Belladonna (Belladonna, #1) by Adalyn Grace Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

The prologue really drew me into this story - I had heard mixed reviews of this series, and I had it on my TBR list for quite some time, so I was pleasantly surprised to be drawn right into Signa's journey. The banter that Death and Signa have right off the bat was so enjoyable, and as a long-time lover of enemies-to-lovers, I had high hopes for their relationship progression throughout this book. I have been yearning for a good grumpy male lead, and while Death does make his appearances worth while, I wish he had more scenes.

Sylas and Signa were a great little detective pair, and the tension between them throughout the book on top of the tension between Death and Signa was so fun to read - you could see the inner struggle that Signa was battling as she spent more time with each of them. Sylas is essentially the grumpiest man in the nicest room on the train, and his reactions to everything that Signa does in this story really added a layer of enjoyment. That being said, I loved the way that Death spoke to Signa, and the way he was always trying to make her figure out things on her own.

I was becoming very torn between who I liked more for Signa - Death or Sylas - but in the wise words of Katherine Pierce - "It's okay to love them both" - so I did. The pacing of the plot was slow for about two thirds of the book, and finally took off and was filled with a decent amount of action and discovery in its last third. The masquerade scene was truly chef's kiss - I loved every single minute of it, and it had such a great energy surrounding it, truly drawing the reader in.

The side characters - Blythe, Percy, Marjorie, Elijah, etc - certainly aided Signa's story, and the author was able to create an intimate circle of people surrounding the leading lady. I do wish some characters became more fleshed out as the plot progressed, but the select few that did receive that special attention were definitely worth it in the end. However, they were not the reason that I was invested in the story, and I found myself reading at a faster pace when their side plots took precedence over Signa's development.

The overall mystery of the story was certainly enthralling, and if the book was about one hundred pages longer, I think there could have been more development. A decent amount of twists seemed more obvious than they should have been, and it took a bit of the suspense out of reading when I could see what was going to happen chapters before it was revealed.

I love gothic romance, and with the added mystery aspect, I thought this was a fun read that could be a great entry way into the genre as you build yourself up. The setting of the story - at least what I was able to imagine in my head based off of the author's descriptions - was stunning, and truly gave that eerie feeling as murders need to be solved. The story has certainly intrigued me, and I will definitely try to revisit this series in the future.

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Silent Deception by Cathie Dunn Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Silent Deception is currently available for free on iBooks and Kindle.

I was looking for something short and maybe not-so-sweet when I came across this novella, and it was the perfect choice to help me get out of a reading slump. Minnie Goodridge has inherited a haunted manor, and comes across the charming presence of Gideon Drake upon her arrival to fix up the home that no person seems keen to enter. I usually tend to stay away from historical romance, but on occasion when combined with a touch of ghosts, I will be sucked in.

This novella brushes upon a budding romance between Minnie and Gideon as she makes the manor her home while digging into the dreadful past that seems to haunt the estate. Unknowingly tied to Gideon, she attempts to unmask the truth of a relative while he does the same, but he is immediately intrigued by Minnie's presence in his life.

Silent Deception offers the beginning of a romance that brushes the surface of what the future has in store for Minnie and Gideon. I loved the atmosphere that the author created, it truly felt hauntingly eerie as the story progressed, and reminded me so much of Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn in that regard.

Both main characters had a decent amount of character development, considering this novella clocks in at just under eighty pages. I found myself wishing this was a full-length novel, and I really wanted to get more into the story and the romance. The plot moved along at a great pace that allows readers to essentially finish in one sitting, making you want to never stop reading until the end. The relationship between Minnie and Gideon feels very natural, especially for the time period, and I loved the way they slowly began to get to know one another.

If you are looking for a gateway into historical romance with just a dash of mystery, this novella is certainly an excellent step in that direction. On a separate note, I think this is the third book I have read with this girl on the cover -- they never seem to disappoint!

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Midnight with the Devil (Unlikely Heroes, #1) by Emma Castle Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Diana makes a deal with the Devil -- literally. In order to give her father a second chance at life, she agrees to a three month contract with Lucien Star, the Devil himself, in order to save his fate. And the price? Spend every Friday night with Lucien doing whatever he asks from her -- in my opinion, a pretty sweet deal.

This is a relatively quick read, and I managed to read the entire book in just under an hour and a half. The pacing is maintained throughout the story and the author does not linger on trivial plot points but rather cuts right to the chase in order to develop the story. That being said, I do think there was room for some more character development for Diana and Lucien -- we flew through the story so quickly, it felt as though that we as readers were just getting to know them when the story ends.

The book was giving major Lucifer television show vibes, and I am still up in the air if I actually enjoyed the similarities -- he owns a nightclub and is ridiculously handsome and suave. I am not a super fan of insta-love stories (I am an enemies to lovers girl at heart), so the extremely quick progression of their relationship was not really my cup of tea. Diana's characterization was a little two-dimensional in the sense that she just really did not experience any type of development besides wanting to be with Lucien, which is not exactly a personality trait.

I wish the author spent more time actually exploring angels and the paranormal aspect of the story. It had the basic backbone of Lucifer being a fallen angel and a few well-known angels making their appearance throughout the book, but other than the occasional mention from a side character, the paranormal focus was left in the dust in order to make room for Diana and Lucien's romance. I expected the book to be a lot darker based off of its summary, and it just was not giving what it should have been -- I would go far enough to say that this was tamer than some new adult novels that I have read.

Diana and Lucien have this instant attraction towards one another, and I was having a pretty fun time reading about their growing relationship and both of their internal struggles of coming to terms with what they were feeling. The further the story went on, the more it read as their relationship really only developing in order to further a particular plot point that I will not spoil, which made the relationship cheapen in my eyes. 

For someone who is literally supposed to be the devil, Lucien was a pretty chill guy and did not give off scary or powerful vibes -- he felt more like a PG-13 version of the devil that for some reason had a solid moral compass. I expected a lot more debauchery than what we were given in the story and the lack of it made me start to lose interest about halfway through.

Honestly, I did not love the ending of this book. I was really hoping that it would go in a certain direction, and in the last pages it really took a turn that I personally felt undid a lot of what the story was working towards. Maybe I expected too much from this book, but I genuinely thought it was working towards a decent ending (at least my version of a decent ending) and ended up pretty disappointed.

If you are looking for a slightly spicy quick read with a touch of fantasy, Midnight with the Devil may be the perfect read for you, especially if you are looking for an arrangement romance.

You can add Midnight with the Devil on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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A Dark Kiss of Rapture (Renegade Angels, #0.5) by Sylvia Day Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Vampires, lycan, angels... the list just keeps on going. Set in a modern world where a vampire will casually be using an iPad, this novella reminded me a lot of The Mortal Instruments in the sense that in that series they are just out of reach in using technology by choice, but Day chooses to have her characters welcome the advances.

Raze is a vampire on a mission and he does not hold back when it comes to carnage, whereas Kim has just witnessed a gruesome crime scene of someone close to her -- and yet, they somehow find each other when they needed someone the most. I think if we knew more about Raze and his past, it would have made their instant connection more interesting, but I went through the entire novella wondering what exactly was so great about him that Kim could not stay away.

For a novella tagged as erotica, it was plagued with fade to black scenes that made me feel like I was back reading young adult novels just alluding to what happened between the main characters. Especially since Raze and Kim are adults, it was kind of disappointing to have mild build up just to have the chapter come to an end or page break into the next scene. I fell victim to the free book section on iBooks and paid the price... I kept waiting for something more exciting to happen and at the end of every chapter I was only left hanging. I understand that this is an introduction to a series, but if the rest of the series is anything like this, I will not be continuing on.

Raze would have been a much more interesting character if the author kept the momentum going with him on how he was introduced in the beginning. If Raze had been more brooding or even cold -- ironic, since he is a vampire -- it would have at least added something to his character besides being interested in Kim. At least Kim had some more dimension to her with what she has been through, but her own characterization was lacking and she was running into the arms of the first man she laid eyes on and somehow turned it into a relationship overnight.

The scenes where Raze was just running around tracking random vampires and talking to his friends on his iPad had me rolling my eyes into the back of my head. For someone who thinks that himself and Kim might be in danger, he sure does take his time in actually doing anything about it. Every chapter had him either thinking how great Kim was or thinking about how to get intel on other vampires, and not much else.

If you are looking for a very quick read to up your reading goal for the year, this novella fits the bill. If you are looking for something with a bit substance to dive into a new series, I would say that you can pass on this one. It is unfortunate, because angel and vampire books usually are just what I am looking for, but Day's novella misses the mark when it comes to world building and characterization.

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Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) by Leigh Bardugo Review

This review contains some mild spoilers for Ninth House - no major plot or character spoilers are included. A list of trigger warnings can be found here.

You can read my reviews of other publications from Leigh Bardugo here: The Grisha Trilogy, Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom, Little Knife, The Tailor, The Witch of Duva, and The Too-Clever Fox.

When I first started reading this book, I was constantly confusing who the main characters were, since they have nicknames or go by their last names. Once I was able to orient myself into the plot after a few chapters, it was a lot easier to follow. Ninth House is very content heavy, so I found myself reading at a slower pace than I am usually reading it -- there is a lot going on all of the time, so I definitely suggest to take your time.

Reading about the trauma that Alex has gone through and comes to encounter, especially the bathroom flashback early on in the book, was heartbreaking. She constantly is trying to tell people what she is going through and what she sees, and it seems that no one will listen and those who do only use it against her or spread it like gossip. I could never imagine sending a child to one of those wilderness rehab programs for "troubled youth" like Alex's mother tried to do.

Darlington and Alex's relationship definitely starts off pretty rocky -- he expects her to do everything perfectly, and she has only been exposed to proper magic for a few weeks. He does not quite understand what she has been through and how she has lived her entire life seeing the Grays and basically being tortured by them for as long as she can remember. Alex is still discovering so much of the world that Darlington has been involved in for so long, but I appreciated the way that Bardugo is able to show the evolution of their relationship as they learn more about one another through flashbacks.

Dawes really is a mystery to Alex in a sense -- she is friendly, then turns cold, then agrees to help Alex but does a poor job of it. One third of the way into the book and I was still on the edge of deciding if I liked Dawes and if she was actually looking out for Alex. She did not let Alex know when Turner showed up at the medical examiner's office, even when Alex explicitly stated that she needed to give her a warning. She definitely grew on me as the book moves forward, and provides a lot of great back and forth with Alex.

I really enjoy seeing Darlington's past before coming to Yale and being a part of Lethe House -- watching him grow up and see his complicated relationship with his parents and his love for his grandfather put it in perspective to me of why he is the way he is. The way we see his development in flashbacks allows us to truly understand his character despite him not being actively present at Yale.

Alex may be spontaneous and make rapid decisions regarding dying and going to the underworld, but she is first and foremost a protector. We see her constantly trying to save and protect others throughout the book, whether they be dead or alive -- she fully embodies "girls protect girls" when it comes into play. Yes, she definitely does some questionable and perhaps unethical things, but she gets the job done at the end of the day. Her development as a character was fantastic, and we see her grow and expand into someone with so much more confidence than she started out with when she came to Yale.

The Bridegroom reminds me of Dorian Gray's portrait for some reason -- every time he shows up in a chapter, it has this haunting energy around him, from the way that he speaks to the way that he insists on particular things. He pops up in the most inconvenient times for Alex, yet also has a way of showing up in just the right moment.

Ninth House deals with a ton of world building and understanding the societies at Yale and what they specifically specialize in. Bardugo does an excellent job with character development and is able to clearly depict each character and the flaws they encompass. I definitely recommend this book to fans of An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson, The Wicker King by K. Ancrum, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

You can add Ninth House and Hell Bent on Goodreads now, as well as follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

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