This bonus chapter is part of Live and Let Lionel, and while the book as a whole was an utter disappointment, this chapter was amazing.
That time the tThis bonus chapter is part of Live and Let Lionel, and while the book as a whole was an utter disappointment, this chapter was amazing.
That time the twins met the Ruthless Boys That one was my favorite because I absolutely ADORE the Ruthless Boys and I always want more of them. ...more
I don't know if there will be another book or not, but I am just not invested in the plot anymore. Alice oAlright, I think I am done with this series.
I don't know if there will be another book or not, but I am just not invested in the plot anymore. Alice only keeps on getting more powerful with each book, yet nothing progresses when it comes to Moses and his cabal.
The last book was released over 3 years ago, so I really don't know what the author has planned for this series, but I am tired of waiting for Alice to deal with Moses and tired of Alice having a martyr complex and being a prickly porcupine. This series had potential, but I feel that in the last few books, the plot got lost in all the subplots and sidequests, and I don't really care about it anymore. I will invest my time elsewhere.
It was a cute little snippet from Alice and Sean's life, but it was nothing extraordinary. I mentioned in a review I wrote not too long ago that it anIt was a cute little snippet from Alice and Sean's life, but it was nothing extraordinary. I mentioned in a review I wrote not too long ago that it annoys me when couples (especially older and more mature ones) can't seem to be able to deal with their lust and just have sex whenever and wherever, even when it is not the time or the place. Sadly, it's exactly what happens here, in my opinion.
When Sean and Alice's truck breaks down in the middle of nowhere, they hike until they find a cabin in the middle of the woods. The owner left a note saying he would be back by night, so of course, they decide to take advantage of his absence and have sex in his cabin. It just didn't sit well with me... I wouldn't have been comfortable enough in a 100 years, I would have been way too scared to be caught, and no amount of teasing kisses would have make me change my mind.
✅ Magic and Cabal war ✅ Betrayals ✅ Pace ✅ Action ✅ Characters ✅ Romance ✅ Alice’s identity is finally revealed ✅ Pack drama ✅ Vampires, werewolves, and mage✅ Magic and Cabal war ✅ Betrayals ✅ Pace ✅ Action ✅ Characters ✅ Romance ✅ Alice’s identity is finally revealed ✅ Pack drama ✅ Vampires, werewolves, and mages ❌ Recaps of previous events ❗️❗️Trigger warnings: death, attempted murder, blood, kidnapping, dangerous free-fall from a significant height
Moses Murphy’s Cabal is at war with Bell’s Cabal, and Alice finds herself in the middle of it when she realizes that the missing boy she was hired to find ended up in Bell’s hands because he is a powerful null. Alice knows what life awaits Aden as a powerful mage child in a cabal, and she is willing to do almost anything to get him out of Bell’s hands, even if it means putting her own life at risk. Sean’s pack is slowly warming up to Alice, but a few members continue to openly be opposed to their relationship, and they are now trying to get rid of Alice in any way they can.
There is action in this book, and many sub-plots tangled together, but the pace was good, and I found myself stuck in the “one more chapter” trap for most of the book. I listened to it on Audible but also downloaded the Kindle because it was quicker to read than listen to it, and I just needed to know what would happen next, when Alice would reveal her identity to Sean. And when they would realize that a member (or members) of the pack were working against them.
Alice changed a lot since the first book, thanks to Malcolm’s harsh honesty at times, and Sean’s patience and no-bullshit attitude. She reveals more secrets in this fourth book of the series, and we can see that her relationship with Sean is strong and meant to last. She trusts him with most of her secrets, and she stopped being scared of getting attached to him. She embraces her romantic life with him and is ready to take the next step in their relationship, even if it means getting out of her comfort zone. Alice still annoyed me at times, and there was one specific instance where I wanted to slap some sense into her, but overall, she grew on me, and I like her now.
I love angst and relationship drama, as long as it is well done, feels mature (no juvenile jealous bullshit, thanks), and is relevant to the plot. There was some drama between Sean and Alice in this book (no surprise here), and it was relevant to the plot, but it got almost too much at one point. Not in the sense that it was too angsty, because things can never be too angsty, but Alice's obliviousness to what was going on got me so frustrated, that I was tempted to skim just to get to the part where things were finally resolved and she could move on to the next problem on her never-ending list.
