Thank you to Casey Blair, Victory Editing, and Netflix Galley for this ARC book!

⭐️- Worldbuilding
What a world! The aspect of an avatar for the gods’ divine vessel was so compelling to me. The use of “Sage” and “Learned” honorifics are well utilized, and I enjoy the priesthood foundation of the story. I was also interested in the idea of nullifying magic. I thought the concept was something to definitely continue fleshing out! Overall, I know the point of the story is the romance, but I would’ve loved some more of the world building aspects. The magic system is so wonderfully unique, that I wish we could’ve learned more about the world, the priesthood, the specific specialties of the characters, and so on. Learning that this is a prequel to a series coming out later, I’m eager to pick up the next series and learn more!

⭐️- Character Development
Overall the characters are very enjoyable, especially in their given circumstances. That being said, some of the characters tend to rush through their emotions so quickly. I felt like I was watching a speed run of fighting to lesson learning in the span of a few pages. However I think there’s such a quality of raw humanness to it, that it did not so much bother me. The dynamic between these two characters was overall extremely healthy, and something I wish we saw in more romances. I really appreciated that these characters were not toxic towards one another, generally wanted the best for each other no matter what stage in their relationship they were, and were not possessive of each other in a harmful way. Especially in a shorter story like this, the pacing of the relationship was stellar.

⭐️- Plot
Something that I took away from this book was that nothing is an exact science. You can’t measure emotions, nor bread! You must keep trying for what is right for you. This book had a lot of great imagery surrounding growing a seed, and how you must plant a seed to begin anew. I think this is the exact perfect imagery for the book. I also think this book does a decent job with establishing a plot as well as a romance. I just felt the plot was a little lacking considering the amount of effort with the romance. That isn’t a bad thing at all, especially given the nature of the book!

⭐️-Writing
The author’s voice is strong! I just know it is just a bit much for me personally. It isn’t a bad thing, I just know there is a very wide audience who would very much so enjoy it! It’s also a first person narrative which has always been a sticking point for me, and likely contributed to my feelings on the matter. That being said, the author has some profoundly beautiful quotes within the book that had me setting my phone down a moment to appreciate it. The sweet bits of romance were tender and endearing, and felt they did well to compliment the characters involved. On the other hand, although I knew going into it that this might be a steamy book, I didn’t think it was necessary at all. The book itself reads as teen romantasy, that the sexual encounter comes completely out of left field. Overall, a very enjoyable book nonetheless!

Thank you again for the ARC book! It was such a pleasure to read.

This is such a wholesome and short prequel that focused on our two main characters journey to find their purpose, believe in themselves, and try to build a life together.

The Positive: I really liked the magic, character growth, and the cozy warm feelings that this story gave! I also really love the idea of the sanctuary 🥹🐉🪄

The Negative: I did struggle a bit getting used to this writing style, and in the beginning I found the characters to both be frustrating.

Overall my reading experience was a good time and I look forward to exploring this world more in the rest of the series!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

🖤Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!

This prequel really got me excited for the main book, which is set to release in 2026. After reading the first chapter, I was eager to understand the world and magic system better. I especially enjoyed watching Kovan go through the different stances.

As the story progressed, I realized the focus was much more on the relationship between Kovan and Tasa, and how both of them dealt with personal struggles and insecurities. At first, I was a little disappointed by the shift in focus, but by the end of the novella, I found myself genuinely looking forward to the full novel, where I hope the world-building and magic system will play a bigger role.

Overall, it was a solid love story, with a nice mix of humor and emotion. Due to the short length, the relationship developed quickly and without major conflict, but it was still enjoyable.

What stood out to me most was the author’s writing style—which is rare for me to notice. Normally, I don’t pay much attention to how a book is written unless it’s distracting. But I really appreciated how The Quiet Side was written, especially the way the protagonists’ thoughts were portrayed. Their inner conflicts, touched with a sense of quiet resignation, felt refreshing. It made me care about Kovan and Tasa right from the start.

7 out of 10.

The review is lready posted on my Instagram (@mariasreadingjourney), Goodreads and Storygraph, and will be online on Amazon after the publication date on July 08 2025

A very cute, short prequel novella full of sweet moments, character development and personal discovery

I rather enjoyed the story and how our characters help each other discover more about themselves - that theyre more than others have led them to believe.

Its a very sweet book.

I’m so conflicted with this one — what typically would’ve taken me a day to finish, took me a few days because I couldn’t connect with the writing or the story itself.

It was a short read with two MCs who didn’t believe in themselves but they believed in each other and managed to build a life together in a cozy little cottage while learning how to bake bread and other forms of survival. There’s a dragon, sages, priests and orbs of magic. It’s sweet and can feel a bit like a warm blanket on a rainy day type of read but also came across awkward to me. The romance bit wasn’t there for me, giving that the entire timeline of this was all within a day of meeting but I’m hoping their story gets a bit more love and attention in the next books of the planned trilogy.

💌 Thank you NetGalley, Casey Blair & Victory Editing for the eARC!

The Quiet Side is a prequel to a new series and definitely gets you interested. The writing is almost like poetry, the sentence structure lends itself to short bursts of emotion and beauty. After sometime I got used to it, I have read books by this author before and this is definitely a new style for them.
It’s a cozy isolated setting that our characters find themselves together in. The romance is sweet and chemistry flowing. I enjoyed the Grumpy x Sunshine dynamic. The cozy was brought in with the mundane activities, like baking bread. But alongside this there are dragons and destructive priests. Overall I thought this book was about finding yourself and your people, which was lovely to read. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

So cute! The Quiet Side is an adorable cozy fantasy. I’ll admit it took me a little while to get used to the writing style and fully invest in the story. But once I was in, I was all in.

The MMC is the Sage of Resolve. He’s tasked with something that shakes his resolve, and when given the chance to leave the priesthood, he takes it. Along the way, he meets the FMC, a neurodivergent null who is the town outcast.

Together, they work to find a solution to both of their problems.

The Quiet Side is a prequel to an upcoming fantasy trilogy, and I’m so excited to learn more about the Sage of Wrath and a certain dragon.

Thank you to NetGalley, Casey Blair, and Victory Editing for the arc in exchange for an honest and timely review!

The Quiet Side is the kind of story that feels soft and comforting but also sneaks up on you with real emotion. I was hooked once I figured out how the priesthood, sages, and mentors all worked—it took me a few pages, but totally worth it.

Kovan, blessed with divine power but totally useless at normal life, was so endearing. And Tasa, shunned for having no magic, living in her little self-built cottage—she was instantly relatable. Their bond grows in such a natural, quiet way. No cheesy big declarations, just little moments of trust and baking bread together (which I loved).

Even though the themes get heavy—faith, disillusionment, loneliness—it never felt bleak. The writing is so warm and grounded, it just made me want to curl up and keep reading. Now I’m dying to see how this world expands in the trilogy… especially the dragon hints! Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a great cozy fantasy, the world building in the story was really well done and opens up for the rest of the series, so much can be done with it. But I really liked the main characters, Kovan and Tasa were both really relatable especially with the way neurodivergence is portrayed. The story is just so calm and cozy in what seems to be a world that isn't that way. Again I'm excited to see what happens from here.

I was intrigued by this for its promising premise and cozy fantasy vibes. While the story had some strong moments, the writing style took some getting used to. The sentence structure and punctuation felt a little uneven at times, which made it a bit hard to follow at first. But as the story progressed and I got used to the writing style, things started to come together.

The pacing leaned heavily on dialogue over action, so it was a little slow moving. But this is as a cozy fantasy prequel novella under 200 pages, that was to be expected.

What I enjoyed:
I loved that this was a story about self discovery and a journey to find true purpose. This showed us that it is okay to question things you’ve previously believed. People change when their lived experiences change, and that’s okay.

I didn’t love the characters at first - they were both a little frustrating. But I will admit they grew on me over time and their romance was sweet - although a bit rushed. But again this was a novella, so it makes sense. They were both a bit quirky and awkward, which was a cute touch.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read your book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

The Quiet Side is cozy, quiet, and full of emotional tension. I liked it a lot, but the romance didn’t fully work for me. Kovan and Tasa’s connection felt more like intense obsession than genuine chemistry, especially early on. They’d swing from admiring each other to arguing, and it made it hard to buy into their relationship at first.

That said, once the story settled, I found myself really enjoying how both characters slowly started to unpack their pasts. Kovan’s struggle with control was super relatable, and Tasa’s guardedness made a lot of sense given her backstory. Their individual arcs had more impact than the romance, honestly.

The setting was a win though. There was mountains, soft moments, emotional growth, and dragons! I’m really excited to see what the rest of the series will be like.

I’ll be honest, when I first started the book, the dynamic between Kovan and Tasa felt a bit much. Their immediate intensity came off more like obsession than curiosity, which made it harder to ease into their connection. They’d flip from mutual admiration to sharp-edged conflict so fast it gave me whiplash. That emotional whiplash wasn’t always believable, but then again, relationships aren't always tidy.
That said, once I settled in, I found myself unexpectedly drawn to both of them. Kovan, with all his quiet strength and practical thinking, felt like the embodiment of control, except when it came to figuring out where he fit in the world. Watching him wrestle with the weight of other people’s expectations versus his own voice felt deeply personal. I’ve been there. It hit.
Then there's Tasa, stubborn, independent, almost allergic to vulnerability. She’s so used to surviving on her own that accepting help feels like weakness. And yet, it’s in that hardened exterior that we see her unravel, slowly, beautifully.
What really made their story shine for me wasn’t the drama or the romance, but the raw, almost painful way they saw the best in each other, while being completely blind to those same qualities in themselves. There’s something tender about that, something real. Watching them begin to unpack those old, self-inflicted wounds together was honestly my favorite part.
And I haven’t even mentioned the setting, dragons and cozy vibes? That combination is an absolute win. You get softness wrapped in scales and fire, and somehow, it works.
I’m seriously looking forward to the rest of the series. Will it stay safe and soft? Or are we headed for darker skies? Either way, I’m buckled in, I won’t be missing a page.

The opening chapters were initially captivating, but the heavy emphasis on domestic roles and identity became a bit overwhelming with Kovan internalizing a sense of inadequacy compared to Tasa's perceived competence.

Where was the magic? The story hints at a world brimming with magical possibilities, but these elements remain largely implied rather than actively explored. This is undoubtedly a cozy fantasy romance. However, its exploration of gender roles feels stereotypical, rather than a fresh or insightful take.

This was a really intriguing preview of what's to come in the larger universe the author is building. It introduces one of the main characters from an upcoming trilogy set 500 years in the future, and now I’m even more curious to see how the events in this story will tie into the next series.

I’ll admit, I had to reread the first few pages to get a handle on who the priests, sages, and mentors were and how they all fit into the world. But once I understood, I was hooked.

Both Kovan and Tasa were compelling characters. Tasa’s guilt over her null ability and how it affected her village made her feel isolated and alone, while Kovan’s sense of duty to the empire brought its own internal conflict. Both characters felt torn between obligation and finding out how they fit in. It was really sweet seeing them learn to lean on each other and be their own cheerleaders. I’m usually not a fan of insta-love because I prefer seeing the relationship grow naturally but in this story, Blair managed to pull it off. Kovan and Tasa's self-awareness about how quickly their feelings were developing—and their willingness to admit how unusual that was—is something rarely acknowledged in fantasy romances, which made it especially refreshing.

If this is just the starting point, I can’t wait to see how everything unfolds in the full trilogy. Definitely a solid setup with lots of potential.

Ohh, I really liked the book ! It’s a short introduction to the upcoming trilogy which I am eager to read!!
The world is really cozy and whimsical, we are following Tasa and Kovan in his exploration of a world beyond what he knows. (He makes an amazing bread🥖) 🪽✨
And the characters are so cute, I am waiting to discover them even more, what do you mean this was only a 107 pages, I needed more !!

I have not read all the previous books by this author, so I read this as a standalone. The book is lovely, but perhaps the writing style isn't for me. Anyway, thank you for accepting the request. I will try again with other books by this author.

4/5

Thank you so much for providing me with an arc copy of this book in return for an honest review! I'm truly excited to see where this series will move forward to in the future and would love to be able to be an arc reader for any of your future work!

I will say - at the start of this book it seemed very much almost like the Kovan and Tasa were obsessed with each other rather than just curious and intrigued by each other which was slightly off-putting. They have the habit of being very accepting of each other and then very quickly turn a sharp corner and becoming almost enraged by each other which seemed a little strange in my opinion.
Other than this, I found Kovan and Tasa to be unexpectedly relatable! Kovan himself being almost an embodiment of resolve and problem solving but seeming to struggle so much which his place in the world and his ability/willingness to make his own opinions is something I often see in myself so it was super interesting to see how this impacted him/his actions and how he works through this during the book. Meanwhile, Tasa seems to be the complete opposite - even if not by choice - being completely independent to the point where letting other people in to help is seen as only a sign of weakness for her.
It was so fun to see these characters see so many beautiful things about each other while being unable to see the beautiful parts of themselves and then seeing the start of their journey to unravel these negative thoughts about themselves with each other.

Of course, not to mention, the cosy setting mixed with the presence of dragons?? how could you even go wrong there, I loved it!!
Super super excited to see where we go with the future books in this series, I'm intrigued to see if it stays as cosy as this novella or if we step out more into more dangerous teritory. All I know is, I'll be there to read it!

This book is a cinnamon roll wrapped in emotional damage wrapped in a mountain cottage with one bed and the world’s most earnest attempts at baking.

Tasa is my favorite kind of heroine: chill on the outside, emotionally bracing herself for abandonment on the inside, deeply competent except at baking. She lives quietly at the heart of the Quiet Side, sipping tea and enjoying her slice of peace. And then Kovan shows up - grumpy, lost, ex-god-man with an existential crisis.

Their chemistry?? Immediately unhinged, in the best way. Insta-love is so hard to pull off, but Blair NAILS IT. Kovan’s all like “I was the living avatar of a god” and Tasa’s like “Cool, can you bake this loaf without setting the house on fire?” and the man just decides that baking bread for her forever is his new religion. ICONIC BEHAVIOR.

The vibes are soft and intimate, even with the looming threat of sagely doom. Every loaf of bread is a love letter. Every awkward moment is a trust fall. Every time Kovan looks at Tasa like she personally hung the moon? I spontaneously combusted.

Also: the worldbuilding?? Subtle but rich. Imagine a war-torn world with messy politics but instead of saving it with swords and speeches, we’re baking bread, making tea, and building community one awkward conversation at a time. The stakes are lowkey high and the emotional payoff??? Chef’s kiss.

Also cannot WAIT to see more of Zan and the Sage of Wrath in The Quiet Light, this novella has me hooked and ready to stay in this little world!

Things I loved:
🥖 Baking as emotional healing
⚔️ A man who gives up power to become a himbo househusband
🌿 Magic that’s about boundaries, not explosions
👀 Quiet pining and “no one ever stays” angst

Overall?? Adorable, tender, and emotionally satisfying.

This cozy romantasy novella is both heartwarming and quietly powerful. The Quiet Side follows two flawed yet fiercely principled characters—Kovan, a divine avatar stripped of his purpose, and Tasa, a solitary mountain-dweller guarding her sanctuary. When fate strands them together in a remote cottage (yes, there’s only one bed!), what begins as reluctant cohabitation slowly transforms into healing, connection, and a deeper understanding of their own worth.

Casey Blair’s talent for writing nuanced, neurodivergent characters shines here. Tasa and Kovan see the best in each other even when they can’t see it in themselves—and their gentle journey toward change, one loaf of bread at a time, feels intimate and sincere.

This novella is a satisfying glimpse into a rich world full of quiet strength, tender magic, and a promise of something more to come.

⭐ 3.75/5

The Quiet Side is a cozy fantasy with an intense, immediate romance. The presence of dragons adds a charming touch — and honestly, who doesn’t love dragons?

I enjoyed the gentle writing and the idea of the island setting, but I felt like some elements needed more depth. Since this is a prequel, I understand that some things are left open, but I would’ve appreciated more development around Kovan — especially considering he’s on a journey to rediscover his faith. Also, while the romance is central, I didn’t quite feel the chemistry between him and Tasa.

A map and a glossary would have really enhanced the experience, particularly to help understand the sages, the powers, and the priests better. The world is interesting, but I felt a bit lost at times.

Still, the sneak peek at the end made me excited to see where the trilogy goes from here!