Andie

I had fun with this one!
It's Ali Hazelwood's formula once again, and there were a few too many mentions of how big Jack was and how tiny Elsie was (but a lot less than in LotB).
However, I liked Elsie and Jack together. I also liked the angle the author used with Elsie (sometimes it's hard to show ourselves exactly how we are) and her character growth was so well done.
It was a sweet, entertaining book.

3.5 stars
Some twists were a little predictable, however, a part of it I didn't see coming.
I was engaged in the story while I was reading. It was very entertaining but had some unnecessary cliches.
Still enjoyed it, though!

4.5 stars

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Darkroom had a pretty standard romance trope, perceptible just by reading the synopsis. However, Hudson and Indi were much more than a jock and a virgin. These were complex, multi layered, loving characters. It was a very refreshing story that tackled so many important topics.

Hudson was a great character. At first I though he was just a typical hockey player but Hudson wasn't typical at all. His dad was a ex NHL player, recognized basically everywhere. His family had a long tradition of hockey players that played in the NHL, literally a hockey royalty family, and Hudson was under a lot of pressure. Pressure to play in the NHL in the future, pressure to get to captain this season... To say he was stressed is an understatement.

Indi was dealing with a lot more than Hudson and that's saying something. She was struggling with her self esteem and, as a Chinese-American adoptee, with her identity. I really liked how Ruby, Indi's roommate helped her with this part of her character growth and Indi's parents were super sweet too. Indi was a strong character. She went through a lot growing up and she had some issues and fears that she needed to work out and overcome. 

Their romance was very sweet and funny and I was really rooting for these two. It was an emotional romance that had steamy and funny moments. Unfortunately, even though this story tackled a lot of important and sensitive topics, it was just too much to deal with in a short read. I just felt that we didn't get much time following Indi and Hudson's relationship because they were constantly dealing with other stuff. Also, some of the topics were really well intertwined in the story but some were underdeveloped and didn't have a satisfying resolution. It was overwhelming. The ending was also rushed, probably because so much was happening with these characters.

Overall, I enjoyed Darkroom. It was an entertaining, emotional and sweet story with great characters. I just don't think the story fulfilled its full potential.

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I was interested in Neela's story pretty early on. The 52 domain world sounded very intriguing and I was hooked.

In this world, unbound people have powers and abilities like super strength, super speed and manipulating elements like fire, for example. However, the unbound are considered cursed and are hunted in their society. Still, when the domain's Card Holder dies, the unbound are forced to participate in a tournament, where killing is permitted, to find the next Card Holder in the Queen of Hearts domain.

The world was pretty unique and it intrigued me. In my opinion there wasn't enough word building yet, but I hope it'll be more development in the next book. I couldn't quite figure out the hierarchy of this unique society considering the different domains, the cardholders, the assassins and the bound vs unbound.

Neela was an interesting main character, I enjoyed the fact that she was street smart but still maintained a level of ingenuity. I liked her strong personality and her irreverence. Sometimes, I struggled with some of her inner thoughts, it felt a little repetitive to be in her head.
I enjoyed Amil, he was a very funny, sweet, multi-layered character and I wished we had his POV along with Neela's, and I liked Jacen, Neela's brother too.
Regarding the characters, I think the relationships between Neela, Brochan and Brochan's relatives developed a little too fast considering Neela's personality and experience in this world (being a vigilante, hiding her identity, being hunted, etc).

I really liked the mystery about what happened in Neela's past, I think that was my favorite part of the plot. I also enjoyed the tournament setting, but it bothered me the lack of training at the beginning of it. At times the tournament didn't feel as important as it was, because Neela was off doing other minor stuff which led to a lack of build up to certain events, including tournament fights. I'm very interested to see how using the cards will influence a real fight.

Overall, it was an entertaining story set in a very, very interesting and intriguing world.

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I was so hyped for this book because it was an all hockey romance! Faith, just as Seb, was a hockey player and I really wanted to read about her perspective, her struggles and experiences in hockey and of course their romance. Their story had a tricky premise and I was a little worried about that.

