Maya

💬:

📖Genres: historical fiction, vampires, romance, historical

📚Page Count: 368

🎧Audiobook Length: 11:06

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️ - 2/5

TW - <spoiler>Confinement, Child death, Racism, War, Blood, Murder, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Body horror, Gore, and Slavery</spoiler>

The Dangerous Ones takes place during the civil war, where vampires are working with the confederates to continue enslaving Black folks. Jerusalem is a Saint and Satins have demi god strength and power and they use it to fight vampires. She is a former slave who fought against her slave master and killed him resulting in what she believes to be her whole family being slaughtered. Jerusalem gets word that her brother might be alive so now she's searching for the vampires from her past because they might have him. Alexi is a 300 year only vampire working with Jerusalem, a group of Saints, and the union to fight against the confederates. This definitely reminded me of Ring Shout but I don't think "The Dangerous Ones" reaches it's full potential.

There were a few problems with this story; including confusing time jumps and flashbacks, to misplaced romantic banter, little to no world building and character development, and one dimensional characters. The time jumps were continuously confusing, I don't think they were very helpful in terms of story telling, they actually seemed to detract from the main story. I know that love is supposed to be part of the plot but it really felt like it didn't fit right in the story. It felt like I was reading two different stories, one where the main characters were in an enemy to lovers romance and one where there's action and the civil war with death and vampires. The two genres didn't really mesh well.

Overall, the audiobook narration was okay but, the pacing felt off, the flashbacks were more confusing than anything, the characters were one dimensional, there was little to no character building, the romance didn't really work in this story, little to no world building, and the author used current and modern language instead of historical language from the times (seeing as this is a historical novel). I'm giving this 2 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️ - 2/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Lauren Blackwood (the author), and Macmillan Audio (the publisher) for the arc audiobook (advanced reader's copy.)

💬:N/A

📖Genres: super hero, action, dark, DC Comics, graphic novels, comics

📚Page Count: 232

🎧Audiobook Length: N/A

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

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TW - <spoiler>Grief, Confinement, Gun violence, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Blood, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Murder</spoiler>

Injustice: God's Among Us Vol. 2 is a comic written by Tom Taylor and published by DC Comics in relation with the creators of the video games Mortal Kombat and Injustice. This is the continuation of Injustice: God's Among Us Vol. 1, in that comic Superman was <spoiler>tricked by The Joker, into killing Lois Lane and their unborn baby.</spoiler> In this comic Superman continues to force the world into what he considers a new era of "peace". There are those who oppose Superman and the people who support him.

There was so much action in volume 2, some of which I remembered and some of which I didn't remember. One reason why I liked Injustice: Gods Among Us so much is because it has so many well known and lesser known heroes all in one comic. The Justice League and <spoiler>ex members of The Justice League and even villains from the past appear.</spoiler>

Overall, this comic was really interesting and so emotional. I cried twice, I was so sad at the losses we witness in these pages.

I'm giving this 5 stars out of 5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

I own a copy of this comic, I didn't rent it from the library.

💬: Nik released a ragged breath and squeezed his eyes shut, his brows drawing together. “Aria…” “Open your eyes, love. I thought you wanted to watch?” When he looked at her again, the need in his gaze was almost enough to make her cave. Especially when he combined it with words, those filthy fucking words she loved so much, tumbling desperately from his mouth. “Let me in. Let me touch you, eali mou. You don’t want that. You want me.”

Hibbert, Talia. The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco (p. 148). Nixon House. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: romance, contemporary, contemporary romance,

📚Page Count: 210

🎧Audiobook Length: 07h 50min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5

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TW - <spoiler> Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief </spoiler>

The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco by Talia Hibbert is a contemporary romance and the third book in The Midnight Heat Collection, by the same author. This story is about Aria, a tattoo artist, and Nik, a professional football player. Nik and Aria meet at a party that's taking place at a hotel, when Aria kisses Nik to help him chase off an over zealous past hook up. Nik comes up with the idea that Aria can pretend to be his new girlfriend so his past ex's don't try to give him unwanted attention. Aria is hesitant until Nik offers her a very large amount of money to do the job, she accepts because she wants to use the money to open her own tattoo shop. Will this arrangement end in disaster?

Hibbert seems to use the <spoiler>third act break up</spoiler> trope in The Midnight Heat Collection more than I anticipated. That's the only thing I tend to not like about these books, but it makes sense in this instance because of the <spoiler>lie that Nik told.</spoiler> I think in comparison to The Roommate Risk, <spoiler>Nik and Aria got back together way quicker so I didn't have to wait long for them to reconcile. </spoiler>

The audio book narrators were great, I like how much life they gave to the characters. Audiobook narration is the main way I consume books because I have dyslexia. It's always wonderful when a book I've been waiting to listen to finally gets an audiobook version and this was no exception. This was a great listening experience.

