Release Blitz with Teasers: Difficult by R.L. Mathewson @Rlmathewson @GiveMeBooksPR

Difficult by R.L. Mathewson

Series: Neighbor From Hell Chronicles #2

Publication date: February 5th, 2024

Synopsis:

Surviving high school was going to be hard enough, but surviving telling the one girl that he couldn't live without how he felt was going to be one of the most difficult things that Sebastian Bradford was ever going to do.

From New York Times and USA Today's bestselling author R.L. Mathewson comes the second novel in the Neighbor from Hell Chronicles series that will bring it all back, leaving you unable to help but smile as you remember the first time that you fell in love.

For years, Sebastian has been lying to himself, doing whatever it took to convince himself that Mikey was just his best friend and the pain in the ass that he couldn't stop thinking about and now...

He would do absolutely anything to stop screwing this up, but that probably wasn't going to happen, not with his brother determined to help him. With every soul-crushing piece of advice his brother threw his way, Sebastian found himself thinking about everything that he had to lose if Mikey didn't feel the same way and wondered if he was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

The glaring was definitely starting to concern her, but Mikey had bigger problems to worry about than her best friend suddenly acting weird around her, like the teenage girl and her minions going out of their way to make her life a living hell. She couldn't risk losing her scholarship, bot when it meant that she would never be able to do the one thing that she loved more than anything again.

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Misunderstood by R.L. Mathewson (Neighbor From Hell Chronicles #1) -

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New York Times Bestselling author, R.L. MATHEWSON was born in Massachusetts. She's known for her humor, quick wit and ability to write relatable characters. She currently has several paranormal and contemporary romance series published including the Neighbor from Hell series.

Growing up, R.L. Mathewson was a painfully shy bookworm. After high school she attended college, worked as a bellhop, fast food cook, and a museum worker until she decided to take an EMT course. Working as an EMT helped her get over her shyness as well as left her with some fond memories and some rather disturbing ones that from time to time show up in one of her books.

Today, R.L. Mathewson is the single mother of two children that keep her on her toes. She has a bit of a romance novel addiction as well as a major hot chocolate addiction and on a perfect day, she combines the two.

If you'd like more information about this series or any other series by R.L. Mathewson, please visit her website.

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Review: Pack Bliss by Kate King & Jessa Wilder

Pack Bliss by Kate King & Jessa Wilder

Series: The Blissful Omegaverse #2

Publication date: May 31st, 2022

Pages: 396

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

For a moment, I thought I had everything, only to have my happiness snatched away from me by more betrayal and lies.

Ares, Rafe, Killian, and Nox abandoned me four years ago, and now their final secret had come out: They've been working with the Institute who hurt my friends and tried to sell me to the highest bidder; a deranged alpha who tried to leave me bred and broken.

This time, the pack's gone too far. I'm done hearing their excuses. I'm done handing out second chances. I might be an omega, but I'm done putting myself last.

If they want my forgiveness, they're going to have to beg for it.

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Review:

Bliss never would have fathomed the secrets that her pack continued to keep from her. Just when she thought that she could get over their betrayal with sending her away to the Institute and basically into the omega trafficking system, they threw her for a curve ball and appeared to be working with that same organization drugging omegas to keep them compliant. Her pack claims they never knew what they were doing, but Bliss isn't so convinced. They may have been blinded by their desire to get her back after throwing her away but at what cost? Maybe she wasn't supposed to be the pack she had scent bonded to at seventeen years old. Perhaps sometimes secrets and betrayal just run too deep to recover from, even when one's body screams to pull them closer.

I finished the series out of determination. I have been pretty vocal in the fact that I am not a huge fan of M/M dynamics within the reverse harem and this was a lot more M/M romance than I would have thought would be present with them all seeming so obsessed with Bliss. I get that the bond went for all the men too and not just their bond to Bliss, but at the same time... it got to be a little much. It didn't feel like Bliss ever had any one-on-one time with any of them which I would have liked to see to kind of strength that bond between her and each of them individually. I never could get attached to any of the men because they just felt like a unit and not any with individual personalities. I think I could have learned to live with the M/M romance if there had been some depth between the characters. But since there wasn't, the story as a whole lost a lot of appeal for me. The book was predominantly sexual over much focus on the overall plot so not being really into the smut made the book overall a flop for me.

A silver lining, and one that saved the book from either a DNF or a 1-star rating was Bliss. I enjoyed watching her start to grow a backbone. She could be ruled by a Alpha's bark but that didn't mean she needed to be a complete pushover along the way. I love when the female in a reverse harem is the commanding force within the dynamic. It took her some time to grow into it but I finally saw what the authors meant about how Bliss needed to grow to be strong. I liked her as an overall character.

The plot felt really shaky. The Institute is capturing and drugging omegas to sell to rich Alphas and nobody says a word? None of the Omegas speak out? None of them fight their confines? They just mindlessly comply? That doesn't seem like it'd be easily accomplished. Someone would speak out and it'd be a big deal. Add to that the fact that there were two action scenes at the end of the book which were not entirely needed. One or the other would have been for the best. It just felt like the authors were trying to add a bunch of filler to thicken up the book and cover up any plot holes by overwhelming the reader with action. It just was not for me. There were too many holes hastily cemented over for my liking.

The series as a whole wasn't terrible and if you love just raunchy reverse harems with an M/M buffet then this may work for you. 

Review: Pack Bound by Kate King & Jessa Wilder

Pack Bound by Kate King & Jessa Wilder

Series The Blissful Omegaverse #1

Publication date: April 19th, 2022

Pages: 372

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

They claimed my heat. I claimed their hearts.

In a world where Omegas are cherished, Alphas are revered, and Betas are forgotten I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Growing up in foster care, my friends and I took care of each other. Ares, Killian, Rafe, and Nox, were my everything: my first loves, my only family, my pack.

The same night they told me we'd be together forever, I presented as an omega, and everything changed.

They betrayed me and turned me over to The Institute where Omegas are auctioned off to the highest bidder. I thought I'd never see them again...

But four years later, they came back for me.

Four alphas. One omega. A pack bond that couldn't be broken.

Available at:

Review:

Bliss's graduation from The Institute was fast approaching. Soon she would be promised to her forever mate and she would be able to rub it in her childhood friends' faces that she had come out on top even after their betrayal. But it seems that the auctioning off of Omegas was a more corrupt business than anyone had ever thought. So when she is promised to an Alpha that seems to want to break her in half, her true mates have no choice but to step in and steal her right out from under the man. But being back in their company is both confusing and enthralling as Bliss tries to figure out whether her love for the men of today can overshadow the betrayal she feels for the boys they once were. And what happens when her promised mate finds them and tries to steal her back? Will they fight for her this time or abandon her all over again?

At the beginning of the book the authors stated that Bliss was not a strong woman yet but that she was meant to grown into one. I didn't really see a lot of strength from her in this book. She whined and whimpered and huffed indignantly but I didn't see her command the room or show a little backbone until the very last few pages. Granted a lot of the time she was struggling to just not rip the clothes off her pack at any given time so maybe she was too distracted with that to worry about being a badass. I feel like Bliss was all over the place. She kept getting herself into sticky situations that required her to be saved. A little too much damsel in distress for my liking.

I have nothing against M/M romance on its own but in my reverse harems I tend to like all the men being solely focused on the female without any intermingling between them. Just a personal preference. So when I read the prequel and enjoyed it so much I was anxious to read the next until I got to the M/M romance trigger warning. I sighed in resignation but still plowed through it. I had hope that maybe it would be fine. Maybe it wouldn't ruin the overall story for me if it was just an occasion addition to some bedroom activities. But, no, it's an every single time bedroom activity norm. I finished the book out of sheer stubbornness and am waffling on reading the last book in the series. I would like to see where the plot goes but at the same time, the fact the romance has aspects I'm just not that into, it kinda sours the taste a bit for me. I will likely still read the next book because I want to know what happened, but I don't know if my star rating will grow with reading the next installment.

I think this book would be perfect for someone who loves omegaverses and doesn't mind M/M romance being involved within the harem. The plot is there, the connection between the characters is also present (possessive growling is top tier), but the romance itself is lukewarm for me.

 

Review: Pack Origin by Kate King & Jessa Wilder

Pack Origin by Kate King & Jessa Wilder

Series: A Blissful Omegaverse #0.5

Publication date: November 30th, 2021

Pages: 136

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

They claimed my heat, I claimed their hearts.

In a world where Omegas are cherished, Alphas are revered, and Betas are forgotten I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Growing up in foster care, my friends and I took care of each other. Ares, Killian, Rafe, and Nox, were my everything: my first loves, my only family, my pack.

The same night they told me we'd be together forever, I presented as an omega, and everything changed.

Available at:

Review:

Bliss was happy with the status quo of her little unit. She was, what she assumed, was an Beta female who had not yet hit her growth spurt. Her four best friends were all Alpha males who she would do anything for. She thought they'd be together forever and that nothing could come between them. But when she started the transition into being an Omega everything changed. Suddenly she could smell them and their emotions easily. She was drawn to them on an instinctual level and they all had to fight their baser instincts to claim each other and forge a bond that had been growing even before she had known what she was. But could they protect her from all the other Alphas bent on claiming her or would they give her up to save her?

This was a quick little read that got me absolutely hooked. I have been trying to space out my reading of series so I am not just reading them back-to-back. I felt that would give me a little variety as well as my reviews to be a bit spaced out more. But this one... I immediately downloaded the next book and am in the process of reading it now. I have never read a book with so much heat radiating off the pages and there be absolutely no sex involved. Maybe it's the animalistic nature of it that appealed. The growling, the whimpering, the possessiveness, all really heady stuff in romance. I was hooked.

When I first started reading I felt like it started off a bit rocky. I started rolling my eyes thinking it was going to be corny beyond measure and I'd have to DNF it at 20% as is my goal usually so that I give a book a fair shake. But it got better the more I read. Especially when it switched perspectives to Bliss. I liked her as a character. But let's not forget there is always a favorite in a reverse harem for me. Ares is that. He seemed to be the Alpha among the Alphas and I wouldn't have guessed that from the first chapter of the book when it was in Rafe's perspective. But you definitely get that feel throughout the rest of the book.

I always find it interesting when these type of books have that 'heat'. You know, the one where they got to have sex right then and there or they feel they may die. Where they're practically climbing each other trying to find some relief. It is equal parts hot and awkward. It puts romance passion at a whole different level. This book was 50% that. They were constantly trying to resist each other which only became worse with her transition. But the authors managed to write it in a way where it was more hot than awkward, which I appreciated.

All in all, this is a great prequel that set up the first official book beautifully. If not for the shaky start to the book and the pause to consider whether I'd continue the book, it may have been a five star. 

Review: Meadow by April Skye

Meadow by April Skye

Series: Graves Crime Syndicate #2

Publication date: July 28th, 2022

Pages: 354

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

Matthew --

My control was slipping as I carried Allison to safety, not ready to think about the restraints I would put in place if she tried to enact our original agreement. She had wanted to be in the room when we eliminated the Goblin that had murdered her husband and to go home, back to the remnants of her life, after it was done. That's what tonight was supposed to be, collecting her debt for the death of Devon, a life for a life. She had set the terms, and I tried everything I could to keep her from the room.

After the attack, we knew the Goblin stole her purse. We knew they had been in her house. And we knew they were willing to kill to get her.

What we didn't know was why? Other than settling simple, unfinished business, we couldn't understand what made her so special.

Now we did,

and my brothers and I weren't willing to live in a world where we couldn't keep her and her child safe.

Warning: This is a dark romance for an adult audience that includes extreme grief and other themes that may be triggering for some. For a complete list of trigger warnings, please visit the author's website. Read at your own discretion.
-- Meadow is a 101k full-length mafia/gang new adult romance. It is a reverse harem ("why choose?" theme) that ends on a cliffhanger and an eventual HEA. It is the second book in a series. --

Available at:

Review:

The hunt is on for the culprit behind Devon's death. It seems it went deeper than an gang related shooting. Allison and her husband were targeted that night and Huxley just got in the way unlike what they originally thought. Now Allison is having to figure out who might have an axe to grind against her beautiful golden retriever of a husband. She comes up empty but she couldn't shake the man she had helped kill's words: the mission was only partially complete. Will she be able to figure out who could possibly hate her budding family so much that they would hire a gang member to kill them?

Add in that Allison is starting to confront her feelings for the men in her life. All of them. She can't choose just one to fall for, she needs them all. She wants them all. And with the guidance of her dream meetings with her deceased husband she starts to confront the fact that the attraction is there and all of them are feeling the same. But is it too soon? What would their lives look like once she had her baby? Would she be able to keep living with them even after the birth of her daughter? And would she be able to share her heart with anyone but the man who died only months before? 

I have no idea what April Skye's writing process is but I highly encourage her to keep it up. I have never dipped into a series and not had the second book in the serious drop a bit in my eyes. Usually there is just something in the writing, the characters, or the mystery that just becomes dull so I have to succumb to the inevitable four-star curse that good books usually fall under (they're not amazing but still great reads). But this author has a gift of keeping that romance thick and heady while also injecting some mystery and intrigue that you may see a bit of which coming but you never fully get the entire picture until you get to the last page of the book. It's truly astounding.

I will say that I loved Allison taking tiny steps with each of the men to let herself heal and feel again for the men surrounding her. But her interactions with David and Matthew are my personal favorites. I love that David is a bit closed off with everyone except Allison. With her he opens himself up and actually lets himself feel things. Matthew is the same. He is too overcome with PTSD and rage to function most days but Allison grounds him. The way they will press their foreheads together and just breathe each other in so he can steady himself, good lord, chef's kiss perfection. That is not to discount Huxley or Lachlan, but I love me some damaged kings. 

Even though Allison is a bit of a crier I don't find it as annoying as I have in other books when I had a weepy woman. Maybe it is because I can understand the grieving process that she is going through after losing my grandfather in September 2023. I watch her consumed with her grief and my heart breaks for her. Even when she is weepy just for the sake of being weepy. I just want to flick all the dudes in the forehead and hug her myself. The love she has for her husband is palpable and I have no idea how the author captured the grieving process so adequately and can only hope it's not from personal experience she draws her inspiration from.

I think this series will go down as one of my favorites of all time and I will need to purchase physical copies so I may lend out to friends and family. April Skye you dastardly devil, you've locked me in as a permanent fan of your writing. Keep them coming!