Seb was a great guy. Sweet, caring and still hung up on his ex: Faith. They had a major blow up soon after Seb started college but, even though Seb thought he had moved on, it was pretty clear that he still had feelings for her. I went into this thinking I would struggle with Seb, but the author did an amazing job with the circumstances surrounding their break up and with his character.  I loved him so much! I need to stop loving characters this much from the beginning, because that usually means it's harder to meet my high expectations regarding their love interest. Spoiler alert: It happened with this book. Cooper, Seb's hockey teammate and friend, was a great character too. I'm very curious about him, I want to understand why he was so invested in Seb and Faith's relationship. I hope we get his story! 

Faith was a complex character. I loved Faith, the goalie - hockey player aspects, in the story. I loved the way the author showed the double standards for male and female athletes, this is such an important topic and I enjoyed it being exposed. I adored Faith's passion for hockey and how hard she fought for her dream. She was also a great team player and her story was very empowering. Unfortunately, she did annoy me, at times, mostly because of the way she handled Seb. I understood that she had major trust issues and she had her reasons for it. Her parents relationship was very dysfunctional, her mom and her dad were awful together, and Seb drunk dialing her, leading to their breakup (before the book started), didn't really help her with trusting. Honestly, I wasn't convinced Faith would trust Seb completely, no matter what he did. And I hated that for him. In spite of that, I really wanted them to be together and I rooted for them. I just doubted that Faith was ready to completely trust him (or any other love interest) at this point.

Then... the epilogue... I LOVED it. I cried when I read it. I can't put into words how much I truly loved it. It was PERFECT! Frankly, I was thinking about rating it 3 or 3.5 stars until the epilogue, but I ended up boosting it up to 4 stars. That epilogue...

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3.5 stars
Fake relationship. Single dad. Hockey romance. Faking it with #41 has it all. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one! Even though I haven't read the first two books in this series. The good news is that it can be read as a standalone. The bad news is that I want to read the first two books in the series, out of order, now.

Ford is a hot hockey player, he lives on the beach, has a huge chip on his shoulder, he's a trust fund kind of guy and he has a tough relationship with his father. He's wild and wants to live his best life, partying, one-night stands, etc. However, his life shifts after a one-night stand translate into an accidental pregnancy and then he's suddenly being a single dad. 

Lena is smart, driven, and is great at her job. She values her independence and financial security and a steady job is very important to her. She's also attracted to Ford even though she doesn't exactly want to. Besides his player ways, he's also the son of her boss, so she knows she has to stay away from him.

Ford and Lena's chemistry was sizzling! Ford was always trying to get a rise out of Lena and Lena was trying hard not to forget Ford was a playboy. But with Ford in his new single dad role, Lena started to see him in a whole new light. Ford was an adorable dad, the moments with his daughter were cute and his character growth was very attached to that aspect of the story. Lena has a tough background, it wasn't easy for her to trust and I completely understood her fears and her motives. I enjoyed this two together but I had my doubts about Ford at first. It was fun to see how they couldn't resist each other, I loved how the tension between them kept building.

The attraction and the banter between these two were amazing on page. The story was entertaining and sweet, Lena's life story was very well done and I liked how Ford was changing through it all. There were a few funny moments regarding the fake relationship and I loved how Ford's teammates gave him a hard time. Lena was an amazing character and I loved her a lot. That's probably the reason it bothered me that Ford doubted himself at times because of his past. I can see why Lena would have her insecurities regarding Ford's past but I think she needed reassurance Ford didn't seem to handle that well at times. Don't get me wrong, there's a pivotal moment Ford faces his feelings and everything falls into place, but I wish those moments of self-doubt didn't exist in the story. There was enough drama already in my opinion. There was also a little bit of drama regarding another character that suddenly reappeared that, in my opinion, didn't need to happen.

Overall, Faking it with #41 was an entertaining, sweet, hot, sizzling romance. 

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Mr. Smooth has left the building.
Fake relationship, friends-to-lovers in the Moo U world? Couldn't read Boyfriend fast enough!

Abbi is a hard-working college student, with two part-time jobs and a very hectic schedule. The hockey team has a regular table at the bar where she works as a waitress and that's where she meets Weston. She has a big crush on him but she never acted on it until Weston hangs a very interesting flyer on the bulletin board.

Weston is a focused hockey player, likes to keep his life fun and drama-free, doesn't do relationships and he's very upfront about it, hangs out a lot with his teammates at the bar where Abbi works and he's a great guy. He's very funny and easy-going and he avoids going home for Thanksgiving. That's why he puts up the “Rent a boyfriend for Thanksgiving” flyer. 
At first, I was a little worried about Weston being a womanizer or something like that, but he wasn't like that at all during this book. I was surprised by how upfront he was about not wanting relationships and his reasons made perfect sense to me. He was so sweet, thoughtful and funny! Abbi was great too! Super hard-working, funny, sweet and strong. I loved them both! It was hilarious how Weston behaved at first with Abby, he was rambling and not his usual cool persona. So funny! 

These two were amazing together! The chemistry was there from their very first interaction but the emotional connection was there very early on too. After meeting each other's families while fake dating, at the beginning of the book, they were so emotionally honest with each other which felt very refreshing. I enjoyed a lot how long angst their story was, even though it was unexpectedly emotional. The low drama just fit perfectly considering Abbi and Weston's personalities and I loved how natural their relationship progression felt. 

Boyfriend was a cute, sweet, funny, entertaining and steamy read, with fantastic characters, so many funny moments and amazing chemistry. I loved it so much! It's now my favorite in the Moo U series and it can be read as a standalone. Highly recommend it. 

TW: Sexual harassment and assault, death of a parent (past), grief

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House of Shadows was a wild ride. I've been anticipating it since I read the first book, House of Dragons, in 2020. A lot was going on in this second installment. Not a lot that I can share in this review because I would spoil some events in book 1.

I couldn't put this down! I was captivated by this world again from page 1. The pacing was insane and the political intrigue was off the charts. This world is complex, it was hard at times to keep up with all the intricate events happening on multiple fronts. The cast of characters in this series is fantastic. House of Shadows delivered: mysterious characters with ulterior and suspicious motives, very strong ones fighting for a better world with rights for all, others that are torn between what their hearts want and social expectations, some that are rediscovering new aspects in themselves, a few that keep us guessing at every turn (yes, Dozan... you!), etc. The world-building doesn't cease to amaze me. It was rich, diverse, complex with different types of magic, dragons, an uprising, a secret evil organization, riots, secret meetings and a vicious battle. The romance was a slow burn but so good! The scenes between them... pure chemistry! 

I enjoyed it a lot but there wasn't much breathing room. Too much action was taking place. A few times some details seemed unfinished if that makes sense. Nothing major, fortunately. There was also a character that brought one complication to Kerrigan's life that I didn't think was necessary to the plot. I'm a little worried that it will turn out to be unnecessary drama, but we'll see how it plays out in the next book. That ending... Whoa, I almost shouted because I KNEW it! I knew it! I can't wait to read the next one in this series.

I'm surprised that this series is so underrated. It deserves a lot more attention for sure. 

If you're interested you can check my review of book 1 here.

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After a few unfortunate events, Ian needs to clean up his image, and the Brooklyn Bruisers' management team is pressuring him to do that. His neighbor, Vera, is a professional stylist, and they're total opposites but there's a simmering attraction between them. Vera wants more clients so she's willing to help Ian with his image problems. Both of them go on a summer vacation with Ian's teammates and Vera's friends, and they make a deal: Vera helps to style Ian, and Ian helps Vera with the art of seduction. It sounds a little unconventional... it's hilarious!

First of all, Ian was not at all what I expected. I was expecting a partying, womanizer bad boy, but he was nothing like that. He was the sweetest! Even his lack of taste in clothes had a motive behind it. His background and history made sense and made him so relatable. I really enjoyed how his life story influenced who he was and how his character evolved. He was so laid back, relaxed, sweet, and flirty! He was wonderful with Vera! The way he flirted with her and helped her with her journey in seduction... It was so charming.

Vera was also a great heroine! She was funny, sweet, caring, and hard-working. Even though she had a few unresolved things with her ex, hence the seduction lessons, it didn't bother me much. I think it made her relatable and helped me understand why she had certain insecurities. I loved how she didn't let Ian stop her from buying him new clothes to style him. She was fierce! These two were definitely opposites, but the chemistry between them... off the charts! Their banter, their steamy scenes... I loved it!

Although both of them judged each other by their appearances, in the beginning, I enjoyed how they realized, after spending some time together, that they were very wrong in their assumptions. The seduction lessons were super fun and hot! Their emotional connection was very perceptible after that, and their relationship felt inevitable, natural, and sweet. The cast of characters was great too and the setting made it even better. I enjoyed the summer vacation setting a lot, sadly that meant we didn't get much hockey on this one. I still loved it though. I'm a huge fan of Sarina Bowen's writing and lovable characters.

Love Lessons was a sweet, funny, entertaining read, with a great cast of characters, steamy moments, exceptional banter, and chemistry. I loved it so much! 

This world is complex, magical, stunning and captivating. I was not expecting a fae world as complex as this one. There are a lot of characters, 12 tribes divided into 4 groups that use magic differently: one group that uses magic for might: warriors; another group that uses magic for good: healers; a group that uses magic for efficiency, basically for everyday tasks and another group that doesn't use magic at all. I think the first three groups are pretty much self-explanatory but the fourth group is definitely unique. In a world full of magic there's a group (3 tribes) that choose to not use magic. It's quite bizarre and intriguing.  Then there's also the Society that rules over everyone, half-fae, humans, dragons, a dragon tournament and a uprising. A uprising was brewing in this world filled with racism, poverty and discrimination. 
Kerrigan, the main character, half-fae/half-human, was abandoned by her father when she was a child. She had been living and training in the House of Dragons, in the mountain, for years. Now that she was seventeen, she could finally find her place in the society. But she needed to convince a tribe to choose her. Being half-fae just meant she never truly felt like she belonged. Her heart wanted to belong to a tribe, however she was also questioning if she belonged downward with the humans. Maybe even fighting for the criminal that saved her life once before. 
The beginning of the tournament really kicks this story into a fast pace. There was a lot happening! So, we have a fierce half-fae girl fighting for a place in the society, a mysterious dark fae prince, ruthless competitors, five dragons up for grabs, an assassin on the loose, an uprising lead by a mysterious red masked group, a slow burn romance and so much action!
I do think that there were too many things happening at the same time and it felt too much at times. I wanted a bit more insight on some of the tribes too, but I think we'll get there in the next books. There's some things about this society that did remind me a lot of The Hunger Games. I also didn't know this series is connected to the Ascension series, which I didn't read and there are spoilers for the events of that series. In my opinion, you don't need to read the Ascension series before House of Dragons, but just keep in mind that if you want to read the Ascension series it is best to read it before you start the Royal Houses series. 
House of Dragons is a very entertaining, fast paced story with a complex magical world building. I can't wait to read the next one because I bet there's going to be a lot more of a certain banned tribe. 
Thank you to Wildfire Marketing for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First, let me tell you I recommend reading the prequel Cruel Kiss before reading this one. However, you don't need to read the rest of the books of this series to jump into Cruel Kiss and Cruel King. I've been anticipating Gavin and Whitley's story since meeting them in Cruel Truth! Couldn't believe it when I finally got it on my Kindle!

I've loved Whitley from day one, so I knew I would love her through her story. Gavin could go either way, even though I always enjoyed his bromance with Court and his friendship with Camden. Fortunately, this story made me love Whitley even more and I fell in love with Gavin too!

Whitley and Gavin have been friends for a long time, they had an interesting dynamic even helping each other out to hook up with other people. After certain events, some of which were included in Cruel Kiss, Whitley left New York to work in LA and stayed there for a few years. The story in Cruel King picks up when Whitley comes back to New York and it was so fun following the events that led these two to fake an engagement!

Gavin always had feelings for Whitley, but he let her do her thing trying not to scare her, afraid she would run away. But he took all the opportunities he could to be closer and deepen their relationship. So, after Whitley finally came back to the city, he decided to ask her for help as his fake girlfriend/fiancé to make her fall for him too. Whitley had a difficult past, so falling in love was scary for her especially because she thought she sucked as a girlfriend. It was interesting how both of them were similar in some ways and so different in other aspects. That only made the dynamic between them funnier, steamier, and so freaking enjoyable.

Gavin was the sweetest! I loved how he loved Whitley just as she was through it all. Whitley will remain one of my favorite romance heroines, I truly understood her fear of being vulnerable and in love. Everything made perfect sense considering her upbringing, and her personality and I knew that things needed to reach a pivotal point.

However, my favorite book is still Cruel Desire (Court and Anna are my favorite couple! And Court remains my favorite character in this universe). The backstory between Gavin and Whitley could've played a larger role in this book. The reader is told about what happened after the events of Cruel Kiss (the prequel), but we never see it. A flashback of the circumstances that led Whitley to leave for LA could've been included.

Anyway, I enjoyed Cruel King a lot. Highly entertaining, and very steamy, with so many funny moments, perfect banter, and a splendid epilogue.

Recommend it if you're looking for an easy, steamy read set in the Upper East Side world with great characters, a mix of emotional and funny moments, amazing banter, and the fake dating trope.

This felt like two teenagers living adult lives. Both main characters felt immature for their age, which was a little annoying. Not a fan of the insta-lust and their first interaction felt a little forced. There were a lot of funny interactions after that, thankfully.
The plot was interesting, even if some events were a little over the top. Maybe I should've read the first book, but I think the author did well summarizing what happened in book 1.
Overall, I liked the secondary characters and their antics, and the small-town vibes were great, but it felt like a middle-of-the-road book.
However, I'm interested in Lucian and Sloane's story. (Sloane was my favorite character in the story by the way).

I don't know what is wrong with me and hyped books but we're not getting along. AT ALL.
I was bored for about 50% of this book. Then, the story started to get interesting, things were happening, I was a little scared and then it ended. Literally the story ended when it got scarier.
We spend so much time learning the history of Hill House and we don't get enough time IN Hill House. Like I said before, in another disappointed review I've written today, I was more scared when I picked this up to read than I was when I finished this. I think this speaks for itself. Unfortunately, if this book had 100 pages more or so, I think this could've easily made me afraid to sleep after reading it. Just disappointed.

The plot is simple and straightforward, it shifted from the super flu pandemic aspect to a battle between good and evil. It was quite unique.
I enjoyed it a lot.

Note: It didn't need to be 1400 pages long IMO.

I was bored while reading this book. Didn't care much about the characters, didn't care much about the plot. It felt very similar to Twilight at times and I just felt uninterested.

Whoa... this was freaking perfect! I'm in love with the Mistborn series, these characters have my heart and I'm in awe. The emotional journey is amazing... My heart stopped at times and I want to pick up The Hero of Ages asap.
Brandon Sanderson is one of the most talented fantasy writers EVER.
If you love fantasy, you NEED to read this series.

I finished reading this 2 days ago and I'm still emotionally raw. Still thinking about this trilogy and I don't think I'll ever forget it.
I freaking loved it. I suffered through this, it's not an easy ride, Brandon Sanderson made me love this characters so much that I cried and cried while reading some of the most emotional scenes EVER.
The Mistborn trilogy is fantastic. There are no words to describe how amazing this ending was. I was shocked through most of this book and I'm in awe with Brandon Sanderson. He's now definitely my favorite fantasy author.
The level of detail in this, the magic system, the world building, the characters, the journey, the emotional conflict, absolutely astonishing.
And now... my heart aches because I've read it and I wish I could read this three amazing books for the first time, again.
When it comes to the rating... this whole trilogy deserves so much more than 5 stars. It was THAT good.
If you like Fantasy stories, I highly recommend it: PLEASE read it.

ALL. THE. STARS.
This was sooooo good! I'm obsessed with Brandon Sanderson's world building, the magic system is amazing and I couldn't stop reading.

INCREDIBLE. I loved it!

Already ordered the second and third book and I'll definitely continue with the series as soon as possible.

3.5 stars
I loved the writing and the characters. All the movie details (sound editing, directing, etc) were fantastic.
I'll definitely read more books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
However, the first half of the book was a little too slow for me. It took me a while to read it.

Even though it was clearly inspired by vampire stories, it was probably the most unique story I've read in 2022.
Disturbing and creepy. I enjoyed it a lot. A perfect Fall read.

3.5 stars

3.5 stars

This was going so well! Until suddenly it wasn't.

I'm frustrated with this one. It had so much potential! The gothic vibes were fantastic, I was so invested in the story, and then after a while, I felt like the author just started throwing reveal after reveal and SO MANY DETAILS MADE NO SENSE AT ALL.

I'm baffled by this. But it had me for at least half of the book. And then it all went to hell. Sigh.

3.5 stars
I liked this one better than the second book. The best friends-to-lovers trope was done well here.
Loved how it focused so much on their friendship. And the chemistry between Lia and Breaker was fantastic. I enjoyed the slow burn.
However, the story was a little too long, and I had trouble believing that Breaker and Lia were oblivious to their obvious feelings for each other. Both of them were so great characters that it just didn't add up.
Still had a good time with this book. Super entertaining.