Make Me by. Natasha K. Lauren | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Make Me

Author: Natasha K. Lauren

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 11/17/26

Publisher: Dell

Categories: Dark Romance, Mafia Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Dell for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

He’s sworn to protect her. He thinks he’s the one in charge. She thinks . . . that’s cute.

By day, Gia Loren is a beloved Brooklyn trauma nurse with a coffee addiction and pink scrubs. By blood, she’s Giovanna Marcelli—daughter of one of the most powerful Italian mafia families in New York. And even if she walked away from that life years ago . . . the mob never forgets. . . and never lets you go.

When a rival boss is murdered and the city’s criminal underworld teeters on the edge of war, Gia is dragged back into the shadows and placed under lock-and-key protection, trapped in a safe house with a man who drives her crazy—in more ways than one. Nico Vitali, the Marcellis’ lethal, brooding enforcer and the one man completely off limits. Too bad Gia’s never been good at playing by the rules.

Ex-Marine. Combat-trained. Emotionless—at least on the outside. Nico’s life depends on his ability to control himself and his surroundings, and protecting Gia should be just another assignment. Except she refuses to behave. Fiery, flirty, and furious at her family and the situation, Gia turns captivity into a challenge, determined to rattle Nico’s unshakable discipline with every tease, every glance, every slow, dangerous smile.

Giving in would mean death. But resisting her just might be worse.

As sparks turn into a wildfire and the mafia war explodes around them, Gia must confront the truth about who she is and what she’s willing to claim. And Nico must choose where his loyalty lies—with the family he serves or their daughter he is sworn to protect.

Because in this city, love isn’t safe. It’s a liability.

And it might cost them everything.

Content Warning: torture, death, violence, kidnapping

+ Gia is a Mafia daughter who broke away from the violent life. She’s a nurse and is living on her own when a hit is put on her and her family swoops in to protect her. The person protecting her 24/7 is Nico Vitali, the bodyguard she wants literally guarding her body, and then some – but he’s resisted her for many years. Nico and her brother and cousin are also trying to find out who is trying to come after Gia. Gia even suspects her parents which tells you how messed up her upbringing was as a daughter of the Mafia.

+ The forbidden romance between Gia and Nico is great. There is tension and restraint but when the damn breaks, the spice is hot between them. Gia is constantly doing things to get under Nico’s skin and usually he’s so good at keeping his distance but living with her is new territory and eventually he cannot resist her. I loved the two of them together and glad they get their happy ending.

+~ Most of the story is Gia stuck in one place because she’s being protected but that means we don’t get to see much of her outside. We eventually learn who is trying to put the hit on Gia and I liked how that played out.

Final Thoughts:

This was a quick and easy read which had everything I expected in a mafia romance – it had tension, danger, and a spicy romance. I enjoyed this one!

Read if you like:

mafia romance

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Love Code by. Connie Kitson | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Love Code

Author: Connie Kitson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 11/17/26

Publisher: Hera

Categories: Romance, Contemporary

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Hera for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Jenna, a talented web developer by day and a cyber vigilante by night, wages a covert cyberwar against Belmayer, a giant oil company she believes was responsible for her father’s death while at work on a rig eight years ago.

But unbeknown to her, Kieran, her childhood friend and long-time secret crush, now heads up Belmayer’s cybersecurity team.

When their paths collide at a family wedding, their old feelings are rekindled. However, Jenna’s double life and relentless pursuit of justice put their relationship to the test, and she must face the fact that bringing down Belmayer makes her the secret enemy of the man she loves…

Content Warning: anxiety attack, grief, death

+ I love the idea of this story premise with the FMC being a secret hacker and the MMC being the guy she’s hacking. It turns out though the story is a little more emotional than just a hacking romance. Jenna isn’t hacking for fun, she’s hacking a company where her dad worked, a company who is hiding secrets about how he died on the job. She’s someone who is still grieving, wanting revenge for what happened to her dad and also dealing with anxiety, though most people around her thinks she’s okay. But there is a lot of growth for Jenna.

+ I like how this friends to lovers romance develops. Kieran is Jenna’s brother’s best-friend, he used to be close to Jenna until he left for the army. So Jenna and Kieran drifted apart and reunited at her brother’s wedding. Clearly he is crazy about her, and she is attracted to him but she’s not the girl he once knew. When the conflict happens between them though I like how it felt realistic with how the situation plays out, and how they fix things between them.

+ I thought it was really cool how Jenna was a hacking legend and it was so interesting to see Kieran deal with this information. I did like how the storyline about her dad’s death gets dealt with, since it’s not a dark romance (because you know in dark romance she could have gotten away with taking down a company through hacking them), I think the legal way this gets dealt with is the more realistic way.

Final Thoughts:

I found that this romance had more depth than I was expecting which was a pleasant surprise. I love Jenna’s journey through dealing with anxiety and grief, and eventually realizing her methods of finding answers were not going to hold up in a lawsuit so she redirects her energy to do it the right way. Her romance with Kieran was a journey but a good one. She opens herself to love and to her family too. Overall, I enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more books from this author.

Read if you like:

friends to lovers

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Throwaways by. Greta Kelly | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Throwaways

Author: Greta Kelly

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 10/20/26

Publisher: Sideways Books

Categories: Mystery, Spy Thriller, Suspense, Cozy

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Sideways Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Calloway women are notorious for three Olympic-level banter, an inexplicable fear of dolls, and secrets.

And one of these things is going to get them killed.

Aster Calloway only sold her grandmother’s Fabergé music box on eBay to finance her mom’s mayoral campaign. It’s not like Poppy Calloway has any real business running for office, but the only other candidate is her book-banning high school nemesis—and she’s in the lead. But what Aster doesn’t realize is that selling the heirloom has toppled the house of lies her grandmother, Iris, has been living in for the past forty years.

Because hidden inside that jewel-encrusted music box was a list of names—names that protected defected KGB operative Iris, her daughter, and her granddaughter. Now the list is gone, and a creepy doll is on Poppy’s doorstep, which can only mean that the list is in play…and the three most dangerous spies in the world are on the

The one who broke Iris’s heart.

The one who gave her Poppy.

And the one who wants all the other spies, and especially those bickering Calloway women, dead.

Content Warning: violence

+ I was offered this book to read and review but it’s not usually what I would pick up to read – I tend to read more romance. But the synopsis sounded intriguing and sure enough this was a fun spy thriller read.

+ I love the three generations of women in this story. There are three POVs: Iris, Poppy and Aster. Aster is in college, Poppy is her mom and running for mayor and then there is Iris, Aster’s grandmother and we learn that she’s been hiding secrets for a very long time. Iris is an elderly woman who can kick ass – it was fun getting to know her and her secrets.

+~ Though this isn’t the type of book I usually read I enjoyed the different generations of the women and all the action. It’s rare to see an older woman actually carrying out the action in action scenes, go Iris! I did feel Poppy’s frustration with her mom though when she wasn’t being up front with her, especially with them being gunned down at every turn. I mean, imagine learning about all these secrets while being shot at and meeting all these people from your mom’s past you never knew about. There is a lot of drama between Iris and Poppy because of the secrets that are revealed throughout the book.

Final Thoughts:

This is basically a cozy spy thriller, which sounds like it won’t work and is totally out of the realm of my comfort zone, but I still think this was a fun read. Definitely check this out if you like the sound of a non-traditional spy thriller.

Read if you like:

funny yet action packed spy thriller
three generations of family
secrets

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Trial of Magdalena Overmorrow by. Catríona Moran | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️.5

Title: The Trial of Magdalena Overmorrow

Author: Catríona Moran

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 480

Publication Date: 11/10/26

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Categories: Fantasy, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Scholar. Healer. Harlot.

In her house, the villainy is her.

Magdalena Overmorrow has been called a scholar, a healer, a harlot. She carves out some measure of freedom for the women of Astoleyn, risking capture and death by caring for them and performing forbidden abortions. When she’s betrayed by a close confidante, she faces banishment to the realm’s desolate northernmost city as an accused witch. There, she must await her trial and possible doom under the watchful aegis of the Lord Proctor of Cair Gramora, a man so pious and humorless it is rumored that he has never once laughed in his life.

When she arrives, though, Magda is surprised to find that the Lord Proctor isn’t the grizzled old priest she expected but a man barely older than she is. As cold and mysterious and beautiful as the mountains at the cair’s northern border, he holds her life in his hands. One word from him could send her to the stake or worse, but she can’t help her fascination with a man and fellow scholar who is more than he appears to be, and the dangerous secrets he is clearly keeping. As her trial draws closer and the intrigue of the isolated cair threatens them both, she and the Lord Proctor must form an uneasy alliance that could either save her life or lead her to martyrdom and ruin.

Content Warning: misogyny, medical abortion, burning someone

+ “Scholar. Healer. Harlot.” Those three words captured me right away. This story is about Magdalena Overmorrow, a very smart woman, who is a healer and has magic – and she uses her knowledge to help women in distress, and is named a harlot because she enjoys sex. I love Magda. Not only was she smart, brave, and positive in a bad situation, she was kind and nice to people even when people had judged her on rumors. She’s a good person in a world where women are judged harshly. So my favorite part of the story is Magda, she is strong without a man and willing to help women because she knows it’s the right thing to do.

+ Madga is about to go on trial for her crimes of being a healer and helping women get medical abortions. But she is sent North under the supervision of Lord Proctor who is like a priest in Cair Gramora. He is pious, and has quite a reputation. I thought her being sent away to be watched over was very interesting because she was like a prisoner but not really since she had free reign of where she could go. There were some interesting secondary characters too, like I love Magda’s friend Jula, she’s mostly in the beginning and end of the story but I love their relationships and how they interact. Also, Magda befriends so many people in Gramora like Cass and Kless.

+~ The forbidden romance was a very slow burn and the spice only happens in fantasies, which kind of fits because of who Lord Proctor is but I really wished things were different for both of them. Magda is a woman with a bad reputation. I actually enjoyed Magda and Morgan’s interactions because he is so pious and stern, and Magda is his opposite. She’s personable and funny. I liked the two of them together.

+ Magda is going to be sentenced to death if she cannot get witnesses to help her out and things aren’t looking good as the days go by but throughout the story we get accounts from women she’s helped or interacted with who tell their story. This story is very character driven, because nothing much happens as we lead up to the day of her sentencing except we get to see Magda get to know the life and people in Gramora. She’s an amazing woman and without spoiling the ending, I’d say it was a bittersweet ending and not exactly how I wanted it to turn out for her but I can see why it did end that way.

Final Thoughts:

I loved Magda and her fight for women’s right to a medical abortion even as she is judged severely for it. She’s brave, kind, funny, and a brave person. I did wish the ending was different for Magda but I can also understand why it ended that way. I will say I loved the writing and couldn’t put this down so I’m excited to see what this author writes next!

Read if you like:

women’s healthcare
forbidden romance
brave FMC

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Deal Breaker by. Susie Tate | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Deal Breaker (Aristocrats of London, #2)

Author: Susie Tate

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 328

Publication Date: 11/3/26

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Categories: Sports Romance, Contemporary, Series

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author comes an enemies-to-lovers, brother’s best friend, age-gap, grumpy/sunshine contemporary romance featuring family secrets, red carpet drama, and a hero who will move heaven and earth to protect his girl.

Everyone loves Poppy. She’s pure sunshine with an infectious snort-laugh, and nobody is immune to her outrageous flirting. Nobody, that is, except her much older brother’s best friend, former Scottish rugby star and grumpy fun-sponge, Rory Wallace.

The last thing Rory wants is a woman who represents everything he cameras, chaos and constant attention. The irony is that although Lady Poppy Sterling flirts with the world, the man she’s had a crush on since childhood can’t stand her. At least that’s what he tells himself…

It’s only when Rory’s betrayal leaves Poppy vulnerable to both paparazzi and predators that he realizes too late what he stands to lose. Her celebrity lifestyle might be his dealbreaker, but his failure to protect her? That’s hers.

Content Warning: harassment, paparazzi

+ I thought this started off well – I love the FMC Poppy who is extroverted, bubbly, the life of the party and a light in many people’s lives. She is awesome. Now the guy in love with her, Rory is a former rugby player who won a championship – he’s a wanker – literally. He is possessive, insecure, grumpy and just mean sometimes. Poppy is helping Rory and his friends do a fundraiser to raise money for a friend of his who has a terminal disease, so this forces them to spend time together after time apart.

+ I love Poppy and I hated seeing people judge her because of her outgoing personality. They think she’s stupid, when she’s not. I’m glad she stands up to Rory at least, even if she doesn’t stand up to her parents and brother. I enjoyed a lot of the side characters. And even though this is a series and I never read book one, which I assume is Rafe and Clara’s story, I didn’t feel totally lost.

~ I tried to like Rory but I don’t think he went through enough pain and groveling to deserve Poppy. He’s mean to her, scolds her, demeans her (to her face!) and then is apologetic for being an ass to her. And this is a cycle, it’s not a one time thing – he lets her down countless times. He’s lucky that Poppy is in love with him, because I did not love him. I felt like he was emotionally abusing Poppy, with his back and forth. I just kept thinking what is wrong with him? Is it the age gap that he think he can treat her like that? He acts pretty immature for an older guy. Did he redeem himself at the end? Not enough in my eyes. I did like the bonus chapter though, which finally shows his softer side. I think this is the first time I really disliked an MMC this much though, which is too bad.

~ Also, the conflict between Rory and Poppy was rooted in an event that he misremembered, and yet he held a grudge against her for 5 years because of it, ghosted her…so it’s basically a miscommunication trope that I did not like. Add that to the list of why I didn’t like Rory for Poppy.

Final Thoughts:

I read this pretty quick and it would have been a 4 star rating if I liked the MMC. But I couldn’t stand his back and forth, being mean to Poppy then telling her he loves her, just to disappoint her again and again. He was so clueless, he was annoying me. And I guess it’s realistic that some men are that way, but I didn’t want him for Poppy, because she’s right, she deserves someone who loves everything about her. Does he try to make amends? Sure, but he lost me after his one too many mean remarks about her. So outside of the MMC, I loved Poppy and the secondary characters and the heartfelt story about Connor raising money to help cure the disease he had. So overall, I enjoyed the story, just not the MMC.

Read if you like:

sports romance

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Of Blades and Wings by. Eliza Raine | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: Of Blades and Wings (Flame Cursed Fae, #1)

Author: Eliza Raine

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 288

Publication Date: 11/3/26

Publisher: Scarlett Press

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Series, Valkyries

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Scarlett Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A princess with hidden abilities must train to become a Valkyrie, an elite guardian, without being tempted away from duty by an alluring fallen warrior with no loyalty to the realm in the first book in a Viking fae romantasy trilogy.

She wants to earn her Valkyrie wings. He wants to burn every Valkyrie to ash.

Princess Madivia is the fae Ice Court’s best kept secret; only her family knows what she can really do—and how dangerous it is for her to leave her tower. Then destiny comes for her. Maddy has been selected by the gods themselves to train at Featherblade to become a Valkyrie, an elite guardian of Odin against the lethal Frost Giants.

Trainees, or rooks, have a series of trials to pass to earn their wings. Maddy must get stronger, bond with an ancient animal gifted to her by the gods, and survive the Wild Hunt—all without revealing her hidden powers. Above all, she must determine who she can trust. At the bottom of that list is Kain the Ruinous, disgraced fire fae, villain of Featherblade…and Maddy’s obsession.

She knows she should avoid him. He’s lethal, unhinged, and feeds on fear. But when he’s standing before her, fire in his eyes and heat blazing from his cursed skin, Maddy fears she would let the world go up in flames if he told her to. And if she’s not strong enough, that may be exactly what happens.

Content Warning: violence, death

+ This book and the series is out on Kindle Unlimited, but I believe this is going trad with a hardcover, so I got the arc to check out what it’s about since I do love stories about Valkyries and Norse mythology.

+~ Maddy is a princess but she was in hiding. Her sister was supposed to be chosen to be a valkyrie but instead they find out about Maddy and she goes. Maddy has a debilitating condition, she faints randomly so that makes it a challenge while she trains to become a valkyrie but she is resilient.

~ I like a story about training but this one didn’t hold my interest at all. All she does is train, and like with any story she deals with bullies and her shortcomings. There is one fallen valkyrie with no wings, a fire fae named Kain, who is bad news but Maddy can’t help herself and is attracted to him. But I just wish there was something more compelling to the training part of the story since the whole book is mostly about that.

~ It’s a slow burn for sure but there is nothing about Kain that I find appealing yet. I feel like they didn’t spend much time together in the book except for at the ending. There is a fantasy as far as the steam and spice goes but that’s it.

+~ I do like this was a quick read, because I could only read so much about the training going on. I couldn’t really connect to the characters until the ending when Kain wants something from Maddy and they finally interact more. I needed more from the characters and the storyline. But the ending does have some nice action.

Final Thoughts:

I know the series is already out so I may pick up book two just to see if any of the story progresses, and there is growth for the characters but for book one, this was lackluster and I just needed more story, more depth to the characters – just more. I do like Norse mythology and Valkyries so I liked learning about it in the book but just overall this fell flat for me.

Read if you like:

Valkyrie
training
Norse mythology

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Sharpest Court by. Kiera Azar | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Sharpest Court (Thorn Season, #2)

Author: Kiera Azar

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 544

Publication Date: 11/3/26

Publisher: Storytide

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Series

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Storytide for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Alissa Paine has fled her home, the Kingdom of Daradon – forced to say goodbye to her old old life in order to escape the clutches of both the cruel, tyrannical King Erik to whom she was once betrothed, and the Hunters who persecute Wielders like Alissa.

But she has not left Daradon empty-handed, and Alissa has in her possession an object that Erik greatly desires – a mysterious and ancient spellmade compass which has the potential to reshape the world, if Alissa – or Erik – can unlock its secrets.

Seeking refuge in the Ansoran Empire, Alissa is able to demonstrate her Wielding powers openly for the first time in her life. But Ansora is not a safe haven, and Alissa is quickly forced to navigate the rules and customs of another dangerous ruler. And even with her former ally, Kiel Arcus, by her side, Alissa soon learns that, while she may have been raised in the kingdom of thorns, she is yet to enter the sharpest court….

Content Warning: violence, death

+ This is book two in the Thorn Season series and I was very eager to find out what happened after book one! The world in this story really opens up as Alissa has to navigate different courts while trying to make sure Erik never gets her back again. There is so much political intrigue, and betrayal in this one. It was a tense read.

+~ Alissa is doing what she does best – survive, but using her wit and courtier trained tongue. There were times I was so frustrated with her because she relied on her words and tone to fight her battles but I wish she knew how to control her specter (magic power) better. She does train to learn how to do that but I just felt like her skills at court weren’t working for her in this book like it did in the first one.

+ I always want a little bit of spice in my romantasies but this one barely had any spice. It’s a slow burn romance! The good thing about that is the tension between Alissa and Kiel is great, and oh I love Kiel. He’s patient, he gives her space and will always be there for her in any way he can be. I’m ready to see them have a real romance!

+ So much happens in this book, and throughout I just had a feeling of dread. I felt like Alissa was trapped and Erik set it real good. Erik is such a good villain that I hate him and I cannot wait to see Alissa take him down – I hope it’s a good take down. A few things are going on in the story along with the political intrigue, there is also a mission to search for a magical object. There are a few twists and reveals in this book, especially the ending!

Final Thoughts:

The story definitely moved forward with more reveals, more kingdoms to explore, betrayal and a tiny bit of romance with lots of yearning. I can’t wait to see how this series will end. Also I just have to add the deluxe books for this series are so pretty!

Read if you like:

political intrigue
slow burn romance
no spice romance
evil villain

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Thorn Season by. Kiera Azar | ARC Review – 4 stars

Captive Traitor King by. Brigid Kemmerer| ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Title: Captive Traitor King (Braided Fate, #2)

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 11/3/26

Publisher: Avon

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Why Choose, Series

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Avon for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

CAPTIVE. Asher has always sworn loyalty to Jory, the princess he’s loved from afar—but now the King of Incendar has claimed a place in his heart too. Someone wants them both dead, and only Asher’s blade can keep them safe. Yet his past won’t let him go, and he must decide if he can break free—or remain prisoner to his old scars.

