Moonlit Thorns (Midnight Manor, #1) by P. Rayne Review

This review contains mild spoilers for Moonlit Thorns - no major plot points are revealed!

I love a dark romance Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I have to say that I had the time of my life reading this book. An older, billionaire romance with a bunch of spice is right up my alley, and even though I have read my fair share of these type of retellings, it never gets old. When Anabelle's father passes away and her family's estate is slipping through their fingers, she finds herself employed and housed at a manor occupied by the Voss billionaire brothers. Asher Voss, the 36-year-old billionaire with a cold side has somehow ended up with Anabelle at his fingertips, and her curiosity is about to lead her down a path she may not be ready for.

Anabelle's ex-boyfriend literally coming up to her and telling -- not asking -- her that they are going to get married actually had me laughing out loud. This man is living in the land of delusion, and I was glad to see that she did not put up with it one bit. That being said, she traded him in for a 36-year-old man that is set on tormenting a 22-year-old girl for giggles and because he was low-key bored, which I have to say, not Asher's best moment. I fear Anabelle has a curse on her, because she somehow finds herself in danger or in trouble nearly ever chapter.

The entire contract agreement that Asher presents to Anabelle is literally so insane - taking her phone for a year, only paying her minimum wage, and only letting her leave on Saturday nights - at least she had the good sense to read over every page before signing it. She basically becomes an indentured servant to Asher, and he does not even give her a decent uniform - he has her wearing what I can only picture as clogs, for crying out loud.

Dual POV in romance books are my gold standard, and I was so glad to see that this was held up -- it is always so fun to watch the perspective change when the female lead thinks the male lead hates her, and then we see that he is utterly obsessed with her. I was cackling when he put in one of her AirPods and started listening to her audiobook because girl, same. Watching Anabelle literally walk into danger was infuriating at times - I wanted to reach into the book and shake her to warn her about the red flags she was ignoring.

Asher's' brothers are giving off major bad vibes when they are first introduced - maybe not all of them, but the breakfast scene had my skin crawling a bit, and I was glad Asher stepped in. Preston, and even the sheriff that Anabelle used to date, are certainly no better, and yet you become glad that Asher is there so at least someone is trying to protect her, even if he does have ulterior motives. Not entirely sure why Anabelle is suddenly okay with basically becoming Asher's sex bot in his house when she clearly has stronger feelings towards him. Like girl, he is paying you minimum wage and now instead of his maid, you are his secretary/assistant - I need you to stand up.

Anabelle is thrown into a pretty horrible situation, and someone literally pulls the line "Maybe she consented?" Boy, she was drugged and unconscious, let us use our big brain cells and think logically - she obviously did not. She honestly has to deal with a lot in this book, and this is far from the first time that she is found in a dangerous situation. As the story goes on, we reach more "action" scenes towards the end, and it reminded me so much of plot points from Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James.

I had a blast reading this book - I was literally doing laps around my room at every chapter, and the story moves at a great pace to keep you completely enthralled with the characters. I do wish Anabelle stuck up for herself more often, and that Asher could tone it down a bit when he treated her rudely in the beginning, but overall it was a fun read and I will definitely be returning to this series.

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The Raven King (All for the Game, #2) by Nora Sakavic Review

 

This review contains spoilers for The Raven King. Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

It has been over five years since I read The Foxhole Court, and I was worried that I would not remember anything plot-wise that happened in the first installment when I cracked open this book. Thankfully, memory served me well and everything came back to me within the first couple chapters. I truly forgot how much I loved Andrew - he is one of the funniest characters I have ever read, and is so completely unhinged, which makes him the perfect addition to this story. Every single day I pray for Riko's downfall - he is literally one of the worst people to exist in this series, and it is a testament to the Foxes for the way they put up with him, with the exception of Neil, who will use any chance he gets to instigate Riko. And we love him for it - and here is the prime example:

"You know, I get it. Being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough. Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. I know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullsh*t. Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. So please, please, just shut the f*ck up and leave us alone." 

GET HIM AGAIN FOR ME NEIL. The fact that Waymack literally has to tell Neil not to cause a scene with Riko and Neil just does it anyway... he's just a kid! And Riko deserves much worse than just being knocked down a peg or two. I genuinely need to give Neil a hug so bad... he has been through so much and does not feel like he has a place with the Foxes, even when they spell it out for him that they are his family now. Is Waymack aware that he now is the proud father of an entire team of Exy players? He basically is Neil's father, and the fact that we learn that he is actually Kevin's father had me speechless.

The way that Nicky talks about Erik makes me believe in love. You can tell that Nicky is such a pure soul and despite the horrors he had to deal with back home, he is still so kind and open with everyone. I love the relationship he has with Neil - they are basically best friends, and with Neil keeping his entire life essentially a secret from everyone, it seems that Nicky is the one he is able to open up to (besides Andrew). On that note, Andrew only ever seems to trust Neil, and considering he does not trust anyone, that says a lot. Even when it is just bits and pieces that Neil has to put together himself, it really shows how different Andrew is with Neil compared to everyone else. This is a slow-burn in the making, I can feel it.

The Thanksgiving scene at Nicky's house truly had me sick to my stomach, dear god take all of Andrew's pain, triple it, and give it to Riko. I physically recoiled when that chapter occurred, and it was soul-crushing to see Andrew go through that with Drake, and with the added racquet to Drake's head by Aaron, my jaw dropped. It always circles back to Riko, and I literally cannot comprehend how this barely legal college student is capable of things so disgusting. Drake deserved so much worse than he got. And of course, our favorite mysterious Neil has to chime in with "Will they give it back or am I going to have to get a new one?," in which he is literally talking about his racquet that was used as a murder weapon.

I know Andrew would absolutely hate the idea, but my word someone needs to hug that boy. He has been through unimaginable horrors, and life does not seem to want to give him a break. And so WHAT if he killed his mom, he did it to protect Aaron, and the fact that it is brought up so often makes me feel even worse for Andrew. Waymack reminds me so much of Coach from Teen Wolf, except he actually has somewhat of an idea of what is going on with his unruly players. He would protect the Foxes with his life, and at this rate, same here.

Obsessed with the fact that the first gala went so bad with Riko and Neil, that they still had the Christmas gala. And in true Neil fashion, he pulls this one out "You think I'm afraid of your knife? I'm the Butcher's son," and how little did we know how much that would come back to haunt him towards the end of the book. Every single time that Neil bodies Riko in an argument, an angel gains its wings - it is truly a sight to see.

Why on Earth did Neil go to the Raven's Nest?? The boy has a death wish I swear, and I understand that he does it protect others, but much like Andrew he does not seem to have any regard for his own wellbeing or survival. I was literally about to throw up with Riko came into his room after his practice, and had to take a lap around the room before continuing on. Thank you Nora for not going into too much detail, because if I had to read about Neil being tortured, I would have passed out. 

I will absolutely not be taking any criticism on this series - it is so out of the park and insane, and I love every minute of it. Neil and Andrew's character development as individuals and as friends is so gradual and complicated. This series is notorious for its laundry list of trigger warnings, and back in the day on tumblr, it took over our lives. The side characters have stories of their own that add so much value to Neil and Andrew's stories, and the found family trope is so strong in this series.

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The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Inheritance Games on my blog, here.

I completely forgot that this takes place in Texas and that everyone has Texan accents.. got the ick all over again. The first installment was a little slow to start and had me weary about continuing on with the series, but I kept finding myself thinking about what was going to happen next. However, this sequel was not what I had expected, and left me underwhelmed and unsatisfied with a number of plot issues and character development. From his first appearance, I stood by Grayson Hawthorne, and this book seems to abandon him as a possible love interest in trade for Jameson?? Am I supposed to be rooting for Avery and Jameson now?

Avery is on yet another hunt to solve what seems to be a hundred mini riddles in order to figure out exactly why Tobias left her everything, and yet she is the one who seems to be able to figure out the least -- she puts everything together at the last minute and only when every piece of information is set in front of her, practically gift-wrapped for her. There is some interesting stuff going on with her dad, and that was truly the only interesting part of the story for me. I frankly did not care for the other Hawthorne family members fighting the inheritance any longer, it became repetitive and juvenile. 

Are these characters allergic to using real curse words? It makes the story read as if it is taking place in elementary school instead of being young adult, and caused me to be thrown from the story every single time. It honestly was too much of a distraction than it should have been, and I wish it did not derail the tone of the book for me. The side characters are simply not that intriguing this time around, and their characterizations are pretty surface level, with the exception of a few that become more fleshed out in the last few chapters. There are far too many family tree issues and revelations that distract from Avery's story.

All of these private jet trips... oh I know their carbon footprint is off the charts. Avery constantly states how shocked she is that she has all of these things now, but girl, you are literally a billionaire, it should not surprise you for much longer. Her inheritance is still being handles by actual responsible adults, and she should be thankful for it -- she whines too much and does not seem to be able to get a grasp on the situation she is in. I was truly hoping that Avery would have a more well-rounded character arc in this sequel, but she was just a two-dimensional as she was in the first book. 

This dead old man really set up Avery to have the most complicated inheritance in history. He basically has set her up to go into dangerous situations, and seemed to not care at all when he decided to give everything to her. He gives nothing to his kids, and honestly I had to laugh. From the constant struggle with the will and inheritance, to the consistent arsons and bombings, the plot was lost and became erratic towards the end of the book. On top of Avery nearly being killed every other chapter, she is living her Mamma Mia moment with trying to find her biological father, and the Hawthorne family drama truly was dragging on.

You can add The Hawthorne Legacy 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!