lost_windsock's reviews
450 reviews

Pucking Vamps by J.F. Miev

4.0

When I saw this book, I was immediately intrigued. Vampires, hockey, fated mates, Daddy kink, primal kink, exhibitionism...how could I not immediately be drawn to that?? 😂 And while all of those things are things I love to see in a book, I could not for the life of me believe that a book containing so much would still be something I genuinely enjoyed. But here we are. I did genuinely enjoy this book. I thought the plot was really interesting, the vampire lore was really easy to digest, and the characters were very likable. I did feel some of Hayden's dialogue didn't really match his overall tone, if that makes sense. Instead of saying like... "I'm gonna go for a run," it would be written like, "I am going to go for a run." Which felt... weird? Leander had a more refined personality, so speaking that way made sense for him, but Hayden was just a down to earth hockey bro, so it kinda ripped me out of some of the moments. The dreaded miscommunication trope took hold in this book, too, but luckily the impact it made was more in private with the two of them instead of a big scene in front of a crowd, which is what I was dreading, so it wasn't too painful...ish 😆 Overall, I really liked this book, and I would recommend it if you're looking for a spicy paranormal romance with a side of hockey. 

Only One Coffin by A.J. Truman

3.5

I've read a lot of vampire books in my day, but this is the first one with a surfer vampire, and I kinda loved how unusual it felt. It was really fun to see the juxtaposition between the "normal" vampires in this book and Kilroy, the newly-turned surfer bro. I don't think the plot in this book was anything to really rave about, but it was a pleasant read that was comfortably predictable. Kilroy and Magnus were really sweet together, and I thought the epilogue was super cute. I would probably read more in this series if there were any more!

The Trouble With Trying to Hook a Harbinger by Jennifer Cody

5.0

What a ride! This series remains just so much fun to read, and this installment was just as enjoyable as all of the others. We got so many things resolved in this one, but so many more possibilities for what future books could hold. I really enjoyed the peek we got into the Fae realm in this book. Romily meeting Gwendolyn was a moment I want expecting to love so much. She wasn't in this book much at all, but I adore her character! I hope to see more of her in future books, and I'm really excited to read the next book in this series, as Darcy's storyline will be the focus, and I do really love him, too. So many things happened in this book, and I'm sure the next one will be equally filled with a ridiculous amount of events and satisfying resolutions. 

The Trouble with Trying to Love a Hellion by Jennifer Cody

5.0

I was not prepared. I was not prepared for how deeply in love with Edovard it was possible to be. He is the number one goodest boy, he is Himbo Supreme, and I adore him. This whole book was so much fun to read. I loved the way Edovard's magic was described, and how he didn't even see it as a mission, just a given that he wanted to help put the happiness and light back into anyone who needed it. Just knowing that I have to live my life without ever getting an Edovard hug...life can be so cruel sometimes. Seeing Edovard brighten the days of the minions was one of my favorite parts of this book. Scheming up evil-not-evil ways to help people via tax evasion, blackmail, and recycling was honestly just so funny to me. The best part about this book, however, was the relationship development between Edovard, Santanos, Gregory, and Hassan. I found that I put myself in Gregory or Hassan's shoes in terms of perspective for a lot of this book, because though it was told by Edovard, I couldn't help imagining the inner reactions and thoughts they must have been having while getting to know and understand Edovard. He was just such a pure, sweet character, and they were oftentimes taken off-guard by how he seemed to immediately love them, but more so by the fact that they loved him back just as much. Their reactions to him throughout the book were just so good. They always stood up for him, ready to defend him, but remained pretty stoic on the outside. Not that that was going to trick Edovard into thinking they didn't care, because he could literally see how much they loved him. Santanos was a perfect mate for Edovard, and Gregory and Hassan fit with them perfectly. This book was just so silly and sweet and I loved it!

The Trouble With Trying to Save an Assassin by Jennifer Cody

5.0

I just can't help but be charmed by these books and I can't stop reading them! I had plans for how my October reading would start and I'm throwing them out the window. This book had all of the hilarious commentary of the last one, more relationship building, a new family member, heaping helpings of angry, vengeance-fueled blood magic, and a little side of spice to top it all off. The way that Fox and Romily love Bellamy feels like it should be so ridiculous and unbelievable, but somehow it feels completely right and it makes more sense than I feel it has any right to 😂 But the fact that he has grown to love them back so genuinely is what makes this book both incredibly heart warming to read and also absolutely gut wrenching. My anger at whomever it was that had Bellamy taken grew right alongside Fox and Romily's. Not only did his abduction cause Romily and Fox extreme distress, but it also had poor Edovard scared and upset. I'm dying to learn more about Edovard in the next books, because there are so many things we half-learned about him and he's such a sweet and interesting character already! I'm really just looking forward to reading more of this story!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

The Trouble with Trying to Date a Murderer by Jennifer Cody

5.0

This book was too much fun. It was silly and lighthearted, but it still had a really interesting plot that kept the story moving. Romily was such a funny character, and his wit and humor cracked me up throughout this whole book. He went through a lot in his life, and because of it, was totally unphased by Fox being a reaper. I really loved Fox, too. His stoic exterior had so many cracks when it came to Romily, and it was adorable to see him so smitten in his own way. I loved Fox's dads, too, and the hilarious addition of Bellamy had me rolling. This whole book was just so much fun to read and I can't wait to read the sequel.

Sunshine by Kiki Clark, E.M. Lindsey

4.25

I can already tell that I'm going to love every book in this series, because I really really enjoyed this one. I will say that the plot and main character relationship felt very formulaic, but I do not think that hurt the book. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and this "prince/bodyguard romance but make it paranormal" was definitely in no need of fixing. Jeremiah was a character that I really enjoyed. He was stern and he took no shit, but he took protecting Remi seriously from day one, even though Remi was acting like a spoiled brat. Jeremiah's background prevented him from believing he was able to have a mate, and also made him feel like he didn't deserve to find love, which made a good amount of this book feel slightly frustrating. And no one was more frustrated than Remi, who was less resistant to listening to his feelings, but still battled feelings of inadequacy himself. I loved to see the characters growth throughout this book as they both slowly embraced their feelings for each other and let their bond grow like it wanted to. The big mystery in this book felt really obvious to me, and I figured it out pretty quickly, but that also didn't lessen my enjoyment in the story. I really liked the rest of the Trident Agency guys, and I can't wait to read the rest of these books!

Banger by Kiki Clark

4.5

Man, in the first book, I really found myself disliking Hank, and even at the very end when he and Lukas talked things out, I still wasn't a big fan. But he is 100% redeemed. I'm a huge sucker for a "let me take care of you, don't worry about a thing" storyline. Add in a heaping helping of dirty talk and you've got me. I'm usually more of a fan of the enemies-to-lovers plot line involving a longer timeline of being enemies, but I was glad things cleared up between Kevin and Hank relatively quickly. I loved the sweet dates Hank took Kevin on, and that he really followed through with his promise to take care of Kevin. This book was super low angst, and did make you wait a fairly long time to get to the spice (aside from the very beginning where we got a baby taste) but once it got to the spice, it was deliciously spicy indeed. I'm really liking this series, and I'm excited for more to come out!

Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell

4.0

Wowwee. This book was nuts. Literally the whole time I was reading this book, I was thinking to myself, "oh my God, Hannah is SO dumb." Though with every turned page, I found that I couldn't put the book down until I learned what would happen to her. The plot of this book was really engaging, and although I didn't really like Hannah or William, they were well written. I didn't guess the ending twist, either, but it definitely wasn't a surprise once it was unveiled. This was an enjoyable but wild book.

A Quick Buck by K.L. Hiers

4.0

This book was a wild ride, that's for sure! Noah joins my list of brattiest brats ever, for sure 😂 The relationship between Noah and Alistair was definitely unique, and you should be sure to check content/trigger warnings for this book, because their first few interactions are definitely...consent-questionable, so if that's something that bothers you, this isn't your book. Noah was definitely way into the dynamic from the beginning, although he was also quite confused that he felt that way. As the book went on, he was able to talk out his feelings and confusion with Alistair, who insisted they talk things out together to help understand why his head was such a mess. Alistair was always in charge, and he led with a strong hand, but he also let some of his walls down for Noah and shared some vulnerability with him, too. The murder mystery aspect of this book was really fun to watch play out. I had my suspicions about who the killer would end up being, and I was almost right, but not quite. There were so many layers to the why/who/how, and it was a really engaging mystery. The actual pace of this book I would say was extremely slow, which I happen to be a big fan of, but if a slow-paced 500 page book isn't your bag, be warned. I really enjoyed it, though, and I'm dying to read Mickey and Roger's book now!