The Ex Hex - Erin Sterling
Her Soul for Revenge - Harley Laroux
This is the second book in the Souls Trilogy and follows Juniper and Zane. Juniper has been on the run for years ever since a cult tried to sacrifice her to their God. Now, after the death of her brother, Juniper is back in town with a single goal in mind - destroy the cult. Luckily, demon Zane has been following her and agrees to help her with her mission if she sells her soul to him. The two have an instant connection that spans beyond their shared kinks in the bedroom. This book takes place during the same time as the first in the series, but can be read as a stand alone. I really enjoyed the first book in this series and the sequel was even better. Juniper is hardened from years of running from all sorts of supernatural beasts. She's no stranger to this world or the horrors within - basically, she's the opposite of the female main character from the first book. Zane is a pretty twisted demon who pushes Juniper right to her limits and enjoys every minute of it. These two really felt like soulmates where they just understood each other pretty well from the get-go. I loved the progression of their relationship from a primal sort of physical attraction to actual real feelings. I do think a little bit of the suspense part of the book was less effective since this book takes place parallel to the first book so we more or less know where Zane and Juniper end up but we do see the details of how everything plays out in this book which we didn't get in the first. I also really liked how Juniper's revenge and love for Zane didn't 'cure' her trauma and she does end up going to therapy by the end to start and work through those parts. This book also has a few scenes that show how kink elements can be healing and I really appreciated Laroux showing us that side to their relationship.
TW/CW: the full list is included in the front of the book and includes (but not limited to) kink/fetish content, horror elements, drug use, scenes of trauma, anxiety, and PTSD, and depictions of "hard" kink/edgeplay.
Damaged Goods - Talia Hibbert
This second chance romance novella is book #1.5 in the Ravenswood series and follows Laura and Samir. They had a summer romance when they were 15 and then went their separate ways. Now, Laura is back at her family's beach house in the town where Samir owns a cafe. The two run into each other and it is like no time has passed - except Laura is pregnant and soon to be divorced. She's focused on running away from her old life and running into Samir is an unexpected surprise. The chemistry between our two characters was fantastic. It really felt like they were picking up pretty much where they left off. I thought the way Hibbert worked in details about their past together was really well done. This was my first Talia Hibbert read (I know! I have a bunch on my TBR that I just haven't gotten to yet) and I really loved her writing style. I was really quickly invested in these characters and emotionally connected to the story despite this being pretty much the exact opposite of trope candy for me. I loved how immediately caring Samir was toward Laura but also how attracted he was to her. While this was a novella, the story does take place over 6ish (?) months and the first few months were just them reconnecting and rebuilding their friendship. This was low angst between the main couple and pretty much all the conflict came from outside the relationship which I liked, especially in a novella length read. I liked this book as bout as well as I could like a novella-length second chance romance with pregnancy as a main component. That being said, the fact that Hibbert could make me be so invested in this story makes me really excited to read the other Talia Hibbert books on my TBR.
TW/CW: domestic abuse
Open Hearts - Eve Dangerfield
This is the second book in the Bennett Sisters series and follows Ashley and Dean. Ashley is ready to be a mom and after a long string of shitty boyfriends, she's done waiting. She has a plan, a good job, and she isn't letting distractions get in the way of the one thing she's wanted her whole life. Dean is the equivalent of a golden retriever in a 6'4" tall, broad, muscled body. After a spicy encounter with Ashley in a bathroom, Dean wants to see her again but Ashley thinks Dean isn't dad material so she insists they don't have a future. Dean knows Ashley is right - his permanently empty bank account and lack of domestic skills aren't a secret - but he's determined to prove to her he's the type of family man she's been looking for. I loved this book so much! Dean is so adorably ditzy but incredibly nice and helpful and smoking hot (himbo would be an appropriate name but I know that term is hit and miss for people). His best friend describes Dean as having forgotten his birthday for 20 years straight but when the friend went through a bad breakup, Dean stayed with him for a week and told him everything was going to work out. I loved how Ashley was so sure what she wanted in life and she was done compromising. The two of them might look a little strange on paper but they work together so well I was completely in love with their story. I really loved how neither Dean nor Ashley needed to change their personality for the other. Sure, Dean started being more responsible with his money but at the end of the day, he's still the lovable dork that we meet in the beginning. There's also some light BDSM elements that I was pleasantly surprised by. I haven't read book 1 in the series, but we do see a good amount of that couple since the FMC in that book is Ashley's sister and the MMC in that book is Dean's best friend. Dangerfield does call this a sequel to Locked Box (book 1) and while Ashley and Dean's romance is standalone in this book, Max and Julia (from the first book) do have a small arc of their own.
TW/CW: descriptions of past abuse/neglect by parents, childbirth trauma, light BDSM elements
No comments:
Post a Comment