TRAITOR. Princess Jory of Astranza agreed to marry the King of Incendar to secure peace, but betrayal runs closer than she ever imagined. With her own brother unmasked as her enemy, two kingdoms teeter on the edge. To protect her people, she must take the throne. But there are still dark secrets to unravel that will force Jory to confront where her true allegiance lies.

KING. Maddox Kyronan has discovered trust—and something more—with his reluctant bride and her deadly protector, but the fragile alliance between their nations threatens to unravel. His people are starving. His enemies are circling in. Torn between the crown and his heart, Ky risks losing it all.

As buried truths surface and tensions reach a breaking point, Jory, Asher, and Ky must confront the desires that could save their kingdoms—or shatter them forever.

TROPES:
Why Choose/polyamorous romanceSecret MagicHidden IdentityHurt/ComfortRoyal-Political SchemingBetrayal/Redemption

Content Warning: violence, death

+ Things pick up right where book one ended and Ky doesn’t know if he can trust Asher or Jory but he feels a strange protectiveness over them. Jory wants to send Asher, her assassin, to kill her brother so she can take the throne but Ky says they need a solid plan. The Draegs are causing havoc and are trying to take Jory for their own. There are a few reveals in the end and a twist in the story that I find really interesting and off course this one ends in a cliffhanger.

+ Asher is still my favorite character out of the three. He is traumatized and has such a vulnerability to him while also being a stealthy assassin who will do anything for Jory. I feel like Ky – I’m protective over him and only wish good things to happen to him. Ky is a leader for his people, strong and violent when he needs to be but soft when it comes to Asher and Jory. Jory is attracted to both men, but again, protective over Asher. We see a little more of her spunk at the end of this book but at times she’s very impulsively. So Ky is who brings her back to earth.

+ The romance is polyamorous and filled with yearning, longing and vulnerability. They choose each other, they genuinely are happy to be in this threesome and it works out. Ky is the protector and he is always so patient with Asher and notices things about him that Jory might miss. Asher adores Jory, but is attracted to Ky and is opening up more under his patience. Jory enjoys both of them – Asher gives her comfort, and she’s attracted to Ky’s dominance. So it works for all of them, and the spice is spicy between them but again filled with so much patience.

Final Thoughts:

I think this sequel was more focused on the relationship between Ky, Asher and Jory as they figure things out. I think the polyamorous relationship between the three is a beautiful, fragile thing that is being treated with care and patience. I will say I hate Asher’s past handlers, I hope they get dealt with in book three. Also there is a twist at the end that is very interesting and I can’t wait to see how it plays out!

Read if you like:

political intrigue
polyamory romance/why choose
secrets

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Warrior Princess Assassin by. Brigid Kemmerer | ARC Review – 4 stars/ 3🌶️

Defend the Dawn by. Brigid Kemmerer | ARC Review – 4 stars

Destroy the Day by. Brigid Kemmerer | Book Review – 3.5 stars

Defy the Night by. Brigid Kemmerer | ARC Review – 4 stars

Forging Silver into Stars by. Brigid Kemmerer | ARC Review – 3.5 stars

A Vow So Bold and Deadly by. Brigid Kemmerer | Book Review – 3.5 stars

Book Review: A Curse So Dark and Lonely – 4 stars

Book Review | A Heart So Fierce and Broken – 3 stars

Book Review | Call It What You Want – 4 stars

Recruitment by. K.A. Riley | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Recruitment (The Resistance Trilogy, #1)

Author: K.A. Riley

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 439

Publication Date: 11/3/26 (first published 11/28/18)

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Categories: Dystopian, Young Adult, Series

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

In the Valta, no matter what month you were born, everyone is assigned the same birthday. November 1st. It’s the anniversary of the day when the government declared war on the Eastern Order. The day you turn seventeen, the Recruiters come to take you away. And no one ever hears from you again.

