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rjordan19's reviews
906 reviews
Dark Succession by Katee Robert
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡ (I didn’t get a ton of tension because of the elements of instalust here)
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑 (It’s hard to tell on audio! But a bit more than average length??)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (at least….note taking got bad. Might be 5/6 scenes total)
Humor: a bit
Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine (and a few minor scenes from some other characters, villains, etc)
More character focused or plot focused? a mix but probably more plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: not too far in, about 7% or chapter
Cliffhanger: this ends with a happy ever after for the couple but a bit of a cliffy for the plot and other couples that their books are next in the series.
Epilogue: no
Format: listened to the audiobook from my library (hoopla), but I was also given a NetGalley ARC in e-book form and was very late in reviewing it….
Should I read in order?
This is the first in Robert’s The O’Malleys.
Basic plot:
Teague and Callista are forced in an arranged marriage for their families.
Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- Boston setting
- arranged marriage
- protective hero
- mafia romance
- who did this to you??
- touch of heroine nurses hero back to health
- higher steam – note taking was bad but I’d say at least 4-5 scenes between the mains and another scene between side characters
Ages:
- I didn’t hear them mentioned….would guess late 20s to early 30s?
First line: (taken from audio, might be butchered.)
Callista Sheriden pulled at the hem of her dress, wishing she’d chosen something else for this ill-advised trip.
My thoughts:
I did like this one overall. It was fun to have as an audiobook while I was doing other tasks. It took me a bit to get into the narrators here, though it may have just been the Boston accents too.
I didn’t get a ton of feels in this one though because of the elements of instalust between the mains. I liked how the hero was pretty much all in after meeting the heroine and very protective. I didn’t know what this one was about going in, and I’ve been wanting to try more ‘mafia’ plotlines so I liked that it was a pleasant surprise in that way!
I was annoyed with a few things here. I felt like I wanted the mains on page more. There was a lack of trust and communication between them while fucking which always leaves me with less feels...I guess I want that build up more...I would maybe read another in this series (specifically Kerrigan’s story) because I was kind of drawn into their story but that also bothered me a bit because I definitely prefer books that are focused on the main couple only.
So I’m not super eager to continue with the series but might at some point!
Endearments
The hero calls the heroine ‘angel’.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 2
Average rating: 4.5 stars
Favorite book: Neon Gods
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- assault on the heroine, choking, hitting, throwing her and another victim was in the room and may have been dead (not the hero)
- murder on page in self defense
- smoking, alcohol
- scenes of gun violence and death
- human trafficking
- violence including a bit of torture, whipping/caning (off page), physical beating
- minor mention of religion/Catholicism
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: Condoms used
Hows the consent? It’s good
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) There is talk about her needing to be ‘married to an appropriate man and extend the empire with children’ as a family responsibility. Both mention they do want kids someday, but use condoms during sex.
There is a kiss or two prior to 17%
24% - 🔥 kisses that lead to oral for her in a car
32% - 🔥 heroine self pleasure in the bath (maybe a touch short)
34% - 🔥 kisses, oral/fingering for her, bj for him (complete)
(Note taking got bodgy) about 60% 🔥 her on top sex
apparently I didn’t take any more notes...I know there’s a sex scene between Kerrigan and another character (sorry, terrible with names)...and I think maybe one more between Callie and Teague.
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡ (I didn’t get a ton of tension because of the elements of instalust here)
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑 (It’s hard to tell on audio! But a bit more than average length??)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (at least….note taking got bad. Might be 5/6 scenes total)
Humor: a bit
Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine (and a few minor scenes from some other characters, villains, etc)
More character focused or plot focused? a mix but probably more plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: not too far in, about 7% or chapter
Cliffhanger: this ends with a happy ever after for the couple but a bit of a cliffy for the plot and other couples that their books are next in the series.
Epilogue: no
Format: listened to the audiobook from my library (hoopla), but I was also given a NetGalley ARC in e-book form and was very late in reviewing it….
Should I read in order?
This is the first in Robert’s The O’Malleys.
Basic plot:
Teague and Callista are forced in an arranged marriage for their families.
Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- Boston setting
- arranged marriage
- protective hero
- mafia romance
- who did this to you??
- touch of heroine nurses hero back to health
- higher steam – note taking was bad but I’d say at least 4-5 scenes between the mains and another scene between side characters
Ages:
- I didn’t hear them mentioned….would guess late 20s to early 30s?
First line: (taken from audio, might be butchered.)
Callista Sheriden pulled at the hem of her dress, wishing she’d chosen something else for this ill-advised trip.
My thoughts:
I did like this one overall. It was fun to have as an audiobook while I was doing other tasks. It took me a bit to get into the narrators here, though it may have just been the Boston accents too.
I didn’t get a ton of feels in this one though because of the elements of instalust between the mains. I liked how the hero was pretty much all in after meeting the heroine and very protective. I didn’t know what this one was about going in, and I’ve been wanting to try more ‘mafia’ plotlines so I liked that it was a pleasant surprise in that way!
I was annoyed with a few things here. I felt like I wanted the mains on page more. There was a lack of trust and communication between them while fucking which always leaves me with less feels...I guess I want that build up more...I would maybe read another in this series (specifically Kerrigan’s story) because I was kind of drawn into their story but that also bothered me a bit because I definitely prefer books that are focused on the main couple only.
So I’m not super eager to continue with the series but might at some point!
Endearments
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 2
Average rating: 4.5 stars
Favorite book: Neon Gods
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- assault on the heroine, choking, hitting, throwing her and another victim was in the room and may have been dead (not the hero)
- murder on page in self defense
- smoking, alcohol
- scenes of gun violence and death
- human trafficking
- violence including a bit of torture, whipping/caning (off page), physical beating
- minor mention of religion/Catholicism
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!)
There is a kiss or two prior to 17%
24% - 🔥 kisses that lead to oral for her in a car
32% - 🔥 heroine self pleasure in the bath (maybe a touch short)
34% - 🔥 kisses, oral/fingering for her, bj for him (complete)
(Note taking got bodgy) about 60% 🔥 her on top sex
apparently I didn’t take any more notes...I know there’s a sex scene between Kerrigan and another character (sorry, terrible with names)...and I think maybe one more between Callie and Teague.
The Marquess and His Muse by Lavinia Glen
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑 (varies a bit, but decently long *wink wink *
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: third person from hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast
When mains are first on page together: Almost immediately (chapter 1)
Cliffhanger: no, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy from the author in e-book form (thank you!!)
Should I read in order?
I believe this is a standalone.
Basic plot:
An eloping couple on the run brings Thalia and the Murderous Marquess together.
Give this a try if you want:
- Victorian – 1867
- Marquess hero
- teaming up – the hero and heroine work together to find the heroine’s sister and hero’s brother who have run away together to elope
- sculptor hero
- size difference – heroine is tall but hero ‘dwarfs’ her
- widow heroine
- widower hero
- plus size heroine
- hero has a sweet tooth and feeds the heroine dessert
- well-endowed hero
- surprise virgin
- you’re okay with a bit of a possessive hero that can be a tad jerky
- higher steam – 4 full scenes within a shorter page count
Ages:
- hero is 42, didn’t see heroine mentioned
First line:
“What do you mean Artemis has eloped?” Lady Thalia Renier’s shocked exclamation reverberated throughout the cavernous drawing room of her father’s London townhouse.
My thoughts:
Oh I loved this novel! I have tried a few by Glen, but I think this one is my favorite.
I loved the working toward a goal that Thalia and William had in the beginning. There’s a bit of instalust at play here (short novel) and I loved them being together on a road trip (especially on a train!). William can definitely be a bit of a jerk towards the end – Glen can write heroes that kind of need a slap upside the head, you know? 😆 But the heroine’s in her books hold them accountable and Thalia was no different. She takes him immediately to task and stands up for herself and I enjoyed William having to realize his wrongs.
I also liked that there was more details about Thalia’s body image and how she is a touch self conscious. It wasn’t overdone at all - but I have read quite a few ‘full figured’ historical romance heroines and in so many of them it’s only a quick mention here or there and it’s very easy to forget there’s any body diversity in the character. So I really loved that aspect to it.
Endearments
The hero calls the heroine ‘sweetheart’, ‘my muse’, ‘my angel’ and ‘my darling’.
Quotes
I love this stuff!
Her travel bag slipped from her grasp and spilled its contents onto the stone floor. Flustered, she knelt to gather her belongings, only to have her hat knocked askew by a passing gentleman’s umbrella.
Just as she regained her composure and secured her hat, a young child darted past, brushing against her skirts and causing her to lose her balance. Thalia’s heart raced as she teetered on the edge of the platform.
