Smoky Darling (Darling #1) by S.J Tilly

 

I fell in love with Beckett when I was 7. He broke my heart when I was 15. When I was 18, I promised myself I'd forget about him. And I did. For a dozen years. But now he's back home. Here. In Darling Lake. And I don't know if I should give in to the temptation swirling between us or run the other way. 

She had a crush on me when she was a kid. But she was my brother's best friend's little sister. I didn't see her like that. And even if I had, she was too young. Our age difference was too great. But now I'm back home. And she's here. And she's all the way grown up. It wouldn't have worked back then. But I'll be damned if I won't get a taste of her now. Smoky Darling by S.J. Tilly was published on January 2023. This is the first book in the Darling series. 

I found S.J. Tilly though another series and after that it's been history. I absolutely love the way she writes her books. I love that she gives a great story-line and also lots of fun pages sprinkled throughout. I love the backstory between the two characters and then fast forward to what was happening at the present. I didn't feel like their relationship was super fast because they have history. Even hinted at some history more then what was in the book. The characters both have faults but also strength which keeps each character balanced to seem real. They were both really easy to picture in my head. I really love a lot of scenes in this book and their banter back and forth. I highly recommend checking this book out. You won't be disappointed in S.J. Tilly books. 

Quotes That I Loved 

Elouise is hopping around, and her tits are bouncing, and I no longer care that there's a fire. What fire? Tits. All I see are tits. 

"Are you gonna be quiet for me? Or do I need to leave?"

"I'll be quiet..."

"No one else sees you....Not even a silhouette....And no one hears you....not a single sound.....not a single moan....not even the smallest groan...not a peep, Elouise. Behave this time, or I'll have to find another way to keep your mouth occupied." 

"If you know what's good for you, you're gonna shut your mouth and take your punishment like a good girl." 

Darling Series 

1. Smoky Darling

2. Latte Darling 

Tropes 

Age-Gap

Friends to Lovers

Brother's Best Friend

Small Town 

Shelter for Sophie (Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes #8) by Susan Stoker

 

She's shy, he's stoic...not the hardest personality traits to overcome, but Sophie Carson and Roman "Chief" Proudfit have their work cut out for them. Sophie has a crush on the silent-but-studly firefighter next door. She's been pining away silently while secretly helping the hardworking man by mowing his lawn-which he thinks is being done by her nonexistent husband and/or boyfriend. He's definitely not big on neighborly chitchat, but with her stutter, that suits Sophie just fine. But now a misunderstanding at a bar has put him even further out of her reach. Roman's difficult upbringing on an Indian reservation is a sore spot, so when he thinks Sophie is taking advantage of poor people for medical trails at her workplace, he lets her know exactly what he thinks. But when he discovers he misunderstood, he's man enough to admit it...and also that he should have opened his eyes to his beautiful sensitive neighbor sooner. Shelter for Sophie by Susan Stoker was published in August 2017. This is book eight of the Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes series. 

This is one of my favorite authors so bare with me when you see a lot of her work. Her books are not filled with smut as so much but they have amazing plots. Also the love stories are amazing and sweet. I loved this book so much. I love how sweet Sophie is to people who are homeless. Also love how she knows how hard Chief works and tries to help in the little things. I love how she accepts him and his beliefs throughout the book. I love how they treat others. The characters both have faults and you see their strengths through the book. I love that Susan Stoker works really hard to make sure that the faults of the main characters stand out. It helps in making them feel real and not overly perfect. The romance is strong in this book and the smut is tame then some of the books I have read from this author. All in all it's a sweet book to read when you need a book between Dark Romance. 

Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Series 

1. Justice for Mackenzie

2. Justice for Mickie 

3. Justice for Corrie

4. Justice for Laine

5. Shelter for Elizabeth 

6. Justice for Boone 

7. Shelter for Adeline 

8. Shelter for Sophie 

9. Justice for Erin

10. Justice for Milena

11. Shelter for Blythe 

12. Justice for Hope

13. Shelter for Quinn

14. Shelter for Koren

15. Shelter for Penelope

Tropes 

Men in Uniform - Firefighter

Friends to Lover

Small Town

Malevolent (Deviants of Onyx Grove #1) by Lainey Delaroque

 

"You'll be Onyx Grove's savior, just like your parents." But my parents died under suspicious circumstances, and I was shipped off to another state. It took me 13 years to return, but now I'm back in Onyx Grove - the crime-ridden city I once called home. Generations ago, everything belonged to my family. Now, the Warricks reign instead. Families have been replaced by gangs, and businesses, by profitable illegal ventures. To claim my birthright, I go undercover in one of their companies as a secretary. A timid little mouse with three targets. Malevolent by Lainey Delaroque was published on March 2024. This is the first book of the Deviants of Onyx Grove series. 

