The Hunt - Kelly J. Ford

 

This mystery/suspense follows Nell, a factory worker in the small town of Presley, Arkansas. A town known for their Annual Hunt for the Golden Egg - and the rumored serial killer who stalks the hunt. For the last seventeen years, someone has died during the Hunt and while the deaths have been overwhelmingly ruled as accidents, some members of the town aren't so sure.  Nell's brother is rumored to be The Hunter's first kill.  Now, another year of the Hunt is starting and Nell's focus is keeping her nephew safe and avoid the Hunt as much as she possibly can.  But it isn't going to be easy to hide out this year and when the danger comes too close for comfort, Nell will have to face her past. 

This is one of those books where, I think, if you go into it with certain expectations you will be disappointed.  I'll admit, I went into this expecting some sort of slasher-type situation where Nell pieces it all together and finds the killer.  That is not this book. This is a more quiet, character focused mystery with some good spooky moments.  All the characters are a little on edge this time of year, because even if they say they don't believe the Hunter exists, there's still a chance.  So I'd say go into this read with a more character-focused, small town tension expectations. 

I really loved the way the past deaths were integrated into the story.  We get these very brief chapters with a sort of investigative lens to the past deaths.  The deaths do not go in order, but they do give the reader a nice mix of deaths that 100% sound like accidents and ones that sound more suspicious.  This helps put the reader in the mindset of the town where no one is really quite 100% sure if the Hunter really exists.  This is also a quick way to get info to the reader so we know what most of the residents of Presley know without having some heavy-handed dialogue or big flashback scenes. Since there have been so many deaths, the individual details don't matter as much as the overall picture they paint for both the characters and the reader.

The character work in this was far and away the star of the read.  We're mostly following Nell, but we also have chapters from her friend Ada's POV.  Both of these women could absolutely be categorized as unlikable and Nell is an entire hot mess who sometimes you just want to shake her because she just makes bad decision after bad decision.  However, they are also extremely compelling and are fully fleshed out characters who, despite their questionable choices at times, are both trying to do the right thing for their situations.  Getting Nell's POV as the Hunt brings up intense feelings of guilt and grief as well and Ada's POV shows us her balancing of Nell's feelings while also being an avid hunter of the Golden Egg every year.  And as with any small town setting - we get a whole cast of side characters that help flesh out the world. 

The tension didn't quite build up for me as much as I think it needed to in order to have a really great payoff at the resolution.  While we do get moments throughout the book where a character acts a certain way or there are certain events that make the reader think that maybe the Hunter is real, those moments were so small and so spread out throughout the read that they didn't really build in my mind. So, then when we have a character who is suspected of being the Hunter's next victim, I didn't feel the amount of tension or worry that I think I should have.  

The ending was a bit of a mess in all the best ways.  We get so many plot points coming together but also get some unexpected points thrown in as well.  It was a little messy but felt very realistic that a lot of characters and plot lines would come together around the Hunt.  It would be interesting to see, upon re-read, if I could pick up on smaller point that would make the ending feel a little less haphazard or if that was Ford's intention all along.  The main story does end a bit abruptly, but we get 2 flashforward scenes to help give more of a resolution to the reader.

Overall, while this was a more character-focused and less bloody read than I was initially expecting, I ended up really enjoying it.  I think the last 25% or so wanted to be more of a thriller, but I didn't find the tension had built enough to really make me worry for these characters. The ending was a little wild and came together a bit more quickly and messily than I was expecting but overall I thought it was a good way to close the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.  

Publication date is July 25, 2023

I Know What You Did - Cayce Osborne

 

This mystery/suspense follows Petal Woznewski as she finds her name, her full name, listed in the acknowledgements in the newest hit thriller - "I know what you did, Petal Woznewski.  And now everyone else will, too".  She tries to go back to her regular, introverted life in NYC but she can't shake her curiosity.  As she reads the book, it becomes clear that the story is based upon the true death of Petal's friend in high school. Only Petal and their other friend, Jenny, know the truth of what happened that night.  There is no information available about the anonymous author, so Petal returns to her hometown to find out who wrote the book and why, after all these years, did they decide to unearth the past. 