Strong arms circled her, holding her secure against a solid body. She instinctively knew who it belonged to even before she heard the deep voice rumble in her ear.
“Good God, woman. Be careful.”
The Marquess.
---
“Here try this,” he said, offering a spoonful of cake overflowing with custard and sweet cream. She looked at it hesitantly, but the temptation was plain to see in her eyes. “Open your mouth, Thalia.”
She met his eyes and licked her lips in anticipation, making his cock twitch. But when she closed her mouth over the decadent morsel, and hummed in pleasure as the flavors caressed her palate, the rush of lust to his groin almost made him regret offering her the cake. Fuck, but he was in a state. If he didn’t pace himself, this encounter could turn embarrassing for him.
“That was delicious.”
He used his thumb to wipe a bit of cream from the corner of her lips and brought it to his mouth to lick it off. “You are right. Quite delicious.”
---
“My body is overabundant,” she said, looking down, her face flaming in shame at having to confess.
God, this man was gorgeous. He was a mountain of muscle and a face like a Greek god. How would he feel when he uncovered her doughy roundness?
“Yes, it is,” he rasped. His voice sounded strangled, pained. Was he going to back out? She would die.
“S-so you see. It is better if you leave so I can put on a shift. And we should dim the lights,” she added desperately.
“Not a fucking chance.”
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 4
Average rating: 4.5 stars
Favorite book: This one! (The Marquess and His Muse)
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- parental death
- death of hero’s spouse in a fire with her lover while she was pregnant
- both mains experienced infidelity from their spouses
- mention of heroine’s dead husband’s pedophilia
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: sheaths are talked about a lot and used
Hows the consent? It’s good
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) The hero was married and his wife cheated on him repeatedly and eventually got pregnant, but she died before the baby was born. No children in the story really and I don’t recall any mention of trying to get pregnant in the book – condoms are used. No epilogue so no post story babies.
24% - kiss on the train
29% - kisses
40% - 🔥 breast play, fingering for her, he comes against her thigh, then oral for her, bj for him (short), missionary
“My body is overabundant,” she said, looking down, her face flaming in shame at having to confess.
God, this man was gorgeous. He was a mountain of muscle and a face like a Greek god. How would he feel when he uncovered her doughy roundness?
“Yes, it is,” he rasped. His voice sounded strangled, pained. Was he going to back out? She would die.
“S-so you see. It is better if you leave so I can put on a shift. And we should dim the lights,” she added desperately.
“Not a fucking chance.”
66% - 🔥 bj (complete)
“I want you to get naked and then sit on my face. The better to enjoy you.”
“No.” She shook her head for emphasis. “I couldn’t possibly. Not here! Your servant is right next door.”
“We would retire to the sleeping berth, of course.” So saying, he stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her up and towards the door of the sleeping compartment.
“He could still hear us.”
“Then you’ll have to be very quiet.”
69% - kiss
72% - 🔥 doggy
“I want...I need...the release. Give me the release.” Her voice was a whimper of need, her eyes scrunched shut, her head thrown back as she strained against him. Shame, embarrassment, and fears forgotten in the face of unrelenting need.
“I will, darling. I’ll give it to you.”
One of his hands sneaked around her waist and dipped between her legs, to caress the place where all sensation coalesced.
99% - 🔥 her on top
“Thalia, no. Wait. Don’t - “ His warning dissolved into a groan as her fingers closed over his hard flesh. She squeezed, pumpking slowly, touching him the way he had taught her, and was gratified when his thick member seemed to get even thicker and bigger in her hands.
“Fuuuck...”
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑 (varies a bit, but decently long *wink wink *
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: third person from hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast
When mains are first on page together: Almost immediately (chapter 1)
Cliffhanger: no, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy from the author in e-book form (thank you!!)
Should I read in order?
I believe this is a standalone.
Basic plot:
An eloping couple on the run brings Thalia and the Murderous Marquess together.
Give this a try if you want:
- Victorian – 1867
- Marquess hero
- teaming up – the hero and heroine work together to find the heroine’s sister and hero’s brother who have run away together to elope
- sculptor hero
- size difference – heroine is tall but hero ‘dwarfs’ her
- widow heroine
- widower hero
- plus size heroine
- hero has a sweet tooth and feeds the heroine dessert
- well-endowed hero
- surprise virgin
- you’re okay with a bit of a possessive hero that can be a tad jerky
- higher steam – 4 full scenes within a shorter page count
Ages:
- hero is 42, didn’t see heroine mentioned
First line:
“What do you mean Artemis has eloped?” Lady Thalia Renier’s shocked exclamation reverberated throughout the cavernous drawing room of her father’s London townhouse.
My thoughts:
Oh I loved this novel! I have tried a few by Glen, but I think this one is my favorite.
I loved the working toward a goal that Thalia and William had in the beginning. There’s a bit of instalust at play here (short novel) and I loved them being together on a road trip (especially on a train!). William can definitely be a bit of a jerk towards the end – Glen can write heroes that kind of need a slap upside the head, you know? 😆 But the heroine’s in her books hold them accountable and Thalia was no different. She takes him immediately to task and stands up for herself and I enjoyed William having to realize his wrongs.
I also liked that there was more details about Thalia’s body image and how she is a touch self conscious. It wasn’t overdone at all - but I have read quite a few ‘full figured’ historical romance heroines and in so many of them it’s only a quick mention here or there and it’s very easy to forget there’s any body diversity in the character. So I really loved that aspect to it.
Endearments
The hero calls the heroine ‘sweetheart’, ‘my muse’, ‘my angel’ and ‘my darling’.
Quotes
I love this stuff!
Her travel bag slipped from her grasp and spilled its contents onto the stone floor. Flustered, she knelt to gather her belongings, only to have her hat knocked askew by a passing gentleman’s umbrella.
Just as she regained her composure and secured her hat, a young child darted past, brushing against her skirts and causing her to lose her balance. Thalia’s heart raced as she teetered on the edge of the platform.
Strong arms circled her, holding her secure against a solid body. She instinctively knew who it belonged to even before she heard the deep voice rumble in her ear.
“Good God, woman. Be careful.”
The Marquess.
---
“Here try this,” he said, offering a spoonful of cake overflowing with custard and sweet cream. She looked at it hesitantly, but the temptation was plain to see in her eyes. “Open your mouth, Thalia.”
She met his eyes and licked her lips in anticipation, making his cock twitch. But when she closed her mouth over the decadent morsel, and hummed in pleasure as the flavors caressed her palate, the rush of lust to his groin almost made him regret offering her the cake. Fuck, but he was in a state. If he didn’t pace himself, this encounter could turn embarrassing for him.
“That was delicious.”
He used his thumb to wipe a bit of cream from the corner of her lips and brought it to his mouth to lick it off. “You are right. Quite delicious.”
---
“My body is overabundant,” she said, looking down, her face flaming in shame at having to confess.
God, this man was gorgeous. He was a mountain of muscle and a face like a Greek god. How would he feel when he uncovered her doughy roundness?
“Yes, it is,” he rasped. His voice sounded strangled, pained. Was he going to back out? She would die.
“S-so you see. It is better if you leave so I can put on a shift. And we should dim the lights,” she added desperately.
“Not a fucking chance.”
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 4
Average rating: 4.5 stars
Favorite book: This one! (The Marquess and His Muse)
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- parental death
- death of hero’s spouse in a fire with her lover while she was pregnant
- both mains experienced infidelity from their spouses
- mention of heroine’s dead husband’s pedophilia
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!)
24% - kiss on the train
29% - kisses
40% - 🔥 breast play, fingering for her, he comes against her thigh, then oral for her, bj for him (short), missionary
“My body is overabundant,” she said, looking down, her face flaming in shame at having to confess.
God, this man was gorgeous. He was a mountain of muscle and a face like a Greek god. How would he feel when he uncovered her doughy roundness?
“Yes, it is,” he rasped. His voice sounded strangled, pained. Was he going to back out? She would die.
“S-so you see. It is better if you leave so I can put on a shift. And we should dim the lights,” she added desperately.
“Not a fucking chance.”
66% - 🔥 bj (complete)
“I want you to get naked and then sit on my face. The better to enjoy you.”
“No.” She shook her head for emphasis. “I couldn’t possibly. Not here! Your servant is right next door.”
“We would retire to the sleeping berth, of course.” So saying, he stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her up and towards the door of the sleeping compartment.
“He could still hear us.”
“Then you’ll have to be very quiet.”
69% - kiss
72% - 🔥 doggy
“I want...I need...the release. Give me the release.” Her voice was a whimper of need, her eyes scrunched shut, her head thrown back as she strained against him. Shame, embarrassment, and fears forgotten in the face of unrelenting need.
“I will, darling. I’ll give it to you.”
One of his hands sneaked around her waist and dipped between her legs, to caress the place where all sensation coalesced.
99% - 🔥 her on top
“Thalia, no. Wait. Don’t - “ His warning dissolved into a groan as her fingers closed over his hard flesh. She squeezed, pumpking slowly, touching him the way he had taught her, and was gratified when his thick member seemed to get even thicker and bigger in her hands.
“Fuuuck...”
Dark Torment by Karen Robards
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 (some are a bit longer)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥ish
Humor: A bit
Perspective: third person mostly from heroine, and some from the hero (and possibly a side character too?? If so, it’s brief)
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast
When mains are first on page together: Pretty soon in, about pg 17 (towards the end of chapter 1)
Cliffhanger: no, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: yes
Format: read a paperback from the library
Why I chose this book: combined elements of wanting a book published in the year I was born for my library summer bingo challenge and our author of the month in our Vintage Romance FB group bring Karen Robards.
Should I read in order?
I believe this is a standalone.
Basic plot:
Sarah finds herself stepping between a convict and a beating that could take his life. She saves him and he’s brought back to their farm in the Outback.
Give this a try if you want:
- Victorian - 1838
- Australia setting
- Irish hero / Australian herione
- one horse
- kidnapped heroine
- forbidden love
- enemies to lovers
- heroine nurses hero back to health
- moonlight dance lessons
- size difference – hero tops the heroine by at least a foot
- revenge elements – the hero believes the heroine has wronged him and takes his due
- you have to be okay with quite a few content warnings including an owner/slave dynamic and strong dubious consent (more details in content warnings)
- definitely elements of a jerk hero, though he’s way more honorable than other old school heroes I have read
- medium steam – 3ish scenes (one scene fades a bit towards the end), plus plenty of kisses, partials and alluded to scenes
Ages:
- heroine is 22, I think hero is mid 30s, maybe around 35
First line:
“I don’t know what Pa can have been thinking about, telling us to meet him down here!”
My thoughts:
Overall I really enjoyed this one! It definitely had lots of things I loved – the beautiful Australian setting and a sweeping fast paced story that kept me interested. Dominic and Sarah are on page for much of the story and I loved that. There was some surprising moments of humor and sweetness for me from these two, and I enjoyed a great emotional pull from their story.
I struggled with a few minor things...some of the overbearing attitude of Dominic where he wouldn’t believe Sarah or even let her explain herself was trying, including some of the language used (I really hate when the hero calls the heroine a bitch….)
This novel has some very light scenes of body betrayed me (thinks like As she felt his body move, heard his lilting voice shouting at the recalcitrant sheep, and felt his thighs shifting beneath her own, Sarah realized to her horror that her body was responding blindly to his nearness. Having once learned the secret joys of being female, her body was reacting automatically to the overwhelming presence of the man who had schooled it. which usually really bothers me but since it was lighter here it was fine. (This is why I struggled with so many Johanna Lindsey books – let’s hate each other then fuck and go back to hating each other)
Few random reading stats for this author This won’t be totally accurate because I know I read some of hers in high school way before I started tracking.
# of books read: 3
Average rating: 4 stars
Favorite book: Tiger’s Eye
Endearments
The hero calls the heroine ‘cuilin’ and ‘my own’.
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- fire (arson) with death of horses
- various scenes of violence, beatings, mention of death, gunfire
- slavery/indentured servant serving a convict sentence is a big plot point
- there is a bit of an owner/slave relationship in this one – the heroine’s father ‘buys’ the hero to serve his sentence on his farm
- attempted rape and physical assault of the heroine (not from hero)
- there is a lot of dubious consent in this novel with pushy hero behavior. Non consensual kisses. Sex can cross a bit into the ‘body betrayed me’ trope popular of the time and feel like rape because the heroine doesn’t truly understand what is happening/going to happen or trust her body and the hero doesn’t explain beforehand. For the second full scene he does ask and the consent is explicit (but she does waver a bit internally so it doesn’t feel solid.)
- some elements of domestic violence – the heroine smacks and whip at the hero’s face and cuts him and attempts to hit and punch him
- the hero does call the heroine a bitch more than once in the book
- lashing and imprisonment
Author content warnings? None given
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: Nope
Hows the consent? It’s not very good so if consent is important to you I would bypass this one. The hero does noncon kisses and is generally more pushy and aggressive with the heroine. The sex is more dubcon with some body betrayed me.
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) Most of the story is child free, but the heroine does fall pregnant towards the very end (last 30-50 pages-ish)
Pg 94 of 389 – forceful kiss
Pg 120 of 389 - kiss
Pg 160 of 389 – forceful, punishing kiss
Pg 216 of 389 – a bit of a partial with tension, longing and an almost kiss before the hero dumps her in the water for a bath
Pg 225 of 389 – kiss, fingering for her but it’s interrupted
Pg 272 of 389 – kisses, oral for her, missionary
more kisses and alluded to sex in the next 70 pages or so but no ‘full scenes’
Pg 355 of 389 – bj (incomplete and only a few short sentences), then missionary
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 (some are a bit longer)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥ish
Humor: A bit
Perspective: third person mostly from heroine, and some from the hero (and possibly a side character too?? If so, it’s brief)
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast
When mains are first on page together: Pretty soon in, about pg 17 (towards the end of chapter 1)
Cliffhanger: no, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: yes
Format: read a paperback from the library
Why I chose this book: combined elements of wanting a book published in the year I was born for my library summer bingo challenge and our author of the month in our Vintage Romance FB group bring Karen Robards.
Should I read in order?
I believe this is a standalone.
Basic plot:
Sarah finds herself stepping between a convict and a beating that could take his life. She saves him and he’s brought back to their farm in the Outback.
Give this a try if you want:
- Victorian - 1838
- Australia setting
- Irish hero / Australian herione
- one horse
- kidnapped heroine
- forbidden love
- enemies to lovers
- heroine nurses hero back to health
- moonlight dance lessons
- size difference – hero tops the heroine by at least a foot
- revenge elements – the hero believes the heroine has wronged him and takes his due
- you have to be okay with quite a few content warnings including an owner/slave dynamic and strong dubious consent (more details in content warnings)
- definitely elements of a jerk hero, though he’s way more honorable than other old school heroes I have read
- medium steam – 3ish scenes (one scene fades a bit towards the end), plus plenty of kisses, partials and alluded to scenes
Ages:
- heroine is 22, I think hero is mid 30s, maybe around 35
First line:
“I don’t know what Pa can have been thinking about, telling us to meet him down here!”
My thoughts:
Overall I really enjoyed this one! It definitely had lots of things I loved – the beautiful Australian setting and a sweeping fast paced story that kept me interested. Dominic and Sarah are on page for much of the story and I loved that. There was some surprising moments of humor and sweetness for me from these two, and I enjoyed a great emotional pull from their story.
I struggled with a few minor things...some of the overbearing attitude of Dominic where he wouldn’t believe Sarah or even let her explain herself was trying, including some of the language used (I really hate when the hero calls the heroine a bitch….)
This novel has some very light scenes of body betrayed me (thinks like As she felt his body move, heard his lilting voice shouting at the recalcitrant sheep, and felt his thighs shifting beneath her own, Sarah realized to her horror that her body was responding blindly to his nearness. Having once learned the secret joys of being female, her body was reacting automatically to the overwhelming presence of the man who had schooled it. which usually really bothers me but since it was lighter here it was fine. (This is why I struggled with so many Johanna Lindsey books – let’s hate each other then fuck and go back to hating each other)
Few random reading stats for this author This won’t be totally accurate because I know I read some of hers in high school way before I started tracking.
# of books read: 3
Average rating: 4 stars
Favorite book: Tiger’s Eye
Endearments
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- fire (arson) with death of horses
- various scenes of violence, beatings, mention of death, gunfire
- slavery/indentured servant serving a convict sentence is a big plot point
- there is a bit of an owner/slave relationship in this one – the heroine’s father ‘buys’ the hero to serve his sentence on his farm
- attempted rape and physical assault of the heroine (not from hero)
- there is a lot of dubious consent in this novel with pushy hero behavior. Non consensual kisses. Sex can cross a bit into the ‘body betrayed me’ trope popular of the time and feel like rape because the heroine doesn’t truly understand what is happening/going to happen or trust her body and the hero doesn’t explain beforehand. For the second full scene he does ask and the consent is explicit (but she does waver a bit internally so it doesn’t feel solid.)
- some elements of domestic violence – the heroine smacks and whip at the hero’s face and cuts him and attempts to hit and punch him
- the hero does call the heroine a bitch more than once in the book
- lashing and imprisonment
Author content warnings? None given
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!)
Pg 94 of 389 – forceful kiss
Pg 120 of 389 - kiss
Pg 160 of 389 – forceful, punishing kiss
Pg 216 of 389 – a bit of a partial with tension, longing and an almost kiss before the hero dumps her in the water for a bath
Pg 225 of 389 – kiss, fingering for her but it’s interrupted
Pg 272 of 389 – kisses, oral for her, missionary
more kisses and alluded to sex in the next 70 pages or so but no ‘full scenes’
Pg 355 of 389 – bj (incomplete and only a few short sentences), then missionary
After the Wedding by Courtney Milan
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.0
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 (1-2ish scenes. I didn’t take notes. There were a few scenes that were short and I wouldn’t count them as a full scene. At least one full scene though!)
Humor: a touch
Perspective: third person mostly from the hero and heroine (there is a bit from a side character’s POV towards the end of the book)
More character focused or plot focused? kind of a mix but probably more character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: There’s a bit of prologue that’s a jump ahead in the story but they aren’t interacting much – it takes a bit for them to be on page together but not overly long (I didn’t note it specifically, sorry!)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the couple
Epilogue: I think there was a bit of one? Sorry my notes were terrible with this read...the final chapter I think is from
Format: listened to the audiobook from the library (Hoopla)
Should I read in order?
Ideally yes. The series flows together and the story is about the Worth family and you’ll get a better feel for what the family has been through if you’ve read in order, and a stronger sense of their reconciliation.
Basic plot:
Camilla and Adrian are compromised and forced into marriage.
Give this a try if you want:
- Victorian romance – 1867
- compromised heroine
- marriage of necessity (hero gets married at gunpoint)
- finding lost family
- light secret identity from both mains
- working class mains
- lower steam – 1-2 full scenes. I didn’t take good notes. Most scenes were pretty short but there was one that was countable for sure and some kisses.
Ages:
- heroine is 20, didn’t catch hero
My thoughts:
I think one is my best liked of the series so far.
These characters are both individuals you are rooting for – they both have differing obstacles they face and I enjoyed how they really listened to each other and respected each other while trying to resolve their problems.
I remember a reader saying that Milan likes to take tropes and turn them on their heads and I can really see that in this ‘compromised heroine’ trope – it doesn’t go at all like you think it will go. There’s a lot of honesty, vulnerability and self reflection in our mains and they both desperately deserve their HEAs.
I do find myself struggling with this series a bit. Maybe it’s the….heaviness of it? They aren’t necessarily heavy books, but they are very real with real characters with flaws and real obstacles. They face racism and misogyny and insurmountable odds aren’t always overcome – but they do always find happiness.
This series feels not so much romance as it is family love and I am getting a bit attached to the family.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 7
Average rating: 4 stars
Favorite book: The Governess Affair
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- racism
- employee abuse
- lost family
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: I didn’t take notes! So I’m not sure...I want to say no
Hows the consent? It’s good!
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) No children in the story and I don’t think there’s any planning of children – they want an annulment so they refrain from sex most of the story
Readability: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 (1-2ish scenes. I didn’t take notes. There were a few scenes that were short and I wouldn’t count them as a full scene. At least one full scene though!)
Humor: a touch
Perspective: third person mostly from the hero and heroine (there is a bit from a side character’s POV towards the end of the book)
More character focused or plot focused? kind of a mix but probably more character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: There’s a bit of prologue that’s a jump ahead in the story but they aren’t interacting much – it takes a bit for them to be on page together but not overly long (I didn’t note it specifically, sorry!)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the couple
Epilogue: I think there was a bit of one? Sorry my notes were terrible with this read...the final chapter I think is from
Format: listened to the audiobook from the library (Hoopla)
Should I read in order?
Ideally yes. The series flows together and the story is about the Worth family and you’ll get a better feel for what the family has been through if you’ve read in order, and a stronger sense of their reconciliation.
Basic plot:
Camilla and Adrian are compromised and forced into marriage.
Give this a try if you want:
- Victorian romance – 1867
- compromised heroine
- marriage of necessity (hero gets married at gunpoint)
- finding lost family
- light secret identity from both mains
- working class mains
- lower steam – 1-2 full scenes. I didn’t take good notes. Most scenes were pretty short but there was one that was countable for sure and some kisses.
Ages:
- heroine is 20, didn’t catch hero
My thoughts:
I think one is my best liked of the series so far.
These characters are both individuals you are rooting for – they both have differing obstacles they face and I enjoyed how they really listened to each other and respected each other while trying to resolve their problems.
I remember a reader saying that Milan likes to take tropes and turn them on their heads and I can really see that in this ‘compromised heroine’ trope – it doesn’t go at all like you think it will go. There’s a lot of honesty, vulnerability and self reflection in our mains and they both desperately deserve their HEAs.
I do find myself struggling with this series a bit. Maybe it’s the….heaviness of it? They aren’t necessarily heavy books, but they are very real with real characters with flaws and real obstacles. They face racism and misogyny and insurmountable odds aren’t always overcome – but they do always find happiness.
This series feels not so much romance as it is family love and I am getting a bit attached to the family.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 7
Average rating: 4 stars
Favorite book: The Governess Affair
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- racism
- employee abuse
- lost family
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: I didn’t take notes! So I’m not sure...I want to say no
Hows the consent?
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!)
A Bump in Boohail by Kimberly Lemming
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔 (By itself, it’s quite short and more plot based but read book 1 and you will get to know the characters!)
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥
Humor: Yes
Perspective: first person from the heroine
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? fast
When mains are first on page together: It takes awhile...about 41% (or chapter 2 of 3 of this short story)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends happily for the couple
Epilogue: No
Format: read an e-book version through kindle unlimited
A small rabbit charm lined with diamonds glittered in the pale moonlight. The band was an elegant string of rose gold that hugged loosely against my ankle. “Oh, it’s so cute!”
“Good.” Fallon ran his fingers along my thighs, teasing them further apart. “I kept going back and forth between that and a necklace – yet whenever I thought about anything else wrapped around your throat, my hands grew terribly jealous.”
Should I read in order?
YES! You should, at minimum, read book 1 of the Mead Mishaps series (That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon) because this feels like an extended epilogue. But the whole series is so fun, so reading the whole thing in order is a great choice.
Basic plot:
Cinnamon and Fallon experience a Samhain festival together.
Give this a try if you want:
- fantasy romance with a historical feel
- Samhain celebration
- short story
- medium steam – 1 full scene that takes up most of the second chapter
Ages:
- They might be mentioned in book 1, didn’t see them listed here
First line:
“Cinnamon, go talk to your husband or I’ll hit you with another pumpkin spice pancake.”
My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this short story! I haven’t read Kimberly Lemming in awhile, and picked up the next book in the series for me (this one) because of the Diverse Baseline Challenge. It made me miss her work so much and now I want to catch up on everything I missed!
This is a short story, and definitely best after reading book 1 because it feels like an epilogue for Cinnamon and Fallon’s story. Fun, with a bit of light spookiness.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 4
Average rating: 5
Favorite book: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- some light scenes of fear/spookiness
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: No
Hows the consent? It’s good
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) I don’t think there’s any talk of children/trying to get pregnant between the couple? There is unsafe sex but I can’t remember if there’s some other kind of contraceptive mentioned in their prior story (magical birth control, etc)
46% - kisses, oral for her, missionary, choking
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔 (By itself, it’s quite short and more plot based but read book 1 and you will get to know the characters!)
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥
Humor: Yes
Perspective: first person from the heroine
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? fast
When mains are first on page together: It takes awhile...about 41% (or chapter 2 of 3 of this short story)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends happily for the couple
Epilogue: No
Format: read an e-book version through kindle unlimited
A small rabbit charm lined with diamonds glittered in the pale moonlight. The band was an elegant string of rose gold that hugged loosely against my ankle. “Oh, it’s so cute!”
“Good.” Fallon ran his fingers along my thighs, teasing them further apart. “I kept going back and forth between that and a necklace – yet whenever I thought about anything else wrapped around your throat, my hands grew terribly jealous.”
Should I read in order?
YES! You should, at minimum, read book 1 of the Mead Mishaps series (That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon) because this feels like an extended epilogue. But the whole series is so fun, so reading the whole thing in order is a great choice.
Basic plot:
Cinnamon and Fallon experience a Samhain festival together.
