ARC Review: Mr. Wicked by Marni Mann

I couldn’t wait to read Mr. Wicked by Marni Mann after reading Mr. Hook-Up! Mr. Hook-Up was one of my favorite reads from 2023, so I will admit my expectations were high here. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with this book like I did the first in the Hooked series. Each book is a standalone, and honestly the feel of this book was completely different to the first. While there were things I liked here, I just didn’t enjoy this story as much as Mr. Hook-Up. 

I struggled to get into this story and that continued for the entire first half of the book. I felt like Grayson was just too much of an asshole. Usually I am able to find some redeeming qualities when a hero starts off this way, but honestly Grayson was just that bad. I didn’t understand why Jovanna felt the way she did. Her insta-love feelings didn’t make sense to me. She gave him so much leeway and he frankly didn’t deserve it. When he finally did make the switch, that didn’t make sense to me either. His reasoning for it didn’t seem believable to me. 

Once things changed for these two, it was like a switch had flipped and all of a sudden things went into overdrive. The whole second half of the book things felt rushed. I just really couldn’t get on board with the flip to their relationship and things didn’t feel genuine. While these two had chemistry and it was clear the attraction was there from the start, I just really felt like the relationship didn’t feel authentic to me. The big secret fell a bit flat for me, with things exploding when the truth was learned to quickly be swept under the rug because of circumstances that felt a bit manufactured just to clear things up and put them into perspective. Usually Marni’s stories are some of my favorites, but this one just felt forced and as though each thing that happened was manufactured to drive something else. There wasn’t the natural flow I am used to from Marni and I had to keep picking this one back up. I wasn’t anxious to keep reading, but it was more of a mission to finish. I still love Marni’s books and am looking forward to the next one. Unfortunately Grayson and Jovanna’s story was a miss for me.

**ARC Provided by Netgalley**

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ARC Review: Worth the Shots by Heather M. Orgeron

Everything I’ve read from Heather M Orgeron, i’ve really enjoyed and I was excited to read this one. Unfortunately this book didn’t work for me at all, and I probably should have thrown in the towel instead of forcing myself to continue.

I really struggled to connect with either character here and they weren’t particularly likable. Aidan was too much of a manwhore but also came off as far too entitled/spoiled, which didn’t fit with his background at all. Ronnie was too meek and innocent, often turning into a stuttering mess for little to no reason. Everything was just so over the top and I couldn’t relate at all. 

I usually find the humor in Heather’s books to be fun and light, but in this case, it just rubbed me wrong from the start. It felt so forced and disingenuous, and that really distracted me from the story. It also felt like for a country star/band, the actions and happenings just didn’t fit. I don’t know why, but the whole story just didn’t seem real or believable. For me, this was a miss. I have seen a lot of very positive reviews though and would advise readers to read the blurb and a few reviews to see if this might be one that you enjoy.

**ARC Provided by Give Me Books**

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ARC Review: The Summer I saved You by Elizabeth O'Roark

I have loved everything I’ve read from Elizabeth O’Roark, but I especially loved The Summer We Fell, so I couldn’t wait to read The Summer I Saved You. This book is a standalone and you do not need to have read The Summer We Fell before starting this story. While I wanted to love this book, this one just didn’t live up to what I had been hoping for.

I really struggled with Caleb for the majority of the story. I understand he had been through a lot, but honestly it didn’t excuse his behavior. He never seemed to really apologize or grovel and instead just tried to justify everything he did wrong. Lucie also just forgave him time and time again and just let him get away with it all. I also just felt like her feelings for him were so much stronger than his were and when he did say he had feelings for her, it really felt more like him telling us he had them than him actually having them if that makes sense. 

The third act breakup was just not it for me. There were so many things here that set this one up to be such a great read, but ultimately just didn’t deliver, and had this one falling flat for me. I highly recommend The Summer We Fell and the entire Grumpy Devils series, but this one was disappointing for me. I will probably still read the next in this series, though I am not sure how that one will be for me after I saw who the main characters are. I love Elizabeth O’Roark’s books but this one was a miss for me.

**ARC Provided by Valentine PR**

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ARC Review: Three Weeks With a Princess by Vanessa Kelly

Three Weeks With a Princess by Vanessa Kelly was a let down for this reader, I am sorry to say. It dragged on too long for me, and a lot of things said about or in this book was misleading in my opinion.

Lia Kincaid is the illegitimate daughter of a prince and a courtesan. Her grandmother shared the same profession as her mother. Lia is made to grow up in the country raised by her grandmother who became mistress to the Marquess of Lendale. Growing up there, Lia befriended Lendale's grandson (or great nephew I can't remember exactly), Jack Easton, and established a school girl crush on him. He was always kind to her despite her lineage and looked out for her well being.

Unfortunately for Jack, upon the demise of both his father and grandfather (or great uncle) he must assume the title of Marquess and take over the responsibilities that come with it. In his opinion, this included Lia and her grandmother, much to his own mother's despair. However, since the late Marquess didn't provide anything for his mistress in his will, Lia and her grandmother believe they need to make their own way. Lia determines her only options are to either become an actress (as her mother has recently become) or a mistress. Jack does not like either option, and continually insists that she stay at his country home and he will continue to care for her and her grandmother.

I found I did not like barely any characters in this book. Lia was annoying in her determination to ruin herself. She didn't even try other potential options which may have been possible if she got lucky and put forth some serious effort. Jack and almost every other male in this book were just huge dictators trying to force Lia to do what they believed was best for her. Most of the female side characters had spunk but were also making dumb decisions that seemed completely silly and unrealistic.

I also disliked the flow of the story. Many of the scenes I felt were unnecessary and contributed to an overly lengthy book. I never really felt either character "fall in love". Lia has loved Jack from childhood which is just mentioned as a backstory, and Jack just seems overbearing, and I never felt his over protectiveness turn into love. I was looking forward to this story being a little more involving royalty as the title suggests a princess type is involved. It really didn't come into play very much at all. The three weeks timeline also really didn't match. I know I am nitpicking but it honestly it bothered me.

I am not really interested at all in continuing this series. I may give Vanessa Kelly's work another try someday, but with something separate.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Love's Call by C.A. Szarek

Love's Call is the second book to C.A. Szarek's The King's Riders series and the first book I've read of Szarek's. I was hopeful that coming into the series having not read the first book, that I wouldn't be lost, and I wasn't. I believe whenever they referenced the first book, they explained very well what happened. While this was a good thing since I didn't get lost in the story, it did make me wish I was reading that book instead of this one.

Ansley (I LOVE that name) is a Senior King's Rider. Basically she is a messenger for the king. The King gives her a message that needs to go to one of his Duke's with all possible haste. She leaves immediately with her "bonded" wolf companion, Ali, and she pushes her horse hard. Along the way Ali brings her to a stop because there is a girl in bad shape lying on the ground gasping for help. While she starts to try to figure how she was going to get the girl on her horse to safety, a large group of armored men show up. So far this story has really gotten me interested.

Leargan, the man leading the group of armored men, is the captain of the Duke's personal guard. They were out on patrol when they came across the two women. After cautious introductions, the men help Ansley get the girl back the the Duke's town. One of the personal guard, Roduch, seems intensely drawn to the hurt woman, and immediately considers it his duty to take care of her. He recognizes her as a woman he has seen in dreams and visions. Leargan is also immediately taken with Ansley, and Ansley is amazed to discover Leargan there, as she has been half in love with him for years. At this point I am still very intrigued to see where everything is going.

Upon getting to the Duke's home, they immediately get a healer to work on the poor unknown girl who is in such a rough state. After she has been seen to Ansley is able to deliver her message and find sleeping quarters. The next morning, the Duke shows the message to Leargan, and it says that the king and Ansley's father want Leargan and Ansley to get married. While Leargan admits being attracted to Ansley and a willingness to obey his king he isn't sure how she will take being ordered to marry him. He doesn't let her know about it for the time being. Also, that same morning, the mysterious hurt woman wakes up and tells them all her name is Avril, and starts to tell them the abuses that happened to her. It enrages everyone, and they all want vengeance on the man responsible.

