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caffeinatedcrystal's reviews
176 reviews
The Cowboy and the Rascal by Jackie North
4.0
This was my first Jackie North book, and apparently she's got 2 series with cowboys... so this won't be my last.
If you're looking for a romance without a lot of spice but heavy on the storytelling and character building - this may be for you.
Blaze was in prison for two years doing time for a crime he didn't commit. *seriously, he didn't, it was his brother* Getting early release and into a parole program that seems too good to be true leads Blaze right into the path of Gabe, the team leader and project manager of the Farthingdale Valley parolee project.
Again this story wasn't heavy on spice, it was more of a slow into feelings. I enjoyed it, and will probably download the next book just to see what happens next LOL
If you're looking for a romance without a lot of spice but heavy on the storytelling and character building - this may be for you.
Blaze was in prison for two years doing time for a crime he didn't commit. *seriously, he didn't, it was his brother* Getting early release and into a parole program that seems too good to be true leads Blaze right into the path of Gabe, the team leader and project manager of the Farthingdale Valley parolee project.
Again this story wasn't heavy on spice, it was more of a slow into feelings. I enjoyed it, and will probably download the next book just to see what happens next LOL
Sailor Proof by Annabeth Albert
5.0
Annabeth Albert is so good at delivering big feelings. In Sailor Proof, we get Navy Cheif Derek & musician/composer Arthur.
We get fake dating.
Viral kisses on deck after deployment.
Family reunion vacations.
Learning to ✨️be you✨️
Big declarations.
First time.
Jock/nerd vibes.
Family & found family.
Big moments. Big feelings.
I read this when it came.out, and I loved it then. I loved it now too. I love when a book holds up.
Sailor Proof was a great read. Low angst and squishy feelings. I was here for it.
We get fake dating.
Viral kisses on deck after deployment.
Family reunion vacations.
Learning to ✨️be you✨️
Big declarations.
First time.
Jock/nerd vibes.
Family & found family.
Big moments. Big feelings.
I read this when it came.out, and I loved it then. I loved it now too. I love when a book holds up.
Sailor Proof was a great read. Low angst and squishy feelings. I was here for it.
Smoke Signals by B. Harmony
5.0
This one was from the tbr pile 🖤🖤🖤
Smoke Signals was a sweet story with Dylan and his smokin' hot fire captain Shane.
If you're looking for a small town romance with a closeted older character, an age gap, anxiety rep, & two absolute cuties in off the wall found family situations - look no further.
This really was a cute story and the 250+ pages went really fast. I loved Dylan's sweetness and relatablity & Shane's very understandable fear.
This may be book 3 in a series, but ita cool as a standalone alone! I really enjoyed this one!
Kiss, Kill, Thrill Me, Daddy by Lance Lansdale
5.0
Yesterday, I read Kiss Kill Thrill Me, Daddy. This book was absolutely bonkers. To really lose yourself in the insanity, you'll need to read book one.
Again, I repeat, this story was bonkers. Tatum and Abi were legit crazy and were totally obsessed with each other in weirder and weirder ways. Reading this book and these characters almost made me feel like I took too much benadryl. Like, everything was loopy and over the top.
Abi "kidnaps" Tatum at the end(ish) of book one for reasons only known if you've read book one. When book two starts, it's 6 months later, and Tatum is still "kidnapped" and living with the folks at the Winawana.
I honestly can't even break down everything that happens on this story because it's cracky, and you'll only really enjoy it if you're reading yourself.
Needless to say, this book was funny and fun, and the spice between the mcs was constant and progressively weirder *no shade* until the book just sort of ends.
I had a blast reading it, trying to figure out what would happen next - but I think this author is a little unhinged, and I was pleased to go along with wherever he was going to take the story.
My favorite parts:
🩷 Abi's obsessive love and worship of Tatum. I love that lovely of unhinged obsession.
🩷 Tatum regaining the shine he lost to Nito & the Bens. Tatum, finding his confidence again, was lovely and wild as it was.
These books are best enjoyed if you leave reality at the door and just free fall into the chaos.
Again, I repeat, this story was bonkers. Tatum and Abi were legit crazy and were totally obsessed with each other in weirder and weirder ways. Reading this book and these characters almost made me feel like I took too much benadryl. Like, everything was loopy and over the top.
Abi "kidnaps" Tatum at the end(ish) of book one for reasons only known if you've read book one. When book two starts, it's 6 months later, and Tatum is still "kidnapped" and living with the folks at the Winawana.
I honestly can't even break down everything that happens on this story because it's cracky, and you'll only really enjoy it if you're reading yourself.
Needless to say, this book was funny and fun, and the spice between the mcs was constant and progressively weirder *no shade* until the book just sort of ends.
I had a blast reading it, trying to figure out what would happen next - but I think this author is a little unhinged, and I was pleased to go along with wherever he was going to take the story.
My favorite parts:
🩷 Abi's obsessive love and worship of Tatum. I love that lovely of unhinged obsession.
🩷 Tatum regaining the shine he lost to Nito & the Bens. Tatum, finding his confidence again, was lovely and wild as it was.
These books are best enjoyed if you leave reality at the door and just free fall into the chaos.
Easton by Riley Hart
5.0
OMG. This book!!! EASTON hits some pretty serious topics, but it still has that classic touch of Riley Hart that just tugs at your heartstrings.
Easton, the youngest Swift brother, lost his twin sister when he was 9 and has never gotten over it. The whole family has so much going on and so much toxicity, and their dad did SO MUCH to mess them up... it's a miracle Easton was as sweet as he was under all of that ✨️mad sad boy✨️
Archer, our loveable cop, was such a big hearted & hard loving man. He was ALL-IN and made loving Easton his number one priority. It was never about "fixing" Easton. It was about giving him the love he deserved.
My favorite part, outside the romance, was the fact that loving Archer wasn't Easton's magic fix. He needed lots of help and healing, and sometimes the only way to find that is with professional HELP. Loving Archer opened the door of Easton's heart so he could get help. Love wasn't the big fix.
Easton was a wonderful.book full of love, grief & grieving, loss, family, found family, healing, and falling in love.
The spice was NICE. Easton's needy-ness was hot and absolutely tracked with his character. I loved Archer's dirty mouth - these two were 🔥🔥🔥
Easton comes out October 10th, Riley, break my heart again!
Easton, the youngest Swift brother, lost his twin sister when he was 9 and has never gotten over it. The whole family has so much going on and so much toxicity, and their dad did SO MUCH to mess them up... it's a miracle Easton was as sweet as he was under all of that ✨️mad sad boy✨️
Archer, our loveable cop, was such a big hearted & hard loving man. He was ALL-IN and made loving Easton his number one priority. It was never about "fixing" Easton. It was about giving him the love he deserved.
My favorite part, outside the romance, was the fact that loving Archer wasn't Easton's magic fix. He needed lots of help and healing, and sometimes the only way to find that is with professional HELP. Loving Archer opened the door of Easton's heart so he could get help. Love wasn't the big fix.
Easton was a wonderful.book full of love, grief & grieving, loss, family, found family, healing, and falling in love.
The spice was NICE. Easton's needy-ness was hot and absolutely tracked with his character. I loved Archer's dirty mouth - these two were 🔥🔥🔥
Easton comes out October 10th, Riley, break my heart again!
Inheriting Miss Fortune by Lucy Lennox
5.0
I love this universe so much! I was absolutely delighted to get back to Majestic Wyoming.
Dev is a horse man. A rancher. An emotionally damaged loner with a core group of friends. He has a giant heart hidden under his broody cowboy exterior.
Tully is a buttoned up, fancy, city boy lawyer. He is on his way to track down Dev with a SURPRISE.
Our two mcs have a past, and now guess what happens when they're in each other's path again... you know what happens! It's amazing, and I don't want to spoil a second of it!
I LOVED this book. I loved Tully & Dev. I loved all the side characters. I love the town and all the found family vibes.
Lucy Lennox is a wordsmith when it comes to small town romance and big feelings. I enjoyed the hell out of this story, and I know I said this already, but I loved being back in Majestic. This series is SUCH a banger.
INHERITING MISS FORTUNE is out October 8th, TOMORROW. If you're looking for surprise single dad vibes, big intense chemistry, grief, and plot that just keeps plotting and amazing side characters in an unforgettable town - look no further!
