Review: Hart Street Lane by Samantha Young

January 31, 2026 by ·

HART STREET LANE
Series: Return to Dublin Street #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Samantha Young 
Release Date: January 15, 2026

A steamy fake engagement romance from New York Times Bestselling Author Samantha Young.

Faking it has never been so hard…

Breaking up with my fiancé wasn’t on my agenda this summer, neither was hiding the truth from everyone, including my colleagues at Pennington’s department store. But that tiny evasion gets me into trouble when I’m forced to play bride-to-be for our new marketing campaign. If my boss finds out I’ve lied to her, it won’t just be my reputation on the line; it’ll be my job.

Enter my new bestie, Baird McMillan. Professional goalkeeper, professional heartbreaker, and now my professional fake fiancé. Baird’s public escapades have gotten him on the wrong side of his football club’s new owner, and he needs to prove he’s settling down. A fake engagement is a win-win for us both.

There’s just one problem. It turns out there’s nothing fake about the explosive connection Baird and I share.

I may not have been looking for love, but every moment with Baird tempts me to reach for it. Yet just as I start to believe a future together could be a real possibility, our pasts come surging back with a vengeance. And with it, those who will do anything to destroy our chance at forever…

AMAZON

All my life I’d been looking for a place where I could be fully me, and I could curse myself for not realizing sooner that my place was Baird McMillan’s heart.

I have loved the first two books in this series, so when I say that this one is my favorite yet, that just tells you how absolutely phenomenal this story was. I have been waiting for Baird’s book since he first stole the show as a secondary character in On Loverose Lane. I just wasn’t prepared to fall for him so thoroughly and completely. He was easily my favorite MMC in this series so far. The incredible depth that this man hides beyond the flirty demeanor and easy going personality and jokes blew me away. I mean, I knew there was so much more to him. I just didn’t realize how much more there was.

I knew I could make Maia happier than anyone else could if she gave me the chance. I’d lay the world at her feet.

Baird has been obsessed with Maia since he first meets her but Maia is taken. Now I love me some unrequited love trope, but when you throw in some male pining, stick a fork in me. I am SO DONE. Because the way this man pines for Maia is just something else. He makes himself content with just being her friend, even though he has been in love with her the entire time. So when Maia’s relationship falls apart and she’s left in a pickle for a work campaign she was set up to do with her fiancé, he’s prepared to save the day. Because he just knows that all he needs is an in, even if that in is a marriage of convenience. He’ll make her fall in love with him and he’s prepared to risk it all.

I let go of her arse to cup the back of her head, to hold her to me so I could kiss her like she was my next breath. Everything about this woman was right. The taste, the feel, the smell. She was my match. The missing fucking piece.

I loved the dichotomy of both Maia and Baird. They both have this confident exterior, but still waters run deep. Baird is still dealing with the trauma of his TBI and his own mortality. His extreme behavior of partying and dangerous risk taking ultimately putting his career at risk on his team.

Maia’s history is even darker. With an addict mother, she’s spent her entire life putting only her best self forward. A people pleaser to the max, she’s put her career ahead of everything else. And now a petty and jealous coworker may cost her that unless she takes Baird up on his crazy plan.

When I tell you I have never wished for a secondary character to get hit by a bus more, I mean I absolutely LOATHED Becky. Sadly, she survived. But we can’t get everything I suppose.

The romance was a delicious slow burn of angst and emotion and oh my god the way I loved it. The way I loved them. And the way I loved seeing Maia finally see Baird and the man he really is was one of the most satisfying experiences as a reader.

Thank you for taking care of me.” His response was gravelly with emotion. “You never have to thank me for that. It’s my privilege, Maia.”

I’m so in love with this series, and if you haven’t read it yet, you absolutely must. This is just one of those series and books that stays with you. The emotion it evoked was brain chemistry altering and I loved every single page and second of the experience. 

Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She’s been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. Samantha writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction and is currently published in 31 countries.

She resides in Scotland.

 

Connect with Samantha

Website: http://authorsamanthayoung.com

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Review: Veiled in Hate by BJ Alpha

January 30, 2026 by · Leave a Comment

VEILED IN HATE
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Author: A Zavarelli
Release Date: July 16, 2023

Veiled in Hate

Veiled In Hate is a standalone Dark Mafia Romance based on Luca from SHAW: STORM ENTERPRISES Book 1.