Malcolm continues to be the voice of reason, and it shows even more in this book. He never hesitates to tell Alice the truth, even when it's harsh, but he's also there to reassure her when she panics and gets afraid that Sean will see her as a monster if he learns of her secrets. Malcolm is the steady presence who's always there to tell her to calm the f*ck down and breathe, or that she should apologize because she's been an ass, and I love his fierce loyalty to Alice, and how much of a true and good friend he is.
One thing that did annoy me, especially since I was listening to this book and not reading it, are the long recaps of previous events. If you've made it to book 4, you should not need to be reminded of who Charles' enforcers are, what happened with Bell and Murphy in the third book, or why Delia and Jack don't like Alice. It annoyed me that I had to listen to those recaps on the first part of the book.
✅ Magic ✅ Plot / Investigation ✅ Pace ✅ Action ✅ Characters ✅ Romance ✅ Pack drama ✅ Vampires, werewolves, and mages ❗️❗️Trigger warnings: shootings, deaths
T✅ Magic ✅ Plot / Investigation ✅ Pace ✅ Action ✅ Characters ✅ Romance ✅ Pack drama ✅ Vampires, werewolves, and mages ❗️❗️Trigger warnings: shootings, deaths
This series gets better with each book, probably because Alice is less and less annoying…
When an investigation for the vampire court does not go as planned, Alice becomes the target of an ex-military vampire hater, and she is forced to hire Maclin Security to have a protective detail with her 24/7 until the man is caught. Alice is also hired to retrieve 3 magical objects that have been stolen, but when Sean and her finally locate the last of the missing items, they realize that it’s much more than a simple magical trinket as they were led to believe, and it puts Sean’s life in danger. To add another layer of problems, Alice meets Sean’s pack in this book, and not everyone is happy that Sean is dating a non-shifter. It doesn’t matter that she is a powerful mage, they think that an alpha should date a shifter, and some members of the pack are even plotting to get rid of Alice.
Alice is showing her badass side more and more, but she is also getting more clever and vulnerable at times. Overall, it makes her a much more likable main character, and I can even say that I like her now. She feels less cold and self-centered (I know it was a defense mechanism, but it still made it hard to connect to her), and she listens more to what others have to say and takes into consideration how they feel. Granted, she often listens and thinks about their feelings after jumping feet first into danger with her reckless plans, but it’s progress; at least she is willing to listen and consider them.
Alice is back with Sean, and they are stronger than ever. She is slowly letting him in, and she trusts him more and more. She is not ready to reveal all her secrets, but she comes to realize that he will never hurt her or betray her trust and that he knows the gist of what she is hiding and loves her despite her dark past. He is willing to wait for her to be ready to talk about it, and the fact that she is slowly opening up to Sean also shows him that she is serious about them and wants their relationship to work.
I have to give it to Sean, his respect for Alice’s private life and the way he lets her set the pace of their relationship is swoon-worthy at times. He understands her better now and knows how she thinks and how she will react to certain events to the point where he can stop her anxiety spiral before it even truly starts. I still think that Charles is more intriguing and that Alice and Trent would have been a very interesting couple, but I have to admit that I can’t dislike Sean or find a reason why Alice shouldn’t be with him. He’s a dreamy boyfriend.
Malcolm has been a favorite of mine from the very first book, and he continues to be amazing. He is a steady support for Alice but also does not hesitate to let her know when she screwed up and when she is being an ass. He continues to be involved in the investigations as Alice’s sidekick, and we are also slowly learning more about his past… With Bell being at war with Murphy now, I have a feeling that Malcolm will become more important eventually, seeing as he was one of Bell’s most powerful mages, and he will want to get him back.
Instead, he raised my hand to his lips and kissed it. “I would give you the world, if you would take it from me.”
“You must share your gardening tips with me.” “Why, what are you thinking about growing? A conscience?”
