#AudioBookReview: The Nameless Trickster (Beloved Villains, #3) by Rebecca F. Kenney

Synopsis: When Juliette’s older brother makes an astounding claim to save his own skin, Juliette is escorted to the palace, along with other magically gifted young women who are being taken from their villages so the king can choose a bride.

But Juliette’s brother lied. She has no magic. She’s a baker and a businesswoman, not a sorceress… and now she’s trapped, facing death if she displeases the king.
When a handsome tattooed man shows up and proposes a bargain, Juliette makes a deal with him out of desperation. But their collaboration results in a crisis neither of them expected, one with dire consequences—
Unless Juliette can learn the stranger’s true name.

This spicy grownup retelling of Rumplestiltskin is perfect for fans of romantasy & fantasy romance books, and it blends a cozy fantasy atmosphere with more intense, dark fantasy vibes. Reading guidance for the darker moments can be found in the front of the book.

#AudiobookReview: Bound Lives (Steel Legends, #6) by @authorhelenhardt

Synopsis: He let her go.

Now he has to live with the silence.

Tabitha Haynes was the light that cut through Henry Simpson’s darkness. Their connection was instant and undeniable, but when Henry told her they had no future, she believed him. So she chose herself and an opportunity she couldn’t afford to pass up.

When Henry suffers an accident and asks for Tabitha from his hospital bed, she again chooses herself. Henry isn’t the only one carrying trauma. Tabitha has her own scars. Her own fears. Her own reasons for staying away from the man who once set her body afire.

But distance doesn’t erase chemistry. When fate forces them back into the same room, they must confront the truth.

Being together will demand sacrifices neither is ready for.

#AudioBookReview: Branded (Demonic Tendencies #1) by L. E. Eyring

Synopsis: Marriage wasn’t on her bucket list. Becoming magically bound to a demon? Even less so.

As a child, Sam Wandern thought she was just playing pretend—until her imaginary friends turned out to be real demons she accidentally unleashed into the world. One of them, Ash Spiros, has haunted her life ever since. Once human, now a dangerously seductive incubus, Ash claims he's been protecting her. But protection has a price.

On Halloween night, everything changes. A violent attack triggers Ash’s true nature, sealing an unbreakable bond between them. Now, to survive, Sam must participate in a ritual feeding—an intimate and consuming act that keeps them both alive … and tethered.

Ash insists on keeping his distance. Sam claims she doesn't need him. But the bond draws them together again and again, tempting them both to cross lines that were never meant to be blurred.

Torn between the comforts of a normal life and the seductive pull of the demon world, Sam must confront a terrifying Is the bond just magic—or something much deeper, and far more dangerous?

Branded is a monster paranormal romance full of heat, danger, and unexpected emotion, featuring forced proximity, an accidental bond, and a fierce protector.

#AudioBookReview: Queen of Flames (Kingdom of Shadow and Ruin #4) by @alayawellswrites

Synopsis: In a kingdom of shadows and ruin, I dared to love a cursed king.

We’ve come to Irridain Court in disguise, clinging to a final thread of hope: a talisman that can break the curse before it kills Lore. Without it, he dies. No more stolen nights. No more whispered vows. No more us.

The talisman dangles from the princess’s throat like a challenge. To claim it, we must outwit ruthless fae in games where beauty is a blade, truth is twisted, and losing means more than defeat. It means death.

As rivals circle and secrets unravel, Lore burns brighter and darker by the hour. I see it in his eyes. The fear he won’t speak of. The hunger he barely hides. The curse is tightening, and we have only six days left before it kills him.

I didn’t defy the fates, survive a labyrinth, plus battle a mad wizard to lose him now.

He’s my only ever after. I’ll burn the world to ashes to save him.

Queen of Flames, Book 4 and the last book in the Kingdom of Shadow and Ruin series, is a romantic fantasy/romantasy with dark secrets. Expect a gothic world full of tricks and danger, a touch-her-and-face-his-fury hero and heroine, banter, all the yearning, he will adore her forever, and a sweet pet, because everyone loves a fluffy friend.

Trigger Warnings: pri*mal play, bi*ting/marking, blood, gore, injuries, violence, grief, death, mourning the loss of a prior love, references to trauma, killing attacking creatures and people. HEA guaranteed.

#AudioBookReview: Tides of Secrets (The Obsidian Academy Duet #2) by @authorarconwell

Synopsis: “Logic bows at the throne of obsession.”

When Wren discovers a body and Castien in the tunnels on the same night, she’s certain she’ll never be able to trust him again. But that doesn’t mean she no longer needs him.

In order to discover the killer taking down their fellow students, Wren is forced to rely on Castien’s strategic mind and his knowledge of the Obsidian Order.

Wren wants nothing more than a cordial alliance, but Castien is intent on winning much more than her loyalty. He longs for her heart.

As they learn to trust each other again, the secret of Wren’s stolen journal looms over their fragile happiness like a storm cloud on the horizon.

Will they be able to withstand the tempestuous winds, or will they be ripped apart in the end?

Find out in Tides of Secrets, the epic conclusion of the Obsidian Academy Duet, a love story tinged with obsession and drenched in yearning.

#AudiobookReview: By Blade, I Vow (By Blade, #2) by @penelopeskyauthor

Synopsis: Wolfe gives me an ultimatum—I tell my father or he will.

We only have one chance at this, so I know it has to be done the right way. Once my father knows that Wolfe has been sneaking around with me behind his back this long, he’s going to want to put Wolfe in the ground. The way we handle it is literally a matter of life and death.

But with all the funerals my father has to attend as well as rebuilding our property after Lombardi’s hit, we need to wait a little longer. This makes Wolfe go apeshit, especially after a family friend makes a pass at me right in front of him. I can only placate him so long, and once he’s officially initiated into the family, Wolfe knows we’re out of time.
But then a new enemy, Warren, puts a target on our backs. He provokes my father at a wedding, and when he makes the mistake of commenting about me, Wolfe loses his mind and starts another war.

Wolfe is so obvious about his feelings toward me, that it’s a miracle my father hasn’t noticed. The trust that Wolfe has earned among the syndicate is so strong that no one suspects his treason.

But when the war comes to a head, secrets are revealed and everything is destroyed. The business, my family, everything…up in smokes

The only person I have left is Wolfe.

My ride or my die. The person I trust most. The love of my life.

He would do anything for me—and I him.

#AudiobookReview: The Cupid Dilemma by April Asher

Synopsis: In the new paranormal romance from bestselling author April Asher, a down-on-her-luck wedding planner demigoddess and a Muse-less rockstar agree to a fauxmance that quickly turns anything but…

A lover of love and a champion for happily ever after. Those were two of many things people expected from Aphrodite’s daughter. To Adalyn Whitlock, ‘love’ paid the bills, and currently, not well. Business was dropping at Happily Ever Forever, with her latest wedding planning catastrophe ending in a negative social media storm and her sister Maxi’s matchmaking ability on the fritz. To top it off, there’s an ex-boyfriend calling her ‘the Anti-Aphrodite’ and paparazzi pics linking Addie to her new client’s older brother.

Phoenix ‘Nix’ Cross—song writer and drummer of the hot new band, The Stone Talons—was no saint, but he was far from the womanizer the band’s image rep bestowed on him. If anything, he was a romantic, hopeful to find a love like the one in which his parents shared. With the band’s star quickly rising and the record label pressuring him to deliver the band’s next hit, Nix’s writer’s block couldn’t have come at a worse time. But when he opens his door to his irate new next-door neighbor, Nix feels the brief flash of inspiration for the first time in ages. And it just so happens that his new Muse is none other than his little sister’s new wedding planner.

With Addie needing an end to the public relations nightmare and the record label breathing down Nix’s neck, the pair agree to a fauxmance. But what happens when the emotions turned on for the cameras don't turn off?

#AudioBookReview: Songbird in the Gallows by Alta Hensley

Synopsis: From the bestselling author of He Sees You When You’re Sleeping comes a dark romance about a murder-sober retired serial killer and his murder-curious protégé. Perfect for fans of Brynne Weaver, this twisted romance inspired by the Bluebeard folktale is filled with dark humor, sizzling chemistry, and spice. 

Murder is their love language… 

Five years ago, Saylor Mitchell’s father was brutally murdered in front of her, shattering her world. Now his killers have tracked her down to finish the job. She is unexpectedly saved by her father’s closest friend, the enigmatic Blue. Saylor's savior—and captor— is a reformed, murder-sober assassin struggling to escape the clutches of his own violent history.

Blue’s gothic mansion, perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking a stormy sea in the town of Grimlock, is a labyrinth of secrets. And so is Grimlock, a small town whose residents all seem to have a penchant for murder that they’ve managed—mostly— to overcome.

Saylor soon realizes that Blue holds the key to avenging her father’s murder at the hands of the Crow, a gang of amoral contract killers. Only problem? Saylor has never killed before. Good thing those who can’t kill…teach.

Blue finds Saylor an apt pupil and the attraction between them morphs into a dangerous obsession. Can their love conquer Blue’s final, darkest secret?



Morally grey leadsTouch her and dieDad’s best friendPossessivenessGothic mansionMurder mysteryForbidden loveAge gapForced proximityAnti-heroDark romanceGothic romanceFairytale retelling

#AudioBookReview: By Blade, I Protect (By Blade, #1) by @penelopeskyauthor

Synopsis: My father runs the only arms operation in Sicily, and now that the Skull King is monopolizing the drug empire in all of Italy, we’re in hot water. Because everyone wants to take our business for themselves—because they aren’t strong enough to handle the Skull King.

Just when things are looking bad, Wolfe shows up looking for a job. He was born to inherit the throne of Cosa Nostra, but a mysterious falling out has forced him to turn his back on the only family he’s ever known. None of us are sure we can trust him, so he has to start at the bottom and prove his loyalty. With a smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eyes, he does what he’s told. But the second he sets eyes on me—I become the real thing he wants. I’m not dumb enough to get involved with one of the guys at the syndicate, no matter how insanely hot he is, so I tell him it’s never going to happen. But this man doesn’t stop.
I’m a nurse who stitches bullet holes and keeps my father’s men alive on top of everything else I do for the business, and Wolfe continually hurts himself because he knows it’s the one way to get me alone. While I stitch him up, he stares and smirks at me . . . like I’m already his. Even when my father is present, he stares at me the same way—like he doesn’t care if this obsession gets him killed. He’s honest, passionate, and smart—but I also think he’s a little crazy. I finally give in, saying it’s just for the night, but this man wants all of me before he ever touches me. An affair turns into the most intense relationship I’ve ever had, and Wolfe wants to tell my father about us, even if it gets him killed. But that’s way too risky with our enemies moving in and a snitch in our midst—and everyone thinks it’s Wolfe. Our relationship becomes clandestine and forbidden, and while that would be fun for other men, Wolfe disagrees. Because he wants me—forever. When so much is set against us, I’m not sure if our relationship will survive. But Wolfe believes it will—because he’ll die for it.

#AudiobookReview: Wild Reverence (Letters of Enchantment #0) by Rebecca Ross

Synopsis: Dear Matilda, I wrote.

I let the words flow for her.
And when the ink dried,
I gave my very heart
to the fire.

Born in the firelit domain of the under realm, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic she uses to carry words and letters through the realms. But the gods will kill for power, and Matilda holds a secret she must hide from even her dearest allies.

And there is a mortal who dreams of her, though they have never met in the waking world. Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life—begging the goddess he befriended in dreams to help him. His request went unanswered, and Vincent became a hardened, irreverent lord of the river who has long forgotten Matilda . . . until she comes tumbling into his bedroom window with a letter for him.

Matilda and Vincent were fated to find each other beyond dreams. But to rewrite the blood-soaked ways of the gods, Matilda will have to face something she fears even more than losing her magic: finally allowing herself to be loved.

#AudiobookReview: Sea of Charms (Spellshop #3) by @sarahbethdurst

Synopsis: Marin is a supply runner with her own boat that she sails from island to island, delivering whatever anyone will pay her to deliver: letters, flour, even the occasional enchanted lemur. It’s a lonely life, but it’s hers, and she wouldn’t trade the freedom of the sea for anything. Her only companion is a sea serpent, Perri, whom she saved from a fisherfolk’s net.

One day, she sails to Alyssium and discovers the city is on fire. There’s been a revolution, and the empire has fallen. Marin, with Perri, begins transporting refugees, finding them new homes where they can start over. One such refugee is Dax, a composer who refuses to leave behind his instruments, no matter how much she tries to emphasize the gravity of the situation. Intrigued by his stubbornness, his passion for stories, and his charming smile, Marin discovers perhaps she isn’t saving him ― maybe it’s the other way around.

From the acclaimed author of The Spellshop, Sea of Charms is a delightful cosy fantasy for fans of Travis Baldree and TJ Klune.

#AudiobookReview: The Girl with a Thousand Faces by @sunyidean

Synopsis: From the USA Today bestselling author of The Book Eaters comes The Girl with a Thousand Faces, a Gothic tale set in a historical Hong Kong that meshes ancient myths and local legends into a haunting story of ghosts, grief, and women who will not forgive.

When Mercy Chan washed up on the shores of Hong Kong with no family, no money, and no memories, she was thrust into the horrors of World War II. She only survived by hiding in Kowloon Walled City, an infamous, ghost-infested slum full of lost and traumatized civilians. Since the end of the war, she has rebuilt her life and found work with the local triad as a ghost-talker, dealing with the angry and bitter spirits who haunt this place. These days, the filthy gutters and cramped alleyways of Kowloon feel like home.

But the past she can’t remember won’t let her go. An unusually powerful ghost has infested Kowloon’s waterways, drowning innocents and threatening the district. Unnervingly, it claims to know Mercy―and her forgotten childhood. As Mercy is drawn into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with this malignant spirit, she begins to realize that the monster she fights within these walls may well be one of her own making.

33 years before, mere days ahead of the Japanese invasion, Sung Siu Yin and her mother flee Hong Kong, intending to hide out on her mother's ancestral island home. It’s beautiful, tranquil, and remote. . . but also inhabited by ghosts ever since the entire village drowned in a storm many years ago. Still, it’s better than living under occupation.

But as the war drags on and isolation sets in, Siu Yin is increasingly drawn into the island's grim past―a past that may still have a hold on the present. There is a darkness lurking beneath that idyllic ocean, and it has been waiting many years for someone to return.

"The Girl With a Thousand Faces confirms Sunyi Dean as one of the most interesting voices in genre fiction.”―Gareth Brown, USA Today bestselling author of The Book of Doors

#AudiobookReview: Empire of Death (Death, #6) by @penelopebarsetti

Synopsis: With my father indisposed, I become Queen of the Southern isles -- and it's the heaviest responsibility of my life. I know the Barbarians will come for the kingdom, and I have to prepare for war.

But I don't have to do it alone...because Wrath is with me. My advisor and my protector, he helps me secure the aid of my allies, helps me remember my strength. And when I become lost in despair, he tells me I can do this. That I'm the only one who can do this.

The God of the Underworld is my silent partner, a powerful ally that no one can see, and it becomes clear there's nothing he won't do for me. He watches my back when I trust no one else to do it. He helps me move pieces across the board against the Barbarians. My mother and brother grow suspicious of my powers, and I grow tired of telling them lies.

Despite being swallowed by misery, as time goes by, it becomes harder not to fall for this man. And he doesn't bother hiding it either. Wears his heart on his sleeve and bares his loyalty like the crest in his armor.

Except there's no way for us to be together...ever. He says there's no escape for him in the Underworld, that this is all we'll ever be. That he'll help me win this war and then leave me to find someone I deserve.

But he's the man I want -- and I won't stop until I find a way.

#AudiobookReview: Isle of Wrath by Claire Contreras

Synopsis: A forgotten prophecy.

A 300-year-old curse.

And two people bound by a goddess to break it… if the bond doesn't break them first.

