Kindle Unlimited… You make this too easy.
I’m still riding that Kindle Unlimited high. Another 19 books down. I’m at 47 out of 50 books and halfway through the year. LOOK AT ME GO!!! I also have a ton of books on my Kindle TBR list now because Instagram keeps enabling me and my obsession.
May’s Read List
Wicked is the Reaper – Nisha J Tuli
This was a little novella, so definitely fast-paced romance. I’m not usually a fan because I always find them rushed, but it was a cute enemies-to-lovers romance.
To Wake A Kingdom – Nisha J Tuli
This is a Sleeping Beauty retelling and it was SO GOOD. I’m a huge fan of Nisha J Tuli’s writing and this was very enjoyable. Probably closer to the Hans Christian Anderson version of Sleeping Beauty except with Fae and obviously, way more death and killing. I liked Thorne (the princess) and Ronan the main love interest. Maida was probably my favourite character because morally grey!
Touch of Death – Alice Wilde
I hate that I’m going to hate on this one when I was SO IN LOVE with the first. This one split into a lot more POVs which I wasn’t really a fan of. She introduced a lot more characters, which is fine, but we got all of their POVs too. Hades, Eros, Death, and Hazel’s views. I don’t really like how she introduced Eros as a love triangle, and with the incorporation of the other Gods, there are a lot more machinations and politics. This was a faster read than the first one, but I did have to push through to finish it.
Hazel was more annoying in this one. The cliffhangers are pretty damn on point though. Overall it was just a little less enjoyable than the first and has me doubting that I’ll finish the series.
Royal Date – Sariah Wilson
I did end up reading 3 out of 4 in this series, and I always find the 1st one I read is the best. So, this is a kind of fake dating, poor to riches, Princess story. Can we talk about Nico though??? Basically, an Italian prince who falls first. It’s so cute and fluffy with light angst and I love all the characters. I love me a fictional man who falls first. He loves Kate so hard.
Royal Chase – Sariah Wilson
The same series, but this one follows Lemon (Kate’s best friend) and Dante (Nico’s brother) but he signs up to be on a reality dating show. Lemon is engaged to another guy and isn’t interested in a playboy, but Dante is a twin, and twin shenanigans ensue on the show. This whole series is just Men WOOING the crap out of the ladies they love.
Pestilence – Laura Thalassa
OOOK so this was my first foray into Laura Thalassa’s writing and it’s intense. I quite enjoyed this! It’s slightly post-apocalyptic because the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse show up on Earth and wreak havoc on mankind. Pestilence is the first to come and kills whole cities overnight with disease. Sara is the one who tries to kill him but realizes he can’t be killed when he survives and kidnaps her. The slow burn enemies to lovers is quite good, and the insight into the fact that they aren’t human is interesting. I read this as a redemption through love and if you love something you’ll let it go.
War – Laura Thalassa
A few years after Pestilence was “defeated” by love, War comes to the Middle East. This gave me Alexander the Great vibes, and basically, he tells Miriam that she’s his wife and takes her along with his war camp. He can raise zombies, which is how he kills the towns (after he’s gone through them). This one also had a pregnancy which is what changes War and makes him want to be better. I haven’t read the other 2 in the series yet, but I probably will get to them.
Hold Me Today – Maria Luis
This was all Instagram. Maria Luis kept coming up on Instagram reel ads for her books so I caved and added it to the list. And, for once, it didn’t disappoint! I enjoyed the fact that Nick is a contractor and that Mina was 1/2 Greek and dyslexic. As someone who is of mixed heritage, I could relate to her struggles with trying to fit in and feeling like she’s not enough of either race. I enjoyed their banter plus there are a couple of twists that you don’t see coming! I definitely enjoy her writing style and have definitely read more of her books.
Dear Aaron – Mariana Zapata
I love Mariana Zapata and I love the fact that this one follows Ruby, the sister of Jasmine the lead of From Lukov With Love. This book was written majority in text, letter, or email format which not a lot of people like but I enjoy. It made an easy read and it ran parallel to From Lukov in regards to timeline. I love when they actually meet and obviously, Aaron is hot hot hot. It’s a good slow burn and is a friends-to-lovers situation.
Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin – Mariana Zapata
Another slow burn Mariana. I enjoyed the background of being on tour and I loved Gaby’s banter with her brother. The tension between her and Sacha was delicious and I quite enjoyed this one. I felt like this one was a shorter read at 328 pages so it went by pretty quickly and moved quickly.
All I Want is a Kiss – Willow Winters
This was a little short story which was cute but not overly memorable. Dual POV but moved super quick being only 54 pages.
Power Play – Maria Luis
Another Maria Luis!!! HOCKEY ROMANCE. Need I say more? This was a grumpy x sunshine, with Charlie and Duke. Charlie is a journalist trying to get her break and Duke is an NHL goalie who’s basically a recluse when it comes to interviews. He’s also older for the NHL world and trying to figure out if he still wants to play the game. I feel like when it comes to journalists, the trope is always “writing an article that’s bad but changing heart because they love each other and it gets leaked anyways”, so that wasn’t surprising, to say the least. But it was well-written and thoroughly enjoyable!! I haven’t read any other in the series because I got distracted by other books. But I’ll probably go back to them when I want something lighter in between fantasy books.
Royal Games – Sariah Wilson
This is the 3rd and was a little harder to get through, even the angst and plot on this one probably was the best. Genesis was a contestant on the reality TV show and she fell for Dante’s brother, Rafe. He is the nerdier of the twins and when it all blows up in their faces, he tracks her back to her hometown and is determined to win her back. She has a more daunting past with the trauma of being in a cult and the cult leader still hunting her down. So it was good but I think I had just hit my cap of reading the same series in a row and just needed a break to get back into it.
Daughter of No Worlds – Carissa Broadbent
OOOOK. This was my first foray into Carissa Broadbent and it’s been showing up on Instagram as a book to read if you enjoyed ACOTAR. I enjoyed the world-building in this one! The characters are enjoyable and there’s good political intrigue without being overwhelming or unnecessary.
Tisaanah was a slave who with a twist managed to get her freedom. She escapes and heads to the Orders, where they wield magic. She has to apprentice with Max, who hates the Orders, all while learning a new language, convincing him to teach her, and learning how to control her powers. Tisaanah makes a deal with the head of the Orders, Zeryth, to become a weapon so she can free the slaves that she lived with.
She ends up joining souls with Reshaye, who is obsessed with Max. So now she has to learn to control Reshaye as well as not lose herself to Reshaye’s power. Overall enjoyable, I haven’t read the following 2 books in the series but I probably will. I’m really bad at finishing series apparently.
Take a Chance On Me – Maria Luis
Back to some rom-com fluff! This was her NOLA Hearts series, which follows Military men turned cops. This one is following Nathan and Jade, co-workers, but also families know each other. She’s trying to get away from her failed relationship and start over new, and he’s not interested in anything serious. But there’s a murder to solve and of course, they’re right in the middle of it!! I enjoyed the plot and there’s very light angst.
Dare You To Love Me – Maria Luis
Book number 3 in the NOLA Hearts series, we follow Anna and Luke. Anna is part of the friend group with Jade, and Luke is honourably discharged from the Army due to an injury. She’s a no-nonsense single mom who is ready to date but isn’t having a great time with it. He’s an injured soldier who has too much time on his hands. He agrees to set her up on 3 dates because he thinks he can do better than her. Grumpy x Sunshine, cute snark from her kid, light angst and a little bit of a twist at the end!
Tempt Me With Forever – Maria Luis
Book number 4 brings us, Lizzie and Gage. Lizzie is Nathan’s younger sister and she’s a BIG DEAL in the beauty influencer world. She gets dumped and releases a drunken challenge online, so she recruits Gage to fulfil the role of bad boy. This was the ultimate fake relationship. Gage is so obviously not a bad boy even if he looks it, but he’s definitely a good one. Light angst due to miscommunication, but overall a Happy Ever After ending.
A Word So Fitly Spoken – L.A. Lawrence
OK so this one is a retelling of fairytales but definitely only loosely based on it. The series follows a bunch of them, this one being 1000 Nights/Aladdin. The realm is ruled by the Fae, and the King, Kiran, has killed his current wife for betraying him. He announces that he will marry one human woman a month and kill her the next day to prove that all humans lie. Unless one woman offers herself freely to him in marriage.
Asha, who has a terrible burn on her face which resulted in the loss of one eye, is worried that her sister will be chosen. She has magic in the form of telling stories that transport you into the story (which humans aren’t allowed to have magic) and she offers herself because she has no prospects. Her magic becomes sentient and starts talking to her throughout the book and we get the story of how magic and the Fae came to be.
There’s a ton of subplots alongside the main story and it gets intense! I don’t want to give away any spoilers but it’s just super enjoyable. I also really liked all the side characters too, Kiran’s siblings are great and so is Asha’s sister. The next in the series is a retelling of the Pied Piper (which you get a brief meeting of in this one). There’s definitely a huge twist and chance to be a really big explosion at the end of the series because hints are being dropped! Although, the story between Asha and Kiran wraps up nicely in one book.
Next Door Dragon Daddy – Roxie Ray
This was a totally random palette cleanser for me after doing the heavier fantasy-based book. Mainly just smut but there was a decent amount of plot and twists and turns. This is a pregnancy-based trope which generally is not my jam but I didn’t mind it in this one. It’s still not going to be a favourite trope by any means but it worked for this. There were a lot of tropes in this one too, so probably there’s something for someone. It has a single (widow) mom, grumpy x sunshine, supernatural (dragons), fated/cursed mates, mafia stalker, and of course, pregnancy. Plus lots of smut.
The Serpent & The Wings of Night
Another Carissa Broadbent book! This one is a vampire x human book which, honestly, I haven’t really given vampires much thought since Twilight. I did enjoy this one. I am currently reading the sequel (which is a shock for me, I know). This one definitely had good world-building as well, with lots of history and lots of information. It had great secondary characters and you know that the MMC, Raihn is going to be good yet so bad and yet so good and I just don’t know how I keep falling for the plot twist. Like, how did I not see this one coming!!!?? But yet here we are, 1 am with my head reeling over what just happened.
It was good enough that I actually started the sequel right away so it was still fresh in my head. This one definitely sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down, although it did take me a couple days to get through it. Worth the read for sure. I might actually have to add Carissa Broadbent to my physical bookshelf.
Another huge book load for May!
I really need to get better at reading sequels for fantasy books. Let’s make June my sequel month and actually finish some series. Check out January and February and April’s list of books read with their reviews! I will eventually update my Goodreads but you can see what I rated them and what’s next on my list.
J x
