Tag: enemies to lovers

Review: Alliance: The Triad Series: Book One by Cari Z

Rating: 4. 25🌈

Alliance is a new polyamorous M/M/M fantasy from author Cari Z, the first in a series.

I enjoyed the book and my introduction to all three main characters, Symon Parador (mage and reluctant groom), queen’s brother, Prince Petur (shifter with multiple shapes, also reluctant groom ), and Deyvid, a warrior/bodyguard who’s been made null to all magic (and who happens to be Petur’s not so hidden love for years).

Cari Z weaves the three person POV between these characters, starting with my favorite, Symon. It’s he who gets the shocking news he’s immediately to be married to Petur, then the equally unpleasant element that Petur’s got a long time love . Nothing says Symon will be happy or welcome in his new life.

Symon becomes, through his deep, passionate and empathetic spirit that the author has created for him, a person we connect to. His journey to his new life with the Prince’s guards lets the reader and guards form a foundation of knowledge of him that makes Symon a great favorite here.

I only wish that I had more of a glimpse of how Symon looks as a whole, beyond his eyes, jewelry, piercings and great magical abilities. We get individual snapshots but never a whole picture. That’s frustrating. Clothes? Hair? Everything that would help flesh out the man and culture he came from.

Oddly, it’s Deyvid, the warrior who’s also the long time love of Petur that’s next in powerful character embodiment. Deyvid’s a character who is second in coming across as being the most fully formed. We see him. From his figure to his face which always carries a faint aroma of a stain , we can see him. His background and personality feels the most layered next to Symon’s, his personality the more complex, and his personal back story is certainly full of angst, deception, betrayal, and damage.

I have the weirdest feeling that the author just loves writing him because the chemistry Cari Z creates for him , starts with Symon, and then Petur. But it’s Deyvid who’s the glue here of the triad.

Finally there’s Prince Petur. He’s not a character who has a great appeal to begin with. There’s little interaction with others, what we see is quick, sexy moments with Deyvid, and solo moments of intense concentration on his own inner plans and suspicions. When we do see him meet up with Symon, someone we’ve come to love, it reflects poorly on Petur.

Of the three, he’s the weakest link. The one with the least amount of information offered to the reader, the lack of background on the shifter species he belongs to is frustrating, as is the world building here as a whole.

I hope that the next story, Endurance, will build out on the universe so lightly framed out here.

Also on the monarchy and kingdoms that have their political roots at the heart of the arc espionage’s threats. That too was not fully established.

Alliance: The Triad Series: Book One by Cari Z is an entertaining fantasy novel. I felt the triad romance was unbalanced towards two of the men who had most of the narrative time , most of the chemistry, and frankly, were my favorites. Prince Petur wasn’t given the same page time as the others so when he espoused that he now loved Symon, it wasn’t believable. It didn’t have the necessary time to become real.

If you want a fantasy with enemies to lovers romance with a triad of three interesting characters, and ongoing mysteries, this is a good place to start.

A recommended read!

The Triad Series:

Alliance #1

Endurance #2

Buy Link:

Alliance: The Triad Series: Book One

Description:

One wedding. Two grooms. Three lovers, preparing to fight for themselves, and their kingdoms.

Symon Parador is a prince in name only until the day he’s bartered away to the neighboring kingdom, to marry their queen’s brother, Petur. A mage in a nation full of shifters who distrust his magic is bad enough, but even worse is the fact that Petur is already as good as married—to an assassin from the north named Deyvid, who’s immune to all magic.

He doesn’t expect to love either of them, but Deyvid’s surprising kindness is too addictive to run from, and even Petur’s ferocity is lightened by his sly sense of humor. Sy could see himself falling for them…if any of them survive the sudden onslaught of attacks against the royal family.

Entwined in a dangerous game of survival, love, and loyalty, the cost of saving his lovers may be Sy’s own life.

Alliance is a polyamorous M/M/M fantasy with enemies to lovers, graphic violence, snarky humor, and explicit sexual content.

Review: Adverse Conditions (Reclaimed Hearts Book 1) by Elle Keaton

Rating: 3.5🌈

Adverse Conditions is the first in a new small town mystery romance series by Elle Keaton, a story that’s stacked with elements. There’s a enemies to lovers trope, returning small town son, multiple murder mysteries, heartwarming family with it’s own complicated backstory, bi-coming out, single dad, rescue dogs, conniving ex , and that’s not all.

The small town of Cooper Springs is a focal point too. From the beach to the forests to the bar where all the town hangs out, the preservation of Cooper Springs and how best to save it is front and center. It probably will be a major theme for all the novels.

But as Keaton’s packed such a huge amount of elements into this first book, it’s no surprise that some feel less polished/finished than others.

The need to lay the foundation for the series is obvious, get the background down. Cooper Springs is beautifully rendered. You can see the small town as it was. And as it is now. The ramshackle resort absolutely in need of renovation that a new owner could supply and the revenue it could bring in that the town is counting on, along with the beautiful location. Also the long term familiarity of Cooper Springs’ citizenry feels believable, whether they are on good terms or bad.

Next up, the romance. Vincent Barone is a single dad to daughter Romy, herself a delightful character. He’s holding down two jobs, he’s a shop teacher at the High School, and a part time Real-Estate Appraiser, which brings him clashing back into his old high school nemesis, Xavier, recently returned to town, as a real estate agent. Vincent is a terrific character, stressed out by bills, his jobs, life, and wanting to be the best dad to a great kid. He’s relatable in all his irritable moments.

Xavier could use some more of that depth. It helps base him when we meet Xavier’s mother and brother Max. But Vincent still feels grounded in a way Xavier doesn’t. They have a old sexual tension that’s dealt with a little too quickly but the relationship is a emotional, thoughtful one.

There’s a ex here (Xavier’s) that appears and disappears for no reason to be annoying unless he’s going to be a part of a storyline further down the series. Now he’s a dropped element, one of several that aren’t fully developed for reasons other than perhaps they are part of a larger arc theme. They include the murders, missing wives, and why anyone would want an aggressive antisocial man with known anti development views to be a long term rental resident of a property up for sale. That last sounds more like a author’s needing a dramatic narrative item than something realistic.

Let’s see.

“We need to sell this property. Let’s have an aggressive nutcase with a baseball bat live there and challenge everyone who wants to sell it with threats and promises of bodily harm.”

Um no. And no one does anything about it.

Plus there’s the fact that a person that’s been missing for a while (dead) and no one has been able to find can be found easily.

So I find elements like this problematic.

I realize that murder plots and mysteries here seem to be intended to play out over the series but either we need more mystery or more substance or subtly or something.

The ending comes abruptly, moving Vincent and Xavier’s relationship forward that we miss out on the growth moments. The parts that bring all three, four counting the dog, together as a family.

So while I feel that the story has some wonderfully interesting elements, really promising moments between all parties , and a couple and family I enjoyed, I’m not sure it all came cohesively together in one first book of a series.

The next book is a different couple altogether. Which is odd when this one didn’t feel complete.

I’ll continue on to see how it all flows into the next episode. And what the author intends for the mysteries.

If you’re a fan of Elle Keaton, and contemporary mystery romance, I’m sure that you have already put this on your TBR list. For the rest, it’s a entertaining read.

Reclaimed Hearts:

✓ Adverse Conditions #1

◦ Below Grade #2 – May 25,2023

Buy Link:

Adverse Conditions: Small Town Silver Fox Gay Romance (Reclaimed Hearts Book 1)

Description:

The town is worth saving, as long as conspiracy theorists, serial killers, and Vincent Barone all stay out of Xavier’s way.

Xavier swore he’d never move back to the flyspeck of a town he’d grown up in and he kept that promise for over twenty years. Now he’s back for good.

Vincent never left. After earning his teaching certificate, he stayed in town to be close to his elderly parents. These days he’s the single dad of a fifteen-year-old daughter and working two jobs to make ends meet. He’s perfectly happy with his life.

Xavier’s mission is to save Cooper Springs. But his efforts are being hindered by his stodgy, straight-laced, rule-following neighbor, Vincent Barone. Dark-eyed, broad-shouldered, and muscly Vincent, who Xav stealthily ogles when he toils in his yard sans shirt. For a high school shop teacher, Vincent is too sexy. And he has a kid. And he infuriates Xavier. And anyway, love is for suckers.

Vincent doesn’t have time to date. And he certainly wouldn’t date his flashy, arrogant, neighbor who he absolutely did not have a crush on in high school. Who did Xavier think he was, moving back to town and throwing his weight around, causing butterflies in Vincent’s stomach, and making his stupid heart beat faster every time he saw him?

Cooper Springs has changed since they were kids, and maybe two guys can move from hate to love. But are they ready? Will Vincent bend a few of his rules? Will Xavier reign in his chaotic tendencies? Is love in the air?

Then there’s the matter of the grisly discovery in the woods, murder is bad for business.

Welcome to Cooper Springs, home to UFO chasers, Sasquatch believers, conspiracy theorists, chainsaw artists, and regular folk just trying to make a living. And, quite possibly, a killer.

Adverse Conditions is the first in the Reclaimed Hearts series, set in the wilds of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, it is an opposites-attract, older lovers, silver fox, enemies to lovers, small-town romance, with a little murder. HEA guaranteed.

Review: Double or Nothing (Double Trouble #1) by Cari Z and L.A. Witt

Rating: 4🌈

Double or Nothing is an exciting start to a new series about Hacker Leotrim Nicolosi and Deputy Marshal Rich Cody.

A quick read, full of great action scenes and some wonderful characters, I was throughly entertained by the story and committed to the romance as it evolved between two damaged men from different worlds.

Deputy Marshal Rich Cody is a newly appointed Marshal who’s fighting his own battles with his military past. That’s his PTSD from his missions abroad. He’s currently on assignment to guard a criminal hacker Leotrim Nicolosi. Hacker Leotrim is to testify if the crime family doesn’t take him out first.

From a Marshal WITSEC assignment which goes really wrong fast, we get a highly detailed, very exciting fast paced action story. It’s two enemy to lovers against everyone romance. And you just want a big bag of popcorn, drink of choice and to be left alone to read until it’s over.

I love the characters, their romance is just got enough barriers and drama to be interesting and emotional, and the intrigue is top notch.

It carries over to a second story which ends the 2-part series. I’m recommending it and heading there now for the end of the story.

Double Trouble series:

✓ Double or Nothing #1

◦ Doubling Down #2

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showDouble or Nothing (Double Trouble #1) by Cari Z.

Description:

Rich Cody joined the U.S. Marshals to hunt down bad guys, not babysit witnesses. Orders are orders, though, and now he’s protecting a hacker with ties to the Albanian and Sicilian mobs. It’s just another exciting day in WITSEC.

Leotrim Nicolosi was born into a world of crime and bloodshed. When that bloodshed hits too close to home, taking down Leo’s boyfriend—the son of a notorious mob boss—Leo is determined to destroy the Grimaldi family. He’s got evidence that will send every last Grimaldi to prison, he’s got the family’s wealth in an electronic chokehold, and he’s got a vendetta that can only be settled with the blood of the man who killed his lover.

When a routine transfer to a safehouse goes horribly wrong, Rich and Leo narrowly escape with their lives.

With the Marshals compromised and Leo being framed for murder, he and Rich are on the run from criminals and law enforcement alike. They have no one to trust except each other, and nowhere to go that their enemies can’t reach.And the only way out might mean making a deal with the Devil.

Review: Accidental Lover (Exit Strategy #5) by Jocelynn Drake

Rating: 4.5🌈

Alexei Prescott , assassin and nephew of assassins extraordinaire, has a target. Gabor Kalman, shady arms dealer.

Soren Jessen, cat burglar, ex CIA, has a target. Gabor Kalman, shady arms dealer.

One will kill him, the other will steal from him. At the same time. The mission puts both men on a collision course to unravel labyrinthine mysteries that center around a stolen hard drive while keeping each other alive and able to fall into mad passionate love.

This is one of those stories I backtracked into. Soren and his assassin lover, Alexei, are important characters in Drake’s Shadow Elite series. They’re a fascinating and eclectic couple. So naturally when I learned that they had their own story, I needed to read it. And I wasn’t disappointed.

The last of a series (which had me backtracking even further), Accidental Lover not only gives us the complete window in Soren, the man who just happens to be a cat burglar now, but the complicated personality that makes that career so understandable.

The story also gives us an astonishing assassin in the person of Alexei Prescott. A diminutive gorgeous killer who has been raised by two of the world’s most notorious assassins, Alexei is as fascinating a character as the man he’s coming to love.

A thriller of a suspenseful romance, equally intriguing with snarky humor and lusty chemistry, Accidental Lover was a book I couldn’t put down.

Plus it ket me know that those scary assassins, Justin and Gabriel, Alexei’s uncles, were actually the main focus of the Exit Strategy series so I could happily backtrack once more for their origin story and romance.

I’m highly recommending this story and onto the first one in the series.

Exit Strategy series:

✓ Deadly Lover: Special Edition #1

✓ Vengeful Lover #2

◦ Final Lover #3

◦ Forbidden Lover #4

✓ Accidental Lover #5

Related/sequel series: Shadow Elite books

Accidental Lover (Exit Strategy Book 5)

Description:

Rule No. 1 of being an assassin: Don’t sleep with your mark.

Eh. Alexei has never been big on rules.

It’s not his fault Soren is too sexy for words.

And it’s not like he knew Soren was the cat burglar he’d been hired to kill.

But as they dodge other assassins, the CIA, and even the Russians to keep Soren alive and a stolen hard drive out of their hands, Alexei might be in even greater danger of breaking

Rule No. 2.

Never fall for your mark.

Review: The Christmas Rescue (Laurel Holidays #4) by V.L. Locey

Rating: 4.25🌈

Part of Locey’s Laurel Holidays series, The Christmas Rescue is a story that allows the author to explore her love and knowledge of the realities of farm life and winter in the Pennsylvania hills through the characters sweet holiday romance.

The barns and farm living is realistic, accepting of the early hours and hard work that’s required to make things run. But you get the wonderful insight into the animals that make such a living a passion. The chickens , a duck, the goats, even a blind farm cat. And then there’s the setting. Cold, bitter at times, snowy, and gorgeous.

The manure and the magnificent. It’s both there.

Both are an important part of the story and integral element of Acosta Melios, owner of the farm rescue facility, Happy Laurel Farm. Acosta and his rescue farm are my favorite elements here. He’s so believable in his personality and abilities to exist within that environment.

I also felt that his background added the right amount of pathos and family uniqueness to give him extra depth.

Decker Fitzgerald, younger son of a highly successful Pittsburg business family, Fitzgerald & Sons Well Services, is the lesser character.

I liked him but felt he had a bit of a weakness with regard to his foundation. I throughly enjoyed reading about his journey as he explored Acosta’s farm and got to know the animals and life there. There was a odd bit about a homophobic encounter in town that seemed out of place but the real issue here is his family.

Decker’s mother’s side is Greek. His best memories are of his grandmother. However, his family is dysfunctional in the extreme. They are horrid for horrids sake. One note characters with little basis other than greed for their actions.

The Melios, a first generation Greek family, is on the other side of the spectrum. They are the inviting, warm, accepting , quick to welcome a man so clearly in need of loving support. Especially when Decker is so clearly showing the pain that comes from his family dynamics.

The ending comes about quickly. And there’s no satisfying scene with Decker’s family that feels realistic.

The epilogue left us with a wonderful holiday feeling and a great sense of the future for the couple.

I’m definitely recommending this for all fans of the author and contemporary romance holiday stories.

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showThe Christmas Rescue (Laurel Holidays #4) by V.L. Locey

Description:

A city boy is about to discover the true meaning of Christmas from a man with a heart as big as the snow-covered farm he calls home.

Decker Fitzgerald is all about the job. Which explains why he’s out cruising around the snowy hillsides of the Allegheny Plateau looking for a rundown farm in the middle of a whiteout. If not for his need to prove to his father—and himself—that he is worthy, he could be down in Rio with his friends over the holidays. But no, he’s creeping along winding country roads in search of some two-bit farm animal rescue parcel that Fitzgerald & Sons Well Services is desperate to contract. Seems the owner, some long-haired hippie sort, is refusing to allow them to set up a natural gas fracking pad on his acreage. Foolish tree-hugger types. Why anyone would choose a three-legged goat over thousands of dollars of royalty checks is beyond him.

He quickly finds himself stuck in a ditch and at the mercy of the elements as the snowstorm shifts into blizzard status. It’s then that a lanky stranger with a beat up tractor comes to his rescue. When the greeting and handshake reveal his rescuer is Acosta Melios, the peculiar hipster who owns the farm rescue facility he’s here to sweet talk into signing a contract, the instant pull of those cordial gray eyes falters. That is until Decker is forced to spend several days with the genial and outgoing husbandman. Between the gentle warmth that is Acosta and the loving pull of the abandoned farm animals, Decker is finding it harder and harder to persuade the outgoing farmer into allowing his father’s company to have access to his land. What isn’t hard is falling in love with the man and his throwaway charges. That, it seems, is as easy as falling off a cranky, diabetic llama.

The Christmas Rescue is a standalone small-town gay insta-love Christmas romance with forced proximity, two incredibly opposite men, a barnful of rescued farm animals, oodles of snow, strings of popcorn on a cockeyed tree, and a festive happily-ever-after.

Review: Cop vs Capo (Hitman vs Hitman #4) by Cari Z and L.A. Witt

Rating: 4.75🌈

I was absolutely wondering how these authors were going to work this book (Cop Chandler and Mafia Silvia’s romance) into the series structure of the ongoing glorious mayhem that is August and Ricardo’s romance without letting the main characters fade into a secondary storyline.

No worries. Cari Z and Witt managed to juggle the needs furthering the relationship of the series couple with that of this very complex, troubled, enemies to lovers romance beautifully.

Cop vs Capo has all the narrative aspects that are indicative of the series. Fast paced, suspenseful, murderously entertaining multi faceted storylines that are intertwined with a great relationship between fascinating characters. In this case, it’s relationships and four men.

We have gotten the haunting back stories of August and Ricardo. We understand the impact their pasts have had upon their lives. But we haven’t seen the trauma that’s driven David Chandler to become a police detective or been able to dwell on why a mob underboss like Pedro Silva has a obvious attraction to a male cop , especially given that Silva has a connected ex wife. Silvia’s been a great personality, complicated, ex Army, at odds internally with the mafia persona he wields. Chandler, too, has, in the glimpses the authors have given us, demonstrated a wry humor, acceptance to think less rigidly than his companions, and follows his instincts. They were fabulous men we wanted to see more of.

Now , in the midst of a gang war, one this group started, the authors reveal the damage and trauma of each man’s history that surfaces throughout the events here to bring them closer together. Yes, high body count, trigger warnings, death, all of that.

It’s done through the company of August and Ricardo, to great comedy relief, incredible action, and the occasional moments of serious reflection.

If I had a favorite in this series (and I don’t) this would rank among the top. There’s another one coming. August and Ricardo are getting married.

That should be a even higher body count.

No release date yet for In-Laws Vs Outlaws. However, I’ll be waiting.

In the meantime, I’m highly recommending Cop vs Capo but only if you have read the rest of the series first. Read them in the order they are written to understand the men, relationships, and events.

Hitman Vs Hitman series:

✓ Hitman Vs Hitman #1

✓ Sniper vs Spotter #2

✓ Killer vs Kingpin #3

◦ Cop vs Capo #4

◦ In-Laws vs Outlaws #5 – TBD

Buy Link Amazon :

Cop vs. Capo (Hitman vs Hitman Book 4)

Description:

Wherever August Morrison and Ricardo Torralba go, chaos is sure to follow. The authors certainly know this, since their “standalone book” has now turned into a series with no end in sight, because…UGH. These two. We give up.

Anyway.

Detective David Chandler had no clue what he was getting into when he and his partner decided they were going to nail August for murder. They didn’t realize it was one of the few murders August didn’t commit, or that their homicide investigation would lead them into the middle of a mob war.

Cavalcante underboss Pedro Silva knew asking August and Ricardo for help was a terrible idea. Just mentioning their names is bad for Pedro’s blood pressure. Owing them a favor? Oh Lord. He still asked, though, because he was out of options, but he can’t say he didn’t know he’d regret it.

Neither man expected things to blow up this badly.

Now they’re both on the run from the mafia, the cops, and everyone in between… except for August and Ricardo. On one hand, that means they have two expert assassins in their corner. On the other, it means they have the biggest troll on the planet heckling them at every turn. And sticking them in a safehouse together. With only one bed.

And if August or Ricardo make one more comment about how Dave and Pedro should just hook up already…

Cop vs. Capo is 67,500 words long, and is book 4 of the Hitman vs. Hitman series.

CW: combat PTSD, alcoholism, on-page violence, discussion of abuse of a sex worker.

Review: Eldon (Christmas Sprites #3) by Macy Blake

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Oh those fabulous Christmas sprites! Eldon, the serious one, gets his mate, in a story that runs almost concurrently with all the others. So we get mentions of events we know happened in the other Sprites romances.

Here in a not really “frenemies to lovers “ trope, it’s Tatum William Bixby III , new owner of the Snowda Shoppe, that has Eldon in a snit.

Tate won’t tell Eldon his plans for the shop and the mystery is making Eldon nuts, along with all the magical drama his cousins are causing.

Tate has his own personal reasons for fleeing to Mistletoe Falls. Tate grows on the reader as he wanders about town, falling into the charm of the town and its inhabitants, learning to love it and Eldon.

Once more, Blake has built on the previous books and storylines, and made this story and characters stronger. It’s a lovely romance and it’s leading up to the very last cousin, Linus, and his romantic partner. He’s here too.

Can’t wait for the finale.

I’m highly recommending this and the series.

Christmas Sprites:

✓ Nyall #1

✓ Oberon #2

✓ Eldon #3

◦ Linus #4 – Dec 22, 2022

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showEldon (Christmas Sprites #3) by Macy Blake

Description:

Yule be sorry.

Eldon doesn’t care what Tatum William Bixby the third thinks, he absolutely will not allow the Snowda Shoppe to become some corporate monstrosity. Mistletoe Falls is Eldon’s home, his life’s work, and some stuck-up, irritating, rich grinch will not ruin their small town spirit—no matter how gorgeous and intriguing Eldon finds the annoying newcomer.

Baby it’s cold outside. Frigid even, if the adorable Eldon’s reaction to Tate’s arrival in Mistletoe Falls is anything to go by. His plan to secretly escape to the small town for a much needed break has turned into a challenge to drive Eldon over the edge.

Sweet Eldon has a bite to him, though, and when Tate’s secret emerges, he and Eldon reach a holiday crisis of their own. Will the magic of Mistletoe Falls finally miss its mark, or did Eldon and Tate find love at frost sight?

If you love fated mates, enemies to lovers, and magical elves, er, sprites, who make the season bright, this holiday romance will leave you in pepper-mint condition.

Review: Monstrous Intent (Monsters and Mischief Book 1) by Alice Winters

Rating: 4.5🌈

If you’re familiar with Alice Winters, you know her writing often grounds itself in dark topics like murder, assassination, torture, themes of mass destruction, whether it’s in a contemporary world or that of an alternate reality filled with the paranormal.

Blending snarky, sharp, irreverent humor with moments of serious reflection and empathy, however, brief, the author imbues her characters and storylines with a slightly demented vitality that goes well with her high action packed narrative.

Declan is a former monster hunter for the Department of Research and Defense (DRD). But he became disillusioned with the constant attacks and killings so he left to become a teacher. Now with an increase in Chimeras sightings and killings, the DRD wants its best hunter back and won’t stop until he’s part of the organization again.

Lake, an enigma, works for the DRD , but Declan is instantly aware Lake is much more.

Winters’ complex plot, increasing cast of characters, and series foundation that’s being laid out as the storyline deepens, is a tale guaranteed to hold the reader’s interest and keep them engaged with the characters growing relationships.

Plus there’s fish again. That’s a odd reoccurring trend that’s got me wondering about undercover fish goals and other weirdness. Sort a love it.

Anyway, I really enjoyed Monstrous Intent and the open threads it left in this story that will drive the next part of the series.

If you’re a fan of Alice Winters or if this sounds like a tale that’s your jam, it’s one I’m definitely recommending.

Alice Wintershttps://www.alicewintersauthor.com › …Monstrous Intent

Description:

Declan
It’s really hard to pretend like life is normal when you’re staring a monster in the eyes, though he’s both tempting and irritating in his human form. I put my days as a hunter behind me, unable to cope with the death and pain anymore, to become an upstanding citizen and for what? To assist Lake, a man who claims he’s not a monster but keeps talking about me like I’m edible and–even worse–wants to woo me? Between my old organization trying to pull me in and Lake proving that things aren’t quite what they seem, I’m dragged back into this world of fighting the things that humans fear the most.

Lake
The human is exquisite. The first moment he told me he was going to hunt me down, I felt my heart burst. He’s beautiful, sassy, angry, and going to be mine (even if he thinks he can refuse my charms). But what Declan doesn’t know about me is that there’s a reason I’m hiding as a human among monster hunters. And while he definitely doesn’t know why, he’s willing to work with me because the people around us strangely want Declan and me dead at the end of this (I mean, who would want to kill us? We’re amazing).
But honestly… what’s more fun than dragging a hunter off to the dark side?

Warning: This is a chaotic monster and a chaotic human. Stuff happens. People die (but they were bad, so it doesn’t matter, right?) and there’s plenty of humor alongside a budding romance.

AMAZON

GOODREADS

—-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: The Dragon King’s Assassin (The Dragons of Serai Book 1) by Amy Sumida

Rating: 4🌈

Amy Sumida is a new author for me. My introduction to her writing is the first book in her series, The Dragons of Serai. I found many things here to recommend and some aspects that are just a bit much.

Sumida gives us a world where dragons are the apex being and humanity is among the lowest. Magic is taken for granted and the form of government among the various kingdoms is the Dragon Kings, a title hard fought for in a tournament.

The first story begins in the Kingdom of Racul where assassin Locrian Mahvis has been hired to kill dragon King Tarocvar Verres.

The characters and descriptions are lush and well defined. You can picture each immediately. Loch the King is all self assured power and amusement.

Everything the failed assassin is not. Except that he’s incredibly attracted to the King.

Instant lust , not love, but lust, is understandable here. The author makes a good case for Locrian’s feelings.

But this is the first instance in the book where the author’s leaning towards a certain type of purple prose starts to appear.

“Speaking of thrusting, that piece of man-flesh between those thighs would fill me as I’d never been filled before.”

— The Dragon King’s Assassin: An MM Fantasy Romance (The Dragons of Serai Book 1) by Amy Sumida

Shouldn’t that be dragon flesh? And why do those florid statements make me want to giggle instead of sigh?

There will be other instances where “he painted me with his hot desire.” So you see a pattern here.

Luckily, the fast paced action, terrific characters, magical storylines, and charisma between the leads overcome the tendency towards purple prose. Or maybe just make you accept that’s the world where that’s a statement would flourish!

I almost wish this had been a two being pov because I’d love to have had the King’s perspective on his “little mouse” throughout the relationship as it built. As it is, we only get Locrian’s and I think by not including the Dragon it lessens the impact.

There’s a great guardian hound, Ran. A group of pirates, and a setup for the next novel with a Necromancer sailing to help out a friend of the King, another Royal Dragon.

I found this and the couple entertaining so I’m onto the next. Honestly, it’s Dragons. I find them hard to resist.

I’m recommending it!

The Dragons of Serai series:

✓ The Dragon King’s Assassin #1

◦ The Dragon Prince’s Necromancer #2

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showThe Dragon King’s Assassin by Amy Sumida

Description:

My life changed the day I tried to take his.

Mhavenna is a glorious city but, like every city on the face of Serai, it’s run by Dragons. As a human, I’m on the lowest rung of the racial ladder here, as far from an illustrious Dragon as I could be, and I’ve made me peace with that. I don’t like Dragons much, but like or dislike has nothing to do with my work. So when my broker offered me the task of killing the Dragon King, I took it. It was the sort of kill that could make an assassin’s career, and I was certain that I had the skills for it.

I was wrong, nearly dead wrong.

The King caught me before I could finish the job, but instead of killing me, he made me his. I’m now the Dragon King’s assassin. A warning and a weapon. A way for him to bypass his own laws without personally breaking them. But that’s not all. He’s tasked me with guarding him against future attacks. Who better to stop an assassin than another assassin? And who better to find the one who hired us? If only the King didn’t have a body that made me salivate, a face that made my knees weak, and a pair of teal eyes that made me whimper. If only he didn’t stare at me with those stunning eyes as if I could be more than property to him. Maybe then I could do my job, find the person who wants him dead, and save my own life. But I don’t believe in miracles.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Playing Games ( Franklin U #1) by Riley Hart

Rating: 4 🌈

Playing Games is a wonderful enemies to lovers romance from Riley Hart. It’s the first in a multi-author series called Franklin U that can be read in any order, the only main factor is the campus all the characters live on and the college they attend.

I enjoyed the layered approach Hart takes here to both the characters, their differences in social status and histories, as well as how often even the harshest of arguments and familial divides worked their way out in areas of grey, adult relationship style instead of stark black/white divisiveness.

That same narrative outlook was applied to Braxton Walker, who’s tough upbringing and history is one he’s working hard to rise above. Despite his rough appearance, he’s set goals to achieve.

Tyson Langley is his opposite. Rich, sliding through his studies, a star on the college LaCrosse team, he represents everything Brax is fighting hard for and yet Ty seems to appreciate none of it.

The characters are well defined. And when a believable crisis causes Ty to seek a job that brings him into Brax’s orbit, the enforced intimacy that breaks down each other’s walls has a realistic feeling to it.

The romance happens a tad fast but the groundwork is laid for it and a relationship. It does work.

I ended up really enjoying their story and the characters. They each make a couple of “guest” appearances in other books in this series.

If you’re a lover of contemporary romance, add this sweet book to your list!

Franklin U series:

✓ Playing Games #1 – Riley Hart

✓ The Dating Disaster #2 – Saxon James

✓ Mr. Romance #3 – Louise Masters

◦ Bet You #4 – Neve Wilder

◦ The Glow Up #5 – A.M. Johnson

◦ The Learning Curve #6 – N.R. Walker

◦ Making Waves #7 – Christina Lee

◦ Football Royalty #8 – Eden Finley

https://www.goodreads.com › showPlaying Games (Franklin U #1) by Riley Hart | Goodreads

Brax

Tyson Langley thinks the king in Franklin University Kings is in reference to him. Star lacrosse player and God’s gift to the female and male population, there’s nothing the spoiled jock can’t have.

It’s impossible for us to be in the same room without talking crap to each other. But I also have a secret… As much as I despise Ty, I want him too. I revel in our banter and in never knowing what he’ll say next.

I’ve spent too much time on the wrong side of the law for someone like Ty, though, and if I want to make it through college and escape my past, he’s a distraction I don’t need.

Ty

Braxton Walker needs to learn to lighten up. If you search brooding online, his name pops up. He’s the bad boy with a leather jacket and a scowl. We couldn’t be more different.

Finding ways to annoy him is like the longest foreplay session of my life. And when we end up working together, it gets harder to deny how hot he makes me.

What’s a little hooking up between enemies?

We weren’t supposed to become friends or share secrets. We weren’t supposed to understand each other and all the complicated stuff we’re going through.

I’m used to playing games, only the more time I spend with Brax, the less it feels like playing around and the more it becomes something real.

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This series takes place across a calendar year. The books have been released in chronological order but are all stand alones and can be consumed in whichever order you choose.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.