I freaking loved this book. I really loved Hazel and most of her men. The little family she created with them all was honestly really sweet and there was a lot of genuine, romantic connections. And it was also fun to get to see Ester and her men!

The Gemini wasn’t my favorite but I’m not into the whole pain = pleasure thing, but I get why people would like that. The detective was the most underdeveloped for me, but I thought the orc, the demon, and the organist were developed well. 

And, of course, really creative and high quality smut.

I…. think I hated this book? I read it quickly and I thought the writing was pretty good but I hate almost everything about the story. Salem is very ~quirky~ and ✨not like other girls✨ with her Diet Coke addiction and dislike of shopping. 

She’s also ✨not like other girls✨ in that she fully cheats on her very nice and loving boyfriend! 🤪 On a real note, it’s fine that her and Caleb were growing in different directions, not many people stay with their high school sweetheart. The issue is that she recognized her crush way before she committed the act of cheating, there was no reason not end things with Caleb sooner.

About the abuse, I think Salem and her sister are way too well adjusted considering they were sexually assaulted by their father. Obviously Salem still has some flashbacks and nightmares but idk. Also, it’s COMPLETELY fair to question why the mom didn’t leave the dad when SHE KNEW. Because he threatened them? Okay? Go to the police. I know it’s not black and white but I can’t imagine her knowing what he was doing in their room with the girls and not feeling sick towards the mother too. 

The twist—

Forrest’s death was so fucking uncalled for. I didn’t cry because I only wasn’t invested in the child and I just didn’t think the author would kill a 6 year old, so I was mostly in shock. And what was the reason? For the sequel of this book? I just didn’t see the purpose. Forrest’s death doesn’t add anything to the story it just makes it a bummer with no pay off.

The very last scene—

Salem is pregnant and I honestly wonder if she planned it. I mean, she was on birth control and had sex several times throughout this story, but the one time she has sex when ML (forgot his name) when he’s withdrawing and giving up on the relationship and she ends up pregnant. Suspicious.

This whole book is whatever and not worth the read unfortunately. Will not be reading the second one.

I don’t hold smut to the highest plot standards, but there was a real lack of story here. Neither Sol or Briar have strong personalities and their immediate strong doesn’t make sense. For a contract that has a deadline of 7 years, it takes them I think three interactions to start hooking up and being in love. It just felt lacking to me.

This book was just okay. I knew going into it that it would be a single mom FL but I didn’t know she would get pregnant like page one and be pregnant/have a newborn for the whole book, and I hate the pregnancy trope. And, quite frankly, she shouldn’t have had another kid, the fact that Eli was planned is ludicrous.

The book always points out on several occasions like Hadley isn’t like those “other” mom’s (implied to be bad people) who needs government assistance. First, nothing is wrong with needed government assistance. Second, I call bullshit. She works as a CNA and doesn’t receive child support. While she gets free childcare from her parents, I call bullshit that in real life she would make enough for rent, her car payment, and food. 

The characters were one dimension, especially the villain and father, Scott. He was 100% bad and it was almost boring to read because he just had to depth or really character traits other than being mean and lazy. Hadley, on the other hand, was just perfect. Her character growth came from learning to trust again which she kind of did easily. That and she’s, what, too nice? Give me a break. ML Elijah was the most multi-faceted and at least had some forgivable character flaws.

A solid 4-star book! Most importantly, I love Taylor and I love Myles and I do love them together. I think they’re a really strong, opposites attract, couple. I love a gruff ML with a soft and sensitive FL and I think they really complimented and brought out the best in one another.

While this book is a romance, I think the murder mystery/who done it aspect was very well done! The murderer wasn’t completely obvious but did make sense with the story. Well done!

I knew going into this book with its page count that it would probably be insta-love (which I’m not a fan of) and the timeline in this book was VERY quick. When insta-love is in books I literally pretend that more time takes place in between events than what’s cannon. 

Dishonorable mentions: “Daddy” was used once (ICK) and Myles’s penis was referred to as his “gun” a few times (ick). Otherwise, I think the sex scenes were well written. 

Potential sequel for her brother, Jude? 🤔

This was cute. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the ML being a mothman but I got on board with it quickly. I really liked Merrick he had a lot of personality and interests and I think the romance between him and Grace was really sweet.

Towards the end the author jumped around the timeline a bit and it was a little confusing.

Overall a really short read and good smut.

This is unlike any book I’ve ever read and I really loved it. Even though it was difficult to read due to the dark subject matter, I think the story was beautifully well done.

I love that Vanessa isn’t a really likable character. Not all victims are sympathetic but that doesn’t mean they’re any less victims than nicer and more conventionally attractive counterparts. Strane also isn’t presented as handsome or especially charming, because that’s not reality. Reality is that Vanessa was an outcast with attachment issues and Strane was a pervert in a position of power.

Their relationship was also complex and almost straddled a morally grey line (almost). But Vanessa and Strane dated on and off again far past her teenage years, and I do believe that she WAS special to him. 

My favorite scene was when Vanessa

admitted to her therapist that she needed it to have been a love story. That line was so impactful and revealed so much about her prior behavior. I love that the books ends with the beginning of her healing journey. We don’t cut any corners or make any great leaps, but she is ready to finally face her relationship with Strane with honestly.

This book had good, useful information, but was definitely repetitive at times. The overall topics were focusing on the high childbirth mortality rate in America, racism, and healthcare, and how COVID is forcing women to stay home, further reinforcing dated gender roles and setting back progress. Rather than focusing on one topic at a time, the book jumps back and forth quite a book, leading to some of the repetitiveness.

I wish I had the authors optimism for the future. Even though she had written an entire book on fatal flaws of American practices, I still felt she looked at the country with rose-colored goggles.

It is difficult to put into words how powerful and impactful this book is. Chanel offers such a vulnerable and honest look behind the curtain to being a victim of sexual violence. Beyond the night itself, we also see a glimpse into how fucked up the Justice system is, not only in its approach to sexual violence cases, but also towards its scheduling and the CJS in general.

There isn’t much to say except that literally everyone should read this book. Everyone. Not just woman.

Let’s start with my biggest gripe—this white author uses the n word twice. The book is not about racism and the word is used as throwaway derogatory remarks. Unnecessary and unacceptable.

The gore and the horror of this book mostly involves the female anatomy in ways that are completely not possible in real life. Maybe I’m foolish but I need a level of realism in my horror stories. Another reviewer wrote that it was “so far fetched it’s comical” and I agree.

Many of the stories are told from the female perspective and holy shit I’m so tired of extreme horror authors who CANNOT write good female characters AT ALL.

The stories were gross, as promised, but that’s about all there was going for it. The only reason I finished the book is because it’s extremely short and I wanted to give a fair review.