Fun bickering in this hate to love contemporary romantic comedy
Blurb:
It all started with a mysterious blue note sewn into a wedding dress.
Something blue.
I’d gone to sell my own unworn bridal gown at a vintage clothing store. That’s when I found another bride’s “something old.”
Stitched into the lining of a fabulously feathered design was the loveliest message I’d ever read: Thank you for making all of my dreams come true.
The name embossed on the blue stationery: Reed Eastwood, obviously the most romantic man who ever lived. I also discovered he’s the most gorgeous. If only my true-love fantasies had stopped there. Because I’ve since found out something else about Mr. Starry-Eyed.
He’s arrogant, cynical, and demanding. I should know. Thanks to a twist of fate, he’s my new boss. But that’s not going to stop me from discovering the story behind his last love letter. A love letter that did not result in a happily ever after.
But that story is nothing compared to the one unfolding between us. It’s getting hotter, sweeter, and more surprising than anything I could have imagined.
Something new.
But I have no idea how this one is going to end…
The best part of this is the bickering the main characters get into.
I sat up straighter in my chair as Reed closed the door behind his brother. Unlike Max, he didn’t take a seat on the couch. No, this brother preferred to stand with his arms crossed while looking down his nose at me. And I wasn’t putting up with it anymore. I stood, kicked off my heels into the air, and climbed up on top of my chair.
“What do you think you’re doing?” He squinted at me.
Mimicking his posture, I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him over my nose. “I’m looking down at you.”
“Get down.”
“No.”
I loved how Charlotte stood up to Reed at every turn, pushing him past his fears. He’s not commitment-phobic, but he a burden to carry that he doesn’t think is fair to share with a partner. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I can’t give any more specifics on that. It was a good twist that added depth to an otherwise sweet, light read.
Overall, it’s a feel-good romantic comedy that kept me turning the pages quickly. If you like to keep it light or need a break from drama and gore, I highly recommend it.
4 stars – It doesn’t get 5 because I don’t think it will stick with me and make me want to read it again. But well worth my time!
Bowen MacRieve of the Lykae clan was nearly destroyed when he lost the one woman meant for him. The ruthless warrior grew even colder, never taking another to his bed—until a smoldering encounter with his enemy, Mariketa the Awaited, reawakens his darkest desires. When sinister forces unite against her, the Highlander finds himself using all his strength and skill to keep her alive.
Temporarily stripped of her powers, Mari is forced to take refuge with her sworn adversary. It’s rumored that no one can tempt Bowen’s hardened heart, but soon passion burns between them. Though a future together is impossible, she fears he has no intention of letting her go.
If they defeat the evil that surrounds them, can Mari deny Bowen when he demands her body and soul—or will she risk everything for her fierce protector?
If you’ve been reading along, you’ve already met Bowen. He’s a shell of a man, or Lykae, as he lost his mate 180 years ago. Nix, the Valkyrie soothsayer, told him the Talisman’s Hie would lead him to his mate. When the final prize turned out to be a key that would allow you to go back in time, Bowen thought he could go back and prevent his mate from dying. He became ruthless in his attempt to win, along the way trapping six competitors in a Mayan tomb, including Mariketa.
Before her birth, she’d been predicted to be the Awaited One, the most powerful born to the House of Witches in centuries—but four years ago, it was also foretold that a male from the Lore would recognize her as his own and claim her. He would seek to lock her away, guarding her with a ferocity that no magicks could defeat, thus robbing the House of her powers.
Mariketa was disguised when Bowen met her and trapped her in the tomb. She wasn’t disguised enough for him not to be attracted to her. But that only made him angry and guilt-ridden, thinking he had betrayed his dead mate.
Witches had no purpose but to spread discord and hatred. To plant destructive seeds in a once-proud family.
Bowen believed all witches to be evil. When he returns and frees Mariketa, his instinct tells him she is his mate. But he thinks this is an enchantment. If it’s not, then the way to fix her is to force her to never practice her magick again. But Mari is having none of that!
Bowen and Mariketa both grow tremendously on the journey they take in this novel. Bowen was almost a zombie, lost in his grief and guilt. He had to let go of those. He was a relic, stuck in his preconceptions. He had to break free and accept that things are not black and white. There are good witches, bad witches, and badass good witches. Mari is the third kind. She couldn’t control her powers at the start but grew in confidence. They take a journey through rainforests to other dimensions and cross as much space in their minds to meet each other.
There are several very hot sex scenes. No triggers. No non-consent here.
Contains graphic sex scenes.
Occasional foul language.
3rd person past tense from Mari and Bowen.
There was one missing period. So that’s great editing.
401 pages. The book ends at location 4258 or 72%. The Kindle version doesn’t have page numbers. The rest is excerpts from other books.
Lykae imprisoned and tortured for over a century by vampires discovers his mate is a vampire – or is she?
Blurb:
A mythic warrior who’ll stop at nothing to possess her . . .
After enduring years of torture from the vampire horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he’s waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.
A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy . . .
Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents — until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae — and their notorious dark desires — ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.
An all-consuming desire . . .
Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be?
The Valkyrie:
Millennia ago, Wóden and Freya were awakened from a decade of sleep by a maiden warrior’s scream as she died in valiant battle. Freya had marveled at the maiden’s courage and wanted to preserve it, so she and Wóden struck the human with their lightning. The maiden woke in their great hall, healed but untouched—still mortal—and pregnant with an immortal Valkyrie daughter.
In the years that followed, their lightning would strike dying women warriors from all species of the Lore—Valkyries like Furie were truly part Fury. Freya and Wóden gave the daughters Freya’s fey beauty and his cunning, combining these traits with the mother’s valor and individual ancestry. Though the daughters were half sisters, they were all unique. But according to the Lore, one could recognize a Valkyrie if her eyes fired silver with strong emotion.
Lykae, or werewolves, in the “Lore” do not shapeshift into wolves. They get a little more muscular, their face changes to slightly more lupine, and they get a shadowy spirit-like halo of the werewolf-type monster we might expect. They each have a fated mate.
Lachlain, the king of the Lykae, had been imprisoned and tortured by Horde vampires for over a century when Emma’s scent from the Paris streets above gave him the will to free himself through excruciating pain. Emma is his Mate. But then he discovers Emma is a vampire and hates her. This is a dark romance with non-consensual sexual situations.
He took her by the wrist and forced her hand to his naked shaft. “You feel me hard. Know that the only reason I’m no’ inside you right now is because I’m weak. No’ because of any concern for you.”
Face flushed with embarrassment, she tugged at her hand until he let it go. “You would hurt me that way?”
“Without a second thought.” His lips curled. His gaze seemed intent on her face, but his eyes were still vacant. “And that’s just the beginning of the things I’ll do to you, vampire.”
She simply wasn’t the type of person who could give it up without some kind of bond or commitment. She didn’t think of herself as old-fashioned about sex—there was a reason for her familiarity with Skinemax—and she had a very healthy attitude about the whole subject, for all that she’d never had an orgasm. But she knew deep down that she would need something lasting—and that it could never be with him.
She narrowed her eyes, realizing what this was. Stockholm syndrome. Identifying with your bullying captor? Check. Forming an attachment to him? Check.
But in all fairness to herself, how many captors—actively acquiring—were six-and-a-half-foot-tall gods with delicious, sun-darkened skin, the coolest accent, and the warmest, hardest body she’d ever dreamed of? All this and he liked to wrap that body around her? All this and he thought she was beautiful.
But Emma grows strong facing this situation. She used to be known as Emma The Meek, but she is a Valkyrie and starts acting like one.
In the past, she would’ve meekly accepted this as yet another time her wishes and feelings were ignored. Now she refused. Lachlain needed to learn a lesson. He needed to learn that in the last seven days, she’d become a creature with which one did not fuck.
Lachlain learns that Emma is a unique creature in the Lore, half-Valkyrie and half-vampire. And eventually things are good.
“Lachlain! I’m not walking around willy-nilly naked. Okay?”
His lips curled as if he found her modesty endearing. “Then go put on the silk I’ll soon be ripping from you. You’ve no respect for your clothing.”
But Emma has another thing to face – the question of who her vampire father is.
The fantastic lore is matched with fantastic writing. The pacing makes me fly through and keeps me up way too late at night. The sex scenes are scorching hot. The action scenes are riveting. I just can’t gush enough about these books, which I don’t often do.
The Warlord Wants Forever is the first in the series. This novel has some spoilers for TWWF, but we all know that these have happily-ever-after endings anyway. So I really recommend reading A Hunger Like No Other first. AHLNO is the first full-length novel. TWWF is a novella. You get hints about the lore, but you get so much more detail in AHLNO. I think it’s a better primer. Other reviews recommend reading TWWF after the third full-length novel, Wicked Deeds On A Winter’s Night. There have been 19 books so far, counting the forthcoming Munro, so there is lots of delectable lore to eat up.
I love how the stories from each novel intersect with each other. We won’t know what is going on with a little snippet appearance of a new character until many books later. It goes hand in hand with the complexity of the unique paranormal lore in this series – spectacular!
Contains graphic sex scenes. Their first full sex scene was graphic. Subsequent ones are just mentioned.
Occasional foul language.
Prologue is in 3rd person present tense. The main body is in 3rd person past tense from Emma and Lachlan.
Errors: 8 – mostly formatting issues where there is a space missing between sentences.
This is 357 Kindle pages long. It contains previews of other books at the end.
In the summer of 2019, Kresley Cole went silent on the interwebs. These days that likely means death, right? Highly anticipated new book release dates came and went. These dates were changed to generalities like Summer 2020, and those came and went. No clues were given, and we still don’t know what happened. But she’s back! Kresley sent a newsletter out giving “proof of life” and followed that with a specific release date for “Munro” of January 15, 2022.
Do you know who Kresley Cole is and why you should care?
“Munro” is #19 in the Immortals After Dark series, #17 in the main series as there are 2 Dacian novels—a parallel series. These are among my favorite books ever written!
Kresley Cole has crafted a paranormal world called the “Lore” that is far and beyond the best I have ever seen. Forget everything you thought you knew about vampires, werewolves, witches, gods, demons, and so on. It’s all wrong anyway, just PR those among the Lore want you to believe.
Here you will find the truth!
By that, I mean you will find details, explanations, and histories that are so good you can easily suspend your disbelief. Fly through these fast-paced stories going, “Uh huh”, “Yeah”, “I follow”, “That makes total sense”, “I remember this”, and “This is so cool!”
I don’t read series that haven’t been completely published. I’m spoiled by technology. I binge-watch and binge-read. I want the entire story available before I begin it. This series isn’t finished, but I can read it. I’m not left with cliffhanger questions. Each story is intertwined with the others, but they can all be read as standalones! Major characters see very minor characters doing things in Book 2 that make little sense. In Book 12, that minor character is now major, and we see that scene from Book 2 as an important part of a bigger picture. This means a detailed outline of Book 12 had to exist when Book 2 was written. That is craft!
Or it’s all true.
Some of this is set in New Orleans. I live near there, hence the “NOLA” in my web address. And I have seen some very spooky things around here!
Now this series is dark romance, but that’s true only part of the way through each book. We always get a HEA. It contains nonconsensual sexual scenes, so it isn’t for those with trigger issues. There is unwanted touching, confinement, and bullying, but no actual rape. If these things don’t bother you, then you are blessed because these books are awesome. Part of what makes the darkness, the lack of consent, palatable is that none of the characters are human. In most of the paranormal books I’ve read, the couple consists of one paranormal and one human. But here, neither are human. They are older, sometimes centuries older, so we can more easily forgive them for their archaic “lock the women up and control them” ways. Plus, those women are badasses who aren’t going to take that for too long before they rise up and prove they are that man’s equal.
The Arcana Chronicles is another series, pitched to YA/NA audiences. This is a completely separate world, but one that has also been very finely crafted. I read “Poison Princess” and “Endless Knight” years ago but stopped reading the series because each book can’t be read as a standalone. I’m glad I stopped because Kresley Cole’s disappearance delayed the last book’s arrival massively. I will be very happy when the last and 7th book, “From The Grave”, comes out in 2022 and will read the series from the beginning.
In the meantime, I’m reading the Immortals After Dark series from the start right now and will be giving reviews on each individually. I hope you take the journey with me and love it as much as I do.
We are still left of the mystery of Kresley’s disappearance. Writer’s block? Personal tragedy? I don’t think so. You see, in order for a human to be changed into a creature of the Lore, they have to die and come back to life. Maybe she’s been turned. A vampire perhaps? Being turned Lykae wouldn’t have happened this fast. A ghoul wouldn’t be able to write anymore. So yeah.
Vampire Kresley, welcome back! 😀
Congrats on the immortality. I look forward to reading new books in this series for the rest of my life.
Madoc and Fallon. Two estranged teenagers playing games that push the boundaries between love and war…
She’s back.
For the two years she’s been away at boarding school, there was no word from her. Back when we lived in the same house, she used to cut me down during the day and then leave her door open for me at night.
I was stupid then, but now I’m ready to beat her at her own game…
I’m back.
Two years and I can tell he still wants me, even if he acts like he’s better than me.
But I won’t be scared away. Or pushed down. I’ll call his bluff and fight back. That’s what he wants, right? As long as I keep my guard up, he’ll never know how much he affects me….
Fallon and Madoc have another love to hate to love story filled with secrets and misunderstandings. I loved Tate’s dad, and Jared’s mother was getting there, working on it. But Fallon has a queen bitch evil mother. There is a lot of drama from her.
I loved the witty verbal sparring between Madoc and Fallon. They have fun together, and I got their connection. Madoc is loveable, sweet, and funny. Fallon is grittier, darker, and more damaged. But Madoc brings out the spunk and humor in her.
This is a re-read, so it must be 5 stars. Fast paced, fantastic writing.
You have to read the dedication! It’s a hilarious and cute poem, “To Hubs”. Don’t miss it!
Again, I had a big problem with having to read detailed sex scenes with Other People! Ewwww!
Contains graphic sex scenes. Other than the OP ones, they are very hot! Characters are 18 and in their summer before starting college.
Occasional foul language.
HFN verging on HEA
1st person past tense from Fallon and Madoc. I was very happy to get chapters from each of them this time.
14 errors. So the editing has gotten much better with this one.
$11.99 on Amazon.
366 pages.
Favorite Quotes:
Fallon: One thing I knew right then and there. I might hate Madoc, but I loved his friends.
Madoc: Sometimes I wondered if the angels talked to get me to behave or to entice the devil to come out to play.
Fallon: I wished I didn’t feel the invisible cord pulling me to him, wanting to touch him again, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. We always want what’s bad for us.
Madoc was hot. He knew it. And he knew everyone else knew it.
Madoc: Her white bikini was just that. A bikini. In every possible definition of the word, it was evil and temptation in its worst form.
Fallon: Who was I kidding? I’d have better success trying to jam a tree branch up my ass than convince myself I didn’t want him.
Fallon: “Madoc?” she whimpered, sounding pained. “I’m not a piano. Stop playing me.”
Jared and Tate’s story told from Jared’s POV – Not just a rehash!
Blurb:
Have you ever been so angry that hitting things felt good? Or so numb that you actually felt high? The past few years have been like that for me. Traveling between fury and indifference with no stops in between.
Some people hate me for it, while others are scared of me. But none of them can hurt me, because I don’t care about anything or anyone.
Except Tatum.
I love her so much that I hate her. We used to be friends, but I found out that I couldn’t trust her or anyone else.
So I hurt her. I pushed her away.
But I still need her. The sight of her centers me, and I can pool all of my anger into her. Engaging her, challenging her, bullying her…they are my food, my air, and the last part of me that feels anything human.
But she left. She went to France for a year, and came back a different girl.
Now, when I push, she pushes back.
I love “Until You” more than “Bully”. Maybe it’s being a woman and seeing into the mind of a man? I know I like novels from the man’s POV, so yes. But “Until You” is better beyond that difference. In “Bully”, I didn’t totally get the connection between Jared and Tate. Because I didn’t get inside his mind, I didn’t completely believe his swift turn around. But here I get it. I’m so glad that Penelope Douglas wrote this story! It’s not the same story from a different POV, so you won’t get bored. You don’t need to make choice on which one to read. There are lots of extra things in each of them. But if you only want to read one, I recommend “Until You”. It had more feels for me. Plus there is an extra sex scene 😂.
As I said in my review of “Bully”, I like bully stories. I especially like this one because the bullying doesn’t go too far. There is no sexual harassment or physical violence. The girl isn’t depressed or brought to suicidal thoughts. Both Tate and Jared are strong. Jared gets stronger, grows, throughout this novel.
My one big problem with this was the parts in the beginning where Jared was with Other People. They were much too detailed! I don’t like it when the main characters are promiscuous before the relationship. I don’t care that it isn’t cheating. And I definitely don’t want to have to read the details of it. Nasty! I wanted it to stop! If you are with me, I hope you can push past it as I did.
1st person past tense all from Jared.
Contains graphic sex scenes, hot ones.
Occasional foul language.
HFN (Happy For Now)
There are many errors (25). That I love it anyway is a testament to how good it is!
$4.99 on Amazon.
406 pages.
Favorite Quotes:
I used to keep her up late watching scary movies, and after all this time, nothing had really changed.
Her ass still wasn’t getting any sleep tonight.
“I never touched their bodies like that or held them. I never cared about them enjoying it. They didn’t get any part of me worth having, Tate. Especially, K.C. I never touched her like this.” I stroked her hair. “You own me body and soul, and everyone is going to know it. Sometimes I’m going to go slow with you, and sometimes I’m going to fuck you. But it will always be love, Tate.”
Always has been. And always will.
Tate, we are climbing out of this fucking mess one way or another, because no one ruins us.
“You made me mean. And now I pummel poor, defenseless girls… and guys,” she added, and I wanted to laugh again, thinking of the damage she’d done to Madoc.
My name is Tate. He doesn’t call me that, though. He would never refer to me so informally, if he referred to me at all.
We’re neighbors, and once, we were best friends. But then, one summer, he turned on me and has made it his mission to screw up my life at every opportunity. I’ve been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors got more sadistic as time wore on, and I made myself sick trying to hide from him. I worried about what was around every corner and behind every door.
So I left.
I spent a year studying abroad and bathed in the freedom of life without Jared. Now I’m back to finish up high school and get the hell out of here forever. I’m hoping that after a year of breathing room, he’s moved on and forgotten all about me.
But even if he hasn’t changed, I have. I’m not interested in avoiding him or turning the other cheek anymore. We’re going to go head to head, because neither of us wants to back down.
I love this book. I read it in 2014 and was surprised how much I still remembered from it. I’ve read hundreds of books since then! So this is very memorable. I like bully books. This is definitely one of the best. The bullying wasn’t that bad. There were no sexual assaults or threats of it and no physical abuse. Jared didn’t make Tate’s life miserable, and she never became depressed or suicidal.
Tate is strong, which I love. Jared bullied her before she went to France for a year, but she comes back a badass. The way Tate became the bully was handled brilliantly. “This is how bullies are made.” I also liked how that didn’t go on too long, how Tate pulled herself back from that abyss.
Jared and Tate had a history of love, and Jared had a great excuse. He just needed to grow up and figure himself out after the trauma he went through. I didn’t completely believe Jared’s swift turn around at first, but by the end I got it. I believed how Tate could take Jared back into her heart as quickly as she did, which wasn’t overnight quick (a cliche I hate in bully books).
The story isn’t perfect. I hate that Jared was sleeping around but Tate is a virgin, and he even says how he loves that, that this makes her really his. Thumbs down on that cliche. I’m also not a fan of the cliche bitchy slut revenge for stealing her man bit. But I forgive these things because of all the rest. I love this book.
Oh! And the sex scenes were very hot.
1st person past tense all from Tate. I didn’t feel that Jared’s character was completely fleshed out because I only got Tate’s POV. For this reason, I like “Until You” better. More on that in the next review.
Contains graphic sex scenes. The characters are 18 when they get down to business.
Occasional foul language.
HFN (Happy For Now)
Alright is not a word. It’s two words: all right. Beyond that, there were 50 errors. That’s a lot. That I look past this speaks to how great the story is! Note: I may be reading an earlier version of the book because I bought in 2014. Amazon thinks I don’t own it when I go to its current webpage.
$4.99 on Amazon.
333 pages.
Favorite Quotes:
As I faced Madoc, who had raised himself to meet my gaze, I grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted my knee into his groin. Hard. The amount of pressure must’ve been a lot, because he yelped and fell to his knees, moaning while holding his crotch.
I’d been called a bitch before, and it didn’t hurt the way being called a slut did. Being a bitch could be a survival technique. They get respect. There was no honor in people thinking you were a slut.
V. B. Law 