Lifebound (Royal Sins #1)

I could do ungodly things
if this guy kept calling my name in that voice.

Available at Amazon.com

Lifebound
D.N. Hoxa
Royal Sins, book one
ebook, 506 pages
Independently Published May 6, 2025
ASIN B0F31XJLNG
ISBN 9798319420206


Nobody ever believed me.

Not when I was five and told them about the boy with pointy ears who saved my life in the forest. Not during thirteen miserable years of bullying and being labeled the town weirdo.

Until a guy with golden eyes and a royal guard escort shows up at my door to drop a bombshell.

That little boy? Yeah, he’s real.

And he’s a fae Prince.

And he magically linked my life to his when he saved me.

I know what you’re thinking. Lucky girl, right?

Wrong.

Because now the Prince is sick and apparently, I’m the only one who can save him. How can I possibly say no?

That’s how I find myself in the fae realm, where pretty much everything either wants to kill me, eat me, or...use me for something worse. If not for the gorgeous fae who saved my life, I'd have died an hour in.

Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Grumpy has annoyingly beautiful eyes, a voice that sounds like sex, and a tattoo that screams trouble. He says his name is Rune, and he’ll take me to the Prince safely—if I do what he says.

With severely limited choices, I accept.

But the more time we spend together, the more near-death experiences we go through, the more Rune gets under my skin. He makes most people look the other way, but he's sweet when no one's watching. He makes my heart do really weird things.

And just when I think my life couldn’t possibly get any crazier—it does.

Turns out, this whole saving-the-Prince business can get a girl into a whole lot of trouble, and I’m not entirely sure I can handle it this time.

I didn't know if I was going to make it through this book. For one, the way the author structures her sentences can be a bit jarring. Two: If I make it to thirty percent and I still haven't been introduced to the MMC, we have a problem.

Lo and behold, he steps into the story at twenty-five percent.

Three: The FMC is eighteen. And she gives strong teen vibes. A prime example for people who refer to twenty-year-olds as babies. She's immature, hot-tempered, reckless, and very much thinks more highly of herself than justly deserved.

You're too small to speak to a superior being this way.

Did he deserve the hit? Yeah. Did she deserve the repercussions of her actions? Absolutely. Was it a lie? Not at all.

At this point, I received early access to a sequel that was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, so I dropped Lifebound mid-chapter and moved to that.

When I returned, it became glaringly obvious as we basically began to walk through Halloweenteen that I was struggling to bond with this FMC and it was not going to end well.

DNF at 31%.

Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

2026/xx

When Vengeance Bleeds Royal (Blood Descent #1)

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When Vengeance Bleeds Royal
L.Z. Cathcart
Blood Descent, book one
ebook, 374 pages
Published November 12, 2025
ASIN B0FC2P62V4
ARC Review


She swore vengeance for her sister’s murder.

The gods demand a bloodier price.

Dark, addictive, and laced with forbidden desire, When Vengeance Bleeds Royal is the first book in the Blood Descent series—a brutal fantasy romance perfect for fans of Carissa Broadbent and Sarah J. Maas.

In the fractured land of Cyrathea, every territory hides a cursed artifact, relics forged by gods who were betrayed and imprisoned. The Brotherhood of Eternal Shadow hunts them all, weaving lies through court politics and blood-soaked bargains.

Lumira Kyrvayne has only one goal: kill the man who murdered her sister. But her vow of vengeance drags her into a deeper game—one where secrets rot beneath every oath, magic bleeds from forbidden relics, and a hooded Shadowspire guard keeps crossing her path with eyes she cannot forget.

Enemies close in. Allies shift like smoke. And the man who should be her enemy might also be the one person who can unravel her resolve.

When Vengeance Bleeds Royal is a dark fantasy romance brimming with:
A morally gray heroine who refuses to be tamed
An enigmatic, hooded antihero with secrets of his own
Forbidden attraction, brutal magic, and deadly politics
Cursed artifacts and imprisoned gods
A slow-burn obsession that cuts as deep as any blade

Please note: This series contains dark themes, twisted loyalty, and romance with sharp edges. Check content warnings before reading.

My curiosity may have gotten the better of me with this one. A slow burn tale with a morally grey heroine is certainly at the height of my list of beloved tropes. Written by an author that promotes dark twisted fantasy with no HEA... not so much.

But intrigued I was, and so in I dived.

Only to nearly drown in a sea of metaphors.

Every paragraph. Seemingly every other sentence.

Stifling.

Smothering.

This like that. That as this.

And I can't attest that they always made sense to me.

Then, like a candle snuffed mid-laughter, everything haults.

I desperately needed more dialogue.

Twenty-five percent in and no MMC in sight. Other than one single fleeting appearance that was the equivalent of a figment of Lumira's imagination. A few chapters later, he finally deigns to be perceived by the readers. And dips a few measly pages later.

