Review: What Lies Between Us by H.D. Carlton

September 13, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

WHAT LIES BETWEEN US
Series: Heartless Heroes Anthology
Genre: MM Romance, Dark Romance
Author: H.D. Carlton
Release Date: September 13, 2022

Some heroes want to save the world. Some will burn it down for the one they love.
Call them villains, anti-heroes, criminals, and monsters.
But these dark men love deeply and fiercely, and are ready to go to the ends of the earth to save their soulmate.

They will tempt you.
Captivate you.
Drag you into darkness, and leave you breathless.
They’ll show you how good love can be in the dark.

There’s a spark between these pages, and these Heartless Heroes will set your world on fire.

Morally grey is the favorite color of these twenty new and bestselling authors. Grab your copy now to read all the dark shades of love painted by these Heartless Heroes.

Authors in this set include:
J.L. Beck & C. Hallman, Sahara Roberts & Dori Pulitano, Sonya Jesus, H. D. Carlton & CE Ricci, Lola West, D.S. Wrights, Elizabeth Miller, Lily Wildhart, Morgan James, A.R. Breck, Brynn Ford, Indie Black & Sienna Cousins, Isabella Phoenix & Victoria Pauley, Suki Williams, Ashley Gee, D.W. Marshall, M.L. Philpitt, and Ember Evans

AMAZON

Review for What Lies Between Us by H.D. Carlton

“Which makes you angrier, golden boy? The fact that you want to fuck your sister’s ex-boyfriend or that you want to fuck her murderer?”

The second that I saw H.D. Carlton is writing a dark MM romance, I was immediately salivating. But I was not at all prepared for the savage chokehold this story would have on me.

This is a novella and a bit of preview to what will be a full length novel for Link and Echo. But what I loved is how H.D. is able to give us a deliciously addictive hook and have it be equally satisfying while still making you salivate for more. She gave readers just enough to get them hooked on this story, but didn’t drop your typical shock value cliffhanger and I could kiss her for it.

The set up for this story? OHMYGAWD! If I was more hooked I’d be hunting her ass down at her house and standing over her shoulder glaring menacingly until she finished the story and immediately gave it to her. What? The woman created Zade, I think she wouldn’t mind this. But I digress.

Echo is whispered about through the halls of the Godric University. But it isn’t for his sinful good looks or manwhore ways. He’s the guy who brutally killed his ex girlfriend and got away with it. Or so everyone thinks, even though he was found innocent. He’s used to the whispers, but they’re no less hard. Especially when he’s forced to deal with the violent hate from his ex’s twin bother and ex best friend. Who he kinda, sorta also has the hots for. Talk about complicated.

But I’m making too light of what this story was. Because it was full of signature dark and creepy undercurrent that only HD can write so well. There’s a dark mystery that runs parallel to the chemistry between Link and Echo of who truly killed Link’s twin and getting Link to see the truth of what Echo is saying.

The novella was enough to immediately hook you and I do mean immediately. I loved a dark academia romance and this one ticked all the boxes. I’m seriously salivating for the full dose of this story because the whodunnit mystery just may kill me in the wait.

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

September 6, 2022 by ·

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: ,

#DGRFave & Review: The Mindf*ck Series by S.T. Abby

August 30, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

THE MINDF*CK SERIES
Series: The Minds*ck Series (entire collection)
Genre: Dark, Romantic Suspense
Author: S.T. Abby
Release Date: November 29, 2016

They took too much.
Left too little.
I had nothing to lose…until him.
*****************
~Lana~
I didn’t expect him.
I didn’t want to fall in love.
But I can’t let him go.
Logan Bennett makes the world a safer place.
He’s brilliant.
He’s a hero.
He locks away the sick and depraved.
But while he’s saving lives, I’m taking them. Collecting the debts that are owed to me.
Ten years ago, they took from me. They left me for dead.
They should have made sure I stayed dead.
Now I’m taking from them.
One name at a time.
I’ve trained for too long.
I’ve been patient.
I can’t stop now.
Revenge is best served cold…
They never see me coming, until I paint their walls red.
Logan doesn’t know how they hurt me. He doesn’t know about the screams they ignored. He doesn’t know how twisted that town really is.
He just knows people are dying.
He doesn’t know he’s in love with their killer.
No one suspects a dead girl.
And Logan doesn’t suspect the girl in his bed.
They’re looking for a monster.
Not a girl who loves red.
Not a girl in love.
I’m a faceless nightmare.
At least until I tell them the story they’ve pretended never happened.
But in the end, will Logan choose them? Or will we watch them burn together?
**Graphic
**Adult language
**Some triggers could be too much for the easily disturbed reader
**Sexual content
**Fucked up moral compass; read at your own risk.

AMAZON

It’s all cloak and dagger right now. That’s what happens when you’re a serial killer dating a FBI profiler who hunts serial killers.

Have you ever had someone recommend a book to you and think, there’s no way this is as good as they say it is? No? Just me, then? Because I wear the cone of shame for letting the covers to these books sway me for entirely too long. Considering how much hype this story gets, you’d think that may sway me? But nope. I’m leery of surer popular books because I’m so tired of them not living up to their promise for me. But after losing the entirety of my day to binge reading this entire series in a day, I will tell you that I’m not seriously kicking my own ass for not believing what everyone was trying to beat me over the head with. This book doesn’t just live up to the hype, it blows it out of the water.

There’s a certain high you get from fooling the world into thinking you’re the lamb instead of the rabid wolf.

First of all, if you look at my shelf, you’ll see I’ve read a lot of romance, and dark is where it’s at for me. So please take that into consideration when I tell you that Lana Myers is easily my favorite FMC I have read. Ever. Period. No competition.

I’m a 5’4 package of vengeance that no one sees coming.

I was completely sucked into this story from the very first chapter. And after I finished the first book?

Oh.
My
GOD
Are you kidding me?

A female serial killer with a vendetta she’s plotted for years falls for an FBI profiler who hunts serial killers and is actively investigating her victims? Yes, please, and thank you. This is like the sexy love child of Criminal Minds and Dexter and I was so here for it, it physically hurt to put the book down for anything. Like I will now refer to things as life before Minfuck and Life After Mindfuck, because this story changed me. I don’t think I’ll stop thinking about it for years to come.

It’s one thing for the burn the world down if you hurt her trope, but when it’s reversed and she’ll burn the world down for him? GAH. And don’t get me wrong, Logan is no beta. This is a man who crackles with intense energy himself. But what made this book for me is not even the romance, which was absolutely epic. No. It was the actual plot. The mystery of Lana’s past that slowly gets unraveled with each book. The flashbacks of a night ten years ago that unequivocally changed the entire course of her life. And with every new kill she makes, more of those details become unraveled to paint a grizzly tale that’s full of corruption, evil, and revenge.

This is not your typical morally gray character. Lana is not an anti-heroine in my opinion. This is a woman who takes justice into her own hands knowing that the legal system won’t. And she’s who I want to be when I grow up. *dreamy sigh*

But I digress. I can talk about the brilliance of the plotting, the story telling, the clues hidden in plain sight, and the clues that get unveiled in time. I can talk about the incredible romance. I can talk about the friendship between Lana and Jake and all the amazing secondary characters like Hadley and Leonard, but I won’t. You need to discover it for yourself.

So if you’re an idiot who like me left this book skate right under your radar, get your life together immediately and read it. You can thank me after.

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: Dark, Romantic Suspense · Tagged With: , , ,

Review: Misfit by Elle Kennedy

July 26, 2022 by · 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!

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Review: Beyond My Darkness by RC Boldt

July 12, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

BEYOND MY DARKNESS
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Author: RC Boldt
Release Date: July 12,  2022

USA Today bestselling author RC Boldt delivers a seductively unique romantic suspense with a paranormal twist in Beyond My Darkness…

Twelve years ago, I fled, vowing to never again use my power. But everything changes when I break that vow and bring two bodies back to life in the morgue.

It sends me spinning directly into his orbit.

