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torilovesheas's reviews
645 reviews
Some Winter's Evening by Erin Langston
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I will be seeking compensation for emotional damages because my heart has been thoroughly smushed around, squeezed, and put into a boiling pot of feelings.
I had my eyeball on Gavin Sinclair all during Forever Your Rogue. What was going on in that studious, lawyer-ly noggin of his? WELL GUESS WHAT. Erin, beloved human being, gives us Gavin’s story and it was so good I don’t even know how to review it.
I think it takes a special talent to make a novella length story a fully realized creation with characters that have dreams and hopes and disappointments to see to fruition. And Erin gave us that. All wrapped up in a “starchy, shy barrister falls in love with his nephew’s new governess after a dreamy evening at a coaching inn” bow.
Gavin and Emilia are absolutely the other half of each other’s souls. A man used to sitting in the shadows and observing and a woman that has never had anyone notice her lingering on the periphery. When you’re made to feel disposable, it takes someone that thinks you’re irreplaceable to make falling in love as passionate and worth it as Gavin does for Emilia. They think they’ll never see each other again! Wrong. Emilia thinks she’s not worth it! Wrong! There’s intimate sex and two precious dum dums falling in love and buying each other presents and Nate Travers being the DILF of the millennia. WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT PEOPLE.
They’re so earnest, dancing around one another over the course of the Christmas holidays (at Nate and Cora’s house!! Hey Travers family!). The chemistry? Spectacular. The tension? Palpable. The yearning? So good I could cry. Try to hurt these two? I’ll bareknuckle BOX.
Throw in a spectacular law/court/trial plotline (with a supremely satisfying ending) and I couldn’t have asked for more from Erin. Cause at this point, she just raises the bar over and over and then leaps over it and takes my feelings and emotions with her.
Huge thank you to Erin for an ARC. All thoughts, opinions, and heart smushy feelings are my own.
I had my eyeball on Gavin Sinclair all during Forever Your Rogue. What was going on in that studious, lawyer-ly noggin of his? WELL GUESS WHAT. Erin, beloved human being, gives us Gavin’s story and it was so good I don’t even know how to review it.
I think it takes a special talent to make a novella length story a fully realized creation with characters that have dreams and hopes and disappointments to see to fruition. And Erin gave us that. All wrapped up in a “starchy, shy barrister falls in love with his nephew’s new governess after a dreamy evening at a coaching inn” bow.
Gavin and Emilia are absolutely the other half of each other’s souls. A man used to sitting in the shadows and observing and a woman that has never had anyone notice her lingering on the periphery. When you’re made to feel disposable, it takes someone that thinks you’re irreplaceable to make falling in love as passionate and worth it as Gavin does for Emilia. They think they’ll never see each other again! Wrong. Emilia thinks she’s not worth it! Wrong! There’s intimate sex and two precious dum dums falling in love and buying each other presents and Nate Travers being the DILF of the millennia. WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT PEOPLE.
They’re so earnest, dancing around one another over the course of the Christmas holidays (at Nate and Cora’s house!! Hey Travers family!). The chemistry? Spectacular. The tension? Palpable. The yearning? So good I could cry. Try to hurt these two? I’ll bareknuckle BOX.
Throw in a spectacular law/court/trial plotline (with a supremely satisfying ending) and I couldn’t have asked for more from Erin. Cause at this point, she just raises the bar over and over and then leaps over it and takes my feelings and emotions with her.
Huge thank you to Erin for an ARC. All thoughts, opinions, and heart smushy feelings are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny and Classism
The Fall of the Orc by Finley Fenn
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is my favorite book Finley Fenn has EVER written. Ever, pals.
My god. I’ve been dying for Gerrard and Olarr’s story since we first started seeing snippets of them on page on Or. Sworn. I was like a feral gremlin scouring the pages for a glimpse of these two dum dums.
Gerrard and Olarr shouldn’t be together. They’re on opposite sides of an Orc/Human war and feasibly, can never be together. But they’re both tired of death. Both tired of losing friends. Tired of people in power that abuse their station to further their own agendas at the expense of those they consider disposable. And when they come head to head in combat and….share a moment between war and destruction and despair, it sets off a chain of moonlight meetings and sneaking time together on a runaway train to nowhere good.
I cried three separate times reading Fall. The YEARNING in this one. My god. It’s like the moon yearning for the sun everytime they’re not in each other’s paths. Their relationship is desperate and clawing and, at times, heart wrenching.
But it’s also full of dreams and hope and plans for a future together. Between two people that want the same things: peace and a place to call their own. It’s full of scheming and plotting to beat the bad guys. And it’s so angsty and hopeful I couldn’t stop reading.
I mean, I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the cum because…this is a Finley Fenn book and there’s going to be good Orc seed in here LOL and it’s the most creative use for it yet.
I can’t give a full review without spoiling it to high Heaven but if you read it and need to scream in the DMs about it. I’m ya girl.
Thank you to Finley and Mary Kate for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
My god. I’ve been dying for Gerrard and Olarr’s story since we first started seeing snippets of them on page on Or. Sworn. I was like a feral gremlin scouring the pages for a glimpse of these two dum dums.
Gerrard and Olarr shouldn’t be together. They’re on opposite sides of an Orc/Human war and feasibly, can never be together. But they’re both tired of death. Both tired of losing friends. Tired of people in power that abuse their station to further their own agendas at the expense of those they consider disposable. And when they come head to head in combat and….share a moment between war and destruction and despair, it sets off a chain of moonlight meetings and sneaking time together on a runaway train to nowhere good.
I cried three separate times reading Fall. The YEARNING in this one. My god. It’s like the moon yearning for the sun everytime they’re not in each other’s paths. Their relationship is desperate and clawing and, at times, heart wrenching.
But it’s also full of dreams and hope and plans for a future together. Between two people that want the same things: peace and a place to call their own. It’s full of scheming and plotting to beat the bad guys. And it’s so angsty and hopeful I couldn’t stop reading.
I mean, I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the cum because…this is a Finley Fenn book and there’s going to be good Orc seed in here LOL and it’s the most creative use for it yet.
I can’t give a full review without spoiling it to high Heaven but if you read it and need to scream in the DMs about it. I’m ya girl.
Thank you to Finley and Mary Kate for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Hopeless by Elsie Silver
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It kills me that this one was a bit of a miss for me. I sort of feared this one wouldn’t work for me and while I did really like some parts, it’s definitely my least favorite in the series.
The best part of this was Beau and Bailey as people and how they navigate a relationship when they don’t *really* know what they want to do with their lives. The time they spend with each other is sweet and I felt like that fit as a couple. Truly the best parts of the story are the intimate moments between Beau and Bailey where they’re just talking or making memories together. The age gap + virgin FMC worked for me in this one because Bailey’s reasons for remaining a virgin make sense and it never feels like her virginity is fetishized. (And she really doesn’t give a shit about it, tbh). Bailey is tougher than she seemed in earlier appearances and Beau is a bit softer than I was imagining which I loved! I love that we get to see the areas they compliment each other because it made their relationship believable in a set-up that was a bit non-sensical.
Which leads me to what didn’t work for me. There really was no reason why a fake relationship needed to be here and the reasons behind the fake engagement were very thin. In the grand scheme of things, this would have worked just fine as an age gap between a bartending town pariah and the big shot town hero without a buzzword trope thrown in. I need a trope like that to make sense and it didn’t here. There weren’t stakes high enough to warrant an entire engagement.
And as a final little grievance, if you’re going to have a character that very clearly needs therapy (in this case, due to PTSD from war), having them be totally anti-therapy isn’t going to work for me. And it’s probably largely personal because…living with and loving someone that suffers from PTSD isn’t going to be fixed by a happy relationship.
I am sad the series is at an end and I’m glad to know we’ll be Chestnut Springs adjacent in the next series! (Which I’m really excited for).
Thank you to Elsie for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
The best part of this was Beau and Bailey as people and how they navigate a relationship when they don’t *really* know what they want to do with their lives. The time they spend with each other is sweet and I felt like that fit as a couple. Truly the best parts of the story are the intimate moments between Beau and Bailey where they’re just talking or making memories together. The age gap + virgin FMC worked for me in this one because Bailey’s reasons for remaining a virgin make sense and it never feels like her virginity is fetishized. (And she really doesn’t give a shit about it, tbh). Bailey is tougher than she seemed in earlier appearances and Beau is a bit softer than I was imagining which I loved! I love that we get to see the areas they compliment each other because it made their relationship believable in a set-up that was a bit non-sensical.
Which leads me to what didn’t work for me. There really was no reason why a fake relationship needed to be here and the reasons behind the fake engagement were very thin. In the grand scheme of things, this would have worked just fine as an age gap between a bartending town pariah and the big shot town hero without a buzzword trope thrown in. I need a trope like that to make sense and it didn’t here. There weren’t stakes high enough to warrant an entire engagement.
And as a final little grievance, if you’re going to have a character that very clearly needs therapy (in this case, due to PTSD from war), having them be totally anti-therapy isn’t going to work for me. And it’s probably largely personal because…living with and loving someone that suffers from PTSD isn’t going to be fixed by a happy relationship.
I am sad the series is at an end and I’m glad to know we’ll be Chestnut Springs adjacent in the next series! (Which I’m really excited for).
Thank you to Elsie for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Violence and War
Prisoner of Love by Beverly Jenkins
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
What does Ms. Bev NOT do well? Such a great novella. If my husband ran off with another woman and I had to marr a parolee to keep my farm and it turned out like this?? Worth it.
For such a short story, it packs a punch and I think that's why I love Beverly Jenkins so much. She writes delightful characters that are fully realized and gives them odds to overcome that they work on together. The FMC was strong and smart. The MMC was very much "THIS IS MY WIFE AND SHE'S AMAZING". Highly recommend if you're new to her work and want to get a feel for her storytelling!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol
King and Queen by Maz Maddox
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I was thinking about wanting to read a romance with a MC that does drag and accidentally stumbled upon a book with a dinosaur shifter that falls in love with a Dino nerd that does drag. It's like a perfectly weird book baby for me. This series is so bonkers and fun and this is a close second for favorite book in the series. I mean...no one can top Dalton and Simon but Royal and Blaise gave them a run for their money! I mean a club hookup turned investigation partnership while they hunt down a freshly awakened Dino shifter AND we got a drag show in there too?? What else do you want, people? The drag personas were SO FUNNY.
If I tell you we get a dinosaur themed drag queen, do you love it or do you love it?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia
Cassian by Grae Bryan
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Cutie cute best friends to lovers where one of them becomes a vampire and doesn't know what tf to do about it? Delightful. The newly turned vamp and his roommate figuring out what to do together and falling in love while doing it? A banger. Grae Bryan has earned an auto bu one click from me because I love these MM vampire romances she's putting out. This one was sweet, a little spicy, with bi-awakening between two college roommates turned besties. I loved it. The check in with Danny was so nice (I miss him). VERY interested to see if the vamp that turned Cass makes another appearance (please give him a book Grae).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Minor: Violence
Dom by S.J. Tilly
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I genuinely want to like this series but I seem to go through the same pattern of "oh this is great!" in the first 30% and then the rest of the book falls down for me.
My biggest problem is how interchangeable all of SJ Tilly's FMCs are. They're all insecure with no spine and bemoan that there fat constantly. It's the same character over and over with a different name. I just want one fat FMC from her that is confident and doesn't hate herself.
Dom was kinda unlikeable in a "oh he for sure cheats on her after the book ends way". He's going out of his way to make his insecure wife iealous and didn't really seem to care that much about her other than sex. Idk this one didn't work for me at all. I ate the birth control manipulation up. Everything else was... certainly words on a page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment
What the Hex by Alexis Daria
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I finished this and immediately was so sad that Alexis Daria hasn't written anything else in this world?? If Encanto had a baby with a 2000's rom-com, it would be this. A magical island full of Latinx brujas and brujos + a wedding between the FMC and MMC's siblings + they're former high school rivals trying to exorcise the demonically possessed groom and save the family? Adorable.
I eyeball read this and I think that's what made my enjoyment lower than it would have been doing it on audio? It did feel at times like a lot of information was thrown around and became a bit confusing. But overall this is a perfectly fun, witchy novella to start off spooky season!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
When She's Shy by Ruby Dixon
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Begging RD to write more sapphic romance. This was so sweet and so low angst and so delightfully cute. A tall, blue alien lady stepping in to save the awkward human from an overbearing Praxian? Check. Said human having a big ole crush on said blue lady? Check check? Two sweethearts dating and falling in love and building a life together as space sapphics? Check check check.
The spice was perfect. The characters were cute. And we finally have a lesbian FMC in Ruby's world! I did wish this was a little less time jumpy but it is a novella so there's that. A full length book of these two would have been perfect!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual harassment