The Fury by Alex Michaelides (ARC Review) (non spoiler review)

Date Started: October 6th 2023
Date Finished: October 19th 2023
(Read it early and it released on January 16th 2024)

Characters: Ellliot, Kate, Lana, Leo, Jason & Agathi

Rating: 5 🌟s

Sensitive Themes:
Look them up before you read

Review:
This book kept me intrigued from beginning to end even though it kept on going back and forth and in between. But in the end , I gotta say that I truthfully enjoyed it even though I’m not really that much into murder mysteries, but this one took me by surprise and I can definitely say that I will read more by this author in the future.

Happy Reading Everyone 💙

Know More About This Book

Synopsis:
A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder ― from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient.

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

The Woman In Me by Britney Spears (non spoiler review)

Date Started: December 24th 2023
Date Finished: December 30th 2023

Rating: 6 🌟s

Synopsis:

The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope.

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.

Review: Let me first start off by saying that Britney deserves a gold medal for dealing with the people and the situations throughout her life because I couldn’t have did what she did so now on to the non spoiler review I have for this memoir. I felt rage at times and emotional at others but overall I enjoyed choosing this as my final read of 2023 because I needed to know what happened during those times in the conservatorship even though I knew some things about Britney’s life because I am a fan afterall. But I kinda knew what a horrible person her father and mother as well as her sister, Justin Timberlake and Kevin Federline was a people in her life. Some Justin fans are gonna be mad at me but he was the worst relationship she could have had (there I said it) but so was her father and what he was doing to her was just wrong on so many levels and I’m so happy that Britney is now a brave and free woman to do with her future as she sees fit even though most people would disagree with her choices now and how she acts on social media but I still love her as the non apologetic person on the planet whether you agree with me or not but at least she’s living her truth and that’s what I love most about her. Lastly I want to thank Britney for finally telling her story because in this point in time could help others going through conservatorships at this time. So to anyone who feels as hopeless as Britney did at that time, maybe you can read her read her story and be motivated to never give up because there is light at the end of the tunnel even if you don’t see it yet. My rant is now over and I hope my review will help you through this difficult time.

Happy Reading Everyone 💙

Sealed With A Kiss by Willow Winters & Amelia Wilde (non spoiler review)

Date Started: December 3rd 2023
Date Finished: December 15th 2023

Characters: Graham & Maddie

Rating: 5 🌟s

Synopsis:

We made a deal… one I thought I’d never make.

I’m trying not to judge myself but it’s a bit shameful.

Rent was due and I simply didn’t have it. I love the big city and I’ve done everything I could to make it. But after a rough few years, a break up that nearly destroyed me, and a personal issue that I just can’t talk about… I’m broke and hit rock bottom.

Then there’s Graham.

Richer than most could ever imagine, devilishly handsome with a charming smile, and a sparkle in his eyes that I swear is just for me.

He owns the building and now, once a month when the rent is due… he gets a piece of me I can’t believe I agreed to give.
His lips on mine are addictive and the way he groans my name in pleasure is scorched into my memory.

We sealed it with a kiss and I’m all too aware that the next rock bottom for me will lead to nothing but despair and a broken heart.

Review:
What a ride this was. I loved Graham and Maddie so much that I swooned during all the sweet moments and the spicy scenes were quite spicy and I couldn’t put this book down until the very end. I highly recommend this book if you looking for something that will melt your heart and fall for these characters from page one then you should definitely give this book a shot.

Happy Reading Everyone 💙

Stolen by the Boss (Taken #4) by Logan Chance (non spoiler review)

Date Started: November 26th 2023
Date Finished: December 2nd 2023

Characters: Dean & Sophia

Rating: 6 🌟s

Synopsis:
As the boss of one of the largest security companies, Dean Madddox doesn’t make mistakes. But he’s made a big one today, he’s kidnapped the wrong girl.

