ashleynoelle's reviews
765 reviews

“It was the purest heavens in the midst of the worst hell, and I loved every minute of it, even though it was all underpinned by a lie--my lie—and I knew one day it would burn down around me.”

After a tumultuous wedding night, Ash finds himself with a missing bride and no way to track her down himself. In his stead he sends the only person he can trust to bring back the woman they both love, his Vice President, Embry. When Greer is successfully rescued, things start to become even more complicated between the three of them. Ash is attempting to keep the country from war, while keeping his wife safe, while Embry is fighting another battle of his own. The only end to this seems like it will break them all. 

So, I kind of thought I would enjoy this one more than the first one simply because I really thought the love triangle had become okay, or at least among the three main characters, but this took it back into the making me feel ick again. I can't wrap my head around their dynamic, and that's coming from someone who has read plenty of "why choose?" romance and felt fine about it. Maybe it's the way it is written, I'm not sure, but this only sometimes worked for me. I was also bored with the flashbacks in this one, I wanted to stay in the present and figure out what was going to happen next. The little bit of information dropped at the end of this one also made me want to crawl right out of my own skin, but I think that was what we were supposed to feel with that one. Will still read the last one, because at this point, I can't help myself. 

 “If darkness is the absence of light, then that is what I am when she is not around. And I wonder how I’ve stumbled this long without her to guide me.”

Adena and Paedyn have survived the slums together and will always have each others backs. But when Paedyn gets shipped off to the participate in the Purging Trials, Adena has to figure out some things on her own. After attempting to steal, Mak sweeps in and saves her from the guards and they form a wary alliance to sneak in and see their loved ones who are both part of the trials. Their task brings them closer than they thought possible.

I knew how this ended and still cried about it. If you have not already read this or Powerless, I would suggest reading these in Tandem, I didn't do that and am kind of regretting it. This could have been even more amazing had it been threaded into the first book. Still, was a fun ride and I'm honestly astounded it still made me feel so many emotions even after knowing what to expect. Easy five star novella and can't wait to read book two. 

“You’re not distracted. You’re not reckless. If your heart tells you someone deserves your attention, listen to it.”

Tycho is the King's Courier and on one of his trips get's delayed in the tiny village of Briarlock where he meets the blacksmith's son Jax and his friend Callyn. For the first time in years magic reigns with King Grey on the throne, but the fear of magic still runs strong in the kingdoms people. Jax feels drawn to Tycho who's loyalty is certainly to the crown, while his best friend is drawn in a different direction, by a different visitor. With their country on the brink of war, sides inevitably get taken. 

Being back in this world is certainly fun! I adored the cursebreaker series and while I appreciate seeing some of these characters again, this wasn't quite as good. I still really enjoyed this one and will be continuing on with this series with enthusiasm. It's interesting to go into a companion series and feel that immediate connection to characters because you've kind of already started to build a relationship with them and I think that definitely helped me enjoy this book even more than I might have without that. 

 “The days to come will only grow darker. And when you find something good? You hold on to it. You don't waste time worrying about things that won't even matter in the end. Rather, you take a risk for that light.”

Iris is just trying to support her family, her brother has gone to serve in the war between Gods and her mother has fallen into depression and alcoholism once her son is assumed to be missing in action. Iris is competing for a columnist position to care for her family and is up against the wealthy and handsome Roman Kitt for the job. When her brother went to war she promised to write to him and even with him missing she continues to do so. With no where to send her letters she slides them under her closet door where they disappear right into the hands of Roman. When he starts writing back to her anonymously they form a connection that will follow her to the front lines of the war.

I was so scared this book was going to disappoint me, so I put off reading it for a while. Luckily, it didn't disappoint at all! The lore in this world was so interesting and felt fresh, along with the magical message sending aspect, it was just delightful. The banter between Roman and Iris was fantastic and I felt the shift in their relationship like it was a natural progression. I was so impressed with how this went and am super excited to read book two. 

“That’s just it, Husband.” She smiles sweetly, only the tiniest edge present. “I’m the only one who gets to kill you. I’ll bury anyone else who tries.”

Aphrodite offers to marry the new Hephaestus to distract the public from how he became one of the thirteen. With him being one of the biggest enemies to her city, she has a plan to keep him off balance and plenty distracted himself. She will seduce the person he is closest to just to see him squirm. He decides he can play that game too and sets his sights on Aphrodite's ex Adonis. The issue with using seduction as a weapon is that hearts inevitably get involved and doing what needs to be done to protect the city that means everything to her family ends up coming at a very high price. 

I'm still enjoying the overall plot in this series and this one was entertaining. The angst with all of the different relationships was well done and I really enjoyed how all of the characters really had some development moments. I feel like this is hard to do when you expand to more than two main characters in a book, but it was done well here. The end result actually surprised me, but in a satisfying way. I am excited to continue on with this series. 

 “You have never been unlovable. You were just waiting for someone who will love you for who you are, not for who they want you to be. I can do that, if you'll let me.”

Rowan and Sloane both have a knack for hunting down serial killers and then dealing with them themselves. When a chance encounter puts them together, they develop a friendship and a little friendly competition. Every year they decide to pick a target and whoever kills the target first wins. Over time their annual game and time together turns into more, but the ghosts of their past kills might just be coming for them. Can they survive it?

Honestly, I'm a little disturbed by how much I enjoyed this! I don't know how Brynne Weaver did it, but she made this dark and hilarious at the same time and she did it successfully. There was more than one time while reading this book that I literally laughed out loud. Yes, there are some graphic scenes and thankfully I am lactose intolerant and can't eat ice cream because this book would definitely have ruined that for me, but this was still a fun ride, and I can't wait to keep reading her other books! 

 “When life gives you lemons, make sure you know whose eyes you need to squeeze them in.”

Tate and Miles don't even seem to like each other but they can't deny the physical pull they feel. Tate doesn't have time for love and Miles doesn't have any interest, so they decide to keep it physical and leave the messy feelings out of it. Miles only asks that two rules are followed, don't ask about the past, and don't expect a future. They should have known it would never work, eventually feelings develop and the rules get blurred and the feelings get messy.

I did a lot of eye rolling in this one and felt like it was pretty predictable. Of course the friends with benefits thing didn't just stay the way it was...that never works. Miles' flashbacks were also pretty predictable and sort of cringy if I'm being honest but where this did redeem itself only slightly was that even though I knew what was going to happen it still made me emotional. The stars are only for the emotion the book invoked, the rest of it was kind of a mess. 

“You think that anyone could get away with hurting you and that it wouldn’t matter?”

Nyra falls into the hands of the rebellion after escaping her tyrant father and living on the streets. Trapped with people who would kill her or use her as leverage if they knew who she was, she tries to make the best of her situation. Dacre is the son of the rebellion leader and doesn't trust Nyra, he knows there is something she's hiding, but he also can't seem to stay away from her. As the kingdom's conflict begins to heighten Nyra and Dacre need to decide where their loyalties lie and whether they can survive their secrets coming out. 

Is this the best written piece of literature? No. Do I care? Also no, because it was a dang good time! I will happily live in four star land if this is the level of enjoyment I will consistently get. This book has it's flaws, but I also devoured it in a day and am super annoyed that I'm determined to work through my currently owned books before I start buying more because I really really want the second one. I hope the world gets an expansion in book two and I hope that Nyra becomes the strong confident leader she has the potential to be!

“At some point, we're all someone's hero and another's villain. It's all a matter of perspective.”

Audrey Rose and Thomas have made it to America, just in time to investigate another killer. Chicago holds its own dark secrets and while attending the once in a lifetime event of the World's Fair they discover people have been going missing. Amidst some trouble in their relationship, they have to find a way to put their feelings aside and work together as they attempt to track down this new killer. 

This was easily the best in the series. It took me forever to get around to reading it because I honestly was disappointed in the third book and not feeling super motivated to read this one, but I'm glad I finally did! The growth of Audrey Rose and Thomas' relationship is fantastic and the way they handled the hiccup they had in this one was heartwarming. 

“I expect Alexandra wouldn’t consider an early evening with a book, a bubble bath, and a jumbo glass of wine something nice. But then, my sister likes people. I don’t.”

Cassandra is from a disgraced family and because of that has always been treated as a pariah in Olympus. She has learned the hard way that you cannot trust the thirteen in this city, but as an employee of Apollo, she has learned that not all of them are as bad as the rest. When Apollo asks her to be his plus one at a week long house party of the city enemy, she agrees under one condition, her and her sister are given the means to make a life elsewhere. Apollo is determined to uncover Minos' secrets before damage is done to his city, but having Cassandra with him has split his focus. He will do anything to keep her safe, even if it means having to let her go. 

I really enjoy the storylines that have been carrying through this series. The threat to the city and how it impacts all of the relationships we get taken through has been super interesting for me. Apollo and Cassandra weren't my favorite of the Dark Olympus couples, but the were still an enjoying read and I loved the murder mystery vibe this book gave off.