Category: book review
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Five-Star Reads for October 2024
Note: Reviews are listed alphabetically by author’s last name. Xerxes Descendant Adelaide Blaike (House Epsilon #1) The short version of this review basically boils down to “insert screaming and flailing here.” This author knows that I’m extremely picky about my speculative fiction, so I considered it an honor that she…
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Five-Star Reads for September 2024
Note: Reviews are listed alphabetically by author’s last name. More Than Need Aurora Crane (Better in Threes #1) Being familiar with these characters from other books by the author in the same shared world means I came at this story from a different perspective than brand-new readers enjoying Crane’s work…
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Five-Star Reads for August 2024
Note: Reviews are listed alphabetically by author’s last name. Tied Down Kate Hawthorne (Trophy Doms New York #2) Though Hawthorne hits some of the more generic queer romance tropes in this book, such as best friend’s brother and bi-awakening, she always put her unique spin on them. Ford won me…
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Five-Star Reads for July 2024
Note: Reviews are listed alphabetically by author’s last name. For the Night Cara Dee (The Game #15) Penelope has always been the outlier within the Mclean House founders as a woman, which only made me more excited to learn more about her and see her find her own happily ever…
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Five-Star Reads for June 2024
All In Kate Hawthorne (Trophy Doms New York #1) If my favorite recurring theme of Hawthorne’s writing is the depiction of kink and power dynamics beyond the simple trappings of a scene, a close runner-up is her nontraditional villain redemption arcs. After all, Kale is never a villain in Dalton…
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Five-Star Reads for May 2024
Immersion Play Katherine McIntyre (Leather and Lattes #1) The experienced Dom and naive sub falling for each other is a pretty common trope in kink romance. However, McIntyre elevates this easy relationship shortcut by making the kink element only a small facet of what develops between Micah and Parker. The…
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Book Review: The Silent Prince (Sun and Moon #1) by L. Eveland
This book involves two queer heroes who eventually develop an intimate relationship with each other, but this story is far from a romance. Eveland excellently balances that line between telling an epic fantasy story that happens to involve queer characters and having their queerness be essential to the story without…
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Book Review: All I Survive (All’s Fair #3) by Abrianna Denae
Read my reviews of previous books in the All’s Fair series: All I Want (#1) | All I Fear (#2) Love is not necessarily a stagnant thing, and I have so much respect for storytellers who don’t freeze their characters in amber at the moment of a previous “happily ever after.” Denae…
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Five-Star Reads for April 2024
Devil’s Own K.M. Neuhold (Palm Island #6) Neuhold has teased a potential relationship between Raven and married couple Devil and Angel for multiple books in this series, and the full story measures up to all of my expectations. Raven feels much more at the center of this story than the…
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Book Review: The Steady (Lost Boys #4) by Kelly Fox
Read my reviews of previous books in the Lost Boys series: The Thief (#0.5) | The Skeptic (Lost Boys #1) | The Crush (#2) | The Punk (#3) I often joke that it’s not a Kelly Fox book unless it makes me laugh so hard that I scare a cat at least once. While…
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Book Review: Cohesion (Chain Reaction #3) by Aurora Crane
Read my reviews of the previous books in the Chain Reaction series: Catalyst (#1) | Reactant (#2) This book fulfilled all my expectations, and then some, for the long-awaited finale of this trilogy. The story does not work as a stand-alone; both the relationship arc(s) and external plot build on what has…
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Book Review: A Ruse to Unchain Us (Magi Accounts #4) by Michele Notaro
Read my reviews of previous books in the Magi Accounts series: Our Hearts That Tie Us (#0.5) | The Scars That Bind Us (#1) | A Kiss to Revive Me (#1.5) | The Shackles That Hold Us (#2) | A Date to Impress Him (#2.5) | A Purpose That Restores Us (#3) | A Holiday to…
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Book Review: Saving Rafe (Lords of Discord #2) by Jocelynn Drake
Read my review of the first book in the Lords of Discord series, Claiming Marcus. This book opens with the Varik clan at a moment of fragile peace, trying to solidify their place in the greater vampire community after the events of the first installment of this series. Even as…
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Book Review: Conquest (Four Horsemen #1) by Sienna Moreau
Moreau’s interpretation of the Four Horsemen myth accounts for contemporary ideas of religion while simultaneously putting an intriguing spin on the concept. That Conquest and his brothers are in the mortal dimension to initiate a deadly purge is never in question. This being a recurring event initiated by either good…
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Book Review: A (Non) Comprehensive Guide to Sea Serpents (Sorcerer’s Grimoire #1) by A.J. Sherwood
One of the reasons I got burned out on mainstream speculative fiction was the lack of diversity. Luckily, I’ve since found amazing indie authors who fill that niche whenever I get the craving for a certain genre. This particular open-world urban fantasy may be set in the stereotypical setting of…
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Five-Star Reads for March 2024
My Skin Begs You Please Leta Blake (90s Universe) This was not an easy story to read, and I encourage all potential readers to mind the content warnings because this also isn’t a story for everybody. However, even though I knew I was in for an emotional wringer, I adore…
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Book Review: Eternally Blessed (Rebel Kings MC #7) by Garrett Leigh
Read my reviews of the previous books in the Rebel Kings MC series: Devil’s Dance (#1) | Saint’s Song (#2) | Forgive Me Father (#3) | Love Thy Brother (#4) | Reluctant Renegade (#5) | Unholy Trinity (#6) This book is the direct follow-up to the previous installment in this series, continuing the love story between…
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Book Review: Parts of Us (The Game #14) by Cara Dee
Read my reviews of previous books in The Game series: Top Priority (#1) | Their Boy (#2) | Breathless (#3) | Doll Parts (#4) | Out of the Ashes (#5) | The Shepherd (#6) | Adrift in the Embers (#7) | Hostile Takeover (#8) | Senseless (#9) | The Secret Plan (#10) | Apex Predator (#11) | Prowl (#12) | Hide With…
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Book Review: Shared (Trophy Doms Social Club #5) by Kate Hawthorne
Read my reviews of previous books in the Trophy Doms Social Club series: Humbled (#1) | Edged (#2) | Praised (#3) | Bound (#4) Barclay may be the final member of the Trophy Doms Social Club to fall, but Hawthorne brings this series full circle with yet another unique twist on the relationship and…
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Book Review: The Ashes of Ackonir by Jennifer Cody
Cody is one of the most imaginative authors I know, so I already knew I was in for a wild ride when I learned she was working on a romance set in a steampunk/fantasy world. The notes at the front of the text are useful, but Cody also includes enough…