originalbooknerd's reviews
891 reviews

Pretty Poisoned by Elle Mitchell

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

🎸𝔓𝔯𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔶 𝔓𝔬𝔦𝔰𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔡 - 𝔊𝔬𝔡𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔗𝔬𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔴 𝔇𝔲𝔢𝔱 𝔅𝔬𝔬𝔨 1 - ℜ𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔢𝔴🎸 

 

Author: Elle Mitchell 

 

Couple: Teagan Townsend with Declan and Luca De Rossi 

 

Tropes: why choose, dark romance, rockstar romance, mystery/suspense, hidden secrets, taboo romance, enemy to lovers, forced proximity, wild FMC 

 

Review: Pretty Poisoned…wow Elle Mitchell has done it again with this dark rockstar duet and this first part blew my mind! Teagan Townsend is a wild child with a passion for true crime and she character led the way in this book from the beginning. I found Teagan to be one of my favorite FMCs by Elle and loved her throughout. Elle was really able to capture the ups and downs she went through in this book and I found that Teagan was a storm of chaos all on her own! 

 

Teagan’s story is DARK. This first half of the story was a whirlwind of tragedy, lust and taboo as she sets off to discover secrets of a dark rocker group. Her innate curiosity was a part that I found to be enthralling and also damaging since she was never able to let anything go. Elle was able to craft the deviousness her character had and I found her story to be unique yet also cunning in ways that elevated her story. 

 

Teagan’s relationship with Declan and Luca was FIRE. From the meet cute you knew that there was a dark brother and a light brother but man…was I wring about who was which. Luca and Declan were 100 levels of HEAT that also kept the danger going and I cannot wait to see what happens in part 2. The differences between the brothers added a ton of tension to the book while also allowing us to see the evolving and devolving of their characters as Teagan broke down their walls. 

 

As with all of Elle’s books, this one is full of triggers and content warnings that need to be checked before reading but also brought the mystery to the story. These characters are NOT nice MCs and are full of brokenness, darkness and deceit. The way she ended this first book was gut clenching and I cannot wait to continue the duet! 

 

Rating: 5/5; a thrilling and darkly delicious rockstar romance guaranteed to keep you enthralled from the first page until the huge cliffhanger at the end! 

 

Thank you to Elle for sending me this eARC!

By his rule by Tracy Lorraine

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

𝐵𝓎𝐻𝒾𝓈𝑅𝓊𝓁𝑒 - 𝒞𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒶𝒽𝒶𝓃𝐵𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝑜𝓃𝒶𝒾𝓇𝑒𝓈𝟤 - 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌 

 

Author: Tracy Lorraine 

 

Couple: Lorelei Tempest & Kian Callahan 

 

Tropes: workplace romance, boss x assistant, enemies to lovers, billionaire romance, found family, forced proximity, “he takes care of her”, he falls first x harder, fierce FMC 

 

Review: By His Rule was another 5 star, highly emotional, angst filled read by Tracy Lorraine and I can’t even be sorry about the book hangover it caused! Kian and Lorelei were w WHIRLWIND of emotional turmoil and I loved both of them from the very beginning. Tracy was able to draw me in from page 1 with the tension and animosity Lorelei had for Kian and I LOVED seeing her come undone by him as the book went on! 

 

Kian Callahan was a God among Men in this book and for Tracy this says something since she excels at making jaw-dropping book boyfriends. Kian was the breadwinner for me in this book and I LOVED watching him fall for his woman. The love and possessiveness he had for her was SOO obvious toe everyone but him and Lorelei and it was amazing reading his acceptance of why she began to be the most important person in his life. I also LIVED for the banter they shared both in the office and outside of it! 

 

Lorelei was a truly independent FMC and Tracy did it up well in this book. I found her to be a pillar of strength but also to be vulnerable in ways that shocked me. The slow melting she did for Kian and his devotion to her added to the her character a ton and I enjoyed watching her find her way. I also liked seeing how she was the guardian to her half-brothers. That added a whole new layer to her character and put a lot of the jagged edges of her personality into perspective. My one thing was that I wished she had accepted Kian sooner since it was hard to read his upset as he felt like sh would never fully trust him. 

