Andie
I started to understand the hype about ToG when I read the second book. But now I TOTALLY get the hype!
Someone told me that this one was one of the weakest books in the series, but in my opinion it's way better than book 1 and 2. It worked for me! I loved it, couldn't read it fast enough, didn't want to put it down. Absolutely obsessed with the new characters and the dynamic!
Can't wait to get my hands on Queen of Shadows.
Books, Coffee & Passion
I was interested in Neela's story pretty early on. The 52 domain world sounded very intriguing and I was hooked.
In this world, unbound people have powers and abilities like super strength, super speed and manipulating elements like fire, for example. However, the unbound are considered cursed and are hunted in their society. Still, when the domain's Card Holder dies, the unbound are forced to participate in a tournament, where killing is permitted, to find the next Card Holder in the Queen of Hearts domain.
The world was pretty unique and it intrigued me. In my opinion there wasn't enough word building yet, but I hope it'll be more development in the next book. I couldn't quite figure out the hierarchy of this unique society considering the different domains, the cardholders, the assassins and the bound vs unbound.
Neela was an interesting main character, I enjoyed the fact that she was street smart but still maintained a level of ingenuity. I liked her strong personality and her irreverence. Sometimes, I struggled with some of her inner thoughts, it felt a little repetitive to be in her head.
I enjoyed Amil, he was a very funny, sweet, multi-layered character and I wished we had his POV along with Neela's, and I liked Jacen, Neela's brother too.
Regarding the characters, I think the relationships between Neela, Brochan and Brochan's relatives developed a little too fast considering Neela's personality and experience in this world (being a vigilante, hiding her identity, being hunted, etc).
I really liked the mystery about what happened in Neela's past, I think that was my favorite part of the plot. I also enjoyed the tournament setting, but it bothered me the lack of training at the beginning of it. At times the tournament didn't feel as important as it was, because Neela was off doing other minor stuff which led to a lack of build up to certain events, including tournament fights. I'm very interested to see how using the cards will influence a real fight.
Overall, it was an entertaining story set in a very, very interesting and intriguing world.
2.5 stars
I usually like K.A. Linde's books but I'm not a fan of this one.
It was okay but I just didn't felt like there really was a doubt about who Lila truly loved. Not for a second. I guessed pretty early on how it would end, so I was never truly invested in the push and pull between Lila and Ash/Lila and Cole.
Books, Coffee & Passion
Even though Patrick annoyed me in Gametime, the previous book in the Moo U series, I was curious about his story and I'm happy that it didn't disappoint. The set up to this book reminded me so much of One Tree Hill (Haley and Nathan)! Anyway, I love a good tutor-sports star romance, so I was very excited about this one.
Patrick was a great surprise to me. I wasn't expecting to like him from the get-go but I did. I think it helped it wasn't shown on page Patrick partying and sleeping around, I liked that the story started when Patrick had to start getting his grades up otherwise he could lose his spot in the team. That end up leading him to Ellie.
At first, I thought Ellie was too sweet and innocent for Patrick. But she also surprised me! She was a very interesting character. The fact they were so different but also so alike was gold! I wasn't a fan of the way they met and their instant connection but I enjoyed how their relationship progressed. I absolutely loved how Patrick embraced the his feelings for Ellie and how they supported each other. Their chemistry was amazing and there were a lot of funny, sweet and steamy moments.
This was a very emotional story. Patrick and Ellie went through a lot. Their relationships with their parents, their expectations and dreams, Ellie's struggle with her PHD program choice, Patrick's indecision about going pro or finishing his degree, the uncertainty of their professional futures, the fact they could be forced to go on separate ways after college, their deep feelings for each other and a very sad and dramatic event... my heart broke for them.
Overall, Overtime was a beautiful, sweet, steamy, entertaining, emotional read with great characters and remarkable character growth. A great addition to the Moo U series.
TW: Miscarriage, Ectopic Pregnancy
Books, Coffee & Passion
3.5 stars
This book starts with the mistaken identity situation right away and it was a very awkward beginning. Don't get me wrong, it did get much better as the story progressed but I think it would've been smoother if it started before. If I had read about Pax and Naomi's friendship first, I might've been more invested in the characters when they had their drunken night together. I think that was the reason it took me a while to like Naomi.
Anyway, Paxton was a great character. I was rooting for him from the start, especially because it was so easy to see how in love he was with Naomi. He was sweet, hot, smart, selfless and so talented! He was dealing with a lot of stuff and my favorite part of the story was his character development. As a hockey fan, I was invested on his hockey journey and his growth as a player. The emotional part in it, the struggle between being a team player and revealing his own talent, was beautifully done. I think that at times the drama between him and Patrick, his twin brother, was too much but I still loved how Paxton was finally fighting for what he wanted in his career.
Naomi was a different story. I struggled to like her and, for the most part of the story, I didn't think she deserved Paxton at all. Actually, there was a point where I thought that she and Patrick deserved each other, that's how mad I was with her. Fortunately, I did end up understanding her motivations, her reasons and her insecurities. Her dad's pressure combined with her conflicted feelings made a lot of her actions made sense. I liked how she progressed, how she slowly started to care less about what others expected of her and how she focused on being herself.
The mutual pining after their drunken night together was really well done! Also, Paxton and Naomi's chemistry was amazing too and I loved how they struggled to resist each other after one night together. The ending felt a little too fast after a certain event, I wish we had a little more time with these two.
Gametime was an entertaining, enjoyable, steamy, angsty read. Even though I was mad with Patrick through most of this book, I'm very curious about his book coming next.
