Skip to main content

Our Book Picks for the Week of June 19th 💖 Book Thoughts and Recommendations



📚 Our Book Recommendations & Thoughts  


💕 Shackled Hearts by T.L. Smith

🔥 Midnight Sacrifice by C.R. Robertson

👶 Perfectly You by Claudia Y. Burgoa

📜 Binding Contract by Amelia Wilde

🧛 The Vampire's Curse by Valerie Twombly

🧝 Quinn's Gambit by Bellora Quinn


Amazon  BookBub  Goodreads 



Shackled Hearts: (Lucas & Chanel #2; Chained Hearts Duets, #4)Shackled Hearts: by T.L. Smith
Description:
Betrayed, deceived, broken.
They are the only words used to describe who I have become.
Make no mistake, I let this happen.
But do you want to know the thing about letting someone into your life?
It can be undone.
Lucas Rossi may think he has won this round.
But I have news for him.
I’m going to win every other one he sends my way.
My heart may be in shackles, but my head has perfect clarity.
Our Thoughts 💭:
"I don't believe in happily ever Afters. I'm a realist, not a sadist. "
-No spoilers- This is one you will want to experience without influence
I wasn't sure Chanel could ever come back from the betrayal in the previous episode and in many ways she didn't
We do see another side of Lucas this time - He's still a slightly psycho killer who has no f's to give save for his mom and Sergio but his desire - or maybe a better descriptor - driving need to possess Chanel takes center stage and despite his punishment/warnings begins to interfere with his duties
Something Kier does not take lightly (I get why he does it but I am still not forgiving him )
A lot and I do mean a lot of things happen to both of them in this episode Some good - most pretty dang horrific
I actually shed a couple of silent tears 😢
Don't fear though this ends with a happy for now ending - Though the journey there was beyond bumpy and bloody
This series to date is one of my top favorite darker mafia reads
It has such a diverse blend of characters
Solid storylines that interconnect yet stand alone
A balanced blend of dark and light, angst and happiness, snitches and stitches, and let us not forget snark and subservience 😂
#shackeldhearts #chainedhearts #lucaschanel #dark #romance #tlsmith
Amazon  Kobo  Nook  Google  Apple

Midnight SacrificeMidnight Sacrifice by C.R. Robertson
Description:
I made the greatest sacrifice of my life, but that was a once in a lifetime event.
Megan had been too pure to fit into the Hell I lived in.
She was a golden angel who deserved happiness.
How could I keep her when I was the greatest threat to her safety?
Then a new threat emerges into her life and all my good intentions crumbled.
The only person who can keep her safe is me, and I will destroy anyone who intends her harm.
Buy Midnight Salvation to continue this addictive series today!
Our Thoughts 💭:
Who will draw last blood?
Always the formidable presence in the room even though he rarely said a word
A deadly sociopath that lacked a heart
Jay has always, to me, been the rock behind the group
He is so protective, literally the one that has kept them on top - Alive - yet he does not see this himself
I was looking forward to his story and I was not disappointed -
This runs concurrently with X and Ash's stories in the beginning
The first few chapters are back story and answered all kinds of questions for me
It is a dual POV and OMG there is so much that happened that I would never have thought
I enjoyed seeing this side of Jay, the more human side
And Megan, IMO, is his perfect match she just needed the right catastrophe to bring out her inner tigress
She is a force - Give her a chance to prove it
Jay has a price on his head and a hold on his heart
Megan has to choose between the law and the lawless
The council is unraveling
The enemy is closing in
Bodies are piling up
The question now is who is smarter?
Who will draw last breath - last blood?
This has all kinds of crimson rivers (torture and bloodshed)
Twisty holy crispy cracker reveals that will steal your breath
And some hot as Hades smexy moments
I am excited for the next in the series but I also do not want to leave this universe ..
#MidnightSacrifice #MidnightDynasty #Dark #mafia #romance #crrobertson
Amazon  

Perfectly You (Luna Harbor #2)Perfectly You by Claudia Y. Burgoa
Description:
I need a massive break.
So long to my cheating boyfriend and betraying roommate.
Goodbye hectic emergency room and long hours.
When I get an opportunity to take over my grandfather’s medical practice in Luna Harbor I happily accept the chance to try on a new life that holds sweet memories.
But I can barely think about anything at all when the new coffee shop/bar next to my practice always seems to be having an impromptu concert.
Who sets up a coffee and a bar in the same location as a music venue?
Fisher Hannigan, Head Man Child (ok, Keyboardist) of the band Too Far From Grace, that’s who.
He’s also the man who can't stop flirting with me every time we meet. He’s having the time of his life, while I’m trying to run a quiet medical practice.
Even though he infuriates me, our chemistry is off the charts and I can’t say I haven’t thought about giving him a full physical exam.
Until a baby changes everything.
Our Thoughts 💭:
"Sometimes doing what scares you the most makes you feel alive"
This has all the feels - What do I mean by that?
I laughed
I connected
I got angry
I laughed some more
I worried
I fell in love
Fish is such a sweetheart. I am going to assume book one (I know I dropped in late again but I'm going to correct that as soon as I'm done sharing what a fantabulous read this was) gave us some more insight into the band's second job - not a have to know more a want to know
Fish has this playful side to him that I believe was half truly his personality and half armor against the world
He is a natural caregiver even if he doesn't see it - and the guilt he carries? Not his fault.
I adored how he was with Nat and Keagh
Nat took that leap into the unknown and found everything she never knew was missing along with some secrets that had her toeing the line between heartache and acceptance
I enjoyed how the OMG reveal played out though I would have liked more - I know it will come but I am greedy
These two compliment each other perfectly
I truly wish I could have stayed in Luna Harbor for a bit longer
Spent some more time with great friends making some forever memories
#perfectlyyou #lunaharbor #smalltown #romance #claudiaburgoa
Amazon  Kobo  Nook  Google   Apple

Binding Contract (Wealth Book 3)Binding Contract by Amelia Wilde
Description:
Mason Hill's empire is up in flames.
He built Phoenix Enterprises from the ground up. Now it's under siege. He protected his family from the moment his parents died. Now their family tragedy is being dragged through the press. His plans for revenge have brought him to his knees.
Charlotte Van Kempt faces heartbreaking betrayal.
She fought to keep her family's company afloat after devastating financial losses, even using her own body as collateral. In repayment, her parents ruined her to regain control of Van Kempt Industries.
Mason and Charlotte are trapped in the gilded cage of his penthouse.
The media storm is outside, but the true danger is inside a man tortured by the past.
He's haunted by grief for his parents. There's no way for him to move forward until he comes to terms with his own survival. Until he accepts that he's found a woman worth living for.
Our Thoughts 💭:
"I thought you should know. I did make it. I'm okay. You didn't break your promise."
A beautiful ending that honors both their journeys
Quite possibly the best trilogy to date in this universe
This is the final book in Mason and Charlotte's story.
It was an emotionally charged read.
There was less of the darkness and more light
There were some edge-of-your-seat moments, some slightly sweet ones, and plenty of those smexy (smoldering s x y) ones
There was loss but also acceptance
Wilde did a sublime job with this trilogy from beginning to end
#bindingcontract #wealthtrilogy #dark #romance #ameliawilde 
Amazon  Kobo  Nook  Google  Apple 

The Vampire's Curse (Beyond The Mist #1)The Vampire's Curse by Valerie Twombly
Description:
She’s fated to break his curse. He’s destined to kill her.
CURSED
With his clan trapped and starving, vampire Andrei Vladimiri will stop at nothing to save them. But an ancient curse compels him to waste precious time hunting the vile creatures he creates every time he feeds. With the clock ticking, he weaves a trap to lure the fated female who can save them all.
FATED
Sonia Covaci doesn’t believe her grandmother’s visions of the future. But when a purchased trinket brings dreams of a mysterious stranger, her small town American life threatens to spin out of control. Sensing he is in danger, she does the unthinkable and boards a plane for Romania.
Sonia follows her fate. Andrei moves in for the sacrifice. Never did he imagine the female destined to break the curse would become the woman he couldn’t afford to lose.
Our Thoughts 💭:
Andrei was cursed to this side of the veil
As with any curse, it has some not so pleasant side effects - Yeah I am not saying cause it spoils the surprises
According to the witch Korrina, his only hope is his fated mate Sonia
But with that hope also comes a sacrifice that he may not be able to give
What a fabulous to start to the series
Sonia was truly a force to be reckoned with - I enjoyed how she was not going to give up - she would use any means necessary to get her mate to see past his fears
Andrei was such a gentleman - His old-world grace kind of mixed with modern trends - It was fun watching him interact with Sonia (fine more like battle himself lol)
The story was easy to follow
A solid foundation and world-building for the series
#thevampirescurse #beyondthemist #paranormal #romance #valerietwombly
 Amazon  Kobo  Nook  Google  Apple

Quinn's Gambit (AURA, #1)Quinn's Gambit by Bellora Quinn
Description:
An unregistered, human con wizard and a duty-bound, straightlaced elf cop. As New York explodes with dangerous creatures, their passion goes nuclear.
After a terrible magical accident at Berkeley created unpredictable holes between realities—all manner of non-human creatures started popping into our world. These displacements, called RARE—Random Anomalous Reality Events—have taken magic out of fiction and relocated it firmly in reality, resulting in a great deal of chaos and confusion. Displaced elf Valerian works with AURA—the Agency of Unnatural Resettlement and Assimilation—to intercept these beings as they appear in the human world, helping the peaceful ones and subduing the violent, malevolent ones. It’s good, satisfying work, and Val would be happy if he wasn’t so lonely.
Quinten is a young mage just trying to get by, but New York isn't the easiest city to make a living. If his methods are sometimes morally dubious, his heart is still in the right place. Of course for Quinn, the right place means firmly locked away, protected at all costs. Living by his wits and sometimes magically-induced luck, he works as a ‘free-lance magic user’, or unregistered mage and small time con—according to the authorities. The last thing Quinn wants is to draw the cops’ attention, but when an Event happens right on top of him, he’s forced to turn to AURA for help. Valerian isn’t at all what he’d expected in an AURA cop, and he certainly wasn't expecting to join forces with the sexy elf, a snarky drow and a bitter incubus when certain individuals in power try to stop the RARE by any means necessary.
Things are not all what they seem at AURA headquarters, and a greater evil lurks at the top than anyone could have imagined.
Our Thoughts 💭:
This is the first book in what I'm anticipating (after reading book one) to be an action-packed MM urban fantasy
In Quinn's Gambit, we get to meet some of the members of AURA and are given an introduction of sorts to this universe and what is happening - a bit of foundation for the series
We also get Quinn and Val's story though IMO it runs second to the action and adventure and complete chaos
I enjoyed the wide range of unique and well-written characters from the medical providing griffin to the wayward water 💧 guy (sorry I can't recall species though he loves his hotdogs) each brought their own magic to the storyline
Tears in the fabric of the universe are sucking inhabitants from different worlds and depositing them randomly among the humans
Some believe it's caused by magic and the best way to stop it is to eradicate the magic - right?
Things go upside down and sideways as someone decides they have the solution
I could spend paragraphs outlining all that happens but a quick summary is what I have - I don't want to spoil anything!
This is a fast-paced urban fantasy romance that has
A great cast - instantly love or loathe them
A solid storyline that engages and entertains
and the sweetest MM romance
It looks as though each book will highlight a different couple (MM romance) though again the romance IMO is secondary to the adventure but no less a part of the story
#quinnsgambit #aura #fantasy #mmromance #belloraquinn #angelmartinea
Amazon  Kobo  Nook  Google  Apple


#bookworm #bookaddict #bibliophile #booknerd #romance #romancereads #authorsofinstagram #bookblogger #bookblogs #readingromance  #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #instabook #bookworms #greatreads #readersofig #readerforlife 


Comments