Review: Marrow by Trisha Wolfe & Brynne Weaver

March 24, 2023 by ·

MARROW
Author: Trisha Wolfe & Brynne Weaver
Genre: Dark Romance
Release Date: March 23, 2023

Two rival serial killers.
One common enemy.

Forensic anthropologist Dr. Jack Sorensen is the perfect serial killer. In the bright lights of his public persona he’s a respected scientist, a leader in the field of human decomposition. But in his shadowed secret life he’s a ruthless and elusive killer, unseen by the authorities who have failed to follow his faint trail of destruction. Beautifully cold, brilliant and cruel, Jack wants nothing more than to keep his life captured in his vise-like grip of control. And Jack Sorensen never makes mistakes…

…until he underestimates Dr. Kyrie Roth.

Wildlife biologist Kyrie is the enemy Jack never noticed, another murderer in his midst. A killer with equal cunning and stealth as the great Jack Sorensen, she knows all his darkest secrets, even the pieces of a past he might have forgotten. Kyrie has created the perfect habitat for her favorite research subject, but she’s finally had enough of being bitten by the beast that lives at Jack’s core. Pushed past her breaking point, Kyrie has decided to do whatever it takes to make Jack suffer. But when Kyrie’s traumatic past descends on her broken oasis, the only person who can help Kyrie banish her painful shadows might just be her greatest enemy.

History can’t always be left to decay in a cold grave. Time has a way of thawing secrets, leaving them to shine as bright as bleached bones in the sun. Can Jack and Kyrie set aside their battle and survive a world built to hunt them? Or will they kill each other first?

AMAZON

This twisted love nurtured in the dark belongs only to us.

What.
Did.
I.
Just.
Read?

But the most important questions is why did I like it as much as I did? Ok so rhetorical question really. I do tend to read some pretty dark and f*cked up books, and this one certainly fit the bill nicely. I’m not even a little surprised that I loved it as much as I did. But on a darkness scale of 1 to f*cked up, this one was on a FUBAR level. And I’m obsessed.

Is this your weak attempt at seduction, Jack?”
He leans a fraction closer, his arm mere millimeters from my shoulder. “If I wanted to seduce you, I’d have you on your knees right now in the cold room with that treacherous little mouth of yours wrapped around my cock, begging me for more,” he whispers.

How do I even describe this book to you? Imagine if Dexter and Mindf*ck had a love child, then it would be this book. I’ve read my fair share of dark serial killer romance, but it’s not often you get not one but two in the mix. And Kyrie was the other half to Jack.

You’re not a girl,” I say, my tone bordering on lethal. “You’re an irritating inconvenience that is begging to have her ass reddened.”
Her pupils dilate. “And don’t you just hate how much that excites you.”

Kyrie is a brilliant wildlife biologist who is sick of trying to prove her worth to the renowned forensic anthropologist who seems to find her no more than a nuisance. But Kyrie knows something about Jack that no one else does; his darkest secret. Their paths so interwoven, they walk the same path. But where Jack’s was one he was born into, Kyrie was made into hers.

When I tell you I devoured this book, I’m not even kidding. I cringed, I sweated, I lusted, I was entirely obsessed. And don’t even get me started on Jack’s piercings, because GOD DAMN. But I digress. This combined two things I love most, dark romance and a psychological thriller. It was brilliantly interwoven into a fast paced, dark and twisty tale that I couldn’t seem to get enough of. These two authors are absolutely brilliant together and I need, no I demand, more from this duo. Because I am so hooked. And if you’re a fan of super dark romance, then you seriously cannot miss this one.

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Review: The Phantom by Gena Showalter

February 7, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

THE PHANTOM
Series: Rise of the Warlords #3
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Author: Gena Showalter
Release Date: February 7,  2023

“One of the premier authors of paranormal romance. Gena Showalter delivers an utterly spellbinding story!”—Kresley Cole, #1 New York Times bestselling author

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter returns with The Phantom, the third book in her pulse-pounding Rise of the Warlords series, featuring a vengeful harpy and a callous torture master locked in a battle to the death. 

As the son of a war god, Roux Pyroesis has suffered unending pain—he’s caused it, too, dispatching his foes with alarming ease. Now he’s tasked with cutting out the heart of a powerful queen who rules an ancient prison realm inhabited by the most vicious immortal females in existence.

Blythe the Undoing is a decorated harpy warrior determined to annihilate Roux, the invader who killed her beloved consort. Nothing will stop her. Even if she must trap herself for eternity by sneaking into the brutal realm and taking the crown, pitting herself against the merciless male she’s sworn to despise.

Having never known desire, Roux is ill prepared for the stunning beauty who challenges him at every turn. For the survival of his army, duty comes first. Always. But what happens when the flames of Blythe’s hatred burn out and she craves him, too…but only one of them can live?

Rise of the Warlords

Book 1: The Warlord
Book 2: The Immortal

AMAZON

This is not the time to toy with me, she-beast.” The harshness of his voice nearly melted her bones.
“Now that’s a lie, Warden,” she purred, jumping onto his lap. “I’ve discovered always is the time to toy with you.”

You know when you’ve been obsessed with an author for years, and the obsession only continues to grow? It’s a rare one for me, mainly because I have the attention span of a fly and generally find myself growing out of an author after a certain amount of releases. But Gena? I will never grow tired of her words. This woman can write banter like no other. Her rich world building, unique characters, sassy heroines and tortured heroes will do it for me each and every single time. Without fail. And this book was certainly no exception.

You’re telling me our Roo Coo lost his manginity?” He looked to Silver, his brow wrinkled. “That is what the harpies call it, yes? Manginity?”
Silver scratched his jaw. “I think they prefer the term popped his ejacucap.”

An immortal virgin warrior? Yes, please and thank you. I mean, how often do you read that in PNR?

I was immediately intrigued by these two when they were introduced as secondary characters in the previous books. A harphantom who possesses the warrior who killed her consort and father of her child? I mean, how do you even come back from that? But I knew I was desperate to find out. And while a part of me was nervous on how this romance would work, I knew Gena wouldn’t let me down. And she didn’t. This romance was EPIC. Full of twists and turns, secrets and battles.

Blythe is the sister of Taliyah Skyhawk from The Warlord and also a harpy phantom. When an Astra warrior suddenly appears in her world and kills her consort, in the effort to shield her daughter, she posses the Astra with her daughter and travels with him. And when she finally leaves his body, she’s set on revenge, painful and bloody.

Roux is unreasonably drawn to Blythe, even while she’s determined to draw blood whenever they see each other. But beneath her desire for vengeance, is an inexplicable connection to the Astra warrior. Roux is the definition of tortured. This is a man who survived horrors upon horrors and completely incapable of tolerating any sort of touch…until Blythe.

This was a super slow burn romance which was oh so satisfying. I loved these two together and the enemies to lovers vibes. I will never get enough of Gena’s fierce heroines, and Blythe was absolutely unstoppable. She’s a warrior in her own right and doesn’t let anyone fight her battles. While it took be a bit to fully get into this, once I hit the 30% mark, I was fully invested and couldn’t stop reading. If you’re a fan of Gena’s LotU series, then you’ll love her Warlords!

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Review: Empire of Hate by Rina Kent

October 5, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

EMPIRE OF HATE
Series: Empire #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Rina Kent
Release Date:  March 3, 2022

My boss. My enemy.

I escaped my life.
Leaving everything behind wasn’t easy, but I did it.
I turned the page and flew over the ocean.
This is my new beginning.
My new chapter.
My new book.
Or so I hoped before I met my new boss.
Daniel Sterling.
Rich as sin, illegally attractive, and the face of every magazine cover.
Oh, and the reason why I escaped in the first place.
I made his high school life hell.
He won’t stop until he gives me a taste of my own medicine.

Empire of Hate is a complete STANDALONE. No book should be read prior to this.
Note: This is NOT a dark romance.

AMAZON

You’re the only woman I wanted with a desperation that bordered on both pleasure and pain. The only woman who drives me fucking insane but I still can’t look away from.

Rina Kent’s books are easily some of the most recommended to me. Sadly, her books are also really hit or miss for me, mostly a miss from the few I tried lately. After DNFing Empire of Sin, I decided to give this series one more shot after seeing someone talk about a particular plot device in this story which left me drooling for it. And damn am I grateful I gave it a shot, because I devoured this.

If you read even some of my reviews, you know my undying love and devotion for all things enemies to lovers. You also know that I love my heroes mean. Like make me hate to love them and c*ck punch them at the same time sort of mean. I want to hate them for almost the entirety of the book and then I need them to irrevocably change my mind and forgive them in the last chapters. What? I have peculiar tastes, mkay? *buffs nails* But I digress.

If you’ve read Rina’s Royal Elite series , you’ll recognize these characters. This book features the “evil” stepsister from Cruel King which sadly I remember barely anything from. As a matter of fact, I had a hard time seeing the girl for the reputation she had because outside of one particular scene, I didn’t see one mean part of her, but I’m guessing that was featured in Cruel King and I just don’t remember it.

Nicole has been obsessed with Daniel since they met as children. But while she can’t see anything else but him, he wants nothing to do with her. And after years of obsession, Nicole left London to live a life that barely resembles the one of privilege that shattered when she left. Desperate to take care of herself and her family, she needs a job, and she lands at the desk of her biggest tormentor and obsession she thought she left behind.

Daniel remembers Nicole all too well and he’s determined to make her pay for every wrong he things she made. When I tell you I wanted to jock punch this man for the better part of the book, I’m not lying. What I loved about Nicole is while she has no choice but to take his abuse to keep her job, she still has a spine of steel. You also get flashbacks of their past that shows what led up to Nicole ultimately running from London to US. And when you get the full picture, you realize just how epically Daniel fucked up. And when he finally realizes it too? GAH. I admit his cold shoulder after the revelation was a bit much. I do get his beating himself up and blaming himself, but I wanted him to grovel. I wanted him to work for his forgiveness. And while he gave enough to be satisfying, it still felt a touch lacking.

All in all this was still a super addictive read.

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Review: Ruthless by Gena Showalter

August 9, 2022 by · 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!

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

July 22, 2022 by · 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.

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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

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Review: Kingdom of Villains by Ella Fields

July 7, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

KINGDOM OF VILLAINS
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Author: Ella Fields
Release Date: June 29, 2022

USA Today bestselling author, Ella Fields, delivers a treacherously tender love story set in an all-new fantasy world.

I’d known exactly who he was—the Unseelie prince. But I hadn’t known just what he was.
I’d been fooled.

The creature I’d formed a tentative friendship with in my family’s dungeon was not the gentle, intriguing prince I’d thought him to be.
He was a monster. A bloodthirsty beast.

And I’d helped him escape my uncle’s clutches.

Such a betrayal called for severe consequences, and the price of releasing the biggest threat our kingdom had faced in hundreds of years was not one I would survive.

But upon discovering my uncle’s foiled plans for their prince, the Unseelie demanded vengeance, and an agreement was made.

My savior and my doom returned, and this time, he wasn’t leaving without me.

Regardless of how I loathed him, the deceitful and dangerous male was my last hope. Yet when he looked at me, touched me, dared to love me, the beliefs I’d worn as armor began to melt.

I couldn’t let that happen.

Though avoiding fate would prove impossible when the only way to save my life was to surrender it by marrying the monster who’d destroyed it.

–

This enemies to lovers romantasy contains mature content. It’s a complete standalone and not connected to any other Ella Fields novel.

AMAZON 

You’re far too sweet for a male who shifts into a dragon and fucks like a beast.”

The Savage and the Swan is easily my favorite book of Ella’s to date. And I’ve been practically salivating for another fantasy romance from the queen of angst. And what does she do? Give us a dragon shifter and his fae mate. GAH. I die.

Now if you’ve read any of Ella’s books before, you know the woman brings angst. And when I say angst, I mean ANGST. Like rip your hair out, rage at the ceiling, and throw your kindle out the window sort of angst. The delicious sort, basically. But I digress. What I was trying to say is this book is not like her usual. While there’s a gritty undertone to it, and it packs plenty of feels, it’s angst light.
Colvin is not Ella’s usual a-hole brand of heroes. This man may be a morally gray dragon shifter, but he has a heart of gold. I fell so hard and fast for him.

You need to stop this.” Leaning into him, I whispered, “Stop what?” “Ruining me from noticing anything in this world that isn’t you.”

When Fia the Fae Seelie princess discovers the Unseelie prince Colvin in her uncle’s dungeon, it doesn’t take long for the two to strike up an unlikely friendship. When Fia helps the prince escape, it costs her her already precarious position in her kingdom. So when the prince returns for her and she’s to wed him and unite the two kingdoms? Well, she’s not exactly feeling all that forced when it allows her to escape her uncles dungeon herself. Suffice it to say there’s no love lost between her and her family.

What begins is an achingly tender romance between two unlikely creatures. Colvin has spent the majority of his life looking for a cure to his ailment. And his new bride to be may be the answer he’s been searching for. It doesn’t take him long to fall for the feral princess. But as the layers begin to peel back, you soon realize that not quite everything is as it seems.

Now I’ll say this isn’t my usual flavor of romance I gravitate towards. I like the aholes and I live for the angst. But a girl needs a refreshing change of pace every now and then, and boy did this bring it. It was sweet, yes, but it certainly wasn’t tame. It had just enough grit to suck me in with plenty of feels to keep me glued to the pages. I love that it’s not your typical prince rescue the princess story. It’s so much more than that and Fia was such a fierce heroine that I couldn’t get enough of her.

Everything about this story from the stunning world building to the enrapturing secondary characters sucked me right in, and didn’t let me go until the end.

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Review: Black Skies Riviera by Catherine Wiltcher

June 8, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

BLACK SKIES RIVIERA
Series: Cristo Sinners #1
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Author: Catherine Wiltcher
Release Date: April 19, 2020

An arranged marriage mafia romance where love is a debt no sinner can pay…

Issa Dubova is the queen of cloudy diamonds:
A Bratva princess.
My reluctant new wife.
A pretty bargain in exchange for the names of the men who killed my father.

I’m a black suit of spades:
Determined to bury both her and my demons.
I never asked to see the shape of her heart.
I never asked for her to fill the blank spaces of mine.

But the mafia wants her secrets.
I’m not the first she betrayed.
And Issa? Sweet, not-so-innocent Issa?
She’s now a debt no sinner can pay.

Black Skies Riviera is a heart-stopping, enemies to lovers romance with NO cliff-hanger and a guaranteed HEA. For mature readers only.

AMAZON 

Mine.” He groans it into the kiss, and I swallow down every drop of his possession like it’s my favorite poison.

This book has been on my TBR since release. I’ve been itching to read it but also putting it off. I tend to stay away from books with Russian speaking characters because if I get one more dose of google translate, I may lose it. I’m nitpicky, ok? And it’s a rare occurrence when a foreign language is done correct and not half assed in an indie published book. Le sigh. Let’s just say I have PTSD when it comes to this. But I digress. After a week of struggling through indecisive readerdosis (that’s the medical diagnosis for can’t pick a fucking book to save my life”), I settled on this one. And was immediately hooked!

With his broad shoulders, solid muscularity, and black ink crawling out from underneath the cuff of one wrist, he looks like a fallen angel on a trajectory straight to hell.

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my absolute favorite stories. So any book with a nod to it will immediately hold my attention.

Fourteen years of anger and revenge driven planning. An arranged marriage of power and deception. A seemingly innocent Bratva princess and the fixer for the mob who picks no side but the one that brings him money. Yes please and thank you.

This was a story that was full of twists and turns, and while the ending was a touch predictable, it still had me at the edge of my seat.

Aiden is a ruthless business man with ties to everyone and no one. He’s given fourteen years of his life to man who helped solidify him into the brilliant criminal his is today for the promise of revenge. Two names. Two names that have kept him going and are now just one grasp away…but come with a new caveat. A marriage he doesn’t want to a woman he doesn’t know.

Issa has grown up in glass cage and had it shared when she finds out the man her father really is; the brutal head of the Bratva and a cold blooded killer. But she’ll do anything to protect her sister and her secret, even if it means paying the price of her sister’s disappearance with a marriage to a man she never saw coming.

I was immediately sucked into the story, though I did feel in times the pacing was a touch off. It was ether too quick or too slow and descriptive. But the story telling itself was gripping and well written, so it didn’t bother me much. The romance was deliciously wicked and I loved seeing the layers peeled back on both Aiden and Issa. There’s some secondary characters mentioned who I will be immediately grabbing the books for The Santiago Trilogy and A London Villain.

Sadly for the little Russian there was here, it was incorrect, though in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t bother me much because at least it was close enough. I’m just being nitpicky and it won’t even faze most readers.

If you like deliciously layered dark mafia romance, you need to read this one. I for one will be immediately grabbing the majority of this author’s backlist.

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Review: Lovely Bad Things by Trisha Wolfe

June 5, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

LOVELY BAD THINGS
Series: Hollows Rowe #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Author: Trisha Wolfe
Release Date: May 31, 2022

He’s the devil. And she’s his wicked game.

Halen:
They say eyes are the windows to the soul—but when he looks at me through hues of slate-green and flaring blue embers, I’m terrified of what’s watching me from behind his clashing gaze, something primal and feverish that threatens to melt me like fire in ice.

I fear falling into Kallum Locke’s pitch-black soul.

But after I’m called to a crime scene to investigate the most gruesome act of violence to descend on the legendary town of Hollow’s Row, I have no choice but to turn to Kallum, to the man I had locked away in an asylum for the criminally insane.

He’s the leading expert on all things Nietzsche and occult. And now, to get answers, I’m forced to make a deal with the devil himself.

Kallum:
Really, eyes are the windows to the soul? Then I wonder what little Halen St. James thinks of all the cryptic eyes watching her in the killing fields… I wonder if the hairs on her delicate nape lifted away, if a thrilling shiver raced over her soft skin. She’s desperate for the answer, and she’ll do anything to uncover it—even make a deal with me, dangling freedom like bait on a hook.

But she’s far more tempting to sink my teeth into than any lure.

And the pain will taste twice as sweet.

AMAZON 

It’s the lovely bad things that steal into our thoughts in the middle of the night and tempt us across the line between good and evil. Those torturously beautiful sins that provoke our deepest, most deviant desires. It feeds us in the dark, stoking a frail flame into an inferno we can no longer resist. She is my flame. And I am all but pleading for my muse to burn me alive.


Holy. Effing. Mindf*ck. This book! What did I just read?!

The devil is in the details, and the details are inside that devil’s head. And I’m about to throw the doors of hell wide open to let him roam free.

A criminal profiler and a sociopath serial killer? This is the type of psychological thriller dark romance my dreams are made of and no one does it quite like Trisha Wolfe. I mean, if you know, you know. And if you don’t know, read Born, Darkly immediately. But I digress.

The abyss looked at me the day Kallum first laid eyes on me and, if I’m not careful, he’ll pull me right into the pitch-black void of his soul.

This is a story in which you won’t see up from down. It’s so full of twists and turns that it leaves you reeling at the edge of your seat with a head of questions. Holy WOW!

That is his sinful seduction. And my sin is the desire to be seduced. His evil calls to mine.

On the hunt for a dangerous serial killer, Halen is desperate for answers. So desperate, that she’ll request the assistance of an even more dangerous killer who she was responsible for putting behind bars six months ago.

Kallum Locke is a dangerous sort of genius. This is a man whose darkness is a deep abyss full of secrets, but his allure is even deeper. And the further they get into the investigation, the deeper into his void he pulls Halen.

Oh, god…”
“I will make you see god for damn sure.”


What I love about this story is how complex it was. This is not just a hunt for a serial killer, it’s so much more. There’s philosophy and the occult, and it’s as fascinating as it is frustratingly confusing.

I’m okay with being her sickness. I can even be her antidote.

The way it’s written reminded me a little of the movie Memento, and holy sh*t, I was so here for it. With every new detail that gets unearthed, you get deeper and deeper into this f*cked up story. And every single time you feel like you have it figured out, a new twist gets thrown in that has you questioning everything. I’m so desperate for the next book, I don’t even know what to do with myself!!

USA Today bestselling romantic thriller author Trisha Wolfe. From an early age, Trisha Wolfe dreamed up imaginary worlds and characters and was accused of talking to herself. Today, she lives in South Carolina with her family and writes full time, using her imaginary worlds as an excuse to continue talking to herself.

Be the first to hear about new releases and sales by signing up for Trisha Wolfe's Newsletter below. Want even more special insider sneak peeks? Join Trisha’s Facebook readers group, The Lair, and get access to book teasers, giveaways, and live chats.


Connect with Trisha Wolfe:

linktr.ee/trisha_wolfe

 

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#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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