fallenraffe

[fallenraffe]

25. Wildcat (Mavericks Tackle Love #1) by Max Monroe (3.5*)

<b>3.5 stars</b>

<b>MCs:</b> Quinn + Cat

<b>POV:</b> dual

Quinn Bailey the man that you are

this book was half meh / half awesome, with a pinch of chapters that randomly started off with a summary of the previous chappy, like why? - but honestly knowing that it's two authors makes perfect sense💀

tbh after the first 17% / 2 hours it was a chore to pick this back up, but I'm glad I did, cos it ended up producing some pretty fun scenes, once things started going

<i>it gets spoilery from here, so beware</i>

<b>some of the highlights include:</b>

× all the sports related stuff, sometimes sports romances only touch on the sport here and there, but this book gave us a lot of practices, gym sessions, team bonding and game moments + fan interactions, tabloids and QB on insta and q frankly I ate it all up, this is the sorta stuff I wanna see in my sports romances, not just an obligatory mention of it every hundred pages or so

× QB everyone, the guy was such a cinnamon roll, but he also knew how and when to take charge, he fuckin carried this book on his big, handsome back

× the cat references on insta & irl, their date to the painting shop, the painting he did of the two of them with the backdrop of a times square that's littered with cat puns, eating maccyDs in the car wash, doing a 6 hour back & forth flight just to be in the same death trap as your crush, said crush returning the favor & visiting you at the arena, Cat surprising QB at their game in his jersey (no.9 baby), letting him know she's all in and the guy finding his play mojo and quinching that victory in the last 15s with a 32 yard TD, when he spent the past 4 quarters playing like shit & eating dirty cos he was heartbroken, helping her over the railing after the game and smooching in front of everyone then declaring his love on espn right there on the field, moving in together and hanging her paintings in their new home, creating her a workspace, just chefs fuckin kiss all of it

I could start listing the not so great, but I'm not gonna waste my time on it, (tho the BJ scene and the lead up was😭💀) I found that the good stuff made up for the not so great and it was worth wading thru, cos the highs were really high

was I the only one waiting for a Casey & Danver meet up? they would've made a 🔥duo

so yeah, this stumbled a bit, but then it also served, I'm gonna round down, but the good bits were 4/5 star material

excited for Sean and Six's story

PS.: Cat Wild is a 🔥 name for a protag, and Q.B. for the quarterback? get outta here😂 loved QB & his wild kitten

(ax2

narrators were great💜)

[fallenraffe]

20. Season of Secrets by Q.B. Tyler (3*)

<b>3 stars</b>

<b>MCs:</b> Raegan + Wes

<b>tropes:</b>

× age gap | Raegan (21, almost 22) + Wes (41) (2 years younger than her dad) | 20 years

× office romance

× boss x assistant

× he falls first

× smutty holiday novella

× pierced MMC

× MMC has dimples🥺

<i><b>“You know, I’ve been thinking about something you said a month ago.” </b>I narrow my eyes wanting him to go on. <b>“About why I’m not married.”</b> I nod, remembering. <b>“I figured out why.”</b> I run my fingers through his hair as I wait for his response. <b>“So, I’d be available when you were ready for a husband.”</b></i>

a fun smutty lil holiday novella, personally the daddy kink didn't feel that organic to me, and things definitely happened in a v short amount of time, the insta lust - insta love was strong with this one, and it was 60/40 on the smut/story, but I ain't gonna be mad at the smutty novel for being smutty yk

I liked Wes, I liked Raegan, I liked Raegan's dad👀 and I liked how much Wes loved Rae

I made it to 78% - at which point I started skimming the smut tbqh, it wasn't the book, it was me, I've had enough smut, I was more interested in the actual story, how they made it work at work and with Rae's fam yk

overall a fun lil smutty holiday novella, (perfect for me to read in between nfl plays) would recommend

(kindle)

[fallenraffe]

19. Fate's Demand by Aleatha Romig (2*)

<b>2 stars</b>

<b>MCs:</b> Rett + Emma

<b>POV:</b> single (Emma)

I don't hate the idea of these short prequels, but I've yet to find one that actually works for me. I've certainly read worse than this, but that doesn't mean this was any good either

and why must authors insist to cram in some smut, your page count is limited as is and here this was literally their first meeting, there's no need for the MMC to go down on the FMC before the first course.. like I know sex sells and all, but c'mon

I was excited for this duet, upon reading this prequel my excitement went📉📉📉

I've read shit prequels that ended up having a decent enough full book, so I'll still give this a chance, once I can drum up some of that interest again, but it ain't looking too good lmao

Rett seems like my kinda MMC, tho I could have done with less of the insta love/lust happening here, but Emma? ugh she was such a pushover with Rett, she barely put up any fight and I wasn't living for it.. my first impression of her was b a d, but here's hoping shell find her backbone in the actual duet, otherwise...

the story line sounds interesting, if a bit far fetched.. so all in all we had some good, some bad, I still intend to give the duet a read, I just dunno when

PS.: I was debating between this duet and kingdom come, last night I decided to go for this obvi, after this prequel tho I was gonna skip to kingdom come for now, however I just read a review of KC and apparently Greyson is in this duet and the reviewer felt like KC would've been more enjoyable after this duet, with more of a backstory on greyson, so I guess I'm gonna have to stick it out with the Devils Duet first after all

(ax2

n👍🏻)

[fallenraffe]

15. Cunning (infidelity #2) by aleatha romig (3.5*)

<b>3.5 stars</b>

<b>MCs:</b> Nox + Charli (Alex)

<b>POV:</b> multiple

(mostly Charlie, more Nox than in book 1, some Adeline from the past & a couple of present ones, and a single unknown)

ok but reading this felt like watching a good soap opera‼️

was this perfect? far from it, but I had a great time reading and I was v much ✨entertained✨

I don't love multiple POVs, but most of the book was Charli + some Nox, with the occasional Adeline and those past Addie POVs were important for the plot and interesting enough, but most importantly audio is a blessing💜

I like both MCs in their own right and even tho book 1 didn't really do a good job to sell me on their budding rs I do like them together and can roll with their rs, I like them together, I want them to be together and I want them to be happy together

the more time they spend together the more they get to know each other, and even tho there's still a lot that they don't know about the other, I really appreciated the honesty, trust and faith they had in the other and how they stood strong and united in the face off all the bs that life/shitty ppl keep throwing their way and I really hope that continues in the next books, cos imma be fine with whatever might be coming their way as long as its them against the world

as for the ending... it was trying v hard to be shocking and all, but it was pretty obvi that he feels guilty and responsible for what happened to Jo, which is why he said what he did, but when ya new girl is asking if you killed yo wife, maybe you shouldn't lead with an answer that makes you seem guilty, I'm just saying...

i was really hoping book 3 would pick up right where this one left off and he'd go on and explain what actually happened and we wouldnt have Alex freak out and leave, but have her listen to him, but I took a peek at book 3 and it's just as I feared... Charli was willing to hear him out, but he wasn't willing to elaborate, went all she's better off / safer without me, so he let her go thinking the worst of him and that's precisely the kinda bs I'm not here for and was afraid would happen... e n way, I'm gonna continue and hope for the best and a quick resolution to this issue, here's hoping N+C will be back together to their us against their world rs🤞🏻

PS.: that tidbit about Oren and Adeline was🤯💀

(ax2

Ns💜)

[fallenraffe]

12. Revenge Era by Brittanee Nicole (3.5*)

<b>3.5 stars</b>

<b>MCs:</b> Lake + Ford

<b>tropes:</b>

× age gap

Ford (47) + Lake (26ish) - about 20 years

× ex's dad

× famous

× singer x label owner

× in her reputation era

× role play

× basically a ts 50k pwp one shot

this was pretty much what it promised to be; what if ts fucked her label owner, who also happened to be her ex's dad, to get revenge on his cheating ass, but ofc they have been into each other since day 1, they were just v good at pretending otherwise

honesty I ain't got much to say, this was a quick, fun, smutty time (the smut was OK, nothing to write home about tho)

ngl, they started having sex at 40% and then they just don't really stop, so I started skimming the smut around 70-77% in (to be clear I knew what I was singing up for so I ain't mad about it, but I just had enough lol)

tbh I was really into the story and would've liked to see some more plot, even if that came at the sacrifice of some of the smut, there was a lot of potential, a lot of stuff that only gets touched upon, I also would've loved to see more of the ppls reaction to their rs, the world at large, the ex wife, the daughter who we never meet cos the news clearly upset her - like this book promised to be a smutty shortie and that's exactly what it was, I'm just saying it had potential to be a fully fledged 325 page book and I would've been so down for more of that🤷🏻‍♀️

e n way, this was a quick, fun, smutty time and all the ts refs just made it extra fun

(read on kindle, but seb york is one of the narrators, so a possible reread in form of audio is in the books👀)

PS.: this is so obvi ts ff, and it's not like the author was trying to hide that fact, so why not go all the way and make Lark a blonde while you are at it? (all that to say, she might have been a brunette, but you know full well I was imagining a certain blonde in the role anyway🤷🏻‍♀️)

[fallenraffe]

Savage Lover by Sophie Lark (1*)

<i>1 star</i>

when I finished I was so happy I ended up giving it 2 stars, but as I started thinking about it I struggled to come up with a single thing I liked about this book and well when the best thing about it is that it finally ended.. a one star it is

I liked the concept - at least some of it, namely the fast & furious infusion - but the execution was 💩

the writing was not great, so many telling instead of showing, the rs dev was laughable, the whole thing was just so juvenile and not even in a fun way

when girl finally opens up to the guy about her issues and feelings she only does it cos she's high and then they proceed to almost have sex, but as per us most of that scene was also just told, except for the smutty bit cos those are v important ofc🙄

2 things I distinctly remember: 1) when the girl spots the guy with the queen bitch of hs at the bank and gets jealous and gets her feelings hurt, thinking there was something between them, but clearly she was just kidding herself, and while girl is throwing herself a pity party I'm in my mind going <i>girl what? you guys barely know each other, you kissed maybe twice, there's no rs no basis for your hurt at least not from where I'm standing</i> 2) when the guy was thinking about how she's the only one who knows him, ya know the real him and loves him and all that love dovey bs and I'm over there like, <i>bitch what, where?!</i>

the mafia stuff was also v pheriferial here, guy and his fam is in the mafia and oppp they accidentally ended up going straight with their business woe is them😭💀 it was mostly just the guy gearing up to rob a bank, cos he can and its fun and he needs the money so he doesn't have to do business with others le sigh

fmc was more irritating tho, but I really didn't give a damn about either of them, let alone their "rs"

i listened to like half of it on 2x, then picked it back up as ai was doing some organising/packing in an effort to finish it up and then the next day (when I was around 77% I went and upped my speed to 3x so I could put myself out of my mysery asap)

my desire to pick up a S.L. book wasn't v strong to begin with, but after this what lil I had went📉📉📉📉📉📉

the only good thing about this was that the narrators were actually awesome, way too good for this bs tbh

(ax2, then x3

ns👍🏻👍🏻)

[fallenraffe]

11. Knives and Seaths (Guild Hunter 5.5) (4*)

<b>4 stars</b>

short and sweet, i'll eat up all the raphaelena crumbs tyvm🥺💜

(and the fact that they took the time to have an audio of this lil snippet? i-🥺 thoroughly enjoyed all 4 minutes of it)

(ax2 n👍🏻)

[fallenraffe]

10. Hollywood Playboy by Natasha Madison (3*)

<b>3 stars</b>

<i>reread</i> | <i>og rating : 3 stars</i>

<i>2024. Jan 11 | audiobook</i>

this book was pretty much how I remembered it: a quick and fun read (but had potential to be sm better)

I love the concept, a famous Hollywood actor x entertainment journalist, such a fun idea and potential for some great e2l angsty fun (if only lmao)

nah honestly the whole promo thing may have been a bit out there, but not at all beyond the realm of possibility, what was hard to believe tho: the fact that it was only him on that promo tour with the journalists like hello💀 no director, no fellow actors, nada. he had a love interest in the movie and the actress showed up for one (1) of the premiers, and it wasn't even the official premier at that, like💀 I get that he's the big star and all, but that's just not how these things work, so some suspense of belief was required. it struck me as odd when I first read it and it continued to baffle me now too xd

also the e2l, like. Jessica's dislike - I got where she was coming from, but it didn't feel all that warranted, it was v <i>ohh im trying run this story about his private life, but the bastard always addresses the situation before I can hit publish, what an asshole</i>. However on Tyler's end his dislike and wariness was legit and understandable and the idea of an actor getting chummy with one of the "vultures" just teemed with the angst potential.

alas Tyler got over his dislike of Jessica with spectacular ease and soon he was busy ogling her ass while she was running, thinking about kissing her, getting jealous and wanting to spend time with her, like things went from 0 to 100 v quick, especially given his initial issues, but oh well

the Cassie thing.. I ain't gonna begrudge it, cos ✨drama✨ but like.. ik she was in love with him and all, but originally she disliked Jess on behalf of Tyler and he jumped ship pretty quick, while she remained on board the <i>SSR the Jess is the devil</i> passengers : 1. and ofc her dislike branched into jealousy, but she stepped over boundaries left and right and Tyler was such a pussy when it came to her, he had ample opportunity to lay down the law and yeah he tried some, but not too hard and she clearly didn't take him seriously and I feel like all that stuff at the end could've been avoided had Tyler been clearer/stronger with Cassie. but like I said I live for the drama, so I could deal, I'm just sayin.. it all could've been avoided relatively easily

also lots of telling instead of showing����

so yeah the book was far from perfect and I've been focusing on listing issues instead of the good, but I've actually enjoyed this, even if it might not seem like it😂 I liked Tyler, Jessica was fine, they were fun together and had some great moments - <b>epilogue no.2 was a particular fav🥺</b> I'm just lowkey a lil mad cos the concept had sm potential, but the execution was just okay

e n way, this was a quick and fun Hollywood romance, nothing groundbreaking, but it didn't have to be

also, the book may have been 3/5, but the audiobook? 5/5 it was phenom, I loved the narrators and it was DUET narration, my beloved

(Ax2, DUET

Ns💜)

__________________________________________

read: 2020. May 16-17

3 stars

kindle

[fallenraffe]

9. Archangels Legion by Nalini Singh (3.5*)

<b>3.5 stars</b>

yano how I told myself I was gonna read this entire series in order? well that was a lie🤡

I checked out books 4+5 and well.. dmitri + his hunter / jason + his princess <<<<< Elena + Raphael

I tried to look up if I could comfortably skip to the Rahpaelena books and managed to find some quick summaries for the other couple books, which was helpful, and I didn't feel so in the dark the v few times there was mention of dmitri and jason and their respective partners. what the summaries failed to mention was the whole cascade business💀 but in any case I skipped and I didn't really feel like I missed much, hopefully that will continue to be the case cos im still more inclined to read the Rahpaelena books vs any of the other couples🤞🏻

I will say I was really enjoying this book in the first half - thought I was heading for another solid 4 star read, but - the second half didn't really make me live laugh love tbqh, like I'd say about the last 40% / 5 hours was entirely taken up by preparing for war and then the actual war and there were <i>some</i> moments, but overall I found myself lowkey exhausted by all that war stuff and then it sorta resolved rather quickly.. like on 2x it took me like 2.5 hours only but I was so done and so ready to be done yano💀

we had some solid Rahpaelena moments that had me swooning, kicking my feet twirling my hair yano the drill and I LOVED that we got to see more of rapha's momma, now if only we'd get some actual Elena + mil moments too

Illium is still my best boy, love that we aren't forgetting about sammy baby, iseul? idk my baby angel, the one that carried rapha's rose in bk1 and now became the first of Elena's future guard I'm soz Im blanking on ya name but know that ily

Tasha can choke, just a lil cos she did stay and help, but that doesn't mean we gotta like her

as usual we get to see a lil more of Elena's nightmare unfolding, see what happened that day, there was also some clash with her dad, she found out something spicy, their rs is v complicated, some sis time with evey baby

first half >>> second half, soz but I couldn't deal with all that war stuff

Also lowkey the whole cascade stuff is a bit like wtf, things are getting a bit too convoluted (nothing too bad yet, but it's a slippery slope and we sliding)

so yeah, overall enjoyed it, but the ending with the war dragged and is the reason I'm rounding down

also I'm intending to continue with the series and am v glad there's like 3 more raphaelena books with a new one coming in a couple months‼️(and with the most gorgeous cover like😍) - but I feel like I need a break rn, will come back to this series hopefully sometime soon - Raphaelena you have my heart💙💛

PS.: ik that lijuan is like the big bad of arc one or wtv and that archangels are pretty hard to kill, especially ones as old and (d)evolved as her, but after book 1, the last 3 books were all <i>lijuan bad, but we ain't letting her get away with it</i> and then they temporarily save the world from her particular rand of evil, only for her to pop up again the next book and we are once again at that point at the end of this book, she's been thwarted for now, but we all know she's coming back, but like can't we have some other bad guys for a change pls

(ax2

n👍🏻👍🏻)

[fallenraffe]

8. Archangels Consort by Nalini Singh (4*)

<b>4 stars</b>

man i just love Elena & Raphael so fuckin much

(and the next book isn't about them cryyy😢)

(not knocking the other couples til I try them, but I was looking at the book/couple thing and gotta say some of the couples sure are a choice, when there are others I'd be more interested in that seem to have no books of their own..)

i was hoping calian would make a bigger splash than she did at the end tbh, but hopefully we'll get to see a lot more of her in the future🤞🏻I wanna see her and raphael, but also Elena with her mil - those woule be some scenes

(ik ik they are babies still, <s>and we've seen nothing that would indicate sth but lemme be delulu e n way</s> but a possible Sam and Evelyn couple in the future anyone?👀)

my rationality when it comes to this series? out the window. I love this world and I LOVE love love Elena & Raphael and a lot of the secondary characters, but most importantly have I said how much I love Elena and Raphael? they make such an amazing couple and the way they grow with each other, accept each other for all that they are good <i>and</i> bad, I just *clenched fist* love them sm, your honour🥺

Raphael finally showed Elena how angels dance and it was🥵

if death goddess could fuck off that would be nice, she's seriously annoying, and ion like the way she's into Raphael

next up; dimitri, but I don't wanna part with Raphael and Elena😭🤧

(Ax2

N👍🏻👍🏻)

[fallenraffe]

7. Archangels Kiss by Nalini Singh (3.75)

<b>3.75 stars</b>

i meannnn.. it was giving book 2 filler vibes, Elena was gaining back her strength, training, adjusting to her new reality, a new rs and learning as much as she could about angel culture and history and all and yeah Elena & Raphael spent like the first half wanting to fuck, but not going all they way cos <i>Elena just couldn't handle it yet</i>, but who cares? not me🤷🏻‍♀️ i love Elena & Raphael so so much I could read about them bickering all day long, along with certain side characters + honestly audio is a god senttt

seeing the Refuge, learning more angel lore and meeting more of the core 7 was 🤌

sammy baby ilsm I hope to see more of you🥺🥺🥺 and if anyone decides to hurt you again imma🔪🔪🔪

and illium babe ilsm too🥺💙

(I was ready to complain about his lack of a book, but turns out after years we finally got it and its MM - which I don't read tbh - but for you baby imma do it)

dimitri had to go back to NY to manage things early on and while it was nice to see more of the core 7, gotta be honest I missed the cranky old bastardo

I timed things perfectly so I would finish this book around midnight and get a good night's sleep, but I just.. felt the urge to jump right into archangels consort so instead of catching zzzs I read 42% of it and went to bed at 2am 💀 but I just couldn't help myself

(re: consort, im enjoying it, but also the next 2 books won't be E&R focused, and while I'm down for a dimitri book - which is up next - I'm not ready to say even a temporary goodbye to E&R😭🤧)

(Ax2

N👍🏻👍🏻)

[fallenraffe]

6. Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh (4 stars)

<b>4 stars</b>

we need to bring back angels next, I'm being so serious rn‼️

I forgot how much I loved stories about angels, especially of the arch / fallen kind, the beautiful, heavenly beings who won't hesitate to fuck you up, cos contrary to popular belief they ain't the innocent cherubs they appear to be, so this book managed to scratch an itch I didn't even realise was itching

we had an interesting, but not overly complicated world here, where Archangels ruled over vampires and humans alike, but there's so much more to the angels than they would like us to know, I loved it

I also love love loved Elena and Raphael both in their own rights and together as a couple. Elena was such an independent, take no shit baddie, my fav kinda FMC and Raphael? he was 🤌🤌🤌 and together they made an explosive, badass power couple (maybe the way they went from strangers to lust to love wasn't exceptional, but idccc they make an amazing couple and I love them your honour🥺)

I'm living for this angel world and can't wait to get on with this series.

(the book sucked me right in and I was interested then straight up invested, unlike with the psy-changeling series, I only got like 30 mins into that one, and while it wasn't bad I just wasn't feeling it the same way as this, however I do plan on giving that another go at some point, but so far; angels-1 psy-changelings-0)

edit: the psy-changelings won (looking at you Hawkesienna + KalebSahara💜♾️)

(i also checked ahead to see the pairings for future books and the fact that there appears to be no Ransom book is criminal, just saying)

(Ax2

N👍🏻👍🏻)

[fallenraffe]

5. The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan | 4.25*

<b>4.25 stars</b>

sooo I started watching nfl / college semis in december and I'm actually really enjoying it? who am i? e n way all that nfl obvi got me into the mood to read some good football romance and this one definitely scratched that itch

ngl the beginning had me worried a lil cos their interest was v instant with lil to base on and after their initial disastrous talk they spent a whole month not talking, and not even looking at each other (well more like Anna was <i>trying</i> to not look at him and failing epicly, while Drew was unashamed in his admiring) - but once they got to talking / & fuckin lmao / things really started rolling, I was living for their banter, their chemistry was off the charts and I just loved D&A sm

Drew was so gone for Anna since day 1 and Anna felt the same but tried so hard to resist, she had a bunch of hang ups, but her issues made sense and seeing her stumble but get back up stronger and willing to take a chance and fight for what they had was great to see

there were so many 🥺🥺🥺 moments, when she had a fight with her mom and went to watch his practice after and he consoled her then they went and started throwing the ball around, the you destroyed me, the I saw you the first time we met and haven't seen anyone since / haven't stopped looking at you, WHEN THEY FINALLY KISSED, the this means nothing without you, the scene in the hospital after his accident, the he's my home / when I find it ill never let it go / let's make our home together - just to name a few

as for her besties.. there was a better twin and his name was George, I said what I said. he was a solid bestie, his twin not so much... she had her moments here and there, but mostly she was just wrapped up in her own shitty rs with a lil fucker and she was v much projecting her own shit / issues at Anna and her rs with Drew

can I just say, I loved the trajectory of Gray and Anna's friendship sm? when they realised they were both ride or die for their man Drew, they really came together and I loved them sm

a solid football romance, with great characters and a roller coaster of emotions (and several smutty scenes, but not in a way that hurt he story)

I really liked the side characters too, can't wait to get read about Gray Gray and his bubblegum pink car driving text bff turned love of his life story (especially considering how much of a man hoe / rs phobe he's been in here)

and don't think I forgot about Dex either👀

a great start to the series, here's hoping it continues to slay🤞🏻

PS.: can i just say, I've read and enjoyed football romances before, but now that I've actually watched games, have a greater unserstanding of the sport and a vested interest that I haven't had before.. football romance just hits different now🤌

(audiobook on 2x

Narrators: I mean Teddy Hamilton 'nuff said, and the FN was great too)

[fallenraffe]

In the Weeds by B.K. Borison (DNF)

<b>dnf @27% / ch.8</b>

soz but i just couldn't do it, i.was.so.bored i was literally waiting for my sleep timer to go off and free me & i just couldn't find it in me to pick it up again...

also I really didn't vibe with the way this book started tbh, all those jumping around felt really jarring and neither the story nor the characters managed to really grab me and draw me in

side note: i decided to finally pick up Baller instead of continuing with this, and while that book certainly had its own set of issues, igniting my interest and getting me invested in the Mcs and their rs was not one of them and gotta say reading these 2 books back to back the difference was very stark and highlighted and it just did no favours for weeds

(ax2)

Dec 30, 2023 - dnf

[fallenraffe]

Diamon Fire by Ilona Andrews

<b>2.5 stars</b>

the prologue >>>

<b><u>things I liked:</u></b>

× the prologue of Nevada meeting Connor's mom for the first time (I was ready to throw hands when we didn't get to see it at the end of book 3, so this made up for that) - that alone would be an easy 4*, its just the rest of it that dragged this down

× seeing a lil more of Connor and the rest of House Baylor, my beloveds

× meeting poison girl - Rune? - who I'm pretty sure is gonna have a thing with Burn (hell yeah)

× getting to see Rogan's extended fam, even if most of them were terrible and I totally understand why he likes to avoid a large chunk of them

× Rogan & Nevada's wedding (even if we only got crumbs)

× wrapping up the Kelly situation - it was v quickly done and not at all the way I had hoped to see it play out, but at least we got some resolution, which I was v much missing at the end of wildfire

honestly, all of the above would have me considering a 3 or 4* rating, but sadly there's more, so

<b><u>things I did not like:</u></b>

× Catalina 💀

× nah but fr, i was not a fan of her POV at all, soz

× some of her thoughts / descriptions of Nevada really didn't sit right with me (particularly when she was thinking about how Nevada kept firing the wedding planners and then the whole boque issue, let the girl have some blue flowers if that's what she wants god damn) - idk they just rubbed me the wrong way & she came off p disrespectful to me at times & i so not condone the Nevada slander✋

× (i've seen ppl say Rogan & Nevada get some p unfortunate character assassination in catalina's books, and reading this i can believe it💀)

× (also been considering soldiering thru the catalina trilogy in large for the Rogan&Nevada crumbs, but I just read a review that said they went for the R&N crumbs too, but there was barely any..)

× I get that she's only 18 and having insecurities is tots legit an all, i.. just.. really didn't vibe with her thoughts & issues and it all came off as v bottom ya - no thx

× tbf I love House Baylor and would've loved to read about p much everyone in that fam, except for Catalina, she was OK as a side character, but I didn't really care for her, gimme Arabella, Burn, Leon, hell I'd even be down for meemaw Frida (badass that she is) and Penelope's stories, that fam is full of awesome characters and instead we get saddled with wet noodle Catalina😭🤧

× don't even get me started on her powers💀 she now apparently has wings and sings... cool cool cool <s>not</s>🙄, but nooo that's not enough, turns out she can basically do the same thing as Nevada & their "evil" meemaw, but in a nice, non intrusive, humane way, where they don't feel violated, in fact!! they won't even remember, if she doesn't want them to!! <b>meet the new & improved Nevada 2.0</b> it now comes with a bunch of insecurities too!! - hard pass

× i saw someone describe C+A as the angsty ya version of Rogan & Nevada (but worse, sm worse lmao) and if this book is any indication, I'm inclined to believe its true

i wish this was written in Nevada's POV and more focused on Rogan & Nevada (its their damn wedding after all), but I get why I.A. would use this as an opportunity to segway into Catalina's trilogy - it makes sense, doesn't mean I have to like it🤷🏻‍♀️

at least we got some resolutions I was missing at the end of Wildfire & it was worth the read for that prologue and the crumbs of Rogan, Nevada and the rest of House Baylor

(I really love Rogan&Nevada, and I really wanna see more of them, there's also a lot of side characters I'd be interested in seeing more of, but if that means having to suffer thru 3 more books of Catalina's POV + some of the other stuff I read about.. I think I might be better off cherishing the memories of the first 3 books, at least for the time being, and if we actually get around to Arabella's trilogy I might have to reconsider..)

(audiobook

first 44% on 2x, the rest on 2.8x

I think that speaks for itself)

(the narrators were good)

(PS.: was doing audio - obvi - so idk how the guys name was written and I don't claim to know how it was supposed to be pronounced, but they are Spanish, right, so whenever i heard CHavier I kept thinking wtfff isn't it supposed to be Javier pronounced as Havier? or is it some secret other name I wasn't aware of🤔 honestly CHavier sounded so bad I'm having a hard time believing they weren't just mispronouncing Javier💀)

[fallenraffe]

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

<b>2.75 stars</b>

hmmm, it wasn't <i>bad</i> per se - tho it took some time to really get going and effort to wrap my head around some things - but it didn't live up to the hype

the writing.. wasn't bad just.. idk felt v matter of fact and void of emotion? wasn't really vibing with it tbqh

it took about 30% for things to really get going/really interest and hook me, and also for me to sorta wrap my head around this world, the characters and the magic/card system. it did progressively get better and the second half was def a step up, and that chalice/truth serum game scene was def one of the highlights of the book, both for the elspeth/ravyn bits and the elm/ione crumbs

I liked elspeth and ravyn well enough and you know what, they got some pretty nice couple-y moments that had me👀🥺 - but.. I just didn't really feel their rs and its progression of strangers to lovers, yeah they r hot, yeah they have some similar life experience, yeah they have the same goal and are united to reach it, but still, just, didn't really feel it, idk maybe it was the writing, maybe something else, its hard to put my finger on it. I'm on board with them and could appreciate them and their sweet/badass moments, but ig not as much as I had hoped I would? - not bad, but ain't as good as it could've been (could be the tag line of the book)

I knew elm and ione would be a thing in book 2, so I paid close attention and their interactions, and while few and smol they were so👀🥺😏 like their shared smirks at his bro's expense or the bit where hauth was using her and elm took her face in his hands then overpowered his bro to free her. I loved the elm/ione crumbs and was v much lookin forward to more in the next book