Unfortunately, after four days and finding myself loath to pick it up, I had to admit defeat.

DNF at 34%. No rating.

Available in ebook

In the Veins of the Drowning (Siren Mage #1)

Lady Imogen, I have eyes.

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In the Veins of the Drowning
Kalie Cassidy
The Siren Mage, book one
Kindle edition, 377 pages
Published July 15, 2025
ASIN B0D1BMW3F3
ISBN 9780316587617


The monster is always slain…

Imogen Nel is in hiding. Hiding from a cruel kingdom that believes Sirens are monstrous, blood-hungry creatures. Hiding from a king and his captain who viciously hunt her kind. Hiding from her own alluring abilities. By keeping herself from the sea, Imogen’s bloodlust is dulled, and her black wings remain hidden beneath her skin.

When a neighboring king comes to visit, Imogen can no longer hide. He knows precisely what she is, and he believes she can save both their kingdoms from an even greater monster. But Imogen’s power threatens to violently reveal itself, and the two form a blood bond that protects them both. They flee the kingdom together, traversing waters teeming with the undead. As the lines between duty to their people and desire for each other begin to blur, Imogen worries her own ancestral powers may not be enough to kill what hunts her—the only way to defeat a monster may be to become one herself.

This book did not start out well for me. The first chapter alone was far too cryptic and downright depressing. Is the king her fiance? No. Is he her father? No. The captain is her fiance. King Nemea just adopted her, doing so for her inheritence after the death of her parents.

And the mysterious man atop the fortress walls is Theodore. The love interest? With that name. Gah.

The fiance, Evander, is... not awful. Except that his response to her being sick off the wine is to give her a chunk of bread and she's tired and short of breath, so his remedy is to take her to her room, remove her clothes, and have her dry mount his cock. What am I reading?!

I take it back. He's awful. But it's Imogen that disgusts me. And then she's going off on how Theo (Yes, Theo because Theodore is a chipmunk) has never done this and never done that. Uh, excuse you. You just met this man. You shared two whole conversations and a dance. You know nothing about him!

I haven't been this repulsed by a FMC since Feyre.

She's been resigned to this pitiful existence for years, had accepted the fate as Evander's bride, but now, now, that she wants out, well *snap snap* everybody needs to throw caution and reason to the wind, tempt war and whatever else to give the poor, unfortunate siren what she demands. Save her, because for some damn reason she can't save herself.

Oh wait, she can. And I can't roll my damn eyes hard enough. If that wasn't the most anticlimactic death of a 'villain' I've endured in a long while. A man being lured to drown by a siren.

Perhaps I'm being unfairly harsh. This is my first siren story afterall. But... it is what it is. This is an honest blog.

“You killed your fiancé,” he said in a brutal whisper, “and then you came here moments later to beg me to leave in the middle of the night and take you with me?”

“No.” I looked him squarely in the eye—I had nothing left to lose. “I came to bind myself to you.”

The air around us thinned. His voice was deadly quiet. “You’re out of your mind.”

“Perhaps.” I didn’t bother to hide the desperation in my voice. “But I have nothing left to armor myself in except your protection and you refused to give it.”

His gaze was filled with the embers’ light, with incredulity. “I did not refuse. I said I needed time.”

Out of her mind, or has the brain of a fish. Either way, I'm one hundred percent with Theo on this. And he did say he needed time. That's not a refusal despite what her twisted mind has concocted.

24% completed. And I'm done.

DNF

Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

Venomous (Alien Warrior #1)

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Venomous
Penelope Fletcher
Kindle Edition, 652 pages
Published December 24th 2014 by Stephenson & Fletcher
ASIN B00RG0IGH6
Read for Free with Kindle's Lending Library

Abducted from Earth and transported to a slave planet in an unknown galaxy, Lumen finds herself, shackled, naked and put on display before an alien horde. Told the males will battle for the right to slake their lusts with her body, she would become the slave of slaves. Venomous One, a proud warrior enslaved, has given up hope of returning to his home world and finding a life mate. When a female is tossed into the arena his soul demands he claim her. Winning his mate by Right of Might, he vows to protect Lumen and be a good provider, no matter how ugly her human appearance. Rescued by Venomous’ people, the couple face space pirates, the condemnation of an alien government, galactic war, and a deadlier threat from within the warrior’s own kindred.

Warning: violence, profanity and sexual situations with multiple partners.

She is mine to protect, mine to shelter, mine to feed and mine to cover. When she is weak, I shall be her strength. She was stolen from her world by our captors. Now her survival is my responsibility. It is her duty to endure my lust, respect my nest mates and honour our union with offspring. I revere this giver of life, as is the way.

I made it about twenty percent before I gave up on this book. Given it's a 652 page book, that's a pretty good chunk. Although written fairly well, the characters didn't do anything for me. And while the premise is intriguing enough and it's certainly not your typical alien abduction forced into slavery/mating type of read, I didn't care enough to know how everything played out.

DNF

Werewolves Be Damned: Magic & Mayhem #1

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Werewolves Be Damned
Stacey Kennedy
Magic & Mayhem, book one
ebook, 267 pages
Published April 15th 2013 by Entangled Publishing
ISBN 9781622661046

Nexi Jones—part witch, part guardian, and wannabe kick-ass warrior—can’t throw a punch or conjure the simplest magic. But that doesn’t stop her from hunting the werewolves who slaughtered her human family. She’ll have her revenge, but only if Kyden, the elite guardian, would get the hell out of her way.

Kyden can’t decide if Nexi wants to get herself killed or if she just has no clue what she’s doing. But her father made it clear: keep Nexi safe…or else. Of course, the more Nexi runs toward revenge, the more she needs Kyden’s aid, and as she grows into her power and confidence, so does his desire to protect her. The only problem? She’d rather he dropped dead.

But when a vampire paints a bull’s-eye on Nexi’s back, she’s hard-pressed to deny Kyden and the help he’s offering. Even if it means getting her revenge will be a little bit harder. At least it will still be as sweet.

Stacey Kennedy is one of those authors whose work I either love (An Everlasting Bite, BB#1 and A Deadly Whisper, Watchers #1) or I just.. don't (Forever Bound and Whispers of Evil, Watchers #2). This, was one I just didn't, and couldn't, enjoy. And neither could I finish.

You could be born in a cave, raised under a rock, and possibly still know more about the paranormal than Miss Nexi Jones. The girl drove me batty. After just four chapters, in which I had to endure Kyden explaining glamour to the child -and she still couldn't grasp the concept!- I had to call it quits. Sitting through an entire book with a cast of characters who are forced to placate this wanna be avenger at every turn would have been excruciating. And I'm just not that kind of masochist.

DNF

Wild

Wild
Madison Scott
ebook
Published June 2010 by Liquid Silver
ISBN 9781595787149

Catrina Reynolds has a secret. By day, she cares for the daughter of her boss, Hunter James, but by night, she pens naughty fantasies about him in her journal. A man like Hunter, gorgeous, wealthy and confident would never return the affections of a sweet, mousy, nanny like Catrina, so when journaling is no longer enough, she's forced to act out her fantasies alone...

While his daughter is away for the weekend, Hunter plans to get to know his quiet, shy nanny. He senses there's more to the woman than meets the eye. When he stumbles upon her calling out his name while showering, he wants nothing more than to lure the wildcat out of her sugary, sweet shell.

Catrina and Hunter embark on a weekend of erotic fantasies all geared toward bringing out the naughty girl hiding inside her. But is there more between them than their sexual games? Will he make all her fantasies come to life?

Sweet Cat, kitty cat, wild cat-- enough al-freaking-ready!

I'm not typically the shut-up-and-fuck type, but Hunter was so damn annoying with his blah blah blah and never ending sentences. Sometimes a grunt is all a woman needs. And I hate it when they grunt! But I would have snatched it up in a heartbeat with this guy. Every time he opens his mouth this long stretch of nothingness comes pouring out.

The smut itself actually had potential. However, chopped to bits by the grating pet names and kitty this/kitty that, and tossed in amongst Hunter's love of hearing himself dirty talk, I just couldn't take it. 0 stars

Thief of Hearts

Thief of Hearts
MaryJanice Davidson
Paperback, 196 pages
Published August 28th 2003 by Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc
First published 2001
ISBN 9781843605737


Never a dull night in the ER for Dr. Jared Dean, especially when he sees the woman of his fantasies beating the crap out of the largest man he has ever seen, only to have her escape before he even gets to ask her name.

Kara realizes the gorgeous doc is now in danger of retribution from the Godfather wannabe, so she immediately assigns herself the arduous task of guarding the hard body of Dr. Dean until she can figure a way out of the mess.

Jared is only too happy to accommodate the woman of his dreams, even if he doesn't take her seriously. Anything to have her close at hand... and in his bed.

Jared must be one hell of a stressed man for his erotic dreams to be filled with armadillo suits and Vlassic pickle juice.

Our girl Kara has a Robin Hood thing going on. She's doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons. Still doesn't change the fact that it's wrong, mind you, and for that she's convinced herself she's a bad person, deserving of absolutely nothing good in life. Including the gentle and sweet Dr Dean.

I didn't love this one. And it's all Jared's fault. I can't stand guys like this in real life let alone in my fantasy filled romance books. Humor is one thing, but when you can't carry a simple conversation without cracking a joke, I begin to question one's maturity level. Seriousness is a hell of a lot sexier than comedy. DNF. 1 star.

Worth The Trip

Worth The Trip
Penny McCall

ebook, 336 pages
Published November 2nd 2010 by Penguin Group (USA)
ISBN 1101445238 (ISBN13: 9781101445235)

Behavioral psychologist Norah MacArthur leads a quiet, clinical, solitary life-until her con artist father is released from jail. FBI agent Trip Jones is sent to protect her and realizes that behind her psycho-babble and ugly suits there's something special-maybe a real life study in love.

This book is certainly a trip. One that I only ventured twenty percent into. I don't think I've ever had to describe a book's dialogue as fast paced before but damn these people talk a lot!

Norah is the daughter of a very successful thief who has ended up in prison. With his release imminent, she finds herself the target of men who are willing to do anything, even kill, to use her as collateral to learn the whereabouts of the hidden money and treasure. Enter FBI agent Trip who steals the show with a toes curling kiss on live TV, forcing a halt to a heated battle of author vs morning show host.

Trip seemingly comes out of nowheresville but Norah plays along. Until bickering with him every single second comes much easier.

“Never play mind games with a psychologist.”
“If someone comes at you with a gun you won’t have time to psychoanalyze them, Norah. Not that you’ll need to. Shoot first and ask questions later is a pretty straightforward concept.”
“You said they want to use me as leverage, not to kill me.”
“Yeah, but after a few seconds of conversation with you they’ll probably change their minds.”

So there were some things I liked.

“There’s nothing to do,” he said.
“There are eleven other rooms in this house.”
“I know. I’ve been in them all. I peeked in your closets, snooped in your medicine chests, and poked around in your bedroom.”
“You forgot to mention my underwear drawer.”
“I resisted that urge. The house is depressing enough. Getting a look at your unmentionables would kill the last bit of mystery, and if I found white cotton I’d have to shoot myself before I dropped dead from sheer boredom.”

And this story does have a good number of blindsides that are just odd and random. First, Trip has a constant comparison to Superman although Norah lacks the Lois Lane complex. Then Batman's boy wonder shows up when a guy dressed as Robin breaks into her house and Trip ends up getting beat up with a book.

Maybe it was all the speaking, but I often felt like I missed something. And then, there would be a part where I *know* I didn't just miss it, IT was never there. Perfect example between Jack and Aubrey:

“Aren’t there any rumors about me?”
“Of course, although not the same kind.”
“What kind are they?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“I hate this shit,” Jack said as they walked off. “You know I hate this shit. Tell me what the rumors are or there won’t be a later.”
“Now, Jack,” Aubrey said, reaching up to pat his cheek, “you should never withhold sex to make a point.”
“Who’s withholding sex? I was talking about my gun.”

I mean, WTF? Where was sex mentioned in that statement? And gun? How does that even fit? It was all a bunch of jumbled hooplah thrown in a bag, shook up, and dumped onto paper. It just need to calm down. Just a little. Or, you know, a lot. DNF

Hardware (DNF)

Hardware
Sara Brookes
ebook
Published November 1st 2010 by Liquid Silver Books
ISBN13 9781595787576


Women aren’t supposed to be geeks. They aren’t supposed to fix computer networks with expert ease either, but tell that to Allison—the resident computer guru in the small town of Gatlin Falls, Virginia.

Enthralled by watching her work so effortlessly, Patrick agrees to accompany Allison for a night at the movies so he can learn more about her. Even though he’s a perfect gentleman who prides himself on knowing exactly what a woman wants—and when she wants it—he can’t keep away from her. One scorching kiss in a dark theater changes everything.

Allison quickly learns Patrick’s definition of hardware is vastly different than her own and she allows him guide her on a path where she discovers new heights of passion she’s never imagined before. Taken by the calm she feels when she is around him, she is pulled into a world where there is comfort in wearing a pair of cuffs and sanctuary in accepting a collar.

First things first- I love this cover!

What I didn't love was Patrick. I don't think I've ever been so bored with a BDSM book before. Don't get me wrong, it's a good story, but... *sigh*

Patrick and Allison hit it off immediately when the register at Patrick's coffee shop (owned by his brother) fails and she steps in to save the day. On their first date, he asks permission to kiss her. Cute right?

Kinda? No? Hmmm. Definitely not.

And I learned something else- I don't care for female geeks. And wow, did Allison take the platinum trophy on that one. Computer programmer, Halo enthusiast, and comic book collector. Plus a whole lot of other things I won't get into.

Patrick, too, is a bit of a conundrum. He doesn't share, so no exhibitionism or three-ways. He doesn't do voyeur. And he doesn't do spanking.


In the end, I had to DNF. Wasn't in the mood for the mellow drama. I *DO* read books that don't have sex in them. No menage. No exhibitionism or voyeurism. No spanking. No... etc.. And I *STILL* love them. But, when I pick up a book expecting it... and am let down.. then it goes back on the shelf. 'k?