Arrogant. Menacing. Enigmatic. That’s Bronson Cortez, the notoriously violent gang leader who remains elusive to authorities.

He breaks the law at every turn and answers to no one. But when he offers me an alluring glimpse of what lies beneath that iron-clad exterior, I realize there’s more to him than meets the eye.

The man who fiercely guards his heart somehow manages to claim mine.

But he doesn’t know the truth about me.

I wonder if he could be the first to accept me for who I am—what I am.

I wonder if he’ll be the first to see beyond my darkness.

AMAZON | iBOOKS | NOOK | KOBO | GOOGLE PLAY

I’m prepared to rain down hell on anyone who tries to hurt her.

It’s official: I’m addicted to RC Boldt’s romantic suspense. Her stories are pure book crack, full of action, mystery, and incredible multilayered characters. But this book? Well, this book may have been my favorite of hers to date.

I do want a nice guy.”
“Yeah?” There’s a hard edge to his voice that sends unease tiptoeing along my spine. “I can be nice.” He dusts his lips over mine in the barest caress, and I know when he says the word nice, his meaning differs greatly from mine. “I can be real nice.”

This, while in a similar vein to her romantic suspense, packed a paranormal gritty edge. It was unique and completely unputdownable.

If you like anti heroes, prepare to fall fast and hard for Bronson Cortez. This is a dangerous man with blood on his hands, but with a heart of gold. He’s a man that does bad things to protect his community and his people. And he’s a man with a lethal reputation that is justly earned.

Georgia Danvers is a medical examiner with a dark secret. She’s a woman with a painfully dark past and a secret that haunts her present. Her job in the morgue is where she feels most comfortable. People are complex, but the dead aren’t, and she loves what she does. But Georgia carries a dark secret that could cost her everything like it once almost did. When a body that ends up in her morgue sends her in the path of the town’s most dangerous man, she doesn’t try to overthink it. She just needs to give him a message and move on. But you know what they say about best intentions?

Bronson and Georgia together were absolutely incendiary. The chemistry between them is just as fiery as it is dangerous. These two were INTENSE. But nothing was more intense than Bronson. God but this man had me by the throat in the best possible way. He practically oozed danger and crackled with electricity off the pages. I couldn’t get enough of him. And while Georgia is a little awkward and quirky, she’s not a pushover. This is a woman full of sass and passion. She’s a woman that gives as hard as she gets, and doesn’t let Bronson steamroll her. There’s just this endearing quality to her that I couldn’t get enough of.

Now this isn’t your typical romantic suspense, and I personally loved the paranormal element to this. I was glued to the pages from beginning to end and devoured it in one sitting. And when I saw that Bronson’s friend is getting a book next? Beyond excited.

If you’re looking for something unique and addictive, you need this book in your life.

RC Boldt is a USA Today bestselling author currently living in part of the Costa Rican jungle with the love of her life and her mini-me.

If you’re in the mood for some killer mojitos or can’t recall the lyrics to a particular 80s song, she’s your girl.

Connect with RC Boldt 

Website: http://www.rcboldtbooks.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14543027.R_C_Boldt

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Kq1H9C

Facebook: http://bit.ly/RCBoldtFB

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BBBReaders/

Instagram: http://bit.ly/RCBoldtIG

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/RCBoldtBB

Verve: https://bit.ly/3jEf18z

Leave a Comment · Filed Under: All Reviews, Contemporary Romance, PNR, Romantic Suspense · Tagged With: , ,

Review: Her Rebellion by Natasha Knight & A Zavarelli

May 24, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

HER REBELLION
Series: THE RITE TRILOGY #2
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance/Secret Society/Captive Romance
Author: Natasha Knight & A Zavarelli
Release Date: May 24, 2022

I am a Sovereign Son. A king within The Society.

With a look I send men to their knees.

Yet she stands tall against me, taunting me with her rebellion.

But we all have rules we must live by.

Even me.

And I have broken the most sacred.
I took her to my bed.

I claimed that which did not belong to me.

And now that the beast within has had a taste, it wants more.

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

Start the trilogy with HIS RULE #1!!!

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

 

How does this feel?” He cups the back of my head and kisses me, melting some of my resolve. “How does it feel every time you steal a piece of my soul like the little thief you are?”

What is it about this IVI world that’s just completely enraptured me? It’s archaic, brutal, and completely addictive. And this book? I loved it even more than the first book.

I took you because I couldn’t help myself.” The confession spills free on a ragged breath. “Because you are so goddamn addictive, you’ve fucking cursed me the way you curse all men, little monster.”

It’s interesting considering how much I hated the seemingly spoiled and vapid Mercedes in the The Society Trilogy how much I love her in this one. This is a woman with many layers, and the more that are peeled back, the more captivated you are by her. This is also a woman who’s been through hell and back, and lost none of her strength for it.

This second installment begins right where book one ended, and the long road to recovery that Mercedes has after her coming face to face with Judge’s past. Judge, who is seemingly calculated and reserved, has his composure crumple. Where in book one he was determined to stay away from Mercedes and drive a wedge between them, in this one he can’t stay away from her. But he knows it’ can only be temporary and eventually Mercedes will have to marry the appropriate society husband. But he doesn’t understand yet why the mere thought of it sends him spiraling.

There’s so many twists and turns which kept me at the edge of my seat. Some predictable, and some I never saw coming. And that ending? I can’t even. I need answers and the conclusion like YESTERDAY!

About A. Zavarelli:

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

About Natasha Knight:

Natasha Knight is the USA Today Bestselling author of Romantic Suspense and Dark Romance Novels. She has sold over half a million books and is translated into six languages. She currently lives in The Netherlands with her husband and two daughters and when she’s not writing, she’s walking in the woods listening to a book, sitting in a corner reading or off exploring the world as often as she can get away.

Connect w/Natasha: 

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

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

#DGRFave & Review: Brutal Vows by J.T. Geissinger

May 2, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

BRUTAL VOWS
Series: Queens & Monsters #4
Genre: Mafia Romance
Author: J.T. Geissinger
Release Date: April 28, 2022

An Irish mobster with a brutal grudge.
An Italian mafia princess with a dark secret.
Two enemy empires joined in sacred marriage vows.
Let the hating games begin.

Reyna

If this arrogant Irish mobster my brother sold my niece to thinks I’m going to play nice over this arranged marriage BS, he should think again.
I don’t care if this match with the Mob will make my brother capo of the Five Families.
I don’t care how much money, territory, or power it will gain us.
I especially don’t care that the Irishman is the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.
I won’t allow my innocent niece to suffer the same way I did.
Even if I have to kill him.

Spider

I’m supposed to marry sweet, beautiful Lili. So why can’t I stop thinking about her swamp witch of an aunt?
Reyna who hates me. Reyna who challenges me. Reyna with the guts of a Viking, the body of a fertility goddess, and the attitude of a feral cat.
Nothing good can come of what I’m feeling for a woman who’s not the one in the wedding contract I signed.
A woman I want so much, I’ll have to burn the whole world down to get.
If she doesn’t kill me first.

AMAZON

He’s a riptide and I’m swimming far out in dangerous waters, getting pulled under fast no matter how hard I fight to stay afloat.

This book was hands down. MY. TOP. FAVORITE. IN. THIS. SERIES. And quite frankly one of my top reads of the year. OMG. This banter. It was finger licking good! UTTERLY DELICIOUS!

She glares at me. “Your charm could sweep a girl right off her feet, you know that?”
“Wait till you see my cock. Then you’ll really be swooning.”

Did I mention the banter?

Careful. You’re dangerously close to breaking your promise about your temper already.”
“That’s because you could turn Father Christmas into the Grinch, woman.”
“What did I tell you about using the word ‘woman’ as a pejorative?”
“Something I couldn’t hear over how loud your resting bitch face was screaming.”

Because oh my GAWD the banter!

His voice low, he says, “I’ve been thinking.” “Really? Did you borrow someone else’s brain?” “Very funny, viper.”

Who would have thought that a man who was mostly unassuming until Savage Hearts would come in to steel the show like this? And here I thought no one could top Declan for me!

But you know what I love the most about this series? The sassy, spitfire heroines. And Reyna? How could one possibly top the sassy that was Sloane? With the black freaking widow! MY GOD. This woman was everything. A cosa nostra widow, who holds down the family while making her brother think she does. The woman who lived through hell and rose out of the ashes a fierce warrior who has no desire to rely on a man, god forbid ever marry one. So when her beloved niece gets arranged to wed a Irishman, she has some opinions about it. And the immediate chemistry between her and the man her niece is betrothed to? Highly inconvenient.

You bring out the bastard in me. Now let’s see if I can get you to do something with that mouth other than slice me to ribbons.”

I had no idea how the author would bring these two together, but it was the most satisfying thing I’ve ever read. Their chemistry, their banter, their BANTER. MY GOD THEIR BANTER. I lived for it.

THIS is the kind of heroine I love to read about. A woman with a set of brass ones that gives men a run for their money. And a hero who would burn down the world for her. I. AM. OBSESSED.

If you haven’t read this series, you haven’t lived. And if you haven’t read this book, I don’t even want to talk to you. I question your life choices.

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Review: Devil’s Pawn by Natasha Knight

February 22, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

THE DEVIL’S PAWN
Series: Devil’s Pawn Duet #1
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Natasha Knight
Release Date: February 22, 2022

Isabelle

Jericho St. James hates my family.

Powerful, wealthy beyond belief, he’s the most dangerous man I know.

And I belong to him.

He’s taken me from my home.
He’ll make me his wife.
And he’s made it very clear I’ll be sleeping in his bed.

But my beast has a secret.

His one weakness. One that makes hating him impossible.

He has a daughter.

And he’ll do anything to keep her safe.

Jericho

The Bishops stole what money cannot replace.

A life for a life. Now I’ll take one of theirs.

Isabelle is my pawn.

I will make her my wife.
I will bed her.
She will be mine in every way.

And once I take what I need from her, I will erase the Bishop family as if they never existed at all.

AMAZON 

Some things aren’t choices at all. Some are destiny. And my destiny is to ruin hers.

Ever since I binge read The Society Trilogy, I’ve been chomping at the bit to get more in this world. So the second I saw Natasha Knight announce this book, I couldn’t get to it quick enough. This is my trope candy, folks. Pure book crack. A secret society, a revenge years in the making, and the innocent young girl who’s stuck in the middle and used as a pawn with a marriage of…inconvenience.

“Freedom is just a few feet away.” He smiles wide and steps aside. “You’re considering it. I would too.” He extends his arm, gesturing to the door. “You can try, I suppose. You won’t get far, but you can try.”

I love Knight’s brand of anti-heroes. They’re broody, tortured, and deliciously cruel. And Jericho? He was all of those things and more. This is a man with demons, and he’s not above using an innocent girl as a pawn in his plot for revenge. The innocent girl? The half sister of the man who cost him everything. He’ll make him pay, and the first step in his revenge is to take her, force her to marry him, and make her pay for her family’s sins. GAH. The delicious pain and and angst of it all.

I love a good age gap, and this one checked all the boxes for me. Isabelle may be sweet and innocent, but she’s no pushover. She’s a fighter, even when her situation is impossible. She has no idea of the dark and convoluted family history between the St James and the Bishop’s. She’s not a true Bishop. Not really. She’s the half sister, the dirty secret, and there’s no love lost between her and her brother. Jericho’s cruel treatment of her just cranks it up a notch. I’m so obsessed with the IVI world, and this hit the spot so hard for me.

Devil’s Pawn was a page turner full of family secrets, bad blood, archaic society traditions, and revenge. Sweet sweet revenge. Jericho is an anti hero I loved to hate, and hate him I did. You want to jock punch him for some of the things he does. And that cliffhanger? DEAR GOD. I can’t wait for the grovel that has to come to follow that because GAH. This woman’s words are pure book crack. I couldn’t read this book fast enough and will slowly die a slow death in my wait for book two.

