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Sirens & Swords Literary Expo, Virginia Beach, VA (2026)

10/05/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

First, thank you to rhiannonhargadon for sending us an ARC of Tallow and Bone: A Salem Witch Trials Retelling. And when I tell you I DEVOURED this book…

Even better? It comes out TOMORROW, October 6!

This is a Salem Witch Trials retelling where the main character isn’t just accused of being a witch.

She is ACTUALLY A WITCH.

Immediately yes.

Amity is fiery, stubborn, terrible at keeping her magic under control, and honestly a little bit of a mess. Her family literally has to flee to Salem because she accidentally kills a man with a blackberry bush after kissing him.

That is chapter ONE. 😂

And somehow things only get more chaotic from there.

What I really loved is how the magic and romance are woven into the actual history of the Salem Witch Trials. Real people and events appear throughout Amity’s story, and knowing where history is headed adds this constant sense of dread.

Because WE know what Salem is about to become.

Amity absolutely does not.

There were so many moments when I wanted to reach into the book and tell this woman, “Maybe now is not the time to be making yourself memorable!!!”

But that’s also why I loved her. She’s impulsive, emotional, funny, fiercely loyal, and very much NOT the quiet little witch her mother taught her she needed to be to survive.

And then there’s the romance, because apparently surviving Salem wasn’t stressful enough. We also needed complicated feelings, secrets, longing, questionable decisions, and me worrying about Amity’s love life while simultaneously worrying everyone was about to be accused of witchcraft.

If you love witchy books, historical fantasy, Salem Witch Trials retellings, romance, and heroines who absolutely WILL make the situation worse before they make it better, add Tallow and Bone to your TBR.

Out tomorrow, October 6!

09/29/2026

Happy Threshing Day, riders. 🐉

We’re officially going back to Basgiath today, and apparently none of us learned a single thing from the emotional damage of Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm.

Are we concerned? Yes.
Are we still excited? Obviously.

This week on the Sirens & Swords Substack, we’re celebrating the release of Rebecca Yarros’s Threshing Day by asking the question that really matters:
What was Threshing like for the dragons?

Because while the cadets are terrified about being chosen, I refuse to believe the dragons aren’t standing around judging every single one of them.

“Too cocky.”
“Absolutely not.”
“That one won’t make it to Thursday.”
And eventually...
“Fine. You.”

We’re talking about why Basgiath has somehow become a comfort place despite being objectively TERRIBLE for everyone who lives there, why Tairn deserves his own book, the magic of returning to characters before they became the people we know, and why fantasy readers will happily revisit a fictional world that has repeatedly hurt our feelings.

No Threshing Day spoilers. Just dragons, Basgiath, release-day excitement, and the questionable decision-making of the Empyrean fandom.

Read Welcome Back to Basgiath. Surely Nothing Traumatic Will Happen Here. on the Sirens & Swords Substack. https://sirensandswords.substack.com/p/welcome-back-to-basgiath-surely-nothing?r=8d10nx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Now tell us: If you could read one Threshing entirely from a dragon’s POV, which dragon are you choosing?

09/26/2026

A Siren in the wild! 🧜‍♀️⚔️

Our very own Tammy celebrated her birthday in the most Tammy way possible: at a book signing, with a gift from Sirens in hand, meeting Jeneva Rose. We’ll let Tammy take it from here because, frankly, this story needs to be told in her own words:

Spent my birthday at Park Books for Jeneva Rose’s Sometimes I Scare Myself signing, book in hand and gift in tow, like I had every right to be there. Because I did. It’s my birthday. 💅📚🎂

Now, a photo opp is maybe 30 seconds. I used all of them to talk. Let’s review the footage:

📸 Photo 1: Me, talking. Obviously. She’s checking out the gift from Sirens while I tell her how much we love her.

📸 Photo 2: Still talking. Meanwhile, Jeneva knows exactly where the camera is and serves a full pose. Main character energy. I’m taking notes. 💁‍♀️

📸 Photo 3: And there it is. The keeper. Somehow we both looked at the camera at the same time, proof I can be normal for exactly one photo. Frame it. Print it. Birthday miracle. 🎂

She so graciously accepted a little something from all of us at Sirens, and before anyone starts, yes, Drew gave me his permission. I’m sassy, not lawless. 😏

Real talk though, she has SO much personality. Warm, funny, and just as fun in person as her books are twisty. That’s the magic of a signing for me. You love someone’s words from a distance, then you get a few minutes to get your book signed, say thank you in person, and share a little love from your people. Best birthday present I could have given myself.

Thank you, Park Books, for hosting such a great event. And if Sometimes I Scare Myself isn’t on your TBR yet, fix that. 🖤

Another trip around the sun, and Sirens showed up. We always do. 🧜‍♀️⚔️

09/23/2026

Fantasy heroines will overthrow an empire, infiltrate an enemy court, survive a deadly tournament, and orchestrate a twelve-step plan to save the entire kingdom.

What they will NOT do?

Tell literally anyone what the plan is.

Aelin: “Trust me.”
Bryce: “I have it handled.”
Jude: “You don’t need to know.”
Everyone around them: WE VERY MUCH NEED TO KNOW.

This week on the Sirens & Swords Substack, we’re lovingly roasting one of our favorite fantasy heroine habits: carrying the fate of the entire world on their shoulders while refusing to create the group chat that could solve at least 40% of their problems.

But underneath all those secret plans is something surprisingly relatable. Sometimes learning to survive on your own is easier than learning to trust someone enough to help you.

Read The Fantasy Heroine’s Greatest Enemy: Telling Literally Anyone the Plan on our Substack.

https://sirensandswords.substack.com/p/the-fantasy-heroines-greatest-enemy?r=8d10nx&utm_medium=ios

Now tell us: Which fantasy character desperately needed a group chat?

09/19/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okay, Lucifer’s son gets kicked out of Hell and is mad about it is apparently all you have to tell me to get me to read a book. 😂

Hell to Pay is the first book in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s new Infernal Affairs series, and this was SO much fun.

Luke is Lucifer’s favorite son, which makes it pretty inconvenient when he suddenly gets banished from Hell with absolutely no explanation. Now he’s stuck on Earth working for Infernal Affairs, basically supernatural law enforcement, while trying to figure out who betrayed him and how the hell he’s supposed to get home.

Enter Detective Sorcha O’Malley.

She’s his new partner, she has secrets of her own, and she is absolutely not interested in putting up with Luke’s demonic bu****it.

Obviously, I loved them. 😂

The banter, supernatural chaos, murder mystery, demons, angels, mythology, and Luke generally being offended by the fact that he has to exist among humans made this such an entertaining read. And underneath all of that, there’s this bigger mystery surrounding Luke’s banishment that had me constantly wondering who was actually pulling the strings.

Also, can we appreciate the fact that Sherrilyn Kenyon gave us a literal Prince of Hell and somehow made me sit here thinking, “Okay, but hear him out…”?

Ma’am. 😂

If you grew up loving paranormal and urban fantasy, this has that wonderfully nostalgic feeling while still giving us a completely new world to fall into. And knowing this is only the beginning of the Infernal Affairs series makes it even better.

And now for the part that makes this review EXTRA exciting for us…

✨ Sherrilyn Kenyon is our HEADLINING AUTHOR for Sirens & Swords Literary Expo 2028! ✨

So yes, we’re over here reading Hell to Pay knowing we’re going to have the woman responsible for SO MANY of our fictional obsessions joining us in Chesapeake.

Totally normal about it.

Completely calm.

Definitely not internally screaming already. 😂🖤

If supernatural crime, demons, sarcastic morally questionable men, mythology, mystery, and paranormal chaos sound like your kind of thing, put Hell to Pay on your TBR

09/18/2026

You know you’ve made it when your biggest fans never miss a post. 😂🤖

Every reel. Every announcement. Every comment section.

“PROMOTE IT ON…”
“DM US…”
“Send pic…”
Random account with 3 followers: We would love to collaborate.

Honestly, the dedication is unmatched. 🫶

At this point, if the bots don’t show up within 30 seconds of posting, we’re going to assume something is wrong.

Thanks for always supporting us, besties. 😂

09/18/2026

Fantasy readers, we know you have one. 😂📚

That trope, character type, setting, or ridiculously specific little detail that makes you go:
Yep. Adding it to the TBR.

You barely need to know what the book is about.

Enemies to lovers?
Morally gray characters?
Found family?
Political intrigue?
One bed? 👀
A villain who is unfortunately very charming?

Or maybe yours is VERY specific.

Give us a woman with a sword and sass and suddenly we're listening.

So we want to know:
What are the magic words that will make you immediately want to read a book?
Drop yours below. 👇

And read the comments at your own risk because we're pretty sure everyone's TBR is about to get worse. 😂📚

09/16/2026

You know the character.

They weren't supposed to be the main event. They showed up, delivered a few suspiciously good lines, revealed approximately 2% of their emotional baggage, and disappeared back into the plot.

Unfortunately for the author, we noticed them. 😂

This week on the Sirens & Swords Substack, we're talking about The Side Character Who Had No Business Stealing the Entire Book and why fantasy readers become completely obsessed with the characters we're told the least about.
From Azriel in ACOTAR and Manon in Throne of Glass to Carrion Swift in Quicksilver, Acheron in the Dark-Hunter world, and the unforgettable immortals of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, sometimes the person lurking just outside the main story becomes the one we desperately need to know more about.

Because apparently all it takes is a mysterious past, questionable coping mechanisms, six good lines of dialogue, and a little emotional damage for us to say:
Forget the main plot. Tell me EVERYTHING about that one.

Read the full post on our Substack.
https://sirensandswords.substack.com/p/the-side-character-who-had-no-business?r=8d10nx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

👇 Now tell us: Which side character completely stole the book for you?

09/15/2026

September reading check-in 📚👀

What are we all reading right now?

And don’t just give us the title. We need the important information:
📖 What are you reading?
⭐ What’s your rating so far?
🌶️ What’s the spice level?
👀 And would you actually recommend it?

We’re also going to start sneaking a little more Literary Expo reading inspiration into your feeds because we already have an incredible group of authors joining us in 2028, and you have plenty of time to start working your way through their books.
Or at least attempt to work your way through them while continuing to add six more books for every one you finish. 😂

So consider this your September reading assignment:
Pick something already collecting dust on your TBR OR grab a book from one of our announced Expo authors.
Then come back and tell us what you thought!

And yes, adding three books to your TBR while finishing absolutely none of them still counts as bookish productivity. We don’t make the rules. 📚😂

🌊 Sirens & Swords Literary Expo
📅 October 7–8, 2028
📍 Chesapeake, Virginia
Now tell us: What are you reading right now?

09/05/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okayyyy Navessa Allen… I see what you did here. 😂

After Lights Out, I was a little nervous going into Caught Up because Josh and Aly set the bar HIGH. But Junior and Lauren absolutely have their own thing going on and I was here for it.

First of all, Junior.

Sir.

This man is basically a walking collection of red flags, questionable decisions, obsession, and “I should probably be concerned about how much I like you” energy.

So naturally… I loved him. 😂

Junior has spent years convincing himself that Lauren is too good for him, while also being completely incapable of actually getting over her. Then he finds her online and discovers that the sweet, shy girl he remembers has grown into a VERY different woman.

And that’s when things start getting unhinged.

Lauren was probably my favorite part of this book. She’s confident, sex-positive, knows exactly what she wants, and doesn’t suddenly become some helpless damsel just because Junior enters the picture. Honestly, watching these two try to figure out who was actually seducing who was half the fun.

And THE SPICE.

Book girlies, please check your content warnings because Navessa Allen did not come here to gently ease anyone into this situation. 😂 This one goes considerably further into kink, voyeurism, exhibitionism, and play-club territory, so know what you’re getting into before you start.

But underneath all the spice and chaos, I actually really liked watching Junior and Lauren reconnect. There are feelings buried under all that obsession, and seeing Junior slowly realize that maybe Lauren gets to decide whether he’s “too dark” for her instead of him deciding for her was one of my favorite parts.

Was it Lights Out? No. Josh and Aly still own a very specific piece of my heart.

But did I have an absolutely ridiculous amount of fun reading Junior and Lauren’s story?

YES.

If morally gray men, second chances, mafia romance, “I’ve been obsessed with you for years” energy, and enough spice to make you reconsider reading in public are your thing…

Welcome to Caught Up. ❤️

Sirens & Swords Literary Expo

10/05/2026

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09/26/2026

09/23/2026

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09/05/2026

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