Soul of a Witch - Harley Laroux
This is the third and final book in the Souls Trilogy and follows witch Everly and demon Callum. After being raised in a cult, the last straw for Everly is seeing the lengths the cult and her father will go. Everly was told her whole life that she was a weak witch with so little magic that it wasn't worth even training her. But when she finds her family coven home, complete with a demon, she leans just how powerful she is. Callum has been waiting for Everly for years and now that she's finally with him, he will follow her into battle with the ancient god the cult is trying to raise. This was a great end to the trilogy and I loved finally seeing Everly and Callum after getting glimpses of them in the previous books. All books in this series take place over the approximate same time period but follow different couples so they are somewhat standalones (though I would recommend reading in order). I liked that we got to see more of the cult side of things with this book and a little bit more of the backstory of the cult. I loved both Everly and Callum as characters and thought they worked together so perfectly. I did wish the training montage portion of the book was a little more cohesive. I couldn't quite gauge where we were in Everly's journey. Overall, I really enjoyed this book as well as the whole series.
Edin - Lily Mayne
This MM romance is the second in the Monstrous series and follows human Hunter and monster Edin. When Hunter and his friend are ambushed on their way back to their military base, Edin rescues Hunter and the two set off to rescue Hunter's friend. Along the way, Hunter learns more about the monster world than he ever thought existed and he then needs to decide if he can go back to his old life or if he can stay with Edin and this new world he's grown to love. I really enjoyed this read and how it expanded on the world set up in the first book. While each book does follow a different couple, there are some plot threads that span from book one into this one so I would recommend reading in order. I did feel like this book focused more on Hunter than Edin and I do wish it was a bit more even. I loved Edin in book 1 so I was really happy that I didn't have to wait long for his story. Hunter was a really interesting character that is very much opposite of Daniel from the first book. I liked getting different points of view of this post-apocalyptic world and I hope that trend continues in the other books in the series. Hunter is an amputee and while I can't personally speak to the representation, I did feel like the details fit well into the overall plot. Hunter and Edin's love story was a bit of a slow burn that read really organically which I enjoyed. It was much sweeter than I imagined and I loved how much of a big softie Edin turned out to be. It did get a bit repetitive at times, but Mayne was able to quickly get my attention back.
Entranced by the Basilisks - Lillian Lark
This MMF romance is the third book in the Monstrous Matches series and follows Emilia, Jasper, and Ari. Jasper and Ari are both Basilisks and Emilia is a human who has only recently learned that monsters exist. She fully expects to wade slowly into this world until she ends up cursed and turns to Jasper and Ari - who themselves are lovers going through a rough patch. What starts off as them trying to find a way to break the curse ends up with the three of them more entwined than they expected. I absolutely loved this book and I think Lark does a great job writing poly romances. The individual relationships between all three of them as well as the whole throuple were really well developed and I loved how much we were able to see each relationship grow. There were some really great emotional moments that made me tear up - which I was not anticipating. I also enjoyed the world building and lore of the basilisks and how that impacted Emilia's curse. Each character was well developed which helped me feel really immersed in the story through all 3 POVs that we get. Emilia is friends with Grace from the second book in the series and I do wish we had more time to see their friendship develop through the story.
The Dragon's Bride - Katee Robert
This is the first book in the A Deal With A Demon series and follows human Briar Rose and dragon Sol. In order to escape her abusive husband, Briar Rose makes a deal with a demon and finds herself auctioned off to Sol for seven years as payment for her deal. Sol is in need of a human to continue his lineage but after past relationships fails, he is hoping this will be a good option. The two of them, despite their initial differences, end up quickly becoming close and maybe this deal was the best thing for both of them after all. I really wanted to love this book, but at less than 200 pages, it wasn't long enough to get the amount of character development or plot development I wanted. I think it does a good job introducing the reader to this world and the way the demon deals work so I am planning on continuing on in the series. It feels like this was going for an insta-love type of vibe but with Briar Rose's backstory and their initial friction between the two about children, the insta-love wasn't working for me. I did love both characters on their own and by the end I was convinced they work well together.
How to Bite Your Neighbor and Lose a Wager - D.N. Bryn
This MM romance is the first in the Guides to Dating Vampires series and follows vampire Vincent and human Wesley. The two meet by happenstance when Wesley catches Vincent sneaking into his room at night to drink his blood. The two strike up an unlikely friendship that eventually turns to more. I enjoyed this read, but felt the balance between the romance and the more romantic suspense elements was a bit off. I also wanted more world building at the beginning as it took me a little bit longer than I would have liked to find my footing in the story. I loved Vincent and Wesley together and just wanted to see their story without the extra romantic-suspense elements. We get some great hurt/comfort scenes which I'm always a sucker for. Vincent and Wesley were such interesting characters and I loved the amount of backstory we got with both of them. I really enjoyed the way their relationship evolved over time and seeing them both make the active choice to be together.
Charming Your Dad - Sarah Blue
This is the first book in the Charming series and follows Blair and Dax. After Blair finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her with a witch from her coven, she is determined to get revenge by getting with his dad. Dax is a demon from hell on a mission to find a rogue demon who has been possessing humans and Blair wasn't in his plans. However, when the connection between the two is stronger than they both expected, they will have to both choose to make this fling something more substantial. This was a really fun read and it paid off on the premise perfectly. Blair and Dax have chemistry sizzling off the page and I loved seeing them together. They were both well developed characters on their own and each had their own side plots going on. Despite their initial connection being fully physical, they quickly get to know the other and their connection grows. I loved Dax's side plot of finding the rogue demon but I didn't find myself invested in Blair's side plot of her coven. I loved the side characters we see as well as the world building and I will be reading on in the series for sure.
