Book Review: Deadwood (Secrets of Serpentine #1) by Karley Brenna

November 6, 2025August 17, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 540 pages
Author: Karley Brenna
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 1st, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Auria Tenere has spent her life locked away in the castle she calls home and forced to serve her father, the king of Amosite. Clinging to bedtime stories of extinct fae and dragons in hiding, she believes there’s no hope of ever leaving the confines of the palace. That is, until her father arranges for her to be married to a stranger.
After being able to leave the chasm for the first time in her life with her betrothed, Auria’s group is soon attacked, leaving them no choice but to find shelter in the nearest town. But Deadwood isn’t all that it seems, and the tales she once thought were simply bedtime stories turn out to be more real than she ever could’ve imagined.
Faced with the lies she has been told her whole life, Auria is determined to unravel the secrets being kept by those in this outlaw town. Including those of the closed-off man she isn’t certain she should let close—the one man her father seems scared of. From the moment she set foot in town, he’s had his sights set on her, and Auria wants to know why. But soon, being stranded with him isn’t her only problem. Not when the king decides he wants his daughter back, no matter the cost.

OH BOY DO I HAVE THOUGHTS.

From my understanding, this was the author’s first fantasy book and…you could tell. I am sitting here trying to figure out what any part of this world looked like and I can’t tell you one thing. And it was *supposed* to have this wild west setting (of which is why I picked it up) but alas, the most I got was a few card games gone wrong. DON’T EVEN get me started on the magic system because that made no sense either.

And I’m all for a FMC who needs some space to grow and change over a series, but this gave me no hints at those changes even by the end. Auria was still naive, still couldn’t handle a weapon, and was still a damsel in distress on repeat. I wanted her to do one thing JUST ONE TIME.

I didn’t mind the romance with [redacted for spoilers]. It didn’t have the flair I was expecting, yet it kind of worked? I liked that there were POV chapters from his perspective at least.

It truly wasn’t like I hated this book, it went up and down for me. By the time the conclusion came though, I didn’t feel invested enough to read book two.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: mild
Romance: 1-2ish open door
Violence: high
Content warnings; attempted murder, attempted sexual assault, death, creature attacks

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: October 2025

November 4, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

I had to amp up the reading to combat the fact that I had EIGHT arcs coming out on November 4th. But all is good, all has been read. Reviews will be out over the next few months!

Town of Shadows (Slanted London #1) by Jessica Scarlet
The Weaver Bride (The Weaver Bride #1) by Lydia Gregovic
[ARC] Marriage is Shore Thing (Wilks Beach #2) by Laura Langa
Throne in the Dark (Villains & Virtues #1) by A.K. Caggiano
Unending (The Unseelie Duology #2) by Ivelisse Housman
Our Beautiful Mess by B.K. Clark
The Mummy Snatcher Curse (The Wand Keepers #2) by Tiffany McDaniel
Grave Flowers by Autumn Krause
[ARC/ALC] Secret Haven (Sparrow Falls #6) by Catherine Cowles
Ghost Business (Boneyard Key #2) by Jen DeLuca
A Steeping of Blood (A Tempest of Tea Duology #2) by Hafsah Faizal
The Sound of Summer (The House on Harrison Blvd #1) by Meagan Williamson
[ALC] Red City (The New Alchemists #1) by Marie Lu
[ARC]The Demon and the Light (The Floating World #2) by Axie Oh
House of Dragons (Royal Houses #1) by K.A. Linde
[ARC/ALC] An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew
Summoned to the Wilds (Villains & Virtues #1) by A.K. Caggiano
Kill the Beast by Serra Swift
The Arrow and the Alder by Barbara Kloss
The Last Tiger by Julia Riew & Brad Riew
[ALC] The Heir (Crownhaven #1) by Sophia Travers
[ALC] Never Ever After (Never Ever After #1) by Sue Lynn Tan
Sonnets and Serpents (Casters & Crowns #2) by Elizabeth Lowham
[ARC] Against a Crescent Storm (The Balkan Legends #3) by A.L. Sowards
For No Mortal Creature by Kenshe Chow
[ALC] The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
[ARC] The Prince of Mourning by Jenn Bennett
[ARC] The Maid of Sherwood Forest (A McQuivey’s Costume Shop Romance #2) by Sian Ann Bessey
Every Spiral of Fate (This Woven Kingdom #4) by Tahereh Mafi
[ALC] Fallen City (Fallen City Duology #1) by Adrienne Young
[ARC] Through Each Tomorrow (Timeless #6) by Gabrielle Meyer
A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig
[Novella] A Very Merry Matchup by Becca Kinzer
[ARC/ALC] A Queen’s Match (A Queen’s Duet #2) by Katharine McGee
[ARC] Ship of Spells by H. Leighton Dickson
[Novella] Holly (Belladonna #3.5) by Adalyn Grace