 

Kian and Lorelei were INTENSE. The two were force on their own but together they were pretty unstoppable in this book. The push and pull Tracy added to their relationship boosted the tension to a whole new level and seeing the mighty Kian fall to his knees was THE BEST. I also ate up all the dirty talk and snark Kian had when talking to Lorelei and adored his nickname for her. The only thing I wanted more explanation on was his middle child syndrome since it seemed to be a big part of his character. Overall, By His Rule was a THICK romance full of emotional angst, turmoil and once in a lifetime love that is perfect fro fans of workplace romance! 

 

Rating: 5/5, Kian Callahan came, conquered and left me in shambles waiting for the next to fall! 

 

 

Thank you to Tracy for sending me this eARC!

Truly Madly Deeply by L.J. Shen

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

💕𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕝𝕪 𝕄𝕒𝕕𝕝𝕪, 𝔻𝕖𝕖𝕡𝕝𝕪 - 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕓𝕚𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕟 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕊𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝟙 - ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 

 

𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳: 𝘓.𝘑. 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘯 - @authorljshen 

 

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦: 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢 “ 𝘊𝘢𝘭” 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘷𝘪𝘯 & 𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 “𝘙𝘰𝘸” 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘴 

 

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴: 

💕"𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝘼𝙇𝙒𝘼𝙔𝙎 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪" 

🫶🏻"𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝘺𝘰𝘶" 

💕𝘽𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙'𝙨 𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 

🫶🏻𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 

💕𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 

🫶🏻"𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪?" 

💕𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝙗𝙤𝙨𝙨 

🫶🏻𝙂𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙮 𝙭 𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚 

💕𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘿!𝙚 

🫶🏻"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴" 

💕𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 

🫶🏻𝙃𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩/𝙃𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘿𝙀𝙍 

💕𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 

 

𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸: 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮, 𝘿𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙮 by 𝙇𝙅 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙣 is another 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙋𝙄𝙀𝘾𝙀! This book 𝙍𝙄𝙋𝙋𝙀𝘿 my heart out, stomped on it and then gradually taped it back together in ways only Leigh is able to do and Cal and Row will be one of my favorite angsty couples for months if not years to come! This book was a lot different than what LJ normally writes but was also 𝙒𝙃𝙊𝙇𝙇𝙔 captivating from the 𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙎𝙏 page! Row and Cal were a 𝙈𝙀𝙎𝙎𝙔 𝙍𝙊𝙈𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀 waiting to happen and I absolutely 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀𝘿 every word, feelings, twist and turn until the words “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙣𝙙!” 

 

This book kicks off 𝙃𝘼𝙒𝙏 and the tension between the two MCs only grows as the book goes on! LJ immediately dove into the heat between a younger Cal and Row but then did us 𝘿𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙔 with the tragic breaking up of two best friends. The emotions she portrayed in that first chapter alone sucked me into this book and they was she was able to capitalize on the 𝘽𝙐𝙍𝙉𝙄𝙉𝙂 emotions between Row, Cal and Dylan upon Cal’s return home years later kept me reading to see what would happen between the two. While the romance in this book was swoon-level good, the friendship between Cal and Dylan was really one of my favorite parts in this book! The two of these women were 𝙃𝘼𝙉𝘿𝙎 𝘿𝙊𝙒𝙉 hilariously witty. The way they bolstered each other and leaned on the other during this book showed true friendships and healing - an LJ strength! 

 

𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮, 𝘿𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙮 is a 𝙎𝙇𝙊𝙊𝙊𝙊𝙒 𝘽𝙐𝙍𝙉 romance with high angst, tension and simmering emotions throughout. Row and Cal are 𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙁𝙀𝘾𝙏𝙇𝙔 𝙄𝙈𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙁𝙀𝘾𝙏 for each other but are also so 𝘽𝙀𝘼𝙐𝙏𝙄𝙁𝙐𝙇𝙇𝙔 𝘽𝙍𝙊𝙆𝙀𝙉 that they both are a little hesitant to get hurt…or epically oblivious and in denial in Cal’s case! LJ created their romance perfectly and in a way that put the emotional turmoil in her other books to shame! Cal’s journey to finding herself and healing her traumas was 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙂𝙄𝘾𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙔 𝘽𝙀𝘼𝙐𝙏𝙄𝙁𝙐𝙇 to read and it was only elevated with Row’s relentless need to support her, care for her and 𝙊𝘽𝙎𝙀𝙎𝙎𝙄𝙑𝙀𝙇𝙔 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀 her to pieces! 

 

The amount of utter 𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙊𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 Ambrose Casablancas had for Cal shot him to the top of my book boyfriend list and it’s safe to say he is up there competing with another LJ classic - 𝙑𝘼𝙐𝙂𝙃𝙉 𝙎𝙋𝙀𝙉𝘾𝙀𝙍! Row was my character in this book, his 𝘼𝙇𝙋𝙃𝘼𝙃𝙊𝙇𝙀-𝙄𝙎𝙃𝙉𝙀𝙎𝙎 was next level at first but I 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀𝘿 his snark and personality all the way through! His banter and friendship with Rhyland kept things entertaining since Rhyland gave his sh*t for all the pent up feelings and 𝙐𝙉𝘿𝙔𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀 he had for Cal and I also 𝙇𝙊𝙑𝙀𝘿 all the antagonism they put each other through. LJ however, shined with the enemy vibes between him and Kieran! I 𝘾𝘼𝙉𝙉𝙊𝙏 wait for Kieran’s book, if only to see Row go postal about his sister falling in love! 

 

Overall, this book was 568 pages of lust, angst, turmoil and learning to love yourself. Leigh wrote a beautiful book full of characters that are 𝙧𝙖𝙬, 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩, and 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙇 but also 𝙐𝙏𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙇𝙔 𝘾𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙄𝙑𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 in a story. She did what she does best and provided us with a new book boyfriend with a 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝, 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 and 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 for his woman that is guaranteed to 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 in the angsty romance lists! Cal and Row were a romance I’ll be revisiting and one that left me satisfied but wanting more of both them and the other wonderful characters Leigh introduced in this series so far! 

 

(P.S. - Let’s talk about 𝙏𝘼𝙏𝙀! Can we get his book pretty please, cherry on top? I would love to read all about that man’s built up 𝙏𝙀𝙉𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉 and 𝙉𝙀𝙀𝘿!) 

 

𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: 100+; 𝘓𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘽𝙇𝙀𝙒 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬! 𝘊𝘢𝘭'𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘸'𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝙄𝙈𝙋𝙊𝙎𝙎𝙄𝘽𝙇𝙀 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥! 

 

 

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝙇𝙅 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙋𝙍 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝘼𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊!

Sweet Collide by Ava Harrison

dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

💗𝒮𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉 𝒞𝑜𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒹𝑒 - 𝒮𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝑅𝑒𝒹𝓋𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒 𝟣 - 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌💗

“𝘈𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.”

Author: Ava Harrison

Couple: Cassidy “Pippa” Johnson & Aiden Slate

Tropes: Second Chance Romance, Hidden Identity, Protective NHL MMC with a dirty mouth, Childhood friends to Lovers, ”It’s Always Been You” vibes, Found Family, Rags to Riches, Mental Health Representation, EMOTIONAL, Fake Dating

Review: Sweet Collide sucker punched me from the first word and left my heart in shreds until the last! Ava Harrison wove a tragically beautiful tale of two people who found a safe space within each other. Cassidy and Aiden gave me all the feels while reading their book and be warned that the ups and downs these two go through teat every boundary of attraction, betrayal and love.

Cassidy’s character was such a breath of fresh air in this book. I adored how she was always there for Aiden even when he refused to see or admit to it and loved how she tried to be the best version of herself. Ava captivated me with the unraveling of Cassidy’s past and her true identity as Aiden’s childhood friend but also left my heart aching since she was so hurt by his actions from their childhood. The strength and resilience she had in this book was the backbone of the relationship they shared and I found myself routing for her to get that HEA she deserved!

Aiden Slate was a tragically broken boy who turned into a beautifully broken man. He hid behind his hockey career and Ava did the job right with creating all his fears and mental battles in this book. The way he was afraid to be open and honest with his team about his mental health and the triggers that would occasionally put him out of commission was heartbreaking and I LOVED how once Cassidy came into the equation he was able to slowly open up and accept him faults for his own. I also really enjoyed how his past was slowly uncovered and we learned how hard it was for him to leave his friend “Pippa” who unbeknownst to him was his new fake girlfriend the whole time.

Sweet Collide is a medium burn romance that is full of the angsty, emotional turmoil Ava loves to write for us. Aiden and Cassidy are put through the emotional hurdles in this book and I found that the buildup to Aiden finding out who Cassidy really was to be the center point and the breaking point of the book. I could not believe the way Ava was able to weave their romance to provide all the real and raw emotions between them and found myself having a hard time saying good bye to them once it was over. This book was one I thoroughly enjoyed and I cannot wait for the next Saints of Revile book!

