Haunted Hearts by Leighton Greene

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Book_Endz

Title: ⟫ Haunted Hearts (Friends of Friends #4)

Author: ⟫ Leighton Greene

Rating: ⟫ 5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Lord Arden is an arrogant, prickly, critical jerk…and I’m falling for him.

After a disastrous first weekend as his service sub while he’s on a working vacation in LA, I give in to the pleas of my friends and return to try again.

Haughty Hottie, I call him.

Never in his hearing, or I’d get another five infractions marked down in the little card of punishments he’s tied around my wrist.

The more time we spend together, the more his icy exterior seems to melt. But as hot and haughty as he is, he’s also haunted…

And he won’t share his heart.

After the Halloween masquerade, he’ll be gone. Back to England, back to his lonely life.

Can I persuade him to open up before then, or is he already planning to ghost me?

***

Haunted Hearts is the fourth book in the Friends of Friends series. HFN/HEA guaranteed, and no cliffhangers. While this book is part of a series, it can be read on its own, but characters from previous books do show up in cameos.

Review: ⟫ I’ve never really understood the whole service kink thing so I went into this wanting to learn. And boy howdy, did I learn! This book steamed right through my expectations and showed me exactly what’s so sexy about service.

I adored Oliver – I thought he was an honest, straight-forward, cool guy. But I LOVED Lord Elliott. I haven’t read any of the other Friends of Friends books, but I will definitely be adding them to my list because I was blown away by this book. The pain Lord Arden was suffering from was apparent in every word he spoke and every move he made, but so too was his instant attraction to Oliver and his desire to find a way out of the rut he had found himself in.

I had tears in my eyes on more than one occasion, but I think it was the walks in the maze and the music that really touched me the most – this book really surprised me in so many ways.

I liked how respectful of each other they were – and how they were both willing to admit to their failings when they messed up – and their honesty was refreshing. Yes, there were moments when I wanted to shake both of them, but it wasn’t through lack of effort on either of them – it was about reality and how things don’t always come tied up in a sweet little bow, perfectly fitting in with your plans.

I have enjoyed Leighton Greene’s mafia series previously and this definitely reached the same heights – really pleased I read this and open to the idea of reading more about service.

I received an ARC from GRR.

In Darkness and Dank by K.L. Hiers

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Book_Endz

Title: ⟫ In Darkness and Dank

Author: ⟫ K.L. Hiers

Rating: ⟫ 3.5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Kittisak Amarin is not a scientist—he’s barely a student, but he joined his college professor’s research team for an expedition into the Amazon as a last ditch effort to pass his biology course.

His professor thinks they’re going to discover a new species out here, but Kittisak is more worried about being eaten alive by giant mosquitoes and staying awake while the team studies test tubes of dirty water.

When he sees a fantastic amphibian creature watching over him one night, he thinks it’s just a dream.

Until it comes back.

A fatal misunderstanding leaves Kittisak wounded and unable to flee once the creature has taken him prisoner. As the creature nurses him back to health and shows him the wonders of his mysterious jungle home, Kittisak has to confront his growing attraction to his enigmatic captor and his dwindling desire to escape. He begins to realize that the creature may not be the monster he appears to be…

And that even amongst darkness and dank, the sweetest romance can blossom.

In Darkness and Dank is an MM Horror Retelling of Creature from the Black Lagoon, as part of the collaboration Monsters & Mayhem: An MM Horror Collection, adapting some of your favorite classic horror stories with an MM romance twist.

Review: ⟫ The heroines of the horror movies these stories seem to be based off of were nowhere near as horny as this!

I went into this expecting it to be a real horror story which is my mistake. This story was a retelling of the Creature from the Black Lagoon and it was so camp, it was funny. The most serious part of this book seemed to be the science – other than that, this seemed to be written/played completely for laughs – from Kittisak’s initial response to the creature, to how things transpired between them, to where things went in the end.

The writing was a bit simplistic (apart from the science), and mildly entertaining and I think if you are looking for something light to read, it’s pretty ideal. Just don’t go into it expecting any real horror other than the human kind!

I received an ARC from GRR.

Making Waves by Christina Lee (Franklin U #7)

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Book_Endz

Title: ⟫ Making Waves

Author: ⟫ Christina Lee

Rating: ⟫ 3/5

Blurb: ⟫ Alex Larsen

Remy Duval was my high school crush and secret first kiss, but he’s also so much more. A painter, a tattoo artist, my best friend Bailey’s older brother…and Bailey’s sworn enemy.

It was easier to keep my distance the past two years, but now that Bailey and I are attending Franklin University with him, I’m only drawn to Remy more. I should be loyal to my best friend, focus on classes and swim team, but the more I see Remy around campus, the harder it becomes to stay away.

Remy Duval

My brother hates me, but that’s no surprise. I’ll take the fall for ruining our family if it means doing the right thing. But as soon as my brother and his best friend show up on campus, I know I’m in trouble.

Alex is all grown up, and I can’t help wanting him, especially when he’s in those tiny swim briefs that emphasize everything.

One kiss leads to more, and before we know it, we’re tumbling into secret, no-strings-attached hookups.

But who knew Alex would understand me in ways few others have? And I think, just maybe, I understand him too.

I keep telling myself it’s temporary. Alex doesn’t want to disappoint his best friend, and after what my parents went through, I’m not looking to settle down.

Making waves is nothing new, but the further I fall, the more I drag Alex in the deep end with me.

Review: ⟫ I hate to pile onto the character hate that I’ve seen on Goodreads and Amazon, but OMG Bailey!! Why was he given so much power in this book?

I get not wanting to upset your best friend; I get not wanting to pile on to someone who is struggling with realising their hero isn’t worthy of their adoration – I get all of the possible reasons why Bailey was struggling with what his father did.

But. What the heck – this man-child had absolutely everyone making excuses for his atrocious behaviour and was responsible for pretty much all of the angst in this book. So much so, that it was almost impossible to understand why Alex and Remy let him get away with it. Someone needed to tell him to take several seats and get a grip!

The actual romance between Alex and Remy was sweet, especially the way they were both trying to deny how attached they were to each other. From attending all of his swim meets, to cooking for him, cuddling with him and sharing his art, I loved Remy as a character. I thought he was really sweet and deserving of all of the love. Alex – I didn’t get much of a feel for him, although the backstory of his sister and parents made sense of a lot of his thought processes.

But unfortunately for me, Bailey overshadowed all of that and utterly ruined the story for me. Ugh – just, no.