Dean’s after Mia, daughter to the top mob boss in the country. He needs to abduct her to keep her safe. However, he has no idea I’ve taken her place. What starts out as a case of mistaken identities turns into us working together to catch a mutual enemy.

Now we’re after one of the biggest crime lords in the world.
We have to pretend to be married and infiltrate the nightlife of our adversary. We’re thrown into a life of wickedly naughty parties where no one judges your dirty desires.

It’s completely out of my element, but we can’t blow our cover.
My first night at the club Dean sticks close, his deep voice whispering in my ear everything will be ok makes me open up to try new things.
Filthy things.
Things that make me blush.

It all feels a bit too real.
His rough hands.
His rock-hard body.
His gray eyes turning me on when he watches me.
Now every night we have to play the part.
But his touches don’t feel like he’s pretending.
The way he kisses my overheated skin doesn’t feel fake.
How far can we take this before we find ourselves completely falling for each other?

When push comes to shove will Dean be the one to help me find justice, or will he cost me everything?

Review:
Triggers: Sex Trafficking (mentioned/described) & Attempted Rape (on page).

On to my review: The reason I gave this book 6 stars instead of the normal 5 that I usually give is because it kept me engaged throughout and the MCs Dean & Sophia’s interractions in the beginning is that they don’t trust each other but throughout the story that enemies to lovers thing between them goes out the window once they start trusting one another and work together to bring down Bishop and his operation and by the end which made me cry happy tears by the way finalizes me into loving the story so hard. If you’re looking for a book that has you intrigues you from page one then give it a try. Also I want to mention this was my first book by this author and I hope to read more of his backlog as well as his future releases. So you can tell I’m a big fan since giving one of his books a chance and I’m so glad that this was the first book that introduced me to his writing.

Happy Reading Everyone 💙

My Sinful Santa by J.C. Jaye (non spoiler review)

Date Started: November 22nd 2023
Date Finished:November 25th 2023
(It was my December Xmas Pick But Read Early)

Characters:Ginny, Rosie & Bolinda

Rating: 4 🌟s

Synopsis:

Three sassy besties, each snared by their own sexy Santa…

Ginny Duncan’s put up with her cheating, boozehound of a husband for long enough. Time to lose the jerk and the rest of his snobby family, stat. Until dangerously tough brother-in-law Van returns stateside from his stint in the army. One incendiary intro, and this frustrated artist realizes she picked the wrong brother. Oh, could she whisper a lengthy wish list into this smokin’ hot major’s ear…

Visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads…

Rosie Watkins spends her nights slinging trays in a stuffy country club, saving up tips to start her own bakery and lusting over temporary chef Blade Fitch. This surly burner of filets is behind the stove under duress, and it shows. Yeah, so do those blazing looks of his, scorching holes in her skimpy uniform. Is it her imagination, or do she and this tatted baddie want the same thing for Christmas, served on a bedside platter?

Things are about to get naughty, because they’ve been very good girls…

Bolinda Baptiste has made her mark around town as the best dang dog walker to pick up the leashes. The canine entrepreneur gets her flirt on with swoonworthy vet Matt Stevens in a crowded blues bar, and Christmas comes early. Mercy, are the holiday gods smiling… This hunky doggy doc ticks all her boxes and then some. Dare she hope the man with the uber-talented hands feels the same? Can’t hurt to ask, under that big sprig of mistletoe…

MATURE AUDIENCE

Review: If you’re looking for smut with a little plot to it then this is for you.

Happy Reading Everyone 💙

Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine (non spoiler review)

Date Started: October 14th 2023
Date Finished: November 19th 2023

Characters: Anna & Dex

Rating: 5 🌟s

Synopsis:

The Push meets The Silent Patient in a gripping thriller that follows a woman convinced a sinister figure is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens—while the men in her life refuse to believe a word she says.

Anna Alcott is desperate to be pregnant. But as she tries to balance her increasingly public life with a grueling IVF journey, she starts to suspect that someone is going to great lengths to make sure her pregnancy never happens. Crucial medicines are lost. Appointments get swapped without her knowledge. And even when she finally manages to get pregnant, not even her husband is willing to believe that someone’s playing a twisted game with her.

