Teasing on a Wednesday - Never the Roses

 

Even with Tristan's chatter, the essential quiet of the place had permeated everything, settling into the core of him. It made him believe in something, though he couldn't quite grasp what it would be.

(page 201, Never the Roses by Jennifer K. Lambert)

Never the Roses - Release Day Book Review

 

Never the Roses

by Jennifer K. Lambert

What is it about:

Genevieve Gornichec’s The Witch’s Heart meets Madeline Miller’s Circe in this epic and deeply emotional romantic fantasy debut by Jennifer K. Lambert. The hardcover edition features beautiful stenciled edges.

The Dread Sorceress Oneira has retired. She’s exhausted from fighting the endless wars of kings and queens, and has long accepted that her death is near. Alone at last but for a few uninvited companions―a near-mythical wolf, a goddess’s avatar, and a feline that embodies magic itself―Oneira realizes that she’s bored. On a whim, or perhaps at the behest of fate, she makes an unlikely trip to the most extensive library in existence: the home of her most powerful rival, the sorcerer Stearanos.

By recklessly stealing a book from him, Oneira inadvertently initiates a forbidden correspondence. Taunting notes and clever retorts reveal a connection neither has found―nor could ever find―in any other.

But Oneira soon learns that Stearanos, bound to a vile king, is tasked with waging war on the queen she once served. A relationship with him is far too dangerous to pursue despite their mutual desire―and yet, Oneira can’t seem to stay away.

A bond with Stearanos could alight the long-extinct flame of life within her… or it could destroy her entirely.

What did we think of it:

We read the first version of this story before it was sold to Bramble/TOR and loved it.

So when we received this gorgeous finished version of Never the Roses we had to do a reread of course.

(spoiler: it won't be our last reread)

This is such a wonderful and emotional story.

The writing is beautiful and haunting, from the first few sentences we were glued to the pages. 

Both Oneira and Stearanos are characters to root for. Oneira is tired of the life she's lived and is looking for either redemption or judgement without realizing it. Stearanos is still in the middle of things, but as bitter and grumpy as a sorcerer who's been used as a tool of war for most of his life can be.

We wanted to see both of them happy, loved.

The way they start connecting with each other through their correspondence, the way they reacted to it, was wonderful to read. 

Even with this being a reread we were totally engrossed, and this was yet another book we read in one long sitting, as we couldn't put it down.

If not for our TBR mountain glaring at us, we'd have done another reread immediately after finishing this one, it's that beautiful!

There will be a second book in this world, and hopefully many more, and we know it will be as amazing as this one, so we'll be (im)patiently wait for the release next year, while rereading this book once in a while when our TBR mountain isn't paying attention.

Why should you read it:

It's absolutely beautiful and amazing!

buy links

Caught Up - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

 

Caught Up (Into Darkness #2)

by Navessa Allen

What is it about:

I wanted this woman, and I was a man who always got what he wanted.

Nico 'Junior' Trocci knows Lauren Marchetti is off limits. She is sweetness and laughter, whereas Junior exists in a world of violence and depravity. Men like him don't get to have women like her. It's why he pushed her away back in high school and has kept his distance ever since.

But when Junior looks Lauren up online, he discovers the shy, bookish girl he remembers is gone. In her place is a strikingly beautiful woman whose social media is filled with scantily clad pictures of herself and a connection to a nearby play club. Junior's innocent curiosity quickly turns into a dark obsession. But watching Lauren from a distance isn't enough; he needs to make her his.

He's ruthless; a walking red flag. Good thing red is my favorite color.

Lauren is intrigued by the mystery man who keeps showing up at her club, who tempts her white-hot desires. But as their flirty online messages stir up a deeper form of connection, Lauren worries she's developing real feelings for this brooding stranger. As their combined desire ratchets up to a breaking point, who will seduce who? And will they survive the fall?

Caught Up is a fast-paced dark romance with a morally grey male lead. Some themes and scenes may be disturbing to readers. Please check the content warning at the beginning of the book.

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:

I had such a great time with Lights Out that I pre-ordered Caught Up, especially when I saw it was about Junior.

This book! 

It is so good!

It's not as funny as I thought Lights Out was, but the romance, the steam, Junior! I read this book in one sitting, it was too good to put down.

I already liked Junior in Lights Out, but I loved him in this book. I loved seeing him trying to be a better man, to move away from his old life, and to see him explore his sexuality. I need more books where the woman is confident in what she wants and the man is the one to discover he has desires he thought were not allowed. 

Lauren is such a great character as well. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't. Her caution where it comes to Junior is understandable, and I loved seeing the two of them growing closer and mending old hurts. I also loved Lauren's friends and how they were there for each other when needed.

All in all I loved this book even more than Lights Out, and I will most certainly try to get hold of the third book in this trilogy when it releases.

Why should you read it:

It's absolutely delicious!

Enchantra - Book Review

 

Enchantra (Wicked Games #2)

by Kaylie Smith

What is it about:

Ready or Not meets Throne of the Fallen in a spicy, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance, where an Italian getaway turns deadly after a young woman is trapped in her host family's cursed game.

Ready or not, the game has begun.

Genevieve Grimm has felt adrift ever since her sister became the head of the family. So when a mysterious friend of their mother's invites her to Italy, she accepts. She arrives at his grand palace, expecting passion and magic, decadence and luxury... perhaps even a midnight ball.

She doesn't expect the owner's ruthlessly handsome son to slam the door in her face. Rowin Silver is tall, dark, and exceptionally rude, and invitation or not, he demands Genevieve leave and never come back. But Genevieve follows nobody's orders, especially those of arrogant rich boys. She slips inside—and immediately discovers her mistake.

Rowin and his family are caught in an insidious game of hide and seek, where only one can win. The rest will be trapped in Hell... until the competition begins again.

Genevieve must either join the hunt or forfeit any hope of escaping. But to her dismay, her best chance of survival lies with Rowin. Since lovers may play as a pair, Rowin and Genevieve agree to form an alliance under the guise of a fake courtship. However, as they race through the game's elaborate labyrinth, trapped among gleaming gold and shining marble, their loathing gives way to irresistible attraction. Only Rowin is keeping secrets, especially when it comes to his ruthless family, and Genevieve can't help but wonder if she's trapped in two treacherous games: Enchantra and the one Rowin is playing with her heart.

What did I think of it:

I loved Phantasma so I got my trotters on the second book in this series.

And although it has lots of good stuff, it didn't reach the heights of Phantasma for me sadly enough.

I didn't much like Genevieve and Rowin.

I did enjoy reading about the weird game that was going on in Enchantra, really liked some of Rowin's siblings, liked the overall storyline, but those two... I couldn't stand them to be honest.

I had expected to dislike Ophelia as older sister and love Genevieve as younger sister when I started on the first book, because usually I find the older sister meddling and tiresome while the younger is just trying to live her life without the older sister intruding. Yeah... 

Give me Ophelia and Blackwell over these two any day!

Genevieve is too impulsive and unthinking for her own good, and Rowin is 'older sibling' at their worst even though he might not be the eldest.

I actually liked the 'worst' of his siblings more than him.

That aside, I had a great time with the action storyline and Voodoo Bride enjoyed the steamier scenes if not the romance.

I will keep an eye out for the third book, hoping against all hope it will feature my two favorite side characters from the first two books.

Why should you read it:

It's got lots of cool action and suspense.

Release Day Alert - A Bond of Pain and Love

 

The last book in this Dark Fantasy Romance Trilogy released today.

Go get it now!

(Or read all three books on Kindle Unlimited)

A Bond of Pain and Love

(A World of Houses #3)

by Tea Spangsberg

She will hunt them down.

Sofie can taste victory. The Houses are crumbling, Midnight City's power is shifting, and soon, she'll rule. But when power demands more blood, will she accept that it isn’t hers?

He demands their death.

Kill finally has what he's always a family, a place to call his own. It's not perfect, but it's his. But when someone threatens it, how far will he go to protect those he loves?

He will sacrifice everything.

Wrath has paid for his sins in blood and tears, and he'll fight tooth and nail to keep the love he's claimed. But when the cost rises, just how much more is he willing to give?

When the last flame dies, will their bond of pain and love survive? Or will nothing remain but the ashes of what might have been?

18+ content – Not suitable for younger readers.

Book 3 of the Trilogy. This story cannot be read as a standalone

Amazon

The Unseelie Exile - Book Review by Sullivan and Voodoo Bride

The Unseelie Exile: Arachnophobia Edition

(Web of Shadows/Floof of Shadows #1)

by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

What is it about:

This is the ARACHNOPHOBIA edition of this book! This means this has had all instances of the word “spider” mass find-and-replaced with “fluffy bunny,” “spiderweb” with “bunny nest,” the Web with “the Floof,” and so on. As you can already tell, this will cause hysterical side effects as well as nightmares of the grammatical and regular varieties. You might not have to deal with spiders, but you will have to deal with a seven-legged fluffy bunny.

_____________

One desperate night. Three forbidden seals. And the ruthless fae exile who will claim her soul...

Ava Cole thought rock bottom was losing her mother and being cast out by her father. That was until she followed enchanted lights into the midnight woods—and walked straight into the claws of the Unseelie.

Now she's trapped in a prison between realms. Her captor? Serrik—a devastatingly powerful fae outcast with vengeance burning in his veins and eternity to make her suffer. 

Cold. Merciless. Intoxicating.

His touch sears her blood. His golden eyes haunt her dreams. And with each forbidden lesson, each impossible task, Ava finds herself craving the very being who plans to use her as a weapon of magical destruction.

In this twisted realm of exiled fae who hunger for her blood and power, Ava's greatest battle isn't the magic she must unleash—it's the treacherous desire threatening to consume her soul.

Because in Serrik's deadly bunny-nest of shadows, the line between enemy and lover vanishes like mist. And falling for her worst enemy may be the most dangerous magic of all.

She can trust no one but herself.

What did we think of it:

This series is set in the same world as the Maze of Shadows series.

Voodoo Bride has to confess she was hesitant to read more in this world. She had a total love/hate relationship with Maze of Shadows.

But then we discovered there was an Arachnophobia Edition of this book!

And I will now confess I'm indeed that easy, so Voodoo Bride and I decided to buy this book and read it together.

And we had such a good time with this book!

Ava was a heroine we could really relate to, while Serrik was both alluring and dangerous. Voodoo Bride was totally invested in the relationship between the two, while I was eager to find out what would happen next in the weird prison world Ava suddenly finds herself in.

There were some really interesting fae Ava runs into, surprising events, and a compelling overall storyline.

This book was less 'awful' than a lot of the Maze of Shadows was. Where in Maze of Shadows there were some really nasty, disturbing scenes, here there were suspenseful and dangerous events as well, but it didn't squick Voodoo Bride out. There were also some very funny moments in our opinion.

As for the arachnophobia part: I very much enjoyed reading about scary fluffy bunnies, the floof, and bunny nests. The one thing that we had to get used to is that the word 'strand' was replaced with 'twig', which was weird in instances such as 'Serrik stroked back a twig of hair'.

We should have seen the ending of this book coming, but we did not!

Talk about upping the stakes of this twisted romance/attraction thing between Ava and Serrik.

All in all this is a really awesome read, and we immediately bought the second book (Arachnophobia Edition).

Why should you read it:

Evil Fluffy Bunny! 

Also: Really cool Dark Fantasy Romance

Teasing on a Wednesday - Caught Up

 

The blood was everywhere. Soaked into my shirt, sprayed onto my pants, and buried beneath my blunted nail bits. This was why i always wore head-to-toe black.

(page 1, Caught Up by Navessa Allen)

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their  TBR Lists if they like your teasers!