Misty (mistysbookspace)

I've been buddy reading a lot of historical romance with Ashley and this was our first one of 2025. This was another just ok book for me and Ashely ended up feeling the same way. The romance was my favorite part of this book. It also had a bit of a mystery which I did like but I felt like it took over the story a little too much for my liking and it was solved way to easily. Also, while I did love the romance it took too long for things to start happening which is a personal preference thing. I can't write this review without talking about the thing that probably bugged me the most but it's a bit spoilery so if you haven't read this yet then I suggest skipping this next part. Throughout the whole book there's an underlying message of love who you love no matter their social status/how rich they are. I loved that and the fact that both sisters end up with who they wanted to be with despite the class differences. What I didn't like is how at the end both of the guys miraculously come into money anyways. That just annoyed me so much. Overall, this was a good start to a trilogy, and I will be reading the next book in February with Ashley.

REREAD January 2025

This was my 3rd read of this book, and I loved it just as much as I did the first time I read it. It never fails to suck me in and have me fully invested in all of the characters even though I know what is going to happen. I reread this one in anticipation of the release of Onyx Storm even though I really don't need a reread I just love it so much that I will seize the opportunity to read it again.

I was meant to read this in June as part of the Lost in Romance Book Club that I cohost with my friend Michelle. I ended up going out of town for the last half of the month so I didn't manage to get around to reading this one. I saw that Destiny had started this book but hadn't gotten very far so I asked her if she wanted to buddy read it with me and here we are.

I've been seeing this book making the rounds for a while now and everything I've seen about it has been high praise. I am here to tell you I totally get the hype surrounding this book. I'm always skeptical going into books that are this hyped because I'm afraid that I won't like them. Luckily that was not the case with this book. I loved this book so much. It is hands down my favorite book of the year so far and I honestly don't see it being dethroned.

I listened to the audiobook for this one because I never bought myself a physical copy but you better believe I will get me a copy eventually. I've actually already preordered the second book Iron Flame because I need it ASAP.

Anyways back to my thoughts on this book. I don't want to say to much because I think you should go in knowing as little as possible like I did. I was sucked in from the very beginning. We get the action from the very first chapter. I loved the chronic pain rep. I loved the romance so freaking much and the dragons actually had their own personalities. I actually laughed so much at several of the scenes involving certain riders and their dragons.

There is so much I could say about this book but it would spoil things. You will just have to trust me when I say run don't walk and get you a copy and read this book. It's utter perfection in my opinion.

I've been buddy reading this trilogy with Erin and Regina. Destiny read the first book with us but DNFed Foxglove and I can't really blame her. I loved the first book, and I struggled to get through Foxglove and by the time I finished it I just thought it was ok. I started this one back in October and it took me forever to finish it but not because the book was bad or anything I was just in a weird reading mood for the last half of 2024 and just wasn't in the mood for this one. I went into this one a bit skeptical after the letdown that was Foxglove, but this one ended up being my favorite out of all of them. This was everything I wanted and more. I loved the growth from being enemies to friends to lovers. I laughed out loud and even got teary eyed toward the end. I'm so glad I stuck this one out because it ended with a banger although technically this isn't the end because there is a novella coming out toward the end of the year and I will be going into that one hopefully optimistic.

DNFed @ 23% 75 pages

I was excited when Jonny suggested this book as our next buddy read. I've been wanting to read something by this author for a while now so I thought this was perfect. unfortunately this book did not work for me.

I first started reading it by listening to the audiobook. The one I found was a dramatized version. I had no idea what that meant when I started listening to it. I just thought it was going to be a normal audiobook. Boy was that no the case. I hated the dramatized version. It was to much so much so that I couldn't even understand what was being said sometimes. I love the idea of a dramatized version but it's just not for me. I then found the eBook on Libby and I tried listening to it while following along but that didn't work either because the audiobook was missing a lot of the text that was in the eBook. I got 13% into the audiobook when I finally decided I was just going to start over by just reading the eBook. I was hoping this would help me to get into it more but alas that didn't help either.

The author throws you into the story immediately which I usually enjoy but we are thrown in with no knowledge of the world and barely get any within the little bit I was able to read. It's definitely fast paced and the lack of world building just left me confused a lot of times not to mention all the different characters being thrown in I couldn't keep up with who was who and who was good or bad. It was just all to much to try to keep up with.

Because of all this I just found myself not caring about anything and every time I put the book down I had to force myself to pick it back up. I really wanted to like this book and I am sad that I didn't. maybe one day if I can find a normal audiobook of it I will give it another try but right now that's probably highly unlikely.

I'm so glad that the Romcom Swoonathon got me to read this book because I loved it so much. We get the fake dating trope and it's a slow burn with a lot of angst. I loved the character growth for each of the characters and the banter was on point. There's so much representation in this book as well and I feel like the author did it all justice. Also, I can't forget to mention that we get some steamy scenes as well which we all know I love at this point.

This is a DNF for me. I made it through 40% of this book and that was a struggle. I couldn't push myself anymore. I was so bored and just didn't care about anything that was happening.

I've read several of Hazelwoods contemporary books and enjoyed them so when I saw she was publishing a paranormal book I was very intrigued. This is an arranged marriage between a werewolf and a vampire. Two opposing species coming together to hopefully form an alliance of sorts. I'm all for books with vampires. They are my favorite but I loved the werewolves in this as well. I loved most of the characters and the romance. I loved the banter between several of the characters as well. I totally didn't see that reveal coming although thinking about it now I totally should have. This ends in a way that hints that maybe this may end up being part of a series and I really hope that's true because I would really love more of these characters. Buddy read with Destiny.

Full review and rating to come!!

Full review and rating to come!!

I thought this one was cute. I wasn't the biggest fan and how the FMC treated the MMC at times but overall, this was a fun forced proximity enemies to lovers read with some fun banter and some steam thrown in. 

What can I say about this erotic door romance? There was basically no point in this being labeled as a romance with a door because yes while this person does start out being a door he's immediately turned into a human but her having sex with the doorknob. From that point on he's a man and you wouldn't know it was a door romance if she wasn't saying that's my good door to the human man. I think I could have enjoyed this more had it not been about a freaking door. I went into this one fully expecting not to like it but everyone was talking about it and I had to know what all the fuss was about.

4.5 stars

I've been wanting to read something by this author for a while now and when this short story was available through February Amazon First Reads, I snatched it up. This was a short and quick read with no steam and while it deals with having a stalker, I thought this was a cute romance. You know that this is building up to a confrontation in the end and the buildup was great, but I was left a little underwhelmed with the actual confrontation in the end. It just happened so fast and so easily it felt kind of rushed. Other than that, though I loved everything else and will definitely be picking up more books by this author. 

I don't really have all that much to say about this one. The FMC is 18 but she read way younger in how naive she comes across. I'm sorry but there's no way she was that clueless when it comes to sex. This is a problematic romance for so many reasons, but I couldn't stop reading it. 

Destiny and I buddy read the first book in the series together so when I got this from Libby, I asked her if she wanted to buddy read this one with me and she said yes. We both loved My Roommate Is a Vampire so much, so I went into this one expecting to love it as well. I did end up really enjoying this one just not as much as the first one. Something was missing in this book, and I can't even tell you what that was. I loved the banter and the romance. I even loved the characters both together and separately. I would totally read more in this series if the author wrote more. 

4.5 stars

I think this is my favorite book in this series so far. Nadya was born missing an arm and the moms first question is basically what's wrong with her? I'm a double amputee myself so when I saw the mother's question, I was worried I was about to read a book where it was going to be just negative things but then in the next sentence the nurse says nothing is wrong with her, she is perfect as she is. I love that we get both sides. There are unfortunately people out there who look at people like me and think we aren't normal, or something is wrong with us etc. but there's is nothing wrong with us. Just because we look different doesn't mean we are any different to the rest of the world we just might have to go about things in different ways. My only complaint about this book is going to be a little spoilery so if you haven't read this yet then skip this next part. When Nadya goes to the other world she eventually is gifted an arm from the river, and I can't decide how I feel about that because it's not realistic which I'm aware these worlds aren't real, but it comes off as she has to have this other arm to be able to do this particular thing or get herself out of this particular scrape etc. I would have preferred her to have been left like she was and for her to be able to overcome whatever obstacle despite missing an arm. Also, that ending is heartbreaking. 

This book was recommended to me when I was looking for prompts to fulfil some prompts for the Romcom Swoonathon. I hadn't heard of this one before and it's my first book by this author. I've only read a handful of cozy mysteries at this point, and I've only liked one series so far. I thought this was ok. It's cute and a very quick and easy read. I liked the inclusion of Vampires as well, but everything was just too easy, and Lucy literally doesn't really do any real investigation, but she still finds out who the killer was. I didn't hate this, but I don't think I will continue on in the series only because I just don't care enough to. 

This is the 2nd book I've read by this author and my only complaint is how over the top and unbelievable they are, but they are also fun quick steamy reads. I knew going into her books that they were going to be OTT reads. Even though I can't look past that I still think her books are fun reads and easy to pick up and read in one sitting and you will enjoy your time reading them, but they won't blow you away. 

I hadn't planned on reading this book this month but as soon as I finished Take a Hint, Dani Brown I immediately wanted to jump into this one and since it fit one of the Romcom Swoonathon prompts there was no reason not to read it. I've loved all of the books in this trilogy, but I'm torn between Dani and Eve's story being my favorite. Once again there's so much diverse representation that I feel the author does well. I loved the romance in this one and the enemies to friends to lovers' aspect was perfect. Honestly everything about this series as a whole is perfect and I'm sad it's now over. 

This was a quick smutty read. I haven't read a lot of stalker romances, but I feel like this one was done well. This is definitely a problematic romance, but I couldn't stop reading it. There's so much sexual tension and buildup in this story it surprises me how hooked I was in just a few pages. 

This was my first book by this author, and it won't be my last. This was a short story set in Miami and Cuba, and it's told from 2 different timelines. The present timeline is from 1969 where Natalie is throwing a work event which in turn makes her reminisce about a time from her past when she was 18 and her family took a vacation in Cuba where she met a boy which was 30 years prior. I really enjoyed this short story. It was well written, and I thought the romance was cute despite it being very instalovey and predictable. I wish this was a full story though because I would've loved to have more of the story after Natalie and Antonio reconnected.

I've seen a lot of people talking about this author and I've always wanted to read something by her and I'm glad I finally have. I ended up enjoying this one more than I was expecting to. It's usually hard for me to fall in love with a short book because 9 times out of 10 I'm left needing more and not in the way where I'm like oh I loved this book so much I need more but, in the way, where I'm like I feel like I'm missing parts of the story. This one gave me everything I could possibly want. I loved this friends to lovers romance and how they communicated so well with each other for the majority of the book. I was really hoping they would continue communicating with each other once they realized they had actual romantic feelings for each other but that was not the case. There had to be a little bit of drama thrown in I guess even though it didn't need to happen. Also, this book is very steamy. I loved every minute I spent reading this and I'm looking forward to reading more books by this author.

Right out the gate there is talk about weight and diet planning. I don't have any triggers so this doesn't bother me but I know it can affect some people, so I wanted to mention it. It also tackles anxiety and therapy. I feel like all of these were handled with care but I don't have personal experience with any of this so I would suggest checking out some own voices reviews.

I loved the relationship in this book. The banter between the characters was on point and it was honestly my favorite part of the book. Anastasia is a figure skater, and Nate is the captain of the hockey team. They have a bit of a rough start but that quickly gets resolved and they are lusting after each other. I never fully got on board with the FMC. With Nate I love her but she just really got on my nerves sometimes which is where the spoilers come in, so warning don't read past this point.

Anastasia skating partner is a complete ass. I hate him so much and she kept making excuses for him. Like it was blatantly clear to everyone that he's not a good guy. She had no problem sticking up for herself when it came to Nate and pretty much everyone else but when it came to Aaron, she just let him walk all over her. And the reasoning behind Nate's anger was bs. I'm not sure if this would be considered SA but I wanted to mention it as well. In the end Aaron forcefully kissed Anastasia which is when she finally kicks him to the curb. Overall, I enjoyed this book and definitely want to continue on with the series hopefully sooner rather than later.

There's no doubt that King is a great storyteller. He knows how to hook you. He's great a building up a story but he's not always the best with endings. From a Buick 8 bounces between the past and the present. Normally I struggle with this but that wasn't the case with this book. The transition between the past and present was seamless. As is the case with a lot of Kings books there were a lot of characters, and I struggled with keeping everyone straight throughout the whole book. He had me invested from the very beginning. I like the characters needed to know more about the car and how things were going to play out. I had an idea of how this was going to end, and I was right and unfortunately, I didn't like the way it ended. It makes sense and I understand why it ended the way it did but I'm the type of reader who needs answers. I can't stand being left with so many questions when it comes to the books I read. I can see this working for so many people so please don't let me deter you from reading it if you've been interested in picking it up.

3.5 stars

I'm just not fully loving these books unfortunately. I'm not hating them by no means but for me they are just ok. The characters are what's making me keep reading. I'm invested in the characters and all of the relationships, and I need to know how things play out however the overall story is dragging so much and I'm kind of finding myself a little bored with it. I am going to read the other books I just really hope things pick up in the next book. I've been buddy reading this series with Ali and we will be reading the next book in February.

3.5 stars

The first book I finished in 2025 wasn't even on my TBR for January. Victory for Vampires is a novella in the Haven Ever After series. In this novella we are following Pietro & Alessandro who we met in passing in previous books and we are introduced to Valentina or at least I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've met her. Anyways according to the description on Goodreads this novella takes place after the events of book 4 but doesn't need to be read in any particular order. There will be some brief mentions of things that have happened in previous books but nothing major. As for this book I did like it but it's not a favorite that coveted spot belongs to Waltzing with Witches which is the 4th book in the series. There are going to be some minor spoilers for this book coming up so if you haven't read this one yet and you're wanting to then please skip this review. My first complaint about this book is how the 2 MMC refer to each other as brothers. We do learn that they aren't actually brothers, but they kept calling each other brother (at least in the first half of the book) and it just kind of irked me. It was also a bit repetitive and felt rushed. I did love the romance, but it took over the story and someone was introduced toward the end of the story and that felt like it came out of nowhere. I guess I would have to say that the sexy times is what kept me reading because I did really enjoy the 3 main characters together so much. If you are the type of person who wants their romance to be more plot and less smut (I hate that word) then this book might not be for you.