This is going to be an all over the place mini review because I have 1 contemporary romance, 2 erotic romance, and 1 YA. But I figure since I read all of them and I’m not literally making you read the books you guys can handle reading the reviews for the different types of books in one place! Continue reading “Mini Reviews: Melonie Johnson, Naima Simone, Robin Lovett, & Kati Gardner”
This was a cute, relatively short novella. that I read in under an hour. The setup revolves around the two main characters meeting at a gaming convention where there is a meet…somewhat disaster in the parking lot where one cuts off the other to get a spot in a crowded lot. Of course, a few minutes later the two windup at the same gaming table where they begin to flirt over a game of Carcassone. Continue reading “Review: No Rulebook for Flirting by Laura Bailo”
The Silent Sister by Shalini Boland is a suspense but I didn’t really care that much about the suspenseful parts? There were a bunch of twists and turns to the plot…and I found I just didn’t care that much. I felt myself skimming the closer I got to the end because I just wanted to know how it all turned out but I didn’t want to bother with the details. For me that’s pretty much the definition of a forgettable mystery. 3 stars.
Rough Trade by Sidney Bell is the conclusion to her trilogy and her m/m romantic suspense series. I cannot wait to see what else she writes! There isn’t a ton in the LGBTQIA+ romantic suspense area and it’s a category I enjoy quite a bit. Bell writes intense characters who have a lot of depth and layers to them. I had been dying to find out Ghost’s motivations for his actions and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. I’d highly recommend this whole series. 4.5 stars.
Lionheart by Thea Harrison is another conclusion to a series I’ve enjoyed – the Moonshadow trilogy. King Oberon has basically been frozen because of a mysterious illness and needs to be saved – enter Dr. Kathryn Shaw. I like Oberon but loved Kathryn because she was a fierce heroine not to be screwed with and that’s what I need from a heroine. Oberon reminded me too much of Dragos – which was probably intentional – but he was such an alpha and a predator I couldn’t stop seeing Dragos in him and wanted to see just Oberon. Even with that I still really loved this whole trilogy and this book. 4 stars. 
Reviewer: Melinda
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I’m going to be writing a series of a few mini reviews of books I’ve read over the past few months to catch up on some books I want to let you all know about! Continue reading “Mini Reviews”
We all know how much I love a wonderful cover – and WOW, is this a wonderful cover!? I absolutely picked this book up purely on the power of this beautiful woman with her glowing skin, powerful smile, and amazing hair. Combined with the vibrant purple lettering of the title smack in the middle of the cover it just pops so well and I couldn’t stop staring at it. So, whoever designed this needs a huge round of applause! Continue reading “Book Review: Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann”
I’ve mentioned my love for Talia Hibbert’s writing…maybe once or twice here lol! Every one of her books are solidly in my favorites and she writes her heroines in such a vulnerable, yet fierce way that makes me love them every time. So I could not wait for Mating the Huntress to come out – her first take on a paranormal world. And I wasn’t let down at all. Talia manages to do this kind of hyper-focus on the main characters while still building the essentials of this other world the reader needs to get to know.
Blurb
This Halloween, love bites back… hard.
Chastity Adofo knows a monster when she sees one. As soon as Luke Anthony wanders into her family’s coffee shop, she recognises the evil lurking beneath his charming smile and fantastic arse. The handsome werewolf is determined to have her—but she’s determined to cut out his heart.
Little does she know, Luke’s plans for her are far more pleasurable than murder. And when the full moon rises, all bets are off…
Warning: Mating the Huntress is 30,000 words of red-hot, Halloween-themed romance. This book contains one flirtatious, cursed creature of the night, one badass, knife-happy heroine, and forbidden lust at first sight. Please read responsibly!
EXCERPT
“I’ll answer a question,” he said, “for a kiss.”
“How very nefarious,” she muttered dryly.
“I’m a monster, aren’t I?”
“Yep.”
“You should slap me and run off into the light.”
“Oh, piss off. Slap you and break my bloody wrist, more like.”
“I can’t help it if my bones are particularly sturdy.”
“Why are they so sturdy, again?”
He grinned at her innocent tone. “A kiss, love.”
“Fine.” Before he could grasp what was happening, she darted up on her toes and pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. Every fibre in his body seemed to shatter, to explode on impact, as if the slight, chaste brush of skin against skin were the most erotic thing he’d ever felt.
And then she was gone, pressing herself back against the wall as if she could sink into it, her lashes lowered. “There. Now answer the question.”
It took him a moment to find the wherewithal to speak, but he tried to sound unaffected. Luke had a feeling that with Chastity, the slightest slip of control might be taken as permission to ride roughshod.
