Monthly Archives: May 2025
Review: Built to Last by Lexi Blake
Built to Last
Lexi Blake
Park Avenue Promise, Book 3
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication May 27, 2025
From New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake, discover The Park Avenue Promise Series…
Three young women make a pact in high school—
to always be friends and to one day make it big in Manhattan
Built to Last
Harper Ross has always dreamed of working on one of the magnificent brownstones of Park Avenue. Now one of her closest friends has bought the house of her dreams and hired Harper to do the construction work. She wants to showcase the renovation on a television show for her brand-new production company. It’s the same grand home she and her friends promised themselves they would be able to afford one day. Working on it isn’t the same as living in it, but it’s all a part of Harper’s grand plan to grow her father’s construction business into one of the biggest in the city. The only obstacle—the designer on the project.
Reid Dorsey believes in the balance between beauty and functionality. As one of Manhattan’s new voices in design, he’s excited to get to work on a true Gilded Age property. If only the owner had selected a contractor he enjoyed working with. Oh, Harper was brilliant and her work was excellent, but she has an opinion on everything—and it’s usually the opposite of his.
Over the course of the job, these enemies start to see different sides of each other, and suddenly their fights don’t seem so bad. But when the project is threatened, they might have to choose between their jobs and the beautifully designed future they could share.
4 Stars
Built to Last is the third book of Lexi Blakes Park Avenue promise series and follows Harper Ross and Reid Dorsey. An enemies to lovers romance that gives total romcom vibes. Lexi Blake is a master of mixing spice, banter, and characters that you can’t help but to fall in love with.
Harper is a CEO of her family’s construction company and has the weight of her entire family and their backwards way of thinking upon her shoulders. Read is an interior designer who used to have a design show with his brother. We have heard of grumpy crossed with sunshine or what about grumpy crossed with grumpy. That’s what Harper and Reid are to one another but yet there is an indescribable and unmistaken attraction that the two share. However, both of them are hardheaded and want to have their way. Harper feels that her dream of her storing this brownstone is falling through the cracka. Harper believes that reads designs take away from the historic value of the home while Reid is doing and continuing changing and adapting to what the owner of the home wants. They have two completely different styles and you could see how they would naturally butt heads.
.
Lexi Blake delivers a lighthearted and snarky banter, romance that we can all sync our teeth into.
Review: Detonate by Luna Mason
Detonate
Luna Mason
Beneath the Mask Series, Book 2
460 pages, Kindle Edition
May 27th, 2025 Kensington Publishing
Grayson
Seven years ago, I left the special forces and my home after a tragic betrayal.
I carefully constructed a new life in New York.
I thought I had it all.
A world-famous boxing trainer by day.
A Mafia hitman by night.
Free to live in the darkness to do what I was trained to do.
To kill.
I finally felt free.
But one kiss was all it took to shatter life as I knew it.
The one woman who hated my guts, scaled the walls I built around my black heart.
My ray of sunshine.
Just when I believed I could have it all, life blows it up right before my eyes.
I know how far I’m willing to go to fight for her.
But can she truly love someone who could never give her the fairytale she so desperately craves?
Maddie
I was sick of being the family disappointment.
The one who could never get a man to stick around.
So, I kissed a lot of frogs to try and find my Prince.
Instead, I fell in love with the villain.
The last man on earth I thought I could ever love.
He might call me sunshine, but I crave his darkness.
I wasn’t meant for his world, but he took me anyway, and I never wanted to leave.
Sometimes life doesn’t give you a choice.
Can I give up on my search when I have the monster offering me the world?
Even if loving me puts us both in danger.
3 Stars
Detonate by Luna Mason is sports/dark mafia romance that follows Grayson and Maddie. Grayson is emotionally guarded, former military, and was portrayed by people he trusted the most in life. He is a boxing trainer, and mafia hitman. The only place for women in his world is for a physical release, nothing more. No strings whatsoever. Maddie is a disappointment to her family. She doesn’t want to have someone else dictating her life. She wants to be her own woman, believing in fairytales and happily ever afters.
Both of our main characters have their issues and things in the past that have made them the way they are. However, from their first meeting things were explosive. They had chemistry, but yet come from two completely different worlds. Detonate is an entertaining read, and for most part of the book is fast paced. I do feel it had a lot of potential and could have been a little bit more. Not saying that I disliked it because I did enjoy the read but it just felt like there was something missing or fell short, just a bit.I do look forward to looking into this Author’s catalog because her storyline was good and she kept me entertained.
Review: Storm Wood by Donna Grant
Storm Wood
Donna Grant
Elven Kingdoms Series Book 3
359 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 13, 2025
Donna Grant always takes her readers on an adventure. It may be dangerous, but it’s always got a happily ever after at the end. Storm Wood is an enemies to lovers story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Rohan and Farah are on the same mission, but yet neither one knows exactly what the other is doing. Both have lost their sisters, both have put their lives on the line to find them. An attempt to save his sister Rohan embarks on a wild plan that involves kidnapping Farah and using his leverage to be able to have her help him find his sister. Rohan may know exactly what Farah is,
but he does not know her reasons. Each of them have their motives and each of them will do what it takes to save their loved ones however, what they didn’t count on was overtime actually developing feelings for one another.
I said it before and I will say it again Donna Grant is a master world builder, and her imagination comes up with amazing stories. Storm Wood is a dark, dangerous and magical journey of two people trying to find their loved ones that end up finding love themselves. From where their journey begins to where it ends, Rohan and Farah discover a lot about themselves and the people that they love.
Review: When We Break by Kristen Proby
When We Break
Kristen Proby
The Blackwells of Montana Series, Book 2
347 pages, Kindle Edition
May 8, 2025 by Ampersand Publishing, Inc
From New York Times Bestselling author Kristen Proby comes When We Break, a small-town, cowboy, heroine in danger romance, set in Bitterroot Valley!
Beckett
I’ve seen the gorgeous redhead with the big black dog that never leaves her side around town. She’s impossible to miss with that lush red hair and perfect green eyes. But it’s when she opens her plump lips and the sound of Ireland comes out of her kissable mouth that I know I’m a goner. I know she’s the one for me and I’ll do whatever it takes to make Skyla Gallagher mine. I can be a patient man and all I want in the world is to worship every bit of her, inside and out.
Skyla
I moved to the lovely town of Bitterroot Valley, Montana because I needed a safe place. I left my life in New York as a prima ballerina after an injury that I never fully healed from, and to escape the obsession of a madman. I adore this new community, but I must admit that Beckett Blackwell is the very best part. I love his kindness, his patience, and his thoughtfulness. But most of all, I can’t get enough of the way he worships my body, and then does everything he can to pamper me afterwards. Beckett is a drug that I’ve become addicted to. But will my stalker find me in Montana, ruining everything we’ve started together, before we have had our chance at forever?
4.5 Stars
Skyla has been living her dream as a ballerina in New York City. Who knew going on a date with what a nice guy ended up, turning her world upside down. Skyla moved from the big city to the small and cozy town of Bitterroot Valley to escaped an obsessed man, and to have a place where she felt safe. Skyla has fallen in love with her new community. She has even started to plant her roots within the community. With her trusty sidekick and therapy dog, Riley, the two have befriended everybody in the town. Skyla is an incredible woman. She is a survivor and warrior. Yet the last thing that she wants or needs is a man in her life. Yet Beckett Blackwell is someone she seems to not be able to stop thinking about.
Beckett Blackwell is the most unbelievable of men. And I say that in every good way possible. He’s an amazing brother. A fantastic and fun uncle and you could not ask for a better friend or brother. Beckett understands what hard work and dedication is and can do. I honestly think this was every book that Kristen Proby writes but Beckett may be the best male Aid character she has written today. He’s charming and funny. He’s caring and protective. From the people that he loved to the animals on his farm he will do what it takes to make sure they’re well and safe. He is a persistent man, but he also knows what boundaries are. There is a fiery, red haired woman with a big black dog that Beckett can’t seem to get out of his mind.
Beckett and Skyla are brilliant together. Their chemistry is amazing. They can talk to one another easily. You can tell that genuinely enjoy just being with one another. Not to mention the fiery passion that the two of them share. Kristin Proby gives us an amazing love story with When We Break. Beckett is one of those guys that understands that the little things matter. It took a bit for Skyla to let down her walls to be it, but when she did a whole New World opened for both of them. Get ready to feel a lot of emotions as Beckett and Skyla show us their way to their happily ever after.
Review: Prince of Darkness by Rebecca Zanetti
Prince of Darkness
Rebecca Zanetti
Dark Protectors Series, Book 17
Unknown to humans, beyond daylight lies a world of intoxicating darkness where deadly creatures prowl with insatiable desires and unbelievable power: vampires, demons, witches, shifters. When vulnerable humans find themselves thrust into that realm, they’ll never be the same. . .
In the aftermath of war, a fragile peace hovers between the Kurjan nation and the Dark Protector coalition. Yet amid labyrinthine politics and intrigue, Vero Phoenix, a Kurjan, stands apart. He has lived devoid of legacy or lineage—until the day he backed his newly found brother as king, putting himself into the treacherous position of enforcer and shield. Yet there is another thorn in his side, no less vexing, undeniably captivating—and all-too-human . . .
Lyrica Graves was once ensnared by Kurjan captors and now embodies defiance and freedom as she guides other women to independence and modernity. She is particularly amused—and breathtakingly fearful—by her tangles with Vero. But their clashing also belies a sizzling connection, a dark attraction between supernatural and fully human that threatens their chosen destinies and makes them a target for far too many enemies . . .
4,5 Stars
A fantastic beginning to a new chapter of the Dark Protector series.
Vero is a Kurjan, a prince and in charge of trying to integrate his people into a new way of life. Diplomacy is something that he doesn’t have and patience he has even less of. Trying to rebuild a broken nation, avoiding assassination attempts and trying to get everyone on the same page, Vero feels that weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Although the presence of a certain female keeps Vero off his balance, just a bit. Whether he feels that she is a thorn in his side or that’s just his excuse for something he’s not quite ready to admit.
Lyrica is an enhanced human female, an empath who was kidnapped during the previous ruler, but yet has been given a job that she has taken very seriously. Lyrica has been put in charge of helping those who have been kidnapped relocate or re-oriented with society however they wish. Lyrica is a modern woman in all sense of the word and wants all the females to be able to experience anything they should desire. She does have a bit of a hard time understanding why any of them would want to stay. She’s a strong woman and willing to stand toe to toe with anyone. Even with that Kurjan who makes her blood boil, but for so many different reasons.
I love this new chapter that Rebecca Zanetti has given us on her dark protector for. This is the first book within the 17 book series that has been primarily of a kurjan point of view. That is one of the reasons that this series stays so fresh and interesting. Vero and Lyrica are a perfect opposites attract match. I love their tension, their banter and how hard they fight their attraction. In places it’s comical and others you just want to shake them both and hope they get with it. They are so opposites of one another it’s but it so works for them. He is in all sense a warrior built for battle, but truly would rather be in a lab and she is a foot shorter than him and has enough sass for all of them. I very much enjoyed their story. And I’m very excited for what will be happening within this new arc of the dark protector’s world.
Review: HIs Dark Vendetta by Katelyn Brehm
His Dark Vendetta
Katelyn Brehm
Bonded in Blood Series, Book 2
395 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2025
SIOBHÁN
Once upon a time, I thought he’d be my happily ever after. Now, I’m not sure I’ll survive his dark vendetta.
I’ll never be safe. My found family is as dangerous as the one I escaped. I need to run, but Luca Moretti has other plans. My family murdered his father, and he wants me to pay the price.
Kidnapped and trapped by the man I wanted as a lover but is now my enemy, I wait for him to break me like he broke my heart.
We’re a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. Except in our version, Romeo tries to kill Juliet.
LUCA
Desire. Obsession. Revenge. The end of my blood feud is within reach. And it starts with her.
The New England dons granted their blessing—if I play by the rules, vengeance is mine. One life for my father’s.
But blood demons need Sources, and as a capo, I need to earn. Even with the feds breathing down my neck.
Each day I dodge bullets and the law, she chips away at my walls until there’s nothing left but the truth. An unwanted truth that shatters my resolve to break Siobhán Connelly and instead make her mine.
HIS DARK VENDETTA is the second book in the Bonded in Blood series. Each book is an interconnected standalone Paranormal Mafia Romance with a guaranteed HEA.
4 Stars
A vampire mafia book. Hello yes this one is totally up my alley. His Dark Vendetta by Katelyn Brehm was an unexpected read that checked off all my boxes.
I will be honest this is a hard review to write without putting a lot of spoilers in it. I very much enjoyed this dark romance tale. Siobhan and Luca have an incredible story of how they were able to get to their happily ever after. This is a dramatic tale from beginning to end. It’s complex and just sucks you in. Two broken people. One out for revenge and the other that just wants to wash your hands of everything that her family is involved in. It is rare that an author writes a character That I don’t particularly care for and it’s very hard for me to find red redemption. I can say that Luca definitely did that. This is an incredible story in so many ways. I’m definitely going back to the first book in the series.
Coffee Books Life 