corvinascloud's reviews
874 reviews

Irresistible Darkness by Raven Wood

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 this was unexpected in the best of ways, right when i thought this last book might feel like something was missing due to the change of setting, the author surprised me. it made sense for the mmc to not have his book be about the college for hitmen, while also being about breaking from his family generational tradition of being hitman. and then ending up with him joining his brothers in the business. because the story was all about freedom, so naturally it was a forced proximity, bodyguard romance. it’s brilliant, really. the contrasting juxtaposition between the main couple was rooted in the fact that they’re actually the same. for one of them to be free the other had to be “caged”, the poetic justice of it all. 

Enduring Darkness by Raven Wood

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“you never have to pretend with me. you never have to worry about looking weak or breakable. i already know how strong you are. so if you need to cry, cry. and if you need to break down, break down. i will help you pick up the pieces afterwards.”

i was apprehensive that this book was going to follow in the footsteps of book one, which wasn’t my favorite, and for a while it went into the bullying dynamic i really don’t like. but in this case it felt different, simply because the mmc knew the fmc wouldn’t break. whereas in the first instalment eli didn’t know raina and what she was capable of, here kaden realized, very early on, how strong and frankly underestimated alina was. that man knew she might beat him at his own game and told his brother he would marry her if that happened. i don’t think i’ve ever read a character be downright amazed and proud when they find out they were deceived, but he felt so fulfilled when she finally reached her true potential by double crossing him (“no, you do not kneel after the massive fucking power play you hit me with tonight. tonight, i kneel for you. memorize this moment, little doe, because this is the moment the war ends. with my surrender.”), i love to see it. who would’ve thought kaden would turn out to be my favorite brother, certainly not me. however, i swear, if i had to read the words “psychopath smile” one more time in this entire series i was going to lose it. 

Inescapable Darkness by Raven Wood

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 “i let you live because i saw in your eyes what i have always felt too. that i don’t want to die without even having lived.” 

this gave me everything i wanted from book one, but better. the fmc was even more badass, more unhinged, but above all, more murderous. this was almost like a second chance romance, which i love, and thankfully there wasn’t much bullying in the story. the mmc was a simp, not only was he a simp practically from the start, not wanting to torture nor divulging her secret identity, but he had been simping for her for six years, ever since she spared his life. but it gets better, on top of being an unapologetic simp, this man knows she’s better than him, that he will never be able to beat her. that’s my favorite part about this whole book. she calls him little mafia prince and he calls her little menace, if those nicknames don’t speak to their entire dynamic and power balance i don’t know what will. they’re the definition of soulmates, star crossed “enemies” to lovers.

Alluring Darkness by Raven Wood

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

“did you know that you’re the first person to make me feel as if there is absolutely nothing wrong with me? you’re the first person who has seen all the fucked-up sides of me and still not looked at me as if i’m defective in some way. the first person to make me feel as if being insane is an asset, not a liability. to make me feel as if i don’t need to be fixed.”

this book was all the fmc for me, i honestly just read it and finished it because of her. i really don't like, let alone understand, bully romance. add to that when a group of friends/brothers gang up on the girl, and i despise it with my entire being. that spanking scene in public was the most demeaning thing i think i've ever read in my entire life. but the fmc never broke, never stopped trying to kill them and almost murdered her love interest; the last 20% of the story, once the mmc finally realized he loved her were bearable (i folded simply because of the "i see you" trope). am i going to read the rest of the series because the other girls are just as badass? yes, yes i am. but i truly hope the author stops using the words "crazy" and "insane" every other page because it rubbed me the wrong way. 

Twisted Truths by P. Rayne

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

“i love you. so much that it hurts. so much that now that i’ve discovered this euphoria, i’m crippled by the knowledge i could fuck up and lose it.”

i can't believe another dark and delicious series by p. rayne has come and gone, but just like in mafia academy they might have left the best for last. this was like a good cry and a warm hug all wrapped up in one. i won’t admit how embarrassingly long it took me to realize this was a little mermaid retelling. especially when it was so brilliantly woven into the story and characterization of both leads. there couldn’t have been a more perfectly suited fairytale for them, every little thing just felt right and like the more natural turn of events given the plot and who they were. however, i would’ve like for the suicide attempts and the mmc’s mental health to be dealt with more seriously.

Dynasty to Destroy by Aurelia Knight

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

strangely enough, this book felt more grounded and well-rounded than the previous ones. was it still unhinged? absolutely. did i take it seriously? not at all. but the story felt more consistent. this was not only the couple i liked best, but as individuals they were also my favorite. just like the story itself, but that just might be my mafia bias.

Hung by Summer O'Toole

funny lighthearted relaxing

4.0

no thoughts, head empty. all jokes aside, it's for a good cause, and the cringyness almost cured my depression.

Broken by Serena Akeroyd

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

serena akeroyd’s writing style is very chameleon like, she can hop from genres and still deliver a solid book, whatever it may be. this was unlike anything from her i’ve ever read, yet it was very characteristic and recognizable to the author. the angst and longing and pining felt reminiscent of “obsessed” in a way, but this still was uniquely original. leave it to miss serena to write a forbidden priest romance heavy on religion where, by the end, faith is still as prominent as it was at the start. if there’s one thing she excels at (amongst many others) is writing complex characters, and these two were something else.

* i was sent an arc by wildfire marketing in exchange for a honest review 

Obsession by Jane Henry

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“no need for you? jesus. you’re my world. without you, i lose my center. i lose everything.”

this felt different yet somehow still had the same feel and essence to it that the other books i’ve read from this author have accustomed me to. as always, as i’ve come to expect from this author, the fmc was just as, if not more, badass than the mmc and i quickly got obsessed with her (no pun intended). a very strong start that hooked me to the pages right away and the gripping tension made this a page turner i simply couldn’t put down. i will say, though, you could tell this had previously been published as a duet and was now combined into one novel because the resolution of the first big plot was very evident in the sense where it separated the two halves within the story. so there were some unnecessary explanations that could’ve been cut from this since there wasn’t a break between the different conflicts. aside from that, it was still a quick read and didn’t feel long, dragged or repetitive at all. the found family element to this was yet another stapler of this author and she does it all so well.

* i was sent an arc by valentine pr in exchange for a honest review

A Dance Macabre by Naomi Loud

dark tense medium-paced

5.0

“i am chained to you for all of eternity. take my soul into yours and ruin me evermore.”

i've never read naomi loud before, but i'm glad i stepped out of my comfort zone and picked this book as an introduction to their work because from the little i know about them, they are the embodiment of a dance macabre. this is their magnum opus.

the addams family meets the crow with a hint of pagan folklore; this was a true enemies to lovers, the juxtaposition between the hall of mirrors and the cemetery is an essay to the contrast of their characterization, idolatry and death, opposites attracting. they claimed again and again each other’s deaths as their own, tiptoeing the line between murder as a slow burning foreplay and falling deeper into a madness that not even death could assuage. and death and blood were at the very marrow of their bond, in an almost vampiric sense; how the conduit of death was enthralled watching her enemy kill, as much as he was mesmerized to witness her worshipping ritual, but above all the imagery of licking and wanting to bathe in their lover's blood, the life force running through their veins as much as the madness they reveled in, culminating in the symbol of their vows. i could die. and he built her a crematorium. what in the gomez and morticia addams love language is that? romance isn't dead. romance is death.

* i was sent an arc by good girls pr in exchange for a honest review