April 2024 Reading Wrap Up
These are the 21 books I read and reviewed in April 2024.
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April 2024 Reading Wrap-Up
Denial by R.S. Crawford
Grief, Book One
Release Date: May 23, 2023
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Age Gap
💙Angels
🖤Biker Boy
💙Fated Mates
🖤Found Family
💙Friends-to-Lovers
🖤Grief
💙Loss of a Loved One
🖤Mental Health Rep
💙Mürder
🖤Slow Burn
💙Slüt Shaming
🖤Tattoos
💙Trauma
🖤Urban Fantasy
💙Violence/Assault
Book Description:
Secrets don’t make friends. But neither does the truth.
After her father’s sudden death, Livvy Reape moves from the mountains of Montana to the shores of South Carolina to escape her nightmares. Instead of imagining her father’s death, she’s haunted by dreams of women dying, each death more gruesome than the last.
Between these visions, college, and her grief, Livvy has no time for relationships when the pretentious biologist, Liam, struts into her life. But he might be her first shot at normal in a long time, and before she knows it, Liam’s warmth is all she craves.
Until she discovers meeting him wasn’t a coincidence.
The visions haunting her have finally caught up, sweeping her away into a world where the ones hunting her are no longer just in her dreams.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH Book Review:
Denial is a slow, slow, SSSLLLLOOOOWWW burn.
Livvy has dreamt about death for as long as she can remember. After her dad passed away, she started taking “head meds” to counter the panic attacks and night terrors.
During her first week of college, she meets Liam. Liam always seems to be there when Livvy needs some kind of saving. Does Livvy have her very own guardian angel?
Denial is perfect for readers who enjoy urban fantasy storytelling, a heart-wrenching story, and an MMC you want to keep all to yourself.
Theirs to Ruin by Zoe Flynn
Crimsonvale University, Book One
Release Date: February 5, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Age Gap
💙Bullying
🖤College Romance
💙Dark Romance
🖤Drügs
💙Forbidden Romance
🖤Forced Proximity
💙Mafia
🖤Mental Health Rep
💙MF
🖤Mürder
💙New Adult Romance
🖤Piercings
💙SA (off-page)
🖤Slow Burn
💙Stalker
🖤Taboo
💙Torture
🖤Virgin FMC
💙Why Choose
Book Description:
I’m attending Crimsonvale University with only one goal in mind – win back the family fortune and earn my freedom.
Now I’ve been accused of a crime and three wildly different men are determined to prove my innocence.
My best friend’s brother Kage is the heir to the Irish Mob. Pierced, sexy and deadly, he sees me for all I can be.
Dante, my school counselor, is a tempting enigma. A tattooed philosopher who rides with the local MC, he sees me for all I am.
And Ty, my scarred ex-boyfriend? He’s become a bully, determined to break my heart all over again.
I want them all — even if it means they destroy me.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
BWBH MMCs Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH Book Review:
Theirs to Ruin had so much potential. Why choose has to be one of my favorite tropes, but this book missed the mark.
My biggest gripe is that the characters felt unrelatable. Rich college kids with criminal parents attending an exclusive school with classes like Seduction 102? I couldn’t get immersed in the story.
Theirs to Ruin is perfect for readers who love elite college romances, a slow burn why choose, and a hint of a thriller.
Thank you to Zoe Flynn and Wicked Reads for the ARC.
You’re It by Cleo White
Release Date: April 18, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Age Gap
💙Dad’s Best Friend
🖤Dirty Talk
💙Forbidden Romance
🖤Laser Tag
💙MF
🖤Neurodivergent MMC
💙Rom Com
🖤Second Chances
💙Taboo
Book Description:
Sometimes it feels like every step I take leads to a mistake that is painful or embarrassing, or painful and embarrassing, and it’s pretty remarkable that natural selection hasn’t taken me out yet.
The point is, I have a lot of experience in cleaning up my own messes. Even with all that practice, though, inheriting my dad’s failing laser tag business might be a little much.
Saving Galactic Guild Arena won’t be easy. Especially when my new business partner is my dad’s best friend/famous author/grouchy recluse/my former crush.
Darwin Wilder knows better than anyone what a mess I am. The man hates me, and for good reason. I need to remember that, because in a life full of missteps, falling for my dad’s best friend is one mistake I know I’ll never recover from.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
You’re It was a wonderful palette cleanser!
After her father passed away, Savvy was left with a failing laser tag business. When she tries to sell, she discovers she isn’t the only owner – her father left half the business to his best friend, Darwin Wilder. Will her past with Darwin affect her ability to run a successful business?
You’re It is perfect for readers who enjoy sexy nerds, rom coms, and a spicy age gap with an MMC with a filthy mouth,
Thank you to Cleo White for the ARC.
The Maiden & The Unseen by Jeanette Rose & Alexis Rune
Love and Fate, Book One
Release Date: September 22, 2022
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Age Gap
💙Contemporary Romance
🖤Dark Romance
💙Dirty Talk
🖤Enemies-to-Lovers
💙Erotic Romance
🖤Fantasy
💙Fated Mates
🖤Forced Proximity
💙MF
🖤Mythology
💙Piercings
🖤Retelling
💙Shadow Daddy
🖤Urban Fantasy
💙Workplace Romance
Book Description:
God of the Dead. King of the Underworld. The Unseen. The Renowned…The Glorified Babysitter.
Zeus has finally decreed that the gods may leave Olympus and mingle – anonymously – with the mortals of the present. With zero warning or waiting for him to consent to this arrangement, Hades is placed in charge of not only helping the gods assimilate but also financing them. Unlike the other gods, Hades never withdrew from the mortal world. Instead he spent six months of every year among them, building a fortune befitting one of his many names. As long as the gods follow his strict rules for living among mortals, they have access to a generous monthly stipend. Break the rules, lose the privileges. No allowances. Ever.
Goddess of Spring. The Maiden. The Mistress. The Venerable One…The Social Media Manager.
For the last two years, Persephone has lived among the mortals, enjoying everything the world she was so sheltered from has to offer. It took years of begging since Zeus’s decree to get her mother to allow her to go, and she imparted some strict rules to follow. Rule 1: No fraternizing with other gods. As far as Demeter is aware, Persephone’s closest friend is definitely not Helios, the Titan of the Sun. Rule 2: No men. The mortal she’s casually dating doesn’t even know the gods exist. Rule 3: Every six months, Demeter comes by for a visit. This one Persephone can’t get out of, and if it keeps her mother from investigating Persephone’s life, what’s the harm?
Destiny. Fate. Fortune. Kismet…An absolute bitch.
Fate has other ideas for Hades and Persephone, and it does not take lightly to being denied. Struggle and fight all they want. But the threads of destiny have wrapped tightly around them and tugs them tighter and tighter, no matter what the gods themselves have to say about it.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
I have read several Hades and Persephone retellings over the past few years, but this has to be one of my favorites. Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune do an excellent job of telling the story in dual POV without the points of view feeling unconnected.
When the gods first descended from Olympus to live among humans, Hades was charged with financing their endeavors. Persephone works hard as a social media manager. She’s under the impression her salary funds her lavish lifestyle. But what happens when her bank account unexpectedly hits zero?
The Maiden & the Unseen is perfect for readers who enjoy Greek mythology, off-the-charts chemistry, and Hades with a dirty mouth.
Broken Little Dove by Kayla Marie
Release Date: April 10, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Abuse
💙Captor/Captive
🖤Contemporary Romance
💙Dark Romance
🖤Enemies-to-Lovers
💙Gore
🖤Kidnapping
💙Mürder
🖤SA
💙Stalker
🖤Torture
Book Description:
Callum has spent most of his life trying to escape a traumatic past that continues to haunt him. When his brother Cole is finally released from prison, he thinks having him back is the missing piece he needs to fill the void inside him, but Cole’s return brings with it a sinister turn of events that threatens to unravel everything Callum has worked so hard to build. Caught in the middle is Lana, their new captive, who ignites a spark in Callum that he never expected. As the bond between them deepens, a dangerous rift forms between the brothers. Torn between the growing affection for the captive girl and his loyalty to Cole, the bonds of brotherhood and the depths of love are tested.
Will their darkest demons unravel the binds that tie them?
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
This book was rough in the most cathartic way.
Lana is kidnapped by two very different brothers, Callum and Cole, while out on an evening run. While Cole wants the keep her locked in his basement, Callum wants to help Lana do more than just survive the abuse.
As a survivor of sexual assault, seeing Lana go through the worst possible scenarios was absolutely heartbreaking, but also gave me hope. Hope that as Lana builds herself from the remains of her old life, she is able to find happiness in her future.
I appreciate Kayla Marie for writing difficult stories for readers like myself.
Broken Little Dove is perfect for readers who enjoy experiencing heartbreak, FMCs who are survivors, and stories that will give you a little bit of hope.
Thank you to Kayla Marie for the ARC.
The Mistress & The Renowned by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune
Love and Fate, Book Two
Release Date: July 11, 2023
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Dark Romance
💙Dog Parents
🖤Erotic Romance
💙Fantasy
🖤Fated Mates
💙Gods
🖤Mythology
💙Retelling
🖤Royalty
💙Shadow Daddy
🖤Urban Fantasy
Book Description:
God of the Dead. King of the Underworld. The Unseen. The Renowned…
Trapped.
One moment, Hades was next to Persephone, having finally claimed her as his queen. The next, he knows only true void, and roots burrowing into his body, feeding from his power and essence. Every ounce of his abilities is used to keep the roots from taking everything, leaving him a broken shell. The King of the Dead. No better than the living dead, wishing for things that would never come.
Goddess of Spring. The Maiden. The Mistress. The Venerable One…
The New Queen.
Being transported to another world and told you’re now the Queen of the Dead was not what Persephone was expecting. Screw expecting, she did not want to be queen. Nope. Now if she could just find the god who’d done this to her without her consent. But he’s not due to the underworld for another month. So she has to wait. And wait. And wait.
Destiny. Fate. Fortune. Kismet…
Waits for no one.
Nightmares cloud them both, calling to them to finish the destiny that awaits them. One that has only just begun. One that will not be denied.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH Book Review:
The Mistress & the Renowned is book two in Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune’s Love and Fate series.
Persephone arrives in the Underworld alone, unable to find Hades. After hearing his voice in a nightmare, she quickly realizes that Hades is in great danger. The Queen of the Underworld, Destroyer of Worlds, and Goddess of Spring will stop at nothing to save the man she loves.
The Mistress & the Renowned is perfect for readers who enjoy a strong, bad@ss FMC, a supporting cast that needs their own stories, and a hot-as-hell shadow daddy.
Serpents of Sky and Flame by Rebecca F. Kenney
Merciless Dragons, Book One
Release Date: April 13, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Breeding
💙Cliffhanger
🖤Dragons
💙Enemies-to-Lovers
🖤Fantasy
💙Magic
🖤Pregnancy
💙Primal Play
🖤Royalty
💙Shifters
🖤Slow Burn
Book Description:
At the end of a terrible war, a sorcerer casts a curse that destroys every female in the entire race of dragons. In retaliation, Kyreagan, the dragon prince, leads a raid on the sorcerer’s kingdom, during which the male dragons snatch human women and carry them off to the dragons’ domain. When Princess Serylla is captured by the Prince of Dragons and taken to his cave, she is furious, terrified, and determined to make his existence so miserable he’ll either have to kill her or let her go.
Kyreagan’s frustration with his pretty captive is compounded by the fact that his plan–to turn all the human women into female dragons–isn’t working. The enchantress he kidnapped isn’t powerful enough to work that spell; the most she can do is give the male dragons the ability to shift into human form for a number of hours each day.
As Serylla and the other captured women scheme for their freedom, the dragons struggle to cope with the strangeness of having human bodies for the first time. Neither side realizes that a much greater enemy is watching, waiting to destroy them all.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
During the war, the supreme sorcerer casts a spell that costs him his life in hopes of protecting his queen. The spell kills all female dragons, starting the males on a path of extinction. In a moment of rage, Kyreagan, prince of dragons, orders the remaining dragons to take human females hostage so they can find a way to reproduce. Once they return to their nests, Kyreagan realizes he captured Princess Serylla, and she refuses to fall in line without a fight.
I found Serylla to be a bit obnoxious at the beginning of the book, but as her character arc developed, she became more tolerable.
Serpents of Sky and Flame is perfect for readers who enjoy shifter fantasy, a true enemies-to-lovers romance, and a broody dragon who falls hard for his captive princess.
Thank you to Rebecca F. Kenney for the ARC.
Why Cheese? by Ellen Mint
Release Date: April 16, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Cheese Puns
💙Cinnamon Roll MMC
🖤Contemporary Romance
💙Found Family
🖤Golden Retriever MMC
💙Mental Health Rep
🖤MF
💙MM
🖤MMF
💙MMFMM
🖤Shifters
💙Why Choose
Book Description:
Violette Reely walks into her great uncle’s abandoned cheese shop then promptly runs back out. You would too if you discovered a secret basement hiding beneath a trapdoor. One second, there’s nothing down there but cheese wheels in an old chest, the next four naked men are chasing her out the door.
Refusing to give up the million-dollar property to her wild imagination, Violette returns the next day. Despite the place being ransacked, she’s certain she made up those mysterious men who vanished inside a locked store. Then, as the sun sets, cheeses lying on piles of discarded clothing roll across the floor until they poof into the four men from last night.
Men who transform into cheese.
What the hell?
Stoic and domineering, Roq’s the de facto leader keeping everyone in line. Everyone that is but Cam, the charming playboy whose smooth lines melt the hardest rinds. Cheddy is a tall hunk of joy, as easy to like as his namesake. And last, but never forgotten, is Brie. Soft-spoken, with an artistic soul, he’s the sweet wallflower waiting for the right person to scoop him up.
These strange cheese-shifters need Violette’s help. They need someone to protect them when they’re trapped as cheese by day. But, after centuries of being screwed over by their caretakers, they’re wary. No one is slower to trust than Roq who expects betrayal at every corner. Even if Violette agrees to help them sell off their secret cheese stash and find a new place, he cuts her down at every turn keeping her at arm’s length. He’s hiding a secret that could destroy everything he’s fought for across the world.
But Violette has one of her own. If these cheese-men ever find out, it’ll curdle her heart.
Can the hardest of cheeses find it in himself to let his heart melt or will these cheese-shifters find themselves chewed up and spat out by life? Will Violette sell off the shop and make off with millions or risk the possibility of cheddar days for these cheesy men?
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH MMC(s) Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
After her Uncle passes away, Violette inherits Goudafellas, a cheese shop. While she’s cleaning up the place to sell, she meets Roq, Cam, Brie, and Cheddy – four men with a passion for cheese.
I am madly in love with Roq, Cheddy, Cam, and Brie! Cheddy is my little puppy, and Brie is such a cinnamon roll. I appreciated Violette’s struggles but found myself getting a little frustrated when she wouldn’t stand up for herself. But when she finally did, I was her biggest cheerleader.
Why Cheese? is perfect for readers who enjoy puns, a handful of sexy MMCs, and a cheesy love story.
Thank you to Ellen Mint and NetGalley for the ARC.
Three Ways to Mend a Broken Heart by Trilina Pucci
Destination Love, Book Two
Release Date: April 4, 2024
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Breeding
💙Contemporary Romance
🖤Daddy Kink
💙Degradation
🖤Dirty Talk
💙DVP
🖤Fake Dating
💙Forced Proximity
🖤Friends-to-Lovers
💙Golden Retriever MMCs
🖤MFM
💙One Bed
🖤Praise
💙Revenge
🖤Rom Com
💙Sports Romance
Playlist: Available on page 5
Book Description:
Imagine dating a guy for six months, and then one night, you make him dinner, recreating your first date so you can say “I love you” for the first time. Romantic, right?
No.
Because when you dress up as dessert, he tells you he’d rather be a party of one.
So now, you’re crying in your whipped cream boobs, drinking a bottle of tequila, and debating on cutting bangs.
Rock bottom, you say?
Wrong, again.
Not only does he break up with you, but he shows up to the vacation you’d planned with your friends. So now, here I sit…IN PARADISE..with DJ douchebag and his new girlfriend.
Did I mention she doesn’t wear makeup and speaks three languages?
Listen, I don’t want him back, but I also don’t want to look like the hot mess before to their perfect after.
So desperate times call for a dirty distraction, a way to keep my mind off everything and maybe even serve up a little payback.
And the universe says there’s only one way to do that…
TJ and Nate.
So, I guess that means there are actually three ways to mend a broken heart.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH MMCs Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
Where do I even start?
Before their romantic getaway for Valentine’s Day with their friends, Millie is ready to tell her bf, Ajax, that she loves him. Ajax, however, had other plans named Moonbeam.
Millie’s bff Eleanor refuses to let her wallow in her sadness and insists she still goes on vacation. The quickest way to get over one person is to get under another.
At check-in, Millie is told someone has already checked into her suite—the same suite she is supposed to share with T.J. and Nata, a.k.a. The Tweedles. Who took her suite, you ask? Freaking Ajax (whose actual name is Chad…how fitting).
The Tweedles and Millie devise a revenge plan. The Tweedles want to show Chad what he lost by fake dating Millie. But what happens when a fake romance starts to feel real?
Three Ways to Mend a Broken Heart is perfect for readers who enjoy football players with a penchant for ménage, thigh tattoos, and romance born from oh-so-sweet revenge.
Beta by Jillian Rink
Serendipity Omegaverse, Book Two
Release Date: April 25, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Alphas
💙Beta
🖤Forced Proximity
💙MM
🖤MMM
💙Omegaverse
🖤Piercings
💙Quick Read
🖤Roommates
Playlist: Available on page 4
Book Description:
Alphas are strong.
Alphas are possessive.
Alphas are territorial.
Alphas are completely out of my league. For Betas like me, a normal, average life is the standard. We aren’t taught how to handle Alphas or what to expect of Omegas in heat. We’re sent off on our merry way to lead a completely mundane life.
I should have given up the dream of ending up with an Alpha or Omega four years ago when I was ungraciously dumped by my first love. But if there’s something to know about me, it’s that I’m a romantic to the core. So when my sad heart sets its sights on Rylan, the aloof, sexy-as-sin Alpha in the symphony, I know to keep my distance until the interest fades.
Except it doesn’t. And now, I’m forced to be his roommate due to an unfortunate water pipe bursting in my own apartment. Even worse? An Alpha has set his sights on me, and I’m powerless to resist.
I’m caught between two enigmatic Alphas while knowing that none of this can last. And the worst part? I know they’ll take what’s left of my decimated heart with them when they leave. How could they not? They’re Alphas, destined to match with an Omega.
And me?
I’m just a Beta.
BWBH MMCs Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
Jasper is happy with his life as a beta. He plays cello in the philharmonic and loves music and vintage video games.
When a pipe bursts, flooding his apartment, Jasper has nowhere to go. Rylan, a fellow musician and Jasper’s crush offers his spare room while repairs are being made. Up until this point, Rylan has shown no interest in Jasper. So Jasper does what any of us would do, he goes on an app and finds himself a hot date.
Dominic is the quintessential Italian with golden skin, dark brown eyes, dark hair, and an accent that melts panties. There’s an instant connection between Dominic and Jasper – one Jasper looks forward to exploring.
Everything is looking up for Jasper until Kylan throws a wrench in his plans.
Beta is perfect for readers who enjoy MM in their omegaverse, a man with mafia connections, and chemistry that’s hotter than hell.
Thank you to Jillian Rink and Fated Promos for the ARC.
Want more book reviews and recs? Check out March’s Reading Wrap Up!
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Glass, Book Two
Release Date: August 15, 2013
Format: Audiobook
What to Expect:
🖤Assassins
💙Badass FMC
🖤Fae
💙Fantasy
🖤Magic
💙Romance
🖤Royalty
💙YA
Book Description:
From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul as black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.
Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.
Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena’s world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie… and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH MMCs Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH Book Review:
I don’t even know what to write for this.
I am by no means a YA reader, and I only dabble in spicy fantasy from time to time, but Crown of Midnight blew me away. The cliffhanger, though…really? We had to leave the story there? Thank god this is a completed series.
Crown of Midnight is perfect for readers who enjoy badass FMCs, YA fantasy, and enjoyable world-building.
Haunted by the Devil by Kinsley Kincaid
Release Date: April 19, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Blood Play
💙Captive
🖤Cult
💙Dark Romance
🖤Degradation
💙Devil Worship
🖤Erotic Horror
💙Gore
🖤Gothic Romance
💙Jealous MMC
🖤Kidnapping
💙Masks
🖤Morally Gray MMC
💙Piercings
🖤Possessive MMC
💙Praise
🖤Psychopath MMC
💙Spitting
🖤Step-Siblings
Playlist: Available on page 8
Book Description:
My life was normal. Just my mom and I, living in a small town on the East Coast.
The eve of my twenty first birthday, it all changed.
A father I have never known returned and took me away from all I knew. Trapped and tortured.Destined for something I knew nothing about. Little did I know, my entire life, I’d been haunted by the devil himself. He was always watching and waiting. As leader of an infamous cult in our area, this is no longer a haunting.
He is here. And I’m terrified.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
Haunted by the Devil is the epitome of horror romance.
Rain just turned twenty-one, works at a local dive bar, and lives with her mom. Her dad? Never in the picture.
The night of her birthday, Rain is kidnapped from her house and wakes up locked in a cell with stone walls. She was taken by a local cult led by someone she never expected. Assisted by a man named Elijah, her story is about growth, self-discovery, and empowerment.
That being said, do not take these trigger warnings lightly.
Haunted by the Devil is perfect for readers who enjoy BDSM, pierced MMCs, and a story that’s a bloody good time.
Thank you to Kinsley Kincaid for the ARC.
Up the Ladder by Ana D’Arcy
When in Brooklyn, Book One
Release Date: June 14, 2024
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Banter
💙Breeding
🖤Cinnamon Roll MMC
💙Dirty Talk
🖤Dog Dad
💙Found Family
🖤Nicknames
💙One Night Stand
🖤Opposites Attract
💙Piercings
🖤Praise
💙Reformed Playboy
🖤Sex Bucket List
💙Spitting
Book Description:
When Genevieve sets out to conquer her bedroom insecurities, a captivating and tattooed devil challenges her rule of not getting attached.
Genevieve has it all-great job, stunning apartment, perfect boyfriend… When the latter dumps her for being terrible in bed, she sets out to prove him wrong. With the help of a silly online quiz and her best friend, she compiles a list of things that’ll make her a better lover, determined to go through them one by one. Because she’s too focused on climbing the corporate ladder for anything serious, she creates one simple rule: never see the same man twice.
The first item on her list leads her to Jake, a dashing Aussie with surgical steel in unexpected places. As charming as he is sinful, Jake is like nothing she’s ever known before, with his perfect body covered in tattoos and penchant for teasing. Before long, the silver-tongued devil comes in the way of her resolve, making it hard to stick to her rule.
Can she resist the temptation, or will she give in to her desires? Or better yet, for how long can she resist him?
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
How many times is too many times to say I love a book? I say the limit does not exist!
Gen loves her job more than anything, including her boyfriend, Eddie. Eddie has had enough after five years of coming in second place, leaving Gen with one thought – she’s bad in bed. Unable to accept this, Gen finds a sex bucket list that she’s going to work her way through with the help of a dating profile she made while drunk.
