Dirty Lying Faeries by Sabrina Blackburry

4 Stars

For better or for worse, the newest changeling has arrived . . .

When Thea Kanelos’s best friend drags her to an art gala (that’s definitely not her thing), she doesn’t expect a chance encounter with Devin Grayson to change her life forever. The handsome stranger isn’t just anyone—he’s a powerful fae, charged with bringing Thea into his world.

Believing that she’s always been human, Thea must accept that everything she’s known about herself up until now has been a lie. She’s not human at all. She is a fae—funny, because she doesn’t even believe in faeries.

But with strange creatures now visible on the street and fangs and colors flashing in the shadows, it can’t be denied: faeries are real. And with the Winter Solstice approaching, a magnificent ball will bring her fully into the fae world and draw her closer to Devin with whom she has a deepening and dangerous attraction.

As her new powers awaken, Thea learns she plays a more pivotal role to the fae than she ever imagined. And when the barrier between the human and the fae worlds begins to crack, it will be up to her to save not just herself, but everyone she loves from a terrible fate.

Loved this take on the Fae. Thea was amazing and so relatable. Devin was awesome if a bit of a dick but does get better by the end. Loved most of the secondary characters except Thea BFF. She annoyed me throughout the book. I think she was supposed to annoy so meh. My biggest issue with the book is I am left wanting to know what ended up happening with Thea family. It is explained she will have to limit contact for reasons you will need to read to find out. The book just kind of ends without any resolution between Thea and her family. With that said I still can’t wait to pick up book 2.

Book 1 The Enchanted Fates

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Winter Fae Queen by J.R. Thorne and Lexi C Floss

4 Stars

 The Royal Water Fae I’m in love with just hired me to be his intern.

Oh. My. Fae.

I only applied for the job because of a dare, and now I’m packing my bags for the North Pole.

No big deal. I can totally be professional. I haven’t seen him since the Academy anyway. Maybe he’s gotten fat from all the Winter Fae sweets

Except, no. Kalt hasn’t gotten fat at all. He’s still perfectly chiseled and even more gorgeous than I remember. And worse? He has two equally hot friends.

A royal elf named Lark.

And a sexy-as-sin selkie named Norden.

I am so screwed. And I mean that literally because the elf and the selkie seem to think I’m their mate. Only Kalt completely disagrees.

Oh, and not only am I dealing with these three hotties, but my water magic is also on the fritz. I accidentally stirred up a snowball fight in the middle of Santa’s workshop, then ice tinsel started shooting from my fingertips like confetti.

It’s a problem.

One I’m not sure how to solve.

So, yeah, wish me luck! And send warm vibes. I really need some help melting all this snow…

Kalt frustrated me so much in this book but he finally got it in the end but it took way too long. Loved how all in Norden and Lark were with Arica and how they tried to ease into the relationship but ended up rushing. It didn’t feel like a 438-page book. It reads easy and fast. So, if you are looking for a good holiday book this is a good one to read.

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Bonded by Thorns by Elizabeth Helen

2 Stars

Four beastly princes. One awkward bookworm. An enchanted world of fae, magic, and danger.

I've always loved fairytales. I never imagined I'd actually be in one.

When my father wanders into the enchanted realm of the fae, I know I have to go after him. And when he gets imprisoned, I'll do anything to save him... Even trade my freedom for his. I had no idea I'd end up imprisoned by four fae princes who turn into beasts at night.

I have to win my freedom, and that means making a bargain with them. They must find their mates in order to break the curse. If I can help them do that, they'll set me free. Sounds simple, right?

It's not. Because against my better judgment, I'm starting to fall for these beastly princes. One is smart and sweet, the other mysterious and deadly, another flirty and confident, and the last prince... He's handsome, strong, has a wicked temper, and is dead-set against breaking the curse. Why does he want to keep me here forever?

But it's not just my freedom on the line. If I don't break the princes' curse soon, all the magic in the Enchanted Vale will be stolen by the evil—and stupidly hot—Prince of Thorns. And I'm not letting my princes stay cursed.

Not after I've fallen in love with them.

I wanted to like this one but I just couldn’t get into it. It moved at a snails pace. In addition to a pacing issue the book is literally beauty and the beast with 4 guys. This made the pacing issue more glaringly obvious. The writing was fine and I might give other books by this author a chance to see if they are better.

Book 1 Beasts of the Briar

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Demure by Hope E Davis

4 Stars

Recent college graduate Sierra Lopez has no idea what she wants to do with her life. With a degree that’s useless on its own, Sierra decides to complete a one-year master’s program at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Alone in a new city, Sierra downloads Tinder, expecting to go on a few casual dates during her study of human aging and fragility.

But then she meets the mysterious and brooding Aodhan De Thuaidh, who doesn’t seem to be at home in Dublin either. When he’s 30 minutes late for their first date, however, Sierra writes him off as just another jerk, intending never to see him again.

Except Aodhan keeps showing up. First around campus, then at a bar, and during Sierra’s work hours at the campus library. He claims it’s just a chance they keep running into each other, which annoys Sierra to no end, but something about Aodhan just isn’t adding up…

I really enjoyed this one but didn’t realize it was a cliffhanger ending. I was so mad when I got to the end and it just ended. Can’t wait for book 2 which will be out shortly. FMC and MMC work well together once FMC was willing to let MMC in. FMC handles his secret really well and probably better than I would have. I loved the give and take between them throughout the story. I can’t wait for them to get their HEA.

Book 1 Modern Legends of Sidhe

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Swipe Right for Monsters by R O’Leary

4 Stars

“Download Monstr and slither into your future mate’s DMs!”

Tequila shots and dating apps don’t mix. Celebrating the end of grad school, Drunk Nicole thought it would be a brilliant idea to find a monster sugar daddy to help her pay off her student loans and help her fix up the rundown house she had inherited.

Surely there was a rich vampire or gold-laden dragon out there who might have a thing for messy brunettes with threadbare sweatpants and a caffeine addiction?

 

But in the light of day (and her crippling hangover) Sober Nicole thinks Drunk Nicole was an idiot. Especially now that her notifications are blowing up and five fanged hotties want to take her to dinner… or eat her for dinner.

It is a dating app for monsters, after all.

I loved this book so much. FMC is looking for sugar daddies basically and it comes to bite her in the butt and she does make it up to the men she falls for. Loved this little twist as it’s normally the guys screwing up. I really hope more books will be written in this world as I really liked the premise.

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Bonds Eternal by Yve Vale

3.5 Stars

A Realm War. Fragile mate bonds. And a powerful Elven mage intent on eliminating humans.

The Elven King and the Unseelie Mage plan to take everything from my mates and me. The futures of both realms are at stake, and it is up to us to stop the destruction. But our mate bonds are damaged. As we face impossible challenges, I don’t know who I can trust, not even my mates. Caught in the middle of the fray, I will do anything to safeguard the realms and thwart the war. But that also means my mates have to protect me at all costs. Emerging magical powers, a ragtag group of allies, and our desperate hope for a future will have to be enough to thwart the most powerful elves ever known to Fae.

 

This book wraps up the series nicely. It was interesting to see how it all plays out. I liked the characters for the most part. There was a bit too much whining from FMC and one of the guys was too headstrong for his own good. With the four books combined and cut down as all of them dragged at times. It was still a good story but it just needed something.

Book 4 Fae Hearted

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Chaos Tempted by Yve Vale

3 Stars

I finally win my freedom. But will the cost ruin us?

Preventing a realm war isn’t as simple as we had hoped.

Our enemies are closer to their victory than we wanted to believe.

The threats against my life have not abated.

In fact, I’m in more danger now that I’ve chosen to stay with the three elves, and Prince Eldrin has named me the human ambassador to afford me more protection. But my elevated status has the opposite effect.

In response, Eldrin gathers allies to stop his father’s intent to ignite a war. We must prevent the chaos from destroying everything we know.

With my newfound bonds comes a strange magic, and I foresee that Princess Twyla is destined to betray her father, the mortal king.

Are we strong enough to prevent the disasters we face?

 

This book continues where the last book left off. Movement in the relationship between Wyn and her men. More info is revealed about the different plots to start a war and it ends on a cliff again. I don’t feel like there was enough movement in the story and this felt more like a bridge book and maybe should have been combined with the last one but it was still good. I’m curious to see where the next book takes us.

Book 3 Fae Hearted

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Tangled Secrets by Yve Vale

3.5 Stars

Wyn has been kidnapped, injured and left in the human realm with a threat against those she cares the most for. Oakes and Jaden find her just in time but break the Human/Fae treaty which draws Eldrin to the human realm to rescue all of them. When secrets are revealed will Wyn want to go home with them or will she want to stay in the human realm?

Solid read and continues the story where we left off with book one. It’s very slow moving with secrets revealed but more introduced. I enjoy the give and take between characters but don’t feel there was a ton of character development/growth in the book, and I wanted to see more growth. I am curious to see how the series ends and there is a ton that needs to happen for it to conclude so it will be interesting.

Book 2 Fae Hearted

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Between Realms by Yve Vale

3 Stars

Wyn is one of the only humans in the fae realm after the war. She’s an indentured servant who just wants to live her best life. When she receives a summons to the castle for an audience with the royals. On her journey to the castle, she runs into trouble and is rescued by a mysterious fae who is also heading to the castle. He takes it upon himself to be her protector to the castle. Once they arrive, she finds he is an advisor to the prince. The prince wishes to learn about humans and their bodies and asks her to allow him to explore. There isn’t supposed to be any feelings or connections but can they keep out emotions before they get hurt?

This is a very slow burn. Wyn is very Pollyanna esc character and a whole lot of naivety. This is also a world building book and set up for the rest of the series which is fine but made for slow reading for me. It does end on a cliffhanger and that is about when it started getting really good so a bit disappointing, but it did draw me in enough to look forward to the next book.

Book 1 Fae Hearted

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Curse of Shadow and Thorn by LJ Andrews

2 Stars

Elise has been raised with certain expectations being the King’s niece but she wants to forge her own path. However, he holds the life of her ailing father over her to make her do what he wants. These leads her to Legion Grey who is supposedly there to negotiate a dowry but the more time they spend together the more time they want to stay together. Legion has secrets that may tear them apart. Will they find way or will the secrets tear them apart?

This was an Instagram find and the ad looks so good I figured it would be worth reading. It was a meh read. The worst was the ending where there is no HEA but ended on a cliff. The MMC is a dick throughout the book and then abandons the FMC after the pivotal scene that is the entire reason I read the stupid book. He just walks away to do what he feels needs to be done vs working out the best approach with her. It’s a good idea but needs so much work and it’s not worth it to me to continue the series.

Book 1 Broken Kingdoms

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Hoarded by the Dragon by Lillian Lark

4 Stars

Katarina is asked by her mentor to break in and steal an artifact. She may be out of the life, but he helped her and she feels obligated to get him what he needs. What she wasn’t planning on was stumbling into the owner of the artifact…a dragon, Kalos, who very much doesn’t want to lose any of his hoard. She has only one choice bargain with him for her life…What she wasn’t planning on was walking away from the bargain with being pregnant. Now they must learn to live with each other for the health of the dragon baby. Will they find a way to their HEA?

First the cover is gorgeous. I heard she does her own drawing and I just love that. I also loved this story. I blew through it so fast. Kalos and Katarina were bother interesting characters to learn about. They were pretty well developed. The one thing I wanted more information on was Katarina’s history. Things are alluded to about who she is and why she is the way she is, but it’s never developed. There is a lot of spice and a good bit of cuddling. The secondary characters were also well done, and I want some of them to get their own stories, so they get the HEA. I would highly recommend this book if you like this type of book.

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Dance of the Forest King by Alessa Thorn

3 Stars

King Oberon, Taranis, and Mananan were separated from their kin for many years and are now on earth with their nephews. They are here to stop the worlds from being destroyed. If they don’t stop it there will be no more magic. Oberon figures he will have to sacrifice himself to save those he loves until he meets his fated mate. Chrissy is not someone he was expecting and he doesn’t know why she’s always mad at him but he will do anything to keep her safe.

It was an ok read. It felt rushed for most of the book. The romance was nice but also rushed. This is book one in a new series, but it is a spin-off of another one and you do need to read that one to understand this one. They are referenced and it’s been a while since I read the original series and it led to some confusion. Overall, this book left me wanting more. It was ok and there are two more books that I will probably get to eventually.

Book 1 Lost Fae Kings

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Of Rain and Wrath by Katie May

3 Stars

Kass has had everything taken from her. The use of her power stole her voice, and she has no control over who she heals or when she does it. Until she is sold to a new owner. The fae prince who bought her wants her for his mate. What he wasn’t expecting was having to share her with others. When the other fae princes discover her magic what will happen?

This was an interesting book. I liked it and was digging it until it ended. I was very confused as to why it ended when it did as nothing really happens in the book. It’s like it is a bridge book but it’s book 1. Definitely willing to check out the rest of the series as I did enjoy the weirdness that this book was. Just maybe going to wait until they are all out.

Book 1 Death Whisperer

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Fate Hollow Academy: Term 1 (Fate Hollow Academy, #1) by Lyra Winters

3 Stars

Wren is a naïve arctic fox shifter. She was taken in by her mother’s pack after her parents were hunted. She has been outcast from the moment she arrived even though she works with her adopted mom providing medicinal care. When it is discovered she is fated mates with the alpha’s son, he rejects her. She thinks all is lost until she enters Fate Hollow Academy where she discovers she doesn’t have just one fated but 7 other ones. How will this work?

This was good. The steamy parts were not as descriptive as other books in this genre are. That aside the plot was interesting and I liked all of Wren’s mates bar her rejected one. It was interesting to see her try and do away with the bond since it was causing her pain. It does end in a cliffhanger ending and I am curious to see how it all plays out.

Book 1 Fate Hollow Academy

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A Word Fitly Spoken by T.A. Lawrence

 

1 star

Fae King of Naenden caught his human queen committing treason and decrees that he will take a bride a day and execute her in the morning unless one woman will offer herself up as a sacrifice. Asha knows she won’t be chosen as she is too disfigured to be selected. However, when she discovers her sister is one up for being selected as a bride she volunteers to be the queen. After the wedding she has one request of her husband that she be allowed to spend the night with her sister telling a story. The king eavesdrops and come morning he refuses the execution as he wants to know how the story ends. How long will he remain interested in the story?

I want my time and energy back for this one. The Asha is incredibly fickle which makes me hate her thus making the book incredibly long. The book itself was long & this was made worse by her. The ending left me wanting loose ends tied up. Not interested in any future books. In my head they've all died.

Book 1 Severed Realm

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Fevered by Devyn Sinclair

 

1 Star

Left for dead after a rogue fae attacked me. Four fae men rescue me and vow to keep me safe. Their touch brings me more pleasure than I ever dreamed but time is running out to save my life. Will they be able to keep their promises or will the rogue fae win?

I wanted to like this book and the first chapter drew me in so nicely. Then the book just fell apart for me. There was no world building or character development. I quickly lost interest in the book and started skimming to see if it would get better. It didn’t. The FMC spends 80% of the book in crippling pain or unconscious. So how was she falling for these guys? I’ll skip the rest of the books.

Book 1 Carnal Court

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Hell Fae Captive by Lexi C Foss and J.R. Thorn

 

3 Stars

Cami’s parents have sold her for their debts. She is a halfling who doesn’t care that her parents sold her, and she is now a slave to hell and required to compete for favor to find mates. She will play along because she has too but she will find a way to burn it all down around Lucifer.

OMG don’t read if you are frustrated by cliffhanger endings…which I am. This was such a well written and interesting story and then it just ended. I was so frustrated. When I read this (way behind on book reviews and this was middle of 2022) this book wasn’t even up for preorder. As of writing the review it is coming out between now and April. The concept is interesting. The writing was good and I liked the characters but the ending was so abrupt and left me wanting.

Book 1 Hell Fae

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God Touched by Alessa Thorn

 

4 Star

Imogen is a hunter. She's used to dealing with death everyday so when they need Arawan the God of Death she doesn't have an issue talking him into helping. The only problem is that he, embodies everything she craves, death, sex, and violence. Will she be able to ignore his draw?

I enjoyed this one a lot. The writing was just as good as all the other books in this World and you get a bit of all the other couples. Both of these characters are very big personality and the compliment each other. I am very interested on where the author is going with this series and can't wait for the next one.

Book 2 Ironwood

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Trash and Treasure by Alessa Thorn

 

4 Star

Charlotte wants to go and study with legendary Fae mages but needs her brother-in-Law to approve it for her. To get this approval she needs to track down Aneirin with Reeve who she has a history with and wants nothing to do with. He broke her heart and she holds a grudge. Reeve is happy to be working with her as he's missed her and wants to know what he did to sever their budding relationship. They are going to have to work together to find and take out Aneirin before he lets out the other two generals.

This one took a hot minute for me to get into it but once I was into the story, I loved it. It was just a slow start. I loved seeing them all working together and seeing characters from previous books. The conflict between Reeve and Charlotte was interesting and I liked what separated them previously. Looking forward to the next one.

Book 1 Ironwood

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Captured Sunlight by Raven Flanagan

 

3 Star

Princess Adora Solen is on the way to marry her father's ally when her convoy is attacked and she's taken by her Kingdom's sworn enemy, King of Shadows Caliban Morgen. Taken to his Kingdom and not sure where she stands, Adora tries to make the best of it. The problems start when she starts raving Caliban but with their Kingdoms at war can they find their HEA?

I remember reading this and was happy with the story at the time but sitting down to write the review and I can't recall any of the actual story. It's that forgettable. I recall books from years ago and for whatever reason this one doesn't stick. I skimmed it to refresh. I like the give and take between Adora and Caliban. The pacing in it was good through the first half but went a bit sideways the second half. Overall, it was just ok.

Book 1 A Song of Sun and Shadow

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