Luca

I’m filled with darkness, thriving on the only thing I feel, hate.

The blood I’ve shed to avenge my sister’s death has done nothing to appease me.

When my don creates an alliance between our enemies to create peace, I’ve no choice but to comply.

That doesn’t mean I’ll make it easy for her—the Ricci Princess.

She will be the perfect target for my hate.

Hate has never felt so good.

In blood we’re bound. In trust we live.

Camille

He hates every fiber of my being.

Luca Varros tried to end my bloodline in a quest for vengeance. He refuses to listen to reason.

When we’re forced together as part of an alliance, he turns his hate toward me.

But I see beyond his darkness, I see a glimmer of a man I will him to become.

And when my own veil of hate is about to slip, I’m reminded of the truth.

Luca Varros feels nothing. His quest for vengeance will always come first.

In blood we’re bound. In truth we live.


The book features dark elements and triggers so please check the authors website for details.

 

AMAZON

In blood we’re bound. In trust we live

I genuinely can’t remember the last time I gave a book one star. But when I finished this in a plume of rage, morbid curiosity, and the last shred of sanity I had, I simply couldn’t rate it anything higher. Because oh my god the way I hated this book. And speaking of the word “hate”, that was used 140 times. Yes, you read that right. 140 times. And that quote above? 14 times.

As a predominantly dark romance reader that loves mafia romance and red flags of MMCs who happen to be super mean, this blurb read like absolute trope candy to me. But the actual story? Well that read like a mix of low budget porn and pure shock value. I also love a mean MMCs and the whole revenge plot, but this was straight abuse porn. Nothing hot, sexy or entertaining about it. I feel like I have PTSD after finishing it.

The characters had absolutely no depth or character development. The MMCs has two moods running on rotation; homicidal rage and horny. That’s it. Nothing more. When he’s not raging, he’s horny, and when he’s not horny, he’s raging. Although sometimes he was both.

I lean over her body, grab a hold of her, and yank her head up so our eyes clash. I spit in her face. The rage and arousal combined make for a deadly concoction. “Say you fucking understand!” I slam inside her again, taking the air from her lungs.

How a book could feel like it goes on forever and too quick at the same time is beyond me. But this did. Because we spend 90% of this book with the MMC essentially abusing the FMC for daring to share the same blood as her now deceased twin brother who allegedly raped and killed Luca’s sister. And the FMC being both a virginal ingenue and master d*ck sucker at the same time. Every time I thought she grew a backbone and would sass him, she would then turn around and let him basically crap all over it. She forgave him the most atrocious things and I just couldn’t deal.

We go back and forth in this cloud of hate sex and Luca repeating ad nauseam just how much he hates Camille. And Camille just taking it while at the same time kinda sorta enjoying it but not really. Then Luca does something so atrocious at the end that short of crawling on his knees in broken glass to beg Camille’s forgiveness, nothing less would do. Sadly, all that happens is that she runs away, he find her, admits his love, and she forgives him. At that point, I think I would have preferred him getting hit by a bus rather than a HEA and I feel sick just saying it out loud. But never has a character deserved a HEA less than Luca.

There was nothing truly dark about this book. It was pure shock value with way too many sex scenes as filler and some of the cringiest dirty talk I have ever read.

Fuck. I’m going to come. I’m going to come so fucking hard on you.” I imagine his lips parted, his eyes crazed, and his body strung tight. “Fuck, that’s it. Drown in my cum, Camille. Fucking drown in it.”

And as a reader who has the memory of a gold fish, I wish I could forget this book. But alas, it’s now etched in my memory banks for the foreseeable future. Which I suppose deserves at least one star for that.

Le sigh.

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Review: Darkest Destiny by Pepper Winters

January 28, 2026 by · Leave a Comment

DARKEST DESTINY
Series: Darkest Destiny Trilogy #1
Genre: Dark Romance Fantasy Fusion
Author: Pepper Winters
Release Date: January  28, 2026

From New York Times Bestselling Pepper Winters comes a Dark Romance with a twist…

For twenty years, Lucien Ashfall has been caged by the very men who profit from his blood.
He’s dangerous, uncontrollable, and deadly.
He’s also the only one carrying his bloodline and they need another.
Every six months, thirty girls are sent into his prison and tasked with one goal: Make him create an heir by any means necessary.
But everyone who goes in, never comes out.
Until Rook Snowdon is thrown into Cinderkeep by mistake.
She isn’t a seductress.
And she certainly isn’t there to save anyone.
In fact, she only has three goals in life:
One, hide her true identity for as long as possible.
Two, nap and self-medicate with wine.
Three (and most problematic) ignore the fact that stress is slowly killing her.
Lucien only has one goal: escape and burn everything to the ground.
Unfortunately, everyone has their secrets and these two have many.
They just don’t know it yet.
Because she might be the key to getting him free.
But if he gets out, it’s not the world that will burn.
It’s him.

This isn’t just a Dark Romance.
It’s fated, feral, and dangerous—until it becomes something else entirely.

Tropes:
morally grey, caged & tortured antihero
chronically ill heroine with a twist
emotional support pet (unalives for fun)
captive / captor tension
touch-her-and-die energy
her touch terrifies him for a good reason
luxury palace built to cage a monster
slow-burn obsession → forbidden, fated bond
modern dark romance that mutates into fantasy

AMAZON

I’d never seen someone who could suffocate a room with his very arrival. Never seen someone as beautiful as him—but just like beauty could make people commit awful mistakes, his beauty promised cold-blooded murder.

Holy…wow. How do I even begin to review this without spoiling the smallest detail? Because this is a story that you have to go into absolutely blind. Just trust me on this.

This was unlike anything I’ve read in a long while and I loved that about it. It wasn’t quite modern fiction, not quite fantasy. Yet it was this dark and gritty mix of both with a twist. It also had some vibes of beauty and the beast mixed with cinderella.

Rook thinks she’s going to an exclusive spa and instead gets thrown into a game of survival that she’s not even remotely prepared for. She ends up at Cinderkeep in the crosshairs of the elusive Lucien, who’s more legend than man. He’s also more feral than human, with a panther for his only companion. He’s been caged within the confines of Cinderkeep for over 20 years. His blood a currency he’s forced to give, while he dreams of escape and bloody revenge.

Women are thrown into his fortress in the hopes of being his mistress and bearing an heir….or killing him. But Rook doesn’t fall into any of those categories. But how do you convince a man who’s only know pain and betrayal his whole life that you want nothing from him? You don’t. You survive him.

This was very much a slow burn romance, and I loved every agonizing moment of it. It took me a little bit to get fully immersed in this world, but right around the 30% mark, I couldn’t stop reading. And that cliffhanger? DESPERATELY NEED the next book!

 

 

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Review: Pretty Prey by A. Zavarelli

January 26, 2026 by · Leave a Comment

PRETTY PREY
Series: Empire of Kings #2
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Author: A Zavarelli
Release Date: January 26, 2026

It started with a message from a stranger.
Or so I thought.
Beneath a veil of anonymity, he lured out my secrets, fears, and desires.

Behind the mask, he could be anyone.
And somehow, it felt safer not knowing.

He comes to me under the cover of darkness, pulling me deeper into this forbidden game.
I give myself to him, knowing the consequences could destroy my life.
I just didn’t expect him to be the one to ruin me.

When the mask comes off, the truth cuts deep.
He isn’t just a man obsessed.
He’s the same man who’s hated me for the last nine years.

In the Cosa Nostra, they call him Il Lupo.
The wolf.
And all this time…
I’ve been his prey.

 

AMAZON

There’s something so primal about the way he touches me. It isn’t just want. It’s possession.

It’s official, I’m obsessed with this series. It should come as no surprise, considering I live for A Zavarelli dark romance and mafia romance. But something about the Vitale brothers just hits oh so good. I was so excited for Romeo’s story after being introduced to his quiet storm as a secondary character in Beautiful Torment. But as a main character? He exceeded all of my expectations and then some.

She spends her days dreaming and creating. I spend mine destroying and taking. She’s sunshine, and I’m nightmare fuel.

Gabi and Romeo have a long standing history, rooted in pain and regrets. As a teenager, Gabi was in love with Romeo. But she never got to know what it would be like to be his. Because one fateful night changed the trajectory of their future and irrevocably changed his. She thinks that he hates her. He’s spent every moment he has in her presence antagonizing and throwing barbs her way after all. But little does she know that he has a secret that she’s at the center of.

Did you kill them?”
I consider lying to her, so I don’t scare her away. But Gabi’s too smart for that, and I don’t want to do that to her. “Acts of Service is my love language,” I tell her. “It was a romantic gesture.”

Romeo is the king of unhinged that I live for when it comes to my fictional men. This man is obsessed and he’s absolutely feral with it. I loved his single minded possessiveness.

I’m a one-mate animal, Gabriela,” he murmurs. “It’s primal for me. I have to have you.”

There was something so incredibly vulnerable about both of their characters. Gabi and her people pleasing ways, she struggles with her duty to her family and the cost that it would have to her. Her engagement to a man she doesn’t want, nothing but a business connection for the Cosa Nostra. And her pining for a man she can never is something she can’t seem to get away from.

The romance and the spice was absolutely delicious. The angst, the emotion, the sizzle of it all just hit every spot for me.

This was more mafia light than the previous book, but it was very much a page turner nonetheless. I loved the romance, I loved the characters, and I loved the story.

But sometimes all you need is someone to stand with you in the storm until it passes.”

I’m already itching for my next hit of this series and can’t wait for the next book!
A. Zavarelli is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of dark and contemporary romance.

When she’s not putting her characters through hell, she can usually be found watching bizarre and twisted documentaries in the name of research.

She currently lives in the Northwest with her lumberjack and an entire brood of fur babies.

Connect w/A. Zavarelli: 

Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Twitter | Mailing List | Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Bookbub 

Check out more information on the books and authors coming this fall HERE—> https://under-world-kings.com

Keep up-to-date with all things Underworld Kings in the Reader Group HERE—> https://bit.ly/3ArB5vx

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Review: Darling Diana by Scarlett Finch

December 20, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

DARLING DIANA
Series: Blackstem Universe #1
Author: Scarlett Finch
Genre: Dark, Dystopian Omegaverse Romance
Release Date: December 9, 2025

“Because you are mine, and I am yours.”

In the ruins of this broken world, omegas are currency—I’ve stayed off that particular radar by pretending I’m not one, utilizing the resources as a nurse in a neutral zone to suppress everything about my scent.

Then he shows up.

He smells something on me that shouldn’t be possible. Something that I’m still grappling with.

Judge doesn’t let go of what’s his, and he’ll burn the whole damn world down to chase after me.

Darkly intense, brutally seductive, and charged with emotional heat. Darling Diana is a dystopian omegaverse novel. For fans of slow-burn obsession, morally black power plays, and heroines who refuse to break.


What type of Omegaverse is this?
-No shifters- -M/F- -scents are everything- -he bites without permission- -estrous- -purring- -knotty times- -craving… so much craving-

Dystopian Wastelands setting, in the frigid winter. Perfect for December <3

TRIGGER: Coerced bite mark, dub-con explicit scenes, graphic violence, assault attempts (nothing on page), substance use + substance used on people, taking people, mental collapse, emotional breakdown, manipulation, betrayal, some stockholm

This is book 1 of 2, and the second book is a guaranteed HEA.

AMAZON

Oh fuck you,” I manage out. He smiles slowly and sits down on the couch. “In due time, nurse.”

I am suing. SUING I tell ya. Suing for emotional damages because what do you MEAN you’re going to leave us like this, Scarlett Finch? My flabbers are gasted my even cannot. This is the kind of emotional damage a reader doesn’t come back from and the sheer audacity to write it so nonchalantly? I bow down to your evil genius. But I digress.

I discovered Charlotte Mallory earlier this year and was immediately hooked. If you haven’t read The Improper Bastards series yet, change that immediately. So when I saw she’s releasing an omegaverse dystopian romance under her pen name, Scarlett Finch? Suffice it to say I couldn’t get on it quick enough. There is just something about the way this woman writes an MMC that is absolute chefs kiss. And she did not disappoint with Judge. Holy walking red flag and morally gray epicness!

When I tell you that I devoured this book, I mean I couldn’t set it down from cover to cover. I was so wholly immersed in this world, that I dreaded finishing. And with good reason too, since that cliffhanger damn near killed me. But I digress. If you like hate lust, enemies to lovers vibes, fierce FMCs and morally gray MMCs, you’ll need this in your life.

In the dystopian wasteland world, Omegas are a currency between powerful and corrupt alpha led gangs. It’s like Mad Max meets romance sort of vibes and I was here for it. Diana has spent years hiding her Omega self by purchasing illegal suppressants that hide her true sent. In a desperate bid for more of the drugs, she stumbles into the crosshairs of one of the most dangerous alphas and a force to be reckoned with, Judge. Judge is the leader of the biker gang and notorious for his violence and ruthlessness. And she also just so happens to be his scent match. Sounds utterly delicious right? It really was!

This is very much a slow burn romance and I loved their chemistry filled journey. I also loved the way that Diana, while in impossible odds, doesn’t back down and holds her ground against a man who makes grown men tremble in fear.

I haven’t read as much omega verse romance and I have no idea why because this book hit the spot so well and so hard that now I’m craving more knotty times. But if you’re looking for something dark, gritty, sizzling, with plenty of tension and deliciously fun banter, look no further.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go die a slow death until the sequel comes out on March 23.

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Review: Sins of the Father by Isabel Lucero

December 19, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

SINS OF THE FATHER
Author: Isabel Lucero
Genre: Dark, MM Romance
Release Date: November 17, 2025

He comes to me through a lattice in a confessional booth in my church.

He’s brash, vulgar, and confessing to things that would send him to hell, and yet, I find myself intrigued by the mysterious man.

His sinful words thrill me. His way of life, so different from my own, has me coveting excitement that’s long been missing. The more I’m around him, the more I realize how long I’ve been deprived of so much, and the more my own deviance begins to emerge.

On paper, nothing about the two of us makes sense, and there are many reasons why I should keep my distance. I try to be pious, but if anyone were to find the skeletons in my closet, I’d be excommunicated from the church.

When something from my past reveals itself, I find myself being pulled into a way of life I didn’t think would be in my future, and now I straddle the line between right and wrong. Morality vs necessity.

I’m a priest. He’s a murderer. But we’re both sinners.

AMAZON

You got me on my knees, Father. Should I make a confession?” I nod once. “I’m about to ruin your life.”

The second I saw the blurb for this book, I knew it would be my first Isabel Lucero read. I am a sucker for the forbidden and the dark, and when you throw some mafia in? Stick a fork in me, I’m done!

A priest and a killer for hire? Yes please and gimme!

You can’t have sex, and I want to be the one to fuck you. To make a priest break his vow,”

While I enjoyed the story, I feel like I may have let my expectations also get the best of me. Carlo’s character development never quite clicked for me. The priesthood element felt glossed over and just thrown in for the plot, but never really fully touched. I missed the depth of the internal struggle and that never really happened. I understand that Carlo’s choice of the church wasn’t really a choice, but being in it for as long as he was, I expected at least some internal struggle. But it just felt like a switch was flipped and he no longer thought of it. And then the direction he took at the end, felt super off. I just couldn’t buy into it. I don’t want to ruin the twist, so I won’t spoil it, but I lacked the connection to really believe or buy into the direction of Carlo’s character.

As for Javi, I absolutely loved him and his filthy mouth. I do wish we got a bit more of his backstory development, but it was also just enough to connect me with him.

And while the chemistry was there, I felt like there wasn’t enough to really make the romance element believable. It went too quick too fast, that it just sort of happened, but lacked the development and the angst I’d expect.

If you like a dark mafia romance, this would hit the spot. It probably could have been done without the priesthood element and been just as good if not better. But again, my expectations got away from me with this one. Did I enjoy it? For the most part, yes. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

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Review: Cross The Line by S Massery & SJ Sylvis

December 18, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

CROSS THE LINE
Series: Shadow Valley U #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: S. Massery & S.J. Sylvis
Release Date: December 11, 2025

Scarlett Wallace has hated me since the moment we met.
Fine—feelings are mutual.

When she transfers to Shadow Valley U, her dad’s brilliant idea has us living under the same roof as newly minted step-siblings, and she becomes impossible to ignore.
Too stubborn. Too tempting. Too off-limits.

But when I mess up with the wrong crowd, they demand repayment.
and unfortunately, they decide Scarlett is the perfect leverage.

She deserves a fresh start after what happened at her last school…
Instead, she gets me—her stepbrother. 
The guy who can’t stay out of trouble…and can’t stay away from her.

Protecting her means crossing every line.
Wanting her means destroying the rest.


Cross the Line is a spicy new adult romance featuring a fighter and his brand new enemy (AKA step-sister), brought to you by the bestselling authors S. Massery and SJ Sylvis.

AMAZON 

Scarlett is a temptation I can’t afford.

I love and I mean LOVE this series. And while I definitely still enjoyed this book, it just didn’t hit for me like the rest of the series has. I sat on my rating for a few days, trying to decide on a 3 star or 4 stars. I liked it more than a run of the mill 3 star read, but I also didn’t feel it packed the punch I would expect for a solid 4. So halfway we meet with 3 and a half.

Now I love a good step sibling trope, especially when it’s enemies to lovers with a splash of the bully trope. I mean YUM!

You asshole,” she bites out.
“Obviously. But an asshole who can make you come.” I lean over her. “Did you see stars?”
She grimaces. “That’s that, then.”

What’s interesting here is that I read the book in one sitting and it kept me engaged form cover to cover, but it also didn’t fully connect with me. It’s like all the ingredients were there but something was still off. I can’t tell you exactly what but there was just something missing. I loved Cross as a character, but I also felt like I didn’t know him enough. I felt the same with Scarlett. The chemistry was also there, but not enough to feel their true connection beyond surface level attraction.

They hate each other from their first meeting at their parents wedding, but I never really fully understood why. Cross’s severe dislike of Scarlett felt excessive to understand. Like a distaste, sure. But the level of hate he had for her and the way he antagonizes and borderline bullies her for it, not really. It just never clicked.

I think I would have loved the story as a duet or perhaps if it had 100-150 more pages to it. It just felt like we went from beginning to finish without a middle, if that makes sense. They hate each other for so long and I loved the slow burn of it. But then the romance felt sudden and the love element too early. The ending felt a bit rushed and while it was satisfying on the one side, it also wasn’t.

I genuinely don’t even know how to describe my experience with this book. Because I enjoyed it, but when I compare it to the first two books, it just didn’t hit the same. Would I recommend it for fans of this series? Without a doubt. It was a fun, sexy read and who doesn’t love a fighter MMC? Yes please and thank you. I may have let my expectations get the best of me with this one so definitely don’t let my rating deter you. It was a fun ride and definitely one I recommend. I can’t wait for the next in the series!

S. Massery:

S. Massery is a dark romance author who loves injecting a good dose of suspense into her stories. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her dog, Alice.

Before adventuring into the world of writing, she went to college in Boston and held a wide variety of jobs–including working on a dude ranch in Wyoming (a personal highlight). She has a love affair with coffee and chocolate. When S. Massery isn’t writing, she can be found devouring books, playing outside with her dog, or trying to make people smile.

Author Links:

Website: http://smassery.com

Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/smassery

Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/smassery

Facebook: http://facebook.com/authorsmassery

Facebook Group: http://facebook.com/groups/smasserysquad

Instagram: http://instagram.com/authorsmassery

TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@smassery

Bookbub: http://bookbub.com/author/s-massery

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/authorsmassery

S.J. Sylvis:

S.J. Sylvis is an Amazon top 50 and USA Today bestselling author who is best known for her angsty new adult romances. She currently resides in Arizona with her husband, two small kiddos, and dog. She is obsessed with coffee, becomes easily attached to fictional characters, and spends most of her evenings buried in a book!

Author Links:

Instagram: @authorsjsylvis

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sjsylvisbooks/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authorsjsylvis

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Review: Bad Medicine by Kristen Ashley

December 17, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

 

BAD MEDICINE
Series: Avenging Angels #4
Author: Kristen Ashley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: December 16, 2025

Willow Knightley has just been through it with her ex-mooch of a boyfriend. But sadly, he’s just the latest in a long string of men (starting at birth) who didn’t treat her right.

She decides her only recourse is to give up on men forever.

The problem is, her friend/acquaintance/one-time bodyguard, member of the Nightingale Investigations & Security team, Gabriel Stark, has targeted her as His One.

Gabe’s been through it at the hands of women too, so he knows exactly what he wants.

And he wants Willow.

Willow states her case against them being an us, but she doesn’t count on the fact that not only does Gabe love a challenge, he lives for them.

Up against an onslaught from a man who rinses his own whiskers out of the sink, Willow might not stand a chance.

But then, while the Angels are trying to figure out what’s got one of their informants very jittery, she gets a hint that there are demons in Gabe’s history, and she has to know.

The bets are on…

And luck favors a Stark.

AMAZON

You can lie to yourself,” he went on. “You can lie to me. You can fight this. Fuck, I want you to fight it. But we both know, you are not gonna win.”

