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ARC Book Review: This Dark Alliance (The Curse of the Blessed #1) by Renee Dugan

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 288 pages
Author: Renee Dugan
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 20th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An Heiress. An Assassin. A Quest for Vengeance.
They say if you want a job done properly, don’t do it yourself; hire a Blessed to do it for you.

When the kingdom of Erala found itself full of humans exceptionally talented in various arts, they were revered as saviors. Centuries later, they’re no more than slaves. For the right amount of gold, a Blessed can make you rich. It can build you a mansion. It can turn your debts to sums.

But when wealthy heiress Elynor of Bast arrives at the Sanctum of the Blessed, she isn’t looking for a tailor or a storyteller. She’s searching for a Blessed assassin.

It’s been months since anyone required Sharek’s murderous services. With Elynor’s contract, he sees a chance to be useful – and for freedom. But when the mark goes awry, Sharek and Elynor find themselves in possession of secrets that could lead their kingdom to war. In order to prevent it, a Blessed and his hirer must learn to work together-and in the journey, learn who they truly are.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

GREAT START.

Renee Dugan is one of my new indie author fantasy finds and I am so excited to start a new series by her! I enjoyed this one a lot and look forward to future installments.

TDA is super fast paced and easy to move through. I thought the world building was handled well in the beginning to get a grasp of the dynamics and religious aspects that hold everything together. There’s a lot of differing opinions on how things should be done and I can’t wait to further see how those unravel and reshape.

I liked the dual POV main characters too. Sharek and Elynor both bring a plenty to the table and Dugan is known for creating amazing character arcs and I know these two are only in the beginning stages. I even see a hint at future romance??? Slow burns are my jam so I will wait it out!

Plot wise I wish a little more *something* occurred but that’s my only small complaint. It’s still engaging and I love the ease of Dugan’s writing.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder, near death experiences, physical and magical altercations, loss of a parent, poisonings

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Book Review: My Phony Valentine (Holidays with Hart #1) by Courtney Walsh

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 373 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 8th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A chance meeting. A hunky hockey player. A fake romance.
Hardly an ordinary day in the life of Poppy Hart.

My days usually consist of agonizing over my failing restaurant, worrying about my mountain of debt and nursing my broken heart.

Everything changes when I bump into a man in the coffee shop and claim him as my new boyfriend. To my absolute horror, he turns out to be hockey’s most renowned bad boy, Dallas Burke. To my absolute delight, he goes along with my story.

When his no-nonsense manager and meddling grandmother jump in the picture, they see a win-win solution for my failing restaurant and Dallas’s less-than-stellar reputation.

A full-fledged fake romance complete with contract negotiations, pretend dates and phony PDA.

But as I get to know the real Dallas Burke, who is not the man the press says he is, it becomes clear that if this isn’t real. . . someone better tell it to my heart.

PERFECT FOR THE HOLIDAY.

Well this was just real dang sweet. If you’re looking for low angst, closed door, reformed bad boys and hockey? Read this. Easy.

I liked a lot of this book, more-so the second half. There was good chemistry between Poppy and Dallas and there were some prime moments that I am ALWAYS here for (protective heroes are my jam). I truly thought they got along well and I liked the fake dating aspects too. AND that they both were vocal about their wants and needs as well. There’s a very light hearted vibe to this that made me feel good and I love books that do that.

There’s some tiny tidbits here and there I didn’t love. I don’t love gossip-type magazine chapters. I really can’t stand mean girl side characters. And the grand gesture at the end left me with a little bit of second hand embarrassment (and didn’t fit the MMC’s character throughout the book).

Besides those small things I like the fluttery butterfly feeling this book gives. They’re some GREAT kissing scenes and I officially want to go on a binge read of all things sports romance. I loooove when I can find a closed door sports romance.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: incarcerated parent, car accident

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Book Review: Speechless by Lindsey Lanza

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 328 pages
Author: Lindsey Lanza
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 17th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When life’s off-key, go to Malibu

Bestselling author Lucy Gold may write fairy tales for a living, but her own happily ever after is looking bleak. Seeking a fresh start after a sudden divorce on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, she decides to make a new life for herself and her service dog in Los Angeles. But when her living arrangements fall through just before takeoff, a handsome stranger offers to let her stay with him and his motley crew of musicians in Malibu. Her gallant hero? None other than Henry Turner, the award-winning composer whose music has held Lucy together while her life’s been crumbling apart.

Henry might be at the peak of his creative career, but his crippling anxiety throws his personal life completely out of tune. Yet all of that changes the longer Lucy stays with him and his housemates, swiftly becoming one of their own and offering Henry a glimpse of happiness he never thought possible. As their relationship deepens, Lucy’s attraction to Henry cannot be denied, but as she works through the aftermath of her divorce, she’s resigned to give up on love. Henry plays all the right notes and says all the right words. Will Lucy be able to hear them over her fear of the past repeating itself?

Speechless is a swoony saga about finding your people, overcoming your deepest insecurities, and choosing happiness no matter what life throws at you.

WONDERFUL DEBUT.

Ohhh my goodness I inhaled this book on the day it released. I could not put it down and now all I want is Lanza’s second book because this was a fantastic debut.

I LOVED all of the rep here and how both characters worked through and handled things. It wasn’t always linear and I love feeling the real and rawness of both of the main characters.

Henry was the sweetest cinnamon roll who was kind, genuine and there. Always there. My absolute favorite nuance. Lucy showed some beautiful character growth and I really appreciated the author’s note at the end that further made Lucy’s decisions clear.

There was a tender found family here too. I loved that Lucy got the chance to make true and lasting connections that she desperately needed (and deserved).

The whole book just kept me wrapped up in all the emotions. And the ending??? THE FEEEEEEELS. It was beautiful and everything and you definitely need to read this too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: a few vague, fade to black; low explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: bullying, social anxiety and selective mutism, chronic illness (endometriosis), divorce, loss of a parent, grief depiction

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Book Review: The Ace of Hearts (Larkhall Letters #1) by Ashtyn Newbold

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 296 pages
Author: Ashtyn Newbold
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: April 14th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A secret venture, a regrettable love letter, and a heart he can’t afford to lose.

Faced with her stepbrother’s betrayal and an unwanted marriage, Alice Rosemeyer accepts an invitation to the estate of Larkhall. Determined to earn her future security without a husband, she begins operating as the anonymous Ace of Hearts, writing love letters on behalf of the men eager to secure a match at the close of the London season. If she can manage to keep her identity secret, her reputation intact, and avoid the arrogant house guest, Mr. Thomas Herring, she might just call herself successful.

When Thomas Herring’s sister marries an indebted man because of a love letter, he has no choice but to marry into money himself. Invited to stay at Larkhall, he sets his sights on the wealthy sister of his host. When she appears indifferent, he stumbles upon an advertisement: a gentleman offering assistance in matters of the heart. An ace, so he is called. But when he turns out to be she, and also a guest at the same house, his task is further complicated—especially as Alice proves herself to be as captivating as she is clever.

With reputations, secrets, and more than one heart at risk, Alice and Thomas become trapped in a game with no rules, a game neither intended to play. Had they been wrong to play love for a fool?

UGH.

I feel SO LET DOWN BY THIS. I was even buddy reading with another friend who didn’t even finish it. Both of us struggled with so many things that happened here.

There was entirely too much focus on the other future couples in this series. Random tangents to set up their story and the main character was putting a lot more effort into everyone else so it felt like the focus was never on her.

When the focus was on her and the budding relationship with Thomas I was only impressed occasionally. They had some cute banter filled moments, but why throw out enemies to lovers than immediately take it away? I saw all of the potential but none of the execution. Not to mention, the same plot device was used over and over again. All of the characters kept playing “games” to get to know one another, tell secrets, etc. and it felt drawn out and over done.

Alright, I’m stopping here. I wanted to love this so badly because the cover is gorgeous, I’ve liked other books by this author and was interested in the rest of the series, but I don’t think I can convince myself to try again.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, mentions of gambling addiction

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