one of the major components that pulled me in - since I have been on a fantasy kick, this immediately caught my eye. The author was able to incorporate a decent amount of Hamlet into her tale, and while not many details from Romeo & Juliet were transferred over into Juliet and Hamlet's story, the essence and background of the play was still there.

The aspect of having Juliet's lips and fingernails be black after she came back to life was a great decision - it allows for a physical and constant reminder to not only Juliet, but to the reader, that she has been through quite an unimaginable ordeal. She continues to carry the loss of Romeo with her throughout this story, both literally and figuratively. Readers have to watch her basically suffer in silence for a duration of this book until she is able to share her sufferings with Hamlet in a most unexpected way.

Hamlet's character has been affected by Death in a different way than Juliet - his father has passed and now his ghost torments Hamlet at every turn. With rumors of the Miracle of Verona surrounding Juliet as she and her mother arrive to his estate, he soon seeks out her in an attempt to put an end to these hauntings once and for all. As Juliet and Hamlet become more entangled in each other's sufferings, more things grow afoot in Denmark and Hamlet's story takes precedence over Juliet's in order to drive the plot forward. 

Once you are past the halfway mark, the pacing begins to pick up - and to be quite honest, it was moving a little too fast for my liking at some points. Incorporating aspects from Hamlet is certainly a daunting task, but for readers who have not read the play, I could see this being an issue. Luckily I read it in high school and remembered all of the key players so I was able to keep the momentum going without feeling lost about what to lock in as an important factor. There are more than enough supporting characters in Edge's first installment where they are able to uplift Hamlet and Juliet while having their own storylines that pushed the main one to its climax.

I had fun reading this creative retelling of two influential plays and appreciated the liberties the author took to make it her own while keeping the heart of the plays within the pages. I would have loved to see more character growth from Juliet's side - while growth was present, it was not on the same level as Hamlet's, which made the storytelling a bit uneven in my eyes. If you are looking for a fun new way to experience Shakespeare and enjoy fantasy, this upcoming duology could be right up your alley.

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Wrath of the Dragons (Fear the Flames, #2) by Olivia Rose Darling Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Fear the Flames on my blog, now!

Now that House of the Dragon is back up and running every Sunday, I knew I was in need of a dragon-fix sooner rather than later in between episodes, and luckily enough I had this bad boy sitting on my shelf waiting to be opened. I had such a blast reading the first installment, Fear the Flames, and knew that this follow-up would leave me feeling the same way. 

Elowen and Cayden's relationship has so much thought put into it and the development throughout this book built upon their already pretty solid dynamic. They can be snarky with one another while also taking into consideration the other's feelings, whereas many other couples in different series have a major communication problem. Now, that does not mean they are immune to the occasional argument or defiance against a decided plan, but more often than not, they are doing it to protect the other.

Finnian and Elowen's sibling bond is so precious and I honestly spent the majority of the book worried something horrendous was going to happen to Finnian at any given moment. While he seemed to be on the backburner during this book, readers are still able to see his relationship with Elowen and how strongly their relationship is - they are alwasy looking out for one another and willing to go all the way when it comes to taking risks in order to keep the other safe. Elowen's original group and Cayden's original group combination is still endearing to me - neither group holds back from speaking what is on their mind and proposing different solutions.

The side characters in this installment definitely held more ground compared to when they were first introduced. The stakes are higher and new relationships have been formed - we see these characters take on larger roles while Elowen and Cayden still remain at the forefront. I did enjoy how the author would give us glimpses into the lives of these characters, and while we did only seem to scratch the service when it came to a few of them, it was nice to have a little break from the more intense plot and escape for a bit.

While I understand Elowen was kept away from her dragons for so long, it did feel slightly overdone every time she would go on a little internal monologue about them. We as readers totally understand that she has a bond with them and has missed out on so much due to being apart, but it started to feel repetitive and somewhat diminished how invested I was in their survival. That being said, I did enjoy how the dragons have been given their own personalities and qualities - instead of being five of the same dragons, they are distinguishable amongst one another. However, the incorporation of more magical elements in this book definitely made up for what the dragons were lacking, and with an ending like this, I can only sit on the edge of my seat until the third installment is released.

I read this book in two big sittings and one final one hundred page sprint - you can certainly tackle it fairly quickly if you set aside the time for it. I do wish the dragons had larger roles - not as much as the ones in Fourth Wing seem to have - but they could have been incorporated into the story more beyond just the battle scenes. It would have been nice to see more of Elowen's bond with them as these big moments were led up to. This series definitely gives off a vibe of being a blend of A Game of Thrones and Throne of Glass - and maybe just a touch of Fourth Wing only in regards to the dragons. If you are looking into getting into high fantasy but weary of how intense it may be, this is a great series to push you towards the more complex fantasy worlds.

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Sweet Venom (Vipers, #2) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Beautiful Venom on my blog, now! Content warnings include references to mental illness, depression, suicidal ideation, and emotional abuse, including parental neglect and child abuse. It includes graphic violence, murder, torture, stalking, attempted child sexual abuse, the death of a family member, and mentions of multiple abortions and drug use/overdose involving non-main characters. Specific kinks in this book include consensual non-consent (CNC) and somnophilia.

I was a little weary going into this second installment, as I did not love Beautiful Venom and was worried that a recounting of the same timeline from different perspectives would be a drag, however I was pleasantly surprised that the author somewhat flew through the events of the first book fairly quickly and then dived into a "new" events. This was definitely a better direction than what I was expecting and I found myself enjoying Violet and Jude's story more than Dahlia and Kane's journey - there was just something about them that I could not click with.

Comparing Jude to Kane, I would dare say that I liked him more - there was just something about the way that he was written and the way that he interacted with others in this book that made his character more alluring. The same goes for Violet - compared to Dahlia, she was a breath of fresh air and actually had some common sense. While she definitely had her moments of me wanting to put my hands through the pages and shake some sense into her, the majority of the time she was pretty level-headed. Jude felt more unhinged than Kane and I honestly embraced it more than I expected. He was much less focused on this whacky secret society compared to Kane, and while Jude did have his little kill list, at least he had an actual reason to be on this crusade.

Considering Kane and Jude share the same friends, I echo my sentiment from my Beautiful Venom review and have to say the comedic relief that they provide certainly keep the reader entertained. Preston grew on me exponentially throughout this book, and considering he is taking the lead in the third installment, I can only imagine what nonsense the boy will get into with his story at the forefront. The story itself in this book was more intriguing than the first installment - there was more nuance to what Violet and Jude had to go through and discover, and it made the story feel like there were actual risks and consequences, unlike in Beautiful Venom where it felt like Dahlia and Kane were just running in circles around each other.

I wish Kent would abandon the text chain conversations in her books - the dialogue does not seem to flow with the overall writing style and often times the conversations make the characters seem five years younger and extremely immature. To be honest, the majority of her male leads or side characters are immature, so I should not have been too surprised that it continues in the majority of her books. She could truly improve upon her work if she abandons the notion that the male characters are these "silly goofy" boys when at the same time, they are killing people or terrorizing towns and college campuses. It honestly just makes them look really ridiculous and takes the reader out of the bubble that they are supposed to be running everything around them.

This was juicier than I expected, but with Rina Kent, I truly can never tell if I am going to eat up her books or feel slightly unsatisfied. Her MM books are definitely her strong suit, and if she one day decides to create more depth for her other characters, I can see it really taking off. For now, I continue to manage my expectations before diving into her works, but fans of dark romance will certainly be reaching for her on the shelf.

You can add Sweet Venom on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!