hollanddavis's reviews
885 reviews

Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh

3.5

Lowkey the most emotionally repressed MMC yet has the best communication? Or maybe I’m biased, because he respects the FMC’s boundaries, isn’t ethnocentric, and is fighting against an authoritarian government. 

Couple Leaderboard Update:

1. Brenna and Judd
2. Sascha and Lucas
3. Tamsyn and Nate
4. Faith and Vaughn

Beat of Temptation by Nalini Singh

2.75

Nate had good intentions, but he lacked the emotional intelligence and communication skills for the proper execution. Also, the ten year age gap. Come on. It’s giving Jacob Black and Renesmee instead of George and Amal Clooney. Need I say more?

Couple Leaderboard Update:

1. Sascha and Lucas
2. Tamsyn and Nate
3. Faith and Vaughn 

Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh

2.0

I get that Vaughn’s whole schtick is that he’s extra close to his “animal side” but he completely lacked all boundaries, and it wasn’t okay. Faith asked for space, and he kept pushing. I did not agree with his actions. 

Ranking these couples the further I get into this series;

1. Sascha and Lucas
2. Faith and Vaughn

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

3.75

The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling

5.0

Faux Feminism: Why We Fall for White Feminism and How We Can Stop by Serene Khader

5.0

The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right by Suzanne Allain

5.0

 

Too often historical romances feel like a contemporary romance in a trench coat (or should I say double breasted frock coat?), but Suzanne Allain has a way of keeping the reader in the nineteenth century. Between the stuffy short-sighted relative, the blushing beef steaky cousin, the bumbling dandy, and not finding out Lord Brooke's first name until the last chapter, everything feels properly rom-comy.

Elizabeth Knowelden absolutely killed this audiobook. 10/10 recommend. I could listen to her read the phone book. Scratch that. I could listen to her read Dune, and that's saying something.

The Favorites by Layne Fargo

3.25

On vibes alone, this book was a mashup of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and The Notebook (2004) and I, Tonya (2017). Relationships were messy. Drama was laid bear. Ice was skated to the fullest. I personally like my books more rom-com than rom-dram, so it was a more tense than I usually go for, but I don't regret reading it.

I loved how the audiobook was actually set up like a tell-all documentary with multiple voice actors and a main narrator. It brought the story to life and kept all of the characters in order in a way a single narrator wouldn't have as quickly. I definitely recommend waiting for the audiobook if you have the chance because it 100% enhances the experience.

Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti

3.25

A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare

4.0