sup3r_xn0va_maya's reviews
364 reviews

Exiled From Nobu by Elizabeth Stephens

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adventurous challenging inspiring tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

💬: N/A

📖Genres: romance, sci-fi, sci-fi romance, aliens, fantasy romance

📚Page Count: 93

🎧Audiobook Length: 02h 00min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 
----
*I read this story because it was recommended by romance author, Katee Roberts*

Exiled from Nobu by Elizabeth Stephens is the first novella in the Xiveri Mates series and it's chronologically book 2.5 in the series. Lisbel has been exiled from Nobu with her Xiveri Mate Jaxal but does she actually love him? Does she even like him? He seems brutish and even though she wants to hate him, she can't. When Lisbel finds herself in the position of protecting someone, she's impressed to watch Jaxal protect her. Maybe they can grow to really love each other, if they truly are Xiveri Mates. 

This novella was cute, fun, and it definitely redeemed Lisbel from her previous actions in the 2nd Xiveri Mates book, "Take to Nobu". Book 2 needs to be read before reading this book, book 2.5 to fully understand what's happening in the background of the story. I think the only thing I didn't like about the story is how Lisbel slaps Jaxal in the face over a misunderstanding,
she believed that Jaxal was cheating on her with several other women.
Other than this scene, the rest of the novella was enjoyable and I can't wait to read the rest of the books in the series.

I enjoyed the audio narration of this novella just as much as I liked the narration of both of the pervious full length books. Blaire Leblanc returns to voice Lisbel and a few side characters and Marquis De Sade voices Jaxal and a few other side characters as well. They both continue to do a wonderful job. This and the previous Xiveri Mates audiobook were published by Vitruvian Sound and so far I've liked all three of the audiobook narrations, they did a wonderful job with producing this.

The spicy scenes in here were short but they were still really nice. I'm giving the spicy scenes three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies

Overall, this novella was really enjoyable. I did have a problem with Lisbel slapping Jaxal when she got mad, but other than that it was a good story.  I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5  Stars

I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]

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Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

💬: "Sinsar Dubh1: a Dark Hallow belonging to the mythological race of the Tuatha Dé Danaan. Written in a language known only to the most ancient of their kind, it is said to hold the deadliest of all magic within its encrypted pages. Brought to Ireland by the Tuatha Dé during the invasions written of in the pseudohistory Leabhar Gabhåla3, it was stolen along with the other Dark Hallows and rumored to have found its way into the world of Man."

Moning, Karen Marie. Darkfever: Fever Series Book 1 (p. 66). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, paranormal romance, Fae

📚Page Count: 343

🎧Audiobook Length: 08h 57min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️ - 2/5 
----

Darkfever is the first book in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. MacKayla, more commonly known as Mac, is grieving because her older sister was murdered while abroad in Ireland. Mac's sister left one clue, one enigmatic voice message. So when the criminal murder investigation halts, Mac decides to travel to Ireland to find out who murdered her sister and why. As Mac digs deeper she finds maybe an enemy or ally in the peculiar Jericho Barrons, who happens to be shadowing her. Eventually Mac discovers that she's a sidhe-seer (she-seer), someone who can see and sense the monsters on the other side of the veil. V'lane, an alpha Fae who glamours women into wanting sexual intercourse from him, also has his sights set on Mac. The one thing that Mac discovers is that she needs to get her hands on the Sinsar Dubh, a one of a kind Dark Book that has the power to control both the human world and the fae world, before anyone else finds it. 

The first part of the book was really boring, things don't pick up and get more interesting in the book until after the 50% mark. This book also had some inconsistencies as well as several scenes not being explained at all. It felt like nothing relevant was happening in the first 50% of the book. We get world building when Mac learns more about the Fae world and she writes the information down in her notebook, I suppose that's okay? It feels a little like lazy writing. The first time Mac finally sees a monster up close is at the 31% mark and that felt like the story was going too slowly. When Mac sees the monster she notices that it is naked and has a large "member", for some reason the monster stares back at her and begins to stroke itself?!This was never explained "why". To be fair, I think it's okay if some things weren't explained because I understand that this first book is meant the be the beginning of a long series. I just don't understand why the monsters want to stroke themselves when they see her and that is not explained. There are a few inconsistences but I'll just share the first one I found. 

"then turned out the light and fell almost immediately into a deep, dreamless sleep. Someone knocking at my door awakened me. I sat up, rubbing gritty, tired eyes that felt as if I’d just shut them seconds ago. It took me a few moments to remember where I was—in a twin bed in a chilly room in Dublin, with rain tapping lightly at the window. I’d been having a fantastic dream."

Moning, Karen Marie. Darkfever: Fever Series Book 1 (pp. 48-49). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

So Mac starts off saying that she "fell almost immediately into a deep, dreamless sleep." only to say at the beginning of the next paragraph, "I'd been having a fantastic dream." 


(TW - mention of physical assault)
I don't think the relationship between Barrons and Mac is really possible without Mac continuing to accept Barrons' physically and verbally abusive behavior, at this point. Within the first few days of knowing each other, they get into one of their many arguments. Only this time, Barrons decides to "snatch" Mac up off the couch she's sitting on, by grabbing her by the hair and neck and shoving her against a wall.

He was on me before my brain processed the fact that he was coming for me. It was the third time he’d pulled such a stunt and it was getting darned old. The man was either an Olympic sprinter or, because I’d never been jumped before, I just couldn’t get a grasp on how quickly it happens. His lunges were way faster than my instincts to react. Lips compressed, face tight with fury, he dragged me up off the couch with a hand in my hair, grabbed my throat with the other, and began walking me backward toward the wall.

Moning, Karen Marie. Darkfever: Fever Series Book 1 (pp. 77-78). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

This is not described as consensual non-consent OR romantic behavior at all. This is described as the abuse it is. Barrons is supposed to be the main love interest but he physically attacks Mac several times in the beginning of their acquaintanceship. Towards the end of the book Barrons saves Mac and for some reason the author sort of paints this idea that it's okay to forget or that we should forget that Barrons was physically abusive towards Mac almost every time they were in each other's proximity. Barrons saves Mac and so the character is expected to be redeemed of his earlier behavior. Well I still don't like him, he's awful and abusive, I want Mac to get far away from him.

The audiobook narrator was okay, I didn't love their performance but I could stand it. Mac, the main character, is supposed to be from the United States South and so the narrator tried to use a "Southern" accent and sometimes the narrator would lose the accent for two sentences just to pick it back up in the third sentence. It was a bit distracting and took me out of the immersion of the story almost every time it happened. Someone gifted me every audiobook in this series (there was a sale at $2.99 per audiobook) so I plan on finishing this series. I think I don't mind that the book's narrators changes to new narrators starting in book 4, Dreamfever.

There were no spicy scenes in this book. All the scenes having to do with arousal had to do with monsters, fae, and creatures of the night being sexually aggressive and even almost sexually assaulting the main character by using fae glamour to make her think she "wants it". Nothing happened but I don't want to read about "almost sexual assaults" in my paranormal ROMANCES. I'm giving the spicy scenes zero -🌶️ chilies out of five chilies

Overall, I think the beginning of this book was not good, though the premise was interesting. The ending of the book is where the action and the full story started to come together, it was definitely the most interesting part of the book. I don't understand the "slow burn romance" in here because  Barrons is terrible to Mac and even physically abusive to her in the days following their first meeting. That's not romantic at all. Some of the writing was also inconsistent.  I'm giving this 2 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️ - 2/5  Stars

I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]

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Taken to Nobu by Elizabeth Stephens

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

💬: "The thought has the corners of my mouth twitching in the makings of a carefully repressed smile and just like that, hate slips so easily away. Love weighs so much less. Nothing at all. It is pure buoyancy."

Stephens, Elizabeth. Taken to Nobu: A SciFi Alien Romance (Xiveri Mates Book 2) (p. 294). Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: romance, sci-fi, sci-fi romance, aliens, fantasy romance

📚Page Count: 358

🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 15min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 
----

*I read this story because it was recommended by romance author, Katee Roberts*

Taken to Nobu by Elizabeth Stephens is the second book in the Xiveri Mates series. Kiki is on Nobu, a snow consumed planet, where she's stuck with no escape. The leader of the colony that she's on is Va'Raku and he claims that she is his Xiveri mate. She isn't sure what that is but she wants no part in mating with an alien and she definitely doesn't want to participate in "The Hunt", an event where she will be tracked and hunted with little to no options to save herself from the mating event. She knows one thing for sure, she's going to fight anyone who tries to touch her. Va'Raku knows that Kiki hates him but he also knows that she is without a doubt, his Xiveri mate, he's determined to win her over during "The Hunt" so she'll finally be his mate and rule the colony beside him. He's never met a warrior woman like her and while impressed, he suddenly realizes that Kiki is fighting him out of fear and not out of honor. Kiki has been hurt by an alien before and Va'Raku is willing to do anything to make that man pay, will Kiki trust Va'Raku enough to help get her revenge?

(TW - mention of sexual assault, rape, grey sexual consent lines)
I enjoyed this book as much, if not more than the first book in the series. The main character, Kiki, is a character we followed at the beginning of book one briefly, in this book we finally get to read about what happened to her after the events of book one. Kiki is a sexual assault survivor (the events are not shown on page, as they happened before the events of the first book, they are just referred to) and so at the beginning of the book when she gets the news that she'll be participating in "The Hunt" (where alien men chase and pursue woman so they can find their mates and produce children while fostering a relationship.) She goes into defense mode, she doesn't want to be forced to mate an alien against her will so she decides to fight. After defeating a few of these alien men, eventually, Kiki meets Va'Raku and Kiki's body and soul decide that they want Va'Raku (like fated mates, sort of). Kiki then changes her "No, I don't want to be touched" to a "Yes, touch me now Va'Raku". 

I really enjoyed the narrators of this audiobook, just like I enjoyed the narrators of the first book in the Xiveri Mates series. Blaire Leblanc returns to voice Kiki and some of the other characters and she does a fantastic job, just like she did with the first book. Marquis De Sade voices Va'Raku and he does a really good job as well. This audiobook was published by Vitruvian Sound and overall, they did a nice job.

All but one of the spicy scenes were nice and enjoyable to read/listen to on audiobook. The first scene where the couple are together intimately for the first time is hard to judge because there is a misunderstanding between the Kiki and Va'Raku because of cultural differences.
At first Kiki is determined to not be physically intimate with anyone, even though she is being perused by several alien men in "The Hunt". That changes when she meets Va'Raku.
The rest of the spicy scenes were wonderful. I'm giving the spicy scenes three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies

Overall, I think this story was really enjoyable. I did have issues with the one part in the book that depicted "grey or blurred consent lines", but other than that issue, it was mostly good. I enjoyed most of the characters, in fact, there were only two characters (out of a cast of about 10 main and background characters) that I didn't like. I also enjoyed the growing romance between Kiki and Va'Raku. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5  Stars

I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]

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Bride by Ali Hazelwood

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

💬: "“I would take anything she chose to give me—the tiniest fraction or her entire world. I would take her for a single night knowing that I’ll lose her by morning, and I would hold on to her and never let go. I would take her healthy, or sick, or tired, or angry, or strong, and it would be my fucking privilege. I would take her problems, her gifts, her moods, her passions, her jokes, her body—I would take every last thing, if she chose to give it to me.”

Hazelwood, Ali. Bride (pp. 201-202). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: adult, spicy, romance, paranormal, paranormal romance, urban fantasy

📚Page Count: 402

🎧Audiobook Length: 12h 47min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 

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Bride by Ali Hazelwood is a paranormal romance about a Vampyre named Misery who is sent to be in an arranged marriage to an Alpha wolf named Lowe. Misery doesn't just agree to the arranged marriage only to ensure continued peace between the Vampyres and Weres, she also does it because she's determined to get back what's been taken from her. Even if that means being the only Vampyre in Were territory. 

I've never read anything by Ali Hazelwood until now and I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I think it started a little slow and the world building felt a bit jarring at first because the setting is not exactly explained until around 25% of the way through the book (if I remember correctly). I was feeling very impatient during the first 25% of the way through and the main reason why I continued the book is because it was a buddy read between myself and a best friend. I'm so happy I convinced myself to finish it. I'm not big on political romance stories but this hooked me in once I hit that 25% mark. I think it also helps that this book unfolds into somewhat of a mystery on top of all the politics, romance, and the "enemies to lovers" themes. 

I want give this book five stars but there were two things I didn't like. I only liked the first half of the last spicy scene, I didn't like what happened after the stuff I liked (LOL 😂😂). Another thing I didn't like was how the "enemies to lovers" trope was really based on a continual misunderstanding. I honestly don't think this book is "enemies to lovers" at all.

I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say that the spicy scenes were enjoyable in some parts and then they became "interesting" in other parts. I'll say that I've never read an intimate scene like the last scene, but I'm very hopeful that it'll be the last I read of it's kind. I'm giving it three chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies.

"Bride" is my first Ali Hazelwood book and I was not disappointed, I really enjoyed this book and it was honestly so fun to read.  I'm giving this book 4.5 stars out of 5. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 -  4.5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [Libbyapp.com]

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Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost

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dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

💬: "Perhaps the moths knew what he didn’t, that the joy of the flame was worth the price of destruction. He intended to find out.

Frost, Jeaniene. Eternal Kiss of Darkness (Night Huntress World Book 2) (p. 199). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: romance, paranormal romance, paranormal, supernatural, urban fantasy

📚Page Count: 375

🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 24min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 
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Eternal Kiss of Darkness is the second book in the "Night Huntress" spin-off series, "Night Huntress World" both by Jeaniene Frost. Kira Graceling, a private investigator, hears sounds of pain coming from around the corner while she was walking home from work. Kira does what any upstanding citizen would do and she checks on the person who's been hurt. Mencheres is a master vampire and he isn't sure what to do about the human who just risked her life to save him. He finds himself drawn to her. In the end, Mencheres must choose the woman he's fascinated by or the darkest magic that he needs to defeat an enemy that threatens to eternally damn him. 

At first I was apprehensive because I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy a book about Mencheres but this book only disappointed me once (more on that below). Mencheres' and Kira's relationship really worked for me. There was a little miscommunication and that usually bothers me in books but the book was so good that I just let it play out and I ended up liking the book overall.

I really don't like the constant threat of sexual assault that the female characters have to endure every book, it seems. For some reason Frost keeps adding elements of sexual assault and misogyny in her stories and that really ruins parts of the book for me. To further explain this specific example,
in this instance there is a young 16 year old girl and a vampire "pimp" has forced her to do sex work and start stripping.
This could have been left out or changed to something else, we don't need to see female characters threated with sexual assault by the people who are supposed to be the bad guys. We get it, they're bad guys. 

I really enjoyed the spicy scenes in this book, they were so good. I think I just really enjoy the way Frost writes intimate scenes. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

Overall, "Eternal Kiss of Darkness" was really entertaining just like the first book in the "Night Huntress World" series, "First Drop of Crimson". I liked this book's female protagonist way more than I liked the female protagonist in the first book so this was even more fun to read than the first book in the series. Mencheres and Kira really worked together as a couple for me and reading about them was thrilling, heart wrenching, and just amazing. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5  Stars


I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]

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Last Guard by Nalini Singh

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emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

💬: ““Fruitless obsession will lead you to your grave, Canto,” he muttered, repeating words his grandmother had said to him. Ena had also added: “Mercants have a gift for obsession. It’s led to prison sentences, epic heroism, great works of art, and madhouses. Choose your path.”

Singh, Nalini. Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity Book 5) (p. 14). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: paranormal romance, romance, urban fantasy, adult

📚Page Count: 371

🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 52min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 

----

Last Guard is the 20th book in the Psy/Changeling series and 5th in the Psy/Changeling Trinity series both by Nalini Singh. Payal Rao is the CEO of a major company as well as a cardinal telekinetic and an Anchor (a Psy designation of people working together to stop the PsyNet from collapsing) . She's calm, collected, and mostly emotionless. Canto Merchant is the head of intel for the influential Merchant family, he's an Anchor who's been deemed "damaged" because of a spinal injury he endured as a child. Payal and Canto need to work together, to save the Psy/Net but this isn't the first time they've had to work together. Both of them are still hurting from their intertwined dark past. Will they be able to save the PsyNet and possibly the love that they develop for each other?

This was an okay read, I didn't hate it and I didn't love it. I will say that this is one of the most boring Psy/Changeling novels I've read. I enjoyed Canto and Payal's romance towards the end but the journey of getting there felt long. There wasn't much that was memorable about this book to be honest.

The spice in this was okay, it wasn't really memorable, though I did like the depiction of a physically disabled person being intimate with their partner because we don't see that a lot in media. I'm giving it two point five chilies 🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies

Overall, I think Last Guard was just okay. The book felt like it was a little longer than it needed to be, I actually found this to be one of the most boring Psy/Changeling novels. Though I did appreciate the fact that we finally got a romance or relationship between two Psys, the book was just not as exciting as the previous one that came before it (Alpha Night). I'm giving this 3 stars out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]

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Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

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adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

💬: "To ensure success, and your mental health during extended isolation, we have equipped you with ourselves—a dynamic-matrix consensus intelligence encapsulating the ideals and blessed rationality of our Founders. We are implanted in your mind and will travel with you everywhere. We are your companion, and your conscience.

Jemisin, N. K.. Emergency Skin (Forward collection) (p. 3). Kindle Edition. "

📖Genres: sci-fi, fantasy, short story, novella, Hugo Award winners

📚Page Count: 29

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 04min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 


"Emergency Skin" by N.K. Jemisin is a short story or novella from the short story collection, "Forward" published by Am*zon. A scout or explorer travels back to Earth to collect information, the danger lies in that Earth was destroyed by climate change centuries ago. When the explorer discovers that there is still some humanity left on Earth, he worries about how dangerous they are. He's instructed to get off Earth and survive any encounters. Will the soldier make it back home intact? Or was the mission more than the explorer could handle? 

This was amazing. I am blow away by the fact that Ms. Jemisin created these characters, this story, and the world building within 29 pages. I'm not going to spoil anything, I want everyone to read this story while only knowing what the synopsis is. 

"Emergency Skin" is definitely the best short story in the "Forward" Collection published by Am*zon. It's an amazing short story, I was speechless by the ending of the story. I can't believe she wrote this in 29 pages?! Ms. Jemisin is such an amazing writer, I know this and she still manages to surprise me with her talent.  I'm giving this book 5 stars out of 5. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars

I own this audiobook, I didn't find it available at the library. 

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Gifting Me To His Best Friend by Katee Robert

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hopeful inspiring relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

💬: "“I want you.” He states it as fact, as if he’s not crossing a thousand different lines by putting it to voice. “I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you, all done up in white and marrying my best friend.”

Robert, Katee. Gifting Me To His Best Friend (A Touch of Taboo) (p. ?). Trinkets and Tales LLC. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: adult, spicy, romance, contemporary romance

📚Page Count: 114

🎧Audiobook Length: 04h 06min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 

----

TW -
Cursing, Infidelity, and Sexual content


Gifting Me To His Best Friend is an erotica and romance novella by Katee Robert. Emma and Grayson are a married couple and every year during Christmas they go to the mountains with Grayson's best friend, Derek. This year Grayson plans to give Derek the unconventional gift, permission to get close and steamy with Emma. Derek stars warming up to Emma and then he starts warming up to Grayson. Their ménage à trois was only supposed to last one night, what happens when it lasts the entire vacation?

This was my first spicy novel with two men and a woman and it did not disappoint me! I originally was told that this book was the "brother's best friend" trope but that was so far from being correct (because the trope in this book is "husband's best friend"). There wasn't a lot of storyline to work with, but there is a little angst towards the end. 

The spicy scenes were really good! I definitely enjoyed them, they were creative. There was some roleplaying and even though I'm not a fan of the scenario they were roleplaying, the scenes included some nice spice. I'm giving it four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

I enjoyed this book despite it being something I didn't anticipate.  I'm giving this book 4 stars out of 5. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [Libbyapp.com]

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First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

💬: "‘I’m sorry’ if Bones gets killed doing what you didn’t have time to. After all, it’s so much easier to say you care than to prove it.”

