A LITTLE OF WHAT I HAVE BEEN READING.
It has been a couple of slow months in my reading process. Vacations, relentless heat, and then COVID hit our household right as I was supposed to leave for BOOK BONANZA '22. Yep, I missed it because I tested positive the day I was to leave.
Then I decided to share it with my husband and we all know how the men we love get when they are sick, x10 for my hubby. Anyway, life is getting back to normal and I have felt the need to get lost in books once again. I am 7 books behind on my Goodreads goal, so a girl has got to find her groove again.
Deserter (Silent Phoenix MC book 1)
By Shannon Mayers
Right and wrong?
In my world, it was kill or be killed.
I spend my time in the shadows; doing what I want, when I want. I refuse to follow anyone's rules—I own this town.
They might not see me, but my club controls everything... including her. I took Daddy's little princess and defiled her to send a message. Now, I want to keep her down here in the dirt forever.
She's crazy not to run.
Around here, there's no right or wrong. I'm the judge, jury, and executioner and god help any fool who tries to lay a hand on what's mine.
If you're looking for a hero, you're in the wrong place.
Please be aware that Deserter is not recommended for readers under the age of eighteen, as it contains strong language, sexual situations, drug use, and graphic violence.
This story spans years and it is brutal. I do not cry when reading books very often but this one, this one got me.
There are so many twists and turns and emotional ups and downs, it is a wild ride. This story ends on a cliffy and that drove me straight to book 2. I am not reading book 3 in the series and am happy that I stuck with it. Normally cliffhangers are a NO for me, but this series is so worth it. 4.5*
Brutal Vows by J.T. Geissinger
book 4 in the Queens and Monsters series.
An Italian mafia princess with a dark secret.
Two enemy empires joined in sacred marriage vows.
Let the hating games begin.
Author's Note: There is a thirteen-page epilogue set in the future not included in the ARCs that will be in the digital and paperback versions.
Reyna
If this arrogant Irish mobster my brother sold my niece to thinks I’m going to play nice over this arranged marriage BS, he should think again.
I don’t care if this match with the Mob will make my brother capo of the Five Families.
I don’t care how much money, territory, or power it will gain us.
I especially don’t care that the Irishman is the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.
I won’t allow my innocent niece to suffer the same way I did.
Even if I have to kill him.
Spider
I’m supposed to marry sweet, beautiful Lili. So why can’t I stop thinking about her swamp witch of an aunt?
Reyna who hates me. Reyna who challenges me. Reyna with the guts of a Viking, the body of a fertility goddess, and the attitude of a feral cat.
Nothing good can come of what I’m feeling for a woman who’s not the one in the wedding contract I signed.
A woman I want so much, I’ll have to burn the whole world down to get.
If she doesn’t kill me first.
~I finished up the Queens & Monsters series by J.T. Geissinger and I simply can not recommend this series enough! I am hoping there may eventually be more but if not, I am completely satisfied with how this series was wrapped up. We all have been waiting for Spider's story since we met him in book 1.
This was exactly what I wanted and didn't even know it. I was a little surprised at how tender Spider was from time to time. He and Reyna are a match made in mafia heaven.
I loved the way this came to an end and the twist that it took made me love it even more. 4.5*
Once Upon A Time, there was a little boy.
His belly full of laughter, his life full of joy.
Until one day, something changed; stripped his innocence away.
The hole inside making space for the devil to come and play.
His dreams gone forever, he grew up way too fast.
An endless night of crocodiles, and watches made of glass.
He grew into a villain, the taste of vengeance on his tongue.
Craving to make his enemies pay for the misdeeds they had done.
Instead he found a darling girl, and refused to let her go.
For what better way to make the man pay, than to steal his little shadow.
*Hooked is a full-length, complete standalone and the first in The Never After Series: A collection of fractured fairy tales where the villains get the happy ever after. This is a DARK Contemporary romance (not a literal retelling and not fantasy) featuring mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Reader discretion is advised.*
Hooked by Emily McIntire
Once Upon A Time, there was a little boy.
His belly full of laughter, his life full of joy.
Until one day, something changed; stripped his innocence away.
The hole inside making space for the devil to come and play.
His dreams gone forever, he grew up way too fast.
An endless night of crocodiles, and watches made of glass.
He grew into a villain, the taste of vengeance on his tongue.
Craving to make his enemies pay for the misdeeds they had done.
Instead he found a darling girl, and refused to let her go.
For what better way to make the man pay, than to steal his little shadow.
| I had seen this everywhere and thought I would give it a go. While the idea behind it was exciting and the storytelling was good, I grew tired of the references to Petter Pan. I know, I know... that was the point of the book, I just found myself rolling my eyes when I read something alluding to the original. I will read the rest of the books in the series. There were interesting twists and turns and some were obvious to the reader. All in all, it was a decent read and it makes me want to continue the series. 4* WAR (The Four Horsemen #2) by Laura Thalassa  The day Jerusalem falls, Miriam Elmahdy knows her life is over. Houses are burning, the streets run red with blood, and a traitorous army is massacring every last resident. There is no surviving this, especially not once Miriam catches the eye of War himself. But when the massive and terrifying horseman corners Miriam, he calls her his wife, and instead of killing her, he takes her back to his camp. Now Miriam faces a terrifying future, one where she watches her world burn town by town, and the one man responsible for it all is her seemingly indestructible “husband”. But there’s another side to him, one that’s gentle and loving and dead set on winning her over, and she might not be strong enough to resist. However, if there’s one thing Miriam has learned, it’s that love and war cannot coexist. And so she must make the ultimate choice: surrender to War and watch humankind fall, or sacrifice everything and stop him. |
~This is a good follow-up to book 1 Pestilence. War is brutal and has zero feelings about what he was sent to do. Miriam just happens to be his weakness and she has no idea why! This is a tug-of-war kind of story, the push and pull between War and "his wife" is intriguing.
I can not read these books back to back I have found. I wish I could tell you why other than that, it is just a lot and I mean that in a good way. I will finish this series and I am loving it. 4*
I can not read these books back to back I have found. I wish I could tell you why other than that, it is just a lot and I mean that in a good way. I will finish this series and I am loving it. 4*
