No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole

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My most anticipated book for the Love in the Night Readathon was No Rest for the Wicked. This is the third book in Kresley Cole's immensely popular Immortals After Dark series. This covered the remaining prompt Bite Me as well as Unique Paranormal, Eat Her Out and Diving Deep. For Fall In Love this worked perfect for the prompt Romance Series with 3+ Books. For Color Me Romantic I applied this to the Red prompt (passionate or intense character). Also I used this for Bang in the Night for the prompt Full Moon on the Cover or Stepback. I chose Anytime (I'll Be There) by Frank Sinatra from his Reprise Rarities Volume 4 album for the theme song.

Sebastian was turned into a vampire against his will by his brother when he was dying. Since he was free to leave his brother's oversight, he's been alone and brooding. Sebastian has always always felt separated from those around him, even as a human. When Kaderin shows up at the request of the local village to take care of the "nearby vampire," she is stunned to find Sebastian not fighting for his life and allowing her to make the killing blow uncontested. When he bloods her, Kaderin starts to feel feelings for the first time in centuries. When he forces his way into a special race that happens every 10 years, he finds ways to support her whether she wants it or not.

Oh my gosh. This was so great and why did I wait so long to get back into this series? Okay, I know why. I was nervous about getting sucked into the long running series and losing time to read my "assigned" books. Back to Kaderin and Sebastian though. I absolutely adored Sebastian with all of my heart and he is definitely my favorite hero in this series so far. There was something just so endearing about him and he hit all of my buttons. He's a sexy vampire, is super protective of his lover, can get a little nasty in the bedroom and also has that awkward/not-good-with-girls vibe. He just really did it for me and is going to definitely be hard to top. No to say I didn't love Kaderin, but because the premise of her character was that she was just experiencing feelings for the first time in forever it was hard to be on her "team" at times. It was especially hard for me when she clearly didn't want to kill Sebastian, but she was also stringing him along or intentionally saying things to hurt him that I didn't like. I understand her dilemma though because she was in huge vampire wars and vampires killed her two sisters. It was just hard because I understood and got 100% why she was doing what she was doing, but the Sebastian fangirl in me just wanted to shake some sense into her.

If there was one downside for me, it would be dealing with the race. This was a fun paranormal twist on Amazing Race combined with National Treasure and I loved it! I just wanted to see more about some of the "legs" and was surprised how much time we spent with Kaderin and Sebastian during the downtime between rounds. I also wish that we saw a little bit more of the other competitors, but mostly I wanted more when we did get to go with them on a hunt for a treasure. Everything was just done super quickly for the most part and I wanted a little more for the beginning races. The specific hunt was only really drawn out if there were complications or the final one. There could've been at least one early on that was easier to complete, but there could've been a lot of steps or something. I used to be obsessed with Amazing Race though, so I'm not surprised. I do think that a couple books later on the series do deal with the race as well, so we'll see what happens!

I'm so happy to finally get back into this series and I'm hoping to get at least two more books in the series read by the end of the year (one a month). Maybe if I spread it out like that it'll help me get through it a little quicker. No matter what I definitely need to scoot Immortals After Dark up my priority list for sure. I can't wait to see who's book is next (and will wait until I start it and avoid any blurbs or spoilers as much as I can).

Have you read No Rest for the Wicked?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: No Rest for the Wicked, Kresley Cole, 5 stars, 1 day, Paperback, 356 pages, published in 2006, traditionally published

The Captive Merman's Promise by Zoey Castile

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The 2nd book I picked up for the Love in the Night Readathon was the group book, The Captive Merman's Promise by Zoey Castile. This is the 5th book in the multi-author series Peculiar Tastes. Since it was the group book, it cover most of the prompts: Unique Paranormal, Diving Deep, Eat Her Out, Toil and Trouble and New To You Author. This also worked perfectly to cover the prompts Diverse Main Character or Side Character for Fall in Love, Mint Green (Story You Found Refreshing) for Color Me Romantic and I Put a Spell on you for Bang in the Night. The theme song I chose for The Captive Merman's Promise was The Hurt Doesn't Go Away from the 3rd Volume of Frank Sinatra's Reprise Rarities.

Amada is in Scotland to meet with the Grand Master via the Shadow Market. The women in her family have been cursed, for generations, to love their significant other when there's love involved. After losing a lover of her own, she used her magic to take the entirety of the curse into herself to save future generations. It's starting to act differently than usual and is seeking his help to finally break it. When entering the Shadow Market she comes across Ronan, a merman that's been in service to the Grand Master for years. They find themselves drawn to each other and when the Grand Master isn't able to immediately convince Amada to take his deal, he grants Ronan legs to try to convince her sign the contract.

I had thought about The Little Mermaid when going into this knowing it was a merman romance, but didn't realize that it was more inspired than I knew. I thought it was cleverly done and while it didn't feel too direct as a retelling, there were enough hints to make my Disney-loving heart happy (it was my favorite movie growing up). Overall I thought this was really fun and unique and definitely worth the read. I loved getting the chance to read another mer-person romance and definitely need to try to find more; but back to The Captive Merman's Promise. What brought me down to a 4-star for this was a couple things. The main reason was I just wanted more establishment for not only the magic of this world, but also Ronan's history. I was confused on how Amada's magic worked and what she exactly did to take the curse upon herself. I was also super intrigued and wished that we got more backstory about what happened when he was a merman and not just getting into the horrible contract with the Grand Master. With the magic I was also confused on how exactly the cursed worked. I thought it was supposed to steal the life of the lover when they both were in love, but at the end it was only for the person in love with Amada. It just seemed a little odd to me.

I enjoyed my time and definitely want to look into other books by Zoey Castile. I've had her Happy Endings series on my tbr for a while, but those are contemporary. I definitely have another reason to pick them up since I enjoyed her writing style here. I almost might look into other books from this series, but being that they are by different authors I might have to check tropes and reviews first. I'm definitely intrigued though.

Have you read The Captive Merman's Promise?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Captive Merman's Promise, Zoey Castile, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 103 pages, published in 2022, indie published

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming

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The first book I picked up for the Love in the Night Readathon was That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon. This is the first in Kimberly Lemming's Mead Mishaps series. This was able to cover the prompts Getting Horny, Eat Her Out and New To You Author for the readathon. I was also able to use this for the Fall in Love prompt Outdoor Background on Cover and Color Me Romantic prompt for White (white on the cover). For Bang in the Night applied this to the prompt I'm Horny (main character with horns). For the theme song I chose Come Fly with Me from Frank Sinatra's Reprise Rarities Volume 1.

Cinnamon is a spice farmer in a small village. Every few years heroes are called to help Myva, the witch turned goddess help keep the gate she created to hold back the demon horde in place. Cinnamon was not chosen as a hero and is happy about it since they don't always come back. When heading home from the festival celebrating the heroes, she comes across someone trapped in a landslide. After digging him out she sees that he's not a person, but a demon. Fallon has escapted imprisionment and is on a quest to destroy the sacred chalices of Myva. He explains to Cinnamon that the humans have all been duped and Myva is not a goddess, but a Lich. Fallon makes a deal with Cinnamon to travel to her four temples to destroy the chalices that are actually her phylactories.

Okay, this book is one with contradictions for me. I had fun reading it and enjoyed how things were progressing. I thought the fantasy elements were a basic set up. I like Cinnamon's attitude and how she went about dealing with Fallon and the situation forced upon her (becoming the hero when she was avoiding it the best she could). There were two big detractions for me, but they do kind of blend together. The first is the modern language and demeanor of Cinnamon. It just felt too different from the setting. We start in a stereotypical historical feeling village with fantasy vibes, but then to me her Gen Z way of speaking just took me out of the story constantly.

Paired with that was the way the fantasy world was built and the random modern things that were randomly added. I wanted to learn a lot more about the magic and how it worked. The demons weren't what we would normally consider a demon, but more of a catchall phrase for monsters/creatures. Fallon is a dragon shifter and Cinnamon also meets a minotaur, centaur, werewolf and naga (that's what I can remember off the top of my head). All of them are called demons, which is fine, except I wanted the explanations because since it's a common creature that is used in other fantasies and paranormals. Also, there were a lot of things added to the world that felt like a wink and nod to the reader, but to me just felt completely out of place; and once again took me out of the story. For example, Cinnamon is wandering an open market area and one of the vendors is selling nachos in a bucket. I don't know why, but it just made me frustrated. On top of those two things I also thought that Myva was making some "deus ex machina" choices that helped our "heroes." On top of the fact that she was making odd choices, but I also didn't agree with some of the things that Cinnamon and Fallon were doing. The pacing just felt off and I got a little ranty when talking about this book.

Despite my frustrations with the book, I was still having a fun time reading it. That's why it's a little hard for me to rate, because I did mostly enjoy my time (until I got pulled out of the story). I know that the point maybe to have the more fun and modern take on a fantasy, but it just didn't mesh well to me for the most part. I'm definitely intrigued to read more from the series, but I think I'll have to wait until I'm in the mood for a fantasy that's a little more free and light-hearted. Maybe next FaRoFeb?

Have you read That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon, Kimberly Lemming, 3.5 stars, 2 days, eBook, 182 pages, published in 2021, indie published

The Fool and the Sparrow by Dana Fox

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Continuing to pick books to fill my remaining Bang in the Night prompts, I picked up The Fool and Sparrow to cover the It's a Sign prompt. This is the first book in Dana Fox's Arcana of the Tarot series. For Bang in the Night, I used Frank Sinatra's The Game Is Over from Reprise Rarities Volume 3. I also was able to use this for the prompts Cozy Cover for Fall in Love and Olive (sneaky/deceptive character) for Color Me Romantic.

Kit is The Fool, the tarot archetype. When he feels the urges to leave the Arcana realm and head to Earth, he finds himself drawn to Thea. He had saved her as young girl when he found her wandering on the streets and dropped her off at a local police station. Unfortunately, she ended up going to an orphanage and was "adopted" by a shadow government operation. She has spent her life since then becoming on of the top agents. After receiving an assignment she disagrees with, she finds a way out and stumbles across Kit when trying to touch base with a media person to expose the operation. Kit joins her in her journey and tries to help her out in any way he can.

Oh gosh was this a struggle bus for me. I just really wanted to enjoy this fantasy romance set around the tarot, but I wanted a lot more from the fantasy aspects. Usually the way that something is written doesn't bother me too much, but here I was really struggling with the world building and the way that things were introduced to the reader. I'm not sure if Dana has written fantasy before, but to me it felt like someone that first starts writing fantasy and hasn't quite caught the nuances of it. While I can forgive the info-dumpiness, it was juxtaposed with not enough explanations or unnecessary information that felt like the author just trying to show it was a fantasy world. It just felt like you should have all these weird animals with "fantasy names" but it didn't really serve a purpose in the story. Even more so when Kit immediately leaves the fantasy realm for Earth. While they did end up going back to the fantasy realm, I wanted more. I really pushed myself through this and maybe I should've dnf-ed, but I the bare bones and overall idea was intriguing to me so I kept pushing hoping to find that glimmer that sparked my enjoyment.

If you are interested in this, definitely check it out. I can see others that don't read fantasy very often or prefer lighter fantasies. I've just read so much fantasy (both romance and not) so my bar is higher than probably the normal reader. I do feel like I should say that most of the tarot stuff was handled well. While there usually is a little bit more of leeway for what a tarot readers can get from the cards, I did think that Dana hit all the main ideals that are the basics.

Have you read The Fool and the Sparrow?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Fool and the Sparrow, Dana Fox, 2.5 stars, 5 days, eBook, 302 pages, published in 2022, indie published

My Lonely Shifter Match by Skye Alder

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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

The Orc From the Office by Kate Prior

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After reading Love, Laugh, Lich, I immediately had to jump into the 2nd book in the Claws and Cubicles series by Kate Prior, The Orc From the Office. I was able to use this for the prompts Cinnamon Roll Hero for Fall in Love, Indigo (nerdy/geeky/brainy character) for Color Me Romantic and #BeastMode (monster romance) for Bang in the Night. My theme song for Bang in the Night was Frank Sinatra's Moment to Moment from Reprise Rarities Volume 3.

Janice works for Evil, the company, in Human Resources. When she is struggling to open a file cabinet, Khent, an orc that works in IT, is walking by and offers to help. Janice accidentally elbows Khent in the face during their encounter and it's hard enough to draw blood. What she doesn't realize is in drawing blood from Khent, she's initiated a mating bond between them. They have to meet with MR (monster resources) and sign some paperwork that it was accidental. They are pushed to stay away from each other and not complete the bond, but as the mating instinct starts to affect them, Janice starts to do some research. After stumbling across some "videos" of mating between orcs, Janice finds it harder and harder to stay away from Khent.

Oh my gosh, this book was so good. I absolutely loved Khent, the cinnamon roll nerdy orc that works in IT. He was just so freaking sweet but when it came to the bedtime he definitely turned it up. I loved the way that he really just stepped back and let Janice do what she felt she needed even though he was really struggling with wanting her as his mate and feeling the relief that he found someone he could mate with. Honestly, the only thing that made me dock this down from a full 5-stars was the 3rd act conflict. I know that Janice was struggling and had baggage from her previous relationship, but I just felt like there was enough internal conflict between them that was worked through them getting together in the first place that the extra conflict wasn't needed. That and there was a little bit of confusion for me when they get back together and they may or may not be getting physical on the side of a building (the physics just got a me a little).

Even though I had some issues with Love, Laugh, Lich, I'm so happy I continued this series. You definitely don't have to read it first before this one (I just like to read in order). This book was so fun and I cannot express how much I love Khent. This book really outshone the first and I highly recommend this if you enjoy monster and/or office romance. It really helped too that they weren't in a power dynamic because of their employment. Seriously, check this book out!

Have you read The Orc From the Office?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Orc From the Office, Kate Prior, 4.5 stars, 0 days, eBook, 143 pages, published in 2022, indie published

Love, Laugh, Lich by Kate Prior

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To start October, I had some time to mood read before the start of the Love in the Night Readathon. I decided to focus on prompts for the Bang in the Night reading challenge and look through my KU list for some monster or spooky romances. Love, Laugh, Lich was in my recommendations. This is the first book in Kate Prior's Claws and Cubicles series. I used this to cover the Bang in the Night prompt for Skull on the Cover, Fall in Love prompt for 2021 Release and Color Me Romantic prompt for Green (Green on the Cover). The theme song I chose from Frank Sinatra's Reprise Rarities was Life's a Trippy Thing from the 5th volume and is a duet with Nancy Sinatra.

After the apocalypse, Evil has won and taken over. Lily works for Evil, the company. The CEO is Soven, the Lich. Lily is his secretary and is finding herself more and more intrigued by the spells he casts and how he looks under his robes. When her office is undergoing renovations after an assassin attempts to take him out, she is working from a cubicle area with other employees. The separation between them causes some things to change between them and Lily starts to get jealous over Soven. When she broaches helping him out with his spells instead of contracting out, things start to shift between them.

This was such an interesting take on a monster romance, but for the most part worked. I really loved the almost tongue-in-cheek style of monster romance and office romance mash-up. I also thought it was really kitschy, in a good way, that Evil won and is a corporation. Now despite the fun-ness of the story, there were some parts that were a little off for me. I thought that this was more lust based than emotion based and wasn't quite 100% into them reaching their HEA. I also felt like there wasn't enough tension between them, even from when they are talking about the past. It felt more like Lily has been lusting after Soven but being sent to work in the cubicle sections of the time and not able to see everyone that enters his office kind of made her a little unhinged in a jealous type of way. There was also talk about her being innocent and a virgin and the way that she was just open to doing all these things with him (and his double peen plus extra appendage) just felt off to me. Not that you can't be lustful and a virgin, but the physicality of it didn't match for me. Plus I didn't really find their physical acts that hot or titillating; part of that could've been that I really couldn't picture what Soven actually looked like.

Despite not quite enjoying 100% of Love, Laugh, Lich, I was intrigued enough to continue on in the series (and spoiler alert, I'm really glad I did). If you are looking for a more fun take on a monster romance, I think this series fit that to a tee. I'm not the biggest fan of office romances, but I definitely enjoy it more with this fantasy/paranormal take on it. I just thought this one just didn't quite hit everything I want from a romance novella. Definitely check it out though, it's certainly worth giving a try if you have Kindle Unlimited.

Have you read Love, Laugh, Lich?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Love, Laugh, Lich, Kate Prior, 3.5 Stars, 0 days, eBook, 87 pages, published in 2021, indie published

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas

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The September book for the SJM-along was A Court of Wings and Ruin. This is the 3rd book in Sarah J Maas's highly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses series. If you haven't heard of the SJM-along, it's a SJM based readalong created by Jenn (The Book Refuge) and we are reading through her entire backlist in publication order! I was able to use this to cover the prompts Popular Booksta Romance for Fall in Love and Beige (a story you want to read while curled up in front of the fire or in bed) for Color Me Romantic. For Bang in the Night Bingo I used this to cover #SquadGoals. The theme song I chose from Frank Sinatra's Reprise Rarities collection was Night and Day from Volume 3.

As the Night Court (aka the Court of Dreams) starts preparing to go to war with the King of Hyburn, they need allies. After Feyre returns from the Spring Court, they go about trying to find help from the other courts and powerful beings throughout Prythian. At the same time Nesta and Elain are stuggling to learn their new powers and adjust to their new lives as fae. Feyre is now also known to not only be married to Rhysand, but has officially been announced as the High Lady of the Night Court. As the fight approaches with the King, many hard choices need to be made for the survival for both the fae and humans on the continent.

Oh my gosh, there was so much that happened in this book. I tried to not go too deep into it for my summary, but it was hard. I don't even know where to start and how to keep this to my customary two paragraph review. I loved seeing how Rhys's and Feyre's relationship strengthened and grew even more. I also loved that despite everything that they've gone through and the healing that they've had, there were still moments of setback or relapse from their experiences. Not that I want them to still be struggling, but it just kept the realism that no matter how long it's been or much healing you've done from trauma experiences, it doesn't take much to have a bad moment or night. It just gave so much hope in a real way. There are times where you can be "triggered" and end up having nightmares or going through a small bout of bad mental health space, but also still know that you've gotten through the worst and can continue to make it through.

This book had me laughing, swooning, crying, hoping and worried for all of our characters. I absolutely loved getting to meet the other High Lords and have so many more characters that I'm getting attached to and/or want to learn more of. There was such great closure for Feyre and Rhysand but in a way that left more stories to be told in the world. I myself am hoping that we get to see heas for some secondary characters and really hope that we get to see more from them in the future (especially Lucien). I cannot wait for the third part (of three) to come out from Graphic Audio in November and do plan on rereading the book when it does. I just know that the wartime scenes are going to be so cinematic and wreck me even more. The Graphic Audio versions are so great and I definitely can't wait to see how they do certain scenes. But back to A Court of Wings and Ruin, this was just so good and a great conclusion to the the first two books. I also loved that while there were characters that we saw die (and it was heart wrenching), most of the characters that we've really grown attached to made it though.

I don't really have too much to say outside of I have been absolutely adoring this series and Sarah's work in general. The live show was on October 1st, so if you missed it please check it out. It was a lot of fun once again going through the book and how it connects to other in the series and all of SJM's works as a whole. I'm super excited to pick up the next book for the readalong in October which will be Tower of Dawn. Seriously, if you were like me and held off from joining the SJM bandwagon, it's totally worth jumping into the series. I have enjoyed my time so much!

Have you read A Court of Wings and Ruin?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: A Court of Wings and Ruin, Sarah J Maas, 5-stars, 3 days, Paperback, 736 pages, published in 2017, traditionally published

Halloween Boo by Sarah Spade

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With a little bit of free time before getting to the last book club book for September, I decided to look for something that would fit for Bang in the Night and a new author for me (to hit my final September TBR prompt). I decided to pick up Halloween Boo by Sarah Spade. This is the first book in her Holiday Hunk series. I was able to use this to cover the Fall in Love prompt set in fall and Color Me Romantic prompt Mauve (clothing on the cover). I also used this to cover the Bang in the Night prompt Who You Gonna Call? with the theme song of Frank Sinatra's In the Shadow of the Moon off of the third volume of Reprise Rarities.

Dani has moved to Salem for work and has spent the past year living with a ghost. The second the calendar switches to Halloween on the 31st, Zack, her friendly ghost, becomes corporeal. He has fallen in love with Dani over the past 10 months and is happy to finally be able to connect with her. As they get to know each other and spend the day relaxing around the apartment, the spark between them starts to burn hotter. As we reach the end of the night, Dani and Zack throw caution to the wind and take action on their attraction.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this novella. I knew going in that it was related to Hocus Pocus in someway, but I wasn't sure how exactly. I think I would call this inspired by instead of a retelling. We do get some nods to the fantastic film, but it is entirely it's own thing. Everything that I want from a novella, especially a holiday novella, was included in this. It also had more than I could want. I loved the way that Dani and Zack really connected throughout the story. Even though they really only had one day together physically, I thought it was so well done that Sarah took time to establish an intellectual and emotional connection between them before they acted on the physicality. I really enjoyed seeing that they could just be together all day and take their time to get to know each other. It did help too that he had been "living" with her for the past 10 months and really understood who she was. I also loved that all he wanted to do was take care of her. I thought it was so fun at the beginning when he tried to warn her (still as a ghost) that she left her ice cream out on the counter. Zack was just so freaking adorable.

If you enjoy novellas and are looking for something Halloween vibed without being spooky or monstery, definitely check this novella out. I will be reading more from this series and from Sarah Spade. I definitely plan on picking up the next book when I start reading some winter and Christmas related books. The whole series is holiday related and I can't wait to see what other stories she has in store.

Have you read Halloween Boo?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Halloween Boo, Sarah Spade, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 106 pages, published in 2018, indie published

Gold Rush by Jenny Bunting

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

After reading Fool's Gold earlier this year in May, I've been wanting to continue the series. The 2nd book in Jenny Bunting's Finch Family series is Gold Rush. I was able to sneak this into my Bang in the Night challenge to cover PSL Vibes. The Frank Sinatra Reprise Rarities song I chose for a theme was You Brought a New Kind of Love To Me from Volume 1. This also worked perfectly to cover the Author Rec'd by Shelby prompt for Fall in Love and Gold prompt (gold on the cover and a character that is wealthy) for Color Me Romantic.

After divorcing her husband, Whitney is headed back to Goldheart. After visiting her friend Annie is Fool's Gold, she is back to write more of her next novel. The local cafe has the sort of magic and vibe that she needs right now to meet her writing deadline. The only drawback is Reid, the Finch brother that had a contentious relationship with her back in college. They were in the same creative writing class and ended up being at odds with each other. Annie is stuck in the middle, being friends with Whitney but also being best friends with Reid since they were young (and the fact that she's dating his brother Cameron). As they try to stop the antagonistic jabs between themselves, they start to notice and act on the spark between them. Whitney is nervous though since she is child-free by choice and doesn't want to have children. She is nervous about Reid wanting the same thing and starts to second guess herself after her divorce.

Okay, I will start off by saying that I really struggle with enemies to lovers. There was a point where I was really getting over the enemies portion of the story, but thankfully things started to change shortly after. It still went on a little longer than I preferred, but it was more that sometimes Whitney would say some really hurtful things and it just made me a little uncomfortable. Once they got past that though, I loved the relationship that Reid and Whitney were able to build. The moments when they were able to just sit together and do writing sprints was so cute and I could just picture them cozied up in a cafe typing like madmen. I also loved how once Whitney opened up about what she wanted out of life and that she was child-free how Reid responded. He really took the time to really think if he wanted to be a father himself or if it was just societal norms that he was unconsciously fitting into. 

I also loved to see Annie and Cameron continue their HEA in the background and seeing more of the entire Finch Family. I love the way that Jenny has crafted their family dynamics and can't wait to get the other siblings books! I particularly loved that we got to see more of the older, broody brother Jackson, especially since he had a closer relationship with Reid. The way that Whitney was able to integrate into their family was so beautiful to see. I should also mention, there's also some heavy talk about abandonment, particularly when dealing with Whitney's mother. She also wasn't really one to want to be a mother, but ended pregnant and kind of didn't create the best situation for Whitney. I thought it was really nice that we saw the beginning of a reconciliation between them, but it wasn't magically all better. Another thing I should mention that did pull this back from a full 5-stars was the 3rd act breakup. I didn't really like how it played out and would've preferred if Whitney stayed in town and actually sat down and discussed things with Reid about what he wanted. I know she has trauma from her previous marriage, but it felt a little out of character for her to completely flip out suddenly and then leave on short notice. I did get a little miffed that it seemed like Reid was the one that was going to grovel to her (I hate when the man is always the one to grovel even if he's not the one that instigated or was the main cause of the "break-up"), but Whitney ended up being the one to come back and apologize to Reid. That helped soften the blow, but I wish she at least would've stayed in town and not let it go on so long. They still ended up at their HEA though.

I can't wait for the next book in the series to come this December! I'm not sure who it'll be yet, but I really feel like the groundwork was laid for Jackson's book. There is also a mention of something that happened to Thumper (Cameron's friend) when he was at the bank when it got robbed. Jenny actually recently released a 2.5 story in the series called Safe With You that's his book. Hopefully I'll have time to pick it up before the third book.

Have you read Gold Rush?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Gold Rush, Jenny Bunting, 4.5 Stars, 3 days, eBook, 286 pages, published in 2022, indie published

Surrender by Amanda Quick

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The Rake Appreciation Society book for September was Surrender by Amanda Quick. This is one of her older standalones and is one of the one's that are popular for Stepback Saturday! I used Surrender to cover the prompts Green on the Cover for Fall in Love and Blue (character that deals with a physical issue) for Color Me Romantic. I also used this to cover the Bang in the Night prompt Published in October and chose the song In the Blue of the Evening off of Frank Sinatra's Reprise Rarities Volume 1.

Victoria is firmly on the shelf. As a lady with a hefty dowry, she has avoided matrimony since a lot of the gentlemen that have been pursuing her have been fortune hunters. When she meets Lucas, the Earl of Stonevale, she can't seem to escape his company. As he finagles more and more chances to be around Victoria, they make a deal. Lucas helps Victoria with the various moonlight escapades she's been wanting to do, and in turn he's going to take the time to charm and seduce her into becoming his wife. When they get caught in a compromising position and forced to wed she finally learns the truth, he is destitute and needs the money. As she travels to his country estate to help get things in order, they struggle to find their footing in their new relationship and with everything out in the open.

Now, I feel like I've said this a lot, but going into a Amanda Quick classic historical, you have to almost expect for things to get a little bit bonkers. I think you just can't go into her books looking to take it super seriously. Not that you can't critique it, but I feel like I get the most enjoyment when I can just go with flow and see what story she's trying to tell. But more specifically to this book, I absolutely adored Lucas. He's probably my favorite of Amanda Quick's heroes so far. I just loved how even though he was going into their situation hoping to seduce her into becoming his wife, he went about it in a way to try to get her to fall in love with him. While I can see others maybe finding this a little bit off, it just really worked for me. Plus Lucas was falling just as much (if not quicker) than Victoria was.

This really only got 4-stars because I really struggled with Victoria at times. She would make some hypocritical decisions that bothered me and then there was her anger that she nurtured throughout the second half of the book. It just bothered me that she would acknowledge society's expectations but then at times act naive or surprised when certain actions were being taken to reign her in or keep her from getting ruined. Honestly though, I could've gotten over that if the second half she really kind of grew up, but I really wanted to throat punch her. Understandably she is angry with Lucas and that he was hiding the true financial status of him and his estate. Where I kind of gave up trying to like her is when she first arrives to the village. She is having a conversation with herself acknowledging that the money he was hoping to receive from her dowry wasn't just to buy fripperies, but actually needed to keep himself and the people that rely on him and his estate living. She recognizes that there needs to be improvements made to get the livestock and agriculture back up to par. She active tries to spend as much as she can in the village to help the local economy. Even though she is realizing that the money he gains from marrying her isn't coming from a greedy place, but one of survival, she actively chooses to deny the reason behind his actions (and the importance of them) and unnecessarily hold on to her anger. She literally tells herself that she doesn't care and she is going to stay angry. It just felt so immature, but the fact that she has this realization when she first arrives on her own but then actively ignores and pretends she didn't drove me absolutely bonkers.

Even though I struggled with Victoria's character, especially during the second half of the book, Lucas really saved it for me and I really enjoyed most of my time reading this book. It's definitely near to the top of my list of favorites of her books so far. I definitely want to continue reading these gorgeous standalones and hope to one day get the full collection with stepbacks! If you haven't participated in Rake Appreciation Society before, it's hosted by Crystal and Jenn on youtube. If you want to check out the live show for Surrender, it was another great meeting. I always have such a fun time discussion historical romance with the other participants!

Have you read Surrender?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Surrender, Amanda Quick, 4-stars, 0 days, Audiobook, 362 pages, published in 1990, traditionally published

Flirty Wolf by Aidy Award

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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

Bang in the Night: The Monster Smash TBR

 I can't believe we are almost at fall!

Since we are approaching spooky season, it's time for the 2nd round of Bang in the Night Bingo! This is once again hosted by the ladies that the But Does it Bang? book club, Jacque and Beth! They do have a discord, so reach out to either of them on instagram to join. Once again they are starting the time frame early on September 19th and will run through Halloween! For the 2nd round, they are sub-captioning this round as The Monster Smash. I love it! Below is the blank bingo board followed by some of the tbr ideas I have for this round! Just a note, they do allow you to use a book for up to three prompts, but once again I'm going to try to just use one book per prompt.

🦇 Midnight with the Devil by Emma Castle - perfect for deal with the devils since it has a deal in the book and devil is in the title

🦇 The Liar's Crown by Abigail Owen - new release of hers that has a skull on the cover and also features twins

🦇 Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series - The next book I have to read is No Rest for the Wicked - at the very least it would cover #squadgoals, bite me and full moon on cover

🦇 Serpent's Touch by Marina Simcoe - Monster romance with a male gorgon

🦇 To Date an Immortal by Stephanie Rowe - twins and magic

🦇 Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon - Has at least twins, vampire and published in October

🦇 Halloween Boo by Sarah Spade - A Hocus Pocus inspired novella with a ghost mc!

🦇 Moonbright, Maine series by Kate Angell - at the very least PSL vibes

🦇 The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling - magic, full moon on the cover and has a cat

🦇 The Vampire's Mail Order Bride by Kristen Painter - A KU vampire romance

🦇 Molly Harper's Mystic Bayou series - a lot of shifters and common paranormal tropes

🦇 I can also finally read the last couple Ice Planet Barbarian books by Ruby Dixon - they have horns

So a lot of my ideas are fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi based since those fulfill the prompts a little easier. I am also hoping to get some fun Halloween and/or fall based contemporaries. Hopefully I'll be able to do quite a few that will cross with Shelby's Fall in Love reading challenge (TBR will be posted this Thursday). Last year they had a spot on the review template for a theme song and I went for only Taylor Swift songs. I haven't decided which artist I'll go for this year, but I'm hoping to use only one artist again. Check out my instagram once the reading challenge starts to see who I ended up choosing!

Will you be participating Bang in the Night?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

Green-Eyed Monster by Elsie Winters

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After reading Hot as Hades, I had one more read to fulfill the #banginthenight prompt for Bang in the Night Bingo. I looked through some options, and nothing sounded good enough or was short enough for me to get it in time. I remembered that Tamed by the Troll would count, so I just needed to find a new monster romance to replace it. I went through a couple different key words searches on my kindle and when I saw Green-Eyed Monster by Elsie Winters, I knew it was the one. This is her debut work and more of a short story. It is related to her first full length novel, Leviathan's Song, which was released about a month later and is connected. For Bang in the Night Bingo, this could also cover #squadgoals, I put a spell on you, and PSL vibes on top of #beastmode. I also used Green-Eyed Monster to cover the prompt under 300 pages for Fall in Love board 2. I also was able to cram it in during the Smutathon and it counts for monster, 2021 release, novella, new to you author and read in one sitting.

Hyrak is studying for an exam and suddenly there's crashing sounds and people are running around. He follows a friend and goes to help out. Hyrak ends up saving Solandis and carrying her and her little mushroom fae to safety.

Small summary, but this is really short and I don't want to give too much away. First off, this is such a cool premise. Hyrak is an Orc going to college to be an accountant. Solandis is doing something with botany. The idea of magical creatures having their own "normal" world and going to school is just so cool. I love it and was so intrigued to learn more about the world. This was such a sweet and fluffy romance. Hyrak and Solandis were so cute together and their mutual pining was so well done. It totally made sense why they both weren't pushing for more than friends.

Honestly, I just wanted more from this. I wanted it to be longer and a little more fleshed out. I still really enjoyed it and will definitely be picking up Leviathon's Song. I feel like this was a good primer into the world and a way for a reader to try a new author's writing style and world building without committing to a full size novel. Especially when you look at this as Elsie's debut, it just makes her more intriguing to me on how she's going to grow and evolve from here.

I don't quite know my plans for the rest of the year, but I'm thinking I'll be picking up Leviaton's Song for FaRoFeb at the the latest. I'm super intrigued and there was a note that we briefly met some of the characters that were going to be featured in it. Plus I think she said we'll see Hyrak and Solandis in the background. I can't wait to read more from this new author! I always love finding a new fantasy romance author.

Have you read Green-Eyed Monster?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Green-Eyed Monster, Elsie Winters, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 45 days, published in 2021

Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai

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With just two prompts left to get a blackout on the Bang in the Night Bingo Challenge, I was looking for a novella that would fit the own voices retelling prompt. I couldn't really find much on my own and started looking at what others were using on their boards. One of the more popular choices was Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai. It also covers the prompts published in October and a Hades and Persephone retelling. I also was able to use this for the Fall in Love board 2 prompt starts with an H. Hot as Hades also worked for the prompts dark, red or purple cover, novella, new to you author and read in one sitting for the Smutathon.

Persephone has suddenly landed in Hades lap while taking a bath. Having been adopted by Demeter and kept away from most of the Olympiad, she's only vaguely heard the stories of Hades. Once they both realize she didn't mean to end up in the Underworld, Hades tries to send her back. When he can't, they both learn that Zeus has sent Persephone to Hades for protection.

This was a retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth. I am a big fan of that myth and am a little more critical of my thoughts about how it is done. Now, Alisha Rai did have in her author's note that she took a little bit of liberties with things she was fond of (like the fact that technically Persephone is Hades's niece). This was okay and the steam was really well done. Where I wasn't the biggest fan is some of the liberties she took. Okay, making Persephone adopted, fine. I wasn't a big fan of Cerberus talking. I loved that the three heads had different personalities, but I didn't want him to talk. I wanted him more guard dog. But that's just my preference. I also wasn't too fond of the Zeus interfered and why Persephone was forced together with Hades.

My rating is definitely more of a 3.5-stars, but I will keep it rounded up to 4. I think if maybe I read the author's note first and was able to better temper my expectations before reading it would've been rated higher. While it hit the plots points that I like to see in a retelling, it just didn't quite meet everything I wanted. It was still a fun and quick read and I do recommend it if you're looking for some Hades and Persephone books.

I have heard mixed things about Alisha Rai's books and am definitely more intrigued. The writing style was so easy to read and I enjoyed it. My issues were more with the choices made and plot. I will probably pick up another Alisha Rai in the future, but I know she mainly writes contemporary so we'll see how long it takes for me to pick any others up.

Have you read Hot as Hades?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Hot as Hades, Alisha Rai, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 99 pages, published in 2011

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

Wicked Captor by Zoey Draven

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Going through my Bang in the Night Bingo prompts, I needed to find a book with Wicked in the title. I searched what was on my kindle and surprising only had a few options. One was Wicked Captor by Zoey Draven. Since the Smutathon was also going on at the same time and had an alien prompt, this was a perfect choice. Wicked Captor is the first in Zoey's Warrior of Rozun duology. This is actually a spin-off of her Warriors of Luxiria series (of which I read a couple years ago, but now see there was one more book published last year I have to get to). This also cover the red or purple on cover prompt for the Smutathon. For Bang in the Night Bingo it can also cover the prompt into the woods. Lastly, I used this for the prompt chef or baker main character for the second board of Fall in Love.

Devix is one of the warriors that we learned about in the original series that has been exiled. Now he works as a mercenary in the Quadrants. He has one last job before he's able to get out of the business and settle on Rozun. His last job is transporting his boss's newest slave, Cara. Cara is human that's been abducted and was originally at the Pit (where most of the heroines were found in the previous series). When Devix picks Cara up from her current owner, they are both surprised to find out they are fated mates.

Before we get too into the book, it's weird what I remembered about the previous series while reading this. I ran through the blurbs of the books from the previous series, but they didn't really help jog my memory. The first time Devix spoke, he said "tev" which is yes in his language. I remembered that very specifically, which was odd. I also picked up other parts of the first book, specifically when they do the fated mate ceremonies in the holy places on Luxiria. I also remembered his brother, which is the best friend and right-hand man to the ruler of the Luxirians. I couldn't remember if we saw him get exiled in the previous series or if it was just discussed.

But back to this book. It was so fun getting back into Zoey Draven. I've been working on compiling a list of authors to get caught up on and she's one of the top of my sci-fi list. I really enjoyed how things escalated between Devix and Cara. Even though they both felt the pull of the mating, they both just pushed it away and tried to fight the attraction. Once they both stopped fighting it, woo boy can Devix get it. I forgot how steamy Zoey Draven is and I loved it! I feel like you don't have to read Warriors of Luxiria to read this, but it did give some extra world building. Also, even though this is a duology it didn't end on a cliffhanger. I was slightly nervous about it going in, but I love that it didn't end on a cliffhanger. Devix and Cara were so perfect for each other, I know fated mates, but I loved how they both were able to deal with each other's traumas and really help each other heal.

I really enjoyed this and will definitely pick up the 2nd book. I did see that Cara ends up pregnant and they return to Luxiria for help. I also want to mention that this seems to have ran concurrent to some of the original series. Yes Devrix is exiled, but nobody really knows about the compatibility between humans and Luxirians at this point. I can't wait to pick up more Zoey Draven. If you enjoy sci-fi and alien romances, certainly give her a try. She's one of my favorites!

Have you read Wicked Captor?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Wicked Captor, Zoey Draven, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 194 pages, published in 2018

Jack by Layla Fae

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Checking my goodreads for new releases a few Mondays ago, I saw a friend had recently read and loved Jack by Layla Fae. With a little inspiration from Nightmare Before Christmas, I knew I had to pick it up. I was able to use this to cover the Fall in Love prompt published in October. Jack also covers the prompts a dark, dark and stormy night, pumpkin on cover, I put a spell on you, published in October, it's a sign, deal with the devil and #beastmode for Bang in the Night Bingo. Also, I read this during the Smutathon and used it to cover paranormal, takes place on Halloween, monster, 2021 released, novella, new to you author, read in one sitting and supernatural main character.

Suzy is complete another tarot reading about love with good results for her client. Feeling single and alone, she yearns for a love of her own. Or even a good bed partner. After being led by the cards, she summons her destined lover. What shows up is a monstrous jack-o-lantern, there to give her all the pumpkin loving she could want.

This is exactly what it sounds like. A quick smutty read about a weird jack-o-lantern monster man and a lonely, horny older woman. This was just enough ridiculous to be fun. 4-stars is fine for what it is. As I've mentioned before, I rate things differently based on what they are and my emotions. What made it not a 5-star for me was the push for them to get married and have and firm HEA. I feel like this could've worked fine as a HFN or even a straight erotica with no romance. Although, I did really enjoy that his "cream" was pumpkin spice flavored. As a basic person that loves pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavorings, I couldn't not love it!

If you are looking for a quick and steamy Halloween read, look no further. I enjoyed the writing style. She has two other books that have been published and I'm particularly intrigued by The Orc's Bride. It's a longer novella at around 150 pages. We'll see what I end up reading next!

Have you read Jack?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Jack, Layla Fae, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 48 pages, published in 2021

Gothikana by RuNyx

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The Ravished by Romance book club choice for October is Gothikana by RuNyx! This was actually on my radar after Crystal from Crystal's Bookish Life read it a little bit ago. She mentioned it would be a good spooky season book. The Bang in the Night Bingo challenge has a gothic prompt and I thought this would be a good option for that as well. It also covers the prompts #banginthenight, full moon on cover/stepback, who you gonna call?, into the woods, black cover, it's a sign and CSI: crime scene investigation. I also applied this to the prompt over 300 pages for Fall in Love. I also read this during the Smutathon and it covered the prompts dark, paranormal, published in 2021, taboo and new to you author.

Corvina receives a letter of interest from a unique college. After dealing with her mother's schizophrenia being diagnosed and put into an institution, she's been living alone on the outside of her town. Having been homeschooled and rarely making contact with the normal society, she decides to accept and attend despite being older than the usual freshman. Once there, things are not what they seem. Students tend to go missing every 5 years as well as many students suddenly killing themselves. Corvina receives clues and starts figuring out the history and lore of the college. Along the way she connects with graduate student and part time teacher Vad.

This was such an atmospheric book and I was really drawn into what was happening at the school and with Corvina. I wasn't expecting it, but there was a lot of deep discussion about various topics. This was such an interesting read. It's hard to say exactly how it made me feel. I loved Vad and how RuNyx kept him mysterious to keep us in Corvina's POV better. Vad was another possessive hero and I was here for it. They were so steamy together and you could really feel the tension between them. There was also an interesting fated mates aspect woven between them.

Why the 4-stars? I just wanted more from the romance aspect. I just felt like there was a good connection between them, but a lot of the connection and discussions between them were just explained as having been happened and not witnessed by the reader. I also thought it was odd that Corvina was very open to tarot, guides, crystals and energies. At the same time she was very against the thought that she might be actually talking to ghosts and not suffering from the same disease as her mother. I just seemed a little off to me for her to be split like that. This was also pretty long, almost too long. It didn't quite feel overdone, but there could've been some things that could've been tightened up.

I still really enjoyed my time reading this and am definitely interested in her other works. She mentions in her author's note that this is different, but I enjoyed the writing style. Not sure when or how long it'll take for me to get to it, but I'm certainly intrigued. I think they are dark romances, so that's fun. It was also cool to see what others took from the story during the live show.

Have you read Gothikana?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Gothikana, RuNyx, 4-stars, 2 days, eBook, 456 pages, published in 2021