Taken by Lies (Truth or Lies, #1) by Ella Miles Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Lured by Lies on my blog, here. That review covers about the first third of Taken by Lies. Trigger warnings include violence, torture, sexual assault, gun violence, and kidnapping.

Going from Lured by Lies into Taken by Lies somewhat feels as though you are reading a new book in a different series. The writing has improved drastically, and the characterization of Enzo and Kai has skyrocketed -- we learn so much more about the two in this book, and get a much closer look at what they have both been through. The jump in the books takes Enzo and Kai from being teenagers to adults, and the content certainly reflects that. 

Kai really tries to heal and get better after being beaten for years on end, and Enzo is trying to help her become "unbroken" despite the fact that he is the one that put her in that situation. With a dual POV, we see how both characters are trying to move on from that moment on the yacht years ago, and move forward in a life where both of them must deal with each other.

Enzo and Zade from Haunting Adeline would be best friends, I just know it. Both of these characters are off their rockers but still have this deep feeling to protect the women that they quite literally put in the dangerous situations that they were in. Enzo knew exactly what he was doing when he literally SOLD HER to someone and then acts absolutely shocked that she does not want to be touched. Now personally, I would not stay with the man who sold me into years of torture just to find out why he did it.. girl, run!

They continue their game of truth or lies throughout the book in order to get answers from one another, but there is always an ulterior motive with what truths and lies they reveal. Kai or Enzo may set up their options in order to rig the game so that one or the other may intentionally win, in order to serve their own agenda. Also, Enzo says some of the most out of pocket things I have ever read in my life -- I know that he is trying to keep the distance between him and Kai, but boy, there are certainly other ways to go.

The little twist towards the end of the book... the way I SHOT up from laying down while reading that chapter. I certainly did not expect that to be a major plot point in the book, and it made the concept so much more intriguing. Enzo knows everything that goes on in Miami, and with Kai being on a yacht for years with no other interaction or contact besides literally being tortured, he has the upper hand when it comes to the facts. And of course we end on a cliffhanger, so I will eventually keep reading the rest of this series until I get all of the answers to my questions.

I have to say that I definitely enjoyed this book more than the prequel novella, and that may be because there was so much going on in the prequel that I could not get a good grasp on the set up for the series. With Enzo and Kai no longer being teenagers in this book, the maturity was upgraded and we saw actually conflict and development with the characters. For fans of the Cat and Mouse Duet by H.D. Carlton, this series will definitely push boundaries.

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Lured by Lies (Truth or Lies, #0.5) by Ella Miles Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Lured by Lies should be read prior to reading Taken by Lies.

Enzo is seventeen and Kai is sixteen in this prequel novella, where Enzo is living in luxury as he prepares to take over the family business and Kai is struggling to get her next meal without owing another debt. We are giving a little bit of background on our main characters in this novella that will hopefully be beneficial as the series continues.

The way that these teenagers talk to each other... why do they think that they are in some action movie where there will be dramatic pauses and people with cower when they speak? If a seventeen-year-old boy talked to a sixteen-year-old me the way that Enzo speaks to Kai, I would literally laugh in his face. I understand that they both live in a different circumstance -- Enzo, being raised as a killer, and Kai, being raised just to survive -- but it was getting truly annoying by the end of the novella.

Am I supposed to be shaking in my boots when Enzo acts like he is a certified killer? Yes, he has actually killed people, but almost every word out of his mouth feels embarrassing rather than intimidating, as if he is playing a character in a high school play rather than on the hunt to kill someone. And with Kai -- the way she acts just seems completely inaccurate to how anyone would act if they found out that they were in danger, especially from the boy she has had two interactions with in the past twenty four hours.

Enzo is always one step ahead when it comes to Kai's plans. She thinks that she can outsmart him with all of her actions, but he is able to anticipate nearly every single one of her next moves. Which is to be expected, because she is literally a sixteen-year-old girl and he is this "villain" that men twice his age will listen to. Honestly, Kai's survival instincts are minimal at best, and I was more concerned about the fact that she cannot keep her mouth shut when necessary than the fact that Enzo is walking around town guns blazing.

I have to say that this novella did not leave me as excited as I thought I would be to continue with the series. The writing seems a little out of touch for teenagers, but the first book in the series takes place three years later, so I have hope they grow into their character traits and get a better dialogue between them. Lured by Lies is a very quick read -- it took be less than thirty minutes in total to read -- and definitely touches on some more dark topics, which the author does mention that trigger warnings should be checked before proceeding with the series.

