Chokehold by Leigh Rivers & Harleigh Beck Review

This review contains minor spoilers - no major plot points are revealed. Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

Blaise and Cole - two stepbrothers who cannot seem to stand one another - find themselves in a most peculiar scenario when a game of Chase at a party leads to a scandalous encounter between the two in the woods. This honestly reminded me a little bit of the initiation scenes from the Legacy of Gods series by Rina Kent - I would definitely say that it was much more elevated in this book, especially considering what happens between Blaise and Cole in that initial game of Chase. The authors waste no time introducing readers to our two leading men and make it abundantly clear they do not like each other one bit - or so they think. I was really in the mood for a juicy hate to love book and this certainly did not disappoint when it came to that element.

You can see that Cole and Blaise fall into a natural categorization of "older, more tortured" brother and "younger, more prioritized" brother when it came to how Blaise's father viewed them. Blaise's father simply sees Cole as a nuisance stepchild that he has to tolerate, whereas he somewhat pampers Blaise - at least to the extent where he thinks he is taking care of him - even when we see him as more of a neglectful father. Even when he is "taking care of" Blaise, you can tell he does not give it his all, especially when he uses all of his time blaming Cole for everything under the sun that goes wrong or disrupts their lives.

The dynamic between Blaise and Cole is definitely not for the weak or light of heart - we literally see them beat each other up multiple times and take things to the extreme when they want to get their way with each other. If you are a fan of The Ritual and The Sinner by Shantel Tessier, this book is well up your alley in terms of pushing the limits to the extreme. You have to be in the mindset to walk into books like these knowing that there is going to be some seriously triggering content. If you are prepared for that form of intensity, then you will not be able to put this book down. Just when you think things could not get any more wild, suddenly they are chasing each other around town and swinging bats like nobody's business.

Juicy, juicy, juicy spicy scenes that put a lot of books I have read to shame when it comes to making my eyes bug out of my skull. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it certainly kept me locked in and had my jaw on the floor for the vast majority of the book. The fact that it is a taboo romance makes it all the more enticing and while some of the plot points were all over the place, it kept me entertained enough that once I started, I could not stop.

The side characters added enough to the plot to continue to drive the story forward, but for the life of me I could not stand Allie and Mia - they were annoying and only provided more issues for both Cole and Blaise as the story went on. I understand what the authors were trying to do with their characters, but my god, every single time they popped up on the page I wanted to throw the book across the room. I guess their presence served their purpose considering the authors truly were able to make me despise them, along with a select few other characters that seemed to have it out for Blaise and Cole for one-sided reasons.

If you are looking for a raunchy, taboo romance to make your blood pressure rise, Chokehold may be calling your name. I know for certain that it has taken me out of my reading slump and thrown me right back into the dark romance scene.

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The Goal (Off-Campus, #4) by Elle Kennedy Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of The Deal (Off-Campus, #1), The Mistake (Off-Campus, #2), The Score (Off-Campus, #3), and The Chase (Briar U, #1) on my blog, now!

Maybe because I mentally blocked The Score from my memory, but I could not for the life of me remember if Sabrina was ever mentioned in any of the other books - I definitely remembered Tucker, but I was in a state of confusion if I was supposed to remember this girl. i had a sick feeling that one of my least favorite tropes of all time was going to pop up in this book and it did. Sick to my stomach!! Unfortunately this immediately made my 50/50 opinion of this book take a nose dive and frankly will not recover - I understand that it was a trope that had not been utilized in this series yet, but for it to happen to Sabrina of all people - it really ticked me off.

Forever grateful I did not have to be bombarded with the constant presence of the previous couples of the series in this book. Too often you see authors shove the other relationships back into the series, whereas Kennedy was able to trickle them in throughout this book - considering they all go to university together, I knew they would have to show face once in a while, but I am grateful it did not overtake Tucker and Sabrina's story. In The Score, it felt like a constant revolving door of the Dean and Allie show, so much so it felt like a second installment for their relationship. With this fourth installment, the focus clearly was with Tucker and Sabrina, and the presence of the previous couples did not hinder their development.

Sabrina's story is full of struggle, dedication, and self-reflecting. She is very strong-willed and determined to get what she knows she deserves, no matter the time or cost to herself. We watch her juggle two jobs, classes, and helping out with her Nana - who is no peach, I might say - in order to continue pushing forward. With Harvard Law well within her reach, she has no time for friends beyond a handful, and certainly no time for Tucker barging into her life and consuming her thoughts. Tucker's life mildly mirrors Sabrina's in the sense that he also has a bit of a torrid background and continues to struggle in a higher capacity compared to the lives of his more privileged teammates. He definitely understands Sabrina's work ethic and admires the way she approaches her road to success, but he does make a good point when it comes to Sabrina needing to let loose and enjoy her life.

With only one book left to see this series through to the end, I will eventually make my way over that final hurdle. I honestly am only seeing this series to the end because I want the full picture before the tv series is released. For now, I need to abandon the new adult college romances and find something a little more my speed. If you need a filler series to get you in between lengthier reads, Off-Campus could be the series to satisfy those needs.

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Corrupt (Devil's Night, #1) by Penelope Douglas Review

This review contains major spoilers - read with caution. Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion advised.

Susan B. Anthony I apologize that I am putting feminism back one hundred years - these boys are unhinged and I am sorry that I enjoyed it so much. I was actually taken aback by the fact that I am supposed to see four basketball players be the center of some sort of dark and devious little group where they tun around the town acting like fools and wait in the darkness for Rika to turn eighteen before they start with her. Michael takes the forefront as the man behind the plan to make Rika's life a living hell for the role she played for sending his three friends behind bars - but they are out now and it is finally time for them to make her understand how far they are willing to go to show her how bad it can get.

Basketball players that have a "dark side" is a phrase that I never expected to come across in my lifetime. This is simply ridiculous and absurd - you cannot wear basketball shorts AND terrorize the town. You need to pick a struggle and frankly the basketball shorts are the worse trait in this situation. This is red flag central... what do you MEAN you waited in the shadows until Rika turned eighteen to start torturing this girl and ruining her life??? Absolute freaks in my opinion - and this is coming from someone who loves a good cat and mouse chase... but only with ADULTS!! Michael Crist is also absolutely certifiably insane - a man who covets his younger brother's girlfriend and stirs up a revenge plan over the course of three years on a girl who he has had ONE memorable interaction with that he claims is the reason behind his psycho friends being jailed.

The Crist family in general totally sucks - the only person who is likable is the mother, and she is present for approximately three pages before her use as a page filler is through. The father is just as deplorable as Michael, and Trevor is a nuisance that you can sense is up to no good but hiding behind ulterior motives. Rika, girl... run for your LIFE!! Kai, Damon, Will, and Michael basically have made it their mission to destroy Rika's life because they believe she is the one that leaked incriminating videos of Damon, Kai, and Will committing assault and engaging in improper relations with the mayor's daughter - that event is Damon's alone. Maybe... I don't know... ask her if she did it before deciding you are going to BURN down her house?? Absolute idiots sharing no brain cells.

The things that came out of Damon's mouth in this book had my jaw on the floor. "As long as they're old enough to crawl, they're in the right position." I beg your finest pardon??? This boy needs to go back to jail immediately for that comment alone. I literally could not believe my eyes reading that sentence - sure, his childhood past reveal may explain why he said that, but good lord if I had not already not liked Damon, that would have sealed the deal.

Michael and his merry gang of lame little friends basically commit financial abuse and essentially steal all of Rika's money and act like it's a casual thing. And we are not talking a couple thousand dollars, we are talking millions. And the kidnapping?? They do it so often?? Like guys she is clearly able to get away on her own, think of something better. That being said, they really take this kidnapping on a casual Tuesday very conveniently and are obsessed with making Rika fear for her life at every chance they can get. It is actually diabolical - it's not even a kidnapping where the girl is like "oh my god, nooo, don't!!" when she actually likes it - they girl is literally showing up armed because she thinks they will kill her.

"F**king Trevor" welcome back, Hardin Scott. I think we can all agree that the Trevor twist was something that you could see coming from a mile away. The second Michael and the boys said that Rika was the reason they were arrested, I called BS and said it had to be Trevor - it was clear from the beginning. Trevor was very vocal to Michael on how he wanted Michael to stay away from Rika, so this was obviously a ploy to ruin Michael's life and a way to try to guarantee that Michael would lose feelings from Rika. I cheered when Michael took that boy out on the yacht. Which is an entirely other scenario to address - Rika being kidnapped for about the sixth time in the book leads to Damon and Trevor holding her hostage on this boat because... get this... they're mad that Michael fell for her and does not want to continue the plan of ruining her life. Trevor more so because he wants to get back together with Rika and knock down Michael.

This entire book was nearly 600 pages of sexual harassment and straight up kidnapping. The smut was mildly decent towards the end of the book, which of course did not make up for the fact that the first 450 pages were the boys putting Rika through Saw traps left and right. I wish I could say that I would be abandoning this series because of my views of this book, but unfortunately I low-key want to know what happens with Kai, Will, and Damon.

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A Debt to Repay (Lured to the Mob, #1) by Stacey Ortel Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Y'all I was once again lured into a free mafia romance from Stuff Your Kindle Day and I will once again be questioning why I pick up some of these books. Whoever allowed to go to print should be jailed - was an editor involved?? The story is choppy and full of confusing character choices - the allure of the age gap romance was what definitely made me download this, but good grief it was only ever mentioned once or twice and did not even play a role in the main plot of this book. If I was Clara, I would have sold my dad out so fast, it would not have even been a question. He continues to put her in danger and is shocked when his actions have consequences that directly affect her - newsflash buddy, you mess with the mob, they mess with your family!

Sure, kidnapping someone may just be a regular Tuesday in a mob family, but how was no one questioning the kidnapping of a twenty-year-old student who clearly was there against her will? I love a good kidnapping trope, but make it believable and make the girl at least struggle a little bit before becoming besties with the entire family - it felt as though there was nothing at stake internally with the Ricci family. That being said, the other mob family was a lot "scarier" than the Riccis, and that plot point was the most intriguing to read. You could actually tell there was something on the line for Clara when Roberto would show up, unlike Antonio who was just not all that exciting to me.

This is a super quick read and honestly it went by so fast I felt as though I forgot the entire thing by the time it ended - there was not enough time to truly get to know the characters and form any type of attachment to them. I was also under the impression that this was a series following one couple, not a duology (possibly a series?) that is made up of interconnected stand alones. The super rushed ending definitely is explained by that set up, but it causes readers to lose out on seeing a more fleshed out relationship between Clara and Antonio. Antonio's character seems very one-dimensional and I did not feel drawn to him at all - he is quick to accuse and quick to judge - maybe if he joined Clara at college and took Communication 101 he would have avoided every bad thing that happened in this book.

I am glad that I finished this book so quickly, because if it took up any more of my time, I would have begged a genie to give the minutes spent reading this back to me. If you are looking for something low stakes and just a quick filler book in between reading larger books, this may be for you. If you are looking for a book that will make you attached to its characters, then this is definitely a pass.

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God of Ruin (Legacy of Gods, #4) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of God of Malice, God of Pain, and God of Wrath on my blog, now! Reader discretion is advised.

This boy is crazy!!! I should not be surprised considering the line up of men Rina Kent has supplied us in this series, but good grief it actually makes me laugh when every single male lead in these books brags about their sociopathic or psychopathic diagnosis like it is a badge of honor. Landon is no exception to this Rina Kent-character trait, and he is just as twisted as the rest of them - maybe not as crazy as Killian, but he certainly earned his title. The things that came out of Landon's mouth would genuinely make Jesus weep, my jaw was on the floor. I literally felt like I was the one being degraded instead of Mia. Honestly I should have seen this behavior coming from a mile away considering how Landon acts in the previous books, but good grief the man has got a mouth on him. Which is ironic considering Mia literally cannot speak.

Mia has gone through something traumatic over a decade ago and since then has not been able to speak - using sign language to communicate with everyone, her friends and family learned how to sign to help her adjust. Landon becomes no exception to this rule and learns sign language to properly communicate with Mia, which only goes to show how dedicated he was - or obsessed - to inserting himself into her life. Considering the trauma Mia has gone through, I can only imagine how it impacted her - I do wish Kent spent more time exploring it instead of making it this huge reveal at the end of the book, but I guess it would have revealed too much to readers if spaced out throughout this installment.

Y'all I literally cannot believe what Landon and Mia are getting up to like my body literally had a visceral reaction to reading some of their moments together. I fear for this girl and the absolute ringer Landon puts her through at every chance he gets. All of Kent's male leads seem to love lurking around and snatching up the girls they are interested in to do whatever they want to do to them at a moment's notice. This is low-key kidnapping!! The way I would be putting out Amber Alerts every single chance I got if I was a character in this book would have the Citizen app go into overdrive. It is hilarious that this is such a common occurrence for everyone that no one bats an eye on why girls suddenly disappearing would be anything but concerning. Landon and Mia's communication seemed to be the best out of all the couples so far, so I was grateful there was no real miscommunication happening in this book.

Once again I am tormented by the parent perspectives but at least they are only ever a few chapters. Maybe one day I will actually go back and read all of those series and trilogies, but for now I am solely sticking to the Legacy of Gods series until I have finished them completely. I am sure their chapters are more entertaining for those who read the parent books, but I find they typically only add character development for the male leads and that the female leads tend to not get as explored as I would have liked. On that note, it also feels like all of Kent's leading men are little copies of each other, just with slightly different interests and the insanity dial adjusted. I wish they were more distinguishable and not blending together - they each have one or two characteristics that stand out, but for the most part I am just seeing these little psycho men run around terrorizing college campuses on the regular.

I actually enjoyed Nikolai's presence in this book more than I was enjoying Landon's presence at one point, and Landon is literally the lead here. Nikolai's characteristics and personality really shined through here in terms of highlighting how violent and impulsive he was, which I am sure was a set up considering he is one of the leads in the next installment. I am not going to lie, the only reason why I started this series was so that I could read God of Fury and not be confused on who the couples were or what happened in their books. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what Kent has in store for him in the next installment.

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The King's Men (All for the Game, #3) by Nora Sakavic Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Raven King on my blog, now! Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.

I love this group of idiots like they are my own children. There is nothing bad I could say about a single one of them, and that includes the murder they allegedly committed. This series is so absolutely absurd and I love every second of it. It truly has taken me this long to continue on with this series because I frankly do not want it to end, so I continue to prolong the inevitable ending by waiting an excessive amount of time between books. Sakavic's content intensity can feel overwhelming at times, and considering I feel as though I am the one being hunted and tortured alongside these characters, I need to have them spaced out.

I was literally sick to my stomach yet again when Neil's plot took a turn for the worst. As if my boy has not suffered enough, we see him literally go through the most insane horrors known to man after already having to suffer at the hands of Riko in The Raven King. That being said, I have never seen a character so resilient when it comes to self-sacrificing in order to protect those he sees as family. He takes everything like a champ and even when you would think something would be the driving force that would finally kill him, he perseveres. His attitude problem is truly charming and I love the way that no matter how many times Wymack asks him to rein it in, Neil will up the ante by any means necessary. He is the world's number one rage-baiter at heart and will never not be stepping on someone's neck.

"Did you know I've never been skiing? I'd like to try it some time." Kevin Day I will always love you. These characters are consistently put through the ringer on and off the page, and they deserve to be able to defend themselves - either with fighting words or on the court. I will say, some of these characters definitely like to test out how far they can take it when it comes to pushing buttons and seeing if they can get someone to crack. Aaron and Nicky certainly take the cake when it comes to provoking Neil, and I am surprised that their remarks have not landed either of them in the hospital with the way they speak. Neil and Andrew are the most volatile yet unbothered individuals I have ever come across, yet they are most readily on standby to put fighting words to the test.

Jean, my poor little boy - I wish I could say that his suffering will end but I fear this is just the end of the slow beginning of him healing and likely going through another Saw-trap level horror before being able to live a life as normal as he could dream. Same thing with Kevin - he has revealed to the world information he has known for years and will now be subject to every journalist's inquiries, stories, and invasions until the novelty wears off. Nicky stands on thin ice with me for a number of reasons, but I consider him lucky that Andrew did not make it his personal mission to send that boy to the hospital for everything he has done and said to Neil over the past three books.

Andrew's commitment to being the diva of the team and yet the most tortured of all is inspiring - he could be getting beaten to a pulp and still have time to read everyone to filth just for his own enjoyment. He truly will wait months or years to carry out revenge plans just to ensure they occur exactly when they will benefit him at the most opportune times. His duality of being incredibly closed off but willing to reveal information to only Neil speaks to his character and how guarded he will be, on and off the court. I could read one hundred books about Neil and Andrew's relationship and never get tired of reading about them. I am simply begging Sakavic to give them some peace in the future because these boys deserves to be left alone for the rest of their lives after everything they have been through.

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God of Wrath (Legacy of Gods, #3) by Rina Kent Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of God of Malice and God of Pain on my blog, now! Reader discretion is advised.

Someone needs to lock me up. I kept telling myself that I would not go down this road again and yet I continue to place holds on Libby and wait for weeks to read this series. I genuinely did not know what to expect from this third installment, with the only information I had going into it being that Jeremy was absolutely bonkers. I did not think we would encounter someone crazier than Killian Carson, and yet Jeremy very much came close - the man truly is unhinged in the most jaw-dropping ways possible. I literally would like Jeremy's actions would finally reach their limit, and then the next chapter would have him doing the most unhinged things on the planet.

I am not even ashamed to say that this was definitely the best book so far - I was on the edge considering how much I did not enjoy God of Pain, but this honestly really turned the series around for me. Sure, the plot was still all over the place and this book was basically driven by smut, but that hit the spot for me in this moment and I was living for it. There was not a moment while reading this where my jaw was not literally on the floor. Cecily and Jeremy's relationship was unexpected on Cecily's part, and watching her literally drag this man around was hilarious, we love women in male-dominated fields!

Once again, I absolutely cannot stand the parent perspective chapters in these books - yes, they only last about two or three chapters, but they low-key interrupt the flow of the story for me. Maybe it is because I did not read the other million books Kent has written before the Legacy of Gods series, but it does not add anything to the pairings' stories when I have no clue who these people are. On that note, I do like all of the callbacks from the other books in this series as the book goes on - when I first started this series, I expected the books to move on in time-order. I was surprised to see a majority of events actually overlap throughout the books, and definitely recommend readings these in order to get the full effect.

The smut was off the wall in this book. I literally do not think I have the words to properly express the series of emotions and jaw-dropping moments I experienced while this story progressed. Jeremy Volkov is out of his mind. This book definitely rivals Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton and The Ritual by Shantel Tessier when it comes to the insanity of male leads and the extremes they are willing to go to get the girl. You literally cannot read this book in public. This was a 200% improvement compared to the second installment of this series, and considering Jeremy and Cecily actually had insane chemistry was definitely the driving force. I still think it is absolutely bonkers that these characters act this way but that is the beauty of fiction.

I truly think you have to make it past the first two books in this series to actually get to the good stuff (and deserve a medal at that point) and see some actual plot take place. Cecily was put through the ringer a number of times, both in flashbacks and in current day, not to mention the emotional turmoil Jeremy was suffering through during his perspective chapters. The only good thing that came from his father's chapter was Jeremy actually working through some of his issues instead of taking it out on everyone else or holding a grudge.

Maybe I was a touch harsh on my last review, but this book certainly made up for that - and honestly boosted my overall feelings regarding this series. I was worried that this book would not push me to keep going, but instead I placed my Libby holds for the rest of the series as I was still reading God of Wrath.

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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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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.

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Summer's Kiss (The Boys of Ocean Beach, #1) by Angel Lawson Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I downloaded this from a Stuff Your Kindle day a long time ago, and now that the weather has decided to lighten up, I figured I needed to make a dent in my summer romance TBR. I do not read too much reverse haram or why choose romance books, but this one definitely took me by surprise. I thought that Summer would be drawn to one boy and the rest would become somewhat of background characters, but that is certainly not the case for this new adult romance. To be honest, I did not even realize it was a reveres harem - I thought she would pick one boy after multiple books and a five-way love triangle (love pentagon?). Personally, if I found out a group of described beach bums only hooked up with girls in the summer and had a pact, I would be running for the hills.

The boys - Justin, Whit, Pete, and Nick - are a little... forgettable. There was never a moment where I found myself more drawn to one of them and they were all pretty subpar in my eyes. You could easily tell that this book must have originally been written for Summer to end up with one single romantic interest, given the amount of page time one of the boys receives compared to the others. Lawson definitely should have done some more revisions with her editor since you almost start rooting for the other boys to just disappear and let Summer and who I imagine the original love interest was to go off into the sunset together.

Summer's relationship with all of the boys is mostly on an individual basis - they are not really a "group" so to speak. She basically has four boyfriends but the boyfriends aren't boyfriends with each other, if that makes sense. I wish the author either stuck with the reverse harem trope or abandoned it, as it feels half-finished and not enough time was dedicated to develop their relationship as a full group. Outside of just being around one another, the boys really do not have a ton of interaction on page, and readers are basically only shown each boy having their little moments with Summer alone.

I think this would have worked a lot better if this was not a new adult/high school romance but rather a college romance - they all seem very immature, and considering Summer's most recent relationship, it definitely would have benefited from some maturity. The side plot with her author mother was interesting, but for a romance book, it took up a lot of page space when the author could have been deepening the relationship between Summer, Whit, Pete, Justin, and Nick. I will probably finish this series if I need something quick to read, but if you are looking for a fast read with lots of PG-13 moments, this could be the series for you. Much like the Summer Unplugged series by Amy Sparling, this romance book plays it safe when it comes to the actual romance portion of the plot.

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Icebreaker (Maple Hills, #1) by Hannah Grace Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I finally caved... after waiting weeks for this to become available on Libby, Icebreaker landed on my shelf and I began the journey to see what has everyone up in arms about on TikTok. Why on Earth does this book take place in California?? It feels as thought it should take place in a colder state, like Colorado. Nevertheless, I continued to read on and ignore that fact. The storyline of this book felt a little stagnant - you would think that the plot would move forward, but then more spicy scenes would get thrown in the middle since the characters wanted to have some stress release. I wish there would have been more development of the story - sure, Anastasia was going through some stuff and she did have some more memorable moments, but my overall feeling after finishing the book felt as though it did not leave a memorable impression.

Nates perspective chapters were honestly the highlight of this book for me - he was funny and made Anastasia realize a lot of things about herself. He was able to help her do some self-reflecting and also come out of her shell. His plot line was basically "I want to sleep with her, now I want to be with her, now I want her to do some self-reflecting." I will say, it did not feel as though he had an actual arc throughout this book, but was more of a supporting character to help Anastasia do the most of the character development.

The smut in this book went from PG-13 to whacky in about three chapters, and all I have to say is that if I was the Uber driver during that scene, I would have charged them through the roof. I genuinely could not believe my eyes, and I have read nearly everything under the sun. It just felt unrealistic, and to be quite honest, not comfortable at all. This book definitely depended a lot on the chemistry between the characters, which felt somewhat conflicting since Anastasia does not want a relationship and is perfectly content with just having a friends with benefits situation with Nathan.

Aaron is such an annoying character, I was so agitated every single time that he showed up. He was horrible to Anastasia, and constantly was digging deeper holes and making situations so much worse with every word that came out of his mouth. His is conceded, self-absorbed, and does not understand that there are consequences to his actions. Aaron's presence throughout this book is solely to make readers want to pull their hair out, while simultaneously making Anastasia realize that he is not the skating partner she thought he was.

The hockey team was present as a surface-level group of side characters, and it would have been great if they were more involved. There were a select few that had a few shining moments, but I would have loved to see them truly form bonds with Anastasia rather than just interact with Nate and do some of his bidding. If you are looking for a quick read that is more for vibes than for plot, then Icebreaker could be for you. I may choose to continue on with this standalone series, but to be quite honest, the writing and development does not show promises of improvement.

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Throttled (Dirty Air, #1) by Lauren Asher Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Lauren Asher I forgive you for The Fine Print... I was hooked into this book by the second chapter and considering I have never read a F1 romance book before, I certainly did not know what I was getting myself into with this series. When Maya's brother, Santiago, announces that he has signed a contract with a major F1 team, she does not expect to form an unexpected bond with her brother's rival, Noah Slade. As Santiago and Noah continue to clash - mostly in a one-sided rivalry on Noah's part - Maya is slowly acclimating to the F1 lifestyle and traveling for races.

Temptation runs high as Noah's notorious playboy past haunts him at every turn, while Maya's innocence to the reality of F1 only draws him toward her more - at with much more at stake than winning races, they have to decide if getting together is worth the risk of angering Santiago or putting Noah's future on the line. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the will-they-won't-they foreplay they had going on, as it felt very natural and had a great comedic presence that alleviated some of the more heavier aspects of the story. The progression of their initial interest in one another, to the attempts to stay away, to having this forbidden friendship turned relationship felt well-paced at first, but I do have to say I think their romantic relationship felt much more rushed.

Not for nothing, while Santiago seems to be a very great older brother, I did start to feel as though he did not understand that Maya was more than just his sister following him around the world for races - she was making a name for herself and building an online presence with her videos. He continues to "talk down" to her throughout the book, and it honestly put a sour taste in my mouth when he would make small remarks about her needing to do more with her life than just "follow him around" and that she "needs to find a real career" when she was gaining hundreds of thousands of subscribers on her channel.

The backstory for Noah was interesting and truly added depth to his character - a lot of focus was placed on his past experiences and how they impacted his competitiveness and responsiveness to his father. Watching him set boundaries or open up to others throughout the book was refreshing, considering the majority of the time we see the male leads stay emotionally suppressed. With Maya, readers gain a first-hand account of what Noah has to go through, and as we learn information at the same time or right before Maya uncovers it, it puts us into the emotional setting that the characters are in.

Maya seemed a bit naive, and with her new to the world of F1, I could see how she had trouble navigating this new environment while being on her own - that being, with her brother by her side - could cause her to be unsure of herself. Her as a character grew on me, and as she found more self confidence, she started to blossom into a more mature version of herself. I do think the forbidden romance aspect with adults can be a little overboard at times, considering both Noah and Maya are perfectly capable of entering a relationship with anyone's insight, but I am a sucker for it anyway.

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