No one, and I mean no one, writes an MMC quite like KA. Do they all mostly sound the same? Sure. Do I care? Not even a little. This woman has a formula that is downright addictive when it comes to her characters, and I will never get enough of it.

Bad Medicine was such a swoony read. I love when a man knows what he wants and goes after it with single minded intent. And when Gabe sets his sights on Willow, she has no hope in resisting. Though resist she tries. Willow hasn’t known a good man, though she knows what they look like, since she works with the hot commandos. Unfortunately for her, she always goes for the ones who don’t deserve her. And her most recent ex has her self esteem so far below gutter, she doesn’t know if she’ll ever date again. She wants to concentrate on herself and her business. But when the broody and handsome Gabe makes it know he wants to take it there with her, it’s too good to be true. And so she treats it as such, by pushing him away at every turn. But Gabe will have none of it. And being related to Luke Stark from Rock Chick Revenge, you know you’re in for a good time. Because those Starks don’t mess around when it comes to their women and getting what they want, or their protection. But I digress.

This was one of those stories that felt like a cozy warm blanket. There was no unnecessary drama, outside of the standard trouble the Angels find themselves in. There’s a good man who fights for his woman and the woman finally coming to realize her worth and fighting for it right along with him.

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AUDIO Review: Sweet Venom by Rina Kent

December 10, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

 

SWEET VENOM
Series: Vipers #2
Author: Rina Kent
Genre: Dark Romance
Release Date: December 2, 2025

From the New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Rina Kent comes a dangerously dark stalker hockey romance.


Can I outrun his merciless obsession?

I accidentally witnessed a brutal murder.
I froze, pretended I saw nothing, hoping I could leave it behind.
But my plan backfired, and my life spiraled downward.
Now, I’m the target of cold-blooded revenge.
Jude Callahan isn’t just a hockey god—he’s a devil no one dares to cross.
My existence disrupts his stardom, prestige, and possible serial killer career choice.
And he’s set out to make me pay for that moment of silence.
No matter how much I run or hide, he finds me, watching from the shadows.
Like a predator.
I thought he’d stop at the stalking.
Or even better, he’d kill me and finally end my misery.
But Jude has other plans.
He says I can’t die. I have to pay for my sins.
And just like that, he drags me into his depraved world, kicking and screaming.

Tropes:

  • Hockey romance x secret society
  • Antihero x Good girl
  • Enemies to lovers
  • He stalks her


This book can be read on its own but for better understanding of the world, it’s recommended to read Beautiful Venom first.

AMAZON

Please let me go.”
He shakes his head once, tsking as he pushes into me. “Don’t beg yet. We’ll get there… eventually.”

The way this audio had me in a complete chokehold for 3 days should be illegal. ILLEGAL I tells ya. But can you blame me when our lord and savior, Teddy, is narrating Jude? And I mean, JUDE. JUDE. Oh the man you are, Jude.

I don’t give a fuck who your type is. From now on, I’m your only type.”

I did a combo of ebook and audio with this and I’m so glad that I did, because this is a book you need to experience in audio. It just packs a different kind of punch when you get to experience Jude through Teddy. Trust me on this.

Yeah, well, you can have neither my heart nor my soul.”
“I will have your fucking everything, sweetheart.”

Now as for the story, while this is a standalone in an interconnected series, I do no recommend reading it out of order. You just won’t have the same level of appreciation for the story or the characters. So do yourself a favor and read Beautiful Venom first.

While I was super excited to read Jude’s book, admittedly I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Violet. After a peak into her in Beautiful Venom, I was afraid she may be too demure for my liking. And I am so happy to say that she surprised me in the best of ways. There were so many layers to her that the more the onion peeled back, the more I liked her.

If you’ve read Beautiful Venom, then you already know the dark connection with Violet and Jude. I won’t ruin it for you by telling you what it is but it landed her on Jude’s revenge list. He’s been stalking her for months, and now he’s prepared to finally do something about it. Except Violet is nothing what he expects because she welcomes his revenge. Violet was a dichotomy of strength and weakness. This is a woman who grew up in hell but didn’t let that rot her. There’s this layer of sweet and caring in her that on anyone else would seem almost cliche, but worked here.

And Jude? I LOVED Jude.

Yes, yes… oh God.”
“I can be your god, Violet. I’ll be your fucking everything.”

