Howl by Meg Alivien review

 

Howl by Meg Alivien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 Stars
🌶️🌶️ 2 Spice

Cute and cozy with a splash of drama, but the female lead is clearly a horror movie protagonist who makes some proper stupid choices, lol.

It is a short read, just over 250 pages, and the book was super cute. It is a friends to lovers story with some drama here and there, and it made for a super fun, easy read. I really cannot fault that. In fact, I liked the book overall.

But OMG. The lead is like one of those characters from a horror movie where we are all screaming at the TV, do not go up the stairs, run, or questioning her brain cells because no, you do not go down the dark alley. Are you crazy?

I definitely felt like that at times, but overall it was a super light, easy read.

View all my reviews

(The Cocky Kingmans, #1) The C*ck Down the Block by Amy Award review

 

The C*ck Down the Block by Amy Award
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐½ 3.5 Stars
🌶️🌶️ 2 Spice

The name of this book and the cover had me low-key giggling, so of course I picked it up.

The FMC is a book-loving librarian, and she is on the bigger side, like me, so I love that. The male lead is totally into her and has been since they were young. I found this cute little foundation of the story to be super lovely.

I ate up the playful male lead Chris' banter, but I also really loved that he was a little scared of losing what he had loved for so long. He was super likeable and a comedian half the time. Our female lead Trixie was more on the shy side and did not care much about stepping into the limelight if she could help it. I liked that she was a self loving woman, but she still dealt with bullies and weirdos at times.

The book was in first person dual POV, going back and forth the whole way through, and I totally loved that. The internal monologue at times had me cackling with laughter. The story was pretty simple. It is a sports romance with friends to lovers and fake dating, but honestly, there was little to no real sport shown in the book. It felt more like a background setting for the male lead’s job and something his family revolves around as a group. Thankfully, because I have no clue about sports.

I loved the friendship and the family interactions. There was spice in the book and a lot of spicy thoughts from the MMC, but in truth, the spice did not really impact me all that much, which was a little sad.

Here are some things I struggled with. At times, it felt less like love and more like desire and want. I did not like how one event was not taken more seriously, and it felt way too rushed and brushed aside. The way the lead reacted to it also felt a little underwhelming.

The ending felt rushed. The pacing was steady for a large part of the book, but at about 75 percent through, everything felt like it was speeding up, which left some key moments feeling less impactful.

Overall, it was a good read, and I enjoyed it, but I did not love it.

View all my reviews

Road Trip With a Vampire by Jenna Levine review

 

Road Trip With a Vampire by Jenna Levine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐½ 3.5 Stars
🌶️½ 1.5 Spice

So… I loved books 1 and 2 of this series. The comedy, the weirdness, and the overall fun were just great. But sadly, book 3 did not hit the same spot.

For one, there was not the same level of fun in this book as there was in books 1 and 2. I really felt like Reggie was totally needed in this story. It was also missing the hilarious texts and little extras that were included with each chapter before. This book just felt a little bland compared to the others.

I liked Zelda and Peter just fine, and the story itself was nice and easy to read, but there was not that big burst of amusement and laughter. The fun connection between Frederick and Reginald that was present in books 1 and 2 was really missing here, and I felt like the book lost some of its charm because of that.

I also felt that the leads in this book were a little too similar to each other in personality. In books 1 and 2, there was always a big difference between the characters that created funny moments and quirky interactions. This book did not really have that same dynamic.

Now, I did not hate the book. The writing was easy to follow, there was a clear storyline, and it was cute and cozy with a small sprinkle of spice. However, this one was not my favorite in the series. I felt like more could have been done with her magic and with their relationship.

View all my reviews

Taken by the Alien Next Door by Tiffany Roberts

 

Taken by the Alien Next Door by Tiffany Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐½ 3.5 Stars
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3 Spice

I finished reading this last night… or would it be classified as this morning if it was like 4:30 in the morning? Lol.

Please always read your triggers when starting a spicy book to make sure there is nothing inside that might upset you. You see, I might have sort of not read them and just rushed right in.

I was a massive fan of the author's other series that I read, which was the The Spider's Mate Trilogy. That series was amazing. I also read the first two books in the Vrix series and I am still waiting for the third book.

This book was a mix of super cozy, quirky, and amusing. Our MMC Zevris is trying to blend in and complete a mission, and it all starts to go sideways from the introduction. He is super funny. His inner monologue had me smiling and totally pulled into the book.

When we meet the FMC Tabitha, who is just super lovely but sadly has low self-esteem, it made me a little sad because she is described as so beautiful. She also has a pretty sad past.

For a little while, I was happily skipping along through the story and then BANG, something happens in the book, and the pacing suddenly speeds up. I do not want to give anything away, but if this book had not been such a lighthearted, slightly weird story, I might have had big problems with the MMC's plan. Thankfully, he does realise what he was doing was not great, which helped a lot because I still wanted to enjoy the hot spice in the book.

The end felt a little rushed, and sadly, the relationship did not really feel like love to me. It felt more like lust or wanting. But overall, it was still a fun read.

View all my reviews

This Vicious Sea by Megan G. Mossgrove review

 

This Vicious Sea by Megan G. Mossgrove
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 Stars
🌶️🌶️½ 2.5 Spice

Wow, alright, I am impressed. I have never read a pirate book before, and I never really felt pulled toward them. This book was flipping awesome from the get go. Almost at once, you are thrown into action and drama, with hints of our female lead Odelia's backstory being less than stellar. I felt pretty much pulled in right away, and by the time we meet Rune, I was totally convinced I was going to love the book, and I was not wrong.

This book gave you action and drama in spades, along with a great view of ship life, crew, and found family. All of it was fantastically done, to the point that I had clear favorites among the crew. The storyline in this book stayed at the forefront the whole time. There was none of that feeling where the story fades into the background when other things start happening, or where you suddenly stop and think, wait, what was the story about again? Nope. The storyline was carved through the book thick and clear, and it was amazingly done. I found the whole thing super exciting and great to read.

The banter at first felt catty and a little tit for tat, but as the story progresses, you see a turning point. From there, the banter turns more flirty and blush worthy. The longing and want were nicely done, and oh boy, it had a brilliant amount of spice that really levelled the book up. I honestly felt like I had everything I wanted wrapped into this book. Super impressed and super happy overall.

The only problems I had in the book were these. There was one thing that confused me and made me question why Odelia never looked into it or spoke up about it again. It would have greatly changed things if she had. It also seemed like something she would not normally overlook. That also made me think that Rune or Tavi would have worked it out as well, even if not as much as our female lead would have.

I also had another question that was left unanswered. I sort of guessed it might have been one character or another, but it was never clearly said, so now I am left to wonder. Unless I somehow missed it on my first read through, but I really do not think I did.

Overall, a great read. Action, adventure, love, spice, and a massive helping of sea life.

View all my reviews

My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine review

 

My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 Stars
🌶️½ 1.5 Spice

360 plus pages of unique, easy, comedic, light-spiced fun. I really liked the first standalone but interconnected book in this series, and was not sure what I was going to get in this one, but it turned out to be a really easy read.

The writing was easy to follow. The book does not take itself too seriously. The storyline is there, but it's just fun and loose, and there is no terror or end of the world stakes. It is cozy, light, and amazing, sort of like a romcom in book form.

I felt an instant love for Reggie. I thought he was super funny in the first book, but I really loved him in the second. I also liked that we got to see Frederick and Cassie and where they are now. While it is not the focus, it was fantastic to get a glimpse of the after.

The interaction between Amelia and Reginald was easy and hilarious, but the texts between Reginald and Frederick were just as funny. I spent a lot of my time trying not to laugh and smile.

I found the spice super fitting. It is not over the top, but it is open door and definitely makes your heart race. Altogether, I was super pleased with it.

View all my reviews

My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine review

 

My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

((Reread and still love it!))
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)
🌶️ (1.5 spice)

I honestly did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into, but I found it totally amusing, funny, and with just the right splash of spice.

The writing style was super easy to read and follow, and the pacing was perfect, not rushed, but not slow enough to lose interest. The real win for me was the characters and their interactions. I was laughing so hard at times that I cried! 😂 The book doesn’t take itself too seriously and leans into being light-hearted and fun in the best way.

I was a little worried it would be all spice and no story, but that was not the case. The spice is open door, but it’s not the only thing keeping the book afloat, which I loved. Sure, I would have loved a little more heat 🔥, but honestly, I don’t think the book needed it to be enjoyable. I would have liked a bit more at the end, but overall, I really enjoyed this read.

Would I recommend this book?
✅ Yes, it’s a great, easy, feel-good read.

Would I reread it?
Absolutely. Super rereadable.

How I’d sum it up:
Quick, quirky, and super funny with a perfect splash of spice!

View all my reviews

Hard Bubbles by Leah Legend review

 

Hard Bubbles: A Shifter City Romance by Leah Legend
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐ 3 Stars
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3 Spice

While the book is only three stars, I did not hate it. It was a fun, quick read, but it had some pretty big problems. I think the book either needed a full rework or simply more pages because it was so fast paced and abrupt that I might need a neck brace.

It had a super rushed feel, and everything happened within about a day, which made me feel totally uninvested in the events and action because they had zero weight behind them. I had questions left unanswered even at the end. I also questioned the lead's flip flop nature in general. At the start of the book, the verbiage felt a little weird now and then, but that seemed to settle down about fifty pages in.

That being said, it was fast and fun and asked for very little investment from you as a reader. If you like spice and a little bit of weird in your book and no real drama, it is definitely a fun little read.

I would say if you want to feel love and heart stopping romance, you are not really going to get it here. Due to the speed everything comes at you, it feels more like lust or want. Even with the story, it never feels like much more than that.

In the end, I did have fun, but it just was not something I could fully get into, believe, or feel deeply connected to. It did have some fun spice, but let us just say I was not into what happened in the cave at all. Hard pass from me.

View all my reviews

Diamond Dust by K.F. Breene review

 

Diamond Dust by K.F. Breene
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐½ 3.5 Stars
🌶️🌶️ 2 Spice

Well, this is strange. Turns out I really liked book two more than the first book.

When I finished the first book, I gave it three stars. I sort of worked out that my main problem was that this duology is a spin off from a bigger series, and all those characters and the world are built from that. But since I had not read it, I was pretty lost for a while. Thankfully, by the time I finished the first book of this series, I had done the hard work of figuring things out. So when I started Diamond Dusk, I had a better level of understanding of the characters. Given that we were in a new environment that Daisy did not know, it meant we got the details I needed to understand what was going on.

I would totally say that I wish I had read the original series first before starting this one, because I do not like the feeling of confusion and not knowing what is going on or who people are. Apart from when the book shifts POV to Lexi or Kieran, who are from the original series, where you are given lots of names and people you do not really know if you have not read it, most of the time you are in Daisy’s POV. Thankfully, being in the Fae kingdom made it easier to enjoy the book more.

A lot was going on, and the story follows where the last book left off. I do feel book two was darker than the first. I also felt that Daisy was more left to her own at the start, but that did not last long. Daisy is clearly smart and strong, and due to her past and upbringing, she deals with things, even horrible things, really well. To the point I was starting to think she would need a whole lot of therapy by the time the book reached its end.

The book felt fast-paced with a lot going on, a lot of action and events, and it was honestly fun. But shockingly, the high stakes just were not that impactful to me. Normally, when you are facing something that should make the reader fear for the characters or the world, I just felt like, meh, alright, sounds cool. So I am not sure if I just did not connect as much with the writing or if it was the characters. Overall, it was fun, and I read it in two sittings.

I would say I would not reread the series, and I might not buy it for my physical shelf. But otherwise, I am glad I got through it, and it was a fun story. I do feel a little bad that I did not love it as much as my friend did, but hey, we all like different things, right?

View all my reviews