Dirty Little Promise (Forbidden Desires, #2) by Kendall Ryan Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Dirty Little Tease and Dirty Little Secret on my blog, now! 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.

Emma and Gavin's relationship faces a lot of obstacles in this second installment, and nothing short of dangerous is thrown into their lives. Considering I read Dirty Little Tease and Dirty Little Secret about two-and-a-half years ago and was able to quickly orient myself back into this series, I have to say that the author does a pretty good job at keeping readers up to speed. This book had a great combination of action, emotion, and spice - the book flowed very well and honestly kept me fully engaged the entire time.

Do I feel bad for Cooper? Absolutely. Do I think he needs to get a grip and move on? Sure thing! His friendship with Emma was so great, and unfortunately not everything is made to last and his own feelings seemed to get in the way of their friendship ever getting back to the way that it was before Gavin came into the picture. I think the relationship between Gavin and his brothers took more of a forefront in this book, and I was happy to see Gavin really start to work through his own feelings and past experiences. Given that in many romance books we do not see the male leads actually work towards being better and opening up to others, it was a pleasant surprise.

Gavin and Emma definitely had some things to work through - we get a much better picture of the horrors of Emma's last relationship and we see Gavin grabbling with a past that has come back to haunt him and linger over his relationship with Emma. Both have to tackle things on their own, but they were able to support one another once they each decided to reveal information about their pasts and allow themselves to be open with one another - in more ways than one.

The spice in this book was crazyyyy. I do not know how Emma came out of this book without having her limbs dislocated with the way that Gavin was throwing this girl around. The author really upped the game from the prequel novella and first installment - compared to the minimal presence it had in the first book, this truly upped the game and honestly showed how much Gavin and Emma trusted one another. Their chemistry literally feels like it is coming off the page and the author truly makes readers invested in the development of their relationship. I truly ate this book up and honestly look forward to seeing where we are taken next with Cooper's story.

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Puck Drop (Dusk Bay Demons, #1) by Maggie Alabaster and Jo Bradley Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Guys... my kindle privileges need to be revoked. I cannot believe Stuff Your Kindle Day has lead me down this path. Hockey romance plus crime plus why choose... none of these words have ever been uttered in the same sentence before, and yet here we are. Why do I continue to put myself through this? I do not even know what I was thinking when I downloaded it, but it was free and I love to see what random books have in store for me. I was, however, utterly confused when this hockey team seemed to be full of murdering gang members?? Can someone explain this to me? I feel like I came out of this book with a concussion.

The author literally throws you into the strangest predicament known to man and expects readers to simply accept the fact that the leading lady and, for some reason, the majority of this hockey team are involved in some form of gang that are straight up killing people. Because apparently that is a normal thing for hockey players to be involved in, but I digress. Elenna is constantly in the pick-me girl scenario and finds herself being a mediator instead of a wife - Aidan is controlling when it comes to their outside relationships, but it makes sense as he is her husband. As for the other ones, they become oddly possessive after being involved for approximately two seconds and think they are just as important as Aidan.

Elenna was annoying - I have no idea why basically the entire hockey team thought she was the greatest gift to be brought to Earth, but good grief every single time we switched to her perspective a part of me died inside. I wanted her to be likable so bad, but I could just not warm up to her. Finley and Orion had such different personalities than Aidan, but they cared about Elenna just as much as he did. However, I still think their characterization and the way they immediately felt that they had just as much say in the relationship was presumptuous considering they were new.

The spice was wild and whacky but nothing that I had not seen before. A lot of the scenes felt as though they were thrown into the story at random, and we were going back and forth between smut and randomly killing people with no clear transition. This book put me in such a spin that I started to think I got hit in the head with a hockey puck halfway through. The overall tone of this book was so random and the goal was clearly to try to add some action into Elenna, Aidan, Orion, and Finley's lives, but it fell flat to the lack of consistency and ability to smoothly transition between perspectives and plot points. In my opinion, this would have worked much better if the author made this series only focus on this group, instead of making it interconnected stand alones where each book focuses on a different group.

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Tease Me Once (Shame on You, #1) by Willow Winters Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews for other works by Willow Winters on my blog, now - Do You Want Me?, It's Our Secret, and A Single Glance.

I am no stranger to W. Winters, and with a number of their works available for free on iBooks and Kindle, it makes an easy choice to continue to dive into yet another series. Maybe one day I will actually finish one instead of only reading the first installment as a filler book - this book certainly makes a case for that hope. Declan and Braelynn share a history that is seemingly glossed over a number of times throughout this book - Braelynn mentions through her internal dialogue and to her close friend that she knows Declan from "before" but we never see how they were actually connected, unless I somehow managed to miss that. I would have loved some more explanation or even flashback chapters from Declan or Braelynn's perspective to understand how entangled they are and what the tension they share is from.

Braelynn is too easily convinced of, well, everything - she trusts easily, which I found odd, considering her past, and seemingly falls into a number of inopportune scenarios that would have been completely avoidable had she either paid attention or minded her business. I wanted her to use common sense so bad throughout this book that I was willing to donate some of my brain cells to the cause. She eventually smarted up at one point, but I still wish she was aware of what was going on around her - she needed to lock in and realize that she cannot trust everyone in her life, especially when it seems too good to be true.

Declan... good lord. The author should have given us some background on him - clearly we get the face value details of him and his brothers, but still no exploration into why he is the way he is or why he is into the things he is. I will say that he is an effective communicator and actually sits down with Braelynn explaining to her that she needs to be very clear with him about what she wants and what she does or does not like - he is not good at reading people and needs her confirmation before moving on with more delicate matters.

The spice was going wild in this book - definitely on the more extreme end of dark romance and juicy, I ate it up. Some of it was a little out of pocket considering Declan basically threw Braelynn into the relationship and only asked her if she was willing to do whatever he said - she basically nodded her head and then was in the middle of an intense BDSM relationship without even knowing what she signed up for. And I say "signed up for" in the lightest of terms given they did not even talk about anything before launching into this relationship. Declan is a wild man and Braelynn just does not know what to do, so she seems to go along with anything that anyone tells her to do.

Looking at the mafia plot - I will be honest, it felt like a little bit of a mess. Declan and his brothers are clearly involved in some super shady stuff, and readers are exposed to much more than Braelynn ever saw. However, it did not feel finished and Declan's involvement felt unpolished to me - it would have been interesting to see more of his leadership and what he has done to get to this position. I know there are more books to get through, but considering this is our introduction to the character, it would have been helpful information in case it influenced his character.

With an ending like that, I will be continuing on with this series in order to see what in the word Braelynn has gotten herself into. I can only imagine the tomfoolery that she allowed to happen right under her nose, and considering Declan is not a forgiving man, I know she has a world of punishment in her future. You can read this series in its three installments, or in its complete work, Only for Him.

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The Devil's Bargain (Deal with the Devil, #1) by Carin Hart Review

This is a spoiler-free review! A list of content warnings is available at the beginning of the book.

Man... I do not even know what this book was. As soon as I started reading it, I realized I had seen little blurbs of this book all over TikTok a long time ago, and since this was a Stuff Your Kindle download, I can only imagine it had its moment with BookTok. That being said, the blurbs and summaries of this book definitely will draw the reader in, but unfortunately they will be drawn into a trap that they cannot escape. I felt very disoriented while reading this book, mostly because there is a preface explaining that the male lead has been obsessed with the female lead for fifteen years, and then we are just thrown right into the story. A touch of background information would have been greatly appreciated, but with how quickly this book moves, it feels like a drop in the bucket when it comes to the issues I had with this book.

Every single time that Ava would think about her and Link's past when they were teenagers/early twenties, I felt as though my eyes were going to roll to the back of my head and out of my ears. Girl, what were you thinking!! Not a single brain cell graced her head when she was younger, and unfortunately it seems she never gained any new ones as an adult. Ava was so quick to accept the fact that Link basically demanded that she become his bride and simply did not question it. Please remember that they have not seen each other in years - I needed her to get a grip. On Link's end... boy, you have got to let a girl go, especially with thirteen years of not speaking to her. But sure, stalk and keep track of her, I am sure that will get her on your side.

I literally read 276 pages of this book in an hour - it goes by so fast and you are felt as if this book could have been an email. I quite literally had one chapter left before the book ended and I could not bring myself to read this in a single sitting solely because I could not believe I was putting myself through this. Link and Ava's relationship feels like he is literally holding her hostage and she literally does not care at all. The "spice" in this book - if you could even call it that - was tame at best, but it felt like Link was constantly putting Ava in precarious situations and I did not love that one bit. Every single time he went to do something crazy with her, it would be justified with "she let me do this to her when we were teenagers" - okay, so y'all were dumb then and y'all are dumb now.

All I wanted to do was sit in the sun and read a book after work - this book made me feel like I should have gone to a Barry's bootcamp class instead, as that would have been less painful than reading this book. And to be quite honest, even though I clearly did not enjoy myself while reading this, I will probably read the other books solely to see if any improvement is ever made with this series. I typically find it so incredibly hard to give one star reviews - so much so that I have only given one other book such a distinction - but this rating was unfortunately far too easy to give.

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The Devil's Vice (The Dark Triad, #1) by Mindy Paige Review

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

I downloaded this book forever ago during a Stuff Your Kindle Day, and considering I have decided that I am now on a romance kick, I knew I had to make way through my electronic TBR and put a dent in books that have been sitting around for while. I have definitely read books with a similar trope to a doctor or nurse saving the head of a gang or mafia leader, so I knew this would be up my alley - it was the execution that needed to deliver, and oh boy it certainly did. I read through this book so fast I could not believe it and I was literally eating this up - I have not read a dark romance in a hot minute, and this was just the hit I needed to remind myself why I love the genre. This book definitely is not for the faint of heart, and I would recommend it to more established dark romance readers.

When Lillith saves the life of one of the most notorious members of the Hellfyre Motorcycle club, she has no idea what effect her presence will have on him - and how her life will be forever changed. Kain's fascination of Lillith quickly turns to obsession and readers bear witness to the quick-festering mild stalking to lady-napping pipeline. With pacing that moves quickly and maintains the attention of its readers, the book seems to fly by and mimics the way that Lillith's life changes in an instant. 

A quick little lady-napping and Lillith is plucked from her everyday life and thrown into an erotic and unexpected relationship with Kain, much to her initial annoyance. I did spend the entire time wondering what all of Lillith's coworkers thought about where she disappeared to and why she had not shown up to work - it would be suspicious to me! I would not be surprised if there was an off-page moment where Kain had an explanation in place for her sudden departure.

The author included a number of flashback scenes that allowed us to see what past trauma impacted both Kain and Lillith, and how their pasts are connected. This made both their journeys more impactful, as well as making their development and bond all the more intriguing. The side characters in this book were nothing short of diabolical, and it seemed that everywhere Lillith turned, she was in danger, either before she truly knew Kain, or constantly after the fact once they were intwined.

I wish the motorcycle club was actually incorporated into this book - we started out strong, but fell flat quickly and the plot was lost in efforts to have Lillith and Kain's relationship develop. However, when it is marketed as an organized crime dark romance book and the organized crime aspect gets thrown out the window, it is disappointing. Additionally, while the flashbacks were helpful, there never was an explanation on why exactly all of these events occurred, and it left me confused on what the motive was in causing these tragedies. I wish that Kain was more forthcoming to Lillith and did not hide so much from her, considering she was constantly in danger. That being said, she literally did not seem to care at all that she was kidnapped? She did not even pretend for a few days that she was upset about it - she immediately was like wait why am I enjoying this? Girl, get it together!

The main villains of this book did not seem to have a clear motive at all as far as I could tell, and it made the climax of this book not as exhilarating - I did not feel as though Kain was up against much. I was honestly here for the vibes and the vibes only - I did not expect the plot to be super solid considering I was reading it for the romance aspect, but I did enjoy reading this a lot. The dark romance... could have been a lot darker - it was dark for about three chapters and then seemingly abandoned in place of the slight crime plot, but it should have stuck true to its genre. It moves quickly, and while there are a few things I would have changed or added to the book, I had a great time reading it.

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Not in Love (Not in Love, #1) by Ali Hazelwood Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I have gone back and forth over the years deciding if I should dive into Ali Hazelwood's books, and I am honestly glad that this one was my first read of her work. I love a good forbidden romance, and throwing the workplace in there? Even better. Rue and Eli meet before they are thrown into a diverging working environment, as Eli and his business partners actively work to acquire the company that Rue works for - the very company her friend created. Hazelwood provided us with a dual perspective in this book, which is very much appreciated from me - I love to see the male lead's perspective, and Eli's chapters certainly clear the air for so many obstacles that come their way.

