After TEN years of having an unnecessary grudge against Jennifer L. Armentrout (JLA) I have been absolutely binging her books this year. I wouldn't beAfter TEN years of having an unnecessary grudge against Jennifer L. Armentrout (JLA) I have been absolutely binging her books this year. I wouldn't be surprised if she's my most-read author so far.
The Dark Elements series has been recently republished and rebranded as an adult paranormal romance series and I decided to give it a shot considering I've been loving JLA's Covenant series. I didn't realize there was a prequel novella, so I quickly bought it on Kindle! I WISH this cover was something I could get physically as I LOVE a pink book!
Bitter Sweet Love follows the love story of Jasmine and Dez who were in love with each other as kids and when it was announced they were to be mated he disappeared and left her alone for three years with no contact. Now, he's back– older, hardened, and dreamier than she remembered. Not to mention her feelings haven't left and he wants her back. Dez has a week to prove himself to Jasmine and help her complete her bucket list. For every task completed, he gets a kiss.
Cute, fun, I love love, yada yada yada. Excited for the rest of the series because I believe we get introduced to the main character of the trilogy in this book and WOWWWWW HER LIFE MUST SUCK....more
I read this solely because the first 50 pages of book one were confusing. I came here for clarity and I left even more confused. Like book one’s startI read this solely because the first 50 pages of book one were confusing. I came here for clarity and I left even more confused. Like book one’s start I also felt like I was walking on a sequel not the beginning, yk? ...more
This was not what I expected, but also exactly everything I thought it would be, lol.
The Awakening follows Tory and Darcy, two twins who steal and doThis was not what I expected, but also exactly everything I thought it would be, lol.
The Awakening follows Tory and Darcy, two twins who steal and do whatever possible to make ends meet. When they get approached and later whisked away to Solaria, the fae realm, these two sisters find out they're the long-lost Gemini twins– the sole heirs to Solaria's throne. However, it isn't as simple as it sounds. Tory and Darcy must enroll in Zodiac Academy and be caught up to speed with what they've missed, but when they meet four boys, one of each element, they're in for more than they bargained for. With the royal line seemingly dead, one person from each element took on to become a part of the council and now these girls are taking away the entire life these boys knew.
I knew going into this the writing was not great and it's a bully romance, but you'll want to keep reading. I feel like at any time I could have put this book down and been okay with never picking it up again. With that being said, I still think I'm going to try the second one since I've heard that's got a revenge plot and I'm ALL for that. I guess I'll have to be convinced of the love interests as time goes on because I can't get behind a bully. Even if they're doing things just to 'show face' it's still so mean. I know they're taking your birthright, but you act like they asked for this!!!!
Starting this book was also an experience... I genuinely thought I was reading the wrong damn book. Eventually, you get to the point where you can tell you're starting a series, but at first, it felt like I walked into the middle of a pre-established series. I then read the prequel on my Kindle, and I figured that would give me answers, but it did not.
I was also surprised this was published in 2019 as the writing and the way these characters act, text, and talk are giving 2000's YA trashy urban fantasy romance.
Overall, The Awakening is an easy book to read, I mean I didn't expect this to be a literary masterpiece, but from the hype surrounding it I expected to become quickly obsessed and that's not how I feel currently. Once again, I'll still try the sequel, but I"m not obsessed.
I love this series so much! I really didn't think any book could restore my faith in Jennifer L. Armentrout, but the Covenant series has proved its woI love this series so much! I really didn't think any book could restore my faith in Jennifer L. Armentrout, but the Covenant series has proved its worth.
With the ending of book one, Half-Blood, I was so excited to dive into this and Armentrout did not disappoint with this sequel. While much didn't happen, I ate it up. I expected Alex to have her 18th birthday in this one, but it appears that will be hashed out in the third book, Deity.
In Half-Blood, I was very confident in my choice for the upcoming love triangle, but now that I've finished this book, I'm 60/40 on who I want her to end up with. I'm a sucker for a forbidden romance, but also a fated romance HITS. HOW COULD U DO THIS TO ME, I CAN'T CHOOSE!!!!!!
I find this series incredibly addictive so far. When I read them, I don't want to do anything else until I close the book! If you also have an older edition of this series and are wondering if the bonus content is worth it to get this edition, I'd say you can pass. While these are the best covers of the series by far, the bonus content is mostly just scenes from the love interests' POV that is already easy to guess if you can read between the lines.
If book three could come out early I would very much like that because I am SO EXCITED for the next one!!!
(P.S. if you do not like trashy YA urban fantasy with romance this will not be your cup of tea. Unfortunately, I am easily entertained and love recycled early 2010's book tropes so I will eat them up every time. thank u)...more
I'm really enjoying what I'm reading so far, but I just KNOW I would love this book more as a physical experience versus on my Kindle! I'd love to binI'm really enjoying what I'm reading so far, but I just KNOW I would love this book more as a physical experience versus on my Kindle! I'd love to binge this, but I read my Kindle exclusively at night so the reading experience hasn't been great!
I got an early copy via Edelweiss, but plan to pick up a physical on release day! ...more
This is the most fun I've had with a book in ages!
I really want to read the fourth book in this series, but I don't like to read an interconnected stThis is the most fun I've had with a book in ages!
I really want to read the fourth book in this series, but I don't like to read an interconnected standalone series out of order if I can help it, so I decided I'd try to push through the first three books to get to the one I've been waiting for. Who knew I'd love this so much?
Despite it's silly name, this book is SO GOOD. Three sisters, Thea, Wren, and Morgan find a map leading to a small town called Ever where they plan to spend a girls' weekend. When they stop to get directions at a gas station, Thea meets a handsome stranger, Shepherd. When the triplets get to Ever their lives are changed. This beautiful and whimsical town is not only the home of their dreams but is a town filled with monsters. Soon, Thea learns Shepherd isn't a human, but a gargoyle and they're fated to be together. But, there is evil lurking outside the wards and will their love be enough to save them all?
I adored this. Not only did this do a deep dive into my psyche and make me realize that perhaps I am into monster smut (sigh), but also it was so funny and charming! If you are a fantasy lover like myself, the world-building in this is fantastic and if you were to take away the smut there is still a fantastic plot. I was a little worried this would lean on the cozy fantasy side of the spectrum and make me bored as most in that subgenre do, but this had a bit of a mystery to it! Not to mention, the romance, although insta-love/lust, was stunning.
This first book had SO much lore to it that I can't see myself ever reading these out of order. I didn't think I'd like this at all, but I was pleasantly surprised! It was so fun and something I looked forward to picking up every night.
I cannot wait to read the rest of the books! I am a bit nervous about ordering them though because that rather means 1) Ordering them on Amazon (I share it with my mom) and having her get the confirmation email that her daughter wants Gargoyle smut (thank you, "discreet" title) or 2) Go to work (I work at Barnes & Noble) and have to ask one of my innocent coworkers to order me gargoyle smut. ...more
There are just some books that I wish I skipped out on but couldn't stop reading because it was under 300 pages. This is one of those books✧ 270/ 100
There are just some books that I wish I skipped out on but couldn't stop reading because it was under 300 pages. This is one of those books.
The Last Dragon King is a YA fantasy romance set in a world where you can have dragon blood. You could be a pureblood and be able to shift into a vampire or in Arwen's case you could have a small amount of dragon blood but be mostly human. However, the Dragon King is in need of a new wife after his past wife couldn't handle the amount of power he had, and all of their children and herself died at birth. Now he is sending his guard all over the land to find a new wife with enough dragon blood to be able to sustain themselves and his heirs. Arwen shrugs this off because no one comes to her small village anyway and she's mostly human. That is until her mom freaks out and spills to her that she was born to a highborn woman, with pure blood. Arwen's birth mother explained that Arwen must never be found otherwise the king would kill her, but when Arwen is forced into the castle anyway her plan is to make him fall for her so he'll never want to kill her. But when real feelings get mixed in and her glamour hiding her real magic is fading, betrayal and love will soon mix.
I don't know what this book was but I did not have a good time. This is a YA book with such an adult premise that I was shocked to find out it was YA. It's also written extremely juvenile, which makes sense considering it is YA, but it was pretty bad. Everything was so convenient and not in a thought-out way, but in a way that seemed so lazy. There were so many times to create suspense and tension, but the author decided to just make the story so easy. So many of the same phrases were repeated. I'm not saying I could do it better, because if you read any of my reviews 99% of the time they start out the same, but I don't claim to be a writer. It's so basic in concept and it had many times to make this fun, slow-burn, and creative, but Leia Stone just made it like every other fantasy romance.
I wish this went differently but the writing was not my taste AT ALL so I won't be continuing the series. There are so many other complaints I have but they're spoilers, so I will just leave it at that.
(Read this digital advanced reader copy via Edelweiss. This title is set to release on December 26, 2023, from Bloom Books! Thank you) ...more
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