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Dirty Little Secret (Forbidden Desires, #1) by Kendall Ryan Review

Dirty Little Tease is available for free as a preview novella for Dirty Little Secret -- you do not need to read the novella in order to start the series, as it is an introduction/preview to the first 100 pages of Dirty Little Secret, accompanied by some exclusive content from the author. You can read my review of Dirty Little Tease on my blog, here.

This is a spoiler-free review!

If you have read Dirty Little Tease, you are able to jump right into this book just before the halfway mark. The premise of Emma working as an escort for Gavin and Cooper's company was something that I had not come across recently, and was excited to see how it played out. The smut was pretty good and had decent build up where it did not feel as if the scene was just randomly through into the book.

I know that we were supposed to be rooting for Gavin and Emma to be together, but I was really enjoying all of the moments and conversations that Cooper and Emma were having. Gavin just seems so hot and cold with her, and Emma is constantly forgiving him almost immediately after they fight or she finds out that he does not want a relationship. He is also super jealous whenever Cooper and Emma hang out, but seems to be only externally denying that he wants to date her, because his thoughts are definitely saying that he wants her to himself.

There is a ton of drama that happens in this book that I felt hindered the development of Gavin and Emma's potential relationship expanding beyond her being Gavin and Cooper's personal escort. After every few chapters, something new would come up that would cause Emma to be upset with Gavin or be upset with something else in her life, and would always result with her calling Cooper and then Gavin being jealous that she did not reach out to him instead. This scenario was almost always followed by Gavin and Emma having sex -- it felt like I was reading a constant loop of the same thing happening over and over again.

More time could have also been devoted to going more in depth about Emma's past relationship. We know as readers that it was abusive because she explicitly states so, but then when it is actually brought up because it plays a role in the story, it felt glossed over. In Emma's POV we learn more about how much abuse she endured and how she was in the hospital because of it, but then we never hear about it again.

This book felt like Fifty Shades of Grey had a love triangle between Anna, Christian, and his brother -- Emma is inexperienced when it comes to submission, and Gavin is a CEO who has been involved in it for years, as he and his brothers run a high-end escort service. There are the expected "I don't do relationships" scene, "I don't spend the night with anyone" scene, and a helicopter scene, just to name a few similarities. It felt as though I was re-reading Fifty Shades of Grey instead of reading a new book, but I am a sucker for those tropes so I was just happy to be along for the ride.

The cliffhanger definitely has me wanting to read the next book in the series. To the best of my understanding, the next book is still Gavin's focus, but then the books transition to Cooper and Quinn. The first 200 pages of this book definitely had me flipping the pages so fast, but then I felt as though the story slowed down until the very last couple chapters, with a new drama plot thrown in to spearhead the next book.

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Dirty Little Tease (Forbidden Desires, #0.5) by Kendall Ryan Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Dirty Little Tease is available for free on Kindle as a preview novella for Dirty Little Secret -- you do not need to read the novella in order to start the series, as it is an introduction/preview to the book. 

Gavin is an arrogant CEO of an escort service that he runs with his brothers, Cooper and Quinn, and Emma is the head librarian who recently came out of an abusive relationship. They catch each other's eye every morning in a coffee shop, and as expected, Emma and Gavin's interactions soon grow more than ordering espresso and tea.

I liked how the author included Cooper's POV in the preview -- I hope his POV continues to be seen in the complete first book. You do not often see side characters getting their own perspective chapters in romance books, and I was pleasantly surprised when we got to read his own thoughts on Gavin and Emma. 

With POVs from Gavin, Emma, and Cooper, the reader gets to have a more extensive view on how they all are adjusting to having each other in their lives, while also getting to see an outside perspective watching Gavin and Emma finally interact after not speaking a word to each other for a year, only giving each other quick glances.

Both Gavin and Emma have complicated pasts, and since this is only a preview of Dirty Little Secret, we only get a small glimpse of what they have gone through and experienced. I think the author did a decent job of including hints of their traumas throughout the chapters, and started to show how they both respond to their pasts influences their actions.

The smut is minimal yet present -- just barely there at the end of the preview, which makes you want to open up Dirty Little Secret immediately to see how everything plays out. It is an excellent way to see if you want to continue with the series and introduces you to the characters and their personalities before you dive right into the first book. For fans of Praise by Sara Cate and Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, this novella will certainly grab your attention.

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The Secret History by Donna Tartt Review

This is a spoiler-free review! A list of trigger warnings can be found here.

The opening line will have you hooked from the very beginning -- knowing that a student is dead and the narrator had something to do with it so explicitly before even knowing the main character's name feels as though you know a secret that you should not. You are not even familiar with the personal information about Richard, yet you are immediately privy to his deepest secret.

Our main characters include Richard, Henry, Charles, Camilla, Francais, and our deceased student, Bunny. It is quickly established in the story who exactly runs this social circle of exclusive Greek students, with the top of the hierarchy led by Henry, and everyone else following his every move and Latin conjugation. Unlike the rest of the group, Richard is not wealthy and comes to university on a scholarship in hopes of swapping out his pre-medical track for studying the classics and continuing his Greek education.

I found that as I read the story, the more angered towards Bunny I became. At first, he simply appears to be yet another pretentious classics student, but his flaws continue to unravel and reveal themselves as Richard becomes closer to him. As Richard recounts the events leading up to Bunny's death, we learn more about Bunny's character and his hateful views as he deceives the people he calls friends in an attempt to be viewed as part of the elite.

Obviously, murder is wrong and should not be condoned, but well... Bunny... had to go. He was a deceitful human being with racist, anti-semetic, homophobic, and bigoted views, and was mooching off of his friends in hopes that they would not even care that he would never pay a single cent. Bunny expected everyone to drop what they were doing in order to help him, whether it be take him to the eye doctor or cover his share of the tab for dinner. He was stuck in this endless cycle of living up to the facade he created for himself and constantly, in vain, attempted to top whatever eccentric story or adventure he previously told.

The infamous 100-page chapter is anything but a rumor, and perhaps contains the most in-depth detailing about all of the students and the way that they not only deal with grief and emotions, but how they respond to the environment that they so meticulously created. While this chapter is longer than the usual chapter found in books, I have to say that it flowed so well that you do not even notice it has been going on for so long. The specific events in the chapter require a lot of elaboration and detail, and Tartt does an excellent job in captivating the reader to hang onto every word.

Some of the most beautiful and insightful thoughts are shared in The Secret History, with Tartt incorporating influential classic figures with 1980s pop culture as college students are finding themselves and finding out what they are truly capable of. For a group of twenty-somethings, they are incredibly mature and show an understanding of complex viewpoints, while also showing the immaturity that is going through life as they attempt to find their purpose. Even after finishing this book, I find "beauty is terror" utterly simplistic yet profound -- who knew just three words could encompass such a intense notion that one must truly fear the final product.

The last 120 pages or so had my jaw dropping left an right -- some things had me shocked, and others had me surprised that Tartt had actually taken certain relationships to the level that she did. Everything ties together as you watch this group of amateur classicists reap the consequences of their actions and gain a much more finite understanding on not only death, but life.

I have to say that this book may not be for everyone -- as stated before, not only are the characters in this book pretentious, but so is the writing. You need to know what you are getting yourself into before starting this journey. As someone who loves the philosophy and took a number of classes in classics, I was ready to be reading the most pretentious book in the room. Riddled with morally grey characters with a knack for knocking people down a few pegs at every chance they get, Tartt creates a competitive environment that allows their egos to flourish and their rationale to go out the window as they embark on a Hellenistic journey.

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Save Me (Phoenix, #3) by Stacey Kennedy Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Watch Me and Keep Me on my blog!

I have to say I was pretty excited to get to Hazel and Kieran's book, especially after the epilogue for Keep Me -- a firefighter who goes to a sex club and a journalist with a traumatic past surrounding a high school relationship -- considered me intrigued. I do not think I have ever read a book where the main male character was a firefighter, so I was definitely happy to add that to my list.

Kieran is already so protective of Hazel right off the bat, which comes to us as no surprise, considering how Rhys and Archer were so protective of Zoey and Elise when they first started getting together. With Hazel in Kieran's life, he is in for a new perspective and she is in for a total reevaluation of what being intimate really means.