TW/CW: death of parents, suicide, death of a friend, stalking, 

The standout element to this debut novel is by far Petal's voice and character. Some readers will definitely find her unlikable because she is pretty selfish and jaded.  I loved her character and found that her attitude and personality quirks made perfect sense given her background.  I also  think these sorts of mystery/suspense that revolve around one character's past really need a strong lead character to draw the reader into the story.  Half of the fun is figuring out what happened in the past that would lead them to act the way they do.  Due to Petal's anti-social nature, we don't get a ton of side characters.  However, the ones that we do get, I thought Osborne does a good job of building their characters out quickly and I was really able to get a sense of these characters in the short time that Petal interacts with them.

This was a fun take on the 'secrets from the past' trope, especially as Petal gets deeper into the book. She can tell immediately that the book is based on true events and everything is lining up perfectly to her memory of those days.  However, then the author veers away from how the events truly happened.  We get portions of the book which serve as flashbacks, of sorts, but then we get Petal immediately either agreeing with or correcting the flashback.  We then get flashbacks of her own memory.  It is an interesting push/pull sort of balance going on where even Petal questions her memory, at times.  There are some details revealed that she didn't know but isn't quite sure if these details are even real or more creative liberties. 

The stalker element was a bit understated but I think it was a real integral part to upping the stakes of the story.  It acts as an occasional reminder for both Petal and the reader that this isn't just all a coincidence and that there is something bigger going on. I do wish there was more escalation with the stalker elements - either with type of stalking or frequency - so that tension really ramps up.  I also think there could have been some great red herrings with the stalking element, specifically, that would have been fun. The stalker element does come into play when we get to the solution of the mystery and I always like when all the different threads in a mystery come together at the end.

The resolution to the mystery element was probably the weakest part of the book and where this really felt like a debut.  I liked where we ended up, but I found the road to that resolution to be a bit rough.  Like any good mystery, there were a number of red herrings but I never felt like these options were pursued in-depth enough for them to come off as real options for resolutions.  Now, most mystery readers know that the resolution, most times, won't be the first option presented but I find part of the fun is having the case for that option be made so well that it makes you double guess your senses.  I also found Petal's personal drive to solve the mystery to sort of wane at certain parts and if the main character isn't super driven to solve the mystery, it can be a bit of a drag to read. I will note that these choices could have been 100% on purpose, but they just didn't come together in the type of mystery read I prefer. 

Overall, this was a really fun read with some interesting elements and played on my favorite tropes.  I loved Petal's prickly character and though the premise of secrets being revealed via a book was fantastic.  I do think the mystery reveal wasn't quite as tightly plotted as it could have been, but I enjoyed the overall resolution. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC

Publication date was July 18, 2023

Romance Wrap-up 7/1/23 - 7/15/23

 Double Pucked - Lauren Blakely

This MFM Why Choose romance follows Trina, Ryker, and Chase.  After finding out her hockey-loving boyfriend cheated on her, Trina leaves their shared apartment and makes sure to snag the VIP meet and greet tickets on the way out.  Ryker and Chase are childhood friends who now play on different NHL teams.  The crosstown rivalry doesn't dull their friendship so when their VIP meet-up turns out to be a sweet and nerdy girl instead of the major hockey dude-bro they were expecting, the night turns interesting.  After spending the night together, the three end up as temporary roomies for the next week.  But when that week comes to a close, will all three be able to walk away from possibly the best relationship they've had.  This was a super fun read that manages to hit all sorts of tropes in one book.  This had a ton of spice but an equal amount of heart which made for an overall lighthearted read.  I loved Ryker and Chase's friendship and how easily they communicated with both each other and Trina. It is always nice when these why choose romances aren't super angsty or drama-filled.  Ryker and Chase are polar opposites - Ryker is the grumpy intellectual with a heart of gold and Chase is the outgoing golden retriever. They each have their own unique relationship with Trina and their dynamic together was also really well balanced.  I did find this veering toward the cheesy side of the spectrum, which I've noticed other readers not liking.  However, I loved this fun, fluffy, but still steamy read. 

In The Weeds - B.K. Borison

This is the second book in the Lovelight series and follows Beckett and Evie.  After one amazing weekend together in Maine, Evie left without a word.  Beckett starts to move on when she shows up at the Christmas Tree farm he lives and works at.  Then, she's gone again.  He's determined to move on now, but when she turns up in town a third time with no place to stay but determined to find her happy, he opens his home, and his heart, to the possibility that she just might stay this time.  This is one of those books where I just kept putting it off because I heard so much love for it that I was afraid it was over-hyped and I would end up disappointed.  And I'm so glad I did because I ended up absolutely loving this read.  The mood of this was absolutely perfect and it was such a sweet and quiet romance with a strong undercurrent of sexual tension that pays off perfectly.  I really loved how Evie and Beckett both have some personal growth on page and they support the other person as well.  We get some more small town antics as well.  On paper, Beckett and Evie are so different but they come together so perfectly that they really feel like they are meant to be together.  This is the kind of quiet romance that really settles into my heart and I think it will be there for a long time. 

In The Case of Heartbreak - Courtney Kae

 This MM romance is the second book in the Fern Falls series and follows friends Ben and Adam.  Ben is in the running for a TV baking show and when he's trying his best to show off his family cinnamon roll recipe, the camera catches a chemistry-filled hug between Ben and Adam.  But when the crew asks if they are an item, Adam definitively states they're just friends and Ben ends up leaving town to nurse his broken heart ... and attend his grandmother's 2 week long 80th birthday bash. But when Adam is also there, playing guitar with the band, the two end up spending time together and deciding if they are just friends or something more. I really enjoyed this read and loved being back in Fern Falls again.  We got a bit of an introduction to Ben and Adam in the first book, but I was glad to see the amount of backstory that was sprinkled in.  We only get Ben's POV and I really wish we had some of Adam's as well considering this was pretty heavy on the mutual pining.  The romance was incredibly sweet and at the same time, the chemistry sizzled off the page.  There is a good amount of emotion and heavy topics surrounding the romance, but the romance itself is quite low angst.   The one downside to this, for me, was the amount of plot happening outside of the romance.  We have so many moving parts and I didn't quite find there was enough page space to have so many complex plot threads.  There would be whole chunks where one plot wasn't mentioned at all and then when it would suddenly become important again, I had almost forgotten about it.  I think this would have been better balanced if either it was longer or if a plot thread or two were cut.

TW/CW: included at beginning of book; parental abandonment, narcissistic parent, alcoholism

Thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and the author for the ARC. 

Expected publication date is July 25, 2023.

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved A Demon - Kimberly Lemming

This paranormal romance the first book in the Mead Mishaps series and follows human spice seller Cinnamon and demon Fallon.  After Fallon crash lands in Cinnamon's home town, he reveals that the local goddess is not a goddess at all.  Now, the two are on a quest to kill an evil witch and their friction has them burning up.  This was such a fun read!  I absolutely loved the world we're dropped in and all the different characters we get introduced to over the course of the story.  This was a shorter read at only 185 pages so the romance as well as the outside plot both move pretty quickly but I still felt like most of the plots and characters were well developed.  I would have liked if the romance between Cinnamon and Fallon was a little more of a slow burn because their tension was just spectacular and I wanted more of a build up.  They come from different worlds, but their characters just work so well together that it really felt like they new each other for years.  And once they got together, it was absolutely fire.  Fallon does get a little bit of the overprotective alpha-hole that you would expect from a demon MMC but he does soften up per Cinnamon's wishes. I normally prefer having dual POV in my romance reads but Fallon is so forward with his feelings that I didn't miss his POV as much as I normally would.  I really loved the side characters and I'm so excited to continue on in the series to follow their own romances. 

TW/CW: death of a sibling (in past), enslavement

The Woods Are Waiting - Katherine Greene

 

This mystery/suspense follows Cheyenne Ashby as she returns home to Blue Cliff, Virginia after being away for 5 years. She grew up with her eccentric mother in the woods - the woods where local legend the Hickory Man is said to wait and kidnap children.  Only five years ago, it wasn't the Hickory Man who murdered three children but a man named Jasper Clinton.  Now, Jasper is released due to new evidence coming to light, another child goes missing from Blue Cliff, and Cheyenne's mother is becoming obsessive with her superstitions and protection rituals.  When Cheyenne reconnects with her friend, Natalie, the two are determined to find out what is truly happening to the children of Blue Cliff.

