Juicy Rebound

                

Title: Juicy Rebound

Series: IceCats #1

Author: Toni Aleo

Published: Tantor Audio, January 28, 2020

Pages: 290

Genre: Hockey Romance

Chandler Moon’s career as a defensemen for the IceCats is on fire. However, his marriage has gone up in flames…literally. He’s resigned himself to the single life and being the best dog dad he can be, but he still holds out hope that one day he’ll find “The One.” So, imagine his surprise when he runs into “The One Who Got Away.”

Amelia Justice.

His best friend’s baby sister.

AKA: “The One Who Is Totally Off-Limits”

Amelia is broken. The punches that life, and her ex-husband, have thrown at her have her down for the count. She’s cut herself off from her family and friends as she works to rebuild her self-esteem and her spirit. Hidden away in a small town, she never expects to reconnect with “The One She Should Have Chosen.”

Chandler is so much more than he was in college: more handsome, more muscular, more tattooed… It was supposed to be a casual fling while Amelia and Chandler worked to put the pieces of their lives back together.

But as every good hockey player knows, a rebound can turn into one hell of a goal.

**SPOILER ALERT**

I should not have finished this book. I did because it was just something to listen to in the background at work, but I really should have stopped. 

There was a lot going on. It started out ok. Your standard second chance cis-het hockey romance. Amelia is about a year out of a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. Chandler is also on the other side of a bad marriage. Their reunion had all of the makings of a beautiful second chance together. He's her older brother's best friend. They had one night where they kissed but they were "scared" of how intense their connection was. Or so they said? IDK every single person kept saying how they should have gotten together and not gotten with their respective spouses, but all over one night that they kept secret from everyone. I didn't buy it.

Then Chandler was just an absolute simp for Amelia. Which was pretty cute, but IDK. I'm just still so mad that I actually finished it. Chandler's parents didn't like his first marriage because they got together so quickly. But this man has an engagement ring before the four month anniversary? Amelia finds out about it and freaks out saying she's not ready. They have a blow out fight at her parents' house when they get there for her brother's wedding. I don't think they even have 48 hours between the fight and the wedding, he proposes AT THE WEDDING, and she says yes?! WHAT? I fkn HATE a wedding proposal. How dare you steal their thunder like that?!? But also, what, Amelia? You're just all of a sudden ready after less than 48 hours? Absolutely not. I could not!

Ratings

Stars: 2/5

Spice: 2/5

Sea of Tranquility

               

Title: Sea of Tranquility

Author: Emily St. John Mandel

Published: Vintage, April 5, 2022

Pages: 290

Genre: Sci-Fi

Edwin St. Andrew is eighteen years old when he crosses the Atlantic by steamship, exiled from polite society following an ill-conceived diatribe at a dinner party. He enters the forest, spellbound by the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, and suddenly hears the notes of a violin echoing in an airship terminal—an experience that shocks him to his core. 

Two centuries later a famous writer named Olive Llewellyn is on a book tour. She’s traveling all over Earth, but her home is the second moon colony, a place of white stone, spired towers, and artificial beauty. Within the text of Olive’s best-selling pandemic novel lies a strange passage: a man plays his violin for change in the echoing corridor of an airship terminal as the trees of a forest rise around him. 

When Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a detective in the black-skied Night City, is hired to investigate an anomaly in the North American wilderness, he uncovers a series of lives upended: The exiled son of an earl driven to madness, a writer trapped far from home as a pandemic ravages Earth, and a childhood friend from the Night City who, like Gaspery himself, has glimpsed the chance to do something extraordinary that will disrupt the timeline of the universe.

Whoa. This felt almost low-key sci fi. Like it certainly wasn't full on space opera. But the way that the science fiction was woven through the story was so seamless and lovely. You have anomalies, simulation theory, time travel, moon colonies, and oh so many pandemics. I mean there was actual time travel and it felt low key sci fi to me. That sentence is such a contradiction, but I can't help but stand by it.

It's unsurprising that epidemics throughout the ages is a theme at the forefront of this novel. We've all been working through the complex PTSD of our most recent pandemic, right? In our own ways. Whether it's to chalk it up to a conspiracy, hoax, or actually grieving our loved ones. So seeing and reminding ourselves that this isn't the first pandemic, and certainly won't be the last, is cathartic in a way. 

Gaspery-Jacques has a distinctive name. So distinctive that when he meets the author that imagined it and put it in her book a century before his birth, she was shocked to meet someone with that name in real life. Or are they just in a simulation? Gaspery is a man living on the Moon in, I believe, the 23rd century. His sister works for the time institute, and somehow he gets wrapped into an investigation on an anomaly where it seemed like a bunch of time streams crossed for a moment over the ages. He's sent throughout time to talk to the various people who were documented in the historical record as being involved in this anomaly. 

Reading Gaspery and his sister's discussions about the time stream and simulation theory and such was really interesting. They're very interesting concepts academically, and then they discuss how humanity and empathy and compassion impact the concepts and it's riveting. I highly recommend.

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

A Holly Jolly Ever After

              

Title: A Holly Jolly Ever After

Series: Christmas Notch #2

Author: Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

Published: Avon, October 10, 2023

Pages: 428

Genre: Holiday Romance

Kallum Lieberman is the funny one™. As the arguably lesser of the three former members of the boy band INK, he enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame and then moved home where he opened a regional pizza chain called Slice, Slice, Baby! He’s living his best dad bod life, hooking up with bridesmaids at all his friends’ weddings. But after an old one-off sex tape is leaked and quickly goes viral, Kallum decides he’s ready to step into the spotlight again, starring in a sexy Santa biopic for the Hope Channel. 

Winnie Baker did everything right. She married her childhood sweetheart, avoided the downfalls of adolescent stardom, and transitioned into a stable adult acting career. Hell, she even waited until marriage to have sex. But after her perfect life falls apart, Winnie is ready to redefine herself—and what better way than a steamier-than-a-steaming-hot-mug-of-cider Christmas movie?

With decade old Hollywood history between them, Winnie and Kallum are both feeling hesitant about their new situation as costars…especially Winnie who can’t seem to fake on screen pleasure she’s never experienced in real life. She’s willing to do the pleasure research—for science and artistic authenticity, of course. And there’s no better research partner than her bridesmaid sex tape hall of fame costar, Kallum. But suddenly, Kallum’s teenage crush on Winnie is bubbling to the surface and Winnie might be catching feelings herself. 

They say opposites attract, but is this holly jolly ever after really ready for its close-up?

*SPOILER ALERT*

I just had a conversation about triggers the other day, and had the gaul to say I didn't think I had any triggers. And then this book had a surprise pregnancy and I realized that, while I'm still not willing to call this a trigger, it is CLOSE. I was SO annoyed when that part of the book happened, and it totally ruined my enjoyment of everything else that had happened in Christmas Notch up to that point.

Let's walk it back for a second. Kallum is a delight. I love how understanding and patient he is with Winnie. I love a sex professor trope, and Kallum does the trope proud. Winnie was great. It was kind of hard to read her POV at times. My childhood shared some similar values that she was brought up with. I was lucky, but I can easily see how someone in that environment could get stuck in the place where Winnie is at the start of this book. And their chemistry together? You're joking?! It was SO good.

Going back to Christmas Notch was a joy. I got to see some of my favorites from A Merry Little Meet Cute. I am DESPERATE for a third entry about Isaac to be an MMF romp. So all of my fingers and toes are crossed for that one. But I'm trilled for any visits to Christmas Notch that we may be blessed with.

However. Again, that dang surprise pregnancy. Which is nothing to say about the terrible shit that Winnie goes through. And I love Winnie. But man. It truly was the off switch for my utter joy in the first half of the book. Because most of Winnie's decisions after that were SO annoying. So I'm going to stop the review here, because most everything will be complaining after this. 

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 4/5

What's a Girl Gotta Do to get on the Naughty List

             

Title: What's a Girl Gotta Do to get on the Naughty List

Author: Kimberly Lemming

Published: December 20, 2023

Pages: 54

Genre: Monster Holiday Romance

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house vengeance was stirring, against a sister and a wayward spouse. The shrimps were hidden under the floorboard with care, in the hopes that Krampus would not soon be there.

With branches and chains, he punishes the deceitful and haughty, and Daphne has been terribly naughty.

Can Daphne girlboss her way out of her punishment, or will the dark shadow of Old St. Nick have his wicked way with her? Probably both.

Daphne is a full chaos monster. Her ideas for revenge on the people who've wronged her are true crimes against humanities. I mean, there's not much to say about this one though. It's short and HOT and minty. :)

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 5/5

You Can Count On Me

            

Title: You Can Count On Me

Series: Christmas Daddies #2

Author: Fae Quin

Published: November 3, 2023

Pages: 405

Genre: LGBTQ Holiday Romance

They say you should love thy neighbor, but I don’t think they meant it the way I want to love mine.

Miles “Rooster” Johnson: As a young single-dad with a teaching job, I haven’t had much opportunity to date. My son is my entire world, and though I would love to have a partner and someone to count on, the passing years have shown that it’s just not in the cards for me. So when the gorgeous lumberjack of a man—the same man that I’ve had a massive crush on since the moment we became neighbors—suddenly asks me out on a date, I’m completely blindsided. Trent could have anyone he wants. He’s charming, flirtatious, and outgoing—the exact opposite of my awkward, anxious self. I don’t know what he sees in me. All I know for sure is that I absolutely need to make this date go well.

Trent Montgomery: I know I have a playboy reputation in our small town, but there’s nothing wrong with playing the field. It’s worked for me so far, even if I have felt some discontent lately. My mama thinks I need to settle down and find someone nice. But she doesn’t understand that I’m just not ready. No matter how beautiful and tempting my neighbor Rooster is or how eager I am to get the silent mountain of a man to open up—no matter how adorable his little boy is, even when he’s threatening me at bat-point to take his daddy out on a date—I know I can’t be everything that they need. I agreed to ask Rooster out, but I think maybe I made a big mistake. All I know for sure is that I absolutely need to sabotage this date.

Are you kidding me? Let Your Hearts Be Light was the first book I finished this year. And this book was just as adorable. The Montgomery men are literal perfection. 

They're understanding lumberjacks in the perfect Vermont town, Belleville. I'm still riding the Christmas season high, and this was a perfect complement to all of the Christmassy goodness going on. 

Miles's anxiety was tough to read. But reading about how his mother treated him, in the name of his anxiety, was worse. Trent's understanding regarding his anxiety is way better. Their chemistry was incredible! For the five years that they lived across the street from one another, they knew they were attracted to each other. And this year, Bubba, Miles's son took matters into his own hands to get the show on the road between them! It was a bumpy start, but once they started things got interesting quickly. And then you get into a lot of full on primal play, and the teasers for the next book, and I can't freaking wait!

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Spice: 4/5

Run Darling

           

Title: Run Darling

Series: Toy Runners #3

Author: Adriana Herrera

Published: Adriana Herrera Publishing, LLC, December 5, 2023

Pages: 108

Genre: Paranormal Romance

All Arabella Gaspar wanted was to buy some fun sexy grown-up toys for her first time leading her house’s run, but after one or two—okay, a dozen—threats from Magi who don’t think a girl should be a Toy Runner (eye-roll) her overprotective brothers have stuck her with none other than Rhyne Carrasco to be her bodyguard. So what if she had a crush on him once? He’s made his feelings about her abundantly clear. And she has moved on. But she isn’t above showing the man exactly what he’s missing.

Rhyne Carrasco has one regret in his life, and her name is Arabella Gaspar. His best friend’s younger sister, the darling of the House of Gaspar, and the bane of his existence. Rhyne has kept his distance for years, running from her tempting smart mouth and delectable body. But the girl he left seven years ago is very different from the woman he’s now tasked to protect.

This Arabella is grown…and sexy as hell. Self-assurance and sensuality radiate from her, and Rhyne cannot stay away. When an accident in the toy factory keeps them in the North Pole and the same bed for the night Rhyne sees his chance to make her his. It is high time he claimed what is his, and he intends to make sure it’s forever.

I was flipping thrilled to see that Adriana Herrera was going to be adding to the Toy Runners world this year! Are you kidding? Steamy, magical, sexy Santas? Sign me up every time. But especially an age gap romance about an older brother's best friend. 

I love everything about the concept of these Toy Runner families that the author's created in this series. The concept of sharing the Santa duties is good stuff. The concept of one of the families adding adult toys into their run is yummier! 

This was super hot. Unsurprisingly. Just a spicy little jaunt through the North Pole. It was kind of surprising just how romantic it was. Rhyne Carrasco is a straight up romantic, and the date he planned for her is straight out of a dream. Even without the super steam levels this is perfect for a cold winter's night in. 

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 5/5

To Ravish a Rogue - Audio

          

Title: To Ravish a Rogue

Series: Dangerous Tides

Author: C.M. Nascosta

Published: October 24, 2023

Pages: 250

Genre: Bonkers Pirate Fantasy

Charlotte Davenport is a woman on a singular mission: get onto a ship bound for Atlantis by any means necessary, and get home to her sister. When she joins the crew of the Malediction, she has no idea she's made herself an unwitting captive of its pirate captain. Captain Lirian Jurel is cocky and secretive and infuriatingly handsome, and she can't shake the feeling that he's laughing at her . . . but Charlotte has a secret of her own, and she'll do anything to keep it. After all, who could possibly understand the life of a monster?

Captain Lirian Jurel has only one thing on his mind — the next adventure. Fucking, feasting, and fighting — it's a pirate's life for him, and he loves the watery path he's chosen. He's never been able to stay away from danger, and Charlotte Davenport — the impudent little witch disguising herself as a member of his crew — seems like the most dangerous creature he's ever encountered.

Striking a bargain to bring her home is an easy trade for having her warm in his bed . . . But bringing her home means saying goodbye, which is harder than he anticipated.

When you're a vicious sea monster like him, being alone is the wisest course of action, but once they reach Atlantis, Lirian vows to help Charlotte see her journey through — wherever it leads.

Consider that rogue ravished! 

Lady Charlotte Davenport has to get home. Captain Lirian Jurel is headed in the right direction on his ship, the Malediction. It's bad luck for women to be on ships, everyone knows that. And Charlotte isn't sure when her next chance will be. Clearly her only choice is to cosplay a cabin boy and make herself as useful as possible during the voyage. 

Lirian knew from the start that Charlie wasn't your average cabin boy. That didn't stop him from playing along with Charlotte's little ruse for a time. Eventually, as all good ruses go, the jig is up. After that: hilarity, swashbuckling, and ravishing ensue. 

In this book there are portals and petticoats. There are pleasure auctions and poetic declarations of love. There are downstairs teeth and vore. This. Book. Has. It. All!!! When they said Bonkers, they meant it!! And we love it!

Audio - I am so in love with experiencing a book that I love in a new way. For this one, I'm glad I had already read and enjoyed the book without the audio experience. I didn't love the Charlotte POV narrator's accent, and the Lirian POV narrator's lady voice was not good. HOWEVER. Because I was already invested in the story, it didn't detract much from my enjoyment of Lirian and Charlotte sniping at one another! 

And snipe they did. These two are hilarious. Lirian is just enjoying playing with her, and Charlotte really believes that she's playing at a convincing cabin boy. Even though every other word out of her mouth is something imperious or bratty. It's perfection.

That doesn't even cover their monstrous natures. Everyone knows that Lirian is a sea monster. But then you find out what Charlotte is and even knowing it was coming, my jaw was on the floor. The reveal is so good. 

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Spice: 5/5

A Blue Ribbon Romance - Audio

      

Title: A Blue Ribbon Romance

Series: Cambrice Creek #1.5

Author: C.M. Nascosta

Publisher: July 14, 2023

Pages: 266

Genre: Monster Romance

Morning Glory Milking Farm was just another quick tug - machine operated facility, no different from all the rest. Sure, they had big pharma money and special hands-on amenities the other milking joints couldn't boast, but at the end of the day it was the same old story — cash he didn't actually need in the bank, all for doing what he would have done for free anyway. Get in, get out, get on with his day. At least, that's what he thought.

Rourke doesn't know why he's so drawn to a particular milking tech . . . he doesn't know anything about her, after all. Not what she looks like without a mask concealing her face, not even her name. He only knows he can't stay away.

He wasn't looking for love, but it managed to find him in most unlikely of places, and now he's determined to prove that you can teach an old bull new tricks.

Violet and Rourke are back at it again with the milk jugs. 

I thought there were Easter Eggs in Morning Glory Milking Farm? This book is just one big bright shiny blue Easter Egg. And I LOVE IT. 

Rourke is this middle-aged minotaur who has a very successful business and is still somehow the mopiest man around. He's so full of angst surrounding his milking farm habits, and his favorite technician in particular. As always, we are brought along the rollercoaster of emotions with him. Because one thing you will do in a C.M. Nascosta book, is FEEL their feelings.

I love that we got a bit more of a glimpse into the non-human side of things in Cambric Creek. We get a little bit more of the politics and social structure from Rourke's point of view than we did from Violet, as a human not yet living in Cambric Creek. That was really fun to see. 

And of course. This is HOT. Rourke is a minotaur after all. Their virility and vigor are keeping pharmaceutical employees everywhere in work. There is so much masturbation in this book. Whether at a milking facility or Rourke's house, he is always down to pound. 

ETA Audio Review: Coming off of the heels of Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic puts Rourke under an entirely different kind of spotlight. This is a DRAMATIC man! It's hilarious when he gets in his head about everything. The narrator did a great job. With Rourke's voice, and everyone else's voices!!

I'm still shocked that I almost teared up when they met at the coffee shop. Rourke had been trying to engineer a meet cute there for awhile, and then it happens. It's so exciting. And the whole thing goes sideways before Rourke can even get settled into the reality of being in the same place. It's just as devastating from Rourke's perspective. One of the most effective miscommunications in recent history! 

It's always a joy to revisit Cambric Creek, and it was just what I wanted this holiday season. I'm so glad to be able to do it with my eyes and ears now! We all just need to petition the studios to option the 12 season television series and it really will be a Merry Christmas! <3

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Spice: 5/5

Eight Kinky Nights

                      

Title: Eight Kinky Nights

Author: Xan West

Publisher: December 16, 2019

Pages: 420

Genre: LGBTQ Holiday Romance

Sometimes the perfect Chanukah gift can change everything.

Newly divorced stone butch Jordan moves into her friend Leah’s spare room, ready, at 49, to take on a new job and finally explore kink and polyamory. But moving to NYC during the holidays sends grief crashing through her, and Jordan realizes that when she isn’t solely focused on caring for others, her own feelings are unavoidable. Including her feelings for Leah.

51 year old queer femme Leah, an experienced submissive kink educator who owns a sex shop, has recently come to terms with being gray ace and is trying to rework her life and relationships to honor that. 

Leah has a brainstorm to help them both: she offers Jordan eight kink lessons, one for each night of Chanukah, to help Jordan find her feet as a novice dominant, and to create a structured space where Leah can work on more deeply honoring her own consent, now that she knows she’s gray ace. 

She’d planned to keep it casual, but instead the experience opens cracks in the armor Leah’s been using to keep people at a distance and keep herself safe. Now she needs to grapple with the trauma that’s been impacting her life for years. 

Can these two autistic queers find ways to cope with the changes they are making in their lives and support each other, as they build something new they hadn’t thought was possible?

This kinky polyamorous Chanukah f/f romance includes a friends to lovers, roommates to lovers, kink lessons, seasoned romance and getting your groove back tropes, and polyamorous, gray ace, pansexual, Jewish, fat, autistic, disabled, arthritis, PTSD and depression representation.

The representation in this book is pretty impeccable. It's definitely the redeeming factor in this book. Along with the fully annotated content list. Not just a thorough content warning, but it gives chapter headers for where you can find the content you're look for or trying to stay away from. 

There are a lot of pop culture references and allusions in this book. It is very clear that the author has a lot of love and respect for music and movies and books, etc. I love a good allusion. But there's allusion, and then there's just....including lyrics from multiple songs in your book. And they're definitely credited and sourced, they were used respectfully. But... they were over-used in my opinion.

I think the biggest thing for me with this book, is that my expectations were too high for a fun kinky romp through the eight nights of Chanukah. This was definitely a kinky journey during Chanukah. But I certainly wouldn't use the words fun or romp. This book is heavy. These characters that have so much love for one another are holding all of their trauma and insecurities. Their grief and their fears. 

It's a lovely story. Leah and Jordan are wonderful main characters. Their friendship is really beautiful. But again, I wanted light hearted kink and that is just not what this book is. I can appreciate what this book is, and I wanted to meet it where it was at. The representation of therapy was beautiful. The communication was beautiful. But ultimately, it just wasn't what I wanted.

Ratings

Stars: 3/5

Stars: 4/5

Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic

                     

Title: Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic

Series: Cambric Creek #3

Author: C.M. Nascosta

Publisher: Medusas Editoriale, August 27, 2022

Pages: 311

Genre: Monster Romance

Lowell Hemming is stuck.
Grounded from his job as a photographer, this globe-trotting werewolf is pulling his hair out being back in his small hometown, with no end to the current situation in sight. The first Hemming to leave Cambric Creek in several generations, he's feeling the pressure from his mother to move back home permanently, is chafed by his inescapable family name, and hasn't gotten laid in months. When he picks up an intriguingly-worded flyer, he hopes that his boredom is about to come to an end.

For the first time in her life, Moriah has an open door of possibility before her. Recently divorced, she owns her own home, her interior design business is thriving, and she's free to do what she's always wanted — travel the world. There's only one thing holding her back — the desire to have a child. After trying for years, to the erosion of her marriage, she ready to put her dreams of travel aside and take drastic measures to get the one thing her heart desires above all else.

Moon Blooded Breeding Clinic offers a unique service — trigger a heat, and breed with a werewolf in a controlled setting, right before the full moon. Their success rates are higher than multi-species IVF, cheaper than adoption, and more enjoyable than most trips to a clinic.

When Moriah picks a handsome, dark-haired werewolf out of a catalog, it seems as easy as buying a pair of shoes. She doesn't count on liking him. He's funny, he's sexy, and once she takes his knot, Moriah isn't sure if she'll ever be able to see their relationship as a transaction.

When Lowell gets the call that he's been chosen by a clinic patient, all he's looking forward to is scratching a physical itch and possibly unlocking a new medical kink. Catching feelings is not part of the contract. But when he meets the gorgeous little redhead who's picked him, walking away from her after he's fulfilled his end of the contract is harder than he thought.
Hard to think of leaving . . . and it's not the only thing she makes hard.

Lowell & Moriah are the perfectly chaotic palette cleanser for Grayson & Vanessa. 

I know that the panini, and similar themes, will be showing up more and more in the books that are yet to be written and released. The inclusion in this story worked really well to convey the stagnancy we experienced, without slowing down any of the "action." Because, you know, werewolves. :)

Lowell is an international photographer, and he gets kicked out of Japan because the humans have inferior immune systems. He goes from never sitting down, to being stuck in his home town....in his brother's guest room. Poor baby.

Moriah has been trying for a baby for years. It broke her marriage, and consumes her future plans. Her friend, who she met at the fertility clinic, tells her about a *new* clinic with much higher success ratings. The only catch is, it's not artificial insemination. It's "copulatory practice" with your chosen donor. (What a bonkers place Cambric Creek is!!! I love it!)

I hate books where the goal is to have a baby. But good lord was this everything. The perfect way to round out #hotwerewolfsummer. Lowell is oblivious, chaotic, and an absolute child. Moriah is nurturing and figuring out who she is after getting married too young and divorced still fairly young. 

My favorite part was the relationship between the Hemmings brothers. It's chaos and love and their family is very cool. I don't know that I've said chaos enough, but that's my one word review of this book. 

Chaos

ETA: Upon my second read of this book, it is just as chaotic as the first time. I loved it so much. Lowell is just as delightful in audio as he was the first time I read this. 

The narrator did a wonderful job. He absolutely embodied the bisexual disaster that is Lowell Hemming. All that rereading this did was make me even more ravenous for more Cambric Creek, more Hemmings. Luckily I've got A Holly Jolly Mess waiting for me!! And A Blue Ribbon Romance queued up on audio. What a Merry Christmas for me. :)

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Stars: 4/5

Love Lights

                    

Title: Love Lights

Author: Emily Antoinette

Publisher: December 5, 2023

Pages: 99

Genre: Monster Holiday Romance

A man spending the holidays alone…
After my grandpa’s death, I’m back in my hometown for one last Christmas in the house I grew up in. But when mom cancels her flight to join me in saying goodbye, I’m left lonelier than ever—until a mothman saves me from a deadly decorating disaster.

As if learning monsters are real isn’t enough, he also claims I’m his mate. In his arms, I find the warmth and care I’ve always craved. But with only a few weeks in Moonvale before I have to go home, how can I avoid ending up even more heartbroken and alone when the holiday ends?

A mothman trusting his instincts…
Like a moth to a flame, a house covered in bright holiday lights pulls me away from my usual path on my late-night walk home. After saving the distressed human who lives there from falling to his death, I realize something stronger drew me there. Something magical. A mate bond.

My heart and soul cry out for me to claim my precious, perfect mate as my own. But how can I ask him for anything more than a holiday fling when he doesn’t feel the same instinctual bond? Will I find a way to convince him to stay past December?

You've got to love a cryptid Christmas! And a thorough content warning list! And a Christmas gift by way of a surprise addition to my overflowing e-book library! So thank you very much, Emily Antoinette, for my early Christmas gift.

How was this book so cozy and SO grief riddled all at the same time. I mean, it started rough because Caleb is going home to tie up some loose ends and spend one last Christmas in the house where his late grandpa raised him. Then you find out that his mom is the actual worst, and it's like...dang! But don't worry, Tomas, the mothman, is there to keep Caleb company during the holiday season.

It's really sweet. I love these two. It's short and spicy and a cute dose of holiday magic.

Ratings

Stars: 3/5

Stars: 3/5

Monster Pucker

                   

Title: Monster Pucker

Author: Clio Evans and Ashley Bennett

Publisher: November 17, 2023

Pages: 121

Genre: Monster Romance

Getting stuck in the hockey locker room was not how I envisioned catching my next story. After a fateful encounter with two of the hottest players in the NMHL, I’m swept into an unforgettable first date.

Klaus is a famous Krampus, one of the biggest players in the league. He’s gruff and hot, with a teddy bear heart hidden underneath. Frank the “Flurry” Murry is an up-and-coming Yeti who dreams big and loves hard.

These two monsters make me feel things I’ve never felt before. After a night the three of us can’t forget, we want more.

Monster. Hockey. Are you kidding? I thought going into this that for sure, it was going to be everything I needed in a book. I mean, a yeti and a krampus get together and play hockey. That alone was enough. Then you throw in their sports reporter paramour, I mean, so good. And it was good. It was funny and it was hot and all of that.

But I do think that I had my hopes up just a teensy bit too high. I just felt like it was going to sweep me all of the way off of my feet and I assumed I was going to finish it in an hour and be unable to think of anything else. I don't know, there was just like one tiny bit missing. 

I would like to give a formal thank you to the authors for the content warnings. I read them and I still dove in. There were some things on the list that did straddle my soft limits, and when I read them, that was confirmed. They are in fact soft limits for me. And then there was a pregnancy epilogue and meh. In saying all of that, I think that "Flurry" as a hockey nickname for a Yeti with the last name Murry is the most perfect nickname that I've ever read!

Ratings

Stars: 3/5

Stars: 4/5

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

                  

Title: Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

Author: Talia Hibbert

Publisher: Joy Revolution, January 3, 2023

Pages: 320

Genre: YA Rom Com

Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.
 
Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption—yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)

These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.

Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?

I don't know why, but I did think that this was a holiday book, so somehow I was a teensy bit disappointed when midway through the book we hadn't mentioned holidays. Once I got over that though, this is very cute. I think it's really interesting that I read 2 YA books in less than a month. And 2 YA books by authors that I've previously read adult romance books of theirs. There must be a glitch in the matrix of my brain, or maybe just my algorithm. 

This is also my second Talia Hibbert book in less than a month, and that was very jarring. Merry Inkmas was an adult holiday romance, and the similarities between the two books were there. She loves a miscommunication. Like a "I want to leave them before they have a chance to leave me." Which is an effective trope, but this one was rough. And seeing that trope in a YA was also hard. Mostly because HEAs in YA books are tough. These kids are both planning to go to different universities and such, so like, that did kind of dampen the HEA. 

But I am OBSESSED with Celine Bangura. She's hilarious and I would absolutely follow her and listen to her conspiracy theories. Bradley's adorable, and they're really cute together. Their journey from best friends to worst enemies to friends who kiss to in a relationship was very cute. And all in the backdrop of hiking in the wilderness? For a social media obsessed teenager and a kid that struggles with OCD. I mean, the opportunities for comedy were rampant!

I would like to point out that this book is like an advertising pamphlet for therapy and I was here for it! And when Celine's mom goes in on her father's life choices.... I legitimately clapped. She was reading him for filth and it was everything.

Ratings

Stars: 4/5