1st Light - Dawn Reads and Reviews

Blood Bound by Ellis Hunter My rating: 5 of 5 stars "And no matter what happens...remember that I already deemed your life worthy." 🌅 Blood Bound  is going to be a hit with the  Fourth Wing , SJM crowd when it comes out in 2026. It was hard to put down; it had lots of surprises, plenty of action, great characters, a bit of mystery, some adorable companions, and a little bit of spice thrown in (but you really had to wait for it). It was satisfying and definitely worth reading. It’ll be hard to review without spoiling anything, and I enjoyed going in without knowing anything beforehand. So, stop reading now, even though I’ll try not to spoil anything… Every generation, control of the world’s magic, the Heart, is decided in a ritual duel between two heirs: a witch from Arturea and a dragon-rider from Vatra. This time, we track the converging lives of Astrid and Skylar. The novel switches between each woman's POV and labels the start of each chap...

The Most Unusual Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish My rating: 3 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore My rating: 3 of 5 stars View all my reviews

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Like his lonely and her lonely fit perfectly into the empty spaces at the other’s side, saying nothing, asking nothing, just keeping each other company.” “what was history if not a collection of stories to make the incomprehensible comprehensible?” ”Theirs was a friendship built on the unspoken, shared understanding that you can love the home you’ve made with the whole of your heart and still know the land it’s built on will never claim you.” View all my reviews

The Mistletoe Kisser by Lucy Score My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Once and Again by Rebecca Serle My rating: 5 of 5 stars “…happiness is determined not by getting what you want but by determining which things to hold on to and which things to let go.” 🌅 Since discovering Rebecca Serle five years ago, I’ve been hooked on her stories of magical realism. I’ve consistently rated them 5 stars, and this one is no different. Why do I love them? They are part of a group of stories that sneak up on you quietly and then completely undo you. In  Once and Again  Serle blends magical realism with raw family drama, delivering a tale that is as much about love, memories, and regret as it is about the impossible question of  what if . At its heart, this book follows three generations of Novak women, each of whom carries a silver ticket granting them the chance to rewrite a single moment in their lives. For Lauren, caught between her faltering marriage, her longing for motherhood, and the reappearance of a pas...