Stealing Our Hearts

“There’s a difference between taking care of someone because you love them and taking care of someone because you want them to love you.”

I don’t have a single bad thing to say about this book. This is actually the first Lucy Score book I’ve been able to read from start to finish. For some reason, her books usually feel too wordy and massive to handle. I usually get stuck in descriptive paragraphs and end up skimming pages which, in turn, makes me feel like I can’t adequately or fairly rate the book. But that was not the case with this one. HOLY SMOKES, friends! I feel like I missed out waiting so long to read this baby. TikTok made me do it lol. We can all thank that annoyingly persuasive platform for actually giving back for once! I adored every single second of this novel and I’m so excited to read book two!

I’m a sucker for a really well written grumpy/sunshine book and this one delivered. Knox is the town grump. He owns a barbershop and a bar and is a bear most days. When Naomi barrels into town to rescue the niece she never knew she had after her twin sister abandons her, Knox is knocked off his feet. Naomi isn’t his usual type and the fact that he’s drawn to her and can’t help himself around her frustrates him. Naomi needs a lot of help. Her twin sister stole her money, car, and almost everything she owns after tricking her into coming into town and now she’s homeless and broke. Knox can’t help but swoop in and help her out. This isn’t his normal game, though. That belongs to his brother, Nash, the town cop. Knox and Nash’s relationship was fascinating to me and I loved that we slowly got more and more insight on what happened to these men when they were younger to turn them into enemies today. 

As our story develops, we fall in love with Waylay, Naomi’s eleven year old niece who has never known love or affection. She is brilliant and sweet and seeing her blossom with love and care brought tears to my eyes. I also loved the development of Knox and Naomi’s relationship (well, duh). He admitted from the very beginning that he was attracted to her and it pissed him off…LOL. When their physical relationship began, the emotions were clearly already there. Seeing Knox going out of his way for Naomi at every turn gave me allllllll the butterflies. I love an alpha-hole who is weak in the knees for his woman. I also really enjoyed the suspense factor of this book! Naomi’s twin, Tina, is a bad person who does bad things so logically something BAD is going to happen. Even though it was a bit predictable, the book as a whole was so marvelous that I wasn’t bothered by that fact at all. Everything about this story spoke to me and lifted me up. I cannot WAIT for Lucian and Sloane’s book because I am FASCINATED by what their past might contain! I need to know about these two!! AH! 5 stars for this incredible story!! 

I am literally FLOORED by how much I adored this story. This book was rec’d on some website (so sorry I cannot remember what site for the life of me) as a book to read if you’re looking for caveman romance books. LOL. This is SO FAR from a caveman romance, it’s not even funny. I didn’t read the blurb, I just immediately bought it…so that must tell you something about how compelling the recommendation was. Anyway…so I finally picked it up and low and behold, it starts out like it could possibly be a caveman romance, but quickly turns into a survivalist romance, and then WAM BAM THANK YOU MAAM we land in a billionaire romance. And you know what? I’m not mad about it. 

Our heroine Jordan, is out camping in the mountains with her boyfriend, her best friend, and some tagalong friend that she’s been trying to hook her best friend up with. Unbeknownst to her…her boyfriend and best friend have been having an affair behind her back.  When she finds this out, she ends up running into the woods, getting lost and then falling down a cliff (or something) and basically ends up almost dead at the bottom of a ravine where she is rescued by Grizzly. This mountain man is every woman’s wet dream, but he’s also super growly and gets irritated with Jordan very easily. They end up spending almost a month in his cabin where they get to know each other and start developing feelings when all of a sudden a helicopter shows up and whisks them both back to the city and it turns out Grizzly is actually Alexander North…a billionaire and a genius. It’s unclear to me if Alexander is autistic or just simply has anger issues and struggles with social skills, but it is not defined in the book which I found interesting. The story takes off and there are so many twists and turns I never saw coming. I was only 50% into this book when I stopped reading, purchased book two, and also pre-ordered book three. I was DYING. 

Alexander has a secret that he keeps from Jordan for most of the novel, but the reasoning behind it was very believable to me as the reader. I loved getting to meet his brothers and I can’t wait for Hayes’ book. Each brother is unique and compelling in his own way. I’m fascinated in see where our author goes with this family. Jordan was an interesting female character that I found to be frustrating at times but also completely relatable on so many levels. The dynamic between Jordan and Alexander is where some readers might take issue. It’s difficult for me to say this without judging myself, but I found Alexander to be charming and sexy. I understand the red flags. I do. I know the controlling behavior and abusive-like thought processes can be hard to look past…but for me…I was able to. I loved the book for everything it was. I loved the relationship and I loved this couple. I gave this book 5 stars because I couldn’t get enough of it and I can’t wait to own a copy for my bookshelf. 

This may be the sweetest book I have ever read. OH MY GOD. I had tears in my eyes on so many different occasions because it was so adorable and precious, my heart was bursting!!! If you have not read anything by C.M. Nacosta, you need to stop what you’re doing right now, go pick up one of their books, and read it asap. I am begging you. Morning Glory Milking Farm was a wild ride, but this book was a masterpiece.

If you had asked me at any point in my life if I could EVER imagine loving a fucking Mothman…I would have laughed in your face and then proceeded to barf. I hate bugs. HATE THEM. But when I tell you that this book made me want my own Mothman, I am not kidding. How does someone write such an endearing, precious, angel of a hero and make him PART MOTH???? Explain to me how I am in love with a bug. How. Guys…I’m floored right now. I clearly need medical assistance. Okay – so I’ll just give me brief summary of this book and then (again) scream at you until you go read it.

Grace is a human who works for a fruit farm as their social media manager but also has helped create a wedding venue on the farm and…well she’s just really great at her job and she loves event planning. So anyway. At the start of this book she’s super horny because she hasn’t gotten any in a super long time. Her ex-husband is a Minotaur and she doesn’t have much experience outside of that species and humans. She starts *ahem* pleasuring herself one night with her windows open and she hears something chirping from the tree outside her bedroom window. So she gets off to this voyeurism scenario and then the person keeps coming back but she never sees their face. Anyway, fast forward and it’s a Mothman named Merick. AND HE IS THE SWEETEST MOST ADORABLE PRECIOUS PERSON EVER AND I WANT HIM. They fall in love and he is magical in bed and they live happily ever after. I’m not giving anything else away. Go read it for yourself. It’s hot and spicy and I never imagined I’d be into Mothman sex. Yes please. 5 stars – freaking obsessed.

“I am going to tell you that you will get through it. That you will face all of this, and you will get through it. That these tears are not too late, not for any of it. And I can’t tell you when, or how, but it will get better. What you feel, this guilt and pain and self-loathing – you will get through it. But only if you’re willing to fight. Only if you are willing to face it, and embrace it, and walk through it, to emerge on the other side of it. Any maybe you will still feel that tinge of pain, but there is another side. A better side.”

Hello, friends! Here we are – the finale. What a ride. I can honestly say that I haven’t loved a series like this since Twilight and that is saying A LOT. I felt moved and passionate and obsessed throughout this journey. I was so afraid to say goodbye at the end that I stretched this book out over 5 days. That’s right – it took me FIVE WHOLE DAYS to finish this book. (I didn’t read but a few pages on day four but that’s not the point). Now that it’s over, I feel a weird calming sensation. Like I know this wasn’t truly goodbye. I know we are still waiting on Azriel, Elain, and Mor’s stories to come. I will admit that I’m quite worried about the weird tension between Elain and Az right now – I am not about that couple. I have high hopes that SJM will get us through it, though. It’s going to be painful, but honestly, what book of hers hasn’t been painful at this point?

Jumping in, I realized that Cassian might have one upped Rhysand for me. Yikes – that’s kind of embarrassing since everyone and their mother is obsessed with Rhys. But Cassian did something to me. His patience and understanding really just had me handing my heart over to him. I also ALWAYS liked Nesta. Even in her catastrophic failures, I always loved her and she SHINED in this book. A true testament to how wonderful SJM is as an author. The sex was – *chef’s kiss* I cannot even describe. If you were into those scenes, and haven’t read any of the indie authors I have reviewed before, go grab some of the novels I have previously posted about – you’re welcome. I know a lot of readers complained that this novel focused too much on the relationship and not enough on the overarching story, but here’s the thing: Nesta had some ISSUES. I’m talking maaaajor problems that couldn’t be resolved by ghosting over them and focusing on a new potential war. She needed to struggle and fight. She needed to work through her torment and trauma and boy did we get to experience that in this novel. It was rough at times, but the ending made it all the more worth it. Nesta’s arc was one for the books. It was a true, fully developed character journey. She went through so much and came out a wildly different, better version of herself. I LOVE HER.

Also we have to talk about Emerie and Gwen. Guys…I cannot. I am in love with these girls. I’m hearing buzz about Em and Eris and Gwen and Az and let me just tell you – I am HERE. FOR. IT. Give me allllll the mate matches and I will be one happy girl! This review is kind of short, but I feel like because I took so long to read this novel, I was able to process it more slowly and fully. I loved every second of this journey. Cassian and Nesta are the ideal couple, in my opinion. Strong and brave and loyal beyond measure. They understand the sacrifices you make for the ones you love and they fight for what’s right. They trust each other and believe in each other. Their story lived up to my every expectation and dream. I cannot thank SJM enough for bringing this tale to life. Forever in my heart and soul. Xoxo. 5 MILLION STARS.

To say that the Bailey Brother’s series made an impact on my life is an understatement. I found this series when I was in a dark place. I had lost my job, was diagnosed with a mental illness, and felt so lost and alone. This series saved me in more ways than I can count and I will never be able to thank Claire Kingsley enough for writing it. When I saw that the final book in the series was being released earlier this past year, I was JUMPING FOR JOY. I was so excited to read Levi’s story because he was definitely one of my favorite brothers. But a star-crossed lovers tale? With a Haven?? Say no more. I was sold. Completely invested and undeniable devoted from the first page. 

This story was complex and rich. It tied up all of the loose ends (of which there were plenty) and left me with a warm heart. I also am DYING for the planned Haven brother’s series that Claire mentioned is in the works. While I was reading this book, I kept thinking to myself how these other men deserve to find their own happily ever afters too. I’m thrilled that we get to spend even more time in the town of Tilikum with these families that we have grown to love and adore. I cannot wait for Zachary’s story. 

I cannot write this review without mentioning some of my favorite characters. Gram, of course, and her spirit animal nicknames always makes me cry. I love her with all my heart. I had actual tears in my eyes the first time she calls Thomas “Little Lynx”. *sobbing* But of course, I would be a liar if I didn’t talk about sweet Thomas. This book was made ten times better because this little boy existed. He has got to be a fan favorite because if readers aren’t talking about this sweet little man then I don’t know what has happened in our world LOL. The fact that he can’t say the word truck had me ON THE FLOOR. How hilarious are little kids?? Amazing! Of course Levi and his dirty-talking mouth had to make an appearance in my list of favorites of this book because honestly what Bailey brother isn’t perfect? I’ll wait. 

All in all, I absolutely loved this novel. I can’t think of a single moment that didn’t move me. The pacing was exquisite and the depth of every character was so well thought out. I loved the ending. No one can tell me that a better ending to a series has been written because it’s just not true. It was exactly the happily ever after that these two families deserved. If nothing was ever written in this universe again, it would be okay, because everyone is happy and at peace. My heart is so happy. I’m crying. I loved it so much. Just go read this book friends. Also buy the entire series while you’re at it and support this incredible author. My heart is forever grateful for this series and for Claire ❤ 5 stars.

“The truth is, you fall in love with a woman twice. Once, so that you want her to give you a child. And a second time, when she does and you realize you cannot live without her.”

I loved this story. It made me cry and laugh and sweat like nobody’s business, but I enjoyed every second of it.  Truthfully, this one felt a little different from LJ’s other books and I loved the direction she took. I assumed Devon would be cold and hard to love, but he was my favorite part of this book. In fact, he is currently my favorite hero in the entire Boston Belle’s series. I absolutely adored him! From the moment we meet him in this book, he’s unique. He clearly has a dark past that he’s running from but we don’t find out about it until later on. His relationship with women is also fascinating. He isn’t disrespectful, but he’s honest about never wanting to get married or have a relationship that lasts more than a few months. His internal comments about Emmabelle had me cackling, though. I felt like we weren’t really given much to go on as far as who Emmabelle was in the previous books in this series. I had zero idea what to expect when it came to her character and I found myself pretty conflicted for a large majority of the book. She continuously pushes Devon away after he has admitted to her that he’s all in and ready to commit. It broke my heart.

That leads me to the rather large elephant in the room. Trigger warnings. I know a lot of readers expect an author to give trigger warnings, but I don’t think that’s fair. I’m going to assume that LJ might have received some backlash regarding the trigger warning she provided at the beginning of this book because it didn’t cover everything that happened in the novel. I don’t think that’s fair though! There were certain things that couldn’t be revealed until you read the book because they spoiled HUGE plot points! I think if you want to spoil the book for yourself by reading reviews with spoilers because you know you have major triggers, then that’s a choice you need to make for yourself. I won’t go into these specific triggers, but if you are interested in what they are, I have them listed on my Goodreads at the bottom and on my Instagram. I felt that the trigger warning LJ gave us at the beginning was sufficient and very thoughtful. I was deeply moved by this book, largely in part because I didn’t know what was coming. I didn’t know what lay in either of our main characters pasts but…there was SO MUCH TRAUMA. So much pain. It endeared me to these characters, especially Emmabelle, and I was then able to empathize with her. I was able to understand to an extent, why she did the things she did. It made my dislike of her choices dissipate. 

This story reminded me a lot of Angry God on some levels. It’s not similar in hardly any way except in terms of the trauma. This book is dark and beautiful and addicting. I was immediately sucked in and cherished every moment I had with these characters. I cannot wait to see what LJ Shen writes next! I’m also really looking forward to a new series from her – which was teased at the end of this book. Bravo, again! 5 stars!

Before I knew who Tessa Bailey was, I used to listen to the Read Me Romance podcast on Spotify. Back when I used to listen to it, it was hosted by the two women who make up the writing duo, Alexa Riley and (of course) Tessa Bailey. I had no idea the world I was missing out on by not reading either of those author’s books! When COVID started, I kind of fell off the train with their podcast, and thus, forgot about their books entirely until Tessa Bailey released It Happened One Summer. Now, I have yet to read that book even though I purchased it months ago, but it got me back on the Tessa Bailey train. (Spoiler: I wrote this review when I read this book in April 2022…I have since read and obsessed over It Happened One Summer. For the sake of this review and to honor my old self, I am leaving this review as-is and just adding in some additional notes where needed). Then, of course, a BookToker that I follow read one of her short novellas on Kindle Unlimited and raved about it until I decided I had to dive in and read it. And now, here I am. Knee-deep in Tessa Bailey’s smutty novellas and having the time of my life.

Of all of the novellas that I’ve read by the brilliant Tessa Bailey, this one takes the cake. Kyle Musgraves is an ex-Special Forces Army man who happens to accompany his friends to a renaissance faire one weekend. He happens upon a girl (Cameron) hanging ass-up from a fence and pretty much immediately falls in love with her. Cameron is there with her soon-to-be stepfather as a sort of bonding experience. Her stepfather is the king of the renaissance fair and has deemed Cameron as the prize for the winner of the joust and she is NOT ABOUT IT. Until she meets Kyle. LOL. Guys this book was SO SEXY. These two are drawn together instantly. Kyle has never jousted in his life but he is determined to win Cameron so that he can take her home. It’s barbaric and the most unrealistic scenario ever, but it was so effing good. 

They fall in love in the matter of a day as he competes in various competitions to get to the last round of jousting and win her hand. Then all bets are off and when I tell you the sex was delicious, I am not exaggerating. Need a book for a night alone in bed? Here you go. I volunteer this book. Holy crappers. The chemistry was sizzling. Tessa Bailey uses the most sensual descriptive words. Out of context these sex scenes might not work but if you take the time to read this book, you will not regret it!! This smutty, five chapter novella is marvelous! 4 stars! 

“What do you want, Salem?” Jud asked. My chin trembled, though I lifted it. “I just want to feel real.”

First thing’s first – we MUST talk about how badass and creative this world is that A.L. Jackson has created. I mean, come on! I haven’t read anything like this before. There’s a lot of mystery around these 3 brothers and where they came from. We learned about their past a little in the first book with Trent, but now that we have Jud’s back story…we continue to explore the darkness of it all. This story completely broke my heart. It was NOT an easy book to read. If you have any triggers about losing a child, this is not the book for you. It’s real and it’s on page and it hurts. A lot. But this story was so powerful. The moment Jud sees Salem, in the rain beside her broken down car, he is invested. He might joke about being friends and getting to know her, but he’s in love. I truly believe it was love at first sight for him. Salem is a little less trustworthy of men because of her background, but she comes around pretty quickly too. When I tell you that these two had the most incredible, explosive chemistry I’ve ever read, I am not exaggerating. They were burning up my kindle. I gave this book an extra half point on the heat scale just for the build up and chemistry. I was melting while reading the first sixty percent of this book. It’s a slow burn, don’t get me wrong, but maaaaan is the dirty talk and internal monologuing ON POINT. Bravo!

One of the best parts about this book was clearly Juni. If you read it and don’t mention that little angel, are you even human? This girl. She stole my heart. She was the sweetest, most precious angel in the world. My heart was bursting with love for this sweet girl. And her affection and friendship with Gage??? OH MY GOD. A.L Jackson – I am BEGGING you to write a book for them. Please. I will do anything. I would kill to read a friends to lovers, coming-of-age book about these two falling in love. They are so precious, I am crying. 

Okay last thing – I can’t leave this review without mentioning the true dark nature of this book. Yes, there is child death (as I mentioned before), but there is also so much fear and suspense. These characters both have very extensive, dark pasts. Both Jud and Salem are suffering in their own way with their own ghosts and they need each other to heal. That doesn’t mean that the past doesn’t come back to haunt them, because it does. In the worst way. These two characters are put through the ringer. They experience so much loss and so much heartbreak, but they get their HEA and it is very well deserved. I would caution you to please check all trigger warnings before jumping into this world. It’s tragic and beautiful and a journey. A round of applause for A.L. Jackson!! 5 stars!

“Say it’s forever.” The plea left me on a whimper. “It’s forever, baby. Today, tomorrow, and always.”

Man oh man. It always takes me a little while longer to read books written by Kerrigan Byrne, but I think it’s because they are so rich and dense. These books are INTENSE and make you feel every possible emotion. I loved this book. I shelved it for a while after I read The Highlander just to give myself a slight break because… these are tough books. They are promised to make you cry. 100%. I’m so glad I pulled this one back out and read it this week. I needed it.

Christopher Argent is our anti-hero. He’s an assassin who is tasked with killing a famous, well-known actress named Millie LeCour. Only, the moment he sees her preforming on stage, he second guesses his ability to kill her. Argent prides himself on not having any emotions. He is the definition of a tortured hero. He was born in prison and grew up there – learned how to kill a man there. It defines who he is. In the prologue we witness Argent’s past. We read about the gruesome conditions he was raised in and we cry. Yes, you will cry by page 7. I guarantee it. So anyway, Millie sees Argent and is immediately drawn to him. They share a moment together before he disappears and she can’t stop thinking about him. That is…until he shows up and tells her that he is supposed to kill her LOL. This book quickly turns into a bodyguard romance of sorts…it’s so complex. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I won’t get into all of it, but just keep in mind that there is a lot of important detail. 

Argent is extremely flawed. Because of his past, he believes he is unworthy of love. That in and of itself is the cause of a lot of our couple’s issues. I loved Millie, though. And her son *sobbing*. Little baby boys are my weakness! He is so precious and darling and looks up to Argent. There are a lot of twists and turns in this book that I did not see coming which kept me on my toes. Please heed the trigger warnings if you’re sensitive to any specific content! 4.5 stars all around for this one. (rounded up to 5 on Goodreads). Loved it! 

“Because I am scarred by the fire you started in me. Because you have reduced me to fucking ashes.”

This book was AMAZING!!! Kandi has done it again and completely stolen my heart with this story. Our main characters are Riley and Zeke. Riley’s twin brother, Gavin, and Zeke have been best friends since they were children. In high school, Gavin and Zeke got into a car accident and Gavin was paralyzed. Because he was unable to fulfill his dreams of playing college football alongside his best friend, he asked Riley to join the high school team and hopefully make his college dreams come true. Riley was a soccer player, so the shift over to kicker on the football team wasn’t an impossible change. She then becomes the first ever woman to be a kicker on a college football team when she makes it onto the North Boston University team. Zeke also makes it onto that team and that’s where it all begins. 

Riley blames Zeke for the accident that caused her brother to lose the ability to walk, and she holds a huge grudge against him for it. It was a very one-sided hate-to-love relationship for Riley. Zeke never hated her. In fact, he felt ashamed and so regretful for his actions that night of the accident. He struggles with self-worth and self-deprecation. It broke my heart to read about all of his other struggles, but I think Kandi did a fantastic job of breaking down some of the stereotypes around those struggles. (I’m purposefully being vague as to not spoil anything). I loved that although Riley has always had feelings for Zeke, he fell first in this story. Zeke pined after Riley for a while and was the first to jump in and say “I want more”. I love it when the guy takes that first leap! The gradual change in their sexual relationship was one of my favorite parts too. I loved how initially it was a comment made by Zeke which turned into self-pleasure which then turned into roommates with benefits which finally turned into “let’s do this for real”. My heart was so happy as I read through this entire story. It wasn’t as angsty as a lot of Kandi’s books, but I was okay with that. I loved what she did with these characters. I loved the representation! I cannot WAIT for the next book. That teaser at the end has me desperate for it!! I’m so impatient!! 5 stars!

“Because I ache for you,” he breathed against my lips next. “And I’ll end anyone who touches what’s mine.”