Books That Didn't Make the Cut Pt. 3

September 21, 2022


Guess who's back
Back again
Natalie's back
Tell a friend

LOL ok I'm back with three more books that weren't for me, but may be the perfect fit for you... Maybe.



Immortal Coil by C.I. Black


Two souls. One Body. Sharing is not an option…

Terrible news has turned Anaea Salis’s life upside down. There’s nothing she can do to make it right, and the stranger who stops to talk to her can’t help. But when that stranger, Hunter, an ancient dragon spirit, is viciously attacked and forced to transfer his spirit into her body, Anaea’s life takes a new terrifying twist.

Hunter should have known by now not to get involved with human affairs, but there was something about the woman that drew him to her, and he just couldn’t help himself. Trapped in her body all he wants is to get out, except whoever is trying to kill him is now after her.

Their only hope of survival… plunge into the deadly world of dragons.

No rating ~ Really interesting plot, something I've never read before, but I was bored.

Not sure if it was the writing, failing to connect to the characters, lack of chemistry, etc.


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A Debt Repaid by N. Isabelle Blanco


Lex Talionis (n.)- The law of retaliation, whereby a punishment resembles the offense committed in kind and degree.

Two wrongs. One right. He met her under the worst circumstances. She was still married. To the man who'd stolen from his company. But none of that would matter, because Chase would have her. At any cost.

To Chase Blaine, it really was that simple. Douglas Colton had stolen millions from Chase’s company. He had to pay. Chase had every intention of cornering the bastard and making sure he ended up in jail.

Then he came face-to-face with Douglas’s wife, Aria. One look at her changed all his plans, warping them into a much darker and perverse plot to get his revenge.

He would offer Douglas his freedom...in exchange for a single date with his wife.

To a man like Chase, a man that hadn’t truly felt emotions in a long time, Aria’s presence soon became more addicting than a drug. A problem considering that she might never forgive him for blackmailing her, despite the fact that at times she seems just as unwillingly fascinated by him as he is by her.

NO RATING: As readers, we can all claim to have favorite authors and N. Isabelle Blanco happens to be one of mine.

However, I cannot finish reading this story and here's why:

* It's boring, especially when it comes to Aria's perspective.
* I'm used to Blanco's originality and flair for drama, suspense and sexiness. This book lacked all of those.
* Aria came off as very pathetic and that's me being polite. I found it impossible to sympathize with her. After all that her husband had done (stealing millions of dollors that he didn't even spend on her, cheating on her left and right), she was still defending him and using her tired refrain of "I'm married." It's more than obvious, even to the casual observer, that he didn't love or respect her.
* Aria made my tummy hurt. I was thoroughly disgusted and I had to dismiss her because I couldn't understand what about her was worth all of the trouble or money wasted. Walmart sells doormats for as low as $10!
* Aria directed her anger all in the wrong place. Why be mad at Chase? Did he make your husband embezzle, not pay the bills, make you broke and lose your house? Did he force your husband to cheat on you ALL THE TIME?!

Chase's part of this story is the only thing that truly held my attention. His character intrigued me and was the only reason I found any enjoyment in the parts of the story that I read. If the entire story was told from his perspective, I'd probably have read this book until its end.

Aria = please no
Chase = more please


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Troll-y Yours by Sheri Fredricks


SHE TAKES A CHANCE.

Determined to forge a better life, Ella launches her new business with high hopes—until a sexy Centaur bumps into her and throws her life off course forever. Voted “Most Eligible Bachelor in Boronda”, Aleksander shakes up her world and tilts her in more ways than one.

HE’S IN DANGEROUS TERRITORY.

Years of warfare and countless bedroom encounters have stolen Kempor Aleksander’s luster for life. He never expects to rediscover his zeal in the small, redheaded form of Ella the Troll, who fires his blood hotter than the deepest caverns in the forest.

But as trouble lingers in their midst—and edges ever closer—Alek and Ella spiral into troubled terrain. Turning to each other, the pair face down dangers that run impenetrably deep in their mythological world. But will the two lovers discover a passion that runs even deeper?

NO RATING: I think I could have loved this story as much as I did the first one, but I hated the heroine so much that I can't even rate this book.

Alek was such a great guy, which I knew when I read about him in Remedy Maker, and when I found out the realness of Pennelope, I was glad he wasn't going to go there with her.

But the troll he did end up with, she who will not be named because she doesn't deserve to have her name uttered from my mouth (or typed by my finger tips), wasn't up to par. She was rude. She was ungrateful. She was uncouth. She was disturbing. She was unlikable.

And it didn't matter how the author tried to salvage this character, the damage was done within the first few chapters. There was no saving that person in my eyes. So I continued to enjoy the world building, enjoyed the heck out of Alek, loved seeing the characters from the first book, and could have done without her.


Review // City of Souls by Mel Harding-Shaw

September 20, 2022

City of Souls by Mel Harding-Shaw

The man thought he owned her.
That was not sexy.
At all.
But somehow this draw between them overshadowed even that.

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City of Souls by Mel Harding-Shaw

City of Souls by Mel Harding-Shaw


Soul Court Ascension #1
Release - November 9, 2022
Genre - Urban Fantasy/enemies-to-lovers
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat - 2 out of 5 / not steamy and not closed door
Format/Source - eARC provided by the author
Length - 322 pages
Publisher - Coruscate Press

Bounty hunter Hel’s life depends on staying below the radar and passing as human. But when the infuriating Lord of the City of Souls discovers her hidden power is the key to solving his problems, he reclaims her bond-debt and drags her into the spotlight. He’ll protect her secrets on one condition—that she does everything he asks.

Winged necromancer Bastion would do anything to save the city he rules from the strange magic menacing their world. Even blackmail the angry, intriguing bounty hunter who despises him. As the rulers of the elemental courts converge to face the threat, he’s not sure who hates him more—them or Hel. The only way to keep her close is to make her pretend she’s his.

With dark magic tearing at the fabric of reality and betrayal lurking behind every corner, Hel and Bastion’s fake relationship becomes the only thing either of them can rely on. But Bastion’s past might just come back to kill him.

And Hel’s might kill them all.

My Two Cents

3.5 "Thin line between love and hate" stars

Hel was being hunted and all she wanted to do was stay in the shadows. Too bad her special set of skills are required to help save the world. Hiding behind the shell of a human, she has to straddle the line between compassion and self-preservation... and resist the charms of a certain necromancer.

Bastion was everything I love about a hero. Strong and gorgeous, fiercely protective and incredibly loyal, and just a little bit broken, he was such a joy to read about. I kept turning the pages for more of him. For more of the world he inhabited. For more information of what made him such a unique force of nature.

The author did such an amazing job with the worldbuilding. It was easy to see the cities and landscapes she tried to capture. I was equally enthralled and terrified by the creatures of this strange world and all of the people who lived there. I'm still not clear on the lore, but I believe that's something that would work out as the series continues.

Fantastical imaginings, an evil slowly encroaching its way across the planet, and a burgeoning love make for one heck of a story!

City of Souls by Mel Harding-Shaw

About the Author

Mel Harding-Shaw is a Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy author from Wellington, New Zealand. Her debut novel, City of Souls, is forthcoming in November 2022.

She is also a widely published speculative short fiction writer under Melanie Harding-Shaw.

