ARC Review – The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson

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The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Heat Level: 🔥🔥

Release Date: December 5, 2023

Publisher: Berkley

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

SYNOPSIS

Two wolf shifters agree to be fake mates but unexpectedly find something real in this steamy paranormal romantic comedy by Lana Ferguson.

Mackenzie Carter has had some very bad dates lately. Model train experts, mansplainers, guys weirdly obsessed with her tail—she hasn’t had a successful date in months. Only a year out of residency, her grandmother’s obsession with Mackenzie finding the perfect mate to settle down with threatens to drive Mackenzie barking mad. Out of options, it feels like a small thing to tell her grandmother that she’s met someone. That is, until she blurts out the name of the first man she sees and the last man she would ever date: Noah Taylor, the big bad wolf of Denver General.

Noah Taylor, interventional cardiologist and all around grump, has spent his entire life hiding what he is. With outdated stigmas surrounding unmated alphas that have people wondering if they still howl at the moon, Noah has been careful to keep his designation under wraps. It’s worked for years, until an anonymous tip has everything coming to light. Noah is left with two options: come clean to the board and risk his career—or find himself a mate. The chatty, overly friendly ER doctor asking him to be her fake boyfriend on the same day he’s called to meet the board has to be kismet, right?

Mackenzie will keep her grandmother off her back, and Noah will get a chance to prove he can continue to work without a real mate—a mutually beneficial business transaction, they both rationalize. But when the fake-mate act turns into a very real friends-with-benefits arrangement, lines start to blur, and they quickly realize love is a whole different kind of animal.

REVIEW

What you can expect to find in The Fake Mate
-STEM leads
-alpha/omega pairing
-🌶🌶🌶 scenes
-grumpy/sunshine
-fake dating(mating)

Dr. Mackenzie Carter needs her grandma to get off of her back. She’s not quite ready to settle down yet and her recent string of bad dates isn’t helping matters. Dr. Noah Taylor has been working as a cardiologist for a number of years, but he’s hiding a secret. He’s an alpha shifter and an anonymous tip has let the board know about his secret. He needs to nip the stigma in the bud. When a chance opportunity presents itself – Mackenzie and Noah find themselves pretending to be fake mates. Mackenzie gets her grandma off her dating life and Noah is able to put the board at ease. Win-win, right? Except the more time Mackenzie and Noah spend with one another the more they seem to want to turn their fake relationship into something real. Will these two find a way to give their budding relationship a chance?

Did I have to google “what is the omegaverse” while reading The Fake Mate? Yes, yes I did 🤭 And oooohhh does Lana bring the heat in The Fake Mate. My pages were smoking while reading this spicy, shifter romance. If you read Lana’s debut The Nanny you know that Lana can write a spicy scene and she did not disappoint in The Fake Mate.

This shifter romance was so spicy but also very sweet. Noah was always so gentle with Mackenzie. And I loved how badass and fearless Mackenzie was. The third act breakup felt a bit forced and I felt not entirely necessary, but I still ended up binging this shifter romance.

If you’re looking for a sweet, spicy, shifter romance with the fake dating/mating trope – I recommend you pick up The Fake Mate.

Review – Powerless by Lauren Roberts

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Powerless by Lauren Roberts

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Romance

Heat Level: Closed Door

Series: The Powerless Trilogy #1

Release Date: November 7, 2023

I’ve been reading a lot more YA fantasy romance this year and it’s definitely because of books like Powerless. The chemistry + the angst + the tension was so good and I could not stop reading. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a fast paced fantasy romance! **not sponsored**

SYNOPSIS

She is the very thing he’s spent his whole life hunting.
He is the very thing she’s spent her whole life pretending to be.

Only the extraordinary belong in the kingdom of Ilya—the exceptional, the empowered, the Elites.

The powers these Elites have possessed for decades were graciously gifted to them by the Plague, though not all were fortunate enough to both survive the sickness and reap the reward. Those born Ordinary are just that—ordinary. And when the king decreed that all Ordinaries be banished in order to preserve his Elite society, lacking an ability suddenly became a crime—making Paedyn Gray a felon by fate and a thief by necessity.

Surviving in the slums as an Ordinary is no simple task, and Paedyn knows this better than most. Having been trained by her father to be overly observant since she was a child, Paedyn poses as a Psychic in the crowded city, blending in with the Elites as best she can in order to stay alive and out of trouble. Easier said than done.

When Paeydn unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyas princes, she finds herself thrown into the Purging Trials. The brutal competition exists to showcase the Elites’ powers—the very thing Paedyn lacks. If the Trials and the opponents within them don’t kill her, the prince she’s fighting feelings for certainly will if he discovers what she is—completely Ordinary.

REVIEW

What to expect in Powerless:
-forced proximity
-girl thief x prince boy (they’re both morally gray)
-TENSION – gah so much tension
-secrets, lies, betrayals
-Hunger Games style setup
-top tier flirting + banter + chemistry
-close door but so much angst
-who did this to you moments
-ballroom dancing (!!!)

Ok, listen. I have been influenced on more than one occasion to pick up a book I’ve seen on social media. When I keept seeing Powerless I figured I should at least add it to my tbr and see what the fuss was about. When I tell you that I literally could not keep the grin off of my face while reading this book please believe me 🤭 I was giggling, blushing and devouring the pages. I loved loved loved Paedyn + Kai together. They have that kind of chemistry that seriously sizzles on page. Everything out of that man’s mouth was pure poetry.

I don’t want to give the plot away too much, because there’s so much going on and all of it is important. I will say that Lauren Roberts knows how to weave a story that comes full circle. I felt so much while reading this book.

I have pages upon pages of highlights between Kai and Paedyn. I mean he calls her darling as a sarcastic endearment and every time he did I was 🫠. Kai was such a complex character. He’s the future enforcer to the King, so he’s trained to be a killer and yet he would go to any length to keep Payedyn safe. The way he’s a complete golden retriever for her was giving me all the feels 🥹. He was giving Aaron Warner, Cardan Greenbriar & Rhysand vibes…swoon.

And holy shit that ending 🤯 … I did not see it coming. My heart was hurting after finishing Powerless 😭

Okay that’s enough rambling thoughts for now. I just loved this book and I cannot wait until next year for Reckless

Spotlight & Excerpt – Do Your Worst

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Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release Date: November 14, 2023

Publisher: Berkley

I have been a huge fan of Rosie’s since reading The Roommate a few years ago! Do Your Worst sounds like the perfect autumn romance full of curses, magic and of course romance. I’m excited to pick up this book.

SYNOPSIS

Sparks fly when an occult expert and a disgraced archeologist become rivals with benefits in this steamy opposites-attract romance from “go-to author” Rosie Danan (The New York Times Book Review).

Riley Rhodes finally has the chance to turn her family’s knack for the supernatural into a legitimate business when she’s hired to break the curse on an infamous Scottish castle. Used to working alone in her alienating occupation, she’s pleasantly surprised to meet a handsome stranger upon arrival—until he tries to get her fired.

Fresh off a scandal, Clark Edgeware can’t allow a self-proclaimed “curse breaker” to threaten his last chance for professional redemption (or his traitorous heart). After he fails to get Riley kicked off his excavation site, he vows to avoid her. Unfortunately for him, she vows to get even.

Riley expects the curse to do her dirty work by driving Clark away, but instead, they keep ending up on top of each other. Turns out, the only thing they do better than fight is fool around. If they’re not careful, by the end of all this, more than the castle will end up in ruins.

EXCERPT


While other women inherited a knack for singing or swearing from their grandmothers, Riley Rhodes received a faded leather journal, a few adolescent summers of field training, and the guarantee that she’d die alone.

Okay, fine, maybe that last thing was a slight exaggeration. But a unique talent for vanquishing the occult, passed down from one generation to the next like heirloom china, certainly didn’t make dating any easier. Her matrilineal line’s track record for lasting love was . . . bleak, to say the least.

Curse breaking-the Rhodes family talent-was a mysterious and often misunderstood practice, especially in the modern age. Lack of demand wasn’t the problem. If anything, the world was more cursed than ever. But as the presence of an angry mob in any good folktale will tell you, people fear what they don’t understand.

To be fair, Gran had warned Riley about the inherent hazards of curse breaking out of the gate. There was, of course, the whole physical danger aspect that came part and parcel with facing off against the supernatural. Riley had experienced everything from singed fingertips to the occasional accidental poisoning in the name of her calling.

As for the personal pitfalls? Well, those hurt in a different way.

