Review: Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

Series: A Vine Mess #1

Publication date: February 7th, 2023

Pages: 380

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

A steamy new rom-com about a starchy professor and the bubbly neighbor he clashes with at every turn...

Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family's winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she'll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn't the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls' night later, Hallie can't shake the sense that she did something reckless--and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.

On sabbatical from his ivy league job, Julian plans to write a novel. But having Hallie gardening right outside his window is the ultimate distraction. She's eccentric, chronically late, often literally covered in dirt--and so unbelievably beautiful, he can't focus on anything else. Until he finds an anonymous letter sent by a woman from his past. Even as Julian wonders about this admirer, he's sucked further into Hallie's orbit. Like the flowers she plants all over town, Hallie is a burst of color in Julian's gray-scale life. For a man who irons his socks and runs on tight schedules, her sunny chaotic energy makes zero sense. But there's something so familiar about her... and her very presence is turning his world upside down.

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Review:

Hallie is the token wild child of her small town. She sticks to no schedule and does what she believes is right even if the methods at which she accomplishes these goals are riddled with chaotic energy. She is the type that will commit small acts of vandalism and theft in order to show support for a locally forgotten wine store her grandmother used to frequent before she passed. She is also the type of gardener who would show up an hour and a half past the time she was supposed to be there to revamp the Vos's estate. The last time she had set foot on their property had been when she was fourteen and almost had some serious lip-lock with Julian Vos. But at fourteen the opportunity had come and gone. Julian went off to college to become a ivy league professor and Hallie had remained with her grandmother taking over her business. Her crush on Julian had lasted for fifteen years and she wondered if he was the same as he was when she had first known him. Julian was anything but. In his place was a grumpy professor turned aspiring author who stuck to a strict schedule and resented Hallie her carefree nature. They were so completely opposite that there was no way they would ever work. But for some reason they both feel the pull towards one another that is inescapable. Which leads Hallie to drunkenly write Julian an anonymous love letter confessing her feelings about him which makes the professor consider maybe people can change if given the right motivation.

I have always been a dark romance girlie for years. I only recently started venturing into the world of romantic comedies when I started reading Lucy Score books. This was my first Tessa Bailey book and it did not disappoint. I now understand why people find her writing to be so addictive. I was hooked from the first chapter on and couldn't put it down for two days straight. The characters she created were infectious and personable. The town she wrote about made me wish my own small town was a little more connected and loyal like theirs was. It gave some really good insight into anxiety disorders and the affects they have on people. It expressed the importance of family and the ability to communicate effectively with one another. One of the facets I enjoyed the most was watching the characters change for the better but they didn't change for each other, they changed for themselves. They realized their shortcomings and flaws and worked to correct them. It was great to watch them each have their own moments of personal growth.

I laughed, cried, swooned, and raged from one page flip to the next. Bailey took me on a rollercoaster of small-town living with two wounded but not broken people who were so different but fit so perfect together. If you have not read any of Tessa Bailey's books yet, I would highly recommend you start. She is a master of her craft and I can't wait to devour the rest of the books she's published.

Review: Unknown by Lacey Carter Andersen

Unknown by Lacey Carter Andersen

Series: House of Berserkers #2

Publication date: January 2nd, 2021

Pages: 192

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

The House of Berserkers may destroy us all...

I have a beast inside of me. A monster that awakens at the best and the worst times. The beast allows me to avenge my best friend's death, but it's also led to my downfall.

And a betrayal so deep it cuts like a knife.

Taken prisoner by the psychotic Lord of the House of the Berserkers, I must find a way to stay alive and to keep the men I love safe. Everything has changed between the mutant, the berserker, the dragon shifter, and I.

But what hasn't changed? We're in another wicked place and our connection will either save us or destroy us. Only time will tell.

UNKNOWN is a paranormal reverse harem romance. This is a very steamy romance where the woman is the focus, and she doesn't have to choose between her men.

