tianabooks's reviews
176 reviews

I will always devour any angsty RH books, no questions asked 😌

This felt like getting one of the Step Up movies in book form but instead of one love interest, you get four. And you know what — as I say every time I read a rh book — options never hurt anyone. 😂👌 

One thing that I appreciated in this book was that you could easily picture all the dance sequences. They were easy to visualise and if you also listen to each song as you’re reading, then you get the immersive experience too. 💃 

I have to say that the amount of times I was screaming at my kindle because these characters wouldn’t communicate things properly was wild 😩 think of all the issues we would’ve resolved if we just talked to each other ✌️ but it’s okay, I shall let it slide for the story  😂

I am intrigued by this world and the cliffhanger so I shall continue with the series! 

a cute and festive novella! 🎄❤️

It was such a cosy, festive read and extremely quick to get through too! You get the best of both worlds: the billionaire boss energy & the small town, fake dating vibes. 💫 All the family interactions were wholesome and funny — especially the various family traditions. And we also got some hints about another potential story 👀 

Obviously, given how quick and short this is, do not expect the traditional pacing you get in a book. However, I was having a lovely time whilst reading it so that wasn’t an issue whatsoever! 🥰 Although I wouldn’t be opposed to a longer novel about these characters, just saying 👀

Perfect if you want to get some last minute festive reading done ! 

a new favourite, festive rom-com! 🎄🤭

I know I’d usually say that I’m the biggest supporter of all the tension and angst and enemies to lovers vibes…HOWEVER, sometimes friends to lovers offers all the cozy and fluffy energy that I need in my life. This being an incredible example! 🥹

Both the relationship and the interactions between Molly and Andrew felt VERY realistic. Not only that but even the family scenes were, similarly, extremely real. Our main duo was hilarious and adorable and overall truly perfect for each other. I lost count of all the times they made me laugh out loud whilst reading. The sense of humour? Perfection. 🫶

“It’s not like I spend December looking up the whole time, is it?”
“You’re five foot nothing, you spend most of your life looking up.”

Andrew, precious Andrew was honestly the best guy around. I think every person deserves a friend and a partner like him. The cutest (well…not just cute 🤭)! Goodness, his speech during THAT scene about all the trips, when I tell you I have highlighted the whole thing.. 😩❤️

I loved their inside jokes and the stories and the glimpses into their different trips for the past ten years. Whilst reading, I did mention that it reminded me of People We Meet on Vacation, the Christmas edition, and I mean that in the nicest way. That’s one of my favourite books and I had been desperately looking for another book to give me similar vibes! 🥹

The only reason it wasn’t a full 5/5 is because of the 80% mark situation, which I wasn't the biggest fan of. However, didn’t remove any overall enjoyment! Still one of the cutest festive reads. 🥰

“It was pretty selfish of you to come and take up my precious time with thoughts of you.”
“Thoughts of me?” Indecent thoughts?”
“God no. I’m a gentleman.”
“Castles get you all hot and bothered, huh?”

I would highly recommend this <3 

"Maybe you underestimated me."
"Maybe you misjudged me."

What a lovely surprise of a book! <3 This one was one of those cases when you randomly decide to pick up a book without knowing anything about it and it ends up being a GREAT idea. This was also my first book from this author and now I'm excited to check out more!

With seemingly two different worlds colliding, Kyle and Piper's story was lovely to follow. Both of them were ridiculously stubborn and without the people around them knocking some sense into the, they'd be a lost cause let me tell you. 🥲 They were distinctive characters and they had their own personalities, dreams, wishes, which I appreciate so much in a romance book. Both sides had their valid reasons when it came to a part of the plot (i.e. getting Kyle to agree to resign his contract) and it was interesting to read about Kyle's view of how negative some aspects of fame could be.

I 100% LIVED for the domesticity in this - all the cozy, cute, domestic vibes we were getting even if these two stubborn fools refused to acknowledge their attraction. 🤭  It was the slow realisation, the acts of kindness, the thoughtfulness, the actual owning up for saying the wrong thing. 🥹🤍 And realistic conversations too!

"But I'll write a song that has nothing to do with beer or trucks or heartbreak, just for you." 🫶

The side characters were great too! I'm SO tempted to go and read the two books with characters from this one - you don't need to read them before this to follow this story - but I would love to get all the background info! Adding them to the ever-growing tbr pile! 

Overall, a cosy read for sure. It gives you all those angsty, small-town feelings whilst combining everything with a little glimpse of glamour. 

Why is it that every time I read anything with country music references that I want to go and watch Nashville?! lmao🫣

I’m flying through these books 😌

But I think the issues I had with the first one continued here - the difference being instead of Leighton running away, it was the guys this time running away. I honestly can’t win 😩

And what’s with all these adults picking up fights with teenagers?! Like don’t you have something better to do? 

This did feel like a filler book if I’m being entirely honest though. Nothing new really happens? I had a bit of hope towards the end because we were FINALLY exploring some of the magic elements and the powers and then…something else interrupted said exploration and….the end. 

However, you best believe I’ll read the final one, I’m here for the drama 

I’m thoroughly entertained 😮‍💨 there are some elements here that I usually wouldn’t go for but I’m a sucker for a RH and paranormal/urban fantasy romance so I was LIVING. Also this is so fast-paced, literally something was happening every other page. 

I think the element which bothered me the most was how the FMC would react in certain situations. I am of course considering the various factors which come into play here, including previous trauma and exposure to an unknown setting. However, the behaviour was contradicting. One thing that remained consistent was that she would storm out of any scene - I did get a bit tired of that being repeated again and again. How are you going to learn anything if you don't even give them the chance? 

Given the 'fated mates' element, please do expect a lot of insta-lust and insta-love vibes. Surprisingly, it worked okay here! I was't mad about it, I think because I knew to expect it. There were some really good scenes between the FMC and the guys (before she stormed off of course lol - ngl, the 'why are you running' sound was all I could think about when this was happening). 

I really like the paranormal elements and the lore in this. Seems like an interesting world and I do hope we get more exposure to that! I know the romance is the focus, which is fine we love the vibes, however please give me all the paranormal and urban fantasy vibes too! 

The world and setting of this is interesting but it did feel a bit too insta-lovey 😩 that can be a hit or miss for me depending on pace and execution.
I loved how obsessed they were with each other but I would’ve liked to get more time spent before the love confessions. To give you an idea, this whole book takes place in a month. As a result, things did feel quite rushed. Given the themes and context, I wasn't necessarily expecting realism so it was mainly more time I would've liked. 

“The only thing I’ll raise for you is an empire, built on the bones and blood of your enemies.”

I am though really excited for the other guys’ stories. We get introduced to all of the main characters for the subsequent books in this one so although they’re interconnected standalones, I’d definitely recommend starting with this and then moving to the rest. You get a good idea of who these guys are and what they’re capable of. And you get exposed to the world dynamics and structure. The good thing is that it doesn't feel like an info-dump and it does stand on its own. A good introduction to this world. 

I’ll never look at corn the same 

This is for the criminal minds girlies. In fact, this is for the girlies who wanted to read something with tension and interactions like the cat/spencer scenes but a bit more unhinged. 😇

Definitely check your trigger/content warnings before going into this if you know there are things that might make you uncomfortable or put you in a vulnerable position. At least in terms of violence and gory descriptions, there are several ones on page.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you."
"You are the bad thing."
"And you are the loveliest bad thing."

There is not a single green flag in sight. Nothing at all lmao. 

And I guess that's the whole point, morally at least it's challenging and HIGHLY questionable but it somehow works?? The relationship and interactions between Halen and Kallum are what made the story interesting. They don't trust each other, they're trying to outsmart one another, and you can't tell half of the time (if not all the time) if it's attraction or vengeance that drives their actions. Which works here very well. You don't know who's reliable and who isn't.

This book can at times be heavy on the pagan/occult lore and elements as they're part of the plot and it's Kallum's area of expertise. So I'd also say be mindful of that before going into this. I personally didn't mind this aspect but that might not work for everyone. 

I don't know how to feel about the ending yet. Lots of twists and turns and lots of revelations but I think I'd like to read the second book and then come back and revisit my feelings on this! It’s not a bad ending and it definitely insinuates that there’s a continuation to the story. 

I'll say though: I was reading this on my kindle AND listening to the audiobook at the same time and it was the best experience honestly. Lucy Rivers and Joe Arden narrate this and LET ME TELL YOU. I'd heard both of them before in your usual contemporary romance but never in a dark romance and they both did such a good job. I am now a changed person. 😮‍💨🫠 also the narration fits the atmosphere perfectly! 

Oh and definitely leave your moral compass behind going into this lmao.