(I started last night, and they are already serving, tho ione is pretty hard to read ngl, but elm? with his secret crush on her, even from before gahhhhh)

big fan of venom and symbrock, so I'm always down for parasitic rs lmao - the nightmare and elspeth had an interesting thing going, tho honestly the big reveal of who it/he was was so easy to spot, the fact it took the poor girl 11 years to realise is💀

the card thing is interesting to be sure, but tbh the whole thing + the royal fam who's who was a bit hard to wrap my head around, I had to stop and look up a guide💀 it got a bit better once I found a cards summary of which card can do what and what's it cost + a list of characters and who they relate to, but still I shouldn't need to rely on some guide lines xd

and tbqh I still don't really get some of the card stuff.. like, I get that they are trying to unite the deck and break the Curse or whatever, and it's been pretty clear that there's only a certain number of cards and the whole deck makes 78, nothing more nothing less, but the way the story went gave the impression that there were several decks? which isn't the case, but that's how it came across? cos the king was looking to unite the deck, was looking for the twin addlers, which makes one think that he has most of the rest, but then our guys were also doing the same and said they only had a couple left, at the end they only needed the well and the twins.. but? the guards had their black horses and the royal fam had their red scythes and ione had a maiden, the king had the 2nd nightmare, other people were seen carrying around other colors? how? if team ravyn had <i>all, but the last 2</i> cards in their possession, hidden away then how come there were all those cards moving around and even if we assume they were planning on taking away the guards and royals cards that would still take time and maneuvering and those cards weren't in their possession yet, so it really don't add up for me - cos again, there's only one deck, but it felt like there were more cards floating around, unless team ravyn didn't actually have all the cards, but it was said that they did?! ion get it fam

also again the writing, honestly the action scenes and the elspeth/nightmare attacking scenes and just some stuff in general was sometimes a bit hard to follow

so yeah, interesting premise, great characters, some good rs moments, but the emosh development of it didn't really come across for me, the writing wasn't my fav and some magic/world building/cards related stuff just really was not clear - the potential was there, the execution could've been better

PS.: one more thing; for how close elspeth and ione were supposed to be and how ione was el's fav cousin you'd think she'd be more worried about her and more proactive to at least try to help her, even if they had an argument about ione wanting her to let her make her own choices and yeah I get that el had a lot on her plate and all, but whenever ione was present she tried her best to help elspeth out and their rs felt v one sided in that sense tbh (maybe it's my ione bias speaking, but that's just how I felt🤷🏻‍♀️)

(audiobook on 2x

narrator was 👍🏻

she has a nice voice and her narration was good, but I felt like she didn't really have the distinct character vices down. I recently listened to the Dark in You series and say what you want about that narration (particularly harper's bratty voice) when someone spoke I <i>knew</i> exactly who it was, each character had such a distinct voice - not here tho, there was a distinction between male/female sure, but there were times when say elspeth shouted but it was in a voice closer to ravyn's than her own idk it wasnt bad, but it could've been a bit better yano)

[fallenraffe]

Tease by melanie harlow

<b>4 stars</b>

this was such a fun childhood friends to lovers story

really liked Felicity and Hutton (and Felicity French is a kickass name), loved their connection, their shared history and how they just got each other and took the other as they were. ohh and the secret code thing they had going on was so🥺 they were such nerds and I loved them sm

seeing Hutton struggle with anxiety was a nice change of pace too, felt like it was well done (and lowkey it was v relatable😭) and Felicity going for the scissors when she was stressed, then immediately regretting her new look, then hoping a wash would somehow make it better was also v relatable lmao

the whole fake dating - real experiences/things, like ring and dress was so🥺

love the rs the sisters have going and it was v nice seeing and hearing mentions of Winnie/Dex and Ellie/Gianni and Winnie and the girls (Hollie and Luna) helping Fel out whenever she was having a fashion emergency

Hutton's fam was great too, his mom in particular was a hoot and his sis and his rs with her was v nice

<s>ngl I'm not q sure why Hutton decided to sell and look for a new carrier path, when he never said he didn't like what he was doing and he could literally work from wherever he wanted, also he <i>was</i> the brains behind their op, so his partner - who was good and schmoozing and with ppl and that side of the business - buying him out made sense, but also didn't cos Hutton literally made the thing with his brilliant brain, so wade can at best try to replace him with somoen and hope for the best... e n way, it was just a bit unnecessary? tho tbf he wanted to keep a low profile and didn't want ppl following him and Felicity around, which makes sense both from an anxiety and protective perspective, so never mind xd</s>

so yeah, childhood best friends to lovers, fake dating, billionaire, small town romance; done right

ohhhh and special mention to the Prancing Grannies™️ they were hilarious and their interactions with Hutton were phenom

(audiobook on 2x

narrators were👍🏻👍🏻)