This is where the book starts to die down. It focuses mainly on the romance between Ansley and Leargan while Avril gets more and more comfortable to share what she can of her situation. Ansley is annoying. Her thoughts and actions reminded me of a 13 year old girl in a 22ish year old's body. I also later learned how much of a hypocrite she is. Leargan seemed a pretty good guy, but he makes some bad decisions. The two struggle to communicate. And they go from 0 to 60 with the beginning of a kiss to almost being intimate every time they're together. Roduch and Avril's patient and slow time of learning each other and gaining trust grabbed my attention so much more.

As for the magic, there really isn't very much explaining and it seems used in odd ways not really helping the story as much as it could. No one seems worried about being hurt because the healer will have you back to normal in no time at all, and he even can manipulate your body's functions how he wants. I saw great potential in the bonding some characters had with wolves, but that really never amounted to much after the beginning when Ali found Avril. They just acted mostly like domesticated dogs in every other scene. 

With how much the characters talked about the adventures of the first book, all the action in this book was so anticlimactic. Nothing really was any sort of struggle, and I never felt once that I didn't know how the story would go. It was very disappointing. I do hope that the aversion I have to this book is a fluke in comparison to the rest of Szarek's work, because this story had amazing potential at the first. I am very interested to read the first book in the series after hearing about it from this one. I think I might someday try it out.

**ARC provided by NetGalley**

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ARC Review: Someone to Care by Mary Balogh

Someone to Care is the 4th book in Mary Balogh's Westcott series. It was a very strong book full of character growth and inner reflection. However, I was looking for more of a romance and a "make me feel good" book. With those expectations in mind, the book was pretty much a bust for me.

Miss Viola Kingsley used to be a countess, until light came upon the fact that her deceased supposed husband actually married her bigamously a short while before his previous unknown to the world wife passed away. This knowledge put Viola and her children into some serious turmoil since everything about their lives was changed. This kick-started a feeling I think of not really knowing who she was anymore. She had always been the countess, or the mother, or the sister, but who was she? She felt as though no one cared about about her just as Viola. This inner confusion led her to "escape" a family christening and flee for home early. Unfortunately for Viola, her hired carriage ended up needing repairs mid trip, so she finds herself in an obscure little town on the day of a local fair, alone.

Marcel Lamarr, Marquess of Dorchester, coincidentally finds himself stranded in the same little town with his younger brother. He is surprised to see Viola, the woman who told him to "go away" 14 years prior when he was in what I would call "puppy love" with her. He has not spoken to her since that day, but is intrigued enough to try again, especially since he knows of her supposed husband's death. He sends his brother off with his carriage, and he and Viola spend an impromptu day together at this local fair. Marcel is not without his own past demons and is known as quite the rake who has been with numerous women. And Viola lets herself live a little and let loose the tight reins of her life to be with him for this one magical day. At least that's how it began, then it stretches to a bit longer of a time table for their little love affair.

Both characters have very active thoughts. I felt like the beginning and some parts throughout the rest of the book took way to long to get through because of all the inner musings of the characters. I think the first 15% is the same scene played out twice from each Viola and Marcel's viewpoints that in reality probably was the time span of 15 minutes? That's definitely an estimate, but the idea is there. On the flip side, because of all the inner monologue, I did feel like I really got to know these characters. Mary Balogh really dug down to figure these two out so that you understand their actions. Both Marcel and Viola grow a lot in this book, and I admit that portion is very strong and well thought out. It just bored the heck out of me, and I really didn't feel the "love connection" because of it.

One thing I did find interesting was in most romances the big moment is realizing you don't just love someone, but that you are "in love" with them. This book had a backwards take on that notion. Viola was looking for someone to love (or care) for her, not just be in love. It was a different perspective on the timing of a relationship that I liked. I did become increasingly frustrated with Viola not feeling cared for by her family. She says that she just feels cared for in her roles as mother, sister. daughter, etc. But she always took on those roles with such single mindedness, how did she expect anyone to know her true self when she kept it so tightly hidden?

My favorite parts of this book were the portions of Viola and Marcel's family. I think that speaks a lot about the romance for my tastes. I really really hope Mary Balogh writes stories for Marcel's twin children, Estelle and Bertrand! I adored them a ton. This is a very strong and well thought out tale, but it just wasn't what I was looking for. I am still excited to follow this series, and love Mary Balogh's writing as a whole. She is a genius when examining characters and making you understand the way someone acts from their history and thoughts. Despite my feelings for the content, this book definitely is what I would call art.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: The Dreamer's Song by Lynn Kurland

The Dreamer's Song by Lynn Kurland is the 11th book in her Nine Kingdoms series, but it is the 2nd in the trilogy starring Acair and Leirsinn. I was saddened by how much this book bored me.

The story line picks up right where The White Spell left off, and I don't really feel like the plot advanced at all in this book. As with I think all of these books (if my memory serves) the characters travel from place to place and hang out in libraries or different person's personal collections looking for more information. The two main characters continuously avoid thinking on subjects that make them uncomfortable (i.e. their feelings for each other), and the female character continues to struggle with the fact that magic is real.

Lerisinn has seen with her own eyes that magic exists. The proof is undeniable, and yet she continues to act like it isn't real and grasps on to naivety tight by "not thinking on it". When I read the first trilogy within this series, this plot line was great. A strong female character who grew up not believing in magic, and she has to come to terms with it's existence. She travels to many places learning more and meeting new people. But that plot line is now being overused in my opinion.

As I said in my review of The White Spell, I was excited to see the new aspects of having a reformed black mage as our hero. I have know determined that I am also disappointed in that aspect. It felt like Kurland was trying to make all of these dark situations be scary, but they ended up being absolutely fine. She overly dramatized different "bad" situations that weren't all that bad, and then when we do finally get to a scene with real danger, everything happens so fast, I had to reread it to figure out what happened.

Honestly, the story may have been decent had I not felt as though I had already read it multiple times in the previous books. However, I felt distrustful of Kurland after the many times the book claimed peril when there was none, and then when the danger was actually there it was downplayed. That partnered with the (to me) unrealistic reactions of her characters confrontations with magic took this book way down for me. This is beyond frustrating because I really used to love Lynn Kurland's storytelling. I am disappointed to say that this book has made me decide to stop reading this series.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Over Us, Over You by Whitney G.

I have read and loved books by Whitney G and I honestly couldn't wait for Over Us Over You after reading the blurb. Unfortunately this book was not at all like I was expecting or hoping it would be. I usually write my reviews right after I finish the story, but with this one I really wanted to give it time before getting my thoughts together. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like this book just wasn't what I have come to know and love from Whitney G and that left me a bit disappointed if I am honest. 

Hayley and her brother were abandoned by their drug addict mother but he always vowed to make something of himself and take care of her. Now years later she has a coffee shop with her best friend that he has no idea about, though he has been giving her money for school which she has been using for her business without his knowledge, but when she loses the business and needs his help, she has to come clean. Corey is his best friend and business partner, looking to strike out on his own. But what he never expects is for Hayley to arrive in town and for her brother to suggest that she stay with him. She is no longer the girl he remembers and soon the attraction between them is more than they can fight. 

I liked Hayley at the start of this story. She was at first glance a strong and independent woman determined to make it on her own. But not only had she lied to her brother, telling him that she was using it for school and not, but then she immediately turns to him and proceeds to take advantage of him yet again. He gives her a home, car and job and how does she repay him? She starts slacking off at the job he gave her, half the time not even showing up and if so she shows up late, completely messing everything up and not caring about anything or anyone but herself. Then there is Corey, and he treats Hayley terribly at first. He is rude and awful for no reason that I could see other than the fact that he wants her but thinks its wrong. He then flips personalities like flipping on a switch and suddenly he is all about being with her. Hayley throws herself at him at the beginning of this story and he immediately calls a girl he hooks up with but then when it turns out that Hayley shows up first he starts to fool around with her until he realizes who she is. He was so awful to her that it made it really hard to come back from that for me. 

Overall, I just had a really hard time with this one. I wanted to like the book and the characters, but it just didn't work for me. The characters were immature and did things that I couldn't get over. As much as I had hoped they would come around, it was too little too late and too much had happened that I wasn't able to get over. I had a hard time with not only the characters and their personalities, but also with believing the romance between them. This one had so much promise, and yet I just felt it didn't live up to the expectations at all. I know that Whitney G can write a great story, yet I haven't seen that from her with her last few releases. I think that there will be readers that enjoy this story and can get past the stuff I couldn't here, but for me this one just wasn't one that I could recommend.

**ARC Provided by Author**

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Review: Intent by A.D. Justice

I had never read a book by A.D. Justice before reading Intent, so I didn't really know what to expect. I saw some reviews for this one though and people were loving it so I decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately, I really struggled to even finish this book and didn't love it like others seemed to. 

When Layne catches her boyfriend and best friend together, her boss and mentor loans her her cabin away from town to take some time away. When she meets local Ace Sharp, things get off to a rough start, though Ace's daughter instantly takes to Layne. But soon Ace and Layne find themselves warming up to one another. Just as things are turning around for them, the past returns and threatens to destroy everything.

I liked Ace and Layne together. After Ace got over himself pretty quickly, I felt like these two were good for one another. Their connection was strong and easy to see. I loved his daughter and how she took to Layne. They had chemistry and were really sweet together. I will say though that when it came to some of the characters in this story, I though that this one was a mess! Without spoiling anything, there were some things that were unbelievable and were just over the top crazy. I couldn't believe that a specific character allowed things to happen that could have changed so much and I found her excuse for allowing them to be ridiculous. I don't know anyone that would have allowed them to happen without doing something to try and stop them, and at that point I was pretty much over the story altogether.

Besides the crazy mess that this one was and the drama that happened surrounding a few of the characters, this story just didn't hold my interest the way I would have liked. I kept putting it down and wasn't in any hurry to get back to the story. At times it felt like I was just finishing to see what would happen and because I had bought the book. This one just wasn't for me, and honestly I don't know that I would read anything else from this author. Besides the story, the writing style felt a bit off at times, seeming to be forced and awkward. Intent is not one I would recommend, though I seem to be in the minority here.

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ARC Review: The Rebound by Winter Renshaw

I have become a fan of Winter Renshaw's and I love sports romance stories, so I couldn't wait to read The Rebound. While I have really enjoyed the books I have read from Winter Renshaw in the past, The Rebound wasn't my favorite. I had a lot of issues with the story and the reason I am giving this one 2 stars is because I did actually finish the book. 

Yardley and Nevada thought that they were about to have it all. They loved one another and Nevada was headed to college to play basketball and hopefully begin a professional career. They promised that they would wait for one another and make things work. But unfortunately their promises didn't hold up, and now 10 years later Nevada returns home after retiring from basketball for good. Nevada is now a widower and a single father, and the last person he wants to see or talk to is Yardley after everything that has happened. 

My biggest problem here was Nevada. He was an absolute jerk that refused to listen to anything Yardley had to say, yet he had no problem using her when it suited him. I really hate when communication or a simple misunderstanding is blown out of proportion and is pretty much the entire cause for drama, and unfortunately that was the case here. Everything could have been solved so much quicker if Nevada just would have given Yardley a chance to tell him what she had been trying to, yet he never did which just struck me as odd and honestly infuriating considering she was supposedly the love of his life. That along with how he treated her so terribly and never really seemed to be sorry or actually say the words had me unable to forgive him. 

I also felt like for me personally that the circumstances of their time apart were hard to get over. He refused to talk to Yardley, yet he moved on easily with a nice girl that he married and had kids with. The only reason he even went home was because his wife died, or he never would have even heard Yardley out. Meanwhile, Yardley had been living a lonely life where she not only dealt with some very hard things, but she also didn't move on and pined away for Nevada only. I am over it when the heroine pines and doesn't even look at another man during a split, yet the guy fully moves on and comes back in the picture and just expects to pick things back up where they left off as if nothing changed. While that wasn't entirely the case here with him not even hearing Yardley out, he basically just expected her to get over how he treated her and reacted while judging her as if it meant nothing. Besides these issues, I had some issues with the story itself. Some things just didn't add up as far as timeline went, and some of the circumstances for the big misunderstanding didn't make sense as well. This won't be the last thing I read from Winter Renshaw, but unfortunately this was just a complete miss for me.

**ARC Provided by Ardent Prose PR**

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