Sweetheart Part One by Maria Mackay

3.5 Stars

Vex let down her guard at the wrong time and has been forced into a bond she doesn’t want. Her scent match pack doesn’t want an omega and can’t know she’s there to be used against them. She’s just the beta under contract but the longer she’s there the more she gets under their skin and makes them want more. They’re still massive assholes who don’t see the value in her until it is too late.

I waffled with this one. The first half of the book was so long because of the flashbacks to how she ended up where she was. It slowed the book down which made it seem longer than it was. It didn’t really add anything to the overall plot at all. Once those ended about halfway through the book I enjoyed the writing and the chapter headings got me laughing so hard. I did love how the book ended so much. It did end up on a cliffhanger ending. I saw the end coming and can’t wait for part 2 which should be out in November.

Book 1 Reverse Harem Bully Romance Duet

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Charming Devils by Katie May

3 Stars

Peony is back with a new look and ready to get the revenge she deserves. The boys who are now men need to watch out because they are in for a reconning that is long overdue.

I enjoyed this book, but it was a bit disjointed. There needs to be some better world building and character development to make the story better. I also took issue with Peony supposedly being this powerful witch and able to take on all this stuff but everyone is doing the heavy lifting for her. Mild spoiler, to force Peony to do what she wants her mother threatens her. To get around this Peony’s grandmother ends up disowning her daughter which supposedly severs their magic. Why no idea as it’s never explained. If it was that easy to take someone out why didn’t the mother do this earlier to screw over Peony.

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Class Studies by Kate Messick

 

4 Star

Aphrodite used her powers to help her men with the chaos in the school but now they need to fix it so they can get their happy ending. However, while they are trying to do that someone/something is turning all the students and faculty against her. Will they figure out what is going on before it is too late?

Again, it starts where the last book ended. I enjoyed the story and I liked how it wrapped up but there were some questions brought up but not addressed. Like Aphrodite’s parentage. It was stated at one point that there were weird things in her blood but then not really mentioned again. I feel like there should be at least a short story or something to address this. I also felt like the guys who were the biggest dick didn’t really have to do as much groveling as I felt he should. Overall, it was a good series and was well worth reading.

Book 3 The Thorns of Charbon Institute

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Self Studies by Kate Messick

 

4 Star

She may have gotten away from those who would use her and abuse her but now she is a social outcast and very limited use of her magic. She needs to find a way to protect herself with the limits. She is being denied the men she craves but there is a new transfer student that intrigues her and he’s sticking close. What will happen when secrets come out?

This one started right where the first book ended. It is interesting to see the mental loops people jumped through to blame her for things going on around her. I will say there are things in this one that were pretty obvious to figure out for me. I still enjoyed it and wanted more. I did get very frustrated with some of the guys and wanted them to get over themselves. Can’t wait for book 3.

Book 2 The Thorns of Charbon Institute

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Group Studies by Kate Messick

 

4 Star

Held prisoner for as long as she can remember, Aphrodite thinks they will kill her but instead they send her to an Academy to train her on her powers and make sure she won’t do evil things. When she gets there, she is thrown into this new world she has to quickly acclimate too but she’s not sure of the rules of this new world. Will she find her footing?

I really liked this book it was a different kind of bully academy book. You feel bad for Aphrodite throughout the book. She’s been taken advantage of her entire life and it’s not really different once she ends up at the academy. People continue to bully her and down right nasty. I blew through this book and wanted the next book immediately. If you like Academy and Bully this one will probably tick all the boxes for you. Can’t wait to read the next one.

Book 1 The Thorns of Charbon Institute

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Den of Monsters by Avery Song

 

3 Stars

People with debt are required to attend the masquerade to clear it. Esmerelda was never supposed to go but her father’s debts were too much and she enters where she meets Joaquin, Talon, Dagger, Croix, and Creed. They may be evil men but she wants to see their monstrous selves. The more she reveals and the more debt she clears the stranger things become. Will she take out those who want her dead and get her men?

I enjoyed this story up until the end. It was going along quite nicely and I was digging finding out all the secrets this book had to give until the last couple of chapters. Then it was bam let’s change everything and make it seem like everyone was aware and set it all up to get Esmerelda “father”. It was just very jarring that it was all turned on its head and made to seem like she was now aware of everything. It just didn’t work for me. I will be reading book two when it comes out in January because I did like the writing.

Book 1 Devils Serenade

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Hexed by Yve Vale

4 Star

Shayla is just trying to survive until she is old enough to get out and away from her abusive mother. Her mother and the mother’s boyfriend have tried for years to get Shayla’s magic to come out. Nothing has worked to get her to present so her plan is to run on her birthday to get away even though her BFF doesn’t want her to leave. When her BFF talks her into going to a party Shayla hooks up with a random guy who just so happens to be her fated mate. He refuses to accept her but is forced to bring her to the academy to learn her magic. While there she finds out that her history isn’t what she thinks it is and her magic is different. She also finds more mates than she knows what to do with. When strange things start happening and her BFF goes missing will she work it out before it’s too late?

I was digging this book until the cliffhanger ending. I loved how strong Shayla was. She had a lot of stuff she had to put up with and she just kept trucking. When her first mate rejects her, she basically says f*** this. I am better than you. She meets new friends and reintroduced to old ones and I loved that she was so determined to be the best she could. The one big issue was the cliffhanger. I need the next one and it’s not out yet but I will be checking it out when it does even if it ends on a cliff.

Book 1 Shadowcraft Academy

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Immortal Secrets by Renae Wright

2 Star

Her mother is Cinderella and the fairy tales have it all wrong. Cinderella isn't a down on her luck woman abused by her family but a siren. Now with her daughter Kira, they are the last sirens. The rest of the world wants then dead and gone as Cinderella has been nothing but evil. Kira is forced to go to school and her classmates want her dead. She's just trying to survive. She may have allies who love her or are they just using her for a means to an end?

The description of the book makes it sound awesome but it wasn't. I skimmed so much of this book. It had an interesting concept but it just doesn't work. Kira has been abused by her mother her whole life and ends up having this continue at the academy. The men she ends up with all use her to one get Something out of her because of her mom and two physically assault her as punishment. Again all because of her mom. At least by the end of book 1 these people had done nothing to make up for being massive dicks. I'm skipping the rest of the series.

Book 1 Royal Glass Hearts

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Hexed by Yve Vale

 

4 Star

Shayla has been abused her entire life by her mother. She's just waiting for her 20th birthday to be able to get out. Her friend drags her out for one last night out before going off to academy where she decides to lose her virginity and ends up finding her fated mate. This changes all her plans. Forced to go to Academy and learn magic she doesn’t want to have. Will she find her way and her mates without losing herself?

I liked this one a lot. It was a new take for me on academy. It is very much a slow burn and only brief moments of fun times between characters. There is some MM so if that's not your cup of tea give this one a pass. I wanted a little bit more world building to explain some aspects of how this world works but nothing so drastic that it detracted from my reading. It does end on a cliffhanger esq ending. You find out a bunch of things but left hanging on some very big important things. Definitely worth the read.

Book 1 Shadowcraft Academy

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Sweet Sixteen by Brenda Rothert

 

4 Star

Gin Fielding is just waiting for graduation. She wants to keep her head down until she can finally get out of the small town in Missouri. One day she comes across a younger girl being beaten by a senior. She intervenes and takes the beating meant for the younger girl. Come to find out the girl was Football player Chase Matthews little sister. He is determined to thank her by making her popular. He offers her a rose to be apart of the super elite Sweet Sixteen. She refuses as she 1. Doesn’t want to be popular, 2. Is sure she doesn’t want to be apart of the horrible tradition of Sweet Sixteen, and 3. Doesn’t want her first time to be with the entire football team. Chase is baffled by her decision to not participate in Sweet Sixteen. Her refusal also leads to problems for both of them. Gin and Chase are brought closer together and are forced to take on the darker side of small-town life.

I loved this book. I met the author at an event. I’ve never read anything by her and got two books from her. This one and Anton (review coming). I picked up the other one as it was a hockey book and then asked for a recommendation as I didn’t want to get two hockey books. She suggested this one but said it was weird. I don’t think it was weird at all. It is very much a good high school drama book and it just hit the right spot and the subject matter was spot on for what’s been going on in the world today. I loved how Chase has the epiphany about the Sweet Sixteen being bad and learns and grows. Even though it has a lot of undertones for the me too movement it isn’t preachy in anyway. If you like high school drama books this will hit all the right notes. Best purchase of the book event I was at followed closely by her other book.

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