Willing Sacrifice by Latrexa Nova

3 Stars

Willing Sacrifices is a collection of the first four novellas of Sacrificed to Monster Gods, including the prequel, Enthralled by Shadows -- Enthralled by Death, Enflamed by Fire, Ensnared by Dreams & Terrors, and Entrapped by Mythos.

“There is nothing more monstrous than a god.

If you don’t find offerings before the veil between worlds is thinnest… they will eat the world. The planets, the sun, the galaxies beyond, nothing will ever be enough.

Although... there are those who look for what the gods have to offer. Willing sacrifices..."

There was an overall trope of the gods are in need of a good partner to rescue them through smexy time. The first couple of books were good but then the plot became very repetitive by the second and third book and that’s about when my interest fizzled out. Still worth giving it a shot as it was an interesting read.

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My Stuffed Valentine by Rozy Mack

 

2.5 Stars

For a single mom who long since gave up on finding the right person to love me, Valentine’s Day is another painful reminder of my loneliness. Sure, I love my little miss with all my heart, but a woman has needs.

When a stuffed gift from my bestie turns into my very own life-sized monster vowing to worship me with his love and devotion, I have to decide to let my heart lead or listen to the doubt screaming in my head that this can’t be real.

He’s big, covered in fur, and purrs on demand. Oh, and his tail. Let’s not forget the special delight it brings behind closed doors.

Cursed by Cupid, my surprise Valentine monster asks me to help break the chains of the past so we can move to the future. Together. Maybe I’ll find love after all.

Short and spicy but it needed to not be so short to be a complete story. It was a cute concept and I think I would have liked it better if it was expanded more with better world and character development. As it stands now it’s just meh.

Book 1 Guardians of Cupid

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Hunter’s Choice by Timber Phillips

3 Stars

I lead a simple life on the Olympic Peninsula running Moonchild Owl Haven, a bird sanctuary for sick and injured owls.

When I'm not doing that? I work a regular shift at the animal hospital fulfilling my day job.

Life is pretty great, what with my best friend Charlie coming around daily to help with my fly babies, but it's also lonely. I mean, Charlie is old enough to be my grandad and the only other man in my life? A not even legal teen that’s like a younger brother.

Meeting people out here in the sticks is tough. Tougher still for a girl like me who can't string two words together without stuttering so bad she can't be understood. For the most part I'm okay with that, but sometimes I wish I could do away with my whiteboard and just tell people how it is, what I'm feeling…

After all, a man wants someone he can talk with, not just someone he can talk at.

At least that's what I've been told...

This was such a sweet story and I loved Jessamine and Gunter. It’s a nice twist on shifter story. It was predictable but still a good read.

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Persephone by Alessa Thorn

4 Stars

Life in Styx is finally stable for Persephone and Hades. The city is safe, and their re-established friendship with the Egyptian Gods brings a welcomed calm—until the meddling Fates disrupt their peace with an unexpected gift: a baby.

As if the idea of motherhood isn't daunting enough, a mysterious voice beckons Persephone to an enigmatic island on the Nile. Ever drawn to adventure and somewhat avoiding a challenging conversation with Hades, Persephone embarks on a quest to find the source of the voice…and finds a whole lot more than she could ever dream of.

Loved this short story. It was nice to see all my favorite back and to see what happens after the HEA when things change. Can’t wait to see where this new series goes.

Book 11 Gods Universe

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I’ve Watched You Die by Karina Banks

4 Stars

A young woman, cursed. A rebellious prince in hiding. A forbidden love that will threaten two worlds…

There are two main things I’ve learned since my life turned upside down. The first is, if you speak of someone’s death before it happens, you’ll be blamed for murder. The second? If the hottest guy you’ve ever seen kisses you, and thanks you for saving his life, don’t argue.

I watched him die, over and over. So many times. The vision is always the same and there is never one damn thing I can do to save him. I don’t know why I can’t dream about normal things, like going to school naked, or spiders. I hate spiders. No, I’m lucky enough to see strangers at the moments of their deaths. The only thing keeping me sane is knowing the visions aren’t real. Until the accident. The blood. He dies in my arms. At least, I thought he did. But now he’s here, telling me I saved his life. Telling me unbelievable stories about monsters and gods and destiny. Promising to protect me. If none of this is real, why am I afraid of the creatures hunting me? And if I saved his life, why are the nightmares back, stronger than ever? What is this thing lurking inside me, eager to strike? I don’t know, but I’m freaking out. I’m afraid what I think is real, isn’t. And what I know is not, just might be.

So many feelings with this book. I saw the ending coming through most of the book but getting there was worth it. Dani is for the most part a strong woman just trying to figure things out with this weird ability. This weird ability draws Zelik to her and draws her into his world. I loved Dani and Zelik. Even the cliffhanger ending made sense. I loved seeing the growth in this book and can’t wait to see where book 2 is going to take us.

Book 1 Academy for Gods and Freaks

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Cupids Last Arrow by Raven Vale

4 Stars

Deedra has been in love with her best friend for years, but he has her firmly in the friend category. When she nearly dies on a photo shoot she is given the choice of becoming the next cupid or dying. Since she doesn’t want to die she opts to become a cupid which is stupid since she hasn’t found her forever love. Now she just has to learn to trust Eros and take on his power plus figure out how to fall in love.

I loved this story. It worked for me. It is probably one of the better reads to do before Valentine’s Day. I loved the back and forth between Eros and Deedra. I so want future books to have Deedra finding the other Gods their HEA because they deserve to have some chaos in their lives for all they put Deedra and Eros through. This one felt like a complete story with one love interest, and I am all for it. I would love to know what happened to Carl since he falls into the dick category for me who needs to repent for his role in Deedra’s life.  Definitely pick this one up and read it.