Is it bad that a part of me is still rooting for Charles? I know Alice will never end up with him, but I find him intriguing and mysterious, sophisticated and refined, and I struggle to resist his appeal. His moral compass leaves much to be desired, but I don’t think he’s bad. He’s a somewhat good guy who does bad things sometimes, but deep down I don’t think he truly is a monster… Anyway, as I said, I know Alice will not end up with him, but I truly hope that he will remain in the series until the end as her friend because I love his character.
Hey Lionel, how about “Die and Let Us Be” instead?
I LOVED the one where the twins meet the Ruthless Boys from Dark Fae, but the others were j1.5 stars
Hey Lionel, how about “Die and Let Us Be” instead?
I LOVED the one where the twins meet the Ruthless Boys from Dark Fae, but the others were just okay.
➡️Each chapter is introduced by Lionel Acrux, looking back on how his enemies have thwarted him and how he overcame their insufferable rebellion. I hate Lionel, and I didn’t care for his introductions at all. I hoped I would find his chapters funny and read them with sarcasm maybe, but instead, they were pointless and annoying. I’m sorry, but it missed its mark with me.
➡️ Savage - a short story about Hail and Merissa Vega's love story This short story shows us how Merissa met Marcel (Gabriel’s biological father) and had sex with him because of the visions they had. Then how she met Hail, and how Lionel was starting to have a bad influence over Hail even then, and honestly I was bored so I skimmed the second half.
➡️ The Shimmering Springs - that night Caleb and Seth did or didn't kiss... Just more edging and more of Seth and Caleb tiptoeing around each other… Same old, same old.
➡️ The moment Geraldine first saw the twins Very short and kind of pointless to be honest.
➡️ Orion ‘blue’ alternate POV That one was cute, and it was nice to have some cute BlueLance moments since they had a hard time in the last book.
➡️ Orion ‘Fairy Fair’ alternate POV This short story had what is probably my favorite conversation of this whole book:
“That Lion is one hell of a thief,” I said, then snapped my head up from the scroll to look at Gabriel. “Don’t tell him I said that. He’ll send me a fucking gift basket full of dildos or some shit.” “That was one time,” Gabriel said with a snort. “What in the actual hell did he think I needed fifteen dildos for?” I said, shaking my head, confounded all over again by the bizarre gift Leon had sent me after I’d helped him out with some dodgy shit they’d all gotten caught up in back in their days at Aurora Academy. “I’ll tell him one would have sufficed,” Gabriel chuckled, and I gave him a hollow look. “Don’t you laugh. You wanna know what happened to those dildos? Fucking Washer happened to them. Found them in the trash and made a dream catcher out of them that he hung in his window.” “By the stars.” Gabriel grimaced
Also, it’s always funny to see Orion in his “asshole teacher” mode.
➡️ Darius 'throne room' alternate POV && ➡️ Darius ‘Stars’ alternate POV Meh. Useless and boring. Sorry Darius, it’s not you, it’s me. I was just bored and annoyed with this book by the time I got to your special chapters.
➡️ Seth on the Moon - one Werewolf's wanderings on the moon I already read this one, it was funny, light, and typically Seth behavior.
➡️ Night - that time the twins met the Ruthless Boys That one was my favorite, because I absolutely ADORE the Ruthless Boys and I always want more of them. ...more
✅✅ Narrator ✅ Gorgeous cover ✅ Enemies to lovers ✅ Sexual tension and some smut ✅ Characters ✅ Writing ✅ Vampires and werewolves ✅ Some angst ✅ Pace and plot ❗✅✅ Narrator ✅ Gorgeous cover ✅ Enemies to lovers ✅ Sexual tension and some smut ✅ Characters ✅ Writing ✅ Vampires and werewolves ✅ Some angst ✅ Pace and plot ❗️❗️Trigger warnings: mention of an attack on a school (brief, no details), abduction, poisoning, and missing best friend
Well, I finally boarded the Hazelwood train, three years after everyone else!
In my defense, I am not a huge fan of contemporary romance, and that’s what she’d been writing for the past 3 years. I am so happy she gave a try to paranormal romance though, because the result was great.
In an attempt to bring peace between werewolves and vampires, Misery Lark, a vampire who has been living with humans for the past decades accepts to marry Lowe Moreland, the most powerful alpha of the North American werewolves. Misery is used to being treated like a tool, but this time, she has her own reasons for accepting to put her life on the line: Serena, Misery’s best friend and adoptive sister has been missing for weeks, and the only clue she has is Moreland’s name left in the secret code Misery and Serena devised when they were younger. Misery wants to help forge an alliance between vampires and werewolves, but more than that, she wants to have the opportunity to investigate Lowe’s house and find out what happened to Serena.
The plot is a mix of sweet enemies-to-lovers romance, some investigation to find out what happened to Serena, abductions, blackmail, and political scheming between vampires and werewolves. A lot was going on, but it didn’t feel half-done or overloaded with too many plotlines. It was just enough to keep me engaged in the story and to have an interesting and fleshed-out plot besides the romance. It is mostly centered on romance, so don’t start this one expecting a 5-star plot and elaborate world-building. The last part of the book was satisfying because we finally got answers regarding Serena’s disappearance, but at the same time, the miscommunication between Misery and Lowe to create some angst was not my favorite. I adore angst, but the miscommunication trope in this book was not the best.
“I have no friends, no hobbies, and no real purpose aside from earning enough money to pay rent in order to … exist, I guess.”
Misery Lark is a bright, nerdy heroine who defies vampire stereotypes. She is the only daughter of the most powerful vampire in the area and has been used as a pawn for her entire life. She likes to say that she doesn’t care about anything, but when she loves, she loves deeply. She works in computer coding, opposite to the old-fashioned vampires I’m used to in those books, and I loved her. She is likable, relatable, layered, flawed, and feels real. It broke my heart a little to see how she struggled to fit and feel like she belonged. She doesn’t have a place among vampires because of her time spent with humans, the only way she could live among humans was by disguising herself, and the werewolves are her species’ enemies. Poor Misery only wanted to be left alone and to feel like she belonged somewhere at the same time.
“My smell. Do I smell like…?” “Mine.” It’s a rumble in his throat. “You smell like you’re mine, Misery.”
Lowe is a new Alpha, still figuring out who he can and cannot trust, and weeding out the werewolves loyal to the previous alpha. While navigating the werewolves' politics, he also cares for his little sister, and let me tell you, seeing Lowe care for his sister and dote on her was the absolute cutest thing ever. I melted.
He shakes his head, eyes burning into mine. "You're not a problem, Misery. You're a privilege."
Misery and Lowe are good together. They have chemistry, and there was enough sexual tension between them to make me yearn for the moment they would finally cave and allow themselves to be together. Their romance is a slow burn, yet the book has a good pace and it doesn’t feel that long before the romance develops.
This is a single POV story, but there is a little entry from Lowe at the beginning of every chapter, allowing us a tiny glimpse of his mind, and I adored those little bits of him we got.
I have to praise the narrator for her stellar job with this book. It was amazing. The intonations, tone, emotions, everything was spot on.
After seeing this book everywhere for the past few months, and seeing how loved it was, I had high hopes, and I was not disappointed. This book is a quick and entertaining read, with quirky and lovable characters, an engaging plot, and a steamy enemies-to-lovers romance. The epilogue also leaves the door open for a potential sequel, so I will keep my fingers crossed.
✅ Multiple POVs ✅ Characters ✅ Prison setting ✅ Faes and magic ✅ Pace and plot ✅ Twists ✅ Reverse-harem ✅ Smut ❗️❗️Trigger warnings: time in isolation, beati✅ Multiple POVs ✅ Characters ✅ Prison setting ✅ Faes and magic ✅ Pace and plot ✅ Twists ✅ Reverse-harem ✅ Smut ❗️❗️Trigger warnings: time in isolation, beating up people, mild gore, and mentions of past child abuse ❗️❗️I recommend reading the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac series before reading this one to have the background stories about the characters.
4.5 stars
Alpha Wolf picks up three months after the end of Caged Wolf. Rosalie has spent those three months locked in the hole, thanks to Cain, and now that she is finally out, she needs to move on with her escape plan as soon as possible. Because of the mayhem that happened with the Belorian at the end of the first book, new security measures have been and are also about to be implemented, meaning that Rosalie’s job got even harder, and she only has a few weeks before her plan is not possible anymore.
I should have expected this to happen really. Fate always had liked to kiss me on one cheek while slapping me on the other.
