Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

#BookReview Beautiful Villain by Rebecca F. Kenney @RebeccaFKenney1 @SourcebooksCasa #RebeccaFKenney #BeautifulVillain #GildedMonstersSeries #SourcebooksCasa

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Paranormal Romance
#BookReview Beautiful Villain by Rebecca F. Kenney @RebeccaFKenney1 @SourcebooksCasa #RebeccaFKenney #BeautifulVillain #GildedMonstersSeries #SourcebooksCasa Title: Beautiful Villain

Author: Rebecca F. Kenney

Series: Gilded Monsters #1

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Jul. 16, 2024

Genres: Paranormal Romance

Pages: 394

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8/10

Seven years ago, I lost him for good. Now he’s back, but is he still the Jay Gatsby I used to know…or is he something more? Something…darker.

Daisy Finnegan is looking forward to the endless golden freedom of summer. She doesn’t want to think about life after college, or the newly awakened power of her voice, which has a way of making people do frightening things. But when her cousin goes missing at an exclusive house party, Daisy confronts the mysterious host…only to discover the wealthy recluse is Jay Gatsby, her childhood sweetheart―now sinfully hot and impossible to deny.

It isn’t long before Daisy becomes entangled in a web of dizzying wealth and lies and obsession darker than she could have dreamed―culminating in a shocking act of violence that shatters the summer haze and threatens to drown them all.

But it isn’t until Gatsby is shot through the heart―and survives―that Daisy discovers the truth of how Gatsby clawed his way up in the world by selling the secret of immortality to the highest bidder. Now with her friends’ lives at stake, her own untested power still volatile, and an unimaginable threat closing in, Daisy will have to face an impossible choice: side with the man who claimed her body and soul…or with the monsters who would see him lost to her forever.

An addictive and truly original spicy New Adult retelling of The Great Gatsby with a magical twist.

Review:

Passionate, consuming, and edgy!

Beautiful Villain is an alluring, sinful, highly entertaining paranormal romance that takes you on a journey into the life of Daisy Finnegan, a young woman who, after concerns over the whereabouts of her cousin at a party, stumbles into the one boy who always had a little of her heart and whom she never thought she’d see again, now a man with extreme wealth, power, and deep dark secrets.

The writing is sensual and fluid. The characters are influential, impulsive, and intense. And the plot is a fast-paced, delightfully salacious tale of desire, temptation, mystique, attraction, chemistry, danger, deception, sizzling romance, and the supernatural.

Overall, Beautiful Villain is an intriguing, seductive, sultry tale by Kenney with just the right amount of mystery, sex, unique characters, and bad-boy vibes to keep you engaged from start to finish. It’s the perfect standalone to kick off this Gilded Monsters series, and I can’t wait to read what this group of otherworldly beings manages to get tied up in next.

 

This novel 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 Rebecca F. Kenney

Rebecca F. Kenney writes spicy fantasy romance about sassy, strong women and hot guys with tragic backstories... pirates, warlords, demons, Fae, and royals. Her main series are the "Wicked Darlings" series (spicy Fae retellings of the Nutcracker, Wonderland, and Oz), the "Dark Rulers" series (standalones in a shared world), and the "For the Love of the Villain" series of genderbent fairytales. Other books include a post-apocalyptic vampire romance trilogy ("The Vampires Will Save You"), a demon romance "Interior Design for Demons," a dark mermaid fantasy duet, and other spicy retellings.
​
Rebecca is represented by Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary. She lives in upstate South Carolina with her handsome blue-eyed husband and two smart, energetic kids.

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#BookReview The Air He Breathes by Brittainy Cherry @SourcebooksCasa #BrittainyCherry #TheAirHeBreathes #ElementsSeries #SourcebooksCasa

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance
#BookReview The Air He Breathes by Brittainy Cherry @SourcebooksCasa #BrittainyCherry #TheAirHeBreathes #ElementsSeries #SourcebooksCasa Title: The Air He Breathes

Author: Brittainy Cherry

Series: Elements #1

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Mar. 19, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 9/10

I was warned about Tristan Cole.

“Stay away from him,” people said. “He’s cruel. He’s cold. He’s damaged.”

It’s easy to judge a man because of his past. To look at Tristan and see a monster. But I couldn’t do that. I had to accept the wreckage that lived inside of him because it also lived inside of me.

We were both empty. We were both looking for something else. Something more. We both wanted to put together the shattered pieces of our yesterdays.

Then perhaps we could finally remember how to breathe.

Review:

Hopeful, passionate, and heart-wrenching!

The Air He Breathes is an angsty, emotional tale that takes you into the lives of Tristan Cole, a young widower still struggling to find a reason to go on after losing his wife and son in a tragic accident, and Elizabeth, a newly widowed mother of a little girl who is still grappling herself with the sudden loss of her husband and with the all-consuming grief that is preventing her from moving on.

The writing is smooth and tender. The characters are multi-layered, scarred, and lonely. And the plot, including all the subplots, skillfully intertwines and unravels into a touching tale about life, love, guilt, grief, family, secrets, mistakes, friendship, happiness, self-discovery, obsession, deception, relationship dynamics, mental health, new beginnings, and the day-to-day struggles of dealing with extreme loss.

Overall, The Air He Breathes is a beautiful mix of hope, heart, tragedy, and healing that is not only a heartrending, emotive, lovely novel by Cherry but one which I don’t think anyone could possibly read and not be absorbed and thoroughly moved.

 

This novel 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 Brittainy Cherry

Brittainy Cherry is an acclaimed author known for her emotionally gripping novels that resonate with readers seeking profound, heartrending stories. With an impressive body of work and a dedicated fan base, she continues to captivate readers with her unique storytelling.

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#BookReview All That We Are Together by Alice Kellen @AliceKellen_ @SourcebooksCasa #AliceKellen #AllThatWeAreTogether #LetItBeSeries #SourcebooksCasa

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult
#BookReview All That We Are Together by Alice Kellen @AliceKellen_ @SourcebooksCasa #AliceKellen #AllThatWeAreTogether #LetItBeSeries #SourcebooksCasa Title: All That We Are Together

Author: Alice Kellen

Series: Let It Be #2

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Jan. 23, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 461

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8/10

Three years without even seeing him. Three years without Axel.

How do you move on from a broken heart?

Three years have passed since Axel Nguyen shattered Leah Jones’ heart into a million pieces, and Leah has spent every moment of those three years distracting herself from the devastation. She tries to move on with Landon, a guy she meets in college, but she can only truly escape thoughts of Axel when she’s painting. At least one good thing has come out of all of it: her dream of exhibiting her work is finally coming true.

Axel is achingly aware every day of how much he misses Leah. The moment he learns about Leah’s exhibit, Axel can’t think about anything else but to go see her. Being in the same room with Leah, as beautiful and magnetic as he remembers, leaves Axel desperate and Leah breathless in his presence. He offers to be her agent; she accepts. One work trip to Paris later leaves Leah and Axel full of pent-up attraction and wondering if their whirlwind romance is a forever kind of love or if it’s better off left in the past.

International bestselling author Alice Kellen concludes her emotional new adult duology with an evocative and passionate love story for readers of Colleen Hoover, Anna Todd, and books to make you ugly cry.

Review:

Angsty, passionate, and hopeful!

All That We Are Together is an absorbing, heart-tugging tale that takes us back into the life of Leah Jones and Axel Nguyen three years after their breakup as Leah, now a university student with a new boyfriend and some recognition as a budding artist, has her life turned upside once again when Axel, an employee at a reputable gallery comes slamming back into her world to sweep her away to the City of Lights to showcase her work.

The writing is tender and fluid. The characters are vulnerable, scarred, and wary. And the plot is a push-pull tale of life, love, loss, family, expectations, forgiveness, introspection, acceptance, friendship, communication, and new beginnings.

Overall, All That We Are Together is the dramatic, romantic, satisfying conclusion to the Let It Be duology by Kellen that gave the characters I couldn’t help but root for the heartwarming, happy-ever-after ending I really hoped they get. 

 

This novel 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 Alice Kellen

Alice Kellen is an international bestselling author of romantic fiction. She writes stories with universal, crossover themes such as love, friendship, insecurities, losses and longing for a brighter future, connecting with younger and older readers alike. She lives in Valencia, Spain with her family.

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#BookReview All That We Never Were by Alice Kellen @AliceKellen_ @SourcebooksCasa #AliceKellen #AllThatWeNeverWere #LetItBe #SourcebooksCasa

categories: 8/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult
#BookReview All That We Never Were by Alice Kellen @AliceKellen_ @SourcebooksCasa #AliceKellen #AllThatWeNeverWere #LetItBe #SourcebooksCasa Title: All That We Never Were

Author: Alice Kellen

Series: Let It Be #1

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Aug. 29, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Pages: 448

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8/10

International bestselling author Alice Kellen will flood you in emotion, following two star-crossed lovers whose destiny is inexorably intertwined.

He’ll do anything to bring the light back into her eyes.

19-year-old Leah Jones used to love her life. Now, she can barely get out of bed in the morning. Still shaken by the sudden loss of her parents, her 29-year-old older brother is the only person she has left to keep her from falling into an emotional abyss. But as he prepares to move across the country for work, soon he’ll be gone too, and Leah will have no one. 

Axel Nguyen is her brother’s best friend, and the natural person to turn to. Seeing Leah so despondent is a punch to Axel’s gut. At her brother’s request, Axel drops everything to move Leah in with him, to meet her every need. He’s determined to push her to her limits, to break down the walls she’s built to protect her fragile heart. Little does he know, she has loved him forever, and now his love for her expands to so much more. As Leah and Axel’s undeniable bond grows stronger, Axel must break Leah’s heart in order to guarantee her the life he knows she deserves…

Fans of Colleen Hoover, Anna Todd, and B. Celeste will immerse in this thrill of a heartbreaking emotional rollercoaster.

Review:

Absorbing, romantic, and emotional!

All That We Never Were is an intimate, moving tale that sweeps you away to small-town Australia and into the life of Leah Jones, a nineteen-year-old girl who, after suddenly losing her parents in a tragic car accident, struggles to find any light in her life until her brother heads out of town to work and she is placed under the care of the one man who she’s always had a crush on, her brother’s best friend Axel, who may develop more than platonic feelings of his own while he shares a roof and does whatever he can to bring passion and colour back to her world.

The writing style is heartfelt and smooth. The characters are tormented, fragile, and endearing. And the plot is a rollercoaster ride of life, love, loss, grief, tension, PTSD, comfort, support, family, friendship, and undeniable attraction. 

Overall, All That We Never Were is a touching, immersive, tender start to the Let It Be duology by Kellen that had just the right amount of intensity, angst, romance, and passion to keep me invested from start to finish and a cliffhanger ending that left me more than a little eager to see how this story could possibly end.

 

This novel 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 Alice Kellen

Alice Kellen is an international bestselling author of romantic fiction. She writes stories with universal, crossover themes such as love, friendship, insecurities, losses and longing for a brighter future, connecting with younger and older readers alike. She lives in Valencia, Spain with her family.

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#BookReview Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan @kennedyrwrites @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #KennedyRyan #LongShot #HoopsSeries #SourcebooksCasa

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Noteworthy Book Releases
#BookReview Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan @kennedyrwrites @Read_Bloom #ReadBloom #KennedyRyan #LongShot #HoopsSeries #SourcebooksCasa Title: Long Shot

Author: Kennedy Ryan

Series: Hoops #1

Published by: Bloom Books on Aug. 8, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 480

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 10/10

*Reader Advisory: Please be aware of the content warning in the beginning of the book.

From award-winning author Kennedy Ryan comes the soul-gripping, unforgettable first installment of the Hoops trilogy.

Iris DuPree meets August West in a sports bar during her last semester of college. It’s the conversation of a lifetime and sends sparks flying in every direction. The connection is undeniable…but the timing is all wrong. August is poised for the NBA draft, and Iris belongs to another man—basketball’s “golden boy” and August’s long-time rival.

The two go their separate ways, but they often recall that electric night and what could have been. While August has embarked on his all-star life, studded with wealth and fame, Iris’s perfect public relationship has become a nightmare behind closed doors. A tarnished dream of fool’s gold.

When August re-enters her life, the world seems briefly bright again, but Iris’s darkest nights are not over yet. To survive, she must build her own strength and trust that her bond with August can endure after all this time.

Even when her fraudulent prince has vowed never to let her go.

Review:

Powerful, consuming, and heartbreaking!

Long Shot is an immersive, emotional, heart-wrenching tale that takes us into the life of the intelligent, driven Iris DuPree as she struggles to survive a surprise pregnancy, broken dreams, a daughter she loves more than life itself, a boyfriend who was once loving but is now always angry, controlling, and brutally violent, a strained relationship with a cousin who always had her back, and a complicated attraction with a man who somehow has been stealing her heart piece by piece since the day they first met.

The writing is tender and expressive. The characters are genuine, vulnerable, and resilient. And the plot, told from alternating POVs, is a haunting tale of life, loss, secrets, perseverance, power, shame, self-blame, violence, denial, pain, healing, hope, empowerment, sexual assault, new beginnings, and unconditional love.

Overall, Long Shot is not for lovers of the lighthearted. It’s dark, gritty, raw, at times disturbing, but it’s also tragic, memorable, beautiful, and romantic. It made my heart smile, shatter, and then put it all back together again in 480 pages, and I can guarantee that even though it’s shockingly the first novel I’ve read by Kennedy, it definitely won’t be my last.

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 Kennedy Ryan

A RITA® and Audie® Award winner, USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish, and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts. Kennedy and her writings have been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, TIME, O magazine, and many others. She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son.

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#BookReview Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert @katee_robert @SourcebooksCasa #KateeRobert #CruelSeduction #DarkOlympus #SourcebooksCasa

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Fantasy
#BookReview Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert @katee_robert @SourcebooksCasa #KateeRobert #CruelSeduction #DarkOlympus #SourcebooksCasa Title: Cruel Seduction

Author: Katee Robert

Series: Dark Olympus #5

Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on Aug. 8, 2023

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Fantasy

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Book Rating: 8.5/10

He was my enemy. My lover. My husband.

And the one man I swore by all Olympus I would destroy.

Aphrodite has never flinched at getting her perfectly manicured hands dirty, and she’s not about to start now—even if that means marrying Olympus’s enemy number one, the new Hephaestus. She has a wicked plan to keep her deadly new husband off-balance, seducing the one person he seems to care about most in this world: Pandora, a woman as beautiful as she is sweet.

Two can play the seduction game, however, and Hephaestus is all too happy to put his new wife in her place. Her ex, Adonis, seems like he’ll do the trick. It doesn’t hurt that he’s gorgeous in the way of fallen angels, either.

The only problem with using seduction as a weapon? Hearts are all too quick to get involved. With Hephaestus and Aphrodite trading venomous strikes that feel a whole lot like foreplay, lines become blurred and emotions entangled. But a broken heart may be the least of their worries. With unrest in Olympus reaching new heights, these bedroom games may have deadly consequences for themselves, their city, and everyone they’ve come to love.

Review:

Action-packed, tantalizing, and risqué!

Cruel Seduction is an alluring, edgy tale that features the beautiful, seductive Aphrodite who, after having no choice but to give up her own wishes to do what she must as a member of The Thirteen, finds herself in the precarious position of having to marry the one man she’d rather kill than wed, Hephaestus, saying goodbye to the only man she’s ever truly loved, Apollo, and restraining her ongoing attraction to a woman who is totally off limits, Pandora.

The writing is passionate and enticing. The characters are stubborn, vulnerable, and demanding. And the plot is a scorching tale full of friendship, family, danger, deception, attraction, romance, scheming behaviour, and spicy (MF/MM/FF) sex scenes.

Overall, Cruel Seduction is a tantalizing, dramatic, sexy addition to the Dark Olympus series by Robert that has all the elements you look for in a mythological retelling and more with its heat, danger, fantastical elements, sexual tension, and happy-ever-after ending.

 

This novel 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 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.

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

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult
#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!

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

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller
#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.

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

categories: 9/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, New Adult
#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.

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

categories: 10/10, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult
#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!

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