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Saint by Ruby Vincent
Adeline is the epidemy of a wrong place/wrong time type of girl. She thought picking up a side job carrying trays for another rich people's party that she would be able to network to get her name out there as an up-and-coming chef. Little did she know that when she was carrying and drunk girl to the bathroom to save her from some handsy gentlemen that her life would change forever. While in the bathroom she is witness to a murder carried out by the infamous bank robbers gang, The Merchants. When she is discovered, she thought that was the end of it. But a chance encounter earlier with the leader of the gang gave her a brief reprieve... at least from death. She is taken by the gang and spirited away to be given an offer she is hard-pressed to refuse.
Become their personal chef and housekeeper to the strict instructions of their OCD-addled psychopathic brother, Brutal or death. Adeline chose (reluctantly) life. But as she is quickly finding out the boys that she was meant to hate seemed to be striking a cord with her. They are introducing her to their world and while the death and destruction it holds makes her sick to her stomach, she finds herself falling harder and faster for each of the dangerous men.
But Adeline has her own secrets. She is hiding more than they could ever guess their docile little chef could be capable of.
I was vibing with the story from the beginning and loving seeing these dangerously hot men coax Adeline into being her own flavor of badass. The docile heroine shaped and molded by the bad boys. We all know the trope. But there is a twist that I didn't see coming. One that made me pause and start wondering if I even liked the character anymore. The author took everything she made the heroine out to be and twisted in on its head. It did make the coupling make a bit more sense but it felt a bit nonsensical. The inner dialogue of the heroine that was featured in the pages was of the what we were to believe was the true Adeline, but would that have not been different since it IS internal? I understood the assignment, but the execution was a bit shaky.
That being said, I absolutely love Brutal as a character. I did like all of them but, Brutal has my heart. His silent stoic nature and his unique ways of communicating was interesting to watch. It was different from the cold, detached nature of Cash, the psychotic Joker-ish nature of Saint, and the mysteriously smug attitude of Mercer.
The twists and turns in Saint will keep you on your toes and if you approach it with an open-mind it can be a truly stellar read.
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3.0
Adeline is the epidemy of a wrong place/wrong time type of girl. She thought picking up a side job carrying trays for another rich people's party that she would be able to network to get her name out there as an up-and-coming chef. Little did she know that when she was carrying and drunk girl to the bathroom to save her from some handsy gentlemen that her life would change forever. While in the bathroom she is witness to a murder carried out by the infamous bank robbers gang, The Merchants. When she is discovered, she thought that was the end of it. But a chance encounter earlier with the leader of the gang gave her a brief reprieve... at least from death. She is taken by the gang and spirited away to be given an offer she is hard-pressed to refuse.
Become their personal chef and housekeeper to the strict instructions of their OCD-addled psychopathic brother, Brutal or death. Adeline chose (reluctantly) life. But as she is quickly finding out the boys that she was meant to hate seemed to be striking a cord with her. They are introducing her to their world and while the death and destruction it holds makes her sick to her stomach, she finds herself falling harder and faster for each of the dangerous men.
But Adeline has her own secrets. She is hiding more than they could ever guess their docile little chef could be capable of.
I was vibing with the story from the beginning and loving seeing these dangerously hot men coax Adeline into being her own flavor of badass. The docile heroine shaped and molded by the bad boys. We all know the trope. But there is a twist that I didn't see coming. One that made me pause and start wondering if I even liked the character anymore. The author took everything she made the heroine out to be and twisted in on its head. It did make the coupling make a bit more sense but it felt a bit nonsensical. The inner dialogue of the heroine that was featured in the pages was of the what we were to believe was the true Adeline, but would that have not been different since it IS internal? I understood the assignment, but the execution was a bit shaky.
That being said, I absolutely love Brutal as a character. I did like all of them but, Brutal has my heart. His silent stoic nature and his unique ways of communicating was interesting to watch. It was different from the cold, detached nature of Cash, the psychotic Joker-ish nature of Saint, and the mysteriously smug attitude of Mercer.
The twists and turns in Saint will keep you on your toes and if you approach it with an open-mind it can be a truly stellar read.
Ruined by Vanessa Saint
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
Normally I am very careful about not putting any spoilers in a review because I want my followers to experience the book for themselves and judge accordingly. A book that may not be for me, may be wonderful for someone else. However, in this book, I will probably spill some spoiler tea. This would be your warning to not read any further if you want to try this book for yourself.
Lisette is bent on avenging her mother's death. She is not convinced that her cause of death was suicide as there was no way her mother would ever willingly leave her alone. Her father having died not long before her mother she was now at the college of her legacy to find the truth behind how deep her mother had gotten herself in trouble that would warrant her being murdered.
Along the way Lisette has her trusted best friend, Julian, a homeless man from her mother's favorite halfway house, and a spoiled rich boy with a headmistress for a mother. Banding together these reluctant allies have more in common then their pursuit for the truth, they all desire the young Lisette. Now Lisette must find a way to navigate not only the love of three men, her budding returned emotions for them, but also the twists and turns the mysteries she uncovers brings her to. Will she make it out with her life or will she end up just like her mother?
I never DNF books. Never. I always give them a fair shake because you never know if they may turn for the better later down the road. This one made me wish so hard that I didn't have a completionist personality. I found myself tossing my iPad away and facepalming on an almost constant basis. Let me tell you why:
The storyline was incredibly choppy. Usually with mysteries you want twists and turns in stories so that the reader is kept on the edge of their seat. But the parts that you twist must still be cohesive to the overall story. One can not change a character completely for no reason just because it works better for a certain action you may want to accomplish. SPOILER! You have a main antagonist who is murdering everyone who defies him but then towards the end you decide, you know what, he had a change of heart. Now he wants to give the female protagonist everything that could legally get him arrested for the rest of his life with ZERO reason to believe she has some loyalty that would make it so she doesn't shout the evidence from the rooftops! He just gave up on his master plan because, eh, he just didn't feel like it anymore? What?
The romance and sex scenes were cringy and lacked the impact needed to be appreciated. When creating a dynamic between characters, especially in a reverse harem, you would need to have the characters struggle with their feelings and have some resistance. Granted, this was presented with one of the three male protagonists but even that was short lived. Also, to have insta-love and constantly refer to sex as 'making love' even before they establish a real connection, is TERRIBLE. It's meant to make the scenes romantic by calling it 'making love' but when you couple that with a sex scene that is less descriptive than a basic sex education textbook, it's not something most smut enthusiasts will appreciate.
Unrealistic situations should be kept at a minimum as it causes the reader to no longer feel consumed by the story overall. Why go to the trouble of making this grand separation of the protagonists if you just let them defy the separation with zero punishment or obstacles to do so? Why under value your life as the main antagonist by letting the protagonists sway one of your constituents to their side with almost your permission? Either the antagonist had a death wish from the start or the author was too busy trying to fit in everything she wanted in the story that she didn't give much thought to how her enemy figures would actually think and act.
Lack of world and character building. I can barely visual the setting the story takes place and have even less of a visual of the main characters. There was so vague description of the characters but overall I needed more to be able to see the characters in my mind's eye and be able to be more involved in the story overall.
Overall, I would not recommend this book. I would have DNFed it at 56% but decided to power through. I will not be continuing the series, but if someone does give the series a chance, let me know if I'm wrong to stop while I'm behind.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!
Normally I am very careful about not putting any spoilers in a review because I want my followers to experience the book for themselves and judge accordingly. A book that may not be for me, may be wonderful for someone else. However, in this book, I will probably spill some spoiler tea. This would be your warning to not read any further if you want to try this book for yourself.
Lisette is bent on avenging her mother's death. She is not convinced that her cause of death was suicide as there was no way her mother would ever willingly leave her alone. Her father having died not long before her mother she was now at the college of her legacy to find the truth behind how deep her mother had gotten herself in trouble that would warrant her being murdered.
Along the way Lisette has her trusted best friend, Julian, a homeless man from her mother's favorite halfway house, and a spoiled rich boy with a headmistress for a mother. Banding together these reluctant allies have more in common then their pursuit for the truth, they all desire the young Lisette. Now Lisette must find a way to navigate not only the love of three men, her budding returned emotions for them, but also the twists and turns the mysteries she uncovers brings her to. Will she make it out with her life or will she end up just like her mother?
I never DNF books. Never. I always give them a fair shake because you never know if they may turn for the better later down the road. This one made me wish so hard that I didn't have a completionist personality. I found myself tossing my iPad away and facepalming on an almost constant basis. Let me tell you why:
The storyline was incredibly choppy. Usually with mysteries you want twists and turns in stories so that the reader is kept on the edge of their seat. But the parts that you twist must still be cohesive to the overall story. One can not change a character completely for no reason just because it works better for a certain action you may want to accomplish. SPOILER! You have a main antagonist who is murdering everyone who defies him but then towards the end you decide, you know what, he had a change of heart. Now he wants to give the female protagonist everything that could legally get him arrested for the rest of his life with ZERO reason to believe she has some loyalty that would make it so she doesn't shout the evidence from the rooftops! He just gave up on his master plan because, eh, he just didn't feel like it anymore? What?
The romance and sex scenes were cringy and lacked the impact needed to be appreciated. When creating a dynamic between characters, especially in a reverse harem, you would need to have the characters struggle with their feelings and have some resistance. Granted, this was presented with one of the three male protagonists but even that was short lived. Also, to have insta-love and constantly refer to sex as 'making love' even before they establish a real connection, is TERRIBLE. It's meant to make the scenes romantic by calling it 'making love' but when you couple that with a sex scene that is less descriptive than a basic sex education textbook, it's not something most smut enthusiasts will appreciate.
Unrealistic situations should be kept at a minimum as it causes the reader to no longer feel consumed by the story overall. Why go to the trouble of making this grand separation of the protagonists if you just let them defy the separation with zero punishment or obstacles to do so? Why under value your life as the main antagonist by letting the protagonists sway one of your constituents to their side with almost your permission? Either the antagonist had a death wish from the start or the author was too busy trying to fit in everything she wanted in the story that she didn't give much thought to how her enemy figures would actually think and act.
Lack of world and character building. I can barely visual the setting the story takes place and have even less of a visual of the main characters. There was so vague description of the characters but overall I needed more to be able to see the characters in my mind's eye and be able to be more involved in the story overall.
