litty_lydi's Reviews (123)

Her father's running for mayor under a zero-crime-family tolerance platform.
He's the son of the soon-to-be-mayor's targeted Don.
And they can't seem to stay away from each other.

A forbidden romance mafia story à la Romeo and Juliet? Yes please! Throw in a down bad MMC who can't quite grasp his feelings enough to know why he's obsessed, but that's not going to stop him from pursuing her. He even uses one of my favourite tricks, the "let's just do it once to get it out of our system" 🙂‍↕️.

I think this story does a great job balancing out the romance and the plot surrounding their families, to a point where there was less spicy scenes than I was expecting (not in a bad way, but for some reason it did stand out to me). Both our main characters are extremely love starved, and exceptionally unaware about it. Although the root cause of their issues definitely differ, in the end they meet in the same place of being open to receiving love and accepting they are deserving of it in return.

I would consider this on the lighter side of mafia romances. It still deals with some difficult topics, and he is still a crime baddie, but this is definitely not a "dark" romance. A nice light palette cleanser for those familiar with the genre, and I'd say a great starting book for those who may looking to dip their toes into it.

This was my first Gabrielle Sands book, and I will definitely be coming back to read her backlog. However, not to be dramatic but I am gnawing at the bars of my enclosure for Fabi & Cosimo’s story… it’s gonna keep me up at night. My talent is picking up on the best future relationship potential, despite only showing up on a few pages, and I think I've nailed it with this one.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book via the author.

Considering I was devouring the others in a day or two, this one taking 2+ months says everything I think I need to say as to whether this story/couple hit for me lol

I am intrigued by the next one since it’s a female dragon this time around but… might need to take a break before diving back in. 

One of my favourite monster/alien romance authors writing a new fae romance series?! Sign me up!

🪽🌱

He's a big hulking fae warrior with feathered wings, horns, and grey skin. She's a tiny little human just trying to make ends meet after not only losing her family to illness, but also having to live in a town recently taken over by the ruthless fae. Yet, despite the incompatibility on multiple levels, the universe has decided they're mates!

🪽🌱

This is a quick read and more romance than fantasy. I definitely want more details about this world, but as someone who is a big fan of how Sue continued to expand and flesh out the world building with each book in the Worldship Brides series, I have no choice but to trust the process.


I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Vero Heath has very quickly become one of my top mafia romance authors. The balance between some absolutely unhinged, toxic, bat-shit crazy behaviour with tender love and heart warming scenes that had me tearing up was chefs-kiss. The fact that Elio, while only going soft for his girl, still was a ruthless menace to the end, is exactly what I want from my mafia MMC's.

❄️🩸💍

Amelia didn’t mean to lie. Really, she didn’t. It was just one little joke to her parents about bringing a boyfriend to an upcoming wedding. But instead of laughing it off, they latched onto the idea like it was the most exciting news of the year. Now, she has two options: confess the truth and endure months of pitying glances and unsolicited matchmaking attempts, or find a date, and fast.

With time running out, Amelia does what any desperate, overworked accountant would do: she ropes in the next available guy. Enter the tall, handsome stranger she literally bumped into on the street. He’s charming enough, but he’s also got an eccentric wardrobe, a perpetual case of the chills, and a habit of saying things that make her question if he’s from this century.

❄️🩸💍

OKAY insert knuckle cracking sound. My Roommate is a Vampire was one of those books that was a bit of a let-down (that might be dramatic), but there was so much potential that I feel was not explored (still upset we didn't spend more time with the cooky old school vampires). I do think I enjoyed this one maybe slightly more? I love fake dating trope so that helps. However, this story once again leans very heavily towards insta-love, which makes fake dating less exciting. But like the first one, there were still parts I enjoyed, laughed out loud and swooned.

However, my biggest gripe with these books is the flippant behaviour that becoming a vampire is treated with. I know, it's not that serious, but I need these women to take approximately more than 30 minutes to actually think about the fact that they would be becoming immortal for a guy they met less than a year ago. What about their families??? Their careers?? Their entire lives?? This is not a decision you can just make willy nilly. It feels like these women are getting love bombed but instead of being swooned into a relationship they're being swooned into giving up their entire lives for some guy. Again, not that deep. But I feel like if you're gonna add vampires as a love interest that conversation needs to happen. Even Edward had the decency of pushing back against Bella (lol).

I'm also not convinced that these stories wouldn't work if you removed the vampire aspect. It currently is more so in there to have that kind of paranormal romance vibe, but with none of the real world realities of what a romance with a vampire in the 21st century would actually entail.

Anyways, I'll get off my vampire soap box now.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley.

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probably a 3.5 for me. I think I think about the real life consequences of becoming a vampire far too much (& definitely far more than the characters in these stories)

After nine books of interspecies relationships, we get our first story featuring alien-on-alien contact and it's a second chance romance!

💙

Asha and Hemalo's journey began seasons ago when their unlikely resonance brought them together. Extroverted and spirited, Asha was uncertain about being mated to the quiet and reserved Hemalo. Their bond was tested when their first child tragically passed shortly after birth, plunging Asha into an all-consuming grief that drove a wedge between her and everyone she loved—including Hemalo.

Now, fate has intervened again: Asha and Hemalo have unexpectedly resonated once more. She must confront her deepest fears, opening her heart to the possibility of healing, another child, and the man she once vowed to call her mate. But the scars of loss run deep, and Asha and Hemalo's past threatens to overshadow any chance of a future together.

💙

This was a re-read in preparation for the special edition release, and considering last time I read this was last spring where I binged 15 IPB books in the matter of like 2 weeks... I needed this reread to refresh my memory. Up to this point in the series, Asha has always been presented as, quite frankly, a bitch. But getting this story, not only from her and Hemalo's POV, but also the bonus added POV from Claire, really helped "humanize" her, for lack of a better term. She was going through it, and felt like she had no one to lean on (partially her fault, but the prolonged grief and internalized blame definitely played a big factor in her behaviour). Hemalo definitely had some reflecting to do to, mainly in the vein of better communication, or really any communication (typical man).

In typical IPB fashion, it made me laugh, made me emo at times, and of course a little flushed. Getting the switch to an alien pairing was a nice change of pace, and having Claire explain to Asha some of the human tricks for pleasuring an alien actually had me laughing out loud.

Oh! And of course the added bonus chapter featuring Megan and Cashol was a nice little treat.

I do like to believe that there's a timeline where I live on Not-Hoth.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital arc from Berkley Romance via NetGalley.

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you see the problem with rereading one IPB book is I now feel the deep need to reread them all. I forget how much of a comfort read these are :\

full review to come 💙

Synopsis: Dory, a PhD student studying meerkats in the Kalahari Desert, is thrust into chaos when moments before her death, she and a lion are abducted by owl-like aliens. Escaping with her newfound lion ally, Toto, they crash on a strange planet where modern and prehistoric wildlife coexist—and where alluring aliens complicate survival and Dory's plans to find a way home.

🦁🛸🦖

While the Mead Mishaps series has been on my tbr for a while now, this was my first foray into this author's works... and at this point, I don't see myself reaching for more. Something about the overall writing style doesn't quite work for me. The strongest written parts (to me) were actually the smut scenes... then everything in between felt like filler where the author was constantly trying to one-up the absurdity. And I am a big fan of alien romances!!! I read them all the time!!!

Aside from the smut, the other highlights for me were the fun jokes and commentary on Dory getting her PhD and being a wildlife biologist. As a PhD student in biology I strongly related to Dory's experiences, and the way she viewed all the new creatures she encountered under the lens of "how is this evolutionarily possible", which is one of my favourite games to play. However, I did find it disheartening that even aliens have to deal with the issues of lack of research funding... life is so unfair.

Anyways, my guess is that you enjoyed the style of her other books you'll likely still enjoy this one, as I presume the overall vibes are similar to the Mead Mishaps series. Alternatively, if you are just looking for a quick, absolutely insane ride that has you thinking "how tf did I get here", this would probably fit the bill.

🦁🛸🦖

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and Berkley.

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This is likely a 2.5 for me… it just didn’t quite work for my tastes (which usually is alien romances lolol). If I wasn’t trying to clean up my NetGalley I probably would’ve DNF’d.

full review to come 🦖

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No notes. I actually can't stop thinking about it and I am actively holding myself back from an immediate reread. I wasn't even halfway through the audiobook and I already knew I would be needed a shelf trophy (& yes it's already tabbed and highlighted).

I genuinely believe the less you know about this the better it will be. I went in to it essentially blind and I had no idea what was coming my way. This book blew me away, and I don’t want to shut up about it. Ashamedly, this is my first Sue Lynn Tan book, but when I picked my signed copy up I also snagged copies of the Celestial Kingdom Duology because I NEED SUE LYNN TAN’S BOOKS INJECTED STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS.

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brief synopsis: Liyen, heir to Tianxia, ascends the throne after her grandfather’s defiance of the immortals sparks a devastating attack. Determined to free her kingdom from their control, she ventures into the Immortal Realm to uncover their secrets and navigate a dangerous alliance with the ruthless God of War. As threats loom and forbidden attraction ignites, Liyen must risk everything to protect her people from destruction.

highlights/incoherent thoughts:
‣ fantasy stand-alone (never enough of these)
‣ fast-paced (non-stop ebbs and flows of emotions)
‣ fmc who finds strength in feats other than combat
‣ mmc who is down bad (crying in the courtyard)
‣ Y E A R N I N G
‣ so much yearning
‣ like me-blushing-kicking-my-feet-giddy-af amounts of yearning
‣ so many twists and turns starting early in the book that make you second guess everything you know and everyone you have ever loved
‣ a romance that had me screaming, crying, throwing up
‣ strong re-read-ability potential

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idk just read it.

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Disclaimer: I received a free listener copy through LibroFMs influencer program.