In Lunaris, everyone trades their memories for asylum. No one remembers their past, their homeland, or the curse that trapped them behind a wall of darkness called the Shroud. But they don't dare break the rules set upon them.

Ada Acevedo has spent years hiding her healing gift and keeping her head down.

But when her twin brother is struck by a poisoned arrow, she breaks the most dangerous rule of all. She bargains with the goddess of death to save his life.

She didn't expect the goddess to send Malachi Bain—an infuriating warrior—to collect. Much less to be soul-bound to him until she repays what she owes. Now Ada has no choice but to help him do the impossible: lift the Shroud and break the curse that's kept Lunaris hidden from the rest of the realm for three hundred years.

As she's pulled deeper into a world of forbidden prophecies and buried secrets, Ada discovers a devastating truth. Lunaris isn't the paradise she always thought it was. It's a cage. And on the other side, a monster is lurking—waiting for the Shroud to fall.

Waiting for her.

Isle of Wrath is a dystopian fantasy romance with morally gray characters, meddling gods, and a slow burn romance.

#BookReview: Rose in Chains (The Evermore Trilogy, #1) by Julie Soto

Synopsis: The war is over, the dark forces have won, and the hero who was supposed to save them is dead. 

Captured as her castle is overrun by the enemy, the world as Briony Rosewood knows it is changed forever. Evil has won, and her people face imminent servitude, imprisonment, or death. 

Stripped of her Magic and her freedom, Briony and the other survivors are quickly sold off to the highest bidders in an auction—and as Evermore's princess, she fetches the highest price. After a fierce bidding war, she’s sold to none other than Toven Hearst, scion of a family known for their cruelty. 

Yet despite the horrors of her new world and the role she must learn to play within it, all is not lost. Help—and hope—may yet arise in the most unlikely of places …

#AudiobookReview: Until the World Falls Down (Until the World Falls Down #1) by Jordan Lynde

Synopsis: This special paperback features cover effects, interior character art, and digital sprayed edges.

Labyrinth meets Beauty and the Beast in this spellbinding, sexy romantasy debut about a woman with a broken heart, the seductive immortal who imprisons her, the magical labyrinth that may be her salvation, and the dangerous attraction that could destroy them both.

Her freedom or her heart…in forty-eight hours, she'll lose one forever

When a brutal betrayal leaves Nell heartbroken and alone, she makes a desperate wish for love, recklessly offering anything in exchange.

Her plea is heard by Enver, an immortal as wicked as he is beautiful. He sweeps Nell away to his castle that seems to exist out of time and presents her with a bargain: escape his labyrinth within forty-eight hours or surrender to eternity as his lover.

Nell vows to conquer the labyrinth, despite the dangerous attraction she feels for its monstrous ruler. But every stolen moment with him leaves her craving more. And every step deeper into the castle reveals hidden truths about herself…and the curse that holds Enver captive.

Torn between her desire for love and the dark being incapable of loving her, Nell faces an impossible choice. And her time is running out.

#BookReview: Fallen Gods (Fallen Gods, #1) by Rachel Van Dyken

Synopsis: They said the Gods were myth. That the Giants were only stories told around dying fires. They lied.

The Gods aren’t dead—they’re only sleeping, locked in mortal bodies, scattered across the world, waiting for the right spark to wake them. And my father is the most ruthless of them all.


He raised me to obey. To bleed. To be his blade when the time came. Now he’s sending me to Endir University, a place filled with ancient bloodlines and deadly secrets, to steal back Mjolnir, the hammer of legend. If I fail, everyone I love dies.


But Aric Erikson wasn’t part of the plan. He’s the enemy’s heir. Distant. Dangerous. And…the one person I can’t afford to fall for. He’s closed himself off completely behind a wall of ice, but the more I’m ordered to unravel him, the harder it becomes to remember where the lies end and I begin.


There's only a mission I never chose—and a man I was never meant to love—standing between me and a war that will decide the fate of the world.


But if I’m the spark, maybe he’s the fuse. And the Gods? They’re about to wake up angry.

#BookReview: Rain of Shadows and Endings (Legacy, #1) by Melissa K. Roehrich

Synopsis: Of all the worlds and life they created, the gods favored their children the most. But with that favor came the fear that their Legacy would one day become too powerful and overthrow them. Devram was created. A realm hidden amongst the stars. The gods gave their Legacy the best of all the worlds, and then they left, a sworn agreement to never return and to never interfere. Forced to a life of servitude, the Fae are required to provide for the Legacy in more ways than one. Every five years, the eligible Fae are gathered for the Selection and assigned to serve in one of the six Kingdoms. To be chosen as the personal Source for a Kingdom Heir is the greatest honor, and for the first time in a millennia, all six Kingdoms have heirs choosing a Source. But their selections could tip the power balance a little too far. Tessalyn Asura was as forgotten as the realm. But when she finds herself the personal Source to the Heir of Endings, she winds up serving in the darkest Kingdom of them all . The secrets within the Arius Kingdom are meant to be learned and kept, but this was never the life she wanted. Fighting not only the fate thrust upon her, but the temptation to lose herself to desire, Tessa will do anything to escape her new destiny. Until she starts to realize maybe their world wasn’t as forgotten as they thought, and maybe she’s the reason why.

Rain of Shadows and Endings is book one in The Legacy Series and ends on a cliffhanger. This is new adult dark fantasy romance series and includes elements that may be triggering to some readers.

#BookReview: Aicha by @authorsorayab

Synopsis: TEMPTRESS. MONSTER. WARRIOR.

Aicha is the story of Morocco's warrior goddess, her strange magic, fierce rebellion, and devastating romance. Debut author Soraya Bouazzaoui weaves an epic tale of female rage and hidden myths, perfect for fans of The City of Brass and The Stardust Thief.

The Portuguese flag has been planted across Morocco, its empire ruling with an iron fist. But eventually, all empires must fall.

Aicha, the daughter of a Moroccan freedom-fighter, was born for battle. She has witnessed the death of her people, their starvation and torture at the hands of the occupiers, and it has awakened an anger within her. An anger that burns hot and bright, and speaks to Aicha's soul.

Only Aicha's secret lover Rachid, a rebellion leader, knows how to soothe her. But as the fight for Morocco's freedom reaches its violent climax, the creature that simmers beneath Aicha's skin begs to be unleashed. It hungers for the screams of those who have caused her pain, and it will not be ignored.

#BookReview: Heartsong (War of the Underhill #1) by @se.wendel.author @avonbooks

Synopsis: For fans of Ruby Dixon comes a steamy monster romance from S. E. Wendel, following a museum worker who gets the shock of a lifetime when one of the (very attractive) gargoyle statues in an exhibit comes to life and claims her as his mate...

A gargoyle warrior unprepared for the modern world…

Fifteen hundred years ago, Frey and all his kind were cursed by the vicious fae queen, their magick stolen and their bodies rendered stone. It has been a hellish existence, frozen in time as the world changes around them. A proud warrior, Frey rages against his stone prison, but with every year that passes, hope slips away that the curse can ever be broken.

That is, until he and some of his kin are placed in an odd little museum. And she walks through the door.

A modern woman not ready for a medieval male…

Anna Kincaid has struggled most of her life, but she’s finally landed a job that will help her get ahead. It feels too good to be true—full healthcare and helping manage a museum full of exquisite artifacts? Her heart and history degree are thrilled, but something about the museum is….strange. The owners are a mysterious couple who call the collection the clan. And the collection is…well, monstrous. Huge, savage-looking statues from the late-Celtic period.

Magick stolen can be reclaimed, and curses cast can be broken…

When the museum is stormed by masked commandos one night, it isn’t even the weirdest thing to happen. No, that has to be when one of the statues comes alive to save her. Or when he flies off with her. Or when he tucks her into his big body and growls mate.

Monster romance fans looking for their next read will love this sensitive and sexy love story that is packed with all of their favorite tropes:
fated mates 
he falls first 
close proximity 
moody winged hero 
fish out of water 
medieval meets modern 
hurt/comfort