Book reviews for books read July 7th-19th

 

Happy weekend! My daughter visited for a week and I spent several days reading 6 novellas in the Berserkers Saga which was a perfect thing to read while she was here. I also finished the Tsenturion Warriors series finally. I love those big gold aliens. Be careful about swiping right for abduction, LOL. And I was able to read an ARC of Emily Silver's next release. This book was written as a special book for RARE London this year and will release in August. It was a thoroughly enjoyable start to a new series.

I want to go back and finish the rest of the Berserker series and I am hoping to really get through some books on my TBR over the next couple months. Stay tuned for a lot of reviews as I do that. Until next time, happy reading.

Not In the Plans (London Lightning #1) by Emily Silver

ARC: Release Date-08/08/2025

#AgeGap #OneNightStand #OppositesAttract #Sports #Workplace #ARC

She had him from “Hello”.

I am voluntarily leaving this honest review after receiving an advance reader copy of the book. This is book one of a new series, which can be read as a standalone and ends with a HEA. It is written in first person from an alternating dual POV.

Olivia is working her first job after graduating from college. She is posh, prim, proper, and more than a little insecure. Tag is the new head coach for the London Lightening hockey team. He is older, divorced, and looking for a fresh start coaching a team that is at the bottom of the standings.

I love the growth ARC for Olivia. Her parental relationship is heartbreaking and has left damage and scars that she has to address. Tag teaches her that messy feelings, and a sometimes-messy life is not only okay but can be beautiful. I adored their swoony dates as she showed him around London. I loved the flirty emails between them. I really liked their chemistry and the steamy moments they share along the way. Tag is a fantastic hero who falls hard and fast for the girl he just wants to see a little ruffled. He loved her so hard, and so consistently, that it was impossible not to cheer for him. It takes her a hot minute to catch up with all the messy feelings and learn that the plans we make may not always be the plans we want to implement and to open her eyes to the possibility of a whole new plan. This was a fun and steamy read with a heart-melting HEA.

Alien Abduction (Tsenturion Masters #3) 

by Golden Angel and Lee Savino

#Alien #BDSM #SciFi

Written in first person from an alternating dual POV, this ends with a wonderful HEA. Readers will want to read this series in order as an overall plot arc deals with other species, war, and betrayal.

Marta is a tough cookie. She stays calm under pressure and embraces her new circumstances with a curiosity that serves her well. She also embraces her warrior mate, Arkdhem. He is a big guy that she finally describes as a secret sadist and a cinnamon roll.  They work well together and are very compatible in the bedroom. She is very happy to have him as her master, as she proves in several smoking-hot intimate scenes. Arkdhem has to face the consequences of his actions along the way. I loved that Marta is the key to the Tsenturions learning the truth of their history and also helping them find a future. This was a good wrap to the series.

The Berserkers Saga Boxset by Lee Savino

#BoxSet #BDSM #Shifter #Paranormal #Novella #Menage #MFM #MFMM #WhyChoose

This box set includes 5 novellas: Sold, Mated, Taken, Given, and Claimed. Each book is written in first person, single POV. All books are written from the FMC POV except Mated, which is written from Daegan’s POV. Readers can find another novella from the author herself, Bred by the Berserkers, written from Samuel’s POV. It fits between Mated and Taken.

This was a fun and steamy series. I enjoyed the way the author developed each sister to have a different personality, and therefore different challenges with her mates. I enjoyed reading in this Middle Ages fantasy period of Scotland. I loved the shifter element of the men having man, wolf, and beast and how that influenced them. I also really enjoyed the subplot of an evil only the Berserkers could fight. I am excited to continue the series.