(Please Note: This review is solely for the short story “Virgo Queen”, by author Laura Navarre, that is included in this anthology and for no other st(Please Note: This review is solely for the short story “Virgo Queen”, by author Laura Navarre, that is included in this anthology and for no other story nor the anthology as a whole as I do not have access to the whole anthology and am not qualified to review it.)
If you’re a fan of Laura Navarre’s Dark Witch Academy books, then you’ll know right away when exactly this story is taking place in the books and what happens in the aftermath.
If you’re a newbie to Laura Navarre as a writer, welcome to Icarus Academy and some beloved supporting characters of the fantabulous, hotter than sin, and absolutely filthy world of Dark Witch Academy (well, they’re beloved to me, anyway).
Mallory McSnicker is a very good girl: she follows the rules, makes good decisions, is at the top of her class, and keeps her head down so as not to draw too much attention to herself. At an academy full of horny and violence-prone magical beings, she’s an outcast and an easy target but she’s good at hiding. She’s been doing it all her life.
This story takes place the night of her birthday, and at any college students will look for just about any excuse to throw a party. Why not throw one for the First Girl? It’s a fine idea…until Mallory’s classmate, the Gemini Queen, goes into heat right on the dancefloor, sending the whole party into a frenzy.
Mallory is a beloved side character in the Dark Witch Academy books because she’s just a genuinely good and kind person with a steady presence throughout the books. In this story we get to know more about her and her mates, as well as read some super hot spice between the trio.
I hope Laura either releases this separately at some point or expands it into a novella, because this is the backstory I didn’t know I needed but now I’m blown away. Wow.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Filed Under: 5 Star Review/Academy Setting/Anthology/College Romance/Dark Fantasy/Romantasy/LGBTQ Fantasy/Shifter Romance/Romance Short Story/Paranormal Romance/Polyamorous Romance/Romance Book Universe/Spice Level 3 ...more
If you had your heart set on nothing less than your scent match, how long do you think you’d last before you caved in and changed your mind in your joIf you had your heart set on nothing less than your scent match, how long do you think you’d last before you caved in and changed your mind in your journey to find them?
Bethany Raines has a problem: She didn’t think it was going to be this difficult to find true love, or that it was going to take this long. Now she’s out of money, homeless, and out of time. Her heat is maybe a day or two away and she still hasn’t succeeded in finding her scent matches. Her solution? Hope she can find a pack kind enough to take care of her heat, not bond her in the process, and then let her go at the end.
What she finds instead is a pack of gorgeous and kind alphas she could easily fall in love with, only they don’t believe in love.
Tea Ravine announced this novella as a surprise quasi-prologue to her upcoming novel Scent of Home, which will be the first full novel in the When it Rains omegaverse series (which is likely to be an interconnected series of standalones, just like The Omega Accords). Spare the Bond may be the story of how runaway omega Bethany Raines finds her happy ending with Pack Crow, but it’s also an introduction to the entire Raines Pack, which serves as the nexus of main characters for the When it Rains series.
I love Tea Ravine’s writing and worldbuilding, but what always stands out to me is the way she writes relationships, both romantic and familial. Emotion, comfortable and realistic dialogue, and intimacy aren’t always the easiest things to convey in spicy omegaverse novels, but Ravine somehow manages to make me feel as if I’m right there in the nest or crying in the car. It’s a talent. I can’t wait for more.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
When I think of Alexis Osborne’s Heatverse books, I can only think of how much my brain just sparkles like glitter when I read them, how they’re as taWhen I think of Alexis Osborne’s Heatverse books, I can only think of how much my brain just sparkles like glitter when I read them, how they’re as tasty as chocolate right before a period, how they’re addictive like some junk foods, and how after I read each one I feel like I need a drink and have a smoke.
Breeding Clinic is the third such novel and while I didn’t like it as much as the smutty masterpiece that was Rut Bar, it was undeniably the hottest book I’ve read in quite awhile.
If you’re looking for plot and story, I’m going to have to tell you to go look elsewhere. Breeding Clinic does have a story framework and a low-stakes plot, but the overall goal of this book (and the other Heatverse books) is mainly a whole lot of spice (like, whoa a lot) on the way to our characters getting their HEA. Each book (especially this one) also has assorted kinks that are well explored many times in many ways before the book is over. (If you haven’t guessed, this one is about breeding).
I caution those who’ve had issues with fertility or pregnancy to read the content warnings before reading, as the book centers almost entirely on these topics.
If you’re good with all of that you’re in for a spicy ride full of breeding kink, lactation kink, pregnancy kink, polyamory, group sex, public sex, car sex, primal play, TONS of dirty talk, pack members who love re-enacting spicy book scenes, book-buying trips, a great many sex toys, a lap dance, heats, knots, and nesting!
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Have you ever had anyone tell you they’d die just to kiss you?
Jane doesn’t usually have that problem. She’s a Mercy omega, born with the power to heaHave you ever had anyone tell you they’d die just to kiss you?
Jane doesn’t usually have that problem. She’s a Mercy omega, born with the power to heal others by kissing them. Her lips are only meant to serve, not for pleasure. She’s been happy to serve for five years now and nothing has gone awry until a healing goes sideways, unwittingly getting her into more trouble than she thinks with the military’s senior officers. They tell her she’s to serve as a healer at the front, which is as good as a death sentence, but she ends up being covertly being stowed in Bleak House, where the military homes the children of the nation’s traitors.
The alphas of Bleak House didn’t know what was inside the box they were ordered to store inside their “home”, but they certainly didn’t think it was an omega girl and they aren’t going to be part of her getting hurt. Along with their more legitimate alpha friend, Law, they concoct a plan to hide Jane among the students of the academy as a male beta student until they can sneak her off campus and to safety. After all, there’s no way they can keep her, right? And there’s no way she can stay, correct?
I have yet to read a Roxy Collins omegaverse romance I didn’t like, and while A Kiss to Heal is switching gears for her a bit, this was an absolutely fabulous story and just what I was in the mood for right now as fall is starting and academy vibes are in the air.
Roxy usually leans more into fast-burn spice and romance, with medium-angst and rich packs (this is what I mean by “switching gears”). A Kiss to Heal is faster on the romance than the spice (there is no intercourse in this book but a decent amount of foreplay, plus some dirty talk, fantasizing, borderline-kinky situations, and possible foreshadowing that really has no right to be as hot as it ends up being), high-angst (to say this is full of angst is not an exaggeration), and is set in a war-torn country that’s essentially under military rule. This is larger in scope than anything Collins has written before and with higher stakes and I’m loving it.
This first book in the series has no heats/knots/bites, but they will be coming in later books. I can easily see the beginnings of polyamorous connections between members of the original five male members of the pack happening in further books of the series, and I think (I’m not positive) that Jane isn’t quite done building her pack yet.
There’s a whole lot of story here, and I’m settling in for the long haul. Let’s go.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Well, hot patootie, bless my soul, I really love that rock n’ roll.
Look, I can’t help if that line from Meatloaf’s RHPS song kept looping inside my hWell, hot patootie, bless my soul, I really love that rock n’ roll.
Look, I can’t help if that line from Meatloaf’s RHPS song kept looping inside my head while I was reading this book, because as Ruby (the protagonist) says more than once: punk rock saved her soul. It put me in a rhyming mood. It put me in the mood for music. It reminded me of when I was growing up in the 1980s and early 90s and some days it felt like music was the only thing holding you together. Especially if you’re like Ruby (and me) and grew up mentally ill.
I expected to love this book, but I ended up only liking it for one read. It’s a good book, but I felt a bit uncomfortable with the way Ruby’s mental illness was handled by the author and I could feel how that affected my enjoyment of the novel as a whole. I am not saying Brom did anything wrong in her portrayal of Ruby as a mentally ill character and I’m not saying her approach to mental illness was wrong. This book takes place in the 1980s and the way mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder were discussed, researched, and diagnosed back then is worlds different than now. So I can’t speak as to Brom’s intentions when writing this novel and I’m not going to outright condemn an author when I don’t see definite evidence of malicious intent in the text.
I also ended up feeling like there were too many different POVs and the book was getting too cluttered in the second half of the book. It started to feel messy and not as tense and dreadful as the first half.
Brom is a great writer when it comes to language, but I’ve seen plots similar to this done better. I’d gladly read another Brom book, but this one was a pass.
I was provided a copy of this title by the publisher and the author via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews rated three stars or under do not appear on my social media. Thank you.
Wren, AKA Nightstrider, literally is a nightmare, crafted by the ruler of The Reverie (the dream world). She hates him, but sinDo you have nightmares?
Wren, AKA Nightstrider, literally is a nightmare, crafted by the ruler of The Reverie (the dream world). She hates him, but since he holds her anchor (the key to keeping her from just crumbling to ash), she has no choice but to do his bidding. So yeah, she does a lot of stuff she isn’t too keen on doing to stay alive, but there are some lines Wren won’t cross and won’t let others get by with crossing. It’s in the act of stopping one such act that Wren starts down the path of spontaneously falling in with a rebellion against her maker, even if it eventually results in her death.
This is only the start of what is going on in this rather large first installment of this debut fantasy series (I think it’s meant to be a trilogy, but I could be wrong). This book is nearly 600 pages, has four protagonists, spans two separate realms, has more than three factions warring for power, a complex magic system that’s used prodigiously, and has a lot of character movement and action. It’s a lot.
The fact that this book is so big and contains so much and yet there is a lot I felt needed explanation despite how long the book already is would explain why I think this book was a great time but not perfect. My largest sticking point was the magic system: It was used heavily in this book, by many characters, but no effort was ever taken to explain much of it (exception:origin of The Boundary).. What’s the source? What’s the exchange? What’s the price? How does it work? What are the rules? A lot of magical and fantastical matters were thrown out there to move the plot along but it was a game of, “Here, catch!”, and I felt like we were just expected to accept it at face value. I could have shrugged it off once or twice, but after a while it started to feel a little sloppy, especially in the third act.
Nonetheless, it was an engrossing and propulsive read that engaged me from the start and surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. There wasn’t a huge pacing lag like you sometimes experience in the second act, which was so refreshing. A real page-turner that has left me looking forward to the sequel.
I was provided a copy of this title by the publishers and the author via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Adult Fantasy/Book Series/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series ...more
This is a survival story, but whose survival should we truly be caring about?
To the Bone takes place in James Fort, Virginia, between the years of 16This is a survival story, but whose survival should we truly be caring about?
To the Bone takes place in James Fort, Virginia, between the years of 1609-1610. I’d tell you exactly how we know that, but it’s kind of a spoiler. James Fort was the first village established at what eventually would become the Jamestown Colony, the first complete English Colony in what would one day become America.
It’s here in James Fort that our protagonist, Ellis, has found herself in a quandary. She came to America as an indentured servant to the Collins family, knowing her father had already made the crossing some years prior, but he’s not in James Fort and she can’t simply go and find him. Her mistress is miserable, her master both intrigues her and makes her uncomfortable, she isn’t comfortable with the way her fellow Englishmen treat the indigenous peoples, and she knows there’s no way she can be with Jane, the girl she loves. Ellis only wants to be a good girl, but it seems every choice she makes only leads her further and further down paths of wickedness.
Bruzas uses the weather as an effective metaphorical storytelling tool to help move the plot along in this book: The story starts in summer, with long days, sunshine, and food to eat. There’s never an abundance of food, because they have to ration, but with the sun and the river and her friends Ellis is never too miserable. As the days grow shorter and colder, the characters and their circumstances change, bringing on the direst and darkest of circumstances toward the very end of the book.
What makes this book a five star read is not only Bruzas’ impeccable storytelling talent and her dedication to telling as authentic of a story set during the “starving time” winter as possible, but also in making the reader think of this philosophical quandary: was this survival story ever truly about Ellis? Or was this survival story about the indigenous people of America, whose lands were being raided, crops were being stolen, livestock were being butchered, families were being torn apart, and whole histories were being destroyed with every month that passed by and with every English ship that landed on the Atlantic Seaboard?
The ending of this book is very much up for interpretation. I have my own thoughts. The pacing in this book is implacable, just like colonization is. It’s merciless, just like genocide is. It pulls no patience for the young adult audience it's targeted to, and I’m glad, because someone has to tell young people the truth and they sure don’t teach it in school.
Horrifying, but beautifully written. An unexpected but satisfying five star read.
I was provided a copy of this title by the publishers and the author via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Body Horror/Historical Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/Literary Fiction/Standalone Novel...more
I’m going to convince you to read this book with just three tropes. Are you ready?
Forbidden romance Childhood crush They were roommates
I don’t know aboI’m going to convince you to read this book with just three tropes. Are you ready?
Forbidden romance Childhood crush They were roommates
I don’t know about you, but right there you have three tropes totally separate from “this is a hockey romance” that could convince any fan of LGBTQ romance to pick this book up. I’ll even give you this: it’s forbidden in two ways! Not only is it “brother’s best friend/best friend’s little brother”, it’s also “player/referee” (so you get a dose of conflict of interest there).
I love all the Puckboy novels. I wouldn’t have been an ARC reader for them since book two if I wasn’t obsessed with these dopey dorks. While I maintain no Puckboys book is a bad Puckboys book, I think this book suffered some from having to do double duty as not only its own romance novel, but also because it had to spend a good chunk of its first half as a vehicle for the charity hockey game the Queer Collective has been aiming at putting together over the last few books.
Narratively, it makes sense: Knox is one of the MMCs in this book and he’s the referee for the charity game, and Easton is the other MMC and is playing in the game.
Was it a good choice for the book as its own romance novel? I’m of the opinion that it wasn’t.
I’m not Eden or Saxon and I’m not sitting here saying I have a better idea or solution. What I am saying is that the Queer Collective is full of a lot of big personalities and energy, and it felt like all the energy in this book was used in the first half, leaving the last half lacking momentum and drive.
It’s still a Puckboys book, and I’ll never look down my nose at my Puckboys.
I was provided a copy of this title by the authors via Foreword PR. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed within are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Leopold Berry thought he had put and done away with childish things. His mom has passed away. He’s now living with an overbearing and self-important fLeopold Berry thought he had put and done away with childish things. His mom has passed away. He’s now living with an overbearing and self-important father who wants to map out every step of Leopold’s life. His friends are getting older and looking forward to their happier, brighter futures.
Leopold just spends every day in a daze, wondering if he’s losing his mind and if he’ll ever grow capable of standing up to his father. He just has this itch under his skin and in his hands telling him there’s something missing, or something is missing him, and he can’t go another minute without at least trying to figure out what’s humming inside of him.
From this point in Sunderworld, Vol. I, it’s an all-out roller coaster of urban fantasy, fantastic whimsy, a terrifically-constructed city layered over another city, great bits of Los Angeles lore, urban exploration, fun and imaginative world building, great pacing, teenagers acting like teenagers, explorations of grief, the beginnings of found family vibes, a fierce friendship, plenty of action, and a whole lot of fun secrets uncovered.
I wasn’t around for Riggs’ Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series. Those came out while I was raising my kids, I think, and my kids weren’t readers (still aren’t). So I was only peripherally aware of Riggs as an author and his imaginative worldbuilding skills. This is why I wanted to read Sunderworld even though I knew it was going to skew toward a younger YA audience than I normally read. This book is labeled inside as being marketed towards those 14 and older, but I don’t believe in age-bracket marketing. I’m putting it here because someone reading this review might. I will say though that I think a kid as young as 10 or 12 could read this and be just fine.
I’m definitely sticking around for the next installment. This was a lot of fun to read and there are not enough books with whimsy in them, in my opinion. Give me all the whimsy.
I was provided a copy of this title by Netgalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Book Series/Fantasy Series/First Book in a Fantasy Series/Urban Fantasy/YA Book Series/YA FantasyYA Fiction ...more
The prettiest packages can hide the deadliest of gifts.
Xishi is reminded all too often of how beautiful she is, but being beautiful doesn’t help keepThe prettiest packages can hide the deadliest of gifts.
Xishi is reminded all too often of how beautiful she is, but being beautiful doesn’t help keep her mother and father fed or help her wash bolts of silk down at the river. If anything, being beautiful means she has to keep her guard up at all times, because in their war-torn country it would be all too easy for a soldier to capture her and no one would be any the wiser until she was long gone.
But then Fanli, the king’s minister, shows up and begs her to be of service to her country: Will she come and train to be a concubine for their enemy’s king? She need not worry about bedding him. He has plenty of other concubines; but they will teach her to be a spy and how to twist the king around her finger to do whatever she says. In return, she will covertly ensure the way can be cleared for her countrymen to invade the enemy’s lands and take over. She’s the kingdom’s fairest maiden, and only she’ll do.
Fanli should’ve recognized the inherent risks of training someone to be a spy: They learn to read you too. There’s also an inherent risk in training someone beautiful how to make men breathless: They’ll make you breathless too. Especially when they want you the way Xishi wants Fanli. They just have to make it through her assignment and watch out for the enemy king.
A Song to Drown Rivers ended up surprising me in a good way. The very beginning is a little unsteady, maybe even a little slow. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but once Xishi and company started out on their adventure the story started perking up (along with myself). I started enjoying the characters and the story more and more as it progressed. By the time Xishi and her companion are dropped off in the enemy kingdom’s capital I was fully invested and ready to go.
At heart, I see A Song to Drown Rivers as a political fantasy first and romantasy second. Most of Xishi’s inner narrative is about keeping her head and steeling her heart because there is an inherent danger with undercover and espionage work: the danger of going native, of falling in love with your mark, of growing to love your cage (these are not terms Xishi would use, of course, but no matter what time in history a story takes place in the dilemmas of war are the same). She’s there to sow division, exploit weaknesses, and to sway the king’s opinion. All of the romantic aspects of the story are a secondary element, especially in the first two acts.
It’s a great standalone read and I highly recommend it.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Dr. Lucas Goode doesn’t want to become his father.
Sadie Green wants someone to see her and be proud of what she can accomplish.
In a weird convergencDr. Lucas Goode doesn’t want to become his father.
Sadie Green wants someone to see her and be proud of what she can accomplish.
In a weird convergence of events, Luke has a spare room he’d like to fill because he’s not used to living alone, and after accidentally becoming pregnant after a spontaneous fling Sadie feels that living with her parents and brother isn’t something that will work out for her anymore.
Why not? They’re not strangers: Sadie works with Sage (Luke’s sister-in-law), after all. The only true boundary they’re flirting with is that Sadie is Luke’s student. That’s fine, though, because Luke doesn’t want a relationship or kids and Sadie wants to see if she can get the baby daddy to be less flakier than dandruff. They’re just roommates. Just. Roommates.
I’ve never made a secret of the fact I’m normally not a fan of the pregnancy trope, especially when the FMC is pregnant for the majority of the book and the pregnancy itself is a large part of the plot. (Please don’t ask me why because I can’t figure it out). Leave it to the fabulous Sara Cate to take one of my icks and make it tasty, because I adored this book.
As I was thinking about why I adored this book so much I think it really just boiled down to how much I love how Sara writes her characters: the candor, vulnerability, flaws, strengths, eroticism, and intrinsic essence of them as a human being. Luke and Sadie don’t just have off-the-charts chemistry with one another on the page, but they both have amazing relationships and conversations with the various other cast members in the book that reveal other facets of who they are as people away from each other, and that’s an important part of writing characterizations in an interconnected series like The Goode Brothers that not every author reaches for, understands, or achieves. As Sara has grown as a writer the more her writing skills in areas such as interpersonal relationships have sharpened, giving her books a sense of heart that’s often missing from kinky contemporary romance.
I loved that even though neither Sadie or Luke were necessarily in a Dom/sub or Dom/brat dynamic Sara still managed to find that balance that a lot of couples ride where the lifestyle itself may not be for them but there are aspects of the lifestyle that they can and do use in their lives because it makes sense for and to them. As always, she’s done her due diligence in research and wrote with great sensitivity about this topic. It always shows.
So yeah, it has pregnancy. But it also has professor/student and Sara’s impeccable writing. That’s easily worth the entire read and five stars.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Tea Ravine has switched gears for her Eleventh Hour Duet, but there’s no need to worry something has been lost in the change: The Eleventh Hour is an Tea Ravine has switched gears for her Eleventh Hour Duet, but there’s no need to worry something has been lost in the change: The Eleventh Hour is an excellent dark, paranormal, polyamorous romance with a suspenseful edge and a psychological thrill.
Jax Shade is absolutely stuck between a rock and a hard place: The rock is her stalker of six years and her hard place is the court-mandated psychiatrist who enjoys manipulating her and is in charge of deciding if and/or when she goes back to the insane asylum. Both of these figures rule over her entire life like two regents of fear, while the queen of all of her demons is her own mind.
Then two men from out of town show up, looking for answers about the disappearance of a loved one. Jax may be the only one who can help find the answers they need. They just need to work fast and safely, because it’s more than just Jax’s life on the line.
Who can you rely on when your whole world goes to hell?
Jess may have a boyfriend, but he’s not the person she’d turn to in a crisis. That dubious honoWho can you rely on when your whole world goes to hell?
Jess may have a boyfriend, but he’s not the person she’d turn to in a crisis. That dubious honor would go to her three best friends, even though she’s never met them: MourningStar, Quietek, and Minxy. The four of them have been gaming together for a long time and are as thick as thieves. The guys don’t know Jess has wanted them for ages, just like she doesn’t know they’re all in love with her.
But biology is gonna biology and nature always finds a way. When Jess’ boyfriend goes away with his friends and her heat comes, the selfish beta refuses to come back and help her. When her gamer friends sense something is really wrong, they ride to the rescue.
This is author Sabrina Bloom’s debut title, which is set to be the first in a series of omegaverse novellas all set in the same universe. The series doesn’t have a name or a theme yet. I’m excited at the idea of a new series of omegaverse novellas because there aren’t many of them out there, more’s the pity. I also really enjoy getting to see an omegaverse story with gamer representation! Sure, we don’t get to see much of them gaming because there’s other things to get to, but I like that these characters were brought together by gaming.
Have you ever read a book that felt like it blew all its best material in the first half of the book?
Honestly, that’s what reading A Mask of Flies feHave you ever read a book that felt like it blew all its best material in the first half of the book?
Honestly, that’s what reading A Mask of Flies felt like for me. The first half of this book was an amazing thrill ride for me, full of smash, crash, bash, and slash; however, slightly after the halfway mark, the book slowed down so much it felt like the transmission had stalled and it started resemble a game of “Hurry Up and Wait” until the inevitable showdown, which was beyond predictable by the time it happened.
The beginning of this book is incredibly engaging, with a compelling hook and an intriguing protagonist. Anne Heller is an enigma to us, and she’s a badass. Everything’s gone south for her and she needs to lay low until she can regroup and figure a way out of it.
Of course things go south anyway. This is a horror novel.
The first half of this novel has tension, fast pacing, lots of action, great dialogue, a lot of terrific inner narrative, and some great story revelations that help to move the plot along. This is definitely more of a plot-forward book than character-forward. There’s a great amount of violence and even more body horror. Anne is not a nice person. Is she good? That’s a moral subjective. But she’s certainly not nice, and I love how so much of that comes through in her characterization in the first half of the book.
If all of that could’ve been carried through the back half of the book then this book would’ve been fantastic. Sadly, the momentum falters and never comes back, the vast majority of the revelations have already come and gone, and even the body horror seems rather tame by the end. I was ready for it to end well before it actually did. That’s never a good sign.
I was provided a copy of this title by Netgalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews three stars or under will not appear on my social media. Thank you.
File Under: Body Horror/Cosmic Horror/Cult Horror/Horror/LGBTQ Horror/LGBTQ Fiction/Sapphic Romance ...more
Have you ever loved a book series so much you wished you could live inside that world?
Barbi Bancroft has. She practically eats, drinks, and breathes Have you ever loved a book series so much you wished you could live inside that world?
Barbi Bancroft has. She practically eats, drinks, and breathes everything involving the fandom surrounding the books about the realm of Akkaya and its characters. Akkaya is her whole life. One day, at a fan convention, she’s handed as-yet unannounced, unreleased manuscript to the next book in the series. However, when Barbi gets home and opens it to read, she’s magically transported to Akkaya, which turns out to be so much different than she thought it would be.
This book didn’t end up being what I thought it was in two different ways: it was both darker than I thought it would be and the FMC was different than the type I usually read or invest my time in. I never have any issues with books being darker than planned, since I love dark books in general; however, I did struggle with Barbi’s characterization at times. I loved the overall story arc and the general plot, and the ending to this installment of the series was definitely unexpected. I’m really looking forward to seeing where this story goes.
How quickly would you sign on a dotted line to get away from an untenable situation?
Ocean Caldwell may be the last Caldwell and the heiress to the entHow quickly would you sign on a dotted line to get away from an untenable situation?
Ocean Caldwell may be the last Caldwell and the heiress to the entire Caldwell estate, but that hasn’t kept the omega from being abused economically, emotionally, and physically by her aunt and uncle ever since they became her guardians. When the handsome and kind DuPont Pack alphas tell her uncle they want to marry her she sees it for the opportunity it is and signs the contract even though she’s terrified.
We met Ocean in the first Clarity Coast book, Endless. She’s one of Isolde’s two best friends and is a florist who specializes in floriography and experiments with creating hybrids. Ocean was flighty and slightly flaky in Endless, often having to leave Isolde abruptly. The events in Priceless reveal why: At first it’s her aunt and uncle’s controlling and abusive ways, and then it’s because she’s met the DuPont Pack.
I enjoyed this book a great deal, even if I didn’t connect with Ocean as much as I did Isolde or like Pack DuPont as much as Pack St. James. I loved the overall positive tone of this book, as well as how devoted Pack DuPont was to Ocean’s overall emotional wellbeing. The spicy scenes were written very well (as if I ever expect Devyn Sinclair to do me wrong) and the emotional parts of the plot were absolutely spot-on perfect.
Now we just have to wait for Trinity’s book, and I’m so excited!
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Micah’s just an archangel, Nox’s just a demon, can I make it any more obvious? (IYKYK)
They’d both kind of like to say, “See ya later, boy,” because thMicah’s just an archangel, Nox’s just a demon, can I make it any more obvious? (IYKYK)
They’d both kind of like to say, “See ya later, boy,” because these two groups aren’t supposed to mingle. For the demons it’s just because angels are uptight and selfish. The angels, though? Well, they have a lot of rules, and getting close to demons isn’t exactly kosher.
The thing is, when Micah and Nox’s eyes met across the battleground inside of Hell, fate went boom and did her fated mates thing. To the leader of Heaven’s most powerful fighting force and a chaotic demon who’s always felt a pull to go above and just can’t stop wanting to have a good time now that he’s here. Yikes.
Conflicted is the first entry in the Hopeless Blessed series, which is a spin-off series from both her Reckless Damned series and her Damned Connections series. Reading the previous two series isn’t an absolute must to enjoy Conflicted, but as a fervid Lark Taylor fan and someone who has read all of her current catalog (including Caffeine Daydreams, which has a very tenuous tie to the Damned Connections series and therefore this series), I highly recommend reading both series before tackling Conflicted. If you want a short cut to the material that’s most important to know in order to understand Conflicted better, then I recommend Luck of the Devil (Reckless Damned, Book 4) and Patience (Damned Connections, Book 1).
(For Lark Taylor fans: Conflicted seems to take place maybe concurrently with Humility (Damned Connections, Book 4)? I’m not looking directly at the text right now, but I think that’s right.)
With Lark Taylor’s books, the first book sets the tone for the rest of the series as well as introduces the overarching plot line. Conflicted follows this tradition, introducing us to the demons who were allowed to move above to the mortal plane as part of a deal with Lucifer and his sons. These five demons are suffering from some anxiety and psychological issues from the abrupt change in scenery, as well as finding challenges in how to keep themselves “fed” when they’re not constantly surrounded by sin.
There’s also a whole lot of hinky stuff going on in Heaven, but I think I’ll leave that up to you to find out.
As always, Lark’s stories never fail to be smokin’ hot, and the spice scenes do not disappoint. Micah and Nox are also very sweet and silly with one another, which got me kicking my feet a little. It was adorable. They’re cute, they’re funny, and then they know when to shut up and throw down. That’s hot. They’re both the definition of, “Don’t touch what’s mine,” and I’m here for it.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Book Universe/Forbidden Romance/Found Family/Gay Romance/LGBTQ Romance/MM Romance/Paranormal Romance/Romance Series/Spice Level 3/Urban Fantasy ...more
That’s what Riley and Danny are. Just two commitment-phobes who sleep around (one-night stands only, please and thank Do you have a platonic soulmate?
That’s what Riley and Danny are. Just two commitment-phobes who sleep around (one-night stands only, please and thank you) and then spend almost all of their free time together. They have keys to each other’s places. They come and go as they please. They know one another better than anyone else on the planet. Riley’s even in the know about the supernatural world, despite being a human because he’s Matty’s best friend and Matty’s husband is a vampire…it’s all very complicated. But Riley wouldn’t have it any other way (except he hates his job). Danny certainly wouldn’t either (except he wishes he didn’t have the constant threat of his old pack hanging over his head). Yup, they’re just platonic soulmates.
Who had sex one time a few years ago before they became best friends. Unbelievable, mind-blowing, once-in-a-lifetime sex. Which they’ll never repeat. Nope.
I love Lark Taylor. Sometimes I forget I only heard of her and her books in January, because she’s now an auto–buy author and I can’t get enough of her books. They always feature captivating and endearing characters, are unspeakably hot, are well-plotted, and slot in well with her already-existing books. I love when an author’s books connect, even if it’s tangential, because it feels almost like an easter egg hunt when you start looking for the connections. (If you’re a Sadenverse reader then you know what I’m talking about.)
Danny’s story is the last in for the Damned Connections series, and it was a very loose thread that needed to be tied up from the second book in the series, Justice. Finally we get to see the pack Danny left behind, the reason he left, and learn what he needs to do to resolve that situation. I didn’t find this book as touching on an emotional level as Justice, but I did love the idiot x idiot trope. It’s another win for Lark Taylor and we’re off to visit the angels next!
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Meeting your in-laws for the first time is always a nerve-wracking event.
Toby and his son, Luca, are headed to Texas with Toby’s wife, a pediatricianMeeting your in-laws for the first time is always a nerve-wracking event.
Toby and his son, Luca, are headed to Texas with Toby’s wife, a pediatrician and heiress named Alyssa. Alyssa has given Toby every reassurance she can muster about her family, because Luca is starting to show signs of being queer and Toby doesn’t want him around bigots; and, well, Alyssa’s grandfather is a famous televangelist. Alyssa tells him her family is too rich to be bigoted. Well, you can see how well this is going to go.
I liked the idea of this book much more than I liked the book itself. I liked the individual story components more than the whole. I liked the tropes, but not how they were assembled. Does that all make sense? It was like the ingredients were all there but the measurements were wrong and it was baked wrong.
For one, it was baked too long. This book was too long by far. The third act of a thriller should be where you kick it up a notch, but I honestly thought the third act was the slowest of the entire book. I kept saying, “We’re not done yet?”
Second, the repetitiveness. By the end of the second act my eyes were starting to glaze over every time I read the term “mind palace”.
Third, the ending. I’m sorry, but I can’t vibe with the ending. It wasn’t good.
I am going to list off a few TWs for you: incest, “wilderness” camp, homophobia, internalized homophobia, transphobia, CSA, suicide. Those are the big ones.
In the end, it was a very average novel that was well-written for the most part but just didn’t vibe as a whole.
I was provided with a copy of this title by Netgalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Since this review is rated three stars or lower it will not be appearing on my social media. Thank you.
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