Find all of the links here: https://linktr.ee/MelHardingShaw

Release Blitz: Beauty and the Villain by V.F. Mason

September 19, 2022

Beauty and the Villain by V.F. Mason

Title: Beauty and the Villain
Series: Beauty and the Villain Duet #1
Author: V.F. Mason
Genre: Age Gap Billionaire Romance
Release Date: September 16, 2022


Beauty and the Villain by V.F. MasonOnce upon a time I had it all.
I thrived in all the power and luxury this world had to offer.
Until I found out the hideous truth.
When a man I considered a friend betrayed me in the worst possible way.
The scars on my body burned anew every single day as I only craved one thing.
Revenge.
And to execute it I had to strike him where it would hurt the most.
His family.
I patiently waited in the shadows for more than a decade for his beloved daughter to grow up.
Unaware that a villain was ready to steal her far, far away.
I used to be a prince once.
But a certain underworld king destroyed my life.
The price for his betrayal is his daughter: the princess of the dark castle.

Beauty and the Villain is book one in Beauty and the Villain Duet.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56328707-beauty-and-the-villain

Beauty and the Villain by V.F. Mason


Purchase Links



Coming Soon

Beauty and the Villain by V.F. Mason

#2 The Heart of a Villain – Releasing September 23

US: https://amzn.to/3L2eUC9
UK: https://amzn.to/3L66IRp
CA: https://amzn.to/3DfJiXC
AU: https://amzn.to/3Dip1ks


About the Author

V.F. Mason always loved reading books and had quite a few fights with her momma over the genre she liked (romance, duh!) She studied filmmaking and thought that would feed her desire for stories, but that didn’t happen. Finally, when she was tired of all those voices in her head, she sat down and wrote a book. It was a huge decision to make and she thanks her friends and family for supporting her in it. When she is not writing, she can be found with her friends doing all sorts of crazy things or reading recent romance books that were written by her favorite authors.

Review // Never Trust the Living by Lani Lynn Vale

September 16, 2022

Never Trust the Living by Lani Lynn Vale

"You can get as close as you want to me. My soul's been living in hell for a while now. Your demons can come play with mine. Or I can straight up take them from you if you want." - Bram

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Never Trust the Living by Lani Lynn Vale

Never Trust the Living by Lani Lynn Vale


Standalone - Battle Crows MC #7
Release - October 4, 2022
Genre - Contemporary Romance / Second chances
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 3.5 out of 5 / a few descriptive scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by Uplifting Author Services
Length - 249 pages
Publisher - Indie

It’s not every day that someone tries to pin a murder on you and a random girl you just met. But Bram Crow isn’t your average, everyday guy, either.

One second, he’s hiding evidence with the girl, and the next, he has to marry her so a police detective doesn’t get suspicious.

Did he mention that he had a long-term girlfriend at the time?

To say that things didn’t go as planned would be an understatement.

To say that falling in love with his wife definitely wasn’t part of the plan either.

Nor was her leaving him when h finally realized she was his world.

My Two Cents

4 "Never Gonna Give You Up" stars

I don't know about you, but I've been waiting for this story for a minute. From the moment that I discovered that there was more to the dysfunction of the relationship between Bram and Dorcas, I needed to know more. I needed to know why the Crows were so unaccepting of her. I had to know why she put up with everything handed to her. And I needed to know what Bram's true feelings for her were.

This was a heck of a lot more than I bargained for.

I wasn't prepared for all that Dorcas had gone through. Her brother was a horrific monster, but at least he did something right... he brought Bram into her life. And while their beginning was rough and in no way romantic or the stuff of dreams (more like nightmares), it created a bond between them that should have flourished. Instead, it was trampled upon, taken advantage of, and abused. When Bram finally wises up, is it too late?

I really enjoyed the way the author brought this story almost full circle. Everyone came together in the end to fully support and love this couple and it was all that I was waiting for. As for Bram and Dorcas, they had to fight for their happy ending, and it was at once painful and beautiful to watch. When you survive the worst, life has new meaning and these two realized just how much they meant to each other.



About the characters:


Bram's family:

* Derringer - father
* Reedy - mother
* Haggard - brother found in Always Someone's Monster
* Price - brother found in Rattle Some Cages
* Tide - brother found in Not a Role Model
* Callum - brother found in Make Me Your Villain
* Channel - sister found in Chalk Dirty To Me

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!