All posts by Jo-Anna W

#Review – Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, 1) by Rebecca Yarros

An Instant New York Times Bestseller
A Goodreads Most Anticipated Book

“Suspenseful, sexy, and with incredibly entertaining storytelling, the first in Yarros’ Empyrean series will delight fans of romantic, adventure-filled fantasy.” —Booklist, starred review

Fourth Wing will have your heart pounding from beginning to end… A fantasy like you’ve never read before.” ―#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout


Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

The Empyrean series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 Fourth Wing
Book #2 Iron Flame

I had seen posts about this book for weeks before I purchased it. When one of my friends said that she loved it and I knew that this wasn’t her normal genre, I had to drop everything to read it and boy, man, gosh, am I ever glad I did.

This book was on a whole other level. I haven’t read something like this in years. The world building, the characters, the friendships, the love, the fighting, the grumpy dragons, the sizzling chemistry…man…seriously, I truly have no words.

I couldn’t read this book fast enough. I had to know what all the hype was and I knew that the book ended in some sort of way but I still wasn’t expecting that.

I haven’t felt this way about a book and world since I read The Black Dagger Brotherhood for the very first time.

The world building in this book was top notch, the originality, the heroine…I could keep gushing but trust me when I say this, read this book! I didn’t even read the blurb and went in completely blind and boy am I glad I did. I can’t say it enough but I truly loved this book and it’s now in my top 5 of favourite books I’ve ever read. I don’t re-read books often either but I’m about to jump into re-reading this to get ready for book 2 that comes out on November 7th.

Thank you, Rebecca, for sharing your world with us and I can’t wait for the rest of this series.

#Review – Too Late by Colleen Hoover

The instant #1 New York Times and USA Today bestseller, a story about a woman caught in a dangerous web of obsessive love, trying to find a way out before it’s too late… this new, updated edition is a “barn-burner” (New York Post) and Colleen Hoover’s darkest romantic thriller since Verity.

Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does so, every single day. Caught up with the alluring Asa Jackson, a notorious drug trafficker, Sloan has finally found a lifeline to cling to, even if it’s meant compromising her morals. She was in dire straits trying to pay for her brother’s care until she met Asa. But as Sloan became emotionally and economically reliant on him, he in turn developed a disturbing obsession with her—one that becomes increasingly dangerous every day.

When undercover DEA agent Carter enters the picture, Sloan’s surprised to feel an immediate attraction between them, despite knowing that if Asa finds out, he will kill him. And Asa has always been a step ahead of everyone in his life, including Sloan. No one has ever gotten in his way.

No one except Carter.

Together, Sloan and Carter must find a way out before it’s too late…

This book…wow.

So first thing, I have to point out that I love love love that the chapters were short. As a reader, I struggle with the longer chapters because I find that I get distracted. Thank you, Colleen, for that!

Now for the review:

We meet Sloan who’s strong, fiesty and has lived a hard life.

We then meet Carter who is your cinnamon roll type of hero. He’s super sweet, gentle, but is savage when his girl is hurt or is in danger.

This book is about Sloan and Carter and what they go through to be together. There were parts of the book where I actually wasn’t sure if this story had an HEA or not. You’ll have to read to find out by the way.

The book is also written in three POVs. Sloan, Carter and Asa’s. I have to say that as a lover of villains, I absolutely loved Asa and his twisted brain. My heart hurt for him and what he went through as a child and how he just wanted to be loved. Even though his views were messed up as a result of how he was raised, he loved Sloan. Hard. Will that love cost him everything in the end?

Colleen Hoover’s darker, thriller books, are my favourite of hers. Verity is my all time favourite book of hers but I enjoyed this one as well. I hope she writes more!

#BookPromo – Shadow Hawk (Blood & Shadow, #5) by Alianne Donnelly

Three years after humanity devolved into the bloodiest conflict in centuries, the Shadow war is far from over.

Laura Belden is at the end of her rope. Her community is under the tyrannical control of a sadistic madman, and her people are depending on her to find a way out. The last thing she needs is the boy she once loved showing up out of the blue, as if he hadn’t broken her heart and then disappeared right out of her life. The problem is, he might be the only one able to help. After all, Finnegan Rowe is an expert on all things Shadow, courtesy of the twenty years he spent in their ranks.

Finn is coming home for one reason: to beg Laura’s forgiveness and start making amends for two decades of bloodshed in the name of a lie. He knows it won’t be easy—Laura is hurt and angry, and she has every right to be. He’s ready to accept whatever punishment she deems necessary. What he doesn’t anticipate is coming face to face with an enemy who threatens the lives of everyone who still matters to him. The battle will cost him everything, but a Hawk is trained to never leave a mission unfinished. Turns out, there is a way out of Shadow after all. But it leads through blood…

#BookPromo – The Trouble With Us by Carmen Jenner

USA Today Bestselling Author Carmen Jenner delivers an unforgettable friends-to-lovers,marriage-pact, surprise pregnancy, STAND-ALONE about two best friends who just needed a little shove in the right direction. Guaranteed HEA!

Friends don’t fall for their new bestie’s boyfriend.

Yep. Things got super awkward when I came face to face with the tattoo-covered Viking with a devastating smile and a panty-melting southern accent whom I coerced into being my fake boyfriend only weeks before. How was I supposed to know he was my friend’s boyfriend?

