if you see me rate a chaos read 5 stars. just mind your business ok?! it served its genre well and was very entertaining and deserves chaotic recognition! 😌

Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Poisoner by I.V. Ophelia

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

* I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. … although my review skills may be a tad rusty, let’s get into it. ◡̈

set in victorian London, Alina has a pest that won’t stop popping up with peculiar gifts and a deathly fascination of playing with his new meal. Alina is a woman who can hold her own, as she has made a name for herself by her hushed ways of dealing with unwanted men.. when one of her undesirables waltzes back into her apothecary with an attitude and a little crush, their game of cat and mouse begins.

The Creature and Alina’s banter, flirtations, curiosity and obsession is unmatched and keeps your butterflies flutterin and your feet swinging! I did not except them to have tender moments but as they both let their guard down in tolerance of each other, their soft moments ended up being some of my top favourite scenes from the book.

Alina’s closest childhood friend, Phoebe - is the glamorous golden retriever to Alina’s black cat. The socialite is bold, over the top in fashion, bright, protective, caring and a ride or die for Alina. I adored their friendship through the book and how passionate they were about gossiping, because lets be honest..there’s nothing better.

When introduced to the villain, I was immediately suspicious and was able to predict who it was pretty early on, however, this did not take away from the book.. in my opinion, it only made it better as you were then able to pick up on all the ways he may have hinted to Alina about who he truly was, and I had a blast making note of all the weird things he said that just didn't feel quit right.

The last bit of the book was a wild ride and included a plot twist I did not predict until just before it was revealed. I had a such a fun time time reading this, and I am obsessed with the victorian setting, all vampire books should be this gothic and victorian.. it just makes sense! I.V Ophelia does a wonderful job of making everything she describes within the setting so vibrant and beautiful, it’s as if you were dressed in Alina’s mourning gowns by a fireplace and studying blood yourself!

The only critique’s I would add was that in some scenes, there seemed to be a bit of a confusing transition at the end of the chapter and going into a new one; where I had to make sure I didn’t miss something to get to where we were. The second being, in the very last bit of the book it seemed like one character was less himself and the character he was built up to be, it was a little underwhelming and made him seem all talk and no bite, when we know he has a brutal bite. However, this possible character flaw did assist in leaving it open for the second book where we may be able to find out if there was a reason for the lack of bite and have him redeem himself.

Overall, I rated it 4.75 and HIGHLY suggest you pick it up.
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CONTENT WARNINGS: violence, gore, blood, BDSM, SA, non/dub con, detailed use of medical equipment - needles.

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced