The Devil and I by Kay Alastor

🍎🍎🍎🍎

Update: I reread this in April of 2022 and have changed my rating to a 4.5 stars. I reread this for the Dark Romance Readathon and it covered the prompts removal of a body part, touch her and you die, criminal and obsessive hero. I also used this for the Love Has Sprung board 2 reading challenge covering the prompt published in 2021 and for the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge covering the prompt Betty (character with a unique name).

Continuing my push on Bang in the Night Bingo prompts, I searched for books that have devil in the title on my kindle. The only one that sounded good (and wasn't apart of a series) was The Devil and I by Kay Alastor. This is a debut dark romance I found thanks to Jen (The Book Refuge). Also, can I just say, I love this cover. So gorgeous. I was able to apply this to the prompts into the woods, CSI: crime scene investigation and a deal with the devil. I also used this to cover the prompt new to you author for the second board of Fall in Love.

Rayna is struggling with trauma from being raped and not having her small support system support her. When her rapist shows back up, she decides to choose the extreme option of killing herself. When she hikes out in the woods, she finds the perfect tree to rest under. Lucas, local police officer, is out for a run. He hears a sound and comes across Rayna as she's bleeding out. Lucas decides to save her and is immediately drawn to her. He does what first aid he can to keep from taking her to the hospital and losing contact. Since he's just started his vacation, he decides to take Rayna to his house further into the woods. Lucas however, isn't just a police office, but also a serial killer of those that escape the law.

Oh My Gosh. Guys, this book. I'm so glad Jen recommended this book. Now, I only rated this 4-stars, but it's more like a 4.5 or even 4.75. What is wrong with me that I loved Lucas so freaking much. While he gets a little over the top at times, his possessive and obsessive tendencies with Rayna hit all of my buttons. All of them. I loved how they both were really able to connect with being secluded. Lucas's trauma training also really helped him properly help Rayna deal with her emotions and reactions. The way that they just seemed to connect on a different level was so visceral and felt so real. Yes this was a little bit insta-love and insta-lust, but it just felt right with the characters. I fell like sometimes you can really connect with someone quickly when you are able to drop all of your emotional barriers and truly connect. I don't know. I've just been thinking about this book a lot since finishing it and just really connected with it.

I was a little worried about the suicide. I had never been triggered before until I read Kiss an Angel, but haven't read too many books with suicide, let alone in the POV of a main character that takes step do so. Thankfully I wasn't triggered and I feel like Kay did a really good job putting the reader into the mind of someone that is contemplating suicide. So why not the full 5-stars. Just a couple things. There were a couple inconsistency things that bothered me. Rayne mentions being 25 years-old in the beginning but then later she's 20. There were a few things similar that just really pulled me out. Usually they don't bother me too much, but I was just so engrossed in the story that when I came across them I did pause and think or say out loud, "Wait, I thought xyz." That's it, really my only complaint. Well, I do wish it was longer, but that's not a real complaint.

I am still blown away that this is Kay's first book and can't wait to see what she writes next. I heard Jen mention in a video that she plans on doing something mafia related. I'm certainly intrigued. I can't thank Jen enough for recommending this book. Also, can we just talk about the cover for a second. So freaking good. I love it and will be getting a paperback for my shelf. I can definitely see myself rereading parts of it soon. If you enjoy psychopath and/or serial killer books, certainly give this one a try.

Have you read The Devil and I?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Devil and I, Kay Alastor, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 137 pages, published in 2021

STATISTICS IN 2022: The Devil and I, Kay Alastor, 4.5 stars, 0 days, Paperback, 224 pages, published in 2021, indie published

Tamed by the Troll by Tracy Lauren

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

Looking at some of the prompts I hadn't covered yet for Bang in the Night Bingo, I decided to find a monster romance. The one that's been on the top of my list for the past couple months is Tamed by the Troll by Tracy Lauren. This is the first book in her series The Perished Woods.  This also covered the prompts into the woods for Bang in the Night. I was also able to apply this to the prompt author I found in instagram for the 2nd board of Fall in Love.

Adelaide is struggling with her grief after losing her parents. She's been pretty much left alone to fend for herself and the property, but an Aunt has started taking advantage. Needing to escape the village and to find solace from her anger, she heads into the woods. Not so luckily for her the Orcs attack her village, leaving her the sole survivor. To escape, she runs into the Perished Woods. They have been the cursed woods that are warned about to every child. When the Orcs start chasing her down, Adelaide runs across Brom's bridge. Does she have the toll to pay?

First off, this book has been on my tbr for a bit now and actually was my suggestion when the Smart Women Read Romance Podcast did the Monster Romance Patreon live review. This didn't win the poll but I've been keeping it at the top of my list for when I was in the mood. This was definitely a fun fantasy romance and I really loved how much action was throughout. I feel like the story never stopped, but it also didn't feel too overwhelming. There were quite a few intimate moments between Adelaide and Brom as well that gave a little bit of breathing room.

Before I get too much into what I did like, I do want to mention something that might bother others. This is written with the feel of a historical fairy tale vibe. Adelaide's human village and world seem historical for sure with driving carts and there being knights. The speech though is very modern. At first it kind of took me out of the realism of the world a little bit, but once she was firmly in the fantasy part and just with Brom it didn't bother me as much. I don't need to have a fantasy to have the more high-born type language, but it is something that commonly happens. I just though I'd mention it.

I am so intrigued by the world and really loved Tracy Lauren's writing style. The world building didn't feel info-dumpy at all and I loved how little bits of creatures and villages were mentioned making the world feel full. I absolutely adored Brom. He was so sweet and caring for Adelaide. I also loved that he really pushed her to see past her anger and actually put words to her feelings. He was the perfect being for her at that time. Adelaide did take longer for me to connect with, but once she really started trying to deal with her grief and anger I started to connect her. Having lost a parent as well I couldn't imagine going through what she went through. While my grief journey didn't really include much anger, I can totally see why it was such a big part of Adelaide's. I also loved the road trip aspect and seeing Adelaide learn and explore the other world. There's some weird creatures and things that happened, but while putting me off slightly I also was super intrigued.

I'll definitely be picking up the second book in the series. It looks like it'll also be a road trip style romance and can't wait. I'm hoping to save it for a prompt in a reading challenge/readathon that is that or for FaRoFeb. Tracy Lauren's other books are mostly alien romance so I certainly want to try out her other series as well. I don't know if more is planned for this one, but I certainly hope so!

Have you read Tamed by the Troll?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Tamed by the Troll, Tracy Lauren, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 270 pages, published in 2019

Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

So, after reading Pumpkin Everything and being disappointed with how it went, check out my rant review if you haven't seen it, I needed something I knew would be good. I wanted something that would cover the Fall in Love prompt recommended by Shelby, and started going through all her 5-star reads to see if there was something that sparked my interest; bonus if it covered a Bang in the Night Bingo prompt as well. I knew I was sold when I saw she had rated Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas 5-stars. Quite a few booktubers and bookstagrammers I trust also gave this 5-stars. Plus, my favorite podcast Smart Women Read Romance did an episode on it as well. Even though it didn't seem to obviously hit anything for Bang in the Night Bingo, I thought now was the time since nothing else was really sounding good. I didn't necessarily want to read it now, but I knew to avoid getting slumpy again I needed something that a lot of people loved. And oh boy did I love it as well.

Jordan is getting off work early on her 19th birthday. Her boyfriend Cole isn't answering his phone so she decides to go the the midnight showing of an 80's horror movie. There she ends up meeting an older man and sparking a connection. AFter the movie, they both find out that Pike is Cole's estranged father. Also, Cole started Jordan's birthday party early, without her, and it caused issues and he ended up in jail. They lose the apartment and Pike takes them both in to save for a new place. Cole continues to be a stereotypical 19 year old boy and ignore Jordan. As Pike and Jordan spend more time together they both fight the pull between them.

Oh my gosh. First off, this is my first Penelope Douglas. She's known for writing taboo and that's not a sub-genre I'm usually drawn too. While the age gap here is pretty significant, it didn't really feel as much as it was. Jordan was so mature for her age and didn't act like 19 year old at all. Especially when placed next to Cole you could really see that she has an old soul. I was very similar and there were a lot of times in high school and college where I felt like the adult of the group. I could really connect to her there. Pike was so sweet and sexy and I really loved him as well. They both are struggling with loneliness and I loved how their relationship evolved. You could really feel the connection between them, more so of the emotional than physical.

One of their conversations that really hit me was when they were discussing weddings and marriage (before they started their relationship). Pike asks her about her dream wedding and dress and those types of things. Jordan responds that she dreams of the life after, not the wedding. I am the exact same way. I've never been a big dreamer of what my wedding would be, but I've always dreamed of having a family and a husband and just the day to day life. Yeah I've had thoughts of wanting to get married in the fall since it's my favorite time of year, but that's really it. I can't really even picture what my wedding would look like at all. This book was so good and I knew 20% that it was going to be great. I was already hooked and knew based on previous reviews and discussions about the book that it just gets better as their relationship progresses.

I'm not sure if I'll pick up another Penelope Douglas soon. I enjoyed her writing style here, but I'll just have to make sure to check the tropes and what taboo elements are included. I know there are a couple of her books I'm intrigued in, but also some stories I'm 99% sure I'll never pick up. I really enjoyed this book and am happy to finally understand why so many people gush about it. If the large age gap is something that turns you off, please don't let it with this one. I could completely see Pike and Jordan together forever and the taboo-ness of their relationship didn't really feel that taboo to me.

Have you read Birthday Girl?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Birthday Girl, Penelope Douglas, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 416 pages, published in 2018

Pumpkin Everything by Beth Labonte

🍎🍎🍎

Moving on to my next fall themed book, I finally picked up Pumpkin Everything by Beth Labonte. This is the first book in her Autumnboro Sweet Romance series. This book has been on my tbr for a couple years now and I'm finally getting to it. I applied this to the prompt friends to lover for Fall in Love. This will also cover the Bang in the Night Bingo prompts pumpkin on cover, trick or treat and PSL vibes.

Amy receives a call from her mother that her grandfather accidentally drove through the local Dunkin' Donuts. Her mother starts talking about selling his house and business and putting him in an assisted living home. Amy doesn't want to lose the family's house and business and decides to help him while he's injured. There is some trepidation since she left for college. Kit lives downstairs in the house and they were childhood friends and started dating in high school. When Kit's mother passed away, things went south between them. Amy is still dealing with a lot of guilt. She also just broke up with her fiancé, shortly before the wedding. That has led to her being in a writing slump, not good as a best-selling horror author that's now past due on her latest book.

Oh, I really struggled with this book. There were parts I absolutely loved, but then there were things that really bothered me. I liked Amy a lot. I could really connect to her. The one thing was that she felt a little too self-aware. I know that her guilt over leaving was something that needed to be addressed, but there were times when she and other were calling her selfish but I don't think that she really was. Maybe it can be considered selfish, but at the same time she needed to do what was best for her and her mental health. I don't know. Since that's something I've been trying to do better at, I can see it both ways. Yes she could be selfish, but isn't it also selfish for those around her to not even consider how their actions are going to affect her.

Then there's Kit. He was almost trying to be too perfect and I just didn't connect with him. I didn't really feel the chemistry between them too much. It was sweet and I could see how the memories between them were still there. I just struggle with second chance romances. So this'll be a spoiler, but I didn't like the main conflict between them. Kit wants to renovate the house into an inn since they found a notebook that was his mother's plans. Now, I really struggled with this plot. Yes, I totally understand that when they were growing up they talked about renovating one of the hotels(?) on the outskirts of town and doing all these fun things. Yes, he wants to create the Autumnboro Inn in memory to his mother. But here's the thing, you can do something in memory of you mother and want to cherish their memories and aspirations. But you also need to factor in what you want and how that works with your own personal aspirations. I also didn't like how everyone kept talking about how selfish Amy was that she didn't want him to ruin her childhood home. That house has been in her family for generations and she considers that her home. Yes home is where the heart is and you'll always have the memories, but there's something about a physical location. What makes this worse is that the person doing the renovating grew up in the downstairs portion of the house and KNOWS everything this house means to her and her family (outside of her parents). I was 100% on Amy's side and got so pissed off how everyone was glorifying Kit's mother's dream. Nobody even knows how seriously she thought of it. I just really struggled with it as you can tell. I feel like plot coupled with the second chance romance just didn't work at all for me. I know that they ended up working things out, but I feel let down with how it ended. I hoped that once they finally talked and he realized how much the house meant and that it could instead become their house to raise a family in that part would be over. But then she goes and changes her mind and they sign it away.

There were parts of this book I really liked and am sad it didn't quite meet up to not only my expectations, but the first 30% of the book. I also thought the whole town hating on her for using them as inspiration for her books. It's fiction and I didn't really like how that was wrapped up. Okay, so at the start of this review I was thinking it was 4-stars, but now that I'm wrapping up my thoughts, I gotta switch it to 3-stars. Maybe 3.5, but rounded down. I just wanted so much more from it. I'm intrigued by the next book in the series and know it has the fake dating trope. I might pick it up closer to thanksgiving, but we'll see. I just wanted something more cozy and romantic than this ended up being. Also, I feel like I should also mention this is a clean romance. Just a heads up.

Have you read Pumpkin Everything?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Pumpkin Everything, Beth Labonte, 3-stars, 2 days, eBook, 192 pages, published in 2018

Smutathon TBR

Happy Monday!

I interrupt my review schedule to bring an emergency tbr! I've shifted today's review to tomorrow, so look for that tomorrow morning. We have a  new readathon that starts today, October 25th and runs through this Sunday, October 31st! It's the Smutathon and hosted by friends Riley Marie and Laney Kress! There will be a live show, but they are hosting it on Riley's channel on Saturday at 12pm CST. There is a bingo board, which I'll pop below!

They are doing a group book, The Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon. I recently read it for a Smart Women Read Romance live patreon review. I don't think I want to do a reread of it, partly due to having read it so recently and also I'm just not a fan of reverse harem and don't really want to reread it. Probably ever. Also, I have the Bang in the Night Bingo Challenge that ends the same day. Currently I have only one more book to read to get three bingos. Hopefully it'll also work for any of the prompts here. I'm also hoping to triple dip into the prompts for the 2nd board of Fall in Love. I'm not going to push myself too hard here, but am hoping to get a bingo. I'm not going for a black-out, I do not want to read reverse harem. I'm also not the biggest enemies to lovers, but we'll see what happens there.

🌙 I might have mentioned this in my other tbrs, but Gothikana by RuNyx is the Ravished by Romance book pick for October. I actually just started this, so this will work for  a few prompts including dark, published in 2021, taboo and new to you author.

🌙 For alien, I was looking for something that would fit my other prompts. Originally I was thinking about getting caught up in Zoey Draven's Hoarde Kings of Dakkar. I've read the first couple books in the series a couple years ago. Smart Women Read Romance recently did an episode on the first book in the series and it made me want to pick it back up. I also saw that she has a spin-off of her Warriors of Luxiria series (that I've read) and the first book is Wicked Captor (which fits the wicked in title prompt for Bang in the Night Bingo).

🌙 I recently read Tamed by the Troll by Tracy Lauren (review is set to come out Friday). I wanted to save the second book, Enthralling the Orc for later, but I might add it on this week.

🌙 I also was thinking of a Historical Paranormal book. I recently found Brooklyn Ann's Scandals with Bite series. She's a new author for me and I'm intrigued since the paranormal elements seem like it'll be more heavy.

🌙 Something in a completely different vein is Claire Kingsley. I've mentioned it before, but the third book in her Bailey Brothers series is Unraveling Him and this month's Smart Women Read Romance patreon live review. I binged the first three books this past week and really had to stop myself to not pick up the next one last night. I don't know if I want to go back and read the Miles Family series (Bailey Brothers is a spin-off and related to it) first before jumping into book 4, but I definitely want to read more of Claire soon.

🌙 Also in the surprisingly contemporary vein is Molly O'Hare. I keep finding her books in #tropetuesday posts on instagram and have gotten quite a few on my kindle. I'm not sure which one I want to pick up first, but I'm debating between her standalone Teased by Fire and her Stumbling Through Life series.

We'll see what I end up reading. I'm not going to do too much here and mainly just focus on working on my other challenges. I also have been wanting to go a little more mood reader with the Claire Kingsley, so I might just go off the rails completely. At least with the Smutathon it really just needs to be a steamy book. The prompts just lead more towards Halloween related themes. I'm also really feeling the Christmas and winter books that have been coming out. I'm so ready for the holiday vibes that come with the end of the year and Hallmark just started their Countdown to Christmas movies. We'll see what happens!

Are you participating in the Smutathon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Riding His Broomstick by Shaw Hart

🍎🍎🍎🍎

Before jumping into some more book club books, I wanted to try to fit in some more Halloween and fall themed books. I had only three prompts left for Fall in Love board one, so also wanted to pick something geared to that. One of the prompts left was office romance I remembered adding Riding His Broomstick to by tbr recently. This cute novella is written by Shaw Hart, another new to me author! This also covered the Bang in the Night Bingo prompts a dark, dark and stormy night, published in October, black cover and trick or treat.

We meet Kennedy, a cleaning person for a local tech company. When she was in middle school she had an accident swimming and bumped her head. She had a lot of trauma and ended up having to relearn how to speak. She was able to get through high school okay, but decided against going for college. She has an insta-love crush on the owner of the company Ian. She notices he's thrown out the invite to the office Halloween party and leaves it on his desk with a note that he should come.

This was such a cute novella and there were a lot of things I like about it. Yes this is insta-love and it pushed it a little much for my enjoyment, but it was still super cute. If I were to be strict this would be more of a 3.5 star rating. I really like how Kennedy was represented, and while it was a little more of tell than show, I liked seeing her be herself and making her trauma and disabilities work. I also loved how cute they were with each other and how dead set they were.

Now my issues. First, they are both virgins. Fine, okay, no big deal. What bothered me was there was no hesitancy or flubs during their first time together. Okay fine, it's in his office. Whatever. But I wanted there to be more fumbling and exploring of each other. Also, I found it a little over the top that Ian held on so long. Just saying. It just didn't feel that realistic. The other big thing that bothered me was the quickness. Yes, it's a novella and supposed to be insta-love, but it was a little too quick. He proposes to her two days after he even knows she exists! Just no. I did like the final chapter showing them 10 years later. During it you learn they were married a week later. Just leave that part out. Okay, get engaged super early, but at least wait a little before getting married. Also there was talk about pushing for grandkids. She's younger than Ian and he's only 25. A little early for the running out of time for babies talk.

It was cute and didn't take me very long. I feel like I need my shorter novellas to be a little more realistic with the HEA. I feel like this would've been 5-stars had there at least been recognition that it was a little quick. If you're looking for a quick Halloween novella for any challenges, certainly check this out. I guess if I have to read an office romance (one of my least favorite tropes), this would be the way to do it.

Have you read Riding His Broomstick?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

    STATISTICS: Riding His Broomstick, Shaw Hart, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 72 pages, published in 2019

Fall in Love TBR Board 2

Update: Wrap up for board 2 is posted!

 Having just recently finished the first bingo board for Fall in Love, I immediately jumped into board two! In case you've missed my previous posts, Fall in Love is a season reading challenge created and ran by Shelby on Instagram. It started September 1st and runs through November 30th, so you still have time if you want to take part! I participated in the one she did last summer and really enjoyed it. Of course I had to participate in the fall one. Some of the books mentioned in my first tbr will count for prompts on the second board as well. If you are participating and need more recommendations and/or ideas, I also just posted my wrap up for the first board. Here is the blank version of board two!

Now, I have already read a few books that I've applied to this board. I'll post my current board below my ideas. As per usual, I'll just list some ideas I have for the more specific prompts. Also, I'm currently participating in the Bang in the Night Bingo and am hoping to be able to double dip.

🍁 First we'll go over some planned books thanks to readalongs or book clubs. The first book is Gothikana by Runyx, the pick for Ravished by Romance. It will also work well with Bang in the Night Bingo. It can cover at least over 300 pages and gray on the cover.

🍁 I'm also participating in the Kate Daniels readalong hosted by Stef, Heather and Megan. The planned November books are Magic Slays, Magic Gifts and Gunmetal Magic (plus a couple other shorts/novellas). These can count for both over and under 300 pages, published before 2021, gray on cover and brown on cover.

🍁 The Smart Woman Read Romance Patreon Live Review has been selected and it's Unraveling Him by Claire Kingsley. This is the 3rd book in her Bailey Brothers series. I just finished the first book a couple nights ago (and you can see it on my current board). The other two I need to read can cover cursive title, over 300 pages, published before 2021 and series.

🍁 The November Rake Appreciation book is The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne. This would be a reread for me, I first read it earlier this year. If I decide to reread it, it can cover over 300 pages, published before 2021 and series.

🍁 The other book high on my tbr is my yearly reread of Mister Hockey by Lia Riley. It's book one in her Hellions Angels series, my favorite hockey series. I sometimes reread the 2nd book Head Coach as well. If I decide to reread next month, they can cover brown on the cover, under 300 pages, trope you love, published before 2021, series and starts with "h."

🍁 Continuing with my thoughts of rereads, I've been really wanting to reread Jill Shalvis's Lucky Harbor series. A few trope recommendation stories have popped up on instagram that have led me to rec different books in the series a couple times. I haven't read them since high school but the series started my love of Jill Shalvis. I know the first three books would cover the more specific prompts of new person in town, set at B&B, inn or hotel, starts with "h" and trope you love.

🍁 Another series that would cover multiple prompts is Alice Clayton's Hudson Valley. The three books can cover at least set in B&B, hotel or inn, chef or baker and set on farm or ranch.

🍁 Continuing with series ideas, on of Shelby's newer recommended series is Gold Rush Ranch by Elsie Silver. There are two full length books and a novella out so far. These three would cover recommendation from Shelby, Shelby gave 4 or 5-stars, set on farm or ranch, new in town, cover model smiling and second chance as well as most of the page count and colors on cover prompts.

🍁 I've mentioned some of these above, but I like options for each prompt so I can better mood read. For the letter prompt H I have a couple options that I'm more intrigued by at this time. Other reads that I'll consider picking up is Happy Trail by Daisy Prescott, A Hathaway Wedding by Lisa Kleypas and Hawk by Kat Savage. I also have a lot of highlander romances on my kindle that start with "highlander."

🍁 Another prompt that seemed harder than expected for me to find books for (on my kindle at least) was suit on the cover. I feel like a lot of office and billionaire romances have suits, which are a couple prompts I'm not particularly drawn too. Although I do have some billionaire romances on my kindle, almost all of them either have no people or a shirtless cover model. A couple ones that I did see are Only My Love by Jo Goodman and Staci Hart's Red Lipstick Coalition series.

🍁 Speaking of Staci Hart, I've really been wanting to pick up one of her books. I'm very intrigued by Bet the Farm and her Jane Austen retelling series The Austens. She also recently released For Love or Honey that's set on a honey farm!

🍁 I have just a couple other ideas I want to add to this list. One is Never Sweeter by Charlotte Stein. It's a second chance romance, which is another trope that I'm not fond of. This premise intrigues me though with the hero being the heroine's former bully and wanting to make it up to her. I also really want to get to The Husband Trap by Tracy Anne Warren soon. It has my favorite trope of wrong sibling/cousin. Another option for favorite trope is One Kiss From You by Christina Dodd. It's the second book in her Switching Places duology, so I might pick up those two as well.

As you can see I've already got a few prompts covered so far which is nice. I'm super happy to plan to get some good reading in despite having slowed down. I'm hoping I can at least finish this board. I don't think I'll be pushing to complete board three since we're already mostly through October. Based on what I've seen Shelby post, I'm pretty sure she'll be doing a winter challenge as well. I can't wait to see the other prompts she comes up with!

Are you participating in Fall in Love?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

In Bed with a Highlander by Maya Banks

🍎🍎🍎🍎

Taking a break from my Kate Daniels binge, I needed to sneak in the October Rake Appreciation Society book. However, I ended up putting it down and going back to Kate Daniels before finishing it. If you are new to the book club, it's hosted by Crystal and Jen. This month the book chosen was In Bed with a Highlander by Maya Banks. The live was last Thursday and you can watch it here! This is the first book in her McCabe Trilogy. I have all of Maya Banks highlander books in paperback (the plaid backgrounds are so pretty) and am so happy to finally pick one up! I was also able to use this for the prompt set in a place I want to visit (Scotland!) for Fall in Love. 

Mairin is the illegitimate daughter of the previous king. Since she is the only living progeny, she has a large dowry and her son is the heir to special land in Scotland. She's been hiding out in an abbey until she can find the right husband. She ends up getting kidnapped by Laird Cameron, an abusive and horrible person. She ends up escaping with the young boy Crispen. He's the son of Laird McCabe. Ewan takes in Mairin and they quickly decide to get married.

Okay, I'm really torn on this book. It took about 150 pages for me to really get into the story. I really had a hard time with Mairin. Now, in a lot of romances people have issues with heroines when they're TSTL, or too stupid to live. Mairin gave me that vibe a little bit. She's injured and bleeding everywhere, but completely surprised that she's been injured. I get when it first happened being in shock and not realizing you were injured, but she passes out from blood loss. Ewan asks her where it hurts and she nonchalantly decides her side hurts a little. After seeing her getting beaten and survive through her injuries, there were times that her character felt so whiplashy.

I like Ewan. I know that others had a hard time with him, but he's pretty similar to a lot of other highland laird heroes I've read. Yes he yelled at her, but she was also super naïve and made some weird choices. Like I said before, I had way more issues with her than Ewan. She almost reminded me a little of Zia from Under the Highlander's Spell by Donna Fletcher. While they aren't the same character, I had similar frustrations. I just felt like Ewan did all the bending and she didn't really compromise as much as he did. I don't know, I just didn't connect with her. What grabbed my attention was more the plot of the story and not necessarily the romance between them. If I were to be more strict on my rating, this would be a 3.5-star, but I'll keep it rounded up to 4.

I will definitely be picking up more of Maya Banks's works. I know that Never Seduce a Scot is super popular with booktubers and bookstagrammers I follow and really need to pick it up. It's the first in her Montgomerys and Armstrongs series. The 3rd book in that series hasn't been released yet and seems to have been delayed a couple times. Not only did she switch publishers, but there was a lot of personal life issues that led to her not writing for a bit. I know that the plan is still to release it in the next couple years, but we'll see. I certainly can't wait to get to the rest of her highlander books! I also might look at picking up one of her romantic suspense series when I'm in the mood for that subgenre. I certainly enjoy her writing style and can't wait to read more!

Have you read In Bed with a Highlander?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: In Bed with a Highlander, Maya Banks, 4-stars, 5 days, paperback, 351 pages, published in 2011

Fall In Love Wrap Up

Update: Wrap up for board 2 is posted!

 It's official! I have finished the first board for Fall in Love! Fall in Love is a seasonal reading challenge created and ran by Shelby on instagram. I participated in her summer one earlier this year and really enjoyed it. She has made three boards for this season. My goal was to finish two of the boards and I'm about on track. In case you missed my tbr, below is the blank board.

Like with my other wrap ups, I'll be listing books starting from the top left corner and going row by row. I'll link to the review once it's posted. All reviews are linked! Here is my completed board!

🍁 New Release: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

🍁 Book You're Excited For: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

🍁 Couple on the Cover: Crazy, Sexy, Ghoulish by G.G. Andrews

🍁 Romance with Suspense: Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

🍁 Friends to Lovers: Pumpkin Everything by Beth Labonte

🍁 Give an Author a 2nd Chance: Something About Emmaline by Elizabeth Boyle

🍁 Trees on the Cover: How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper

🍁 Fall Release: Pumpkin Pounder by Laura Lovely

🍁 Author Duo: Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

🍁 Set in a Place You Want to Visit: In Bed with a Highlander by Maya Banks

🍁 Under 300 Pages: Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews

🍁 Shelby Gave 4 or 5-Stars: Yes & I Love You by Roni Loren

🍁 Starts with F: Forgotten Storm by A.R. Vagnetti

🍁 Office Romance: Riding His Broomstick by Shaw Hart

🍁 Cover Without People: Curran POV Collection by Gordon Andrews

🍁 Enemies to Lovers: Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase

🍁 New to You Author: The Duplicate Bride by Ginny Baird

🍁 Orange on the Cover: Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews

🍁 Over 300 Pages: To Hate Adam Connor by Ella Maise

🍁 Author You Found on Instagram: To Love Jason Thorn by Ella Maise

🍁 Green on the Cover: Remembering a Witch by Lauren Connolly

🍁 Published Before 2021: Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

🍁 Ask Shelby for a Recommendation: Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas

🍁 Fall Themed Cover: Her Halloween Treat by Tiffany Reisz

🍁 Starts with A: A Questionable Client by Ilona Andrews

I had a lot of fun doing this board and am so happy to being doing another challenge. While I found myself mood reading quite a lot lately, I still love that Shelby puts out a great collection of prompts so I don't quite feel as pigeon-holed into reading what doesn't fit my mood. I can't wait to continue on to board 2. I'll have my tbr posted on Thursday! My tbr for board 2 is posted!

Are you participating in Fall in Love?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Magic Dreams by Kate Daniels

🍎🍎🍎🍎

The next novella for the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews is Magic Dreams. This is listed as 4.5 and was also included in the Hexed anthology. I read this as part of the Kate Daniels readalong hosted by Stef, Heather and Megan. I also was able to use this for the prompt orange on the cover for Fall In Love. It also covered the Bang in the Night Bingo prompts howlin' for you, who you gonna call?, I put a spell on you and CSI: crime scene investigation. I also read this during the Paranormal Romance Readathon and used it to cover the prompts part of a series, fated mates, ghost, novella and shifters.

For this novella we get a shift in perspective again. This time we get the POV of Dali. She's a blind, clumsy, vegetarian white tiger shifter. She's been crushing on Jim, the alpha of clan Cat. She arrives home after racing and finds Jim asleep on the floor of her bedroom. He's investigating some shifters that went missing and ended up getting dragged into it as well. It's up to Dali to use her magic to save Jim.

This was so fun! I loved seeing Jim loosen up a bit and not his stone-face that he uses with Kate. I also really enjoy Dali and how unique she is. We once again get to see more mythos incorporated into the world. Dali is Indonesian and the ghost then end up fighting is a Yokai, from Japanese culture. I loved getting to see more of the Asian mythos and had such a fun time. At the end we also see Dali end up rescuing someone that has something to do with Dragons. I'm sure he's not just a throwaway character, but I want him to show up again. Plus, is he a dragon shifter or does he just have dragon magic? I need to know. I can't wait!

This was such a fun and sweet novella. We get to see Dali and Jim finally admit their feelings for each other and start building a romantic relationship. I am 100% a cat person and love seeing cat shifters. Yes Curran is a great hero and is a primordial cat shifter, but there's something very alluring about Jim to me. I can't wait to see if future novellas are from Dali and Jim's POV and hope to see their relationship progress in the background. These novellas are so great for giving me the craving for more in this world, but also not getting into the heaviness that Kate deals with. So good!

Have you read Magic Dreams?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Magic Dreams, Ilona Andrews, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 86 pages, published in 2011

Curran POV Collection by Gordon Andrews - Part 2

🍎🍎🍎🍎

The final bit of reading for the Kate Daniels readalong for October is the associated Curran POVs. There are ten total and the first nine are available in a collection that's free on their website. The POVs are written by Gordon Andrews, one-half of the husband and wife writing duo Ilona Andrews. I previously read the first three, but the six remaining in this collection all correspond to this month's reads. The readalong is hosted by the lovely Stef, Heather and Megan. I was able to apply this collection to the prompt cover without people for Fall In Love. This also covered the howlin' for you, #squadgoals, black cover and CSI: crime scene investigation prompts for Bang in the Night Bingo. This also covered the prompts part of a series, fated mates, novella, indie published, shifters and black cover for the Paranormal Romance Readathon.

Once again, we are going to do quickfire reviews for the different shorts. This is going to be part two of the POV collection. Now we are going to go over the ones that fit in with Magic Strikes and Magic Bleeds. Let's get to it!

The fourth story in the collection is Midnight Games. This is a little bit of a mash up of scenes from Curran's POV throughout the Midnight Games portion of Magic Strikes. We start with him trapped in the loup cage and when he forces his way into the team that's going to fight. This was super cute to see, especially with his interactions with Julie.

The fifth part is Hot Tub. This POV, oh boy was it good. This is one of my favorites and we get to see Curran's thoughts and reactions to Kate when they are in the hot tub at the Midnight Games. They do end up kissing and seeing Curran really fight against pushing Kate for more and to open up was such a great perspective.

The sixth part is called Kate's Origin. This is set between Magic Strikes and Magic Bleeds I don't really know how to feel about this. We see a meeting with Jim and Curran. He's compiled a file on Kate and we see them both discuss Kate and her parentage and how she was raised. It was fun seeing parts that Kate hasn't talked about before too much, like the gladiator fights throughout South America. I did wish that this happened after Kate and Curran opened up to each other. It also made me a little frustrated with Curran and Jim and how they treated her later.

The seventh story, Naked Dinner, also takes place between Magic Strikes and Magic Bleeds. In Magic Strikes Kate's big mouth gets away from her and she challenges Curran. If he finds her within three days, she owes him a naked dinner. This is the longest of the stories in this collection. We see Curran dealing with the murder of a shifter and dealing with the Pack. He ends up getting injured and misses the dinner. I can't remember 100%, but we either see Kate's POV here or in the epilogue of Magic Strikes. I mentioned this in my review of Magic Bleeds, but this is one short story that I think should be read before. Timeline wise it's set before, but I feel like knowing this story helped me not get as angry with Curran during that book.

The eighth story was Conclave. This takes place during Magic Bleeds when Saiman and Kate go on the agreed "date." This is a super quick and short story that shows his thoughts when he gets to the restaurant for the meeting with the People. I do wish it was a little bit longer so we could see parts of the meeting with the People and his thoughts before he chases Kate and Saiman.

The last story in this collection is Awake. This takes place at the end of Magic Bleeds when Curran wakes up from his coma. We get to see him reprimand the alpha shifters for constantly challenging Kate. This was a sweet story and good way to wrap up the collection.

The Curran POV "series" has one more story, but that is the Prequel to Magic Shifts, the 8th book in the Kate Daniels series. I really enjoyed reading these stories and getting more insight to both Curran and Pack. I'm really excited to see more of our shifter characters. This was such a great option to do for a bind-up of the stories they've released on their website. I love little additional things like this that authors do, especially when it's a fantasy or there's a lot of world building.

Have you read the Curran POV Collection?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Curran POV Collection, Gordon Andrews, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 157 pages, published in 2013

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

The fourth book in Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniels series is Magic Bleeds. I am reading this series, finally, thanks to the lovely Stef, Heather and Megan. They are hosting a readalong with a couple books and/or novellas discussed a month. I was also able to use this for the Bang in the Night Bingo covering the prompts howlin' for you, I put a spell on you, #squadgoals, a shocking twist! and CSI: crime scene investigation. Magic Bleeds also covers the prompt published before 2021 for Fall In Love. I also read this during the Paranormal Romance Readathon and it covered the prompts part of a series, fated mates and shifters.

Kate gets called to a new case at a bar. When she arrives she finds someone being eaten alive by a disease and immediately works to block the magical contaminant. There's someone new in town that has power over diseases and Kate needs to step up. They also seem to have the power to cause shifters to go wild. Kate goes about trying to solve the case while avoiding the Pack. Not only does she not want to see those she's gotten close to go wild, but she's been avoiding Beast Lord Curran.

First off, I highly recommend reading the parts of Curran POV before reading this book. It gets laid out pretty well, but I really recommend it. There are several stories that cover both scenes in Magic Strikes as well as a couple short stories that are between Magic Strikes and Magic Bleeds. I ended up reading it this way because I wanted to read more Kate Daniels, but it was already late. I decided to see which stories from Curran POV I was able to get to so far.

I really enjoyed this book. We finally get to see Kate and Curran break the tension and get steamy! We get a little bit of Saiman, but I did want more. The way that the series is evolving is really well done. I love that we get more Derek and Jim, although I wanted more. We also see Andrea, but she kind of disappears at the end. I did get a little frustrated with both Curran and Kate. They both were so wrapped up in their feels and weren't thinking of the other so much. It helped before going into this that I had read about the misunderstanding, otherwise I think I would've been more frustrated with Curran. While they kind of work things out, I wanted there to be more realization from Curran of how deeply he hurt Kate. However, as I keep saying, this is an Urban Fantasy with romance. If the romance isn't quite perfect, okay. Just with the fact that he's alpha and wanting to care for Kate didn't quite fit with him not realizing she was hurting emotionally.

I'm super excited to continue the series and can't wait for more. I mentioned this in my Paranormal Romance Readathon wrap up, but I'm not sure if I can wait until next month to pick up the next assigned reads. I though about picking up one of their other series but I don't want to be jumping around too much. I know that they should differ enough I wouldn't get the worlds mixed up, but I think I'll just hold on. I'm certainly going to continue to read their books though. I really need to get caught up on the Hidden Legacy series as well. Maybe that'll be my next plan for Ilona Andrews before the next book comes out, hopefully next year!

Have you read Magic Bleeds?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Magic Bleeds, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 2 days, eBook, 349 pages, published in 2010

Paranormal Romance Readathon Wrap Up

 Happy Monday!

I hope you enjoyed the first full week of October! Now, before we get too much into my wrap up I do have a little announcement. I mentioned it before, but for the time being I am going to be switching to three days a week. My reading is really slowing down here lately. There may be more posts added from time to time, but I will at least have posts Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays moving forward. On to the wrap up!

This past weekend was the Paranormal Romance Readathon! It was hosted by Jess, Lacey and Lisa. I didn't get too much time to read, but I was able to reach my goal of 3 books. Granted 2 were on the shorter side. I also wanted to branch out, but I ended up just reading more Kate Daniels as you'll see below. I was pretty busy this weekend, but my mood has been a little off lately. The only thing I wanted to read was Kate Daniels, so that's what I did. Below is my completed bingo board. I'll link to my reviews once they are posted!

1. Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews - Covered the prompts series, fated mates and shifters

2. Curran POV by Gordon Andrews - Covered the prompts series, fated mates, novella, indie published, shifters and black cover

3. Magic Dreams by Ilona Andrews - Covered the prompts series, fated mates, ghost, novella and shifters

I am so happy to be reading more of Kate Daniels and don't know if I can wait until next month to continue the series. I do need to try to tamp down on some of the books for the Fall in Love and Bang in the Night Bingo challenges, but we'll see what happens. Hopefully next year it'll run a little longer and I can get more varied reads in!

Did you participate in the Paranormal Romance Readathon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

I'm so happy to be back in the Kate Daniels world created by Ilona Andrews. If this your fist time here, well first off Welcome! Secondly, I've joined the readalong of the series hosted by Stef, Heather and Megan. They are doing a couple books/novellas a month with a live show discussion. The first novella for this month is Magic Mourns, listed as 3.5 in the series. I actually owned this novella already in paperback as part of the Must Love Hellhounds anthology! I read this during the Love in the Night Readathon and it covered the scavenger hunt clues fated mates, what big teeth you have and shift, baby shift. I also used this to cover the Fall In Love prompt under 300 pages. Magic Mourns also covers the prompts howlin' for you, #squadgoals, who you gonna call? and I put a spell on you for Bang in the Night Bingo.

We shift POV for this novella with Andrea, Kate's best friend, taking point. Kate is recuperating after the harrowing end of Magic Strikes and Andrea is covering her phone. She ends up getting a call about a "big dog" chasing another dog with it's tail on fire. She takes the call and we come to find out that the dog on fire is actually Raphael, the were-hyena that's been trying to woo her. He was unluckily being chased by none other than Cerberus! Andrea takes on Raphael's "case."

This was so cute and I loved getting to see more of Andrea. I love Kate, but it was nice to be behind another bad-ass but with a different vibe. We get to see more Greek mythology incorporated in the world. I loved seeing how Ilona Andrews is incorporating another mythos into the world. We also get to meet Teddy Jo and I really hope that we get to see more of him in the future. I mean, I love him in mythology and really hope he's around. I also love how he talks about all the puppies he has that are Cerberus's offspring. The ending of the novella is really neat too because it's from Teddy's POV and he meets up with Kate. We get a little bit of a hint about how he sees her and Curran's magic. Also, the freaking apple pie reference.

The only thing I wanted was more of the relationship between Raphael and Andrea. We see them finally come together and I just wanted more. We get the tension building between them and then a pretty steamy kiss. Then it's a time jump to the next morning. I know this is an Urban Fantasy with romantic elements. First this is a novella and second I just want it. Especially with everyone talking about how one look at Raphael and all you can think about is sex. Give me the steam that this man can put out. That's really my only gripe outside of it being a novella. 

I would love to see more POVs in the future novellas. As much as I love Kate and Curran, it's nice to see what the other characters are up to as well. Both when Kate is out of commission and other things that are happening simultaneously that we don't get to see. I'm really loving reading this series, as you can probably tell, and can't wait to read more. I'm so happy that it's living up to the hype!

Have you read Magic Mourns?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Magic Mourns, 4-stars, 0 days, paperback, 91 pages, published in 2009

Love in the Night Round 3 Wrap Up

 So we come to the end of another weekend readathon. This past weekend was the third round of the Love in the Night Readathon. It's hosted by Shae, Crystal, Izzy, Stef, and Laura. Shae mentioned there might be a live video this upcoming weekend, but I haven't seen anything posted yet. I could've have missed it.

So I went into this weekend with the best intentions. My goal was 3 books, easily doable especially with the readathon lasting through Monday. Friday night, I didn't get the chance to read. I had looked earlier in the morning for an audiobook to listen to at work, but none of the shifter romances I wanted to read were available in my library apps. Okay, no worries, we still had all day Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, I again did not pick up a book. I ended up starting a new project that morning and by the time I sat down in the afternoon, I just wanted to zone out. I ended up half-watching some soap tutorial videos on YouTube, thank you Royalty Soaps. Do I make soap? Nope. Do I want to make soap, not particularly. I do enjoy Katie's videos and how positive she is. I haven't stayed up to date on most of the youtubers I try to follow, so kind of went on a binge.

Sunday started out with my normal chores, made pancakes for breakfast (and the week). I finally got a chance to read about 12 noon, just a couple hours before the Bronco game. I managed to read the book I started that night and was able to cram in a novella Monday night during and after the Avalanche game. So I only read 2 with my goal having been 3, but that's okay. I read two books I really liked and didn't want to force myself to read something when I wasn't in the mood. But let's shift gears. My minor wrap up is below!

1. Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews. This covered the scavenger hunt clues fated mate, alpha male, what big teeth you have and shift, baby shift!

2. Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews. This covered the clues fated mate, what big teeth you have and shift, baby shift.

Just two books, but for a busy weekend I'm still happy that I was able to at least read these two. The third book I had planned was to just pick up a shifter book (since those seemed to cover all the clues better), so I don't feel too bad about not meeting my tbr. The two books I had to read this weekend, were done. The reviews will be linked as they are posted! I'm a little sad it was only a weekend long readathon, but with so many other events happening, I'm just trying to pick books that cover prompts in each one.

Did you participate in the Love in the Night Readathon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

The Kate Daniels readalong continues! If you missed my previous reviews, Stef, Heather and Megan are hosting a readalong of the series with a few books/novellas discussed each month. This month's reads starts off with book 3, Magic Strikes. This is an urban fantasy series with romantic elements and the romance really starts to pick up in this book. Ilona Andrews is a husband and wife writing duo and I love their books. I used this read to cover the prompt romance with suspense for Fall In Love. This can cover the Bang in the Night Bingo prompts howlin' for you, #squadgoals, I put a spell on you, a shocking twist! and CSI: crime scene investigation. I also read this during the Love in the Night Readathon and used it to cover the scavenger hunt clues fated mate, alpha male , what big teeth you have and shift, baby shift. Also, fun note, this is my 200th read of the year!

We pick up several months after Magic Burns. Saiman has contacted Kate after Derek has broken into his apartment to steal tickets to the underground gladiatorial event called Midnight Games. She ends up joining an investigation led by Jim, Pack head of security and fellow mercenary. They try to hide the case from Curran and come across a new group of creatures aiming to eliminate the Pack and shifters as a whole.

Oh my gosh, did I love this book. The action really ramped up and the world expanded so much despite most of it being set at the location of the Midnight Games. Because this is a huge event, we got to see, sometimes just in passing, so may different creatures and myths from other cultures. I love that Ilona Andrews pull from so many different cultures and mythologies and that's cranked up to a thousand here. I just love how diverse they are for their inspirations. This is a little bit of spoiler, but the creatures they end up fighting are rakshasas, which pulls from Hindu mythos. I know a little bit about rakshasas and Hindu mythology (thank you D&D) but it was so intriguing to learn more. I love mythos and learning about pantheons.

As I mentioned earlier, we also get more romance from Kate and Curran. She really starts learning, mostly from others, that Curran considers her his mate. I just wish he himself would talk to her about it or push more. I know Kate is a tough cookie, but I just want them to get to that phase already. This is an urban fantasy not a romance, but I want it so bad. I'm so into Curran and how he's constantly there for Kate whether she wants him to be or not. And Kate is such a badass. I love how much she gives for those around her. All her life she was raised to not make friends and work alone, but she's slowly finding herself surrounded by more and more people. I love how naturally her group of confidants in increasing. We also get to learn more about Kate's history which is always fun. Plus I feel like so far Kate keeps getting leveled up at the end of each book. She does end up gaining some new powers at the end here, but I'm intrigued to see if it was just a one time thing from absorbing something into her blood or if it's a permanent change.

I can't wait to see what happens next and am so excited for the romance between Curran and Kate start going. We get a little bit here, but between them it's still mostly kind of friend (on Kate's part) and very steamy. The tension between them is so good. I can't wait to see what kind of trouble Kate gets into next and how powerful she ends up getting. I'm assuming the endgame is her taking on Roland. I'm really enjoying the series so far and know that a lot of people love the later books. If it just keeps getting better from here, my mind is going to be blown.

Have you read Magic Strikes?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Magic Strikes, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 310 pages, published in 2009

Pumpkin Pounder by Laura Lovely

🍎🍎🍎

The last book I read for September was Pumpkin Pounder by Laura Lovely. I wanted a quick novella to end the month and something fall vibes for Fall in Love and the Bang in the Night Bingo. October 1st also started the Love in the Night Readathon so I wanted to stick away from paranormal and save those for both that and the upcoming Paranormal Romance Readathon. Okay, so this is the second book in her Fairytale Remixes series and I went against my normal reading things in order rule. I applied this to the prompt fall release for Fall in Love. This also covers the trick or treat, a dark, dark and stormy night, #squadgoals and published in October prompts for Bang in the Night Bingo.

Daisy and her roommate are headed to a Halloween party at a run down tugboat. Daisy is known as a "pumpkin pounder." She is pretty much just attracted to red-headed men and has made it her personal goal to go through the red-headed population of New York. At the party, she comes across a new man with a gorgeous Irish accent. Is one night going to be enough?

This was cute. I have to say though, it took me a bit to get into it. The way that they were talking felt so "movie" and just didn't seem natural. I've never been a bit partier or night club attendee, so maybe people talk like this. I don't know. It just felt weird and it almost immediately made me nervous if it was going to be like this the entire time. I almost dnf-ed it, this 60 page novella. Once they stopped being "on," I was able to get into the story more.

There are a couple things that saved this for me, the first is Jack. He was just so sweet and I really loved how he took her out for a date and really pushed her to want more than just a "wham, bam" one-night stand. I also liked the scene where Daisy went to therapy. I felt it was done well outside of the quick breakthrough. This is a novella though, so the quickness didn't bother me much. I also liked that it ended with a we're going to start dating and not too much of an instant love. 

If you're looking for a quick Halloween and/or fall read, certainly check this out. I think going over it in my head for this review I'm leaning more towards 3.5 stars. I'll definitely check out the first book since it's about mermaids. I just wanted to stick to fall or Halloween vibed books this month.

Have you read Pumpkin Pounder?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Pumpkin Pounder, Laura Lovely, 3-stars, 0 days, eBook, 60 pages, published in 2019