I really loved the spicy scenes in this, especially the one at the very end of the book, wow. <spoiler>the pegging scene was great!</spoiler> I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️out of five chilies

I really enjoyed this story and the spicy scenes were really good. Not only was this spicy but it was also romantic and funny. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Talia Hibbert (the author), and Dreamscape Media (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy) of the audiobook.

💬: "It was exhausting to realise that everyone in the world knew he was an absolute fool for Jasmine Allen. He straightened his spine and ran a hand through his hair, suddenly realising that he must look a state—must look as out of control as he felt. And that wouldn’t do."

Hibbert, Talia. The Roommate Risk (p. 279). Nixon House. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: romance, contemporary, contemporary romance,

📚Page Count: 333

🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 36min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5

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The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert is a contemporary romance and the second book in The Midnight Heat Collection, by the same author. The Roommate Risk is about two best friends, Jasmine and Rahul. Jasmine lives with a roommate but she soon finds out that her room and everything in it has been damaged if not destroyed because there was a major water leak in her bedroom. With nowhere to go, Jasmine contacts her best friend Rahul because she knows that his apartment has an open room and she hopes that she can rent it for a while. Little does Jasmine know that Rahul has been in love with her for the last 7 years of their lives together as best friends. Will Jasmine moving in complicate everything in the best or worst way?

I really enjoyed this story, it was romantic, sweet, and angsty. I love the chemistry between Rahul and Jasmine, I think they're cute together. They both have their own stuff that they're dealing with and the author does an okay job of depicting that with Rahul and an even better job depicting it with Jasmine. There was this really cute scene where Rahul takes Jasmine on a date and I couldn't stop smiling during that scene, it was just adorable and a little spicy. I think the only issue that I had with the story was a trope that takes place in the last part of the book, and it was basically <spoiler>a third act break up but to continue to spoil things I will say that there IS an happily every after at the end so it all ends up working out. I understand why there was a break up near the end, because Jasmine had a lot of stuff she needed to sort through. I think it was a good choice to write in that she got a therapist and started working through her emotional and insecurity issues as well as her drinking problem.</spoiler>

The spicy scenes were really enjoyable. I might have really liked them because I dated someone in college with the same name and look as the main male character and memories were doin' their thing, but wow these spicy scenes were great. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️out of five chilies

I really enjoyed this novel, it made me smile and I definitely swooned over the main male character. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Talia Hibbert (the author), and Dreamscape Media (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy) of the audiobook.

💬: N/A

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 06h 58min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

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TW - <spoiler> Cursing, Cancer, Murder, Sexual assault, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, War, Grief, Violence, and Chronic illness</spoiler>

This Side of the Grave (Dramatized Edition) is a graphic audio published by the company Graphic Audio and written by Jeaniene Frost, based on the fifth book in her Night Huntress series, This Side of the Grave. Vampires are going missing in this installment of Night Huntress, and Bones and Cat make it their business to find out where the missing vampires have gone and what's happened to them. Bones and Cat find out that there is a ghoul trying to incite an interspecies war between vampires and ghouls. With no other choice, the couple seek help from the Queen of Ghouls and New Orleans, Marie Laveau (who is based on historical figure Marie Laveau, a Black herbalist and midwife practitioner of Voodoo from New Orleans.)

I love the dramatized editions of these books because this was action filled, emotional, and overall really entertaining! This was very good in terms of keeping my attention and being entertaining so that made this listening experience "mostly" enjoyable. There was a sexual assault in this book that was played off for laughs and I found that to be uncomfortable and disappointing. I detailed more below under spoilers, be warned that it vaguely talks about sexual assault.

TW - Sexual assault

There were spicy scenes in this but they were weird, and by that I mean for some reason <spoiler>Cat becomes sexually ravenous because of the blood she drank (if I remember correctly) and then she tried to sexually assault a human? I'm not sure why that was put in there but it seemed as if it were for laughs and sexually assault isn't funny.</spoiler> I'm giving the spicy scenes NEGATIVE 1 chilies -🌶️ out of five chilies.

Overall the story was interesting but I'm knocking points off for the sexual assault bit, it wasn't funny because sexual assault is never funny (and this would have been a 5 star review without that bit). I'm giving this 3 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬:"She’d wavered for too long, and her indecision left her conflicted mind open for Ogun to overtake her. He’d attack where she wouldn’t and damn them all to traitor’s deaths. She tried to resist but felt herself drifting, a numbness overwhelming her as her consciousness was shoved away from her physical body. Ogun pushed through and left her to see and feel with no control of her actions."

Williams, Brittany N.. Saint-Seducing Gold (The Forge & Fracture Saga, Book 2) (p. 5). Amulet Books. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, historical fantasy, fae, magic

📚Page Count: 304

🎧Audiobook Length: 08:57

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

Saint-Seducing Gold is the second book in The Forget and Fracture Saga by Brittany N. Williams. This book continues on right where the first book left off. The fae and humans are now at war sort of, Joan is pressured into joining the Royal Court and she can't leave it for fear that her captured godfather won't survive. Can Joan save the world as she knows it while balancing having two romantic interests ?

I didn't really like the first book but I wanted to give the series a chance and I'm sad to say that I didn't really like the second book either. I think there was more action this time around, which was nice, but I think my problem is the setting. For some reason Shakespearean London with an Orisha blessed Blacksmith just doesn't work in my head for some reason.

Overall, the story was just okay. I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com] the author, and publisher for the arc (advanced reader's copy.)

💬:N/A

📖Genres: humor, manga, comics, shojo

📚Page Count: 194

🎧Audiobook Length: N/A

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5

My Love Story!!, Volume 13 by Kazune Kawahara was amazing and it made me sob! Volume 13 is the finale volume of My Love Story!! and it didn't disappoint. The story continues on from the last volume, Yamato got the news that <spoiler>she was going to have to move to Spain with her family because of her father's job. In volume 12, Yamato ran away to Okinawa and Takeo went with her to keep her safe. This volume starts off with Yamato and Takeo still in Okinawa.</spoiler> I felt so many emotions while reading this and I honestly cried while reading most of it.

Most of what I'm going to say is going to be behind spoilers tags because I don't want to accidently spoil anything from this volume. I will say that I loved this volume but there were two things I didn't particularly like. There were a few scenes where <spoiler>characters were hitting each other and I don't really like the idea of people putting their hands on other people unless they're defending themselves.</spoiler> The second thing I didn't like was a trope, and that was <spoiler>the miscommunication trope that pops up right at the end.</spoiler> That scene caused me so much anxiety! Other than those two things, I really thought this volume was great.

Overall, volume 13 was a wonderful finish to this series (even though I'm still sad that it's over). I'm giving this 4.75 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5

I read this manga for free on [Libbyapp.com]

💬: N/A

📖Genres: graphic novels, mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult(?)

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 36min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

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TW - <spoiler>Cursing, Child abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence</spoiler>

Inheritance part 3 of 3 of the dramatized adaptation of "Cemetery Girl" is the third and finale volume of the dramatized version of the graphic novel of the same name written by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden. This volume starts off where the last volume left off. Calexa Rose Dunhill is still in a nasty situation with the people who just <spoiler>tried to kill her.</spoiler> The story was interesting but I think it was really the dramatized performances of the actors that really made the story exciting.

In every volume of this series <spoiler>someone dies around Calexa and then their spirit inhabits her body until she's helped them with their final business on earth.</spoiler> This final volume is no different. It was heart wrenching to hear, but then the story became much more exciting.

Overall, I think this was a good ending to this trilogy. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬: "People in expensive-looking suits and flashy cocktail dresses cling to glasses filled with champagne or cocktails and amble up and down the hallways and rooms, enjoying an evening of gambling and debauchery. It’s like a scene from one of Gatsby’s parties, except Black people are invited."

Benton-Walker, Terry J.. Blood Debts (pp. 70-71). Tor Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: Fantasy ,Young Adult ,LGBT ,Mystery, Queer, Young Adult Fantasy, Magic , Fiction, Urban Fantasy

📚Page Count: 400

🎧Audiobook Length: 14h 30min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

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TW - <spoiler>Racism, Murder, Grief, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Death, Cursing, Terminal illness, Violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault</spoiler>

Blood Debts is a queer mystery novel about getting justice for one's past crimes. 30 years ago there were murders and a lynching and it was considered the greatest massacre in magical New Orleans history. This has 5 different perspectives and I thought it wasn't going to work but everything went together really nicely. My reading experience was a good one. This book is a rollercoaster, the plot starts right away in the first chapter and that's one of the things I really liked about this book.

The book starts off with twins, Clem and Christina, tending to their mother and waiting for the Dr. to come and give them an update on their mother's condition. Their mother hasn't been doing well and her health has slowly been declining. They soon discover that <spoiler>their mother isn't sick, she's cursed!</spoiler> Will they be able to find out who's trying to harm their family?

A lot of the surprises were predictable but the book was still enjoyable. I think I left probably around 5 notes to myself about the plotline, just of me guessing what the next surprise was going to be. In this regard, the book was really predictable, but that didn't stop the book from being entertaining. There were some secrets I didn't guess but there were more secrets that I DID guess and I thought that was worth mentioning in my review.

This was my first time reading a book by Terry J. Benton-Walker and they did not disappoint me! This was exciting, entertaining, intriguing, and it was just down right good! I'm giving this a 5 out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💬: N/A

📖Genres: graphic novels, mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult(?)

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 19min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

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TW - <spoiler></spoiler>

Inheritance Part 12

Inheritance part 2 of 3 of the dramatized adaptation of "Cemetery Girl" is the second half of the dramatized version of the graphic novel of the same name written by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden. This graphic audio continues to follow the main character, Calexa Rose Dunhill, but now instead of just living in the cemetery, she's started <spoiler>staying with a kinder older woman that she met in part 1 of this trilogy.</spoiler>

I think I liked episode or part 2 more than I liked part 1, to be honest. I didn't like what happened at the start of the episode but I like how Calexa helped the spirit that needed helping. It's nice to see <spoiler>Calexa not having to sleep in the actual cemetery anymore and the kindness of the woman who helped her made me tear up. So really, they helped each other in turn.</spoiler> The identity of the murderous perpetrator in this part was surprising, I didn't guess it at all. Of course, we still don't know much about Calexa's past, just as she still doesn't know much by the end of this story.

Overall, I think part 2 was exciting and the graphic audio was definitely made well. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars instead.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 Stars

💬: "Just when I thought I was used to them, vampires would show me their true face, and I would have to remind myself all over again that they were a different race. Or maybe it was centuries of conditioning that made the difference; decades of disposing of people as they chose, taking what they wanted, enduring the dichotomy of being the most powerful beings on earth in the darkness, and yet completely helpless and vulnerable during the hours of light."

Harris, Charlaine. Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse Book 5) (p. 226). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: adult, paranormal, paranormal romance, vampires, shifters, werewolves, urban fantasy, mystery

📚Page Count: 293

🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 03min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2.75/5

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TW - <spoiler>Alcohol, Death, Murder, Gore, Animal cruelty, Grief, Car accident, Hate crime, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Cursing, Animal death, Blood, and Stalking</spoiler>

Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris is the 5th book in the Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Mystery series. In this installment of the series Sookie's brother, Jason, is suspected of being a sniper in the area that's targeting the were and changeling people. Sookie takes it upon herself to try and find out who the shooter is, to clear her brother's name, and to avenge some acquaintances who were killed by the sniper. There is more abuse from Bill in this novel, there's victim blaming, and there's a predictable mystery. Other than these issues, the story was okay.

TW -<spoiler>rape, sexual assault</spoiler>

There's a scene in here where Bill hurts Sookie again, and afterwards the <spoiler>sexual assault or rape that was perpetrated onto Sookie by Bill (in book 3) was finally address and brought up by Alcied. All Alcied says about the situation though is that Sookie was assaulted by Bill and that he personally doesn't like Bill. Sookie then contemplates about what makes her different from other sexual assault victims. She decides that she's no different from other victims but she excuses Bill's behavior by saying he was taken over by bloodlust and that he wouldn't have hurt her otherwise. </spoiler> Bill ends up grabbing and bruising Sookie's arm because he's too busy fighting with <spoiler>Sam to rein himself in.</spoiler> He apologizes and leaves and we see him only one other time and in this novel and that's perfect for me because bill is a jerk.

A friend of Sookie's, Tera, get's herself involved with a dangerous vampire. This vampire lured in and took advantage of Tera and after Tera has been beatin' and sexually assaulted by this vampire and his friends, Sookie victim blames Tera. <spoiler>Sookie reads Tera's mind to find out that Tera only liked the lavish gifts that the vampire gave her, and Sookie basically says Tera was hanging around the bad vampire for bad reasons so the abuse is Tera's fault or to be expected. Yeah, screw that message.</spoiler>

There are (spoilers about the ending) <spoiler>two reveals at the ending and one of them is predictable and the other one is not as predictable.</spoiler> The surprises in this story didn't make up for Sookie victim blaming Tera though.

I guess overall this was okay but there were certain parts I didn't like, like the ones with Bill or the ones where Sookie gets hurt. It seems someone is trying to <spoiler>hurt her every book at this point.</spoiler> I'm going to give it a 2.75 out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I listened to this for free on the library app [Libbyapp.com]

💬: "Hawke bared his teeth. When Stenson flinched, he realized the gesture had been more lupine aggressiveness than human smile. Ah well, the man would have to get used to dealing with wolves sooner or later.

Singh, Nalini. Allegiance of Honor (Psy-Changeling Book 15) (p. 173). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: paranormal romance, romance, urban fantasy, adult

📚Page Count: 479

🎧Audiobook Length: 15h 08min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.75/5

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Allegiance of Honor is the 15th book in the Psy/Changeling series by Nalini Singh. This book has

partly to do with the characters of past books, almost everyone makes an appearance. Although there is a current threat in the story, a lot of the book's focus is on past characters and how they're doing in their friend and romantic relationships. Sascha and Luca's cub is in danger, there's a group of people rumored to be targeting their baby and they have to do everything they can to protect her and other members of the pack.

This story was was 50% catching up with past characters, and the other 50% was dealing with the current threat in the books. It was nice to see how the characters in their relationships progressed but it seemed like these parts were dragging on. We also got to see a few pregnancies in action. There were so many characters to address in this final Psy/Changeling novel that it was a bit hard to keep up with who was who, even though I started this series just about one year ago.

The spicy scenes were okay, we got several spicy scenes of characters in different relationships but it was just okay. I would have liked to stay with a specific couple and read their spicy scenes instead of switching couples for every scene. I'm giving it two chilies 🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

Overall, Allegiance of Honor was just okay, there were interesting parts and some not so interesting parts. This was a novel to wrap up character relationships and situations to end the series. We all know now in 2024 that there is a follow up series, one that I'm excited to start soon. I'm giving this book 3.75 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.75/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]

💬: N/A

📖Genres: graphic novels, mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult(?)

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 58min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

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The Pretenders Part 1 of 3 of the dramatized adaptation of "Cemetery Girl" is the first half of the dramatized version of the graphic novel of the same name written by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden. This is the story of a girl who died temporarily after a brutal attack by someone who wanted her dead. The male attacker abandoned her in a cemetery and when she wakes, she's able to see ghosts or spirits.

This was an interesting story premise and I did enjoyed Graphic Audio's execution of their graphic audio adaptation, I only had one issue. Without spoiling too much I will say that out of the books I've read so far Harris for sure has an issue with <SPOILERS>writing in Black characters just to kill them off. She does that more than once in this story.</ENDSPOILERS> This story is no exception and it annoyed me, given her history with The Sookie Stackhouse series (I AM only 5 books into that series).

Overall, part 1 of the graphic audio of Cemetery Girl was good, I'm not rushing to listening to part 2 but I am interested in listening to it sometime this year (2024). I'm giving this 4 out of 5 stars instead.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬: "I’m a cadet. I’m nowhere close to his rank. I’m also so much more than that and good ol’ boy Radson decided to fuck with me on the right day. I smile at Radson while motioning him forward. Feeling the severe strain of my cheek muscles, I know I appear a little psycho."

Davenport, N. E.. The Blood Trials (The Blood Gift Duology Book 1) (p. 9). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, sci-fi, romance, adult,

📚Page Count: 453

🎧Audiobook Length: 18h 20min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5

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The Blood Trials by N. E. Davenport is a sci fi/fantasy ADULT story about a Black woman

who lives in a racist and misogynistic society who finds out her grandfather was murdered when she previously thought he died of natural causes. Ikenna is spending her last night as a cadet with friends when she privately gets the news, she instantly decides that she wants revenge. Joining The Praetorian Trials means that Ikenna can get close to the people who might have had a hand in her grandfathers death, so that's what she decides to do. She's sure that she cans survive the challenges, because she was trained by the best (her grandfather) and she has a secret blood gift to help her. Will Ikenna be able to survive the challenges while also figuring out who killed her grandfather?

There were plenty of things I really liked about this book. I love how the main character made impulsive decisions, now these decisions weren't always the best ones but I felt as if the character's personality really shined through and it was consistent. I liked how Ikenna often remembered her grandfather and how she would think about what advice he might give her. The action scenes were really well described in this book. And although some of the twists in the story were predictable, the story was written well so it was still interesting when revealed.

There was only one thing that I didn't like. I couldn't understand why the challenges were so hard, there were characters dying left and right and it felt like the Praetorians reasoning for the challenges being so hard didn't make sense. If no one survives your challenge then who actually wins? Literally no one, because the Praetorians wouldn't gain any new soldiers. There were so many people dying that it no longer became a shock when someone died, and it was no longer impactful. It ruined the immersion for me. Thankfully the story was written well so I was able to re-immerse myself back into the story a few chapters later.

There was one spicy scene, it was written well but I'm uninterested in spicy scenes between young adults. I'm giving the spicy scene a one chili 🌶️ out of five chilies.

Overall, this book was really good. There was so much I enjoyed and very little I disliked. The theme of this book is "revenge" and it really reminds me of "Iron Widow" by Xiran Jay Zhao and I gave that book a 5. This book definitely deserves a 5 as well. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]

💬: N/A

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 06min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

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One for the Money (Dramatized Edition) is a graphic audio published by the company Graphic Audio and written by Jeaniene Frost, based on book four point five (4.5) in her Night Huntress series, One for the Money. Cat and Bones are going to continue their vacation plans (after the mess in France) but before they do Cat promises to do her uncle Don a favor by protecting an heiress who is a friend of the family. Will Bones, Cat, and the Heiress make it out alive?

This was an okay story. I laughed a few times, so it was funny and I was on the edge of my seat towards the end because of all the action, so I had a good time while listening to this. I think my main complaint about this novella is that it's just too darn short. I would have loved more action or spicy scenes but it's a story that's approximately 66 minutes, so I see how there's no room for much else.

There was nothing special about the spicy scene in this novella. I'm giving the spicy scene two chilies 🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

This novella was slightly better than okay, and it kept my attention for the duration of the graphic audio, I enjoyed it overall. I'm giving this 4 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬: N/A

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 07h 33min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5

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Destined for an Early Grave (Dramatized Edition) is a graphic audio published by the company Graphic Audio and written by Jeaniene Frost, based on the fourth book in her Night Huntress series, Destined for an Early Grave. Cat and Bones decided to take a vacation to France, but all is not well because Cat is now having dangerous dreams about a vampire named Gregor. A vampire that Cat has a history with, but even she doesn't remember that. How can Cat and Bones confront Gregor for his transgressions?

This story started off in a really convoluted way and I was not expecting to like this novel as much as I did. I thought the idea that Cat had a history with a "secret" vampire but she didn't know it was very sloppy writing at first, but when the pieces started to fall into place I could see that the author put much more thought into this book than I had originally suspected. (This of course is the dramatized adaption so it's not exactly like the book, but the execution of this adaption was awesome.)

The spicy scenes were good and I liked them even more after Bones and Cat were reunited (IYKYK [if you know, you know]). I'm giving the spicy scenes three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies

After finding out the premise of this addition to the Night Huntress series, I was not expecting the story to be good. The story was great, it had action, it gave me mini heart attacks, and I sat on the edge of my seat while reading this. I'm giving this 5 stars, not only because I really liked it but because it subverted my expectations, and I'm happy about that. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬: "“Why did you try to jump in front of the train?” she asked. Blake closed his eyes. That’s right, the last thing he remembered was the train. “Did you stop me?” he asked incredulously. “Damn it, why?” She raised a brow."

Frost, Jeaniene. Devil to Pay (Night Huntress) (p. 7). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: 89

🎧Audiobook Length: 02h 18min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

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Devil to Pay is a novella and it's book 3.5 in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress Series. Blake, a human <spoiler>possessed by a demon</spoiler> and Elise, a vampire sired by Mencheres are the main characters of this novella. The story starts off with Blake trying to commit suicide and Elise saves him. I don't want to say much else (just so I don't spoil things) about this story other than, Elise and Blake start to get to know each other after she saves him.

This was just okay. I understand that it's a novella and it's supposed to be short, but it was just too short for my liking. The specific parts of the story were there, like the plot and climax, the problem is that just about every scene/chapter was too short to make me care. I will say that the story did have an interesting start.

There was a singular spicy scene and it started spontaneously and, in my opinion, it was too short. I'm giving it 2 🌶️ chilies out of 5 chilies🌶️.

Overall, this novella was just okay. Although we somewhat got backstory on the main characters of this novella, it was too short to make me care about the characters that were new. I'm going to give this 3 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬: N/A

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 07h 27min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5

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At Grave's End (Dramatized Edition) is a graphic audio published by the company Graphic Audio and written by Jeaniene Frost, based on the third book in her Night Huntress series, At Grave's End. In this book someone new is after our favorite couple, we meet new but also very old vampires, there's a ton of action, and even some sad and emotional bits. This addition to the series was a roller coast, one that I want to continue to ride.

There was only one thing I didn't like, and that was the minor sexual assault that happens to Cat while she's in the club scene. She does end up <spoiler>beating up the people who touched her without permission,</spoiler> so I supposed there was that at least.

There weren't many spicy scenes in this, if I remember correctly there was one. It was done well so I enjoyed it. I'm giving the spicy scenes three chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

Each addition to this series is better than the last, and book 3 (Dramatized) is no exception. I'm so delighted to be experiencing this series for the first time. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars instead.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬: "Bones traced the lines in Cat’s tattoo. Every notch and curve was identical to the one he had on his upper arm. She’d memorized his cross-bones so thoroughly that a picture couldn’t have been more accurate. His emotions fired like the finale of a fireworks show."

Frost, Jeaniene. Both Feet in the Grave: A Night Huntress Novel (pp. 80-81). NYLA. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: 335

🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 06min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5

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Both Feet in the Grave written by Jeaniene Frost, is an alternate perspective book based on the second book in her Night Huntress series, One Foot in the Grave. Both Feet in the Grave was more exciting than the original second book in the series, I really love Bones as a character and his thoughts and decisions are interesting to follow. I'm really excited to read the third book from his perspective (if the author ends up writing it), but for now let's discuss Both Feet in the Grave.

Cat and Bones have been separated at this point for 4 or 5 years, neither of them has contacted the other in this time span. Cat is now working as <spoiler>a special agent in a Supernatural department of a special government agency.</spoiler> By happenstance Cat and Bones end up once again crossing each other's paths.

There were so many cool actions scenes and we all know that Cat is a badass, but these alternate perspective books are definitely where Bones shines. I think both the main characters are really cool but these books tell so much of Bones' background story, it's all so interesting.

The spicy scenes were really enjoyable. I'm giving the spicy scenes three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies

There was a lot of action in this novel, but there was also a bit of romance. I think the action overweighs the romance, but the story is still a good one either way. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [Hoopla Digital]

💬:N/A

📖Genres: shoujo, romance, humor, manga, graphic novels, comics

📚Page Count: 186

🎧Audiobook Length: N/A

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

My Love Story!!, Volume 11 by Kazune Kawahara was a delight to read and it reminded me of the same kind of allure that the first few volumes of "My Love Story" has. In this volume, Takeo's, Sunakawa's, and Yamato's schools are having field trips to the same area. Takeo is having thoughts about <spoiler>taking his relationship with Yamato to the next step</spoiler> therefore he's trying to stay close to her but also keep his distance. In the next part of this manga, Yamato has secret that she plans on revealing to Takeo. What could the secret possibly be? In the last part of this manga, Sunakawa makes a new attractive friend, will Takeo get jealous?

This manga was so funny and pleasant to read. After having read volume 9 and not really liking it all that much, I wasn't excited to read volume 11 (especially because volume 9 was my lowest rated book of the series and volume 10 was my second lowest rated book in this series.) I'm so happy that I didn't give up on this manga because this volume was great.

This addition to My Love Story was exactly what the series needed, in my opinion. I'm excited to continue on with the series again after feeling slightly uninterested after having read the two volumes that came before this one. I'm giving this 5 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this manga for free on [Libbyapp.com]

💬: "“Some women, some men,” Pam said, dusting her hands together as if she were talking about some infectious pest. “They are like everyone else who has a secret life—most of them are quite pleasant, fairly harmless.” Though Pam didn’t sound too positive when she said that. “But the bad ones tend to contaminate the good.”

Harris, Charlaine. Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse Book 4) (p. 46). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, paranormal romance, shapeshifters, vampires

📚Page Count: 292

🎧Audiobook Length: 9h 59min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

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Dead to the World is the fourth book in the Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Murder Mystery series, this series is the inspiration for the HBO show, True Blood. This addition to the series was okay, it was interesting for sure. We get introduced to new characters and new magical/mythical/supernatural entities and, of course, there's a mystery to solve. In this novel Sookie's brother goes missing and she's doing everything she can to find him. Meanwhile, Eric has completely lost his memory. Can she find her brother alive and help Eric with his memory loss?

In book four, Sookie ends up <spoiler>finally starting something romantic with Eric, though I'm not sure how I feel about it because he had amnesia and couldn't remember anything from the past. I would definitely say she took advantage of the situation by sleeping with him.</spoiler> Sookie's brother is missing and she uses Eric's as well as some other people's help to try and find him. I love the mystery aspect of these books and that's one of the main things that keeps me coming back to this series (even though I didn't like books 2 or 3.)

The spicy scenes in this were okay, some were fade to black and some were on page. I'd say overall they weren't spectacular but that were alright. I'm giving this 2.5 chilies out out 5 chilies 🌶️ worth of spice.

Overall, this book was just okay. I don't think it was better than book 1 (which has been my favorite so far.) I'm going to give this 3 stars out of 5

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars

I read this for free on [Libbyapp.com]

💬: "The breath slammed out of her lungs. Flames shot through her body, from her breast to her deepest core. The strange roaring was back in her head. Need was on her. Not some gentle emotion, not a pleasant feeling, but a raging tidal wave of hunger, of craving."

Feehan, Christine. The Awakening: The Novella That Introduced the Leopard People (Leopard series Book 1) (p. 51). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, shapeshifters

📚Page Count: 121

🎧Audiobook Length: 3h 38min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️ - 2.5/5

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The Awakening by Christine Feehan is a novella and it's the first story in her series "Leopard People". Maggie inherits a house in the jungle and if I read this correctly, she just "wakes up" or "awakens" in the jungle (I'm unsure of how she actually got there.) Maggie is on the cusps of a physical and mental evolution, and she meets a man named Brandt who's supposed to help, he also says he's her mate.

It was really evident that this was a novella with the rushed pacing. The two main characters talk for what seems like a day and after that, it seems like Maggie already trusts him. At one point Maggie mentions that she used to be asexual (or at least she thought she was asexual) but now she's having sexual cravings for Brandt and she can't explain why. Before evening knowing if she was interested Brandt kind of flashes her while he sits in the nude in her house or bungalow, he claims that she's his mate so I guess he thinks this is acceptable.

The spicy scenes were alright, it was hard to get into them because the male protagonist was so pushy with his sexual advances, the part where he surprises and flashes her with his nude body really bothered me, he didn't even know if she was truly interested at that point. I'm giving the spicy scenes two chilies 🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

Overall this story was a bit strange and baffling. I wish the pacing was a little smoother, and it would have been nice if we saw the characters interact with each other outside of their sexual cravings. I will read the next book in the series and give this series another chance, as of now I'm giving THIS novella 2.5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️ - 2.5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Libbyapp.com]

💬: "There is only one way to fight, and that’s dirty. Clean, gentlemanly fighting will get you nowhere but dead, and fast. Take every cheap shot, every low blow, absolutely kick someone when they’re down, and then maybe you’ll be the one who walks away.”

Frost, Jeaniene. The Other Half of the Grave: A Night Huntress Novel (pp. 47-48). NYLA. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: 398

🎧Audiobook Length: 13h 14min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5

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The Other Half of the Grave written by Jeaniene Frost, is an alternate perspective book based on the first book in her Night Huntress series, Halfway to the Grave. The Other Half of the Grave was entertaining and just as exciting if not more exciting than it's original predecessor. In this book, Cat and Bones meet for the first time but everything is from Bones' perspective, and even though he makes some interesting decisions, I still like him as a character. I appreciate Cat and Bones' relationship that much more.

There are still outdated scenes in this book, but that's because the original was outdated and had poorly aged scenes. I think the outdated scenes were handled much better than they were in the original story. For example, there were less triggering details about these particular scenes this time around. That might be because it's from Bones' perspective, it might be because the author realized her mistake from the past and maybe she understood that rewriting these scenes was a way to make up for the outdated scenes from the past. I'm unsure, either way they're done better around this time.

The spicy scenes were enjoyable and the audiobook narrator made them even more interesting than they normally would be. I'm giving the spicy scenes three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.75 out of five chilies

This was an entertaining story and I enjoyed it a bit more than reading the original from Cat's point of view. There was still an okay amount of triggering content in this story but most of that stuff was glossed over in this version. I'm giving this 4.50 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.50/5 Stars

I used an audiobook credit to buy this audiobook. I was not able to locate the audiobook on hoopla, libbyapp, or everand. (as of 3/4/2024)

💬: "He didn’t budge. “Plenty of room, Kitten. I’ll stay here.” “Don’t call me Kitten.” My voice was sharper than romance dictated, but I was seriously aggravated. The sooner he was truly dead, the better."

Frost, Jeaniene. Happily Never After (Night Huntress) (p. 83). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: 97

🎧Audiobook Length: 02h 47min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

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Happily Never After is book 1.5 in the Night Huntress series, it's about a human named Isabella and one of Bones' friends, a vampire named Chase. Isabella somehow was promised to be engaged to a wanna be mob boss, one that she is repulsed by and one that wants to kill her brother. Well, Chance is going to try to make sure this wedding doesn't happen, even if he has to "die" several times to ensure it.

This was okay, it was somewhat interesting so it kept my attention for the short duration of the audiobook (which was about 3 hours long.) I was disappointed to find out that this novella wasn't about Bones but just one of his former acquaintances.

There was one spicy scene and it was okay, I think it could have been more exciting so I'm going to give this scene 2.75🌶️ chilies out of 5 chilies🌶️.

Overall, this novella wasn't as good as the first novella in the series, "Reckoning" the story about Bones. I even Happily Never After has spicy in it and Reckoning doesn't, I still think Reckoning was a more exciting story. I'm going to give this 3 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Libbyapp.com]

💬: N/A

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 07h 27min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 - 4.25/5

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One Foot in the Grave (Dramatized Edition) is a graphic audio published by the company Graphic Audio and written by Jeaniene Frost, based on the second book in her Night Huntress series, One Foot in the Grave. Cat Crawfield hasn't seen Bones in about four or five years, but after she's targeted for assignation, Bones might be the only one who can help her. After having worked as <spoiler>Special Agent Crawfield</spoiler> for the last four (or five) years she definitely has acquired some new (and old) enemies. Will Bones be able to save Cat from the impending danger? Will they be able to rekindle their lost relationship?

I really enjoyed this addition to the Night Huntress graphic audio series, it was so entertaining. There was so much going on and the music, sounds, and voice actors really came together to help tell an exciting story.

The spicy scenes were okay in this. They weren't the best but they weren't terrible I'm giving the spicy scenes three chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

This was really exciting and all the elements came together to make a really nice dramatized adaption of One Foot in the Grave. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars instead.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]