Showing posts with label 1 Star. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 Star. Show all posts

Monday, March 18, 2024

#BookReview: To Be Claimed by Willow Winters @ReaderLatte @ververomance @BistroBookBabes






Synopsis: Their authoritative presence is felt before anything else. My heart skips a beat and my blood runs cold. They’re here.

The voluminous cloaks cover their bodies entirely and their faces are mostly concealed by their hoods. Standing with their broad shoulders squared and hands tucked behind their backs, they emanate sheer masculinity and dominance.

His baritone voice whispers, and his breath burns hot against the shell of my ear. His tone is gentle, but there’s no doubt in my mind that his words are a command.

Gather and present yourself. This is the offering ...


To Be Claimed is a dark paranormal romance collection with high heat and suspense to keep you on edge. This collection features Wounded Kiss, Gentle Scars & Primal Lust


Wednesday, March 06, 2024

#BookReview: The Cartographers by Amy Zhang






Synopsis: Struggling to balance the expectations of her immigrant mother with her deep ambivalence about her own place in the world, seventeen-year-old Ocean Wu takes her savings and goes off the grid. A haunting and romantic novel about family, friendship, philosophy, and love.

Ocean Wu has always felt enormous pressure to succeed. After struggling with depression during her senior year in high school, Ocean moves to New York City, where she has been accepted at a prestigious university. But Ocean feels so emotionally raw and unmoored (and uncertain about what is real and what is not), that she decides to defer and live off her savings until she can get herself together. She also decides not to tell her mother (whom she loves very much but doesn’t want to disappoint) that she is deferring—at least until she absolutely must.

In New York, Ocean moves into an apartment with Georgie and Tashya, two strangers who soon become friends, and gets a job tutoring. She also meets a boy—Constantine Brave (a name that makes her laugh)—late one night on the subway. Constant is a fellow student and a graffiti artist, and Constant and Ocean soon start corresponding via Google Docs—they discuss physics, philosophy, art, literature, and love. But everything falls apart when Ocean goes home for Thanksgiving, Constant reveals his true character, Georgie and Tashya break up, and the police get involved.

Ocean, Constant, Georgie, and Tashya are all cartographers—mapping out their futures, their dreams, and their paths toward adulthood in this stunning and heartbreaking novel about finding the strength to control your own destiny.


#BookReview: The Stranded (Stranded #1) by Sarah Daniels






Synopsis: Snowpiercer meets The Hunger Games in a gripping near-future dystopian.

Welcome to the Arcadia.

Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Now it floats near the coastline of the Federated States - a leftover piece of a fractured USA.

For forty years, residents of the Arcadia have been prohibited from making landfall. It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs and make-shift shelters.

Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land. Nik is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all.

When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will change forever . . .


#BookReview: Waking Fire (Waking Fire #1) by Jean Louise






Synopsis: This incendiary YA fantasy debut follows a girl who will stop at nothing to save her village after it’s discovered by a dangerous warlord and his army of undead monsters.

Naira Khoum has only known life in Lagusa, a quiet village at the desert’s end. But to the rest of the world, Lagusa is a myth, its location shrouded in secrecy. While war rages to the north led by power-hungry Sothpike and his army of undead monsters called Dambi, Naira’s people live in peace.

Until the impossible happens—Lagusa is attacked by a Mistress sent to do Sothpike’s bidding with a hoard of Dambi under her control. The Mistress is looking for something, and she’s willing to let her Dambi destroy Lagusa to get it.

Desperate to protect her home, Naira convinces her twin brother Nez and handsome refugee Kal to join the newly formed resistance with her. Together, they’ll have to figure out what the Mistress wants—before there’s nothing left of Lagusa to save.


#BookReview: Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame (Edge Worlds #2) by Meg Long






Synopsis: A girl hellbent on finding the friend she lost. A planet on the brink of total destruction. Only one way to find answers amidst the chaos: team up with a traitor to stage a revolution, in Meg Long's Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame.

