thiscryptidreads's reviews
37 reviews

 

Contemporary, MMMMF, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️,🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
•Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, "Good Girl" FMC, Touch her and Die, Possessive MMCs, Dark Reverse Harem Romance, supernatural romance

I really enjoyed this! Great retelling where the author put her own love of horror, spice and romance into the book and gave it a great twist ending. The Wicked Witch(s) Are Evil, Gorey and sexy in their own way and each of the main characters you know and love from the book get a morally gray twisted dark new background. Read the Trigger warnings at the beginning of the book if you're new to Dark romance but if you love dark, murderous, I'd kill for you MC's then you'll love this kinky, sexy retelling of OZ. 

 This book is dripping with 80's nostalgia. Grady Hendrix is great at setting a scene and immersing you into the book. I listened to it on audiobook and all it was missing was background music fit to be played by John Cusack's boombox. I don't consider this book scary but the 1st 50% is setting the scene for the demon in this tale and really, it's simply pure teenage trauma and was hard to listen to at parts. If you have past trauma with bullying eating disorders, religious trauma or have issues with confrontations this book might be rough and once things get moving it really hurls towards the ending in a quick paced pile of events that will leave you sitting there going what the heck?

If you watched the movie 1st and are now reading the book they are not the same, the ending is completely different
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Elaborating to the trigger warnings above, the animal abuse includes the family dog, on page description of his death and the grief caused by it after. A Prominent side characters inclusion in the demons' plans included her being tricked that their pastor was in love with her and resulted in her attempted public suicide with partial nudity.  During the exorcism both girls are described as being touched inappropriately by invisible "demon" hands and can be triggering for those who have suffered from past Sexual Abuse.

- NO SPOILERS
This was book 2 in the series immediately picking up where book 1 (Vanished) left off. This can still be read as a standalone I think since it has its own storyline, but you miss out on some of the character development from book 1. 

Moonstruck is a fast-paced multiple POV gaslamp fantasy following the FMC Gwen St. James as she galivants around an alternative Victorian London as she solves yet another magically inclined mystery. Witty, mysterious and fun this adventure is great from start to finish and will leave you clamoring for the next book. I know I can hardly wait for book 3 to be released. 

 Disclaimer: I received a digital ARC from the Author in exchange for an honest review. 

Star rating - 3.25
spice level - 3.0 


This is a monster romance staring the main character Violet who takes a job in the specialized fantasy species town of Cambric Creak at a "miking farm" (basically a sperm bank for Minotaurs) to pay off her student loan dept and her falling for one of her clients Rourke an older successful Minotaur who only has eyes for his new favorite "milkmaid"

Most of the book is a lead up to them meeting and Violet discovering more about the town she now works in which is described as idealic, the perfect suburb with farmers markets, artisan shops and friendly people albeit none of them human or at least 98% of them art besides the few (mostly women) who moved to be with their non-human relationship interests. The type of friendly place we all dream of moving really, post card perfect in every way, and her settling into the job she first thought would be embarrassing only to find everyone friendly and that it was just a job and one that paid well. It only gets better for her when she meets Rourke and he seems to be the perfect man. 

Pros - This was light hearted and scenic and I found myself laughing at Violets commentary and enjoying the friendships she made while working on the farm. Her new BFF Geillis the vampire is truly the best friend a girl could ask for. As for the relationship with Rourke, it encapsulates all the new relationship butterflies. In short this was a very cute read with some fun spice mixed in. I love the details for all the characters and knowing they tend to pop up in other books it gives you a lot to look forward to and enjoy the world that is this pretty and ideal town of monsters. I'll definitely be looking for a book with Rourkes neighbor Lurielle and her boyfriend. 

Cons- For all the lead up in this book I felt like the end was rushed, once the couple get together there are several events mentioned that are sort of glazed over, which at first I didn't mind since they weren't super cental to the story but after a bunch of jumping the book basically ends with them happy and together but really no further than they were 20 pages before the ending.  I still enjoyed this book a lot, but I was hoping for at least an update on their relationship in the future to see where they ended up since we skipped so many other things to get to this ending. It felt a little anticlimactic to stop it before they really got super serious especially since the time was taken to reiterate Violet's mother through her journey from the city to the milking farm and her nerves about how her family will react.  A Blue Ribbon Romance was teased at the end of my book which is this story from Rourke's perspective so if you want to know how this seemingly cool-headed Minotaur actually felt about Violet right from the get-go, I suggest picking it up right away. 

Spice/Kinks - Age Gap. Milking, spanking, light Dominance
Trigger warnings - Financial struggles, Divorce, un-supportive family (mother knows best)

Review of Mortal Follies- (please note this was given to me as an ARC but this is not a paid review)
Tags: Sapphic romance, historical fiction, fantasy,
Trigger warnings, mention of animal sacrifices, illness, family death, abduction, 

I absolutely adored this book; it almost has grumpy/sunshine trope feels thanks to the close-knit group of friends alongside the main characters. It has fantasy, romance, whimsy, wonderful cast of diverse characters, and great queer representation. This is read via the perspective of a 3rd party fairy narrator and not the main characters which added an extra layer of fun and comedy to this beautifully told tale with the air of not so likely hero's facing off against the gods (or in this case goddess) if you love historical fiction this is absolutely a book to add to your TBR.
 

 

Immersive, light-hearted, wonderful world building. 

 Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

 Probably one of my favorite books of the year! 

-NO SPOILERS-

 This book is a duel POV between our MFC Lady Gwenevere St. James and Young Sally. Each chapter is notated at the top with the name of the character whose POV you're currently reading which I appreciated SO much! Lady Gwen is tenacious, funny and caring and I found myself quickly endeared to her as she searched London in this Gaslamp fantasy in search of missing children. I consider his book low to medium stakes since there's nothing super stressful like world changing events or full out war but there is some political tension and societal gossip. You get the feel of a historical fiction, fantasy and mystery all rolled into one. 

 I found Nicole McKeon via Tiktok and she said she hoped this world was something similar to The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger and she did not disappoint. Inventions, witty banter, found family, and while this doesn't have a full HPE there is a fulfilling and slightly bittersweet ending that leaves readers wanting more. I begged Nicole to be a Beta reader for book 2 because I honestly couldn't get enough! I'll absolutely be buying a hardback copy and placing this book on my shelf designated for cozy re-reads.

For every mom, past your 20's and possibly dreading the next PTA meeting this one is for you. This book is light, fun and about the power of friendship.