theartsybookwitch's Reviews (393)

" 'Soulmates whose destiny is written in the stars.' "

Rhapsody Of The Stars is my first by Bhat, and it won't be my last. A beautiful, lyrical take on a musical romance of the century.

Sophia Kade and Kairo Knight are soulmates; destined for a heartbreak and love lost. Kairo Knight is everything you want in a rockstar; hot, musical, loyal to a fault. Sophia Kade; devasting childhood, but has a good heart.

When they meet, their connection is instant. Even when she kidnaps him, you can tell that Kairo feels something for her. I'll be honest, I don't like the miscommunication trope, but their relationship is something for the books. Even through all the twists and turns they go through, you can tell they love each other; despite them not knowing it themselves.

Everyone needs to read this, whether you're a music lover or simply a contemporary romance reader.

I cried by the ending, it was simply beautiful. And the last 3 chapters? Tear my heart in half, Bhat. You forever hold a piece of my heart.

"I want you, Sophi, more than my next fucking breath,"

tropes // musical romance, soulmates

tw // kidnapping, toxic relationship, death, car accident (referenced), miscarriage (blink and you miss it), death of parent, child abuse, suicidal thoughts

#2022arcs #jannatbhat #2022releases #contemporaryromance #romance #arcreviews #musicalromance #rhapsodyofthestars 

" 'I don't think I have time to knock you up, but we sure as hell can get married.' "

Kay Cove is back at it again, with another contemporary romance you fall in love with even before their story starts. All I wanna do is just reread the Love, Me & The 303 series over and over again.

Cody and Quinn are such badasses, I love them both together and separate. Quinn; the one and only, a CMO of her family's company, an ultimate girlboss, knows what she wants and goes after it. Cody, the infamous American footballer; pure definition of looks-like-they-can-kill-you & is-a-huge-cinnamon-roll.

Grief is such a huge part of their core, and the core of Owe Me One. There was several lines that I had to stop and just take a moment, because they hit that close to home and was so powerful in and of itself.

I am absolutely obsessed with them and can we just talk about all the other characters? Like Joel and Addie playing matchmaker? Grandma coming in hot with planning the wedding.

God, just everything about this is amazing and I am obsessed.

Owe Me One is one of my favorites in the series, and Cove is now in my top romance authors of all time.

Highly recommend for any contemporary romance and football fan. 

tropes // friends to lovers, marriage of convenience (Vegas style), football

tw // injury, sexual content, alcohol, grief, death of parent (past), terminal illness, car accident, physical abuse (past)

#kaycove #kaycoveauthor #lovemeandthe303series #lovemeandthe303 #owemeone #2022reads #2022arcs #arcreviews #contemporary #romance #contemporaryromance #newadult #newadultbooks #romancebooks #newadultromance #football #graphicdesigner

" 'Why is it you're Little Miss Sunshine for everyone else, but you have such an attitude with me?' "

With A Broken Wing, the second in Meg Becker's Butterflies series, comes the tale of Andy (Andrea) and Demetri.

I went into this installment nearly blind, and I am glad I did. This book was nearly everything to me, it kept me in a trance from the first chapter at the wedding. 

With A Broken Wing is a heartbreaking, romantic tale of two people in desperate need of each other. Andy, fresh off a job layoff, says yes to working for Demetri, her best friend's brother in law. Andy is so special, and didn't deserve anything that happened to her in her childhood. She is so strong, despite everything thrown against her.

And Demetri? I knew I would fall hard for him from the moment he was jealous of Andy dancing with Jacob. He has the "touch her and die" vibes that everyone loves, and the way he plans her birthday party even though they had a huge fight.

And how is no one talking about the obvious Twilight reference?

Do beware of the trigger warnings before jumping into this.

