Review // Make Me Your Villain by Lani Lynn Vale

March 08, 2022

Make Me Your Villain by Lani Lynn Vale

Have you ever met someone that was sunshine in human form?
Yeah, that's not me.

- Shine to Iris

────── ♔ ──────


Make Me Your Villain by Lani Lynn Vale

Make Me Your Villain by Lani Lynn Vale


Standalone - Battle Crows MC #2
Release - March 8, 2022
Genre - Contemporary Romance with biker elements
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5
Format/Source - eARC provided by the author
Length - 269 pages
Publisher - Indie


Flaws—he has them.
Laws? He breaks them.
Dues? He’s paid them.
Scars? He bares them proudly.
Lessons? He’s learned them.
Problems? He has one.
Her name is Iris, and she’s the one thing in his life that he can’t control.

My Two Cents

4 "Why does this keep happening?" stars

I honestly don't even know where to start here. My heart is hurt! This author, one of my absolute favorites, seems to enjoy playing with my emotions lately. People are dropping like freaking flies all over the place here. Why oh why do people keep dying???

Shine was fine and Iris was sweet. They just clicked and although their connection was instantaneous, it really worked for them. Well, it definitely worked for me. I love when characters simply mesh without things being all messy. The drama involved wasn't created by them and yet it added another dimension to their relationship. I really liked these two characters so much!

Shine was awesome! I'm very intrigued by the Crow family and so far Haggard and Shine have raised the bar.

This story had so many moving parts and I was really looking forward to watching them all come together. However, many of them didn't. I'm left with putting things together with my imagination and let me tell you... I am not that creative. Aside from the dangling bits or the parts that were only partially explained, I enjoyed myself. I was entertained. I only wish there was a bit more because I needed to truly understand what the heck was going on.


About the characters:

Main Characters - Shine Crow & Iris
Children - baby boy Crow
Shine's family - Derringer Crow (father)
Reedy (mother)
Trinket (brother)
Rook (brother)
Bram (brother)
Haggard (brother) - featured in Always Someone's Monster
Channel (sister) - featured in Chalk Dirty to Me
Iris's family - mom & stepdad
Anderson (brother)
Abby (sister)

Check out the other books from this series:

Make Me Your Villain by Lani Lynn Vale


About the Author

Lani Lynn Vale is married to the love of her life that she met in high school. She fell in love with him because he was wearing baseball pants. Ten years later they have three perfectly crazy children and a cat named Demon who likes to wake her up at ungodly times in the night. They live in the greatest state in the world, Texas. She writes contemporary and romantic suspense, and has a love for all things romance. You can find Lani in front of her computer writing away in her fictional characters world...that is until her husband and kids demand sustenance in the form of food and drink.

Visit https://lanilynnvale.com/ for more information!

February 2022 Bookish Recap

March 05, 2022


Hello everyone and welcome to another recap of whatever the heck I'm reading (and otherwise).

I've got to admit, I'm suffering through a major reading slump. It's put me in such a funk that I've been neglectful in reaching out and supporting fellow bloggers and readers. I've been avoiding the internet, social media, Goodreads, etc. I thought it would help, but it hasn't. So you'll be seeing me all over your stuff shortly.

I'm feeling so blah about reading and I'm hoping that if I pick up something by one of my favorite authors, perhaps something from their backlist, my funk will disappear. I'll be crossing my fingers and toes. Share a quick, positive thought into the atmosphere for me, will you?

Here's what my February looked like:

Total Books Read: 6

Total Pages Read: 1912

DNFs: 0

From my TBR: 3

Avg. Rating: 4.17


All the Books

My favorite book of the month was:


The other books I found worthwhile (and would recommend) were:
Anna and the Alien by Honey Phillips
You Can Run by Rebecca Zanetti
Deadly Fear by Cynthia Eden
Immortal Matchmakers, Inc. by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
Tommaso by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Book Haul

Nothing. See what I'm saying? Worst. Slump. Ever!

Added to my tbr

Nothing. Again. The. Worst!



Again, please think positive thoughts for me. PLEASE!!

What are you looking forward to next month? I hope you find only the best reads!

Talk soon,


xo, Natalie

Review // God of Wine by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

March 01, 2022

God of Wine by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

He's too perfect.
There wasn't a fake, overly done thing about him.
One hundred percent man.
One hundred percent ripped.
One hundred percent naturally gorgeous.

────── ♔ ──────


God of Wine by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

God of Wine by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff


Standalone - Immortal Matchmakers, Inc. #3
Release - November 24, 2016
Genre - Paranormal Romantic Comedy
Primarily Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3 out of 5 / tons of lol moments, but only one real scene
Format/Source - ebook purchase from Amazon
Length - 232 pages
Publisher - Indie


CAN ROCK-HARD ABS SAVE THE WORLD? HE SURE THINKS SO

Reckless and wild, the God of Wine has been partying for over ten thousand years. And New Year's Eve, when humans around the world succumb to his naturally occurring spike in powers, is his biggest night. Only this year, things are a bit different.

A plague is sweeping the immortal community, and he's turning downright evil. All those New Year's bashes will turn into bloodbaths if he doesn't stop the transformation. Sadly, the only known cure is finding a mate. Not so easy for a rude, beer-bellied mess who's definitely not husband material.

But can a little gym time and help from the pros at Immortal Matchmakers, Inc., turn him into a divine sex machine? Absolutely!

So watch out, ladies! The God of Wine is lookin' for love. And he has absolutely no clue what he's doing.

My Two Cents

4 "I can't tell if I prefer beer belly or perfect abs Acan" stars

I was both drawn and repelled by this story. I love a redeemable hero, a hero who truly finds himself, and Acan (The God of Wine) was definitely that. Even if it took him roughly 70 thousand years to find himself. Then again, it was fitting for how ridiculous and hilarious this series has turned out to be. So why not? And honestly, his journey of self-actualization was entertaining, funny as heck, and oddly endearing.

I never expected the transformation of Belch. He became so freaking HOTTTT!! Seriously, this male made me pause in appreciation. Absolutely lovely!

As for Margarita... I don't have anything really positive to say. She irked me, she annoyed me, she frustrated me, she bothered me. Why couldn't this magnificent male find an equally magnificent female? Because Margie wasn't it.

I'm still a fan of these books. I'm still going to read these books. And I really think you need to get your hands on these books too!

Excerpt


About the Author

Mimi Jean Pamfiloff is a New York Times bestselling author who’s sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dreams.

Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona.

She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.

Visit http://www.mimijean.net/ for more information

Review // Tommaso by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

February 23, 2022

Tommaso by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

I had to confront this darkness living inside my head. I'd wasted too much of my life feeling afraid. - Charlotte

────── ♔ ──────


Tommaso by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Tommaso by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff


Standalone - Immortal Matchmakers, Inc. #2
Release - May 24, 2016
Genre - Paranormal Romantic Comedy
Primarily Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3 out of 5/ not much sex, but tons of sexual content
Format/Source - ebook purchase from Amazon
Length - 202 pages
Publisher - Indie


SOMETIMES, HOT MEN CAN BE REAL MONSTERS…

Tommaso Fierro is used to the finer things in life—nice suits, nice car, nice house. Okay, his past isn’t so nice, but that’s in the past. Or at least it was until he blacked out after meeting the woman of his dreams.

Annnd possibly capturing her.

Annnd possibly terrorizing her before she got away.

Annnd discovering that he’s turning into a horrible creature he loathes with all his heart.

Luckily, there’s a cure. Unluckily, it will require him to track this woman down and convince her to give him a second chance. But if he finds her, will she ever believe that he’s really not a monster?

My Two Cents

4 "Annd the hilarity continues" stars

I'm not even sure if I like Cimil, the goddess of the Underworld and all things ridiculous, but mannn... she's definitely entertaining!

