Hi and welcome to my blog tour stop for Bride by Ali Hazelwood! I adored this one. Pure fun--marriage of convenience in a sexy PNR kinda way. [ID: Jess, a white woman wearing sunglasses & a pizza sweatshirt, holds the ebook & sits in front of a lake.]Summary.A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance. Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again... Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was…. Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf. My review.This book is such a delight. IMO it’s not perfect. But the vibes are close to it. If that doesn’t make sense, maybe my review will clarify. In Bride, vampyre Misery agrees to a marriage of convenience with an alpha shifter so that she can find out more info about her missing sister. Vampyres & weres have been long-standing, often violent foes & to make matters more complicated for Misery, she’s never been fully embraced by Vampyres either. Misery & Lowe’s meeting doesn’t go well in her opinion, but the reader can sense something else going on (PNR readers where you at ). This book gets a lot of mileage from undercurrents & from significant moments in shifter / vampyre dynamics: marking, knotting, feeding OH MY. This book is quite hot & really delivered for me in all of those moments (still not quite sure I understand knotting though ). Added to those tensions & heat are some humor & compassion & found family elements. I adored it. Are there some things about the plot that I did not adore? Yes. But I didn’t hate them & in a way, they did some work for the vibes too. So the end, this is just a fun, relatively low angst (despite all of the threats of violence & acts of violence in the story) shifter tale that satisfies on basically all levels. Gimme more. 4.5⭐️. Out tomorrow!Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.Are you a shifter romance fan? Is this release on your TBR? Let me know and thanks for stopping by!
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Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Katee Robert writes on the blurb of Consort of Fire by Kit Rocha that this is “a primal scream of queer joy!” It also has a bazillion great reviews on Amazon & Goodreads. But alas, this one falls flat for me. What I liked: the steam, the basic premise, the unapologetic pleasure the leads find in sex & companionship, the generosity of spirit, the lack of jealousy, the devotion of Princess Sachi & Zanya to each other. It’s fun seeing where the imaginations of the two writers behind Kit Rocha takes them. But I had a big problem with the power dynamics in this one between the leads. It doesn’t feel like they are all on equal footing & I get a bit of the ick in one scene. Not to mention that the relationship between Dragon King Ash & Sachi feels rushed to me. If you want to try Kit Rocha I totally recommend the first two books in their Mercenary Librarians series (haven’t read the third yet!). A fantastic series. But this one sadly has some big deficits for me. 3⭐️. Out now!Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
Hi and welcome to my blog tour stop for Jenna Levine's My Roommate is a Vampire! A big thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. Summary.True love is at stake in this charming, debut romantic comedy. Cassie Greenberg loves being an artist, but it’s a tough way to make a living. On the brink of eviction, she’s desperate when she finds a too-good-to-be-true apartment in a beautiful Chicago neighborhood. Cassie knows there has to be a catch—only someone with a secret to hide would rent out a room for that price. Of course, her new roommate Frederick J. Fitzwilliam is far from normal. He sleeps all day, is out at night on business, and talks like he walked out of a regency-romance novel. He also leaves Cassie heart-melting notes around the apartment, cares about her art, and asks about her day. And he doesn’t look half bad shirtless, on the rare occasions they’re both home and awake. But when Cassie finds bags of blood in the fridge that definitely weren’t there earlier, Frederick has to come clean... Cassie’s sexy new roommate is a vampire. And he has a proposition for her. [ID: Jess, a white woman wearing a yellow skirt with white flowers, holds the ebook in front of a white bookcase.]My review.This is the first book I’ve read with a cinnamon roll vampire lead & I was immensely charmed. He is so considerate & formal in his speech & has beautiful stationary. I didn’t think I was looking for the two latter things in my romance heroes but I guess I am. Jenna Levine’s My Roommate is a Vampire is adorable, with a roommate romance between Cassie, an artist who initially feels like a failure, & her kind of strange, rich roommate Frederick who turns out to be a vampire who’s been in a coma-like state for decades. They begin to send letters back & forth to each other & after she learns what he is, agree that she will help acclimate him to modern life by giving him tutelage. There are some funny misunderstandings, a kissing for science plot point, & even a “who did this to you?” moment so basically a cornucopia of awesome things. Balancing the sweetness & the adorability is Cassie’s growing self esteem which Frederick helps along by helping her see how wonderful she is & how talented she is. And I never knew I was missing a reference to MFA student loan debt in romance but I loved it here. This book is quick & winsome & exactly what I needed in that moment. Super cute & I can’t wait to see what Levine writes next! 5⭐️. Out today!Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.About the author.By day, Jenna Levine works to increase access to affordable housing in the American South. By night, she writes romance novels where ridiculous things happen to beautiful people. When Jenna isn't writing she can usually be found crying over k-dramas, starting knitting projects she won't finish, or spending time with her family and small army of cats. Do you like cinnamon roll heroes? Let me know what you think about this one and thanks for stopping by!
Happy reading! Thanks to the author for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I’m often trying new authors because I feel like you never know when you’ll find a new one whose books make you fall in love. Rosanna Leo was gracious enough to send me an ARC of her upcoming PNR Darke Passion, out 03/21. Dual timelines + ghosts + kissing is definitely my jam & this book delivers on those fronts. The historical setting is Canada during the War of 1812 & it becomes pertinent to the present- day story when inn owner Simon Teal contacts our heroine Edwina Darke saying that people think his inn is haunted. Edwina Darke & her sisters—all of whom have unique jobs at their paranormal investigation agency—are on the case. While the story is atmospheric & creepy in a way I wanted, the ending is satisfying, & the moments of sweetness are engaging, I’m not a huge fan of insta feelings—which this felt like to me—& I didn’t always feel fully connected to the writing style. (Both of those things are “YMMV” kinds of things to me). But this is a fun story with some great thrills & a sweet & naughty romance too. 3⭐️. Out 03/21.CWs: murder, haunting, reference to rape.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hard-copies. All opinions provided are my own.If you’re in the mood for a brother’s best friend romance, you long for those days you studied learned Greek mythology in school, & you are a creature who thrives on secondhand pining, you should check out Amanda Bouchet’s A Curse of Queens. Though it’s book 4 of the Kingmaker Chronicles this book focuses on a different couple & I don’t think it’s necessary to read the series from the beginning (although obviously there are advantages to doing that). This book finds healer & sister of the King, Jocasta, “Jo,” quietly longing for a love & a home of her own & still hurting from being rejected by her brother’s best friend Flynn when she was 18. For his part, Flynn has big feelings for Jo which he will not share or act on because of his tremendous fear since losing so many of his loved ones. Luckily for us, Jo & Flynn decide to go on a mission to save the royal family that takes them adventuring across the kingdom & sea, to places no other mortals dare go. Jo has to really fight for Flynn & throughout the book she becomes the leading lady of her own life—to borrow a quote from Hannah of Tessa Bailey’s Hook, Line & Sinker. Filled with lots of potential danger, acts of bravery, & finally…kissing & declarations, A Curse of Queens is a captivating fantasy with heart & thrills that ends with an intriguing set-up for the next book (which I’m guessing will focus on a different couple). This fantasy romance offers first class adventuring-writing with pockets of sweetness & it was a lot of fun. 4.5 ⭐️. Out 10/04.CWs: Implied attempted rape by soldier. Violence. Death.
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