Books, Coffee & Passion
I was so hyped for this book because it was an all hockey romance! Faith, just as Seb, was a hockey player and I really wanted to read about her perspective, her struggles and experiences in hockey and of course their romance. Their story had a tricky premise and I was a little worried about that.
Seb was a great guy. Sweet, caring and still hung up on his ex: Faith. They had a major blow up soon after Seb started college but, even though Seb thought he had moved on, it was pretty clear that he still had feelings for her. I went into this thinking I would struggle with Seb, but the author did an amazing job with the circumstances surrounding their break up and with his character. I loved him so much! I need to stop loving characters this much from the beginning, because that usually means it's harder to meet my high expectations regarding their love interest. Spoiler alert: It happened with this book. Cooper, Seb's hockey teammate and friend, was a great character too. I'm very curious about him, I want to understand why he was so invested in Seb and Faith's relationship. I hope we get his story!
Faith was a complex character. I loved Faith, the goalie - hockey player aspects, in the story. I loved the way the author showed the double standards for male and female athletes, this is such an important topic and I enjoyed it being exposed. I adored Faith's passion for hockey and how hard she fought for her dream. She was also a great team player and her story was very empowering. Unfortunately, she did annoy me, at times, mostly because of the way she handled Seb. I understood that she had major trust issues and she had her reasons for it. Her parents relationship was very dysfunctional, her mom and her dad were awful together, and Seb drunk dialing her, leading to their breakup (before the book started), didn't really help her with trusting. Honestly, I wasn't convinced Faith would trust Seb completely, no matter what he did. And I hated that for him. In spite of that, I really wanted them to be together and I rooted for them. I just doubted that Faith was ready to completely trust him (or any other love interest) at this point.
Then... the epilogue... I LOVED it. I cried when I read it. I can't put into words how much I truly loved it. It was PERFECT! Frankly, I was thinking about rating it 3 or 3.5 stars until the epilogue, but I ended up boosting it up to 4 stars. That epilogue...
Books, Coffee & Passion
Darkroom had a pretty standard romance trope, perceptible just by reading the synopsis. However, Hudson and Indi were much more than a jock and a virgin. These were complex, multi layered, loving characters. It was a very refreshing story that tackled so many important topics.
Hudson was a great character. At first I though he was just a typical hockey player but Hudson wasn't typical at all. His dad was a ex NHL player, recognized basically everywhere. His family had a long tradition of hockey players that played in the NHL, literally a hockey royalty family, and Hudson was under a lot of pressure. Pressure to play in the NHL in the future, pressure to get to captain this season... To say he was stressed is an understatement.
Indi was dealing with a lot more than Hudson and that's saying something. She was struggling with her self esteem and, as a Chinese-American adoptee, with her identity. I really liked how Ruby, Indi's roommate helped her with this part of her character growth and Indi's parents were super sweet too. Indi was a strong character. She went through a lot growing up and she had some issues and fears that she needed to work out and overcome.
Their romance was very sweet and funny and I was really rooting for these two. It was an emotional romance that had steamy and funny moments. Unfortunately, even though this story tackled a lot of important and sensitive topics, it was just too much to deal with in a short read. I just felt that we didn't get much time following Indi and Hudson's relationship because they were constantly dealing with other stuff. Also, some of the topics were really well intertwined in the story but some were underdeveloped and didn't have a satisfying resolution. It was overwhelming. The ending was also rushed, probably because so much was happening with these characters.
Overall, I enjoyed Darkroom. It was an entertaining, emotional and sweet story with great characters. I just don't think the story fulfilled its full potential.
This is a very unique, disturbing story.
This society is racist, misogynist and obnoxious. The society quick acceptance of a stranger white rich dude speaks for itself.
The writing was captivating and I was intrigued by the plot. It had its slow moments but overall I enjoyed the progression of the plot. It was hard to read at some points because these characters were so freaking annoying.
If you're looking for a inclusive, well balanced society and likable characters, this isn't the book for that.
I think it was interesting and disturbing how the author chose to portray the society's racial and social class dual standards.
It's gory and creepy and it made my skin crawl. There are a lot of trigger warnings.
TW:racism, rape, sexual abuse, murder, misogyny, suicide, domestic violence, gaslighting
Books, Coffee & Passion
This book had me at first page. I've been in a fantasy mood lately, so when I picked this one up I was doubting if I was in the right mood for a romance. I'm so glad I picked it up! Laura Kaye never fails me, she's definitely one of my favorite romance authors.
I was intrigued by Daniela and Sean's dynamics from their first interaction in the story. They trained together in the Warrior Fight Club, they had an amazing group of friends there and they ended up seeing each other a lot. Sean was a badass firefighter and Daniela was a great nurse. Their chemistry was insane but she wasn't ready to give in to their attraction. Well... not again. But then Sean had an accident and Daniela swooped in to help him during his recovery. These two were already struggling to resist each other, being in close proximity in Sean's house meant the pull between them became impossible to ignore. The banter between this two was freaking amazing! Their moments together were hot, steamy, sweet and so, so funny! I loved the fact that Sean was such a superhero fan and I laughed a lot with his Deadpool lines. I also loved how Sean introduced the Marvel universe to Daniela and how they bonded watching Marvel's movies.
They were so good together and it was amazing watching them opening up to each other. I really loved their story. I really liked Daniela's background story, I can't speak about the Kiowa tribe representation but I enjoyed her deep connection with her granny and how much she missed her and the Kiowa community.
The final conflict between them punched me in the stomach, I get that Daniela needed to deal with certain aspects of her past but I wished that it had been done differently. Keeping it vague here to not spoil the story.
Fighting the Fire was a sweet, hot, steamy, emotional, beautifully written romance with amazing characters and so much banter! Highly entertaining, I definitely enjoyed this one and I recommend it.
