Entranced by the Basilisks by Lillian Lark

Available now

Reader Friends, I love Lillian Lark’s books. I love how imaginative and sexy they are. I love how the characters have real, interesting lives and jobs. I love how easily she can turn magical elements into something that feels completely believable and relatable. I also love how imaginative and sexy they are.

Her books are so hot. So. Hot.

In Entranced by the Basilisks, we are back with Emilia from Deceived by the Gargoyles. She is still reeling from learning that magic is real and the discover that her best friend and co-worker has been lying to her for their entire relationship. When a crate of books is delivered to her office for restoration, she follows all of the precautions taught to her by Grace, including using crystals to check for, and deactivate any magical wards. When the first book appears to be nothing more than a beautiful antique book, Emilia is delighted to have a project that will keep her busy and focused on something other than her new-found magical knowledge.

But, magic is fickle and instead of hours of peace and quiet, Emilia discovers a curse. A curse that turns her into a Medusa-like creature and a threat to all who come near her. Desperate to find a cure, Emilia finds herself at the magical Love Bathhouse and in the capable hands of Rose, our favorite magical matchmaker. Will finding her mate cure the curse? Will finding pleasure on a serpent’s tongue be just what she needs?

Gods I love a book with the possibility of sex magic!

Luckily for Emilia, everyone steps up to help her control her new magical power. Everyone, including Jasper Adder, her very grumpy boss who has been harboring a secret crush on his employee. Everyone, including Ari Zeyad, the rich antiques dealer who has spent the last seven years wanting a real relationship with Jasper, only to be pushed away.

Lark has gifted us with a steamy romance that is a glorious blend of enemies to lovers, workplace pining, age gap, and “ancestor did something wrong so the entire line suffers” longing. It’s an incredibly sweet book, with characters that feel real even with all the magic involved. Jasper and Ari have a long and complicated history together with real reasons for not taking their relationship public. Ari’s tendency to be very pushy and manipulative makes things more difficult, not just for his relationship with Jasper, but for his relationship with both Jasper and Emilia. Emilia isn’t one for casual relationships and to just jump into a relationship with not one, but two men is an incredibly hard choice to make. Add in their shapeshifting abilities and the whole “magical curse” thing and it’s quite a lot for her to take in. But it all works. Lark is able to weave together all these elements and craft a beautiful, steamy, romance that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This is part of the Monstrous Matches series but can be read as a standalone. Deceived by the Gargoyles is fabulous so I recommend you read that first, then come back to Entranced by the Basilisks. Both are available in KU.

If you’d like to add this fantastical romance to your collection, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information. If you’re interested in starting a Kindle Unlimited subscription, you can find information here.

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Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (Re-Post)

It’s Spooky Season! Enjoy some of my favorite horror novels from the past few years.

Originally posted December 2020

Available Now

I have been on a creepy book kick lately and I’ve been lucky to have read a string of excellent books. Plain Bad Heroines kicks it up even further by being a creepy book about a book. Actually, it’s a book about a movie being made that is based on a book all about an obsession with another book. 

I swear. 

So, in the early 1900’s, at the Brookhant’s School for Girls, two girls became obsessed with a memoir written by Mary MacLane. Their obsession led to not only their own tragic and horrific deaths, but the deaths of three more people tied to the school. A century later, the abandoned school is now the center of a novel written by the brilliant and precocious author, Merrit Emmons, who was only 16 at the time. Her novel about the young women obsessed with not only each other, but the writings of Mary MacLane, is going to be adapted into a gothic horror film. As production begins on the movie, tensions between Merrit and the two young movie stars rise and mysterious events put everyone in danger. 

This book is a chunker - the hardcover edition clocks in at 617 pages and there is a lot of story to be found in those pages. I’m not exaggerating on the book about a movie about a book about a book. A lot of story. The book is constantly changing. In one chapter, you will be reading about the brutal murder of a young woman decades in the past, and in the next, read about a romantic and chaotic first date between two enigmatic young women in the present. There are so many elements of a classic gothic horror. There’s the dark and dilapidated boarding school where young women are sent to become ladies, but really discover that women are great at kissing. There are tragic and mysterious deaths that could be explained away as male violence, or, a curse. Layered on top of our gothic horror story is a coming of age novel about a young actress who needs to break away from her mother and make her own way in Hollywood. But how do you keep your wits about you when it seems that a curse is following you, you’re possibly in love with your co-star, and you know that writer thinks you’re unqualified? Like I said, there’s a lot of story.

I absolutely loved the writing style in this book. It read like you were listening to one of your best friends tell their famous local legend, while sitting by a fire and enjoying a boozy cocktail. It’s very conversational and snarky, with such compelling and campy writing that you are instantly swept up in the soap opera feel of what is really, a quite tragic story. The book is it full of black and white illustrations of our young, plain, bad heroines in all their tragic glory and has some of the best footnotes ever included in a book. Many provide historical context, many are just the narrator being sarcastic and hilarious and I’m pretty sure I sent screenshots of at least 10 pages to my boss within the first 20 pages of reading the book.

The characters are very well developed and incredibly interesting. Merrit is very prickly and slightly obnoxious while Harper Harper, yes that’s her name, is a glamorous and gorgeous chameleon of a character. To me, Harper was the hardest to figure out. Was she just an excellent actress and we never saw the real woman within? Was she just such a quick thinker that she could turn the acting on and off? She’s a puzzle. Meanwhile, Audrey is in a little bit over her head but really wants to make it as an actress and is far stronger than she believes. All three women are smart, interesting, and driven. They’re also all gorgeous, queer, and know that there is something going on at Brookhants. 

This book checked off a lot of my reader wheelhouse boxes-there’s a creepy school full of rich girls and their rich girl problems. It’s fast paced and the multiple timelines slowly reveal all the deliciously creepy scariness that follows everyone involved with Mary MacLane’s book. The characters are interesting and compelling and I was quickly invested in everyone’s survival. This book is also incredibly fun. It never takes itself too seriously, is very campy, and was an absolute delight to get lost in. I highly, highly recommend this for anyone who loves gothic horror, star crossed lovers, and a ton of snark. 

If you would like a copy for yourself, or to buy as a gift for your favorite book lover, you can find ordering information here: 

This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

Available Now

I have been on a creepy book kick lately and I’ve been lucky to have read a string of excellent books. Plain Bad Heroines kicks it up even further by being a creepy book about a book. Actually, it’s a book about a movie being made that is based on a book all about an obsession with another book. 

I swear. 

So, in the early 1900’s, at the Brookhant’s School for Girls, two girls became obsessed with a memoir written by Mary MacLane. Their obsession led to not only their own tragic and horrific deaths, but the deaths of three more people tied to the school. A century later, the abandoned school is now the center of a novel written by the brilliant and precocious author, Merrit Emmons, who was only 16 at the time. Her novel about the young women obsessed with not only each other, but the writings of Mary MacLane, is going to be adapted into a gothic horror film. As production begins on the movie, tensions between Merrit and the two young movie stars rise and mysterious events put everyone in danger. 

This book is a chunker - the hardcover edition clocks in at 617 pages and there is a lot of story to be found in those pages. I’m not exaggerating on the book about a movie about a book about a book. A lot of story. The book is constantly changing. In one chapter, you will be reading about the brutal murder of a young woman decades in the past, and in the next, read about a romantic and chaotic first date between two enigmatic young women in the present. There are so many elements of a classic gothic horror. There’s the dark and dilapidated boarding school where young women are sent to become ladies, but really discover that women are great at kissing. There are tragic and mysterious deaths that could be explained away as male violence, or, a curse. Layered on top of our gothic horror story is a coming of age novel about a young actress who needs to break away from her mother and make her own way in Hollywood. But how do you keep your wits about you when it seems that a curse is following you, you’re possibly in love with your co-star, and you know that writer thinks you’re unqualified? Like I said, there’s a lot of story.

I absolutely loved the writing style in this book. It read like you were listening to one of your best friends tell their famous local legend, while sitting by a fire and enjoying a boozy cocktail. It’s very conversational and snarky, with such compelling and campy writing that you are instantly swept up in the soap opera feel of what is really, a quite tragic story. The book is it full of black and white illustrations of our young, plain, bad heroines in all their tragic glory and has some of the best footnotes ever included in a book. Many provide historical context, many are just the narrator being sarcastic and hilarious and I’m pretty sure I sent screenshots of at least 10 pages to my boss within the first 20 pages of reading the book.

The characters are very well developed and incredibly interesting. Merrit is very prickly and slightly obnoxious while Harper Harper, yes that’s her name, is a glamorous and gorgeous chameleon of a character. To me, Harper was the hardest to figure out. Was she just an excellent actress and we never saw the real woman within? Was she just such a quick thinker that she could turn the acting on and off? She’s a puzzle. Meanwhile, Audrey is in a little bit over her head but really wants to make it as an actress and is far stronger than she believes. All three women are smart, interesting, and driven. They’re also all gorgeous, queer, and know that there is something going on at Brookhants. 

This book checked off a lot of my reader wheelhouse boxes-there’s a creepy school full of rich girls and their rich girl problems. It’s fast paced and the multiple timelines slowly reveal all the deliciously creepy scariness that follows everyone involved with Mary MacLane’s book. The characters are interesting and compelling and I was quickly invested in everyone’s survival. This book is also incredibly fun. It never takes itself too seriously, is very campy, and was an absolute delight to get lost in. I highly, highly recommend this for anyone who loves gothic horror, star crossed lovers, and a ton of snark. 

If you would like a copy for yourself, or to buy as a gift for your favorite book lover, you can find ordering information here: 

This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.