#BookReview: The Vengeance (The Vampires of Dumas #1) by Emma Newman

Synopsis: Morgane grew up at sea, daughter of the fierce pirate captain of the Vengeance, raised to follow in her footsteps as scourge of the Four Chains Trading Company. But when Anna-Marie is mortally wounded in battle, she confesses to Morgane that she is not her mother.

The captain of the enemy ship reveals he was paid to kill Anna-Marie and bring Morgane home to France and her real family. Desperate to learn the truth about her lineage, Morgane spares him, leaving the Vengeance and everything she knows behind.

Her quest reveals a world of decadence and darkness, in which monsters vie for control of royal courts and destinies of nations. She discovers the bloody secrets of the Four Chains Trading Company, and the truth about her real mother’s death, nearly twenty years before...

#BookReview: All We Lost Was Everything by Sloan Harlow

Synopsis: A sexy, dark romantic thriller—with a shocking twist—by the author of Everything We Never Said.

River Santos is stuck—in her job at the diner, in her dead-end town, in her grief. Her father died in a house fire just a few months ago, her mother has been MIA for nearly a year, and the only people she can count on are the aunt she lives with and her best friend Tawny. 

Things feel like they’re turning around when Logan—the hot guy at the diner who’s always ignored her—seems interested. It’s complicated by her ex-boyfriend Noah, who she really needs closure with, and the fact that Tawny doesn’t think either of them is good enough for River… but the tension between River and Logan can’t be denied.

But love takes a backseat when new information surfaces about the fire. After all these months trying to move forward, River is forced to rethink everything… including the idea that maybe it wasn’t an accident after all. But who would commit this deadly act? And why?

River isn’t sure who to trust or who to turn to, but she needs to figure it out, fast. Because someone has more than love on their mind. They want revenge.

#BookReview: Yours to Take (Twisted Origins #1) by Vera Kane

Synopsis: It’s all fun and games until someone falls.

Quentin:

They took my little sister from me and now my every thought revolves around getting revenge. It’s my sole purpose for living.

The sweet caress of the blade in my hand drowns out the remnants of my soul screaming that Portland's scumbags are not my fucking problem. But they are and I have made it my mission to eradicate these assholes from the streets. Vengeance has no time for distractions.

That is, until I meet Anora, the woman who is so focused on being my salvation, that she hasn't realized being with me can only lead to her demise. Could she be the one to get me to walk away from this life?

Anora:

Men in this city suck. I design clothes for the crème de la crème of Portland. Between their connections, the dating apps, and city life, surely I would have met my match by now. But, no, I’ve been on the worst dates with what feels like every man in this damn city. Not one of them has come close to giving me butterflies…until now.

Quentin Thorne, with just a little work, could be the perfect guy for me. A Prince Charming in the making. Whether he wants to be or not.

Little do I know, he's far from a Prince Charming, more like the evil, masked villain lurking in the corner waiting to whisk away the heroine. Can our relationship survive his secrets when he takes off his mask?

#BookReview: Cross My Heart by Esha Patel

Synopsis: The perfect fake-dating college sports romance for fans of Bal Khabra and Hannah Grace

May Velasco has always wanted to be a lacrosse player, and she’s finally achieved her joining her college team on a scholarship. Now she's got to give her all to keep her hard-fought place on the team.

But then CJ "Colt" Bradley shows up at her college to help with training. He's a professional player, but he was also her grade school nemesis, and the last thing May wants to do is take pointers from him.

So when they're photographed having what looks like – but definitely isn't – an intimate moment at a bar, May's outraged. But the college is thrilled that women's lacrosse is getting press.

May and Colt will have to pretend they're dating until the lacrosse team is happy. But it doesn't take long before this fake relationship starts to feel all too real, and May begins to question if she really wants this relationship to be fake after all…

#BookReview: The Regency Switch by @helengaskell.writer

Synopsis: The Holiday meets Lost in Austen, with a sprinkling of Bridgerton steam… A gloriously witty, escapist and heartwarming romantic comedy about love, finding your people and living life to the full

***

Etta Moore expects nothing more from a Tuesday than another dull day in the office. But when her morning commute ends in Regency England, she is forced to accept the she and her ancestor Miss Henrietta Bainbridge – or ‘Mad Hetty’, as she’s known amongst the ton– have switched bodies.

Suddenly Etta and Hetty must get to grips with the new worlds they find themselves in. For Etta, it’s goodbye to dating apps and the daily commute and hello to the list of things ‘Ladies Do Not’ do. Luckily the dashing Lord Stanhope is on hand to aid her through even the most shocking of faux pas.

Meanwhile Hetty, who has always felt unseen and unknown, finds her truest self blossoming with the help of 21st century medicine and the most welcome attentions of her rather beautiful Adult Learning teacher, Stella.

Two hundred years away from everything they’ve ever known, might Etta and Hetty have actually found a place where they each truly belong?

#BookReview: A Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie

Synopsis: In time for the 250th Anniversary of the birth of the United States comes a sweeping, intimate portrayal of Abigail Adams—wife of one president and mother to another—whose wit, willpower, and wisdom helped shape the fledgling republic. A stunning historical novel with modern-day implications from the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter and My Dear Hamilton.

In the heart of revolutionary Boston, Abigail Adams raises her children amid riots, blockades, and the outbreak of war. While her husband, John Adams, rises from country lawyer to nation-builder, often away for years at a time, Abigail builds her own independence—managing their farm, making lucrative investments, amassing savings, battling plague and loss, and defending their home. Unafraid to speak her mind, she famously offers fearless political counsel, urging John to “remember the ladies” in the new government. Through it all, she becomes his most trusted confidante and indispensable ally.

When peace is secured, Abigail steps onto the world stage—exchanging ideas with Thomas Jefferson in the French countryside, navigating court life as the wife of the Minister to Great Britain, and presiding over the parlor politics of the early American republic in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Even after her husband’s presidential administration, she continues battling political foes and working behind the scenes to advance her family, secure independence for the women in her life, and ensure a better life for the next generation of Americans.

From war-torn streets to the chandeliered halls of power, A Founding Mother is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her time—one whose voice, vision, and valor still resonate powerfully today.

#BookReview: The Curse Breaker (Isle of Ever #2) by @jencalonita

Synopsis: The game is far from over. In fact, it's only just begun.

Having finally reached the Isle of Ever, Everly "Benny" Benedict thinks she's won the game of clues her ancestor Evelyn Terry set out for her in her will. Only she can't prove it yet—not until her new friends are safe from the curse that has kept them trapped for centuries!

And now there's a new game. It turns out that Evelyn has more secrets in her diary and another task for to find the lost piece of pirate treasure needed to break the curse once and for all. It won't be easy. One of her best friends has betrayed her; the kids from the island are just discovering twenty-first- century life, and a mysterious stranger mentioned in Evelyn's diary has somehow turned up in present-day Greenport.

Benny has to figure it all out in just a few days. If time runs out, someone else can claim the inheritance, and the Isle of Ever will disappear again for another two hundred years!

#BookReview: Silver Elite (Silver Elite, #1) by Dani Francis

Synopsis: Psychic gifts are a death sentence and there are rules to survival: Trust no one. Lie to everyone. And whatever you do, don’t fall for your greatest enemy. 

TRUST NO ONE.

Wren Darlington has spent her whole life in hiding, honing her psychic abilities and aiding the rebel Uprising in small ways. On the Continent, being Modified means certain death—and Wren is one of the most powerful Mods in existence. When one careless mistake places her in the hands of the enemy and she’s forced to join Silver Block, their most elite training program, she’s finally handed the perfect opportunity to strike a devastating blow from inside their ranks.

LIE TO EVERYONE. 

But training for Silver Block can be deadly, especially when you’re harboring dangerous secrets and living in close quarters with everyone who wants you dead.

AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T FALL FOR YOUR GREATEST ENEMY. 

As the stakes grow ever higher, Wren must prove herself. But that’s easier said than done when your commanding officer is the ruthless and infuriatingly irresistible Cross Redden, who doesn’t miss anything when it comes to her. And as war rages between Mods like her and those who aim to destroy them, Wren must decide just how far she’s willing to go to protect herself . . . and how much of the Continent is worth saving.

#BookReview: Broken Souls and Bones (Stonegate, #1) by @authorljandrews

Synopsis: Together they’ll restore a divided kingdom—or burn it down—in this new romantasy from USA Today bestselling author and TikTok sensation LJ Andrews.

Lyra Bien intended to live a quiet life to avoid the attention of the magic-obsessed king in the fortress of Stonegate. Until Roark Ashwood—the prince’s silent guard and rumored killer for the crown—invades her village and uncovers the truth behind the silver scars in her eyes. To save her best friend from death, she’s forced to reveal her abilities, and is immediately claimed by the crown as the next melder.

To be the King’s melder is to be revered and feared in equal measures, but above all it is a slow death sentence. Lyra is determined to find a way to free herself and her friends from bondage. But first she must get more information from the silent, brooding sentry who first took her captive: Roark.

As Lyra gets closer to Roark, she soon learns he’s nothing like she assumed—and in fact everything she needs. The more they work as allies, the harder it becomes to ignore the growing passion between them. After a sinister truth is revealed, Roark and Lyra must choose to stand against all they know, or accept their dark destiny.

#BookReview: Enigma by RuNyx

Synopsis: Enigma, a twisted Hades and Persephone meets scorching dark academia romance—a tale of love and obsession between two rivals.

There are secrets she must uncover.

There are secrets he must keep.

Salem Salazar is fascinated with death. The black sheep of her scandal-ridden, wealthy family, she arrives at Mortimer University as a legacy on the hunt for answers about what happened to her perfect, older sister. There, she discovers that her sister is far from the only girl to have gone missing at Mortimer. Salem will do anything to discover what dark forces are killing Mortimer's students...even if it means using herself as bait.

And Cazimir van der Waal has caught her scent. The mysterious artist and teaching assistant has a dark past, a hidden agenda, and a ravenous appetite for a beautiful, golden-eyed girl who seems determined to risk her life.

Where she is ice, he is fire. Where she is organization, he is chaos. Where she is precision, he is passion. Together they are explosive--their fates linked as secret societies and death stalk them both.

Enigma is a sensual, epic love story for those who also crave the frightful, the puzzling, the suspenseful, the dangerous and the dark.

Welcome to Mortimer.

Enigma
*Dark academia romance
*Steamy suspense
*Rivals to lovers
*Secret societies
*Forbidden love

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

#BookReview: Destructively Mine (Webs We Weave, #2) by Krista Ritchie & Becca Ritchie

Synopsis: Ex-grifter Phoebe Graves’ new life threatens to come crashing down around her in the next novel of the Addicted series.

As the daughter of a con artist, Phoebe Graves only knew a life of swindling the rich until her best friend and fellow grifter, Hailey Tinrock, proposed an idea to start a new, honest life in a wealthy college town of Connecticut. Once there, they decided to leave behind their deceitful tricks and be truthful for once. But you know what they say about best intentions. . . .

While Phoebe is fake-dating Jake Waterford, the third-born son to an uber-wealthy and influential family, she’s actually dating and falling deeper in love with Brayden “Rocky” Tinrock—Hailey’s older brother. To make matters more complicated, Phoebe’s mother shows up out of the blue with conniving match-making designs of her own.

Her mother’s arrival threatens to unravel Phoebe’s plans. To keep her love, her friends, and her newfound happiness, Phoebe will have to return to her old games . . . and win.

#BookReview: If You Stayed by @bcherryauthor

Synopsis: There once was a man who loved me, until he forgot every memory we've ever shared…

Gabriel Sinclair would forever be my first. My first best friend, my first kiss, my first love…and my first heartbreak. The accident that nearly took his life ripped the memory of me from his grasp—and for the last decades, I've let the guilt of that one terrible night keep us apart.

It took me years to make peace with the fact that he would no longer be in my life, so when he shows up as the architect for my new home, my world's tossed upside down. Now, I'm trapped in a loveless marriage, raising a child, while Gabriel stirs up feelings I thought long buried. It feels like my soul is waking up after years of being in a deep slumber—and my controlling husband will do whatever it takes to keep us apart.

I know I should push Gabriel away to protect him from the shadows surrounding me. Yet, I can't deny the hope that blooms whenever he's near—the chance that he might remember me, that we could reclaim the chapters of our story that we've lost. 

Nothing good could come from us, but I can't help but wonder what would happen if this time...he stayed. 

There once was a man who loved me… And now he's my only hope for tomorrow.

#BookReview: Craving My Rival (The Mafia Academy #4) by @authorprayne

Synopsis: The final installment of The Mafia Academy Series- A dark enemies to lovers romance set at a mafia boarding school for the sons and daughters of the most powerful mafia lords.

Polina Aminoff

At the Sicuro Academy, the Russians and the Italians give each other a wide berth. We’re bitter enemies after all. So imagine my disbelief when my brother announces that I’m to wed Dante Accardi, next in line to run the Accardi Italian crime family. After the shock subsides, I’m determined to save myself. It’s not until my plan is in full swing that I realize there might be more to Dante than I thought. But those closest to me, those who were supposed to protect me have always hurt me. Now I must decide whether to trust him with my heart or if he’ll just be another person in my life who brings me to my knees.

Dante Accardi

Polina Aminoff is a Bratva brat and an ice princess that I don’t think even an easy-going guy like me can thaw. And I’ve never had an issue melting the panties off a woman before. I’m just as unhappy about our engagement as she is, but my father made it clear—it is my duty to the family. Once we’re forced together, another side of Polina shines and I start to think we could have a future together that doesn’t involve being bitter rivals. But she’s hiding something, I just don’t know what. Which leaves me wondering, can I ever really trust my enemy?

#BookReview: The Seven O'Clock Club by @ameliaireland_author

Synopsis: Four strangers are brought together to participate in an experimental treatment designed to heal broken hearts in this surprising and heartfelt debut novel from author Amelia Ireland.

In a perfectly ordinary building, four strangers who couldn't be more different meet for the first time. Their skepticism of this new kind of grief therapy—and the unnervingly perceptive group leader—means they're all wary, but as the weeks go by, they find themselves returning again and again, pulled to work toward healing, even if it means first facing the pain head-on.

A sharp-tongued lawyer who has no intention of letting down her walls, a fragile young woman looking for a place to belong, a musician at the top of his game who's one drink away from losing it all, and an interior designer facing the crumbling of her picture-perfect life—this unlikely group slowly opens up, not only to the possibility of a happier future but to friendship, change, and even romance. 

When a shocking revelation reveals the real reason they were chosen for this group, it shakes the very foundation of what they thought they knew. What began as a journey designed to heal turns out to be a much greater test of friendship, strength, and love as they realize happiness is just outside the door...if they're brave enough to seek it.

#BookReview: The Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide

Synopsis: Set in Regency England, The Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide is a queer historical fantasy of magic, murder, high heat and humour.

Lord Nicholas Monterris, the last remaining heir of a crumbling ducal house, must marry to save his family from complete decline. His father chooses Lady Leaf Serral, eldest daughter of his greatest rival, at which point Nic is sure it can’t get any worse. Until he learns the head negotiator is to be Dashiell sa Vare, an old flame he has neither forgiven nor forgotten, a man their rigid class structure forbids him to love.

Locked in the mouldering grandeur of Monterris Court (a house more haunting manifestation of dynastic ambition and ancestral guilt than home), the first dead body is troubling. The second, a warning that someone doesn’t want the contract to go ahead. But while Nic and his wife-to-be team up to banter their way through a secret murder investigation, it’s Dashiell he can’t stop thinking about. What would be worse? To love and have to let go, or to wholly deny the yearning of one’s heart forever?

Perfect for fans of Freya Marske and Alexis Hall, The Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide is the perfect blend of gothic and romantic – including a locked room murder mystery, forbidden love and otherworldly automatons.

#BookReview: Their Monstrous Hearts by Yigit Turhan

Synopsis: A haunting novel about the boundaries people will cross to keep their dreams alive.

A mysterious stranger shows up at Riccardo’s apartment with some news: his grandmother Perihan has died, and Riccardo has inherited her villa in Milan along with her famed butterfly collection.

The struggling writer is out of options. He’s hoping the change of scenery in Milan will inspire him, and maybe there will be some money to keep him afloat. But Perihan’s house isn’t as opulent as he remembers. The butterflies pinned in their glass cases seem more ominous than artful. Perihan’s group of mysterious old friends is constantly lurking. And there’s something wrong in the greenhouse.

As Riccardo explores the decrepit estate, he stumbles upon Perihan’s diary, which might hold the key to her mysterious death. Or at least give him the inspiration he needs to finish his manuscript.

But he might not survive long enough to write it.

#BookReview: The Gods Time Forgot by @kelsiesheridangonzalez

Synopsis: Irish mythology collides with Gilded Age New York in this sweeping debut enemies-to-lovers historical romantasy, perfect for fans of Outlander and A Fate Inked in Blood.

Manhattan, 1870. Rua knows only two things: her name, and that she has no memories. So when the wealthy Harrington family mistakes Rua for their missing daughter, Emma, Rua goes along with the charade, hoping for answers about who she really is. As she tries to blend into a society she doesn’t remember, she’s drawn to a firmly off-limits the Lord of Donore, a newcomer to Manhattan society who is somehow familiar to Rua.

Finn is new to this side of the Atlantic and knows that the best way to fit in as Lord of Donore is to make friends in high places and play by the rules of society. He knows he shouldn’t become involved with a mysterious, recently missing debutante, but he’s intrigued by Emma Harrington, and Finn has an uncanny feeling that this isn’t the first time they’ve met. 

