ashleynoelle's reviews
765 reviews

“He’s a broken man, but he isn’t broken because of me. He was broken before he met me. Sometimes people think if they love a broken person enough, they can be what finally repairs them, but the problem with that is the other person just ends up broken, too.”

Lily and Ryle have settled into a co-parenting rhythm that is for the most part working for them when Lily runs into Atlas, her childhood best friend and first love. After two years of separation from Ryle, Lily is finally ready and excited that the timing for her and Atlas finally seems right. So when he asks her out, she says yes. The only problem is that Ryle is still a complication in her life and Atlas is the one man he might just lose it to find out he's involved in the lives of his ex-wife and daughter.

This book was a classic case of not needing to see what comes after the story. I just didn't need this at all. I didn't love the first one, so it took me a really long time to pick this up, but I'm trying my hardest right now to actually read what is on my shelf, so I finally read this one and I wish I hadn't bothered. This could have been written as the actual epilogue and saved me 300 pages of my time. With that said, getting to see an Atlas POV was kind of interesting...but it is also the ONLY thing that prevented this from getting 1 star. 

“I love you did not say enough. I love you did not say, thank you for being my home. I love you did not say, thank you for being my future.”

After their devastating loss Tisaanah will do anything to get Max back, including nearly dying herself. Meanwhile Aefe is attempting to understand her new life, new body, and new normal. She has been brought back to the physical world by the king of the Fey who is ready to burn the human world down in her name. While her past starts to leak back into her memory and her trauma wreaks havoc on her present, she's not entirely sure what she wants other than vengeance. The magic all three share is the key to winning the war, who will figure out how to wield it first?

This was fantastic! The entire series was absolutely wonderful. I adored these characters so much it was painful to see them at war with each other and even knowing how the end would likely have to happen, I was not ready for it. It ripped my heart out and put it back together just to rip it out again. Cannot wait to read more from this author!

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own. *

Sidney has had struggles, with depression, with debt, and his reputation is completely destroyed. He's a special kind of thief who can move through mirrors and steals unique objects that are saturated in mojo, a magical essence brought on by strong emotion. When Sid is presented with an opportunity to take on a case that will erase his debt he jumps on it. He soon realizes this job is much more complicated than it looks, and the stability of the world just might depend on how he goes about completing it. 

This book was a weird and wild ride. While there were some things I liked here, the uniqueness being the main thing, I honestly haven't read anything I would compare this to, there was also just too much that I didn't like. First off, the word mojo...every time it was said it felt like fingernails on a chalkboard in my brain and it was said A LOT! There was a ton going on in this book and I had a hard time keeping up with how the magic system worked in this one. The biggest issue I had with this book though was that it came off as one giant rambling of the authors thoughts and lacked cohesion.

“He’s fire and brimstone. I’m shattered ice. Our collision is steam and destruction, destined to dissipate, but I’ll gladly burn beneath him until the world comes crumbling down.”

Raeve is employed by the rebellion as an assassin. She enjoys getting to take out the corrupt elite, it satisfies her. When a bounty hunter comes for her head, her entire world gets turned upside down. She finds herself in prison awaiting her imminent execution by the very people she has been fighting against. Kaan is hunting moonshards to assuage his grief and in his hunt stumbles into the prison holding Raeve. The past starts to break through the carefully constructed barriers Raeve has put up in her mind, but some memories should just stay hidden. 

This was beautiful! The magic system was fairly basic being elemental, but the dragons were more complicated than most worlds with dragons and that was so cool to read. There were pieces of this story that were very predictable for me, but they were still written so beautifully that I was able to enjoy it anyway and I actually felt a little thrill when I was right instead of disappointed that I called it. Having to wait a year for the next one is going to be so very difficult! I'm not sure there will be another book that will compare to this one.

 “He asked me, as a friend, to have dinner with him tonight. It’s not a date, and I am the most loyal fake girlfriend you will ever have. I fake love you, Shane. I want to fake marry you and have your fake babies. Okay?” I glare at her. “Uncalled for. I can’t believe you brought our fake children into this.”

Diana cannot stand Shane, he's slept his way through her cheer team and is overall a very handsome, but cocky pain in her butt. When he moves into the condo across the hall from her, she thinks the only way they can coexist is to set some ground rules, mostly just that he needs to leave her and her team alone. Shane is over rebounding with meaningless hookups and misses being in a relationship. When his ex shows up he decides to fake being in a relationship with his sassy neighbor across the hall.

I love Elle Kennedy's books and this one is up there with Dean and Allie for me. Yes, Dean and Allie are the best Briar couple, I will die on this hill. I'm also a huge fan of the fake dating trope, I don't know what it is, but I find it hilarious in all the best ways. With that said, this one also caught me in my emotions and I spent a decent amount of time sobbing my face off as well. Whenever a book can take me from laughing to sobbing and do it well, it usually means the author has caught on to how to manipulate my emotions, and while that might not sound like a good thing, I think it makes for a dang good time. 

 “And I know I didn’t say it the right way, but I am so in love with you. And not just in love with you, by the way. I also like you more than anyone else in the world. You’re funny and smart and beautiful, and whenever anything happens to me, funny, awful, or wonderful, you’re the first person I want to tell.”

After an amazing one-night stand, Hallie decides it's time to grow up and get her life together. She dedicates herself to her career, gets her very own apartment and decides it's time to find real love! When she logs into her new dating app however, Jack, her one-night stand, is there staring her in the face. They strike up a friendship, talk to each other about their dates and schedule them at the same time so that they can be each other's safety net if the date is terrible and often end up getting tacos together after their failed attempts. When they agree to fake it as a couple for Hallie's sister's wedding, the lines start to blur, maybe they've been too stubborn to see the right person was in front of them the whole time?

I felt like this was a friends to lovers situation that was done right. I really enjoyed seeing Hallie and Jack's relationship progress. This one hit me because there was some relatability to it for me. I knew my husband was the one because he became my absolute favorite person in the world and the one, I wanted to tell all of my stuff to. Watching a relationship like that play out on the pages was really refreshing, even if I wasn't as stubborn in admitting my feelings as these characters were. 

“She had never felt something this intense, but it was like everything she had kept inside her for weeks—all the pain and the guilt and the fear—was suddenly released. Now she had room for hope.
She had room for dreams.”

Persephone is dealing with her own guilt and grief and Hades isn't there to help her through it. She has to get herself together so she can be the one to save him for a change. The Olympians are divided and at each others throats while Theseus wages his war on them while they are weak, Persephone and Hades attempt to rally everyone together to face an enemy they haven't seen in centuries. Who will win the war to save the world and better the lives of New Athens?

This was a good conclusion to the series. I am excited to see more about Aphrodite and Hephestus and see how their relationship progresses. The addition of Dionysus and Ariadne's storyline was fun and added value to the plot while still keeping the focus on Persephone and Hades. Overall, I really liked this series as a whole and am super happy with how it was wrapped up!

4.5/5 rounded down!

“Come on, darling, some darkly wicked, impulsive part of him thought, one last fight before I leave you.”

Talasyn was abandoned as a child in a country that has only ever known war with the Night Emperor. With no family to call her own she made the military her family and spent most of her time, hiding her light magic from almost everyone. Alaric is the heir to the Night Empire and has spent his entire life being forged into a weapon by his father. When he meets Talasyn on the battlefield, it is an epic battle between his shadow magic and her light, but when the two combine, something even more powerful occurs. This new power might be the only way to survive the greater threat that is approaching, and they might have to put aside their differences and work together to survive it. 

This is another one that I can see myself bumping up to a five-star read depending on how the rest of this series plays out. I know that sounds weird to say and I try really, really hard to rate books individually and not as a series, but this is one where if some of the things left open get resolved properly, I will love it and if they don't, I will not love it as much. The way I interpreted some things in this book make me feel like this will be a top tier series for me. With that said, this book on its own was still DANG good! I feel like this novel did a really good job and a legitimate enemies-to-lovers trope as well as making the slow burn feel beautifully angsty and not just slow. Very excited to see how this all plays out in the next one!

“You were the one who wanted to save the world,” he said, quietly. “I just wanted to save you.”

Tisaanah bargained away her freedom to the Orders as a means to save the friends she left behind and is now being forced to fight a war. Max will do anything to protect Tisaanah, even if that means becoming the military strategist he was before. With betrayal and subterfuge behind every corner, they will have to rely on Max's mind, Tisaanah's determination and Reshaye's power to make it through the most dangerous conflict yet. 

This pushed straight into five stars, as I had predicted, but was still worried I was holding this series to standards that were too high. The twists and turns in this one were so well done! The political intrigue, betrayals and of course Tisaanah's plans had me flying through this book. I am almost scared to read the last one, because it feels like it just might break me. 

 4.5/5 rounded down!

“It's easy to die for someone," I said, "but it is so much more valuable to live. I do not give you permission to fail if I fail.”

Tisaanah escapes slavedom with the help of her best friend after accidentally killing her master. Injured, she makes it to the Orders, the organization of the worlds most powerful magic wielders in hopes they can help her save her people. In order to gain their help, she must become one of them and is apprenticed to Maxantarius, a reclusive grump who hates the entire organization. Tisaanah will stop at nothing to save her friends, even if it means taking on a level of magic that is impossible for most to wield.

I really enjoyed this one, and while it was not perfect, I can see where it might get there in book two or three. The romance in this one was very evenly paced, which I appreciate, it felt like it happened more organically and not instantaneously. The only issues I had here were not loving the language barrier trope, while it did provide some funny moments between characters, reading it was rough. The other issue was my own expectations, while it was a great read, I went into this expecting something on the same level of Throne of Glass and I should have known better, honestly, but I still went into it with expectations which were admittedly too high. With all that said, I can definitely see where the comparison is valid, and where it could get to that level with progression through the series. It is hard to expect a single book to live up to a seven-book series that might be one of my all-time favorites. I am one hundred percent excited to keep going with this and seeing how it all plays out!