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Review & Romanceopoly Update: A Hunger Like No Other

1/18/2020

A Hunger Like No Other
by Kreisler Cole

Synopsis
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?

Review

I have been meaning to read the Immortals After Dark series by Kreisler Cole for the longest time, and thankfully, Romanceopoly has created the perfect opportunity for me to do so. I landed on “Fates Mates” during my last dice toss and read The Warlord Wants Forever, which is the prequel to A Hunger Like No Other. Could I have counted that read as my “Fated Mates” category choice? Yes. Did I? No. Lol - I wanted to read the actual first book in the series! I’m so glad that I did by the way.

A bit about The Warlord Wants Forever - it is the perfect introduction to Kresley Cole’s world of the Valkyrie women. They are these totally badass women that border on slightly ridiculous (in the best way) that Cole wrote so well. In this novella, we meet Mist and we learn about her sisters and who they are, not only as the Valkyrie, but as a family. We also join her as she falls for the ultimate enemy, a vampire. Cue family drama.

In A Hunger Like No Other, we meet Emmaline Troy - the only Valkyrie who also happens to be half vampire - who is captured by Lachlain, a Lykae (*cough* werewolf) who is convinced Emma is his fated mate. This is a particularly interesting development for Lachlain as vampire are definitely their number one enemies.

Cole did such a fantastic job in immersing the reader in the world of the Valkyrie. I HIGHLY recommend readers interested in this series to start with the prequel because it lays out the Valkyrie background really well. The characters are solid and I ended up caring about them all. I quite enjoyed the fact that the men who fall in love or fall into “fated” love with these women are just a part of their story. Behind everything that happens with them, there is always the love of their sisters & family. There is plenty of jealous attraction, miscommunication, and enemies to lovers in Hunger which is totally my romance catnip. I fell in love with both the main characters in this book, Emma and Lachlain, and their story together. I also might be making a stretch here, but there was a little familiarity between this story and Pride & Prejudice. Albeit, very loose familiarity, but there’s a lot of miscommunication and both characters come to work toward understanding each other and their very unique perspectives.

I will definitely be reading the rest of the series because I am drawn into this world - good luck taking me out of it lol.

Romanceopoly Update

So! A Hunger Like No Other marks my second book for the Romanceopoly challenge. My third toss of the dice gave me a 6 and had me land on “Lover’s Lane” which is categorized as: “Read an LGBT romance which isn’t a contemporary”. I enjoy recommendations, so after looking around to the hosts’ recs, I have decided to read The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite.

This is what I am absolutely loving about this challenge - it is making me get out of my regular reading routine! I have not read any LGBT romances (unless you want to count The Misadventures of a Curvy Girl...which I guess we would, so never mind). I am so looking forward to this story and to updating you all on my progress!

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Review: Ain't Nobody Nobody

1/10/2020

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In Ain’t Nobody Nobody by Heather Harper Ellett, we meet Randy Mayhill, a “retired” sheriff who is living his life of solitude until a dead body appears…and then disappears on the fence outside his home.

Ellett’s debut novel is full of wit and twists. I found the characters to be quite charming, something that I sometimes find missing in mystery novels. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find myself feeling attached to these characters. Ellett’s writing gave them, not only life, but warmth - something I find can’t be ignored. I find characterization to be so important…if I don’t care about the characters, I have difficulty caring about the story.

Ellett’s writing is truly enjoyable, alternating between humor and wisdom. We feel what the characters are feeling - the guilt, loyalty, and eventually their sense of community. I appreciate writing that places you, not only in the scenes of the books, but engulfed in the feelings of the people. Mayhill takes us on a journey with him as he unofficially comes back from “retirement” in order to solve the mystery that hits way too close to home.

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Review: Misadventures of a Curvy Girl

1/10/2020

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Misadventures of a Curvy Girl
by Sierra Simone

Synopsis

For the first time in her life, Ireland Mills is happy with her body. No more fad diets, no more hiding from every camera in the room, no more low self-esteem. She’d rather be alone than with someone who’ll only love her if she’s skinny.

Caleb Carpenter and Ben Weber are everything Ireland and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce dreamed of when conceptualizing the “Real Kansas” promotional campaign. They’re handsome, young, educated, and totally dedicated to their small prairie town.

When Ireland’s Prius gets stuck on a Kansas dirt road and a massive storm rips through town, she’s left stranded with nowhere to turn but to Caleb and Ben. These two hunky country boys are impossible to ignore, but could they ever be interested in her as well?

Caleb and Ben are more than interested…and they’re willing to share. After their first night together, they know this has to be more than a one-time thing. They need to make her theirs forever. But can they convince Ireland they love her, curves and all?

*****
Misadventures is a romantic series of spicy standalone novels, each written or co-written by some of the best names in romance. The stories are scandalous, refreshing, and, of course, incredibly sexy. They’re the perfect bedside read, a ‘quick blush’ for the reader who loves a page-turning romance.

Review

Misadventures of a Curvy Girl was my first read for Romanceopoly. If you missed my post on it, just click here. I was a bit nervous going into this read because, as much as I love romance, this Sierra Simone's book goes into an area of romance that is totally out of my...not comfort zone necessarily...just my realm of reading experience. Let's put it that way haha.

Misadventures is about a curvy woman, Ireland (LOVED HER NAME) meeting two guys, Ben and Caleb. The story concerns Ben and Caleb's relationship and their need to have a third person in the relationship with them to really feel complete.

So, what was I nervous about? Here are the things:

I've never read a book that included a menage relationship
I wasn't sure how the curvy woman was going to be portrayed (this is always a nerve-inducing point for me. I am a curvy woman.)
I knew it was going to be smutty - but was it going to be good story smutty or ridiculous?

Thankfully, I did not need to worry about this because I ended up really loving this book! It's really funny because it had some details I don't usually like in my romance books (insta-love being the main one), but it just sort of fit in this story. I ended up caring about each one of the three main characters which is so important to me. A story is useless for me unless I enjoy the characters. Most importantly, Simone treated each character with importance and respect. We get the perspective of each character in alternating chapters, and I just loved that, even though Ireland was the key person missing from their relationship, she did not overshadow Ben and Caleb. Also, I don't know if this is how all menage/thruple/etc. relationships work, but I respected and was happy to read that Ben and Caleb were so determined to do work together rather than against each other when it came to Ireland. It made the story feel so real to me and endeared me even more to each of the characters.

So, if you're willing to go outside of your reading zone, I definitely recommend this book. It was a quick read for me (finished it the same day I started it), and I found myself wanting to know more about their relationship. Definitely.

Now - let's see what my next read for Romanceopoly will be *rolls digital dice*
It looks like I've landed on "Fated Folly" which means I am to read "a fated mates PNR (paranormal romance)". I have the perfect book for this category. I will be reading A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole. I'll try to post updates on my thoughts as I read it on Goodreads and/or Twitter. Stay tuned!

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Welcome to Book Fidelity 2020!

1/9/2020

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Hello there readers! I am home sick today (what a way to start the first week in January, huh?) and have slept way too much. I am one of those people who needs to do something so I have a feeling of productivity. So, I thought this would be the perfect time to make a blog entry with my intentions and ideas for 2020.

Every year, I have goals that I mostly keep to myself and I don't ever get down on myself if I can't meet them. What's important to me is that I have goals that I try to achieve throughout my year - but I know that life happens. This year I want to hold myself more accountable than I have in the past. My goals revolve around productivity at work, creativity, and, of course, reading!

So, for my blog and reading, these are my goals:

update with posts more often
make posts that are more than just book reviews
actually create that newsletter I've been wanting to make for the LONGEST TIME
indulge in some book challenges here and there when I'm feeling less than inspired (I am very much a mood reader)
commit to Romanceopoly (more about that in a minute)
exceed my Goodreads challenge
more Instagram!

Romanceopoly

Now, onto Romanceopoly! This is an annual challenge that is hosted by the bloggers/youtubers Under the Covers and Peace Love Books. There's a board and dice and everything! What's lovely is that everything is provided for you in form of printables and online content.

Reader, this is where I have to set a minor warning for you. This blog of mine usually has a random plethora of books that I review and recommend. I am open to all genres and my blog reflects that. Romanceopoly, however, is of course focused on all things romance. That means there will be some cute romantic comedy stuff, there's going to be some sexy stuff and then there's going to be some downright dirty stuff lol. Here's an example:

As of the beginning of this post, I have thrown my first dice and have landed on "Passion Place". What's great about this challenge is that the creators of it have given us recommendations for each of the places we can land on which is particularly great for me because "Passion Place" is definitely a category in the game that I do not have any background in. The "Passion Place" challenge is "Read an erotic romance with a menage or reverse harem". I thought this was a great example to show you all what you should expect throughout the year - some stuff you're used to, and some stuff that will be new to the both of us.

I pride myself in my trying to understand what others go through. With this comes the understanding that there are triggers and just things other people dislike. I want my blog to remain open to all genres with the expectation that whoever wants to read it is reading it because there's something that catches their attention.

So! Please join me on this adventure! I am very much a mood reader, like I stated earlier in this post, so it is going to be very interesting having something external dictate what I read. I am actually really looking forward to it because I have a lot of books that I own (both ebook and in print) that I want to get through this year.

Goodreads

The last time I completed a Goodreads challenge it was in 2017 where I read 105 out of 100 books. Since then, I've been trying to do 200 in a year. I tend to get to 100 and then it just stops there lol. Like I said before - I do not beat myself up about these challenges nor do I force myself to read things I don't want to read or force myself to read at all if I don't want to. So, this year, I have placed my challenge at 150 books - a happy medium I think. If I exceed it, awesome. If I don't, no issues. Reading should be fun, not another obligation for me. If you want to follow my progress, I'll be placing the challenge widget on my side bar ---> Also, if you want to add me over there at Goodreads, please feel free to do so!

There it is readers - my goals and intentions for 2020. I look forward to talking to you all a lot more and to reading all the books! Comment below if there are any kinds of posts you'd like to see or whatnot!

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Review: Spent Identity

1/6/2020

6 Comments

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AMAZON ┃ BARNES AND NOBLE ┃ SMASHWORDS ┃ DRAFT2DIGITAL ┃

Spent Identity is the second book in the Annalisse series by Marlene M. Bell. It seems like I am breaking all my rules when it comes to series these days! In case this is your first read on my blog, let me clue you in a little - I am not used to starting a series on the second book. I am a legit completist that needs to start from number one. However, I have made exceptions in order to review some pretty lovely books, Spent Identity being one of them! (Nevertheless, please keep in mind that I have not read the first book in this series!)

So, let's get that point out of the way. Bell mentions events from the first book throughout Spent Identity. As someone who wasn't aware of the events of the first book, I didn't particularly mind that these instances were included. I appreciated any backstory on the characters in the books I read. I could see, however, how these instances could annoy other readers - those who have already read the first book, or even the readers who prefer to read each book of a series as a standalone. I believe that Bell was able to incorporate the information in a way that was more informative rather than tiresome. Regardless, I will always recommend reading the first book in any series, including this one.

I have a limited amount of background reading romantic suspense, which is how I would categorize Spent Identity. Bell included many elements into her novel. Intrigue and mystery, lust and betrayal - these were all interwoven excellently throughout the story. It's these components that make the story entertaining and attention-getting. I found myself wanting to keep reading, page after page. There was definitely great pacing with the mystery and twists woven through the book. Cozy-mystery readers beware though - this story is most definitely made for those who prefer their mysteries a little darker and with some romance elements mixed in.

Overall, I will definitely need to go back to read book one in this series because I found Spent Identity to be well worth the read. I recommend this book to readers of drama and thrillers - especially those who like their intrigue with a relationship at the center of it.