🧐 OUR WEEK IN REVIEWS ➜ Book reviews

OUR PICKS THIS WEEK
👑 All The KING'S Women by N.M. Catalano
🏹 Darkest Sinner by Rachel Van Dyken
♟️ Collateral by Natasha Knight
🧟 Dead Aware by Eleanor Merry
🔥 Phenex by Ava Martell
🎭 Noble Savages Dark High School Bully Romance 

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All The KING'S Women: The KING Duet, Book 2 by N.M. Catalano

Holy Chit!
What an intense conclusion!
Intense -
I knew this would ultimately end in a blood bath colored with deception and betrayal.
King had too many enemies that wanted to dethrone him not to mention he had a habit of keeping his enemies real close and never making friends.

Poor form your highness.

"I am yours to do with as you wish, my king. " - Evelyn
I loved Storm's snarky arse in book one but now - She is a category five he ll bent on clearing any obstacles in her path!
I do love a heroine who is intelligent and not afraid of taking what she wants.
Eve is all that and more.
She blows in and turns everyone's world upside down.

Speaking of... I hope we get stories for some of the cast - I have all kinds of questions.

King built such a high wall to protect that little boy within. Eve saw the cracks all those years ago - the little slivers of light reflecting in the darkness. She knew she could bring it down brick by brick slowly freeing the heart that was barricaded within.
We watched as King fought her every step of the way at times I wasn't sure she could do it.
But darkness can never hide from the light.
King was in many ways the director of his own downfall.
Amazon

Darkest Sinner by Rachel Van Dyken

Absolutely no spoilers or hints :)
I came into this series with a blank slate - I just knew it was paranormal with action and romance - Heck yeah!
Darkest Sinner can be read as a standalone so that is what I did
I fell in love with the cast within the first few pages! Each one was so vibrant bringing their own quirk to the table. And the way they complimented each other only fed into the feeling of comradely (it was like the show Friends but a bit on steroids)
Timber started out as a real horses backside. Grumpy and pushy and thinking he was all that. That was until one tiny little slip of a gal that he had to tilt his head down to glare at handed him his arse on a plate!
Kyra set him off as nothing else could - Lawd I loved that girl's tenacity and the honesty in her fear but acceptance was refreshing.

I do not want to give to much away because if you are going into this blind as I did there are so many OMG moments and revelations that make this story the book hangover that it was.
I had so many questions pop up while I was reading this - heck as soon as I closed the last page I hit my local library and grabbed the series from book one - Yes it was that entertaining
The copy I read was comp
Amazon  Nook  Kobo

Collateral by Natasha Knight

It is the betrayals that we never see coming - the ones that are from those who are closest to us that tend to do the most damage.

Gabriela has spent her life surrounded by lies, deception, abuse. She has only known safety in the arms of three people.
All callously taken from her in one way or another.
She fights the only way she knows how fueled by years of pain.
At times her frightened inner child takes over and I can't fault her for letting her fear control her decision. She is still a child in many ways herself. I wanted to wrap her in bubble wrap while at the same time I wanted to blister her backside.
But never doubt her tenacity or her willingness to sacrifice for those that she loves.

Stefan is that anti-hero. The one that walks a very fine line. He has the edge required to command and complete the more unsavory requirements of his lifestyle but he also still holds a sense of right and wrong. He has waited for this moment. Planned and executed his revenge almost flawlessly. He will make him pay.
It seems he may get his revenge but at a cost, he may not be prepared to pay.

I have some ideas about what is about to happen. I also think our enemies may not be who we are led to believe they are.
So many small breadcrumb trails leading in different directions.
This leaves you on a major cliffy - worse is the burning question of who is really the bad guys here?
I like Stefan - yeah he is a bit of an emotional sadist but he is not cruel just to be cruel.
And Raf?? I will leave that to you to decide.

I devoured this in one sitting... I swear each scene had me on edge. Each page revealed new secrets, little clues !!!
I need to know! I need book two now
Amazon  Nook  Kobo

Dead Aware: A Zombie Journey by Eleanor Merry

And that is how you do it!
Merry took a being that featured in my nightmares and flipped my overall perception to that of compassion and empathy.
I will never see a Zombie the same.

This was a debut for this author and WOW what a way to make an entrance.
I enjoy post-apocalyptic novels never really Zombie specific though.
That just never made sense to me - burn them all problem solved right?
I actually feel bad for that thought now.
Max and Clara are still there just not the same casing and maybe a bit slower in the ole noggin.
Once I got past the door banging and half thoughts - Okay, I admit I kind of enjoyed the half there thought process- this was an entertaining and at times emotional read.
*SMH* I never thought I would say that about a couple of zombies
Amazon

Phenex by Ava Martell

"For the world. For this strange little family that's sprung up out of loss and vendettas. Maybe even for himself. " - Phenex with thought to Lucifer

This is book three in the series and each one just gets better.
Phenex is fighting to find his way back from the darkness
Caila is healing but she too recognizes the marks left on her soul.
Lucifer is questioning his decisions.
Grace is still adapting to the onslaught of Lucifer's memories.

Our little mixed up motley crew is intact - if not a bit worse for wear.
They may have rescued Phenex and Caila but Lucifer's absence and the opening of the portals seem to be just the right combination to spur his Fallen brethren to seek out and further their own sinful desires.
These are not just any Fallen they are the vilest of Hell's prisoners and now they are on Earth looking to claim their own kingdoms.
Question is will they just stop at the destruction of Earth or are they also eyeing the pearly gates?

Phenex was so much more in this episode. I'm not sure how to explain him. He was a presence in the previous stories, he was Lucifer's right hand, he was a traitor even, but I never felt like I knew his character, until now. He stepped off the edge willingly, he wasn't pushed. I never really thought about that before and how much different his perceptions would be because of that.
I understand more why he thought Urial was a good idea.

Caila and he are the perfect match.
Neither is truly Fallen but neither is welcome home either.
They both chose free will and now they are facing the consequences of that decision.

This is such an entertaining series
Each new episode adds more layers to the story line.
New twists that present new possibilities, even small revelations change the course of events dramatically.
And the possibilities - Devilishly intriguing!
I have to ask myself though -
What is Metatron's end game?
Why the sudden shift upstairs?
And who is cleaning up this mess?
Amazon

Noble Savages: A Dark High School Bully Romance Box Set by Natalie Bennett

This is a box set that contains five full length - at times very dark new adult romances.
They fit into the bully romance category with ease but I think each one has its own twisted sub-genre that set it apart from just a basic bully romance. (MC, Organized Crime, Family pasts)

I appreciated the maturity level that most of the authors gave to their characters. There is young adult then there is whinny, we got to skip most of the whinny. Each story was well edited and written making them overall easy to read. And the stories themselves?
Engaging - Electric - Entertaining

Be prepared as you enter as some are not so pretty journeys -
The unseen betrayals - the conquests - the feeding on the blood of the innocent and lest us not forget indulging in their darkest of desires
(none of the authors hold back )
Four fabulous authors All in one place
Guaranteed to have you double-checking the window before bed
Possibly taking a second look at your best friend maybe even your family
Read a copy in Kindle Unlimited
Amazon

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#NMCatalano #RachelVanDyken #NatashaKnight
#EleanorMerry #AvaMartell