ARC Review: The Consort by K.A. Linde

I don't read a lot of books in the fantasy genre, but I am a huge fan of K.A. Linde's. I have enjoyed this series from the start though, and with each new book in the series I find myself unable to put them down! The Consort is the third book in the Ascension series, and these need to be read in order. If you haven't already started this series and read the first two books, you will need to start at the beginning before checking this one out. 

I really don't want to go into much of the story here, because I don't want to give anything away. This book picks up after where we were left at the end of The Bound. Cyrene continues to find herself in a world where nothing is as it seems and she has no idea who she can trust. She finds herself desperate and turning to the one person she shouldn't, but he is her last option. But no one is what they appear to be. 

I have really liked Cyrene from the beginning of this series, even when she has frustrated me. She has always been so strong though, and I find myself relating to her. I have to say though that she has grown and changed so much over the course of these books, and honestly I love how much she has come into her own. She has been thrown so much, and yet she has managed to find a strength and push forward, doing what she has to in order to grow and adapt. K.A. Linde has done a great job with the characters in this series, and honestly I really love them and the depth they each have. No one is simple or shallow here, and I really feel like they each have so many different layers here and that we are just beginning to dig deep with some of them.

I loved that while we got answers to a lot of questions here, there were so many more that I now have. K.A. Linde has done a great job of building this unique and captivating world, and I am loving how we keep digging deeper into all the mysteries of it. Just when I think I start to figure things out, there is another twist or turn. I thought I knew exactly who I was rooting for all along, but just like Cyrene I am now questioning everything. I can't wait to see what is in store next for these characters and I will be anxiously awaiting the next installment in this series. If you are a fan of K.A. Linde's, this series is everything you know and love from her but with so much more. If you aren't used to reading fantasy, I highly recommend giving this series a chance. I don't read a lot of fantasy, and yet this series is one that I think just keeps getting better. It is worth the read and K.A. Linde's talent really shines. This series is one that shouldn't be missed.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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ARC Review: The Wright Boss by K.A. Linde

I couldn't wait to read The Wright Boss after finishing The Wright Brother by K.A. Linde. Each book is a standalone story, but the characters are interconnected. I just had to get the story between these two, and Kyla definitely did them justice. This series is one that I am really enjoying, and I already can't wait for the next one! 

There are many reasons that Landon is forbidden to Heidi the least of which is that he is her new boss. No matter how attracted they are to one another, she knows that she should never go there. But after the two of them spend more time together, they find themselves unable to deny what is happening between them.

I really loved these two, and I felt like their connection was so genuine. Heidi is so strong and the kind of heroine I love reading about. Landon deserved to be happy after all that he had been through, and I felt right away that Heidi was exactly what he needed. They had great chemistry and you could feel the sparks flying between them! 

Overall, this was another great read from K.A. Linde and I definitely recommend this series. The Wright Boss was sweet and sexy and one that I didn't want to put down. K.A. Linde is one of my favorite authors, and she just continues to prove why with this series. I think readers are going to love Landon and Heidi's story as much as I did!

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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ARC Review: The Wright Brother by K.A. Linde

The Wright Brother is the first book in a new series of standalones by K.A. Linde, centering around the Wright family. I am a huge fan of K.A. Linde, and this book was everything I have come to know and love from her. I couldn't put this book down, and I am anxious for the next one. If you are a fan of Linde's, this is a must read and if you are new to her you need to check her books out! 

After getting her heart broken, Emery swore off the Wright family and moved away to go to college. Now that she is back though, she finds herself attending a wedding with her best friend that just so happens to be a Wright family wedding. There she runs into Jensen Wright, and the attraction between them is instant. Though they find themselves drawn to one another, Jensen Wright is the brother of Emery's ex. Though they try to fight what is between them, they soon discover that some things are worth taking a chance on. But when Jensen's brother finds out, all bets are off and Emery and Jensen might be over before they ever really had a shot at something together. 

I really loved these two together! Emery and Jensen were so good for one another, and I thought that they fit together perfectly. They were sweet and sexy, with strong chemistry and a genuine connection. There was a lot of baggage between them, but I loved how easy their connection felt. Their relationship wasn't easy by any means, but these two just felt so right together. I will say that Jensen irritated me at times, even though I understood him wanting to keep some things to himself for awhile I hated that he didn't open up to Emery. I hated the way things went down when all was revealed and that was the only reason that I didn't rate this story higher. But these two were undeniable and I was rooting for them from the start. 

Even though I did think that Jensen should have been more honest with Emery, I couldn't put this book down and really liked the story. K.A. Linde always writes such amazing stories, filled with sweet and sexy times and of course the perfect amount of angst! The Wright Brother was a really great start to this series, and I honestly can't wait to get to know the rest of the family better. Linde set things up perfectly for the remaining family members and I am so excited to see what she has in store for them! I highly recommend The Wright Brother.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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ARC Review: The Bound by K.A. Linde

I will admit that I am not a huge fan of the fantasy genre. While I do enjoy some, I find that there is usually so much world building and stuff going on that it is hard for me to keep it all straight, especially when there are usually so many players involved. I love K.A. Linde's books though, and I really enjoyed the first book in her Ascension series, The Affiliate. So after the cliffhanger ending, I was dying to see what would happen next. 

If you haven't read The Affiliate yet, you are going to want to start there as The Bound picks up right where The Affiliate left off, and these books cannot be read out of order. Cyrene Strohm is an Affiliate to the queen, but while she has more power and privilege than most, she also is in danger because of the secrets that she keeps. Not only does she have the King's heart, but she also has magic in a world where that is no longer possible. Without knowing much about it, Cyrene sets out to Eleysia, a place forbidden to Affiliates, to discover more. As if the journey wasn't dangerous enough, Cyrene quickly discovers that everything that she has been lead to believe for her whole life is nothing but a lie. 

I love Cyrene's character. She is so strong and determined, and I felt that in The Bound more than ever before. She is one of those characters that you can't help but admire because not only is she good, but she stands up for her beliefs no matter what the consequences may be. The cast of characters that we were first introduced to in The Affiliate grew here, and I liked Dean a lot. It was great to see familiar faces though as well. I was on the edge of my seat throughout this entire book though, never knowing exactly who was on Cyrene's side and who wasn't. 

K.A. Linde has done such a fantastic job of creating this fascinating and unique world unlike any I have read about before. Everything is so vivid and beautiful, and is truly an experience that I think readers of all genres can appreciate. If you are a fan of the fantasy genre, this series is one I highly recommend. If you are like me though and you tend to shy away from fantasy novels, I recommend giving this series a shot as it is so different from anything I have read before. Linde is a truly gifted writer and while I love her angsty novels, I am really loving this series from her as well. I will warn readers that these books leave you hanging on the edge with cliffhangers, and I can hardly wait for the next book after finishing The Bound. But these books are well worth the read, and I will be anxiously awaiting the next in this series and can't wait to see what lies ahead for these characters that I have come to know and love.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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ARC Review: Silver by K.A. Linde

Silver is the fifth book in the All That Glitters series by K.A. Linde, but it can easily be read as a standalone story. With the characters interconnected, you do get a lot of their backstory and to see the growth for each of them if these are read in order, but it isn't necessary to enjoy Silver. Silver is Stacia's story, and I couldn't wait to read it. I love K.A. Linde's writing, and Silver was everything that I expected it to be and more.

Stacia's only goal for life was to be an NFL quarterback's wife. Over the past three years of college, Stacia with the help of her friends worked her way into setting herself up to get the perfect life. But just as all her dreams are set to come true, Stacia has a shocking revelation that changes everything and sends her back to the last place she expected. Once back in Vegas, Stacia quickly realizes that nothing is as she expected it to be. When she comes face to face with Pace Larson, her on-again-off-again boyfriend, she finds out that he has just been made starting quarterback for their college team. But while Pace is determined to take a chance after finding out that Stacia is once again single, Stacia isn't sure that she can trust Pace not to break her heart again after losing her trust.

I will admit that I struggled a bit with these characters. I liked them, but it was their choices and actions that I had some problems with. I had a hard time understanding why they did certain things, and I am positive that had these two had better communication that so much could have been different. The one thing that I will say though is that I absolutely loved the chemistry between Stacia and Pace, and it was clear that they genuinely had feelings for one another. They went about things wrong, but I still never stopped hoping that they could find a way back to one another. 

Overall, I did really enjoy this story and if you are familiar with K.A. Linde's writing then you know what you are in for with any book by her. There was drama and angst, yet it was balanced with humor, emotion and plenty of steam to keep the reader invested from start to finish. I really enjoyed seeing the progress that these characters made, and I loved the growth that they each showed. They had come so far over the course of this series, and it was great to see both Pace and Stacia really come into their own and make the changes that they needed to. Silver was another great story from K.A. Linde, and I already can't wait to see what she has in store for us next.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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ARC Review: The Affiliate by K.A. Linde

I am not a huge fan of fantasy books, and I think a lot of that is because I have the same problem with them as I do with a lot of paranormal stories. The world building usually loses me and I find that most of the time I just get lost in the details. But I have to say that I knew I would have to read this series when I saw K.A. Linde was writing it. I absolutely love her writing, and she has created some of my absolute favorite books and characters ever. After reading this book, I am interested to see where the series goes and I am glad that I took the chance on this series. 

Cyrene Strohm is chosen as an Affiliate to the Queen on the day of her Presenting in front of the Byern Court and her family. She thinks that all of her dreams are about to come true and can't wait to finally travel the world. But not everything is as it seems, and Cyrene quickly finds herself in the middle of a very dangerous situations. Not only does she have a mysterious letter and an unreadable book that everyone else sees as blank, but she finds herself drawing the attention of the King himself. While Cyrene tries to put the pieces together of what is happening around her, she begins to develop feelings for King Edric as well and she can't deny the connection they share. Can Cyrene unravel what is going on around her and what it all means, while also deciding what to do about her connection to the King? 

There are a ton of players here, and it was hard to keep everything straight at first. Those who are familiar with Linde's work know that she tends to write love triangles. For those worried about that here, let me put your minds at ease. This story is primarily a fantasy with some romance aspects, and as Linde has said herself, though there are more than one interested in Cyrene it is very clear who her feelings are for. But that isn't the focus here at all, and actually I would have preferred it play a much larger part. I felt like the romance that was in this book was told more than it was shown. We see very little interaction or dialogue between Edric and Cyrene, but rather are told that they spent time together and grew closer. I would have liked to have seen some of that connection forming, because I really feel like I wasn't very invested in them or finding their feelings to be as real or believable as they could have been. Also it seemed as though they weren't really together much because of themselves, but rather because of the Consort's constant manipulations. 

The other thing that I had some issues with was the world building and story itself. It was very confusing at times, especially at the beginning of the book. I also found the entire King/Consort/Queen/Mistress situation very hard to grasp. I felt like it wasn't explained at all, and that the reader was left to guess what the dynamics there were. It was made to seem as though King Edric had at one time been physically involved with Consort Daufina and that it ended because she only wanted his power, thus ending up as his adviser. While it was also made to seem as though the King was never interested in the Queen other than the few times he had been with her to try and produce an heir. He was so opposed to the idea of a mistress, yet the more he spent time with Cyrene the more he wanted her. Though to be honest that whole relationship developing also seemed to be far fetched because the driving force behind it was actually the Consort Daufina pushing them together. I am curious to see where this series goes, and I did like a lot of the characters. But I have to admit that I was confused for much of this book, and I felt like there were so many things that were never fleshed out. I am hoping that we get more information in the next book, as I still feel like I really don't know a lot of what is going on. There is so much to the past and history here as well as so many different players and agendas that I really just don't know which way is up or down, and I feel like after reading the entire first novel in the series that I should have a better idea of what is going on. I still love K.A. Linde, but I am still a bit up in the air on what i'm feeling here.

**ARC Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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ARC Review: Take Me With You by K.A. Linde

Let me start off by saying that in case you didn't know or haven't read anything by K.A. Linde before, that she is the absolute queen of angst! She always gets you there in the end, but the journey there just might kill you! I always love her characters and stories, and I think that she is a fantastic writer. She definitely brings out all the feels, and I love that she is able to write such real and believable books. They might not be pretty, but they always feel true to the characters. I absolutely couldn't wait for more of Grant after the first book, and he didn't disappoint. I love him and it was great to see such a different side to him in this book. If you haven't read Take Me for Granted (you definitely should!), you should start there before reading Take Me with You as it is not a standalone.

After everything that happened over Christmas break for Grant and Aribel, they are finally back together. Things appear to be going well, but they still have yet to deal with everything that has happened. They might be reconnecting physically, but they both know that they need to talk before they can get back to where they were. Just as it appears that the worst is over though, they find that they have even more obstacles to deal. Grant's past comes back and threatens everything that they have built and with the band's fame and success on the rise they will have all new problems to deal with. Not to mention Aribel's family has always had an idea of who she should be with, and Grant is nothing like they have envisioned for her. Can Grant and Aribel find a way to make things work, or will there be too many things trying to tear them apart?

I love Grant, but he definitely pissed me off a few times in this book. He is sweet and sexy, but he made some bad choices here. While I did have a few issues with him, I really loved seeing a different side to him this time around. We have been given even more of his backstory in this book, and he really had a vulnerability to him in this book. Aribel was there for him and did her best to support and encourage him, but it was clear that Grant was struggling. I thought that he really grew though, and it was nice to see him want to change some things in his life. Aribel also had her moments for me in this story, and I really felt like her biggest issue was communication. She wanted to talk and deal with certain things, and yet then she would shut Grant out and hide things from him. It was frustrating, and I felt bad for Grant. They were both new at a lot of things concerning relationships though, so it was interesting to see how they each learned to confront things separately and together. The chemistry and connection between these two was just as strong in this book though, and they could not have been more perfect for one another.

While these two were meant to be together, they had a lot of ups and downs. K.A. Linde did an amazing job making their story real and believable, and though it wasn't always easy, it was true to both Grant and Aribel. I did think that there was a bit with Grant that I could have done without though, and that was the fact that though he never cheated on her he was always thinking about other women. Every time he would see someone he was attracted to he would think about how hot she was and how he couldn't believe that he was turning her down or passing her onto one of the other guys. He would make it a point almost to remind himself that he could have them if it wasn't for Ari, and I just felt like because it happened repeatedly through this book that it cheapened things a bit when it came to his feelings and relationship. I realize attraction doesn't go away just because you love someone, but it shouldn't have been such a big deal in my opinion. He did more than make up for it with his actions and love for Ari, but I wish it would have happened a bit less. I still loved him though, and I would absolutely recommend this series. I honestly would love to get more of the other guys in ContraBand, as well as the guys from The Drift. I am really curious about them as well and hope that K.A. Linde will write their stories as well! If you aren't reading K.A. Linde, you are seriously missing out and I highly recommend giving her a shot as long as you remember to be prepared for angst and tons of feelings!

**ARC Provided by Shh Mom's Reading**

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