Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (the scenes in this one were different – some had some negative thoughts cycling through the hero’s mind that lowered this rating for me, some were lighter on details)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: No, this book has heavy themes
Perspective: third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: It takes awhile – about 17% (chapter 5 of 30)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the mains
Epilogue: Yes, 14 months later
Format: voluntarily read a gifted e-book copy from the author (thank you so, so much!)
Why I chose this book: I think Mayberry’s books are raw, real and utterly unique to the HR genre and she deserves more recognition!
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
I think you should because the hero’s background is really established in book 1, Roses in Red Wax. He is the villain in that book and his redemption is heartbreaking and thorough, so knowing his beginning story will give depth.

Basic plot:
Caitlin has found purpose in running her farm, but her life changes when she houses a convict as a favor to a friend.

Give this a try if you want:
- 1826ish time period
- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia setting
- learning to read lessons for the heroine
- farmer heroine
- widow heroine
- villain redemption (hero)
- prisoner hero – he is eventually assigned to the heroine as her secretary to work off his time
- prior convict heroine – she stole a handkerchief and served her time and has made a home in Australia
- Irish heroine
- English/Scottish (he usurped the Scottish title in book 1) hero
- medium steam – 3ish full scenes

Ages:
- didn’t catch either but they are a bit older (heroine has silver in her hair and I think she’s a bit older than him)

First line:
“They’re getting’ ready to put out the plank.”

My thoughts:
Louise Mayberry sure can write – her stories are immersive, real, raw and unique to me. Her characters are flawed and yet endearing in so many ways. And this story really shows how she can take these characters and breath life into them and make you root for them so hard.

This story is unlike anything I have come across in HR so far – it’s a villain redemption and done so, so well. Both mains have a criminal past that brings to life the harshness and unfairness of the world. They match each other, heal each other, and I was quite riveted by their story. I especially liked their ending, though parts were still hard to read.

I dropped my rating just a bit because maybe this was a bit too heartbreaking and exhausting for me in this moment in life. It’s a heavier story. And that’s just a purely me thing.


Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 4
Average rating from me: 4.25
Favorite book: Roses in Red Wax

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- scenes of smoking
- mention of hero having a mistress before he meets the heroine
- scenes of imprisonment and remembrance of solitary confinement, floggings and hunger
- corrupt law officers (hero is imprisoned on the sham of a trial against an officer)
- remembrance of miscarriage that was traumatic and left the heroine barren
- alcoholism
- scenes of slavery is observed by the mains

Author content warnings? Yes, she discusses colonization of Australia and stolen land

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

 
Safe sex: 

  Hero pulls out and heroine considers herself barren so no worry for children 

 
How’s the consent? 

  It’s….good – there’s elements here of power because the hero is assigned to the heroine has a prisoner but it’s not slavery and we’re in both of their POVs to know the power dynamic feels equal. And there’s also lots of asking before doing things 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  No, heroine considers herself barren and they live a child free HEA 

 
35% - heroine remembers a prior sexual encounter with someone else
48% - 🔥 kisses, oral for her, missionary (rough)
56% - the start of a scene on the table
57% - mention of sex
69% - 🔥 kisses, sex against the wall
89% - 🔥 kisses, her on top (a bit short)
95% - kiss 

 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖 - I ended up being annoyed with this book numerous times and wanted to put it down
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋 - so there were some angsty moments that tugged on my heart a bit!
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (they were fine….but I think I wanted more emotional pull?? They felt kind of mechanical to me but maybe it was the hate to sex to I still hate you vibe of the book)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 - most are on the shorter side
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (might be more I got sloppy with note taking in the latter half)
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: This is first person point of view from both hero and heroine (alternating chapters)
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? fast
When mains are first on page together: pretty soon in
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the mains
Epilogue: Not really
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy through NetGalley
Why I chose this book: I was intrigued by the cover on NetGalley
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
This is Jacquelin’s first of The Boucher’s series.

Basic plot:
Reese loves her job at the vampire blood bank – she gets to listen to music and not deal with people...until her mate walks in and changes her life...

Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary paranormal romance
- vampire hero
- human heroine
- mates
- size difference – he’s taller
- enemies to lovers – they hate each other at first but they are mates
- higher steam – at least 4ish full scenes

Ages:
- heroine is 27, hero turned undead at 31 but is 155 years old now (or so)

First line:
I’d seen a lot of dead people.

My thoughts:
I struggled with this one. I felt really thrown into this book and not in a good way. Did I miss a prequel series? I still didn’t quite get the world building I wanted. I wanted to understand this world more and how vampires were just ‘accepted’ as a part of life? And the writing felt really chaotic. I felt like it was all over the place.

