coffeebooksandescape's reviews
312 reviews

Fire Bird by Cara Clare

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚡 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
~ @caraclareauthor
~ fantasy romance

“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. “𝘈 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥,” 𝘐 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳. 
𝘈 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯. 
“𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥.” 𝘚𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. “𝘈 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘹.”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:
🌶️ 𝚜𝚖𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚖
🧙‍♀️ 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜, 𝚠𝚘𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗
❤️ 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢
✡️ 𝚊 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐
5️⃣ 𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜

I thought it would be more fitting to review this series as a whole rather than just the finale. This book hooked me in from the first one, and had me sat on the edge of my seat through all six books, but I still don’t think I can write a review that does this series justice.

It’s hot, it’s action-packed and full of fantasy elements. Set in a town called Phoenix Falls, six (or seven 👀) individuals come together over the series, to stop The King of the underworld from rising and destroying the world as they know it. There is so much drama and spice and action that it will keep you turning the pages right until the end.

Fire Bird (the final book) was a fitting finale, and didn’t disappoint. The twists built into the books definitely did not disappoint, taking turns I did not expect. The characters were great (Luther was always my fave), and the books were inhaleable in one sitting. 

If you’re looking for a new favourite spicy Romantasy series, this is more than worth giving a go. I honestly don’t think my review even touches on the greatness of this series.

** these cannot be read as standalone novels.

Flames by Cara Clare

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Another brilliant instalment.
I intend to write a full review for the final book and the series as a whole rather than these individual ones ☺️

Embers by Cara Clare

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow okay this series is getting really intense. As I said before it’s almost like one huge book - each left with so many unanswered questions and a cliffhanger.

I was excited Luther got steamy in this, and that it was loads more action packed!

Medusa by Jessie Burton

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝙼𝚎𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚊

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
~ @jessieburton
~ fantasy / mythology

“𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳? 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 - 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘭.”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:
👧 𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚍𝚜
🐍 𝚊 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝙷𝙴𝙰
❤️ 𝚊 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍

Wow, in just 170 pages, Jessie Burton moved me beyond words. This book is a powerful retelling of the myth of Medusa. The book kept all the facts of what we know about Medusa, but told from the perspective of a young girl who got played by the gods, a girl who just wanted to find love and believe that somebody could love her hair of snakes. 

Jessie builds a full portrait of Medusa’s life before the snakes, and how she was just a normal girl, who if anything was just a little too obsessed with her looks. A lot of this book was centred around the fact that for females, looks matter. That if someone is perceived as ugly they don’t hold status, but if they’re perceived as beautiful, anyone can own their beauty. Which is exactly what Poseidon did. 

I think if you enjoy mythology or fantasy, potentially YA books, with a little bit of “potential romance” thrown in, this book is for you. You don’t even need to know a lot about the mythology of Medusa, because Jessie does a great job of retelling the tale. I inhaled this book in around an hour and believe you will too. Will be a book I recommend to everyone.

The Waiter: the award-winning first book in a thrilling new detective series by Ajay Chowdhury

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ 
~ @ajaychowdhury.author
~ crime / mystery

“‘𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 “𝘐” 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮.’ 
𝘕𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 ‘𝘜’ 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:
👮‍♀️ 𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎
🔍 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚎𝚍𝚘-𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛
✏️ 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜
💰 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔𝚛𝚞𝚙𝚝 𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚎
📚 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔

This was an incredible first novel from Ajay Chowdhury, and I’m looking forward to picking up the second one too. Disgraced detective Kamil moves from Kolkata to London, to take some time out after his career goes down the chute, and ends up smack bang in the middle of another murder. The family he’s staying with (friends of the victim) ask him to look into it behind the METs back, but everything is not as simple as it looks. While it might have seemed like cluedo (was it the butler with the whiskey bottle in the basement?) to begin with, there were layers building up and it all started with Kamil himself.

I liked the fact this novel tied two separate murders countries apart together through some incredible investigative work. While they weren’t the same murderers, the characters all had interlinking timelines and it was really quite intricate. I didn’t guess the murderer either - actually they were probably the moly one I didn’t suspect which is always a sign of a good piece of crime fiction!

The world building was incredible, with both cities being described atmospherically beautiful. This left me wanting an Indian takeout on more than one occasion when I was reading. It was like I could smell it coming through the pages. The characters were also brilliantly built. The MC came from a background where he was repeatedly betrayed, but held steadfast in wanting the correct people paying for their crimes. By the end of the book he’s learned that justice is about more than putting people behind bars. 

It was an incredible piece of crime fiction and I highly recommend!

Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝙳𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚅𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ 

~ @gabriellasaab_

~ historical fiction 

“𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴.”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:

🔫 𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜

⚔️ 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝

👀 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚜

❤️ 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎, 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚢𝚊𝚕

✏️ 𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚘𝚟

If you love historical fiction, definitely give this one a go. It’s told from the dual POV of a grandmother and her granddaughter, years apart set in both the Russian Revolution and the WWII Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union. Both women fighting for what they believed in.

It starts a little slowly as Gabriella Saab brings the reader up to speed with Svetlana’s life before the true story starts. Once it gets going, the story transitions perfectly between the alternating timelines. And honestly I’m not sure what I expected from this novel, except knowing that I was going to love it. I’m just so glad I picked this one up, because honestly it was the most emotional, heartbreaking but incredibly moving piece of historical fiction. 

The story itself is based on some very real people historically, and trust me you want to read their story. Once you’ve finished the book, it’s worth reading the historical notes at the back because I promise you’ll be shocked! Just be warned this isn’t exactly a HEA kind of ending, (but the best novels never are) so read cautiously! 

This isn’t like most other WWII novels that I know so many of you have a love/hate relationship with, it’s the one historical fiction I truly think has something for everyone!

A massive thank you to Gabriella Saab and William Morrow PB / Harper 360 for the gifted copy, and to Random Things Tours for my space on the tour.

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲.

Accidental Romeo: A Marriage Mistake Romance by Nicole Snow

challenging emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝙰𝚌𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ 1/2

~ Nicole Snow

~ Romance 

“𝘉𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴.” 

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:

💕 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝

🤫 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚜

❤️ 𝚏𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 (𝚠𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎)

💰 𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚎

✏️ 𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚘𝚟

Sorry can we just start by saying, the guy ok this cover is drop dead bloody gorgeous. This is the book I was actually recommended in the series, and I’m so glad I gave it a go. This was an absolutely incredible read from start to finish, and can be read as a standalone - so read this one! It starts with Wendy almost running over Hunters son, but damaging the van she was driving in the process. Rich man Hunter offers to pay but she declines, so he makes a deal with her parents instead to give his son a job to pay off the damages, in exchange for him being their daughters wedding date. I think we all love the meddling parents trope!

But all is not as it seems, there is a huge secret. A huge part of the past trying to be forgotten, and a lot of weird goings on. It’s romance meets a tad of mystery but I’d worked it out by halfway through 🥴 … however saying that, it was page turning and I couldn’t put it down. There’s also quite a bit of smut too, if you’re in to that, but makes a thoroughly entertaining read if your not and just want to skim over those parts. Because I’m not sure how much I believe a virgin can go several times in one night their first time 😬

So, I’ve marked it down just half a star due to some tweaks I think could have made it a huge hit! But I really highly recommend this book. It’s laugh out loud, cute and mysterious all at the same time! 

Accidental Protector: A Marriage Mistake Romance by Nicole Snow

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝙰𝚌𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ 1/2 (rounded up)
~ Nicole Snow
~ Romance (should be: Crime)

“𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯,” 𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴. 
𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦?”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:
💕 𝚠𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍
💘 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 - 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑
📸 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘𝚜 
🔫 𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛
🔍 𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 
✏️ 𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚘𝚟

Ahh I much preferred this to the first book in the series. This is definitely more romance, but with a dash of crime. So there’s still the overlap, but the way this was written to tie in was much more bearable! Please remember a 3 star review for me is a positive-neutral. So I absolutely still do recommend this book!