Natasha Knight is the USA Today Bestselling author of Romantic Suspense and Dark Romance Novels. She has sold over half a million books and is translated into six languages. She currently lives in The Netherlands with her husband and two daughters and when she’s not writing, she’s walking in the woods listening to a book, sitting in a corner reading or off exploring the world as often as she can get away.
 
 
AUTHOR LINKS
 
Website: http://natasha-knight.com
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/natasha-knight
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashaknightauthor
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1752075498339742
Newsletter: http://natasha-knight.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natashaknightromance

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Review: Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy

February 1, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

GOOD GIRL COMPLEX
Genre: Contemporary, New Adult Romance
Author: Elle Kennedy
Release Date: February 1, 2022

Full of romance, hijinks, and longing, Good Girl Complex is Elle Kennedy at her very best.

She does everything right. So what could go wrong?

Mackenzie “Mac” Cabot is a people pleaser. Her demanding parents. Her prep school friends. Her long-time boyfriend. It’s exhausting, really, always following the rules. All she wants to do is focus on growing her internet business, but first she must get a college degree at her parents’ insistence. That means moving to the beachside town of Avalon Bay, a community made up of locals and the wealthy students of Garnet College.

Twenty-year-old Mac has had plenty of practice suppressing her wilder impulses, but when she meets local bad boy Cooper Hartley, that ability is suddenly tested. Cooper is rough around the edges. Raw. Candid. A threat to her ordered existence. Their friendship soon becomes the realest thing in her life.

Despite his disdain for the trust-fund kids he sees coming and going from his town, Cooper soon realizes Mac isn’t just another rich clone and falls for her. Hard. But as Mac finally starts feeling accepted by Cooper and his friends, the secret he’s been keeping from her threatens the only place she’s ever felt at home.

AMAZON  | PAPERBACK 

I was half asleep until I met him.

Oh Elle Kennedy, how I’ve missed your writing. This book just hit all of the right spots for me, and I really do mean all of the right spots. I sincerely hope this is the start of an incredible new series because I’m seriously in love with the setting of Avalon Bay and all of the secondary characters introduced here. But I digress. Let’s chat Good Girl Complex. Because, man I loved this book.

This is your opposites attract, rich girl meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks but with a twist. Cooper and his twin brothers are guys with a definite rep in their town. Oh and icing, they’re twins. Yep. You read that right. TWINS. But I digress again. Coop is sick and tired of the rich trust fund kids that flood their college town with their entitlement and egos. So when particularly vapid one causes trouble at the bar Coop bartends end, and it results with the kid throwing his weight around and Coop getting fired, he’s pissed. He’s beyond pissed. So what’s a guy to do to get revenge? Why target the douchebag’s equally rich and gorgeous girlfriend, get her to fall for him, so he can dump her and get to rub it in the rich a-holes face of course. DUH. But you know what they say about the best laid plans…

Mac is the furthest thing from the stereotypical rich girl. She’s only in college after a gap year to appease her parents who don’t exactly support her entrepreneurial ways. It doesn’t matter that Mac is the mastermind behind a website that made her a millionaire. All her parents want is for her to marry the right man like her equally rich boyfriend, and be the good little wife. Ah stereotypes.

Coop and Mac meet and become fast friends. Mac is yearning for something more, and her life is slowly suffocating her. Coop allows her the freedom she’s been unknowingly yearning for. And the chemistry between them? DELICIOUS.

This is very much a slow burn, and as we slowly get to know each layer of these characters, we see the connection between them grow into something neither of them expected. Mac as she slowly acknowledges her attraction to Coop and grows into her own beyond the chains of her responsibilities. Coop as he realizes that what started as a bet is so much more. And this girl? Devoured every page of it.

This is the New Adult gold in a way that only Elle Kennedy can write. It was opposites attract deliciousness that I devoured from cover to cover and left desperate for more. And while I would have loved an epilogue, I simply adored this book and these characters. There’s so many secondary characters that I’m hoping get their own books in this town, including Coop’s twin. If you’re looking for an incredibly written New Adult romance, you seriously cannot miss this one.

