What’s on Your Shelf? (Part 1)
Add these hopeful P.O.W.ER Reads to Your TBR…
New month, new season, new reads.
Is it just me or are rainy days some of the best reading days? April showers have arrived like clockwork here in Ohio, and even when it’s not raining, the sky is gray and thick with potential precipitation. I have to resist the urge to burrow in bed with warm tea, my heated blanket and a stack of books. And this month, I have quite the list of hopefuls to tempt me.
Most of my reads this month are new releases or advanced reads coming soon to retailers near you, but don’t worry, I’ll also be posting curated lists spotlighting authors or fun themes every month. But I’m really excited about sharing this current list of potential P.O.W.ER Reads. Why are they on my list and what can you expect ? I’ve sampled a little bit of each book, so I’ll give you the summary, share my first impression, and the links for more information. I haven’t read these books completely just yet, but I can definitely tell you why they are on my TBR radar, and why you may want to add them to yours…
Love Be Damned by Briana Garrett
Release: May 15, 2025
Genre: Contemporary fantasy
Summary:
Teen fashionista Ayana always believed she’d go to hell and back for her sister, Sabrina, but she never thought it would be so literal. After a family dinner where Sabrina’s boyfriend, Damian, is replaced by a shape-shifting mirror demon that’s out for her soul, Ayana is forced to put her designing dreams on hold to become the chic demon-slayer her sister needs.
Unfortunately, demon hunting isn’t as easy as sprinkling holy water around, especially after she has a brush with death and is rescued by sweet, musical Carter. Not only is he charming and handsome, but suddenly he’s popping up everywhere, distracting her from her mission. Just as she starts to fall for him, coincidences begin to pile up, Ayana realizes that Carter and Damian’s sudden appearances in her life may not be due to chance after all. Perhaps the two are more intertwined than she thought.
To save her sister and protect her heart, Ayana is forced to team up with her disaster cousin, her baking-obsessed best friend, and her eccentric guardian angel to confront the one thing she hadn’t been expecting to love.
In this stylish, laugh-out-loud story of sisterhood and self-acceptance, Ayana learns to face the demon in the mirror, and that sometimes, you can fall in love for the hell of it.
My first impression:
This book promises supernatural drama, potential butt-kicking action, a dash of romance, and a huge helping of sisterhood and coming-of-age/self discovery feels. I love the tone and the voice I’m getting from the synopsis and the early pages. If you’ve been begging authors to bring back chapter titles, this book is definitely delivering on that end. The title chapters alone really tease what to possibly expect in each chapter. This book really just feels like it’s going to be fast paced, fun and full of supernatural drama and shenanigans. I’m preparing to laugh out loud, scream in frustration and maybe tear up a bit.
P.O.W.ER Potential: 🥹😎
I’m thinking this book could be an emotional rollercoaster. How can you not be emotionally invested when a girl is trying to save her sister?
I’m also feeling like this book is full of personality. There may be some memorable lines, some style (she’s into fashion) or attitude that’s just a total mood.
I follow Brianna Garrett here on Substack
(and you should too).Salvación by Sandra Proudman
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Genre: Historical fantasy, YA fantasy
Summary:
In this Latinx YA fantasy inspired by El Zorro, Lola de La Peña becomes the masked heroine Salvación in order to save her family and town from a man who would destroy it for the magic it contains...if she doesn't fall in love with a boy in his company first.
Lola de La Peña yearns to be free from the societal expectations of a young Mexican lady of her station. She spends her days pretending to be delicate and proper while watching her mamá cure the sick and injured with sal negra (black salt), a recently discovered magic that heals even the most mortal of sicknesses and wounds. But by night, she is Salvación, the free-spirit lady vigilante protecting the town of Coloma from those who threaten its peace and safety among the rising tension in Alta California after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
But one night, a woman races into Coloma, barely alive, to tell the horrifying tale of how her town was obliterated by sal roja (red salt), a potent, deadly magic capable of obliterating anything it comes into contact with, and about the man who wields it: Damien Hernández. So when Hernández arrives the next day with a party of fifty strong and promises of returning Alta California to México, Lola knows it’s only a matter of time before he brings the region under his rule—all Hernández needs is the next full moon and the stolen, ancient amulet he carries to mine enough sal roja to conquer the land. Determined to protect everything she loves, Lola races against time as Salvación to stop his plans. What she didn’t count on was the distracting and infuriating Alejandro, who travels with Hernández but doesn't seem to share his ambitions. With the stakes higher than ever and Hernández getting closer to his goals, Lola will do anything to foil his plans, even teaming up with Alejandro—who she doesn’t fully trust but can’t help but fall in love with.
My first impression:
This book is giving Emily Vargas’s For She is Wrath, and I love it! It’s taking a beloved and popular classic, Zorro, and putting an epic fantasy, feminist spin to it. The history, the culture, the girl power… 😍
P.O.W.ER Potential: 🤩
This is feeling like a potential wonderland read, the kind that pulls you into the pages and immerses you into a whole new world. I’m curious about the magic system and seeing how Zorro’s inspiration influences this story.
Click the button below to visit Proudman’s website.
Gifted and Talented by Olivie Blake
Release Date: April 1, 2025 (out now)
Genre: Dark fantasy, Contemporary fantasy
Summary:
Where there’s a will, there’s a war.
Thayer Wren, the brilliant CEO of Wrenfare Magitech and so-called father of modern technology, is dead. Any one of his three telepathically and electrokinetically gifted children would be a plausible inheritor to the Wrenfare throne.
Or at least, so they like to think.
Meredith, textbook accomplished eldest daughter and the head of her own groundbreaking biotech company, has recently cured mental illness. You're welcome! If only her father's fortune wasn't her last hope for keeping her journalist ex-boyfriend from exposing what she really is: a total fraud.
Arthur, second-youngest congressman in history, fights the good fight every day of his life. And yet, his wife might be leaving him, and he's losing his re-election campaign. But his dead father’s approval in the form of a seat on the Wrenfare throne might just turn his sinking ship around.
Eilidh, once the world's most famous ballerina, has spent the last five years as a run-of-the-mill marketing executive at her father’s company after a life-altering injury put an end to her prodigious career. She might be lacking in accolades compared to her siblings, but if her father left her everything, it would finally validate her worth―by confirming she'd been his favorite all along.
On the pipeline of gifted kid to clinically depressed adult, nobody wins―but which Wren will come out on top?
My first impression:
The premise and the first few pages feel a lot like Netflix’s House of Usher meets an X-Men/Umbrella Academy whodunnit. I’m expecting the characters to be complex, extremely morally gray and maybe even unlikable. Blake usually has a few twists up her sleeve plot wise.
P.O.W.ER Potential: 🤯
I’m feeling a cautiously optimistic with this one. I think it has the potential to be a viciously witty and original, mind-blowing read.
🚨DEAL ALERT: Last I checked, the ebook on Amazon is FREE. Zero dollars. Not sure how long it’s going to last, but check it out HERE.
That Girl Who Ran Off and Kissed a Vampire by K. R. S. McEntire
Release Date: Available now (print) | May 24, 2025 (ebook)
Genre: YA Fantasy, Portal fantasy
Summary:
Eighteen-year-old Raven has always had a plan: college, a stable job, and marriage to her high school sweetheart—all within the safe boundaries of her comfort zone. As a neurodivergent girl adopted into a family of high achievers, she understands the importance of stability. But when a single disastrous day leaves her without a job, her best friend, or her boyfriend, Raven’s carefully planned future unravels.
Desperate for a fresh start, Raven takes a leap of faith in the form of a mysterious job offer that lands her in a magical realm where humans coexist with fae, dragons, vampires, and other fantastical creatures. Her unlikely guide is Hunter, a snarky and secretive vampire who insists her bloodline holds the key to breaking an ancient curse. Reluctantly, Raven agrees to help, embarking on a quest filled with impromptu hip-hip concerts in medieval taverns, sassy talking unicorns, and growing feelings for Hunter. But as sparks fly, so do her suspicions about his true intentions.
To save a kingdom—and herself—Raven must uncover the secrets of her heritage and decide if she’s willing to risk everything for a magical world and a love that feels too impossible to be real.
My first impression:
If you enjoy Jessica Cage’s I Accidentally Hooked Up with a Vampire or Kimberly Lemming’s cozy fantasy romance, but you’re looking for something less explicit, I think this is going to be a great alternative.
This book promises adventure, sweet and swooning romance, self-discovery, and more. I also love that this book has neurodivergent representation (the main character has ADHD).
P.O.W.ER Potential: 🤩🥹
Romantic portal fantasies like this have great wonderland potential. I think McEntire has not only created a story that potentially feels like a cozy and enchanting book-cation from our somewhat dystopian real-world, but this book will have me all in my feels (the best kind). It may also be one of my favorite reads this year.
Did you enjoy part one of exploring my April TBR pile? Be sure to join the Novel Creature so you don’t miss part 2 of our list here and more!
What potential P.O.W.ER Reads are you adding to your TBR? Let me know in the comments.
For more on my rating scale and what I look for in my reads, check out my P.O.W.ER Scale.
Happy Reading!
💜Montrez