I would say that Save Me has more toned down smut compared to the prior two books, but all of the scenes at Phoenix and other places definitely allow the story to move forward and let Kieran and Hazel to understand what they want in life and in a relationship. The scenes they share reflect how they are as people, and while they are steamy, you can tell that they have their own personal touch to it. Their living arrangement definitely proves that they have more on their minds than having Hazel find a new place, and their dynamic reminded me a lot of what is seen in The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata.

Save Me has a sweet undertone to it compared to the other relationships that we have seen in the series -- Hazel is much more innocent than Zoey and Elise, and when you learn more about her past, you understand why. I really enjoyed the depth that Kennedy went into when exploring Kieran and Hazel's pasts and their individual relationships with their parents. It definitely added a lot of character behind them, and as a reader you can really understand their way of thinking.

The friendship between Hazel, Elise, and Zoey is still just as strong as it was in the first two books, and we get to see how protective they are over Hazel as the very hint of someone hurting her. The same goes with Kieran, Rhys, Archer, and Hunt -- they all parallel the relationship the girls have with each other, and they are not afraid to put each other in their place.

If you are looking for a short and sweet story thats starts fast and then slows down as the main characters discover more about each other, this is the book for you. It was a great follow up to Keep Me, and once again the epilogue has me excited to read the next book.

You can add Watch Me, Keep Me, Save Me, and the rest of the series on Goodreads now. You can also follow the author to stay up to date on publications and releases.

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A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3) By Sarah J. Maas Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of A Court of Mist and Fury here.

I was finally determined to finishing this series since I read A Court of Mist and Fury nearly five years ago, and wanted to still be able to get through this book without hearing any more spoilers online. Tamlin is -- to no one's surprise -- still a total jerk, and every single time that his name popped up, I wanted to rip out the page. I have hated that man since the first book and nothing has changed in my opinion in the eight years that I first read that book.

It was great to read about Rhys and Feyre again after all these years -- they were one of the first fantasy couples that I really was introduced to when I was expanding what genres I was reading, so I feel like I am heading towards a full circle moment as I finish the series. Their dynamic continues to development in this third book, and we see how Feyre and Rhys are continually affected by their experiences Under the Mountain and the trauma that they have both gone through.

I hate to jump on the anti-Nesta bandwagon, but for some reason it is taking me a long time to try and move past the way that she has treated Feyre and continued to treat her throughout the book. I can, however, acknowledge that she has been through something traumatic and I want her to grow as a person and have some decent character development -- I do not like the comparisons between her and Elain though, because they both handled their trauma in different ways and I see a lot of people excuse Elain's treatment of Feyre and hark on Nesta's treatment of her when they were pretty similar. I feel as though I am in this limbo with how I feel about the both of them, and I do not think if they apologized to Feyre every day for the rest of their lives that it would be enough to forgive them for how they treated her.

However, I will say that her character development definitely did improve during the second half of the book, and we finally see some emotional expression from her that is not rage, so I say it is a win in my book. I do wish that we got to see more of Elain in the book -- I felt as though she was missing from a lot of plot points, but was glad when she finally had a more active role in the story, but wished people would stop infantilizing her and hold her accountable for certain things. That being said, Elain does apologize to Feyre and that speaks volumes in the context of the books and the struggles that everyone is going through. I do look forward to seeing their development in the rest of the series as well, as they did both grow on me during this installment.

My number one enemy Tamlin continues to plague my existence with every word that comes out of his nasty little mouth. It is absolutely insane to me that he claims time and time again that he loves Feyre, but the things that he says about her has me constantly dropping my jaw to the floor. He is such a little incel of a man, I honestly spent the entire book wishing that he would simply disappear from my memory and from this book as a whole.

I loved seeing all of the High Lords in this book -- it has been years since I read the second book, so it did take some time for me to re-familiarize myself with everyone, as well as try to remember who we hated and who we liked. Lots of fun and lots of betrayal happen not only with some High Lords and their sons, but with characters that initially had our hate, as well as with some that had our support.

A Court of Wings and Ruin could have maybe been shorter -- at times it felt like some scenes were dragging on and at other times it felt as though they were flying by. I do think that Maas utilized most of her pages to the best of her abilities, but I will say that after seeing the "His growls of pleasure filled the tent, drowning out the cries of the injured and crying" quote so many times on social media, it did not prepare me to having to read it with my own two eyes in the context of war. That one definitely could have been left out after edits.

