Review – Soulless Saint by Elena Lawson

Soulless Saint; Kings of Kilborn University #1
(#1 within a series)

Publication Date: January 26, 2023

Genre/Tropes: New Adult/Dark/Reverse Harem/Gang/Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

Author: Elena Lawson

Review Rating: 5 Gold Stars

Review/Synopsis:

Review:
I hate to call this a spinoff to the Thorn Valley Crows because Becca completely owned this book right along with the Kings of Kilborn. Soulless Saint has a totally different feel all the way around and I loved every second of it!

If you are coming into the Saint world blind, which you can jump into this book without having read The Crows, just know that Becca refers to her past from living in Thorn Valley and her friends do pop up a few times. Aside from that Becca Hart has pretty much shed everything from her time in Thorn Valley, leaving everything behind and starting over with a second chance at life in SoCal. Living life on her terms which also means no bad boys or bad decisions. However, bad boys and decisions seem to find her like a homing beacon.

Hardin and Kaleb St. Vincent are the Kings of Kilborn and everyone follows what they say, everyone but Becca Hart that is. Becca is used to being around lethal men and when Hardin and Kaleb walk in and think they can upset her new life…well, she refuses to bow down to the kings. Call them intrigued and instantly infatuated. Their back and forth is great. Becca is one fierce girl having learned quite a bit from her bada$$ best friend, Ava Jade. Becca has come a long way from the naive, rich girl we all met back in AJ’s first book and I am so here for it!

While this is still a dark, enemies-to-lovers, mafia book, it still had a brighter glow to it than the world Becca came from. I don’t really know how to put a pin on what I mean, except to say this; there is basically an opposite to everything or everyone within this book which seemed to balance the darkness. For instance, Kaleb and Hardin are total opposites. Kaleb is very outgoing, playful and almost tenacious in his extravertiness. If he wants you, he will get you and you will enjoy every second of it. Hardin barely says two words to anyone, even his own brother, but he’s loyal to almost a fault, hence his tenacity is focused inward. Spending time with him will be intense and you may make it out alive…but you also might be in a pleasure coma. Can you just imagine the reverse harem now!?! Fanning myself!!

The ending gave a great twist which totally left me panting for more. I can hardly wait for the next book!!

Synopsis:
I barely made it out of Thorn Valley alive.

My savage bestie and her lethal boyfriends are the only reason I have a second chance at life and I’m not going to waste it.

When I took the scholarship to CalArts, I didn’t know Daddy would cut me off, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll get a bus pass, a job, and an apartment. Easy, right?

Wrong. Enter my two shadows…

Kaleb. Hot as sin and he damn well knows it. Just ask the countless broken-hearted girls at Kilborn U.

Hardin. Kaleb’s quietly menacing older brother. He rarely says more than two words, but his watchful stare follows me everywhere I go, awakening a desire I thought I swore off for good.

They threaten to ruin everything I’ve built for myself. To break all my new rules. But even more dangerous than the Kings of Kilborn is their father, Damien St. Vincent, and the secret that could destroy us all.

Soulless Saint is a dark enemies to lovers romance where the main character will have more than one love interest and will not choose between them. It contains content that may be triggering to some readers.

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Review – Meet Hate Love by Stevie J. Cole

Meet Hate Love
(standalone)

Publication Date: January 26, 2023

Genre/Tropes: Romantic Comedy/Enemies to Lovers/Office Romance

Author: Stevie J. Cole

Review Rating: 5 Gold Stars

Review/Synopsis:

Review:
This is a first Stevie J. Cole read for me and it was absolutely delightful!!
As a lover of vocabulary I ate up Blake’s logophile personality which inspired tons of verbal sparring between her and Vance. It was an aphrodisiac to my reading palate and I could have read it all day long!

Vance had a very interesting side hustle through Lonely Fans, a take on another popular fan site, that starred his oversized peen with famous sites in the background. Now how could Vance afford to travel the world taking pictures of his giant hotdog? His legitimate job was as a travel writer, but when his co-worker, the woman of his dreams, discovers about his second job she does what any self respecting woman would do…she finagles her way into his next trip. Okay, she actually blackmails him, but I did mention woman of his dreams, right?

