Book Review: Where We Started (Stone Riders MC #1) by Ashley Munoz

July 30, 2025June 27, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 316 pages
Author: Ashley Munoz
Publisher: Zeta Life
Release Date: November 3rd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Usually, watching a notorious biker club mourn the loss of their beloved president would be a dangerous choice. Ten out of ten do not recommend. Unless of course, you’re family. I didn’t really consider myself part of my father’s legacy, until I found out what he left behind in his will. Property, ten acres to be exact, which included the headquarters for his beloved motorcycle club. I had no idea that by accepting the terms of my inheritance it would thrust me into a battle with the new club president. Wesley Ryan was unfathomably handsome, menacing and formidable in every way. But his derision toward me only made me cling that much tighter to my birthright. That is until he decided to play dirty. Wes didn’t just taunt me by bringing up our past, he wanted us to go all the way back to where we started. Back to when we were nine and I was just the girl next door who snuck into his treehouse. Back to when he’d fight the boys who made me cry. Back to when he first kissed me and stole my heart. I had to remember Wes wanted to claim my father’s property, not me. I walked away once, I just had to prove I was strong enough to do it again.

THIS WAS A FIRST.

I’ve never read a motorcycle romance before, but it’s been a sub genre I’ve really wanted to try. And I did! The core of this story was super good. I loved the angry tension in this second chance romance. Wesley and Callie have off the charts chemistry and I loved their dynamic. There’s a lot of great alpha guy/protective moments too. The added suspense was fantastic.

As a personal preference, this was just too much spice for me. That was the only thing that really took me out of the story because I had to skip forward often in the audiobook. I did love how gritty and dangerous this story felt. It was a nice palate cleaner type of read from the lighter romances I’m also a fan of.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: high
Romance: 5+ open door; high explicit
Violence: high
Content Warnings: a teen is kidnapped temporarily, murder, gun violence

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ALC Book Review: Soul of Shadow (Soul of Shadow #1) by Emma Noyes

July 29, 2025June 30, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Emma Noyes
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: July 29th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A thrilling Norse mythology inspired contemporary romantasy sure to excite fans of The Vampire Diaries and Atlas Six.

Charlie Hudson just wants to get through junior year. Since the death of her twin sister two years earlier, she’s drifted through life, going through the motions at school and parties and even at home. The spark that once burned so brightly within her has all but flickered out.

Until her classmate goes missing in the forest, leaving nothing behind but a pair of shoes and strange symbols carved into a tree.

Drawn to the disappearances by forces she can’t explain, she finds herself investigating the mysterious, alluring newcomer in town, Elias Everhart. With piercing eyes and sharp wit, he dances around her questions, only intriguing her further. Elias has a secret. More than one.

But what Charlie doesn’t know is that those secrets will lead her to a place she never a world hiding in plain sight, made of magic, gods, and monsters – and a first love fated to fall apart.

In Emma Noyes’s Soul of Shadow, truths and temptations lurk in the darkness, and for Charlie, the only thing more dangerous than facing her past, is the boy with the power to change her future.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

GOSH DARN IT.

This is *my bad* for not reading the summary and realizing this was an urban fantasy. i can sometimes get past that fact when they are in another realm for long periods of time or it’s woven in well, buuuut I didn’t find that here. Charlie and her friends were written in such a manner that it came off as “trying too hard to be cool,” with vaping, drinking, partying, etc.

And this was pitched to me as a *shadow daddy* book (I don’t love that term) and I also don’t love that term referring to teens??? It all felt iffy.

I didn’t hit a hate reading level on this, just a sort of disconnect. The Norse gods were an intriguing aspect and I wish we’d have seen more of them (though maybe that’s a book two thing?? but this book didn’t convince me to read book two??).

It’s not poorly written by any means, it’s just not a book for me. I thought the audiobook narration was good too, so if you try it out, I do recommend that format.

Overall audience notes:

YA Urban Fantasy Romance
Language: mild
Romance: heated kisses
Violence: moderate
Content warnings: murder, kidnapping, loss of life

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ARC Book Review: Soulmatch by Rebecca Danzenbaker

July 28, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Dystopian Romance
Length: 496 pages
Author: Rebecca Danzenbaker
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: July 29th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two-hundred years after World War III, the world is at peace, all thanks to the soul-identification system. Every 18-year-old must report to the government to learn about their past lives, a terrifying process known as kirling. Good souls leave the institute with their inheritance, a career path, and if they’re lucky, a soulmate. Bad souls leave in handcuffs.

It’s a nerve-wracking ordeal for Sivon, who, given her uncanny ability to win every chess match, already suspects her soul isn’t normal. Turns out, she was right to worry. Sivon’s results stun not only her, but the entire world, making her the object of public scrutiny and anonymous threats.

Saddled with an infuriating and off-limits bodyguard, Sivon is thrust into a high-stakes game where souls are pawns and rules don’t exist. As deaths mount, Sivon must decipher friend from foe while protecting her heart against impossible odds. One wrong move could destroy the future lives of everyone Sivon loves, and she can’t let that happen, even if they’ll never love her back.

Thank you Simon Audio for the audiobook and Simon Teen for the ARC (gifted).

IT WAS OKAY?

I don’t know quite what to do with this one. I think if young adult dystopian is your jam then you should definitely try this. That’s a genre I’ve always been mixed on so this was leaned towards a miss for me. It wasn’t all bad, just missed a few marks.

There were many hallmark moments of the nostalgic dystopian favorites throughout. Competition and power checks and a romance woven in too. The audiobook was solid and I do recommend that format as well. I liked the growth for Sivon and how she started to learn who she was and stand up for herself as the plot kept mounting with intensity.

I wish I had felt more entranced by this book, but I think I would try another by this author.

Overall audience notes:

YA Dystopian Romance
Language: mild
Romance: kisses
Violence: moderate
Content warnings: death, loss of loved ones, su!icide, grief

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Book Review: City of Mirth and Malice (Order and Chaos #2) by Alexis L. Menard

July 28, 2025June 24, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 495 pages
Author: Alexis L. Menard
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Some debts are not so easily repaid—or forgiven.

Nicolai Attano finally has everything he’s ever wanted: control over the Iron Saint Railway, safety for his family, and not a single rival syndicate to stand in his way. Never could he have imagined he’d want anything more than power—not until Camilla Marchese.

Six weeks have passed since the disaster on the train and his wife was kidnapped, but to get her back, he’ll need help. Nico struggles to work with a city poisoned against him and is instead forced to seek the aid of a disreputable black-market dealer. A simple deal to ensure her rescue, Nico doesn’t think twice. A bargain is struck, and the cost is higher than ever. The collateral? His life.

Meanwhile, Camilla fights to gain control over her newfound powers as the alchemist in charge of her confinement puts her to the test. Forced to free what she’s held so close, the only light in this hellish prison is the hope to see her family again, and the husband who stole her heart. Three trials and three chances to find the source of her Chaos and use it to save herself, if it doesn’t destroy her first.

Cracks in the city draw lines between loyalties, and time is running out until everything comes crashing down. Return to Lynchaven in this action-packed and swoony conclusion of Nico and Milla’s story.

WELL.

This wasn’t what I was quite hoping for and now I don’t know how I really feel about it. The book isn’t bad, but it was lacking the same vibes the first book brought and I was left wanting in some areas.

One of those areas was the romance. There’s good swoony moments but I they felt stretched out and Milla and Nico spent more time apart then together and y’all know that tends to bug me. I loved the foundation they built and wanted to see more of that throughout. Basically they saw each other, had sex, and ran off to do other thing separately.

I liked getting to know more of the world and understanding the magic system more too. There was one sub-plot that I think dragged out the book but otherwise I was intrigued. It had a good start and jail break and scattered moments throughout. I liked how things wrapped up and am curious who will be the next main couple.

Overall audience notes: