My Lonely Shifter Match by Skye Alder

⭐⭐⭐

Continuing my mini-binge of books for Bang in the Night, I decided to pick up My Lonely Shifter Match by Skye Alder. This is the first book in their Love Bites Dating Agency series. If you didn't know, Skye Alder is the pseudonym for writing duo Cameron Hart and Shaw Hart. This worked perfect to cover the Bang in the Night prompt Into the Woods (takes place in a forest/woods) and I chose the theme song Everything Happens to Me from Frank Sinatra's Volume 1 of Reprise Rarities. I also used this for the Fall in Love prompt Man/Woman in Uniform and Color Me Romantic prompt Navy Blue (veteran character).

Cliff is a veteran and bear shifter. He and his three friends (and fellow veterans) bought a piece of land in the Colorado mountains and are settling down. His bear has been lonely and urging Cliff to find their mate. He decides to join the Love Bites Dating Agency and they end up finding her! Honey is human and going through a rough time. She is getting evicted and just recently lost her job when she is approached by a lady from the agency. She isn't quite sure what to think at first, but she has nothing to hold her back from travelling to meet him.

This was cute and a decent fated mates novella. I did want to see a little bit more of their relationship building. Honey gives Cliff three days to decide if she wants to stay. There is mention of them talking and getting to know each other better, but we don't really see as much of it as I would like on the page. There was some external conflict with another wolf shifter pack, but I really felt like it wasn't needed. It time away from really getting to see Honey and Cliff's growing relationship and just felt unnecessary. Then because of the situation Honey made some really stupid decisions (like running into the beginnings of a forest fire). I also thought that the decisions this other group was making was overly extreme for the situation as well as not really fitting into the shifter mentality that was established.

This was okay. If you enjoy insta-love, fated mate shifter novellas, this would probably be right up your alley. The more I read though, I've found what I require from a novella has gotten stricter. Even though they are a quick read, sometimes I feel like there are situations forced into them that really needs more length to be properly dealt with. If I'm in the mood for this type of novella though, it's nice to have another option.

Have you read My Lonely Shifter Match?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: My Lonely Shifter Match, Skye Alder, 3 Stars, 0 days, eBook, 96 pages, published in 2022, indie published

Flirty Wolf by Aidy Award

⭐⭐⭐

After receiving a copy for free from Aidy Award's newletter, I decided to pick it up as a quick palate cleanser. Flirty Wolf is a short story set during her Alpha Wolves Want Curves series, but I'm not sure where it sits in the order. This worked perfect to start my Bang in the Night challenge and I used it to cover Howlin' For You (shifter romance). For Bang in the Night I have decided to choose a theme song from one of the five Reprise Rarities albums by Frank Sinatra that released in 2020 and 2021. I chose Everybody Ought To Be In Love off of Volume 3. I also used Flirty Wolf to cover Fall in Love's prompt new-to-you author and Color Me Romantic's prompt Lavender (insta-love story).

Poppy, a librarian, is headed to a charity bachelor auction to benefit not only her library, but banned books as well. When she sees Harley on stage, a man she's had a crush on, she can't believe that he would be flirty with her to get her bid. When she ends up winning his bid, she quickly finds out that he's actually a wolf shifter and they are mates.

Oh wow, this was a quick and funky little novella. I enjoyed the way that we had a werewolf hero that was into his curvy mate, but I feel like the biggest issue I had was with the development of the characters and the plot. Now this was under 100 pages. Poppy has a lot of body insecurities and I feel like with how short this was there really wasn't the time that was needed to really see her work through, or even start to work through, her confidence issues. There were a couple times where she was saying one thing but thinking something else and instead of it feeling like she was in conflict with herself, it just felt weird. Then we get the sudden reveal that most of the people in the strip club, oh that's right - the auction is being held at the local strip club, know about shifters and they assumed that Poppy does as well. She rightly freaks out, but then ends up running to the bathroom (instead of outside) where she meets a woman that has a box of donuts (yes, in the bathroom) and they become a metaphor for her life and give her the confidence to become mated to Harley. I'm sure that sounds janky and weird, but I have to tell you, the novella was janky and weird. Honestly I probably should've rated it lower, but I was feeling nice and didn't want to give it 2-stars.

Despite the disappointment I felt reading this, I wasn't expecting too much since I hadn't read Aidy Award before and this was a free novella I got from her newsletter. I am interested in checking out one of her full length books to see how that develops. I just feel like when you're going for a shorter novella and it's also something that is being marketed to readers to get interested in your books, it should be kept a little bit simpler. There is some leeway for the insta-love novellas, but if you cram too much into it and nothing really fells like it got resolved (or resolved well) then it can be hard to retain readership; at least from my experience. We'll see when I try out one of her other books.

Have you read Flirty Wolf?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Flirty Wolf, Aidy Award, 3-stars, 0 days, eBook, 91 pages, published in 2019, indie published

Foreplay on Words by E.L. Koslo

⭐⭐⭐

I recently found some steamy fanart on twitter that was from Foreplay on Words by E.L. Koslo. I loved the artwork and wanted to try out the books based on that print as well as the blurb. This is the first book in her Words series. This worked perfect to cover the prompts Over 300 Pages for Fall in Love and Violet (new-to-you author) for Color Me Romantic.

Evan, a popular mystery and thriller writer is working on finishing his latest novel. His main female character is a prostitute, so when his editor starts reviewing his manuscript there's issues with the sex scenes. He gets books from his publisher's romance authors and is told to choose one to help redo those scenes. He reads Chase's books and they get paired up to fix his novel. Chase is a popular romance author and isn't quite sure what to think when she meets the mysterious author, but there is an instant spark. As they work on his novel their synergy really balances and they decide to write a book as a duo. They plan to make it set around a dominatrix heroine, so of course they need to do some research. As their budding relationship grows, they also expand their sexual intimacy with both the research they are doing but also the undeniable chemistry.

Oh, I was really excited for this book. After seeing the pretty fanart and then looking at the blurb I got really excited for this book. It started out great, but things quickly took a turn I wasn't expecting. Now, there is quite a bit of BDSM talk in this book (about 35~40%). I feel like it was written pretty well, but that is not something that I enjoy. My summary above mentions it, but it is not in the normal blurb for this book. It just isn't a dynamic that titilates me. Now, I do want to say that the BDSM that Chase and Evan engage in is fairly beginner and basic. However, during their research they end up going to a showcase. While they don't participate, there is some high level kink (they watch a dominatrix do a scene with a man that is humiliation and pet play based). So I just want to put that warning out there. It did help that we were in Evan's POV and he was just as uncomfortable as I was "watching" it play out. Maybe I was more uncomfortable because it was two-fold, but if you are sensitive to that kind of thing or just don't enjoy it like myself, I don't recommend this book. It went on a lot longer than I was hoping.

Outside of the BDSM aspects, this book was pretty high heat and it didn't take too long for Chase and Evan to act on their chemistry. I also loved how they were able to intrinsically connect and understand each other when it came to the demands of an author and how supportive they were of each other; especially Evan of Chase. Him binge reading all of her books was so cute. However, I did feel like it was getting too long. While the steam was good and there's a lot, I have to be honest that about the 70% I started just skimming the rest of it. It just was too much overall. I also was expecting this book to end closer towards the conflict that happens during their book tour, but things were really dragged out and I found myself constantly checking my percentage once I got to the 75% mark. I just was like how much is left. Things were really dragged out that last little bit, especially with us being with them on every single stop on their book tour. Most of the cities they visited outside of their hometowns and the final were just unnecessary.

Overall, the blurb really let me down with this book. Had there been some sort of mention that BDSM came into play a lot with Evan and Chase, I might've enjoyed it more (if I even decided to pick it up). I am interested in reading more from EL Koslo, but I definitely will want to look at some in depth reviews first. I will be cautious with her since I feel like my trust in her blurbs is a little broken. Other than also feeling like the last half of the book was reallly drawn out, I feel like it was written well. It's just a "Me problem." If you enjoy BDSM or are okay with light/beginner BDSM dynamics, you might really enjoy this. If you do read it, you'll have to let me know what you thought.

Have you read Foreplay on Words?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Foreplay on Words, E.L. Koslo, 3-stars, 0 days, eBook, 420 pages, published in 2021, small publisher

Win a Date with a Cowboy by Kate Tilney

⭐⭐⭐

Even though I was in the middle of a reread of Empire of Storms, I had insomnia one night and decided to pick up a couple quickie insta-love novellas available on KU (Kindle Unlimited). The first one I read was Win a Date with a Cowboy by Kate Tilney. This is the first in her Curvy Girls' Bachelor Auction series. I used this to cover the Fall in Love prompt under 300 pages.

Jill is assistant to an up and coming fashion designer in Denver, Colorado. While her boss is up in Aspen, Jill is tasked to attend a local charity bachelor auction to bid on the "cowboy" for a date. Clay is roped into participating in the auction by a friend, but is happy when he sees that Jill is the curvy woman that won his time. When he finds out the truth, he's disappointed. When Jill drops by his ranch to deliver a present for Clay from her boss, they can't help but fall into the attraction they feel for each other.

Okay, I was excited for this book and even more so when I started it and realized it was set in Colorado. While the tropes were right up my alley and I expected an insta-love story going in, this one didn't quite hit me right. It was a little too insta-lovey for me. I just find much more enjoyment and believability in the HEA if at the end of the novella it's more of a we'll start dating seriously or get engaged and plan to have a long engagement. I was just left feeling a little meh about them. I also thought that the "tension" that was supposed to come with Jill's boss having won the date was too forced. It just felt weird overall, especially when we come to find out that her boss was looking at Clay like he was "her's." The writing style and character choices overall just didn't quite elevate the story as much as I was hoping.

While this didn't blow me away, if you are looking for this type of book as a palate cleanser, I thought it was decent. If I'm looking for more insta-lovey novellas in the future, I'd definitely check out the other books in the series and see if one of the other hero archetypes is something I'm interested in. This is one that I'd have to go specifically looking for though.

Have you read Win a Date with a Cowboy?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Win a Date with a Cowboy, Kate Tilney, 3-stars, 0 days, eBook, 51 pages, published in 2022, indie published

Proof by Seduction by Courtney Milan

⭐⭐⭐

The August 2022 book chosen for Rake Appreciation Society was Proof by Seduction by Courtney Milan. This is not only her debut book, but the first in her Carhart series. Rake Appreciation is hosted by Crystal and Jenn and this month the live show was on the 17th! I was able to use this to cover the prompt new to you series for the 2nd board of Summer of Swoon.

Jenny has been working as Madame Esmerelda, a fortune teller. She is not a real fortune teller and is starting to feel trapped and lonely in her life. When one of her clients, and only friend, brings his cousin Gareth to an appointment, he's only their to scientifically prove that she's a fraud. Jenny, Ned and Gareth end up in a bet where Jenny foretells that Gareth will meet the woman to become his wife at an upcoming ball and if he follows the tasks she sets, can win her heart. Gareth doesn't trust Jenny at all, but in able to see through her disguise finds himself intrigued and attracted to her. His scientific mind wants to figure her out and solve this conundrum, but soon he doesn't think he'll ever be able to stop wanting to be with Jenny in all ways.

Okay, this book was a little bit of a struggle for me. I enjoy Courtney Milan's book and this was one was good as well. I think it was really well paced and I like that she pushes the steaminess pretty quickly. She writes smart and I really noticed it here, probably because this was her debut. Where I struggled is in two main things. First, I am not a fan of the class difference trope; doubly when it's the woman that's the lower class. I very rarely enjoy it and usually find myself not liking a lot of the elements that usually take place when it's the woman potentially becoming the mistress or being brought into society.

Honestly though, I just didn't feel connected to Jenny or Gareth. I found myself start to skim at about the 55% mark. It felt long, even though it's average sized (although I feel like longer than the typical Harlequin). I didn't really feel invested in their relationship and struggled finding something something that I could relate too. I think the character I cared about the most was Ned and Lady Kate. Ned is struggling with depression and it was hard to see him go through the ups and downs. So content warning for that as well as mentions of contemplating suicide. I do feel like Gareth has some sort of social disorder because it's really hard for him to make friends. He constantly finds himself coming across too stern or uncaring and it bothers him, but he's almost unable to stop himself. Maybe I'm reading too much into it though.

I'm happy to have finally read another Courtney Milan, but she's not a top author for me. I love supporting another Asian author, but I haven't gotten that 5-star, blow me away read yet. I will keep trying because overall I do enjoy her works. Hopefully I'll find the one that clicks for me. I'm going to continue to pick up her books for sure.

Have you read Proof by Seduction?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Proof by Seduction, Courtney Milan, 3-stars, 1 day, eBook, 352 pages, published in 2009, traditionally published

A Captivating Touch by Elsa Winckler

⭐⭐⭐

The last book I picked up for the Romance Takeover Readathon - Light v. Dark was A Captivating Touch by Elsa Winckler. I had this on my tbr as Touched to the Heart, but this was actually republished in 2020 with a new title and now is listed as the 0.5 prequel to the Cavallo Brothers series. This covered the readathon's prompt billionaire, Summer of Swoon 2nd bingo board's prompt set in a country/state I don't live in and the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo's prompt bicycle.

Don is participating in a bicycle race with his brothers. When he pulls a back muscle, he heads to one of the phsyio tents. There he overhears Caitlin talking to her friend about how unattractive she finds cyclists. She's instantly proved wrong when she meets Don. He has a house in the small town she's from and ends up finding her after the race for more physiotherapy. There's a lot of sexual tension between them and Don can't seem to stay away from Caitlin no matter how hard he tries.

Oh boy, this was a hard novella for me to get through. There were good moments, but then moments where I was confused of feeling like "that's it?" I enjoyed the beginning and the banter between Don and Caitlin. Where I really was left wanting was this felt very much like insta-lust and not insta-love. Going into novellas I almost expect for it to be more along the insta-love route, but I just didn't quite get the connection between them. On top of that Caitlin was so back and forth about what she felt about Don. There was even a mention near the end of the book by one of her sisters about if they are still hating Don and that it was: we like him, we hate him, we love him and we hate him again. It just didn't quite hit the mark for me in feeling like their HEA was believable to me. I also kind of found it odd that the three sisters and Caitlin's best friend were being paired with the four Cavallo brothers. That kind of thing doesn't bother me as much with historical romances, but it just felt a little ookie to me.

Despite feeling back and forth on A Captivating Touch, I'm certainly interested to pick up a full length novel from Elsa Winckler. I would like to see how she really develops a relationship with 150 (+/-) more pages. I certainly would love to try more even more so since she's my first South African writer. I also think it's cool that she usually writes in Afrikaans but this series was contracted to be written in English.

Have you read A Captivating Touch?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: A Captivating Touch, Elsa Winckler, 3-stars, 0 days, eBook, 130 pages, published in 2013, small publisher

Walking in Fire by Cathryn Cade

⭐⭐⭐

The first book I picked up for August 2022 round of the Romance Takeover Readathon - Light v. Dark is Walking in Fire by Cathryn Cade. This is the first book in her Hawaiian Heroes series and worked to cover the prompts foodie and paranormal. It also helped me by covering the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo prompt Hawaii and Summer of Swoon board 2 prompt travel/vacation romance. This also fit perfect my Yahtzee Challenge roll this month for Four-of-a-Kind!

Melia is on vacation in Hawaii after breaking up with her boyfriend (they had planned to go together). She runs into a guy who notices she's travelling alone and invites her to join his friends (two other guys and girls) to a bungalow stay in a private cove where there's snorkeling and such. Also on the boat besides one of the bungalow's caretakers is David, also known as Malu. He is accompanying the group because he's secretly investigating a potential drug drop that one of these people might be doing. He feels attracted to Melia and is intrigued by her not being the stereotypical "party girl." When one of the girls ends up being being in the forest, events start happening that threatens them all. As Malu works to figure who is behind the drug running and the beatings, he reveals to Melia that he's not quite fully human; he's the current Guardian of Pele.

Okay, I was super excited for this book and was really intrigued to see what was going to happen. First off, my summary includes the drug running and that wasn't really mentioned in the blurb I had read. Honestly, this doesn't feel like a paranormal book, but a romantic suspense. There was a lot more focus on the drugs and not the powers he gets from Pele. I don't know, it just was really disappointing. Not that I don't like romantic suspense, but it just wasn't what I was expecting. Like when you go to a restaurant and order a burger but receive a chicken sandwich. It stills taste good and fills you up, but you don't quite feel as satisfied. Outside of that, there wasn't much paranormal going on outside of Malu having powers. Even then it wasn't anything too exciting. He heals super quickly and he can call on the earth, so in the big final battle he ends up calling a rock slide. Something else happens, but we end up finding out that it was Pele, not Malu, that caused it. Even the bad guy didn't have any paranormal anything.

I also thought that this was a little too fast for me, even with this being a paranormal. I think if Cathryn Cade had explored the option of it being kind of a fated mates trope, I would've been more on board. Melia knows Malu a grand total of like 3 days and decides to offer her life to Pele to save Malu. Girl, you don't know him that well and a couple hours ago you were still freaking out about him glowing. I just felt so disappointed in a lot of ways. I am leaving my rating at 3-stars though because I was enjoying the story and writing before we got into the romantic suspense. There was some fun banter between them and I also liked the way that Malu treated Melia. This just turned out to be a romantic suspense hiding in a paranormal cover.

I'm not writing off Cathryn Cade at all, but I think if I pick up any more in this series or her other works I'm going to look at reviews and not blurbs. I just hate being done dirty like that and have lost some trust in her. Maybe it's just me, but if you are looking for a paranormal that incorporates Hawaiian mythos, I don't think this will be the book for you.

Have you read Walking in Fire?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Walking in Fire, Cathryn Cade, 3 stars, eBook, 1 day, 292 pages, published in 2017, indie published

The Marquess Makes His Move by Diana Quincy

⭐⭐⭐

The Rake Appreciation Society book for the month of May is The Marquess Makes His Move. This is the third book in Diana Quincy's Clandestine Affairs series. Rake Appreciation is hosted by Jenn and Crystal (and is one of my favorite book clubs!). I was able to apply this to my reading challenges as well covering flowers on the cover for Love Has Sprung and Shake It Off (character you want to shake some sense into) for the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge.

Alex, the Marquess of Brandon, has requested a map of property lines to show that the pond between his and his neighbor's country estates is on his land. When the map comes back wrong and missing an obvious fence-line, he knows instantly there was some type of collusion between the mapmaker and his neighbor. Alex goes undercover as a footman to the mapmaker's estate and finds himself assigned to his wife Rose. What Alex doesn't know is that Rose is actually the one making the maps. As they grow close and secrets are exposed they start to connect in an unexpected way.

So, I have to be honest. There were quite a few things that really bothered me here, but the biggest issue I had was the miscommunications, lies (by omission and not), and the keeping of secrets between Alex and Rose. Now, I get that that is the premise of how they meet, but instead of those just staying as they were, more and more things kept getting added to the the "secrets." At one point, around the 3rd act conflict of they say to each other that they will come clean. Then they allow a few different things to put off being honest with each other, and then Alex gets called away to a fire at his country estate. Then after all that, they don't open up to each other and the secrets get exposed by Alex's family. And then Rose hides something else from Alex. It was just too much for me and I just really didn't like how it was handled.

Now, I will say the technically there's no cheating here if you are worried about that. I don't want to spoil it if you've read the book, but for me I still didn't like how the situation played out. Cheating isn't a big trigger for me, but it has to be done well. Now like I said, technically it wasn't cheating logistically. However, Rose and Alex both hold off because they still think it's cheating in their minds. That's were my issue comes in. There were more things I wasn't too fond of, but I did enjoy the overall premise and though it was pretty unique. I did want the emotional connection between them to be stronger, but I did think it was pretty well written. It's also great to see more representation in historical romance as well.

I'm not sure if I'll pick up more in this particular series, but I'm definitely intrigued to read more from Diana Quincy. I just think I might wait to see reviews of others I follow and trust before picking one up. I did hear that there were a lot of similarities with this book and the others in the this series and that's why I'm more hesitant about picking up those. I'm always ready to try something new though, so we'll see what Diana does next! I also do want to mention that the ratings were pretty varied, so if you want more thoughts check out the live show!

Have you read The Marquess Makes His Move?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Marquess Makes His Move, Diana Quincy, 3-stars, 2 days, eBook, 384 pages, published in 2022, traditionally published

Burn by Suzanne Wright

⭐⭐⭐

With the end of March approaching, it was time for me to pick up the book for the Smart Women Read Romance patreon exclusive review. The theme for March was Urban Fantasy and Burn by Suzanne Wright won the poll. This is the first book in her Dark in You series. For Love Has Sprung I used this to cover the prompt updated or redone cover prompt and the Mean (book with a mean character) prompt for the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge.

When Harper stands in for her cousin Khloe during an underground demon fight, she draws the attraction of the local Prime Knox. When they meet, they come to find out their demons are anchors for each other. This means that they have a psychic link that helps strengthen their demon and also keep it grounded and from going rogue. Knox wants more from Harper though and also pushes for a physical relationship. As they come to terms with becoming mates as well as an anchor, a lot starts happening around them. Demon politics is starting to implode, Harper's birth mother is causing issues since she's apart of Knox's lair, black magic practitioners are targeting Knox (and now Harper), and Knox's childhood friend is deluded and thinks that she's his anchor.

While the blurb and set up of this book really intrigued me, there was just too much going on. I really struggled getting into the book and didn't really get past rereading paragraphs or going back to figure out what exactly happened until about 45% in. There was just something about the writing style that didn't click with me. To touch on the more positive before we get into what I didn't enjoy, I really liked Harper. She had some great growth and really came to adapt to the situation and fight past her previous experiences to get what she wanted. I loved how she was so powerful and sassy and really didn't let anyone take advantage of herself. She was just so confident that she could get out of any situation, but she also wasn't over-confident. I also was really intrigued by the demon setup and the mythos that Suzanne created.

Now, there were quite a lot of things that bothered me (like the bitter exes and way to many sub-plots), but the biggest thing that held back the rating for me was Knox. Yes he's an alpha-hole to the nth extreme, but we saw no softness. He was constantly pushing Harper, even when she asked him not too. There were a lot of sex scenes, but honestly, none of them felt steamy to me. I felt that the chemistry and emotional connection was completely missing. It just felt like banging all the time. I get he likes it rough and to be in control, but just once it would've been nice for Knox to give Harper what she wanted instead of "giving her what he knows she can take." Little things like that kept rubbing me wrong and there wasn't enough good moments in between to balance it out and I just kept feeling more and more offended on Harper's behalf. Never-mind he goes completely nuclear at the end even though Harper saved herself.

I will try other Suzanne Wright books, especially since I've had her Phoenix Pack series on my tbr for a while and have had good things about it. A lot of the people were around the same rating as me during the live show but enjoyed the first few books in her werewolf series. I will go into it though with tempered expectations, especially since I know that her writing style isn't as easy to read for me. I won't give up yet though!

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Burn, Suzanne Wright, 3 stars, 2 days, eBook, 344 pages, published in 2015, indie published

Broken Chains by Demelza Carlton

⭐⭐⭐

Wanting a newer fantasy release for FaRoFeb, I picked up Broken Chains by Demelza Carlton. This is the first book in her Heart of Stone series. I used this to cover the prompt new release for both FaRoFeb and the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. I also was able to use this for the prompt bonkers romance for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

Catena is struggling to pick a project for the archaeology PhD degree. When she is accosted on the way home one night, she is saved by Tor. He's a gargoyle shifter that has been tasked with Catena's protection. When Tor's missing memories and history starts to come back, things start to get a little darker for Catena. As they struggle to come to terms about their relationship and Tor starts to find himself, the attraction between them sparks.

Oh my gosh, that is the lamest summary. I just, I just couldn't really think of much that happened in the book. Is that weird, yeah a little. I just gotta be honest though, and this book bored me. I kept wanting more development in the plot, the relationship and just everything. It is set in Australia. So I do want to warn that there is more Australian slang used than expected. I have read other Australian authors, and while they don't shy away from using slang, I feel like it was used better or more sparingly. I think that was part of my disconnect. It also felt a little too kitschy for me. Catena, our heroine, is a romance reader. While this leads her to accept things easier about Tor than the typical person, it still felt a little too overboard for me. Would I accept a gargoyle shifter (but is he really a shifter?), probably. Would I completely jump all in physically and trustingly with him? Probably not. I just needed a little bit more skepticism. I do read alien/shifter/monster romances, but something here just didn't click right.

I did keep reading because I was intrigued on how her project was going to come into play (if ever) and there were some good elements that kept me intrigued. I liked how Tor was a stone mason and enjoyed some of his flashbacks and learning some historical events about Australia. I have to say though, about 65% in I started skimming. I just didn't want to read it anymore. I kept hoping that something more would happen, but it just felt dragged out. Imagine my surprise when I saw this book was less than 200 pages.

There were some good parts of the book though, so I might try another of Demelza's works. I don't know though. This was one of her more recent releases, so I might wait until there's something that really intrigues me plot wise. Should I have DNFed? I don't know. I hate doing that and I wanted to give Demelza a shot to put it all together. It just missed the mark for me.

Have you read Broken Chains?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Broken Chains, Demelza Carlton, 3-stars, 2 days, eBook, 195 pages, published in 2022, indie published

One Naughty Christmas Night by Janet Berry

🍎🍎🍎

After finishing The Front Runner, I didn't want to get into a book hangover. Since I was still in a cozy feeling, I wanted to pick up another historical romance. Nothing was really sounding good, so I went through some newer releases that were holiday based that would have naughty or nice in the title for Banging Through the Snow. I ended up finding One Naughty Christmas Night by Janet Berry. I was also able to use this for the hot cocoa prompt for the Merry + Bright Readathon and new author prompt for Winter's Kiss.

Victoria and Heath have been best friends since childhood. Their parents are friends and being the youngest of each group of children they were commonly left together growing up. Every Christmas Heath's father hosts Christmas festivities. After being jilted earlier in the year, Victoria is feeling left on the shelf and doesn't want to marry except for love. Heath also wants a love match and they both lean on each other for support. When they are reading in the library one day, Heath's older brother and wife sneak in for a tryst. Victoria and Heath hide and the sounds of Heath's brother and his wife getting intimate cause their desires to rise. When they both give in and kiss, a new door has opened between them. When Victoria approaches Heath for passion lessons now that she's a spinster, their relationship starts to change.

This was a cute and quick novella. I didn't look too much into this before I started reading outside of it being a childhood friends to lovers regency holiday novella. I hadn't ever heard of Janet Berry before and was intrigued by the premise. Unfortunately, it didn't quite meet my expectations. There were bright spots in this for sure and it had a lot more steam than I expected. That was a definitely a pleasant surprise. My enjoyment was kind of hindered though by the writing. It wasn't bad, but it felt newer. There were a few times where the same thing would be reiterated in the same sentence, but in a different way. It also got a little bit repetitive at times. It also felt a little bit rushed in the non-steamy scenes. I would've been completely okay to have closed door or fade to black or even just casually mentioned that they got together again last night to have more development outside of the bedroom. I don't know, it just was missing something for me.

If you are looking for a quick, steamy, historical holiday novella, certainly give this one a try. I did enjoy it and am interested to read something full length from Janet Berry to see what she can do with more pages. I'm still glad I picked it up and it's always fun to find a new indie published historical romance author.

Have you read One Naughty Christmas Night?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: One Naughty Christmas Night, Janet Berry, 3-stars, 0 days, eBook, 133 pages, published in 2021

The Boss Who Stole Christmas by Jana Aston

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Before jumping to a book club book, I had a little bit of time and one more prompt for the 2nd board of Fall in Love that wasn't already allocated. The prompt I read The Boss Who Stole Christmas for was man in a suit on the cover. This is the first in Jana Aston's Reindeer Falls series; all holiday novellas.

Holly Winter is a Christmas person. She celebrates starting Thanksgiving and her town is a top tourist destination for Christmas festivities. One of her dreams growing up was to work for the local toy company, which she accomplished. However, the owner retired not too long ago and his seemingly surly nephew Nick Saint-Croix took over. When Nick wants to make additions to Holly's Teddy Bear Cafe project, he sets up a last minute business trip to the headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany. Will they stay enemies when forced to be together in the magical holiday vibes of Nuremberg?

I was really looking forward to this. Even though office romance isn't my favorite, the premise sounded fun and it reminded me of several Hallmark Christmas movies. It just didn't hit like I was wanting or expecting. First off, this was set in 1st person. Which while not my favorite, can be done well. What really threw me off though was the first couple chapters. It was in first person, so it felt like Holly was telling me, the reader, all about the city and work and her life. It just felt odd and kind of info dumpy. For something this short, I just didn't need all of the information right away. 

Another thing that really bother me was how it tried to play up that Nick was "the Grinch." I expected more of a retelling of the story and Nick was never a Grinch at all. It was more Holly getting caught up in her own assumptions. I don't know, I just was let down how sweet Nick was and that he was drawn to her from the minute they met. Even if he did make fun of her reindeer cupcakes. Nick honestly really saved it for me. For how quick this was too, I almost wish that there wasn't as much contention between them. Just one too many conflicts for my taste, especially since we're at about 80 pages. Also, small nitpick, but he never "steals" Christmas. There is a forced business trip, but it's at the beginning of December and only about a week. Most everything just seemed to fall short for me.

I did enjoy the setting and side characters. Like I said, I really loved Nick. I almost wish we got his POV too. I feel like this might've been a higher rating if it wasn't in 1st POV with the info dump in the beginning. I'll probably pick up the next couple books in the series. The first three deal with the Winter sisters and the next three just recently came out. I also have Jana's full length novels on my tbr and I'd be interested to try one those since there'll be more time for character development.

Have you read The Boss Who Stole Christmas?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Boss Who Stole Christmas, Jana Aston, 3-stars, 0 days, eBook, 79 pages, published in 2019

Bite Me, Your Grace by Brooklyn Ann

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Time for another book I found looking specifically for books that would fill open spaces on my Bang in the Night Bingo. Bite Me, Your Grace by Brooklyn Ann is the first book in her Scandals with Bite series. It's a paranormal historical romance series! What's funny is I found this on a list with characters that have pet cats. This not only covers that prompt, but also a shocking twist, bite me and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation for Bang in the Night. I also used this to cover the Fall in Love board 2 prompt published before 2021. I also read this during the Smutathon and it covered the prompts paranormal, vampire, new to you author and supernatural main character.

Angelica is being pushed by her mother to land a titled gentleman for a husband to receive support from her grandfather. All Angelica wants to do is become the next gothic author. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has recently come out and Angelica is a huge fan of her and her mother's writing. Her neighbor Ian, the Duke of Burnrath, lives in the perfect house to fuel Angelica's haunted mansion story. When see sneaks in one day to take a look at the place, she ends up hurting herself. Ian comes to her rescue and Angelica quickly finds that the rumors about Ian being a vampire are in fact, not rumors.

I was pretty excited for this book. I've read quite a few paranormal historical romances and a lot of them tend to be more heavy on the historical than paranormal. This was the complete opposite and I did enjoy that aspect. This was definitely more of a paranormal romance that had a historical setting. This book was touch for me to come to a decision on rating. I was thinking 4-stars, but after finishing and thinking on it for the night I decided to drop it down to 3-stars, maybe 3.5. There was just so much that left me wanting more.

While I can and do enjoy the more bluestocking debutantes, Angelica really bothered me at times. I feel like the information about Mary Shelley and Lord Byron was too much for my liking. A reason why I love historical and paranormal is for the fantastical feelings that evoke. Here it was almost based too much in real history that it kept taking me out of the more paranormal elements. It's kind of hard for me to put into words, but I just felt like a lot of different things fell short. The steamy scenes were okay words wise, but they didn't feel very steamy. I wasn't a fan of so many conflicts between them. Sometimes Angelica made decisions that didn't make sense to me. Yes she's fighting back and wanting to do what she wants, but I feel like in the beginning she at least had some common sense on what was too much. She did the actions anyways, but she at least had moments of guilt for how her actions were going to effect her parents and had second thoughts. Once her and Ian got married, it all went out the window.

Also, I really wanted Ian to confront her grandfather. He was a horrible person and I wish that more was done with him. Angelica's mother was odd. I liked her as an overbearing mama, as much as you can like one of those, but I felt like her opening up to her daughter was too quick and not in the right part of the story. Things like that just felt almost like the author had a checklist of things they wanted to include. There was too much going on and added in. Another thing that we didn't need, the backstory of the vampire hunter. Okay, give us his POV a couple of times to amp up the suspense, but I don't need him reminiscing about how he became a vampire hunter. If he's one of the villains that's just going to be killed (sorry, spoiler), I don't need to really get deep into why he's a vampire hunter. And even then, it seemed like he was just someone pious that had anger issues. There was nothing like a vampire killed his family.

There was some lead up to the next book in the series, and I'm intrigued by some of the other vampires we met, but I don't know if I'm going to continue the series. I like to give authors more than one chance, but if I do pick up more it probably won't be for a bit. I just was let down by the way that things developed. The bones were good and there were some good parts, it just kept falling short in different areas. I know that authors evolve though, so I'm not putting her on my no interest list. We'll see if and when I pick up another one.

Have you read Bite Me, Your Grace?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Bite Me, Your Grace, Brooklyn Ann, 3-stars, 3 days, eBook, 352 pages, published in 2013

Pumpkin Everything by Beth Labonte

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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

Pumpkin Pounder by Laura Lovely

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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

Kiss An Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

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As I approached the end of August, I had only one more book to read for the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo. My final prompt was circus. I went through a few of the options I had and nothing really sounded good. I went through a couple lists on goodreads again and looked for highly rated books by friends and booktubers I follow. I ended up finding the standalone Kiss An Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I have read a couple of her books before and was more intrigued by this than my other options. Update: I applied this to the prompt of rec from booksta for the 3rd board of Summer of Swoon.

We meet Daisy, a kind-of socialite that's being married off by her father to Alex. Her father is some kind of dignitary with Russia and fairly well off. Her mother was a famous supermodel and mostly raised Daisy. After her passing Daisy gets into financial trouble and her father's option to keep her out of jail is to arrange a marriage for 6 months. To Daisy's surprise, she's joining Alex for the next 6 months as he performs and is manager of a traveling circus.

So, I was triggered by this book. While I've always been very sensitive with emotions and easily affected when I read, this was a hole other ball game. At first I thought maybe I'm exaggerating and I'm not actually triggered, jut emotionally affected, but I had in result some very bad dreams (not nightmares, but bad) and ended up waking up crying a couple of times that night. I then also spent the next day in a funky headspace most of the day. Now, it wasn't just one thing that triggered me, but the combination of so many different events happening. I don't want to go too much into it, but the combination of her father not actually seeing her as herself, her mother passing and having to take point on everything alone, being around people that see her differently than she is, being constantly called a liar when she's not, and being an optimistic and sunny person, only to finally reach a point where she's just so exhausted and worn out that she stops caring and fighting back not only about the perceptions about her, but just as a person. This meant I was able to connect to Daisy more than expected.

Now, because this hit me so hard, I didn't feel like enough happened to turn it around and redeem those around her. While I loved the connection between Alex and Daisy, I didn't like how long he kept things from her and how long it took for his perceptions about her to change. He was so set in his misconceptions of her (based of what her father told him) that he completely changed his lifestyle to make things harder for her. It took until the 50% mark for them to even start connecting. I didn't like that it took until pretty much the last quarter of the book for him to even realize that she didn't steal the money (from the beginning). Now, part of me was a little let down about how that was resolved because I wanted more groveling from Alex and the other circus performers, but Daisy was pretty much over it and didn't want to hurt Heather. Now, I didn't feel like Sheba redeemed herself at all, but she didn't need too. I did not like how Alex reacted to the final conflict, but I understood it. Although, I didn't like that Daisy ran from it knowing that this was going to be a hard thing for him to come to terms with. I felt her reaction was a little overdone. Another thing I really want to point out, there is no reconciliation with her father. Nothing was done with it at all and there was nothing done. There kind of was a throwaway line that Alex finally realizes that he doesn't actually know his daughter, but that's it. If it was going to be brought up, there needed to be a conversation. And maybe a discussion about cutting him out of their lives until he can reconcile with the way he treated Daisy throughout her life.

While I enjoyed how she was so afraid of animals and then became their keeper, I didn't like how much they pushed her into it. Yes you can get over your fears by exposure, but I didn't like how they treated her. Alex and her father also kept calling her ditzy and flighty for absolutely no reason. Even after Alex knew Daisy and had been living with her for months at that point he was still calling her that. She is not one bit ditzy and/or flighty. Okay, let's get off my ranting and talk about some nice things. I liked the connection she had with the tiger. It was a little fantastical, but I loved it and how both he and the baby elephant kind of became her champions and sources of comfort. My little kitty Cheese is certainly that for me. I loved that when there was crazy weather she went to check on Sinjun the tiger, but then stayed with him not only to care for him and the menagerie, but because that was where she felt safe.

Outside of the things I mentioned above, I enjoyed Alex and Daisy's connection. The steam was oddly written to me, where it's super descriptive for everything except the full penetration scenes. It was like cracked door instead of closed door. I don't know. This just didn't really do it for me, and after being triggered I kept reading because I heard such good things about it and I wanted some closure. While it didn't really give me the closure I wanted (needed), this was written well. I'm sure at some point I'll pick up another Susan Elizabeth Phillips since I've read her before, but she's not at the top of my list. I just have found her books to be okay. Maybe it's because their older, but I've enjoyed other older books. Maybe it's just the way she forms her characters and their experiences. I don't know. There are a lot of people that really enjoy her work though, so check her out if you're into older contemporary romances.

Have you read Kiss An Angel?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Kiss An Angel, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, 3-stars, 1 day, eBook, 384 pages, published in 1996

Hot Water by Fern Fraser

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Wanting a novella that hit the spot a little more than Rocky Waters, I checked out book three in the Lovers Lake series. Each book is written by different authors and I was intrigued by Hot Water. Update: I applied this to the prompt of set in summer for the 3rd board of Summer of Swoon.

Ethan is a vet that has returned to his grandparents run down hotel. He's working on restoring it to reopen. A good friend of him is willing to invest if he hires his younger sister Lexi to do the management portion. They knew each other growing up, but there is a significant age gap paired with Lexi and her family being very affluent. They are instantly attracted to each other, but stick with pining since they both don't want to deal with her brother's input as well as mess with their working relationship.

This was cute. I liked Ethan and really enjoyed him. He was a little bit moody, but such a great blue-collar hero that I could really see being able to hold down a full length novel. I also liked Lexi, but she was okay. She was a little stereotypical and bland for a heroine, but there wasn't anything I disliked about her. While this was closer to the 100 page count that I prefer for novellas, I still felt like there wasn't enough development between them for my taste. While I did think the small time jumps were perfect, especially for the circumstances, I felt like it was more insta-lust than insta-love.

The biggest detraction for me was how much was spent on couples from other of Fern Fraser's novellas and setting up future ones. While comparatively it isn't much time spent on them, I wish that since this was so short it was more of a quick mention and not much more. I like that she was trying to draw you to her other works, but it also felt like too much for this series specifically. I guess the balance just wasn't hit right. I have to say though that I really loved Ethan and his fellow vet that was helping out.

I enjoyed Fern's writing style and will probably try her again, especially if it's more full length. The steam and tension was decent and I'm certainly intrigued. She's jut not at the top of my list. I might read some of the remaining books in the series, but it'll probably save until next year. These are all summer based, but I am ready for fall. If I pick up any of these type of novellas moving forward, it'll most likely be autumn based.

Have you read Hot Water?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Hot Water, Fern Fraser, 3-stars, 1 day, eBook, 77 pages, published in 2021

Overruled by Emma Chase

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After feeling a little bit "blah" after finishing Broken Fighter, I wanted another change of pace. Just trying to keep from getting slumpy here lately. I read through a couple blurbs on books I had on my tbr for the rest of the month and nothing was hitting my mood. I looked through my ideas for next month and Overruled by Emma Chase was what stuck out to me. This is the first book in her Legal Briefs series. This covers the defense attorney prompt for the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo and new author prompt for the Summer of Swoon board 2.

We start in high school when Stanton and his sweetheart Jenny find out that they're pregnant. Stanton proposes, but Jenny pushes for them to hold off so he can go to college and she can prepare for nursing school. He moves out of state and she stays home in Mississippi to raise their daughter with the help of both of their families. We cut to the future and Stanton is a criminal defense attorney in DC. They both had agreed to an open relationship when he went to college, and Stanton is currently in a friends with benefits relationship with his colleague Sofia. Stanton always believed that one day he'd get married to Jenny, but to his surprise received a wedding invitation for Jenny and someone else. It's days before the wedding and he convinces Sofia to go back to Mississippi to help him stop the wedding.

I was nervous going into this book because of the set-up and ended up really disappointed. Now before I get too much into what I disliked, I loved Emma Chase's writing. I've heard great things about her other series and have been wanting to read her for a while now. The fact that her writing was really engaging and there was great banter certainly kept me not only reading, but saved the rating so it was a 3-stars instead of 2. 

There were quite a few things I didn't like about the plot and set up of the story, but there are two that really bothered me the most so I'll focus on those. Stanton doesn't achieve closure or recognize his romantic relationship with Jenny is over until after 70% in. I did not like this at all and it ended up feeling rushed and I struggled to believe that Stanton was actually in love with Sofia in the end. He was cute with his daughter and did have some redeeming qualities, but he was blind to the situation longer than I wanted. As for the other main thing that bothered me, was Jenny and her decision to hide not only her relationship with the new guy, but her wedding. The reason why this bothered me so much was because they had a daughter together. I understand why she was nervous and kept putting off telling him she was dating seriously and then time got away from her. I understood that. What I did not like is in regards to their daughter. She was very mature for her age of 11, so that was nice and I loved how she would reprimand them when they acted younger than her. I did not like that Jenny hid the relationship and it came out that she had not only met the new guy, but was going to be living with him and her mother after the wedding. For Stanton to be completely left out of that decision and not notified really rubbed me the wrong way. I feel like Emma tried to make the reader not hate Jenny for the secrets and she was super nice to Sofia. But as a child of divorce and reading other single parent/divorcee romances, I feel like that was something that should've been addressed. I kept waiting for it to be brought up and become an issues, like I thought it should've been, but it never was. It just really bothered me and I still haven't forgiven Jenny and am still, a couple days later, heated over it. I don't care how nice she was to Sofia, she was wrong and it needed to be addressed. 

Okay, now I need to calm down. It just makes me so heated. It did take me 5 days to read this, although part of that is due to the start of the Olympics as well as my Aunt visiting for the weekend from California. I didn't dnf though, as mentioned above, because I did enjoy Emma's writing. The steam was also really well written. I'm excited to try more of her works and definitely want to read her Royally series. I might read the rest of this series. I've read the blurbs for the other books and it seems like the premise would be something I would enjoy more. We'll see how long it takes to get to those.

Have you read Overruled?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Overruled, Emma Chase, 3-stars, 5 days, eBook, 272 pages, published in 2015

The Virgin Sex Queen by Angela Verdenius

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Once again trying to finish out my first bingo board for the Summer of Swoon, I went looking for some standalones. I didn't have too many in my recent want to reads that sounds good since I tend to gravitate to series. I feel like a lot of contemporaries are more standalones, but as I've mentioned before I'm not too into those and don't keep up on releases as much for those. After scrolling for a bit, I decided to look in my kindle and find any authors I only had one or two books for and then check if it was a standalone. The first book I came across that was less than 400 pages (I wasn't in the mood to pick up a longer book) was The Virgin Sex Queen by Angela Verdenius. She is another new author for me and is Australian.

Sophie is a romance author, but particular known for her erotic romance. She is going to stay with her cousin Sam for a couple weeks and do some book signings. His childhood friend Alan is his housemate and also there. Alan used to tease "Shy Sophie" a lot growing up and continues to do so. He is now a police office and actually pulls her over for speeding on the way to their house. Sophie doesn't realize who he is, so by the time she gets to her cousins house and Alan answers the door she's surprised. There's a lot of teasing between them, a lot of it with Sophie putting on her "game face." Eventually Alan finds out that the popular erotic romance author is actually a virgin and wants to be the one to finally show her what it's really like.

I am very torn on this book. It was okay. There were moments were I really loved Alan and how he really noticed when Sophie had her "game face" on and could read her really well. As it got later in the book and he realized that some of his teasing was hurtful, he would immediately apoligize and emphasize that he was teasing and force Sophie to talk about it. I also liked that he repeatedly reassured Sophie that he liked her for her and also kind of took her to task a little when she would be down on herself. Although a couple of times he took it a bit to far. A big sticking point for me is the way that romance and erotic romance was discussed. Sophie did kind of fight a couple times that it wasn't girly porn, but it bothered me that the guys kept referring to it as such. I wish that Sophie stood up for what she wrote a little bit more.

As a romance reader, there is a difference between erotic romance and erotica. I feel like the way she and other discussed her books, it was more erotica and not erotic romance. I also didn't understand the whole "you have to experience everything you write about" bit. Yes it would've been odd I guess to find out she was virgin, but at the same time it doesn't matter. I feel like it was made out to be a bigger thing than it was. She also off-handedly mentions writing mass market romance as well, but that isn't mentioned later. Everything just focuses on the more erotic stuff she writes. I just wish that with how long this book felt that there was more done about the stereotypes of her writing. It also took a lot longer than I expected for Sophie and Alan to actually get together. The pacing just felt a little off and the ending a little rushed. I also didn't need Alan proposing. I get that they knew each other when younger, but I feel like them just moving in together and starting to seriously date would've felt more believable. Also, I do want to mention there's a lot of Australian slang. Thankfully there was a glossary!

I will try another Angela Verdenius book, but it's not at the top of my list. It was pretty easy reading and the writing style worked for me. I just had issues with the pacing of the plot and how the writing aspect of Sophie was handled. Also there was a scene at a backyard dinner party that I completely got second-hand embarrassment from. I'm a little intrigued by her Lawson Boys series, but I think I'd want to check the tropes first before jumping in.

Have you read The Virgin Sex Queen?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Virgin Sex Queen, Angela Verdenius, 3-stars, 2 days, eBook, 214 pages, published in 2013