Eat Me by Amber Vale

2.5 Stars

She fell into Wonderland expecting madness—

Not monsters who'd burn kingdoms just to make her moan.

 

When Alice enters a sensual, twisted version of Wonderland, she doesn't find tea parties— she finds monsters.

 

A shapeshifting Cheshire seduces her with purring growls and a tongue that brings out her desire— whether she wants it to or not.

 

A Jabberwocky watches her pleasure through magical mirrors, slowly burning for her as he waits his turn.

 

And from far away, a Bandersnatch seduces her with his words, unable to do anything more than wait— driven by instinct, consumed with hunger for her, and aching to fill her until she can take no more.

 

In this world, magic feeds on lust. Desire burns stronger than ever. And her monsters want a taste of her.

My review is not so nice but that is because I didn’t realize it was a play off of Alice in Wonderland. I am not a fan of Alice in Wonderland. If you love Alice in Wonderland you will probably enjoy reading this. The story was well written and I will probably try something else by this author.

Book 1 Monsters of Wonderland

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Bossed by the Orc by Saam King

4 Stars

The damsel in distress is supposed to fall for prince charming, not the monster in her fairy tale…right?

 

Cleaning offices was far from Penelope’s dream job. But dreams don’t pay the bills, and if she wanted to save her family’s home, she needed money fast. Her grumpy, annoyingly sexy orc boss didn’t factor into her plans at all. Or so she kept telling herself…

 

Dristan was too busy running his empire to waste time on things like romance. Then he saw his pretty new employee and everything changed. He knows Penelope would be a perfect mate. Too bad wooing is not part of his skillset…

 

When danger finds its way to Penelope’s door, Dristan will do anything to protect her. But when all is said and done, will it be enough to convince her to take a shot at happily ever after? Or will their love story end before it ever truly begins?

I really enjoyed this book. MMC was so grumpy and crabby even with FMC. He was so in for her but his personality was 100% grumpy. I enjoyed reading him falling for her. I loved watching him lose his mind when others talked with her and also being such a dick to everyone.

Book 1 Kingverse Orc

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The Goat in the Bedroom by Amy Award

3 Stars

When your love life stinks and you're clearly the worst at choosing someone who won't break your heart, why not ask your best friend to find you a date?

Unless of course…you're in love with her.

I've been friends with Artemis since high school, when we bonded over crushing on the same guy. Six years later, we’re roommates in our shiny new post college lives—she's training for the Olympics while I start my pro football career. We’ve both recently had bad break-ups and she says if she’s going to get back out there, she needs dating lessons. Naturally, she asks me—her completely platonic roommate—to teach her.

We practice eye contact. Hand holding. Cuddling during movies. Because that's what best friends do, right? Practice intimacy? For science?

She thinks I'm being helpful. I think I'm losing my mind.

Meanwhile, I'm out here sabotaging her dates, getting jealous of my own teammates, and having heart-to-hearts with our pet goats about my feelings while she's literally in the next room.

But we're definitely just friends.

The evidence we might be idiots:

The documentary crew filming my rookie season knows.

Our pet goats know.

Everyone knows. EVERYONE.

The only people who don't know? Us.

I wanted to love this book as I was looking forward to it since meeting the FMC in the last book. I just didn’t like it. I have never wanted to skip scenes in other books by Award but there were times when I just wanted it to move on already. There was less sexy time in this book then other books and the bi relationships both main characters was kind of brushed aside. I loved the narrators and will still pick up the next book but not my favorite book.

Book 6 The Cocky Kingmans

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Beyond the Winter Kingdom by Aurelia Jane and Kel Carpenter

3.5 Stars

Faerie was a nightmare—twice kidnapped, magically bound, and held captive by my fated mate. But Eversus? That’s where the real party starts. And yes, I RSVP’d like an idiot.

Sadie’s gone. Vanished without a trace. And the only lead we have points to a realm no sane person dares to enter: a pit of smoke and ash, ruled by demons and forgotten gods. A place no fae survives.

Eversus.

Vareck—the fierce, brooding King of Faerie—is determined to be my plus one into the twin hells. He says we’re bonded. That I belong to him.

But I didn’t ask for a mate. And I had no intention of catching feelings in the middle of a hellscape.

Together, we’ll brave the realm of monsters to bring my sister home. But the deeper we go, the more I wonder if I'm the one who won’t make it back.

When a world fights to devour us, his voice is the thread I hold on to.

Because some bonds burn brighter in the dark.

And it turns out, some monsters aren’t left behind—they come with you.

I really wanted to love this as much as I loved book 1. This one was a whole lot of nothing happening. It added a bunch to the story without really moving it forward. I still liked the characters and there were new ones added with additional information added to characters from book 1. I just didn’t feel like it added enough to the first book to be awesome. It ends on cliffhanger ending. I am invested and will read the next one but it just frustrated me. The audio was good and I liked the narrators.

Book 2 Faeted Seasons

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Gargoyle on the Rocks with a Lemon Twist by Rebecca Rennick

3 Stars

Coconut Cove is a five-star, monster and human, all-inclusive hotel and resort located on the southern Florida coast. Every day is filled with sun, fun and umbrella drinks. But for Bea this is no vacation, she’s working. As a code enforcement agent, she is sent to many various types of businesses. This week she’s been tasked with inspecting the famous Coconut Cove Resort. Sure, there’s sun and maybe an umbrella drink or two, but there is no fun to be had while on the clock. That is until the manager assigns her an escort for the week, a large shirtless gargoyle who smiles excessively. How is she supposed to get any work done with a cheery talkative male distracting her with his inability to wear a shirt and all those tantalizing muscles?

Being assigned babysitter for the sexy code inspector is the best assignment Zaxon has been given since becoming a security guard at the resort. The mouthy little human and her fuck me librarian glasses entice him to no end. He can’t help but tease the tempting female, it’s too much fun getting her wound up, and even more fun when he gets to shatter her resolve and make her scream in pleasure.

But will their week of fun and lust end when her assignment is over? Is there more for them after she leaves the resort? Can he convince her to stay and ignore the presence of the sand she hates so much?

He can sure as hell try.

This book felt like it was in the middle of a series vs the first book in a series. This led me to be confused and like there was a different book/series I needed to read to better understand this book. It also led to me wanting there to be better character and world development. It was insta love and it was just meh for me to read.

Book 1 Gummy Monster Orgy

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Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

 

4 Stars

It's 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl's display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella's mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all--and in the process, they learn that there's more to Cinderella's story than they ever knew . . .

This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they've been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

I loved this book. It was an interesting take on Cinderella. The characters were interesting and I liked the journey from what was expected to freedom. The twists and turns were not surprising but I enjoyed reading them.

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Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws

3.5 Stars

Help Wanted: Grumpy mountain man seeks baby momma. Job is an incubator position only. Surrogate must be impervious to grunting as the form of communication and nosy brotherly neighbors. Rustic mountain range housing available upon request.

I wanted to pummel my irritating brothers when they posted their own version of a wanted ad to help me with my life.

But I can’t fault the results once the right woman lands in my lap.

Becoming a single father is not a decision I made lightly. In fact, it’s the biggest decision of my entire life.

Which is why when I interview Trista, I know she’s perfect.

She’s wild, she’s opinionated, she wears cowboy boots. Even my pet goat loves her…

She’s the exact type of person I was holding out for.

And to my great horror, I realize on our first night of attempting this baby-making dance—when the lights are low, the cheap wine is flowing and the home-insemination supplies are laid out on the kitchen counter—I want to do a lot more than just make her my surrogate.

I want to make her mine.

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. Wyatt was a bit of a grump and he never gets better but he is so sweet with Trista. Trista was a bit to sunshiny and it did grate. I also questioned if she really would have been ok walking away. The give and take between them and how it went from just a transaction to all in was fun to read.

Book 1 Mountain Man Matchmaker

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