Review: A Love Song for Liars by Piper Lawson

A Love Song for Liars by Piper Lawson

Series: Rivals #1

Publication date: May 31st, 2020

Pages: 298

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

I fell for Tyler Adams when he had nothing but a guitar.

He was my rebel prince, my handsome muse, my twisted friend.

We were worlds apart in every way that mattered:

He was poor, I was rich.

He was beautiful, I was plain.

He honed his talent in private, while I ached for the spotlight.

When Tyler moved in with us, Oakwood Prep fell on its knees to worship at his altar.

He traded my friendship for their crown.

I will never forgive his betrayal.

But some nights...

He makes me want to.

A Love Song for Liars is Book 1 in the angsty new adult, academy-inspired Rivals trilogy. From USA Today bestselling romance author Piper Lawson!

Available at:

Review:

Annie never expected to see Tyler again. After they had met and he had ghosted her she had thought that was the end of things. She was completely shocked when he shows up on her doorstep saying he was there to finish out his last year of high school and also learn from the best, Annie's father, Jax. The only issue is that she struggles to get over the fact he had abandoned her when she needed him the most. Add to that the fact that Annie's father forbids the two from getting involved with each other. Tyler chooses to throw himself into being the new Prince of Annie's school effectively leaving her behind and giving her bullies a chance to ridicule her further. But Annie is no pushover and the more she pushes back and the more she refuses to acknowledge Tyler, the harder it is for him to resist her. 

When I started this book I really thought I was going to DNF it. I got to about 10% and gave myself the goal of sitting it out until at least 20% then making the call. About the 15% mark is when I started desperately devouring the book completely. My heart fluttered and ached for Annie. My anger roiled towards Tyler. I was desperate to see them find their happy ending. But instead I was confronted with a cliffhanger. Rude and disrespectful I say! Especially being as the books are not available on Kindle Unlimited. What are you doing to us Piper?!

I love books that have a musical undertone to them. Bea Page's Academy of Stardom series was one of my favorites but it focused more on dancing than song writing. Every thing the two protagonists said seemed like they were lyrics straight out of a love song. I expected in the end for them to become as such too. But perhaps that will happen in the following books. Either way, I am back to hating Tyler and aching for Annie, just as I had started the book. The characters are relatable and the reader truly feels for them. I am desperate to see them find their happily ever after so I guess I'll be getting the next book in the series. I should have known... most of what Piper Lawson puts out is absolute gold. This is no exception.

Review: The Reaper by RuNyx

The Reaper by RuNyx

Series: Dark Verse #2

Publication date: July 10th, 2020

Pages: 292

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

What happens when the untameable wind and the endless sea collide in the dark of the night?

Tristan 'The Predator' Caine had been unprepared for Morana Vitalio. After spending his entire life with a vow he broke on a rainy night, he finds himself torn in a battle between his painful past and an uncertain future. The only thing he knows? Her life still belongs to him.

For Morana, the line between enemies and allies has blurred. Everything she once held dear to her has disintegrated and the unknown gapes at her, leaving her with both her freedom and life on the line in enemy territory. The only thing she knows? His life has always belonged to her.

With twenty years of history tying them to each other, Tristan and Morana begin their hunt for the truth together. And they realize that the mystery of the missing girls is just the tip of the iceberg.

Skeletons are uncovered. Dominoes begin to fall.

A storm is born.

Available at:

Review:

Morana and Tristan are still fighting the endless fight against their feelings for each other while also trying to navigate a dangerous world surrounding them. The mystery of the missing girls is starting to heat up and there are starting to be even more players on the field than there had been originally. Including one who calls himself the Reaper. He seems to know everything Morana wants to find out but delivers his information in cryptic comments and careful prodding. He never comes out and states who he is what his vested interest is in the situation but he seems to be as tech savvy, if not more, as Morana. Can Morana find out the answers to all their questions while dodging a crazed family head, her own murderous father, and an unknown entity that is bent on silencing her once and for all? All the while trying to figure out what she feels for the stoic caveman that never seems to be far from her side.

I read the first book in this series and absolutely devoured it. I loved it. There wasn't a thing I would have changed out it. I loved the intrigue. I loved the romance. I loved that there was this great mystery for them to Scooby Doo Gang their way through. But this next installment was a little less riveting than the first. For some reason all the additional players and the twists and turns just started to become confusing. I felt like I needed to take some notes in order to keep everything straight which really deducted from the story. I feel like the book even left things with a lot of loose ends even though it was technically the end of Tristan and Morana's story so that the next couple books could be about Dante and his lady. I am sure the mystery is going to be the one thing that ties all the various romances together into one cohesive series but if I stopped now, after this final installment with Tristan and Morana, because I didn't care for Dante then that would leave the mystery unsolved. That feels like an unnecessary pressure to place on readers. Dangling the carrot of the mystery to force them to read about Dante's romance. That is not to say I don't care for Dante, I think he's interesting, but I don't find him as appealing as Tristan. 

I do like Morana as a character. She is a strong woman who is willing to accept a flawed man despite all his issues and love him regardless. That takes a special kind of woman. I loved that a lot of the situations that could have turned into a big argument was squashed immediately because she was willing to communicate clearly with Tristian. For example, someone told Morana they wanted to meet but for her to come alone. First, she didn't hide this from Tristan. She told him immediately. Then, when he stated she would not be going alone and that was final she just nodded and said, 'well duh, I thought we could get their early and case the joint'. She diffused the situation from the start and it is something I don't normally see in books or the heroines. The heroines think they can do everything themselves and there is no reason to involve their men in life threatening situations. Morana is no idiot. She is one of my favorite female characters.

I will probably go forward with the series because I am really curious about the mystery and what is going to happen with all the missing girls but I will be sad to not see Morana taking center stage. 

 

Book Blitz with Excerpt + Teasers + Giveaway: False Haven by Rebecca Rook @XpressoTours

False Haven by Rebecca Rook

Publication date: February 13th, 2024

Synopsis:

False Haven is a young adult horror novel for fans of Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Asylum by Madeleine Roux, and Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff.

Seventeen-year-old Vivienne Barston's life has fallen apart.

With her mother recently dead, her father disappears into his grief -- leaving Viv to deal with her sadness and anger alone. Viv turns to destructive behaviors like petty vandalism, but after a disturbing stint in a juvenile detention center frightens her, Viv agrees to a court mandated service opportunity designed to expunge her record. The deal: work for six weeks with a trail conservation crew in the rural woods of southern Oregon, and she'll be free with a clean slate.

She knows it's her last chance to fix her life.

When Viv arrives at the small town of Hard Luck, Oregon, she meets her motley crewmates, all with troubles of their own. The unusual group travels to Grafton Stake, a remote and derelict former asylum with a haunted history -- and now Viv must face the ghosts of the past while fighting for her future.

Don't miss this inventive horror novel where Holes meets The Haunting of Hill House!

Available at:

Excerpt

"Morgan! She's here, oh my god, she's here." Cat tried to push past Viv.

Viv flung up an arm to bar Cat's movement. "Stop," Viv hissed through gritted teeth. "Look."

Cat stopped. She saw. And fell back, almost behind Viv.

"Oh my god," Viv heard the other girl whimper from behind her.

But she couldn't take her eyes off the scene before her.

Morgan stood several feet away, near the center of the graveyard. Dressed in a white gown that gleamed like bone in the twilight, Viv saw that the garment was old-fashioned, with flounces at the hem and on the chest. the hem trailed in the wet grass at Morgan's feet. Long sleeves covered her arms, and Morgan's long hair draped down her gown and around her body like ropes, the ends of her hair coated in a sticky fluid. Viv's eyes trailed over the gown. Red stains, etched in symbols that resembled keys, were traced across the fabric. Morgan's hands were coated in red, and Viv realized, in a distant corner of her mind, that the red was blood.

More blood dripped from her scalp, a gory crown that haloed her white face and wide eyes. Her lips were stained red, and more fluid dribbled from her mouth as Morgan's face stretched into the familar too wide, grotesque grin. Feathers, blue and black and red, rested on the ground at Morgan's feet, also stained with blood.

Morgan turned from the sky and focused on Viv. The grin grew wider.

"Hello." The high, thin, childish voice was back.

"Have you come to join us?"

REBECCA ROOK designs tabletop games, manages a little free library dedicated to sequential art and comics, and lives in the Pacific Northwest with two wonderful dogs. She writes young adult fiction in the fantasy, thriller, and horror genres.

A 2021-2022 Huge House Fellow in Seattle, WA, she also attended the 2021 Tin House YA Fiction Workshop in Portland, OR. Rebecca was selected as one of the 100 invited writers to participate in the Write Team Mentorship Program's curated Pitch-a-Thon event before chosen as a Mentee for the 2021 Program. Prior to this, she completed the wonderful Yearlong Workshop for Young Adult and Middle Grade Fiction at Hugo House.

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Review: Sweet Taste of Betrayal by Harleigh Beck

Sweet Taste of Betrayal by Harleigh Beck

Publication date: May 7th, 2022

Pages: 90

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

It's my eighteenth birthday, and my mom let me invite my closest friends to stay in a rented log cabin.

One night, no parents.

It's said three masked men step out from the trees once every year to claim the blood of young souls.

It's just a myth.

Or is it?

*Not intended for readers under the age of 18.

This novella contains murder, graphic sexual scenes, and dub/non-con.

Please see the author's note for complete CW.

Available at:

Review:

Every girl wants a little independence on her eighteenth birthday where she can let her hair down and not have her parents hovering over her every move. Layla didn't honestly think that her parents would allow her to venture out into a log cabin at night without their supervision but she managed to convince them somehow. Before she knows it she is unpacking the car with her friends, Maddy and Jess while Maddy's boyfriend, Brian, Layla's ex, Adam, and Jess's crush and Layla's hookup, Zach, help. But the cabin they are staying in comes with a scary story all its own. It is said that on that night every year three men come out of the woods and kill any who inhabit the cabin that night. It is laughed off until three men do appear and set the friends' trip on its head as they fight for their lives. But is it real or someone's twisted joke?

For some reason this book gave me anxiety to read at night. That normally doesn't happen to me. I usually can stomach some pretty gnarly stuff even in a pitch black room with only my Kindle to light my way. But for some reason I needed to approach it in the daylight hours. When I did it was a quick but twisted read that would make even Stephen King sit up and go, 'whoa, way to mindfuck your audience, Beck.' There are aspects of it where I was like, 'wait, I don't recall reading anywhere that the book was a paranormal book, what is all this?' It was more the realistic-type vibes of a scary story being potentially rooted in facts that made me decide to wait to read the short story.

I did not expect to like the book as much as I did. Oh it is twisted and it is grotesque. There are moments where I curled my lip and others where I was rooting for one person one minute and their opponent the other. I didn't know who was good and who was bad at any given time and that fact kept me on my toes. The sexual aspects of the book are what you would expect. They are meant to shock and they are meant to turn people's stomachs a bit. At least there was no necrophilia. That would have been the old hard pass for me into DNF territory. I will tell you, you won't see the ending coming. Just when you shrug and give yourself over to the unusual plotline it gets flipped on its head. It's the damned Tom Gordon bear reveal again! Iykyk.

I feel this was a good little read if you like things that twisted but with a little bit of macabre sex appeal as well. I would be interested in reading more by Beck.