Sarah
Really fun and cute story - especially as it talked about places I know well or have visited! I love a vampire story but this was a bit different, there is no violence or anything like that. It's a story of a woman going to goth weekend at Whitby and expecting to be completely out of place, yet finding somewhere that fits in ways she didn't know she needed. It's honestly lovely and I recommend it as a warm and uplifting book about a vampire romance (a rare combination! Especially when it really works!)
A really sweet contemporary romance where two child hood best friends find each other in a lovely moment, whilst simultaneously remembering how their friendship began. This is my favourite Lexis Davis book to date, absolutely, and I absolutely bought into the story and characters. It's beautiful and heart touching, and did agreat job showing years of yearning despite only being a novella.
Well written, sweet and hot - I will definitely read again!
I genuinely was not okay by the end of this. Bawled my eyes out through the last quarter and honestly I'd do it all again because this book is just that beautiful.
The Sun and the Starmaker has a gorgeous mythology running through it and the writing itself is lovely, but what got me was the romance. It's deeply moving in a way I honestly didn't expect, and the yearning between the two leads is some of the most touching I've read in a long time. There's a bittersweet inevitability to their relationship that both characters feel, and watching them choose each other anyway, knowing what they know, genuinely wrecked me.
I sometimes find YA misses something when it comes to romantic depth, because so much of how adults experience love is connected to physical intimacy and it can feel like a piece is missing without it. This genuinely proved that wrong. It captured something real and aching without it, which honestly impressed me so much.
It felt like Naomi Novik with more romance at its heart. A modern day fairytale that is genuinely beautiful and deeply felt.
This one is staying with me. Highly recommend, just maybe don't read the last quarter in public unless you want people asking if you are okay!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Heir of Illusion absolutely wrecked me in the best possible way. I told myself “just one more chapter” approximately a hundred times and I regret nothing.
The worldbuilding is deep and layered, with real thought behind the politics and history, but this book lives and breathes through its characters. Ivy completely stole my heart. She is in survival mode from page one, and you feel her isolation in everything she does. Her strength is quiet rather than loud. She endures, she adapts, she keeps going because she has to. That kind of resilience gets me every time.
Starring alongside Ivy is Thorne. He's a shadowy, protective hero who starts out guarded and suspicious, and watching that shift as the story unfolds was honestly one of my favourite parts. It is gradual, believable, and when it changes it feels less like the wrong kind of possessiveness and more like reverence. He is confident in every other area of his life but completely thrown by what he feels for Ivy, and that push and pull is a joy to read. The yearning is very present, restrained rather than explosive, and the lower spice rating genuinely works in the book's favour because the emotional tension is doing all the heavy lifting.
This gave me the same feeling I got from The Plated Prisoner series by Raven Kennedy, not because the stories are alike, but because the character arcs are what drive everything. Trauma matters, trust matters and being properly seen matters.
If you are looking for a character driven romantasy with real emotional depth, this is it! I have not recovered and I need book two immediately 🙏🙏🙏!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Maggie comes from a family of professional assassins, but she has one inconvenient flaw...she just cannot bring herself to kill anyone.
When she refuses to carry on the family legacy, her father gives her an ultimatum- either take up the family business of killing or marry someone who will. Her Father has even chosen her would be groom for her, her psychopathic ex Eddie, who terrifies Maggie.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she does the only reasonable thing - she kidnaps the hot neighbour she has a crush on.
Roman is an online celibacy influencer with a very carefully curated image and a very messy secret life. When Maggie abducts him and blackmails him with proof of his hypocrisy, he's dragged into her world and forced to play the role of devoted boyfriend at her father's wedding. What starts as pure chaos slowly turns into something far more layered, especially as Roman begins to understand just how trapped Maggie really is and why she was desperate enough to resort to kidnapping!
I had so much fun with this book!!!
It's fast paced, genuinely funny, and refreshingly different. I loved the reversal of the usual power dynamics with the woman being the kidnapper instead of the kidnapped person and it never lost its edge. The dark humour threaded throughout the story worked perfectly for me and kept everything feeling sharp rather than overly dark. It's a difficult line to straddle and get right, but Effie Campbell definitely does.
Some elements develop quickly and a few moments feel delightfully unhinged or slightly random, but honestly, that added to the charm. The tone fully supports it, and I was more than happy to go along for the ride!
The characters are distinct and well drawn, and their choices consistently made sense for who they are, even when those choices were questionable (at best). I was totally invested in uncovering the secrets and family dynamics as the story unfolded, and the mystery elements kept me hooked.
And the ending? No spoilers, but it landed exactly where I wanted it to.
If you enjoy unconventional romance, morally grey characters, humour woven into high stakes situations, and stories that aren't afraid to do something a little different, this is absolutely one to check out!
I definitely recommend it as a fun & hot read 😊
This was a quick, steamy dark romance novella that I enjoyed, but it feels like the story would have maybe worked better as a full novel. With a bit more groundwork, and some more foreshadowing on Hannah and her desire for a darker romance, it would have felt more settled and well rounded. It does deliver what it promises though - a dark romance with a lighter side. That said, it's only just dark. Outside of the stalking element, it leans more contemporary in tone. Damian initially comes across more golden retriever than morally grey but found the inclusion of his social anxiety an interesting twist. About halfway through, though, he shifts quite suddenly into a more dominant presence. The change felt a little abrupt, and I would have loved more groundwork to support that change for it to feel more believeable. Similarly, Hannah's acceptance of the darker dynamic also suddenly happens without any foreshadowing that this is what she really wanted. I personally enjoy more psychological build-up in dark romance, and while some scenes definitely bring the heat, the emotional progression felt a bit compressed. There's quite a lot packed into a short space, and a slightly tighter focus might have made the central relationship even stronger. That said, as a fast, spicy novella with solid chemistry and an intense lead, it was an entertaining read! If you're looking for a shorter dark romance with tension and steam but not too much heaviness, this is an enjoyable pick!
Thank you to Lexi Davis and Netgalley for this ARC copy - all opinions are my own.
Adeline Aimes does it again -she makes me swoon, cry and laugh with a story that feels so real that I could swear I'd met these people and I was head over heels for it as much as I was for James!
My family has three generations of nurses, and that dilemma between caring and doing what's best, can be so difficult to deal with. It's especially difficult when you spend so much time with the same people again and again that they become more like family.
Their insistence that she doesn't let life pass her by as she stays cynical. So many lines are so iconic and ring so true, I honestly couldn't imagine a better way that this could be written. The story is incredibly real feeling, in an ordinary setting and with ordinary (but hilarious and lovely!) people . It's the kind of book that gives everyone hope, even during incredibly difficult times in life. I fell in love with this book, it's just incredible and I will be recommending it everywhere. There's too much good to write about it all and honestly, I don't want to rid you of the joy of discovering it yourself.
Don't walk. Don't run. Sprint towards it!!
I genuinely couldn't put this down. I was exhausted, telling myself I'd read one more chapter, and then suddenly it was far too late because I needed to know how it ended.
This book surprised me with how emotional it made me. It actually brought me close to tears at one point, which rarely happens for me. The length really works in its favour. It gives the story space to breathe, and it makes the character development feel earned rather than rushed. When things begin to shift, it feels believable because so much has happened to force that change.
Bryony is such a powerful protagonist. From a young age she's been taught that her wants, needs, and feelings don't matter, only her duty does. She's forced into a role she never chose, one that demands repeated sacrifice in the name of peace after a brutal war. That loss of agency sits at the heart of the story and fuels a very real, very justified feminine rage.
I loved the dynamic between two characters who both crave freedom but are trapped by duty and expectation. Watching that tension develop as Bryony starts to see that she is allowed to want good things for herself, was incredibly empowering.
The writing is vivid and immersive. I could picture the world, the rituals, and the emotional weight of each choice so clearly.
I've already been recommending this to everyone because it's genuinely superb. If you enjoy emotionally driven fantasy with rich worldbuilding, slow-burn tension, and characters who stay with you, this is absolutely worth picking up.
Great if you are looking for: emotionally intense, slow burn, feminine rage, duty vs desire, immersive worldbuilding, cathartic, craving freedom no matter the cost.
A Dance with Death by Amanda Linsmeier feels like a dark fairytale in the truest sense. It reminded me straight away of an old Grimm fairytale I remember reading as a kid, about a girl cursed with shoes that force her to dance endlessly, but it doesn't have a happy ending as the only way to stop her so she can sleep and rest and eat, is to cut off her feet. Whilst reading this, the way that story ended was in the back of my mind - that unease complemented the book's atmosphere really well, and I was never sure until the end exactly how this story would finish.
After Corliss' sister, Aven, loses her husband and child, she disappears. Desperate to find her, Corliss breaks into an old mansion that's rumoured to be occupied by a demon who can bring people back to life. She doesn't find him but before fleeing she finds a pair of ballet shoes that captures her attention, and she can't resist taking them - ballet is Corliss' secret dream.
Unfortunately, the rumour is correct and the demon does not take the theft lightly. He sends Corliss terrifying visions and lures her in until he can snatch her. Her time there will change everything.
This book is beautifully written and very descriptive. The world is so easy to visualise that it genuinely feels like you could reach out and touch it. It's loosely set in the 1870s, which feels like exactly the right choice. The story sits at that point in time where superstition is starting to give way to science, and that tension really builds up the atmosphere.
I loved the inclusion of ballet, as I danced it as a child and I really appreciate the beauty of the dance style. Combined with the Beauty and the Beast vibes running through the story, it has a great gothic fairytale feeling, which you don't often find without it feeling like a simple retelling. This was original, and it's own special thing - the inspiration is not hidden but it doesn't feel more important than the original idea.
A Dance with Death is a lovely mix of dark fairytale elements, touches of old school vampirism (think Dracula and Mina Harker), a haunting setting, deep true sisterhood and a slow shift from hatred to love between two people who absolutely did not see it coming.
Overall, this story is genuinely enchanting and full of Victorian gothic elements, but it never feels overly heavy or bogged down, which can sometimes be an issue with gothic novels. I really enjoyed reading it, and I'll definitely be picking up the rest of the sequels. I highly recommend it to those who enjoy gothic romantasy, hate to love, pseudo-victorian settings and suspenseful stories.
I really wanted to love Playing for the President's Daughter. It has an interesting setup and some bold choices, but for me it never quite hit on an emotional level.
There were parts of this that I liked, especially the idea of the relationships at the centre, but I kept feeling like everything was a bit too easy. The world the book exists in is very kind and accepting, which I genuinely appreciate and wish was more realistic, but as a reader it meant I didn't feel much tension. I was never really worried about how things would play out, and because of that the stakes felt low for me.
The pacing was the biggest issue. A lot of the emotional development felt rushed or skimmed over, and that made it hard for me to fully connect. I wanted more time with the characters and their feelings, more space to understand how their relationships grew, but instead it often felt like I was being pushed quickly from one point to the next. Because of that, the emotional side just didn't land as strongly as I wanted it to.
For me, the romance leaned much more towards physical attraction than emotional connection, and without seeing enough of that emotional build, I found it harder to fully buy into how deep those feelings were meant to be.
Overall, I didn't dislike this book, and I can see what it was trying to do. I appreciated the representation and the spice, but emotionally it left me a bit underwhelmed. The idea had a lot of potential, and I kept wishing it had slowed down and dug a little deeper.
A great prequel to a series I love!
It was an easy decision to pick this up as I loved the rest of the series, and learning more about the world was an automatic yes!
It was a really enjoyable read - both characters felt fleshed out, which is impressive for a novella length book. Alyx and her fight for personal freedom and Kelvar with a fight for survival. It was an insight into the origin of Kelvadan, and it was a beautiful insight into the meeting between two people who influenced so much in the later series. I really wanted to see how it went and how their relationship flourished. The ending kind of surprised me and popped up quickly but it was a warm and hopeful ending.
Definitely recommend picking this up, whether you have already begun reading the other books in the series, or if you haven't got to them yet. It's a lovely prequel which gives an amazing sense of the world and atmosphere that I so enjoyed in books one and two in the series!
I absolutely loved the first book in this series, and book two was not a disappointment! I flew through The Serpent's Son and had a genuinely hard time putting it down - I finished it in a day, because I just had to know more!
Raziel and Nadi are such strong, compelling characters. They are complex, morally grey, and fascinating to read about. Both of them have done terrible things, and Raziel in particular carries a past full of truly awful actions. This book does a brilliant job of exploring their histories in a way that never excuses what they have done, but does make you understand how they became who they are. Kathryn Ann Kingsley writes morally ambiguous characters exceptionally well, and this series is a great example of that.
At its core, this story is about two enemies who can no longer see each other the way they once did. The hatred and disgust haven't melted away, but they now exist alongside lust and feelings that are blurring into something much, much more dangerous. Watching those emotions collide and shift, and the pull from one to the other was seriously addictive!
Nadi is faced with choices that will affect far beyond her own future, and the tension between what is strategically smart and what she finds she actually wants drives so much of the story. That emotional push and pull between the two kept me 100% invested.
The spice is really well written and is also threaded throughout so it feels important to their relationship but without ever overpowering the emotional heart of the story - it just complements it beautifully. With so much story and emotional depth, this balance worked perfectly for me and it was all written in such an engaging way, it was a top read and I will come back for a re read in the future!
I am already desperate for book three. After how strong books one and two have been, this series is an auto buy for me and I will preorder as soon as I can!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I'll admit, I wasn't completely sure about this one at the start. There are a lot of ideas at play, and initially I wasn't convinced they'd all come together smoothly. But the further I got into the story, the more it clicked for me, and by the end I was fully invested and very much rooting for the main characters.
Set at a vampiric university in Scotland that has recently begun accepting humans, this is dark academia firmly aimed at adults rather than teens. There is drama, but it never tips into heavy angst, which I really appreciated. It felt more grounded and more enjoyable because of that.
Rebecca is a vampire hunter who goes undercover at the university, hoping to finally uncover the truth behind her parents' deaths and move up within her organisation. Aliz, a vampire who has repeated the same year multiple times, is widely underestimated despite clearly being far from stupid. Their dynamic is compelling from the start, with forced proximity, secret identities, and an immediate spark that slowly deepens. When Aliz makes a hasty mistake, their relationship shifts in ways I didn't fully expect, and that tension really worked for me.
What stood out most was how my enjoyment steadily grew as the story progressed. Once I settled into the world and characters, I found myself genuinely caring about their choices and where things might lead. The sapphic romance, paranormal elements, and academic setting ultimately balanced each other well, even if it took a little time to get there.
Overall, this ended up being a strong, engaging read that surprised me in the best way.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating - 4.5
I really enjoyed The Naked Truth. The premise of two former school rivals being forced to spend time together as adults and slowly realising how wrong their teenage assumptions were worked beautifully. Watching those old perceptions unravel and be replaced with something more honest and emotionally grounded was incredibly satisfying.
One of my favourite aspects was how much science was woven into the story. It added depth and made the emotional journey feel more grounded, particularly alongside the slow, believable development of Annie's feelings toward Nico. There were a few moments where parts of the plot felt slightly out of character, but never enough to take away from my overall enjoyment.
I also really appreciated the exploration of Annie's cultural upbringing and the pressure she carried to be exceptional. While I don't share her background, I strongly related to that fear-driven need to succeed and the way that pressure can sometimes tip into pushing things too far once independence finally arrives.
The road trip setting was a great use of the forced proximity trope, allowing their relationship to progress in a natural, emotionally satisfying way. Nico was a standout character: kind, devoted to his family, and quietly insecure about his job in a way that made him easy to root for.
The spice was hot and fun, which isn't surprising given Nico's career as an adult content creator. It also felt believable, to the point where the concept of the show itself genuinely sounds like a good idea... oil burns aside. Overall, this was a warm, clever, sexy read with real emotional depth.
This was so sweet and genuinely adorable.
I related to it a lot, and even though the couple edged close to being almost too sweet at times, it was exactly what I needed to read in that moment. It felt like a warm hug of a book, and honestly, I adored them together.
One of my favourite things was how something she saw as a flaw was something he saw as worthy of love and care. That dynamic really worked for me. Without giving spoilers, I also really enjoyed his appreciation for the phrase “karma is a bitch”, which added a little extra satisfaction.
I identified strongly with the FMC. She was almost too disbelieving at times, but past experiences and trauma will absolutely do that to a person. As a very plus-sized woman, the self-judgement and internalised fatphobia really hit home for me. My heart genuinely broke for her, especially when it came to her childhood and having such an awful, judgemental mother.
The mystery element worked nicely as a subplot. It was not overly tense, but just intriguing enough to keep things ticking along and add a bit more depth to the story.
Both main characters felt fully formed, which I really appreciated, and I loved the side characters too.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone who loves to read about two people who give each other what they desperately need in life in the most loving way.
I think this was a really interesting book, and I loved the reclamation of taking your lfe back after experiencing abuse. It clearly has the most focus on the spice, which is almost constant from about half way through, but this is a horror erotica so I wouldn't expect anything else! It did make me a little uncomfortable at times, but it does feel like a story and characters in which this is uspposedto happen. It is complex and beyond understanding at times, so I think discomfort is an understandable reaction.
Personally, I prefer more plot than spice in the books that I read, but this is a personal preference, not a judgment on ‘Our Monstrous Hearts'. It is descriptive and it's easy to understand what is happening and follow the story - I would recommend anyone who enjoys this genre to definitely try this novella!
This was a deep, well thought-out book with a lot of backstory and care put into the world. It did take a little while for everything to come together and make sense, but that worked for me because Rowan herself feels a bit lost at the start. After her sister's death, she is left without much support from her family and doesn't really know where she fits anymore. Drawn from Canada to Ireland by a man she barely knows, she ends up working at the Naruka, an old Irish hotel owned by James, doing whatever practical jobs are needed. As time goes on, she starts to notice things that don't quite add up, and when the truth is finally revealed, it changes everything she thought she understood.
I liked Rowan a lot. Her grief and survivor's guilt are a huge part of her character and while it occasionally felt heavy, it also felt believable. I spent most of the book hoping she would start to see her own worth and stop punishing herself so much. Bryn, on the other hand, drove me mad at times. His behaviour is frustrating and he keeps making the same mistakes, which did make the book feel longer in places. That said, I could understand why he acted the way he did, and his strong sense of honour made him oddly likeable. I completely get why Rowan is fascinated by him.
Overall, this was really enjoyable and genuinely hard to put down once I was invested. I wanted answers, both about the mystery at the heart of the story and about where the characters would end up. I'd definitely recommend it, especially if you enjoy slow paced fantasy with emotional weight and an original concept.
What can I say - I am nearly 140 books in for the year, many of them highly rated, and this is only the third to make me cry. It was emotionally devastating in the best and worst ways. A superb finale to an incredible series.
Reaching the climax of a series I have completely devoured this year was wonderful and heartbreaking all at once.
Lessia and Merrick are superb characters, and I have been hooked on them since day one of book one. I have been waiting for this book with so much impatience because I've been hoping that these two Fae I love getting a happy ending or at least some peace for a time!
This book is not without the heart wrenching moments that have shown up time and time again in the Compelling Fates series, but there is an added weight in knowing that, one way or another, things are coming to an end.
The secondary characters, from Frelina and Raine to so many others, feel like old friends now. You know their histories, their struggles, their pain, and you find yourself rooting for them just as fiercely as you do for Lessia and Merrick. There's so many moments in this book that I have been dying to see, and it was joyous to get to those and see if I get those endings for them I've been dying to see!
The final battle felt like it happened quite quickly, though I think this was a me thing as opposed to anything else because it certainly didn't feel short or rushed. I do not think it actually was rushed.
This series never shies away from how dark life can be, and this book is no exception. If anything, the darkness makes everything hit harder. One of my biggest turn offs in this genre is when the stakes are set high but the consequences end up feeling underwhelming, and Sophia St Germain never even comes close to that. Every risk feels real, and every outcome carries weight.
This is another beautifully written book, full of vivid characters and immersive settings. This series has been a genuine high point of my reading year, and I loved every single installment. I will absolutely be diving happily into the author's backlist next! Plus those yet to come with the traditionally publisher getting involved.
Like the rest of the series, this is an auto recommendation for anyone who enjoys dark fantasy romance, and it is a book I have already been telling as many people as possible to read!
I really liked the choice to use the Roman Empire as a recognisable setting rather than just something loosely inspired by it. The use of familiar terminology (like ludus) grounded the world nicely and made it feel intentional and well-researched, rather than just an aesthetic.
The build-up at the start was strong and genuinely engaging. I liked that Arvelle's story doesn't begin in the way so many romantasies do. There's a sense of mystery around her from the start, and it gave real weight to how she comes to be involved again. That slow reveal of her past worked really really well.
The introduction of Tiernon was a highlight, especially how they meet. Some elements of his background were fairly easy to guess, but not in a way that spoiled anything, just kind of a lack of surprise.
Rorrik was another character I found particularly interesting. He's complicated, and my opinion of him definitely shifted as the story went on. I really enjoy characters like that who don't sit neatly in a single box and make you reassess them as you learn more.
The characters overall felt well-formed and engaging, even if Arvelle is quite tightly wedded to her guilt at times, though that did feel realistic as well as frustrating.
Where it slightly lost me was after a key turning point in the plot. Up until then, I was fully hooked, but after that things felt more predictable than I'd hoped. The shift from secrecy and tension to a more action filled approach made me wish the suspense had been allowed to keep building for a while.
Overall this is a good book, and I'll definitely be reading the sequel. I just wish it had maintained the trajectory it started with, because if it had, this could easily have ended up being higher on my rating scale. But it was an interesting read, well written and I am very glad I had the opportunity to read it via Netgalley.
This was a really enjoyable read and one that hooked me quickly. I flew through it and absolutely sacrificed sleep because I kept telling myself the age old line - “just one more chapter”.
I loved the tattoo shop setting. It felt lived-in and real, not just a backdrop for the romance. The history of the shop and the people who work there was so well developed that it genuinely felt like a busy, respected place with its own heartbeat, rather than a convenient front for the plot. That depth added so much to the story.
Kelly (aka Chaos) was such a relatable FMC. I adored seeing a curvy, tattooed woman at the centre of the story, and her internal conflict around what she should feel versus what she actually feels was really well done. She felt real, messy, and easy to root for, and I desperately wanted her to get the HEA she was quietly hoping for.
Logan is firmly in morally grey territory. I mostly enjoyed him and the intensity he brought, but there were moments where he went a bit too far for me, especially in some of his actions regarding Kelly - parts just felt unnecessary and broke my immersion in the story a bit, even though I still liked him overall.
The stalker element was handled well, and I genuinely didn't see the twist coming, which I loved. It kept the tension high and made the story even more difficult to put down!
The writing itself is solid and engaging, and the pacing kept me turning pages without effort. Add in the spice, the morally grey MMC, a curvy FMC, and a rich tattoo shop world, and this really worked for me.
I'm really hoping there's more to come in this series because I'd happily spend more time in this world!