Review // Claimed by J.R. Ward

July 20, 2021


He was a master of pleasure. He was power and control. He was, in a strange and undefinable way, taking not just her sex, but her soul. She was...
Claimed.

Claimed by J.R. Ward


Lair of the Wolven #1
Release - July 27, 2021
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Multiple POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 3.5 / a few scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by the publisher
Page Count - 400
Publisher - Gallery Books / Pocket Books

Buy it here: Amazon


A heart-pounding new series set in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world, with a scientist fighting to save the timber wolves—and getting caught in a deadly trap herself...

Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain develops a tract of land next to the preserve, Lydia is one of the most vocal opponents of the project—and becomes a target.

One night, a shadowy figure threatens Lydia’s life in the forest, and a new hire at the Wolf Study Project comes from out of nowhere to save her. Daniel Joseph is both mysterious, and someone she intrinsically wants to trust. But is he hiding something?

As the stakes get higher, and one of Lydia’s colleagues is murdered, she must decide how far she will go to protect the wolves. Then a shocking revelation about Daniel challenges Lydia’s reality in ways she could never have predicted. Some fates demand courage, others require even more, with no guarantees. Is she destined to have true love... or will a soul-shattering loss ruin her forever?

What.
Was.
THAT?!

Lydia was a behaviorist and I loved her passion in protecting the wolves and their habitat. Although her impulsiveness, rash judgments and curiosity could be annoying, these traits also helped to move the story along and feed into the questions and secrets surrounding the plot. And while I'm no fan of women who know what they want, but play that they don't, I enjoyed the little flirting games she played with the hero.

Daniel was the character who would definitely raise some eyebrows. There was obviously more to him than met the eye and I still don't quite understand who he was supposed to be. His cover story of being a drifter and handy man made me question everything. What were his motives? Who did he work for? The fact that he was sexy was an interesting bonus!

Xhex was also featured and I practically drooled for every glimpse of John Matthew!! Seriously, what is going on with Xhex? What do the Wolven have to do with her present, her traumatizing experience with the labs, and her murky future?

Claimed was far more than your run-of-the-mill paranormal romance. It held mystery and intrigue and suspense. I did find that it was slow to start, however, when things started to pick up, I couldn't put it down. Here I am at the end and I'm devasted to learn that I have to wait until next summer to find out what will happen next!

For lovers of The Black Dagger Brotherhood, Claimed is a must-read! And if you're anything like me, it will inspire you to give the entire series a re-read just to be able to dive back into this dark, deadly, enchanting, and binge-worthy world again!

J.R. Ward is the author of over thirty novels, including those in her #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling series, The Black Dagger Brotherhood. There are more than 15 million copies of Ward’s novels in print worldwide and they have been published in 25 different countries around the world.

After graduating from law school, Ward began working in healthcare in Boston and spent many years as Chief of Staff of one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation. She lives in the south with her incredibly supportive husband and her beloved golden retriever. Writing has always been her passion and her idea of heaven is a whole day of nothing but her computer, her dog and her coffee pot.

Visit the JRWard Facebook Page for more on the Brotherhood or email her at assistant@jrward.com.

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

The Promised Neverland

July 19, 2021

The Promised Neverland

As many of you know, I read this series with my children. All three girls had a different response or reaction to this intricate tale and none of them quite meshed with mine. So instead of writing a traditional review for a non-traditional read, I figured I'd do a little something different. So here's what we thought of The Promised Neverland, written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu, a story that follows a group of orphaned children in their plan to escape from their orphanage, after learning the dark truth behind their existence and the purpose of the orphanage.

Favorite character(s):

    Protagonist

            A - Ray
            J - Emma
            M - Ray
            Me - Ray & Norman

    Antagonist

            M - Sister Krone
            A, J & Me - Lewis

Favorite Scene or Arc:

            A - when they pick up the phone at Goldy Pond. It was heartbreaking.
            J - when Mister's back story was revealed, showing his parallel to Emma, Ray and Norman. It was a very emotional scene.
            M - the fire scene with Ray was awesome!
            Me - the very beginning, when Emma and Ray snuck out to find the truth and so much was revealed while they hid under a carriage. I found this part to be gutwrenching.

The Promised Neverland

Least Favorite Scene:

            A - Barbara explaining her panic attacks. It was a terrible portrayal of mental illness and left me feeling offended
            J - when Gilda tried to blow up the bunker. Girl had me so pissed!
            M - when Mama tells Ray he's being sent away. Mama seemed to always make me so angry!
            Me - the ending. I felt like the writers just gave up. It felt anticlimactic and left me wondering WTF?! All that lead up, all of that great story, and that's how it ends... 

Feelings on the world building:

            We all felt immersed in the demon world, however, the human world came off as undeveloped. It could be because not enough time was given to its development, seeing as how the entire story takes place somewhere else.

The Promised Neverland

How would you summarize this story?

            A - it's not at all what you think
            J - an emotional roller coaster
            M - a wolf in sheep's clothing
            Me - it's hard to summarize without spoiling everything

Who would you recommend this series to?

            A - anyone who enjoys a good thriller
            J - anyone who hates kids because it will change their mind
            M - anyone willing to have their heart shattered into a million pieces
            Me - anyone who enjoys paranormal horror, especially those involving children who have to grow up too soon

The Promised Neverland

Were you happy with the way it all ended?

            A - No. It was underdeveloped.
            J - No. It felt rushed.
            M - I haven't gotten to the end yet.
            Me - It kind of felt pointless. They went through so much together only for their ending to be lackluster and to fall flat. I believe they deserved better.



Overall, we obviously loved this manga series. It was thrilling and engaging and based on our differing points of view, it sparked a debate in my house. We give it 4 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror stories full of love, hope and family!

Review // Don't Play With Odin by Cynthia Eden

July 17, 2021


She smiled at him. Those dimples would be the end of him one day.

Don't Play With Odin by Cynthia Eden


Standalone - Trouble for Hire #2
Release - July 13, 2021
Genre - Romantic Suspense / ex-military / serial killer
Mainly Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat Level - 4 out of 5 / a couple of scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by the publisher
Page Count - 302
Publisher - Hocus Pocus Publishing, Inc

Buy it here: https://amzn.to/3rgIIRk


Big, bad, and currently out of his element...

Odin Shaw thought he’d spend his life on a battlefield. But fate had other plans, and now the ex-Special Forces operative has just landed a new job at his best friend’s PI office. It’s one hell of a life change, and the giant “Viking” is trying to adjust, fast, but then she walks into his life.

Delicate, beautiful, and hunting a killer…

Maisey Bright has been following the news. She knows that the small PI firm just helped track a killer and get the perp locked away—so Maisey figures that the towering man sitting behind the massive desk will be perfect solution for her current predicament. The cops don’t believe her story, so Maisey has no choice. She wants to hire Odin. The job in question? Well, she needs him to help her find proof—irrefutable evidence—that her next-door neighbor is a serial killer.

The gorgeous ones are always a little bit crazy…

Odin figures the case will be a snap. He’ll prove that Maisey’s neighbor is most definitely not a serial killer. He’ll do it in record time, and he’ll score some extra cash for the PI firm. Maybe he’ll even score some points with the lovely—but obviously way too crime-enthusiast-obsessed—Maisey. Piece of cake.

It’s not a piece of cake. It’s a freaking nightmare.

When Odin steps into Maisey’s world, things seem off from the very beginning. Her neighbor is suspicious as hell, and when Maisey is nearly kidnapped after leaving her job, Odin realizes there is much more to the case than meets the eye. A whole lot more. He moves into Maisey’s place to protect her—and to keep an eye on her neighbor. But the close proximity to the maddening Maisey stirs a fierce desire inside of Odin. Maisey is smart, off-beat, sexy…and when he kisses her, Odin is a goner.

But first, the killer…

Odin and Maisey set off to uncover the truth about her neighbor, and as they dig deeper into the disappearances that have plagued the town for the last year, Odin begins to suspect that Maisey may be dead right. He also realizes that he is falling for a woman who now seems be the target of a killer. Looks like it might be time for Odin to go to battle once more. Because there is no way—no way—that anyone will hurt Maisey.

Author’s Note: Calling all true-crime enthusiasts! Maisey is your girl. She spends her nights listening to podcasts and sleuthing, but when she suspects that a killer is living next door, Maisey knows that she needs a professional partner…so Odin Shaw enters the picture. Odin has muscles for days, and he doesn’t even blink when he faces danger. He’s just the PI that she wants. Danger, romance, twists—time for their story to begin.

When it comes to the PI firm, Trouble for Hire, it seems that serial killers are lurking around every corner! Maisey Bright believes that her neighbor is a killer. Some things about him are just not adding up, and with the way women disappear around him, including her close friend, she needs him caught and for justice to be served. Realizing she can't do it by herself, she hires her own personal PI to get the job done.

Odin Shaw was an ex-military, PI extraordinare. After making headlines over their last case, his firm was known to catch some serious bad guys. Upon meeting Maisey, he thinks she's way off base with her assumptions, but she's too darn cute to turn away. Then he finds the trail of clues and quickly realizes that he will do anything to protect 'his girl'.
"You put yourself in front of me." A hard step toward her. "Don't ever do that sh!t again."
Her shoulders squared. "You put yourself in front of me all the time. It's kinda been your thing since we met."
Another hard step. "Damn straight it's my thing." He towered over her. "In case you missed it, I'm bigger than you, stronger than you, and a million times meaner than you. I can take a threat. I can take an attack."
I loved how quickly these two characters connected on an emotional level. It was intense and the suspenseful events only made their bond stronger. I'm here at the end of the book and I want more. I still have to read War's book, which started it all, and Jinx's book is next, which promises to be hilarious, passionate and fierce. I do hope that there will be a book for Ramsay. I'd love to see if his lost love will ever remember him and how much he meant to her.


Award-winning author Cynthia Eden writes sexy tales of contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal romance. She is a New York Times, USA Today, Digital Book World, and IndieReader best-seller. Since she began writing full-time in 2005, Cynthia has written over one hundred novels and novellas.

Cynthia lives along the Alabama Gulf Coast. She loves romance novels, horror movies, and chocolate. Her favorite hobbies including hiking in the mountains (searching for waterfalls) and spelunking.

For more about this author and her books, check out her website: http://www.cynthiaeden.com/

#FREEBIEFRIDAY FREE BOOKS & BOOK DEALS - 7/16/2021

July 16, 2021


Happy Weekend y'all!! It's been a while, but I'm bringing you the book deals I've found. These books are on sale for under $2 (some are even free) right now so get to one-clicking!!

* Note: all deals valid at time of post