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Book Review: A Liar’s Twisted Tongue (The Fated Blood Trilogy #1) by Caroline Cusanelli

Cover art for A Liar's Twisted Tongue (The Fated Blood Trilogy #1)

 

A Liar’s Twisted Tongue (The Fated Blood Trilogy #1) by Caroline Cusanelli

Caroline Cusanelli, 2025

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8990027831

Available: Hardcover, paperback, audiobook, Kindle edition

Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

 

Desdemona’s community is barely surviving under the noses of the brutal Nepenthes. One day, Desdemona’s mother hands her a protection necklace and pushes her through a portal as the monstrous Arcanes descend on their home. The portal opens onto the grounds of Visnatus Academy, a school for the elites of Ilyria, Folkara, Eunaris, Draevia, and Nepthara, all of whom have different magical powers. Desdemona has a letter identifying her as the secret child of a famous Folk general that gains her probationary admission to the academy, but she just wants to go home to her mom.

 

Despite the letter, I wasn’t convinced that Desdemona, thrown headfirst into a disorienting situation she could not possibly understand, could have survived the brutal Visnatus Academy for even a few minutes without being caught out, or that she would immediately find allies despite her behavior and attitude. She’d need My Fair Lady levels of training, and she barely has a believable cover story.

 

Meanwhile, Lucian, crown prince of Ilyria, has had an unpleasant surprise: his marriage has been arranged with Princess Calista of Folkara, while his sister Lilac will be marrying Prince Kai, Calista’s brother. Lucian is resigned to doing whatever his abusive mother, Queen Isa, tells him to, as she has the magical ability to drain his life force, but misery over their impending marriages inspires him to throw a party in the woods. There,  he is drawn into Desdemona’s attempt to open a portal back to her mom. While she is traveling in the portal, Lucian has a vision of them in the Void, an empty dimension where the powerful, monstrous Arcanes are trapped. Desdemona is able to communicate with her mother through the vision, and Lucian decides he needs her power to take his revenge on the Arcanes, who murdered his real parents, leaving him at Isa’s mercy. Desdemona’s power is over fire, and she doesn’t know how to control it (leading to some terrifying situations). Lucian, whose power allows him to manipulate and influence other people, offers to teach her if she will help him.

 

Romantasy leans heavily on tropes, but in any credible love story the reader should be able to figure out why the romantic leads like each other. That just isn’t present here. Desdemona is consistently hostile, rude, manipulative, and ungrateful. Lucian is arrogant, reckless, manipulative, and sometimes cruel. Both are dealing with trauma and repressed memories, acting in survivor mode, but not with empathy toward each other. While they occasionally have a tender moment, the memorable scenes are the ones that cross between violence and  their magnetic attraction to each other. This was offered to me as a “dark academia romantasy” It certainly has the atmosphere expected of an ominous boarding school for elite students found in dark academia, but leans harder into the outside fantasy world than into academic obsession, and is more focused on the dynamics of the leads with each other.

 

Romantasy fans who like morally gray characters  with heightened emotions will enjoy the intricate world-building, the high stakes, and the developing relationship between the two main characters. The end held some intriguing surprises, and readers who like this can look forward to a sequel.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Posted on October 8, 2025 by , Reply

Book Review: The Demon by Victory Witherkeigh

 

 

The Demon by Victory Witherkeigh

BookBaby, 2024

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8350951110

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy:  Amazon.com

 

The Demon  is a sequel to The Girl, a coming-of-age story grounded in Tagalog folklore and mythology, about a Filipina-American girl whose family has promised her body to a demon on her 18th birthday as part of fulfilling an ancestral pact, but will have to choose whether to fulfil it. I haven’t had the opportunity to read it, but I suspect The Demon makes much more sense if you’ve read The Girl. 

 

The Demon starts with the demon, Hukloban taking over the physical body of the girl, who is nameless in the book. It isn’t an easy transition, and not only is the demon now overwhelmed with the physical sensations of her mortal body, but she has lost her memories and most of her demonic powers. Since Hukloban cannot remember anything, it’s unclear why the girl was taken over, what bargain she made, or who she is. Second-in-command to Sitan, the Master of Death, when he asks her she cannot remember why she wanted to be part of the mortal world. Thousands of years old, the demon will have to find her way in the human world, while satisfying her demonic needs and fulfilling her end of the bargain, made with Filipino hero Lapu-Lapu, to keep his bloodline prosperous. As in her previous book, it is a story about making choices, self-determination, and being human. How does a death goddess manage the body, mind, and emotions of a teenage girl?

 

I found this compelling, but also confusing. Witherkeigh has written an ambitious story and is juggling a lot of balls: Hukloban’s story as a college student in the modern world, trying to reconstruct herself; her relationships with the girl’s family (there are a lot of them), where the girl’s relationships are entangled with her dulies to fulfill the bargain; the far past, when she initially met Sitan (I didn’t realize they were part of the Tagalog pantheon); the confusion of her love affairs and friendships; her frustration about the benefit Lapu-Lapu’s bloodline has taken from colonizers and dictators because of the bargain; the lack of choice available to women. There are some very adult themes and conversations about death, as well as BDSM, addiction, abortion, toxic relationships, and grooming.

 

While I found The Demon to be an interesting book, it wasn’t an immersive one, as I had to keep stopping to look things up, and I found the ending unsatisfying. It was unusual enough that it kept me reading, but other readers may find it’s too much work. Witherkeigh is talented, though, and I know we will see more from her.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on February 3, 2025 by , Reply

Book Review: The Dreams of Demhe (Lost Carcosa #3) by Joseph Sale

The Dreams of Demhe (Lost Carcosa #3) by Joseph Sale

Blood Bound Books, 2024

ISBN: 2370015765491

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Amazon.com

 

This is the third book in the Lost Carcosa series.  Reviews for the prior two books, The Claw of Craving and The City of Corpses can be found on this site.

 

When we last left off, protagonist Alan Chambers and his companions had won a great victory over the forces of darkness, but the evil Princess Cali had escaped after killing her father.  The Dreams of Demhe covers their pursuit of Cali through the fabled Desert of Demhe, to stop her before she can join forces with the Demon King.

 

Not surprisingly, the book stacks up well against the previous two installments.  No doubt, Joseph Sale is a superbly gifted writer, and his prose is strong, as always.  The story does have a somewhat different feel from the prior two.  It’s more introspective, and focuses more on the inner strengths and weaknesses of the characters, as opposed to having them surmount various obstacles in the Carcosa world.  This is facilitated in the story by the Desert of Demhe, where most of the book takes place.  It’s a place of visions, where the apparitions seen are tailored to each character, and prey upon their deepest fears.

 

The setting is what gives the book its unique flavor, and is also likely to divide readers of the series.  Those that prefer stories that focus on what makes the main characters tick will likely have this ranked as the best in the series, while readers that prefer more action-oriented stories will probably prefer the previous volumes.  It’s a very good read, but an altered direction for the series.  There’s plenty of internal conflict built into the story, especially in Alan’s case.  He has to contend with the Claw he bears on his arm, which has an intelligence of its own, and is often in opposition to what Alan’s heart tells him.  Also, the visions of the Desert cause Alan to learn some things about his companions that would have been better left hidden, in the interest of keeping the companions unified in their purpose of stopping Cali.

 

The viewpoints of the other characters also factor in: can they keep supporting Alan, even though he knows their worst fears and failings?  People in the book (and in real life) keep secrets for a reason. When the veil of secrecy is lifted, it has the potential to tear the group apart, and the cracks start to show by the end of the story.  There are also two notable twists to the narrative that are likely to become pivotal in the series. One concerns Alan, the other concerns LeBarron, the actor in the group.  It’s an inward-looking book, and an entertaining one.

 

The bottom line here is, it’s another good entry in one of the best series to come out in a long time, in the dark fantasy genre.  Now, when do we get the next one?  Recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

 

Posted on August 29, 2024 by , Reply
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