Jake is a ladies’ man – he knows how to keep the women he sleeps with happy. But one thing he does not have time for is relationships. That makes him the perfect candidate for Gen’s new sexcapades. A tall man covered in tattoos who looks like an absolute snack is perfect…for one night only.
Up the Ladder is perfect for readers who enjoy when opposites attract, relatable MCs, and absolutely INSANE chemistry.
Thank you to Ana D’Arcy for the ARC.
P.S. I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!
Torment Me by K.L. Taylor-Lane
Ashes Boys, Book One
Release Date: November 3, 2022
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Breath Play
💙Bully Romance
🖤Cliffhanger
💙Dark Romance
🖤Fear Play
💙Masked Men
🖤MF
💙MM
🖤MMFMM
💙Novella
🖤Piercings
💙Pyromania
🖤Pyrophilia
💙Quick Read
🖤Reverse Harem
💙Tattoos
🖤Why Choose
Book Description:
Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
Fireworks, betrayal and rot.
We have no desire,
To put out the fire,
She’ll never escape from our plot.
Ashes Boys, Ashes Boys, she’s locked in our sight,
And we’ll tear down her King once we’re done with this night.
All that remains will be blood and bone,
Grimy old London, we’ll continue to own.
By The Ashes Boys she’ll be caught dressed in red,
With malicious intent, a high price on her head.
Ashes Boys, Ashes Boys, let the flames rise,
Ashes Boys, Ashes Boys,
It’s time for her demise.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH MMCs Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
Torment Me is a suspenseful,near-perfect introduction leading up to Bury Me.
Ember’s struggles with confidence and mental health made her a very relatable character. As a reader, it was difficult to watch her go through struggles I have gone through myself. I just want to see Ember get her HEA.
Torment Me is a fast-paced, descriptive novella that ends on a cliffhanger (you’ve been warned!).
K.L. Taylor-Lane laid out the bait, and I grabbed it with both hands. I can’t wait to read the next installment of The Ashes Boys.
Torment Me is perfect for readers who enjoy their MMCs pierced and tattooed, a dark and disturbing story, and a cliffhanger setting up another one of K.L.’s delicious harems.
Strelitzias in Spring by Lola Miles
Marymount University, Book Three
Release Date: April 25, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Age Gap
💙Biker Boy
🖤Dual POV
💙MMA Fighter
🖤No Third Act Break Up
💙Slow Burn
🖤Tattoo Artist
💙Tattoos
Playlist: Listed on page 12
Book Description:
Brainiac, freak, just a few of the names that have been thrown at me since I started college at sixteen. It’s not that I liked the designations, but I was used to them and learned to block the jabs out.
But then, the strangest thing happened; I made friends, the fabled “ride or dies” who hold your hair back after too many drinks, cry with you on the sofa when your life implodes, and encourage you to spread your wings. I changed from “nerd” to “Rena,” a college student who went to parties and kissed boys.
Everything was great… until it wasn’t. And then I met him.
Wolf McCleery is like no man I’ve ever met before. He’s stubborn, artistic, and infamous for his MMA fights. Opposites in every way, there’s no reason for our attraction, yet I can’t deny that every time I’m in his presence I want him.
But when Wolf becomes my savior, will he be too stubborn to submit, or will he become the big bad wolf who protects me from my demons?
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH Book Review:
Strelitzias in Spring is a solid age gap/college romance without relying on the stereotypical student/teacher dynamic. Lola Miles does a great job bringing the struggles of early adulthood to life through Serena.
While I enjoyed the story, the ending felt a bit abrupt. I would have enjoyed a bit more romance throughout the book instead of mostly at the end.
Strelitzias in Spring is perfect for readers who enjoy a solid age gap romance, an independent and easily anxious FMC, and a 6’6” Scotsman who can wield a tattoo gun.
Thank you to Lola Miles for the ARC.
Crossed Over by Santana Knox
Release Date: April 26, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Autistic FMC
💙Coming Out Story
🖤FF
💙Found Family
🖤LGBTQ+
💙Mental Health Rep
🖤Mommy Issues
💙Roller Derby
🖤Sapphic
💙Slow Burn
🖤Trauma
Playlist: Listed on page 6
Description:
Nia da Silva is dead…
Dead serious about moving on from her past, from roller derby, and the traumatic injury that was a crushing blow to not just her body but her mind.
Running away from her problems wasn’t the fix she had hoped for.
Five years later, she returns to the town that left her with permanent scars. Healing her physical wounds was the bare minimum. She’ll finally have to face herself, and rediscover who she’s always been beneath the lies she’s worn like shredded fishnets over bruised knees.
Pretty crossovers, and strong thighs won’t be enough to champion through her problems. Especially when they challenge who she may be at her very core.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BWBH Book Review:
I am not okay after reading Crossed Over, and I need a hug.
Crossed over is a beautiful piece of storytelling following Nia as she discovers herself outside of her mother’s expectations. After graduating college at 27, Nia finds herself back in her hometown, working her way through her trauma.
I appreciated the inclusion of a derby lingo dictionary as well as Portuguese translations.
Crossed Over is perfect for readers who enjoy a sapphic coming out story, well-rounded and relatable characters, and the unique storytelling only Santana Knox can offer.
Thank you to Santana Knox for the ARC.
The Queen & The King by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune
Love and Fate, Book Three
Release Date: February 27, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
💙Dark Romance
🖤Dual POV
💙Fantasy
🖤Fated Mates
💙Gods
🖤Mental Health Rep
💙Mythology
🖤Retelling
Book Description:
God of the Dead. King of the Underworld. The Unseen. The Renowned. A King without his Queen. They were at odds for what felt like months living together, and just when he finally felt they were on stable footing, she’s again wrenched from his grasp. Is this their true destiny? To be torn from each other over and over again? Yet, Demeter could never count on their mental connection, one as tied to the Underworld as they are. Too powerful and too old for even Demeter to touch.
Goddess of The Maiden. The Mistress. The Venerable One. The Queen without her King. It’s another day on Olympus, as her mother’s carefully guarded secret. Never seen. Never heard. Except for the dark, mysterious man who visits her dreams. One who keeps insisting they know each other. Not just know each other. He states quite clearly, they’re married.
Destiny. Fate. Fortune. Kismet. Time’s Up. Yet the lack of memory isn’t their only problem, the Underworld is under attack. And the Titans are loose. Blood will be spilled. The Destroyer of Worlds will awaken. And nothing will be the same.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH Book Review:
In the conclusion of Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune’s Hades and Persephone retelling, expect A LOT of pain. From Hades trying to help Persephone unlock her memories of a past stolen by Demeter to Cerberus wanting to see Mommy, The Queen & The King will make you feel all the pain of loving someone who doesn’t yet love you back.
For the best reading experience, I recommend reading The Queen and the King in tandem with The Nightmare and The Daydream.
The Queen & The King is perfect for readers who enjoy feeling their hearts break repeatedly. It is a powerful retelling of the story of Hades, Persephone, and mythical dog parents.
The Nightmare & The Daydream by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune
Love and Fate, Book Four
Release Date: February 27, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Bondage
💙Dual POV
🖤Gods
💙Fantasy
🖤Mental Health Rep
💙Mythology
🖤Novella
Book Description:
The Nightmare…
Melinoë, Goddess of Nightmares and Ghosts, mysteriously spawned from the deepest pits of Tartarus, spent centuries barely surviving and enduring torture in the Underworld. Now she spends her life teetering on the brink of insanity and clinging to reality. After one fateful night in a nightclub with her best friend, Persephone, Melinoë gains a stalker in the form of the Titan of the Sun.
The Daydream…
Helios, Titan of the Sun, became instantly obsessed with the little gothic Goddess of Nightmares the second she knocked him out after their tryst in the club bathroom. Since then, he has shined for her and her alone. But war is here, and Helios has some big decisions to make regarding which side he will fight for. Will he choose love or his family?
Some Opposites Should Not Cross Paths…
When tragedy strikes, Melinoë has to use her abilities to bridge the gap between her friends. The problem? Every time she does, she is pushed closer to the edge of complete insanity. Mellie would rather dive headfirst into the River Styx than admit that the only person able to pull her from the deepest recesses of her mind is the one person she can’t stand. Will Melinoë allow herself to open up to the Titan of the Sun? Will Helios choose to fight alongside his family or stand by his friends?
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH Book Review:
Mellie has been called in by Hades to help bring Persephone back to the Underworld, and where Mellie goes, Helios is close behind.
To me, Mellie was a fantastic representation of bipolar disorder. Her chaotic thoughts and tendencies towards seclusion were relatable. And Helios? He was the perfect partner for someone struggling with mental illness.
For the best reading experience, I recommend reading The Nightmare & The Daydream in tandem with The Queen & The King.
The Nightmare & The Daydream is perfect for readers who enjoy Greek mythology, descriptive and immersive storytelling, and chemistry that explodes into one of the most loving relationships I’ve read about
Tainted Obsession by Julia Sykes
Release Date: April 25, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Alpha Male
💙Captor/Captive
🖤Cartel
💙Crime
🖤Dark Romance
💙Dual POV
🖤Kidnapping
💙Mafia Romance
🖤Protector
💙Slow Burn
🖤Stalker
Book Description:
Evelyn
The last thing I can remember is the rough hands that grabbed me from behind and the rank scent of the cloth that was forced over my face.
I hear my captors saying that they’re keeping me as a hostage. Until they no longer have a use for me.
Then there’s pain, a feral roar of rage, and the world disappears.
Massimo
I found them brutalizing her, and I made them pay with their lives.
My criminal world is steeped in blood and violence, but she’s innocent, and I won’t allow them to hurt her ever again.
I stalk her from the shadows, memorizing every shy smile and small gesture of kindness.
When corrupt men threaten her once again, I don’t have a choice: I take her for myself, for her own protection.
Once I have her under my control, my fascination deepens to obsession.
I’ll do anything to keep her, devising the most deviant seduction to make her mine.
She’ll be so addicted to my touch that she’ll never want to leave.
Evelyn belongs to me, body and soul.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.25
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH Book Review:
After being kidnapped by one of Mexico City’s cartels, Evelyn has been relegated to staying in the apartment she lives in with her DEA agent fiance. While he claims it’s for her safety, her fiance is working with a rival cartel promising to keep the DEA off their trail in exchange for money. When a meeting goes wrong, a mysterious man steps in and takes a bullet for Evelyn. But what is the price for her mysterious savior?
Tainted Obsession is a solid mafia romance. This ends on a big ol’ cliffhanger. You’ve been warned.
Tainted Obsession is perfect for readers who enjoy a mafia romance flavored with kidnapping, a true slow burn, and an MMC who is possessive of someone else’s fiancee.
Can’t Hide Forever by Lauren Marcie
Release Date: April 24, 2024
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: eBook
What to Expect:
🖤Brainwashing
💙Breeding
🖤Crime
💙Dark Romance
🖤Drug Abuse
💙Dub-Con
🖤Forbidden Romance
💙Gaslighting
🖤Knife Play
💙Masked Man
🖤Mental Health Rep
💙Multiple POV
🖤Mürder
💙Psychiatrist/Patient Relationship
🖤Psychological Manipulation
💙Slow Burn
🖤Stalker
💙Taboo Romance
🖤Toxic Relationships
💙Trauma
Book Description:
The man of two faces has one obsession… Her.
My name is Dr Jackson Keller, but the cops call me Hyde.
By day, I’m a respected therapist who lives to help others. By night, dark urges take control of my mind.
Hyde. My masked alter ego. He craves bloody vengeance.
And the Detective determined to hunt me down just happens to be my newest patient.
Ava doesn’t know she’s baring her secrets to the killer she’s chasing.
She’s drawn to my light yet captivated by my shadow. Torn between two forbidden men—both of them me.
Corrupting her is my addiction. I know she’s not as honorable as she appears.
I will claw out her buried demons.
Before she unmasks me.
Ava may long for Jackson, but Hyde will claim her soul.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH Book Review:
Ava spends her life bringing criminals to justice. At 26, she is a hardworking detective who prides herself on enforcing the law. After disobeying instructions from her superior while chasing a perp, Ava is required to attend therapy.
Dr. Keller is a 6’3” snack of a therapist who tries to break down Ava’s carefully constructed walls. What Ava doesn’t know is that he harbors a dark secret and, wouldn’t you know…like calls to like.
Can’t Hide Forever is perfect for readers who enjoy rooting for the criminal, immersive storytelling, and a couple that slays together.
Thank you to Lauren Marcie for the ARC.
God of Pain by Rina Kent
Legacy of Gods, Book Two
Release Date: September 15, 2022
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
Please check content warnings BEFORE reading.
Format: Audiobook
What to Expect:
🖤Alpha Male
💙BDSM
🖤Boy Obsessed
💙Bully Romance
🖤College Romance
💙Contemporary Romance
🖤Dark Romance
💙Dirty Talk
🖤Enemies-to-Lovers
💙Erotic Romance
🖤Fake Dating
💙Forbidden Love
🖤Forced Proximity
💙Found Family
🖤Grumpy/Sunshine
💙Kidnapping
🖤Mafia Romance
💙Morally Gray MMC
🖤New Adult Romance
💙Opposites Attract
🖤Tough Her and D!e
💙Virgin FMC
Book Description:
I made a terrible mistake.
Being a mafia princess, I knew my fate was already decided.
But I went ahead and longed for the wrong one.
Creighton King is bad news with a gorgeous exterior.
He’s silent, brooding, and obviously emotionally unavailable.
So I thought it was over.
Until he awakens a beast inside me.
My name is Annika Volkov, and I’m Creighton’s worst enemy.
He won’t stop until he breaks me.
Or I break him.
BWBH FMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
BWBH MMC Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH Plot Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.75
BWBH Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
BWBH Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
BWBH Book Review:
God of Pain is the second book in the Legacy of Gods series. Annika is a boy-obsessed college freshman who can’t keep her eyes off Creighton, a 20-something alpha male with very particular tastes. What starts off as fake dating evolves into something a little more intense.
Time to be honest, I couldn’t stand Annika. She’s too immature and whiny at times, and I really struggled to get through her sections of the book at times.
God of Pain is perfect for readers who enjoy a Dual POV college romance, a very controlling and dominant MMC, and when opposites attract.
