Secret Beast (Beast of Bishop's Landing, #1) by Amelia Wilde Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I have and always will be a fan of Beauty and the Beast retellings, and with a billionaire, enemies-to-lovers twist, I knew this book would check all of my boxes. Since I have been on a romance kick for months and it does not look like it will be ending any time soon, this was the perfect book to keep the ball rolling.

In true Beauty and the Beast fashion, Haley offers to save her father from Leo in order to dissolve the contract they made together about the future of his inventions -- but she must sign a contract of her own. Thirty days with Leo in his home, giving him full access to her whenever and however he pleases. We get a decent amount of background information on Haley and Leo, with the sprinkling of side characters that very much resemble our classic fairy tale characters filling the roles of Gaston, the Enchantress, and Mrs. Pot.

The plot moves fairly quickly and the author wastes no time on filler chapters, putting readers right into the story and introducing the key characters. We really get to see the personalities of Haley and Leo, and with dual POVs, the author gets right into their minds and we get to see how they view one another and the lovely situation they have found themselves in together through this contract. I do wish that we got to see Haley in the house longer with Leo -- the book's pacing is great, but in just over an hour I finished the book and found myself wanting to see more of their early stages.

Haley and her brother, Cash, have been looking after their father as he continues to create inventions and fulfills the role of the black sheep in the family. As Constantines, their family is nowhere near the level of importance of their other family members -- but once a Constantine, always a Constantine, and means they are monitored by family no matter what. Ronan, own very much plays into the role of Gaston, wants into the family and has his sights set on Haley, whereas she is just focusing on finishing her undergraduate degree.

Leo is ruthless, to put it plainly. He is riddled with anger and past trauma that has led him to transform into the Beast of Bishop's Landing, and Haley is the one left at his mercy. Right off of the bat, she is thrown into his home and he makes it perfectly clear that he makes the decisions and she needs to wise up before her stay becomes even more haunting than it already has been. The harsh way he treats her in the beginning is to be expected, but oh my god their sex scenes were so god and literally had my jaw dropping left and right. I was left wishing this first installment was longer solely for the reason that I wanted to see much more between them, but it leaves me so excited to jump into the second book.

The tension between Haley and Leo is off the charts and basically radiates off of the pages. I will say that this book definitely caters towards us dark romance lovers, so be warned if that is not your cup of tea. I enjoyed every minute of it, and would recommend this as a great gateway into the genre if you are not too sure where your threshold lies when it comes to dark romance and spicer books with mature scenes.

If you love Beauty and the Beast retellings, this is definitely the book for you, especially if you are looking for plot riddled with great sex scenes. This is a super quick read and will definitely leave you wanting to continue with the series.

You can add Secret Beast and the rest of the trilogy on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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Tempted (The Dark Necessities: Dalton's Tale, #1) by Felicity Brandon Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Tempted is currently available for free on iBooks and Kindle.

Delilah has a secret and she is keeping her lips sealed for as long as she can. When she manages to finally get into an exclusive club owned by Dalton, she is in for a rude awakening after confronting what actually goes on when you have finally made it through the door.

Delilah is such a judgmental person for someone who does not seem to know anything about what she is getting herself into. She definitely has spunk and is very stubborn, but for the first half of the book I found her borderline insufferable and severely uneducated -- and totally understandable to a point, as she is naive to Dalton's world, but I can only take so much of it before it hinders my reading experience. Especially due to the fact that in order to get into the club, she needs to have basic knowledge or an interest in BDSM. 

Even when I was nearly finished the book, she continued to be argumentative with Dalton and not listen to him, despite explicitly agreeing that she would listen to him when doing scenes. It became infuriating to a point where it was making me contemplate not finishing the series because of how much I could not stand her.

Dalton does not put up with anyone's antics, and Delilah is no exception. Right off the bat when they first meet, they are arguing like their lives depend on it -- with Delilah being the forefront of a number of issues that leads to Dalton's constant agitation. From what it seems, Dalton is the more level-headed member of his family, and since I did not read the previous series, I needed to take everyone else's word for it. He has the patience of a saint when it comes to dealing with Delilah, and it amazes me that he did not go absolutely bananas with the amount of insanity she made him put up with time and time again.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, and while the sex scenes were actually pretty great -- at least the majority of them, excluding a scene where Delilah does not consent to something and Dalton does it anyway -- the story kept falling through and running in circles. We go from Delilah wanting nothing to do with Dalton to her only wanting to screw him, and then right back to hating him the very next chapter. I wish that we got to learn more about Delilah's big secret that she was keeping from Dalton and see more of her involvement with Jacob throughout the book -- it felt as though we only got quick glimpses, and did not get to learn much information from them besides the bare minimum.

The last few chapters definitely made up for Delilah's character development, and I found myself actually enjoying her presence on the pages for once. Dalton was great as always, and you can see the way that his relationship with Delilah has changed him -- not that he was bad before, but now he seems to be more gentle compared to how he was before he ran into Delilah.

If you are looking for something quick to read in between series, this book may do the trick. Regarding the BDSM aspect of the book, there is effort plot to drive it forward, but not much action at the actual club in the book -- I would recommend the Phoenix series by Stacey Kennedy if you're looking for a fleshed-out series. Reviews for the first four books are available to read on my blog and Goodreads!

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

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Own Me (Masters of Corsica, #1) by Jane Henry Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

TikTok has once again led me astray from my never-ending TBR pile, and I have to say that I am not mad about it. Nicolette is working in a high-end brothel to save up money for herself and her sister, Savannah, after the death of their parents, when one night leaves Nicolette attacked and the object of affection to Fabien, the owner. With an history of obsession and definite ties to the mafia, Nicolette finds herself thrust into Fabien's life and conflicts as he cannot let her out of his sight.

With a dual POV, we get to see Nicolette and Fabien's inner thoughts and struggles, especially with Fabien and how he views Nicolette and tries to help his family. I really liked the fact that this was not an insta-love for the girl first, but rather with Fabien basically being obsessed with her before she even knew that he existed. Yes, it is unconventional, but it is a dark romance, so this is just another walk in the park as far as I am concerned. I do think this book was on a lighter side of dark romance -- nothing too out of the box happens, but definitely skirts on the edge of heading towards being dark.

The girls in the high-end brothel very much resemble a tight-knit friend group that is seen in the Phoenix series by Stacey Kennedy. We get brief scenes with characters like Gwen and Cosette, but they add a support system for Nicolette since her sister is away at school and she has no one else in Corsica while she works. As far as Fabien's family goes, I liked his brothers, but his other family members kept pushing my buttons and made me irrated -- definitely the author's intention, but interesting to see the comparison of Nicolette and Fabien's outside relationships.

Together they are going to attempt one of the greatest heists ever seen in order to keep Fabien's family in tact, and in order to do so, Nicolette has to do everything Fabien says without a second thought. He wants her more than anything he has ever laid eyes on, and if making her obey him will keep her safe and pull off the heist, it will be killing two birds with one stone. The sex scenes were well done but a tad short, and I will admit that I was giggling and kicking my feet any time Nicolette and Fabien were together.

I do wish that the plot moved a little faster, but I still had a fun time getting to know the characters and I enjoyed all of the background information that the author gave us. Same goes for when Nicolette and Fabien actually entered into their more dominant/submissive relationship -- I kept waiting for it to begin as I was going through the story, and it really shows up for the last third of the book. It was still entertaining and great to read, but I would have loved to see more of it closer to the beginning of the book.

If you are looking for a gateway mafia romance that has a splash of dark themes, Own Me is a great spot to start. This is a very quick read and keeps the reader interested to see where Nicolette and Fabien end up after their weekend is through -- will they part ways, or will Fabien finally have Nicolette all to himself?

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

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

The Beast (Ruined Castle, #1) by Vivian Wood Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The Beast is currently available for free on iBooks and Kindle. You can read my review of The Scottish Billionaire on my blog, here.

My immediate first thought about this book was that it sounded like a modern day spin on Beauty and the Beast only in the aspect that that main male lead was giving off major Beast vibes, and I knew I had to read it. The cover also reminded me of Praise by Sara Cate, and it sucked me right in. I have not read a single father romance in, well, I cannot even remember if I ever did, and this seemed like the perfect book to start on that journey.

Keir and Ella are basically at each other's throats for the majority of this book, giving us some great bantering and a dash of enemies to lovers mixed in with their actual feelings. With Keir being so secretive towards Ella when it comes to a lot of personal and business matters, it leaves them constantly in this power struggle to get information out of one another.

I absolutely cannot stand Ella's family sans her younger sister. In The Scottish Billionaire you get a pretty good read on who they are as people and where their morals lie, and in this installment we see how much they have manipulated situations to be in their favor. The same goes for Keir's parents -- they are so controlling over their children and seem to want to make every decision for them, rather than have their children grow as individuals.

There was a lot of back and forth throughout the book -- at times, it felt very repetitive that Keir and Ella were having the same arguments or interactions, or that Ella was constantly thinking about the same thing over and over again, going on for chapters at a time. I think if they were both given some more character development, I would have enjoyed reading their perspectives, but I kept finding myself wanting to be done with the book rather than actually interested in what was going to happen between them.

I will say that the smut scenes were pretty good and are part of the reason on why I am rating this book higher than I normally would. They were the redeeming part of the book -- otherwise, the flow of the story was off and ending on a big cliffhanger felt like a quick way to end the book without actually wrapping anything up. It was difficult to navigate some of the story since I would spend every chapter having to figure out which POV we were reading, in addition to the jumping around doing different things. There definitely could have been more time spent building upon Keir and Ella's relationship and personal issues, which would have made their characters more enjoyable on their own.

It would have been a very quick read if I did not have to keep taking breaks because I could not get into the story or find myself liking a majority of the characters. If you are looking for lots of drama and smut, this would fill the slot, but would leave you unsatisfied if looking for something with just a little more meat on its bones.

 

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

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The version I am reading is an ARC -- any changes made for the final publication are not reflected in this review. A list of trigger warnings is available in the beginning of the book.

We are given four point of views throughout the story -- Delilah, Jude, Whitney, and Bo -- all of which have lost their mothers in unexplainable disappearances in their small town of Bishop one night. Everyone who lives there says that nothing bad happens, except for the occasional woman going missing or being found dead in their front yard. But no worries! The town seems completely unfazed by these tragic events, which does not sit right with any of the girls.

Living in a run down house, the girls work through their feelings of mourning due to the belief that their mothers are dead, despite no bodies being recovered, unlike some girls who have been found dead all over town. The land of the town is more than dirt and sunflowers, but something more -- it is alive, and requires much more than water and sunlight in order to thrive and grow. There is something sinister happening to these women, and the girls are determined to get to the bottom it before something happens to another girl.

I really enjoyed the multiple point of views that the author gives -- it really lets you dive into the minds of each of the girls and understand their own unique lives. They each had a different relationship with their mothers, and the author does an excellent job showcases what the girls are going through. Bo in particular had the most strained relationship with her mother, while Delilah seemed to have the strongest bond with hers. Jude and Whitney's relationship with their mother is somewhat in the middle of Bo and Delilah's, yet we see more of their struggle in the relationship they have with each other as twins.

As the story goes on, more secrets are revealed and more questions are asked -- about the disappearances, who the girls can trust, and what in the world is going on with all of these sunflowers. In addition to trying to figure out what happened to their mothers, the girls have their own problems to address, starting with their personal relationships and struggles. Whitney is still recovering from the death of her girlfriend, Jude and Delilah seem to be falling for the same boy, and Bo has gone through something horrific that no one knows about.

The paranormal aspect of the book was very well done -- I did not find it overwhelming, and it was woven into the story at a pace that made the reader understand what was happening, while still leaving some mystery until the very end. The mystery of what the land desires and how it is given what it needs plays out as we get more into the minds of each girl, and characters come into play as more is discovered.

Hannah's writing style has great prose, and adds a sort of unknowingness into the story as you are not sure if what each girl says is true or an influence from the town. There was a ton of potential for the story to conclude on a really big bang, and while I was satisfied with the ending, there was room to really push barriers with the characters and plot. If you are really paying attention from the beginning, you can call the ending right away, but it doesn't take away from the read.

If you are looking for something to fill the void that Sharp Objects left you, this may be the book to launch you back into mystery and thrillers. The eerie atmosphere that the town provides would make this book the perfect autumn read.

You can add Where Darkness Blooms on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

The Scottish Billionaire (Ruined Castle, #0.5) by Vivian Wood Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The Scottish Billionaire is currently available for free on iBooks and Kindle. 

Oh no, another billionaire romance in the free section, whatever will I do! Download it immediately. If there is one thing in my corner at all times, it is the romance section on iBooks -- I could check it every single day and find something new to download. I already had The Beast downloaded before I found out about The Scottish Billionaire, and I am a sucker for reading things in order, so here we are.

Ella is an injured ballerina basically being strong-armed by her parents into working for billionaire Keiran Greyrose as an au pair while she is on the bench until she is recovered. Her parents are absolute nightmares and basically she her as a pawn in a game rather than a human being with free will. She meets Keiran along with his brother at a gala, and right from the start you can see the tension between them, at lease from Keiran's point of view.

His brother James is insufferable, and ruining for primer minister, so it definitely checks out. We get a pretty good couple chapters of a big ensemble interaction that really nails each character and their personality right off the bat. Then we are thrown right into Keir and Ella's attraction and the smut scenes are well done and just a tiny bit unrealistic, but that is what makes it great to read. Ella is a virgin and is putting on an entire Cirque du Soleil performance for Keir approximately ten minutes after they have known each other.

The way that they argue with one another had me cracking up -- you could clearly tell that they have such big personalities and that it would prove be a problem for them as they find themselves in a major situation. We see them being confronted with multiple issues that will definitely be driving the plot forward in the full-length first installment, which I am excited to see played out.

You can see how much of a problem Ella's father is going to be in their story, especially coupled with the information you learn about his past and what he has done now. Along with the number of other issues Keir and Ella are facing, he may be the least of their worries for now.

If you are looking for an age-gap romance with a touch of action, this is certainly an excellent way to dive in, with similar attributes to Fifty Shades of Grey that readers will appreciate. You can read the novella to get a feel for the series, or go right into The Beast, as it includes this novella in the book.

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

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter, and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!