REVIEW - Of Shadow and Light (Essence of Ash #1) by Melissa McSherry

The Book

Release Date: 24 July 2023

Goodreads Link

When finding about her impending arranged marriage, with no other way of escaping her fate, and the help of her best friend, Darakai flees her Kingdom. What she doesn't expect is to flee into the arms of a sexy, toned male, smelling of leather and pine, with a husky voice. Together they let down their walls and build a bond unlike any other, until betrayal leaves Darakai once again, fleeing from her problems. Only this time completely alone and heartbroken.

This book is a dark fantasy romance. Please mind trigger warnings!

**WARNING**
This book is intended for adult audiences and contains adult themes.

My Review    5 STARS

This is the debut book for this author and it is a brilliant start to a very dark series between Darakai and Wilder.

Both a Prince and a Princess, they have been raised to believe that the light and the dark can never be together, let alone have children.  All children born of this type of union are killed.

However when their parents reveal to their children that they are to have an arranged marriage to each other, they both flee their kingdoms, hoping to get away from their fate and the arranged marriage to an unknown.

But fate has other plans.  Wilder the Light Prince escapes and finds kind people in the forest.  Darakai the Dark Princess escapes with a friend, but runs into trouble and is found by Wilder.

With close proximity, both keep their true identity under wraps, but Wilder figures it out but keeps quiet, especially as they fall for each other and Darakai likes Wilder's darker side.  But when Wilder finds out a secret, he keeps it to himself until it it too late and he breaks Darakai's trust.

We do get a kind of happy ending at the end of this book, however there are a lot of unanswered questions and certainly a lot more of the pairs story to come.

Really looking forward to the next book.

REVIEW - My Fake Italian Marriage by Romy Sommer

The Book

Release Date: 2 November 2023

Goodreads Link

Cleo Arendse: You know how almost every movie set in Italy seems to be about a woman who travels to Tuscany and is swept off her feet by a charming, gorgeous but arrogant aristocrat? Well, that’s not this story. 
Luca Fioravanti: Challenge accepted. 

British Banker Cleo Arendse is nothing like the women lawyer Luca Fioravanti is used to – both because she’s only in Tuscany to oversee his family vineyard’s business and because she’s impervious to the charm that has never failed him before now. But Luca has never shied from a challenge, and when circumstances arise that allow him to step in as Cleo’s knight in shining armour, he leaps…right into a fake marriage! The romance may be a ruse but the passion burning between Luca and Cleo is very, very real, and as the ‘honeymoon’ glow envelops the pair, all bets are off…

My Review     5 STARS

**My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

Although this book can be read as a stand alone book, a lot of the characters were introduced to us in Last of the Summer Vines which is Sarah and Tomato's story.

Cleo in her mid thirtie is one of Sarah's friends who works at the bank and is sent over to Italy by her boss in order to help sort the Vineyard out after Giovanni has a stroke and is in recovery.  It is Cleo's job to let them know if the Vineyard is a lost cause and if she can work her magic and get the job done, especially as she grew up on the Vineyards in South Africa.

Luca is the son of Giovanni and he is a confirmed bachelor getting closer to his forties.  He has been well known as the man who will not settle down and has never found a woman that holds his interest for long.  He oozes Italian charm, has GQ looks and is very smart.  Although he works hard, he excels at making it look like he doesn't do much and lives down to his the expectations people have of him.  

Cleo however turns everything upside down.  First, she seems immune to Luca's charm, then after little white lies, she ends up living in his house and worming her way under his skin whilst she works hard and finds that she misses this simpler way of life.

Both characters grow as individuals, get stronger with someone fighting their corner and realise at points what their lives have been missing.  Cleo is not afraid to ask the hard questions, but often hides her own true feelings.

We get some surprises, a good plot and a story that brings you in, wraps you up and takes you on a journey where you may even learn a little about wine without meaning too.

I really enjoyed this book and really hope that the author brings out another book based within the Tusan hills of Italy.

REVIEW - A Broken Throne of Bronze (Of Metals and Curses #1)

The Book

Release Date: 30 September 2023

Goodreads Link

Being bound to him can only mean one of two things—that he is my destiny, or he will be my undoing.

A human living in a world that bows to the fae, Cryssa Thurdred survives by keeping her head down and staying out of trouble. Well, mostly. Only, when the goddess of fate throws her into the wolves’ den, Cryssa learns she can no longer hide in the shadows.

