Melpomene

Review: Sea of Ruin by Pam Godwin

Posted by

0

I adore pirate books. I wish there were more. Not YA, but historical romance ones. And if they were like Sea of Ruin, I would never read anything else.

I’ll admit, it takes me a while to try a new to me author. I have so many auto-buy ones that I just don’t make the time for new ones. But when one of my auto buy authors raved about a super dark and sexy pirate story, I knew I needed to give it a try.

While Bennett runs from one pirate she ends up caught by a pirate hunter. Planning her escape has her doing things she never thought she’d be doing. Her life ends up being one twist after another. That is til everything comes to an explosive end.

The crazy thing is that the cover is very deceiving. It looks all whimsical, but in reality far from that. Let me tell you, it’s dark. I mean super dark. Triggers all over the place. But since I don’t have any, I was game for it. Were there places that made me cringe? Heck yeah. Super dark parts. But again, I had faith that things would work out.

If you like adventure with dark and twisty mixed in then this book is definitely something you will like! Go forth and grab it!

~Melpomene

Click the pic to buy!

Review: The Earl of Christmas Past

Posted by

0

She’d only known him one night. And that was all it took to fall.

If you’re in the mood for a quick Christmas read then The Earl of Christmas Past is just what you need!


I’ll admit, ghost stories aren’t usually my thing, but a Kerrigan Byrne book most definitely is. I was sucked in almost immediately and very intrigued with the idea of a ghost haunting, especially one such as handsome as the Earl.


Finding a ghost in her lodging room wasn’t exactly what Venessa had planned but when one is traveling alone for the holidays, you won’t hear her complaining about the added excitement. And of course after hearing his story she wants nothing more than to help him.


Let me tell you, I could feel the sparks, between these two, through the pages. My heart even got a bit of a squeeze a time or two.


While this is technically 1.5 in the Goode Girls series, it can be read as a standalone. But I recommend reading the series though. Kerrigan is a wizard when it comes to historical romances.

~Melpomene

Grab a copy here: https://amzn.to/3m371Pe

Review: A Warm Heart in Winter by J.R. Ward

Posted by

0

As you may know already, I don’t read blurbs or search reviews before I read a book. Especially not from an auto-buy author like JR award. So I went in expecting a novella, since it’s labeled a .5 I’m the series. Boy, was I wrong. 

This book was more BDB than any of the last few books in the series. This had everything I wanted, more of the brothers, more family moments, and way more emotion. I cried three times. And once was legit full on tears, setting the book down to collect myself, type of crying. I was so not expecting these things to happen.


This tiny MMP packs a solid punch. While a Nor’easter slams Caldwell, things at the mansion are anything but smooth. You would think that having a snow day would be fun but one thing after another seems to go wrong.


Blay and Qhuinn aren’t my favorite couple, if I’m being honest. So spending more time in their heads didn’t sound like fun to me but this book changed my mind. Their love story is definitely one of the rockiest we’ve seen, sprinkled with the craziest family dynamic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It makes me so very happy to see how far they’ve come.


Fans will be happy to see who else’s POV we get in this book. It was nice to be back with him and see that even people, or vampires in this case, still have to continue working on yourself even if you have a family. Having a family isn’t always the sure fire way to normalcy. There will always be demons you must destroy.


Last, but definitely not least, we have Lassiter. That angel is one of a kind. He can drive you crazy one minute, and the next have you in tears. I adore him. His scenes are evolving and it makes me stand up and take notice. The angel is definitely growing into himself. We better all hold on.


I wasn’t planning on talking so much about this but again, this little book packs a punch. There’s so much more I could say but I’ll let you just read it for yourself.

~Melpomene

Grab a copy here: https://amzn.to/3pJ8L2J

Quick review:Dream Bites Cookbook by Kristen Ashley

Posted by

0

Dream Bites was a such a unique reading experience! For those who’ve never read a Kristen Ashley book they don’t realize how many recipes are scattered throughout them. She has some in her website but it’s nice to have some in book form. I also like the super short stories that accompanied each set of recipes. I plan on making a few of them myself as soon as I go grocery shopping for the ingredients.

I love that half of the proceeds of this cookbook go to the Rock Chick Nation Charities. What a great idea!!

It was nice to visit with each Dream Team, even those couples that aren’t officially a couple yet. And one surprise guest made super smiley. I see fun things happening in the future. AND I AM HERE FOR IT.

~Melpomene

Grab a copy here: https://amzn.to/393Gv4W

Review: Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts by Nancy Campbell Allen

Posted by

0

This is the 4th book in the Proper Romance Steampunk series. While it’s technically an interconnected standalone, I highly recommend you read the others first to get the full effect. Plus you’ll get to meet some of the current characters.

Emme is all about full rights for everyone, including shifters. Unfortunately there are those who disagree and have made their feelings known, in the way of a death threat. So Inspector Oliver Reed is charged with being her bodyguard. After dealing with the aftermath of her many protests, he is less than thrilled with being forced to be around her even more.

Watching these two together was so fun. They circled around each other for a while. It was bit like enemies to lovers, which is my favorite sub genre of romance. They clearly didn’t feel good and happy thoughts in the beginning. But the more they’re put together the more they come to the realization that they care for each other.

