The Sacrifice by Shantel Tessier

Standalone
Release - April 6, 2023
Genre - New Adult Contemporary / vengeance, arranged marriage
POV - Dual 1st person
Heat - 5 out of 5 / plenty of BDSM elements
Format - ebook borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Length - 535 pages


I gave it 3.25 STARS. I enjoyed the characters, even when I thought the heroine was acting dumb. While Lake acted like she knew it all, she knew very little. Her ignorance is what drove this story though. Tyson had so many secrets and even I was guessing, right to the end, what his motives were and why things were happening the way they were. Honestly, I wanted to rate this book higher because it was hotter and more deceptively devastating than I thought it would be. However, in the end, I felt that things were left dangling a bit.

For starters, why did Whitney hate Lake so much? And Luke, what was his deal? And why were so many people more loyal to Luke than Tyson? What was he offering them? And the father... it was all a bit messy (or a lot).

I think the problem I had was that while the mystery of the plot was interesting and kept me engaged, I wanted a bit more when the mystery was solved. I needed more answers. So while I loved what grew between Tyson and Lake, their volatile and not quite normal relationship, I wanted more.

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Red Havoc Rogue by T.S. Joyce

Standalone - Red Havoc Panthers #1
Release - February 7, 2017
Genre - Paranormal Romance / instalove
POV - Dual 3rd person
Heat - 3 out of 5
Format - ebook purchase from Amazon
Length - 232 pages


I gave this 3 STARS. I loved that Jax and Annalise shared a deep connection before they had even met. Not knowing that the other was a shifter, they delved into more intimate topics and became the person the other relied on. So when Annalise knew she had to start over in a remote part of a new town, she was sad to let Jax go. She was having trouble controlling her animal and this new crew was known for taking in broken people. And she was very broken.

Jax wasn't willing to let her go. Known as a wanderer, he had a pack, but loved the open road. So he had no trouble leaving his family and tracking down Annalise. However, when he finds her, the reception from her new pack isn't exactly warm. She's everything he could ever want, he's everything she could ever need, but her pack forbids them to be together.

I loved the way they snuck around, not able to get enough of each other. I found this story to be sweet, funny and sexy. I enjoyed meeting the members of both packs and I hope they feature in some way in other books from the series. I did want more depth in this book, hoping for a little bit more of these two as a happy couple, but I was quite content with the way everything played out.

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Yearning For Her by Tiffany Roberts

Standalone
Release - March 21, 2023
Genre - Paranormal Romance
POV - Dual 3rd person
Heat - 4 out of 5
Format - ebook borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Length - 396 pages


I gave this 3.25 STARS. I adored Kian and for the first hero I've ever read from this writing duo, color me impressed! He was absolutely swoon-worthy. As an incubus, he'd slept with hundreds of people and he didn't really seem to discriminate. He fed off of their pleasure so I guess he didn't have to be choosy. But there was something different about Willow. After their one night stand, he quickly realized that he couldn't feed from anyone else. She satisfied him in ways he'd never experienced before. And while she might be reluctant to give into him, recently getting over a bad break up and not trusting in what Kian has to offer, he wasn't about to let her go.

There was a lot to love about this story, from Kian's absurd methods of wooing Willow, his refusal to take no for an answer, his obsessive and possessive thoughts and feelings when it came to her, and pretty much everything Kian did. My only issue was how long and hard Willow had him working for it. I got that she had trust issues and I didn't blame her. But she did and said some hurtful things that irked me. So while I could understand her motives, I didn't have to like them.

I also wanted a bit more from the ending. There was this whole underlying plot with a nefarious and villainous incubus and with all the lead up it was resolved quickly. I was hoping to see if there was any fallout. And of all the incubi that Kian knew, why didn't we hear from or meet them? I can only hope there will be another book about another incubus and Kian makes a special guest appearance.

