Forbidden Desire is the final book in the Forbidden Omegaverse series, and it can be read as a standalone.
This is yet another stepsibling rom3.5 stars
Forbidden Desire is the final book in the Forbidden Omegaverse series, and it can be read as a standalone.
This is yet another stepsibling romance. 4 out of the 5 books in this series are stepsibling romances, and you would I am sick and tired of it, but NAH ...more
The Brand That Binds is book 2 in the Forbidden Omegaverse series, and it can be read as a complete standalone.
This is yet another forbidden3.5 stars
The Brand That Binds is book 2 in the Forbidden Omegaverse series, and it can be read as a complete standalone.
This is yet another forbidden stepsibling romance. There is no blood relation between Nick and Kira, but they are bonded as pack siblings. In this case, Nick and Kira are separated and reunited twice—the first time as teenagers in foster care and the second time as adults when Kira gets abducted.
I was a huge fan of the heroine right away. She was so self aware and kept berating herself for making the stupid decision of coming back to her childhood small town. Her self awareness made her smart, especially compared to the other heroines of this series lol.
I had a good time reading this smutty romance. My only complaint is that the author went into too much detail when describing the abuse that Kira and her foster siblings endured at the hands of their foster parents. It made me sooo uncomfortable and angry. I was here for a good smutty time. I didn't sign up for the detailed abuse ...more
His Omega's Keeper is a taboo paranormal romance set in the Forbidden Omegaverse world. Ani and Jake are stepsiblings, and by Pack law, they 3.5 stars
His Omega's Keeper is a taboo paranormal romance set in the Forbidden Omegaverse world. Ani and Jake are stepsiblings, and by Pack law, they are "blood" siblings even though there is no actual blood relation between them. They get kidnapped by a ridiculous cult that believes Ani and Jake need to breed together so their magical child can save the lives of all Weres ...more
The Truth According to Ember is the first traditionally published Indigenous romance, and that alone makes the book wortThank you Libro.FM for my ALC.
The Truth According to Ember is the first traditionally published Indigenous romance, and that alone makes the book worth reading. Ember is tired of getting rejected for every job she applies to. She gets the brilliant idea to sort-of lie on her applications by checking the Caucasian box instead of the Native American one. I mean, she is half white, so is it really a lie? She immediately lands her dream accounting job after her half-lie, but one lie leads to another and to another, until Ember starts to feel like her entire life is a lie. And her massive crush on the Native hunk from IT is only making her feel that much more self-conscious.
I don't usually like books with lying as the main theme, but to be honest, I totally got Ember and why she decided to lie. She's a flawed, but likable main character. Her lies definitely stressed me out, but I also got where she was coming from. This story is told from Ember's first person POV, so the reader really gets to experience her fears, anxiety, and stress firsthand.
My favourite thing about this book is how Ember is a terrible liar around Danuwoa ...more
So I've read quite a number of Evangeline Anderson books, and this is the first time I've come across a book where she included 21081037109703.5 stars
So I've read quite a number of Evangeline Anderson books, and this is the first time I've come across a book where she included 2108103710970912 warnings to the reader before the first chapter even began. And now that I finished Heat Cycle, I totally understand why she warned her readers LOL.
Heat Cycle is book 3 in the Forbidden Omegaverse series, and it can surely be read as a standalone. It was enough to make me binge the rest of the series LOL.
Heat Cycle is a Daddy romance, and this is usually not my cup of tea. But IDK!!! I KINDA LIKED IT??? It was so freaking ridiculous omg. The premise is simple: the heroine's parents pass away in a car accident, and her dad's best friend returns to take care of her, even though she's already a grown ass adult. They begin to live together because, you know, she's grieving. And there's only one bed, but he's her Daddy Jack, so it's okay for them to share a bed ...more
Bonding the Beast is a novella set in the Kindred world, and it can be read as a standalone. But I recommend reading Claimed first if you wan3.5 stars
Bonding the Beast is a novella set in the Kindred world, and it can be read as a standalone. But I recommend reading Claimed first if you want to get a deeper understanding of the world building.
Isobel is a single mom who gets escorted by Hail, a Dark Kindred, on the way to and from the mother ship. To their bewilderment, Isobel and Hail get abducted to perform mating habits for science. Naturally, the alien scientists are studying the primitive methods of reproduction, and naturally, Isobel and Hail are their target. So now, Hail and Isobel have to do the dirty in order to free themselves.
Listen, I was in the mood for a bananas smutty romance, and Evangeline Anderson is my go-to author for these types of books. She has quite a few books where her characters are forced to do the dirty based on very wacky circumstances, and let me tell you, I eat ...more
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've truly enjoyed every single Livy Hart book so far. But I had so much trouble likI received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've truly enjoyed every single Livy Hart book so far. But I had so much trouble liking this one.
The Great Dating Fake Off is essentially the Italian version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, with double the fake dating. Nora fake dates her best friend to get his mom off his back. Sebastian fake dates his best friend because she's still in the closet.
Nora and Sebastian's relationship is purely based on insta-lust, which is my least favourite trope in contemporary romance. I don't mind this trope in dark romance or paranormal romance, but I generally hate it in your typical mainstream contemporary romance. The banter is witty, sure, but I didn't get the pining I was expecting. I wanted less lust, and more PINING. There's lust and sexual want and a singular focus on body parts. And then there's emotional pining with unresolved sexual tension that makes the characters clench their jaws and fists. I prefer the latter, and instead I got the former ...more
Lark is a serial killer who cleans up after her kills in her own...unique way. If you've read Butcher & Blackbird, then you know that there w3.5 stars
Lark is a serial killer who cleans up after her kills in her own...unique way. If you've read Butcher & Blackbird, then you know that there were many delicious teasers about Lark and Lachlan. Here, we find out exactly why these two can't stand each other, and let's just say that the meet cute was amazing. I love that these two actually met before they were introduced by Sloane and Rowan.
In the previous book, we left off with a mysterious killer called the Phantom, and he's after Lachlan because Rowan had killed his brother. In addition to this, there is someone who's killing off people connected to Lark's family. When her parents suspect that Lachlan is the one behind the killings, Lark and Lachlan get into a marriage of convenience to get her parents off his back.
This book is slow-paced, mostly character-driven and focused on the slow burn relationship development. I hate to keep comparing it to Butcher & Blackbird, but I was really hoping Leather & Lark would have the same perfect balance of plot and relationship development. Instead, all of the plot happened at the very end. In addition to the slow pace, there isn't a lot of humour, nor is there a lot of hunting. We don't actually get to see how Lark and Lachlan hunt. We only ever see the aftermath after they've already caught their targets and began torturing them. So that feeling of anticipation in the previous book was definitely missing here. That being said, I liked seeing the information gathering part of the process, something that happened off page in book 1. It was fun seeing Lark and Lachlan do research and then sneak around to find information.
The romance was well-done, but the plot was just...not good. The following will contain mild spoilers. I honestly don't get why the author decided that the Phantom would be a good villain here. It made more sense for him to go after Rowan and Sloane directly, instead of targeting Lachlan, Lark, and the people around Lark's family. The villain's motive didn't make logical sense to me. I feel like the author should've either 1) created a villain that is specific to Lark and/or Lachlan or 2) continued with the Phantom arc, but not connect it to Lark's family because it was such a weak and nonsensical connection. I get that there had to be a reason for Lark and Lachlan to get married, but the villain going after Lark's family makes no sense lol.
Anyway, this would have been a solid 4 stars, but I was not impressed with the villain arc and the anticlimactic ending. Still excited for the final book though!...more
Petition to sic Sloane and Rowan on satanyahu, please and thanks!
Wow! This book was a blast, especially on audio; the duet narration is amazi4.5 stars
Petition to sic Sloane and Rowan on satanyahu, please and thanks!
Wow! This book was a blast, especially on audio; the duet narration is amazing! Butcher & Blackbird is a friends to lovers romance between two serial killers. It's a dark romantic comedy with A+ banter and chemistry. I loved the playful rival dynamic between Sloane and Rowan. Their relationship takes place within the span of 4 years, which I actually liked. I loved their epistolary friendship, especially when it leads up to their annual hunt. The slow burn build up to their first kiss and their first time together was *chef's kiss*
My only complaints: - I needed the details of Fionn meeting Sloane for the first time, come on! - I still don't really get why Sloane isn't close with her parents? And there is no definitive answer as to why she specifically chooses the eyes? This uncertainty makes me feel like I don't know Sloane as well as I know Rowan.
Overall, Butcher & Blackbird is a top tier dark romcom; super funny, dark, spicy, and romantic. This book would make such a fun movie! Honestly, can we please have more dark romantic comedies?? Excited for Lark and Lachlan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. I loved listening to Joe Arden laugh LOL....more
Short, sweet, and steamy as hell. This is a second chance romance between Killian and Gabriella; a lot of history to unpack here. There's a good amounShort, sweet, and steamy as hell. This is a second chance romance between Killian and Gabriella; a lot of history to unpack here. There's a good amount of angst given their shared past, but the angst wasn't too overwhelming. As expected, there was also an ample and equal amount of steam and emotional depth, something that Naima Simone excels at. She's one of the few authors who is really good at writing steamy romances with exceptional emotional depth. Her writing ticks all the right boxes for me.
Overall, a great conclusion to the series. I adored the epilogue!
Merged review:
Short, sweet, and steamy as hell. This is a second chance romance between Killian and Gabriella; a lot of history to unpack here. There's a good amount of angst given their shared past, but the angst wasn't too overwhelming. As expected, there was also an ample and equal amount of steam and emotional depth, something that Naima Simone excels at. She's one of the few authors who is really good at writing steamy romances with exceptional emotional depth. Her writing ticks all the right boxes for me.
Overall, a great conclusion to the series. I adored the epilogue!...more
I've liked Skye Warren's stories before, so I'm a bit surprised that The Professor missed the mark foThank you to the Must Love Audio team for my ALC.
I've liked Skye Warren's stories before, so I'm a bit surprised that The Professor missed the mark for me. It had all the elements I generally like: forbidden/taboo, dark academia, secret society, masquerade party, ex-boyfriend's dad, and student/professor.
The synopsis should have clarified the set up: Anne doesn't just have a one night stand with a man who ends up being her new professor. She has a paid one night stand with him because she needs money to buy a textbook for class. I couldn't suspend disbelief about Anne's motivation. This is a student who works at the university library. Girl...course reserves exist...and as library staff, she could easily access the course reserves and scan the pages. I don't seek too much realism in romance novels, but the motivating factor pushing Anne to sell herself for sex just didn't make sense to me. At least create a believable motivating factor. I also noticed that a few of the descriptions of the university were outdated. Maybe a lack of knowledge on how universities function today is the main issue with the writing?
In addition to the weak set up, there are so many cliches in this story. Anne is of course a 20-year-old bookworm English major. There's a bit of a "I'm not like other girls because I like books and Shakespeare and big words and I'm an English major and a virgin with mousy brown hair." Tooooo many cliches all at once. And at one point, Anne basically admitted that losing her virginity finally made her a woman (yikes)...even though she herself kept saying that virginity is a social construct. So, which is it, Anne??
Anyway, I kept reading because I wanted to learn more about the secret society. I also found Daisy's story a lot more interesting than Anne's. There was one revelation that surprised me, so kudos for that. But there were a couple of inconsistencies with Anne that didn't add up. And I am not even gonna talk about Will because his character is very superficial (so far?). The next two books will probably have more information on him, but I will not be continuing this series. I am not interested in the romance nor am I interested in the main characters.
Honestly, the best part about this book is the audiobook narrator. This is my first time listening to Alexis Paige and she did such a good job narrating this story. She had a great variety of different voices for the characters and I never had a hard time distinguishing who was speaking. In particular, it was easy to distinguish Anne's narration, Anne's internal voice, and Anne's actual dialogues, and let's just say that not all narrators can nail those three different levels of voice acting.
Overall, I've liked Skye Warren's stories before. But this one was superficial, predictable for the most part, unoriginal, and poorly executed....more
The Catch is a cute crossover of The Proposal and While You Were Sleeping. Melanie is a big-city fashion influencer who flies all the way to the east The Catch is a cute crossover of The Proposal and While You Were Sleeping. Melanie is a big-city fashion influencer who flies all the way to the east coast of Canada to revive her brand. Things don't go according to plan and she ends up staying at a dilapidated bed and breakfast in a rural fishing village. The owner Evan is of course a bearded grumpy lobster fisherman. The movie crossover takes place after Evan gets into a boating accident and Mel is mistaken for his fiancée by his family. And of course, they agree to fake date for mutually beneficial reasons.
I probably sound jaded, but to be honest, while this book is cute and all, it's nothing special. I liked the found family trope here, especially for someone like Mel who's always been lonely and whose adoptive parents didn't have a healthy marriage. I also liked Mel's struggle and trauma associated with being thrust into the role of a parent for her younger brother. I liked seeing Evan's interactions with the women in his family. It was so sweet how he indulged them—letting his nana cut up the food on his plate, returning his mom's hug and patting her, etc. He's very open and accepting of other people's love languages. It was super sweet.
On that note, Evan's grumpiness didn't really fit the narrative. It felt like he was grumpy for the sake of being a "grumpy romance hero." His family was also quirky for the sake of weird comedy that made me feel super uncomfortable. There were so many weird and awkward moments when his family interrupted him and Mel during intimate moments...and everyone just pretended that was normal. There's quirky and then there's this...weird lack of respect for other people's privacy.
The other thing that annoyed me was the predictability of the third act conflict. I knew where it was going. Mel and Evan also both knew where it was going. So it was just a waiting game and it felt like the elephant in the room.
Anyways, complaints aside, this was a decent contemporary romance. Nothing spectacular, but I do like reading about lonely heroines finding love and family.
She'll never be alone in the world as long as he's in it.
I had high expectations for Lothaire's story. I figured his heroine would have to be someone who's equally epic and badass. Imagine my surprise when II had high expectations for Lothaire's story. I figured his heroine would have to be someone who's equally epic and badass. Imagine my surprise when I found out his heroine is a mouthy hillbilly human named Ellie ...more
Pride and Protest is a multicultural retelling of Pride and Prejudice with a Black heroine and a Filipino hero.
Liza B. is a DJ and activist and she'sPride and Protest is a multicultural retelling of Pride and Prejudice with a Black heroine and a Filipino hero.
Liza B. is a DJ and activist and she's not here for the gentrification of her neighborhood. She goes head-to-head with Dorsey, the CEO of the property developer in question, and she refuses to back down. The two meet for the first time at an event where Liza planned a protest and mistook Dorsey for the waitstaff. This meet cute is equally disastrous and hilarious. Their lives turn even more upside down when Liza's protest goes viral and now everyone is watching their every move.
I had SO MUCH FUN reading this retelling!! There's just something so comforting and enjoyable about Pride and Prejudice retellings. I like the anticipation of finding out how authors will add their own twist to the classic. All this to say that I really enjoyed Nikki Payne's version of Pride and Prejudice. I think she did a fabulous job writing her own unique story while staying true to the essence of the original. There were a couple of changes, but these changes made sense and fit the story that the author was telling.
Now...the best part about this book is the BLISTERING chemistry between Liza and Dorsey ...more
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Charlotte and the Seductive Spymaster is the final (maybe?) book in the Lady CharloI received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Charlotte and the Seductive Spymaster is the final (maybe?) book in the Lady Charlotte's Society of Angels series—a historical romance version of Charlie's Angels. If you're new to the series, I think this book actually stands well on its own.
Charlie's husband passed away 12 years ago...or did he? ...more
I received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Melody and Beat are the children of two former rockstars who disbanded in 1993. No oI received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Melody and Beat are the children of two former rockstars who disbanded in 1993. No one knows what caused the rift and the two rock legends refuse to talk about it. They've been enemies since the disbandment. In a Parent Trap fashion, Melody and Beat agree to work together to convince their mothers to reunite for a Christmas concert.
I have many issues with this book. Let's start with Beat's edging kink, which is rooted in his guilt for being a privileged white man. Am I supposed to feel sad for a privileged boy who likes to be punished because everything in life came so easy to him? For not being deprived of anything? For never being told no? Cry me a damn river!! This is like the atrocious Devil in Spring book all over again. Am I supposed to cry for privileged white boys? LMAO.
And then we've got Melody, who's a self-declared introvert. But she is totally excited about revealing her crush on Beat and making wisecrack jokes on live television. Am I supposed to believe she's an introvert??
Not to mention the fallacies surrounding privacy. Beat and Melody and their production team emphasize that they need to keep their future locations secret because otherwise they will be bombarded by fans and the press. What do they do? Openly discuss their plans for the next day while the camera is still filming. What is this clownery??
In terms of romance, the author tried to convince me that Beat and Melody have always felt a ~connection~ even though they had only met once in person years ago. I'm sorry, but no, the fated mates trope does not work here. The author also tried to morph Beat into this overprotective Alpha male. She is usually really good at writing these types of heroes, so I understand what she was trying to accomplish with Beat here. But he came across as a concerned parent babying Melody, instead of an Alpha male who wants to protect his woman at all costs ...more
Finally, Murdoch's story! The last Wroth brother's story begins around the same time of the prequel This is my review for Kresley Cole's Untouchable.
Finally, Murdoch's story! The last Wroth brother's story begins around the same time of the prequel novella and it runs concurrently with the stories since. Murdoch finds his bride early on, but she's a literal ice queen and touching her is impossible. It's hilarious that the ladies' man is the one who ends up with a literal ice queen.
I realized that I forgot a lot of the details in the earlier books of this series. I forgot that vampires knew next to nothing about the Lore. I also forgot about the previous villains. So this story was a good refresher!
As for the romance...it left a lot to be desired. I was unsatisfied overall. I was annoyed with both Murdoch and Daniela. He annoyed me with his reluctance to be monogamous. She annoyed me with her lack of understanding when it came to his brothers. My dude Murdoch took forever to accept fate's decision. And my girl Daniela is an idiot for insisting to keep their relationship a secret. They are both clowns, especially for kissing other people ...more
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