bandherbooks's Reviews (3.65k)

Cadeon Woede knows his fated mate is a human, thus he can never have her. As a demon, the claiming would kill her. But he looks after Holly Ashwin, tiny, beautiful, and whip-smart from afar while also continuing to try and fix the big mistake he made centuries ago, the mistake which lost his brother Rydstrom his crown and kingdom.

But, Holly the mathematician with OCD is way more than she seems. In fact, it turns out she may not be quite mortal after all and may be The Vessel, fated to give birth to a child of complete evil or complete good.

But while it now seems Cadeon CAN claim Holly for his own, it also turns out she is the one thing that he can trade to get the information he needs to finally gain back his brother's crown. And Holly has no idea.

A rollicking road trip paranormal that is just banana pants, I had so much fun being introduced to my first demon! There's a lot of debate about the sexiness of horns, but I think I'm kind of in to it. I imagined Cade as kind of a Tom Hardy with horns, so that works for me!

I felt I had to take a few more "leaps of faith" with some of plot points here, but whatever. Also super looking forward Rydstrom and Sabine's book (it is next) because Rydstrom totally gets kidnapped in this one.

Loving this Fated Mates podcast read-along!

Continuing my read-a-long with the Fated Mates Podcast, No Rest for the Wicked takes one turned-against-his-will vampire and the emotionless assassin Valkyrie who wanted to murder him, but turns out to be his bride. Oh, and this vampire has never had an erection until he meets Kaderin the Cold-Hearted (his bride) and she hasn't felt sexual desire until he kisses her. So delicious.

I liked the addition of the legendary scavenger hunt contest, a contest Kaderin has competed in, and one, at least five times. Seeing her at turns foiled and helped by the lovelorn vampire was super fun. And wow, the sexual tension is for reals in this book!

I'm loving how Cole includes so many awesome secondary characters, and I'm really looking forward to learning more about Bowen and his quest to save his long dead mate, which Kaderin foiled in this book.

Slight spoilers:

Bastian is a virgin (see above). He's also 6 1/2 feet tall. Yum.
Hot plane sex, which thankfully isn't ruined by all the lightning somehow.
Bewitched chains is the new BDSM
The time travel aspects confused me a little bit. Hoping they'll be discussed in the podcast.

Read as part of the Fated Mates Read-A-Long of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series, The Warlord Wants Forever is technically the first book in the series, although not by publishing order. I believe I read the more heavily edited and updated version in [b:Blood Red Kiss|29430690|Blood Red Kiss (Immortals After Dark, #1; MoonBound Clan Vampires, #2.5; Otherworld Assassin, #2.5)|Kresley Cole|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474198392s/29430690.jpg|49464362], but didn't want to mark that as the book I read because I didn't read the other two stories.

I'm glad I was advised to not read this book first, because I don't think I would have enjoyed it without the broader context I've been given reading the others. This was a story where I LOVED Myst, the "most beautiful Valkyrie" but really side-eyed her hero, Nikolai Wroth, who I had first met in [b:A Hunger Like No Other|14384|A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark, #2)|Kresley Cole|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1357616154s/14384.jpg|16422] as a besotted recently blooded and married to his fated mate Vampire.

Here's Nikolai kind of sucks, and there are some big consent issues, so content warning for that. Nikolai definitely didn't grovel enough for my taste, even if Myst did make him suffer for FIVE YEARS after blooding him. Ha ha ha.

A novella length audio book is sometimes the perfect thing for the work commute, and this one was super fun. I've been bingeing the heck out of Kate Canterbary, and I think I've finally come to the end of the Walshes.

Here we meet Jordan Kaisall, Will Halsted's business partner, former SEAL, and all around bad-ass. He's on vacation with Will and Shannon (so adorable to see them) in Montauk after finding his casual girl friend blowing his business competitor in his apartment, something that means his competitor was able to bug his entire house.

When Jordan wipes out on his surfboard, he is assisted by a beautiful woman named April. I'm imagining a Little Mermaid style meet cute here. Swoon.

Kaisall has a really bad leg, full of pins, steel, and pain, which acupuncturist and woman of many other skills April offers to help with. The lust is real here friends, and this once stoic man falls head over heels.

But April maybe isn't all she seems to be...

I wasn't quite expecting the turn this story took, and I loved it! I'm hoping to see more of these characters someday. This solo male narrator wasn't as good for me as the one who did the Walsh books and I missed having the dual POV, but still a great listen!

I listened to this prequel "novella" (more like short story) because I loved [b:Consumed|39296491|Consumed (Firefighters, #1)|J.R. Ward|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1521208486s/39296491.jpg|60238189] so much. It wasn't really necessary but I thought why not. Basically, we get to see in action the events that led to Danny and Anne first sleeping together, which is alluded to at the beginning of Consumed.

It was okay and the parts with Danny and Anne together were hot, I just wanted less with the helping a "prostitute" and her pimp, less of the philandering Deandra, and basically if you haven't read Consumed don't bother with this.

When best-selling mystery author and slight curmudgeon Stacia Leonard gets the chance to meet the super popular cover model she credits for helping launch her series into the big leagues, she hesitantly agrees. All she really wants to do is crawl into bed after a long day of book signing, but her publicist and she agree this is one photo-op she shouldn't miss, especially since her series is being optioned for TV.
Adrien Valliere has a bit of an ulterior motive in asking Stacia to visit him and his wife at their LA home. The Valliere's appear to be a beautiful, perfect couple, but while they are madly in love they have a secret.
Dara, Adrien's wife, hopes Stacia will be able to give Adrien what he needs, not realizing that Stacia may also be able to help Dara with the same.
A delicious unconventional romance story between a husband, his wife, and the woman they both fall in love with (don't worry, with happily ever-afters for all).
Besides being decadently sexy, the details of Stacia's life as a popular author, Dara's art, and Adrien's modeling career are exceptionally well-drawn, adding a lovely depth to an already stunning character study. I cannot wait to read more in this series!

Advance copy received in exchange for a fair review, thank you!

What a delight!

When Delilah Swanpool, the Countess of Derring's husband falls dead, she's in for the surprise of her life. Their marriage was tolerable at best and cold at worst and now his secret gambling debts have left Delilah with nothing but a dilapidated building and his mistress.

Joining forces with Angelique who is in just as much of a lurch as Delilah without even the grace of a title, the two women sell their last remaining possessions to turn the building into a boarding house.

Delilah is determined to never depend on a man again, but when a dashing, tall, and gruff specimen of one turns up on her boarding house's doorstep, she can't help but be a bit intrigued. What Delilah doesn't know is that Captain Tristan Hardy is on the hunt for a smuggling ring and that her new home may be the epicenter of it all.

Battle weary and looking to finally buy his own merchant ship, Captain Hardy always gets his man and is ready for this to be his last mission for the Crown. But Lady Derring is a beautiful distraction, with her kindness and her strength.

What starts as a seduction for information turns into an affair of the heart, but will Delilah be able to forgive Captain Hardy's deception as he circles in on the true criminals?

SO SWOONY. I marked so many passages, and for a man who claims to be "no poet," well Captain Hardy, you sure sound like one to me! Also, this story has THE BEST grovel. My word. Captain Hardy lied, he got caught, and he needed to really crawl through it to gain Delilah's forgiveness. Well, you convinced me Captain!

I received a free copy in exchange for a fair review.

Some spoilers:

Spoiler

One bit that irked me was after Captain Hardy prevents a man from raping Delilah, she and the Captain have sex for the first time almost immediately after the incident. I always side-eye this a bit, and I guess I feel I wouldn't want to get it on after something so scary? But, it was a blip in an otherwise sparkling story. The grovel included a POEM which was the best poem.

Oh my gosh, Jamie and Marcus are going to melt your hearts (and give you major pants-feelings)!

I have a soft spot for Jamie because I got to name him! Tessa Bailey hosted a contest on her FB group and I thought Jamie was the perfect choice for a sensitive, strong, glasses wearing, and loyal brother, and I guess so did she! 😊

Jamie is leery of the growing feelings between himself and Marcus, a man who is only beginning to figure out his sexuality. Jamie doesn't want to ever hide who is again.

The sheer yearning and heat between these two is amazing, and there's a scene at the end...wow. That's all I'll say for now 😘🍆🔐

My gosh, this series. Kate Clayborn is on my auto-buy list now.

I basically ignored my family all morning so I could absorb myself in Greer and Alex's romance. The way Clayborn can build tension is just masterful. I couldn't put it down. I mean, a scene involving a basically chaste photography lesson with a ladybug gave me real pants-feelings to borrow a fab phrase from Greer.

Alex is a dreamboat and I loved seeing his mental health journey which is kicked off by Greer's urging but isn't solved by their relationship. And wow, I wish I could have a Patricia for my therapist!

The relationship between the three women is also just standout and exemplary. I'm also blessed with a core crew of women who are my own Zoe and Kit.

Can't recommend these books enough!

I listened to Best of Luck on audio, and I am officially in love with both narrators, Carly Robinson and Will Dameron, and I will definitely be searching out other books with their voices. Kate Clayborn is a master at making you ache for that first touch, that first kiss, that first time. What an enchanting way to spend my commute and I cannot wait for more from this author!

I have never read a medieval romance so eloquently and exquisitely paced before. Never. I felt fully immersed in 13th Century Wales while also being swept away by the slow-burning romance between Nan and Gryff. I usually get a bit antsy with slow-burners, but much like Kate Clayborn's contemporaries, Kingston makes you love ever aching moment of the build-up before that first touch, the first kiss.

Also, I cannot even believe I'm writing this sentence, but Gryff is the ultimate medieval soft hero. Yes, I'm calling a Welsh Prince, trained in the art of falconry and swords-play, a soft hero. He'll love your dog (yes there is a wonderful dog and the dog is safe the entire story). And by soft I mean he'll cut off the head of your enemies and gift it to you as tribute but will patiently and forever wait for your permission to touch, to love, and to cherish. His adoration of Nan is utterly swoon-worthy.

She felt in him, always, this allowance for her desires, for what she wanted and did not want. He accommodated her and she, who had grown accustomed to living in service of other people and other purposes, found it more pleasing than she could ever have imagined.

And let's not forget Nan. I did not realize she has her own novella, book 2.5, but I didn't feel lost without it. Nan is an inspiration, a heroine who is quiet, who knows what she wants and what she'll accept, but also a heroine with struggles, flaws, and desires. I appreciated her desire to find her sister, I appreciated her struggle to not judge her sister's decision to partake in the sex trade, to shame her sister, but also her unwillingness to allow her sister to put children into the trade against their will. I loved her knives, and the women around her who helped Nan become the woman Gryff would fall in love with.

PLUS the secondary characters are also amazing and add so much to the story and the historical setting. Kingston paints a diverse, accurate Medieval world, not ignoring the ugly parts of history.

There are so many details to absorb and love, and I'm so delighted I was given a chance to read this story in advance.

Content warning: There are some stabbings and violence and death, but not to major characters. Both characters have extremely traumatic pasts that are talked about. Nan was threatened with rape many times and physical abused.

**Free copy received in exchange for a fair review.