His eyes rake over me, hot like molten lava. “You look like every sin I want to commit, Princess."

4.5 stars

“I know what you sound like and look like when you come, and it’s all I can see and hear when I close my eyes.” His voice is a seductive rasp.

I am once again happy to be on Helena's review team because this was amazing and I would have died waiting to read it. This is the second book in the Toronto Terror series, made up of interconnected standalones. I’ve never been an age gap person, but this gap wasn’t too bad and Hollis was perfection (and super hot, this man was super hot) so I couldn’t resist! Also, we love a good forbidden romance, so Dad’s best friend is definitely forbidden!

So many questions arise. So fucking many questions. Like why the hell is her vibrator in my goddamn bedroom? On my nightstand.

I love how the book started lmao the second hand embarrassment was strongggg

“Anything else look tempting to you?”
My gaze rakes over her. Yeah, tonight is going to be an exercise in restraint.
“You shouldn’t look at me like that if you don’t want me to get ideas, Hollis.”
“And how am I looking at you, Princess?”
She brushes by me. “Like I’m the snack.”

Aurora was a great FMC, she was strong and knew what she wanted. And she took care of him after he got hurt and I’m a simp for that🙈

“I can’t believe this is really happening.” She runs her hand through my hair as we find a rhythm. “I don’t think I’ve dry fucked since high school.”
My fingers dig into the soft, fleshy part of her ass as I level her with a glare. “Don’t talk about other dicks while I’m rubbing you on mine.” I am out of my mind with possessiveness when it comes to her.

Hollis was a conflicted bitch lmao He started seeing Aurora as more than his best friend's daughter and well, the spice started spicing. But he really struggled with coming to terms with his feelings for Aurora and his betrayal of Roman (Aurora’s dad) which was both annoying for Aurora but also nice because he wasn’t ready to just throw away his friend. He was also pretty broken up from a past relationship, so there was some nice development.

I slide a hand around the back of her neck and press my thumb against her chin. “Look at me. Eyes on mine.” They roll down, hazy and unfocused as they find my face. “That’s it. Good girl.”

While this wasn’t as spicy as book 1, and there were no cucumbers, there were scrunchies and Batdicks and spare bedrooms. If those interest you, make sure you read this!

“Loving you out loud feels so much better.”

I literally have a bunch of spicy quotes I don’t know how to include here. Also, super important, Hollis’ two rescue cats are called Postie and Malone. Just in case you wanted to know that.

“My cats adore her. I adore her.”

Thank you Helena and Sarah for this eARC! 

"Fuck me,” Matthew breathed out. Then huffed out a laugh. “Seriously.” He swallowed. “Fuck me. Please.”

This had no business being this good.

“You’re breaking my heart,” Matthew murmured, his nose almost brushing my temple. My body stilled, my mind quieting.
“Why?” I whispered.
“Because I’m trying to flirt and you’re not paying attention to me.”

How am I supposed to ever meet a man in real life when there are book men like Matthew?? I haven’t added a man to my book boyfriend list in a long time but hi, hello, Matthew. you are now on it.

“I’m coming over.” My chest filled with crazy, stupid butterflies.
“Almost everything is done.”
“Then I’ll keep you company. Bring you snacks. Don’t make me beg, Baby Blue. Because I will.”

The perfect mix of cinnamon roll, glasses toting, backwards hat and sweatpants, dirty talking man and I love him now. Seriously, the way he noticed everything, all of Josie’s issues, all of Bobbi’s manipulations, and Andrew’s lack of, well, anything, and how he protected her, stood up for her, loved her, just *perfect*

“I knew this would happen. That I’d taste an inch of you and I’d want more. Everything.”

Josie was a really lovable character too, she was strong on her own and had a good amount of past issues that made her character growth nice. Being engaged so many times and still wanting to find love was emotional lmao

“Seeing how I’ve blindfolded you in a sad excuse to spare you the sight of how I look right now.” My throat worked. Everyone’s watching us, Josie. I could indulge in that. We could.
“And how is that?”
“Like I want to throw you over my shoulder and run,” he said, voice low, just for me. He swiped at my bottom lip. “Like I want to drag my fiancée to that gazebo at the back and fuck the anxiety out of her.”

The spice was perfect and they had great chemistry!!

“You’re incredibly turned on,” he pointed out with a knowing smile. My cheeks flushed. “Do you want to grab my ass?”

NO THIRD-ACT BREAKUP YESSS

I hated the podcast so much! I hate people who make a living of the destruction of other people's lives, or these types of people who crave drama - like, fix your life and stop ruining other peoples.

“I want to watch your face when I touch you. I want you to see what it does to me.”

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada, Atria Books, and the author for this eARC!

*********

“You sent me an SOS,” Matthew explained, his brow knotting again. That urgency with which he’d stormed in returned to his eyes. “You can’t text me an SOS when there’s no real emergency. Do you have any idea how—” He shook his head. “I ran down here. From the lodge. I thought something was wrong. You wrote I need you.” That sensation in my stomach skipped, realization rippling.
“So that’s why you’re wearing a slutty shirt and slutty sweats?” My voice turned to a whisper. “You were working out? You didn’t leave me on read?... You didn’t need to drop what you were doing and come rescue me. Next time I text an SOS just . . . maybe put on a hoodie and calmly make your way down to me instead?” His thumb moved, grazing the underside of my jaw.
“You can’t send me an SOS, then, Josie. An SOS means I fucking run.”


______________________________


Rtc
Matthew is now a top book boyfriend 😭😍🫠 

“They’ve been keeping you hidden,” he said. “Ordinary. When you’re anything but.”

I’m not sure what to write…sometimes I just want to write a review that says

EXCUSE ME READ THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT WAS AWESOME

But I know that is useless to pretty much everyone, sooo

5 stars of cinnamon roll, dirty talking, music playing cuteness

“Extraordinary. Absolutely— fucking gorgeous—”
“Can’t believe you did that,” she hissed.
“— something so beautiful—”
“I could have embarrassed myself in front of all of Carnegie Hall!”
“— like we were made for each other, Gwen.”

Okay, first things first – Ama and Elliot – hi my lovelies, it was nice to see you again

“Keep going.” He shifted behind her as she moved into the next section— less wild than the first but still a whirlwind. And then he was behind her. Fitting into the space between her back and the back of the chair, sitting with his thighs on either side of her, his hands steadying himself on her hips.

Second thing: That quote above? THAT WHOLE SCENE *internally combusts*

Third Thing:

Alexander Fitzgerald.
Xander Thorne.
Alex.

He stared at her, like he’d lost his train of thought, and she watched him lick his lips. “Can I see you? After rehearsal? Any day. Or morning.” A hand shoved through his hair. “See, I can be on time.” (Give him praise, Gwen!)

This man was the definition of a tortured soul. I was living for all of their interactions, literally screaming during THAT SCENE. The cover scene. You’ll scream when you get to it too. Trust me. See quote above and combusting.

He sent her a shaky smile, quickly pressing his lips together.

He was so soft for Gwen lmao. He was this grumpy, tough person to everyone, he only ever had acquaintances (or partners as he called them) but with Gwen he was this little ball of mush, buying her tacos and coffee and asking her out all cute-like. Okay, that’s enough

“If you don’t want to be with me, together with me, I can understand,” he said, and she felt her knees wobble. “But, Gwen, please make music with me. I need you in my life. I need to be in your orbit in some way, and if you don’t want me to touch you and kiss you and fuck you, then let me make love to you onstage every night because it’s the most alive I’ve felt in ten years—”

I had such hatred for Nathan and Lorenz by the time we got to the end. I mean, I knew they were manipulative, arrogant assholes, but phew, they were the worst. And Ava…I didn’t like her either. Basically, everyone in Alex’s life was shit and used him and it turned him into this egotistical monster who had no care for anyone else (obviously until Gwen, but also, like a while after Gwen too). He really had everything stacked against him (but also had everything going for him too).

“Look, I don’t know what you want from me, but—”
“Anything.” Black eyes looked down on her, and he took a shaking breath. “Everything.”

Gwen and her “I don’t like long goodbyes or love songs” also lost a lot and just wanted security and stability. I relate to that – having stability is sometimes the only thing on your mind.

“I want to be clear,” he whispered, as she focused on the rose-colored smudges around her lips. “I want you. In every way.” She swallowed, and he watched her throat move. “I want to see you. And fuck you. And play music with you.”

The spice

He pulled back long enough to whisper against her lips, “I’m gonna fuck you until you scream tonight.”

THE SPICE

“Take off the robe.” Gwen swallowed, feeling a chill run across her skin. Oh, yes, how silly of her to forget. They’d had sex last night. They were now people who had sex. With each other, specifically.

Okay, I’m done. This was a mess.

Thank you Forever Publishing and the author for thie eARC!! Julie Soto is now an auto-buy author!




__________


How I am supposed to write a review for this piece of perfection?
Rtc 😭 (proceeds to write a fucking novel of a review) 

“I’d destroy several worlds if it meant keeping you safe. You have no idea the limits I’d go for you.”

This review is brought to you by the ghost of Sophie, she perished reading this book. Revival will occur when book 4 is released.

“The most powerful being in the entire realm is not the World Ender, but the one who protects the World Ender."

Or maybe not until the last book is released 🫠

“You give me the best memories.”

I literally can’t breathe properly right now. I don’t even know what I just read. This was amazing. I mean, this is book three, not really sure why I’m surprised, Amber is a genius at this point in my mind. The last, I dunno, 10 chapters, I was internally screaming the entire time. Hence the not being able to breathe. I can’t even process it, so let’s start off somewhere else.

“There you guys are. I found some more herbs we can use… Dianna, why is your face red?”
I wiped my hand across my mouth. “I ate the guards.”

This book has multiple POVs, and I was LIVING FOR ALL OF THEM. You know there’s usually one you don’t care about, but the story in each one captivated me so much. The intricacies, the worlds, the magic, the banter, everything was top notch.

With his[Vincent's] arm pressed between my breasts and his hips spreading my thighs, I[Camilla] struggled to ignore the brief flash of heat that burned deep in my belly. I shook my head. What was wrong with me? Holy burning gods.

This review is already too sappy 😂 Okay, we pick up both right where we left off in Camilla’s POV and then a few weeks later with Dianna. Camilla was a queen I didn’t know I needed. Wow, this is going to be all over the place. Her and Vincent, building on whatever started when she was captured in book 2, that was literally everything.

He was right. I’d never felt so alone. We sat in silence for the rest of the meal, but I couldn’t hide the fact that both of us, betrayers at our cores, seemed to bond over the silence. Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe it meant everything.

Vincent

I need to hide all of my thoughts for him under a spoiler warning 😂

Hoooly shit. What a character. What a broken character. I was back and forth with him for the entire book! Hardcore shipping him and Camilla 😩 but then Vincent cut Camilla’s hands off…WHAT THE FUCK. But then it was a ruse so they could escape 🫠 And his forced bond to Nismera, Ohmygod, Dianna almost killing him, and she’s going to attack tf out of him when they meet up. Phew. I have so many thoughts about him.

"We shouldn’t have left him in that stupid city. It’s my own fault for trusting they were actually helping us. When has anyone not had an ulterior motive?”

Imogen and a certain someone else - that’s going to happen right!? Redemption!?

Nismera clasped her hands, cocking her head toward Elianna. “What was spelled for me once more?”
Elianna looked as if she wished to be anywhere but here as she folded her hands. “Umm, come get me,” Elianna cleared her throat, looking around the room, “bitch.”

<b>Kaden</b>

“I have a blade,” I said, and Isaiah sat up straighter. “It has runes engraved on the sides. Think the words of Ezalan, but more. I could erase all her memories and replace them.

That piece of garbage. There were times I felt for him, his father literally trapping and imprisoning him and Isaiah for so long, but I dunno, I dunno what to think of him, mostly bad things because of his obsession with Dianna, but I haven’t conflicting thoughts - Elianna is most likely his mate, amata, so I wonder what that’s gonna be like because she also betrayed Samkiel and Dianna.

Cameron/Xaiver/That fucking ending

“Jokes on you. I only fed and then left. I haven’t put my dick in anything but my hand.”
Kaden scoffed, taking a step back. “Let’s share less.”

What an interesting twist, Cameron being turned, and now Dianna isn’t really alone as a species 🥹 The fact that Cameron was willing to just ruin his life for Xavier makes me want to cry WE NEED A REUNION FOR THEM. But the ending, with the gods 🤯 literally never crossed my mind 😂 now they have even more on their side, but why is Nismera so much more powerful?

Logan and Neverra - We didn’t really see them and I’m sad, I love them!

“I want you to fuck me like you mean it,” he rasped out, his voice nearly a growl."

Dianna and Samkiel

“Look how hard you are for me.” She licked at my chin before nipping it. “Is this mine?”

What do I even say about these two? They risked everything so many times to be together

and if his fucking dead GHOST FATHER ruins all their sacrifices, I will rage. Dianna losing her soul to bring him back, but wait the soul is in Samkiel,

like twist after twist, my heart is going to explode!

"I've been doing this far longer than you have. I'm pretty sure I know how to be the villain."

I loved how ruthless they both are, a couple that kills together stays together lmao

“I want to fuck you until you can’t walk. I want you to feel me for days, akrai.”

There was lots of spicy spice in this one ☝️

“Look at you, taking every fucking inch of me.” My toes curled as I closed my eyes and threw my head back. I felt myself clench around him, another orgasm building. “That’s it. Come for me again. I want to feel it,” Samkiel demanded. “Give me what I want.”

The End

Reggie,

Death

, Kaden, the gods, Samkiel’s power,

Unir taking Dianna

, Vincent and Camilla, Eilanna, DID I MISS ANY MORE TWISTS!?

It felt so good, too good. This was bliss, and I was going to die.

Brain: 0
Amber: 1 (probably more than 1 at this point)

"You know, I watch him sleep just to make sure he's breathing. I feel like I am going insane."

Thank you so much to Amber, Rose & Star Publishing, and GoodGirls PR for this ARC!

I didn’t have pretty words to offer him, and I sucked at revealing my emotions, so I did what I always did and said, “I am going to fuck you senseless.”
This time, it was his turn to stumble over his words. “Well… I mean… we technically could now. If you want? This entire place is abandoned.”


________________________


What the ever loving fuck!!!! So many reveals in the end my brain is fried😭
Review to come once I can think straight

 This was a strange book to write a review for. I didn’t hate it, took me less than a day to read, but I didn’t really like it either.

It was too…simple? Everything went along easily for the characters and it was laid out with no in-depth thought or development, the world and characters were one dimensional and reallllly young.

It read almost like a middle grade book at times, the conflict arises and is solved within a page with not much description or effort. I dunno, I’m having trouble explaining it. 

“I’ll tell you every day, until our last sunrise. And even then, when we cross the veil, I’ll whisper it through the void until my voice fills Oblivion. I love you, Camilla.”

This was a solid ending to this steampunk, gas lamp, Peaky Blinders/Six of Crows duology, and I was happy with how everything played out for our sad characters.

“I would bring Milla home, or I wouldn’t come back at all. Either way, I wouldn’t spend another day without her”

The world-building and magic system was still fun and I love a good prison setting in a book, as well as a strong set of main characters. Is there more in this world, I feel like there should be more, following different characters 😂🙏

“All change starts with one person pissed off enough to get their hands dirty.”

Reading about the injustices that descendants were facing, the opinions and lack of empathy from those involved, had real-world ties and was so awful. But Milla and Nico, and their family (heavy on the found family trope) were a bright spot in their dark world.

“So polite. I’ll fuck those manners out of you.”

The spice was spicy 🌶️ Nico’s hand upgrade was a whole mood 😂

“Come lay with me, husband.” His smile stretched enough to flash dimples in both cheeks.
“Why must you say it like that?”
“Because everyone keeps calling me your wife like I don’t have a name or a purpose beyond the title.”

Why am I so bad at reviews 😂

He freed his belt from his pants with a single pull.
“Sit,” he ordered.
I sat.

Thank you to R&R Book Tours and the Author for sending me an ARC!

“Anyone who puts a gun to my girl’s head will lose their hand... and then…they will lose their head.”

4.25 stars

I once vowed after the death of my father that if I ever met an Attano, I’d kill them. Instead, I married one.

Rivals to lovers.
Marriage of convenience.
Warring families.
Forbidden love.
Gangsters.

This trope list packed a punch 😂 Such a great combination though!

I could have sworn his grip locked a little tighter.
“Spoiled little heiress.”
I scoffed. “More like broke little heiress.”
His grip tightened, stealing a gasp from my chest. “Not anymore, princess. I’m your daddy now.”

To pay off a debt and save their family from bankruptcy, Camilla is married off to a competing, feuding family, but there’s murder and mayhem happening in the city, and obviously, our characters are right in the middle of it.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Daddy. Can I go now?” The moment his right dimple deepened with a smirk, I knew I’d made a mistake...
“I’d be very careful about calling me that again.”

This was a super fun steampunk-y fantasy, set in a post industrial era with banter, a unique world, and some great characters. It gets violent and dark, someone gets eaten alive by a fucking horse demon thing, and there’s trauma abound.

“I have lost my parents, my sister, my very flesh and bone, but I haven’t lost my fight. The day I have, you will need to carve the letters for my tomb. Because I will either die for what I love, or I will live forever.”

Milla and Nico were banter-y rivals come to life in this book. She threatens to kill him and he wants to…well

“You have a face that looks constantly pissed off, making you fundamentally unapproachable, and it's highly arousing to me.”

Can you make a review that’s just quotes? Because I have so many and they technically tell you all you need to know 😂 I loved Milla’s witty comebacks! She was a pretty great character, strong on her own but accepting, mostly, of help as well.

He took a step closer. A small one, yet there was a purpose in his stride. A careful approach—almost predatory. “Who did this to you, Milla?”

It also had one of my fav tropes 🤭🫠 It also had the “my wife” and I am a HUGE fan of that 🔥

This book was about power, greed, control, and a blend of magic and science.

She shoved me deeper into Oblivion with each day that passed, but if I was already pegged for damnation, I might as well do it right.

The villain was a little predictable, as well the, um history reveal? But there were some surprises and lots of sadness at the end.

Thank you to R&R Book Tours and the author for this ARC! I’m only a fewww months late 😂

"I would run through fire and burn for you. I would lose arm and leg and limb. I’d do it all over, knowing what would happen to me, if it meant eventually having you as I do now." 

 This was not good. It started off okay, for like 20 pages or so, but no. It really read like a bad standalone fantasy - everything was underdeveloped and rushed. The characters were one dimensional, the world building was non existent, and the I dunno, magic system was poorly explained. It was written a little child like, like Step 1 leads to Step 2 in how to build a rebellion in a fantasy novel, featuring scenarios that are surface level, easily solvable, and cliched.

There was also a ton of violence against children, something I didn’t really expect, but I guess when the army is exclusively made of up child soldiers… but like, how did this army even start when the Commanders were also child soldiers? Who has an army of children? Who leads them? Why was the emperor so powerful compared to people who were literally turned into monsters? World. Building. 

This was mostly sex 😂 I liked both MMCs though, so I didn’t hate that 😂 but like, every chapter…

Anyway…
This would have been better with 50% less nicknames. 
So many times. 

 I was going to take off a full star for the conflict at the end, yuck, but I did enjoy most of this book so I thought that wasn’t fair.

I’m also beginning to think that either I don’t like the word knot or I just don’t like the concept 😂 which is a huge issue because I love so many other aspects of omegaverse 🫠. But knot talk is making me cringe now so 🤷‍♀️🐓

Anyway, this was a fun quick read for those who like fake dating, mates, shifters (I wish the shifter part was more prominent, I kept forgetting they were wolves 😬), and smexy smex.