Free Books & Book Deals - September 23, 2022

September 23, 2022


Hello everyone and Happy Friday!!

I'm back with a new list of books that are either free or for sale for less than $2. These books are cheap and we should grab them up at these prices while we can.

I hope your weekend is happy, healthy and safe! Happy Hunting xo

Please Note: All books are listed for $2 or less (prices valid at time of post). I apologize in advance if the sale is over by the time you found yourself here.



I only list books I've either read or plan to read. If you know of any deals that are missing that you'd like to share, that I'd probably enjoy, please let me know in the comments section below :)

A. Zavarelli


Aleatha Romig


Anna Hackett


Aurora Rose Reynolds


Carly Phillips


CD Reiss


Christine Feehan


Donna Grant


Gena Showalter


Helen Hardt


Helena Hunting


Ilsa Madden-Mills


J.T. Geissinger


Jaci Burton


K.A. Linde


Kandi Steiner


Karina Halle


Kendall Ryan


Larissa Ione


Lauren Blakely


Layla Hagen


Louise Bay


Mariana Zapata


Meghan Quinn


Melissa Foster


Penelope Douglas


Pippa Grant


Rachel Van Dyken


Dr. Rebecca Sharp


Rebecca Zanetti


Shayla Black


Stacey Marie Brown


Susan Stoker


Suzanne Wright

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.


────── ♔ ──────


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


────── ♔ ──────


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.

────── ♔ ──────

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

────── ♔ ──────


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!

Review // Making Faces by Amy Harmon

September 13, 2022

Making Faces by Amy Harmon

Fern Taylor loved Ambrose Young, had loved him since she was ten years old and had heard his young voice lifted in a very different kind of song, but in that moment he reached a whole new level of beauty, and Fern was left reeling and dazed that one boy could be gifted with so much.

────── ♔ ──────


Making Faces by Amy Harmon

Making Faces by Amy Harmon


Standalone
Release - October 20, 2013
Genre - New Adult Contemporary Romance / love unrequited / friends-to-lovers
Multiple POV - 3rd person
Heat - 1.5 out of 5 / kisses and thoughts of more
Format/Source - ebook purchase from Amazon
Length - 405 pages
Publisher - Indie

Ambrose Young was beautiful. The kind of beautiful that graced the covers of romance novels, and Fern Taylor would know. She'd been reading them since she was thirteen. But maybe because he was so beautiful he was never someone Fern thought she could have...until he wasn't beautiful anymore.

Making Faces is the story of a small town where five young men go off to war, and only one comes back. It is the story of loss. Collective loss, individual loss, loss of beauty, loss of life, loss of identity. It is the tale of one girl's love for a broken boy, and a wounded warrior's love for an unremarkable girl. This is a story of friendship that overcomes heartache, heroism that defies the common definitions, and a modern tale of Beauty and the Beast, where we discover that there is a little beauty and a little beast in all of us.

My Two Cents

5 "Wish I could give more" stars

I'm sitting here, at the end of this story, trying to think of what I could possibly say to convince you to read this book if you already haven't. There have been tons of incredible reviews posted already, such as this one from Aestas Book Blog and this one from Candace. Seriously, if you love love and romance and all of the feels... READ. THIS. BOOK!!

My only thought right now... Bailey. Dude did not deserve the hand he was dealt. None of it.

“There are times when you just need to acknowledge the shit … You just need to acknowledge it. Face the shit … Accept the truth in it. Own it, wallow in it, become one with the shit.”

Okay, so here is everything there was to love about this book:
➳ the unrequited love from the ugly duckling for the gorgeous jock
➳ the fact that said gorgeous jock was also a pretty good guy from the beginning
➳ the whole Cyrano disaster
➳ the game of This or That
➳ everything to do with Bailey and his amazing personality and incredible way of looking at life
➳ Fern's beauty, even when no one could really see it
➳ Ambrose's vulnerability when he was at his lowest
➳ the hope and love that seeped from these pages.

Making Faces is one of those books you never want to end. A book that will never 'get old'. It is pure magic, people!

“I've been in love with you since you helped me bury that spider in my garden, and you sang with me like we were singing “Amazing Grace” instead of “The Itsy, Bitsy Spider.” I've loved you since you quoted Hamlet like you understood him, since you said you loved ferris wheels more than roller coasters because life shouldn't be lived at full speed, but in anticipation and appreciation. I read and re-read your letters to Rita because I felt like you'd opened up a little window into your soul, and the light was pouring out with every word. They weren't even for me, but it didn't matter. I loved every word, every thought, and I loved you . . . so much.”

I still can't decide who was my favorite character in this book. It definitely wasn't Becker (read the book to find out why). Let's just say I really needed to see some justice done and it was my only complaint for this book. However, I do believe Bailey edged out everyone else. As much as I loved Fern and Ambrose, and I loved them a lot, there was something truly special about Bailey.


Quick Peek

He didn’t know how to make her understand that she was so much more than just pretty. So he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers. Very carefully. Not like the other night when he’d been scared and impulsive, and smacked her head against the wall in his attempt to kiss her. He kissed her now to tell her how he felt. He pulled away almost immediately, not giving himself a chance to linger and lose his head. He wanted to show her he valued her, not that he wanted to rip her clothes off. And he wasn’t sure when it came right down to it that she wanted to be kissed by an ugly SOB. She was the kind of girl that would kiss him because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. The thought filled him with despair.

She let out a frustrated sigh and sat up, running her hands through her hair. It flowed through her fingers and down her back, and he wished he could bury his own hands in it, bury his face in the heavy locks and breathe her in. But he’d obviously upset her.
“I’m sorry, Fern. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why?” she snapped, startling him enough that he winced. “Why are you sorry?”
“Because you’re upset.”
“I’m upset because you pulled away! You’re so careful. And it’s frustrating!”
Ambrose was taken back by her honesty, and he smiled, instantly flattered. But the smile faded as he tried to explain himself.
“You’re so small, Fern. Delicate. And all of this is new to you. I’m afraid I’m going to come on too strong. And if I break you or hurt you, I won’t survive that, Fern. I won’t survive it.” That thought was worse than walking away from her and he shuddered inwardly. He wouldn’t survive it. He had already hurt too many. Lost too many.

Fern knelt in front of him, and her chin wobbled and her eyes were wide with emotion. Her voice was adamant as she held his face between her hands, and when he tried to pull away so she wouldn’t feel his scars, she hung on, forcing his gaze.
“Ambrose Young! I have waited my whole life for you to want me. If you don’t hold me tight I won’t believe you mean it, and that’s worse than never being held at all. You better make me believe you mean it, Ambrose, or you will most definitely break me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Fern,” he whispered hoarsely.
“Then don’t,” she whispered back, trusting him. But there were lots of ways to cause pain. And Ambrose knew he was capable of hurting her in a thousand ways.

Ambrose stopped trying to pull his face away, surrendering to the way it felt to be touched. He hadn’t allowed anyone to touch him for a long time. Her hands were small, like the rest of her, but the emotions they stirred in him were enormous, gigantic, all-consuming. She made him shake, made him quake inside, vibrate like the tracks under an on-coming train.
Her hands left his face and traveled down the sides of his neck. One side smooth, the other riddled with divots and scars and rippled where the skin had been damaged. She didn’t pull away, but felt each mark, memorized each wound. And then she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his neck, just below his jaw. And then again on the other side, on the side that bore no scars, letting him know that the kiss wasn’t about sympathy but desire. It was a caress. And his control broke.

About the Author

Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times Bestselling author. Amy knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Her books are now being published in seventeen different languages, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Levan, Utah.

Amy Harmon has written eightteen novels - the Washington Post bestseller What the Wind Knows, the USA Today bestsellers The Bird and The Sword, The Smallest Part, Making Faces and Running Barefoot, as well as the #1 Amazon bestselling historical From Sand and Ash, Where the Lost Wander, The Songbook of Benny Lament, The First Girl Child, The Second Blilnd Son, The Queen and The Cure, The Law of Moses, The Song of David, Infinity + One, Slow Dance in Purgatory, Prom Night in Purgatory, and the New York Times bestseller, A Different Blue. Her latest novel, The Unknown Beloved, a historical romance, was released April 19, 2022 by Lake Union Publishing and is now available for purchase.

Visit http://www.authoramyharmon.com for more information

Review // Beauty and the Villain by V.F. Mason

September 12, 2022

Beauty and the Villain by V.F. Mason

A man entered my life like a powerful storm, rocking my usual existence and turning the world on its axis, dumping me into a blazing ocean that has introduced me to a heat and fire I never knew before.

────── ♔ ──────


Beauty and the Villain by V.F. Mason

Beauty and the Villain by V.F. Mason


Beauty and the Villain Duet #1
Release - September 16, 2022
Genre - Dark Romance / captive / vengeance / age gap
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 4 out of 5 / a few descriptive scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by Give Me Books PR
Length - 323 pages
Publisher - Indie

Once 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.

My Two Cents

3.5 "All is not what it seems" stars

Beauty and the Villain seems like a cross between a redemption and a revenge plot and it grabbed me by the throat right from the beginning.

Rush is the dark prince who is willing to do anything and everything for the vengeance that burns through him. His life was ripped apart and the man who ruined everything doesn't get to live his life untouched. What better way to make him suffer than to take his daughter and do... whatever he wants?

Aileen is the young woman who doesn't have a clue of the reality she lives in. She doesn't really know her father, her family, herself. That doesn't stop her from defending them with everything she's got. It doesn't stop her from fighting against the kernels of truth to what Rush reveals. All she knows is that she's his captive and she has to find a way to escape this villain.

I'm loving the mystique surrounding Rush and his castle on an island. What really happened? How did he become obsessed with revenge? What exactly was done to him and his family? And will his newfound heart have the power to save him? Save Aileen?

Book two can't come fast enough. I just hope Aileen finds some sense in the meantime! She's too focused on thinking she knows everything already, despite evidence to the contrary, typical to the newly adult, and I can only hope that she learns something from the suffering she receives.

About the Author

V.F.Mason always loved reading books and had quite a few fights with her mama 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.

Visit http://www.vfmason.com for more information

Review // Suck This by Lani Lynn Vale

September 10, 2022

Suck This by Lani Lynn Vale

Constantine Worth was beautiful, and I wanted to climb him like a freakin' tree... though I hear that's not acceptable in today's day and age. Or, well, in any day and age.

────── ♔ ──────


Suck This by Lani Lynn Vale

Suck This by Lani Lynn Vale


Standalone
Release - September 13, 2022
Genre - Paranormal Romance / vamps / forbidden
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 3.5 out of 5 / very slow build (sex towards the end)
Format/Source - eARC provided by Uplifting Author Services
Length - approx. 250 pages
Publisher - Indie

Blood, sex and alcohol.

That was what Club Worth was all about.

Ever since vampires had come out to the world, people had been obsessed. Take a walk on the wild side and see what the nightclub was all about.

Acadia Powell, on the other hand, didn’t do vampires. Nor did she do messy.

What she did do was stay away from people like Constantine Worth, Master of the City, and the most gorgeous man in the history of men. It didn’t matter that he had hypnotizing eyes, beautiful lips, and the sexiest body she’d ever had the privilege of laying eyes on.

It should be easy for her to stay away, but with each subsequent encounter, it’s becoming harder and harder to fight the growing need inside of her.

***

Constantine Worth knew that Acadia was off limits. Not only was she human and not willing to slum it with the undead, but she was also the baby sister of the city’s chief of police. The man that liked to arrest him every other day and twice on Sunday.

He should hate her based solely on the last name she shared with her brother. Yet each time he sees her, he forgets that he’s supposed to be playing nice. She sets his blood to boil, and each time she lets the verbal slurs flow, he finds it harder and harder to maintain his distance.

Soon, he will have to make a choice. Maintain his upstanding relationship with human law enforcement, or take what he wants, and damn the consequences.

My Two Cents

3.5 "Constantine lover right here" stars

Con wanted Acadia.
Acadia wanted Con.
These two couldn't keep their eyes or their thoughts off of each other.
Too bad Acadia's human.
Funny how forbidden fruit is always the sweetest!

When one of my favorite authors decides to dabble, once again, with paranormal romance, you better believe I was gonna be all over that! LLV's books are my solace and I found some comfort with this one.

While this story tackled some ugliness (those activists were no joke), I couldn't help but be enamored by all that was developing between Con and Acadia. He was so mysterious and utterly irresistible to her. And although she was supposed to be off limits, he couldn't help but give into temptation, again and again and again.



Not gonna lie, I did have some issues with this story.
* It was a bit all over the place and I sometimes felt like I was dumped in the middle of an untold story.
* Acadia had a best friend, but aside from a couple of scenes, that friend was never seen again. Which was weird because Acadia went through something intense. Where was her friend then?
* other than putting the blame for what happened to Acadia at their feet, the human activists were never really put to justice that I could see. Does that mean her case is still open?
* Con's organization, his foothold on their town, his allies, everything that was a part of him was so vaguely mentioned, but I wanted some more details. For example, his dad popped up on page. More please!
* Con's dead daughter and undead wife. Ummm... why wasn't this properly explored? What happens now?
* Acadia's entire life was vague. She was such a one-dimensional character that I struggled to give her a chance.
* Honestly, more details about the important stuff and less about the unimportant stuff would have worked well.

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!

Review // Stolen by the Warlord by V.K. Ludwig

September 05, 2022

Stolen by the Warlord by V.K. Ludwig

With Toagi, my heart and purpose were in harmony.
With him, I could be a bridge between worlds, yes, but one with hopes, dreams... love

────── ♔ ──────


Stolen by the Warlord by V.K. Ludwig

Stolen by the Warlord by V.K. Ludwig


Standalone - Ash Planet Warriors #1
Release - June 24, 2021
Genre - Scifi Romance / captive / mating
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 4 out of 5 / a few scenes that vary from descriptive to filthy
Format/Source - ebook borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Length - 254 pages
Publisher - Ink Heart Publishing

I stole her soul… now I will fill her womb.

The leaders of Solgad call me a rebel. They banished my tribe to the drought-cracked plains, denying me what is mine by right—the title of warlord and a place among those who wield power.

But not much longer.

To save those under my protection, I steal an Earth woman away from her betrothed. With a sting of my tailclaw between her ribs, I force a soulbond on Ceangal, ruining her for all males to come. Once I put my child in her belly, her influential father has no choice but to support my claim.

With my tribe at the brink of collapse, the female’s reluctance toward me means nothing. I stole her soul, yes, but she will surrender her body. Come her next heat, she will beg me to fill her with what only I can give.

It may save my tribe.
Or destroy us both.

Stolen by the Warlord is a full-length novel, and the first book in the Sci-Fi Romance series Ash Planet Warriors. While this is a spin-off to Garrison Earth, taking place 20 years after the invasion, the series can be read on its own.

stolen by the warlord 1

I stole her soul.

stolen by the warlord 2

I will win her heart.

stolen by the warlord 3

Or die trying.


My Two Cents

4.25 "Love heals all" stars

The cover... ridiculous.
The blurb... not worthy of this story.
This book... so much better than I could have expected!

Toagi was seen as a rebel warlord, his rightful claim deemed unsubstantiated, and he was treated as scum. All he wanted was to protect his people, ALL of his people, and his tribe needed help. To solve his problem, he stole the intended bride of another warlord, a woman of power, bonded her, determined to make things right. He didn't intend to fall for her.

Her anxiety. Her doubt. Her anger. I felt it stronger than anything else before. Because I'd exposed the pains of her soul.

For her part, Ceangal didn't go quietly into the good night. She was smart and despite some early misconceptions based on rumors and not fact, she came to see that Toagi was so much more than people made him out to be. She discovered that he was honorable, loyal, intelligent, and probably the best male she'd ever known.

He would take my mate from me, the only male where my dreams went hand in hand with my duties. The rebel who'd stolen my soul and conquered my heart. The bastard who might have been nobody to many, but he was somebody special to me. And I would lose him if I didn't claim my own damn life, and become what I was always destined to be.
A bridge.
Not between worlds.
Between warlords.

I adored this story. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the underlying tension of the warlords and the world they inhabit, basically everything. Honestly, the only reason I didn't give this five stars was due to the fact that a lot of words from an alien language were used without definition. I had to try to work out the meanings myself, which was a bit tiresome. Other than that, this book was perfection for me and if you're someone who loves alien romance with plenty of heart and substance, you'll love this!

About the Author

If I could introduce myself the way Daenerys Targaryen does, then it would probably sound like this:

mother of two children and the Clan of the Woodlands series,

drinker of two cups of coffee a day,

admirer of the Whippet and the Thoroughbred,

breaker of every single diet after two weeks,

loser of important ID’s,

caretaker of eleven hens,

minder of my own business and

lover of forests and mountains.

Visit http://www.vkludwig.com for more information

August 2022 Bookish Recap

September 03, 2022


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

Once again, I've made great strides in knocking books off of my TBR. Some are winners and some... not so much. But I'm enjoying the experience!

August was another great reading month for me. I've been able to read so much more this summer than I have for any other part of the year. I can only hope I can keep this up.

It's back-to-school prep time for me and my girls and being a single mother, trying to do it all, isn't easy. But it sure is fun! I'm not the only one who loves back-to-school shopping, right?!

I do hope that August treated you as well (or even better) as it has treated me and I wish you all the best for September!!

Stats

Total Books Read: 25
Total Pages Read: 5,699
DNFs or No Rating: 4
From my TBR: 21
Avg. Rating: 2.88

All the Books

My favorite book of the month:


The other books I still found worthwhile (and would recommend) were:

Badd to the Bone by Jasinda Wilder
Unintended by Georgia Cates
Ares by Penny Dee
Strange and Unusual by Lani Lynn Vale
It's Not Over by Kaylee Ryan & Lacey Black
Call of Water by Marina Simcoe

Added to my tbr

Wicked Little Sins by A.R. Breck
Stolen by the Warlord by V.K. Ludwig
Requiem by Callie Hart
Killian the Assassin by Wendy L Anderson
Madness of the Moon by Marina Simcoe

Book Haul

Call of Water by Marina Simcoe
Stolen by the Warlord by V.K. Ludwig



I hope you find only the best reads!

Talk soon,


xo, Natalie