Showing posts with label Kindle Unlimited. Show all posts

Royal Savage by Victoria Ashley

By : Kat

Royal Savage by Victoria Ashley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't ready for this story! I feel the need to preface that because when I decided to give this book a read, it was solely based off a recommendation that pretty much described it as an easy bad boy biker A+ smut filled read. (Okay so the exact words used might have just been directly from a smut scene but semantics.) Either way what I got was so much more. And again, I say... I wasn't ready.

I had no idea about the tropes involved in this book. And part of me is glad that I didn't, because knowing me, I would have skipped reading this. There are very few tropes that are a no-go for me and the dead ex fiancé has solidified its self on my list. There is just something that rips me out of enjoying a book when you find out that a character has a dead ex that he whole heartedly loved.

Once this has been established, I can't help but think from then on that the heroine of the story is essentially the runner up. And that if the ex was still alive she would never have a shot.

Royal has a lot of grief and trauma for his dead fiancé. And it hits you even harder when you find out just how and why she died. But by the time its revealed what drives Royal I was already too invested to stop reading. So much so that another no-go trope, couldn't sway me from completing this story. I am never a fan of the Hero of the story "boinking" others after he meets the heroine. He can be sleeping with thousands of people beforehand and I wouldn't blink an eye... but that's because its before her. And sure this is situational thing because like with the aforementioned trope it comes down to personal taste. But I heavily dislike it and still I kept reading.

The question is why? Well because this story transcended the labels that I and the person who recommended it, had placed on this book. What had started out as a spicy popcorn read turned into me being torn, conflicted and sympathizing with both characters.

Royal loved his ex. He wanted to not only marry her but start a family. And she was taken from him. He carries on his life the best way he knows how but never forgetting his promise to her. So when Ava starts to soothe some of his pain, to allow him moments of reprieve from his grief and rage, its obviously is not something easy for him to deal with.

And Ava is just a girl who starts to fall for some beast of a man, who just so happens to be the brother of her boyfriend. She doesn't know anything of his past. She just sees him as someone she wants to help and that she likes being around and of course thinks is hot as hell.

So with two good characters, who both have their own issues in both life and love, I was hooked. There are a lot of surprises in this book, And I am not even going to hint at what they are because the punch to the gut that happens when you find them out... its worth it. And sure there are a few eye rolling moments and a few "oh really" moments but overall its a really good story.

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Tag : 4 out of, Kindle Unlimited, Royal Savage, Savage & Ink Book, Victoria Ashley,

Come For Me by Julie Thorn

By : Kat

Come For Me by Julie Thorn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble

Scarlett and James definitely have some chemistry. And some of those smut scenes were pretty damn good. But this book had me conflicted. While overall I liked it, as an over-the-top popcorn read, I did find myself disliking a few things. Like the fact that the phrase "best friend" was said approximately 70 times. Or the fact that it seemed like everything, but the kitchen sink was thrown in this plot.

The story still has a bit of charm to it though. I can't even say that I was disappointed by the book because I wasn't. And I have to say this is the first time that I have seen an author utilize images at the beginning and end of chapters in this fashion. And when I finished chapter 13 and saw that image .... it was literally perfect timing. The other images had gone rather unnoticed by me but this one was extremely clever to use and definitely added to the mood of what had just happened. I remember saying to myself "oh shit that's so cool".

That aside sometimes it felt like the book felt like it was telling one love story between the main characters and then flipped to include a different aspect. But I don't feel like it is something I can explain without spoiling the story, so I won't go into details. I would however say that if you find the synopsis interesting then read it. Especially if you have kindle unlimited.

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Tag : 3 out of 5, Amazon Freebie, Come For Me, Julie Thorn, Kindle Unlimited,

Until Tomorrow Comes By Adelaide Forrest

By : Kat

Until Tomorrow Comes by Adelaide Forrest
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to a short but wickedly ingenious bit of advertising from a post on TikTok, I read it. I would like to preface this by saying that other than that I had absolutely no idea what this book was about. So, imagine my surprise when I realized I was at page 274 out of 277 and a conflict had just happened.

My internal voice was screamin’ at me because as a reader I hadn’t done my due diligence. And this book was part of a series. And not the type that you can be content with reading just book one and move on happy with how it ends. It’s the cliff hanger, slightly unwilling back to Kindle Unlimited & Amazon I go in order to get the rest of the series.

Aside from the fact that I personally wasn’t in the mood for a series and inadvertently jumped headfirst into one, the book sort of lived up to the spice hype. The first few chapters were difficult to get through. Pushing past that I found myself curious to see how Rafe and Isa’s relationship was going to unfold.

Of course, with this book being labeled as a “Dark Mafia Romance” Rafe does questionable things. He is controlling, manipulative, murders people. Our heroine of the story is kind of bland but an okay character. One that is given a massive boon in likeability by the fact that I absolutely HATE her twin sister. Personally, I think both characters have good chemistry together but the world that is built around them with this story leaves something to be desired.

In the initial aftermath of completing this book I was kind of riding the book high and not thinking past the fact that the story wasn’t finished, and I was unhappy with not getting a HEA. Given a bit more time to digest what occurs I realize that this book isn’t really a “Dark Romance”. Yes, there is a Mafia hottie who does bad things. Yes, he’s killed people. Yes, he’s rich. Yes, he has a stalker like approach to Isa. But having those elements does not lend enough substance to the story to make it believable nor give the story any real since of dark urgency. We are told that Rafe is a dark twisted badass, but it rarely ever seems like he truly is one. Combine that with Isa’s good girl but somehow has a dark secret to be uncovered, the story is kind of eye rolling in retrospect. I don’t want to bash on the story because as fluff or popcorn read its fine. And some of the smut in this story was pretty damn good.

But overall, I can’t help but laugh at some aspects. Like how when Isa is explaining her fear water. The story seemingly out of nowhere takes on a wannabe supernatural fated tone that is never referenced previously. And is something I actually snickered at out loud while reading. On that same note I did find myself wanting to find out things. Like what happened between her and her twin? Why does her twin hate her enough to roofie Isa? Why does she have that scar? But pretty much anything I wanted the answer to is never fully addressed or answered. It is seemingly teased out into the next books. And in full honesty I don’t care enough to want to read those right now. I’d literally rather just read a spoiler to find out and move on to another book.

That being said this is far from the worst story I have ever read. It has good chemistry between the two leads. The smut is actually beyond decent and there are times when reading you are okay with being along for the ride. Its afterwards that you realize you didn’t quite get what you signed up for and that book one and at least book two should have probably been combined. And book one probably should have been edited down a bit to help with the flow.

The rest of the series will be linked below. Maybe one day I will dive back in and finish them.