To be honest I didn't remember Valentine like at all from King's book. I related to this heroine a lot. She tried hardest to be nice, kind, and accommTo be honest I didn't remember Valentine like at all from King's book. I related to this heroine a lot. She tried hardest to be nice, kind, and accommodating. Her therapist said it’s a defense mechanism and I just couldn't help but recognize that I do that myself. That we do it because we want people to like us and we're overcompensating for our fear of rejection. The fear of not being liked. Not being wanted.
Valentine has never had anyone put her first and has had to take care of herself since forever. Her parents were liars; her mother only cared about money and being beautiful and she didn't ever really know her father. He visited every few months until his death but she didn't really know him. She always thought that he was just busy because of his work but really he had a wife and two other children she knew nothing about before his funeral.
All Valentine ever wanted was to be loved but everyone around her seemed to only hate her. She had her half siblings in her life but she thought it was only because she was their kin. They were friendly to her but they didn't really act like they were part of the family. The only one who seemed to love her was Savannah, King's wife but her loyalty would always be to her husband and so, Valentine felt so alone and didn't feel like she could even tell her what was really going on with her.
Unlike Valentine, Dom had a big family who loved him and he'd do anything to protect them. He's possessive over Valentine and he loved how sweet and fiery she is. I loved seeing Dom and Valentine's romance develop. Dom was able to break Valentine's heart but he also gave her everything she needed: love, family, belonging somewhere and without him she probably would have never known that King cared about her.
All in all this book shocked me and made me both scream internally and cry. I just wish we had seen Valentine and King's relationship develop. ...more
I reread this book because I needed a book with coffee in it for this month's book bingo in discord.
Axel is just trying to be nice and letting his soI reread this book because I needed a book with coffee in it for this month's book bingo in discord.
Axel is just trying to be nice and letting his son's date know that he's grounded. He had no idea that the date was someone he would really like. Maddie was trying dating to find someone to bring her best friend's wedding and maybe even someone to love her the way she is. She had no idea how into she would be to her date's dad.
Axel tried to keep away from Maddie. She was amazing and beautiful but he thought she was too young for him. All was lost the minute he saw her in his sweatshirt in her cafe. Axel and Maddy couldn't stop from being attracted to each other since the moment they met. Axel is an alpha hero and I loved seeing him appreciating everything about her. This book reminded me why I love age gap romance books so much.
All in all Latte Darling is about finding love, someone loving you the way you are, and about family drama. I absolutely loved how Axel loved all the lattes Maddy made for him and how perfect they were for each other. My rating went half a star up from the last time I read it. I really appreciated how Axel never tried to keep their relationship a secret. ...more
Vows of a Mobster is my second book by this writer. I absolutely loved Marked and you can see my review here. Unfortunately I had some problems with tVows of a Mobster is my second book by this writer. I absolutely loved Marked and you can see my review here. Unfortunately I had some problems with this one.
Mateo is a 49- years old and he didn't date. He had mistress instead since he didn't trust women not to be like his mother. He grew up seeing his dad deal with his mother's jealousy, fits, screaming, tears and accusations and had no desire to go through the same.
Brianna is 25- years old. She had a daughter, Emma who is sick and she has this big secret revolving what happened the last time Emma got sick. She had a great relationship with her fathers but her mother is the worst, only caring about her own image.
I liked the romance but I couldn't really enjoy it because of this secret. I just kept wanting to scream at Brianna to tell it to Mateo. I liked how she didn't have to try to be sexy or seductive but he wanted her more anyway because she was her. I just love protective older heroes and Mateo definitely is one. He was always so worried about her and wanted to make her feel safe. Mateo even liked Emma and that got total bonus points from me.
I liked all the side characters. I'm so glad Brianna at least had her friends.
All in all while I couldn't really get into the story doesn't mean this isn't for you. If you like age difference and mafia books this might be exactly for you. I think it could've been three or even four star read for me if the whole secret keeping didn't bother me so much....more
The Wrong Bride is the first book of The Windsors series but it is not the first book I've read of this series. You can read my review of book three hThe Wrong Bride is the first book of The Windsors series but it is not the first book I've read of this series. You can read my review of book three here.
This is a book about arranged marriage between Raven and Ares. Raven has been in love with Ares forever but she didn't want to marry someone who was in love with her sister.
I felt like I could relate to Raven's feelings for not being good enough no matter how much she worked. I just hated that she married Ares because her sister wouldn't and had to deal with trying to measure up to her big sister not only in her parents eyes but also in Ares' eyes.
I have complicated feelings towards Ares. I loved him but he was also such a dumbass. I understand him being thorn between his feelings between the sisters but as I relate a lot to Raven, I wish we had seen him choosing Raven more. Thankfully in the end he chooses Raven's feelings over his past relationship. After getting over some of his actions in the beginning of their marriage I loved how possessive and protective he was about Raven.
Raven was everything Ares has ever wanted and he wanted to make sure Raven never doubted it. She was the smartest, sweetest. most loyal and hardworking woman he knew. She was always there for him and never let him down. Ares wasn't truly living before her and she made him realize what true love was.
I couldn't stand Raven's sister, Hannah or their mother. Hannah just acted like a self-centered bitch and I guess their mother spoiled her so much that she didn't care who she hurt to get what she wanted. I wish we had seen more focus on the fact that Raven was only born to save her. I adored to see Raven putting herself first and realize how toxic these two who should love her were and how she deserved better.
The Wrong Bride was angsty romance but it felt like I suffered through most of the book but I enjoyed every minute of it. The Wrong Bride is a book about giving love a change and self worth. ...more
I've been loving mafia books this year and Nero is no different. I had my doubts with this one but I'm not sorry that I decided to read it and I even I've been loving mafia books this year and Nero is no different. I had my doubts with this one but I'm not sorry that I decided to read it and I even ordered King before reading this one and I'm so happy I trusted my gut.
I didn't write any notes while reading this book, so my thought can be all over the place.
If you've read my reviews before, you know I love possessive and obsessive heroes so is it really a surprise that Nero was something I really wish I had read before. Nero is a book about Payton, who has been on a run ever since she was 17- years old and decided to run away from her abusive home after she heard something horrible. Pretty much all men scared her until she met our hero, Nero.
He is obsessed from the moment he appeared on her balcony and while he tried to stay away for her own "good" (cue me rolling my eyes), he just couldn't stop talking about her to his best friend, let alone stop stalking her until she leaves her balcony door open again and he decided that she had made her decision.
There was a lot of things I loved about these two. She was never afraid of him and I just loved how she didn't get mad about the things he did for her. She might've made points that she didn't need any material things but she also accepted them when he got her something.
Payton might've been naive bit she never tried to change him and Nero might've been clueless about romance but he made sure from the beginning that she knew that she was his and even though he made dumb decisions at times, he always wanted to keep her safe. It was so sweet how Nero loved how she smelled so much that he stole her shower gel and how he wanted to drink her favorite drink just to feel closer to her.
As, someone who doesn't really get pets I didn't really get the whole wanting a dog and wanting to bring it everywhere with her, but I think people who like dogs will think that Payton's moments with her dog were adorable.
The only reason this book didn't deserve five stars in my opinion was because Nero wanted to keep their relationship a secret "for her own good". I definitely plan to read more books from this author! ...more
I haven't read anything from this writer before but this book sounded more interesting than the other books but after reading The Unwanted Marriage I I haven't read anything from this writer before but this book sounded more interesting than the other books but after reading The Unwanted Marriage I think I want to read rest of the series too. I was hesitant to pick up this one but I'm glad I did.
This is a book about arranged marriage between Faye and Dion. They have ten year age difference and Dion has no desire to get married with her and instead has been avoiding her for years. But then he saw her with someone else and changed his mind. She didn't want to get married with someone who didn't want her and just craved freedom.
I felt so bad for our heroine. She was raised to be Dion's wife and he didn't seem to even remember that she existed most of the time. On top of that she was an abuse victim and all her family cared about was money. In the meanwhile Dion was living the life however he wanted. I liked how she never caused unnecessary drama or asked too many questions like many annoying characters tend to do. She tried to trust her fiancé and wanted to give him a chance.
Faye and Dion both had their insecurities but I love how since their wedding was getting closer and closer, they became equals and possessive each other. I was so glad to see both of them being jealous. They also managed to repair each other.
He felt less guilty about the past and he made her feel safe and wanted for the first time in her life. He kept encouraging her to be more herself, more confident and to not let anyone control herself, not even him. Faye also wanted a real version of him instead of just remorseful Dion. He didn't need to pretend or hold back with her.
The Unwanted Marriage wasn't as angsty as I thought it would be but I'm thankful for that. I enjoyed most angst in it. The only angst I didn't care about happened very late in the book. I liked how even though this book had characters trying to get in the way of our couple, we also got amazing side characters....more
Do you ever get the feeling like you will enjoy a book but past books have made you not trust that feeling? But then you read the book and you actuallDo you ever get the feeling like you will enjoy a book but past books have made you not trust that feeling? But then you read the book and you actually like it? That's me with The Maleficent Faerie.
The Maleficent Faerie is one of the best Sleeping Beauty retellings I've read. I usually hate the whole pretending to be someone else trope but I feel like it worked so well in this book. I had never read anything by this author before and I was drawn more to this one than the one about a sea witch but now that I've read this one I might get that one, too.
I was so relieved that I actually enjoyed this one. I never know what I get into by books recommended to me by Bookstagram and Booktok.
This is a fantasy romance story about Aura, who has been trained to protect the Princess but never to take her place but to keep the princess safe, she decides to glamour herself to look like the princess so she'd have the chance to run away and about Malec, the void king who cursed the princess and wants to use her blood.
I didn't pick this book up immediately when I got it but when I started reading, I couldn't stop. I haven't read many Sleeping Beauty retellings but I was so exited to read what happens next and I had some theories that I was actually right about.
The romance was enemies to lovers and I was there for every minute of it. I absolutely loved how even though Malec was an alpha male, he also liked to be dominated in bed. I'm glad he wasn't too obsessive about the princess and actually even talked about being disappointed how he wasn't be able to meet her bodyguard (not knowing it was really her) and called her blue-haired butterfly. Malec actually admired how she kept ruining his every attempt to captive the princess.
Malec became so many things to her: her defender, captor, murderer, lover, enemy and even her comfort and her doom. I really liked that despite being the "villain" he cared about her and didn't try too hard to smothers his feelings or make his plans above her in the end. It was inconvenient for him of course but I like a book more if the villain tries to put heroine first instead of just doing whatever he wants and it being okay just because he's not a good guy.
Overall, even though I didn't love it enough to rate it five stars it was a surprisingly good! If you're ever in a mood for Sleeping Beauty retelling with male Maleficent-- I definitely recommend this one....more
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