All Reviews – Page 29

Review: Force of Nature by Skye Warren & Amelia Wilde

September 6, 2022 by Lana · Leave a Comment

FORCE OF NATURE
Series: Deserted Island #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance, MMF
Author: Skye Warren & Amelia Wilde
Release Date: September 6, 2022

Carter Morelli survived a dark childhood and dangerous missions. But when he emergency lands a small aircraft on the ocean, he faces something worse: having someone depend on him. He has to keep innocent June Porter safe on the deserted island.

Except they aren’t alone here…

A man hides among the broad leaves. He’s almost feral.

There are secrets in his cabin. Desire, too.

Carter doesn’t want to care about beautiful June. He doesn’t want to care about the mysterious and sensual man who’s almost part of the wilderness.

Scorching chemistry draws all three of them deeper.

They already survived the plane crash, but will they survive the fall?

Welcome to the Midnight Dynasty world… The warring Morelli and Constantine families have enough bad blood to fill an ocean, and their brand new stories will be told by your favorite dangerous romance authors.

WARNING: This book is intended for readers eighteen years old and over. It contains material that some readers could find disturbing. Enter at your own risk…

AMAZON

Envy is a sin, and I’m sick with it. I’m jealous of his hands on her skin when I could be touching her. And I’m jealous of his hands on her when he could be touching me.

Welp, it’s officially official, I AM HOOKED. This is like espionage meets Tarzan and I am here for it because holy hotness, batman!

I’ll kiss her, if that’s what it takes to stop her panic. I’ll drag her into the jungle and hold her naked in my arms, if that’s what it takes to keep her warm. I’ll suffer through being painfully hard every time I look at her until I’m dead, if that’s what it takes to survive.

First of all, friends, Carter mother effing Morelli. This man. Dare I say I may have met my favorite Morelli brother of the series. I know, I know, big statement. Especially considering he’s related to Leo Morelli. But professor Carter is now a proud owner of my ovaries and I don’t want them back. He’s such a fascinating enigma. There’s the professor part of him that kicks in one particular scene and let me just tell you. HOLY SIZZLE. When Professor Carter’s class of sexual education is in, it’s IN. But I digress.

If you’ve read the prequel novella than you’ve already been introduced. And if you haven’t, then don’t worry, because the book starts with that story. Carter is a professor by day but beneath that veil, he’s also a secret government agent. When a routine flight that should be nothing more than a stopover on his way to his true mission gets tempered with, he and the photographer he’s flying crash land on a deserted island. Only it’s not as deserted as they think.

After reading the novella, I was dying to meet the man who inhabits the island. But nothing prepared me for Theo and the instant fiery chemistry that sparks to life between these three.

We get enough of a taste to get the reader completely hooked only to be slapped with a cliffhanger so painful, I’m not sure I’d survive the wait for the next book. GAH.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance · Tagged With: Amelia Wilde, Book Reviews: 4 stars, MMF, Skye Warren

Review: Hide & Seek (novella) by H.D. Carlton

September 6, 2022 by Lana ·

HIDE & SEEK
BOOKS: Dissent Anthology
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: H.D. Carlton
Release Date: September 6, 2022

For National Read a Book day, DISSENT will be releasing in eBook and paperback!

DISSENT is a charity romance anthology with NEW, never before published content from over 150 authors of all romance genres. All proceeds from the eBook and paperbacks will be donated to organizations benefiting reproductive rights in the United States, particularly in areas where people need them more than ever.

DISSENT will only be available for a very limited time, so grab your copy today!

We are not affiliated nor endorsed by any of these charities. We are simply a community bound by a single cause: protecting the basic human right of body autonomy.

AUTHORS INCLUDE: Brighton Walsh, Nicole French, Kennedy Fox, A.M. Roark, A.R. Hall, Aarti V Raman, Aidy Award, Alexis Anne, Amanda Richardson, Amelia Wilde, Amie Knight, Amy Quinton, Anna Michael, Aria Wyatt, Ashley Lane, Autumn Jones Lake, B. Celeste, Blair Babylon, Brenda St John Brown, Brenna Aubrey, Bri Blackwood, Cara Dee, Carmen Jenner, C.L. Matthews, Cassie Graham, Celia Kyle, Charity Ferrell, Claire Wilder, Claudia Burgoa, Dakota Willink, Dani René, Daniela Romero, Dee Garcia, Dee Lagasse, Deidre-Ann Anderson, Donna Grant, Echo Grayce, Elena Aitken, Elle Thorpe, Ellis Leigh, Emily Colin, Emily Goodwin, Erica Alexander, Erin Parisien, Eva Charles, Eva Moore, Evelyn Adams, Glenna Maynard, H.D. Carlton, Haley Jenner, Heidi McLaughlin, Holly Mortimer, Hope Jones, Ines Johnson, Iris Morland, J. Saman, J. Sterling, J.H. Croix, J.L. Beck & C. Hallman, J.M. Walker, Jane Blythe, Janet Berry, Jasmin Miller, JD HOLLYFIELD, Jen Stevens, Jenika Snow, Jenna Hartley, Jenna Lynn, Jennifer Sucevic, Jessica Florence, Jillian Liota, Julia Kent, Kait Nolan, Kat Latham, Kat Savage, Kate Canterbary, Kate King and Jessa Wilder, Kate Meader, Kathy Coopmans, K.B. Cinder, K.D. Proctor, Kelly Maher, Kim Loraine, Kym Grosso, Lainey Davis, Laramie Briscoe, Laura Hall, Laura Lee, Lauren Stewart, Lea Coll, Len Webster, Lili Valente, Linnea May, Lisa Shelby, Lissanne Jones, Lucy Lennox, Mary Ann Marlowe, Max Henry, Megan Ryder, Melissa Andrea, Melissa Marino, Melonie Johnson, Mia Harlan, Mignon Mykel, Molly O’Hare, Monica Corwin, Morgan Jane Mitchell, N.A. Moore, Natasha Raulerson, Nicole Blanchard, Nina Levine, Pamela DuMond, Patricia D. Eddy, Persephone Autumn, R.L. Kenderson, Rachel Brookes, Raven James, Rebecca Paula, Rebecca Yarros, Regina Kyle, R. Castro, Roxie Noir, S. Cinders, Sade Rena, Saffron A. Kent, Samantha Lind, Sarah M. Cradit, Scarlett Cole, S.E. Rose, Shaw Hart, Sydney St. James, S.J. Sylvis, Skye Alder, Stephanie Anne, Suzanne Baltsar, Sylvie Stewart, T.K. Leigh, Tabatha Vargo, Tamara Lush, Taryn Quinn, Tawna Fenske, T. Gephart, Toni Aleo, Tracy Krimmer, Tricia Lynne, Trish Milburn, V.F. Mason, Vanessa Booke, Vivian Wood, Zoe Ashwood, and Zoe York

AMAZON

Oh my God,” I breathe, shuddering as he sinks deeper, his palm sliding up to my breast and cupping it tightly.
I feel him grin against me before he whispers, “I am your God, and you, little mouse, are my favorite creation.”

The amount of pure giddiness that this novella gave me. You have no idea. NO IDEA. Now I am not usually a reader who likes bonus content for characters who already got a satisfying HEA. Unless these characters are Adeline and Zade. Because I swear to god, these two can spend the entire book reading off their grocery list, and I’d read it. Because Adeline and Zade!!! And if you haven’t yet read the Cat and Mouse duet, you haven’t lived. Trust me on this. If you’re a fan of dark romance with psycho stalkers who would burn the world down for their woman, you will fall head over ovaries for Zade. But I digress.

Hide and Seek is a bonus story for these two and when I tell you it was incendiary, I mean my loins are on fire. This was the hottest freaking novella I have read. And when I tell you it hit the spot just right, I will say it was one of the most satisfying novellas I have ever read. Pun intended. Because holy mother this was hot! It was bonus content I didn’t know I needed but I am so happy to have! SO. FREAKING. GOOD.

· Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance, Dirty Talkers, Erotic Rom · Tagged With: Book Reviews: 5 stars, HD Carlton

Review: Never Look Back by A.L. Jackson

August 29, 2022 by Lana · Leave a Comment

NEVER LOOK BACK
Series: Redemption Hills #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: A.L. Jackson
Release Date: August 29, 2022

From NYT and USA Today bestselling author A.L. Jackson comes an enemies-to-lovers, close-proximity, second-chance romance…

Logan Lawson won me in a bet.
The second I saw him sitting at the illegal card table, I knew I was in trouble.
Years ago, he sealed my fate and condemned me to a life I didn’t want to lead.
Yet he’s filled with untamed fury and thirsting for vengeance against the husband I hate.

Aster Costa is everything I never should have wanted.
The second she showed with her pompous, prick of a husband, I should have gotten up and walked.
But there’s no looking away from the woman who wrecked me.
Worse, I can’t stop myself from plotting to get her back.

I want nothing more than to be free of my husband.
I’m afraid Logan Lawson is the only one who can make that happen.
He might hate me for our past, but now it’s me on my knees begging for help.

Finding each other in the middle of it wasn’t supposed to be part of the bargain.
But once Logan touches me, I’m gone.
A torch is rekindled. A fire is lit.

Aster Costa has always been mine.
And this time, no matter the cost, I won’t give her back…

Read Amazon or Free with Kindle Unlimited | Listen to the Audio Narrated by Zachary Webber and Erin Mallon | Order a Signed Paperback or Hardback

You’re going to make me regret this, aren’t you?”
“It seems fair since I’ll be regretting you for the rest of my life.”

If there’s one thing that AL Jackson knows how to do, is to hit her readers right in the feels with the force of a Mac truck. And this book? Well, it didn’t just hit you in the feels. It ran them over. Then backed up and ran over them again for good measure. And this girl? I was so here for it!

I hate you. You’d do well not to forget it.” It sounded of pain. A rush of regret. Hurt that slayed. My arms curled tighter around his neck.
“I hate you, too.” I guessed we were both good at tellingeach other lies.

I love a second chance romance. There’s just something so utterly delicious about the angst of a second chance. And Aster and Logan’s journey to a hea was a special kind of emotional torture that I couldn’t get enough of.

I fell hard for the Lawson brothers the second I met them in Give Me a Reason. And I never thought I’d love an MC more than the uber intense Trent. But Logan definitely made a liar out of me. The youngest brother is a genius when it comes to numbers, and it makes him a dangerous man to sit across a card game from. Especially when the stakes are as high as what he plays for. When a man from his past walks to the table, he knows immediately what he wants. His wife. And what’s a girl to do when your husband bets you in a poker game and then loses? Take the chance to run and grasp to a better life that you didn’t dare dream of. Even if the man you dreamed of it with now wants nothing more to do with you.

I loved this emotional story so much. Logan hates Aster for what he thinks happened years ago. But nothing is at it seems, and the life that Aster had been forced to endure made my heart hurt reading about. Especially seeing Logan’s contempt to her. But that contempt didn’t take long to disappear in the midst of their explosive chemistry, no matter how much they fight it. Though I did wish they fought it a bit harder and longer. What can I say? Angst addict problems, right?

This is probably my favorite book in the series so far. It was packed with steam, emotion, secrets and betrayals. I love Jackson’s way of weaving just the right amount of suspense into her romance to keep you eagerly turning the pages. Her signature prose gave it a bit of the lighter tone at the end, and I didn’t mind because it needed that. I can’t wait for more in this series. Particularly her sister’s story because YES!

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.

Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, BLEEDING STARS, FIGHT FOR ME, CONFESSIONS OF THE HEART, FALLING STARS, and REDEMPTION HILLS novels. Get her latest enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance, NEVER LOOK BACK, available now!

If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.

Be sure not to miss new releases and sales from A.L. Jackson – Sign up to receive her newsletter https://geni.us/ALJacksonBookClubB or text “aljackson” to 33222 to receive short but sweet updates on all the important news.

Connect with A.L.

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Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance · Tagged With: AL Jackson, Book Reviews: 4.5 stars, Second-chance-romance

Review: Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger

August 16, 2022 by Lana · Leave a Comment

PEN PAL
Genre: Erotic Thriller
Author: J.T. Geissinger
Release Date: August 16, 2022

The first letter arrived the day my husband was buried. It was postmarked from the state penitentiary, and contained a single sentence:

I’ll wait forever if I have to.

It was signed by Dante, a man I didn’t know.

Out of simple curiosity, I wrote back to ask him what exactly he was waiting for. His reply?

You.

I told the mystery man he had the wrong girl. He said he didn’t. I said we’d never met, but he said I was wrong.

We went back and forth, exchanging letters every week that grew increasingly more intimate. Then one day, the letters stopped. When I found out why, it was already too late.

Dante was at my doorstep.

And nothing on earth could have prepared me for what happened next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WARNING:

This novel is an erotic thriller that contains content intended for a mature audience only. Due to explicit language, graphic sex, detailed depictions of death and grief, intense power play dynamics, and other possible triggers, it is not suitable for sensitive readers. (Full list of TWs on author’s website.)

AMAZON

He’s pulled a string I didn’t know I had hidden inside and unraveled me from the inside out.

Holy.
Mind.
F*ck.

Wow. My mind is spinning and I’m left with my jaw on the floor. This book took me for a hell of a ride and I’m still taking my jaw off of the floor days after finishing.

I’ve seen an interesting debate on what to categorize this book. I saw JT changed it to an erotic thriller. I went into it knowing it’s a non traditional romance with a non traditional HEA, and found it to be exactly that. It was in the vein of Perfect Strangers type of mind f*ck, or Sinner’s Creed type of non traditional. But my one piece of advise, don’t go digging for spoilers on this book. Go in blind. Trust me. This is an experience unlike any other, but make sure you don’t read it alone in the dark, because it will f*ck with you.

Having read practically all of JT’s backlist, I have come to realize that the woman can craft one complex tale full of twist and turns. I’m obsessed with her words, and this book is the perfect example why. Whatever you’re expecting, she turns it on it’s head, puts it in a blender, and then adds some spice to it to make it an unputdownable read. Because this girl binge read it with shaking fingers turning the pages. It was spooky, thrilling, suspenseful, with JT’s signature brand of twisty that will leave you reeling.

While she can write a hell of a spice scene, I did find it to be a touch much here. Like it could have cut a scene or two and not suffered for it with the story in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, it was hot as hell, but at times I did find it taking a bit away from the story. That aside, this is a convoluted story of a woman who is working through a devastating loss in a house that seems to have a pulse of it’s own. Through it she meets a man who turns her world on it’s axis and then things really take an interesting turn.

It was a thrilling page turner full of heat and emotion, a dark undertone, and enough twists and turns to suck you deep into story and not let you go until the end. I devoured it and won’t be forgetting it any time soon, and that’s something coming from someone who forgets most characters a day after finishing a book.

J.T. Geissinger is a bestselling author of emotionally charged romance and women’s fiction. Ranging from funny, feisty rom coms to intense, edgy suspense, her books have sold more than one million copies and been translated into several languages.

She is the recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book, the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, and is a two-time finalist for the RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America®. She has also been a finalist in the Booksellers’ Best, National Readers’ Choice, and Daphne du Maurier Awards.

Her first novel was published in 2012. Since then she’s written eighteen more novels. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking wine, surfing the internet, and daydreaming about all the things she’s going to be when she grows up. She lives near the beach in Los Angeles with her husband and deaf/demented rescue kitty, Ginger.

Connect with J.T. Geissinger

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark, Erotic Rom · Tagged With: Book Reviews: 4 stars, dark, JT Geissinger

Review: Ruthless by Gena Showalter

August 9, 2022 by Lana · Leave a Comment

RUTHLESS
Series: Immortal Enemies #2
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Author: Gena Showalter
Release Date: August 9, 2022

Forbidden. Powerful. Ruthless.

Micah the Unwilling, fae King of the Forgotten, can tame even the most violent of beasts. Forged on the battlefield, this iron-willed warrior considers his soldiers his family, and he will stop at nothing to reclaim their dispossessed land. Gearing for war with a sadistic enemy, he is disciplined and focused—until a feral beauty he encountered long ago wanders into his camp.

Viori de Aoibheall wields a terrifying ability to sing monsters to life. Having spent her childhood in a forest, raising herself and her frightening creations—the only friends she’s ever known—she’s ill prepared for the scarred royal and his fearsome brutality. Not to mention the ferocity of their connection and the carnality of his touch. But the real problem? Her brother is Micah’s greatest foe. And though the sensual king makes her burn, she must stop him, whatever the cost.

AMAZON

I pledge nothing but your downfall!”
“Consider your pledge fulfilled.” He sounded deadened inside. “I fell the first moment I saw you.”

How does the woman do this? Every. Single. Time. She just knocks it right out of the park leaving me a happy pile of satisfied goo and yet desperate for my next fix. I am OBSESSED with this series! OBSESSED and beyond loving it.

Imagine an entire series based on your all time favorite trope of all time; enemies to lovers. And while this is a standalone with a new couple, I highly recommend you start with Heartless for a full experience. Trust me on this. You may be lost to a lot of the various details and characters if you don’t. Ruthless brings us the story of Viori de Aoibheall, the baby sister of Kaysar the Unhinged One.

Micah the Unwilling, fae King of the Forgotten, has been fighting to protect his people from the ruthless Belua for as long as he remembers. A chimera, a rare fae who is born with dual glamaras that were constantly at odds, his kind has never been accepted by fae and feared in all realms. But his viciousness on the battlefield and cunning mind has left him in charge of them, though still yearning for the acceptance he will never get. He’s good enough to fight for them, but will never be good enough to stand equally among them.

Micah and Viori have a unique history as teens, which only gets more unique as they reunite as adults. Viori has been on her own for too many years to count. Ever since she lost first her parents, and then her beloved brother, she’s been fending for herself, with only her terrifying creations to keep her company. Longing to be reinitiated with her beloved brother, she somehow ends up with her brother’s biggest enemy. A scarred warrior that both enrages and calls to her all at the same time.

If there’s one thing that Gena knows how to bring, it’s the banter. I love her sassy and fierce heroines almost as much as I love her grumpy, broody, and tortured heroes. And I really loved Micah and Viori together. The pacing of the story was on point, and the romance was deliciously engaging. You can’t hope but root for these two as they make countless mistakes and assumptions with one another. Leaving you both frustrated and wanting to shake them, and rooting for their HEA.

This was another deliciously satisfying installment and if you like fast paced PNR, unique world building, banter, and enemies to lovers, you don’t want to miss this!

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, PNR · Tagged With: Book Reviews: 4 stars, enemies-to-lovers, Gena Showalter

Review: Blackmail by Amelia Wilde

August 2, 2022 by Lana · Leave a Comment

BLACKMAIL
Series: Controlling Interest #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Amelia Wilde
Release Date: August 2, 2022

Bristol Anderson will do anything to protect her younger siblings.

Even if it means embezzling from the company where she’s a temp.

No one will find out.

And the wealthy owner of the investment firm will never notice.

Except Will Leblanc doesn’t miss a thing.

He could call the police, but he has more interesting plans for her.

In the copy room.

On the conference table.

Under his desk.

The coldhearted venture capitalist will make her pay back every last cent.

AMAZON | iBOOKS | KOBO | B&N | GOOGLE PLAY

Bristol Anderson is a beautiful young woman who made a terrible mistake and I’m barely human. I just want to fuck her. And hurt her. And destroy her.

The second the LeBlanc showed up as secondary characters on the pages of Dark Reign, I was immediately enthralled.

If you thought Emerson had baggage from their youth, Will puts him to shame with his brand of damage. This is a man with some serious demons, and I couldn’t wait to peel back the layers on this man. After all, it takes a special breed to blackmail his temporary assistant to sell her body when you find she embezzled $50k from your company.

Bristol Anderson is as down on her luck as she gets. With a con artist father who constantly lands them in some form of trouble, she’s forced to be the caretaker of her younger twin siblings. When her father’s latest scheme leaves his family vulnerable for payback, Bristol is forced to do something she’d never thought she would…steal. The last thing she expects is for her dangerously sexy rich boss to find out, and then demand she pays him back…but not with money.

I have to admit, I wasn’t thrilled to see this turn into a trilogy for a standalone. I find myself really burned out on trilogies that don’t have enough meat on the bones of the story to warrant being stretched out into 3 books. I’m curious how this would get enough steam to call for more than 2 books. Ultimately, I did like this, and binge read it in one sitting. I also couldn’t help wishing it was longer. But that’s my own personal bias at play.

If you like damaged heroes and down on their luck sassy heroines, this will hit the spot nicely.

Amelia Wilde is a USA TODAY bestselling author of dangerous contemporary romance and loves it a little too much. She lives in Michigan with her husband and daughters. She spends most of her time typing furiously on an iPad and appreciating the natural splendor of her home state from where she likes it best: inside.

Connect with Amelia

Website: https://awilderomance.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14671616.Amelia_Wilde

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Amelia-Wilde/e/B01C38CNJ2

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Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance · Tagged With: Amelia Wilde, Book Reviews: 3.5 stars

Review: The Night Blossoms by Leylah Attar

July 28, 2022 by Lana · Leave a Comment

THE NIGHT BLOSSOMS
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Author: Leylah Attar
Release Date: July 28, 2022

New York Times bestselling author Leylah Attar returns with a page-turning romantic suspense/thriller that careens down an emotional highway toward a chilling finale. Dark, thrilling, and ingeniously unpredictable.