She’d grown up practicing chants at recess and trying to trade homemade tonics for Twinkies at lunch. Was it any wonder that, through middle school, her only friend had been a kindly art teacher in her late fifties? It wasn’t until tenth grade when her tits came in that guys decided “freaky curse girl” was suddenly code for “performs pagan sex rituals.” Riley had been almost popular for a week-until that rumor withered on the vine.

It was like Gran always said: No one appreciates a curse breaker until they’re cursed.

Since she couldn’t be adored for her talents, Riley figured she could at least get paid. So, at thirty-one years old, she’d vowed to be the first to turn the family hobby into a legitimate business.

Still, no one would call her practical. She’d flown thousands of miles to a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands to risk life and limb facing down an ancient and unknowable power-but hey, at least she’d gotten fifty percent up front.

Hours after landing, strung out on jet lag and new-job nerves, Riley decided the village’s single pub was as good a place as any to start her investigation into the infamous curse on Arden Castle.

The Hare’s Heart had a decent crowd for a Sunday night, considering the total population of the village didn’t break two hundred. Dark wood-paneled walls and a low ceiling covered in crimson wallpaper gave the already small space an extra intimate feel. More like an elderly family member’s living room than the slick, open-concept spots filled with almost as many screens as people that Riley knew all too well back home.

Hopefully after this job put her services on the map she could stop picking up bartending shifts in Fishtown during lean months. For now, her business was still finding its feet. The meager income she managed to bring in from curse breaking remained firmly in the “side hustle” category-though it was still more than anyone else in her family had ever made from their highly specialized skills. Riley had always thought it was kind of funny, in a morbid way, that a family of curse breakers could help everyone but themselves.

Whether out of fear or a sense of self-preservation, Gran had never charged for her practice. In fact, she’d kept curse breaking a secret her whole life, serving only her tiny rural mountain community. As a consequence, she’d never had two nickels to rub together. She and Riley’s mom had weathered a few rough winters without heat, going to bed on lean nights-if not hungry, then certainly not full.

Riley had never faulted her mom for ditching Appalachia and the family mantle in favor of getting her nursing degree in scenic South Jersey. It was only because she’d never been good at anything practical that Riley found herself here in the Highlands, hoping this contract changed more than the number in her bank account.

If word got out that Riley had taken down the notorious curse on Arden Castle, she could go from serving small-time personal clients to big corporate or even government jobs. (She had it on good authority they’d been looking for someone to remove the curse on Area 51 since the seventies).

Perching herself on a faded leather stool at the mahogany bar that divided the pub into two sections, Riley had an excellent vantage point to observe the locals. Up front in the dining room, patrons ranging in age from two to eighty occupied various farm tables brimming with frothing pints and steaming plates.

Excerpted from Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan Copyright © 2023 by Rosie Danan. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Review – The Graham Effect

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The Graham Effect by Elle Kennedy

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Hockey Romance

Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥

Series: Campus Diaries #1

Release Date: October 31, 2023

I received a complimentary copy of this book from GetRed PR/the publisher.

I was a bit hesitant going into The Graham Effect, because The Deal is easily one of my all time favorite romances. But I can honestly say that I LOVED this book and cannot wait to read the next book in the series!

SYNOPSIS

Gigi Graham has exactly three goals: qualify for the women’s national hockey team, win Olympic gold, and step out of her famous father’s shadow. So far, so good, except for two little things. Fine–a little thing and a big, grumpy thing. She needs to improve her game behind the net, and she needs help from Luke Ryder.

Ryder is six-foot five, built, opinionated, rude…and sexy as hell. But he’s still the enemy.

Briar’s new hockey co-captain has his reasons, though. The men’s team just merged with a rival program, leaving Ryder with an angry roster where everyone hates one another’s guts. To make matters worse, the summer coaching spot he’s angling for with the legendary Garrett Graham is out of reach after he makes the worst possible first impression on his hero. So, really, this compromise with Gigi is win-win. He helps her make the national team, she puts in a good word
with her dad.

The only potential snag? This bone-deep, body-numbing, mind-spinning chemistry they’re trying to ignore. It’s a dangerous game they’re playing, but the risks just might be worth it.

REVIEW

What you can expect to find in The Graham Effect:
-hockey romance
-grumpy hero
-banter for days
-spicy 🌶🌶🌶
-swoony
-dual pov
-cameo’s by Garrett and Hannah
-no third act breakup

Gigi Graham has big shoes to fill, she can’t go too far without it being mentioned that her dad is The Garrett Graham. Gigi has always wanted to be great at hockey, but being a female hockey player she has a few disadvantages. Since she can’t win the Stanley cup, she’s going for gold – Olympic gold that is. Only problem – the coach thinks she needs to improve her game. Luke Ryder has idolized Garrett Graham since he started playing hockey. His goal is to be a coach for the summer camp that Garrett has every summer. Only problem – Garrett doesn’t think too highly of Ryder after he got into a scuffle with a former hockey teammate. These two realize that they can help each other – Gigi can put in a good word with her dad and Ryder can help Gigi improve her game. It’s a win-win situation, except the more time these two start spending together the more their chemistry comes to the surface. Neither of them are looking for a relationship…will they be able to keep their feelings out of their friends with benefits arrangement?

Elle Kennedy is easily one of my favorite hockey romance writers. My first book by her was The Deal and I’ve read and reread that book too many times to count. I admit – I was a bit worried if I would like The Graham Effect – often time second generation books don’t always do it for me. BUT! I was wrong and I loved The Graham Effect so much 🥰.

Ryder and Gigi were such a fun couple. Grumpy heroes are my favorite kinds of heroes and Ryder was grumpy, sarcastic and so funny! I loved the banter between these two – I always had a grin on my face whenever they were together 😌. But underneath their tough façade, both Gigi and Ryder had their own vulnerabilities and the way they were always so honest with one another was what I loved the most about The Graham Effect. The slow fall from indifference to friends to lovers was done so well in this book. It was funny, spicy and swoony – the perfect combination!

And gah – the cameos of the OG Off Campus/Briar U characters was so fun! And yes, any scene that Garrett and Hannah was in was pure perfection – I love them together and even more as parents 🥹.

SPOILERS
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The twist at the end left me with a HUGE GRIN on my face. The respective my wife and my husband made me alkjf;lajdflkjaflkj 🤭. I loved Ryder for his patience with Gisele and always backing her up – even with her dad who he idolizes. Love this couple so much 

If you’re looking for a fun hockey romance with plenty of banter and spice I highly highly recommend The Graham Effect. I cannot wait to read more from this universe.

Review – A Curse for True Love

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A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Heat Level: Closed Door

Series: Once Upon a Broken Heart

Release Date: October 24, 2023

This year has been the year of reading YA fantasy romance for me. I picked up Once Upon a Broken Heart earlier this year and became obsessed with Stephanie Garber’s writing style. I even went back and read her entire backlist! I was anxiously awaiting the release of A Curse for True Love, especially after absolutely LOVING The Ballad of Never After! I don’t think I was this excited for a book in a really long time. If you’ve read the series I’d love to know which book was your favorite!

**SPOILERS AHEAD** if you haven’t read the book – there are definite spoilers in my review proceed at your own caution!

SYNOPSIS

Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.

REVIEW

I’m not even lying when I say that A Curse for True Love was one of my most anticipated releases – definitely this year if not ever? The Once Upon a Broken Heart series has been a favorite. I only recently picked up this series after seeing it all over booktok, but it was so good. The Ballad of Never After is up there as one my favorite books this year. I loved the angst, the yearning and the slow burn between Evangeline and Jacks. I was ready for A Curse for True Love. I needed to know how this series would play out after that ending.

In A Curse for True Love Evangeline doesn’t remember much. She has bits and pieces of her memories, but she can’t recall her handsome husband the Prince and not Lord Jacks who everyone keeps talking about. Soon her life is in danger and it seems that anytime someone tries to hurt her, a guard named the Archer is there to rescuer. We know that Archer is Jacks himself, but Evangeline doesn’t know this and our heart is breaking on Jacks behalf. Does Evangeline regain her memory? Will Jacks and Evangeline get the ending that they deserve?

SPOILERS AHEAD
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I had such high hopes for A Curse for True Love, but gah! why so many chapters with Apollo’s point of view???? When I discovered that Stephanie Garber was writing this book with three different points of view I was so excited. But I feel like we hardly got any Jacks :(. I loved the banter between Evangeline and Jacks, but I didn’t feel as much angst or longing as I did when I read The Ballad of Never After. And yes, I do realize that this book is classified as YA, but I honestly felt like the spicy-ish scenes in the previous two books (the night Jacks was bit and then the hollow) were so much angstier/spicier than any of the scenes in A Curse for True Love.

I will still recommend this series and I’m so glad that Evangeline and Jacks got their happily ever after. But there were a lot of plot holes that were unanswered. Why does Jacks eat the apples? What about the last kiss that Jacks didn’t collect? Where was Luc? Is Evangeline still human and Jacks a fate? Why did Jacks become a fate? There were so many directions that this book could have gone to answer any of these questions and it felt like missed opportunities.

Maybe Stephanie is setting up Lala’s book. There was some delicious tension between Chaos and Lala and I hope that leads to somewhere. I just feel like I was left with a lot of questions – but maybe that’s how Stephanie intended for it to be?

Now that this series is complete…what will I obsess over now??

EvaJacks forever <3.

Review – Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco

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Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥

Release Date: October 3, 2023

I picked up this book after seeing it all over my social media. While this was my first book by Kerri Maniscalco, it definitely won’t be my last! Loved the banter and the chemistry between Prince Envy and Camilla!

SYNOPSIS

Sinner. Villain. Wicked.

The Prince of Envy has never claimed to be a saint. But when a cryptic note arrives, signaling the beginning of a deadly game, he knows it will take more than a hint of sin to win and save his falling demon court. Riddles, hexed objects, anonymous players, nothing will stand in his way, though none of his meticulous plans prepare him for her, the frustrating artist who ignites his sin like no other…

Virtuous. Darling. Liar.

The trouble with scoundrels and blackguards is that they haven’t a modicum of honor, a fact Miss Camilla Antonius learns after one desperate mistake allows Waverly Green’s most notorious rake to blackmail her. To avoid a ruinous scandal, Camilla is forced to enter a devil’s bargain with Envy, little expecting his game will awaken her true nature . . .

Together, Envy and Camilla must embark on a perilous journey through the Underworld—from glittering demon courts to the sultry vampire realm and beyond—while trying to avoid the most dangerous trap of all: falling in love.

REVIEW

What you can expect to find in Throne of the Fallen
-Historical Romance x Fantasy Romance
-morally gray hero
-independent heroine
-only one night/I’m not catching feelings
-spicy spicy spicy
-mystery

Camilla Antonius loves her life. She’s an accomplished artist in her small town, she has great friends and she doesn’t need much more. When the Prince of Envy happens to need Camilla’s artistic ability she’s not quite sure what game he’s playing. Soon these two are thrust into the Underworld where they’re playing a deadly game and only one person can be victorious.

Throne of the Fallen was my first book by Kerri Maniscalco and I honestly had no idea what to expect. I love the crossover of Historical Romance x Fantasy Romance and I feel like she did such a good job! I love both genres so it’s fun to see this happen.

The Prince of Envy and Camilla were so much fun together. Their banter had me giggling and kicking my feet! I was always left intrigued as to what was going to happen next between the two. And Kerri Maniscalco knows how to bring the spice. The warring emotions between the two – jealousy, envy, lust – were done so well. I was rooting for these two to get together from the beginning! I loved the twists and turns throughout the book.

I read this book as a complete stand alone and I felt like it read fine – I haven’t read any other books by Kerri Maniscalco.

If you’re looking for an adult fantasy romance with a bit of suspense/mystery I would definitely recommend Throne of the Fallen.

**updating my rating to five stars because I can’t stop thinking about this book and recommending it to friends!

ARC Review – Hopeless by Elsie Silver

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Hopeless by Elsie Silver

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥

Series: Chestnut Springs #5

Release Date: October 13, 2023

I received a complimentary copy of this book/audiobook from the author.

I have loved loved loved this series and I am so sad to see it come to an end! If you’re looking for spicy, swoony and oftentimes hilarious romances I recommend the Chestnut Springs series by Elsie Silver!

SYNOPSIS

Beau Eaton is the town prince, a handsome military hero with a tortured past.

I’m the outcast bartender, a shy girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

He’s thirty-five and all man, and I’m twenty-two and all… virgin.

He’s also my fiancé. Correction: my fake fiancé.

We start out as a bet. He doesn’t believe that anyone holds my last name against me. So he offers me his to prove a point.

It’s win-win. He gets a break from his concerned family’s prying, and I get a chance to shed my family’s reputation while I save up to ditch this small town.

He says all I have to do is wear his ring, follow his lead, and pretend I can’t keep my hands off of him in public.

But it’s what happens between us in private that blurs all those carefully drawn lines.

It’s what transpires behind closed doors that doesn’t feel like pretending at all.

This engagement was supposed to be for show. This agreement? It has an end date.

He once told me he’d never fall in love.

And yet here I am, head over heels for my fake fiancé.

REVIEW

What you can expect to find in Hopeless
-fake dating
-playful banter
-slow burn
-age gap (she’s 22 and he’s 35)

Beau is back from deployment and isn’t having the easiest time. His family means well but they are tip-toeing around him. Careful not to say the wrong thing, careful to always include him in the ranching lifestyle. Everyone in Chestnut Springs treats him as a hero and he’s not sure how to feel about it.

Bailey’s life has never been easy. Growing up everyone knew the Jansen’s and what trouble makers they were. Bailey tries to separate herself from her brothers, but they insist on making life a challenge for her.

Beau has always been kind to Bailey and Bailey isn’t afraid to tell him when he’s wrong or overstepped unlike the rest of the community. When Beau proposes a challenge for Bailey she’s not sure what to make of it – Beau proposes (ha!) that Bailey and him pretend to be engaged. That way maybe she’ll get better opportunities in town with his name attached to hers and he gets his family off his back. When the fake engagement starts to feel all too real – there will be some hard decisions for both of them to make, especially since Bailey wants out of the town that seems to make her life miserable.

Okay first of all if there’s a fake dating ploy involved I am going to eat it up! Second of all, this is an Elsie Silver novel so when I think “umm…I’m not sure I’m gonna like an age gap/virgin heroine” she proves me wrong. I loved loved loved Bailey and Beau. They were funny and sweet and I loved the sass that they gave each other. Their slooooooow burn romance was burning up the pages while I was reading Hopeless.

For a book that tackles some sensitive subjects like PTSD, trauma from war, parental abuse and neglect, I feel like Elsie did a good job including them in the book without making the book overtly heavy. I have to admit, I was a bit worried that this would be a heavier book, but it was actually the opposite. Beau was such a golden retriever and I love it!

I also had an opprotunity to listen to the audiobook of Hopeless and it was narrated so well. Jason Clarke is one of my favorite narrators and he did an amazing job portraying Beau! I really liked Angelina Rocca’s portrayal of Bailey. I could always tell when these narrators wanted us to be happy, excited or sad. If you like audiobooks I highly recommend you listen to Hopeless.

I am super sad that the Chestnut Springs series has come to an end – but what a series it was!!

Chestnut Springs ranking (they are all five star reads).
1. Flawless
2. Hopeless
3. Heartless
4. Reckless
5. Powerless

Spotlight – Witch of Wild Things

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Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Genre: Magic Realism

Release Date: September 12, 2023

Publisher: Berkley

Filled with magic, the bond of sisterhood and a second chance romance – I am so excited to read this witchy romance – perfect for the fall season ahead!

SYNOPSIS

Legend goes that long ago a Flores woman offended the old gods, and their family was cursed as a result. Now, every woman born to the family has a touch of magic.
 
Sage Flores has been running from her family—and their “gifts”—ever since her younger sister Sky died. Eight years later, Sage reluctantly returns to her hometown. Like slipping into an old, comforting sweater, Sage takes back her job at Cranberry Rose Company and uses her ability to communicate with plants to discover unusual heritage specimens in the surrounding lands.

What should be a simple task is complicated by her partner in botany sleuthing: Tennessee Reyes. He broke her heart in high school, and she never fully recovered. Working together is reminding her of all their past tender, genuine moments—and new feelings for this mature sexy man are starting to take root in her heart.

With rare plants to find, a dead sister who keeps bringing her coffee, and another sister whose anger fills the sky with lightning, Sage doesn’t have time for romance. But being with Tenn is like standing in the middle of a field on the cusp of a summer thunderstorm—supercharged and inevitable.

ARC Review – Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L Armentrout

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Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L Armentrout

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥

Series: Awakening #1

Release Date: September 12, 2023

Publisher: Bramble

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

SYNOPSIS

SHE LIVES BY HER INTUITION. HE FEEDS ON HER PLEASURE.

Long ago, the world was destroyed by gods. Only nine cities were spared. Separated by vast wilderness teeming with monsters and unimaginable dangers, each city is now ruled by a guardian―royalty who feed on mortal pleasure.

Born with an intuition that never fails, Calista knows her talents are of great value to the power-hungry of the world, so she lives hidden as a courtesan of the Baron of Archwood. In exchange for his protection, she grants him information.

When her intuition leads her to save a traveling prince in dire trouble, the voice inside her blazes with warning―and promise. Today he’ll bring her joy. One day he’ll be her doom.

When the Baron takes an interest in the traveling prince and the prince takes an interest in Calista, she becomes the prince’s temporary companion. But the city simmers with rebellion, and with knights and monsters at her city gates and a hungry prince in her bed, intuition may not be enough to keep her safe.

Calista must follow her intuition to safety or follow her heart to her downfall.

REVIEW

What to expect in Fall of Ruin and Wrath
-fast paced word building
-🌶🌶🌶🌶
-who did this to you?
-found family
-political intrigue
…and an ending that leaves you begging for more

If Jennifer L Armentrout is writing a romantasy book I am first in line to want to read it. Which was exactly the case with Fall of Ruin and Wrath. Calista has a gift that not many know about – the foresight to see in to the future. The current Baron, Claude, realizes what a precious gift that is and is hiding Calista in his court as his courtesan. When Calista inadvertently ends up saving the life of a prince – Thorne – he takes an interest in her and wants her at his side while he is visiting the Baron. But the prince turns out to be far more intriguing and full of secrets. With an imminent danger approaching is he a person that Calista can trust?

While Fall of Ruin and Wrath started a bit slowly for me (as most fantasy romance novels do), I ended up absolutely tearing through the pages. I couldn’t get enough of Calista and Thorne. Their chemistry and banter left me with a grin on my face!

I genuinely cared about all of the characters in Fall of Ruin and Wrath – not just Thorne and Calista, but also Calista’s best friends Grady and Norma and even Claude.

I’m already hooked and can’t wait for the next book in the series!

ARC Review – The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

~ Tej ~ Leave a comment

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Heat Level: 🔥🔥

Series: The Hurricane Wars #1

Release Date: October 3, 2023

Publisher: Harper Voyager

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

SYNOPSIS

The heart is a battlefield.

All Talasyn has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. Growing up an orphan in a nation under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor, Talasyn has found her family among the soldiers who fight for freedom. But she is hiding a deadly secret: light magic courses through her veins, a blazing power believed to have been wiped out years ago that can cut through the Night Empire’s shadows.

Prince Alaric, the emperor’s only son and heir, has been forged into a weapon by his father. Tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire’s rule with the strength of his armies and mighty Shadow magic, Alaric has never been bested. That is until he sees Talasyn burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. In a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen.

Talasyn and Alaric both know this war can only end with them. But a greater threat is coming, and the strange new magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it. Thrust into an uneasy alliance, they will confront the secrets at the heart of the war and find, in each other, a searing passion–one that could save their world…or destroy it.

An exquisite fantasy brimming with unforgettable characters, sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance, and richly drawn worlds, The Hurricane Wars marks the breathtaking debut of an extraordinary new writer.

REVIEW

What you can expect to find in The Hurricane Wars
-romantasy
-enemies to lovers
-marriage of convenience
-slow burn
-angst
-she’s sassy
-he falls hard and fast
-diverse characters

Talasyn a lightweaver is fighting as a soldier against the Night Empire in the Hurricane Wars. Prince Alaric is uses his Shadow magic and hasn’t met his equal until he fights Talasyn in the battle field. Soon these two discover that when their magic is combined they create something powerful. With a threat looming in the near distance these two must decide if they are willing to come together to defeat a threat larger than both of their forces.

From the moment I started reading The Hurricane Wars I was intrigued. I will say that it did take me a bit to get into the book as the word building is extensive. But what kept me coming back was the chemistry between Talasyn and Alaric – gah how I love these two! Talasyn is amazing in her own right – she doesn’t take crap from anyone and isn’t afraid to voice her opinions. And Alaric is absolutely gone for her – it was so much fun to watch!

I have to say that the writing by Thea Guanzon is so lyrical and beautiful. I had passages after passage highlighted because of the vivid imagery. And let’s be honest – nothing makes me love a book more than a marriage of convenience trope. The slow burn between Talasyn and Alaric was slooooooow, but the tension and angst was always there which I love in a romantasy.

There were so many twists and turns in this book and I am already dying to read book 2. If you’re looking for a enemies to lovers, fantasy romance with diverse characters I highly highly recommend The Hurricane Wars