Tea Ravine has switched gears for her Eleventh Hour Duet, but there’s no need to worry something has been lost in the change: The Eleventh Hour is an Tea Ravine has switched gears for her Eleventh Hour Duet, but there’s no need to worry something has been lost in the change: The Eleventh Hour is an excellent dark, paranormal, polyamorous romance with a suspenseful edge and a psychological thrill.
Jax Shade is absolutely stuck between a rock and a hard place: The rock is her stalker of six years and her hard place is the court-mandated psychiatrist who enjoys manipulating her and is in charge of deciding if and/or when she goes back to the insane asylum. Both of these figures rule over her entire life like two regents of fear, while the queen of all of her demons is her own mind.
Then two men from out of town show up, looking for answers about the disappearance of a loved one. Jax may be the only one who can help find the answers they need. They just need to work fast and safely, because it’s more than just Jax’s life on the line.
That’s what Riley and Danny are. Just two commitment-phobes who sleep around (one-night stands only, please and thank Do you have a platonic soulmate?
That’s what Riley and Danny are. Just two commitment-phobes who sleep around (one-night stands only, please and thank you) and then spend almost all of their free time together. They have keys to each other’s places. They come and go as they please. They know one another better than anyone else on the planet. Riley’s even in the know about the supernatural world, despite being a human because he’s Matty’s best friend and Matty’s husband is a vampire…it’s all very complicated. But Riley wouldn’t have it any other way (except he hates his job). Danny certainly wouldn’t either (except he wishes he didn’t have the constant threat of his old pack hanging over his head). Yup, they’re just platonic soulmates.
Who had sex one time a few years ago before they became best friends. Unbelievable, mind-blowing, once-in-a-lifetime sex. Which they’ll never repeat. Nope.
I love Lark Taylor. Sometimes I forget I only heard of her and her books in January, because she’s now an auto–buy author and I can’t get enough of her books. They always feature captivating and endearing characters, are unspeakably hot, are well-plotted, and slot in well with her already-existing books. I love when an author’s books connect, even if it’s tangential, because it feels almost like an easter egg hunt when you start looking for the connections. (If you’re a Sadenverse reader then you know what I’m talking about.)
Danny’s story is the last in for the Damned Connections series, and it was a very loose thread that needed to be tied up from the second book in the series, Justice. Finally we get to see the pack Danny left behind, the reason he left, and learn what he needs to do to resolve that situation. I didn’t find this book as touching on an emotional level as Justice, but I did love the idiot x idiot trope. It’s another win for Lark Taylor and we’re off to visit the angels next!
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
I absolutely adored Bewitched, the first book in this series, and Bespelled ensnared me with its charms just as effectively. I’m not the hugest fan ofI absolutely adored Bewitched, the first book in this series, and Bespelled ensnared me with its charms just as effectively. I’m not the hugest fan of straight-up MF romance, but there’s just something about the way Laura writes her lead couples that sucks me every time and causes me to become heavily invested in them and their story. I can’t pinpoint what it is about them yet (yes, even though we’re at the end of the second book) that has me so captivated, but I know there has to be other authors out there that wish they could bottle this particular blend of writing witchcraft.
Bespelled picks up almost right where Bewitched left off, with Selene having been framed for the witch murders by Memnon, because someone’s still stuck on his tour of vengeance. Selene has the memories of her past life back, but it’s kind of hard to focus on anything but being, well, under arrest for crimes she didn’t commit. Luckily, the situation rights itself pretty quickly, and soon we get back to the incredibly charismatic push-pull dynamic between Selene and Memnon as they try and navigate each other, the situation they find themselves in now that Selene can remember the past, and what to do about the ongoing murders.
We get to meet a whole slew of supporting characters, see the overarching plot develop some more, see a new major plotline develop, see the rise and fall of a whole subplot within this book, and have it end with not a cliffhanger but a huge question mark. There’s a ton of magic, a whole bunch of intrigue, a great deal of action and violence, some great swoon-worthy romance, decent spice, and buckets of blood.
A lot happens in this book. I mean, a lot, a lot. Thalassa does a great job keeping the story moving and not letting everything get too tangled together at the same time. There is a pretty large infodump via looking into memories (not by flashback) near the beginning of the book, but I can’t in all fairness call it lazy storytelling in this instance because it falls in line with the way magic works in this series and the way the characters exist. There just wasn’t a better option to get the necessary information across to we readers.
It was a fantastic read and I’m absolutely anticipating the final book!
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
After so, so, so so so long, we finally get Toby and Blaise’s story. Something has been brewing between these two since the end of the Reckless DamnedAfter so, so, so so so long, we finally get Toby and Blaise’s story. Something has been brewing between these two since the end of the Reckless Damned series and through the first two of the books in this Damned Connections series. By the time author Lark Taylor got to the end of the previous book, Justice, I was positively foaming at the mouth for this book and I can’t help but wonder if that’s where I went wrong, because I loved this book but it just wasn’t the story I thought Toby and Blaise deserved.
This has nothing to do with Taylor’s talents as a storyteller: As per usual, Lark wrote a great story that stands up to most criticism. The problem I see is that it’s standing up against her other works and the background story arc between Toby and Blaise and this book just falls a little short of doing either justice. We have waited a long time for this story and that deserved a big payoff, but there was just too much going on in this book to devote it all to Toby and Blaise’s love story.
It has a rough, if sexy, take-off, but an amazing landing. The pacing seems stuttered because this book covers a longer time period than most of Taylor’s books and there’s a lot of things that need to happen and a lot of stuff to work through, as well as many sublime spicy scenes written in (and they’re hot, trust). New characters are introduced and we see newer characters again in preparation for the next book in this series and the new series that’s coming up.
It’s just a lot of material for a book I felt should’ve been dedicated almost entirely to the romance between Toby and Blaise, because if anyone deserves that treatment it’s these two. They have had an epic story behind the scenes and I just wanted more of them. That doesn’t mean this book isn’t fantastic, because I’ve yet to read a Lark Taylor book I didn’t love, but it does mean I couldn’t have loved it more.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Shattered Omega, part one, will be published on the one-year anniversary of the publication of the very first PoisonVerse novel, Havoc Killed Her AlphShattered Omega, part one, will be published on the one-year anniversary of the publication of the very first PoisonVerse novel, Havoc Killed Her Alpha, which was also written by Mackay. The PoisonVerse novels have ushered in a whole new world of omegaverse novels over this past year because they’ve all been so good. In addition to the two novels Mackay wrote directly for the PoisonVerse, she also wrote two novellas and one two-part novel set in the PoisonVerse. Now she has gifted us Shattered Omega, which is set somewhere even darker and deeper than the regular PoisonVerse novels, in a subset she’s calling “PoisonVerse Noir”.
“PoisonVerse Noir” has all the PNR and omegaverse trappings of Mackay’s regular PoisonVerse novels, but seems to be rooted in something deeper, darker, and more mysterious.
This book is Mackays best work since the beginning of the PoisonVerse. Havoc Killed Her Alpha was one of my top 23 indie romances of 2023. We’re switching out the urban settings for an academy setting and delving into an unsettling and deadly side of bonds, auras, scents, and packs. Of course, no PoisonVerse novel would be complete without intrigue and scandal too, now would it?
Shatter, our FMC, is almost a feral omega. She’s fiercely intelligent, but she’s also ruled by her instincts and is shockingly naive for a 19 year-old. Dusk, Umbra, and Ransom are the MMCs in this book, and you’ll forgive me if I don’t share much of their story because that’s a whole box of spoiler rocks and I don’t want to spill them. You don’t get to see too much of Ransom in this book, but if you’re like me you’ll fall in love with conniving charmer Umbra and clever caretaker Dusk.
The spice is a 3 out of 3 on my scale for the hotness of the spice scenes and the kinks.
Do watch out for your TW/CWs, because while I don’t think they’re quite as dire as Mackay warns, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. I also don’t get shocked by much, so I might have missed something. I just thought the whole thing was smokin’ hot. Just beware that cliffhanger! It’s a doozy.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. No offer of compensation was asked for, nor provided in exchange for this review. Thank you.
I’m convinced Lark Taylor is magic, because I can’t stop reading her books. Ever since I read Patience I’ve binged her books and with every single droI’m convinced Lark Taylor is magic, because I can’t stop reading her books. Ever since I read Patience I’ve binged her books and with every single drop of knowledge that more words are coming from her I become like Veruca Salt: “Don’t care how–I want it now!”
So of course I signed up for Justice when it became available, and I loved every single one of its nearly 500 pages. Yes–this book is almost 500 pages long and I don’t regret a single page. From the start, this book is absolutely captivating and it takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. By the time it ended I had soaked my t-shirt and my pillow in a substantial amount of tears from ugly crying but I was also so soft for the HEA and so squirmy from the filthy-hot spice Lark Taylor does so well.
Sebastian (you remember Sebastian, right?), the vampire assassin from Taylor’s The Reckless Damned series, is a prickly guy that everyone in the Supe Group (my phrase) pretty much loathes and only shows up when it’s time to get stuff done because Toby (the manager of The Closet) is his cousin and he generally doesn’t want the supernatural world to go cattywampus. It would be bad for business. Well, he’s been sticking around town, if only sticking to the shadows, because a human friend of the Supe Group has caught his interest: Matty. We heard of Matty at the end of Luck of the Devil because he’s mainly Lucky’s friend and he’s a sunshine precious cinnamon roll. He must be protected at all costs. Sebastian feels that way too. Adamantly. He lives to see Matty smile every day. So one day, when Matty isn’t smiling so much anymore and he starts to look a little haunted, Sebastian gets a little invested in finding out why.
Thus begins their story. Well, for Matty that is.
These two were the definition of hurt/comfort for me. They wrecked one another completely only to stitch one another back up so completely my heart grew three times its size by the end of the book. The sexual chemistry between them was fire, as was the spicy scenes. I love size difference and filthy talk and this was excellent for that.
The supporting cast played their role to a T. Everyone has made their opinions on Sebastian known from clear back deep into the beginnings of The Reckless Damned books. Their opinions play an important part in this book, if only so Matty can but heads with everyone as he insists they’re wrong. It’s so sweet and so kind.
I loved this book so much. It’s another Lark Taylor win and now we’ll finally, finally get Toby and Blaise’s book!
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. No compensation was offered or accepted in exchange for this review. Thank you.
(Please Note: This story is connected to Olivia Lewin’s other PoisonVerse novel, Pack of Lies, via that book’s character Marlowe. This book is about M(Please Note: This story is connected to Olivia Lewin’s other PoisonVerse novel, Pack of Lies, via that book’s character Marlowe. This book is about Marlowe’s older alpha sister, Leighton and the pack Marlowe left behind.)
First of all, y’all should know I’m a huge fan of all the PoisonVerse novels. I’ve read them all. They’re all on my wishlist to own as paperbacks. So I was happy to come across a post where Olivia Lewin had some copies of her ARCs up for grabs. I know I already have ARCs to review, but it turned out to be great timing, because I wasn’t feeling so good yesterday and when I’m not feeling good all I want to read is spicy books anyway. So I took the time to read this a couple of days ahead of schedule and finished it up just this morning. I have to say that I liked it better than I did Pack of Lies, and that’s all due to a little someone called Kiara.
Kiara is the desperate, almost-feral omega at the center of the conflict in Lonely Alpha. Kiara isn’t gold pack like most of the omegas at the center of the conflicts in the other PoisonVerse novels. No, Kiara is actually just about omega royalty: well-bred and raised in luxury to be the best omega she can be for whatever pack her father decides to marry her off to. Too bad she was raised by nannies, her father was cruel, and her beta brother was even worse. One night, on the advice of [spoiler] she gets away from her cruel brother by grabbing a jeweled dagger and attacking him and fleeing to the home of professional corporate fixer, Leighton Winston, and begging Leighton to dark bond her.
This is the first of the PoisonVerse novels I’ve ever read to employ a dark bond. Honestly, I was wondering if they (the collective authors who have written books in this universe) were ever going to deploy it as an actual bond device or if they were going to let it always simmer around the edges as a constant, looming threat to all omegas instead of trying to turn it on its head and try to show it being something an omega could actually want, need, or desire. I’m glad Olivia Lewin (who does tend to delve into the darker side of omegaverse) decided to be the one to finally approach the dark bond, because she did a wonderful job of showing not only why an omega might want or need one, but also how an omega could ultimately feel better protected and more comfortable in their skin having a dark bond after living a certain kind of traumatic life. It also showed how it takes a very certain type of alpha to both accept an omega’s desire to willingly be dark bonded, to tend to and nurture both the omega and the bond, and to treat both with the utmost respect, because ultimately what the dark bond equates to is a 24/7 M/s power dynamic in our world that’s then been turned into a paranormal link in their world. Just as in our world there are bad Masters, in their world there are bad Alphas. But not every Alpha needs to be bad. Ergo, not every dark bond needs to be bad. But, just as in real life, communication and instinct are key in such a relationship. In an omegaverse book, the bond takes up some of the slack of communication and instinct, but not all. That’s a shortcut.
I do truly love Kiara. I love how her dagger is her first friend and her “emotional support dagger”. I love myself a stabbity omega. I love how she’s a spitfire and will choose violence if she can. I actually love the whole pack. I even love some of the supporting cast like Liberty and Soren (I just can’t with him).
A problem I do have is how it seems that the men of the Loranger pack (Dash, Ambrose, Mercury) can’t seem to pull themselves together until Leighton and Kiara start making bridges for them. They’re all falling apart until two shiny female toys are placed in front of them and then all of a sudden it’s like, “Oh! We can all of a sudden start to heal all of our broken pieces now!” I’m not fond of men who can’t communicate with other men they’re supposed to be as close as brothers with (or lovers with). Women aren’t magical, fix-all cures. Women don’t put band-aids on men’s boo-boos. Men need to be emotionally intelligent all on their own. It’s a tired trope.
Otherwise, it’s a really great read, and I highly recommend it. The spice is right, it’s very propulsive, it’s a page-turner, and I got very invested in the characters. And, like I said: I love a stabbity omega.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Okay, so, hear me out. I’m not much of a romantic comedy girl, especially when it comes to rom com novels with little to no spice. This book and its pOkay, so, hear me out. I’m not much of a romantic comedy girl, especially when it comes to rom com novels with little to no spice. This book and its predecessor, however? I love these books. I adore them. They are cute as perfectly frosted cupcakes, sweet as sugar, and as funny as a food fight conducted with the assistance of magic. These books are like an explosion of colored sugar crystals, edible glitter, powdered sugar, flour, and clouds of candy floss/cotton candy have all exploded into a romantic, screwball mess. I like to think of these books as Bewitched, but make it screwball comedy. Or, My Girl Friday, but make it magical. Cary Grant would make a great straight man to our protagonist, Bailey, who just so happens to meet her biological mother and discover she’s descended from esteemed witch stock with less than a month to go before she’s supposed to be married to a very uptight and upper-crust family. At the same time she comes across her well-meaning but wacky biological mother she also manages to come into contact with Seton Atterbury, a man whom her extremely powerful witch mother impulsively brought into the future from 1930 when she saw him plummeting to the ground out of the window of a high-rise building in Manhattan.
Poor Bailey. All she thought she had on her plate were overbearing in-laws and stressing out about finding the right dress for the wedding. You make plans, the universe laughs, and it laughs hard.
I like to think the subtitle of this book should be: “A story about collateral damage”. There’s just so much collateral damage and schadenfreude coming from every direction, all angles, and to and fro so many people in this book. Heck, there’s even a house in this book that’s nicknamed the “Schadenfreude House” by one of the characters. It seems that no matter where you turn in this book, someone is getting hurt or affected in a negative way by someone else. Sometimes it has hilarious results, sometimes it has sweet results, sometimes it has dangerous results, sometimes it has downright hurtful results, and sometimes it’s a step away from death. I love it though, because it certainly keeps you on your toes.
The first book in this series, A Letter to Three Witches, was superior only be sheer fact that the mischief was a little more funny and we got to see and feel the physical presence of the series’ main antagonist, Tannith, but that doesn’t mean this book doesn’t have it’s own strengths. Esme’s continued soft spots for illegal witchcraft deeds done in the name of a soft spot in her heart continues to delight, and Bailey’s thespian parrot is hilarious. The fact that Tannith only grew in power after the events of book one certainly was interesting. And the sweet, soft romance inside this book is the kind of stuff that melts my cynical, black heart.
I can’t believe so many people are sleeping on this series. Give it a chance. Seriously. It’s cuteness personified.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Book Series/Contemporary Romance/Cozy Mystery/Found Family/Paranormal Fantasy/Paranormal Romance/Rom Com ...more
Ideally, I like to give any ARC I read about 25% of its length to impress me before I either decide to DNF the book or to soldier on and see if I can Ideally, I like to give any ARC I read about 25% of its length to impress me before I either decide to DNF the book or to soldier on and see if I can complete it, despite knowing it’s going to be a slog and I’m not going to enjoy it much. Such was the dilemma I felt at the 25% mark of The Carnivale of Curiosities. I chose not to DNF it and to continue on, hoping for some sort of redemption in the rather one-dimensional characters that seemed plucked from some sort of B plot in a Six of Crows spinoff or a pick up in the plodding pace of a sagging plot.
Really, neither happened for me.
For a book that had a really great opening sentence to hook the reader, the book itself seems like a mish mash of Six of Crows, The Night Circus, movies like the Prestige and tv shows like Penny Dreadful or Carnival Row. Fantasy just on its own stands on the shoulders of giants because it’s genre fiction; in the case of historical fantasy writers need to be even more careful because they have that historical, real world ephemera that’s floating around their world building and plot too. You can’t stray too far outside the bounds of what really happened unless you want to classify your book as Alternative Earth fiction (think Steampunk or Gaslamp).
I just ended up thinking this book moved too slow, was too predictable, the characters were just not given the care and attention they should have been, and it really shouldn’t take until you’re into the second act of the book for the inciting event to happen, no matter how long the book is.
That being said, Gibbs is an excellent writer when it comes to setting a scene and when it comes to prose. I think that some better editing would have made this book shine. I hope to see more from her in the future.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. As per personal policy, this review will not be posted to any social media or bookseller website due to receiving a rating of three stars or lower. ...more
I was utterly stunned by Romero’s debut novel last year, The Ghosts of Rose Hill. At the time, I knew the novel would be told in verse but it had beenI was utterly stunned by Romero’s debut novel last year, The Ghosts of Rose Hill. At the time, I knew the novel would be told in verse but it had been so long since I had read a novel in verse it took me until I was about 10% of the way through the novel to really settle in and meld with Romero’s style and to be swept away with her story of the marriage of music and words and falling in love.
So this time I was prepared going in to A Warning About Swans for that lyrical, flowing verse Romero writes, this time spinning a fairy tale of a swan maiden who longs to know what it’s like to be free and human, only to discover that to be human girl in mid-19th century Bavaria is just another cage and now her powers are being held hostage by a man.
This story is most definitely a fairy tale, but it borrows ingredients from and then remixes from other mythological, folkloric, and fairy tale sources: The Swan Maidens are birthed by Odin just after he is resurrected, the pure white swan maiden being seduced away from the flock by a aristocratic boy is borrowed from Swan Lake, and bits and bobs of influence from The Last Unicorn can be felt throughout the book during Hilde’s (our swan maiden) journeys.
There is so much grief, regret, guilt, sadness, pain, and general melancholy in this book. Yet, I think that’s the point, and the book wouldn’t be the same without it.
During Hilde’s bound journey, she meets a non-binary painter named Franz Mendelsohn, who is Jewish. Both Franz and Hilde have left their homes and don’t think they can return. Both have secrets and have to hide their talents from the world. Both feel lost and without direction. Both feel used and taken advantage of and only find comfort in the companionship of one another. Romero never once makes Franz’ sexual identity an issue or a plot point except to let Franz explain how it makes them feel. For the story’s purpose, being Jewish in Bavaria is more dangerous than being non-binary.
The most lovely parts of this book are not found in the dialogue, but in the narration of the scenes without dialogue. That’s when Romero’s verse truly takes flight, spinning metaphors, similes, dizzying visions and beautiful turns of phrase. I wish I could quote them for you, but seeing as this is coming from a review copy, I can’t.
Romero can make time move as she wishes with her words. She can slow it down with Franz and Hilde lazily hanging out in a castle while Franz is painting and Hilde is daydreaming. She can speed it up with the simple sound of the stamping of boots down a marble corridor. Her timing is impeccable and she knows just when to tighten the knots and when to loosen them.
Romero is a genius in the making. I can’t wait for the next one.
I was provided a copy of the title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Fairy Tale/Romantasy/Historical Fantasy/LGBTQ Romance/OwnVoices/Paranormal Romance/YA Fantasy/YA Fantasy Romance ...more
This book had me feeling a certain kind of way. Or, rather, it had me feeling two certain kinds of ways, and so I had to view it through two differentThis book had me feeling a certain kind of way. Or, rather, it had me feeling two certain kinds of ways, and so I had to view it through two different lenses. One part of me, the one who loves dark, kinky, vampire romances with a lot of gore and blood kink and if they happen to be a why choose romance also was happy as a kitten with a brand new ball of yarn. That part of me was also the one who doesn’t like monster romances, especially with monsters who are partially shifted or with monster parts that detach. To me, that’s not hot. It’s just not for me.
That’s when I have to shift gears and let the objective book reviewer out of the box to make sure I’m not just rating this book based on my own preferences. Monster romances have earned their place in the romance novel marketplace and they aren’t going anywhere, so I doubt this is the last book I’m going to come across where there is unexpected kinky sex with monsters. I can’t let that get in the way of giving these books an honest shot when I’m reviewing them.
Let’s go with my only truly objective con when it comes to this book: It’s far too long. I have read a great many of K. A. Knight’s books, and she’s always packed her books with spice scenes. It’s one of her hallmarks and it’s one of the reasons she’s such a popular author. But this book could’ve honestly been 100 pages shorter, had copious sex scenes, got the whole plot across, and it would’ve kept that latter part of the third act from dragging so much. Honestly, by the end of this book I was numb to the sex scenes. What’s the worth in a sex scene if you feel like you’ve already read it before in the book or you know what’s coming and you just say, “Been there, done that”?
Oh, look! That was my only con about the book, right there in one small paragraph.
What do I love about K. A. Knight novels the most? That’s right: Her BAMF FMCs. Althea starts out this book as a young, impish vampire in the court she was born into; but after a tragic, humiliating, and life-changing event happens shortly after she turns 18, she flees the court and begins to repeatedly violate some of the vampire world’s most important laws, killing herself from the inside out in the process until she is captured by the Judges, seven unknown men who play judge, jury, and executioner to vampires who have been weighed, measured, and found wanting for their crimes. It seems the gods and fate have plans for Althea, though, as she is given a chance to come back and become a Judge herself. It seems there is a lot the vampire race at large has a lot to pay for.
Althea, while not a complicated character, is vengeful, violent, powerful, hungry, insatiable for her men, and bloodthirsty. I am here for all of it. Her love for the other judges is as violent and bloody as her thirst for vengeance is against all those vampires who would use, abuse, and kill others for their own gains. She shines under the sun and moon, and loves both those who live in the light and dark. She knows beauty can hide true horror and nightmares can hide true beauty. Either way, she isn’t afraid. Her rebirth and the love and support of the other judges not only helped her heal from her former life, but gave her a scaffolding to hold onto while she rebuilt herself from within.
While I’m not fond of monster romances, I respect Knight for being brave enough to take the stuff truly spawned from some people’s worst nightmares and turning them into love interests. Each of the seven judges has a distinct voice, aesthetic, and they all have their own traumas. While I don’t necessarily like that the plot makes it so Althea is the balm that seals all their wounds and makes them whole (it seems too corny for me), it does truly seem that’s just how the plot ended up working out and not a conscious thing that happened.
Okay, onto the thing that I loved the most: blood. Blood and blood and more blood. I love vampire romances, but far too many of them are so dainty about it. In my opinion, if you’re going to have vampires, I want them bathing in blood. I want them dripping with it. I want bites everywhere. I want tears in the skin when things get heated and rough. And this book brings me that. These vampires rend and tear with claw and fang and I loved it. They drink and drink and lick and lick and rub it in their skin and it’s hot. To me, it’s the best of vampire romance and blood kink rolled into one. This alone made this book worth reading.
I did have a great deal of fun reading this, even when I was reading the scenes I personally didn’t care for when it came to my own preferences but thought were well-written from an objective POV. Just beware the nightmares, my friends!
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
Note: The Knot Their Omega series is an interconnected series set in the same universe, but the books can be read as standalones at this point withoutNote: The Knot Their Omega series is an interconnected series set in the same universe, but the books can be read as standalones at this point without any issues. I am not aware if the author has plans to change that in future installments, however (the next installment is called Selection, and I guess we will see if there is further integration at that point). So you do not need to read Captivate (the first book in this series) to understand or enjoy Hypnotize at all.
Before I wrote this review I went back and read my review of Captivate, just to familiarize myself with how I felt about that book and see how it might compare to how I felt after reading Hypnotize. Even though I ended up giving them the same rating, I ended up enjoying Hypnotize just a bit more than Captivate, just because of a few different reasons. Both books did, however, have the same flaw that lowered their rating, but in different ways.
Juliet, our FMC, briefly had a cameo in Captivate as she was being promised to a pack in Alaska. It was almost a throwaway mention, but I somehow knew as I was reading that Juliet’s story was going to be the next book in the series. As you can obviously see, I was right. And as the summary states, Juliet never makes it to the pack she was promised to after something horrific happens during her flight. Instead, she ends up alone and stranded during a blizzard in the rural Alaskan wilderness. Thankfully, there are three alphas living off the grid in a cozy cabin and one of them finds a hypothermic Juliet stumbling through the snow before she succumbs to the elements.
Juliet’s promised to another pack, but now she and these three alphas have a few of big problems: Juliet lost everything in the crash (including her heat suppressants), all of their communication to the outside world is down because of the weather, and the snow just won’t stop coming down so any of them can get to the nearest ranger station to see if they have emergency heat suppressants on hand. Three male alphas who have been living in isolation for years without being in the vicinity of an omega? Juliet’s impending heat is bringing the urge to rut mercilessly upon one of the alphas, and the other two are just barely holding back by indulging in mercilessly hot alpha on alpha action (which is one of my favorite omegaverse kinks).
Speaking of kinks and tropes: Hypnotize has a leg up on Captivate by giving me that sweet, sweet forced proximity and deliciously filthy dirty talk. And talk about sexual tension! It’s a taut cord that’s woven between Juliet and Everett (one of our three alphas) throughout about half of this book, and it’s scorchingly hot. Do you have a kink for hot mountain men chopping wood? Then you will love this book. Lawson weaves a lot of commentary on female agency into this book and Captivate, and it’s much appreciated, but I also appreciate her dedication to bringing emotional depth to her male characters. It could be all too easy to give most of the emotional depth and trauma to the FMC, to make her the focus of everything and make the alphas strong men who know just what they want and how to get it. But Everett, Huck, and Dean aren’t living off the grid in isolated Alaskan wilderness because it was their dream. They’ve seen some stuff, been through some trauma, and have some good reasons to stay apart from society at large. In this book, it’s the alphas who need healing, not the omega. It’s refreshing, and I love that the forced proximity lends itself well to this part of the plot.
As to the big flaw in this book that I also found in Captivate: I found the ending to be too rushed and too easy. And, again, it was the events of the second act that left too little room for a more structured third act that would allow for a more well-rounded climax and ending. When the antagonist in the book has been built up to be such a big bad the entire book and then it seems laughably easy for the protagonist(s) to “escape their clutches”, so to speak, I end up disappointed that for as well written the rest of the book was that the author chose to waste an opportunity to write just as satisfying of an ending. Just because we know the book will end in a HEA doesn’t mean you need to rush through the section where we need to wrap up the section where everything comes to a head.
Still, it’s an excellent omegaverse novel with great characters. It’s a page-turner, and it’s going to cause some thigh clenching. That’s a good time, in my opinion.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, ideas, views, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
You want an awesome dark fantasy romance novel full of witches, curses, and an ancient warlord sorcerer that manages to bespell a vulnerable witch intYou want an awesome dark fantasy romance novel full of witches, curses, and an ancient warlord sorcerer that manages to bespell a vulnerable witch into opening his well-hidden and buried sarcophagus and lifting a 2,000 year old curse? You want that sorcerer to be sexier than sin, possessive like a barbarian, Machievellian and vengeful, and yet still have space in his dark heart to truly care for you?
Oh yeah, you’re going to absolutely love Bewitched.
Laura Thalassa is absolutely a reliable author of the character-driven dark fantasy romance novel. Her men aren’t good men–they’re definitely callous and unemotional to start out with and surely strung along the darker shades of the greyscale. Her women are feisty and often out of their element with their male love interest to start off with: a little lust drunk, unsettled by their power and mood swings, and yet they learn somewhere along the way how much power they hold both as women and as lovers.
This first installment in this series is heavy on exposition, to be sure, but the characterizations of Memnoch and Selene don’t suffer for it. If anything, the exposition helps to fill these characters out, to help us understand Memnoch’s motivations, goals, and experiences, and to also help us get a glimpse into Selene’s anger, frustration, weaknesses, and strengths. In essence, Thalassa wields exposition in the manner it’s meant to be wielded: showing us instead of merely telling us.
There is a lot of magic flying around in this book, and while there is a nominal effort made to explain the magic system, I still found myself a touch confused at times. I’m going to chalk it up to this being the first installment and there was so much going on in this book that it’s likely we’ll learn more and more about the magic in this series as it moves on.
There is also a lot of plot running around. Besides the main plot between Memnoch and Selene, there’s also two (maybe even three?) subplots running under the surface that keep the pacing flowing nice and steady, waiting there to mix it up so us readers aren’t simply sitting here reading your standard romance novel. There’s some heft to it. Some pizzazz. It’s simply a great read and a great win for Thalassa under her new imprint.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. Any thoughts, views, ideas, or opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
The usual caveat when it comes to reviewing indie, spicy romance novels versus the vast majority of other books applies here: I do not apply the same The usual caveat when it comes to reviewing indie, spicy romance novels versus the vast majority of other books applies here: I do not apply the same set of criteria to reviewing these types of books like I do the others. When reviewing spicy romance novels written by independent authors I review almost solely on my enjoyment level of the book.
I kind of plow through my way through omegaverse novels. You could say I’m a fan. Often I read them as soon as they come out and then just give them a star rating on GoodReads and move onto devouring another book, especially if I’m on an omegaverse binge. But I was given an opportunity to review this book by an author who’s new to me, so I snapped up the chance as soon as I could.
Immediately, I like the introduction to our FMC, an omega trying her hardest to hide her true nature and pretend to be a beta for quite a few good reasons (in her opinion, which is the only opinion that matters), and even though this isn’t a new plot set-up, I was impressed with Lawson’s take on the set-up and on how she wrote Riley, the FMC. Riley isn’t in a good place physically, mentally, or emotionally, but she loves her job and her independence. She’s lonely, but she’s resigned.
All it takes is one absent minded mistake, though, and Riley gets herself in some hot water and a conscientious alpha gets her out of an altercation with the authorities that could’ve ended far worse than it did. Said interaction, due to the overly patriarchal rules that permeate omegaverse novels, leads to the alpha who saved her from the cops having to take legal custody of her.
The romantic story arc between Riley and the pack who takes legal responsibility for her unfolds much like most omegaverse novels, with a good amount of sword crossing for all us thirsty readers who are into that. But what actually elevates this omegaverse novel for me is Riley, her trauma, her insecurities, her vulnerabilities, and how she differs in a significant way from typical omegas. (Being more specific would result in ye olde spoilers). Lawson must have had to do a lot of research to create Riley, as well as the characters of Thane (the alpha of her pack), and Thane’s parents so the plot could fully come together. I admire when authors do their leg work like this, bringing something that sounds so close to what women in real life might experience so the target audience might identify more with the FMC and also bringing a FMC to the pages with such a strong vulnerability.
I do think the ending was rushed a bit. In the second act there seemed to be some material that could’ve been moved around, combined, or excised in order to allow more room to breathe in the third act, but it’s not such a glaring error that I think it will turn away readers. It’s really a great omegaverse book that should garner a lot of attention. I hope it does.
I received a complimentary copy of this title from Courtney Dunham PA Services and the author. All views and opinions expressed herein are my own.
The usual caveat when it comes to reviewing indie, spicy romance novels versus the vast majority of other books applies here: I do not apply the same set of criteria to reviewing these types of books like I do the others. When reviewing spicy romance novels written by independent authors I review almost solely on my enjoyment level of the book.
I kind of plow through my way through omegaverse novels. You could say I’m a fan. Often I read them as soon as they come out and then just give them a star rating on GoodReads and move onto devouring another book, especially if I’m on an omegaverse binge. But I was given an opportunity to review this book by an author who’s new to me, so I snapped up the chance as soon as I could.
Immediately, I like the introduction to our FMC, an omega trying her hardest to hide her true nature and pretend to be a beta for quite a few good reasons (in her opinion, which is the only opinion that matters), and even though this isn’t a new plot set-up, I was impressed with Lawson’s take on the set-up and on how she wrote Riley, the FMC. Riley isn’t in a good place physically, mentally, or emotionally, but she loves her job and her independence. She’s lonely, but she’s resigned.
All it takes is one absent minded mistake, though, and Riley gets herself in some hot water and a conscientious alpha gets her out of an altercation with the authorities that could’ve ended far worse than it did. Said interaction, due to the overly patriarchal rules that permeate omegaverse novels, leads to the alpha who saved her from the cops having to take legal custody of her.
The romantic story arc between Riley and the pack who takes legal responsibility for her unfolds much like most omegaverse novels, with a good amount of sword crossing for all us thirsty readers who are into that. But what actually elevates this omegaverse novel for me is Riley, her trauma, her insecurities, her vulnerabilities, and how she differs in a significant way from typical omegas. (Being more specific would result in ye olde spoilers). Lawson must have had to do a lot of research to create Riley, as well as the characters of Thane (the alpha of her pack), and Thane’s parents so the plot could fully come together. I admire when authors do their leg work like this, bringing something that sounds so close to what women in real life might experience so the target audience might identify more with the FMC and also bringing a FMC to the pages with such a strong vulnerability.
I do think the ending was rushed a bit. In the second act there seemed to be some material that could’ve been moved around, combined, or excised in order to allow more room to breathe in the third act, but it’s not such a glaring error that I think it will turn away readers. It’s really a great omegaverse book that should garner a lot of attention. I hope it does.
I received a complimentary copy of this title from Courtney Dunham PA Services and the author. All views and opinions expressed herein are my own.
Note: I have read and reviewed the previous two installments of this series so my review may reflect my knowledge of the previous two books. I will trNote: I have read and reviewed the previous two installments of this series so my review may reflect my knowledge of the previous two books. I will try to make it as spoiler-free as possible, I promise. Also, please note that you definitely should not attempt to read this book without reading the previous two books in the series or you will be very lost.
I gave both previous installments in the Redwood University series four stars, and it seems the tradition continues with the third and final book, making this series a consistent and satisfying read when taken as a whole. The individual books have their own pros and cons, but I will say I’m so happy the predictions and musings I wrote about in previous reviews seemed to have paid off in this book, the culmination of the series.
I admit fully my favorite part of this book is the characters, how they interact with one another, and the dialogue. Even though the romantic and sexual relationship between Alexei and Nicole never quite settled well for me, the friendships and found family relationships surrounding them more than made it up to me. They’re all such colorful and unique characters I can’t help but want to recruit them to be my friends. It helps to have such a disgusting antagonist, too.
After complaining about the lack of spice in the first two books, I was happy to see spice in this last book, but I did feel that after the minimal spice in the first two books and how much plot resolution there was to be done in this book that there were too many spice scenes in this book. The scenes themselves felt excessive and repetitive. I ended up skimming them, mostly.
So why four stars, you might be thinking? Because I really think that this book wraps up the trilogy in an organized, fun, action-packed, compelling, page-turning way. Poppy Ireland knows how to plot, and she did it well. This trilogy is a well-crafted story, even if the romance part of the story needs a lot of work, in my opinion. I enjoyed it and I recommend it.
I was provided a copy of this title by the author. Any thoughts, ideas, views, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Fantasy Romance/Shifter Romance/Paranormal Romance/Fantasy Series/Book Series/College Romance/Coming of Age/Kindle Unlimited/KU/Romance Series/Spice Level 2 ...more
Thank goodness Poppy Ireland is a great writer that can craft a compelling story and create interesting characters, because otherwise I might not haveThank goodness Poppy Ireland is a great writer that can craft a compelling story and create interesting characters, because otherwise I might not have stuck with this book until the end. Why, do you ask? Oh, because of the dreaded slow burn. And by slow burn, I mean dang near the end of the last act and it’s not even that explicit.
You guys know me: I’m a thirsty girl. I love my fast to medium burns, and I like my spicy scenes to be just that–SPICY. The single steamy scene in this book is closer to a regular ol’ romance novel than what I’m used to reading. It was quick and it was… normal? Normal-ish? Whatever it was, it wasn’t my usual cup of jet fuel.
Luckily, Ireland gives us readers who are used to jet fuel spice scenes something to hold onto in the form of an intriguing FMC who truly loves her father, a compelling storyline, a pair of star-crossed lovers, a rumbling of conspiracy under the surface, buckets of secrets left to be spilled, and fun supporting characters.
I think Ireland may have used this first book to get the vast majority of world-building and character development out of the way so in the next two books the storyline and romantic relationship can really shine through without too much exposition getting in the way. It’s a smart move I wish more authors made, but it does tend to make the first books in these series a little harder to read for us readers who like our spice. But if you can hang on, the story pays off, and I think we’ll all appreciate the next two books all the more.
I was provided a copy of this book by the author. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Fantasy Romance/Shifter Romance/Coming of Age/Contemporary Romance/Gothic/Paranormal Romance/Romance Series/Spice Level 1 ...more
I love Lyndall Clipstone’s writing style. It’s all vibes, atmosphere, imagery, and beautiful prose. I feel like Unholy Terrors is taking the lush, gorI love Lyndall Clipstone’s writing style. It’s all vibes, atmosphere, imagery, and beautiful prose. I feel like Unholy Terrors is taking the lush, gorgeous, gothic beauty of the World’s Edge duology and inverting it into something stark and barren–something dangerous, deadly, and sharp. Yet the gothic feel, atmosphere, vibes, imagery, and beautiful prose came along with it. Instead of a crumbling lakeside manor and flowing gowns we’re surrounded by endless moors, crumbling ruins, fields of asphodel, and armor made from leather and bones.
I don’t know what to call it but it's awesome and I’m here for it.
I’m also digging the plot, which reminds me a little of Margaret Rogerson and Tamsyn Muir (just a splash), but just as influences since Clipstone has such a strong voice and presence all on her own. It’s so evident how much Clipstone loves gothic fiction and how devoted a student she is to it. Genre fiction is an ever-evolving thing, which means you’re always going to find touches of other author’s works in the work of their contemporaries. In a market flush with dark fantasy it is inevitable that ideas will bleed into one another. I don’t ever see this as a bad thing. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all.
It’s a beautiful book with a strong enemies to lovers arc, strong female friendships, two main characters with daddy issues (I’ve been waiting all review to write that line), a really cool magic system, and stunning prose. Also? Poetry quotes from Plath, Rilke, and Gluck. I mean, come on. That’s really cool.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: Dark Fantasy/Gothic Fiction/Paranormal Romance/Romantasy/Standalone/YA Fantasy/YA Romantasy/YA Fiction ...more
With every book she writes, Rachel Griffin just gets better. I loved Wild is the Witch, but I absolutely adored Bring Me Your Midnight. I adored everyWith every book she writes, Rachel Griffin just gets better. I loved Wild is the Witch, but I absolutely adored Bring Me Your Midnight. I adored every page. You guys, this book made me cry. If you know anything about me, you should know I don’t cry easily from reading, so for a book to move me enough to make me cry (and more than once!) is a huge feat, and for me is one of the markers of a truly excellent novel (well, I don’t expect comedies to make me cry, obviously).
What isn’t there to love about this book? Griffin already had the talent for world building and writing stunningly beautiful prose that evokes the natural and lush landscapes her books tend to take place in (in Wild is the Witch it was forests, and in this book it’s a gorgeous island redolent in meadows, idyllic forests, and a picturesque shoreline). For the magic system world building in this story she seems to have upped her game and stretched her muscles a bit into a wider stretch of the paranormal than her previous books, but it’s used very well and to great effect.
The storyline itself is not only interesting but it’s a sweeping, gothic, romantic fantasy that I gladly sunk into, letting the familiarity of an “arranged marriage for the sake of politics” trope alongside the “FMC has doubts because she really hoped her husband would love her and she doesn’t want to leave her friends and family” trope run along as it get swept up in intrigue over a parable about climate change, cults of personality, and how you can’t make people change their way of thinking with facts. People change their ways of thinking with their hearts.
The main characters in this book, Wolfe and Mortana, are absolutely wonderful. Watching them come together, both capricious and cautious at the same, is a delight. The beautiful and sad subplot of Mortana’s and Lily’s friendship was especially moving for me. The constant looming date of Mortana’s marriage to Landon, the son of the mainland’s governor, is also something that evoked a lot of emotion in me. I’d tell you why, but spoilers abound.
All in all, it’s a gorgeous book that’s elegant and wonderfully written. An excellent novel all-around.
I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.
File Under: 5 Star Review/Fantasy/Romantasy/Gothic/Paranormal Fantasy/Paranormal Romance/YA Fantasy/YA Fantasy Romance ...more
When I reviewed the first book in this series I made sure to put a disclaimer at the beginning of my review stating how and Real Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
When I reviewed the first book in this series I made sure to put a disclaimer at the beginning of my review stating how and why I review spicy romance novels like this differently than I review other novels. I think I’ll post it again here, because I know I post a lot more reviews of “mainstream” novels now, but I bet most of my followers don’t know I read way more spicy romance novels released by independent authors than I do wide-release novels. I just don’t review them much unless I am specifically reviewing them for release.
So here’s the disclaimer: I don’t read books like “Knot a Chance” because it’s the most intellectually stimulating books in the world. As much as I’d like to deny it, I view my romance, erotica, and otherwise “spicy” books through a different lens than I do other novels; therefore, the way I rate them is going to reflect that. I need you to keep that in mind when you read my reviews, especially for a book like this, which is an omegaverse-based paranormal romance (AKA PNR). Simply put, I read omegaverse books sheerly because they’re fun, escapist, and hot. That’s it. If you want to judge me for that, then okay.
I have been waiting for this book since I read the previous book in the series earlier this year, but I didn’t end up enjoying it as much as I’d hoped. While it’s still a solid entry by Sinclair Kelly, it just didn’t hit all the same sweet spots for me that “I Think Knot” did. This may be due to the main theme of grief being rather heavy for my tastes, as well as my own neurotypical issues surrounding understanding and dealing with grief (that’s a long story not suited for a book review). The first book was fast burn, funny, and spicy. This book is a slower burn, not quite as funny, not quite as spicy, has fewer spicy scenes, and deals with a lot more psychological issues. So, even though it was enjoyable to read, it just wasn’t what I usually look for when I read an omegaverse novel.
I did enjoy the characters a great deal, and the cameos from characters from the first book were always a welcome addition. I like the set-up that was folded gently in for the next book in the series and will post my review for that when the time comes later this year. ...more
Okay, so right off the bat I’m going to get this off my chest: why yes, this does resemble (in a lot of ways) a very popularReal Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
Okay, so right off the bat I’m going to get this off my chest: why yes, this does resemble (in a lot of ways) a very popular fantasy romance series that takes place at an academy for magic that involves royal princes and magical politics. That’s nothing new, though. Genre literature is all about taking influences from the past and building on them, and Tessa Hale isn’t the first (nor will she be the last) to look to the aforementioned book series for inspiration when it comes to starting a new series.
There are some notable changes: one girl instead of two, the knowledge of there being magic in the world, reverse harem happy fun times, and the plot of this book series (seeing as it will be three books total instead of ten) moves a lot quicker. Oh! And less bullying, which is good, because I’m starting to get very tired of the constant bullying in these types of novels.
So, is it derivative? Yeah, sure it is. Is that a bad thing? No. It’s kind of inevitable in this genre of romance. It’s a niche genre and no matter where you turn someone is going to call you out on how they read this or that in this book or that book. It doesn’t matter, because in the end, we read these books because we enjoy them, we vibe with them, and because it does something for us in our brains and hearts (and other places, right?).
I would’ve rated this book higher, save for the fact that there was so much information and plot to cram into this book we didn’t get a good grasp of each character. There was a lot of exposition and putting players onto the board so everything was set for the game to begin in earnest in the second book (which comes out in a few months), which took a little heart out of the book and made it a little too cold. But this is an understandable thing. I have no doubt the next book will be looking up as we wade further into the full storyline waters and focus on the characters in full. Keep that in mind as you read this book.
Thanks to the author and Social Butterfly PR for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more
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