Black Knight by Aleatha Romig

Julia and Donovan finally seize their happily ever after and conclude their story in Black Knight. This has been an incredible journey from start to finish with so many twists, turns, and revelations along the way. In addition to referencing Lennox Demitri and Infidelity, Aleatha Romig has crafted a story that will leave readers breathless, on the edge of their seat, and wanting more. The book immediately picks up right after Gold Lust and we're left with an extremely difficult and tenuous situation. Madison and Phillip have infiltrated Julia and Van's lives and both are determined to ruin everything. I truly appreciated the buildup that these antagonists have had in previous books because it made for a dramatic turn of events as our main characters are caught unaware.

"I wasn't a knight on a white horse, but a black knight who clawed my way to the top, leaving carnage in my wake."

The romance and chemistry between Van and Julia continue to burn up the pages in this final book and their love is stronger than ever. Any lingering questions, doubts, and concerns about their relationship—especially Van's past, are finally revealed and I am content with the way they were handled. There were times that I thought Van's secrets and past would eventually break his relationship with Julia but that never happened. He was always consistent in the way he felt about Julia and he never lost sight of their future together. Julia has similarly experienced significant growth throughout the series and I am so proud of the way she handled everything that was thrown her way. She is no longer that naive and powerless young woman we met in Red Sin.

"I'd given Van my body before I even knew his last name, and in return, he'd given me a life I could never have imagined."

In the end, this series has been a whirlwind of emotions, intrigue, and suspense. Julia and Van first met under a dark and snowy night—one that would forever change their lives, and they leave us under a colorful summer sky with their happily ever after in the horizon. Fans of Aleatha Romig will not want to miss out on this satisfying ending to the Sin series as Julia and Van finally obtain the ending that they deserve. I thoroughly enjoyed how the author tied everything together and brought to light all the pieces that were missing from this puzzle. I highly recommend this series to those who love reading steamy and romantic suspense that will make you think and question everything with amazing chemistry between the hero and heroine.

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

Rating: ★★★★☆

The Project by R.L. Mathewson

The Project was my reintroduction to R.L. Mathewson's writing and it checked all of my boxes—a hilarious and witty heroine, a workaholic hero who can be bossy but also down-to-earth, the workplace romance trope, and a relationship that was seriously cute and sexy. Andi and Devyn had chemistry in spades and I absolutely loved the progression in their relationship from boss and employee to so much more. It's in those moments where they bantered, sighed, and nodded at each other that made their interactions so impactful and precious to me. I also adored the side characters, especially Andi's twin brother Drew and even Nicholas who we briefly met when he tried to steal Andi away from the company and later in the end. I'm hoping that we'll get future books for them.

"For most of her life, she'd felt lost, but when she was in Devyn's arms, she felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be and that scared her."

While the book primarily focuses on the developing romance between Devyn and Andi, it also highlights the project as well as the mystery behind who has been stealing money from Carta Hotels and trying to sabotage Devyn's position in the company. I was surprised and invested in this plot because the perpetrator was always one step ahead. Furthermore, Devyn only had a few months to defend his position as CEO and come up with an explanation for the project's failure provided a sense of urgency to the story. The character development for Devyn and Andi was done exceptionally well as they navigated this difficult situation. Devyn had made a promise to his dying mother that he would work hard and get himself out of the streets—and he did. Andi wanted so much more out of life and was trying to figure out what she wanted to do. Meeting Devyn gave her purpose, meaning, and a love that she never expected.

"He was risking everything by being with her when he was already on the verge of losing everything."

In the end, I loved this book and the funny shenanigans that Devyn and Andi pulled while trying to uncover everything. They were simply perfect for each other, especially after witnessing their witty banter and steamy moments together. I thought their relationship progressed very naturally considering how they went from being strangers to colleagues and then lovers. Weirdly enough, I never saw them as boss and employee because Andi was overqualified for the personal assistant position and she wasn't exactly good at that either, hilariously. It felt more like they were partners instead. I was also surprised by how spicy the love scenes were when they finally decided to take the next stage in their relationship. It has been a long time since I've read a R.L. Mathewson and this has renewed my love for her writing. If you love reading the office romance trope and romantic comedy, you won't be disappointed in this book because Devyn and Andi are spectacular characters who are both charming and loveable in their own right.

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

Rating: ★★★★★

Claimed by J.R. Ward

After taking a break from J.R. Ward and the BDB series since The Shadows, I was curious enough about her new series featuring shifters/wolves. However, it still takes place in the same world as the BDB. In this latest series, we're introduced to two new characters: Lydia Susi and Daniel Joseph. I found them relatable and different from Ward's past characters. Lydia was passionate but frustrated about her work as a researcher at Wolf Study Project due to various problems including an incompetent director, the building of a luxury spa resort next to the wildlife preserve, poisoned wolves, and a murder case that might lead directly to the wolves. In contrast, Daniel had his own secrets and was portrayed as someone who moved around a lot and never planned on sticking to one place for long. Lydia was attracted to him since the beginning but kept her distance because they were worked together.

At times, I felt like the romance between Lydia and Daniel took a backseat to the mystery behind what was happening to the wolves. There were intimate glances and certainly chemistry between the two but it took some time before they finally got together. It was definitely a slow burn that kept getting stronger and stronger towards the end. I did find it interesting that both characters had secrets since Daniel was keeping a major one from Lydia. As always, Ward has a tendency to focus on the world-building and this took the center stage as she provides us background and context through multiple points of view. It was also nice to see character cameos from the BDB series including Xhex and John, Qhuinn and Blaylock, as well as Rhevenge and more. It made me want to catch up to Ward's original series and see what was happening to its characters.

In the end, Claimed had plenty of twists and shocking revelations that will have you excited for more to come from this series. This book also had plenty of twists and shocking revelations that will most likely contribute to the overall world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Although the romance took awhile for me to be invested, I still appreciated that slow burn between Lydia and Daniel. They were strangers that eventually turned into friends and lovers. I did thoroughly enjoy their love story and thought their scenes together were very sexy. I'm a fan of those intimate glances and moments when characters catch each other's eyes and then look away. I look forward to seeing what J.R. Ward has in store for this series next!

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

Rating: ★★★★☆

Release Blitz: Credence by Penelope Douglas

Credence, a New Adult romance by New York Times bestselling author Penelope Douglas is LIVE!

Tiernan de Haas doesn’t care about anything anymore. The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she’s grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. Shipped off to boarding schools from an early age, it was still impossible to escape the loneliness and carve out a life of her own. The shadow of her parents’ fame followed her everywhere.

And when they suddenly pass away, she knows she should be devastated. But has anything really changed? She’s always been alone, hasn’t she?

Jake Van der Berg, her father’s stepbrother and her only living relative, assumes guardianship of Tiernan who is still two months shy of eighteen. Sent to live with him and his two sons, Noah and Kaleb, in the mountains of Colorado, Tiernan soon learns that these men now have a say in what she chooses to care and not care about anymore. As the three of them take her under their wing, teach her to work and survive in the remote woods far away from the rest of the world, she slowly finds her place among them.

And as a part of them.

And she also realizes that lines blur and rules become easy to break when no one else is watching.

One of them has her.

The other one wants her.

But he…

He’s going to keep her.

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/36RYZBx

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/CredencePenD

Paperback: https://amzn.to/35ObgW5

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/30dcCbI

About Penelope: Penelope Douglas is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her books have been translated into fourteen languages and include The Fall Away Series, The Devil’s Night Series, and the stand-alones, Misconduct, Punk 57, and Birthday Girl. Please look for Kill Switch (Devil’s Night #3), available now.

She lives in Las Vegas with her husband and their daughter.

Connect with Penelope:

Be alerted of her next release: http://amzn.to/1hNTuZV

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/penelope-douglas

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PenelopeDouglasAuthor

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PenDouglas

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1xvDwau

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/penelope.douglas/

Website: https://www.penelopedouglasauthor.com

Email: penelopedouglasauthor@hotmail.com

And all of her stories have Pinterest boards if you’d like to enjoy some visuals: https://www.pinterest.com/penelopedouglas/

Always a Temptress by Eileen Dreyer

When I first started reading Always a Temptress, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about it. Just that I was really angry at both Kate and Harry. Especially Harry! Just because Kate apparently "betrayed" him when they were younger, he finds fault in her at everything she does. It's the usual misunderstanding where Kate believes that Harry betrayed her and he believes that she betrayed him. But the most surprising aspect of this book in the beginning was of Kate's dark secret... about her marriage to the Duke of Murther. Previously in Never a Gentleman, we knew the relationship between Kate and Harry was a special one. They hated each other, but why?

Ten years ago, Kate and Harry were the best of friends. Well, they were actually more than friends. They were both in love with one another. But because of their social status: Kate, a Duke's daughter, and Harry, the second son of a squire, Harry believed that his dream of marrying her was too high of a dream. Apparently right after, his love for Kate ended due to some unknown reason to the readers and Harry left to go to war. It turns out that Kate's father had lied to Harry, which lead him to believe that Kate had betrayed him. Ugh. Harry why are you so stupid? Another thing that frustated me was the fact that Harry took way too long to redeem himself for Kate. In my opinion, I think Kate should have gotten someone who was much more worthy of her. Oh well!

In the end, through the twists and turns of their relationship, everything fell right into place. I liked Always a Temptress, but sadly it was not my favorite book from the Drake's Rakes series. Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for giving me permission to read this ARC!

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

A story about love, murder, lies, secrets onboard a spaceship called Godspeed travelling to a unknown planet and future. Across the Universe by Beth Revis is defined by all the traits and more. It's a story about a group of people who plan to travel to a new world in order to build a better place; as a result, they’re frozen in time until the ship arrives there. The ship was planned to arrive in the new planet around 300 years into the future, but unexpectantly, Amy (our heroine) wakes up 50 years later trapped in a world that she doesn’t recognize and ruled by a disturbing system with an evil dictator. There, she also meets Elder (our hero) who pretty much falls from her ever since he set his eyes on Amy.

At first, I was quite wary of starting this book because in a lot of the reviews that I've read, many have said that it was 'sleep inducing.' While I do admit that the beginning started off really slow, the story soon picks up when Amy wakes up for the first time ever since she was frozen 250 years back. Amy is then thrown into a world where she doesn't really recognize as her own. Everything is so different... and we find out the reason as to who was behind it towards the end of the book. Thinking about it now still makes me shudder. How can... they stand it? It would be like living but trapped inside a cage until who knows when you'll arrive on the new planet. And as a reader, I also felt trapped like Amy and wonder like Elder because there are two point of views in this book.

All I can say is, the ending pretty much shocked me to the core. While other readers might say that this book was pretty predictable, I never really suspected that from Elder. Orion had always felt suspicious to me and it was quite obvious that Eldest was also evil as well. Overall, this was a great debut book for author Beth Revis! I absolutely loved it and I can't wait to tackle the sequel, A Million Suns soon!

Rating: ★★★★★