I also have struggled with enemies to lovers lately. It’s usually not my favorite trope anyway unless it’s more light hearted, but I have read sooo many couples that fought the whole book and hated each other so the poor book might not have stood a chance being like the 5th one in a row I read…

I did like parts of this story though – there were emotional scenes and some angsty moments that I appreciated. I like when the mains hurt my heart and that happened a bit here!

Overall though I think I had a touch of disconnect with the writing. I don’t think I’d continue this series but I would try another series by this author!

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first
Average rating from me:
Favorite book: This one by default

Worldbuilding/Hero Notes

- the hero is a vampire and turns the heroine when he finds out she’s his mate.
- once mated, you only drink each other’s blood as it’s made perfectly for you
- you will feel aversion if you touch
- vampires cannot get human infections
- they only have male children

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- sibling death
- heroine was adopted and had horrible birth parents
Author content warnings? Nothing listed

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story: There might have been more towards the end, I got lazy with notes

 
Safe sex: 

  Not reall I felt like the first few scenes didn’t really address this but maybe he didn’t come? They talk later in the book about wanting kids later and the heroine mentions she’s on birth control, but it doesn’t work on vampire mates, so she mentions condoms and he says that male vampires can take a pill that prevents contraception. 

 
How’s the consent? 

  It’s okay – they are both agreeing even if the bond is pulling them together and neither really want to be there 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  No children/pregnancy in the story but they talk about possible future children 

 
Chapter 3 – 🔥 sex
Chapter 4 – 🔥 bent over the trunk of the car
Chapter 11 - 🔥 oral for her
Chapter 12 – 🔥 he takes her from behind on the bed, blood play, but it’s pretty short
Chapter 15 – kisses and a brief mention of sex 

 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖 (soooo I LIKED this story but I struggled hard, especially in the beginning. It felt so long and so much unnecessary circling and if I was a person that DNF I probably would have)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: first person only from heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow
When mains are first on page together: Took awhile! 12% (chapter 5) first meet but not on page again until 17%
Cliffhanger: It does – it’s not super steep like the mains are on page together but it leaves it open and it’s clear there’s more
Epilogue: No
Format: listened to the audiobook from my library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: It was a book of the month for A Love Less Ordinary group on facebook and I was curious and I kept hearing quotes from it on tiktok
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
This is book 1 of Hart’s Fae & Alchemy series.

Basic plot:
Saeris opens a gate between realms trying to save her own life and is thrown in a world of Fae, war and alchemy.

Give this a try if you want:
- Fantasy romance
- fae hero
- human heroine
- enemies to lovers
- fated mates
- tattooed hero
- magic!
- age gap (haha. He’s older by 1708 years or so)
- does end on a cliffhanger
- shadow daddy
- forge working/metal converting heroine
- save the world
- elements of telepathy
- bit of a slower burn
- medium-ish to maybe higher steam – I know there’s AT LEAST 3 scenes but pretty sure I missed one or two more

Ages:
- heroine is 24/25ish, hero is 1733 years

First line: taken from audio, may have butchered
“You know there’s really no need for all this violence.”

My thoughts:
Ohhh I struggled so hard with this book in the beginning. It felt sooooo slow and long. I didn’t mind the writing, but I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the mains to be on page together. And it felt like every thought wasn’t just stated, it was stated multiple times in various ways, all saying the same thing. So it was paragraphs just stating a single idea. And since I’m in my era of novellas I really struggled with this aspect of it. If I was a person that did not finish books I probably would have dropped it.

BUT I am really glad I stuck it out! Because I do think it got so much better. There were some parts I really, really loved in this book. Quite a few scenes that just captivated me, and gave me tingles. I am not 100% sure I will continue with the series though. I’ll have to wait and see what I hear about book 2.

I did think Kingfisher’s reasoning for his bad attitude wasn’t my favorite – especially when his turn around just seemed out of nowhere. It was just a bit too ‘easy’ in the relationship aspect in the latter half for me.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first
Average rating from me: 4 stars
Favorite book: This one

Cock/Hero Stats:

- Faie have better senses – larger heart with a slower heartbeat
- He can use magic and dematerialize

Content warnings: (This should be taken as a minimum because I could have missed some!)

- parental death
- murder, death, and violence on page
- forced sterilization of the heroine
- alcohol usage

Author given content warnings: Didn’t hear any on audio

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

Safe sex: 

  No, but heroine has been sterilized so there’s no risk of pregnancy 

 
How’s the consent? 

  It’s...okay – there’s some dubious elements due to the enemies aspect 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  No pregnancy or children in the story! 

 
Chapter 12 – kisses
Chapter 20 – kisses
Chapter 22 – 🔥kisses, oral for her, sex
Chapter 27 – 🔥spooning, boob play, sex
I think I missed another scene or two in this gap
Chapter 37 – 🔥bj, sex
Total chapters - 46 

 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥 (at least – I might have missed something)
Humor: A touch
Perspective: third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? a mix...maybe character?
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together:
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No
Format: listened to audiobook from library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: It was recommended by a member in Upturned Petticoats group for people that enjoyed Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series (which is a fave of mine!) so I had to try it
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine. There are magical elements in this story, with the heroine having powers

Should I read in order?
This is book 1 of Duvall’s The Gifted Ones series.

Basic plot:
Dillon has so much respect for his wise woman, who he believes is extremely elderly. But when Alyssa falls ill, her youth is revealed, and Dillon is head over heels.

Give this a try if you want:
- Medieval – 1198
- England setting
- paranormal elements – there are magical aspects including healing and telepathy
- ‘sorceress’ heroine
- warrior (and...Earl?) hero
- secret identity
- hero wants to marry
- unrequited love from the heroine
- medium steam – at least a 3 steam – I might have missed some (audio notes are usually lacking)

Ages:
- heroine is about 24, didn’t catch hero but assume he’s a bit older – maybe around 30?

First line:
“Where is father?”

My thoughts:
This is a new to me author! I liked the medieval setting a lot and the touch of magic elements. I listened to the audio and can’t say I loved the narrator so I might try to read the next ones in the series. Because overall I am intrigued by this world and enjoyed the side characters, especially Robert whose story is next (and it’s time travel which I’m always interested in!)

I liked this one but overall the relationship was just a touch too...easy for me? I liked the build up of the first half but then with the unrequited longing from the heroine and almost instant obsession with the hero it was pretty low angst and I just wanted a bit more challenge between them and more tension. But I did like the story quite a bit. And I probably went in with expectations a touch too high because it was compared to one of my favorite series haha.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first
Average rating from me: 4 stars
Favorite book: This one by default

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- death
Author content warnings? Didn’t notice any on audio

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story: Take this as a minimum because I get lazy taking notes in audio and might have missed some!

 
Safe sex: 

  No 

 
How’s the consent? 

  It’s good! 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  The heroine does become pregnant towards the end of the story 

 
Chapter 8 – missionary followed by another spooning scene
Chapter 11 – oral for her
Chapter 14 – bj for him (brief), missionary
Total chapters: 19 

 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖 (Even though this book is really long, it was an easier read than I was expecting)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔 (I felt I didn’t know much about the hero)
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡ (Not much tension for me!)
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋 (The scenes are very short and vague – more euphemistic and not explicit)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑 (a paragraph to a few paragraphs without much detail)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 (There’s a number of scenes but they aren’t very explicit or long so I settled at a 2 flame feel)
Humor: A bit
Perspective: Mostly third person from the heroine but some from the hero (and maybe a touch from a side character here and there)
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to medium
When mains are first on page together: Pretty soon in – I have it at pg 34 of 512 or about 6% in
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the mains
Epilogue: No
Format: read a paperback borrowed from my library (MelCat State Lending Library)
Why I chose this book: Her name came up in our Vintage Romance book and I was curious if my library had any of hers because many of her releases are out of print
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
This is a stand alone romance I believe but I did see in another review that Brad was in Defiant Spitfire as a character if you want to read that first!

Basic plot:
Shauna is determined to never marry unless it’s on her own terms – to avoid an undesirable marriage, she offers her family estate as a dowry to a man that will agree to her terms...

Give this a try if you want:
- historical romance – the hero fought in the American Revolutionary War so I’d say late 1780s, possibly 1790s
- old school romance – published 1988
- enemies to lovers feel – the heroine fights the hero every step of the way
- former soldier hero
- hero is English but has lived in America for a number of years and fought for the Colonies in the Revolutionary War
- bargain – heroine offers her estate (Brad’s former home) as part of her dowry if she can have a marriage in name only
- secret identity
- secret keeping
- marriage of convenience
- lower steam – there’s quite a few sex scenes but they are mostly short, vague and filled with euphemisms

Ages:
- Didn’t catch them – the heroine I think is around 20? Hero I’m not sure...I would guess around 30

My thoughts:
My expectations for this one were SO low – the other one I read by this author I really despised because it was rape heavy and there was nothing redeemable about the hero. So I was kind of worried it would be similar but I was glad it wasn’t!

In this one – our heroine is the hard to love one. She is young. She is spoiled. She is manipulative and a bit sullen and basically a brat. And I really disliked her in the beginning. She was so painful to read, she made the dumbest mistakes. While people close to her tried to help her, she just kept self sabotaging. But...there were some scenes later in the book where we get some self reflection and vulnerability from her that melted by negative feelings a bit.

The hero in this one was rather fun! He was steadfast – he saw Shauna’s problems and stayed strong with her throughout and gave her so many chances to better herself. I liked the little...tricks he played on her to see what she would do while knowing the whole time what was going on. He was actually WAY nicer than I would have been.

Overall though I didn’t love this one – it isn’t one I would come back to though I did like it more than the other title

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 2
Average rating from me: 2.5 stars
Favorite book: This one?

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- dubious consent kisses elements/drunken sex
- poisoning death of someone on page
- domestic violence – the heroine does slap the hero
- there’s a few death scenes on page
Author content warnings? Nothing listed

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story: Some of them are noted by page number and some by chapter number...I returned the book before consolidating on a category choice sorry 😆

 
Safe sex: 

  No 

 
How’s the consent? 

  It’s….old school. I wouldn’t read this if you want strong consent. There’s some elements of dubious kisses. There’s a sex scene where the heroine is drunk...the hero resists and doesn’t push the heroine doesn’t even remember it the next day...no rape though, like the other book I read from her! 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  Not on page but discussion of possibility of pregnancy 

 
Pg 89 – she slaps him and he kisses her
Chapter 8 – dream sex scene
Chapter 10ish – the heroine is drunk and is the aggressor for sex but doesn’t recall it the next day
Chapter 12 – sex
Chapter 13 – brief scene
Chapter 25 - sex
Total pages: 512 

 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖 (While I didn’t love this story, it was still a very easy read)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞 (The idea of love at first sight is romantic and some things the hero thought were romantic but the hero also ruined a lot of it for me and said a lot of really UNromantic things...)
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (I definitely prefer more explicitness in my scenes and want them more developed)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit. Much of the book is an enemies to lovers animosity, so it will be funnier if you enjoy that type of interaction
Perspective: third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to medium
When mains are first on page together: immediately
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, a few months in the future
Format: read an e-book version through the library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: I eventually want to read all Quinn’s work. This was next on the chronological list of titles from Fantastic Fiction
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
This is book 1 in Quinn’s Lyndon Sisters series.

Basic plot:
Robert falls in love with Victoria at first sight at the pond on his property.

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency – 1816 for most of the story (1809 for first few chapters)
- Kent setting
- Earl and future Marquess hero
- heroine is the daughter of a vicar turned governess turned seamstress
- class difference
- second chance
- forbidden love – the hero’s father forbids the match
- love at first sight
- midnight window knocks
- enemies to lovers
- possessive/jealous hero – he’s a bit over the top with his obsession
- must cuddle to get warm
- he abducts her to the seaside
- lower steam – 2 full scenes towards the end but lots of kisses!

Ages:
- heroine is 17, hero 24 at the start of the story (only a few chapters). For the majority of the story, heroine is 24, hero is about 31

First line:
Robert Kremble, Earl of Macclesfield, had never been given to flights of fancy, but when he saw the girl by the lake, he feel in love instantly.

My thoughts:
This one was a bit of a flop for me, sadly.

It did have some things I liked – I like that Quinn’s books are just easy reads. They go fast, I like that she has a lot of dialogue between the mains and they spend a lot of time on page together. They are simpler books and those are my fave for romance! This one is second chance but I loved that we got the whole beginning and the first meeting so it didn’t have ‘lets walk into a dumpster fire’ vibe that a lot of second chance has for me. A few parts were funny.

But overall this book just gave me the icks. The hero was obnoxious and pushy and said things that I REALLY didn’t like. I can like pushy, aggressive, jerky heroes. But it needs to have...other things that really pull me in and this book didn’t. He said things like ‘shut up’ and was just rude and mean and cruel. And the way the heroine just seemed to despise him didn’t endear him to me. They didn’t seem to listen to or respect each other at all. Some couples just don’t leave me feeling like they will truly have a good life together and sadly that’s how I felt about these two...

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 16
Average rating from me: 3.25 stars
Favorite book: Minx

Quotes any typos are my own! I am bad with typos, I apologize

The weight of his body pressed her into the mattress, and one of his hands wrapped around her calf, squeezing and caressing its way up past her knee.
“I’m going to love you, Torie,” Robert said fiercely. “I’m going to love you until you can’t move. I’m going to love you until you can’t think.” His hand traveled ever higher, reaching the hot skin of her upper thigh where her stockings ended. “I’m going to love you the way I should have before.”
 

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- parental and sibling death (childbirth death and cancer)
- domestic abuse – the heroine’s father slaps her
- possible fatfobic language - “Although I cannot imagine that Lady H. is unaware that you are far more beautiful than she is, and I would not put it past her to purposefully try to make you fat.”
- definitely some elements of dubious consent – examples include But he was learning that this need was something he just couldn’t control. And hell, why should he have to? She wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. It was right there in her eyes every time she looked at him. // “I’m going to kiss you now,” he said slowly, his words punctuated by ragged breathing. “I’m going to kiss you, and I’m not going to stop. Do you understand?”
She didn’t move.
“Once my lips touch yours…”

And he also kidnaps her
- attempted rape of heroine by a side character
Author content warnings? Nothing listed
 

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

 
Safe sex: 

  No 

 
How’s the consent? 

  Consent is not the best in this one – definitely elements of dubious consent – there is a scene where the heroine is clear she wants him out and he doesn’t listen and it leads to kisses and another when he asks for a kiss and she says no and he does it anyway. He also abducts her to his cottage and just doesn’t listen to or respect her with much of what she says. But the sex acts are consensual. 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  The heroine is a governess, so her charge is a 5 year old boy that has quite a bit of page time, the heroine is pregnant in the epilogue 

 
Chapter 1 – multiple kisses throughout the chapter (3 or so)
Chapter 2 – kisses and breast play
Chapter 5 – kisses
Chapter 11 – kiss
Chapter 12 – kiss
Chapter 18 – kisses
Chapter 19 – 🔥missionary at the beach house
Chapter 21 – 🔥fingering for her in the carriage, sex

Total chapters 22 and an epilogue 

 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension:⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥(there’s a few scenes but they are so short, not detailed and very vague)
Humor:
Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? plot?
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: immediately
Cliffhanger: No this ends with a happily ever after for our mains
Epilogue: Yes, a few months later
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy through NetGalley that I am very, very late on
Why I chose this book: I liked the cover and was curious when scrolling NetGalley
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
This is the first book of Gillgannon’s Lord of the Borders series.

Basic plot:
Marared is angry about

Give this a try if you want:
- Medieval – 1204
- Wales setting
- English knight hero/Welsh heroine
- arranged marriage
- old school vibes
- enemies to lovers – she hates him
- lower steam – there’s a few open door scenes but they are short and vague

Ages:
- hero is around 30, didn’t catch heroine but I think she’s younger

First line:
Outside the hilltop fortress of Caradoc ap Mabon, the wind moaned and the rain swirled in furious gusts.

My thoughts:
This poor book probably didn’t stand a chance with me. Enemies to lovers isn’t a favorite for me unless it’s more playful – and I just finished another strong animosity book that didn’t do it for me.

This heroine just hates the hero for no reason other than he’s English. She’s Welsh and the Welsh are so much better in every way. So her arranged marriage leads her to be cruel, manipulate and scheme to try to get out of this marriage. The poor hero….she really does a number on him and it was just painful to read.

The steam is low and also includes a bit of body betrayed me trope which I despise. It takes any tension away for me. She hates him, but it just feels so good, even though she doesn’t want it, her mind is clouded by passion so her body gives in….then conveniently back to hating him and blaming him for everything.

This book wasn’t for me but I think it would be great for those that love enemies to lovers with an arranged marriage and those that like old school romance.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first
Average rating from me: 3 stars
Favorite book: This by default

Quotes any typos are my own! I am bad with typos, I apologize

“Stupid Sais bastards! One of them stepped on my gown during the dancing! What clumsy oafs.”
“Aye,” Aoife answered. “Not only are they clumsy, but ugly. With that short hair they look like short sheep and their mustaches are puny things.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if other things about them were puny as well.” Marared spoke even louder. “In fact, I’ve heard it said that English knights are hung like field mice.”
Aoife made a spluttering noise. There was a sound from the garderobe. Marared and Aoife looked at each other in exhilarated dread.
“And I’ve heard their ballocks are solid wood,” Aoife added. “Just like their heads!”
Gerard of Malmsbury, who was finishing his business in the privy, clenched his jaw. He had a mind to thrust the curtain aside and show his tormentors exactly what sort of equipage this English knight possessed!
 

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- hero thinks of the heroine as a ‘little bitch’
- some scenes of violence, manipulation, imprisonment

Author content warnings? Didn’t see any

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

 
Safe sex: 

  No 

 
How’s the consent? 

  It’s….okaaaaay. Like it’s rather dubious, very old school feeling – she hates him, he pushes a bit, when they get intimate she goes into that classic ‘mind fog’ body betrayed me writing but at its core it’s consensual. Then she hates him again after...so not the best for consent. 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  Heroine gets pregnant at the end of the story 

 
Chapter 7 – kiss
Chapter 9 – kisses, oral for her (super brief), missionary (it’s all quite short and I’m not sure if she orgasms or not? Maybe?)
Chapter 12 – kiss, oral (very short) and implied sex

Total chapters: 21 plus an epilogue 

 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (If I had rated this within the first 25-30% I would have given 1-2 stars 😮)
Readability: 📖📖📖 (I struggled so hard with the beginning and didn’t want to read it anymore. But I kept going and about halfway through I was hooked)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡ ⚡ (It’s hard for me to rate this – because of the rape early in the book setting a tone...but it did build a bit back up for me)
Romance: 💞💞💞 (Oh gawd – this is like toxic AF romantic...like codependent, over the top obsessed...but also things very not romantic happen in the first half...anti romantic things lol. But if you’re into masochism and sadism you will appreciate it more)
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋 (I really liked the later scenes)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Just a touch
Perspective: First person from hero and heroine (and a small part from a few side characters (I think heroine’s mother and hero’s father)
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast
When mains are first on page together: almost immediately
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happy for now for our psychos
Epilogue: the first one is 3 months later, the second one is 2 years later
Format: listened to an audiobook from the library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: I can’t recall exactly how I came across it?? I think maybe just searching audiobooks on hoopla.
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cisgendered hero and heroine – I don’t believe they identify as bi but both mentioned experimenting with both sexes.

Eyes on me when I fuck you, baby.

Should I read in order?
This is the first of Kent’s Legacy of Gods series.

Basic plot:
Glyndon meets her worst nightmare on the edge of a cliff.

Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- mostly UK setting with a minor scene in America (New York)
- college setting – their schools are rivals
- good girl/bad boy
- sociopath hero
- enemies to lovers
- obsessed, stalker hero
- masquerade
- dark elements including death, murder, suicide, threats, and rape of the heroine by the hero
- kink elements including cruelty, sadism, masochism, choking, somnophilia, primal play, masked hero
- higher steam – 7ish full scenes (8 if you count the beginning rape scene...)

Ages:
- heroine is 19, didn’t catch hero but I think he’s similar or just a touch older

First line:
Disasters start of black nights.

My thoughts:
Wow. This book really threw me for a loop. I despised the beginning. I really just felt so icky reading it and I wanted to stop immediately. It was hard to read, for me, the level of cruelty and disgust and fear in the beginning scene. I didn’t think the book would be able to recover for me. I didn’t see how I could forgive or get any kind of good feelings after how I felt in that first 15%.

But...but I kept going. And I DID fall. I hated this book. Then I started to love it. And then I hated that I loved it. And then I accepted that I was eating up so many of these scenes.

Now, sadism and masochism are really not my thing. I can like a lot of kink elements but these usually just aren’t for me and this book is chocked full of those aspects. But as we got more from the heroine’s POV, and how she was loving these acts with him, and his POV was so over the top obsessed I was loving it.

This is a toxic, codependent relationship at its finest and I loved so many aspects of it. Definitely not for everyone but I am glad I stuck through. Thought I’m not sure I would read the rest of the series. I think I need something just a bit different direction for my darker reads. This was a touch much for me overall.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first
Average rating from me: 4 stars
Favorite book: This one

Endearments

  He calls her ‘little rabbit’ and ‘baby’.

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- rape of the heroine by the hero
- cruelty on page, threats, manipulation, mind games
- murder, suicide, suicide ideation, violence
- a few minor scenes of weed and alcohol usage
- car accident, kidnapping and torture of hero on page

Author content warnings? Didn’t notice any on audio

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

 
Safe sex: 

  heroine is on birth control, hero always used a condom with everyone else, but not with her (of course) and has been celibate for 2 months 

 
How’s the consent? 

  Oh it’s so bad. Don’t read this one if you need consent. The opening scene is the hero raping the heroine 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  No pregnancy or children, but mention of future babies, hero mentions getting her pregnant just to bind her to him, and ‘filling her with his babies’ in the future 

 
Chapter 2 – ‘hero’ (antihero???) rapes the heroine orally – forced bj on the cliff
Chapter 9 – 🔥 fingering for her in the car
somewhere between 10 and 14 there’s a partial fingering scene
Chapter 16 – 🔥 nipple play, bj to 69
Chapter 21 – 🔥 fingering for her, missionary with choking
Chapter 22 – 🔥 oral for her
Chapter 26 –🔥 fingering for her, he takes her bent over the bathroom counter
Chapter 29 – 🔥 sex
Chapter 32 – 🔥 fingering for her, anal sex
Chapter 43 – 🔥 fingering for her, sex against the tree

Total chapters: 44 

 

Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥 (I could be off...my note taking was crap)
Humor: Just a touch
Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: Takes a bit - about 20% or so
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes
Format: listened to audiobook from library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: My friend Heather has repeatedly recommended the series, and I enjoyed a lot about book 1 when I read it a few years ago so I’ve been making my way through the series
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between an alien hero and human heroine. I believe the heroine is bi – she was kidnapped by aliens at 15 and has had a variety of alien relationships, including those spoken of as female

Should I read in order?
I would because the series is great in order and flows together with layering of world building. But the fact that this is a novella and takes place off Clecania, you would probably be okay grabbing this one alone. I do think Maladek was a side character though in prior books so you might get some more depth for him in order.

Basic plot:
Katie is trapped on a prison planet with a hostile species when she meets her mate.

Give this a try if you want:
- science fiction romance
- alien setting
- fated mates
- survival themes – they are trying to escape from a prison camp
- novella length
- medium steam – at least 2 full scenes within a novella – I didn’t take the best notes, there might be more

Ages:
- didn’t catch either but I think the heroine is around 29? I want to say she’s been gone from Earth for 14 years, and was about 15 since she’s been abducted

First line: omg can someone please tell me how to spell this Prince from the first line because I know I totally butchered it from audio 😆
Katie trailed behind Prince (Skendro Mistra Androphin) the 15th and scrutinized the thousands of colorful threads and chains that hung form his elaborate outfit.

My thoughts:
I’ll admit I was a touch distracted when I was listening to this one – but I did enjoy it! When I read the synopsis for it, I was worried it was going to go in a direction I didn’t like (I read another scifi novella that took place on a prison planet and it stressed me TF out….) but I really liked the set up here. I liked how they were together for most of the time once they met each other and I loved the survival themes and how protective the hero was. Overall a super fun read!

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 7
Average rating from me: 4.14 stars
Favorite book: This one but I also really adored elements of Resisting Maxu!

Cock/Hero Stats:

- I can’t remember what the hero called himself...a tentor? Clecanian too?
- hero has 2 horns, one being smaller than the other from damage
- he has red eyes
- he has purplish scales/armor over his body, super strong (can dig at rocks with his bare hands)
- sorry, not a ton of details, my note taking was sparse

Content warnings: (This should be taken as a minimum because I could have missed some!)

- slavery and imprisonment, violent alien races

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

 
Safe sex: 

  Not really? I didn’t catch if the heroine had any kind of birth control but the hero asks before blowing it in her and she consents 

 
How’s the consent? 

  It’s good 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  No pregnancy or side children in the story 

 
Chapter 10 – her on top? I think? In a cave
I think there’s another scene at some point. Maybe more. I didn’t take good notes.

Total chapters: 15 plus an epilogue 

 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (I really want more developed scenes for sex – more details, more emotions – but some of the kisses were really sweet)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine, and a bit from Dallas and Austin (side characters – the hero’s brothers)
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: almost immediately, chapter 1 of 21
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No
Format: read an e-book through the library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: ‘Cowboy romance’ was suggested in our Vintage Romance group and I wanted to try some – this was one from the list
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
This is the first of Heath’s Texas trilogy.

Basic plot:
When Houston’s brother breaks his leg, he goes in his place to fetch his mail order bride.

Give this a try if you want:
- late 1800s, America – 1872
- Texas setting
- mail order bride
- forbidden love – the heroine is betrothed to the hero’s brother, who was sent to get her and bring her to the homestead
- longing from the hero – like so, so much pining
- one horse
- size difference – the heroine’s head doesn’t reach his shoulder
- close proximity
- opposites attract – sunshine and quiet
- road trip
- other man – she’s engaged to his brother
- disability rep – hero has lost an eye in the Civil War (and his face is quite scarred)
- he nurses her back to health (and some light her nursing him)
- low steam – a number of kisses but only one short and vague scene within the last 2 pages of the story

Ages:
- heroine is 19, I think hero is around 28

First line:
His was not a face that women carried with them into their dreams.

My thoughts:
The first half of this book was perfection to me! It was so, so sweet. I loved the close proximity of Houston and Amelia on the trail – I loved the strong pining from the hero. I loved how opposite they were – sunshine and talkative, shadows and silence – and how Amelia pulled Houston out of his shell. It was so good!

The latter half lost me a bit because they weren’t together as much and we started getting a frequent amount of Dallas’ POV – I always get whiny about that (get in your own book Dallas!). Also – I think the last like 4 or 5 books I read by Heath were love triangle 😆 and I can like love triangle but something about Heath is she seems to really drag it out allllll the way to the last page and it drives me kind of batty. This one I didn’t like how far it went between Amelia and Dallas before getting resolved.

I knew going into this it was low steam but this was even lower than I thought. It was just a short scene that was quite vague in the very last 2 pages of the story. The kisses were very sweet though! I’ll probably continue this series at some point – I enjoyed a lot about this novel!

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 12
Average rating from me: 3.75
Favorite book: Lord of Wicked Intentions

Quotes any typos are my own! I am bad with typos, I apologize

Dear God, but she was lovely, like a spring sunrise tempting the flowers to unfurl their petals. Her pale lashes rested on her pink-tinged cheeks. Her lips, even in sleep, curved into the barest hint of a smile.
He had spotted her right off, as soon as she’d arrive at the door of the railway car. Beneath that godawful ugly hat, the sun had glinted off hair that looked as though it had been woven from moonbeams.
The smile she had given the porter as he’d helped her down the steps – even at a distance – had knocked the breath out of Houston.
He still wasn’t breath right. Every time he looked at her, his gut clenched as though he’d received a quick kick from a wild mustang.
She wasn’t at all what he’d expected of a heart-and-hand woman. He’d expected her to look like an old shirt, washed so many times it had lost its color and the strength of its threads. He knew women like that. Women who had traveled rough roads, become hard and coarse themselves, with harsh laughter and smiles that were too bright to be sincere. Women who knew better than to trust.
But Amelia Carson did trust. She was a heart-in-her-eyes woman. Everything she thought, everything she felt reflected clearly in her eyes. In her green, green eyes.
The warm depths reminded him of fields of clover he’d run through as a boy. Barefoot. The clover had resembled velvet caressing his rough soles. For a brief moment, he actually relished the thought of holding her gaze.
His brown eye could serve as the soil in which her green closer took root.
---
“Once, when I stopped by a stream to wash the dust off, I laid my hat beside me. A raccoon carted it away.” He ground his jaw back and forth. “If you were to take off your hat while you were washing up, some critter might haul it away.”
“I’m so grateful you shared that with me. I’ll make certain I guard the hat well.”
She thought he grimaced before he turned away.
---
“You don’t like my hate,” she stated in as flat a tone as she could manage.
He visibly stiffened, his hands stilling. “No, ma’am.” He removed his hat and met her gaze. “I think it’s the most godawful ugly thing I’ve ever seen.”
Amelia released a tiny squeal and covered her mouth.
Regret reshaped his features. “My apologies, Miss Carson. I had no right -”
“No!” She held up a hand to stay his apology nd moved her other hand away from her face to reveal her smile.
---
When she lowered her arms, she began to remove the pins from her hair. He watched as the shadow of her hair tumbled over her shoulders and along her back.
His hands clenched, and he was powerless to look away. She reached into her bag and withdrew her brush. Slowly, she pulled the brush through her hair.
He counted the strokes.
And envied the brush.
And envied his brother, who would have the privilege of watching the woman with no canvas cloth separating them.
---
“Miss Carson, you need to step outside and slap me again. The side you hit is mostly dead. You need to hit the other side of my face so I can feel it like I should.”
He could hear nothing but the heavy pounding of his heart. He could see nothing but a vast emptiness filling the coming days. Dear God, what words could atone for what he’d done?
“Miss Carson, I know what I did was wrong. It was shameful, and I regretted it even as I did it, but dear Lord, woman, I swear to God, I’ve never seen a sweeter shadow than yours...and that’s all I saw. Just your shadow.”
---
He stood stiffly beside the fire, his clothes bunched before him offering him some protection from her wandering gaze.
The firelight played over his flesh like a lover’s caress. He had additional scars on his left shoulder, healed flesh that trailed down his chest toward his stomach and finally blended into oblivion. Old wounds the water may have kissed on its journey.
He shifted his stance, and his muscles rippled with the slight movement. He appeared much stronger than she’d imagined. She lowered her gaze as his hands tightened their hold on his clothing. She could see the veins and muscles in his arms straining with the force of his grip.
“Git inside the tent,” he growled in a low, warning voice, “or you’re gonna see a lot more than my shadow.”
---
“Wasn’t it nice of Beth to give me a bonnet?”
Houston kept his opinion on that to himself. All he could see was the tip of her nose and as cute as it was, it wasn’t enough.
---
“You’ll need to wear this.”
Her eyes widened. “But that’s your hat.”
“I know, but I can’t find Austin’s hate or your bonnet, and the sun will turn your pretty skin into leather. It can’t hurt mine much.” He grimaced as a tear trailed along her cheek. “Don’t start crying on me.”
 

 

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- mention of the hero fighting for the Confederate side of the Civil War in America
- possible feelings of infidelity – the heroine is betrothed to the hero’s brother but they haven’t met yet and never interacted other than letters (no intimacy between the heroine and her betrothed)
- the heroine does slap the hero for watching her undress and wash in the tent (it’s shadows but she felt violated)
- snake bite with venom the heroine has to recover from (hero sucks the venom out)
- remembrances of war and parental death
- heroine has claustrophobia after being put in her father’s coffin with him to save her when deserters came after the war – implied rape of heroine’s mother and sisters, murder of her sisters
- remembrance of physically abusive father

Author content warnings? Didn’t see any

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

 
Safe sex: 

  No 

 
How’s the consent? 

  It’s good 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  No children or pregnancy here – it’s expected and talked about that the heroine will have children some day 

 
Chapter 10 – kisses
Chapter 11 - kisses
Chapter 12 – kisses
Chapter 15 – a kiss between Amelia and Dallas (hero’s brother and her betrothed)
Chapter 17 – kisses
Chapter 21 – very short/vague sex scene

Total chapters: 21