This Man (This Man, #1) by Jodi Ellen Malpas Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I wish I could get every minute I spent reading this book back. The premise of this book reminded me subtly of Fifty Shades of Grey only in the slightest, but good grief Jesse Ward is hands down one of the most ridiculous male leads I have ever come across. He is a man child and a whiny little boy when he does not get exactly what he wants. And when what he wants is Ava to basically never leave his sight, you can only imagine how out of control he becomes. Jesse basically is terrorizing the town whenever Ava has to go to work, sees her friends, or literally just tries to go to the office to do her job. His hobbies are literally stalking and mild breaking and entering in order to have eyes on her at all times. Get a grip!!

That being said, Ava is basically no better than Jesse, but in a different regard. She is setting feminism back decades every minute she spends with Jesse. Yes, she does have her moments where she tries to hold her ground and give him a reality check, but it literally never works and always ends up with her crying, fleeing the scene, or having Jesse barge in like a caveman at her place of work or her apartment. I wanted so badly for her to actually grow a spine at some point, and just when you would think she was about to, all of her progress would go out the window. I found myself rolling my eyes at nearly everything she did - she became unbearable towards the end. What grown woman acts this way?

I literally cannot express it enough on how much this book gave me a migraine. Jesse keeps far too many secrets and Ava does not seem to have the motivation to even uncover them. For crying out loud, she does not even know how old Jesse is!! Like girl, if the man you are sleeping with will not even tell you his age, you need to be running across state lines, not running into his bed. I was literally losing brain cells while reading this book - there was not a redeemable quality of this story that I could find - even the side characters would not get involved in Ava and Jesse's drama. Jesse's friends low key are just as evil as he is because what do you mean you literally instigate so many situations where you know he will freak out on Ava? Ava's friend is relatively fine in the sense she kind of just hangs around - I will give her props for giving Ava a place to live though.

The smut scenes were... something. I have read better material written by a 13-year-old on Wattpad. We seriously need to be reevaluating the content of books that are being published because how in the world did anyone ever think that this was readable content? The writing is not nearly at the caliber it should be and the plot is mind-numbing. Now if you see me reading the rest of the series in the future... mind your business. I like to see series through to give a cohesive opinion.

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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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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 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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The Wolf and the Sheep (Wolf, #1) by Penelope Sky Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

This book was literally sitting in my TBR pile since August 2020... Well folks, we made it! I have been itching for an arranged marriage trope for awhile, and this needed to hit the spot for me. Arwen and Maverick are at immediate odds with one another and they find themselves at the alter in order for their families to get what they want - to both of their resentment. Arwen wants a family, and Maverick is the last man on the planet who wants a wife, especially one he did not pick for himself.

Every other chapter was basically filled with "I do not want to be married to this person" while simultaneously followed by "Wow I think I am attracted to the person I am married to," which makes the plot become repetitive very quickly. However, you see Maverick and Arwen try to support and connect with each other in their own way, and while they do have this tension filled with arguments or the silent treatment, you could tell the chemistry was brewing. I would have loved to see that chemistry develop just a little bit more - they were in limbo for a majority of the book.

It never felt as though there were any stakes in the game until the last 15% of the book, and even then I was not that invested in Maverick and Arwen's relationship - if you could even call it that. They basically just existed in the same house together and have about three more intimate interactions with each other. You could tell that they were beginning to care for one another, but it was so distant that it does not cause the reader to form a major attachment. However, I am intrigued enough to continue with this series, solely to see what exactly is in store for their chemistry development and possible obstacles with Maverick's family.

The dual perspective at least allowed the reader to see both sides of the story, but it felt surface-level at best, and as stated before, became very repetitive. I did not love their whole open marriage situation, even though they were basically forced to marry each other from the beginning. It made it hard to root for them to be together when they were always with other people or by themselves. That being said, I did like both of their personalities, and while they disagreed on things more often than not, I can certainly see a future between Maverick and Arwen.

If I remember correctly, I saw a blurb of this on TikTok, and we all know that my track record for recommendations on that app is questionable... I have gotten some hits, and definitely some misses - unfortunately, I just could not find myself invested in this story. I cannot even remember what the blurb was, and since it has been living and haunting my TBR pile for over four years, I figured it was time to tackle it. If you are looking for a super quick read with only a touch of smut, this is definitely the book for you - it is low stakes, and can essentially be thought of just the world-building aspect of the story, since it is the first installment of a trilogy.

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Dante (Chicago Ruthless, #1) by Sadie Kincaid Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

Once again, I have let my TikTok feed from 2020 influence my reading, and I am not going to lie, the first half of this book had me doubting everything I had ever done to lead to that moment. Dante Moretti rivals Rowan Kane from The Fine Print in levels of delusion that I did not think were possible. Sure, Dante kills people and Rowan simply was a major idiot, but boy was I about to lose my mind at nearly everything that came out of this man's mouth. His logic is completely out the window, and yet he somehow manages to be the head of a major mafia family.

When Kat is taken as payment for her brother's unpaid debts, she is essentially strong-armed into working for Dante because he thinks she is hot and hiding some major secret about her past. She gets Stockholm Syndrome in approximately four chapters, and proceeds to be the secret girl that Dante keeps to himself and pretends to not have feelings for - you can imagine where that leads us in the end. She is changing her mind on how she feels about Dante nearly every other chapter, and after certain past events come to light, she somehow just forgets about the trauma until it becomes relevant to the plot again.

Dante is constantly shocked that Kat is always on high alert and scared that she is going to end up dead or in a horrible situation that she will not be able to escape - and yet no matter how many times she explains her reasoning, Dante somehow ends up mad in the end. In between the constant hookups even after Kat made it explicitly clear she did not want to be used as someone's "entertainment," they are being secretive towards one another. In Dante's case, it is the information he is seeking out and in Kat's case, it is what was done to her in the past.

Kat loses her backbone so quickly, you would have thought it never existed. She was looking to be a pretty strong female lead from the first few chapters, but that went away after she was lost in Dante's eyes. She experienced a lot of internal conflict throughout the book, and coming to terms with the fact that she was now deep in the throws of a powerful mafia leader did not help her adjust to her new living situation. Throughout the book, it felt as though Kat was constantly getting knocked down and being thrown into situations that were targeted to make her uncomfortable or even put her at risk. Dante even plays a part in this at one point, and I genuinely felt like I was going insane during those chapters - I did not understand how he could redeem himself after what he put her through.

Sure, Dante is a complex character with a complicated backstory riddled with familial issues, but I found it hard to support him when he was being shady nearly the entire book. He tried to solve every single little argument with sex, and Kat basically folded every single time. They would fight, then hook up, fight again, and hook up two minutes later. It felt repetitive and very much was used as chapter fillers in an attempt to spice up the book, but the plot suffered for it. Lorenzo, Maximo, and Joey had to work their way into my support, and even when Joey was acting horribly to Kat, I still liked her more than I liked Dante.

Regarding the actual mafia aspect of this book, the author did a pretty good job at making Dante morally grey and actually involved in the family business. He definitely knew how to play dirty and it is explicitly shown in this book. The action points of the plot certainly had me drawn in, and I have to say that I was really invested in the actual mafia plot points compared to Kat and Dante's relationship, only because Dante was constantly screwing things up with Kat and Kat was just accepting it.

I have some mixed feelings about this book, but overall I did have a decent time reading this installment - it does end on a cliffhanger, but if you are only interested in Kat and Dante's story, then you can count this as an interconnected standalone. If you are looking for a quick, spicy read, this book is definitely up your alley.

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Lights Out (Into Darkness, #1) by Navessa Allen Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

TikTok has led me to places I never knew I would go, and after seeing about one hundred videos about this book, I knew I had to see it out for myself. With the way it is described, I thought it would rival Butcher & Blackbird and maybe Haunting Adeline in terms of being dark, but I was left wanting more and feeling slightly misled. Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed Aly and Josh's story, but even the tagline on the cover notes "The couple that slays together, stays together," and yet there was not a ton of slaying at all throughout the entire book. This leans more towards a stalker romance with BDSM elements, but I would not call it a dark romance in true form.

I was not in love with the first person perspective - it is never my first choice, but Aly's inner dialogue felt underdeveloped and she was constantly referencing her "lizard brain" when she is a whole adult woman. However, her character as a whole was pretty entertaining to read, and while she does make some choices I was not pleased with, she added the "quirky" aspect to her and Josh's relationship. She was so real for spending hours on TikTok watching and favoriting the thirst trap videos because girl... same. Aly must have a horror kink because this girl is horny about twenty-four hours a day, and she literally does not care how dangerous the situation is.

The second Aly thinks she knows who her stalker is, she starts tracking him, and when she realizes that he is hot, she literally celebrates. This reminded me so much of Haunting Adeline, and I just know her and Addie would be friends. Her self preservation goes out the window and across the yard at nearly every scenario - going into a room alone with a known rapist... girl, get out of there!!

Josh is hands-down one of the funniest stalkers - compared to Aly's inner dialogue, I found his much more enjoyable and humorous. I did not love his Batman voice and references, and I thought he would be more dangerous throughout the book - it felt like Aly was more prepared to commit crimes than he was even though he is a literal stalker. Based off of the summary, I was under the impression they would be killing or committing crimes a lot earlier in the story, but it really was not towards over halfway into the book. Together, they literally commit one crime together and it was not even that exciting.

The scariest part of this book is that Aly said they were not going to have any safe words, and when she told Josh that he could do anything he wanted to her, his first thought was knife play. Like let's be so serious right now, this probably would have sent her spiraling. Their spicy scenes were pretty good, but I would have preferred them more spaced out rather than being somewhat lumped together in the second half of the book.

The epilogue was a fun way to wrap up their story, and I would have loved to see more chapters like that in the actual book. Josh was a fun male lead, but he could have been a little more wild, especially compared to other stalker romances out there. If you are looking for a tame introduction to stalker romances or dark romances in general, Lights Out definitely provides the gateway.

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Fear and Desire by Sophie Kisker Review

This is a spoiler-free review! This book contains graphic material - please look up the trigger warnings before reading.

I have not read an undercover crime book in what feels like years, and luckily enough I was downloading books like no tomorrow at the last Stuff Your Kindle Day. Fear and Desire kept popping up in my recommendations based on my past reads, and needing a quick read, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to put it to the test.

This is not a causal read, and certainly not for dark romance beginners -- I would argue it is approaching Haunting Adeline to be quite honest, and I would only suggest this book to readers who are comfortable reading this genre at length. I genuinely think that I have read everything under the sun -- there was nothing in this book that I have not come across before, but the author certainly goes into extensive detail when it comes to dark themes.

Laura is in an incredibly horrifying and insane situation -- her reasoning has gone out the door after she is taken to be sold at an auction. An auction that her best friend Dan has been working undercover for two years to take down traffickers, and with Laura now being used to test his loyalty, they both need to do things neither ever thought they would be forced to do. I did find myself yelling at her a lot -- she has more information regarding the situation she is in compared to the other girls, but I feared that she would ruin everything that Dan has worked towards nearly every other page.

I enjoyed getting multiple perspectives in this book -- seeing more than only Dan and Laura's thoughts definitely added another layer to this heavy situation, and Josh's perspective were somehow adding a lightness in between intense chapters. Claire's chapters really laid into the despair and hopelessness that the girls were experiencing, whereas Laura has so much more knowledge on what is happening around them.

Around two thirds into the story is where the plot really lays into the seriousness of the situation everyone is in, especially regarding making sure Laura and the rest of the women end up safe. There are a lot more people in play compared to the beginning of the story, and with a decent amount of perspective changes, the author is able to give readers a pretty good sense of what is happening on all fronts.

The progression of Laura's state of mind as the story goes on was handled very well, and even in such an extreme situation, she had a shred of hope to hang on to and as much as a support system as she could get from Claire and Dan. Chapters in Dan's perspective really allowed the reader to understand all sides of the story, and to be able to see how Dan was personally handling what Laura had to go through, essentially at his own hands, added to the depth of the book and their character development.

For fans of Shantel Tessier's L.O.R.D.S. series and Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters, this dark romance stand alone is not for the light-hearted. If you are looking for something dark, gritty, and taboo, this is the book for you.

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Broken by Ashe Barker Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Broken is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

The day I decided I was finally going to dive into this book was the same day that I found out that the author was a grandmother, and from that moment on I knew I was in for a treat. As one of my many downloads from Stuff Your Kindle Day, you can only imagine why I decided this book was one that I needed in my library -- I am a sucker for anything involving a forbidden romance.

I genuinely did not know what to expect with this storyline, and to be completely honest, the beginning really threw me for a loop. So much happened in a short amount of time, and with so many character introductions, it was a touch hard to keep track of who was who at times. Once you get into the swing of things, the plot moves quickly, and before you know it, our good sister Jenna has found herself in some real trouble... exactly the reason I downloaded this book.

Zafar is a man who knows what he wants and certainly has no limitations to stop him from getting anything, being the brother of the Crown Prince of Akram. The dynamic between Jenna and Zafar is at an all-time intensity from the moment they first interact, and it escalates to levels I have only seen by characters written by Shantel Tessier.

With an equal balance of plot and straight up spice, the author is able to create an enticing story between an unlikely pair. I really did not know what to expect when I first started reading, and was pleasantly surprised by the pacing and characterization throughout the story. A quick and steamy read, it would have been great if the book was longer - I would have loved to see what else was in store for them and how their relationship would progress beyond the ending. That being said, I was satisfied with the ending and did not feel rushed getting there.

The side characters definitely added a great layer to the story, and tied the plot together without taking away from Jenna and Zafar's budding relationship. Members of the royal family made a generous amount of appearances, and were characters that I enjoyed Jenna making them into her acquaintances. Looking at Melisa's storyline, it was unique and she played a much larger role than I anticipated for her character, which was a great choice by the author.

If you are looking for a standalone dark romance, Broken may very well be the introduction you need to enter the genre. And if you are already a long-time member of the dark romance club, this will fit right into your tastes.

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Mafia Captive by Kitty Thomas Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I am a sucker for a good mafia romance, and Mafia Captive's free download was calling my name as I searched through iBooks for my next read. It has been some time since I have come across a dark romance that really entertained me, and this book really got me back into the groove of things. I had so much fun reading this book -- the pacing was just right, and the inner conflicts of Faith and Leo shown through their dual perspectives makes readers get a great sense of their characters.

After Faith witnesses a horrible crime, she is gifted to Leo, a member of a powerful mafia family who maintains his doctoral duties while indulging in some debauchery when the sun goes down. This was a surprise age gap romance to me, with Faith only twenty-two and Leo in his early forties. Thomas does a great job at showing the restraint and maturity in Leo, while mirroring it with Faith's naivety and minimal knowledge of how casual crime is in this family.

At first I thought there was going to be some form of love triangle between Faith, Leo, and Leo's brother, Angelo, but that was quickly dismissed -- however, that did not mean that there would be an end to the conflict between the brothers and how they view Faith's role in their family. With Angelo only saving Faith to basically torment his brother, the dynamic between the three of them becomes complicated to say the least.

Faith is constantly on high alert, and I cannot blame the girl -- she really was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and was thrown into the most insane circumstance in order to survive. Her development throughout the story seems slower to Leo's in comparison, but she is really the one that has to adapt to a new life, whereas Leo needed to adapt to having Faith in his life. I truly felt bad for Faith, she never seemed to have a moment of peace without someone threatening her, forcing her to put up a farce, or scaring her at every corner.

Leo genuinely does not know what to do with Faith once she is thrown at his feet by Angelo, but his perspective really allows readers to work through his inner struggles as he confronts his past and who he wants to be now that Faith is tied to him. You can tell that Leo wants to do good by Faith, but he certainly had his faults that makes readers second guess on how saintly he really is, especially when it comes to what he wants to do to Faith.

For a stand alone novel, Thomas really captures the full story in a sufficient amount of pages without drawing out the plot -- I never felt as though there was a dull moment while reading this book, and honestly I had to force myself to not finish it in one sitting. Leo and Faith's story is complex and at times heartbreaking for both characters, as they are both going through so many adjustments in order to save themselves.

I will definitely be reading more works of Kitty Thomas -- this was a great introduction to her work, and I cannot wait to see what her other books have in store. If you are looking for a dark romance to read after Mafia Captive, I highly recommend Debit Inheritance by Pepper Winters.

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Ouch! My Vampire Doms Keep Biting Me (Vampire Doms, #1) by Calista Jayne Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Thank you to the author for providing me with an advanced copy for review! You can also read my reviews of Falling for Them and Playing by Their Rules.

Jayne introduces Autumn, Xander, and Will in this first installment -- a quick read for anyone looking for something to introduce themselves to her writing or to the genres in general. If memory serves, this is one of the first -- if not the first -- vampire romance books I have read, and I very much had a fun time reading it. This book certainly was filled with both plot and spice, and starting out hot with Autumn bearing witness to a crime that causes her to go on the run.

The pacing of the book definitely keeps the reader interested, so much so that you could finish this in one sitting in just about an hour if you have the chance to do so. I enjoyed that we were given perspectives from Autumn, Xander, and Will -- it really allows the reader to get into the headspace of all of the characters, which is a commonality in Jayne's writing that I definitely appreciate.

Xander and Will are similar, but both have very distinct characteristics when it comes to what they want from Autumn, which takes a toll on their relationship as they both get to know her on their own terms. The reader is able to see Will and Xander's internal struggles with Autumn coming into their lives, especially with their conflicting views on what they should do with her now that they know her and she has become a presence in their lives.

Autumn is really just trying to get by while on the run and starting over when she has a chance encounter with Will and Xander, which certainly takes her life for a turn in more ways than one. She becomes introduced to a whole new world while trying to rebuild her own, and she just happens to have two vampires to show her the ropes. I did find it hilarious that she did not even seem fazed by the fact that vampires were real and that she was in the presence of two of them -- she really rolls with the punches when it comes to obstacles in her life.

The spicier scenes are more mild compared to Jayne's other novels I have read, but still tasteful and enjoyable nonetheless. Jayne does a great job in making them move at an entertaining pace and places them into the story at opportune moments rather than just throwing them in for shock factor.

I do wish that we were given a bit more background on Will and Xander in regards to their relationship and how they came to live their lives together. It felt a little rushed when it came to introducing them into Autumn's life and then glossed over their actual presence in town. Autumn's choices while on the run also had me just a touched confused, because as a person on the run, I personally would not be stopping to read books at a library, but hey, a girl does what she wants.

With this book ending on a cliffhanger, I may find myself gravitating towards the series later on to see what exactly is in store for Autumn, Xander, and Will. For readers looking to get into paranormal romance, this is a great book to get yourself off the ground and into the genre.

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His to Keep (Club Wyld Doms, #1) by Violet James Review

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

Once again the free book section on iBooks has roped me in and I just had to see what this book had in store. Clocking in at under 200 pages, His to Keep is a quick read that gets right to the point with Luke and Rebecca, who have a chance encounter that is the catalyst for their relationship. 

Much like the coincidence we see in Fifty Shades of Grey, Rebecca and Luke find themselves drawn to each other right off the bat and have an immediate connection. With Luke being extremely protective of Rebecca from the start, we can all imagine how their relationship plays out the more they become involved with one another. There is a hint of will-they-won't-they in the beginning of their story, but as it plays out you can tell just how much they cannot stay away from one another.

Now when I say we jump right into the story, I really mean it -- within the first twenty pages we see Luke and Rebecca already enamored with one another in a less than conventional way of meeting. With two perspectives, we see how both characters are feeling during this very intense first meeting, especially when it comes to Luke trying to understand what Rebecca is going through. The author spends a lot of time making sure the reader -- and Rebecca -- understand the lifestyle that Luke participates in and the dynamic they need to have in order to make sure that they are both being taken care of.

Even though this is a quick read, it does not feel too insta-lovey, which is a pleasant surprise considering I half expected Luke and Rebecca to start declaring their love for each other three chapters in based off the page length alone. It was refreshing to see how concerned Luke was for Rebecca, and his constant reassurance to her when she was in a vulnerable position really stood out as a great characteristic.

The more spicier scenes were pretty good, but definitely on the shorter side for the sake of the plot -- which we do get a decent amount of and led to a pretty good plot in this story that had me intrigued. So much so that I would have loved for the book to be a touch longer so we could have gotten some more angst and action regarding the situation that Rebecca was in. To avoid any spoilers, the book's plot point keeps a pretty strong focus on Rebecca's struggles, and that includes a not so great partner, Aden, that continues to wreck havoc on her life.

This was a quick and fun read that made for a good palate cleanser in between books. To those who enjoyed His to Keep, I would recommend Praise by Sara Cate, one of my top recommendations to give for fans of this genre.

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Playing by Their Rules by Calista Jayne Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The version I am reading is an ARC -- any changes made for the final publication are not reflected in this review. Thank you to the author for providing me with an advanced copy for review! Playing by Their Rules will be available on September 12, 2023. You can also read my review of Falling for Them (Cinderella's Daddies, #1) on my blog, here.

Calista Jayne does not disappoint in this fun new standalone -- when Maisie gets a second chance to win Chance and Ethan over for a very special relationship, she goes in with a clear mindset and a plan that would put war battles to shame. Maisie is such a great character when it comes to understanding her own feelings as well as when it comes to experiencing so many new things as once. I really enjoyed her characterization, and it reminded me a lot of Ella from Jayne's Cinderella's Daddies series.

I loved that we had perspectives from Maisie, Chance, and Ethan -- it made the story become cohesive and the reader does not feel as though they are missing out on certain characters and their thoughts. Jayne really allows readers to understand exactly what is going through everyone's minds as the relationship begins to develop, which makes it all the more entertaining to read. 

Once I started reading, I could barely put it down and nearly flew threw the book in one sitting. The pacing of the plot works in the reader's favor, as it makes you feel as if you are going through these new and exciting decisions and moments with Maisie at the same rate as her thought process.

Bradley and Mina made interesting supporting characters, and I loved the relationship that Maisie had with Bradley -- it is a rare find in romance books to have a female lead with a male best friend that does not try to get into a relationship with her, and I found it very refreshing to see such a great dynamic between the two of them. Mina is an entire beast on her own, and low-key felt like a bit of a stage five clinger when it came to doing anything with Maisie -- she really was basically trying to become another version of Maisie and her character definitely added some tension to Maisie's life.

Ethan and Chance were overall great characters that really had maturity behind them when it came to doing anything with Maisie, which once again was refreshing to see in a more taboo romance novel. I love a good age gap romance, and their age difference with Maisie was just the right amount where it was an age difference and not a power difference in the sense that everyone was in control of what was going on in their relationship.

I absolutely loved the thriller element to this book -- much like Falling for Them, Jayne is able to expertly incorporate thrilling, interesting plot twists that compliment the story's relationship without overshadowing the main theme. This was such a fun read, and easily one of my new favorite erotic thrillers. I really enjoyed the pacing of the story and plot development, and the relationship between Ethan, Chance, and Maisie was well-established and overall a great pairing.

This was a super fun read and I will definitely be reading more by the author. If you are a fan of Praise by Sara Cate or Credence by Penelope Douglas, this book will certainly become one of your new favorites. I would definitely recommend Forever Only Once by Carrie Ann Ryan once you read this book, especially if you are looking for a romance book with a touch of thriller to it.

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