book_lover_irl's reviews
422 reviews

Falls Boys by Penelope Douglas

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emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is my first book from Penelope Douglas and I loved it. I’m excited to read her other books now. I especially want to go back and read the original Falls series. I think Hawke has moved into my new favorite book boyfriend. The way he’s in his head about sex and struggles with his virginity. I could relate to so much of what he said and felt. I LOVED that the MMC was the virgin, instead of the FMC. Just adored so much of the plot. 
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Until Death Do Us Part by Adelaide Forrest

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I have struggled immensely with this series. Hold on because I’m not holding back. 

I straight up LOATHE the MMC. He is a piece of sh!t husband and narcissistic sociopath with zero redeeming qualities. I get that dark, brooding, obsessive alpha males are sexy MMCs but this guy… just NO. His treatment of the FMC, his wife and supposedly soulmate, is beyond horrific. 

SPOILERS ON THE WAY

Throughout the series, the MMC …
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rapes, abuses, tortures, drugs, brands, gaslights, lies, and has zero regard for her bodily autonomy.  He places trackers (unknown to her) in her body, has sex with her while she’s unconscious / drugged, gives her fertility meds against her wishes, refuses to use condoms or give her birth control. I can tolerate a lot of things. Not this. 

Consent is important. Even when it’s consensual non-consent, at least there is the illusion of consent. This was straight up rape in books 1-4. 

I read a lot of spicy smut and usually enjoy dark reads but this was 110% over the top. Not sure how I made it through the series when I found the majority of it so disturbing. Wouldn’t recommend unless you are truly enjoy the darkest black of darks. 
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Until Retribution Burns by Adelaide Forrest

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Ugh!!! I hate that I want to know what happens in this series. I despise and loathe the MMC.
He is awful and horrific and there is absolutely NOTHING redeeming about him. As the reader, I think we’re supposed to find his obsessive psychotic behavior enduring and an example of his devotion to his wife. Instead I find his abhorrent words and actions 110% abusive. He rapes, tortures, gaslights and terrorizes her non-stop. The author’s attempt at the FMC’s “acceptance” of her attraction and love for the MMC is total BS that I’m not buying.
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Until Forever Ends by Adelaide Forrest

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I don’t know how to review this book. There is so much about it that HATE, LOATHE, DESPISE. This series has cemented my disdain for bully romances and enemy to lovers tropes.

The way the MMC treats the FMC is abhorrent. The awful
gaslighting, emotional abuse, physical abuse and torture is beyond the pale. The MMC literally rapes and sexually assaults the FMC multiple times. It’s disgusting and disturbing


 I *REALLLLYYYYYY* do not want to give the author any additional sales but alas, I want to know what happened next in the series. Maybe I’ll be able to find a good spoiler soon. 

Stars: ???
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
POV: Duet / dual
HEA: No
Cliffhanger: Yes
Tropes: Bully romance, enemies to lovers
 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this book 
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked this book 
⭐️⭐️ Meh…  bored or annoyed 
⭐️ Seriously? Not worth it 
 
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ INFERNO. P@nty melting 
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Blazing hot 
🌶️🌶️🌶️ Now we’re talking 
🌶️🌶️ Meh… uninspired missionary 
🌶️ Does weak foreplay count? 

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Until Tomorrow Comes by Adelaide Forrest

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challenging dark tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I’m struggling to review this book. I’m not sure if I hate or love this book.
Consent is important to me. I can sometimes tolerate dubious consent but outright violation…


The FMC drives me a bit bonkers with her occasional wishy-washy reactions to the MMCs dominance. Overall I don’t love
insta-love
tropes, especially ones that are this
obsessive.
Sometimes that can be hot — like in Navessa Allen’s Lights Out… chefs kiss and as an added bonus, that book was hysterical. 

Not sure how I feel. Novel ended on a cliffhanger so I plan to start the next book asap. However, I am skeptical that I’ll make it far. I have a feeling that I’ll end up DNFing and just googling the spoilers to answer my questions. 
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The Young and the Submissive by Jenna Jacob, Shayla Black, Isabella Lapearl

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Broody, angsty, emotional read. I liked the first book, loved the second book and can’t wait to see where the third book leads…

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️, maybe 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 🌶️
POV: Tri
HEA: Yes, sort of
Cliffhanger: Yes, kinda
Tropes: BDSM, insecure & abused girl with alpha dom males
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked this book
⭐️⭐️ Meh…  bored or annoyed
⭐️Seriously? Not worth it

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ INFERNO. P@nty melting
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Blazing hot
🌶️🌶️🌶️ Now we’re talking
🌶️🌶️ Meh… uninspired missionary
🌶️ Does weak foreplay count?
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One Dom to Love by Jenna Jacob, Isabella LaPearl, Shayla Black

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Solid story with a great narrator. I’m not used to novels with a single narrator being a man. He did an amazing job different between characters. His Irish lilt was glorious. Very angst. Ends in a cliffhanger.

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
POV: Triple
HEA: No
Cliffhanger: Yes
Tropes: BDSM, age gap, rich man-poor girl

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked this book
⭐️⭐️ Meh…  bored or annoyed
⭐️Seriously? Not worth it

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ INFERNO. P@nty melting
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Blazing hot
🌶️🌶️🌶️ Now we’re talking
🌶️🌶️ Meh… uninspired missionary
🌶️ Does weak foreplay count?
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All The Forbidden Things by Lesley Jones

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emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Enjoyable. Emotional. Slow burn. I think I’ve decided I am not a fan of British accents in my narrated smutty novels. I tend to like them in movies but am just irritated by them in my spice. After reading quite a few accented novels, I will most likely avoid them in the future. 

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
POV: Duet
HEA: Yes
Cliffhanger: No
Tropes: Age gap, rock star, independently wealthy
 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this book 
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked this book 
⭐️⭐️ Meh…  bored or annoyed 
⭐️ Seriously? Not worth it 
 
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ INFERNO. P@nty melting 
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Blazing hot 
🌶️🌶️🌶️ Now we’re talking 
🌶️🌶️ Meh… uninspired missionary 
🌶️ Does weak foreplay count? 

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Kings of Retribution MC: Riggs by Crystal Daniels, Sandy Alvarez

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adventurous dark medium-paced

3.0

I enjoyed it once I got over the super thick accents the narrators gave the MMC. I like MC tropes and it was refreshing to read a story that didn’t treat club bunnies like complete prostitutes. I also liked that there wasn’t a bunch of cheating a-holes in the MC. My favorite part of the novel was the inclusion of a deaf FMC. It was great to see some diversity. 

Overall entertaining read with a nice amount of action. Light spice that was relatively tame for a smut novel. 

Won’t read again but will probably continue with the series. 

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
POV: Duet
HEA: Yes
Cliffhanger: No
Tropes: MC, damsel in distress, former military 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked this book
⭐️⭐️ Meh…  bored or annoyed
⭐️ Seriously? Not worth it

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ INFERNO. P@nty melting
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Blazing hot
🌶️🌶️🌶️ Now we’re talking
🌶️🌶️ Meh… uninspired missionary
🌶️ Does weak foreplay count?
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Crave by Evelyn Sola

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Good story. Dislikable MMC with serious anger issues (NOT in a possessive, cute, relatable way). Loved the strong FMC with backbone and sass. Started out super angst-y and drawn out.  Wrapped up strangely without much of a catalyst for the couple to overcome. Just didn’t quite work for me. Loved the narrators. Troy Duran is my all time fave male narrator and Mari (no last name?!) did an excellent job as the FMC. 

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
POV: Duet / dual
HEA: Yes
Cliffhanger: No
Tropes: Upper class man / working class woman, interracial, instalove

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this book
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I liked this book
⭐️⭐️ Meh…  bored or annoyed
⭐️ Seriously? Not worth it

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ INFERNO. P@nty melting
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Blazing hot
🌶️🌶️🌶️ Now we’re talking
🌶️🌶️ Meh… uninspired missionary
🌶️ Does weak foreplay count?
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