That being said, this book had be uncontrollably sobbing for the last 90 pages and I genuinely felt dehydrated once it was over. I did not think I was going to be hit with so many emotions so close to the ending, and even after getting spoiled for some of the plot points, they still had me hurt. I originally was iffy about continuing this series after I plan on reading A Court of Frost and Starlight, but after that ending, I will definitely be continuing on with the series.

You can add A Court of Wings and Ruin and the rest of the series on Goodreads now, and follow the author for updates on publications and releases.

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Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet, #1) by H.D. Carlton Review

This review contains spoilers for Haunting Adeline. This book was previously banned on Amazon due to the trigger warning. Please read reviews or go to the author's website for more details on trigger warnings. It is recommended that you read the prequel novella, Satan's Affair, prior to reading the Cat and Mouse Duet, but is not required.

I keep telling myself that I am going to stop taking recommendations from TikTok and actually work on my TBR pile, yet for some reason I could not go any longer going without reading this book after about ten videos in a row showed up on my feed, so it was a sign. Now hear me out -- the red roses being left for Addie... I knew my Phantom of the Opera would come back in full force one day and did not expect this book to be the driving force for that. Yes, I did see the red flags in Zade, but I have chosen to ignore them!

We get a dual POV between Addie and Zade that are both in first person, and get to see how absolutely off the walls he is when it comes to Addie, but at the same time we see him literally killing the nastiest people in society. Meanwhile, Addie is running around her victorian manor renovating and enjoying having a stalker while being a successful author. Clearly, they were made for each other.

I cannot believe I read half of this stuff with my own two eyes... he put a GUN inside of this girl... it is so much worse than the golf ball scene in the second 365 Days movie. I genuinely did not think anything could be so unhinged, yet here we are. As yet another disclaimer, this book is clearly meant for adults and contains so much smut that it is basically dripping off the pages, and the gun scene only happened within the first third of the book. He does the craziest things to this girl and a lot of it definitely borderlines on psychotic.

Zade is running around inside and outside of Addie's house, leaving body parts, red roses, and empty whiskey glasses in a trail behind him as he hides in her closet and does unspeakable things to her. I genuinely do not know how Addie was surprised to wake up with him in her house so often -- she literally was always hearing him walk around and would straight up have staring contests with him while he stood outside of her windows.

Addie always seemed shocked that her little stalker would show up inside her house and do exactly what he said he would do to her in their texts to each other. Yes, they text each other. Because that is a completely normal thing to do with a stalker that has killed dozens if not hundreds of people.

Zade is out here killing rapists and pedophiles and acting like it is his side gig to stalking Addie as if he did not create an entire company whose sole purpose to get these people off the streets and to save the people that they have kidnapped and trafficked. I have to say, this man is quick with his business and does not hesitate even for a second when he and his team are on a mission. Every time that he is with the guys that him and his organization are trying to take down, I wanted to throw up in my mouth. It really is disgusting, and thankfully there was nothing graphic when it came to those scenes.

The biggest crime committed in this book by Addie is her using a straw to drink a martini. She is woman in her late twenties and does not know how to properly drink a martini... Maybe I did overestimate her self preservation and survival skills after reading that scene in the bar. Also, it felt as though the author kind of abandoned her author storyline, because I swear she was supposed to be reviewing her editor's suggestions, but I could have made that up in my head.

I have to say that the beginning of the book was more enjoyable than the last part of the book -- the last one third mostly focuses on Addie and Daya trying to solve Gigi's murder, as well as Zade trying to put an end to the rituals that are taking place. I'm not saying that it was bad, but it felt like the book was losing it momentum when it came to Addie and Zade interacting with one another and set them on two paths that definitely needed some work done, plot wise. I think I ended up overhyping this book more than I should have, and pretty much went in blind other than knowing that a girl is getting stalked and she likes it.

This book deals with some pretty heavy stuff and I definitely agree with reviews saying that it leans more towards the 21+ rating rather than 17+ due to its content. The author does do a pretty good job of creating this creepy environment as Addie's house, but I am still left a little confused if there were actually ghosts in her house, or if it was just a feeling. We are of course left on a big cliffhanger, and while I originally did not think that I was going to read the second book, now I might just have to, so I can find out who betrayed Jay and Zade and what is going to happen to Addie after that whacky car crash.

You can add Haunting Adeline and the rest of the series on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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