All posts by Jo-Anna W

#Review #Novella #Horror – A Brush With The Devil by Yolanda Olson

March 12, 2024 Jo-Anna W Leave a comment

All I wanted was a night out alone to try and feel normal again.

Instead, I spent most of my time drowning my sorrows in whiskey and listening to every song that Blondie has ever produced.

I left before the liquor got the best of me, but not before putting the jukebox out of commission, and the self-appointed DJ wasn’t impressed.

I tried to get away, but he followed.

When I decided to confront my newfound demon, I found myself face-to-face with one of the most beautiful men I had ever laid eyes on. But there’s a saying about the Devil appearing as everything you ever wanted, and it’s true.

Because to me, for that one moment, he was everything I needed.

I didn’t want him to come home with me, yet he refused to leave.

He wanted to have some fun.

I was going to be his new game and he was going to play with me until he was bored and went on his merry way again.

See, he doesn’t know that I’m a monster too.

He only sees the outside and not the in.

One night with the devil is what I’ve got and I’ll show him that not everything that’s as equally beautiful as he is, is made of innocence and grace.

He wants to play … and now?

So do I.

A Brush with the Devil brings together Gray Talbot from Death Blooms and Lakyn Meyer from the Malediction Saga for one night of hell that you won’t soon forget.

I completely forgot who this book was about. After reading Death Blooms, which I really loved by the way, I wanted to read more about Gray. Yolanda said she was writing this little story but clearly, I am not on the ball.

As you can see in the blurb, this book is about Gray from Death Blooms and Lakyn from the Malediction series. I haven’t read about Lakyn yet but now I really need to.

This story is about Gray and Lakyn meeting and unfortunately for Gray, Lakyn comes on a little strong. But they’re both entranced by each other. What could happen when 2 evil people meet? Nothing. Nothing at all. 😉

Lakyn ends up going home with Gray, much to Gray’s dismay, but something about him is unnerving to Lakyn and rightfully so. Have you read Death Blooms? 100% suggest doing so if you haven’t already.

Lakyn causes problems for Gray. Gray has issues trying to deal with him and his little friends. It’s a mess all around but one I rather enjoyed reading!

Now I need to read more and find out why Lakyn is the way he is.

Available in Kindle Unlimited – https://amzn.to/48BSaU1

Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Paranormal, Part of a Series

#BookPromo #Review- Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros

February 3, 2024 Jo-Anna W Leave a comment

Don’t miss the explosive new sequel to Rebecca Yarros’s bestselling hit, Fourth Wing.

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.” —Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

I’m going to leave this review short and sweet because I’m a firm believer of going into a story, completely blind. Especially with a book like this one.

So I’m sure most of you have heard of this series. It’s basically everywhere right now and for good reason.

This series is about Basgiath, a war college, and the students and faculty that attend/work at it. AND of course, we can’t forget the dragons.

Iron Flame is year 2 for Violet and her friends and man, does this one pack a punch. It’s pretty much action right from the very beginning. I thought book one stressed me out but man, this one topped that and more.

I won’t give anything away but if you like fantasy romance, I 100% recommend this one. I haven’t been this invested in a world in years. I can’t wait for the rest of the books in this series! Also, THAT ending. My heart is so happy.

Erotica, Novella, OTT, Standalone

#Review – My Stalker, My Protector by Jessa Kane

December 27, 2023 Jo-Anna W Leave a comment

College freshman Scout Snyder has a deranged stalker. Her brother is going out of town and needs someone big and strong to protect her while he’s gone—and there’s no better choice than his best friend, campus baseball star Cash Jenner. There’s only one problem…Cash is Scout’s stalker. And she’s just been thrown to the wolf.

This was a fun little over the top read. If you like heroes who go crazy for their women, then you will probably like this book. I was looking for something short to read, to get my number of books read up over on Goodreads, and came across this. It’s hot, short, and perfect for a night in.

Scout has a stalker. He sends her crazy notes and emails and she’s scared.

Cash is asked to protect her by her brother.

Little does Scout know, Cash is said stalker.

This little read is hot, filthy and definitely what you need now that the nights are getting colder.

Dark, Dark Dark and more Dark, Dark Romance, Duet, Trigger Warnings

#BookPromo – Hunting Adeline (Cat & Mouse Duet, #2) by H.D. Carlton

November 17, 2023 Jo-Anna W Leave a comment

AN AMAZON TOP 50 BESTSELLER!

The conclusion to the Cat and Mouse Duet is here…

The Diamond

Death walks alongside me,
But the reaper is no match for me.
I’m trapped in a world full of monsters dressed as men, and those who aren’t as they seem.
They won’t keep me forever.
I no longer recognize the person I’ve become,
And I’m fighting to find my way back to the beast who hunts me in the night.
They call me a diamond,
But they’ve only created an angel of death.

The Hunter

I was born a predator,
With ruthlessness ingrained in my bones.
When what’s mine is stolen from me in the night,
Like a diamond hidden within a fortress,
I find that I can no longer contain the beast.
Blood will paint the ground as I tear apart this world to find her.
And bring her back to where she belongs.
No one will escape my wrath,
Especially not those who have betrayed me.

Warning: This is the second and final installment to the Duet. You must read Haunting Adeline first.

Horror, Part of a Series

#Review – The Asylum Confessions (The Asylum Confessions Files, #1) by Jack Steen

November 13, 2023 Jo-Anna W Leave a comment

They arrive alive. They always leave dead.
But first, they give me their confessions.

My name is Jack Steen, and for those who arrive on my ‘death’ ward at the Asylum, I’m the last face many will see before they die. I am the night nurse at an Asylum for the Criminally Insane, and most of my patients know me as their Angel of Death. I know them as mass murderers, rapists, and serial killers – among other things.

Here’s what happens: they come on my floor, they give me their deathbed confession, and I help to make their death less painful. There’s a catch, though: I want the real story, the one they haven’t told anyone else.

The majority of these killers are expert manipulators. They could be playing their final game with me by messing with my head.
Now, maybe they’re messing with yours too.

Inside this book are 4 DeathBed Confessions:

Patient 1024 has an interesting ‘appetite’.
Patient 974 is the Ken to his Barbie, and he would do anything to keep her happy.
Patient 871 is a Nanny, but not one you want watching your kids.
Patient 1203 is the sweetest, broken soul you’ll ever meet but her confession is a hard read.

WARNING: There is swearing in this book. And some stories might be a trigger for something you have a hard time handling.

But, these are the confessions of serial killers, mass murderers and such.

Wow. Okay…um…

So I was looking for something quick to read to up my books read for my Goodreads challenge and I came across this series on Amazon. I was in the mood for horror. Figured it would be a good genre to read, seeing as it was October when I was searching for horror reads.

I ended up coming across this series and devoured the first book.

I guess the author is a night nurse at an asylum but some people are saying that that isn’t true. The author said that these books are about the confessions his patients give him before they pass. Again, not sure if that’s true or not. So it kind of messes with your head. I know it did mine.

There are four parts to this book. Each part about a different patient. They’re in the asylum for the criminally insane, so they’re all bad people, right? That I really can’t answer. The one I felt awful for. Another, I was disgusted. One just made me feel like “oh that’s been done before and isn’t anything new” and the last one? Are they a good person or not?

I think I had more questions than answers by the time I was done this book but I instantly one-clicked the next book in the series.

Please be warned though: There ARE triggers. But this is a horror book, so triggers kind of come with the territory. If you decide to grab this book, please read with caution.

I truly have no words for what I just read but of course, I’ll read the rest of the series because I want to know more. Oh and I wonder if the author is truly who he says he is, maybe he writes these books as a way to cope with what he’s dealt with for years. But I also wonder, if he is who he says he is, if he is a good guy or not…

Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Part of a Series

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

October 30, 2023 Jo-Anna W Leave a comment

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.

Psychological Thriller, Romantic Suspense, romantic thriller, Standalone, Suspense, Thriller

#Review – Too Late by Colleen Hoover

October 21, 2023 Jo-Anna W Leave a comment

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!

Angst, Friends to Lovers, Standalone, surprise pregnancy

#BookPromo – The Trouble With Us by Carmen Jenner

October 14, 2023 Jo-Anna W Leave a comment

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.

Part of a Series, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Thriller

#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

October 13, 2023 Jo-Anna W Leave a comment

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.)

Twinsie Talk Book Reviews