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dmniccoli's reviews
26 reviews
Deceived by the Gargoyles by Lillian Lark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
5.0
The attention to every single character and their relationships with one another is just so good. No one gets left out, there’s very, very little room for jealousy. It’s hot, it’s cozy, and it’s wholesome—everything I hoped this MMMF polyamory monster romance would be.
Content notes: explicit sex, mentions of family trauma/emotional abuse, antagonist is a stalker/kidnapper, breaking & entering, animal death
Content notes: explicit sex, mentions of family trauma/emotional abuse, antagonist is a stalker/kidnapper, breaking & entering, animal death
Her Wolf in the Wild by Rien Gray
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Lady human bartender + lady werewolf biker.
Christiana is trying to escape an abusive ex when her car tire blows out on an almost empty desert highway. (Her ex is a state trooper, and she can literally hear his sirens in the distance). Micah, a hot motorcycle-riding badass, offers her a getaway ride and she takes it. The circumstances of their first meeting are dire, and quite terrifying, but the take-my-helmet and grab-onto-me-tight rescuing bit is quite hot.
Her Wolf in the Wild has a lovely cast of LGBTQ+ characters, and from the start the romantic leads are emotional attuned to each other, so there’s very little couple angst overall, which I personally loved. The stakes are mostly external.
The story is set in Arizona. There’s desert sex and a sensual naked times kiss in a lake under the light of the moon. *swoon*
Wow, it’s SO good!
F/F paranormal romance.
Content notes: sex, drinking, abusive ex/stalker, corrupt law enforcement, blood, violence, guns.
Christiana is trying to escape an abusive ex when her car tire blows out on an almost empty desert highway. (Her ex is a state trooper, and she can literally hear his sirens in the distance). Micah, a hot motorcycle-riding badass, offers her a getaway ride and she takes it. The circumstances of their first meeting are dire, and quite terrifying, but the take-my-helmet and grab-onto-me-tight rescuing bit is quite hot.
Her Wolf in the Wild has a lovely cast of LGBTQ+ characters, and from the start the romantic leads are emotional attuned to each other, so there’s very little couple angst overall, which I personally loved. The stakes are mostly external.
The story is set in Arizona. There’s desert sex and a sensual naked times kiss in a lake under the light of the moon. *swoon*
Wow, it’s SO good!
F/F paranormal romance.
Content notes: sex, drinking, abusive ex/stalker, corrupt law enforcement, blood, violence, guns.
Dulce Monstrum: A Queer Erotic Collection by Elle Porter
dark
emotional
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
If you love erotic horror romance, monster romance, queer romance, and the combination of all three, you’ve got to read Elle Porter’s Dulce Monstrum and Hyacinth. In Dulce Monstrum, a short story collection, you’ll get a variety of relationships and delicious monster encounters. It ranges from demon possession/carnival fun house mirror banging to shower monster times and a wholesome married moth + human couple shooting boudoir together (one’s the muse, the other is the photographer). It’s so sweet and so sexy.
Elle Porter’s writing simultaneously gives me all the best chills and heartwarming feelings.
An aside: while the romances I’ve read often focus on big genital equipment, I love how the characters in Porter’s work embrace and rejoice in the small, too, and it is no less sexy and no less wonderful.
Transmasc MM romance.
CW: sex, smoking, drinking. (See author’s website for more.)
Elle Porter’s writing simultaneously gives me all the best chills and heartwarming feelings.
An aside: while the romances I’ve read often focus on big genital equipment, I love how the characters in Porter’s work embrace and rejoice in the small, too, and it is no less sexy and no less wonderful.
Transmasc MM romance.
CW: sex, smoking, drinking. (See author’s website for more.)
I'll Come Back for You by Charish Reid
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I’ll Come Back for You by Charish Reid hits the ground running. The opening chapter grabbed me by the heartstrings and gave me chills—starting with some of the heroine’s most harrowing moments.
The first chapter and the final ghost showdown are the most intense, but no worries if scary’s not your thing. The tone of the rest of the book is more BOO! than bone-chilling horror. If you like ghost hunting TV shows and Scooby-Doo, that’s the vibe.
There’s a couple tried and true plot bumps to create some romantic couple tension, but the external stakes felt more pressing to me, which I enjoyed, and I just loved the honesty and maturity between the leads Whitney and Deon about their feelings. They’re not messing around. They care about each other, have been pining for each other for DECADES, and there’s very little dancing around that fact.
Without giving too, too, much away, the poetry reciting in this at high emotional points—fear, pleasure—makes my English major heart sing.
Also, the sisterly love is pure gold, the perfect wholesome mix of humor, sass, and heart. And the improvised ghost banishing ritual, while serious business, sprinkles in little moments of hilarity that I ate up. I love spooky and sexy. But spooky, sexy, AND funny? Give. It. To. Me.
After defeating the ghost, there’s a good comedown, space for healing and character growth, which I quite liked.
Note on the steamy stuff: The wall sex is hot. The shower sex is even hotter.
I’ll Come Back for You is a Black romance w/ paranormal elements and romantic leads in their late 30s/early 40s.
CW: sex, alcohol, grief, possibly PTSD, natural disaster (hurricane), a real dick of a ghost.
I received a proof copy from the author in exchange for a review.
The first chapter and the final ghost showdown are the most intense, but no worries if scary’s not your thing. The tone of the rest of the book is more BOO! than bone-chilling horror. If you like ghost hunting TV shows and Scooby-Doo, that’s the vibe.
There’s a couple tried and true plot bumps to create some romantic couple tension, but the external stakes felt more pressing to me, which I enjoyed, and I just loved the honesty and maturity between the leads Whitney and Deon about their feelings. They’re not messing around. They care about each other, have been pining for each other for DECADES, and there’s very little dancing around that fact.
Without giving too, too, much away, the poetry reciting in this at high emotional points—fear, pleasure—makes my English major heart sing.
Also, the sisterly love is pure gold, the perfect wholesome mix of humor, sass, and heart. And the improvised ghost banishing ritual, while serious business, sprinkles in little moments of hilarity that I ate up. I love spooky and sexy. But spooky, sexy, AND funny? Give. It. To. Me.
After defeating the ghost, there’s a good comedown, space for healing and character growth, which I quite liked.
Note on the steamy stuff: The wall sex is hot. The shower sex is even hotter.
I’ll Come Back for You is a Black romance w/ paranormal elements and romantic leads in their late 30s/early 40s.
CW: sex, alcohol, grief, possibly PTSD, natural disaster (hurricane), a real dick of a ghost.
I received a proof copy from the author in exchange for a review.
Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
4.5/5. Captain Hook + Tinker Bell enemies-to-lovers romance goodness.
What a retelling! Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke was a fun read that hooks you from chapter one with vivid characters and a smooth, fluid writing style. It’s so easy to forget you’re turning pages.
There’s a femme fatale seduction scene in the opening pages that’s just wicked good, and it’s a great character-establishing intro to Van Dyke’s Tinker Bell + Capt. Hook.
There’s also sassy banter. A good ol’ caveman carry. Naked adventure time *waggles eyebrows.* But a lot of tender moments, too, made all the sweeter because of how things begin between them.
Without spoiling anything, there’s a big “trust fall” moment that I loved, because of Hook’s complete faith in Tink. It’s a moment when he could’ve easily said, “No, don’t. You’re too hurt, too weak,” but he doesn’t because she said she could do it. He trusts and respects that she knows her own body and capabilities.
I also loved that they are a couple that rescues each other (several times over), and anytime Tink’s wings glow, because she is happy 🥺😭😍
I enjoyed this book very much, and its ending demonstrates how love is a strength, not a weakness. And home is where the heart is.
This is not the Neverland you know.
It’s the Neverland you didn’t know you needed.
———
Some things I wished for:
I wished there was a little more to the betrayal plot. I liked the twist. But the reasons didn’t land for me. Too much of a 180.
The OTHER twist worked for me. There were a few times when I thought Croc/Blackbeard might’ve had a humanizing moment, but he never really got there, and I kinda wish he did, just to make him more complicated (I like complicated).
I also wished for a more 3D portrayal of Hook as an amputee. More of his daily challenges, how he adapts. Routine stump & prosthesis care. Atrophy/skin breakdown considerations. Prosthesis design details & suspension method. What his recovery would have entailed. There was a bedroom scene when his stump ‘disappears’ partway through, something akin to “white-room syndrome,” which I don’t think was intentional at all, but it was something I noticed. If his stump was something Hook was self-conscious about and continuing to hide, I would have liked for Tink to have noticed and to have continued trying to reassure him/build up his confidence.
———
Thank you Megan Van Dyke & City Owl Press for the ARC!
What a retelling! Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke was a fun read that hooks you from chapter one with vivid characters and a smooth, fluid writing style. It’s so easy to forget you’re turning pages.
There’s a femme fatale seduction scene in the opening pages that’s just wicked good, and it’s a great character-establishing intro to Van Dyke’s Tinker Bell + Capt. Hook.
There’s also sassy banter. A good ol’ caveman carry. Naked adventure time *waggles eyebrows.* But a lot of tender moments, too, made all the sweeter because of how things begin between them.
Without spoiling anything, there’s a big “trust fall” moment that I loved, because of Hook’s complete faith in Tink. It’s a moment when he could’ve easily said, “No, don’t. You’re too hurt, too weak,” but he doesn’t because she said she could do it. He trusts and respects that she knows her own body and capabilities.
I also loved that they are a couple that rescues each other (several times over), and anytime Tink’s wings glow, because she is happy 🥺😭😍
I enjoyed this book very much, and its ending demonstrates how love is a strength, not a weakness. And home is where the heart is.
This is not the Neverland you know.
It’s the Neverland you didn’t know you needed.
———
Some things I wished for:
I wished there was a little more to the betrayal plot. I liked the twist. But the reasons didn’t land for me. Too much of a 180.
The OTHER twist worked for me. There were a few times when I thought Croc/Blackbeard might’ve had a humanizing moment, but he never really got there, and I kinda wish he did, just to make him more complicated (I like complicated).
I also wished for a more 3D portrayal of Hook as an amputee. More of his daily challenges, how he adapts. Routine stump & prosthesis care. Atrophy/skin breakdown considerations. Prosthesis design details & suspension method. What his recovery would have entailed. There was a bedroom scene when his stump ‘disappears’ partway through, something akin to “white-room syndrome,” which I don’t think was intentional at all, but it was something I noticed. If his stump was something Hook was self-conscious about and continuing to hide, I would have liked for Tink to have noticed and to have continued trying to reassure him/build up his confidence.
———
Thank you Megan Van Dyke & City Owl Press for the ARC!
Content Warnings
CW: sex, alcohol (moderate), drug-use (moderate), amputation (brief)
Parting the Veil by Paulette Kennedy
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
I stayed up much, much too late to finish the ARC I received of PARTING THE VEIL, and I have no regrets.
This feminist and queer gothic romantic thriller was a fantastic read. It has beautiful prose and an atmosphere that I really sunk my teeth into—it’s the kind of writing that feeds you.
As the mysteries of Lord Havenwood and Havenwood Manor unfolded, there were lots of discernible clues for the reader, and yet the twists were expertly built to a very satisfying conclusion—one I’d guessed, another I hadn’t, but no less enjoyed. I had so much fun digging into each scene trying to figure out if my theories were correct.
And because I’m a romance writer and reader I would be remiss not to point out how much I loved the romantic elements. I’m still thinking about Malcolm’s letter to Eliza. Short, sweet, but packing heat (fans self).
Fellow romance lovers, please note that the steamy scenes (and there were a lot of them) were fade-to-black. I would have LOVED open door scenes, but then again I’m the type of reader who doesn’t think you can have too much spice ;) While romance isn’t the central plot, especially in the second half of the book when the mystery and thriller elements come to the forefront, it is the backbone, as another reviewer pointed out. Still, the story ends happily and hopeful and I absolutely adored it.
I was told this book would be a treat and a dark delight and it thoroughly was! This was a fabulous debut, and I cannot wait to read more by Paulette Kennedy.
Thank you Paulette & Lake Union Publishing for the ARC!
CW:
Please note and read with care.
This novel includes subject matter such as domestic abuse, addiction, suicidal ideation, pregnancy/child loss, murder, mental illness, implied incest and sexual abuse, as well as racism and misogyny that is reflective of the time period.
This feminist and queer gothic romantic thriller was a fantastic read. It has beautiful prose and an atmosphere that I really sunk my teeth into—it’s the kind of writing that feeds you.
As the mysteries of Lord Havenwood and Havenwood Manor unfolded, there were lots of discernible clues for the reader, and yet the twists were expertly built to a very satisfying conclusion—one I’d guessed, another I hadn’t, but no less enjoyed. I had so much fun digging into each scene trying to figure out if my theories were correct.
And because I’m a romance writer and reader I would be remiss not to point out how much I loved the romantic elements. I’m still thinking about Malcolm’s letter to Eliza. Short, sweet, but packing heat (fans self).
Fellow romance lovers, please note that the steamy scenes (and there were a lot of them) were fade-to-black. I would have LOVED open door scenes, but then again I’m the type of reader who doesn’t think you can have too much spice ;) While romance isn’t the central plot, especially in the second half of the book when the mystery and thriller elements come to the forefront, it is the backbone, as another reviewer pointed out. Still, the story ends happily and hopeful and I absolutely adored it.
I was told this book would be a treat and a dark delight and it thoroughly was! This was a fabulous debut, and I cannot wait to read more by Paulette Kennedy.
Thank you Paulette & Lake Union Publishing for the ARC!
CW:
Please note and read with care.
This novel includes subject matter such as domestic abuse, addiction, suicidal ideation, pregnancy/child loss, murder, mental illness, implied incest and sexual abuse, as well as racism and misogyny that is reflective of the time period.
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