Torn from her old life and brought to High Keep—the Inatian seat of power and residence of the royal family—all Cryssa wants is to escape and go back to the only home she’s ever known. Instead, she discovers she was hand-picked by the Crown Prince with only one reason in to be his bride.

Yet Crown Prince Viridian Avanos is far from welcoming. Cold, powerful, and difficult to read, marrying him is the last thing Cryssa swears she’ll ever do. When dark magic threatens to consume her and everything she loves, Cryssa finds an unlikely ally in her betrothed. Together, they just might unravel the deceit that shrouds High Keep and its residents.

But if Cryssa doesn’t shield her heart, death will surely swallow her whole.

A Broken Throne of Bronze is the first book in a new series featuring rivals-to-lovers romance, forced marriage, fated mates, and plot twists you’ll never see coming, perfect for readers that enjoy romantasy and fantasy romance. Each book in the series features one couple, a HEA, and an overarching plot that builds with each installment. Any cliffhangers pertain to the continuing plot, and not the couple's love story.

My Review    4 STARS

This is the first book by this author and I am so glad that I saw other people recommend this book and I took the chance to read it.

We meet Cryssa for the first time as she escapes through her bedroom window, climbs out onto the tree and makes her way to a stable to meet her boyfriend Lowen, however as they are spending time together they are interrupted my a man opening the stable door.  As Cryssa makes a move to leave, both she and the man glow in an orange light sealing their fates.

It is only a week later, when guards come to her house, does she find out that the man is not only a noble fan, but the crown prince.  But Cryssa is not the only one taken away from her home, Lowen is also taken, but in a jail cart.

At the palace in the Bronze court, Cryssa learns more of the fae, makes new friends and  finds that all is not well at the palace, just like at home, but she also wants to escape and find Lowen and get him home.  Only somewhere along the way, she finds that she likes the crown prince and she also changes as a person.

Both Viridian and Cryssa learn more about the other, but there are also times where they do not communicate properly leading to hurt and misunderstandings.  It is in a dream however that she finds out that she may be the answer to the problems the courts face, but how that will take place, only time will tell.

Both characters got through a lot of growth and eventually get to have some happiness before the world crumbles around them.  But it is their strong bond that manages to bring them back together and to face the world together stronger than ever.

I really enjoyed this book.  There was good world building, description, growth of characters and a little spice thrown into the mix along with mystery and a small cliff hanger to lead us into the next book and the next FMC that we love from this book which I cannot wait to read.

Would certainly recommend this book to others.

REVIEW - Dr. Resident: An Enemies to Lovers Romance by Lexie Woods

The Book

Release Date: 10 October 2023

Goodreads Link

What happens when a cocky surgeon bosses around a sassy nurse? She hands him a dose of the cold shoulder. 

After the death of my brother, I couldn’t bear to work in the very halls of the hospital where he died. Seeking a fresh start, I accept a position in the emergency room of a new hospital, in a desperate attempt to piece my life together again. 

My hopes of a smooth transition take a jarring turn when I meet Dr. Parker Winters. As the chief surgical resident, he is known for his no-nonsense attitude and controlling demeanor. Oh… and he’s best friends with my ex-boyfriend.

Immediately we begin butting heads, working against each other simply out of spite. That all changes when Parker saves me from the brink of death by performing a life-saving operation. When he demands to oversee my recovery, my hatred for him starts to crumble. As the chemistry between us becomes impossible to ignore, how long will it be before I give in to the devilishly handsome doctor’s orders?

My Review     4 STARS

**My thanks to Hidden Gems and the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I will more than likely read more from this author again.

Nurse Cassidy has been at a new hospital since the death of her brother, here she meets her childhood boyfriend Wes who was her brothers best friend.  But she also meets Dr Parker Winters.  She first meets him on the train but after their first meeting does not like his attitude even though he has good looks. 

When Cassidy is in an accident though it is Parker that finds her, has her sent to their hospital and him that performs the surgery on her.  He also wants her follow up appointments with him.  But nurses make the worst patients lol.

It does not take Longford the attraction between them to sizzle so hot that they combust and they end up exploring the carnal ways of each other. But when Parker find out that Case has not had that much experience he freaks out after.

Case is a strong character and doesn't take bad behaviour and sticks up for her self.  Parker is a control freak who needs to take time to consider things like how he feels and like to be in charge.

When Case is tasked with keeping a secret it has the power to break the trust between them, however family eventually brings them back together and the sudden downwards spiral of Parkers life is uplifted by Case and the love of his family.

I certainly enjoyed this book and you can certainly see the author pouring her heart out about the medical profession, especially nursing after the pandemic and how it has affected them all.

REVIEW - City Muse (The Muse Series Book #1) by Pro Warren

The Book

Release Date: 12 October 2023

Goodreads Link

I lost my equilibrium entirely. If he hadn’t been holding me, I would have fallen. And then I was falling. He’d pushed me back onto the bed. I lay there dazed with bliss as he pulled his t-shirt over his head.

Callie is determined to be resilient. The cheating ex-husband? Kicked to the curb. The high-pressure legal case? Totally under control. Her eighth-grade daughter’s infatuation with a hot biology teacher? Not a problem…probably. Maybe. Oh, damn. It would be a Greek tragedy for mother and daughter to crush on the same guy. Right?

Bart had music flowing from his fingertips and dreams of singer-songwriter stardom until a tragedy plugged up his creative well. He’s making do as a biology teacher in New York City, numb to his silence, until an angry Lawyer-Mommy stalks into his classroom for a parent-teacher conference. When Callie speaks, Bart hears music for the first time in years.

There are a thousand reasons why Callie and Bart are wrong for each other, and they keep those reasons firmly in mind. Until the reasons make no sense anymore. Is Callie Bart’s muse? Is he her safe haven? Can two broken people trust enough to fall in love?

My Review    4 STARS

**My thanks to Hidden Gems and the author for providing me with a free copy for an honest review**

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I was pleasantly surprised.

Callie is a divorced mother on one who has recently moved and landed a big case with the law firm she has moved with.  But very quickly she find that her bosses wife is not as nice as she appears to be and she now also has a talent show to arrange and try to raise over £1.2 million for her daughters school.

Bart is a teacher at the school and is one of Callies daughters teachers.  He is also a talented musician but he lost hearing music in things when his mother sold the farm after his father and sister died.  

But after the pair meet Bart starts hearing music again, while Callie Tackles her issues along with an attraction to the teacher.

The book is a slow burn and eventually we get some spice.  We get a period of happiness between the pair until something pulls them apart.  Of course Callie has friends who help her find herself out of a potential mess, both Callie and Bart miss each other and at the talent show Callie pulls out her trump cards and rakes in the cash whilst Bart tells everyone of his love through song.

Its certainly a decent read and I would be happy to read more of this author in the future.

REVIEW - Dirty English (English #1) by Ilsa Madden-Mills

The Book

Release Date: 10 October 2015

Goodreads Link

A scarred fighter.
A girl with rules.
One night of unbridled passion.

There are three things you need to know about Elizabeth Bennett: she’s smart as a whip, always in control, and lives by a set of carefully crafted rules. She’s learned the hard way that people you love the most always hurt you in the end.

But then she meets Declan Blay, the new neighbor at her apartment complex.

A tattooed British street fighter, he’s the campus bad boy she’s supposed to avoid, but when he saves her from a frat party gone bad, all her rules about sex and love fly out the window.

She gives him one night of unbridled passion, but he longs for more. 

With only a cardboard-thin wall separating their bedrooms, he dreams of possessing the vulnerable girl next door forever.

One night. Two damaged hearts. The passion of a lifetime.

*A modern love story inspired by Pride and Prejudice*

My Review   4 STARS

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I would certainly be up for reading more of her work in the future.  This book has been sitting on my shelf for a while gathering dust and I finally got round to reading a paperback instead of an ebook.

Both of the main characters in this book are flawed and both have been hurt by people in the past.  Declan has the death of his mother and a rocky relationship with his father.  Elizabeth has a past event that has left her reeling even though she thinks she is ok.

Elizabeth has two good friends in Shelley and Blake, although Blake would like there to be more to their relationship.  Shelley is a true best friend to Elizabeth and is there to encourage and push her when needed, but knows when to just be their.

Declan has his twin brother and they have a very close relationship, both are damaged, but both have soft hearts underneath and Dax sticks up for his brother and tells Elizabeth a few home truths.

The book is a bit of a slow burn, there are some spicy scenes and Elizabeth learns to let go of the past and to move forward, especially with Declan by her side.