Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Royal Flush by Piper Stone

Royal Flush (Royal Players Club #2)Royal Flush is the sequel to Royal Mistake and it features Braxton Royal and Jasmine Sinclair. Piper Stone returns to the Royal Players Club series with the second Royal brother to fall in love and while I was initially excited for his story, it fell flat for me because of the overdramatic kidnappings, mafia murder side plot, and lack of communication between Braxton and Jasmine. I wanted the author to focus more of the romance between these two because they had such strong personalities and both were a force to be reckoned with. The banter and chemistry between these two had so much potential but I quickly got frustrated by their arguments and lack of trust. Neither of them wanted to compromise until it was too late. It made matters worse when Jasmine's life was in danger but she kept running away from the one person who could save her.

“He was my savior. My protector. My lover. And my everything.”

In the end, I enjoyed Braxton and Jasmine's story but it wasn't my favorite. It took me some time to read their book because I was so annoyed by the miscommunication, lack of trust, and arguments between the two. However, there is no denying that Piper Stone excels at writing the steamy scenes. The prologue was able to capture my attention and I wanted to know what happened and how Braxton and Jasmine reached that stage in their relationship. The ending did satisfy my curiosity and I was pleased to see that our main couple was able to solve their issues and be together in the end. Braxton's little nickname for Jasmine was adorable—she was his "little koala." While this book didn't work for me, it might work for other readers who love a sassy heroine who follows her own path and a dominant hero who can't help but want to keep her as his own forever.

*This ARC was generously provided by the author for an honest review*

Rating: ★★★

Monday, September 9, 2024

Cover Reveal: Coerced Queen by Charmaine Pauls



Title: Coerced Queen
Series: New York Underworld #3
Author: Charmaine Pauls
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers/Touch Her and Die
Fake Relationship/Forced Proximity
Cover Design: Dark City Designs
Photographer: Wander Aguiar
Release Date: December 16, 2024

BLURB

My husband will never love me, but I’m in this now until death do us part.

The man who threatened to carry me over his shoulder down the aisle and marry me at knifepoint is both my captor and my liberator. He makes me weak and strong at the same time.
Before, he didn’t give me an option. Now, there’s a choice. But he’s determined to push me away.

If I’m wise, I’ll take that freedom and run for my life. Because the heart of the man who captured and saved me will always belong to the woman who broke it. The man who calls himself my husband will never be mine.

Only, there is no choice for me any longer. It’s way too late to walk away.

I’m in this war now … until death do us part.




PRE-ORDER LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU


EXCERPT

He turns, facing me squarely. “Everything I do and everything I’ve done are for selfish reasons. If I’m watching out for you or taking care of you, it’s because I like the way you make me feel. You have an effect on me no other woman has. You make my cock hard every fucking time I look at you, even when I’ve just come the hardest in my life and it should be physically impossible. So when I tell you that I’m doing it for me, I’m not lying.”
His words hurt, slicing right through me like he almost did with the blade of his knife. Yet that’s not the truth I see when I look at his actions. That’s not the hope I hold on to when I close my eyes at night and shed lonely tears with him right beside me in bed. 
Swallowing back those tears that burn at the back of my eyes, I lift my chin. “You’re wrong, Sav. A man who does everything with his own self-interest in mind won’t give his life to save me and my baby.” 
The statement pierces him like a sword. I see it in the way he winces as he’s forced to face the simplest of truths when all his arguments are exhausted and only his considerate behavior is left to speak for itself. 
We face each other like pieces on a chess table. It’s a checkmate move. It’s playing dirty. I admit that. Pushing him into a corner to confess something I desperately need to hear isn’t honorable. But I don’t know how else to open his eyes to something he won’t allow himself to believe. Maybe he thinks it will be a betrayal of his love for Rachele. But people can love more than one person. They can get hurt and trampled and find happiness again. He lost his first love, but he’s my first love. If he gives us a chance, we can be so much more than lust and sex. 
He turns away with that wounded look on his face, running away from the future we could’ve had. And I’m still thoroughly and utterly ruined, a silly, opportunistic woman who put her heart on the line in a gamble she lost.
ALSO COMING SOON

Releasing October 21

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Releasing November 18

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU


AUTHOR BIO


Charmaine loves to write dark and edgy romance that will melt both your e-reader and your heart. She's a mom of two teenagers, an adorable dog, and a dominant cat. Her country of birth is South Africa where many of her stories play off. Her French husband kidnapped her to the south of France where she currently lives with her family. When she's not writing, you'll find her in the kitchen baking cakes or in the gym lifting weights (because ... all those cakes!).

AUTHOR LINKS