Book reviews for books read March 10th-23rd

 

To say the last few weeks have been crazy in my personal life would be a massive understatement. I read 4 books, including one ARC and one novella though. Check out these reviews and add some good books to your TBR.

Happy Reading!

The Girlfriend Zone (Love and Hockey #4) 

by Lauren Blakely

ARC: Release Date- 03/26/2025

#AgeGap #CinnamonRollHero #Forbidden #OneNightStand #Sports #Workplace #ARC

Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this book can be read as a standalone and ends in a HEA.

Miles Falcon is probably one of my favorite hockey heroes ever. He is a caretaker with a heart that is huge. I adore his relationship with his family and his teammates. His meet-cute with Leighton is beyond adorable. He falls immediately. Sometimes you just know. A hot date with a one-night stand comes to an abrupt halt when her relationship to Coach is revealed. That doesn’t stop Miles. He pursues friendship with this young woman of his dreams and waits patiently for the opportunity to make that more.

Leighton is incredible. I loved her resilience, her strength, and even her insecurities. As a character dealing with hearing loss in her daily life, I felt that her representation was beautifully handled. I appreciated reading how she struggled in certain environments and how she coped with the day-to-day difficulties. I adored how hard she fell for Miles.

These two are smoking hot. This was an emotional read where they come to a place where they are both willing to fight for the love they have with each other. I loved their quiet moments as much as I loved Miles’ dirty mouth and soft dom bedroom persona.

I loved this whole series, but Miles will keep a piece of my heart.

Quicksilver (Fae & Alchemy #1) by Callie Hart

#Fantasy #EnemiesToLovers #FatedMates #MorallyGrayHero #BookClub

Written in first person from Saeris’ POV, I expected this first book in a planned trilogy to end in a cliffhanger. I will say that it did not feel like a cliffhanger. Though things in the realm are a long way from settled, and though Kingfisher and Saeris are definitely together, it was a good place to pause this story. This is a LONG book. At over 600 pages, this took me several chaotic life days to read.

Kingfisher and Saeris start out being really awful to each other. Fisher is actually quite mean. Saeris is hard-headed and has a hard time keeping her mouth from getting her into deeper trouble. There is a fair amount of graphic depictions of vi0lenc3 in this book. Readers should consider the trigger warnings before reading.

I loved the world the author created. I appreciated the many kinds of fae and the different creatures that make up the realms. I thought the idea of the quicksilver was fascinating and I really loved how that developed. Readers learn more as Saeris learns and it felt like the world was unfolding a page at a time. I adored the ultimate bond between Fisher and Saeris and how that is both depicted and represented in their story. Their intimate scenes were steamy while also artistic and emotional.

I felt like the first half of the book or so moved a little slow. The author is setting up the realms, the gods, the idea of the quicksilver, and the relationships that are central to the story. There is a cast of secondary characters and villains that are slowly being developed along the way. Carrion was a character that I really didn’t like in the beginning, but he grew on me. Ren and Lorreth are lovable warriors. Fisher became more likeable as the story progressed and I understood his motivations better. Saeris matures and starts to truly find her way in the fae world. There is a lot of information to pack in along with a complicated plot. There were a lot of twists after the say 65% point that made me want to keep reading and find out what was coming next.

This was a new-to-me author. I picked this up for a book club even though I usually avoid incomplete series with a cliffhanger potential. Ultimately, life severely impacted my reading time on this, and I did not finish before the said book club. I had to make a decision, and in the end, I chose to skip book club because I didn’t want the ending to be spoiled before I got there. That was the right decision for me. The end was a series of twists that I am glad I was blind to.  I enjoyed this read and I will be reading the next one when it comes. Maybe I will fit in the audiobook as a reread before the second book.

Black Card Black by J.D. Midnight

#Erotica #Novella

Written in third person, this is not a romance per-se. I feel like it does have a happy ending for Essie-but not for her with a partner necessarily.

This was a smexy, hot read where the smut is the plot to a certain degree. Essie is in an unhappy marriage in suburban Kentucky. She realizes her husband is cheating and she takes the opportunity to call the black card number for the adventure of a lifetime and a little revenge. I loved the writing in the beginning as the author sets the scene of Essie’s state of mind and the flatness of her life. It was lyrical. The ending was the ideal revenge scene. I loved it.

This was a seriously hot book! Readers should consider the author’s list of CWs before entering. This isn’t a book for everyone. That said, this was palette cleanser perfection. To the author: I will be looking up more of your work the next time I need a palette cleansing read.

Just Like That (King Family #4) by Lena Hendrix

#FamilySeries #GrumpySunshine #SmallTown

 Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this book does end in a HEA. Though the story fully encapsulates the love story between Hazel and JP, this series is best read in publication order due to ongoing plot points that spread across the series.

JP has come across as very cold and calculating in previous books. It was good for him to get a bit of a redemption story where readers can see his trauma and pain as well as the defense mechanisms he has developed as a result. Reading as he is at first baffled then smitten with Hazel was quite fun. Hazel is a completely free spirit. She has always marched to the beat of her own drummer, and I appreciated her confidence and her caring heart. They have a mutual attraction that leads to some heat. Who knew JP would be such a dirty talker? Little Teddy is an unlikely 7-year-old who is delightful.

This book deals with elements of grief, unexpected parenthood, betrayal, secrets, and lies. The mystery and consequences of the series are coming to light, and the family is drawn closer together as a result. This was a fun read.