Blake and Vance worked at the same employer, but while these two bickered everyday while sitting side by side in the office, that undercurrent of hate was just a slow simmer for something stronger. Boy do I love a good enemies to lovers romance and these two brought it!!

I realized at some point while reading this, that Vance and Blake totally reminded me of my husband and myself on vacation. Vance is a total over scheduler, his itinerary is listed out from dawn to dusk and he has alarms set all day long for literally everything.  Blake is much more of a go with the flow, takes a ton of pictures even if they seem random, and she continually tries to get the stiff man she’s vacationing with to loosen up. I could easily trade each of those statements out with me and my husband and it made me laugh through the entire book.

Meet Hate Love is full of great banter, witty peens, I mean puns, chemistry through the roof, and big vocabulary…which is super hot, I mean if that is your kink. Which it’s totally mine.

Synopsis:

An act of hysterical blackmail between two work enemies kicks off this flirty and utterly ridiculous laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from USA TODAY bestselling author Stevie J. Cole.

I hated Vance Morgan, my arrogant office mate, more than anyone in the world. And yet, there I was, on a Paris-bound flight, cramped in the small space by his six-foot-four, arrogant frame.

And why?

Because after the sexy, thieving bastard stole my dream assignment, I found out he had a Lonely Fans page. One dedicated to pictures of his man-meat stick in front of world monuments. So, I did what any rational woman in my situation would do.

I blackmailed his hot, article-swindling ass. The problem was, he blackmailed me right back. And thanks to him and his can’t- lose-attitude, we ended up stuck together, Traveling around Europe while coming up with tips and tricks on how to survive vacationing with someone you hate. Easy. Like I said, I despised the man. Or at least I thought I did…

After a few days of tiny hotel rooms and steamy tension, everything between us came to a head—a really big, massive, enticing head.

Now the only tip I’m desperately seeking is how to survive falling for my used-to-be enemy.

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Review – Coercion by Amelia Wilde

Coercion; Controlling Interest #3
(#3 within a series)

Publication Date: January 24, 2023

Genre/Tropes: Midnight Dynasty/Trilogy/Contemporary Romance

Author: Amelia Wilde

Review Rating: 5 Gold Stars

Review/Synopsis:

Review:
Coercion picks right up where we left Will and Bristol after book two with her twin siblings, Mia and Ben, missing.

Coercion is full of outside emotional tension that only seems to solidify the foundation of who Will and Bristol have become together and also build on what a future looks like for them going forward. It’s really a great finish to their story.

There were so many great moments that touched my heart in this book, it’s really hard to pick just one. Touching on just a few…When Will talks Mia through a panic attack…be still my heart. The inside view Will has as he opens up his heart to Mia about how his brother Emerson experiences them requires tissues. Lots of tissues. Then when Emerson comforts Mia…and for anyone who has read his trilogy, this is not his area of expertise, so once again…be still my heart. Lord I could go on and on because this is a wonderful and emotional book.

Now I can’t wait for Sin’s story and what will he bring to the Leblanc fold. I can hardly wait.

Synopsis:
There’s a fight to the death… and a fight for his heart.

COERCION is book three in the Controlling Interest trilogy. Find out what happens in the explosive conclusion of Will Leblanc’s emotional story.

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Cover Reveal – My So Called Sex Life by Lauren Blakely

MY SO-CALLED SEX LIFE by Lauren Blakely

Release Date: March 1st

Genre/Tropes: Enemies to Lovers/Forced Proximity/Broody Grump/Only One Bed

​​Cover Designer: Y’all. That Graphic

Photographer: Wander Aguiar

Model: Matheus R.

OMG THIS COVER!!!

MY SO-CALLED SEX LIFE by #1 NYT bestselling author Lauren Blakely is coming March 1st!!

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE HOTNESS OF THIS COVER?!

Make sure to preorder this all-new enemies to lovers standalone romance TODAY!!

PREORDER TODAY!!

✦ Amazon ➜http://blkly.pub/AmazonMySoCalled

✦ Audible (COMING SOON) ➜ http://www.subscribepage.com/LaurenAudio

(Narrated by Vanessa Edwin & Sebastian York)

Other Vendors:

https://laurenblakely.com/mysocalledsexlife/

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60171498-my-so-called-sex-life

BLURB:

I’ve got a list of people I absolutely don’t ever want to be stuck with on a boat, or a plane, or a train, and it starts and ends with the broody, grumpy, too-sexy-for-my-own good Axel Huxley.