When the increasingly cryptic threats drive her out of her Brooklyn brownstone and into hiding in the cold, gray ghost town that is the Hamptons in the depths of winter, Anna is almost at the end of her rope.

Then her doctor tells her she’s had a miscarriage—except Anna’s convinced she’s still pregnant, despite everything the grave-faced men around her claim. Could it be that her mind is playing tricks on her? Or is something more sinister at play? As her symptoms become ever more horrifying and the sense of danger ever more present, Anna can’t help but wonder what exactly she’s carrying inside of her…and why no one will listen when she says something is horribly, painfully wrong.

Review:
What can I say about this book other than I’m at a loss for wordsat how shocked I am after reading this, but here goes nothing… The story has so many twists and turns that it was unable to predict meaning my brain had a hard time figuring out what was what and the timeswhen I thought that I had it figured out, I didn’t. And the ending I didn’t see coming and how I’m still sitting here thinking about it after just closing the book. I can honestly say now that I’m done thinking of how much it surprised me that this is definitely a contender for my favoite thrillers of 2023.

Would I recommend reading this if you love thrillers that mess with your mind? Yes I would so I want you to go out and either purchase it or borrow it from your local library because I highly recommend that you give this book a chance and go into it with an open mind and keep on reading until you get to the end because it’s so worth the read.

Happy Reading Everyone 💙

Ruthless Rival (Cruel Castways #1) by L.J. Shen (non spoiler review)

Date Started: September 1st 2023
Date Finished: September 2nd 2023

Characters: Arya & Christian

Rating: 4 🌟s

Synopsis:

When she was young, Arya Roth became best friends with her housekeeper’s son. Soon, friendship turned to young love, and when Arya dared him to kiss her, a chain reaction of disastrous events led to the boy being sent away and out of Arya’s life.

Now, two decades later, Arya is an on-the-rise publicist with her beloved father as one of her biggest clients. So when her father is sued by a former employee, Arya sets out to prove that her father is not the monster he is accused of being. The only problem is the attorney who is determined to destroy her father’s good name. Christian Miller is charming, ambitious, and devilishly good looking, and Arya has no idea he is that same boy who kissed her all those years ago.

Past and present collide as Arya falls hard for Christian. But when she finds out who he really is and about his obsession with getting revenge on her father, can she choose love over family?

From Wall Street Journal bestselling author L.J. Shen comes an enemies-to-lovers romance about the fine line between seeking revenge and finding love.

Review:
For my first book by L. J. Shen Ruthless Rival was really good. I loved Arya and Christian as characters and their past and present love story was interesting and what Arya’s dad did was messed up and tried lying until he was caught and he finally admitted to everything he did. Christian’s friends were entertaining and Arya’s friend Julian was an okay friend. If you want something fun to read and not to mention I did listen along as the audiobook narrators narrated the characters and their voices for all these characters were really good too.

Happy Reading Everyone 💙

A Soul of Ash and Blood (Blood & Ash #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (non spoiler review)

Date Started: August 21st 2023
Date Finished: August 27th 2023

Characters: Poppy & Casteel

Rating: 6 🌟 s

Synopsis:
Only his memories can save her…

A great primal power has risen. The Queen of Flesh and Fire has become the Primal of Blood and Bone—the true Primal of Life and Death. And the battle Casteel, Poppy, and their allies have been fighting has only just begun. Gods are awakening across Iliseeum and the mortal realm, readying for the war to come.

But when Poppy falls into stasis, Cas faces the very real possibility that the dire, unexpected consequences of what she is becoming could take her away from him. Cas is given some advice, though—something he plans to cling to as he waits to see her beautiful eyes open once more: Talk to her.

And so, he does. He reminds Poppy how their journey began, revealing things about himself that only Kieran knows in the process. But it’s anybody’s guess what she’ll wake to or exactly how much of the realm and Cas will have changed when she does.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout revisits Poppy and Casteel’s epic love story in the next installment of the Blood and Ash series. But this time, Hawke gets to tell the tale.

Review:
This is the first time I gave a review six stars but this one warranted this covetted rating because this book wrapped up Poppy’s Ascension into what she truly is but I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t or has started this series/world but though who have understand what I’m talking about by the end of this book, but anyways back to my review… I loved Casteel’s recollections of his and Poppy’s love story along with everything he said in the present day while Poppy was in stasis (inactive if you were wondering what it means) then how some the side charcters popped up from time to time in the present day to keep Casteel informed while he stayed with her as she slept. And sometimes some of the side characters would stay and listen to Casteel’s memories of said past as he talked to Poppy. And during the ending I was consistingly flipping the pages and being caught up in the action and learning something new about Cas that I couldn’t believe was a part of him all this time. And when Poppy awoke I knew she would (you have to read to find out what I mean). So overall, I enjoyed the new tidbits within the story that we didn’t know Cas just added that wasn’t in Poppy’s book (From Blood and Ash). And lastly, to Jennifer L. Armentrout, I want to say thank you for giving us this world with Poppy, Casteel and their friends because these characters will not be forgotten by me in the least and I may have to do a reread at some point because that’s just how much they effected me.

Happy Reading Everyone 💙

A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses #4) by Sarah J. Maas (non spoiler review)

Date Started: August 12th 2023
Date Finished: August 16th 2023

Characters: Cassian & Nesta & Gang

Rating: 5 🌟s
Synopsis:

Nesta Archeron has always been prickly-proud, swift to anger, and slow to forgive. And ever since being forced into the Cauldron and becoming High Fae against her will, she’s struggled to find a place for herself within the strange, deadly world she inhabits. Worse, she can’t seem to move past the horrors of the war with Hybern and all she lost in it.

The one person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred warrior whose position in Rhysand and Feyre’s Night Court keeps him constantly in Nesta’s orbit. But her temper isn’t the only thing Cassian ignites. The fire between them is undeniable, and only burns hotter as they are forced into close quarters with each other.

Meanwhile, the treacherous human queens who returned to the Continent during the last war have forged a dangerous new alliance, threatening the fragile peace that has settled over the realms. And the key to halting them might very well rely on Cassian and Nesta facing their haunting pasts.

Against the sweeping backdrop of a world seared by war and plagued with uncertainty, Nesta and Cassian battle monsters from within and without as they search for acceptance-and healing-in each other’s arms.

Review: This book had me in tears by the end. I love the sisters bonds even if Nesta was the last to realize her worth to her sisters. I understood all the fights Nesta and Freye had because if the roles was reversed with my own younger sister (there’s only us two) I would want my younger sister to do for me what Freye did for Nesta. Enough about my own inner struggles with my own younger sister lol. But in all seriousness, This was slow at times and lengthy, but I quite enjoyed it more than some readers. Highly recommend this series to anyone who would benefit from it.

Happy Reading Everyone 💙

A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.5) by Sarah J. Maas (non spoiler review)

Date Started: August 5th 2023
Date Finished: August 10th 2023

Characters: Freye & Gang

Rating: 5 🌟s

Synopsis:

Feyre, Rhysand, and their friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly altered world beyond, recovering from the war that changed everything. But Winter Solstice is finally approaching, and with it, the joy of a hard-earned reprieve.

Yet even the festive atmosphere can’t keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, her concern for those dearest to her deepens. They have more wounds than she anticipated-scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their court.

Bridging the events of A Court of Wings and Ruin with the later books in the series, A Court of Frost and Starlight explores the far-reaching effects of a devastating war and the fierce love between friends.

Review: I loved this little novella about winter solstice. The writing is still easy to read and loved all the POVs from Freye, Rhysand, Cassian, Mor and Nesta. Book 4 A Court of Silver Flames here I come…

Happy Reading Everyone 💙