It’s October 31st. Today, Kress is sixteen years old. Tomorrow, she’ll be taken.

The good news? So will her best friend Cardyn, and Brohn, the handsome, enigmatic boy she’s avoided all her life. The bad news? Recruitment isn’t what any of them expected.

Weeks of training await. Military and psychological tests, escape rooms, hand-to-hand combat. The Recruits are told they’re the key to winning the war. But with each day that passes, things begin to make less sense.

If only Kress had been able to bring her trained raven, Render, with her. If only none of them had ever had to come to this place.

Content Warning: violence, simulated death

This dystopian story follows Kress, a girl turning seventeen who will now be taken for training to fight in a war. Most of the story is straight forward and follows the training process the seventeen year olds are put through. Something interesting about Kress is she has a bird, named Render, that is attached to her. We get to know the other people in her group as they go through these trials together.

There were parts of the story that was just lagging with nothing much happening and there wasn’t anything new about the training that got me interested. Things pick up near the end with a twist in the story but by then I wasn’t really invested in it.

I didn’t connect to the characters, but I think I’m just not the target audience for this story but I think teen readers would relate more to this one.

Final Thoughts:

This was just an okay read for me maybe because I’m not the target audience. I do think this would appeal to younger teen readers.

Read if you like:

YA dystopian

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Mortal Things by. Marie Lu | ARC and ALC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Mortal Things

Author: Marie Lu

Format: eBook (NetGalley) and audiobook (netgalley)

Pages: 368

Listening Hours: approx. 10h 23m

Publication Date: 10/27/26

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); Macmillan Young Listeners

Categories: Young Adult, Gods, Fantasy, Romance, Series

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) & Macmillan Young Listeners for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Rose Lin Fairchild didn’t believe in gods, but one chose her anyway.

Rose despises Raven, the god of Death. His mysterious commands. His mercurial moods. His closed heart. But most of all, she loathes that she was forced to become his Harbinger, a human mercenary tasked to fulfil their god’s every want and whim. Still, she would do it again, because being a Harbinger is the only thing keeping her best friend alive.

When a murder rocks the world of the gods, Rose is suddenly thrust into the immortal realm’s spotlight as Raven’s heir. This is her chance to free her friend once and for all. But in order for her to ascend, she must first prove herself to the other gods—and the one person standing in her way is a fellow Harbinger.

Étienne Beauchard is notorious for his sly wit and charming good looks. Rose can’t stand that he is the one assigned to test her abilities, but as their initial hostility evolves into an intense attraction, they find that the gods’ secrets go deeper than they ever expected. Something is wrong in the immortal world, something that threatens to break their bond and engulf them all in war.

As Rose and Étienne fight to uncover the truth and trust each other with their hearts, they realize that everything hinges on the same How far would you go to save the person you love?

Content Warning: violence

+ The narrator for the audiobook did such an amazing job doing all the voices for this story.

+ Rose is a harbringer for the God of Death, Raven. She carries out tasks for him but now he has to pick a regent and it’s going to be Rose, but another God is challenging her. So in order to become regent for Raven, she has to pass a few trials. I thought this world of Gods and harbingers was very interesting. To become a harbinger someone must die so there are some crucial backstories to the characters in this book that are essential to the storyline.

+ There is a found family trope in this story especially because Rose was a foster child and then when she becomes a harbinger, she makes some friends. So I did like how this story was about relationships and it’s something I’ve come to notice about Marie Lu books and why I love them – relationships are complicated but explored a lot in her books, including this one. It gives depth to the story.

+ This is a young adult book and sticks to it, so the romance doesn’t have steam or spice, just some longing between two people who aren’t supposed to be together. I did like how it progressed.

+~ For some strange reason, I thought this was a standalone but I don’t think it is after that ending. I think pacing of the story was up and down – there were some slow parts in the middle, but it picks up again when some truths are revealed. And there are many that I didn’t expect so I enjoyed the twist and turns.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I enjoyed this story about Gods and their harbingers. Though there were some slow parts in the story, the narrators voice kept me engaged and I liked the twist and turns that show up at the end of the story. I look forward to seeing what happens next!

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