A solid start to the Flesh and Fire series. I love Sera and Ash, I think they’re great characters and like the Blood and Ash series I can see this story being another guilty pleasure of mine. Obviously there are some grammatical errors and repetitive jokes/conversations that are a theme across Armentrout’s books which I hope she works on soon. 

I love how alike Sera and Poppy are and that it’s clear the stabbiness is genetic. And clearly they both have similar tastes in sarcastic, cocky, damaged men. I hope Nyktos and Sera will quickly resolve their issues cause it is very clear they need to be together. Others will most likely suffer the annoying back and forth if they continue to fight their feelings.

In a lot of ways this is a Persephone/Hades retelling and it’s own I enjoyed given Sera isn’t a virgin and Ash is. And talk about the spicy scenes! I thoroughly enjoyed the sexual tension and intimate scenes between the two. It’s a bit jarring that it kind of started as them trying to solve the mystery of mortals murdered by gods to emotional conflict in Illyseium. 
I hope to see Sera develop more and work through the years of emotional trauma and neglect and find herself. Can’t wait for The War of Two Queens and the The Light in the Flame! 

Though this second and final installment of the Sands of Arawiya was long it didn’t feel like it dragged on. I do feel like it wouldn’t have been so much emotionally and just long winded if Faizal wrote three medium length books instead of two long ones. I loved the relationship building between the zumra and the description of the different regions. It did feel hurried in things that should’ve been drawn out, like the trips to Alderamin and Demenhur. I still think the timeline of events was very quick between the two books. For such long and heavy books, the timeframe is only a matter of weeks. I very much loved this story but wish there was more time spent on Lana, Yasmine, and Misk. I think my favorite character in this book turned out to be the Jawarat. 
Regardless of the duology’s shortcomings, the story made me laugh and cry and made my heart squeeze. I cannot wait to see more work from Faizal as she continues to grow as an author. 

Cheesy and predictable and very quick, but liked it nonetheless. Pretty hot. Mind numbingly entertaining.

As far as adult romance goes, it was entertaining and didn’t get cringey until the HEA but I thought it was sexy and fun and very barebones romance book. Very cliche and predictable but it’s why I picked it. 

A very cute and fun Indian-Canadian love story. I loved Nadim and Reena from the start and loved their dorkiest. I hated the secrets and part of me worried about how healthy their relationship was and if it would work with so much deception and omission from the start.

I am glad they were honest and plan to work on their relationship after they were married.

I thought the book was wholesome and informative. I learned a lot about the Indian diaspora and relationship dynamics between siblings and parents, as well as mental illness. The food sounded AMAZING and I wish I could have everything Reena made and ate. Just a great, fun, sexy book. 

I really liked this book! Sam and Nikki are very cute together and I loved the lessons Nikki learned in her time with Sam. A little disappointed in the lack of spice but loved the dorky romance.

I was geared up for Nikki and Sam not ending up together and for the first time ever I was okay with that possible outcome just because in life I think people fall in love passionately and quickly but don’t always end up together but I’m very happy they did in the end.

The ending also seemed pretty rushed and I wanted more cute scenes! 

The book was fine as a whole and somewhat entertaining. However, I didn’t really find myself rooting for the couple. The relationship felt forced and not as romantic as it could’ve been. As my first mlm book, I’m a bit disappointed. The dialogue was also a bit awkward. As a first book by the author, I do have hope for growth. 

I’m starting to get back into murder mystery/thriller books. When I was 12-15 years old I loved Tess Gerritsen and Iris Johansen novels, so I was looking for a more modern and diverse version of those types of books, especially books written by women and people of color. Isabella Maldonado did a great job writing the opening to the world of Nina Guerrera and I am excited to read more of Nina. I loved the book and the characters were great. There were moments when it was a bit choppy and clinical, and there wasn’t too much suspense, but I did enjoy the book as a whole.

I wished the ending battle between the Cipher and Nina was a bit more drawn out. It didn’t have me on the edge of my seat as much as I would’ve liked. I think because since book is marked as the first of the Nina Guerrera series I didn’t think much was at stake like I feel it would’ve been if he took Bianca and Nina. I do like that Nina came out of her shell a bit more and started a foundation of trust with her team and that the story didn’t focus on any romantic interest. Can’t wait to read more.

My first adult lesbian love story and I loved it a lot. For one, the main character and love interest are 37 and though one has her career set the other one is still struggling to discover her path. I appreciate they’re not 20 with their dream jobs like a lot of books. I love Steph and Erin. They’re both complex characters and the book, though cheesy and a bit cliche, does explore some darker topics and emotions. I liked this book a lot, it was cute and hot and fun! 

It just didn’t grab my attention fast enough. I might give it another go in the future.