Happy book birthday to Tale of the Heart Queen by Nisha J Tuli! Today, the Darlings discuss the big finale to the Artefacts of Ouranos quartet (otherwise known as the Trial of the Sun Queen books), and it was a CHONKER.

Is Lor able to save Nadir and get her happily ever after? What becomes of Nadir and Amara’s father, Rion the Aurora King? And what about Grumpy Gabriel and Tyr—do they find freedom and happiness once again? Better yet—what happens to that bish, Apricia? 😂

We talk through everything that happens with our spunky, soap-loving Heart Queen, the scary ozziller, and the conclusion to this beautiful (spicy) fantasy world.

Be sure to pick up your copy of Tale of the Heart Queen!

(And our sincerest apologies—in the first handful of minutes—apparently Tera's dogs needed to get their steps in for the day. But at least her chair isn't squeaking today?) 😆

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon is a debut Asian adult fantasy proudly featuring inspo from the Philippines and Filipino culture.

With the slowwwwest enemies-to-lovers burn, this is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy that takes its time getting to the "lovers" part of the trope. 😂

Today, we're super excited to talk about Alaric and Talasyn's enemy story, the book's Filipino influence, and its origins as Reylo fanfic.

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Heat of the Everflame by Penn Cole completes our journey of The Kindred's Curse Saga! Well, until Burn of the Everflame is released, anyway. 😂

Honorary Story Darling, Jess Jurhs, joins Tera and Sandra again for some final discussion on everything that happened in book 3. What happened with Diem's coronation ceremony? Does she ever find out who her father is? And what about Auralie—whose side is she on anyway?

And the burning question that has us ALL hot and bothered: do Diem and Luther ever get it on? Let's talk about it!

We're once again (lovingly) beseeching Penn Cole to share the release date for Burn of the Everflame. We need it now! 😫

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Remember to subscribe to Story Darlings on YouTube and to drop a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify—it helps so much!

Where to find Jess:Instagram: https://instagram.com/tiaras.and.books

Gym Was Cancelled podcast: https://anchor.fm/gymcancelledpod

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GLOW OF THE EVERFLAME BY PENN COLE. The madness continues with the sequel to Spark of the Everflame—the strongest installment yet!

We're joined again by honorary Story Darling, Jess Jurhs, and she has some personal offenses to surface with Tera and Sandra. (Don't worry—we're all still friends!) 😂

The trio of Darlings discuss Diem's affinity for power, her poor decision-making skills, and Jess does a lot of chuckling behind her book as Tera and Sandra share their thoughts and theories as to what the heck is going on.

It'll be bittersweet to return next week on 11/5 to discuss the third book with Jess, Heat of the Everflame.

PENN COLE, Burn of the Everflame when?? 😫

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Remember to subscribe to Story Darlings on YouTube and to drop a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify—it helps so much!

Where to find Jess:

Gym Was Cancelled podcast: https://anchor.fm/gymcancelledpod

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Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole! IS THE KINDRED'S CURSE SAGA OUR NEW FAVORITE ROMANTASY OBSESSION?? I think so!

We're joined by honorary Story Darling, Jess Jurhs from Gym Was Cancelled: A Buffycast to talk all-things Diem Bellator, Luther Corbois, unhinged theories, and even Hunger Games and Vampire Diaries lol.

Buckle up for the most chaotic book discussion ever, but the good news is that Jess will be back to discuss Glow of the Everflame and Heat of the Everflame for our 10/29 and 11/5 episodes!

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Remember to subscribe to Story Darlings on YouTube and to drop a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify—it helps so much!

Where to find Jess:

Gym Was Cancelled podcast: https://anchor.fm/gymcancelledpod

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The Cruel Dark is a twisty, gothic romance by author Bea Northwick and is absolutely worth the read! With the perfect atmosphere for spooky season, swoon-worthy romance scenes and smut, and a twisty ending, you can find it on Kindle Unlimited, order a paperback copy through Amazon, or purchase signed copies and special hardcovers from the author's website.

Quick update on the author's special giveaway for 1 million pages read on KU: The Cruel Dark crossed the 1M mark! YAYYYYYY!

The Cruel Dark has a companion novella called Lover (also on KU) that you will want to pick up immediately after reading The Cruel Dark—just avoid reading Lover until after you've read TCD or else you'll spoil yourself!

Happy October! Thanks so much for listening and supporting the show! 🖤

The Cruel Dark on KU: https://a.co/d/2UUnIMF

Bea Northwick's website: https://www.northwickbooks.com/signedbooks

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It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover. October 1 marks the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so we thought we'd release the sequel discussion to our It Ends With Us episode.

In this follow-up book, one year has passed and Lily has to balance her divorce from Ryle, co-parenting with him, and navigating her complicated, newfound relationship with Atlas.

Like so many mothers who escape their abusive relationship, the challenge then becomes grappling with the guilt and shame of dating again and feeling deserving of love while their ex does everything they can to interfere with that happiness and independence. In Lily's situation, she learns that Ryle isn't progressing at all with his anger management and is still very much struggling with his childhood trauma.

Meanwhile, Atlas steps up into his new role as a father figure, not just for Emerson, but for his little brother he never knew existed.

It Starts With Us is filled with heartfelt moments and feel-good growth, and readers get to finally see Lily and Atlas's long-coming happily ever after, wrapping up their story beautifully.

For domestic violence resources: https://www.thehotline.org/

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1.800.799.SAFE (7233)

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Remember to subscribe to Story Darlings on YouTube and to drop a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify—it helps so much!

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Happy book birthday to A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan! And a big thank you to Avon for the advance reader copy. With Sophie Jordan's considerable backlist of romance novels and YA romantasy, this marks her debut into the adult romantasy genre, and it was a fun ride!

If you're curious about the book's tropes, you will find: Forced marriage, enemies to lovers, orphaned MCs, multiple POVs, a sorta (not really) love triangle, dragons, witches, and deliciously slow burn romance. There are centuries old conflicts and perilous landscapes and creatures, and with the story's slower pacing, readers can take their time and savor the reveals and romantic tension.

Per usual, the Darlings kick off this episode with no spoilers, and they give a spoiler warning before diving in too deeply. You can find A Fire in the Sky at your local retailer, but be quick, because the first edition first print runs feature gorgeous colored end papers and royal blue stained edges, along with fun bits of art sprinkled throughout.

Get your copy: https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Sky-Novel-Sophie-Jordan/dp/0063399997

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Remember to subscribe to Story Darlings on YouTube and to drop a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify—it helps so much!

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It's time to vote on the Story Darlings Amazon Book Club pick for October! In this episode, Tera and Sandra discuss some of the latest book submissions, which include: Gild by Raven Kennedy, Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole, A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen, and more!

Previous submissions include When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker, A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire and Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and The Wicked in Me by Suzanne Wright.

The Darlings already plan to cover The Cruel Dark, The Hurricane Wars, Tale of the Heart Queen, and Onyx Storm in future episodes.

You can vote for more than one book, and votes will be tallied across our Spotify poll, Instagram polls, and Amazon Book Club the week of Sept 17. So get out there and vote!

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the show. Remember to subscribe to Story Darlings on YouTube and to drop a rating/review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify—it helps so much!

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We're back with The Finish Line by Kate Stewart! This is the third and final book in The Ravenhood series, BUT if you're looking for more discussions on the boys of the 'hood, stay tuned because we may just cover the spin-off series, Ravenhood Legacy, here on Story Darlings for next year! 😉

Where Flock and Exodus were very much focused on Cecilia's story, The Finish Line really centers on Tobias and his upbringing with Dom—though Cecilia is still very much integral to the development of this book's plot.

Kate Stewart creates a story here that helps us accept and fall in love with the elder King brother, shows us the origins of the Ravenhood, and grants us some closure to what happened with Dominic and Sean in the earlier books.

And not to mention, we DO get Cecilia's happily ever after. At long last!

We hope you enjoy this episode. Thank you so much for listening and supporting the show!

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