jessanicolesingh's reviews
135 reviews

Monstrous Urges by Jagger Cole

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Holy mother of smut, this book left me speechless!

I have to be honest, going into this, I didn’t know how I would feel about reading spicy scenes written by a male author, but I was more than pleasantly surprised with Cole’s writing. The dirty talk in this book was unmatched. I just can’t express enough that it was not only the quantity of scenes, but the quality was top tier, chefs kiss, DEPRAVITY!

Smut aside, the mafia war and forced marriage plotline had me absolutely hooked and racing to finish this read in under 24 hours. There was the perfect balance of thrill and mystery to keep you on the edge of your seat!
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Soul of a Witch by Harley Laroux

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This spicy, fantasy series was great! From Gods & demons, to cults and witchcraft, it had it all without being too over the top. It was a thrilling ride and had me flying through the pages, even though there were a few times it felt a bit predictable.

One thing Laroux did really well with this series is how each book sets up the other couples without giving too much away, and not making the crossover scenes feel redundant. It was as if they were part of a relay race, with the baton handoff of each pair's contribution creating moving pieces of the same timeline.

Of the three books, my favorite would probably be Soul of a Witch, as Everly was the most interesting FMC and I enjoyed the dynamic switch we see in her relationship with Callum. I found Rae, lead of Her Soul to Take, frustrating and a little flat compared to her counterpart, Leon, and thought it pretty inconsistent that she was a paranormal hunter but had a hard time believing in her own town’s lore. Juniper was our happy medium, our strong and vengeful heroine of Her Soul for Revenge with a much more colorful and confident personality, which opened her storyline up to delve more into the supernatural world Zane introduced her to.
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Her Soul for Revenge by Harley Laroux

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This spicy, fantasy series was great! From Gods & demons, to cults and witchcraft, it had it all without being too over the top. It was a thrilling ride and had me flying through the pages, even though there were a few times it felt a bit predictable.

One thing Laroux did really well with this series is how each book sets up the other couples without giving too much away, and not making the crossover scenes feel redundant. It was as if they were part of a relay race, with the baton handoff of each pair's contribution creating moving pieces of the same timeline.

Of the three books, my favorite would probably be Soul of a Witch, as Everly was the most interesting FMC and I enjoyed the dynamic switch we see in her relationship with Callum. I found Rae, lead of Her Soul to Take, frustrating and a little flat compared to her counterpart, Leon, and thought it pretty inconsistent that she was a paranormal hunter but had a hard time believing in her own town’s lore. Juniper was our happy medium, our strong and vengeful heroine of Her Soul for Revenge with a much more colorful and confident personality, which opened her storyline up to delve more into the supernatural world Zane introduced her to. 
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Her Soul to Take by Harley Laroux

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This spicy, fantasy series was great! From Gods & demons, to cults and witchcraft, it had it all without being too over the top. It was a thrilling ride and had me flying through the pages, even though there were a few times it felt a bit predictable.

One thing Laroux did really well with this series is how each book sets up the other couples without giving too much away, and not making the crossover scenes feel redundant. It was as if they were part of a relay race, with the baton handoff of each pair's contribution creating moving pieces of the same timeline.

Of the three books, my favorite would probably be Soul of a Witch, as Everly was the most interesting FMC and I enjoyed the dynamic switch we see in her relationship with Callum. I found Rae, lead of Her Soul to Take, frustrating and a little flat compared to her counterpart, Leon, and thought it pretty inconsistent that she was a paranormal hunter but had a hard time believing in her own town’s lore. Juniper was our happy medium, our strong and vengeful heroine of Her Soul for Revenge with a much more colorful and confident personality, which opened her storyline up to delve more into the supernatural world Zane introduced her to.
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Give Me Peace by M.K. Harper

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

This book contained heavy, dark subject matter, but was NOT a dark romance itself, but rather a story of survival and trauma while still remaining swoon-worthy. With any other plot line, the relationship buildup(s) would have felt excruciatingly sluggish, but in this case it was quite the appropriate slow burn. This story was so raw and emotional, taking a very leisurely pace all the while leaving anxious space for the ongoing background threat.

I always worry that with a harem this size that the MCs will all blend together, but I did not find that issue within these pages and appreciated what each character brought to the dynamic.
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Not A Whisper by MT Addams

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dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

From the very first page I was HOOKED! This bully romance was full of spice, and had a really captivating storyline.

Outside of the main blackmail scheme, I quite enjoyed the side plot; it was refreshing that it was not revolving around their relationship but rather how their dynamic handled it. There was a light cliffhanger between the two books that had a solid flow between them, but nothing urgent that would require you to binge through them at lightning speed.

As for the characters themselves, I really appreciated the realistic body type of the FMC as I get a little sick of reading about “my flat stomach” and related much more to someone conscious of their tummy and legs. Each of the boys' personalities were very distinct and enjoyable, and I’m all for the dom/sub dynamic (taking control, making decisions for the FMC’s safety and the group and a whole), but there were some scenarios that took it a bit too far for my liking.

As a polycule romance with MMFM action, we really only a see a light dusting of MM scenes, which is probably good for those who are turned off by those parts, but I myself wouldn’t have minded more 😉
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Not a Peep by MT Addams, MT Addams

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

4.0

From the very first page I was HOOKED! This bully romance was full of spice, and had a really captivating storyline.

Outside of the main blackmail scheme, I quite enjoyed the side plot; it was refreshing that it was not revolving around their relationship but rather how their dynamic handled it. There was a light cliffhanger between the two books that had a solid flow between them, but nothing urgent that would require you to binge through them at lightning speed.

As for the characters themselves, I really appreciated the realistic body type of the FMC as I get a little sick of reading about “my flat stomach” and related much more to someone conscious of their tummy and legs. Each of the boys' personalities were very distinct and enjoyable, and I’m all for the dom/sub dynamic (taking control, making decisions for the FMC’s safety and the group and a whole), but there were some scenarios that took it a bit too far for my liking.

As a polycule romance with MMFM action, we really only a see a light dusting of MM scenes, which is probably good for those who are turned off by those parts, but I myself wouldn’t have minded more 😉
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At Any Price by Brenna Aubrey

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book may have been on the slower side and a bit predictable, but it was a unique arrangement for a billionaire romance and quite sweet nonetheless.

Our FMC holds an online auction, selling her virginity in the name of feminism, and financial security. This unfortunately created a pretty big character continuity issue, where her manifesto screams confident liberation from society's view on purity, her behaviors and allowance of her suitor to keep trudging things along with no follow through didn’t quite match up. I was also a bit bummed that I easily guessed a major plot reveal very early on, so there wasn’t a big momentous build up at the end. 

Overall it was a cute read, but I am not sure if I’ll finish the trilogy continuation for these two, or the rest of the Gaming the System series as a whole.
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Remnants Of The Guilty by Ashlynn

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

3.0

I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book; it had a decent enough plot with grit and angst, but there were just a few too many issues for me to say I enjoyed it from cover to cover. 

There were multiple times where major plot events happened off page and only mentioned afterwards. I would have much preferred to read them all played out, they could have taken the place of the copious amount of sex scenes (it was definitely quantity over quality on this one). Some of the characters, as well as other plot points, seemed to come out of left field and I almost felt like I had skipped pages, or even chapters.

As far as the main characters go, both our possessive “hero” MMC and the detective mother of the FMC did A LOT of victim blaming and finger pointing, which was incredibly frustrating. The book wrapped up with a HFN ending, but there were still a few key unresolved issues that prevented a satisfying conclusion.
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Midnight Pleasure by Claudia Adotey

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Though a cute and simple royal romance of forbidden love, this book fell flat to me. The buildup for most of the story was going one direction, and then a plot twist from out of the blue somewhat derailed and distracted from the story arc, and made one of the central plot characters out to be an undeserving pawn. It also didn't feel like the MCs relationship had any depth; a quick fall in lust would make sense, but their respective claims of falling in love after practically just meeting and barely any time spent together were just not believable.
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