With societal pressures mounting on both sides, Rua is determined to discover the truth about the missing Harrington daughter and her own past. But when her memories begin to return, they’re of a world far stranger than New York and traced in dark magic.

As ancient secrets unfurl in Rua’s memory, Rua and Finn are forced to uncover the mystery of their past and try to save their future. In this gritty and glittering romantasy, nothing and no one is as they seem.

#BookReview: The Wind Weaver (Reign of Remnants #1) by @author_julie

Synopsis: Magic and adventure swirl through this spellbinding romantasy where a young woman reignites the embers of an ancient prophecy, unleashing a storm that could save her realm or doom them all.

Fear of maegic plagues war-torn Anwyvn. Halflings like Rhya Fleetwood are killed on sight. But Rhya’s execution is interrupted by an unexpected savior—one far more terrifying than her would-be killers. The mysterious and mercenary Commander Scythe. In the clutches of this new enemy, Rhya finds herself fighting for her life in the barren reaches of the Northlands. Yet the farther she gets from home, the more she learns that nothing is as it seems—not her fearsome captor, not the blight that ravages her dying realm, not even herself.

For Rhya is no ordinary halfling. The strange birthmark on her chest and the wind she instinctively calls forth means she is a Remnant, one of four souls scattered across Anwyvn, fated to restore the balance of maegic…or die trying.

But mastering the power inside her is only the beginning. Desire for the Commander—a man she can never trust, a man with plans of his own—burns just as fiercely as the tempests beating against her rib cage for release. Rhya must choose: smother the flames…or let them consume her.

#BookReview: Firebird (The Fire That Binds #1) by @juliettecrossauthor

Synopsis:
DELUXE EDITION—featuring beautiful original illustrated stenciled edges with a foil case stamp, and designed endpapers!

An instant New York Times bestseller!

House of the Dragon meets From Blood and Ash in this epic, scorching dark romantasy.

A conqueror captivated…
A witch prophesied to save them all…
An unforgiving world where dragons rule Rome.

Julian Dakkia, Roman general and nephew to the emperor, has played his role as conqueror well. Yet, the moment he laid eyes on Malina, he was enthralled by the Dacian dancer. Years later, the fierce beauty stands before him, a captive on a scarred battlefield, her life in danger. He instinctively shifts into his fierce dragon form to save her, an action that may mean his head on the imperial gate.

The rules of their world dictate that he is the conqueror and she is the captured. But he and his dragon know one thing: their bond has nothing to do with the laws of mighty Rome. She belongs to them. And they belong to her.

Fierce and powerful, twenty-one-year old Malina has survived the loss of her family and she is determined to fight until her dying breath. Still, she can’t believe that the centurion who had once bestowed a secret talisman on her is the Roman general of legendary brutality…and now holds her life in his hands. Nor can she deny how her soul has always seemed to answer his. Slowly she learns that Julian is caught in his mad uncle’s machinations for domination, and helps him plot the downfall of the empire itself.

As they navigate a world where flying deathriders conquer and burn, their love will ignite a firestorm that can only end in heartbreak or death. Or both.

Firebird is a fantasy with some dark themes, including elements of master/slave relationship, attempted sexual assault (not between MCs), and dubious consent (not between MCs). Readers who may be sensitive to these elements, please take note.

#BookReview: The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner

Synopsis:
Sisters Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were born just a year apart but could not have been more different. Zoe, blessed with charm and beauty, yearned for fame from the moment she could sing into a hairbrush. Cassie was a musical prodigy who never felt at home in her own skin and preferred the safety of the shadows.

On the brink of adulthood in the early 2000s, destiny intervened, catapulting the sisters into the spotlight as the pop sensation the Griffin Sisters, hitting all the touchstones of early aughts fame—SNL, MTV, Rolling Stone magazine—along the way.

But after a whirlwind year in the public eye, the band abruptly broke up.

Two decades later, Zoe’s a housewife; Cassie’s off the grid. The sisters aren’t speaking, and the real reason for the Griffin Sisters’ breakup is still a mystery. Zoe’s teenage daughter, Cherry, who’s determined to be a star in spite of Zoe’s warnings, is on a quest to learn the truth about what happened to the band all those years ago.

As secrets emerge, all three women must face the consequences of their choices: the ones they made and the ones the music industry made for them. Can they forgive each other—and themselves? And will the Griffin Sisters ever make music again?