TW/CW: kidnapping, death of a child, 

This was a fantastically creepy read.  The small town Appalachia setting combined with a great supernatural undercurrent really worked well together to create a great atmosphere for the entire book.  The town of Blue Cliff is a mix of people who outwardly believe in the superstitions, those who pretend they don't but believe behind closed doors, and outsiders who don't believe at all.  This creates a really great dynamic and fuel for tension as more children go missing. There's a constant push/pull between the superstitions and reality as the people of Blue Cliff try to figure out what is happening to their town. 

The Hickory Man legend was really well developed and did a lot of work in the story.  I did a quick search to see if this was a well-known Appalachian legend but didn't find anything so I believe Greene created it.  We get a really great backstory through some flashbacks that show how entwined the Hickory Man and Blue Cliff are.  Layered on top, we have Cheyenne's family of the Ashbys being charged as the town's protectors - a role which her mother takes very seriously.  I loved the details of the nursery rhyme that the children chant and adults follow to protect the children from the Hickory Man.  When I was reading, I could almost hear the creepy children singing this rhyme and I loved it. The Hickory Man wasn't just a background story to our characters, he is a real legend and Greene used that to her full advantage throughout this read.

I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships were so complex.  Small towns are a favorite setting of mine for this exact reason.  Everyone knows everyone and that can be useful but also can cause tension when suspicion turns inward and the townsfolk turn on one another. The chapters alternate between following Cheyenne and Natalie and it was interesting to see the difference in their lives.  They were friends since they were little, but when Cheyenne left suddenly five years ago, their lives took very different paths.  The comparison between Cheyenne, who is now treated as a bit of an outsider, and Natalie, who is now engaged to the mayor's son, is really fascinating.

I thought the solution to the mystery came together really well and tied together a lot of the details we got throughout the story.  My favorite element to these folk horror/superstition mysteries is finding out if the supernatural entity is real or if someone is using it as a cover for their crimes. I did see a post on Twitter comparing this read to a specific movie that did spoil the general ending a bit but I didn't guess the exact details so it was still a fun read figuring out what is really going on in this small town. I did find the main story ended a little quickly for my liking, but we do get an epilogue so we are able to see a bit of the aftermath of the ending reveal which I always appreciate. 

Overall, this was a great, creepy, folk horror read that really paid off on the premise.  The small town setting and legend of the Hickory Man were really used to their utmost potential and really heightened this story. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.  Publication date is July 11, 2023.

Dead Silence - S.A. Barnes

 

This sci-fi/horror follows a salvage crew as they receive a distress call from a ghost ship. The Aurora is a luxury space ship that vanished more than 20 years prior. Now, Claire Kovalik and her crew pick up a distress call and go investigate, thinking they could win a bounty for finding the lost ship.  Once they are on the Aurora, they quickly realize something on the ship is very wrong.  And when her crew start showing symptoms of whatever killed the initial passengers, Claire must figure out what happened before her crew meets the same fate.

 TW/CW: suicide, death of a parent

This was an absolutely fantastic read that 1000% paid off on the premise.  I had a very specific idea of what I wanted from the story going in and this hit every single point I was hoping it would.  It mixed the best parts of the movie Ghost Ship and the Firefly episode Bushwhacked perfectly together. I highly recommend this and it is in the running for a favorite read of this year. 

The unreliable narrator aspect was spectacular.  The book opens with Claire trying to explain what happened on the Aurora but we know that she can't always separate true memories from hallucinations. As we flashback in time to the events both on the Aurora and earlier in Claire's life, we see her have this same struggle of sometimes not knowing what is real.  I really enjoyed the slight twist on the unreliable narrator trope where Claire knows her memory can be unreliable.  This isn't one of those times where being unreliable is the twist, it is part of the puzzle right from the beginning.

Claire is such a complex and interesting character and we really see her go through a significant change through the events of the story.  We get to know the other characters a bit as well and I really found them all to have really unique voices.  They all have a ton of personality and defined roles both on the crew and interpersonally.  In a different world, I would love to read a series of mystery/adventures of this crew getting up to shenanigans in space.  These are characters who have worked together for quite some time in very close quarters and Barnes does a great job of quickly establishing their relationships since the reader is dropped in right at the end of a months-long trip.

The horror elements are fantastic and range from creepy to gory. There were times where I could feel my anxiety rising, especially when the crew is exploring the Aurora. There are so many great horror details in this book but I don't want to spoil anything.  Barnes does a great job of really walking the reader through each detail of the scenes in order to really make an impact. We also get enough character build up for our crew that when it is their turn in the horror, it made me a bit emotional. There's a great blend of physical and psychological horror that really kept the tension high - just because a character was safe from one, doesn't mean they're safe from the other.

There was a definite pacing change between the first and second half of the book that was a little jarring at first, but looking back, I think it was the right call.  I didn't expect the second half at all since none of those plot points were mentioned in the book description. At first, I was a little worried that the second half would end up being repetitive but I think that's where the faster pacing really helped push thought a lot of those repeat moments.  I do wish we had more of a gradual come-down at the end but at least we do get a bit of an epilogue. 

Overall, I absolutely loved this read and if the cover wording "A ghost ship, a salvage crew, unspeakable horrors" intrigues you, then I highly recommend picking this up.

Dead of Winter - Darcy Coates

 

This isolation thriller follows Christa and a small group as they are forced to take shelter in an abandoned cabin during a snow storm.  They all think as soon as the storm passes, they'll be able to make their way back to their tour bus and get help.  But when they wake up the next day to find the tour guide missing, they become uneasy.  And when they find his head impaled on a tree outside the cabin, it becomes clear that someone in the group has different plans. 

This was the most gripping isolated closed circle mystery I've read in a long time and I loved every second of reading it. Coates is quickly solidifying as one of my insta-read authors.  I was immediately drawn into the story and couldn't put it down until I was done.  This is one of those expertly plotted thriller/mysteries where it didn't feel like there was any fluff or extra details.  Every line felt integral to the plot and figuring out the mystery.  Sprinkle in some great gore and horror elements and I cannot recommend this enough!

Most closed circle mysteries I've read have been multi-POV but in this, we only get Christa's POV.  I found that this helped Christa become a stand-in of sorts for the reader trying to figure out what is going on in this cabin.  This also expands the pool of suspects because if the other characters aren't where Christa can see them, we have no idea where they are or what they are doing.  We don't get any other POVs to fill in any gaps or direct our attention to a particular person.  As a consequence, we also don't know if these other characters are telling the truth or what they may be hiding.  One downside was that it did take me a while to get a grasp on all the different characters

The mystery and horror aspects of this read went perfectly together and I think each heightened the other.  Knowing that when someone was killed that they'd end up in such a gruesome scene really upped the stakes as well as the tension between the remaining survivors. We also get some great body horror to go along with the kills. I did figure out the 'who' of the mystery pretty early but I couldn't figure out the 'how' until it was actually revealed.  But even though I ended up being correct in the end, watching the characters figure things out for themselves made me second guess myself constantly. 

The setting and weather were immaculate and really enhanced the overall reading experience.  The characters were always considering the weather and it was a constant struggle they had to deal with.  We have a good variety of characters who all have different backgrounds and familiarity with this type of weather so some were much better equipped than others.  The cover art really fits the story and is exactly how I pictured the cabin and forests.  Coates does a fantastic job with the descriptions that really emphasized the cold and danger of the situation.  We also see the weather interfering with the characters figuring out who the killer is because the snow keeps refilling any footprints or other clues. At times, it felt like the characters were equally threatened by the weather and the killer - the only question is which would kill them first.

Overall, this was a great read that I read from start to finish in one sitting.  I do think the solution to the mystery is a little obvious, but finding out the bigger picture is well worth the journey.  The setting and atmosphere are fantastic and the single POV really heightens the overall experience of figuring out who is responsible for these deaths.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.  Expected publication date is July 11, 2023.

The Puzzle Master - Danielle Trussoni

 

This mystery/suspense follows Mike Brink - a celebrated puzzle constructor with acquired savant syndrome that allows him to solve any puzzle.  So when he gets invited to a prison to solve a puzzle one of the inmates has drawn, he isn't expecting this day to be much different than any other.  But when he isn't able to solve the puzzle, he ends up getting drawn into the prisoner's case and the hunt for the truth.  

Overall, I liked this book just fine, but I think it was a case of mis-matched expectations.  The one big selling point for me was a blurb I saw that compared this to The DaVinci Code + The Silent Patient.  Unfortunately, that blurb along with the premise of Brink being a puzzle master gave me a very specific set of expectations that I didn't feel the book lived up to.  I was expecting a book titled The Puzzle Master, with a main character who literally can solve any puzzle he comes across, being compared to The DaVinci Code to be really involved with the puzzling aspects.  And sure, the puzzles were important to the overall plot, but used much more infrequently that I was expecting. 

The mystery plot was overall satisfying and I think it all came together really well.  There were a lot of moving parts, but Trussoni was able to balance them all well.  We get some flashbacks from a journal entry and those did slow down the pacing some for me but we get a lot of background information that really fleshed out the details and stakes of the overall mystery.  I did find the goalposts of the mystery kept moving because the characters would solve the first mystery, which would lead to the next, etc.  Since all the parts were interconnected, it did still feel cohesive.  However, I really love the big build up and investigation for mystery reads and these collection of smaller mysteries didn't quite give me the big satisfaction of having all the pieces fall together at the very end. 

The characters felt like they were a little too one dimensional for my tastes. This was more of a plot-forward story instead of being really concerned about the character development.  I do feel like there was some attempt at character development but it came across to me as very surface level and I didn't actually see the changes in our main character.  The ending did leave the door open for a book 2 so there's potential for more development if this continues into a series.  I usually prefer my reads to be more character-centered and since the mystery plot and lack of puzzles fell short for me, there wasn't enough plot for me.  

Overall, this was a pretty satisfying mystery read, but it wasn't quite what I had expected.  I liked a lot of the elements on their own, but the overall execution veered away from my personal tastes in mysteries.  I was expecting a more complex, puzzle-forward mystery but this didn't quite rise to the level I was hoping for.  I have heard really good things recently about this, so I think readers overall are enjoying it. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.  Publication date was June 13, 2023

June Romance Wrap-up: Queer Books!

I read queer books consistently throughout the year, but I like to focus on them in June (especially ones that have been on the TBR for a while).  This was a fantastic reading month and I'm so excited to keep the good vibes going into the second half of the year.

 

Want Me - Neve Wilder 

This MM romance is the first book in the Extracurricular Activities series and follows college roommates Nate and Eric.  After Eric accidentally walks in on Nate "taking care of business", Nate tries to shrug it off - a couple days of not making eye contact and it will all blow over.  Except he can't forget the way Eric looked at him and how that made Nate feel.  And when Eric offers to help Nate study for a calculus exam, Nate finds out Eric hasn't forgotten either.  This has been on my TBR for forever and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it.  I don't normally reach for New Adult books, but after hearing Romantically Inclined talk about it a few times over the course of months, I had to pick it up. This was such a fun read and free from my usual pet peeves of NA books.  Nate and Eric's relationship felt so organic and I loved how they were already acquaintances when the book started.  Their journey from FWB to love was really sweet while also being super spicy - hookups in public places for the win.  I had heard some criticism of this being a "gay for you" romance and I don't agree as we do get confirmation that Nate had previous MM relationships.  That being said, he wasn't out as bi and his past relationships did lean more heavily toward women so I can see how some readers would interpret that.  While these two were housemates, they didn't interact a whole lot outside of the normal housemate pleasantries.  This allowed them to learn more about each other as their relationship progressed and I think that really enhanced the FWB to love arc.

Moonstruck - Onley James

This is the third book in the Necessary Evils series and follows Atticus and Jericho.  The two meet when they both show up to murder the same guy in a remote cabin.  And what better to do in a remote cabin but have a hot, semi-anonymous hook up. Only catch is that neither can stop thinking about the other.  And once they track each other down, there's no going back. This was yet another win in this series.  I absolutely adore the Mulvaney's little band of psychopaths and was so excited to be back with them.  It was nice to get Atticus's story because he always came off like sort of a jerk in the previous books.  And it was so interesting to see how he and Jericho worked when, on the surface, they seemed like they would just constantly butt heads. Jericho has a band of misfit young adults who he gave a home to when they needed it and the group of them are a neighborhood watch/vigilante justice group.  Seeing Atticus and Jericho, along with their respective families, come together for the greater good was great. My favorite thing about Atticus and Jericho's relationship was that they naturally fell into very specific roles but had no trouble stepping out of those roles as needed.  The sexual tension and lust between the two was off the charts and we get some really cute domestic scenes as well.  This series so far is 5/5 and I can't wait to continue.

TW/CW: drug use, drug abuse, death of a sibling, human trafficking, medical experimentation, torture

Keep Me Close - R.M. Virtues

This is the second book in the Gods of Hunger series and follows Aphrodite and Hephaestus.  After an attempt on Aphodite's life, Hephaestus is assigned as her personal bodyguard while he conducts the investigation.  Only problem is the two of them can't help but push each other's buttons.  But when the line between disdain and lust blurs, the two of them need to also figure out their feelings before Aphrodite ends up dead. I love this series and the whole Gods of Hunger world that Virtues built in these books.  Greek mythology has never been something I've been particularly invested in, so I don't have the background knowledge that some readers would.  It feels like Virtues doesn't rely on the reader to have that knowledge so the characters and world are fully developed.  The tension between Aphrodite and Hephaestus was impeccable and when that tension finally cracked it was absolutely on fire. The romantic suspense element didn't quite hit for me because it did drag a bit in the first 1/3.  The book opens with a bang, but then it felt like the mystery/suspense elements were just treading water for a while.  It picked back up around the 1/2 way point, and I really enjoyed the way it all came together at the end. 

CW/TW: human trafficking, kidnapping, 

Count Your Lucky Stars - Alexandria Bellefleur

This FF, second chance romance is the third book in the Written in the Stars series and follows Margot and Olivia. The two were best friends in high school, but after their last spring break when their friendship became something more, the two haven't spoken. Now, Olivia is the wedding planner for Brendon and Annie's upcoming wedding and the two women are back together for the first time in 11 years.  Despite the years passing, the two eventually fall back together like old times.  But as the wedding grows closer, the two will need to figure out what they want so they don't have a repeat of spring break.  This was my favorite book in the series, hands down. We're back with all the characters from the first 2 books for the wedding festivities and all these characters just get along so well - it really felt like coming back together with old friends. I really loved Margot as a character and thought she was really complex and dealing with her feelings of being left out/left behind.  The chemistry between Margot and Olivia was palpable from the beginning and I'm glad they got together pretty early on in the book so it wasn't too much awkward pining.  Olivia felt like she belonged immediately with the group and her and Margot just ~fit~ perfectly together.  I loved the comparison between what happened 11 years prior and their relationship now and how they don't have to regret those lost years but they can certainly make the most of their time together now.

Fear, and Other Love Languages - Aveda Vice

This erotic paranormal horror novelette follows Ella as they try to not let the lack of sleep from recurring nightmares affect their daily life. But when Ella meets the creatures in their dreams, the lines between dreams and reality blur and while Ella is still afraid, there are other feelings stirring under the surface. This is a Nbi/F/M romance between Ella, their nightmare, and their night terror. Vice does a great job of blending the horror and erotic elements in this read and I could really feel the adrenaline throughout the read. That being said, Vice also is fantastic at making sure that consent is clear so this never felt 'iffy' to me at all.  This was only 57 pages long, so like most short works I really wanted more.  I was really intrigued by the world and Ella's life situation.  I also would have liked to see more of Ella's nightmares before they are able to meet the creatures, that way we have a bit of context for their relationship. Vice is able to get so much emotion into such a short page count that I still really enjoyed my reading.  If you liked this, I would 100% also recommend Sing Me To Sleep by R.M. Virtues.