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lollylovesbooks's reviews
699 reviews
Vicious Cravings by Elliott Rose
4.0
Steamy paranormal romance between two vampires and a witch.
Nell is a witch on a mission, but while carelessly getting herself stranded in the snow she meets a vampire known as Hunter. There's an instant attraction between the two, and Hunter discovers he has exactly what Nell is looking for, so takes her back to the house he shares with Ace. Hunter and Ace are fated mates, but know that their mate bond is meant for 3 people.
Both Nell and Ace are dealing with literal monsters inside of them, which surface in different ways. Nell is also on the run from a powerful family that held her captive in the past. But amongst the healing magic, the many plant discussions, and a bit of detective work, is a lot of steam.
This book advertises as having MF, MM and MMF steamy scenes, and it definitely does. Every permutation is covered, including some self-love for Nell. The sexual chemistry between the three characters is a main focus for the story as a whole, and is its major selling point.
For me, though, the balance of this book felt off. It felt like sections were entirely written for tropes and quotes. Don't get me wrong, it's the sort of thing that I imagine does well on smuttok. But I wanted a bit more of the world or the characters beside them sharing bodily fluids. (On that note - I discovered while reading this that certain bodily fluid sharing weirds me out)
This is book 4 in the series but can be read as a standalone. Nell has appeared in an earlier book, and characters from the other books do make brief appearances. For me, this one isn't as good as the third book, but I'm positive lots of people will really enjoy it.
Thank you to the author for the free review copy. All thoughts are my own.
Nell is a witch on a mission, but while carelessly getting herself stranded in the snow she meets a vampire known as Hunter. There's an instant attraction between the two, and Hunter discovers he has exactly what Nell is looking for, so takes her back to the house he shares with Ace. Hunter and Ace are fated mates, but know that their mate bond is meant for 3 people.
Both Nell and Ace are dealing with literal monsters inside of them, which surface in different ways. Nell is also on the run from a powerful family that held her captive in the past. But amongst the healing magic, the many plant discussions, and a bit of detective work, is a lot of steam.
This book advertises as having MF, MM and MMF steamy scenes, and it definitely does. Every permutation is covered, including some self-love for Nell. The sexual chemistry between the three characters is a main focus for the story as a whole, and is its major selling point.
For me, though, the balance of this book felt off. It felt like sections were entirely written for tropes and quotes. Don't get me wrong, it's the sort of thing that I imagine does well on smuttok. But I wanted a bit more of the world or the characters beside them sharing bodily fluids. (On that note - I discovered while reading this that certain bodily fluid sharing weirds me out)
This is book 4 in the series but can be read as a standalone. Nell has appeared in an earlier book, and characters from the other books do make brief appearances. For me, this one isn't as good as the third book, but I'm positive lots of people will really enjoy it.
Thank you to the author for the free review copy. All thoughts are my own.
Not Just Gal Pals by Elizabeth Luly
4.5
This book was exactly what it said it was - a cosy sapphic small-town romance.
Jenny is an influencer living in LA who's had some bad luck and been hit by cancel culture, so she goes back to stay with her parents in a small-town on the East Coast. There she is reunited with Blake, who seems to have everything Jenny doesn't in terms of a stable respected career. Just a shame the two don't get on, as they're both bridesmaids in their friend's wedding.
I had a great time reading this one. Does it do anything particularly new or groundbreaking? No. But it's a great example of a sapphic contemporary romance with the highs and lows of small-town life.
Jenny's relationship with social media as an influencer was portrayed really well. I appreciated topics that were discussed around cancel culture and the different types of career influencers.
It was great reading their relationship build, with neither one wanting to commit to anything long-term (for different reasons) but also not wanting to have to let the other one go.
The side characters in this one are great, particularly George who runs the bookstore/coffee shop (which sounds amazing).
In terms of rep, Jenny is bi and Blake is a lesbian (explicitly stated on multiple occasions).
Read this one if you want a cosy autumn/fall romance to curl up with.
I received a free review copy from Netgalley. All thoughts are my own.
Jenny is an influencer living in LA who's had some bad luck and been hit by cancel culture, so she goes back to stay with her parents in a small-town on the East Coast. There she is reunited with Blake, who seems to have everything Jenny doesn't in terms of a stable respected career. Just a shame the two don't get on, as they're both bridesmaids in their friend's wedding.
I had a great time reading this one. Does it do anything particularly new or groundbreaking? No. But it's a great example of a sapphic contemporary romance with the highs and lows of small-town life.
Jenny's relationship with social media as an influencer was portrayed really well. I appreciated topics that were discussed around cancel culture and the different types of career influencers.
It was great reading their relationship build, with neither one wanting to commit to anything long-term (for different reasons) but also not wanting to have to let the other one go.
The side characters in this one are great, particularly George who runs the bookstore/coffee shop (which sounds amazing).
In terms of rep, Jenny is bi and Blake is a lesbian (explicitly stated on multiple occasions).
Read this one if you want a cosy autumn/fall romance to curl up with.
I received a free review copy from Netgalley. All thoughts are my own.
This Spells Disaster by Tori Anne Martin
4.5
My favourite sub-genre: paranormal romance. My favourite trope: fake dating. Rep I seek out: sapphic. Yes, I was very much looking forward to reading this one.
Morgan is a potions witch, who happily lives in the same small town she grew up in. She's bubbly and outgoing, except around Rory, who she has somewhat of a crush on. Rory's parents are pressuring her to get back to spell competitions and away from her small town bartender life, and Morgan suggests fake dating at an upcoming festival to shield Rory from the pressure.
The story is told entirely from Morgan's point of view, which works well as there's a lot of second-guessing from her about what's going on with Rory. In fact, the book wouldn't really have worked with dual point of view.
I really enjoyed the witchy world setup - the mundanes know about them but the witches take care to hide how dangerous their magic can be. Most of the book is set at a witch festival with stalls, competitions and music. The cosy magic vibes had me happily curled up with a blanket (luckily it was a cooler day).
This book has a strong theme of self-confidence. Morgan suffers from a lack of confidence, no thanks to a manipulative ex-girlfriend. Seeing Rory build that confidence back up made me so happy, particularly in the discussions of what types of magic are 'important'. Be aware going in that Rory has some issues of her own, in the form of parents who try to control her.
Read this if you want a cosy, witchy romance with women empowering women.
I received a free digital review copy of this book from Netgalley. All thoughts are my own.
Morgan is a potions witch, who happily lives in the same small town she grew up in. She's bubbly and outgoing, except around Rory, who she has somewhat of a crush on. Rory's parents are pressuring her to get back to spell competitions and away from her small town bartender life, and Morgan suggests fake dating at an upcoming festival to shield Rory from the pressure.
The story is told entirely from Morgan's point of view, which works well as there's a lot of second-guessing from her about what's going on with Rory. In fact, the book wouldn't really have worked with dual point of view.
I really enjoyed the witchy world setup - the mundanes know about them but the witches take care to hide how dangerous their magic can be. Most of the book is set at a witch festival with stalls, competitions and music. The cosy magic vibes had me happily curled up with a blanket (luckily it was a cooler day).
This book has a strong theme of self-confidence. Morgan suffers from a lack of confidence, no thanks to a manipulative ex-girlfriend. Seeing Rory build that confidence back up made me so happy, particularly in the discussions of what types of magic are 'important'. Be aware going in that Rory has some issues of her own, in the form of parents who try to control her.
Read this if you want a cosy, witchy romance with women empowering women.
I received a free digital review copy of this book from Netgalley. All thoughts are my own.
Blood Thinners by Heather Novak
4.25
Sapphic paranormal romance with plenty of vampires and steam.
Our heroine Mina works for an agency that keeps the paranormal elements in check. She's pretty much married to her job, not really even noticing that she does nothing else.
But things at work get a bit wobbly, and her job also throws her into the path of the very attractive Carma. Just to bad that Carma is one of the targets of Mina's investigation.
This is hard going at times, because Mina has pretty much zero emotional intelligence. She's very reliant on her friends to nudge her in the right direction, and there are several times I wanted to knock some sense into her.
But this was a fun read, and the side characters definitely helped with that. I LOVED the dynamic with the ghosts. They were hilarious, and possibly the best characters in it. Also loved her best friend, and so excited to see that the next book is his.
Big content warning for the fact that Mina is investigating Thinner, a weight loss product company. There's a lot of talk of weight loss as a result, but it's also made very clear that Mina herself doesn't agree with Thinner's purpose.
Read it if you love sapphic vampire romance and want something a bit fun.
Our heroine Mina works for an agency that keeps the paranormal elements in check. She's pretty much married to her job, not really even noticing that she does nothing else.
But things at work get a bit wobbly, and her job also throws her into the path of the very attractive Carma. Just to bad that Carma is one of the targets of Mina's investigation.
This is hard going at times, because Mina has pretty much zero emotional intelligence. She's very reliant on her friends to nudge her in the right direction, and there are several times I wanted to knock some sense into her.
But this was a fun read, and the side characters definitely helped with that. I LOVED the dynamic with the ghosts. They were hilarious, and possibly the best characters in it. Also loved her best friend, and so excited to see that the next book is his.
Big content warning for the fact that Mina is investigating Thinner, a weight loss product company. There's a lot of talk of weight loss as a result, but it's also made very clear that Mina herself doesn't agree with Thinner's purpose.
Read it if you love sapphic vampire romance and want something a bit fun.