After a mission gone awry two years ago, Remy Castell has been desperately searching across worlds to find the friend she failed to save—the friend who changed her life by helping her overcome the brainwashing she was subjected to as a genetically engineered corporate agent.

Since then, she’s been chasing the only lead she has: fellow genopath Kiran Lore, the same secretive ex-squadmate who left her for dead when she compromised that mission. She nearly caught up to him on Tundar before joining the infamous sled race alongside outcast Sena and her wolf companion Iska. Now, all three of them have tracked Kiran back to Maraas, the jungle planet where Remy lost everything. But nothing on Maraas is how it was two years ago. Syndicates and scavvers alike are now trying to overthrow a megalomaniac corpo director, which Remy wants nothing to do with; fighting against corpos is as useless as trying to stay dry in the middle of the giant hellstorm that encircles the planet. But the storm—and the rebellion—are growing stronger by the minute.

When Remy finds Kiran, he doesn't run away like she expects. Instead, he offers her a deal: help with the revolution and he'll reunite her with her friend. But can she really trust the boy who betrayed her once before? With the entire planet on the edge of all-out war, Remy will have to decide just how far she's willing to go to save one girl before the impending storm drowns them all.


Friday, March 01, 2024

#BookReview: Gothikana by RuNyx






Synopsis: The eternal romance of Beauty and the Beast meets the gothic suspense of Dracula in this erotic dark academia story of epic love from bestselling author RuNyx.

"RuNyx immerses her readers in the dark worlds she builds and then injects life into them in the most hauntingly beautiful way. Her work is unique and addictive—she really is one of a kind.”--Hannah Grace, New York Times bestselling author of ICEBREAKER

“Original, innovative, and unlike anything I’ve read before.”―L. J. Shen, USA Today bestselling author

An unusual girl. An enigmatic man. An ancient castle. What could go wrong?

An outcast her entire life, Corvina Clemm is left adrift after losing her mother. When she receives the admission letter from the mysterious University of Verenmore, she accepts it as a sign from the universe. The last thing she expects though is an old, secluded castle on top of a mountain riddled with secrets, deceit, and death.

An enigma his entire life, Vad Deverell likes being a closed book but knowing exactly everything that happens in the university. A part-time professor working on his thesis, Vad has been around long enough to know the dangers the castle possesses. And he knows the moment his path crosses with Corvina, she's dangerous to everything that he is.

They shouldn't have caught each other's eye. They cannot be. But a chill-inducing century-old mystery forces them to collide. People have disappeared every five years over the past century, Corvina is getting clues to unraveling it all, and Vad needs to keep an eye on her.

And so begins a tale of the mysterious, the morbid, the macabre, and a deep love that blossoms in the unlikeliest of places.


#BookReview: The Cruel Dark by Bea Northwick






Synopsis: Millicent Foxboro is haunted.

Not by ghosts but by the anguish of her past and the uncertainty of her future. After all, even in the progressive year of 1928, most people would balk at hiring a woman who’d spent two months in a mental ward for traumatic amnesia. So when an uncommon assistantship to a reclusive Professor of mythology falls into her lap with an ungodly salary attached, her desperation for stability overrides her cautious nature. 

To Millie’s dismay, the widowed Professor Callum Hughes and his estate, Willowfield, are more than she bargained for. The once magnificent home, known for its sprawling gardens and dazzling parties, is falling to pieces after the death of the professor’s fragile wife. What’s more, the staff has been reduced to the only three people not frightened away by rumors of ghosts, leaving the halls empty and languishing in bitter memories.

The professor himself is a grim, intense man with unclear expectations, unpredictable moods, and hungry eyes that ignite Millie’s own dormant passions. The closer she finds herself drawn to Professor Hughes and his strange world of flowers and folklore, the more the house closes in, threatening to reveal her secrets. But the professor is keeping secrets of his own and the most dangerous of all is hers to discover.


Saturday, February 24, 2024

#BookReview: You Won't Believe Me by Cyn Balog






Synopsis: Willow is alone, confined to a bed with restraints. She can't remember how she got there...or how long she's been there. 

An old lady appears in her room to feed her twice a day. Granny doesn't talk, but Willow can hear thumping from somewhere beyond her door. It's not Granny's shuffling steps. It's too loud to be Granny's cat. Is it someone? Something?

Then Granny's cat dies in Willow's room. And Granny follows a few days later. Willow will do anything to survive. But freeing herself from her bed is only the beginning... Because there is someone else in the house. Who is this mysterious teen who calls himself Elijah? And is he the reason she's hostage or the key to her escape?


Thursday, February 15, 2024

#BookReview: Your Fault (Culpable #2) by Mercedes Ron






Synopsis: *A BookTok and Wattpad Viral Sensation*

Fast-paced and sizzling with a forbidden enemies-to-lovers romance, Your Fault is the second book in Mercedes Ron's Culpable trilogy. This suspenseful YA series untangles the threads of love, trauma, and secrets, perfect for fans of Ugly Love and After. 


When Noah fell in love with Nick, she knew their relationship would never be easy. They're fire and electricity, and when they're together, every kind of sparks fly. After last summer, Noah thought their passion had grown stronger than their fear, but her life is about to turn upside-down again now that she's starting university. Moving again while maintaining her relationship with Nick will be a difficult hurdle, with their age difference, campus life, dangerous parties, and inner demons stalking them both, reminding them of all they still don't know about each other.

No matter how hard they try, there will always be wounds that won't close. Is Noah really prepared to overcome her fears and truly trust someone again? Will Nick be able to put his past behind him and keep his heart open?

Or are they doomed only to burn each other's worlds down?


Tuesday, February 06, 2024

#BookReview: Corrupt Shadows by Rebecca L. Garcia & C.M. Hutton






Synopsis: The Witch…

Nine years ago, I killed my brother, and I’ve been running from my past ever since.

I find a home in Darkwood, finally safe from those who hunt me. But no matter what I do, the darkness keeps pulling me in.
I allow my shadow magic to edge closer to the surface to feel something, anything. But no matter how much I want to embrace the power, I can’t. My magic thirsts for violence but I won’t let it kill again. It remains dormant... until he shows up.
A masked man watches me from the mirrors, stalking my dreams.
He haunts me, unraveling my thoughts until I’m not sure what to believe. I move closer to the edge and I’m afraid of what I’ll become if I let him in.

I can’t lose control. If I do, then I’m already dead.

The Demon…

I’ve spent a century trapped in the Shadow Realm, a purgatory created for me and my demons.

I watch the humans through mirrors, waiting for the moment I can find a way to leave and return to my domain. But I never found a way. Until now.
She’s everything I’ve been waiting for. The last descendant of the only bloodline that can free me.
I stalk her from the shadows, watching her every move. Her dark magic calls to me, craving for me to unleash it.
The closer she draws to the shadows, the more she’s within my grasp. Obsession takes over, pulling me into her world.
If she won’t unleash her power, then I will make her.

Corrupting a soul has never felt so good.

Corrupt Shadows is a dark, gothic romance with dark themes that may be triggering. Please see the TWs inside, under the copyright page.


Sunday, January 07, 2024

#BookReview: Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White






Synopsis: Prepare to die. His kingdom is near.

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all. 

Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own. 

A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors. Perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Annihilation.


Tuesday, January 02, 2024

#BookReview: Sanctuary of the Shadow by Aurora Ascher






Synopsis: Enter at your own risk―and discover the greatest show unearthed in this explosive, darkly imaginative debut fantasy…

For humans, the circus is a place filled with wonder and amazement. For Harrow, though, it’s a place to hide from those who slaughtered her entire clan. Disguising her abilities as part of her act has kept her true identity safe for years.

Until he arrives.

A strange new attraction with no name, no memory of who―or even what―he is, let alone an explanation for his odd yet deadly powers. But beneath the layers of anger and isolation, one glimpse into his inky eyes reveals a soul that calls out to the loneliness in her own.

And so she chooses him.

Harrow is drawn to the darkness, to her insatiable need to soothe the beast who threatens their very existence. But with every secret she unlocks from his past, another from hers whispers free as well―luring enemies who will stop at nothing to get their final revenge on Harrow. And she’s afraid she’s given them the perfect weapon against her…because he’s not what he seems.

But maybe it’s time they finally learn―neither is she.


Saturday, December 23, 2023

#BookReview: Salt Kiss (Lyonesse, #1) by Sierra Simone






Synopsis: Tristan Thomas is lost. After leaving the Army, the young former soldier is in limbo. Until, that is, he’s hired by Mark Trevena, the owner of Lyonesse—DC’s ultra-secret club—to be Mark’s new bodyguard. He’s drawn into Mark’s dark, seductive world of power and desire, and slowly drawn to Mark himself, even though Mark is everything Tristan knows he shouldn’t want: cruel and wicked and shamelessly amoral.

But protecting Mark isn’t Tristan’s only duty: soon, Mark asks him to guard his soon-to-be bride as she travels home from Ireland on Mark’s yacht. Tristan is jealous—and hurt to learn that the object of his obsession is engaged—but the soldier in him is made to obey orders, and he goes to fetch Mark’s bride for him.

Isolde Laurence is nothing like Tristan expected, however. Young, quiet, and sharp, she’s being pushed into this marriage by her family, and as the two travel back to America, Tristan finds himself fascinated with Isolde and the glimpses he gets of the lonely but determined woman behind her reserve. And the fascination is mutual: one night, while sailing under the cold stars, they share a searing kiss.

From there, it’s a fast fall into the forbidden. But in Mark Trevena’s world, the fall is only the beginning…

The Lyonesse trilogy is a queer, kinky contemporary retelling of the legend of Tristan and Isolde, set in the same world as the New Camelot series. Readers will not have to read New Camelot to enjoy Lyonesse, although readers who enjoyed New Camelot will find all the things they loved about the trilogy here: MMF ménage, plenty of the angsty forbidden, and a sweeping retelling of a familiar story.


Wednesday, December 20, 2023

#BookReview: Nocturna (A Forgery of Magic #1) by Maya Motayne






Synopsis: Set in a Latinx-inspired world, a face-changing thief and a risk-taking prince must team up to defeat a powerful evil they accidentally unleashed.

To Finn Voy, magic is two things: a knife to hold under the chin of anyone who crosses her…and a disguise she shrugs on as easily as others pull on cloaks.

As a talented faceshifter, it’s been years since Finn has seen her own face, and that’s exactly how she likes it. But when Finn gets caught by a powerful mobster, she’s forced into an impossible mission: steal a legendary treasure from Castallan’s royal palace or be stripped of her magic forever.

After the murder of his older brother, Prince Alfehr is first in line for the Castallan throne. But Alfie can’t help but feel that he will never live up to his brother’s legacy. Riddled with grief, Alfie is obsessed with finding a way to bring his brother back, even if it means dabbling in forbidden magic.

But when Finn and Alfie’s fates collide, they accidentally unlock a terrible, ancient power—which, if not contained, will devour the world. And with Castallan’s fate in their hands, Alfie and Finn must race to vanquish what they have unleashed, even if it means facing the deepest darkness in their pasts.


Saturday, December 16, 2023

#BookReview: Into the Mist (Into the Mist #1) by P.C. Cast






Synopsis: From #1 New York Times bestselling author P. C. Cast comes a pulse-pounding dystopian novel for our times.

The Power meets The Stand in this gripping take on female power and the inevitable, destructive path of violent patriarchies.

As men fall to the mist, the age of womankind begins to rise.

The world as we know it ends when an attack on the U.S. unleashes bombs that deliver fire and biological destruction. Along with sonic detonations and devastating earthquakes, the bombs have also brought the green mist. If breathed in, it is deadly to all men—but alters the body chemistry of many women, imbuing them with superhuman abilities.


A group of high school teachers heading home from a conference experiences firsthand the strength of these new powers. Mercury Rhodes is the Warrior, possessing heightened physical powers. Stella Carver is the Seer, with a sixth sense about the future. Imani Andrews is the Watcher, with a rare connection to the earth. Karen Gay is the Priestess, demonstrating a special connection with Spirits. And Gemma Jenkins is the Healer, a sixteen-year-old student who joins the group after losing her parents.

As they cross the Pacific Northwest, trying to find a safe place to ride out the apocalypse, the women soon learn they can't trust anyone, and with fresh danger around every corner, it will take all their powers to save themselves—and possibly the world.


With timely commentary on power and community, Into the Mist delivers a thrilling and fantastical feminist future.


Tuesday, December 12, 2023

#BookReview: Blood of The Hunted by @MarcMicciola






Synopsis: The Resistance Is Rising

Weylyn, Olwen, and other members of the marginalized and subjugated group known as the Tóráin are trying every day to gain equality and freedom. Their enemies, which consist of vile human monarchs, their soldiers, and a masked witch assassin known only as The Dove, continue to tighten their grip around the necks of the Tóráin.

Leading The Resistance, Weylyn and Olwen endure many trials that test them physically and mentally, relying on their loved ones to keep them from losing hope. They both wish to see a time of equality and peace, but to achieve that requires more than what they have. Desperation leads The Resistance to find new allies all across the continent of Kosavros with the goal of finally defeating their oppressive overseers.

Their fight for freedom and respect leads Weylyn and Olwen down paths that open their eyes to new dangers, both involving themselves and the rest of the world. However, they do not waiver. For the Tóráin are known for their resilience, and they have already endured much. What comes next will be hard, but they’re ready to fight for their lives. Together.


Monday, December 11, 2023

#BookReview: Your Fault (Culpables, #2) by Mercedes Ron






Synopsis: Fast-paced and sizzling with a forbidden enemies-to-lovers romance, Your Fault is the second book in Mercedes Ron's Culpable trilogy. This suspenseful YA series untangles the threads of love, trauma, and secrets, perfect for fans of Ugly Love and After. 

When Noah fell in love with Nick, she knew their relationship would never be easy. They're fire and electricity, and when they're together, every kind of sparks fly. After last summer, Noah thought their passion had grown stronger than their fear, but her life is about to turn upside-down again now that she's starting university. Moving again while maintaining her relationship with Nick will be a difficult hurdle, with their age difference, campus life, dangerous parties, and inner demons stalking them both, reminding them of all they still don't know about each other.

No matter how hard they try, there will always be wounds that won't close. Is Noah really prepared to overcome her fears and truly trust someone again? Will Nick be able to put his past behind him and keep his heart open?

Or are they doomed only to burn each other's worlds down?


Tuesday, December 05, 2023

#BookReview: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars (Fractalverse #1) by Christopher Paolini






Synopsis: Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds. Now she's awakened a nightmare. During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.

As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. 

While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope...


Thursday, November 02, 2023

#BookReview: A Divided Heart by Alessandra Torre






Synopsis: Can you love two men at once? Is there any future in that?

Brant loves me fiercely. 
A brilliant tech billionaire who has owned my heart for four years, he keeps proposing, and I keep turning him down. 
I can’t marry him, not with all of the secrets between us.

Lee uses me wildly.
As grouchy as he is cocky, he's interested in getting me into his bed and little more.
There’s no reason for us to work, but I can't stay away from him.

I have to make Lee mine. If I don't, all of this will be for nothing.

Go ahead, judge me. You have no idea of the agony my heart is in.

If you think you’ve heard this story before, trust me - you haven’t.