A Shade of Blood by Bella Forrest

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 340

Series: A Shade of Vampire #2

Rating: 3 stars

Review: I read the first book about June or July of last year. I have been waiting for a while to read this book. Well when I saw this was on kindle unlimited I was excited. When I went to get it, Amazon told me I already bought it. So I look through my kindle didn’t find it on my downloads so I had to open cloud and I found it.

To say I was a little annoyed that I had this and didn’t know about it, would be a major understatement. I’ve been waiting to read this and I had the damn thing the whole time and didn’t know it. Brain, you fail majorly. Plus I found out that this series has 25, yeah that’s right 25 books. I’m only on number two. I have a long ways to go.

So update from the first book. Sofia and her best friend Ben (whom she is in love with) are kidnapped by vampires and taken to a sunless island called The Shade. Well she thought she was going to be a captive for the rest of her life to the powerful prince Derek. At the end of the last book Derek helps her and Ben escape to go back home.

Now this book:

The book starts off where the first one ends. Derek helps Sofia and Ben escape out of the Shade. Sofia and Ben are back home. They won’t tell anyone where they had been. Ben wants revenge on The Shade. Unlike Sofia, his captor was evil and cruel.

At first, I found myself just wanting to read Ben and Sofia’s P.O.V. instead of everyone else. Derek’s, I started to skim through. He was boring. I wanted to know what was going on with Sofia and Ben. Sofia was no long in love with Ben but we do find out that Ben is in love with Sofia. He always has been. Only now he is getting the consequences of treating her like crap. She let Derek in and now he just wants her back.

Sofia has been having nightmares but something has always been in each one. A woman’s voice “The darkness is coming.”  Sofia doesn’t know what to make of this. Ben wants her to join him with joining the hunters and taking revenge.

Derek let himself turn almost cruel. He didn’t want anything to remind him of his humanity. He almost killed a girl until Sofia shows back up in the Shade.

Even lionesses fear the king of the pride.

Now towards the end of the book I was finally interested on what was going on in other P.O.V.s. Mostly Ben’s and Lucas’s because well both of their P.O.V.s contain the plot twists. Yep, two plot twists. If it wasn’t for the plot twists this book wouldn’t have gotten a high rating.

There was one major factor that was also dragging the rating down. The one thing I despise in YA books and that is:

A LOVE TRIANGLE!!! 

Why mess up potential in a book and ruin it with a love triangle. I was to the point of DNFing but I decide that I was going to get through this no matter what. I’m glad I did to because of those plot twists. Now another I don’t like that this book did was a cliff hanger. Not only a cliff hanger but a cliff hanger right after the second plot twist. What in the blue balls man???

So I am going to read the third book mostly for Ben and Lucas. What can I say, I like the asshole guys more than Derek.

♣Jay♠

Sweet Home by Tillie Cole

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 401

Series: Sweet Home #1

Rating: 5 sweet kisses stars

Review: Hey Mol… Hey you… You gonna give up that lucky sweet kiss?… If that’s what you want…It most definitely is…

This is a reread for me. I fell in love with Romeo and Molly’s love story. I think this is my all time favorite book. (Aside from Harry Potter of course.)

Molly is a twenty year old British student who is helping her teacher, Professor Ross, in a research project at the University of Alabama, home to the Crimson Tide.

Romeo “Bullet” Prince is the starting QB for the Crimson Tide, a celebrity at Alabama and all around player. Until he sees Molly.

Molly meets Rome in her class that she is a TA for. When these two have another run in at Molly’s sorority’s initiation their worlds collide. Rome seems to want Molly. For the first time in his life Rome wants a relationship. Molly though is scared. Due to Rome’s reputation and his pissed off twenty-four/seven demeanor. But Rome get’s through to Molly. Molly realizes that she is done fighting and decides to let Rome in.

For never was a truer story of love conquering woe than of this Molly Juliet and her Romeo.

I love, love, love this story. Rome is my number 1 book boyfriend. He hasn’t moved since I first read this last year. I gave my brain what it wants and well I hit the feels.

Every time I read this book I fall in love, feel the heartbreak, stop reading and cry shamelessly in the fetal position, then I go back to reading, fall in love even more at the HEA. There is another book called Sweet Rome which tells the story through Rome’s eyes. I fall in love with Rome even more. Rome and Molly’s story will always have a place in my heart. It is also one of the very few books that I will reread.

You get me?

♣Jay♠

 

The Virgin Duet by Alexa Riley

My edition: Kindle

Series: Stand-alone

Rating: 1.5

Review: I really wasn’t feeling this one. It took me two days to finish this. Anyone who knows or has read Alexa knows it does not take two days to finish one of her books. In this one it was just boring. I really didn’t like the heroine due to the fact she acted more like a thirteen year old than an eighteen year old. The hero I really didn’t like being a virgin. I love Alexa Riley’s normal alpha male. Bray just wasn’t getting my motor running. He actually made it dry up faster than the Sahara Desert. Well not every book is for everyone. This book just wasn’t for me. I still love me Alexa but just not this one.

Absolution by L.P. Lovell

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 237

Series: Stand alone

Rating: 3 stars

Review: ***Warning: May contain spoilers.***

Yep, that’s right we have a dark novel on hand. I freaking love the cover. It is what drew me in at first. I just needed to know what in the blue balls this book is about, having a girl covered in blood, praying. Then I read the blurb and thought, “Yeah, yeah I need to read this.” Why such a strong feeling you ask… well…

This isn’t BDSM or any of that prissy shit. There are no rules, no safe words. I do not want her willing submission. I want to drag it from her, screaming and crying. I want ultimate power over her, and while she’s here in this room with me, I want to own her, body and soul. -Ezra

If you don’t like dark novels definitely do not go near this one. Holy hell is what I call this.

She calls to my fucked up depravity, makes me want to possess her, to ruin her, because something about her tells me she can’t be broken. Or perhaps she’s already destroyed, damaged beyond reparation. After all, you can’t break what’s already broken. – Ezra

Evie feels like she needs to kill all male sinners. Due to how she grew up with her father she feels like her beauty is a sin. In order for her to be forgiven she needs to endure pain. (Pretty messed up. I told you. Dark)

Ezra runs a club and a few hookers out on the street. He needs to have total control. Evie makes him lose control.

He is quite deceiving, but then again, the deadliest things usually come in the prettiest of packages. -Evie

Evie starts to obsess with Ezra. She thinks he is her absolution. Let’s just say she is crazy in the head. Like coocoo for Jesus. Reason I say that is because she was raised to believe that sleeping with a man is a sin. That her beauty and herself is a sin. (Her dad was bonkers.) Her dad taught her that in order to be forgiven that pain is how to have your sins released. That is why she wants Ezra. She believes that he can make her feel so filthy and slutty but then turn around and give her penance due to beating her.

Am I enabling her crazy fucking shit? Of course I am, but sometimes creatures as depraved as we are must find each other in the darkness. -Ezra

I know, I know like I said coo coo. With this story, I like Ezra (Even though I shouldn’t) more than Evie. Evie was just annoying after awhile. We get it you think Ezra is a sin and that all men are sinners and you need to kill them all. Ezra is your salvation, blah, blah, blah. Get a bloody grip sweetheart, you are just like everyone else just with a freaked up mind. Yes Ezra is hot but he isn’t someone we should romanticized. Yeah he won’t force girls and all of the girls that work for him are there by their own free will but that doesn’t make him a hero.

Ezra is one of the most perfect antihero. He is the guy we should fear. He doesn’t want a sweet, caring relationship. No, he wants to break a girl and then move onto the next one. But he makes this story for me. I could deal without Evie, but Ezra, I loved his side.

Now the whole plot between Ezra and Zee is good. After Evie finds out who Zee is, she wants revenge against him. Why? He is a male and a sinner. Plus he killed her sister. Her sister was also like her. Hannah wanted Zee’s blood then she was going to go after Ezra. Evie takes it upon herself to finish Zee off in honor of her sister.

Like I said earlier Ezra makes this story. To me if this book would have just evolve around Evie, I would have DNF it. We would have just gotten a girl who had a shitty childhood and now thinks God wants her to rid the world of evil. Not just any evil, sinners. Not any sinners, men. How boring and Jesus freak would that be. No with Ezra, there is more to the plot. Now do I think Ezra and men like him should be romanticized? No. After reading this do I want to jump his book boyfriendish bones? No. I’d rather douse myself in bleach. What I am saying is that the reason I liked this book and that I finished reading it was due to Ezra.

♣Jay♠

Stolen by the Alpha by Charlene Hartnady

My edition: Kindle

Series: Stolen by the Alpha

Rating:5 stars

Review: Because these are novellas I am just grouping them together. Unlike when I got the box set for Chosen by the Vampire Kings, I am getting these individual due to the fact they are on Kindle Unlimited. A fair warning read Chosen by the Vampire Kings first because this kind of ties into that story.

Book 1: Accidental Theft

Pages: 83

Stephany is taken by the wolves. The alpha Ward is not happy about it, but there is an attraction between the two. Stephany has been celibate for twenty years after she had accidentally mated Lance. Ward has awaken Stephany’s libido, no vampire has been able to do that since she was mated.

As the other books in the first series this does end with a cliffhanger. I loved Ward. He is all man. (I may have pictured JJ again. Couldn’t help it.) On to the next one!

Book 2: Deliberate Theft

Pages: 86

Well that was one hell of a heart break. I want to talk about this so bad but it will ruin everything and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. This was good. Another damn cliffhanger but one more final book then I will be done with this series.

Book 3: Determined Theft

Pages: 139

I hate that this is the end. It is to soon. I love, love Ward. He is such a sexy alpha. Ward and Stephany are just omgoodness. Way to adorable. I loved every step of the way they got to where they were. Nathan and Cat… two cute for words.

Now that ending…WTF man a cliffhanger into the next series just like the one at the end of Chosen by the Vampire Kings. Why do you do this to me? Well good thing it is out and on kindle unlimited.

♣Jay♠

Wishbone by L. Sommers

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 230

Series: Stand-alone but is apart of a new series coming out

Rating: 2.5 stars

Review: I found this little gem on instagram. Yes, he is another male model I follow. I saw this and decided to check it out. Fell in love with the blurb and decided that I was going to read it.

Now I think I’m starting to fall into a book slump. I had to push through this one and the last book that I had just read. This past weekend I just wasn’t in the mood to read. I made it through though.

Alli has just left her boyfriend Jack and is moving to San Diego. She meets Chris on flight. They stay together when their flight is on a delay. They have an amazing connection and have one night of great sex. When Alli wakes up in the morning Chris is no where to be found.

A couple weeks later when Alli is at a baseball game she meets Cal, the coach for the San Diego Sun Devils. Cal soon asks Alli to help one of his players whose sister is going through cancer. Shane Mccall or better known to Alli as Chris shows back up. Chris has made it his mission that he isn’t losing Alli again.

I wasn’t fully interested. I was bored. I don’t know if it is me or if the book was actually boring. I will read it in the future to see if maybe it just wasn’t the time for me but till then I don’t have much to say. Mostly because I hardly remember much about this.

♣Jay♠

Guarding His Obsession by Alexa Riley

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 106

Series: Stand-alone

Rating: 1.5 stars

Review: Yeah you got that right another Alexa Riley smut book for me. What can I say… I enjoy the company of the very filthy mouthed alpha men Alexa creates. Does my fiance like it no but he can just go into another room.

Now I want to say that I love the male cover model. Mike Chabot is one sexy Canadian! How do I know that you ask, well I follow him on instagram. Yeah I follow a lot of male models. Why? I get cover reveals and learn of new books and authors. Don’t judge me.

Now sadly this one was a bit of a disappointment to me. I trudged through it. Seriously 106 pages and I had to push through. Drake was okay and Zoey reminded me of a twelve year old girl in an older woman’s body. I actually wanted more of Pink and Elle. Their relationship seemed to be more Alexa Riley than Drake and Zoey. I know Riley has insta-love in all her novels but this one was just to fast for me. It just wasn’t as great as her other novellas. I seriously want a Pink and Elle story even though I got their happy ending I want to see how they got there.

Even the sex scenes just weren’t living up to normal Alexa fashion. There really wasn’t any heat but I think for me that it was mostly Zoey. She kind of ruined the whole story for me. A big twelve year old ditz stuck in an older woman’s body.

Undefeated by Scott Hildreth

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 295

Series: Fighter Erotica Romance #1

Rating: 3 stars

Review:***Warning: If you don’t like abusive assholes who makes the girl think it’s her fault for the beatings, DON’T READ THIS!***

Kace is dating Josh, who beats her. He has made her think that see deserved all those beatings that he has given her. She doesn’t want to leave him because in her eyes it would be a sign of failure that the relationship didn’t work. (Her words.)

Seriously it is already a failure of a relationship. ***Alert! We have a stupid heroine here***

Josh was Kace first. He is an asshole. Kace can’t have any social media or any guy friends. He looks through her phone whenever he wants to make sure. Josh is the kind of guy I despise. I hate guys who have to control a person. She has dealt with this for ten years. TEN YEARS!! What the hell?

I like an alpha male but I don’t like a controlling, abusive asshole.

Kace was a confusing character to me. She actually pissed me off. In the first P.O.V (the book doesn’t have chapters it just switches P.O.V.) she says she’s a strong woman who doesn’t need to be save. Well when her and Josh are having an agrument in a parking lot and she meets the Hero, Shane, all of the sudden she wants him to save her.

Well fast forward two years later. Shane goes in to pay his insurance and sees Kace again. He wonders what happened after the night he watched her leave with Josh. By the way, Shane is a weird guy. He always wears a black hoodie, in Austin Texas. Any who don’t want to give to much away, Shane and Kace start to talk in secret to avoid Josh from knowing.

Well one night Kace has had enough. She leaves Josh then she goes to Shane and she kisses him.

Yes, again with this face. You got out of a ten year abusive relationship and start kissing the hero not long after. Don’t make no sense. She wanted Josh to just love her, then she is with Shane and just wants Shane to love her.

I like that Shane explains to her that he doesn’t want to be her guy out of necessity because she was dependent on Josh for so long.

Now we get to see Ripp’s (Shane’s best friend) P.O.V. and he is hilarious. Just knowing the second book is about him makes me want to read it for that fact alone. I love Ripp’s character. I like that him and Shane don’t put up with abusive assholes and decide to take care of it. By the way Ripp is kind of a sick in the head guy. And I loved every word of him.

Now reading from Shane’s P.O.V. he seemed a little off to me. I can’t really explain it but he was just that weird hot loner kid everyone didn’t mess with at school. Yet he fought every day. And he needs to fight every day.

I would much rather be perceived as being great at a few things than be a failure at many. – Shane

I don’t know if I like the writing style. I’m on the edge with it. I couldn’t really connect with the heroine or the hero. It was like a coastal read for me. Not a zombie or on autopilot but not exactly fully involved with it either. The main reason I’m going to read the next one is because of Ripp. That dude is funny and I want more of him.

♣Jay♠

Coach by Alexa Riley

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 117

Series: Breeding #1

Rating: 3.5 smut stars

Review: This is the third book that I have read of Alexa Riley and it won’t be the last. What can I say? I think she is my go to author right now for smut. I liked the other two books that I have read despite the creepy feeling I had during Trailer Park Virgin when her I guess you could call him stepdad and Gracie had intercourse and she was still calling him daddy Rick. Now in that book and Their Stepsister the whole talking dirty while saying brother and sister in that sense not all that hot.

But damn if you want a read to make you feel dirty and you like it, Alexa is your go to girl. Now I’ve seen Coach on my recommendations on Goodreads before but I have ignored it. Well after I saw who wrote it I thought well I will get it just for when I need a good smut.

After the book I just read, I need a good smut.

An older man wanting a barely legal girl. Hot! One problem. It’s his best friend’s daughter. Double forbidden.

Now I know the appeal of an older man but the difference between me and the MC was that I dated one of my brother’s drinking buddies not one of my dad’s.***Alert! Alert! Stranger Danger! Alert!***

Okay it’s not Stranger Danger but the guy is your dad’s best friend. That is just wrong but not as wrong as doing your stepdad. Even though your dad is ten years older than him doesn’t mean you should sleep with him.

For many who know me, know that I like the Houston Texans as one of my NFL teams.  There are few who also know that while Nolan Arenado is my baseball crush, my football crush is JJ Watt. One of the best defensive end there is to me. Well during reading it was only him I could picture.

This man is the definition of sex on a stick. *Drooling*

Anyway when I saw that Chris played for the Houston Texans, it made JJ that much more in my head as my Chris. All 6’5″ of him.

I have a problem I know.

This book did not help my problem either. Alexa Riley, you have done it again. You have made me into a hot mess. Applause to you!!! What can I say? The reason I love Alexa is because her smut books put me nearly out of my comfort zone and I like it.

♣Jay♠

Cara’s Twelve by Chantel Seabrook

My edition: Kindle

Pages: 335

Series: Stand-alone

Rating: 4 annul stars

Review: So call me weird that I don’t like love triangles (especially YA triangles) but I do like menage and reverse harem. I’m weird and I like it. Judge me or don’t but I’m not changing.

Cara has been told that she is going to now be Queen due to her cousin being unfit due to her illness (Being barren). Cara doesn’t like the idea at all. She doesn’t want to be queen but she has no choice. Twelve men from each provinces have come forward to swear their life to her, Cush, Finn, Helfrich, Reyn, Edmund, Theo, Arwel, Tahdaon, Hauk, Efy, Batch and Wesley.

Even though she has to chose one to rule beside her as king, the other eleven men will be beside her and they are to never take another woman. Kind of messed up. Those poor bastards have to stand beside the woman that rejected them as her king, but they will have to be there for her, and they can’t take another woman.

Helfrich raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Perhaps the lion can be tamed.”                                             She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “But can the man?”

Cara has to do moon rituals in each province to bind her and one of the twelve that is from that province. During these rituals Cara is starting to have visions. She thinks it is the effect of the wine and herbs she has to inhale or drink at these rituals. Well I’m right there with her. She was tripping major balls.

Everyone wants her as queen so she can change the ways of the older Queen Birkita. ***Major bitch alert.***

Fair warning there is a rape scene. It is hard to read as are all scenes like this but for me it brought me back to reading Outlander and when Jack Randall had raped Jamie. It gave me chills for a little bit.

Not even the wisest of us can make the right decision every time.

I love the quotes in this book. So insightful. If I could recommend reading this book on just quotes alone I would. But that really isn’t a reason to read a book. Though I do recommend because it is a wonderful fantasy romance. It does have a reverse harem so if that isn’t your thing then this book isn’t for you.

Peace often requires great sacrifice.

For fantasy this was great. I personally don’t think this is a YA book. Why it was tagged as a YA I don’t know. It seems to me it’s just a fantasy romance. I’m not saying that it’s to mature for young adults to read because it all depends on the persons maturity but I am saying that I don’t know if this should be in a school’s library.

P.S. I am TEAM TAHDAON all the way!!! Yes I want the rugged, tortured soul, man to win her heart and be king.

♣Jay♠