Overall, I would not recommend this book. I would have DNFed it at 56% but decided to power through. I will not be continuing the series, but if someone does give the series a chance, let me know if I'm wrong to stop while I'm behind.
The End by Ruby Vincent
Ember's world is crumbling around her. Her ex-boyfriend has tried to shoot Royal and has a vendetta against the Horsemen that he will stop at nothing to fulfill. This is just added to the list of troubles Ember will need to face. She also must find a way to deal with Hiro and his role he played with Eli's attack, take down the secondary blackmailer, find Nolan and exchange him for her captive Angel, return the $25 million dollars to the investors, and find out what happened to her parents. All the while trying to negotiate the release of her men so they may go with her when she leaves Raven River after graduation. No pressure. But that's not all, there is also another life changing secret that can cause the upheaval of her new blossoming family.
Ember is an absolute mastermind and I love that about her. There were ways she manipulated a situation or managed it with zero fear that just spoke to how amazing she is. She never let fear consume her even when a gun was pointed at her face. She acted invincible. Which was hilarious because her guys were constantly trying to protect her when she didn't need it. Ember is one of those female protagonists that you don't have to worry about shattering. And she she does, it's a huge deal. She's not a wilted flower who needs her men to take care of her. She is the one taking care of them.
While the story did wrap up nicely with a little epilogue that further proved the happily-ever-after we all wanted, the ending with Ember's parents seemed very rushes. This mystery of where they ended up and what happened to them seemed to just quickly fix itself within a few chapters. But then again I can't really see how the author could have stretched it out any further to make it flow a bit better, so it's not a huge deal.
The End is the final book in the series and wraps everything up in a perfect little bow.
4.0
Ember's world is crumbling around her. Her ex-boyfriend has tried to shoot Royal and has a vendetta against the Horsemen that he will stop at nothing to fulfill. This is just added to the list of troubles Ember will need to face. She also must find a way to deal with Hiro and his role he played with Eli's attack, take down the secondary blackmailer, find Nolan and exchange him for her captive Angel, return the $25 million dollars to the investors, and find out what happened to her parents. All the while trying to negotiate the release of her men so they may go with her when she leaves Raven River after graduation. No pressure. But that's not all, there is also another life changing secret that can cause the upheaval of her new blossoming family.
Ember is an absolute mastermind and I love that about her. There were ways she manipulated a situation or managed it with zero fear that just spoke to how amazing she is. She never let fear consume her even when a gun was pointed at her face. She acted invincible. Which was hilarious because her guys were constantly trying to protect her when she didn't need it. Ember is one of those female protagonists that you don't have to worry about shattering. And she she does, it's a huge deal. She's not a wilted flower who needs her men to take care of her. She is the one taking care of them.
While the story did wrap up nicely with a little epilogue that further proved the happily-ever-after we all wanted, the ending with Ember's parents seemed very rushes. This mystery of where they ended up and what happened to them seemed to just quickly fix itself within a few chapters. But then again I can't really see how the author could have stretched it out any further to make it flow a bit better, so it's not a huge deal.
The End is the final book in the series and wraps everything up in a perfect little bow.
The Sinners by Ruby Vincent
Ember and her guys are getting deeper into the underbelly that is the Horsemen and the war that is coming with the Raveners. And while Ember is now free of her previous debt with the Horsemen, the leader, Rio, has decided the entire amount of money her parents have stolen should be his. So Ember is charged with trying to find out where her parents are, while also navigating the waters of a blackmailer who has gone too far, and exploring the blossoming relationships with her men.
As Ember follows the breadcrumbs her parents have left behind, she fears what she might find. Are her parents alive? Do they even want to be found? And under the threat of death from Rio, if she doesn't find the money, will she be able to have the life away from Raven River she so desperately wants?
I struggled once again with the fact that Eli suffered very little even though his relationship with his parents was the same as Ember's. The thing I struggled with most, was after Eli was attacked, everybody, including Ember's enemies, was appalled over him being hurt. It couldn't be they were appalled because he was a kid because he was 14 and kids that age tend to get in fights anyway. So that only left the fact that he was deaf. Would I find it equally as appalling if a deaf kid was attacked? Of course. But the 180 that these antagonists made and the rage they exhibited over it was a bit weird. A person with their levels of rage wouldn't jump to the defense of someone they blame for their tenuous situations.
I like Royal as a main love interest but my heart was all for Cassius. I loved how honest and blunt he was with whatever popped into his head. You weren't going to get it sugar-coated with Cas. You would get the truth even if it hurt. I was glad that he was the first of the boys that Ember went to when she needed to focus on anything but her upset over her brother.
The author really made Rio likeable and charming in many of the interactions between the characters but when you hear some of his background offenses, it made me wonder why I ever found him charming in the first place. Which is EXACTLY how Rio made all of his victims feel. The fact that I could experience that as a reader was very well done.
The Sinners is the sequel novel to a bully romance with all the warm and fuzzies wrapped in angsty barbed wire.
3.0
Ember and her guys are getting deeper into the underbelly that is the Horsemen and the war that is coming with the Raveners. And while Ember is now free of her previous debt with the Horsemen, the leader, Rio, has decided the entire amount of money her parents have stolen should be his. So Ember is charged with trying to find out where her parents are, while also navigating the waters of a blackmailer who has gone too far, and exploring the blossoming relationships with her men.
As Ember follows the breadcrumbs her parents have left behind, she fears what she might find. Are her parents alive? Do they even want to be found? And under the threat of death from Rio, if she doesn't find the money, will she be able to have the life away from Raven River she so desperately wants?
I struggled once again with the fact that Eli suffered very little even though his relationship with his parents was the same as Ember's. The thing I struggled with most, was after Eli was attacked, everybody, including Ember's enemies, was appalled over him being hurt. It couldn't be they were appalled because he was a kid because he was 14 and kids that age tend to get in fights anyway. So that only left the fact that he was deaf. Would I find it equally as appalling if a deaf kid was attacked? Of course. But the 180 that these antagonists made and the rage they exhibited over it was a bit weird. A person with their levels of rage wouldn't jump to the defense of someone they blame for their tenuous situations.
I like Royal as a main love interest but my heart was all for Cassius. I loved how honest and blunt he was with whatever popped into his head. You weren't going to get it sugar-coated with Cas. You would get the truth even if it hurt. I was glad that he was the first of the boys that Ember went to when she needed to focus on anything but her upset over her brother.
The author really made Rio likeable and charming in many of the interactions between the characters but when you hear some of his background offenses, it made me wonder why I ever found him charming in the first place. Which is EXACTLY how Rio made all of his victims feel. The fact that I could experience that as a reader was very well done.
The Sinners is the sequel novel to a bully romance with all the warm and fuzzies wrapped in angsty barbed wire.
Adam by Jacquelyn Frank
I couldn't, for the life of me, remember who Adam was and how he was significant to those within the Nightwalker series. I wracked my brain but ultimately just came to the conclusion that the only way to find out was to dive into the book. I was sure they would tell me how he was related while also making his story come alive for me. Success, I did finally understand who Adam was and why I hadn't really heard much mention of him in the previous books. I was excited to see how Adam came to play a roll in their world once more.
Adam is the eldest brother of Jacob. He disappeared off the battlefield during the Vampire/Demon war 400 years from present date. He was ripped from his time by a violet-eyed teenager who asked him the critical question, "What would you do to save your brother?" The answer was a resounding "anything". Which led Adam down the path he was on. The path that led to the present. But not before he had a brief encounter with a luscious Vampire that made him question everything his Enforcer instincts dictated of him. It is this same Vampire that comes back into his life, determined to tease and taunt the strong willed Demon into submission... and maybe a little fun along the way.
Jasmine had nothing in her life that really stimulated her. She was involved in the protection of most of the Nightwalker races, she had the ear of the Vampire Prince, Damien, and she was a skilled fighter on the hunt for her adversary, Ruth. She should have been well entertained even by Vampire standards and yet, she did not know why she continued to seek refuge in the ground for long bouts of sleep. The only time she had felt anything but indifferent to her long life was when she encountered a Water Demon who caught her interest immediately 400 years ago. Now, that same Demon is back and it is all Jasmine can do not to try to recapture their first encounter. She is not the girly swooning type. She has one goal above even the enticing draw of Adam... find Ruth and make her pay.
Ruth sees the end to the battle coming soon, as does the rest of the Nightwalkers. Nobody knows, though, how the end will turn out and whether any of them will be alive to see it. Jasmine and Adam must navigate the tumultuous waves of their Imprinting while also seeking a demise to their long fought enemies.
I loved the time travel aspects of this final installment of the Nightwalkers series. I liked that it showed how delicate time can be and how one little change can change the future, sometimes for the better and other times for the worst. I loved watching Leah explore her powers and find a way to save her parents while also bringing a highly skilled warrior into the fight against Ruth. The whole book of Adam was more so about these aspects than the budding romance between Adam and Jasmine. I never much liked Jasmine so this was absolutely fine by me.
Adam was likable but not to the extent that Jacob was. Not by half. Jasmine was everyone's favorite pain in the ass. The romance between these two was very much slapped together. I think Frank may have been more into closing up the battle between Ruth and the Nightwalkers than necessarily staging a romance between two characters. She, of course, had to include that aspect of risk losing all the swoony face fans in the process.
Where Noah was borderline erotica, Adam was borderline urban fantasy instead of paranormal romance.
4.0
I couldn't, for the life of me, remember who Adam was and how he was significant to those within the Nightwalker series. I wracked my brain but ultimately just came to the conclusion that the only way to find out was to dive into the book. I was sure they would tell me how he was related while also making his story come alive for me. Success, I did finally understand who Adam was and why I hadn't really heard much mention of him in the previous books. I was excited to see how Adam came to play a roll in their world once more.
Adam is the eldest brother of Jacob. He disappeared off the battlefield during the Vampire/Demon war 400 years from present date. He was ripped from his time by a violet-eyed teenager who asked him the critical question, "What would you do to save your brother?" The answer was a resounding "anything". Which led Adam down the path he was on. The path that led to the present. But not before he had a brief encounter with a luscious Vampire that made him question everything his Enforcer instincts dictated of him. It is this same Vampire that comes back into his life, determined to tease and taunt the strong willed Demon into submission... and maybe a little fun along the way.
Jasmine had nothing in her life that really stimulated her. She was involved in the protection of most of the Nightwalker races, she had the ear of the Vampire Prince, Damien, and she was a skilled fighter on the hunt for her adversary, Ruth. She should have been well entertained even by Vampire standards and yet, she did not know why she continued to seek refuge in the ground for long bouts of sleep. The only time she had felt anything but indifferent to her long life was when she encountered a Water Demon who caught her interest immediately 400 years ago. Now, that same Demon is back and it is all Jasmine can do not to try to recapture their first encounter. She is not the girly swooning type. She has one goal above even the enticing draw of Adam... find Ruth and make her pay.
Ruth sees the end to the battle coming soon, as does the rest of the Nightwalkers. Nobody knows, though, how the end will turn out and whether any of them will be alive to see it. Jasmine and Adam must navigate the tumultuous waves of their Imprinting while also seeking a demise to their long fought enemies.
I loved the time travel aspects of this final installment of the Nightwalkers series. I liked that it showed how delicate time can be and how one little change can change the future, sometimes for the better and other times for the worst. I loved watching Leah explore her powers and find a way to save her parents while also bringing a highly skilled warrior into the fight against Ruth. The whole book of Adam was more so about these aspects than the budding romance between Adam and Jasmine. I never much liked Jasmine so this was absolutely fine by me.
Adam was likable but not to the extent that Jacob was. Not by half. Jasmine was everyone's favorite pain in the ass. The romance between these two was very much slapped together. I think Frank may have been more into closing up the battle between Ruth and the Nightwalkers than necessarily staging a romance between two characters. She, of course, had to include that aspect of risk losing all the swoony face fans in the process.
Where Noah was borderline erotica, Adam was borderline urban fantasy instead of paranormal romance.
Finale by Bea Paige
The ending to a well done reverse harem series is here. Pen and her guys are in for the battle of a lifetime against the big baddie, Santiago, and his psychotic henchman, David. But first, Pen has to overcome her own personal demons with the death of her mother. Her baby sister is in turmoil and Pen can do nothing but watch her spiral. There was no love between Pen and her mother so her death was only difficult because of how deep the wound her sister, Lena, was suffering from. Now, Pen must step into the role of guardian as well as big sister as their family becomes ever smaller. It is now Pen's job fulltime to make sure that Lena never feels this level of pain again. And in doing so, she feels there is no longer a place in her life for dance. A fact her Breakers will not accept.
While Pen struggles with holding onto her dream and keeping her sister safe, she must plan for the day when she will put her deranged brother in the ground. The rage and hate that courses through her body threatens to overwhelm all the feelings she has for the people in her life. She is on a self-destructive mission to kill David and protect Lena. It is up to the Breakers to pull Pen back from the ledge and give her something more to hold onto than her thirst for vengeance. But with David looming and a prediction from a well-known psychic of sorts, will all of them come out of this in one piece?
Reading through this book was a challenge. The angst within the love connections was a lot more fulfilling than the flubbed plotting that went on with Pen's group, Beast & Grim, and the Freed men. It felt like they were always ten steps behind David and Santiago and it frustrated the ever-loving crap out of me. I kept waiting for them to make a connection that would lay everything out for them. But instead we had to have one of those villain monologues that never seen realistic. What madman bent on murder and destruction is gonna sit back and have an idle conversation about everything they missed and what was meant to happen next? Apparently this book's madman.
I also am NOT happy with the destruction of one of my favorite characters. What the heck, Bea?! You had to go THAT far? It gave me the shock you probably desired so, at least there's that.
All in all, Finale was the end of a formidable series of the love of dance, the love of a few yumtastic men, and the perseverance of some who were once thought of as weak.
3.0
The ending to a well done reverse harem series is here. Pen and her guys are in for the battle of a lifetime against the big baddie, Santiago, and his psychotic henchman, David. But first, Pen has to overcome her own personal demons with the death of her mother. Her baby sister is in turmoil and Pen can do nothing but watch her spiral. There was no love between Pen and her mother so her death was only difficult because of how deep the wound her sister, Lena, was suffering from. Now, Pen must step into the role of guardian as well as big sister as their family becomes ever smaller. It is now Pen's job fulltime to make sure that Lena never feels this level of pain again. And in doing so, she feels there is no longer a place in her life for dance. A fact her Breakers will not accept.
While Pen struggles with holding onto her dream and keeping her sister safe, she must plan for the day when she will put her deranged brother in the ground. The rage and hate that courses through her body threatens to overwhelm all the feelings she has for the people in her life. She is on a self-destructive mission to kill David and protect Lena. It is up to the Breakers to pull Pen back from the ledge and give her something more to hold onto than her thirst for vengeance. But with David looming and a prediction from a well-known psychic of sorts, will all of them come out of this in one piece?
Reading through this book was a challenge. The angst within the love connections was a lot more fulfilling than the flubbed plotting that went on with Pen's group, Beast & Grim, and the Freed men. It felt like they were always ten steps behind David and Santiago and it frustrated the ever-loving crap out of me. I kept waiting for them to make a connection that would lay everything out for them. But instead we had to have one of those villain monologues that never seen realistic. What madman bent on murder and destruction is gonna sit back and have an idle conversation about everything they missed and what was meant to happen next? Apparently this book's madman.
I also am NOT happy with the destruction of one of my favorite characters. What the heck, Bea?! You had to go THAT far? It gave me the shock you probably desired so, at least there's that.
All in all, Finale was the end of a formidable series of the love of dance, the love of a few yumtastic men, and the perseverance of some who were once thought of as weak.
Breakers by Bea Paige
After the Collector is dealt with and is no longer a threat, you'd think Pen and her Breakers could find some peace. Even though the obstacle of reconnecting with her Breakers has been overcome there now is a darker and more sinister threat that could rip them apart. Pen's brother is getting more and more demanding with his need for her to betray her Breakers and it is now time to stand up to him. Pen has taken countless beatings from her psychotic brother and weathered the bruises and bloodshed with the support of her Breakers. Now she will fight back. She will fight back with words and with dance the best way she knows how. But will finally breaking the chains her brother has wrapped her in be the end of all who she loves?
The Breakers have finally come clean with what they have been working towards and while they wish Pen wasn't involved she seems to be a part of that world as much as they are. If they have any hopes of bringing down the big baddies including Pen's brother, David, they will have to be stronger than ever before. Pen must find a way to protect her baby sister from the darkness of the world she currently resides in while allowing her to live as normal a life as she can. But her brother has other plans.
The first two books were majorly based around Pen and her Breakers finding their ways back to each other. This third book was a lot more suspenseful plot driven and had cameos from characters from other series in the author's omniverse she's created. I could understand Pen keeping her Breakers out of the loop when she was younger because she was 16 and unable to see any other way out of it. But when she got older and was still trying to handle everything on her own, I wanted to strangle her. She has these four men who are deep into the crime world from illegal MMA, boxing matchs, knife fights, and assassinations and yet you're gonna try to handle it solo? No, no, chickie boo.
While some parts were frustrating due to Pen's stubbornness I did love this next installment of the Academy of Stardom series.
Breakers will break all the rules and a few hearts along the way.
4.0
After the Collector is dealt with and is no longer a threat, you'd think Pen and her Breakers could find some peace. Even though the obstacle of reconnecting with her Breakers has been overcome there now is a darker and more sinister threat that could rip them apart. Pen's brother is getting more and more demanding with his need for her to betray her Breakers and it is now time to stand up to him. Pen has taken countless beatings from her psychotic brother and weathered the bruises and bloodshed with the support of her Breakers. Now she will fight back. She will fight back with words and with dance the best way she knows how. But will finally breaking the chains her brother has wrapped her in be the end of all who she loves?
The Breakers have finally come clean with what they have been working towards and while they wish Pen wasn't involved she seems to be a part of that world as much as they are. If they have any hopes of bringing down the big baddies including Pen's brother, David, they will have to be stronger than ever before. Pen must find a way to protect her baby sister from the darkness of the world she currently resides in while allowing her to live as normal a life as she can. But her brother has other plans.
The first two books were majorly based around Pen and her Breakers finding their ways back to each other. This third book was a lot more suspenseful plot driven and had cameos from characters from other series in the author's omniverse she's created. I could understand Pen keeping her Breakers out of the loop when she was younger because she was 16 and unable to see any other way out of it. But when she got older and was still trying to handle everything on her own, I wanted to strangle her. She has these four men who are deep into the crime world from illegal MMA, boxing matchs, knife fights, and assassinations and yet you're gonna try to handle it solo? No, no, chickie boo.
While some parts were frustrating due to Pen's stubbornness I did love this next installment of the Academy of Stardom series.
Breakers will break all the rules and a few hearts along the way.
Lyrical by Bea Paige
Pen and her Breakers are back in the next installment of their story. After dancing a dance that encompasses all the pain, heartbreak, and anger she has felt over the years for her Breakers, Pen has managed to save herself from a potentially traumatic situation. And with her dance, she has caused her Breakers to open their eyes a little bit past the pain that has hardened their hearts. But does she want them to come awake from their dormant love for her or does she need to keep them at arm's length to protect the one person who she would give everything up for?
Pen can't fight her feelings for her boys who own slices of her broken heart. When her boys slowly start letting themselves love her again, she is powerless to resist them. All the while her brother is still plotting her demise and making promises she fears he may follow through on. She also has a mad man who has had his interest sparked when he watched her dance her pain to her Breakers. The dance for love and freedom has never been so precarious.
I loved that the first book was more about the pain and heartbreak they all experienced but this one is more about a reconnection of soulmates. Slowly but surely each of Pen's boys start to come around and let go of the past to embrace their love once more. Xeno and Dax are the hardest nuts to crack of course. Xeno finally let someone in and they betrayed him, he can't let it go. Dax was Pen's first kiss and the one she was more connected to so her leaving him ruined him. But between Pen putting her heart into her dances and showing them without words how deeply she feels for them, how can they resist for long?
Lyrical is a story of finding your heart once more when you think it has blackened in shriveled to nothing.
5.0
Pen and her Breakers are back in the next installment of their story. After dancing a dance that encompasses all the pain, heartbreak, and anger she has felt over the years for her Breakers, Pen has managed to save herself from a potentially traumatic situation. And with her dance, she has caused her Breakers to open their eyes a little bit past the pain that has hardened their hearts. But does she want them to come awake from their dormant love for her or does she need to keep them at arm's length to protect the one person who she would give everything up for?
Pen can't fight her feelings for her boys who own slices of her broken heart. When her boys slowly start letting themselves love her again, she is powerless to resist them. All the while her brother is still plotting her demise and making promises she fears he may follow through on. She also has a mad man who has had his interest sparked when he watched her dance her pain to her Breakers. The dance for love and freedom has never been so precarious.
I loved that the first book was more about the pain and heartbreak they all experienced but this one is more about a reconnection of soulmates. Slowly but surely each of Pen's boys start to come around and let go of the past to embrace their love once more. Xeno and Dax are the hardest nuts to crack of course. Xeno finally let someone in and they betrayed him, he can't let it go. Dax was Pen's first kiss and the one she was more connected to so her leaving him ruined him. But between Pen putting her heart into her dances and showing them without words how deeply she feels for them, how can they resist for long?
Lyrical is a story of finding your heart once more when you think it has blackened in shriveled to nothing.
Freestyle by Bea Paige
I was hesitant to pick up this series even though I had seen it recommended all over BookTok. Something about a book about dancing just seemed a little hard to get into. Unless the author described each extension and each turned out foot position, it would be hard for readers to truly be able to find themselves engrossed in the emotional routines that sweep across the pages. However, even when hesitant I never dismiss a book entirely on the potential for it to flop. I always give them a fair shake. Which I did.
Pen auditions and receives one of the coveted scholarships for a dance academy that she has been dying to get into. She had put her dreams of dancing on the back burner for three years and is done doing everything for others and nothing for herself. The only problem is that she is not the only one who is seeking a dance scholarship. The boys of her past that broke her heart and disappeared into a life of crime are back and their angry eyes are turned her way. Of course, she did play a part in breaking their hearts right back, but the scathing looks of hatred were so unlike the boys she once knew that she feels the shock right now to the tips of her toes. Her only goal is to keep her head down, dance, and avoid her Breakers as often as possible. But they don't seem to be satisfied with anything but making her miserable. Can Pen survive being around the shattered remains of her heart or will she give up on all her dreams to escape the turmoil?
I have been reading a lot of reverse harem books and this is another of those. Of course my ranking of the boys is always going to be present and are as follows for this book:
1) Dax: He is the dark side of Pen's shiny coin. He understands her better than she understands herself and was the most destroyed by her absence. He was always her protector and her contemporary counterpart.
2) York: He was the light side of the crew. He had a perpetual smile on his face and was quick to joke and bring optimism to a truly shitty position. But after Pen left, he lost a lot of his light. He's the tapmaster of the group.
3) Xeno: He is the stereotypical domineering bad boy who is the cruelest to Pen because he struggles to let people in and he let her in completely. Her betrayal broke him almost beyond repair. His specialty is the bachata.
4) Zayn: He is the best friend turned lover and while I do like him, I find the other three a lot more connected to Pen than Zayn. He is not as dark and broody as Xeno and Dax but also not nearly as light at York. He's a middle man which is probably why he doesn't stand out as much to me. His specialty is hip hop.
I did thoroughly enjoy this book. The angst between the pages made my stomach clench with the desire to both tear into the Breakers and console Pen. While reading I would grab my phone and my air pods and play the songs mentioned in the books which made the whole experience even more enjoyable.
Freestyle is the first in a series that I wish would never end.
5.0
I was hesitant to pick up this series even though I had seen it recommended all over BookTok. Something about a book about dancing just seemed a little hard to get into. Unless the author described each extension and each turned out foot position, it would be hard for readers to truly be able to find themselves engrossed in the emotional routines that sweep across the pages. However, even when hesitant I never dismiss a book entirely on the potential for it to flop. I always give them a fair shake. Which I did.
Pen auditions and receives one of the coveted scholarships for a dance academy that she has been dying to get into. She had put her dreams of dancing on the back burner for three years and is done doing everything for others and nothing for herself. The only problem is that she is not the only one who is seeking a dance scholarship. The boys of her past that broke her heart and disappeared into a life of crime are back and their angry eyes are turned her way. Of course, she did play a part in breaking their hearts right back, but the scathing looks of hatred were so unlike the boys she once knew that she feels the shock right now to the tips of her toes. Her only goal is to keep her head down, dance, and avoid her Breakers as often as possible. But they don't seem to be satisfied with anything but making her miserable. Can Pen survive being around the shattered remains of her heart or will she give up on all her dreams to escape the turmoil?
I have been reading a lot of reverse harem books and this is another of those. Of course my ranking of the boys is always going to be present and are as follows for this book:
1) Dax: He is the dark side of Pen's shiny coin. He understands her better than she understands herself and was the most destroyed by her absence. He was always her protector and her contemporary counterpart.
2) York: He was the light side of the crew. He had a perpetual smile on his face and was quick to joke and bring optimism to a truly shitty position. But after Pen left, he lost a lot of his light. He's the tapmaster of the group.
3) Xeno: He is the stereotypical domineering bad boy who is the cruelest to Pen because he struggles to let people in and he let her in completely. Her betrayal broke him almost beyond repair. His specialty is the bachata.
4) Zayn: He is the best friend turned lover and while I do like him, I find the other three a lot more connected to Pen than Zayn. He is not as dark and broody as Xeno and Dax but also not nearly as light at York. He's a middle man which is probably why he doesn't stand out as much to me. His specialty is hip hop.
I did thoroughly enjoy this book. The angst between the pages made my stomach clench with the desire to both tear into the Breakers and console Pen. While reading I would grab my phone and my air pods and play the songs mentioned in the books which made the whole experience even more enjoyable.
Freestyle is the first in a series that I wish would never end.
Stone Cold Queen by Lucy Smoke
With the cliffhanger that was presented in Pretty Little Savage I was curious to see what Dean and the boys were going to do after discovering Avalon drugged and raped on the floor of her mother's trailer. The scene of the assault was unlike any I had read before. It was more detail than I had experienced and made me squirm a bit and want to fly through the pages to save the heroine from her plight. But I settled on reading the next book in the series in the form of Stone Cold Queen.
Avalon is a woman on a mission and her mission is to find and make suffer all those who contributed to her sexual assault. After ridding the earth of her rapist she now sets her sights on finding out who was paying close enough attention to her activities to call her attacker moments before she showed up at her mother's empty trailer. All roads lead back to Eastpoint. The vengeance she hopes to unleash is enough to make her question her sanity and also the sanity of the boys who are as bloodthirsty for redemption as she is. After the fight between her and Dean that caused her to flee back to the home of her past and set her fate in motion, she once again is determined to resist Dean Carver. But after being with him, that proves a lot more difficult than it had once been.
Dean blames himself for what happened to Avalon. If he hadn't been so cruel to her perhaps she wouldn't have fled home. The only way he feels he can right the wrong he played a part in is to help Avalon find her revenge. If Avalon things that she still isn't his after all they've been through she is sadly mistaken. If only she would admit that she is his in both body and soul.
The angst between Dean and Avalon has been dulled a little bit because Avalon's resistance was more forced. If she had been a little more traumatized over her experience so that he had the opportunity to comfort her, I feel they would have formed a deeper connection. However, curling up in a ball and sobbing is not a characteristic of Avalon as a whole. In that respect, holding true to the character's personality won out over the develop of the romance between the protagonist. While I personally couldn't imagine not having weak moments after something like that happening to me, I can understand why it didn't happen here.
I am a bit more intrigued by the plot than the romance in this book which seemed to be the aim of the author. The romance was the main focus in Pretty Little Savage while the plot was the focal point of Stone Cold Queen. I do like that the author isn't treating each book as a segment in a story and is running them all together. Seeing them see-sawing what lacks in one book for what is needed in the next and vice versa makes a more concise overall reading experience.
Stone Cold Queen is everything you were missing from Pretty Little Savage and more!
3.0
With the cliffhanger that was presented in Pretty Little Savage I was curious to see what Dean and the boys were going to do after discovering Avalon drugged and raped on the floor of her mother's trailer. The scene of the assault was unlike any I had read before. It was more detail than I had experienced and made me squirm a bit and want to fly through the pages to save the heroine from her plight. But I settled on reading the next book in the series in the form of Stone Cold Queen.
Avalon is a woman on a mission and her mission is to find and make suffer all those who contributed to her sexual assault. After ridding the earth of her rapist she now sets her sights on finding out who was paying close enough attention to her activities to call her attacker moments before she showed up at her mother's empty trailer. All roads lead back to Eastpoint. The vengeance she hopes to unleash is enough to make her question her sanity and also the sanity of the boys who are as bloodthirsty for redemption as she is. After the fight between her and Dean that caused her to flee back to the home of her past and set her fate in motion, she once again is determined to resist Dean Carver. But after being with him, that proves a lot more difficult than it had once been.
Dean blames himself for what happened to Avalon. If he hadn't been so cruel to her perhaps she wouldn't have fled home. The only way he feels he can right the wrong he played a part in is to help Avalon find her revenge. If Avalon things that she still isn't his after all they've been through she is sadly mistaken. If only she would admit that she is his in both body and soul.
The angst between Dean and Avalon has been dulled a little bit because Avalon's resistance was more forced. If she had been a little more traumatized over her experience so that he had the opportunity to comfort her, I feel they would have formed a deeper connection. However, curling up in a ball and sobbing is not a characteristic of Avalon as a whole. In that respect, holding true to the character's personality won out over the develop of the romance between the protagonist. While I personally couldn't imagine not having weak moments after something like that happening to me, I can understand why it didn't happen here.
I am a bit more intrigued by the plot than the romance in this book which seemed to be the aim of the author. The romance was the main focus in Pretty Little Savage while the plot was the focal point of Stone Cold Queen. I do like that the author isn't treating each book as a segment in a story and is running them all together. Seeing them see-sawing what lacks in one book for what is needed in the next and vice versa makes a more concise overall reading experience.
Stone Cold Queen is everything you were missing from Pretty Little Savage and more!