Friends don’t make marriage pacts after they’ve had too much to drink.
I’d been in love with Gabe since the night we met. He just didn’t know it. So when he asked me to marry him if we were still single at thirty, how could I possibly say no?

Friends don’t get one another pregnant.
Neither of us ever wanted kids, but when those two little lines appeared on that stick, well … exactly how big does an explosion have to be before it’s considered nuclear?

Friends don’t look at one another the way we do.
And that’s the trouble with us. Gabe and I have never been just friends.

#BookPromo – Target Acquired: Volume 6 of the Don’t Close Your Eyes Series (Don’t Close Your Eyes – A Slow Burn Enemies to Lovers Series) by Lynessa Layne

Klive King warned me he was complicated. He drew me in, then pushed me away. He insisted a relationship was dangerous. I learned the hard way how right he was.
We fanned the flames of passion and ignited an inferno against us, but they greatly underestimated the lengths I’d go for the man I love.

TARGET ACQUIRED

* 2023 Best Book of the Year Silver Falchion Award

* 2023 Best Suspense Novel of the Year Silver Falchion Award

* First romance novel to win a Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Book of the Year (Top international Mystery, Thriller, Suspense books)! Past winners include Kiersten Modglin, Kate Gable, Paula Hawkins, Lisa Unger, Lisa Gardner, et.al.)

#BookPromo – Surviving Hell: Jake’s Story by Annalise Blaze

Young and arrogant, jaded by love- Jake Monroe is focused on one thing, his military career. Until a
young recruit catches his eye.
Mel’s pull is like magic, drawing him. He shouldn’t want her. She’s too good for him, but he can’t stay
away.
Returning to a war zone, one letter changes their course. Destroying what Jake thought could have been
his forever. But fate draws them together again.
Can Jake survive hell and win back his girl? One thing is for sure, he’ll go through hell and back trying.

BookPromo – Lost Without You (Book Two in The Winters Series) by Annalise Blaze

I started to panic and I rarely panic.

I just got out of my car and went into the house, praying she was home. There was no sign of her. What the hell was going on? My pulse was beating at an alarming rate, and an overwhelming fear had taken up residence inside of me.

I saw the envelope on the table with a sheet of paper lying on top of it. Swallowing hard, I picked up the paper up to read it. I could see dried spots where tears had obviously fallen on it as she written it. In my gut, I knew I didn’t really want to read her words.

I put my head in my hands, feeling broken, and the most alone I’d ever felt in my entire life. My world had imploded. The hell of it was I had no idea how the fuck I was going to fix it. One thing I knew for sure was I had to find Hope. I had to explain and beg her to understand.

#BookPromo – Starting Over (Book One in The Winters Series) by Annalise Blaze

Forty-something caterer, Hope Winters has recreated her life after a divorce. Taking a chance on a catering job her deployed daughter suggested, Hope meets thirty-something businessman, Rafe Lacroix.

Instant heat and a high profile job combine to bring them together. Giving in to the electricity, Hope knows better than to let her emotions get carried away. After all, she’s had twenty years of being told her value. She knows that Rafe deserves better but she wants a sample of her own.

Determined to enjoy her fill, Hope knows when it’s time to let Rafe go to save them both. When disaster strikes, an unwavering Rafe knows where he belongs. At Hope’s side, providing the sustainment she needs to fight old demons and new fears.

Can Rafe help unwrap the desires Hope has hidden away? Can Hope slay the ghosts of her past and accept that the recipe to her true happiness lies in Rafe’s arms?

#BookPromo #NewRelease – Unfinished Business by Tricia Daniels

Maya and Alex managed to avoid each other in the same town for more than fifteen years but the universe pushes them back together as a new destiny begins to unfold. Twists and turns in the road being laid out before them will force these two highschool sweethearts back together to face their fears and insecurities. Their mysterious journey will quickly reveal they are not the only ones who have unfinished business.

#BookPromo – My Best Friend’s Dads: An Short, Steamy, InstaLove, AgeGap, Forbidden Billionaire Romance by Katy Lux

Her best friend’s daddies are too tempting to resist…
Alexis
When my best friend asks me to stay at her family’s incredible lake house for the summer, I jump at the chance. But the second I meet Amy’s dad, Daniel, and his best friend, Eric… my relaxing retreat turns into an erotic adventure.

Daniel is the definition of forbidden temptation. He may be old enough to be my father, but he has a voice like honey and a body shaped like a Greek god, and I can’t stop imagining those strong hands all over me.

Just when I think I can’t take anymore, I meet Eric. He’s as sweet as he is seductive and with looks that rival Daniel’s—I want him as well. But Eric isn’t just Daniel’s best friend… he’s also Amy’s former stepdad!

All it takes is one salacious night, and the three of us cross the line from fantasy into reality. I don’t want to lose my best friend, but I can’t lose Daniel and Eric either.
And now that I’ve tasted them both, I can’t stop until I have them… forever.

Eric/Daniel
We shouldn’t want her, but Amy’s best friend is too much to resist. With her plump lips, luscious curves, and innocent eyes, she’s a walking fantasy.

But men our age taking a sweet young thing like her wouldn’t be right.

We plan to simply ignore our desires, but when she says she wants us just a bad as we want her… our passion and lust take over.

And even though we know this is wrong, when it comes to Alexis, everything feels too right.