The Three Theban Plays (The Theban Plays, #1-3) by Sophocles Review

This review contains spoilers for The Three Theban Plays.

The Three Theban Plays consists of Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus, in addition to supplemental information and introductions provided by the translators in order for the reader to truly understand the significance of the plays, the influence that Sophocles had on dramas and tragedies, and key components of each play. I had a great appreciation for the introductions provided for each play, as it allowed myself as the reader to become more immersed into the true story-telling we were seeing come to life. Of the three, I have to say that Oedipus the King was my favorite - more so because of the revelations made, prophecies set by the gods, internal turmoil, and the attempt to intervene one's fate.

The gradual realization that Oedipus has in fact fulfilled the fate of sleeping with his mother and murdering his own father was captivating. As readers, we knew this was coming and were prepared for the fallout - however, seeing the actual culmination of Oedipus discovering this information was an entirely riveting experience. Prior to truly diving deep into his story, we touch upon the tale of one of his daughters in Antigone, with the titular character taking the lead as we witness her take charge of her own choices and the consequences of said choices. The eventful discovery by Oedipus of his own actions catapults him into this internal hellscape of trying to rectify the remaining days of his life and coming to terms that he did fulfill the fate handed to him. Gouging out his eyes and going into exile in attempt to atone for killing his father and having children with his mother is the only choice to him.

Reading all three plays together allows the reader to have the upmost regard for each play on their own, but more so the final tale and outcome - with the additional information at hand, the reader is able to understand the overall themes and conclusions that Sophocles wanted to instill to the audience. The realizations made by a variety of characters hone in on the overall subject matter as well as seeing how characters are doomed to their own fates, especially when they were the ones who set the fates in motion. As there is no right or wrong solution presented by Sophocles, we are simply an audience to bear witness to characters, in particular, Creon, that have this sense of righteousness where he believe what he is doing is the right choice.

These works definitely opened my eyes and greatened my appreciation for the development and additions to tragedies and dramas, along with the translators explaining the importance of prose and the callback to Poetics. As I make my way through the Penguin Classics collection, I have to say these works have sparked my enjoyment for plays once again. I wish I had a greater background in Greek plays to be able to speak on these plays in a more extensive sense, however with the knowledge I do have, I can say my appreciation is still there.

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The Dark Lord's Guide to Dating [and Other War Crimes] (Guides to Villainy and Love, #1) by Tiffany Hunt Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I thought this would be a fun dark romance with a solid comedic element to ease myself out of the more wilder dark romance books I've been dabbling in, so when my Libby hold finally came through, I was excited to see where this book would take me. The premise of the Dark Lord kidnapping a girl to become his wife certainly grabbed my attention, and considering my track record of devouring kidnapped mafia romances, I knew this would be up my alley.

While this book is definitely on the more mature side of romance, the writing still reads as though we are in a young adult novel - maybe it's the fact that there are chapter titles and the length of the chapters are short, but the stylistic choices somewhat took me out of my element. That being said, this was not necessarily a bad thing - it makes the pacing go quickly and adds some humor to the story - but rather something I just simply was not anticipating for this book.

I found myself wishing that the Dark Lord - Kazimir - was a touch more dark. While he certainly knew how to handle spies, bandits, and others who crossed his path, it felt as though the author could have made him a little more ruthless. Considering he has this notorious presence about him where he is truly to be feared, I expected him to be more cutthroat. Perhaps I was just looking for the descriptions to be more adult rather than glossing over some of his actions. I did love how devoted he became to Arabella as they spent more time together, especially when it came to magic lessons and some other more lucrative activities.

Arabella really held her ground throughout this entire book, which is more than I can say for some other fantasy female leads. Sure, she was kidnapped and basically forced to wed Kazimir - honestly, it was a better option than the life that she was currently living and the life that waited ahead for her. She is stubborn and hot-headed, but is extremely well-adjusted, all things considered. I found myself enjoying her perspective chapters just as much as I enjoyed her through the eyes of Kazimir in his chapters. Kazimir was no different, and he very much exuded the same amount of energy that Arabella gave, not only towards him, but towards others in the book.

The pacing moved so quickly - the chapters and short and with perspective changes, the reader remains engaged in the story. I appreciated that the perspectives were not constantly going back and forth; having multiple chapters in a row with the same perspective before switching over allowed us to actually stay in either Kazimir or Arabella's minds for long enough to actually see internal thoughts and development without getting whiplash. The plot could have had a touch of improvement, as I felt as though the first half of the book lacked a bit of momentum when it came to pushing the story further - it definitely picked up and once the ball started rolling, we really went through the ringer with these two. I am interested to see where the author takes us next, especially with the way we were left with an underlying feeling that something was amiss.

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Game On (Into Darkness, #3) by Navessa Allen Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Lights Out and Caught Up on my blog, now!

I honestly did not set my expectations high for this final installment - I was not overly obsessed with Lights Out like the Booktok community and felt let down by Caught Up. I think I was hoping that this series would follow through with the dark romance with comedic relief, much like what I saw in Butcher & Blackbird, but instead I was let down once again. At least in the first book we saw a glimpse of the dark part of what a dark romance should be, but in the remaining books, it felt as though the original essence was abandoned. This is also the first time I have read an age gap romance where the female lead was older than the male lead, and safe to say this was not my cup of tea. However, I did appreciate that the author did not constantly bring up their age difference, it was only mentioned a couple of times.

Tyler seemed to be clouded by revenge, understandably so, but I still found myself aggravated with his reasoning on why he was targeting Stella in the first place. I kept wanting a big reveal to happen and have him go totally off the rails to actually fall in line with the dark and mysterious vibe he was going far, but it just never came. He definitely is dedicated, motivated, and passionate when it comes to collecting a debt and seeking revenge, but I wanted him to have that extra something-something to really draw me to him. He is certainly enthusiastic when it comes to getting spicy and exploring new things about himself, so I can give him that.

Stella's characterization was something that felt surface-level to me, which feels wild considering she does have a few moments where she is seen to be more fleshed out, but it does not seem to last long. I wanted to her grow into a more intense character, and when it came to getting freaking with Tyler she definitely excelled in that, but when it came to the overall plot of the book, she was lacking. Yes, she is willing to do anything for her younger brother, but I wanted the author to have her grow even more than the minimum growth and self-reflection she did experience. She is presented as this alternative tattoo artist with a troubled past but her character was just not drawing me in at all.

The little callouts to the prior books is always fun and I do love a Josh appearance, but the overall premise of this book was not alluring after I began reading. Tyler's "ruthlessness" in the beginning made me start to have hope that this would be an improvement from the second installment, but unfortunately it did not seem to stem too far and left me unsatisfied. The spicier scenes were tame in comparison to other books I have read, however the scenes that included AJ definitely were the highlight of those moments in the book. Tyler and Stella's relationship development throughout their story was pretty predictable and the fact that the most exciting parts were when they added someone else into the mix showed me that their relationship needed something more to make them exciting.

I really wanted to enjoy this book and while I did finish it in one day, it was more so in an effort to see it through and have a justified opinion on the series as a whole. I found myself not invested in Tyler's revenge scheme and bored with his constant rants - whether internal or not - about how angry he was about his life and how he wanted every wealthy person to pay. If you are looking for the "lighter" types of dark romance, this series could be a hit with you, but if you are looking for something with a little power, this would be a skip.

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Fear the Flames (Fear the Flames, #1) by Olivia Rose Darling Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I have not dived into a high fantasy series in some time and it felt so good finally picking this book up after having it sit on my shelf for a long time. This was so reminiscent of when I first started reading the Throne of Glass series in high school - the female lead, Elowen, reminded me of Celaena - both share a lot of similar personality traits. The author introduces us to Elowen right off the bat and defines her background as a "discarded" princess for being linked to five dragons and the history of how she ended up founding her own kingdom in an effort to eventually take back was what taken from her.

The premise of having an heir that was exiled because she was linked to dragons is certainly new - you would think that a king would be thrilled that his kingdom would someday be ruled by his very powerful daughter - think again! Elowen is straight up locked away the second the link is revealed and she had the worst upbringing imaginable. Her father's lust for power knows no bounds, and this ultimately manifests into her reason to continue fighting. Years later, she is a grown woman seeking to protect the people of her newly created kingdom, and finds herself becoming aligned with Cayden, a dangerous commander. Right off the bat, their banter establishes an excellent and tension-filled relationship - I really enjoyed how witty each of them would be towards one another, and it definitely provided some comedic relief.

Cayden's ruthlessness is unparalleled in this first installment - like any commander we see in a high fantasy novel, he takes what he wants and he is happy to do it by any means necessary. His ability to use this words in threats only adds to his dangerous demeanor and it solidifies him as somehow you would not want to mess with. The combination of Cayden and Elowen's capabilities makes them a pair you do not want to cross. Other the other side of the coin, readers are able to see the sarcastic and secret loverboy side of Cayden as the story progresses. His and Elowen's relationship begins as something that seems forced - they are only working together to complete a common goal - but of course nature takes route and we get to witness the evolution of how they see one another.

Elowen is no meek-minded princess - she is a woman who is willing to lay down her life to get back what is rightfully hers and will do whatever is asked of her to make things happen. She is stubborn and full of life, which makes her a pleasure to read. I love the energy between her and Cayden as they embark on this journey together, especially when the occasion calls for them to be more brutal. Elowen has such great devotion to the people of Aestilian, the kingdom she established, and she embarks on so many dangerous quests in order to ensure they are provided for and remain safe. She truly has her people's best interest at heart, and her devotion is clearly one of her main motivators throughout the story.

Cayden and Elowen's chemistry was juicy, juicy... I absolutely loved everything about them. It was literally addicting reading all of their scenes together and I found myself truly locked into their development. With Cayden being to utterly determined to protect her, it only made me root for them even more. Their more spicier scenes did not take away from the overall tone of the book, and in fact allowed the brutality of some of the fighting to be evened out. I loved the friends and companions in this book - with Cayden and Elowen each having their own established support systems, it made their journey all the more interesting. They both for fighting to ensure the safety of each other and their friends.

The world building could definitely have used some more fine tuning - we are thrown right into the thick of things when the book begins, and I would have loved some more details regarding the magic and the creatures. There were times where it felt as though we would suddenly be introduced to a new, dangerous creature and we as readers were supposed to understand the gravity of the situation without really having the context for it. I did really enjoy how ruthless Cayden and Elowen could be during this book, and the author certainly did not leave things to the imagination when it came to them getting answers from people, by any means necessary. I will definitely be continuing on with this series and look forward to what in in store for them.

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Yellowface by R.F. Kuang Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I bought this book probably about a year ago and kept telling myself I was going to sit down and see what all of the craze was about.. well, I can finally check this one off my TBR! I read this book in one sitting in under three hours - once I started, I simply could not stop. While this is the first work of Kuang's I have read, I can definitely understand the appeal and the rave reviews she has received. The entire premise of this book is utterly intriguing and explores a narrative I have yet to come across while diving deep into the narrator's conscious as she attempts to justify her actions.

Juniper Hayward's first novel is a flop, while her Yale schoolmate and fellow novelist, Athena Liu, has acquired yet another pin in her hat - a Netflix deal for one of her books. When an unfortunate and tragic accident takes Athena's life in a blink of an eye, Juniper does the unthinkable - she steals the sole copy of Athena's latest manuscript and decides to pass it off as her own. Without the original author there to call her bluff, Juniper's life goes from luck-luster writer to overnight sensation - she receives praise, signs with a new editor and publishing house, and begins to receive all the nominations she was so envious of Athena accumulating. 

Not everything can be as easy as stealing a manuscript and passing it off as your own, it seems. The momentum is strong when the book finally is published, yet Juniper is haunted by the choice she has made. Readers see her try to reason with herself and justify her thievery while slowly slipping into the mentality that she truly wrote the book. Sure, she made some edits - and had some not so complimentary things to say about Athena's writing - but she enters this state of delusion as she digs herself deeper and deeper into this mess. And it is all not without consequence - as people begin to peace some things together, we see Juniper's initial weariness transpire into full-fledge paranoia.

Juniper truly believes she is entitled to the success that she has stolen from Athena, and it was baffling to see the lengths she was willing to go to keep everything under wraps. Not only does she have critics and the general public becoming suspicious of her "work," but she herself seemingly is becoming undone internally and begins on a path of unknowing self destruction. I cannot say that I feel bad for Juniper - she is at the center of this massive secret, and yet she does not even recognize what she has done once she gets in too deep. I truly think this book looks deep into the feelings of loneliness that Juniper was surrounded by, and to be frank, that Athena felt as well. Juniper mentions that novelists often do not have that many friends, and it is evident that is the case when it comes to these two. They cannot even call themselves friends to one another - they "spent" all this time "together" and only on maybe two nights of their lives were they able to make a worthy connection.

Intriguingly enough, I did find some of the "complaints" that Juniper had of Athena's writing riddled throughout this book itself - the prose that seemingly consumed Athena and thus turned some of her writing into rambles was slightly littered throughout Kuang's novel. The pacing certainly kept me locked in, otherwise I would not have been able to complete it so quickly - that being said, the sentence structure and flow permitted readers to remain engaged due to the short chapters. This book would be heaven for the booktwitter and booktok warriors - the on-the-nose commentary, Twitter quotes, one star Goodreads rating, and various think pieces of Juniper's capabilities - it was like I was experiencing a modern-day cancellation on page.

My overall feeling is that this book feels like it simply was not complete - there is more that could have been said, and if the author had decided to lean into Juniper's more crazed state earlier on, I think we would have been able to reach a more concrete conclusion. While I understand why she decided to end the book in such a way, it feels as though it was done out of necessity rather than satisfaction in the wrap of the story. As I have already noted, this is the first work of Kuang's I have dived into, but it still felt as though she is likely capable of more than what she provided here.

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Beautiful Venom (Vipers, #1) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Beautiful Venom contains themes of consensual non-con, dub-con, and primal play. It also includes on-page depictions of road accident-related trauma and violence.

You can read my reviews of the entire Legacy of Gods series on my blog, now: God of Malice, God of Pain, God of Wrath, God of Ruin, God of Fury, and God of War. You can also read my review of Kiss the Villain on my blog!

I do not even know what I was thinking... a dark hockey romance... it is hockey, for crying out loud. It is an idea almost as ridiculous as the basketball players the town are supposed to fear in the Devil's Night series. Nevertheless, I was intrigued and needed to see how this book played out - honestly, anything hockey-related is fine to get me through the Heated Rivalry drought. I will take what I can get at this point. Unfortunately, all hockey romance is ruined for me as nothing will ever live up to Shane and Ilya, so I must accept future disappoint from other books. And it appears that this was the very case with this book.

Boy, does Rina Kent LOVE an initiation.... thought I was finally free from reading about them and yet here we go again. This one was definitely somehow more uncomfortable to read unlike the ones in Legacy of Gods - there was just something about it that made it feel more humiliating for Dahlia on a scale that took me out of the "fantasy" of the book and launched me back into reality. I was screaming that this girl needed to file a police report by the end of those chapters. Kane is basically a Shein version of Jeremy Volkov from Legacy of Gods and it was physically painful to read him calling Dahlia "wildflower" as a term of endearment when it honestly read like more of an insult.

The whole secret society aspect of this book would have been intriguing if it actually lead anywhere interesting. Instead, it leaves readers with glimpses into some corrupt dealings with these leading members of the town that conveniently are composed as the star hockey players that basically terrorize people for fun. While I am a lover of dark romance and fully understand that genre is Kent's cup of tea, it just seems as though she begins the concepts strong in the summaries but often times it results in the ideas not coming to fruition in the end, leaving readers wanting more. That being said, God of Fury and Kiss the Villain are definitely her best works - of the ones that I have read so far - so when I heard you needed to read Kiss the Villain before reading Beautiful Venom, I thought some of that storyline would come into play here.