Okay, so in this book, Tommaso believes that he's turning (everyone good seems to be turning bad. It's a thing). The only person who can save him is his mate. A mate he doesn't have. When he attends an immortal singles mixer, he catches a beautiful woman fleeing the scene. What is that in the air? Why is he so drawn to her?

After meeting and being rejected by Andrus (who is Tommaso's best friend btw), and then being confronted by the weirdness of people 'believing' they are otherworldly beings, Charlotte runs for her life. And she's good at that. Living in fear of monsters and trying to lay low, she doesn't make time for people. When Tommaso won't take no for an answer, what's a girl to do? Can she confront her demons? Can he?

I enjoyed the way the author told a tale of two broken people that was made light by a ton of hilarity. Charlotte was scared of monsters and going mad like her mother. Tommaso, after losing everyone he'd ever loved, believed he had so much to make up for. And yet, he did everything he could to make Charlotte whole and feel complete.

How could I not love and adore this man?

The heroine was a hard pill to swallow, but Tommaso made this story for me. He was incredible and I wanted more.

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

Lying in bed, I sifted through the darkness with my tired eyes, in search of the strange noise coming from…

Holy crap! It’s above me!

The dark figure came into focus, and I let out a yelp that should’ve been a terror-filled scream. What in the name of fuck is that? I thought, feeling my entire body turn ice cold with fear.

In the yellow light of my alarm clock, I saw the monster’s face hovering over mine, its eyes pits of glowing crimson swirling with black.

Oh shit. Oh shit. What is that? I opened my mouth to finally deliver that scream, but the beast quickly slapped its sickly hand over my lips to muffle the noise.

Oh, God. Help me. He smelled like death and evil. He smelled like desolation and despair—everything bad in this world mixed together.

Knowing I was about to die, I felt my eyes begin to tear.

“Please,” I mumbled through the gaps in its sticky fingers, the unmistakable smell of dried blood filling my nostrils. “Please don’t kill me.”

Slowly, it dipped its head, allowing me to see its face up close.

Christ. He’s human. Or something humanlike, resembling a man covered in black soot and the stench of death.

“Please, I’m begging you—just let me go,” I whimpered.

The man slid his hand from my mouth, studying me. Then there was a flash of something I didn’t expect in their depths: fear.

“Save. Me,” he mumbled in a deep gargle. “Please…save…me…”

What the…? I was the one who needed saving!

“I think it’s the oth-other way around,” I stuttered and then reached for the reading lamp to my side and swung. He stopped it inches from his face, and an icy rage replaced any semblance of kinder, gentler emotions.

He roared and then grabbed me by the hair, dragging me from my bed.

“Let go!” I yelled, and he did. He tossed me to the floor as if I were completely weightless.

Oh, God. He was so strong.

I yelled for help, but no one was coming. I lived alone out in the middle of the desert.

Looking pleased by my fear, he reached into the waistband of whatever he wore as clothing and drew a buck knife or machete or something one might use to murder an innocent twenty-six-year-old golf instructor who lived ten miles outside of Palm Springs, liked to binge on crunchy food, and owned two Jeeps, a cat that hated her, and four rescue chickens. Yeah. It was that kind of knife. A really, really big fucking knife.

“Oh, God. Please no. Please…I’m sorry,” I cried. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry!” Of course, I wasn’t sorry. I was simply terrified and wanted to live. Unfortunately, the odds were not in my favor.

I watched in terror as the blade barreled down toward my face.

Read more of an excerpt here: http://www.mimijean.net/hidden-page-25.html


About the Author

Mimi Jean Pamfiloff is a New York Times bestselling author who’s sold over one million books around the world. Although she obtained her MBA and worked for more than fifteen years in the corporate world, she believes that it’s never too late to come out of the romance closet and follow your dreams.

Mimi lives with her Latin lover hubby, two pirates-in-training (their boys), and their three spunky dragons (really, just very tiny dogs with big attitudes) Snowy, Mini, and Mack, in the vampire-unfriendly state of Arizona.

She hopes to make you laugh when you need it most and continues to pray daily that leather pants will make a big comeback for men.

Visit http://www.mimijean.net/ for more information