ashleynoelle's reviews
765 reviews

“There is always something to glean from words, which ones, how they’re said. If they’re used as knives or balms.”

All of the women in Winnie Darling's family go missing on their 18th birthday. Sometimes they are gone for a day, sometimes a month, but they always come back, and they are always broken. Winnie isn't sure she believes her mother's fears that she will be kidnapped by Peter Pan on her birthday, but to humor her she locks herself up in their home to try and avoid the myth who wants to take her. The barred door doesn't stop him though, he comes for her and now that he has her, he's not sure he wants to let her go. 

This was not bad, I actually really liked that there is a fast paced vibe to this story and appreciate that there is some plot mixed in with the smut in this one. I was fully prepared for this to have little plot because it is very short. With that said, that is my biggest issue with this book. There is no reason for this book to be as short as it is. This series, likely could have been a duology and combined some of the books together. The cliffhanger ending, felt abrupt and not in a cliffhanger way, but in a "that didn't feel like the end to anything, where is the rest of this book?" kind of way. I am liking this twist on Peter Pan though. 

2.5/5 rounded down!

“When you spend so long living in the cloud of your mistakes, it's difficult to see your way out of the fog.”

When Rachel walks away from her dream guy after one night in Seattle, she thinks she will never see him again. Until she starts her new job as the physical therapist for Jacksonville's NHL team and there he is. Turns out her Mystery boy is the star defenseman on the team she now works for. She's determined not to risk her career but between mystery boy, a goalie who thinks he can hide an injury from her and an equipment manager that is somehow always there to see her embarrass herself, she's having a hard time keeping her mind on her job. 

There was absolutely no reason for this to be 750 pages. There is very little plot and it is mostly smut, which is fine if that is what you are looking for, but at that high of a page count, I'm going to need for something else to actually happen. Where this one does get a bit more props is that it is a Hockey Romance and there is ACTUALLY hockey in it. So many sports romances seem to focus on the fact that the character is an athlete but never actually shows them in action or talks about the game itself. This book had a few scenes that were pure hockey and I loved those. 

2.5/5 rounded up!

“Yeah, this is my absolute limit. It’s time to yeet Chad back to his table.”

Rachel is in Seattle for her brother's wedding when she gets some terrible news. The fellowship that could have skyrocketed her Sports Medicine career declined her. So instead of staying to celebrate with her family at her brother's post wedding brunch, she escapes to a bar where she meets a handsome and charismatic man. She's on a flight in first thing in the morning so this can only be for the night, but their chemistry is magnetic and she wants to enjoy it while it lasts. 

This had next to no plot. I went ahead and read it anyway, because I heard you need it to have the full scope of some things going into the novel and this was a wild read, but really it is just pure smut for 100ish pages. Very little happens outside of their night together, but you do get a small bit of character building and I can kind of see how it is needed depending on how the book is written. 

“Live a life worth dying for.”

Ezra, Kady, Hanna and Nik barely made it through the invasion of Karenza and the attack on Heimdall, but now they are stranded and have no choice but to return to Karenza and hope they can take control of the jump station there to get word to the core about all they have endured. Meanwhile back on planet, Kady's cousin Asha has survived the BeiTech invasion and joined the resistance, when someone from her past shows up wearing the enemy uniform, they form an unlikely alliance but can they survive the atrocities being committed on Karenza? 

This entire series was masterful! I loved the unique format way more than I thought I would! This was a fantastic conclusion to the story. It pulled on my heartstrings at times, but still managed to let me hope that the good guys would prevail and honestly in this moment I needed the hope. It will never stop amazing me how well these authors draw you into loving their characters. I wanted desperately for them all to win their battles and come out on top! So well done, and yes I plan to read the novella also, but I have to catch up on some other things first!

“You might get only one shot. So shoot. You know who said that?"
The rifle clatters to the bloody floor.
"Hanna F****** Donnelly. That's who.”

Hanna is the daughter of Jump Station Heimdall's captain, and has lived a fairly pampered life, while Nik was born into a crime family and has had to fight to keep his hands as clean as he could keep them. Life is pretty mundane on the station that they Hypatia is trying desperately to get to when BeiTech sends a team to annihilate the station and wait for the Hypatia's arrival to take them out too. All in an effort to keep what happened on Kerenza IV quiet. Nik and Hanna are thrown together to not only save their people on the station, but save the Hypatia and possibly the entire universe!

OMG!!!!! I didn't think this series could get better but yes it did with this book! I read this the same way I read the last one, both physical and audio and it was amazing! I am actually really kicking myself for letting these sit on my shelf for so long. I can't believe I waited to read this series, but it is worth the read for sure! I think I love Hanna and Nik more than Kady and Ezra which kind of surprised me, but they are so much fun to read! I loved this so much that I bypassed my entire TBR stack to pick up the next one immediately! Everything else can wait! 

“I am frequently underestimated. I think it's because I'm short.”

Kady Grant and Ezra Mason start their day by breaking up and end it by having to escape their planet being invaded. With two entities at war over a speck of a planet, the only option is to run for it, but Kady and Ezra manage to make it to the fleet, but turns out they haven't escaped it all yet. There is a virus running rampant and the fleet's AI system might be turning on them. Kady turns to her computer skills to try to find some answers, unfortunately she needs some help and the only person she can get that from is her ex-boyfriend Ezra. 

The Kristoff/Kaufman duo impress again! I love this! I read this in a weird way, which seemed fitting because it is written in a very different style. I read this via audio and physical book because the audio is so freaking good but the physical book is beautiful and you miss some of the beauty without it! This was so good and I'm honestly not surprised, these two never seem to disappoint me. I can't wait to read the next one!

“Sometimes the quietest love is the loudest.”

Ryan is the new captain of the Chicago NBA team and his general manager is not a fan. He likes him sure, but thinks his lone wolf personality doesn't make for a good leader. So Ryan decides the only way to prove himself is to show he's not all about himself, he has live in girlfriend after all...what his boss doesn't know is that it is all fake. Indy walked in on her actual boyfriend cheating on her and had to move out quickly, Ryan had a spare room and a bit of persuasion from his sister and Indy became his new very outgoing roommate. She decided to go along with Ryan's fake-relationship scheme because she has to see her cheating ex in an upcoming wedding and she would really rather have him by her side than go alone. 

I liked this one so much more than the first one! The way Ryan showed his love for Indy in the little things pulled on my heartstrings in a big way! And poor Ryan who loves big and struggles to trust because of his past, I just wanted him to have his happy ending with Indy! I loved Indy also, but I think Ryan was my favorite part of this duo and I was so glad he was able to help heal her as much as she did for him. Adored this one!

“You will not lose me. I am yours forever. When the fire of the last sun fails, my love for you will still burn.”

Squad 312 has been separated and now has to navigate their way back to each other to stop the hive mind trying to take over the galaxy. Their squad seems to be made up of the misfits and the spares, but they are the only ones who have the knowledge of the true enemy and what it is capable of. Will they be able to convince others to help them? Or will the Aurora Legion continue to label them as criminals and ignore all of their warnings about what is coming? 

It should come as no surprise that I loved this! It broke my heart and stitched it back together again! I would highly recommend the full cast audio for this one, as it was freaking amazing and really brought all of the characters to life. It still amazes me how Kaufman and Kristoff can so completely develop an array of characters and make them all feel like they are the main. I didn't have any POV that I was less interested in, or any that I was wishing I could skip because they all felt important. Absolutely wonderful!

 “Being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t afraid. It means you refuse to let your fears guide your actions.”

Beatrice was in an accident and Samantha has gone missing, leaving Jefferson alone to pick up the mantle of ruling when he was never supposed to. While being overwhelmed with his new role, he some how has managed to be manipulated into being with Daphne again and it's about to get really serious even though he really isn't ready. Will Sam come back? Will Beatrice be okay? Is Nina really out of his life forever now? He's always been the spare royal but now he's in charge of so much that he was never trained or prepared for. How will he do this without his sisters?

This was a nice conclusion to the story and I have honestly enjoyed my time with this series. I like the twist on how we could have had a royal family in America and this is how it possibly could have turned out, of course we the people likely wouldn't have ever known this was what was happening! I still don't think I like Daphne regardless of how it ended, but I do think I understand her and feel for her a bit. Her mother is the literal worst. I also don't think I really like Nina much in this one either...Jamie deserves everything and way more than Nina gives him. 

“There’s only so much oxygen on an airplane. I don’t want his ego to suffocate the rest of us.  You know, safety and all that shit.”

Stevie is a flight attendant for the Chicago Hockey team and it just so happens that team has the biggest ego in the NHL on their roster. Zanders is the guy the fans and the media love to talk about, he spends most of his time in the penalty box and leaves the rink with a different woman every game, but he's also unfiltered, unapologetic and drop dead gorgeous. While his attempts to annoy her continue, she just keeps finding little pieces that are slightly endearing. But she promised herself she wouldn't make the mistake of being with an athlete again, not after the last time. 

This was okay. It was WAY too long. There is no reason for this book to be six hundred pages...just why? I love the reformed player trope, so that was something I really did enjoy here and I really appreciated the therapy piece as well. Honestly, I think more people need therapy, so it was nice to see it so openly accepted in this novel. There was a lot that annoyed me though also, like Zanders' whole media persona...you are an athlete...play hockey well and your fans will love you, the end. Also, this is a sports romance...but we only see the sport in one scene, which felt bizarre to me. Will read the next one for sure, I think I'm going to like Ryan and Indy's story more!