Book Review: Every Last Breath (The Dark Elements #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA/NA Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: March 26th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Some loves will last ’til your dying breath

Every choice has consequences—but seventeen-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth, or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust.

Layla has a new problem, too. A Lilin—the deadliest of demons—has been unleashed, wreaking havoc on those around her…including her best friend. To keep Sam from a fate much, much worse than death, Layla must strike a deal with the enemy while saving her city—and her race—from destruction.

Torn between two worlds and two different boys, Layla has no certainties, least of all survival, especially when an old bargain comes back to haunt them all. But sometimes, when secrets are everywhere and the truth seems unknowable, you have to listen to your heart, pick a side—and then fight like hell…

ROTH FOREVER.

I’m glad this book redeemed the series after that doozy of a second. I liked this conclusion and felt like it wrapped up everything it needed to for this story. The wrap up was really quick, buuut at least it all worked out.

I get the book boyfriend hype for Roth. I adored him myself. He’s the best part of this series. I love the dark, brooding type who is passionate about the one thing he truly loves (aka Layla). There were many great moments between them and I was smitten up and down the block.

The middle of the book is wrapped up in the romance. Which is fine. I just wish more of the plot was intertwined. Like I mentioned earlier, the Lilin/Lilith plot line is pushed to the last hundred pages and left me wishing it played a bigger role.

A good backlist series to read if you’re up for an urban fantasy romance adventure. This book had a lot of great elements and I loved the audio books!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA/NA Urban Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: multiple brief open door
  • Violence: murder, attempted murder, physical and magical altercations; blood depiction

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ARC Book Review: Running Wild (The Simple Wild #3) by K.A. Tucker

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: TBD pages
Author: K.A. Tucker
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: January 25th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the internationally bestselling author of The Simple Wild comes the story of a woman at a crossroads in her life, struggling between the safe route and the one that will only lead to more heartbreak.

Veterinarian Marie Lehr knows unrequited love all too well after pining for her best friend, only to watch him marry another woman. It’s a mistake she will never make again, especially not when she can practically hear the clock ticking on her childbearing years.

The trouble is, she can’t seem to find anyone who appeals to her even a fraction as much as that burly bush pilot did. Competitive musher Tyler Brady certainly doesn’t, especially not after the heated altercation with the handsome but arrogant, spiteful man.

Or so she thinks.

While volunteering at the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, Marie discovers that first impressions may have been false, and her attraction to Tyler is very real. But his heart belongs to someone else, leaving him with nothing to offer but friendship. Marie’s been down this road before and knows how that ends. Yet, no matter how hard she works to keep from falling for Tyler, it seems she’s doomed to follow her own trail once again.

Thank you to Valentine PR for the eARC.

BEAUTIFUL STORY.

I could not put this down. I have a deep love for Tucker’s romances and this was another great one. I’m elated that we got to read Marie’s story at last!!

Marie and Tyler got off to a bumpy start (which is honestly kind of my favorite). I loved the slow nature of their connection as it built over months. Truly becoming friends first and then watching that love grow as they got to know each other on very deep levels. These are two heartbroken people just trying to find the next right step on their paths. I wanted a bit more of page time between them in the first half, but that 50% mark really set off a rollercoaster ride to the end. I was alllllll up in my feels wondering how it was going to end. Grateful for a short and sweet epilogue that gave some closure.

The Alaskan setting is always the best. I loved that this focused on the Iditarod race and all that that entails. It was SO COOL. I learned a lot from the book and looking up my own information. How can you not love a book that’s filled with ALL THE DOGS? Answer: you can’t.

I never felt overly negative towards Marie in TSW. Going in to Running Wild, I wasn’t sure what to expect from her character. But I ended up loving the whole process. Grappling with feelings for Jonah, moving on, dealing with family and what she hoped for herself and the dreams she wanted realized. Everything together made for a beautiful characterization and I adore Marie. I do. She gave it her all, and finally got her all.

And yes, you do get to see Jonah and Calla again!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: two brief open door scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: major theme of the book is about pregnancy/babies, brief mention of miscarriage (side character), abused animals, discussion of treatment for pets (euthanasia, amputation, etc.)

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ARC Book Review: Bound by Firelight (Wickery #2) by Dana Swift

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: Dana Swift
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: January 18th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The heart-pounding sequel to Cast in Firelight, perfect for fans of epic, sweepingly romantic fantasy by Sabaa Tahir, Susan Dennard, and Mary E. Pearson.

After a magical eruption devastates the kingdom of Belwar, royal heir Adraa is falsely accused of masterminding the destruction and forced to stand trial in front of her people, who see her as a monster. Adraa’s punishment? Imprisonment in the Dome, an impenetrable, magic-infused fortress filled with Belwar’s nastiest criminals—many of whom Adraa put there herself. And they want her to pay.

Jatin, the royal heir to Naupure, has been Adraa’s betrothed, nemesis, and fellow masked vigilante . . . but now he’s just a boy waiting to ask her the biggest question of their lives. First, though, he’s going to have to do the impossible: break Adraa out of the Dome. And he won’t be able to do it without help from the unlikeliest of sources—a girl from his past with a secret that could put them all at risk.

Time is running out, and the horrors Adraa faces in the Dome are second only to the plot to destabilize and destroy their kingdoms. But Adraa and Jatin have saved the world once already. . . . Now, can they save themselves?

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

LOVED THIS.

What a great conclusion!! My heart is happy with how things ended and I adore this duology so much. The writing captivated me. The world building was great and the magic system was unique. Add in a top notch romance and I have been smitten.

Jatin and Adraa were a power couple. Jatin was incredibly sweet and bold. All of his sweet words and soft moments with Adraa brought on the feels. I love how brave and unfailing Adraa was. Facing new avenues she might have laid down for a moment, but stood back up with even more fire in her veins. I loved them together and how this book didn’t have some dumb break-up. They worked together even when separated and WOW DO I LOVE THAT.

I wish the prison break set-up didn’t take so long because I wanted the group back together. I did think a lot of learning happened on both sides though that ultimately led towards the conclusion. The action scenes flowed well and I didn’t have glaring slow moments as I enjoyed this story.

This was a magical duo. I am really in awe this is a debut duo. I can’t wait to read Swift’s future books because I was very much wrapped up in this one.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: little (the use of the word Blood is the “curse” word)
  • Romance: implied closed door
  • Violence: blood/gore depiction, magical and physical attacks
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: torture, false imprisonment, loss of a parent

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Book Review: Falling for Your Best Friend’s Twin (Love Cliches #1) by Emma St.Clair

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 280 pages
Author: Emma St. Clair
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: October 11th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

There are a million and one reasons why I shouldn’t fall for my BFF’s twin…

Too bad love isn’t reasonable.

Zane is my total opposite. He dates a steady string of women who are nothing like me.

And there’s no way I would risk Zoey’s friendship over my teensy, tiny crush on her brother.

But when Zane hires me to help fix a glitch with his startup’s software, I run into two problems:

1. Someone on the inside seems to be sabotaging it.

2. Working with Zane every day sends my feelings into overdrive.

My master plan is to sniff out the rat, help Zane save the company, and get out while my heart is still intact. No biggie.

But somehow, I get roped into an investors’ spa trip. Which means spending a whole weekend with Zane and sharing a room with his date.

Kill. Me. Now.

This might serve to destroy my crush once and for all.

If it doesn’t destroy me first.

A SWEET READ.

And very fast. It was a nice break between long reads and was perfectly predictable and made me smile. I liked both of these main characters and one of my favorites aspects was present: both points of view!! I love this in romances because it really gives a great persepctive from both sides.

I love this this confict wasn’t blown out of proportion either. Clearly there was a mistake made, but I didn’t feel it ever hit a high drama note. Zane and Abby were fun to cheer for and got into some antics that had me chuckling. I thought they had good chemistry and the flirty banter was pretty great too.

I remember not loving a few scenes, and really strugged with the ending. It was definitely the happy ever after I was hoping for, but it felt…forced? An attempted big gesture that wasn’t wholly necessary. It kind of took it down for me, luckily the book overall was a good read.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses/make-outs
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: an after-birth scene (side character has baby, then Abby is present for everything after), loss of a parent (by a car wreck), bullying/harassment

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