It took me a little bit to finish due to traveling, but the characters hooked me, and I kept coming back to the story. Ali provided substantial worldbuilding and political tension in addition to solid romance. The relationship between Lowe and Misery... the banter, the protectiveness, the trust, OBSSESSED

I am a sucker for found family tropes and all of the side characters were just as fleshed out without feeling distracting. I loved Serena's storyline and the development of Misery's relationship with her brother

Not a 5-star read due to Lowe acting very out of character after

Misery finally putting together that she was Lowe's mate. 1) I loathe an unnecessary 3rd act break up, and 2) there was not enough groveling afterwards in my opinion

It did get a little annoying how naive Misery was about Lowe's feelings toward her, and purposefully allusive communication between them about mates. It felt similar to The Love Hypothesis with

the FMC assuming the MMC was interested in someone else and continuous miscommunication about it...

Themes: Supernatural romance, Vampire FMC, Were MMC, found family, political unrest, miscommuncation trope, grumpy x grumpy, marriage of convenience

I won a copy via a StoryGraph giveaway and had no expectations going into this story.

It surprised me how much I loved the FMC and MMC and their relationship development. The secondary characters were just as lovable and interesting in their own story lines. I wasn’t sure how I’d like a superhero romance but it was well written and included a lot of depth. 

Themes: Superhero romance, small town, found family, friend’s brother, exploration of mental health, dirty talk,  some spice 🌶️🌶️, summer fling, possessive MMC, grumpy x grumpy 

I was so excited to finally get Henry's POV since he was such a lovable character in the first two books. I was obsessed with the relationship dynamic between the MMC and FMC I felt the pacing and development were very realistic & believable. 

I don't usually like the virgin FMC with the experienced MMC, but I think it was handled well and didn't feel cringe or uncomfortable. I also loved how the author provided some neurodivergent rep without it feeling tokenizing or centered around diagnosis. I like the delicacy of exploring Henry's masking and the need for accommodations 

Themes: Hockey Romance, Neuro Rep, Virgin Rep, slow-ish burn, open door spicy scenes 

This was recommended in one of my peer consultation groups, and I found the prompts helpful in supporting reflection on neuro-queer topics

I love Kayla’s writing and representation of hot plus size FMCs and couldn't wait to dive into Kade and Presley’s story… I loved them because the relationship felt so real while dealing with deep topics!

I liked the dive into mental health and it did not feel reductive with Kade navigating depression, substance use, and trauma. However, Kade’s character arc felt flat and drawn out… so much of the story happens in each character’s head that it was hard at times to believe they just understand each other without much direct communication 

Tropes: Cowboy 🤠, coworkers, small town romance, Instalove, mental health rep 

I really wanted to like this sequel since the first book ended on a cliffhanger with the rebellion. Nothing really happened rebellion-wise in this story... you get snippets through Lizzie and Maeve's journey to fulfill their own personal quests, which are not super connected to the rebellion/political unrest. I wanted more world-building and development of the portals and magic system, so that was disappointing 

The romance was decent, and I loved the tropes and lore incorporated into this paranormal sapphic romance. 

Tropes: Pirates, Vampire and Selkie FMC, grumpy sunshine, touch-her-and-die trope, sapphic
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

OBSSESSED with this series. I loved Mische's perspective in this book, especially with picking up where the last book left off. I wish the book was longer, I loved the storytelling and pacing of the trip through the descent!!!

 I was so invested in Asar's character development and Mische's learning to fully embrace herself. I wanted more of Asar's POV and backstory, especially after getting snippets during the descent! 

The processing of religious trauma was handled so well, and I resonated so much with the shame and disillusionment religion can reinforce.

As always, the ending wrecked me and left me eagerly waiting for the next release. 

Themes: Vampire romance, magic, grumpy-sunshine, slow burn, religious trauma, touch her and die MMC, quest/political unrest, manipulative Gods

Super fast paced read, I finished it in 24 hours... I loved the lighthearted and slow-burning relationship dynamic between Adam and Olive. The PHD subplot was interesting, and I liked the academic setting. I loved the side characters' developments and the strong friendships each character had that intertwined with the fake dating story. 

I didn't love the damsel in distress trope, and I wish Olive was more confident in her intellectual abilities without needing a man to say it for her to believe in herself... 

Themes: grumpy sunshine dynamics, slight age gap, faking dating, he falls first, protective MMC

The story follows January, a romance writer, as she processes her grief and grapples with the disillusionment of "happily ever after." Her neighbor is her old college rival, Augustus, and they challenge each other to write out of their comfort zone to get out of their respective personal and professional "slumps." I loved the dive into family of origin issues and how these experiences impact one's worldview! 

Themes: Writer romance, grumpy-sunshine trope, rivals to lovers, forced proximity, and some fake dating/secret pining 

I read this right after Icebreaker, and I love this series. However, I didn't connect with Russ and Rory as much as I did with Nate and Stassi. It felt repetitive and both of them were reduced to their family issues... I liked the exploration of family of origin issues impacting relationship dynamics, but wanted more into who they are outside of that, since family issues were ALL of their conflicts and the primary plot device for their connection and growth together

I love the way the author develops the secondary characters!!! Xander helped lighten the book with banter, and I appreciated the development of Russ and JJ's friendship

Themes: Miscommunication trope, summer camp counselors, summer romance