Book review: THE DEVIL, by Michelle Heard

 

Mafia Empire #5

Enzo Oliveira & Jenna Dotson

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What I love about Michelle Heard’s books is how she crafts these intense, dangerous men—Mafia bosses, lethal killers—who seem untouchable… until they meet the right woman. Suddenly, the cold-hearted enforcer becomes utterly devoted, protective to the extreme, and hopelessly in love. Sure, they’re possessive, jealous, and have a “touch her and die” attitude—but once they fall, they fall hard. And they live for her.

That’s exactly what happens with Enzo Oliveira. Orphaned as a child and raised on the unforgiving streets of Lisbon, he grows into the ruthless boss of the Portuguese mafia—a killer for hire, a loner who trusts no one. The Alliance—Sebastian, Dominik, Cassia, and Leo—have tried to bring him into their fold, to make him feel like family, but Enzo’s walls are high and impenetrable. Until now.

When he travels to Aurora to resolve a conflict between his factory and a hostile MC club, he meets Jenna. And everything changes. He falls for her, faces off against the MC, and realizes—for the first time—he needs help. That’s when he calls in his army of friends. What follows is gritty, high-stakes action with a pulse-pounding edge.

Jenna, like Enzo, is a loner with deep scars. A traumatic secret has left her selectively mute, and she’s built her own fortress of solitude. Watching these two broken souls find each other, slowly open up, and learn to trust is just beautiful.

Throughout the book, we witness Enzo’s transformation—falling in love, learning to trust, embracing the Alliance as his chosen family, and ultimately avenging Jenna’s past. The ending is tender and emotional, a soft landing after all the grit and violence. I adored the contrast—it made the romance and the found-family theme even more powerful.

Purchase links

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FMR8TKPW

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FMR8TKPW

CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0FMR8TKPW

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0FMR8TKPW

About the author

Michelle Heard is a Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling Author who loves creating stories her readers can get lost in. She resides in South Africa with her son where she's always planning her next book to write, and trip to take.

 

Connect w/Michelle:

Website: https://michelleheardauthor.com

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Book review: DILLON, by Siobhan Davis

All of Me #5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When you’re reading a book by Siobhan Davis, you can be assured of heartbreak, drama, steam, and passionate love.  Reading feels like going through mountains, cliffs, and valleys as you read the couple evolve on their love journey.  In this case, it was a saga!

In the first part of this book, Dillon lives with a chip on his shoulder and he gets so stroppy with his parents and siblings that I want to slap him silly. Underneath all that attitude is a nice boy with a big heart, witness is how loving and supportive he is with his sister Aisling, how loving he gets with his mum after being a little brat.  One funny tidbit that I loved is how he had to watch The Notebook movie a gazillion times with Ash when she was going through heartbreak, and then had to go through the same marathon with Vivien.  Proof that there was a saint under that bad boy!

I was gutted reading all that Dillon went through, always feeling out of place, even though he was very much loved by his family.  His time with Vivien was passionate, full of love, and then gut-wrenching pain.  All those plans of revenge, of getting even, the joke’s on him, and he can’t blame anyone else but himself, with that monkey on his shoulder that makes him do the wrong thing.

Success is not enough when your soul is not in peace, and Dillon is proof of that.  The story heads towards tragedy, very much aided by Dillon’s frequent petty attitude.  I felt that he suffered a lot, but he also gained all that karma with his negative thoughts and actions. In a way, it is a tragedy that a lot was lost due to miscommunication and being closed off.

It was such an overwhelming story of hurt and hate and vengeance, mixed in with unrequited love, loss, and guilt.  It was riveting, angsty, and very passionate, just as I always expect from this wonderful author.

Purchase links

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/DillonGR

Alternate paperback: https://bit.ly/DillonAPB

Model paperback: https://bit.ly/DillonMPB

Hardcover: https://bit.ly/DillonAHC

eBook: https://bit.ly/DillonEBook

About the author

Siobhan Davis is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Top 5 bestselling romance author. Siobhan writes emotionally intense stories with swoon-worthy romance, complex characters, and tons of unexpected plot twists and turns that will have you flipping the pages beyond bedtime! She has sold over 2 million books, and her titles are translated into several languages.

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in human resource management.

She lives in the Garden County of Ireland with her husband and two sons.

Connect with Siobhan:

Website: www.siobhandavis.com

Facebook: AuthorSiobhanDavis

Instagram:@siobhandavisauthor

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Readers Group: https://smarturl.it/SiobhanSquad

Book review: KADE, by Tijan

Fallen Crest #8

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was so excited to get this ARC to review and then overjoyed to find I got two stories in one, a return to Fallen Crest for Logan, Mason, and Sam; but also the introduction of Maddy, Mason’s daughter and an exact replica of her father’s persona, and the promise of a new era of second generation adventures.

The book starts with a gruesome scene which pitches Mason and Logan right back to their roots in Fallen Crest.  Mayhem, investigations, plots, it all comes back. It’s like once they are back home, the vibes of their hometown creep up on them and they have to go back to how they used to be.  Except, they’re not the same anymore.  They are in their thirties, happily married and parents.  Mason is retired from the NFL so he’s not as restricted in his actions but is still a very public figure, so some decorum is needed.  Not so much Logan who is still as crazy as ever and as fun to read.

Samantha and Heather are still the best of friends, we get to see a new version of Sam when she drinks, instead of Ninja Sam, we get Dinosaur Sam, a barrel of laughs.  I loved Sam and Mason, how much in love they are, so many years later, and what a wonderful family they have created. I got a kick our of their good cop/bad cop routine with the kids; Sam is the disciplinarian, Mason is the softie, who knew?

The book is convoluted, there are several plot lines, everyone in the Fallen Crest world appears, even Zeke the stalker, and we get new characters to love: Beltraine, Steele, and Axel.  I got a kick from getting to know Maddie, she’s Mason in girl form, with some goodness that comes from Sam.  She’s a little crazy like her uncle Logan, loves her family fiercely and nobody touches them without some kickback from Maddie.  When she states at the end of the book that World Domination Day is on, I’m rejoicing because I know there’s more to come!

Purchase links

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3UEqd9r

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3YtDRxk

Nook: https://bit.ly/3NSJGiY

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3UDhpAV

Audible: https://bit.ly/4fzZVNY

B&N Special Edition Paperback: https://bit.ly/3CCkgnl

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4fvsqMz

About the author

Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that writes suspenseful and unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing after college and once she started, she was hooked. She's written multi-bestsellers including the Fallen Crest series, Ryan's Bed, Enemies and others.
​She is currently writing many new books and series with an English Cocker she adores.

 

Connect with Tijan

Website: http://www.tijansbooks.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4851199.Tijan

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tijan/e/B00DJG52QE

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

Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/tijansreadergroup

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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tijan

Book review: KARMA’S KISS, by R.S. Grey

The best part about this book is that it’s a small town romance, and I love this trope.  Everyone knows everyone else’s business, gossip travels at the speed of light, there are busybodies and there are book clubs.  Scarlett moved back to town after her life imploded in Alabama.  She was on the run to be a trophy wife for a senator’s son when he cheated and dumped her.

She’s now working in her mother’s wedding planning business, there’s a huge mess in the office, similar to her life now.  She’s shoved into a baseball game by her brother and runs into Sawyer Garner, who used to be the high school heartthrob.  He shows interest in her and her bestie Kendra convinces her to revenge date him.  And this is when the plot went awry, in my opinion.  This story plot line was dumb, but the author promptly changed courses and saved the book.

It’s a fun and flirty story, I liked Scarlett and how she got rid of all the “perfect girlfriend” persona she used to be and is now showing her real identity, grumpy and sassy.  She’s snarky to Sawyer, she’s funny, and she really got hooked to the guy in spite of Kendra’s dire warnings.  I liked how her life went from a picture perfect style, to a very messy life and how she grew out of her old lifestyle and felt free to be herself.  I loved Sawyer, knew from the get-go he was genuinely into Scarlett and I thought he was a great guy. This is why I hated the karma scheme that Scarlett let Kendra convince her to do.  I didn’t particularly like Kendra, saw her as an air head.

There are brilliant parts in the book, others where the humor felt contrived, mostly when Kendra is involved.  I really didn’t like that side of the plot, but did enjoy the rest.

Purchase links

FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3A83RpN  

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3BhSD2i

About the author

R.S. Grey is the USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels, including seven #1 bestselling romantic comedies. She lives in Texas with her husband, two daughters, and dog.

 

Connect with R.S.

Website | www.rsgrey.com  

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