Book Review: Beautifully Broken Control (Sutter Lake #4) by Catherine Cowles

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Rating: ★★★★
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Length: 330 pages
Author: Catherine Cowles
Publisher: The PageSmith LLC
Release Date: February 18th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A woman trying to rebuild her life.

Kennedy is doing all she can to escape, to prove that she’s not the monster her father was. A simple life of peace and service is all she needs.

A man haunted by a past he can’t forget.

Cain has buried his demons under layers of control and success. The only thing he needs is his company and his solitude. Certainly not a woman with captivating green eyes filled with ghosts so similar to his own.

He’s a reminder of the life she’s left behind. And she’s a threat to his tightly guarded control. As sparks fly between them, they discover that what they might need most is each other.

But with pasts like theirs…you never know when darkness might descend.

HIGHLY ENJOYABLE.

What I love about being caught up on CC’s latest two series is diving into her back list and realizing THEY ARE ALL HITS. She does not miss. From the beginning. I needed something fast and heated and romantic and this delivered on all fronts. I love a man who has a protective mindset and a woman determined to find balance and joy in her life.

I loved the suspense aspects of this one and I was surprised by the reveal!! I had my eyes on one person and another showed up and I was like WAIT WHAT. My favorite every dang time.

This is swoony, filled with all the best pieces of a found family, and a bit of drama that will have you listening to it in one day like me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Romantic suspense
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: mentions of suicide, kidnapping, weapons violence

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Book Review: Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by Emma Simmerman

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Thriller
Length: 384 pages
Author: Emma Simmerman
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: February 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets Tell Me Lies in this binge-worthy debut murder mystery about a college student whose senior year takes a deadly turn when her exes start turning up dead…

Every time a guy breaks my heart, I write him a eulogy in my journal. It’s kind of my thing—closure through creative mourning. They don’t actually die… or, at least, they didn’t.

Now? These guys aren’t just dead to me, they’re dead to everyone. And I’m the prime suspect.

With my senior year at Pembroke College—and my entire future—on the line, I’ve got no choice but to play detective. Unfortunately, that means teaming up with my long-standing frenemy, Asher, who is insufferable and somehow always there when I need him the least. We bicker, we banter, we occasionally almost hook up, but with the body count rising and my name all over the suspect board, there’s no time to get distracted.

Between college parties, messy exes, suspicious deaths, and a murder investigation I never asked to be a part of—one thing’s for this is not how I thought my last year would go.

Here’s to hoping I can find out who the real killer is… before someone ends up writing my eulogy.

Thank you Avon Books for the gifted copy.

WELL NOW I’M JUST MAD.

This felt a little all over the place. As if it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a thriller or a romance or maybe romantic suspense? But that didn’t nearly bug me as much as the FMC. I think it’s a cop out in thrillers to have the FMC be under the influence of alcohol or drugs every single time something big happens. The unreliable narrator component didn’t play out well because of this. And all she did was make bad choices.

I oddly enough, really liked Asher. He was probably my favorite character and I liked most of the romantic tension between him and Sloane. It did have an enemies vibe I could get behind. But his character was absolutely ROBBED with a plot choice at the ending. Whyyyyy???? Oh it totally ruined it.

The reveal of the big bad guy seemed out of pocket too. They weren’t involved with the plot much and the destruction they caused didn’t line up with the reasoning during their villain monologue. I had my eyes on multiple other characters who would have made more sense.

Anywhoooo not my favorite, moving on.

Overall audience notes:

  • Thriller/Romantic Suspense
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 3-4ish open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: multiple murders, weapons violence

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Book Review: Savage Lands (Savage Lands #1) by Stacey Marie Brown

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Urban/Dystopian Fantasy Romance
Length: 423 pages
Author: Stacey Marie Brown
Publisher: Blackstone
Release Date: October 20th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Almost twenty years after the barrier between Earth and the Otherworld fell in the Fae Wars, Budapest is balancing on the precipice. A battle for dominance is brewing between the elite fae and the privileged humans in Eastern Europe. The prejudice between the sides is bubbling with hate and violence.

Nineteen-year-old human, Brexley, has grown up in privilege, but not without heartbreak. After being orphaned, she is taken in by General Markos, living in a walled city rife with power grabs and ruthless political games. Then one night the course of her life changes, and Brexley is thrown into the most feared prison in the east. Halalhaz, the House of Death—where you go in but don’t come out.

She must learn to live with the worst of fae and human criminals. The rule of hierarchy puts humans on the bottom, where the only way to survive each day is to make alliances with the fae.

Here she meets the sexy, vicious legend, Warwick Farkas. A myth among man and fae. He is as brutal, cruel, arrogant, and as lethal as the lore says he is, ruling the prison with unchallenged authority. Brexley can’t deny an intense draw to him, one that might cost her life.

If The Games don’t take her out first—A fight to the death where only one survives.

Thank you Bibliolifestyle and Blackstone Publishing for the gifted copy.

BUT WHY.

I only picked this up because a pretty special edition came across my email and I figured, why not? Reviews are great ya know?

WELL NOW I KNOW.

Honestly, the bones of the book are good. I liked the set up and structure and character dynamics throughout. All of those pieces were solid and I could see where things were going (in a good way) but I won’t be picking up book two.

It was like this author thought the only way to make her book “sexy” or “hot” was to throw in such out of pocket innuendo comments on every single page. I cringed and rolled my eyes too many times throughout going, WHY IS THAT REMARK RIGHT HERE. It was odd and didn’t enhance the book whatsoever.

I imagine the future installments follow the same path which is why I just think it’s best to stop here.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban/Dystopian Fantasy Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 1ish open door + insanely high innuendo
  • Violence: torture, loss of life, brutal altercations

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Book Review: Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Allison Saft
Publisher: Disney Press
Release Date: February 4th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Brimming with magic and romance, a young fairy queen must form an unlikely alliance or risk an unspeakable danger destroying all she holds dear in this standalone YA novel from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft.

It’s been centuries since a warm-season fairy in Pixie Hollow has crossed into the Winter Woods, and while most fear the legends of monsters lurking in the frozen lands, Clarion, can’t help being intrigued by Winter’s stoic beauty. But under the watchful eyes of the current monarch and the court’s seasonal ministers, Clarion has little time to dwell on daydreams while the days to her coronation dwindle away.

That is, until reports of a monster crossing from Winter into Spring make their way to the palace. Clarion sees defeating this threat as an opportunity to prove that she is worthy of her new role. But instead of finding a monster at the edge of Winter, she finds Milori, a young guardian of the Winter Woods. Together, they form an unlikely bond as they race to save their lands.

But as their alliance warms to something more, they will discover there is a reason a warm-season fairy and a winter fairy must not be together. And the cost could be just as deadly as the monsters that prowl the Winter Woods.

Discover the origin of the sweeping, star-crossed romance between the queen of Pixie Hollow and the lord of the Winter Woods.

NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING?

I can’t call this a romance based off of how the ending came about, unless this wasn’t a standalone?? But apparently this follows a movie?? So I honestly don’t know what to think. I am not a Tinkerbell fan girl so I don’t know much about her story or anything.

This book was perfectly fine, just never engaging. I didn’t feel much of anything listening. I liked the plot set-up and the characters were fine, but I want the emotional attachment too.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild

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