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Mini Indie Romance Reviews | August

Aug 11, 2022

It’s time for some more mini-reviews. During July I participated in the indie accords and read-only indie and self-published books. As much as I could I tried to write reviews of as many of them as I could. And while I am a little behind in writing them, I want to try and get them done soon. But I wanted to share some of them with you today.

So here are a collection of mini-reviews of recent indie romances that I’ve read recently. I found some new favourites, an interesting start to a series, and a series that I am going back to read. Let’s get into it.

Lovelight Farms (Lovelight #1) by B.K. Borison: I’ve been wanting to read this one for a little while. Ever since my best friend read it and loved it. So I knew I had to give it a go during the Indie Accords. And I am very happy to say that I loved it. I’m not a massive fan of contemporary romances that don’t have a sub-genre to them (sports romances, MC romances etc). But I really did enjoy it a lot.

It’s a sweet romance, with a fake dating and friends-to-lovers trope. It just all worked so well here. I just wanted to hug all the characters in this one. They just needed it. I really enjoyed Stella as our protagonist. She was really fantastic and I loved seeing her grow throughout the book.

I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the series because I can’t wait to see them all fall in love.

Resurrection (The Sainthood – Boys of Lowell High #1) by Siobhan Davis: I’ve been wanting to start this series for a while now, and I was in the mood for it recently. There isn’t much of a romance here in the first book. There is a lot of tension, and sexy times but not a lot of love at the moment. I’m pretty okay with it, especially because of the dark elements of the book.

I can’t really pinpoint why I didn’t love the book, but a few things that I noted. I wasn’t a massive fan of the writing style, it was chunky at times and that took me away from the book. The ups and downs of the relationship just weren’t moving anything along and I wanted more from them. There were some pretty important events that happened, during and before the book and I felt that they were just brushed over. And sometimes not bought up for a little while again.

Still, I will be continuing the series, because I’m still pretty intrigued by it all, and I want to see how it’s all played out. I want to see how they all get together, I want to see who breaks first. I’m looking forward to everything coming together as well.

Last on the List (Wait With Me #5) by Amy Daws: I’ve been wanting to read this one for a little while now. And I was in the mood for a contemporary romance and this was it.

I really did enjoy reading this one. It’s a fun read and made me smile so many times. It was a little more ‘silly’ at times than I would like, but I still enjoyed reading it.

The romance was a mix of a slow burn but also moved quickly. And I did enjoy that. I do wish we were able to see them a little more together. It was like, there is a lot of tension. Then lots of sexy signs, but not a lot of mundane things. And while it’s not a massive deal, I still enjoyed it.

This was a great read overall, and now I’m going to go back and read the rest of the series.

And there we go. Those are some reviews of recent indie romances that I read. Have you read any of these? Have you read anything by these authors? What did you think of them? Let’s Chat!

Quick Reviews Of Recent Reads That I Have Loved

Jun 26, 2022

Today I thought I would share some quick and small reviews of recent reads that I have loved. I don’t have as many reviews these days as I used to. But I still try and get as many done as I can. So today I thought I would share some quick and small reviews of some of the books that I have loved recently.

Let’s just get right into it. As always these are my thoughts and opinions, but I would also like to hear yours. I do want to say that I don’t give 5-star reviews out much. But all of these are 4 stars and above. Let’s go.

One Night in Garoureve (The Shifters of Garoureve #1) by Elle M. Drew: This is a book that I have been wanting to read for a little, and finally got around to it recently. And I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I do. From the start, I was taken by not only the world but the characters.

When Ariana pulls into a small town, she just wanted a place to sleep and something to eat. And she got so much more. Garoureve is mysterious, doesn’t appear on a map and doesn’t get many visitors. So when Ariana appears, everyone takes notice. But not as much as Colburn. After a night together, they thought they would never see each other again. But Ariana is brought back to this town and back to Colburn.

I really did enjoy these two together. They were sweet and spicy and he worshipped her. It’s quite a quick read so the romance does move quite fast as well. And while I didn’t really have a big problem with it, I wasn’t a fan that Colburn hid something big from Ariana for most of the book. And that caused some issues.

Other than that, I enjoyed the writing style. It was easy to read, at times it was a bit clunky. However, that isn’t a major deal for me. The world was interesting and I liked the concept of the town as well. The romance was fun and sexy. It was just a really good read overall. If you are looking for a fun, new and fresh shapeshifter romance, then pick this up.

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (Bright Falls #1) by Ashley Herring Blake: This has become one of my favourite reads of the year. I try and recommend it to everyone that is buying romance at work. It’s just fantastic.

When Delilah comes back to her hometown to be the photographer for her step-sister’s wedding, she didn’t expect her life to change. Delilah’s memories of Bright Falls are filled with loneliness and grief. And she wanted nothing more than to never return. But then she runs into Claire Sutherland. A friend of her step-sister and someone who she never thought she would fall for. But as they spend more time, well that changes for sure.

The romance in this one was just fantastic. Seriously, I couldn’t stop smiling, the whole time I was reading. Delilah and Claire aren’t two alike, but when they are together, they just work. I liked seeing them go from little looks to not wanting to let the other go. It’s hot, smutty, but also very sweet.

This book is more than the romance, it’s an emotional ride. With both Delilah and Claire having to sort through their lives. They both have to come to terms with their past and try and move on. I’m so excited for the next book!

Kulti by Mariana Zapata: I’ve been slowly making my way through Mariana Zapata’s backlist and I finally got to Kulti. This is one that I have seen around quite a lot and it’s a sports romance, so of course, I needed to give it a try.

This one follows Sal Casillas as she tries to play nice with her new couch Reiner Kulti. Her icon isn’t who she thought he would be. He is mean and isn’t really a great couch at all. But there is something there. And between giving him a lift and learning a little more about one another things change.

If you are looking for a fast-paced romance then this isn’t it. Kulti is a very slow burn. But I adored it. I loved seeing both Sal and Renier slowly fall for one another. What I liked most was readers noticing it before they even did. It’s slow and sexy at the same time.

The writing is very much a Mariana Zapata book, and it has quickly jumped up to one of my favourites. It’s a great slow burn, with an interesting plot and characters. And it takes you on an emotional rollercoaster where you just want to give a big hug to both Sal and Ren. If you are looking for a good slow-burn romance with an age gap and a female killing it in sports, then this is for you.

And there we go. Those are some of the recent books that I really enjoyed reading. Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Are you planning on reading them? Let’s chat!

Reading The Highest-Rated Books On My TBR

Jun 12, 2022

I did a post like this a little while ago, but I thought it would be fun to do it again. So today I’m sharing my thoughts on 3 of the highest-rated books on my tbr. I found this round really interesting and I cannot wait to share my thoughts with you.

But before we get into that, there were a few rules that I had set myself. I picked the books from my Goodreads tbr. And if you have been here before you know that I don’t use my Goodreads tbr for just the books that I own. So firstly the book has to have over 1000 reviews. This just means it was fairer in the rating. Secondly, it had to be the first book in a series or one that I could read as a standalone. And the last thing was that I had to either; own the book, it is a decent price on kindle or it is on kindle unlimited. I didn’t want to really buy any books, so I had to compromise a little.

Because of all this, the books that I read with the highest-rated on my GoodReads tbr were; Me + Somebody’s Son: A Heights Story by Christina C. Jones, The Words by Ashley Jade and Broken Bonds (The Bonds That Tie #1) by J. Bree.

Now that you know the books let’s get into what I thought about them. I had a lot of fun doing this. It was a great way for me to get out of my slight reading slump, but also knock off some books that I have wanted to read for a while.

Me + Somebody’s Son: A Heights Story by Christina C. Jones with a 4.51-star rating from 1125 reviews.

This novella has been on my tbr for a while now. A went on a novella binge a little while ago and this was added to my tbr during that time. I was intrigued by the plot of this book from the start. And I knew I wanted something short just to get me back in reading. And this is what this book did.

The romance was fantastic and while it was a novella, I didn’t feel like I was missing a whole lot. I did want to see our protagonists interact a little more. I just wanted a little more communication between the two. But it was still a really enjoyable read.

The romance was hot, the protagonist was fantastic and overall it was a great read. It ended up being a 4-star read for me. So that is pretty much spot on with everyone else.

The Words by Ashley Jade with a 4.45-star rating from 13, 554 reviews.

I don’t know where to begin with this book. I honestly don’t know has it has such a high rating. Normally I’m on the same page with a lot of people about books, but this one. And if I wasn’t reading this book for this post, I would most likely not have finished this book.

There isn’t much to say about this book. I was intrigued by the plot and I think that is what kept me going. But the romance? The romance was just so toxic. Lennon and Phoenix are so bad for one another, they just push each other all the wrong ways.

I enjoyed the first part of the novel, even then I did have quite a few problems with it. But the second part was just a mess. And the fact that this book was nearly 700 pages. It was just so boring, and toxic and I didn’t know what was happening half the time. I wanted to like this book, but I couldn’t. I ended up giving it 2 stars.

Broken Bonds (The Bonds That Tie #1) by J. Bree with a 4.48-star rating from 11.417 reviews.

This book has been on my tbr for some time now. But I just haven’t been in the mood to pick it up. This post was a great push for me. And I’m glad that I did. Because I ended up really enjoying this book.

Now I’m not going to lie, I was a little confused for quite some time in the book. Mostly about how the world works, what the gifts mean, and what are the bonds. But as the book went on I found out a little more. I’m still not solid on the world, but I am getting there.

There wasn’t much of a romance in this book, which did surprise me. I do feel that things will heat up in the second book. It is a reverse harem book, as our protagonist has multiple bonds, and most of them are arseholes at this point. But I’m excited to see where it’s taken.

Overall, this is a solid 3.5 rating for me. And maybe if I understood the world a little more it would be a little higher. But I’m excited to read more.

And there we go. That is what I think of the highest-rated books that were on my tbr. Have you read any of these books? what did you think of them? Are you planning on reading them? Let’s chat!