Happy Halloween! 🎃 This month, I got back into the Romantasy with Blood & Steel, checked out a long-awaited Korean historical fantasy (even if it didn’t totally live up to the hype), and found a fun comic on Webtoon. I didn’t get through a ton of books, but October’s always a busy one, so I’m pretty happy with what I managed to squeeze in.
Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer

With her death foretold, Althea Zoltaire only has three years to become what she’s always dreamed of being: a warrior legend.
Women are forbidden to wield blades, so she has trained in secret her entire life. Now racing against the clock, she fights to secure her place in the elite guild charged with the protection of the five kingdoms.
The sparring and hazing of the new trainees border on deadly, but even more dangerous is her growing attraction to Wilder Hawthorne, her unwilling warrior chaperone.
All around them, schemes are afoot and darkness looms.
Will Althea pass the perilous initiation test and take her place as a champion of Thezmarr – or will the invading evil snatch away her dream before it starts?
If you like fierce sword-wielding heroines and brooding, tortured heroes, you will devour this sexy, addictive fantasy adventure.
Under the Oak Tree by Suji Kim

Most fairytales end with a wedding and a happily-ever-after—but this is no fairytale. The updated and official translation of Under the Oak Tree, the #1 webnovel on MANTA.
Lady Maximilian is the daughter of the powerful Duke Croyso, but she is rarely allowed outside her family’s sprawling castle for fear that her stutter will tarnish their noble name. When she is forced to marry Sir Riftan, a lowborn knight caught in one of her father’s schemes, Maxi doesn’t dare hope for happiness, let alone love. Her stumbling communication and his gruff manner sour their relationship before it can begin, and Riftan leaves without a word the morning after their vows are exchanged.
Now, three years after their disastrous wedding night, Riftan has returned as a war hero. To Maxi’s surprise, despite rumors that he was offered marriage to Princess Agnes, a beautiful and renowned sorceress, Riftan still wants Maxi for his wife. And when he comes to claim her, his longing becomes a desire that bewilders Maxi, even as she is overcome by the scorching heat that Riftan’s presence ignites within her. As she learns to navigate the intricacies of her new life, Maxi will find herself and her courage, and discover that she is anything but powerless.
Love Advice From the Great Duke of Hell, Vol. One

Hapless teenager Paul summons Astaroth, a Great Duke of Hell, to help him get a date with a girl in this devilishly funny fan-favorite WEBTOON comic.
The girl of your dreams barely knows you exist. Your friends can’t help. Your family is clueless. So where do you turn for love advice? Who can provide you with that essential assistance for the lovelorn? If you’re an average everyday teenager like Paul, you summon a powerful demon from the deep recesses of Hell, and frankly, hope for the best.
The demon in question is the Great Duke Astaroth, ruler of thirty legions of bloodthirsty hell creatures, powerful enough to raze cities to the ground. And now he finds himself on the mortal plane, compelled…to give a hapless kid dating advice?
In summoning Astaroth, Paul has set off a chaotic series of events. The Great Duke of Hell stands ready to claim Paul’s soul in less than a week, no matter how silly their bargain. Paul’s magic accidentally alerted the agents of the Holy Order, a group dedicated to protecting the world from the forces of evil, that something infernal is afoot. Paul’s sister Juliet, flabbergasted to find a demon in her home, has run away to hire an exorcist.
Plus, Paul’s dad is hiding something. And so is Elena, the object of all of Paul’s affection and the reason for all his complicated scheming.
But who ever said true love was easy?

