ARC Review: Protecting Lily by Jenika Snow

Protecting Lily by Jenika Snow is a short suspense set in the Susan Stoker Special Forces: Operation Alpha Kindle world. While I had never read anything by Susan Stoker or in that world before, I didn't have any problems understanding this story. I think that this story was good and that fans of the series will enjoy it, while new readers will be able to enjoy reading it as well.

Brock and Lily have both wanted each other, but they knew that it was forbidden. Though he has been in love with her, Brock has never told her how he really felt. But when a danger from his past comes back and threatens the one he loves, he will do whatever it takes to protect Lily. Locked away in a cabin for safety, these two find themselves unable to fight what has been growing between them. 

I have a hard time with novellas and short stories because while I like the stories usually, there usually aren't enough pages to really do them justice. Unfortunately that was the case here for me. While I liked both Brock and Lily, it all felt very on the surface for me. I wanted more and missed any kind of depth with them. It was clear that they cared about each other and that there was something there, but I just wanted more. 

I also felt like the epilogue could have been a bit longer or given the reader a look down the line into their HEA. I just felt like this one was missing something, so while I liked it and felt like it could have been great it just didn't fire on all cylinders for me. If you are looking for something quick and sexy with some suspense, you might give this one a shot.

**ARC Provided by Ardent PRose**

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ARC Review: Damaged Locke by Victoria Ashley and Jenika Snow

I have no idea what I just read. I'm really struggling to even tell you what just happened. So the Locke brothers are some kind of super violent vigilantes and Aston Locke is the baby brother (he's 21). Everyone in town is terrified of the brothers but it seems the terror is based on reputation and not reality. In real life, the brothers are a threat only to "bad guys." And even then, they somehow get hired by people to take care of those bad guys.

Aston Locke is constantly referring to himself as a sick sadistic SOB in his head. Only that doesn't seem entirely accurate based on the actions he takes. Aston doesn't seem sick or sadistic, he seems...well, damaged. He had something really bad happen to him as a teenager and he has absolutely no coping abilities or no context for PTSD so he just thinks he's sick.  Then one night, while on one of his missions with his brothers he sees Kadence.

I have no clue really what the deal is with Kadence. I know she's really young and falls instantly in crazy love with Aston. Aston barely even says anything to her and she isn't just declaring her attraction but her unending devotion to him. And then the author throws in this really confusing scene where Kadence goes running in the woods. After dark. By herself. Predictably, she is nearly assaulted but saved by Aston. I was reading this going what? what? nooo! Between Kadence never having seen any of the rape awareness videos in college and apparently none of the safe consensual sex videos either, I was just done with her as a character.

I don't read YA romance or NA romance because I find the characters can be frustratingly stupid. Even though I don't think this book is technically in one of those categories, these characters definitely were. I didn't really see a romance in this book or the development of any deep bond between these characters. I kind of just didn't get it. I see a lot of other really positive reviews for this book so I leave room for the possibility that the whole thing just went over my head. But from my perspective, this just wasn't my favorite book.

**ARC provided by Ardent PRose**

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ARC Review: Brutal by Jenika Snow

Brutal is the first book that I have ever read from Jenika Snow, and this one was a super quick read. Brutal is the 11th book in her Real Man series of standalones. While this one did have some good moments, I was left wanting more. Because this one was so short, I just don't think that it really allowed for much story and things were just too easy for me to fully get behind. 

Axel and Roxie are best friends who have always had feelings for one another but have never told the other how they feel for fear of risking their friendship. Axel is a boxer used to going after what he wants, and he knows that he needs to step up and tell Roxie how he feels. Roxie has done the same, watching him push away other girls while hoping that someday he might see her as more. But can they finally admit how they really feel? 

I liked these two for one another. They had a genuine connection and clear chemistry. I loved how close they were and the fact that they were there for one another no matter what. I would have liked to have seen more depth to their relationship though, as it felt like we came into their story in the middle of it after they had already developed everything except taking things to the next level. I wanted to see how these two became so close, rather that just be told that they were. 

The other thing that kept this one from being one I really loved was the fact that while there wasn't any real depth, there also wasn't much beyond the overly sweet constant I Love You's that these two seemed to immediately start saying to one another. I get it...these two have pined for each other and now that things are out in the open they can't say it enough. But it was just way over the top sweet and there really wasn't much else to hold my interest. I wanted more than just the super sweet, everything is perfect story that we got. There was no conflict and things just happened far too easily to keep my interest with the only reason I finished being that this one was as short as it was. Overall, it wasn't horrible, there just wasn't much to it.

**ARC Provided by Ardent PRose**

ARC Review: Blacksmith by Jenika Snow

Ok, I have to stop reading these novellas because they are just getting too ridiculous.  I appreciate an author for giving us a short story. I'm ok with getting right to the point and getting to the hot stuff but I need it to make a little sense along the way. Not a lot of sense, but just a little. This book is probably about a hundred pages so it's super short but that's no excuse for some of its issues.

Ok, so the plot is really simple. Deacon is a blacksmith who sees Maddie passing by his shop everyday. Maddie is a virgin but she wants Deacon in a totally porn star type way.  One day Deacon finally approaches Maddie and the next minute they are locked in a super intense relationship. I know almost nothing about either one of these characters so I can't tell you if them being together made any sense. I do know that I was uncomfortable with the intensity of their feelings towards one another pre-any meaningful conversation or interaction. In fact, there is really nothing connecting these two characters with one another anywhere in the short book.

The other thing about this book that I found super distracting was that Deacon wanted Maddie really bad but held off on having sex with her at first for various reasons that didn't totally make sense to me. It just seems like when I book is approximately 10 pages and none of them are meaningful dialogue or events, we should be getting some pretty prompt sex scenes and that didn't happen in this book. If you read this book as a short story for some instant gratification, you might be ok but it really wasn't for me.

**ARC provided by Ardent PRose**

Purchase: | Amazon |