Tag: indie author

Book Review: House of Striking Oaths (The Kingdom of Crows #3) by Olivia Wildenstein

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 591 pages
Author: Olivia Wildenstein
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: June 29th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I WILL BECOME QUEEN OF LUCE… OR DIE TRYING.

There are few people I loathe more than Dante Regio, but my aunt Bronwen, my former grandfather Justus, and my Shabbin grandmother Meriam sit right alongside the Faerie monarch on my list of despicable beings. Especially after they assist the pointy-eared ruler with my kidnapping.

Locked in an obsidian underworld no Crow can reach, not even their king, I soon learn things aren’t as they seem. People aren’t as they seem. And history… I’m still attempting to reconcile the truth with what I was previously told.

My new allies have an agenda, but I have one of my own. Though there’s overlap—we all agree Dante must die—what I desire more than anything is to return to Lore before he levels the kingdom to find me… or loses his humanity trying.

I may favor crowns over coffins, but I refuse to live in a world where my mate only exists as a bird.

Strap in for one last romantic and pulse-pounding adventure in a world governed by magic and hearts.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT.

I don’t even want to write this review. I am incredibly frustrated by this one.

First of all, why did we spend so much time with Dante? He’s THE FREAKING WORST. And took up way too many pages with his over the top dramatics and trying way too hard to be a villain. It didn’t work. I missed Lore.

Lore is the only aspect I remember liking. I enjoyed his possessive and protective side, per usual. Aaaaand that’s about it.

Fallon got on my nerves some more. And the plot took a bunch of random directions with info dumping (in this, the third book mind you) to try to create more story??? I don’t know. I was confused. Disconnected. And just begging this book to be over.

And now that I know who the spin-off is about I thought it was an odd choice too? I wanted to be able to say, read this series, and now I feel like I can’t say that. Books one and two were very enjoyable. This one left me wanting in about 100 different ways.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: heavy and strong
  • Romance: 3-4 open; high explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, murder, physical/magical/weapons violence, small battle themes

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Book Review: Not Safe for Work (California Love #2) by Lindsey Lanza

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 354 pages
Author: Lindsey Lanza
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: June 18th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A major dilemma. An unlikely hero.
A lot of inappropriate texting.

Olivia Diamond’s life is anything but sparkling. She’s still working through the most embarrassing break-up of the century, and now the promotion she thought was a done deal is turning into an impossible dream.

If being the only person on her sales team with a uterus wasn’t hard enough, now her boys’ club boss wants Olivia to date a client in order to close a massive deal. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

Enter Gavin Scott, Olivia’s least favorite and most attractive colleague. He’s here to save the day. Well, he’s here to try. And he’s hoping to do it all without revealing that he’s been crushing on Olivia since the day they started working together.

Not Safe for Work follows a chaotic and serendipitous chain of events that will have you laughing, raging, and swooning in every chapter. It’s a story of discovering your place in a world that’s working against you–and of finding love where you least expect it.

ANOTHER GEM.

See what I did there?

BUT REALLY. I am 3 for 3 on Lindsey Lanza books being an EASY five stars. EASY. I love them so much, and NSFW was amazing.

I officially am obsessed with the micro trope of he falls first, she falls hard, and he falls HARDER. I adored Gavin Scott. He was swoony and sweet and his passion and love for providing for his sister was incredibly endearing. I also loved how he took care of Olivia while never dulling her shine too.

And I loved Olivia. She was quirky and kind and full of this resilience and strength. Especially when she was thrown in increasingly difficult situations. I loved the way this office romance played out. I loved all of the soft moments and heated too. I devoured this book. I could not put it down and I can’t wait for Lanza’s next book!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: fade to black and 3+ open door
  • Content Warnings: on page panic attack, sexism and misogyny in the workplace

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Book Review: Winning Winnie’s Hand (Men of the Isles #1) by Deborah M. Hathaway

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 430 pages
Author: Deborah M. Hathaway
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 21st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’s no damsel, but dang…this knight in shining armor kinda makes her want to be.

Born into a driven and successful family, Winnie Knox tries—and fails—to impress her parents and siblings as she bounces from career to career, year to year. In a last-ditch effort, Winnie takes on consulting work at a stately home in England, hoping to gain a nice bit of prestige as she improves the massive British estate.

In true Knox Fashion, Winnie dives headfirst into her new position. In true Winnie Fashion, she ends up with her car headfirst…in the mud. But what does she see coming to her rescue? Nothing short of a knight in shining armor.

Literally. A knight in shining armor. On a horse. What century is this again? Well, whatever it is, Winnie doesn’t mind lingering in it if she gets to stare at a man like him all day. This job is going to be a walk in the park.

Of course, nothing is ever as easy as it should be with Winnie as she puts her foot in her mouth and straightaway offends the knight—who just so happens to be someone far more important than the simple thespian he appears to be.

But Winnie Knox is a professional. She can charm anyone.

Can’t she?

This is the first book in the clean and sweet romcom Men of the Isles series by Deborah M. Hathaway. Although this enemies-to-lovers, boss/employee romance is a stand-alone novel, the books are best enjoyed when read in order.

TRUE E2L.

One of the hardest tropes I have a hard time finding written well in contemporary romances is enemies to lovers. And this had it. I loved how Winnie and Matthew battle. It was heated and you could already feel the romantic tension between them. What’s even better is I loooved the character arcs for both leads too. The realization that both had been in the wrong and how they worked to apologize and show through their actions that they had been wrong initially.

The festival was a fun additive and I loved seeing all of those aspects too. The English countryside was so charming. I liked the adventures they went on and the little angst filled moments inbetween.

I do think this felt a little long (420 pages for a contemporary is a feat). But that was my only issue. Bless the day when Winnie stood up to her Dad and told him all of the things he had been feeling. I felt as triumphant as her when that moment happened.

This is a sweet book and I will without a doubt be reading the next one!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Book Review: Off the Beaten Path (The Mountains are Calling #1) by Madison Wright

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Madison Wright
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 26th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Wren Daniels is in over her head.

Between organizing a charity auction and trying to renovate a cabin she can’t afford, she’s barely keeping her head above water. The only bright spot is her new friend she met on an anonymous dating app four months ago. That is, until she discovers he’s the last person she would have expected—her grumpy neighbor who she’s never gotten along with.

Holden Blankenship likes his life just the way it is.

After his wife left him, he spent years putting his life back together. Now he’s got his daughter who is the light of his world, his family, and surprisingly, an anonymous friend. But when his anonymous friend turns out to be his neighbor who drives him crazy, he’s not sure what to make of it. Especially when her contractor backs out of her cabin renovation project and he finds himself offering to help her. Now Wren is getting under his skin in a completely different way and turning all his carefully laid plans upside down.

As Wren continues to show up for Holden and Holden keeps proving to Wren that he’s not really as standoffish as he seems, the lines between friendship and more start to blur.

Their relationship may have gotten off to an unusual start, but some of the best things in life are just a little off the beaten path.

ALL THE STARS.

Good heavens I could not put this book down, I LOVED IT SO MUCH. It’s that perfect level of sexy without being spicy. That reallll good sweet spot where gosh dang those kissing scenes were fire. FIRE. And I absolutely adored that this was dual POV. I loved both Holden and Wren. They were this beautiful blend of messy and heartfelt and human. And June??? Are you kidding me. Loved her too. The new little family they built MELTED MY COLD HEART.

And I loved the setting. I’m really into the mountain and woods and all things rainy and foresty. I must go cozy up in my own cabin now. This had the best small town vibes. No overwhelming drama, just some quirky side characters and antics but also how they all came together?! I can’t. Like I said, this book got me in the feels good.

Loved it all. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. This is an incredible gem of a read I’ll be begging others to pick up.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: heated kisses

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