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DGRFave & Review: Hunting Adeline by HD Carlton

January 28, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

HUNTING ADELINE
Series: Cat and Mouse Duet #2
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: H.D. Carlton
Release Date: January 28, 2022

The final installment to the Cat and Mouse Duet…

The Diamond

Death walks alongside me,
But the reaper is no match for me.
I’m trapped in a world full of monsters dressed as men, and those who aren’t as they seem.
They won’t keep me forever.
I no longer recognize the person I’ve become,
And I’m fighting to find my way back to the beast who hunts me in the night.
They call me a diamond,
But they’ve only created an angel of death.

The Hunter

I was born a predator,
With ruthlessness ingrained in my bones.
When what’s mine is stolen from me in the night,
Like a diamond hidden within a fortress,
I find that I can no longer contain the beast.
Blood will paint the ground as I tear apart this world to find her.
And bring her back to where she belongs.
No one will escape my wrath,
Especially not those who have betrayed me.

Warning: This is the second and final installment to the Duet. You must read Haunting Adeline first.

AMAZON  

I may own every breath in your body, but make no mistake, Adeline, you own mine, too. I am yours to command. To bend and break. To mold and manipulate. Do you think that makes me weak? Or do you think I’m strong enough to admit that even though my body can physically live on without you, I would never get my fucking soul back?”

It’s a rare occasion that I get to say this, but I loved this book even more than the first. And considering I 5 star loved the first book, that’s really saying something. For the hours that it took me to devour this book, it owned me. Fully and completely. And when I finished, I simply didn’t know what to do with myself. How do you even move on from this? How, I ask you?!

You’ve never been a good man,” I whisper, reiterating the exact words he’s told me so many times before. “No,” he agrees. “But I have always been yours.”

While I found Haunting Adeline to be more gray than dark, this book made me eat my words. This was dark. Like the very pits of hell dark. Like sick to my stomach, goose bumps, fist in my throat sort of dark. It was pitch fucking black, okay? And holy shit, did I love it!

We’re all fucking damned anyway, forced to live outside of heaven’s gates. I find I like it better living in the darkness next to my shadow.

Am I going to tell you anything about this book that you can’t get from the blurb? Absolutely not. You want to go into this blind. Trust me. But be prepared for one rollercoaster of emotion, because this story puts you through the ringer and then some.

This story was truly the evolution of Adeline. It’s one thing to deal with her obsessed stalker. But when she gets thrown into the pits of hell with true monsters, it’s the true test of her sanity and strength. And this woman has strength. One thing I’ll say is that I loved that Carlton didn’t shy away from the details. She didn’t graze over the difficult things, and go from one extreme to the other. You get to see and experience it all. But what I loved the most, is the aftermath. This isn’t glazed over as it can be in some dark romance. You get to experience all of it with Adeline, the ups and the downs, the painful and gut wrenching. All of it.

Heaven isn’t a place you go to when you die, it’s inside the person that’s worth dying for.

Zade is just as captivating and intense as ever. I fell even harder for this man here. This is the man that will happily walk into hell for his woman, and take on the devil himself. Some may even argue that Zade is the devil, and I loved that about him. This is a man with many layers. He’s firmly rooted in the gray, because while he has a good cause, he’s not a good man by any means. This is a man that does bad things for a good reason, but never loses any of his intensity.

Jesus,” I breathe.
He smirks…“He’s not the one you should be praying to,” he murmurs darkly, sending shivers rolling down my spine. “Only I will be your salvation.”

Now let’s also talk about the secondary characters because OH MY GOD. I’ve always been intrigued by Sibby, and I think that’s now turned into a full obsession. But we get additional secondary characters like a particularly bad man, and some brothers, that I’m desperate for a story for. I won’t tell you the names, because I don’t want to spoiler anything, but GOD. I’m desperate for a certain someone’s book. Talk about your broken men that do bad things for a good reason. I will sell my soul for his story. *desperate sob*

If you’ve been as eagerly anticipating this conclusion as I have, it is worth every painful second of the wait. HD Carlton knocked it out of the park with this book, and I am fully obsessed!


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