It’s the whole “whoops woke up after a night in the casino, accidentally married by an Elvis impersonator” except they were drugged, and there’s a crime under Lord and missing persons case behind why they were drugged. He vows to protect her from said crime under lord and they explore their electricity.

It’s funny, and the mystery of the missing persons case made me keep reading for the outcome! I needed to know if she was found alive or dead. It was page-turning and electric. The sex scenes were a little cringe 😬 with some of the wording, but I guess everyone’s different, maybe some of y’all like it that way! Just not for me…

The characters were great, and loveable. Except I never want to read the word “darlin” again, haha. I do actually recommend this, if you love smut and crime, this is for you!

Accidental Hero: A Marriage Mistake Romance by Nicole Snow

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝙰𝚌𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚘

~ ✮ ✮ 1/2
~ Romance (should be: Crime)

“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:
💕 𝚏𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚌é 
🚫 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎
✏️ 𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚙𝚘𝚟
🔫 𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 / 𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎
👮‍♀️ 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚙

I feel like this whole book is marketed wrong. This is marketed as a romance, a fake fiancé who dared her to make it real. In reality it’s a fake fiancé by accident, forbidden romance, mixed with an action packed, drug-running, human-trafficking crime group with big people on their payroll, then random smutty scenes dropped on top.

Honestly I thought the story line had promise. It’s interesting and captures your attention as a reader - you want to know how this ends. But it doesn’t flow. Your flipping between smutty scenes and then next thing you know there’s action packed scenes. It doesn’t work like it could have - but I think it either needs to be a smutty romance or a crime novel with a budding romance, not both of them mixed.

I think you need to be prepared that the plot isn’t bulletproof. It’s a bit of every genre mixed in, and then the characters aren’t even likeable, except for the 10 year old daughter! The main character Brent is… I don’t even have a word to describe him. He says he’s her fiancé out of nowhere, almost making her lose her job, which he doesn’t really care about. Then he totally lies (or withholds) about his reasons for wanting this fake engagement - which isn’t even a fake engagement - it was more like a relationship with disaster written on it. 

But I can’t say that I didn’t finish it or that the storyline wasn’t somewhat intriguing. Just get past the issues.

Salt and Sugar by Rebecca Carvalho

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 • 𝚂𝚊𝚕𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚞𝚐𝚊𝚛

~ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

~ @rebeccacarvalhowrites

~ YA Romance

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘷𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘴𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯-𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴' 𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵.”

𝙴𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝:

💕 𝙼𝚘𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚝

♥️ 𝙴𝚗𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜

⁉️ 𝙼𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚎𝚞𝚍

🧁 𝙵𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚞𝚗 𝚋𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 (𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚝, 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚢)

❕ 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚐𝚎

⚠️ 𝙰 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚝 𝚐𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚊𝚕𝚕

Ahh! I couldn’t put this down. It took me a while to pick this up, I don’t know why but I wasn’t sure I was actually going to enjoy it. But, from the first page I was hooked! I kept picturing the characters a little older, but the whole story worked super well, and the ages added to that naivety that you would expect from a teen.

I loved the premise that two bakeries could last across the street from each other if they agreed to only sell certain products. In this case Salt would bake breads and savoury bakes, and Sugar would bake the sweet treats. But it never stopped this family from feuding, and this goes back 3-4 generations. The kids were taught to hate each other from a young age, and the families altered their perceptions of one another.

Each generation of this feud had tried to fix it at some point or another, but nothing worked until Lari and Pedro found a way. This book takes you on a rollercoaster of a journey, and the teen angst and the consumerism messages added in top it all off. It’s funny and adorable and everything a YA romance should be, with loads of messages for the reader to take away written between the lines!

But was that ending suggesting there will be a second book? Many thanks to Harper 360 UK and Inkyard Press for my gifted copy.

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲.