ARC Review--East of Envy by Nikki St. Crowe

 

Booktok sensation and USA Today bestselling author Nikki St. Crowe continues the dark and spicy reimagining of the Oz saga!

Betrayed by the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale is now forced to team up with the heartless mercenary, the Tin Woodman. Tin has a grudge of his own against the Wizard – not only is he the man who stole Tin’s heart, but now he’s taken Tin’s little brother, Gabriel, for his own ends.

But defeating the Wizard won’t be easy – he has all of Oz under his spell and more power than anyone. Or does he?

Because Dorothy is more than she seems, and Tin can't help but be drawn to her. And the longer Dorothy’s in Oz, the more she uncovers about her murky past, and her own potential magic.

And when all is said and done, Dorothy might have to reckon with an earth-shattering maybe Kansas isn’t home after all.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of Nikki St. Crowe's East of Envy almost immediately after I finished reading West of Wicked! This book picks up right where we left off in the chaos of the first book and it was smooth transition to get back into the thick of things.

Dorothy's world has been upended, again. The man she thought she was falling hard for, turned out to be nothing but a liar and a deceiver and he just stabbed her, leaving her for dead. But Dorothy is resilient despite everything that she has been through. She just discovered that her birth mother was the West Witch and she has some sort of water magic that she used to kill her mother by accident...or so she thinks. Dorothy teams up with the Tinman in order to take down Rook for everything that he has done and caused and hopefully, she will learn about her magic along the way.

Rook, as he has decided to keep going by this name, is in a bid for power. Much like the other retellings of Oz, the Wizard is not a kind dude. He's out for power and to do that, he plans to find the gods who previously left Oz and kill them. But Dorothy is a problem he did not expect and he can't decide if he wants to kill her or...you know! Lol.

There are a lot of power play dynamics going on in Oz. This is not Baum's Oz or even Maguire's, that's for sure. This is a new land and the rules we all grew up on are no longer of consequence. It seems like everyone is fighting each other to climb to the top. Glinda, Rook, Tinman, and Gabriel's mother, is a force to be reckoned with. While she was mostly in and out throughout this book, I see her playing a larger role likely in the next book (pending that this is a trilogy, I haven't confirmed this anywhere yet).

There is a greater sense of danger in this one I feel like, Rook basically has everyone out to get Dorothy and the Tinman and kill them as they are a "threat to Oz." So the running for their lives is very real! And then the greatest bafflement of all in this one is Toto! Toto is definitely not your ordinary pooch in this one and while nothing has been confirmed, I feel like we're building into something about this little dog!

There was of course still some steamy romance going on in this one. True, while things were hot heavy with Dorothy and Rook, that love affair pretty much fizzled out when he stabbed her, so now things are heating up with the Tinman! I'm still not really attuned to Dorothy's romances so far. I guess I am missing any emotional attachment going on as it feels just physical, but then it feels like feelings are happening when they aren't fornicating. Guess we'll just have to wait and see where things go with that front. 

The story ends with things in dire straits. A lot has happened, a lot is going to happen still and this definitely gives off trilogy vibes, but based on the titles so far, I wouldn't rule out a quartet just yet either! Lol. Whether that remains to be seen as of now, there's still plenty more things to come of this series and I am aching to find out, but it will likely have to wait until next year since I just binged these two books long before they release officially into the world!

If you're looking for that steamy and edgy retelling of a childhood classic, then be sure to check out The Great and Terrible Land series, starting with West of Wicked! This is one Oz retelling you will not see coming and it is unbelievable!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars

East of Envy releases November 3, 2026

Creatures of the Night Book Tag

So I saw this post over at Lisa Loves Literature and thought it looked like fun and I had to do it since I haven't done a "fun" post in ages. Life has gotten crazy these past few months at work and with life in general. My reading time has slipped, my bookstagram picture taking has slipped. It's been a mess, but it's 50% good things at least, the other half is crazy work life stuff, but hopefully that will start trickling down soon. But anyway...onto the fun stuff!

I am borrowing the image headers from Lisa as they're cool and festive and are better than just my font text! Lol.

A million titles starting running through my head on this one! It became overwhelming! Do I choose a recent fave? A classic fave? A villainous vampire or heroic? So naturally, I just defaulted to my first introduction to vampires that spawned the love I still hold dear: Demon in My View by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes!

This was another hard one! I had lots of titles running through my head, almost went with my first werewolf book again but then thought let's go newer old school and go back to a different obsession! 13 to Life all started with me just seeing a cover but I was obsessed! I am an equal supernatural creature lover of course!

Okay this one I am doing with a twist! Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard releases this week but it's a sort of revamp/redo of her YA debut Something Strange and Deadly! She's made a few tweaks and changes, largely that it is now with adult characters! I will definitely be picking up a copy eventually. I think it's starting as ebook only, so once the paperback version becomes available I will get that as I can't stand reading on my kindle. I think my kindle knows this as it kind of died. It stopped updating at least and new books no longer download. So yeah. We're not on speaking terms anymore. Lol. But the YA version had zombies and that is one of the things that stayed the same for this one!

Yes, I am going all over the place with these picks! Another old school choice because I believe once again this was my first "ghost" book and I loved it! Shadowland was the first book series I remember reading with the ghosts more as characters versus entity to run away from as I think I did read one of those before this one. Lol.

So many great possibilities with this choice but I went with Rachel Morgan from The Hollows series! She's a witch, friends with a pixie and a vampire, dates an elf. This series truly has it all!

Another challenging one to choose! I decided to go off the beaten path and choose a recent read, in The Other Side of the Mirror, Eva learns she has fae in her family background and that she is one and is engage to a fae prince! This was a fun series and I enjoyed the twists and secrets!

I can't believe it's been 4 years since I've read this book! Amy Christine Parker's Flight 171 is about a plane that gets taken over by a demon! So here we have a demon who's in its true element versus being more of a character you grow to love--because yes, I've read many a book where that happens! Lol. This demon needs a new host and is demanding a group of teens pick one among them to be the new host or else the plane and everyone on it is going down! Truly creepy read and will make flying a whole lot scarier too!

And honestly, once I saw this topic, I couldn't NOT choose Obsidian! No, it wasn't my first "teen alien" book as I read the Roswell High series years before this and initially thought this series was trying to be a new Roswell, but that wasn't the case! So glad I took that long ago kindle deal (back when my kindle worked! lol).

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.

Last Week I Read:

The Wings That Bind by Briar Boleyn (5 stars)

Currently Reading:

Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry

What I Plan to Read Next:

Devoured by Jordan Stephanie Gray

Other Posts of Interest:

Top Ten Tuesday #700

Can't Wait Wednesday #271
Books from the Backlog #208
Book Blogger Hop #434
Stacking the Shelves--Chaos and Calm Edition

Stacking the Shelves--Chaos & Calm Edition

 

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, and of course ebooks! The meme is now hosted by Reading Reality.

Another insane week, largely because of work. I've got to stop thinking things will slow down because every time I do, I open my email to a new day filled with a TON of requests that came in overnight. It is insane. Since we're now a smaller group this means more requests per person and I somehow get the ones that are BIG! We have a rotating order and it ends up being my luck to be assigned one with a large agent number and it always ends up being the one where we need to request multiple things and then have to check each user individually to see if their "items" have been completed. I peeked last Friday night and saw we received another two big requests and I am just betting one of them will end up on me. Our team dynamic has been a little wavery since we lost two members so I don't get the idea that anyone would be willing to "trade" request items either. The last time I had two big ones I believe they were both Mondays and everyone is busy on Monday so no one was really able to assist as we sometimes would split some of the work among each other, but by the time anyone started asking if anyone needed help, I had already gotten the request done on my own. (Granted the ask didn't come until the next day in the afternoon. That's how busy we all get!) Friday night I trekked out to my favorite indie bookstore, Main Street Books to meet Hazel Beck! They were at the library the night before, but I was too worn out from work that day, that I didn't feel like making the drive, I figured I'd just do the meet & greet on Friday instead. I had a nice day out too and shopped around Main Street. Mostly browsed while I had shopped earlier at other stores on the way to Main Street! Lol. This week I am making a midweek road trip to go see Briar Boleyn! Ironically, I made a road trip to see her and another author last year around this time, I think. She ended up coming to St. Louis a week or two after that adventure, but now with this road trip I will have this latest series of hers all signed so I deemed it worth it! Taking two half days at work so we're not totally left in a lurch, so hopefully I won't come back to utter craziness, but we'll see what happens I guess.

Here's what I got this week:

Daughter of the Tempest by Braidee Otto

Devoured by Jordan Stephanie Gray--UK edition!
The Dark in Her Veins by M.K. Lobb--found this one at TJ Maxx yesterday and I had debated about the book not too long ago and impulsively bought it since I was shopping solo and no one talked me out of it! Lol. Plus it was a good deal, better than the Zon, so there you go.
Some Kind of Haunted by Hazel Beck--SIGNED!

Then I got two preorder incentives yesterday as well:

First up is The Sixth Faction lenticular postcard and leather bookmark!

THANK YOU HarperTeen!

Then I got my bag charm for The Velvet Knife!

THANK YOU HarperTeen!

And that was it for me this week! What did you get?

Book Blogger Hop #434

 

This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!

This week's topic is: What’s the creepiest book you’ve read that isn’t officially horror, but gave you chills?

MY ANSWER: Ooh that's a tough one. I mean compared to horror aficionados my picks probably are not really "horror" like. I mean, they might be in the horror section near Stephen King but content wise they might not be as scary as his stuff.

But yes, ignoring the label of horror, I am going to go TOTALLY old school and pick Tracy Deebs' (aka Tracy Wolff) Doomed!

This book, though already over 10 years old, gosh, I feel really old now, was super scary without even being close to a "horror" novel! This plot of this book was a teenaged girl accidentally unleashed a computer virus that basically shut down ALL technology across the country and I mean ALL! 13 years ago you're probably thinking like what did we even have? Really nothing that we still don't have now. But think...nothing will work. No computers, no internet, no cell phones, no credit cards to buy things, all the machines at hospitals and such stopped working...it was freaking scary because it turned apocalypse now style because NOTHING was working. So the girl along with two (hot) brothers must work to fix it and basically undo the virus before the country just dies because we can't do anything! It was scary because I could totally see this happening and I STILL can see this happening. 

Needless to say that 13 years ago, THIS was my book pick for what was once my annual Halloween giveaway. 

Review--The Wings That Bind by Briar Boleyn

 

The third installment of the viral Bloodwing Academy series is here! This dark academia romantasy delivers seductive vampires, high-stakes adventure, and dangerous romance.

The deluxe limited edition of The Wings That Bind features stenciled edges, custom endpapers, and a jacket with metallic effects! This breathtaking hardcover edition is available only on the first printing and is a must-have for any book lover while supplies last in the US and Canada.

The night's chaos left us breathless. Now the real nightmare begins.

In the wake of last winter's tragedies, through loss and heartbreak, we somehow made it to a new year. But our fight is far from over.

A second dragon has awoken--her heart tainted, and her power commandeered by two ruthless highbloods who will stop at nothing to uncover the dangerous, bloody secrets at the borders of Sangratha. Their cruelty knows no bounds.

Florence, my dearest friend, teetered on the brink of death. A dragon saved her, but now she's tied to him in a way I can scarcely understand. What will this new bond do to the woman I've come to love as a sister?

And then there's Blake. Once my relentless tormentor, then the keeper of my heart... he betrayed me again, nearly condemning Nyxaris to a cursed, stone-cold fate. But something has shifted in him. His gray eyes hide a secret he's desperate to protect. I saved Blake's life, despite everything. Yet with every heartbeat, I have to question where we go from here.

With Bloodwing Academy in turmoil and a new headmaster no one saw coming, only one thing is certain: This is going to be one hell of a year.

This dark fantasy series tackles mature themes. Readers are advised to consult the trigger warnings before embarking on this intense, morally gray/black journey through the realm of Sangratha!

I've been all over the place with my reading these days! Since I'm planning a road trip to see Briar Boleyn next week so I can have a fully signed set of these books, I thought I better get on reading The Wings That Bind as it's the third book in the series and the one before the grand finale! Luckily diving back into this one wasn't too hard with my notes and hopefully I'll be able to pick up the final book not too long from now, but knowing my luck, it will be awhile still! Lol.

We pick up where we left off which was once again, utter chaos! We open to what I believe was a new point of view, I read the first two books in their original format before moving to the big publishing house, so I don't know all of the changes that might or might not have been made. But anyway, this time we get also get Regan's point of view, Blake's wicked ex who was a capital B with an itch. But naturally, Briar decides to show us this character in a new light. While I can't call her a good person who was misunderstood, we do get a better insight to her person.

Then we also get Florence's point of view and I loved having her perspective! I've always been the quite bookish one, but with fictional books, I am not book smart! Lol. I still always feel a kinship to the bookworm whatever their choice in reading is. Florence is now bonded with a dragon, Nyxaris and it has definitely made life different for her.

That's not the only thing changing either. Big changes have come to Bloodwing Academy and it, naturally, won't be good changes. The classmates soon find themselves divided and pit against one another. Most are not for these changes, but some are embracing the change with relish.

Things continue to develop between Medra and Blake of course. They have definitely been one of those hot and cold relationships, hating one another, liking each other, then Blake messes things up and then there's more strife. They have the most up and down relationship I've ever encountered in a book before and it's mind-boggling! Lol. It's a supernatural version of Ross and Rachel practically but since we're nearing the end, hopefully things will turn out for these sometimes star-crossed lovers. They are definitely cross with one another that's for sure! But there are still plenty of heated moments between them.

Suffice to say, I cannot rank on the spicy scale! I feel like everyone has their own ranks to what's spicy and tame that putting a number on something tells me nothing unless I know how spicy your previous reads are. So I will just say that there are a few romantic interludes in the beginning portion of the novel, but when the chaos ensues, the romance takes a back seat! And Medra and Blake are not the only relationship to keep your eyes on. We get teases of another relationship and one that kind of had me theorizing things that are likely way off course, but when it's fantasy and/or paranormal, anything is fair game! Lol.

The ending to this one was pure chaos and I loved it! Of course chaos means cliffhangers galore since the cast of characters we dealt with all 400+ pages long were separated, so that's a lot of cliffies to deal with. But luckily the book is out and I get my copy next week! If you love a good paranormal fantasy romp with the classic school setting then this is a series you might just enjoy! It's set with college age students, so I guess we can call it new adult. Is that still a genre/level? But needless to say Briar Boleyn is a fantasy author to keep your eyes on if you love a good dragon and/or vampire read!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

 

Books from the Backlog #208

 

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks. This is a fun meme hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books!

Mila Flores and her best friend Riley have always been inseparable. There's not much excitement in their small town of Cross Creek, so Mila and Riley make their own fun, devoting most of their time to Riley's favorite activity: amateur witchcraft.

So when Riley and two Fairmont Academy mean girls die under suspicious circumstances, Mila refuses to believe everyone's explanation that her BFF was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life.

Unfortunately, Riley, June, and Dayton have no recollection of their murders, but they do have unfinished business to attend to. Now, with only seven days until the spell wears off and the girls return to their graves, Mila must wrangle the distracted group of undead teens and work fast to discover their murderer...before the killer strikes again.

I added Lily Anderson's Undead Girl Gang to my TBR pile in July of 2018...or I remembered to add it to my Goodreads then since it was a May 2018 release. You never know with me, lol. I remembered thinking this one sounded like fun! It was paranormally, it had some mystery going on and it seemed like a light-hearted read too. I mean, yes, there's murder mystery, but with the various paranormal books I've read, some have definitely had darker themes with murder, but with this fun looking cover, I was definitely getting more lighter vibes with this one. Naturally, I still want to give it a read!

Can't Wait Wednesday #271

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The gods took everything from Hades. Now he's coming to collect.

For once, I'm not the mortal condemned to face a series of deadly trials. Hades is.

To reclaim the powers that are rightfully his, the King of the Underworld must compete against the gods of Olympus-and survive a contest designed to bring even immortals to their knees.

I've lost count of how many impossible choices I've survived. I should be relieved to watch from the sidelines. Except the god I love is risking his life with every trial, and someone known only as the Deceiver is determined to destroy Team Underworld.

As ancient deception spreads across Olympus, the foundations begin to fracture from within. Hades and I must expose our hidden enemy before the gods turn against one another-and the world pays the price.

But while Hades battles the gods, I'm fighting to control the power awakening inside me. It's growing stronger. Wilder. And I'm no closer to understanding what it wants from me.

The gods think this is another game.

They're wrong.

This is war-and if anyone tries to take Hades from me, I'll show them what divine wrath really looks like.

I have enjoyed this series thus far--yes, I AM actually caught up! It's unbelievable! I plan to road trip to see Abigail and two other authors in November! It was kind of perfectly placed for a road trip signing and since there will be two other authors there, I deemed it worth the drive! Lol.

TITLE: The Wrath Gods Reap
AUTHOR: Abigail Owen
PUBLISHER: Red Tower Books
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: November 17, 2026

A tense, gripping novel about a mother whose child begins to change in ways she can’t explain, from the national bestselling author of The Place Where They Buried Your Heart.

Nora Pacetti is a new stay-at-home mother, tired but coping while caring for her happy, healthy baby Olivia. But then one morning, something that looks like a feather starts growing out of Olivia's arm. Or at least, that’s what Nora’s mother, Giulia, thinks. Nora thinks her mother has probably spent too much time watching conspiracy videos on YouTube.

Nora’s husband thinks Olivia needs tests, specialists, hospitals. But Nora senses that whatever is happening to her daughter needs to be concealed—and a mother’s intuition is never wrong. Soon sinister people begin asking questions about Olivia, and Nora starts to wonder if there really is something wrong with her baby. But she’s determined discover the truth about her daughter…no matter the cost.

Looooove Christina's books! The past few years she has written more standalones with horror/thriller vibes and they are just awesome! So I am definitely looking forward to this one AND I am contemplating another road trip to see her in November. Haven't quite landed on it yet if I will or won't as I did just see her last year, but it's on the backburner! We'll see what that week looks like weather-wise because you never know what you're gonna get in the Midwest...it's like a box of chocolates! Lol.

TITLE: Pinfeathers
AUTHOR: Christina Henry
PUBLISHER: Berkley
GENRE: Horror
RELEASE DATE: November 17, 2026

Top Ten Tuesday #700

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's topic is: Top Ten Things That Make Up My Perfect Day

*in no particular order

10. FAMILY
9. WEATHER UNDER 80 DEGREES
8. THE FIRST DAY HALLOWEEN DECOR COMES OUT IN STORES
7. FRESHLY BAKED COOKIES--right after some cookie dough! Lol.
6. REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
5. AN AUTHOR SIGNING
4. A SHINY NEW BOOK THAT ARRIVES ON TIME!
3. GOING TO THE BOOKSTORE
2. READING--of course!
1. DISNEY WORLD--the only thing I willingly give up a week of reading for! Lol.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.

Last Week I Read:

The Emperor's Enemy by Jasmine Mas (5 stars)

Currently Reading:

The Wings That Bind by Briar Boleyn

What I Plan to Read Next:

Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesday #699
Can't Wait Wednesday #270
Books from the Backlog #207
Book Blogger Hop #433
Stacking the Shelves--The Before Edition