Katherine

Of Monsters and Mazes was just the kind of debauchery read I needed! I blasted through it in 2 days, my eyes glued to my kindle needing to know how it would end!

Although for this story, the satisfaction was in the journey/story itself. I LOVED how utterly dark, almost horror romance this went! It is not for the faint of heart, and delves into some dark stuff that I just loved so much.

A labyrinth retelling with a 35 year old boss babe FMC, a demon king, god of nightmares, the Minotaur, and a devious foxy man? Yes yes yes!

Sela was a great FMC, and I loved seeing her inner traumas, desires, fears and needs come to the surface on her quest through the maze was delightfully messed up! She was strong but also weak, and I just loved watching all the men toy with her and bring out different parts of her.

The spice? Yes! The initial spice with Theron was so steamy and messed up and just so so spicy! I loved it so much, let’s let our inner freak flag fly! Haha

The ending was great, and I overall loved the journey through the maze, watching Sela come into herself, all the morally black characters and all the spice! Would definitely recommend if you like horror erotica/romance.

I wasn't necessarily dying to read Ariadne and the Minotaur's story, but I did enjoy it. Definitely not my favorite in the series, but it was still good.

Ariadne just wasn't a character I felt any particular way about. I know she has been through a lot, but idk I just didn't feel super invested in her story.

I feel for Ariadne and everything she has gone through, and same with the Minotaur but more - he really has been through some rough times. I liked the possessive touch her and die vibes, and I also liked the 'I don't want to be with you but I need to be with you' vibe Ariadne kept throwing.

Ultimately, we get to see an interesting side of the Minotaur not normally shown in retellings, and I liked that. I just wasn't particularly invested in them as a couple, it felt like an intermission to get to the next segment. Their spice was spicy, the scenes of Ariadne in the shops getting cute clothes were delightful, and the way the minotaur knew things about her?? So sweet.

I am interested to see if they are going to be present in the story in the future, or if this is it for them. I will say I am STOKED for the next one about Icarus and Poseidon... Like so stoked.

Overall, good addition to the Dark Olympus series and I can't wait for what is next!

I loved this book but it was needlessly sad and made me bawl my eyes out. Even know, writing this review, my heart is aching.

Why did this have to happen and why did we need this put down on paper?? I loved it but it really broke me. I can't deal with needless sorrow and broken hearts like this, I am too weak.

Deadly wolf bite is the second installment in the mafia pack series, following Lexi and Grey as they navigate their path in this messed up mafia world. I love the blend of mafia and wolf shifters, and the morally grey characters - aka Grey himself among others! The found family narrative with their friends Mia, Dutch, Crow, Raven, and Ramsey is so good and heartwarming!

The spicy tension between Grey and Lexi is agonizingly perfect, I love all the spice and all the feeling they have to deal with regarding each other, it is simply delicious.

I really felt for Lexi this book, she has had such a hard life and it just keeps getting more and more complicated and difficult. The things she is put through and the choices she has to make are just so much. Can’t wait to see her fully embrace her true self and power!

Honestly I really felt for Grey too. We see what he has to do, and he is so strong for choosing the path he has. Also, he is delicious and I love him… where is my rich mafia wolf shifter?

There were so many twists and turns and I was glued to my kindle needing to find out what was going to happen!

Dom is the worst character, runners up being Franco and Vincenzo for sure. I love that both sides are bad, and we are trying to figure out the lesser evil solution for the townspeople and the whole shifter community.

I can’t wait to find more out about Lexi’s wolf, I am begging to know! Cannot wait for book 3 to come out because the cliffhanger we are left off on is insane and I must know what happens next.

I love a good enemies to lovers story, a wolf shifter story, a kidnapper to lovers story, and especially a mafia story… but combining them all together?? YES!

This was a quick read for me, and really enjoyable! I love the tension between Grey and Lexi, it is so delicious and agonizing and I can’t get enough of it. Their banter. The tensions, the teasing - so so good! The miscommunication and hiding feelings drove me crazy but in a good way!

I like Lexi as a character, I only hope she gets her moment to step into her power or position in the world and take what she is owed, because I will be cheering from the sidelines for her.

I also love Grey - he is morally grey, a wolf shifter, tattooed and just overall yummy. We love a good mafia leader in training, a confident and sexy man, who knows what he wants. His teasing and taunting Lexi is so good, and when he does things that show how much he cares?? Ahhh I can’t deal.

Grey’s crew emulates found family so so well, and warms my heart to see them together.

I hope we see Violet, Lexi’s friend again at some point! And I could use a novella on Mia, I have a feeling she has a good story to tell.

Can’t wait for book 2!

If the Flesh and Fire series wasn't my favorite series of the year before, this book as solidified its place as such. I have so many things to rave about from A Fire in the Flesh, it was a fantastic read.

This is a very spoiler heavy post; you have been warned!

A Fire in the Flesh solidified Kolis as a great villain. He is horrifyingly terrible and cruel, evil, and has tunnel vision to get what he wants. However, through this book you do learn more about him, his past, his time as the primal of death, and can feel some slight empathy. Nothing that justifies anything he has done, but it gives you a little perspective and I like that. He clearly does not know how to operate as a decent human being and is confused when things don't immediately remedy with a simple apology. It is really interesting to see more into the mind of the villain.

I also loved seeing his true primal of death nature bleed out sometimes - his true form being that of a skeletal version of himself. Unlike Ash, who becomes shadows, Kolis turns into a skeleton as a manifestation of death. So interesting especially when combined with his obsession with everything in Dalos being gold and white. He is attempting to represent life and purity but instead it comes across as gaudy and fake - because it is. Sera mentions several times throughout the book his ether and while it may appear to be gold and pure, it has an underlying oily blackness to it that Kolis can't quite mask, which shows his true nature. I really enjoyed this theme throughout the book!

Additionally, learning more about Callum was a really good plot point. I'm sorry, he is Sotoria's brother?????? I did NOT see that one coming. I really enjoyed learning a little bit more about him - he is in Blood and Ash and Flesh and Fire, so I feel like we need to know everything we can about him. There is definitely a larger role going on there.

Moving away from the villains, you truly feel for Sera throughout her time in Dalos dealing with Kolis. She is trying to do whatever she can to defeat Kolis, save Ash, and stop the end of the realm - which is a hell of a lot to do if you ask me.

When she finally realizes she could not go through with seducing Kolis and her love for Ash was too great to allow herself to make that sacrifice? Wow, it was so beautiful and moving.

The internal monologue throughout the book about SA (sexual assault) and how you feel was so moving and raw. I hope the author never experienced any of that but it truly was moving, she captured how it feels and what you think exactly as you would think and feel about it. Thankfully, there wasn’t any full blown descriptive rape because I think that would have been too heavy personally. I thought these situations gave you that sickening oh-my-god feeling and the desire to see Sera kick Kolis' ass.

One of my favorite parts of this series and this book is the continuation of the theme of the struggle with anxiety. I am really glad that continued to be a theme in the book because it not only adds a layer of realism and depth to Sera as the main character, but it also helps readers who experience it relate. For those who don't struggle with anxiety, it helps them understand a little bit more about what it is like for people who do struggle. Obviously I don’t want Sera to have it but I like seeing it represented in media such as popular books. I think it is an extremely important theme to continue to explore in books, and personally as someone who struggles with anxiety, it is nice to see characters struggle with it and those around them lift them up.

Couple of quick things I liked and wanted to mention them briefly. The first is Attes. While we should be holding up the middle finger the whole time, we realize he seems to be a double agent. He is the silver hawk from the woods, and he helps Sera throughout this book as well. We learn a little bit about his past and while so terrible, I wish he hadn't taken Sera for Kolis in the first place. I do understand his plan and idea, but I still have mixed feelings about it. The second one is the wholesome interaction with Rhain and Sera when Rhain was captured by Kolis and Kyn. He truly didn't believe he would live after that mission and for Sera to protect him, it was so wholesome and moving. I really enjoyed the angle that he can talk to you in your mind, it made for a really interesting twist!

Lastly, I know this review/word vomit about A Fire in the Flesh is getting long, but we couldn't wrap it up without talking about Ash falling in love with Sera, recovering his kardia, and getting to tell Sera he loves her and vice versa. If that doesn't make your heart want to explode with happiness, I don't know what does. I have been rooting for this from the very beginning! While I wasn't sure how he would get his kardia back, I really loved the way it happened! The progression of Ash falling in love with Sera and realizing it was so beautiful and wholesome, I totally cried. He wanted to love her so badly but did not believe he could. When we found out he did it right when he brought her to the shadowlands?? Oh my god my heart nearly broke. Ash and Sera are my favorite couple, and Ash is my number one favorite book boyfriend.

Would I recommend this book to someone else? YES! I think A Fire in the Flesh and the Flesh and Fire series by Jennifer Armentrout as a whole is incredible and everyone interested in romantasy should read it.

Honestly, A Light in the Flame ascended me to primalhood. SO GOOD. It is hard to write a review because all I want to do is gush about how much I love this book. I will attempt to be coherent in this review, but you have been warned.

While some readers may criticize A Light in the Flame for being slow and too much in Sera/Ash’s heads, I personally loved it all the more because of that. Their story is devastatingly beautiful, and wrecked me more than I care to admit. If you have a tendency for empathy, get prepared now because I felt every single emotion from Sera throughout this book. I left longing, heartbreak, I felt devastation, shame, joy, love, lust, happiness… just wow. My heart was in constant ache for her and Nyktos, never getting on the same page and always just out of reach. The insecurity she feels throughout the book is so sad was presented stunningly, as is her anxiety. I have never felt more seen in a book than I have in A Light in the Flame and the Flesh and Fire series as a whole. Not many books go into detail on these kinds of emotions and thoughts for as long as this one did, and I loved it.

The chemistry between Sera and Nyktos/Ash was insane and left me heated after every interaction. Their spice is simply perfection, and SO GOOD.

Moving into the world building and characters, Jennifer Armentrout blessed us with plenty and for that I am so happy. We learn a lot more history, we meet a lot more primals and gods, we get to know some wonderful and some horrible gods. There are feuds and battles, we visit multiple lands within Iliseeum, and watch Sera and Nyktos/Ash do lots of things. I have come to love Nektas, Jadis, Reaver, Aios, Belle, Rhain, Ector, and Scion so much.

The dynamic of Sera’s secret being out and the Shadowlands group disliking her was a very interesting and captivating angle. I really enjoyed watching her win them back over with everything she did.

We meet the Arae, learn about a prophecy, realize some terrible things, and see what people are truly made of.

I am not sure how to put everything I am thinking about this book into words. It left me emotionally exhausted in the best of ways, with one hell of a cliffhanger and a lot of heartbreak but also hope. I feel slightly betrayed by the book ending this way, but love it nonetheless.

Overall, A Light in the Flame by Jennifer Armentrout is a fantastic read, and I LOVED this second book in the Fire and Flesh series.

A Shadow in the Ember is one of my favorite reads of 2023. There is something about Sera and Ash that bring you into their story and keeps you rooting for them both throughout the whole book. Sera is strong, feisty and temperamental, beautiful, and desperately wishes her family would love her – especially her mother. Being the outcast allows her to explore the city on her own, but it comes with a high price: a hefty dose of depression and despair, and the belief that no one really cares for her.

Ash is strong and caring, quiet and passionate, and is constantly drawn to Sera’s spirit and strength. He has been through a lot of horrible things in his lifetime, a lot of them leaving their mark. But Sera seems to see straight through to his center and bring a warmth and peace to him he was unable to achieve before she came into his life.

Together they are a force to be reckoned with. A fiery passionate pairing, both trying and failing to resist each other, which makes the spice oh-so-good each time.

I loved that the book touched on Sera’s depression and emptiness, and mentioned the incident with the sleeping draft. Sera doesn’t seem to value her life and is so unhappy that she doesn’t mind that her outcome in life has always been death. Ash however takes great offense at this and constantly confronts her about her lack of will to live. I love that the book touches on these themes of mental health issues. It is relatable and helps normalize that people have these issues and are still worthy of a good life.

The dynamic between Ash and Sera is amazing, but so is the dynamic between Ash and his friends – Nektas, Ector, Belle, Saion, Aios, Raihn, etc. It is snarky and full of funny quips and pushing each others buttons and I love it.

The angle of Ash being the Primal of Death but working very hard to save people is really interesting. You’d think this was another bad guy who has a soft spot for a beautiful woman, but then you meet him and time and time again he proves how good he is. He cares for his people very much and it quickly becomes obvious we are dealing with a new type of tall dark and handsome – and I am here for it!

The storyline and plot in A Shadow in the Ember was really interesting and kept me hooked the whole time. I cannot wait to find out what happens next in book 2.

Overall, A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer Armentrout was a fantastic book and quickly became one of my favorites for the year. At this point in time writing this review, this is my 3rd time reading it in 2023. Does that say enough?

Book 2 of the Tanglewood University series, and so good! This was a quick read for me, about 3 hours, and I loved it.

The first book was really good, and the second did not disappoint! I loved the twist in this book, and more importantly, I loved the tension between Prof. Stratford and Anne. It was so delicious, I could not stop reading. I read this book in 1 sitting because I had to know what happened.

I love the evolution of the secret society, Anne's role, Prof. Stratford's role, etc. The main society scene with them 2? Not for the faint of heart. Definitely make sure to read the trigger warnings before reading this book, especially this scene.

The author does such a good job writing the spice scenes and depicting the emotions, feelings, and thoughts of the characters. I cannot wait for book 3 because we are left on such an insane cliffhanger and I need to know what happens next!

The Hunted Heir is book 2 of the Veiled Kingdom series, starting right where we left off in book 1. She is running away, and Dacre (among everyone else) is hunting her.

This book is a great transitional book in my opinion. I would love for this to be combined with some of what will happen in book 3 into a longer book, but that is not Holly's style of writing. It is here to transition us from life in the underground city to the next big phase of the story, which I won't spoil here.

I loved watching Dacre throughout this book. He simultaneously was pissed at Verena while also being still so attracted to her, and broken up about his choice to not go with her and protect her. I loved his inner turmoil so much.

I also loved watching Verena, our FMC, as she was on the run. The struggle, the realization she had to rely on someone maybe she didn't fully trust, and the panic of getting caught by the king or Dacre and his father.

In general, I loved how this story panned out and I am really excited for book 3. I think as a transition book this was done well, and while of course I wished for more of the story, I am eagerly awaiting the next piece.

Run, don’t walk, to read this book. And then agonize over the wait for book 2 with me!

A Veiled Kingdom was a fantastic read. I read it in a single sitting on a sunday afternoon, completely enthralled by the story and extremely invested in finding out what happens next after each twist and turn. It was written so well, and I truly loved reading it.

Nyra is such a great FMC! She is strong and resilient without being a trained fighter – I would call her more of a scrappy and sly FMC. She has a huge secret to hide, and a huge shame weighing her down, but still she perseveres and survives. Her dual hatred and attraction to Dacre is melt-worthy!

Dacre is such a good MMC. He is handsome, cruel, sharp, rude, and as much as he doesn’t want to be, attracted to Nyra so much. He hates that he is, but once again, the dual hatred and attraction is melt-worthy.

I loved the interactions of these 2, it was so tense, electric, and left me pining for more each time they separated. I also enjoyed the side characters, and have an inkling about one of them – but will keep that to myself to not spoil anything!

The plot was great, I feel fully invested in learning what happens next. Nyra has been through so much, and she continues to stand back up and keep moving forward. The rebels are ready to fight and take the kingdom away from the cruel king, and they just need the final weapon: the lost princess.

I was so shook by the ending of The Veiled Kingdom, I could not believe that is how we end. What a cliffhanger!!! Still so good, so heartbreaking, so raw and real, and I am so excited for book 2.

Overall, The Veiled Kingdom by Holly Renee was truly a fantastic book. I loved it so much, and would definitely recommend it to everyone who loves romantasy, fae, rebellions, enemies to lovers, hidden power, secret identity, and more.

I really enjoyed this book. The witchy + historical romance + enemies to lovers is so good! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes watching 2 enemies attempt to out-smart the other, while falling for each other along the way.

The Rune and Gideon are great characters, and I loved the pining best friend trope as well with Alex. It is gut wrenching watching him just be in the friend zone and struggle to move out of it.

The story was well written, and I loved Rune as our main character. I loved watching her though process on how to outwit Gideon while also continuing to save her fellow witches and avoid suspicion and being caught along the way. Then, watching her fall for Gideon while trying to resist? So good! The same for Gideon, we love a grumpy man who falls for the socialite against his better judgement.

The twist at the end I was not expecting but I loved it. I can't wait for book 2, because it truly will be an enemies to lovers story and I am pumped for it!

First I want to say that I love Jessica Ann Disciacca and her writing. She is one of my favorite indie authors and I am obsessed with her other series, Awakening the Dark Throne.

I enjoyed this book, I always love a good witchy read. Overall it was a good book, and the story is really promising, there were just a few things that didn't sit right with me. Some were personal preferences, and others were things I think could be improved.

What I liked:

• The lore, the history, and the background information. I love the witchy vibe and love how this world was set up!
• The world building of their castle/estate and the town.
• All the characters and their struggles. I felt like the characters for the most part were written really well.

I rated it a 3 for a couple of reasons.

• There was too much religion/god/praying for me. It is a personal preference, and as someone with religious trauma I did not love that piece. I think it was written well that for people who don't have this sort of trauma, they will be just fine.
• Our FMC Seren has been through so so much, and should be incredibly traumatized but she seems mostly fine? Maybe she is dissociating or avoiding it all, but it didn't sit right with me that she was seemingly fine with everything that she experienced.
• It felt a little rushed. There were several times I re-read a section because the writing was a bit odd. I think another round of edit/critical review would be really helpful. One example: “Looking down at me in a tender manner” versus saying something like "tenderly looking down at me" or "looking down at me tenderly".
• I personally did not like the ending, not that it was bad but that I didn't like her choices - HOWEVER I am excited to read book 2 to see what happens!

Overall, I enjoyed the book but felt like it needed another edit round and a bit more time spent on it. It was still good and I am glad I read it, AND will be interested in reading book 2, but think a few things could be improved.

Awakening the Dark flame started off strong right where we left off from book 1, and I was so pumped to read this book! I felt like the first book was setting us up for this book to be a doozy. Ambassador Lyklor/Eren is my favorite character, followed closely by Otar hands down! I love both of them, and I love watching Gen grow throughout this book.

She has her FMC arc of healing, general butt kicking, training, political games, and learning how to hold her own, and I loved every minute of it.

You know what else I loved? the banter and tension between her and Eren/Ambassador Lyklor. SO GOOD!! I loved the banter so much, it was the highlight of my read for sure. And when they finally gave into the feelings? So steamy.

Eren's rising up the ranks story was heartbreaking, and I really felt for him. I liked what Gen did for him, but it sort of came out of nowhere, and I didn't feel like there was enough lead up for it. Now I get that she has all her trauma and that makes sense, but it did give me pause when I thought about it.

I will say I got confused several times from the flip flopping of Eren vs Erendrial versus Ambassador Lyklor versus Lyklor... He has like 10 names and it was confusing to realize they were all him. Once I got that down, it was all good.

The ending bit and what happened with Gen wasn't my favorite, but I really look forward to the next book! I can't wait to see how they come together and what happens! Overall I am super excited to read book 3 and I can't wait for it to come!

Awakening the Dark Throne is a wonderful book full of elves, light and dark magic, unknown powers, secrets, torture, and so much character development.

I loved our FMC Genevieve. She is half alfar (elf) half human, and should be dead. In her world, she is not allowed to exist, but has been hiding in the shadows to get by. We meet her right at the beginning and see how motherly, strong, caring, and selfless. Willing to do anything to protect those around her.

After giving herself to the light alfar as her only chance to save her sister Lily from the dark alfar, she encounters a very different life. Kings, castles, and being dubbed a mistress of the future king. Life is hard even though he is kind, although she makes a friend in Levos.

While she has to endure a lot of things at the castle, I really loved seeing all her character development and growth throughout the book. The things she has to go through in the book are heartbreaking at times, and while they are so extremely terrible, the description of the mental turmoil was so well done. The development of her powers is really interesting, and I can’t wait to see them further develop!

Her relationship with Gaelin is interesting, and I enjoyed it almost as much as I enjoyed watching her come to her own conclusions about it. Same with the Dark alfar and Lyklor. She is told they are the worst, but our wonderful FMC comes to her own conclusions.

The plot in Awakening the Dark Throne sucks you in and keeps you wondering how its going to pan out. This really set us up for book 2, and I think big things are to come!

Overall, Awakening the Dark Throne by Jessica Ann Disciacca is a riveting twist on fae and powers, with a great FMC, high stakes, and and interesting plot/ group of characters. I can’t wait for book 2!