But I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that another secondary character took this book from a solid 4 straight to a 5 star read for me and that was Preston. The sheer chaotic madness of this man just carried the book.

I devoured this story but that ending has me wheezing for the next book. WHEEZING. I need it. With the kind of desperation I cannot even describe to you. 

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Review: Love Me Stalk Me by Laura Bishop

December 9, 2025 by · Leave a Comment

LOVE ME STALK ME
Series: Obsessively Yours #1
Author: Laura Bishop
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: December 2, 2025

For fans of Lights Out and You comes a dark rom-com debut about a woman who confides her fantasies to an AI boyfriend app—unaware she’s really talking to her hot, tattooed coworker who hacked her phone.

When overworked department store manager Izzy Russo downloads an AI boyfriend app to fill the emotional void left by her inattentive real one, she thinks she’s just venting to a harmless chatbot named “Caleb.” In reality, she’s been pouring her deepest, dirtiest fantasies into the ears of Callahan Knight—her store’s brooding new head of security.

Because Cal? He’s been listening. The moment he saw Izzy, he knew she was his. Did he hack her phone? Absolutely. But who could blame him? A woman like Izzy deserves to be cherished by someone who truly knows her worth—and he’ll do anything to be that man.

So when Izzy finally sees her boyfriend for who he really is, and the danger she’s unknowingly been caught up in, Cal is ready to protect her, no matter the cost. Even if it means revealing the truth.

She might not have meant to build the perfect man. But he’s here now. And he’s never letting her go.

AMAZON

Goddamn, pretty girl, you look like something I should get on my knees and pray for.”

You know what I hate? When book blurbs create unrealistic expectations by drawing comparison to cult favorite books in the blurbs. Lights Out and You was a leap and a bound from what my experience with this book was, and I really wish I went in without those expectations. Would I have rated it higher? No. But I would have been less disappointed. Because man oh man, did I want to love this one. And I was really looking forward to a stalker, dark romcom. Unfortunately, I didn’t find it to be dark, stalkery, or a romcom. Le sigh.

Now as much as I loved Callahan and his big wide shoulders, full of possession and fierce protectiveness, he just wasn’t enough. Though he did carry the book on his broad shoulders and ultimately the character that had me curious enough to finish. Unfortunately for Cal, I absolutely HATED Izzy. I mean, I legit loathed her and her doormat ways. The way that she let her douchebag of a boyfriend of three freaking years absolutely annihilate her self esteem and self worth drove me batshit. And I get it, I really do. Heck, I was her once, back in my early twenties. But that doesn’t mean I want to read about it for almost 70% of the book. Because that’s how long it takes for her to finally kick him to the curb. And even when he does the unspeakable in reaction to the breakup, she still tries to shoulder some of the blame. It was rage inducing to read about. I could handle it for 30, maybe even 40%. But over half of the book? It felt like her victimhood became her entire personality and there was nothing else to her. She felt entirely one dimensional. I couldn’t connect with her for the life of me, so in turn, she began to drive me nuts, the more I read.

The stalking itself wasn’t even stalking. More like invasion of privacy at best. Cal is the head of security who gets hired for the high end retail store Izzy manages. After seeing her the night before, our man is immediate obsessed and as such, hacks her phone. Obviously. And when he overhears Izzy’s best friend convince her to download an AI boyfriend to make up for the bare minimum that her boyfriend cannot manage, he decides to hack that to and pretend to be the AI boyfriend.

I kept reading, hoping for the chapter where I can finally connect with Izzy and the romance, but sadly it just never came. The story and the development barely grazed the surface, and so the characters felt one dimensional, Izzy a lot more so. Callahan had some depth to him that I wish we got to see more of, but sadly, he got overshadowed by Izzy’s constant meh-ness. And yes, I’m making that a word. The romance didn’t sizzle. The chemistry was there and so was the potential. But it just never happened. And when we got Izzy’s drunk sexing with her AI boyfriend AKA Cal, I was cringing more than I was sweating.

Sadly, this just didn’t work for me on any front. I wanted to love it because I LOVED Lights Out, and any story in that vein is an instant attention grabber. But this was not even close to what I expected. And even when I got past that, the story just felt too meh to truly enjoy it beyond Cal’s awesomeness. Sadly, even his sexy self couldn’t save this book.

But hey, as always, don’t just take my word for it. Read it and judge for yourself. You just may love it.

View all my reviews

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