Sweep of the Heart by Ilona Andrews
Series: Innkeeper Chronicles #5
Published by NYLA on December 13, 2022
Genres: Science Fiction Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 456
Format: eBook
Source: Library
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple 
Life is busier than ever for Innkeeper, Dina DeMille and Sean Evans. But it’s about to get even more chaotic when Sean's werewolf mentor is kidnapped. To find him, they must host an intergalactic spouse-search for one of the most powerful rulers in the Galaxy. Dina is never one to back down from a challenge. That is, if she can manage her temperamental Red Cleaver chef; the consequences of her favorite Galactic ex-tyrant's dark history; the tangled politics of an interstellar nation, and oh, yes, keep the wedding candidates from a dozen alien species from killing each other. Not to mention the Costco lady.
They say love is a battlefield; but Dina and Sean are determined to limit the casualties!
OMG! I am absolutely in LOVE with this series! Sweep of the Heart is a magical, intergalactic megaverse brimming with action, adventure, and a plethora of extraterrestrial mayhem and hijinks!
In the Innkeeper Chronicles series, Earth is neutral territory and has inns all over the planet which function as way stations where interplanetary travelers can rest before continuing onto their next destination.
The inns are staffed by Innkeepers. Innkeepers have unique magic skills that cater to individual guests while safely sheltering and protecting their person and privacy. And with hundreds of thousands of different worlds/species/galaxies out there, you better believe the task of an Innkeeper can be daunting, and pretty crazy! There’s a very special relationship between Innkeeper and Inn that is complex, mysterious, and utterly enchanting.
In Sweep of the Heart, Dina and Sean have their hands full hosting a spouse-selection reality show hoping to get answers on where to find Sean’s kidnapped mentor, Wilmos. The Sword of Damocles hangs perilously close to their heads as the competition gets underway.
If Dina and Sean can successfully host the show to its completion, they’ll get the chance to bring Wilmos home, but if something happens to the safety of the Sovereign leader, the inn is forfeit. The stakes have never been higher!
I freakin’ LOVE this story so much! It’s exciting, thrilling and delightfully funny! Dina and Sean’s relationship is tested as Sean settles into his new existence as an innkeeper beside Dina. And Dina is still coming to terms with accepting Sean’s deadlier side and reconciling it with the man she loves. If anyone deserves a happily ever after, it’s these two.
Sweep of the Heart dazzles with its vibrant imagery, spellbinding storyline, and otherworldly characters! There are a few surprises along the way that lead to more questions than answers. I can’t wait for the next Innkeeper Chronicles story!
If you love great world building, strong heroines with wicked senses of humor and a cast of characters that are both exasperating and endearing, then I highly recommend this and every book by Ilona and Gordon Andrews.
Share your review/ thoughts for Sweep of the Heart:
I thought it might be fun to link up reviews so we can find them all easily. It can be a link to Goodreads or a blog, or wherever you have a review (short or long).
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COYER Challenge is adopting our Read-along. You can read about COYER and join that challenge HERE. On the Sunday after the review posts, they will host a Google meeting (like we do for COYER book club) at 12 PT, 2 CT, 3 ET and 9pm Europe, for a one hour chat. The chat is October 19. COYER is moving from Facebook to Discord. The Google meeting chat is HERE.
Here’s your to-do list:
- Sign up to join the Read-along
- Join the chat on Sunday!
- Make note of a favorite quote or two as you read the book. I REALLY hope you all will contribute your quotes to the rafflecopters and participate in the chats, as we have great prizes.
- If you haven’t read the books before, make a list of questions you have for the discussion. If you have read them, please don’t spoil new readers.
- Enter the giveaways!
Games:
Who said (enter the answer in the Rafflecopter, don’t put in the comments)
Who said ““Divine, It is a multilayered symphony. The meat melts in your mouth, tender yet with a delightful texture, the skin is crisp yet delicate, an ode to all that is savory. The hint of thyme is sublime, the trace of garlic is almost buttery in its smoothness, and I detect something else, something non-Terrestrial. A touch of storran herb perhaps? Spring harvest, not fall.””
There are other options in the giveaway for you to enter discussion questions and quotes to share.
Who said “ Tomorrow the Marshal will need to assess our losses and the assets we’ve seized, and the Maven will have to go back to the negotiating table, because the aliens want edits to the pact and trade station plans and I cannot be trusted to not kill them while they bargain with us.” in Sweep with Me is Dina.
The villain was Rudolph Pederson.
Observations and questions you shared from Sweep With Me:
(Thank you so much for sharing!) If you can answer any of these questions, you can do so in a comment.
- I loved Orro in this one!
- .
Quotes you readers shared from Sweep With Me:
“Do not worry,” Orro said, emerging from the pantry and cold storage with a heap of groceries in his arms. “If this human creates problems, we will feed him the Grand Burgers. Once he consumes enough of them, his body will surely fail.”
“It taught me that for every period of stress there must be a time of rest and contemplation. This is the sole reason I’m still alive.”
Interviews with Ilona Andrews:
2022- Feb 19: Sweep of the Heart questions, Ilona Andrews blog
2022- Aug 15: Comic book adaptation interview
2022-Aug22: AMA Reddit Q & A
2022- Dec 17: Q& A video, Ilona Andrews blog
2023- Mar 8: Graphic audio interview, Ilona Andrews blog
2023- Aug 14: Innkeeper Art and Trees, Ilona Andrews blog
2023: Nov 29: That’s What I’m Talking About interview
2024- Jan 17: I will Explain Everything, Ilona Andrews blog
2024 : Reddit Innkeeper questions
2023- Jul 6: Noveltea discussion online video
Be sure to enter the giveaways!!!
Giveaway:
For each Innkeeper, the prize will be an Amazon digital copy (US only) or $7 Amazon GC (Intl).
Grand-Prize Giveaway:
There will be 2 winners chosen.
For a US winner, there will be a complete set of the Innkeeper Graphic Audio audiobooks (6) offered by Nancy Yost Literary Agency.
For an Intl winner, it will be the four Edge series audiobooks from Tantor and Recorded Books. The codes work in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Schedule:
We are doing one book every 4-5 weeks, posting on Fridays. We will have a review for most of the books with the team here at Books of My Heart plus some of our friends.
Jan 17: On the Edge – Victoria @First of All
Feb 21: Bayou Moon – Brandee @Unconventional Bookworms
Mar 21: Fate’s Edge – Angela @ Angel’s Book Nook
Apr 25: Steel’s Edge – Sophia
May 16: Clean Sweep – Barb @ Booker T’s Farm
Jun 20: Sweep in Peace – Lillian @ Mom with a Reading Problem
Jul 18: One Fell Sweep – Carole @ Carole’s Random Life
Aug 15: Sweep of the Blade – Rachel @ Waves of Fiction
Sep 19: Sweep with Me – Robin
Oct 17: Sweep of the Heart – Elizabeth @ Elizabeth’s Romance Reviews
About Ilona Andrews
“Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)
Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Texas with their two children and many dogs and cats.
They have co-authored several bestselling series, including the #1 NYT bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels, rustic fantasy of the Edge, paranormal romance of Hidden Legacy, and Innkeeper Chronicles, which they post as a free weekly serial.
About Elizabeth at Elizabeth’s Romance Reviews
I’ve had several blog ventures over the years but now we are back. Running a blog is a hobby and when it becomes more of a chore than something fun, we take a step back. But that doesn’t stop us (me and my awesome cousin, Marie) from reading and sharing our reviews and blowing up social media with our love for authors and their amazing books from a variety of genres!
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
Friend or follow me at Goodreads.
- Sunday Post – 16 August 2026 @caffeinatedreviewer.com @readingreality.bsky.social @kimbacaffeinate @readingreality - August 16, 2026
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- The One Who Walked Away by Karen Rose @karenrosebooks.bsky.social @berkleyromance.bsky.social @berkleypub.bsky.social @KarenRoseBooks - August 13, 2026
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 25-Audio
- 25-COYER
Elizabeth thank you so much for joining us in reading and sharing your positive review of one of my favorite books!
I had a blast reading along with everyone! Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate!
I had forgotten just how much fun this one was with the Intergalactic Bachelor style spouse selection. Loved getting a different view of Caldenia and her past.
Also, bonus update to George and Sophie…so perfect!!!
Robin, those are all great points I loved on this one. Thanks for sharing your review. Now I’d love another book but I know they have a lot of irons in the fire as we say.
Everything currently seems to be about the next Maggie book. Which I’m super happy about after getting an ARC for This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me and loving it. Still excited to see what they come up with when they come back to it.
I love George & Sophie! I think we definitely need a novella about how she ended up where she did and the wedding that I’m sure was just as unique and special as these two!
You said it, Elizabeth! This is a grand series. Loved this latest, too.
Thanks for reading with us Sophia. I just loved listening to these all together instead of years apart. I appreciate you sharing your review.
Thanks Sophia! And thanks so much for encouraging me to take Ilona and Gordon off my TBR shelf and get started!
I too love this series, Elizabeth! Wonderful review.
Thanks Kimberly. I think it is easy to love this series.
Thank you so much Kimberly!
I scrambled and just finished listening to this one tonight! I was marathoning it so I’d be able to participate in the chat tomorrow. I loved it, too, Elizabeth! This is only my second time through this installment whereas the other ones this was my third time through. I forgot about that ending! I’ll be happy to get thoughts from our group!
Yay! I do think a lot happened on two different big plot lines. I didn’t get all of it before because they don’t put the whole story in the serial blog version. I’m really enjoying the Graphic Audio for this reading. I look forward to hearing your thoughts this afternoon.
There is too much hilarity to choose from in this one: Scholar Thek saves the day! Intergalactic Bachelor! Gascon trying to apprentice to Caldenia! The return of Costco Lady!
And then the feels, too. What’s really behind the selection and Caldenia’s exile and Sebastien North.
Those are all great things I enjoyed Kate. The Costco Lady is hilarious. There’s still so much more I want to know so I hope they update this series sometime sooner than later. But I know I love everything they write and they have many projects going.
I love your enthusiasm Elizabeth! I feel much the same. This is probably my favorite series. Great review!
I’m loving this series all over again. It’s hard to let go of Kate Daniels top of the world and Hidden Legacy is great too.
There were so many things I loved about this particular story, including all of the interesting revelations.
yes there were interesting revelations but the other big thing was all the world building learning more about all the planets and places of the candidates.
Gah. These do sound so good!!
It’s Ilona Andrews so it’s my favorite. 🙂