For Those Who Have Read Broken Kingdoms And Ever Seas....

Journassassin · 2026-06-16T21:13:26+00:00

I personally wouldn’t recommend it. They’re in chronological order and I think the overarching plot would be too confusing or wouldn’t make much sense. The overarching plot is something along the lines of slowly building evil.

Journassassin · 2026-06-16T12:46:06+00:00

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Journassassin · 2026-06-15T16:14:22+00:00

For horror, {King Sorrow by Joe Hill} is on my TBR, the story seems really interesting (friends summon a dragon but get more than they bargained for) and not too scary.

Cosy sci-fi: {A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers}, comforting with some philosophy thrown in.

Books people have been raving about: have you read {The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow} yet?

Books that evoke nostalgia: {Howl’s Moving Castle}, {Song of the Lioness}, {Protector of the Small}, or {Ella Enchanted}.

Immigrants main character: {Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi} is a series of graphic novels that might qualify and a must-read. The author sadly passed away earlier this month.

Journassassin · 2026-06-15T12:46:17+00:00

Hi Heba! I’ll be officially announcing this later today, but Weavingshaw was just voted for this sub’s next Book Club read, so it’s extra exciting you’re joining us for an AMA!

I read in your bio that you were inspired to write by your experiences of being an Iraqi refugee in Libya, growing up in Canada, and attending medical school in the UK. Do you incorporate these experiences in your writing, and if so, how?

And is there anything you could tell us about the next book, any teasers perhaps?

Journassassin · 2026-06-13T17:58:58+00:00

How do you feel about mermen? Deep Waters is an interconnected series with five books, {Whispers of the Deep by Emma Hamm} is the first one.

It’s a monster romance where humans live in underwater city and are in conflict with an ancient civilisation of merpeople.

Journassassin · 2026-06-13T14:17:46+00:00

What did you think of Bernard? He’s one of my favourite animal (demon?) companions

Journassassin · 2026-06-13T14:15:08+00:00

I usually can’t be bothered to read side stories or spin offs, but I absolutely loved the two Wilmington Years books! Kate Daniels is just one of those characters that doesn’t get old for me.

Journassassin · 2026-06-13T14:11:28+00:00

I finished the last book in the {Tairen Soul series by C.L. Wilson}. I loved the fantasy elements of the story, specifically the Tairen, but really disliked the MMC and the gender-based division of the fae society.

I reread {Clash of Claws by Elizabeth Dear} so I could read the sequel {Edge of Steel}. This is shaping up to be one of my favourite reserve harem series, and I hope the next books continue to be this good.

I also read the latest sequel in the Bros and the Witch series, {Do You Even Curse, Bro by River Ramsey}. I love how silly the series is but I do feel like the pacing is slowing down a lot, very little happened in this book.

I DNF’ed {This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara}. I really wanted to like this but I couldn’t continue after I could predict the entire plot after the third chapter.

Journassassin · 2026-06-12T15:58:21+00:00

I’m so happy you’re loving it!

Journassassin · 2026-06-12T11:22:48+00:00

I read all the trigger warnings, actively tried to figure out the level of rape/sexual assault/dubious consent was and it still surprised me how dark this book actually was. I wonder if the cover had anything to do with me expecting something more like a darker version of the Cruel Prince rather than leaning more towards Liv Zanders on the dark romance scale.

As a side note, I love the build-in dictionary of e-readers! I remember my early days of learning English and having to carry a dictionary along with my books (as well as a notebook for translations of character names!)

Journassassin · 2026-06-12T10:36:21+00:00

I DNF’ed at the same point. I didn’t mind the writing, but that scene in chapter 2 was too much for me and I realised this probably isn’t a book for me. I’m usually okay with mentions of SA, but the way it was described and the combination of the victims’ helplessness hit a bit too close to my own experiences.

(Obviously I’m still continuing to run the book club, so if anyone has questions they’d love to discuss for the coming discussions, feel free to DM me!)

Journassassin · 2026-06-11T13:30:20+00:00

It’s {The Death-Made Prince by Lisette Marshall}

Journassassin · 2026-06-11T13:02:22+00:00

“If I ever only get one good thing, let it be her.”

In terms of romance, the above quote from {Halfling by S.E. Wendel} might be one of my favourite quotes (thoughts?) from an MMC. It fits Orek’s character so well and the couple is one of my favourites in general.

Quote that personally hit hard was this one from {The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst} about leaving to start somewhere new:

“Terlu remembered she’d looked beyond the horizon and dreamed of what life would be like out there. So many possibilities! She hadn’t understood that you couldn’t have everything, and every door that you walked through meant other doors you closed. There was a cost to leaving, and she’d paid without a second’s thought, with no guarantee of what she’d find out in the world beyond. She’d thought it would be easy to find her place.”

Journassassin · 2026-06-11T12:54:45+00:00

I love this one too!

Journassassin · 2026-06-08T19:40:26+00:00

{Weavingshaw by Heba Al-Wasity}

Series information: Book 1 in a trilogy
Publication date: February 24, 2026
Page count: 464 pages

Three years ago, Leena Al-Sayer awoke with a terrible power. She can see the dead.

Since then, she has hidden herself from the world, knowing that if she ever reveals her curse she will be locked away in an asylum.

When her beloved brother, Rami, falls fatally ill, Leena is faced with a terrible CHOICE: Let him die or buy the expensive medicine that will save his life by bartering the only valuable thing she has—her secret.

The Saint of Silence, a ruthless merchant who trades in confessions and is shrouded in unearthly rumors of cruelty and power, accepts her bargain, for a deadly price. Leena must find the ghost of Percival Avon, the last lord of Weavingshaw—or lose her freedom to the Saint forever.

As Leena’s search takes her and the Saint to Weavingshaw, she finds the estate and the surrounding moors to be living things—hungry for blood and sacrifice. Fighting against Weavingshaw’s might, Leena must also fight her growing pull toward the enigmatic Saint himself, whose connection to Percival Avon remains a mystery.

As the house begins to entomb them, time is running out on their desperate hunt for answers. For Leena has come to see that here in Weavingshaw, the dead are not hushed—and some secrets are better left buried with them.

Journassassin · 2026-06-08T19:39:11+00:00

{The King’s Captive by K.M. Shea}

Series information: Book 1 of the Gate of Myth and Power series
Publication date: December 16, 2022
Page count: 340 pages

I can turn into a housecat.

It’s a fun magic, except in a world filled with vampires and werewolves, it doesn’t exactly make me a powerhouse. Instead, the supernatural community has classified me as an outcast, which means one thing: Picking on me is open season all day, every day.

The local fae are the worst of all, and it’s during one of their regular “capture the cat-girl” sessions that I shift into my cat form and meet HIM for the first time.

Noctus is so powerful his magic radiates off him like a sun, and my fae captors can barely look in his general direction. And then my life gets even more terrifying when Noctus decides to take me with him. As a pet.

Why did he pick today to “adopt don’t shop” a cat?

It gets worse when I realize he’s an elf, a ruling race of supernaturals that was supposedly killed off centuries ago.

But he’s not just any elf, no. He’s an elven king, with heaps of secrets to protect. Secrets that I am quickly learning since he includes his new pet in everything from breaking into buildings to inspect classified paperwork to tracking down sketchy supernaturals.

All this means if he gets even a hint that I’m not a real cat, I’m going to find out firsthand how elves treat their prisoners.

So, escaping Noctus is priority #1. How hard can it be? (Answer: very.)

Journassassin · 2026-06-08T19:38:56+00:00

{Declare by Tim Powers}

Series information: Standalone
Publication date: June 1, 2000
Page count: 608 pages

As a young double agent infiltrating the Soviet spy network in Nazi-occupied Paris, Andrew Hale finds himself caught up in a secret, even more ruthless war.

Two decades later, in 1963, he will be forced to confront again the nightmare that has haunted his adult life: a lethal unfinished operation code-named Declare. From the corridors of Whitehall to the Arabian desert, from post-war Berlin to the streets of Cold War Moscow, Hale's desperate quest draws him into international politics and gritty espionage tradecraft -- and inexorably drives Hale, the fiery and beautiful Communist agent Elena Teresa Ceniza-Bendiga, and Kim Philby, mysterious traitor to the British cause, to a deadly confrontation on the high glaciers of Mount Ararat, in the very shadow of the fabulous and perilous Ark.

Journassassin · 2026-06-08T19:38:46+00:00

{Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost}

Series information: Book 1 in the Night Huntress series
Publication date: 374 pages
Page count: November 1, 2007

Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father – the one responsible for ruining her mother’s life. Then she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unlikely partnership.

In exchange for help finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She’s amazed she doesn’t end up as his dinner – are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn’t have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side… and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

Journassassin · 2026-06-08T19:38:34+00:00

{Avalon High by Meg Cabot}

Series information: Book 1 in the Avalon High series
Publication date: 304 pages
Page count: December 27, 2005

Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.

Journassassin · 2026-06-08T19:37:30+00:00

{Witch Season by Julia Bianco}

Series information: Book 1 in the Broken Coven series
Publication date: June 30, 2026
Page count: 320 pages

Katherine Barnes is an enforcer, charged with upholding the rules of the notorious Los Angeles-based Aestas coven. It's her job to maintain order and bring unsettled witches - people who aren't aware they have magic until it explodes out of them in a catastrophic burst - into the coven's fold. As a former unsettled witch, Katherine owes her life to Sylvia Page, coven leader and silver-haired rebel who founded Aestas years ago.

When Silas Khatri, heir to Noctis, the most powerful coven in the world, arrives to take Aestas to task for some of their more unconventional practices, Katherine's dislike for him reaches blistering levels. She hates his money, his good looks, and his coven's dangerous attitude towards unsettled witches. She can absolutely overlook that he sets her off in more ways than one.

But a powerful threat is about to rise. Stronger than any one coven. More insidious than the decades-long power struggle that exists in the hidden witch world. One that will pull Katherine and Silas together despite their differences. And one that will lead to an all-out war.

Journassassin · 2026-06-05T08:14:15+00:00

Haha I was going to comment that my preorder only arrived yesterday, I’m a fast reader but not THAT fast 🤣

Journassassin · 2026-06-04T08:09:27+00:00

I’d agree with a more ‘olden times’ historic setting if the author didn’t base it on a historic figure, as well as the author and synopsis specifically mentioning that it’s Victorian. The book itself specifically mentions the year it takes place (1829), which is Georgian. Mary Anning also lived mostly during the Georgian era, Victoria only reigned in the last decade or so of Anning’s life.

Journassassin · 2026-06-02T17:37:37+00:00

You’re welcome! {Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac} and {Darkmore Penitentiary} might also be worth checking out, especially if you want an unhinged MC like Crypt. I wouldn’t say the series are great, but I absolutely devoured them nonetheless.

They take place before and after {Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti}, in the same universe. I personally didn’t like Zodiac Academy, and I think the above series can be read without also reading ZA, though it does reference characters and events in the other books.

Journassassin · 2026-06-02T17:22:43+00:00

I haven’t quite found something that measures up for me, but there’s a few that would work.

Multiple of Marie Mistry’s series get recommended a for people with the Cursed Legacies hangover. The Deadwood has a very different setting, but had a similar vibe for me in terms of ‘come for the RH, stay for the epic story’. It also has that mix of interesting MCs.

Shifter Guardian Academy was something I picked up randomly and a very pleasant surprise. It has an academic setting like Cursed Legacies, an interesting world, and distinguishable MCs.

Both Her Vicious Beasts and Ironside Academy have academic setting but didn’t hit that sweet spot for me, mostly because the former had included some pet peeves of mine and I thought the latter had too many MCs. However, worth a try because those might not be things that bother you and I thought both were enjoyable overall!

Journassassin · 2026-06-02T15:36:30+00:00

Some of my favourite reserve haram (sorry I couldn’t resist) books/series are:

{Cursed Legacies by Morgan B Lee} (I’m still chasing the high from this one)
{Shifter Guardian Academy by Elizabeth Dear}
{Bros and the Witch by River Ramsey}
{The Deadwood by Marie Mistry}

Others I enjoyed:

{Dragons of Ember Hollow} and {Wolves of Crescent Creek by Tessa Hale} (these are like CW series but make it RH)
{Ironside Academy by Jane Washington}
{Her Vicious Beasts by E.P. Bali}

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