Review: Rook & Rebel

 

Title: Rook & Rebel

Series: The Mavericks 

Author: Kate Crew 

Release Date: October 1, 2024

A dark revenge romance filled with tattooed bikers, hilarious banter, heat, and high speeds.

Regan Fletcher

I used to have big dreams: finish college, make beautiful art, all while taking over my dad’s business. He wanted a legacy, and I wanted to give it to him. But his illness wasn’t part of the plan. Neither was his sudden need to keep me locked up in our mansion, safe and isolated. I want more from life, but could only spend my days waiting. Until one night, I came face-to-face with a street biker from a world far different from mine. What starts as him stalking me, quickly spirals into something deeper, and more deadly. I’m falling for a man who’s everything I should fear, yet he’s the only one who’s ever made me feel truly alive. But loving him means risking everything—my heart, my future, and my father.

Rook Emberson

Revenge has been my driving force for as long as I can remember. Cameron Fletcher stole everything from me, and I’ve spent years plotting the perfect way to take it all back. When fate puts his daughter in my sights, I know I’ve found the key to his destruction. But from the moment I meet her, my plans begin to unravel. Regan is everything I didn’t expect and I can’t help but be drawn to her. What starts as a twisted game of vengeance turns into an obsession. I need her, but I also need to destroy her father.

The lines between love and vengeance blur, and I’m not sure where one ends and the other begins.

Goodreads | Purchase 

Rook & Rebel follows Regan - a rich girl who seems like she has it all, but is a prisoner in her own home. She came back from college to help with her sick father, and hopefully take over the business- but he hasn't let her in with anything in his life yet. 

But one day she comes face to face with a biker. He was dangerous, the gun he had pointed at her when they met proved that. The stalking he did solidified it. She should fear him, but she didn't. And falling for him would risk everything - her heart, future, & father. 

Rook's one driving force for the past decade was revenge. He wanted to destroy the man who ruined his life. And when the daughter of that man landed in his lap, he took the chance to get close to her,and use her anyway he could. But what he didn't expect was caring for her, the lines of vengeance and obsession blurring. Would Rook's plans of revenge unravel, or would he go through with taking down the man who destroyed his life, and risk losing the girl in the process? 

So, I have been in a bit of a slump recently and was looking for something dark - but still have a lightness to it too. & This book for that - yes it's a dark romance so check TW before going in, but it isn't too dark. And while it wasn't perfect, it was cute with the banter between the characters. I enjoyed the book for what it was. It was cute, and some parts had me laughing, but I didn't love it. I didn't fall in love with the characters. 

I love books that make me fall in love with the characters, that make me care what happens to them, and makes me want to read more. Books that make me think about them when I'm not reading them, wondering what will happen next. And while I can appreciate this book was entertaining, I just wasn't as invested into the story or characters as I would have liked. Overall, it was a all right read, I didn't love it. 

If you are looking for a more lighthearted MC romance, you may enjoy this book. It gave similar vibes to Butcher & Blackbird and Lights Out, but not quite hitting the mark for me. 

3.5 ⭐ out of 5⭐. 

2🌶️ out of 5 🌶️. 

Tropes: 

• MC/biker romance

• dark romance 

• found family 

• morally gray MMC

• Posessive MMC 

• rich good girl FMC

• touch him & ☠️ 

• stalking

• revenge 

• banter 

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Review: Little Stranger

 

Title: Little Stranger

Series: The Web of Silence duet

Author: Leigh Rivers

Release Date: October 2023

OWNING HER IS ALL HE EVER WANTED

She betrayed him, and now he wants revenge against the foster sister who became his forbidden obsession the second he laid eyes on her. After she sends him to prison for years, he’s free and ready to haunt her.

Everything about Olivia belongs to Malachi Vize.

Her mind

Her body

Her soul

Her fear

Her pain

On Halloween night, he can no longer lurk in the shadows. All he has left to own is her heart, even if he needs to take it.

This story comes with extremely triggering content. Please read the "Content Warning" page.

Goodreads | Amazon 

So, I have been in a huge book slump all month, which is super unfortunate because I love spooky season & all the reads. But after trying a few different books, I finally settled on Little Stranger. 

I love dark romances & the foster/step sibling trope so I was looking forward to this one. And it was perfect for spooky season. It was a little taboo, and a little bit dark. 

It follows Malachi and Olivia who are foster siblings - living under the same roof. Even as kids Malachi was Posessive over Olivia, more than a brother should be. As they grow older, their attraction for one another also grows. But then Olivia testifies against him, sending him away to prison... And now he wants his revenge. 

So, I definitely enjoyed this book- the forbidden/taboo aspects of their relationship, and the dark and depravity of it as well. It could have been darker, and a little more twisted, but overall I enjoyed it. & I loved Malachi even though he had selective mutism due to his past trauma. He was over the top jealous & Posessive. And I loved when he got jealous of himself (seriously, a favorite micro-trope that I don't see often enough 😂😂). And while it wasn't my favorite read, I definitely enjoyed it and loved it as my Halloween read. 

4⭐ out of 5⭐

3 🌶️ out of 5🌶️

Tropes: 

• dark romance

• Foster siblings

• ott j/p hero 

• Halloween themed

• mask kink 

• selective mutism 

Trigger Warnings: 

- childhood trauma 

- violence

- drugs/alcohol/smoking 

- stalking 

- somnophelia 

- spider play

- knife play 

- primal play 

- CNC /Dubious Consent 

- drugging

- branding 

- choking 

- blood play 

- screwdriver play 

- brother/sister kink 

- fear 

- breeding 

- anal 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Leigh Rivers is a Scottish Biomedical Scientist who has ventured into the world of writing dark, morally gray characters with rollercoaster storylines to drive her readers wild.

When she isn't reading, writing on her laptop, or gaming until ridiculous hours, she dances at the pole studio, goes to the gym, and walks her four dogs with her two sons and husband.

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Review: Promise Me Not

 

Title: Promise Me Not

Series: Boys of Avix

Author: Meagan Brandy 

Release Date: October 01

She lost her first love.

I'd give it all to be her second...

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had one dream.

Go to college with my best friends, earn a starting position on a division one team, and hear my name announced to the world come draft day. 

The path was clear, and things were falling in place perfectly. 

Until she showed up.

I never meant to fall for my friend’s little sister and by the time I realized I had, it was too late. 

I am a man in love with a girl … who is in love with someone else. 

But I can’t compete with a ghost, and her heart was buried along side the boy she gave it to. The father of her unborn son. 

Instead of fighting for something she’s unable to give, I do my best to be her friend, but then her little man comes along, and changes everything.

She says I should walk away, focus on my love for football, but I can’t, because what she doesn’t understand is I have a new dream now. 

One that begins and ends with them. 

Goodreads | Purchase 

Oohhh my flipping gawds! 

Promise Me Not was one of my most anticipated reads of the entire year, and is book two in Boys of Avix series - following Payton (who you meet in Defenseless Hearts) and Mason (who you meet in Fumbled Hearts). And let me just tell you ... You aren't ready! 

Payton may have lost her first love, but Mason will give ANYTHING to be her second. Payton is trying to navigate her new life of being a young mother, and trying to hold herself together. Her life was irrevocably changed when she ran away from home, pregnant at sixteen. She was young, scared, and had no idea what she was going to do. 

Mason only ever had one dream in life - to go to college with his best friends, and get a starting position in football. But the moment he laid eyes on Payton that dream changed. And Mason falls in love with someone who is in love with someone else. Someone he can never compete with. She was strong, brave, and beautiful, and Mason never had a chance against her. But how can Mason compete with the ghost of the father of Payton's unborn son?

So like I said, this has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I absolutely couldn't wait to dive in to Payton and Mason's story. And when I say you aren't ready, I mean it. This is an emotional angst filled book, filled with love, heartbreak, grief, sweetness and hope. This book had me crying over Payton and Mason's story, but not able to put it down. Their story was heartbreaking, and beautiful and so much more, and I loved every second of it. If you loved the emotional rollercoaster of Say You Swear, buckle up because Mason and Payton's story bribgs you through the ringer, but I didn't want it to end. If you love angst filled sports romances you are not going to want to miss this! 

5 ⭐ out of 5 ⭐. 

2 🌶️ out of 5 🌶️. 

