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

The Orc From the Office by Kate Prior

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

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

⭐⭐⭐💫

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

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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

Love in the Night Wrap Up

 Last week was the most recent round of the Love in the Night Readathon! It was hosted once again by Shae, Stef, Izzy and Laura. Also added to the hosts this round was Heather! If you missed my tbr, check it out for more information, but otherwise let's just get into the books I read! They did a scavenger hunt this round, so I'll mention what clues I found in each book!

🧹 That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
Clues: Getting Horny, Eat Her Out, New To You Author

🧹 The Captive Merman's Promise by Zoey Castile
Clues: Unique Paranormal, Diving Deep, Eat Her Out, Toil and Trouble, New To You Author

🧹 No Rest For The Wicked by Kresley Cole
Clues: Unique Paranormal, Diving Deep, Eat Her Out, Drink Me

🧹 Darkest Night by Alessa Thorn [review to come]
Clues: Eat Her Out, Toil and Trouble

I'm happy I was able to meet all the prompts and everything was a joy to read. I'm happy I actually was able to get to the group book this time as well. It's hard to pick a favorite, but it'd either be No Rest For The Wicked or Darkest Night. I loved both so much and can't wait to continue both of those series. Shae mentioned during the live show that they'll mostly like do another round in the spring/summer of next year, so I'll have to try to pay attention since I missed the previous round.

Did you participate in the Love in the Night Readathon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