Book Review: Devil's Daughter (The Ravenels #5) by Lisa Kleypas

Devil's Daughter (The Ravenels #5)
By: Lisa Kleypas
Publisher: Avon books
Published: February 19, 2019
Source: Cloud Library Rental
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Book Summary:

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas delivers a scintillating tale of a beautiful, young widow who finds passion with the one man she shouldn't...

Although beautiful young widow Phoebe, Lady Clare, has never met West Ravenel, she knows one thing for certain: he's a mean, rotten bully. Back in boarding school, he made her late husband's life a misery, and she'll never forgive him for it. But when Phoebe attends a family wedding, she encounters a dashing and impossibly charming stranger who sends a fire-and-ice jolt of attraction through her. And then he introduces himself...as none other than West Ravenel.

West is a man with a tarnished past. No apologies, no excuses. However, from the moment he meets Phoebe, West is consumed by irresistible desire...not to mention the bitter awareness that a woman like her is far out of his reach. What West doesn't bargain on is that Phoebe is no straitlaced aristocratic lady. She's the daughter of a strong-willed wallflower who long ago eloped with Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent—the most devilishly wicked rake in England.

Before long, Phoebe sets out to seduce the man who has awakened her fiery nature and shown her unimaginable pleasure. Will their overwhelming passion be enough to overcome the obstacles of the past?

Only the devil's daughter knows...

 

My Thoughts:

It has been quite awhile since I've read a historical romance, but lately, I find myself drawn to them.  I've been wanting to try Lisa Kleypas, because I think the covers of her books are so beautiful. I loved this one so much, that I immediately downloaded the next book in the series, Chasing Cassandra.  Needless to say, I've found a new author to love and enjoy.

Devil's Daughter was a tender and tentative romance that I devoured. Narrator, Mary Jane Wells, does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life, and she infuses them with personality.  

Phoebe, Lady Clare, is a widow raising two precious little boys.  She plans on marrying her deceased husband's cousin, because of a promise that she made to him on his deathbed.  However, once she attends her brother's wedding, she meets and is drawn to the wickedly alluring West Ravenel. Phoebe is prepared to hate him, because she heard stories about how he used to bully her husband when they were in boarding school together.  However, she soon learns that West is a good man, and is not the same person he use to be.

West thinks Phoebe is too good for him.  She is of higher social standing, and West has quite the scandalous past.  However, he quickly realizes that nothing can stand in the way of love.

I adored these two characters and didn't want their story to end.  Phoebe was such a lady.  She was patient, kind, caring, and really sweet.  Yet, she also knew how to stand on her own two feet.  West won me over with the way he interacted and played with Phoebe's sons.  He treated everyone with respect and kindness, and the workers respected and admired him.

West had me swooning, and when he was with Phoebe, you could feel their combustible chemistry.  Read Devil's Daughter if you're looking for a truly romantic read, with sizzling chemistry, loveable characters, and a story you will never want to end.  Let the swooning commence! 

Purchase At:

Amazon | Audible | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | TBD

About the Author:

LISA KLEYPAS is the RITA award-winning author of 21 novels. Her books are published in fourteen languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband and two children.

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Stacking the Shelves & Sunday Post (62)

Hosted by:  Tynga's Reviews

Hosted by:  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

I decided to try out the audible trial where you get two books free the first month and then one book a month for $14.95. 

I'm doing a Historical Romance Readathon this month, so I've decided to try out Lisa Kleypas, because I've been wanting to check out her books for awhile now.  I'm having a lot of fun venturing out of my comfort zone with audio books, and am finding them very convenient.

On the Blog this Week:

*The Opposite of Forever by Micah Good (Book Review)
*The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2) by Gena Showalter (WOW)
*All I Ask by Corinne Michaels (Book Review)
*Dark Bully Romances (Mini Reviews on Angry God by LJ Shen & Credence by Penelope Douglas)

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Mini Reviews: Dark Bully Romances

Angry God
All Saints High #3
By: LJ Shen
Published: February 15, 2020
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Source: Amazon Purchase

Book Summary:

From #1 Amazon Bestseller L.J. Shen comes a new, emotional standalone about first love, second chances, and overcoming breathtaking losses at a young age.

Vaughn Spencer.
They call him an angry god.
To me, he is nothing but a heartless prince.
His parents rule this town, its police, every citizen and boutique on Main Street.
All I own is a nice, juicy grudge against him for that time he almost killed me.
Between hooking up with a different girl every weekend, breaking hearts, noses and rules, Vaughn also finds the time to bully little ole’ me.
I fight back, tooth and nail, never expecting him to chase me across the ocean after we graduate high school.
But here he is, living with me in a dark, looming castle on the outskirts of London.
A fellow intern. A prodigal sculptor. A bloody genius.
They say this place is haunted, and it is.
Carlisle Castle hides two of our most awful secrets.
Vaughn thinks he can kill the ghosts of his past, but what he doesn’t know? It’s my heart he’s slaying.

Angry God is a stand-alone, DARK High School Romance. It deals with sensitive subjects some may find triggering.

My Thoughts:

I love LJ Shen's writing.  She develops the most deeply layered characters, and emotional reading experiences.  I am a huge fan of the All Saints High Series.  Vaughn's story was deep, dark, and twisted.  While he was a difficult character to like at first, we saw glimpses of the good in him throughout the story.  We end up learning why Vaughn because so angry, and appeared unfeeling and coldhearted.  The reason broke my heart.  However, we end up with a spectacular happily ever after, and a story that I was glued to from beginning to end!

Purchase At:

Amazon | Amazon Worldwide | Amazon Paperback 

About the Author:

L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post and Amazon #1 best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to nineteen different countries. She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat. 

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Credence
By: Penelope Douglas
Published: January 13, 2020
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Source: Amazon Purchase

Tiernan de Haas doesn’t care about anything anymore. The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she’s grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. Shipped off to boarding schools from an early age, it was still impossible to escape the loneliness and carve out a life of her own. The shadow of her parents’ fame followed her everywhere.

And when they suddenly pass away, she knows she should be devastated. But has anything really changed? She’s always been alone, hasn’t she?

Jake Van der Berg, her father’s stepbrother and her only living relative, assumes guardianship of Tiernan who is still two months shy of eighteen. Sent to live with him and his two sons, Noah and Kaleb, in the mountains of Colorado, Tiernan soon learns that these men now have a say in what she chooses to care and not care about anymore. As the three of them take her under their wing, teach her to work and survive in the remote woods far away from the rest of the world, she slowly finds her place among them.

And as a part of them.

She also realizes that lines blur and rules become easy to break when no one else is watching.

One of them has her.

The other one wants her.

But he…

He’s going to keep her.

*Credence is a new adult standalone novel suitable for readers 18+.

My Thoughts:

Kinky, erotic, and a bit twisted.  The beginning was slow building, the middle had me glued to my kindle, and the end packed a powerful and emotional punch!  This is a story that will spark a lot of controversy, and isn't going to be for everyone, but I loved it, and couldn't put it down!

Purchase At:

Amazon US | Amazon Worldwide | Paperback

About the Author:

Penelope Douglas is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her books have been translated into fourteen languages and include The Fall Away Series, The Devil’s Night Series, and the stand-alones, Misconduct, Punk 57, and Birthday Girl. Please look for Kill Switch (Devil’s Night #3), available now. 

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Book Review: All I Ask by Corinne Michaels

All I Ask
By: Corinne Michaels
Release Date: March 17, 2020
Publisher: Forever Romance
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Source: eARC from the publisher in exchange for a honest review

Fans of Christina Lauren, Colleen Hoover, and Jill Santopolo will love this breathtaking story about first love, second chances, and starting over from New York Times bestselling author Corinne Michaels. 

Teagan Berkeley is trying her best. A single mom raising a precocious teen, she may have given up on her dreams, but she's accepted her life in her small beachside hometown. Now the one person who abandoned her when she needed him the most has returned, bringing back memories of what might have been. 

Derek Hartz arrives in town with a teenage daughter-and he's full of guilt over his failed marriage and the way he ended his friendship with Teagan. He's determined to set things right with her, but first he needs to gain her trust, something he's not convinced he deserves. 

As Teagan and Derek open up to each other-and confess their deepest secrets-it's impossible for them to deny what's always been between them. But just when their happily ever after is within reach, their complicated history surfaces again and threatens to keep them apart. Forever.

 

My Thoughts:

All I Ask by Corinne Michaels, is the kind of book that you want to get cozy and snuggle with.  It was such a romantic read, and packed an emotional punch that hit me straight in the heart.  I adored this story, and didn't want to put it down.  Written beautifully and seamlessly, this is a story I highly recommend; if you're a fan of the friends to lovers trope, and soul stirring prose.

We get the story of Teagan "Tea" Berkeley and Derek Hartz told from their dual perspectives in both the present, and flashbacks of the past.  These two were best friends in high school and college, although they weren't huge fans of one another at first. Tea was the stereotypical popular cheerleader who hung out with the mean girls on campus.  Derek kept to himself, had a huge passion for animals, and was a sensitive, selfless, and altruistic individual.  

Tea and Derek were each other's "person." They shared everything together, connected on the deepest of levels and fell madly in love with one another.  However, fear, insecurity, and unfortunate decision making lead to the demise of their friendship.  

Now several years later, both are single parents to teenage daughters and living a lonely life without love.  Derek, who is a veterinarian, has returned to town to help his father who is suffering from dementia, with his vet business.  Tea and Derek share a lot of painful emotions in regards to one another, but never stopped loving each other.  They are determined to avoid one another in town, but their daughters mutual altercations at school, will bring them back in to each others lives...

I can't sing this story enough praise!  I swooned, I sighed, and my heart hurt for all that Tea and Derek had been through; as well as losing their soulmate, when they lost each other.  All I Ask, also delivered hope, giddiness, and the excitement of that powerful and all consuming love that songs are and stories are created about! The passion and intimacy these two shared was a spark that turned in to an all consuming, blazing inferno; and as a reader, I was grateful and excited to be right smack dab in the middle of it all.  

This book played out like a movie in my head, and I pictured Derek as Patrick Dempsey and Tea as a young Kim Bassinger.  If you need an escape that will immediately reel you in, hook you, and never let go, please pick up, All I Ask.

Purchase At:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Google | Kobo

About the Author:

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Corinne Michaels is the author of nine romance novels. She’s an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife. 

After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness. She enjoys putting her characters through intense heartbreak and finding a way to heal them through their struggles. Her stories are chock full of emotion, humor, and unrelenting love.

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Waiting on Wednesday (117)

https://www.wishfulendings.com

The Glass Queen

The Forest of Good and Evil #2

By: Gena Showalter

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Release Date: July 28, 2020

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Book Summary:

Dare to enter the Forest of Good and Evil, where strength is weakness and weakness is strength. Don’t miss book two of New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter’s magical, romantic and fascinating fairy-tale series, in which the fairy tales we know and love are prophecies of the future… 

Pitied. 

Sickly. 

Unfit to rule. 

Princess Ashleigh Charmaine is known as the Glass Princess, fragile enough to shatter with a whisper of wind. Born with a weak heart, she dreams of being treated like anyone else. Unlike her headstrong sisters, she received no magical ability at birth and lives every day expecting to die. Until an oracle announces that Ashleigh is fated to play the part of Cinderella, wed a handsome royal and save the Kingdom of Sevon from the evil king and queen who once ruled the land.

As war rages, Ashleigh begins to doubt her role in the fairy-tale prophecy. Animals despise her, she can’t carry a merry tune and she has zero social graces. Worse, the king she’s supposed to enchant is the newly crowned sovereign of the winged warriors known as the Avian…and he despises her, too. 

When Ashleigh develops a terrifying magical ability to commune with dragons and create fire from air—a power she cannot control—she must work with King Saxon to save their kingdoms and their lives. By the stroke of midnight, she must warm his icy heart…or forever break her own. Will Ashleigh ever become the queen she’s prophesied to be…or will she lose everything she’s come to love?

Why I'm Eagerly Waiting:

I read the first book in this series, The Evil Queen and loved it!  So, I am excited to read the rest of this series.  I enjoy a good fairytale retelling.  The Evil Queen was based on Snow White, and The Glass Queen is based on Cinderella.  I can't even express how excited I will be to have this book in my hand!

What are you waiting on?

Book Review: The Opposite of Falling Apart by Micah Good

The Opposite of Falling Apart
By: Micah Good
Publisher: Smith Publicity
Release Date: February 25, 2020
Source: eARC from the publisher in exchange for a honest review
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After losing his leg in a terrible car accident, Jonas Avery can’t wait to start over and go to college. Brennan Davis would like nothing more than to stay home and go to school, so she can keep her anxiety in check. When the two accidentally meet the summer before they move away, they’ll push each other to come to terms with what’s holding them back, even as they’re pulled closer to taking the biggest leap of all—falling in love. The Opposite of Falling Apart has more than 2.1 million reads on Wattpad. 

My Thoughts:

I picked up this book, and tried to read it multiple times. I loved the premise and the idea behind the story, but struggled with the execution of the plot. Unfortunately, this story just wasn't for me, so it was a DNF. 

Why I struggled: 

*The pacing was extremely slow 
*The characters were inside their heads too much, and I felt like there wasn't enough actually happening to move the story along at a better pace 
*There were too many details about mundane things, which contributed to to the slow pace of the plot.

I don't like to DNF books, but my mind kept drifting, and I struggled to focus on this story, because I was bored.

DNF-No Rating

Purchase At:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

About the Author:

Micah Good has been writing since middle school. She’s been writing stories on Wattpad since the summer before her freshman year of college. Her stories have been featured, won a Watty, and she was invited to participate in Wattpad’s Paid Stories program. She currently lives in the midwestern United States, where she is pursuing a career in nursing. She loves dogs, naps and getting lost in a book.

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