“Do you ever really know someone, or do you just know the parts they want you to see?”

When her husband goes missing after a heated argument, Vee Roza finds herself caught in a dangerous web of deceit.

Not only must Vee clear her name and uncover the truth about Rafael, but also survive a high-risk pregnancy while guarding secrets of her own.

Is Rafael’s disappearance the ultimate betrayal or the ultimate sacrifice?

A full-length standalone based on a supporting character from the New York Times bestseller, The Paper Swan.

AMAZON

Memories had teeth, and sometimes they took a big chunk out of you.

Years ago, I read The Paper Swan and fell in love with Leylah Attar’s words. When I saw she’ll be releasing another standalone in this world, to say I was giddy with excitement is an understatement. I was desperate for this book.

Now if you’re expecting a book in the same vein of Paper Swan, this isn’t it. While it has dark undertones, it felt all encompassing for a completely different reason. This is a romantic thriller with a mystery that has you questioning your sanity, gripped to the pages, and not knowing up from down. It’s a suspense that leaves you with your heart in your throat, an erratic pulse, and desperately turning the pages to figure out how it all ends. And when the end comes? You’re left absolutely reeling.

Leylah Attar masterfully crafted a page turner of a thriller full of twists and turns you never see coming and a love that spans years. It jumps between past and present, giving you morsel by morsel of details. It’s perfectly paced and it’s incredibly written in a way where it gives you not enough and yet just enough. It was sucked me in from beginning to end.

If you’ve read The Paper Swan, you’ll remember Rafael. And if you haven’t, I highly recommend you do. Interestingly enough, where the Paper Swan felt all encompassing for the romance, The Night Blossom felt all encompassing for the mystery. As much as I loved both Rafael and Vee as individual characters, their romance didn’t fully reel me in. I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but it also didn’t feel like the romance is what took center stage. Which is funny to say, because the romance was there. I think for me, I just didn’t feel that same gravitational pull to the romance as I did the story itself, if that even makes sense.

Did I love it? Absolutely. Will it stay with me? Without a doubt. Do you need to read it? Right now! My one recommendation? Do yourself a favor and go in absolutely blind!

Leylah Attar is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. A recipient of the Writer’s Digest Award (for Moti on the Water) and the Indie Reader Discovery Award (for Mists of The Serengeti), Leylah writes unique, emotionally compelling stories that range from rom-com to dark romantic suspense.

Connect with Leylah

Website: https://www.leylahattar.com/
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Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense · Tagged With: Book Reviews: 4 stars, Leylah Attar

Review: Misfit by Elle Kennedy

July 26, 2022 by Lana · Leave a Comment

MISFIT
Series: Prep #1
Genre: New Adult Romance
Author: Elle Kennedy
Release Date: July 26, 2022

Welcome to Sandover Prep, where the delinquents roam…and you can’t trust a soul.

Finding out your mom is marrying some rich dude you’ve never met is enough to make any eighteen-year-old guy’s head spin. But for RJ SHAW, it only gets worse: he’s being sent to Sandover Prep for senior year. If there’s one place a misfit hacker like RJ doesn’t belong, it’s an ivy-covered all-boys boarding school for rich delinquents.

RJ knows his stay at Sandover will be temporary. Which means there’s no point making friends or trying to fit in. But the plan to remain antisocial goes awry when he meets a gorgeous girl in the woods on campus. SLOANE TRESSCOTT is pure temptation, with a sharp tongue and an ice princess attitude RJ’s determined to crack. Except there’s a catch. Sloane is the one girl he is forbidden from touching.

The headmaster’s daughter.

Good thing RJ doesn’t believe in rules. Sure, Sloane insists she’s swearing off guys this year, but their connection is impossible to deny. He wants her bad, and he’s going to win her over if it kills him.

Unless her ex-boyfriend kills him first.

The ruling king of Sandover will stop at nothing to get rid of his competition. Luckily, RJ’s unwittingly made some friends—his new stepbrother FENN, a pretty boy with a self-destructive streak; LAWSON, self-proclaimed agent of chaos; and SILAS, the All-American Good Guy who can’t actually be as nice as he seems.

If RJ wants to survive prep school and win Sloane’s heart, he’ll need to adapt—and fast.

AMAZON

What,” I say innocently, “you’re not confident about your dick game? Pity”
RJ’s gaze transforms from hot to molten. “Sweetheart, my dick is always the most confident motherfucker in the room.”

Having read and obsessed over Paper Princess, when I tell you I may have peed a little in excitement when Elle Kennedy announced this new series may be an understatement. There’s just something about rich kid drama that takes me back to my obsession roots of Cruel Intentions, Gossip Girl, and 90210. This book was like a mashup of all of them and I was HOOKED.

It’s been a long time since I read a book that hooked me so thoroughly within the first few pages. But not only did this book hook me, it kept me glued to the pages until the very end.

Now usually I’m not a fan of the multiple POVs in romance books. And most books I’ve read that had this lost the romance along the way. The multiple character POVs got confusing and watered down the plot. This was definitely not the case here. If anything, the additional character POVs enriched and added to the plot to make it all the more delicious. Particularly the hedonistic Lawson with his evil intentions. God, I can’t wait until his book. But I digress.

While it sounds cliche, outcast loner meets the headmaster’s daughter, forbidden romance thing. This book was anything but. RJ and Sloane were such charismatic personalities that I couldn’t get enough. I love reading about females in NA romance that own who they are and they’re also not shy virgins. I seriously loved how confident Sloane is with her sexuality and appeal to men. She knows she’s attractive and she makes RJ work for it. And god did I love how he chased her.

RJ’s flighty mother marries a rich guy and suddenly he’s immersed in an entirely different world of prep school, private schools, and a new step brother. A loner by his own admission, RJ doesn’t like to form ties because he knows it won’t last. After all, the guy has switched schools 5 times in the last 3 years due to his mother’s moving around. He’s a rebel without a cause and I fell head over heels for him immediately.

We get introduce to the cast of enigmatic characters like his step brother Fenn, his friends Lawson and Silas. As well as Sloane and her sister Casey. Did I also get intrigued by Sloane’s douchey ex, Duke? Yes, yes I did. But that’s a discussion for another day.

Misfit was a finger licking mix of drama and romance and man was I here for all of it. If this book is any indication we’re in for a heck of a ride with this series, and I can’t wait for more. We get Fenn’s story next and after the jaw dropper of an ending to hook his book, I’m absolutely dying for it. This is a full standalone romance with what shows to be a continuing story arc that will go into the next book. I’m totally and completely hooked!

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance, New Adult · Tagged With: Book Reviews: 5 stars, DGR Fave, Elle Kennedy, NA

Review: Does It Hurt? by H.D. Carlton

July 22, 2022 by Lana · Leave a Comment

DOES IT HURT?
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: H.D. Carlton
Release Date: July 22, 2022

Who am I?

I’ve forgotten the answer to that question long ago. Ever since I ran from that house, so desperate to escape, I left with only the clothes on my back and socks on my feet. After that day, I’ve only ever walked in stolen shoes.

Could I be a girl who is searching for the meaning of life in faceless men? They were all so forgettable. Until he came along. He took me under a waterfall and made me forget my name, and in return, I took his instead.

Enzo Vitale.

An enigmatic man that will only ever love the deep sea. Or rather the predators that inhabit it. Turns out, he’s not so different than the monsters he feeds. He lured me onto his boat like a fish in the ocean, seeking vengeance for my crime. Had I realized his intentions, and that a massive storm would leave us shipwrecked, I would’ve ran.

Now, I’m a girl who’s seeking refuge in a decrepit lighthouse with a man who loathes me almost as much as he craves me. He wants to hurt me, but the old caretaker of the abandoned island may have intentions far more sinister.

It’s no longer a question of who I am, but rather, will I survive?

AMAZON

“Does it hurt, baby?” he asks quietly. “Not being able to scream for me like you want to.”

The second HD Carlton teased with this book, I was eagerly stalking her for every little morsel of detail. So obviously the second it dropped on my kindle, I dropped everything to read it. And that page of trigger warnings at the beginning of the novel? Well, color me ALL OVER IT.

Oh God,” I cry, trying to keep my voice down but failing miserably.
“Can you see him, baby? Ask him for forgiveness.”
“Why?” I pant, another high-pitched moan nearly swallowing the word.
“Because you worship me now.”

If there’s one thing I’ve come to know about this author, it’s her ability to create some of the most vivid and memorable characters. And I’m not just talking main characters, I’m talking about all the secondary characters. I’m a reader that will forget names, plot, almost all details, yet her characters and stories stay with me. And this book was no different.

Sawyer is on the run, forced to steal identities to survive. If there’s one thing I love, it’s morally gray characters, and she definitely serves some morally grey character energy. This is a woman who has been forced to do things she never thought she would, including sleeping with men to steal their identities after. She’s riddled with remorse but unable to stop. Then she runs into an enigmatic stranger at a bar who’s as rude as he is unforgettably sexy. So what does she do when he gives her the best sex of her life? Leave like a thief in the night with his identity in hand. But this time is different, because he tracks her down with every intention of punishing her for her sins.

Enzo is a shark expert with his own dark secrets. When he realizes the woman he spent the night with stole his identity, he doesn’t call the cops. He wants to deal with her himself. So when he runs into her again, he’s determined to make her pay. And so he lures her to his boat…completely blind to the deadly brewing storm.

Barely surfing the shipwreck, they find themselves on an island with an abandoned light tower, and forced to endure each other to survive.

Now I may be slight desensitized, but I didn’t find this book as dark as the trigger warning made it seem. It has a dark vein for sure, but it felt more suspenseful and creepy. The darkly veiled mystery running parallel to the romance was also deliciously intriguing. Enzo was everything I love in my main characters; grumpy, enigmatic, possessive, and with a mean streak a mile long. Sawyer, admittedly, took me a bit longer to warm up to. She’s a survivor, but I did wish she’d stand up more to Enzo. But she felt like she had to atone, and her tears would wash her sins away. I did get frustrated by her in parts, but then she fully grew on me towards the end when the full scope of her past gets revealed. She’s an incredibly complex character, full of many layers, and while I didn’t love all of them, I did love her as a heroine.

I binge read this book, eager to unravel the dark mystery. This author can definitely write one hell of an enrapturing read, and this one owned me from beginning to finish.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Dark · Tagged With: Book Reviews: 4.5 stars, enemies-to-lovers, HD Carlton

Review: Be With Me by Samantha Young

July 12, 2022 by Lana · Leave a Comment

BE WITH ME
Series: The Adair Family #4
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Samantha Young
Release Date: July 12, 2022

It was the friends-with-benefits proposition he never saw coming…

While Arran Adair might have followed the call of wanderlust in his younger years, it isn’t the reason he stayed away from Ardnoch. Home now, desperate to put the sins of his past behind him, and rebuild his life in the Scottish Highlands, Arran could never have predicted Eredine Willows. The Ardnoch Estate Pilates instructor is a complicated mystery and one Arran can’t help but want to solve.

Eredine has spent the last eight years hiding in Scotland and building walls between her and the people she cares about. Arran is the first Adair who doesn’t treat her as if she’s fragile and demands a genuine friendship. Yet, the attraction sizzling between them is undeniable. So when she realizes she trusts him, Eredine surprises them both by offering Arran one night of no-strings passion.

Arran knows one night will inevitably lead to a desire for more and he’s willing to stay by Eredine’s side for as long as it takes to convince her there’s something real between them. However, just when Arran thinks they might build a future together, Eredine’s past returns to stalk her. And Arran won’t just have to battle her demons to keep them together. He’ll need to battle his own.

AMAZON | IBOOKS | NOOK | KOBO

For so long, I was not the guy people trusted. I needed to be that guy for her.”

I’ve been loving the Adair series since book one. And the second the mysterious and shy Eredine appeared on the pages as a secondary character, I was immediately intrigued.

This was a sweet and spicy friends to lovers romance with a mystery subplot. I’ve been waiting four books to find out about Erendine’s past, and I have to say, I never saw it coming quite this way.

Admittedly, the book felt slower than the others in the series. I found myself skimming through parts, and disengaged in others. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly why, until I saw another reviewer say that while these two worked as secondary characters, as main characters they weren’t as captivating. This pretty much summarized my thoughts exactly. While I loved both Arran and Erendine in the previous books, they lacked a little something to shine as main characters. So much so, that even the suspense plot running parallel to their romance felt a touch lackluster and anticlimactic.

Having said that, I still read this from beginning to finish. And while I didn’t fall in love with it like the others in the series, I still liked it. I loved getting more of this unique family and seeing some of my favorites appear on the pages. Plus the set up for Brogan’s book was utterly delicious. So while this book didn’t blow me away, it was still an enjoyable read to spend a summer evening with. Now I’m eagerly anticipating the next installment in this series with Brodan’s book.

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.