Even though I knew that Rosalie and her crew would not be able to escape the prison in this book, because there are at least 2 more books to this series, but mostly because by now, I am used to the Twisted Sisters’ twisted plot twists, I was still anxious to see how things would go for them. Sin is unpredictable and that makes him a liability at times, and Cain is also a wild card, he doesn’t want to hurt Rosalie, but he has such strong beliefs when it comes to the inmates, that there is no way he would let them escape. I am happy with the way things turned out. Sure, they are still stuck in Darkmore, but the dynamic changed so the next book with have a different pace and it shouldn’t be too repetitive.
Rosalie is still a great female lead, probably one of my favorites from the Solaria universe. She is strong, driven, resilient, and vindictive at times, but she always keeps her goal in mind and she knows when to fight and when to let it slide. I loved her when she was 14 in the Ruthless Boys series, and she keeps on showing how great of a character she is in this series.
Roary was a little disappointing in this book, mostly because I found him a little boring at times. His thoughts about Rosalie are running around in circles for most of the book, and it got repetitive quickly. Also, while I like his charisma and strong, quiet presence, he has almost no interaction with the other characters. One thing that I ADORED from the Ruthless Boys series is how the guys would interact together and slowly build bonds, I am missing this aspect here.
I saved his life. He left me to rot. And if I ever got out of this stinking hell and there was even the slightest part of me left able to fight then I would direct all of my hatred his way for what he'd done to me. Mason Cain was a dead man walking. He just didn't know it yet.
Although Sin is the crazy one, Cain is the wild card in this series. He is still attracted to Rosalie and he craves her blood, but he also doesn’t trust her and is very determined to figure out what she’s up to and make sure that no one escapes the prison. I am pretty sure that he will come around eventually and become a part of the reverse harem, but I am curious to see how things will play out between Rosalie and him, but also between him and the other members of the harem. He had his reason not to trust Rosalie and to want to get rid of her by sending her to the hole, but I don’t think he’s done enough groveling yet. He still has some work to do to earn Rosalie’s forgiveness, just as she still has work to do to earn back his trust.
Ignoring social customs was one of the biggest weapons against society I’d ever learned to wield. If people thought you were deranged, they stayed the fuck away. Being unpredictable made me terrifying, even to guys who were bigger and stronger than me.
Sin shows his unhinged side even more in this book, but he also shows a sweet side when he is with Rosalie. He stole the show, seriously. He made me smile so many times with his impulsive, reckless decisions that seemed to have no logic, but then you could see that he was trying to help in his weird way when you read his chapters. I also loved how he tries to interact with the other inmates, mostly Ethan, and how he seems to have no clue about social rules, or just doesn’t give a shit about it. The way he kept lying to Ethan to trick him into doing whatever he wanted was also pretty funny.
"Feel what?" I asked cruelly, the mask my papa had taught me to wear strapped tightly over my features. "The way you shunned me and the gift the moon offered us? The rejection of knowing my mate would rather let Sin make him into a little bitch and allow the entire prison to believe he mated a fucking Beta rather than stand up and claim me as his own? The hurt in my chest as you let that low ranking bitch paw at you and kiss you and fuck you and-" "I'm not fucking her," he snarled like the idea actually disgusted him. "I'm not fucking anyone but you."
Ethan had a tough time in this book. He was struggling at first with being forced apart from his mate, and when she was finally back from the hole, she gave him kind of an ultimatum: either he admitted to everyone that she was his mate, or he stayed away from her because she didn’t want to be his dirty secret. A part of me was disappointed by him at first, but at the same time, his situation added some angst to the book and I can’t complain about that. He came through in the end though, and I am eager to see him strengthen his bond with Rosalie in the next book. Also, I looooooove the way he calls her “love”. Nothing more to say about it.
I need to give a special mention to Busty Esme who’s a real trooper, willing to do anything for her alpha, to poor Hastings who’s going to end up stuck in the middle of this shit show even though he's a sweet sweet guy, and to plunger who is weirdly funny in his disgusting way, but he did make me smile.
I can’t wait to pick up the third book, and while I am really enjoying this addictive series, I know I will regret my decision to start it now when I reach the end of the third book and have to wait for the fourth one.
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