Dahlia is probably one of the most insufferable and weak-minded female leads that I have ever come across, and that is saying something. She's championed by the author as being this badass lead that is set on seeking out revenge on the person who hurt her foster sister, but she basically abandons that crusade at numerous points during the book in favor of being ravaged by Kane and being at his mercy. I wanted to like her and admire her determination in getting justice for Violet, but her character read as insincere and naive. 

Kane is honestly no better than Killian Carson from God of Malice - I wanted to strangle him at numerous points and honestly hated his attitude for the majority of the book. It is more so the way that he is written rather than his actions - considering the L.O.R.D.S series has characters doing the unimaginable and I still root for them, that says a lot. Do I feel bad for all of the horrors that he went through since he was younger? Sure, absolutely. Do I think that he should have used that as a constant justification for all of the crazy and illegal things he does? No way. He definitely got justice for some of the things that were done to him, and I agree with the way he went about it, but ultimately Dahlia had to suffer in order for it to happen.

The only remotely interesting side plot line that was present in this book was Kane's friend group being little menaces all the time. They somehow were able to provide some mild comedic relief and while they were no angels in any means, they definitely seemed to have some backbone - maybe not Preston - but at least the others. Frankly, this book put me into a slump and I had to force myself to sit down and try to power through, which is a shame considering I was able to consume some of her other works fairly quickly. I can only hope the remaining books in this series improves upon the story readers had to endure with this installment.

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Between Two Kings (Split or Swallow, #2) by Lindsay Straube Review

This review contains major spoilers - read with caution! A list of trigger warnings is available here - reader discretion is advised. You can read my review of Kiss of the Basilisk on my blog, now!

Never in my life have I felt a rage about a book ending like I felt when I was reading the final chapters of this installment. I truly feel like I was being rage-baited into thinking it was an acceptable ending when it was basically some of the laziest writing and plot development I have ever come across. Tem's character, while slightly annoying in book one, seemed to lose all common sense and reasoning. The character assassination that occurred with Caspen was like getting shot in the chest - everything that I loved about his character seemed to fly out the window as the author showed clear favoritism towards Leo. Caspen was notorious for loving Tem without reservation and all of her - he would do anything to have her and anything to keep her, and yet the author suddenly decided she was okay with him basically abandoning his feelings for her for the "good" of her? I wanted to pull my hair out.

Leo's presence in this book started off as a little bit of a forbidden love triangle yet soon became a nuisance to me the more he showed up with his lingering glances and being controlled by Evelyn. It was literally nauseating when he would come on the page because I knew it would be a chapter filled with his whining and Tem's internal monologue of how much she wanted him but could not have him. Caspen's clear distain toward the human king was so justified and I honestly wish Caspen was more brutal and straight up just took out Leo when he had the chance - so many issues would have been resolved. Sure, the humans probably would have revolted against the basilisks, but at this point, it would have been worth it. Tem was basically emotionally torturing Caspen every single time they had dinner with Leo and Evelyn, and yet she did not see anything wrong with what she was doing.

Let me tell you something - I was starting to root for a little action with Tem and Apollo solely because he was eons more intriguing than Leo. Sure, he is Caspen's brother, but good god, hsi scenes were always so alluring and he clearly was able to care for Tem in a way that Leo would not be able to, with the added benefit of having first rights to Tem. I would have supported a Tem, Caspen, and Apollo why-choose development over the actual ending of this forsaken book, Tem was running around those caves "resisitng" having sex with all these hot basilisks on the basis of her saying she only wanted Caspen, but clearly the girl's love for Leo was influencing her decision on that part. Sure, she engaged in mating season activities with other basilisks, but it was annoying to see her act righteous over refusing sex when it's literally the basis of the basilisk way.

The entire ordeal with the Senecas contesting Tem and Caspen's marriage would have been so good... if it ended up being worth it in the end. I absolutely cannot stand Rowe after everything he did in the first installment, and somehow we are supposed to accept that he would ever be considered a better choice than Caspen. And all that build up to him being more powerful now and alluding that he did something in order to achieve it, only for it to become an abandoned plot line?? So many plot were lost in the author's clear attempt to make readers want to have Leo be the chosen one for Tem instead of Caspen, and the book suffered for it.

There were a million other choices the author could have made for the ending that would have been satisfying on all fronts - instead, readers are presented with one of the most ludicrous ending imaginable. You are telling me, in the series about a girl who loves more than one person, that you could not end it as a "why not both?" and we could have lived happily ever after?? SHE LOVED THEM BOTH!! Never in my life have I ever rooted for a throuple - literally the first time ever - and yet this was the perfect opportunity make them all love each other. But no... apparently happiness cannot exist here and we have to KILL one of them?? And not even the more boring one?? I was a sobbing mess when I realized what was happening and at that point, wish I never read the book in the first place. Because why are you killing the hot, sexy Serpent King, making the Hybreed lose her basilisk side, and end up with the boring human king that could barely fight for her?? You're telling me I had to lose the man that responded to "You're not a god" with "Am I not? He should thank me for my benevolence." to the human king that cannot even stand up to a simple village girl that ran away from him for money??

One positive thing I will say - I love how unhinged these books are and how straight to the point - or smut - the book gets to the nasty within the first chapter. Mating season was absolutely crazy and honestly had some moments that had my jaw dropping - some things were not for me, but they aligned with the basilisk way so it was appropriate. Some scenes were super juicy and I ate them up but others felt so repetitive in the sense that the author would inserting them into the story to avoid addressing the plot.

Overall, I wish I could wipe my memory from ever deciding to read this sequel - at least then I would be able to live in ignorance and bliss without the knowledge of this atrocious ending. Will I read the prequel being published later this year? Probably, but I won't be happy about it. Especially considering I thought it was actually the third installment and not about other characters. If you want to send someone through the ringer, then you can make them read this series knowing they will be met with disappointment and anger. I do not even know how I will be able to move on after finishing this book.

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Bratva's Secret Girl (Obsessed Bratva Bosses, #1) by Evie Rose Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I have been in a reading slump for far too long and despite me saying I would read more literary fiction this month, I once again find myself in the throws of mafia romances. I am such a sucker for an age gap romance, and when presented with one that includes some more-than-toxic tendencies, I simply cannot resist the temptation. However, the excitement was short-lived with this novella, and I found myself less-than entertained as I flew through Hayley and Maxim's story. While my expectations were not through the roof, I was hoping this novella would be more captivating, but instead it fell flat and while I was able to speed right through it, I was left unsatisfied.

The writing felt juvenile - sentences were not well-structured and the entire thing read like an early Wattpad publication. If you are looking for a novella with plot, abandon ship now - the author chose smut over plot lines in this novella, and even calling it smut is overstepping in my opinion. The "erotic" scenes were nothing short of the bare basics when it comes to what should be included in dark romance, and none of them read well enough to have my jaw on the floor. The scenes felt as though they were somehow supposed to push Hayley and Maxim's story forward, but instead made it feel like Hayley was this naive little girl when she is an adult.

Maxim's characterization, at first, seemed like everything that I wanted in a male lead - that was quickly shattered when any of the anticipation of him wanting Hayley was bypassed by the author in favor in going straight into the story with Maxim and Hayley having a more formal working relationship. I was hoping for some raw tension, and instead I was presented with Maxim, the rough and tough mafia man, counting cash in a money laundering front in order to spend time with Hayley. It would have read much better if he had honestly was stalking her to at least give some darker undertones to their relationship rather than basically make them friends from the beginning.

If you are looking for a quick little tale to make you move from one book to the next, this novella provides enough pages to get you back into the flow of things. If you are looking for something with a little more meat on its bones, you can pass on this story.

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Friends Like These by Meg Rosoff Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I bought this book over the summer last year, but with an ever-growing TBR pile, it soon got lost in the long, long list of books that I needed to tackle and recommendations from my deceiving For You page on TikTok. But alas, I finally grabbed it off the shelf and parked myself on the skydeck of my apartment building to catch some sun and check list off the list. The summary on the back of the book drew me in, but unfortunately, it was the only interesting about this book. I was expecting some devious, toxic friendships in Rosoff's novel, but was met with lackluster characterization and a plot that could not get a grasp of what it wanted to be. The writing felt mediocre and often times unfinished - the only upside was the styling allowed reading to be quick paced and after two hours of reading, I only had about 30 pages left.

Beth, eighteen, is riding the high of being selected for a summer internship in New York, is met with a number of challenges raging from the heat of the city to wavering relationships with her co-interns. When luck seems to find her way and she befriends Edie, they have an instant connection and soon become attached to the hip. But with attachment comes consequences, and Beth finds herself riding in the passenger seat of Edie's never-ending drama, theatrics, and mood swings. The more time Beth spends with Edie, the more she succumbs to manipulative tactics and the constant stress of always following her lead. Keeping that in mind, I wish Edie was as diabolical as Beth made her out to be, and while I agree that Edie's actions were frustrating and thoughtless, she just seemed like an annoying, self-centered girl at the end of the day who Beth never stood up to until the very end.

Dan and Oliver's characterization were surface-level and unappealing in the sense that they held no true value to me throughout the entire book. They provided some minor support in showcasing Edie's true character, but ultimately I could not form an attachment or interest in their little side quests - they were simply uninteresting. I wish this read more as a core four toxic friend group rather than two girl best friends accompanied by their male coworkers - it would have made much more sense for all of them to be conniving towards one another than only having one "true" villain of the group.

If you're looking for a quick read that you can fly through, this definitely checks that box. To be frank, I read it so quickly in hopes that there would be some form of climax to the plot that would be explosive or really make Beth and Edie "enemies" but was let down by the end. While this classifies as historical fiction by being set in 1983, the author was only able to set the scene by mentioning the AIDS epidemic and World War II scattered throughout the book - I never felt like I was transported back in time other than when they would mention that bagels would cost twelve cents instead of the typical two to three dollars in today's world. I may give another one of Rosoff's works a chance in the future as I have heard good things, but for now I will move on to my next read.

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So Happy Together by Olivia Worley Review

This review contains minor spoilers - no major plot points are revealed!

The summary for this novel really caught my eye, and since my thriller to, well, everything else ratio has been seriously lacking, I figured now was the time to finally move this from TBR to read. The summary really drew me in, and you can honestly fly through this book no problem - more than likely a same-day start and finish can be in your future. The pacing is well-managed and keeps the reader engaged while adding in elements of surprise and twists that allows the plot to move forward without falling stagnant. The more you learn about Jane, the more you realize that she is not at all what she appears to be - the same goes for Zoe and Collin, and as readers watch their twisted dynamic escalate to unimaginable means, we are thrown into a whirlwind tale of disastrous means.

We see Jane's obsession with Collin right from the beginning, and sure, thinking you had something special with a guy only to have him end things with you and start something serious with someone else almost immediately after can be shocking, but Jane was taking her plan to get him back to another level. And by another level, I mean straight-up stalking. Girl, whatever gets the job done! But her plan to get him back goes array in the most unexpected way possible and she suddenly finds herself embroiled in Collin and his girlfriend, Zoe, lives as Zoe's latest friend. With this friendship comes the unraveling of everyone's perceptions of one another as dark truths are revealed and moralities are put to the test.

I love how complex our big three in this book were - Collin, Jane, and Zoe all have such interesting character developments throughout the book. There are times where you think you know exactly where each of them will end up, only to be thrown off your trail in the very next chapter when something truly unruly is discovered. Whether it is the death of a side character, a secret past revealed, or further entanglement into each other's lives, the author is able to create a sense of unease for the reader as they grow more concerned for how everything will play out. Especially when things go array and plans are set in motion to take down Collin, we see these characters go to new levels of unhinged.

Every character had a dark side that was just waiting to be revealed - whether it was already on the surface or waiting to be revealed, the author maintains reader attention and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I am not a frequent thriller reader, so when I do dive into the genre, I like to make it count - and So Happy Together has certainly made the cut. I look forward to reading more of Worley's work and explore her realm of mystery.

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Kiss the Villain (Villain, #1) by Rina Kent Review

This review contains spoilers - read with caution. Content warnings include: Consensual non-con, dub-con, self-harm, violence, and mild homophobia. It also contains non on-page mentions of suicide, rape, child sexual assault, and domestic abuse. Specific kinks featured in this book include degradation, mild consensual feminization, mild BDSM, and praise.

You can read my reviews of the entire Legacy of Gods series on my blog, now: God of Malice, God of Pain, God of Wrath, God of Ruin, God of Fury, and God of War.

This was juicy juicy right off the bat - I may have had a little distain for the constant run back to initiation night in Legacy of Gods, but by now I have honestly grown attached to it. It genuinely cracks me up seeing the other couples and characters run around basically terrorizing each other, and considering we have experienced the majority of relationships now, I will be sad to see it end. That being said, with Gareth being the one surprised on initiation night, we take a turn from our leading man being the aggressor to having the story flipped to him being the prey. After Gareth's attempt to humiliate Yulian does not go according to plan and he finds himself on the receiving end of some unexpected advances, his entire world gets flipped on its axis.

Gareth proceeds to go through the most insane bi-awakening I have ever scene on page - the boy is getting thrown around like no one's business while simultaneously claiming everything that he and Kayden get up to doesn't count. The boy was in denial while getting split in half. Kayden and Gareth's relationship definitely starts out as wild as the other relationships we see in Rina Kent's books, and this is certainly no exception with an age gap, professor-student dynamic with some stalking undertones and ulterior motives by our resident law professor. I really enjoyed how out of control and possessive both Kayden and Gareth acted - while Kayden was pretty much set on Gareth being his target and basically owning him, Gareth was slowly becoming more attached and going into his obsessive tendencies.

The smut was crazy style - definitely on the same level as Niko and Brandon in God of Fury, but the dynamic was much more intense with Gareth and Kayden. Maybe it was because of the "forbidden" aspect of a professor-student relationship or the fact that Kayden was basically out to ravage Gareth within an inch of his life, but the spark between them was unmatched. Gareth's internal struggle to figure out if he even liked men or not - or basically if he just liked Kayden - while trying to tackle giving up control made the deeper plot of this book really drawing to readers. We watch as this intense, psychotic-in-nature, law student suddenly lose the perception he had of himself and try to understand if there is more to himself under the surface and if he can open himself up to loving someone he never expected to fall for.

Guys. Are we serious?? Y'all did not prepare me for the last third of this book - I feel like I was shot in the chest. I was literally speechless and my jaw was hanging open reading all the scenes with Gareth basically being held hostage and tortured for hours on end. He did not deserve to be put through that, especially when he was not even directly involved in Cassandra's passing. Obviously we know that he was targeted in order to punish his family, but good grief the guy is twenty-one and had no idea of Kayden's past until literally moments before all of this went down. My heart was aching for him when we got to the chapters of Kayden finding him and Gareth basically being catatonic after banging his head on the wall for who knows how long. Out of everyone that I have seen suffer in the Legacy of Gods series and this first installment in Villains, I would have to say Brandon and Gareth take the cake for being the most tortured characters.

I had such a fun time reading this book - it really sucked me in as much as God of Fury, and while the relationships in those two books certainly have their similarities, the characters go through their own struggles that makes their stories their own. If you are looking to make your way into some more smutty dark romance, you will definitely get a kick out of this.

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