Not that he’d mind her taking advantage of him, once in a while.
“That wasn’t a real kiss,” he said. “You missed my mouth.”
“It’s dark,” she scowled. “Except for those bloody eyes of yours.”
“Thanks to these eyes,” he said patiently, “I can see you just fine. So we’ll do it again, and I’ll kiss you.”
“Nope. My kiss counts. You never said it had to be on the mouth.”
He smiled slowly, glad that the shadows hid his satisfaction. Ah, she had no idea what she’d just walked into. “Alright. Fair enough.” He enjoyed the expression on her face for a moment, all adorably pleased, as if she’d just won a prize. “Like all healthy, cursed beasts beholden to the moon, I am physically stronger, faster and sturdier than the average human. Higher bone density, more powerful muscles, magic, blah blah blah. And I believe I have a stronger immune system.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I’ve never gotten sick,” he said. “That was another question, Chasity. You owe me a kiss.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re a pervert.”
“You know,” he said reasonably, “you could always reject my bargain. Or at least, you could if you weren’t determined to prove yourself useful to a family who have, for some reason, denied your skills as a huntress. But since you are determined to do so, and since you also secretly want to kiss me, why don’t you be a good girl and let me take what I’m owed?”
She gaped at him like a particularly pissed-off fish. Then, finally, she spluttered, “Don’t psychoanalyse me, you inhuman prick.”
“How am I supposed to support you in overcoming your insecurities—”
“Call me insecure again and I will scoop out your eyeballs with a silver spoon.”
“—if I don’t put effort into understanding you? And Chas, we both know you’re never going to attack me again. I’d be open to play-fighting, though. You’re very sexy when you’re trying to remove my vital organs.”
“What on earth are you blathering on about?” she demanded. But she didn’t sound as brashly confident as usual, or as disgusted and dismissive. She sounded, beneath that iron voice of hers… unsure.
He didn’t like that, because he knew she must be uncomfortable. Chastity appreciated certainty, which meant that he appreciated certainty for her. That was what drove him to say, his words painfully blunt, “I want to mate you.”
There was a heavy pause. Then, finally, she said, “I wish I didn’t know what you meant by that, but…”
“Context clues?” he guessed helpfully.
“Context clues,” she agreed.
“How do you feel about it?”
“Horrified, obviously. I don’t think I need to tell you that whatever mating me entails, it’s never going to happen. Unless you force me.”
He ground his teeth together and breathed through his nose for a moment, her scent ironically comforting as he fought down nausea and fury in equal measure. Then, his temper and his roiling stomach under control, he gritted out in his best imitation of calm, “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
“Um… are you okay?”
“Do you care?” he snarled, the moonlight-fine thread of his control finally snapping.
“Yes,” she clipped out, her voice equally harsh. And then they both faltered, blinking at that unexpected response. There was a heavy pause as she swallowed, the sound loud in the silence. Distantly, he recognised the rumble of passing cars on the nearby street, the open-and-shut of a door somewhere close, a faint conversation across the block. But that evidence of a world beyond the secret space between them wasn’t enough to drag Luke out of this moment, this precious breath of time when her eyes met his without aggression, when her pretty lips parted not to attack him, but to drag in air.
When she was just as affected as him, and unable to hide it.
His heart pounding, his beast growling hungrily for more, he leaned closer. “Chastity.”
“Mm?” she hummed, the sound unsteady.
“May I have my kiss, now?”
She took a deep breath, then gave a jerky nod.
“Say it,” he murmured.
Her voice was whisper-fine. “Yes.”
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ABOUT TALIA HIBBERT
Talia Hibbert lives in a bedroom full of books. Supposedly, there is a world beyond that room—but she has yet to drum up enough interest to investigate.
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Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07HLV1R85
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I really wanted to read a book with excellent plus size body positivity rep and was seeking recommendations and I also have been reading #romanceclass books. This book met both of those criteria! It’s an #ownvoices Filipino author who I’ve read one other book – The Queen’s Game, and already enjoyed. This book did not disappoint and honestly left me just feeling pretty delighted all around. Continue reading “Book Review: If the Dress Fits by Carla de Guzman”
It’s been awhile since the Bookish Ladies read and reviewed the same book. Today Jennifer and Melinda share their very different feelings on Kristan Higgins’ Good Luck with That. Continue reading “Opposing Book Reviews: Good Luck with That by Kristan Higgins”
This is book 2 and I didn’t read book 1 but went straight into this and I was happily just fine without knowing anything that came before it so yay to that! This author is one that I’ve had on my TBR for awhile so I’m glad I finally read something by her. And I liked it so much I went back and have already since read the first book. Continue reading “Book Review: Feels Like Summer by Six de los Rios”
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