Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1) by Evie Dunmore ~ Review

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for review consideration.

Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1) by Evie Dunmore

A stunning debut for author Evie Dunmore and her Oxford Rebels, in which a fiercely independent vicar's daughter takes on a duke in a fiery love story that threatens to upend the British social order.

England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.

Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn't be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn't claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring...or could he?

Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke....

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I don't read historical romance very often, but this one caught my eye. First thanks to the cover, then thanks to a tweet I saw where Death by a Thousand Cuts by Taylor Swift (aka my favorite song on her album Lover) was paired with it. Then, when I couldn't decide what to read, I picked up Bringing Down the Duke and flipped to a random page not too far in. That random page had me SUPER excited to read the book. And so, it was my next read and it was so good I'm glad I picked it up!

From the beginning I was rather into the story. I enjoyed meeting and getting to know the two main characters, Annabelle and Montgomery. They're both very intelligent and respect that in one another. Their banter was witty and fun. I especially was a fan of Montgomery's shift from grumpy to caring to sweet to in love.

The romance featured multiple tropes that were perfect to me. A slow burn, forced proximity, grumpy hero, a slight bit of enemies to lovers (though I wouldn't quite say they start as enemies). I loved seeing their relationship grow as they spent more time together, and I totally get the comparison to Death by a Thousand Cuts now--which was kind of painful but also SO GOOD and beautiful.

There were a couple of things that just barely held this back from being a 5-star read for me, both of which I suspect may be because I don't read historical often. First of all, while I was interested in the storyline the entire way through the book, there were portions that dragged a smidge--and those portions were ones with great detail about Montgomery's and Annabelle's day-to-day life. Though I suppose it's not surprising that I much preferred the parts where they were together. Second of all, it kind of pricked at my nerves at the step the romance took before they started toward their happy ending. I'm not going to be specific, because spoilers, but his proposition irked me. The way he worded it was freaking sweet, though, so my feelings are mixed.

Overall, Bringing Down the Duke was a sweet, fun romance. As the first historical I've read in a while, I'm super pleased with how easily it drew me in and how quickly it won me over. I definitely recommend picking this one up if you're looking for some solid witty banter!

4 stars - A sweet, fun romance full of witty banter!

Raze (Scarred Souls #1) by Tillie Cole ~ Review

Source: Purchased.

Raze (Scarred Souls #1) by Tillie Cole

TO TAKE BACK LIFE, ONE MUST FIRST FACE DEATH...

Conditioned in captivity to maim, to kill and to slaughter, prisoner 818 becomes an unrivaled and unstoppable fighter in the ring. Violence is all he knows. After years of incarceration in an underground hell, only one thought occupies his mind: revenge... bloody, slow and violent revenge. Revenge on the man who wronged him.

Kisa Volkova is the only daughter of Kirill 'The Silencer' Volkov, head of the infamous 'Red' bosses of New York's Russian Bratva. Her life is protected. In reality, it's a virtual prison. Her father's savage treatment of his rivals and his lucrative and coveted underground gambling ring-The Dungeon-ensures too many enemies lurk at their door. She dreams to be set free. Kisa has known only cruelty and loss in her short life. While working for her church-the only reprieve in her constant surveillance-Kisa stumbles across a tattooed, scarred, but stunningly beautiful homeless man on the streets. Something about him stirs feelings deep within her; familiar yet impossibly forbidden desires. He doesn't talk. Doesn't communicate with anyone.

He's a man beyond saving. But Kisa becomes obsessed with him. Yearns for him. Craves his touch. Needs to possess this mysterious man... ... this man they call Raze.

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I've had my eye on Raze for a while. Since before I read anything by Tillie Cole, actually, but it wasn't until after I started the Hades Hangmen series (and was enjoying it) that I decided the Scarred Souls series was something I really, really wanted to read. Fast forward to recently when I one-clicked the first 2 books. And then this past weekend when I finally got around to reading Raze. To be wholly honest...Raze did not live up to my expectations.


Let's kick this off with the things I liked about the book:

- The premise. Reading the description, Raze has so. much. potential. It sounds like it could be cool and dark and gritty, with just the right balance of romance. Exactly the kind of thing that would hook me and I'd get obsessed with. I love the idea of this book.

- Raze. He was such a complex character. He struggled with a lot--what was done to him, his memories, his revenge, his emotions... I appreciated getting to be in his head and see things unfold from his perspective.

- The bond between Raze and Kisa. It was so sweet. So beautiful. I LOVED them together. Their connection was palpable.

