 4.5 stars
The third mystery romance from Kristen Ashley's Misted Pines series, and my personal favorite?? This was so adorable, sweet, and engrossing. Characters: ★★★★★ Setting: ★★★★ Plot: ★★★ 1/2 Writing style: It's a KA book, so keep this in mind as her writing style is Very Dramatic and she loves a good one-sentence paragraph (like, REALLY loves it) New to the Misted Pines series? I recommend readers start with book one, The Girl in the Mist, because this series of interconnected standalone romance pairings is best enjoyed in order. My review of The Girl in the Mist (Misted Pines #1) here. My review of The Girl in the Woods (Misted Pines #2) here. Nadia Williams is trying to recuperate and figure out her life in the wake of tragedy. When the cozy cabin shows up on her online search in the quaint small town of Misted Pines, Nadia has a gut feeling that it's the right spot for her. She abandons her high-rolling Chicago life for the woods. Riggs, a single-dad bachelor who works high-end craftsmanship commissions, lives on the small lake that Nadia's rental cabin sits on. He's a good time guy, a loner who's never wanted for temporary female company, and he's not pressed about Nadia living down the way. After all, no one stays in that cabin for long. But this good time guy and this healing woman with deep secrets are about to fall into each other in a big way, as Misted Pines is becoming known for one thing in particular: murder and drama. There's a legend of ghosts on Nadia's cabin property, with a long history of renters being run off the property in the middle of the night. People died on that land violently and the community has never fully recovered. Somebody has secrets to keep, and at the heart of the mystery is Nadia's small cabin property. Riggs and Nadia are caught right in the middle of it. With an attraction between them, individual baggage behind them, and an uncertain perpetrator in the woods, these two find that sometimes fate has a path in store for you—whether you're ready for it or not. The Woman by the Lake was a romance novel that took me partially by surprise. Which is probably on me, because I knew I was a huge KA stan and I knew that I had fallen in love, slowly, with this series. Why I was totally blown away with my love for this one in particular, who knows. For frequent KA readers like myself, the Misted Pines series is very unique. Kristen Ashley is known for her romantic and plot-based drama, her usually metropolitan settings, and her very large ensemble casts. Misted Pines has very little of those tropes—it's a minimal cast (single digits!), the drama is centered squarely on the plot and not the romance element, and it's so far into small town territory that it's in the literal woods. So that means all the "fluff" is scraped away from these stories, leaving the reader with what is at the core of all great KA tales: the romance itself and the character dynamics. If you're a romance reader, odds are that you love the character dynamics. That's what those stories are often about—the feel goods, the journey to love, the dialogue, the angst between the two leads, and the emotional core of the tales. (And for the smut readers, some seriously good times in the sheets too.) The Woman by the Lake shines with its romance dynamics and the sweet love story at its core. It's bottled up feel good, and I loved every second of it. Thank you to the author for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
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 4 stars
Very interesting read. One of those "it's an underlying message" tales that usually drives me nuts—but this one? It worked. And it worked WELL, and it managed to keep the enjoyment factor at the same time. Concept: ★★★★★ Pacing: ★★★ Characters: ★★★★ Humor: ★★★★ I totally can see why The September House made it on to so many of my mutuals' lists... and after reading it, I now understand the really polarizing reactions to this read. Ranging from lukewarm "whatever, it was fine" to oh-my-god-this-was-so-freaking-cool to "what are people on about, this was dull and preachy"—yeah, it seems like this story incites a reaction. I had no idea where I'd fall, and the blurb from Grady Hendrix saying "just when you thought you'd seen everything there was to see about the haunted house story, there's this surprise" practically made me do it for that alone. As someone who loves haunted house stories, what do you MEAN this was something...new? I love new. So with my curiosity piqued, I dove in. When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings that happen every September. Most people would flee. Margaret is NOT most people. The blurb sets us right off: there's a house, it's a nightmare to live in each September, and most owners don't make it to the next autumn before they flee into the night. But then, there's Margaret. Margaret has nerves of steel and an unwavering will to resolve all solutions through adaptability and compromise. She's had a lifetime of experience navigating challenges and she knows the truth: as long as one follows the Rules, any problem can be navigated. So Margaret deals with the walls dripping blood. The screaming and moaning. The dead children all pointing to the basement door saying "he's down there." She doesn't mind the housekeeper with the axed forehead who serves her tea. And she's even cool with the screaming demon boy with the biting habit. All things, after all, can be managed if done properly. But when Margaret's husband, Hal, runs off into the night and disappears... Margaret runs into problems. Her daughter, Katherine, wants answers. Where is Hal? Why did he leave? Why does Margaret want her to stay away? Margaret doesn't want to tell Katherine about the hauntings. Especially not in September. Katherine—like father, like daughter—doesn't listen. She arrives, and she's here for answers. In September. Margaret's going to have quite a time. (And she does.) This was a really, really cool horror novel. I think this is the kind of story I was expecting out of Sarah Gailey's Just Like Home, which disappointed me more than expected a few years ago. The September House has some layered family secrets and traumas that are boldly, and yet subtly, conveyed in this story. Margaret as a main character was such a clever choice. Her wry humor, her acceptance of all truths (no matter how dark), and her resolute will to continue on at all costs was so...singular. And I loved unpacking all of that over the course of the novel.  4.5 stars
You know what I love? I love being surprised by stories. When you’re a frequent reader, the surprises become fewer and farther between as you reread tropes and plot points. But Pam?? Pam always surprises me. And I love her for that. This story is so unique and so angsty and yes, I’m still obsessed. Plot: ★★★★★ Pacing: ★★★ Angst: ★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★ This is the second book in the Frozen Fate series. You CANNOT start with this book, you must start with book one--Hills of Shivers and Shadows. Read my review of Hills of Shivers and Shadows here. Okay, now I'm writing this review for my fellow besties who have already read Hills of Shivers and Shadows. Y'all.... I'm convinced that Pam laces these books with something to make them this good. There's no other author in this subgenre that I read as obsessively as her. I don't read a lot of darker romance, but I'll always read Pam because at the end of the day, I know the characters are in love. There might be a hell of a lot of angst and pain in their journeys, but it's all coming hand-in-hand with their eventual love arc. So with that being said, let's talk about the propulsive sequel, Cage of Ice and Echoes. Frankie, Leo, and Kodiak are stranded in the Artic Circle. Their generator is broken. They've just killed their abuser, Denver, and he was the only one who knew how to fly the plane—their one source of escape from the wilderness. They're going to die out here in the dark, frigid cold without any help or way of escape. Leo and Kodiak are found-family brothers, raised in this unforgiving hellscape with Denver. They're grieving the loss of their fellow brother, Wolf, and are reeling from the fact that for the first time in their lives, they are free of Denver's abusive control. And they're both obsessively in love with Frankie. Frankie was abducted by Denver at the beginning of this series and brought to the Arctic Circle compound where it became clear to her that something very sinister lay at the heart of the compound. After a traumatic several months spent in Denver's control and orbiting around Denver's three adult "sons," Frankie finds herself entwined forever with these rugged Alaskan men. But with Wolf and Denver gone, the three remaining survivors have a lot to work out—not the least of which is their deep connections and love for each other. Can Kodiak and Leo share a woman when they both love her obsessively and see each other as brothers? Can Frankie navigate this unique romantic scenario while also dealing with the perils of surviving a starving, freezing winter? And wait, there's another wrinkle in this already crumpled story: Monty, Frankie's rich husband, isn't out of commission. Denver might have ruined Frankie's love for her husband by showing her a video of Monty cheating on her after she "left him" in her abduction, but that was Monty's one fumbling moment in months of endless pain. He's been a broken man since Frankie "left," and he's never given up. He's running himself and his fortune into the ground in an effort to find his missing wife. What will he do—and what will Frankie do—when and if he finds her? So many tangles. So many threads. So much pain, and beauty, and grace. The heart of this survivor's tale is deep in the frozen tundra, and it's time to connect some dots. Like all of Pam's stories that I've read so far, you come for that unique scenario that propels you to find out "why." And then you stay for the hard-won and emotionally fulfilling romance story arc that awaits you at the finish line. This sequel is in the middle of a trilogy with cliffhangers on both sides—there is no big closure moment here. It's the middle leg of the journey and it reads like one. A little softer, a little more focused on building the relationships vs. uncovering more secrets. After the pain and stress of the first book, I enjoyed this reprieve as a reader. And now I'm FERAL for that third book.  5 stars
I have been waiting a LONG, long time for the Rock Chicks universe spin-off series. It's here. …and it was AWESOME. My heart is full. Characters: ★★★★★ Plot/Pacing: ★★★★ Enjoyment: ★★★★★ From the Blurb: Rachel Armstrong has a burning need to right the world’s wrongs. Thus, she becomes the Avenging Angel. And maybe she’s a bit too cocky about it. While riding a hunch about the identity of a kidnapper, she runs into Julien “Cap” Jackson, who was trained by the team at Nightingale Investigations in Denver. Now he’s a full-fledged member at their newly opened Phoenix branch. It takes Cap a beat to realize Raye’s the woman for him. It takes Raye a little longer (but just a little) to figure out how she feels about Cap. As Raye introduces Cap to her crazy posse of found family and his new home in the Valley of the Sun, Cap struggles with his protective streak. Because Raye has no intention to stop doing what she can to save the world. But there’s a mysterious entity out there who has discovered what Raye is up to, and they’ve become very interested. Not to mention, women are going missing in Phoenix, and it seems like the police aren’t taking it seriously. Raye believes someone should. So she recruits her best friend Luna, and between making coffees, mixing cocktails, planning parties and enduring family interventions (along with reunions), the Avenging Angels unite to ride to the rescue. When you've waited a long time for something, it builds up in your head. Expectations, memories, that nostalgia of the past growing in effect over time... The whole nine yards. That's why sequels and spin offs are so tough for me—both in my books and in television/movies. Based on that, you could definitely say I was nervous for Avenging Angels. How could a new spin-off give me that same rush of pure joy that the original Rock Chick series gave me?? Will the vibes resonate?? Can I let go enough of my old favorites and their memories and let in a new generation?? All of those questions and others made me anxious. But y'all--when in doubt, it's always best to trust the process. KA delivered. From that very first chapter, I was hooked. Rachel, or "Raye," leapt right off the page and into my heart with her drive, her shenanigans, and her Phoenix found family. It was like no time had passed and yet, still, something fresh and new unfolding on the page. Raye might be an Angel, not a Rock Chick, but dang does she stand mighty fine next to our original leading ladies. And then there's Cap. Who I was most nervous about—I'm being honest!--mostly due to the fact that I wasn't sure if I, as a reader, could make that transition from seeing him as a young teen named "Sniff" in the original series to the badass leading man energy of a KA love interest. Again, I don't know why I ever doubted... Cap, nicknamed because of his physical similarities to a yummy bearded Chris Evans, was perfect. Assertive without being an alphahole. Competent without being annoying. Supportive of Raye's journey without being a background wallflower. He just...worked. And that worked for me in a big way. There's no other way to say this: I felt like I was coming home to this novel after being away for several years. Home might look a little different for us Rock Chick fans—we're in Phoenix, not Denver, and the cast of characters is largely new—but it was still home. I thought the balance of old to new was done perfectly in Avenging Angels. It's a new cast, but the old cast is there too in a realistic way. And the shenanigans?? OH BOY, hang on to your hat. Ridiculous in that classic KA way. Lovable in that KA way. Just... home. (At least for this KA and Rock Chick mega fan.) Can't wait for more of the Angels to get their happy endings! Thank you so much to the author for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.  5 stars
Honestly?? I’m obsessed. I'm not usually a dragon-shifter person, but wow did this Regency-adjacent, filthy-yet-sweet variant really hit the spot. Concept: ★★★ Plot/Pacing: ★★★★★ Romance: ★★★★★ Calling all fans of dragons, Regency romances, alpha/omega, and soft yet filthy stories... The Alpha of Bleake Isle is your kind of good time. As the one Alpha of the Bleake Isle dragonkin, it's Lord Ronson Cadogan's duty to choose an eligible omega once per decade from society as his official rut partner. The fact that Ronson hasn't chosen one in decades is... not going well. The stuffy society Beta men of the island aren't going to let him get away with this odd behavior without a challenge for much longer, and Ronson knows it. So this time, he's made it clear that he intends to pick an omega for the very first time. Mairwen Posy knows precisely who the Alpha of Bleake Isle will choose, and it certainly isn't her. In fact, it's so predictable it's almost boring. Mairwen, called "Mouse" by society, is a wallflower and observer, cursed to the sidelines due to her lack of perfume and less-than-ideal body shape. So it shocks everyone when Ronson chooses...Mairwen. (The two of them have their reasons for this choice.) Now officially "together" with no warning and no preparation, Ronson and Mairwen discover that things on Bleake Isle aren't quite as they should be... and it's up to them to fix it. But can they fix the rot at the core of Bleake Isle while facing an intense attraction to each other?? Dun dun dun. Cue that sweet, sweet romance set with a heavy dose of spice. It was no surprise to me that I enjoyed this story—I am obsessed with Kathryn Moon. I'm always going to read what she writes. Always. But I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to fall utterly in love with this story. The dragon thing tied to the historical vibes...Those are not buzzwords for me as a reader. But then I tried it, and DAMN. I'm into it now. (Or at least, I'm into the version of it that Kathryn's given us here.) This was sweeter than I expected it to be. This was more plot-filled than I expected it to be. And it was just... perfect. I loved Ronson and Mairwen. I loved the unique spin on the alpha/omega tropes and setup. Every expectation I had was clearly blown away, and I find myself eagerly sitting on my hands now, waiting for news for more in this series/world! Thank you to the author for my early copy.  5 stars
Me: I will never read a book with the cheating trope!! Never!! Sara Cate: Bet. Me: *immediately smashes that TBR button and consumes the story* When I tell you I devoured this story, I need you to know that I mean that literally. The Home Wrecker consumed me—this polyamorous story of Caleb, Briar, and Dean was one that I never thought I'd be interested in reading but, once Sara Cate introduced me to these characters, I knew it was all over for me. I don't like books with the following tropes: cheating, established marriages, or large plots involving children/having children as a main element of the story. I also speed away from all books centered on religion. The Home Wrecker had all of my no-no list tropes. It's about an established marriage in crisis surrounding two extremely religious characters who are trying to conceive their second child and fracturing apart because of their failures. Even typing out that sentence, my body is going ICK, PLEASE, NO. Those things are (were) not for me. But I was intrigued by The Home Wrecker's premise: Briar and Caleb, our married couple, find themselves orbiting around a new man in their lives—Dean. Dean is an escort with a very open sexuality (he's bi) and a sensuality to his lifestyle that both Briar and Caleb cannot understand. Dean's happy with who he is, he's not religious, and he's not afraid of his own desires and wants. Both Caleb and Briar are afraid of so many things. When Dean's presence starts to unravel the tightly wound nest of problems at the core of Briar and Caleb's relationship, all three of them start to realize that maybe... there's something else worth fighting for in this tense cold war. The core of the story is Briar and Caleb's relationship and how Dean finds his own home and belonging within their arms--I don't want this blurb to sound like Dean is a tool for the "main pairing" to thrive. Sara Cate has written a truly polyamorous love story here and Dean's own personal arc and journey are just as important as both Briar's and Caleb's. The marriage pairing might be the sexy and taboo hook here for the marketing, but I want to highlight Dean's own individualism in this story. His happy ending is very much at play here too. If you can handle the idea of these tropes, and you're willing to explore non-heteronormative traditional endings and acceptance, then I'd love to point you toward this book. It's a fulfilling and loving story of acceptance and personal growth wrapped up in a very Sara Cate-style sexy package. Come for the spicy taboo. Stay for the feels. I promise you won't regret it. (And trust Sara on the cheating trope! I did.) Thank you so much to the author for my advanced reader copy and the wonderful goodie package!!  4.5 stars
Well then. I haven’t felt that level of creeping, utter dread in quite some time—and certainly not while bathed in the surface level story of a sunshine cottage core sapphic love story. This story isn’t about the shock of a reveal. It’s about the never-ending ceaseless anxiety of the trap closing softly around you. Too gentle to identify as a danger. Too inexorable to escape. I'm not even going to describe this story, because I think it works best when you can experience the inescapable dread in real time. Stunning novella. Polarizing if you think the “reveal” is meant to be the draw of the tale. Recommended highly to my other short/weird/queer horror fans.  5 stars
This was quite the experience. I’m not sure how to talk about it? ...But I'll give it a whirl. I feel like Pam Godwin is in her own category and should be reviewed and talked about as such. Concept: truly dark, truly a Pam experience, truly gripping Sense of danger: ★★★★★ Characters: ★★★★★ I have no idea how to talk about this book—I feel that way about most Pam Godwin stories, let's be honest—because it's one of those stories that's meant for a very select readership and those readers often find these stories organically on their own. So please understand me when I say that this book is NOT for everyone. And it's not even for most dark romance readers? It really, REALLY depends on your personal boundaries and preferences. Let's pitch it like this... Did you love Credence by Penelope Douglas , but you wanted a lot more angst with a real polyamorous angle, a lot more trauma, a lot more triggers, and truly terrifying scenarios? Do you love horror and thriller books with twisted sexual angles in them? Do you have the will to experience realistically paced triggers on page? If you answered yes to all three of those things, then keep reading this review. (If you answered no, that makes sense and I love that for you, but then do please check out some other books instead of this one.) Hills of Shivers and Shadows is a story about survival, first and foremost. And a love story as a distant second subplot (that clearly will grow in the later two books in this trilogy). Don't come for the romance—it's not really about that. It's a study of psychology, of locked-room decision making, of only hard choices and no ability to abstain. What would you do if you were trapped and couldn't get out? Are you the type of character who, when caught in a bear trap, would chew off your own foot to survive if you needed to? Could you do it? This is the kind of questioning that Pam puts our characters through. And it's the kind of gripping, engaging narrative style that forces the reader to consider those same questions of evil versus survival and the depths of human resilience when placed in the darkest of nights. It's a 5-star read for me. But let me explain why, because I don't want to say it's a favorite because of the trauma or the triggers—the pain and traumas in this novel are NOT fetishized for the reader. This is a 5-star for its grip, its realism, and the sheer kudos that must be given to Pam for how absolutely singular this story was for me. Trigger warnings abound in this novel. Click here to visit the author's website to view the list. Thank you to the author for my early copy.  3.5 stars
This was super fun and lighthearted (and very focused on the steamy factor). A different kind of Lily Mayne book, but a fun time nonetheless! Concept: super fun Plot/Pacing: a little repetitive Romance: adorable and filthy Impromptu Match is the first in a nostalgic, 1980s-ish old-school pageantry-wrestling monster romance series. Yeah, did you get all of that?? That series of words is a lot to take in, but it's accurate and I wanted to make sure we all started off on the right foot. Lily Mayne is known, or at least known to me, as the writer of intense, somewhat angsty, post-apocalyptic MM monster romances that I've read and some equally angsty fae romances that I have yet to read. She writes extremely well-paced and engagingly plotted stories with softboi romances at the core of darker tales. So this... lighthearted wrestling sexfest was a departure from the norm. NOT an unwelcome one, but I did want to state for the record that I come from Mayne's more serious fare and, honestly, would have skipped over this book if not for the author byline. I think that a new readership to Lily Mayne will love this story. It's soft, it's fun, and it's not here for a deep time—just a really fun one with lots of steamy fluff wrapped up in a wrestling bow. Because I came from Lily's more serious fare... I found this one really easy to put down due to the lack of higher stakes. This is NOT the fault of this soft, happy novel. More a reflection on who I am as a reader and what I'm looking for (cough cough, that drama). Come for the softboi-in-love vibes, stay for the iconic wrestling outfits and hilarious antics of this hidden monster community!  4.5 stars
Wow, I loved this a lot. In the high-stress environment of wedding planning, two people collide over and over and find that sometimes, second chances work out... Forget Me Not is the story of a chaotic wedding planner and a grumpy florist. Ama doesn't believe in long-term love, but she's committed to bringing everyone's dreams to life with customized and personal wedding days. Elliott's the reluctant son of a florist legacy who never wanted to work with flowers, but he discovers that creating architectural floral masterpieces is his true calling. They made an odd pairing, but they worked. Until they didn't. And everything fell apart. Now it's two years after Ama and Elliott broke up badly. Ama's received the wedding commission of her dreams: an influencer and her bride want to use Ama's planning services for their showstopping wedding. The catch? They only want to work with Blooming Flowers—Elliott's flower service. Neither Ama nor Elliott are able to turn this job down—it could make or break their careers and put them on the national map. So these two exes have to put their pride aside and work together. With the pressure on and their lingering chemistry sparking the air... Anything can happen. Why not a second chance at love? Y'all, I read this entire book in one night. I couldn't put it down. Julie Soto has a talent for compelling characters and scenarios and her writing just plain fun and funny. I laughed, I anguished, I couldn't get over the exquisite tension between Ama and Elliott. My one caveat to this amazing reading experience is this: I didn't care for the dual-timeline style. (I know, I know.) I'm personally not a fan of flashbacks/flashforwards when they're used as a main plot device. This story alternates chapters from the present timeline and the past timeline in such an integrated way that a good 50% of the story takes place in the past. That's not my personal preference, so I kept wishing we'd fade that element away earlier in the novel and stay in the present for maximum dramatic effect. However, that being said, I still loved this story and it's a new favorite! |
Amy Imogene ReadsJust someone looking for her own door into Wonderland. Categories
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All reviews posted are my own and do not reflect the opinions of any other individual or entity. When applicable, reviewed titles sent to me by the publisher are noted at the bottom of each review.
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