This was the third book that my dark romance book group decided to read so it does come with some trigger warnings and I want to highlight those first because I think with these kind of reads it’s very important that people know what they’re getting themselves into & that everyone is aware of some of the triggering things within the story.
TWs⚠️: Breath play, knife play, sadism, mental and physical torture, aversion therapy, child death, suicide, drug addiction, attempted rape, sexual assault, bloody scenes, paedophilia.  

Despite all of those trigger warnings this is a really good book. It’s one that I think is gonna leave me thinking about it for ages to come as well which to me is always the sign of a good book. 
So considering this was the pic for dark reads book club it does feature a dark romance however this book is so much more than that as well. The plot twists just kept coming and coming, and in the last 30% of the book every single chapter had a new OMG moment for me and then the last 10% was just like Jesus F Christ. 
The story follows Isa (Isadora) who takes up a job as a companion for Master Lucian Blackthornes mentally declining mother. The Blackthorne family is shrouded in years of mystery and rumours, and their family home - actually a castle - has seen some tragic events in the past. Isa moves into the castle to start her job and from the moment she meets the devil of saltbones himself her life is set on a new mad path.
Throughout the book you gradually start getting fed pieces of the puzzle of Lucian’s darker past and I really enjoyed the fact that the dark romance mostly featured his troubled past rather than the female main characters past. However Isa also has some haunting secrets of her own. 
Wrapped up in this story are relationships that test limits both mentally and physically, damaged & tortured souls who just need some healing, mystery, suspense, shady cults and just a little bit of everything to be honest.
I absolutely loved that I could see everything playing out in this book exactly how I would imagine it would be in a movie. This story has haunting Gothic vibes to it that just really set a scene and the story feels really fresh and the plot is certainly not one I’ve come across before especially in dark romances and I loved that.
Two reasons this wasn’t a five star for me: 1) there’s a few parts of the plot that I didn’t really like how they were resolved in the end.
2) I expected more from the sex scene, in that I’m not sure they were written that well in terms of where the story could have taken them

All in all this is definitely going to be a book that I recommend to people who are wanting to expand their horizons a little bit, maybe take a step out of their comfort zone while still playing it safe, and who enjoy not knowing where the story is going to take them next.

So @bookboyfriendsbc are 2 for 2 with 5⭐️ reads! This was one of the February BOTM and I’m so glad I read it!
Grouchy Duke ✅
Strong independent heroine who makes grouchy duke a softy ✅
Steamy scenes ✅✅✅
This book made me fall in love with the characters, the setting, the story everything. It made me emotional as I read it, waiting to see what would happen next. Once I really sat down to read I didn’t stop until it was finished!
This story follows Izzy (isobel) who inherits a castle from a deceased godfather at the perfect time, when she has nothing left. One catch? The castle comes with an injured, irky, society shunning duke who doesn’t believe the castle should have been sold in the first place.
What ensues is fights to each keep the castle, mischief, secrets, pasts and whimsical characters come to life.
Steam scale I’m giving it a 15 movie rating 🔥🔥 It was both sexy and accurate to the time period.
I loved especially that whilst this is a historical read, it’s fresh and fun and funny and reads so easily. I could easily see the scenes playing out in my head and I love everything about Izzy and Ransom. 
Plus it has an epilogue! And I’m a Joe for a romance book epilogue.
Highly recommend!

DNF

TW: kidnap, sexual assault, bullying 


This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I know now that I will not be reading any more by her. The writing itself isn’t so much an issue however it’s very rudimental and basic. “ I did this. Then I did this.Then he did this.” Type writing that just feels unedited and amateurish.
However I could’ve gotten over the bad writing if it weren’t for the horrible content that was featured in this book. Not only do you have a male lead who has kidnapped a female, And not in a good dark romance way, but in a bully-ish dominating, sexual assault kind of way. At one point the male lead says to the female lead something like “don’t make me out to be such a beast that I would touch you without your permission”. This is extremely laughable considering he has touched her multiple times without her permission in ways that can only be described as sexual assault.
The female lead is constantly beating herself up for feeling attracted to this man and for wanting to sleep with this man and if she’s not beating herself up she’s throwing herself a pity party because she’s a prisoner. And then if she’s not doing either of those two things it’s usually because she’s admitting that she is attracted to the male lead.

No ending could of made this book good for me and I got about 40% through and I just couldn’t finish anymore. I don’t DNF books lightly but this is definitely not a book I recommend at all

So much happened in this book holy smokes! As always I’m so glad I had @burnsreadsbooks along on the ride with me doing this buddy read. 
This book really has it all:
-magic
-romance so sweet it destroyed my teeth
-mystery
-adventure
-character development 
-emotional scenes to tug on the heart strings
And in a CLASSIC Maggie move, it’s left me with even more questions and a need to consume the final book ASAP!
This really was a book I enjoyed, and it’s a series I happily recommend. I love how Maggie builds up this world for you that should be impossible to envision but she writes so well that you feel you’re right there. 
I sometimes don’t always love the way that questions are left unanswered but USUALLY this adds to the story and mostly gets resolved in the end. 
I love most of the characters in this book, and the main 4 (5) are just so darn sweet and I would die for them. They really are just such a brilliant group of friends, who are literally willing to die for each other.
I so far have liked how each book gives a little more to us about the characters, and by the end I’m going to genuinely feel like this group are people I know.
I’m rooting so hard for certain people in this book, I can’t wait to see how the story ends.
Are my emotions ready? Probably not, cause Maggie is fantastic at manipulating them. But I’m ready for it!
Highly recommend for anyone who wants light fantasy, with great core characters and a wonderful friendship group

I really loved this book, I read it in one sitting (which tbf was helped by the fact the font was really big but still 🤫)
It’s no surprise that this is a James Patterson book as I’m not sure he knows how to write bad books! 
What I loved most about this book was it had a bit of everything in it. There were the crimes obviously, the detective work, a sprinkling of romance, a dash of danger and a few anxious tense moments too.
I loved the way it was written, whilst from multiple pov’s it was still personal but also felt like I was observing the scene. Very hard to explain but it rinsed me of the narration from sin city 2 and I really enjoyed that.
Because you know who the killer is from the start, as his POV is some of the first chapters it means the whole book is full of not trying to work out WHO it is but more WHY they’re doing what they are. Plus it means the whole 400 pages are full of adventure and plot without having to have those red herrings and theories in there.
Maybe not the most complex crime book but I really loved it. Highly recommend for anyone who prefers a bit of “light” crime reads.
TWs⚠️: there are some mentions of violence (shooting, poisoning, bombing) though they are not described very explicitly, does contain some sexual scenes, describes blood scenes, a kidnap and small torture scene.

So as the title of this book probably obviously suggests this book is about Dr Amanda Brown who originally was a GP but changed career to be a Prison Doctor, first in men’s prisons and then in women’s prison. 
I think overall I did enjoy this book but unfortunately I felt it was quite shallow and didn’t give justice to the hardships that this job and also the prisoners face.
I did find this story interesting and the font and set up of the book made it super easy to read so when I finally got round to sitting down and reading it, it was a quick story.
I do think it was a good beginner story to the role of a prison doctor but I felt it was just that, the beginning. There were very large parts of stories missing and the story felt very choppy.
I would have personally liked to know more of the hardships involved with this job because the other appears to have quite rose tinted goggles on for this one and I don’t believe that to be completely accurate.
However all in all a quick read that was still entertaining to an extent
TWs: This book deals with some major growth issues including suicide by multiple methods, abuse, assault, self-harm, drug and alcohol addiction and withdrawals, sexual assault and a lot of other things related to crime

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review, all opinions are my own.
I don’t read a lot of fantasy so I am well aware I don’t have a lot to compare this book to but I really overall did enjoy it a lot.
To begin with I wasn’t 100% sure what time period it was set in but it became clear as I read on that it was slightly in the future. The premise of the story is that the Roman Empire never fell and Londinium was still ruled by the Caesar line. Londinium is the only part of Britain that is ruled by the Romans and the rest is ruled by the Britons, people of magic. The story follows Cassandra as she discovers things about herself she never expected, and falls in love with a boy, Devyn, who is more than he appears to be.
So firstly I am here for the romance in this story. It really tugs on your heartstrings, you feel yourself really rooting for this couple, and you wish above all else that they manage to get together. As the book describes they are two Starcrossed lovers and I was here for it. I was properly anxious for a good 50% of this book on whether or not they were going to get together, whether they were going to stay together, and whether they were going to be together in the end. 
The story is mysterious and has some great magical elements to it, with mystery intertwined so you are constantly trying to work out what’s going on. 
There is also elements of adventure and danger to the story which kept my heart rate peaked as I was reading and anxiously turning every page to find out what would happen next.
There was a wee bit of jumpiness to the story, and a small amount of sentences that didn’t fully feel edited however I am aware that I received an arc of this so it may not have been perfect. 
I did think as I was reading that there was a little bit too much will they/won’t they with Devyn and Cassandra however in the end I truly really enjoyed that and it kept me guessing and anxiously waiting as I read. 
The world building was a little bit lacking for me although by the end I understood it a lot more but I think we could have done with it being more clearly explained to begin with, for example the fact I didn’t know what time period we were in until I read further. 
Over although I really enjoyed this book, I cannot wait to read the next one which I have already requested on netgalley and I’m extremely keen to see where Devyn and Cassandra end up next.
I would definitely recommend this book series!

Fake Dating Trope ✅
Enemies to lovers ✅
Chemistry and 18 rated steam 🔥🥵✅

So this is a super easy, super quick, smutty read. 
Ruben is in fact a European Prince, and when a tabloid journalist photographs him with the gorgeous Cherry Neita, he decides to tell the journalist that Cherry is his fiancé instead of risk a scandal. Only issue?? He only just met Cherry that morning....

So this is a great book when you want a super easy, HEA read. The perfect type of read to get you out of a slump. You kind of know exactly how the story will go and there’s comfort in that.
But overall it was a bit of a flat/ 1-dimensional read. It was incredibly predictable, and almost too nicely all wrapped up perfectly for each loose end. It also kind of felt like nothing really happened in this book. Even the dramatic plot twist scenes weren’t really dramatic or plot twisty.
But despite that I did enjoy the read, it was super fun and quick, and is a nice palette cleanser to have something a bit easier i between your other reads

TWs⚠️: abuse (child-to child, and adult-to child) rough/dominating(but consensual) sex

I absolutely loved this book. I’m so thankful to @bookboyfriendsbc over on Instagram for making it their first BOTM and giving me an excuse to read it finally!

Review TWs⚠️: mentally abusive relationship/gaslighting
I honestly instantly fell in love with Leon and Tiffy. I was waiting anxiously for them both to meet, as if reading a thriller I was turning each page waiting for the moment. And then it happened in an even better, funnier more romantic way then I could have imagined.
I loved how both Tiffy and Leon had such unique voices. By the end of the book I didn’t need to glance at the character name at the top of each chapter, I knew instantly who was speaking.
The fact that a lot of the information in this book is presented through notes makes this such a good fast-paced book, and I never felt it dragging.
I also adore how character focused this book is. I loved all of the characters we were introduced to except the obvious one I HATED. But every single one of them added something to the story and I loved that.
I loved how the book approached the more delicate, under-represented trauma of being in a verbally/mentally abusive relationship compared to a physical abusive one. I think this book really highlights how healthy and good counselling can be in the right situation and I was so happy to see this.
By the very last page I CRIED. I was so in love with Tiffy and Leon’s journey that I was so so happy with their ending.
The only flaw? I WANT MORE 😍😍
Also who else wants a Richie book, cause I know I do🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️
Books TWs⚠️: palliative care, cancer patient, abusive relationship (mentally/verbally/gaslighting), ptsd.