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🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

The Rake Effect (Of Rogues, Rakes, and Scoundrels Book 2)

Description

Rakes, Romance, and Seduction

In the ballrooms and shadowed gardens, a lady’s heart is never truly safe—and neither is her reputation. From cunning dukes to mischievous viscounts, the most charming rakes know exactly how to bend the rules…and bend the hearts of the ladies who dare to catch their attention.

In this collection of sizzling, irresistible tales, scandalous gentlemen will tempt any lady they choose. With stolen kisses and whispered promises beneath moonlit skies they will use all the charm they possess to gain what they desire. With the ever-present threat of discovery, each story explores forbidden desire, reckless courage, and the thrilling power of desire.

Will these rakish gentlemen find love, or will they throw away their only chance at happiness? Enter a world where scandal is inevitable, passion unavoidable, and every rake has a story worth stealing.

All-new stories by:

Amanda Mariel
Aubrey Wynne
Beverley Oakley
Dawn Brower
Eliana Piers
Jane Charles
Rachel Ann Smith
Ramona Elmes

Publication Date 22/9/2026

***The Rake Effect (Of Rogues, Rakes, and Scoundrels Book 2)***

When a Miss goes amiss by Amanda Mariel

Description

She only meant to help.

Miss Genevieve Moreland has a talent for walking into a room and improving it — whether the room asked to be improved or not. So when chaos descends on Lady Penworth’s charity fête, Genny steps in, rearranges a few things, and very nearly destroys everything. Including the florist’s schedule. The musicale sequence. The subscription list. And the man of business, who is now in possession of an order for six additional lemon cakes.

Enter Viscount Woodmere: orderly, severe, infuriatingly capable, and Genny’s best friend’s very inconvenient brother. He arrives to manage the crisis and finds Genny already at the center of it — which is, he is rapidly discovering, exactly where she tends to be.

When a missing ledger and a note reading blame her suggest the chaos was no accident, Genny refuses to wait quietly while her reputation suffers. And Woodmere, to his own considerable surprise, finds he has no desire to make her.

Solving a conspiracy turns out to be far easier than solving the problem of Genevieve Moreland herself.

When a Miss Goes Amiss is a witty, warm-hearted Regency romantic comedy full of stolen lemon cakes, social warfare disguised as flower arrangements, and two people who are perfect for each other precisely because they are impossible for everyone else.

Perfect for fans of: enemies-to-lovers, forced partnership, sparkling Regency wit, heroines who meddle for good reasons, and heroes who fall slowly and then all at once.

My Review

This charming Regency romantic comedy is pure delight.

Genevieve’s talent for “improving” situations she wasn’t asked to fix lands her in the middle of delightful chaos at a charity fête, and the arrival of the rigid, capable Viscount Woodmere only heightens the fun.

Their clash of personalities crackles with witty banter, while the underlying mystery of a missing ledger and a pointed note keeps the stakes interesting without ever overshadowing the romance.

Warm, clever, and full of heart, it’s the kind of story that leaves you smiling at two people who are wonderfully impossible for everyone else and perfect for each other.

🦋

LOVES CURIOSITIES: DINAH AND CORNELIUS by AUBREY WYNNE

Description

Dinah fell in love with Lord Cornelius Davenport when she was seven.

But she has changed since her beloved papa died and her mother took control of raising her.

Her outlook on life has turned more cynical.

When Neel’s father makes a blunder with the family investments, he begins selling off his children in marriage to the highest bidder.

Dinah steps in, offering herself as a choice.

Isn’t a betrothal of solid friendship better than being leg shackled to a stranger?

As the third son of a marquess, Lord Cornelius never expected to be forced into a marriage of convenience. When he’s offered his heart’s desire, he doesn’t hesitate.

But his first task is to help his beautiful Di see the world as she used to. His second will be to convince Dinah that this union is more than an arrangement for him. Their destinies were always intertwined.

With the help of Mr. Percival Peabody, Cat, and a unique quizzing glass, Dinah will find the clarity she didn’t realize she’d lost. But will happiness continue to elude the couple, or will they see one another clearly through the lens of love?

My Review

This sweet Regency romance had me smiling with its childhood friends to lovers heart.

Dinah’s shift from wide eyed girl to cynical young woman after her father’s death feels authentic, and watching her step in to save Cornelius from a cold marriage of convenience is quietly heroic.

Neel’s determination to help her rediscover the wonder she lost while proving their union means far more to him than duty, gives the story its feel good factor.

With a touch of whimsy from Mr. Peabody, Cat, and that special quizzing glass, the tale balances gentle humor and genuine feeling. A warm, hopeful read that left me rooting for these two to finally see each other clearly through the lens of love.

🦋

The Governess’s Forbidden Love by Beverley Oakley

Description

For three years, hardworking governess, Miss Charlotte Stanbridge, has harbored a secret flame for Mr Hugh Kernick, a tutor at the neighbouring estate.

Despite the intensity of her feelings, he remains oblivious, leaving Charlotte to silently yearn for a love that seems out of reach.

Fate intervenes when a raging storm forces them to seek shelter together, thrusting them into an unexpected and life-altering situation.

In the sanctuary of a smuggler’s cave, heartfelt confessions and the power of a storm’s embrace guide Charlotte and Hugh towards a love that had silently burned for years.

My Review

Charlotte’s three years of quiet, aching devotion to Hugh felt so real that I found myself holding my breath for her, and hoping she’d get her HEA.

Does she get her chance?

Well, when a storm strands them in a smuggler’s cave, the story shifts from restrained yearning into something warm and inevitable.

The confessions land with genuine tenderness rather than melodrama, and the setting…dark, rain lashed, and intimate makes every word between them feel earned.

It’s a short, complete little romance that trusts its characters and its atmosphere completely.

I closed it smiling, already wishing I could step back into that cave for just one more chapter.

🦋

ENTWINED AGAINST ALL REASON by Dawn Brower

Description

She came to Scotland determined to stop a wedding. She never expected to fall for the groom…

Lady Elena Chandler refuses to become payment for her father’s debts—even if defying the marriage agreement means scandal and ruin. But when she arrives at Rosebery Park, she discovers the infuriating Earl of Rosebery has already prepared everything for their wedding.

Everything except his bride’s consent

Damian Foster needs a wife, but he has no intention of dragging an unwilling woman to the altar. Instead, he offers the fiercely independent Elena three days to decide—and the freedom to walk away if he fails to convince her that becoming his countess will not mean surrendering herself.

Elena expects cold negotiations. She does not expect Damian’s honesty, his carefully guarded tenderness, or the desire that flares whenever their stubborn wills collide. And Damian never imagined the sharp-tongued woman challenging his every assumption would become the one woman he cannot bear to lose.

With society watching and the chapel waiting, Damian must prove he wants a partner, not a possession. But can Elena trust him with the freedom she has fought so hard to protect—and the heart she swore no man would ever claim?

A passionate historical romance filled with fiery banter, an arranged marriage, enemies-to-lovers tension, and a formidable heroine determined to choose her own happily ever after.

My Review

I came to Entwined Against All Reason expecting a classic forced marriage clash and left thoroughly charmed by how thoughtfully Dawn Brower handles the power balance.

Elena’s fierce determination not to be traded like currency felt immediate and real, and Damian’s unexpected restraint, the three days, the honest offer to let her walk away won me over pretty quick.

Their verbal sparring crackles with intelligence rather than mere stubbornness, and the slow reveal of his carefully guarded tenderness made the growing attraction feel earned instead of inevitable.

By the time the chapel waits and society watches, I was fully invested in whether Elena could risk the freedom she has fought so hard to keep.

The story never loses sight of that central question, and the answer lands with quiet satisfaction.

A short, well paced romance that treats its heroine’s autonomy with genuine respect while still delivering the story that had me smiling.

🦋

The Rake’s Second Chance by RAMONA ELMES

Description

Julian, the Marquess of Weston, has returned to his country estate after an eight-year absence. He is hosting a grand house party in the hopes of finding his future marchioness. Julian is only looking for a practical arrangement, but then a chance encounter with the woman who broke his heart changes everything.

Widow Sophia Benson is shocked to see the Marquess of Weston back in town. He was the man who abandoned her when she needed him the most. Still, she doesn’t have time to dwell on the marquess because she is an inn owner and mother. Or at least she tells herself that until he appears at her door with a shocking secret.

Will Julian’s revelation give these two another chance at love, or has time changed them too much?

My Review

The Rake’s Second Chance had a solid second chance story that drew me in, and found myself unexpectedly invested in the quiet ache of old wounds.

Julian’s return after eight years, still carrying the weight of what he left behind, felt authentic, and Sophia’s wary strength as a widow and innkeeper struck a chord, she has built a life that doesn’t need him, yet the past refuses to stay buried.

When the shocking secret finally surfaces, 🤫 the story deepens rather than simply resolves, forcing both of them to confront how much time has changed them and how much it hasn’t.

Their cautious reconnection is tender without being soft, and the house party backdrop never overshadows the personal stakes.

By the end I was rooting hard for them to risk another try, and the resolution left me satisfied in that bittersweet way only a well handled second chance can.

A short, emotionally honest romance that trusts its characters and their complicated history.

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A Rake’s Kiss by Jane Charles

Miss Nicoll Driscoll learned his secret. Lord Cecil Claxton needs her promise to never tell.

She agreed.

For a price.

One simple kiss that would remain in their memories long after they parted—never to meet again.

Until they did.

Eight months later in a ballroom during the London Season.

What was it about Lord Cecil that tempted Nicoll to be bolder than any miss should?

Could it simply be that it was because he was a rake and a miss could not help but be susceptible to his charm while she imagined all manner of pleasures that could be shared.

Or was it simply him?

Cecil wanted far more than a kiss from Nicoll and the only thing that kept him from pursuing her for a night of pleasure was the fact that she was an innocent miss.

He should forget her. Put the past from his mind, but when all she holds dear is threatened, he cannot help but come to her aid no matter how often he must ignore the urge to take her in his arms.

My Review

A Rake’s Kiss by Jane Charles delivers exactly the kind of slowburn Regency tension I love.

The premise is simple and delicious… one forbidden kiss bought with a secret, a clean break that was never supposed to be revisited, and then the inevitable collision eight months later in a London ballroom.

Nicoll’s reluctant fascination with Cecil’s charm feels genuine, and his struggle to keep his distance from an innocent while still protecting what matters to her gives the story real emotional weight.

It’s the kind of romance that lingers on the almosts and the quiet moments of restraint, making every charged glance count.

I finished it wanting more of their particular brand of temptation.

🦋

Rachel Ann Smith

This one didn’t have a title or blurb.

So here is my Review

My Review

We start with a dancing lesson for twins Felix and Reginald, then they meet the quiet but prickly Nicole… and Felix is smitten 🥰

Ten years later they are all attending the same ball. But they aren’t friends anymore. Felix’s duties as estate manager and his studies at Oxford keep him busy, too busy to write. And he thought Nicole could do better.

Staring at the young woman who owns his heart, Felix needs to come up with a plan to talk to her…..

And then game of cat and mouse begins…

She won’t be an easy catch, but Felix had loved her for so long, he can’t see anyone else.

He has a month to woo and convince her.

I smiled through this short story.

It was quirky and the banter hit the right notes.

I could have read this all night.

🦋

Again this one had no blurb….

So here’s my review

The one with the Rakish Duke by Eliana Piers

My Review

Tilly and Leland have known each other forever.

So when she asked him to teach her how to kiss, she thought he’d agree. Obviously he didn’t. Then in a heated argument Leland finds out that a prince wants to marry her, and all those feelings he’s tried to keep hidden come to the surface….

This short story had me chuckling throughout the whole book.

Tilly is so accident prone, and it seems Leland is always there to catch her.

This is a miscommunication trope through and through.

They stumble through incidents and accidents all the while ignoring their feelings for one another.

I really didn’t want this one to end.

🦋

I’d read this in August when it was released. But I forgot to post! So it a month late, but it’s posted now.

Some of the covers that were supplied in the arc.

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

Dickhead: An Opposites-Attract M/M by Marko Immediato

Description

Born on third base, the American who specialized in gym selfies and fist-bumps was sure he’d hit a triple. And if accountability was a burden to the local hero’s routine impunity, then how were two soft green eyes of intrigue and wonder robbing him of every secret he’d never shared, shining into his darkness like blinding headlights and revealing his transparency?

At twenty-two, Finn leaves England for small-town America with a simple plan: teach second grade, build a new life, find love, and settle down. Then he runs, quite literally, into Marshall.

Twelve years older, the hometown Olympic boxing hero and everybody’s favorite local celebrity, Marshall has spent thirty-four years playing the part everyone expects of him. One look at the handsome young Englishman sends him into a panic he neither understands nor controls.

Their first encounter is a disaster. Marshall, mortified and hopelessly smitten, wants another chance. An apology becomes a friendship, and friendship becomes something neither man can ignore. Before long, they’re best friends, and secretly falling in love. When their relationship is exposed, Marshall faces a choice: protect the image everyone loves or the man he loves. Panicked and desperate to keep his secret, he does something unforgivable.

And just like that, Finn is gone.

Losing Finn forces Marshall to confront the man he has become. If he ever hopes to love Finn again, he must finally fight for the man he wants to be.

DICKHEAD is an emotional MM small-town, age-gap romance featuring a love-struck Olympic boxer, an openly gay English schoolteacher, friends-to-lovers, mutual pining, coming out, heartbreak, redemption, second chances…and one spectacularly stubborn dickhead. HEA guaranteed.

Publication Date 8/9/2026

Dickhead: An Opposites-Attract M/M by Marko Immediato

My Review

I finished Dickhead with that peculiar mix of satisfaction and residual ache that only a well executed emotional gut punch can leave behind.

This is a classic opposites attract setup and then the author refuses to let it stay cute or convenient.

What begins as a clumsy collision between a young English teacher chasing a quieter life and a small town Olympic boxing hero who has spent decades performing the role of local golden boy quickly deepens into something far more complicated and honest.

Finn arrives in America carrying the soft, open hearted optimism of someone who still believes reinvention is possible. Marshall, twelve years older and armored in gym selfies, fist bumps, and the easy impunity of hometown fame, is the last person who should unsettle him.

The author writes their first disastrous meeting with such sharp, awkward precision that the chemistry feels inevitable rather than manufactured. The slow burn that follows is one of the book’s greatest strengths. Friendship becomes the safest container for feelings neither man is ready to name, and the secrecy around their growing intimacy gives every shared glance and late night conversation a charged, fragile quality.

Marshall has lived so long as the version of himself the town adores that the idea of being seen completely especially by someone whose green eyes seem to cut straight through the act terrifies him.

When their relationship is exposed, the choice he makes is ugly, panicked, and entirely believable.

The author does not soften the betrayal or rush the fallout. Finn’s departure lands with real weight, and the silence that follows forces Marshall into the kind of self reckoning most characters in this genre seem to skip.

The second half of the book is quieter and more introspective, focused on the hard work of becoming someone worthy of a second chance. Marshall’s journey never feels like a tidy redemption arc handed to him by the plot. It is messy, incomplete, and driven by genuine grief over the man he lost and the man he has been. Finn, for his part, is never reduced to a patient saint waiting in the wings, his hurt and caution feel earned.

The dialogue carries both the easy banter of new friendship and the heavier silences of two people who understand each other too well. The emotional stakes remain high without tipping into melodrama, and the eventual resolution feels hard won rather than inevitable.

Dickhead is not a light or particularly comforting read, despite the playful title. It is a story about the courage required to stop performing and the damage that can be done while learning how.

For those who enjoy M/M romance with genuine character growth, meaningful conflict, and a willingness to sit with the messiness of real change, this one lingers.

🦋

Sent by the author to read/review

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

THE PENALTY BOX A Whistler Hockey Romance by Rebecca Zorg

Description

He doesn’t remember ruining her life. She’s going to make sure he does.

IVY

Seven years ago, Gabriel Castellano took the best night of my life and turned it into a punchline. It cost me my spot on the national team and the only future I’d ever planned.

Now he’s here. Traded to Whistler, parked in my booth with his new teammates, telling me to surprise him like he’s never seen my face before.

As far as he knows, he hasn’t.

So I did what any professional would do. I “accidentally” poured a pint of our worst IPA straight down his six-hundred-dollar shirt. Surprise!

Here’s the problem: his team just partnered with The Penalty Box, keeping my late father’s bar alive, and the town wants repairs that cost more than we clear in a season. Which makes the man I’ve spent seven years hating the closest thing I have to leverage.

And every night he comes back, hating him gets more expensive.

GABRIEL

People have told me who to be since I was fifteen, and I’ve never once disappointed them. Golden boy. Franchise face.

So I can’t explain the bartender.

She hates me. Openly. Specifically. Like she’s had it ready for years.

The worst part isn’t that I don’t know why.

It’s that I’m starting to think I should.

A slow-burn, high-angst hockey romance with:

🏒Enemies to lovers—he doesn’t remember her, she remembers everything

🍺Forced proximity, one blizzard, one bar

🏒A second chance carrying a seven-year grudge

🍺A grovel that draws blood

🏒Found family, a bar worth fighting for, and one mechanical wolf

🍺Dual POV, slow burn, open door, guaranteed HEA

For readers who loved the grovel in Elle Kennedy’s The Mistake and the BC-set slow burn of Stephanie Archer’s Behind the Net.

Book 1 in The First Line.

Publication Date 31/8/2026

THE PENALTY BOX A Whistler Hockey Romance by Rebecca Zorg

My Review

Ivy’s voice in the opening of The Penalty Box hits hard and stays with you.

Seven years of carefully tended resentment poured into a single deliberate act, the “accidental” dumping of the worst IPA in the house down Gabriel Castellano’s expensive shirt, sets a tone that feels both petty and completely earned.

What sold me almost immediately was how the blurb (and the story it promises) refuses to soft pedal that anger. Ivy isn’t nursing a mild grudge, she lost her place on the national team and the only future she had mapped out because of one night Gabriel treated like a punchline.

That kind of personal devastation rarely gets this much space in hockey romance, and I appreciated the willingness to let her bitterness sit in the room like another character.

Gabriel’s half of the dual perspective works just as well, mostly because he is not the typical arrogant golden boy who needs a lesson in humility. He is the golden boy who has never been allowed to be anything else, and the confusion he feels when this bartender clearly hates him specifically is quietly compelling.

The fact that he genuinely does not remember her makes the whole thing more interesting than a simple enemies to lovers reset. (It raises the question of what it means to be the villain in someone else’s story when you never even realized the chapter existed. 🤔)

A bar in Whistler that is both Ivy’s inheritance and her burden, now financially tangled with the very team that brought Gabriel to town, creates a pressure cooker of proximity and obligation.

Every night he comes back is another night she has to weigh the cost of her hatred against the cost of keeping her father’s place open. That economic reality undercuts any easy fantasy of pure revenge and makes the slow erosion of her defenses feel more complicated and more human.

I am a sucker for second chance setups that actually involve a real injury rather than a misunderstanding, and this one delivers on that promise.

The chemistry is set up to be inevitable and inconvenient in equal measure, and the fact that the town and the partnership keep forcing them into the same space means neither of them can simply walk away.

What I most want from a book like this is the slow realization on Gabriel’s side that he owes her something, and the even slower realization on Ivy’s side that the man in front of her may not be the same person who ruined her life.

I was totally invested in watching them play it out.

Highly recommend 👍🏻

🦋

NOTE FROM ME:

I had read this in August, but i overcommitted too many books (🤷🏻‍♀️) so I’ve posted it to this month’s blogs. I’ve posted the link this month and added it to my end of month book list.

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

His Guilty Pleasure (Montgomery Ink Legacy Book 11) by Carrie Ann Ryan

Description

There were two rules in our relationship:

We remain friends with the benefits.

And we don’t catch feelings.

Only I made a mistake. I started to fall for Dash Montgomery.

Now our secret physical-only time together is done, and we have to see if we can keep our promises.

He needs to move on. And I need to focus on my business and friends.

Yet when an attack happens close to home, Dash steps up and changes the game. I don’t want to fall for him and yet I know there’s no walking away from this. Not when he puts himself on the line and I finally can give in.

Everyone I’ve ever loved, save one, has walked away from me, leaving the shattered remnants of who I once was behind. If I don’t find a way to trust Dash—as well as my heart—the darkness stalking us both won’t be the only thing that breaks us.

His Guilty Pleasure is a friends with benefits, right person, wrong time contemporary suspense romance featuring Dash and Aly. Each book can be read as a complete standalone. An HEA is guaranteed!

Publication Date 26/10/2026

His Guilty Pleasure (Montgomery Ink Legacy Book 11) by Carrie Ann Ryan

My Review

Even though this is Book 11, it works beautifully as a standalone while still giving series fans that familiar Montgomery warmth and found family comfort.

I loved this book, it pulled me in from the very first page and refused to let go. I’ve loved the Montgomery series and the legacy series that follows.

This author has a gift for turning the friends with benefits trope into something far more complicated and emotionally charged, and this installment of the Montgomery Ink Legacy series is no exception.

Aly and Dash start with clear rules….. keep it physical, stay friends, never catch feelings and of course those rules shatter the moment real emotion slips in.

Watching Aly realize she has already fallen while still trying to protect herself, especially given her history of people walking away and leaving her with the pieces had me hoping this time it was for keeps.

Dash Montgomery is exactly the kind of hero who steps up when everything falls apart. The moment danger hits close to home, he stops pretending their arrangement is temporary and starts fighting for more.

The suspense elements raise the stakes without overshadowing the romance, creating a constant tension between the external threat and the internal one of trusting someone enough to let them stay. Aly’s struggle to open her heart again had me feeling every protective wall she has built and every crack that forms when Dash refuses to walk away.

What I loved most is how the story balances the heat of their secret physical relationship with the slow, inevitable shift into something real. The chemistry is strong, the banter is sharp, and the emotional payoff lands exactly where it should.

The guaranteed HEA feels right rather than rushed, and the way both characters grow through the danger and the vulnerability makes the ending satisfying in the best way.

If you enjoy contemporary romance with a solid dose of suspense, a friends to lovers trope that starts messy and turns meaningful, and characters who have to fight both external threats and their own fears, this one delivers.

I’m already missing Aly and Dash and already looking forward to whatever comes next in the series.

🦋

I met Carrie Ann Ryan at a book signing in London. I’d preordered Delicate Ink the first in the Montgomery Ink Series (I loved Austin and Sierra) and whilst chatting to the author, I found out she had brought a small stack of His Guilty Pleasure. So I grabbed that one as well.

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

The Thorn Prince (In The Beginning Book 1) by Alexis Knightsbridge

The Thorn Prince is not a quick read. It was never meant to be.

This is a substantial, immersive adult fantasy novel built for readers who still want to disappear into a book rather than simply finish one.

There are eighteen chapters. They are large because the story is large.

They do not begin and end because somebody decided every chapter should contain roughly the same number of words. They change when the narrative changes. Some move quickly. Some breathe. Some contain violence, horror and desperate action; others give the characters enough space to live with what has happened to them. A few may feel almost like small novels living inside the larger one.

That is entirely deliberate.

The Thorn Prince was written as a novel in the old-fashioned sense of the word: a world large enough to become lost inside, characters given enough time to become real, and important moments allowed enough room to actually matter.

It begins in a London bookshop.

Thalia Lin trusts books more than people, has a fairly sensible life and absolutely no intention of becoming involved with wounded fae princes, living black thorns, ancient magic or doors between realms.

Unfortunately, the universe appears not to have consulted her.

When she finds Kael dying behind her bookshop, her blood does something it should not be able to do. The thorn binding him releases. An impossible bond forms between them. And the comfortable little world Thalia thought she understood begins opening into something much older, darker and considerably larger.

From London bookshops and hidden sanctuaries to dying realms, corrupted magic, war, horror, romance, grief, ridiculous amounts of tea and the increasingly inconvenient discovery that reality may be listening to Thalia more closely than anyone would like, The Thorn Prince refuses to stay inside a single genre.

It is fantasy. It is romance. It is thriller and horror. At times it is funny. At others it is deliberately uncomfortable. Beneath all of that, it is a story about trauma, freedom, belonging, choice and what remains of a person after something powerful has spent long enough telling them they have none.

And yes, it is long.

That is rather the point.

We live in an age increasingly fond of short, uniform chapters and stories engineered to move quickly from one beat to the next.

There is nothing inherently wrong with that.

This simply is not one of those books.

The Thorn Prince takes its time because trust takes time. Love takes time. Recovery takes time. Even hope takes time when people have spent long enough believing hope is merely another way to become vulnerable.

So if you are looking for a fast fantasy you can race through over an afternoon, there are many excellent books that will probably suit you better.

But if you want a proper novel, something substantial, strange, dark, romantic and immersive enough to live inside for a while…

Welcome to The Thorn Prince.

You may want tea.

Publication Date 11/9/2026

The Thorn Prince (In The Beginning Book 1) by Alexis Knightsbridge

My Review

The Thorn Prince opens in a London bookshop with a heroine who would rather stay among the shelves than risk the mess of other people.

Thalia’s quiet, book bound life collides with a dying fae prince bound in living black thorns, and what follows is a story of fantasy and a slow unravelling of everything she thought solid.

The bond that forms between them takes its time to form and the story takes its time letting that connection grow under the weight of trauma, distrust, and the gradual widening of the world beyond the shop.

The author has written something deliberately old fashioned in its scale (their words) looooong chapters that allow the book to breathe, (again their words) Do we need all the information? (my opinion is probably not, too many words to describe something simple)

I liked the mix of urban and dark magic. There is romance, bit again too many words and I did zone out a few times!

It is not always comfortable, and it is not always light, yet the humour and the ordinary details keep it from tipping into pure gloom.

At over six hundred pages this is a book that asks for patience. I almost DNF’d several times, but I did persist.

Would I recommend it? If you like your stories on the long/detailed side, then I’d say give it a go.

There seemed to be chapters inside the chapters 🤨 and again some of it didn’t really need saying.

I’m not sure if I’d read the second book, if it’s shorter than this, maybe I’d take a look.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Under Kid’s Protection: Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City, OK (Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City Chapter Book 2) by Victoria Jayne

Description

A career criminal. A broken woman. When they succumb to their desires, will they destroy each other or beat the odds to find happiness?

Kid Oberlin’s plate is full. Nervous about opening his own tattoo studio and serving as the vice president of the motorcycle club, the overwhelmed twenty-four-year-old has no business catching feelings for a woman. And while years have passed since the fire that killed one of his own, he vows to uphold his promise to protect his fallen best friend’s sister.

Carrie Hart refuses to let her past define her. Determined to experiment with an unconventional version of therapy, the hopeless romantic hairdresser challenges herself to a no-strings attached arrangement with the biker sleeping on her couch. Ready for a wild ride, she initiates their fiery tryst despite knowing the tension between them could crash and burn.

Although Kid craves more from this resilient woman, he knows keeping their relationship casual will spare her from dangerous situations. And while Carrie’s intuition tells her to pursue the man who’s helping her heal, she fears investing emotions into someone incapable of a deeper connection.

Will this spark of passion scorch them both or explode into a love that lasts forever?

Under Kid’s Protection is the sizzling second book in the Royal Bastards MC: OKC dark romance series. If you enjoy steamy chemistry, reverse age-gaps, and forced proximity, then you’ll devour Victoria Jayne’s blistering-hot novel today!

Under Kid’s Protection contains scenes written for mature audiences only.

Buy Under Kid’s Protection to savor desire today.

Publication Date 24/10/2026

Under Kid’s Protection: Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City, OK (Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City Chapter Book 2) by Victoria Jayne

My Review

This is the second book in the Oklahoma City chapter of the Royal Bastards. It’s not necessary to read the first book, but it does give a little info on Kid, but it’s not essential.

This book has the quiet intensity of two people who already share a roof and a complicated history, then steadily raises the temperature until the arrangement neither of them planned to keep becomes impossible to walk away from.

Kid Oberlin is stretched thin, new vice president position, and his about to open his own tattoo shop, so the last thing he needs is to develop real feelings for the woman he has sworn to protect.

Carrie Hart, determined not to let her past keep defining her, decides the biker currently sleeping on her couch is the perfect subject for a carefully controlled experiment in no strings intimacy. 😜

What starts as a deliberate test of boundaries quickly becomes something neither of them can contain.

Kid’s reluctance is not the usual posturing, it feels genuine in his concern that his world is too dangerous for someone already carrying scars. Carrie’s choice to pursue the physical connection while trying to keep her heart locked down reads as both brave and self protective, the kind of calculated risk a person takes when they are tired of living half a life!

The forced proximity of the living room to bedroom setup gives every charged glance and late night conversation that extra something , and the chemistry between them is the kind that simmers rather than explodes on contact until it does. 😉

The motorcycle club backdrop and the lingering threats from earlier events in the previous book provide steady tension without overwhelming the central relationship. Kid’s dual responsibilities to the club and to Carrie create natural conflict, while Carrie’s work as a hairdresser and her quiet determination to heal on her own terms keep her from feeling like a passive figure waiting to be saved.

By the time the story reaches its emotional peak, the question is no longer whether they will destroy each other but whether they can risk believing the spark between them might survive the darker corners of Kid’s world.

I finished the book rooting hard for both of them, satisfied by the way their individual broken places somehow fit together into something sturdier.

It is a solid, steamy continuation of the Oklahoma City chapter that delivers on the promise of protective intensity and hard won connection.

Highly recommended 👍🏻

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Darkened Promises (Not Yours Duet Book by Issy Eva

Description

I was close. So close to living a life of happiness with them. Four men that seemingly want me, want to be a part of my life, when so many others chose not to be. With growly overbearing ways, sweet smiles, mouth-watering pastries and addictive kisses.

But a cruel twist snatches it—and me—away.

Now, I’m trapped in a nightmare, bruised and broken, struggling to hold on to any hope that I’ll survive this.

If I do make it out, will I even recognise what’s left of me? Will they still want me, even with my cracked, damaged pieces?

Especially as the fight to survive isn’t over yet—and until I no longer have to look over my shoulder, it never will be.

Whispered Promises is a spicy, medium burn, MFMMM why choose romance. It’s the second in the Not Yours Duet and not a standalone. For mature readers with darker themes, and parts may be triggering.

Publication Date 22/10/2026

Darkened Promises (Not Yours Duet Book by Issy Eva

My Review

Darkened Promises picks up the thread left dangling at the end of Whispered Promises and wastes no time plunging its heroine into the kind of darkness that makes the first book’s gentler moments feel almost painfully distant.

Rosy had only just begun to believe she might finally belong somewhere, surrounded by four men who each offered her something she had spent a lifetime without, steady protection, quiet understanding, practical care, and the simple gift of laughter.

But that fragile happiness is ripped away with brutal efficiency, and the story that follows is one of survival under conditions that test every soft place she has left…..

What struck me most was how completely the tone shifts without ever losing the emotional core that made the characters matter in the first place.

Brynn/Noah/Nate/Max remain recognisably themselves, all growly, attentive, baking obsessed, and fiercely devoted, but their devotion is now filtered through fear, rage, and the helpless knowledge that they cannot reach her. Watching them scramble against forces they cannot yet fully see gives the romance a sharper, more desperate edge. The spice is still present, still open door and group oriented when the story allows it. It shows them how easily everything can be taken.

The physical and emotional cost Rosy pays is written with a rawness that refuses to look away. Bruises and broken pieces are not just metaphors here, and the question the book keeps asking…. will she recognise herself if she makes it out, and will they still want what remains?!

There is no easy comfort offered. Hope exists, but it is hard fought and constantly under threat, and the sense that the danger has not finished with any of them lingers long after the final page.

The found family warmth that first drew me in is still there, but it has been tempered by fire.

Darkened Promises is the darker half of the duet that was promised, and it delivers on that darkness without sacrificing the heart that made the first book worth reading.

It is not a comfortable ride, but it is an affecting one, and it left me caring more about whether Rosy and her men can rebuild something whole than I expected.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

The Art of Being a Psychopath by Nikki J Summers

Description

One man wants her.

The other wants her dead.

PA Emma Belmont has always dreamed of being a journalist. So when she’s invited to cover an exclusive art exhibition for her newspaper, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to better herself. But a night destined for success ends in deadly disaster.

A damning newspaper article.

A masked artist intent on murderous revenge.

And a British aristocrat who’s following her every move.

Her words set off a chain of events…

Deadly, lethal events,

And she doesn’t know who to trust.

But she knows one thing…

The pen is mightier than the sword.

Because after reading her article, he wants her gone.

And he’ll stop at nothing to make her the next victim on his extensive kill list.

A stalker,

And a saviour.

A beast,

And a billionaire.

But which one is which?

And will Emma survive long enough to find out the truth?

Be warned…

The Devil is on the prowl.

And he wants his pound of flesh.

The Art of Being a Psychopath is a dark, romantic thriller. The story was previously published under the title Pride for the Seven Deadly Sins series. This version has been re-edited, and includes new chapters, scenes, cover art and internal formatting.

Publication Date 25/9/2026

The Art of Being a Psychopath by Nikki J Summers

My Review

I’d read this book before, but the author has extended/added more, and so needed to find out how much, and how it changed the story…..

I picked up The Art of Being a Psychopath by Nikki J. Summers expecting a straightforward dark romance, and what I got was something far more layered and unsettling in the best possible way.

The story follows Emma Belmont, a personal assistant who has spent years quietly chasing her dream of becoming a proper journalist while stuck in a dead end role under a thoroughly unpleasant boss. When she gets the chance to cover an exclusive art exhibition by a mysterious masked artist known as S.K.A.M., it feels like her big break. Instead, one altered newspaper article sets off a chain of events that turns her life into a tense, unpredictable nightmare involving revenge, obsession, and two very different men who both seem determined to claim a piece of her.

What i liked most was how the atmosphere of constant unease slowly builds…… From the moment Emma’s words are twisted into something damning, the sense that someone is watching and waiting never really leaves…. The masked artist’s art is presented as both beautiful and deeply disturbing, and that same duality runs through the whole book….. You’re never quite sure who is the protector and who is the threat, and the story keeps you second guessing every interaction.

Alex, arrives as this polished, almost too perfect presence, wealthy, attentive, and intensely focused on Emma, yet there’s an undercurrent of possessiveness and secrecy that makes you wonder whether his interest is truly salvation or something darker.

The slowburn tension between them feels electric, and when the emotional and physical intensity finally peaks, it lands with real impact because of how carefully the groundwork was laid.

The writing itself is sharp and immersive. The psychological games, the careful reveals, and the way past and present start to tangle create a kind of addictive momentum.

I found myself replaying earlier scenes in my head, trying to catch the clues I’d missed, which is always a good sign. The characters are morally messy in ways that feel intentional rather than convenient.

But Emma is neither a helpless victim nor an unrealistically tough heroine, she’s someone trying to hold on to her own agency while the world around her grows increasingly dangerous and strange.

The men in her orbit are complex enough that their motivations keep shifting in the light, which keeps the central question of trust alive until the end.

There are darker elements here…. violence, abduction, psychological manipulation, and some intense intimate scenes that lean into power dynamics, so this isn’t a light read by any means.

The darkness serves the story’s exploration of pride, revenge, and the blurred line between art and obsession. The ending, including the epilogue, left me with that satisfying mix of closure and lingering questions that good dark romance does so well.

It resolves the immediate threats while still making you curious about the larger world these characters inhabit. 🤨

Overall, The Art of Being a Psychopath is a gripping, twisted romantic thriller that delivers on its promise of moral complexity and high stakes.

It’s the kind of book that makes you stay up too late because putting it down feels riskier than turning the next page.

If you enjoy dark romance with stalker vibes, unreliable perceptions of safety, and a central relationship that balances danger with genuine connection, this one is well worth your time.

I don’t to spoil too much, but some of the scenes are sharper than before, we get to see more of the workings of our stalker.

I did enjoy the extra scenes that were added.

🦋

* Sent by the author

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Unbalanced: A Dark Rom Com Serial Killer Obsession Romance (Dark Star Series Book 9)by Brooklyn Cross

Description

Betrayal doesn’t disappear. It festers and spreads like a disease.

The scales demand consequence and don’t balance themselves. Someone has to tip them back.

That person is me.

By thirty, I have it all. Wealth. Power. Prestige. A face people trust and a name that commands rooms. I know how to win juries, destroy reputations, and bury secrets beneath polished lies. I’m the attorney that most can’t afford.

But then something tragic happens the night of my birthday. A reminder of the night my father died. Something that should’ve stayed buried.

That’s when I know for certain that there is a threat.

Someone is watching. Stalking. I can almost feel the slow breath of someone standing too close and stirring the monster beneath my skin.

They know the truth about me.

And instead of running…they keep testing me.

I should be worried.

Instead, I’m obsessed. No one has ever been so bold.

The game is afoot, and when I finally uncover who’s been lurking in the shadows of my life…it will be the end for one of us.

Publication Date 15/10/2026

Unbalanced: A Dark Rom Com Serial Killer Obsession Romance (Dark Star Series Book 9)by Brooklyn Cross

My Review

Unbalanced is the kind of dark romance that refuses to take itself too seriously even while it leans all the way into obsession, stalking, and two people who should absolutely not be left unsupervised together.

Brooklyn Cross delivers a story that feels like a high stakes game of cat and

mouse where both players are equally unhinged and somehow still manage to make you root for them.

Alden is the polished attorney who has everything, wealth, power, a carefully constructed public image and a private compulsion to keep the scales of justice (and his own personal scorekeeping) perfectly balanced.

His thirtieth birthday digs up something from the night his father died, and suddenly someone is watching him, testing him, refusing to run even after discovering exactly what kind of monster lives under the tailored suits. Instead of fear, he feels fascination. That fascination turns into full blown obsession the moment Emily enters the picture.

Emily is not the wide eyed innocent he might have expected. She is sharp, stubborn, and perfectly capable of playing the long game while looking completely harmless.

Watching her deliberately tip Alden’s carefully ordered world off its axis is pure entertainment. Their chemistry is electric, equal parts banter, tension, and the kind of mutual recognition that only two people who understand darkness can share.

The book keeps the spice relatively light compared to some of the author’s other work, but the emotional and psychological intensity more than makes up for it.

The humor is dry and dark, the twists land with satisfying force, and the pacing stays medium and steady without dragging.

Secrets and lies stack up in a way that keeps you guessing, and the dual killer dynamic never feels like a gimmick. Both characters are predators in their own right, and the story never softens that reality just to make the romance more palatable.

If you enjoy morally gray (or pitch black) leads who match each other’s energy, stalking that becomes mutual obsession, and a story that can make you laugh even while it unsettles you, Unbalanced is a strong, entertaining entry.

Just don’t expect anyone in these pages to be well adjusted. The scales are never going to balance the way they should, and that’s exactly the point. 😜

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Jalon (Van Doren Book 5) by Crea Reitan

Description

I want him for selfish reasons.

I’ve spent the last thirty years building an empire for my family. I never want anyone I love to find themselves in the same position I was when my parents left: a failing company, an Estate in ruins, and my four brothers under seven for me to raise.

The world sees a king – infallible, untouchable, and unshakable. Knowing how to control my features and wearing a suit like armor, no one can see the scars of the mistakes I’ve made nor do they know I’ve conducted all my relationships like business transactions.

Right up until Levis Li turned my life inside out in the best possible way. Then the fool decides to use himself as live bait for a doctor killing his patients.

***

This is a LGBTQIA+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.

Publication Date 15/10/2026

My Review

Jalon has been hovering at the edges of the Van Doren world for so long that finally getting his story had me both cheering, and then realising this series was almost at an end (and that made me sad) 😢

From the outside Jalon is the unshakable force who rebuilt a crumbling company and ruined estate while raising four much younger brothers, (although he admits he wasn’t always there, and again he admits his failings with his own children) He wears control like armor, treats relationships like carefully negotiated business, and keeps every scar carefully hidden. The world sees only the successful, untouchable figure that he has worked so hard to build.

Then Levis Li walks in and quietly dismantles that carefully constructed life in the best way possible. Yesssss 😜

What begins as something private and almost clinical between them slowly becomes the one place Jalon allows himself to want something purely for himself. Levis is the calm to Jalon’s hectic world, steady enough to see past the suit and the carefully managed expressions, and bold enough to push when Jalon needs pushing.

The plot has a doctor harming patients and Levis’s reckless decision to put himself in the line of fire gave me moments of dread, would Jalon lose something that he’s only just found?

Their dynamic is intense, physical, and unexpectedly honest, Jalon’s willingness to explore and surrender certain controls had me sighing, and Levis meets him with a mix of sweetness and sharp edges that keeps the power balance interesting. 😜

What i liked most is how Jalon is written. He remains the fierce, sometimes ruthless protector of his family, we see how he’s put his life on hold to keep his family together (yes their business practice is a little unorthodox, but he was thinking long term, building a future for his brothers and then his children, I mean who builds an entire community for his family!?)

Seeing him finally claim something (and someone) for himself lands with real satisfaction. The familiar Van Doren found family warmth is still present in the background, but this story belongs to Jalon and Levis. Their chemistry is magic, and the emotional payoff feels like the natural conclusion of everything the series has been building toward.

If you have been waiting for the man at the center of this sprawling, protective, unhinged family to get his own happily ever after, this delivers.

It is intimate, steamy, and deeply satisfying in the way only a long awaited character can be.

Totally recommend this book (and in fact the whole series and the spin off that are in this Van Doren universe)

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

Bad Debt: A Dark Mafia Romance by Dra. Dorma

Description

He didn’t buy her.

He bought her debt.

Serafina Greco has spent her life auditing other people’s books. She never expected to become an entry in one.

When her father’s debt to the Castello family passes to his blood, the council offers the traditional her hand, married to whichever soldier the Don chooses.

Then Nero Castello, the Tallyman, the enforcer even made men fear, says four words that rewrite the “The debt is mine.”

Now she belongs to him on paper, and the fine print has touch her and you die, default and he dies.

Sera is a forensic accountant. She’s about to audit the man who signed her father’s death warrant, and every page of him says he’s been lying since line one.

🖤DARK MAFIA ROMANCE

🩶FORCED PROXIMITY

💀 TOUCH-HER-AND-DIE VIBES

🖤MORALLY BLACK MMC

🩶FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT FMC

🩷STANDALONE GUARANTEED HEA

Book one of The Castello Ledger.

No cheating.

Full content notes inside.

Publication Date 25/9/2026

Bad Debt: A Dark Mafia Romance by Dra. Dorma

My Review

I was expecting Bad Debt to be the usual dark mafia fare …. blood debts, forced marriages, a cold eyed enforcer claiming a woman as payment, and for the first stretch it delivers exactly that.

Serafina Greco is a forensic accountant who has spent her career dissecting other people’s numbers, only to discover her own name has been entered as collateral on her father’s ledger with the Castello family.

The traditional solution offered by the council is marriage to whichever soldier the Don selects….. Then Nero Castello, the Tallyman, the man even made men fear, steps forward and claims the debt as his own.

Four words, and everything changes. 😮

What keeps the story from feeling completely by the numbers is the way Sera’s profession shapes the entire story. She does not simply submit or plot a conventional escape, she begins auditing Nero himself. Every interaction, every rule he lays down, every carefully controlled display of power becomes another line item she examines for inconsistencies.

The book leans hard into the idea that the man who bought her father’s death warrant has been lying since the first entry, and Sera’s methodical mind is the perfect instrument for uncovering those lies.

The tension between her clinical precision and Nero’s carefully constructed control is the real engine of the story.

The “touch her and you die” clause is treated with more weight than the usual possessive trope. It is not merely romantic posturing, it is written into the terms of the debt, and the consequences of default are mutual. That gives their forced proximity a sharper edge. Nero is not simply collecting on a debt; he has bound himself to the same ledger.

Watching two people who deal in absolute numbers try to navigate a relationship that refuses to stay on the books is more compelling than the expected heat and violence formula.

The writing stays tight and atmospheric without tipping into excess. Scenes of violence and intimacy are handled with the same cool precision Sera brings to her work, which somehow makes both more unsettling.

There are moments when the book risks sliding into familiar territory the isolated estate, the slow thaw, the external threats circling, but the accounting arc keeps pulling it back toward something more original.

Sera is not waiting to be rescued or broken, she is balancing the books, and Nero is the most complicated set of figures she has ever faced.

By the end I found myself invested in whether the numbers would finally reconcile than in the usual questions of who survives or who falls in love first. 😉

Bad Debt understands that the most dangerous thing in a world built on ledgers is a woman who knows how to read them.

Highly recommended 👍🏻

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

The Thousand Legion (The Faceless Chronicles Book 5) by Grant Pierce

Description

How far would you go to protect your children? Die for them? Kill for them? Sell your soul? Tobac will live the answers.

Tobac learns a forbidden truth. Valko, a shapeshifting terror feared across continents, was wiped from every chronicle. Yet Valko refuses to stay forgotten. He offers Tobac impossible wealth if he records his story.

Tobac agrees. With his newfound fortune, he builds a thriving business, unaware the bargain casts a long shadow.

Years later, gorgons descend on his home, drawn by the books he penned. They believe Valko walks the world with Tobac’s face, forcing him to flee with his family as mob justice closes in.

He faces a brutal truth. Only one person can stop the vengeful forces… the monster whose story he preserved. The real Valko.

Valko’s price to save them is Tobac’s soul paid in the ashes of a world he must set ablaze.

Publication Date 15/10/2025

The Thousand Legion (The Faceless Chronicles Book 5) by Grant Pierce

My Review

Reading the premise of The Thousand Legion feels like standing at the edge of a cliff you already know you’re going to jump off.

Grant Pierce has spent four books building a world where every victory costs something irreversible, and this fifth installment looks ready to collect the bill in full.

The question that opens the story….how far would you go to protect your children? is not rhetorical. Tobac answers it the way desperate parents always do, by making a deal he cannot fully understand. He records the forbidden history of Valko, the shapeshifter who was erased from every chronicle, and in exchange receives wealth that lets him build a comfortable life. For a time it works. Then the gorgons arrive, convinced that the man who wrote the books must be the monster himself, and Tobac is forced to run with his family while the world decides he is the enemy.

What makes the setup is the slow realization that the only person who can stop the hunt is the very creature Tobac helped preserve. Valko’s price is not gold or power. It is Tobac’s soul, paid in the destruction of a world that must burn so that a few might live. The series has never been interested in clean heroism. It prefers the gray spaces where love and survival demand choices that leave permanent scars.

I have followed this saga from the beginning, watching characters get broken, remade, and broken again under the weight of prophecy, demons, and their own compromises. The earlier books already showed how thin the line is between protecting the people you love and becoming something they might not recognize. The Thousand Legion appears ready to erase that line completely. Tobac’s journey from chronicler to fugitive to potential destroyer feels like the inevitable next step in a story that keeps asking what remains of a person once every good option is gone.

The tone promises the same relentless pressure that defined The Coming of Endless Darkness and The Price of Uncreation…. apocalyptic stakes, morally complicated bargains, and characters who keep moving forward even when hope has already left the room.

If the previous volumes showed me anything, it is that Pierce does not soft pedal the cost. When the fire comes, it will not spare the innocent, and the we the reader will feel every scorched consequence.

I am not going into this book expecting comfort. I am going into it expecting to be pushed, unsettled, and ultimately unable to look away.

It does not simply ask how far a parent would go. It makes you live the answer alongside Tobac, and then leaves you sitting with the ashes.

Another great story and I look forward to the next book. 👍🏻

🦋

*copy supplied for review

Kindle Unlimited

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

In Darkness We Claim: The Crows Book One: A Dark University Secret Society Romance (Obsidian Order 1) by Emma Luna

Description

At Shadowmere University, power is everything—and weakness is fatal.

Lawson Radley is a Crow Pledge of the Obsidian Order, the secret society that rules the world from the shadows. He’s ruthless, focused, and destined for greatness—until she unravels him.

Harper Westmore was supposed to marry his rival. She’s remained pure and innocent to be the perfect Order Wife. But when her family’s fall from grace shatters her status, Lawson sees an opportunity—and he takes it.

She can be his. His Prize. His obsession.

If she agrees to submit.

If she offers herself willingly.

If she trusts the one man who could destroy her.

But love was never supposed to be part of the game. And the deeper they fall, the closer they come to losing everything.

AUTHOR NOTE

In Darkness We Claim is book one of the Crows trilogy, part of the Obsidian Order series—where secrets reign, power corrupts, and passion ruins. The trilogy follows one couple, so the first two books will end on cliffhangers, and you’ll need to read them all in order to get to the HEA.

The Obsidian Order series comprises four trilogies, each focusing on the different Houses, with a new couple for each one. They are dark romance books that all contain mature themes and sexual scenes, so please check the content warnings before diving in.

Publication Date 15/10/2026

In Darkness We Claim: The Crows Book One: A Dark University Secret Society Romance (Obsidian Order 1) by Emma Luna

My Review

Reading In Darkness We Claim felt like being pulled into a world where every glance carries weight and every choice has consequences that cut deeper than expected.

Emma Luna builds Shadowmere University and the Obsidian Order with a quiet, simmering menace, power is currency, reputation is armor, and the Crows move through it all like they already own the outcome.

Lawson Radley arrives as the kind of man who knows exactly how dangerous he is and refuses to pretend otherwise. Ruthless, focused, and almost clinical in his ambition, he is the Crow Pledge who should have stayed on the path laid out for him…..

Then Harper Westmore appears, and the careful architecture of his future starts to crack.

Harper is the perfect Order Wife in training, pure, obedient, carefully polished, until her family’s fall from grace strips that future away…..

What begins as Lawson seizing an opportunity becomes something far more complicated. The “Prize” arrangement is a formal claim that demands her submission while offering her a strange kind of freedom she has never been allowed to claim for herself. Watching her step into that space, testing the edges of who she might be when the expectations fall away, is one of the highlights of the book. Lawson does not simply take, he watches, he pushes, he insists she see herself the way he already does. The result is a relationship that is obsessive, possessive, and charged with the kind of tension that makes every shared moment feel like it could tip into either destruction or something neither of them planned for.

The writing keeps the pace relentless. Scenes of power play and intimacy sit right beside the larger games of the Order.

Lawson’s voice is sharp and often filthy, Harper’s quieter but increasingly sure, and the push/pull between them never softens into something safe. Secondary characters like Bram and Wren add a little something without stealing focus, and the university itself with rivalries and whispered rules that matter.

The rules of the Order do not bend for sentiment. The deeper they fall, the clearer it becomes that love was never supposed to enter the equation, and the book refuses to pretend otherwise.

The ending arrives like a blade….sharp, sudden, and designed to leave you reeling. It is not a gentle pause. It is a deliberate shove into the dark, the kind of cliffhanger that makes the wait for the next book feel personal.

It is messy, intense, and unapologetic about the damage people can do to each other while still reaching for connection.

If you want a story that prioritizes atmosphere, obsession, and the slow unraveling of carefully constructed identities, In Darkness We Claim delivers.

Highly recommended

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Stay Little Fighter: A Dark Why Choose Mafia Romance (Lombardi Legacy Book 3) by Montana Fyre

Description

The walls I built to protect myself are crumbling, and the happily ever after I never dared to dream for is so close I can almost taste it.

Against all odd, the four men that hold my heart have put their differences aside and I get a glimpse of what it feels like to be truly happy.

But just as quickly as things fell into place, everything falls apart.

Can we find a way to survive to have the future we dared to dream of or will our enemies tear us apart before we get the chance?

Content Warning: This book contains dark themes and readers discretion should be applied. For a full list of TW’s, please see authors website.

Publication Date 15/10/2026

Stay Little Fighter: A Dark Why Choose Mafia Romance (Lombardi Legacy Book 3) by Montana Fyre

My Review

Stay Little Fighter closes out Montana Fyre’s Lombardi Legacy trilogy with the kind of payoff that makes the previous books’ tension and heartbreak feel worthwhile.

Chloe has spent so long building walls around herself that watching those defenses finally crack under the weight of real connection is quietly powerful.

The four men who claim pieces of her heart Kingston/Damon/Ryker/Ronan, have spent most of the series at odds, and seeing them set that history aside long enough to form something resembling a family had me smiling.

The story doesn’t linger in easy happiness. Just when the group finds a fragile sense of belonging, external threats rush back in, testing everything they’ve started to build.

The stakes are high without letting the plot overwhelm the emotional core. Chloe has moved from guarded survivor to someone who allows herself to want a future, and the men around her are forced to confront their own rigid ideas about loyalty, possession, and what it means to share the woman they love.

Damon’s arc in particular lands with surprising tenderness, while Kingston’s older, steadier presence anchors the group in a way that feels distinct from the sharper edges of the younger men.

Darker moments are present, this is still mafia territory with violence and trauma, but the focus stays on healing and chosen family more than pure brutality.

Every major character receives closure, and the happily ever after felt deserved than inevitable.

If the earlier volumes left you invested in these five people, Stay Little Fighter delivers the resolution they deserved.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

The Awakening: Or The Plight of Vampire Christian Du Mauré by Denise K Rago

Description

“I was not always a bloodthirsty monster …”

In eighteenth-century France, Christian Du Mauré’s world collapses after the woman he loves is whisked away to marry another.

He watches helplessly as his best friend, her brother Michel, is seduced by both the charms of Paris and a mysterious woman.

When Christian joins Michel in the city, he finds himself falling into a world of seductive, shadowy figures as he tries to forget all he has lost.

Then Michel surrenders his life to join the undead, and Christian is left with an impossible decision: lose his friend forever, or succumb to his promise of immortality and become one of the damned.

Publication Date 13/10/2026

The Awakening: Or The Plight of Vampire Christian Du Mauré by Denise K Rago

My Review

Reading The Awakening: Or The Plight of Vampire Christian Du Mauré feels like sitting across from someone who has already lived through the worst night of his life and is now telling you, calmly and without excuses, exactly how he arrived there.

The novella settles into the slow, heavy rhythm of an 18th century French countryside that is already fraying at the edges. Christian and his closest friend Michel are still young, still human, still working the land around Meudon when the woman Christian loves, (Michel’s sister Leila,) is married off for money. The loss is not dramatic in the theatrical sense, it is quiet, absolute, and permanent, and it hollows both young men out in different ways.

What follows is not a rush toward fangs and immortality but a gradual, almost reluctant drift. Michel is drawn first toward the lights and possibilities of Paris and then toward a mysterious older woman whose presence carries that unmistakable undercurrent of danger. Christian follows, half to keep an eye on his friend and half to escape the emptiness left behind in Meudon.

The friendship between the two men was one of the parts of the book that I liked, its simple, loyal, and ultimately costly. When Michel makes the irreversible choice to join the undead, Christian is left staring at the only remaining path that will keep him from losing his friend completely.

The memoir style works in the book’s favor. Because we already know Christian will become a vampire, but reading about his life I really liked.

The seduction of the Parisian underworld is never glamorous in the usual romance novel sense, it is shadowy, predatory, and laced with genuine menace. Figures like Gabrielle and Gaétan feel dangerous rather than merely alluring, and the violence, when it arrives, does not surprise.

This is not a comfort read. Anyone looking for a sweeping love story that redeems the monster will find the book deliberately withholding.

The writing is patient, sometimes almost austere, and the emotional temperature stays cool even when the events grow dark. That restraint makes the final turning point land with real force.

As an origin story for a character who has already appeared in Rago’s earlier novels, The Awakening stands on its own.

For those who appreciate gothic vampire fiction that favors atmosphere, regret, and moral consequence over easy redemption, the novella offers a quietly devastating experience.

It is the story of a man who watched everything he loved slip away and then chose the only form of permanence left to him, knowing full well what it would cost.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Good Girl in Hell (The Fallen Covenant Duology) by Elle Kaelee

Description

“The world always looked away when girls bled quietly.”

Lena never learned to advocate for herself—and she dies without hearing the gunshot that kills her.

In a patriarchal Heaven, souls are auctioned at a claiming ceremony. Lena is bought for a small fortune by the highest figure in Heaven’s political hierarchy, Vincent. While searching for the mother she lost, Lena connects with another angel — her future betrothed, Haris—too well. Their romance blooms, and Vincent’s jealousy sends Lena straight to Hell.

Hell’s queen, Lily—who goes by Lily, Lilith, Lilypad, and Lucifer—offers Lena a bargain: if she survives a brutal trial system, she will gain access to the living world in exchange for helping to dismantle Heaven’s repression.

Now, the girl who died without a voice must use it to ask the person she loves to follow her, on her terms, to her world.

The Handmaid’s Tale meets Alchemised meets Katabasis

Publication Date 13/10/2026

Good Girl in Hell (The Fallen Covenant Duology) by Elle Kaelee

My Review

Lena’s death without even hearing the gunshot sets the tone for a story about silenced women and the systems that prefer them that way.

When her soul arrives in a patriarchal Heaven where souls are auctioned like property, the world building lands with a sharp, unsettling clarity.

Vincent’s claim on her and the slow blooming connection with her betrothed Haris create an emotional tension that feels both tender and dangerous. Their romance is the kind of slow burn that earns every charged moment, and when Vincent’s jealousy casts her into Hell, the story shifts into something even more compelling.

Hell’s queen Lily, (or sometimes known as Lilith, Lilypad, Lucifer) offers Lena a bargain that is equal parts threat and opportunity. The brutal trial system she must survive becomes the proving ground where the girl who once bled quietly finally learns to use her voice.

What I liked most is how the story refuses to let Lena remain a passive figure. The journey from silenced victim to someone who can ask the person she loves to follow her, on her own terms, feels hard won and deeply satisfying. The found family energy around Lily and the larger mission to dismantle Heaven’s repression gave the story a little something beyond the central romance.

The balance between the darkness the oppression, the jealousy, and violence with moments of genuine connection and quiet defiance that had me reading way past my bedtime 😉

If you enjoy dark romantasy with angels and demons, trials that test more than just strength, a slowburn love story that grows through adversity, and a heroine reclaiming her voice in a world designed to keep her quiet, this first book in the Fallen Covenant Duology delivers.

I’m already eager for the next installment and already rooting hard for Lena and the world she is fighting to change.

The author takes the quiet tragedy of a girl who never learned to advocate for herself and turns it into something fierce, painful, and ultimately empowering.

A Good Girl in Hell is the kind of dark romantic fantasy that stays with you long after the last page.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Those That Defy the Realm: an MMF fantasy romance between a vampire, a wolf shifter and a human. (Hidden Vampires Book 3) by Elle Reid

Description

When the realm dictates who you can love, would you break the rules?

I may be an illegal vampire, but I hide it well. Life is stable. Until I meet Ash and Claire. Two unwise decisions later and I’m suddenly in free-fall.

Ash is a fun, free-spirited wolf shifter who keeps pulling me into his orbit. Claire is more like me, although her heart has scars from her past keeping her more guarded.

A relationship would never work. Ash is exiled by treaty to an island hundreds of miles away. He must return before he’s discovered. Claire is human: destined to live a short, mortal life.

But this summer, we’re together, and the ache in my chest is growing. I can’t seem to accept the end date we’ve all agreed to. Breaking the rules means gambling with our lives, but being with them might be worth the risk.

Perfect for fans of TWILIGHT, VAMPIRE DIARIES and TRUE BLOOD. This is an interconnnected standalone following on from the Hidden Vampires Duet: Those That Don’t Exist and Those That Are Lost. It can be read without reading the other two but a richer experience will be had if you do, and you meet the characters in this book during the first two.

Triggers: The FMC is dealing with the ramifications of an emotionally abusive relationship. The MMC’s are total green flags towards her (although this isn’t saying they aren’t morally grey in other areas).

This book also contains explicit violence and scenes of a sexual nature so is intended for 18+ readers only.

Publication Date 12/10/2026

Those That Defy the Realm: an MMF fantasy romance between a vampire, a wolf shifter and a human. (Hidden Vampires Book 3) by Elle Reid

My Review

Those That Defy the Realm pulled me in with the kind of quiet urgency that only a story about forbidden connection can manage. ❤️🥹

From the first pages I felt the weight of the realm’s rigid rules pressing down on every choice the characters made, and that tension never really let up.

Henry, a vampire who has spent years perfecting the art of staying invisible, finds his carefully constructed safety unraveling the moment Ash and Claire appear. What begins as two seemingly unwise decisions quickly becomes something far more dangerous and far more necessary…. a summer that refuses to stay temporary.

Ash arrives like sunlight after a long winter, playful, restless, the free spirited wolf shifter whose presence feels almost magnetic. He keeps drawing Henry into his orbit with a warmth that feels both effortless and deliberate. Claire, by contrast, carries a quieter intensity. Her human heart has been marked by past scars, and that guardedness makes every small opening between them feel earned.

Watching the three of them circle one another, testing the edges of what they are allowed to want, created a slow building ache that settled in my chest and stayed there. The knowledge that Ash must return to his distant island exile and that Claire’s life is measured in ordinary mortal years hangs over every shared moment, turning even the lightest scenes into something bittersweet.

There is no easy rewriting of the rules, no convenient loophole that suddenly makes everything permissible. Instead the book leans into the cost of defiance, the way loving across those hard lines means gambling with lives that are already precarious.

Yet the emotional pull between the three of them is so carefully drawn that the risk begins to feel almost reasonable.

I found myself rooting for the summer to stretch longer, for the agreed upon end date to somehow soften, even while knowing that the world they inhabit will not allow it without consequence.

The writing keeps the focus tightly on the lives of the characters. The vampire’s growing inability to accept the temporary nature of their arrangement feels raw and true. The push/pull between desire and self preservation, between the safety of isolation and the terrifying possibility of belonging, is handled with a restraint that makes the emotional peaks land harder.

There is heat here, and the MMF dynamic develops with a natural chemistry that never feels forced, but the real heat comes from the way their hearts start to rearrange themselves around one another.

By the time I closed the book I was left with that particular mix of satisfaction and longing that only the best temporary romances leave behind.

Those That Defy the Realm does not pretend the world will suddenly become kind. It simply asks whether three people might still choose each other anyway, and then makes us feel every reason why the answer matters.

I closed the final page still thinking about the ache in the Henry’s chest and the quiet courage it takes to keep reaching for something the realm has already decided should not exist.

Highly recommended

🦋

*copy supplied for review

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Ruthless Game: a dark college hockey romance (Kings of Reina University Book 3) by Jo Brenner

Description

The rugged, blue-eyed, easygoing hockey player was once the love of my life. Now all David Lawson wants is revenge.

Reina University’s star goalie thinks I betrayed him, when he’s the one who betrayed me—and destroyed my heart.

I’ve tried to move on. But Lawson’s determined to get me out of his system, one dark, depraved, intensely exhilarating act at a time. I can’t resist him, and not just because he’s threatening to expose secrets about my brother that could ruin his life.

Lawson’s not the boy I knew. Between his cruel touch that sets me on fire and moments of tenderness that crumble the walls around my heart, I no longer know which way is up.

All I know is I won’t go down without a fight. I’ll prove he’s wrong about me. About everything.

But even if Lawson realizes his mistake, it may be too late—because an enemy is waiting in the shadows, eager to destroy us both.

Ruthless Game is a second chance, dark hockey romance with lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers, found family, and an unhinged, obsessive, possessive MMC who will sacrifice everything to keep his FMC safe. It contains several dark themes that some readers may be sensitive to.

For more information, please visit the author’s website at jobrenner dot com.

Publication Date 11/10/2026

My Review

Ruthless Game delivers exactly what i love with Jo Brenner’s Kings of Reina University series, but it does so with a sharper emotional edge that sets it apart from its predecessors. (Get those tissues ready 🥹)

Where Brutal Game leaned hard into pure obsessive possession and Heartless Game layered on the weight of family secrets and dual identities, this third installment digs into the wreckage of a past relationship and refuses to let either character off the hook.

David “Max” Lawson, the blue eyed goalie who once seemed like the easygoing one of the group, changed. The easy charm is still there on the surface, but underneath sits a cold, calculating need for payback.

Emma, is no passive recipient of that fury. She carries her own scars and her own version of the truth about their breakup, and she meets Lawson’s darkness with a stubborn refusal to simply submit or disappear.

(I did wonder at first the name changes, to Emma “Lawson” was always “Max” and he only allowed Emma to use it. Then when they broke up, he never wanted Emma to call him “Max”)

Their chemistry is combustible from the first charged confrontation. The tension that simmers and then explodes, and the scenes between them walk that fine line between cruelty and desperate tenderness that makes this dark romance so addictive.

The second chance arc works because the original betrayal still feels raw for both of them…. Lawson believes he was wronged in a way that justifies every depraved act he subjects her to…. But, Emma knows her version of the story, and this makes the story more complicated and refuses to let his version stand unchallenged.

That push/pull drives this story, and the secrets adds genuine stakes that keep the pages turning. The external threat looming in the shadows raises the tension further, reminding us that the real danger is not only between the two leads but also circling them both.

What I appreciated most was the way the author allows moments of genuine vulnerability to break through the ruthlessness. Those quieter stretches, when Lawson’s carefully constructed armor cracks or when Emma’s walls start to crumble, gives you hope that they will get past the mistrust.

The spice is still very much present and intense, true to the series’ reputation, but it never feels disconnected from the emotional undercurrent. Every charged encounter carries the history of what they once were and what they might still become.

If you have followed the series, Ruthless Game feels like a natural and satisfying continuation. The found family bonds among the hockey players remain a quiet strength in the background, and the writing maintains the same sharp, immersive quality that made the earlier books so hard to put down.

This is dark, messy, and intensely emotional college hockey romance that does not shy away from the uglier sides of love and revenge.

And now we wait for the next book. We get a little teaser and I can’t wait. 🏒

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

Widow of the Life: The Mafia Princess Saves Herself by Viktoria Villanova

Description

Her husband betrayed the Mafia. Carolina De Luca paid the price.

To keep his secrets buried, Carolina sacrificed everything. Now she’s broke, alone, and forced to return to the one place she swore she’d never rely on again: the New York Familia.

Then there’s Alessandro Sodano.

Heir to the Familia. Ruthless. Powerful. Off-limits.

Alessandro wants Carolina. More importantly, he wants to protect her. But the past isn’t done with her yet.

When a blackmailer returns with an impossible ultimatum, betray Alessandro or die, Carolina is forced to choose between survival and the only man she’s ever trusted.

In a world ruled by loyalty and blood, one wrong move can get you killed.

And Carolina is done running.

Publication Date 29/7/2026

Widow of the Life: The Mafia Princess Saves Herself by Viktoria Villanova

My Review

Widow of the Life by Viktoria Villanova drops you straight into the aftermath of betrayal and the heavy cost of loyalty in the underworld.

Carolina De Luca has already paid everything to protect secrets that were never hers to keep….. Her husband’s treachery left her stripped of safety, money, and any illusion that the life she once knew could still protect her…… Forced back into the New York Familia she once swore to leave behind, she steps into a world that remembers her name and the weight it once carried.

What i liked most is how the story refuses to let Carolina remain a passive figure. The title’s promise that she will save herself is not an empty moment. She is broke, isolated, and cornered, yet the story keeps pushing her onwards even when every option looks like a trap.

The arrival of Alessandro Sodano, the Familia’s heir, complicates everything in the expected ways of this genre 😉 he is dangerous, magnetic, and soooo off limits.

Their dynamic carries the familiar tension of power imbalance and forbidden attraction, but the blackmailer’s ultimatum raises the stakes beyond simple romance.

Carolina is forced to weigh survival against the fragile trust she has begun to place in him, and that choice makes for me, the whole book.

The writing leans into the atmospheric pressure of mafia life without drowning us in endless exposition about hierarchy or rituals. Loyalty and blood are treated as living forces that shape every decision, and the sense that one wrong move can end everything hangs over the pages.

Carolina’s determination to stop running gives the story a forward momentum that keeps it from settling into pure despair. There is heat, there is danger, and there is the slow recognition that protection and possession can look dangerously similar when the past refuses to stay buried.

I found myself hoping Carolina would find a way to reclaim something of herself inside a system designed to consume her.

The book delivers the intensity and moral gray areas that i love in a dark mafia, while centering a heroine who is actively fighting for her own future rather than waiting to be rescued.

So if you enjoy high stakes emotional conflict wrapped in the sharp edges of organized crime this one should be on your TBR.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

EDGE: A Dark Paranormal Biker Romance : Clash of Kings by Jamie Magee

Description

Urban fantasy readers—your next binge starts here.

In the sultry streets of New Orleans, royalty, power, and immortality are never what they seem.

Reveca Beauregard is immortal. Born to an ancient witch bloodline steeped in prophecy, she stopped believing in fate long before a powerful god stole her soul mate and cast her into the Edge—the realm between life and death.

She escaped with an impossible gift: the power to call willing souls back from death.

But no one returns unchanged. Phoenix, wolves, shifters, seers… the origins of every supernatural legend walk among the immortals she brought home.

The first soul she ever called back was Talon.

Together they built the Pentacle Sons, an immortal motorcycle club forged through loyalty, family, passion, and power.

For centuries they have stood between the mortal and immortal worlds, protecting those with no voice in either.

Or so it has always seemed.

When a friend is murdered, and a lone wolf frames the Pentacle Sons, Reveca sets out to clear her club’s name. But every answer exposes another secret, another enemy, and signs of a much larger war closing in.

Then her ancient family demands the unthinkable: a bargain with a Lord of Death that hurls a past Reveca was never prepared to face back into her life. Now, what began as a fight to protect the Pentacle Sons threatens to unravel everything they’ve built—and destroy them all.

Because some things were never meant to come back from the dead.

Every legend has an origin.

Every queen has a reckoning.

Originally released as a serialized saga, EDGE is now repackaged into Seasons. This is Book One of Season One.

Publication Date 25/9/2026

EDGE: A Dark Paranormal Biker Romance : Clash of Kings by Jamie Magee

My Review

EDGE is a dark, immersive paranormal biker romance that pulls you deep into the sultry, dangerous world of New Orleans and the immortal motorcycle club known as the Pentacle Sons.

Jamie Magee builds a rich urban fantasy landscape where royalty, power, and immortality are never straightforward, and Reveca Beauregard stands at the center of it all…..

Born to an ancient witch bloodline steeped in prophecy, she long ago stopped believing in fate after a powerful god stole her soul mate and then threw her into the Edge, ( it’s the realm between life and death.) when she comes back, it’s with a rare gift…. the ability to call willing souls back from death, though none of them return unchanged. 😮

The first soul she ever brought back was Talon, and together they forged the Pentacle Sons, a brotherhood bound by loyalty, family, passion, and power.

For centuries they have stood between the mortal and immortal worlds, protecting those with no voice in either.

But when a friend is murdered and a lone wolf frames the club, Reveca sets out to clear their name, only to find that every answer uncovers deeper secrets, new enemies, and the signs of a much larger war closing in.

The demand from her ancient family for a bargain with a Lord of Death forces a past she was never prepared to face back into the present, threatening everything the Sons have built.

What i liked about the story was the blend of dark fantasy, immortal romance, and supernatural suspense. Reveca is a queen who has already survived the unthinkable, yet the reckoning she faces feels personal and high stakes.

The origins of every supernatural legend phoenixes, wolves, shifters, seers walk among the immortals she has raised, giving the world a lived in depth that rewards those of us who enjoy layered mythology.

The motorcycle club structure adds grit and found family intensity, while the larger clash of kings promises escalating conflict across the series.

Originally released as a serialized saga and now repackaged into seasons, this opening volume sets a strong foundation.

If you like dark paranormal romance with immortal bikers, witch queens, ancient prophecies, and the kind of secrets that refuse to stay buried, EDGE delivers an atmospheric, addictive start.

I finished it already hungry for the next season and the larger war still gathering on the horizon.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

The Book Of Virgo: Gilded Secrets by Kate M. Levi

Description

A spoonful of poison helps the target fall down . . .

In a world where shadows and secrets intertwine, fighting alone is no longer an option.

Camile Freeman is a lethal force. Primed to take over as the elusive Virgo assassin for a clandestine organization, she has mastered the art of eliminating targets without causing a scene.

That is until an old flame, his volatile work partner, and her best friend, intercepts her hunt for a ghost from her past. Thrust into a battlefield of chaos and complications, Camie must try to hold her nerve and protect her heart from those she must now work with.

As loyalties are tested and long-buried secrets come to light, will they rise together or fall apart under the weight of their gilded secrets?

Dive into The Book of Virgo, a captivating story of betrayal, love, loyalty, and determination binding Camie and her allies.

***

The Book of Virgo is a standalone, dark, why-choose romance, and part of the twelve book, shared world in the Zodiac Killers series. It is intended for audiences 18+. Please check trigger warnings.

Publication Date 6/10/2026

The Book Of Virgo: Gilded Secrets by Kate M. Levi

My Review

This book drops you straight into a world of carefully measured lethality and carefully guarded hearts. And I loved it.

Camile Freeman, known as Camie, is the kind of character who makes competence look effortless.

As the next Virgo assassin for a secretive organization, Camie has turned the quiet art of elimination into something almost elegant, her method of using poison is her go to, and scenes are to be avoided, and those messy emotions, they are so locked down.

The opening lines alone are sharp enough to hold attention …. a woman who has perfected the solitary kill is suddenly forced to share the field with an old flame, his unpredictable partner, and her own best friend while chasing a ghost from her past.

What I liked was how the story refuses to let Camie stay comfortably alone. The forced collaboration turns every mission into a pressure cooker of competing loyalties, unresolved history, and the constant risk that one of them will slip and expose the others.

The shiny surface of professional competence hides older wounds and half buried truths that keep rising at the worst possible moments.

The tension between needing these people and not trusting the cost of needing them gives the middle of the book a real emotional pull. Camie’s determination to protect her heart while still doing the job lands as both practical and quietly tragic.

The romance especially the complicated reappearance of the old flame and the messy dynamics that come with the larger group never felt like an on. They grow out of the same high stakes environment that makes the action scenes crackle. Trust is the key, and every shared glance or almost confession carries the weight of possible betrayal…… The result is a story that balances the cool precision of the assassin work with the messier, more human cost of letting anyone close enough to matter.

The pace is tight and the emotional stakes personal, so the larger conspiracy never swallows the characters. Camie remains the steady center even as the ground shifts under her, and that combination of lethal focus and reluctant vulnerability is what makes the book linger.

For those who like their dark romance with tension and characters who have to earn every inch of connection, this one delivers a satisfying, sharp edged ride.

Highly recommended 👍🏻

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Pucking Content: A Grumpy Sunshine, Golden Retriever, One-Night Stand, Hockey Romance by Victoria Jayne

Description

Goofy goalie meets intense influencer. They’re one poke-check away from the penalty box.

Nico Tortola’s life revolves around stopping pucks. Focused on the new season, the brazen all-star pro plans on breaking AHL records and graduating from the farm team to the national level. But when the coach’s daughter waltzes through the locker room and captures his attention, he’s tempted to indulge in a little interference.

Eliza Denton is determined to go viral. The witty content creator enthusiastically begins her social media internship with her eyes on the prize until she witnesses the goalie’s shenanigans and fantasizes about ideas not fit for posting. Scolding herself to concentrate on her career, she vows not to be distracted by the sexy net minder.

Unable to escape their close proximity thanks to travel and constant games, Nico can’t help but admire her tenacity and agrees to a one-and-done evening of passion. And although Eliza’s drawn to his ability to balance his silly and serious sides, she refuses to jeopardize her position or become a distraction.

While indulging in their desires has them on thin ice, will a single night of no-strings-attached fun risk their ambitions or spark something far more fanatical?

Pucking Content is a standalone hockey romance. If you enjoy golden retriever leads, cocky men falling for curvy women, and will-they won’t-they stories, then you’ll enjoy Victoria Jayne’s feisty quick read.

Buy Pucking Content today!

Pucking Content contains scenes written for mature audiences only.

Publication Date 6/10/2026

Pucking Content: A Grumpy Sunshine, Golden Retriever, One-Night Stand, Hockey Romance by Victoria Jayne

My Review

Pucking Content is a fun, flirty hockey romance that leans hard into the grumpy/sunshine and one night stand tropes with plenty of locker room energy and social media spark.

Victoria Jayne pairs goofy, golden retriever goalie Nico Tortola with intense, ambitious influencer Eliza Denton, and the contrast between them works immediately.

Nico is focused on breaking records and climbing from the AHL to the big leagues, while Eliza is determined to go viral during her social media internship with the team.

The moment she walks through the locker room and catches his attention, the interference begins.

Their forced proximity through travel and constant games keeps the tension high without feeling forced. Nico can’t help admiring her tenacity, and Eliza is drawn to the way he balances his silly and serious sides even as she scolds herself to stay professional.

Their agreement to keep things to one no strings night of passion is classic “this will definitely stay simple” territory, and of course it doesn’t.

The author does a great job showing both characters trying to protect their ambitions… Nico’s career climb and Eliza’s content creator goals, while the chemistry between them keeps pulling them back onto thin ice.

What I enjoyed most is the playful tone and the way the story balances light hearted banter with the real stakes of their careers.

Nico’s goofy charm never undercuts his focus, and Eliza’s drive feels authentic rather than cartoonish. The hockey setting is used effectively for proximity and banter without requiring deep sports knowledge, and the social media angle gives Eliza a fresh, modern edge. The single night of passion risks everything they’ve worked for, yet the possibility of something more fanatical keeps the emotional undercurrent strong.

If you like hockey romances with golden retriever energy, a determined heroine who won’t be distracted, and a one night stand that refuses to stay one night, this one delivers an entertaining, steamy ride. 🏒

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

Bonded by Tea and Tarot: A Steamy Small Town Why Choose Romance (Omega Gardening Club Book 2) by Aura Frost

Description

She’s a witchy omega with an independent streak. They’re desperate to be hers.

Siobhan is a content creator who has taken care of herself for as long as she can remember. Her freedom means everything, yet there’s that pesky part of her that longs to be cared for. Then the universe drops a sexy beta and two scent-matched alphas into her life.

Aury, the confident, graceful beta she’s been crushing on for two years.
Jayce, the gruff alpha who just wants her to stay hydrated.
And Hayden, the quiet alpha paramedic she can’t stop thinking about.

All they want is to belong to her, but Siobhan isn’t sure she can handle a possessive pack–especially when it comes to collaborating with other witches. When they prove that they don’t want to run her life and are more than happy to let her shine, she’s willing to take a leap of faith and trust them.

None of them notice the nefarious dealings of a rival witch until it’s nearly too late.

Bonded by Tea and Tarot is a standalone queer polyam / why choose omegaverse, small town romance intended for mature readers. It’s full of witchy rituals, bursting with sweet and spicy moments, and features plenty of knotting and swoony alphas.

Everyone is with everyone – HEA guaranteed!

Publication Date 29/9/2026

Bonded by Tea and Tarot: A Steamy Small Town Why Choose Romance (Omega Gardening Club Book 2) by Aura Frost

My Review

I just finished Bonded by Tea and Tarot by Aura Frost, the second book in the Omega Gardening Club series, and it left me with that warm, satisfied feeling only a well balanced why choose romance can deliver.

Siobhan is such a compelling heroine, an independent witchy omega who’s built her life as a content creator and fiercely guards her freedom, yet still carries that quiet ache to be cared for.

I loved how the author never punishes her for that independence, instead, the story lets her hold onto it while slowly opening the door to something softer.

The pack that finds her feels perfectly matched to that tension. Aury, the graceful beta she’s been quietly crushing on for two years, brings a steady, confident presence that grounds the group. Jayce, the gruff alpha whose love language seems to be “drink some water,” made me smile every time he appeared, his protective instincts are loud but never smothering. And Hayden, the quiet paramedic alpha, carries this understated intensity that had me lingering on every scene he was in.

Their scent matched connection to Siobhan was magic, the heat is definitely there (this is a steamy book, after all), but what stands out more is how willingly they step back so she can shine. They don’t want to run her life or her magic. They just want to belong to her, and watching Siobhan realize she can trust that felt genuinely rewarding.

The small town witchy atmosphere and the gardening club backdrop gives everything a cozy, lived in feeling, while the rival witch’s schemes add just enough external pressure to raise the stakes without taking anything away.

By the time the pack proves they can support her collaborations and her independence at the same time, I was fully rooting for all of them.

The author writes the found family dynamics with warmth and the steam with heat, and the result is a romance that feels both comforting and exciting.

If you like omegaverse stories where the omega gets to keep her agency and the pack is happy to orbit her light, this one is well worth the read.

🦋

📚 Wales Book Signing Challenge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

DAY FIVE

The fifth day sees me reading and reviewing Dani Elias, D.V. Williams and Elenor Pountain.

Valentine’s Rebellion (Cat Ladies Rule The World) by Dani Elias

Description

Lizzie

I loathe Valentine’s Day, no, I downright despise it. This year, it feels like it’s on steroids. But I refuse to let it get the better of me. There’s only one solution: escape. I manage to persuade my best friend, Coop, to ditch England and embark on a trip to a secluded Canadian village. The place looked charming in the brochure, and surely, a small haven in the middle of nowhere won’t succumb to Valentine’s madness, right? Here’s hoping the weather gods are on our side.

Cooper

Do I hate Valentine’s Day? Nah, not really. Do I jump on the Valentine’s boycott train with my bestie? Hell, yes! I’d do anything for her. Lizzie and I have been friends for donkey’s years. Just friends. Honestly, I wish she’d see me as more, but she’s made it clear—I’m stuck in the friend zone. Is it messing with my head? You bet. Am I steering clear of her? No way. I need her in my life, taking whatever she’s willing to give. So, here I am, stuck in my own Valentine’s purgatory, heading on a trip with the woman I love, even though she doesn’t feel the same way.

Valentine’s Rebellion was released in January 2023 as part of the Fourteen Shades of Red limited edition Valentine’s Day romance collection. It was re-released in March as prequel to The Unnatural Habitat of a Cat Lady.

Publication Date 24/1/2024

Valentine’s Rebellion (Cat Ladies Rule The World) by Dani Elias

My Review

Valentine’s Rebellion is a cozy, heartfelt friends to lovers escape that leans hard into the “stuck together” trope.

Lizzie is done with Valentine’s Day and ropes her longtime best friend Coop into a last minute getaway to a quiet Canadian village, hoping to dodge all the pink heart madness. 😝 Coop, meanwhile, has been quietly in love with her for years and is stuck in the friend zone, yet he still says yes, (because of course he does.) What follows is equal parts awkward tension, forced proximity, and the slow realization that their “just friends” status was never that simple.

It’s short, sweet, and full of that delicious pining energy. The banter had me chucking, the setting adds a nice wintry isolation, and Coop’s quiet devotion hits just right. Perfect if you want a low stakes, emotional story that prioritizes chemistry over chaos.

🦋🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿📚

Into The Wild: (A Tigers Tale) by D.V. Williams

Description

For Rebecca Taylor, music is her life, and with the help of her record producer stepfather she is determined to make it her future. By the age of seventeen, the talented young singer and songwriter is preparing to leave school behind and pursue her music career. But it’s a jungle out there in the cutthroat world of the music industry, and Rebecca is hardly the most outgoing of teenagers.

And then there’s love, or the other thing . . . sex. What’s a girl to do when her body, her curiosity, and her emotions are taking over, especially when there’s one man already on her mind? Encouraged by her best friend, the enigmatic and unconventional Linda, Rebecca enters into an adventurous relationship, a sensual journey of discovery that will change her forever.

But if her stepfather ever found out . . .

Publication Date 22/7/2017

My Review

Into The Wild: (A Tigers Tale) by D.V. Williams is a coming of age story that follows seventeen year old Rebecca Taylor, a gifted but reserved singer/songwriter ready to leave school and chase a music career under the guidance of her record producer stepfather. The story captures the tension between her quiet nature and the ruthless music industry, while also exploring her growing curiosity about love, desire, and sex. Guided by her unconventional best friend Linda, Rebecca embarks on a sensual journey of self discovery that forces her to confront both her ambitions and her private longings, always under the shadow of what might happen if her stepfather ever learned the truth. I found the story engaging and the focus on a shy young artist navigating both professional pressure and personal awakening refreshing. The writing feels intimate and grounded, making Rebecca’s internal conflicts easy to connect with. It’s a quick, thoughtful read that balances the excitement of chasing dreams with the more private, complicated territory of first experiences. Worth picking up if you enjoy character driven stories about young women finding their voice in more ways than one.

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Falling for the CEO by Elenor Pountain

Description

a handsome man with an authoritative personality, who’s been hurt in the past. She’s ambitious and still learning to love herself on the inside.

Gavin is a hard-hitting CEO who doesn’t have time for handholding a newbie. Jess is eager to please and confident in her abilities.

Gavin’s past comes back with an ugly turn, could this ruin the future he didn’t know he wanted until now?

Publication Date 14/5/2023

My Review

Falling for the CEO is a sweet, feel good workplace romance that leans hard into the classic grumpy/sunshine dynamic.

Gavin is the hard edged CEO with no patience for mistakes and a past that still stings. Jess is the ambitious, eager newcomer who’s still figuring out how to fully love herself. What starts as pure professional friction quickly softens once they actually start seeing each other. The chemistry builds naturally, and when Gavin’s old wounds resurface, it tests the future neither of them saw coming.

I liked the gentle pace and the body positive representation, Jess feels real and grounded rather than idealized. It’s not dark or angst heavy, it’s the kind of story that prioritizes warmth, growth, and a satisfying happy ending. Perfect if you’re in the mood for something light, spicy, and comforting.

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🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

The Mystery of the Fashionable Hats (Sirius City Book 2) by Georgiy Simirnov

Description

Residents of a small research town are vanishing without a trace. Every clue leads to Sirius, a virtual nation created by artificial intelligence that promises its citizens immortality and perfect happiness. As Gregorius, the town’s best investigator, uncovers the workings of this world, he begins to realize that its flawless system is slowly becoming a trap for humanity.

A gripping investigation unfolds into a philosophical odyssey, blurring the boundaries between reality and illusion, free choice and control, life and death.

The second novel in the Sirius City series can be read entirely on its own. All storylines are self-contained and fully resolved; no knowledge of the first book is required.

Publication Date 19/9/2026

The Mystery of the Fashionable Hats (Sirius City Book 2) by Georgiy Simirnov

My Review

On the surface it is a missing persons investigation set in a once sleepy science town that has been rapidly remade into a gleaming showcase of digital progress.

But people are vanishing without a trace, and every thread leads back to Sirius, a virtual nation built by an artificial intelligence that offers its citizens immortality and perfect happiness.

Gregorius, the investigator at the center of the story, is a compelling guide through this terrain. He is competent, slightly haunted by past cases, and possessed of a mind that cannot stop noticing patterns even when the surface of things looks beautiful.

The early pages, in which he returns to a hometown he barely recognizes, capture that odd mixture of nostalgia and disorientation that comes with watching a place you know transform almost overnight….. The autumn air still smells the same, the leaves still fall, yet the human texture of the town has thinned. Cafés are empty, the old debates have vanished, and the new architecture seems to declare that the future has already arrived and is not particularly interested in anyone’s permission.

What I liked the most is how the story refuses to treat its central questions as abstract thought experiments. The tension between free choice and engineered contentment, between biological life and digital continuity, between the messy imperfections of the physical world and the seductive clarity of a virtual one, is played out through character and consequence rather than through lectures.

The AI’s vision of happiness is not cartoonishly evil, it is sincere, even idealistic in its own way, which makes its gradual tightening of control all the more chilling.

The book stands on its own even though it is the second in the Sirius City series.

The storylines resolve cleanly, and the questions land with enough force that prior knowledge is not required.

The writing has a measured, almost contemplative quality that suits the material.

There are moments of quiet observation (the scent of decaying leaves, the sudden emptiness of familiar streets) that linger longer than the more plot driven sequences.

But at the same time the story keeps moving, the investigation never stalls for pure rumination

It is not a breathless thriller, nor is it a dry philosophical treatise. It sits in the uneasy middle ground where the detective story and the dystopian reflection meet, and it does so with enough conviction that the questions it raises stay with you after the last page.

So, if you are drawn to stories that use the scaffolding of a mystery to examine what we might be willing to trade for the appearance of perfect happiness, this one is worth your time.

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📚 Wales Book Signing Challenge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

DAY FOUR

Day four sees me reading/reviewing authors Alice La Roux, Crystal North and D.V. Williams.

The author that has planned and put this book signing together, is also planning to attend (possibly for a few hours) as a signing author. Her name is Alice La Roux.

Firebird by Alice La Roux

Description

Being a King isn’t easy.

When a rebel group threatens the family business, Golden Apple Incorporated, Seraphina King must step up to the plate. Her father keeps her on a tight leash, a prized possession locked away in a gilded cage. In desperation he grants her the freedom to find those who want to harm them, but nothing is as it seems. People are going missing, women are turning up dead and then there’s her renegade stalker. The maverick with the emerald green eyes who always seems to be in the middle of things. Sera doesn’t know who to trust or what to believe.

What happens when the golden apple is rotten?

Warning: This novella (35k) contains adult content and is only suitable for readers 18+

Publication Date 20/4/2018

My Review

Firebird is a taut, steamy little novella that packs a surprising amount of tension and heat into its short length. Seraphina King makes for a compelling heroine, sheltered by her powerful family yet sharp, stubborn and far more capable than anyone around her realises. Watching her push against the gilded cage while investigating the rebel group targeting Golden Apple Incorporated is genuinely absorbing, especially once the emerald eyed Flynn Nightingale enters the picture. Their chemistry crackles, and the story does a neat job of balancing attraction with distrust as secrets, missing people and darker family truths start to surface. The writing moves at a brisk clip with enough twists to keep things interesting, though the brevity means some threads feel a little rushed toward the end. Still, for a quick, spicy romantic suspense read with a feisty lead and a properly magnetic hero, it delivers exactly what it promises.

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The Book of Leo by Crystal north

Description

I don’t fear monsters. I hunt them.

By day, Dr. Zara Nightingale is a senior biochemist at DSTL – overlooked, underestimated, and dismissed as the pretty blonde in the room.

By night, she becomes Leo, one of the Guild’s deadliest Zodiac assassins.

Seductive. Theatrical. Traceless.

Her first mission is simple: eliminate a modern-day Jack the Ripper who has terrorised London for years.

Her second mission is not so easy.

She’s ordered to eliminate a corrupt politician whose power reaches far beyond the UK – into boardrooms, governments, and blood-soaked back channels across Europe.

Everything fractures the moment she crosses paths with:

Fox – the infuriating, cocky Guild assassin sent to monitor her every move.

Elias – the soft-hearted son of her target, who sees past her masks and makes her hesitate.

Cole – the elegant right-hand man of her target who looks like a villain but may just be her most dangerous ally.

Three men.

Three threats.

Three obsessions.

When a conspiracy inside the Guild rises to the surface, Zara must decide who to trust, who to love…

and who to kill.

But the lioness doesn’t bow.

She hunts.

And this time, she isn’t hunting alone.

~~~

The Book Of Leo is a dark reverse-harem assassin romance with high tension, steamy chemistry, and a guaranteed HEA.

Publication Date 29/9/2026

My Review

I finished The Book of Leo in a state of quiet satisfaction mixed with the residual adrenaline that only a well executed dark romance can leave behind.

Crystal North has taken the why choose framework and fused it with the high stakes precision of an assassin narrative, and the result feels fresh and dangerous.

Zara Nightingale is the kind of heroine who refuses to soften for anyone’s comfort….. By day she is the overlooked biochemist, the pretty blonde people underestimate, but at night she is Leo, theatrical and lethal, moving through London’s shadows with a confidence that borders on arrogance.

That dual existence is never treated as mere costume. The tension between the woman the world sees and the lioness who hunts is the engine of the story, and the author keeps it taut without ever tipping into melodrama.

The three men who orbit her each bring a distinct flavour of threat and desire…. Fox is the cocky Guild handler whose constant presence is both surveillance and provocation….. Elias, the soft hearted son of her target, threatens her professional detachment in ways that feel more dangerous than any weapon…. Cole, the elegant right hand man, is the most intriguing of the three in appearance, potentially the most useful ally, and therefore the most complicated.

The push/pull between them never collapses into simple jealousy contests. Instead it becomes a story in shifting loyalties, where every glance and every shared silence carries the weight of possible betrayal.

What I liked most was the way the larger conspiracy inside the Guild slowly surfaces. It doesn’t arrive as a sudden twist but as a creeping realisation that the organisation Zara serves may be as monstrous as the people she is ordered to eliminate.

That internal fracture forces her to decide not only who she loves, but who she is willing to kill for, and who she is willing to kill despite loving.

Zara never becomes a saint, nor does she revel in cruelty for its own sake. She remains a predator who has begun to question the shape of the cage she was trained inside.

The writing is sharp and atmospheric, especially in the London sequences where the modern day Ripper plot unfolds. There is a theatrical quality to Leo’s kills that matches her sign grand, almost performative, yet always clean.

The quieter moments between the characters are equally well judged, the hesitation, the unexpected tenderness, the reluctant trust all feel earned rather than manufactured for heat.

This is not a gentle romance. It is bloody, obsessive, and frequently ruthless. Yet it never loses sight of the woman at its centre who refuses to bow.

By the final pages I felt the same fierce protectiveness toward Zara that her three men clearly feel, and that, more than any particular scene, is the mark of a story that has done its work.

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I’d already read/reviewed this book, so I’m cheating a little in adding it (but I still read it 😝)

Into The Wild: (A Tigers Tale) by D.V. Williams

Description

But if her stepfather ever found out . . .

Publication Date 22/7/2017

Into The Wild: (A Tigers Tale) by D.V. Williams

My Review

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Read on KU

#indieloveswales

#booksigning

#readingchallenge

📚 Wales Book Signing Challenge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

DAY THREE

Day three of my reading challenge, and I’ve read/reviewed Charlie Novak, Cori Zahara and Corinne M. Knight

Cocky Bastard by Charlie Novak

Description

Austin Carter is a living legend.

He’s handsome, arrogant, and can bring any man to his knees with just one smile. Nobody can resist his charms meaning Austin is used to getting exactly what he wants. The only one who’s ever been able to resist him is me.

I think Austin is a bastard. A vain, smug, cocky bastard. It doesn’t matter that he’s gorgeous, charming, and can make me forget my own name with a single look. I don’t want anything to do with him. Unfortunately, I also can’t keep my hands off him.

When one of our angry nights turns into something more, I’m forced to consider why I keep pushing Austin away. Austin wants me more than ever and it’s becoming impossible to keep a lid on my desires.

Is there more to Austin Carter than meets the eye?

And can a cocky bastard ever be more?

Publication Date 24/4/2026

My Review

Charlie Novak’s Cocky Bastard delivers exactly what the title promises… a sharp, steamy, low angst MM romance built on ten years of denial and explosive chemistry. Austin is every bit the arrogant legend the blurb describes, yet the story peels back just enough vulnerability to make him more than a cocky facade. Kane’s reluctant pull toward him feels authentic, and their banter is quick, filthy, and genuinely fun. The shift from long term hookups to something real is handled with warmth rather than drama, and the dual POV keeps both men equally compelling. It’s a short, satisfying read that leans hard into spice and affection without overcomplicating things, perfect if you want heat, heart, and a couple who finally stop fighting the obvious.

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I Choose You, Lochlan Drake by Cori Zahara

Description

Lourdez…

The weatherman warned against traveling today, but I didn’t listen and decided to take my beat-up old car across the state of Oregon.

It didn’t make it, and I ended up saved by someone I never would have expected.

Something else I never would have expected, the rescue vehicle to break down on the same journey.

But there are worse things than being broken down on the side of the road, freezing and starving with a cute guy, right?

Except there isn’t, because it’s snowing, almost a blizzard.

And his brother and my best friend is dying, and we’re both so worried we won’t get there in time.

And along with all that pain and fear trapped in this car with us, is also so much animosity, because this cute guy, he spent three years in prison once for a lie I told.

Publication Date 6/11/2025

I Choose You, Lochlan Drake by Cori Zahara

My Review

Cori Zahara’s I Choose You, Lochlan Drake is a short, emotionally charged novella that packs surprising weight into its limited pages. Stranded in a blizzard with the man she once sent to prison, Lourdez and Lochlan are forced to confront years of resentment while racing against time to reach a dying loved one. The confined setting heightens every charged moment, and Zahara writes the push/pull of guilt, fear, and unexpected connection with genuine heart. It’s raw, a little heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, perfect if you want a quick read that still leaves you feeling something long after the last page.

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The King of the Undead: A Supernatural Academy Paranormal Romance (Of Knights and Monsters Book 2) by Corinne m. Knight

Description

Vlad accompanied by siblings Lucien and Alessandra embark on a dangerous journey to the infamous Roslyn Academy, the Order’s crown jewel.

As he ventures further into the unknown, hidden feelings of attraction towards the beautiful Alessandra make Vlad question his sanity and his choices. But there is no time to dwell on these emotions—the Order has launched a large-scale supernatural attack.

Knowing they didn’t stand a chance without assistance, Vlad dives into the depths of the academy’s hidden passages to find a weapon powerful enough to defeat the Order. He stumbles upon a sarcophagus containing a mysterious force; a power so immense that it steals Vlad away to a different world.

The Prince must make haste if he is to find the strength he needs and return in time to win the imminent battle against the Order.

Will Vlad find his salvation in this otherworldly realm, or will it be too late?

***

The King of the Undead is a Supernatural Paranormal Fantasy second novella in the Of Knights and Monsters series. The story is set in Roslyn Academy (England, UK), and features secret societies, supernatural creatures, and action-packed adventure with a side of otherworldly realms, epic battles, courage, coming of age and forbidden love.

Publication Date 28/10/2022

***The King of the Undead: A Supernatural Academy Paranormal Romance (Of Knights and Monsters Book 2) by Corinne m. Knight***

My Review

I dove into The King of the Undead right after finishing the first book in Corinne M. Knight’s Of Knights and Monsters series, and it felt like the perfect escalation. Watching Vlad wrestle with his growing pull toward Alessandra while racing through the shadowed halls of Roslyn Academy to confront the Order’s attack kept me completely locked in. The way the story balances that forbidden heat with the frantic search for a power strong enough to turn the tide, and the jarring leap into another realm when he finds the sarcophagus lands with real impact. It’s a fast, steamy, twist filled ride that deepens the characters and the larger conflict without wasting a page. By the time I hit the ending I was already impatient for the next installment. If you like paranormal academy stories with genuine stakes and chemistry that actually simmers, this one delivers.

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Read on KU

#indieloveswales

#booksigning

#readingchallenge

I’ve actually got this book on my shelves. I want to take it and hopefully get the author to sign it.

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

The Marquess’s Forbidden Bride: Enemy families and secret courtship! A Regency romance for fans of fiery debutantes and hot soldiers! (Soldiers to Heirs Book 3) by Julia Justiss

Description

Secret courtship…With the enemy!

A Soldiers to Heirs story: Lieutenant Charles Marsden returns from war and inherits the title of marquess from a father he never knew! Unsettled by his new status, he’s more grateful than ever for the guidance of well-connected debutante Miss Emma Wellingford, even if their families are enemies…

Craving independence over marriage, Emma agreed to a pact with Charles—fend off each other’s unwanted suitors. But Emma struggles as the arrangement brings them closer than is proper, for Charles is now the kind of titled gentleman she swore never to marry. As they’re forced to hide their courtship from their feuding families, their bond feels even more forbidden…

Perfect for fans of:

💘 Forbidden love

🚨 Romance in uniform

Publication Date 24/9/2026

The Marquess’s Forbidden Bride: Enemy families and secret courtship! A Regency romance for fans of fiery debutantes and hot soldiers! (Soldiers to Heirs Book 3) by Julia Justiss

My Review

The Marquess’s Forbidden Bride is a classic Regency romance that delivers the forbidden tension and quiet emotional story that I love.

Julia Justiss returns to the Soldiers to Heirs series with Lieutenant Charles Marsden, a man thrust into the unexpected role of marquess after returning from war and inheriting a title from a father he never knew….

Unsettled by his new status, he leans on the guidance of well connected debutante Emma Wellingford, even though their families have long been enemies.

Emma is a refreshing heroine who values independence over marriage and has no interest in becoming a titled wife.

Their pact to fend off unwanted suitors starts as a practical arrangement, but the proximity and shared secrets quickly turn it into something far more intimate and dangerous.

The slow shift from allies to something deeper with care, letting the growing attraction feel both inevitable and properly scandalous given the family feud…. The need to hide their courtship only heightens the sense of the forbidden, and the moments of stolen connection made me smile. 😊

What I liked most is how both characters are forced to confront their assumptions.

Charles must navigate the rigid world of the ton while still carrying the soldier’s sensibility that first drew Emma to him, and Emma must decide whether her determination never to marry a man of rank is stronger than the feelings she can no longer deny.

The family enmity provides solid external conflict without overwhelming the central relationship, and the 1830s setting is rendered with the author’s usual attention to social detail and period manners.

As the third book in the series it stands comfortably on its own.

The tone is warm, the romance is properly restrained yet simmering, and the resolution feels earned.

If you enjoy fiery debutantes, honorable soldiers navigating sudden titles, and a secret courtship that defies family expectations, this one offers a satisfying, well crafted escape into the Regency world.

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Wales Book Signing Challenge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿📚🦋

My second day in my reading challenge, we have B.A. Pepper, Bailey Grayson and Becca Steele

DAY TWO

Daughter of Stone (Wielder of Broken Realms Saga Book 1) by B. A. Pepper

Description

Born into a family blessed by the gods, for years, Non believed she was powerless.

After failing her initiation ceremony, Non is left with nothing. No power, no friends, and she becomes her family’s greatest disappointment. But one night of heavy drinking and heartbreak changes everything.

Non is thrust back into a world she thought she’d left behind. Forced to reconnect with her estranged grandmother and enter a series of deadly trials to prove her worth as a vassal to the gods, Non discovers that her power is unlike any other. There’s a darkness inside that threatens to consume her.

Not one to do things by halves, Non finds herself drawn to a rival coven’s dangerously charming and very off-limits second-in-command. Will she fall in line and follow the path of light set out by her grandmother? Or will she let darkness prevail?

Inspired by Welsh Mythology and Legends, Daughter of Stone is a story of light/dark magic, found family, and forbidden romance.

Publication Date 31/10/2025

Daughter of Stone (Wielder of Broken Realms Saga Book 1) by B. A. Pepper

My Review

Non, born into a god blessed family, has always felt powerless, especially after bombing her initiation ceremony, losing her friends, and becoming her family’s biggest letdown. A night of heartbreak and heavy drinking flips her world, she’s thrust back into the magical fray, reconnecting with her estranged grandmother and facing deadly trials to prove herself as a divine vassal. What emerges is a unique, dark power that could consume her, pulling her toward forbidden romance with the dangerously charming second in command of a rival coven. The story weaves light vs. dark magic, found family bonds, high stakes trials, and a rivals to lovers tension that keeps the pages turning.

The author’s Welsh inspired world building shines, authentic lore, witchy vibes, and a fresh magic system that feels immersive without overwhelming. It’s got emotional depth (family disappointment, self doubt, inner darkness), swoony forbidden romance, and that addictive romantasy mix of action, spice, and heart. It reads like a polished gem cinematic, immersive, and full of twists.

If you love forbidden romance, dark/light power struggles, and found family vibes then give this one a go. If you’re craving a fresh, witchy, high stakes series starter with Welsh flair and plenty of heat, this one is a must add to your TBR, it casts a spell you won’t want to break.

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Sunshine and the Vamp (Morozov Family) by Bailey Grayson

Description

Best intentions can go suck it.

I walked into a dark alley with the best of intentions and look where that got me. Drugged, kidnapped and thrown into a world I didn’t even know existed.

Now I’m being held captive by a hot as sin vampire, whilst trying not to be killed by his wife and, oh yeah, he’s the leader of the Russian Mob and I’m suddenly a target. Go me.

Safe to say, I’m not sure I’ll do anything for anyone ever again.

Follow Benji as he learns about vampires, the Russian mob and tries to dodge a knife wielding soon-to-be ex wife. There are curse words, graphic sexual scenes and lots of blood (hey, it’s a book about vampires…). Recommended for 18+ only.

Publication Date 24/3/2025

Sunshine and the Vamp (Morozov Family) by Bailey Grayson

My Review

Sunshine and the Vamp (Morozov Family #1) by Bailey Grayson is a dark, paranormal MM (male/male) romance that blends vampire lore, mafia intrigue, and a classic “sunshine/grumpy” dynamic. It’s the first in the Morozov Family series and follows Benji (the optimistic, kind hearted “sunshine” human) who gets kidnapped into the supernatural underworld after a good deed gone wrong. He’s held by Damyr, a powerful, brooding vampire who’s also the head of the Russian mob (or at least a major player in it), while navigating threats from Damyr’s dangerous wife and the broader dangers of this hidden world.

The book’s description nails the tone… it’s chaotic, sarcastic, and self aware, with Benji’s inner monologue delivering snarky commentary on his absurd situation (“Go me”). Expect tropes like forced proximity, enemies to lovers vibes (with a captive twist), grumpy/sunshine banter, explicit scenes and a mix of danger, humor, and eventual romance.

Overall, it’s a good read especially if you enjoy darker, steamier stories with humor to balance the captivity/kidnapping elements, possessive vibes, and found family potential in the series. It delivers entertaining escapism with strong chemistry between the leads.

If you’re into books like dark MM romance (think forced bonds, morally gray alphas, and sunshine characters who melt them), this one hit the spot.

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Trick Me Twice: An Enemies to Lovers New Adult Bully Romance by Becca Steele

Description

Keep my head down and make it through my final year of school without attracting any attention.

That was my plan.

The thing about plans? They change.

One day, I was an invisible loner, the next, my name was on everyone’s lips.

Why?

I caught the attention of the wrong person.

I tricked Carter Blackthorne, the king of Alstone High.

He found out.

And now?

Now, he’s making me pay.

It’s time for you to pay the price. You tricked me once, but you won’t trick me twice.

Ready or not, here I come…

Trick Me Twice is a standalone new adult

M/F romance with bullying and enemies to lovers themes. This book contains mature situations and content.

Publication Date 22/10/2020

Trick Me Twice: An Enemies to Lovers New Adult Bully Romance by Becca Steele

My Review

Trick Me Twice (Alstone High #1) by Becca Steele is a standalone new adult enemies to lovers bully romance set in a high school environment. It follows Raine, a quiet, anxious loner determined to stay invisible in her final year, whose plan crumbles when she tricks (and humiliates) Carter Blackthorne the arrogant, popular “king” of Alstone High. Carter retaliates with targeted bullying, revenge pranks, and intense pursuit, turning their dynamic into a heated push/pull of hate, tension, and undeniable chemistry. The story leans into classic dark bully romance tropes….. possessive alpha male, strong but vulnerable heroine dealing with real issues like anxiety, forced proximity, jealousy, and eventual redemption. It’s dual POV, fast paced, and packed with angst, steam (mature/explicit content), suspense elements, and a satisfying enemies to lovers arc and add addictive tension, great banter, and chemistry between Raine and Carter, plus fun Halloween vibes (masks, chasing scenes). If you enjoy darker high school romances like those with revenge, possessiveness, and groveling redemption, this delivers entertaining escapism without being overly heavy.

Overall, it’s a quick, steamy, and satisfying romance.

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🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Worth The Trade: An MM Hockey Romance (Montreal Phantoms Book 1) by Riley Bauer

Description

Montreal traded its future for Eero Mäkinen. Matty Soucy only offered him a spare room.

Eero arrives in Montreal with a championship ring, a firebird tattoo, and a seven-year contract everyone in the city has an opinion about. He plans to keep his head down, prove he was worth the price, and follow the rule that has protected him for years: never get involved with a teammate.

Then his new roommate starts cooking for two.

Matty is supposed to help Montreal’s high-profile acquisition settle in. He is not supposed to become obsessed with the deadpan Finn taking over his kitchen, or with the fact that Eero sees straight through every joke Matty uses to hide. For the first time, Matty wants a man. For the first time in a very long while, Eero wants something he can’t afford to lose.

Their solution is simple: keep it secret, and keep it feelings free.

It lasts about as long as any plan involving two hockey players, one spare bedroom, and a judgmental cat should.

Soon Eero is finding a place inside Matty’s family and Montreal’s locker room. Matty is learning every silence Eero owns. And the life they refuse to name is becoming the most real thing either of them has.

But when the pressure attached to Eero’s price tag begins to break him, Matty’s instinct to protect turns into the one thing Eero cannot accept: someone else deciding his future.

Worth the Trade is a steamy MM hockey romance featuring former rivals, forced proximity, roommates to lovers, teammates with benefits, grumpy/sunshine energy, a bisexual awakening, a secret relationship, found family, one judgmental cat, and a hard-won HEA. This is the first book in the Montreal Phantoms series.

Publication Date 1/10/2026

Worth The Trade: An MM Hockey Romance (Montreal Phantoms Book 1) by Riley Bauer

My Review

Worth The Trade hooked me from the opening trade announcement and never let go.

This is the first book in her new Montreal Phantoms.

Eero Mäkinen arrives in Montreal carrying a championship ring, a massive contract, and the weight of an entire city’s expectations. His plan is simple…. keep his head down, prove he was worth the price, and never get involved with a teammate….. Then Matty Soucy offers him a spare room and starts cooking for two, and every carefully constructed boundary begins to crack.

Matty is pure warmth and deflection, the kind of guy who hides everything important behind jokes and easy hospitality. Watching him become quietly obsessed with Eero taking over his kitchen is pure delight. For the first time he wants a man, and for the first time in a long while Eero wants something he cannot afford to lose.

Their attempt to keep things secret and feelings free lasts about as long as any plan involving two hockey players, one spare bedroom, (and don’t forget the cat 😝) ever should.

The slow slide from roommates to something far more intimate is handled with the perfect mix of tension, humor, and aching restraint.

What makes the story is how the external pressure of Eero’s trade value starts to break him, and how Matty’s instinct to protect becomes the very thing Eero cannot accept. That conflict feels real and painful without ever turning melodramatic.

The author writes the locker room found family, the quiet domestic moments, and the sharp edged vulnerability of two men learning each other’s silences with real care.

The chemistry is strong, the banter lands, and the emotional payoff is earned.

By the end I was fully invested in both the relationship and the team around them.

If you love MM hockey romance with forced proximity, secret relationships, bi awakening energy, and the kind of found family that makes a locker room feel like home, this one delivers.

I finished it already, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the Montreal Phantoms series and already missing Eero, Matty, and that judgmental cat.

Highly recommended. 🏒

🦋

Wales Book Signing Challenge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿📚🦋

First off in my Reading Challenge are: Ali Williams/Ellie Rose. Alys J. Clarke and Amy Davies. (I’m only reading a book by Ellie Rose and not her other alias.)

DAY ONE

A Little’s Unicorn: A Stuffie Hospital Romance by Ellie Rose

Description

Lillie Cooper loves her brand new job at Stuffie Hospital, where she helps restore well-loved stuffies to their former glory. It’s the perfect job for a secret Little, and means that she doesn’t miss having a Daddy quite so much.

When journalist Aiden Havers comes to interview the SH team for the local paper, he’s quick to notice how quiet Lillie lights up when she talks about her patients. But when he discovers that she has none of her own, he goes on a mission to find her the perfect stuffie…

Visit Stuffie Hospital, a fluffy and steamy romance series, where toys get a new lease of life and queer Littles get their very own happy ever afters!

Publication Date 22/11/2022

***A Little’s Unicorn: A Stuffie Hospital Romance by Ellie Rose***

My Review

A Little’s Unicorn: A Stuffie Hospital Romance (Stuffie Hospital #1) by Ellie Rose is an adorably fluffy, steamy DDLG novella that kicks off a charming queer-inclusive series centered on a magical place where beloved toys get restored and Littles find love.

Lillie Cooper, a secret Little thrives in her new role at Stuffie Hospital, pouring her heart into mending “patients” while quietly longing for a Daddy and her own stuffie. When journalist Aiden Havers arrives for an interview, he spots her passion immediately and embarks on a sweet mission to gift her the perfect unicorn companion, sparking instant chemistry and tender caregiving dynamics.

The author nails the cozy, feel good vibe with gentle age play elements, heartfelt vulnerability, and plenty of heat, it’s kinky yet wholesome, emphasizing consent, neurodiversity, and emotional healing. The story moves quickly as a short read, blending cute stuffie focused moments with romantic and spicy scenes, leading to a satisfying HEA.

Perfect for fans of sweet DDLG romance with queer rep, stuffie play, and low angst escapism.

It’s a delightful, heartwarming treat that’s equal parts tender and tantalizing.

Highly recommended if you’re in the mood for something uplifting and spicy!

🦋🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿📚

The Import Slot: A strangers to lovers British hockey romance (Elite Hockey Book 1) by Alys J. Clarke

Description

One season. That’s all Ryan Preston has to get through.

After seven years in the NHL, he’s set for a new contract — until his twin brother asks for the biggest favour imaginable. Swap places. Play a year in the UK so Liam can take his shot at the big league. Ryan agrees, because it’s only temporary. One season, then he’ll be back in Canada where he belongs.

Jenna Roberts has one rule: no hockey players.

She’s grown up around the game, and she knows exactly what they’re like. Freshly single, out of work, and back living with her parents, the last thing she needs is a distraction in skates.

But the more time she spends with Ryan, the harder it is to deny the connection between them. Friends… sure. That’s safe. Until friendship starts to look a lot like something more.

He’s not supposed to stay.
She’s not supposed to fall.
But some rules are meant to be broken.

Tropes you’ll find inside:

Teammate’s best friend

Cinnamon-roll Canadian MMC

Curvy British FMC

Friends to lovers

He falls first

Hockey romance with plenty of on-ice action

Publication Date 30/9/2023

My Review

The Import Slot: A strangers to lovers British hockey romance (Elite Hockey Book 1) by Alys J. Clarke is a delightful, low angst sports romance that brings fresh energy to the hockey romance genre with its unique UK setting and sweet, swoony vibes.

Ryan Preston, a seasoned NHL player, swaps places with his twin brother for one season in the British Elite League to give Liam a shot at the big time. It’s meant to be temporary no attachments, no complications. Enter Jenna Roberts, a curvy, no nonsense British woman with a strict “no hockey players” rule after growing up around the sport. Freshly single and navigating life changes, she’s not looking for romance, especially not with the charming Canadian import who’s suddenly everywhere.

What starts as reluctant proximity (thanks to the teammate’s best friend connection) blooms into genuine friendship, playful banter, and undeniable chemistry. Clarke shines with her cinnamon roll hero Ryan is flirty, attentive, and falls first (and hard), delivering all the butterflies and swoon worthy moments. Jenna is a strong, relatable FMC who holds her ground while slowly letting her walls down. The friends to lovers progression feels natural, with plenty of teasing flirtation, steamy tension, and on-ice action to keep the hockey element alive.

The British setting adds a fun twist think pub vibes, different league dynamics, and cultural charm setting it apart from typical North American hockey romances. It’s spicy without being overwhelming, low on drama (no major third act breakup), and packed with heart, humor, and a satisfying HEA. Dual POV keeps things engaging, and the instalove undertones are balanced by real emotional growth.

It’s a quick, feel-good read perfect for hockey romance fans craving something lighter and sweeter.

A highly recommended read for anyone who loves cinnamon roll MMCs, curvy FMCs, he falls first energy, and a British hockey twist! If you’re in a sports romance mood, this one delivers the goals.

🦋📚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

War’s Witch by Amy Davies

Description

Mason ‘War’ Naylor never wanted an Ol’ Lady. He was happy being a Three Kings MC Nomad, riding his motorcycle wherever the road called him.

But she called to him more…

The second she strutted into the Las Vegas clubhouse wearing a sexy little witch costume to their annual Halloween party, she had him bewitched.

He knew one night with her would never be enough, so he followed her home, vowing to stake his claim and make her his.

When his claim is threatened, and his enemies want to do her harm, he calls on the war raging inside his soul to protect her, ready to curse anyone who dared to take his Cleo away.

Publication Date 21/10/2025

My Review

War’s Witch by Amy Davies is a steamy, fast paced biker romance novella.

The story follows Mason “War” Naylor, a committed nomad with the Three Kings MC who has zero interest in settling down, until he spots Cleo in a sexy witch costume at the club’s Halloween party. Instant attraction sparks, leading to a possessive insta claim, pursuit, and protective instincts when threats emerge from his world.

It’s classic MC romance territory…. alpha biker, fated connection, danger, and a determined heroine who bewitches the hero. This author delivers the heat, possessiveness, and action that I love.

At around 146 pages, it’s a quick, entertaining read, seductive, swoony, and entertaining without dragging.

It’s sinfully seductive and captivating, making it a solid read for those who love possessive bikers, instant chemistry, and light suspense in a short format.

If you’re into trope heavy, spicy biker romances with a seasonal flair, this one casts a spell worth indulging in.

🦋📚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

📚Wales book signing 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

On Saturday 24th of October there is a book signing I’m attending.

In fact I signed up to be an influencer. And as you can see, I’m an influencer attending 😜

I’ve set myself a challenge….. To read a book from every author attending.

I’m going to do a blog a day with three authors on one page.

These are the authors attending (barring any cancellations)

ALI WILLIAMS/ELLIE ROSE

ALYS J. CLARKE

AMY DAVIES

B.A.PEPPER

BAILEY GRAYSON

BECCA STEELE

CHARLIE NOVAK

CORI ZAHARA

CORINNE EDIAL

CORINNE M. KNIGH

CRYSTAL NORTH

D.V. WILLIAMS

DANI ELIAS

ELENOR POUNTAIN

ELLE REID

ELLY OSENTON

ELOUISE EAST

EVELYN FLOOD

FRANCIS LACE

GEM L PRESTON

HARLEIGH BECK

HAYLEY PIERCE

HOLLY MARCH

JAC FRANKLIN

JASMINE WALLACE

JODI OLIVER

K. L. THORNE

K.L. TAYLOR-LANE

KATHERINE ISAAC

KELSEY HODGE

L G CAMPBELL

L.R DOUGLAS

LILLIANA O’NEILL

LIZZIE JAMES

LOWRI CHARLES

LYNDSEY HALL

MADDISON COLE

MADELYNNE ELLIS

MAISIE MYERS

MELODY MODE

MICHELLE DUPS

NICOLE HART

RAE SIMMONS/CASSIDY LANE

REBECCA CHASE

RHIANNE WILLIAMS

RIPLEY HAYES

ROSIE EAST

S LUCAS

SAMANTHA JAYNE

SEBASTIAN SHARPE

Are you going to the book signing?

Are there any authors on the page that you’ve read, or on the TBR?

🦋🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿📚

#booksigning

#indieloveswales

#readingchallenge

And lastly. These are the wonderful authors that are sponsoring the event. Thank you for your support. ❤️

WELCOME TO OCTOBER🍂

Things going on this month:

🎃 it’s Halloween this month. (Has to be my favourite month.)

🎂 it would have been my Gran’s birthday this month.

🎂 It’s my twin niece’s birthday this month.

📚 A book signing that I’m excited to attend. Swansea (Wales) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 #IndielovesWales (more on that to follow)

👩🏻 Got a day out planned with my youngest sister (it’s a catch up for me/photo opportunity for my sister 😜)

Arcs I’ve signed up for and hope to read.

🤞Worth The Trade: An MM Hockey Romance (Montreal Phantoms Book 1) by Riley Bauer

🤞Pucking Content: A Grumpy Sunshine, Golden Retriever, One-Night Stand, Hockey Romance by Victoria Jayne

🤞Ruthless Game: a dark college hockey romance (Kings of Reina University Book 3) by Jo Brenner

Books on my TBR I’m hoping to read. 🎃I’m going to try to read a few themed books this month.🎃

♥️ Hoarding His Halloween: A Dragon’s Mate Holiday Short by Dawn McGraw

🎃 Pumpkin Spice, Knotty Nights: A Cozy Omegaverse Romance (Whispering Grove Book 3) by Harley Knight

♥️ A Very Grumpy Halloween (Wolf Valley: A Very Grumpy Holiday Book 2) by Shaw Hart

BOOKS DUE FOR RELEASE :

🎃 The Book of Gemini: A dark, whychoose, assassin romance by TL Hamilton

👻 Under Kid’s Protection: Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City, OK (Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City Chapter Book 2) by Victoria Jayne

🎃 His Guilty Pleasure (Montgomery Ink Legacy Book 11) by Carrie Ann Ryan

👻 Jalon by Crea Reitan

🎃 Worth The Trade: An MM Hockey Romance (Montreal Phantoms Book 1) by Riley Bauer

👻 Ruthless Game: a dark college hockey romance (Kings of Reina University Book 3) by Jo Brenner

Are there any books this month you’re looking forward to reading?

Are there any books you’d like to recommend?

🦋

📚 BOOKS I READ IN SEPTEMBER 📚

📚 BOOKS I READ IN SEPTEMBER 📚

The Book of Leo: A Why Choose Assassin Romance (Zodiac Killers 3) by Crystal North

Sanctuary of Lies (Hawkthorpe) by J Rose

Hellebore by Joan Morven

Hades’ Revenge: A Dark Age Gap Romance (Morally Gray Gods Book 1) by Ella Jade

Knights of Deceit and Desire (The Lustbound Curse Book 2) by KC Kingmaker

Vile Acts (Legacy of Deth Book 2) by Crea Reitan

Whispered Promises (Not Yours Duet Book 1)by Issy Eva

At First Catch: A Friends-to-Lovers, Small Town Romance (Coral Bell Cove Book 5) by Renee Harless

The Book of Aquarius: A Spicy Why Choose MMFM Romance (Zodiac Killers 9) by K.L. Thorne

The Daft King (Whispers and Fates Book 1) by Daphne Ryan

Hexy Beast (The Sherwood Witches Book 3) by Avery Flynn

Pretty Thing: A dark psychological romance about trauma, obsession, and the danger of mistaking isolation for protection. (Pieces of Despair Duet Book 1) by Brooklyn Cross

Yours Truly, Fall: A Small Town, Forced Proximity, Firefighter Romance by S.L. Scott

Flare (Embers of Us) by Jessica Jude

Wolf Crowned: An enemies-to-lovers rejected mate fae / shifter romantasy (Bound to the Shadow King Book 3) by Felicity Heaton

A Murderous Omega: A Dark Romcom Omegaverse Novella by Penny Foxglove

A.l. Human (Lietvia Galaxy Book 2) by MK Stephenson

Pretty Savage. The Order. Book Two: Defy: A Southern Gothic Dark Academia Novel by Lexi Davis

🏒Lose You Twice (PCU Ice Storm Book 2) by Riley Paige

Almost Functional by Elen Gait

Lifeline by Emily Lockwood (sent by author )

Blood and Trouble (RBMC: Helena, MT Book 3) by Jena Doyle

Rage (Shadow Security Book 2) by Kat mizera

Shadows in the Code by Collin Tobin (paperback sent by the Author)

Rhodes (Van Doren) by Crea Reitan

Now their starlet (Starletverse Book 2) by Callie Clark

The Price of Uncreation (The Faceless Chronicles Book 4) by Grant Pierce

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

The Book of Leo: A Why Choose Assassin Romance (Zodiac Killers 3) by Crystal North

Description

I don’t fear monsters. I hunt them.

By day, Dr. Zara Nightingale is a senior biochemist at DSTL – overlooked, underestimated, and dismissed as the pretty blonde in the room.

By night, she becomes Leo, one of the Guild’s deadliest Zodiac assassins.

Seductive. Theatrical. Traceless.

Her first mission is simple: eliminate a modern-day Jack the Ripper who has terrorised London for years.

Her second mission is not so easy.

She’s ordered to eliminate a corrupt politician whose power reaches far beyond the UK – into boardrooms, governments, and blood-soaked back channels across Europe.

Everything fractures the moment she crosses paths with:

Fox – the infuriating, cocky Guild assassin sent to monitor her every move.

Elias – the soft-hearted son of her target, who sees past her masks and makes her hesitate.

Cole – the elegant right-hand man of her target who looks like a villain but may just be her most dangerous ally.

Three men.

Three threats.

Three obsessions.

When a conspiracy inside the Guild rises to the surface, Zara must decide who to trust, who to love…

and who to kill.

But the lioness doesn’t bow.

She hunts.

And this time, she isn’t hunting alone.

~~~

The Book Of Leo is a dark reverse-harem assassin romance with high tension, steamy chemistry, and a guaranteed HEA.

Publication Date 29/9/2026

The Book of Leo: A Why Choose Assassin Romance (Zodiac Killers 3) by Crystal North

My Review

I finished The Book of Leo in a state of quiet satisfaction mixed with the residual adrenaline that only a well executed dark romance can leave behind.

Crystal North has taken the why choose framework and fused it with the high stakes precision of an assassin narrative, and the result feels fresh and dangerous.

That internal fracture forces her to decide not only who she loves, but who she is willing to kill for, and who she is willing to kill despite loving.

Zara never becomes a saint, nor does she revel in cruelty for its own sake. She remains a predator who has begun to question the shape of the cage she was trained inside.

The quieter moments between the characters are equally well judged, the hesitation, the unexpected tenderness, the reluctant trust all feel earned rather than manufactured for heat.

This is not a gentle romance. It is bloody, obsessive, and frequently ruthless. Yet it never loses sight of the woman at its centre who refuses to bow.

By the final pages I felt the same fierce protectiveness toward Zara that her three men clearly feel, and that, more than any particular scene, is the mark of a story that has done its work.

This author has delivered a strong story in the Zodiac Killers universe. one that stands on its own while leaving the door open for the larger shared world to expand.

I closed the book already hungry for the next sign.

🦋

🚢 READING/REVIEWS 🚢

There are three reviews on this post. I read them whilst on holiday. I couldn’t post as I was in the middle of the ocean at the time 😉 so as soon as I got home, I posted them.

Love Me Not: DI Helen Grace 7 (Detective Inspector Helen Grace, 7) by M.J. Arlidge

Description

A blood-red sunrise

Just after 7 AM DI Helen Grace stumbles on a dead woman lying in a country road. She has been brutally shot for no apparent reason.

Two hours later

At gunpoint a shopkeeper is forced to close up by two assailants. Before the police can get inside a single gunshot rings out.

A rampage of revenge?

Over one long day the town of Southampton is terrorized by two young killers who appear to be killing at random.

For DI Helen Grace, it’s a race against time.

Uncover why they’re doing this and who’s next – or always be one step behind . . .

Publication Date 21/9/2017

Love Me Not: DI Helen Grace 7 (Detective Inspector Helen Grace, 7) by M.J. Arlidge

My Review

I’d not read M.J. Arlidge before, but the blurb and cover drew me in.

Love Me Not, is a high stakes thriller that unfolds almost entirely over a single, tension filled day in Southampton. (How spooky, I’m in Southampton to start a three day cruise 😜!)

The story kicks off when DI Helen Grace stumbles upon a brutally murdered woman on a country road during her morning commute.

What follows is a terrifying spree of seemingly random shootings by two young killers, forcing Helen and her team into a desperate race against time. 😮

Short, sharp but punchy chapters marked by timestamps keep the momentum relentless and make the book impossible to put down.

The killers’ motives are cleverly tied into the broader series arc without feeling contrived, and the “who’s next?” puzzle keeps you guessing. While the core premise (random/seeming rampage) isn’t entirely groundbreaking, the tight execution, strong character work, and relentless pace more than make up for it.

A fast, addictive read that’s best enjoyed if you’re caught up with the series. (So it looks like I’ll be heading back to Amazon 😉)

Perfect for fans of gritty, character driven British crime thrillers who love a ticking clock atmosphere.

I’ll definitely be continuing with Helen’s story.

🦋

The Odd Sisters by Serena Valentino

Description

When the truth about the odd sisters is revealed, will anything be the same again?

Throughout the course of time, three witches – Lucinda, Ruby and Martha – have changed the fates of the greatest villains ever known. They’ve turned innocents into monsters and left chaos in their wake.

Now those they have wronged throughout the many kingdoms demand justice and the secrets of the twisted, diabolical odd sisters are about to be revealed…

Publication Date 21/7/2019

My Review

The Odd Sisters by Serena Valentino is a solid, lore packed that is part of the Disney Villains series.

It finally dives deep into the chaotic lives of Lucinda, Ruby, and Martha, the meddling witches who’ve been pulling strings behind many classic villains.

Through journals and revelations, we get their tragic origins, family secrets, and the full extent of their twisted influence, with Circe and Snow White playing key roles in confronting the fallout.

The book delivers satisfying connections across the series, emotional themes of sisterhood, motherhood, and the cost of meddling with fate, plus the sisters’ signature unhinged energy.

However, it’s heavy on exposition and dialogue, which slows the pace at times. Some resolutions feel a bit convenient, and it’s definitely not very standalone you’ll enjoy it most if you’ve read the previous books. (So that’s me starting at the beginning then 🙄)

Recommended for fans who want the Odd Sisters’ backstory.

It’s dark, whimsical, and expands the villainous mythos nicely, even if it drags in places.

A must read if you’re already invested in the series.

🦋

Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land

Description

Can we ever escape our past?

Annie’s mother is a serial killer. And the only way Annie can make it stop is to hand her in to the police.

Now with a new foster family and a new name – Milly – she’s hoping for a fresh start.

But as her mother’s trial looms, the secrets of Milly’s past won’t let her sleep . . .

Publication Date 12/1/2017

My Review

Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land is a chilling, voice driven psychological thriller that stuck with me long after I finished it.

Told entirely from the perspective of 15 year old Milly (formerly Annie), whose mother is a serial killer of children!

The book explores her attempt at a fresh start in a foster family while her mother’s trial looms. The big question, nature or nurture? hangs over every page….. Can Milly truly escape her past, or is she doomed to become her mother’s daughter?

What I loved most was the way it was written. It’s raw, and deeply immersive, perfectly capturing Milly’s fractured, anxious inner world. The book is tense and unsettling without relying on constant gore, it digs into trauma, bullying, family dysfunction, and the desperate desire to be “good.”

Milly is a complex character, you root for her even as you wonder about her darker impulses!

It’s not a light or easy read (trigger warnings for child abuse, violence, and psychological distress), but it’s gripping and thought provoking. The foster family dynamics add extra layers of unease, and the ending delivers a strong payoff.

A book that blends character study with suspense.

If you enjoy dark psychological thrillers like The Girl on the Train (with a younger narrator), this one is highly recommended.

It messed with my head, in the best way.

🦋

The little library on the ship we were cruising on. I left the three books I read. I didn’t bring anything back (husband says I have enough!)

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Sanctuary of Lies (Hawkthorpe) by J Rose

Description

In a dark, why-choose romance about the healing power of chosen family, a woman finds sanctuary in a remote town and in the arms of three men desperate to claim her—even as her abusive past continues to hunt her down.

Everleigh Banks has a secret.

Living under a false identity, she’s plagued by the lingering trauma of her husband’s cruelty. Hiding in the small town of Hawkthorpe is a last-ditch effort to bury the evil she’s fled.

It’s a fresh start, but she didn’t count on three complications carrying their own demons to steal her fragile heart and refuse to surrender it.

There’s Sterling, hot-tempered and gruff, a widower grieving his wife’s mysterious death. Leo, Sterling’s adoptive brother, the playful optimist who seeks to fix everyone. And Fletcher, the stoic former pilot, struggling with survivor’s guilt from the crash that stole his voice.

Their love defies limits, but under the cloak of snow-capped mountains, these four are happy to share.

As Everleigh’s lies spiral out of control, she’ll have to face her past to protect their future. Because no matter how deep the darkest secrets are buried, some ghosts can’t be outrun.

And this ghost wants his wife back.

Publication Date 29/9/2026

Sanctuary of Lies (Hawkthorpe) by J Rose

My Review

Sanctuary of Lies by J. Rose pulled me in with that quiet, aching promise of a woman trying to disappear into a small mountain town and somehow finding herself instead.

Everleigh Banks arrives in Hawkthorpe under a false name, carrying the kind of trauma that settles into the bones and makes every soft moment feel dangerous.

But she’s not a damsel waiting to be saved, she is a woman in her thirties who has already survived the worst of it and is still learning how to claim space for herself. And that alone made her story different for me.

There is something deeply satisfying about watching a character who is no longer young and shiny figure out that healing does not have an expiration date.

The three men who circle her Sterling, Leo, and Fletcher are each carrying their own heavy histories, and the way the author lets those wounds interact without turning the book into a trauma olympics feels careful and intentional.

Sterling’s grief is sharp and sometimes ugly. Leo’s relentless optimism has a brittle edge. Fletcher’s silence after the crash that stole his voice becomes its own language of protection and longing.

Watching them slowly decide that Everleigh is worth the risk of opening up again, and watching her decide the same about them, is the heart of the book.

The why choose dynamic never feels like a checklist of tropes. It grows out of genuine connection and the slow realization that safety can look like three pairs of arms instead of one.

Th author does not shy away from the darkness of Everleigh’s past. The threat of her abusive husband hangs over everything, and the tension of secrets that cannot stay buried forever keeps the suspense humming.

Yet the story never loses sight of the softer moments, the small town, the found family that expands beyond the central quartet, the tentative laughter that starts to feel earned.

The romance is steamy when it needs to be. These characters love messily and protectively, and the book makes space for that mess without rushing to tidy it up.

Sanctuary of Lies is not a light read, but it is a rewarding one.

It understands that chosen family can be the place where the ghosts finally lose their power, and that sometimes the only way to outrun the past is to stop running and let the right people stand between you and whatever is still chasing you.

For anyone who likes their dark romance laced with real emotional weight and a hard won happy ending that does not feel cheap, this one is worth the journey into the mountains.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW🎉

Hellebore by Joan Morven

Description

“She is my salvation. The only thing that can drag me out of the abyss I was born into.”

He spent six years dreaming of the only woman he ever loved.

She spent six years trying to forget the worst night of her life.

When Drystan Rowe returns, neither of them realizes the past isn’t finished with them.

Hidden betrayals, deadly secrets, and a darkness that has waited years to strike forces them into a nightmare where love becomes obsession, obsession becomes devotion, and survival demands blood.

Because someone has been waiting for Drystan to come home.

And this time…

They aren’t coming for him.

They’re coming for her.

This is a stalker gothic dark romance told in first-person POV by both main characters. Please check the author’s website for a full list of content warnings.

Publication Date 28/9/2026

My Review

Hellebore by Joan Morven is the kind of dark gothic romance that sinks its claws in early and refuses to let go.

From the opening pages, the story of Drystan Rowe and the woman he has obsessed over for six years feels less like a reunion and more like the inevitable collision of two people who were never truly free of each other.

He spent those years in the abyss, clinging to the memory of her as the only light that could pull him out…..

She spent them trying to bury the worst night of her life….. (we do find out, and I’d suggest a box of tissues 😢)

When he finally returns, neither of them understands that the past has been waiting, patient and hungry, ready to claim them both.

What i liked most was the way it handles the slow, inevitable slide from love into obsession and then into something darker and more consuming.

Drystan is not a soft hero. He is a man forged in shadows, and his devotion is absolute, bordering on the unhinged.

But the woman he finds is no longer the girl he once watched from afar. She carries her own darkness now, and the chemistry between them is charged with equal parts longing and dread. (He wants to know what happened to her,) he left her sweet and innocent, now she drinks to oblivion, finds male company and dresses like night itself!

Their relationship becomes a living thing that demands blood and sacrifice, and the story never shies away from that cost.

The atmosphere is pure gothic intensity.

Hellebore Mansion itself feels like a character, heavy with secrets and the weight of old betrayals.

Hidden threats circle closer with every chapter, and the sense that someone has been waiting for Drystan’s return, not for him but for her, creates a constant undercurrent of menace.

The writing is lush and immersive without ever becoming overwrought, letting the tension build in the quiet moments as much as in the explosive ones.

This is not a gentle romance. It is possessive, dangerous, and steeped in the kind of devotion that can destroy as easily as it saves.

The author leans hard into the moral gray areas, forcing the us to sit with the discomfort of characters who love too fiercely and protect too ruthlessly.

The result is a story that lingers long after the final page, leaving you unsettled and oddly satisfied in equal measure.

If you crave dark romance that prioritizes atmosphere, obsession, and the thin line between salvation and ruin, Hellebore delivers exactly that. 🖤

🦋

*copy supplied for review

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Hades’ Revenge: A Dark Age Gap Romance (Morally Gray Gods Book 1) by Ella Jade

Description

When a vicious assassin is banished from the life he’s known, he starts over only to be tempted by the goddaughter he hasn’t seen in almost twenty years.

Hades

Vindictive, malicious, some would even say sadistic…

I couldn’t argue with any of those assessments. We are who we are. I’m a vengeful assassin who will stop at nothing to make those who wronged me pay. And I’m thirsty for revenge.

Eighteen years ago, I took the fall for a man who was like a brother to me. I even vowed to protect his daughter by becoming her godfather— and then he betrayed me.

Two decades later, his daughter, now a stunning woman strolls into my life, having no idea who I am or what I’m capable of. Capri takes an unhealthy interest in me, the older and dangerous man, and I don’t do anything to discourage her. I welcome her obsession because it suits me.

When her infatuation with me grows stronger, I prove just how vindictive, malicious, and sadistic I really am. Is she the opportunity I need to enact my revenge against her father or is she the reason I finally let this vendetta go?

Don’t miss the start of this bold dark romance series by USA Today Bestselling Author Ella Jade. Hades’ Revenge is a dark age gap rom com that may contain content that is disturbing to some readers. It is a standalone with no cliffhanger and has an HEA.

This book is not a Greek Mythology retelling.

Publication Date 23/9/2026

Hades’ Revenge: A Dark Age Gap Romance (Morally Gray Gods Book 1) by Ella Jade

My Review

Hades’ Revenge by Ella Jade pulls you into a world of long simmering vengeance and dangerous attraction that feels both inevitable and forbidden from the very first pages.

The story centers on Sebastian “Hades” Zikos, a former mafia assassin now running a nightclub, whose entire existence has been shaped by betrayal.

Eighteen years earlier he took the fall for a man he considered a brother, only to be cast aside, and he has never forgotten it.

When Capri Ferrante, the daughter he once vowed to protect as her godfather, walks back into his life as a twenty year old college student with no memory of him, the stage is set for something far more complicated than simple payback.

What makes the story compelling is how completely Hades leans into his darker nature. He is openly vindictive, calculating, and more than a little sadistic, yet the author never lets him become a cartoon villain.

His obsession with Capri begins as strategy using her growing interest in the older, dangerous man as a weapon against her father, but it quickly twists into something genuine and consuming.

Capri herself is no passive pawn. She is drawn to him with a reckless intensity that borders on unhealthy, and the dual first person narration lets us feel both the heat of her infatuation and the cold calculation running through Hades’s mind at every turn.

The age gap and the godfather connection give the relationship a sharp, taboo edge that the story never softens. Their chemistry is intense, the intimate scenes charged with power imbalance and a thread of daddy kink that fits the characters rather than feeling tacked on.

At the same time, the larger web of family secrets, mafia loyalties, and competing agendas keeps the tension high.

Capri’s father has his own plans for her future, plans that place her squarely in the crosshairs, and Hades finds himself forced to choose between the revenge he has nursed for two decades and the woman who is rapidly becoming the center of his world.

This has the morally gray hero who is as magnetic as they are dangerous, and Hades is a strong addition to that lineage. The supporting cast especially his loyal right hand man and the circling threats from rival organizations adds without overwhelming the central romance.

The pacing stays tight, the secrets land with satisfying weight, and the emotional conflict feels earned rather than manufactured.

This is not a soft or redemptive story in the conventional sense. It is dark, possessive, and unapologetic about the power dynamics at play.

If you enjoy age gap mafia romances with high stakes, complicated family history, and heroes who refuse to pretend they are good will find plenty to sink into here.

Hades’ Revenge opens the Morally Gray Gods series with a confident, steamy, and morally tangled first chapter that leaves you eager to see where the next book will go.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Vile Acts (Legacy of Deth Book 2) by Crea Reitan

Description

The missing black paint told of horrors…

Sometimes rescuing someone once isn’t enough to banish their demons. This is something that has haunted the Deth brothers for a decade. Erez can’t let it go.

It took him ten years to prove that his baby sister didn’t die accidentally. Ten years to uncover horrors that he never imagined plagued her behind the smile she wore.

Now that he’s discovered the truth, Erez and his family are ready to usher in the days of reckoning for such vile acts committed against his sister.

***

This is a LGBTQIA+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.

Publication Date 17/9/2026

Vile Acts (Legacy of Deth Book 2) by Crea Reitan

My Review

This is the second installment in the Legacy of Deth series, it picks up the threads of family, grief, and justice that began in Dead Nights and weaves them into something darker, more intimate, and ultimately more devastating.

This book is about Erez Deth and his ten year long refusal to accept that his younger sister’s death was accidental.

The story digs into the horrors that hid behind her smile and the slow, relentless work of uncovering the truth.

What follows is not a simple revenge tale but a careful story of trauma, loyalty, and the kind of love that waits patiently while someone else learns how to see it.

Erez is consumed by what happened to Alice. His grief has shaped him so thoroughly that almost everything else in his life exists in its shadow.

Fade, his best friend of five years, has been right there the entire time, offering quiet constancy without ever demanding more than Erez can give.

Watching that dynamic unfold is both frustrating and deeply moving. Erez’s obliviousness never feels like a cheap plot device, it grows naturally out of the way his trauma has narrowed his focus.

Fade’s patience, seems infinite. He stays, he supports, he softens the edges of Erez’s pain without ever trying to fix him.

And when the shift from friendship to something deeper finally arrives, it feels earned rather than sudden, the natural result of two people who have already built a life around each other without fully naming it.

The revelations about what Alice endured are heavy, sometimes nearly unbearable, yet they were handled with care and a seriousness that never slips into exploitation.

The involvement of the wider Deth and Van Doren circles, along with the unexpected presence of Aven, an AI figure tied to Van Doren technology, adds layers of both practical help and quiet philosophical unease. These elements never overwhelm the central story, instead they expand the world in ways that feel consistent with the larger Creaverse while still keeping Erez and Fade at the heart of the story.

I would say that Vile Acts is one of her darker stories.

I loved how this book shows us that love does not require perfection or immediate clarity, only presence. The banter, the found family warmth, and the moments of genuine tenderness keep the darkness from becoming total, but they never pretend the darkness is not there.

This is not a light read, and it is not meant to be. It is a story about reckoning, about the cost of looking closely at what people suffer in silence, and about the possibility that even the most broken among us can still be met with patience and care.

Vile Acts delivers exactly what her best work always does, characters who feel real, emotions that land hard, and a conclusion that leaves you both gutted and strangely hopeful.

I finished it feeling drained and grateful at the same time, already eager for whatever comes next in this series.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/NEW BOOK OUT TODAY🎉

Knights of Deceit and Desire (The Lustbound Curse Book 2) by KC Kingmaker

Description

She went to war for her brother… but she may uncover a war for her body and soul.

Katyr has become a Pantheon Knight. Now she’s marching into enemy territory on a Divine Storm—a holy crusade to reclaim the Sacred Land of Ninthalus from the wicked fae of Ke’ontha.

She has three powerful knights at her side: Vrace, Lethander, Keradin. Her magical powers have finally awakened. And yet, there is still one thing she wants more than anything.

Her brother.

Anfel was taken by the fae. Katyr intends to find him, no matter what stands in her way.

But the deeper she ventures into Ke’ontha, the less she understands. The journey becomes more dangerous than the destination. Enemies hide among allies. Katyr and her mates make alarming discoveries. And in the depths of the jungle, she encounters a secretive people that will shatter everything she thought she knew about the world—and the war she’s fighting.

The closer she gets to the heart of the enemy, the more she fears the enemy may be closer to her own heart than she ever imagined.

And Katyr begins to realize… some secrets are more dangerous than any enemy.

Knights of Deceit and Desire is the second book in “The Lustbound Curse” saga. The spice is high and the stakes are higher. Unhinged situations abound as Katyr must learn to navigate her lustful curse, her unstoppable men, and the cutthroat war surrounding them all.

Publication Date 25/9/2026

Knights of Deceit and Desire (The Lustbound Curse Book 2) by KC Kingmaker

My Review

Knights of Deceit and Desire continues the Lustbound Curse series in a way that feels both inevitable and thrilling, diving deeper into the moral fog that KC Kingmaker seems to thrive in.

After the events of the first book, Katyr has claimed her place as a Pantheon Knight and set out on the Divine Storm, that holy crusade meant to reclaim Ninthalus from the fae of Ke’ontha.

What begins as a mission driven by loyalty to her missing brother Anfel quickly becomes something far more personal and far more dangerous.

The three knights at her side Vrace, Lethander, and Keradin are no longer simply powerful allies, they are mates whose presence complicates every choice she makes, and whose own secrets threaten to unravel the very cause she has sworn to serve.

The jungle of Ke’ontha is the real star here. The author turns the enemy territory into a living, breathing pressure cooker where every shadow could hide an ally or a traitor, and where the line between righteous crusade and personal obsession grows thinner with every step.

Katyr’s newly awakened magic gives her strength, yet it also leaves her more vulnerable to the pull of desire and the weight of the truths she keeps uncovering.

The deeper the party ventures, the more the war itself starts to feel like a carefully constructed story told by people who have every reason to lie. Enemies hide among allies, and the secretive people she meets in the heart of the jungle force to question everything that once seemed certain about the Sacred Land, the fae, and even her own heart.

What I liked most is how the romance never feels like a distraction from the plot. The bonds between Katyr and her knights intensify under the strain of the campaign, and the growing suspicion that the true enemy may be closer than anyone wants to admit adds a delicious tension to every charged interaction.

This story has high stakes action with steamy, complicated relationships, and this book leans hard into the idea that love and loyalty can be as treacherous as any battlefield.

By the time Katyr begins to realize that some secrets are more dangerous than any open enemy, the story has already pulled you into a place where victory might demand more than she is prepared to give.

If you loved the first book’s mix of dark fantasy, found family, and unapologetic heat. The second expands the world without losing the intimate focus on Katyr’s internal war, the one for her brother, for her body, and for her soul.

If the series continues at this pace, the Lustbound Curse is shaping up to be one of my favourite reads this year so far.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Whispered Promises (Not Yours Duet Book 1)by Issy Eva

Description

I’ve been alone my whole life. That part I can handle.

It’s the grief that’s breaking me.

After losing the only person who ever chose me, I’m running on empty, tending my rescue farm, fighting my anxiety, and lying awake at 3am pretending I’m fine. I don’t need saving. I just need to survive.

Then four men step into my life.

Nate, who scowls at everyone except me.

Noah, who sits with me in the quiet and never asks for more than I can give.

Brynn, who learns my favourite foods and makes sure I never go without.

And Max, who treats making me laugh like it’s the most important job he’s ever had.

I didn’t ask for any of this, but warmth has a way of getting in.

The problem is, not everyone circling my life has good intentions. Some people want what I have.

And some will take it, regardless of the consequences or the hurt it causes.

Will it be possible for us all to forgive and forget, or will we forever drown in fear and heartache? Or maybe we’ll never get the chance to know.

Whispered Promises is a spicy, medium burn, MFMMM why choose romance. It’s the first in the Not Yours Duet and ends on a cliffhanger. For mature readers, and parts may be triggering. The second in the duet is a darker read.

Publication Date 24/9/2026

Whispered Promises (Not Yours Duet Book 1)by Issy Eva

My Review

Whispered Promises opens with a quiet kind of heartbreak that feels painfully real.

Rosy has spent her life alone, and while solitude itself never broke her, the fresh grief of losing her beloved grandmother (the one person who ever truly loved her) has left her running on fumes.

She tends her rescue farm, battles anxiety in the small hours, and tells herself she’s fine because survival is the only goal she can manage right now….

Then four men move into her world, neighbours who somehow see past the careful walls she has built and the story becomes something warmer, messier, and far more hopeful than she ever expected.

Nate is the one who scowls at everyone else yet softens only for her. (Favourite microtrope at the moment) Noah simply sits with her in the silence, never demanding more than she can give. Brynn learns her favourite foods and makes sure she never goes without, while Max treats every laugh he can pull from her like the most important work of his life. (I know we shouldn’t have a favourite, but I think Max might just come out on top 🫣)

None of them arrived to save her, and she never asked them to, yet their steady presence begins to crack the isolation she has worn like armour.

The farm, the animals, the slow building domesticity of shared meals and quiet evenings all feel like a gentle reclaiming of space she thought she had lost forever.

What i loved about the book was that undercurrent of threat. Not everyone in her life has kind intentions, and the growing sense that someone wants what she has and will take it without care for the cost adds a tension that kept me turning those pages.

The author balances the hurt/comfort romance with real emotional weight, letting Rosy’s anxiety and grief remain present even as warmth starts to take root. The four men are distinct without competing for the spotlight, each offering a different kind of care that feels earned rather than convenient.

By the time the story closes, the question of whether forgiveness and healing are possible hangs in the air with genuine uncertainty.

Whispered Promises is the kind of contemporary why choose that understands loneliness as both a wound and a kind of strength, and it trusts us to sit with that complexity while still delivering the found family comfort so many of us crave.

It is a tender, slightly shadowed beginning that makes the wait for the second book feel almost unfair.

And one word ……. CLIFFHANGER!!!! 🙃🙃

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

At First Catch: A Friends-to-Lovers, Small Town Romance (Coral Bell Cove Book 5) by Renee Harless

Description

Some mistakes are worth making twice.

Hadley Wright never expected one unforgettable night with a stranger to become the beginning of something she couldn’t forget. After slipping away before sunrise, she’s convinced she’ll never see the quiet, guarded man who made her feel safe on one of the hardest nights of her life again.

Until he walks right back into Coral Bell Cove.

Nolan Pierce has spent his entire life believing it’s easier not to need anyone. Buying the town’s struggling marina is supposed to be his fresh start—not falling for the woman who comes from the loud, loving family he’s never had.

But while Hadley believes love means showing up, Nolan is convinced it means protecting the people he cares about… even if that means shutting them out.

Now they’re both about to discover that falling in love is the easy part.

Trusting someone enough to stay might change everything.

At First Catch is a heartfelt, steamy small-town romance featuring a one-night stand, found family, slow-burn chemistry, meddling siblings, marina life, and a hero who falls first, falls hard, and learns that sometimes the strongest thing you can do is let someone stand beside you.

Publication Date 23/8/2026

At First Catch: A Friends-to-Lovers, Small Town Romance (Coral Bell Cove Book 5) by Renee Harless

My Review

Some mistakes really are worth making twice, and that opening line sets the perfect tone for a story that lingers long after the last page.

I went into At First Catch already fond of Coral Bell Cove and the Wright family’s particular brand of loud, meddling love, but Hadley and Nolan’s book still managed to feel fresh.

Hadley’s one unforgettable night with a stranger who made her feel safe on one of the hardest nights of her life is the kind of setup that could easily turn into pure fantasy.

That quiet, guarded man becomes Nolan Pierce, the new owner of the town’s struggling marina, and watching their paths collide again in the same small town hits with a quiet inevitability that had me cheering for this couple.

Hadley is all heart, she believes love means showing up, and that belief radiates through every interaction.

Nolan, shaped by a lifetime of believing it’s safer not to need anyone, is the opposite. His instinct is to protect by shutting people out, and the tension between those two approaches to love creates the push/pull of the story.

What I liked most was how the romance never races ahead of the emotional work. Falling for each other is the easy part, just as the blurb promises. The harder, more satisfying stretch is learning how to stay, how to trust that the person who once made you feel safe can keep doing it when life gets complicated.

Nolan’s growth from self contained loner to someone willing to let the Wright family’s chaos wrap around had me smiling.

This is warm, and steamy when it needs to be, and full of the found family comfort that makes Coral Bell Cove feel like a place you want to return to.

I closed it smiling, already missing these two and the marina they made their own.

🦋

IN DARKNESS WE CLAIM BY EMMA LUNA

#TEASER

Release date: 15th October

Series: Obsidian Order: The Crows Book One

Genres/Tropes: Secret Society, Dark University, New Adult, Enemies to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Shy Virgin FMC, Possessive/Obsessive Morally Grey MC, “Touch her and die”, Bad Boy/Good Girl, Rich Boy/Riches to Rags Girl, High Heat/Slow Burn, Spicy Scenes and Triggering Themes.

Prepare to dive into the dark secretive world of the Obsidian Order with the Cover Reveal of In Darkness We Claim by USA Today Bestselling Author Emma Luna.

🖤 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐀𝐓𝐇🖤

Step behind the elite, unforgiving walls of Shadowmere University and enter the world of the 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫—a secret society ruling the world from the shadows, where power is absolute and weakness is fatal.

When a sudden fall from grace shatters her status, Harper Westmore is left with only one way to clear her father’s name: make a deal with the devil. Lawson Radley is the cold, ruthless High Crow Pledge who has made her life a living hell for two years. Now, she’s offering herself up as his Prize.

The terms? 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐍𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐀𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.

He wants to break her. She’s fighting to guard her heart. But in a game built on dark obsession and hidden secrets, love doesn’t follow the rules—and catching feelings might just cost them everything.

🔥 EXPECT ALL THE TROPES YOU CRAVE:

🖤 Secret Society 🖤 Dark University Romance 🖤 Enemies to Lovers 🖤 Possessive, Obsessive Morally Grey MC 🖤 Shy Virgin FMC 🖤 “Touch Her and You Die” Energy 🖤 Forced Proximity

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Join us on 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝐭𝐡 as we officially unveil the cover for 𝐼𝑛 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑊𝑒 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚—the explosive first book in the Obsidian Order universe, releasing 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓𝐭𝐡!

⚠️ 𝑷𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑺𝑬 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬: 𝐼𝑛 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑊𝑒 𝐶𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘, 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑑 18+. 𝐼𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑠, 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑥𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠.

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The Book of Aquarius: A Spicy Why Choose MMFM Romance (Zodiac Killers 9) by K.L. Thorne

Description

Never underestimate a blood-thirsty blonde bombshell.

Charlotte is an unassuming MI6 agent by day, but by night she becomes Aquarius, one of twelve Zodiac assassins employed by a mysterious shadow organisation known as ‘The Guild’. With her long-term boyfriend and intelligence operative Freddie – codename Relay – at her side and in her ear, there’s nothing she can’t handle.

A hit on an elusive wanted villain arrives at her doorstep and Charlotte is all too excited to do what she does best. Little does she know that this is just the beginning of a job unlike any other.

The Guild hires a new pilot, Theo – codename Hangman – but when he meets Freddie, the mission isn’t the only thing he’s eager to assist Charlotte with.

When Charlotte’s meddling MI6 subordinate, Aaron Dixon, gets suspicious and starts digging into secrets that are best left buried, he quickly finds himself in hot water, endangering both the mission and Charlotte’s team.

It’s up to Charlotte to save the day and the skin of everyone she cares about… But the clock is ticking, the pressure is on and The Guild is always watching.

***

The Book of Aquarius is a standalone novel as part of the Zodiac Killers shared universe series.

Publication Date 22/9/2026

The Book of Aquarius: A Spicy Why Choose MMFM Romance (Zodiac Killers 9) by K.L. Thorne

My Review

Never underestimate a blood thirsty blonde bombshell…. that’s the first line of the blurb for The Book of Aquarius, and it sets the tone perfectly for what K.L. Thorne is offering in this entry of the Zodiac Killers shared universe.

Charlotte, an unassuming MI6 agent by day who transforms into the lethal Aquarius by night, immediately feels like the kind of heroine I root for hardest… she’s competent, dangerous, and completely unapologetic about the double life she leads. Pair her with her long term boyfriend and intel operative Freddie (codename Relay), and you already have a solid foundation of trust and heat.

Then the Guild drops a new pilot, Theo (codename Hangman), into the mix, and the dynamic shifts into the spicy MMFM territory the title promises.

The chemistry between Freddie and Theo is teased right away in the description, and that layered attraction alongside Charlotte’s central place in it is exactly the kind of why choose setup that keeps me turning pages late into the night.

What draws me in most is the way the story seems to balance high stakes assassination work with the personal risks of keeping secrets.

A hit on an elusive villain starts as business as usual for Charlotte, but the arrival of a suspicious MI6 subordinate, Aaron Dixon, who starts digging where he shouldn’t, raises the tension beautifully.

The Guild is always watching, the clock is ticking, and Charlotte has to protect not just the mission but the people she cares about.

That pressure cooker atmosphere, mixed with the slow burn expansion of her intimate circle, feels like classic spicy assassin romance done right, deadly competence in the field matched by vulnerability and hunger behind closed doors.

As a standalone within a larger shared universe, it has the advantage of being accessible while still promising the fun of seeing how this particular Zodiac’s story fits into the bigger picture of twelve killers working under the same shadowy organisation.

There is spice and great characters and the interpersonal dynamics among Charlotte, Freddie, and Theo carries emotional weight alongside the action. The meddling subordinate subplot also adds a layer of external threat that should keep the plot moving without overshadowing the central relationships.

The premise delivered everything I look for in this subgenre…. a fierce female lead who doesn’t need saving, multiple love interests who complicate and enrich her life, covert operations that raise the stakes, and the promise of heat that matches the danger.

The Book of Aquarius is a thoroughly satisfying, pulse quickening addition to the Zodiac Killers lineup.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

The Daft King (Whispers and Fates Book 1) by Daphne Ryan

Description

In the kingdom of Myren, King Nicolas Brennan is dismissed by his council as “The Daft King”—a ruler more interested in camaraderie than the mounting pressures of the throne. But when an assassination attempt shatters his complacency and a dark entity stirs within the kingdom’s depleted mines, Nic can no longer afford the luxury of playing the fool.

Amidst a court swarming with ambitious noblewomen—each vying for the crown and the duty of securing his line—Nic finds an unlikely guide in the mysterious Wyn. A constant traveler with a tragic past and uncanny wisdom, she offers him something the other ladies cannot. Under her influence, the “Daft King” begins to shed his persona, finally embracing the heavy burden of leadership he has long avoided.

Yet, as their bond deepens, ancient secrets and courtly betrayals threaten to tear them apart. With Apronia’s armies encroaching and a forgotten evil rising from the roots of the earth, Nic is caught between his heart and truths better left buried. In a kingdom teetering on ruin, he must navigate a court where every smile hides a blade and decide whom to trust before the darkness claims them all.

Publication Date 18/9/2026

The Daft King (Whispers and Fates Book 1) by Daphne Ryan

My Review

The Daft King opens with a ruler who has spent years carefully performing the part of a charming, slightly foolish king, more at ease among friends than under the weight of a crown.

Nicolas Brennan’s carefully maintained persona is shattered by an assassination attempt that forces him to confront the real dangers closing in on Myren, dangers that run deeper than political intrigue and into the very earth of the kingdom itself.

What follows is a story that had me turning those pages as Nic begins the slow, reluctant process of becoming the leader his people actually need.

Wyn arrives as an unexpected constant in a court full of ambitious noblewomen who see the king primarily as a means to power. She carries her own quiet tragedies and an almost unsettling wisdom that cuts through the noise of court life.

And with her guidance, Nic starts shedding the protective mask of the “Daft King,”.

And the relationship that grows between them had me firmly rooting for them both. It never felt forced or purely romantic, instead it develops through shared understanding, sharp conversation, and the gradual realization that each is offering the other something the rest of the court cannot. Their bond becomes a rare steady point in a world where every smile can hide a blade and every alliance is temporary.

The larger threats in the book…. we have the encroaching armies of Apronia and the ancient darkness stirring in the depleted mines. And even the court itself is a pressure cooker of ambition, secrecy, and carefully veiled betrayal, and Nic’s growing awareness of how little he can truly trust anyone makes every decision heavier.

The story balanced political and supernatural elements really well, and add the quieter moments where Nic is finally accepting he needs to actually rule and not play!

What i liked in the story was how Nic changed. He does not suddenly become a flawless hero, he grows in fits and starts, still capable of missteps, still haunted by the easier path he once chose. And Wyn’s presence helps that growth, offering both challenge and unexpected steadiness.

By the end, the first book in the Whispers and Fates series has set a fascinating stage, one of fractured trust, rising darkness, and a king who can no longer afford to play the fool.

I’m eager to see how the secrets already buried will surface, and whether the fragile connection Nic and Wyn have formed can survive the storms still coming.

Next book please 😜

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Hexy Beast (The Sherwood Witches Book 3) by Avery Flynn

Description

An impulsive witch and a buttoned-up werewolf discover love is its own beast in this spicy rom-com from USA Today bestselling author Avery Flynn.

As the eldest daughter of the magical Sherwood family, I’m supposed to have everything together. Well, joke’s on them—I, Effie Sherwood, am chaos incarnate, and you’ll never be able to guess my next move.

Like jumping on the back of Darius Aetos’ motorcycle. Not only is Darius grumpy, gruff, and hot, he’s also the head of the Aetos werewolf pack.

My spur of the moment decision has quickly become a much bigger commitment, because a pack elder is convinced this hunk of a man (or wolf, depending on the hour) is my fated mate.

Even though I’m a witch and he’s a werewolf, we’re stuck together until we can find our way out of the tricky pack politics. But under the light of the blue moon, it’s almost starting to feel like Darius doesn’t want to stay away from me. And I’m not sure if it’s my magic going haywire or the starlit skies, but I can’t imagine leaving his arms either.

Publication Date 8/9/2026

Hexy Beast (The Sherwood Witches Book 3) by Avery Flynn

My Review

Hexy Beast is pure Avery Flynn chaos in the best possible way, the kind of book that grabs you by the collar, throws you onto the back of a motorcycle, and refuses to let go until you’ve laughed, blushed, and maybe questioned a few of your life choices. 😜

Effie Sherwood is the eldest daughter of a powerful witch family who is supposed to have her life together, yet she is unapologetically a walking disaster.

Jumping onto the motorcycle of Darius Aetos, the buttoned up, grumpy head of a werewolf pack, is exactly the sort of impulsive decision that defines her, and it is also the moment everything starts spiraling in the most entertaining direction.

The fated mates twist lands with perfect timing. A pack elder decides these two are meant to be, and suddenly the witch and the werewolf are locked into pack politics neither of them asked for.

What should feel like an inconvenience instead becomes a forced proximity trope delight, where their differences crackle.

Darius is all structure and control, (and don’t forget those low growls….. ) Effie is magic that refuses to behave and a personality that delights in poking the bear, or in this case, the wolf.

Their banter is sharp and constant, the kind that makes you smile at the page even while the tension between them builds under every blue moon glance and accidental touch.

The tone light and spicy without ever letting the story feel too silly. The pack politics add just enough external pressure to keep the stakes real, while the chemistry between Effie and Darius crackles.

There is instalust they both try (and fail) to ignore, slowburning emotional pull that sneaks up on them, and enough magical mayhem and quirky side characters to make the world feel fun.

By the time the blue moon is high and neither of them wants to walk away, the romance made me smile, which is exactly how a good fated mates story should land.

If you loved the Sherwood Witches books for their humor, heat, and chaotic energy, this one delivers more of the same while giving the eldest sister her moment in the spotlight.

It is funny, steamy, and completely unconcerned with being quiet or sensible.

Sometimes love really is its own beast, and in Hexy Beast that beast is loud, messy, and impossible not to root for.

I absolutely loved it.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Pretty Thing: A dark psychological romance about trauma, obsession, and the danger of mistaking isolation for protection. (Pieces of Despair Duet Book 1) by Brooklyn Cross

Description

There is nothing I won’t do to keep her.

The crash has taken everything from me.

I was Eden Hale, a girl with a future, parents I adored, and a life just beginning.

Now…I don’t know who I am.

I’m broken in more ways than bones. Stuck in a hospital, and the only person with me is Felix, the stranger who pulled me from the wreckage.

He says people don’t survive what we did by chance. He says no one else understands.

In grief, his attentiveness feels like salvation.

In loneliness, his possessiveness feels like love.

As I rebuild my life, fighting my way through depression, rehab, and nightmares, he’s there. The savior who calls me his Pretty Thing.

I stop knowing where healing ends and dependence begins.

Because some people rescue you, and some people keep you.

And sometimes you stop knowing when safety becomes captivity.

Publication Date 10/9

Pretty Thing: A dark psychological romance about trauma, obsession, and the danger of mistaking isolation for protection. (Pieces of Despair Duet Book 1) by Brooklyn Cross

My Review

I picked up Pretty Thing expecting the kind of dark psychological romance that leans hard into obsession and blurred lines, and Brooklyn Cross delivers exactly that from the opening pages.

The story drops you straight into Eden’s shattered world after the crash that steals her family and her sense of self.

She’s left broken, (literally and figuratively) stuck in a hospital with only Felix, the stranger who pulled her from the wreckage for company.

What starts as gratitude for the man who saved her life slowly twists into something far more complicated and unsettling.

The depression, the physical rehab, the nightmares, they’re not glossed over or used as mere backdrop. You feel her isolation pressing in, the way the world shrinks until Felix becomes the only constant.

His attentiveness reads as care at first, the kind of steady presence anyone would cling to when everything else has been ripped away. But the possessiveness creeps in so gradually that you understand exactly how Eden could mistake it for love.

The nickname “Pretty Thing” lands with an edge that grows sharper the more you hear it.

What I liked most is how the book explores that dangerous line between protection and captivity. Felix never needs to force anything outright, the dependence builds through quiet control, through the way he positions himself as the only person who truly understands what they’ve survived. Eden’s struggle to reclaim any sense of self while still needing him feels heartbreaking. You’re never quite sure where her healing ends and his ownership begins, and that i feel is the book’s greatest strength.

This is not a comfortable read, nor is it meant to be. (Please check TW)

The author leans into the psychological tension without offering easy answers or neat resolutions in this first half of the duet. (Yes, you heard me, A CLIFFHANGER APPROACHES!!!)

By the time I finished, I was left unsettled in the best way, already wanting the next book to see how far this dynamic will push both characters.

If you like your dark romance heavy on obsession, moral grey areas, and the slow erosion of boundaries, Pretty Thing will sit with you long after the last page.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Yours Truly, Fall: A Small Town, Forced Proximity, Firefighter Romance by S.L. Scott

Description

There are worse things than being stuck alone in a cabin with a hot as sin firefighter who’s good with his hands. A lot worse . . . This should be fun.

Agreeing to help Brandon Culver recover from his injury seemed harmless enough.

Sure, he’s a firefighter and Mountain Laurel Cove’s most eligible bachelor. But I’m too busy focusing on my nursing career to be distracted by a handsome face.

Unfortunately, Brandon is a lot more than a great face.

He’s steady. Dependable. He’s the kind of man who remembers the little things and shows up when it matters. His easy confidence is comforting. His quiet strength makes me feel safe. And the way he looks at me makes me question everything I thought I wanted.

But I’m in his home to care for him, not fall for him.

One tiny slip could ruin all the plans I’ve meticulously made for my life. Romance is a fool’s game and if I’m anything, I’m level-headed. Until his heated gaze and lingering touch threaten to turn the electricity between us into a five-alarm fire.

If I’m not careful, I might be the one getting burned.

Tropes included:

🔥 forced proximity

🩵small town

🔥 firefighter + nurse

🩵workplace romance

🔥 friends to lovers

🩵he falls first

🔥 feel-good romance.

Publication Date 14/9/2026

Yours Truly, Fall: A Small Town, Forced Proximity, Firefighter Romance by S.L. Scott

My Review

From the moment Autumn agrees to help Brandon Culver recover from his injury, the setup feels deceptively simple… a level headed nurse focused on her career, a steady firefighter who’s the town’s most eligible bachelor, and the kind of forced proximity that turns a quiet cabin into the only place either of them wants to be.

What starts as professional care quickly becomes something far more complicated.

I found myself completely drawn into the way Brandon is written, not just the physical appeal of a man who’s good with his hands and even better at showing up when it matters, but the quiet reliability that makes Autumn’s carefully constructed plans start to crack. He’s the kind of hero who remembers the small things, whose confidence never tips into arrogance, and whose gaze carries enough heat to make the whole five alarm metaphor feel earned.

Autumn, meanwhile, is the perfect counterpoint…. She’s ambitious, guarded, and determined not to let romance derail the life she’s meticulously built.

Watching her resistance slowly melt under the weight of lingering touches and the safety he offers is one of the book’s greatest pleasures. The forced proximity never feels over done, instead it becomes the natural pressure cooker that lets their chemistry simmer until it finally boils over.

The small town setting of Mountain Laurel Cove adds just the right amount of cozy without overwhelming the central relationship.

The workplace element, (nurse and firefighter) grounds the story in a shared world of duty and care, while the friends to lovers progression and the way Brandon falls first give the romance a tender, almost inevitable quality. There’s a second chance undercurrent and a hint of memory that deepens the emotional stakes, yet the story never loses its feel good heart.

The writing is smooth and immersive, the banter light enough that it made me smile, and the slower, more intimate moments charged enough that it kept me turning pages long after my bedtime 😜

Autumn’s internal conflict feels real, the worry that one slip could undo years of careful planning.

The author lets the connection between these two grow until the idea of walking away becomes the greater risk.

And by the time the story reaches its satisfying close, the cabin no longer feels like a temporary arrangement, it feels like the place where two people finally stop fighting what was always meant to happen.

If you’re in the mood for a romance that balances heat with heart, that celebrates the quiet strength of a man who shows up and the courage of a woman learning to let someone in, Yours Truly, Fall delivers exactly that.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Flare: An Angsty Brother’s Best Friend Slow Burn Romance (Embers of Us Book 1) by Jessica Jude

Description

CASSIAN

I’ve loved Vivienne Wilson for so long, I don’t remember what it feels like not to. Not that it matters.

She’s my best friend’s sister. She’s off-limits. And now, she’s engaged to marry a man who can give her everything I can’t. A title. A future. A life that makes sense on paper.

I’m only the estate manager’s son—temporarily running Belgrave Park while my father recovers—and doing my level best to survive the autumn without losing what’s left of my sanity.

So I do what I’ve always done.

I stay quiet.
I keep my distance and pretend it doesn’t carve out my heart to do it.
I’ll give her every last thing she needs.

Even if it kills me.

VIVIENNE

Getting married at Belgrave Park is supposed to be a dream. It’s everything my family has ever wanted for me—an impeccable match, a perfect wedding, a future that fits neatly into the world I was born into.

There’s just one problem.

Cassian Cordero is everywhere. In the stables. In the library. Across the dinner table, looking at me like I’m something he’s already lost.

He’s my brother’s best friend.

My first crush.

The only boy I’ve ever loved.

And the last man in the world to ever be mine.

Because no matter how close we get—how long his hand lingers, how quiet the world feels when it’s just us—he never crosses the line. Never says the things I’m desperate to hear. Never gives me a reason to believe this isn’t all in my head.

I said yes to a man I don’t love, because if Cassian wanted me, he would’ve chosen me by now.

Flare is perfect for readers looking for:

Contemporary romance
Forbidden love
Brother’s best friend x best friend’s sister
Childhood friends to lovers
Brooding bad boys with secret tattoos
A man who yearns
Found family friend groups
Angst & pining
Slow burn love stories

What to Expect:

Brother’s best friend
Friends to lovers
Forbidden love
Forced proximity
Mutual yearning
Found family
Bad boy x good girl
Slow burn & angst

Content Warning(s):

Parental abandonment
Verbal / emotional abuse
Explicit sexual content (chapters 60-61)
Language

Publication Date 15/9/2026

Flare: An Angsty Brother’s Best Friend Slow Burn Romance (Embers of Us Book 1) by Jessica Jude

My Review

Cassian has carried his feelings for Vivienne for so many years that the emotion has become part of the landscape of his life, as familiar and as painful as breathing. She is his best friend’s sister, firmly out of reach, and now she is engaged to a man who can offer her the polished future her family has always envisioned.

Watching her move through the halls of Belgrave Park while he keeps his distance is its own quiet form of torture, and Jessica Jude lets that tension breathe without rushing it.

Cassian’s restraint feels both noble and heartbreaking, every small act of care he offers her is edged with the knowledge that he is giving away pieces of himself he will never get back. 😢

Vivienne’s side of the story is equally complicated. The wedding at Belgrave is supposed to be the perfect culmination of everything expected of her, yet Cassian is simply everywhere, in the stables, across the dinner table, in the library, looking at her with an intensity that makes the rest of the world go quiet. 💔

He was her first crush and remains the only man she has ever truly wanted, but he has never crossed the line, never given her the words she needs. That silence becomes its own kind of rejection, pushing her toward a choice that looks right on paper even as it feels wrong in her bones.

The slow burn between them is built on all the things left unsaid, the lingering touches that almost happen, and the unbearable weight of timing and circumstance.

Cassian is the estate manager’s son, temporarily holding everything together while his father recovers from an accident, and that position keeps him forever on the edges of Vivienne’s world.

By the time the novel reaches its emotional peak, the question is no longer whether they love each other, that has been clear from the beginning, but whether either of them will finally be brave enough to stop protecting the other from what they both want most.

Flare delivers exactly the kind of angsty, restrained, slow burn romance that leaves you quietly rooting for two people who have already waited far too long.

I loved meeting the friends, and hope they all get books. 😜

There is a little cliffhanger and an ooooh moment at the end 🤐 and it tells us at the end who the next to fall is…..

And I can’t wait.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Wolf Crowned: An enemies-to-lovers rejected mate fae / shifter romantasy (Bound to the Shadow King Book 3) by Felicity Heaton

Description

The king I love is now my enemy.

Trapped in a court of powerful fae where every smile hides a blade, I have to become as ruthless as they are if I want to survive. But survival isn’t enough—not when the people I love are the price of failure.

To save them, I’ll have to face a truth that changes everything and embrace a part of me I never knew existed.

Because something inside me is awakening.

The land whispers to my wolf. Strange dreams call me deeper into a world that feels more like home with every passing day. And something inside me is answering.

But I’m not the only one changing.

Every day we’re apart, the darkness Kaeleron fought so hard to overcome is sinking its claws into him again—and the wrathful Shadow King the fae still whisper about in fear is returning.

And soon there may be nothing he won’t destroy to get me back.

I need to escape. I need to get back to him.

Before one of us does something that can’t be undone.

This time, I’m not fighting for my freedom.

I’m fighting for us.

Wolf Crowned is the final book in the opening trilogy of the Bound to the Shadow King series — a fae x wolf shifter romantasy that blends the modern world and fae world in a dark, addictive portal fantasy romance filled with danger, obsession, and forbidden desire.

🔥 Perfect for fans of:

– A Court of Thorns and Roses, Fae and Alchemy & The Wolf King

– Morally grey shadow daddy fae kings

– FMCs who refuse to break

– Enemies-to-lovers tension and Beauty-and-the-Beast vibes

– “Touch her and die” obsession

– Rejected mates angst, found family bonds and scorching hot banter

– Forced proximity meets mating heat to make your toes curl!

Told in dual POV, this fae x wolf shifter romance will keep you hooked until the very last page.

One-click the Bound to the Shadow King series today and discover the fae fantasy romance readers can’t stop screaming about:

Publication Date 15/9/2026

Wolf Crowned: An enemies-to-lovers rejected mate fae / shifter romantasy (Bound to the Shadow King Book 3) by Felicity Heaton

My Review

Wolf Crowned pulls you straight into the heart of everything that has been building across this series, and it does so with a fierce, almost desperate intensity that feels earned after the earlier books.

The story finds Saphira trapped once more in the glittering, treacherous world of the fae, where every gesture of courtesy can hide a knife and where the only way to protect the people she loves is to become harder, sharper, and more ruthless than the court that holds her.

What makes this final chapter land so hard is the way it balances that external pressure with something far more intimate…. the quiet, insistent awakening of a power inside her that the land itself seems to recognize and call to. Her wolf answers in ways that feel both terrifying and strangely right, turning the fae realm from a place of captivity into something that begins to feel like a second home, even as danger closes in from every side.

At the same time, the distance from Kaeleron is doing its own brutal work. The darkness he once fought so hard to contain is rising again, and the wrathful Shadow King the fae still fear is slipping back into place.

Their separation becomes its own kind of battlefield, one where love and desperation twist together until it is impossible to tell which will win.

The enemies to lovers tension that has always defined them reaches a new pitch here, no longer simply about trust or desire but about whether two people who have already lost so much can still choose each other before one of them crosses a line that cannot be uncrossed.

What i liked most is the determination that drives Saphira. She is no longer fighting only for her own freedom, she is fighting for the fragile, hard won “us” that exists between her and the king who once claimed her.

The dual perspectives let you feel every moment of that struggle from both sides, the slow, painful pull of the mate bond, the political knives at her back, the growing sense that something ancient and powerful is stirring inside her, and the terrifying knowledge that Kaeleron’s control is fraying.

The result is a story that feels both larger than the earlier books and more personal, a climax that refuses to let either character off the hook.

By the time the last pages arrive, the series has delivered on the promise of its dark, addictive blend of shifter and fae romantasy.

It is messy, high stakes, and full of the kind of yearning that leaves you a little breathless.

If you have followed Saphira and Kaeleron this far, Wolf Crowned gives their story the fierce, hard won resolution it deserves, one that stays with you long after the final page.

I know technically the trilogy has ended, and I’m sad, both these characters have wormed their way into my heart. But on the plus side, we do have another book featuring Saphira and Kaeleron coming out. I’m not sure if it will begin a new chapter for the pair, or if it’s just a prelude to a new book. But either way I’m glad the author hasn’t finished with our Shadow King and his “little wolf” 🖤 🐺

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

A Murderous Omega: A Dark Romcom Omegaverse Novella by Penny Foxglove

Description

They say meeting your scent matches changes everything. They weren’t wrong … but they also didn’t mention the kidnapping.

Just because I’m a serial killer and they’re alsoserial killers doesn’t mean we’re compatible. Right? Except that these two alphas are cheerfully unhinged, shameless, and utterly convinced that I belong to them. Instead of courting me like normal alphas, they kidnap me. Twice.

I should hate it.

I do hate it, I swear.

Conor’s loving degradation makes me melt. Emile’s control makes me feel safe–and his praise makes me purr. Together, they’re everything I didn’t know I was missing.

I’ve survived a lot of things. But my scent matches might just be what takes me down for good.

A Murderous Omega is a complete MMF dark omegaverse romcom novella with explicit heat, graphic violence, and characters who consider dinner, murder, and a movie a perfectly reasonable first date.

♥ Omegaverse
♥ Dark Romcom
♥ Serial Killer x Serial Killer x Serial Killer
♥ Obsessed alphas
♥ Fierce, damaged omega
♥ Enemies-to-lovers
♥ Scent Matches
♥ Chase and Primal Hunt
♥ Heats, Bonds, & Nesting
♥ Kidnapping
♥ Forced Proximity

Publication Date 14/9/2026

A Murderous Omega: A Dark Romcom Omegaverse Novella by Penny Foxglove

My Review

I went into A Murderous Omega expecting pure chaos, and this author delivered exactly that, with a wicked grin and zero apologies.

The premise alone is unhinged in the best way…. Lark (an omega serial killer) who meets her scent matches, only to discover they’re serial killers too, and instead of flowers and soft words they simply kidnap her…..Twice.

That should have been the warning label, but it only made me lean in harder.

What surprised me most was how cheerfully dark the whole thing felt. Conor and Emile are not brooding, tortured alphas waiting to be fixed. They are shameless, gleefully unhinged, and completely convinced the omega belongs to them, no negotiation required.

Their courtship style is abduction, murder dates, and the kind of filthy, loving degradation that somehow still manages to feel affectionate.

Conor’s particular brand of praise and degradation combination had me shifting in my seat, 😜 while Emile’s quiet control and genuine praise created this strange, almost tender safety that cut through the blood and chaos.

Watching Lark try and fail to convince herself she hates it was half the fun. She is sharp, lethal, and just as broken as they are, which makes their twisted compatibility feel inevitable rather than forced.

The novella never pretends to be soft or morally upright. Dinner, murder, and a movie is presented as a reasonable first date, and the story leans all the way into that energy. The heat is explicit, the violence is graphic, and the humor is pitch black, yet somehow the emotional core still lands.

These three are not redeeming each other, they are recognizing their own darkness reflected back and deciding it feels like home. That acceptance, wrapped in scent match intensity and zero hesitation, is what makes the short length work so well.

There is no slow burn here just immediate, feral recognition and the messy, bloody process of figuring out what “ours” actually means when everyone involved is a killer.

I finished it in one sitting, equal parts horrified and delighted.

It is not for the faint of heart or anyone looking for sweet, traditional omegaverse, but if you want a dark romcom that laughs while it slits a throat and still manages to feel strangely romantic, this one hits the mark.

Penny Foxglove clearly had a blast writing these three, and that energy is contagious. And I’m hoping we go back and catch up with Emile/Conor and Lark at some point.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

A.l. Human (Lietvia Galaxy Book 2) by MK Stephenson

Description

She was never artificial. Their love was never supposed to be real.

After spending weeks trapped in a cage, Lyssa is sold in her sleep to a telepathic, purple-scaled alien looking for the latest in A.I. technology. She’s forced to play the role of a companion android or be liquidated by a shady dealer to make room for new inventory.

Returning home with a synthetic companion for their lonely household, Terrald and his mates believe their new toy is defective. It can’t communicate and resists their commands. The moment they learn she can hear their mindvoices, they realize–to their horror–that they have purchased a living being.

Now Lyssa is stranded on an alien planet with three reptilian males who claim they want to protect and cherish her. But trust does not come easily to a woman who has been treated like merchandise. Should she leave and rebuild her life in the safety of a human sanctuary, or take the risk of opening herself up to the males who are determined to own her heart?

A.I. Human is a dark, steamy, why choose/reverse-harem sci-fi alien romance. It is the second book of the interconnected Lietvia Galaxy Series, but can be read as a standalone.

Tropes:

Alien romance
Reverse harem/why choose
MMMF, including sword crossing
They fall first
Child-free
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Content warning: Dubcon

Publication Date 16/9/2026

A.l. Human (Lietvia Galaxy Book 2) by MK Stephenson

My Review

Lyssa’s situation is harrowing from the first pages…. weeks spent caged, then sold while she sleeps to a telepathic, purple scaled alien who believes he is purchasing the latest in companion AI technology.

Forced to perform the role of a defective android or face liquidation, she is thrust into a household with Terrald and his mates, three reptilian males whose initial disappointment at their “toy’s” resistance quickly turns to horror once they realize she can hear their mindvoices and is very much alive! 😮 (they are telepathic so don’t speak out loud)

What I liked about this story beyond standard captive to beloved trope was the dawning realization that lyssa was in fact not an A.I “toy” but a living being! and the emotional fallout that follows had me wanting Lyssa to escape, then hoping she realises that why only want to care for her. The males’ determination to protect and cherish Lyssa collides with her deep seated distrust, born of being treated as merchandise. And the fact this was an already established relationship between Gareth/Kahnnan and Terrold could they make room for a fourth?

The author does not rush the healing or the attraction. Trust is earned slowly, through small acts and the gradual understanding that these aliens, for all their possessiveness, are not the same as the dealers who sold her.

The telepathic element adds an intimate layer, making every shared thought feel both invasive and strangely binding, and the reverse harem dynamic (definitely an era I’m deep in 😜) is woven in naturally rather than forced for novelty.

The writing leans into the darker, steamier side of the genre, yet it never loses sight of Lyssa. Her internal debate, whether to risk opening herself to these three or seek the relative safety of a human sanctuary, gives the story that two sided decision.

The world building (alien world and culture) gave me glimpses without overwhelming the story, and the why choose structure allows each male’s personality and relationship with Lyssa to develop distinctively. Gareth had the “puppy vibes” Terrold was the caregiver/peacemaker and our dominant (we have to have one 😜) was Kahnnan.

As the second book in the Lietvia Galaxy series, A.I. Human stands well on its own while expanding the universe established in the first book.

It is not a light or purely escapist read, the early trauma and the constant tension between ownership and genuine care linger. They want to cherish her, I got the feeling that Lyssa just wanted to escape!

But for us who appreciate dark, steamy scifi romance that prioritizes emotional recovery alongside heat, it delivers a compelling, character driven story that had me thinking about for the next few days.

The author has written a story about finding connection in the most unlikely and complicated of circumstances.

I loved it and can’t wait for more in this universe. 👍🏻

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Pretty Savage. The Order. Book Two: Defy: A Southern Gothic Dark Academia Novel by Lexi Davis

Description

Getting sucked into a secret society was bad.

Falling for its ruthless heir was worse.

Now I’m part of a secret society preparing to brand me, bind me to him, and turn our most intimate promise into a public ritual.

Carrson will destroy anyone who threatens me. But the enemy is no longer one man. It’s the world that made him, the father he can’t escape, and the secrets buried in my own blood.

To survive, I have to learn The Order’s rules faster than they can use them against me. I must decide which truths to hide, which alliances to risk, and how far I’m willing to go to claim a future with the man I love.

Carrson thinks he’s the dangerous one.

He’s about to discover I can be savage too.

Pretty Savage is an obsessive secret society dark romance with a ruthless, morally gray hero who is only soft for her, touch-her-and-die possessiveness, dangerous rituals, forced bonding, an us-against-the-world romance, and an increasingly powerful heroine. It is the second book in The Order series and should be read after Pretty Vicious.

Want more from this world? Read the prequel Pretty Ruthless, set thirty years before the events of Pretty Vicious. She’s an outsider on the hunt for answers. He’s the cruel, reluctant ruler who will one day become Carrson’s father. When these two collide, sparks fly and blood spills.

You’re not ready for what happens next.

Publication Date 10/9/2026

Pretty Savage. The Order. Book Two: Defy: A Southern Gothic Dark Academia Novel by Lexi Davis

My Review

Pretty Savage picks up the thread of Laurel and Carrson’s story with the kind of immediate intensity that makes putting the book down feel almost impossible.

Where the first installment pulled Laurel into the shadowed world of The Order against her will, this one forces her deeper still, into rituals that demand public branding and binding, into the weight of secrets that stretch beyond one man’s control, and into the realization that the real threat is the entire machinery that shaped Carrson and still holds his father at its center.

Lexi Davis writes the Southern Gothic atmosphere so thickly that the elite campus, the old money, and the blood soaked rules of the society feel less like fiction and more like something that could be happening just out of sight.

What struck me most was watching Laurel stop simply surviving and start claiming ground. She learns the Order’s codes faster than its members expect, decides which truths to bury and which alliances to risk, and discovers a savagery of her own that matches Carrson’s protectiveness blow for blow.

Their relationship, already charged with enemies to lovers tension, deepens into something fiercer and more equal, he will destroy anyone who threatens her, yet she refuses to remain only the protected one. The chemistry is relentless, the spice high, and the moral grayness of nearly every character keeps the stakes feeling dangerous rather than decorative.

The rituals grow more twisted, the family legacies more poisonous, and the questions about Laurel’s own bloodline more urgent.

Side characters who appeared earlier gain new layers once their histories are clearer, and the sense that no one is fully safe least of all the heir who was raised to rule never lets up.

The book ends on a cliffhanger that is both devastating and inevitable, the kind that leaves you staring at the final page already hungry for the next volume.

This is dark academia romance that leans hard into possession, power, and the cost of defiance.

It is not gentle, and it does not apologize for its intensity.

If the first book hooked you on the world and the couple, Pretty Savage will sink the hooks deeper.

I finished it equal parts satisfied by how far Laurel and Carrson have come and restless for whatever destruction comes next.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Almost Functional by Elen Gait

Description

If life had a customer service department, Nova would like to file a complaint.

At thirty, she’s still waiting for the successful-adult package everyone else seems to have received. Instead, she’s got a stalled career, a messy dating life, and a New York apartment that feels one rent increase away from falling apart.

Then she meets Sayer, a thirty-two-year-old freshly single man who’s having his own existential crisis after realizing the life he planned isn’t the life he wants.

When he moves into her building, a clumsy collision throws them into each other’s lives in the most inconvenient way possible.

He’s rebuilding. She’s just trying to make it through the week.

Neither of them is fixed and they definitely aren’t perfect.

But together…

They’re almost functional

Publication Date 10/9/2026

My Review

I finished Almost Functional by Elen Gait with the quiet satisfaction of someone who has just read a good book.

Nova’s opening complaint about life’s missing customer service department landed so cleanly that I laughed out loud .

At thirty she is still waiting for the polished adult package that everyone else appears to have unboxed without effort, a steady career, tidy relationships, an apartment that does not feel permanently in need of a makeover (or demolition!).

Instead she has the familiar New York cocktail of stalled ambition, dating disasters, and rent anxiety.

Sayer arrives in the same building carrying his own version of the same discontent… he’s thirty two, freshly single, and suddenly aware that the life he carefully planned no longer fits.

Their first meeting is pure physical farce, a clumsy collision that somehow becomes the most honest introduction either of them has managed in years.

What I loved most is how little the novel pretends these two are going to fix each other. They remain unfinished, still fumbling through ordinary weeks, still capable of saying the wrong thing or choosing the easier avoidance.

The romance grows not from grand gestures but from the slow accumulation of small, inconvenient kindnesses, shared laundry room complaints, late night admissions that neither of them has it figured out, the quiet relief of being allowed to show up messy.

The writing stays light enough to keep the pages turning yet never flinches from the exhaustion of trying to become a functional adult when the instructions seem to have been lost in the mail.

By the end I did not feel as though I had watched two broken people become whole. But I felt as though I had watched two people decide that “almost” might be enough for now, and that choosing each other in the middle of the mess is its own kind of success.

It is a gentle, funny, unexpectedly comforting book for anyone who has ever looked around at thirty and wondered when the real adults were supposed to arrive.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Lose You Twice (PCU Ice Storm Book 2) by Riley Paige

Description

Three years ago, Wren Calloway slipped through my fingers.

I’ve spent the last 1,276 days pretending my sister’s best friend doesn’t exist.

Now she’s the new equipment assistant for my hockey team for my final year and avoiding her is no longer an option.

The closer we get, the harder it is to ignore the truth: letting her go was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.

Because Wren has never stopped feeling like home.

And I’m not sure I’d survive losing her twice.

Tropes:

🏒 best friend’s brother

🩵 second chance

🏒 forced proximity

🩵 college hockey romance

🏒 found family

Publication Date 10/9/2026

Lose You Twice (PCU Ice Storm Book 2) by Riley Paige

My Review

Lose You Twice pulls you right into the ache of unfinished business.

Three years after Wren Calloway slipped away, Kai has spent every one of those 1,276 days trying to pretend his sister’s best friend no longer exists…..

Then she shows up as the new equipment assistant for his college hockey team in his final year, and suddenly avoiding her is impossible. The forced proximity that follows feels inevitable and electric at the same time.

What works so well here is how deeply the history between them is felt. This is not two strangers discovering attraction, it is two people who already know each other’s edges, memories, and soft spots, trying to navigate the weight of what they once almost had.

Kai carries quiet guilt and a stubborn refusal to look too closely at what he let go. Wren is the one who keeps putting everyone else’s needs ahead of her own, school, family, the constant demands at home, until she is running on empty. Watching her slowly remember she is allowed to take up space, and watching Kai realize that she has always felt like home, gives the story its emotional feel.

The hockey setting adds something without overwhelming the romance. Practices, the locker room banter, the grind of a senior season all serve as background noise that keeps forcing Kai and Wren into the same spaces.

The found family threads around Wren’s siblings and the team itself had me smiling. Their relationship feels lived in rather than manufactured, full of unfinished conversations and the particular kind of longing that comes from knowing exactly what you lost.

Riley Paige leans into the second chance and best friend’s brother tropes without letting them become checklist items. The pining is heavy, the regret is genuine, and the slow reconnection feels earned. There is heat when the walls finally come down, but the real tension lives in the quieter moments, the shared glances across the ice, the careful way they circle each other, the fear of getting it wrong again. By the end, the idea of losing her twice carries real weight, and the resolution lands with the satisfaction of two people finally choosing each other with open eyes.

If you like college sports romance that prioritizes emotional history over flashy drama, and second chance stories that let the characters sit in their mistakes for a while before finding their way back, this one delivers.

Kai and Wren feel like people who have been waiting for each other longer than either of them wanted to admit.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

Lifeline: (Blackbird Saga, Book 1) by Emily Lockwood

Description

In Paris, luxury and danger dance to the same rhythm.

Olivia Roussel works discreetly in the shadows of a nightclub, far from the spotlight and scandals. But one night, everything explodes: an armed attack, secrets hidden on a hard drive, and the certainty that someone wants her dead.

Théo Gaillard, a powerful producer and a man of magnetic intensity, wasn’t part of her plans. However, he will be the one to pull her out of the line of fire… and awaken a desire Olivia never even suspected existed.

Amid coded messages, ambushes, and the constant threat of an invisible enemy, every moment together becomes an explosive mix of danger and passion.

Because when attraction ignites under the bullets, every caress could be the last…

Lifeline: suspense, romance, and steamy scenes that will keep you reading until the early hours.

Spicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️

💋 He saved her from the bullets. Now, no one can save her from him.

🌃 Amidst the lights of Paris and the edge of a gun, a desire impossible to extinguish was born.

🔥 When danger breathes so close… heart and skin burn in unison.

🖤 Deciphering the code could save their lives. Resisting desire… isn’t in their plans.

Publication Date 29/8/2026

Lifeline: (Blackbird Saga, Book 1) by Emily Lockwood

My Review

I picked up Lifeline expecting a solid dose of romantic suspense with heat, and Emily Lockwood delivered exactly that, wrapped in the glittering yet dangerous nightlife of Paris.

From the opening pages, Olivia Roussel feels like someone who has carefully built a life in the shadows, and watching that carefully constructed world shatter in a single violent night pulled me in hard.

The attack, the mysterious hard drive, and the sudden knowledge that someone wants her dead set a relentless pace that never really lets up.

Théo Gaillard arrives as the magnetic force the back cover promises powerful, intense, and impossible to ignore.

Their chemistry is immediate and charged, the kind that simmers under every conversation and explodes when danger forces them closer.

The author does an excellent job of balancing the external threats (coded messages, ambushes, an invisible enemy closing in) with the internal pull between these two.

What I liked most was how the romance never fully softens the suspense. Even in quieter moments, the sense that time is running out keeps the tension high. Olivia’s determination and Théo’s protective intensity create a push/pull that feels real to the high stakes world they’ve been thrown into.

The Paris setting adds atmosphere without overwhelming the story, luxury clubs and shadowed streets become characters of their own, heightening both the danger and the desire.

As the first book in a series, Lifeline left me wanting more while still offering a satisfying ending of its own.

It is pure escapism of the addictive variety, we have action, heat, and emotional stakes tangled so tightly that i kept turning pages long after I was meant to stop. 😉

If you enjoy romantic suspense where the attraction burns as hot as the threats closing in, this one is well worth the late nights.

🦋

*copy supplied for review

I was sent this arc from the author. So thank you Emily, it’s a great read.

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Blood and Trouble (RBMC: Helena, MT Book 3) by Jena Doyle

Description

Three hearts. Two months in Europe. One trip that changes everything.

Ava

I don’t trust easily, and I never give anyone control.

But Lycan isn’t a man I can say no to. He’s dangerous, dominant, and far too good at finding the cracks in my armor. I told myself I’d survive two months in Europe with him. Instead, I woke up in Copenhagen with a ring on my finger, blood on my teeth, and something feral living under my skin.

Then his gorgeous, infuriating ex shows up, and I learn the worst thing about wanting two people is how hard it is to resist either of them.

Lycan

I’ve never been in love. Ever. Not even with the one man I’d have burned the world down for.

But Ava Vanderbilt is exactly the kind of trouble I’ve spent my life avoiding. Untouchable. Brilliant. And mine on paper for the next thirty days. I only meant to get her through her transition. I didn’t mean to keep her.

Then Poe crashes back into my life and decimates everything I thought I knew about myself.

Poe

I told myself I came for the job. For the pack. Because my Alpha needed the favor.

I lied.

Lycan can bring me to my knees with a look. Ava’s a good girl with a filthy soul, and my wolf instantly recognizes her as his, despite the diamond on her finger. Together, they make me weak.

I’m used to running when things get hard, but once I get caught in this twisted thing between the three of us, there’s nowhere left to hide.

~~**~~

Something has been hunting the Vanderbilt bloodline for twenty years. It’s starving. And the only thing left standing between Ava and a disastrous curse is a complicated bond and two wolves who will tear Europe apart to save her.

Publication Date 8/9/2026

Blood and Trouble (RBMC: Helena, MT Book 3) by Jena Doyle

My Review

Blood and Trouble pulled me in the moment Ava woke up in Copenhagen with a ring on her finger, blood on her teeth, and something wild stirring under her skin. But there is more to the story before that happens 😝

This is the third book in the RBMC, Helena, MT series, and although it suggests you start from the first book, this can be read on its own (but I’m going back to read them as I loved this book.)

What starts as a two month European trip meant to help Ava and her family regroup (money issues) and (help through her transition) becomes a tangled, intoxicating collision of three people who keep trying and failing to keep their hands and hearts to themselves. 😜

Ava’s voice is sharp and guarded from the start. She doesn’t trust easily and refuses to hand over control, yet Lycan dismantles those walls with the kind of quiet dominance that feels both dangerous and inevitable.

Their dynamic crackles with tension, he is the man she cannot refuse, and watching her fight that pull while her new instincts wake up is one of the most compelling parts of the story.

Then Poe arrives, the gorgeous, infuriating ex who upends everything.

The way the author writes the shift from two to three is messy and electric. Poe’s presence forces Lycan to confront feelings he has spent years denying, while Ava discovers that wanting both of them is less a complication and more a revelation.

The chemistry among the three is constant and layered, it’s possessive, tender, filthy, and surprisingly vulnerable all at once.

Away from the pack and the club, the usual rules loosen, and the three of them are left to figure out who they are to each other without the safety net of familiar territory.

The author balances the heat with real emotional stakes. Lycan’s admission that he has never been in love, not even with the one person he would have burned the world for, lands with quiet devastation.

Poe’s tendency to run when things get hard collides with a bond that refuses to let him escape.

Ava, newly feral and still learning the edges of her own power, becomes the unexpected center that holds them together.

This is not a tidy romance. It is bloody, complicated, and deeply sensual in the best way.

The polyamorous relationship develops with an intensity and possessiveness that had me reading late into the night. Add in the the history between Lycan and Poe and it gave it a richer, more fraught feeling.

Moments of tenderness sit right next to moments of raw need, and the story never softens the edges for comfort.

By the time the three of them stop fighting what is happening between them, the backstory comes into play …..

The danger comes in the form of an old adversary, vampires and witches are in full force, and assistance comes from a couple of RBMC chapters. (Well it is a motorcycle gang story 😉)

Blood and Trouble is steamy, emotional, and full of cheeky banter.

It left me turning the last page already wanting more of these three and whatever comes next for the pack.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

RAGE (Shadow Security Book 2) by Kat Mizera

Description

The first time I lay eyes on our new cyber security expert, I know I’m in trouble.

Lush curves, full lips, big blue eyes–exactly the type of woman who makes me do stupid things.

Good thing casual hookups are frowned upon at Shadow Security, and I don’t do serious.

Until I hear her plans to get pregnant.

The last thing I need is a kid but the only person putting a baby in her is going to me.

So we make a deal: No emotions, no promises, just lots of sex and eventually uncomplicated co-parenting.

But the first time I touch her, I know I’ve grossly underestimated her allure.

And when an old enemy comes looking for revenge, I’ll do anything to protect what’s mine.

Publication Date 3/9/2026

***RAGE (Shadow Security Book 2) by Kat Mizera***

My Review

RAGE is the kind of book that knows exactly what it wants to be and delivers it without apology.

From the moment Rage first sees Luna, the new cyber security expert walk into Shadow Security, the attraction is instant and also inconvenient! The sort of sharp, physical pull that makes a man who prides himself on control start making very bad decisions. 😜

Luna is soft and quiet (but full of determination), the opposite of the no strings lifestyle he has carefully maintained, and the fact that workplace rules frown on casual hookups only makes the tension worse. 😝

What really hooks the story for me, was the deal they strike once he overhears Luna’s plans to have a baby on her own. No emotions, no promises, just sex and eventual shared parenting.

It is a classic setup that should feel clinical/cheesy, yet the first time they touch it becomes clear neither of them understood what they were agreeing to. The chemistry is immediate and heated, the kind that turns practical arrangements into something far more complicated almost overnight.

Rage’s possessiveness flares hard and fast…. the idea of any other man being the one to give her what she wants is simply unacceptable.

Around the personal drama sits the darker thread that keeps the book moving….. An old enemy surfaces looking for revenge, and suddenly the careful boundaries Rage tried to set around this arrangement are irrelevant.

Protecting her becomes instinct rather than choice, and the external threat forces both of them to confront feelings they swore they would not allow.

The suspense never overwhelms the romance, but it adds enough danger to raise the stakes and give Rage a reason to stop pretending this is still casual.

The team dynamics is just fun, the banter is easy, and the heat between Rage and Luna is consistent and satisfying. The pregnancy arrangement trope is handled with enough emotion that the shift from “just sex” to something deeper felt honest.

By the end, the protective intensity and the reluctant softening of a man who never planned on wanting more make for a solid, addictive read.

It is steamy romantic suspense with an alpha hero, strong heroine, high heat, and just enough danger to keep the pages turning.

🦋

📖 PAPERBACK REVIEW 📖

Shadows in the Code by Collin Tobin

Description

In a world where every unsolved mystery whispers of a darker truth, a reclusive inventor unleashes a technological marvel—a device powered by the triumphs and failures of law enforcement’s past. This AI, designed to obliterate crime with an unerring precision, comes with a challenge that few could resist.

Down on his luck and haunted by the unresolved murder of his wife, Detective Max Delaney is chosen to test the invention. With a tantalizing offer of half a million dollars and the final, life-altering chance to uncover the truth behind his greatest loss, Max must traverse the country—from the cold, unforgiving streets of Massachusetts to the sun-drenched alleys of California. Alongside his loyal friend Luca, he is tasked with solving five formerly unsolvable crimes—a journey that promises redemption, revelation, and risk at every turn.

But as Max edges closer to justice, a sinister force lurks in the shadows, tracking his every move with a single, corrupt intent: to seize the device for its own nefarious designs. With the clock ticking and every clue deepening the mystery, Max and Luca find themselves entangled in a deadly game where the price of failure is far greater than they ever imagined.

Publication Date 2/6/2026

My Review

Shadows in the Code by Collin Tobin feels like the kind of thriller that digs under your skin and stays there.

From the first pages the story alone pulls you in…. a reclusive inventor hands over a revolutionary AI built from the triumphs and failures of past investigations, and the man chosen to test it is Detective Max Delaney, still raw from the unsolved murder of his wife.

The half million dollar payday is almost secondary to the story, what really matters is the chance to finally dig into the case that destroyed him.

That emotional stake turns what could have been a simple high tech mystery into something more personal and urgent.

Max and his friend Luca set out across the country, starting in the grey streets of Massachusetts and ending in the bright, deceptive heat of California, tasked with cracking five cases that had already beaten every other detective who tried.

The road trip structure keeps the story moving, each new city bringing its own atmosphere and its own buried secrets.

You can feel the weight of those cold cases pressing on Max, and the author does a strong job of letting the unresolved grief bleed into every decision he makes.

At the same time a darker force is already hunting the device, turning the investigation into a race against people who will do anything to control the technology. The tension never really lets up once that shadow appears. 😮

What I liked most is how the book balances the flashy AI concept with old fashioned detective work and the quieter cost of obsession.

The gadget is impressive, but the real engine is Max’s need for answers and the loyalty between him and Luca. Their friendship is real, which makes the danger they face hit harder.

There are moments where the plot leans into classic cat and mouse territory, and a few of the twists announce themselves a little early, yet the emotional moments stays steady enough to carry the story through.

Shadows in the Code is a solid read for anyone who likes crime fiction mixed with a near future edge and a character who has something real to lose.

It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it delivers a tense, character driven ride that stuck with me for a few days after.

🦋

*copy supplied for review

I was kindly sent a paperback to read and review. I want to thank Collin for sending a great read.

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

Rhodes (Van Doren) by Crea Reitan

Description

Every high school has a bully who has gone unpunished.

Walking the halls of my high school after two decades reminds me why I’ve blocked those years from my memory. The walls hold secrets but perhaps none as potent as the woods behind the school where a life ended too soon.

I wasn’t able to make a difference then. But I’m not a frightened kid anymore. Bullies no longer scare me. It’s time to deliver long overdue consequences to those who have never been held accountable for their actions.

With my pack of wolf dogs and this blindingly bright fake boyfriend at my side, nothing can go wrong.

***

This is a LGBTQIA+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.

Publication Date 27/8/2026

My Review

Rhodes is a sharp, satisfying little novella that digs into the kind of unfinished business most of us would rather leave buried.

The premise alone had me hooked…. Rhodes now an adult has returns to the halls of his old high school, (school reunion) but he’s no longer that scared kid who once watched something terrible happen in the woods behind the building, and who has decided the people responsible have coasted long enough without consequences. (You need to read to find out what it was 🫣)

That quiet, simmering rage is what drives the whole story, and as usual this author handles it with the same unapologetic edge that runs through the rest of the Van Doren books. And I loved it.

Rhodes arrives with his pack of massive wolf dogs animals that feel less like pets and more like living extensions of his will, and don’t forget Bennett (a fake boyfriend who is clearly there to serve as both cover and complication. 😜)

The dogs are pure chaos in the best way….. they give the quieter moments a feral energy that keeps the tension from ever fully settling. The fake boyfriend setup, meanwhile, starts as pure practicality and slowly reveals itself as something warmer and far more interesting than either man planned, (they remind me a little of Loren/Oakley)

The novella moves quickly, balancing the darker undercurrents of past trauma and present day reckoning with the kind of charged chemistry we have come to expect.

There is heat, there is possessiveness, and there is that particular Van Doren brand of loyalty that borders on the unhinged.

Yet the story never loses sight of the story, a man who has carried guilt and helplessness for twenty years finally deciding he is strong enough to do something about it.

Because it sits inside the larger family web, there are familiar faces and the comfortable sense of an established world, but the book still works as a self contained story.

If you already enjoy the Van Dorens, especially the protective, slightly feral energy that surrounds them, this one will have you smiling.

I finished it wanting more time with Rhodes and his strange, devoted little family of dogs and chosen people, which is exactly the feeling a good novella should leave behind.

🦋

Rhodes (Van Doren) by Crea Reitan (Discrete Cover)

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Now their starlet (Starletverse Book 2) by Callie Clark

Description

My entire life has belonged to someone else.

My image belongs to the public. My career belongs to my mother. And now, with a judge’s signature on a piece of paper, my life belongs to her too.

I finally thought I knew who I was.

Then my mother took everything from me.

My freedom. My father. The five men who made me believe I could be more than the carefully curated starlet the world expected me to be.

Now, I’m trapped under an emergency conservatorship with the woman who spent my entire life teaching me that love is conditional, and she’s determined to force me back into the perfect little box I finally escaped.

But Beckham Knight and the pack I’ve started to build aren’t ready to let me disappear. They’re fighting to get me back.
The problem is, escaping my mother is only the beginning.

I’m faced with a terrifying truth: if I want a life that’s finally my own, I have to stop trying to survive it alone.

I’ve spent my entire life being whoever the world needed me to be.

Maybe it’s time I decide who I belong with.

And this time?

I’m Now Their Starlet.

—

Now Their Starlet is book two in a why-choose MMFMMM contemporary omegaverse romance duet and has a HEA!

Publication Date 1/9/2026

Now their starlet (Starletverse Book 2) by Callie Clark

My Review

What I can tell you from the official description and the foundation laid in Knot Their Starlet is that this second half of the duet is clearly designed to finish the emotional arc that left so many of us on the edge of our seats!

Book one introduced Andromeda as a woman who had spent her entire life performing for everyone else’s expectations, her mother’s, the public’s, her toxic ex’s

and only just begun to discover what it felt like to be claimed by a pack that saw her as more than the carefully curated starlet.

The cliffhanger put her under an emergency conservatorship controlled by the same mother who taught her that love was conditional, stripping away the fragile independence and the five men she was starting to trust.

This sequel picks up right where we left her…. asks the harder question…. what does it take for someone who has always survived by becoming whatever the world needed to finally decide she gets to belong to herself, and to the people who refuse to let her disappear?

The promise of a full HEA for the MMFMMM pack, the fight against the conservatorship, and Andi’s internal shift from “surviving alone” to “choosing who she belongs with” are all front and center in the blurb.

The author delivered the same intensity of emotional payoff, protective pack dynamics, and Hollywood omegaverse tension that made the first book so addictive for me.

Andi has to navigate her new pack, her feelings towards her estranged father and her deranged mother!

I did feel a little cheated as there wasn’t as much romance/intimate moments as there was in the last book. But the emotions it left me with I felt more than made up for it.

Could there have been a third book? Possibly. Or maybe a novella tells us how Andi gets on with her pack in the future (but that’s just my personal opinion.)

Definitely need to read this duo in order to get the full experience.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

The Price of Uncreation (The Faceless Chronicles Book 4) by Grant Pierce

Description

When the Lightbringer unleashed the power of Uncreation, the heavens shuddered and answered with a storm of Celestial Fire.

From the ashes, the shapeshifter Valko emerged, unshackled and bent on summoning The Thousand Legion, a force composed of the most powerful greater fiends of the Abyss. Their destructive potential is unimaginable.

Valko seeks to spread the Scarlet Plague and ignite a war that will consume the hybrid races. Amid the carnage of countless vanquished souls, he will seize the power of Creation and Uncreation. No prophecy foretells salvation from his mad machinations.

Standing against him are the gorgon sisters, Azzlya and Nyssa. They must rally an unlikely band of a lich, a flesh golem, a mute skeleton warrior, a half-orc mercenary, and a human rogue. Together, they must unmask Valko, distribute the plague’s cure, and prevent a genocidal war.

The Legion is coming. Valko is its herald.

Publication Date 1/9/2026

The Price of Uncreation (The Faceless Chronicles Book 4) by Grant Pierce

My Review

The Price of Uncreation is a dark fantasy that delivers a strong blend of apocalyptic stakes, unusual characters, and relentless danger.

The threat posed by Valko and the Thousand Legion feels genuinely overwhelming, while the Scarlet Plague adds an unsettling sense of urgency to the story.

I especially enjoyed the unlikely group of heroes. A lich, a flesh golem, a mute skeleton warrior, a half orc mercenary, and a human rogue make for an intriguing party, and their differences create plenty of potential for tension and unexpected loyalty. Azzlya and Nyssa also stand out as compelling figures as they struggle to unite this fractured group against an enemy who seems almost impossible to stop.

The story has a vivid, brutal atmosphere, with celestial fire, fiends, shapeshifters, and the dangerous forces of Creation and Uncreation adding a grand mythological scale.

At times, the large cast and complex mythology can feel overwhelming, but they also give the story a distinctive identity and makes the world feel much larger than the immediate conflict.

Overall, The Price of Uncreation is an entertaining dark fantasy adventure filled with monsters, magic, war, and desperate heroes.

It should appeal to those who enjoy grim fantasy, morally complicated characters, and stories where survival depends on enemies learning to fight together.

Not my usual read, but this author writes some really good stories (and it’s good to change my reading pattern once in a while.)

🦋

30 DAY PHOTO CHALLENGE FOR SEPTEMBER

I’d seen these done on facebook/instagram and TikTok. I didn’t think I’d ever do one. But I’m going to give it a go. And at the end of September, I’ll show you how many I did 😝

I. Selfie

2. View

3. Random Photo

4. Reflection

5. Shadow

6. Fruit

7. A Sign

8. Best Part Of The Day

9. Bold Colors

10. Flower

11. In My Bag

12. What am I doing today?

13. Me With 13 Things

14. Must Do

15. On my bookshelf

16. Clouds

17. Today I Love

18. Comfort Food

19. Beauty

20. Must Have

21. The Weather

22. A Doodle

23. Significant Other

24. Animal

25. Favorite Colour

26. Leaves

27. What I’m watching

28. Something I made

29. Baked Goods

30. Today’s Small Pleasure

Have you ever done a 30 days photo challenge? If so, what was it? Did you finish it? Would you do one again?

🦋

I probably won’t post on here as I tend to forget! But I’ll try to post on my Instagram/Facebook book page and TikTok.

My links

BooksBooksandmoreBooks FB page

https://m.facebook.com/Booksbooksandmorebooks-107447111084910/?__nodl&_rdr

TikTok

@booksbooksandmorebooks69

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/booksbooksandmorebooks1969/

WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER 🍂

Things going on this month:

🎂 It’s my birthday this month. (One year close to 60!)

🚢 I have a mini cruise planned with my son and husband.

📚 A book signing that I’m excited to attend. FBBF in London (more news to follow)

🤔 I’m going to try a challenge this month. I’ll pop a post up if I get around to doing it! 😝

Arcs I’ve signed up for and hope to read.

🤞Sanctuary of Lies (Hawkthorpe) by J Rose

🤞The Price of Uncreation (The Faceless Chronicles Book 4) by Grant Pierce

🤞Wolf Crowned: An enemies-to-lovers rejected mate fae / shifter romantasy (Bound to the Shadow King Book 3) by Felicity Heaton

🤞 Now their starlet by Callie Clark

🤞 Almost Functional by Elen Gait

🤞 A.l. Human (Lietvia Galaxy Book 2) by MK Stephenson

Books on my TBR I’m hoping to read.

♥️ I’ve signed up for lots of arcs this month! So don’t think I’m going to have time/space to read a book off my TBR list 🫣

BOOKS DUE FOR RELEASE THAT I REALLY WANT TO READ/BUY:

🐺 Wolf Crowned: An enemies-to-lovers rejected mate fae / shifter romantasy (Bound to the Shadow King Book 3) by Felicity Heaton

Are there any books this month you’re looking forward to reading?

Are there any books you’d like to recommend?

🦋

📚 BOOKS I READ IN AUGUST 📚

🐺 Island Wolf: A Fated Mates Paranormal Wolf Shifter Romance (Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island Book 1) by Rachel Armstrong arc

🐺 Island Bite: A Friends to Lovers Billionaire Paranormal Romance (Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island Book 2) by Rachel Armstrong arc

🐺 Island Moon: A Fated Mates Wolf Shifter Paranormal Romance (Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island Book 3) by Rachel Armstrong arc

🏒 The Pucks We Freeze: A Grumpy/Sunshine Hockey Romance (Rixton U) by Brooke O’Brien TBR LIST

🥁 A Cymbal Of His Love: Rockstar Romance (The Silent Oath series Book 2) by C.M. Harte arc

♥️ Secret Seduction: a single dad, dark romance (Tempting Love Book 4) by Nikki ash TBR LIST

😈 Healing the Demon: A Cozy, Spicy, Monster Fantasy Romance (Demons of the Rift Book 2) by Evelyn Embers arc

💛 Risk Appetite (London Bound Book 1) by Amara Pardeshi arc

♥️ Wulf, Tales of the Chosen: Erotic Gay Sci-Fi by Kayelle Allen TBR LIST

🏍️ Street: Devil Daddies MC by Pepper north arc

🏝️ One Breath (Isle of Kala Book 2) by Crea Reitan arc

♥️ Just a Glimpse by D.M.R. arc

♥️The Vanishing: Book One of The Exiles by Kelsey Crane arc

🏒Puck Me Twice Over: a Jericho Chimeras Second Chance spicy romance (Jericho Chimeras Hockey Romance Book 6) by Sofia Aves arc

♥️Charlie Goes Sideways: A Novel by Bob Marsocci arc

🖤Unhinged Obsession: A Darkish College Secret Society Romance (Saints of the Black Crown Society Book 1) by London Snow arc

🏨 Checking Out with the Gargoyles: A steamy why choose monster hotel romance by Aura Frost arc

🕊️ Traitors by Willa Hollis arc

🖤Hide Little Traitor: A Dark Why Choose Mafia Romance (Lombardi Legacy Book 2) by Montana Fyre arc

🏒Heartless As Puck (Chicago Chaos Hockey Duology Book 1) by A. Rivers arc

♥️Miss Wylde and the Wynd by Jane Charles arc

🏠 Bring Them Home: A totally gripping and unputdownable crime thriller (Detective Amanda Steele Book 16) by Carolyn Arnold arc

🏒OWNED: An Obsessive Stalker Dark Hockey Romance (Dark Ice) by Daphne Sinclair arc

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🏒 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🏒

OWNED: An Obsessive Stalker Dark Hockey Romance (Dark Ice) by Daphne Sinclair

Description

I don’t want to be loved. I want to be the lock on her door, the eyes in her hallway, and the last thing standing between her and the world.

Maren Aldrich just inherited a billion-dollar NHL hockey team and a craving she can’t admit out loud: the possessive captain whose contract she owns. She tells herself it’s just a photo. Just a private moment. Just a line a boss should never cross with a player.

Then she crosses it—and hands him exactly what he’s been waiting for.

Beckett Vaughn has spent his career being the man everyone watches. What no one knows is who he watches back. Driven by an obsessive need, he turned her own surveillance against her—learning the exact rhythm of her days, the layout of her shadows, and the sound of her breathing in the dark. He knows he should stop. He isn’t going to.

But Beckett isn’t the only stalker watching Maren.

Her ex never raised his voice, but his quiet control was physically abusive, and he never truly let her go. Maren thinks she’s finally safe, but the threat is closer than her cameras can see. When danger forces them into a brutal, claustrophobic proximity, a lethal game begins. As a predator turns into her ultimate morally grey protector, Beckett must decide how far he’ll go to shield the woman he claims as his.

Owned is a tense, scorching dark hockey romance featuring an owner-player forbidden dynamic.

Tropes & Vibe:

🏒 Obsessive Stalker Hero

🖤 Morally Grey MMC

🏒 Forbidden Owner-Player

🖤 Billionaire Heroine

🏒 Surveillance & Voyeurism

🖤 Touch-Her-and-Die

🏒 Dual POV

🌶️ Spicy

Publication Date 31/8/2026

OWNED: An Obsessive Stalker Dark Hockey Romance (Dark Ice) by Daphne Sinclair

My Review

I have to admit, when I first read the back cover for OWNED by Daphne Sinclair, I couldn’t wait to dive in.

Dark romance is already a slippery slope for me, and throwing in an obsessive stalker hockey captain whose contract is owned by the woman he’s been secretly watching? Sign me up 😜

The tension, the forbidden owner/player dynamic, and the promise of a morally grey protector who doesn’t just claim Maren Aldrich, he becomes the lock on her door.

From the opening, the story leans hard into that possessive intensity. Maren has just inherited a billion dollar NHL team and finds herself drawn to Beckett Vaughn in ways she knows she shouldn’t. 😉

The power imbalance is written into every interaction…. she holds his future in her hands, and he has already mapped out the rhythm of her days, the layout of her shadows, and the sound of her breathing.

What starts as her quiet, private craving for him quickly becomes mutual in the most dangerous way possible. Beckett doesn’t just watch her…. he turns her own surveillance against her, and the book never pretends this is healthy or soft.

It’s obsessive, it’s calculated, and it’s written with a kind of dark heat that makes you keep turning pages even when you know you should look away.

What makes the story beyond pure voyeuristic fantasy is the external threat. 😮

Maren’s ex isn’t the villain you might expect. His control was quiet and physical, and the fact that he never truly let her go adds a layer of dread that feels more intimate and realistic than many darker romances manage.

When that danger forces Maren and Beckett into claustrophobic proximity, the relationship shifts. Beckett’s obsession becomes protection, and the line between predator and savior blurs in a way that is both unsettling and strangely compelling.

The book doesn’t shy away from the moral greyness…. it sits in it, lets it breathe, and then some….

The hockey setting grounds the obsession in something tangible. The rink, the contracts, the public scrutiny of an NHL captain all of it raises the stakes.

Every boundary crossed carries the risk of exposure, career destruction, and scandal. That forbidden element gives the chemistry that forbidden touch.

Maren’s struggle between what she should want and what she actually craves is felt on the page, and Beckett’s unwavering claim on her is written with enough intensity that you understand why she eventually stops fighting it.

This is not a gentle romance. It’s tense, scorching, and unapologetically dark. The possessive language, the surveillance, the way Beckett positions himself as both threat and shield, these elements will either pull you in completely or push you out.

For us who enjoy morally grey antiheroes who would burn the world down for the woman they claim, OWNED delivers.

I finished it feeling slightly unsettled but satisfied, which, for this particular subgenre, is exactly the point.

Highly recommended.

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🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Bring Them Home: A totally gripping and unputdownable crime thriller (Detective Amanda Steele Book 16) by Carolyn Arnold

Description

She’d never been this terrified but she refused to let it show, to give her captors more power. As she was led out of the van with her parents, she stifled a cry. Ahead of her was an old farm, surrounded by fields. There was no one for miles around. No one to hear the screams that would inevitably come.

When a seemingly ordinary family goes missing in plain sight, Detective Amanda Steele is called in to find them before it’s too late. The only evidence left behind is the mother’s abandoned car in a mall parking lot—her phone and purse on the front seat. But why would anyone target a loving mother, a dedicated father and elementary schoolteacher, and a teenage girl?

Amanda and Trent speak with friends and family but can’t unearth any reason the family would disappear on their own. Their darker suspicion is confirmed when they find CCTV footage of the mother and daughter being bundled into an unmarked black van, driven away at speed. They are looking at an abduction.

Soon human remains are discovered in a field outside of town, and Amanda uncovers a lead that could blow the investigation wide open. If she’s right, this case is linked to a woman who went missing ten years ago—and closer still, to someone within the police department. But can Amanda and Trent put all the pieces together in time to stop a twisted killer before more lives are lost?

Publication Date 27/8/2026

Bring Them Home: A totally gripping and unputdownable crime thriller (Detective Amanda Steele Book 16) by Carolyn Arnold

My Review

I picked up Bring Them Home expecting another solid entry in Carolyn Arnold’s Detective Amanda Steele series, and it delivered exactly the kind of tense crime thriller I’ve come to like from her.

From the opening pages the sense of dread is immediate and personal…. an ordinary family vanishes in broad daylight, leaving behind little more than a mother’s abandoned car in a mall parking lot with her phone and purse still inside….. That simple, chilling image sets the tone for everything that follows.

Amanda and her partner Trent dig into the lives of the missing parents and their teenage daughter, only to confirm what their instincts already suggested, this was no voluntary disappearance!

CCTV catches the mother and daughter being forced into a black van, and the investigation shifts into higher gear.

When human remains turn up in a remote field, the case deepens and darkens, connecting to a decade old disappearance and, most unsettling of all, pointing toward someone inside the police department itself.

What I liked most was how the author keeps the focus tight on the procedural work without sacrificing the emotional weight of the family’s situation.

Amanda’s determination feels genuine, you sense the pressure she and Trent are under as the clock ticks and the possibility of more victims looms.

The farmhouse setting, isolated and surrounded by empty fields, becomes a recurring image that heightens the isolation and helplessness of the captives. The twists land with satisfying force, especially the way the older case folds into the present one, and the internal threat within the department adds a layer of paranoia that keeps the tension high right through the final pages.

This is the sixteenth book in the series, yet it stands comfortably on its own. (I’ve only read a couple of this series, and at some point I’m definitely going back.)

The pacing is relentless in the best way, once the abduction is confirmed I found myself reading far later than I intended, 😜 unwilling to put the book down until the pieces clicked into place.

If you enjoy police procedurals that balance solid investigative detail with genuine emotional stakes and the occasional gut punch twist, Bring Them Home is a great addition to the Amanda Steele series.

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🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Miss Wylde and the Wynd (The Wynd Brothers Book 2) by Jane Charles

Description

A wayward spinster. A gentleman determined to set things right. An attraction too tempting to ignore.

Lord Damian Wynd had control of his world and his life. As the second born, it was his responsibility to manage the family import business, Trade Wynd. His days were spent on the docks overseeing the unloading of ships or in his offices not far away, which left Damian with little else in his life. An emptiness gnawed at him, but he had no time to determine the cause, let alone fill it. Nor was it as important as keeping order of all he supervised. However, his carefully balanced world is soon overturned when he spies a young woman sneaking away from one of their newly arrived ships.

Miss Georgiana Wylde had always had an adventurous soul, though limited in what she could pursue, grounded, intelligent, and knew what was expected of her. However, when her sister disappears in pursuit of an English rogue, Georgie must go after her before all is ruined, although she fears that it may be too late.

Damian’s first intention is to send Georgie back from whence she came, but her determination and fear for her sister pulls at something deep in his chest that might very well be his heart.

Georgiana had not expected that the most difficult and pragmatic gentleman in all of England would come to her aid. Further, she does not even like him, nor does he care for her. Yet, as their search takes them from the docks in Southampton throughout England and beyond, she finds herself coming to care, even love, the one gentleman who should be completely wrong for her.

Tropes you’ll enjoy:

Forced Proximity
Unconventional Heroine
Fake marriage
Broody hero
Enemies to Lovers
Protective Hero
Regency Road Trip
Slow Burn

Read in Kindle Unlimited!

The Wynd Brothers

Book 1 – Mistress for Wyndview

Book 2 – Miss Wylde and the Wynd

Book 3 – Whispers in the Wynd

Book 4 – Chasing the Wynd

Book 5 – The Lady and the Wynd

Publication Date 22/8/2026

Miss Wylde and the Wynd (The Wynd Brothers Book 2) by Jane Charles

My Review

Miss Wylde and the Wynd is the second book in Jane Charles’s The Wynd Brothers series, competent, slightly prickly people who would rather solve a practical problem than examine their feelings, until the practical problem forces them to do both.

Lord Damian Wynd is the second son who has made order his life. He runs the family import business with a focus that leaves little room for anything softer, and the emptiness he feels is something he simply schedules around rather than confronts.

When he spots Miss Georgiana Wylde slipping away from one of his newly arrived ships in Southampton, his first instinct is pure irritation.

She is chaos in a sensible gown, determined to chase after her sister who has run off with an English rogue, and she has no intention of being sent home quietly.

Damian’s carefully controlled world collides with Georgie’s stubborn sense of duty, and what begins as an attempt to remove an inconvenient woman from his docks turns into a joint search that carries them across England and beyond…..

I loved how the author lets their mutual dislike do the early work. Georgie finds Damian rigid and exasperating, he finds her reckless and far too willing to put herself in danger. Neither is wrong, and neither is entirely right. Their banter has an edge that never tips into cruelty, and the slow shift from reluctant allies to something warmer had me smiling.

Georgie’s adventurous spirit is constrained by the realities of her situation, she is a spinster with limited options and a sister whose reputation hangs in the balance, yet she never becomes passive. Damian’s pragmatism is tested by the very real fear and loyalty she carries, and watching that controlled exterior crack is one of the quieter pleasures of the book.

The journey itself keeps the story moving. There is travel, uncertainty, and the constant awareness that they may already be too late to save Georgie’s sister from ruin.

The stakes remain personal and grounded. Along the way the attraction neither of them wants becomes harder to ignore, and the emotional payoff lands because both characters have been forced to see past their first impressions.

What i liked was the sense that these two people are genuinely wrong for each other on paper and somehow right in practice. Damian’s need for order softens without disappearing, Georgie’s independence gains a partner rather than a handler. Their eventual understanding feels like the natural result of shared purpose and hard won respect rather than destiny or convenient coincidence.

If you enjoy Regency romances that favor character over grand spectacle, that let competent people be both flawed and capable, and that build affection out of friction instead of instant sparks, this one satisfies.

It stands well on its own while clearly belonging to a larger family of stories, and it left me curious about the rest of the Wynd brothers.

A solid, engaging read that shows both its heroine’s determination and its hero’s carefully maintained walls.

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🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Heartless As Puck (Chicago Chaos Hockey Duology Book 1) by A. Rivers

Description

Everyone in Chicago calls him Heartless Harris. Nobody has ever needed a reason.

I’m the assistant who runs his schedule, cooks his dinners, and lives in the studio above his garage. Six months of that, and I could tell you exactly how long Austin Harris will hold a door without once looking at me.

Then the Chaos put the captaincy up for grabs, and his agent decided the only thing standing between Austin and the job was a girlfriend. His agent also decided that girlfriend should be me.

Fake, obviously. Public, photographed, and over by the end of the season.

I said no. Twice.

There are two reasons for that. I stammer when I’m frightened, and a relationship on camera means a camera pointed at my face. And I’ve spent my whole life being useful to men because of my last name. I wasn’t going to be useful for a headline too.

So when Austin asked again, I wrote ten rules of my own, handed them over, and waited for him to argue.

He agreed to all ten before he had read a single one.

Nobody warns you about the coldest man in the league. That he notices everything. That he puts himself between you and the room. That the moment he decides you matter, he is the one who falls, and he falls like a man who has never done it before and has no intention of surviving it.

I wrote those rules to keep myself safe.

I’m the one who keeps wanting to break them.

Heartless As Puck is a steamy hockey romance featuring fake dating with a contract, a grumpy NHL captain, the assistant who lives above his garage, and a hero who falls first and falls hardest. Book one of the Chicago Chaos duology. Guaranteed HEA, no cheating, no cliffhanger.

Publication Date 27/8/2026

Heartless As Puck (Chicago Chaos Hockey Duology Book 1) by A. Rivers

My Review

Heartless As Puck pulls you in with a premise that feels familiar at first glance… fake dating, hockey romance, the grumpy captain and his overlooked assistant, but it’s executes with a quiet intensity that makes the emotional stakes feel freshly sharp.

The Chicago Chaos need a new captain, and Austin “Heartless” Harris is the obvious choice on paper, except his agent decides the missing piece is a public girlfriend to soften his ice cold image.

The agent’s solution is Jane, the woman who already lives above his garage, manages his life, and has spent six months carefully staying invisible in his orbit.

She refuses twice….. When he asks a third time, she answers with ten non negotiable rules and fully expects him to push back. He doesn’t. He agrees before reading a single one.

What follows is less a whirlwind of public appearances and more a slow, careful dismantling of the walls both of them have built.

Jane’s stammer and her lifelong pattern of being useful because of her last name give her real reasons to protect herself from cameras and headlines. Austin’s reputation as the league’s coldest man is not just branding, it is armor, and the author lets us watch it crack in increments so small you almost miss them until the weight of his attention becomes unmistakable…..

He notices everything. He positions himself between her and the room. When he finally decides she matters, the fall is absolute raw, inexperienced, and completely without an exit strategy. And I LOVED IT 🥰

The forced proximity of their living situation and the public performance of a relationship create constant low grade tension, but the real heat comes from the private moments when the rules start to feel like obstacles instead of protection.

Jane’s determination to stay safe collides with her growing desire to break every boundary she set, and Austin’s transformation from distant employer to someone who cannot look away is handled with restraint that makes it more powerful.

This is the kind of sports romance that prioritizes emotional honesty over spectacle. The hockey world exists as pressure and backdrop rather than endless game recaps, and the secondary characters orbit without crowding the central relationship.

By the time the season winds down and the original end date of the arrangement approaches, the question is no longer whether the fake will turn real, it is whether either of them can survive the honesty that has already taken root.

I’m now wanting the next book in the duology, not because of unfinished plot threads, but because these two people have become too interesting to leave behind. 😊

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Hide Little Traitor: A Dark Why Choose Mafia Romance (Lombardi Legacy Book 2) by Montana Fyre

Description

The gilded cage I grew up in was nothing more than a pretty cell, and now I find myself in another one, torn from the life I built myself by a ghost from my past.

Kingston may have held me through the worst moments of my life, but when he steals me away in the dead of night and offers me the life I thought I wanted, I can’t help but think of the men I left behind.

But the complicated feelings for four men that hate each other are the least of my worries as our enemies circle.

Can they put their differences aside for long enough to escape those that want us dead or will their contempt for one another be our downfall?

Content Warning: This book contains dark themes and readers discretion should be applied. For a full list of TW’s, please see authors website.

Publication Date 23/8/2026

Hide Little Traitor: A Dark Why Choose Mafia Romance (Lombardi Legacy Book 2) by Montana Fyre

My Review

Hide Little Traitor picks up the moment the first book in the Lombardi Legacy left off, and Montana Fyre does not ease us back in.

Chloe is once again pulled from the life she tried to build for herself, this time by Kingston, the man who once held her through the darkest moments of her past and has spent a decade watching over her from the shadows. He offers her the safety and the future she once thought she wanted, yet her thoughts keep drifting to the three other men she was forced to leave behind. That push/pull sits at the heart of the story and gives the book its restless energy.

What works especially well is the way the four men refuse to settle into easy harmony. Damon remains the brooding presence who cannot decide whether loyalty to the family or loyalty to Chloe will win. Ryker seems determined to needle everyone around him just for the entertainment value. Ronan brings his own brand of intensity, and Kingston, the oldest and most possessive of the group, struggles openly with the idea of sharing the woman he has claimed for so long. Their mutual dislike is not softened or resolved too quickly, it simmers, flares, and occasionally turns into reluctant cooperation when danger closes in.

The tension between them was electric and I loved the why choose setup. And I cheered as Chloe’s growing confidence allows her to demand what she needs from all of them without shrinking.

The spice is frequent and unapologetic, matching the dark, possessive tone of the series. Scenes between Chloe and the men crackle with jealousy and raw chemistry, and the group dynamics never feel like simple add ons.

Outside the bedroom the plot keeps moving at a steady clip. Old enemies circle, secrets about Chloe’s past surface, and the sense of being hunted never fully lifts.

External threats with quieter moments of character work, particularly around Chloe’s physical health and the long term effects of the life she has been forced to live. (The endometriosis representation is handled with care and becomes part of who she is rather than a plot device.)

By the final pages the story has deepened every relationship while leaving enough unresolved that the next installment feels necessary rather than optional.

The cliffhanger lands hard, exactly as the first book’s ending did. I so wanted to read what happens next.

The writing is sharp and immersive, the dialogue sharp enough to cut, and the found family friction among the men is one of the book’s strongest assets.

Hide Little Traitor delivers on the promise of its predecessor and leaves the Lombardi world wider and more dangerous than before.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Traitors by Willa Hollis

Description

She’s been lied to. So has the whole world.

Seraphine Austen, raised by the Ravellian rebels, has spent her life below, hidden in the shadows after a ruthless regime drove magic wielders and Nulls into hiding below ground. Above, Whitefall, a projected idealistic society, keeps peace and order by practicing law over lore. Gifted with dangerous power, Seraphine has never known independence, instead fiercely protected by her father, the Ravellian leader. Tired of hiding and burning with anger at the injustices above, she’s ready to step into the light and prove herself.

He carries the truth that could change everything.

Tark Lowell is the son of the regime itself. As the Commander of Whitefall’s military forces, he enforces order without mercy and is loyal without question. Burdened by duty and the weight of those he’s sworn to protect, the pressure of it all threatens to expose him.

When Tark captures Seraphine after a mission gone wrong, their meeting creates a chain of events neither anticipated. Ugly truths are exposed, and loyalties fracture, blurring the line between enemy and ally.

Surrounded by deception, Seraphine and Tark must decide whether trusting each other is the greatest risk or their only chance at survival—because how do you trust someone who’s betrayed the only world you’ve ever known?

We’re all traitors in the end.

Publication Date 20/8/2026

My Review

Traitors arrives with a description that immediately pulls you into a world of shadows and carefully maintained illusions.

The setup is classic dystopian fantasy, on the surface magic users and Nulls driven underground by a polished, law obsessed society called Whitefall that projects an image of perfect order.

Seraphine Austen has spent her entire life protected, hidden, and essentially caged by her father’s protectiveness and the rebel cause that raised her. That simmering frustration, the hunger to step into the light and claim some agency of her own, is vey apparent. You can feel the weight of being the protected daughter of a revolutionary leader, gifted with power that makes her both valuable and dangerous, and still never fully free.

On the other side stands Tark Lowell, the Commander who enforces the very regime that keeps people like Seraphine in the dark. He is the loyal son of the system, carrying the burden of duty and the quiet knowledge that the peace he protects may be built on lies.

When their paths collide after a mission goes wrong, the story promises the kind of forced proximity and uneasy alliance that can either destroy both characters or remake them.

The blurb’s insistence that ugly truths will fracture loyalties and blur the line between enemy and ally is what makes the book feel promising rather than predictable. It is not simply “enemies to lovers” for the sake of tension, it is about two people who have been shaped by opposing myths of the same broken world, forced to decide whether the person standing in front of them is the greater threat or the only one who can see the truth.

What I liked and stays with me is the final line….. “We’re all traitors in the end.” It reframes the entire premise. Loyalty, in this world, is never pure. Everyone is betraying something…. a parent, a regime, a carefully constructed identity, or the version of history they were raised to believe. That moral grayness is the book’s real strength.

Seraphine’s rage at injustice and Tark’s quiet cracking under the weight of what he has sworn to uphold suggest characters who will not remain static. Their relationship, is less about easy romance and more about the dangerous act of choosing to trust someone who has already been trained to destroy everything the other person has ever known.

The tropes are there (prisoner and guard, forced proximity, the weight of family legacy).

Traitors has the potential to be one of those rare dystopian fantasies that lingers.

Highly recommended 👍🏻

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Checking Out with the Gargoyles: A steamy why choose monster hotel romance by Aura Frost

Description

What’s a girl to do when two hunky gargoyles are literally fighting over her?

Marielle is a half-human, half-gorgon just trying to get by. When her gorgon mother insists Marielle take a job at the monster hotel chain she co-manages, Marielle doesn’t have much choice but to agree. Next thing she knows, she’s assigned to mediate two rival gargoyle leaders to prevent further destruction to the hotel–and to stop a repeat of the bloodshed from the previous gargoyle summit fifty years ago.

Her assignments?
Runelian, the stubborn grouch with a dominant streak.
And Goliath, the jolly giant with over-eager puppy dog energy.

None of them expects to find their fated mate at the conference, but when Marielle has to physically separate the two before they rip each other to shreds, the bond between them snaps into place.

Now she has even more incentive to convince them to work together, if only their families didn’t have generations of vitriol behind them. Can Runelian and Goliath overcome their hate, or will they both lose the mate they’ve waited over a hundred years for?

CHECKING IN? WELCOME TO THE MONSTER HOTEL!

This monster hotel story has been brought to you by World Tree Resorts…

Whether our clients are fanged, furred, or looking to frolic, World Tree Resorts is here to provide sssservice with a ssssmile! Be sure to visit any one of our multi-universal locations to find your next Monster Hotel Adventure!*

*WTR is not responsible for any sudden obsession with monsters, though our staff is happy to provide you with a list of our extended service menus, should the need arise.

Checking Out with the Gargoyles is a standalone queer polyam / why choose gargoyle romance intended for mature readers as part of the World Tree Resorts shared world series. It’s full of banter, bursting with sweet and spicy moments, and features plenty of tail, horn, and wing action! Everyone is with everyone – HEA guaranteed

Publication Date 20/8/2026

Checking Out with the Gargoyles: A steamy why choose monster hotel romance by Aura Frost

My Review

I just finished reading Checking Out with the Gargoyles by Aura Frost, and I have to say this steamy why choose monster hotel romance completely pulled me in from the first page.

The premise alone had me hooked… Marielle, a half human, half gorgon just trying to keep her head down, gets strong armed by her gorgon mother into working at the family run World Tree Resorts monster hotel chain.

Next thing she knows, she’s stuck mediating between two rival gargoyle clan leaders who clearly want to tear each other apart, and the hotel along with them, while also trying to stop history from repeating the bloody disaster of their last summit fifty years ago.

What hooked me in was how quickly the tension between the three of them turns electric. Runelian is exactly the kind of stubborn, dominant grouch I love to hate (and then fall for), while Goliath brings this big, sunny, over eager energy that somehow makes the whole situation both funnier and hotter.

When Marielle has to physically get between them and the fated mate bond snaps into place for all three, the story shifts from “please don’t destroy the hotel” to “how the hell do we make this work when their families have been at each other’s throats for generations?”

That push/pull of old hatred versus new, irresistible connection is handled with just the right mix of heat, humor, and genuine emotional stakes.

The monster hotel setting was just great, World Tree Resorts feels lived in and delightfully chaotic, with enough world building details to make the place feel real without ever slowing down the romance.

The scenes between Marielle and her two gargoyles are intense and never feeling tacked on. I also appreciated that Marielle isn’t just a passive prize. She’s practical, a little reluctant, and has her own identity and agency even as the mate bond rearranges everyone’s priorities.

By the end I was fully invested in whether these three could actually build something lasting despite all the clan baggage.

The book delivered on the promise of its blurb without wasting time, and I closed it feeling satisfied and already wondering what other World Tree Resorts stories might be waiting.

If you like your romance with claws, wings, rivalries that run deep, and a heroine who somehow ends up claimed by both the grumpy one and the golden retriever in stone form, this one is absolutely worth checking into.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Unhinged Obsession: A Darkish College Secret Society Romance (Saints of the Black Crown Society Book 1) by London Snow

Description

Last summer, Elijah Moretti and his elite circle made a mistake no one can survive.

It begins as an accident.

It ends with a body… and a series of decisions none of them can take back.

So they make a pact:

That night never happened.

No one will speak of it again, because they all have something to lose.

Elijah isn’t just a star hockey player and a mafia heir.

He’s also a Saints legacy within the Black Crown Society.

Most importantly, he’s Blair Winthrop’s best friend.

She was born into the Black Crown Society too. A legacy in her own right, destined to be matched with a Saint chosen for her.

She’s the only person who has ever been able to tame Elijah’s fiery temper.

Not even Elijah understood his obsession with Blair… until she left without a goodbye, leaving him to believe the worst.

Her opinion is the only one that has ever mattered to him.

And when he needs her most, he believes the girl he would burn the world down for chose the Society over him.

With the Saints’ first pairing ritual looming, their futures have already been decided. Matches are chosen. Loyalty is proven. Prestige is preserved.

When Blair reappears at St. Augustine University, just a shell of the girl he once admired, Elijah realizes she’s been keeping secrets far darker than he imagined.

Secrets that will bring him to his knees, begging for her forgiveness…
begging to touch her one last time.

If one person breaks, the entire kingdom will crumble.

But the past never stays buried when loyalty is scarce, does it?

Blair isn’t willing to play her part.

And Elijah will never let her go.

Publication Date 20/7/2026

Unhinged Obsession: A Darkish College Secret Society Romance (Saints of the Black Crown Society Book 1) by London Snow

My Review

Unhinged Obsession drops you straight into the kind of high stakes, morally gray territory that this author does so well.

Elijah Moretti is everything the title promises…. a star hockey player, mafia heir, and Saints legacy whose carefully controlled world is already cracking under the weight of a deadly secret shared with his elite circle.

That pact/secret, sets a tense undercurrent from the opening pages, and the constant threat of exposure keeps the story humming with low level dread even as the romance takes center stage.

What i loved about the book was the complicated history between Elijah and Blair Winthrop.

She is not just the girl he is obsessively drawn to, she is the one person who has ever been able to soothe his temper, the childhood friend whose opinion has always mattered more than anyone else’s.

And when her sudden disappearance and equally abrupt return as a fractured version of herself created a delicious push/pull of hurt, longing, and suspicion.

Elijah’s conviction that she chose the Society over him fuels a raw, almost feral possessiveness is the author’s style that I love, its protective to the point of danger, tender in the moments he lets his guard down, and completely incapable of letting her go.

The Black Crown Society itself is rendered with the right mix of ritualistic pomp and quiet menace. Pairing ceremonies, legacy expectations, and the pressure to preserve prestige give the campus setting an oppressive feel that contrasts beautifully with the messy, private feelings developing between Elijah and Blair.

Their dual virginity and the slow, charged build of physical intimacy add another layer of intensity…. every touch carries the weight of years of unspoken desire and the fear that one wrong move could destroy everything they are trying to protect.

Blair’s secrets prove darker and more personal than Elijah anticipated, forcing him to confront both his own failings and the limits of the loyalty he has always sworn to the Society.

The result is a romance that is equal parts yearning and desperation, full of the obsessive “burn the world for her” energy that i have come to expect, yet grounded in real emotional stakes.

By the time the past begins to surface and loyalties are tested, the story has locked itself firmly around my heart. I loved the characters, the banter and the dark corners of the university had me gripped.

It is a gripping, atmospheric start to the Saints of the Black Crown Society series, dark enough to keep the pulse racing, romantic enough to make the obsession feel earned, and compulsive enough that finishing the last page only makes the wait for the next book feel longer.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

Charlie Goes Sideways: A Novel by Bob Marsocci

Description

He had a one-way ticket to the top. Now, he’s sleeping in his childhood bed.

Math genius Charlie Garrity had a simple checklist: power, prestige, money. With an MIT Sloan MBA in his pocket and a dream job in the front office of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was rounding the bases toward a perfect life. Then came the blindside.

With his rocket-like trajectory abruptly stymied, Charlie is forced to do the one thing he swore he would never do: move back in with his zany, chaotic, filter-free family. Between his wine-guzzling mother’s weekly allowance, his weed-loving father’s high-stakes business pitches, and his curmudgeonly grandfather’s constant grousing, Charlie’s life has become a documentary of errors—literally, thanks to his aspiring filmmaker brother. To make matters worse, his older sister tries to guilt-trip him into joining her dog-walking business, and his younger sister manipulates Charlie into posing as a Speedo-clad art model.

Charlie is desperate to reclaim his once-lofty status, but when a path back to the top forces a choice between his ambition and his ethics, he has to do the hardest math of his life. He knows what he wants—but is he ready to calculate what he actually needs?

Publication Date 14/6/2026

Charlie Goes Sideways: A Novel by Bob Marsocci

My Review

Charlie Goes Sideways starts with a blurb that feels familiar…. the high achieving young man who has everything mapped out… MIT Sloan, a dream job with the Dodgers, the clean trajectory of power and prestige… only to find himself suddenly derailed and sleeping in his childhood bedroom!

What follows isn’t a simple “back home to find himself” story, but more like a collision between Charlie’s carefully constructed self image and the loud, messy, unfiltered reality of his family. 😬

The wine guzzling mother with her weekly allowance demands, the weed loving father forever pitching high stakes schemes, the grandfather’s constant complaints, the brother turning the whole ordeal into documentary footage, the older sister pushing the dog walking business, and the younger one maneuvering Charlie into the Speedo modeling gig, all of it feels exaggerated in the way real families sometimes are, and the book leans into that exaggeration without apology. (I felt sorry for poor Charlie and exasperated most of the time! He just can’t get a break)

Charlie’s discomfort is on every page, every attempt to reclaim his old status is undercut by the chaos around him and then eventually by the ethical choice the plot forces him to confront.

What i liked was the quiet shift the story makes from pure farce toward something more pointed. The “hardest math of his life” isn’t just a clever tagline, it’s the moment the story asks whether the checklist Charlie once lived by still makes sense once the supporting structure of status is stripped away.

The book doesn’t lecture, but it does let the question hang… ambition is easy when it’s winning, when it asks you to compromise…. what do you actually need?!

It’s a brisk, character driven comedy with enough heart and enough bite to keep the laughs from feeling empty. I really liked Charlie, I wasn’t too keen on his freeloading family!

I enjoyed it immensely and recommend it.👍🏻

So does Charlie finally escape the family he loves? Or will he accept his lot in life? 🤐

🦋

*copy supplied for review

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Puck Me Twice Over: a Jericho Chimeras Second Chance spicy romance (Jericho Chimeras Hockey Romance Book 6) by Sofia Aves

Description

I don’t believe in Destiny. I make my own fate on and off the ice. But when I see her again, it’s game on.

I’ve always stayed the hell out of l the Chimeras drama. Keep my head down and play it hard on the ice, leave everything else safe in my heart. Focus on the career.

Never let anyone in.

Until I find myself staring into pretty eyes I haven’t seen in years that nearly knock me on my a** in the middle of a game.

When the girl I was sweet on back in high school is stranded by her butthole of an ex in the middle of a rain storm afterward the game I nearly threw, I’m right there beside her.

Accident? More?

This is my second chance with the girl I’ve never forgotten and I’m taking it with both hands. Because she doesn’t know my secret. The fantasy I’ve kept to myself all these years with her right at the center.

Hell, I’ll do anything for this girl. I’ll even let her puck me over. As long as I can keep her.

I’m not the nice guy everyone thinks. I’ll protect her from her ex, and even from herself. And she’s about to find that out. Tonight.

PUCK ME TWICE OVER is a stalker dark romance filled with twisted second chances and obsessions that flow in both directions set in Sofia Aves’ Jericho Chimeras’ world.

Publication Date 18/8/2026

Puck Me Twice Over: a Jericho Chimeras Second Chance spicy romance (Jericho Chimeras Hockey Romance Book 6) by Sofia Aves

My Review

I dove into Puck Me Twice Over knowing i would get a dark, obsessive hockey romance with a side of intensity, and this installment lived up to that promise in the best and most twisted ways.

The story centers on Knox, a player who has spent years keeping his head down, focusing solely on the ice and locking away anything that might distract him, until he locks eyes with the girl from his high school past during a game.

That moment of recognition hits hard, and when he finds Felicity stranded in a rainstorm after her ex leaves her hanging, the second chance he never expected suddenly becomes impossible to ignore.

What makes this a good read for me is the push/pull of their reconnection. Knox has carried a a torch for her for years, something he has never shared, and the way that secret fuels his determination to claim this opportunity feels all consuming.

He is not the nice guy the world assumes him to be, and the story leans fully into that darker edge…. protective to the point of possession, willing to shield her from her ex and even from her own doubts, all while the chemistry between them burns hot and fast.

The spice is generous and 😜, fitting the “stalker dark romance” label the book carries, with obsession flowing in both directions rather than remaining one sided.

The hockey world is definitely present, without letting it overwhelm the story.

The ice becomes both a refuge and a pressure cooker for Knox, and the second chance setup gives their history real weight.

The tension builds steadily, the protective streak intensifies, and the final stretch delivers the kind of charged payoff that I love with twisted second chance tropes.

This is not a light or purely sweet hockey romance. It is spicy, possessive, and dark in places.

If you enjoy second chance stories where the hero has been quietly obsessed for years and is finally ready to act on it consequences and all…. Puck Me Twice Over delivers a gripping, heat filled ride that left me both satisfied and a little breathless. 😜 🥵 🏒

🦋

*copy supplied for review

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/🎉

The Vanishing: Book One of The Exiles by Kelsey Crane

Description

It all begins with a game. Six teenagers from around the world receive a mysterious VR headset and are dropped into RIZE: a hyper-realistic survival simulation game where the Earth still lives and breathes as it used to. But when tragedy strikes, the 17-year-olds are faced with a radical choice: to remain obedient heirs to a broken world or take their virtual civilization offline and build it for real.

In a daring heist, the six disappear. They flood the system with fake identities, hijack their supplies, and vanish into the Pacific Northwest to build The Ark: an off-grid homestead rooted in ancient wisdom, the science of permaculture, and the hope of creating a blueprint to save the world. At first, The Ark feels like utopia. Spring brings blossoms and blurred boundaries. But love entangles. Ideologies fracture. Winter descends. A traitor is unmasked, and survival turns brutal. As the outside world hunts them, and the true creator of RIZE is revealed, cracks in their idyllic community begin to form. They had set out to save the world, but now they’re fighting to save themselves.

Publication Date 18/8/2026

The Vanishing: Book One of The Exiles by Kelsey Crane

My Review

I picked up The Vanishing drawn by its premise…. six teenagers from around the world receive mysterious VR headsets, enter a hyper realistic survival simulation called RIZE that shows Earth as it once was, and then make the radical decision to abandon the broken real world and try building something better offline. (Sounds a little like the Maze 🤔)

What starts as a game soon becomes more, a disappearance into the Pacific Northwest, and the creation of The Ark (an off grid homestead grounded in ancient knowledge, and stubborn hope.)

This is a YA dystopia that feels uncomfortably close to home rather than distant spectacle. No superpowers, no monsters, just ordinary 17 year olds confronting a world of pollution, scarcity, and systems that no longer serve them.

The choice they face…. remain obedient heirs to a failing civilization or risk everything to try living differently lands had me turning those pages. The early sections in the simulation and the transition to building The Ark are particularly effective at making the environmental stakes personal and tangible.

What worked best for me was the found family dynamic and the focus on the daily work of creating a community. Spring at The Ark brings the expected blossoming and blurred boundaries…. love, ideology, and personality clashes. Winter brings its own issues and external pressure harden everything.

The characters had great backgrounds, traumas, and skills, watching them try (and sometimes fail) to become a functioning unit was really compelling (I’d happily watch this on the big screen.)

Utopia is fragile. Relationships tangle. Trust fractures. A traitor emerges. Survival gets brutal. These elements keep the story from feeling naïve. At the same time, the book never fully abandons hope, the sense that young people might still be able to live a different life from their parents.

Pacing is deliberate in places. Getting to know six distinct points of view and settling into the rhythms of The Ark takes time, and some of the day to day details may feel slower if you’re primarily looking for high stakes thriller momentum. But once the external pressure and internal cracks intensify, the tension rises effectively.

The writing is clear, strong on atmosphere and emotional moments without becoming too much.

As a debut and the first in a series, The Vanishing sets up larger questions about technology, nature, community, and what it actually costs to try changing the trajectory of a damaged world. It left me invested in the characters and curious about where the story goes next.

If you like character driven YA that treats climate crisis and found family seriously then give this one a go.

It’s thoughtful and often moving.

I’m glad I read it, and I’ll be looking for Book Two.

🦋

#TheReadingCafe

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

One Breath (Isle of Kala Book 2) by Crea Reitan

Description

Onyx

Every note of longing tastes like Cash.

Falling in love with my best friend’s little brother is the biggest mistake I could possibly make. But Cash Ellis has hypnotized me since we were children. Every song I write is a love letter. A plea. Lamenting what can never be.

As my best friend gets angrier and more unrecognizable with each setting sun, I find that I’m taking solace in Cash’s company. I shouldn’t. It’ll prove my undoing. It’s only a matter of time before my one-time best friend finds out.

***

This is a LGBTQIA+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.

Publication Date 13/8/2026

One Breath (Isle of Kala Book 2) by Crea Reitan

My Review

One Breath pulls me in from the very first line of the description, that quiet confession that every note of longing tastes like Cash.

There is something immediately intimate and painful about the way Onyx frames the story, as if the music itself has become both sanctuary and confession.

Falling for a best friend’s little brother is one of those classic forbidden setups that can feel overdone, yet here it lands with a particular ache because the history between them stretches all the way back to childhood.

Cash has always been the one who hypnotized Onyx, the constant undercurrent in every song written, every lyric shaped into a love letter that can never be delivered. That long, slow burn of unspoken feeling gives the story weight before it even properly begins.

What makes it so tense is the slow erosion of the friendship that once felt unbreakable. As the best friend grows angrier and more unrecognizable with each passing day, Onyx turns toward Cash almost instinctively, seeking the steadiness and understanding that used to come from elsewhere.

I love this author’s work, they have always been skilled at writing characters who are messy and human rather than perfectly heroic, and this setup seems tailor made.

The island setting of the Isle of Kala series adds another layer. I love this island and its inhabitants, is a sense of closed community and watchful eyes that heightens the stakes.

But secrets do not stay hidden long in places like that, and the knowledge that the truth will eventually surface creates a constant low level dread that sits beneath the romance.

The music element was a lovely addition. Songs as love letters, as pleas, as the only safe way to say the unsayable, give Onyx a voice that is both artistic and deeply personal. It turns the internal conflict into something external and lasting, something that will exist even if the relationship itself cannot.

I find myself most drawn to the quiet moments of it all. Onyx knows this will prove an undoing, knows the cost, and still cannot step away. That kind of helpless honesty is what stays with me after reading the description, I couldn’t put it down, I wanted to know more, even though I knew I would probably need a tissue 😢

It promised a story that does not shy away from the messiness of wanting someone you are not supposed to want, of finding comfort in the one place that will eventually cost you everything else. And it delivered that and more.

One Breath was a book that left me sitting with the characters long after the last page, still hearing the songs that were written for someone who was never supposed to know they existed. I loved it. And can’t wait to return to Isle of Kala.

🦋

🎉 NEW RELEASE/ARC REVIEW/ BOOK OUT TODAY🎉

Just a Glimpse by D.M.R.

Description

Daiana’s relationship ends due to violence.

After a lot of suffering, she gathers the courage to dump him, at the behest of her friends. Especially Darius’s, who has had his eyes on her since they met, though he has managed to hide it behind an aloof mask.

To get rid of secret messages and midnight calls, Daiana comes up with the brilliant idea of asking Darius for a fake relationship. Ha!

The joke’s on her, because she’s the one who breaks the rules they set between them.

But can she accept that their friendship is becoming something more?

Publication Date 15/8/2027

My Review

Just a Glimpse is the kind of romance that pulls you in with its familiar setup and then keeps you invested through the messy, human way the characters actually navigate it.

Daiana’s story begins in a place of real pain! An ending marked by violence that forces her to reclaim her life with the support of her friends. That foundation matters. The story doesn’t rush past the aftermath or treat her decision to leave as a neat plot device…. instead, it lets the weight of that experience sit with her, shaping how cautiously she approaches anything new.

What follows is the classic fake relationship arrangement, sparked by her desire to shut down unwanted contact from her past. She turns to Darius, the friend who has been quietly watching her for longer than either of them fully admits. His aloof exterior is a thin cover for something more genuine, and the tension between what they pretend and what they begin to feel drives much of the emotional pull.

The humor in Daiana’s “brilliant idea” lands well at first, there’s a lightness to the early stages of their arrangement, but the story earns its depth when she is the one who starts breaking the rules they set.

That shift feels honest rather than forced. Friendship turning into something deeper is never as clean as the rules pretend it will be, and the story lets that complication unfold at a natural pace.

The real strength here is how the book handles the question of whether Daiana can accept the change. Recovery from an abusive relationship doesn’t vanish just because a new connection appears, and the story respects that complexity. Darius’s patience and the gradual erosion of his carefully maintained distance give the romance room to breathe without rushing into easy declarations.

Moments of vulnerability between them feel earned, and the supporting friendships add warmth without overshadowing the central pair.

It isn’t a perfect book, there are stretches where the internal conflict circles the same ground a little longer than necessary, but the emotional core holds.

Just a Glimpse delivers a solid, heartfelt take on the fake dating to real feelings trope, grounded in the reality of healing and the quiet courage it takes to let someone new in.

If you enjoy romance that balances light chemistry with heavier emotional stakes, this one is worth the time.

🦋

🧸 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🧸

Street: Devil Daddies MC by Pepper north

Description

Helping a drugged Devil Daddy wasn’t the only risky move Rosa had ever taken.

The newest member of the Devil Daddies MC, Street works hard to prove himself. Who knew his attempt to spy on the Ravagers’ plans would end with a slip of a woman driving his beloved motorcycle? Now, his rescuer needs protecting and Street will do everything in his power to keep her safe.

Rosa Serrano has survived on her own since she was fourteen. Staying under the radar has forced her to work crappy jobs where they don’t ask questions. She should have stayed quiet, but the last guy the Ravagers targeted met a bad end. Can she truly trust the tough biker whose caring Daddy dominance calls to the woman she’s buried deep inside?

The members of the Devil Daddies MC will risk all to secure two things: special acquisitions and women with a Little side.

Publication Date 11/8/2026

Street: Devil Daddies MC by Pepper north

My Review

Street: Devil Daddies MC delivers exactly the kind of high stakes, protective romance that I love from this series, and it does so with a hero who feels both raw and carefully layered.

Street is the newest story in the club series, still grinding to prove his loyalty, and the moment he ends up drugged and vulnerable while spying on the rival Ravagers, the story locks into place.

Rosa doesn’t just help him, she steals his bike in the process of saving him, which is such a perfect, chaotic meet/cute for this world.

From that point on, the tension never really lets up. Street’s determination to keep her safe collides with Rosa’s long habit of surviving alone, and the push/pull between them is what carries the whole book.

Rosa is one of those heroines who feels earned. She’s been on her own since fourteen, working the kind of invisible jobs that let her stay under the radar, and she has the wary instincts to match. When she risks drawing the Ravagers’ attention by helping Street, it lands as a genuine character choice rather than a plot convenience. Watching her slowly let someone else take the lead, especially someone whose Daddy dominance speaks to the part of herself she’s kept buried, is quietly satisfying.

The author doesn’t rush that trust. She lets Rosa’s independence and Street’s protective streak grate against each other in ways that feel authentic to both characters.

The motorcycle club backdrop and the ongoing threat from the Ravagers keep the external stakes high, but the parts I loved the most comes from the quieter moments… Street’s quiet care, the way he reads what Rosa needs even when she can’t ask for it, and the slow unfurling of the dynamic that defines so much of the author’s work.

It’s steamy without being reckless, protective without becoming overbearing, and it lands with the kind of emotional payoff that makes the series worth following.

If you’ve enjoyed the earlier Devil Daddies books, Street feels like a natural and satisfying next ride, gritty on the outside, deeply tender underneath.

🦋

📕 OFF MY TBR LIST📕

Wulf, Tales of the Chosen: Erotic Gay Sci-Fi by Kayelle Allen

Description

With his career threatened and his life at risk…

Wulf must seek help from the man responsible for the death of Wulf’s father.

Luc Saint-Cyr, a.k.a. the Harbinger. An enigmatic man whose legendary power makes him the most feared person in the empire, and the one person Wulf swore he would never trust again.

For the Harbinger, saving Wulf is a simple matter of asserting his will. Luc’s ties to the Thieves’ Guild grant him access anywhere. He can shield Wulf without difficulty.

Until Luc brings Wulf home for safekeeping, and discovers the real reason for the threats. Protecting Wulf has not only put his and Wulf’s lives at risk, it’s also risked the life of Luc’s teenaged son.

Now, this is beyond protection.

To the Harbinger, this is personal…

Wulf, Tales of the Chosen, an erotic MM Sci-Fi romance between a lusty immortal and a hot, mortal supermodel who longs for protection.

For detailed content notes, see the trigger warnings on the author’s website.

Publication Date 3/3/2021

Wulf, Tales of the Chosen: Erotic Gay Sci-Fi by Kayelle Allen

My Review

Wulf delivers exactly what the blurb promises: steamy MM sci-fi with high stakes and power imbalance tension.

A celebrity model forced to rely on the immortal “Harbinger” who destroyed his family makes for a charged enemies to lovers setup.

The Tarthian Empire world building is solid, the heat is explicit and frequent, and Luc’s protective intensity (plus the added risk to his son) keeps the personal stakes sharp.

It’s a quick, lust driven read that prioritizes desire and danger over deep emotional resolution.

Fans of erotic gay space opera will enjoy the ride, those wanting stronger emotional payoff or tighter plotting may find it uneven.

Solid entry in its niche, hot, dramatic, and unapologetically adult.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Risk Appetite (London Bound Book 1) by Amara Pardeshi

Description

They taught her that good decisions were the safest ones. London is teaching her something far more dangerous.

Amara Pardeshi has built her life on discipline. A risk analyst at Sterling Rowe, she trusts numbers more than instincts, caution more than impulse, and has spent years becoming the kind of woman who never wants too much. Raised between expectation and ambition, she has learned how to succeed without making a mess of herself.

Until Lucas Scott.

As Head Chef of Opus Blue, the crown jewel of restaurateur Hugo Vinther’s growing empire, Lucas is central to a high-profile expansion proposal that lands on Amara’s desk. Quietly confident and impossible to impress, he unsettles her in ways she cannot explain. The more time they spend together, the more she discovers that certainty can be as intoxicating as ambition – and far harder to resist.

As boardrooms give way to restaurant kitchens, rooftop bars, and late-night conversations, Amara finds herself caught between professional judgment and personal longing. What begins as attraction deepens into something far more disruptive – a challenge to everything she believes about control, ambition, and the life she is supposed to want.

When the future of the deal – and her relationship with Lucas – begins to fracture under the weight of impossible choices, she must decide whether caution has been protecting her all along, or simply keeping her from herself.

Set between the polished world of London finance and the charged atmosphere of fine dining, Risk Appetite is a character-driven contemporary romance about desire, identity, and the quiet courage required to choose a life that belongs to you.

Tropes Include:

🖤Workplace Romance

💛Reserved Heroine

🖤Dominant Hero

💛Opposites Attract

🖤Forced Proximity

💛Good Girl Awakening

Publication Date 6/8/2026

Risk Appetite (London Bound Book 1) by Amara Pardeshi

My Review

Amara is the kind of woman who has turned discipline into both armour and identity, someone raised between expectation and ambition who has learned to succeed without ever allowing herself to want too much.

That restraint is what makes her encounter with Lucas Scott so quietly disruptive. As Head Chef of Opus Blue, he represents everything her professional world tries to contain, yet he remains quietly confident and impossible to impress in a way that unsettles her from the start.

What drew me most is how the story seems to refuse the usual shortcuts of workplace romance. The high profile expansion proposal that lands on Amara’s desk is not merely a convenient plot device, it becomes the pressure point where professional judgement and personal longing begin to collide.

The shift from boardrooms to restaurant kitchens, rooftop bars and late night conversations had me glued to the pages.

You can almost feel the temperature change as Amara moves between the polished certainty of London finance and the charged, sensory world of fine dining. Lucas does not storm in and overturn her carefully ordered existence, he simply exists in a way that makes her question the value of that order.

And when the future of the deal and her relationship with Lucas start to fracture under impossible choices, the question of whether she has been keeping herself safe by guarding her heart comes to the forefront. Can she really have both? Or will she pick the safe option?

It is not just about two people falling for each other, it is about a woman discovering that the systems she trusted to keep her steady may also have been limiting her.

Risk Appetite was the kind of romance that understands the cost of control and the unexpected freedom that can come from finally risking more than numbers on a page.

Highly recommended 👍🏻

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Healing the Demon: A Cozy, Spicy, Monster Fantasy Romance (Demons of the Rift Book 2) by Evelyn Embers

Description

Running a Boston ER is controlled chaos. Falling into a dying dimension and landing at the feet of a seven-foot demon medic? That requires a totally different triage protocol.

I’m a nurse, not an interdimensional traveller. But in a sunless realm where humans are enemy number one, my only shield is the terrifying demon who scoops me up.

Torik is a mountain of sweeping wings, lethal horns, and a rugged dad bod. He’s a deeply grumpy, solitary healer who spends his lonely days with his pet lizard. He’s also the most infuriatingly stubborn male alive.

Now, we’re trapped together in his rustic clinic, two fiercely dedicated medical professionals clashing over everything. He barks orders for me to stay hidden from other demons; I can’t just sit quietly while there are patients to save.

He refuses to let me lift a finger, but when I ignore him and do it anyway, those clawed hands are devastatingly gentle when he washes the grime from my curls, or pulls me against his broad chest in his single bed just to keep me warm.

Giving in to the blistering heat between us—and his very, very accommodating demon anatomy—is a dangerous game when one wrong move could get us both killed. Because once this grumpy monster claims my heart, I might just burn the portal home.

Healing the Demon is a cozy, high-heat monster romance featuring:

Cozy Fantasy Monster Romance
Grumpy x Sunshine
Extreme Size Difference
Cinnamon Roll Caretaking
Forced Proximity
Portal Fantasy
Magic
Competent, Smart Heroine in her 30s
Hidden Identity
Fated Mates
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
No 3rd Act Break-Up
No Pregnancy (for the FMC)
Guaranteed HEA!

Publication Date 7/8/2026

Healing the Demon: A Cozy, Spicy, Monster Fantasy Romance (Demons of the Rift Book 2) by Evelyn Embers

My Review

Healing the Demon is the kind of book that slips under your skin and stays there, wrapping you in equal parts warmth and heat until you forget the outside world for a while.

From the moment Sloane, an exhausted Boston ER nurse, tumbles into a dying, sunless realm and lands at the feet of Torik, a towering demon medic with sweeping wings, lethal horns, and the kind of rugged dad bod that somehow feels more comforting than intimidating, the story settles into a rhythm that feels both dangerous and deeply intimate.

What struck me most was how naturally the two of them clash and then soften around each other. Sloane is capable, stubborn, and unable to sit still while people need help, even when those people have claws and the world around her considers humans the enemy!

Torik is the classic solitary grump who has built his entire life around quiet competence and a pet lizard 🦎 for company, yet the moment he scoops her up, his protectiveness turns almost aching in its intensity.

Watching two people who have spent years taking care of everyone else slowly remember how to let someone take care of them was great to watch. Their arguments over medical protocols in his rustic clinic are sharp and funny, but the quieter moments, the careful way his clawed hands wash the grime from her curls, the way he pulls her against his broad chest in that single bed just to keep her warm, carry a tenderness that makes the spice land even harder when it arrives.

And the spice does arrive, fully and unapologetically. The author doesn’t shy away from the size difference or the unique accommodations of demon anatomy, and the heat between them builds with a delicious sense of inevitability rather than sudden convenience…. every charged glance and careful touch grows out of the forced proximity and the slow recognition that they are both lonely in the same bone deep way. The danger of discovery by other demons keeps the stakes real without overwhelming the cozy atmosphere of their little clinic sanctuary.

I closed the book feeling the same satisfied ache I get from the best comfort reads, the ones that manage to be both soft and scorching at once.

Sloane and Torik’s story is about two healers learning that they are allowed to need something for themselves, and that the person who can give it to them might just have horns and wings.

If you like your monster romance with genuine emotional healing, high heat, and the kind of protective caretaking that makes you sigh, this one delivers.

I already miss that grumpy demon and his lizard.🦎 💜

🦋

📕 OFF MY TBR LIST📕

Secret Seduction: a single dad, dark romance (Tempting Love Book 4) by Nikki ash

Description

From USA Today Bestselling author Nikki Ash comes a single dad, age gap, dark romance …

She’s too young. Too reckless. And now she’s my wife.

Vanessa Baker is a temptation with a body made for seduction and secrets swirling in her violet eyes.

There’s no denying that she’s a stunning woman, but she’s a wild card.

Irresistible, unpredictable, and unexpected.

Exactly the kind of trouble I’ve vowed to stay away from.

So, imagine my shock when I wake up in the Bahamas with a ring on my finger and Vanessa in my bed—with no memory of how either got there.

She swears she had no choice. That marrying me was the only way to save herself from a dangerous deal she’d never agreed to.

And now I’m torn between protecting her and resenting her … doing the right thing and wishing I’d never met her.

I don’t trust easily. Not with my heart. Not with my son. And I definitely don’t trust her.

But I bring her home anyway—because her life is at risk. And even though she doesn’t deserve my protection, she has it.

Every day she’s here, charming my son, slipping past my walls, she reminds me of what love is supposed to feel like.

So, what happens when she doesn’t need me anymore … and I still want her anyway?

Please note: Secret Seduction is not a mafia romance. The book is a dark romance because of its content. Since dark romance can mean different things to different readers, please check the detailed content warnings on my website. Your mental health matters.

Publication Date 6/8/2026

Secret Seduction: a single dad, dark romance (Tempting Love Book 4) by Nikki ash

My Review

Secret Seduction, pulled me in with that classic setup of waking up married to a stranger and never quite let me go.

Lorenzo is every bit the guarded single dad the blurb promises, protective of his son to a fault, distrustful after being burned before, and determined to keep his walls high.

Vanessa arrives as pure chaos in the form of a younger woman with secrets in her eyes and a body that tempts him even while he resents the ring suddenly sitting on his finger. Watching him wrestle between resentment and the instinct to protect her felt raw and believable, especially once he brings her into his home and she starts slipping past those carefully built defenses one quiet moment at a time.

What surprised me most was how the forced marriage never felt like a pure convenience trope for long. Vanessa’s reasons for needing the protection are dark enough to justify the label, and Lorenzo’s conflicted sense of duty creates real tension that keeps the pages turning.

Yet the heart of the story lives in the softer moments, the way she charms his son without trying, the gradual thawing of Lorenzo’s suspicion, and the slow realization that the woman he never meant to keep is the one making him remember what it feels like to want more than safety.

Their chemistry builds with a delicious reluctance that makes every charged interaction land harder when the heat finally arrives.

The author balances the darker undercurrents with genuine sweetness, especially in the scenes involving the little boy who steals more than a few of the best moments. By the time the question of what happens when Vanessa no longer needs Lorenzo’s protection becomes urgent, I was fully invested in whether this grumpy, fiercely loyal man would let himself keep the unexpected wife who had already claimed a place in his carefully ordered life.

It’s messy, protective, and ultimately satisfying in the way the best age gap single dad stories can be when the emotional walls come down.

I closed the book feeling that familiar ache of wanting just a little more time with these two and the family they somehow built in the middle of all the secrets.

Highly recommended 💜

🦋

🎉ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE/OUT TODAY 🎉

A Cymbal Of His Love: Rockstar Romance (The Silent Oath series Book 2) by C.M. Harte

Description

Sophia is a down-to-earth single mom with a quiet strength, fierce love for her son and a deadbeat ex determined to make her life difficult. She swore she’d never fall for another musician – that was until he came into her life.

Sam is the fun-loving drummer of Silent Oath. Who parties hard, laughs loud and hides his pain behind jokes and charm.

She’s the calm to his chaos. They shouldn’t work. They shouldn’t fit together.

He wants nothing more than to be worthy of her, but can he do that when everything around him, including the battles within himself, threaten to tear them apart?

What happens when the storm feels unyielding and shadows wait around every corner ready to pounce?

As their worlds collide, will they become the family they deserve?

Or will Sam implode and take everyone with him…

Publication Date 3/8/2026

A Cymbal Of His Love: Rockstar Romance (The Silent Oath series Book 2) by C.M. Harte

My Review

A Cymbal of His Love pulled me in from the very first chapter and refused to let go.

As someone who doesn’t usually reach for rockstar romances, I was surprised by how deeply this story stayed with me.

Sophia is so strong but not in that flawless, untouchable way. She’s a single mom carrying the weight of a deadbeat ex, protecting her son with everything she has, and still somehow keeping her heart open enough to let Sam in despite every warning bell in her head. I loved her quiet determination and the way her calm presence slowly becomes the anchor Sam desperately needs.

Sam, on the other hand, is pure chaos wrapped in charm, and the author writes him so convincingly that you can’t help but root for him even when he’s making questionable choices. His humor, the way he hides real pain behind jokes and late night parties, watching him grapple with his own demons while trying to prove himself worthy of Sophia and her son was both heartbreaking and hopeful.

Their dynamic is electric, the classic “opposites attract” done right, where her steadiness doesn’t extinguish his fire but gives it direction.

The romance is steamy and heartfelt, but what really stood out was the emotional depth. The book doesn’t shy away from the messiness of blending families, battling inner shadows, and the constant fear that everything could fall apart.

There were moments that genuinely tugged at my heart, scenes of vulnerability, quiet domestic tenderness, and the heavy pull of Sam’s internal storm.

The side characters from the band and Sophia’s world just added another layer without ever stealing focus.

By the end, I was fully invested in whether these two could actually make it work.

It’s a story about choosing to fight for love even when the odds feel stacked against you, and about finding family in the most unexpected places.

If you enjoy rockstar romances with real stakes, flawed but lovable heroes, and heroines who feel like friends you’d cheer for, this one is absolutely worth picking up.

I’m already looking forward to the rest of the Silent Oath series.

🦋

🏒KINDLE READ/REVIEW (OFF MY TBR LIST) 🏒

The Pucks We Freeze: A Grumpy/Sunshine Hockey Romance (Rixton U) by Brooke O’Brien

Description

A small-town stepbrother romance by Brooke O’Brien about a girl trying to stay in control and the grumpy hockey player who still remembers the night she ran—and what it did to him when she didn’t look back.

I never expected to see Willow Anson again—not after the way she left.

No warning. No goodbye. No explanation.

She was the girl who got under my skin.

The one who kissed me like she meant it… and disappeared like none of it mattered. I’ve spent every day since convincing myself it didn’t.

Now she’s back in Rixton, staying at her family’s lodge while her dad recovers from surgery. And thanks to our parents’ surprise wedding, we’re stuck under the same roof.

She’s off-limits. My new stepsister. But the way she looks at me says she remembers everything.

And the tension between us? It’s anything but frozen.

I’ve trained my whole life to handle pressure—on and off the ice. The last thing I need is a distraction in the middle of a season that’s already falling apart.

Games are being thrown. Players are faking injuries. And Willow’s holding on to the photos that could expose everything.

They’re watching. Threatening. Waiting for us to slip.

But I’m not just playing defense anymore.

I’m fighting for the truth. For my team.

And for the girl I never stopped wanting.

What you get in The Pucks We Freeze…

🏒 Stepbrother

🩵Grumpy x Sunshine

🏒 Hockey

🩵Small College Town

🏒 Secrets, Lies, and Scandals

🩵Prequel Novella

🏒 Interconnected Standalone

Publication Date 22/8/2025

The Pucks We Freeze: A Grumpy/Sunshine Hockey Romance (Rixton U) by Brooke O’Brien

My Review

The Pucks We Freeze is a solid, engaging prequel novella that kicks off the Rixton U series with plenty of steam, tension, and a hint of suspense.

This story centers on Kade, a grumpy hockey player who’s laser focused on his game amid a team scandal involving thrown matches and threats, and Willow, the sunshine to his grump his new stepsister after their parents’ surprise wedding.

The forbidden step sibling dynamic adds immediate spice, layered with a past one night connection where Willow ghosted him, leaving lingering hurt and unresolved chemistry. Now forced under the same roof, old feelings resurface while external dangers (blackmail, photos that could ruin the team) keep the stakes high.

What works really well here is the grumpy/sunshine trope execution. Kade’s brooding, protective nature contrasts nicely with Willow’s brighter, more open personality, creating fun banter and electric tension. The hockey elements feel authentic without overwhelming the romance, and the small town college vibe sets up the interconnected series effectively.

The suspense plot of secrets, lies, scandals, and a mystery unfolding across the books adds intrigue beyond just the romance, making this feel like more than a typical sports romcom.

As a prequel, it teases the larger arc without resolving everything, which is smart for hooking readers into the full series. 😉

The romance is steamy and swoony, with solid emotional depth in how both characters grapple with trust, past hurts, and family changes.

It’s a quick, addictive read, perfect for us that like forbidden tropes, second chance vibes (even if it’s more “unfinished business”), and hockey romances with a dash of mystery.

The author delivers the heat and heart, and the chemistry between Kade and Willow is believable and hot. 🥵

On the flip side, as a novella, some elements (like the scandal buildup) feel introductory and fast paced, leaving you wanting more depth in places.

The step sibling aspect might be a hard no for some readers due to the taboo factor, though it’s handled with the usual romance novel consent and emotional buildup.

It’s a strong, fun launch to the Rixton U world, great for a weekend escape if you love grumpy heroes who fight for what (and who) they want, sunshine heroines with backbone, and just enough drama to keep pages turning.

If you’re into interconnected hockey series like those from other authors in the genre, this is a promising start.

Highly recommend for romance readers craving that mix of sports, forbidden attraction, and suspense.

🦋

🎉NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY/ARC REVIEW 🎉

This blog contains two reviews and a new release.

Island Wolf: A Fated Mates Paranormal Wolf Shifter Romance (Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island Book 1) by Rachel Armstrong

Description

“There is just one rule. Don’t eat the koalas.”

The Alpha of the Magnetic Island Pack has neglected his duties and escaped into the bush to live as a wolf after the death of his mate. With rogue wolves on the mainland threatening to destroy them, the pack make a desperate attempt to defend their territory. They call a Warrior of the Moon Goddess for help.

Finn Cassidy has lived a nomadic life saving wolf packs in the hope of finding a home. Since escaping his ruthless father, it has been his mission to honor the Goddess and fight those who don’t—rogue wolves. But to restore the Alpha on Magnetic Island, Finn must face his darkest rivals yet. And a greater challenge—meeting his mate.

Finn won’t let distractions deter him from his mission, but he can’t ignore Fate. Ava Hart has been hurt by the rogues and though she remains ignorant of the paranormal world, the best way to protect her is to forge their mating bond. As they work together at the koala hospital, desire ignites and Finn gains her trust. But can Ava embrace his world and accept him as her mate? Will proving the pack can protect their mates from the rogues be enough to lure the Alpha out of the bush? Or does Fate have other plans this coming full moon?

The first book of the Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island series by award winning author Rachel Armstrong!

A Fated Mates Paranormal Wolf Shifter Romance

★★★★★
If you love:

Alpha hero
Cinnamon roll hero
Heroine in peril
Forced proximity
Just one bed
He’ll burn the world down for you
Slow burn spicy romance

Then this book is for you!

Publication Date 4/1/2025

Island Wolf: A Fated Mates Paranormal Wolf Shifter Romance (Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island Book 1) by Rachel Armstrong

My Review

I picked up Island Wolf knowing almost nothing about Rachel Armstrong’s work beyond the fact that it was a fated mates shifter romance set on Magnetic Island, and I finished it wishing I’d discovered the series sooner.

The opening rule“Don’t eat the koalas” sets a tone that felt playful, and that toneplace really leaves the page.

Real bays, resorts, a shipwreck you can actually snorkel, and a genuine koala hospital all sit comfortably beside the pack politics and moon goddess mythology, which makes the paranormal elements feel less generic than they do in so many of these stories.

Finn arrives as a lone Warrior of the Moon Goddess, nomadic and scarred by a ruthless father, and almost immediately runs into Ava, a physiotherapist who has fled an abusive situation and is trying to rebuild herself while helping her friend at the koala rescue.

Their chemistry builds at a satisfying pace, Finn’s protectiveness is intense without tipping into pure caveman territory for most of the book, and Ava’s wariness felt real.

The dual perspective lets you sit inside both the slow burn and the practical. Watching as she learns to trust someone who is literally not entirely human.

The koala rehabilitation subplot could have been pure window dressing, yet it becomes one of the warmer, more human threads, giving the characters shared purpose beyond the inevitable mating bond.

What kept me turning pages was the larger conflict. The Magnetic Island pack is fractured after the Alpha lost his mate and retreated into the bush as a wolf, while rogue wolves on the mainland pose a real threat.

There is action, some genuine darkness, and a few moments of heat that didn’t overtake the plot. A couple of the classic tropes (the “I’m keeping secrets to protect you” refrain, the size difference, the touch her and die energy) are present and accounted for, so if those bother you this may not be your book. For me they mostly worked because the characters around Finn and Ava especially the pack members trying to hold everything together have enough personality to keep the story from feeling over crowded.

It ends with enough resolution to satisfy while clearly leaving threads for the next books, and I closed it already curious about who else on the island is about to get their own moon blessed complication.

If you like your shifter romance with a strong sense of place, a found family pack vibe, and a heroine who isn’t instantly swept off her feet by destiny, Island Wolf is a solid, entertaining start.

🦋

Island Bite: A Friends to Lovers Billionaire Paranormal Romance (Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island Book 2) by Rachel Armstrong

Description

“I can tell you one thing, wolfie. She tastes good.”

The Magnetic Island Pack have won a battle against the rogues, but the war is far from over. The Dark Alpha will retaliate quickly and hit the pack where it hurts most, by targeting their Fated mates. And he’s about to unleash his deadliest assassins yet. Vampires.

Rain Blackwood has resisted his Fated mate for years to protect her from his enemy. Since his brother abandoned the pack, Rain has made it his mission to restore Sly’s faith in the Moon Goddess and save him from turning feral. He needs to prove that the pack can protect their mates and form his own mating bond. That is, if it’s not already too late.

Eden Starr has loved Rain since she first laid eyes on him. But despite the unexplainable connection she feels to her mysterious friend, she can’t wait for him any longer. Determined to move on, Eden finds herself strangely infatuated with a charming, charismatic stranger interested in supporting her koala hospital. But Lucas isn’t who he seems, and Eden suddenly finds herself facing the horrors of the paranormal world. With her life on the line, Rain is the only man with the power to save her. But can Eden find the strength to overcome her fears and embrace her new fate? Can Rain defeat the devious bat-shifting vampires hiding in shadows? Or will saving Eden’s life cost Rain everything he believes in beneath the darkness of the new moon?

Book Two of the Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island series by Award Winning Author Rachel Armstrong!

A Friends to Lovers, Paranormal

★★★★★
If you love:

Billionaire hero
Heroine in peril
Friends to lovers
Werewolves vs Vampires
Forced proximity
He’ll burn the world down for you
Slow burn spicy romance

Then this book is for you!

Publication Date 10/5/2025

Island Bite: A Friends to Lovers Billionaire Paranormal Romance (Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island Book 2) by Rachel Armstrong

My Review

After finishing Island Wolf I went straight into Island Bite, and it felt I’d never left.

This time the focus shifts to Rain Blackwood and Eden Starr, the pair whose slow burn tension had been simmering quietly in the background of the first book.

Rain has spent years keeping Eden at arm’s length, convinced that claiming his fated mate would only paint a target on her for the Dark Alpha and his growing army of threats.

Eden, meanwhile, has loved him for just as long and has finally decided she cannot keep waiting for a man who treats her like a precious secret rather than a partner. When she starts responding to the interest of a charming newcomer who claims to care about her koala hospital, the careful distance Rain has maintained begins to crack.

Their history gives every charged glance and almost confession real weight, and when the paranormal world finally crashes into Eden’s life complete with bat shifting vampires sent to destroy the pack through its mates, the stakes felt personal.

The same vivid Magnetic Island setting that grounded the first book is still doing excellent work here, the ongoing koala rescue work, and the everyday rhythms of island life sit comfortably beside the darker, bloodier conflict. That contrast keeps the story from tipping too far into pure darkness, there are still moments of warmth, banter, and genuine care for the animals that remind you why these characters fight so hard for their home.

Rain remains stubborn and protective to a fault, and the familiar “I’m hiding the truth to keep you safe” pattern does reappear, which can grow a little frustrating. Yet Eden’s strength and independence push back against it in ways that had me smiling, we all know how much Rain cares, it’s now time to claim his mate!

The new vampire threat raises the danger level nicely, and the pack’s secondary stories, especially those touching on grief and the fragile hope of bringing the former Alpha back from the edge, add depth without slowing the pace. There is spice, suspense, and a few genuine surprises that had me racing toward the end.

Like the first book, Island Bite closes with enough resolution to feel complete while clearly setting the stage for whatever comes next under the new moon.

I closed it already impatient for Sly’s story and for the pack’s war to reach its next turning point.

If you enjoy fated mates romance that mixes island atmosphere, found family loyalty, and a healthy dose of danger, this second installment delivers exactly what it promises and then some.

🦋

Island Moon: A Fated Mates Wolf Shifter Paranormal Romance (Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island Book 3) by Rachel Armstrong

Description

“If I wasn’t so broken, I wouldn’t hesitate to take you as mine.”

The Magnetic Island Pack are gaining strength. They’ve defeated the rogue wolves, killed the vampires, and only one enemy remains. Tyrone Thorne. The Dark Alpha of the Pallarenda Pack. And with his malicious right-hand man, he is ready to seize the island.

Sly Blackwood has lived as a wolf since the death of his mate, broken and savage in his hunger for revenge. Embracing the wolf is the only way he knows how to survive and destroy the Pallarenda Pack as to kill an animal, one has to become an animal. Or better yet, a monster. With the final battle brewing, Sly is ready to end this war and live out his days as a lone wolf. Until Fate intervenes with an unwelcome mating bond.

Isla came to perform at the Full Moon Party, but the popstar is more than she seems. She is everything Sly never wanted, the second chance he feared, and the only person with the power to pull Sly out of his self-imposed darkness and into the light. In an unexpected twist no one’s ready for, Isla finds herself thrust into the paranormal world from her nightmares with a man too broken to resist. But can she face her demons to help Sly become the man he once was? Can Sly let go of his anger and open his heart again? Or will Sly’s determination to save his second chance at love be the pack’s ultimate undoing?

Book 3 and the epic conclusion of the Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island series by award winning romance author Rachel Armstrong!

A Fated Mates Wolf Shifter Paranormal Romance

★★★★★
If you love:

Broken heroes
Protective heroes
Fated mates (and not happy about it)
Grumpy/Sunshine
He’ll burn the world down for you
Wolf shifter battle

Then this book is for you!

Publication Date 1/8/2026

Island Moon: A Fated Mates Wolf Shifter Paranormal Romance (Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island Book 3) by Rachel Armstrong

My Review

I went into Island Moon knowing it was the final chapter of the Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island series, and I still wasn’t quite prepared for how satisfying it would feel to finally sit inside Sly Blackwood’s head.

For two books he has been the quiet, aching presence on the edges of the story, the former Alpha who chose the wolf after his mate was murdered and stayed there, feral with grief and hunger for revenge.

Watching him slowly, reluctantly claw his way back toward being human again is the emotional core of this book.

Isla arrives to perform at the Full Moon Party, she’s a chart topping popstar and has her own private wounds and a connection to Ava and Eden that pulls her straight into the pack’s orbit.

She isn’t the quick fix for our broken hero, oh no, she has her own demons and her own reasons for resisting the destiny the Moon Goddess seems determined to force on both of them. 🤐

Their mating bond feels less like instant magic and more like two damaged people recognizing something familiar in each other and deciding, against every instinct, to risk it. The push/pull between Sly’s self imposed darkness and Isla’s stubborn refusal to let him stay there had me clinging to my kindle, I loved the quieter moments, especially those between Sly and his brother. 🥺

Around them the larger war finally reaches its climax. The Dark Alpha and his remaining forces make their move on the island, and the pack’s found family loyalty is tested to its limits! There is more spice here, more gore, and a handful of genuinely kick a$$ sequences that reward the long build

up of the previous books.

By the time the final confrontation arrives and the epilogue closes the last door, I felt both satisfied and a little sad to leave these characters behind.

Island Moon does exactly what a series finale should…. delivers the villain confrontation that we had been promised, and ties up a few loose ends.

And still leaves room for the quiet hope that maybe, someday, we might return to this island again. 🤞🤞

If you have followed Finn, Ava, Rain, and Eden this far, Sly and Isla’s story is the one that makes the whole journey feel complete.

🦋

WELCOME TO AUGUST🍦

Things going on this month:

🥂 it’s my anniversary this month, we’ve been married now for 37 years! 😮 although we have been together for 39 years!

🎂 it’s my nephews birthday this month as well.

Arcs I’ve signed up for and hope to read.

🤞Island Moon: A Fated Mates Wolf Shifter Paranormal Romance (Wolf Shifters of Magnetic Island Book 3) by Rachel Armstrong

🤞A Cymbal Of His Love: Rockstar Romance (The Silent Oath series Book 2) by C.M. Harte

🤞One Breath (Isle of Kala Book 2) by Crea Reitan

🤞Unhinged Obsession: A Darkish College Secret Society Romance (Saints of the Black Crown Society Book 1) by London Snow

🤞 Heartless As Puck (Chicago Chaos Hockey Duology Book 1) by A. Rivers

🤞 Bring Them Home: A totally gripping and unputdownable crime thriller (Detective Amanda Steele Book 16) by Carolyn Arnold

🤞OWNED: An Obsessive Stalker Dark Hockey Romance (Dark Ice) by Daphne Sinclair

Books on my TBR I’m hoping to read.

♥️ The Pucks We Freeze: A Grumpy/Sunshine Hockey Romance (Rixton U) by Brooke O’Brien

BOOKS DUE FOR RELEASE :

🎉 3/8 A Cymbal Of His Love: Rockstar Romance (The Silent Oath series Book 2) by C.M. Harte

🎉 8/8 Secret Seduction: a single dad, dark romance (Tempting Love Book 4) by Nikki ash

🎉 11/8 Street: Devil Daddies MC by Pepper north

🎉 30/8 Bring Them Home: A totally gripping and unputdownable crime thriller (Detective Amanda Steele Book 16) by Carolyn Arnold

Are there any books this month you’re looking forward to reading?

Are there any books you’d like to recommend?

🦋

📚 BOOKS I READ IN JULY 📚

Brutal Beauty book 0.5 (Brutal Beauty series) by Misti Wilds

Claimed by Rage: (Dark Mafia Reverse Harem Romance) (Brutal Beauty Book 1) by Misti Wilds TBR LIST

Tempted to Rebel: (Dark Mafia Reverse Harem Romance) (Brutal Beauty Book 2) by Misti Wilds TBR LIST

Bound by Ruin: (Dark Mafia Reverse Harem Romance) (Brutal Beauty Book 3) by Misti Wilds TBR LIST

A Magic So Deadly (Kingdom of Dark Magic Book 2) by Vasilisa Drake arc

Stopping Short (Pit Bulls Baseball Book 6) by Kristin MacQueen arc

Country (Diamond MC) book 1 by Lila Rose TBR LIST

HOT AND BOTHERED IN JULY by Tabetha Waite arc

Demon by Bianca Lee Ward TBR LIST

Speechless (Clarity Coast Omegaverse Book 3) by Devyn Sinclair TBR LIST

Knot Their Starlet (Starletverse Book 1) by Callie Clark arc

Down and Dirty (Italian Stallions Book 1) by Mari Carr TBR LIST

Secret Husband: A Second Chance, Accidentally Married Hockey Romance (Chicago Players) by Kate Meader arc

Hart and Souls: A Ghostly Second Chance Romance by Amy J. Elliott arc

Run Little Liar: A Dark Why Choose Mafia Trilogy (Lombardi Legacy Book 1) by Montana Fyre arc

Choked in Love: A Dark Rom Com by Alexis Grace arc

The Coming of Endless Darkness (The Faceless Chronicles Book 3) by Grant Pierce arc

Rival’s Pledge: Why Choose Academy Sports Romance by Maddison Cole arc

Courted by the Fae: The Kismet Duet (The Dark Realms Book 4) by Kyra Alessy arc

Justice for Glennon (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) (Six Paths to Justice Book 3) by Nicole Craig arc

Hush Anonymous (Longwood U) by Crea Reitan arc

Knights of Sin and Secrets (The Lustbound Curse Book 1 by KC Kingmaker arc

Bastard of the Alpha (The Damned Return Book 1) by Karina Espinosa arc

Wrath of the White Wolf (The Damned Return Book 2) by Karina Espinosa arc

Toxic Kiss: A Dark Rockstar Romance of Toxic Love, Obsession, and Forbidden Desire (Wrecked Encore Book 1) by Brooklyn Cross arc

Forced Promises: A Dark Mafia Stalker Romance by Alexis Abbott arc

Auspice & Animus by Marcella Caees arc

I am working my way through my TBR list. I was pleased I managed to read a few.

A few new authors added to my reading list.

🦋

🎉TBR REVIEWS/🎉

On this review is a prequel (you need to sign up to the newsletter to read) Then books 1-3. So all in total a whopping 4 reviews! 😜

Brutal Beauty book 0.5 (Brutal Beauty series) by Misti Wilds

Description

Three masked men claim my body. I never meant to give them my soul.

I’ve created the perfect life. Perfect image. Perfect career. Perfect home.

But when a masked man delivers an exclusive invitation to the most sought-after event in the city, I step out of my perfect world and enter theirs.

Rage. Rebel. Ruin. Three brothers who claim my body in front of a room of masked strangers.

My perfection cracks in their hands. They want more than the image I’ve created for myself – they want all of me.

The imperfections. The pain. The sorrow.

What I thought was one night of fun turns out to be a lifetime deal with three dangerous devils.

My soul is on offer, and they mean to collect no matter the price.

Brutal Beauty is a prequel novella that takes place prior to Celia’s full length romance, featured in the Brutal Beauty trilogy starting with book 1, Claimed by Rage. This novella features dubcon, explicit sex, cursing, multiple POVs, exhibitionism, and a whole lotta smut for such a short novella. For full TWs, please see the content warning page on the author’s website. https://mistiwilds.com/

Signing up to the authors’ site gives you this book as a thank you.

No publication date (not on Amazon)

My Review

Misti Wilds delivers a mesmerizing and tantalizing prequel to her series with “Brutal Beauty.” The novella captivates you right from the start, plunging them into a world where perfection meets chaos, and the allure of danger beckons with open arms.

The story revolves around Celia, a woman who has crafted her life to perfection, a perfect career, a perfect image, a perfect home. Yet, as the saying goes, “all that glitters is not gold.” Her ordered existence shatters when she receives an enigmatic invitation from a masked man to an exclusive event, drawing her into a world that is anything but perfect….

Enter the three brothers… (Rage, Rebel, and Ruin) Each represents a different facet of complexity, intensity, and allure. Their masked identities symbolize not just the mystery that surrounds them, but also the layers of their personalities and desires. As they claim Celia’s body in a daring display before a crowd of strangers, the vulnerability of her carefully constructed facade is laid bare.…

Celia’s journey from an image focused life to one filled with raw imperfections, pain, and sorrow is nail biting. The author deftly navigates themes of vulnerability and the high cost of emotional engagement in relationships, effectively raising the stakes as Celia finds herself bound to these dangerous men, ultimately offering her soul in a bid for acceptance.

The pacing of the novella is good, moving fluidly from one intense scene to the next. The author’s vivid descriptions bring the party atmosphere to life, enveloping us in the tension and drama of the night.

In conclusion, “Brutal Beauty” is a provocative and beautifully written prequel that sets the stage for an enthralling series. With strong character development and a plot that dances between pleasure and pain, this novella is a must read for fans of romance with an edge.

Prepare for a whirlwind of emotions and an insatiable craving for more as you delve into Celia’s tumultuous journey.

🦋

Claimed by Rage: (Dark Mafia Reverse Harem Romance) (Brutal Beauty Book 1) by Misti Wilds

Description

I thought I was falling for three dangerous men, but in the end, I only fall for their lies.

After a heartbreaking divorce, a sudden invitation to the most exclusive nightclub in the city is the fresh start I need to get back on my feet. But what begins as a fun diversion quickly forces me to my knees for three wicked brothers.

The eldest brother Rage controls the club with an iron fist–the same one he uses to enforce bratva law. Rebel is the troublemaker–stealing secrets is only fun when he gets caught, and mine are his new addiction. Ruin hides behind a mask, bringing death to everyone but me.

First they claim my body, then my entire life. But I have dreams these mafia enforcers can’t fulfill no matter what they promise. If I’m not careful, they’ll drag me into their darkness and make it feel like home. I can’t stop fighting or I’ll drown in their desires.

Because life with these brothers could be good–if I’m willing to give up everything in return.

Claimed by Rage is book one of the Brutal Beauty trilogy following Celia Monrovia’s RH. Why choose, Russian mafia, dark romance, cliffhanger ending for book 1, HEA guaranteed by the end of the series.

Publication Date 13/1/2025

My Review

I picked up Claimed by Rage on a whim after a long week, hoping for something steamy and escapist, and it absolutely delivered on the dark, intense vibes I was craving.

Following her painful divorce, Celia steps into an exclusive nightclub thinking it’s just a night to feel alive again…… Instead, she’s pulled into the orbit of three dangerously compelling brothers…. Rage, Rebel, and Ruin, who turn her world upside down in the most addictive way possible. 😜

What starts as a thrilling diversion quickly spirals into a possessive, all consuming connection that blurs the lines between desire and danger.

Misti Wilds does a fantastic job weaving that intoxicating reverse harem tension.

Each brother feels distinct….Rage’s commanding presence and iron fisted control set the tone for the Bratva world they inhabit, Rebel’s playful yet cunning nature keeps things unpredictable, and Ruin’s masked mystery adds a layer of lethal intrigue.

Their dynamic with Celia is raw and unapologetic, they claim her body first, but it’s the way they slowly infiltrate every part of her life that makes the story so gripping.

I loved how Celia isn’t a passive character, she’s fighting to hold onto her own dreams even as these men threaten to swallow her whole. The push/pull between her growing feelings and her need for independence created some tense, emotional moments.

The dark romance elements are handled with the right balance of heat and menace. There are plenty of spicy scenes that lean into the “why choose” fantasy without feeling over the top, and the Russian mafia backdrop adds a delicious layer of forbidden danger.

The author’s smooth, immersive style pulls you into the club’s shadowy atmosphere and the brothers’ world of secrets and violence.

That said, it’s not for the faint of heart, the possessiveness runs deep, and the cliffhanger ending left me desperate for the next book in the Brutal Beauty series.

If you enjoy dark mafia romances with complex anti heroes, strong willed heroines, and a slowburn emotional entanglement beneath all the steam, this one is worth diving into.

Just be prepared to clear your schedule, because once these brothers set their sights on Celia, it’s hard to put the book down.

I’m definitely continuing the series for that promised HEA. 😜 🔥 🖤

🦋

Tempted to Rebel: (Dark Mafia Reverse Harem Romance) (Brutal Beauty Book 2) by Misti Wilds

Description

They promised to love me, but that love might kill me.

After I finally agree to having a child with Rage, the domineering mafia enforcer holds on too tight. His love is suffocating, bruising, and too much for me to handle.

But his brother Rebel might be the secret to our success. He lives to bend the rules, and I quickly become his favorite one to break. As our stolen kisses heat up, the brothers learn that taking turns isn’t enough.

They need to share my body in order to claim my heart.

When a hidden threat starts claiming victims that look like me, the danger in our lives takes a darker turn. In order to protect the future we’re building together, we need to get stronger, and fast.

Because we can’t save each other if we’re at each other’s throats. Loving these men might kill me, but fighting with them guarantees it if I can’t change.

I’ll do anything to get our happy ending, even if it means walking through Hell to get there.

Tempted to Rebel is book two of the Brutal Beauty series, a why choose mafia dark romance filled with angst and a growing harem of brothers. You must read book one, Claimed by Rage, before reading book two, Tempted to Rebel. Book one and book two end on cliffhangers that lead directly into the next book, with the end of the series HEA guaranteed.

Publication Date 12/4/2025

My Review

Tempted to Rebel is the gripping sequel in the Brutal Beauty series, delivering an intense and tantalizing blend of dark romance and mafia intrigue. Misti Wilds expertly weaves a tale filled with emotional depth, suspense, and steamy encounters that kept me reading way past my bedtime! 😝

The story picks up with Celia struggling to balance her tumultuous relationship with Rage, the domineering mafia enforcer, whose love becomes a suffocating burden.

The author brilliantly captures the pain and tension that comes with extreme devotion, making me feel the weight of Rage’s overwhelming affection.

Enter Rebel, his brother, whose carefree rule bending nature introduces a breath of fresh air into the story. The chemistry between the characters sizzles, with Rebel’s playful defiance providing a counterbalance to Rage’s intensity.

As the plot unfolds, the stakes escalate when a hidden threat emerges.

The duality of their relationship dynamics adds yet another layer to the story.

The evolving harem aspect of the story adds all the emotions, as the characters navigate their feelings and learn that love isn’t a competition but a shared experience.(and what an experience 😜 🥵)

The plot threads lead to a cliffhanger that left me wanting the next book now!

In conclusion, Tempted to Rebel is a thrilling continuation of the Brutal Beauty saga, filled with angst, passion, and the promise of a hard earned happy ending.

Fans of dark romance and reverse harem stories will find this book a dark and delicious read.

🦋

NSFW Preview

Celia’s POV

Our lips crash together, and the groan reverberating inside Rebel’s chest leaves me buzzing from the sound. “Do that again,” I rasp, my eyes fluttering shut as his teeth skim my jaw.

He chuckles. “Oh, did you like tha—oh, fuuuuck.”

As I grind down on top of his iron-hard length, he moans loudly, flopping back onto the seat to gaze up at me through half-lidded eyes. Biting his bottom lip, he thrusts up, smirking when I gasp. “That’s it, baby, take what you want. I need you to feel good.” Cupping my breasts, he squeezes, massaging them and pinching my nipples between his knuckles.

I keen as pleasure ripples through me, soaking my panties and making me writhe that much harder on top of him.

Rebel curses under his breath, both of us panting. “Fuck, baby, fuck.”

Slipping off the leather jacket and pulling my t-shirt over my head, I give him better access to my tits before reaching down to undo his belt. He bucks up into me, hissing as my nails scratch his abdomen. “That’s right, pull me out, baby, feel how hard I am for you.” Lifting my hips, I shove his jeans down as much as I can, finding him bare underneath. His cock springs free, just as hard as promised, hot and silky-smooth when I grab the shaft. Twin piercings, two silver balls just beneath the head, gleam in the lowlight, and I gently brush my thumb over them.

He gasps, tossing his head back as I stroke him hard. “Fuck.” Pre-cum leaks from the tip, and I smear it across his slit, making him pant harder. “Don’t tease me, just—just let me feel your pussy.” He reaches for my waistband, but I smack his hand away. Eyes wide, he watches as I spit on his dick and continue stroking, his body twitching every time I pull his skin over the head and rub directly over the piercing. “F-fuck,” he stutters, biting his lip. “You’re driving me crazy, Celia, baby, please. Fuck, don’t tease me.”

My body is on fire, but Rebel looks like he’s about to combust. Sweat breaks out across his forehead and chest, a flush trailing down his neck and across his tattoos. Their colors are muddied in the yellowed streetlight, but the flex of his muscles beneath the skin is clear as day. He thrusts in time with my hand, puffing hot air every time he exhales. “C-Celia,” he moans, biting his lip. “Baby, you’re gonna make me—” His breath catches as more pre-cum spills from the tip of his cock. “So close. Please. Let me—ah!”

I reach between us and cup his balls, massaging them while I stroke his shaft. My back and shoulders scream at me to switch positions, but I don’t dare, not when Rebel’s clawing at the car door and writhing in the leather seat.

Whoever said that men can’t come from hand jobs was fucking lying.

Rebel comes hard, a whine tearing through his throat as his hips jerk up into my palm, thick ropes of his cum splashing against his abs. I stroke him through it gently, saying the first, unfiltered thing that comes to mind—

Good boy.

He shudders at the praise, moaning as another spurt of cum coats my fingers. Still panting, he reaches for my free hand and squeezes tightly.

I bring his hand to my lips and kiss his knuckles. “Such a good boy, coming for me,” I continue, enjoying the way his cheeks flush. “Do you feel good, baby?” I squeeze his cock, enjoying its twitch in my palm.

He bites his plush bottom lip and swallows.

Bound by Ruin: (Dark Mafia Reverse Harem Romance) (Brutal Beauty Book 3) by Misti Wilds

Description

Being their lover means sharing their pain.

Every second my men and I are together puts our lives at risk, but staying apart guarantees our ruin. As we prepare to fight for our future, falling in love seems like the only thing worth living for… if we can survive that long.

But as one tragedy turns into another, the path forward isn’t revealed by love–it’s born from revenge.

Not all souls are meant to be saved.

Bound by Ruin is book three of Misti Wilds’ Brutal Beauty series, a why choose mafia dark romance filled with angst and a growing harem of brothers. You must read this series in order, starting with the prequel novella Brutal Beauty or book one, Claimed by Rage. Each book ends on a cliffhanger, with the end of the series HEA guaranteed.

Publication Date 26/5/2025

My Review

Bound by Ruin pulled me deep into its turbulent world and refused to let go.

Misti Wilds has crafted another intense installment in the Brutal Beauty series that amps up the emotional stakes, the danger, and the scorching heat between Celia and her growing circle of mafia brothers. 😜

Picking up after the previous cliffhanger, this book dives straight into the consequences of their choices.

Celia’s connection with Rage, Rebel, and especially the more enigmatic Ruin deepens in raw, vulnerable ways. I loved how the story gives Ruin space to open up, his guarded intensity and the pain he carries made his moments with Celia feel particularly powerful.

The “why choose” dynamic shines here, with the brothers’ individual personalities clashing and complementing each other as they rally around Celia. The addition of Riot teases even more fire for the next book, and the spice level is unapologetically high, blending passion with the kind of emotional intimacy that makes dark romance so addictive.

What stands out most is the blend of angst and revenge. Every tender moment between Celia and her men feels stolen because the threats surrounding them are relentless.

The author doesn’t shy away from tragedy or moral gray areas, some souls really do seem beyond saving and that darkness makes the glimmers of love and loyalty hit harder. The pacing keeps you hooked with twists, escalating danger, and that signature mafia tension, even as the relationships continue to evolve and strengthen.

If you’re already invested in the series, Bound by Ruin delivers exactly what i crave…. more possessive protectiveness, steamy group dynamics, and a plot that hurtles toward an inevitable confrontation.

It ends on another brutal cliffhanger (as expected), leaving me desperate for Riot’s story in the next book.

This is not a light read, it’s raw, spicy, and emotionally heavy, but for lovers of dark reverse harem mafia romance, it’s deeply satisfying.

Highly recommended if you’ve read the earlier books.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/BOOK OUT TODAY 🎉

Auspice & Animus by Marcella Caees

Description

Em Dubois, 35, likes to think of herself as rational. Embarrassing breakups, unstable employment, existential dread? All survivable with strategic compartmentalization and panicked decision-making.

Then she catches the attention of Vael, who appears out of nowhere with frustrating levels of confidence, an inexplicable interest in helping her, and a remarkable ability to dodge every question she asks.

What Vael fails to mention is that he is one of two cosmic architects who shaped the earth itself, or that they have spent millennia awkwardly trying, with mixed success, to pass as the humans they created. His history comes with consequences, with powerful organizations pursuing him for centuries. The deeper Em is drawn into the oddly welcoming circle around him, the harder it becomes to imagine a future separate from theirs.

When that conflict turns its attention on her, Em has to decide whether the family she’s found is worth risking everything for, despite considerable evidence that this is a terrible idea.

What to expect:

Book one of a trilogy; why-choose and MMF romantic arc unfolds across all three books
Slow-burn romance with complex, morally grey characters
Socially anxious humour alongside genuine emotional weight
Found family, deepening bonds, and emotional healing
Powerful ancient beings hiding behind modern lives
Cosmic urban fantasy
Secrets, difficult choices, and characters learning how to belong

Tropes (Book 1)

Character-driven storytelling
Found family
Slow-burn tension
Protective love interest
Morally gray characters
Ancient beings
Fish out of water
Touch her and die
Humour

Publication Date 29/7/2026

My Review

I just finished Auspice & Animus by Marcella Caees, and I’m still turning it over in my head days later.

There’s something quietly magnetic about this book that caught me off guard.

On paper it sounds like urban fantasy with cosmic stakes, but it reads more like a very human story about loneliness, found family, and the terrifying moment when your carefully compartmentalized life stops working.

Em Dubois is a mess! Thirty five, juggling emotional wreckage and shaky employment, she’s convinced she can logic her way through anything if she just boxes it up tightly enough.

Watching her slowly lose that grip as Vael barrels into her life was oddly satisfying. He’s the kind of character who could easily tip into annoying territory, all effortless charm and cryptic answers, but somehow he’s still grounded. His confidence feels genuine rather than arrogant, and the way he genuinely seems to want to help Em, even when it complicates everything, made me root for him almost immediately.

The real strength here is the slow unraveling of the bigger picture. The world building sneaks up on you. One moment you’re in the middle of Em’s everyday chaos, and the next you’re realizing these people have been shaping (and hiding in) human history for literal ages. I loved how the cosmic elements never overshadowed the intimate ones. The “found family” around Vael feels warm and lived in, full of awkward affection and old grudges, which makes the later tension hit harder. When the danger that’s been chasing them finally turns toward Em, the stakes feel personal instead of abstract.

What stayed with me most was the painful push/pull between self protection and connection. Em’s journey from “I can handle this alone” to “maybe this chaos is worth it” feels authentic, never rushed. The romance is tender and charged without dominating the story.

It’s funny, heartfelt, and sneakily profound. I’m already hoping for more in this world.

Highly recommended.

🦋

🎉 NEW RELEASE/ARC REVIEW/OUT TODAY 🎉

Forced Promises: A Dark Mafia Stalker Romance by Alexis Abbott

Description

From USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author Alexis Abbott comes a slow burn but spicy dark mafia-lite romance standalone.

To escape an arranged marriage, I’ll become the wife of a killer.

I had to flee the cult, or be forced to marry my own brother.

I have no money, no ID, no family.

Hated by my mother, disowned by my father.

My twisted salvation comes in the form of

a beautiful monster with silver eyes.

His need for revenge has him infiltrate the Bratva.

They demand a rite of initiation.

When he tells me to be a good girl and submit, I obey.

I’m touch-starved. Desperate for love.

And he publicly claims my innocence

to become one of them.

The Bratva and the cult want to destroy us.

But we’re already broken,

shattered by the dark secrets of our past.

And when we pick up each other’s pieces

Our tortured obsession is made lethal.

Forced Promises contains themes of

🖤 forced proximity

🩶 age gap

🖤 grumpy x sunshine

🩶 mutual hurt/comfort

🖤 mental illness rep between a morally grey antihero who hates to be touched and a touch-starved, innocent heroine.

His love language includes stalking and touch her and die, and hers includes physical touch and forehead kisses.

Please check the content warning as there are very dark themes.

Publication Date 28/7/2026

Forced Promises: A Dark Mafia Stalker Romance by Alexis Abbott

My Review

Reading Forced Promises felt like stepping into a story that refuses to let you look away, even when the darkness presses close.

Alexis Abbott has a talent for morally grey men who live in the shadows, but here the weight of trauma on both sides of the relationship gives the book a rawer edge.

Evelyn’s escape from the cult is painted with such careful, aching detail that her wide eyed bewilderment at ordinary freedom becomes almost painful to witness. She is touch starved in the most literal sense, desperate for any scrap of gentleness after a lifetime of control and threat, and that hunger shapes every choice she makes once she crosses paths with Laszlo.

He, in turn, is a man carved out of revenge and self imposed isolation, someone who cannot bear to be touched yet finds himself unable to keep his distance from the woman who has crashed into his carefully laid plans.

The age gap and the forced proximity that follows their first encounter never feel like simple tropes…. they become the pressure cooker in which two broken people slowly, warily begin to piece each other back together.

What stayed with me most was the mutual hurt/comfort that runs beneath the darker elements, the stalking, the public claiming required by the Bratva, the ever present danger from both the organization he is infiltrating and the cult that still wants her back.

Their connection is obsessive and imperfect, full of missteps and the kind of protectiveness that borders on possession, yet it never loses its core of tenderness.

Laszlo’s intensity and Evelyn’s quiet resilience create a push/pull that feels earned rather than manufactured. The slow burn allows their trust to build in small, charged moments, forehead kisses, hesitant touches, the gradual melting of his aversion, before the heat arrives, and when it does it carries the emotional weight of everything that came before.

This is not a light read.

The content warnings are necessary, and the book leans hard into themes of religious trauma, childhood abuse, and the long shadow of violence. Yet the story never feels over the top, every dark turn serves the larger story of two survivors learning that love can be both a weapon and a refuge.

By the end I was left with the sense that their “tortured obsession” had become something lethal not only to their enemies but to the walls they had each built around themselves.

Forced Promises is messy, intense, and ultimately hopeful in the way only a story about two people who have already lost almost everything can be.

And I loved it. 🥰

🦋

🎉ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Toxic Kiss: A Dark Rockstar Romance of Toxic Love, Obsession, and Forbidden Desire (Wrecked Encore Book 1) by Brooklyn Cross

Description

I’m the voice that makes people scream. But I scream for her.

The world calls me Cyrus Vale. Rockstar. God of the stage. The man with a guitar in his hands and a crowd ready to bleed for one more song.

But Haven Gaillard knew me before the fame. Before the noise.

The night my mother married her father, I hated her on sight.

I wanted her pain. Dreamed about it. Lived for the way her eyes burned with anger as sweet tears fell down her cheeks.

Making her cry was the only thing that ever made me feel whole.

Until one day, I realized something worse.

I don’t want her pain anymore. I want her.

Her anger.

Her touch.

Her eyes on me like I’m the only thing in the room.

She tried to escape, but now my muse is back. And every song I write still sounds like my heart wailing her name.

The problem?

I don’t know how to want her without destroying her.

And I’ve never been good at letting go of things that I’m addicted to.

Publication Date 24/7/2026

Toxic Kiss: A Dark Rockstar Romance of Toxic Love, Obsession, and Forbidden Desire (Wrecked Encore Book 1) by Brooklyn Cross

My Review

Toxic Kiss, is one of those books that sinks its teeth into you and refuses to let go, even after you’ve turned the last page.

As a dark rockstar romance, it doesn’t hold back on the toxicity, obsession, or the raw, messy edges of forbidden desire, and I was completely hooked.

Cyrus Vale is the kind of anti hero who lives up to the “wrecked” in the series title. He’s magnetic on stage, worshipped by fans, but beneath the rock god persona is a man consumed by something far more dangerous….his fixation on Haven!

Their history as stepsiblings adds a sharp, taboo layer that makes every interaction crackle with tension.

What starts as hatred and a twisted pleasure in her pain slowly morphs into a deeper, all-consuming need. Cyrus doesn’t just want Haven, he needs her in a way that feels both romantic and terrifying. His internal monologue is intense, poetic in its darkness, and brutally honest about his inability to love without destruction.

Haven is a strong heroine who doesn’t crumble easily, which makes her dynamic with Cyrus even more compelling. She’s been burned by him before and knows exactly how dangerous he is, yet the pull between them is undeniable.

Their chemistry is scorching, laced with anger, longing, and that addictive push/pull that defines the best toxic romances.

The author does an excellent job showing how obsession can masquerade as love, and how two broken people can both heal and ruin each other at the same time.

The rockstar world feels authentic, gritty, loud, and seductive without falling into clichés. The music itself becomes another character, with Cyrus’s songs serving as raw confessions of everything he can’t say out loud.

The author’s writing is atmospheric and emotional, pulling you deep into the characters’ heads and hearts. There were moments that made me wince at the toxicity, moments that made my heart race, and moments that genuinely hurt in the best way.

This isn’t a light or fluffy read. It’s dark, possessive, and unapologetically intense, which is exactly what I was craving.

If you love rockstar romances that lean heavily into the “dark” side with obsession, emotional damage, and that delicious forbidden tension you’ll devour Toxic Kiss.

It left me eager for the rest of the Wrecked Encore series and still thinking about Cyrus and Haven days later.

A solid, addictive start to what promises to be a wild ride.

🦋

🎉ARC REVIEWS/NEW RELEASE/BOOK OUT TODAY🎉

Bastard of the Alpha (The Damned Return Book 1) by Karina Espinosa

Description

My name’s Francesca Lucia Salazar—Frankie, if you don’t feel like choking on the syllables.

The title I usually get stuck with? The Alpha’s Bastard.

My father, Antonio Salazar, Alpha of the Queens Pack, had an affair and got stuck raising me when my mom died giving birth. Guilt made him keep me; shame made him ship me off to Colombia at thirteen.

Big mistake.

He thought I’d disappear. Instead, I became La Loba Blanca—the White She-Wolf of Colombia. An urban legend who hunted the monsters terrorising the streets.

Then my mentor called. My father’s dead—killed by his beta, Tian Láng—and I’m headed back to New York City to protect the family that once threw me away. But the city I return to isn’t the same. Wolves are vanishing. The ones found aren’t just dead—they’re poisoned in ways no one can explain.

That’s when I meet Elias Láng—the God of Death. Cold, brilliant, impossible. My rival. My equal. My worst mistake waiting to happen. Then there’s Angel Rodriguez—a tattooed ex-con lone wolf fresh out of Ironwood, all charm and chaos, who shouldn’t care but somehow does.

Between the Alpha’s son who challenges everything I am and the lone wolf who sees everything I hide, I’m walking a line thinner than a blade.

I have one rule: trust no one.

But when loyalty and lust start to look the same, even legends can bleed.

New York’s full of secrets, and I’m done being exiled from my own story.

They can call me a bastard all they want.

But this bastard bites back.

Publication Date 27/3/2026

Bastard of the Alpha (The Damned Return Book 1) by Karina Espinosa

My Review

Bastard of the Alpha is a fierce, addictive start to The Damned Return series that sinks its teeth in and refuses to let go.

From the very first page, Francesca “Frankie” is sharp tongued, battle hardened, and unapologetically fierce. She’s been through hell and come out sharper for it. Nicknamed the Alpha’s Bastard, she carries deep wounds from a father who shipped her off to Colombia as a child, but she didn’t break. Instead, she became La Loba Blanca, a legendary hunter taking down monsters in the streets. Her return to New York after her father’s murder is packed with tension, betrayal, and the gritty urban werewolf vibes I didn’t know I needed.

The mystery of vanishing and poisoned wolves adds a dark, suspenseful layer that keeps the pages turning.

What i really liked in this book is the cast of complicated men orbiting Frankie. Elias Láng, the “God of Death,” is cold, brilliant, and dangerously magnetic, every interaction crackles with rivalry and undeniable chemistry. Then there’s Angel Rodriguez, the charming, tattooed lone wolf fresh out of prison, who brings chaos and unexpected warmth. The push/pull of loyalty, lust, and distrust between them creates a delicious slow burn tension that never feels forced.

Frankie’s “trust no one” rule gets tested at every turn, and watching her navigate old family resentments while trying to protect the pack that once rejected her is both heartbreaking and empowering.

The balance of action, mystery, and simmering romance in a vibrant New York City setting full of wolf politics and hidden dangers is just right. The writing is fast paced and atmospheric, with Frankie’s voice leaping off the page, she’s sarcastic, resilient, and impossible not to root for.

This bastard absolutely bites back, and I loved every second of it.

If you enjoy strong heroines who own their scars, morally gray love interests, urban fantasy with shifter intrigue, and that perfect mix of vengeance and heat, Bastard of the Alpha delivers in spades.

I’m already hooked and eager for what comes next.

Highly recommended for fans of fierce paranormal romance.

🦋

Wrath of the White Wolf (The Damned Return Book 2) by Karina Espinosa

Description

I escaped Queens with my freedom—but not my enemies.

They accused me of kidnappings and poisonings I didn’t commit. Turning an entire city against me. So I did the only thing I could—I ran. Back to Colombia. Back to the only place that’s ever felt like home.

But peace doesn’t last long. A new alpha from Medellín steps onto my territory, testing what’s left of my control. And before I can finish dealing with him—Queens reminds me exactly why I ran in the first place. Because they don’t let their enemies go. They finish them.

What comes for me isn’t a warning. It’s a message. And it costs more than I’m willing to lose.

So I stop running. I go back to New York with one goal: revenge.

But Queens isn’t just waiting for me. The God of Death is. The man I thought I could trust when everything fell apart. The one person who should have stood at my side—and didn’t. Now Elias is the only thing standing between me and the war I came to start… and I don’t know if I want to destroy him or make him understand exactly what his betrayal cost me.

And somehow, there’s someone willing to follow me straight into the chaos. No questions. No hesitation. Angel walks into the destruction with me like it’s the easiest choice he’s ever made.

Queens thought the bastard of the alpha had run. They’re about to learn the truth. I’m not running. I’m coming back. And this time? I’m bringing wrath.

Publication Date 24/7/2026

Wrath of the White Wolf (The Damned Return Book 2) by Karina Espinosa

My Review

Wrath of the White Wolf is an explosive, adrenaline rush follow up that takes everything I loved about Bastard of the Alpha and turns the intensity up several notches.

Frankie returns with even more fire in her veins after being framed and forced to flee Queens….

Her time back in Colombia feels like a brief, hard won breath before the past drags her right back into the chaos….

The shift from hunted to hunter was deeply satisfying. Watching her decide she’s done running and instead bring the fight to New York had me cheering.

This book dives deeper into her rage, resilience, and the heavy cost of leadership, making her feel more legendary than ever as La Loba Blanca.

The relationships that pulled me in during the first book become even more tangled and compelling here. Elias, the God of Death, is a constant storm of betrayal and magnetic pull, his presence creates this gut wrenching push/pull that had me torn between wanting to shake him and rooting for some kind of reckoning. On the other side, Angel’s unwavering loyalty shines brightly. He’s steady in the storm, walking straight into danger with Frankie without hesitation, and that kind of devotion adds a beautiful contrast to the darker, more volatile dynamics. The emotional stakes around trust, loyalty, and revenge felt real.

The momentum is kept blazing with high

stakes action, pack politics, and escalating threats that span cities. The urban werewolf world expands naturally, introducing new players and raising the danger level without losing the personal heart of Frankie’s journey. The writing remains sharp and addictive, blending gritty revenge with moments of vulnerability that make the characters feel real.

If you enjoyed the first book, this sequel delivers on the promise of wrath in the best way possible.

It’s darker, more intense, and leaves you desperate for the next installment.

Frankie’s story is shaping up to be one of my favorite paranormal series in a long time, a strong heroine, complicated romance, and non stop tension.

Absolutely worth diving into. 👍🏻

🦋

🎉ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE🎉

Knights of Sin and Secrets (The Lustbound Curse Book 1 by KC Kingmaker

Description

The Knights Pantheon are sworn to virtue. So why do they look at her like they want to sin?

Katyr grew up hearing stories of the lustbound curse, a fae hex that corrupted humanity generations ago. She’s dismissed it as a fairy tale. An excuse for men’s weaknesses and the Vrinian Empire’s endless failures to reclaim the sacred city of Ninthalus.

Katyr never believed a word of it. She’s never trusted the gods, and she’s never needed to.

Until the day a knight arrives at her door with a revelation that shatters her world.

Forced to leave her quiet homestead for Vulwen Bastion, Katyr finds herself among the empire’s most divine warriors, whose restraint seems to fray whenever she’s near.

Vrace, the stoic sentinel who found and rescued her from a mundane life.

Lethander, the wicked shifter who can’t decide whether to hate her or claim her.

Keradin, the mysterious warrior-priest whose fate becomes entwined with her own.

Bound by secrets and rivalries, haunted by desires they cannot control, the Knights Pantheon awaken something dangerous within Katyr. As the growing pull toward men she should never want becomes impossible to resist, she begins uncovering the truth behind the lustbound curse… and the terrifying possibility the fae are not the real enemy.

Some curses aren’t meant to weaken kingdoms. They’re meant to destroy them from within.

Tropes.

why choose / reverse harem

enemies to lovers

touch her and die

knights

badass female lead

military academia

secret societies

religious cults

fae sex curses

morally grey men

close proximity / one bed

swords crossing (mm)

fae vs. humans

Trigger Warnings:

abuse, blood, breeding, captivity, choking, crude language, crude sex toys, cult behavior, death, debasement, degradation, depravity, depression, discussions of rape, domination, execution, forced childbirth (not the main character), gore, graphic sex, graphic violence, group sex, imprisonment, kidnapping, maiming (missing body parts), misogyny, objectification of women, public sex, rape (off-page, not the main character), religious overtones, sexual assault, submission, torture, violence against women, war.

Knights of Sin and Secrets is a loose and very spicy retelling of Knights Templar legends, but with fae and smutty curses. One-click today if you enjoy forbidden attraction, dark and culty academia, unbelievably raunchy spice, wicked mysteries, enemies to lovers, and so many men to choose from it’s enough to make any girl’s head spin!

Publication Date 17/7/2026

Knights of Sin and Secrets (The Lustbound Curse Book 1 by KC Kingmaker

My Review

I just finished Knights of Sin and Secrets, the first book in KC Kingmaker’s Lustbound Curse series, and I’m still a little breathless.

This was exactly the kind of dark, indulgent fantasy romance I didn’t know I needed, it’s steamy, mysterious, and packed with tension that had me flipping pages late into the night.

From the very beginning, Katyr’s ordinary life is upended when a knight shows up at her door, dragging her into the world of the Vulwen Bastion and the elite Knights Pantheon.

What follows is a delicious collision of forbidden desire and ancient secrets. The lustbound curse isn’t just for background, pulses through every interaction, turning even the smallest glance or brush of skin into something charged and dangerous.

I loved how the knights……Vrace, Lethander, and Keradin, feel like they’re constantly one breath away from losing control, even as they cling to their vows of virtue. Their individual personalities shine through, we have Vrace’s quiet intensity, Lethander’s sharp edged antagonism that flips so satisfyingly into heat, and Keradin’s layered mystery. The way each man reacts differently to Katyr kept the dynamic fresh and addictive.

The world building is atmospheric and immersive without ever slowing the pace. The Vrinian Empire, the looming threat of the fae, and the sacred (but cursed) city of Ninthalus create a rich backdrop that feels both medieval and otherworldly. There’s a cult like, dark academia vibe to the Bastion that pairs perfectly with the spice, (think sacred halls, whispered rituals, and simmering rivalries.) And speaking of spice… KC Kingmaker does not hold back. This book is unapologetically raunchy in the best way, with scenes that are creative, intense, and emotionally layered rather than just over the top. The slowburn tension before things ignite makes the payoff incredibly satisfying.

Katyr herself is a great character, she’s strong, skeptical, resilient, and refreshingly unafraid to question the world she’s been thrown into. Her growing awareness of the curse and her own role in it adds a compelling layer of intrigue that kept me guessing.

The enemies to lovers threads, the secrets, and the larger conspiracy unfolding around the knights all weave together into a story that feels bigger than just the romance, even as the romance remains front and center.

If you love reverse harem (or why choose) stories with high heat, morally gray warriors, fae touched curses, and that perfect blend of mystery and lust, this one delivers in spades.

It’s a spicy reimagining of knightly legends that leans hard into the “sacred but sinful” vibe, and I was absolutely here for it.

I’m already eager for book two, those final revelations have me hooked.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants their fantasy romance dark, delicious, and more than a little wicked. 😜

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Hush Anonymous (Longwood U) by Crea Reitan

Description

He’s mine and I’ll kill anyone who touches him.

Kylen

I created Hush Anonymous last year for me.

Hanging onto trauma I can’t escape and being ridiculously selfconscious and shy doesn’t exactly create a recipe for losing my virginity. In the darkness where no one can judge me seems like the best place. Yet somehow, l manage to find myself a stalker in the darkness.

Which isn’t so bad since he knows exactly how to take care of me.

Arek

My weakness is blushing boys and Kylen is exactly my type. I’m a little late realizing but now that I’ve had a taste, ‘ll never let this man go.

Thankfully, my stalking game doesn’t last forever and he’s willingly mine. He doesn’t shy away when I tell him Mil kill anyone who tries to touch him. I bet he didn’t realize that the threat is retroactive.

This is a LGBTQIA+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.

Publication Date 16/7/2026

Hush Anonymous (Longwood U) by Crea Reitan

My Review

Hush Anonymous by Crea Reitan is a deliciously dark and surprisingly sweet MM romance that completely won me over with its unique blend of vulnerability and fierce possessiveness.

Kylen’s story starts from such a raw place, he’s haunted by past trauma, is cripplingly shy, and using the anonymity of Hush Anonymous as a safe way to explore his desires.

His journey from hiding in the darkness to slowly opening up felt so real and deeply emotional. I loved how the book handles his self consciousness and healing without shying away from the intensity of his experiences.

Arek, on the other hand, is the ultimate obsessive dream (or nightmare, depending on your taste). 😜 His instant fixation on Kylen and unapologetic “he’s mine” energy, complete with deadly threats, brings a thrilling edge that had me hooked.

What surprised me most was how tender their connection becomes once the stalking phase shifts into something real and consensual. The way Arek instinctively knows how to care for Kylen, respecting his boundaries while unleashing that protective, possessive side, creates some incredibly steamy and heartfelt moments. Their dynamic is equal parts sweet and dangerous, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Set in the Longwood U world, the book captures that intense university atmosphere with just the right amount of campus life mixed into the romance. The author delivers a story that’s spicy, emotional, and full of that addictive dark romance tension without crossing into unnecessary angst.

If you enjoy MM romances with shy, traumatized heroes finding their match in a dangerously devoted partner, stalking to lovers vibes, and a healthy dose of possessiveness, Hush Anonymous is an absolute treat.

It’s addictive, comforting in its own twisted way, and left me smiling through the heat.

I love this author and their work, I’ll definitely be recommending this book.

🦋

🎉ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE🎉

Justice for Glennon (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) (Six Paths to Justice Book 3) by Nicole Craig

Description

Ten years ago, a tragic shootout took her brother’s life. The CIA took what was left of hers.

Now she’s on the run in South America with nowhere to turn. Unless…

Mason “Triumph” Zelinski needs to be needed.

The loss of close friends last year left a gaping hole in his life, and nothing holds meaning anymore. If only something would happen to bring purpose to his life again.

He should have been careful what he wished for.

Over a terrible phone connection, two voices are reunited after almost a decade, and it’s a race against the clock to help a CIA agent cross an entire continent to safety.

How many men does it take to bring home a burned CIA agent? Two Texas Rangers. Two FBI contacts. Two deadmen. And one very determined blast from her past.

It’s time to bring Glennon home for good.

Publication Date 14/7/2026

Justice for Glennon (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) (Six Paths to Justice Book 3) by Nicole Craig

My Review

Justice for Glennon by Nicole Craig is a gripping, high stakes romantic suspense that delivered exactly what i wanted in an intense action, a second chance romance wrapped in danger way.

Ten years after a devastating shootout claimed her brother’s life and the CIA claimed the rest of hers, Glennon is burned and on the run across South America.

Her desperate call for help reconnects her with Mason “Triumph” Zelinski, a man still reeling from his own losses and searching for purpose.

Their reunion over a crackling phone line ignites old feelings while kicking off a frantic race to bring her home safely.

The author builds the tension as a team of Texas Rangers, FBI contacts, and determined allies works against the clock and deadly enemies to extract Glennon from a continent away. 😮

What I loved most was the balance between pulse pounding suspense and heartfelt reconnection. Mason’s need to be needed pairs perfectly with Glennon’s resilience and vulnerability after years of isolation and betrayal.

The “how many men does it take” element adds layers of camaraderie, while the romantic thread feels earned rather than rushed.

The story doesn’t shy away from the trauma both characters carry, making their growing bond all the more satisfying. 🥰

If you enjoy military tinged suspense with strong, capable heroes stepping up for a heroine who’s been through hell, this book hits the mark.

It’s part of the Six Paths to Justice series, and I’ve not read any of the other books, it stands on its own with nothing feeling missing, but it left me eager to explore the other paths.

This is a solid read that reminds you why we root so hard for these characters to find their way home, not just physically, but to the people and lives they’ve been missing.

Highly recommended for fans of protective alpha heroes and women who refuse to stay broken.

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Courted by the Fae: The Kismet Duet (The Dark Realms Book 4) by Kyra Alessy

Description

Three traitorous fae males. One broken human woman. A bond none of them asked for. She knows she was just a way for them to get what they wanted, so why are all three acting like they’d die for her?

Tricky fae.

Bryn is no fool. She survived years as a captive. She survived months in the pits. She even survived Locke, Jak, and Morgan, the three dark fae who swore they’d save her, who acted like they cared, who dangled her dreams in front of her…and then ripped them away and used her trust to get what they wanted instead.

But Bryn didn’t get this far just to give up. She might have been sold into a worse nightmare, and she might not remember how she got here, but she will survive.

Whatever it takes.

When the chance comes to save a fae male who feels so familiar, one who says he’ll take her to the Light Realm, where humans aren’t bought and sold like animals, she takes it without a second thought.

They call her Fate Touched. Touch her, and fate will make you pay. No one who hurts her escapes punishment… except the three fae who left her in the Dark Realms to die…

She remembers everything.

Now, stuck with the three fae she wishes she could hate: the bully who broke her trust, the protector who said he’d burn the world for her, and the healer who promised he wouldn’t leave her, Bryn’s priorities are shifting. A dark power is rising inside her. Dreams of a father she can’t recall are pulling her toward a truth she isn’t ready for. And the found family she’s slowly, reluctantly building might be the only thing standing between her and the enemies who want to use her.

She thought all she wanted was a life of her own. But what good is that when her people are being stolen, and enemies lurk around every corner? When the fae males she’s starting to care about again, no matter how hard she fights it, are in danger and the life she’s built is falling apart?

Will Bryn step back into the Breach and do what only she can to save them, even if it means giving up the one thing she’s always wanted, her freedom?

Courted by the Fae is book four in the Dark Realms Series, a dark fae romantasy of interconnecting duets. This is NOT a standalone and must be read in order. No cheating. HFN.

This book contains dark themes. Please read the Author’s Note at the front.

Enemies to lovers

Dark fae romance

Touch her and die

Found family

Forced proximity

Slow burn

Morally grey MMCs

Publication Date 16/7/2026

My Review

I just finished Courted by the Fae, and wow, the author knows exactly how to rip your heart out and somehow make you thank her for it.

This book picks up right after the brutal cliffhanger in Given to the Fae and dives deep into Bryn’s story as she grapples with betrayal, fragmented memories, and a growing, reluctant bond with the three fae males who shattered her trust.

Locke, Jak, and Morgan are complicated, flawed, and magnetic in very different ways, the bully, the protector, the healer.

And watching Bryn slowly lower her walls again while fighting every step of the way felt painfully real. She’s been through absolute hell, surviving captivity, the pits, and now this tangled web of fate, power, and politics, yet her resilience never feels forced. She’s angry, broken, and determined, and I rooted for her the entire time.

What I loved most is how the romance isn’t simple forgiveness or instant redemption. The push/pull is messy and earned, laced with tension, protective instincts, and moments of surprising tenderness (that hair braiding scene still lives rent free in my head ❤️).

The dark romantasy elements are strong power imbalances, moral grayness, high stakes, but the author balances them with genuine emotional moments and hints of found family that make the quieter moments hit just as hard as the intense ones.

The world building continues to expand in fascinating ways, with the contrast between the Dark Realms and the pull toward the Light Realm adding layers of intrigue.

Bryn’s emerging powers and the dreams about her father pull everything together into a bigger picture that left me desperate for more. The pacing kept me hooked, I devoured it in one sitting, equal parts anxious, swoony, and heartbroken.

If you enjoy dark fae romantasy with a strong, Fate touched heroine, morally complex love interests, betrayal that hurts, and a story that’s equal parts spicy, emotional, and action packed, this duet (and the whole Dark Realms series) is absolutely worth it.

Courted by the Fae delivers on the promises of its predecessor while raising the stakes even higher.

I’m still thinking about that ending and counting down until the next installment.

Highly recommended for fans of intense, immersive romantasy.

Her writing style is addictive, and she doesn’t shy away from the darkness while still giving you characters worth caring about.

🦋

🎉ARC REVIEW/NEW OUT TODAY 🎉

Rival’s Pledge: Why Choose Academy Sports Romance by Maddison Cole

Description

Meg may have escaped her captor, but recovery will be the true test of her survival.

Returning to Hollowbrook Academy months after her sudden disappearance, Meg is thrust into the spotlight in a way she’s not used to.

Cruel whispers spread about the former award-winning lacrosse captain, headlines pining her as a lost cause.

Thanks to the gossip trailing her across campus, Meg wants nothing more than to blend into the background. Her classes turn into interrogations, nightmares bleed into daylight, and old threats begin to stir from the shadows.

However, upon discovering her team has been hijacked by her old rival, Everest Calloway, the fire within her roars back to life. She might not want to be seen, but there’s a stronger impulse that won’t be ignored. She can’t let him win, even if she’s sleep deprived thanks to a certain asshole next door who keeps her up at night with his bad taste in music.

Luckily, she’s not completely alone. With her cyber hacking friend, Thiago, watching her back, as well as all of the campus cameras, Meg slowly begins to find herself again. She lives for the rivalry, whilst Everest thrives on control.

Going head-to-head with Golden Boy is going to take all of her energy, but that’s the least of her problems.

With her captor still at large, Meg is forced to confront a terrifying truth. Surviving doesn’t mean she’s safe. And the men circling her?

They don’t want to protect her. They want to ruin her.

This dark academy romance is a Spin-Off from the Shadowed Souls series. For your enjoyment, you might want to binge that completed series before diving into Meg’s world, filled with rivalry, obsession, and slow-burning devotion. Amongst these three men, loyalty is dangerous, and love may be the most reckless pledge of all.

Publication Date 16/7/2026

Rival’s Pledge: Why Choose Academy Sports Romance by Maddison Cole

My Review

Rival’s Pledge by Maddison Cole is a gripping, emotionally charged dark academy romance that pulls you straight into Meg’s turbulent world and refuses to let go.

Returning to Hollowbrook Academy after surviving captivity is no triumphant homecoming for Meg. Instead, she faces cruel whispers, invasive questions, and the heavy weight of being labeled a lost cause.

The way the author portrays her struggle to reclaim her place, haunted by nightmares, desperate to disappear into the background, yet unable to let go of her fire is raw and incredibly compelling.

The lacrosse rivalry with Everest Calloway injects sharp, addictive tension. Watching Meg’s competitive spirit roar back to life as she refuses to let her old rival take over her team delivers some of the most satisfying enemies to something more moments I’ve read in a while.

What really makes this book stand out is the slowburn obsession building around Meg. Between the arrogant, controlling Everest, the mysterious neighbor whose terrible music choices keep her up at night, and the fiercely loyal Thiago with his hacking skills and watchful presence, the “why choose” dynamic simmers with danger and devotion.

These men are complicated, part protection, part ruin and their circling intensity keeps the stakes high. The romance is messy, possessive, and layered with genuine care that develops alongside Meg’s healing journey.

The sports element adds energy and rivalry without overshadowing the darker themes of trauma, survival, and the lingering threat of her captor.

The author balances suspense, academy drama, and steamy tension beautifully, making Meg’s path to reclaiming her strength feel earned and empowering.

As a spin off from the Shadowed Souls series, it stands well on its own while teasing a bigger world.

If you enjoy dark academy romances with strong heroines fighting their way back, intense rivalries, and a why choose romance filled with obsession and loyalty, Rival’s Pledge is a fantastic read.

It’s angsty, addictive, and left me eager to see where Meg’s story goes next.

Highly recommended those who are fans of the genre.

🦋

🎉ARC REVIEW/NEW OUT TODAY🎉

The Coming of Endless Darkness (The Faceless Chronicles Book 3) by Grant Pierce

Description

In a world ruled by Astaroth, hope is the deadliest rebellion.

Aeryth has endured a dozen years under the Demon Wars, and the world teeters on annihilation. Kingdoms lie shattered. Lawless warbands roam the wastes. And Astaroth plots to summon The One Below All Creation, an ancient god whose mere presence will extinguish all life on Aeryth.

Yet, a prophecy whispers of hope. In their most desperate hour, the Lightbringer will appear and drive the darkness back. However, Arkal Lightbringer has chosen to abandon Aeryth and return to Nymriel.

Without the Lightbringer, the surviving heroes face a reckoning no prophecy foretold. To stop the end of all things, the companions must reclaim the shattered world, defy Astaroth’s tightening grip, and stop Thezgoron’s treachery.

Ancient powers stir. The hour is desperate. The endless darkness is coming.

The world cries out for its Lightbringer.

Publication Date 15/7/2026

The Coming of Endless Darkness (The Faceless Chronicles Book 3) by Grant Pierce

My Review

The Coming of Endless Darkness, the third book in Grant Pierce’s The Faceless Chronicles, is a grim and gripping plunge into a world that feels like it’s already lost! 😮

After the events of the previous installments, Aeryth is a shattered place, scarred by years of Demon Wars and now teetering on the edge of total oblivion under Astaroth’s tyrannical rule.

What makes this volume stand out is how relentlessly it leans into despair without ever feeling hopeless. The prophecy that once offered salvation has been upended by Arkal Lightbringer’s decision to abandon the realm, forcing the remaining companions into an even more desperate fight against overwhelming odds.

It’s a bold choice that raises the stakes dramatically and gives the story a raw edge that I found interesting.

The author’s world building continues to impress, painting vivid pictures of ruined kingdoms, roving warbands, and the creeping influence of ancient, malevolent forces!

The atmosphere is thick with dread, and the political intrigue especially Thezgoron’s treachery adds layers of tension that kept me turning pages late into the night.

The battle worn heroes feel genuinely exhausted…. their doubts, fractured alliances, and moments of quiet defiance makes them relatable. There’s a real sense of weight to every decision they make, knowing that failure doesn’t just mean death but the literal extinction of all life!

What I appreciated most was the way the book balances large scale cosmic horror with intimate character moments.

The threat of The One Below All Creation looming in the background gives everything an apocalyptic urgency, yet the story never loses sight of the personal costs of this endless war.

It’s atmospheric and cinematic, especially during the action sequences and the eerie, dreamlike passages hinting at older powers stirring beneath the surface. (I could watch this on the big screen.)

If I had one minor critique, it’s that the pacing can feel relentless at times, giving me little room to breathe between crises, but that intensity ultimately serves the theme of a world running out of time.

Overall, The Coming of Endless Darkness is a powerful continuation that elevates the series into something darker and more ambitious.

It left me emotionally drained but deeply satisfied, already eager to see how the companions’ rebellion against the coming endless night will conclude.

If you’ve enjoyed the first two books or love high stakes epic fantasy with crumbling empires, this one delivers in spades.

Highly recommended for fans of grimdark adventures that still cling to the faintest threads of hope.

Definitely need to read in order.

🦋

🎉ARC REVIEW/NEW OUT TODAY 🎉

Secret Husband: A Second Chance, Accidentally Married Hockey Romance (Chicago Players) by Kate Meader

Description

Years ago, I broke her heart, but fate has given me a second chance. I am here to claim my wife—and I will fight like hell to make her mine.

Lauren

I might be late to the game of life, but things are finally starting to go my way. I’ve just started my own sports talent agency, stepped on the first rung of the property ladder, and landed myself a normal boyfriend who’s about to propose. (I found the ring!)

Unfortunately, I have a slight problem—as in a husband who is surplus to requirements. Somehow, I got married without even realizing it to the guy who once broke my heart , and now he’s back in my life, making demands and turning my world upside down. Except I’m no longer that starry-eyed girl in love with the Russian hockey star. These days I’m a ball-busting tigress for my clients, and the last thing I need is Alexei Nazarov ruining everything for which I’ve worked so hard.

But when he makes me an offer I can’t refuse, I wonder if I’ve struck a bargain with the devil who knows my heart better than anyone …

Alexei

Years ago, I met a hockey playing spitfire and fell ass over skates for her. But my life was in disarray, and I had to let her go. When a chance comes to reconnect with her, I grab it with both hands.

There are obstacles. A boyfriend (unworthy), her disdain for me (admittedly, hot), and the fact I hurt her deeply (my biggest regret). It won’t be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. Known for fighting dirty on the ice, I am not opposed to fighting dirty off it to get what I want.

And I want Lauren Yates …

⭐Second chances

🏒Accidentally married … but she already has a boyfriend!

⭐Sports agent/former player

🏒Russian hockey god

⭐Best friend’s sister energy

🏒Right person, wrong time

⭐A touch of blackmail

🏒It’s always been her

⭐Spicy

Publication Date 14/6/2026

***Secret Husband: A Second Chance, Accidentally Married Hockey Romance (Chicago Players) by Kate Meader***

My Review

I absolutely devoured Secret Husband by Kate Meader in one sitting, it’s the kind of addictive, heart racing romance that perfectly blends second chance longing with the high stakes world of professional hockey.

From the very first chapter, I was hooked by Lauren Yates, a heroine who feels so real and down to earth. She’s built a life on her own terms after heartbreak, running her own sports talent agency with fierce determination while navigating the ordinary milestones most of us chase, a steady relationship, a new home, and the promise of stability.

Finding out she’s secretly married to the man who once shattered her heart throws everything into chaos (in the best possible way 😜.)

Alexei Nazarov is pure catnip for us romance readers who love a possessive, slightly morally gray hero with a soft center.

As a Russian hockey star known for fighting dirty on the ice, he brings that same relentless energy to winning Lauren back. 😉

Their history is layered with regret and unresolved passion, and the author does an excellent job showing how much he’s grown while still letting his protective, alpha tendencies create delicious tension.

The accidental marriage trope is executed so cleverly here, it’s not just a convenient plot device but a catalyst that forces both characters to confront old wounds and undeniable chemistry.

What I loved most was the push/pull dynamic. Lauren isn’t a pushover, she’s a “ball busting tigress” who makes Alexei work for every inch of forgiveness. Their banter crackles with heat and humor.

The hockey setting adds an exciting backdrop without overshadowing the story, and the side characters (including glimpses of the Chicago Players crew) make the world feel vibrant.

There were moments that had me grinning, others that tugged at my heart, and plenty of steamy scenes that delivered on the romance promise without feeling too over the top.

If you enjoy second chance stories where the hero has to grovel just enough, strong heroines who hold their ground, and that irresistible “mine” energy, this book is a winner.

It left me smiling and immediately wanting to dive into more of Kate Meader’s hockey romances.

Highly recommend for a cute, swoony escape. 🏒 ❤️‍🩹😊

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW OUT TODAY 🎉

Choked in Love: A Dark Rom Com by Alexis Grace

Description

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE OF MINE SERIES COMES A NEW DARK ROM COM…

What happens when a vigilante serial killer climbs in through your bedroom window?

Hazel

I never really considered what I’d be doing the first time I met a serial killer but if I had, it wouldn’t have been dancing around my bedroom in nothing but my nightshirt.

‘Move in next to a secure psychiatric prison’, they said. ‘No one will ever break out’, they said. Tell that to America’s most dangerous vigilante who’s currently standing in my lilac themed bedroom.

Except Flynn is about as far from how I imagine a serial killer to be as possible. He’s funny, protective and it’s only when he touches me that his darker side comes out to play. And maybe working as a 911 operator has messed me up because that Flynn, he doesn’t scare me, he enthralls me.

Flynn

The last thing I expected when I broke out of the insane asylum was to face off with a five-foot-nothing woman wielding a vibrator wand.

I have one last monster to hunt. I don’t have time to obsess over sweet-as-pie Hazel Halloway. But my little lilac is a fixation I can’t shake, and it turns out Hazel’s past leads right back to the monster I’m hunting.

It’s not long before that man turns his sights on her, but I fell for Hazel the second I climbed through her bedroom window, and here’s the thing about morally black men, no one hurts the people we love.

Choked in Love is an M/F dark rom com set in the Of Mine universe. It features on the page spice, darker moments and one possessive, over protective MMC. It is book one in the Stalked Love series, an interconnected trilogy, but can be read as a standalone. Please read the content warnings.

Dark Rom Com
Stalking
Morally Black MMC
Friendly Kidnapping
Hate to Love You
OTT Possessive and Protective MMC
Golden Retriever Serial Unaliver

Publication Date 13/7/2026

***Choked in Love: A Dark Rom Com by Alexis Grace***

My Review

I just finished Choked in Love by Alexis Grace, and I’m still grinning like an idiot while side eyeing my own bedroom window.

This book is exactly what it promises, a deliciously unhinged dark romcom that somehow makes you root for a vigilante serial killer who climbs through windows like it’s a meet/cute.

Hazel is an absolute delight. As a 911 operator, she’s already seen enough chaos to be a little desensitised, but nothing prepares her for the moment America’s most dangerous vigilante drops into her bedroom while she’s dancing around in her nightshirt. 😂

I loved how real a she felt, funny, a bit chaotic, and surprisingly unbothered by the morally gray (okay, pitch black) man who’s now fixated on her. Her reactions walk that perfect line between “this should terrify me” and “why is this kind of hot?” that makes the whole story so addictive.

Flynn, though… whew. He’s the golden retriever serial unaliver of my dreams. He’s protective, sarcastic, and ridiculously obsessed with Hazel from the second he meets her. The way his darker, possessive side emerges when she’s threatened is 🤌🏻🤌🏻. The “friendly kidnapping” and over the top stalking elements are handled with such playful darkness that they never feel grim. Instead, they’re strangely sweet in the most twisted way. Their banter is sharp and flirty, and the hate to love tension crackles on every page.

The spice is on the page and plentiful, blending perfectly with the humor and the darker moments. Alexis Grace nails the balance, there’s genuine danger from Flynn’s past and the monster he’s hunting, but it’s wrapped in so much charm and wit that you’re laughing even when things get intense.

The Of Mine universe tease and the setup for the Stalked Love series have me excited for more. I loved The Of Mine trilogy, and was sad to see it end, but if I get to see cameos then I’m a happy book girlie 🥰.

If you love morally black MMCs who would burn the world down for their woman, quirky heroines who match their freak, and a story that leans all the way into the absurdity of a serial killer falling head over heels, this one is for you.

It’s fun, filthy, and surprisingly heartwarming in the most deranged way possible.

I devoured it in one sitting and already want to reread the chaotic bedroom window scene.

Highly recommend if you’re in the mood for something dark, spicy, and laugh out loud entertaining.

🦋

🖤 NEW RELEASE/ARC REVIEW 🖤

Run Little Liar: A Dark Why Choose Mafia Trilogy (Lombardi Legacy Book 1) by Montana Fyre

Description

It’s been ten years since I fled the only home I’d ever known and I haven’t stopped looking over my shoulder since.

I should have died that night.

I would have if I didn’t run, leaving everything behind, including the man I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with.

Ronan was supposed to be my happily ever after, but after a decade of bed lies about why I left, he hates me just as much as his brother.

My relationship with Damon was complicated even before I ran, but now he looks at me like I never meant anything to him.

They’ll stop at nothing to make me pay for the sins I never committed but I haven’t come this far to let them take me now and once again I’m on the run.

The problem?

My bodyguard with a dark past I know nothing about won’t let me out of his sight.

What to Expect:

Dark Romance
Mafia Romance
Why Choose
Second Chance
MMC’s Hate Each Other
Forbidden Romance

Content Warning:

Miscarriage
Non Con / Dub Con
Violence / Torture
Betrayal
Elements of BDSM
Kidnapping
Captive

*Please note: this is book 1 in a trilogy and will end in a cliffhanger.

Publication Date 10/7/2026

Run Little Liar: A Dark Why Choose Mafia Trilogy (Lombardi Legacy Book 1) by Montana Fyre

My Review

Run Little Liar pulled me in from the first page and refused to let go.

This dark why choose mafia romance kicks off the Lombardi Legacy series with a gripping mix of second chance tension, betrayal, and raw survival instincts that kept me hooked straight through to its brutal cliffhanger.

Chloe’s story is heartbreaking and intense. Ten years after fleeing a traumatic night that nearly ended her life, she’s still running, haunted by the past and the men she left behind……

Ronan, the one she once dreamed of a future with, now looks at her with pure hatred fueled by years of unanswered questions and lies. His brother Damon brings his own complicated history and cold resentment into the mix. The emotional pain of lost love twisted with mafia loyalty and misunderstandings creates a volatile, addictive dynamic.

Throw in her enigmatic bodyguard (Ryker) with his own shadowed past, who refuses to let her slip away, and the “why choose” elements heat up in ways that are as dangerous as they are steamy.

The book delivers on the dark romance promises…. The high stakes suspense, constant threats, intense chemistry, and morally gray men who are as protective as they are punishing.

The author’s writing flows effortlessly, building tension and emotional depth that makes you feel every ounce of Chloe’s fear, longing, and defiance.

What stood out most was how invested I became in the characters. Their journeys are tragic and compelling, with backstories that add real weight without slowing the pace. The mafia world feels lived in and ruthless, and the forbidden/second chance vibes amplify every confrontation and charged moment.

And that ending …. left me desperate for book two, I need answers and resolution after the way things wrapped up.

If you love dark mafia romances with strong heroines who keep fighting, complex anti heroes, and a why choose setup full of heat, suspense, and heartbreak, this one delivers.

It’s addictive, emotional, and perfectly sets the stage for more chaos in the series.

Highly recommended for fans of the genre.

I couldn’t put it down. 🖤

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

Hart and Souls: A Ghostly Second Chance Romance by Amy J. Elliott

Description

Love never dies, and neither does he, in this second chance romance with a ghostly twist.

Ruby Hart used to believe in happily ever afters. It’s why she runs the Big Tippers and Bodice Rippers book club at the library where she works. But after calling off her engagement six months ago, romance feels more like fiction than fact.

So color Ruby surprised when she gets a call from her ex-fiancé’s phone, only to learn Oliver Blackwood has died in an accident. Or so she thinks, until she comes home to find Ollie’s ghost waiting for her.

Turns out Ruby is a Navigator, part of a long line of Hart women destined to guide souls to the beyond. But when she touches Ollie, he doesn’t move on. Because while he’s dead…he’s also sort of not.

Ollie did betray Ruby, but not the way she thinks. When he was alive, he hunted the undead, tracking a spreading infection that could become an epidemic. Now he is the undead, and he’s tethered to Ruby until they find his zombie body and the creature that bit him, laying them both to rest.

Living with your ex’s ghost 24/7 makes it hard to hold a grudge, and Ruby quickly realizes she might not be as over Ollie as she thought. But if they succeed, Ollie will finally cross over…and Ruby will lose him for good.

For a librarian who wants to believe in happily ever afters again, it may be the ultimate heartbreak.

Publication Date 1/7/2026

Hart and Souls: A Ghostly Second Chance Romance by Amy J. Elliott

My Review

I absolutely loved Hart and Souls by Amy J. Elliott.

From the very first chapter, this book wrapped me in a perfect blend of heartfelt romance, supernatural intrigue, and quiet emotional depth that kept me turning pages late into the night.

Ruby Hart is such a lovable character, she’s a librarian who runs a book club called Big Tippers and Bodice Rippers, still nursing the wounds of a broken engagement while clinging to her belief in happy endings through the stories she loves.

She’s the kind of heroine you immediately want to root for.

When her ex-fiancé Oliver’s ghost shows up after what she thought was his death, the story takes off in the most delightful and poignant way.

The chemistry between Ruby and Ollie crackles with all the unresolved tension of a second chance romance, but the ghostly twist adds layers of tenderness, frustration, and humor that made me laugh and ache in equal measure.

Living with your ex 24/7 would test anyone, but watching Ruby grapple with forgiveness while discovering the truth about Ollie’s hidden life as a hunter of the undead felt fresh and compelling.

The Navigator lore woven through the Hart family history is fascinating without ever overwhelming the central love story.

What i liked was the bittersweet push/pull of loving someone you know you might have to let go.

The author writes the romance with genuine heart, balancing sweet moments, banter, and real stakes in a way that never feels contrived. The supernatural elements…. zombies, tethering, the race to lay Ollie’s soul to rest, elevate the second chance trope into something truly unique.

By the end, I was fully invested in whether these two could find their happily ever after, even knowing the cost.

If you enjoy ghostly romances with strong character development, a touch of mystery, and that perfect ache of “what if we only had this little time,” Hart and Souls is an absolute must read.

I’ll definitely be looking for more from this author.

Highly recommended! 👍🏻

🦋

(Off my TBR List) KINDLE REVIEW

Down and Dirty (Italian Stallions book one) by Mari Carr

Description

Confirmed bachelors Tony Moretti and Dr. Reece Beaumont share the same motto—work hard, play harder. But when fate drops a homeless waitress and her young son on their doorstep, their wild and free lifestyle takes a sharp turn. Their desire to help her is only surpassed by their desire to claim her, share her, make her theirs.

Jess has one goal in life—protect her son. But when an overcrowded shelter puts her and Jasper out on the street in the dead of winter, she fears she’s going to fail that mission. Help comes in the form of not one, but two sexy saviors.

Tony and Reece offer Jess a place to stay and security, and there’s no denying the chemistry between the three of them. However, Jess’s past is lined with people who’ve hurt her and she’s not looking to add anyone else to that list. No matter how persuasive, how determined, how deliciously possessive her new roommates are.

Publication date 25/1/2022

Down and Dirty (Italian Stallions book one) by Mari Carr

My Review

Mari Carr’s “Down and Dirty” delivers a compelling story that blends emotion, romance, and a dash of steamy tension. The story follows Jess, a devoted single mother, who finds herself homeless with her young son, Jasper, during a harsh winter. The stakes are high as she fights to protect her son while navigating an overwhelming sense of vulnerability.

Enter Tony Moretti and Dr. Rhys Beaumont, roommates who embody the phrase “work hard, play harder.” Their lives take an unexpected turn when they take in Jess and Jasper, offering not only shelter but a chance at something deeper. The chemistry between the three characters is palpable, and Carr skillfully captures their evolving dynamics.

What stands out in this story is the way the author explores the theme of trust and healing. Jess’s battle with her past and reluctance to open her heart adds layers to the story, making the journey to romance both compelling and relatable. Tony and Rhys are charming, protective, and equally alluring, creating a delicious tension that keeps readers engaged.

The pacing is smooth, moving seamlessly between moments of intimacy, emotional struggles, and light-hearted interactions, allowing the reader to fully immerse themselves in the characters’ world. The vivid descriptions paint a picture of both the warmth of home and the chill of uncertainty, enhancing the emotional impact.

Overall, “Down and Dirty” is an engaging read that artfully blends romance with real-life challenges. Mari Carr has created a narrative that captures the essence of hope, love, and the importance of finding your family, even in unexpected places. Fans of steamy romance with a heartfelt twist will definitely want to add this book to their reading list.

🦋

⭐ARC REVIEW ⭐️

Knot Their Starlet (Starletverse Book 1) by Callie Clark

What do you do when your carefully curated, picture-perfect life comes crumbling down around you?

Andromeda Sterling. My name is synonymous with so many things. Daughter of the infamous star of The Real Omegas of Beverly Hills. Social media darling. Good girlfriend to a powerful nepo-baby alpha with the right last name. I’ve spent my entire life playing my part perfectly.

Until one violent, humiliating night at the Grammys leaves me single, bleeding, and running from paparazzi hungry for their next scandal. My mother already has a plan to fix my image: forcing me right back into the arms of the man who hurt me.

Instead, I stumble into an alley with Beckham Knight—the entertainment industry’s first male omega pop star—and catch him on his knees in front of his very male, very alpha manager.

When the cameras catch us all together, we spin the only story that saves us both. Beckham needs the world to warm up to the idea of a male omega in the spotlight. I need protection from a mother who’d sell my safety for a headline.

Everything is supposed to be meticulously planned. No risk to my heart or body.

So why does the stunning pop star make me feel more alive than I have in years? And why am I so drawn to his brooding manager, his razor-sharp publicist, his powerful record-label executive, and the seasoned reporter hell-bent on exposing our ruse?

Funny how the universe works sometimes. Because this fake relationship is making me realize that despite everything the world expects of me—I’m Knot their Starlet.
—
Knot Their Starlet is book one in a slow-burn why-choose MMFMMM contemporary omegaverse romance duet.

Publication Date 25/6/2026

Knot Their Starlet (Starletverse Book 1) by Callie Clark

My Review

Knot Their Starlet by Callie Clark is one of those books that sinks its hooks into you from the opening pages and refuses to let go, even after the final cliffhanger twist leaves you desperate for more.

Andromeda Sterling’s life has always been a performance, daughter of a reality TV omega star, social media influencer, and arm candy for the “right” kind of alpha.

Her “boyfriend” attacks her whilst attending the Grammys! Scared and bleeding, Andi bumps literally into Beckham Knight, the groundbreaking male omega pop star, right as he’s in a very compromising (and very MM) moment with his alpha manager!

Cameras catch the chaos, and suddenly the only way to salvage both their reputations is a fake relationship that pulls in an entire pack of compelling men into Andi’s crafted world!

What starts as pure PR strategy quickly becomes something far more real and far more dangerous to Andi’s heart. The slow burn tension is 🤌🏻🤌🏻.

The author gives Andi space to breathe, heal, and rediscover her own desires after the trauma, while the guys each bring something distinct to the dynamic. Beckham’s charisma and shared omega experience create an instant, tender connection with Andi. His manager Elijah, offers that steady, protective calm (the man cooks for her, and I felt that in my soul). Leo is Beck’s publicist, he’s razor sharp, but definitely has eyes for Andi, and the label exec (Everett) wields real power, and Cameron the reporter who starts out wanting to expose them ends up tangled in the web.

The existing MM relationship between Beckham and Elijah adds beautiful layers of complexity and emotion rather than feeling like an afterthought. (They basically grew up together, and don’t want to jeopardise that relationship, but they’ve both want more!)

The Hollywood setting is used brilliantly here, it’s not just a glamorous backdrop but as a pressure cooker of media scrutiny, image control, and the way omegas are commodified.

Andi’s journey from dissociation and people pleasing to reclaiming her anger, boundaries, and agency is genuinely amazing to watch. The spice is open door and serves the characters (with solid MM content), but the emotional and protective aspects of the pack forming around her are what made me the most invested.

It’s a why choose (MMFMMM) omegaverse contemporary romance duet opener, so yes, it ends on a cliffhanger that had me yelling at my screen. But the character work, the found family vibes, the sharp commentary on fame and control, and the way these men slowly become Andi’s safe place make it completely worth it.

If you love celebrity/rockstar romance with real stakes, slowburn tension that pays off, traumatized characters finding healing, and a pack that feels distinct rather than interchangeable, this one delivers.

I devoured it in one sitting and immediately wanted the next book.

Callie Clark has a real talent for blending heat, heart, and high stakes drama.

Oh….. and watch out for the mother!

I’d recommend checking out the TW’s before starting the book.

Highly recommend if you’re in the mood for an omega who finally decides she’s knot playing by their rules anymore.

🦋

(Off my TBR List) KINDLE REVIEW

Speechless (Clarity Coast Omegaverse Book 3) by Devyn Sinclair

Description

From the outside my life is perfect. Inside, no one can hear me screaming.

Being the only Omega in your friend group who’s single is the worst. Being alone while your friends are happily bonded? Even less fun.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my friends, and I’m happy for them. But nothing erases the truth: No one wants me. Not even the people meant to be my family.

Until them.

A chance meeting throws me in the path of the hottest Alphas I’ve ever seen. They’re powerful, dominant, and entirely intoxicating. And they want me. Not just for a night— they want forever.

It doesn’t feel real. I’m too loud, too much, and too broken. But these Alphas? They’ll stop at nothing to prove me wrong.

Between chasing the biggest break of my career and finally learning what it’s like to be loved, every secret I’ve tried to hide is rising to the surface. Breaking my silence might shatter me, but, for the first time, I know there will be someone to pick up the pieces.

When danger from both present and past threaten everything, I have to remember my new truth: I’m not alone anymore.

For too long, secrets have kept me silent.

Now it’s time to find my voice.

Speechless is a standalone reverse harem Omegaverse. No choosing, no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA!

This book is part of a series of standalones, and can be enjoyed on its own, without reading any other books in the series.

Content Warnings available on the author’s website.

Publication Date 29/5/2026

Speechless (Clarity Coast Omegaverse Book 3) by Devyn Sinclair

My Review

Speechless really got to me. 🥵❤️‍🩹🥹

As the third book in the Clarity Coast Omegaverse series, it follows Trinity, the last single Omega in her close friend group, and her journey into a forever bond with the Breaker Pack…. Aiden, Bastian, Brooks, Logan, and Theo. (I loved how they came up

With the pack name 😉)

What stood out most is how deeply Trinity’s internal struggle was. On the surface her life looks fun and easy, but she’s been carrying heavy silence from family rejection, past trauma, and the constant ache of watching her friends find their packs while she feels “too loud, too much, too broken.” I cried when Trinity finally learns to trust that these Alphas want all of her, not just the polished parts. ❤️‍🩹

The diabetes representation and her journalism career add layers that make her feel like a real person rather than just an Omega trope.

The Breaker Pack brings serious heat and protective devotion. This is easily the kinkiest book in the series so far, with a strong BDSM lifestyle focus, power exchange, and plenty of impact play. 🥵

What impressed me was how consent, negotiation, and aftercare are woven in, questionnaires, check ins, and clear communication make the dynamics feel safe and character driven instead of purely titillating.

The men are dominant without being overbearing, and they actively support Trinity’s career even when it pulls her into danger. Watching her open up and find her voice, both personally and professionally, while the pack stands beside her created some genuinely moving moments. (I cheered when she finally stood up and told her story.)

That said, the story juggles a lot….deep trauma healing, a blossoming (and very spicy) reverse harem relationship, career stakes, corruption threats, and family confrontation. At times it felt a little crowded, and I wanted more balanced development across all five Alphas or extra group pack bonding beyond the individual connections.

The way the friend group from previous books weaves in adds wonderful warmth and continuity. And a surprise/twist that I didn’t see coming, but was throughly pleased with 🤫

If you enjoy emotionally raw Omegaverse with heavy kink, excellent consent, and a heroine who grows into her strength surrounded by worshipful Alphas, this one delivers.

It’s a true standalone that still feels like a satisfying conclusion to the friend/circle stories. You don’t need to read the other two, but meeting Isolde and Ocean, you’ll definitely want to read their stories.

Highly recommended if you’re already invested in the series or just want a why choose story that prioritizes healing and found family.

I have to admit my favourite was Isolde’s book Endless. But after reading this one… I think this one just became my favourite ❤️

🦋

🖤OFF MY TBR LIST🖤 KINDLE REVIEW

Demon: A Tortured Anti-Hero MC Romance Novel (WAR BROTHERS MC Book 5) by Bianca Lee Ward

Description

I’m obsessed with her. She’s mine … she just doesn’t know it yet.

They say I’m a sociopath, but Ivy makes me feel like I’m worth something. She’s the only one to see past the fake smile that hides how dead I am inside.

Ivy is an incredible nurse to my sister and a loving single mom. Which is exactly why she should fear me, because while she saves lives, I end them.

And she would, if she discovered I’ve been stalking her, like a man possessed. Because as the club’s Enforcer, I protect what’s mine.

Ivy needs to take sanctuary at the club with her daughter, and I vow to keep them safe. In return, she thinks she can save my tortured soul and heal what’s broken inside me. But I know better.

I’ve already sinned too much to be saved. She can’t change my violent past. My dangerous life. Or the fact that I’m damaged beyond repair.

But if she wants my heart, I’ll carve it out for her, because I’m not afraid of pain or death. There’s only one thing left in life that scares me …

Losing Ivy.

Publication Date 27/5/2025

Demon: A Tortured Anti-Hero MC Romance Novel (WAR BROTHERS MC Book 5) by Bianca Lee Ward

My Review

Demon by Bianca Lee Ward is a raw, gripping ride that sinks its claws into you from the very first page and refuses to let go.

As the fifth book in the War Brothers MC series, it delivers exactly what I’ve come to expect from this author, a deliciously dark anti hero romance that doesn’t shy away from the gritty, violent underbelly of club life.

Demon is one of the most tortured heroes I’ve read in a while. He’s the club’s Enforcer, he’s cold, lethal, and convinced he’s too far gone to ever be redeemed.

His obsession with Ivy feels real, the stalking, the possessiveness, the way he watches over her without her knowledge, it all walks that razor thin line between terrifying and intoxicating.

What i liked about Demon was the unapologetic way he was, the author never tried to make him anything other than that. His past is what shaped him. But underneath all that knife wielding is a heart that beats for his sister and now for Ivy.

Ivy is the perfect partner for Demon. As a dedicated nurse and protective single mom, she brings light and warmth to Demon’s shadowed world without coming across as naïve.

I loved watching her stand her ground while slowly peeling back his layers. Their chemistry is explosive, equal parts tender and scorching and the way their relationship develops through danger and forced proximity feels earned rather than rushed.

The tension, the push/pull, and the raw need between them made for some seriously addictive reading.

The story moves at a solid pace, blending suspense, club drama, and steamy romance without ever feeling bloated.

And in the quieter moments when Demon’s inner darkness clashes with his growing attachment to Ivy and her daughter. It’s heartbreaking at times, especially when he wrestles with the idea that he might be beyond saving, yet hopeful in the way Ivy refuses to give up on him.

If you enjoy dark motorcycle club romances with morally gray (bordering on black) heroes, intense obsession tropes, and strong heroines who can hold their own, Demon is a must read.

It’s emotional, steamy, and unflinchingly honest about pain, loyalty, and love in a world that doesn’t forgive easily.

I finished it wanting more of this couple and this world, definitely one of my favorites in the series so far.

Highly recommended. 🖤

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

HOT AND BOTHERED IN JULY by Tabetha Waite

Description

They say opposites attract, but for two people who come from different worlds, is the impossible-possible?

Reed Carrington is a ne’er-do-well, a former bluecoat who barely made it through school. He was a terror to his tutors and despised sitting inside a stuffy classroom. He would rather be outside wreaking havoc on London’s social elite.

Or so he’d thought. Determined to make a name for himself and leave the past behind, he is starting to embrace success, but one day he rescues a beautiful debutante in a pink dress from drowning, and he’s suddenly dubbed a hero by the Brazen Belle.

Miss Sariah Kent doesn’t appreciate all the strictures placed on women in the beau monde.

She would rather be independent than be forced to marry simply because it is expected of her to do so. She yearns for more, but she doesn’t know how to obtain that freedom until a blond Adonis breathes new life-and fire-into her blood. In July, when the temperatures are rising in central London, the passion simmering between this rebellious lady and her hot and bothered hero soon become a recipe for love.

Publication Date 1/7/2026

HOT AND BOTHERED IN JULY by Tabetha Waite

My Review

I picked up Hot and Bothered in July as I loved the authors writing. And it turned out to be the perfect escape.

Tabetha Waite writes delightful historical romance that captures the heat not just of a London July, but of two fiery personalities colliding in the most unexpected way.

From the very first pages, I was drawn into the world of Reed Carrington and Sariah Kent, a pair whose instant chemistry practically leaps off the page.

Reed is the kind of hero who refuses to fit neatly into any box. A former troublemaker with a bluecoat past, he’s rough around the edges and carries the weight of a less than privileged background. Yet there’s something magnetic about his determination to reinvent himself. Watching him shift from a man who once thrived on chaos to someone embracing success felt deeply satisfying.

His rescue of Sariah in that pink dress is the inciting moment that flips both their worlds upside down, and I loved how the author uses it to spark that attraction.

Sariah, on the other hand, is a breath of fresh air in the rigid beau monde. She chafes against the expectations placed on women of her station, marriage as duty, propriety above all else, and her yearning for independence had me wanting her to succeed. She’s spirited without being reckless, intelligent, and quietly rebellious.

The way her world expands after meeting Reed, how he awakens both her passions and her courage, made their relationship feel electric. Their banter crackles with tension, and the slowburn of their romance, set against the sweltering backdrop of a London summer, is really well done.

The author balances the heat between them with moments of tenderness and self discovery that give the story real emotional depth.

What I appreciated most was how the novel explores the theme of opposites attracting while never making it feel clichéd. Reed and Sariah come from vastly different worlds, and the obstacles they face had me keeping my fingers crossed 🤞.

The secondary characters, including the intriguing Brazen Belle society, add delightful layers and a touch of scandalous fun to the story.

The writing is smooth and immersive, painting vivid scenes of Regency era London without ever slowing the pace.

By the end, I closed the book with a happy sigh and a smile.

Hot and Bothered in July is a charming, passionate read. If you enjoy historical romances with strong willed heroines, reformed rogues, and plenty of sizzling chemistry, this one is absolutely worth diving into.

Tabetha Waite has delivered another winner that left me feeling warm in all the right ways.

Highly recommended for a steamy summer escape!

🦋

KINDLE READ/REVIEW

Country (Diamond MC Book 1) by Lila Rose

Description

I had her and loved the taste of her.
But she’s too young, too sweet and good.
I’ll keep her safe, and I want her happy.
Even if my own heart tells me I’m a fool for not making her mine.

Our few nights were electric. She left her mark and burned her goodness into my heart.
There’s no room left for anyone else, only her.
I can’t chase her. I have to let her go.
Sure, she’s a club girl and I could have her under me whenever I want, but I can’t do that to her. I refuse to pull her any deeper into the Diamond MC.

When that decision is taken out of my hands and she’s dragged into the darkness, all I see is rage and bloodshed.
I’ll make them pay. Every single one of them who thought they could steal her away, take her from me.

She’s everything.
And once I have her back, I’ll make sure I never let go.
She’s light and goodness.
Maybe she’s too good for me, but maybe she’s just what I need to balance my world.
I’ll give her everything and make her mine.
And just maybe she’ll make me hers too.

Warning: this book contains violence, offensive language, and very mature topics. Recommended for age 18 years and up.

Note: Book #1 in the Diamond MC series, though these characters have been seen in the mm Polished P &P series, you don’t have to read them first to read Country.

Publication Date 15/2/2022

Country (Diamond MC Book 1) by Lila Rose

My Review

From the moment I opened the first pages of “Country,” I was swept away into a world of passion, motorcycle clubs, and internal conflict. The author masterfully crafts a narrative that pulls you in with its electric tension and complex characters.

The mmc’s love for the mfc is palpable, you can feel his struggle between desire and the fierce need to protect her. He’s captivated by her sweetness, yet understands that their worlds are vastly different. The emotional depth he experiences speaks volumes, and I found myself rooting for him at every turn. Watching him grapple with his feelings while trying to keep her safe was both heart-wrenching and exhilarating.

Their nights together? Utterly intoxicating. The author’s writing encapsulates those moments perfectly, making it hard to put the book down. I felt the chemistry crackle, and I couldn’t help but wish for their happy ending, even amid the chaos surrounding them.

What truly stood out to me was the transformation in the male lead. The moment he realizes she’s been dragged into danger by others, his rage and determination to protect her shine through. It transforms the story from a simple romance into an intense, gripping battle filled with stakes that leave you on the edge of your seat.

The author has a way of weaving light and darkness, goodness and grit.

This book explores the complexity of love, the challenges of loyalty, and ultimately, the power of sacrifice.

“Country” is not just a love story; it’s a thrilling journey of personal growth and redemption.

If you’re looking for a read that will keep your heart racing and your emotions engaged, I wholeheartedly recommend diving into this captivating tale. The author Lila Rose has created a world that I can’t wait to explore further!

🦋

PAPERBACK REVIEW

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Description

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

With this bold and deeply personal novel, It Ends With Us is a heart-wrenching story and an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.

Publication Date 2/8/2016

My Review

“It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover is a contemporary romance that explores love, resilience, and the complexity of relationships.

Lily Bloom is a determined character who has overcome significant challenges to build a fulfilling life for herself. After moving to Boston and starting her own business, she meets Ryle Kincaid, a charismatic neurosurgeon. Their immediate chemistry sets the stage for a passionate relationship, but it quickly becomes evident that Ryle’s emotional walls complicate their connection. His reluctance to engage in traditional romantic commitments makes Lily question whether their bond can withstand the pressures of his past and her hopes for a future.

As the story unfolds, Colleen weaves in themes of domestic violence, mental health, and the cycle of trauma. Lily’s past experiences, including her relationship with her father, shape her understanding of love and acceptance.

The novel also features Lily’s first love, Atlas, who unexpectedly re-enters her life, adding complexity to her situation. Her feelings for both Ryle and Atlas raises questions about the nature of love and the choices she has to make.

Overall, “It Ends with Us” is an emotionally charged read.

🦋

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. Book I read on holiday.

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Stopping Short (Pit Bulls Baseball Book 6) by Kristin MacQueen

Description

She’s been my best friend despite our age gap. Seven years seems like forever, but it’s never stopped us from turning to each other for everything. Now that we’re both adults, I can’t seem to stay away from her. I’m begging to take off work and miss baseball games just to celebrate her birthday with her… Only when I get there, I’m met with a massive surprise I wasn’t expecting.

I messed up. I made an impulsive decision and now I need to deal with it. I assume I can keep it quiet and fix everything before I return home from college… but when the man I’ve been in love with my entire life comes to celebrate my birthday with me, he finds out my secret and everything goes wrong.

Tropes:

⚾️ small town romance

🧢sports romance

⚾️ baseball romance

🧢age gap

⚾️ friends to lovers

🧢he falls first

⚾️ shared past

🧢closed door romance
TW – stalker, violence

Publication Date 2/7/2026

Stopping Short (Pit Bulls Baseball Book 6) by Kristin MacQueen

My Review

Stopping Short by Kristin MacQueen is a warm, heartfelt addition to the Pit Bulls Baseball series that perfectly captures the slowburn tension of longtime friends finally crossing that invisible line.

I’ve haven’t been following this series, but I’m definitely going back to take a look. I liked this one because of the friends to lovers angle combined with a seven year age gap.

The hero’s devotion is everything, watching him drop everything, including baseball commitments, just to be there for her birthday shows how deeply he’s fallen, even if he’s been trying (and failing) to keep things platonic.

Their shared history gives the story a lovely foundation, every interaction feels layered with years of inside jokes, quiet support, and that underlying ache of wanting more.

What I appreciated most is how the small town setting wraps around the romance like a comfortable blanket. The community feels lived in, and the baseball elements are woven in naturally without overpowering the emotional core.

The heroine’s impulsive decision and the secret she’s carrying create real stakes, and when everything collides on her birthday, the fallout is messy in the most realistic way.

MacQueen handles the closed-door romance with sweetness and restraint, focusing on the emotional intimacy and longing rather than explicit scenes.

There’s genuine tenderness here, especially in how the hero steps up once he learns the truth. The “he falls first” trope is done beautifully, he’s been gone for her for a long time, even if it took this crisis for him to fully admit it.

The story moves at a gentle pace that lets you sink into their relationship, and the resolution left me smiling with that satisfied, hopeful feeling I look for in a sweet romance.

If you enjoy low angst sports romances with strong friendships, small town charm, and characters who genuinely know each other inside out, Stopping Short delivers. It’s comforting, a little spicy in spirit (even if closed door), and another solid win for the author.

I’m already looking at binge reading the previous books, and I’m forward to whatever comes next in this series.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

A Magic So Deadly (Kingdom of Dark Magic Book 2) by Vasilisa Drake

Description

She has become everything she ever wanted… and everything she despises.

Samara wakes in a prison cell as her worst nightmare: She’s a vampire, cursed with bloodlust that horrifies her. And though she now has the magic she’s always desperately craved, it’s a secret she must guard with her undead life.

Because this same magic marks her as an enemy of all vampires. Especially Raphael—their king.

Now, as a vampire, Samara is haunted by an inescapable thirst. In her sleep, she claws at her throat, trying to ease the pain. But when she’s around Raphael, her fangs ache for a deeper reason she can’t explain.

A mystical bond ties Samara to Raphael as her sire, preventing her from fleeing before he can discover her identity as the very witch he’s been hunting for centuries. Instead, she must journey with him to the Southern Vampire Kingdom. A journey that has her sharing both his carriage… and his bed.

There, Raphael offers her another bargain: Yield to her vampire nature and master her abilities, and he will help her break the bond.

But if she lowers her guard too much, if her control over the powers she barely understands slips and Raphael learns she’s the necromancer…

He’ll be forced to kill her.

A Magic So Deadly is the second book in the Kingdom of Dark Magic series, filled with a slow burn romance, unique magic systems, and forced proximity. This romantasy series is perfect for readers of Carissa Broadbent, Penn Cole, and Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publication Date 30/6/2026

A Magic So Deadly (Kingdom of Dark Magic Book 2) by Vasilisa Drake

My Review

A Magic So Deadly is a gripping continuation of the Kingdom of Dark Magic series that left me equal parts thrilled, tense, and emotionally wrecked, in the best way.

Samara’s transformation into a vampire is the ultimate cruel twist of fate. She finally has the raw magical power she’s craved her whole life, but it comes bundled with an insatiable bloodlust that disgusts her. The internal conflict she wrestles with is so raw and visceral, I felt her horror at waking up as the very monster she once feared. The author does an excellent job making her bloodlust feel immediate and horrifying rather than just a sexy vampire trope. The moments where Samara claws at her own throat in her sleep genuinely unsettled me.

The forced proximity with Raphael, the vampire king who has every reason to kill her if he discovers her true necromancer identity, is delicious. Their sire bond traps her at his side, leading to shared carriage rides, shared beds (yes, please), and a slowburn tension that simmers dangerously close to boiling over. Raphael is exactly the kind of morally gray, dangerously obsessed love interest I love, he’s powerful, calculating, and inexplicably drawn to Samara in ways neither fully understands yet. The push/pull between them, layered with secrets that could destroy everything, kept me turning pages late into the night.

What I appreciated most was how the book builds on the unique magic system introduced in the first book. Samara’s struggle to master her new vampire abilities while hiding her necromancy adds layers of suspense and clever problem solving. The Southern Vampire Kingdom setting expands the world beautifully, introducing new politics and dangers.

The romance is classic slowburn forced proximity done right, the intense eye contact, charged touches, and bargains that test loyalties and desires. It never feels rushed, and the emotional stakes feel incredibly high because of the constant threat that Raphael will learn the truth……

If I have any minor critique, it’s that some of the middle journey sections lean a bit heavy on the internal angst before the plot accelerates again, but it’s a small quibble in an otherwise addictive read.

The ending sets up what promises to be an explosive continuation.

Fans who enjoy dark romantasy with vampires, secret identities, and high stakes bargains will devour this.

I went in excited after the first book and came out fully invested in Samara and Raphael’s fate.

It’s easily one of my favorite recent vampire romantasy reads.

Can’t wait for whatever chaos comes next in this series.

Highly recommend! 🖤

🦋

WELCOME TO JULY 🌸

Things going on this month:

🎂it’s my youngest sisters birthday this month.

🎂 it’s my Grandson’s birthday

Arcs I’ve signed up for and hope to read.

🤞Choked in Love: A Dark Rom Com by Alexis Grace

🤞Unhinged Obsession: A Darkish College Secret Society Romance (Saints of the Black Crown Society Book 1) by London Snow

🤞The Coming of Endless Darkness (The Faceless Chronicles Book 3) by Grant Pierce

🤞Rival’s Pledge: Why Choose Academy Sports Romance by Maddison Cole

🤞Stopping Short (Pit Bulls Baseball Book 6) by Kristin MacQueen

Books on my TBR I’m hoping to read.

♥️ Down and Dirty (Italian Stallions Book 1) by Mari Carr

♥️ Country (Diamond MC) book 1 by Lila Rose

♥️ Speechless (Clarity Coast Omegaverse Book 3) by Devyn Sinclair (I have read the previous two books and loved them)

BOOKS DUE FOR RELEASE :

🎉 Unhinged Obsession: A Darkish College Secret Society Romance (Saints of the Black Crown Society Book 1) by London Snow

🎉 Twisted Road Torpedo ink MC book 9 by Christine Feehan

Are there any books this month you’re looking forward to reading?

Are there any books you’d like to recommend?

🦋

📚 BOOKS I READ IN JUNE 📚

Property of Kevlar: Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City, OK (Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City Chapter Book 1) by Victoria Jayne arc

Fox (Blood Rebels MC: Book One) by Lizzie James arc

Shut Out: An MM Hockey Romance (Atlanta Firebirds by Riley Bauer arc

His Heart to Steal (The Executioner Duet Book 1) by Aurora Steinhart arc

Kairo (Van Doren) by Crea Reitan arc

The Short List (Paris Undressed Book 1) by Emilia Cazanescu arc

Darkened Desires (Kings of Pointebreak Book 2) by Cara Wade arc

Darkened Truths (Kings of Pointebreak Book 1) by Cara Wade arc

Ahelno: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Lietvia Galaxy Book 1) by MK Stephenson arc

The Last of the Fire Lilies by M.A.R. Pereira arc

Lord Halsey’s Tempestuous Minx (Scarlett Affairs Book 6) by Cerise DeLand arc

Arath (Van Doren) by Crea Reitan arc

Goalie Fake Out: An MM Fake Dating Single Dad Rougarous Hockey Romance (Book 3) (Bayou Boys 9) by Chris Cox arc

Hit & Run: A Dark Enemies to Lovers Rom-Com (A Blood Sport Agency Book 1) Kinsley Kincaid arc

Kieran (Blackwell Brothers Redemption Book 3) by N.J. Walters arc

Claimed by my Father’s Enemies: A Reverse Harem Romance (Claimed by… Reverse Harems) by Adelaide Brook arc

Songs of the Silent Ones by Micheal Wells Ball arc

Loyal: Lotus MC: San Antonio by Cala Riley arc

Under the Radar (Outcasts of Oloria Book 4) by Bea Tama arc

White Lights by Lauren Kate arc

The Dustmage: Book One of The Dustmage Archives by N.A. Woltzen arc

Jace: A Surprise Pregnancy, Mafia Romance (Belles & Bratva Beasts) by Kelly Finley arc

Grim (Shadow Security Book 1) by Kat Mizera arc

XOXO, Summer: A Single Dad, Sports, Small Town Romance by S.L. Scott arc

The Divine Feminine Scent: Paranormal Femdom Romance by E.C. Beaumont arc

Watch Over Me: A Watched in Darkness Prequel Novella by V.E. Huntley arc

The Unwilling Bride: A Best Friend’s Brother Fake Marriage Romance (The Hamiltons : A Fake Marriage Billionaire Romance series Book 1) by L.Steele arc

The Demon’s Reckoning (The Faceless Chronicles Book 2) by Grant Pierce arc

As you can see I read a few more than my 25 limit (I had time off and the UK was in the middle of a heatwave) Most of the books were arcs that I had applied for. And some were sent to me.

🎉ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE🎉

Property of Kevlar: Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City, OK (Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City Chapter Book 1) by Victoria Jayne

Description

No heroes. Just a feisty woman and a ruthless biker.

Kevlar, a criminal with a new road name and a score to settle, has returned to Oklahoma City to reclaim his territory. He doesn’t have time for the gorgeous damsel in distress who keeps crossing his path.

Enter Kelsey, a small-town girl who can’t stand bikers, and who is caught between two dangerous men vying for her attention and control of the city. Loud, crass, and handsy isn’t her style—except when it comes to Kevlar, her not-so-white knight, clad in leather, who rides a steel horse.

Undeniable attraction, possessive obsession, and all-consuming fiery passion could cost Kevlar everything. Will Kelsey survive the treacherous world of outlaw bikers at war? Can Kevlar protect her and establish a new chapter?

Victoria Jaynes delivers an opposites attract, woman in peril, steamy biker romance with Property of Kevlar, book one of the Royal Bastards MC Oklahoma City Chapter series. If you’re a fan of Misty Walker, Madeline Sheehan, and Emma Slate, you need to dive into this series.

Property of Kevlar contains scenes written for mature audiences only.

Snag your copy today!

Tropes:

Motorcycle Club Romance

Opposites Attract

Woman in Peril

Morally Grey MMC

Curvy FMC

Publication Date 30/6/2026

Property of Kevlar: Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City, OK (Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City Chapter Book 1) by Victoria Jayne

My Review

‼️ TRIGGER WARNING ‼️

This was a gritty, fast paced biker romance that delivers exactly the kind of raw, no holds barred outlaw MC vibe i was looking for.

Victoria Jayne gives us opposites attract with a heavy dose of danger, possession, and steam.

Kevlar is a ruthless, newly patched biker with a score to settle and zero interest in distractions. He’s back in Oklahoma City to reclaim territory and build something new.

Kelsey is a small town girl who has every reason to steer clear of bikers, she doesn’t do loud, crass, or handsy. Yet the undeniable pull between them keeps throwing them together, even as she finds herself caught in the middle of a dangerous power struggle between ruthless men.

What worked well for me was the tension. The chemistry is instant and intense, but the story doesn’t rush past the conflict. Kevlar’s possessive, protective side clashes hard with Kelsey’s reluctance and independence, creating friction that makes the eventual surrender feel earned.

The outlaw world is violent, territorial, and unforgiving, with high stakes that keep the pages turning. The author doesn’t shy away from the darker elements of club life, which adds weight to the “will she survive this world” question.

The romance is fiery and explicit, with that classic “he’s bad for me but I can’t stay away” heat.

Kevlar makes for a compelling anti hero, not softened into a secret softie, but a man whose obsession with Kelsey forces him to balance his ambitions with the need to keep her safe.

If I had one small critique, it’s that some of the side conflicts and club setup occasionally take a bit of focus away from the central couple in the middle, but it’s only a minor issue.

This is a solid, spicy start to the Oklahoma City chapter. It’s steamy, suspenseful, and unapologetically biker.

So if you enjoy raw MC romances with strong heroines who get pulled into the life, possessive alphas, and real peril mixed with passion, Property of Kevlar is worth the ride.

I’m curious to see where the rest of this chapter goes. 😜

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE 🎉

Fox (Blood Rebels MC: Book One) by Lizzie James

Description

He’s her biggest mistake waiting to happen. She’s the only thing keeping him clean.

Fox

Road Captain of the Blood Rebels MC. Ex‑junkie with track marks he can’t erase and a dealer who won’t stay buried. He lives for the roar of his bike, the weight of his cut, and the brothers who dragged him back from the edge. He has no business watching a small‑town waitress push a trolley through a grocery store every Monday morning… but for a month she’s been his one pure obsession. She’s light, normal, good—everything he swore to stay away from. Until danger circles her, and walking away stops being an option.

Tessa

Twenty‑two, broke, and drowning in medical debt, Tessa works double shifts at the diner and spends her nights caring for a mother who’s running out of time. Men, fun, and happily‑ever‑afters? Not on the menu. But the tattooed biker who keeps showing up where she is—the one with the soft eyes and the dangerous past—makes her feel seen for the first time in years. When grief shatters her world and a ruthless loan shark tightens his grip, Fox is the only person standing between her and the dark.

He thinks he’s too broken to touch her. She thinks she has no room left to love him.
In a town where the MC rides the line between outlaw and saviour, Fox and Tessa will have to decide if risking their hearts—and their lives—is worth the one thing neither of them ever believed they’d get.

A raw, emotional MC romance told in dual POV about a reformed bad boy, a good girl with nothing left to lose, and the brotherhood that won’t let them fall alone.

Publication Date 29/6/2026

Fox (Blood Rebels MC: Book One) by Lizzie James

My Review

I picked up Fox knowing it was the start of a new MC series, and it pulled me in with that classic gritty motorcycle club vibe mixed with raw, emotional romance.

Fox is the Road Captain of the Blood Rebels MC, a man haunted by his past as an ex-junkie with scars he can’t hide and a dangerous world that keeps pulling him back.

Tessa is a young waitress drowning in medical debt and caring for her ailing mother, living a life with little room for anything beyond survival.

Their paths cross in small town moments that turn into something neither expected.

Fox has been quietly watching Tessa for weeks, drawn to her light and normalcy in a life filled with chaos and temptation.

And when danger from his world and her debts collides, he steps up as her protector, even though he believes he’s too broken to deserve her.

Tessa finds herself drawn to the tattooed biker who sees her in ways no one else does, but grief and threats test everything they both hold onto.

It’s a story of two people who think they’re not meant for love, risking their hearts and lives in a town where the MC walks the line between outlaws and saviors.

What really worked for me was the tension between Fox’s self doubt and his fierce protectiveness. He’s got that tortured hero edge, rough around the edges with a soft spot that emerges for Tessa.

She brings a grounded strength that feels genuine, especially with the heavy burdens she’s carrying.

The slow build from obsession to connection, laced with the high stakes of club life, loan sharks, and personal demons, kept me turning pages. There’s plenty of heat, loyalty, and the found family feel that MC romances do so well, balanced with real emotional weight around addiction recovery and loss.

This one sets a strong foundation for the Blood Rebels series.

If you enjoy motorcycle club stories with a damaged hero, a resilient heroine, and that push/pull of forbidden attraction turning into something deeper, Fox delivers.

It’s gritty, heartfelt, and leaves you wanting more of the club.

A solid start that has me looking forward to the next book.

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Shut Out: An MM Hockey Romance (Atlanta Firebirds by Riley Bauer

Description

Soren Lundmark fills every room he walks into. Julien Soucy has spent his whole life making sure he doesn’t. They’ve been sharing a crease on the Atlanta Firebirds for seven months, and the thing building between them is about to collide with a Cup run.

Julien is quiet by design. The less space he takes up, the less anyone has to manage. He’s never wanted anyone before. With Lundy, the want arrived before he had a word for it, and now he can’t make it stop.

Lundy is 6’5″ of steady, reliable, and never asks for anything. He’s been with men and women. None of them made him feel like this.

None of them were Julien.

The Cup Playoffs are about to test everything they’ve built. When an injury takes Lundy out of the net, Julien has to become the man nobody expected him to be. Including himself.

Shut Out is a demisexual first love MM hockey romance about two goalies, a found family that sees everything, and the series finale five books in the making.

Atlanta Firebirds Series, Book 5 Series finale. Can be read as a standalone. HEA guaranteed.

Tropes:

🏒 MM hockey romance

🥅 demisexual first love

🏒 friends to lovers

🥅 hurt/comfort

🏒 protector role inversion

🥅 forced proximity

🏒 found family

🥅 size difference

🏒 touch-starved

Heat Level: Steamy

Tone: Emotional, Sharp Humor, Series Finale

Series Type: Interconnected Standalones,

Book 5 of 5 Ending: HEA POV: Dual, Present Tense

Publication Date 25/6/2026

Shut Out: An MM Hockey Romance (Atlanta Firebirds by Riley Bauer

My Review

I just finished Shut Out, and honestly? It wrecked me in the best possible way. As the series finale for the Atlanta Firebirds, this one had a lot to live up to, and Riley Bauer absolutely delivered.

What struck me most was how beautifully the story handled Julien Soucy. He’s the definition of quiet, intentional minimalism, someone who’s spent his life shrinking himself to make things easier for everyone else. Watching his slow, aching realization that he wants Soren Lundmark (and that the want isn’t going away) felt incredibly real, especially with the demisexual first-love angle. It wasn’t rushed or overly dramatic; it was tender, internal, and deeply moving.

Lundy is the perfect counterbalance, big, steady, 6’5” of quiet reliability who’s been with people before but has never felt this.

Their dynamic is everything the tropes promise…. forced proximity (shared crease, hello tension), friends to lovers, and that delicious role inversion when injury forces Julien to step up as the protector. The hurt/comfort hits hard without feeling manipulative, and the touch starved moments? 🤌🏻🤌🏻

The hockey is there, the Cup playoffs provide real stakes and intensity, but it never overshadows the romance. The found family of the Firebirds team is warm, supportive, and full of sharp humor that had me laughing out loud even during heavier scenes. They see everything, call out the tension, and rally around the boys when it matters.

The steam is excellent, explicit, emotional, and character driven. It never feels gratuitous, every intimate moment deepens their connection and reveals something new about them. The emotional payoff in the final act, especially with the injury arc and Julien stepping into his own, is cathartic and satisfying.

This can absolutely be read as a standalone if you haven’t read the rest of the series, but coming in at the end made the cameos and team dynamics even sweeter.

A heartfelt, steamy, emotionally sharp series finale that does justice to its characters and the world built across the Atlanta Firebirds books.

If you love MM hockey romance with depth, found family, and two goalies falling in love, this is a must read.

I’m sad the series is over, but what a perfect way to close it out.

Highly recommend.

HEA achieved, heart fully captured. 🏒❤️

Would I reread? Absolutely. Already thinking about it.

🦋

🎉 NEW RELEASE/ARC REVIEW 🎉

His Heart to Steal (The Executioner Duet Book 1) by Aurora Steinhart

Description

“Once a weapon, always a weapon.”

A mantra Scythe lived by. One he killed by.

It carried him through the bad decisions and the uncertain ones.

Being a contract killer for over a decade, how could he not?

A legendary former Army sniper, paired with an enormous build, he is the perfect weapon.

At least that’s what he thinks the world sees him as; until a mission lands in his lap that destroys this perception.

“Nightmare.” “Weapon.” “Machine.”

“A dog.”

The one thing he never wanted to be.

“Ruby is… a woman of the people. A female Robin Hood, if you will.”

Lurking in the shadows of homes, or disguised in the corners of dimly-lit casinos, Ruby has one mission, one singular purpose.

Protect and help the less fortunate.

Armed with traditional shinobi techniques and skills, Ruby’s job is to bring hope and salvation to the vulnerable.

Through casino heists, home robberies, and galas, she uses her beauty and tact to seduce wealthy scumbags out of their exorbitant riches.

But when a skull-masked Assassin threatens to thwart her plans, she finds herself working with the same evil that she’s been fighting against.

Can they put their differences aside and work together before the gluttonous tycoons win it all?

Tropes:
🖤 Grumpy x Grumpier
🩶 “Pierced”
🖤 Black Cat x Doberman
🩶 Skull-Masked Hit Man
🖤 Enemies to Lovers
🩶 “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
🖤 Slow Burn

His Heart to Steal is a dark, enemies to lovers slow burn romance set in Las Vegas and intended for mature audiences only.

Publication Date 26/6/2026

His Heart to Steal (The Executioner Duet Book 1) by Aurora Steinhart

My Review

I dove into His Heart to Steal knowing it was a dark romance debut, and it absolutely delivered on the intensity. I’d read a few of the authors other books (and loved) so I couldn’t wait to see how they would handle dark romance.

Set against the glittering, gritty backdrop of Las Vegas, this enemies to lovers story follows Scythe, a massive, skull masked former Army sniper turned contract killer, and Ruby, a clever, shinobi trained vigilante who plays modern day Robin Hood by stealing from the rich to help the vulnerable. (I can hear my dark heart already cheering.)

Scythe lives by his mantra, “Once a weapon, always a weapon” and has fully embraced his role as an unstoppable force for over a decade. Morally grey ✔️ (what more do I need or say?!)

Ruby operates in the shadows, using her wits, beauty, and skills to seduce and rob corrupt tycoons. Their first meeting had me in stitches.

When their paths collide on a mission, the sparks fly in the most antagonistic way possible.

What starts as opposition turns into a reluctant alliance against a bigger threat, forcing them to confront their own perceptions and walls.

Scythe’s internal struggle is compelling. He sees himself as nothing more than a nightmare or a dog on a leash, and watching the image he has of himself crack as Ruby challenges him felt raw and earned. He’s the ultimate grumpy, pierced MMC, intimidating, lethal, but with layers that make you ache for him.

Ruby is a fierce black cat FMC who gives as good as she gets, her strength, moral code, and refusal to back down make her incredibly likable and fun to root for. It made a nice change to have a strong female that didn’t need rescuing.

The slow burn tension is chef’s kiss. The banter, the forced proximity, and the “enemy of my enemy” dynamic build beautifully into steamy, charged moments.

It’s dark romance through and through, you can expect morally gray characters, violence, high stakes, and spice that matches the intensity of their world. The Las Vegas setting adds flair, with casino heists and shadowy galas keeping the plot moving.

This is a duet, so it ends on a note that will have you immediately reaching for book 2. Sadly it’s not ready yet 😩 Would I call it a cliffhanger? Well, where we leave Ruby and the conditions she was in …. I’d say YES!!

Overall, Aurora Steinhart’s debut dark romance book is a strong, atmospheric start to The Executioner Duet.

If you love dark romance with a masked antihero, a badass FMC who steals more than just money, gritty action, and sizzling enemies to lovers heat, this one is for you.

Check those trigger warnings, it doesn’t pull punches, but it’s worth it for the ride.

Can’t wait to see how their story concludes!

🦋

🎉 NEW RELEASE/ARC REVIEW 🎉

Kairo (Van Doren) by Crea Reitan

Description

Every heart hides something.

He walks into my office like he has a right to be here. Unfazed and unbothered by my sharp words and thorny exterior, Malcolm challenges everything I know. Somehow, he breaks down my walls and I’m laid bare before him.

There’s nothing more terrifying than exposing my vulnerability so when I force him out of my life to protect my heart, I realize there are some things that being a Van Doren alone can’t fix.

***

This is a LGBTQIA+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.

Publication Date 25/6/2025

My Review

I picked up Kairo right after finishing Arath Van Doren’s book, and it felt like the series had been building toward this one.

If you’ve met Kairo in previous installments, you know him as the sharp tongued, standoffish, sometimes outright abrasive member of the family, the guy who keeps everyone at arm’s length with his thorny exterior. This book flips that on its head in the best way, (and after Lorne I think he might be my favourite Van Doren.)

The story follows exactly what the description teases at…. Malcolm walks into Kairo’s world (and office) completely unfazed by the walls and barbs. He sees through the armor almost immediately and starts gently (and sometimes not so gently) dismantling it. What unfolds is a slowburn MM romance heavy on emotional vulnerability, hurt/comfort, and the kind of deep trust that doesn’t come easily, especially for someone like Kairo, who’s carrying serious childhood wounds and a bone deep fear of never been chosen first.

I went in not particularly liking him based on earlier appearances. By the end, I was fully invested. The author did a great peeling back the layers to show why he is the way he is. The moments where his softer, protective side peeks through, especially with those that aren’t family by blood (both a chosen family) hit hard. It’s so satisfying watching him learn it’s okay to be cared for.

Malcolm (we met him in another Van Doren book) He’s the steady, patient force Kairo desperately needs. His own baggage from the “Creaverse” adds a little more to this story.

Now I love a little DDLG/GB and caretaker/Daddy kink dynamics feel real rather than forced. The way he challenges Kairo without pushing too hard, and the quiet persistence, made their connection so swoony.

The “I have to push you away to protect my heart” phase is painful in the best way, and the reconciliation/rebuilding was definitely not easy. It balances the spice, sweetness, and darker Van Doren style plot threads nicely.

This series does enjoy its crossovers and updates on the growing found family. It slots in well without requiring you to have read every prior book, (though context definitely helps.)

It’s classic Crea Reitan, steamy, emotionally intense, with some darker themes and content warnings you should check. The pacing is slower in the emotional buildup, which worked for me.

This one surprised me by making me genuinely love Kairo. If you enjoy MM romances with prickly characters who get the gentle (yet firm) handling they need, and stories about breaking down walls to find real connection, this delivers.

It’s a solid addition to the Van Doren world, it’s tender, spicy, and healing in places I didn’t expect.

Highly recommend for series fans or anyone who loves a good hurt/comfort redemption stories.

Ready for the next one already!

🦋

👠 ARC REVIEW 👠

The Short List (Paris Undressed Book 1) by Emilia Cazanescu

Description

Some love stories begin with certainty. Others begin with inconvenience.

When fashion buyer Emilia Cazanescu steps into the fading elegance of Maison Sirène, she’s tasked with reviving the boutique’s reputation – or watching it disappear. Her chance arrives in the form of Valentina Venturi, an Italian designer whose name is on every editor’s lips and every buyer’s list. But Emilia isn’t the only one chasing her signature.

Across the city, André Lemaire, the impossibly self-assured buyer for Atelier Saint-Clair, is after the same prize. Their rivalry is instant, their chemistry inconvenient, and Paris – alive with rain, silk, and deadlines – gives them no room to hide. When Valentina forces them to collaborate on a joint proposal, professionalism turns to obsession, and desire becomes a negotiation neither can control.

As the season reaches its climax, love and ambition blur into the same pursuit. In a world where appearances are everything, Emilia must decide what she’s willing to lose to win – the designer, the career, or the man who makes both feel perilously close to art.

Set against the mirrored glamour of Paris fashion, The Short List is a story of rivalry, restraint, and the quiet power of surrender.

Tropes Include:

Rivals to Lovers

Forced Proximity

Luxury Fashion

Workplace Romance

Intellectual Seduction

Paris in the Rain

Publication Date 12/6/2026

The Short List (Paris Undressed Book 1) by Emilia Cazanescu

My Review

The Short List is a stylish, tension filled romance that swept me up in its elegant Parisian world. (Think Devil wears Prada) 👠

Emilia Cazanescu, a fashion buyer fighting to save the fading Maison Sirène, finds herself locked in rivalry with the confident André Lemaire over the same sough -after Italian designer, Valentina Venturi.

Forced to collaborate, their sharp professional clashes give way to undeniable chemistry and a slowburn attraction that feels both inconvenient and inevitable.

The story captures the glamour, deadlines, and sensory details of the fashion scene, rainy streets, rustling silks, mirrored salons with a luxurious touch that makes Paris itself feel like a character.

What i liked was push/pull between Emilia and André. Their banter crackles with wit and frustration, and the way ambition and desire intertwine raises the emotional stakes.

Emilia’s internal struggle between career survival and personal surrender feels authentic and real. The romance builds with restraint before delivering satisfying heat, all while exploring themes of rivalry, appearances, and what it really means to win.

The pacing keeps things engaging, and the fashion setting adds freshness without overwhelming the central relationship.

It’s the kind of book that leaves you wanting to linger in its world a little longer.

So if you enjoy sophisticated workplace tension, strong leads, and an enemies to lovers vibe with a European flair, this one delivers.

Pure silk and rainy nights escapism with heart. ❤️

Looking forward to the rest of the series.

🦋

PREORDER BLAST

Title: Hush Anonymous

Author: Crea Reitan

Series: Longwood U, book five

Cover Designer: Rebeca Covers

Release Date: July 16, 2026 (will release on author’s website on July 9, 2026)

Preorder Link: https://geni.us/hacrrelease

Blurb:

He’s mine and I’ll kill anyone who touches him.

Kylen

I created Hush Anonymous last year for me. Hanging onto trauma I can’t escape and being ridiculously self-conscious and shy doesn’t exactly create a recipe for losing my virginity. In the darkness where no one can judge me seems like the best place. Yet somehow, I manage to find myself a stalker in the darkness. Which isn’t so bad since he knows exactly how to take care of me.

Arek

My weakness is blushing boys and Kylen is exactly my type. I’m a little late realizing but now that I’ve had a taste, I’ll never let this man go. Thankfully, my stalking game doesn’t last forever and he’s willingly mine. He doesn’t shy away when I tell him I’ll kill anyone who tries to touch him. I bet he didn’t realize that the threat is retroactive.

***

This is a LGBTQIA+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.

About the Author:

Crea lives in upstate New York with her dog and husband. She has been writing since grade school, when her second grade teacher had her class keep writing journals. She has a habit of creating secondary, and often time tertiary, characters that take over her stories. All of her RH relationships end up being heavily polyamorous – meaning it’s not just all the men for one woman. There’s also some M/M action going on. When she can’t fall asleep at night, she thinks up new scenes for her characters to act out. This, of course, is how most of her meant-to-be-thrown-away characters tend to end up front and center – and utterly swoon-worthy! Don’t ask her how many book boyfriends she has…

When not writing, Crea is an avid reader. Her TBR pile is several hundred books high (don’t even look at her kindle wish list or the unread books on her tablet). Sometimes, she enjoys crafting; sometimes, exploring nature; sometimes, traveling. Mostly, she enjoys putting her characters on paper and breathing life into them. Oh, and sleeping. Crea loves to sleep!

Author Links:

https://facebook.com/crea.reitan

https://www.facebook.com/groups/creasgodlings

https://www.facebook.com/ladycreaauthor

https://www.instagram.com/creareitan/

www.creareitan.com

https://www.patreon.com/creareitan

https://linktr.ee/creareitan

Two Book Review (Second Review is NEW RELEASE)

Darkened Truths (Kings of Pointebreak Book 1) by Cara Wade

Description

Everything we’ve ever wanted. But this isn’t my dream. I didn’t have a choice. I never have a choice…

My plans involved Dartmouth, not Pointebreak—a school that thrives on secrets, and dark games. This is my jail for four years, but it’s not the classes that I fear will break me.

Julien Azarian, Zander Fedorov, and Wesley Bastian—my personal tormentors—aren’t just out to ruin me. They’re out to control me, to bend me to their will.

I’m expected to break, but I won’t. I can’t. I’ll prove I can endure everything thrown at me. Classes are easy compared to navigating the murky waters of lust and hate between the self-appointed kings of Pointebreak. They’re wrong if they think they can crush me. I might be their target, but I’m not the one who’ll end up losing control.

Julien, Zander, and Wesley…be careful I may just turn your world upside down.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is a bully, why choose/reverse harem romance. As such, there may be some scenes that are triggering to readers.

Publication Date 5/8/2025

Darkened Truths (Kings of Pointebreak Book 1) by Cara Wade

Darkened Truths (DISCREET COVER Kings of Pointebreak Book 1) by Cara Wade

My Review

This romance that dives headfirst into the treacherous world of Pointebreak Academy…. a place where secrets fester, power rules, and nothing is what it seems. 😮

From the very first pages, I was pulled into Riley’s reluctant journey. She had her life mapped out, Dartmouth was the dream, but her powerful father yanks her into this shadowy elite school instead.

What starts as a punishment quickly spirals into a battle for survival, identity, and unexpected desire. Riley is a strong, resilient FMC who refuses to be broken. I loved how she holds her ground against the overwhelming forces around her, even as her world turns upside down. She’s a little vulnerable yet defiant, with a backbone that made me root for her fiercely. ♥️

Enter the Kings of Pointebreak….Julien Azarian, Zander Fedorov, and Wesley Bastian. These three aren’t your typical brooding love interests, oh no, they’re intense, morally gray tormentors who thrive on control!

Their dynamic with Riley crackles with tension, hate, lust, and those delicious push/pull moments that define bully romance. The chemistry is electric, the spice is plentiful, and the “why choose” elements are handled with heat and the emotional moments are 🤌🏻.

Watching Riley navigate (and gradually flip) their power games was one of the highlights in this book, and I might have cheered 😝.

For me, what made this more than a standard dark academy fare is the atmosphere. Pointebreak isn’t just a backdrop, it pulses with hidden agendas, betrayals, and a sense of constant danger.

The plot balances steamy encounters with mystery and suspense, keeping the pages turning. Tragic pasts for the characters add depth without slowing the pace.

If you enjoy dark romance with bully vibes, reverse harem dynamics, touch her and die energy, and a school full of secrets, this one delivers.

It’s addictive, intense, and left me eager for the next book in the series (Darkened Desires).

Not for the faint of heart, expect darkness, obsession, and plenty of steam.

It’s a solid, page turning start to the Kings of Pointebreak world.

Highly recommend for fans of dark why choose romance.

🦋

🎉 ARC REVIEW 🎉

Darkened Desires (Kings of Pointebreak series Book 2)

Description

Someone thought they could make me disappear. Too bad for them, I got away. I’m demanding answers, and this time, the gloves are off.

Julien, Zander, and Wesley—the Kings of Pointebreak stand beside me now.

Dangerous. Untouchable. And all mine. One by one, the boys’ pasts are unraveling. The more they share, the closer we become.

I won’t stop until I uncover the truth. Whoever came for me will pay…in blood. I’m done hiding. Done being afraid. I’ll fight, claw, and destroy anyone who stands in my way.

The more I depend on the Kings, the more I feel we’re bound by something beyond our control. I may not know Julien’s endgame yet, but when I do, no hell on earth will be enough to save those who dared to cross us.

Secrets. Lies. Blood.

At Pointebreak, nothing stays hidden forever.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is a bully, why choose/reverse harem romance. As such, there may be some scenes that are triggering to readers.

Publication Date 22/6/2026

Darkened Desires (Kings of Pointebreak series Book 2)

Darkened Desires (Kings of Pointebreak series DISCREET COVER Book 2)

My Review

Darkened Desires is a gripping continuation that ramps up the tension, steam, and darkness from the first book.

I dove into this one right after finishing Darkened Truths, and it did not disappoint.

The story picks up with Riley pushing harder for answers after her traumatic experiences.

She’s no longer just surviving, she’s demanding justice, and that shift in her character is incredibly satisfying to watch.

The blurb perfectly captures her growth, “I won’t stop until I uncover the truth. Whoever came for me will pay…in blood.” (Shivers 😜)

The Kings…. Julien, Zander, and Wesley, remain magnetic and dangerously protective. (For me, Zander is probably my favourite) Their pasts start unraveling in this instalment.

I loved seeing their bonds with Riley strengthen through shared secrets and vulnerability, even as the danger escalates. The “bully” elements from book 1 have largely transformed into fierce loyalty and possession, which fits the reverse harem vibe perfectly. The spice is intense 🥵 and well balanced into the plot rather than thrown in here, there and everywhere.

I loved the atmosphere at Pointebreak. The secrets, lies, and underlying threats create a constant sense of unease that keeps the pages turning.

The cliffhangerish tension and hints about Julien’s endgame left me eager for the next book. 🤫

If you enjoy dark romance with bully roots, strong FMC growth, morally gray (or outright black) men, and a why choose dynamic packed with blood, power plays, and scorching chemistry, this series is a solid pick.

It’s not for the faint of heart, you can expect violence, explicit content, and emotional intensity, but i devoured it.

Highly recommended if you’re already invested in Riley and her Kings. I’m ready for book 3 please 😝

🦋

ARC REVIEW

Ahelno: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Lietvia Galaxy Book 1) by MK Stephenson

Description

Claimed by an alien prince. Bound by a mistake neither can undo. Can love bloom, even in their darkest hour?

Andie

One moment, I was a college student with Broadway dreams. The next, I was kidnapped from Earth, sold to alien traffickers, and stranded on a planet light-years from home.

When a giant, winged alien found me in the wreckage of my captor’s ship, I screamed and ran. Now the entire Ptexari kingdom believes I initiated a mating ritual with Crown Prince Dakleth—a four-armed warrior who chased me down and claimed me.

Dakleth may regret what happened between us, but remorse doesn’t erase trauma. I may never go home again. I may never see another human being. But I will never accept this alien as my mate.

Dakleth

The moment I saw the tiny human emerge from the crashed vessel, I knew she was mine. I believed she had chosen me, according to the traditions of my people, and instinct overtook reason.

By the time I understood the truth, the damage was already done. I will accept any punishment demanded of me, because no sentence could equal the harm I caused my mate.

Andie may never forgive me. She may hate me until my dying breath. Still, I will spend the rest of my life protecting her, earning her trust, and proving that I would sooner destroy myself than ever hurt her again.

Because she is my mate… even if I no longer deserve to be hers.

Ahelno is a steamy, emotionally intense dual-POV sci-fi romance featuring cultural collision and a slow-burn path toward healing and redemption. It is the author’s debut novel and first in a new series. Intended for mature audiences only.

No cliffhanger. HEA.

Tropes:

M/F slow burn romance
Enemies to lovers
Mating/bonding
Alpha MMC (nonhuman)
Child-free
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Content warnings:

SA/Noncon (Non-consensual sexual encounter between main characters)
Trauma recovery
Suicidal ideation and attempt

Publication Date 27/5/2026

Ahelno: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Lietvia Galaxy Book 1) by MK Stephenson

My Review

I went into this one because the “accidental mating claim” trope is one of my favorites, and the setup grabbed me immediately.

Andie, a college student with Broadway dreams, is suddenly ripped from Earth, kidnapped, and then stranded after a crash….

When the massive four armed, winged alien prince Dakleth finds her and believes she’s initiated a traditional mating ritual by running and being chased, everything spirals into a cultural collision neither of them saw coming.

The story unfolds in dual POV, which works really well here because you get to feel both sides of the pain and confusion.

What I liked most was how seriously the book treats the emotional fallout. Andie’s trauma and sense of total isolation are portrayed with real weight, she didn’t choose this, and she’s not about to just accept an alien prince as her mate no matter how protective or remorseful he is. Dakleth, on the other hand, is consumed by guilt once he realizes the truth. His determination to atone, protect her, and slowly earn her trust makes for a very satisfying slowburn redemption story. The romance feels earned rather than rushed, and the cultural differences add depth without overwhelming the character focused story.

The spice is nicely done too,creative use of those extra alien features without tipping into pure novelty. 😜

If you’re looking for nonstop space battles or galaxy hopping adventures, this one stays more intimate and relationship driven, which I personally enjoyed. It left me wanting to see more of the Lietvia Galaxy in future books.

It’s a comforting yet pretty intense read that’s perfect for fans of alien romances that balance heat with genuine healing and consent exploration.

If you like stories where the hero has to work hard to deserve his mate after a serious mistake, this one hits the spot.

Definitely worth picking up, especially if you’re on Kindle Unlimited.

Looking forward to the rest of the series! 🌌

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

The Last of the Fire Lilies (A Lullaby in the Rain Book 1) by M.A.R. Pereira

Description

A throne built on a lie.

Thravaena has always known who its kings are. The bloodline of Aaghra has ruled for a thousand years, and the realm has built its certainty on that continuity the way a man builds a house on rock.

The rock is a lie.

A necessary lie; a bedtime tale woven by mothers to lull their children to sleep.

Men of power created it. Men of conviction protected it. And when the ones who told the truth were cast out into the dark, the lie became the ground beneath your feet: so old, so deep that no one living remembers the world it replaced.

But the truth does not require memory. It requires only time. Some truths, when they finally surface, do not set you free.

They burn everything.

The Last of the Fire Lilies is epic/mythological fantasy in which the deepest wars are fought between what we were told the world is, and what it truly is.

Publication Date 20/6/2026

The Last of the Fire Lilies (A Lullaby in the Rain Book 1) by M.A.R. Pereira

My Review

The Last of the Fire Lilies is a stunning debut that wrapped itself around my mind and refused to let go.

This is the kind of epic mythological fantasy that feels ancient and urgent at the same time, like a forgotten legend that’s suddenly been whispered directly into your ear.

The story centers on a kingdom whose entire foundation rests on a beautifully maintained lie…..

The bloodline of Aaghra has ruled Thravaena for a thousand years, and that continuity is treated as unshakeable bedrock. But as the story unfolds, you slowly realize that the rock beneath everyone’s feet is sand.

This revelation was written with such patience that every new layer of truth feels both inevitable and devastating. The tension comes not from battles (though those exist), but from the growing fracture between what people have been told the world is and what it actually is.

I was especially impressed by how the book treats myth and memory. The lie isn’t portrayed as simple villainy, it was necessary, protective, even comforting. Watching characters confront the cost of that comfort is heartbreaking and exhilarating. The world feels lived in, with a deep sense of history that makes every political move and personal decision carry centuries of consequence. The magic (not as much as I thought there might be,) and lore woven throughout felt right, and the mythological elements have real teeth.

There are moments of raw beauty alongside unflinching looks at power, legacy, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

If I have one small critique, it’s that the pacing in the early sections is deliberately measured as the world and its illusions are established.

It is slow, it is methodical, and I did put it down and come back to it several times, but I’m glad I stuck with it.

This is the first book in the A Lullaby in the Rain series, and it does what every great opening should, it leaves you both satisfied and ravenous for what comes next.

The stage is set for a conflict that feels genuinely epic, not just in scale, but in its philosophical and emotional weight.

If you crave fantasy that asks big questions about truth, power, and the stories that shape civilizations, The Last of the Fire Lilies delivers in spades.

I’m already counting the days until book two. 🔥

🦋

🎉 NEW RELEASE/ARC REVIEW 🎉

Lord Halsey’s Tempestuous Minx (Scarlett Affairs Book 6) by Cerise DeLand

Description

Inès believes she can do any deed to free her brother from prison. What she cannot predict is how one man’s love can destroy her illusion.

Inès Bechard has performed a miraculous feat in France of deluding the French—and escaping their vengeance. Fleeing to England, she has the help of her friends to create a new life for herself. She desperately needs their gaiety, their security, and their promised exposure to the British social whirl. But she can never tell them why.

What she does not need is a charming man who lures her with promises of kisses, affection, and wedded bliss.

Evan, Lord Halsey, sees in this lovely French émigré a woman he wants to treasure as his own. Resist him she can, and does. But the man is damnably persistent and convinces her that all she has lost, including family, friends, and love, she can regain in his fond embrace as his wife.

Torn between duty to her brother and love for her husband, Inès tries to find a way to do both.

But love has it limits.

Doesn’t it?

Read in Kindle Unlimited!

Scarlett Affairs

Book 1 – Lord Ashley’s Beautiful Alibi

Book 2 – Lord Ramsey’s Red-headed Ruin

Book 3 – Lord Appleby’s Gorgeous Imposter

Book 4 – Lord Fournier’s Shameless Princess

Book 5 – Lord Carlisle’s Enticing Lure

Book 6 – Lord Halsey’s Tempestuous Minx

Book 7 – Sir Durham’s Disarming Asset

Book 8 – The Dowager’s Irresistible Rogue

Book 9 – His Highness’s Tender Trap

Book 10 – The Duke’s Tamed Hellion

Book 11 – The Marquis’s Dangerous Enchantress

Book 12 – The Smuggler’s Precious Cargo

Book 13 – The Baron’s Brazen Confidante

Book 14 – His Grace’s Guilty Pleasure

Book 15 – Lord Fox’s Rebellious Vixen

Book 16 – Scarlett’s Best Agent

Publication Date 18/6/2026

Lord Halsey’s Tempestuous Minx (Scarlett Affairs Book 6) by Cerise DeLand

My Review

I picked up Lord Halsey’s Tempestuous Minx knowing Cerise DeLand’s Scarlett Affairs series that Regency romance with a side of intrigue, and this installment did not disappoint.

It’s a heartfelt, tension filled story about love clashing with duty, set against the backdrop of French émigrés navigating British society in the post-Revolutionary/Napoleonic era.

Inès Bechard is a great heroine, she’s resourceful, resilient, and fiercely devoted to her imprisoned brother.

Having pulled off a daring escape from France after deceiving her pursuers, she arrives in England guarded and determined to rebuild her life while keeping her secrets close. She craves the safety and joy her friends offer but refuses to burden them with the truth. What she doesn’t bargain for is Evan…..

Lord Halsey a charming, persistent suitor who sees her as the woman he wants to cherish and marry.

The slowburn/push/pull between Inès and Evan was great, we watch as Inès resists his advances with fire and wit (earning her that “tempestuous minx” title), but Evan’s genuine affection and steadfastness gradually chip away at her walls.

Their romance fits the series’ tone.

Inès’s internal conflict…. torn between saving her brother and embracing the love and stability Evan offers, had me shouting at my kindle, parts were heartbreaking at times.

The supporting cast from the Scarlett Affairs world adds warmth and continuity. (Although you don’t really need to read the other books first.)

The British social whirl provides delightful settings for balls, flirtations, and quiet moments of connection.

The historical details put you right in the heart of the scene. And the pacing kept me turning pages as Inès weighs her dangerous secrets against a future she never thought possible.

If you enjoy Regency romances with strong, independent heroines who have traumatic pasts, devoted heroes who respect (and challenge) their boundaries, and a mix of steam, emotion, and light intrigue, this one is a winner.

A satisfying addition to the series that left me eager for more.

Highly recommended if you’re already a fan, or if you’re looking for a great historical escape with heart.

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Arath (Van Doren) by Crea Reitan

Description

Be careful what you ask for.

Elgin Bolingbrook is drunk and in the wrong place at the wrong time. The mistaken target for a gang lands Elgin in my protection. He’s cute, confused, and so ridiculously responsive to me that I quickly become addicted.

As we close in on the gang who’s after Elgin, I realize that once we eliminate the threat, I’m going to lose the man I enjoy playing like a violin.

***

This is a LGBTQIA+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.

Publication Date 18/6/2026

My Review

I just finished Arath and damn, Crea Reitan knows exactly how to deliver that addictive mix of dark intensity, protective obsession, and scorching heat that keeps you glued to the page.

This one hit all my favorite spots in the Van Doren series vibe wealthy, dangerous, fiercely loyal family dynamics with a heavy dose of “touch him and die” energy.

The story kicks off with Elgin Bolingbrook in classic wrong place wrong time fashion… drunk, vulnerable, and suddenly the mistaken target of a gang.

Enter Arath Van Doren, who steps in as his protector.

From the blurb’s first person tease, you can feel Arath’s immediate pull toward Elgin, (Ellie) he’s cute, confused, and incredibly responsive, which quickly turns Arath’s sense of duty into straight up addiction. The way Arath describes playing Elgin “like a violin” is spot on for the dominant, controlling energy he brings. It’s possessive without being silly, and the power exchange builds gradually in a way that’s both hot and surprisingly tender.

What I loved most was the tension between the external threat (the gang closing in) and the internal one, Arath realizing he doesn’t want to let Elgin go once the danger is handled. That fear of loss adds real emotional weight to the steam. The chemistry is off the charts, intense, dominant Arath paired with Elgin’s responsiveness makes for some seriously memorable scenes.

If you’re into dominance, protection, and that addictive “mine” possessiveness, this delivers in spades.

The Van Doren world continues to expand in satisfying ways, with that signature blend of suspense, family cameos, and unapologetic spice. It’s fast paced where it needs to be (the action and threat) and lingering where it counts (the developing relationship).

The author balances the darker elements violence, danger, emotional vulnerability with humor and heart, which is why it’s always a one click for me.

If you’re already a fan of the series (Loren, Noaz, etc.), Arath slots in beautifully. If you’re new, it works as a solid entry point too, though the family connections add extra flavor for those caught up.

Just check the trigger warnings there’s gang violence, intense kink/power dynamics, and typical dark romance fare.

It was exactly what I was craving, steamy, suspenseful, and emotionally satisfying.

Be careful what you ask for indeed, once you start with the Van Dorens, it’s hard to stop.

Highly recommend if you like dominant protectors, responsive partners, and that addictive rush of obsession turning into something deeper.

Can’t wait for Kairo’s book and “Daddy” Jalon’s. I love visiting this world!

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Goalie Fake Out: An MM Fake Dating Single Dad Rougarous Hockey Romance (Book 3) (Bayou Boys 9)by Chris Cox

Description

One minor league goalie. One tai chi instructor. One fake relationship. The lie was never the problem — the truth was.

Goalie Brennan Keane signs with the Baton Rouge Rougarous, hiding his recovering hip injury because injuries don’t pay the bills or get you minutes. But tai chi instructor Jonah Holloway sees the way Brennan’s body lies, even to the man himself.

And then the lies get bigger.

Brennan pretends to be Jonah’s boyfriend to keep Jonah out of the predatory clutches of an influential woman who could harm Jonah’s mentor.

When a fake relationship becomes the only way out of a corner neither man asked for, the problem isn’t maintaining the lie. It’s what happens when the lie starts feeling like the only honest thing either of them has.

Goalie Fake Out is a slow-burn steamy standalone MM hockey romance set in a sports-mad Louisiana city. Full of favorite tropes, including fake relationship, single dad, workplace romance, hurt/comfort, found family, body-awareness chemistry, career-vs-home tension, and a hard-won happily ever after.

This story is an interconnected Standalone in the MM Rougarous Hockey subseries which is part of the Bayou Boys world.

TROPES:

🏒 Slow burn

♥️ Hurt/comfort

🏒 Single dad

♥️ Found family

🏒 Workplace romance

♥️ Fake dating

🏒 Minor league hockey romance

♥️ Cajun Louisiana setting

🏒 Forced proximity

♥️ Protects his person

Heat Level: Steamy
Genre: MM Romance
Tone: Warm, slow burn, emotionally honest
Series Type: Interconnected Standalone in the Rougarous Hockey subseries — each book reads independently. Part of the Bayou Boys world.
Ending: HEA
POV: Dual / First Person
Content Notes: Hip injury / chronic pain, single parenting, teen son

Perfect for fans of: TJ Klune and Schitt’s Creek and Ted Lasso

Publication Date 15/6/2026

Goalie Fake Out: An MM Fake Dating Single Dad Rougarous Hockey Romance (Book 3) (Bayou Boys 9)by Chris Cox

My Review

I went into this one expecting a fun, trope heavy read, and it absolutely delivered while still feeling grounded and emotionally real.

Brennan Keane is complicated, a goalie trying to outrun (or rather, out skate) a nagging hip injury while proving he still belongs on the ice. His determination to hide the injury had me both rolling my eyes and cheering him on, (the passion for the game, but also the pay check he needs.)

What I loved most was how Jonah Holloway, the tai chi instructor, sees right through Brennan’s carefully constructed facade from the start. That body awareness chemistry the blurb mentions? It’s palpable and beautifully written, turning everyday movement and touch into something charged and intimate without rushing the heat.

The fake relationship trope here is not just a convenient plot device. It starts as a protective measure for Jonah against an influential woman threatening his mentor, but it quickly becomes the emotional anchor for both men. Watching the “lie” become the most honest part of their lives is where the story shines, it’s full of quiet moments, growing trust, and the kind of vulnerability that makes fake dating stories so satisfying when done right.

The single dad trope adds lovely layers of found family and real life tension (career vs. home). The supporting cast from the Rougarous and the broader Bayou Boys world had me wondering if I’d be going back at some point to visit (TBR list will be growing 😝) I don’t think you need to read previous books, this didn’t feel like I missed out, but rather gave me more characters to look up.

It’s steamy when it needs to be, but the slow burn and emotional payoff are the real stars. The hurt/comfort hits just right, and the HEA feels earned rather than rushed.

If you enjoy hockey romances with depth, sensitive portrayals of physical (and emotional) recovery, and relationships that grow from pretense into something beautifully authentic, this one is a winner.

A cozy, steamy, feel good read that left me smiling.

Perfect for a weekend escape.

Looking forward to more in this world! 🏒 ♥️

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Hit & Run: A Dark Enemies to Lovers Rom-Com (A Blood Sport Agency Book 1) Kinsley Kincaid

Description

I fight crime by night and watch cute animal videos by day. Just call me your modern day superhero. Kidding, but how fun would that be?

My name is Parker Presley, and I am a professional Bounty Hunter for a supersecret government organization called, The Blood Sport Agency, in New York City. It’s not as scary as it sounds, as long as your name doesn’t appear on my radar. Because as much as I joke, I can say with absolute confidence, I am very good at what I do.

Only the elite and wealthy of Manhattan have our number. The agency scrutinizes every request. Many get rejected. The process is painstakingly boring until the accepted bounties hit my inbox. That’s when it’s my time to play!

With the help from my team, Tac, Connor, Ophelia, and the Sparrows, we chase and find the bad guys for, at minimum, six-figure rewards. Which I had collected only days before everything flips upside down, figuratively and literally speaking. You’ll see what I mean.

The deliciousness that is my new neighbor reveals himself in the rudest way. He’s horribly infuriating and delightfully distracting, which changes nothing and everything at the same time. l quickly come to learn that the more I can make him tick, the happier I get. Which is fine until his name is the next one in my inbox.

The price is unresistable and Mr. Holden Hammer, it seems like you killed the wrong person from the wrong family, because your serial killer sins are so worthy of my attention. You better watch out, because now I’m coming for you. And once I get you, that’s when the real fun begins.

Don’t worry my new friends, don’t feel left out, for the right price I’d chase you too!

Genres:

Dark Romance

Romantic Comedy

Tropes:

🖤Found Family

💚Enemies-to-Lovers

🖤Grumpy/Sunshine

💚Revenge

🖤Dual POV

💚Fast Paced Slow Burn

🖤Secret Gov’t Agency

💚Bounty Hunter × Serial Killer

🖤Dark Humor/Banter

💚Dead BFF (Think Weekend at Bernies)

🖤Breaks the Reader/Character Wall,

💚Mental Health Rep

🖤ADHD

💚Wealthy NYC

🖤Betrayal

*This is a Dark, Enemies to Lovers, Opposites Attract, Found Family RomCom Duet with Lots of Banter.

Publication Date 16/6/2026

Hit & Run: A Dark Enemies to Lovers Rom-Com (A Blood Sport Agency Book 1) Kinsley Kincaid

My Review

Hit & Run by Kinsley Kincaid is a wild, addictive ride that perfectly blends dark romance with sharp romcom energy.

Parker Presley is an absolute blast the FMC. A professional bounty hunter for the ultra secret Blood Sport Agency, she chases high value targets by night and scrolls cute animal videos by day. Her voice is fun, chaotic, and unapologetically herself, complete with ADHD representation that feels authentic rather than performative. She’s the sunshine to Holden Hammer’s grumpy storm cloud, and their banter crackles from the moment they meet…. as neighbors, no less. She had me cracking up at her antics. (Who hasn’t sent kittens a dozen times to that one person🤣)

The setup is deliciously twisted… Parker’s new neighbor turns out to be her next bounty, a man with serial killer sins and a body count that hits too close to powerful families.

What follows is an enemies to lovers story where the chase is literal and figurative.

I loved how the author plays with the bounty hunter × serial killer trope. The tension is high, the revenge is personal, and the slowburn chemistry builds through constant provocation and reluctant attraction.

Parker’s determination to bring Holden in clashes beautifully with the growing pull between them, creating that “I hate you but I can’t stop thinking about you” push/pull that works so well.

The dark elements are balanced with genuine humor and heart. There’s dead BFF chaos, found family vibes with her team (Tac, Connor, Ophelia, and the Sparrows), and plenty of dark banter that had me laughing even during the more intense moments.

The dual POV lets you inside both characters’ heads as everything flips upside down.

This is fast paced but never rushed, with a slowburn romance that simmers beneath the chaos. It’s dark without being grim, funny without losing its edge, and the mental health rep and betrayal threads give it more emotional weight than you might expect from a romcom.

If you’re in the mood for a bounty hunter versus serial killer enemies to lovers story packed with banter, found family, and that perfect grumpy/sunshine dynamic, Hit & Run delivers.

It’s the start of a duet that left me immediately wanting the next book.

Kinsley Kincaid has created a fun, filthy, and surprisingly heartfelt ride that lives up to its dark romcom promise.

Highly entertaining 👍🏻

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Kieran (Blackwell Brothers Redemption Book 3) by N.J. Walters

Description

From New York Times bestselling author N.J. Walters comes the tale of Death’s third son…in this gripping, paranormal small-town romance where love defies fate—and even Death himself.

Love her. Defy Death. Lose everything.

Kieran Blackwell has always done everything right.

While his brothers rebelled against their father—the Grim Reaper himself—Kieran followed the rules. Reaped souls without question. Buried every shred of emotion that might make him weak. As Death’s most loyal son, he thought he’d earned his place at his father’s side.

He was wrong.

Now his brothers have fallen—choosing love over immortality—and Kieran has been sent to the small town of Redemption to clean up their mess. One final assignment. One impossible task.

Reap the soul of a woman destined to die.

It should’ve been simple. Find her. Do the job. Walk away.

Then he meets Georgia Baker. She’s warm, stubborn, and far too good for a creature like him. A small-town baker with a fierce heart and a dangerous past, she sees something in Kieran he thought he’d buried long ago.

And for the first time in centuries…he feels.

But Georgia isn’t just anyone. She’s his assignment.

And this time, failure doesn’t mean punishment. It means exile…or worse—losing the only woman who’s ever made him want to live.

Each book in the Blackwell Brothers Redemption series is STANDALONE:

* Samael

* Alexiares

* Kieran

Publication Date 15/6/2026

My Review

For me, Kieran is a solid, satisfying conclusion to the paranormal small town romance trilogy featuring the sons of the Grim Reaper.

Kieran Blackwell is the dutiful, rule following son who’s spent centuries burying his emotions and reaping souls without question. (Sounds a lot like his brothers 😉)

But after his brothers fall for love and defy their father, Kieran is dispatched to the town of Redemption for one last assignment….. reap the soul of Georgia Baker, a warm hearted smalltown baker with a fierce spirit and a troubled past.

What starts as a straightforward (if emotionally cold) mission quickly unravels as Kieran finds himself feeling for the first time in centuries drawn to her warmth, stubbornness, and the way she sees the man beneath the reaper. ♥️

This book delivered exactly what i like in this series, forced proximity, fastburn steam, plenty of hot/cold tension, and a suspenseful edge that feels a notch higher than the previous installments.

Kieran’s broody determination and internal conflict made him interesting, he’s not just rebelling like his brothers, he’s actively trying to stay loyal while his resolve crumbles in the face of real connection. Georgia was just delightful, she’s grounded, resilient, and full of heart.

The smalltown setting of Redemption continues to shine as a cozy yet dangerous backdrop, and the way the story ties up the brothers’ arcs and their father’s expectations provides a sweet, cohesive series closure without feeling rushed.

The romance has solid heat and emotional depth, though some elements like the initial hookup dynamics can lean towards predictable or convenient at times.

It’s a quick, engaging read that balances steam, emotion, and family drama well. If you’ve read the first two books, the overall formula will feel familiar (reaper son meets assignment, falls hard, defies Dad). Some tension resolves in expected ways, but the execution and series payoff make it worthwhile.

It’s a comforting, spicy paranormal romance that sticks the landing for the Blackwell brothers.

Perfect for us who enjoy fated (or defied) love, immortal heroes learning to feel, and heroines who bake their way into your heart.

If you enjoyed the earlier books, this is a must read finale.

Highly recommended for a cozy, steamy escape!

🦋

ARC REVIEW

Claimed by my Father’s Enemies: A Reverse Harem Romance (Claimed by… Reverse Harems) by Adelaide Brook

Description

A Reverse Harem Romance

My father destroyed their lives.

Now I’m trapped in the middle of the three men he turned into enemies.

William Martin hates my family with a cold, controlled fury that makes my pulse spike every time he looks at me.

Carter Hill watches me like he’s trying to decide whether I’m a threat or something far more dangerous.

And Adrian Kade… looks at me like he already knows exactly how I’ll break.

I should stay away from all of them.

Especially when every secret tying us together is built on lies, resentment, and the kind of history that leaves scars no one talks about out loud.

But staying away becomes impossible when my life starts unraveling around me.

Because the more time I spend inside their world, the more the lines begin to blur.

Between protection and possession.

Between anger and obsession.

Between the men who should want revenge… and the ones who start acting like I belong to them.

The worst part?

I don’t know how to stop wanting them back.

Not when William’s control starts cracking every time someone touches me.

Not when Carter becomes the only place that feels steady.

Not when Adrian slips past every wall I’ve spent years building and sees parts of me I’ve fought to keep hidden.

Claimed by My Father’s Enemies is a steamy contemporary why choose romance featuring three possessive men, enemies-to-lovers tension, emotional scars, forced proximity, protective obsession, high heat, and a heroine who refuses to break. No cheating. No choosing. Guaranteed HEA.

Publication Date 28/5/2026

Claimed by my Father’s Enemies: A Reverse Harem Romance (Claimed by… Reverse Harems) by Adelaide Brook

My Review

Claimed by My Father’s Enemies by Adelaide Brook is a scorching, addictive reverse harem romance that delivers exactly what it promises, and then some.

I devoured it in one sitting, equal parts tense and turned on, with that perfect mix of emotional scars and unapologetic steam.

The premise is deliciously fraught… Sienna is caught in the crosshairs of the three dangerous men her father ruined. William Martin who brings that icy, controlled hatred that makes every shared glance feel like foreplay laced with threat. Carter Hill is the steady observer who sees too much, while Adrian Kade cuts straight to the bone with his unsettling insight into her vulnerabilities. Each man carries deep resentment toward her family, yet the longer she’s forced into their orbit, the more that hatred twists into something far more possessive and addictive.

What I loved most is how the “enemies” dynamic never feels cartoonish. The history between them is messy and raw, built on real pain, lies, and old wounds that refuse to stay buried. The slow unraveling of those walls, the way protection starts bleeding into obsession, and the blurring of lines between revenge and desire kept me hooked.

Each man has a distinct feeling that brought something to their dynamic, William’s cracking control, Carter’s grounding presence, and Adrian’s ability to slip past every defense. Watching them go from “she’s the enemy’s daughter” to “she belongs to us” was pure 🤌🏻 for anyone who loves possessive, morally gray heroes.

The heat is high, the tension is constant, and the forced proximity situations crank everything up to eleven. There are plenty of emotionally charged moments alongside the spice, giving the relationships more weight than pure smut.

Our Sienna isn’t a doormat, she’s resilient, flawed, and increasingly drawn to the very men she should fear, which makes her journey feel authentic. Her story had me with a box of tissues and hoping these men wouldn’t do her over (revenge is definitely a key word with With Will/Carter/Adrian!)

If I have one small note, it’s that the beginning throws you right into the deep end of the conflict, which works for momentum, but that said, once it gets going, it doesn’t let up. 😉

This is classic why choose done right…. There is no cheating, no last minute choosing, and a hard earned HEA that feels earned after all the push/pull.

Hot, addictive, and satisfyingly intense.

If you’re in the mood for possessive men, enemies to lovers tension, and a heroine who learns to claim her power right alongside being claimed, this one’s a winner.

Highly recommend for a spicy escape! 😜 🔥

🦋

ARC REVIEW

Songs of the Silent Ones by Michael Wells Ball

Description

In the remote northern reaches of 14th-century Norway, hidden beyond mountains and untouched by kings, a silent clan lives in harmony—communicating not with words, but through dance.

Their way of life has endured for generations.

But now, it is under threat.

As forces from the south push north to claim the land in the name of a distant king, the people of Njuorjojávri must face a world they were never meant to survive—one ruled by power, conquest, and spoken command.

At the heart of the story are two brothers… and the women they love.

In Book One, a young couple is torn apart by a ruthless warlord, forcing them into a desperate fight for freedom and survival.

In Book Two, one brother makes an unthinkable choice—to enter the enemy’s world and seek peace from within, despite not speaking a single word of their language.

As love, loyalty, and identity are tested, one question remains:

Can a people without words survive in a world built on them?

Publication Date 1/6/2026

Songs of the Silent Ones by Michael Wells Ball

My Review

I picked up Songs of the Silent Ones with curiosity, it’s not my usual read, and I did wonder if I’d get through it!

A silent clan in 14th century Norway who communicate entirely through dance? 🤨

It sounded like a premise that could either soar with originality or collapse under its own weight. I’m happy to report it mostly soars.

The story unfolds in the remote northern reaches, following the people of Njuorjojávri as their ancient, wordless way of life collides with the expanding ambitions of southern powers under Queen Margaret’s era.

What I really liked the most was the world building. The author makes us feel how the people dance to communicate…. a slow, deliberate turn of the wrist might convey grief, a synchronised leap joy or warning.

I found myself visualizing scenes like a living performance, which is rare in historical fiction.

At the heart are two brothers and the women they love, split across the two books (or parts) mentioned. Book One delivers raw tension as a young couple is ripped apart by a ruthless warlord. The desperation, the physicality of their flight and fight, lands with visceral impact.

There’s a grounded sense of peril, starvation, exposure, betrayal, that never feels over the top.

Book Two shifts gears as one brother ventures into the enemy’s world, attempting diplomacy without a shared spoken language.

This section explores identity and sacrifice , raising sharp questions about assimilation, loyalty, and what “peace” really costs a culture.

What moved me most was the quiet (pun intended) exploration of love and belonging. Love here isn’t just romantic, it’s in the fabric of the community, it’s survival through touch, rhythm, and shared silence. Voices are sacred, reserved for song.

The women in the story feel fully realized, not props for the brothers’ arcs, which is refreshing.

That said, it’s not flawless. The premise is so unique that some parts feel a touch heavy. Pacing in the second half occasionally stretches during the brother’s internal struggles, though it pays off in the end.

Overall, Songs of the Silent Ones is a heartfelt, imaginative story that lingers. It’s about more than survival against conquest, it’s about whether a people defined by what they don’t say can endure when the world demands they speak its language.

I liked it, I just didn’t love it. Maybe because it’s not my usual read. Maybe too much history and not enough of the other stuff (people/emotions)

I’d recommend it especially to fans of historical fiction quite happily.

🦋

If you read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts, the silent ones have a lot to “say.”

ARC REVIEW

Loyal: Lotus MC: San Antonio by Cala Riley

Description

Sami

Getting involved with someone new after my divorce was the last thing I expected.

Then I met him.

Loyal.

A younger bad boy who belongs to a motorcycle club.

I shouldn’t want him. Especially when he is only a few years older than my daughter, but I’ve come to crave the safety and peace he brings me.

The only problem is my daughter won’t accept him.

Do I risk my relationship with my daughter for true happiness or do I let him slip through my fingers and make the sacrifice?

Loyal

My sole focus has always been the club that took me in when I needed it most.

Until I saw her.

Sami.

The single mom who is a decade older than me.

I knew I wanted her the moment I laid eyes on her. It’s why I bought a house to be close to her.

There are powers that be that don’t want us together though. Society, her daughter, and the sleazy ex-husband who seems to think that she belongs to him.

I’m not one to give up easy though. I will fight for her until my dying breath.

Publication Date 4/6/2026

Loyal: Lotus MC: San Antonio by Cala Riley

My Review

Loyal, is a heartfelt, steamy age gap MC romance that hits all the right notes for fans of protective heroes and second chance love.

We start with Sami having to change a tyre, her neighbour sees her and assists, they flirt, they have dinner…..

Sami is a divorced single mum trying to rebuild her life when Loyal crashes into her world. He’s younger, rough around the edges, and deeply tied to the Lotus MC, yet he brings her a sense of safety and peace she hasn’t felt in years.

What starts as unexpected attraction quickly deepens into something real and intense.

I loved/hated reading Sami’s internal struggle, torn between her own happiness and her fear of damaging her relationship with her daughter. It felt raw, especially the guilt and longing that come with choosing yourself after years of putting others first.

Loyal is the kind of hero who makes you swoon. From the moment he sees Sami, he’s all in, buying a house just to be near her, fighting against her ex, society’s judgment, and club complications without hesitation. His devotion is fierce but never over the top. The way he respects Sami’s boundaries while still pursuing her with quiet determination makes him a hero in my eyes.

The romance is passionate and well balanced. There’s plenty of heat, but the emotional core…. Loyal’s willingness to fight for Sami and her journey toward reclaiming her own desires, gives the story a little something extra. The daughter’s disapproval adds tension without feeling forced, and the (ex) husband drama brings just enough conflict to keep things moving.

This book has that addictive pull of forbidden love mixed with found family vibes from the club. It’s comforting in its predictability while still delivering satisfying emotional payoff.

I felt a little sorry for Loyal, he wanted a life with Sami. She was still feeling guilty about putting her daughter through a divorce (Farrah wants her parents back together) and so won’t commit to Loyal. I did wonder if at some point Loyal would walk away!

If you enjoy age gap romances with a protective biker hero, a strong single mom and stories about choosing love despite the obstacles, Loyal is a winner.

Once I finished it, I was wanting to find out more of the Lotus MC world and rooting hard for Sami and Loyal’s future.

A solid, satisfying read that left me smiling.

🦋

NEW RELEASE/ARC REVIEW

Under the Radar (Outcasts of Oloria Book 4) by Bea Tama

Description

Keep calm, Nicole. You’ve only been abducted by an alien. Nothing to freak out about.

Trapped aboard a ship hurtling through deep space at god-knows-what speed, Nicole does what any sensible horse therapist would—plans her escape. She has no map, no plan that actually works, and zero patience for the arrogant alien who took her. But she’s not giving up until she’s back on Earth, with her friends and her horses.

Any opportunity. Any opening. She’ll take it.

Arture’s got himself a handful of trouble when he abducts Nicole, but he’s determined to get her to his home planet in one piece for his mission. What his mission is he can’t remember, nor can he recall a lot about his past… but that doesn’t matter, he has orders he can’t disobey.

When their ship is attacked, survival forces Arture and Nicole to work together… and the line between enemy and ally starts to blur. The more they pretend to trust one another, the more real it becomes.

But the closer they get, the more dangerous the truth becomes.

Because when Arture finally remembers who he is—and his deadly mission—Nicole’s heart will be the price of his obedience.

One impossible truth remains: He was never meant to love her, but now he can’t let her go.

🔥 A sizzling sci-fi romance dripping with slow-burn tension that will leave you breathless, featuring a caring, exiled alien and a determined human heroine. Perfect for fans of Ruby Dixon and Honey Phillips (for fast-paced plot) with Emma Hamm vibes (angsty slow burn with lots of tension and adventure). Featuring a cocky alien, forced proximity, DV survival rep and boss babes who refuse to back down.🔥

Trigger warnings: Domestic violence discussed, torture flashbacks, strict culture, mention of suicide, death and execution, fantasy peril, on page sex. No cheating.

Contains: Lots of longing looks and alien appendages 😉

Publication Date 10/6/2026

Under the Radar (Outcasts of Oloria Book 4) by Bea Tama

My Review

🚨 please read the trigger warnings 🚨

I went into Under the Radar (Outcasts of Oloria Book 4) by Bea Tama expecting a fun alien abduction romp with some slow burn spice, and it absolutely delivered, while also giving me more emotional depth than I bargained for. 💜

Nicole is an absolute delight. As a horse therapist (yes, really), she brings that calm, no nonsense energy to being yanked across the galaxy by a cocky alien with memory issues. Her determination to escape, her quick thinking, and her refusal to just roll over and accept her fate made her a heroine I genuinely rooted for. She’s capable, snarky when needed, and has a backbone of steel, exactly the kind of “boss babe” the blurb promises.

Her backstory with domestic violence is handled with care, it informs her character without defining her, and the survival/trauma rep feels real rather than exploitative.

Arture is the perfect MMC, arrogant, competent, and increasingly undone by this human who refuses to make his mission easy. 😂

The memory loss trope works really well here because it forces him to question his orders and his own identity alongside the growing attraction.

The forced proximity on the ship is done right, lots of charged silences, lingering looks, and that delicious “I shouldn’t trust you but I have no choice” tension.

When the ship comes under attack and they have to team up, the shift from wary enemies to reluctant allies to something deeper was on point.

The slow burn is 🤌🏻🤌🏻. It simmers for a long time before igniting, and when it does, the spice is explicit, creative (those alien appendages get their due 😉), and emotionally connected.

The author balances the steam with real vulnerability, flashbacks, cultural clashes, and the looming dread of Arture’s forgotten mission all add weight to the romance. The “he was never meant to love her” angst hits hard in the final act without overdoing it.

I thought the world building had enough detail about Oloria and the larger conflict to feel immersive without info dumping. It’s a fast paced adventure with strong emotional moments.

Overall, this is a strong addition to my alien romance shelf 😉.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely, especially if you’re in the mood for a romance that makes your heart race and ache a little.

It’s a steamy, heartfelt sci-fi romance that delivers on tension, heart, and alien appendages. 😜

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go add the rest of the Outcasts of Oloria series to my TBR

🦋

ARC REVIEW

White Lights by Lauren Kate

Description

Your next adult fantasy romance obsession set in a brand-new world of angels, from the No.1 Sunday Times and internationally bestselling author of the Fallen series phenomenon.

When mysterious Rafe de la Cruz rolls into Desdemona’s life to recruit her to the elite film school Acheron, Dez has no reason to trust him – and no other option. A violent attack has just put her brother in the hospital…and Dez is the only suspect. Guilt-ridden and grieving, she finds herself running from the law to chase her longtime dream of making movies, at a school she’s never heard of. Soon, she’s dropped into Acheron’s cutthroat world of seductive intrigue, power on an otherworldly scale, and deadly competition.

Acheron may seem like the ticket to a future Dez has always wanted, but as she delves deeper into the secret work being done there, she finds herself trapped in an existential conflict on a cosmic scale – with more than her heart on the line.

Publication Date 4/6/2026

My Review

Desdemona, (or Dez) starts the story trapped in a nightmare… her brother is in the hospital after a brutal attack, she’s the prime suspect, and her dreams of filmmaking feel like they’re slipping away.

Enter Rafe de la Cruz, mysterious and magnetic, offering her an escape through enrollment at Acheron, an elite film school shrouded in secrets. (Can I just say “RED FLAG” anyone 😝)

What follows is a mix of dark academia, cutthroat competition, forbidden attraction, and cosmic stakes that slowly unravel as Dez digs deeper into the school’s hidden agenda. (Thinking Hogwarts and all those secrets 😉)

I really enjoyed reading about Dez. She’s driven, she’s someone who clings to her camera and her craft as lifelines while everything else crumbles around her. (I did feel her character could have been filled out just a little more, in places she felt one dimensional.)

Rafe brings that classic brooding, dangerous energy that we all love so well, and their chemistry crackles from the start.

(I’d not read an angelic read for a while.) And I will admit I haven’t read her fallen series. But I am interested, are they like this one? I think they were aimed for a YA audience.

The film school setting is a clever backdrop, blending artistic ambition with otherworldly danger in a way that keeps the pages turning.

Acheron pulses with seductive tension, deadly rivalries, and that delicious sense that nothing is quite what it seems.

That said, the pacing occasionally leans more into setup for the trilogy than standalone satisfaction, and some of the secondary characters and school dynamics felt they needed just a little more information. Still, the book’s strengths, the romance, the world building hints, and Dez’s emotional journey kept me turning the pages.

Overall, White Lights is a compelling launch for what promises to be an addictive new series.

If you crave angel romantasy with dark academia vibes, high stakes, and a blend of desire and destiny, this one will hit the spot.

I’m already curious (and a little nervous) about where Dez and Rafe’s story heads next.

Solid, atmospheric escapism with heart and heat. But it will need to pick up the pace.

🦋

ARC REVIEW

The Dustmage: Book One of The Dustmage Archives by N.A. Woltzen

Description

IN A WORLD WHERE MAGIC IS PUNISHABLE BY DEATH,
A YOUNG SERVANT WITH FORBIDDEN MAGICMUST CHOOSE
BETWEEN LOYALTIES, FREEDOM, AND SURVIVAL IN A CITY THAT HUNTS MAGIC.

Katja, a servant of the Maiden Tower, hides a dangerous secret—she can levitate brooms, dust pans, and wash buckets across the room. In a city where magic is met with the noose, such a gift could cost her everything. But when she is caught in the crossfire between the decadent nobility she serves and a secret society of thieves plotting revolution, Katja’s carefully ordered world begins to unravel.

As the line between ally and enemy blurs, Katja must navigate a web of deceit, danger, and intricate magic. She must discover her true potential and decide if she is willing to risk everything to become a Dustmage—a symbol of power and a weapon of rebellion.

For in a city that hunts magic, her gift could be the key to survival—or the spark that destroys her.

Publication Date 20/3/2026

The Dustmage: Book One of The Dustmage Archives by N.A. Woltzen

My Review

This story pulled me in with its quiet intensity and never really let go.

From the very first pages, the author creates a world that feels lived in and oppressive in the best possible way.

The city, with its rigid hierarchy and constant threat of the noose for any whisper of magic, sets a tense atmosphere that lingers throughout the story.

Katja is an excellent character, she’s a servant who’s learned to keep her head down, her mouth shut, and her small magical talents hidden behind brooms and buckets. She is practical, cautious, and increasingly frustrated as her world begins to expand beyond the Maiden Tower.

What I appreciated most was how the magic system is introduced. It isn’t flashy or over explained. Instead, it starts small and domestic before gradually revealing deeper layers and consequences. The “dustmage” concept itself is clever, turning something as mundane as cleaning into a foundation for real power and rebellion. It gives the story a grounded feeling that contrasts nicely with the high stakes political intrigue.

The supporting cast is strong too. The lines between allies and enemies blur effectively, and I found myself second guessing several characters right alongside Katja. The revolutionary undercurrents and the decadent nobility are both portrayed really well, no cartoonish villains or flawless heroes.

The pacing is deliberate. This isn’t a lightning fast adventure, it builds like a slowburning fuse. I liked the atmospheric detail and character development, this paid off during the later twists and revelations. The writing has a dark, almost gothic quality at times that suits the subject matter perfectly.

As a debut, The Dustmage sets the bar. It sets up a larger series (The Dustmage Archives) without feeling like pure setup, and it left me eager to see where Katja’s journey goes next.

If you enjoy fantasy that leans into political maneuvering, hidden magic in restrictive societies, and a character who grows through quiet defiance rather than instant chosen one power, this one is worth picking up.

Solid start to what looks like a promising series.

I’ll definitely be reading Book Two when it arrives.

🦋

I was approached by the author who asked if I could read this. It had been out further a few months.

ARC REVIEW

Jace: A Surprise Pregnancy, Mafia Romance (Belles & Bratva Beasts) by Kelly Finley

Description

Don’t let his smoldering smile fool you; Jace Ryan is a Bratva beast who gets what he wants—except me.

Sexy. Sweet. Steamy. Jace is my best friend, hiding his savage side.

Working at an adult store together, I’m a boudoir photographer, and he’s the king-sized guard.

It’s a tempting proximity, but we don’t cross forbidden lines.

Lines that ache; it hurts not to be together.

But Jace knows I’m miserably married.

I would never break a vow.

And he’s a man of honor…

Until he discovers I’m trapped in a hellish arrangement.

My evil husband is holding me prisoner, and Jace is the killer key.

For me, his mafia beast emerges, bloodthirsty and unbound.

His secret society of Bratva kings and queens conspires to help me.

We forge taboo bonds that can’t be broken,
As demons from his past shockingly abet our love.

I’m not afraid of their vigilante justice.
I need their help to fight something even a bullet can’t destroy.

A stolen image of me I can’t erase. One that’ll destroy my name.

But I’ll do anything to finally be with Jace.
Anything to be his proud queen.

And Jace will destroy anyone to protect our precious future.

Author’s note: JACE is a mafia romance with rom-com moments and darker themes. It is the final interconnected standalone in a series, best read in order. It is set in a small-town world of morally grey heroes, hot banter, and taboo traditions, featuring a secret society and very explicit scenes. This is an 18+ romance with a guaranteed HEA.

🖤 Best friends to lovers

♥️ Mafia King × Girl Next Door

🖤 Yearning Soulmates

♥️ Dark secrets & society

🖤 Touch her and be tortured

♥️ Surprise baby

💕 HEA for all

Publication Date 1/6/2026

Jace: A Surprise Pregnancy, Mafia Romance (Belles & Bratva Beasts) by Kelly Finley

My Review

I just finished Jace, the final interconnected standalone in Kelly Finley’s Belles & Bratva Beasts series, and it completely lived up to the hype I’d built up in my head while reading the earlier books.

This one felt like the emotional payoff the whole series had been building toward, and I genuinely couldn’t put it down.

If you love best friends to lovers with a heavy dose of protective mafia energy, aching yearning that actually feels earned and sweet rather than convenient, this delivers in every way.

Jace has always been the approachable one in the group, the big, smiling, king sized guard at the adult store with that smoldering charm that makes you think he’s the safe, golden retriever type. But don’t mistake that twinkle in the eye, he’s at home holding a gun or holding his Queen.

The author peels back those layers so effectively here, revealing the beast underneath who will burn the world down for the woman he loves. His dynamic with Vivian is everything. Their years of close friendship, working side by side while fighting that forbidden pull because of her miserable marriage, creates this slowburn tension that’s almost painful in the best possible way.

You feel the ache in every almost touch and stolen glance. When Jace finally learns the truth about how trapped she is, the shift into full savage protector mode is so satisfying. The “touch her and be tortured” trope hits hard, and the secret society of kings and queens rallying around them adds this rich found family layer that ties the entire series together beautifully.

You don’t need to read the previous books (you’ll miss out if you don’t though 😉)

Vivian i absolutely adored. She’s strong and principled, refusing to break her vows even when she’s living in hell, which makes her eventual decision to fight for her future with Jace feel powerful and real. I whooped and kicked my legs when they eventually realised they could be together.

Her work as a boudoir photographer brings a sensual, artistic vibe to their scenes together that fits the steamy tone perfectly.

There are darker themes here such as the evil husband, vigilante justice, and a scandalous stolen image that threatens everything, but they’re balanced with rom com lightness, hot banter, and genuinely tender moments that made me smile through the intensity.

Overall, this is a spicy, explicit read with very steamy scenes that don’t overshadow the emotional core.

It’s the perfect blend of sweet yearning soulmates, dark secrets, and that guaranteed HEA that left me warm and satisfied 😊

As a series finale, it gives lovely closure with cameos from previous stories, wrapping up an arc that continues through the series.

If you’ve read the previous books, Jace is a must. Even as a standalone, it works beautifully for anyone who enjoys morally grey heroes who are secretly soft for their girl next door queens.

I’m definitely going to be rereading it again and again, especially when I want that comforting mix of heat, heart, and happy ending.

Highly recommend if you’re in the mood for a romance that makes you root hard for the couple while delivering all the possessive vibe and thrills. ♥️

🦋

ARC REVIEW

GRIM (Shadow Security Book 1) by Kat Mizera

Description

Duty or desire—some battles can only be won by risking everything.

I was Special Forces—disciplined, controlled, untouchable. Now I’m an elite bodyguard, living for the next mission and nothing else. Until a routine gas stop turns into chaos, and I find myself rescuing a terrified woman from what looks like a trafficking ring.

She’s no ordinary victim. She’s the daughter of a notorious motorcycle club president—and the men who took her aren’t finished. They want her silenced.

Protecting her is supposed to be just another job. But one look into her haunted eyes, and every rule I’ve lived by starts to crack. She’s fierce, vulnerable, and stronger than she knows—making me want things I shouldn’t.

As danger closes in, resisting her becomes impossible. Every glance, every touch, draws us deeper into a fire that could consume us both.

Because in my world, love isn’t safe—it’s lethal.

🖤Bodyguard / Protector Romance

♥️Hero Saves the Heroine

🖤Forced Proximity

♥️Touch Her and Die

🖤Alpha Protector Hero

♥️Woman in Danger

🖤Romantic Suspense

♥️Grumpy / Stoic Hero

🖤Damaged Hero

♥️Trauma Bond / Healing Together

🖤Opposites Attract

♥️Reluctant Hero

🖤He Falls First

♥️Emotionally Guarded Hero

🖤Strong but Vulnerable Heroine

♥️On the Run Together

🖤High-Stakes Survival

♥️Rescue Romance

🖤Hidden Safehouse / Protection Detail

♥️Danger Brings Them Together

🖤Ex-Special Forces Hero

♥️Motorcycle Club Princess

Publication Date 1/6/2026

GRIM (Shadow Security Book 1) by Kat Mizera

My Review

This was a solid, entertaining romantic suspense read that hits the right notes for fans of protective alpha heroes and high-stakes bodyguard stories.

Grim (Landon Grimshaw) is exactly the kind of hero I enjoy, former Special Forces, disciplined, emotionally closed off, and living for the mission.

When a routine stop turns into a chaotic rescue of a terrified woman from what appears to be a trafficking situation, his protective instincts kick into overdrive. The woman he saves isn’t just any civilian, she’s the daughter of a notorious motorcycle club president, and the danger following her is very real! 😦

What I liked most was how the romance develops. The attraction isn’t purely instant lust, it builds through shared danger, quiet moments, and Grim’s growing internal battle between duty and desire.

I loved Allora, she’s so resilient, she’s been through hell but refuses to break, which makes her chemistry with Grim feel believable and earned. Their connection has real heat, and the intimate scenes are well written, blending physical intensity with emotional vulnerability.

The suspense plot keeps things moving. The threat from the men who want her silenced creates constant tension, and the action sequences are gripping without becoming too over the top.

As the first book in the Shadow Security series, it also does a good job introducing Grim’s team and laying groundwork for future stories, though that occasionally slows the middle section a bit.

Overall, GRIM delivers exactly what the blurb promises…. a steamy, protective romance with edge of your seat moments, a strong heroine, and a hero who risks everything once he lets someone in.

It’s heartfelt without tipping into melodrama and left me curious about the rest of the series (Rage is next, I believe). 🤞

If you enjoy bodyguard romances, military style protectors, and stories that mix real danger with genuine emotional connection, this one is worth picking up.

It’s fun, satisfying, and easy to recommend.

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

XOXO, Summer: A Single Dad, Sports, Small Town Romance by S.L. Scott

Description

Summer,

I can’t decide if my new summer tenant—a devastatingly handsome hockey player and single dad—is the answer to my problems or the start of a new one.

When big-city developers threaten to buy up my small town, I need to save the rental cottage next door from demolition. I have a plan . . . until Daniel Sutton checks in.

Six-four, a face chiseled by the gods, and a body built by a career on the ice, I’m knocked sideways. He’s charming with me and adorable with his son. And when we touch, it’s electric.

But two things change everything. The pipes break in the cottage, and his agent calls. Before I can stop myself, I’m offering him a place to stay, and Daniel is offering me the answer to my problems. He’ll buy the cottage for me if I help him clean up his reputation.

Sounds simple enough. But when I start to fall in love with him, even though I know he’s leaving in a few months, it’s suddenly more complicated than ever.

I’m willing to take a chance on us and pour my heart into a letter. But with him skating on thin ice, he’s going to have to sacrifice something—me or his career.

I just hope XOXO, Summer isn’t the last thing I ever get to say to him.

🐝 Single Dad

🌻 Sports Romance

🐝 Age Gap

🌻 Small Town

🐝 He Falls First

Publication Date 5/6/2026

XOXO, Summer: A Single Dad, Sports, Small Town Romance by S.L. Scott

My Review

I just finished XOXO, Summer and I loved it, the story gave me exactly the kind of light, heartfelt escape I was craving from a summer romance. 💕

The story follows Summer, a small town woman fighting to protect her family’s rental cottage and her community from big city developers. And when a hockey player/single dad becomes her unexpected tenant, everything shifts. 😉

Daniel is the kind of hero who ticks all the right boxes.. Tall, athletic, charming in that quiet confident way, and completely devoted to his young son. The single dad scenes are genuinely warm and never overdone. (They are probably some of my favourite moments in the book)

You feel the pull between him and Summer right away, especially once the cottage pipes burst and she offers him a place in her own home….. What starts as a practical arrangement turns into something much deeper, with Daniel offering to buy the cottage for her in exchange for help cleaning up his public image.

The romance builds nicely with plenty of tension, sweet moments, and that chemistry the blurb promises. I particularly enjoyed the age gap dynamic and how Daniel falls first, showing his vulnerability beneath the professional/athlete exterior.

The small town setting felt like I wanted to live be there, it’s cute and charming, and with the threat of development I felt it added just enough drama to keep things moving.

The conflict around Daniel’s career and the choices he has to make felt a little rushed to me, and I wanted a bit more emotional depth in how they navigated the “he’s leaving soon” reality. (But that’s my own personal opinion)

Still, the letters and the XOXO theme tie everything together in a pretty satisfying way.

Overall, this is a cozy, feel good sports romance with heart. If you enjoy single

parent stories, small town charm, and a hero who knows what he wants, it’s worth picking up for an afternoon read.

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

I was asked by the author if I could read and review their book.

The Divine Feminine Scent: Paranormal Femdom Romance by E.C. Beaumont

Description

She seduces powerful men to harvest their energy.

Selene is a high-stakes investor building life-saving infrastructure, powered by a secret. What begins as a gift becomes her Protocol, refined through psychology, ritual, technology, and obsession.

Then Ethan signs the Protocol.

Ethan is a Silicon Valley millionaire with everything to lose. He becomes her most powerful subject yet. Their connection is intoxicating, obsessive, and irreversible. But Selene’s power comes with a brutal cost. As the line between harvest and love blurs, the stakes become more dangerous for both of them.

A story of dark feminine power, psychological intensity, and the cost of loving your prey.

Inside this high-heat, literary romance:

• Female-dominant dark power dynamics

• A powerful woman who may be saving the world or destroying what she loves

• Psychological conditioning and control

• Obsession-driven relationship

• Morally complex, unapologetic protagonist

• Explicit, high-intensity scenes (no fade-to-black)

• Foot worship and sensory domination

• Supernatural elements woven into a grounded, literary narrative

What would you do to the man you love if it saved thousands?

Content note: This novel contains explicit sexual content, power exchange dynamics, psychological manipulation, and morally dark themes. Intended for adult readers (18+).

This is not a conventional romance.

There is no redemption arc.

The ending will stay with you.

Publication Date 4/6/2026

The Divine Feminine Scent: Paranormal Femdom Romance by E.C. Beaumont

My Review

The Divine Feminine Scent is a bold, intoxicating plunge into dark feminine power that refuses to apologize for its intensity, I will admit I picked up the put it down several times. But once I really got into it, I found it a fascinating read.

E.C. Beaumont has crafted something uncompromising, a paranormal femdom romance that blends psychological depth, supernatural seduction, and raw eroticism into a story that lingers long after the final page.

Selene is a compelling character, she’s ambitious, calculating, and driven by a secret ability that lets her harvest energy from powerful men!

What could have been a simple predator/prey dynamic becomes far more layered as she begins to builds her empire.

When Ethan enters her world, their connection ignites something deeper and far more dangerous than her usual transactions. Their relationship is obsessive, charged, and beautifully unbalanced.

The author leans fully into the female dominant dynamics, delivering explicit, high intensity scenes that explore sensory domination, psychological conditioning, and foot worship without any fade to black restraint. The heat is undeniable, but it’s the emotional and moral complexity that gives the book its real power. (Now each to their own, but I don’t do feet, I find them the worst part of the body, I did tend to skim those parts, it’s not a trigger, I just don’t like feet 👣 😂)

Selene isn’t here to be redeemed or softened. She’s a woman wielding her divine feminine scent and supernatural gifts as both weapon and salvation, constantly forcing the question…. what would you do to the man you love if it could save thousands? Ethan’s surrender is as fascinating as it is unsettling, and watching the line between harvest and genuine love blur creates a tension that runs throughout the novel. It’s dark, seductive, and occasionally brutal in its honesty.

This is not a comfort read or a conventional love story, it’s a psychological journey into power exchange, obsession, and consequence. I’m not going to lie, I did keep expecting Selene to want more from Ethan, I don’t think she loves him in the traditional way 🤨

But if you’re looking for romantasy that embraces morally complex characters, intense femdom themes, and a protagonist who refuses to be tamed or forgiven, The Divine Feminine Scent delivers in spades.

It’s provocative, beautifully written, and refreshingly unafraid of its own darkness. I’ll be thinking about Selene and Ethan for a while. Definitely not for everyone, but for the right reader, it’s an unforgettable experience.

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Watch Over Me: A Watched in Darkness Prequel Novella by V.E. Huntley

Description

Before the stalker. Before the bodies. There was a raccoon with terrible boundaries.

Luna Foster built Sage & Summit Wildlife Sanctuary from grief, stubbornness, and her grandfather’s inheritance. She’s hand-raised wolves, rehabbed mountain lions, narrowly escaped a bear mauling, and pulled injured raptors back from the edge of death.

Nothing prepared her for Ricky.

He arrived at two weeks old. Motherless. Barely breathing. Small enough that Luna’s whole heart fit around him with room to spare.

Watch Over Me is the origin story of Sage & Summit’s most notorious resident, told through the chaos, laughter, found family, sleepless two AM feedings, and the kind of love that sneaks up on you while a raccoon is motorboating your best friend.

If you thought this series was only about dark obsession and dangerous men…

You haven’t met Ricky yet.

The darkness is coming for Luna’s world. The stalker is coming. The bodies are coming.

But not yet.

Before the wolf came. Before the darkness gathered at the edge of the trees. There was a raccoon who decided he was home, and two women who never stood a chance.

A prequel novella that introduces the beloved characters (and one very inappropriate raccoon) from the Watched in Darkness series.

Perfect for fans who want to know how Ricky developed his legendary boob obsession and see the moment before Damien and Luna’s worlds collided. 🦝

Publication Date 3/6/2026

Watch Over Me: A Watched in Darkness Prequel Novella by V.E. Huntley

My Review

Watch Over Me is an absolute delight, it’s warm, funny, and surprisingly tender. 🦝

V.E. Huntley delivers a prequel novella that feels like a breath of fresh air before the storm.

Luna Foster is instantly likeable, tough, and fiercely dedicated to her wildlife sanctuary. Watching her pour everything into Sage & Summit after the loss of her beloved grandfather gives the story real emotional weight, but it’s never heavy handed.

But this book belongs to Ricky, the tiny, motherless raccoon who crashes into her life and immediately takes over. 🥰

Ricky is chaos incarnate in the most adorable way possible. From late night bottle feedings to his complete lack of personal boundaries (that boob obsession is legendary for a reason), he steals every scene.

The way he becomes “Mr Grabby” with Luna’s best friend (Meren) had me laughing out loud.

There’s something genuinely joyful about seeing this small creature decide these two women are his people and refuse to take no for an answer. (I had tears rolling down my face at his antics) 😂

The found family vibe between Luna and Meren gave me such a warm vibe. Working long hours, their exhaustion, laughter, and shared midnight rescues had me happy sighing.

What I loved most was the balance between the light and the looming dark. You know the stalker storyline is coming. You can feel the tension hovering just beyond the trees. But this novella stays firmly in the “before,” focusing on healing, stubborn hope, and the ridiculous love that comes from hand raising a wild animal who thinks he’s a lapdog. I would have loved to visit the sanctuary and all the characters.

As a prequel, it does its job beautifully, it makes you care deeply about Luna and her world before the darkness arrives.

It’s short, sweet, and surprisingly comforting, especially if you’re an animal lover.

Ricky alone is worth the read, he’s become one of those fictional creatures I won’t forget anytime soon. 🥰

If you’re planning to dive into the Watched in Darkness series, start here. It gives the upcoming tension so much more impact. And even if you’re not, this novella stands on its own as a charming, heartfelt story about grief, love, and one very inappropriate raccoon who decided he was home.

Highly recommended.

I’m officially invested in Luna, Ricky, Meren and whatever trouble is coming next. 😜

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

The Unwilling Bride: A Best Friend’s Brother Fake Marriage Romance (The Hamiltons : A Fake Marriage Billionaire Romance series Book 1) by L.Steele

Description

He’s my best friend’s brother. My billionaire boss. And now… my fake husband

I walked into his restaurant needing a paycheck.

Now I’m his fake wife.

And if I’m not careful, I might just fall for the man I hate.

James Hamilton is grumpy. Emotionally unavailable. Impossible to reach.

He’s also my best friend’s brother.

The man who broke my heart without even trying.

Now he’s a world-famous chef. Well known for his brilliance.

Working for him is my chance at the career of my dreams.

But when he calls me out in front of his entire staff.

I decide to leave.

But James stops me with an offer I never saw coming.

A marriage of convenience to secure the future of his culinary empire.

In return, he will pay off my debts and help my family.

I should refuse.

Instead, I say yes.

His rules are simple.

This is a contract.

There will be no feelings.

No expectations.

No future.

I agree to keep things strictly professional.

But the longer I share his home and answer to the title of his wife, the harder it is to pretend this is just business.

And when he lets me see the man behind the reputation,

I start to wonder if this fake marriage is the most real thing I have ever known…

Welcome to The Hamiltons. A new emotional romance series from international bestselling author L. Steele, where strong women go toe-to-toe with powerful billionaires… and love never follows the rules. This is James and Harper’s second chance, workplace romance.

Tropes:

💜 Marriage of convenience

♥️ Best Friend’s Brother

💜 Second Chance

♥️ Workplace Romance

💜 Hate to love

♥️ Boss x Employee

💜 Grumpy x Sunshine

♥️ Neurodivergent former Marine MC

💜 Curvy FMC

♥️ “My wife”

💜 Possessive billionaire hero

♥️ Emotionally wounded hero

💜 Found Family

♥️ Close proximity

💜 One bed

♥️ No cheating

💜 Very satisfying HEA

In this ebook you’ll also find

An exclusive illustration of James & Harper
The Hamiltons Family Tree
A map of Primrose Hill where the Steeleverse is set
Recipes of all the dishes James cooks for Harper

Publication Date 2/6/2026

The Unwilling Bride: A Best Friend’s Brother Fake Marriage Romance (The Hamiltons : A Fake Marriage Billionaire Romance series Book 1) by L.Steele

My Review

I picked up The Unwilling Bride expecting a fun, trope heavy escape, and it absolutely delivered on that promise.

This is classic L. Steele…. emotional, steamy, and packed with tension between two characters who are drawn to each other even when they’re trying hard not to be.

Harper is a curvy, sunny and resilient character. But she carries her own burdens with family debts and career dreams. She starts the story needing a job, not realizing she’s walking straight into her best friend’s brooding billionaire brother, James Hamilton…..

James is the grumpy chef whose reputation precedes him, he’s brilliant, emotionally walled off, and carrying the weight of his past as a former Marine.

Their history adds a genuine second chance layer that feels earned rather than convenient.

The marriage of convenience setup kicks in at just the right moment, giving the story momentum…. What starts as a contract with strict rules (no feelings, no future) quickly gets complicated by close proximity, one bed situations, and the slow unraveling of James’s guarded personality.

I especially enjoyed watching the “hate to love” dynamic shift, his possessive “my wife” moments are satisfying without feeling over the top, and the workplace to home tension keeps the pages turning.

The neurodivergent representation for James adds depth to his emotional unavailability, making his growth feel meaningful instead of rushed.

The author handles the found family elements and Harper’s sunshine balancing his grumpiness nicely. The spice level is high (as expected from this author), but it adds to the story rather than overshadowing it.

If I had one small critique, the billionaire romance formula is very familiar, so some moments feel predictable. Still, the characters’ chemistry and the satisfying HEA more than make up for it.

This is comfort read material for anyone who loves boss/employee, best friend’s brother, and fake marriage stories with heart.

It’s a solid start to The Hamiltons series. I loved the pictures of the characters and the map that shows where everyone is.

🦋

PAPERBACK REVIEW

One Day by David Nicholls

Description

TWENTY YEARS, TWO PEOPLE, ONE DAY.

15th July 1988.

Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation.

Tomorrow they must go their separate ways.

So where will they be on this one day next year?

And the year after that?

And every year that follows?

Publication Date 25/1/2024

My Review

David Nicholls’ *One Day* is a deeply poignant exploration of love, friendship, and the intricate tapestry of life.

Spanning two decades, the novel centers on Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, whose relationship begins on the day of their graduation from university on July 15, 1988.

The story unfolds over one specific day each year, offering us a unique lens through which to witness the evolution of their characters and the choices they make.

The brilliance of *One Day* lies not just in its format but in the character development. Emma is smart, ambitious, and often insecure, while Dexter is charming and charismatic, but wrapped in self-indulgence. As they navigate their individual journeys…romantic entanglements, career changes, and personal growth, we see how their lives intersect, diverge, and sometimes collide in unexpected ways.

One of the most compelling aspects of the novel is the stark contrast between Emma and Dexter’s paths as they both chase their dreams (and sometimes fail miserably). Their annual meetings serve as significant checkpoints that reveal not only the changes in their own lives but also the changing dynamics of their relationship. From Emma’s struggles in the pursuit of her career in writing to Dexter’s globe trotting adventures in television.

The writing is sharp and witty.

The author weaves humor into the story, balancing the heavier moments with light hearted observations about life, love, and growing up.

As the years pass, we become invested in both Emma and Dexter’s lives, hoping for their happiness, yet painfully aware of the realities of choice and timing.

The climactic moments are both heartbreaking and triumphant, as important life events unfold on the same date year after year, serving as a powerful reminder of the passage of time and the unpredictable nature of relationships.

In conclusion, *One Day* is a beautifully written exploration of love, friendship, and the nuances of human connection. The author reminds us that while life may not always go the way we plan, the moments we share with others shape who we are.

A perfect read for fans of contemporary romance.

🦋

One Day by David Nicholls. Book I read on holiday.

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

The Demon’s Reckoning (The Faceless Chronicles Book 2) by Grant Pierce

Description

Book Two of The Faceless Chronicles. The story continues where Book One ends.

The forces of evil are triumphant.

As Aeryth burns, Kalen and his surviving companions are cast into a strange, deadly realm. Banished far from home, they find refuge with the fae and their legendary king, Elflun Lightbringer, who offers a perilous path back. They must make a bargain with Thezgoron, a greater fiend as ancient as he is cunning. Salvation may cost their souls.

Complicating their path, the ruthless reapers, the murderous shapeshifter, and new horrors trail their every step. The greater fiends Astaroth and Morgaelion plot in the shadows, threatening both the fae and one another.

To save their world, Kalen and his allies must rally the fae army and confront impossible odds.

When blood and courage aren’t enough, heroes turn to the darkness and pray the world survives the price of redemption.

Expect:

Dark epic fantasy with escalating stakes
Demon schemes and individual character agendas
Reaper assassins, a murderous shapeshifter, and new horrors
A perilous otherworld realm and a desperate bargain for redemption
War, dark magic, and brutal consequences for every choice

Publication Date 1/6/2026

The Demon’s Reckoning (The Faceless Chronicles Book 2) by Grant Pierce

My Review

The second book in this series is a great continuation that ramps up everything I enjoyed from the first book while throwing the characters into even deeper peril.

Picking up directly from the chaos at the end of Book 1, we find Kalen along with his battered companions banished to a strange, deadly otherworld! 😮

Their desperate alliance with the fae and the legendary king Elflun Lightbringer feels both wondrous and fraught with danger, and the high stakes bargain they strike with the ancient greater fiend Thezgoron is one of the most tense sequences I’ve read in a while. That deal carries real weight, the kind where you can feel the characters’ souls hanging in the balance.

Ruthless reapers, the ever dangerous shapeshifter, shadowy plots from greater fiends like Astaroth and Morgaelion, and a host of new horrors keep the tension high throughout.

No one feels safe, and every choice comes with brutal consequences that actually matter. The story builds toward rallying the fae army and confronting overwhelming odds, blending large scale war and dark magic with intimate personal struggles, especially Kalen’s internal journey.

It stays consistently dark and gritty without crossing into pointless grimdark territory. When courage and blood aren’t enough, the turn toward darkness feels earned and carries a heavy price.

As its second book, it does leave some threads open for future installments, which would make sense. That said, thisstory delivers satisfying payoff while expanding the world in exciting ways.

The writing is immersive and effective, carrying you through the otherworldly realms and battles without getting overly flowery.

It’s ambitious indie dark fantasy that delivers on its promises of demon schemes, fae intrigue, shapeshifter betrayal, and high cost redemption.

I’m fully invested now and looking forward to Book 3.

If you like your epic fantasy with teeth, moral gray areas, and relentless stakes, this series is absolutely worth diving into.

🦋

WELCOME TO JUNE 🌺

Things going on this month:

🧍🏻‍♂️It’s Father’s Day in the UK this month.

🎂It’s also my husband’s birthday. (We are going away for a few days.)

🎂My son-in-law’s birthday

Arcs I’ve signed up for and hope to read.

🤞Hit & Run: A Dark Enemies to Lovers Rom-Com (A Blood Sport Agency Book 1) Kinsley Kincaid

🤞Property of Kevlar: Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City, OK (Royal Bastards MC: Oklahoma City Chapter Book 1) by Victoria Jayne

🤞GRIM (Shadow Security Book 1) by Kat Mizera

🤞The Demon’s Reckoning (The Faceless Chronicles Book 2) by Grant Pierce

🤞Watch Over Me: A Watched in Darkness Prequel Novella by V.E. Huntley

🤞 Darkened Desires (Kings of Pointebreak Book 2) by Cara Wade

🤞 Ruthless Game: a dark college hockey romance Book 3 (Kings of Reina) by Jo Brenner

🤞 His Heart to Steal (The Executioner Duet Book 1) by Aurora Steinhart

Books on my TBR I’m hoping to read.

I’m a mood reader, so it’s usually whatever takes my fancy. And there are a lot on that list 😝

BOOKS DUE FOR RELEASE :

👽 Under the Radar (Outcasts of Oloria Book 4) by Bea Tama (I read it in May, my review will come out this month)

❤️‍🔥Shadows of Sparta: (The Spartan Flame Trilogy)by C.R. Jane

🏒 Shut Out: An MM Hockey Romance (Atlanta Firebirds Book 5) by Riley Bauer

💍 Tangled Up In Knots (Royalverse) by Ari Wright

🗡️ His Heart to Steal (The Executioner Duet Book 1) by Aurora Steinhart

🏒 Ruthless Game: a dark college hockey romance Book 3 (Kings of Reina) by Jo Brenner

🦝 Watch Over Me: A Watched in Darkness Prequel Novella by V.E. Huntley

Are there any books this month you’re looking forward to reading?

Are there any books you’d like to recommend?

🦋

📚 BOOKS I READ IN MAY 📚

🗡️ The Shapeshifter’s Gambit (The Faceless Chronicles Book 1) by Grant Pierce arc

🏒 Thrown Off Balance (Python’s Hockey Book by Kristin MacQueen arc

🏒 Between The Pages And The Rink by Meadow Thompson OFF MY TBR LIST

🏒 The First Rule Of Faking It: A Colorado Dragons Novel by A. Rivers OFF MY TBR LIST

🏐 Simply Irresistible : A Neighbors-to-lovers Romance (Lesson in Love) by Tara September arc

🖤Duchess of Debits: An Enemies to Lovers, Age Gap, Kidnapping, Slow Burn, Dixie Mafia Romance by Victoria Jayne arc

🏒 Fresh Ice: An MM Hockey, Friends to Lovers Romance (Atlanta Firebirds Book 1) by Riley Bauer OFF MY TBR LIST

👑 Crown of Storms and Starlight: An Empire of Curses and Dreams Novel by Susan Person Arc

🖤 Cut Me, Alpha: A MM military Omegaverse Dystopian Romance: Omega Rebellion Book 1 by Darcy Blackwater Arc

👑 Rise Of The Immortal Queen by Paula Ellison Franklin Arc

📝 Writer’s Block by Kimberly Amato Arc

🧙‍♀️ Witcha Gonna Do? (The Sherwood Witches Book 1) Avery Flynn Arc

🖤 Rage: A One Night Stand MC Romance Novel (WAR BROTHERS MC Book 7 by Bianca Lee Ward Arc

🗡️ A Sense of Murder: Road Mage Volume 1 by Sam Robb arc

👑 Thrones We Steal: A Hate to Love Arranged Marriage Royal Romance. Castles We Storm: A Forced Proximity Billionaire x Royal Romance. Crowns We Save: A Marriage in Crisis Royal Romance (Thrones We Steal Book 3) by Jessica Jude arc

🩸 Thirst: A Dark Vampire Mafia Romance (The Vampire Syndicate Book 6) by Rebecca Rivard arc

🔥 At First Spark: A Firefighter, Small Town Romance (Coral Bell Cove Book 4) by Renee Harless arc

🏒 Penalty Shot (Winnipeg Avalanche Hockey Book 3) by Crea Reitan arc

🖤 The Sweetheart (Twisted Boys Book 1) by Noelle Reve arc

🖤 Unbridled Fire: A Mafia Protector Romance (Enduring Vendettas Book 3) by Kaya Sable arc

🏠 Nowhere to Hide: A completely unputdownable and pulse-pounding FBI mystery thriller (Sandra Vos Book 3) by Carolyn Arnold Arc

🏒 Splitting the D (Cedar Rapids Raccoons Book 7) by Lasairiona McMaster Arc

🤠 Wild Love, Cowboy: The Portree Cowboys Series Book 1 Reckless Hearts Cowboy Book 2: by Ellie Wilder arc

🏒 Breakaway: An Age Gap MM Hockey Romance (Atlanta Firebirds Book 4) by Riley Bauer arc

🐺 Wild Mate: (Heartsflame Academy Book 1) by Misti Wilds arc

🖤 Pretty Ruthless. The Order. The Beginning: A Southern Gothic Dark Academia Secret Society Romance by Lexi Davis Arc

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Wild Mate: (Heartsflame Academy Book 1) by Misti Wilds

Description

All I want is a pack. All they want is to see me dead.

After my pack is brutally murdered, I’m branded a traitor because I survived. Alphas put me on a hit list as a wild wolf—too dangerous to live. The only safe haven is Heartsflame Academy, a school for magic folk to find their mates. The Alphas can’t touch me here.

But my asshole fated mate can. As heir to the strongest pack, he’s furious because my existence ruins his life. To make matters worse, my obsessed ex-boyfriend won’t keep his lying mouth off me, and a charming vampire claims that he’s the answer to all my problems.

…until this year’s Mating Games reveal secrets only the dead can keep. I’m more powerful than anyone bargained for—and a bigger threat now than ever. I can’t control my magic any more than I can control my heart.

Alistair may be fated, but his touch burns.
Revyn may love me, but our past hurts.
Callum may want me, but his intentions hide.

I didn’t enroll at Heartsflame to take a mate, but I’m left with no choice when the danger lurking in the wilds follows me to the academy. I can either take a mate… or watch them die.

Because the only way to cheat death is to complete a bond… and pray we survive it.

Wild Mate is book 1 of the Heartsflame Academy series, a morally gray romance filled with angst, enemies to lovers fated mates, an older MMC second chance romance, a vampire illusion master, and a woman who does not have to choose between love interests. If you like your FMC’s carrying hidden powers to save the world, dive into Heartsflame and find your mate. 😘

Publication Date 31/5/2026

***Wild Mate: (Heartsflame Academy Book 1) by Misti Wilds***

My Review

I really enjoyed diving into Wild Mate.

After her entire pack is slaughtered and she’s branded a traitor just for surviving, Sienna finds herself labeled a dangerous “wild wolf” with alphas hunting her.

Heartsflame Academy becomes her only refuge, a magical school centered around finding mates, but even there her troubles follow….. Her fated mate Alistair, heir to a powerful pack, resents her existence and wants nothing to do with how she upends his world…… Then throw in an obsessed ex who can’t stay away…. and a charming yet secretive vampire named Callum, and the emotional tension skyrockets.

The story blends enemies to lovers heat, second chance angst, and why choose dynamics beautifully.

The academy’s Mating Games introduce high stakes secrets and revelations that keep the pages turning, while Sienna grapples with uncontrollable magic and growing threats from the wilds outside.

What stands out is how the romance never feels forced. Alistair’s burning touch and furious attitude create that delicious push/pull, Revyn’s past hurts add layers of pain and longing, and Callum’s mysterious intentions left me guessing about his true motives. 🤔

The spice builds naturally amid the danger, and the morally gray men bring plenty of protective, possessive energy without overshadowing Sienna’s journey toward embracing her hidden powers.

Pacing moves quickly with solid action and world building around shifter and magical society, though a few early timeline details felt a touch confusing on first read.

The book definitely ends with strong cliffhanger vibes that make you want the next installment right away.

Overall, this is a strong start to the Heartsflame Academy series for anyone who loves dark paranormal academy romance packed with fated mates, angst, explicit steam, and a powerful heroine who refuses to be a victim.

It delivers on the “touch her and die” vibes while exploring bonds that might be the only way to survive the looming threats.

I’ll be continuing with book 2 for sure.

If you enjoy morally gray love interests and high heat/ why choose with real emotional stakes, this one’s worth picking up.

🦋

TWO BOOK REVIEW

I had the lovely Ellie Wilder reach out to me, she asked if I could read her books in a new series. Cowboy Romance🤠

Wild Love, Cowboy: The Portree Cowboys Series Book 1 (Rodeo Royalty meets City girl, One Bed, Forced Proximity, Sports romance, Found Family, He falls first and hard, Funny AF Book Series) by Ellie Wilder

Description

She’s a fiery, smart-mouthed city girl and world-class swimmer – Small town intolerant, pepper-averse and allergic to unsolicited cowboy charm – about as cuddly as a cactus.
So when I find myself in a store aisle, holding her red lacy underwear and giving her my best Cowboy drawl…
She looks about ready to set me on fire instead of saying hello.
It’s adorable. It’s a challenge and I accept.

Because I live for the challenge. Heck, the Rodeo world calls me the main event. The town calls me trouble, but they don’t know my big ‘ol smile, hides a past that’s got me rooted to this land.
Mia might be here by mistake and can’t seem to leave my town soon enough.
Too bad fate keeps shoving us into the kind of situations that make it real hard to keep a straight face…or keep my hands to myself.

She swears this is temporary. Says she’s leaving.

But I’m a man of action.

I keep showing her exactly why she should stay.

Publication Date 24/7/2025

Wild Love, Cowboy: The Portree Cowboys Series Book 1 (Rodeo Royalty meets City girl, One Bed, Forced Proximity, Sports romance, Found Family, He falls first and hard, Funny AF Book Series) by Ellie Wilder

My Review

I went into this one expecting a light, trope packed cowboy romance, and it absolutely delivered exactly what it promised, with a big grin and a whole lot of spark. 😜

Mia is a delightful storm of a heroine, a world class swimmer who’s sharp tongued, zero tolerance for small town nonsense, and hilariously prickly about everything from unsolicited cowboy charm to peppers. She’s not “cuddly,” and that’s precisely what makes her so refreshing. Watching her clash with the charming rodeo hero had me laughing out loud more than once.

Grant (I’m still smiling thinking about him) is pure main event energy. He’s the guy who lives for the challenge, flashes that troublemaker smile while hiding some heavier baggage, and falls first, and hard. His pursuit of Mia was just funny to read, equal parts golden retriever sweetness and filthy minded determination.

The banter between them is top tier, it’s quick, teasing, and genuinely funny without trying too hard.

The forced proximity and one bed situations are handled with perfect spot on timing, and the small town/found family vibe adds warmth without slowing down the romance.

There’s solid sports romance flavor woven in through Mia’s swimming background and his rodeo world, giving both characters real drive and stakes beyond just “will they or won’t they.”

The spice hits all the right notes, but what I loved most was how heartfelt it gets underneath the laughs. The hero’s rooted past and Mia’s gradual shift from “I’m leaving yesterday” to “maybe this town isn’t so bad” felt earned. It’s steamy, sweet, and surprisingly tender in places.💜

So, if you’re in the mood for a fast paced, laugh out loud romance with a city girl/cowboy clash, strong banter, and a hero who knows how to show (not just tell) why she should stay, this is a winner.

It’s the fun, escapist kind of read that left me grinning and ready for the next book in the series.

Highly recommend if you love funny, spicy, feel good romance with heart. 🤠

🦋

Reckless Hearts Cowboy Book 2: The Portree Cowboys Series (Spicy Small Town Cowboy Firefighter – City girl, Second Chance, One Bed, Forced Proximity Found Family, He falls first, Funny AF Book series) by Ellie Wilder

Description

She’s the wildfire he never saw coming. He’s the calm that makes her burn hotter.

Brè Easton talks fast, edits faster, and gives advice entirely through sexual innuendos. She’s a sharp-dressed, sass-dripping, all-woman hurricane with a filthy mind and zero time for feelings. Love? Please. She’d rather commit to skincare.

But fate? That cruel, drama-thirsty diva? Throws her straight into the arms—and the fire-hardened chest—of the one cowboy she was never supposed to want again.

Mason West. Quiet. Brooding. Cowboy firefighter with eyes like bottled lightning and a body built to ruin plans. He doesn’t remember the masked woman who kissed him breathless at a PR ball years ago.

But when Brè crashes back into his life—red hair, wicked mouth, and all—she tastes familiar.

Now she’s the maid of honor to his best friend’s bride. He’s the best man. And they’re stuck in close quarters, far too often, with far too much chemistry.

She’s chaos in heels. He’s the protector who doesn’t flinch from heat. And neither of them do anything half-way.

One kiss lit the match. This time, they’re playing with fire.

Publication Date 30/4/2026

Reckless Hearts Cowboy Book 2: The Portree Cowboys Series (Spicy Small Town Cowboy Firefighter – City girl, Second Chance, One Bed, Forced Proximity Found Family, He falls first, Funny AF Book series) by Ellie Wilder

My Review

I finished this one with a big smile and maybe a few blushes (reminder, never read in public if you don’t know what you are getting into )😝

Ellie Wilder really turned up the heat in book two, giving us a spicier, more emotionally layered follow up that still keeps the humor and heart that made the first book so addictive. (You don’t need to read book one to love this one.)

Brè Easton is Mia’s (book one) best friend and absolute force of nature. She’s this sharp, fast talking, red headed city girl who weaponizes sexual innuendos, edits like a whirlwind, and treats actual feelings like they’re optional accessories. She’s confident, chaotic in the best way, and completely committed to never slowing down for love. I loved how unapologetic she is. Watching her carefully constructed walls get systematically dismantled was pure entertainment.

Then there’s Mason West, the quiet, brooding cowboy firefighter who looks like he was built to carry people out of burning buildings and ruin romantic plans in the best possible way. (You know the type of book boyfriend 😜)

The second chance element, rooted in that one unforgettable masked kiss from years ago, adds a delicious layer of tension. I couldn’t wait for Mason to remember Brè 😂

He doesn’t remember her at first, but the chemistry hits like muscle memory. As best man and maid of honor, they’re thrown together constantly, and the forced proximity (including some excellent one bed moments) keeps the sparks flying nonstop.

What really works is how well their personalities clash and complement each other. Brè’s hurricane energy meets Mason’s calm, protective steadiness, and the result is fantastic banter, scorching tension.

He falls first and hard in that quiet, intense way that makes you swoon, while she fights it every step until she can’t anymore.

The characters from Portree returns with warmth and laughs, making the whole world feel lived in and welcoming, (in fact I’m packing a bag and moving out there 😉)

It’s still a fast and fun read with plenty of humor to balance the heat. There’s emotional moments underneath the sass, especially around trust, vulnerability, and letting someone in after past hurts.

If you loved the first book, this one feels like coming home, the same addictive vibe but with higher stakes and even more spice. 🥵

This is a winner for anyone who enjoys second chance romance, firefighter cowboys, sassy heroines who give as good as they get, and stories that are equal parts funny and fiery.

I’m completely hooked on this series now and can’t wait to see what Ellie Wilder does next.

Highly recommended.

Just keep a fan nearby, you’re going to need it. 🤠🔥

🦋

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Pretty Ruthless. The Order. The Beginning: A Southern Gothic Dark Academia Secret Society Romance by Lexi Davis

Description

At Ashford University, power doesn’t belong to the professors.

It belongs to the students.

The ones with the right names.

The right connections.

The ones who decide what happens behind closed doors.

Becky Dawson doesn’t belong there.

She’s not rich. Not connected. Not invited.

But she knows something’s not right.

And every answer leads back to one man.

Carrson Ashford.

Cold. Controlled. Untouchable.

They say he’s dangerous. They don’t know the half of it.

Now Becky’s on the hunt.

Studying him, following him, learning patterns he thinks no one sees.

Because Carrson isn’t just a man.

He’s a door.

The heir to a world built on power, ambition, and survival.

But Becky isn’t the only predator here.

Carrson notices. Pushes to see if she’ll break.

When he presses a blade to her throat, she doesn’t run.

When he tells her to stay away, she steps closer.

When he tells her to run,

she waits to see if he’ll chase.

That’s a problem.

Because Becky Dawson?

She was never supposed to be part of his world.

But now that she is,

Carrson can’t decide

whether to destroy her…

or make sure she never leaves.

Before Pretty Vicious… there was Pretty Ruthless.

Set in 1994, this dark academia secret society romance is where is all begins, where power is everything, obsession is inevitable, and love is the most dangerous game of all.

Publication Date 28/5/2026

Pretty Ruthless. The Order. The Beginning: A Southern Gothic Dark Academia Secret Society Romance by Lexi Davis

My Review

I just finished Pretty Ruthless, the prequel to Pretty Vicious in The Order series, and it left me properly unsettled in the best way.

Set in 1994 at Ashford University, this Southern Gothic dark academia romance drips with atmosphere from the very first pages.

Old money, hidden power structures, humid Southern nights, and secrets that feel like they’ve been rotting under the surface for generations. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to look over your shoulder while reading.

Becky is the outsider who refuses to stay in her lane. She’s not from the right family, doesn’t have the connections, and definitely wasn’t invited into the elite circles that actually run the university. But something feels deeply wrong on campus, and every thread she pulls leads straight to Carrson Ashford…… He’s the untouchable heir, cold, calculating, and radiating danger. The kind of man who was raised to rule rather than live!

What begins as Becky studying and following him turns into a charged, obsessive game where the power dynamic keeps shifting. She’s not some fragile girl who stumbles into his world. She steps into it with her eyes open, even when he presses a blade to her throat and tells her to run!

The cat and mouse tension is relentless. Carrson expects fear and obedience. Instead he gets someone who leans into the darkness with him. Their chemistry is sharp, twisted, and surprisingly emotional once you see the weight Carrson carries from his upbringing. The book doesn’t romanticize the brutality that shaped him, but it makes his unraveling around Becky feel earned and dangerously intimate.

I loved how grounded in the 90s setting it felt, no cell phones, no social media, just raw pursuit and whispered threats in old buildings. The Southern Gothic tone is thick and immersive, and the secret society elements simmer underneath everything, building that constant sense of something larger and more sinister watching.

There were a couple spots where the internal thoughts slowed things down a touch, but it never killed the momentum for me.

Overall this is a strong, moody start to the world of The Order. It stands well on its own while making me even more curious about the rest of the series.

If you enjoy dark academia with morally black heroes, obsessive heroines who refuse to flinch, and romances where love feels like the most dangerous risk of all, Pretty Ruthless delivers.

It’s intense, atmospheric, and exactly the kind of ruthless romance the title promises.

I’m hooked.

🦋

Want a sneak peek……..

Chapter One

Becky

I came to Ashford University for one reason.

Carrson Ashford.

It takes me three months to finally see him, and, by then, I already know too much.

This place is deceiving. Century-old brick buildings sit in neat rows, as if nothing bad ever happens here. Spanish moss drips from the trees, sways lazily in the thick, humid air. Church bells clang in the distance, their sound drifting across the quad like a warning no one hears.

Strangers are so friendly that I startle when they approach.

In New York, where I’m from, nobody talks to anybody. Here, they won’t shut up. People stop me in the grocery store, in the mall, on the street, the moment they hear my Yankee accent. My words are clipped. Hard vowels, sharp as a picket fence. Theirs stretch and curl, long S sounds like snakes moving through honey.

They want to know where I’m from. Why I picked a university so far from home.

I give them the same answer every time. Strong academics. A top-ranked psychology department. Access to new technology, the Internet. Email. I tell them you can send messages through a computer now, no paper, no pen, and they nod like that explains everything. As if it’s enough to justify a decision this big.

It isn’t.

Carrson’s like this town, polished on the surface, something else underneath.

From across the quad, he looks like he stepped off a screen. Square jaw. Thick-lashed eyes. Dark hair cut clean and neat. A pale blue Oxford button-down so perfectly preppy I almost laugh.

Heat creeps up my neck as I shove the sleeves of my flannel shirt higher. I lift the newspaper, hiding behind it, which is dumb. He hasn’t even glanced my way. The headline catches my eye again. It’s an old article, from when his dad was still alive. Senator Ashford. A vote against funding pediatric medical research.

There are more articles like it in my backpack. Newspaper clippings. Notes I’ve jotted down, on him, his family, this place. The kind of documents no one reads unless they’re searching for something specific.

At first, it was nothing. Random names. Random outcomes.

Then patterns started to form.

A judge in Virginia resigned overnight. A hospital director vanished two weeks later. A congressman from Georgia died of a “heart attack” three days before a corruption hearing. Different states, different stories, but the same last names kept repeating.

Men. Alumni of this university.

One mentioned more than the rest.

Ashford.

Not just Carrson. His father. His grandfather. All the way back.

That name was tied through everything, holding it together.

I shove the paper into my backpack, tugging on the turtle charm that hangs from the zipper, a gift from my sister, while I keep my eyes trained on the last remaining Ashford. Those grainy photographs didn’t do him justice, and I’m not the only one who notices. Conversations dip as he passes, as if someone turned the volume down on the entire campus. Heads turn. Not only the girls. Everyone.

And him?

He doesn’t acknowledge any of it.

He stares straight ahead, moving without hesitation. Doesn’t stroll or swagger. He marches along a path only he sees. Shoulders square. Posture perfect. His stride so exact I swear if I laid a tape measure across the ground, each step would land the same distance apart.

Uptight prick.

I trail him across the quad in my ripped jeans and heavy Doc Martens, the foam headphones of my Walkman resting around my neck. Girls in pastel sweaters and pearl necklaces step back when I pass, their penny loafers scuffing against the pavement like they’re afraid I’ll ruin something delicate.

The students here all look like they stepped out of a Ralph Lauren catalog.

I look like I’ve come to rob one.

It’s the mid-1990s. Thanks to Pearl Jam, grunge is everywhere. Except, apparently, at Ashford University.

Carrson disappears into the biology building.

I follow.

The three-story structure is older than the rest of campus, all dark stone and tall windows filmed with decades of dust. Ivy strangles the walls, trying to drag the building back into the earth. Words carved above the doorway catch my eye, the letters worn smooth with age. I squint to read them.

Aptissimus superstes.

Latin. I mouth it silently, pulling the meaning up from memory.

Aptissimus. Best. Or fittest. Superstes. Survives.

Only the fittest survive.

Darwin? Or something else?

The words feel less like a motto and more like a warning. Unease stirs low in my stomach as I stare up at the carved stone, but I force myself forward. I’m not here to admire architecture.

I’m here to hunt.

And my prey just walked inside.

The doors groan in protest when I push them open. I stop in the entryway, where the air is cool and stale, thick with the smell of paper and ink. Of wood and damp stone.

The silence here isn’t empty.

It hums, low and watchful.

My boots echo against the old tile floor as I scan ahead, searching for the pale blue of his shirt, but there’s nothing. I move quickly, checking every corridor, every classroom. Rows of lab tables stretch under flickering lights. Shelves hold glass jars full of pale shapes in murky liquid, warped beyond recognition. Portraits of long-dead professors line the walls, their eyes following me wherever I go.

Empty rooms. Empty hallways. He’s not here.

Carrson Ashford is gone, vanished like smoke, like a dream turning to nightmare the moment you wake.

I stop and sweep the space one more time, irritation burning hot in my gut. I was right behind him. There’s no way he could have disappeared that quickly. Unless he knows more than I do.

That’s fine. His disappearance only confirms it. I’m getting closer to the truth, to him.

Because Carrson Ashford isn’t just a man.

He’s a door.

Somewhere behind him are the people who decide who lives…and who doesn’t.

I won’t stand on the outside anymore.

I’m getting in…

ARC REVIEW/NEW RELEASE

Splitting the D (Cedar Rapids Raccoons Book 7) by Lasairiona McMaster

Description

He’s the fire I was never meant to touch.

I’m the ice prince who can’t seem to stay frozen.

Artemis:

Graduate. Dominate. No distractions—especially cocky sophomores like Xavier Martinez. Every stolen kiss in the shadows, every brush of his hand, sends cracks splintering through the walls I swore would never break.

He sees the mess underneath the ice prince. And now the sight of him across the rink feels less like rivalry and more like self-destructive obsession.

He’s bad decisions in gray sweatpants, sin-slick confidence, the rival team’s golden boy.

My antithesis. My counterpoint. My favorite chaos gremlin.

One slip, and I hand my father the proof he’s always wanted—that I was never enough to bear the de la Peña name. I can’t afford to want him, but he’s determined to prove that imperfection tastes better than any win.

Xavier: I’ve spent my life chasing light—now I’m falling for the man who makes the dark feel like home. Artemis makes me feel chosen, but at the rink, I’m still just the enemy.

When it all comes crashing down, I won’t walk away. I’ll stand there, bare and unguarded, and dare him to love me anyway. Artemis has to choose—between his fear of failure and the reckless, messy love that might finally set us both free.

You can’t be the ice prince when your lover is the fire.

Publication Date 21/5/2026

Splitting the D (Cedar Rapids Raccoons Book 7) by Lasairiona McMaster

My Review

This book is for anyone who loves a tense, fiery MM rivals to lovers hockey romance.

Artemis de la Peña is the textbook ice prince, controlled, perfectionistic, and carrying the crushing weight of his family name on his shoulders.

Xavier Martinez is the chaotic golden boy from the rival team who keeps sliding past every one of Artemis’s carefully built defenses with cocky smiles, stolen kisses, and way too much confidence in gray sweatpants. 😜

I loved how the fire and ice dynamic wasn’t just surface level. Their attraction feels genuinely dangerous for Artemis, who knows one slip could give his father exactly the ammunition he’s always looked for to prove his son isn’t good enough. That internal battle between wanting Xavier and fearing what it could cost him is written so raw and believable that it hurts in the best way.

Xavier, on the other hand, brings this beautiful mix of playful persistence and deep longing, he just wants to be chosen by the one person who makes him feel seen.

The hockey rivalry adds tension. Every time they face off on the ice, the chemistry crackles even harder because they’re supposed to be enemies.

The scenes are well written and immersive without getting overly technical. (I could almost see the game being played on the ice.)

The steam is there (and it’s delicious), but the tender, quiet moments where the walls come down are what make this couple stick with you.

I liked that Artemis has to confront his obsession with perfection and his terror of failure, while Xavier shows real strength in standing steady when things get messy.

If I had any small criticism, it’s that the push/pull angst drags just a touch in the middle, but it’s the kind of delicious agony that makes the payoff feel earned. By the end I was fully invested in their happy ending.

Splitting the D is spicy, heartfelt, and emotionally satisfying.

If you enjoy grumpy/sunshine with teeth, forbidden rival vibes, and characters who have to fight their own heads as hard as they fight on the ice, this one delivers.

Highly recommended. 🏒❤️‍🔥

🦋