Tag: Spicy Romance

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Posted in Spicy Romance

Bee and the Honey Crew

Posted on by Little Bee

By Mona Black

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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

As you might have guessed, I was excited to get a copy of this book because, well, Bee and the Honey Crew 🙂 I will say, while the book was good, there were definitely some disappointments too.

Bee has always thought she was a Beta, she is a bit of a late bloomer. She has always felt more like an omega, so it was really hard on her when friends and family always badgered her for being not Beta enough. Bee gets away from her small town living, works in a coffee/bookshop, going to school, and sharing an apartment with a mix of Alphas and Betas. She is excited to be somewhere more open to “designation dysphoria”, if you will. This book was pretty much a sweetverse, with not a whole lot of angst, but a little. It is listed as a “candyverse,” though I am not sure what that means. Maybe it is a sweetverse with a little angst! 🙂 Throughout this story, Bee faces many challenges, mostly from within, and trying to find where and how she is supposed to exist in the world.

I really loved all of the friends Bee made. She really found her family and made her tribe in this little neighborhood she moved into. Everyone was so supportive. I really loved the Pack that found her as well. I always like seeing more than one omega in a pack, I like the dynamic it adds to a story. I like that it sticks pretty close to most omegaverse style, except, all the designations can live in harmony and be who they want to be. So that was a nice spin.

My copy was in dire need of editing, lots of misspelled words and incorrect words in the story. It did become kind of distracting, however, this is an ARC, so hopefully it gets cleaned up before release. The writing style felt very rushed for me. I felt like I was running a race when I read it. Also, sometimes I would get lost and have to reread because it felt like I missed something. I do feel like by the end, the story kept going on and on. Maybe some of those chapters could have been edited down a bit and combined and still got the points across about the scenarios the chapter covered.

All in all, I still enjoyed this book. I do recommend it as well. I think it was refreshing in ways of omegaverse because sometimes they can be really daunting. As usual, the angst doesn’t happen until close to the end, and the situation helps propel Bee forward with her pack decisions she is trying to make. This book is heavy on the spice. For majority of the story it is MMMM, and then later MMMMF. It is told from multipoint of view. There is a HEA.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Craving Madness

Posted on by Little Bee

By RK Pierce

Goodreads/Amazon Rating: 4 Stars, Actual Rating 3.5 Stars

I love whenever I have an opportunity review RK Pierce’s books, the ones I have read, I have generally enjoyed. Craving Madness is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Typically, I enjoy MOST Alice in Wonderland Retellings, so I looked forward to reading this one as well.

Let me start by indicating, my rating is kind of complicated, and maybe slightly bias. When you read so many of the same retellings, I sometimes compare them to others that I really enjoy. So of course, while I went in open minded, I felt Craving Madness was a unique take on Alice in Wonderland, it wasn’t quite my favorite. I think I also had higher expectations for more spicy scenes then what I actually received. The first actual spicy scene was around 74% into the book, which took me a few days to get to, because I felt it was too slow for me and never really captured my interest the way other books do. This is the first book in a series and Pierce spends A LOT OF time worldbuilding, which can be both good and bad. I kinda feel I am still missing some puzzle pieces to really fully click with the book.

I do like its uniqueness in the darkness aspect and the monsters that have taken over Wonderland. Sometimes I felt there were too many words/paragraphs and found myself skimming to more intense parts without missing out on anything important happening.

While I realize, I am just a lowly reviewer, I can see why people have been giving this 4 and 5 star reviews. The FMC is a badass. I like how it was a “dude in distress” that the FMC saved. I like that Alice knows what she wants and while sometimes shy, generally is not afraid to put her foot down with what she wants. I do like the character sketches for Chester (Cheshire Cat) and Dion (I believe he is Tweedle Dee). The little spice we are given, its pretty good spice. Was not expecting the knot! Which I enjoy reading very much. As a point of notice, the book ends in a pretty major cliffhanger. With Craving Madness getting the world building out of the way, my hope for book 2 is higher! With more characters being added to Alice’s “harem,” more spice, and rescuing Wonderland (hopefully).

Posted in Spicy Romance

A Court of Hearts and Hunger

Posted on by Little Bee

By Rebecca F Kenney

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book in a PR box from the author. I was very excited to be selected since I am a smaller reviewer and I am not very good at the social media thing. I read this book a while ago, but a lot has happened over the last couple of weeks, so I am a bit late on my review 🙂 This book is a retelling on Alice in Wonderland. It is a unique perspective based in Fae, in the Unseelie Court. This book is beautifully written. I really love reading this author and look forward to reading more.

This book is number 2 in the Wicked Darlings series. The first book description can be found here 🙂 You need to read book 1 before reading book 2. A couple of my favorite characters from the first book are some of the main side characters in A Court of Hearts and Hunger. I enjoy Clara and Fin (the Sugarplum Fairy) so much and I love how much they each grew in this story. I enjoyed meeting some new characters as well: Alice, Riordan (the White Rabbit), and Caer (The Cheshire Cat).

I pretty much read this book in one day, it is very hard to put down. This book does contain trigger warnings. It is a dark read and very spicy. I did end up giving this book 4 stars even though I really liked it. The reason for this is I am salty about the end of the book. I wont give it away. My hope is it resolves itself as part of book 3 🙂 So we shall see.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Heat Clinic

Posted on by Little Bee

by Alexis B Osborne

Rating: 5 Stars

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

I am a little late in my review, because I thought I reviewed this book earlier this month when I had finished it. Oops 😦

I am a huge fan of Omegaverse books. I really enjoyed this Heatverse book. One of the things I loved the most were each of the characters and how they fit like missing puzzle pieces. If I am honest, the Heat Clinic in this book sounds super lovely compared to some of the heat clinics in other books by other authors. Sign me up!

This book has all of the spice very early on and maintains that spiciness all the way through to the end. Sam is probably one of my favorite betas ever. We all need a Sam in our life. I also really like that it centers around an older omega. It felt easier to connect because I felt like her (Emily) before and just kind of giving up on finding that happy ever after.

I highly recommend this book! It is very well written and includes so much laughter and happiness. There really isn’t any angst. Its pure spice and love.

Posted in Spicy Romance

We’re All Mad Here

Posted on by Little Bee

By Leann Belle

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

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

Let me start off by saying, I love a good Alice in Wonderland retelling. I love retellings in general. I like that an author can really do what they want with it and transform it and it still be respectful to the original classic. I also enjoy a good reverse harem. We’re All Mad Here brings these two things together in a twisted, dark, psychotic, steamy romance.

Alices are stolen by the White Rabbit, drugged, and brought to Wonderland, where they go through a series of trials in hopes to get rid of the Red Queen, who is the original Alice. Each time an Alice dies, the world resets. Everyone who died comes back, and they start over. Typically they have gone for young Alices, 18 or 19 years old. But this time, they went for 30 something Alice who is in a rut in her life. She is strong, confident, and smart. Her goal is to just live, to get through the trials. Along the way, she learns a lot more about herself and becomes stronger.

There is a lot of steamy romance in this book and it starts off pretty quickly. I like not having to wait around and watch all the characters awkwardly beat around the bush, so to speak. After each successful trial, each character falls in love with Alice. They want to see her succeed. I really loved Mau, the Cheshire Cat. All of the characters are so twisted, it is nice to see them change and transform because of Alice’s will to live.

This book includes primal kink, CNC, death, and some other potentially triggering topics.

I only gave it 4 stars because something wasn’t connecting for me. I can’t really place it. I felt like I was missing something. A bonus epilogue might be nice, to kind of see what happens after everything is over and through. It is good, I really enjoyed it and I liked the writing style. I am definitely interested in reading more by this author. I am not huge on dark romance, but I feel that what I normally find lacking in dark romances, this one does not lack. The FMC is not wishy washy. This book is quite unique and I do recommend it!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Filthy Punk

Posted on by Little Bee

By Saint Bryde

Rating: 4 Stars

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

Filthy Punk is a short novella, only 52 pages. I have not read any other of this author’s works, but I did enjoy it overall. Novellas are very hit or miss for me. It is very tricky to find that happy balance of plot, character development, and for spicy novellas, spice as well. This is considered a spicy novella that was supposed to be heavier on the spice and less on the plot. I am fine with less plot when it is heavy spice. However, I felt there was plenty of plot and could have used more spice, which is ultimately why I gave 4 stars.

If you are a looking for a quick read, this is a good one to pick up. It includes a tatted bad boy, a prim and proper (but not) FMC, some light bullying, and frenemies to lovers. There is a small layer of character development, but an appropriate amount for a novella. Again, I could have used a bit more spicy time but that is just me 🙂 If you don’t like heavy spice, and a couple of light D/S play is fine, then this would be more along the lines of 4.5-5 stars. The writing style was fine, it felt like I was in the heads of the characters, so it read like they were having a conversation or silent conversation. I did not catch any editing issues.

Thank you for this opportunity!

Posted in Spicy Romance

Texting the Tattooist

Posted on by Little Bee

By Flora Ferrari

Rating: 2 Stars

I enjoy a good Age Gap romance when it presents itself. I have read several, sure, they are kind of icky, but a good one is a good one. This one had a lot of potential, but, as I have said in other reviews before, some things catch my ADHD’s attention and it becomes my whole focus. This book really did my head in.

I will start with what I didn’t really care for: I like instalove, but this one felt weird. I mean it was like, weird. Red flag. The comments he would make in his mind about her virginal young body, was creepy. It is kind of hard to explain. Again, I like a good age gap, and have read ones where the age gap was the same and it was not like this. The over excessive use of the words “my man” and “my woman” every couple of sentences. For the sake of getting this review to be approved on other platforms, the fact he referred to his “member” as “helm” was off putting. Not sure how I feel about the writing style, but I have been told some books by this author is hit or miss, and while this one is a miss for me, I will try out some others to try again.

To end on positives, there were things I did like, but unfortunately, it was not enough to give it a higher rating then I did. I thought the story held promise and I really liked the idea/concept. I feel like the texting and falling in love is pretty relevant to today. I liked seeing Mia blossom. I liked him calling her Butterfly and feel that is very appropriate for her situation and who she was. I liked all the epilogues and seeing their gazillion kids and still feeling their love.

No dogs were hurt in this story, in case you are an animal lover like me…could care less about the humans LOL.

Posted in Spicy Romance

The Auction

Posted on by Little Bee

By Maggie Cole

Rating: 2 Stars

Look, I finished this book a couple of days ago. And I have needed that time to process what I read and how I feel about it. I have like one trigger, and this did not hit it. BUT, there is something about this specific trope that grinds my gears. I literally believe 50 Shades is one of THE WORST BDSM BOOKS out there, and The Auction kept giving me the same feels. Hear me out

  • Super naïve FMC
  • Dom who is aggressively in control with zero respect for the lack of knowledge FMC has
  • FMC thinks she can change Dom to not be a Dom anymore because he must be broken (which he is)
  • Dom uses his trauma as a means to his control (without ever addressing it)
  • Dom gaslights and is abusive and toxic.
  • FMC just sucks. Like she just isn’t it

Also, to go further with it- these two acted like children. The Club should have stepped in. And then sending videos of her and pictures of her to HER FATHER to goad the man…like…seriously? I get it is a book. So this is my personal opinion, but he was always out of control around her. He broke all of his rules. This relationship seriously sucks. AND to top it off….he is so careful and meticulous in his dealings with her father, that he goes off and marries her and names a WING after her (with her name and married name) in a charity, like HER PARENTS WONT FIND OUT.

I can’t go on to book 2, but there is a cliffhanger. I read some of the spoilers, and it appears to be what I expected. Again, this was not my cup of tea, but it seems to have some decent ratings, so it is clearly for some. I love a good BDSM book, this just missed the mark for me, and I could not look past this kind of abuse and toxicity. It is very dangerous for a Sub and a Dom.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Cupid’s Demon

Posted on by Little Bee

By Rune Hunt/Muse Hunt

Rating: 4 Stars

I was very excited to see a second Club Monstrum book released for Valentine’s Day. What a great little read. This book follows Pho and 3 monsters that become part of her RH. It includes Cupid’s Demons (which I need in my life wont lie….because we should all know by now I am a sucker for a tail scene), Kieran, a satyr, and Magnus, a werewolf with a nice primal kink. Each one enters into Pho’s life little by little. There is some angst in this story and a bit of a DV trigger warning, but all in all it was good.

Cupid’s Demon had more plot but with spice still added in. Pho was very insecure and unsure of herself, the guys were very patient. The spicy scenes were fine, but I prefer the spice of Club Monstrum. I also enjoyed the little cameo surprises! This book felt a little rushed and had quiet a lot of editing issues and incorrect words. I even saw a random letter not attached to a word in there. It is a fairly short book, longer than Club Monstrum. Overall it was cute and spicy.

Posted in Spicy Romance

Secrets and Seductions

Posted on by Little Bee

by SK Reign

5 Stars

First, I want to start this by saying, I read the prequel first, Omega’s Secret, so I felt better going into this story. Second, I want to point out that for a lot of the reason’s people rated this book low, are reasons I rated this book so high. So let me explain 🙂

One of the things I really liked about this book were ALL THE DAMN SECRETS and I kept finding myself thinking…if they would just communicate…they just need to communicate. But I still liked watching it play out. I have read A LOT of Omegaverse that want their omegas pure, won’t let their omegas have their own thoughts, want them entirely submissive etc etc. In most of them, shoot, one book I read the Omega was SA’d by an alpha and got pregnant outside of heat, and it was one of my favorite Omegaverse I have read. And SHE WAS SHUNED BY HER FAMILY. She was blamed for it. It is not far fetched to believe that the Omegas in the Bonds of Steele Omegaverse do not get a fair shake. Violet and her sisters undergo years of mistreatment and oppression, so her reactions make sense to me. As a social worker, I have seen this in real life with clients. So, again, this behavior from not only Violet, but all the guys, do not seem that far of a stretch and I love them all for that.

I did find the new take (at least new to me) on the fact that she got pregnant by another Omega to be interesting. I do hope at some point that gets explored more. I do feel this book opens a lot of possibilities for other more progressive stories to follow Violet and her Pack. Hoping to learn more as we go. I liked all of their secrets and how it affected everyone’s decisions over time. It is almost like you could feel their collective release of breath when they finally let all the weight off.

The story definitely includes some spice once Violet lets herself go with these alphas and continues through the rest of the book. It probably starts around 50-60% of the book. Up until then it is slow, but heated.