Lydia's bookshelf: all

Lydia's bookshelf: all en-US Tue, 08 Apr 2025 19:54:46 -0700 60 Lydia's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[A Debt So Ruthless (Titans and Tyrants Book 1)]]> 196012281 Turns out my father is massively in debt to the Sicilian mafia. Elio has come for one thing and one thing only �� to claim what he is owed.
And what he’s owed is me.
My captor is dangerous and demanding. Tortured, possessive, and wealthy beyond belief. He traps me in his gilded, violent world and offers me no hope of escape. But the longer I spend with him, with his dark eyes and scarred hands, the less I want to claw my way out of his cage.
When new enemies threaten me, I see a side of Elio I didn’t know existed �� a ruthlessly protective side. He forces me to do the one thing that guarantees my safety, even if it means I’ll forever be his prisoner.
I’ll no longer be shackled by debt, but by marriage vows.
Because he’ll make me his bride.

A Debt So Ruthless is an age-gap dark mafia romance. It is part one of a duet.]]> 340 Vero Heath Lydia 0 currently-reading 4.06 A Debt So Ruthless (Titans and Tyrants Book 1)

A Debt So Ruthless (Titans and Tyrants Book 1)

author: Vero Heath
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.06
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Split 209019357
One minute, I’m living a perfectly mundane, comfortable life, and the next, I’m being married off to a man I’ve never met in a quickie ceremony, then whisked away to live in his creepy old mansion.

My new husband is dangerous and unpredictable. Sometimes he’s calm, and sometimes he’s chaos. It’s like his personality is fractured in two halves; I never know which side of him I’m going to get, and the constant looking over my shoulder is starting to take its toll.

Secrets lurk around every corner in the manor, and the more I try to uncover them, the deeper they bury themselves. I’m not sure if this place is haunted by the dead or the living, and I’m beginning to feel like I’m going a little crazy. It isn’t long before I find myself embroiled in a twisted game of cat-and-mouse with the devil I married, and as I unlock the secrets of my new home, it becomes clear that if the patterns of the past repeat themselves, I won’t be making it out of here alive.

* * * * *

WARNING: This book is a DARK erotic thriller with themes and content that may be triggering or upsetting for some readers. It contains graphic and sexually explicit scenes that blur the lines of consent. Please consult the trigger warnings at the start of the book before proceeding to read.]]> 0 C.J. Primer Lydia 0 to-read 4.13 Split

author: C.J. Primer
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Princess Knight 62792284 A princess desperate to win back the prince who broke her heart follows him to his kingdom's prestigious military academy—and in doing so, falls in love, saves the realm, and continues to look fabulous in this delightful debut fantasy.

Domhnall and Clía are an ideal match—or so everyone says. They are prince and princess of neighboring kingdoms. An alliance the gods will smile on. Until Domhnall ruins everything by refusing to propose.

Heartbroken but determined, Clía makes the perfect plan: Follow Domhnall to Caisleán Cósta, the military academy he’s attending. Show she can protect her kingdom. Secure the betrothal. Sure, the castle has a brutal reputation. But how hard can dueling really be?

Warrior Ronan promised himself he’d never lose his focus. He fought and sacrificed for his place at Caisleán Cósta, and he has no time for blonde princesses who waltz intro arenas like they’re attending a ball. Even if she and her otter-like pet are…well, cute.

He doesn’t want to be intrigued by Clía. But her hunger to prove herself is something he understands. He tells himself there’s no harm training her. Even if his heart does race around her. Even if Domhnall is his best friend.

But as they say, love is a battlefield—and unfortunately for them all, a very real war is looming on the horizon. It’s a fight that will threaten all their kingdoms…and test all their hearts.��]]> 400 Cait Jacobs 0063321157 Lydia 0 to-read 4.03 2025 The Princess Knight

author: Cait Jacobs
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)]]> 211081101
The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom enriches itself and deprives its rivals, including Lara's homeland. So when she’s sent as a bride under the guise of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture its impenetrable defenses. And the defenses of its king.

Yet as she infiltrates her new home and gains a deeper understanding of the war to possess the bridge, Lara begins to question whether she’s the hero or the villain. And as her feelings for Aren transform from frosty hostility to fierce passion, Lara must choose which kingdom she’ll save�� and which kingdom she’ll destroy.

Passionate and violent, The Bridge Kingdom is a seductive fantasy perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses.]]> 448 Danielle L. Jensen 0593975189 Lydia 0 to-read 4.01 2018 The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)

The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom, #1)

author: Danielle L. Jensen
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom, #3)]]> 211081102 Return to the world of The Bridge Kingdom in this sensuous fantasy full of romance and intrigue that is perfect for fans of From Blood and Ash and A Court of Silver Flames.

A soldier raised as heir to an empire, Zarrah is motivated by two truths. The first is that the Veliant family murdered her mother. And the second is that her pursuit of vengeance will put every last one of them in their graves.

The Endless War between Maridrina and Valcotta has raged for generations, leaving thousands of Zarrah’s people dead and countless more orphaned. So when she’s given command of the contested city of Nerastis, Zarrah is prepared to do whatever it takes to destroy the Maridrinian forces who oppose her. And to kill the Veliant prince who leads them.

Yet a chance encounter with an anonymous, and handsome, Maridrinian causes Zarrah to question whether the violence she’s perpetrated is justice or a crime. And as she continues to meet the nameless man each night, she finds common ground - and fiery passion - in his arms.

But when identities are revealed, Zarrah must decide whether to embrace a chance at peace…or march to the drums of war.]]> 673 Danielle L. Jensen 0593975243 Lydia 0 to-read 4.07 2022 The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom, #3)

The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom, #3)

author: Danielle L. Jensen
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fable for the End of the World]]> 209594872 The Last of Us meets The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in this standalone dystopian romance about survival, sacrifice, and love that risks everything.

By encouraging massive accumulations of debt from its underclass, a single corporation, Caerus, controls all aspects of society.

Inesa lives with her brother in a half-sunken town where they scrape by running a taxidermy shop. Unbeknownst to Inesa, their cruel and indolent mother has accrued an enormous debt—enough to qualify one of her children for Caerus’s livestreamed assassination spectacle: the Lamb’s Gauntlet.

Melinoë is a Caerus assassin, trained to track and kill the sacrificial Lambs. The product of neural reconditioning and physiological alteration, she is a living weapon, known for her cold brutality and deadly beauty. She has never failed to assassinate one of her marks.

When Inesa learns that her mother has offered her as a sacrifice, at first she despairs—the Gauntlet is always a bloodbath for the impoverished debtors. But she’s had years of practice surviving in the apocalyptic wastes, and with the help of her hunter brother, she might stand a chance of staying alive.

For Melinoë, this is a game she can’t afford to lose. Despite her reputation for mercilessness, she is haunted by painful flashbacks. After her last Gauntlet, where she broke down on livestream, she desperately needs redemption.

As Mel pursues Inesa across the wasteland, both girls begin to question everything: Inesa wonders if there’s more to life than survival, while Mel wonders if she’s capable of more than killing.

And both wonder if, against all odds, they might be falling in love.]]> 384 Ava Reid 0063211556 Lydia 5 2025-anticipated everything hurts 3.88 2025 Fable for the End of the World

author: Ava Reid
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/07
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: 2025-anticipated
review:
everything hurts
]]> Our Infinite Fates 210395729 The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue meets This is How You Lose The Time War in this fantastical love story that defies death as two souls reincarnate through the centuries.

They've loved each other in a thousand lifetimes. They've killed each other in every one.

Evelyn remembers all her past lives. She also remembers that in every single one, she’s been murdered before her eighteenth birthday by Arden, a supernatural being whose soul―and survival―is tethered to hers.

The problem is that she’s quite fond of the life she’s in now, and her little sister needs her for bone marrow transplants in order to stay alive. If Evelyn wants to save her sister, she’ll have to:

1. Find the centuries-old devil who hunts her through each life―before they find her first.
2. Figure out why she’s being hunted and finally break their curse.
3. Try not to fall in love.]]> 352 Laura Steven 1250333881 Lydia 3 And I will always be yours. But I gave up the right to call you mine a long time ago.

As a soulmate trope girly down to my core, who has been vocal about wanting more soulmate trope in traditionally published fiction, this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and sadly... it was just okay. It was missing something that I can’t quite put my finger on. Very much "You were good, I'm waiting for you to be great."

I was definitely into it in the beginning, I loved flashing back to their previous lives and love how the reincarnation of the souls was handled with respect to gender, but about half way through I found it starting to drag and become repetitive. Then the ending�� was simply not for me -It felt like it kind of came out of left field and did not provide a satisfactory explanation/conclusion to their story.

It’s definitely not a bad book, but it wasn’t the amazing, immediately god tier, book that I had thought it was going to be (which is definitely partly on me). I really felt like I kept waiting for that one thing that was going to pull it all together and immediately make it five stars, but alas. They can't all be god tier.

Let this serve as a continued push for more soul mate trope!!!!!!

This has nothing to do with the actual story but the fact that the Owlcrate special edition has multiple character art pieces and they are all of when there are in M/F bodies did make me laugh.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC and ALC from St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio/Macmillan Young Listeners in exchange for an honest review.

��

probably a 3.5 for me�� as a soulmate trope girly down to my core this was one of my most anticipated reads and it just kind of .. was. It was missing something that I can’t quite put my finger on yet. more soon.]]> 3.80 2025 Our Infinite Fates

author: Laura Steven
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: 2025-anticipated, arcs, audiobooks, e-arcs, ebooks, netgalley, read-2025
review:

And I will always be yours. But I gave up the right to call you mine a long time ago.

As a soulmate trope girly down to my core, who has been vocal about wanting more soulmate trope in traditionally published fiction, this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and sadly... it was just okay. It was missing something that I can’t quite put my finger on. Very much "You were good, I'm waiting for you to be great."

I was definitely into it in the beginning, I loved flashing back to their previous lives and love how the reincarnation of the souls was handled with respect to gender, but about half way through I found it starting to drag and become repetitive. Then the ending�� was simply not for me -It felt like it kind of came out of left field and did not provide a satisfactory explanation/conclusion to their story.

It’s definitely not a bad book, but it wasn’t the amazing, immediately god tier, book that I had thought it was going to be (which is definitely partly on me). I really felt like I kept waiting for that one thing that was going to pull it all together and immediately make it five stars, but alas. They can't all be god tier.

Let this serve as a continued push for more soul mate trope!!!!!!

This has nothing to do with the actual story but the fact that the Owlcrate special edition has multiple character art pieces and they are all of when there are in M/F bodies did make me laugh.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC and ALC from St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio/Macmillan Young Listeners in exchange for an honest review.

��

probably a 3.5 for me�� as a soulmate trope girly down to my core this was one of my most anticipated reads and it just kind of .. was. It was missing something that I can’t quite put my finger on yet. more soon.
]]> The Lies of Mortals 229114598 �� An addictive and unforgettable epic fantasy with action and intrigue, delicious banter, and a slow-burn enemies to lovers romance that will leave you breathless ��

THE FATE OF ALL TO THE FATE OF ONE

The gods weren’t supposed to rebel, but one had.

Humans couldn’t cross The Veil, yet one did.

Locked away in a bloodline, a long-awaited power awakens.A great change is coming, and the realms will tremble when it unfolds.

There was a time when The Veil didn’t exist, and humans and fae occupied their respective realms without quarrel. But that was long ago, in an age before a fallen god waged war against the realms, and The Veil went up at the hands of the fae.

Now, an ancient prophecy is on the cusp of unfolding. And Auren Everton, a human with a talent for swordplay, surely didn’t expect to have direct ties to it.

Auren has always known she was destined for more, and fate seems to have given her an opportunity when she receives an invitation to compete in the king’s competition for a place in his King’s Guard. But the hand that the gods and the fates have dealt her is not what it seems. In a strange turn of events, she makes an enemy of the prince, finds herself on the run, and is brought face to face with the beings that history has taught her to fear.

When a fae High Lord with a mysterious, dark power takes an interest in her, the prophecy begins to unravel. Unbeknownst to them, their fates are intertwined, and as romance takes hold, Auren’s reality is shaken to its core. What she thought she knew of her realm, of the fae, of herself, is far from the truth. And what runs in her blood is crucial to the fate of every mortal.

In a realm of magic and betrayal, threats lurk around every corner, and there is more than one cunning fae vying for her.

If she embraces her fate, she can right the wrongs and bring about a new and prosperous age.

If she doesn’t, she will doom them all.]]> 694 Malarie Weber Lydia 0 to-read 5.00 The Lies of Mortals

author: Malarie Weber
name: Lydia
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Surrender (Kall Alien Warriors, #1)]]> 57014290 The spoils of war are being divided...

As Fiona struggles to survive in the aftermath of a brutal war, she worries her sick mother won't make it long without the medication she so desperately needs. When turncoats offer a way to keep her mother safe, she can't refuse �� even though it means marrying Merokk, a fearsome Kall warrior, and posing as the First Daughter, Betsy Carson. The turncoats assure her the marriage will be in name only �� but she soon learns Merokk not only intends to consummate their union, but he expects her to share his bed nightly. Furthermore, she will be subject to his rules and firm discipline.

He's been given a human female...

Kall warrior Merokk has mixed feelings about retiring from battle and marrying a human woman, but it's his duty to his people and he can't refuse. One look at Betsy and he's filled with the powerful urge to conquer the beauty who's been given to him as the spoils of war. He enjoys taming the headstrong human female and, as the months pass, discovers his feelings for his little wife run deep. But when he learns of her deceit after the real Betsy Carson surfaces, Merokk's new world comes crashing down. Can he learn to forgive Fiona, or will he spend the rest of their lives punishing her for a crime she never wanted to commit?

Publisher's Note: Surrender is a novel length re-release of a novella by the same name that was first published in 2012. This version has been significantly lengthened, re-edited, and includes a new ending.]]> 200 Sue Lyndon Lydia 3 ebooks, kobo-plus, read-2023 - post alien/human wars where sexy aliens win
- ordinary girl has to pretend to be the presidents daughter and marry one of the alien warriors as part of the treaty
- he fucks. hard.

what more do you need to know ]]> 4.02 2012 Surrender (Kall Alien Warriors, #1)

author: Sue Lyndon
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2023/10/14
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: ebooks, kobo-plus, read-2023
review:
In summary:
- post alien/human wars where sexy aliens win
- ordinary girl has to pretend to be the presidents daughter and marry one of the alien warriors as part of the treaty
- he fucks. hard.

what more do you need to know
]]> Upon a Starlit Tide 211004131 A dark and enchanting fairy tale-inspired historical fantasy combining elements of "The Little Mermaid" and "Cinderella" into a wholly original tale of love, power, and betrayal.

Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758.
For Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of Saint-Malo's wealthiest ship-owners, the high walls of the city are more hindrance than haven. While her sisters are interested in securing advantageous marriages, Luce dreams of escaping her elegant but stifling home and joining a ship's crew. Only Samuel—Luce's best friend and an English smuggler—understands her longing for the sea, secretly teaching her to sail whenever she can sneak away. For Luce, the stolen time on the water with Samuel is precious.

One stormy morning, Luce's plans are blown off course when she rescues Morgan de Chatelaine, the youngest son of the most powerful ship-owner in Saint-Malo, from the sea. Immediately drawn to his charm and sense of adventure, she longs to attend the glittering ball held in honor of his safe return and begins to contemplate a different kind of future for herself.

But it is not only Luce's hopes at stake—the local fae are leaving Brittany and taking their magic with them, while the long-standing war with the English means Saint-Malo is always at risk of attack. As Luce is plunged into a world of magic, brutality, and seduction, secrets that have long been lost in the shadowy depths of the ocean begin to rise to the surface. The truth of her own power is growing brighter and brighter, shining like a sea-glass slipper.

Or the scales of a sea-maid's tail.]]> 419 Kell Woods 125085251X Lydia 0 to-read
says the girl who hasn't read a book in weeks]]> 4.33 2025 Upon a Starlit Tide

author: Kell Woods
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves: to-read
review:
just opened up my adult owlcrate box and the book is so stunning and so my vibes im gonna have to read this asap

says the girl who hasn't read a book in weeks
]]> The Rose Bargain 211742041 The Cruel Prince meets The Selection in this captivating duology opener brimming with heart-pounding romance, vicious competition, and beautiful, cruel fae, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith.

Every citizen of England is granted one bargain from their immortal fae queen.

High society girls are expected to bargain for qualities that will win them suitors: a rare talent for piano in exchange for one’s happiest childhood memory. A perfect smile for one’s ability to taste.

But Ivy Benton’s debut season arrives with a shocking twist: a competition to secure the heart of the Queen’s fae son, Prince Bram. A prize that could save Ivy’s family from ruin�� and free her sister from the bargain that destroyed her.

Yet every glittering fae deal has a rotting heart—and at the center of this contest is a dark plot that could destroy everything Ivy knows.

Sweepingly romantic and deceptively enchanting, this alternate history romantasy will enthrall readers of Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, and Adalyn Grace.]]> 400 Sasha Peyton Smith 0063372525 Lydia 0 to-read 3.98 2025 The Rose Bargain

author: Sasha Peyton Smith
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Stolen Soulmate (Crowne Point #2)]]> 50698978 It protects us more than them.
I broke it once, the night Grayson Crowne mistook me for his true love and stole my first kiss. I’ve regretted it every day since.
He hates me.
He torments me.
He won’t let me go, because that night he whispered a secret against my lips not meant for me. Grayson Crowne, heir to the Crowne empire and notorious playboy prince is�� a virgin.
I signed a contract in my heart’s blood as much as ink: help him get back his love, repair what I broke. Give him my body, my soul, my heart, let him use all of me, so when the time comes to marry her, he won’t need me.
I shouldn’t need him.
But he’s my stolen soulmate, and I’m at his mercy.]]> 434 Mary Catherine Gebhard 1733851054 Lydia 0 to-read 4.13 2020 Stolen Soulmate (Crowne Point #2)

author: Mary Catherine Gebhard
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sea-Ogre's Eager Bride (Aspect and Anchor)]]> 227781692 Valessa is in danger. Her town has been captured by Aventinian raiders, the women taken, and now she's on a ship destined for nowhere good. But when a terrifying, four-armed sea-ogre pirate boards the ships and demands compensation, Valessa's luck changes.

The sea-ogre demands a bride. It's the perfect opportunity for her to escape.

Valessa volunteers. She tells everyone she's very experienced with sea-ogres and knows just how to please them. She's very descriptive about it, too.

Thing is...Valessa's a liar.

She's never met a sea-ogre in her life. But it can't be that hard to keep one man-slash-monster happy, can it?]]> 248 Ruby Dixon Lydia 4 read-2025 gets dicked down finds her home with a socially awkward half fish man with 4 arms and 2 cocks that lives on the back of a giant sea turtle

]]> 4.08 2025 The Sea-Ogre's Eager Bride (Aspect and Anchor)

author: Ruby Dixon
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/03
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: read-2025
review:
Ruby, Ruby, Ruby�� the only author I can trust to write a heartfelt tender love story about a girl who escapes servitude and ~~gets dicked down~~ finds her home with a socially awkward half fish man with 4 arms and 2 cocks that lives on the back of a giant sea turtle

]]> <![CDATA[Fire in His Fury (Fireblood Dragon #4)]]> 55824197
But Amy has a secret - she desperately wants to be stolen. She would love to be rescued from her life of idleness and the thought of a devoted drakoni male charging in and saving her from her boredom sounds perfect to her. Of course, she wants a romantic, loving male who will adore her.

What she gets is Rast.

He's not kind. Not romantic. Definitely not gentle. But he is utterly and completely obsessed with Amy and he'll stop at nothing to make the delicate female his.]]> 10 Ruby Dixon Lydia 3 audiobooks, read-2025 3.52 2018 Fire in His Fury (Fireblood Dragon #4)

author: Ruby Dixon
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: audiobooks, read-2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fire in His Spirit (Fireblood Dragon #5)]]> 42267084
She does this to save her people - her sister, her friends, her fort.

She doesn’t expect to understand the dragon.

She certainly doesn’t expect to fall in love.]]> Ruby Dixon Lydia 4 audiobooks, read-2025 3.48 2018 Fire in His Spirit (Fireblood Dragon #5)

Fire in His Spirit (Fireblood Dragon #5)

author: Ruby Dixon
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: audiobooks, read-2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fire in His Kiss (Fireblood Dragon #2)]]> 37832915
From that point on, she is mine.

But the human I have chosen for my mate - Sasha - is fragile and wounded. She does not trust me and fears my presence. I will not give up, though. I will do anything to give her my fires and bond us both in body and spirit. How can I convince her that I want nothing more than her happiness if she will not let me touch her?

How does a dragon woo a human?]]> Ruby Dixon Lydia 3 audiobooks, read-2025 3.58 2017 Fire in His Kiss (Fireblood Dragon #2)

author: Ruby Dixon
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/04
date added: 2025/03/03
shelves: audiobooks, read-2025
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mountain Calling (BIG-Secrets of Mountain Men #1)]]> 56522762 Alternative cover edition of ASIN B08RX7DNNS

She’s a city girl with a secret, on the hunt for a way to make her dreams come true. He’s a big, growly mountain man with plans, and secrets, of his own.Rhea’s a woman on a mission.She wants to make a difference in the world. Shine a light on the injustices that happen right under our noses using the lens of her camera. When the opportunity to work with an internet celebrity takes her to the tiny mountain town of Greenlea, she’s sure the most difficult part will be keeping her calm around the bratty millionaire who hired her. But once she crosses paths with their grumpy, bearded and sexily rugged tour guide, it becomes clear her problems are only beginning.

****

Hagen is focused on one thing and one thing only.Building his family’s businesses. Bringing jobs and money to their tiny corner of the Appalachian mountains. It’s money the people around him need. Money that could feed families and change lives. That’s why he agreed to let a camera crew in. To attract the tourist traffic he needs. But a fire-haired camerawoman with a backbone of steel threatens his plans. His future. His sanity. Rhea is the one thing he never wanted to see in Greenlea. She might also be the one thing he never wants to let go.

*Mountain Calling was previously published as Hagen, book 1 in the BIG series.*]]> 350 Janice M. Whiteaker Lydia 0 to-read 4.26 2018 Mountain Calling (BIG-Secrets of Mountain Men #1)

Mountain Calling (BIG-Secrets of Mountain Men #1)

author: Janice M. Whiteaker
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Marionettes (The Marionettes, #1)]]> 57235694
Valerie Darkmore’s entire life has been building up to this moment—her initiation into the Marionettes, the prestigious league of witches sworn to serve the vampires. As one of the last remaining blood witches, her spot is almost guaranteed. At least, so she’d thought.

The academy is full of sabotage and secrets as the tasks begin, and Valerie quickly realizes she has more than her spot on the line. Her survival seems just as uncertain.

The closer she gets to the final trial, the more she learns everything—and everyone—around her isn’t quite what it seems.]]> 294 Katie Wismer Lydia 0 to-read 3.88 2021 The Marionettes (The Marionettes, #1)

author: Katie Wismer
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Taken By An Escaped Convict : An African American Romance: Standalone]]> 222894779
Romeo "Brick" Jenkins lived a life of ambition and success, but fate had other plans. His cousin Quay was murdered, and the justice system turned its gaze on him, accusing him of a crime he didn’t commit. Refusing to let lies steal his freedom, Romeo became a man on the run, determined to clear his name and expose the real killer. Desperation led him to Harmony’s door, but what he found was more than shelter—it was a connection neither of them expected.

Two broken souls, thrown together by chance, ignite a passion that defies the odds. Harmony is drawn to Romeo’s strength and vulnerability, while he finds solace in the kindness she thought she’d lost forever. But their love comes at a cost. With danger closing in and the weight of their pasts threatening to tear them apart, can they hold on to each other, or will their fragile bond crumble under the pressure?

If you’re a fan of African American romance, forbidden love, and stories where redemption meets undeniable passion, "Taken By An Escaped Convict" by Candy Moore is the novel you can’t put down. Fans of "The Wife Of A Jamaican Billionaire", "The Trophy Wife Of A Wealthy Gangsta", and "A Virgin And The Rich Jamaican Next Door" will be swept away by this unforgettable love story.]]> 248 Candy Moore Lydia 0 to-read 4.59 Taken By An Escaped Convict : An African American Romance: Standalone

Taken By An Escaped Convict : An African American Romance: Standalone

author: Candy Moore
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.59
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Tusk Love 219848368 A merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger in this saucy romantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars.

As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been predetermined: marry into a noble house of the Dwendalian Empire, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure.

Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack.

Unlike Guinevere, Oskar’s path is not so set in stone. With his mother dead and his apprenticeship abandoned, all that’s left is a long, lonely walk to a land he’s never seen to find family he’s never met. The last thing he needs is a spoiled waif like Guinevere slowing him down—even if the spark between them sizzles with promise.

Despite his cold exterior, Oskar is brave and thoughtful and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in him that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they’ll need to choose between their expected destinations or their blossoming romance.

Written by New York Times bestselling author Thea Guanzon at the behest of Critical Role’s Jester Lavorre, Tusk Love brings the most romantic story on Exandrian bookshelves to life.]]> 288 Thea Guanzon 0593874269 Lydia 0 to-read 4.48 2025

author: Thea Guanzon
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fire in His Veins (Fireblood Dragon #6)]]> 52114810
But she’s human. I’m drakoni. The only way I’ll stay sane and not lose myself to the madness that’s swept over my people is if I keep my mental walls strong. I have to give up everything that makes me a dragon. That means no telepathy, no fire breathing, and no battle form.

I certainly can’t take a mate. Andrea can’t be mine.

When her brother escapes the fort, though, she needs help tracking him down. That means I’ll be alone with her, breathing in her sweet scent, and it may be too much for my control.

What happens if I give in to my dragon? Will I take her as my mate…or tear her throat out?]]> Ruby Dixon Lydia 0 currently-reading 3.91 2019 Fire in His Veins (Fireblood Dragon #6)

author: Ruby Dixon
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wings of Starlight (Disney Fairies)]]> 212808316 Brimming with magic and romance, a young fairy queen must form an unlikely alliance or risk an unspeakable danger destroying all she holds dear in this standalone YA novel from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft.

It’s been centuries since a warm-season fairy in Pixie Hollow has crossed into the Winter Woods, and while most fear the legends of monsters lurking in the frozen lands, Clarion, can’t help being intrigued by Winter’s stoic beauty. But under the watchful eyes of the current monarch and the court's seasonal ministers, Clarion has little time to dwell on daydreams while the days to her coronation dwindle away.

That is, until reports of a monster crossing from Winter into Spring make their way to the palace. Clarion sees defeating this threat as an opportunity to prove that she is worthy of her new role. But instead of finding a monster at the edge of Winter, she finds Milori, a young guardian of the Winter Woods. Together, they form an unlikely bond as they race to save their lands.

But as their alliance warms to something more, they will discover there is a reason a warm-season fairy and a winter fairy must not be together. And the cost could be just as deadly as the monsters that prowl the Winter Woods.

Discover the origin of the sweeping, star-crossed romance between the queen of Pixie Hollow and the lord of the Winter Woods.]]> 400 Allison Saft 1368098452 Lydia 5 4.27 2025 Wings of Starlight (Disney Fairies)

author: Allison Saft
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/07
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: 2025-anticipated, i-cried, audiobooks, ebooks, hits-different, own, read-2025
review:
despite knowing how this was going to end I still find myself with tears running down my face. Im totally fine. A totally normal reaction to a book based on a children’s movie about tinkerbell.
]]> Deep End 212808709 A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.

Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.

Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.

So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water...]]> 464 Ali Hazelwood Lydia 4 “That’s where it lives, my love for him. In the space between the things he could do, and what he chooses instead.��

Okay, that specific scene where this quote is from actually had me melting. Listening to the audiobook, wide-eyed, cheeks flushed, eternally grateful that Ali's audiobooks have a male narrator for their dialogue parts ]]> 3.96 2025 Deep End

author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/02
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: 2025-anticipated, arcs, netgalley, own, pre-ordered, read-2025, audiobooks, ebooks
review:

“That’s where it lives, my love for him. In the space between the things he could do, and what he chooses instead.��

Okay, that specific scene where this quote is from actually had me melting. Listening to the audiobook, wide-eyed, cheeks flushed, eternally grateful that Ali's audiobooks have a male narrator for their dialogue parts
]]> <![CDATA[Fire in His Embrace (Fireblood Dragon #3)]]> 37832902
Emma Arroyo knows this. She also knows that the big golden dragon captured by her brother’s biker gang is in trouble, and it’s all her fault. He followed her scent, and now his life is in danger.

She has to fix this, somehow. If she could talk to the dragon, they could form a plan to escape, both of them. But the dragon’s mind is wild and full of uncontrollable, killing rage. There’s no reasoning with him. There’s certainly no freeing him, not when he’s like this. But Emma can’t leave without him.

There’s only one way to solve this problem - a mating. When Emma approaches Zohr to claim him as hers, she realizes just what it means to be a dragon’s mate, and how much she’s in over her head��

And she learns how fiercely possessive a drakoni male can be.]]> Ruby Dixon Lydia 4 audiobooks, read-2025 3.75 2017 Fire in His Embrace (Fireblood Dragon #3)

Fire in His Embrace (Fireblood Dragon #3)

author: Ruby Dixon
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: audiobooks, read-2025
review:

]]> 2025 on ŷ�� 216825549 2025 on ŷ�� should make an interesting and varied catalogue of books to inspire other readers in 2026.

For those of you who don't like to add titles you haven't actually 'read', you can place 2025 on ŷ�� on an 'exclusive' shelf. Exclusive shelves don't have to be listed under 'to read', 'currently reading' or 'read'. To create one, go to 'edit bookshelves' on your 'My Books' page, create a shelf name such as 'review-of-the year' and tick the 'exclusive' box. Your previous and future 'reviews of the year' can be collected together on this dedicated shelf.

Concept created by Fionnuala Lirsdottir.
Description: Fionnuala Lirsdottir
Cover art: Paul Cézanne, Vase of Flowers and Apples, 1889-1890
Cover choice and graphics by Jayson]]> Various Lydia 0 yearly-reviews 2025 year in review⋆☾✩⁺₊✩

୨୧ ]]> 4.71 2025 2025 on ŷ��

author: Various
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.71
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: yearly-reviews
review:
✩⁺₊✩☽⋆2025 year in review⋆☾✩⁺₊✩

୨୧
]]> Rootbound: A Tangled Novel 223363643 Revisit Rapunzel and Eugene from Disney's Tangled as they race to protect their kingdom, in this thrilling new fantasy adventure penned by New York Times bestselling author Margaret Owen.

