Highest Bidder Collection by Lauren Landish and Willow Winters REVIEW

Highest Bidder Collection by Lauren Landish and Willow Winders

3.59 out of 5 Stars

Okay, so it's been a minute since I wrote a review, so... give me a minute, lol. :) Plus, on top of that, this is a review of a collection. Chaos may ensue. The whole thing will be Spoiler Free however, so if you're curious about them, you're safe from anything being ruined. 

This four book collection contains stories that could be standalones, but they have common characters which, for me, means I tend to enjoy reading all of them in publication order as they reference prior things later on. 

They are ALL dark romances with BDSM and some other pretty heavy themes. They also all have typos (only one or two and nothing major), so if you're absolutely unable to get over those, don't engage and bring the vibes down because of that tiny detail. 

TW: SA

** Continue below if you are okay with that TW **

Bought (Dahlia x Lucian)

3.72 out of 5 Stars (Second favorite for me)

Dahlia is a young professional looking for some extra money to get her through a tight period and Lucian is struggling to get over his hang-ups with having a new sub after his relationship with his wife ended disastrously. She is introduced to Club X, where rich dudes and women members can safely indulge in their fantasies, and early in the book gets into a relationship with Lucian. I really liked them together! Dahlia's character development was shaky, which bothered me a bit, and overall I wish the story was longer, but on the whole it was very enjoyable. (Side note: All the books were short and could have used more plot development.) 

I need to strongly preference something at this point -- and this applies to all of the mini-reviews: I am not a psychologist or mental health professional or any other kind of medical professional, so I may be completely off the mark here. But, what I really appreciated in this book especially is how Dahlia's past of SA is not brushed off. Furthermore, it's something that becomes part of the relationship she has with Lucian and he wants to help her heal from her experience and achieve the goals that she has set for herself in the healing process. I just really appreciate that because it isn't treated like a drama-enhancer or is reductive. Their story explores some of the nuance of how a past experience affects a present experience and how the present can help heal the past, which not every story does. 

Sold (Katia x Isaac)

3.5 out of 5 Stars (Third favorite for me)

Katia is simply trying to build a normal life for herself after surviving a worst-nightmare history and she captures Isaac's attention when she goes to Club X. They really fit each other's needs and Isaac's goal also becomes to give Katia what she needs to process and heal. The best part about Isaac is that he's suuuuuper protective of Katia. But, I actually think I liked Isaac the least of all the MMCs though. I just didn't entirely like his attitude or his approach to the FMC. It's not like he's an asshole per say, but it just wasn't for me. Katia was a pretty good character, but also a bit plain? I'm not quite sure how else to describe it, other than it seemed like she was kind of just filling in the role of FMC.

Owned (Lilly x Joseph) 

3.26 out of 5 Stars (Least favorite for me) 

Lilly is completely new to the BDSM lifestyle, but from watching and taking her time to learn everything, she is ready to explore that side of herself and has a good idea of what she wants. Joseph on the other hand, knows exactly what he needs and, like a good one, gives Lilly room she needs to explore what she wants and is ready for her when she decides to make that leap. However, his past comes knocking and throws a deep wrench in their happiness that he needs to sort out. 

Lilly is the only FMC of these four books that doesn't have a history of some sort of SA. I'm not mentioning that because I think it adds or takes away from the story, but because in case someone is looking for one of these without the trigger warning, it's this one. 

The reason why this one is my least favorite is simply because I felt like it was the one with the most potential for development, and it actually had I think the least amount. When you're loving something so much, you want it to be done well! And then when it falls short, it is the most frustrating thing in the world. Compared to Katia and Isaac, I liked Lilly and Joseph's relationship way more, but I feel like they weren't done justice, so I can't rank this book above the others. Like, Lilly's subplot alone could have been woven in so much better and used to heighten their dynamic, but... *sigh*.

Given (Arianna x Zander) 

3.88 out of 5 Stars (Favorite for me)

Arianna has a shitty POS abusive partner at the beginning of the book. He's manipulative, and gaslights, and is a definition of bad BDSM etiquette. I can go on a full rant, but I won't because this review is small. Zander (not the POS) is one of those MMCs where he portrays himself to the world one way, but then really he's super intense and people who know him know not to mess with him. I LOVE characters like that. Zander actually from the get-go has issues with Arianna's POS partner due to business beef, and it becomes part of the reason why the two get together. From there, there is a sort of dance between these three characters as business gets dealt with, the relationship between Zander and Arianna grows, and tensions with the POS relationship explode. 

One of the things that I really loved about this book wasn't just the dynamic between Arianna and Zander, but was how there is a clear moment where Zander realizes what has been happening between Arianna and Danny and is like, "Hell no, this is not okay and will never happen again." Which, I would like to think that a man stepping up to protect someone is a low bar, but maybe it isn't anymore because I'm totally obsessed with this moment that Zander has. We love to see it. :) 

*** *** ***

I forgot how much I love doing these reviews! They're a bit of brain-work as well when I'm not absolutely fangirling over a title, but still worth it. 

Thanks for reading!

(And I guess welcome back??)

Reading the 2024 Goodreads Romantasy Choice Awards (and my own rankings of them)

Reading the 2024 Goodreads Romantasy Choice Awards 

(and my own rankings of them)

This may be absolutely bonkers of me considering how many reading goals I've set for myself going into the end of the year and into early next year (for reference, I started a second blog about traveling via books), but as of writing this, the Goodreads Choice Awards Nominees of 2024 have been released and it has been ages since I feel like I've done a deep-dive into what is out there in terms of romantasy. And I've been reading romantasy since before it was called that! (To the younger readers and newer readers of the genre -- yes, "romantasy" is a relatively newer term.) 

I also always just love a list of titles for awards because I find it can be easier to read than looking at blocks of book covers, so I wanted to make this list putting them all in one spot. 

Here's to me reading all the romantasy nominations "so you don't have to" (said with saccharine sarcasm). And then I'm going to do a subsequent post, which will likely be finished early next year, where I do my own rankings of these books. I'm going to update that list of rankings though as I go along so that it is as complete as possible. Cheers!

** In the below list of titles, I've noted when the nominee is not the first book in the series. If there is a note only about that, that means I'm up to speed on the series and will be reading the nominee. If I'm not up to speed, I'm only going to read the first book because if I don't like that one, I'm not going to continue with the rest of the series. **

The 2024 Goodreads Choice Award Nominees for the Category of Romantasy

1. Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
2. A Touch of Chaos by Scarlett St. Clair (Not book 1) 
   
3. A Promise of Peridot by Kate Golden (Not book 1 -- I'll be reading A Dawn of Onyx)
4. Zodiac Academy: Restless Stars by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti (Not book 1 -- I'll be reading The Awakening) 
   
5. Fate of the Sun King by Nisha J. Tuli (Not book 1 -- I'll be reading Trial of the Sun Queen)
6. Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (Not book 1 -- I'll be reading Assistant to the Villain) 
7. Quicksilver by Callie Hart
8. Gold by Raven Kennedy (Not book 1 -- I'll be reading Gild)
9. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
10. The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen
11. Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
12. 
    Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas
13. Born of Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Not book 1) 
14. Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields 
15. House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas (<-- This one's going to win. Calling it now. Not book 1)
16. A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
17. The Veiled Kingdom by Holly Renee
18. A Crown this Cold and Heavy by Stacia Stark
19. When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
20. A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

My Hesitations & Concerns:

Lots of other reading goals

I already referred to this in the beginning paragraph, but I started a second blog where I plan on reading books that can mentally take me to places I want to travel to, but can't afford to. I'm really looking forward to that blog as much as I love this blog! Starting up a new blog though, while also returning to writing in this one, is honestly very intimidating. I've kept up reading, so I'm not ~very~ worried about that... but it's the writing these blog posts that can take quite a bit of time and I don't want to skimp on these posts because then that's shit quality and I don't want to be that person. 

     Some of these titles I already know I don't love

Oof... I don't know if people are going to come at me because of this but... I already tried to read the Zodiac Academy once and I just struggled with the first half of it so bad that I put it down and didn't return. But there's a HUGE fan base for it so there must be something there. Maybe at the time I was reading I was just really distracted or simply not in a good place? If a book couldn't hold me through a time like that though, especially a romantasy book, I still hold some reservations about it. 1000% still willing to give it another shot though!

Scared some are just riding the coattails of successful trends, which annoys me

Over the years, this has REALLY become one of my biggest pet peeves -- books where you can tell they're really just trying to benefit off the success of other titles or the tropes in them. And then they're half-baked or over-marketed and heralded as "the next Sarah J. Maas" or "the next Jennifer L. Armentrout." I really, really get annoyed by this and I'm incredibly worried that with the reductive readership of online popularity that there will be titles in this list that I simply will get frustrated with because of a lack of true originality.

On the whole, I'm looking forward to this! I can't wait to see how this turns out! 

Thanks for reading!!

Xo

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater QUICK REVIEW

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

4.36 out of 5 Stars

 

This is like a lite Bridgerton mixed in with some faeries -- in other words, absolutely cute as can be. It was perfectly sweet and charming, without being ridiculous and I LOVED the characters. They were a bit simple, but it's not like I was expecting Rhysand of the Night Court from a >300 page book. No, these characters were distinct and, while simple, developed just enough to make the story indulgent in the whimsical romance that it is.  

 

Quick little blurb for a quick little read. Definitely worth it! 

 

Thanks for reading!

The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell REVIEW

 

The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell

3.78 out of 5 Stars

 

The Dark King is described on the cover as being, "Neon Gods meets Fifty Shades . . . Deliciously dark and sexy!" -- #1 NYT Bestselling Author Helen Hardt. Bryn Meara is sent a promotional offer to stay at the most high-end hotel and casino in Vegas which is owned by Caiden Verran, who is also the king of the Dark Fae. None of the early events that led Bryn to Vegas, or to her and Caiden's marriage, have been purely organic, and as Bryn and Caiden grow closer, they also realized that they have been thrown together by someone with ill intent toward the Dark Fae and Court. 

 

I really liked this book! It was a bit on the simple side, but sometimes, that's not too bad when the character development is really good, which is the case for this book. It's a little edgy, a little sexy, and a little sweet. For anyone looking for a romance book like this, which, I can definitely see the similarities to the romance books compared to in the blurb, definitely check out the full description on the back of the book or online to see if it sounds like something you'd be interested in. If so, I'd say go for it! The Dark King is the perfect romance novel escapism for a handful of hours.

Plot:

Beyond the scope of the romantic development between Bryn and Caiden, there is a legitimate plot about the politics of the fae world with actual stakes that are in addition to the longevity and health of the romantic relationship. We love to see it, but we really only started to see it until the middle of the book. The first half of the book, suspicious things took place, but the were more just oddities and didn't raise any suspense like the developments in the second half of the book. For the overall development of this story-line, I think I would have liked those earlier moments to be more ominous or sinister in tone instead of just curious so that this story-line had more room to grow and breathe properly. 

The romantic plot was spot on perfect. The development was gradual, with each character reaching their own mental internal progress about the relationship by reasonable increments, and together, they meshed really well without one overpowering the other at all times. 

Characters: 

I really liked all the characters, but, the dialogue was waaaaayyyyyy too cheesy at times, mostly in the beginning of the book, and damn near entirely with Bryn's dialogue. Everything else about the characters was fabulous, but why why why could the dialogue have not been solid at all times? It feels like cherry picking for flaws, because it really is, but the cheesiness was off the charts to where it took away from the book for me.

Writing:

This is definitely a book about the characters, and the author does an excellent job writing them. On the whole, I think the writing was nice and smooth, which is great, but nothing really about it stood out (excepting the dialogue moments mentioned above). The character development is great though, including for a handful of key minor characters. So if you love reading for the characters, this is definitely one of those books you'd enjoy. 

A nice little new romance! I think I came across this title from the online marketing, which looking back on it, may be a little exaggerated in tone compared to the actual book, but hey, I still found a copy of this book to read, so marketing did their job right. Definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a romance with this description!

Thanks for reading!

Book Blitz: In the Shadow of the Apennines by Kimberly Sullivan

 

In The Shadow of The Apennines
by Kimberly Sullivan

~ Book Blitz with Xpresso Book Tours~

Giveaway at the end!

 

Publication date: October 21st 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Historical, Women’s Fiction

An American divorcée. An Italian shepherdess. Separated by a century, united by common dreams.

The sleepy little Abruzzo mountain town of Marsicano seems about as far as Samantha can flee from her failed marriage and disastrous university career. Eager for a fresh start, Samantha begins to set down roots in her Italian mountain hideaway.

At first, the mountain retreat appears idyllic, but an outsider’s clumsy attempts at breaking into the closed mountain community are quickly thwarted when the residents discover Samantha’s snarky blog ridiculing the town and its inhabitants.

Increasingly isolated in her mountain cottage, Samantha discovers the letters and diaries of Elena, a past tenant and a survivor of the 1915 Pescina earthquake. Despite the century that separates the two women, Samantha feels increasingly drawn into Elena’s life, and discovers startling parallels with her own.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

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SNEAK PEEK:

Pescina, Italy

25 April 1914

Where do I begin? Mamma blames it all on Father Ignazio. She says if only he had left me to the chores I was employed to carry out at San Berardo and the parish house, my cooking and cleaning would be much improved, and I would not be constantly scribbling on any piece of paper I could find and begging for books to read.

She worries I will never find a husband.

“What man wants a wife who only cares about book learning, when she should be tending the goats, washing the clothes, and baking the bread?” Mamma warns me every day.

Mamma says no peasant girl should study beyond the first years of elementary school. Writing the letters to sign your name and computations for simple transactions are more than enough for a female in our region. She calls it getting above oneself. To mamma, this is the worst sin.

Of course, we weren’t always peasants. We used to have some money, back before papà lost his property. It was never much, but our lives were so much easier back then. My brothers and I even had a tutor to teach us to read and write and to know our history and literature. Those hours were the highlight of my day. My tutor was very pleased with me.

It was hard on us when we lost everything. Only mamma said maybe it was for the best – at least for me. Now she could insist I concentrate on what was most important for girls.

I suppose I am lucky it was Father Ignazio who insisted I keep up with my learning. Mamma may often speak her mind, but she will never argue with our parish priest. She respects him too much, and she worries about punishment in the afterlife if she talks back to a priest. So mamma, who is quick to speak her mind on every occasion, bites her tongue until she draws blood whenever Father Ignazio praises my learning to her.

Papà is proud of my reading and writing. He is the one who bought me this diary and the pen and ink for my birthday. Yes, I can hardly believe it, but today I am sixteen.

Mamma is probably right that a girl who reads and writes would scare off the local boys. Boys in Pescina mostly work the land like their fathers or tend the sheep. But even if I am now sixteen and townspeople consider me a woman, I still feel like a little girl.

All my friends talk about getting married, about preparing their wedding chest and living with their husbands. They make eyes at the boys returning with the sheep, the same boys we scrambled over the mountaintops with just a few years ago.

My friend Concetta even has a sweetheart. She always goes to the fountain to gather the water at the same hour so that she can meet Domenico on his way back to town after a day working in the fields.

Sometimes I see them together walking on the path back to town, the ruins of the castle watchtower above them in the distance. They look so happy in one another’s company, laughing and talking, finding excuses for their hands to brush together.

When Concetta and I are together, sewing or baking bread, she always seems to have a far-away look in her eyes, and I sense that she does not hear what I say, that her thoughts are only for Domenico now. Mamma says one day I’lll feel that way about a boy, too, but I wonder if I ever will.

Author Bio:

Kimberly grew up in the suburbs of Boston and in Saratoga Springs, New York, although she now calls the Harlem neighborhood of New York City home when she’s back in the US. She studied political science and history at Cornell University and earned her MBA, with a concentration in strategy and marketing, from Bocconi University in Milan.

Afflicted with a severe case of Wanderlust, she worked in journalism and government in the US, Czech Republic and Austria, before settling down in Rome, where she works in international development, and writes fiction any chance she gets.

She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) and The Historical Novel Society and has published several short stories and three novels: Three Coins, Dark Blue Waves and In The Shadow of The Apennines.

After years spent living in Italy with her Italian husband and sons, she’s fluent in speaking with her hands, and she loves setting her stories in her beautiful, adoptive country.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Bookbub / Twitter

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Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

Anatomy: A Love Story

 

by Dana Schwartz

3.50 out of 5 Stars

 

***Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review***

 

Anatomy is a gothic historical fiction set in 1817 Edinburgh following Hazel as she seeks to find her way to becoming a surgeon. To get the practical education she needs with cadavers, she works with resurrection man Jack to dig up corpses despite the odd disappearances happening in the city and the return of the Roman Fever.  

Given the premise, I really wanted to love this book. I wanted to love this book so badly. It seemed so wonderfully gothic and perfectly set up to be a creepy ambiance to get me ready for Halloween. But instead, while I enjoyed it, it just didn't deliver in some important ways. Although, this is 1000% a book to buy if you are looking for an aesthetic bookshelf -- I mean, just look at that gorgeousness of a book cover.

Plot: 

I loved the plot and the setting of the story. I don't know how much of Edinburgh specifically was really coming through the pages, so much as general Great Britain vibes, but the time period and the medical understandings for that period were fantastic. It is the perfect opportunity to have a very earnest desire to believe these fantastical beliefs about science -- things that we know today to be wrong, but back then were illusions that could reach tangibility if you could figure it out. Using this foundation, I also loved the story of a young woman trying to become a physician or surgeon. That aspect of the story never once wavered, and I think it was developed wonderfully. We see the build to finding education, the obstacles that organically are put in her path, and how she creatively carves her own way to achieving what she wants. It was excellent. 

Characters: 

Hazel -- Hazel is a rich girl, but incredibly intelligent not just naturally, but through constant and consistent self-education, which I think was a great aspect to her character. We find out how she used to sneak into her dad's study past bedtime to read medical text books, and that tenacity in her pursuant of knowledge is exemplified in her actions throughout the course of the story. She's a bit single-minded when it comes to becoming a physician, but I think that's just par for the course for her. I wouldn't expect anything else, and I think her character was well-developed.

 

Jack -- No idea who Jack was. There are the basic facts about where he comes from, what drives his actions, and what he looks like, but there weren't enough nuances about personality quirks, deeply emotional reveals, or otherwise extended development of his character. Overall, he was kind of just there to serve a purpose to Hazel? Which, if this were a story solely about Hazel, I would still not like it, but I wouldn't mind it as much. As it is, there is a romance between them, and it just feels like Jack is underdeveloped.

Writing: 

Sadly, this is where I think I struggled with the book. The writing overall wasn't bad, but it also was difficult to get through at times because it felt choppy. It wasn't a smooth reading experience. There were moments when the language was flowing really nicely, but it was inconsistent. Because of the evidence that there can be really good passages of writing, I don't know how the book as a whole came to have those choppy parts in them, but it makes me wonder what the entire writing process looked like for the author.

 

Also, I don't think there was any need for there to be actual fantastical elements to this story. Like, at all. This is my biggest pet peeve with the book and why I only gave it three stars on Goodreads. The fantasy piece was so minimally there, that it was a huge distraction when it came up. This should have remained a historical fiction and that's it. I'm not even going to add a "fantasy" label to this review. Like I said earlier, the great thing about this time period is that science and medicine was still so unknown and exciting it already felt fantastical. To try to mix in actual fantasy with that felt so out of place. I don't think it's impossible to fantasy books written in this time period, but I think the presence of fantasy needed to be much, much stronger in order for it to be properly incorporated into the story.

 

Thanks for reading!

The Complete Language of Food by S. Theresa Dietz REVIEW

The Complete Language of Food by S. Theresa Dietz

3.93 out of 5 Stars

 

***Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group -- Wellfeet Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review***

 

Goodreads Description: Awaken both your inner foodie and your inner yogi as you journey into the consciousness of everyday foods, from their origins in myth to modern interpretations today. 

 

This was a really kinda cool book to check out! It is a very well organized series of quick facts about a very wide variety of herbs and plants with a handful of other guides about foods in dreams at the end. I was expecting some more illustration ~pages~ based on the description, but the ones that were there I thought were gorgeous, and I loved the style of art alongside each plant.

I think what I liked most about the book was that it was incredibly organized. It is indexed and cross-referenced, so you have the ability to look things up by scientific name, common name, or the spiritual property you are looking for. I think without this, I would have thought the book was a lump of dense material that would be impossible to navigate. But, because of how organized it is, it is so very easy to use, which is wonderful.

In terms of what is slightly off about this book for me is that I can't tell who the exact audience is. I imagine if someone wanted to use the book as a legitimate guide as to how these plants are used, there would need to be a little more information for each plant. For example, if plant is denoted as to having medicinal purposes, there could have been some guidance as to how to use said plant for the medicinal purposes. Yet, if it is meant to be more of a coffee table book, I would think there needs to be more pictures and less information. As it is, the book is sort of straddling those two audiences. 

Who would like this book ...  Honestly, I think there's a good amount of people who would like this book. Anyone who is a deeply immersed foodie, people interested in wellness and spiritual connections, people looking to fill out their collection of kitchen books, those who want an interesting centerpiece -- I imagine with enough creativity you could even get this book to mesh into some sort of seasonal decoration. It's pretty cool, and I definitely thought it was interesting. Plus, it looks like it's part of a series, alongside The Complete Language of Flowers, The Complete Language of Herbs, and The Complete Language of Trees  (exp. pub. 2023). So if you really want to get a whole set like this or gift someone a set like this, you could.

Thanks for reading!