Dev is a horse man. A rancher. An emotionally damaged loner with a core group of friends. He has a giant heart hidden under his broody cowboy exterior.
Tully is a buttoned up, fancy, city boy lawyer. He is on his way to track down Dev with a SURPRISE.
Our two mcs have a past, and now guess what happens when they're in each other's path again... you know what happens! It's amazing, and I don't want to spoil a second of it!
I LOVED this book. I loved Tully & Dev. I loved all the side characters. I love the town and all the found family vibes.
Lucy Lennox is a wordsmith when it comes to small town romance and big feelings. I enjoyed the hell out of this story, and I know I said this already, but I loved being back in Majestic. This series is SUCH a banger.
INHERITING MISS FORTUNE is out October 8th, TOMORROW. If you're looking for surprise single dad vibes, big intense chemistry, grief, and plot that just keeps plotting and amazing side characters in an unforgettable town - look no further!
The Husband Experience by Maya Jean
5.0
I love the feeling of finishing a book and knowing it has become a favorite. I just read The Husband Experience by Maya Jean, and good lord. This book is absolutely incredible.
The characters: immaculate
The setting: gorgeous
The story: so heartbreakingly good
The Husband Experience was beautiful. Truly. I fell in love with the characters while they were falling in love with each other. Maya Jean can write a story, let me tell you. I was dragged in and held completely captivated by Eli and Colby.
Colby, trying to move on from the loss of his husband, is encouraged to rent a boyfriend for a week. Rip the band aid off, so to speak. He knows he's ready to move on. This is just a push.
Eli is hired to give "the husband experience" for the first week in July. 50k and a vacation? Sounds ideal. He's a professional.
From the moment, literally the moment, these two meet - everything they both thought the week would be gets derailed.
They fell in love in 6 days, and what a beautiful fall it was.
When I tell you I loved them, you have to believe me. Both Eli and Colby are electric, and their love is so damned beautiful. This story was so good, and I can't wait to read Trevor and Beau's story. Although I genuinely can't imagine how it could be better than Eli and Colby's. These two have skyrocketed to my favorite couples list.
Read this one.
It's such a romance.
The characters: immaculate
The setting: gorgeous
The story: so heartbreakingly good
The Husband Experience was beautiful. Truly. I fell in love with the characters while they were falling in love with each other. Maya Jean can write a story, let me tell you. I was dragged in and held completely captivated by Eli and Colby.
Colby, trying to move on from the loss of his husband, is encouraged to rent a boyfriend for a week. Rip the band aid off, so to speak. He knows he's ready to move on. This is just a push.
Eli is hired to give "the husband experience" for the first week in July. 50k and a vacation? Sounds ideal. He's a professional.
From the moment, literally the moment, these two meet - everything they both thought the week would be gets derailed.
They fell in love in 6 days, and what a beautiful fall it was.
When I tell you I loved them, you have to believe me. Both Eli and Colby are electric, and their love is so damned beautiful. This story was so good, and I can't wait to read Trevor and Beau's story. Although I genuinely can't imagine how it could be better than Eli and Colby's. These two have skyrocketed to my favorite couples list.
Read this one.
It's such a romance.
F**k, Marry, Kill Me, Daddy by Lance Lansdale
5.0
This book was absolutely unhinged. Like, if you've ever read cracky fanfic, that's the vibe.
Brody is a hitman, and he's been hired to take out Scotty. Brody is not usually bad at his job, but he just can't seem to seal the deal with Scotty.
Scotty is a lonely man, and very very crazy. He notices Brody stalking him and just assumes that Brody is into him.
Thus begins their "murder daddy" game. Brody can't deny he is into Scotty, and Scotty is unabashedly obsessed with his new Daddy.
There are hilarious threats of murder, battling internalized homophobia, gratuitous violence, being on the run, and lots of off the wall sex and dirty talk.
I honestly wanted to stop reading because it was so weird, but I had to keep going. I wanted to see how it was going to end.
This book was extremely entertaining. If you're gonna read it, go into expecting weird and alternate reality vibes.
In the end, Scotty got his murder daddy, and I was absolutely here for it.
Brody is a hitman, and he's been hired to take out Scotty. Brody is not usually bad at his job, but he just can't seem to seal the deal with Scotty.
Scotty is a lonely man, and very very crazy. He notices Brody stalking him and just assumes that Brody is into him.
Thus begins their "murder daddy" game. Brody can't deny he is into Scotty, and Scotty is unabashedly obsessed with his new Daddy.
There are hilarious threats of murder, battling internalized homophobia, gratuitous violence, being on the run, and lots of off the wall sex and dirty talk.
I honestly wanted to stop reading because it was so weird, but I had to keep going. I wanted to see how it was going to end.
This book was extremely entertaining. If you're gonna read it, go into expecting weird and alternate reality vibes.
In the end, Scotty got his murder daddy, and I was absolutely here for it.
Bee Cave Magic by Kelly Fox
5.0
Oh I loved this little story and need more from this universe.
Rex, a bear shifter & honey supplier touches the hand of his longtime crush Micah. Micah, a thought to be nonshifter from a family of shifters, avoids Rex because he's afraid he will fall immediately in love and then lose Rex when Rex's mate shows up. Micah has no idea that HE would end up being Rex's mate.
Micah broke my heart in all kinds of ways. Rex is the perfect mate for him, with the kindness and patience to undo all the damage Micah's parents managed to inflict.
I laughed so much at Micah's antics in animal form. Literally, I was I was crying, it was so funny. The screaming had me DEAD.
Again, if you like pnr stories, this little novella is top tier. And Kelly, if you're reading this, I'd read way more of these little shorties if you wrote them. In the Bee Cave universe AND the Orpheum Avenue Universe.
Girl, if you're writing it, I'm reading it.
Rex, a bear shifter & honey supplier touches the hand of his longtime crush Micah. Micah, a thought to be nonshifter from a family of shifters, avoids Rex because he's afraid he will fall immediately in love and then lose Rex when Rex's mate shows up. Micah has no idea that HE would end up being Rex's mate.
Micah broke my heart in all kinds of ways. Rex is the perfect mate for him, with the kindness and patience to undo all the damage Micah's parents managed to inflict.
I laughed so much at Micah's antics in animal form. Literally, I was I was crying, it was so funny. The screaming had me DEAD.
Again, if you like pnr stories, this little novella is top tier. And Kelly, if you're reading this, I'd read way more of these little shorties if you wrote them. In the Bee Cave universe AND the Orpheum Avenue Universe.
Girl, if you're writing it, I'm reading it.
Hallowed Moon by Kelly Fox
5.0
I love Kelly Fox. You know this. To me, she writes some of the best stories there are. I'm slowly trying to work through the few I haven't read, and I started with Hallowed Moon, the first shortie in the Orpheum Avenue series.
Lazare is a wolf shifter in a beautiful found family. They seem to live their lives and attempt to help out other shifters in need. The moon is doing crazy things to Lazare this time around, and everyone is teasing him,telling him it's his fated.
Remy is a vampire from a rich family. Bless his heart, he's kidnapped, & his family offers cash for information to help find him.
The family of shifters need money to help the needy shifters so off the go!
But guess what? Remy and Lazare, they're fated. There's all kinds of other plot things happening, but if you're looking for knots and buckets of cum, look no further.
Loved these two. Loved this little shortie. I hope Kelly writes more on this. Gentry and Eloy perhaps? Or maybe Galyna can get that plus size loving on? I'm here for it. Always!
Lazare is a wolf shifter in a beautiful found family. They seem to live their lives and attempt to help out other shifters in need. The moon is doing crazy things to Lazare this time around, and everyone is teasing him,telling him it's his fated.
Remy is a vampire from a rich family. Bless his heart, he's kidnapped, & his family offers cash for information to help find him.
The family of shifters need money to help the needy shifters so off the go!
But guess what? Remy and Lazare, they're fated. There's all kinds of other plot things happening, but if you're looking for knots and buckets of cum, look no further.
Loved these two. Loved this little shortie. I hope Kelly writes more on this. Gentry and Eloy perhaps? Or maybe Galyna can get that plus size loving on? I'm here for it. Always!