Monika's Updates en-US Wed, 30 Apr 2025 17:19:33 -0700 60 Monika's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7116135836 Wed, 30 Apr 2025 17:19:33 -0700 <![CDATA[Monika added 'My Dark Fairy Tale']]> /review/show/7116135836 My Dark Fairy Tale by Giana Darling Monika gave 5 stars to My Dark Fairy Tale (My Dark Mafia Romance, #1) by Giana Darling
bookshelves: 25-read, age-gap, angsty, anti-hero, mafia-romance, summer-vibes, secret-identity, touch-her-and-you-die-hero, morally-gray-hero
4.5 stars ⭐️ My Dark Fairy Tale is a secret identity, mafia romance. Guinevere has traveled from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Italy. Her father is Italian and was wholly against her trip. Guinevere has dealt with a chronic illness and survived a kidney transplant. This trip that she took in secret was important to her. Immediately she was over her head when she had car trouble and was nearly raped. She got away and ran into Raffa’s car. He helped her. She didn’t know he was head of a mafia family and he didn’t tell her.

This was a great start to a duet! The cliffhanger was excepted but it dangled enough to make me want to pick up the next book immediately! The romance was slower burn. The characters were well developed and I loved the settings from Ann Arbor to Tuscany! The audiobook was fabulous! It’s on KU read and listen! ]]> Review5979890792 Wed, 30 Apr 2025 17:04:03 -0700 <![CDATA[Monika added 'King of Envy']]> /review/show/5979890792 King of Envy by Ana Huang Monika gave 5 stars to King of Envy (Kings of Sin, #5) by Ana Huang
bookshelves: 25-favorite, 25-read, angsty, contemporary-romance, billionaire, dark-romance, fake-dating, morally-gray-hero, mutual-pining, touch-her-and-you-die-hero, strong-heroine
Vuk is everything! Ayana is such a strong heroine, and Vuk! He embodied “touch her and die� vibes. The romance was an all consuming love, and the longing was everything! He was a dark gray hero, and he did anything for her. The tension was perfection! The characterization was immaculate. The storyline had me by my throat. King of Envy did not disappoint and it is my new favorite Ana Huang book! ]]> Rating852847757 Wed, 30 Apr 2025 16:51:10 -0700 <![CDATA[Monika liked a review]]> /
Monika liked Crystal's Bookish Life's review of King of Envy (Kings of Sin, #5):
King of Envy by Ana Huang
"perfection 👌"
]]> Review7531688532 Wed, 30 Apr 2025 12:43:00 -0700 <![CDATA[Monika added 'The Final Faceoff']]> /review/show/7531688532 The Final Faceoff by Kendall Hale Monika gave 4 stars to The Final Faceoff (The Crawford Family Playbook Book 3) by Kendall Hale
bookshelves: 25-read, contemporary-romance, friends-to-lovers, its-always-been-you, sports-romance, surprise-secret-baby
Leif Crawford has been in love with his best friend, Hailey Castilla, for years. He has not acted on his feelings because he knew Hailey ran whenever emotions got involved and he didn’t want to lose her. Hailey is a documentary filmmaker and is a nomad, and the only person that she consistently connects with is Leif, a hockey goalie. When Leif moved to the New York team, and Hailey finds herself in New York because she got pregnant from a one night stand in Greece. Leif stepped in and took care of her. He didn’t care that the baby wasn’t biologically his, because he loved that baby as if it was.

The Final Faceoff is lower angst despite the tropes, and it worked! The friendship that evolved into lovers was well done! Stephanie Nemeth-Parker and Aaron Shedlock were fantastic! They match each other perfectly, and elevated the well written banter! The story was well written and once Leif had Hailey in his bed, the spice level exploded! That and his dirty talk! It was well done!

Thank you to Must Love Audio of the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ]]> Review7384010057 Tue, 29 Apr 2025 05:46:41 -0700 <![CDATA[Monika added 'When We Break']]> /review/show/7384010057 When We Break by Kristen Proby Monika gave 5 stars to When We Break (The Blackwells of Montana #2) by Kristen Proby
bookshelves: 25-read, alpha-hero, contemporary-romance, cowboy, my-wife, small-town-romance, strong-heroine
4.5 stars ⭐️ When We Break is the second book in the Blackwells of Montana series. Beckett wanted Skyla when he first saw her, but it took a bit of courage to ask her out. Skyla is a strong, determined heroine. She is a talented ballerina who had to retire because of a conflict that left her unsafe. Even though her family is very wealthy, she wanted her independence. Beckett has the whole man obsessed/“my woman� vibe down! He called her Irish as a nickname she is Irish. Beckett did everything that made sure that she felt beautiful, safe, and comfortable. The romance plot was very sexy! I love that they were reading Dom by SJ Tilly together! The small town vibe was strong in this book. All of the characters are well fleshed out and felt real. The tease for the next book is WOW! I’d recommend the audiobook. Connor Crais did a phenomenal job as Beckett and he did pull off an Irish accent! As did Stephanie Nemeth-Parker!

Thank you to Kristen Proby for an ALC! All thoughts and opinions are my own. ]]> Review7528166721 Tue, 29 Apr 2025 05:27:13 -0700 <![CDATA[Monika added 'Little Liar']]> /review/show/7528166721 Little Liar by Leigh Rivers Monika gave 4 stars to Little Liar (The Web of Silence Duet, #2) by Leigh Rivers
bookshelves: 25-read, anti-hero, dark-content, dark-romance
Little Liar is dark. Check trigger warnings, which include but not limited to: non-con, CNC, drugging, dubious consent, heavy somnophilia, stalking, kidnapping, death of an animal (spider), spider play, mentions of grooming, spider play, primal play, violence and gore.

Malachi and Olivia are adopted brother and sister, no blood relation. Their relationship is definitely taboo, especially when they call each other brother and sister. Sometimes it got a bit heavy handed, but again for the tone and themes of the book, it worked. The suspense plot is good, and the romance while dark is interesting. Not gonna lie, I did not like the spider play very much as I don’t like spiders, but it worked in the world that Leigh Rivers created. The writing is impeccable, including the pacing and the characters. I was enthralled with the how she wrote them.

If you were waiting for the audiobook to be released, you will not be disappointed! It was impeccably narrated by Heather Firth, Grayson Owens, Michelle Sparks, Sean Masters, Aaron Shedlock, Shane East, and JF Harding.

Thank you to Must Love Audio for an ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ]]> Review7502041870 Mon, 28 Apr 2025 05:40:20 -0700 <![CDATA[Monika added 'A Dark and Secret Magic']]> /review/show/7502041870 A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney Monika gave 5 stars to A Dark and Secret Magic (Hardcover) by Wallis Kinney
bookshelves: 25-read, cozy, paranormal-scifi-romance, romantasy, touch-her-and-you-die-hero, witches
4.5 stars ⭐️ Hecate “Kate� Goodwin is reclusive hedge witch with a deeper magic that her mother repressed to save her. Matthew is a practitioner of shadow magic who was banished 10 years ago, but is back because he cannot leave Kate alone to face who is coming for her. There are a lot of secrets and that must come out in order for Kate to save herself. The world is a rich retelling of Persephone and Hades, but with a fresh take on the myth. I really liked Matthew and Kate’s characters.
]]> Rating851640436 Sun, 27 Apr 2025 08:13:09 -0700 <![CDATA[Monika liked a review]]> /
Monika liked Jennie Damron's review of A Dark and Secret Magic:
A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney
"October is the perfect month to read this wonderful book. The whole book is a homage to the holiday of Halloween. If you love Halloween and all the wonderful treats, tricks, parties, and fun then you absolutely should read this book. The characters are wonderful and the setting is so delightful and charming. There is not a single thing I would change in this book. I have had the worst couple of months. My husband passed away suddenly. This book gave me a much needed escape and time away from my heartache and grief. I highly recommend this book. It's so lovely and just plain good."
]]> Review7522818780 Sun, 27 Apr 2025 07:30:02 -0700 <![CDATA[Monika added 'Hunted for the Holidays : A MMF Captive Christmas Romance Novella']]> /review/show/7522818780 Hunted for the Holidays by Darma Day Monika has read Hunted for the Holidays : A MMF Captive Christmas Romance Novella (Kindle Edition) by Darma Day
bookshelves: 25-read, dark-content, erotic, mmf-mfm, novella, dark-romance, captor-captive
Dark. Captive/Psycho Killers. Little plot. Lots of Spice.Dark. Captive/Psycho Killers. Little plot. Lots of Spice. ]]> Review7502041059 Sat, 26 Apr 2025 18:45:17 -0700 <![CDATA[Monika added 'A Pack for Autumn']]> /review/show/7502041059 A Pack for Autumn by Emilia Emerson Monika gave 4 stars to A Pack for Autumn (Cozyverse, #1) by Emilia Emerson
bookshelves: 25-read, fated-mates, omegaverse, paranormal-scifi-romance, why-choose
3.5 stars ⭐️ A Pack for Autumn is a cozy, small town, why choose omegaverse. Olive is the new lightkeeper. Lars, Easton, and Finn are her alphas. The story was good and the romance was fantastic. I lost interest about 60% into the story as there was a lull in the story. It did pick up in the end.
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