Happy weekend! We are almost to the end of 2024 and I have been wrapping up my reading challenges for the year. I had set a goal off 200 books in Goodreads for the year and I was a little behind. The holidays are the perfect time for novellas and I read several over the past week to meet my reading goal. I also finished the B.A.N.G. Book Club Challenge this week. The hardest book on the list for me was a banned book. When looking for a book, I found either I had already read it, or it was honestly not something that interested me. I finally settled on an Alexa Riley novella with the thought that the author is banned on the 'Zon and it was a step dad romance.
I read one ARC, one full-length novel, and seven novellas this week. Five of those were by new-to-me authors. Jessica Peterson's new release in the Lucky River Ranch series was fabulous and it melted me in all the best ways. I fell down the monster romance rabbit hole in a big way. I am OBSESSED with the Arranged Monster Mates series! I also read some holiday novellas, which were very enjoyable, quick, and steamy reads. Finally, I picked up Knotted by the Pack on Stuff Your Kindle Day. The author recommends the series be read in order, but I jumped into the free book #6 and was just fine. Now I am really itching to read the series from the beginning. She has created a world worth reading there.
I have a few more books I plan to read in the next few days to finish out the year. I have met all my reading goals at this point, so I am calling my 2024 reading year a success. See you at the finish line.
B.A.N.G. Book Club 52 Week Challenge 2024- Complete
Wyatt (Lucky River Ranch #2) by Jessica Peterson
ARC: Release Date- 12/26/2024
#Cowboy #FriendsToLovers #FamilySeries #SmallTown #ARC
Save a horse, ride a cowboy.
Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this
can be read as a standalone and ends with a HEA.
There is a reason that “friends-to lovers” is one of my
favorite tropes. The characters have a history, a knowledge of each other, an
understanding of each other’s feelings, that is incomparable in other tropes.
Wyatt is a good-time cowboy on the outside while hiding a broken-hearted boy on
the inside. Very few people get to see the real person inside. Sally is an
exception. The only thing Wyatt doesn’t allow her to see is that he has been in
love with her for the past 12 years. That: he manages to hide for quite a while.
Thankfully, Sally is a strong woman who knows what she needs and bravely asks
for it. Her bravery leads to a fantastic love story with no third act breakup.
These two characters were everything. The yearning and
desire between them were intense. I love what a dirty mouth Wyatt has, and that
Sally is there for it. I loved their friendship, their humor, and their
heat. I adored that they could make each
other laugh. I loved the trust between
them. I loved how they supported each other’s dreams and worked well together
as a team in any number of things on the ranch.
Wyatt is my new favorite Rivers brother, and I really liked grumpy Cash. Lucky River ranch is a special place full of special people. Steamy times, laughs, and a family worth keeping close forever, I can’t get enough of these hot cowboys.
Wed to the Ice Giant (Arranged Monster Mates #1)
by Layla
Fae
#ArrangedMarriage #Monster #Fantasy #FatedMates #Virgin
#Novella
Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this
is a standalone that ends with a HEA.
Aldrig is king of the ice giants. Lucy is a human female and
the oldest of several siblings fighting to survive in a post-shift world on
Alia Terra. Aldrig needs a queen who can’t be wooed away from him. Lucy needs
money for her family’s survival. This was a hot, steamy read. I loved their
size difference and how that was accommodated. I loved that she was warm, and
he was cold and how that worked with them together. I loved the difficulty
Aldrig faced as king and how he handled it. I loved that they developed a trust
and real feelings between them. Aldrig’s gentle behavior with Lucy was a joy to
read.
This is a book to take you out of the everyday humdrum and I
really liked it.
Wed to the Minotaur (Arranged Monster Mates #2)
by Eden
Ember
#FatedMates #ArrangedMarriage #Fantasy #Virgin #Novella
Auryn is the oldest in a family of 3 daughters whose parents
have entered them into the temple DNA search for their monster mates. Though
she doesn’t want to leave home, she wants to help her family as they are near
starvation. Vraikus is a minotaur rancher. He came from the planet Tariat to hopefully
match with a human bride and have a future and a family. I loved her enthusiasm
and her feisty nature. Vraikus is a doll with a little alpha mixed in. This was
an enjoyable and steamy read as they come together for a better future together
than they ever would have had apart.
A fast and steamy read with all feel good moments.
Wed to the Wolfman (Arranged Monster Mates #3) by Cara Wylde
#ArrangedMarriage #Monster #Paranormal #Shifter #FatedMates #Virgin #Novella
Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this
can be read as a standalone and ends with a HEA.
Blue lives in an impoverished village on Alia Terra. I love how willing she is to enter an arranged marriage with her match to help her family. Kyden is the Alpha of the Duskblood Pack. He has been searching for his one true mate for years. I love how he is careful to make sure she really is his mate. His protective nature is something else. I loved their steamy scenes. I also loved the suspense plot of the war with a neighboring pack and how that all came together. I really liked these characters and the story a lot.
Joy for the Scrooge (Mistletoe Love) by Cassi Hart
#AgeGap #GrumpyHero #InstaLove #Holiday #Billionaire
#Novella #Virgin
Joy is in a bad place when she is forced to take a client
for the weekend. Nick is a billionaire workaholic who has no time for love.
When they meet, sparks fly.
This was a steamy OTT insta-love novella. I loved Joy’s good heart and innocence. I
appreciated how skeptical Nick was but how quick he was to realize the truth of
the situation. I liked that he didn’t just give up on Joy. Hot, with fast deep
emotions, this was a very fun, fast, holiday read.
This is written in first person from an alternating dual POV, is a standalone, and ends with a HEA.
A Secret Baby for Christmas (Mistletoe Love)
by Sadie King
#AgeGap #BestFriendsDad #SecretBaby #Virgin #Holiday #Novella
Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this is a standalone and ends with a HEA.
Chloe has a thing for her best friend’s dad. He also has a thing for her. He resists her until a fateful Christmas night changes everything.
This was a steamy, relatively low angst holiday novella. It was a quick and enjoyable read. I only wish she wouldn’t have continued to call him Mr. Porter in their intimate moments. That creeped me out a little bit.
Mail Order Bride for the Scrooge (Mistletoe Love)
by Ember
Davis
#ArrangedMarriage #SmallTown #Holiday #Novella
Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this
is a standalone that ends with a HEA.
Gannon is a former Marine with some demons. He returned to
his hometown of Jasper, Wyoming and built a cabin (house) in the woods. Lake is
a brave woman ready to make a major change in her life when she answers an ad
for a mail order bride. I loved her bravery and her sass. I adored how she was
able to read Gannon from the very beginning.
I loved Gannon’s protective nature. I loved how he cares for Lake. I
loved the hot times between them and how they were so uninhibited together.
Hot.
Did I mention he chops wood?
This was a fast and fun holiday read.
My New Step-Dad by Alexa Riley
#AgeGap #Stepdad #Virgin #Taboo #Novella #Erotica
Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this is
a standalone novella that ends with a HEA. Sophie is a week away from 18 years
old when she graduates from boarding school and moves in with her guardian.
Bruce (early 30’s) has never met his late wife’s daughter despite knowing her
for 5 years and being married in name only for 2. He has been a workaholic
fully dedicated to his career and its success. He is shocked by his instant
desire when Sophie arrives. Sophie only wants someone to truly love her, to
choose her first, and to give her the affection she has been deprived of her
entire life. There is a week of hot times with almost no touching leading up to
her 18th birthday. Bruce must reevaluate his priorities and decide
if he can be what Sophie demands and deserves.
I loved Sophie and her desire for love. I love that she refused
to settle for less than her dream. I
appreciated Bruce’s restraint and then his all-in commitment. This was a steamy,
taboo, read with a sweet HEA.
Knotted by The Pack: Children of the Alphas: Dark Why Choose
Romance (Howl's Edge Island: Omega For The Pack Book 6) by Layla Sparks
#Paranormal #FatedMates #WhyChoose #Shifter #Vampire #SurprisePregnancy
Written in first person from alternating multiple POC, this
book 6 in the series can be read as a standalone and ends with a HEA. This is
my first book by this author, who recommends the series be read in order. I was
able to obtain this free book on stuff your kindle day, and dove in anyway.
There are probably a few spoilers from recurring characters from earlier books,
but I have no regrets.
Alana is an omega shifter who has avoided relationships and
romance since an attack took her innocence at 17. This does happen on-page in
the prologue. (Sensitive readers should consider the author’s CW at the front
of the book.) When she ends up among a vampire encampment, her life changes
forever. I loved the relationship she formed
with James from the start. I loved the
idea of the heat clinic and how the pack handles her heat. Lio has loved her
for ages. I loved how he always wore his feelings on his sleeve. Markus falls hard and fast for her. I adored his possessive, but gentle
gruffness. Owen is the ultimate
caretaker. His tender care of Alana is special and touching. I loved the
characters and their development throughout the story.
There are a lot of moving plot parts. There is entrenched animosity
between the packs and the vampires that has to be addressed. Alana’s love and relationship with James are
completely illegal in the pack world. Political change, acceptance of others,
found family, and consuming love are right along side sizzling spicy hot times.
This was my first book by this author but I am looking forward to going back and staring this series from the beginning.
Comments
Post a Comment