booksbyec's reviews
162 reviews

Control by Adara Wolf, R. Phoenix

dark emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is more about the characters then an big plot. I enjoy books like that from time to time, where we get to know the characters and not having too much of a plot to keep track of. But mind you we do still get some tidbits that tie in with the previous books and I guess with the next book/books coming.


This is not a full out dom/sub, daddy/little book it's more nuanced than that. Helios may call Evan "Papi" but he is not a daddy daddy. But that is okey because somehow they make it work even if somethings are abit iffy. 

Evan may be a teddy bear but him stalking Helios not the best thing in the world. Especially if he wants to gain Helios favor. 
I enjoyed Helios resistance in not taking things for granted. 

The one thing I wished is that we got a little bit more about the story of Helios and Steve. I feel like we get a quick explanation of why Helios ends up where he ends up. But I wanted more, I wanted more to get a better reading in how they tick. I feel the same regarding Evans backstory. 

If someone stalked you like Evan stalked Helios that person would be in jail or on their way there. But when Evan does it, we as readers kinda let it slide. But the only redeeming thing is that Helios is not letting it slide. He is putting his foot down and the fact that Evan actually is listening to him is a green flag.  

It's also interesting how we as reader react to horrible things happening in a book vs how we would react IRL. Example; "oh the character that I like murdered someone in cold blood = oh they had a really good reason for that". But in real life if your, let's say, best friend would have done that you would have been like what the f***. I just wonder what it is that makes us excuse the behavior of people in books but if they happen in real life we would be WTAF. Just my ramblings as usual. 

Submit by Adara Wolf, R. Phoenix

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Silvano and Kyran are ridiculous but it's the good kind of ridiculous. 
It's funny how they have been in this relationship for 10 years but they don't even realize that they have been in an relationship at all. Clear communication guys, ever heard of it. 

They are from two different mafia families and they should not like each other and they are just so over the top, but I get it. The attraction is too big and to magnatic for them to hide from. 
Silvano is definitely the perfect Dom for Kyran. 
And Kyran, he's reluctantly a Sub but he also so beautifully fall into that mindset.

The book is dark but not overly so. It is so mafia-book-versed, that it feels like it's not possible for this to happen IRL but also anything is possible.  I had a hard time liking the parents of the main characters. It is interesting how there's a generation of book parents that are so homophobic and so ridiculous, in my opinion, that they can drive so many stories forward. But we need them in away, because who is not an better "bad guy" of bad guys, if it isn't the parent/-s of one of the main characters. This could also be an cultural thing, where the mafia is seen as an macho, tough guy setting and being Bi/gay doesn't match the "astethics" of that world. But anyway I love the chaoticness of these kind of books. 


This is the first book I've read of Adara and Raissa.  But I am definitely going to read Surrender (Cristiano and Fox) and also Control. Control is Evans book and it is going to be interesting to see where they take the character. And after that I will probably venture out into their book world and find me something else to read. I am now a big fan. 

Asher's Answer by Anna Sparrows

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

So I cried at 10% but at 20% I was swooning. This was a short, funny and delicate read. Asher is so precious and Charlie really knows how to take care of him. Their relationship may have developed fast but not without communication and some small hick ups. 

Work: Strictly Professional by Jesse H Reign

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Rule of Thirds by Becca Vale

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Well, you know what you get when reading a book in the Taboo Universe. Judge away, but a fast fun read. 

Little Brother's Bedtime by Becca Vale

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Sometimes you need a bit of taboo in your life, okey. Dont judge me for it to much. 

Resisting You by E.M. Lindsey

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

As most of you know I am a sucker for Enemies to lovers book and this book gave me just that. But in a more of an are we really Enemies? yes we are, no we are not kinda way. 

We meet Frey in the first book in the series Words We Never Said by E.M. Lindsey. Frey is a single dad to 6 year old Rex and he works as an nurse. Rex is deaf, after complications at his birth, and he loves weddings, like really love them. This leads to some of the most hilarious bits in the book, because let me tell you Rex is like most 6 year olds stubborn as h*ll. And dad should have an husband. 
Well Frey is no better, he is stubborn and he absolutely "hates" his boss Dr Renato Agosti. The one sided prank war that Frey plays with Renato will bite him in the ass and it is funny as hell.

Renato can be seen as cold but really he is just sad and he also don't know how to create new relationships. The chemistry between Frey and Renato is electric and when it finally comes to blow I cheered them on. 

It wouldn't be an romance book if there weren't some angst and twist and turns before we get the HEA. But the way there is a fun and good read. I will definitely continue this series when the next book comes out. And I can't wait for Dallas book. 

Something Unprofessional by Rory Maxwell

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

This is the first book of Rory Maxwell's I've read. It's part of a series but you could read it as a standalone. 

I do think though that you would enjoy this book more if you had read the others beforehand.  I feel like have lost some of Everett and Gabriel's backstory and that I am missing the nuances in their relationship with each other and their friends. So I will go back and read the other books to get the story from the beginning.

I enjoyed this book and feel like I may have found a new favourite Daddy.  But we all know this changes every week.

I both like and do not like the pacing of the book. Some parts felt a little bit rushed, I for one would have loved a more fleshed-out beginning of the book. Especially with what happens in the prologue, mostly because that part of the book made me giggle like hell and I knew I would enjoy Everett as a character. Though mind you, I don't know if what happens in the prologue is in one of the other books and we get more answers there.

Everett and Gabriel play off each other very well. Everett with his sassiness and his middle mindset is coming to life in the hands of Gabriel's daddy-ness. The fact we have hard conversations about their relationship and how they should navigate their dynamic makes me happy. This is because most of the time in books like this you get a glossed over conversation and that is that. 

The spice is spicy and even if they are veterans in the daddy/boy kink scene, they still learn new things about themselves and that is refreshing. 

Looking forward to reading Owen's and maybe Max's story. Also, Archer and Remy are intriguing... 

Forbidden by Ashlynn Mills

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The book was good and all I was expecting but something didn't work fully out because I couldn't keep focus when reading it. 

I like the premise of Enrico and Ferdinand's story but I needed something more from it, what I can't tell you right now. Maybe if I sit with it for a bit I can tell you more. 
But I like this universe Ashlynn has created and I want to keep reading so that is a good thing. 

Conflicted by Ashlynn Mills

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is agitating, dark, suspenseful and twisted but at the same time a love story. A love story that is not for the faint of heart. 

Zacharias is the perfect mafia DADDY, dark, brooding and all around crazy. Andres is the perfect little/boy for Zach. He just happens to in the right place and the wrong place at the right time. The way that the story twisted and turned had me in the edge of my seat and I am looking forward to start Forbidden. This is Enrico and Ferdinands story and it is a spin off Conflicted and it is the start of Ashlynn Mills series The Herrera Cartel. 

I will also say that my dislike for the ladies in the family meets no bounds. You just have to read the book to see what I mean. If you are going to be a b*tch then be a good one and not a weak one, please.Be sure to read the TW and proced with caution. Even I that don't usually get squeamish, got a bit queasy when certain scenes played out.