- It read quick. No parts of the novel dragged for me at all. At no point did I not want to continue reading or want to put the book down or look ahead to see when things would pick up. I was pretty into the book from the first page to the last.

- The dual POV. I said above that I appreciated being in Raze's POV. It really added a lot to the story. I also liked being in Kisa's head and seeing her side of the story. Their experiences and perspectives were so interesting.


Now for the things I did not like:

- I mentioned above that I love the idea of Raze...well, I don't love how the execution of the plot fell so flat for me. It had potential, but I ended up only feeling okay about the book as a whole. It was disappointing.

- The pacing of the story. The whole story is jammed into just a few days--with all the plot and emotion all rushed. If more time was taken to develop the emotions and story and tension on the page, I think it all could have had a much better affect.

- Kisa. I feel for her, I do. She landed in an effed up situation when she was vulnerable and that is NOT her fault. However, I don't think there was much of anything to her character. She was basically just...there. All I could tell you about her is that she loved Raze. She had no personality traits beside that. I wish she'd been a more developed character.

- The world-building seemed kind of iffy to me? Like, okay, there was the fighting ring. That's dark. But I feel like the families were so soft. I don't know. It didn't feel very authentic, I guess. This particular gripe is more of a passing thought than anything that really made me not love the book, so I'm not going to get super up in arms about it.

- The predictable plot. Oh my goodness! This is a big one. I've been non-spoilery in this review out of courtesy and will continue doing so, but really, y'all, if you read this book you'll figure all of the things out VERY quickly. There is no subtlety in the hints (read: neon signs) pointing to the "twist." And the plot...isn't very original. This might not have been something that really bothered me if not for the pacing issue mentioned above--but since it DID have that issue, this just added to the weakening of the story execution, unfortunately.


Overall, Raze has so much potential but ended up falling flat. I did enjoy Raze and Kisa's romance, however, and I am intrigued enough to continue the series. Hopefully the next book will be an improvement.

3 stars - An intriguing series starter, but the overall execution was disappointing.

Hostage to Pleasure (Psy-Changeling #5) by Nalini Singh ~ Review

Source: Purchased.

Hostage to Pleasure (Psy-Changeling #5) by Nalini Singh

Separated from her son and forced to create a neural implant that will mean the effective enslavement of her psychically gifted race, Ashaya Aleine is the perfect Psy--cool, calm, emotionless...at least on the surface. Inside, she's fighting a desperate battle to save her son and escape the vicious cold of the PsyNet. Yet when escape comes, it leads not to safety, but to the lethal danger of a sniper's embrace.

DarkRiver sniper Dorian Christensen lost his sister to a Psy killer. Though he lacks the changeling ability to shift into animal form, his leopard lives within. And that leopard's rage at the brutal loss is a clawing darkness that hungers for vengeance. Falling for a Psy has never been on Dorian's agenda. But charged with protecting Ashaya and her son, he discovers that passion has a way of changing the rules...

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Reading this series is turning into a long-term thing for me. I read the first four books what feels like forever ago now. Like, I honestly can't remember how long ago it was that I read book 4. And it's not because the series isn't good -- heck no. It's because the series is so dang long, it's intimidating to me to think if binge reading it. So then I take way too long to pick up the next book. And then when I do, I wonder why I didn't do so sooner because the book, just like the series as a whole, is. so. good. Yes, that was the case with Hostage to Pleasure.

Nalini Singh is brilliant. This world she's created? Large and complex, but oh so easy to fall into. The PLOT? Dear goodness. So. Damn. SMART. There are countless threads, both throughout this one book but also throughout the series as a whole, and the way they seem to effortlessly build and work together is something that I am truly in awe of. Singh's writing is out of this world amazing.

Then there's the romance, which is top notch. Dorian and Ashaya have one of the most sensual slow burns I've ever read. Ashaya slowly growing on Dorian, despite Dorian wanting nothing to do with his attraction to her...wow. And Ashaya gradually opening up her emotions to him, feeling safe enough to do so...the growth of trust and affection and tenderness between the two... Nalini Singh is truly a master.

And how could I not mention the other relationships? In Hostage to Pleasure, in particular, there's Ashaya and Dorian's bonds with Keenan. The sweetest, I swear. Ashaya being his mommy. And Dorian being protective and kind and caring. It was beautiful. Then there's the pack dynamics -- the close friendships and die-hard trust. I loved spending time enfolded in their world.

There were only two little things holding the novel back from being perfect for me. One of those things was Amara. I just did not like her plot thread. I have no doubt she'll come into play somehow later, but in this installment her portion was just so over complicated when all I wanted was for her to go away. The other thing is the overall pacing -- it was slow for me. I suspect this is just a me thing (trying not to miss anything, catch all the important tidbits while also enjoying the parts I loved, which were many) but it felt like it took me forever to read this book. I'd read twenty pages but it'd feel like I read at least double that. Which in a way is good -- it meant the pages were jam packed -- but it made my overall reading experience feel like it was dragging.

All that said, Hostage to Pleasure was another amazingly written installment in the Psy-Changeling series. A masterful slow burn romance, brilliant plot and world building, and other lovely relationship dynamics make this a PNR I don't recommend passing on.

4 stars - A brilliant, passionate installment in a series that is not to be missed!

The Farthest Edge (Honey #2) by Kristen Ashley ~ Review

Source: Purchased.

The Farthest Edge (Honey #2) by Kristen Ashley

Step into the Honey Club, where every sensual boundary will be tested in search of the ultimate pleasure…

Branch doesn’t exist. Living off the grid, he’s looking for a way to forget his past and the guilt that plagues him. But no woman has ever been able to bring him to the edge he craves.

After a traumatic experience of her own, Evangeline stepped away from the decadent world of the Honey Club. But when she gets Branch’s offer—to play without boundaries or commitments—it’s too tempting for her to refuse.
As their passion ignites, Evangeline and Branch push each other to their farthest limit, fulfilling their darkest desires while falling harder and deeper than they ever imagined.

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I've been on a huge Kristen Ashley binge lately, both by doing some re-reading and picking up books of hers that I hadn't gotten around to reading yet. Since The Farthest Edge just released in June, this was my first reading of it -- but I am absolutely certain that it will not be my last because I loved this book even more than The Deep End.

This second installment in the Honey series follows Branch and Evangeline. Branch has a bloody, tragic past that he lives in the shadow of every day. Evangeline is keeping her head up after a terrible break in trust in her previous relationship. They are both well-written, thoroughly fleshed-out characters that I adored getting the POVs of -- both in their individual arcs and their growth together.

Like usual with KA's books, this one drew me in quickly. Like, from the very beginning. Once I got started, the book was on my mind until I reached the end even if I didn't always have time to devote to sitting down and reading it. This is a quality I LOVE about Kristen Ashley's books, since I can be pretty fickle with choosing what to read. It's nice to have go-to books that I know will capture me every time.

As for how I enjoyed The Farthest Edge more than The Deep End -- and I've been thinking about this, because it's difficult not to compare, right? I really liked The Deep End. But. The Farthest Edge was better (to me, personally) because it was very focused on advancing Evangeline and Branch as a couple, whereas The Deep End was Amelie and Olly getting together AND Olly coming to terms with his sexual preferences. So instead of the romance getting dragged backward by that, Branch and Evangeline were instead working through their own hang ups in order to be together.

And that said, that's another shining gem about this book: It is two people with baggage (admittedly, one of them has more to sort out than the other) who take a crack at being together anyway. They aren't perfect. They can't predict the future, so they are together for now to see where it goes. And I greatly appreciate how they're just together for so much of the novel. And I appreciate how they don't have unnecessary drama marring the way. Then again, Branch and Evangeline aren't unnecessary drama type people.

Lastly, I will never ever get over how endlessly adorable Branch and Evangeline are as a couple. I'm not going to go into detail (because I want y'all to experience the sweetness yourself without me taking away from it), but I smiled so hard at these two. It was magnificent.

Overall, The Farthest Edge is a spectacular addition to Kristen Ashley's erotic Honey series. It's hot and sweet and deep and absolutely a new favorite!

5 stars - A spectacular installment in the Honey series -- and a new favorite!

The Gamble, Sweet Dreams, & Lady Luck by Kristen Ashley (Colorado Mountain #1, 2, & 3) ~ Review

Source: Purchased all three.

The Gamble (Colorado Mountain #1) by Kristen Ashley

Love is the greatest gamble of all . . .
Nina Sheridan desperately needs a timeout vacation. With a fiance who can't even remember how she takes her coffee, Nina wants some distance to rethink her engagement. Flying halfway around the world from England to a mountain town in Colorado should do the trick. But when she finds a gorgeous man at her rental cabin, Nina's cold, lonely adventure suddenly heats up.
The owner of the house, Holden "Max" Maxwell is surprised by the beautiful woman who turns up at his door. But when Nina becomes ill, Max spends days nursing her back to health. A private man with a broken heart, Max finds himself drawn to the strong-willed woman. Soon it becomes impossible for Nina and Max to deny their growing attraction to one another. Yet even as these two wounded lovebirds think about taking a chance on a relationship, a dangerous secret from Max's past emerges-and threatens to end their love for good.

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Sweet Dreams (Colorado Mountain #2) by Kristen Ashley

When you lose everything, anything is possible. Lauren Grahame needs a whole new life. A simpler life. After leaving her cheating husband, she moves to Carnal, Colorado, takes a job as a waitress, and realizes she might have finally found the hometown she'd been searching for. Except things are about to get a lot more complicated . . . Lauren's fresh start does not include her growing feelings for her boss, Tate Jackson. She'll take the new friends, the new job, not to mention the incredible banana bread from the local coffee shop, but love is not on the agenda. However, the people of Carnal know chemistry when they see it, and they're not about to let Tate and Lauren miss their chance.

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Lady Luck (Colorado Mountain #3) by Kristen Ashley

Is love in the cards?
Since birth, Lexie Berry has had nothing but bad luck. Orphaned at an early age, she had a rough childhood and a boyfriend who was murdered. Now the beautiful, stylish Lexie is determined to change her luck and her life. But first she's got to make good on a promise: to pick up Ty Walker from prison. One look at the gorgeous ex-convict and Lexie knows she's in trouble-and already thinking about taking a walk on the wild side . . .
For five years, Ty was imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Now he wants revenge on the people who framed him. Yet when the high-stakes poker player sees the leggy Lexie, he suddenly has other desires on his mind. Realizing that Ty is innocent, Lexie tries to stop his plan for vengeance and help him become a better man. But as Ty battles his inner demons, dirty cops and criminals plot to take him out. Can he and Lexie find a way to escape the past?

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I've mentioned before how I'm a huge Kristen Ashley fan. She's one of my favorite authors, right up there with Jennifer L. Armentrout. I've flown through so many of her books (but not all of them yet -- she has a ton)...and doubled back to re-read them on more than one occasion. And since I just finished a re-read of the currently released books in the Colorado Mountain series, it's really about time I wrote some reviews for them.

First up, there's The Gamble. This was the first full KA book I ever read (I'd peeked at parts of Jagged and Kaleidoscope before) and it's what pulled me down into the depths of my KA obsession. While Kristen Ashley is known to write long (and she DOES), the book still gets right to the point by starting with Nina pulling up to where she's supposed to be staying and meeting her love interest. From there, there's lots of banter, sweetness, and a perfect bit of quirk in a small town setting. I love Max and Nina! My only small issue with the book is that Nina holds back from communicating with Max about a certain aspect of his past that she learns about before he shares it with her. Communication issues in couples rarely work for me. That said, it wasn't a lingering issue and the couple was together a majority of the book which I LOVED -- and overall, I am so glad I made the decision to give this one a re-read because it does so many wonderful things to my heart.

4.5 stars (rounded up because The Gamble deserves it) - Love Max & Nina!

Next is Sweet Dreams. I'd always liked this one, but it was clearly not a favorite. It features a woman named Lauren who's gotten divorced and after that upheaval in her life, decides to drift until she finds a town where she believes she can live content. That town is Carnal. And she finds herself a job at a bar called Bubba's -- where she meets friends and officially meets her love interest, Tate. One great thing about this story is that is has great depth. Tate and Laurie are flawed. They have serious chemistry, but in order to own up to it and be together, they have to accept things about one another that aren't ideal. And once they get together, I am absolutely on board with this book. I'm just not personally a fan of the drama that goes on before they get together. That may just be me being too picky, though, because they make mistakes but they also clearly move on from them, which I respect. And overall, I do love Tate and Laurie as a couple and enjoy their story -- and I'm glad I gave this one a re-read, because I liked Sweet Dreams even more than usual this time around!

4 stars - A strong, addictive story!

Third is Lady Luck. AKA my favorite book in the series and also my favorite KA book. It's the story of Ty and Lexie, two people who have had the worst of luck in their lives. They start a pretend relationship for a purpose that turns real SO quick. I love it so much. Their dynamic is the definition of perfection. Ty is all big and strong and manly and Lexie is goofy and funny and bubbly and they make the BEST couple. This book is basically them against the world (along with the help of great friends in the lovely town of Carnal), save for when they have some personal bumps in their relationship. But those don't drag the story in the slightest and every time, Ty and Lexie come out stronger. This book never fails to fill my heart. Lady Luck is always and forever a favorite.

5 stars - love love love love love so much love

All three of these books are ones I'd recommend, and they are honestly an amazing place to start if you're considering picking up a Kristen Ashley book for the first time. They're addictive, well written adult contemporary romances!

Mine to Possess (Psy-Changeling #4) by Nalini Singh ~ Review

Source: Purchased.

Mine to Possess (Psy-Changeling #4) by Nalini Singh

Clay Bennett is a powerful DarkRiver sentinel, but he grew up in the slums with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. As a young boy without the bonds of Pack, he tried to stifle his animal nature. He failed...and committed the most extreme act of violence, killing a man and losing his best friend, Talin, in the bloody aftermath. Everything good in him died the day he was told that she, too, was dead.

Talin McKade barely survived a childhood drenched in bloodshed and terror. Now a new nightmare is stalking her life--the street children she works to protect are disappearing and turning up dead. Determined to keep them safe, she unlocks the darkest secret in her heart and returns to ask the help of the strongest man she knows...

Clay lost Talin once. He will not let her go again, his hunger to possess her, a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent, Clay and Talin must face the violent truths of their past...or lose everything that ever mattered.

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After finally picking up the first Psy-Changeling book, Slave to Sensation, earlier this year I've been slowly but surely -- and very happily -- making my way through the series. Books 2 and 3 were fantastic and fed my Psy-Changeling addiction. And now I've finished book 4, Mine to Possess, and I'm not only pleased but also in awe of how amazing these books are shaping up to be.

Nalini Singh's worldbuilding is outstanding, and her storytelling is so intricate. The way things tie together and evolve and build with each book is so skillful. Mine to Possess is a strong example of this.

And in Mine to Possess, the characters were so developed. Clay and Talin are solid people with pasts that they're still working through, and personalities that both clash and blend beautifully -- thus leading to an awesome chemistry in their romance. Honestly, the things these two did to my heart...perfection.

One thing I loved to much about this book in particular was how Clay and Talin had serious actual hurdles to work through as a couple. They had a past together they had to work through to get to their happiness together, and they did this reasonably. This made their relationship feel so earned and stable in the best, most satisfying way.

Overall, Mine to Possess is an outstanding installment to a marvelously crafted series. I absolutely adored Clay and Talin's story. And I am so excited to continue on to the next Psy-Changeling book, Hostage to Pleasure!

5 stars - An outstanding and satisfying addition to a skillfully crafted series!

Fragility Unearthed (The Cascade #3) by Rebecca Royce

Source: e-copy provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Fragility Unearthed (The Cascade #3) by Rebecca Royce

Malcolm is missing. Levi is taken. And all the light from the world has gone with them.

Kendall Malcolm thought the world ended when her marriage ended and her life fell apart. She was wrong. Things could be a lot darker. She stands at the precipice—leader, mother, warrior—placing herself between the world and darkness.

But does she have to do it alone? It’s looking that way.

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After the cliffhanger ending of Phoenix Everlasting, I was so excited to pick up this third book in the Cascade series. Luckily this one picks up right where book 2 left off, resolving that intense situation and moving on with the story -- which, as a whole, I liked, even though I can't say that this was my favorite installment.

As always with this series, everything that happened was super interesting. The story is so cool and unique. And it was such a quick read. I easily read this book in less than a day. Considering how much happened and how much the overall story progressed, that shows a great strength in Rebecca Royce's writing.

That said, Kendall kind of danced on my nerves. She had her reasons, and they were good ones. But without Malcolm there to lighten things up (because I adore him), I spent a huge chunk of the book kind of annoyed. Basically the entire time he wasn't there, I was just waiting for him to come back. Which made it tough to get as invested in this book as I had with the previous two. On the bright side, I now have a new appreciation for Block. So that's nice.

Once the Malcolm thing was resolved, the story picked up A LOT. Good things happen and bad things happen and sweet things happen and romantic things happen and I was so in for all of it. It's because of that last chunk of the book -- the END in particular -- that I'm rounding up from 3.5 to 4 stars. Because, man, that ending was top notch.

Overall, Fragility Unearthed was a good installment, but compared to the previous two books it is my least favorite in the Cascade series. I'm glad I read it, though, because this series is really good. And I am looking forward to reading the fourth book. I definitely recommend this series to anyone looking for a unique adult paranormal series!

4 stars - A good installment with a top notch ending!