ARC Review: Leo Loves Aries by Anyta Sunday

Leo Loves Aries (Signs of Love, #1)
by Anyta Sunday
Self-published
Ebook (received via NetGalley)
New Adult, LGBT, contemporary, romance

A new person will enter your life in the early year, Leo. Look past any moments of frustration they might bring and laugh—this could be the start of a thriving friendship.

Theo Wallace usually laughs at the horoscopes his mom sends. Still hung up on his ex-girlfriend and practically friendless, this one begs him to reconsider. Because a friendship that stuck, that thrived…

Well, that would be a reason to leave past pains behind and look to the Bright Future. 

When his sister Leone challenges him to find her the perfect date for a spring wedding, Theo uses it as a chance to make new friends. Theo’s ex economics tutor and newest roommate Mr Jamie Cooper seems to be a possible and convenient match. Real convenient. Like written in the stars, convenient.

All he has to do is make sure this Jamie is good enough. Could really be the one for her, and the friend for him. 

But watch out, Leo, the stars have a surprise in store…

Leo Loves Aries, if anything, is a slow burn romance. One of the most slow burns in contemporary romance that I've read, and it surprises me how much I loved the slow burn aspect without becoming frustrated at the pace or the characters. That's simply because it wasn't boring at any time, no, the story was full of banter, incredible chemistry, stubborn and adorable characters, and just about real life.

I love stubborn characters because I can relate with them so much - I am quite a stubborn person myself. Theo, the main character, must be one of the most stubborn characters I've read about, especially when it comes to competitions. His and Jamie's small, everyday life competitions were so adorable, especially the infamous peanut butter one; smooth or chunky. I had so many laughs of Theo and Jamie's stubbornness, as well as their incredible banter. There was banter everywhere, and it was so much fun! I loved how the story was funny and lighthearted at times but also tackled some more serious matters such as past relationships and different kind of fears and how to overcome them.

One of the important aspects of the story was how it focused also on Theo's relationship with his sister Leone, some friendships, and featured Theo and Leone's families, as well as Jamie's family and closest friend. Overall, the story was well rounded because it included normal aspects of life as well as the brilliant slow burn romance.

In conclusion, I loved about everything in Leo Loves Aries. Especially Theo and Jamie, and their banter because it was genius and funny and made me laugh out loud so often. I'll surely check out Anyta Sunday's other books, and I highly recommend this one if you happen to enjoy slow burn romance with lots of banter.

5 of 5 stars.

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(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

Stacking the Shelves (55)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

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(I already own a copy of The Song of Achilles but you can never have too many copies with different covers of your favourite books, right?!)

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ARC Review: Fast Connection by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell

Fast Connection (Cyberlove, #2)
by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell
Published by Megtino Press
Ebook (received from authors, thank you!)
Adult, LGBT, contemporary, romance

After a decade of serving in the Army, everyone still expects me to be Dominic 'Nicky' Costigan—the skirt-chasing player. They don't know I've been spending my days trying to figure out my post-military life. Including how to pick up guys. 

When I meet Luke on a hookup app, he makes it clear it's for one-night only. That's fine with me, because I'm down to see what this silver fox can do. But after I arrive at his doorstep, it doesn't take long to realize we have serious chemistry, and we end up meeting again. 

He's got more walls around his heart than a military base, but I think he's as addicted to me as I am to him. He can't resist me for long. I mean, who can? Except Luke's rules exist for a reason, and when I test his limits, things get complicated. Maybe too complicated.

After Strong Signal and how it was everything I've ever wished a M/M romance to be, I wouldn't have missed Fast Connection by any chance. It happened that this one even exceeded my expectations - which were incredible high to begin with - and became my favourite of the series. And yes, made sure that there won't be a day when I miss out a new Megtino story.

Fast Connection had it all; great, intriguing characters, romance with steam and more importantly, chemistry, as well as real life struggles, and the main characters families were heavily involved in the story which was absolutely great. It mixed the romance and the family life perfectly together, and acknowledged that sometimes people have to do sacrifices for their families. Often romances focuses a bit too heavily only on the main romantic couple, but I'm delighted to say that this deals with the families equal amount to the romance itself.

And seriously, Dominic stole my heart. Through Garrett's eyes in Strong Signal he seemed cocky and really self-assured, but I loved how this story brought up that Dominic wanted change and that he was scared for his future after the army and how he worried for his family. He's a sweetheart, and I loved him and kept rooting for him like no other. For Luke I warmed up a little slower but I think that's the point as Luke was wary and seemed a bit cold after he first hooked up with Dominic. Still, Luke was a good guy who just had been burned before, and he more than made up any coldness when the story evolved. And hey, I like grumpy guys like Luke. I loved Dominic and Luke together, and gods did they have chemistry!

Utter perfection, that's what Fast Connection was for me. Stunning, brilliant, and definitely one of my favourite books, and on top of my all time favourite M/M romances. I absolutely recommend this to everyone!

5 of 5 stars.

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Thank you, Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell, for giving me a chance to read and review Fast Connection!

(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)

Review: Omega Untamed by Zoe Perdita

Omega Untamed (Lost Wolves, #5)
by Zoe Perdita
Published by Eccentric Erotica
Ebook (purchased)
Adult, LGBT, paranormal, romance

Abel Mircea, an alpha wolf, was banished from his kingdom at 16, but now the king who banished him needs Abel's help to save it. As one of the most fearsome assassins in the world, Abel knows he can do it, but he needs something beyond money or power to make it worth his while.

Enter Dagz Thorn-- an omega slave who looks like anything but. He's the only survivor of a vicious attack by hunters working for the warlord Arno, and when Abel saves Dagz, the alpha gets more than he bargained for. Not only does Dagz pledge his life to Abel, he also swears they are mates, bound together by a bond deeper than blood.

However, Dagz is not an ordinary omega-- he's a berserker who can't control his outbursts of violence. And now he's Abel's problem. Good thing they have a shit ton of hunters asking for an ass kicking.

While lust flares between the alpha and omega, can love bloom in the darkest parts of their hearts?

I've been pretty entwined with this series lately, and I was happy that Omega Untamed continued to have all those things which I loved in previous books; action, romance, impossible situations, danger, and trying to be more clever than their enemies.

This time the assassins were back as Abel was an alpha trained to be the shadow assassin to protect his king, and even if that didn't work out he started it as a career. Abel was hilarious and I loved how he could care less of what was expected of him by his rank. And Dagz, who was so strong despite all the bad things he went through because his nature was misunderstood.

Naturally I loved the parts where Lucien and Felix from the previous story appeared.

4 of 5 stars.

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Stacking the Shelves (54)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Free

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Top Ten Tuesdays: Underrated Books I've Read In The Past Year Or So

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week participating bloggers can create lists of topic given by the host, and share them with others!

In no particular order, these are ten books that I feel are underrated, and that I have read within the last two years.

 

 

 

Book Blitz + Giveaway: You Don't Know My Name by Kristen Orlando

You Don’t Know My Name
Kristen Orlando
(The Black Angel Chronicles #1)
Published by: Swoon Reads
Publication date: January 10th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Fighter, Faker, Student, Spy.

Seventeen-year-old Reagan Elizabeth Hillis is used to changing identities overnight, lying to every friend she’s ever had, and pushing away anyone who gets too close. Trained in mortal combat and weaponry her entire life, Reagan is expected to follow in her parents’ footsteps and join the ranks of the most powerful top-secret agency in the world, the Black Angels. Falling in love with the boy next door was never part of the plan.

Now Reagan has to decide: Will she use her incredible talents and lead the dangerous life she was born into, or throw it all away to follow her heart and embrace the normal life she’s always wanted? And does she even have a choice at all?Find out if you are ready to join the Black Angels in the captivating and emotional page-turner, You Don’t Know My Name, from debut novelist Kristen Orlando!

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks

—

EXCERPT:

I love Malika and Harper. They make me happy. They really do. But there’s something about being with them that makes me feel lonely too. I can never really be myself with them. I can’t really be myself with anybody. It’s ingrained in me to lie, to stick to the cover story and blend in no matter what. And I feel guilty about that. Because they think they know me so well. They think because they can finish my sentences they know everything about me. But they only know Reagan MacMillan; the quick-talking, tough girl I created. Sometimes I wonder which parts of my personality are really me and which ones belong to the pretender.

But with Luke, it’s different. There’s nothing forced or strategic about our friendship. He’s gotten to see glimpses of the real Reagan. And that scares the shit out of me. Because I know how quickly it could all be torn away from me. How quickly I could be torn away from him. There’s no such thing as a happy ending for a girl like me.
“Come on, Reagan,” Harper says quietly, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Luke is still out of earshot. “You guys are so cute together. He broke up with Hannah months ago. I don’t know what you’re waiting for. I can just tell by the way he looks at you he—”
“Harper,” I interrupt as her words compress my lungs, making each breath labored and painful. I don’t want to hear this. “He doesn’t look at me like anything. I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”
“You know some things are worth ruining,” Harper replies, reaching out to touch my arm with her fingertips, her nails painted darker than my gray cardigan. “You can’t tell me you haven’t at least thought of starting a relationship with him or maybe—”
“There is no relationship,” I cut her off again, pulling my arm away a little faster than I meant to. I snap new gloves onto my hands, pick up the scalpel, and slice into the frog’s heart. “Next stomach.”
“Next stomach?” Harper repeats, scrunching her forehead.
“Next subject.”

Author Bio:
Writing is one of the great loves of Kristen Orlando’s life and she has been lucky enough to make it her living, first as a television producer, then as a marketer and now as a novelist. Kristen graduated with a B.A. in English literature from Kenyon College. She lives in Columbus, Ohio with the other great love of her life, Michael. You Don’t Know My Name is her debut novel.

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Book Blitz + Giveaway: Blue Tide by Jenna-Lynne Duncan

Blue Tide
Jenna-Lynne Duncan
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: January 9th 2017
Genres: Adventure, Dystopian, Young Adult

An award-winning YA adventure-packed romance steeped in Middle Eastern culture and set in the Asian Pacific amongst dangerous oceans and tropical islands.

Seventeen-year-old refugee Lux plots her escape from the island where her family is stranded, denying that her home was lost in the Floods. Lux is determined to get her old life back by any means possible. But before her feet even leave the sand, she’s taken hostage by a vengeance-driven pirate nearly as young as she is.

Her capture is the key to his freedom…

Captain Draven’s scarf veils more than his face. Underneath, he struggles between morality and survival. When Lux sees deeper into his motivations, she’s torn. She can commit mutiny to escape to a home that may no longer exist, or she can try to help Draven escape the clutches of the person responsible for the deaths of half the world. Staying would mean entrusting her life to a pirate. Helping Draven would mean losing her heart to one.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

“You will help him, if it’s the last thing you do.”