Tropes: 

• Contemporary romance 

• NA romance

• sports romance 

• football romance 

• he falls first 

• single parent

• found family 

• love after loss 

• forbidden/off limits 

• older brother's friend 

• Posessive/protective Hero 

• slow burn 

• angst fest / emotional read

Trigger Warnings: 

→ car accident 

→ death 

→ grief 

→ emotional abuse 

About The Author: 

Meagan Brandy is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal 

Bestselling Author of New Adult and Sports Romance books. Born and raised in California, she is a married mother of three crazy boys who keep her bouncing from one sports field to another, depending on the season, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Starbucks is her best friend and words are her sanity.

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Review: The Beekeeper

 

Title: The Beekeeper

Author: S.M. Shade

Release Date: September 20, 2024

After two years of hiding, I'm finally free and all I want is some peace and maybe a little garden to tend. The adorable cabin in the forest is just what I'm looking for, private and secluded. Other than the long dead inhabitants of the old graveyard nearby, I only have one neighbor.

Arlow Shaw is antisocial if not outright reclusive, quiet, and guarded when it comes to discussing himself. A nature lover, he spends most of his time in the forest or tending to his bee hives.

His calming effect on me is perplexing but exactly what I need. Through long nights spent talking over a bonfire, I grow close to the enigmatic man, but as we start to cross the line from friends to lovers, the trouble begins.

What starts as a few footprints in the woods and some broken windows quickly escalates to violent threats.

Our secrets are forced into the light but the question remains. Has my past come back to torment me or is there more to this man than I know?

The Beekeeper is a standalone romantic suspense with some mystery and a dark twist.

Goodreads | Purchase 

So, I absolutely love all the books I have read by SM Shade so far, and this cover is sooo pretty. I was dying to read this book. 

It follows Calliope - when she moves to a new small town, in a cabin on a dead end road next door to a antisocial recluse, and an old graveyard. 

All Calli wanted was a new start, but what she didn't expect was the calming effect her quiet new nature-loving neighbor had on her. But as they navigate their new friendship that could turn into something more, that's when the trouble begins. 

What starts out as a few broken windows quickly escalates, forcing their secrets and past into the light. 

I couldn't wait to dive into this book, thinking the suspenseful novel would be a perfect fall read to get lost into. 

Calliope was on the run from her last, hoping for a fresh start. She was trying to put her past behind her and was hoping for a new beginning at life. What she didn't expect was her neighbor Arlow. 

Arlow was a calm, quiet nature-lover. He kept to himself, & tended his been hives. He never gave the cabin next door to him a second thought until Calliope moved in. Something about her shined, and it resparked his artistic side. 

They quickly became friends - but Calli wanted more. Something Arlow wasnt willing to give. 

But when trouble started brewing for the two of them, they would be forced to share their secrets they kept hidden with each other. - would they be able to accept one another when they learned the truth? 

I enjoyed the book. I liked Calli and Arlow, both had their own struggles they dealt with, making them more real and relatable. The book wasn't as suspenseful as I would have wanted, but overall it was a good contemporary read with a little suspense scattered throughout. 

4⭐ out of 5⭐. 

3🌶️ out of 5🌶️. 

Tropes: 

• contemporary romance 

• protective hero 

• neighbors to lovers 

• 30+ age characters 

Trigger Warnings: 

→ stalking 

→ mention of child abuse 

→ mention of drug use/abuse 

→ mention of car accident 

→ death of a parent 

→ murder 

About the Author: 

S.M. Shade writes spicy romantic comedies and steamy contemporary romances with relatable characters. Whether it's a good laugh or a good cry, she likes to grab you by your emotions and make you feel. An unashamed Croc enthusiast and poetry nerd, she can usually be found listening to Indie Rock and watching birds.

 

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Small Business Sunday - Grump & Sunshine

 

Grump and Sunshine is located in Belfast, Maine was opened by Cassidy Gintz in May 2023 and the only romance-only book shop in Maine. 

It is opened six days a week, and your one-stop shop for books, merch, and subscription boxes. Cassidy also collabs with indie authors and hosts signings and events. 

You can follow her on IG, TT, & FB. 

@grumpandsunshine - on IG 

@grumpandsunshine - on TT

Grump and Sunshine - on FB 

https://www.grumpandsunshine.com/ - website 

Looking for more indie bookstores, check out my list of stores here: