Briana Noelle

Happy release day to A Poem Penned in Poison, the latest installment in the Tales of Wonder and Woe series! This story focuses on Naomi Weathers, who we were first introduced to in A Story Spun in Scarlet as Audra's best friend and a talented healer who had moved away from their home city to start a new life. We never knew exactly why... until now.

Naomi is blackmailed by Shadre Calten into helping the royal family in Hadrass Drui after the heir apparent is poisoned. He's survived, but there are others who weren't so lucky. Naomi, though a healer, has also had an interest in poison studies and she's been tasked with tracking down the culprit and helping to bring him to justice, lest her own dark secret be revealed. She manages to find him and slowly gain his trust, working alongside him to uncover his means and motives, but when she starts to learn the situation isn't as cut and dry as she's been led to believe, her mission becomes complicated to say the least.

This one had me legitimately tearing up at the end, but in the best way possible. The development of the relationships throughout were measured and believable, and I found myself dreading the inevitable conclusion that someone would have to pay the price. The story had twists I didn't see coming, and it's usually pretty hard for me to be surprised. This was a beautiful reminder that sometimes doing the hard thing and doing the right thing are one and the same, even if the world would tell you differently. Hats off to Renee Dugan for another fantastic addition, and thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read it as an ARC.

Get yourself a copy of A Poem Penned in Poison, out today!

“After all you have learned, and endured, and what you know now... which life will you choose?”

Epics Etched in Echoes is the continuation of Audra Jashowin's story. When we last saw her at the end of A Story Spun in Scarlet, she has sacrificed everything that makes her who she is – her Storycraft, her memories, and all of the people she loves – to avoid having to write Jaik Grissom out of the world again. Although she doesn't remember him when he resurfaces into the new life she's established in Krylan for herself, she is presented with the opportunity to join him in the quest of regaining her memories and some parts of the life she gave up for love. Despite her uncertainty and fear of what lays ahead, she travels with him through Mithra-Sha in search of The Storymaker.

Oh, the way reading this book and being back in this world felt like coming home. I received this book as an ARC after having read ATTBT as one and was so excited to dive back in! Along their journey, Jaik and Audra team up with some familiar faces from both of the previous books in the Tales of Wonder and Woe universe, including Lio, Ryker, and the crew of The Cathan, and we're introduced to some new ones as well who have played their own parts in Jaik and Audra's past. I loved getting to meet Ovaila, Audra's former headmaster at Fablehaven, and learning more about the plans the pair had made for their escape from their duties before the events of ASSIS. While fleshing out their pasts and simultaneously building towards their new future together, this book is rife with beautiful prose, heart-wrenching angst, twisting adventures, and a love so fierce between the two MCs that I just had to keep reading to ensure they received the ending they deserved.

If you haven't already, do yourself a favor and dive into this world for your next read. You won't be disappointed!

What do you MEAN the next book isn't announced already

This one hit a little too close to home

Shannon Chakraborty, the woman that you are 🥰 that ending's gonna have me in a chokehold until book 3