Nanii

“𝐀 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭.”

This is my first book by Maria Raye, and I’m already excited to jump into more of her work…

Maksym, the man that you are. There’s something about a man that would unalive any man that dared touch you that hits different. If you say you wouldn’t love a man who would unalive anyone who did you wrong, YOU’RE A LIAR!

I loved Maksym and Kira’s story; it was written out so well. I loved everything about them because they were both just as unhinged as the other, but that ending was not something I was expecting. Spoiler: This is not a HEA. I wish I had read the reviews; it would’ve saved me the heartbreak. Kira deserved better from the very beginning. She deserved a father who protected her rather than a man who would sell her out (that’s basically what he did the entire book). They both deserved their happily ever after, and it was snatched from them. WE WERE ROBBED!

I skipped the second epilogue because Maria warned us that it would be a spoiler for the Foundations Trilogy, which I do plan on reading, but I am dying to know what’s next for Maksym and what will become of his empire.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 ↴

This is an Advanced Reader copy. Although this book was given to me as an ARC, my thoughts are my own. Thank you, Maria Raye and BookSirens, for the ARC opportunity!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 ↴

🖤 Dark Humor

🩸 Morally Black MMC

🖤 Touch Her and Disappear

🩸 Obsessive & Possessive MMC

🖤 She's just as unhinged as he is

🩸 Mafia Princess x Her Father's Most Dangerous Man

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ↴

Childhood trauma, human trafficking, psychological and emotional manipulation, graphic violence, drug abuse, rape, and attempted rape, among others. Please look up the content warnings for this book, as there are many more that I have not mentioned.

🖤 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 📖

This is my first read by Pepper Basham, and if the rest of her books are anything like this one, she has gained a permanent reader. This was such a cute read and a great way to start the new month. The banter was everything, and Lucy was such a cutie! I love a small-town romance where all the neighbors are super supportive of each other, and the match-making work they were doing made it all the sweeter. The social media aspect was a great touch in my opinion, and the culinary competition between the two characters made the story so fun to read/listen to!

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 ↴

This is an Advanced Reader copy. Although this book was given to me as an ARC/ALC, my thoughts are my own. Thank you, Pepper Basham and NetGalley, for the ARC/ALC opportunity!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 ↴

☕️ Foodies

🫖 Slow Burn

☕️ Single Dad

🫖 Small Town

☕️ British MMC

🫖 Great Banter

☕️ Found Family

🫖 Disability Rep

☕️ Rivals to More

🫖 Second Chance

☕️ 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 📖

I originally requested this book through NetGalley. I started this book at 3 in the morning, took a nap, and I ATE IT UP, as I do when it comes to why choose. That should tell you enough. Sade Rena really knows how to keep her audience hooked from start to finish.

I loved seeing how the boys’ attitudes towards Sam changed over time. No one asked, but my favorite of the three was Bryden (Mountain), which is surprising because normally the asshole of the group would be the one that I levitate towards.

I absolutely hated how misogynistic the male staff was. In my opinion, Jackson did not suffer enough for what he had done, and Sam should’ve definitely permanently injured him. As for Gracie, I was very anti-Gracie for a while. I don’t know if my distrust of college roommates has anything to do with ‘The Roommate’ with Leighton Meester (it probably really does), but every time Gracie made an appearance, I looked at my partner and was like, “I don’t trust this girl.” She was just too nice from the beginning, and it unsettled me.

The whole secret society thing was a great addition to the book, and finding out what really went on was quite entertaining, though a bit disturbing. My only thing is that I wish we had gotten more scenes with all four of the MCs (and yes, I do mean the spice), but other than that, I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it. In my opinion, Sade is a great writer, and I cannot wait to read more of her work.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 ↴

This is an Advanced Reader copy. Although this book was given to me as an ARC, my thoughts are my own. Thank you, Sade Rena and NetGalley, for the ARC opportunity!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 ↴

🥅 Why Choose

💙 Forced Proximity

🏒 Hockey Romance

⛸️ Enemies to Lovers

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ↴

Some of what this book contains is bullying, dubious consent, SA (off-page), suicide (off-page), mental health struggles, etc. Please do your due diligence and review the full list.

🏒 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 📖

I’m at a loss for words right now… what the hell was that ending? What the hell is going on? I need to get to the second book ASAP because I want and NEED answers. I was sat for this whole audio; I couldn’t wait to get back to it whenever I had to put it down to do what needed to be done just so I could be completely focused on it. I even thought it would be my five-star read for the month, a great way to end the month of April… now I’m confused as hell, and I’m real mad about it (not as mad as Reyla is, though).

I liked the scenes with Merrick, and I loved how he protected her, but I kind of wish he would’ve put his mother in her place because her behavior towards her new daughter-in-law was just gross. Erisandra was just dismissive and rude to Reyla from the start, which immediately gave me the ick. I instantly wrote her off and didn’t even want to give her the benefit of the doubt. To have her ladies in waiting act the same way as she did towards the QUEEN, or soon-to-be Queen (they were already married, they were just waiting on the coronation) was insane, and I was shocked that Merrick didn’t put his foot down immediately. The point props to Reyla for handling herself the way she did.

I think the narrators were great, though I wish the female narrator had changed her voice up just a bit to read the male dialogue, just so the reader wasn’t confused at times. Other than that, they did great.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 ↴

This is an Advanced Listener copy. Although this book was given to me as an ALC, my thoughts are my own. Thank you, Alaya Wells and NetGalley, for the ALC opportunity!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 ↴

🗡️ Class Systems

✨ Shadow Daddy

🗡️ Touch Her & Die

✨ Enemies to Lovers

🗡️ Arranged Marriage

✨ He Falls First & Hard

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ↴

Blood, Violence, taking a life, mourning the loss of a prior love, References to childhood trauma

🗡️ 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 📖

;

“𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.”

I don’t usually read the cheating trope, but if I do, it’s because the FMC’s boyfriend is a fucking asshole and 100% deserves it.

I was so excited to read this book just to end up not knowing how to feel about it, I loved it and I didn’t. I can’t quite figure out what it is that’s making me feel this way. The decisions that Emmy continued to make made me so mad but I can’t really blame her, she was desperate to get away from the nut case that is Jessie–because that’s exactly what he is, a fucking nut case! I did love that Benji wanted to do anything to protect her. Dale and Jessie got what they deserved. I like to think Mr. Ormsby got what he deserved too.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 ↴

This is an Advanced Reader copy. Although this book was given to me as an ARC, my thoughts are my own. Thank you, Lauren Biel and BookSiren, for the ARC opportunity!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 ↴

💜Mute MMC

🔪Brother's Girlfriend

💜Damsel in Distress

🔪He Calls Her “Darling”

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ↴

Domestic abuse, rape, cheating

💜 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 📖