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Book Review: Not a Thing (The Seddledown #2) by Susan Henshaw

October 27, 2025October 28, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 290 pages
Author: Susan Henshaw
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A small town principal rewriting her future. A big city lawyer running from his past. The secret that could tear them apart.

After getting dumped, Christy Thornbury has zero intentions of setting foot on Seddledowne soil ever again. But when the school board begs her to be their high school principal, she packs up her car and leaves her toxic family in the dry, Wyoming dust.

Serial dater, Holden Dupree, sprints faster than any woman can catch him. But when Christy’s sisters devise a humiliating scheme to find her a husband, Holden breaks the one self-imposed rule he’s lived by for the last decade. And now he’s stuck in a frustrating, all-cuddling, no-kissing, fake relationship with his brother’s gorgeous ex.

With chemistry hotter than a branding iron, can Christy keep her heart on lockdown while tucked safely in a playboy’s embrace? And will Holden finally lasso his demons, fight for the love he never thought he’d find, and come home to Dupree Ranch for good?

Perfect for readers who enjoy a love story with sizzle but no spice. Get ready for fake dating and forbidden love, dark pasts and daring rescues. But always a hard-earned happily ever after.

I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS.

This book was maddening to read while also being addictive and I found myself downloading book three immediately after (granted, I have been most looking forward to book three so it tracks).

ANYWHO. My issue here is how immature so many of these adults were. The book is set in high school and it felt like most of the antics were high school based too. And I don’t know how I feel about how some of the heavier themes were used and handled.

There were some good swoon moments and I actually didn’t mind Holden and Christy as a couple. They had this off-beat chemistry that worked well for them. And I can’t deny that I love a great heated make-out scene.

I went up and down as I read on this book and while it’s not my favorite, I’m not upset I read it either.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: low
Romance: heated make-outs; light innuendo
Violence: moderate
Content Warnings: su!cide (mentioned and brought up throughout), bullying, stalker

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Book Review: Fighting for You (Veterans of the Silver Ridge #4) by Claire Cain

October 22, 2025October 26, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 326 pages
Author: Claire Cain
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: September 18th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I’d always thought having a mortal enemy was for dramatic novels and movies, right up until my so-called friend Jude “Beast” Rawlins did the unthinkable and became just that—my enemy.

Five years later, we’ve both retired from the Army, and fate has landed us in a town too small to avoid each other. We steer clear when we can and butt heads when we can’t… until the day our jobs at Saint Security rope us into an assignment together posing as husband and wife.

Staying apart is impossible, and staying silent even more so. Everything inside me erupts, and I’m ready to finally put this beast of a man in his place for what he did.

Except, it turns out now I do the unthinkable and see Beast in a new way. In fact, I also get to know Jude, the man he is behind it all, the man I’d forbidden myself to ever notice. And I discover maybe this man never had to be my enemy.

What’s a woman to do when the one she’s always considered her enemy turns out to be just a man, one with a soft heart and an even softer touch? I’ve made so many mistakes in my past, I’m not sure I can trust myself, or Jude.

Can former enemies really have a chance at love?

MY FIRST CLAIRE CAIN BOOK!

And not my last. I enjoyed this quite a bit and I loved that this had veterans and a little bit of suspense and a good enemies to lovers romance to boot. I thought it all came together well and I loved the vibes of the whole book.

I adored Beast. I loved how soft and tender he was at his core. And I love an outpouring of the soul moments and the strength it took to do so. It was great getting lots of forced proximity and small town goodness is always my jam.

I haven’t read the previous books in this series and I don’t know if that hindered me a little bit. I was missing some context for the business Jude and Jess were involved in, but as things went a long I felt caught up enough to enjoy the story.

Overall audience notes: