Carnal Urges by J.T. Geissinger

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After bingeing a bunch of historical romances for the Historical Romance Readathon, I needed a little bit of a change of pace. I couldn't wait much longer to start Carnal Urges by J.T. Geissinger. This is the second book in her new series Queens and Monsters. This actually was released on June 30th! Tuesday I received my paper copy and immediately jumped in. The only prompt I applied this to was published in 2021 for Summer of Swoon board 2.

We pick up shortly after the epilogue to book 1, Ruthless Creatures, and with Sloane and her Irish mafia captor Declan. He quickly becomes the new head of the mafia and is thrown into the head role with war starting and a captive he doesn't know whether to just kiss or choke out. Sloane is her normal effervescent self and draws not only Declan, but his associates as well. She is very charming and a complete chatter box. Even though she's very confident, we learn how she's constantly worked on herself and her mental and physical well-being. Even then she has down moments and has to really be her own cheerleader. Lots of crazy things happen all the while Declan and Sloane are falling for each other.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, just not as much as Ruthless Creatures. I was so torn about the ending and don't really know what to think. My rating might change depending on how my thoughts percolate as time passes, and the third book could also change how I feel about this. At the end of the epilogue there's an author's note that says Declan and Sloane's story continues in the next book. This did definitely feel more of a hfn (happy for now) instead of hea (happy ever after). The first book was more standalone and I felt and trusted in the hea. Here I was just kind of left wanting. I've been trying to figure out what exactly it is that I'm missing. Part of it I think is the aftercare and/or cuddling after their more intimate moments. It happens sometimes, but it's over so quickly. I definitely felt the connection between them, but it just didn't hit me the same way. If I were to be picky, maybe the rating would be more like a 4.25 or 4.5-stars but rounded down.

I also was not too big of a fan of the twist in this. I don't want to give too much away, but I feel like Sloane getting kidnapped and forced into trying to join his life in that way was too much. I'm also not sure what's going to happen with the surprise in the epilogue with Kage. I just feel like maybe my enjoyment and hype after reading Ruthless Creatures hurt this a little bit. It just didn't make me feel the same. While I try not to compare too often, with these being released so close together and in the same series it's hard not to. I was hoping the romance would be more standalone again and we'd meeting a new mafioso or lady to get her hea for book 3. I mean, I really want the Italian boss to get an hea, but I'm guessing he's dead now? I'm not too sure. 

I'll definitely be picking up the next book when it comes out. As of now it's set to release October 29th. I'm definitely not as hyped for it as I was for Carnal Urges though, but am intrigued to see how things will turn out. I might not pick it up quite as quickly as well. I also still want to get into J.T. Geissinger's backlist. I guess Diego (Declan's boss that died) and Declan make appearances in one of them. We'll see where my mood takes me.

Have you read Carnal Urges?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Carnal Urges, J.T. Geissinger, 4-stars, 1 day, paperback, 346 pages, published in 2021