Sorrow & Strangers Review

Amazon.com: Sorrow & Strangers: A Dark Academia Romantasy series (Avalon University Book 2) eBook : Rune, Alexis, Rose, Jeanette: Kindle Store 

Sorrow & Strangers

by Alexis Rune & Jeanette Rose 

Release Date - Sep 8th 2026

Series - Avalon University book 2

Genre - Dark Romantasy 

Summary - Fear. Fury. And Fire. To Know is Never Enough.

Summer Tuatha De Daanan reluctantly returns to Avalon University for her second year after spending the summer with her vampire best friend in Draculea. She’s a shell of her former self, and the peace promised to her has never felt further from her reach. All Summer wants is to keep her head down and get through the year cloaked in her depression, but looming threats linger, and she quickly finds herself thrust into a dangerous position once again; entangled with a friend turned enemy, the protector of her beloved family, and the target of two very powerful kings.

Unwilling to suffer any further loss, Summer must push through her emotions to prepare herself for the enemies who threaten everything she holds dear. Through runic training with the revered and brooding Headmaster Emrys, combat with the aloof and strong-willed Max, and improving her mental walls with the dark and mysterious stranger, each step pulls her further from the edge of despair. Yet, nothing will be simple for Summer, and the more she trains, the more she discovers who she truly is, forcing her to confront her inner darkness. The beast within that purrs for her enigmatic stalker.

A darkness that is waiting to be explored. A darkness that will not be denied.

Review(SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1 & minor spoilers for book 2 because I suck at being cryptic) - Book 1, Blood and Betrayals ended on a massive cliffhanger. Book 2 also ends in a cliffhanger, a significantly less stressful one in my opinion. We finally get a reveal that sends Summer into action, however I am not yet as convinced as her. But let's start at the beginning of this book. . . 

I found this world & characters to be more interesting without Connor in the picture. I really liked Max's role in this book, as well as the development with Summer and the Stranger. It felt like the other relationships really got to shine without him in the way(SORRYY). I am sure other readers will feel differently. We also get to see more of Connor's brother Rafe in this book, as well as the addition of a new character/love interest for him. There is a lot more to learn about her & her history. Rafe acts like an incredibly stupid immature man during one chapter regarding another character's feelings which really irritated me, so I am finding myself having a hard time caring about his romance. We see a bit of Alice's development, more so towards the end, but those two continue to be strong best friends there for each other no matter what. I would have liked to see more of the dark academia school aspect, we get an intriguing ball in this installment but not a lot to do with classes. 

The Stranger continues to be the most interesting character for me, and I can't wait to see what he will start off book 3 doing. . .

Preorder Sorrow & Strangers: https://geni.us/sorrowandstrangers

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