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He Wants It All by Marilena Barbagallo ~ DNF

Krum Botev has never had anything in life apart from himself. He knows only what he has been taught. Hard, selfish, insensitive, but faithful to the Father, the one who raised and educated him according to the values of the secret society he is part of. No one has ever succeeded in knocking down his armor. No one can touch him outside or inside; no-one except her, who is part of that past Krum cannot forget. Ambra Livori, a beautiful and wealthy heiress, has always had everything. But nightmares don’t give her a break. They go on showing her the man who ruined her life when she was only sixteen. The memory of him, over time, has become a perverse feeling she cannot tolerate. Just when Ambra decides to learn how to control her emotions, she receives a strange call. Her origins will be questioned and the past will become a terrible present from which she won’t be able to escape. Fighting for herself will be the only solution. What links Ambra and Krum? But most of all, can two different souls be able to touch each other outside and inside? A secret organization, an uncontrollable passion, a man and a woman destined to clash.

Honestly, the writing was a bit all over the place and I think that's because this was translated from Italian. I really wish I could read it in the original language. I believe a lot of what the author was trying to convey was lost in translation. The concept of this story is so intriguing that I wish I could have continued.

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Hammered by Jasinda Wilder ~ DNF

Dad Bod Contracting—for ALL your domestic contracting needs. Have a leaky faucet or clogged disposal? Need a new patio with intricate brickpaving designs? Want your garage transformed into a yoga studio? Dad Bod Contracting has you COVERED. Our clean, well-mannered, and friendly professionals pride themselves on attention to detail. Every job comes with a 100% customer SATISFACTION guarantee. No job is too small. Hand us your “honey-do” list and we’ll get it done, and we’ll look good doing it! A good job well done is one phone call away, so call Dad Bod Contracting today! It started with a window that was jammed shut. Pretty simple, right? All I wanted was to open the windows while I tidied the house. I’d been after my no-good husband to do it for months, but he never did. And then he shacked up with his secretary, leaving me with a pile of bills, husband-free for the first time in ten years, and with a house that was falling apart. The ad popped up on the side of my social media feed—a local contracting agency willing to do pretty much anything. Since I don’t really know a screwdriver from a ratchet, I gave them a call. And let me tell you, the ad was NOT lying. Jesse O’Neill can do it ALL…and looks amazing doing it. He fixed my window, so I called him back to fix the sagging, splintery front steps. Which led to him fixing my kitchen sink. And then he recarpeted my stairs. And then fixed the squeak in my bed. He was supposed to fix my house, not my rusty, sputtering libido. And certainly not my broken heart.

You know those books you REALLY wanna like? Hammered was one of those books. It should have checked many of my boxes, but it somehow failed to do that. It could have been the fact that it was told from only Imogen's perspective (and you know how I hate that). I was more interested in the side characters than the ones this story was about. I even liked the little I got to know of Jesse (the MMC). It just fell flat, I'm afraid. It's too bad because I know that a lot of people enjoyed the heck out of this story. I've really liked other books by this author so I'll be giving her another try.

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Balls in Play Box Set by Kate Stewart ~ DNF

“She’s a nerd.”
“Heyyyy!”
“Okay, she’s a flight instructor.”
“Better.”
“He’s a ballplayer.”
“The best that ever was.”
“Technically, you aren’t according to MLB stats.”
“See? Total nerd. She also has no filter.”
“He’s no southern gentlemen.”
“I had one last season to prove my worth.”
“I’d never seen a game.”
“He told me he was a player.”
“She told me she was a lesbian.”
“But you fell in love with me anyway.”
“Yeah, baby, I totally did.”

I know it's a "me" problem. I've seen so many 4-and-5-star reviews for this series and I couldn't even get through book one with ease. I was infinitely bored and the heroine, Alice, annoyed me. I can't even pinpoint why she irked me, but aggravate me she did. So I'm one of the few that didn't love this supposedly laugh-out-loud novel.