PAGES

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Praise Me: President by Jessa Kane

Praise Me: President (Praise Me Daily)Jessa Kane returns with another stellar release featuring a super cute and sexy romance with a splash of politics mixed into it. I found it super funny at times because I wish we had someone young like Pierce McAlister as president. But alas, that isn't reality. In any case, this was definitely a fun read and I had a blast reading it! Pierce and Eloise had incredibly chemistry and the unexpected dirty talk was A+ from me. I liked that they were both so equally obsessed with each other. Eloise thought Pierce hung the moon and was inspired by him to enter politics. As for Pierce, it was lust/love at first sight for him. He struggled to accept his attraction to her at first because of their professional relationship, but ultimately lost the battle against it.

“I’m just a man. Not some god to be served. A real man is man enough to serve his woman. Don’t ever forget that.”

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed this release and can't wait for Jessa Kane's next book, Praise Me: Princess. It looks like this will be another excellent series to look forward to. This book wasn't as unhinged as we're typically used to from Jessa Kane, but I still loved it nonetheless.

Rating: ★★★★★

Monday, December 16, 2024

Release Blitz: 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
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.



PURCHASE 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 AVAILABLE


AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU


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

Saturday, December 14, 2024

Coerced Queen by Charmaine Pauls

Coerced Queen (New York Underworld #3)Charmaine Pauls brings Anya and Saverio's heartbreaking and obsessive love story to a climactic finish in Coerced Queen. There was angst, unrequited love, found family, betrayal, sacrifice, redemption, as well as incredible character development from both Anya and Saverio. There were so many unforgettable moments that brought tears to my eyes—from Saverio's struggle to live on after the attack to Anya's determination to save both her husband and daughter, I loved it all. While Saverio and Anya did frustrate me at times because of their stubbornness, I was very happy with how the author resolved their conflict. They were both in love with each other, but Saverio's constant denial of it prevented him from acknowledging the truth and telling Anya. He was always in love with her. Saverio's obsessive and possessive love for Anya was still addicting to read about just like it did when he first threatened and controlled her in Coerced Kiss. And yet, there's no denying that their relationship has shifted. Anya is no longer the innocent young woman seduced by Saverio but a fierce mother and wife who would do anything for her family. Saverio's precious treasure had become a powerful queen in her own right.

“You’re more than my match in every way… You're the reason I breathe. You’re my most precious treasure.”

In the end, I loved how all of Anya and Saverio's dreams came true because they were able to find love in each other. The epilogue was so sweet and I loved seeing how happy, peaceful, and content their lives had become after everything. Raphael Morelli and Anya's mother got what they deserved. Even though Saverio was never able to reconcile with his own father, he took all of that pain and turned it into love for his family and children. It was incredible to see. I hope that Charmaine Pauls will write a series or book for Dante because that man deserves a heroine just as amazing as himself—especially after everything he had done for Saverio and Anya. I loved all of the secondary characters, especially Livy who was like the mother Anya always wanted. Fans of dark and mafia romance will absolutely love this book as it features a tortured and possessive hero who will do anything to keep his beloved heroine. The trilogy began their love story as a "cat and mouse" relationship but it eventually transformed into a "game of chess" where the queen was the most powerful piece of all. I highly recommend this trilogy to those who are looking for an emotional and steamy read!

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

Rating: ★★★★★