He had to be bluffing. Lifting my chin, I met his icy gaze straight on. “You can threaten my life, but there is nothing more you can take from me that you haven’t already.”
“Oh, really?”
He stepped forward, towering over me. Wow, he was tall. I resisted every instinct to cower or curl into a small ball. His hand shot out so quickly, I hardly felt the pull around my neck. My hands flew to my chest. My necklace!
The captain held up the chain, his eyes wide with victory. It was clear he was waiting for a reaction, but, except for that first jolt of surprise, I was paralyzed.
Everything fell silent except the slap of waves against the hull and the drum of his boots as he walked to the railing. I clutched my arms to my chest. My heart sped up so fast I couldn’t tell if it was still beating. He held his hand over the side of the ship. The back of my throat ached with a pain so great I thought it would tear out.
“Stop!” One hand still clutched my chest, the other reached out toward the necklace.
“Still think I have nothing I can take from you? There is always something, Princess.”
Desperation replaced all courage. “Please stop. I can help him.”
He shrugged.
“Wait!”
He opened his palm, one finger at a time. The gold chain slid down, dipping closer to the waters below.
“Please, I’ll do anything!” I pressed my fists to the sides of my head.
He drew his fingers in, closing them around the chain. The necklace dangled safely.
I dropped my arms in relief. “Thank—”
With one slow, deliberate move, he opened his palm.
The chain slipped through his fingers.
“No,” I cried, running to the railing. My necklace had disappeared into the roaring waters below. Lost forever.
I choked on the air I strove to inhale. “That was… that was the only thing…” The sound of my heartbeat thrashed in my ears before every emotion was washed away. Every muscle in my body tightened and my eyes twitched as they narrowed. I turned mechanically to face the heartless brute. My face expressionless, my feelings numbed. He would pay for what he’d done.
“You are in no position to negotiate. Make no more requests or the next thing I drop in the water will be prisoners. One. By. One.” He dictated to me without one ounce of regret for what he’d just done. Turning just as easily, he shouted orders behind him. “Ahmed, bring her.”


Author Bio:
Jenna-Lynne Duncan likes to write heart-stopping, page-turning, haunting romance in all YA genres. Her current Young Adult releases are titled Hurricane, Tempest, and Aftermath (Divertir Publishing) and the forthcoming BLUE TIDE (Winter, 2017). Jenna graduated with degrees in Middle Eastern Studies, Political Science, and International Studies. BLUE TIDE was the recent winner of RWA’s Romancing the Lake contest. Besides writing, she loves traveling and children. Preferably together. She welcomes readers to contact her on social media or at JennaLynneDuncan@gmail.com.

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Review: This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1)
by V.E. Schwab
Published by Titan Books
Paperback (purchased)
Adult/Young Adult, Fantasy

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books. 

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

Schwab is one of the best authors to create brilliant settings. The world-building in this was absolutely brilliant, and I loved the idea how monsters are created by violence, and the type of monster one becomes depends on the type of violence done. It's unique and genius, and that alone made me love the story - because of how different it is.

The other thing that I absolutely love in Schwab's books are the characters, and how Schwab does not shy to show the dark side of humanity and, well, monsters. Or in some cases, the capacity of good the monsters have. Basically how the lines are blurred and it's not easy to pinpoint what is evil and monstrous and what isn't - just like the real life is. This Savage Song exploited that theme brilliantly; that being a monster or a human isn't about what you're born into but what you choose to do. I really loved August, which surprised me. I'm not really into the trope of monsters wishing to be humans and yearning for it, but August was so precious and sympathetic that I just loved him despite the trope. I also liked the family dynamic in August's family, and I liked all of them because they were so different from each other but still so relatable - all of them. Kate, well, she was an enigma in a way but I had problems with her. She was all human but she tried to be hard and bad just because her father was, and she wanted to show him that she can be just like him. The problem was that I didn't feel like Kate really wanted it, and she really didn't try her best to be bad or evil, so it felt a bit forced all the way. However, she grew on me despite that she felt a bit fake with her motives and choices. In the end I rooted for her even if I didn't end up loving her as much as I loved August.

Overall, This Savage Song was brilliant. Maybe not the most action packed but the world-building and the characters were so good that I didn't even care. And there's a possibility that the sequel has a lot more action going on so the tiny lack of action packed plot in this one wasn't bad at all. I'll be eagerly waiting for the sequel!

4 of 5 stars.

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Top Ten Tuesday: 2016 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn't Get To (But TOTALLY Plan To)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week participating bloggers can create lists of topic given by the host, and share them with others!

There were so many good books coming out of 2016 that I missed a bunch of them. I do intend to read them during 2017 (but we'll see how it goes)

Stacking the Shelves (53)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and is all about sharing the book you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Purchased

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