Cupcakes for My Orc Enemy by Honey Phillips

Despite the cute title and cover, Cupcakes For My Orc Enemy by Honey Phillips is such a disappointment. Instead of a sweet and sexy romance that goes enemies to lovers, we get a weird orc that hates women, a woman that just takes it because wow what a big male, and random scenes that are supposed to tie it all together.

De-Witched by Sophie H Morgan

This was an absolutely super sweet and cute romance that I didn’t expect but absolutely needed. Both leading characters had great personalities, standing out from typical tropes and the relationship was solid.

The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson

Finally deciding to take the plunge into omegaverse, I picked up The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson which was wildly spicy and hot, but also a bit of a letdown with the predictability.

Shattered Hearts by Tina Spencer

Despite balancing issues, Shattered Hearts by Tina Spencer brings a satisfying conclusion to the Hudson Yards duology and packs plenty of spice.

The Croning by Laird Barron

I had heard some pretty good things about The Croning by Laird Barron and with such an intriguing cover, I thought okay, let’s give this a shot. I needed something to listen to at work and I liked the narrator’s voice. Turns out, I should’ve dug a little deeper because this was absolutely the most boring and pointless ‘horror’ novel I’ve read in ages.

Lights Out by Navessa Allen

Lights Out by Navessa Allen was a good erotic kink romance, but left a lot to be desired if reading as a dark, stalker romance. Don’t go into this expecting good plot.

No Road Home by John Fram

No Road Home by John Fram had me absolutely feral while reading. This was an amazingly perfect example of American Gothic literature and had everything I want in a novel. Great characters, clues that you don’t realize until after the fact, tragedy so real it hurts, and amazing sense of pacing.

Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber

I was super excited when I was offered a copy of Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber. Not only have I been wanting to read her work, but I am always looking for good gothic, vampire, latine fiction so to have all of that in one seemed like a great package deal. And it was, for the most part!

Monster’s Mate by Anne Hale and Celeste King

I saw Monster’s Mate by Anne Hale and Celeste King randomly while browsing for my next read and thought you know what? Why not! Why not pick this up since I typically need a no thought predictable fun book to read as a palate cleanser between ‘heavier’ things. I still want to get into monster romances despite that wild disappointment that was Honeysuckles by January Rayne and looking at the cover, I figured okay this’ll do! I picked up the audiobook and got straight to it. Unfortunately “it” was continued disappointment.

Double Pucked by Lauren Blakely

As a hockey romance, Double Pucked by Lauren Blakely was a real letdown. From poorly fleshed out characters, to the lack of hockey, it fails at anything other than MFM erotica.

Lovely Bad Things by Trisha Wolfe

I picked up Lovely Bad Things by Trisha Wolfe when I was searching for interesting dark romances a few months back. The cover looked gorgeous, the narrators sounded great, and I thought the concept was interesting. An investigator teaming up with a murderer to solve some wild killings while falling for him. In reality, it […]

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke was an absolutely rollercoaster ride of a book. I didn’t know what to expect when I began but was hooked instantly and as the mystery of the House, of Piranesi, and of the book itself began to unravel, so did my emotions. It is an absolutely beautiful story told from the point of view of a beautifully broken man.

Tidal Creatures by Seanan McGuire

Tidal Creatures by Seanan McGuire was one of the releases I was most excited to pick up this year. I loved and cried during the first book in this series, Middlegame. I loved and cried even more during the second book of the series, Seasonal Fears. I thought I would love and cry during this third installment. Instead, I was left disappointed. This is a book that feels like 464 pages worth of filler.

Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon

I was so excited to pick up Bound to the Shadow Prince by Ruby Dixon. One, because I really liked her Ice Planet Barbarian series. Two, because I really enjoy darker and monster romances. Three, because I thought this was going to be vampy. While I did enjoy the book, it was very different compared to […]

Your Blood My Bones by Kelly Andrew

Your Blood My Bones by Kelly Andrew absolutely is one of those books that you buy a physical copy of just so you can highlight and annotate the heck out of. The prose is so beautiful and the emotions so raw, I absolutely recommend this for someone looking for YA horror and romance. The horror is innate in the beauty and a natural consequence of love and home.