Hey everyone and welcome to another Throwback Thursday! Every week I'll be sharing my book recommendations within a romantic trope.

Today I'm sharing with you the first five books posted on the blog dealing with vengeance and/or vigilantes. These stories are usually a win for me and I am always on the lookout for another stunner. If you know of any, please let me know.

I really love this trope and I hope if you haven't read any of the following books, you'll give one of them a try :)

Betrayed by a Kiss by Kris Rafferty

I remember, back in the beginning of my romance reading journey, I had asked my Goodreads friends for suspense recommendations and this one popped up a few times. It was so much better than I could have expected. It involves a somewhat naive hacker, a jaded ex-detective, and a plot to bring down corruption.

The Matriarch by Sloane Howell

I went through a time that whatever this author put out, I got my hands on it. The Matriarch is so different from anything else I had read from him at the time and I was hooked. I remember being bummed that there wasn't a book to follow. The story felt unfinished or maybe I was just greedy for more. If there is another book in this world he created, and you know about it, please please please leave that info below.

Dirty Wicked by Shayla Black

I'm not the only one who is a huge fan of the 1001 Dark Nights world, am I? I've only read a few books in this series by Shayla Black, which I enjoyed, so when I saw this novella available, I knew I'd be in for a great read. I was right. There's just something about a sexy PI willing to lay everything on the line for his client that gives me tingles.

Blood Script by Airicka Phoenix

This book made me fall for this author's words. It being my first pirate romance book, I knew I'd never look at anything naval the same way again! Captain James Crow was absolutely freaking delicious!!

Unhinged by Natasha Knight

It's been a while since I've read from this author, but I know that the next book I pick up will test my boundaries in the best of ways. More suspenseful than dark, her words and the worlds she creates seem very realistic... and scary. This tells of a military man with tons of damage and the woman who may have done him wrong.

Warning: These stories contain explicit sexual content and are not suitable for young readers. The introduction for each short story contains content and spoiler warnings specific to that story. Main content warnings include explicit sexual content, non-human genitalia, mentions of death, injury and violence, restraint and mentions of past trauma, but please check the warnings specific to each short story.

A Collection of Monstrous Short Stories by Lily Mayne

Catch up with the original monster-human couple, Danny and Wyn, in their Wastes-style adventures; witness Moth and Wyn’s blossoming and potentially concerning friendship; find out all the new ways Edin has been frustrating Hunter (lovingly) since their story ended; and join Lor and Jugs in welcoming a new furry addition to their monster-world family.

Want to find out more about Wyn’s ex Orlith? In this collection, you can take a peek at some very old letters between the two telyths, read Orlith’s historic (pre-Danny) attempts to seduce our favourite grumpy Soul Eater, and meet his uptight and righteous older sibling.

Ruke (A Monstrous Novella)
In the brand new novella Ruke, human Jamie finally finds the one being he can trust after a lifetime of loneliness…

I was born the night monsters rose on earth. I’m a true child of the new world. I’ve never met a single other soul except for my dad, who decided to keep us out here in the Wastes when he escaped with me from the hospital that catastrophic night.

But now Dad’s gone, and I’m alone. Completely alone. I don’t trust humans—not raiders, not the military, not all the people living in those big dirty coastal cities—so I find the most remote spot I can to settle down and live out the rest of my life on my own, just like my dad always taught me was safest.

But I’m not on my own out here. Something is here with me—someone is leaving me strange gifts by my campfire every night. And suddenly, I realise that I don’t want to be alone anymore. I don’t want them to go.

When he finally shows himself to me, I realise that my mystery companion out here isn’t human.

And that suits me just fine.

Find it here: Goodreads * Amazon (FREE with KU)

Where do I even start?
I've fallen for all of the couples introduced so far in this series and it was wonderful to get another chance to bask in their greatness.
I also love how adorable the author is. Her humor in these little snippets had me giggling.

Seeing the softer, more vulnerable sides to the monsters, the sides they usually only show their mates, is always special and each little story gave me that bit more to tip me from in love to absolute adoration. I cannot get enough of these creatures and being introduced to a new one, Ruke, was an unexpected treat. I'm not the only one who'd love for him to be able to bond with our beasties, am I?

This was an excellent collection to tide me over until I get my hands on the next monstrous book. I'm still pretty excited though!


Lily Mayne writes what she loves to read: achingly sweet yet gritty romances against unusual backdrops—dark, futuristic, dystopian and more.

She enjoys reading and writing (duh), cooking and baking, watching terrible horror movies and many other hobbies that would have potentially made her an ideal Victorian maid. Just a really lazy one.

She currently lives in the UK with her husband and several fluffballs, who like to make a lot of noise while she’s writing.

Find out more at lily-mayne.com

Show Off by Lani Lynn Vale

Other books in the series: Fun House * Freak Show

Seventy shades of messed up.

That was what she’d been told about herself for nearly her entire life.

From a young age, she knew what it was like to be hated. To be loathed so much by a person that they literally resented the air you breathed.

For her entire childhood, she fought to live, despite her father’s constant effort to make her life a living hell.
Her sisters and brother have no clue what kind of closet psychopath their father really was, and she’ll die before she ruins their picture-perfect view of him.

Why? Because she’s already broken. There’s no fixing this kind of damaged. But there’s no reason everyone else needs to suffer, too.

***

From the moment Hannibal Peters laid eyes on Hades Singh, he knew she was the one.
That was why he ran.

That was why, when he saw her suffering, he couldn’t stay away.

Find it here: Goodreads * Amazon

I had no clue how Lani Lynn Vale would redeem Hades Singh in my eyes, but after reading this book, I realized that I should never have doubted this author.

I absolutely freaking loved Hades!!

I actually like her more than I like her twin, Caristonia.
Go figure.

Hades was seriously misunderstood and the first person to see her, to really see her, was Hannibal. He understood her in a way that she didn't even know she craved. He filled all of her empty places and this author captured their relationship so perfectly.

There's a stalker after her sister and Hades is determined to catch him and stop him... with Hannibal's help. He's a veteran with his own security company so who better to have on her side? With their instantaneous connection and insane chemistry leading the way, it was no wonder that these two quickly realized how nicely they fit each other.

Her family was a bit oblivious, but I'm glad that Hades worked with them so that they could all be in a better place. I'm a huge fan of this family and the side characters introduced and can't wait to continue this series.


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!

Today's flashback is the Wrecked and Ruined series by Aly Martinez. This is an emotional contemporary romance that involves very hot athletes and the women that love them. There is pain and strife and I fell in love with this author's writing before the end of book one.

Have you ever read these books? Are you interested?

Changing Course

I met Sarah Kate Erickson when I was twenty-one years old. I was lucky enough to keep her for seven years before a tragic accident stole her from me. She didn’t die, but sometimes I think it would have been easier if she had.

I lived in a haze for those four years after the accident. Catering to her every need, even though she hated the very sight of my face. I tried to hold on to her and the future that we were supposed to build together. But you can’t hold on to someone who doesn’t exist anymore.

It wasn’t until I met Jesse Addison, a barista at the local coffee shop, that I realized I didn’t just lose Sarah that tragic night, I lost myself as well. Jesse taught me how to let go of the past and learn to love again. But what happens when your past haunts your present, and the woman you used to love refuses to accept the woman you can’t live without?

Stolen Course

I fell in love with Manda Baker eight years ago, and I loved her to the core of her soul. We were supposed to have that elusive happily ever after and spend a lifetime together. But that was all before she was STOLEN from me.

Her best friend, Sarah Erickson, killed her. It wasn’t intentional. It was far worse. Everyone claims it was just an accident, but I can see through the lies. Even if it’s with my dying breath, I will make her pay for what she did.

Fate hates me. It robbed me of my first love and left me to navigate through this world emotionless and numb. Then, one day, spiteful fate gave me a woman to fill my shattered soul and make me feel again. It gave me Emma Jane Erickson. Now I spend my days searching for the answers that will ruin Sarah and my nights falling in love with her sister—the one person who is bound and determined to save her.

But what happens when everything you know to be true explodes around you? Who will be left to pick up the pieces, and who will need to be saved from the wreckage?

Among the Echoes

My name was Dr. Erica Hill. I was a victim, then a witness, and then I ceased to exist altogether.

I may still be breathing, but stripped of my identity, I have long since stopped living. I am invisible, and my life depends on my ability to stay in the shadows.

But he sees me.

Slate Andrews is the embodiment of everything I have been taught to avoid. He’s rich and famous, and one image of him with a woman would earn millions for any paparazzi lucky enough to snap it. He has vowed to protect me with his life, yet he exposes me with his every breath. I should be stronger and walk away. I should disappear. But I’m terrified he would come after me.

I’m on the run, determined not to take him down with me but absolutely unable to let him go.

My name is Riley Peterson… at least for today.

Broken Course

Seven years ago, my life changed forever. One accident and the person I saw in the mirror no longer resembled the woman I used to be. I was lost and confused inside my own body. I felt alone and disconnected from the world, carrying the incredible weight of guilt and loss that wasn't even mine to harbor.

Then fate led me to Leo James. He taught me that crazy could be perfectly normal and it shouldn't hurt to breathe. Don't get me wrong. Leo isn't perfect. He has his own cross to bear, and the truth is, that might be why I fell for him in the first place. But despite everything he does for me, learning to forgive myself is infinitely harder than overlooking the flaws of another.

Now, the secrets and lies of our past have begun to dictate our future—threatening to ruin us before we get the chance to try. Perhaps we were cursed from the start. Or maybe, just maybe, the remnants of our fractured lives will fit together to form one whole, where love isn’t questioned and being happy is…well, easy.

Can a second broken soul be enough to fill the voids of my own? Or will such scarred pasts prove too much for our love alone to overcome?