Frost, Jeaniene. First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World Book 1) (p. 30). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: romance, paranormal romance, paranormal, supernatural, urban fantasy

📚Page Count: 374

🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 06min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5 
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First Drop of Crimson is the first book in the "Night Huntress" spin-off series, "Night Huntress World" both by Jeaniene Frost. Denise has seen so much violence, chaos, and death recently and it seems as if it's not going to stop any time soon. A demon has set his sights on Denise and he won't leave her alone until he's forced to leave her alone. In comes Spade, a centuries old vampire who has promised to protect Denise at any cost. Will Spade be able to save Denise or will all be lost once the first drop of crimson falls?

This was exciting and entertaining just like the books from the Night Huntress series, the only different is that we're following characters who are normally side characters, but in this story they're main characters now. You might need to start the "Night Huntress" series before picking up the "Night Huntress World" series because "First Drop of Crimson" starts off where one of the "Night Huntress" books end. I really enjoyed that the sexy vampire Spade was our main male character. The main female character, Denise, really needed to grow on me. She's a survivor of a horrific attack and she has PTSD, I liked the mental health representation. What I didn't like about Denise is that she had the tendency to misunderstand almost every situation and every other conversation. By the end of the book I liked Denise a lot more but I still don't think she's as compelling as the main female character of the "Night Huntress Series", Cat.

Another thing I didn't like was the threat of sexual assault that Denise had to deal with. There's a character that gets rescued in this book by Spade and Denise and they say that they've spent decades as a prisoner/victim being assault sexually and physically. As you probably guessed, if they don't stop the evil forces in this book, Denise is being threatened with the same fate. I don't like when characters are threatened or have the threat of sexual assault looming over their heads so I'm just going to knock a star off and leave it at that. 

The spicy scenes in this story were nice and sizzling hot! I thought Bones was the only vampire I was attracted to but Spade also seems like a good choice in a vampire companion. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

Overall, First Drop of Crimson was a good story, I loved how some of the side characters from the original "Night Huntress" series are the main characters of this series, "Night Huntress World". It was entertaining and I enjoyed most of it aside from the parts that mentioned sexual assault, those simply did not have to be included. I'm giving this 4 out of 5 stars. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5  Stars


I listened to this audiobook for free on [Libbyapp.com]

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Alpha Night by Nalini Singh

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

💬: “I will fight always for you. Until my breath stops, I’ll fight.” She accepted that to the core, and so she could tell him the rest."

Singh, Nalini. Alpha Night (Psy-Changeling Trinity Book 4) (p. 274). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: paranormal romance, romance, urban fantasy, adult

📚Page Count: 355

🎧Audiobook Length: 11h 19min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 

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Alpha Night is the 19th book in the Psy/Changeling series and 4rd in the Psy/Changeling Trinity series both by Nalini Singh. In Alpha Night alpha wolf Selenka Durev is fierce and protective of those who are under her care. She meets Ethan Night who is a standoffish member of The Arrows, somehow they become fated mates at first sight, even though Selenka believed mattings at first sight to be a myth. What Selenka sort of knows but doesn't is that something is wrong with Ethan, Selenka and sense it through the mating bond. Will they be able to stay mated or with the secrets they're both keeping destroy everything?

This was so fun to read, I was definitely entertained through my read.  I loved the chemistry and banter between Selenka and Ethan. I also really tend to love the mystery based Psy/Changeling storylines, I find those to be the most interesting and entertaining. It was nice to see past characters in this story pop up (like the author normally does with her Psy/Changeling books.) This reading experience was so pleasant.

The spicy scenes in here were so nice. I did like that we didn't have to read about a woman and her first time, because this author tends to write about that and I never really like those scenes. This was enjoyable. I'm giving it three point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies

In my review for the previous book in the Psy/Changeling Trinity series I said that "Wolf Rain" had been my favorite book from the series so far. After having read "Alpha Night" I've changed my opinion. "Alpha Night" is my favorite in the series now. The book was entertaining, exciting, and it depicted such a wonderful love. I'm giving this book 5 stars out of 5. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]

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