Vitalia (Circus of Souls #1) Eliza Benner

 

Vitalia (Circus of Souls #1)

By: Eliza Benner

Recommendation: 🌕🌕🌕🌕 - (Out of 5 🌕)

Genre: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Dragon Shifters

Length: 390 Pages

Pace: Fast

Moods: Adventurous, Emotional, Great World Building, Action Packed, Easy to Read, Steamy

Release Date: February 5, 2026

        Vitalia -     Full of Life

    This is my first Eliza Benner book and she has blown my mind. Benner has managed to create a unique story in a genre that has become increasingly cookie cutter. When I wasn't reading Vitalia, I was thinking about Vitalia: the story, it's characters, the setting; every layer of the story added to it's incredible overarching storyline. 

Synopsis:

    Naevyn has not had a lot of luck in her short life. Her parents died when she was young  leaving her to raise and care for her younger sister and brother. The only source of income t be had in her small town was to work the mine, sourcing and hauling heavy shadowstone. She thought her luck might taking a turn for the better when a local boy of some means invited her to attend the circus with him. Unfortunately, asking Naevyn to attend was part of a cruel joke. To add to matters the circus isn't what she thought it was.

    For the past several hundred years, Cairos and his friends have been cursed to perform in the Fae King's circus. They travel Xardon performing as a means to capture the souls of the unsuspecting humans in attendance. This was until Naevyn. Is it possible Naevy is the human girl from their ancient prophecy? The one destined to break the curse and end the King's terrible reign?

What I Loved:

• The Unique Story: Dragons and Fae written in a way I have never seen before. Two of my favorite tropes intertwined and overlayed one on top of the other.
• The Fae World: Brenner does an amazing job of describing the world Naevyn finds her self stranded in. The glass forest with leaves that break easily underfoot. Dark shadowstone with silver running throughout. Scary creatures that come out in the dark to hunt unsuspecting humans.
• Cairos: An incredible angsty, beautiful male Fae. Cairos does not enjoy what he is cursed to do but understands the obligation. His life has been filled with the pain and suffering of those he cares about most. In Vitalia he starts out as an unsympathetic individual who over the course of the story he becomes increasingly more protective of Naevyn. He is your typical alpha male.

Wrap Up:

    I am incredibly pleased I had the opportunity to read this story. I look forward to the second installment of the Circus of Souls series.

 I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.                                            

Available for purchase:

Amazon

 

One Quick Obsession (Cage Family #4) Carrie Ann Ryan

 

One Quick Obsession (The Cage Family #4)

By: Carrie Ann Ryan

Recommendation: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - (Out of 5 🌕)

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Enemies to Lovers, 

Length: 410 Pages

Pace: Fast

Moods: Emotional, Tense, Happily Ever After

Release Date: March 9, 2026

        With One Quick Obsession, Carrie Ann Ryan has given us an emotional but realistic perspective of generational domestic violence. The main character grew up in a family with a domestic abuser only to find herself in a relationship with a man with violent tendencies. Ryan's approach gives the reader insight into the trauma, both physical and mental, a victim can live with for years after initially experiencing abuse but Ryan also shows the reader how an individual can overcome their past experience, empowering themselves to live a normal life.

Synopsis:

    Hudson Cage has done his best to remain under the radar but with his extremely wealthy and well-known family recently making headline news he finds it harder and harder to live a quiet life. 

    As the manager of the Cage Resort, Scarlett Blair finds herself constantly having to interact with the extremely moody Hudson. To make matters worse, he is her next door neighbor. 

   When Hudson walks in on Scarlett during a private moment and sees the bruises on her body he immediately demands to know who hurt her. Scarlett doesn't want to let Hudson in but as events start to unravel and escalate, she finds herself leaning on him more and more often.

What I Loved:

• The Family: Out of all of Carrie Ann Ryan's book families, the Cages are my absolute favorite. Their unique backstory makes for entertaining storylines. The Cage siblings are the result of a philandering father who had two families, eleven children, none of which were aware of the other until their father died and his will was read.
• Scarlett: As part of the story, we learn that Scarlett's mom was the victim of domestic abuse. Because of this, Scarlett's mom experiences a shattered sense of safety. Scarlett does what she can to help her mom live a normal life but it can sometimes be difficult when she experiences and has to learn to deal with her own demons. I love that Scarlett doesn't let her fear rule her and that she has taken steps to make herself stronger both physically and mentally.
• Cage Lake: The Cage family has their own town. Founded by a family member many generations ago, the Cage siblings have sworn to make the town a better place then their ancestors and their father have left it. They believe in preserving the environment and giving back to the local economy. 
• Reoccurring Characters: To me, books within a series that have reoccurring characters feel like visiting old friends. There already is a familiarity with each character before reading their book. I knew Hudson and Scarlett before One Quick Obsession. I didn't know everything about them, this book was for discovering that, but Ryan provided just enough in the prior books to tease what these characters would become.  

Wrap Up:

    One Quick Obsession is a story with a lot of depth. If you are not familiar with domestic violence, Ryan presents the topic in a respectful manner, showing the reader two unique perspectives, Scarlett and her mom. But this story is so much more. Hudson has his own past to deal with and with Scarlett by his side the two of them add strength to one another.

 I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.                                            

Available for purchase March 9th, 2026: 

Amazon

Barnes & Noble