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Book Review: Wanted: A Roommate Who Isn’t Evil (High Court of the Coffee Bean #3) by Jennifer Kropf

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy
Length: 280 pages
Author: Jennifer Kropf
Publisher: Winter Publishing House
Release Date: October 16th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The High Court of the Coffee Bean returns with a battle of wills and wit as two sworn enemies find themselves facing their worst nightmare—each other.

In this “enemies-to-brothers” humorous fantasy, two dangerous fae who hate each other sign a contract to share an apartment without realizing who their new roommate will be. One is Dranian Evelry, former assassin of the Brotherhood of Assassins. The other is Luc Zelsor, a deadly nine tailed fox more powerful than nearly any fae from the Dark Corner of Ever.

With several binding rules in their roommate contract such as, “No loud noises” (which means they’ll have difficulty trying to kill each other) and “No large messes” (which means once one finds a way to kill the other, they’ll need to discreetly dispose of the body) the two enemies find themselves trapped in a close quarters situation with only one to try and live together until the three-month agreement runs out, unless one of them can force the other to break the contract and be kicked out of the apartment for good by management.

Thus a battle of wills begins as two fae on opposite sides of the fairy wars try to make the living accommodations unbearable for the other.

But Dranian has another problem, one he must hide from his new roommate. Whenever he falls asleep, his nights become haunted by a voice of his past, belonging to a girl who was never given a name. As she enters his nightmares and gets closer and closer to taking control of his dreams for good, Dranian is forced to remember key things about the North Corner forest village he grew up in – a place he swore never to think about again – and the girl he once gave everything for who has now returned to haunt him forever.

Dranian knows there’s only one solution to keeping the girl with no name out of his Never fall asleep again.

Thank you to the author and Book of Matches Media for the gifted copy.

A GOOD SET-UP.

This was a very short read (230ish pages) and felt like a nice filler book before book four. I loved seeing the beginnings of Dranian and Shayne’s future romances and all the things that are happening in their lives. It was great having their POV’s including Luc’s!! I love a villain arc and seeing how a character has a whole different dynamic than you expected.

There’s the same quality that have been in the previous two books that have me utterly charmed. I love the urban fantasy and how quirky all of the fae are about all the earth things. It makes me chuckle every time and the writing is just so fun.

Not upset I took a chance on this series and can’t wait to continue it with the next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: not really any but hints at future
  • Violence: low – moderate
  • Content Warnings: anxiety attacks

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ARC Book Review: Gilded Wicked Mirrors (Wicked Mirrors #1) by Hazel St. Lewis

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 440 pages
Author: Hazel St. Lewis
Publisher: Hidden Siren
Release Date: August 6th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In New Swansea, a glittering city once inhabited by vampires, power rests not with the royal class but with the Bargainers—deities trapped in magic mirrors, who exchange power, wealth, and knowledge for a cost . . . often a wretched one.

Quinnevere Ashelle wants nothing to do with the Bargainers, but at twenty-three, she is getting too old to make it into the Royalle Ballet, and with only one shot left, she’ll do anything—including make a twisted deal with an evil god. The agreement is passionately kiss her archnemesis, Prince Emrys, and she will receive her dream spot in the Royalle Ballet.

Unfortunately, when Quinn’s deal with the Bargainer backfires, her beloved friend turns up dead, entirely drained of blood, and with puncture wounds matching the long-extinct vampires.

Feeling utterly responsible, Quinn vows to get vengeance and use her medical examiner skills to solve the murder, but she is far outmatched in this world of immortals—especially when she discovers she’s being hunted, as is the killer’s next target. If she wants to survive, she must team up with the devilishly attractive but wicked Prince Emrys to track down the murderer before she gets cornered herself.

***Author’s note: Gilded Wicked Mirrors is a New Adult Romantasy featuring enemies to lovers, knife to throat, and deadly bargains. The steam level is mild, but the sequels will be much spicier. This single-POV fantasy romance is perfect for fans of Crescent City’s gritty investigations and Caraval’s lush world.

Thank you Book of Matches Media and Hazel St. Lewis for the gifted ARC!

FELT FRESH.

This book really had my attention. While you can definitely draw some similarities to other fantasies I’ve read, I did feel like much of this was unique and had a different vampire twist that has me wanting book two ASAP.

I loved that Quinn was a dancer and part-time mortician. The combination of athleticism and science are things I personally enjoy and those character dynamics were a cool part of this plot. Found family is a big aspect of the book too and I loved all of these side characters.

The romance was a bit lusty for me in the beginning, but luckily grew on me. When that backed off and I got to see the banter between Quinn and Emrys I was much more interested in watching their connection grow. I think the slow burn settled in well and I can’t wait to see how the relationship continues in book two.

