Goodreads Reviews

Stripping the Sub by Golden Angel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Whilst this is a stand-alone book, I did struggle at times with the book as it mentioned A LOT of characters but with few/no details to help place them in the story. I think if I had read the previous 5 books this would not have been such an issue. Because of that it did take me a little while to get into the story and I whilst I did like the two main characters, I didn't connect with them that much. After a while I did start linking people with their partners and/or jobs and I found it easier to follow the story.

The pace of the story and the writing were both good, the characters were well written and the plot entertaining. I personally found the BDSM element was a little too extreme in its sadism - Ellie is very masochistic and there are several references to 'beatings' in terms of their play. I'm not judging and I know for some readers this will be not only a turn on but an important part of the story, for me it was too much.

I finished the book and by the end felt more invested in the story. I feel I need read other books by this author before deciding if I like their work or not.

View all my reviews Adonis in Athens by Kat Mizera
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This had a very different feel the the 'Inferno' series of books, but was still a very well written, captivating and worth the money read. It is written in the third person, has a whole cast of interesting characters, the plot is nicely unique and we still have a link to the sidewinders!

Adonis in Athens has a 'lighter' feel to it. It's a lovely summery beach read but NOT a trashy, disposable read. Apollo and Paige are as well written as any character in a Kat Mizera novel, they are believable, have their foibles but are likeable and really do fit the category of 'hero' and 'heroine'.

I definitely felt the chemistry between them and believed in their love, particularly from Paige, whom I felt we got to know a little more than Apollo in this book.

The first part of the book, set in Athens, certainly had a much more relaxed feel to it. Once Paige returned to Vegas the story and action certainly seemed to pick up pace. This may well have been a deliberate writing trope by the author to emphasise the difference in cultures.

I did feel that some things were a little rushed, particularly the explanation of the conversation Paige overheard between Apollo and Mike, or not really resolved. I do get the feeling that some of these lose ends will be picked up by later books in the series.

I also felt that we didn't get to experience some of the tougher conversations between Paige and Apollo. It was acknowledged that they both had a lot to think about and sort through in order to be together, but then a lot of the actual doing of this seemed to happen 'in the background'.

However those are very minor points and certainly did not spoil my enjoyment of what is an extremely well written, captivating and uplifting romance.

View all my reviews Unconventional by Isabel Love
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my word this book slayed me, it flayed the flesh from my bones and shredded my heart. Then it put me back together in the most Unconventional of ways possible. I thought Untouchable was a fantastic read, particularly since it was a debut novel, but this just blew that book right out of the water.

I'd so wanted to see Charlie and Quinn get together in Untouchable but you know what they say - be careful what you wish for. I knew they'd both been hurt but my goodness they had been broken into tiny pieces by life, yet together those parts melded into something beautiful. The writing, the plot, the pace, the dialogue, the characters - all amazing and woven together into the tapestry of one awe inspiring and amazing book.

The emotion in this book was just something else, I cried more than once and for a whole variety of reasons but mainly because the characters are so very well written and so engaging that I cared for them and felt their pain and joy with them.

The lust and chemistry took us on an erotic and slightly taboo journey that was so hot I'm surprised my kindle survived it. There are books with steamy scenes, books with scorching hot scenes and books with 'please don't let anybody be reading over my shoulder' scenes and this was most definitely in that last category of the NSFW read.

But then it went so beyond lust, in such a quiet and unsuspecting way

I stop holding back and let my orgasm take me. When it hits, I pour so much more than just my cum into her -
I think I leave some of my soul inside her.

***Swoon***

And all the way through you know that things are just going too well and that the other shoe will drop, and boy when it did it left me shattered. Yep I cried again, I ugly cried. And the author didn't ease up but kept slowly tearing me apart, piece by piece, until she didn't.

THEN there was that epilogue. An epilogue I can guarantee is unlike any other you have read, but was so perfectly fitting for Quinn and Charlie. A very Unconventional epilogue for a very unconventional couple.

View all my reviews Beautiful Beast by Aubrey Irons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Where do I start with this review? I've just spent a good chunk of my Sunday reading this and not wanting to put it down until I finished. It's dark, emotional, full of angst, conflict and sorrow and yet throughout it has touches of light that pull you through and keep you reading.

The more I read, the more I found out about Bastian and the more I loved him - even though I shouldn't. I love me a broken and twisted hero and Aubrey Irons delivered one of the best in the Beautiful Beast that is Sebastian Crowe. Asshole, manipulative, man whore, arrogant, entitled all describe him and yet you can tell that there is something else trapped inside that lost and frightened little boy.

Ana is one cool heroine with real strength of character and the ability to verbally cut Bastian down to size, even if inside she was anything but cool. She's always despised Bastian and his privileged ways, or has she? Of course there is more to the story, their story than that. And what a story it is. It had me gripped from the start, sometimes melting along with Ana, sometimes angry and riled up at what was happening and often wanting to show Bastian the love he was so desperately craving.

The book is written first person from both main characters POV, so you get an excellent understanding of, and feel for, both of them. The story hops back in time, and I preferred this as it allowed the story to unfold gradually and truths to be slowly revealed.

The book is quite a long one - it took over 5 hours to read, but I never once felt like skimming parts or that passages were unnecessary. Every part was captivating, even if it wasn't easy to read, and with a plot that had plenty of twists and turns. A few parts of the plot I could guess at, although the author did drop very large hints as to what would transpire, and I found this actually upped my engagement in the story - I knew what was going to happen but, like Christmas morning, I had to wait for it to arrive. And, of course, what resulted from this was NOT what I had expected at all.

The writing is excellent, the descriptions helped me picture the scene without being too long, the characters in the book were believable - although not always likeable - and the pace was perfect. This is one amazing second-chance, enemies-to-lovers, dark-but-yet-full-of-hope read and definitely the best story by Aubrey Irons so far.

Do I recommend this book? The answer is a resounding and most emphatic yes.

View all my reviews Misguided by Max Henry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

Although the Fallen Aces MC chapters are featured through out the book, it didn't have a hugely MC feel to it. I think a lot of this was because Dog, the hero, hadn't grown up in the lifestyle. That said I still enjoyed this book, it is very well written with an interesting plot.

The book was mainly about Mel coming to terms with bereavement and Dog/Koen trying to convince Mel that he was worth taking a chance on. I really liked the 'slow' build up of their relationship, although I didn't quite feel the passion of it. Don't get me wrong their were some very tender scenes and when we did eventually get them the sex scenes were very hot, I just didn't feel their love.

I did like both main characters, they were well written and believable. The story flowed well, it was easy to read and I really liked the author's writing style. Although the book didn't blow me away, it did keep me reading, and I never once felt bored or uninterested in it.

I would definitely read more work by Max Henry.

View all my reviews