Look, I’m always here for a good revenge, spite book so when I saw Love at First Spite offered up for review I jumped at the chance to read.
There were things about this book I really loved and a few things that I didn’t. Dani is our heroine and she realizes just a few weeks before her wedding that her fiance is cheating on her. After a spectacular time paintballing in her wedding dress with her cousin, she realizes that she needs some other form of revenge, which leads to her, her cousin, and Iris, her landlady pooling their money to buy the lot next door to her ex and building a spite house. The only architect she can find to work with on this project is Wyatt, her cold, standoffish co-worker.
This is a very easy-to-read romance. I flew right through it. But after being all in with Dani at the beginning of her revenge plans, they started to feel a little childish with all the flags and gnomes and role-playing photo shoots. I kind of wanted her to just see what was in front of her face and the new relationship with Wyatt. They had some good chemistry in the bedroom, but other than that I just couldn’t see them as making it long term. I think if this would have been a dual POV it would have been a bit more satisfying. I would have liked to get into Wyatt’s head. Especially since he seemed so hot and cold, even after he and Dani got all hot and heavy.
The climax and resolution come about after something bad happens and the culprit is Dani’s ex and the whole thing just felt so contrived. I just… don’t know. Not that he gets a lot of page time for readers to get to know him. I might have rolled my eyes just a bit.
All in all, an okay romance with some heat and a few laughs.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a good cowboy romance and this cover called to me as soon as I saw it while putting together the new release list. I noticed that it was labeled as being first in a series so I decided to jump right in. Come to find out this is actually the first book in a spin-off series, with quite a few of the secondary characters making an appearance in the Clean Slate Ranch books. No worries, though, that didn’t seem to matter one bit other than to get me interested in reading this author’s backlist.
Hugo Turner is working at the Clean Slate Ranch where he is comfortable and enjoys quite a few friendships. But when his boss happens to mention that his brother back in Texas is looking for help, he decides on the fly to put in an application and see what happens. He’s apprehensive, after all, he left Texas ten years ago right after his 18th birthday, and hasn’t looked back. There are just too many bad memories surrounding his family and one big time crush that dashed all his hopes. But he needs to put some of those bad memories to rest, so he takes the job and heads to the Woods Ranch.
Brand Woods never wanted to be a full-time rancher, but after his older brother left home, the duty has fallen to him. So his life now revolves around keeping the ranch afloat financially and hooking up, but never really settling down with anyone. He’s bi-sexual, but keeps it mostly to himself, he has two friends with benefits relationships, and that suits him just fine. Then the man who started him wondering about his sexuality shows up to work and he has both a sense of dread and excitement.
At first, I wondered if these two would ever get together. There is a whole lot of tentativeness and unease around these two. Brand isn’t out to anyone but his two casual hook-ups, and I don’t think he knew just how to make Hugo understand that he was interested. Hugo is kind of waiting for the next shoe to drop as almost everyone in his life has let him down at some point, and he exposed his attraction to Brand ten years prior and was rebuffed. It does take them a while to figure it out and then to open up enough to be more than just casual. And I will admit that I had some anxiety about how Brand’s family would react once they found out about his and Hugo’s relationship, especially with the story about Brand’s older brother, but was happy with the way they rallied around them and accepted Hugo as part of the family.
This story was alternatingly sweet, sexy, and heartbreaking. But there is a HEA that left Hugo and Brand in a good place. I look forward to seeing where this series goes next.
I first saw the covers for this series on Amazon while putting together the new release post for the week. And I would be lying if I said it wasn’t the word barbarian in the title that first caught my attention. Everyone should know by now that I’m a sucker for a sexy barbarian romance. When I discovered this would be a duology and feature the same main characters in both books, I decided to wait and read them back to back. No one likes to sit on a cliffhanger, especially me. This is my patting past me on the back because I AM SO GLAD I made that decision. Now after having devoured both books in about 24 hours I’m ready to put my thoughts down on page.
Fantasy and science fiction romance are my addiction of choice in these stressful times, so I dove right into this fantasy. And wasn’t really sure if I liked either main character at first. Jem came across as a pampered, spoiled, naive royal, and the husband chosen for him, Cador, was a jerk and a half. So okay, this is also an arranged marriage, enemies to lovers romance meant to strengthen alliances and royal families. I can deal. For the first 40 or so percent of the book I wanted Cador to somehow fall into a fire and suffer for treating Jem like crap, and I wanted Jem to stand up for himself. Barbarians indeed.
But then something happened… Jem and Cador grew on me. And each other. These two men got to know each other and like each other and their chemistry started to shine through. There were some scorching hot love scenes and a whole lot of character growth. Which means there was doom on the horizon and a big conflict coming.
Which of course, it did, and it’s pretty terrible and I wondered what this would mean for these lovers. So I couldn’t help but start book two immediately.
If Wed to the Barbarian is Jem coming into his own and finding his way, The Barbarin’s Vow is Cador realizing his mistakes, discovering what really matters to him, and trying desperately to get back into Jem’ good graces. As much as I disliked Cador at first in book one, I rooted for him here. I wanted this couple to figure it out. I wanted GROVELING. I wanted their hearts to lead the way back from betrayal to something stronger. I wanted declarations of love and hot make-up sex. To my delight, I got everything I asked for.
The backdrop of this duology is a complicated plot of political schemes, religious fervor, natural disasters, and a disease that is inflicting children. I wasn’t sure who to trust, so you can imagine how Jem and Cador had to be feeling. They are surrounded by a vibrant cast of characters, both friend and foe, and I honestly can’t decide who I enjoyed more. Maybe Santos, Jem’s non-binary sibling who gave him the most support? Or Jory, Cador’s friend who offered help time and time again?
I really enjoyed this adventure and love story and was so thankful for the epilogue where readers were able to look into the future and see how much Cador and Jem are enjoying their HEA.
I first saw the covers for this series on Amazon while putting together the new release post for the week. And I would be lying if I said it wasn’t the word barbarian in the title that first caught my attention. Everyone should know by now that I’m a sucker for a sexy barbarian romance. When I discovered this would be a duology and feature the same main characters in both books, I decided to wait and read them back to back. No one likes to sit on a cliffhanger, especially me. This is my patting past me on the back because I AM SO GLAD I made that decision. Now after having devoured both books in about 24 hours I’m ready to put my thoughts down on page.
Fantasy and science fiction romance are my addiction of choice in these stressful times, so I dove right into this fantasy. And wasn’t really sure if I liked either main character at first. Jem came across as a pampered, spoiled, naive royal, and the husband chosen for him, Cador, was a jerk and a half. So okay, this is also an arranged marriage, enemies to lovers romance meant to strengthen alliances and royal families. I can deal. For the first 40 or so percent of the book I wanted Cador to somehow fall into a fire and suffer for treating Jem like crap, and I wanted Jem to stand up for himself. Barbarians indeed.
But then something happened… Jem and Cador grew on me. And each other. These two men got to know each other and like each other and their chemistry started to shine through. There were some scorching hot love scenes and a whole lot of character growth. Which means there was doom on the horizon and a big conflict coming.
Which of course, it did, and it’s pretty terrible and I wondered what this would mean for these lovers. So I couldn’t help but start book two immediately.
If Wed to the Barbarian is Jem coming into his own and finding his way, The Barbarin’s Vow is Cador realizing his mistakes, discovering what really matters to him, and trying desperately to get back into Jem’ good graces. As much as I disliked Cador at first in book one, I rooted for him here. I wanted this couple to figure it out. I wanted GROVELING. I wanted their hearts to lead the way back from betrayal to something stronger. I wanted declarations of love and hot make-up sex. To my delight, I got everything I asked for.
The backdrop of this duology is a complicated plot of political schemes, religious fervor, natural disasters, and a disease that is inflicting children. I wasn’t sure who to trust, so you can imagine how Jem and Cador had to be feeling. They are surrounded by a vibrant cast of characters, both friend and foe, and I honestly can’t decide who I enjoyed more. Maybe Santos, Jem’s non-binary sibling who gave him the most support? Or Jory, Cador’s friend who offered help time and time again?
I really enjoyed this adventure and love story and was so thankful for the epilogue where readers were able to look into the future and see how much Cador and Jem are enjoying their HEA.
Before I get into this review I just have to say bravo to the cover artist for this beautiful cover and how well matched it is to a certain pivotal scene.
Fated Blades is part of the Kinsmen universe, one of this author duo’s lesser-known series. Which is a shame because it, like all of their work, is beyond awesome. Who doesn’t love warring space families with special powers and all the sci-fi tech their heart desires? If you haven’t dived into the first two books in this series yet, Silent Blade and Silver Shark, I urge you to do so as soon as possible. Fated Blades can be read as a stand-alone, but the overall worldbuilding is better understood when read as a set in my opinion.
Set in the family corporate world of the Kinsmen, this book introduces Matias Baena and Ramona Adler, mortal enemies, heads of their families, and secare, able to form seco blades and shields with their bodies. When Ramona discovers that their spouses are having an affair and have stolen each of their family’s research into seco technology before running away together she knows only she and Matias can track them down and get it back. Which means these two lifelong enemies are going to have to figure out real quick how to work together.
Y’all, I don’t want to gush all over this review, but I just not be able to help myself. The angst! The action scenes! The “we hate each other, but we really don’t, oh no!”! This whole book is nothing but competence porn at its finest. I couldn’t stop reading. Whenever I recommend this author duo to someone looking for recs I always say they write the best action scenes in a fantasy setting and that is absolutely true again with Fated Blades. The scenes of these two fighting side by side, back to back, taking on dozens of enemies all while using their blades, shields, and smarts was absolutely glorious. As you can tell from the title, there is a touch of fated soulmates to this pairing, as they get to know and like each other, they also form what in the secare world is called synchronization, able to fight in harmony which makes them even more formidable. And oh my goodness are they formidable.
I don’t want to get too much more into the plot, lots of corporate and political conspiracies and betrayal, but suffice it to say this book hit all my book-loving buttons. I can’t wait to read it again (which I do all the time with this author duo’s backlist). Highly recommend.
First, let me say that I’m not usually a holiday romance reader. I have read them, they just aren’t something I read a lot of. But when Tessa Bailey, the queen of the dirty talking hero, says she has a Ted Lasso-inspired, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract holiday romance… I just can’t help myself. I really can’t. I don’t have the willpower y’all.
And I’m really glad I gave in to my one-click finger.
This is set in the world of department stores and window dressing. Stella is just out of prison after a four-year sentence and she desperately needs a fresh start. And that’s exactly when she encounters the dorkiest, most cheerful, and positive guy imaginable while looking into the atrocious display windows of an upscale department store. He asks her opinion, she gives it to him honestly. He then asks to apply for the newly open job of widow dresser for the store. Which… is preposterous, no one would hire someone with her background? Right?
Aiden is the general manager for Vivient and immediately wants Stella for the window dressing job as soon as he meets her. He also wants to just get to know her better. But as her potential boss, he has to take things slow and with the utmost integrity. His bow tie-wearing, holiday season loving, charming storytelling, nice guy exterior is exactly who he is, but he’s also a beast in the sheets and he wants Stella in life and in his bed.
Woooo buddy, I enjoyed this romance so much. The grumpy, remote Stella and the patient, sunshine Aiden totally did it for me. These two take it slow physically, but oh boy the sexual tension is off the charts. Watching Stella build self-confidence as she also builds friendships and her windows take off was a joy. Aiden with his soft, understanding personality and dirty talking mouth once he gets Stella to agree to a love contract at work was MMMM yes, please.
This was a lovely holiday-themed romance. Tessa Bailey has given me so much joy this year with her words and stories. I look forward to more in the new year.
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