Rating: 5/5, Cassidy and Aiden were a full stop SWOON level romance full of angst, second chances and soul mates perfect for anyone who loves an emotionally charged romance!


Thank you Hambright PR & Ava for the eARC copy!


💗𝒮𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉 𝒞𝑜𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒹𝑒 - 𝒮𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝑅𝑒𝒹𝓋𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒 𝟣 - 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌💗

Author: Ava Harrison

Narrators: Angelina Rocca & Christian Fox

Couple: Cassidy “Pippa” Johnson & Aiden Slate

Tropes: Second Chance Romance, Hidden Identity, Protective NHL MMC with a dirty mouth, Childhood friends to Lovers, ”It’s Always Been You” vibes, Found Family, Rags to Riches, Mental Health Representation, EMOTIONAL, Fake Dating

Review: Ava Harrison knew what she was doing when she casted Angelina Rocca and Christian Fox for Sweet Collide. These two narrators were phenomenal with this book and there was not a single second that I wanted to pause this story! The way these two blended their voices and brought Cassidy ad Aiden to life was EVERYTHING! Reading this book was an emotional rollercoaster but LISTENING to it was a whole new level of emotional angst and feels since both of these characters went through so much to get their HEA.

Christian Fox was the ABSOLUTE star in this book much like how Aiden was in the book. He brought Aiden to life in ways that I didn’t expect and infused so much emotions into the POV as Aiden began to open up to Cassidy and also was able to express all the betrayal when he found out who she truly was. Christian was also able to build the tension with Angelina in the best of ways and the way they pushed and pulled as they narrated this book added to the banter between Ava’s characters!

Angelina Rocca did Cassidy so well that I forgot at times that Cassidy was hiding secrets. Her narration of Cassidy’s struggles and path of forgiveness was brought with emotion and she was able to bring the complexity her character had in this book to the foreground! She also was great at the wit and banter between her and Christian. I found that the back and forth was really my new favorite parts of this romance since Angelina and Christian were so well paired with their expressions of these two MCs!

Sweet Collide was a phenomenal read but it is safe to say the audiobook is where my heart now lies! Ava casted two wonderful narrators to bring her book to life and I cannot wait to see what happens next in the Saints of Revile Series!

Rating: 10/10, Sweet Collide’s Audio outshined everything I had thought about this book and Angelina and Christian truly blew it out of the park with their narration!


Thank you Hambright PR & Ava for the eALC copy!

Ruthless by Hannah Gray

dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

🖤𝑅𝓊𝓉𝒽𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 - 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝒫𝓊𝒸𝓀𝐵𝑜𝓎𝓈𝑜𝒻𝐵𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈𝒰𝓃𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝒾𝓉𝓎𝒮𝓅𝒾𝓃-𝑜𝒻𝒻 - 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌🖤 

 

Author: Hannah Gray 

 

Couple: Briar James & Hudson Hercules 

 

Tropes: Forbidden, Mafia vibes, Age Gap, Bodyguard, Close Proximity, Secret Relationship 

 

Review: Ruthless was Hannah’s step into the dark and oh man did she do it well! Briar was a FMC who was briefly introduced in the last Puck Boys of Brooks University series and the mystery surrounding her was intriguing. I enjoyed her character evolution and loved how Hannah was able to create the tension between her and Hudson as they embark on a forbidden romance! 

 

Briar and Hudson were completely opposite at first look but also very similar once you began learning about them. I enjoyed seeing them begin o form a closer bond as Hudson saw underneath her mask but also thought Briar was a fierce FMC who needed to learn to stand on her own. Hannah was able to capture all the interest Briar had with her tumultuous past as well as with her familial obligations that took up the plot of this book. 

 

I found that the ups and downs between the two of them pushed boundaries of taboo in a way since Briar was engaged for most of this book. I also found that the circumstances surrounding Briar’s engagement were tragic. I appreciated how Hannah brought about the romance between her and Hudson while also including all the emotional turmoil between them. Hudson’s character was the one that captured more of my interest since so much of his story was a mystery up until the end and once everything came out I was ecstatic to see them get their HEA. 

 

This book was a great read and closed out the Brooks University series wonderfully! I enjoyed seeing Briar get her HEA and also liked how Hudson came full circle with moving past his heartache over his late wife. This book is one perfect for lighter dark romance readers and I am excited to see more of Hannah’s dark side! 

 

Rating: 4/5, Hannah Gray has DONE Dark Romance with Ruthless and I am ready for her Dark Romance Era! 

 

Thank you to Wordsmith Publicity PR & Hannah for sending me this eARC!

The Summer I First Saw You by Elizabeth O'Roark

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

🌊𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂𝑒𝓇 𝐼 𝐹𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝒮𝒶𝓌 𝒴𝑜𝓊 - 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂𝑒𝓇 𝒮𝑒𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝟧 - 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌🌊 

 

Author: Elizabeth O’Roark 

 

Narrators: Samantha Brentmoor & Jason Clarke 

 

Couple: Daisy  Doherty & Harrison Reed 

 

Tropes: Uncle’s best friend, Summer romance, roommate romance, forced proximity, secret relationship, 12 year age-gap, Best friend’s younger niece, found family 

 

Review: The Summer I First Saw You audiobook was PHENOMENAL!! Elizabeth casted two of the best narrators for the voices of Daisy and Harrison and they DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Samantha Brentmoor is one of my go to female narrators and her narration of Daisy’s voice brought her to life in a way that made you feel as if you you part of the romance! The way she emoted the angst, tension and heartache Daisy went through captivated me and I just cannot express enough words to tell you how well she did Daisy! 

 

Jason Clarke also brought the A-game in this audiobook and from Harrison’s first chapter I knew he was going to DESTROY me! He was able to infuse ALL of the confusion, worry, lust, and tension Harrison felt throughout this book and I found myself bookmarking so many areas of this audiobook to mark places where he was just level 100 SWOON! 

 

Jason and Samantha were truly the right match for Daisy and Harrison. I loved how they fed off the other and how well the story flowed. This book as done in a Duet style which really brought this book to life and allowed me to completely immerse myself into the audio. The Summer I First Saw You was the first book in this series I listened to and was one I will re-listen to later on! 

 

Rating: 5/5, The Summer I First Saw You was my favorite audio book of the year and Samantha Brentmoor and Jason Clarke astounded me with their narration of Daisy and Harrison! 

 

Thank you Valentine PR and Elizabeth for the eALC copy! 

Emperor of Wrath by Jagger Cole

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

𝕰𝖒𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖔𝖗𝖔𝖋𝖂𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖍 - 𝕸𝖔𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝕸𝖔𝖗𝖎 1 - 𝕽𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜 

 

“𝐼’𝓂 𝒴𝒶𝓏𝓀𝓊𝓏𝒶 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽. 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝓎…𝓆𝓊𝑒𝑒𝓃.” 

 

Author: Jagger Cole 

 

Couple: Annika Brancovich & Kenzo Mori 

 

Tropes: dark romance, revenge plot, mafia romance, interracial couple, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, forced proximity, “my wife”, one beed, he falls first, ALL THE K!NKS! 

 

Review: Emperor of Wrath was another EXCEPTIONAL mafia romance from Jagger Cole and Annika and Kenzo packed a WRATHFUL punch from page 1! This book is darker than some of Jagger’s mafia books but also perfectly in tune with the couple it is about. Annika and Kenzo were a true enemies to lovers romance that had all of the angst, wit, banter, turmoil and anger we love to see in dark mafia romances! 

 

Annika was a little black cat FMC and I completely adored her character! She was ALL over the place and the meet-hate she had with Kenzo was probably one of the best ones I have seen in a mafia romance! The way Jagger was able to create the dichotomy of her character as the romance began to BURN was intense, emotionally investing and of course WILD! Annika was not a soft FMC and she was not really hard either but somewhere in between and seeing her ice melt for Kenzo as she began to fall was EVERYTHING! 

 

Kenzo Mori was MY CHARACTER in this book! I loved how he was so aware of who he was right away. The emotional whiplash this man had in regards to his feelings was also NEXT TO NONE! He would go from cold to hot to BLISTERING so fast that he kept me sweating for more between him and his newly wed wife. His marriage to Annika compounded with the tumults past he had with her provides a lot of build up for them in this book and the way Jagger was able to bolster Kenzo, his family and the evolving feelings in this book was perfection! 

 

Kenzo and Annika had one of the rockiest, SMEXIEST, tension-filled mafia romances I have read in a while and I cannot wait to continue this series. The way their banter and domineering personas were done added to this book in ways that brought the heat up to astonishing levels. I also enjoyed all the k!nk play they had as well as the morals Kenzo showed in this area. Emperor of Wrath is another amazing romance by Jagger Cole and I CANNOT wait to see where he takes this series next! 

 

Rating: 100+, Annika and Kenzo brought the DARK and Jagger Cole once again blew it out of the water with this highly angsty and act-packed mafia romance! 

 

Thank you to Valentine PR & Jagger Cole for sending me this eARC!

Enemies by Tijan

challenging emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

🧡𝓔𝓷𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓮𝓼 - 𝓐 𝓕𝓸𝓸𝓽𝓫𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓪𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓮 - 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀🧡 

 

 Author: Tijan 

 

Couple: Dusty Phillips & Stone Reeves 

 

Tropes: football romance, forced proximity, “He helps her heal”, trauma bond, mental health rep, childhood crush,  second chance, enemies to lovers 

 

Review:  Enemies is hands down the book that got me hooked on Tijan and her plethora of angsty, witty and swoon worthy romances. Dusty and Stone had all of the ups and downs I have come to LOVE in Tijan’s books and while this book is one of her older releases and has mainly Dusty’s POV, you can still really feel the emotions and turmoil between both of them! Dusty is a FMC who captured my heart with her story of finding love in life again after the events that led her to Texas and Tijan truly provided the personal upheaval in her story arc to keep me hooked until the last word. 

 

Dusty Phillips is a girl who has been handed a lot of lemons in life but still somehow came out on the other side with a bright respect for her future. I loved how Tijan was able to capture the different aspects of her mental health through every twist, turn, upset and life event that she went through in this book and adored how Dusty found herself her own tribe of people who would always support her and stand by her side. Dusty’s story was not an easy read and the beginning of her journey made me want to shake her roommates and friends  since they were so oblivious to her. The introduction of Stone’s character and the hate-lust they shared added just the right amount of spark and also provided the much needed tension. 

 

Dusty and Stone were two blazing suns in this book who had their own struggles as they grew closer. The frenemies with benefits situation they began while Dusty was living with him was perhaps some of then best tension Tijan has written (in my opinion) and I appreciated how Tijan made Stone’s character one to NOT shy away from the ugly truths of life but also so commitment phobic that it posed a problem for Dusty as she began healing. 

 

Stone was a tough nut to crack in this book but was also such a softie for Dusty once he began to fall. The complicated past he had with her family and the fond memories he shared with her and her mother were a selling point in his arc since he had to overcome past lies his family told him. The way Tijan was able to intertwine their shared past with the bond Stone had with Dusty’s late mother was the single most heartwarming part in Stone’s book and the way he cared for Dusty (even when he was a jerk) showed his true feelings for her…even if he wanted to play oblivious. 

 

Enemies is a whirlwind book that is a must read for anyone who enjoys a good enemies to lovers or sports romance with lots of angst! Dusty and Stone keep a place in my bookish heart and will always be a go to re-read when trying to get out of a book slump. Tijan stays one of my all time favorite & #oneclick authors and I cannot wait to see what she does next! 

 

Rating: 100+, Dusty and Stone are an iconic Tijan couple who never fail to disappoint during the first read or any subsequent rereads! 

Defy by L.J. Shen

emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

➰𝕯𝕰𝕱𝖄 - 𝕾𝖎𝖓𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝕾𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖙 0.5 - 𝕽𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜➰ 

 

Author: LJ Shen 

 

Couple: Melody Greene & Jaime Followhill 

 

Tropes: student x teacher, possessive obsessive alphahole, reverse age gap, high school romance (MMC 18+), football romance, billionaire romance, forbidden and taboo 

 

Review: DEFY…wow, LJ did it again! This is the prequel to the Sinners of Saint series and we begin with Jaime Followhill and his UTLIMATE fantasy. Jaime’s book is short, HAWT and INTENSE like all good LJ books and also provides us with all the angst perfect for people who love forbidden romances. DEFY was a whirlwind romance that sucked me in from page one and these two just kept getting better! 

 

Melody is the goody two shoes teacher that never strays to far from the wrong side of the line. I loved how she was so GOOD and had to wrestle with herself for giving into her feelings. Her POV is heartbreaking yet beautiful since we really begin to see her open up as Jaime wins her over. LJ did really well with the forbidden student x teacher trope and Melody’s character was unique and also perfect for how possessive Jaime is! 

 

Jaime is THE one in this book. He was so gone for Melody that his emotions bled through the pages. I adored seeing all the OG sinners in their high school ages and enjoyed seeing their starting points. I also LOVED how Jaime was an ALPHAhole or…a HOTHOLE! The way he gave everything to Melody and was being torn up at the same time since he did not want her to get hurt was emotional angst at its finest and it was so easy to binge his book for this and this alone! Ultimately, Jaime is the OG Sinner whose romance is perfectly taboo and delicious to read! 

 

Rating: 4/5, A HAWT, spicy romance between a high school senior and his favorite teacher and their taboo love affair! 

If You Want Me by Helena Hunting

emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

🍌𝐼𝒻 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒲𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝑀𝑒 - 𝒯𝑜𝓇𝑜𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝒯𝑒𝓇𝓇𝑜𝓇 𝒮𝑒𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝟤 - 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌 🍌

Author: Helena Hunting

Couple: Peggy Aurora Hammerstein & Hollis Hendrix

Tropes: hockey romance, dad’s best friend, age gap (12 years), she falls first x he falls harder, forced proximity, forbidden romance, she cat sits for him 

Review: If You Want Me is ANGST. Helena packed this book to the brim with all of the angst and turmoil you could imagine. From the beginning Peggy is the character who sucked me into the book and kept me feeling all the emotions as I continued to read. Helena was able to capture the forbidden aspect of their romance to a T and I enjoyed every page!

Peggy is the daughter of Hollis’ best friend and from the beginning this romance is the ULTIMATE forbidden fantasy. I adored Peggy and appreciated how her story had so much included in it from lusting after Hollis to gaining confidence to learning to color outside the lines. Helena was able to capture her wild spirit and silently confident nature really well and did it in a way that made you want to hold Peggy up above the rest or give her a big hug.

Hollis was an enigma. I found his POV the hardest to read since he was at a time in his life and career where he was having to make big decisions. The utter despair he went through when he was injured playing to the elation when he finally gave into his growing feelings to Peggy left me in a pendulum swing. I found that while he was so much older than Peggy he was the saddest bit more immature but also a lot more fearful due to prior heartbreak. However, I absolutely adored how he encouraged Peggy to achieve her goals and constantly pushed her to gain confidence. 

Peggy and Hollis are a sweet and spicy romance that is a TON different than Rex and Tristan but also the perfect balance before we get Dallas and Hemi next! The romance was perfection for the two and I loved how they each leaned on the other during tough times….and I LOVED how Hollis went man to man to admit his feelings to Peggy’s father! This book was a good read and was packed full of awkward moments and laughs that have me dying for book 3 and more of these characters!

Rating: 4/5, Peggy and Hollis are the ultimate forbidden romance and Helena once again destroyed my heart with this book and emotional rollercoaster they went through to achieve their HEA!

Thank you Helena & Good Girls PR for the eARC copy!



🍌𝐼𝒻 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒲𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝑀𝑒 - 𝒯𝑜𝓇𝑜𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝒯𝑒𝓇𝓇𝑜𝓇 𝒮𝑒𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝟤 - 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌🍌

Author: Helena Hunting

Narrators: Stella Bloom & Zachary Webber

Couple: Peggy Aurora Hammerstein & Hollis Hendrix

Tropes: hockey romance, dad’s best friend, age gap (12 years), she falls first x he falls harder, forced proximity, forbidden romance, she cat sits for him

Review: If You Want Me was a book I enjoyed listening to more than reading and it had everything to do with Stella Bloom! Stella and Zachary captured the voices of Peggy and Hollis in a way that made reading it a little lackluster since it took away the voices that brought all the angst to life. Helena killed it with picking narrators and I can say that this audio was addicting and hard to pause.

Stella Bloom was top notch in this book and sounded like Peggy’s voice in my head. From the begging the voice she had was able to emote the angst, tension, lust and wit Peggy’s POV had in spades. The way she also matched with Zachary Webber just brought this whole book to life. Zachary was also really strong in this audiobook and was just gruff enough for Hollis but also provided the emotional range needed for Hollis’ POV. Helena did good with these two and I am excited to see what comes with Dallas and Hemi!

Rating: 4/5, Peggy and Hollis come to life in your ears in this audiobook and once again Helena chose narrators perfect for the characters!

Thank you Helena & Good Girls PR for the eALC copy!