Plenty of butterflies in the belly moments sprinkled with a few heart stopping ones makes this the perfect sweet romance. I really hope we got more from this world!

~Melpomene

click the pic to buy

Review: Skyhunter by Marie Lu

Posted by

0

After reading the Warcross duology I hoped this would be similar in feelings and actions. It was. And I’m very happy.

I received this audible from Libro.fm and then the DTB from Bookish First so I went back and forth from reading to listening. I was fully caught up in the action. I hated to put it down to do life.

Talin is a striker and her only job is to protect her world from the Federation. She knows what horrific things they can do so she is willing to fight to the death to protect others from living what she barely lived through.

When a prisoner is brought in she discovers that he is way more than a simple Federation runaway. He just may well be the answer to how they can win this war.

I fell in love with all the characters. They each had a bond that was unbreakable. It was inspiring to see that. They would do anything and everything for each other.

Skyhunter is an action packed YA fantasy filled with emotions, family bonds and even a hint of love. I was on the edge of my seat as I neared the ending and frankly I’m a bit anxious to see what happens next.

~Melpomene

click the pic to buy

Review: Wild Fire(Chaos #6.5) by Kristen Ashley

Posted by

0

It felt so good to be back in the Chaos world.

For being a short book this one sure did pack a lot in. We met Dutch and Jagger a while back so it was nice to be able to see how they turned out.

Dutch made quite an impression on me. He didn’t go off the deep end or anything like that. He seemed even keeled, with a good head on his shoulders. Best part, he’s a reader! Heck, first time we see him he’s at Fortnums then at King’s Shelter. That’s when I knew this was gonna be fun. He’s determined to help a young man out before life grabs hold and pulls him down. What he never planned on was meeting Georgie in the middle of that.

Georgie and Dutch got off on the wrong foot but sometimes that bit of spice it what you need to get things moving in the direction they were meant to.

I loved watching these two together. They were good for each other. When she kept calling this rough and tough biker dude “cute” I giggled. They helped each other out quite a bit and it was nice to see a strong woman doing her thing, and at the same time, letting this alpha dude so his.

I’m a huge fan of Kristen Ashley’s books. I can’t get enough of them. Chaos and Rock Chicks were my favorite series. So when she blessed us with more from those worlds, I am all over that. And I’m excited to see that we’ll be coming for Jagger’s story later. Can’t wait!

~Melpomene


click the pic to buy

Review: Fable by Adrienne Young

Posted by

4


If you’ve read Adrienne Young’s books then you’ll know what kind of worlds she creates. With her words she transforms you into the scenes and you feel like you’re experiencing everything right along with them. I fell in love with the cover and I knew I would love the story. Honestly, I didn’t read the blurb til I finished the book.

Fable was abandoned by her father four years ago. She makes it her goal to somehow escape the island he left her at and find him in order to get what she’s owed. What she didn’t plan on was falling into a crew of throwaways and eventually becoming one of them.

I adored this book and couldn’t put it down. It’s been a long time since I felt like this while reading. There’s a very slow burn romance, which was written perfectly, which I was hoping for. There’s a sense of family, which made this story magnificent. I pretty much fell in love with everyone. To see all these guys and gals working together and willing to risk their lives for each other, it’s a beautiful thing.

I can’t wait to read book two!!

This is definitely in my top 10 of 2020.

~Melpomene

Grab a copy here: https://amzn.to/2Dvlfau

Review: The Jackal by J.R.Ward

Posted by

0

Face paced and intriguing beginning to this spin off series. I think I’m gonna love where these books are headed.

Now I knew a little bit of what it was about, but not the official blurb, so some of this was a nice surprise. But even with what I knew, there was still a bit that shocked me.

From the moment I picked this book up I felt drawn into the story. Nyx was kick a$$ character! She was ready for anything and everything. Except the Jackal. She was a very determined female and once she had her mind made up there was no changing it. I was rooting for her the entire time.

With the then and now chapters I was crazy curious about the Jackal. He had a bit of mystery surrounding him. He was a strong and fierce male and I loved the way he responded to Nyx. These two together were a strong unit.

The side characters have me really hoping for the future books. I would like to see what happens next in this world and how it merges with the regular BDB world. The BDB is one of my favorite series. I love how ridiculously insane and large it is. She could keep writing about these characters and we’d never get bored.

~Melpomene

click the pic to buy

Quick review: To Catch an Earl by Kate Bateman

Posted by

0

I love stories like this! They’re not exactly enemies to lovers but more like hero and villain in a sense. She’s a thief and he’s a Bow Street Runner set out to capture her, only he doesn’t know it’s her. When he realizes it is, that’s when things get fun.

Their chemistry was off the charts. But it’s hard to stay on the right side of the law when you’re falling for someone who’s on the wrong side. These two were made for each other. It was so fun watching their game of cat and mouse.

And of course the side characters are always a nice addition. I look forward to their stories as well.

This was book two in a series, but they’re interconnected standalones, so you can read them in any order. But I definitely recommend you read in order. It’s more fun that way.

~Melpomene

click the pic to buy