REIGN: The Rise of the Lich by Carol McKibben
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Matisse is evil and has been trying to become the immortal Lich. Reign and his band are trying to stop him. Will they be successful? Can Matisse be stopped for good?
Magic-Borne by C.L. Schneider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’ve become so deeply immersed in this magical world, I barely know which way is up in my own. My attachment to these characters is borderline embarrassing lol. I feel like I’ve lived with them & been connected with them for far too long to say goodbye. This writer has done a fantastic job creating these raw, flawed, & perfect people. These books & this story are so incredibly enchanting, it is truly bittersweet to let them go. So honestly, I probably won’t & I’ll probably read them all over again in a while lol As ever, I am thoroughly impressed by C.L. Schneider & I’ll 100% read anything else they write. They have crafted a spellbinding creation & their innate gift overflows into every word. Do yourself a favor & throw yourself all the way into this series like I did. An exciting, entrancing experience awaits you!
Review by @lalilovely
Magic-Scars by C.L. Schneider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
C.L. Schneider takes you on a wild ride every time! Never a dull moment in this incredible series. Even in the calmer parts of the story, anticipation is vibrating around the edges. The more I read of this writer, the more impressed I am by their true talent. I love the beautiful descriptions of everything, from skies to love to battle. The moments of enlightenment the characters experience are full of wisdom & you can almost see understanding dawn on them. As with the 1st book, I couldn’t put this down! I didn’t even want to pause in between to write reviews, so brb gotta go throw myself head first into the 3rd one!
Review by @lalilovely
Magic-Price by C.L. Schneider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What an incredible book! Entirely fantastic, truly. Hardcore Witcher vibes, but still unique. I couldn’t put this down! & when I had to, I was craving to jump right back into this artfully crafted world. The different perspectives of the enslavement of the Shinree are portrayed honestly & fittingly, without being graphic or overbearing. Where there is ever favor for it, there’s push against it right alongside. Explanations & reasonings & the complicated history of all the different cultures help a LOT, too.
Ian is a bit of an antihero in the best way & his character development is astounding, Malaq is a fierce champion of good, Jarryd is a cute lil cinnamon roll, Sienn is powerful & mysterious & written so well, & Neela is an enigma who deserves so much better than what she’s getting in this book. There is a bit of VAW I don’t love, but honestly it’s almost inescapable, unfortunately. At least it all comes from the known & obvious villains. I’m also not sure how I feel yet about the Shinree having an ‘addiction’ to magic, especially when they’re born with their abilities. We’ll see where it goes! I’m dying to get to the 2nd book & I’m sooo happy I don’t have to wait a year to do it lol C.L. Schneider is a phenomenally talented writer & weaves a story so deeply captivating you never want it to end.
Review by @lalilovely
Savage Lies: A High School Bully Romance by Isla Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is book 1 in the Hidden Valley Elite and I have been WAITING for it! I read the prequel first and could not wait to get my hands on this one! You don’t have to read the prequel but it gives a good amount of nuance that this doesn’t go into. In this book Riley and her mom have moved, again but mom is determined to stay in this location. Her mom starts dating a new guy and it’s Cole’s dad. Cole and his brother a livid that their dad is dating already after the loss of their mom and while he is attracted to Riley (who he doesn’t remember meeting), he is not about to let her mom and his dad be together. All Riley wants is to live her life as normally as she can but that won’t happen if Cole has anything to do with it!
Unexpected Entanglement by C.R. Alam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love the Echo series !! This 3rd book is just as fantastic as the other 2. None of the characters resemble each other & none of the storylines are even close to the same . There is always an element of excitement, along with some steamy spots, but mostly they are so wholesome. Chris is such a great guy & it was wonderful to see him find love! I didn’t really care for Rowan & I would have liked to see Chris be loved as freely & enthusiastically as he deserved. She was very negative & self denying & hurt his feelings too often for me. It was kind of annoying. However, she was a tough cookie & courageous. There were good qualities in her, & her love for Chris & Rae were the most important thing. Plus, grief has a profound impact on personality & the author showed that beautifully. I LOVED that Rae finally got to meet her sister & brother, & loved even more that it was her friend & sister that connected. The bit of mystery was also done phenomenally & really kept me uncertain right up to the reveal. Even though I thought I knew, I still thought it could have been different too. I’m so excited to read more of these books & I hope we get a Kieran & Frankie story from this amazing author!
Review by @lalilovely
Return to Hoodoo: A Paranormal Women’s Fiction Novel by Reggi Dupree
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I threw myself into this book so completely that when the end came, it felt like sudden cold air across my skin while I was warm & cozy. I didn’t want to stop reading for anything, & then the end just popped up & swerved me hard. I had to recover for a day before I could write this. Return to Hoodoo is PHENOMENAL in so many ways, & all the best ones. The author’s writing style is so unique & refreshing, & I felt like I was hearing it all from Gwen herself, like we were old friends. She is such a character to a root for, & I wish I could give her real life encouragement. & universe, could I PLEASE get an Ash ?? like for real. PLEASE. It’s fantastic that Gwen is 45 & still learning & figuring things out. That perspective of age is refreshing & comforting. Intriguing characters aside, the storyline & writing are equally incredible. Love Reggi Dupree’s voice, creativity, & style. All the other books in this series will be devoured just as voraciously expeditiously.
Dawnbreaker: The House of Blood and Sun by Laura Morgan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I want so much more of this book! Such a lovely story & idea. I wish there had been more of Niamh & Connor because they are just so sweet & their time together was delightful. Niamh is entirely lovely & Connor is so playfully sexy. & honestly, Andreas is on fire. I want to devour him & everything about him. Sometimes it felt like everything was moving too fast with no explanation, & there were definitely places that could have been elaborated on. I would have loved to spend time in those in betweens! The beginning of the book was so fun & flirty I was instantly enamored, but I do feel like that was lost in all the action & events & background information. I actually missed that vibe before it started to come back a bit at the end. Everything was still fantastic, but like I said, I just want more! The author writes poetically & beautifully, with magical descriptions & captivating moments. The sprinkle of steam was very well done, & once again I loved it so much I want more! lol gotta love a giving man if you know what I mean. I’ll most definitely read more of their work. Especially if they ever decide to fill this one out more, I’ll obvi be all over it lol
Review by @lalilovely
The Challenger: A Sports Romance Saga by Rowan Rossler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m a sports romance junkie. This is my first dive in to the tennis world and the author did a great job describing the lingo and allowing the audience to follow along with the story line even if they know nothing about tennis. The story of Flynn and Chavez is a good romance with a little suspense intertwined to keep you on your toes. I can wait to read more of this trilogy.
His Forever Muse by C.R. Alam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This 2nd book in the Echoing Hearts series is even better than the 1st one ! I was truly hoping Brandon would get his own story & I’m over the moon that he did ! Beautifully written characters & complex layers to their relationships make their story heart wrenching & lovely. Callie is incredibly brave & strong. It is such a relief to read a DV situation & enjoy the survivor powering through without awful details . And of course I’m such a sucker for true love & happy endings . C.R. Alam is truly talented storyteller & gifted writer, & I can’t wait to read more of her work !
Reviews by @lalilovely