Rapunzel knows nothing about her neighboring kingdom, Astera �� and not just because she only left her tower a month ago. The famously reclusive island has limited its contact with outsiders for decades. So when a suspicious invitation arrives welcoming Rapunzel to the Asteran princess’s coming of age ceremony, and offering her a chance to be useful for the first time since she lost her healing powers, Rapunzel accepts �� and unwittingly plunges herself and her companion, Eugene, into a tangled knot of political intrigue and magical secrets.

Eugene is just happy to get one last adventure with Rapunzel before his criminal background catches up with him and prevents their happy ending. Yet as they’re drawn further into the country’s problems, they uncover truths about Eugene’s parentage that point to deeper unrest in Astera, and suddenly the fate of their own kingdom, not just their personal dreams, is at stake.

Thrust into a power struggle between Astera’s beloved princess, Verette, its domineering king, Enver, and a mysterious secret society, Rapunzel and Eugene race to protect their home from an unsettlingly familiar threat and discover that the past can either hold them back, or help them blossom.

A cunning king. A devious princess. Best. Week. Ever.]]> 320 Margaret Owen 1368101046 Lydia 0 to-read, 2025-anticipated
Forget the rest of 2025 GET ME TO OCTOBER NOW]]> 4.00 Rootbound: A Tangled Novel

author: Margaret Owen
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read, 2025-anticipated
review:
THIS IS EVERYTHING I DIDNT KNOW I NEEDED!!!!!!! If there is anyone I can trust with my precious child it’s Margaret Owen!!!

Forget the rest of 2025 GET ME TO OCTOBER NOW
]]> Fairydale 58411935
August 1955,

When Miss Darcy O’Sullivan, an orphaned English teacher from Boston, receives a letter that her biological father passed away, she is surprised to find herself included in his will.
There is only one condition.
She must travel to Fairydale to attend his funeral.
With the promise of a sizable inheritance, Darcy decides to journey to the small coastal town that holds the secrets of her birth. But the moment she steps foot into Fairydale, things start to go amiss.
Odd residents. Odd rumors. Odd…deaths.
Everything about Fairydale is odd.
Including brooding Caleb Hale—part of the infamous Hale family.
During the day, she falls deeper and deeper under his spell as he forces her to step out of her comfort zone and embrace her inner sensuality.
But at night it’s another man who haunts her dreams—Amon d'Artan, a nobleman who lived two centuries ago.
Amon is sweet and suave where Caleb is intense and dangerous, and Darcy feels more torn than ever. Soon, she finds herself embroiled in a web of lies, deceit, and inexplicable events that make her question her sanity.

When an ancient evil threatens the town and everything Darcy holds dear, she must make the ultimate choice.

But will she survive it?

Fairydale is a dark gothic historical romance with horror, paranormal & fantasy elements. This is NOT a traditional love triangle. It features a villainous love interest that would end the world for his beloved and an all-encompassing love story spanning millennia. This is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18. Please check the triggers before reading.]]> 772 Veronica Lancet Lydia 0 to-read 3.89 2022 Fairydale

author: Veronica Lancet
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[My Vampire Plus-One (My Vampires, #2)]]> 204640539
Amelia Collins is by definition successful. She would even go so far as to say successfully single. But not according to her family, and she’s tired of the constant questions about her nonexistent dating life. When an invitation to yet another family wedding arrives, she decides to get everyone off her back once and for all by finding someone–anyone–to pose as her date.

After a chance encounter with Reginald Cleaves, Amelia decides he’s perfect for her purposes. He’s a bit strange, but that’s fine; it’ll discourage tough questions from her family. (And it certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s very handsome.) For centuries-old vampire Reggie, posing as her plus-one sounds like the ultimate fun. And if it helps his ruse of pretending to be human, so much the better.

As Amelia and Reggie practice their fauxmance, it becomes clear that Reggie is as loyal to her as the day is long, and that Amelia’s first impressions could not have been more wrong. Suddenly, being in a real relationship with Reggie sounds pretty fang-tastic.]]> 372 Jenna Levine 0593548930 Lydia 3 This will be one of those good old-fashioned platonic fake dating arrangements.

❄️�ձ�> 3.74 2024 My Vampire Plus-One (My Vampires, #2)

author: Jenna Levine
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: arcs, ebooks, audiobooks, netgalley, read-2025
review:

This will be one of those good old-fashioned platonic fake dating arrangements.

❄️
]]> We Could Be Rats 214152505 A moving story about two very different sisters, and a love letter to childhood, growing up, and the power of imagination—from the bestselling author of Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead and Interesting Facts About Space.

Sigrid hates working at the Dollar Pal but having always resisted the idea of growing up into the trappings of adulthood, she did not graduate high school, preferring to roam the streets of her small town with her best friend Greta, the only person in the world who ever understood her. Her older sister Margit is baffled and frustrated by Sigrid’s inability to conform to the expectations of polite society.

But Sigrid’s detachment veils a deeper turmoil and sensitivity. She’s haunted by the pains of her past—from pretending her parents were swamp monsters when they shook the floorboards with their violent arguments to grappling with losing Greta’s friendship to the opioid epidemic ravaging their town. As Margit sets out to understand Sigrid and the secrets she has hidden, both sisters, in their own time and way, discover that reigniting their shared childhood imagination is the only way forward.

What unfolds is an unforgettable story of two sisters finding their way back to each other, and a celebration of that transcendent, unshakable bond.]]> 256 Emily R. Austin 1668085518 Lydia 5 “I would get my money’s worth out of my little rat lifespan, and I would leave the earth happy to have been there.��
]]> 4.15 2025 We Could Be Rats

author: Emily R. Austin
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/11
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: arcs, i-cried, read-2025, physical-arcs
review:

“I would get my money’s worth out of my little rat lifespan, and I would leave the earth happy to have been there.��

]]> <![CDATA[Bigfoot in Love and Other Stories]]> 224039298
A silver-furred sasquatch falls in love with a lumberjack, but their love can never be. A woman who was once a badger dreams of her oaken home and aches to go back to it. A woman worried for her unborn daughter makes a wish upon a summer storm. A family of white-haired women who live and die by the moon face a schism - all of these gentle speculative fiction stories and more can be found in Bigfoot in Love and Other Stories. Filled with poignant tales of love and loss, and of relationships across the romantic and platonic spectrums, this collection of short stories is perfect for lovers of urban fantasy and authors such as Charles de Lint, Terri Windling, and Peter S. Beagle.]]> Hannah Birss Lydia 0 to-read 0.0 Bigfoot in Love and Other Stories

author: Hannah Birss
name: Lydia
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Language of Dragons 211096516 EVERY ACT OF TRANSLATION REQUIRES SACRIFICE

Welcome to Bletchley Park�� with dragons.

London, 1923. Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivian Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get an internship studying dragon languages, and make sure her little sister never has to risk growing up Third Class. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.

With her parents arrested and her sister missing, all the safety Viv has worked for is collapsing around her. So when a lifeline is offered in the form of a mysterious ‘job��, she grabs it. Arriving at Bletchley Park, Viv discovers that she has been recruited as a codebreaker helping the war effort �� if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die.

At first Viv believes that her challenge, of discovering the secrets of a hidden dragon language, is doable. But the more she learns, the more she realises that the bubble she’s grown up in isn’t as safe as she thought, and eventually Viv must What war is she really fighting?

An epic, sweeping fantasy with an incredible Dark Academia setting, a clandestine, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, and an unputdownable story, filled with twists and turns, betrayals and secret identities, A Language of Dragons is the unmissable debut of 2025, from an extraordinary new voice.]]> 432 S.F. Williamson 0063353849 Lydia 0 to-read 3.84 2025

author: S.F. Williamson
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rain of Shadows and Endings (Legacy, #1)]]> 123349658
Rain of Shadows and Endings is book one in The Legacy Series and ends on a cliffhanger. This is new adult dark fantasy romance series and includes elements that may be triggering to some readers.]]> 670 Melissa K. Roehrich Lydia 0 to-read 4.01 2023 Rain of Shadows and Endings (Legacy, #1)

Rain of Shadows and Endings (Legacy, #1)

author: Melissa K. Roehrich
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Titus Groan (Gormenghast, #1) 39063 396 Mervyn Peake 0879514256 Lydia 0 to-read 3.91 1946

author: Mervyn Peake
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1946
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Fine Balance 5211
The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.

As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, A Fine Balance creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state.]]> 603 Rohinton Mistry 140003065X Lydia 0 to-read 4.38 1995

author: Rohinton Mistry
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil]]> 215020997 London, 1837.
Boston, 2019.

Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots.

One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild.

And all of them grow teeth.]]> 560 Victoria E. Schwab 1035064642 Lydia 0 to-read 4.38 2025 Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> A Dark and Drowning Tide 174146852 A sharp-tongued folklorist must pair up with her academic rival to solve their mentor's murder in this lush and enthralling sapphic fantasy romance from the New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic.

Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness to secure his reign of the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she’s only ever read about.

The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader—Lorelei’s beloved mentor—is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are her five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again—and a coup begins in earnest.

But there are other dangers lurking in the forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons waiting beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.

As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth—and resist their growing feelings for one another—they discover that their professor had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, or if this kingdom is worth saving at all.]]> 384 Allison Saft 0593722345 Lydia 0 to-read 3.60 2024 A Dark and Drowning Tide

author: Allison Saft
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fire in His Blood (Fireblood Dragon #1)]]> 36584723
Years ago, the skies ripped open and the world was destroyed in fire and ash. Dragons - once creatures of legend - are the enemy. Vicious and unpredictable, they rule the skies of the ruined cities, forcing humanity to huddle behind barricades for safety.

Claudia's a survivor. She scrapes by as best as she can in a hard, dangerous world. When she runs afoul of the law, she's left as bait in dragon territory. She only has one chance to survive - to somehow 'tame' a dragon and get it to obey her.

Except the dragon that finds her is as wild and brutal as any other...and he's not interested in obeying.

What he is interested in is a mate.]]> 12 Ruby Dixon Lydia 0 audiobooks, read-2025 3.34 2017 Fire in His Blood (Fireblood Dragon #1)

author: Ruby Dixon
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2025/01/22
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: audiobooks, read-2025
review:

]]> Amid Clouds and Bones 215813693 A princess determined to survive an arranged marriage to a heartless faerie prince is saved by a twist of fate that could destroy their world in this all-new standalone fantasy romance.

As the half faerie daughter of a human king, my days were spent tucked out of sight��until the Seelie Fae sought an alliance with our kingdom. In exchange for my father’s help in defeating their Unseelie enemies, I would wed Atakan the heartless.

The Seelie prince loathed everyone, but none more than me. Throughout the years leading to our nuptials, each encounter grew more terrifying than the last as he demonstrated how he’d earned his infamous reputation.

Fear would only doom me faster. So I learned to hide it with games I soon became happy to play. I wasn’t supposed to crave a monster. But just when I’d thought I might tame the untameable, fate intervened.

And delivered me straight to his enemy.

This fast-paced standalone features true enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, high heat, and a cast of morally grey and villainous characters. ]]> 403 Ella Fields Lydia 0 to-read 3.81 2024 Amid Clouds and Bones

author: Ella Fields
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Bound to the Shadow Prince 198110745
As time inside the unchanging tower rolls on, Candra uncovers the man behind the stony facade. And when their tenure hits an unexpected snag, Candra and Nemeth are forced to make a difficult choice. They’ll need to face an outside world they no longer recognize, one that threatens their lives and their surprising love.]]> 504 Ruby Dixon 1998854752 Lydia 0 audiobooks, own, read-2025 3.75 2024 Bound to the Shadow Prince

author: Ruby Dixon
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2025/01/19
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves: audiobooks, own, read-2025
review:

]]> Never Ever After 219174189 Not all fairy tales end happily ever after in this Cinderella-inspired fantasy by the bestselling author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess—for fans of Renée Ahdieh, Tahereh Mafi, and Stephanie Garber.

Life in the Iron Mountains is harsh and unforgiving. After the death of her beloved uncle, Yining has survived by becoming a skilled thief and an even better liar. When she acquires an enchanted ring that holds the key to a brighter future, it is stolen by her step-aunt, and Yining must venture into the imperial heart of the kingdom to seize it back.

Amid the grandeur of the palace, Yining catches the eye of the ruthless and ambitious prince, who tempts her with a world she’s never imagined. But nothing is as it seems, for she’s soon trapped in a tangle of power, treachery, and greed—her only ally the cunning advisor from a rival court who keeps dangerous secrets of his own. To break free, she must unravel the mystery of her past and fight for a future that both frightens and calls to her.

This sweeping fantasy romance inspired by Cinderella and a Chinese fairy tale is the first in a breathtaking new series by the acclaimed author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess.]]> Sue Lynn Tan 1399729233 Lydia 0 to-read 5.00 2025 Never Ever After

author: Sue Lynn Tan
name: Lydia
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Barbarian's Hope (Ice Planet Barbarians, #10)]]> 219848316
But then a terrible thing happened…and my world was never the same again.

Now resonance is giving us a second chance, but…I’m afraid. What if what I have with my mate is too broken to be fixed? What if there’s no hope left for us at all?]]> 256 Ruby Dixon 0593954777 Lydia 4 and it's a second chance romance!

"I thought maybe if you had time to yourself, time to heal, then you would come back to me. And even if you did not come back to me, if you were happy, I could live with that. It is your sadness that tears me apart."

]]> 3.37 2016 Barbarian's Hope (Ice Planet Barbarians, #10)

author: Ruby Dixon
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: read-2024, audiobooks, rereads, arcs, netgalley, read-2025
review:
After nine books of interspecies relationships, we get our first story featuring alien-on-alien contact and it's a second chance romance!

"I thought maybe if you had time to yourself, time to heal, then you would come back to me. And even if you did not come back to me, if you were happy, I could live with that. It is your sadness that tears me apart."

]]> Serial Killer Games 216970870 What would you do if you thought your coworker was getting away with murder—literally?

Dolores dela Cruz has been dying to spot one in the wild, and he fits the mold strangler gloves, calculated charm, dashing good looks that give a leg up in any field . . . including fields of unmarked graves.

The new office temp is definitely a serial killer.

Jake Ripper finds a welcome distraction in his combative and enigmatic new coworker. He hasn’t come across anyone as interesting as Dolores in a long time. But when mere curiosity evolves into a darkly romantic flirtation, Jake can’t help but wonder if, finally, he’s found someone who really sees him, skeletons in the closet and all.

Until Dolores asks Jake’s help to dispose of a body . . .

A morbidly funny and emotionally resonant novel about the ways life—and love—can sneak up on us (no matter how much pepper spray we carry). ]]> 384 Kate Posey 0593818512 Lydia 0 to-read 3.88 2025 Serial Killer Games

author: Kate Posey
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 2024 on ŷ�� 195342176 2024 on ŷ�� should make an interesting and varied catalogue of books to inspire other readers in 2025.

For those of you who don't like to add titles you haven't actually 'read', you can place 2024 on ŷ�� on an 'exclusive' shelf. Exclusive shelves don't have to be listed under 'to read', 'currently reading' or 'read'. To create one, go to 'edit bookshelves' on your 'My Books' page, create a shelf name such as 'review-of-the year' and tick the 'exclusive' box. Your previous and future 'reviews of the year' can be collected together on this dedicated shelf.

Concept created by Fionnuala Lirsdottir.
Description: Fionnuala Lirsdottir
Cover art: Paul Cézanne, The House with the Cracked Walls, 1892-1894
Cover choice and graphics by Jayson]]> Various Lydia 0 yearly-reviews �� 4.15 2024 2024 on ŷ��

author: Various
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: yearly-reviews
review:
��
]]> 2023 on ŷ�� 62316199 2023 on ŷ�� should make an interesting and varied catalogue of books to inspire other readers in 2024.

For those of you who don't like to add titles you haven't actually 'read', you can place 2023 on ŷ�� on an 'exclusive' shelf. Exclusive shelves don't have to be listed under 'to read', 'currently reading' or 'read'. To create one, go to 'edit bookshelves' on your 'My Books' page, create a shelf name such as 'review-of-the year' and tick the 'exclusive' box. Your previous and future 'reviews of the year' can be collected together on this dedicated shelf.

Concept created by Fionnuala Lirsdottir.
Description: Fionnuala Lirsdottir
Cover art: Paul Cézanne, Bibémus Quarry, c.1895
Cover choice and graphics by Jayson]]> Various Lydia 0 yearly-reviews 4.10 2023 2023 on ŷ��

author: Various
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: yearly-reviews
review:

]]> 2022 on ŷ�� 58628750
For those of you who don't like to add titles, you haven't actually 'read', you can place 2022 on ŷ�� on an 'exclusive' shelf. Exclusive shelves don't have to be listed under 'to read', 'currently reading', or 'read'. To create one, go to 'edit bookshelves' on your 'My Books' page, create a shelf name such as 'review-of-the year' and tick the 'exclusive' box. Your previous and future 'reviews of the year' can be collected together on this dedicated shelf.

Concept created by Fionnuala Lirsdottir in 2014
Description: Fionnuala Lirsdottir
Initial choice of Paul Cézanne as cover artist for the entire series by Kalliope
Cover art for 2022: Paul Cézanne, Tulips and Apples, 1894
Cover choice and graphics for 2022 by Jayson]]> Various Lydia 0 yearly-reviews 4.07 2022 2022 on ŷ��

author: Various
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: yearly-reviews
review:

]]> Belladonna (Belladonna, #1) 59227936
Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.
��
However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.]]> 409 Adalyn Grace 0316158232 Lydia 5 "You must not allow yourself to be consumed so thoroughly by death. It's not selfish to live."
Ghosts? ��
Romance? ��
Murder mystery? ��
Death god and a dark haired LI described like a tree? ��

Belladonna really has it all!

Adalyn Grace does not hold back, from page one we are immediately thrust into Signa's story. Signa Farrow has been surrounded by death her entire life, both figuratively and literally. From a young age she learns she (i) cannot die, (ii) she can see spirits, and (iii) every time she's on the brink of death she comes face to face with Death himself.

She is sent to live with at the manor of her distant relative (husband to her recently deceased cousin). However, after only being there for a short time she quickly begins to realize that things aren't quite as they seem, and maybe it wasn't an illness that took her cousin so quickly.

As a young woman, Signa is trying to balance becoming what she thinks society expects of her, her new found desires, solving a murder and trying to save a dying cousin. Signa has to decide whether death is something she should fear and hate, or something worth embracing.

"You are bolder than the sun, Signa Farrow, and it's time that you burn."

This story was so much fun! Filled with likeable characters, paranormal activities, and swoon-worthy love interests, all set against a regency backdrop (did I mention a masquerade ball?), Belladonna is a fun, relatively easy read, that kept me tangled in its gothic web. I was so excited when I got the confirmation for this eARC, and it did not disappoint! I will definitely be buying a physical copy (or two... I love both the US and UK covers) and I can't wait to read more about Signa!

"Glad that if she was to be a monster, at least she could deliver mercy."

July 16 2022 ----
This book was v fun. Excellent combination of paranormal, romance and mystery! Full review to come.

Merged review:

"You must not allow yourself to be consumed so thoroughly by death. It's not selfish to live."

Ghosts? ��
Romance? ��
Murder mystery? ��
Death god and a dark haired LI described like a tree? ��

Belladonna really has it all!

Adalyn Grace does not hold back, from page one we are immediately thrust into Signa's story. Signa Farrow has been surrounded by death her entire life, both figuratively and literally. From a young age she learns she (i) cannot die, (ii) she can see spirits, and (iii) every time she's on the brink of death she comes face to face with Death himself.

She is sent to live with at the manor of her distant relative (husband to her recently deceased cousin). However, after only being there for a short time she quickly begins to realize that things aren't quite as they seem, and maybe it wasn't an illness that took her cousin so quickly.

As a young woman, Signa is trying to balance becoming what she thinks society expects of her, her new found desires, solving a murder and trying to save a dying cousin. Signa has to decide whether death is something she should fear and hate, or something worth embracing.

"You are bolder than the sun, Signa Farrow, and it's time that you burn."

"Glad that if she was to be a monster, at least she could deliver mercy."

July 16 2022 ----
This book was v fun. Excellent combination of paranormal, romance and mystery! Full review to come.]]> 3.97 2022 Belladonna (Belladonna, #1)

author: Adalyn Grace
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/07/16
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: 2022-anticipated, arcs, ebooks, read-2022, own, netgalley
review:

"You must not allow yourself to be consumed so thoroughly by death. It's not selfish to live."

"You are bolder than the sun, Signa Farrow, and it's time that you burn."

"Glad that if she was to be a monster, at least she could deliver mercy."

July 16 2022 ----
This book was v fun. Excellent combination of paranormal, romance and mystery! Full review to come.

Merged review:

"You must not allow yourself to be consumed so thoroughly by death. It's not selfish to live."

"You are bolder than the sun, Signa Farrow, and it's time that you burn."

"Glad that if she was to be a monster, at least she could deliver mercy."

July 16 2022 ----
This book was v fun. Excellent combination of paranormal, romance and mystery! Full review to come.
]]> Forget Me Not 61618737 An ambitious wedding planner must work with her grumpy florist ex, whose heart she broke, on the most high-profile wedding of her career, in this spicy and emotional romance from popular fanfic author Julie Soto.

He loves me; he loves me not...��

Ama Torres loves being a wedding planner. But with a mother who has been married more times than you can count on your fingers, Ama has decided that marriage is not the route for her. But weddings? Weddings are amazing. As a��small business owner, she knows how to match her clients with the perfect vendor to give them the wedding of their dreams. Well, almost��perfect��

Elliot hates being a florist, most of the time. When his father left��him the flower shop, he considered��it a burden, but he’s stuck with it. Just like how he’s stuck with the way he proposed to Ama, his main collaborator and girlfriend (or was she?) two years ago. But flowers have grown on him, just like Ama did. And flowers can’t run off and never speak to him again, like Ama did.��

When Ama is hired to plan a celebrity wedding that will bring her business national exposure, there's a catch: Elliot is already contracted to design the flowers. Things are not helped by the two brides, who see the obvious chemistry between Ama and Elliot and are determined to set them up, not knowing their complicated history. Add in a meddling ex-boss, and a reality TV film crew documenting every step of the wedding prep, and Ama and Elliot's hearts are not only in jeopardy again, but this time, their livelihoods are too.]]> 341 Julie Soto 1538740885 Lydia 5 “�� I want to know you. I want to know what you like, what you hate–even if it’s me�� I want to love what you love, even if it’s extinct.�� ~~This line are you fucking kidding me. I am about to go extinct.~~

I’ll start by saying it has been a long time since a romcom novel has made me feel this way. I’ve struggled with feeling motivated to read over the past few months due to brain overload and no books really lighting that spark in me�� UNTIL THIS, which I devoured in a day and has put the “joy-of-reading�� back in my life.

Forget Me Not is a second-chance romance that features:
- he-falls-first (& hard)
- Grumpy/sunshine
- a fmc with HBIC energy & running her own business
- spice!!
- a hot man running a floral business!!

“Love is like the wind. It will come and go. Weddings are just a party.��

author: Julie Soto
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/04
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: reylos-stay-winning, arcs, audiobooks, ebooks, 2023-anticipated, read-2023, hits-different, own, netgalley
review:

“�� I want to know you. I want to know what you like, what you hate–even if it’s me�� I want to love what you love, even if it’s extinct.��

~~This line are you fucking kidding me. I am about to go extinct.~~

I’ll start by saying it has been a long time since a romcom novel has made me feel this way. I’ve struggled with feeling motivated to read over the past few months due to brain overload and no books really lighting that spark in me�� UNTIL THIS, which I devoured in a day and has put the “joy-of-reading�� back in my life.

Forget Me Not is a second-chance romance that features:
- he-falls-first (& hard)
- Grumpy/sunshine
- a fmc with HBIC energy & running her own business
- spice!!
- a hot man running a floral business!!

“Love is like the wind. It will come and go. Weddings are just a party.��

The first character we meet is Ama Torres, a wedding planner who doesn’t believe in long term love (both likely a by-product of having a mother who’s been married 16 times). After leaving a large-scale wedding business three years prior to go out on her own Ama has just landed the “big one��, the wedding event that will put her on the map and open endless opportunities for her. The catch? Her clients are dead set on their florist�� Elliot Bloom. Who also just happens to be Ama’s ex, who she hasn’t seen since they broke up over two years ago.

Elliot Bloom is a brooding, rude, tall, dark-haired, floral-tattooed, man who refuses to do things halfway (that includes relationships). After dropping out of architecture school to take over his family’s floral business after his father has fallen ill, Elliott’s life is thrown another curve ball when this short woman in 6-inch stilettos comes into his shop in hopes of using his services in an upcoming wedding she is planning. Despite a disastrous first meeting, featuring some flowers with less than complimentary meanings, Elliott quickly finds himself caught up in the hurricane that is headstrong, ambitious Ama Torres and soon their lives become entwined beyond “strictly-business��.

One of my favourite aspects of this book was that it is told using a parallel narrative. The first is told from Ama’s perspective as we follow her working with Elliott for the first time since their break-up. The second is Elliot’s perspective, three years prior, to when he first met Ama and when they first got together. This set-up truly worked so well for this story and these characters. Each narrative worked to show the respective characters personality, goals, and fears. Additionally, being able to see each character from the others POV, but from different points in time, really helped ground this relationship for me and understand what the other characters were likely feeling in each moment, without the need of their POV for that time.

I split my reading between the audiobook and the ebook. If you are into audiobooks, I would recommend this one. There is a male and female narrator for each POV, and I think having this read to me really upped the comedic aspect. I was cackling while listening to this. Also something about listening to the inner thoughts of Elliot as he released in his pants after some relatively quick heavy petting because he’s just so attracted to Ama had me rolling.

In summary, A GOD DAMN DELIGHT. So, if this sounds like something you’d enjoy. Read it. It doesn’t come out until July 12th but put in on your TBR, or pre-order it now!

Disclaimer: I received the ALC from Librofm and the eARC from Forever publishing via Netgalley.

Spoiler-ish but I just have to say it****
As soon as Ama said he had a new tattoo I knew what it was but it STILL KNOCKED ME ON MY ASS WHEN HE EXPLAINED IT.
“They-re the ones that I can’t have. Ones that can’t be used in arrangements, can’t be kept in the shop. Ones that are likely to disappear before I can love them.��
Fkafdjkhgbahjlfd ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? Someone add Elliott Bloom to the list of fictional men that have raised my bar WAY TOO HIGH.

---
Original review posted March 4, 2023

THIS WAS EVERYTHING!! Has the slump been broken??

Full review to come
]]> <![CDATA[Twisted in You: A Dark Office Romance (The Four Walls Trilogy #1)]]> 212127547 An addiction.
Their obsession.

Savannah Davies doesn't do one-night stands. Not in her real life, and definitely not on vacation. But there's an exception to every rule, and Liam O'Rourke is that exception. After she saves his laptop from a wine spill, he spends the night thanking her in the most carnal of ways. A passion hot enough to burn the world sparks between them, consuming them whole, but it promises a future that isn't possible. Because when Liam has to choose between his job and her, he stands her up.

She doesn't expect to see him again.

Especially not at her company picnic.

Stealing her promotion.

Becoming her new boss.

Where once they brought out the best in each other, now all they see is the worst. Lust turns to hate as they fight to see who comes out on top, finally crashing together in a violent collision that changes everything. It's not supposed to mean anything. They aren't supposed to care. To want more. But they can't deny they're...

Twisted in You

***

The first book in the Four Walls Trilogy, Twisted in You is the beginning of a steamy hate-to-love dark romance. Please check the author's notes for content warnings before reading and check the reviews. You can also find a full list of content warnings, tropes and book tags on my website.��

Your mental health is important.]]> Bre Sylva Lydia 5 "Why! Why do I want you? I hate you. You stole my job! I should burn your world to the ground, but instead, I'm here! I'm here because all I can think about is you. I don't want to want you, but I do. I want you so bad I can't think straight. So no, don't stop. you wanna use me? Do it. Use me. Fuck me.

]]> 4.34 Twisted in You: A Dark Office Romance (The Four Walls Trilogy #1)

Twisted in You: A Dark Office Romance (The Four Walls Trilogy #1)

author: Bre Sylva
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/14
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: 2024-anticipated, arcs, pre-ordered, ebooks, hits-different, i-cried, kindle-unlimited, own, read-2024, e-arcs
review:

"Why! Why do I want you? I hate you. You stole my job! I should burn your world to the ground, but instead, I'm here! I'm here because all I can think about is you. I don't want to want you, but I do. I want you so bad I can't think straight. So no, don't stop. you wanna use me? Do it. Use me. Fuck me.

]]> Not Another Love Song 201627074 Two string players fight their attraction for each other as they compete for center stage in this spicy and emotional romance.

Gwen Jackson and Xander Thorne are both musical prodigies, but each has had very different paths to success. Xander was born into classical music royalty, while Gwen had a natural ear for music that was nurtured by a kind shop owner.

After Gwen performs at his friend’s wedding, she’s mortified when she realizes Xander has no clue who she is—despite having worked together for a year at the Pops Orchestra. But she’s more furious that he arrogantly critiques her performance.

When Gwen is offered the role of First Chair of the orchestra, something Xander had secretly coveted for years, their existing hostility goes up a notch. But their respect for each other's music is undeniable, and their onstage chemistry off the scale. As they begin to explore their feelings for one another, suddenly they're box office dynamite and the fragile romance that's growing between them is in danger of being crushed beneath a publicity stunt...]]> 384 Julie Soto 1538740915 Lydia 3 Did this book itch some long seated scratch of getting of falling in love with the lead of a pop-punk band who expresses his love for me in front of his gawking fans? Absolutely ��
Did buy on Gwen and Xander's relationship? No ��

]]> 4.05 2024 Not Another Love Song

author: Julie Soto
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: 2024-anticipated, arcs, audiobooks, read-2024, reylos-stay-winning, netgalley
review:
Did I like this book? Yes ��
Did this book itch some long seated scratch of getting of falling in love with the lead of a pop-punk band who expresses his love for me in front of his gawking fans? Absolutely ��
Did buy on Gwen and Xander's relationship? No ��

]]> You, Again 75665887 Can they stop hating each other long enough to fall in love?

A commitment-phobe and a hopeless romantic clash over and over again--until heartbreak and unexpected chemistry bring them together in this clever enemies-to-friends-to-lovers debut romance.

When Ari and Josh first meet, the wrong kind of sparks fly. They hate each other. Instantly.

A free-spirited, struggling comedian who likes to keep things casual, Ari sublets, takes gigs, and she never sleeps over after hooking up. Born-and-bred Manhattanite Josh has ambitious plans: Take the culinary world by storm, find The One, and make her breakfast in his spotless kitchen. They have absolutely nothing in common . . . except that they happen to be sleeping with the same woman.

Ari and Josh never expect their paths to cross again. But years later, as they're both reeling from ego-bruising breakups, a chance encounter leads to a surprising connection: friendship. Turns out, spending time with your former nemesis is fun when you're too sad to hate each other--and too sad for hate sex.

As friends-without-benefits, they find comfort in late-night Netflix binges, swiping through each other's online dating profiles, and bickering across boroughs. It's better than romance. Until one night, the unspoken boundaries of their platonic relationship begin to blur. . . .

With sharp observations and sizzling chemistry, You, Again explores the dynamics of co-ed friendship in this sparkling romantic comedy of modern love in all its forms.]]> 448 Kate Goldbeck 059344812X Lydia 4
That’s all ]]> 3.56 2023

author: Kate Goldbeck
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/19
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: reylos-stay-winning, own, physical-tbr, read-2024, arcs, netgalley
review:
I am coming back to this 2.5 months later because while doom scrolling I suddenly had the epiphany that this is Dan/Blair vibes!!! And I love that!!!

That’s all
]]> <![CDATA[Bull Moon Rising (Royal Artifactual Guild, #1)]]> 205435116 In a world of magical artifacts and fantastical beings, a woman determined to save her family joins forces with an unlikely partner in this captivating special hardcover edition of USA Today bestselling Ruby Dixon’s new steamy romantasy. As a Holder’s daughter, Aspeth Honori knows the importance of magical artifacts . . . which is why it’s a disaster that her father has gambled all of theirs away. Now in danger of losing their hold—and their heads—if anyone finds out the truth, Aspeth decides to do something about it. She’ll join the Royal Artifactual Guild and the adventurers who explore ancient underground ruins to retrieve the coveted arcane items. It’s a great plan—with one big problem. The guild won’t let her train because she’s a woman. Aspeth needs a chaperone of some kind. The best way to get around this problem? Marry someone who will let her become an apprentice. Who better than a surly guild member who needs a favor of his own? He’s a minotaur (it’s fine) who is her teacher (also fine) . . . and he’s about to go into rut (which is where it gets tricky).��He also has no idea she's a noble (oops) and will want nothing to do with her if he finds out the truth. Now Aspeth just needs to pass the guild tests, thwart a fortune hunter, and save her hold. Oh, and survive a rut with her monstrous, horned husband, who she might be falling in love with.��It's time to dig deep. Literally.]]> 427 Ruby Dixon 0593817036 Lydia 5 beyond there.

]]> 4.02 2024 Bull Moon Rising (Royal Artifactual Guild, #1)

Bull Moon Rising (Royal Artifactual Guild, #1)

author: Ruby Dixon
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/29
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: arcs, 2024-anticipated, ebooks, hits-different, pre-ordered, read-2024, netgalley
review:
If there is one author I can trust to never let me down, it’s Ruby Dixon. Whenever you think “I wonder if she will go there…�� she does, and 9 times out of 10 goes beyond there.

]]> <![CDATA[The Devil's Backbone (Bargains & Bounties #1)]]> 207647562
Outlaw-turned-lawman James Moone dutifully stands guard, always awaiting Cassidy’s return. She’s got a sour disposition and an even worse temper, but he's loved her longer than he's realized. Moone is determined to protect her from the ghosts of his past and Jack Ransom, whether she likes it or not.

When Cassidy finally gets her shot at Ransom, she commits to playing the role of a lady she isn’t. If she earns his favor, it'll be easy to stab him in the heart, especially if she holds it in the palm of her hand. Fearing she's gone too deep into her role, Moone is desperate to steer Cassidy back to her original plan, but she isn't about to let anything stand in her way.

Not corsets, danger, betrayal—or a complicated craving.]]> 531 Kirsten Bohling Lydia 5 "You spend an afternoon with the monster who murdered your parents; you let him whisper sugary sweet poison in your ear and let yourself fall for this life. Is that what you want�� is that what I need to do for you to finally see me the way I see you? To want me that way?"

]]> 4.38 2024 The Devil's Backbone (Bargains & Bounties #1)

The Devil's Backbone (Bargains & Bounties #1)

author: Kirsten Bohling
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/25
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: 2024-anticipated, arcs, ebooks, read-2024, 2022-anticipated, e-arcs
review:

"You spend an afternoon with the monster who murdered your parents; you let him whisper sugary sweet poison in your ear and let yourself fall for this life. Is that what you want�� is that what I need to do for you to finally see me the way I see you? To want me that way?"

]]> <![CDATA[I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com (Cosmic Chaos, #1)]]> 213618276 A hilarious and sexy romance about a woman who gets dropped on a strange planet only to fall for not one, but two, aliens, from the author of I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf.

Dorothy Valentine is close to getting her PhD in wildlife biology when she’s attacked by a lion. On the bright side, she’s saved! On the not-so-bright side, it’s because they’re abducted by aliens. In her scramble to escape, Dory and the lion commandeer an escape pod and crash-land on an alien planet that has...dinosaurs?

Dory and her new lion bestie, Toto, are saved in the nick of time by a mysterious and sexy alien, Sol. On their new adventure, they team up with the equally hot, equally dangerous Lok, who may or may not be a war criminal. Whether it be trauma, fate, or intrigue, Dory can’t resist the attraction that’s developing in their trio....

As this ragtag group of misfits explore their new planet, Dory learns more about how and why they’ve all ended up together, battles more prehistoric creatures than she imagined (she imagined...zero), and questions if she even wants to go back home to Earth in this hilarious and steamy alien romance adventure comedy romp.]]> 287 Kimberly Lemming 0593818636 Lydia 3 "Why do all of these houses only have one bed?"
"Our research show that the 'only one bed' method is a tried-and-true way to get humans to mate!"

Synopsis: Dory, a PhD student studying meerkats in the Kalahari Desert, is thrust into chaos when moments before her death, she and a lion are abducted by owl-like aliens. Escaping with her newfound lion ally, Toto, they crash on a strange planet where modern and prehistoric wildlife coexist—and where alluring aliens complicate survival and Dory's plans to find a way home.

]]> 3.70 2025 I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com (Cosmic Chaos, #1)

author: Kimberly Lemming
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/14
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: arcs, ebooks, read-2025, netgalley
review:

"Why do all of these houses only have one bed?"
"Our research show that the 'only one bed' method is a tried-and-true way to get humans to mate!"

Synopsis: Dory, a PhD student studying meerkats in the Kalahari Desert, is thrust into chaos when moments before her death, she and a lion are abducted by owl-like aliens. Escaping with her newfound lion ally, Toto, they crash on a strange planet where modern and prehistoric wildlife coexist—and where alluring aliens complicate survival and Dory's plans to find a way home.

]]> Blood Heir (Blood Heir, #1) 123026806

Then, everything changes. A tragedy upends her life and Maeve finds herself living with a long-lost father in a quiet lakeside community in the far north of Michigan.

And that’s when things get…weird.

Have you ever just felt drawn to someone? Compelled to look their way? Caspian is a bright beacon in her strange new life. He’s as far from normal as anyone can be, and somehow, she just can’t seem to stay away from him, or from his equally attractive all-male family.

The more time Maeve spends around Caspian and his family, the more both her suspicions and her body are aroused, and by the time she figures out the truth, it’s far, far too late to return to ignorance and innocence.

The truth is a scary thing, but something in her blood and her body seems to crave them. And once she’s had a taste of Caspian’s world, Maeve is utterly, absolutely certain that she'll never want anything else��

No matter the consequences.]]> 376 Jasinda Wilder 1948445883 Lydia 0 to-read 3.96 Blood Heir (Blood Heir, #1)

author: Jasinda Wilder
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.96
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Immortal 217546076 1 Sue Lynn Tan Lydia 5 "Fear need not be a burden when it could be harnessed into a desire to live. Hope possessed a magic of its own—rare to manifest, yet wresting miracles within one's reach."�� . ݁˖

No notes. I actually can't stop thinking about it and I am actively holding myself back from an immediate reread. I wasn't even halfway through the audiobook and I already knew I would be needed a shelf trophy (& yes it's already tabbed and highlighted).

I genuinely believe the less you know about this the better it will be. I went in to it essentially blind and I had no idea what was coming my way. This book blew me away, and I don’t want to shut up about it. Ashamedly, this is my first Sue Lynn Tan book, but when I picked my signed copy up I also snagged copies of the Celestial Kingdom Duology because I NEED SUE LYNN TAN’S BOOKS INJECTED STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS.

�� . ݁˖

"I had drunk deep of the well of loss, and had no desire to taste its bitterness again."

�� . ݁˖

brief synopsis: Liyen, heir to Tianxia, ascends the throne after her grandfather’s defiance of the immortals sparks a devastating attack. Determined to free her kingdom from their control, she ventures into the Immortal Realm to uncover their secrets and navigate a dangerous alliance with the ruthless God of War. As threats loom and forbidden attraction ignites, Liyen must risk everything to protect her people from destruction.

highlights/incoherent thoughts:
�� fantasy stand-alone (never enough of these)
�� fast-paced (non-stop ebbs and flows of emotions)
�� fmc who finds strength in feats other than combat
�� mmc who is down bad (crying in the courtyard)
�� Y E A R N I N G
�� so much yearning
�� like me-blushing-kicking-my-feet-giddy-af amounts of yearning
�� so many twists and turns starting early in the book that make you second guess everything you know and everyone you have ever loved
�� a romance that had me screaming, crying, throwing up
�� strong re-read-ability potential

�� . ݁˖

"I will never forget you. You are more than my equal in every way. No one will ever replace you, whether you live for a hundred years more or ten."

author: Sue Lynn Tan
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/12
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves: audiobooks, arcs, own, read-2025, hits-different
review:

"Fear need not be a burden when it could be harnessed into a desire to live. Hope possessed a magic of its own—rare to manifest, yet wresting miracles within one's reach."

�� . ݁˖

No notes. I actually can't stop thinking about it and I am actively holding myself back from an immediate reread. I wasn't even halfway through the audiobook and I already knew I would be needed a shelf trophy (& yes it's already tabbed and highlighted).

I genuinely believe the less you know about this the better it will be. I went in to it essentially blind and I had no idea what was coming my way. This book blew me away, and I don’t want to shut up about it. Ashamedly, this is my first Sue Lynn Tan book, but when I picked my signed copy up I also snagged copies of the Celestial Kingdom Duology because I NEED SUE LYNN TAN’S BOOKS INJECTED STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS.

�� . ݁˖

"I had drunk deep of the well of loss, and had no desire to taste its bitterness again."

"I will never forget you. You are more than my equal in every way. No one will ever replace you, whether you live for a hundred years more or ten."

�� . ݁˖

idk just read it.

�� . ݁˖

Disclaimer: I received a free listener copy through LibroFMs influencer program.
---

If I SPEAK.

This truly blew me away. I was so emotionally invested and now I immediately want to reread.

full review to come
]]> Temple of Swoon 211025397 Her mission: find the Lost City of the Moon in the Amazon rainforest.
His mission: protect the holy temple . . . and his heart.

While her mentor may be the world’s most badass archaeologist, the only thing bad about Dr. Miriam Jacobs are her corny jokes. But when Miri is charged with leading an unmapped expedition through the Amazon for the fabled Lost City of the Moon, she finally has her chance to prove to her colleagues that she’s capable—and hopefully prove it to herself, too.

Journalist Rafael Monfils has joined the archaeological team to chronicle their search for the lost city. Or at least, that’s what they think he’s doing. Rafa’s real goal? Make sure the team does not reach the Cidade da Lua, stopping the desecration of the holy city and protecting his mother’s legacy. All he needs to do is keep them on the wrong path.

If only the endearingly quirky Dr. Jacobs wasn’t so damn tenacious—each of Rafa’s tricks and purposeful wrong turns only seem to fuel her determination. Even worse, he’s charmed by her goofy attempts to channel Lara Croft as they traverse the dangerous Brazilian rainforest. But they’re not the only crew hunting for the lost city, and soon the untamed jungle—and their untamed hearts—might be the least of their worries...]]> 355 Jo Segura 0593547489 Lydia 0 currently-reading 3.48 2025 Temple of Swoon

author: Jo Segura
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Heart of Blood and Ashes (A Gathering of Dragons, #1)]]> 46021762 A generation past, the western realms were embroiled in endless war. Then the Destroyer came. From the blood and ashes he left behind, a tenuous alliance rose between the barbarian riders of Parsathe and the walled kingdoms of the south. That alliance is all that stands against the return of an ancient evil—until the barbarian king and queen are slain in an act of bloody betrayal.

Though forbidden by the alliance council to kill the corrupt king responsible for his parents�� murders, Maddek vows to avenge them, even if it costs him the Parsathean crown. But when he learns it was the king’s daughter who lured his parents to their deaths, the barbarian warrior is determined to make her pay.

Yet the woman Maddek captures is not what he expected. Though the last in a line of legendary warrior-queens, Yvenne is small and weak, and the sharpest weapons she wields are her mind and her tongue. Even more surprising is the marriage she proposes to unite them in their goals and to claim their thrones—because her desire for vengeance against her father burns even hotter than his own…]]> 534 Milla Vane 0440000513 Lydia 0 to-read 3.86 2020 A Heart of Blood and Ashes (A Gathering of Dragons, #1)

A Heart of Blood and Ashes (A Gathering of Dragons, #1)

author: Milla Vane
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gentle Giant (Cascade Beasts, #1)]]> 62229658 A big hairy man-beast just kidnapped me.

After a nasty breakup, all I want is a quiet vacation in the mountains. Just me and a pile of books, a few bottles of wine, and the occasional nature walk. Too bad my Airbnb host failed to disclose there's a tribe of Sasquatches living nearby. Honestly, what the heck?

Now I'm the captive of a giant Sasquatch chief named Brutus. He scares me at first, but I soon learn he's quite gentle and... cuddly. He also believes I'm his perfect mate and promises he'll always take care of me. It's not long before I'm thirsting after his huge muscular bigfoot-bod and second guessing my plans to escape.

But if I surrender to temptation, there's no leaving the mountain.

Sasquatches mate for life.]]> 209 Sue Mercury Lydia 0 it’s Christmas. Let me live. 3.89 2022 Gentle Giant (Cascade Beasts, #1)

author: Sue Mercury
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/31
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: ebooks, read-2022, kobo-plus, read-2024, rereads, own
review:
it’s Christmas. Let me live.
]]> The History of Sound 199373354
In twelve luminous stories set across three centuries, The History of Sound examines the unexpected ways the past returns to us and how love and loss are entwined and transformed over generations. In Ben Shattuck's ingenious collection, each story has a companion story, which contains a revelation about the previous, paired story. Mysteries and murders are revealed, history is refracted, and deep emotional connections are woven through characters and families.

The haunting title story recalls the journey of two men who meet around a piano in a smoky, dim bar, only to spend a summer walking the Maine woods collecting folk songs in the shadow of the First World War, forever marked by the odyssey. Decades later, in another story, a woman discovers the wax cylinders recorded that fateful summer while cleaning out her new house in Maine. Shattuck’s inventive, exquisite stories transport readers from 1700s Nantucket to the contemporary woods of New Hampshire and beyond—into landscapes both enduring and unmistakably modern. Memories, artifacts, paintings, and journals resurface in surprising and poignant ways among evocative beaches, forests, and orchards, revealing the secrets, misunderstandings, and love that linger across centuries.

Written with breathtaking humanity and humor, The History of Sound is a love letter to New England, a radiant conversation between past and present, and a moving meditation on the abiding search for home.]]> 320 Ben Shattuck 059349038X Lydia 0 to-read 4.36 2024

author: Ben Shattuck
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> When the Tides Held the Moon 213075628 In Coney Island, true love rises to the surface. With lush illustrations and buoyant prose, Venessa Vida Kelley forges an unforgettable New York fairytale.

Benigno “Benny�� Caldera knows an orphaned Boricua blacksmith in 1910s New York City can’t call himself an artist. But the ironwork tank he creates for famed Coney Island playground, Luna Park, astounds the eccentric sideshow proprietor who commissioned it. He invites Benny to join the show’s eclectic cast and share in their shocking secret: the tank will cage their newest exhibit, a live merman stolen from the salty banks of the East River.

More than a mythic marvel, Benny soon comes to know the merman Río as a kindred spirit, wise and more compassionate than any human he’s ever met. Despite their different worlds, what begins as a friendship of necessity deepens to love, leading Benny’s heart into uncharted waters where he can no longer ignore the agonizing truth of Río’s captivity—and his own.

Releasing Río could mean losing his found family, his new home, and his soulmate forever. Yet Benny’s courageous choice may just reveal a love strong enough to free them both.]]> 464 Venessa Vida Kelley 1645661539 Lydia 0 to-read, arcs 4.39 2025 When the Tides Held the Moon

author: Venessa Vida Kelley
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/10
shelves: to-read, arcs
review:

]]> A Study in Drowning 199063183
Effy’s tattered, dog-eared copy is all that’s keeping her afloat through her stifling first term at Llyr’s prestigious architecture college. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to design the late author’s house, Effy feels certain this is her destiny.

But Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task: a musty, decrepit estate on the brink of crumbling into a hungry sea. And when Effy arrives, she finds she isn’t the only one who’s made a temporary home there. Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar, is studying Myrddin’s papers and is determined to prove her favorite author is a fraud.

As the two rival students investigate the reclusive author’s legacy, piecing together clues through his letters, books, and diaries, they discover that the house’s foundation isn’t the only thing that can’t be trusted. There are dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspiring against them - and the truth may bring them both to ruin.]]> 11 Ava Reid 006321153X Lydia 5 ”What is a mermaid but a woman half-drowned, what a selkie but an unwilling wife, what a tale but a sea-net snatching up both from the gentle tumult of dark waves?��

My first thought after reading this was "wow, I can't believe Ava Reid wrote this specifically for me, a PhD candidate in marine biology". To be fair, I also thought this with Juniper and Thorn... I swear sometimes she's pulling long seated thoughts and feelings from the deepest recesses in my mind and putting them into words I never thought possible.

”That was the cruelest irony: the more you did to save yourself, the less you became a person worth saving.��

The sharp commentary on academia, the tender relationship between Effy and Preston, and the unfolding mystery—not just of the epic's author but of the true identities behind the tragic love story’s leads—created a compelling narrative. All of this was beautifully tied together by Ava's signature prose, rich with oceanic metaphors, making it my perfect storm (pun mostly not intended).

It's equally comforting and concerning how much of Effy's experiences as a woman in a male dominated academic field I can relate to. Oh and we both equate survival to escaping, but we don't need to dwell on that right now. What's less comforting is how little I relate to Effy's relationship with Preston!!!!!!! Hello?! Where's my gentle, loving academic boy who is essentially proposing to me when he asks me to coauthor a paper with him!? "I love you, I'm so sorry it's ruined us both." ARE YOU KIDDING ME. I stared into space contemplating all my life decisions for a long while after that one.

I am equally excited and terrified for where the sequel will be headed... Ava's teasers have me feeling a type of way (anxious).

As a shock to no one, I highly recommend this book.

"Before the ocean is friend or foe, it simply is. And so are you"

--

the perfect audiobook to listen to while processing lobster samples ]]> 3.54 2023 A Study in Drowning

author: Ava Reid
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/28
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: 2023-anticipated, audiobooks, own, read-2024
review:

”What is a mermaid but a woman half-drowned, what a selkie but an unwilling wife, what a tale but a sea-net snatching up both from the gentle tumult of dark waves?��

My first thought after reading this was "wow, I can't believe Ava Reid wrote this specifically for me, a PhD candidate in marine biology". To be fair, I also thought this with Juniper and Thorn... I swear sometimes she's pulling long seated thoughts and feelings from the deepest recesses in my mind and putting them into words I never thought possible.

”That was the cruelest irony: the more you did to save yourself, the less you became a person worth saving.��

"Before the ocean is friend or foe, it simply is. And so are you"

--

the perfect audiobook to listen to while processing lobster samples
]]> Limerence (Fated Fixation #1) 214881313 A dark secret.
And a sociopath who can't decide whether he'd rather kill me or kiss me.

Welcome to Lionswood Prep, the world's most elite boarding school. Here, old money reigns supreme, and if you can't flaunt your weight in designer labels, you'd better get used to sitting alone. As a poor scholarship student, I know these rules better than anyone. I've perfected the art of pretending I don't envy my classmates' limitless wealth just as well as I've mastered blending into the background.

Until the school's only other scholarship student takes a tumble from the fifth floor.

Mickey Mabel's death is ruled a suicide, but I have my doubts. The only thing I am certain of is that Lionswood's golden boy, Adrian Ellis, is somehow involved. It's a wild suspicion, considering Adrian is not just Lionswood's richest student...but also one of the nicest. He's the kind of guy who buys out the bake sale and caters lunch for a grieving student body... surely, he can't be a murderer, can he?

Most of my classmates worship the ground he walks on, but I've seen enough darkness to sense that there's more than a little of it lurking beneath that pretty smile of his.

I shouldn't get involved, but for the first time in nearly four years, I'm done sticking to the shadows. Except, exposing Adrian doesn't quite go to plan, and now, he has his sights set on me. He's determined to turn senior year into a game of cat-and-mouse, one where I'm not sure if his end goal is to kill me or possess me.

And the longer we play, the less certain I am that I want to escape his snare.

After all, I've got a few dark secrets of my own.

Limerence is an 18+ dark romance featuring an obsessed love interest that is unapologetically morally black. The relationship between our hero and heroine is not a healthy one and features themes of dubious consent, emotional manipulation, and other explicit content that may be upsetting to some readers. Please check the full list of trigger warnings inside. ]]> 415 H.C. Dolores Lydia 0 to-read 4.26 2024 Limerence (Fated Fixation #1)

author: H.C. Dolores
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Kameer's Mate: A Dark Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Worldship Brides Book 5)]]> 221802016 Sold to a darkly possessive alien.
Trained to be his dutiful wife...

Betrothed to a wealthy human Founder, Mandy is relieved she won't be forced to mate with one of the Darrvason aliens who are helping her people, unlike most of her peers. But then the unthinkable happens. A huge alien named Kameer takes a liking to her, and her fiancé mysteriously dies.

After Kameer, a renowned Darrvason engineer, is assigned to make repairs on the human worldship, he encounters an enchantingly beautiful female called Mandy. He immediately decides she'll become his mate, no matter the cost, and when he discovers she's betrothed to a human male, he quietly resolves the situation. Then he's quick to take ownership of the trembling female and claim her as his mate. Despite her reluctance, he also begins training her to be a proper, obedient wife.

Mandy is terrified of the controlling Darrvason male who's decided she'll belong to him forever. Her trepidation deepens when she learns he paid a hefty bribe to secure her hand in marriage, though she can't deny the warm feelings Kameer's touch elicits within her. His dominant mating leaves her breathless, and his strict punishments make her ache with longing. But how could she possibly find happiness with the possessive male who is likely responsible for her fiancé's death?]]> 262 Sue Lyndon Lydia 4 arcs, ebooks, read-2024 I must guard my heart. If my defenses fall and a bond forms between us, there will be no going back. Darrvasons mate for life.

Kameer's Mate is the next instalment in the Worldship Brides series that continues to explore the ongoing alliance between humans and the Darravason alien race. As humanity relies on the advanced technology of the Darravason to preserve their ships, the aliens seek ~~breedable~~ human females to restore their population after a devastating war nearly annihilated their own species' females.

I had mentioned in my review of the previous book that I really enjoy that the 4 stories were taking place all on the same timeline, but we were seeing the major events happening from different perspectives. Kameer's Mate is the first to step outside of that and now represents the continuation of the timeline, up to the humans and Darrvasons landing on their new planet.

Kameer and Mandy's story is a continuation of the females that figured they were "safe" from the selection as a mate, in this case Mandy and her sister were set up in arranged marriages with elder founders (like in their 90's elders, ew) to (i) protect them from the Darrvasons and (ii) to help solidify their standing in this new planet. But a chance encounter between Mandy and Kameer derails Mandy's plans...

Touching [Mandy] feels like... coming home. That's the only way I can describe it. An immense feeling of rightness. Destiny.

Kameer's Mate: A Dark Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Worldship Brides Book 5)

author: Sue Lyndon
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.36
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/27
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves: arcs, ebooks, read-2024
review:

I must guard my heart. If my defenses fall and a bond forms between us, there will be no going back. Darrvasons mate for life.

Kameer's Mate is the next instalment in the Worldship Brides series that continues to explore the ongoing alliance between humans and the Darravason alien race. As humanity relies on the advanced technology of the Darravason to preserve their ships, the aliens seek ~~breedable~~ human females to restore their population after a devastating war nearly annihilated their own species' females.

I had mentioned in my review of the previous book that I really enjoy that the 4 stories were taking place all on the same timeline, but we were seeing the major events happening from different perspectives. Kameer's Mate is the first to step outside of that and now represents the continuation of the timeline, up to the humans and Darrvasons landing on their new planet.

Kameer and Mandy's story is a continuation of the females that figured they were "safe" from the selection as a mate, in this case Mandy and her sister were set up in arranged marriages with elder founders (like in their 90's elders, ew) to (i) protect them from the Darrvasons and (ii) to help solidify their standing in this new planet. But a chance encounter between Mandy and Kameer derails Mandy's plans...

Touching [Mandy] feels like... coming home. That's the only way I can describe it. An immense feeling of rightness. Destiny.

In classic Sue Lyndon fashion there is a power dynamic between the two, with Kameer expecting an obedient mate and Mandy being "so fucking tired of of males telling me what to do". These are considered dark romance so definitely recommend double checking those content warnings
]]> North Woods 199112718
This magisterial and highly inventive novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason brims with love and madness, humor and hope. Following the cycles of history, nature, and even language, North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we’re connected to our environment, to history, and to one another. It is not just an unforgettable novel about secrets and destinies, but a way of looking at the world that asks the timeless question: How do we live on, even after we’re gone?]]> 11 Daniel Mason 0593790510 Lydia 5 4.03 2023 North Woods

author: Daniel Mason
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/21
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: audiobooks, hits-different, i-cried, read-2024
review:
Finishing this at 3 am with a slight buzz and I am unwell
]]> <![CDATA[Coerced Queen (New York Underworld #3)]]> 215271835 My husband will never love me, but I’m in this now until death do us part.

The man who threatened to carry me over his shoulder down the aisle and marry me at knifepoint is both my captor and my liberator. He makes me weak and strong at the same time.

Before, he didn’t give me an option. Now, there’s a choice. But he’s determined to push me away.

If I’m wise, I’ll take that freedom and run for my life. Because the heart of the man who captured and saved me will always belong to the woman who broke it. The man who calls himself my husband will never be mine.

Only, there is no choice for me any longer. It’s way too late to walk away.

I’m in this war now �� until death do us part.

Coerced Queen is Book 3 in the dark mafia romance trilogy, New York Underworld, and concludes Anya and Saverio's story. Coerced Kiss (Book 1) and Coerced Wife (Book 2) must be read first.]]> 440 Charmaine Pauls Lydia 0 4.38 Coerced Queen (New York Underworld #3)

author: Charmaine Pauls
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.38
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/18
shelves: currently-reading, ebooks, kobo-plus
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Coerced Wife (New York Underworld #2)]]> 215340868 He offers me protection, but the bed of a killer isn’t a safe place to be.

I got myself in a predicament. Powerful people on both sides of the law want me dead. A killer needs me alive for his own selfish reasons, reasons I never could’ve imagined in my wildest dreams.

I’m not safe in the bed of a cold–blooded murderer, but I don’t have a choice. On the one hand, he offers me protection, and on the other, he tightens the noose.

I’m caught in his web of lies and deceit. Every truth that’s uncovered destroys me a little more. But he’s already injected me with his venomous seduction.

Before I know it, he’ll swallow me whole.

Coerced Wife is Book 2 of the New York Underworld trilogy. Coerced Kiss (Book 1) must be read first. Anya and Saverio's story concludes in Coerced Queen (Book 3).]]> 270 Charmaine Pauls Lydia 4 ebooks, arcs, read-2024 4.39 Coerced Wife (New York Underworld #2)

author: Charmaine Pauls
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.39
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: ebooks, arcs, read-2024
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Theory of Dreaming (A Study in Drowning, #2)]]> 213691721
All stories come to an end.

Effy learned that when she defeated the Fairy King. Even though she may never know exactly what happened at Hiraeth, she is free of her nightmares and is able to pen a thesis with Preston on the beloved national fairy tale Angharad. She has finally earned a spot at the literature college, making her the first woman in history to enroll.

But some dreams are dangerous, especially when they come true. The entire university—and soon the entire nation—is waiting for her to fail. With the Fairy King defeated and Myrddin’s legacy exposed, Effy can no longer escape into fantasy. Who is she without her stories?

With Effy under threat, Preston is surprised to discover a rage simmering inside him, ringing in his ears like bells. He begins to dream of a palace under the sea, a world where he is king—visions that start to follow him even in waking.

As the war between Llyr and Argant explodes, Effy and Preston find themselves caught in the crossfire: Effy losing her dreams and Preston losing himself in his.

Are dreams ever truly just dreams?]]> 384 Ava Reid 1804953814 Lydia 0 to-read, 2025-anticipated 4.24 2025 A Theory of Dreaming (A Study in Drowning, #2)

A Theory of Dreaming (A Study in Drowning, #2)

author: Ava Reid
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/13
shelves: to-read, 2025-anticipated
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Gilded Crown (The Raven's Trade #1)]]> 199534723 The Witch’s Heart��meets��The Priory of the Orange Tree��in this debut novel about a woman who can bring people back from the dead, and the princess—and only heir to the throne—that she must protect, no matter the cost. The first time Hellevir visited Death, she was ten years old�� Since she was a little girl, Hellevir has been able to raise the dead. Every creature can be saved for a price, a price demanded by the shrouded figure who rules the afterlife, who takes a little more from Hellevir with each soul she resurrects. Such a gift can rarely remain a secret. When Princess Sullivain, sole heir to the kingdom’s throne, is assassinated, the Queen summons Hellevir to demand she bring her granddaughter back to life. But once is not enough; the killers might strike again. The Princess’s death would cause a civil war, so the Queen commands that Hellevir remain by her side. But Sullivain is no easy woman to be bound to, even as Hellevir begins to fall in love with her. With the threat of war looming, Hellevir must trade more and more of herself to keep the Princess alive. But Death will always take what he is owed.]]> 384 Marianne Gordon 0063248778 Lydia 0 to-read 3.68 2023 The Gilded Crown (The Raven's Trade #1)

author: Marianne Gordon
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Monsoon Rising (The Hurricane Wars #2)]]> 206317267 Two hearts circle each other in the eye of the storm in this highly-anticipated follow-up to The Hurricane Wars—prepare for more enemies-to-lovers romance, magical adventures, and political schemes in this Southeast Asian-inspired world.

After a lifetime of war, Alaric and Talasyn were thrust into an alliance between their homelands that was supposed to end the fighting; however, being married to their sworn foe feels far from peaceful. Now Talasyn must play the part of Alaric’s willing empress while her allies secretly plot to overthrow his reign. But the longer the couple are forced together, the harder it becomes to deny the feelings crackling like lightning between them. When the time comes to act, can she trust him, or must she ignore her heart for the sake of so many others?

As the master of the Shadowforged Legion, Alaric has trained for battle all his life, but marrying a Lightweaver might be his most dangerous challenge yet. With tensions between nations churning, he needs to focus on the greater threat—the Moonless Dark, a cataclysmic magical event that could devour everything. Only he and Talasyn can stop it, with a powerful merging of light and shadow that they alone can create together. But saving their world from this disaster is a mere preface to his father’s more sinister schemes, and his wife is a burning flame in the darkness, tempting both his loyalties and his desires.

The Hurricane Wars aren’t over. It’s time to choose what—and who—to fight for. The world holds its breath amidst a whirlwind of new magic and old secrets that could change everything.]]> 389 Thea Guanzon 0063277328 Lydia 5 4.25 2024 A Monsoon Rising (The Hurricane Wars #2)

A Monsoon Rising (The Hurricane Wars #2)

author: Thea Guanzon
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2024/12/06
shelves: 2024-anticipated, arcs, audiobooks, pre-ordered, read-2024
review:
sounds like things are gonna be wet & blowing
]]> <![CDATA[Claus (Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides #7)]]> 219124453 The lonely alien warrior needs a human bride.

On war-torn Earth, former interstellar translator Aubrey struggles to raise her late sister's three young boys. It's not easy when resources are scarce, her hometown is embroiled in civil unrest, and her ex-fiancé keeps causing trouble. But she's determined to make a happy life for her nephews. Whatever it takes, she'll keep them safe and fed and ensure they feel loved. She also hopes to make the upcoming holiday season as magical as possible.

Vaxxlian warrior Claus is on a mission to find a human wife. He signs up for Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides and travels to Earth, only to learn his assigned mate has tragically passed away. The petite female who delivers this news is the sister of his intended mate, and Claus is quick to propose a marriage of convenience between Aubrey and himself. He promises to always take care of her and the children. Unfortunately, the stubborn human woman is suspicious of his motives. She's also reluctant to leave Earth.

Aubrey is shocked by the arrival of the musclebound alien warrior, and she doesn't know what to think of his persistence. No matter how many times she sends him away, he keeps coming back. He also seems to have won over her nephews. To further complicate matters, she cannot deny her growing attraction to the handsome alien, especially after he chases her ex-fiancé away. And when he dresses up like Santa and hands out presents to her nephews on Christmas Eve? Be still her heart.

But can a marriage of convenience between total strangers really work?]]> 123 Sue Mercury Lydia 0 arcs, read-2024 4.46 2024 Claus (Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides #7)

Claus (Vaxxlian Alien Mail Order Brides #7)

author: Sue Mercury
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/14
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: arcs, read-2024
review:

]]> Older 209745049 Before he discovered my age, he uncovered my heart.

Bruised and abused, and victim to a loveless household, I shimmered with new life the moment he found me drowning my sorrows in a lake beneath the stars.

A chance encounter. An unspoken connection.

I was smitten; he was curious.

But, as everyone knew, fate could be decidedly cruel.

He called me Halley, like the comet.

I called him Reed.

And my best friend?

Well…she called him Dad.

Older is a forbidden, slow-burn, age-gap romance standalone, ending in an HEA.]]> 436 Jennifer Hartmann Lydia 0 to-read 4.07 2024 Older

author: Jennifer Hartmann
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All Shall Mourn (None Shall Sleep, #3)]]> 220127403 The third and final book in the None Shall Sleep Sequence.

Simon Gutmunsson is on the loose... Since the disastrous events of the College Killer case, the FBI is coming to terms with the fact that while catching one sociopath, they've released another. Chillingly manipulative, frighteningly intelligent, and wholly insane, Simon Gutmunsson is the worst of the worst. Now he's free, and on the run with his twin sister Kristin, and nobody in the FBI is smart enough to keep up...

Travis Bell's last investigation for FBI Behavioral Science nearly killed him. Supported by family and his partner Emma Lewis, now Travis just needs to get back on his feet. But Emma has been recruited to help the FBI hunt the ultimate sociopath, Simon Gutmunsson, and there's no way Travis is letting her go into this battle alone...

Emma Lewis has gained some perspective on life, and as her emotional walls come down, she realizes that only by working as a perfect team will she and Travis have any chance of beating the Gutmunsson twins at their own terrifying game. So in a journey that will take them from Moroccan souks to Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations, the stage is set for Simon and Kristin and Emma and Travis to meet up in an epic final showdown.

]]> 372 Ellie Marney 0648425835 Lydia 0 to-read, 2025-anticipated 4.07 2025 All Shall Mourn (None Shall Sleep, #3)

author: Ellie Marney
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves: to-read, 2025-anticipated
review:
the fact the publisher didn't want to pick up book 3 is DISGRACEFUL, but I am so happy Ellie Marney is able to independently publish it. I love this series so much
]]> The Horde King of Shadow 219665645 The fearsome creature came from across Drukkar’s Sea…and there was a rider on its back.

As a scholar in Dothik’s library, Klara has spent her life trying to understand the strange dreams that have plagued her since she was a child—visions of dragons and a world with no written record. Rejected by her royal bloodline after her mother’s death, Klara hides her chilling secret, knowing her rare magic could get her killed.

But when a dragon suddenly appears in Dothik, those dreams become a monstrous reality.

Sarkin Dirak’zar, king of the Sarrothian horde, cares only about finding heartstones—the dwindling power source for their revered dragons. Ice-cold and merciless, the last thing Sarkin wants is a wife, especially a weak and unwanted princess who likely won’t last one night on dragonback. Yet the key to acquiring heartstones lies in Klara’s visions, and so he gives her a cruel choice: marry him to save her people…or let Dothik burn.

Her first duty as queen? Claim a dragon of her own. What’s even more alarming is that unexpected desire begins to simmer with her beguiling but guarded husband...even though his barbed cage of a heart is only meant to keep her away.]]> Zoey Draven Lydia 0 to-read 4.04 2024 The Horde King of Shadow

author: Zoey Draven
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tusk Love (Critical Role Book 1)]]> 221301948 A merchant’s daughter who yearns for adventure gets more than she bargained for when she falls for a broodingly handsome stranger in this saucy romantasy.

As the daughter of an ambitious merchant, Guinevere’s path has been marry into a noble house, raise her family’s station, and live quietly as a lordling’s obedient wife. But Guinevere longs for a life unbounded by expectations, for freedom and passion and adventure.

Those distant dreams become a sudden reality when her caravan is beset by bandits, leaving her guards slain and Guinevere stranded alone on the dangerous Amber Road. Her only chance of survival is to travel alongside Oskar, the aloof half-orc who saved her during the attack.

Oskar may be terse, but beneath his cold exterior is a man who is brave and thoughtful �� and unlike anyone Guinevere has ever met. And while Guinevere may be sheltered, she brings out a softness in Oskar that he has never dared to feel before. As the flames of their passion grow, they realize that soon they’ll need to choose between their expected destinations and their blossoming romance.

Written by Sunday Times bestselling author Thea Guanzon, Tusk Love brings the most romantic story in Critical Role to life.]]> Thea Guanzon 180495523X Lydia 0 to-read 4.33 2025 Tusk Love (Critical Role Book 1)

author: Thea Guanzon
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Cruel Winter with You (Under the Mistletoe Collection, #1)]]> 220389458 New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.

All newly minted pediatrician Jamie Malek wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc—her best friend’s troublemaking brother, who’s now a tech billionaire. He’s the one who got away. She’s the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.

Ali Hazelwood’s Cruel Winter with You is part of Under the Mistletoe, a stirring collection of December romances that thrill and tingle all the way. They can be read or listened to in one swoony sitting.]]> 73 Ali Hazelwood 1662528396 Lydia 0 to-read 3.68 2024 Cruel Winter with You (Under the Mistletoe Collection, #1)

Cruel Winter with You (Under the Mistletoe Collection, #1)

author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Feathers from the Sky (The Hunting Vengeance Duet #1)]]> 122537127
I am a husk seeking oblivion.

Broken after the death of her parents, Gwyn Parsons self-medicates with alcohol and skin contact. She doesn't forge real connections, and she's lost sight of who she even is. Prompted by the memory of a past betrayal, she decides to be vulnerable. Allowing a friend to coordinate a matchmaking photo shoot with a stranger, Gwyn takes a step toward something dangerous and unpredictable.

Something she can't control.

ROMAN

Her heart is better off in a box than in my hands.

Roman Sauveterre's search for his brother's killer, murdered while looking for the last two vampire hunters, has brought him to Gwyn Parsons. Where his brother and those before him have failed, Roman will not. Set to inherit leadership over his vampire coven, Roman must prove to his father he deserves it. Taking out the last threat to his people while avenging his brother's death should suffice. He knows everything there is to know about Gwyn and her father, far more than she seems to. Not convinced that the walking disaster of a person he's stalked these last few months could have had anything to do with his brother's death, he seeks answers by getting closer. When his patience pays off and he finds himself posing for steamy photographs with the last living vampire hunter, her apple pie scent and body in his hands are a temptation he doesn't expect. And when his father demands Gwyn's heart, Roman must make a choice.

When Gwyn's inner thoughts are silenced by the inimitable Roman Sauveterre, she is drawn to him in a way she fears. And when Roman starts to question his loyalty because of her, he knows a decision must be made.

But will either of them survive it?]]> 436 Jess Wisecup Lydia 0 to-read 3.98 Feathers from the Sky (The Hunting Vengeance Duet #1)

Feathers from the Sky (The Hunting Vengeance Duet #1)

author: Jess Wisecup
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.98
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Witch Queen of Halloween (Immortals After Dark, #18.5)]]> 210392714
A demon soldier of fortune . . .
Rök Kours dives into a dangerous job, only to cross swords with the one woman who bewitched him.

A Wiccan mercenary . . .
Poppy Dyer has never let her uncontrollable magic interfere with her work, but she can barely withstand one demon's charms.

Trapped in a terrifying lair.
If the two rivals can defeat Halloween's worst nightmares to escape a haunted castle, can they overcome their pasts to claim a future together?]]> 182 Kresley Cole Lydia 0 to-read 4.00 2024 The Witch Queen of Halloween (Immortals After Dark, #18.5)

The Witch Queen of Halloween (Immortals After Dark, #18.5)

author: Kresley Cole
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mouse Bones: Revenant Academy Book I]]> 198723982 After her untimely death, Agnes wakes up on a college campus�� in purgatory.

She's been selected for admittance to Revenant Academy- the leading institution in posthumous education. While Revenant Academy might look like a picturesque college campus at first glance, it’s crawling with extinct animals and a labyrinthian archive of the dead.

When Agnes’s sorting goes awry, she finds herself with more questions than answers, but the school makes it clear that if she can't leave her mortal secrets buried, she'll be "expelled". But it’s not just the past that puts her at risk. After she’s attacked by one of the mysterious creatures that lurk in the dark wood surrounding campus, her devilishly attractive Transparency professor is tasked with teaching her how to defend herself before the beast has the opportunity to strike again.

As their attraction grows and Agnes's curiosity about her death deepens, she soon realizes that Revenant Academy is not entirely what it seems. Someone in purgatory has an agenda, and she's a part of their plan, whether she likes it or not.

*This new adult cozy horror romance novel features gore and adult romantic situations... and also a really big snake.]]> 309 Kinsey Presley-Hornung Lydia 0 to-read 4.28 Mouse Bones: Revenant Academy Book I

author: Kinsey Presley-Hornung
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.28
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Diamonds in the Rough (Diamonds are Forever #2)]]> 53194354 A DARK MAFIA ROMANCE

Girls like me, we know how to survive.
We each have our own little ways, but we acquire those skills at the same tender age.

If you ask me how many times a person can die, I’ll tell you many times. As many times as a man stabs you in the stomach with betrayal and wrings out your heart with lies.

Girls like me, we live.
We don’t get a choice.
We step over the cliff and fall.
Eat, sleep, die, and repeat.

(Diamonds in the Rough is Book 2 of the Diamonds are Forever Trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. Diamonds in the Dust (Book 1) must be read to follow the story. Diamonds are Forever (Book 3) concludes the story and will be released on 15 September 2020.)]]> 210 Charmaine Pauls Lydia 0 4.16 2020 Diamonds in the Rough (Diamonds are Forever #2)

Diamonds in the Rough (Diamonds are Forever #2)

author: Charmaine Pauls
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2024/09/06
date added: 2024/10/21
shelves: read-2024, kobo-plus, own, ebooks
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Diamonds in the Dust (Diamonds are Forever #1)]]> 52716650 A DARK MAFIA ROMANCE

Men like us, we see things.
We do things, things that make us unfeeling.

That’s the price of power and money, of living la belle vie and running the French mafia. Then she came along like a pretty wildflower pushing through the cracks on a dirty pavement—fragile yet resilient, a breath of beauty among the filth. She was supposed to be just another job, a nameless person I was to pluck from her life and hand to my brother, nothing but a pawn in the gamble of our diamond business.

There’s a psychological label for men like us.
We lack empathy and guilt.
We do things to have what we want, things that make flowers wilt.

(This is Book 1 of the Diamonds are Forever Trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. Diamonds in the Rough (Book 2) will be released on 14 July 2020, and Diamonds are Forever (Book 3) on 15 September 2020.)]]> 245 Charmaine Pauls Lydia 0 4.04 2020 Diamonds in the Dust (Diamonds are Forever #1)

Diamonds in the Dust (Diamonds are Forever #1)

author: Charmaine Pauls
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at: 2024/09/06
date added: 2024/10/21
shelves: read-2024, ebooks, kobo-plus, own
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Heated Rivals (The O'Malley's #2)]]> 63251909 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert continues her smoking-hot series about the O'Malleys-wealthy, powerful, and full of scandalous family secrets.

Carrigan O'Malley has always known her arranged marriage would be more about power and prestige than passion. But after one taste of the hard-bodied, whiskey-voiced James Halloran, she's ruined for anyone else. Too bad James and his family are enemy number 1.

Hallorans vs. O'Malleys-that's how it's always been. James should be thinking more about how to expand his family's empire instead of how silky Carrigan's skin is against his and how he can next get her into his bed. Those are dangerous thoughts. But not nearly as dangerous as he'll be if he can't get what he wants: Carrigan by his side for the rest of their lives.

Previously published as The Wedding Pact.]]> 320 Katee Robert 1538743299 Lydia 0 read-2024, ebooks 3.75 2016 Heated Rivals (The O'Malley's #2)

author: Katee Robert
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at: 2024/08/30
date added: 2024/10/21
shelves: read-2024, ebooks
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Coerced Kiss (New York Underworld #1)]]> 215214468 I’m an alibi for a killer, but he demands so much more than my testimony.

I stumbled across something I wasn’t supposed to discover. I saw something I wasn’t meant to see, and now I’m an alibi for a killer. He’s the most feared and powerful man in the New York underworld. I don’t have a choice but to do as he says.

But he commands so much more than just my testimony.

Anya and Saverio's story continues in Coerced Wife (Book 2) and concludes in Coerced Queen (Book 3).]]> 370 Charmaine Pauls Lydia 4 arcs, read-2024, ebooks "In this moment, as I become the master of her fate, her heart beats only for me. For the first time in my life, I know what it feels like to own a life."

]]> 4.21 Coerced Kiss (New York Underworld #1)

author: Charmaine Pauls
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.21
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/20
date added: 2024/10/21
shelves: arcs, read-2024, ebooks
review:

"In this moment, as I become the master of her fate, her heart beats only for me. For the first time in my life, I know what it feels like to own a life."

]]> <![CDATA[The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)]]> 22878967 It has been twenty years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs—once thought of almost as gods—were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs' fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion's Four Tenets. A representation of these laws is now written into the flesh of any who use the Gift, forcing those so marked into absolute obedience.

As a student of the Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war fought—and lost—before he was born. Despised by most beyond the school walls, he and those around him are all but prisoners as they attempt to learn control of the Gift. Worse, as Davian struggles with his lessons, he knows that there is further to fall if he cannot pass his final tests.

But when Davian discovers he has the ability to wield the forbidden power of the Augurs, he sets into motion a chain of events that will change everything. To the north, an ancient enemy long thought defeated begins to stir. And to the west, a young man whose fate is intertwined with Davian’s wakes up in the forest, covered in blood and with no memory of who he is…]]> 602 James Islington 099258020X Lydia 0 to-read 4.13 2014 The Shadow of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)

author: James Islington
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Beast Within (Broken Kings, #1)]]> 220310477
COMING SOON]]> Bre Sylva Lydia 0 to-read 0.0

author: Bre Sylva
name: Lydia
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/10/12
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[A Love Most Fatal (Morelli Family #1)]]> 214387949
When an ill-advised date with her Godson’s math teacher goes horribly wrong, she brings him under her protection while she figures out who’s sabotaging her operation.

Nate, the goofy, dog-owning teacher, wants nothing to do with her after learning that she’s the queen of organized crime in the city. But when the choice is life or death, he chooses to accept her help and move in for the summer. Bored out of his mind, though, Nate offers his services on the hunt for a suitable husband, interviewing every eligible mafioso in Massachusetts.

But when more sparks begin to fly between her and Nate instead of her and her suitors... she starts to wonder. Can they work and live together, without falling for each other along the way?]]> 354 Kath Richards Lydia 0 to-read 4.05 A Love Most Fatal (Morelli Family #1)

author: Kath Richards
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Wolf and the Woodsman 48915408
But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.

As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.

In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut�� inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.]]> 448 Ava Reid 1529100739 Lydia 5 hits-different 3.51 2021 The Wolf and the Woodsman

author: Ava Reid
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/05/04
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: hits-different
review:

]]> Only a Monster (Monsters, #1) 53183779 In every story there is a hero and a monster.

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother's eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

Then a Good Samaritan attempt gone wrong sends Joan spinning through time, and her life quickly begins to unravel.
Her family aren't just they're monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers.And Nick isn't just a cute he's a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She'll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .

. . . she is not the hero.]]> 368 Vanessa Len 1529380073 Lydia 0 to-read 3.91 2022 Only a Monster (Monsters, #1)

author: Vanessa Len
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Diamonds are Forever (Diamonds are Forever #3)]]> 53194365
My love is wasted like gemstones in the dust, walked over by an oblivious shoe. It takes many suffering years and layers of mountains to squeeze carbon into a precious stone. Now that I’m polished and hard like a diamond, he doesn’t get to kick me back into the dirt.

Men like him don’t love women like me.
They don’t love.
Period.

But he made me.
He’ll live with me.
Because diamonds are forever.

(Diamonds are Forever concludes this trilogy. Book 1, Diamonds in the Dust, and Book 2, Diamonds in the Rough, must be read to follow the story.)]]> 245 Charmaine Pauls Lydia 0 currently-reading 3.94 2020 Diamonds are Forever (Diamonds are Forever #3)

Diamonds are Forever (Diamonds are Forever #3)

author: Charmaine Pauls
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Desire in His Blood (Brides of the Kylorr, #1)]]> 63130733
Gemma Hara is drowning under the weight of her father’s debts. Working herself to the bone, she knows that if she doesn’t pay them off in time, the sadistic creditors will take everything: their home, their respected name, and, worst of all, her two beautiful sisters.

To save her family, Gemma agrees to do something reckless: marry a wealthy and mysterious stranger, who offers her a wicked bargain she can’t afford to refuse.

However, his bargain comes with one terrifying catch. Because her husband-to-be is a Kylorr.

One of the most fearsome alien races in the Four Quadrants, the Kylorr are beastly monsters, all muscle and menace, with powerful wings, depraved cravings, and berserker-like rages. The worst part?

They survive on blood.

Cold and cruel, Azur of House Kaalium, the High Lord of Laras, demands Gemma as his blood bride. To feed from her. To use her body in whatever way he wishes. For paying off her family’s debts, he expects her complete submission.

What neither of them predicts is how his bite doesn’t bring pain—it fills Gemma with more exquisite pleasure than she’s ever known. And as she finds her footing on a strange new planet, the one thing Gemma thought she’d never surrender might be at risk after all.

Her heart.

Too bad her new husband can’t seem to decide if he wants to break it…or keep it forever.]]> 428 Zoey Draven Lydia 0 to-read 4.16 2022 Desire in His Blood (Brides of the Kylorr, #1)

Desire in His Blood (Brides of the Kylorr, #1)

author: Zoey Draven
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dark Succession 62315848 The New York Times bestselling author of Radiant Sin��delivers a smoking hot series about the O'Malley family��wealthy, powerful, dangerous and seething with scandal.

Teague O'Malley hates everything associated with his family's name. And when his father orders him to marry Callista Sheridan to create a "business" alliance, Teague's ready to cut ties once and for all. But then Teague actually meets Callista, sees the bruises on her neck and the trauma in her eyes and vows he will do everything in his power to avenge her.

Everyone knows the O'Malleys are dangerous. But Callie wasn't prepared for his brand of lethal grace and coiled power. His slightest touch scorches through her. But the closer they get, the more trouble they're in. Because Callie's keeping a dark secret—and what Teague doesn't know could get him killed.

Previously published as The Marriage Contract.]]> 336 Katee Robert 1538741040 Lydia 3 arcs, ebooks, read-2024 I might not have been the one to choose you, but you're mine, Teague O'Malley, for better or worse.
]]> 3.53 2015 Dark Succession

author: Katee Robert
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/28
date added: 2024/08/29
shelves: arcs, ebooks, read-2024
review:

I might not have been the one to choose you, but you're mine, Teague O'Malley, for better or worse.

]]> A Stirring from the Depths 216708144 Iona , a Selkie, was brought forth from the ocean to protect seals from the evils of men. It's a compulsion she cannot deny, and she’s lived a solitary life defined by her duty.

Cian is a Kelpie, a creature that can shift between a man and a horse. Born of the river, he must seduce and drown the women he loves in order to survive as he is�� an immortal master of enchanted disguise. The two are trapped in a cycle of instinct and death, villains to the outside world and strangers to themselves.

Their fates become intertwined when Cian saves Iona’s life after she’s been shot by seal hunters. Cian vows to help find Iona’s lost coat and claim vengeance upon the men who murdered her kin and gravely wounded her. The two creatures couldn’t be more different from one another, but while journeying together they glimpse a different kind of life neither dared hope for themselves.

When Cian falls for Iona, the river demands he sacrifice her or else go mad and lose his magic. He refuses, and Iona finds him on the brink of insanity. She must navigate the human world to save him, even if it means losing everything she loves, including a new life with Cian.]]> 294 Kait Waterhouse Lydia 0 to-read, arcs 3.97 2024 A Stirring from the Depths

author: Kait Waterhouse
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/22
shelves: to-read, arcs
review:

]]> Love and Other Conspiracies 202468452 The hardest thing for a paranormal conspiracy theorist and a web series producer to believe in is finding love in this swoony debut romantic comedy.

Hallie Barrett's life has imploded after she's dumped by her hotshot ex, who also happens to be her coworker and the star of the online series she was producing. Without a new show to present for the company competition, she’ll be out of a job. But inspiration can come from the strangest places . . . like the most handsome guy she’s ever seen passionately discussing Bigfoot on a late-night docuseries.

Hayden Hargrove made a name for himself as a cryptid expert on his hit podcast, and is intrigued by the plucky, blue-haired producer who offers him the opportunity to lead his own web show. When the production team sees that Hayden’s solo on-screen presence is bad enough to make a ghost blanch, Hallie jumps on camera too, hitting him (and his cryptids) with a healthy dose of skepticism—and enough chemistry to electrify their show to the top of the competition.

As Hayden and Hallie investigate the unknown, they unearth feelings for each other that shake their beliefs to the core. In their search for Mothman, aliens, and the truth, the most elusive discovery might just be learning to love again.]]> 368 Mallory Marlowe 059364008X Lydia 0 to-read 3.93 2024 Love and Other Conspiracies

author: Mallory Marlowe
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1)]]> 201626991
She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both 'brilliant' (Holly Black) and 'supremely satisfying' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.]]> 435 Sarah Rees Brennan 0316568716 Lydia 0 to-read 3.87 2024 Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1)

author: Sarah Rees Brennan
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lady Macbeth 202102084 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ava Reid comes a reimagining of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her.

The Lady knows the stories: how her eyes induce madness in men.��

The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed.��

The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of strategy, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive.��

But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armor. She does not know that her magic is greater and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world.��

She does not know this yet. But she will.]]> 320 Ava Reid 0593722566 Lydia 0 to-read, 2024-anticipated 3.46 2024 Lady Macbeth

author: Ava Reid
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.46
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: to-read, 2024-anticipated
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Marriage Favor (Crenshaw Kings #1)]]> 167582892 This is a standalone novel.]]> 533 Shvonne Latrice Lydia 0 to-read 4.67

author: Shvonne Latrice
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.67
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Zahhn's Mate (Worldship Brides, #4)]]> 216235684
An alien named Zahhn examines me, and it's the most embarrassing yet thrilling two hours of my life. I think I’ll never see him again�� but when I’m later implicated in a traitorous plot and returned to the brig, my only escape is to become a Darrvason’s bride.

To my utter shock, I’m assigned to the arrogant Dr. Zahhn.

]]> 261 Sue Lyndon Lydia 4 arcs, ebooks, read-2024
]]> 4.02 Zahhn's Mate (Worldship Brides, #4)

author: Sue Lyndon
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.02
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/31
date added: 2024/07/31
shelves: arcs, ebooks, read-2024
review:
Girls don’t want a boyfriend, they want a 7 foot alien that yearns so deeply for them they accidentally astral project into their bedroom.

]]> <![CDATA[Brute's Mate (Worldship Brides, #3)]]> 202342898 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧...

Being forced to mate with a Darvasson male is my greatest fear. The powerful aliens already took my sister, and the thought of leaving my widowed mother all alone breaks my heart. But the Darvassons are helping ensure the survival of humankind, and they expect compensation.

When an ill-tempered Darvasson named Brute takes an interest in me, I'm utterly terrified. I try to hide, but it's no use. Everywhere I go, the hulking seven-foot-tall security officer is there. Watching me. Guarding me. Stalking me like it's his full-time job.

Then it happens. One day, Brute snaps and carries me away to his private quarters. I try to resist the muscular beast, but it's difficult when his savage growls and fevered kisses make me tremble with longing. He says he's going to claim me, breed me, and keep me as his bride—and he promises there's no escape.

Publisher's Note: Brute's Mate is a dark romance that includes power exchange, spankings, and intense sexual scenes. Please do not purchase or read this book if such material offends you.]]> 240 Sue Lyndon Lydia 4 3.99 Brute's Mate (Worldship Brides, #3)

author: Sue Lyndon
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.99
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/31
date added: 2024/07/31
shelves: ebooks, kindle-unlimited, read-2024, rereads
review:
the way I knew they were going to be the best pairing/book just based on the few lines dropped in book one
]]> <![CDATA[Our Little Secret (Secrets #3)]]> 214076262 The man was confident, smooth, gorgeous as sin.
We had a connection that I had never felt with anyone.
Or so I thought, because the next morning, he was gone before I woke up with a note that led me to believe he was not interested in a repeat.
Feeling rejected and confused, I managed to put him out of my head.
Until now, on my first day of my new job.
Because the man responsible for the best night of my life?
...Is my married boss.
And he hasn’t stopped thinking about me either.

*This book is the third in the Secrets series and can be read as a stand-alone.]]> 328 Q.B. Tyler Lydia 0 to-read 3.95 Our Little Secret (Secrets #3)

author: Q.B. Tyler
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.95
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Curvy Girl Summer (Curve, #1) 154986013
Aaliyah is determined to celebrate her thirtieth birthday with a boyfriend. And after a failed blind date, the local bartender, Ahmad, suggests she joins a dating app.

Filled with lies, catfish, and fetishizing, the wild world of online dating makes Aaliyah think she’s in over her head.

And she is. But with her two best friends and a protective bartender by her side, what could go wrong?

Everything.

Everything could go wrong.

And that’s the problem.

Because as Aaliyah is set on finding exactly what she’s looking for, she ends up finding something she never expects.]]> 368 Danielle Allen 1250331048 Lydia 0 to-read 4.17 2024 Curvy Girl Summer (Curve, #1)

author: Danielle Allen
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Forget Me Not 60884178
Silas, the unknown man in Eliza’s dreams has spent most of his life as a contract pirate, formally known as a Mako, mining the unexplored lands of dangerous moons to earn a living. Having dreamt about a woman he’s never met every night for as long as he can remember, Silas has never allowed himself a relationship that reaches beyond confident that one day, he would find the woman in his fantasies somewhere in the universe.

With Silas returning to the Otera following a final job for a man to which he owes a debt; and Eliza heading back home after visiting the Glade moon with her partner�� the two come face to face as both of their connection pods land on a transport vessel heading in the same direction.

Forced into the same proximity for the duration of travel, they struggle to understand what it means for them to finally meet when the universe seems to be pulling them both in different directions. Eliza, attached to, and traveling with her long-term partner. And Silas, fulfilling a dangerous deal with a crime syndicate with whom he has a past.

When the pair bond over their shared love for forgotten Earth-age classic literature, and the ways in which each have fallen in love with the other in their dreams, Eliza is torn between the life she’s always known on the Otera with her partner, and the infinite possibility of a future with the man she knows is her soulmate.]]> 351 Karissa Kinword Lydia 0 3.44 2022 Forget Me Not

author: Karissa Kinword
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/16
shelves: soulmate-trope-recs, dnf-will-return
review:

]]>