Book Review: Shattered Sea (Tattered & Torn #4) by Catherine Cowles

December 18, 2022October 19, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Romantic Suspense
Length: 316 pages
Author: Catherine Cowles
Publisher: Pagesmith LLC
Release Date: September 13th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I’ve known every kind of pain. Of the heart. Of the body. Of the soul. All I want now is the freedom that comes from making my art.

The last thing I expected was Hollywood royalty to waltz into my gallery in a small town in the middle of nowhere and see me.

A man like Boden Cavanaugh shouldn’t understand me. Shouldn’t be able to soothe my most ragged edges. Even worse, he makes me want the one thing I can’t have. Him.

All it takes is one spark, and friendship catches flame. But as our attraction burns bright, there are forces desperate to send us back into the darkness. And they’ve already killed before.

LOVED.

Catherine Cowles owns me when it comes to romantic suspense. The way I binge read this would astound some, I could NOT put it down.

I loooove these characters. And that the love interest was new and got added into the mix. Boden was so dang sweet and I am always here for a protective hero and yet never forces Laiken into any sort of a box. I love watching two people get to be.

The plot got intense?! I naively thought I had everything nailed down and didn’t see the blindside. The darkness leaking out from Wolf Gap was palpable and seeing these friends and family come together to help one of their own is my favorite.

It was a touch too insta-y love for me. Luckily Laiken and Boden’s relationship grew on me and I found myself begging the pages to turn quicker so we could get to their HEA.

Another great read, READY FOR THE NEXT.

Overall audience notes:

Romantic Suspense
Language: some
Romance: 2 brief open; medium explicit
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, murder, kidnapping, physical violence, loss of loved one from a car wreck, depictions of grief and depression, loss of a loved one from drug overdose

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Book Review: Nightwing (The Starchaser Saga #3) by Renee Dugan

December 17, 2022October 13, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy + Romance
Length: 432 pages
Author: Renee Dugan
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: December 1st, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Princess Cistine Novacek is a prisoner of Valgard.

Facing unbearable grief and the revelation of her own formidable power, Cistine battles her captor’s cruel games in a fight to escape. Her only hope for survival lies in her own cunning, a surly guard, an imprisoned beast with his own reasons for seeking freedom, and an unexpected ally who will risk everything to bring her home.

Tatiana and Quill are on the hunt. Far from the familiar, they search the shadowy corners of Valgard for their lost princess. But to rescue Cistine, they may be forced to pay a higher cost than either of them bargained for—a choice that unearths an old darkness lurking at the door of their kingdom, waiting to be let inside.

Banished for betrayal, Asheila Kovar hatches a daring plan to find the princess she’s sworn to protect. But a pair of unlikely companions will guide her on a journey she never expected, with enemies she never foresaw and revelations that will change her understanding of Talheim’s past – and the course of all their futures.

Lines must be crossed. Lives must be given. Answers must be unveiled. And in order to thwart a tyrant’s madness, sacrifices are demanded of the cabal…a price that will alter the fate of the Three Kingdoms forever.

AMAZING.

I am sincerely hooked on this series and hopefully these reviews are convincing y’all to pick these books up. They need more love.

This will be a more vague review to keep away from spoilers, but know I LOVED IT.

I love this entire cast. There’s so many fantastic people. All with unique personalities, common goals, strengths and weaknesses. It’s all there. I love that they don’t always make the exact right choice. They’re flawed and growing and it’s my favorite.

There’s a few romance sub plots that got a little more speed this time and I ADORE them. Seeing some of those kiss scenes finally happen, HECK YEAH.

The ending hurt. Oh it did. I love the flow of story with rises and falls and how Dugan always leaves me wanting more.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy + Romance
Language: very little
Romance: kisses; an implied closed door
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of rape and sexual assault, PTSD, sexual assault and harassment , physical and weapons violence, abuse, torture, war themes

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Book Review: My Own Best Enemy (Apple Valley Love Stories #2) by Julie Christianson

December 16, 2022February 25, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★☆ (2.5)
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 313 pages
Author: Julie Christianson
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: September 23rd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

This isn’t a wedding. This is war …

I get it. We were in elementary school. Just a couple of kids on the playground. But after Nash Hendrix called me Enemy instead of Emily, his stupid nickname ruined my life.

Now our best friends are getting married, and they expect me to stand across the aisle from Nash the Ruiner without killing him?

Whatever. I can survive being maid of honor. It’s only for one weekend.

Until it’s not.

When I get roped into wedding planning at the same places Nash is fundraising, I’m ready to blow up our temporary truce.

All I wanted was to start over. New job. New permanently-single status.

But the more time we spend together, the more I feel like … not murdering him.

Is it possible Nash and I don’t hate each other?

No way. He’s still my enemy.

My big, dumb enemy.

My big, dumb, gorgeous, sweet-talking, dog-loving —

Emi, you’re doomed.

DIDN’T CLICK.

You know when you don’t get off on the right foot with a romance and then it just never clicks into place as you keep going? That’s basically what happened here.

My biggest issue was that the “enemies” aspect of my favorite trope wasn’t the strongest. I thought it was kind of a weak excuse for why Emi didn’t like Nash for 20+ years. To hold a petty grudge THAT long didn’t work. And I never recovered.

I spent most of my time wishing Emi had some growth sooner rather than later. Randomly kissing Nash and then deciding she was still angry with him sent me through whiplash. One of the few times I don’t think this trope worked in the most favorable way.

I’ll stop here, because my star rating indicates exactly how I felt about this one. I hope to try another book by this author because I adored book one, but we’ll see!

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses

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Book Review: Bow Before the Elf Queen (The Elf Queen #1) by J.M. Kearl

December 15, 2022September 18, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 598 pages
Author: J.M. Kearl
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 26th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In hiding all her life, Layala prepares for the day the wicked High Elf King Thane will come to steal her— his powerful mate. She trains to take her revenge for the wrongful execution of her parents, who died for her freedom.
Now that day has come, forcing her to come face-to-face with what she’s hidden from: a dangerous, dark-haired, warrior king determined to marry her.
After she’s shoved into a black carriage pulled by six ominous steeds, Layala makes plans to take her captors’ lives and free herself….but Thane has a secret that makes it impossible for Layala to slay him. She has an even darker truth that makes loving her forbidden, no matter how much Thane wants to touch.

Dare to dive into this whimsical and deeply romantic story inspired by Hades & Persephone, The Lord of the Rings, and a sprinkle of Norse mythology. A tale that will grip you from the first page and stay with you long after the last.

I’LL READ THE NEXT ONE.

I have sat on this one in my kindle unlimited library for a long time, and upon finding an audio version I flew through this!! I’m so glad I gave it a chance.

The romance set-up was everything I love about arranged marriage/enemies to lovers. There’s great banter, knife to the throat moments and all the swoon from Thane. I loved his persistent nature to show Layala exactly the kind of elf he is. It was also nice to see Layala show the ability to change her mind as new facts were laid before her. Too stubborn of a nature always bugs me and I love that this wasn’t the case here. I really liked her strength and resilience amidst a whole heap of drama.

What brought this to a four star for me was the third act conflict. I just couldn’t believe that Layala believed that about herself. It didn’t track well and made for unnecessary drama that rolled my eyes a bit.

I did like the surrounding plot and story. It keeps the pace moving well and there’s a heavy dose of action to keep you on your toes. I look forward to seeing where this book will go to next!

Overall audience notes: