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Nightweaver #1
Nightweaver
Filled with elemental magic, forbidden romance, and breathtaking twists, Nightweaver is a propulsive romantasy about an iron-willed heroine avenging her brother and discovering her destiny—perfect for fans of Powerless and Heartless Hunter.
Six hundred years ago, Nightweavers, cursed beings with untamed power, claimed the continents for their own. The ocean was meant to be a safe haven for humanity, including seventeen-year-old Aster Oberon and her pirate family. But after Aster’s brother is killed in an epic battle at sea against Nightweavers, Aster and her family are thrust into a new life on land.
When a handsome Nightweaver named Will offers the Oberons protection and work at his opulent estate, Aster is suspicious. As the arrogant and entitled right hand to the wicked prince, Will is everything that she has been taught to hate. But as he shows empathy and kindness, Aster can’t ignore a blooming attraction. And even more, Will opens her eyes to a new reality: There are monsters worse than Nightweavers, monsters who may be behind her brother’s death.
As Aster hunts the creatures responsible, dark secrets threaten to unravel everything she once believed about her family, herself, and her world.
Six hundred years ago, Nightweavers, cursed beings with untamed power, claimed the continents for their own. The ocean was meant to be a safe haven for humanity, including seventeen-year-old Aster Oberon and her pirate family. But after Aster’s brother is killed in an epic battle at sea against Nightweavers, Aster and her family are thrust into a new life on land.
When a handsome Nightweaver named Will offers the Oberons protection and work at his opulent estate, Aster is suspicious. As the arrogant and entitled right hand to the wicked prince, Will is everything that she has been taught to hate. But as he shows empathy and kindness, Aster can’t ignore a blooming attraction. And even more, Will opens her eyes to a new reality: There are monsters worse than Nightweavers, monsters who may be behind her brother’s death.
As Aster hunts the creatures responsible, dark secrets threaten to unravel everything she once believed about her family, herself, and her world.
448 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2025
493 people are currently reading
36028 people want to read
About the author
R.M. Gray
3 books673 followersR.M. Gray lives in Texas with her husband and two giant dogs, where she enjoys writing stories about pirates, magic, mystery, and all things fantastical. A self-proclaimed expert at whistling and a dedicated collector of lightsabers, she spends her days drinking too much Earl Grey tea, re-watching old cartoons, and thinking up new ways to break readers’ hearts. She invites you to visit her online at rmgraybooks.com or @rmgrayauthor.
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May 15, 2025
6⭐
now playing: he's a pirate (yes pirates of the caribbean)
14+
romance: 4/10 (there was tension, but only, like, one kiss.)
violence: 6/10 (it wasn't so bad, but keep in mind that it's a dark fantasy romance. i was personally unperturbed but, other readers might be a little sensitive to blood. a fountain gets filled with blood. decaptitation. brutality. maiming. hanging.)
cursing: 1/10 (hell and damn maybeeee once or twice each. ass a couple times?)
tropes: nobility x outlaw, forbidden romance, she's a pirate, angels and demons
first person, present tense
- OVERVIEW -
psssstttt there's a playlist at the bottom besties 🤫
- BUDDY READ WITH -
⤷ violet my best friend everrrr, thank you so much for crying over and loving this book as much as i didddd
violet’s review
SPECIAL THANKS TO SARA, one of my first goodreads friends whom i unfortunately lost contact with. thank you so much for making me read this masterpiece of a book, i owe you loads
this book was absofreakinglutely amazing.
the world building wasn't like i was drowning in useless knowledge, but it gave enough to fully understand.
it was a high-stakes fantastical mystery, that kept me turning the pages. i also hiked to the top of a mountain and read it, so that was pretty cool. the ambiance lol.
PIRATESSSSSSSS, FRICKING BALLGOWNS, AND A HOT LORD? YESSSSSS
R.M. FRICKING GRAY HOW COULD YOU CHANGE VIOLET'S NAME IN THE REPRINT?
to ASTER of all things. bruh. her name was perfect whyyyyyyyy
claim your "here before aster" tickets below 👇😔
🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫
this book made me want to tear out all my hair, but in a good way yk?
i would pay so much money to read this again for the first time. everyone should read this book. EV 👏RY👏ONE👏👏👏
- CHARACTERS -
violet
she's a BA who has a PERFECTLY FINE NAME THANK YOU VERY MUCH. i love her.
if i see anyone calling her aster i'ma cry
will
green eyes? dark hair? aka, my perfect man. not to mention he's so fricking sweet. lilies became one of my favorite flowers bc of him ngl.
captain shade
hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe. HOTTIE PIRATE GENTLEMAN? YES PUH-LEEZ
titus
he's a prince 🤷♀️ he's a HOT prince. he's my husband. my little bloodletter baddie fr
owen
i cried (it's not a spoiler bc it's on the back of the book y'alllllll). then i lost my everloving mind. then i screamed. and punched. and cried again.
- QUOTES -
"the notion that you find me gentle...” his thumb brushes my lip, sending a shiver through me. “that will be my undoing."
"there is only one thing more powerful than fear, violet.”
“what?”
“love."
"you're too late. i don't need you anymore.”
“you never did."
- CONCLUSION -
this book is a 100% 100000/10 you-you need to read it. 🥺🔪
- PLAYLIST -
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2JH...
devil doesn't bargain - alec benjamin
screaming underwater - alex warren
if you only knew - alexander stewart (beware it's explicit)
panic room - au/ra
head above water - averil lavigne
was it real - ben rodrigues
in the stars - benson boone
forever and a day - benson boone
perfect - ed sheeran
he's a pirate - pirates of the caribbean
bruises - lewis capaldi
i miss the days - nf
high hopes - panic! at the disco
war of hearts - ruelle (literally perfect for this book in every way)
in my blood - shawn mendes
monster - shawn mendes & justin beiber
rewrite the stars - the greatest showman
now playing: he's a pirate (yes pirates of the caribbean)
14+
romance: 4/10 (there was tension, but only, like, one kiss.)
violence: 6/10 (it wasn't so bad, but keep in mind that it's a dark fantasy romance. i was personally unperturbed but, other readers might be a little sensitive to blood. a fountain gets filled with blood. decaptitation. brutality. maiming. hanging.)
cursing: 1/10 (hell and damn maybeeee once or twice each. ass a couple times?)
tropes: nobility x outlaw, forbidden romance, she's a pirate, angels and demons
first person, present tense
- OVERVIEW -
psssstttt there's a playlist at the bottom besties 🤫
- BUDDY READ WITH -
⤷ violet my best friend everrrr, thank you so much for crying over and loving this book as much as i didddd
violet’s review
SPECIAL THANKS TO SARA, one of my first goodreads friends whom i unfortunately lost contact with. thank you so much for making me read this masterpiece of a book, i owe you loads
this book was absofreakinglutely amazing.
the world building wasn't like i was drowning in useless knowledge, but it gave enough to fully understand.
it was a high-stakes fantastical mystery, that kept me turning the pages. i also hiked to the top of a mountain and read it, so that was pretty cool. the ambiance lol.
PIRATESSSSSSSS, FRICKING BALLGOWNS, AND A HOT LORD? YESSSSSS
R.M. FRICKING GRAY HOW COULD YOU CHANGE VIOLET'S NAME IN THE REPRINT?
to ASTER of all things. bruh. her name was perfect whyyyyyyyy
claim your "here before aster" tickets below 👇😔
🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫🎫
this book made me want to tear out all my hair, but in a good way yk?
i would pay so much money to read this again for the first time. everyone should read this book. EV 👏RY👏ONE👏👏👏
- CHARACTERS -
violet
she's a BA who has a PERFECTLY FINE NAME THANK YOU VERY MUCH. i love her.
if i see anyone calling her aster i'ma cry
will
green eyes? dark hair? aka, my perfect man. not to mention he's so fricking sweet. lilies became one of my favorite flowers bc of him ngl.
captain shade
hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe. HOTTIE PIRATE GENTLEMAN? YES PUH-LEEZ
titus
he's a prince 🤷♀️ he's a HOT prince. he's my husband. my little bloodletter baddie fr
owen
i cried (it's not a spoiler bc it's on the back of the book y'alllllll). then i lost my everloving mind. then i screamed. and punched. and cried again.
- QUOTES -
"the notion that you find me gentle...” his thumb brushes my lip, sending a shiver through me. “that will be my undoing."
"there is only one thing more powerful than fear, violet.”
“what?”
“love."
"you're too late. i don't need you anymore.”
“you never did."
- CONCLUSION -
this book is a 100% 100000/10 you-you need to read it. 🥺🔪
- PLAYLIST -
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2JH...
devil doesn't bargain - alec benjamin
screaming underwater - alex warren
if you only knew - alexander stewart (beware it's explicit)
panic room - au/ra
head above water - averil lavigne
was it real - ben rodrigues
in the stars - benson boone
forever and a day - benson boone
perfect - ed sheeran
he's a pirate - pirates of the caribbean
bruises - lewis capaldi
i miss the days - nf
high hopes - panic! at the disco
war of hearts - ruelle (literally perfect for this book in every way)
in my blood - shawn mendes
monster - shawn mendes & justin beiber
rewrite the stars - the greatest showman
January 5, 2026
Not bad! A mesh of Powerless, The Otherwhere Post, and Fable in one book. I loved the tropes and the ending!
→Buddy read with the wonderful Alana 🤍
____________________
⚓ Pre-read review: 🌊
A book with pirates? With clean romance? AND ITS A ROMANTASY?!?!
Heck yes.
→Buddy read with the wonderful Alana 🤍
____________________
⚓ Pre-read review: 🌊
A book with pirates? With clean romance? AND ITS A ROMANTASY?!?!
Heck yes.
July 10, 2025
» He's a Pirate - Klaus Badelt «
0:53 ─〇───── 1:30
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 6/5 stars
Single 1st Person POV
Spice Level 🌶️ - 1/5 (one, maybe two kisses)
Age rating - 14/15+
Content warnings - minimal cussing, extreme blood and gore, some parts can be frightening for younger readers, possession occurs, many people die
This is my review on the og copy without the name changes
🏴☠ My thoughts 🏴☠
This book owns my heart
It's been 4 months since I've read this book and I still can't get over how incredible it was. This is my favorite book Of. All. Time. Nightweaver set the bar of perfection for my book taste and every book I've read since then has lacked so much.
This book was a freaking MASTERPIECE y'all. Nightweaver is the best book I have ever read and I'll fight you to the death on that 🤺
My only complaint...I love Violet's name, please don't reprint it R.M. Gray!!!!!! I'm begging, don't change it to Aster....please 😭🙏
⚔ Plot ⚔
So for the plot imagine Pirates of the Caribbean mixed with angels and demons with a ton of plot twists left and right. Long story short, the plot was amazing and so intense. Honestly I would say some of the plot would be more or less considered as horror, which I actually loved. Some of the more gruesome scenes did make my eyes widen a bit, but it advanced and increased the plot so well.
R.M. Gray is truly a genius for writing this book. I can tell you right now I've never felt the tension coursing through every part of my body as I did when I read it. She mastered every fight scene that made me sit on the edge of my seat, every romance scene that made me swoon, every sad scene that made me cry, every terrifying scene that made me feel like my heart was being ripped out of my body.
⚓ Characters ⚓
➥ Violet (not Aster) - Dude she was the perfect fmc. She was completely BA, but also wasn't annoying about it the entire time. She had some character flaws but they were resolved throughout the story. I loved her character and her grit, I'm biting my nails and praying RM Gray doesn't change that.
➥ Will - I loved truly loved Will, he was great and all.....but I'm Team Titus. He's sweet but also defensive, I loved his character sm.
➥ Titus - This man y'all. This MAN. He launched to the top of my book boyfriend list the second we learned more about him 🔥
➥ Owen - ....wow bro. I cried at his death bc he seemed fun and all....but daaaaaaaaaaaaaaang << read the book and you'll see what I mean
➥ Henry - Honestly he was by far my favorite character. I love how we got to see his trauma but also his deep emotions at the same time. I can't spoil but I cried for him so many times during the book.
🌊 Conclusion 🌊
If you're reading this review, please read this book.
And please read it before she changes it.
You will be sucked in from the very first page and be in for the ride of your lifetime.
Now that that's done...it's time to get ready for the sequel
0:53 ─〇───── 1:30
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 6/5 stars
Single 1st Person POV
Spice Level 🌶️ - 1/5 (one, maybe two kisses)
Age rating - 14/15+
Content warnings - minimal cussing, extreme blood and gore, some parts can be frightening for younger readers, possession occurs, many people die
This is my review on the og copy without the name changes
🏴☠ My thoughts 🏴☠
This book owns my heart
It's been 4 months since I've read this book and I still can't get over how incredible it was. This is my favorite book Of. All. Time. Nightweaver set the bar of perfection for my book taste and every book I've read since then has lacked so much.
This book was a freaking MASTERPIECE y'all. Nightweaver is the best book I have ever read and I'll fight you to the death on that 🤺
My only complaint...I love Violet's name, please don't reprint it R.M. Gray!!!!!! I'm begging, don't change it to Aster....please 😭🙏
⚔ Plot ⚔
So for the plot imagine Pirates of the Caribbean mixed with angels and demons with a ton of plot twists left and right. Long story short, the plot was amazing and so intense. Honestly I would say some of the plot would be more or less considered as horror, which I actually loved. Some of the more gruesome scenes did make my eyes widen a bit, but it advanced and increased the plot so well.
R.M. Gray is truly a genius for writing this book. I can tell you right now I've never felt the tension coursing through every part of my body as I did when I read it. She mastered every fight scene that made me sit on the edge of my seat, every romance scene that made me swoon, every sad scene that made me cry, every terrifying scene that made me feel like my heart was being ripped out of my body.
⚓ Characters ⚓
➥ Violet (not Aster) - Dude she was the perfect fmc. She was completely BA, but also wasn't annoying about it the entire time. She had some character flaws but they were resolved throughout the story. I loved her character and her grit, I'm biting my nails and praying RM Gray doesn't change that.
➥ Will - I loved truly loved Will, he was great and all.....but I'm Team Titus. He's sweet but also defensive, I loved his character sm.
➥ Titus - This man y'all. This MAN. He launched to the top of my book boyfriend list the second we learned more about him 🔥
➥ Owen - ....wow bro. I cried at his death bc he seemed fun and all....but daaaaaaaaaaaaaaang << read the book and you'll see what I mean
➥ Henry - Honestly he was by far my favorite character. I love how we got to see his trauma but also his deep emotions at the same time. I can't spoil but I cried for him so many times during the book.
🌊 Conclusion 🌊
If you're reading this review, please read this book.
And please read it before she changes it.
You will be sucked in from the very first page and be in for the ride of your lifetime.
Now that that's done...it's time to get ready for the sequel
July 30, 2025
3.5 stars !
ya romantasy ┆13+┆mild language
꒰ 🏴☠️ ꒱ i feel very cheated. i came for pirate vibes which is how the book was advertised, in fact, it even had a pirate ship under the dust cover but they were only in the sea for like 20 pages?? it was mostly js aster and her family working as maids, butlers, and cooks at some manor for nightweavers? however, i did enjoy this near the end and i hope that we get a more complex storyline considering what went down
➴ plot:
aster has spent all 17 years of her life in the sea as a pirate, but when a ship attacks her and her family, leaving her closest sibling, owen dead her family settles down and resorts to working for nightweavers, but aster won’t have it. they’re wicked, except for who she works for. so when her employers’ son will reveals that a mysterious dark force killed owen she teams up with him. but they’re scheming spirits at work, and they’re coming for aster next
➴ romance:
the romance was so dumb. less then halfway through and will and aster are all lovey-dovey?? naur. in fact, “sometimes i feel like i’ve known you my whole life,” was said less than a month from when they first met. also, as soon as she meets prince guy she’s down bad bc will betrayed her?? (he js left to fight bad people for a month 💀💀)
—conclusion:
it felt very underwhelming at times but once you reach the 200 page mark it does feel more like fantasy so i overall do recommend!!
ya romantasy ┆13+┆mild language
꒰ 🏴☠️ ꒱ i feel very cheated. i came for pirate vibes which is how the book was advertised, in fact, it even had a pirate ship under the dust cover but they were only in the sea for like 20 pages?? it was mostly js aster and her family working as maids, butlers, and cooks at some manor for nightweavers? however, i did enjoy this near the end and i hope that we get a more complex storyline considering what went down
➴ plot:
aster has spent all 17 years of her life in the sea as a pirate, but when a ship attacks her and her family, leaving her closest sibling, owen dead her family settles down and resorts to working for nightweavers, but aster won’t have it. they’re wicked, except for who she works for. so when her employers’ son will reveals that a mysterious dark force killed owen she teams up with him. but they’re scheming spirits at work, and they’re coming for aster next
➴ romance:
the romance was so dumb. less then halfway through and will and aster are all lovey-dovey?? naur. in fact, “sometimes i feel like i’ve known you my whole life,” was said less than a month from when they first met. also, as soon as she meets prince guy she’s down bad bc will betrayed her?? (he js left to fight bad people for a month 💀💀)
—conclusion:
it felt very underwhelming at times but once you reach the 200 page mark it does feel more like fantasy so i overall do recommend!!
April 4, 2025
Me through this book : this is a debut. This is a debut. This is a debut.
I am so disappointed. This was sold to me as a pirate story… they’re in the water for what, not even 5 chapters? I’ll just start off by saying that my expectations for this were SKY HIGH.
The beginning was so well done. I was gripped… and then the whole family was contracted/sold and it went downhill from there.
How can 8 people (who were free and fierce pirates) just… accept being maids and cooks in a blink of an eye? I had SEVERE whiplash! Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who suffered whiplash from this - so did our FMC Aster. But instead of asking or talking about it with her family members, she was just throwing tantrums left and right and falling for a guy she literally had 2 conversations with. Why are you so thirsty 😭. She was 17 and read like a 13-14yo…
The other thing that gave me SEVERE whiplash is the fact that we don’t really see them grieve Owen?? They’re a big close family, how can this just be brushed off? I know the story had to move along but it was just so weirdly done? Aster just lost her best friend & big brother and she’s thirsting for a boy she just met 😭 why! Obviously, everyone has their own coping mechanism for grief but this was so bizarre to me.
I was really happy to finally read a Fantasy book where both parents are alive and so are most of the siblings. But their time was cut off abruptly to focus on the FMC… which left me feeling worse than if they weren’t apart of the story :/. The FMC has more interactions with the love interest than with her family members. Which was another thing that rubbed me the wrong way. The dynamics were completely off.
Never have I read more plotholes than I did in this one. The plot was… ? A lot of nonsense if I’m being honest.
I haven’t been dwelling on books I didn’t like for the past year (I think?) but I couldn’t just not say something. I saw some people comparing this to TOG (????) and Pirates of the Caribbean (????!) and I’m left wondering if I read the same book. Was I sent a wrong copy or something?
This book is physically beautiful. I read every word until the 45% mark and then I skimmed till the end. I shouldve DNF’d. But I always find it hard to DNF when a book has such a gripping start and then goes completely downhill from there… I keep hoping it’ll pick back up. It sadly didn’t. Keep in mind that reading is subjective and you might fall in love with this. It just severly wasn’t for me.
I am so disappointed. This was sold to me as a pirate story… they’re in the water for what, not even 5 chapters? I’ll just start off by saying that my expectations for this were SKY HIGH.
The beginning was so well done. I was gripped… and then the whole family was contracted/sold and it went downhill from there.
How can 8 people (who were free and fierce pirates) just… accept being maids and cooks in a blink of an eye? I had SEVERE whiplash! Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who suffered whiplash from this - so did our FMC Aster. But instead of asking or talking about it with her family members, she was just throwing tantrums left and right and falling for a guy she literally had 2 conversations with. Why are you so thirsty 😭. She was 17 and read like a 13-14yo…
The other thing that gave me SEVERE whiplash is the fact that we don’t really see them grieve Owen?? They’re a big close family, how can this just be brushed off? I know the story had to move along but it was just so weirdly done? Aster just lost her best friend & big brother and she’s thirsting for a boy she just met 😭 why! Obviously, everyone has their own coping mechanism for grief but this was so bizarre to me.
I was really happy to finally read a Fantasy book where both parents are alive and so are most of the siblings. But their time was cut off abruptly to focus on the FMC… which left me feeling worse than if they weren’t apart of the story :/. The FMC has more interactions with the love interest than with her family members. Which was another thing that rubbed me the wrong way. The dynamics were completely off.
Never have I read more plotholes than I did in this one. The plot was… ? A lot of nonsense if I’m being honest.
I haven’t been dwelling on books I didn’t like for the past year (I think?) but I couldn’t just not say something. I saw some people comparing this to TOG (????) and Pirates of the Caribbean (????!) and I’m left wondering if I read the same book. Was I sent a wrong copy or something?
This book is physically beautiful. I read every word until the 45% mark and then I skimmed till the end. I shouldve DNF’d. But I always find it hard to DNF when a book has such a gripping start and then goes completely downhill from there… I keep hoping it’ll pick back up. It sadly didn’t. Keep in mind that reading is subjective and you might fall in love with this. It just severly wasn’t for me.
March 4, 2025
Happy publication day!!
Update! We have a thumbnail for GR! 🏴☠️
4.5 stars rounded up ⭐️
🌶️ 0/5
This was a solid YA fantasy debut novel!
The plot felt like a mixture of FBAA (minus the spice), TOG, and a bit of Pirates of the Caribbean thrown in. There was bit more gore description than I anticipated, but it was tastefully written. That’s not something I typically care to read about but it wasn’t overdone by any means.
Pirates, magic, and dark haired love interest(s)???, what more could you ask for? Nightweaver has the fantasy trifecta with endless possibilities for growth in the sequel.
The chemistry between our FMC Violet and MMC Will was slow growing and had all of the tension you could hope for between love interests- but Captain Shade??? HELLO!? I think I feel a love triangle brewing and I’m not mad about it 😇
Huge thanks to the author, R.M. Gray, for giving me the chance to read the e-arc!
Update! We have a thumbnail for GR! 🏴☠️
4.5 stars rounded up ⭐️
🌶️ 0/5
This was a solid YA fantasy debut novel!
The plot felt like a mixture of FBAA (minus the spice), TOG, and a bit of Pirates of the Caribbean thrown in. There was bit more gore description than I anticipated, but it was tastefully written. That’s not something I typically care to read about but it wasn’t overdone by any means.
Pirates, magic, and dark haired love interest(s)???, what more could you ask for? Nightweaver has the fantasy trifecta with endless possibilities for growth in the sequel.
The chemistry between our FMC Violet and MMC Will was slow growing and had all of the tension you could hope for between love interests- but Captain Shade??? HELLO!? I think I feel a love triangle brewing and I’m not mad about it 😇
Huge thanks to the author, R.M. Gray, for giving me the chance to read the e-arc!
May 25, 2025
- post read -
a little bit underwhelming in my opinion
- preread -
i keep seeing so many good reviews for this all over my feed, so what the hell, i guess im reading it too 😅 dont you just love fomo???? 🤡🤡
a little bit underwhelming in my opinion
- preread -
i keep seeing so many good reviews for this all over my feed, so what the hell, i guess im reading it too 😅 dont you just love fomo???? 🤡🤡
August 12, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6/5
YEAH ITS THAT GOOD
Romance: tension but no kissing
Language: none that I can remember maybe some uses of damn and hell. I think there might have been one bastard
Violence/drinking: sword fighting. Characters get stabbed and some die. Non descriptive. I don’t remember drinking but I may be wrong
~Book summary~
Nightweaver is about a girl named Aster (apparently her name was Violet before it got changed) and her family who are a group of pirates that hunt creatures called nightweaves. They meet a charming nightweaver named Will who offers them a place to stay at his family's estate. In return Aster’s family works for his family. Meanwhile Aster’s determined, with Will by her side, to find the nightweavers who killed her brother.
(I hope that was good I suck at book summary's)
~Overview~
First. Can we just give a round of applause to R.M. Gray for making this FIRE book and it being her first one👏👏👏. Like it's definitely one of my top favorite books
Ahhhh guys this book was so good. Although I saw people comparing it to pirates of the Caribbean…🤨🤨🤨. Yes, their family are pirates, BUT it doesn't really involve them BEING pirates. But like fr can we stop comparing every pirate book to pirates of the Caribbean PLEASE. It's like how people say every fantasy book is like “the hunger games” mixed with another popular book.
But this book was so GOOOOOD!!! I know I've probably said it like three times but…IT'S SO GOOOOOOOD. The characters…PERFECT. The world…PERFECT. The writing…PERFECT. The cover…PERFECT. PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT!!!
Can you tell I liked this book?🤭
~Characters~
•Aster (aka Violet)- She's so cool. That's it. That's all you need.
•Will- This man is fine af. And he's so nice and charming😩😩😩 it's guys like him that make me want to go crawl in a hole and die because the guys I know are just- yeah🤠
•Henry- Is it weird that he was my favorite character even when he was acting like a butt? I want him for myself
•Titus-he wasn't even in the book that much till the end but DANG I LOVE HIM. I can't wait to see him more in the second book
Okay um guys…I don't have any quotes…I READ THIS BEFORE I STARTED HIGHLIGHTING IM SORRY. ITS SO SAD CUS THIS BOOK IS QUOTE WORTHY
aNyWaY…
~Final thoughts~
For the five hundredth millionth time…THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. Definitely recommend. I'm impatiently waiting for the second book to come out. But yeah…don't hesitate go read it *hair whips and walks away dramatically*
YEAH ITS THAT GOOD
Romance: tension but no kissing
Language: none that I can remember maybe some uses of damn and hell. I think there might have been one bastard
Violence/drinking: sword fighting. Characters get stabbed and some die. Non descriptive. I don’t remember drinking but I may be wrong
~Book summary~
Nightweaver is about a girl named Aster (apparently her name was Violet before it got changed) and her family who are a group of pirates that hunt creatures called nightweaves. They meet a charming nightweaver named Will who offers them a place to stay at his family's estate. In return Aster’s family works for his family. Meanwhile Aster’s determined, with Will by her side, to find the nightweavers who killed her brother.
(I hope that was good I suck at book summary's)
~Overview~
First. Can we just give a round of applause to R.M. Gray for making this FIRE book and it being her first one👏👏👏. Like it's definitely one of my top favorite books
Ahhhh guys this book was so good. Although I saw people comparing it to pirates of the Caribbean…🤨🤨🤨. Yes, their family are pirates, BUT it doesn't really involve them BEING pirates. But like fr can we stop comparing every pirate book to pirates of the Caribbean PLEASE. It's like how people say every fantasy book is like “the hunger games” mixed with another popular book.
But this book was so GOOOOOD!!! I know I've probably said it like three times but…IT'S SO GOOOOOOOD. The characters…PERFECT. The world…PERFECT. The writing…PERFECT. The cover…PERFECT. PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT!!!
Can you tell I liked this book?🤭
~Characters~
•Aster (aka Violet)- She's so cool. That's it. That's all you need.
•Will- This man is fine af. And he's so nice and charming😩😩😩 it's guys like him that make me want to go crawl in a hole and die because the guys I know are just- yeah🤠
•Henry- Is it weird that he was my favorite character even when he was acting like a butt? I want him for myself
•Titus-he wasn't even in the book that much till the end but DANG I LOVE HIM. I can't wait to see him more in the second book
Okay um guys…I don't have any quotes…I READ THIS BEFORE I STARTED HIGHLIGHTING IM SORRY. ITS SO SAD CUS THIS BOOK IS QUOTE WORTHY
aNyWaY…
~Final thoughts~
For the five hundredth millionth time…THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. Definitely recommend. I'm impatiently waiting for the second book to come out. But yeah…don't hesitate go read it *hair whips and walks away dramatically*
September 9, 2025
DNF @ 50%. I was promised pirates. I did not get pirates.
February 3, 2025
A pirate romantasy with monsters, magic, and mayhem.
The Nightweavers have claimed human lands for their own, so Aster and her family (they gave me The Umbrella Academy vibes but violent pirates) and a lot of other humans have made the sea their home.
Their lives are uprooted (upwaved?) when they are taken captive by a Nightweaver Lord who buys their indenture.
Aster had been taught that the monsters on the land eat humans and now she is living among them and maybe falling in love with someone she really shouldn’t.
The romance was not a huge focus of this book, instead it is about relearning everything Aster thought she knew and the different factions at play.
My favourite character was not the love interest, so I’ll be interested to see how that plays out.
“You’re too late,” I say, my voice a quiet breath. “I don’t need you anymore.”
As if those were the words that he waited three months to hear, a tentative smile breaks out over his face, though it doesn’t reach his heavy-lidded eyes. “You never did.”
We have great action scenes.
A ball.
Jealousy.
A captain saviour with a secret identity.
SARCASM AND WIT.
Family loyalty is a key theme of this book. I loved this as I love families represented in fiction. Especially stabby ones.
However, the behaviour of Aster’s family frustrated me. They are supposed to be these fearless, violent pirates and yet they adapt and accept to being cooks, maids, housemaids, etc so easily.
WARNING: This doesn’t really play into the whole pirate thing. The first 25 pages sees the family being taken from their ship to be sold/rescued.
This would have been a four stars, had it not been for certain inconsistencies in characters and plot conveniences.
Physical arc gifted by Penguin Random House UK.
Bookstagram
The Nightweavers have claimed human lands for their own, so Aster and her family (they gave me The Umbrella Academy vibes but violent pirates) and a lot of other humans have made the sea their home.
Their lives are uprooted (upwaved?) when they are taken captive by a Nightweaver Lord who buys their indenture.
Aster had been taught that the monsters on the land eat humans and now she is living among them and maybe falling in love with someone she really shouldn’t.
The romance was not a huge focus of this book, instead it is about relearning everything Aster thought she knew and the different factions at play.
My favourite character was not the love interest, so I’ll be interested to see how that plays out.
“You’re too late,” I say, my voice a quiet breath. “I don’t need you anymore.”
As if those were the words that he waited three months to hear, a tentative smile breaks out over his face, though it doesn’t reach his heavy-lidded eyes. “You never did.”
We have great action scenes.
A ball.
Jealousy.
A captain saviour with a secret identity.
SARCASM AND WIT.
Family loyalty is a key theme of this book. I loved this as I love families represented in fiction. Especially stabby ones.
However, the behaviour of Aster’s family frustrated me. They are supposed to be these fearless, violent pirates and yet they adapt and accept to being cooks, maids, housemaids, etc so easily.
WARNING: This doesn’t really play into the whole pirate thing. The first 25 pages sees the family being taken from their ship to be sold/rescued.
This would have been a four stars, had it not been for certain inconsistencies in characters and plot conveniences.
Physical arc gifted by Penguin Random House UK.
Bookstagram
October 16, 2023
Screaming!!! Full review to come.
---
EDIT: Officially in my Nightweaver era!!!
I first found out about this book through Instagram, where someone had shared one of the author’s posts that had a few quotes from the book. It sounded amazing but of course there’s always a worry that the finished book won’t live up to the promotional quotes, especially with a debut… but after reading it, I can honestly say that Nightweaver went above and beyond.
I loved everything about this book. It was like Pirates of the Caribbean meets Crimson Peak meets The Cruel Prince. Our FMC, Violet, was giving me major Jude Duarte vibes - a rare human in a land of beautiful monsters. (And she’s stabby, ladies and gentlemen.)
The characters were all so great and complicated. There’s a slowburn romance with a boy who has more secrets than he lets on, foes that become friends and vice versa, a villain who’s more than he seems, and a mysterious pirate captain with an unknown identity. I was trying to guess Captain Shade’s deal throughout the entire book and there were quite a few options, so I was wrong a few times before I got it!
The ending left me screaming, crying, throwing up. I cannot wait to have more questions answered in book 2!!
Thank you so much to the author for sending a digital ARC. All opinions are 100% my own.
---
EDIT: Officially in my Nightweaver era!!!
I first found out about this book through Instagram, where someone had shared one of the author’s posts that had a few quotes from the book. It sounded amazing but of course there’s always a worry that the finished book won’t live up to the promotional quotes, especially with a debut… but after reading it, I can honestly say that Nightweaver went above and beyond.
I loved everything about this book. It was like Pirates of the Caribbean meets Crimson Peak meets The Cruel Prince. Our FMC, Violet, was giving me major Jude Duarte vibes - a rare human in a land of beautiful monsters. (And she’s stabby, ladies and gentlemen.)
The characters were all so great and complicated. There’s a slowburn romance with a boy who has more secrets than he lets on, foes that become friends and vice versa, a villain who’s more than he seems, and a mysterious pirate captain with an unknown identity. I was trying to guess Captain Shade’s deal throughout the entire book and there were quite a few options, so I was wrong a few times before I got it!
The ending left me screaming, crying, throwing up. I cannot wait to have more questions answered in book 2!!
Thank you so much to the author for sending a digital ARC. All opinions are 100% my own.
January 11, 2026
𝕊𝕡𝕠𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕖
°:•.🐠*.•🪸.•:°
𓆝 "𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐫𝐢, 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐌𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐭"⋆.
🪼⋆｡𖦹°🫧⋆࿔*:･
"𝒟𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓂𝑒, 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝓂𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝓏𝓎, 𝒾𝒻 𝒾𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃'𝓉, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝒾𝓃'𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝒾𝓃' 𝒾𝓉 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉"
⋆｡ﾟ🌊｡14+
𓇼 Romance 3/10 {Kissing, tension, mild innuendo}
𓇼 Cussing 1/10 {H*ll, d*mn, a*s, maybe used once or twice}
𓇼 Violence 6/10 {Death, blood, maiming, hanging, decapitation, just lots of blood}
𓇼 Tw’s {Death of a loved one, emotional trauma}
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
"𝐿𝑜𝓇𝒹, 𝓈𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝑒, 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓎 𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓊𝓈𝒾𝓃' 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒"
ᯓ💙₊⊹ 𝓞𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀
Thank you so much to my bestie Kyla for reading this with me! I had so much fun chatting with you about this one! This book was actually insane. The plot twists were giving me whiplash 💀 I don’t even know what I was expecting when I started reading this, but it was NOT what this ended up being. It was quite a bit darker than I thought it was going to be. I was really surprised at some parts cos it was just like “oh and we filled a fountain with blood 🤭” like bro what 😭 I really enjoyed most of this book but the whole love triangle thing going on needs to go away 😫✋ I hate when it's a love triangle like JUST PICK ONE LET'S NOT WALTZ AROUND KISSING BOTH MEN. There were also SO many characters that I couldn't keep track of all of the side characters and her family. I had to go back and look at the family tree at least 100 times. This book was also less piratey than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting to be on a ship the whole time, so I was a bit disappointed when that didn't happen. I’m so excited to read the next one and I need to get my hands on it asap! *cough* Does anyone have 20 dollars I can borrow? 🥹 Now let's get this review startedddd!
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
"𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒷𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃' 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈 𝒶 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝑜𝓎𝒾𝓃' 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝑜𝓁𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝑔𝓊𝓎𝓈, 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓊𝓈𝑒"
ᯓ💙₊⊹ 𝓟𝓵𝓸𝓽
This book had the best plot that I have read in a LONGGGGG time! The way that everything played out made for a smooth reading experience and I had a great idea of what was going on most of the time! I love travelling with Aster and getting to see her whole journey. I don’t even know how I feel about the underling thing that was added 🤨 It was so random to me and idek why. The blood and gore in this book were CRAZY though and it was kind of the main plot which kind of overshadowed all of the rest of it. At first the blood and gore were fine and it was kind of just a side thing but as it neared the end it was all slashy slashy hangy hangy but I didn’t NOT like that it just kind of took over at the end. But overall, the plot was interesting, and it kept me hooked most of the time!
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
"𝒮𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃' 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒, 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓈𝑒, 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓅𝒶𝒸𝒾𝓃', 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊"
ᯓ💙₊⊹ 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼
𓏲๋࣭࣪˖🪼.ᐟ 𝓐𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻
She was a fine fmc but can she shut up about the “I will not let them take me!” LIKE GIRL WE GET IT. She was kind of whiny but I think she is a great role model because she had such a hard trial to overcome and all that stuff, but I didn’t love her. I’m always so picky with my fmc so I'm not surprised she wasn't the best imo.
𓏲๋࣭࣪˖🪼.ᐟ 𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓵
HERE WE GO AGAIN. Another Adam istg 🙄✋ I REALLY REALLY liked him at first but when the other guy shows up is when it starts going downhill. He looked really hot until Titus, I’ll give him that. He was sweet and all, but I swear he was just lacking in SOMETHING. Idk guys he was kinda just there atp.
𓏲๋࣭࣪˖🪼.ᐟ 𝓣𝓲𝓽𝓾𝓼
AHHHHHHHH ok he was really amazing. 🤭 He was VERY swoony. I literally was giggling because he is so amazing. I think he is going to be the one but idrk. BUT AHHHHH that reveal scared me but I fr was so scared cos I pictured the other guy as SO OLD and like Titus wasn’t so… idk I wish that that wouldn’t have happened because now I feel weird 😫 idk. I just don't know how to feel.
𓏲๋࣭࣪˖🪼.ᐟ 𝓞𝔀𝓮𝓷
WHAT THE HECK BRO! I do NOT like him. I had such high hopes, but NOOOOO he had to go and be a little b!tch. I cannot just thinking about him makes me want to throw up.
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
"𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓈𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒"
ᯓ💙₊⊹ 𝓦𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰
The writing was good and easy to read! I was able to keep track of everything but the characters lmao. The characters were so confusing and there were so many of them.
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
ᯓ💙₊⊹ 𝓞𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓵𝓵
Overall I had so much fun reading this with Kyla and I don’t think I would have liked it as much if I didn’t have her to chat about it with! I liked the book and even though it wasn’t the BEST thing I’ve ever read I did still enjoy it!
°:•.🐠*.•🪸.•:°
3.2★
⋆˚࿔ 𓊝 Pre read:
Reading this with my bestie Kyla! I’m so excited to read this! I have never read a book about pirates, and I am soooo happy with the sprayed edges hehe!
°:•.🐠*.•🪸.•:°
𓆝 "𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐫𝐢, 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐌𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐭"⋆.
🪼⋆｡𖦹°🫧⋆࿔*:･
"𝒟𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝒷𝓁𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓂𝑒, 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝓂𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝓏𝓎, 𝒾𝒻 𝒾𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃'𝓉, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝒾𝓃'𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝒾𝓃' 𝒾𝓉 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉"
⋆｡ﾟ🌊｡14+
𓇼 Romance 3/10 {Kissing, tension, mild innuendo}
𓇼 Cussing 1/10 {H*ll, d*mn, a*s, maybe used once or twice}
𓇼 Violence 6/10 {Death, blood, maiming, hanging, decapitation, just lots of blood}
𓇼 Tw’s {Death of a loved one, emotional trauma}
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
"𝐿𝑜𝓇𝒹, 𝓈𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝑒, 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝓇𝓊𝑔 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓎 𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓊𝓈𝒾𝓃' 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒"
ᯓ💙₊⊹ 𝓞𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀
Thank you so much to my bestie Kyla for reading this with me! I had so much fun chatting with you about this one! This book was actually insane. The plot twists were giving me whiplash 💀 I don’t even know what I was expecting when I started reading this, but it was NOT what this ended up being. It was quite a bit darker than I thought it was going to be. I was really surprised at some parts cos it was just like “oh and we filled a fountain with blood 🤭” like bro what 😭 I really enjoyed most of this book but the whole love triangle thing going on needs to go away 😫✋ I hate when it's a love triangle like JUST PICK ONE LET'S NOT WALTZ AROUND KISSING BOTH MEN. There were also SO many characters that I couldn't keep track of all of the side characters and her family. I had to go back and look at the family tree at least 100 times. This book was also less piratey than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting to be on a ship the whole time, so I was a bit disappointed when that didn't happen. I’m so excited to read the next one and I need to get my hands on it asap! *cough* Does anyone have 20 dollars I can borrow? 🥹 Now let's get this review startedddd!
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
"𝐼'𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒷𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃' 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈 𝒶 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝑜𝓎𝒾𝓃' 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝑜𝓁𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝑔𝓊𝓎𝓈, 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓊𝓈𝑒"
ᯓ💙₊⊹ 𝓟𝓵𝓸𝓽
This book had the best plot that I have read in a LONGGGGG time! The way that everything played out made for a smooth reading experience and I had a great idea of what was going on most of the time! I love travelling with Aster and getting to see her whole journey. I don’t even know how I feel about the underling thing that was added 🤨 It was so random to me and idek why. The blood and gore in this book were CRAZY though and it was kind of the main plot which kind of overshadowed all of the rest of it. At first the blood and gore were fine and it was kind of just a side thing but as it neared the end it was all slashy slashy hangy hangy but I didn’t NOT like that it just kind of took over at the end. But overall, the plot was interesting, and it kept me hooked most of the time!
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
"𝒮𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃' 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒, 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓈𝑒, 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓅𝒶𝒸𝒾𝓃', 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊"
ᯓ💙₊⊹ 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼
𓏲๋࣭࣪˖🪼.ᐟ 𝓐𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻
She was a fine fmc but can she shut up about the “I will not let them take me!” LIKE GIRL WE GET IT. She was kind of whiny but I think she is a great role model because she had such a hard trial to overcome and all that stuff, but I didn’t love her. I’m always so picky with my fmc so I'm not surprised she wasn't the best imo.
𓏲๋࣭࣪˖🪼.ᐟ 𝓦𝓲𝓵𝓵
HERE WE GO AGAIN. Another Adam istg 🙄✋ I REALLY REALLY liked him at first but when the other guy shows up is when it starts going downhill. He looked really hot until Titus, I’ll give him that. He was sweet and all, but I swear he was just lacking in SOMETHING. Idk guys he was kinda just there atp.
𓏲๋࣭࣪˖🪼.ᐟ 𝓣𝓲𝓽𝓾𝓼
AHHHHHHHH ok he was really amazing. 🤭 He was VERY swoony. I literally was giggling because he is so amazing. I think he is going to be the one but idrk. BUT AHHHHH that reveal scared me but I fr was so scared cos I pictured the other guy as SO OLD and like Titus wasn’t so… idk I wish that that wouldn’t have happened because now I feel weird 😫 idk. I just don't know how to feel.
𓏲๋࣭࣪˖🪼.ᐟ 𝓞𝔀𝓮𝓷
WHAT THE HECK BRO! I do NOT like him. I had such high hopes, but NOOOOO he had to go and be a little b!tch. I cannot just thinking about him makes me want to throw up.
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
"𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓈𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒"
ᯓ💙₊⊹ 𝓦𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰
The writing was good and easy to read! I was able to keep track of everything but the characters lmao. The characters were so confusing and there were so many of them.
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
ᯓ💙₊⊹ 𝓞𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓵𝓵
Overall I had so much fun reading this with Kyla and I don’t think I would have liked it as much if I didn’t have her to chat about it with! I liked the book and even though it wasn’t the BEST thing I’ve ever read I did still enjoy it!
°:•.🐠*.•🪸.•:°
3.2★
⋆˚࿔ 𓊝 Pre read:
Reading this with my bestie Kyla! I’m so excited to read this! I have never read a book about pirates, and I am soooo happy with the sprayed edges hehe!
June 5, 2025
all i can say about this book is that you have to wait for the last 100 pages. i’m also in love with titus 🤭
![Profile Image for CC ❄️₊˚ (daughter of the King) [semi-active].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1768436066i%2F186780502._UX200_CR0%2C33%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
August 20, 2025
rtc in the morning bc it's late but also..... WHAT?!?! *cries in sequel not out yet*
➵ pre-read┆🏴☠️
Buddy reading with the amazing Mia!!!! 😍 Im so excited!! 😆
➵ pre-read┆🏴☠️
Buddy reading with the amazing Mia!!!! 😍 Im so excited!! 😆
Read
June 15, 2025I'll come back to this later to review. my brain is too exploded for a thought process rn.
October 14, 2025
November 6th cannot come soon enough
January 2, 2024
DNF at 20ish%
Are we.... are we all reading the same book?
It's not often I read a book where I dislike the main character from the get go but here we are. A quite tedious read, I feel.
Are we.... are we all reading the same book?
It's not often I read a book where I dislike the main character from the get go but here we are. A quite tedious read, I feel.
February 3, 2024
4.5🌟
2024 Read #73/250
2024 Read #73/250
January 28, 2025
For a pirate who spent her whole 17 years of life at sea, Aster sure is thirsty.
Centuries ago, Nightweavers, evil vampire-like shadow creatures took over the lands and pushed humans to the seas, the very seas Aster Oberon and her pirate family inhabit. The seas were meant to promise safety, but when Aster's best friend and brother, Owen is murdered in a fight with Nightweavers, the only home she's known sinks.
Handsome and enigmatic Nightweaver Lord Will Castor offers the Oberon's refuge on his family's estate, promising the king to reform the pirates as his servants. However, Aster seems to be the only Oberon suspicious of him and when a murder happens on the grounds, Aster realizes there are scarier creatures than Nightweavers and they're looking for her.
I binged 75% of this book in one sitting because it was just that GOOD. I had to keep turning the pages to find out what happened. I couldn't stop reading this book, but that doesn't mean I found it spectacular.
I think this book is GOOD, but not great, hence my three-star rating. Before you yell at me, a three-star is still great, and if Goodreads did quarter-star ratings I would lean more towards a 3.5/3.75 stars. There was not a single thing in this book that I didn't predict; perhaps that's because I read too much. I also think that a book being predictable isn't bad, it just means the author did a good job at dropping the breadcrumbs. Now, why would this be so page-turning if I knew what was happening? BECAUSE IT KEPT GOING. There were so many times I looked at the percentage mark of this book to see if it would be over. This book had perfect cliffhangers to leave on and it still pushed forward. THANK YOU, R.M. GRAY FOR NOT ENDING A BOOK IN THE MIDDLE OF A SCENE.
Next, the romance!! I smell a love triangle and a damn good one at that. I don't know WHO I want her to end up with and I'm SO excited to see where this leads. I NEED to know who she ends up with. I'd compare the romance to Powerless by Lauren Roberts or Heartless Hunter/ The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli. Mostly because of the forbiddenness since Nightweavers and humans aren't supposed to mix like the romance in the other books. The romance in Nightweaver has a lot of potential, but nothing has happened yet. We're at a plan for a slowburn in terms of actually getting to the final couple being together. Fingers crossed no one dies!
I don't know how long this series is meant to be, but I will be reading it. I cannot wait to buy a physical copy because the deluxe edition is stunning!
Thank you to the publisher, Little Brown Books, for the DRC! This title releases March 4, 2025!
Centuries ago, Nightweavers, evil vampire-like shadow creatures took over the lands and pushed humans to the seas, the very seas Aster Oberon and her pirate family inhabit. The seas were meant to promise safety, but when Aster's best friend and brother, Owen is murdered in a fight with Nightweavers, the only home she's known sinks.
Handsome and enigmatic Nightweaver Lord Will Castor offers the Oberon's refuge on his family's estate, promising the king to reform the pirates as his servants. However, Aster seems to be the only Oberon suspicious of him and when a murder happens on the grounds, Aster realizes there are scarier creatures than Nightweavers and they're looking for her.
I binged 75% of this book in one sitting because it was just that GOOD. I had to keep turning the pages to find out what happened. I couldn't stop reading this book, but that doesn't mean I found it spectacular.
I think this book is GOOD, but not great, hence my three-star rating. Before you yell at me, a three-star is still great, and if Goodreads did quarter-star ratings I would lean more towards a 3.5/3.75 stars. There was not a single thing in this book that I didn't predict; perhaps that's because I read too much. I also think that a book being predictable isn't bad, it just means the author did a good job at dropping the breadcrumbs. Now, why would this be so page-turning if I knew what was happening? BECAUSE IT KEPT GOING. There were so many times I looked at the percentage mark of this book to see if it would be over. This book had perfect cliffhangers to leave on and it still pushed forward. THANK YOU, R.M. GRAY FOR NOT ENDING A BOOK IN THE MIDDLE OF A SCENE.
Next, the romance!! I smell a love triangle and a damn good one at that. I don't know WHO I want her to end up with and I'm SO excited to see where this leads. I NEED to know who she ends up with. I'd compare the romance to Powerless by Lauren Roberts or Heartless Hunter/ The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli. Mostly because of the forbiddenness since Nightweavers and humans aren't supposed to mix like the romance in the other books. The romance in Nightweaver has a lot of potential, but nothing has happened yet. We're at a plan for a slowburn in terms of actually getting to the final couple being together. Fingers crossed no one dies!
I don't know how long this series is meant to be, but I will be reading it. I cannot wait to buy a physical copy because the deluxe edition is stunning!
Thank you to the publisher, Little Brown Books, for the DRC! This title releases March 4, 2025!
March 2, 2025
(4.25/5) It’s been a hot sec since I finished a fantasy book in one sitting, but I just did that with Nightweaver by R.M. Gray.
📖 ARC Review 📖
Pub date: March 4, 2025
What to expect:
🏴☠️ 1st person POV
🏴☠️ YA romantasy
🏴☠️ Forbidden romance
🏴☠️ Elemental magic
🏴☠️ Mystery & secrets
Nightweaver sucks you in from chapter one and throws you straight into a battle scene on a pirate ship. This book is said to be perfect for fans of Belladonna and Powerless, and I agree (as someone who likes both of those books). I’d also add Heartless Hunter to the mix.
The FMC, Aster is strong-willed, feisty, and witty. She very much acts like a 17 year old girl who was raised on a ship, so I enjoyed the way her character was developed. I also liked that the story focuses a lot on her large family and the dynamics between her and her siblings.
It’s clear that the author was partially inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean, which I love because it added a level of charm and nostalgia to the story. However, I want to level-set expectations that, even though this is marketed as a pirate romantasy, the majority of the story takes place on land.
Overall, I enjoyed the pacing of the book, which may be obvious since I finished it so quickly. But there were some parts that did a LOT all at once. Specifically, I was a bit surprised by how much was jam packed at the end. I felt like a good chunk of it could’ve easily been moved to the second book.
This is a strong first book to a series, and I’m very impressed it’s a debut. I still have a lot of questions on this world and the magic system, so I’m very curious to see where she’ll take this story in the second book.
A sincere thank you to the publisher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the gifted copy ahead of its pub date.
📖 ARC Review 📖
Pub date: March 4, 2025
What to expect:
🏴☠️ 1st person POV
🏴☠️ YA romantasy
🏴☠️ Forbidden romance
🏴☠️ Elemental magic
🏴☠️ Mystery & secrets
Nightweaver sucks you in from chapter one and throws you straight into a battle scene on a pirate ship. This book is said to be perfect for fans of Belladonna and Powerless, and I agree (as someone who likes both of those books). I’d also add Heartless Hunter to the mix.
The FMC, Aster is strong-willed, feisty, and witty. She very much acts like a 17 year old girl who was raised on a ship, so I enjoyed the way her character was developed. I also liked that the story focuses a lot on her large family and the dynamics between her and her siblings.
It’s clear that the author was partially inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean, which I love because it added a level of charm and nostalgia to the story. However, I want to level-set expectations that, even though this is marketed as a pirate romantasy, the majority of the story takes place on land.
Overall, I enjoyed the pacing of the book, which may be obvious since I finished it so quickly. But there were some parts that did a LOT all at once. Specifically, I was a bit surprised by how much was jam packed at the end. I felt like a good chunk of it could’ve easily been moved to the second book.
This is a strong first book to a series, and I’m very impressed it’s a debut. I still have a lot of questions on this world and the magic system, so I’m very curious to see where she’ll take this story in the second book.
A sincere thank you to the publisher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the gifted copy ahead of its pub date.
February 27, 2025
I don’t think I’ve ever rated a book 2 star before but the reason why I did for this one is because, In my opinion, there’s nothing out of this world or memorable about this book. I hate to say that but I’m being true to myself. This book was marketed as “Pirates” “You say pirate like it’s an insult”, let me be clear without any spoilers… they’re basically pirates on land. You don’t get any pirate vibes from this book.
The plot, honestly just lack luster. The book started out action packed, exciting but then the plot just went downhill from there because it was repetitive and stagnant. The protagonist was being so insufferable and annoying, I was honestly tired of her POV. None of the characters are memorable nor was I emotionally connected to any of them and because of that I couldn’t care enough about the book.
There’s a lack of structure, nothing really made sense when it came to the kingdoms, the magic system, the irrelevant love interest that added nothing to the barely there plot. It’s unfortunate because I hate leaving bad reviews but I also want to be honest with myself and other readers.
Thank you to the NOVL for sending me this book in exchange for an HONEST review!
The plot, honestly just lack luster. The book started out action packed, exciting but then the plot just went downhill from there because it was repetitive and stagnant. The protagonist was being so insufferable and annoying, I was honestly tired of her POV. None of the characters are memorable nor was I emotionally connected to any of them and because of that I couldn’t care enough about the book.
There’s a lack of structure, nothing really made sense when it came to the kingdoms, the magic system, the irrelevant love interest that added nothing to the barely there plot. It’s unfortunate because I hate leaving bad reviews but I also want to be honest with myself and other readers.
Thank you to the NOVL for sending me this book in exchange for an HONEST review!
March 10, 2025
Oh my goodness. This book was phenomenal. The depth and intricacy of this story was unexpected, and beautifully done. Aster and her family are pirates, surviving at sea as humans have been forced to do for centuries. The Nightweavers rule the land, but the Oberon Clan's fate is about to change dramatically.
Captured and taken by a Nightweaver ship, her entire family is headed for land. Somehow, the boy who saved her this time has managed to keep them together and is even bringing them to his family's home to serve. They will be together. They will be alive. Aster should be relieved, but all she feels is anger and grief.
Watching her friendship bloom with Will was really nice, but the duplicity he represents was shocking, and so many layers of secrets just kept coming. This book kept surprising me, over and over, tossing me around like the waves of Aster's beloved ocean.
Captured and taken by a Nightweaver ship, her entire family is headed for land. Somehow, the boy who saved her this time has managed to keep them together and is even bringing them to his family's home to serve. They will be together. They will be alive. Aster should be relieved, but all she feels is anger and grief.
Watching her friendship bloom with Will was really nice, but the duplicity he represents was shocking, and so many layers of secrets just kept coming. This book kept surprising me, over and over, tossing me around like the waves of Aster's beloved ocean.
April 4, 2025
What a fantastic romantasy debut novel! 4.5 stars this was so fast paced and immediately jumped into the action from the first chapter. The magic system was so interesting and I literally cannot wait for the sequel. 😍
Want to read
July 21, 2025dnf for now… I don’t know why this story was so hard for me to get through!!
I will definitely come back to it though!
I will definitely come back to it though!
October 14, 2023
Plot - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice- 🫑
Narration- 1st person, single POV
Genre- Gothic Pirate Romantasy
- Pirates
- Secrets
- Magic system
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forbidden Love
- Banter
- Gore
- Gothic / Dark vibes
- Plot Twists
- Family
- Shifters
I LOVED this book. The complexity of details - Nightweaver, Underlings, Manon, Sylk, Gore, Myths, etc, - makes this a hard review to write, but in the best of ways.
Violet and her family are pirates living on a ship, as Humans were pushed to sea, no longer welcome on land. When their ship falls under attack, one of her siblings Owen is killed, and she and the rest of her family is taken back to Bludgrave manor under the protection of the Castor Family.
Violot doesn't want to stay at the Manor. She wants to avenger her brothers death and be at sea again. She wants to kill the Sylk and Prince. But the more she adapts to the Nightweavers around her, the more she learns and uncovers..
This book ends on a cliffhanger. I have so many questions! I adore this book and these characters ❤️
“When I was on the front... all I thought about was you—your laugh, your smile, your temper. All I could think about was coming home to you. It was the only thing that kept me alive.” .... “You kept me alive, Violet.”
Spice- 🫑
Narration- 1st person, single POV
Genre- Gothic Pirate Romantasy
- Pirates
- Secrets
- Magic system
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forbidden Love
- Banter
- Gore
- Gothic / Dark vibes
- Plot Twists
- Family
- Shifters
I LOVED this book. The complexity of details - Nightweaver, Underlings, Manon, Sylk, Gore, Myths, etc, - makes this a hard review to write, but in the best of ways.
Violet and her family are pirates living on a ship, as Humans were pushed to sea, no longer welcome on land. When their ship falls under attack, one of her siblings Owen is killed, and she and the rest of her family is taken back to Bludgrave manor under the protection of the Castor Family.
Violot doesn't want to stay at the Manor. She wants to avenger her brothers death and be at sea again. She wants to kill the Sylk and Prince. But the more she adapts to the Nightweavers around her, the more she learns and uncovers..
This book ends on a cliffhanger. I have so many questions! I adore this book and these characters ❤️
“When I was on the front... all I thought about was you—your laugh, your smile, your temper. All I could think about was coming home to you. It was the only thing that kept me alive.” .... “You kept me alive, Violet.”
March 26, 2025
This book was loads of fun!!
I haven’t read a YA fantasy in a hot minute so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
🏴☠️Forbidden love
🏴☠️Plot twists
🏴☠️Pirates + other mythical creatures
🏴☠️Love triangle in the making????
This book captured my attention from start to finish & was so hard to put down!
The endless plot twists & turns had me on the edge of my seat. I don’t think I trusted a single character this entire book bc I was so scared of the possible betrayal.
This book had so many fun magical elements & creatures. We got Pirates, Gores, Unicorns, Pixies, the Nightweavers, & so much more!!!!
I loved Aster’s character & how she evolved throughout the book. “I will not let them take me.”
The romance in this book was subtle but SO good. Not a spoiler but is this a possible love triangle???🤭
I’m so excited to read book 2 bc that ending went absolutely crazy!!!
I haven’t read a YA fantasy in a hot minute so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
🏴☠️Forbidden love
🏴☠️Plot twists
🏴☠️Pirates + other mythical creatures
🏴☠️Love triangle in the making????
This book captured my attention from start to finish & was so hard to put down!
The endless plot twists & turns had me on the edge of my seat. I don’t think I trusted a single character this entire book bc I was so scared of the possible betrayal.
This book had so many fun magical elements & creatures. We got Pirates, Gores, Unicorns, Pixies, the Nightweavers, & so much more!!!!
I loved Aster’s character & how she evolved throughout the book. “I will not let them take me.”
The romance in this book was subtle but SO good. Not a spoiler but is this a possible love triangle???🤭
I’m so excited to read book 2 bc that ending went absolutely crazy!!!
January 4, 2026
I’m not going to lie it took me a while to get into this one, but I pushed through and let me tell you! I am glad I did,because now I have to get book 2 just to see if the Sylk Queen is finally defeated and Aster gets her justice!
April 10, 2025
4⭐️
RTC :)
RTC :)
January 2, 2025
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
» He's a Pirate - Klaus Badelt «
0:53 ─〇───── 1:30
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 6/5 stars
Single 1st Person POV
Spice Level 🌶️ - 1/5 (one, maybe two kisses)
Age rating - 14/15+
Content warnings - minimal cussing, extreme blood and gore, some parts can be frightening for younger readers, possession occurs, many people die
🏴☠ My thoughts 🏴☠
This book owns my heart
It's been 4 months since I've read this book and I still can't get over how incredible it was. This is my favorite book Of. All. Time. Nightweaver set the bar of perfection for my book taste and every book I've read since then has lacked so much.
This book was a freaking MASTERPIECE y'all. Nightweaver is the best book I have ever read and I'll fight you to the death on that 🤺
My only complaint...I love Violet's name, please don't reprint it R.M. Gray!!!!!! I'm begging, don't change it to Aster....please 😭🙏
⚔ Plot ⚔
So for the plot imagine Pirates of the Caribbean mixed with angels and demons with a ton of plot twists left and right. Long story short, the plot was amazing and so intense. Honestly I would say some of the plot would be more or less considered as horror, which I actually loved. Some of the more gruesome scenes did make my eyes widen a bit, but it advanced and increased the plot so well.
R.M. Gray is truly a genius for writing this book. I can tell you right now I've never felt the tension coursing through every part of my body as I did when I read it. She mastered every fight scene that made me sit on the edge of my seat, every romance scene that made me swoon, every sad scene that made me cry, every terrifying scene that made me feel like my heart was being ripped out of my body.
⚓ Characters ⚓
➥ Violet (not Aster) - Dude she was the perfect fmc. She was completely BA, but also wasn't annoying about it the entire time. She had some character flaws but they were resolved throughout the story. I loved her character and her grit, I'm biting my nails and praying RM Gray doesn't change that.
➥ Will - I loved truly loved Will, he was great and all.....but I'm Team Titus. He's sweet but also defensive, I loved his character sm.
➥ Titus/ - This man y'all. This MAN. He launched to the top of my book boyfriend list the second we learned more about him 🔥
➥ Owen - ....wow bro. I cried at his death bc he seemed fun and all....but daaaaaaaaaaaaaaang << read the book and you'll see what I mean
➥ Henry - Honestly he was by far my favorite character. I love how we got to see his trauma but also his deep emotions at the same time. I can't spoil but I cried for him so many times during the book.
╰┈> Gives "Made it out alive, but I think I lost it. Said that I was fine said it from my coffin" vibes
🌊 Conclusion 🌊
If you're reading this review, please read this book.
And please read it before she changes it.
You will be sucked in from the very first page and be in for the ride of your lifetime.
Now that that's done...it's time to get ready for the sequel
» He's a Pirate - Klaus Badelt «
0:53 ─〇───── 1:30
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - 6/5 stars
Single 1st Person POV
Spice Level 🌶️ - 1/5 (one, maybe two kisses)
Age rating - 14/15+
Content warnings - minimal cussing, extreme blood and gore, some parts can be frightening for younger readers, possession occurs, many people die
🏴☠ My thoughts 🏴☠
This book owns my heart
It's been 4 months since I've read this book and I still can't get over how incredible it was. This is my favorite book Of. All. Time. Nightweaver set the bar of perfection for my book taste and every book I've read since then has lacked so much.
This book was a freaking MASTERPIECE y'all. Nightweaver is the best book I have ever read and I'll fight you to the death on that 🤺
My only complaint...I love Violet's name, please don't reprint it R.M. Gray!!!!!! I'm begging, don't change it to Aster....please 😭🙏
⚔ Plot ⚔
So for the plot imagine Pirates of the Caribbean mixed with angels and demons with a ton of plot twists left and right. Long story short, the plot was amazing and so intense. Honestly I would say some of the plot would be more or less considered as horror, which I actually loved. Some of the more gruesome scenes did make my eyes widen a bit, but it advanced and increased the plot so well.
R.M. Gray is truly a genius for writing this book. I can tell you right now I've never felt the tension coursing through every part of my body as I did when I read it. She mastered every fight scene that made me sit on the edge of my seat, every romance scene that made me swoon, every sad scene that made me cry, every terrifying scene that made me feel like my heart was being ripped out of my body.
⚓ Characters ⚓
➥ Violet (not Aster) - Dude she was the perfect fmc. She was completely BA, but also wasn't annoying about it the entire time. She had some character flaws but they were resolved throughout the story. I loved her character and her grit, I'm biting my nails and praying RM Gray doesn't change that.
➥ Will - I loved truly loved Will, he was great and all.....but I'm Team Titus. He's sweet but also defensive, I loved his character sm.
➥ Titus/ - This man y'all. This MAN. He launched to the top of my book boyfriend list the second we learned more about him 🔥
➥ Owen - ....wow bro. I cried at his death bc he seemed fun and all....but daaaaaaaaaaaaaaang << read the book and you'll see what I mean
➥ Henry - Honestly he was by far my favorite character. I love how we got to see his trauma but also his deep emotions at the same time. I can't spoil but I cried for him so many times during the book.
╰┈> Gives "Made it out alive, but I think I lost it. Said that I was fine said it from my coffin" vibes
🌊 Conclusion 🌊
If you're reading this review, please read this book.
And please read it before she changes it.
You will be sucked in from the very first page and be in for the ride of your lifetime.
Now that that's done...it's time to get ready for the sequel
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