ARC Review: A Monsoon Rising (The Hurricane Wars #2) by Thea Guanzon

December 11, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Thea Guanzon
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: December 10th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two hearts circle each other in the eye of the storm in this highly-anticipated follow-up to The Hurricane Wars—prepare for more enemies-to-lovers romance, magical adventures, and political schemes in this Southeast Asian-inspired world.

After a lifetime of war, Alaric and Talasyn were thrust into an alliance between their homelands that was supposed to end the fighting; however, being married to their sworn foe feels far from peaceful. Now Talasyn must play the part of Alaric’s willing empress while her allies secretly plot to overthrow his reign. But the longer the couple are forced together, the harder it becomes to deny the feelings crackling like lightning between them. When the time comes to act, can she trust him, or must she ignore her heart for the sake of so many others?

As the master of the Shadowforged Legion, Alaric has trained for battle all his life, but marrying a Lightweaver might be his most dangerous challenge yet. With tensions between nations churning, he needs to focus on the greater threat—the Moonless Dark, a cataclysmic magical event that could devour everything. Only he and Talasyn can stop it, with a powerful merging of light and shadow that they alone can create together. But saving their world from this disaster is a mere preface to his father’s more sinister schemes, and his wife is a burning flame in the darkness, tempting both his loyalties and his desires.

The Hurricane Wars aren’t over. It’s time to choose what—and who—to fight for. The world holds its breath amidst a whirlwind of new magic and old secrets that could change everything.

Thank you Harper Voyager for my gifted copy and LibroFM for the audiobook.

VIBIN’

I just enjoy the heck out of this series y’all. It’s incredibly romance centric and I am smitten with Alaric and Talasyn. They epitomize what I love about these types of romantasy books and I am intensely involved in what’s going to happen next. BECAUSE DID YOU READ THAT CLIFFHANGER? I love the drama.

I think it’s amazing how high the angst and tension is between these two. And yet we get a showcase of Alaric and Talasyn working together (which I adore in E2L books). There’s a lot of push and pull and some compromise filled with politicking and subtle betrayals. It really is a fantastic continuation that holds it’s own candle. There’s no sophomore slump here, I was hooked to this story from the start and I loved all of the micro-tropes throughout that had me howling.

And I immensely appreciate a dual POV romance and love getting Alaric’s viewpoint. I am having the best time reading these books and the flair of the drama and romance. And yes, I’M STILL THINKING OF THAT CLIFFHANGER.

Overall audience notes:

Romantasy
Language: mild
Romance: 3 open door
Violence: high
Content Warnings: parental abuse, death and loss of loved ones

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Book Review: Lost and Lassoed (Rebel Blue Ranch #3) by Lyla Sage

November 30, 2024November 6, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Lyla Sage
Publisher: Quercus
Release Date: November 5th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She thrives in chaos. He prefers routine. The only thing they have in common? How much they hate each other. From the author of Done and Dusted and Swift and Saddled, the highly anticipated next book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series, a small town romance featuring enemies to lovers and forced proximity.

Teddy Andersen doesn’t have a plan. She’s never needed one before. She’s always been more of a go with the flow type of girl, but for some reason, the flow doesn’t seem to be going her way this time. Her favorite vintage suede jacket has a hole in it, her sewing machine is broken, and her best friend just got engaged. Suddenly, everything feels like it’s starting to change. Teddy’s used to being a leader, but now she feels like she’s getting left behind, wondering if the life she lives in the small town she loves is enough for her anymore.

Gus Ryder has a lot on his plate. He doesn’t know what’s taking care of his family’s 8,000 acre ranch, or parenting his spunky six-year-old daughter, who is staying with him for the summer. Gus has always been the dependable one, but when his workload starts to overwhelm him, he slips up, and he has to admit that he can’t manage everything on his own. He needs help. His little sister’s best friend, the woman he can’t stand, is not who he had in mind. But when no one else can step in, Teddy’s the only option he’s got. Teddy decides to use the summer to try and figure out what she wants out of life. Gus, on the other hand, starts to worry that he’ll never find what he needs. Tempers flare, tension builds, and for the first time ever, Gus and Teddy start to see each other in a different light. As new feelings start to simmer below the surface, they must decide whether or not to act on them. Can they keep things cool? Or will both of them get burned?

Thank you LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

LOOOOOVED IT.

I am so happy I decided to pick up this series this year because it has my whole heart and soul now. I am obsessed with this whole family and can’t get enough. I loved how the enemies to lovers was executed here. You could FEEL all of the tension and the banter set the perfect edge.

The nanny x single dad trope made my heart burst. I loved all of the little tender moments and watching Teddy and Gus realize just how much love was already there. And even better, it fit into my plot > spice scale (which is totally arbitrary to my own thoughts, but if you know me this might make sense to you).

And the audiobook is top notch. I love dual POV so dang much. This entire series is worth the read.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: 3 open door
Violence: low

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Book Review: Haunted Ever After (Boneyard Key #1) by Jen DeLuca

November 3, 2024August 18, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Jen DeLuca
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 13th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s love at first haunting in a seaside town that raises everyone’s spirits from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Small Florida coastal towns often find themselves scrambling for the tourism dollars that the Orlando theme parks leave behind. And within the town limits of Boneyard Key, the residents decided long ago to lean into its ghostliness. Nick Royer, owner of the Hallowed Grounds coffee shop, embraces the ghost tourism that keeps the local economy afloat, as well as his spectral roommate. At least he doesn’t have to run air-conditioning.

Cassie Rutherford possibly overreacted to all her friends getting married and having kids by leaving Orlando and buying a flipped historic cottage in Boneyard Key. Though there’s something unusual with her new home (her laptop won’t charge in any outlets, and the poetry magnets on her fridge definitely didn’t read “WRONG” and “MY HOUSE” when she put them up), she’s charmed by the colorful history surrounding her. And she’s catching a certain vibe from the grumpy coffee shop owner whenever he slips her a free slice of banana bread along with her coffee order.

As Nick takes her on a ghost tour, sharing town gossip that tourists don’t get to hear, and they spend nights side-by-side looking into the former owners of her haunted cottage, their connection solidifies into something very real and enticing. But Cassie’s worried she’s in too deep with this whole (haunted) home ownership thing… and Nick’s afraid to get too close in case Cassie gets scared away for good.

Thank you LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

CHARMING & HAUNTING.

I love Jen DeLuca romances but didn’t know what I was specifically getting into when I went into this one. I think the paranormal/ghost aspects worked genuinely well. It was woven seamlessly into the plot and I thought it was a charming piece to the overall story. It kind of has that cozy mystery vibe but with a little more of a romance focus.

I loved the small town setting and the smoothness of the audiobook was an easy listen. The romance was sweet. I liked that Nick owned a coffee shop and Cassie was the girl from the big city. I thought there was a great set-up for future books in this series. The side characters (including the ghosts) were such good addition. The moody vibes of this book were exactly what I was after and I can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes:

Paranormal Contemporary Romance
Language: moderate, scattered throughout
Romance: 2 open door
Content Warnings: mentions of infertility, exorcism/seance scenes

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Book Review: The House at Watch Hill (Watch Hill Trilogy #1) by Karen Marie Moning

October 27, 2024October 3, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Paranormal Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: October 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning is back with a gripping, imaginative, and seductive new series in which a young woman moves to Divinity, Louisiana, to inherit a large fortune and a Gothic mansion full of mysteries and ominous secrets…

Zo Grey is reeling from the sudden death of her mother when she receives a surprising call from an attorney in Divinity, Louisiana, with the news she has been left an inheritance by a distant relative, the terms of which he will only discuss in person. Destitute and alone, with nothing left to lose, Zo heads to Divinity and discovers she is the sole beneficiary of a huge fortune and a monstrosity of a house that sits ominously at the peak of Watch Hill—but she must live in it, alone, for three years before the house, or the money, is hers.

Met with this irresistible opportunity to finally build a future for herself, Zo puts aside her misgivings about the foreboding Gothic mansion and the strange circumstances, and moves in, where she is quickly met by a red-eyed Stygian owl and an impossibly sexy Scottish groundskeeper.

Her new home is full of countless secrets and mystifying riddles, with doors that go nowhere, others that are impossible to open, and a turret into which there is no visible means of ingress. And the townspeople are odd…

What Zo doesn’t yet know is that her own roots lie in this very house and that in order to discover her true identity and awaken her dormant powers, she will have to face off against sinister forces she doesn’t quite comprehend—or risk being consumed by them.

Thank you William Morrow for the gifted copy and LibroFM for the audiobook.

NOT SURE THIS WAS FOR ME.

This is my first KMM book…and it might be my last? I liked the writing style and I thought most of the aspects of the plot were perfectly fine. Those were the pieces I enjoyed and made for a decent read. I also thought the audiobook production was good so if you want to try this book that format, go for it!

What bugged me the most was how the “romantic” plot lines were used in this book. I’m just personally not a fan of one night stands or lets just do it to let some steam off. I wanted much more true romance and connection, even some chemistry between the FMC and the love interest(s) (yes, I think there’s a love triangle?). The scenes weren’t over the top graphic but too lusty for me overall.

I thought the last quarter had some nice reveals and turns to really bring the action and tension of the plot. And y’all know I love a good cliffhanger. But I’m not sure it’s going to be worth picking up the sequel.

Overall audience notes: