Can't Wait for Seek the Traitor's Son

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

Seek the Traitor's Son

By: Veronica Roth

Expected Publication: May 12, 2026 by Tor Books

432 pages

Genre: Adult, Dystopian, Fantasy, Science Fiction

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--A new epic romantic, dystopian fantasy begins in Seek the Traitor's Son, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth

Elegy Ahn did not ask for destiny to find her.

She is happy with her life as a soldier, defending her small country from the Talusar, a powerful nation who worships a deadly Fever. A fever that blesses half of its victims with mysterious gifts.

But then she’s summoned to hear a prophecy–her, and the most ruthless of Talusar generals, Rava Vidar. Brought face to face, they learn that one of them will lead their people to victory over the other…but they don’t know which. And at the center of both of their fates: a man. A man that, Elegy is told, she will fall in love with.

In just one day, Elegy’s old life–her job, her purpose, and her future–is over. She and Rava are destined to collide, with the fate of their nations hanging in the balance. And when they do, only one will be left standing.

Elegy intends to make sure it’s her.

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!

The Wicked and the Damned - Review

The Wicked and the Damned (Dark Inheritance Trilogy, # 2)

By: Rebecca Robinson

Expected Publication: February 24, 2026 by Solstice Books

416 pages

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--In the exhilarating second romantasy novel in Rebecca Robinson’s Dark Inheritance Trilogy, a fiery couple forced apart must navigate a deadly maze of politics and power to reunite across a continent at war.

Torn from her husband Reid’s arms and dragged back to her homeland in chains, Vaasa is no longer a ruler, but a political pawn. Now under the control of Ozik—a cunning Zetyr witch with a stranglehold on her magic—she faces annulment, forced betrothal, and a kingdom that no longer feels like her own. As Ozik’s machinations aim to install himself as the true power behind the Asteryan throne, Vaasa is forced to take part in his game.

Meanwhile, across the continent, Reid is done playing politics. But waging war is never simple, and a soldier’s fury cannot stand up against Icruria’s bureaucracy. With allies fading and time slipping away, Reid may have no choice but to infiltrate Asterya on his own to find the woman he loves and bring her home.

As Vaasa’s magic begins to flare, she desperately seeks control, even if Ozik is the only one who can offer it. She then finds a cryptic final message from her mother about a precious missing necklace that might just be the answer to finally freeing her magic from Ozik. Yet when a ghost from Vaasa’s past reemerges among the suitors vying for her hand, escape might be within reach—but will it demand a betrayal that real love may not survive?

The Wicked and the Damned was one of my most anticipated books of 2025. I can't understand why I never hear anything about The Serpent and the Wolf because it was so much better than I was expecting. That being said, The Serpent and the Wolf ended on a negative cliffhanger. What I mean is that the characters we've grown to love weren't in a good place. As a matter of fact, Vaasa has been captured by her brother and taken back to her home to be used as a political pawn. She's to be married off...again...despite her current husband still being alive. Ozik seems to be running things, and he's as evil as she's ever thought. Vaasa is tired of being used by others. She's come into her own power, but she has to hide that power. As a matter of fact, Ozik has basically chained her power to himself. She can only use it when he gives her leave to do so.

In the meantime, the only man Vaasa has ever loved before Reid, who she thought was dead, is now the captain of her personal guard. Can Vaasa trust him?

Reid is on the way. He has to get Vaasa back. Yet, he can't just storm into the palace and demand his wife back. He'd be killed on the spot. He has to hide who he is and Vaasa's connection to him, all the while Ozik is trying to set her up in another political marriage. He can't let that happen.

My only highlighted quote:

-"All questions have answers, but not all of those answers are known."

I didn't feel like any of the twists or turns in the plot were a surprise. Mostly, I felt like I could see them all coming from a long way off. I read The Wicked and the Damned in two days, which isn't bad for 416 pages. I won't say that I was disappointed at all, but it can be hard for a book to live up to what you hope when it's one of your most anticipated releases of the year. I don't think the physical scenes were as frequent in this book, which is a pro for me. When the main characters are separated for a large portion of the book, it's hard to get around to those. Cursing was still very present and excessive enough for me to feel the need to mention it. Even still, The Wicked and the Damned gets 4 Stars. Have you read The Wicked and the Damned? What did you think? Let me know!

Sunday Post - 02/15/26

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~this meme was inspired in part by ~ In My Mailbox~ It's a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Whelp...ball season has officially started, and we are crazy busy for a while. Monday we had a regular school day. Big Girl had pitching practice. We had to leave early from that to go home and get Little Boy. Husband took Big Boy to martial arts. Then Little Boy and Big Girl went to the ball fields with me. Little Boy had evaluations and then Big Girl had a practice. Husband brought Big Boy to the fields and I left Big Girl's practice early with the boys and drove them to my parent's house. They spent the night there because Big Girl had a dentist appointment on Tuesday morning. So we go there earlish. She had to have 4 teeth pulled because the permanent teeth were coming in below her baby teeth but she hadn't gotten the baby teeth out yet. We were worried if we left them longer the permanent teeth might start to get cavities from food being trapped between them and her unable to get in there with her toothbrush. We then spent the day with my parents. I got groceries and then had to do school with Big Boy after that. Tuesday, Big Girl went off to martial arts with Daddy and the boys went to the fields for Big Boy to have evaluations. Wednesday was a normal school day, and Big Boy cashed in his reward for a mommy/son date for reaching his reading goal. We went to get frozen yogurt. Thursday, we met at the park with some friends. We haven't been to the park since November. We've just been too busy. The kids decided they wanted to spend allowance money on Chickfila for lunch so we grabbed that. Thursday evening the big kids had martial arts and then Big Boy had baseball practice. Friday, Little Boy had a Valentine's Day party at school. Big Girl had a ball practice. And it was a rough day with behavior for Big Boy. Thankfully, he and I ended up having a good conversation which I think it going to benefit us going forward. Saturday, Little Boy had a ball practice, but the field got double booked so we just spent the time in the batting cages and having a coach roll some grounders to them. Husband's sister and family were in town to celebrate Little Boy and my sister-in-law's birthdays. We had a great day.

THE PAST WEEK

Monday: Review of The Last Wish of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats, # 2) by Mary E Pearson (4.5 Stars)
Wednesday: Can't Wait for A Bewildered Bachelor (The Gentlemen's Gamble, # ?) by Holli Jo Monroe
Friday: Homeschool Friday - The God Contest by Carl Laferton

UPCOMING THIS WEEK:

Monday: Reivew of The Wicked and the Damned (Dark Inheritance Trilogy, # 2) by Rebecca Robinson
Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday?
Wednesday: Can't Wait for Wednesday
Friday: Homeschool Friday - Caspian Crashes the Party

NEW BOOKS:

Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, # 1)

By: Rebecca Ross

Publication: April 4, 2023 by Wednesday Books

368 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again…

All eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow wants to do is hold her family together. With a brother on the frontline forced to fight on behalf of the Gods now missing from the frontline and a mother drowning her sorrows, Iris’s best bet is winning the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

But when Iris’s letters to her brother fall into the wrong hands – that of the handsome but cold Roman Kitt, her rival at the paper – an unlikely magical connection forms.

Expelled into the middle of a mystical war, magical typewriters in tow, can their bond withstand the fight for the fate of mankind and, most importantly, love?

An epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.

That's it for my shelves and recaps of my past and upcoming week. What did you add to your shelves this week? Any bookish news you want to talk about? Let me know!

Homeschool Friday - The God Contest

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

The God Contest (Tales that Tell the Truth)

By: Carl Laferton

Illustrated By: Catalina Echeverri

Publication: January 1, 2021 by The Good Book Company

32 pages

Genre: Children's, Picture Books, Christian, Non-fiction

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Teach children about two extraordinary events in history when the God of the Bible proved himself to be the one true God.

Kids today are faced with a huge range of different views on who God is (or isn’t). How can they be sure who’s got it right?

This beautifully illustrated hardback storybook for children aged 3-6 is written by the team behind The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross. It retells two extraordinary events in history when the God of the Bible proved himself to be the one true God.

First it takes children back to Elijah’s time and the gripping “God contest” between the God of the Bible, Yahweh, and the false god Baal. Then it fast-forwards to a different mountain and another “God contest” at an empty tomb.

Once the evidence is examined, it invites kids, in a world of so many options, to decide with confidence to join Team Jesus.

The God Contest tells the story of 1 Kings 18:16-40, where Elijah challenged the priests of Baal to a "God contest" on Mount Carmel. It starts in a way that kids can relate to by showing various kinds of contests someone might participate in. Then we have a little backstory about Ahab and Jezebel who worshiped Baal. And then in contrast we have Elijah who knew that Yahweh was the real God. Then it goes into the details of the God Contest that Elijah set up.

If you aren't familiar with the story, Elijah set up an equal opportunity contest where the followers of Baal could chop some wood and build an altar to Baal. And he would do the same but for Yahweh. Then they would call on their God and see which one could set the altar on fire. Team Baal went first with 450 people shouting and crying out to Baal. They danced, and yet nothing happened. Elijah made jokes like "Maybe he's on the toilet." (My kids thought that was particularly funny.) "Maybe he's asleep." Nothing happened.

Then it was Elijah's turn. And he dug a trench and had water poured on the altar until the altar, the wood, and the trench were filled with water, and everything was wet. Then Elijah prayed to Yahweh and asked Him to make the answer clear to all the people that He is the only real God. And fire came down from heaven and consumed the bull, the wood, and the water. Yahweh had won the contest.

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel didn't like that and decided to keep on following Baal anyway. For hundreds of years, not many people followed Yahweh. And now the authors of The God Contest point out that it was time for another God contest. This time God did something even more amazing. He didn't send fire. He sent a human. Jesus. And they go on to show how Jesus claimed to be Yahweh. He showed he was Yahweh through His miracles. And yet people weren't sure. So Jesus explained the rules of a new God contest. He will come back to life after He has died. And so Jesus let people kill Him, bury Him, and for three days...nothing. But then Jesus rose back to life. The God contest was over. Now lots of people know Jesus as the real God, the only God. And everyone has to make up their minds. Will you join Team Jesus?

I absolutely love the way the authors break these stories into easy to understand concepts for kids. And more than anything, I love the connection back to Jesus, because it is all about Him anyway. I love the comparison and contrast between God answering Elijah with the fire and with Jesus's life. Those two pages were great. I love the note added in on page 4 about the name Yahweh. I love the Tales that Tell the Truth note at the end of the book that tells about where the facts of this story come from. So many wins for this book and this series. I can give The God Contest no less than 5 Stars. Have you or your child read The God Contest? What did you think? Let me know!

Can't Wait for A Bewildered Bachelor

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. Find out more here.

A Bewildered Bachelor (The Gentlemen's Gamble, # ?)

By: Holli Jo Monroe

Expected Publication: March 19, 2026 by Brillig Press

? pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The bet was simple. The plan was perfect. The result was bewildering.

Meticulous Ambrose Hartley had every step of his courtship mapped out—until the outspoken, utterly unpredictable Susanna Fenton returned to his life.

It turns out the one thing he didn't plan for was love.

Seven Gentlemen. One Reckless Wager. A Fortune in Play—and Their Hearts on the Line.

***The Gentlemen's Gamble is a series about seven men racing to the altar in order to avoid losing a wager. Starting January, the books will release in an unannounced order to keep the loser of the wager a surprise.

What are you guys waiting on this week? Let me know!