Review: The Virgin Hunt Games, Volume 2 by Mel Teshco

 

The Virgin Hunt Games, Volume 2 by Mel Teshco

Series: The Virgin Hunt Games #2

Publication date: February 15th, 2021

Pages: 187

Synopsis:

EARTH, YEAR 2328

One innocent virgin. One jaded lothario. One life and death Games, a dazzling fortune to the winner. But first one must survive...

Tamsin Mercedes has led a charmed life. Her loving parents, scientists who research groundbreaking drugs, have given her everything she desires... until evil investors blackmail them to develop new, highly-addictive drugs. Tamsin won't have it. Sacrificing her innocence as a Hunted in the Virgin Hunt Games is a small price to pay them off. But first she must win...

Sex-trafficked in his youth by his drug-addicted mother, Landry Marx now knows well how to please a woman physically. But he has yet to find a woman he connects with on an emotional level... until he meets his assigned Hunted in the infamous Virgin Hunt Games. Tamsin is incredible, their chemistry explosive, and the more he gets to know her the more his guard comes down.

But what happens when Landry discovers Tamsin's parents made the drug that killed his mother...

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Review:

I read the first book in this series ages ago and as they don't truly have to be read congruently I saw no reason to reread the first. I remember being unimpressed with the first book but ever the type to not write a series or author off before giving it a fair shake, I decided to read the second book. I really hoped I would find a more plotted and concise story with a spattering of spicy heat that would be synonymous with an Erotica novella. 

Tamsin is a strong human woman who has decided to barter with her innocence in hopes of digging her family out of their financial ruin. All she has to do is hold onto her virginity for the next 7 days and she will win the Game and also go home with the credits she needs to save her family. But when she locks eyes on the mate that was selected for her she starts to realize that this may be a little harder than she had originally thought. The goal may quickly shift to one where she needs to earn as many credits as possible while still remaining alive.

Landry knows how to please women. He has spent his life knowing how to be good at his job as a sex worker. However his chains may have been platinum but that didn't make him any less a captive slave. Now he must find his mate, bed her, and assure he wins so he may start over with his shackles thoroughly broken. But there is more he could lose than just the Games when he starts to let his heart guide his actions. 

I tried desperately to get into this series. They were novellas with a novel's plot. The length of the read would have been better if it were longer to encompass more details than just kinky sex and dangerously horny competitors. Some of the scenes were hot and all but I am not a fan of cheating in stories unless its a reverse harem situation where all parties are not only okay with it but encourage it. The story feels forced and not well balanced. The main characters were likeable enough but the main theme that should have drove a wedge between them was just forgotten and moved past with no resolution or even reference to it. 

If you are looking for a book that is more literary porn than plot, this is probably series for you. If you like a bit more substance, you may have to delve deeper into the Kindle Unlimited archives. 

Review: Kings of Anarchy by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti @CarolinePeckham @susannevalenti

Kings of Anarchy by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

Series: Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3

Publication date: September 21st, 2020

Pages: 649

Synopsis:

My father always taught me to take care of myself.

But my Brutal Boys made me unbreakable.

Have you ever heard the saying that it takes one to know one?

Because from the very first moment I met the men I've claimed as my tribe, I knew that I was looking into the faces of monsters. And that really should have been all it took for me to know that I was one too.

Hiding beneath my skin isn't an innocent girl, waiting for someone to ride in on a white horse and rescue me from my demons. So I think it's time I showed the world my claws.

I'm sick of people thinking they own me. My Night Keepers and now the members of this twisted club all need to learn a lesson in that.

I'm not a doll made to dance to their tune, I'm not a puppet intended to play a part and I'm certainly no plaything to be used and destroyed. I'm a warrior with a goal of my own. And everyone who wants to stand in my way had better get used to the idea of falling to ruin at my feet.

When everything you thought you could rely on is ripped away from you, you have no choice but to find out what you're truly made of. And deep down in the depths of my soul, I knew that I was made to survive.

I have suffered through torment, fought against my oppressors and tamed the creatures who tried to buy me in the dark.

It's time that everyone stopped underestimating me.

I'm done being a queen without a crown.

I'm ready for my coronation.

This is a high school bully romance series. Start with book 1: Kings of Quarantine.

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Review:

Who else was holding their breath after the last book ended? It made me question everything I ever learned about the Night Keepers and their feelings towards Tatum. Again I wasn't able to review the previous book before I was forced to snag the next book and find out how it all turned out in the end. Was Tatum really going to be abducted and sold? Was Saint going to die? Was Kyan going to be consumed by his bloodthirsty rage? Was Monroe going to lose the first real connection he had since he lost his family? Was Blake going to not just lose the woman who has stolen a part of his heart but also potentially a member of his brotherhood?

The plot has inevitably thickened. It is no longer a simply life of isolation in a fancy boarding school. Now there are stalkers, kidnappers, threats of violence, and anarchy. The students are starting to lose faith in their kings as they struggle to put the pieces together and find out who has set their sights on Tatum. Add to that the resolute guilt for each of the boys at varying degrees after learning that their anger directed at Tatum may have been undeserved. Could she actually be as innocent as she always claimed to be? 

But now there seems to be several people hungry to own Tatum. She is wanted as payment for the clean-up of the battle they waged with her would-be kidnappers. She is desired by a stalker who seems to in a mentality of 'if I can't have her, nobody will'. She is needed to tie up loose ends over the exposure of the virus. Can her boys keep her safe while also swallowing the guilt they all feel and letting themselves feel every emotion they have stifled for their girl?

I have grown to absolutely love Kyan as a character. This book showed him as a slightly more prominent part of the male protagonists/antagonists (the last book was a bit more focused on Monroe with a sprinkling of Saint). He is dangerous in the most delectable way. He will be a complete asshole but couple it with a sardonic smirk that melts your heart and weakens your knees.

As the first two books had so much to process but it was all smoothed out within the pages of the third installment. The feelings were starting to grow to a fast precipice with each of the boys and Tatum. The secrets are starting to come out and the foundation of their group is becoming more solidified. Tatum has given up on her desire for revenge and her boys are decided that protecting her is much more important than any misguided rage they may still hold.

Kings of Anarchy is the sweetness that has been very sparse in the previous books. It has a few more hearts and rainbows without losing the dominant sneer of passion and desire. 

Review: Queen of Quarantine by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti @CarolinePeckham @susannevalenti

Queen of Quarantine by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

Series: Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4

Publication date: February 14th, 2021

Pages: 692

Synopsis:

Once upon a time I met four monsters and thought the world would come to an end at their hands.

But I was a fool.

Because I didn't understand the bigger picture.

That the enemies I thought I knew would become the reason for my entire existence. My strength. My pain. My life. My love.

The big bad wolf has teeth and claws as sharp as iron, and the danger before my eyes is blinding. So blinding that I didn't see the true danger lurking in the dark.

But now my eyes are wide open and I see it all.

Alone and afraid and running out of time, I'm not afraid of monsters anymore.

I'm counting on them to come for me.

Because if they don't, this foolish girl might be lost forever in the dark.

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Review:

The end of an era is finally upon me. The end of a series I have grown very fond of. Saint is still tedious but finally becoming endearing, Kyan is roguish but also romantic, Blake is the golden boy who had lost his way for a while there, and Nash has given into his baser instincts and allowed himself to fall for Tatum despite the taboo nature of their previous relationship. But the drama is still dogging their heels as the end of the last book showed Tatum being kidnapped to be bled of her antibodies until her body gave out. Time for a rescue mission right?

After weeks of being subjected to higher and higher levels of the virus and countless blood draws, Tatum still hasn't lost her fight. Her desperation and Saint's determination come together to host an advantageous and thrilling rescue that brings Tatum back into the loving arms of her men with a side prize of a case of vaccines created from Tatum's blood. 

Meanwhile, the government has tightened their leash and Tatum knows that her blood is valuable but instead of being the guinea pig for the rich to get richer. She wants to have it created in order to vaccinate the masses. And Saint is just the man to make that happen for her. But with the government bent on their small family's destruction and them being on the run, this poses a vital problem with who to trust. As the 5 bounce from safe house to safe house eventually the danger is on their very doorstep. As every person in the state is tested and then placed in corresponding camps depending on their Hades Virus test, the boys find themselves separated from their girl and in desperate need of rescuing themselves. 

Between the Hades camps, Tatum's capture, and Saint's father seeming to be at the helm of all of it, the 5 of them are not the only ones in need of rescuing at various degrees. The world is in need of saving and it seems Tatum's family is the only ones who can make it happen. But can Saint actually put an end to his own father's tyranny or will the world remain in a constant flux of danger and death?

I feel that this was the perfect end to the series. However the end with the constant jumping ahead a year here and 5 years there was a little rushed. It seemed like the happily ever after was a forced ending as opposed to it ending naturally once the drama was put to rest. Albeit I know in one of those jumps a few loose ends were tied up, but that should have probably been the only bounce forward in time in my opinion. Without those additions the story would have a solid 5 star rating for me. But it felt like I was fast forwarding through time and just getting the cliffs notes of the span of over 10 years time. 

Queen of Quarantine is the finale of a dystopian world that was dangerously close to what could have happened with the real life pandemic with the added spice of a reverse harem of handsome men and a sassy girl. 

Review: Kings of Lockdown by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti @CarolinePeckham @susannevalenti

Kings of Lockdown by Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

Series: Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #2

Publication date: June 26th, 2020

Pages: 694

Synopsis:

The sex tape

The fish stew

The Unspeakables

The storm

The font

The bathtub

The ice

The gun

The clothes

The humiliation

The shower

The letters

THE VOW

I had my chance to run from these brutal boys and I didn't take it. The bonds between us are too strong now. Bonds of blood, oaths, betrayal and vengeance. And I tend to make good on all of them. I've made my list. And I won't stop until each and every one of their crimes has been paid for.

Divide and conquer. We're going to tear them apart from the inside out. I won't quit until I've had my pound of flesh and then some. These broken boys paint themselves up as kings and stand themselves on a pedestal above everybody else. But that only means they've got further to fall. And they're going to fall hard.

I know their strength now, but I've learned their weaknesses too. And I might just be becoming their greatest one. My father taught me how to survive, and it's time to use everything I know about predators to lure them into my own trap.

Lies, betrayal, seduction. I'll use every weapon at my disposal to bring them to their knees and once I'm done with them, they won't own me.

I'll own them.

This is book 2 in a dark romance series with love-hate themes, scenes of intense bullying, sexual scenes and may have triggers for some readers. It is a reverse harem which means the main character will end up with multiple partners.

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Review:

The cliffhangers Peckham and Valenti subject their readers to is absolutely cruel. The first book left off on such a critical situation that I didn't even have time to go and review the first book before hopping straight into the second (thank you Jesus for Kindle Unlimited). I wish I could say that I regretted that decision but, nope. Throw me back into Tatum and her Night Keepers' world pronto!

As the battle between the looters and the students of Everlake Prep starts to subside that attention is turned to the fact that Tatum was exposed to an individual with the Hades Virus. The Night Keepers are forced to realize their affections for their Night Bound girl when they are tentatively waiting to find out if their fight to protect her was all of nothing. Tatum narrowly avoids being infected and has decided to make the Night Keepers pay for all the torment they have put her through. She has a list and she will slowly cross off each of their offenses before she leaves to meet with her father and get to the bottom of his involvement with the release of the Hades Virus. But some of the lengths Tatum will go to to exact revenge may end up breaking the boys she is starting to find less than repulsive. 

Saint, the most heartless of the Night Keepers, is shown in a different light as we slowly learn about his dark past and the reasons he needs his rules and routines to function. Tatum strikes at him in a way that utterly shatters him which causes Tatum to suddenly realize that revenge may not be worth causing the scars that suddenly become apparent on each of her boys. They have all suffered and while she unable to trust them completely after the wounds they have left in her heart, she does start to wonder if this war they have waged on each other is worth the pain they are causing each other. 

When it comes time to escape the clutches of her Keepers and seek out her father, Monroe volunteers to help her along her journey. But this journey may be the last she seems of him and that causes their affection for each other to reach new heights. But the story will never end with passionate kisses and warm fuzzies as her father confides the truth to Tatum and they are confronted with an army of gun-wielding adversaries trying to keep their secrets contained by 'cleaning house'. Can the rest of her Night Keepers find her and save her from the clutches of true evil or is she destined to lose everything, even her own life?

I and finding Tatum in this book to be absolutely wonderful. She is so strong and so determined to stand up to those who have wronged her that she will stop at nothing to make them feel the pain they have unleashed on her. Albeit, she takes it a bit far at times but I do like that she didn't just curl up in a ball and wait for them to realize she is something special. She demanded it. She stood on her own feet and pushed back at every turn. She wasn't afraid of the consequences. She lost everything but rallied anyway. She is what every woman should strive to be.

The book did scatter a bit with how much was going on which made it hard for me to keep track of everything going on at varying degrees. Very 'okay is she on good terms with this person or is there some issue happening'. I also was confused with the addition of so many antagonists all at once. I should have kinda seen it coming after reading the Harlequin Crew series so far but a stalker, kidnappers, and tormenters? That's a lot to process. But it was only a small discomfort in all.

I have never seen a slow burn enemies-to-lovers series that stretches across books. The first book was all hate-filled animosity and torment; Kings of Lockdown was a dash of the first with a deeper lick of heat that made my heart race and stutter with the need to keep reading.