Recap: Victoria Aveyard's St. Louis Tour Stop

I've been pretty picky about which author events to attend lately. Mostly because a two-hour drive, on top of the $40 for the book and ticket price, are all just too much to commit to more than once or twice a year, especially with me attending ApollyCon annually as well. Not to mention my terrible habit of buying too many books in general. So, I only go to author events that I'm really, really interested in. Victoria Aveyard is one of those authors who made the cut. She visited my area for her St. Louis Tempest tour stop, and I decided to go.

 

I got to the St. Louis County Library space around 6:15 p.m., where I chilled until the event started at 7 p.m. I thought I'd been to the event space before for another Victoria Aveyard signing (along with many other signings) back in the day, but the space was a lot bigger and more modern than what I remembered, so maybe it wasn't the same space...? Or they did some major upgrades since. It had probably been 10 years since I'd attended an author event in that area. But anyway, when I got there, I picked up my pre-signed copy of Tempest, and I got a card with my signing group number on it. I was in Group 4. I'm a little confused about how that happened, as I was fairly early. I should have been 2 or 3, so maybe I went to the wrong side of the table and the lady I got my book from had the higher signing numbers. But, it didn't matter in the end. The signing line went pretty fast. Oh, and before the panel began, I got to see Jessica from A Great Read! That was cool to see her face-to-face after talking online so much.

 

Victoria's podcast co-host and fellow author friend Soman Chainani was the host for the conversation at the St. Louis tour stop. They were both pretty funny together. Unfortunately, my camera did not like the lighting, so my pics are the lovely quality you can see here. The yellow tone just doesn't mix with my phone. I did get a good pic before they dimmed the lights, though, but no one was sitting in the chairs then. XD 

  

 

Soman and Victoria apparently recorded the entire conversation so it could later be posted on their podcast, Plot Twist, which is kind of cool. Now, I'll always be able to go back and listen to it and remember the time I saw them in person. They talked about Victoria hitting the NYT bestseller list, since it was the second Wednesday after her book released. They also discussed how Tempest was originally supposed to be a standalone but was too big, so it had to be revised into a duology. It was also supposed to originally be a sub-plot of another project Victoria was working on, but she thought it would work better as its own story.

After the panel, I waited about 30 minutes to get my books signed. I'd brought eight total since the last time I'd since Victoria was when Glass Sword had been released and she was signing with Sophie Jordan. That was when I was still in college! I had two tote bags full of books, as Victoria's are all 300+ pages. Some are more like 500+. I took the collector's editions of the first two Red Queen books, the last three books in the Red Queen series, and all three Realm Breaker series hardcovers. We were only allowed to get one book personalized, so I chose King's Cage. Victoria even mentioned that I'd have to come back next year to get War Storm signed to complete the whole set. I think I gave her a weird look when she said that. My brain wasn't working, so it took me a minute to process what she said. Also, this sounds stupid, but she used hand sanitizer right before signing my second stack of books, so it made me a bit self-conscious about if my books (or just me in general) appeared dirty or something. I think she likely was just being proactive after signing so many things, but it caught me off guard to have it happen during the middle of my signing experience. I still smiled and said thank you, though. She was very nice. I'll just have to stop overanalyzing the sanitizer experience. Lol. 

 

 

 

They didn't do posed photos, just the signing line pics, so I have many photos of the back of my head. The one I have that's from the side has me looking a tad doofus-like, so I'll keep the one I share here to the back of my head. But overall, it was a good experience. I got to leave work two hours early, I ended up stopping at Barnes & Noble before the event started, and I got books signed. What more could I bookish girl ask for?

Stacking the Shelves: The Incentives Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

This week has been less reading-filled and more activity-filled. Work, gym, cleaning, and going to a signing event that I'll discuss in a bit. I'll also have a mini-recap up on the blog at some point. Hopefully soon, but knowing me it'll be a month from now. Oops.

 

As for the books I received this week, I have a very large Barnes & Noble preorder stack. Those include Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo, The Emperor's Enemy by Jasmine Mas, The Ice Beyond by Olivia Wildenstein, Eldritch by Keri Lake, Daughter of the Dark by R.J. Valldeparas, Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske, and Vanished by Meg Cabot, which is a repackage of the 1-800-Where-R-U series. I also went to a Barnes & Noble store in person and picked up White Raven by Stacey Marie Brown. She's going to ApollyCon in 2027, so I need to read her newest release and get caught up on her backlist. 

 

 

 

Up next, I have another edition of The Emperor's Enemy. I think there's a B&N edition too. I really need to read the book to decide if I want to own all three editions. I doubt it. I'm already swimming in multiple editions of books as it is. The other book is from the signing event I went to. Victoria Aveyard had a Tempest tour stop about two hours away from me, and I went. Now, I have a signed copy for my shelves.

 

 

 

And finally for physical copies, I have my Arcane Society Flesh & Fire editions. These are so pretty. What angers me about them, though, is I like both the reverse and the front dust jacket. I can't decide which side to use. I wish Arcane would've given buyers art prints of the reverse jackets, just so I could display both. Lol.

 

 

 

 Here, I have a preorder incentive that I didn't remember filling out a form for. I believe it's for Gretchen Powell's Shadow and Son book, as that looks like Cedric to me. The keychain is very cute. I have no idea what I'll do with it, but he's adorable. I'm also not sure if I'll put the signed bookplate in my book, as there might be a chance I'll meet Gretchen in person one day. Maybe. I have no idea when that would be. But still, it's a cute preorder incentive overall.

 

 

 

The second preorder incentive I received this week was for The Lion & the Deathless Dark by Carissa Broadbent. And, once again, it was an incentive I didn't remember. When a tube showed up in my mailbox, I was very confused. I'm also not sure what I'm going to do with this very shiny dust jacket. I don't have multiple copies of this book—I'm trying to cut back—so this will likely live in a plastic bin for a while until I decide what to do with it.

I have two ebooks this week. The first I received was Lightning & Thunder by Sara Raasch, which was a NetGalley approval. I'm behind on my NetGalley ARCs, so I have mixed feelings about being approved, though I'm super grateful and will definitely read and review it. I just need to get caught up first. I have a couple of months, though, thankfully. The other ebook was Hide the Witches by Miranda Lyn, which I got for free on Kindle.

 

Well, that's all for me. What books have you bought/received lately?

Upcoming Release: A Crown of Ruin Novella (Deluxe Paperback) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Blue Box Press is thrilled to announce that A Crown of Ruin: A Blood and Ash Special Edition Novella Paperback from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout is coming November 10th, and it is available for preorder now!

 

A Crown of Ruin

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publication Date: November 10, 2026

Paperback (limited edition with deluxe edges), 224 pages, Blue Box Press

Genres: Adult, Romantasy

Amazon | B&N | Indigo | Target | Walmart

 

When everything falls apart, the truth of who they are is revealed.

 

Poppy has fallen into stasis, her body broken and power spent, carried beyond the mortal realm. While she lies suspended in dreams, Casteel faces a world without her-raw, wrathful, and altered in ways he doesn't yet understand.

 

Left to steady a kingdom trembling under the weight of loss, Kieran shoulders what he cannot say aloud, even as the fractures between gods, mortals, and fate widen around him.

 

In the days that follow, grief becomes a guide, loyalty a burden, and love the only thing holding the realms together.

 

 These are the pieces that fill the silence. The moments of wrath, ruin, resolve, and the spark of what must come next. A Crown of Ruin reveals the unseen moments of love, loss, and change between The Primal of Blood and Bone and The Throne of Bone and Ash-now available in a beautiful print edition featuring designed edges and special bonus content, including excerpts from other books in the universe, original artwork, and a candid Q&A with Jennifer L. Armentrout.

My Thoughts

I read this novella as a free ebook download in January. It's still available for free, if you're interested, but it's coming out in a deluxe paperback edition with sprayed edges. It looks so pretty! And the bonus content has me very intrigued! I can't wait to add this to my Blood & Ash collection! I may even do a reread with a full review. I've thought a lot about this novella over the past nine months. It's really stuck with me, along with that TPOBAB ending. That was brutal!

Review: Kiss of the Black Flame by Helen Scheuerer

Kiss of the Black Flame

Helen Scheuerer

(The Bookbinder's Bargain #1)

Publication Date: September 22, 2026

Hardcover, 464 pages, Atria Books

Genres: Adult, Romantasy

Goodreads
 

Some bargains are sealed with blood...Others with fire...The deadliest are sealed with a kiss...

 

Saige Grayson has always believed stories could heal—even when her own body refuses to. As the most promising bookbinder in the capital, she’s learned to work through chronic pain and crushing debt, restoring other people’s treasures while trying not to fall apart herself. But when the man she owes decides her rare talent is worth more than her payments, Saige is traded to the Azkari—an immortal race forged by the gods for war—and imprisoned in their ancient stronghold.

 

Her only chance of survival lies with Archer, a fallen Azkari general imprisoned beside her —cursed, dangerous, and impossible to ignore. He offers her a way out, and in return, Saige must help him retrieve and restore an ancient book. But the book is made of living magic, powerful enough to stop a great evil—or unleash it. And as Saige works with Archer, the tome begins to awaken something dark and dangerous—both in the realm and within her.

 

As their enemies close in and buried memories resurface, Saige and Archer must decide what they’re willing to their freedom, their fragile trust…or the spark that could ignite the world.

My Review

Kiss of the Black Flame felt like a mix of today's romantasy stories combined with old-school paranormal romance books like Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark and Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld. It has a female main character with chronic pain, a mysterious sexy, warrior with a chip on his shoulder, and elemental powers that have unique, devastating features. 

Saige Grayson is a bookbinder who can't figure out why her body betrays her with debilitating pain, so she goes looking for answers that get her into trouble. That's where Archer, the ancient Azkari general comes in. He is imprisoned in the same stronghold Saige is dumped into, and he hasn't had access to his powers for years. Until Saige comes along, that is. Then, his black flames return and he's able to escape after making a bargain with Saige. The two characters had pretty good chemistry, but I was wary at first. Archer is very cranky. I mean, he sort of has a reason for it, but still, he's angry. The two did grow on me though. Saige is very sweet to Archer, which manages to break down his walls. It was all very adorable.

The plot was also fun. It felt like a love letter to book re-binders and book lovers overall, since the entire story revolves around finding and repairing a book. It also had a few twists I wasn't expecting. At first, I wasn't thrilled by one of them, but after a while, I was 100% on board. It made me very excited for book two. Unfortunately, one of the other plot twists had me cringing. It felt a bit wrong and uncomfortable. No spoilers here, but I truly don't know how Saige and Archer will navigate that situation. Good luck to them! 

As for worldbuilding, Helen Scheuerer created a world with a light-hearted atmosphere (Hello, slutty glasses, comfy socks, and loyal dog), yet the story still has the foreboding tone of a potential big bad being on the loose. Honestly, the worldbuilding kind of gave me small Sauron/LOTR bad guy vibes combined with the aforementioned IAD and LOTU character and romance dynamics. It also feels like T. Kingfisher's Swordheart series. After all, there's a trapped warrior, a woman who frees him, and a journey with unexpected obstacles.

All in all, I really enjoyed Kiss of the Black Flame, minus some hiccups along the way. It definitely felt like I'd time traveled back 15 years and was reading the most recent Kresley Cole release. I loved it. The brooding hero with wicked powers, the female main character with a soft nature and witty comebacks, and the conglomeration of all my favorite fantasy elements made for a book that was hard to put down. I can't wait to pick up the sequel, and I'm looking forward to reading Helen Scheuerer's backlist too.

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Stacking the Shelves: The Upside Down Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

It's been an errand-filled week, but other than that, it's been quiet. Thank goodness. Next week will be a bit more chaotic for reasons I'll share soon. I have been reading a lot lately. I'm actually bingeing a series that has been on my TBR for a loooong time. It was really weird that I even picked it up considering I was in a reading slump for about five or so days (work-related, of course. Yucky). The only book that sounded even remotely interesting to pick up on my TBR was Poison Princess by Kresley Cole, which was a reread. So that's what I did. I re-read books 1-3 and am now finishing the series. I've been trying to motivate myself to read those books for years. It's so weird how strange mood reading is.

 

As for the books I received this week, I have my FairyLoot set of the Kindred's Curse series books 1-3 by Penn Cole. I still have mixed feelings on these covers. While the character artwork is great (ignoring the fact that the mmc is wearing the same outfit on all three covers), I'm not a huge fan of cartoonish artwork on my front covers. As endpaper art, it would have been fine. You can get an idea of my preferred character art style in the next two pics. However, I don't like the regular covers of the Kindred's Curse books either. Nor the covers done by other book boxes. So, here we are. I've settled for the FairyLoot set until something else comes along. 

 

 

 

Up next, I have two books that I've been waiting on for a long freaking time. It's the Aurora Crate editions of books three and four in the Legacy series by Melissa K. Roehrich. Now, when I say a long time, I don't mean that Aurora Crate was late, I just mean that I've been wanting to read these final two books but I've been waiting on my physical copies to arrive and Aurora Crate's shipping timeline was simply "summer." Also, USPS left the package in purgatory at a nearby postal location, so I had to put in a missing mail/email request for the package. It arrived with a hole in the bottom, so I'm guessing that might have had something to do with the delay. Everything inside the box was fine, though. Except that the third book, Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance, arrived with an upside down naked hardcover. It was definitely a printing error. I'm super bummed because this is an international edition, so I'm not sure how the replacement process will play out. I've already sent an email to them. Now, I just wait and see.

 

 

 

And finally, I have two less contentious orders. My preorder from Barnes & Noble of Sorrow & Strangers by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune arrived, and my preorder of the seventh book in the Zodiac Academy luxe edition set, Heartless Sky, came in as well. There are only five more books to go in this giant, expensive ZA preorder. That's crazy to think about. I ordered those things back in December 2024 and orders are still trickling in. Of course, right as this set is almost complete, the authors decided to do the spinoff series special editions, so it won't end any time soon. It's very sad for my wallet.

 

Well, that's all for me. What books have you bought/received lately?

August Wrap-Up & September TBR

August is over, but it's still 100 degrees out. How rude. I actually did a couple of things last month, which is weird for me. I feel like most of my months have been quiet lately. However, I ended up going to a concert, which I'll talk about in this post. I also bought myself a bookcase, which isn't the most exciting thing ever, but it's fun enough for a boring person like me. Oh, and I got 2027 ApollyCon tickets! Hurrah! 

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in August

Never Ever After: 3 stars

The Chains of Fate: 4 stars

The Shadows of Stars: 4 stars 

The Bargain of Dragons: 4 stars

Swordheart: 4 stars

Daggerbound: 4 stars (my review)

Broken Souls and Bones: 3.5 stars

Kiss of the Black Flame: 4 stars (review to come)

A Bloom in Winter: 3 stars 

The Second Death of Locke: 3.5 stars

Father Material: 4 stars 

I don't know how I managed it, but I read 11 books in August. I think it's because I binge-read three books in a series and had a couple of books that I had to read for review purposes. Six of the books were from my physical TBR: Never Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan, Broken Souls and Bones by L.J. Andrews, A Bloom in Winter by J.R. Ward, The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino, Swordheart by T. Kingfisher, and Husband Material by Alexis Hall. Only All of these except Swordheart and Husband Material were pre-2026 purchases. Woohoo! As for the ebooks, I actually had to read Swordheart so I could read the companion book, Daggerbound, because I accidentally requested it on NetGalley without realizing it was a sequel. I was approved for it, so I read it after Swordheart. I also read Kiss of the Black Flame by Helen Scheuerer via NetGalley copy as well. Then, another three books were Kindle Unlimited downloads. Those were the three middle books in Samantha Amstutz's Aelfyn Archives series, which I very much enjoyed.

Books Bought/Received in August

August was another insane haul month. I guess I just went crazy since it's my birthday month. Oops again. In total, I purchased 40 books and received 20 free ebooks/preorders that I'd already paid for in previous months. The dollar amount was sickening. That, combined with my ApollyCon tickets, meant for a very, very expensive month. Overall, I added 37 physical books added to my shelves and 26 physical copies I have to add to my ever-growing TBR.

The 20 books I received mostly consisted of the preordered books that all decided to arrive in August along with some downloaded ebooks. The prior months' preorders that showed up included A Hunger Like No Other Bad Women Books Romantasy sub edition, Fated Throne King's Hollow edition, The Temptation of Magic (Books-a-Million), Warbreaker (B&N), The Winged Game FairyLoot Adult book, the Locked Library Nevernight set, The Ballad of Falling Dragons FairyLoot edition, and the Black Jewels trilogy from Moonlight Book Box. I also had a book I got from my local used bookstore with trade credit: Defiant by Brandon Sanderson. And then, for ebooks, I downloaded Steal the Wind, Forsaken Mate, Bound to the Vampires, Drawn by Dragonblood, Grayson's Mate, Fae Bound, and The Thorns We Inherit all for free on either Kindle or Nook.

 

Now, for what I bought in August. Of the 40 books I bought, 24 arrived in August. Those included a bunch of books from Barnes & Noble: Vow of Eternal Night, Splintered Kingdom, The Lion and the Deathless Dark, A Bargain So Bloody, Runebreaker, The Poison Daughter, three replacement Meg Cabot books, and two replacement P.C. and Kristin Cast books. I also had one Pango order, Anathema by Keri Lake, and one Mercari order, Bitten & Bound by Amy Pennza. For FairyLoot books, I received my two monthly sub books, The Witch in the Dead of Night and Steelborn. I also had a Book Outlet order for The Silversmith, Veselless, Immortal Dark, A Cruel Thirst, The High Mountain Court, Hell Bent, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Dire Bound. And I ordered a UK paperback of Warrior Princess Assassin from Blackwells.

 As for the remaining 17 books, they include preorders that won't arrive until later in the year. The FairyLoot preorders were for Earthbound, The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy, and the War of Lost Hearts series. Other orders that are coming eventually include Primal of Blood and Bone and Visions of Flesh and Blood Books for Days Crate editions, three FBAA German editions, the Owlcrate edition of Daggermouth, the PR editions of Bonds that Tie books 4-7, The Knave and the Moon, and Tempest.

Currently Obsessed With

Well, the only show I saw besides the season three finale of House of the Dragon was my continued watch of The Middle on Peacock. I also saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day in theaters on the first day of August. It was good. Then, like a week later, I went to a Simple Plan concert. Blink-182 and 3OH!3 were there too. Concerts are not the norm for me. I only go to like one every five years or so, if that. Oh, and when Peacock has been glitching, I've been going back to watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. I stopped for a bit because it was getting to be too much, but I'm doing bits at a time now. 

September TBR

This looks so much more manageable than last month's TBR. I really screwed myself over when I requested so many NetGalley books. Right now, I'm behind on two of them: A Viper Among Kings by Sydney Olivia and To Cage a Wild Bird by Brooke Fast. I'm about halfway through The Drakon King by Terry J. Benton-Walker and about 20% through Turncloak by L.K. Steven. Turncloak needs read and reviewed before September 15. I have some time for The Drakon King, thankfully. Other than those books, I'd like to read A Dance of Lies by Brittney Arena because the sequel is on sale soon. I also need to read Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe for book club.

***

Okay, well, that's the month of August, plus some September sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for last month? If so, share in the comments!

Stacking the Shelves: The Knave and the Moon Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

It's been a relatively quiet week, but we're in September now, so that's to be expected. I feel like September in general is pretty mellow, with kids going back to school and the weather (hopefully) cooling down. Ugh. I hate this nasty heat. Anyway, nothing big has been happening in my world. It's mostly been work stuff. Lame. So I'm hoping this next week is more about me, especially with Labor Day on Monday. Yay for days off!

 

As for the books I received, it's, thankfully, a very small haul this week. Of course my preorder of Rachel Gillig's The Knave and the Moon arrived. I just got the regular edition, as I ended up unhauling my Barnes & Noble edition of book one a month or two after I'd bought it. I just didn't particularly like the font color and edge choices. I'm glad I decided to stick with the original, as I've heard horror stories from people trying to remove the B&N sticker. Other than The Knave and the Moon, my replacement copy of FairyLoot's The Witch in the Dead of Night by Charlotte Buckley also came in. I don't normally show replacement copies in hauls, but I figured The Knave and the Moon looked lonely. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that I got 2027 ApollyCon tickets! It's the first time I actually was able to snag them myself since 2022!

 

Well, that's all for me. What books have you bought/received lately?

Stacking the Shelves: The Moonlight Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

I wasn't feeling great yesterday, so I wasn't able to schedule my StS post. I also had to run around today for various tasks, so I'm just now getting around to writing all about this week's book haul. Last weekend was the birthday weekend, so it was busy. My sister got me a small CD player, and now, I need to find all my CDs. I also bought myself a new TBR bookcase. I was going to share a pic, but I completely forgot and I'm too lazy to do it now. I'm sure the display will show up on an eventual blog pic somewhere.

 

As for the books I received, they're all just preorders. I didn't buy any books on my actual birthday because I'd purchased soooo many throughout the month. The Moonlight Book Box editions of Anne Bishop's Black Jewels series did show up on my birthday, though. That was a fun present from past me to open that day. Later in the week, I also got my FairyLoot sub boxes, which include the Adult box's edition of Steelborn by Taylor J. LaRue and the Romantasy edition of The Witch in the Dead of Night by Charlotte Buckley. My Romantasy book's dust jacket had shifted, so it was damaged in transit. I did contact FairyLoot about a replacement, so that should be on its way at some point.

 

Well, that's all for me. What books have you bought/received lately?