Rue has set boundaries when it comes to sex and hook ups - never the same man twice. Amongst her other preferences, she is very clear on what she likes and what she is willing to try. When Eli and her match on a dating app, it provides an opportune moment for her to continue her non-committal endeavors. However, Eli's presence soon becomes much more than a one-and-done situation when Rue's personal life is thrust out into the open during their meet-up, and becomes even more entangled when he is part of the group seeking to take ownership of the biotech company. You can literally feel their sexual tension on every page, and with Eli giving off major lover-boy vibes and Rue giving grumpy vibes, they are an opposite match made in heaven - at least in Eli's eyes; in his mind, Rue will eventually get there.

I loved how involved Rue's friends were with her - they were concerned for her when they thought she was entering dangerous territory with her situationship with Eli, and supportive towards her when it came to her familial struggles with her brother. On the other hand, Eli's friends and business partners were just as involved in his life as Rue's friends were in hers - they checked in on him, and almost always tried to talk some sense into him, even when it was not the best advice or uncalled for commentary. His friends were definitely focused on the business acquisition when it came to their conversations, so they fall slightly lower on the supportive scale when comparing friend groups.

Eli and Rue's backgrounds were heartbreaking and intriguing at the same time - they both went through so much at young ages, and seeing how that impacted their current lives created much more fleshed-out characters than what I had expected from this book. Eli was so incredibly obsessed with Rue throughout this entire book, and it was low-key so funny to see her ignore him - we love women in male-dominated fields! In all seriousness, it was fun to see the female lead be the grump in the relationship, and to have such a gold retriever male lead follow her around no matter what was refreshing. Their spicy scenes were also top tier, and good lord Eli had my jaw on the floor.

This was a fun read that unexpectedly got very deep at times, while still maintaining an air of comedic relief. You will breeze right through this book and experience a whirlwind of science, secrets, and a touch of spice. I definitely would have loved to see Eli and Rue's relationship develop a little bit more before the epilogue, but it became a satisfying ending. I would definitely recommend this romance if you are looking for something fun and not afraid to lean towards erotic romance rather than the typical contemporary romances Hazelwood appears to have leaned towards.

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Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3) by Rebecca Yarros Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame on my blog, now!

Does Rebecca Yarros think she is Carrie Bradshaw and is being paid by the word? Is there a word count that her publisher is making her reach? There is no other explanation on why this book was nearly 800 pages long and yet there was maybe one instance of an actual plot point occurring. If you cut out the first 700 pages of this book and only kept the last six chapters, you would not be missing out on anything, other than the migraine the other sixty chapters that this book would have given you. I do not even know what I expected from this book considering Iron Flame destroyed some of my brain cells, but this installment was full of... nothing. Every "twist" that took Violet fifteen chapters to figure out was predictable and frankly, lame.

I will admit that the vodka cranberries I had on the plane while reading this book may have influenced how I felt about the ending, but good grief I was wishing I was one of the people who fell off of the parapet by the time I was through with this third installment. Yarros continues her attempt to write fantasy while it is clearly evident she wants to write a romance, but wants to be in the fantasy market. I can think of no other alternative on why she and her writing skills have attempted to take on a fantasy series, let alone planning to make it five books. What more could she possibly have to say? This series definitely should have been a trilogy or four books at the absolute maximum. When authors waste hundreds of pages full of paragraphs upon paragraphs of the same descriptions over and over again, it makes the story redundant and cheap.

Echoing my statement from my review of Iron Flame - Xaden is still the only character worthy of reader interest. Every single other character seems to just float around the plot without contributing, with the exception of Violet, when she is not breaking her bones or falling off her dragon every other chapter. Sure, the side characters provide some comedic relief, but every time one of them is injured or literally dies, I am unaffected - I should be sobbing my eyes out and be attached to these characters, but Yarros makes them so one-dimensional that you forget their name when you get to the next page.

Violet Sorrengail, have you heard of common sense? Have you heard of context clues? Have you heard of self-preservation? I continue to question this girl's intelligence at every turn, and she continues to quite literally throw herself off of her dragon whenever it is convenient for her and her own agenda. Her allegiance to Xaden is admirable, but that is honestly the only good quality she has going for her lately. Her family was such a large presence in the second book, and yet in this third installment, they became pushed to the side, so much so that at one point, I forgot their names. Yarros continues to build up these scenarios, only to abandon them in favor of having Violet and Xaden engage in yet another break up that will last for three chapters until they break another table.

I still cannot stand the way that all of the dragons speak to one another and how they speak to their riders. It feels unnatural and the conversation never flows organically, making the writing feel choppy or surface-level. I literally do not care if any of these characters or dragons live or die at this point simply because the story is being dragged out - nearly three thousand pages later and we have moved a pebble compared to the mountains of plot that should have been rolling since Fourth Wing. I simply cannot even begin to imagine what torturous writing is in store for readers in the final two books of this series. My only option to to keep reading so I can put this series to rest and never think about it again.

Once again - stop making everyone's second signet so obvious!!! It is not making the reading journey fun when I can literally identify major reveals from miles away, and have to read 600 pages to get to the point when even the main character does not realize what her second signet is. I am so over the bare minimum writing capabilities of this author, and I genuinely cannot believe this went through rounds of editing and this is what they thought was worthy of publishing. Sure, if you push aside the entry-level writing and two-dimensional plot and are here solely for the vibes, I can see how you could rate this book higher. But as a veteran of fantasy and someone who has read her fair share of subpar books to epic fantasies, Onyx Storm proves yet again that Yarros is in over her head.

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Wildfire (Maple Hills, #2) by Hannah Grace Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Icebreaker on my blog, now!

I was a bit skeptical to go into this interconnected standalone sequel considering how I felt about Icebreaker, but I was so incredibly surprised on how much I enjoyed this book. Hannah Grace's writing definitely improved, and the forbidden romance was one hundred times more interesting to read about compared to the friends with benefits trope that Anastasia and Nate had in Icebreaker. Russ and Aurora's backgrounds are also leagues above when it comes to drawing the reader in and making them feel for the characters. Obviously, we do not want our characters to have suffered, but the raw emotions that both leads were able to portray were complex and well-developed.

Aurora's personal life was so interesting - I did not expect her to have such a complicated relationship with not only her father, but also her mother. Considering her father's business ventures and celebrity-esque status, I was worried that the author would not be able to incorporate it into her struggles in the book. However, Grace was able to truly create a family dynamic that weighed on Aurora's personal life, as well as create her father as someone that readers grew to despise as the story went on. Even with their limited interactions, I felt as though I would recoil from the way that he spoke to Aurora and the expectations that he would set for her even though they were not nearly as close.

That being said, the home life of Russ is just as convoluted as Aurora's, and honestly has much higher stakes but in a different sense. Without revealing the exact issues that riddle Russ and his father, I can say that Russ receives just as much pressure from his father as Aurora does from her. The sibling dynamic with Russ and his brother is much different compared to Aurora and her sister's relationship, and the author was able to show two sides of sibling interactions this way - supportive for Aurora and manipulating for Russ. I could have read even more about Russ and his brother's relationship as I found it really elevated the development that Russ experienced.

Russ and Aurora's forbidden relationship was fun to read - there was a sense of urgency and secrecy as you read the book, and knowing that they were both at risk of being fired the entire time made it all the more juicy to watch play out. Watching them constantly run around and hide in every nook and cranny at this summer camp had me cackling, and it was refreshing to see how much Aurora and Russ cared about one another from the beginning, rather than this being a summer fling turned something more at the very end. Their spicy scenes were low-key wild and so much better than the ones in Icebreaker - they were also well-placed out in the book and did not overwhelm the overall plot of the book.

This installment has renewed my faith in Hannah Grace's writing, and while this is still technically a hockey romance, it did not feel like it. While you do not need to read Icebreaker in order to read Wildfire, I would say you can read it for the background of the school and how important their hockey team is, but it could be skipped in all honesty. Wildfire provides readers with a steamy, emotional, and fun summer romance that will have you wishing you were at the camp too.

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House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt ARC Review

This is a spoiler-free review! House of Hearts will be available on September 2, 2025.

I would first like to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group / Viking Books for Young Readers for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review. I have been itching for a gothic dark academia book, and when this standalone popped up, I knew I had to dive in. With Violet searching for answers after her best friend passes away at an exclusive school, she is determined to attend and finally set the record straight - was her friend murdered, or was there something more at play?

As Violet assimilates herself into the school environment and meets the students she believes played a role in her friend's passing, she soon discovers that there is much more than what meets the eye when it comes to the secret society's true intentions. She forms an unusual yet enticing bond with Clavin Lockwood - the brother of the very boy she believes killed her friend or at least had a hand to play in the "freak accident" that lead to her demise. As Calvin and Violet interact, it is clear that their relationship will certainly have an interesting course.

The "intermission" chapters from Anastasia definitely added an extra element to the story that allowed readers to take a step back from the story at hand and look at the origins of what is driving this society's interests. As Violet's journey progresses, the information that we learn from these interlude chapters sheds light on information Violet uncovers and leaves little clues on where her story is headed and what revelations she will make as she works with Calvin. It would have been interesting to see even more development on Anastasia and Helen's sisterly relationship and what caused such a riff between the two - while we do get brief glances, more interactions would have beneficial for the significance of what plays out.

This book was a lot shorter than I expected, and I honestly wish it was longer - to no fault to the author, the plot moved very quickly, and I would have loved to see the background lore expanded upon, along with Calvin and Violet's banter and back-and-forth to develop as a more will-they-won't-they situation. That being said, I flew through this book in just about two hours, and the writing did have me locked into the story. I do think that the side characters, while important, did take up a lot of story space that could have been dedicated to more intriguing plot points.

This book has the same vibes as Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell and We Are Villains by Kacen Callender but with a touch of paranormal whimsy that is seen in Bunny by Mona Awad and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I had a fun time reading this and truly enjoyed the paranormal aspects that the author added it to the story - it made the stakes higher and drew me in to understand how everything would turn out for Violet, Calvin, and the rest of the Lockwoods.

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Our Fault (Culpables, #3) by Mercedes Ron Review

This is a spoiler-free review! This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of My Fault (Culpa Mía) and Your Fault (Culpa Tuya) on my blog, now. My Fault,Your Fault, and My Fault: London are now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

My favorite toxic forbidden couple is back in the final installment of the Culpables series. This series certainly is something, and with some of the most out of pocket plot devices coming into play, it is no surprise why it was a Wattpad sensation. Sure, there is a major trope in here that drives the story forward that just so happens to be one of my least favorite tropes, but for the sake of the drama I endured it. Nick and Noah are working through their own issues while apart, and with a number of life events changing their paths, they are forced to reconnect and truly take a look at their relationship - both past and possible future.

Noah's characterization in this book was a definite improvement, and Nick's development was still at his playboy lifestyle. I was hoping to see Nick become more mature, but it seems that his character is somewhat stuck at a certain stage, despite his need for control and the immense amount of responsibility he has in this book. Noah's life is still full of ups and downs, and she just never seems to catch a break when it comes to complicated individuals sneaking into her life. Just once, it would have been nice to see her happy - it truly felt as though she spent the entire book on edge or being confronted with yet another life-altering event that surely would send her over the edge.

Jenna and Lion are still just as present as ever, with Jenna taking on a much larger role of the two when it came to page presence and being there for Noah. She is super supportive of Noah and is always urging her to be honest, but there were times where Jenna seemed to be pushing Noah back to Nick only for her benefit in order to make their friend group whole again. Lion was only present for a few chapters here and there - Nick did not seem to have a support system in place, unless you count his driver slash bodyguard, Steve. I think the fact that Nick was somewhat of a lone wolf in this book contributed to his development stalling.

The twists and turns in this book actually had me locked in - compared to My Fault, I found that Your Fault lacked that intensity from the first book, but Our Fault certainly brought it all back. There were times where I had to re-read some paragraphs because I could not believe how quickly things were escalating from calm to borderline insane. The author definitely wanted to go out with a bang, because the last 25% of this book felt like I was being flung around in tornado with the amount of nonsense that ensued. 

I am glad that I was able to read this final installment before the movie is released later this year - I cannot begin to imagine what my thoughts would be if I watched this unfold on screen without some warning. This series was a wild ride and I would definitely recommend these books to readers looking for a touch of toxicity with their forbidden romance.

You can add Our Fault on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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Save Me (Maxton Hall, #1) by Mona Kasten Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Season One of Maxton Hall: The World Between Us is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

The day the season one of Maxton Hall: The World Between Us dropped, I binged the entire thing in one sitting and told all of my friends that they needed to watch it immediately. I was so excited to find out that the books would finally be receiving an English translation, and with the second season releasing this fall, I knew I had begin reading them as the translations are being published. There is always going to be a difference in the true words when translating a book, and I cannot tell if the translation was made in effort resemble Wattpad-style writing, or if it was the author's true intent. It truly had that After series aura to it in the sense that it was addicting to read, but not the best caliber of writing.

As someone who watched the show before reading the book - unfortunately I do not speak German, otherwise I definitely would have read it first - I found that while reading, the television adaptation is surprisingly very accurate to the events of the book. There are little details here and there that were omitted or altered, but the overall essence stays true. Looking at the book and television show as completely separate entities, I found that I enjoyed the characterization of James more in the show compared to his book counterpart. While he does have a decent amount of development in the book, the television show version certainly expands upon the author's original thoughts more in depth.

Ruby truly just wants to mind her own business but is constantly running into drama that she avoids like the plague. It was actually comically how much she was a witness to when she just wanted to get a good reference letter for her Oxford application. She really wanted to be left alone and yet everyone and their mother seemed to have their secrets spilled right in front of her. There were definitely moments when reading that I was getting some major second hand embarrassment from her actions, especially when it came to a certain outburst - I nearly had to put the book down and take a lap around the room. Overall, her character is very driven and knows exactly what she wants, almost to a fault. I do hope she becomes more care-free as the series goes on, because she certainly needs to be able to relax after everything she has been through.

The supporting characters helped move this story along, and Alister quickly became my favorite of the bunch. It was interesting to see his and Ruby's friendship / acquaintance grow throughout the book, considering it was unexpected and usually had James climbing up a wall that they were interacting with one another. Ruby's sister was not a major player in the game and her appearances in the book were nothing to write home about. Lin and Kieran served as Ruby's main friends, with Lin taking first place over Kieran's involvement. Seeing more into James and Lydia's home life really started to flesh them out as characters, and readers are able to understand why both of them have a stand-offish personality that they continue to guard.

For fans of My Fault / Culpa Mía by Mercedes Ron, Save Me opens a whole new world of enemies to lovers that is riddled with societal expectations, internal dilemmas, and the unsteadiness that comes with new love.

You can add Save Me 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 (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

The Score (Off-Campus, #3) by Elle Kennedy Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Deal (Off-Campus, #1), The Mistake (Off-Campus, #2), and The Chase (Briar U, #1) on my blog, now! You do not have to read the Off-Campus series before the Briar U series, but it does include characters and relationships that may be spoiled for you.

With pictures flying around online of the filming of The Off-Campus television series for Amazon Prime, I wanted to continue on with this series and see where Kennedy took readers next with Allie and Dean. Considering everyone on BookTok raves about this couple, it was only a matter of time before I fell victim to this book. I remember enjoying Dean in the previous two books, but he somehow became unbearable at times in his own book? I understand that his past relationship caused a lot of emotional turmoil for him and that is why he is upfront about only hooking up, but good grief he feels so misogynistic at times it is insane. It always felt as though he spoke about girls like they were objects, and it does not help him that the author seems to love to incorporate that behavior in every single one of her male leads.

Allie and Dean have a crazy amount of chemistry, I will give them that. To no surprise of anyone, the friends with benefits turning into feelings for one another trope in this book is quick to develop for both parties, and we spend the remaining 75% of the book watching painfully as they dance around one another. They would speak to each other for about two minutes and then would climb each other like the monkey bars for hours on end and chapters on end - there were moments where I never thought it would end. Sure, that was their arrangement, but it got old after the first five times. The plot felt as though it was in a standstill when it actually came to their relationship - we saw them development in their own separate plots, but when they were together, it took a much longer time for their combined development to take shape.

The recurring characters from the prior books are fun, but honestly it felt as though they were having the same conversations over and over again. Allie's friends would warn Dean not to go near her, and Dean's friends would tell Dean not to go near her - I fear would could tell what kind of guy Dean was just from that fact alone. It was nice to see the relationships continuing on, but I felt as though I saw Hannah and Garrett more than I was seeing Allie and Dean at one point - they were everywhere. I did think that Dean's little side plot was much more interesting than Allie's side plot - Dean's engagement with the kids hockey team kept my attention longer than Allie's internal dilemma of auditioning for acting roles. We could actually see Dean go through a personality change, whereas with Allie, she was just going back and forth between theatre and silver screen.

I was really hoping this series was going to turn itself around for me, considering how I felt about The Mistake along with the fact that everyone and their mother seems to be obsessed with Allie and Dean's relationship. Most people are probably not reading these books for the plot, especially this installment, but boy oh boy I wish there was a more solid story going along with Allie and Dean's relationship as a whole. Dean did have some solid character development, but it took a long time and lots of mistakes on his part to turn himself around. If you are in search for a hockey romance that goes by quickly and is easy to read, the Off-Campus series could be calling to you.

You can add The Score 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 (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!