lost_windsock's reviews
413 reviews

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

5.0

This book is a little outside my usual genre of contemporary romance, but I really enjoyed it anyway! I'm not usually big on historical romances, but if you add a little magic, that does the trick! I found this magic system to be really unique and interesting, and the plot of this book was full of mystery, romance, and action. I loved both Robin and Edwin, and I thought their growth throughout this book was really well-written. Robin could see the beauty and value in Edwin's magic right away, and his respect for Edwin and what he was capable of only grew as the story went on. Edwin really needed someone like Robin in his corner, to believe in him and give him the confidence to believe in himself, too. I loved how in the end, it really was Edwin's book smarts and Robin's belief in him that saved them from danger. Also, the hedge maze scene and the final scene with Edwin's brother were some of my favorites. Watching Edwin create his connection to the grounds and then seeing the house respond so powerfully for him was such a satisfying feeling; it was nice to see Edwin get the wins he so deserved. I'm really curious how this trilogy will continue, and I definitely be finishing it eventually!

Hunt Me! (I Crave the Chase) by Fae Quin

5.0

As with every Fae Quin book, this one made me laugh and it made me cry, and I loved it so, so much. My heart ACHED for poor, sweet Jeffrey. I knew he was going to have a rough time in this book. That his tortured soul would struggle hard to allow anyone to care for him, to allow his brain to accept any amount of admiration or love, no matter how genuinely given. And he struggled not only with letting Mutt in, but with Blair and Richard and Colin as well. Believing that his own brothers could love him after the horrible things he'd been forced by Lydia to do was impossible for him at the beginning of this book, and one of the best parts of this story was getting to see Jeffrey change. To see him take the softness, and love and safe-belong-desired that Mutt gave him, and use it to start to dig his way out of his mental prison. To forgive himself. And what can I say about Mutt except that he is maybe one of my favorite characters I've ever read. This big doofus wolf, who loves so fiercely he blinds himself. The very definition of a himbo: sweet and innocent and wonderful and so dumb you couldn't help but giggle watching him try to woo Jeffrey. And because he is just absolute perfection, and he saw Jeffrey as pretty, perfect, mate-mate-mate, of course Jeffrey couldn't help but believe his love was real and perfect, too. I was torn to shreds when

Mutt finally revealed to him that nothing he could do would be enough, and asked him to use his hunting skills to put him down.

My heart just broke, even though I knew it would be okay in the end. And it was. The ending was perfect for them.

Seer by Bix Barrow

5.0

Okay, well this book was a goddamn delight! A nice mixture of contemporary romance, paranormal, and mystery, this book balanced them all perfectly and delivered such a fun story! I truly did not see Greg's background as a magic-using overseer of shifters and other magical creatures coming. In the series where we met Greg and Cal to begin with, he'd seemed like a really normal, if grumpy, dude. I definitely never suspected there was this whole other side to him. I loved that this book had so many characters from the original series, too. It was fun to see Felix, Craig and Steve again! I think the flow of this book was really great. It was hard to put down, which has been the case for pretty much every Bix Barrow book I've read. I'm super excited to read the next book, as it looks like Ms. Jackson will be one of the main characters, and I am so intrigued by them! They were one of the really fun parts of this book, I thought, and I'm so interested to see if they are able to transform into a living being that can speak. I really loved the relationship development between Steve and Cal. They each had their own hangups and reasons for fighting their bond, but once they actually talked things out with each other, they had an easier time seeing themselves together, which they both knew was inevitable anyway. I enjoyed this book so much, and the unique paranormal twist that we now get to view Bent Oak in is really fun! 

Off the Clock by Annabeth Albert

4.0

From the first book, I really liked Caleb, and I grew to like him even more after reading this book. He held the reputation for being the funny, energetic one at the station and in any group of friends, but there was a lot of mental struggle for him to keep it together when he was feeling really overwhelmed with being the newly-appointed guardian to his younger brother. Tony became the only person he felt like he could be open and truthful about his feelings with, and that grew their trust and friendship a lot. Tony and Caleb were definitely more impulsive with fooling around than I felt like it seemed they realistically would have been, but that was half the fun of this book. They did have great chemistry together, and there were a few moments of high-excitement and drama in this book that I thought enhanced the story nicely. This was a pretty dang wholesome story with quite a few dashes of spice, and I enjoyed it!

To Catch a Firefly by Emmy Sanders

5.0

What a phenomenal read. This book squeezed the living daylights out of my heart. What a beautiful story. I absolutely adored Ellis and Lucky. The way the chapters were split in the beginning, showing them growing up together, was perfect and helped build so much emotion. I was weeping before they were even adults, and I swear, the tears kept flowing throughout this entire book. It was just so tragically beautiful to watch these two men figure out that it was okay to love each other. They went through so much together, and they both knew they had a deep love for the other, but were always faced with some reason to only view it through a lens of friendship. I feel like I could go on and on about how much I loved Ellis, how much I loved Lucky, how perfect this book was... but I might never stop, so I'll just say that I loved it, and if you haven't read it, do yourself a favor and grab a box of tissues to dry your eyes with before you start reading.

Snow Way in Hell by Charlie Novak

4.0

This was a really quick read, but it was really cute! Both Quinn and George were super sweet characters, and I loved Quinn's brother Max, too. For such a short story, I thought it had good pacing and a nice touch of spice. The ending felt a bit like a consequence-free cliffhanger, though 😂 What was Max planning for their anniversary? Did they go get married? I'll have to snoop around and see if I can find some answers. 

Snowdrop by Essie Sloane

4.0

I really loved Noel and Billy together. And even though their first forbidden hookup was really hot, once Noel got over his second-guessing and let himself love Billy, their story got so much better. I loved that Billy never let Noel fall into self-deprecating spirals, and that he took the time and the care to really show Noel that he loved him just the way he was. I was really hoping for a little more of the other elves in this book, though, not gonna lie. At least more of Holli. In Holli's book, there's no question that Billy is his best friend that he tells everything to. But in this book, it felt like Holli wasn't really in it at all, which felt weird. It felt like Ozzy was in the best friend position but that felt weird, too, because he wasn't really that great of a friend. He gave off weird vibes to me, and I didn't really like him... but! Aside from that weirdness, I did really like this book, and this whole series has been such a delight to read! I truly enjoyed every book in it!

Holli Jolly by Freesia Woodley

4.5

This was a really cute Daddy Christmas romance! I will admit that I thought Jack's possessiveness and persistenc  with Holli was a little bit much at first, but it didn't really take me long to change my mind to thinking it was actually just right. Jack was a man who knew what he wanted, and he could see all of those things in Holli right away. Jack's daughter Flora could also see them right away! That toddler was so cute, claiming Holli as hers the instant they met. I really liked how Holli made sure to stick to his plans of graduating and becoming a teacher, despite the opportunity to just let Jack fully take care of him. Although he entered the relationship quicker than even he was able to think through, he still held his ground about the things that mattered to him, not letting Jack use his wealth to sweep him away. I loved Holli's family, and absolutely hated Jack's sister, though the way they crashed the gala and ruined her night was delightful to read. This book had a surprising lack of spice, which was a little disappointing to be. The book was really great without it, but there was a lot of emphasis on their Daddy/Boy relationship, with both of them hinting and teasing quite a lot, and it would have been nice to see them build on that, and use it to become even closer. Despite the lack of spice, I did really like this book, and I thought it fit into the series well!

Sugar Cookie: MM Dad's Best Friend Holiday Romance by A. E. Madsen

4.0

This book was cute, and I did like it, but I felt like the jump from "just messing around" to "I have real feelings" was too fast. That's really the only thing that bothered me about it, though that is kind of a big thing. But I really liked both Clark and Nate a lot. I liked how Nate was a mix of wild and responsible. He knew the future he wanted, and was saving up to make that happen for himself, but he also didn't deny himself a social life and man, he really went after Clark relentlessly 😂 There was a lot of sneaking around in this book, which is always fun. The way Nate's dad found out that Nate was messing around with his best friend was fairly mortifying, but par for the course as far as a dad's-best-friend romance goes, and I was glad that his dad at least was trying to be okay with their relationship after a while. 

Juniper Evergreen by Kota Quinn

5.0

Oh my gosh, this book was so sweet. I couldn't tell you if I loved Alec or Juniper more because I loved them both so much! I am such a sucker for a size-difference book, especially when the smaller partner is the top, and this book just hit! I loved how they were both able to help each other move on from painful past relationships, and that Juniper was able to build a strong new found family with the elf crew! There was a little drama with the confrontation with Juniper's ex, but other than that, it was pretty low-angst with just a touch of pining. Super super cute book!