gnomepatronus's reviews
306 reviews

House of Beating Wings by Olivia Wildenstein

3.0

⭐️Overall 3/5

🌶️ Spice 2/5

🖤Dark 1/5

“Once you make me whole, I will owe you my life, Behach Éan.”

If you take out the main female character then I LOVE this book.  I loved all the side characters and the main male characters. The base of the book is interesting and I love the way the crows are introduced and build within the story.  I wish there was more character development with the main female character, but the entire book she is pinning over a prince and is single minded and unable to see anything else (including things about herself). She is naive to a point of clueless. 

One Last Rainy Day: The Legacy of a Prince by Kate Stewart

medium-paced

5.0

⭐️Overall 5/5

🌶️ Spice 4.25/5

🖤Dark 2/5

“Whoosh Whoosh”

I knew this book would break my heart, but I had no idea just how broken my heart could become! Read the Ravenhood series first then come to the book! I was NOT a Dom girl, but this book, THIS BOOK has converted me.  Kate did an amazing job bringing us back to Triple Falls and seeing the world from the Doms point of view. While we know there are 2 sides to every story, this one has 4, and getting it from this point of view has answered questions I didn’t know I had and my heart is still trying to heal over a month after reading.

Burn for Jack by Aiden Pierce

dark funny fast-paced

4.5

⭐️Overall 4.5/5

🌶️ Spice 4/5

🖤Dark 2/5

“Forever mine, forevermore, through dust and darkest ash”

Is this going to become an annual read for the week before Halloween? Why yes, yes it has!! 21,000 words with witches, fire, revenge, deals with the devil, spice, love and lost. If you are looking for a book with layers of plot, then keep it moving! BUT, if you want a quick plot, some spice, some trigger worthy content, then have a seat next to the corn maze, stay away from the flames and open to page 1.

Credence by Penelope Douglas

adventurous challenging funny tense

3.25

⭐️Overall 3/5

🌶️ Spice 3.5/5

🖤Dark 2/5

“I want to be everything she sees.”

If you do not like the kink “Daddy” then this book will not be for you.  I did not find this book to be dark but more leaning on the taboo side of things. I had a hard time knowing if I would like this book or not. The FMC is 17 when her parents die and since she is not of legal age she goes to live with her Step-Uncle and 2 step-cousins (no blood relationship, did not grow up around them).  They live on top of a mountain and soon the snow will come and they will all be left alone in the house for months. Before that comes the boys are getting their fill of the town women while the FMC is struggling with her feelings. But everything changes the day she turns 18. I really wanted to love this book. 

There were moments I was so excited and couldn’t wait until the next chapter, and then moments where I had to push to keep reading (not due to the “taboo”).  If you have been wanting to read this book and keep looking at it, check the triggers to ensure you are comfortable and go for it

Heirs of Darkness by Amber Thoma, Amber Thoma

5.0

That Darn Kess!! (If you know you know. If not, go check out the authors TikTok after reading the book)

⭐️Overall 5/5

🌶️ Spice 0/5

🫑 RomCom Spice 0/5

🖤Dark 1/5  

        

“When I become the monster I will inevitably be, it will be of my own making.”

This is a prequel to Prince of Darkness and gives insight to what makes the cousins from the NightCourt who they are. From youth to age of where they are in Prince of Darkness Amber really puts these two through the wringer and takes your heart with it. The author does recommend you reading Prince of Darkness first, and if you are the type of reader who needs to have a connection with a character before reading and knowing their past then 109%, you will need to read Prince of Darkness first. I personally do wish I would have read the prequel first. This gives the reason on why they act the way they did in Prince of Darkness and gives you insight on why their actions are so different, But either way, read this before or after, this is a NEED TO READ. You can feel the layers in the scenes that are just ready to unfold. Nods to things you know will be important in books to come. This really helps set up not only a better understanding of the characters backstory, but a few nuggets of unresolved items you know will be unfolded soon.

Heirs Of Darkness by Amber Thoma

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

⭐️Overall 5/5

🌶️ Spice 0/5

🫑 RomCom Spice 0/5

🖤Dark 1/5  

        

“When I become the monster I will inevitably be, it will be of my own making.”

This is a prequel to Prince of Darkness and gives insight to what makes the cousins from the NightCourt who they are. From youth to age of where they are in Prince of Darkness Amber really puts these two through the wringer and takes your heart with it. The author does recommend you reading Prince of Darkness first, and if you are the type of reader who needs to have a connection with a character before reading and knowing their past then 109%, you will need to read Prince of Darkness first. I personally do wish I would have read the prequel first. This gives the reason on why they act the way they did in Prince of Darkness and gives you insight on why their actions are so different, But either way, read this before or after, this is a NEED TO READ. You can feel the layers in the scenes that are just ready to unfold. Nods to things you know will be important in books to come. This really helps set up not only a better understanding of the characters backstory, but a few nuggets of unresolved items you know will be unfolded soon.

Wicked Games by Celeste Night, P.H. Nix

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

⭐️Overall 5/5

🌶️ Spice 3.5/5

🖤Dark 3/5

“I guess karma just needed a little push”

This book, THIS BOOK!!! I would say why choose, but she did not choose. I would say vibes like the movie SAW, but she is an innocent who had a horrible day, not even wrong place wrong time. But everything worked so well in this book. The secret identity, the games that were played and how each game ended left you waiting in for the next one to start and which game would be played. This Novella hits all the spots if you love dark and twisty romance. (check triggers) I will be keeping a close eye for when the rest of this series is out. (I am writing this review directly after reading the book, I went in blind and will now be searching if there are any books out that align with this novella. Yes it is THAT good!)

Savage Heart by Ria Wilde

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

⭐️Overall 5/5

🎧Narration 5/5

🌶️ Spice 5/5

🖤Dark 3/5

“I was still healing from the other wounds she had given me, I wasn’t prepared to have more holes put in my body by my stabby little woman.”

A dark romance where an assassin falls first. He is a monster, he doesn’t try to be anything other than that, he claims what is his and don’t you dare try to think he won’t get what he wants. The book jumps into the action grabbing you and keeps you holding your breath chapter after chapter. The spice is SO good, and there are SO many good troupes! If you like dark romance, a true bad guy, a female that is strong then this is the book for you. (While this book doesn’t seem very dark to me, make sure you check the triggers if you are not a dark romance person or has triggers)

You may have read books where you think the man will burn the entire world, but Hunter is a man of action and not just words. We get to see the destruction!! 

The narration was so well done. Joe Arden is a fan favorite, and his narration in this book was AMAZING!! I am now on a mission to find more books with his voice diction of Kingston (you will love that guy a well).  I am not as familiar with Zara Hampton-Brown but she is now on a short list of finding more books. The acting was well done and really felt like you were there in the story and not being read to. The production choices of how it was sliced together and pacing was perfect.

While this book is part of a duet, they can be read as standalone. I received an ALC for an honest review.

The Degradation of Shelby Ann by Emma Cole

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

⭐️Overall 5/5

🎧Narration 5/5

🌶️ Spice 5/5

🖤Dark 5/5

The tone of the book is set by the first scene. This is not a story of the villain burning the world down for her, but the villain burning her down in secret from the world. 

If you have any triggers, CHECK them, again, this is not your normal dark romance. Shelby is put through the wringer, humiliated, and broken. You get the story from her point of view and the events that lead her to that point and beyond. 

There are twists that I didn’t see coming, and parts that made my heart ache for Shelby. I wanted to reach through the book and help her! I wanted to stop reading so many times but couldn’t! 

The narration was well done. The style of southern accent for Shelby fits with personality and traits of the character. The emotional turmoil was portrayed exceptionally well so you knew how Shelby was feeling during the phrase before the “description” was given. 

And then there was the MMC, I do NOT want to admit how well this was narrated! I do not want to like anything about this character, but there were moments…and then me thinking about the one…ugh! I am sure if I eye read this book I would have made them all sound like greasy, long mustache 70s villains!

Unhinged by Vera Valentine

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

I did NOT anticipate enjoying this book as much as I did. 71 pages of solid, quick, hard, easy, fast and hilarious story. Strange-Yes. But even more strange is there really is not that many triggers. (Compared to most books I read). This quick read is 100% woth the read!