Hi there! It’s time for another Spell the Month in Books. This was originally created by Reviews from the Stacks, and the idea is to spell the month using the first letter of book titles.
This month, I’m using books two books I’ve read and two books on my Goodreads TBR. Let’s check them out!
J: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
Title: The Jasmine Throne
Author: Tasha Suri
Series: Burning Kingdoms #1
Page Length: 480
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
Publisher: Orbit
Synopsis: Author of Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash Tasha Suri’s The Jasmine Throne, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess’s traitor brother.
Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters — but is now little more than a decaying ruin.
Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.
But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire.
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | My Review
U: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
Title: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy
Author: Megan Bannen
Page Length: 336
Publication Date: Aug. 23, 2022
Publisher: Orbit Books
Synopsis: Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness.
Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest.
After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.
If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most – Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares – each other?
L: The Liar’s Crown by Abigail Owen
Title: The Liar’s Crown
Author: Abigail Owen
Page Length: 448
Publication Date: Aug. 30, 2022
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Synopsis: Beauty and the Beast meets Snow White in this upper YA fantasy where a black heart is disguised by beauty, the purest soul is hidden within a beast, and a gift of hope is laced with death.
Everything about Meren’s life is a lie. As a hidden twin princess, born second, she has only one purpose—to sacrifice her life for her beloved sister if death comes for her. Meren has lived under the guise of a poor, obscure girl of no standing, slipping into the palace and into the role of the true princess when danger is present.
Now the queen is dead, their dominion under threat of eternal winter, and the sinister King Erebos has sent her sister a flower. The first seen in a thousand years. With that gift, he seeks to wed her. Untrusting, Meren does what she was born to do and secretly takes her sister’s place on the eve of the coronation.
Which is why, when a man made of shadow kidnaps the new queen…he gets Meren by mistake.
As Meren tries to escape, all the lies start to unravel. Not just her lies. The Shadow Ranger who took her has secrets of his own. He struggles to contain the shadows he wields—other faces, hideous faces, that terrify her.
Winter is at the walls. Darkness is looming. And the only way to save them all is to kill Erebos. But to kill the king is to destroy the king, including the only good piece of his soul left—the Shadow Ranger who has stolen Meren’s heart.
Y: You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria
Series: Primas of Power #1
Page Length: 384
Publication Date: Aug. 4, 2020
Publisher: Avon
Synopsis: Leading Ladies do not end up on tabloid covers.
After a messy public breakup, soap opera darling Jasmine Lin Rodriguez finds her face splashed across the tabloids. When she returns to her hometown of New York City to film the starring role in a bilingual romantic comedy for the number one streaming service in the country, Jasmine figures her new “Leading Lady Plan” should be easy enough to follow—until a casting shake-up pairs her with telenovela hunk Ashton Suárez.
Leading Ladies don’t need a man to be happy.
After his last telenovela character was killed off, Ashton is worried his career is dead as well. Joining this new cast as a last-minute addition will give him the chance to show off his acting chops to American audiences and ping the radar of Hollywood casting agents. To make it work, he’ll need to generate smoking-hot on-screen chemistry with Jasmine. Easier said than done, especially when a disastrous first impression smothers the embers of whatever sexual heat they might have had.
Leading Ladies do not rebound with their new costars.
With their careers on the line, Jasmine and Ashton agree to rehearse in private. But rehearsal leads to kissing, and kissing leads to a behind-the-scenes romance worthy of a soap opera. While their on-screen performance improves, the media spotlight on Jasmine soon threatens to destroy her new image and expose Ashton’s most closely guarded secret.
Which books would you choose to spell the month? Have you read any of my picks? Comment below!
I haven’t read any of these yet, but I’m wanting to read them all. Great picks!
Thanks, Ali!
I’ve only read You Had Me at Hola of these 4. It was a fun read. The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy has been on my radar, and The Jasmine Throne is on my TBR. 🙂