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Jordan’s Shadow by T.R. Cupak – Review by Alexandria Richard

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Jordan's ShadowJordan’s Shadow by T.R. Cupak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As the description states, “This story isn’t about love, like, lust, or a happily ever after. This story, my story, is about struggle, pain, and suffering.”

TW: this book depicts and talks about abandonment, abduction, addiction, adultery, depression, murder, prostitution, rape, self-abuse, and suicide (this list is in alphabetical order, not in order of relevance).

While I am a fan of the dark romance genre anyways, I really enjoyed this book, not because of the romance, but because you travel along with Jordan as she starts to confront her demons; mental and external. You also see how one event can impact a person’s life and the repercussions it has in the years to come (yay psychology!). There is of course sexual encounters between Jordan and her Shadow, but it’s not your typical romance novel. This is a survivor’s story; you get the raw, brutal truth about her feelings and coping mechanisms, or lack thereof.

Jordan’s Shadow also has hints of mystery as chapters swap between Jordan’s Point of View and her client’s, “the Shadow,” who knows more about her past than he should.

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Strings Attached: A Braebeach Rock Romance by Loriana Cappello – Review by Alexandria Richard

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My rating: 4 of 5

Strings AttachedStrings Attached by Loriana Cappello
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Strings Attached by Loriana Cappello is not your average musician romance novel. In Strings Attached, we see two people who have always had a thing for one another but have never been able to tell the other due to outside circumstances. Calla Bryson is back in town for the summer leading up to her final year of University. She’s not ruling out a summer “hook up” but isn’t looking for anything serious, but that all changes when Ashton Chambers, Ash, comes back into her life; helping her after she run headfirst into a lamp post. The two reestablish their friendship while secretly harboring feelings for each other. All the while Ash has to weigh whether he should finish up his last year of Uni or if he should sign his band, Koolum Law, with a record label that has been showing interest. Can their blossoming romance survive the trials and tribulations of everyday life as well as one of them becoming famous?

I really enjoyed this take on the musician romance trope. I liked the characters and enjoyed reading about how they were still growing up on their own, as well as how they grew as a couple. This novel does have a bunch of British/English slang that had me utilizing Google to understand what was going on. There is sexual tension between Cal and Ash, and we get a few sex scenes, but half of the time the scenes are more “fade to black” than explicit. This romance also was more of a slow burn, with the sexual and romantic tension carrying the first quarter of the book. Per Loriana’s Afterward, I look forward to reading more about the side characters in future novels, as well as what comes next for Ash and Cal.

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