Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

#BookReview Rogue by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #RogueBook #SandoverPrep #ElleKennedy #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Rogue by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #RogueBook #SandoverPrep #ElleKennedy #SourcebooksCasa Title: Rogue

Author: Elle Kennedy

Series: Prep #2

Published by: Bloom Books on Mar. 7, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 430

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

From New York Times bestselling author Elle Kennedy comes the return to Sandover Prep, where secrets lurk in the dark and no one is safe when they come into the light.

It’s been a long time since Casey Tresscott has felt like her life was her own. After the car accident that nearly cost her everything, she’s used to her family’s coddling and the relentless whispers at school, no matter how much they sting. After all, she’s found a safe harbor in her budding relationship with Sandover’s golden boy, Fenn Bishop…or so she thinks.

Beneath Fenn’s pretty, party-boy surface is a dangerous truth about the night Casey almost died. He thought lying to her was the right thing to do, but when the secret shakes loose, he just might lose her for good.

Because Casey is done being taken advantage of.

Grasping for the control she’s been missing, Casey finally snaps―telling off her bullies, gallivanting with rebels and playboys, and shirking her headmaster father’s strict curfews, despite the consequences. A desperate Fenn must ally with his stepbrother RJ and the other Sandover delinquents to uncover the full story of Casey’s accident and the ones responsible if he hopes to win her back.

But what happens if Casey is no longer the same girl he first fell for? Is there any hope for their future if she’s gone rogue for good?


Review:

Mysterious, scandalous, and spicy

Rogue is an addictive, alluring tale that transports you back to Sandover Prep right where Misfit leftover and into the life of Headmaster Tresscott’s youngest daughter Casey as she struggles to discover what really happened the night she almost died, finally confronts the bullies who taunt her day in and day out, and must decide if the boy of her dreams is worth giving a second chance.

The writing is intriguing and smooth. The characters are tormented, hedonistic, and impulsive. And the plot is a clever, captivating mix of mayhem, mischief, friendship, family, heartbreak, desire, teenage drama, first loves, and introspection.

Overall, Rogue is a highly entertaining, delectable treat that is another fantastic addition to what is ultimately turning out to be an absolutely binge-worthy, scandalous Prep series by Kennedy.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Bloom Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Elle Kennedy

A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.

Elle currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

#BookReview Twisted by Emily McIntire @authoremilym @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #Twisted #NeverAfterSeries #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Twisted by Emily McIntire @authoremilym @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #Twisted #NeverAfterSeries #SourcebooksCasa Title: Twisted

Author: Emily McIntire

Series: Never After #4

Published by: Bloom Books on Feb. 7, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8.5/10

She’s his diamond in the rough. He’s her worst nightmare.

Yasmin Karam, daughter to one of the richest men in the world, has never known strife. So, when her beloved father falls ill, she’s determined to make his final days his happiest. His last wish? To see her married to a man of his choosing. Except Yasmin’s heart already belongs to someone else. A servant. A street rat. A man her father would never consider worthy. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Yasmin strikes a desperate deal with her father’s right-hand man, Julian, not realizing he has his own twisted agenda.

Julian Faraci has one goal: become the most powerful man in the world. He’s built a future from broken bones and faded bruises, never caring who he hurt along the way. But when his mentor falls ill, he finds himself on the verge of losing everything, and he’ll stop at nothing to inherit what is rightfully his. Even if it means forcing a woman he can’t stand into marriage.

Yasmin is a brat who speaks out of turn, and he’s the villain of her story. But he decides she’ll be his—no matter what it takes to convince her.


Review:

Edgy, addictive, and darkly delicious!

Twisted is a dramatic, spicy tale that takes you on a journey into the life of Yasmin Karam, the intelligent daughter of a successful diamond retailer who, after finding out her father wishes her to marry before he passes away, agrees to fake an engagement to the one man she despises, Julian Faraci, her father’s savage right-hand man who’ll do anything necessary, even marry the one woman he loathes, in order to acquire what he believes he legitimately deserves.

The writing is sultry and smooth. The characters are consumed, brazen, and intense. And the plot is a tantalizing tale full of desire, temptation, chemistry, mystique, danger, deception, violence, secrets, and sizzling romance.

Overall, Twisted is another steamy, alluring, captivating tale by McIntire that has all the elements I’ve come to know and love in her previous novels, including a fierce heroine, a dangerous bad boy, and a fast-paced, seductive storyline that I can happily say I devoured in one sitting.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Bloom Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Emily McIntire

Emily McIntire is an international and Amazon top 15 best-selling author known for her Never After Series, where she gives our favorite villains their happily ever afters. With books that range from small town to dark romance, she doesn’t like to box herself into one type of story, but at the core of all her novels is soul deep love. When she’s not writing you can find her waiting on her long lost Hogwarts letter, enjoying her family, or lost between the pages of a good book. The author and her family live near Knoxville, TN.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Underneath the Sycamore Tree by B. Celeste @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #UnderneaththeSycamoreTree #AuthorBCeleste #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Underneath the Sycamore Tree by B. Celeste @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #UnderneaththeSycamoreTree #AuthorBCeleste #SourcebooksCasa Title: Underneath the Sycamore Tree

Author: B. Celeste

Published by: Bloom Books on Jan. 3, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, New Adult

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

Time is a luxury we don’t all have…

Emery Matterson’s life has been broken for a while. First, she lost her twin sister to an incurable autoimmune disease, then her father left, then her mother fell apart when Emery herself was diagnosed with the same disease that killed her sister. The only option for Emery seems to be to move in with the father she hasn’t seen in ten years, and start over.

Enter Kaiden Monroe, the brooding athlete who has baggage of his own. Kaiden makes Emery feel normal. Hated. Cared for. Loathed. And…loved. Somewhere along the way, Emery finds solace in the guy with the sad eyes.

But everything happens in stages. And nothing good ever lasts.

From fan-favorite author B. Celeste comes an raw, real, and unforgettable story of love and loss between two young people grappling with the harsh reality of invisible disease.


Review:

Poignant, pensive, and beautifully written!

Underneath the Sycamore Tree is an exceptionally moving, emotional novel that takes you into the life of teenager Emery Matterson as she tries to reap as much joy and pleasure out of each day, savouring the little things, doing the one thing in life that she thought she might never get to do, falling in love, all while dealing with a body in constant pain and a family shattered by grief over the loss of her twin.

The prose is eloquent and insightful. The characters, including all the supporting characters, are strong, compassionate, and endearing. And the plot is an absorbing, touching tale about life, love, family, friendship, kindness, honesty, fear, acceptance, generosity, romance, humour, introspection, loss, and the quiet savagery of lupus.

Overall, Underneath the Sycamore Tree is a reflective, heart-wrenching, bittersweet tearjerker by B. Celeste that does a remarkable job of reminding us of what’s truly important in life and highlighting the sheer power of love.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Bloom Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About B. Celeste

B. Celeste is a new adult and contemporary romance author that gives voices to raw, realistic characters with emotional storylines that tug on the heartstrings.

She was born and raised in upstate New York where she still resides with her four-legged feline sidekick, Oliver “Ollie” Queen. Her love for reading and writing began at an early age and only grew stronger after getting a BA in English and an MFA in English & creative writing. When she’s not writing, she’s working out, binge-watching reality game shows, and spending time with her friends and family.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Misfit by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #MisfitBook #SandoverPrep #ElleKennedy #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Misfit by Elle Kennedy @ElleKennedy @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #MisfitBook #SandoverPrep #ElleKennedy #SourcebooksCasa Title: Misfit

Author: Elle Kennedy

Series: Prep #1

Published by: Bloom Books on Nov. 29, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 416

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 10/10

Finding out your mom is marrying some rich dude you’ve never met is enough to make any eighteen-year-old guy’s head spin. But for RJ SHAW, it only gets worse: he’s being sent to Sandover Prep for senior year. If there’s one place a misfit hacker like RJ doesn’t belong, it’s an ivy-covered all-boys boarding school for rich delinquents.

RJ knows his stay at Sandover will be temporary. Which means there’s no point making friends or trying to fit in. But the plan to remain antisocial goes awry when he meets a gorgeous girl in the woods on campus. SLOANE TRESSCOTT is pure temptation, with a sharp tongue and an ice princess attitude RJ’s determined to crack. Except there’s a catch. Sloane is the one girl he is forbidden from touching.

The headmaster’s daughter.

Good thing RJ doesn’t believe in rules. Sure, Sloane insists she’s swearing off guys this year, but their connection is impossible to deny. He wants her bad, and he’s going to win her over if it kills him.

Unless her ex-boyfriend kills him first.

DUKE, the ruling king of Sandover, will stop at nothing to get rid of his competition. Luckily, RJ’s unwittingly made some friends—his new stepbrother FENN, a pretty boy with a self-destructive streak; LAWSON, self-proclaimed agent of chaos; and SILAS, the All-American Good Guy who can’t actually be as nice as he seems.

If RJ wants to survive prep school and win Sloane’s heart, he’ll need to adapt—and fast.


Review:

Captivating, sexy, and outrageously entertaining!

Misfit is a seductive, engaging tale that transports you to Sandover Prep, an elite all-boys school for rich delinquent teens that has all the usual fare, entitled students, unrelenting bullies, sexual promiscuity, forbidden romance, naughty behaviour, and innumerably delicious scandals.

The writing is steamy and fun. The characters are rebellious, self-indulgent, and secretive. And the plot, told from multiple perspectives, is a passionate, promiscuous, coming-of-age tale full of familial troubles, teenage angst, palpable attraction, witty banter, excessive indulgence, romance, friendship, and love.

Overall, Misfit is a wildly addictive, sinfully salacious, exceptionally absorbing novel by Kennedy that immersed me so thoroughly in the decadence, lifestyle, drama, luxuries, and scandalous behaviour of the characters I never wanted to put it down. It’s truly a guilty pleasure that undoubtedly not only left me craving for more but already counting down the days until I can get my hands on the second book in the series Rogue, publishing on March 7, 2023.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Bloom Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Elle Kennedy

A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.

Elle currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

#BookReview The Duke in Question by Amalie Howard @AmalieHoward @SourcebooksCasa #AmalieHoward #TheDukeinQuestion #DaringDukes #SourcebooksCasa #Sourcebooksfiction

#BookReview The Duke in Question by Amalie Howard @AmalieHoward @SourcebooksCasa #AmalieHoward #TheDukeinQuestion #DaringDukes #SourcebooksCasa #Sourcebooksfiction Title: The Duke in Question

Author: Amalie Howard

Series: Daring Dukes #3

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Nov. 8, 2022

Genres: Historical Romance

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8/10

James Bond meets Bridgerton in this steamy enemies-to-lovers historical romance from USA Today bestselling author Amalie Howard:

  • This lady won’t let a savvy duke sway her from her mission.
  • The Duke of Thornbury, retired agent of the Crown, has never lost a target.
  • In a flirty game of cat and mouse, a spy must keep his enemy close to unravel the secrets that threaten to tear them apart.

Lady Bronwyn Chase is far from the paragon of society that her mother expects her to be. Which is why she’s on her brother’s passenger liner bound for America with a secret packet of letters that could get her into trouble. Serious trouble—the kind that a duke’s sister shouldn’t be in; the kind that puts spymaster Valentine Medford, the Duke of Thornbury, on her trail. But as the duke gets closer to Bronwyn and the secrets she’s keeping, he’ll have to decide between the mysterious woman who calls to him, or his allegiance to the Crown.


Review:

Mysterious, passionate, and entertaining!

The Duke in Question is an edgy, playful tale that sweeps you away to London, Philadelphia and Paris and into the life of Lady Bronwyn Chase, a clever undercover operative determined to do whatever it takes to deliver some sensitive documents to aid the Union’s cause in the American Civil War, even if it means dodging the handsome, former British Intelligence Officer, Lord Valentine Medford, the Duke of Thornbury, who is on a mission of his own to discover and identify the rogue operative known as “The Kestrel.”

The prose is witty and light. The characters are secretive, fearless, and resourceful. And the plot is an alluring, action-packed mix of family, friendship, societal expectations, scheming behaviour, tricky situations, danger, desire, and steamy romance.

Overall, The Duke in Question is an adventurous, compelling, highly amusing tale by Howard that’s a delightful indulgence and, in my opinion, a wonderful addition to the Daring Dukes series.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links. 

           

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Amalie Howard

AMALIE HOWARD is a USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling novelist of “smart, sexy, deliciously feminist romance.” The Beast of Beswick was one of Oprah Daily’s Top 24 Best Historicals to Read. She is also the author of several critically acclaimed, award-winning young adult novels. An AAPI/Caribbean-born writer, her books, interviews, and articles have been featured in Entertainment Weekly, Oprah Daily, Seventeen, and Ravishly Magazine. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found reading, being the president of her one-woman Harley Davidson motorcycle club #WriteOrDie, or power-napping. She currently lives in Colorado with her family.

Photo by Kristoff Lutchman.

#BookReview A Curse of Queens by Amanda Bouchet @AuthorABouchet @SourcebooksCasa #AmandaBouchet #ACurseofQueens #kingmakerseries #kingmakerchronicles #SourcebooksCasa #Sourcebooksfiction

#BookReview A Curse of Queens by Amanda Bouchet @AuthorABouchet @SourcebooksCasa #AmandaBouchet #ACurseofQueens #kingmakerseries #kingmakerchronicles #SourcebooksCasa #Sourcebooksfiction Title: A Curse of Queens

Author: Amanda Bouchet

Series: The Kingmaker Chronicles #4

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Oct. 4, 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Pages: 496

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

Discover an all-new adventure in USA Today Bestselling author Amanda Bouchet’s thrilling, white-hot fantasy series, The Kingmaker Chronicles!

The queen has been cursed, and no one knows who’s behind the plot to threaten the realm’s fragile peace. Desperate to help, Jocasta hatches a plan to find Circe’s Garden, a fabled island where she hopes to discover an antidote. But she can’t do it alone. She needs the strong arm and unflinching bravery of the warrior she’s loved since childhood—her brother’s right-hand-man and captain of the guard, Flynn of Sinta.

Together they can do the impossible. Yet with treachery brewing on Mount Olympus, one thing is clear: Thalyria and its new royals are still pawns in an epic game of power—one that might end in a War of Gods.


Review:

Complex, adventurous, and enthralling!

A Curse of Queens is an action-packed, seductive tale that takes us into the life of Jocasta, King Griffin’s younger sister and small-town healer who, after discovering the possible solution to the curse that binds her sister-in-law Queen Catalia and threatens overall peace in the kingdom, embarks on a treacherous journey to Circe’s Garden with the help of the one man who doesn’t seem to realize just how much he owns her heart, the talented and reliable captain of the guard, Flynn of Sinta in the hopes of finally discovering the magical antidote that could save them all.

The prose is brisk and tight. The characters are multilayered, fearless, and dependable. And the plot is a thrilling tale full of twists, turns, duty, danger, destruction, heartbreak, family, friendship, violence, tormented pasts, and unconditional love.

Overall, A Curse of Queens is a creative, passionate, epic fantastical novel by Bouchet that is brimming with dangerous quests, soul-searching dilemmas, sizzling romance, and complex, intriguing characters that once again kept me immersed and entertained from the very first page and is the perfect addition to the Kingmaker Chronicles series that I’m pretty sure I will never get enough of.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links. 

           

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Amanda Bouchet

Amanda Bouchet grew up in New England where she spent much of her time tromping around in the woods and making up grand adventures in her head. It was inevitable that one day she would start writing them down. Drawing on her Greek heritage for the setting and on her love of all things daring and romantic for the rest, her debut trilogy, The Kingmaker Chronicles, took form. She writes what she loves to read: epic exploits, steamy romance, and characters that make you laugh and cry.

Her first novel, A Promise of Fire, won several Romance Writers of America chapter contests, including the Orange Rose Contest and the paranormal category of the prestigious Golden Pen.

Amanda is a French master's graduate and former English teacher. She lives in Paris, France with her two bilingual children who will soon be correcting her French.

Photo by Richard Beban.

#BookReview Hooked by Emily McIntire @authoremilym @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #Hooked #NeverAfterSeries #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Hooked by Emily McIntire @authoremilym @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #Hooked #NeverAfterSeries #SourcebooksCasa Title: Hooked

Author: Emily McIntire

Series: Never After #1

Published by: Bloom Books on Sep. 20, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8.5/10

He wants revenge, but he wants her more…

James has always had one agenda: destroy his enemy, Peter Michaels. When Peter’s twenty-year-old daughter Wendy shows up in James’s bar, he sees his way in. Seduce the girl and use her for his revenge. It’s the perfect plan, until things in James’s organization begin to crumble. Suddenly, he has to find the traitor in his midst, and his plan for revenge gets murkier as James starts to see Wendy as more than just a pawn in his game.

Wendy has been cloistered away most of her life by her wealthy cold father, but a spontaneous night out with friends turns into an intense and addictive love affair with the dark and brooding James. As much as she knows James is dangerous, Wendy can’t seem to shake her desire for him. But as their relationship grows more heated and she learns more about the world he moves in, she finds herself unsure if she’s falling for the man known as James or the monster known as Hook.


Review:

Gritty, spicy, and suspenseful!

Hooked is a twisty, fervid tale that takes you on a journey into the life of Wendy Michaels, a sweet young woman who finds her life turned upside down after she meets the intense and dangerous James, a nightclub owner and businessman who is not only broody and seductive but driven by an obsessive need for revenge, specifically against her father.

The writing is sultry and intense. The characters are secretive, consumed, and tormented. And the plot told from alternating POVs is an ominous, salacious mix of twists, turns, temptation, desire, deception, mystique, introspection, sizzling chemistry, palpable attraction, violence, depravity, love, and romance.

Overall, Hooked is a tension-filled, dramatic, darkly erotic thrill ride by McIntire that takes slivers of the classic Peter Pan and gives it a creative, sexy, contemporary spin that does a brilliant job of reminding you that sometimes the line between good and evil is often quite blurry and happy-ever-after endings are not always simple and sweet.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Bloom Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Emily McIntire

Emily McIntire is an international and Amazon top 15 best-selling author known for her Never After Series, where she gives our favorite villains their happily ever afters. With books that range from small town to dark romance, she doesn’t like to box herself into one type of story, but at the core of all her novels is soul deep love. When she’s not writing you can find her waiting on her long lost Hogwarts letter, enjoying her family, or lost between the pages of a good book. The author and her family live near Knoxville, TN.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Up All Night with a Good Duke by Amy Rose Bennett @AmyRoseBennett @SourcebooksCasa #AmyRoseBennett #UpAllNightwithaGoodDuke #TheByronicBookClub #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Up All Night with a Good Duke by Amy Rose Bennett @AmyRoseBennett @SourcebooksCasa #AmyRoseBennett #UpAllNightwithaGoodDuke #TheByronicBookClub #SourcebooksCasa Title: Up All Night with a Good Duke

Author: Amy Rose Bennett

Series: The Byronic Book Club #1

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Jun. 28, 2022

Genres: Historical Romance

Pages: 288

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8/10

Artemis Jones―”respectable” finishing-school teacher by day and Gothic romance writer by night―has never lost sight of her real dream: to open her own academic ladies’ college. When Artemis is unexpectedly called upon by a dear friend, a fellow Byronic Book Club member, to navigate her first London Season, she comes at once. Who knows, perhaps she can court the interest of a wealthy patron for her school. As long as she can avoid her high-handed aunt’s schemes to marry her off.

Dominic Winters, the widowed Duke of Dartmoor, needs a wife―someone who will provide him with an heir and help him to manage his spitfire adolescent daughter. The problem is, Society has dubbed him “The Dastardly Duke.” Rumors are rife that he murdered his mad wife, so his choices for a suitable bride are limited. But then, he meets the ravishing and passionate Artemis Jones, who might just be everything he needs.


Review:

Enticing, seductive, and witty!

Up All Night with a Good Duke is set in London during 1858 and features the sassy, independent Artemis Jones and the widowed, dependable Duke of Dartmoor, Dominic Winters as they navigate a fake engagement, scandalous rumours, histories strife with heartache, a spirited teenage daughter, and a sizzling attraction neither of them wants to deny.

The prose is light and engaging. The characters are resourceful, strong-willed, and passionate. And the plot is an arousing mix of family, friendship, heartbreak, secrets, societal expectations, undeniable chemistry, tender moments, and steamy romance.

Overall, Up All Night with a Good Duke is an alluring, seductive, entertaining first novel in The Byronic Book Club series by Bennett that may be the first novel I’ve read by this author but definitely won’t be my last.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

                 

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Amy Rose Bennett

Amy Rose Bennett is an Australian author who has a passion for penning emotion-packed historical romances. Of course, her strong-willed heroines and rakish heroes always find their happily ever after. A former speech pathologist, Amy is happily married to her very own romantic hero and has two lovely, very accomplished adult daughters. When she’s not creating stories, Amy loves to cook up a storm in the kitchen, lose herself in a good book or a witty rom-com, and, when she can afford it, travel to all the places she writes about.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert @katee_robert @RaincoastBooks @SourcebooksCasa #KateeRobert #WickedBeauty #DarkOlympus #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert @katee_robert @RaincoastBooks @SourcebooksCasa #KateeRobert #WickedBeauty #DarkOlympus #SourcebooksCasa Title: Wicked Beauty

Author: Katee Robert

Series: Dark Olympus #3

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Jun. 7, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Fantasy

Pages: 400

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Raincoast Books, Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

She was the face that launched a thousand ships,
The fierce beauty at the heart of Olympus,
And she was never ours to claim.

In Olympus, you either have the power to rule… or you are ruled. Achilles Kallis may have been born with nothing, but as a child he vowed he would claw his way into the poisonous city’s inner circle. Now that a coveted role has opened to anyone with the strength to claim it, he and his partner, Patroclus Fotos, plan to compete and double their odds of winning.

Neither expect infamous beauty Helen Kasios to be part of the prize… or for the complicated fire that burns the moment she looks their way.

Zeus may have decided Helen is his to give to away, but she has her own plans. She enters into the competition as a middle finger to the meddling Thirteen rulers, effectively vying for her own hand in marriage. Unfortunately, there are those who would rather see her dead than lead the city. The only people she can trust are the ones she can’t keep her hands off—Achilles and Patroclus. But can she really believe they have her best interests at heart when every stolen kiss is a battlefield?

A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Patroclus that’s as sinful as it is sweet.


Review:

Smouldering, fervid and sinfully sexy!

Wicked Beauty is a tantalizing, action-packed retelling that takes you on a journey into the life of Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Patroclus as they all enter their names into the competition to become the next Ares and vie to take to the one coveted open spot as a member of the Thirteen but first they will have to survive three dangerous trials that will test their intelligence, speed, agility, strength, and wit, and a passion burning between them that could destroy their dreams but solidify their desire and hearts forever. 

The writing is spicy and seductive. The characters are driven, consumed, and intense. And the plot is a provocative, exhilarating tale full of competition, sexual tension, red-hot chemistry, sizzling attraction, flirty banter, murderous intentions, threatening situations, and scorching menage (MFM) sex scenes.

Overall, Wicked Beauty is another salacious, dramatic, erotic treat by Roberts that just took the desire, danger, and dirty of the Dark Olympus series to a whole other level and has left me curious and exceptionally eager to read whatever she manages to come up with next.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

Thank you to Raincoast Books & Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Katee Robert

Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Welcome to the Neighborhood by Lisa Roe @lisaroewrites @SourcebooksCasa #WelcometotheNeighborhood #LisaRoe #SourcebooksCasa

#BookReview Welcome to the Neighborhood by Lisa Roe @lisaroewrites @SourcebooksCasa #WelcometotheNeighborhood #LisaRoe #SourcebooksCasa Title: Welcome to the Neighborhood

Author: Lisa Roe

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Apr. 5, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 304

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 7.5/10

After years of struggling to make ends meet, Queens single mom Ginny falls for sweet, divorced Jeff, and relishes the idea of moving with her quirky eleven-year-old daughter Harri to his home in an upscale New Jersey suburb. Though she’s never been impressed by material things, she is thrilled that getting a second chance at love comes with the added bonus of finally giving Harri everything she never could before.

And then she meets the neighbors.

Ginny is quickly thrust into the complicated realities of a neighborhood defined by the ever-shifting alliances of PTA moms, Real Housewife contenders, and their mean-girl daughters. When the neighbors’ secrets, back-stabbing, and bad behavior take a devastating toll on her daughter and new marriage, Ginny must decide what really matters—and protect it at all costs.


Review:

Spirited, uplifting, and sweet!

Welcome to the Neighborhood is a heartwarming, playful tale that takes you into the life of painter and single mother Ginny Miller as she juggles a new marriage, a relocation to the snooty suburbs, a husband away on contract in another country, and a daughter taking extreme measures to try and fit in.

The writing is genuine and tender. The characters are insecure, easygoing, and multilayered. And the plot is a delightful blend of life, love, family, friendship, motherhood, self-reflection, tricky situations, and touching moments. 

Overall, I found Welcome to the Neighborhood to be a charming, heartfelt, effortless read by Roe that did a lovely job of mixing heavier issues with some lighthearted fun.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lisa Roe

After graduating from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and spending many years as an advertising creative director and copywriter in New York City, Lisa Roe accepted the tougher job of stay-at-home mom and turned to writing fiction — mostly to entertain her kids, but then to tell her own stories. A classic first born, a reluctant empty nester, and a Dr. Doolittle wannabe, Lisa lives in New Jersey with her husband and three incorrigible dogs. WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD is her debut novel.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

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