I’ve read a few novellas by Vera Valentine and loved every weird minute of it. At Monsterotica, I picked up Squeak (because sentient balloon animals). This was short and spicy, with MM and MMF scenes.
I am absolutely looking forward to getting a copy of The Squeak-uel.
Thank you TLC Book Tours and Aphmau for the gifted copy!
Aphmau is the new girl in town, and after a rough first day at school—thanks, Stacy—she’s not sure anyone will come to her birthday party. Thankfully, the super cute and mysterious Aaron comes through and brings the party with him. But after Stacy sprinkles the cake with magic, Aphmau’s birthday wishes don’t only come true, they come to life! Soon Aphmau and her friends find that the world has become just like Aphmau’s video games! Will they be able to turn everything back to normal? Or will Stacy’s evil plan reign supreme?
Blow out the candles and put on your headsets in the action-packed, FIRST-EVER graphic novel adventure from beloved social media sensation Aphmau, with over 22 MILLION subscribers and over 23 BILLION views!
Pumpkin Spice Cafe was in the drawer of the nightstand at a resort I recently stayed at in Turks & Caicos, so I figured I’d read it while there. Especially since I’ve heard wonderful things about this series.
It turned out to be the perfect beach read, despite the autumnal setting.
This interconnected standalone features:
Grumpy x sunshine trope (my favorite)
Starting over
Trusting to love again
Small town
Everyone knows your business
So basically, all my favorites. It’s a little spicy, with a hot make out session that made me stop and fan myself on the beach.
I hate “reviewing” a memoir because it can come off as judging a person’s life. I can, however, say that I absolutely loved Good Game No Rematch: A Life Made of Video Games by Mike Drucker.
I enjoyed this memoir as an audiobook, which was narrated by Drucker himself.
Thank you to Harlequin Audio for the audiobook!
I heard “Incan Lore” and I was all over Qoya. I’ve been loving books with lore and mythology recently, so this was perfect and unique read.
Qoya is written as a dual-POV, and I really liked Azucena and Rurac, especially their growth throughout the course of their adventure.
I did have a hard time liking Azucena until the very end. She started out entitled, and during their trip back to the palace, she comes across as weak. I did grow fonder of Rurac, and found him to have a lot of depth as a character.
This story was full of adventure, with some romance and some spice.
Thank you Happily Booked PR for the #gifted ebook!
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Blurb:
Azucena is under the impression that she is the most loved empress in the history of Sipan. So when she wakes up trapped in a home in the hills with a peasant man who doesn’t believe she’s the one running the empire, she knows there must have been a terrible mistake.
Will she be able to convince him to return her to the palace before it’s too late? Or will he hold her prior rulings against her…after all, it’s her fault he doesn’t have enough provisions to survive the winter…
Tropes:
⚔️ Only One Tent
☀️ Forced Proximity Romance
⚔️ He Falls First
☀️ Incan Lore
⚔️ Dual POV
I loved Blood of Hercules – I listened to this as an audiobook. I think that made a huge difference between finishing this book and getting distracted by other books on my TBR. The main narrator was charming and glib, and the full cast narration helped move along the plot (especially in a 16-hour audiobook).
I did find there to be some humor from Alexis’s inner monologue. I found myself chuckling more than I typically do while reading a fantasy book.
I did want more depth to the characters, especially Alexis and her mentors and her brother. As this is book one in a series, I am optimistic that more character building will occur in future books.
There is some steamy parts at the very end. I’m still not sure how Alexis went from “don’t touch me” to being okay with that steamy-touchy-multiple men situation.
The blurb says this is a dark romantasy for reader who loved Zodiac Academy or When the Moon Hatched, but to me it felt like Greek Gods meets Hunger Games.
Thank you to Harlequin Audio and htp Hive for the audiobook!
Came for the romance, stayed for the family drama. Frenemies with Benefits was a cute second chance romance, perfect for a beach read!
This is book 3 in the Peach Tree Cove series, and I don’t feel like I missed too much by not reading the first two.
Thank you to HTP Books (@htp_hive and @htpbooks) for the audiobook for review.
Do you believe in Bigfoot?
Saved by the Grumpy Bigfoot was a fun, short read set in the Yukon Territory.
There’s the mating bond trope in this book, as well as a finding your place trope.
This was my first Bigfoot romance and if you didn’t already believe, you’ll definitely be scanning the woods twice after reading this steamy book!
The Night Before Christmas by Nicola Knight had me at cute kittens. But the love triangle, friends-to-lovers, and the cute Christmas romcom kept me focused to the audiobook.
While this is a Christmas romcom, only the beginning and epilogue are actually Christmas, and the chapters in between are the days and weeks after the holiday. Those days and weeks that all blur together until New Years and then drag into the grey skies of January.
This was a sweet, fade-to-black romcom – thank goodness since I was listening to it as an audiobook in my car driving to work. It’s always awkward pulling into the parking garage with smut over the speakers.
It always difficult to review a memoir, but I can say I enjoyed Fly Girl. Ann Hood was a TWA flight attendant during the height of air travel and tells stories of her travels, both in the air and on her layovers.
Sometimes this felt a little disjointed, although I appreciated this history of air travel and flight attendants, alongside the memoir.
Thank you W.W. Norton and Netgalley for the review copy!
Leann Reads Books 