Give this a try if you want:
- fantasy romance with a historical feel
- Samhain celebration
- short story
- medium steam – 1 full scene that takes up most of the second chapter
Ages:
- They might be mentioned in book 1, didn’t see them listed here
First line:
“Cinnamon, go talk to your husband or I’ll hit you with another pumpkin spice pancake.”
My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this short story! I haven’t read Kimberly Lemming in awhile, and picked up the next book in the series for me (this one) because of the Diverse Baseline Challenge. It made me miss her work so much and now I want to catch up on everything I missed!
This is a short story, and definitely best after reading book 1 because it feels like an epilogue for Cinnamon and Fallon’s story. Fun, with a bit of light spookiness.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 4
Average rating: 5
Favorite book: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- some light scenes of fear/spookiness
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!)
46% - kisses, oral for her, missionary, choking
No Regrets by Andrea Janelle
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡ (I felt like they gave in to each other pretty easily each time and there wasn’t a lot of tension build up)
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑 (hard to tell on audio for me!)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: first person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: almost immediately in the prologue
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No
Format: listened to the audiobook (won in a giveaway from the author – thank you!!!!)
Should I read in order?
This is book 1 of Jenelle’s Willow Creek series.
Basic plot:
Taren finds out her brother sold his half of the business to her enemy and prior high school tormentor...
Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- small town setting – Willow Creek
- childhood friends
- enemies to lovers
- brother’s best friend
- workplace romance-ish – the hero buys out half her business and they must work together
- second chance
- heroine runs an orchard and makes cider
- celibate heroine
- skinny dipping
- higher steam – 5-ish scenes
Ages:
- heroine is about 33, hero is 35
First line: Taken from audio – probably butchered 😅
He was a praying mantis, all gangly awkward arms and legs and pointing elbows, a lean, supple wolfish shadow of a boy.
My thoughts:
This is my first book by Jenelle and I definitely am eager to try more! I liked the small town romance here and really enjoyed the steamy scenes – they had some great banter and an emotional pull I liked.
But I did have a few issues with this one – I struggled with their initial relationship a bit. They were childhood friends, but then in high school, the hero turns pure jerk. I didn’t really get why he was SO mean to her in high school. It’s kind of addressed and acknowledged, I guess I just wanted to feel the reason more? Because we walk in on the story at this point, I didn’t get the build up for it.
And after our initial set up, I really didn’t understand why he left without telling her. I still feel unsettled about that. It just felt like I was getting a bit of whiplash from the hero in the beginning and it was hard for me to recover from. They were best friends, then he was a jerk in high school, then he loved her, then he left. And when he returns, he works the whole book to prove to her he would do the right thing, but I was just left with this niggling doubt in their relationship that maybe I wouldn’t have forgiven him like she did.
Still, very excited to read more from Jenelle! She definitely has a writing style I like. These tropes weren’t my favorite and that’s just a me thing :)
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This was my first!
Average rating: 4 stars
Favorite book: This is my first by Jenelle, so this one 😄
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- alzheimers is a plot point for the hero’s grandmother and there are scenes showcasing her symptoms
- fire resulting in death
- parental loss
Author content warnings are given but I didn’t note them.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: condoms used
Hows the consent? It’s good
Pregnancy/children in story? No, no children side characters or main characters and no talk of pregnancy or pregnancy plot that I recall
- chapter 1 - kiss
- chapter 2 - 🔥 dry humping (hero comes in his pants)
(Note that the above two happen in high school and the heroine is 16, hero is 18. They are in high school together. The following scenes are 17 years later)
- chapter 6 – touches and groping that’s interrupted
- chapter 13 - kisses
- chapter 21 – 🔥phone sex
- chapter 22 – 🔥oral for her on the desk
- chapter 26 – 🔥bj, oral for her, sex
- chapter 33 – 🔥sex with crackers in the bed
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡ (I felt like they gave in to each other pretty easily each time and there wasn’t a lot of tension build up)
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑 (hard to tell on audio for me!)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: first person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: almost immediately in the prologue
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No
Format: listened to the audiobook (won in a giveaway from the author – thank you!!!!)
Should I read in order?
This is book 1 of Jenelle’s Willow Creek series.
Basic plot:
Taren finds out her brother sold his half of the business to her enemy and prior high school tormentor...
Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- small town setting – Willow Creek
- childhood friends
- enemies to lovers
- brother’s best friend
- workplace romance-ish – the hero buys out half her business and they must work together
- second chance
- heroine runs an orchard and makes cider
- celibate heroine
- skinny dipping
- higher steam – 5-ish scenes
Ages:
- heroine is about 33, hero is 35
First line: Taken from audio – probably butchered 😅
He was a praying mantis, all gangly awkward arms and legs and pointing elbows, a lean, supple wolfish shadow of a boy.
My thoughts:
This is my first book by Jenelle and I definitely am eager to try more! I liked the small town romance here and really enjoyed the steamy scenes – they had some great banter and an emotional pull I liked.
But I did have a few issues with this one – I struggled with their initial relationship a bit. They were childhood friends, but then in high school, the hero turns pure jerk. I didn’t really get why he was SO mean to her in high school. It’s kind of addressed and acknowledged, I guess I just wanted to feel the reason more? Because we walk in on the story at this point, I didn’t get the build up for it.
And after our initial set up, I really didn’t understand why he left without telling her. I still feel unsettled about that. It just felt like I was getting a bit of whiplash from the hero in the beginning and it was hard for me to recover from. They were best friends, then he was a jerk in high school, then he loved her, then he left. And when he returns, he works the whole book to prove to her he would do the right thing, but I was just left with this niggling doubt in their relationship that maybe I wouldn’t have forgiven him like she did.
Still, very excited to read more from Jenelle! She definitely has a writing style I like. These tropes weren’t my favorite and that’s just a me thing :)
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This was my first!
Average rating: 4 stars
Favorite book: This is my first by Jenelle, so this one 😄
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- alzheimers is a plot point for the hero’s grandmother and there are scenes showcasing her symptoms
- fire resulting in death
- parental loss
Author content warnings are given but I didn’t note them.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
Pregnancy/children in story?
- chapter 1 - kiss
- chapter 2 - 🔥 dry humping (hero comes in his pants)
(Note that the above two happen in high school and the heroine is 16, hero is 18. They are in high school together. The following scenes are 17 years later)
- chapter 6 – touches and groping that’s interrupted
- chapter 13 - kisses
- chapter 21 – 🔥phone sex
- chapter 22 – 🔥oral for her on the desk
- chapter 26 – 🔥bj, oral for her, sex
- chapter 33 – 🔥sex with crackers in the bed
All About Genevieve by Shana Galen
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖 (Sadly I was able to set this one down repeatedly for long periods of time and told myself to finish it)
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to medium
When mains are first on page together: it takes a bit – it’s a good 11% or so until the mains are on page together (chapter 3)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after and a conclusion to the series long mystery.
Epilogue: Yes, ten months later
Format: voluntarily read an e-book version through NetGalley
Should I read in order?
Ideally yes, if you care about the series mystery. The romance itself stands alone. But the end of the book has a resolution for the mystery and will be best in order.
Basic plot:
Rory is in desperate need of a governess, and lucky for him Genevieve and his daughter make a connection right away...
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency – book 1 takes place in 1814 and this one isn’t too much after it
- English countryside setting
- child in the story – the hero has a daughter he is trying to mend a relationship with
- you’re okay with loss being a big part of the story – the hero lost his wife and infant son before the book starts
- a touch of magic – the 3 books feature a curse that they are trying to break (the curse runs throughout the series and wraps up with this book)
- governess
- bit of a marriage of convenience
- hide and seek
- employer/employee relationship
- low to mid steam – 2 full scenes, a short one I didn’t count as a flame and plenty of kisses (though most is in the second half)
Ages:
- I think both mains are 30
First line:
Lord Emory Lumlee, youngest son of the Duke of Tralee, stood in the small, manicured graveyard behind the chapel at Lilacfall Abbey.
My thoughts:
This series has been pretty fun. I like the idea of the curse and the heroes working on undoing their curse and finding love on the way. But this one was my least favorite of the series.
If I can just be honest, the hero ruined this one for me. This whole series features heroes that have made mistakes and mend the bad karma coming their way in their books. But Rory….I wanted to love him but he was such an idiot and so frustrating I just never did.
He repeatedly makes these choices that are hurtful and cringy and you keep hoping he would get better. But even halfway through the book, the hero is threatening his child with ridiculous threats and when she goes missing doesn’t even think to call her name? I felt like his proposal was lackluster and left a lot to be desired. The way he acted once married, the same. And the ending? Well it didn’t salvage any kind of respect I might have started to have for him.
I loved the heroine and even the relationship with the hero’s child was fun in parts. But I felt like the child really took over the whole plot here and I’m not big on that in my romance generally so I was left wanting more from the mains.
I feel bad because I did enjoy parts of this series a lot, and I like Galen’s writing a lot. But this particular book I didn’t like the hero and I couldn’t enjoy the book because of him. I didn’t believe in their happily ever after and felt like the heroine deserved more by the end.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 3
Average rating: 3.66 stars
Favorite book: My Fair Katie
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- death of spouse and child with grief – including grief from child that doesn’t accept parental death
- some minor scenes of cursing and magic
- some mentions of feelings of infidelity between the hero and his dead wife – she’d been in love with another man
- a few scenes of missing child (none are too long and are resolved quickly)
- mention of heroine’s mother recovering from an extended illness
- some talk of heaven/God and death and attempting to get the daughter to accept the loss of her mother
Author content warnings? None
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: No
Hows the consent? It’s good
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!) There is a child in the story (hero’s daughter) and the remembered death of another child (hero’s son). There is talk of having future children, dreams of future children of the couple – no precautions are taken during sex.
38% - kiss
66% - 🔥 fingering/oral for her, missionary
71% - kisses then interrupted
74% - kisses
78% - 🔥kisses, fingering for her, doggy
88% - kisses, sex but it’s pretty vague and short
Readability: 📖📖📖 (Sadly I was able to set this one down repeatedly for long periods of time and told myself to finish it)
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to medium
When mains are first on page together: it takes a bit – it’s a good 11% or so until the mains are on page together (chapter 3)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after and a conclusion to the series long mystery.
Epilogue: Yes, ten months later
Format: voluntarily read an e-book version through NetGalley
Should I read in order?
Ideally yes, if you care about the series mystery. The romance itself stands alone. But the end of the book has a resolution for the mystery and will be best in order.
Basic plot:
Rory is in desperate need of a governess, and lucky for him Genevieve and his daughter make a connection right away...
Give this a try if you want:
- Regency – book 1 takes place in 1814 and this one isn’t too much after it
- English countryside setting
- child in the story – the hero has a daughter he is trying to mend a relationship with
- you’re okay with loss being a big part of the story – the hero lost his wife and infant son before the book starts
- a touch of magic – the 3 books feature a curse that they are trying to break (the curse runs throughout the series and wraps up with this book)
- governess
- bit of a marriage of convenience
- hide and seek
- employer/employee relationship
- low to mid steam – 2 full scenes, a short one I didn’t count as a flame and plenty of kisses (though most is in the second half)
Ages:
- I think both mains are 30
First line:
Lord Emory Lumlee, youngest son of the Duke of Tralee, stood in the small, manicured graveyard behind the chapel at Lilacfall Abbey.
My thoughts:
This series has been pretty fun. I like the idea of the curse and the heroes working on undoing their curse and finding love on the way. But this one was my least favorite of the series.
If I can just be honest, the hero ruined this one for me. This whole series features heroes that have made mistakes and mend the bad karma coming their way in their books. But Rory….I wanted to love him but he was such an idiot and so frustrating I just never did.
He repeatedly makes these choices that are hurtful and cringy and you keep hoping he would get better. But even halfway through the book, the hero is threatening his child with ridiculous threats and when she goes missing doesn’t even think to call her name? I felt like his proposal was lackluster and left a lot to be desired. The way he acted once married, the same. And the ending? Well it didn’t salvage any kind of respect I might have started to have for him.
I loved the heroine and even the relationship with the hero’s child was fun in parts. But I felt like the child really took over the whole plot here and I’m not big on that in my romance generally so I was left wanting more from the mains.
I feel bad because I did enjoy parts of this series a lot, and I like Galen’s writing a lot. But this particular book I didn’t like the hero and I couldn’t enjoy the book because of him. I didn’t believe in their happily ever after and felt like the heroine deserved more by the end.
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 3
Average rating: 3.66 stars
Favorite book: My Fair Katie
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- death of spouse and child with grief – including grief from child that doesn’t accept parental death
- some minor scenes of cursing and magic
- some mentions of feelings of infidelity between the hero and his dead wife – she’d been in love with another man
- a few scenes of missing child (none are too long and are resolved quickly)
- mention of heroine’s mother recovering from an extended illness
- some talk of heaven/God and death and attempting to get the daughter to accept the loss of her mother
Author content warnings? None
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
Pregnancy/children in story? (Please note this is the best to my memory/note taking. If you see something I missed please feel free to message!)
38% - kiss
66% - 🔥 fingering/oral for her, missionary
71% - kisses then interrupted
74% - kisses
78% - 🔥kisses, fingering for her, doggy
88% - kisses, sex but it’s pretty vague and short
Death and Desire by Kirsten S. Blacketer
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
4.75
Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A bit
Perspective: third person from the heroine mostly. There’s only a few chapters from Anubis’ point of view
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slower
When mains are first on page together: it takes awhile for them to be together
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, but it felt more like a final chapter to me and not a true epilogue to me (it’s not very far in the future)
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy in e-book form from the author (thank you!)
Should I read in order?
I believe this is a stand alone novel (or at least book 1 of what will be a series?)
Basic plot:
Violet has been longing to go to Egypt as a connection to her mother she has lost. She is unaware how important her inherited bracelet is to someone there, however…
Give this a try if you want:
- historical monster romance
- 1933 time period
- Egypt setting
- bodyguard vibes
- Anubis hero (Egyptian God) and human heroine pairing
- slow burn with great build up
- height difference in his God form
- telepathic connection
- hero is sexually inexperienced
- medium steam – 3 full scenes
Ages:
- Heroine is 25, hero is thousands of years old
First line:
What use is a heart to the god of the dead?
My thoughts:
Oh my goodness, I just loooooooved this book. The cover drew me in! How could I resist the possibility of such a beautiful story with that cover???
And the story delivered for me. Delivered all the things I really enjoy and love in romance. It is a slower burn for sure, and the story itself can feel like it’s moving slowly. But I encourage you to stick with it because when it gets moving, it grabbed my heart sooooo good. In the best way it grabbed and held on and I was so invested in this story. I was dying for Anubis and Violet to give in to each other. Such delicious sexual tension for me!
Ideally I could have used a bit more from Anubis’ POV, and maybe a touch more emotion from him in some of the scenes – he’s very serious and some of his dialogue came across to me as monotone when I wanted him to be close to losing control over Violet. But overall, I just adored this whole story.
This is my first by Blacketer and I immediately signed up for her newsletter and plan on trying more. I really liked her writing style and I’m hoping I love more by her too! I stayed up allll night finishing this
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first
Average rating: 5 stars
Favorite book: This one!
Cock/Hero Stats:
- the hero can shift into smoke, man form, Anubis….
- in his Anubis form, he is 8 feet tall, black skin that is shiny. He has the features of a hound/jackal with gold eyes and pointed ears. Much muscles!
- his claws are retractable
- in his human form, cock is well endowed but normal
- in his God form, cock is at least as long as the heroine’s forearm. He has small ridges and a thick vein underneath with rounded crests. He also knots in this form.
Endearments
The hero calls the heroine ‘little thief’ and ‘little flower’.
Quotes/thoughts: (Any mistakes are my own)
He was sin incarnate. Raven hair lay in waves around his angular face, resting against the collar of his shirt and casting his features in highlight and shadow. Tall for certain. Most definitely strong, she wagered, judging by the fit of his tailored coat.
---
Khalid’s unwavering stoicism remained as he narrowed his eyes. “I have not taken you anywhere against your will, little thief. I saved your life.”
“You saved me?” Violet scoffed. “Have you saved hundreds of women before me?”
“In all of my existence, I have saved no one before,” Khalid said.
---
Inside her mind, memories of her conversation with Khalid replayed, rolling over like gemstones in the light, refracting truth and tempting her to linger.
Content warnings: (This should be taken as a minimum because I could have missed some!)
- parental loss and grief over the loss
- some scenes of violence, kidnapping, and harassment
Author given content warnings: none
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex: No
Hows the consent? It’s good
Pregnancy/children in story? No children in the story. There is some brief thoughts of pregnancy with wondering if it’s possible to procreate between a human and a god. The heroine doesn’t get pregnant on page and no children are mentioned in the future
54% - 🔥 fingering for her while hidden by Anubis’ shroud in the garden (he is in God form)
He shook his head. “If this is what you truly desire…”
Abubis’s arms wrapped around her, lifting her off the ground and pinning her ot his chest. She squealed at the sudden movement, aware of his muscles and the press of the gold-banded garment around his hips pushing hard into her stomach.
“Then I will do my best to give you what you need.”
68% - kiss with another man
73% - 🔥 oral for her with Anubis in human form, missionary
Violet moaned when his tongue caressed hers.
Khalid tightened his grip on her hips, his fingers digging into her flesh. He backed up, carrying her to the bed. Sinking slowly to the mattress, he settled her on his lap. Knees pressed to the soft bedding, Violet straddled his thighs, cursing the linen and silk keeping her from feeling the heat of his skin on hers.
84% - kiss
91% - 🔥her on top, followed after by a fingering for her (short)
The fabric polled around her waist before she easted it over her hips and down her thighs to lay in a puddle at her feet.
Hunger flashed across his features, and he bared his teeth. It should have been strange, seeing the amalgamation before her – the body of a man hewn from steel and marble with the head of a fierce canine, looking as though he could devour her in a single bite.
Readability: 📖📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A bit
Perspective: third person from the heroine mostly. There’s only a few chapters from Anubis’ point of view
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slower
When mains are first on page together: it takes awhile for them to be together
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, but it felt more like a final chapter to me and not a true epilogue to me (it’s not very far in the future)
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy in e-book form from the author (thank you!)
Should I read in order?
I believe this is a stand alone novel (or at least book 1 of what will be a series?)
Basic plot:
Violet has been longing to go to Egypt as a connection to her mother she has lost. She is unaware how important her inherited bracelet is to someone there, however…
Give this a try if you want:
- historical monster romance
- 1933 time period
- Egypt setting
- bodyguard vibes
- Anubis hero (Egyptian God) and human heroine pairing
- slow burn with great build up
- height difference in his God form
- telepathic connection
- hero is sexually inexperienced
- medium steam – 3 full scenes
Ages:
- Heroine is 25, hero is thousands of years old
First line:
What use is a heart to the god of the dead?
My thoughts:
Oh my goodness, I just loooooooved this book. The cover drew me in! How could I resist the possibility of such a beautiful story with that cover???
And the story delivered for me. Delivered all the things I really enjoy and love in romance. It is a slower burn for sure, and the story itself can feel like it’s moving slowly. But I encourage you to stick with it because when it gets moving, it grabbed my heart sooooo good. In the best way it grabbed and held on and I was so invested in this story. I was dying for Anubis and Violet to give in to each other. Such delicious sexual tension for me!
Ideally I could have used a bit more from Anubis’ POV, and maybe a touch more emotion from him in some of the scenes – he’s very serious and some of his dialogue came across to me as monotone when I wanted him to be close to losing control over Violet. But overall, I just adored this whole story.
This is my first by Blacketer and I immediately signed up for her newsletter and plan on trying more. I really liked her writing style and I’m hoping I love more by her too! I stayed up allll night finishing this
Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first
Average rating: 5 stars
Favorite book: This one!
Cock/Hero Stats:
- the hero can shift into smoke, man form, Anubis….
- in his Anubis form, he is 8 feet tall, black skin that is shiny. He has the features of a hound/jackal with gold eyes and pointed ears. Much muscles!
- his claws are retractable
- in his human form, cock is well endowed but normal
- in his God form, cock is at least as long as the heroine’s forearm. He has small ridges and a thick vein underneath with rounded crests. He also knots in this form.
Endearments
The hero calls the heroine ‘little thief’ and ‘little flower’.
Quotes/thoughts: (Any mistakes are my own)
He was sin incarnate. Raven hair lay in waves around his angular face, resting against the collar of his shirt and casting his features in highlight and shadow. Tall for certain. Most definitely strong, she wagered, judging by the fit of his tailored coat.
---
Khalid’s unwavering stoicism remained as he narrowed his eyes. “I have not taken you anywhere against your will, little thief. I saved your life.”
“You saved me?” Violet scoffed. “Have you saved hundreds of women before me?”
“In all of my existence, I have saved no one before,” Khalid said.
---
Inside her mind, memories of her conversation with Khalid replayed, rolling over like gemstones in the light, refracting truth and tempting her to linger.
Content warnings: (This should be taken as a minimum because I could have missed some!)
- parental loss and grief over the loss
- some scenes of violence, kidnapping, and harassment
Author given content warnings: none
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
Pregnancy/children in story?
54% - 🔥 fingering for her while hidden by Anubis’ shroud in the garden (he is in God form)
He shook his head. “If this is what you truly desire…”
Abubis’s arms wrapped around her, lifting her off the ground and pinning her ot his chest. She squealed at the sudden movement, aware of his muscles and the press of the gold-banded garment around his hips pushing hard into her stomach.
“Then I will do my best to give you what you need.”
68% - kiss with another man
73% - 🔥 oral for her with Anubis in human form, missionary
Violet moaned when his tongue caressed hers.
Khalid tightened his grip on her hips, his fingers digging into her flesh. He backed up, carrying her to the bed. Sinking slowly to the mattress, he settled her on his lap. Knees pressed to the soft bedding, Violet straddled his thighs, cursing the linen and silk keeping her from feeling the heat of his skin on hers.
84% - kiss
91% - 🔥her on top, followed after by a fingering for her (short)
The fabric polled around her waist before she easted it over her hips and down her thighs to lay in a puddle at her feet.
Hunger flashed across his features, and he bared his teeth. It should have been strange, seeing the amalgamation before her – the body of a man hewn from steel and marble with the head of a fierce canine, looking as though he could devour her in a single bite.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (I’m not sure how many scenes...I didn’t take notes but I know there were a handful)
Humor: A bit
Perspective: Third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: Pretty soon in, about chapter 2
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes
Format: listened to the audiobook from the library (Hoopla)
Should I read in order?
This is the first of Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient.
Basic plot:
Stella hires someone to teach her about sex so she can have a successful relationship.
Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- fake relationship
- autism rep
- escort hero
- tattooed hero
- economist heroine
- bit of a size difference – hero is 6 inches
- bit of an employer/employee relationship – the heroine hires the hero to teach her about love/sex
- medium steam – there’s quite a few scenes and partial scenes. I don’t have an exact count because I didn’t take notes but I think I remember at least 3-4?
Ages:
- Heroine is 30, didn’t catch hero
First line:
“I know you hate surprises, Stella.”
My thoughts:
I ended up really liking this one! I listened to it while cleaning my house from top to bottom since we were moving and it really helped make it enjoyable!
I know this book was super popular but I actually had no idea what it was about. I somehow avoided everything about it except for seeing the cover frequently. I was actually really surprised by the plot of the hero being a sex escort and loved the idea of their bargain and fake relationship.
I enjoyed the focus on the intimacy and the characters together. We also get to know the hero’s family a bit. This book gave me so much of what I really enjoy in romance. And even though there were elements of instalust with them, I still felt the tension buildup in these scenes. I’d definitely read more from Hoang!
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- hero’s family has dealt with parental abandonment
- mention of sickness (cancer)
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Safe sex: Condoms used and the hero talks about being tested regularly for STDs
Hows the consent? It’s good! I do want to mention the hero is a sex worker and does feel rather stuck in the job due to the expenses he has but the consent itself is very good.
I didn’t take notes, sorry! There’s quite a few partials in the beginning and then full scenes later in the book
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (I’m not sure how many scenes...I didn’t take notes but I know there were a handful)
Humor: A bit
Perspective: Third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: Pretty soon in, about chapter 2
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes
Format: listened to the audiobook from the library (Hoopla)
Should I read in order?
This is the first of Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient.
Basic plot:
Stella hires someone to teach her about sex so she can have a successful relationship.
Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- fake relationship
- autism rep
- escort hero
- tattooed hero
- economist heroine
- bit of a size difference – hero is 6 inches
- bit of an employer/employee relationship – the heroine hires the hero to teach her about love/sex
- medium steam – there’s quite a few scenes and partial scenes. I don’t have an exact count because I didn’t take notes but I think I remember at least 3-4?
Ages:
- Heroine is 30, didn’t catch hero
First line:
“I know you hate surprises, Stella.”
My thoughts:
I ended up really liking this one! I listened to it while cleaning my house from top to bottom since we were moving and it really helped make it enjoyable!
I know this book was super popular but I actually had no idea what it was about. I somehow avoided everything about it except for seeing the cover frequently. I was actually really surprised by the plot of the hero being a sex escort and loved the idea of their bargain and fake relationship.
I enjoyed the focus on the intimacy and the characters together. We also get to know the hero’s family a bit. This book gave me so much of what I really enjoy in romance. And even though there were elements of instalust with them, I still felt the tension buildup in these scenes. I’d definitely read more from Hoang!
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- hero’s family has dealt with parental abandonment
- mention of sickness (cancer)
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
I didn’t take notes, sorry! There’s quite a few partials in the beginning and then full scenes later in the book
Collide by Bal Khabra
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A bit
Perspective: First person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to medium
When mains are first on page together: Not too long in….about 5% or Chapter 3 of the book
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, nine years later
Format: bought e-book
Should I read in order?
This is the first in Khabra’s Off the Ice series.
Basic plot:
To complete her research paper, Summer is forced to work with a dreaded hockey player. Aiden must do some college community service by volunteering himself for a research paper after his coach confronts him on a mistake.
Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- book includes a playlist!
- college setting
- touch of enemies to lovers (more on the heroine’s side – she doesn’t like hockey players)
- hockey player and the psychologist
- hero makes the heroine tea
- plenty of back and forth banter
- higher steam – 5-ish (I was kinda lazy with counting) scenes with some praise
Ages:
- hero is 21, heroine is 20
First line:
She’s holding a gun to my head.
My thoughts:
I am sad I struggled with this book! I wanted to like it but I just couldn’t get into it and I kept setting it down and forcing myself to pick it back up. Like I think I started this in April and am just getting around to finishing my review now (August)...I think I finished a week or two ago.
I did love the steam in this one. The scenes were really great and I loved the hero’s dirty talking. But I never grew to love either main character really.
I’m not the biggest fan of enemies to lovers anymore, so I think this will be a hit with others. I just didn’t feel the tension off their animosity and the heroine refusing to give the hero an inch because of her issues with her father got rather tiring to me. I felt like I was on a hamster wheel repeating and just wanted off. I was ready for this book to be over way before it ended. I think I could really like another book by this author with a different plot though!
Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts: Any mistakes/typos are my own
Soft tendrils frame her face, and I can’t help but notice how pretty she looks. She would look even prettier on her knees, looking up at me with those pink lips in a perfect O.
Jesus, I need a cold shower.
---
“There’s no lifeguard. If you drown, I’m not saving you.”
He feigns offense. “I’m your research; you can’t let me die.”
“A few casualties along the way won’t hurt my application.” He throws me a dark look that pulls a smile from me. “Last one in the pool has to pay for the other’s dinner,” I say before taking off. Just as I’m about to hop off the edge and dive into the pool, Aiden’s arm hooks around my waist, and we spin into the water, his back hitting first. I’m engulfed in chlorine-treated water, and him. When we break through the surface, I’m still trapped against his hard body.
“I don’t lose, Preston,” he whispers against the shell of my ear.
---
When warm fingers reach to lift my chin, my stomach flutters. “Did you mean what you said?”
This is no time to be a coward, Summer.
I swallowed hard. “Yes.”
His tense shoulders relax, and he grins. “Say it again.”
“Hell no.”
“Come on. One more time,” he goads.
I shake my head more seriously now. Aiden shrugs and turns to leave. I fight the urge to roll my eyes when I grab the sleeve of his T-shirt to pull him back to me. He comes easily, not even trying to hid the big smile on his stupidly smug face.
I breathe a dramatic sigh. “I want you to fuck me.”
Aiden’s eyes light like a kid’s on Christmas. “Was that so hard?”
---
“Maybe you have a headache from your hair being in a death grip.”
“That’s how I like it,” she declares.
I raise my brows, making her roll her eyes. “I like it down.”
She snorts. “Good to know. I’ll throw out all my hair ties because Aiden Crawford likes it when girls wear their hair down.”
Wrapping the bandage around her ankle, I glance at her. “Not girls. You.”
---
“If you want it, you’re going to come to me.” He lifts my hair from the shirt, pushing it back. “The next time I have you, it won’t be to prove something or to win some competition. It’s going to be because you know the only guy that can satisfy you is me.”
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- heroine struggles with some parental issues with her dad
- heroine does kiss someone else in the book and it’s after she was intimate with the hero (I would say infidelity because they are not in a relationship...)
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Safe sex: Condoms used
Hows the consent? It’s good – the hero asks multiple times
Pregnancy/children? I don’t recall pregnancy being talked about, condoms are used. There are children in the epilogue.
30% - brief kiss
37% - kiss between the hero and heroine (there was a prior kiss between the heroine and a side character), breast play, oral for her
46% - kisses in the truck
49% - 🔥 bj, oral for her, missionary
53% - 🔥 her on top
60% - 🔥 69
65% - 🔥 sex in the bar bathroom
72% - 🔥 fingering for her on the ferris wheel
84% - oral for her but it cuts off and is very short
Readability: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A bit
Perspective: First person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to medium
When mains are first on page together: Not too long in….about 5% or Chapter 3 of the book
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, nine years later
Format: bought e-book
Should I read in order?
This is the first in Khabra’s Off the Ice series.
Basic plot:
To complete her research paper, Summer is forced to work with a dreaded hockey player. Aiden must do some college community service by volunteering himself for a research paper after his coach confronts him on a mistake.
Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- book includes a playlist!
- college setting
- touch of enemies to lovers (more on the heroine’s side – she doesn’t like hockey players)
- hockey player and the psychologist
- hero makes the heroine tea
- plenty of back and forth banter
- higher steam – 5-ish (I was kinda lazy with counting) scenes with some praise
Ages:
- hero is 21, heroine is 20
First line:
She’s holding a gun to my head.
My thoughts:
I am sad I struggled with this book! I wanted to like it but I just couldn’t get into it and I kept setting it down and forcing myself to pick it back up. Like I think I started this in April and am just getting around to finishing my review now (August)...I think I finished a week or two ago.
I did love the steam in this one. The scenes were really great and I loved the hero’s dirty talking. But I never grew to love either main character really.
I’m not the biggest fan of enemies to lovers anymore, so I think this will be a hit with others. I just didn’t feel the tension off their animosity and the heroine refusing to give the hero an inch because of her issues with her father got rather tiring to me. I felt like I was on a hamster wheel repeating and just wanted off. I was ready for this book to be over way before it ended. I think I could really like another book by this author with a different plot though!
Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts: Any mistakes/typos are my own
Soft tendrils frame her face, and I can’t help but notice how pretty she looks. She would look even prettier on her knees, looking up at me with those pink lips in a perfect O.
Jesus, I need a cold shower.
---
“There’s no lifeguard. If you drown, I’m not saving you.”
He feigns offense. “I’m your research; you can’t let me die.”
“A few casualties along the way won’t hurt my application.” He throws me a dark look that pulls a smile from me. “Last one in the pool has to pay for the other’s dinner,” I say before taking off. Just as I’m about to hop off the edge and dive into the pool, Aiden’s arm hooks around my waist, and we spin into the water, his back hitting first. I’m engulfed in chlorine-treated water, and him. When we break through the surface, I’m still trapped against his hard body.
“I don’t lose, Preston,” he whispers against the shell of my ear.
---
When warm fingers reach to lift my chin, my stomach flutters. “Did you mean what you said?”
This is no time to be a coward, Summer.
I swallowed hard. “Yes.”
His tense shoulders relax, and he grins. “Say it again.”
“Hell no.”
“Come on. One more time,” he goads.
I shake my head more seriously now. Aiden shrugs and turns to leave. I fight the urge to roll my eyes when I grab the sleeve of his T-shirt to pull him back to me. He comes easily, not even trying to hid the big smile on his stupidly smug face.
I breathe a dramatic sigh. “I want you to fuck me.”
Aiden’s eyes light like a kid’s on Christmas. “Was that so hard?”
---
“Maybe you have a headache from your hair being in a death grip.”
“That’s how I like it,” she declares.
I raise my brows, making her roll her eyes. “I like it down.”
She snorts. “Good to know. I’ll throw out all my hair ties because Aiden Crawford likes it when girls wear their hair down.”
Wrapping the bandage around her ankle, I glance at her. “Not girls. You.”
---
“If you want it, you’re going to come to me.” He lifts my hair from the shirt, pushing it back. “The next time I have you, it won’t be to prove something or to win some competition. It’s going to be because you know the only guy that can satisfy you is me.”
Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.
- heroine struggles with some parental issues with her dad
- heroine does kiss someone else in the book and it’s after she was intimate with the hero (I would say infidelity because they are not in a relationship...)
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Safe sex:
Hows the consent?
Pregnancy/children?
30% - brief kiss
37% - kiss between the hero and heroine (there was a prior kiss between the heroine and a side character), breast play, oral for her
46% - kisses in the truck
49% - 🔥 bj, oral for her, missionary
53% - 🔥 her on top
60% - 🔥 69
65% - 🔥 sex in the bar bathroom
72% - 🔥 fingering for her on the ferris wheel
84% - oral for her but it cuts off and is very short