This book will have you thrown for a loop from the get go. You follow Jade through the book and fall in love with her spirit. You know that not everything is as they seem from the get go. But, the author still throws in multiple other loops that through you off so much. Also so many stalkers following each other. You won't know who is the bad guy in this book at all. I am sure there is multiple bad guys. I loved the characters in this book. They all had major faults from the get go but also have different strengths. It was not like the siblings in this book or other characters are carbon copy of each other. (I have seen that happen with personalities). I felt like each character could be an actual person in real life. It helps in making them feel like I know them. The smut and kinks in this book are so well written I sometimes i had to remind myself that I am reading a book of fiction people not a nonfiction. I loved this book and can not wait to read the next book in the series. 

Quotes that I Loved 

"Don't apologize.....Remorse on beautiful lips like yours? I don't like it."

"That would sound sleazy if it wasn't coming from you....I mean it."

"You can beg me for forgiveness, but don't say you're sorry." 

"Okay. For tonight only, I will let your attitude slide....Next time, you will do as I say. And after that, you will let me pull your pretty little strings. And if you keep being a good girl, you will have the time of your life." 

"Would you run if I told you I want to see you bleed?" 

Deviants of Onyx Grove Series

1. Malevolent 

Tropes

Dark Romance 

MMF 

Crime Family

Stalker 

Why Choose

Revenge

Dirty Score (Hawkeyes Hockey #5) by Kenna King

 

The puck bunnies might all be swooning over the new tatted-up player sitting on the home bench, but she won't be fooled. He's a wolf, disguised in a Hawkeyes jersey. Penelope has never shared the heart-wrenching details of her and Slade's past with anyone, let alone her dad, but Slade's sudden appearance threatens to unravel her carefully guarded disdain. Slade Matthews, her father's protege and her college bully are one and the same. She thought she'd never have to see him again, but with a new opening on the team and time of the essence to fill it, Slade gets his chance to move up. Now she has to hide her six-year-long-grudge against the charismatic player who won't stop trying to win her over as he forgot what he did to her all those years ago. Dirty Score by Kenna King was published March 2024. This is book five of the Hawkeyes Hockey series. 

I was given this book for my honest review. I really wanted to like this book but I felt like the characters did not draw me in. I didn't love them at all so it was hard to finish the book. The story-line is cute and could really be an amazing book if some of the errors and the story-line flowed a little better. I wanted to see Penelope to have her grudge last longer and show up but it barely was even simmering. I wanted to see Slade try hard to be able to get Penelope to fall in love with him again. Also...Penelope's father had no clue why his daughter was not liking him. But yet he just forgave Slade quickly. All in all it was a decent read but not a book that I would read over and over again. 

Quotes That I Loved 

I hope she rips his heart into a million pieces and then skates over them with razor-sharp ice skates for poetic justice. 

And...does Slade Matthews have a nipple ring? 

"Are you on birth control?"

"Yes, but it won't be necessary because you won't be coming."

"Is this your way of punishing me?"

"Maybe."

"And after this...am I forgiven?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"You're going to torture me before you forgive me, aren't you?" 

Hawkeyes Hockey Series

1. Cocky Score

2. Filthy Score

3. Brutal Score

4. Rough Score

5. Dirty Score 

6. Lucky Score

7. Tough Score

8. Wrong Score 

Tropes

Sports Romance - Hockey

Enemies to Lovers

Second Chance 

He falls first 

The Naughty List by Jade West

Ella, a desperate, newly single goth girl with a mountain of debt, would do anything to see her parents this Christmas...the problem is, her parents live on the other side of the world. So, when she's granted access to The Naughty List - marketplace for dirty proposals from rich strangers - she opts to take everything and anything she can get. She thinks she's a good player, getting five-star reviews like a good girl and climbing the ranks - until she stumbles onto The Naughty List's most daring group of all...The Hardcorers. Players who will fulfill any proposal clients ask them to, just so long as the price is right. Can Ella be one? Can she really climb The Naughty List right the way to the top of the tree? The idea gets even more thrilling when she meets Weston...the hottest Hardcorers of them all. The Naughty List by Jade West was published in December 2023. 

This book threw me for a huge loop while I read it. I was on my seat with each time as she went to a new client. Always throughout the book. While the character grew and changed throughout the bys wondering what was the next client was going to request of her to do. Some of the client's scenes were a little intense in not my style of kink at all. Also some of it kind of grossed me out. But I learned a lot about myself as I read this book. This book is not for the starting out reading romance book at all. This book is intense and filled with spicy scenes that make you question yourself multiple times. This book is filled with a lot of characters that you might think you need to keep track of but then they are nothing later on. Ella is really the only character that you need to keep track and follow I still felt like her character didn't have much personality outside the realm of being a escort. It was hard to stay with Ella because I just couldn't picture her as much in life. But I think part of it was because she was two different personalities in the book. If you need a lot of spice in your life check out this unique book. 

Quotes That I Loved 

"I like to dominate cute goth girls like you. I like to treat entertainers like the sluts and whores I'm paying you to be. I want to make you gag on my cock and stretch you with toys until your pussy is used up and dripping, juicy. I want anal play, deep and hard, and I want to slap your ass while I'm doing it. Another thing, high on my list, is that I want to punish those lovely big tits of yours. And all the while, I want you to be a good little girl and call me Sir." 

"Good girl, Holly. That's it. I know Daddy's the one you want. Nobody else will ever touch you like this." 

"That's a good, sweetheart...suck Daddy's cock as hard as you can." 

Tropes 

Holiday Romance 

BDSM

MMF

Sex Worker 

 

Luca ( A Dark Hearts Stand-Alone Novel #1) by Nikki J. Summers

 

Anyone else struggling in April and May with a million things happening. No...well that is what is happening to me these past few months. I have four kiddos ranging from 13 to 5. Two of the kids had birthdays in April (still need to plan their parties). My oldest is in three choirs and was in a musical at hers school (which performed in April) and the choir concerts were split between the two months. Then my younger two kiddos are in soccer (which sucks your life out). Not only that but I have my brand new niece who hangs out with me while mom and dad work. Whew...it's a lot and not lot of time to write a book review down. I have lots on their way...I haven't stopped reading. 

What you're about to read is my story, my truth. A truth that spans over twenty years of a love for two brothers. A love that was cruel, sometimes harsh and raw, but for me, always honest and true. A best friend to one, but to the other, so much more. Ours was a love that defied all reason. It pushed us to our limits. It was never easy, but nothing worth having ever is; and Luca Marquez is so worth having. He's mine, he always has been and no one will take him away from me. Luca by Nikki J. Summers was published December 2018. 

I really really wanted to fall in love with this book. But, it was really hard to get into this story. The characters were hard to love. I felt like I needed to know more about each of them. I had a hard time getting into this plot. Usually books take me 1 to 3 days tops. But this book lasted me a couple of weeks. I liked pieces of the book when you see more personality from the two main characters but it was not through the whole book. I felt like each scene didn't flow right into the next. Also some of the scenes were hard to imagine that you come out in the end clean. But, like always just because it was my ick doesn't mean it's not your yum. 

Quotes that I Loved 

"I hope we can catch up when all this is over. I've missed you, little sis. I really have." 

"You thought it was a good idea to play cards with a card sharp, whilst you waited for me to get home? And Strip poker at that? Seriously, it took you guys to get down to your underwear to figure out she's a cheat?" 

"Stay in your room then..." 

"Yeah, great idea. How about you get the handcuffs out and chain me up whilst you're at it." 

"Kinky..."

"Don't fucking tempt me." 

Series in Order 

1. Luca 

2. This Cruel Love 

3. Hurt to Love

Tropes

Dark Romance

Childhood Friends 

Mafia 

Billionaire Romance 

Get a Room by Casey Dembowski

 

Brian Hawkins has had the worst year. He watched his girlfriend marry another man, lost his job and his apartment, and, after a summer under his parents' roof, has taken refuge with his younger sister. A quiet few months in Philadelphia is just what he needs to clear his head and get back on his feet. But he's barely unpacked before the bane of his existence, his sister's best friend shows up. His planned solitude is replaced by pop songs, rom-coms, and bright pink hair. Which would be fine, except there's only one extra bed, and there's no way he's sharing it with her. Get a Room by Casey Dembowski was published July 2023. 

I don't know how many times I was laughing at the silly antics of Brian and Sarah. Doesn't help that my best friend name is Sarah. I loved the two main characters in this book. They both had a lot of personality both things that make you wonder what the heck they are doing to OMG they are so cute. They both grew into an actual adult in this book with ways to handle situations. I absolutely loved how they were taking care of each other without saying that there might be something going on. I could totally see Brian and Sarah being people that I would hang out. The plot in this story is perfect and I was just waiting for something to happen to their little bubble. Didn't know whether it was going to be Brian getting a job out of the city or if Brian sister was going to find out that the two of them were hooking up. But this book did not disappoint me at all. It's the perfect Rom-Com with the humor throughout the book. You see minor action going on between the two. It really read like a chick flick that you would find for all ages to watch. Minor hints that things were happening between closed doors and minor petting. But it didn't take away from the story at all. I highly recommend this light story. 

Quotes that I Liked 

"You're beautiful...I've wanted to since you fell into my lap...How could I not?" 

"You can have the bed back."

"What?"

"It's your room. She was always saving it for you." 

"Why are you walking around like an ad for Old Spice?" 

Tropes

Rom-Com

Best Friend's Brother

Enemy to Lovers

Forced Proximity 

Fake Dating

Forbidden Romance