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Review:

Keira is in hell. She has been captured and held against her will by a man who fancies himself the King of the Berserkers. He has determined what with her being the holder of the prophecy that she will marry him whether she likes it or not so that he can be seen by their people as the one true king. Keira is determined to not find her way down the aisle with the sadistic man but when he holds the three men she loves as leverage she may not be granted a choice. But one of those men may not be worth sacrificing for since he was one of the main reasons they were captured in the first place. Emory's betrayal cuts deep and Keira can barely stomach being in the same room as him despite having never stopped loving him. With a war with demons and an impending wedding on the horizon can Keira and her men find a way to get free of their shackles or will they all succumb to the will of a psycho man with a god complex?

This next installment in the series was possibly the most frustrating book I have read in a while. I don't mean in the execution or the story but in what happens to the characters. It seems like they just can't catch a break. They are beaten and tore down every step of the way. They each find time with Keira but it is always a quick scene because they aren't able to linger due to all the impending doom. I was pretty confused that Maxam had such a following when the way Keira always told it he didn't have anyone willing to back him save vampires and shifters. So the fact that he had so many nefarious plots lined up to toy with the main characters was surprising.

There wasn't a whole lot of Drake and Adam in this book. They were there but it seemed very much focused on Keira's experience and, with Emory watching over her, Emory's. I knew I was meant to hate Emory for betraying them but even if I were seeing the situation through Keira's eyes alone I could see that Emory was all in with her up until they were faced with capture and then he saved his own skin like a coward. But he had also been tortured by Maxam for almost his entire life, that is bound to leave some scars. I felt only frustration and sorrow for Emory.

I think this book was extremely short and if I had known the books were so short I probably would have read a different series by Lacey than this one. I like bigger books that flesh out the plot and the characters a bit more so I can feel fully immersed in the world. That isn't to say this isn't a good series so far. But it is still very much middle of the road for me.

 

Review: Untamed by Lacey Carter Andersen

Untamed by Lacey Carter Andersen

Series: House of Berserkers #1

Publication date: April 30th, 2020

Pages: 220

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

Three handsome men want my heart, but a dark king has claimed me for his own...

Prophecies are dangerous things, but the prophecy that my chosen mate will gain incredible power is just plain insane. What's more, it inspires a ruthless man to stop at nothing to try to take me for his own.

Luckily for me, three men stand at my side. One man is a berserker with dark secrets and an even darker past. Another is a cocky, possessive dragon shifter who might just be the last of his kind. And the final man is a sweet mutant, who has just as many scars on his heart as he does on his body.

With them, I could have a kind of love I only ever imagined. But only if we survive.

UNTAMED is a steamy reverse harem romance with vampires, shifters, unique supernaturals, and a mystery. There is no cheating, and there is a happily-ever-after at the end of the series.

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Review:

Keira had thought that a night out on the town with her berserker friends would be the highlight to her graduation, but instead it ended in one of her friends dying and Keira unlocking her berserker abilities. After killing a bunch of vampires to avenge her friend she was sentenced to the Wicked Reform School to try to mend her murderous ways and become a vital part of the supernatural society again. But this school is not like any other. Underage supernaturals go there to die for the entertainment of the sadistic teachers. They are put through classes that all have the potential to kill any number of them in the process. Keira though catches the eye of a few men who will stop at nothing to keep her safe. A dragon shifter who is too cocky and sure of himself. A mutant that avoids the malice of the world and remains in solitude. And a berserker from Keira's past she never thought she'd see again. Can these three men help Keira get out alive or will they all die agonizing deaths one by one?

The story overall has a lot of good facets to it. The mystery is an intriguing one. Why did Keira's friend die? Why is Keira the only female berserker to present with abilities? What does the prophecy say in its entirety because it feels like some things are missing. The execution of the plot seems a bit... quick and forced. I have never been much for characters that hop into bed with each other just because of an overwhelming attraction they can't find. The whole love at first sight just isn't believable enough for me. So the connections between Keira and her men aside from one seemed to just kind of happen out of nowhere. So it caused the story, for me, to suffer a bit.

Her men definitely cover the full scope of lovers. She has the sweet and innocent one in Adam. The cocky lady's man in Drake. And the brooding quiet one who tries to resist her in Emory. I definitely find Adam to be one of my favorites. He seems to be learning how to socialize effectively all on the fly. He reminds me of someone with autism that can't really figure out social cues well. But he tried so hard and was so happy to have friends that my heart melted for him. I do hope in the next few books they get more into his history because I am really curious about this whole "mutant" thing.

The book was shorter than I would have liked and did feel a little rushed but it was not a bad story. It didn't have bad characters either. It was worth the read if you plan to read the whole series but not if you think you're just going to read the first and then quit there. 

 

Review: By a Thread by Lucy Score

By a Thread by Lucy Score

Publication date: April 23rd, 2020

Pages: 584

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

Dominic was staring at me like he couldn't decide whether to chop me into pieces or pull my hair and French kiss me.

Dominic

I got her fired. Okay, so I'd had a bad day and took it out on a bystander in a pizza shop. But there's nothing innocent about Ally Morales. She proves that her first day of her new job... in my office... after being hired by my mother.

So maybe her colorful, annoying, inexplicably alluring personality brightens up the magazine's offices that have felt like a prison for the past year. Maybe I like that she argues with me in front of the editorial staff. And maybe my after-hours fantasies are haunted by those brown eyes and that sharp tongue.

But that doesn't mean that I'm going to be the next Russo man to take advantage of his position. I might be a second-generation asshole, but I am not my father.

She's working herself to death at half a dozen dead-end jobs for some secret reason she doesn't feel like sharing with me. And I'm going to fix it all. Don't accuse me of caring. She's nothing more than a puzzle to be solved. If I can get her to quit, I can finally peel away all those layers. Then I can go back to salvaging the family name and forget all about the dancing, beer-slinging brunette.

Ally

Ha. Hold my bear, Grumpy Grump Face.

Author's Note: A steamy, swoony workplace romantic comedy with a grumpy boss hero determined to save the day and a plucky heroine who is starting to wonder if there might actually be a beating heart just beneath her boss's sexy vests.

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Review:

Ally has a lot on her plate. The last thing she needs is some asshole with a god complex coming into her work and acting like he is above the rules. When she gives him a dressing down and spells out how she really feels about him on a pizza she is unsurprisingly dismissed from her job. But while she is cursing her luck and the asshole in question his mother is stopping her on the street and offering her an out: come to work at their company. Ally has no choice. She has family obligations that require money sooner rather than later. So she starts in the admin pool at Label fashion magazine. But she never expected that her boss would be the same man she had insulted in pizza toppings. The two seem to have a mutual hatred for each other but there is an underlying of heat that they can't deny. But their workplace is already reeling from scandal and can't afford another. So Ally must stay away from her grumpy boss or risk being out of a job again while Dominic fights his attraction to not turn out like his father. Will they be able to resist each other or will their futures crumble down around them?

Ally was a firecracker that I loved to see go toe-to-toe with Dominic. They wanted so badly to not like each other but they had a thing for one another from the moment they laid eyes on each other. The best part of any romance is the attempts to resist the attraction. Their heat melted the pages of my book to the point where i had to take a few moments away to recover myself. Ally is such a well done character. She has so much heart and loyalty. She is the sunshine to Dominic's expertly portrayed grumpy. By the time the two finally came together I felt like I had just run a marathon. But their romance was stellar. 

With the book having such great supporting cast I had to try to determine which was my favorite. And it always came back to Linus. I loved the sassy black gay man vibe he had. He loved Ally but is of the type to not want to show when he appreciates someone until the chips are down and he absolutely has to. I think that is what I like best about him. You know he's going to be in your corner and when he sharpens his claws, watch out. 

I have grown to have a decent appreciation for Lucy Score books. They are often massive but there is never any moments in them where i roll my eyes in a 'come on get to the good part' motion. The stories are always light and fun while having a healthy bit of comedy within to keep you giggling into the pages as you kick your feet in delight. Score another win for Ms. Score.

Review: The Emperor by RuNyx

The Emperor by RuNyx

Series: Dark Verse #3

Publication date: January 6th, 2021

Pages: 443

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Synopsis:

What happens when a legacy of ruin mates with a realm of blood?

Heir to the notorious Tenebrae Outfit, Dante Maroni has been trained since birth. A silent rebel in the shadows, he has learned to hide his ruthlessness under his charm, his brutality under his suits, and his love for one woman under his silence. Infiltrating the Syndicate responsible for the missing children, Dante discovers information that shatters his reality and forces him to trigger a lethal game.

Daughter of the Maroni housekeeper, Amara has loved Dante for longer than she's known it. Abducted and tortured at the young age of fifteen, she loses herself, her life, and her home as she knows it. Years after, unknowingly protected, she's found some semblance of normalcy when her world collapses again, forcing her to join the game.

Mysteries are unraveled. Secrets are discovered. And their young love is transformed, replaced by a deep intimacy, power, and survival.

The reluctant king and inevitable queen play.

An empire of death is born.

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Review:

Amara and Dante have watched each other from afar for years. Amara knew she was in love with Dante from a very young age but Dante had some catching up to do. It was only when Amara saw something she shouldn't have and started to distance herself from Dante that he realized just how much he had come to enjoy Amara's attention. Then she was taken from him. She was held captive and tortured for three days but remained loyal to him despite her captors continuous interrogation. She was rescued but her mind and body were broken. Dante was determined to see her healed and whole once more and somewhere along the way he started to love her too. But there were forces against the union that were out of both of their control. Amara was sent away to complete her schooling with the express decree that she was not to be around Dante again. And so started a hidden love affair that spanned almost a decade. As the two navigated the world together but also apart they had to pretend they had zero connection in the public eye for both of their own safety. But as the mysteries surrounding some missing children and the all powerful Syndicate start to come to a head players on the chessboard start moving and the queen starts to show how far she would go to protect her king. 

I didn't know if I wanted to continue with the series after Tristan and his girl's story wrapped. I knew that the next installment would be about Amara and Dante and I didn't know if I really cared to watch them finally get together after watching them actively avoid each other like the plague on a normal basis. I am so glad I kept reading because the secrecy and depth to their relationship was not something I expected to see. I absolutely loved it. Those two were couple goals through and through. The way Dante worshipped Amara calling her the "beat of his heart" was so beautiful. He would be frustrated with her sometimes but for the most part he was always there to lift her up whenever she felt like she was about to fall. He built her up again after her traumatic experience over the span of years and never, not once, ever doubted her or let her doubt him. It was such a gorgeously healthy relationship even if it was hidden from the public eye mostly.

The Syndicate underlying story has so many twists and turns that I have no idea what is going to happen next with it. I thought it had mostly been resolved after the second book so the rest were just going to be mostly the stories of supporting characters finding romance but there is more to the story in every book. Runyx gives us just a little tidbit of the overall mystery before ending the book and leaving their reader in a state of, "well, now I need to know what is going on! Who is that? What role are they in the Syndicate? Are they bad or good? What happened to all the children?!" It is the best way to connect the stories of the series without the mystery becoming stale. 

The only fault I find with the book is that instead of it continuing on where Tristan's second book left off it went all the way back to the beginning and started from there. In this book it worked really well because Amara and Dante did have a long history and it did shed some light on situations in Tristan's books from the perspective of other characters, but it made the story feel kinda linear. And from the appearance of Alpha with a lady at Dante and Amara's wedding and the next book being Alpha's I suspect this will be a trend in the books. I will still read the series because it's a stellar series, but that was the only fault I could find in the entire book.

This series overall is a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a love for organized crime romance with alpha badasses and their strong queens.