" 'To say I like you might be an understatement. I want to absolutely fucking destroy you, sunshine. I want to make you crumple at my feet.' "

Tropes // grumpy x (fake) sunshine, office romance, forced proximity

TW // self harm, suicide attempts (rescued), toxic family relationships, drug abuse, talks of therapy, panic attacks, calming methods not working

#katieandbrey #katieandbreypa #kandbbooktours #megbecker #thebutterflies #thebutterfliesseries #contemporary #romance #grumpyxsunshine #smutty #bookstagram #bookstagramrecs #officeromance #forcexproximityromance 

" 'You're more than your scars. You're more than your trauma and the abuse you've suffered at the hands of those who sought to destroy you. You're more than all of it.' "

Resurrect, book 3 in Bex's Los Diablos Syndicate series.

I fell in love with them all in Burn and it's only grown from there.

Ella is such a badass, you can obviously see that from the first page of the series, but NOW. She takes charge, and loves with all her heart. My heart literally breaks for her, and seeing the guys reactions to her after she's rescued is just that much harder. She's so powerful, even more than she knows, and taking control helps in so many ways.

The boys are amazing, and them being there for her through everything. You can really see how she's changing their lives for the better; from the basically non-existent love in their hearts, to the family that she's now created.

Bex Dawn's writing is incredible, and I can't wait to read Prevail (not so patiently), but I'm so not ready for it to end.

My emotions ran wild while reading, and I know it's only going to get worse.

"Dammit. What's happening to me? To us? We're falling the fuck apart without her."

" 'We look like the f*cking Backstreet Boys, don't we?' I mutter. //
'Goddammit. We're a whole ass boy band.' "

And I will never forgive Bex for writing the most emotional and stressful cliffhangers I've read in my life.

TW // see the beginning of Resurrect for a full list

#bexdawn #authorbexdawn #contemporaryromance #darkromance #2022arcs #2022releases #arcreview #darkromancebooks #losdiablossyndicate #resurrect #arcs #decemberreleases

“ ‘You challenge me in a way try few people in this world have dared to do,’ ” 

 

OUT NOW. 

 

Ava Munroe is back again, and just keeps getting better. 

 

Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Austen story, so when I heard that Ava was creating a modern day SPICY retelling. I RAN. And when I heard that she’s making a full blown series? I’m done. 

 

Lizzie and Fitz are the pure epitome of enemies to lovers, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Even from the moment they met, when Fitz comes to Savannah, they both wanted and hated each other. Lizzie and Fitz just work together, and everyone else can see it. They fell hard and fast, even if they didn’t want to admit to themselves. 

 

Fitz is the ultimate dream guy. (And no, I wasn’t picturing Matthew Macfadyen the entire time) He dropped everything to be with those he truly cared about, and even the one he didn’t, but it’s family. And Lizzie? She’s so headstrong, and confident, even with her insecurities. 

 

I loved all the callbacks to the original story, and the twists to take it modern. 

 

Now, I’m gonna go rewatch Pride and Prejudice. 

 

“ ‘You cannot be a cat lady,’ Mother repeats, turning back to Jane. ‘Because it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’ “ 

 

“And miss a chance to see Fitz here socially interacting without either a glass of wine or a Xanax? No way.’ “ 

 

“ ‘Is chocolate having an effect on teen memory? Is Canada considering invading Alaska? Without the headlines, now I’ll never know.’ “ 

 

 

TW // car accident (nothing shown), miscarriage (previous), parental death, pregnancy, panic attacks, fainting

 

📸 Edit is mine, photos from Pinterest 

 

#2022releases #2022arcs #avamunroe #avamunroeauthor #austengonespicy #austengonespicyseries #romance #historicalromance #retellings #arcs #2022arcs #2022reads #2022arcreviews #prideandprejudice #prideandprejudiceretellings #enemiestolovers #enemiestoloversromance 

"The best adventure is the one you know nothing about."

OUT NOW.

I have been waiting for Royce and Michelle, and Nadia did not disappoint.

The Daredevil is everything you needed, and more.

When a job takes Michelle to Iceland, the last thing she expects is her life to take a complete 180.

Michelle Yates is a travel blogger, with a huge heart. She fought nail and tooth to get where she is, and she wouldn't trade it for the world. Royce Viktorsson is everything. He's smart, sexy, nerdy, and makes you see the beauty in everything, He will fight to protect the ones he loves, and damn the consequences.

Their relationship is so dynamic and powerful. They help save each other over and over, loving each other so hard they won't ever let go. Their vulnerability with each other is amazing, and I need more. 

AND CHAPTER 53? IYKYK. (thank you nadia :) )

 I'm so in love with Nadia's writing and this series is so addicting, you can't help but get sucked in and end up wanting more. 

" 'If you had said no, I would've tackled you, tied you up, and had my way with you."

"Michelle was the catalyst that made me re-evaluate my life."

"What frightens me is how you make me feel. I want you to know how else you can make me lose control."

Tropes // friends to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating, billionaire hero, fated

TW // suicide attempt, eating disorders, body insecurity, trafficking, violence, sexual content, mental illness, toxic relationship (past, on page), body shamig, slavery (mentioned), terminal illness (not an MC), child death (past, mentioned)

" 'The girl, she's the one you saved, right?' "

Haley has done it again. Calling on the Reaper, the first in her brand new series, is about Grim and Raven, fated soulmates. 

I only have a few auto-buy authors, and Haley is one of them. My love for her writing only grew since I first read Killing Calm. 

Raven, at 10 years old, meets Grim after he rescues her from dying at the hands of her step-father. After that first meeting, Raven is thrown into the foster care system until she turns 18, and lives her life on the edge, all in desperate attempts to see Grim again. 

I loved the dual povs, from both Grim and Raven, seeing the time jumps from past to present. 

Their relationship is one for the books. So dynamic and unique. The way that he's possessive and protective, the way that Raven tests him; they fill each others hearts, and make the other better in every single way possible.

I am SO excited about the rest of the Reapers series and diving into the guys books :)

Please read the TWs before diving in, as this is DARK. 

Tropes // fated mates, found family, Reapers, HEA, hand necklaces

TW // sexual content, CNC/dubcon, death of a parent, mask kink, choking, degradation, praise kink, impact play, stalking, assault (not shown), attempted suicide, murder, death, child abuse, bondage, violence, gore, talk of foster care system

#haleytyler #reapersseries #callingonthereaper #grim #raven #2022arcs #2022releases #authorhaleytyler #darkromance #darkromancebooks #paranormalromance #fantasyromance

"When you throw ice, some slices of lime, and a sprig of mint into a pitcher with store-bought iced tea that counts as homemade, doesn't it?"

A fantastic start to Ella's latest series. A very quick and entertaining read, you immediately get into the story. Dawn and Joss, both needing to get married, for total opposite reasons, find each other and come to the arrangement of getting married.

I loved their relationship from start to finish, jumping in with both feet. Even though they weren't truly in love yet, they did things for each other that the other wouldn't have dreamed of at that stage. 

I can't wait for more from Braeme. 

Recommended for any fan of small town romance and marriages of convenience.

" 'My lord, Violet, if you don't marry him, I will.' "

After The Storm, the 3rd installment in Christina Berry's Lost In Austin series, is a slow-burn interracial romance. 

After Greg loses his job, and his wife, he flees to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. More or less running away to help and take focus off his life, he ends up reconnecting with Violet, a girl he briefly met on his first trip there. 

Violet is in such a vulnerable position, losing basically her entire life, both before and after the Hurricane. And when Greg comes back into the picture, she doesn't know how to feel. 

Greg and Violet's relationship is so raw and real, and I loved their dynamics. From their first meeting, nine months prior, to Greg helping restore her life after it's destroyed. I loved seeing them play off each other, and respect each other so much that they understand their boundaries and there is nothing better than that.

I really enjoyed Berry's writing and reading this was devastatingly beautiful. I was only 8 when the hurricane hit, and it was nice (well as nice as it can be haha) to hear, even a fictional take, on the aftermath. 

After The Storm, while a new installment in Berry's Lost In Austin series, can be read as a standalone. 

" 'The hush of snowfall is probably the thing I miss most about home.' "

"Nature isn't something you can ever truly translate to film."

#christinaberry #lostinaustin #romance #contemporary #afterthestorm #hurricanekatrina #slowburn #slowburnromance #contemporaryromance #lostinaustinseries