sarahhbeth_reads's reviews
983 reviews

Her Vicious Angel: A Dark & Twisted Mafia Romance by Kate Raven

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

3.0

 

I wondered uncomfortably if I was lying to myself about being a nice, normal person. There was something about Andrei that ripped through my skin and tore through me, exposing me as made out of the same dark materials he was. 

Summary: 

The novel begins, in the tradition of many great smutty stories, with crippling student loan debt. Having recently earned her PhD in Russian iconography, Cerise St. Just is struggling to make ends meet. When she receives an offer to essentially be a “reverse” Russian mail-order bride in exchange for $2.5M, she is, at first, rightfully skeptical. But when the bargainer ups the offer to $5M and explains that Cerise must marry his son to cover son’s “unnatural tastes and proclivities,” our delulu girl convinces herself that the son is probably gay. She is totally on board with moving countries and being a hot, blonde, billionaire, theater magnate’s beard in exchange for $5M, so she does. 

Said hot, blonde, billionaire, theater magnate—Andrei Petrovic—is not gay and also not entirely a theater magnate. Well, he is, but that’s just a cover for his real operation as a notoriously ruthless Bratva underboss. At first, Andrei defies his father’s order to marry Cerise, rejecting the claim that he needs a wife or a cover. Yet, as this plucky little hellfire challenges Andrei in ways that no one else dares, Andrei cannot deny their mutual attraction. Nor will he let her go… 

Review: 

I usually actively avoid Russian mafia romances, but at this point I would probably giddily read Kate Raven’s grocery lists, so here we are. 

Honestly, I was in from the moment Cerise gets Grigoriy Petrovic’s letter, which reads like the worst phishing scam, 

“Dear Dr. Cerise St. Just, this is a job offer. You will get paid $2.5 million American dollars to move to Russia and marry my son Andrei Petrovic. Don’t ask questions.” 

By 25% in I was able to (mostly) suspend my disbelief and wholeheartedly embrace the fantasy. It definitely helped that most of the Russian elements (Russian words, naming conventions, geography) were accurate. And, while I think it would be absolutely miserable and—if not impossible—at least a very bad decision to ride a motorcycle from Moscow to St. Petersburg in mid-January, who the fuck cares? That’s not why we’re reading this book. 

Her Vicious Angel is short, and the plot is efficiently paced, throwing you into the action right away. Chapters alternate between Cerise’s POV and Andrei’s. While I don’t always love dual POV in romance, I definitely needed it here. Seeing how much of a goner Andrei was for Cerise right from the start won me over when a straight-up dark bratva romance would probably have put me off. Same with Cerise’s explicit desire for Andrei. The dub-con in Her Vicious Angel was more consensual than in some (maybe all) of Kate Raven’s other dark romances, and I definitely needed that here more than I normally would. 

I might as well have let Cerise St. Just stab me. Because she gutted and carved me open either way.

Romance 

Like Moonshine Savage, this book delivered the full fantasy. The sexy af, strongest, most ruthless man in the entire country, who could have any woman he wants, but wants our heroine and ONLY our heroine. Andrei is immediately and completely obsessed with Cerise, and I am immediately and completely obsessed with that. Not to mention, who doesn’t love an arranged marriage plot? 

When he’s a possessive, entitled, inconsiderate jerk who’s completely obsessed with you. 🤭

And the smut was H O T, so fucking hot. 

I wanted every dirty, disgusting, unwholesome thing he was into. I wanted every wrong and bad thing. I wanted his hands on me, hard and harsh. 

*Kissing my feminism goodbye when he says-- 

“Go slowly!” I protested.
 “Shut up,” he replied, spreading my cheeks with one big hand. 

And then, 

              “Oh fuck, Cerise. You feel too good. Shit, I can’t go slowly.” 

Characters 

I had always been the good girl, the responsible girl, the cautious girl. And now at 30 years old I was flat broke with no boyfriend, and I lived in a leaky fleabag apartment. Maybe I would never get another chance to do something wild and unexpected. 

I really enjoyed Cerise as a heroine. She starts out kind of naïve and sheltered but is no less bold or defiant for her innocence. She wants to break out of her bubble, and she does; we love a character growth journey that ends in bloodshed. Cerise is down so bad for Andrei’s bloodthirst (same, girl), and just as deranged and delulu as our psycho Andrei. 

The one thing I don’t really understand is why Cerise? Just because of her Russian iconography degree? Plenty of people have Russian-related degrees. I have a (similarly useless) Russian-related degree. Maybe I missed where it was explained. 

Andrei was… hot. Just hot. 10/10 alphahole. No notes. 

“In America we say ‘hello,’” I said.
 His lips twisted. “In my territory, I take what I want. And I want you.” 

Humor 

The comedy also did not disappoint, with classic lines like, 

I had recently broken up with my boyfriend, who had quit his job to focus on bitcoin. 

and 

I’m not going back to him just because he committed an unhinged murder on live television. 

(One of my notes just says, “unerringly clever wit.”) 

Conclusion 

Finally, I don’t want to spoil anything, but the last quarter of the book— *chef’s kiss* so good. 

Overall, the things that would have bothered me about any Russian mafia romance still bothered me, but my issues aside I STILL ENJOYED IT. That she convinces me again and again to pick up books so outside my usual genres, I think, is a huge testament to Kate’s writing. Her books are the perfect combination of funny, hot, and twisted, with a little bit of unbearable sweetness. 

TL;DR: I enjoyed a bratva romance, RIP all my years in Slavic studies. 

Ranking in comparison to Kate Raven’s other dark romances*:
Her Drag Barbarian (best overall)
 Moonshine Savage (my fave)
 Her Vicious Angel
 The Catcher 

*I have not yet read Brutal Serpent. 

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous dark emotional tense

5.0

Brilliant and incisive post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasy.

Unearthed by Goldie Walker

adventurous emotional hopeful tense

3.0

"Now, in the ruin wrought by his own stubbornness, Dane glimpsed how tightly he’d clung to the illusion of control. But nature and fate bowed to no man. Mattie had known, but he’d refused to listen, and now they both suffered the consequences."

[The moral of this story is to trust your instincts and that hot, stubborn, sexist men will trap you in a damp cave.]

Summary:

A dislike-to-esteem romance. A short time after the Texas Revolution, water dowser Matilda "Mattie" Fromme meets new grant owner and ex-Ranger Dane McCollum to divine a suitable location for a well on his land. Prejudiced against Mattie's gender and skeptical of her abilities, Dane doubts Mattie's judgements. When Mattie cautions against digging on a particular plot of land, Dane swiftly disregards her advice. The ground beneath consequently collapses, and the two find themselves trapped together in an underground cave. Now, they must rely on one another to survive.

Review:

I judged this book by its cover and obviously had to read it.

Overall, a decent book. Definitely an original and creative premise. I liked Mattie as a practical and independent heroine and Dane's character growth. 

The romance is slow burn, which felt appropriate for the story and setting; the characters' attraction develops at a believable pace. However, the moments when they find themselves overcome with physical need were a little contrived and awkward, usually resulting from physical contact during or after dire moments. 

"The peril of their situation sharpened the edge of each sensation."

[Couldn't be me, even if it were olden times and I hadn't seen The Descent, but Mattie is clearly made of sterner stuff.]

I know very little about Texas history and found the information included about the Runaway Scrape and Texas Revolution very interesting. Native American representation in historical romance generally makes me a little wary, and I am not in a position to comment on the Comanche depiction in this novella. However, I appreciate that the author writes in her bio that she is a "strong advocate for a revival of the western historical romance genre, minus the problematic stereotypes that are sometimes considered typical of its past" and is "doing her best to avoid and offer an alternative to outdated ideologies that have plagued the genre." 

I got this novella as a free download for signing up for the author's newsletter. I'm definitely interested in reading on in the series; the sequel, in which Mattie and Dane's story continues, comes out in January 2025.

Rating: 3/5⭐️

✅ Creative

✅ Entertaining 

✅ I liked it

❎ Underrepresented voices 

❎ Subversive

Quid Pro Quo by Nenia Campbell

Not rating this one because I had two very different experiences reading it. I know for most people this book is an instant favorite! So, I definitely recommend checking it out.

Experience Part 1:

Reading the first half of the book, I just had a hard time getting into it and struggled to connect with the characters. 

I couldn't help comparing it to Little Deaths, which has one of the strongest opening scenes of any book I can recall. That doesn't mean Quid Pro Quo is bad at all, it's more a testament to just how amazing Little Deaths is. And I wonder if I would have felt differently if I had read this book before Little Deaths.

Fewer quotes grabbed me in the first half of Quid Pro Quo, compared to Campbell's other books where I'm usually highlighting every other line.

Ultimately, I took a break from this book around Chapter 20 because the stuff Jay experienced in the past was really brutal and challenging for me and, as a result, I found the transitions from past to present jarring.

Experience Part 2: 

After a few months, I decided I wanted to give this book a second chance and that I would just read the 'present day' chapters. And I really enjoyed them! Like, I seriously loved the last few chapters. 

Reading the later chapters, I thought the writing was really striking (alternatingly heart-wrenching and cheeky) and I connected with the characters much more. My highlights went way up, lol.

Overall:

 

I don't actually know if there is any significant difference between the first and second half of the book, I just didn't click with it at first.

Definitely give it a shot, because odds are you will probably love it. And, take care of yourself; if the 'past' is giving you a hard time, just reading the 'present' was better for me.

---

dnf @ 48%

I had trouble connecting with the characters. After transitioning from a scene where the fmc's stepfather acts so gross that fmc throws up, to a dubcon scene where fmc's stepbrother makes her call him Daddy, I felt too uncomfortable to continue.

The Havisham Breeding Curse by Kate M. Rivenhall

dark funny fast-paced

4.0

Gloria Buenrostro is Not My Girlfriend by Brandon Hoàng

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted

4.0

Not your average coming-of-age story.

Summary:

It's summer break before junior year and Gary Võ and his best friend Preston are tired of being "Viet nobodies." This is going to be the year everything changes; Gary and Preston will make sure of that. When Gloria Buenrostro, the most beautiful, unattainable girl in school, recruits Gary's help making deliveries for her mom's business, Preston sees an opportunity. If Gary steals Gloria's special charm bracelet, the popular boys will let them into their secret club, "the Roosters." Gary's conscience protests, but he's desperate to improve his social standing. Yet the more time Gary spends with Gloria, the more he sees her--and she sees him. Will Gary forfeit their ticket to high school popularity?

Review:

This book will make you nostalgic for the seemingly endless days of summer break and thankful that you're beyond the relentless agony that is teen angst. 

Adults will enjoy this book, but I especially recommend it for young readers. Teens will get a lot out of this book. Hoàng is an author to watch.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

When Angels Fall by Meagan McKinney

3.0

A love story about two very traumatized people. I adored Ivan but Lissa made me want to throw my book at the wall.

Her Drag Barbarian by Kate Raven

funny fast-paced

5.0

I walked up to Je Sweet, grabbing her by her long, dark wig, and drove her head into the dressing table.

Summary:

Working at her father's conflict management firm, archaeological grad student Elowyn Carew is tasked with rescuing the Heavenly Lights drag club. A string of anonymous threats and unfortunate accidents have put the club at shutdown risk. Elowyn immediately determines that Je Sweet, the club's top performing drag queen, is undoubtedly behind a significant number of the club's problems. Je Sweet, aka Beauchamp de la Fontaine, is selfish, conceited, callous and reckless. Not one to be cowed, Elowyn is determined to whip Beau into shape.

As Elowyn works her magic with Heavenly Lights, Beau becomes increasingly obsessed with the one person he can't intimidate.

Review:

I am a huge drag fan (Trixie Mattel is Queen of Wisconsin, after all) and was initially a little wary about this book's premise. However, after seeing other friends' positive reviews I decided to give it a try. I immediately loved it. It's trademark Kate Raven humor and unhinged behavior + an unusual plot + great queer representation. 

Both main characters are bi. Narration uses she/her pronouns for Je Sweet and he/him pronouns for Beau. Je Sweet/Beau is described as attractive both female and male presenting, and Elowyn is attracted to them in both presentations. I love when an Alpha personality is also confidently feminine; you don't see that representation often in any genre. I also really liked Elowyn as a takes no shit/gives no fucks, comfortable in who she is heroine.

Despite its often campy tone, the book acknowledges serious issues drag performers and the queer community face, such as discrimination and ostracism.

Most importantly, the novel didn't feel exploitative. It was outrageous, but in the standard Kate Raven way; drag was not punch line.

Even though their relationship got off the rails quickly, I thought Beau's bi-awakening and attraction to Elowyn developed in a way that felt believable, something that is often hard to achieve (especially in a book <200 pages).

Despite my initial concerns, i thought this book handled sensitive topics respectfully. It wasn't a "suddenly straight" plot, like I feared, but an attraction to another person for who they are. Beau's sudden obsession with getting Elowyn pregnant didn't bother me; it's kink. This is obviously just my opinion, others may feel differently.

My Drag Barbarian was a unique, creative, sexy, deranged romcom that I probably would never have picked up if Kate hadn't written it. This is probably one of Kate Raven's best books.

Too bad this book has a critical and unforgivable flaw: the French LI never says anything sexy in French?! Criminal.

Rating: 5/5⭐️

✅Entertaining/Engaging 

✅Creative 

✅I liked it.

✅Lots of queer rep. Handled difficult topics tactfully.

✅Definitely original and norm-transgressing.

The Ghost and the Incest Clause by Kate M. Rivenhall

5.0

Yeah...I can't explain this one except that I am obsessed with everything Kate writes. 

Honestly: 🤌🏻✨ 10/10, no notes