All of the mirrors, and vampires and other world building aspects created a complex city full of mystery. I liked that it had plenty of action balanced with soft moments that made it easy to turn the pages.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: high
  • Romance: 2ish brief open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: blood/gore depiction, murder, loss of loved ones

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ALC Book Review: Courting War (Viscious Gods #1) by Hazel St. Lewis

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 360 pages
Author: Hazel St. Lewis
Publisher: Hidden Siren
Release Date: January 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The number one rule in never make a deal with Death…even if Death is your sister.

Theodra, Goddess of War, knows not to break this rule. But like all arrogant gods, she does just that. Unable to hold back, she destroys a ship full of traffickers, unaware there are girls on board. When one of them dies, Theo trades with Death for a soul she will someday love. A soul for a soul. A good deal, in her esteemed opinion, since she is incapable of falling in love.

Unfortunately, Theo might have been mistaken.

Thirteen years later, as a punishment for killing too many wicked men, she is sentenced to play as a mortal in a deadly tournament called The Sacrifice. The games are played in pairs, and her partner is the sinfully handsome Prince Kellyn. Even though they despise one another and can barely work together, sexual tension burns between them. But if their hatred turns to love, it will cost Kellyn his life, for Death is always waiting to collect.

Courting War is a new adult fantasy romance novel and is a standalone book within a larger series. Featured tropes enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity (only-one-bed), forbidden love, and immortals.

Thank you Book of Matches Media and Hazel St. Lewis for an ALC.

A GOOD STANDALONE.

Audiobook notes: I loved the narrators! There’s two for the dual POV and that’s my favorite way to listen to romance books. Both narrators did an amazing job, definitely recommend that route if you want to read this book!

This was a solid debut and I enjoyed the mythology aspects that were woven into the story. A bunch of villainous gods who just have fun meddling with human lives. It’s a bit dark and a bit gritty and those are some of my favorite fantasy vibes. I liked the soft enemies to lovers and thought for a standalone the romance was paced well. It’s a good slow burn that grew on me the longer I got to know Theo and Kellyn.

Some of the world building aspects were a bit confusing to me. The competition and scoring, exactly how and why the gods were meddling and a few other things. This is a standalone in a bigger world so hopefully in the next book things will be further expanded and explained.

I’m not mad one bit I picked this up and I would love to try book two as well. There’s many fantasy romance aspects that I love seeing that are in here and those moments were written very well.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 1-2 open door; some innuendo throughout
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: dyslexia rep, suicide ideation, grief depiction, loss of life, torture

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ARC Book Review: Welcome to Fae Cafe (High Court of the Coffee Bean #1) by Jennifer Kropf

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 405 pages
Author: Jennifer Kropf
Publisher: Winter Publishing House
Release Date: October 3rd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

There are ten golden rules to follow if you want to survive an encounter with a fae.

On a cozy fall morning, Kate Kole is nestled in a coffee shop in the city of Toronto reading her favourite novel when she accidentally kills a guy who’s being rude to the coffee shop’s cashier. Unfortunately for Kate, the person she killed was a fae assassin of the North Corner of Ever, visiting the human realm in secret.

From there, four deadly fae assassins come to the human realm to hunt her down for breaking a fairy law and killing one of their own. Leading them is Prince Cressica Alabastian, the most feared and deadly fae assassin of the North and heir to the North Corner of Ever.

After the assassins arrive in the human realm, things go terribly wrong. To Prince Cressica’s horror, his assassins unwittingly get roped into running a cozy café on Kate Kole’s behalf. To blend in, the fae assassins are forced to learn how to do basic human activities like cleaning up after themselves, driving without road rage, reading popular fantasy books at book club without getting into alpha male fights over what they’re reading, and in general, be nice, all to blend into regular human society.

With a temper like no other, and deadly power that’s unmatched, Prince Cressica seeks to get revenge on Kate Kole. But as he aims to strike where it will hurt her the most, the Prince finds himself enchanted by his human target in more ways than one. And when the darkness of the Ever Corners comes knocking at the human realm’s door, he needs to make a choice that could cost him everything.

Thank you to Book of Matches Media and the author for an eARC.

THIS WAS GREAT.

I picked this up for its unique premise and it did not disappoint. I loved the urban fantasy vibes and watching four fae assassin’s try to figure out life in Toronto. I laughed multiple times at the things they went through and thought the author did a fantastic job of bringing the humor to this type of novel.

The grump x sunshine romance between Cress and Kate was fun to watch. I liked their banter and especially in the second half when the romance picked up a bit more (I do wish there had been more throughout). There’s lots of good fall and winter moments and Cress is one of those protective fae heroes we love to see. I thought the ending was interesting and wrapped up a few specific plot lines while leaving room for more story (I’m hoping we get a book for each assassin??).

It is definitely in the cozy genre. There is some intense action sprinkled throughout, but a lot of it is Kate figuring out life while the assassin’s figure out her. It’s a great combination and I just genuinely enjoyed how different this was than my usual reads.

Overall audience notes:

  • Cozy Urban Fantasy
  • Language: some throughout
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: blood/gore depiction, loss of loved ones

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