Review: Ice Bet by SJ Sylvis

November 9, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

ICE BET
Series: Bexley U #2
Author: SJ Sylvis
Genre: New Adult, Sports Romance
Release Date: November 9, 2023

She’s the coach’s daughter and his rival’s newest target.

Aasher Matthews is everything I detest. Arrogant jock: check. Coy smirk: check. Too hot for his own good: check. To make matters worse, he plays hockey. Unfortunately for him, my father is his coach. Fortunately for me, I’m deemed untouchable.

The only common ground I have with hockey players is our love of the ice, so staying away from them will be easy-peasy.

Until I overhear their bet—who can get Coach’s daughter in their bed first?

I’m ready to bring the entire Bexley U hockey team to their knees. Instead of fleeing, I flirt. Instead of hiding, I run just so they’ll chase me. Luring my father’s players into a trap has a certain appeal to it.

Except, Aasher isn’t fooled by my feigned temptation. He has too much riding on a perfect season and has plans to join the NHL after winning the Frozen Four.

So he proposes our own bet.

If he wins, I stay away from his teammates and stop messing with their heads.
If I win, he tells my father—his beloved coach—about his teammates’ dirty plans for me.

But the more Aasher crosses the lines we’ve carved into the ice, the more I find myself letting him. The only problem is, someone else is in on our gamble, and they aren’t willing to concede.

Ice Bet is a spicy coach’s daughter college sports romance. It is a complete stand-alone. The other books in the series do not need to be read in order, but you will see glimpses of future characters in each book.

AMAZON

You’re mine, and I’m done pretending that you’re not.”

I’m a sucker for a hockey romance and the blurb to this one totally hooked me. This was my first SJ Sylvis book and it definitely will not be my last. I fell hard and fast for her writing and characters. And this story? Deliciously addictive.

I’m not trying to win the bet, Ry. I just know kissing you won’t fuck with my head like it will theirs. So if you want a hockey player, I’m the only one you can have.”
It totally fucked with my head.

Aasher has his eye on the goal, literally. He has everything riding on his successful hockey career in college to make it to the NfL. And he has zero chances left after what happened in his previous school. So when his coach asks him to look after his daughter who is moving on campus and keep her away from the horny hockey players, he unwillingly says yes. What he doesn’t expect is the daughter to be the ice queen who challenges him at every turn.

Riley is dealing with her own damage. Once a promising figure skater, she can’t seem to so much as bring herself to be on the ice again. And when she overhears her father’s l=players make an ice bet to get into her pants? She’s planning on putting them through hell. Even when Aasher is running interference at every turn. He may not be in on the bet, but he’s not her friend either. Until it changes, and he becomes something else entirely.

When his hand crept up my back and his fingers tangled in my hair, keeping my face pressed against his body, I felt something I never expected. Safe. And how ironic was it that I felt safe in the arms of a stupid, arrogant, over-protective hockey player that I refused to trust.

This was a delicious slow burn with the satisfactory moment when he finally goes “f*ck it” and I may or may not have squealed like a teenage girl when he finally says it. And the aftermath? MAMA. So good.

Eyes on me.”
He knew I was back. He knew I was remembering where we were and why he was touching me. I nodded shakily.
“Open your legs.” Our eyes met, and my stomach hollowed. Aasher pushed the inner part of my knee, releasing himself from the vise grip I had on him.
“Good girl,” he whispered. “Now I’m going to need you to come for me.”

I loved the push and pull dynamic between them. I loved how he was there for Riley and helped her get back on the ice. I love how he stood up to her ex and I loved the way that Riley gave as good as she got herself.

My only quibble is the on the page sex scenes Aasher had with another girl. I am not a reader that gets bothered by the MC being a f*ck boy or being with other women before the heroine. I just don’t particularly enjoy the detailed accounts of it because it just doesn’t feel necessary to the story. Like it didn’t add anything. It didn’t take away from it either, but it just felt unnecessary to me.

Luckily this was just a small blip in what was a highly enjoyable read and it didn’t phase me too much. Because once Aasher was all in with Riley, he was ALL in. The second their relationship takes a turn, he had eyes only for her.

This was such a fun, steamy, and satisfying read. I need to immediately read the first in this series and I already can’t wait for the next one. Highly recommend for any fans of steamy hockey romance!

 

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! 

 

Connect with SJ

Website | https://www.sjsylvis.com/

Goodreads | https://bit.ly/40mP8yW

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Facebook | https://bit.ly/3JT0SUh

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Review: Unholy Vows by Mila Kane

November 8, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

UNHOLY VOWS
Series: Original Sin Series #1
Author: Mila Kane
Genre: Dark, Mafia Romance
Release Date: November 8, 2023

Forgive me father, for I’m about to sin…

Renato
 
We never should have met. She wandered like an innocent lamb into my world, and the door slammed shut behind her.
 
Leaving her alive and free was a risk no capo would take.
I’ll let her live, for a price.
Her freedom.
 
She isn’t what she seems, but it’s already too late.
I’m obsessed, and nothing, and no one will keep her from me.

A forced marriage, age gap dark mafia romance with a jealous, possessive Italian boss anti-hero and the feisty young nurse that wandered unwillingly into his dangerous world.

Unholy Vows is a standalone dark age-gap romance with a guaranteed HEA and no OWD.
 
This is a dark mafia romance and as such contains themes which some readers may find triggering. Please read with caution.

AMAZON

I don’t need or want a white knight to sweep in and take care of me.” A chuckle left me at that comparison. “I’m no white knight, Miss Burke, as I’m sure you realized last night. I’m the dragon who guards the maiden in the keep and will swallow you whole if you try to escape me.

I have a new addiction and it’s name is Mila Kane books. I’m a self proclaimed mafia romance connoisseur. But I’m also a picky sh*t and truly good mafia romance is hard to find. Either the heroine is insufferable, it’s shock value for the sake of shock value, or it’s not even remotely dark. But this one? This was deliciously dark, with an antihero who was to die for and a heroine who never lost an ounce of her fierceness or backbone. And this girl was so addicted that I’m immediately planning a binge of Mila’s mafia backlist. But I digress. Let’s talk about this book.

She was an intriguing mix of contradictions. Good and pure, and mercenary as hell.

Charlie has been taking care of her troublesome younger sister since losing their parents years ago. When she follows her sister and her new boyfriend, she lands in deeper trouble then she ever expected when they witness something that they never should have seen. Suddenly Charlie finds herself in the sighs of a devil of a man who’s as alluring as he is dangerous. Renato De Sanctis, King of Atlantic City, and the capo dei capi of New Jersey. And Rentato will take nothing less than her soul in exchange for not killing her sister and her for what they saw. Better yet, he’ll take her unwilling hand in marriage to keep her quiet. The pesky attraction to the man doesn’t stop her healthy fear, but it also makes it that much more fiery.

“Have you ever been properly fucked?”
“Are you asking me if I’m a virgin? I’m twenty-six.” “I’m not talking about a little piece of inconvenient skin. I didn’t ask if you’d ever been pawed by some sucker who was punching above his weight. I meant have you ever been fucked properly… Have you ever seen stars behind your eyes while some lucky bastard pumped his cum into you? Have you ever come so hard, you forgot how to talk… how to breathe?”
“You can’t expect me to answer that,” she muttered.
“I don’t need you to, bambina; it’s obvious. But don’t worry…We’ll remedy that soon enough.”

I loved the development their relationship goes through. Charlie doesn’t just fall into lust and forgets her whits. She knows that she made a deal with the devil and she doesn’t disillusion herself that he’s a good man.

“You tell me to let it go, and I don’t have to worry about paying the bills. Do you think seriously that’ll comfort me? A woman who has worked her entire life to be independent and free? You think I’ve just been waiting for a man like you to come along and save me?”
“I told you already that I’m no white knight, Charlotte. I’m the villain in your story, and no one is coming to cut you free from the belly of this beast. No one.”

Ren was everything I love in an anti hero. He’s dark, dangerous, and as possessive as he is protective. The story is fast paced and addictive. I binged on this story and can’t wait for more in this series.


I’m obsessed with cats, coffee, and anti-heroes just the right side of insane.

I write dark and dirty romance with the alpha-holes of your most filthy nightmares.

While I like my heroes obsessed and powerful, I like my heroines smart and independent. My headstrong, capable women will bring their own personal demons to their knees, and capture their hearts at the same time.

I only write SAFE stories, there is never a place for another woman in my heroes sights, once he’s caught the scent of the heroine, and there will always be, no matter how dark and twisted the story might be… a HEA guarantee xx

 

Connect with Mila

Website | https://www.milakane.com/

Amazon | https://amzn.to/44E1nt6

Facebook | www.facebook.com/MilaKanewrites

Facebook Group | https://bit.ly/3NOGG6C

Instagram | www.instagram.com/milakanebooks/

TikTok | www.tiktok.com/@milakanebooks

Pinterest | www.pinterest.co.uk/MilaKaneWrites/

 

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#DGRFave & Review: Because of Her by Jewel E Ann

November 2, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

BECAUSE OF HER
Series: Jack & Jill #6
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Contemporary
Author: Jewel E. Ann
Release Date: November 2, 2023

“If sin weren’t pretty, it wouldn’t be so tempting.”

I was an accomplished music professor.
Happily single.
Perfectly content.

Now, I’m unemployed.
Pining for a dark, brooding guy named Jack who lives in a garage with a piano.
And I’m plotting to seduce a married man because his daughter is responsible for my nephew committing suicide.

I don’t know why teenage girls are so mean.
I don’t know why rich men cheat on their wives.
And I don’t know why Jack has serial killer vibes, even though he leaves me speechless every time he speaks.

All I know for sure is that I feel safe in a stranger’s arms and understood by someone I don’t understand.

“You should be a little scared of everyone because humans are unpredictable.”

How far will I go for revenge? More than that …
How far will he go to save me?

*This book contains material involving sexual assault and suicide. Reader discretion is advised.

 AMAZON 

Revenge won’t fill the holes. But a new chapter can begin because the previous one has ended. And he will do it all … because of her.

First of all, if you haven’t read this series yet, what are you even doing? And second of all, if you have read this series, this book is the most perfect conclusion you can ever imagine or dare hope for.

I’ll scream,” she whispers. Jackson’s lips twitch while his fingertips skate up her bare arms. “I don’t doubt that.”

Frankie is easily one of my most favorite FMCs I’ve read to date. But I’ll get to that in a second. What I will say is you want to go into this book blind. Trust me. If you’ve read this series, do yourself this favor. Do not read the reviews. Do no look for spoilers. Just read it knowing that it will fix every hurt and pain that Out of Love may have caused. If you haven’t read this series, I highly recommend you read it in order. Or at the very least, you start with Out of Love. You simply need to appreciate the full circle moment of perfection that is this story, and you can’t do that if you don’t understand the backstory of Jackson.

I have a Ph.D. I don’t get on my knees for anyone. I’ll sit on the bed.” He ducks his head and kisses me. It’s good. Really good. But a woman needs standards and limits. I undressed and played his piano yesterday. That’s my limit…
Again, he kisses me. “A goddamn queen,” he murmurs along my jaw to my ear.
I lower to my knees, but I don’t look at him. “I’m only doing this because someone has to guard the door.”
My feminism is still intact. Sort of.

Frankie is in town to settle the affairs of her brother and his family. A terrible tragedy to lose your brother to suicide. But the debilitating pain to lose your nephew and sister in law to the same is something more. To learn that your nephew’s girlfriend may have driven him to his fate? Well that’s something else entirely. Frankie is dead set on revenge and making the girlfriend and her family pay. What she doesn’t know is just how dark and deep the roots of this family and their influence really go.

Frankie is in her early forties and is a career driven woman who never wanted marriage and a family. But when she meets the mysterious man living in the garage with his piano, the connection between them is instantaneous. The unspoken connection driven from a shared pain of loss is even more so. Jack has dark secrets and everything about him is a mystery. Frankie is undeniably drawn to his dangerous allure. But she’s no naive ingenue, this is a woman who knows what she wants and goes after it.

When I tell you I loved this book, I mean I lived and breathed this story as I read it. I mean, it will become my entire personality for the foreseeable future now as I finished it. I mean it was one of the most unforgettable stories of suspense, second chances, loss and love that I have ever read. It was beautiful. It was emotional. It was unforgettable. It was everything I didn’t know I needed and MY GOD did I need this conclusion. The intricate details woven in to the story were everything. I also found myself falling in love with some previous characters all over again. If you know, you know.

But I digress. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get a wink of sleep because I couldn’t put this book down for even a second. The beginning to end was a complete blur of tears, happiness, pain, and nail biting, edge of my seat suspense. I loved every page, every chapter, and I simply cannot recommend the series enough.

Jewel is a Wall Street Journal & USA Today best selling author a with a quirky sense of humor. When she’s not saving the planet one tree at a time, you can find her role modeling questionable behavior to her three boys, binge-watching Netflix with her husband, and writing mind-bending romance.

Connect with Jewel 

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Twitter  |Bookbub | Pinterest

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#DGRFave & Review: Pack Darling by Lola Rock

October 30, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

PACK DARLING
Series: Reverse Harem Omegaverse Duology #1
Genre: Omegaverse, Why Choose
Author: Lola Rock
Release Date: July 6, 2021

After surviving childhood at the snooty, stuck-up boarding school for budding omegas, I have everyone convinced I’m a dud.

My awakening? Never gonna happen. Heat, mates, and a fairytale pack life? Maybe next reincarnation.

All I want is to be left alone.

I’m invisible, headed to a blissful solo future until the Wyvern Pack destroys my dream of independence.

Atlas, Hunter, Finn, Jett, and Orion are poison candy. They don’t want an omega, but they need one, even if there’ll never be a real spot for me in their pack.

Who needs a pack? I’ll keep myself safe, same as always.

I’ll never awaken, and I’ll never ever give the Wyverns my heart… Because all they’ll do is rip me apart.

♥Pack Darling is book one in a reverse harem duology featuring an MMFMMM relationship, cursing, and MM scenes. It’s a human omegaverse featuring growly alpha males but no shifters or shifting.

 AMAZON 

I’ll do what I do best. Be a ghost. And before anyone notices, I’ll disappear.

Oh.
My.
Lanta.

Where has this book been all my life? I am such a whore for the rejected mate trope. And this book? This was catnip wrapped in crack. Well, you get what I mean here. This story was absolute book crack and I binge read it in one sitting with bated breath and a giddy excitement I haven’t felt in a long while.

So what do we have here? It’s an omega verse with MMMMMF. Except the pack is totally fine being an MMMMM so when Lilah gets thrown into the mix by their fathers, they’re less than thrilled. Lilah is an omega who has never belonged. She keeps to herself and tries to blend in as much as she can. because when she can’t, she’s the focus of the sadistic teachers and students of her school. She finally has a chance to disappear when she ends up with the Wyverns and even though she knows they’re her mates, she will never have them. She’s used to being unnoticed and mistreated and she’s just biding her time until she can disappear.

First of all I love that Lilah’s resolve was unwavering. She never once lost sight of her desire to leave. And even her attraction to her mates didn’t deter her. This is a survivor through and through, and she’s lived through absolute hell. So the disregard of her mates is nothing to her.

The romance is very much a slow burn, and while it equally drove me out of my mind, I also loved it. I loved watching these bumbling badasses miss what was right under their nose. I loved their unique personalities and their connection to Lilah, even when they fought it.

And the ending? OMG!! They fuck up so epically. And I mean EPICALLY. And the only thing more satisfying was knowing how hard they knew they had to grovel. And they spent the entire second book doing it. GOD. This was EVERYTHING.

If you like a RH omegaverse with rejected mate trope, this is an absolute must read.

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Review: HOT Honor by Lynn Raye Harris

October 29, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

HOT HONOR
Series: Hostile Operations Team® – Strike Team 2
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Author: Lynn Raye Harris
Release Date: October 24, 2023

Waking up with a wife is not how black ops soldier Zane “Zany” Scott pictured his first trip to Las Vegas ending. Forever isn’t in his vocabulary anymore. So why did he marry a woman he just met?

Nerdy Eden Hall isn’t the kind of girl people notice. She’s always lived in her twin’s shadow, always been plain and sensible compared to her sister’s big personality. But when her sister gets engaged to the man Eden secretly loves, it’s inevitable she’ll drink too much at the bachelorette party.

It’s not inevitable that she’ll impulsively marry the hottest guy she’s ever laid eyes on, though. Of course they’re going to divorce, but it takes more time to do that than it did to get married. Time in which they’ll discover they’ve got more in common than simply burning up the sheets together.

Just when they think they might have something worth keeping, it all goes wrong and Eden becomes the target of a killer. Zane will have to risk everything to save his wife. Because if he doesn’t, he could lose the woman who, against all odds, kickstarted his heart into beating again.

 AMAZON 

 

Zane Scott was an addiction. And he was her husband. For now.

It’s been a hot second since I read a Lynn Rate Harris book and I totally forgot how addictive they are. Why has it been a hot minute? I have no idea and I plan on having a small binge on the rest of this series because I honestly can’t believe I haven’t read it yet considering how much I’ve loved all her other series.

I was immediately drawn in to this story, even though this is the first book I read in this series. Zane is in Vegas for his little sister’s 21st birthday. While there, he meets a woman that immediately enraptures him. The surprise is that after a wild night together, they end up married. Whoopsy!

Eden has spent most of her life in the shadow of her vivacious sister. Her insecurities have insecurities, but there was something so endearing about her, that something that would usually bother me, barely blipped my radar. Eden has been secretly in love with her sister’s now fiancé for as long as she’s worked for him. But when she meets the enigmatic Zane who oozes danger and sex appeal, she’s basically all Mitchell who? And I don’t blame her one bit.

She’d thought her life was bad a little over a week ago when she’d believed she loved a man who loved someone else. Turns out that wasn’t nearly as bad as loving a man who couldn’t love at all.

Zane is shut down to love because a woman who he believed was the love of his life broke his heart years ago. And now he’s trying to make sense of the fact that she wants him back. But he’s also accidentally married to a woman who much to his effort otherwise, draws him in like no other. And when Eden’s life is in danger, he’ll stop at nothing to protect her.

This was a quick read full of action, suspense, and all the steam you can wish for. I read it in a sitting. And while I had moments where I wanted to shake the insecurity out of Eden and slap the “love isn’t for me” out of Zane, I still enjoyed the story quite a bit.

Highly recommend for any fans of steamy romantic suspense with uber protective alphas and females who bring them to their knees.

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Review: Twisted Obsession by S. Massery

October 25, 2023 by ·

TWISTED OBESESSION
Author: S. Massery
Genre: Dark, Hockey Romance
Release Date: October 25, 2023

My name is Melody Cameron…
Or so I’ve been told.

When I wake up in the hospital with no memories, I’m shipped off to Denver to live with a distant cousin who knows nothing about me.
If family can’t help me remember my past, who will?

I don’t expect it to be a gorgeous hockey player ten years younger than me. He knows things about me he has no right to know.

Yet, he still keeps secrets.
He makes me work for every answer while he unlocks my desire—and fear.

Still. I’m blind. Naive.

And when his twisted obsession becomes apparent, it’s too late. For both of us.

AMAZON

Once caught, she’s never escaping me.

Every time I think S Massery has written her most unhinged hero yet, she goes and proves me wrong. And Jacob Rhodes? This man is on a whole other level.

Somnophilia? Check.
Degradation kink? Check.
Crazy possessiveness? Check, check AND CHECK
Reverse age gap? Check

Now if you haven’t yet read the prequel, Twisted Obsession Prequel: Meeting Melody, it’s an absolute must read prior to diving into this book. The prequel is what really lays down the foundation of the relationship between Jacob and Melody. Well, if you can call their twisted union a relationship anyhow. Considering that Jacob is a student and she’s a professor and he goes after her with singleminded intent.

Now the absolute mind f*ck that this book was, and pun most definitely intended, is insane. Jacob hasn’t seen Melody since she up and disappeared without a trace back in college. Now he’s surprised to see her in the audience of the NFL game he’s playing in. What he expects even less is that she has no recollection of who he is, or her life before.

Melody work up in the hospital after with no memory of who she is or was. All she knows is that her traumatic injuries show signs of attempted murder but she has no idea who would even do that. When a handsome NFL stranger offers an insight to her prior life, she grasps it with both hands. But the man isn’t all he seems.

Oh what a twisted tale this was. The mystery of what happened to Melody is a dark webbing that wraps itself around everything else. And while I can usually see the plot twist coming, this one took me completely by surprise. Like jaw on the floor shocking. Jacob is twisted and toxic in all the best ways. If morally gray is your favorite, you’ll love him. I know I did. This man is all kinds of deranged. SO if you’re expecting a Prince Charming, this isn’t the book for you.

But if you want a morally gray man who is wholly obsessed with his woman beyond all reason and will do anything and everything to keep her, then prepare yourself to be obsessed.

And that preview into Knox’s story?
Oh.
MY.
GOD.

I need that book so bad I can actually taste it.

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.

Connect with S. Massery
Website | http://smassery.com
Goodreads | https://bit.ly/smassery-gr
Amazon | https://amzn.to/3T64F2s
Facebook | https://bit.ly/3fRud4N
Facebook Group | https://bit.ly/3T3kl6C
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Newsletter | https://bit.ly/3RM1Rqb



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Review: One Chance by Lena Hendrix

October 23, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

ONE CHANCE
Series: The Sullivan Family #3
Author: Lena Hendrix
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 23, 2023

Fake dating my best friend? Total disaster.

With his cocky grin and devilish charm, firefighter Lee Sullivan makes every woman in our small town swoon. Every woman except for me.

Which is why I’m shocked when he steps in at the town’s Matchmaker’s Gala and outbids my crush during the charity auction, committing us to six prearranged dates.

Six dates where we, very publicly, pretend to be falling in love.

Despite my objections and our efforts to set each other up with other people, Lee is convinced pretending to date each otheris the perfect opportunity to get the women in town off his back (and out of his bed), while also helping to nudge my non-committal crush in the jealousy department.

Stupidly, I agree.

After the disastrous blind dates he set me up on, what’s a few months of letting Lee worship the ground I walk on? He owes me.

Trouble is––every fake kiss, every lingering touch, every filthy word he whispers when no one is around––is starting to feel very, very real.

We know everything about each other––from my orphaned past to his irrational hatred of dolls. The only secret I have ever kept from Lee spans all the way back to his time in the Army and it’s the one thing that could ruin our friendship forever.

Because where Lee is concerned, I have learned to guard my heart. Suddenly, he’s asking for the opportunity to feel something real. He’s asking for the one thing he wouldn’t want if he ever knew the truth: one chance.

AMAZON

There was something between Annette and me, whether she wanted to admit it or not. And I had six dates to prove it to her.

Friends to lovers? Small town? Fake dating? Humor and steam? Say. Less.

I thought this was supposed to be fake.” I leaned down to whisper. “Nothing about the way I feel about you is fake. It never has been.”

After reading my very first Lena book with One Touch, I was instantly hooked on the town of Outtatowner and the quirky residents. And when I saw the firefighter and resident playboy Lee will be getting his book next, suffice it to say I was all over it. There’s just something so satisfying about seeing the playboys fall and fall hard. And boy did he fall hard. For a woman who has been with him from childhood and he never thought he’d have. His best friend, Annette.

So it’s you and me, huh?” His lips pressed into my hair. “Glad you’re finally catching up.”

As much as I loved the budding romance between Lee and Annette, I loved their history more. There’s so much love between these two best friends. And each one filled in a gap for the other that no one else could have. There’s a touch of pining and a splash of assumed unrequited love, since Annie has been secretly in love with Lee all these years. Then a date auction has him getting his sh*t together and bidding on 6 dates with his best friend. But Lee doesn’t need 6 dates to know he wants forever with her. Even if it may take some convincing.

But what I love even more about this series is the fun secondary character. The rivalry between the Kings and Sullivans. And of course, horny Henrietta, the ruckus hen. This book put a smile on my face at the same time it gave me all the feels and swoons. And I seriously enjoyed the heck out of this story. I’m so hooked on this town and these two families and I’m already desperate for more.

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Review: You Said I Was Your Favorite by Monica Murphy

October 19, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

YOU SAID I WAS YOUR FAVORITE
Series: Lancaster Prep #5
Author: Monica Murphy
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: October 19, 2023

Daisy Albright. Incredibly beautiful. Painfully shy.

Nobody in our class pays attention to the groundskeeper’s daughter and I think she likes it that way. Moving through the halls like a ghost, wandering across campus unnoticed. Am I the only one who actually sees her? Little Miss Daisy sitting in the front of the classroom, always the model student. Little Miss Daisy reading her romance books with the cute covers and hot content inside…

I’m considered the reckless Lancaster so when I get in trouble on the first day of school, my punishment is having to work in the headmaster’s office every day, stuck with Daisy. Staring at her pretty face, hearing her sweet voice, making her laugh.

The more I get to know her, the more obsessed I become. And I think she feels the same way.

The problem? She’s not part of my crowd. Daisy is the scholarship kid and no one approves of us together. Not my friends, not my parents and not her father. But I don’t care what anyone thinks. I’m going after what I want.

I’m going to make Little Miss Daisy mine.

AMAZON

You own my heart, Daisy Albright. You can kick it, throw it in the trash, do whatever you want to it, but it’s yours. Whether you want it or not.”


I didn’t think anyone can come close to my love of Whit Lancaster but then I went and fell head over heels for Arch.

Arch and Daisy have a bit of a rocky start. He’s Lancaster royalty, she’s a scholarship student and daughter of the groundskeeper. She’s also his main rival for the number one spot academically at their school. He’s the school’s golden boy, she’s the hermit who keeps to herself. He loves the spotlight and she avoids it at all costs. What starts as a curiosity for Arch, soon turns to something more as he peels back the layers of quiet and studious Daisy. Daisy may be shy and keep to herself but she’s no pushover and she holds her own with Arch. Their animosity soon turns into an unlikely friendship that quickly turns to something much more.

I loved these two together. This is opposites attract catnip. They were the perfect half to the other. Daisy and her unassuming fierceness. Arch and his quiet insecurities. Neither is what they allow others to see. We get a cast of new characters introduced here that I’m curious to hear more about. But Daisy and Arch certainly stole the show. There’s chemistry, there’s swoon, there’s all the feels, and of course there’s an amazing romance. I love the school drama and the mean girls who Daisy doesn’t bend for. I love an FMC who doesn’t need a man to fight her battles.

This was another super satisfying installment in one of my favorite series and I can’t wait for more.

 

 

Monica Murphy is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling romance author. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. Both a traditionally published and independently published author, she writes young adult, new adult and contemporary romance.

A native Californian, she lives on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere with her husband, son, their goofy dog, and three cats. When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing. Or reading. Or binge watching something.

 

Connect with Monica

Website | Goodreads  | Amazon | Facebook | Facebook Group | Instagram | Twitter | Bookbub | Pinterest | Verve Romance | Tik Tok 

 


 

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance, New Adult · Tagged With: ,

Review: Hopeless by Elsie Silver

October 13, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

HOPELESS
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Chestnut Springs #5
Author: Elsie Silver
Release Date: October 13, 2023

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.

AMAZON

You’re relentless, you know that?”
And I just give her a salute and a wink. Because yeah, I am. No one has ever showed up for Bailey, but she’s about to get the full experience.
“No, sugar. When it comes to you, I’m downright hopeless.”

Beau has been one of the most anticipated Eaton brothers for me especially after Jasper’s book in Powerless. There’s just something about this wounded soldier who comes back from his mission a bit more broken that just called to my heart. I couldn’t wait for him to get his HEA.

Now admittedly, the fake dating/fake engagement trope isn’t my favorite. But if Elsie writes it, I read it. Period. And from page one, I was absolutely sold.

Sugar, put your hand back in my pocket.”
Bailey doesn’t even move her eyes my way when she says, “Why? I think she’s buying it just fine.”
My lips dust over the shell of her ear. “I don’t give a fuck about her. I just like it.”

Bailey is the town’s black sheep. The girl from the wrong side of the tracks if you will. Her family is notorious for their drunken escapades and she’s been lumped in with them all her life. My heart broke for her and everything she had to go through because of her family and judgmental town people. All she wants is to leave the place, go to school, and leave everything behind her. But then Beau Eaton offers her a solution; pretend to be his fiancé. It gets the town’s women off his back and gives her the Eaton name backing to improve her chances of finding work. Win win. Except Bailey is nothing what he expects. She may be quiet and unassuming to the town, but this is a girl with a spine of steel and not afraid to give him hell while also soothing his wounded soul.

That’s what I like about her. She’s not a kiss ass, she’s not a pushover, and she doesn’t tiptoe around me. She also might not be as sweet and quiet as I thought.

This is very much a slow burn and I thought I may explode if these two didn’t finally get together. But the burn also hurt so good. Beau tries to be the gentleman while Bailey has no problem speaking her mind. And I loved the dynamic between them.

“If you hadn’t known I was a virgin, would you have fucked me?”
He fidgets now, hand scrubbing at his beard as he groans. “Jesus, Bailey.”
“Would you?”
He looks away, down river, before turning back to me. Slowly. There’s a sudden predatory vibe in the way he carries himself, in the way he moves. “Thoroughly.”

While I expected Beau to be more grumpy and gritty, this man really had a heart of gold. He may hide his pain from everyone including his family, but not from Bailey. And I loved how he allowed her to be there for him.

I know you’re scared of losing control around me.” Her chin tips up as though she’s told me something that will make me back down. Run me off. It doesn’t.
“No, I’m scared of you becoming something I can’t live without.”

Now while I did enjoy this book, it also didn’t fully enrapture me like the other books in this series. Don’t get me wrong, it was still fantastic and I loved Bailey and Beau. But it also wasn’t my favorite in the series. But considering I’ve 5 starred all the other books, take that with a grain of salt. If you love a fake dating trope with a broody hero with a heart of gold and fantastic down on her luck heroine who doesn’t lose any of her sass to her circumstance, do yourself a favor and read it.

Elsie Silver is a Canadian author of sassy, sexy, small town romance who loves a good book boyfriend and the strong heroines who bring them to their knees. She lives just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, son, and three dogs and has been voraciously reading romance books since before she was probably supposed to.

She loves cooking and trying new foods, traveling, and spending time with her boys-especially outdoors. Elsie has also become a big fan of her quiet five am mornings, which is when most of her writing happens. It’s during this time that she can sip a cup of hot coffee and dream up a fictional world full of romantic stories to share with her readers.


Connect with Elsie
Website | www.elsiesilver.com
Goodreads | https://bit.ly/3WSjFlR
Amazon | https://amzn.to/3BR6HwY
Facebook | https://bit.ly/3YIJwia
Facebook Group | https://bit.ly/3YJuOYk
Instagram | https://bit.ly/3VeTlS3
TikTok | https://bit.ly/3VifDCH
Twitter | https://bit.ly/3PIekMb
Bookbub | https://bit.ly/3jnBTh9
Pinterest | https://bit.ly/3Vi25ai
Newsletter | https://bit.ly/3BU0sbN

 

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Review: Relentless by Tracy Lorraine

October 12, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

RELENTLESS
Series: Harrow Creek Hawks #2
Genre: Dark, Captive Romance
Author: Tracy Lorraine
Release Date: October 12, 2023

An all-new and addictive dark, why-choose, captive romance from the USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Tracy Lorraine.
He came to save me… but what he finds could destroy him.

I might have accomplished the impossible and walked back up those stairs.

But I wasn’t naïve. Freedom didn’t await.

Only more locked doors and nightmares.

My captivity means nothing now.

My hope is locked up in despair.

Because just like he promised, Mav came for me.

No one breaks into the Devil’s manor… and lives to tell the tale.

But since I’ve been here, I’ve learned a few things.

For the first time in my life, I’m the one with the power.

And I will do whatever it takes to protect my husband.

But things are different now.

They say the truth is meant to set you free, but that’s the last thing I want.

Because the truth is… the only man I’ve ever loved just might hate me as much as I hate myself for what I’ve been doing.

Who I’ve been working for.

I may have given my body to others, but my heart will only ever belong to Mav.

But will he want me when the rest of me is tarnished?

When he discovers that I’ve sold my soul to the devil, and reaped the benefits from his best friend?



Dear Reader,
Relentless is book two of four in the Harrow Creek Hawks series. It is a dark why-choose romance, meaning our leading lady has several love interests and never has to choose to find her HEA. These three a-hole alphas are certainly no heroes; their morals are questionable at best. If you’re looking for a good guy, then you’re in the wrong place. Enter at your own discretion.

AMAZON 

He is one of—if not—the most dangerous men in this town and here I am getting turned on being completely at his mercy.

The level of obsession I have with this series is probably unhealthy and toxic. Am I sorry? Not even a little!

She’s ours. All fucking ours.

After the jaw dropping cliffhanger in book one, I was desperate to get my hands on this book. DESPERATE. Relentless starts off immediately where Merciless left off but with a few plot twists thrown in.

The first half of this book, I binged. I was desperate for answers. I also swore on all things holy that if we get more edging with Reid and Alana, I may chuck my kindle at the wall. And well, RIP, kindle. You’ve had a good life. But I digress.

The second installment of the series was a bit more slower paced than book one, which I devoured. There isn’t much that happens with the story outside of the development of the inner workings of the relationship between Alana, JD, Reid, and Mav. Mav and Alana discover that Reid isn’t the enemy they thought he was. But outside of the developing sexual relationship with Mav and Alana, and the further development of JD and Alana, along with hints of Reid’s attraction to Alana, not much else happens. Now don’t get me wrong, it was still entertaining. But I just didn’t devour it like I did book one. Also considering the build up, I anticipated a slightly more painful cliffy. But I can’t complain since the wait for book three is painful enough as it is.

I will say that if Alana and Reid don’t bump uglies in book three, I’m going on strike. Call my union rep, because this is torture! TORTURE. But I digress again.

I enjoyed this one, and while it may not have been as much as book one, it was still entertaining and deliciously depraved. Can’t wait for the next book!

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