Book 2 Gods are Hiring

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Banging the Easter Bunny by Dalia Davies

She made her bargain and assumed she would be done but she just couldn’t walk away from her easter bunny. She will give almost anything to keep him as her own. The Gods won’t make it easy but if she does everything right she will get the best reward.

Where book one was quick and dirty this one has an actual plot and character development. It is still very dirty, but you get character growth and change. It was a bit jarring after the first one to read this one as I was expecting more quick and dirty and this had way more in it. I liked the growth in the characters and the world. Even though it was longer I still enjoyed the read.

Book 2 Valley of the Old Gods

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Dazed by the Gods by LM Wilson

3 Stars

Mia wants nothing to do with the Gods. Her friend is desperate to be selected to go to school with the Gods and serve them. When she is picked to go to the academy where she is not happy. She draws the attention of the most sought-after Gods by tripping into them at an event. She is given no option other than to serve them. She is struggling with what she has to do and not sure what will happen.

Interesting concept but ended too soon. Cliffhanger ending with no clear date for a future book made me knock a star off. I need to know what happened and can’t even anticipate when the next one comes out. Mia’s BFF 180 made zero sense and it will be interesting to see if it is explained in future book. There are also a lot of questions brought up and none answered with this one. Would definitely recommend if the other books were out.

Book 1 School of the Gods

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Railed by the Easter Bunny (Valley of the Old Gods, #1) by Dalia Davies

 

3 Stars

Whoever holds the Power rules the Valley and Lily is tired of the one who holds the power. She petitioned the goddess and requests her help to gain the power so the people will be taken care of. The only way this will happen per the goddess is if Lily agrees to have a god’s baby. She is given the option to bare a child from one of the old gods or nothing. She chooses the Easter Bunny.

This book is mostly sex and a whole lot of it. There is almost no plot or world building at all and left me with several questions but the writing was there and was very interested in seeing how the book series turned out.

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King of Flesh and Bone by Liv Zander

 

3 Star

Enoch is the God of Death and has taken a break from collecting souls. Humans when they die are left to wonder the earth without rest. The only way he might consider going back to collecting souls is if he gets a wife. Ada ends up in his kingdom asking for his help and in return she will become his wife. Will they find their happy ending?

This is very much a horror dark romance. It hit all the right notes for me. The story was intriguing. I loved the villain as the love interested. The 3 stars is because of the cliffhanger ending. So tired of having to wait for the next book in a series. When I read this there was almost a year before book two was set to come out. It is now out, and review is forthcoming. I liked seeing Enoch coming out of his anger to be with Ada and then the ending where he thinks she’s betrayed him chef’s kiss. If you enjoy dark gory stories this one hit all the notes for me and was worth reading.

Book 1 Pale Court

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Ragnarok Rising by Nora Ash

2 Star

Annabelle thoughts you're just taking a vacation to Iceland.  Come to find out it's not just a trip to Iceland it's the beginning of Ragnarok. To help the demigods not end the world she's going to have to meet with them to give them a leg up. Will she be able to help them?

I wanted to like this one it's an interesting concept but when you take away someone's choice to choose and force yourself on them there's nothing else to the story but rape.  Annabelle ends up with 5 Norse gods.  Who do nothing but fight even though they need each other to survive. They demand that Annabelle make a decision as to who she's going to be with because can't possibly be with the enemy. And to top it all off, you then have the book ended in a cliffhanger.  At this point I'm not interested in continuing the series but that may change if I hear good things about it

Book 1 The Omega Prophecy

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That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming

 

4 Star

Brie isn't interested in a relationship with Felix after she accidentally threw a love potion on him. She thinks the only reason he's interested is because of the potion No matter how many times he claims she's his fated mate. When women keep going missing he refuses to leave her side to keep her safe. When she ends up kidnapped will be get to her in time?

I liked this one but wasn't as in love with Brie as I was with the last book. There was more frustration with her character. I loved Felix and wanted him to get his HEA with someone who loves him us he deserves Brie got there eventually. I liked how the book ended and the humor was still there. Overall, a good book and can't wait for the next one.

Book 2 Mead Mishaps

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That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming

5 Star

Cin just wants to go home and sleep off the alcohol instead she runs into a demon and saves him. Now Fallon demands Cin help him take out his enemy. For some reason she agrees. They have 4 chalices to destroy. Will Cin be able to resist Fallon?

I loved this book so much. It was funny and I loved the interaction between Cin and everyone else including Fallon were well developed. The secondary characters were also fleshed out. The story moved quickly. There weren't any moments I felt Cin was too stupid to live and I loved her snark. Definitely check this book out.

Book 1 Mead Mishaps
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The Wolf of the Woods by Savvy Rose

 

2 Star

Lux saw her mother be handed over by her father and be burned on a pyre. She's then sent off to live with her grandmother to be raised proper. There she meets. Fenrir. He's a beast who thirsts for blood and sex. He wants her and will have no matter what anyone says or does.

I Love a good retelling of a fable. This was not one. There's no development.at all for character or plot.  There were a ton of grammatical issues as well. The book ends up be smut and nothing else for the 190 pgs. One of the worst books I've read lately.

Book 1 Forbidden Fables

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Summerland Complete Collection by Kathryn Moon

 

3 stars

Lucy had been excited about her honeymoon until her fiancé left her at the altar. She didn’t want to give up her trip, so she goes by herself. She ends up in a strange town with strange people who she likes. Lucy begins to fall for different men in town and she’s not sure it’s ok. When she finds out the town’s secret will she stay?

This was an interesting take on gods and mortals. Biggest issue was no world building and it ends with so many questions. Moon said she’s going to do more but none so far. Lucy getting a new guy every time she turned around got old. All in between each of the shorts it was a good story but needed some work.

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