Also known as this romance novelist’s number one nemesis.

The man is legendary for his mighty pen and his even mightier scowl. I tried to work together with the cocky thriller writer once upon a time, but the two of us are like vodka and good decisions. We don’t play well together.

Only now, our publishers are sending us on a joint trip across Europe to mingle with our most devoted readers on an old-fashioned luxury train. And thanks to a booking snafu, we have to share a sleeper car.

You guessed it–there’s only one bed.

I’m not sure I can survive the next seven days and nights with my dangerously sexy enemy and all our fiery tension.

Which explodes one night in a desperately needed hate bang.

But the bigger plot twist is this – the more time we spend together, visiting the most romantic cities in Europe by day and discovering each other at night, the more I’m forced to face our past.

To let go of the hurt.

To see the man he’s become.

And when I do, I wonder if it’s too late to write a new happy ending for us?

About Lauren Blakely:

A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible

Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s

sexy, sweet, and witty. She also writes USA Today bestselling LGBTQ romance.

With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York

Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 100 times, with

more than 65 titles on the USA Today Bestsellers list alone. She’s sold more than 5 million books. A Brown University graduate, Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.

Connect w/Lauren:

Website: laurenblakely.com

NL Signup: http://laurenblakely.com/newsletter

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LaurenBlakelyBooks

Instagram: http://instagram.com/laurenblakelybooks

Twitter: http://twitter.com/LaurenBlakely3

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@laurenblakelybooks

Review – Reaching Reed by Cora Rose and Nicole Dykes

Reaching Reed; Behind the Camera #1
(#1 within a series)

Publication Date: February 2, 2023

Genre/Tropes: New Adult/Bi-Awakening/MM Romance

Author: Cora Rose and Nicole Dykes

Review Rating: 5 Gold Stars

Review/Synopsis:

Review:
Love this writing duo together if this is the kind of book we are going to get!!! Reaching Reed was fantastic!! Steamy goodness and also emotionally phenomenal. This book pushed all of my reading buttons and I loved it!!

I haven’t read one of Cora’s books yet, but I have read Nicole’s and I always love how she brings the heat along with the heart. It’s safe to say after reading this book that Cora does the same because their writing was flawless. Both Reed and Carter ended up near and dear to my heart and as much as I wanted to pick a favorite, it was just too hard by the end.

Reed is this blushing, sweet guy, struggling to make ends meet who shows up at Carter’s house, a known camboy, so Reed can earn some money. He isn’t doing it because he’s looking to get into Carter’s pants…initially anyway, Reed really didn’t realize he was attracted to men in the beginning. Or perhaps it’s just Carter…either way…Reed is so hotly adorable in his awakening I couldn’t help but fall in love with him.

Carter is the total opposite. He’s so comfortable in his skin, I wish I was Carter. He’s got a job he enjoys, friends he adores, great parents, seriously…who wouldn’t want to be Carter? Is his head a little big…maybe, but that is what Reed is for, he does help ground him which is also insanely sweet and this is why I couldn’t pick favs. Plus, the stick…I admit I love that idea. That is all I’m going to say about it because you have to experience the stick.

This book is heartwarming and heart pounding with all the steam…have fresh panties on hand you’ll need them!!

Synopsis:

Reed Ellis is absolutely gorgeous, but a total newbie to camming, a virtual nobody in my world.

I should have just deleted his message request for a steamy, on-camera collaboration. Not everyone is cut out to be a camboy. But there’s just something about him I couldn’t resist.

He’s timid and inexperienced, quiet and closed off, but his fumbling first-times play out scorching hot for the cameras, and our videos together are an instant success.

I know I should just ride this out, sit back and watch the money roll in, and then move on.

But I can’t. I’m intrigued by this brick wall of a man. I see glimpses of Reed hiding behind his silence and he is struggling. He has secrets, someone he cares about that he’s protecting. And I make it my mission to get him to open up and let me in. What will it take to reach the elusive Reed?

Reaching Reed is a very steamy and sweet M/M romance about camboys and first love. It is the first standalone book in the Behind the Camera series.

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