Carla ✨

3.75⭐

Looking for a spicy biker novella? This might be it for you. Just some advice, do not pay attention to the consequences of certain acts, it takes the fun out of the scene 😂

4.5 ⭐️

oh gosh, this book ❤️‍🩹

We are talking about a YA coming of age novel where the characters arcs were beautifully written, the rep is *chef's kiss* and the setting could only be described as perfectly on point. Conversations were witty, funny and the friendships were so wholesome from minute one. But this is NOT a retelling. Or at least not a retelling of any well known stories (I am real bad with history, I'm sorry I can't be more precise).

Gwen and Art were a delight to read, their banter going from hate to that sort of friendship where you're like, ugh I hate them but I've grown attached, it was awesome.

Side characters were also a delight to read.

Sydney was funny as hell, fierce protector but also with a no bullshit policy. I wish we got to see more in detail him courting Agnes, that would have been so sweet.

Bridget was the kind of woman I wish more books had. She knew what she wanted, and she took it. She put herself first and foremost, and made sure everyone around her knew it.

Her relationship with Gwen was so sweet, because while Gwen was all gay panicking towards Bridget, she was being all serious but friendly not knowing what to expect out of their encounters.

Also, Gabriel? I love him, he is my baby, protect him at all costs 🥺. Poor boy struggles so much with the idea of being King, and not disappointing anyone and at the same time coping with all of it by spending time buried into books to the point of not sleeping.

The only thing I really wished we could have seen more of is the development of Art and Gabe's relationship. While Art was so sure about himself and his sexuality, por Gabriel struggled real hard with it, and, I know we could attribute the lack of Art's empathy to him having had his heart broken not long ago, but I wished there had been more moments of understanding between them.

It's such a thin line that in part I was like, good for Art for not wanting to meet people where they are because he's already there (as he says, it saves on the commute 😂) but I also hoped for him to be more lenient with Gabe 💔.

At the end of the day this book kind of felt like it lasted forever, because it kind of felt like it wanted to have equal parts romance and story but I never really got the full picture for either of them?

Like, it feels like so many key parts are missing from both the romance and the plot, but if they had been included the book would have lasted even longer.

Let us be honest, I wanted more romance than plot, but that was just my personal craving when I started the book, but it wasn't necessarily bad. The plot twist at the end tho, I really wasn't expecting things to go down the way that they did :')

I don't know what else to say, I really enjoyed my time with this book and laughed real hard while doing so.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to review this ahead of its release! As always all my opinions are my own, no matter the situation.

wow was this a ✨ R I D E ✨

5 ⭐️ & 2 🌶

where do i even start? 🥲

let me just say, when i filled that form to get an arc from ray, i was hoping for a book that promised exactly what the blurb said, the story about a maiden destined to find her soulmate, with a reincarnation subplot and a broody mmc... but boy oh boy was i (kinda) wrong 🥹

let's refresh the tropes, shall we?

🪡 reincarnation

👩‍❤️‍👨 fated mates

💔 grief recovery

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 found family

with a healthy af Plus size MC and LGBTQIA+ rep, what else can we ask for?

the first chapters paint a beautifully well plotted world building, the delicate writing about grief and the journey it takes you through, and then, when you least expect it, the story of the weaver-blessed and the warrior 💔 i've never read such beautifully tragic tale, it was heart breaking, and i loved every moment while reading it ❤️‍🩹

long story short...

i'm obviously not explaining the whole legend to you, it's not a spoiler but the author does a better job than i could ever do so 🤷🏼‍♀️

the weaver (our godly being in the story) threads people's fates into the tapestry of life

when you die, your thread gets rewoven into the tapestry and you begin a new life, another pass on the loom

this might be one of my favorite faiths built into a book, i really need the author to explain how that came to be (really Ray, if you are reading this, i'd love to know how it happened)

the angst of our fmc towards the divinity due to her grief, the way it is a powerful being but are we sure it is the most powerful it exists?

so many thoughts where thought at this point, and obviously, after the legend had been explained and everything started to make sense, i realised i was only 30% in... suspicious 🧐

that meant that there was more to the book that a sad story of two lovers fated to find each other on the loom every time... that had me like mhm 👀 tell me more, and god damn was there more to tell :')

at this point, i do not want to spoil you more about the story itself, but i want to tell you about the characters 💖

Derica is our mmc, striken by grief after loosing her mother and everything she had left in her small village, only left with her best friend Reid and his family.

she decides decides she can't keep going on like that and next to Reid they both pack up and go to their next adventure

i've got this nagging feeling that we don't see her full growth on this book, but of course we see her overcome, or more exactly, learn how to live with her grief and explore the kind of live she wants to have, and whats more important, towards the end we se her standing up for herself and making decisions on her own for what she believes in <3

then on the other side we have our mercenaries 🥹

Commander Hadrian is our mmc and oof, hot damn 🥵 (i'm sorry, but this man's description on the second chapter had me screaming and hyperventilating 😂)

he is broody, serious, with a heart of gold and the most "touch her and you die" attitude you will ever see 🙆🏼‍♀️

his angst at the start of the book towards anything Derica related is jksndcjdfni SO GOOD

i love myself some angst and sassy jealousy, sorry not sorry 😂

poor baby is so split between wanting to save his heart from the pain and also wanting to feel love once more, BUT IT'S SO PAINFUL TO WATCH, i suffered for him, a LOT, and i don't thin it's over 😭

also, theres nothing more sexy than Derica being all straightforward with him, and him having to stop brooding and giving in, like GIVE ME THAT EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK ❤️‍🔥

and then we have the Nyle and Maz 🥹

Nyle is me, i am Nyle 💖 he is a words before fists kinda guy, which is weird for a mercenary tbh :') he is the one that has the calm demeanor the others lack and that scares me, i'm not gonna lie, i hope nothing happens to him on the next books, because i will scream 🥲

and Maz, oh Maz, i had some real good laughs with them 😂

- they are hilarious

- they know too much

- they know that they know too much, so they are cryptic as shit

- and they take no bullshit from anyone

if they like you, good for you, if not, they won't even acknowledge you 😂 i need more stuff about them and i can't wait to see what's in store for them in the next book :')

let's end this review here because i got to excited writing everything and i already made a real effort not to spoil anything :') gotta say that Ray made a beautiful job with her first book and i know it will only get better from here 😌

also, thanks to Ray for the opportunity to read her book before it was out <3 still, bare in mind, my opinions are my own whenever i review anything, and i hope i made you want to pick up this book or at the very least, made you curious about it 😉

4⭐️

well, this was a wild ride

i came here thinking: yes, another billionaire fake fiancé book, my favorite 😈

and when i finished i was like: what in hell just happened 🤯

don't let this book fool you, you are getting more than that fake relationship drama

there's blackmail, dubious intentions, cheating, stalker subplot, grudges that have been held for way too long, and manipulation

loooots of manipulation

i felt manipulated as a reader to the point that i was like, i don't know who to fucking trust 🤬

i don't know what else to tell you... let me sum up the main characters so you get a whif of what to expect...

we have ryzen, he will 100% confuse you, but in my personal opinion... he is as two faced as they come 🤡

then there's nova, our fmc, who's this boss ass bitch, smart as hell when business is involved, but also... i would be lying if i told you i didn't think about slapping her a couple of times... specially towards the end 😂

and then theres cian, broody, tattooed cian, who despite being the one i would trust the most, is also hiding plenty of secrets, therefore making me doubt myself every goddamned time i kept reading

did i tell you this was a wild ride yet? because it was 🥵

anyways this started as an arc from net galley and turned into me downloading it from kindle unlimited, because you gotta support indie authors when you can 💖 so know that my opinions are my own always 💪🏻

Massive trigger warning for fully detailed SA on this one.

This is gonna be hard. My hopes for this book were so high, you don't even understand. I was so excited for this Once Upon a Time inspired book.

For starters, I felt like the book had no end goal.

I was hooked at the start by all the science like explanations of the magic and then after that, I felt like I was reading the version of a dating tv show where they dress you up nicely, give you a makeover, and start placing you in random dates with people you don't know. I was entertained at the very least, so I kept reading.

After all of that (which was basically the first 50% of the book), the SA happened. I cannot explain to you how disturbing it was to read that as a woman who fortunately has never been in that situation. I am not one to like when SA is implemented into stories but I feel the amount of detail that was included on this one was distasteful. A fade to black would have done the same job if the SA was really necessary for the story (which I personally think it wasn't).

(It gets spoilery in the next paragraphs, beware if you want to read the book, I won't give names though)

Afterwards, it was just pure chaos. The FMC "ends up" with another character with which she barely talked or knew. Said character came out as gay later on, and the author used a premise I did not like at all. You can not make a gay character say, "it's okay, i'll be in this heterosexual relationship with you, the magic will just make me straight" and be okay with it. I refuse to believe you can be okay with that.

Also... the ace rep was sketchy at best. I know sexuality is fluid but as someone on the ace spectrum it just didn't feel right.

But lo and behold, this wasn't over. I have to say I sped read through the last 25% just to know who the FMC would end up with and I was not surprised it was the first MMC that was introduced into the story.

I actually liked their relationship at the start but then when the other MMCs started appearing, he started disappearing, and therefore I thought he'd just be in the sidelines. But no. The FMC decides she needs him to get her tale finished and so they end up in bed. Yup. It is NOT a happy ending, there is no couple happening in the end, just what seems to be an open ending for the next book.

I am really sad I didn't enjoy this book as I hoped to. And unfortunately I don't see myself picking up the next instalments.

Thank you NetGalley and Auden Llyr for the ARC, even though I ended up reading the book through Kindle Unlimited because it had already released.

3.75⭐

3🌶️

After Venom & Lace all I wanted was answers, answers to the craziness that book 1 was.

Lucky for me book 2 didn't turn down on the craziness but it did turn up the mafia, and I am not even mad about that.

This book felt like a bridge between book 1 and whatever Dani has planned for us in the upcoming books. It felt like Nova was closing a chapter in her life in some unconventional ways (but then again, the mafia will do that to you) and I loved how we got to see a more badass look from her.

I have nothing to say about Cian. I love him, you love him, we all love him. The spice? Chef's kiss 🤌🏻. I'm gonna put this out into the universe but... I need NEED a whole book in his POV. I think it would make for a great action book specially if his siblings are involved. I really enjoyed their dynamics and I hope they make an appearance in the upcoming books, because ... 👀

I need a Thora and Kaviathin book ASAP and AND a Juliet and Eros book. No buts, I need it. Dani, I need them.

Anyway, I want to thank Dani for providing me with an ARC of her second book, even though as always I ended up reading from KU (gotta give back to authors as much as you can). But as always, my opinions are always my own!

3.75⭐️

I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy this book. I was really invested at the start, because who wouldn't? As a fan of the Jonas' show, I was dying to read a book just like that. My 16yo self was really happy.

The banter between Ash and Kell was lovely, I was really rooting for them. To be honest I don't even know what she saw about Ryan, he was definitely as manipulative as they get. It was real funny to see the fakeness behind the reality show and I wish we would have seen more about Ash recording on film sets or on his auditions.

Unfortunately the ending of the book kinda feel through for me personally at the third act breakup.

I was expecting a more mature approach to the situation coming from Kell. Her actions felt rushed and nonsensical and then it took her all of two pages to get her life together and to get back to Ash.

I wished the ending would have been a little bit different, but overall this was a book I really enjoyed and a trope I haven't seen much of!

Are you looking for a book that will be full on cozy cottage-core magic vibes? Well, this is your book. Rachel Griffin never disappoints.

Sometimes it's hard to explain what you liked about a book and what are the things you didn't enjoy as much. For me, Bring Me Your Midnight was a love letter to the sea, foraging and crafts. Nature, in general, but more specifically how to be gentle with it while also taking what we need from it.

Rachel's writing on this book was so evocative of stepping barefoot onto a grassy field at dusk. That's the only way i'd be able to describe this book. And the romance felt like spending a cold winter day at the beach and then going home to a blanket and a hot beverage.

I loved every single part of the way this book was written, from the wording to the referencing to past events as little clues being left behind. But when words weren't enough that's when i realised "not everything that shines is gold".

Even though the chemistry between Wolfe and Tana felt instant, it also felt rushed, as if with just one look both of them already knew they'd be it for each-other. Unfortunately, insta-love is not my trope. And another moment where everything felt so rushed, was in the "third-act breakup" if i am allowed of calling it that. It happened so fast I had to reread twice to understand what was going on (because sometimes as a Spaniard, English can be difficult, okay?).

Overall this was a beautiful book and the nostalgia it gave me and the feels and vibes of it all, it was definitely worth it. So if you need a book to feel those cozy witchy vibes? Rachel's books are what you're looking for.

I don't have words for a review. I just read it for the second time and even if the world building was equally confusing or even more than it was the first time, I hella loved this book.

So yeah. It gets 5* from me.

...

3rd time reading it... still 5⭐.

I don't have words for a review. I just read it for the second time and even if the world building was equally confusing or even more than it was the first time, I hella loved this book.

So yeah. It gets 5* from me.