Tag: BookSirens

Posted in Spicy Romance

The Orc and the Innkeeper

Posted on by Little Bee

By Cora Crane

Rating 5 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Orc and the Innkeeper was one of those books that I could not put down. I found myself gasping and kicking my feet giggling throughout the story. It follows two characters who start out as “enemies”. Thorak traumatically teased Mariah growing up. It was so bad, that all these years later, she is still suffering the effects. Situations occur and they pretend to be fake engaged in order to get a human investor to work with Thorak.

The story follows the standard framework for a typical romance novel: the background information on both characters, the eventual coming together, the romance, the third act breakup/blowout, followed by the reconnection, HEA. This story also relies heavily, I mean HEAVILY, on the miscommunication trope. I mean like, the whole story. I would normally mark down in ranking for that, but the whole story was still just so fun and so cute. It is a great little cozy, spicy, monster romance, and I was here for it the whole time.

I really enjoyed all of the side characters. I think each one enhanced the story to help further it along. The characters all had things going on in their lives, but all still were brought together. There were several points of high drama, I will let you read those for yourself, and they definitely amped up the miscommunication tropes.

I liked that the internal “racism” wasn’t just one sided. There were humans who did not want to do business with Orcs (which is the whole purpose of this story) and even Orcs who were very anti human (such as Thorak’s parents, and Thorak’s bullying of Mariah when they were younger). I like how it showed the progression of these characters to adopt new mindsets, and how it is not always easy to do so.

The spice was nice, but it is not SUPER spicy. It has enough, but comes a bit later in the book.

Overall, the story was well written. I read it so fast, it is not a terribly long book. I am definitely looking forward to Ecco’s story in book 2. I think Elderberry Falls needs to have a vacant house so I can just move right in 🙂

Posted in Spicy Romance

Tangle with the Mages

Posted on by Little Bee

By L.A. Monteiro

Rating 4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the second book in the Seasonal Spice series. I recommend you read the first book, 50 Shades of Orc, prior to reading Tangle with the Mages. This book is supposed to be a kind of continuation, in the first book, there is a prophecy surrounding a witch, but it is incredibly unclear. I did not feel any more clarity during this book either. For some reason, I thought the witch would end up with Tom’s brother because that is how it felt from book 1. I know book 3 follows along where book 2 left off, but, even though I haven’t read book 3 yet, I feel like they could have just been released as one book instead of 2.

Overall though, I did like the book. I liked that it took some creative liberties. I like that Irene was a sentient plant and that she melded with Cassia. I thought that offered a unique take. This book is not very spicy, I would say maybe a 3.5 out of 5. There are definitely some scenes in here, and the book is not very long, but I felt they could have been spicier like the first book.

Overall, its a fun, quick read! I look forward to working my way through the rest of the series.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Knot Forgotten

Posted on by Little Bee

By A.J. Moran

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A.J. Moran is a new to me author. I started with an ARC of a new Omegaverse/non-shifter book that is just released. This book has elements of dark romance, and is reverse harem, no MM in the pack. It is not super traditional along those lines though. It is also a bully omegaverse, but was mostly light bullying and only for a small percent of the book.

One of the things I really like is that the FMC is a strong character, even when she has had to flee in fear from past situations, she doesn’t let it break her. I like when an FMC is not wishywashy and can stand on her own. She also actively has anxiety attacks from her trauma and I thought the story handled it appropriately. She does get in her head a lot, and some of the initial issues in the story would obviously not have been there if they would have just talked, but that is the point of the story isn’t it 😉

Her and her 4 best friends grew up together, eventually, she presented as an omega, specifically their omega, but something happens and she disappears from their lives. They reconnect when they end up at the same college and accidentally share a co-ed living space in the dorm. They do not recognize her and she goes by a different name, so it takes a bit to figure out who she is. That is really when you see the bullying. Eventually the truth comes out and everything stops and the rest of the book is their love and relationship taking its course. It is not an easy path and they face a lot of challenges.

I liked each alpha, and I liked that they were well thought out characters. Each one had their own inner demons to deal with but they all loved each other for them anyways and worked together to help everyone. This book has some great representation: mental health/bipolar/active anxiety attacks and one alpha is deaf. Each of the alphas were easy to like, even in the beginning when they were not nice to her.

There is some decent spice in there, which of course picks up as the book goes. This book may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But as far as omegaverse goes, this is definitely up there with some of my favorites. I look forward to reading more in this story line.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Matched with a Leprechaun

Posted on by Little Bee

By Belle Blakley

Rating 5 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is book 3 in the Her Monster for the Night series. It follows Ava, the sister of Bryce from Matched with a Merman. Ava is not doing so well at the moment in life and ends up on a vacation in Ireland with $100 to her name to last her the whole trip. She ends up in the wrong town from where she was supposed to be, without a room for the night. She happens upon a man she thinks is being chased and tackles him, turns out, he is a leprechaun and grants her 3 wishes, but she does not believe it. She wishes for a bed for the night, and then a text to/from her sister, she ends up on the supernatural escort service, where she indicates she wants a leprechaun for the night….color her surprised it was the man she had met earlier.

I am fully aware these are short books and meant to be the best one night stands of these women’s lives, however, this one truly felt like Connor and Ava could have ended up together. They felt perfect together. I will still give if 5 stars though, because it is very spice heavy yet some how still has a decent plot for a book that is only 50ish pages long. I look forward to reading whatever comes next! This one is similar to the others, high on spice, has enough plot to keep the story going and connected to the ones before it. I recommend it if you are looking for a good, quick, spicy read. Like the others, the story ends when the night ends. Relationships do not continue. Just a wham-bam-thank you ma’am of a good time.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Matched with a Merman

Posted on by Little Bee

By Belle Blakley

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is book 2 in the Matched with Monsters, short, paranormal, erotica series by Belle Blakely. It takes place after Liz from Matched with a Vampire‘s book comes out. Liz, Sarah, (both from previous book), and their friend Bryce, go on a private yacht to celebrate Liz’s book release and success.

Bryce is about to ask for a divorce from her no good, cheating, gaslighting husband. Liz and Sarah convince her to try out the supernatural escort service and get herself a merman. She does, and it turns out the hot deckhand she has been ogling is the merman who accepts her request.

I really liked the spicy scenes in this one. While I liked the spice in the first one, the ones in this book were hot. I really liked the way the underwater spicy scenes were handled and how/what he gave her to help her breathe while underwater. The story is developed, having enough plot that the spice doesn’t fall flat.

Once again, minor spoiler alert, the happy ending in this story does not mean the guy gets the girl. Bryce desperately wants to go on her sort of spicy self-discovery after that last years of her life married to her husband have treated her. I love that for her!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Matched with a Vampire

Posted on by Little Bee

By Belle Blakley

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately, and nothing has really caught my attention. I received this ARC through Booksirens, and I am happy I asked for it! It is an incredibly short read and ticks the marks I look for in a short story.

I review short stories differently than a full length novel. My expectations are there is a beginning, a middle, and an end. If it is a spicy short read, I also consider if the scene is well developed or is the spicy scene(s) short, quick, and too the point leaving me as a reader disengaged and uninspired. Finally, I look at the overall development of the story itself. Some short spicy books, its all spice and no plot. That is totally fine. And often, it is what I want from a short spicy book.

*Minor Spoiler ahead* When I look at Matched with a Vampire, I do feel it is a well developed book. I do not necessarily need a happy ending, and if you are looking for a fated mates/the guy gets the girl etc, you won’t find that here. While, I like an ending where the MCs end up together, there is something special about a story about a FMC who is just out looking for hers, you know? I do feel this story does have some plot but also has some spice. And the spice nice ;).

I also like matchmaking services that involve the paranormal. While this is an escort matching service, the idea is still there. I really love that Dean was a fan of Liz’s historical romances and he had a book store and she was an author. That was such a fun dynamic. I hope there are more stories that involve Liz with some of the other monsters in the service.

If you are looking for a short book that packs a little punch, this one is a good one to pick up! I immediately started the second book. I am also looking forward to the other monsters!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Prince of the Undying

Posted on by Little Bee

By Karen Kincy

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Let me start out with saying, I was really looking forward to reading this book. I liked the idea of a dark, fantasy romance, around a mercenary and a necromancer. And while that is what you get with Prince of the Undying, it falls really short of the mark. This story was previously released under the name Shadows of Asphodel, and was revised and rewritten with a professional editor. Throughout this book, I felt like there were so many gaps, like something was missing. There would be bits of conversations that went from point A to Point C and skipped over Point B altogether.

I felt Ardis fell flat. There were so many missed opportunities to build upon her character. More history regarding her sword would have been nice. Especially why everyone was so afraid of it, surely it had to be more than just blood magic? Why did her mom need a sword like that? Does this information come in later books since this is book 1? Wendel was nice. Fell flat at times. His erratic decisions seemed to sometimes come out of nowhere. I found myself confused about the bulk of the story. The Archmages seem like the bad guys as much as the Order of Asphodel. Why did everything start to begin with? What era in time is this? It has steampunk vibes, but leaves me confused because it feels like multiple points in time in world history.

The book has a good amount of spice in it. Once they start with the spicy times, it happens quite often. The ending definitely made me feel things and it ends abruptly but not really cliffhangerish, more of a to be continued. Definitely check your triggers, because there are a lot of dark elements. After all this, you are probably wondering why I gave it three stars instead of lower? This is a fairly quick read, at least it feels like it. The story stays fast paced the whole way through. I like when stories are like that sometimes, especially fantasy books. Aside from the parts that seemed to end quickly and like I missed things, the story idea is a good one. It is unique. I know it was revised once, but I think just a little more expansion on some of the things that happen and the characters, and I think it could be a really great book. It holds a lot of promise.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Silver Bells and Serendipity

Posted on by Little Bee

By Marie Landry

Rating 4 stars out of 5

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Silver Bells and Serendipity falls in 3.5 in a series, however, you do not need to read any of the other books to know what is going on. Some of the FMCs from the first books become friends with the FMC later in this book, but not reading the other books is not detrimental to the story.

This story follows Christmas over 3 years, where FMC and MMC meet the first time, and each subsequent time after. They only ever spend a day with each other, or an evening, and hope to chance an encounter the next year. During the first two encounters, neither character are really at a place in life where a relationship or something more is an option. Book ends in a HEA.

Overall, the story is cute and you root for the MCs the whole way through. I feel that you get to learn more about Sylvie’s year each time then you do Cole, though the POV of the story is through Sylvie. I don’t feel like Mindy’s reasons were good enough for just bolting on their friendship, so I wish there was a bit more to it, especially if it was going to be made a point throughout the story. There is some spice starting in their second meet up. It is not overly spicy, but enough that is enjoyable and it is not fade to black. The story is creative and well written. It is unique, at least to me. I have not read too many books similar along these lines.

Posted in Romance

Yule Know It When You See It

Posted on by Little Bee

By Carly Spade

Rating 4 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Theodora is a romance writer with a monthly column in a magazine. She is teamed up with the new sports writer, Axel Nord, for a co-piece. Theo is rude to him when they first meet and from there they are kind of “frenemies.” As the story goes on, they have small moments where they start liking each other. Eventually, they both fully let themselves dive off the deep end, ultimately ending in a happily ever after.

This story is a holiday rom-com, standalone. While this story a lot of tension, of all kinds, between the two MCs, there is little to no spice until the last 15-20% of the book. It is listed as a slow burn, but it is almost nonexistent. The spicy scenes involved are not fade to black.

I did enjoy reading this book but only give it 4 stars. I liked how when Axel used a word in his language, the author also quickly gave the meaning as well. I enjoyed the Yule/Jul information. I had a hard time connecting with Theodora, but I am not really sure why. The story is well written, I will definitely explore more books by Carly Spade. The story was evenly paced. I loved all the holiday things occurring, from going to hockey games, ice skating, office party, etc. Overall, it is a cute, feel good story, and a perfect year end, holiday read!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Beauty’s Beasts

Posted on by Little Bee

by Alex Hanson

Rating 5 out of 5 Stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a dark, fantasy retelling of Beauty and Beast/Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Why Choose Edition. The main character is nonbinary. Some days are Evan days, where they feel masculine; some days are Eve days, where they feel feminine; and some days are neither and they go by their name given at birth, Evangeline, in which these days are just meh days. The townspeople are not receptive to their trying to live their life as a man some days, and they have difficulty just getting through the days. Eventually, they get offered up in the monthly Offering given to The Deadwood to be eaten by the demons in the forest. These demons, as you may guess, are the “Four Horsemen” in this story.

I was immediately sucked into this book. It is very well written. It is so many things all in one: it includes monsters, magic/paranormal aspects, action, loose fairytale retelling of Beauty and the Beast, reverse harem/why choose, MM action between side characters (but spicy scenes are only of the main character and their harem) and more. One thing I always complain about is how some books are split into multi book series, when one or two books would suffice. Well, Beauty’s Beasts is all one book, so no cliffhangers. It is a happily ever after, but doesn’t mean I didn’t sob through the last couple chapters because I FORGOT it was HEA.

I like how inclusive the story is. I have never read a book that the main character is nonbinary/gender fluid, but it was easy to follow along mostly. There were times where I was confused because “Evangeline” was used a lot and only a few times after the bracelets were given to them did they actually correct anyone. So I felt like they had a lot of days that were Evangeline days.

I like that the story had a steady flow. The MC built a relationship with each of the “demons” (Gryxen, not sure if I spelled that right). Each mating happened before the next pairing really started. Each Gryxen had their own personalities and abilities. They were pretty well thought out characters. The reader easily falls in love with each one of them. I do feel the last mating, with Drixus, could have used a little more. I was starting to stress out around 77% into the book when it hadn’t happened yet. The main fight scene happened very quickly. Finally, I liked Will’s perspective for the Epilogue, but really would have liked one from the main character as well. I liked Will’s character, and I liked they were best friend’s with the main character, but I feel like him and Jacob were not as present or had a significant role other than being Evan/Eve/Evangeline’s best friend. Once Will and Jacob were in The Deadwood, you see them some, but its mostly focused on Evan/Eve/Evangline’s relationships and matings with the Gryxen.

This book is indicated as not being a part of a series, but I really hope there is more following these characters. I could not get enough. There is a good amount of spice as well. Much like each Gryxen has a unique character sketch, their spice follows along with that. I was extremely happy for the primal play, and am always very excited when I see it in there.

Before reading the book, make sure you check the trigger warnings!