#WOTR23 – #Review – The Villainous Wonderland Boxset: The Complete Series by A.K. Koonce

The Villainous Wonderland Boxset: The Complete Series by [A.K. Koonce]

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Review by Twinsie Kelly

I am not sure exactly what I was expecting when I started reading this series. I knew that it was an Alice in Wonderland retelling and I have read many retellings. However, this one took me by surprise. It was not what I was expecting! I am generally not a big fan of RH but this wasn’t all about the bedroom action. There is a great story unfolding with each page that is turned. The harem of men all have their own secrets and agendas but so does Madison our MC. She is brought to Wonderland in hopes of fooling the king that she is the real Alice. However, the real Alice ends up showing up, at the most inopportune time might I add, and then the real craziness begins. It’s a great story, lots of banter, tons of epic one liners, but a heartfelt story all going on at the same time. I absolutely recommend this series! You shouldn’t even have wasted your time reading this review, you should have already one-clicked and started the series!

Author Logo

A.K. Koonce is a USA Today best selling author. She’s a mom by day and a fantasy and paranormal romance author by night. She keeps the fantastical stories in her mind on an endless loop, while she tries her best to focus on her actual life and not that of the spectacular but demanding fictional characters who always fill her thoughts.

#wotr #attendingauthor Whiskey Sweet Promise (Whiskey Sweet 1) by Kelsey Elise Sparrow

How is a person supposed to come to terms with these facts?

Fact 1: My parents aren’t upstanding citizens (kind of learned that one at an early age)
Fact 2: The same two people who gave me life are the same people I, not too long ago, watched slice up two of my high school peers. (Great! Serial killers on top of idiotic thieves.)

Oh, and that’s just the starter. What comes next makes those things seem like child’s play or having a cotton candy treat at a damn fair.

Destiny? Fate? I’d like to give those bitches a swift kick in the teeth.
Kincaid Peterson has his work cut out for him if I’m the one he wants to spend his time with.

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70431461-a-whiskey-sweet-promise

Amazon https://amzn.to/40ENkll

Review by Twinsie Dee

i bought this book and here is my honest review

Dylan just wanted to move on from her past she moved away and then was forced to come back home, she needed to deal with her parent’s legal issues. this is the last thing she wanted to do was to feel like they thought she was lying about her statement when all she did was everything the cops asked of her and gave them all the things they could need. one thing she wasn’t prepared to deal with or see was her old flame Kincaid, but oh was she in his sights and he was going to get back what was his and left all those years ago. Dylan was going to have to face her past and let a few skeletons out of her closet before she can truly move on from her past. will Dylan let her friends and Kincaid in more than she ever intended to let anyone else or is she going to build her walls even higher. this was such a great story, if the spelling errors and grammar oops were fixed it would be even better but still an amazing story.

Kelsey Elise Sparrow is an author and lover of romance novels. She writes in various genres: rom-com, MC, PNR, and historical to name a few. As a lover of great movies, music, and books, her characters express interests in each as well as so much more. The worlds she creates are based upon dreams and imaginings that will take the reader on a journey unlike any other.
Kelsey calls Georgia her home. She is mother to a wonderful son, loves playing games, Marvel, and exploring. Her most notable series is The Norton Sisters. Watch for what’s to come with The Whiskey Sweet and Inked to the Max novel series. Stories with Heart. Sass. Shock.

#review #thriller Slashers and Secrets (Hellcrest Heights 1) by A.R. Breck

From dark romance author who brought the Blackridge Prep Series.

Secrets are meant to be buried, until they aren’t.
And Lakyn Ashford has the biggest secret of all.
She thought she could get away with it.
She should’ve known better.
I’d never allow her to escape so easily.
There is nothing more enjoyable than witnessing her crumble as I taunt her, trick her, and toy with her sanity.
Watching her fall apart is a game I’m destined to win.
I take my time with her, picking her apart, piece by piece, until she’s at my mercy.
The smile behind my mask grows as she fears the slasher in Hellcrest Heights.
She pretends to be afraid of me, but at night, she falls to her knees as she bends to my will.
And I have only just begun.
I know Lakyn Ashford’s biggest secret.
It’s me.

Slashers & Secrets is a full-length novel and book one in a duet. This book contains mature language, themes, and content that may not be suitable for all readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62328091-slashers-secrets

Amazon https://amzn.to/3nFCMUl

Review by Twinsie Dee

i bought this book and here is my honest review

holy poop balls, this book had me on my toes and guessing till the very end well until the to be continued. Lakyn and her friends are always in the spotlight with how all of their parents are in politics, so in hinds’ sight they have to have the perfect life but behind the curtains they all have their secrets and when the boys have a very protective nature over the girls no one is allowed to touch them. Well Lakyn didn’t care and was wanting to hook up with a local bad boy and well that didn’t sit well with her guys. After finding out somethings her fling was now no longer breathing. when they didn’t cover it up very well Lakyn’s parents shipped her off for a year, and didn’t tell anyone where she was. once back in Hellcrest crazy things have happen more murders a crazy masked slasher and he isn’t slowing down. will Lakyn and her friends figure out who is killing people while keeping their secrets in the past or will they all be exposed.

USA Today Bestselling Author A.R. Breck lives in Minnesota with her two children and two dogs. Socially introverted and slightly sarcastic, she enjoys watching horror movies and reading romance novels. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys road tripping with her family around the country. She writes primarily dark and edgy romance books with a touch of suspense.

#WOTR23 #audio #reread – Forsaking Gray, The Colloway Brothers book 1 by KL Kreig, narration by Christopher Anthony and Isabelle Turner

Forsaking Gray: The Colloway Brothers, Book 1

Lies. Deception. Betrayal.

Within less than twenty-four hours of proposing to the love of Gray’s life, Liva disappeared. No note. No trace. No explanation. Nothing. Now, five years later, she’s resurfaced and Gray will stop at nothing to make Livia his again. But is love enough to forgive an unforgivable wrong?

Livia had less than sixty seconds to make a decision that would change her life forever. She sacrificed. She suffered. She survived. Now that she’s back, she’s determined that no one ever discover her shameful secret – especially the only man she’s ever loved. But will hiding the past destroy her future?

Goodreads

Review by Twinsie Angie

I received this ebook from the author for an honest review but I did purchase the audio book recently.

The narration for this story was *Chef’s Kiss* outstanding .  The narrations nailed each of the characters and made Gray and Livvy real while I was plugging in listening to their story.

Have you ever read a blurb and thought “Damn, I need this book?” Well when I saw this blurb that is EXACTLY what I thought. It had a dark kinda vibe but a 2nd chance love story and my soul just needed it. I mean when you read Lies, Betrayal and Deceit in the blurb….hooked I tell ya just HOOKED!!!!

This book is about two very in love souls who have been torn apart. Gray is the cocky arrogant man who loves Livvy with his entire being. Livvy is the shy waitress who falls in crazy love with the rich guy. They get engaged and HEA time right? Well that is what should have happened but a dark secret forced Livvy to run away from her heart. She leaves and Gray is mess but so is she.

Five year later Livvy is away from her nightmare with the help of her friend Grant. She is making a life for herself but always looking over her shoulder when she bumps into Gray. The two connect eyes and BOOM Gray will not let her go. He finds her and peruses her, forcing her to just submit and agree to loving him all this time. Gray is mess of emotion. He needs to know why but Livvy shuts down. She fears telling him her shame will ruin what they might have in the future.

Friends, the twists in the book….AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…just AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH….I mean I had tears and then I was mad and then I was jumping and freaking out going “OMG” and “STFU” plus a few random growls outta pure frustration from one woman who will not let Gray go….GIRL her a $5 go buy a dang clue already!!!

I am literally finishing the review and jumping into book 2. The build-up has my heart pitter pattering…I mean I love it when a player falls and the fact of who he is falling for…even better!!

Follow me on TikTok: @klkreig_author

I’m just a regular ol’ Midwest girl who likes Game of Thrones and am obsessed with Modern Family and The Goldbergs. I run, I eat, I run, I eat. It’s a vicous cycle. I love carbs, but there’s love-hate relationship with my ass and thighs. Mostly hate. I like a good cocktail (oh hell…who am I kidding? I love any cocktail). I’m a huge creature of habit, but I’ll tell you I’m flexible. I read every single day and if I don’t get a chance…watch the hell out, I’m a raving bitch. My iPad and me: BFFs. I’m direct and I make no apologies for it. I swear too much. I love alternative music and in my next life I want to be a bad-ass female rocker. I hate, hate, hate spiders, telemarketers, liver, acne, winter and loose hairs that fall down my shirt (don’t ask, it’s a thing).

#review #seriesstarter #mcfiction —Nine Minutes by: Beth Flynn

RECOMMENDED FOR READERS 18 AND OLDER DUE TO STRONG LANGUAGE, SEXUAL SITUATIONS AND VIOLENCE.

Book 1 of 3 in the Nine Minutes Trilogy

On May 15, 1975, fifteen-year-old Ginny Lemon is abducted from a convenience store in Fort Lauderdale by a member of one of the most notorious and brutal motorcycle gangs in South Florida.

From that moment on, her life is forever changed. She gets a new name, a new identity and a new life in the midst of the gang’s base on the edge of the Florida Everglades—a frightening, rough and violent world much like the swamps themselves, where everyone has an alias and loyalty is tantamount to survival.

And at the center of it all is the gang’s leader, Grizz: massive, ruggedly handsome, terrifying and somehow, when it comes to Ginny, tender. She becomes his obsession and the one true love of his life.

So begins a tale of emotional obsession and manipulation, of a young woman ripped from everything she knows and forced to lean on the one person who provides attention, affection and care: her captor. Precocious and intelligent, but still very much a teenager, Ginny struggles to adapt to her existence, initially fighting and then coming to terms with her captivity.

Will she be rescued? Will she escape? Will she get out alive—or get out at all? Part psychological thriller, part coming-of-age novel, filled with mystery, romance and unexpected turns, Nine Minutes takes readers into the world of one motorcycle gang and inside the heart of a young girl, whose abduction brought about its fall.

Goodreads

Amazon

Review by Twinsie Tenise

This book sat on my Kindle for almost a decade before I read it. It’s probably because of some sort of book fate. I feel like maybe I needed to be older and wiser to fully appreciate the story.

Nine Minutes is not a hearts and flowers love story. A 15 year old girl was abducted in the 1970s by a dangerous motorcycle gang. She became the leader Grizz’s obsession. Through out the book, as I learned more, I’m pretty sure I started to fall in love with Grizz! Okay, I know I did, but how could you not?! Grizz and his MC have a huge problem though- well besides the whole kidnapping of a minor- and its the tangled web of deceit he has managed to weave throughout his lifetime. There are so many secrets and lies and eventually those things have a way of catching up with us. When they do, no one is safe from the fallout as the walls come crashing down around Grizz and his Empire.

Beth Flynn is a fiction writer and USA Today Bestselling Author who lives and works in Sapphire, North Carolina, deep within the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Raised in South Florida, Beth and her husband, James, have spent the last twenty-five years in Sapphire, where they own a construction company. They have been married for almost forty years and have two beautiful daughters, an adored son-in-law, a precious granddaughter, and a lovable Pit bull mix named Owen.

In her spare time, Beth enjoys studying the Word, writing, reading, gardening, and motorcycles, especially taking rides on the back of her husband’s Harley. She is an extremely grateful breast cancer survivor.

#NewRelease – A Cruel Arrangement By: Tijan

A Cruel Arrangement by Tijan is now live! 

This was my place. My business. Easter Lanes.

Then a guy comes in, trying to rob me, daring to take it away from me.

My home. My life.

Hell no. I won’t let my livelihood be threatened.

No one knows what I’ve done to build this life for myself.

Except he might.

Ashton Walden, a man I remember from when we were kids.

Even back then I could tell how dangerous he would be one day.

He’s now the head of the Walden mafia family, and my father is so in debt to them that they practically own him.

My dad and I are estranged and I want nothing to do with him or his debt, but the day after the attempted robbery, I don’t wake up in the hospital.

I wake up in Ashton Walden’s home. And he drops a bomb on me.

If I want my livelihood back, I need to earn it back.

And thus begins our cruel arrangement.

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3D8g10k

Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/CruelArrangement

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3wp933c

Meet Tijan

Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that writes suspenseful and unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing after college and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers including the Fallen Crest series, Ryan’s Bed, Enemies and others.
She is currently writing many new books and series with an English Cocker she adores.

 

Connect with Tijan

Website: http://www.tijansbooks.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4851199.Tijan

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tijan/e/B00DJG52QE

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tijansbooks/

Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/tijansreadergroup

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tijansbooks/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tijansbooks

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@tijan_author

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tijan

   

#review #yathriller #yafiction #partofseries —Asylum (Asylum book 1) by: Madeleine Roux

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Amazon

Review by: Twinsie Tenise

4 super creepy STARS

Dan Crawford is attending a 5 week college prep course at New Hampshire College. He will be staying in the Brookline building which is an old asylum the college turned into dorms. He is excited for the summer ahead of him and is looking forward to meeting new people. As his cab pulled up to the building he will be calling home for the next 5 weeks, something in Dan’s head whispered turn around now. Maybe Dan should have listened…

I cannot remember where I happened upon this book but the cover is fantasic and I wanted to read it immediately! I love diving into a well written YA thriller from time to time and the author did not disappoint. With new twists and turns on each page, I feel like I was freaking out almost as much as Dan and his friends as they tried to figure out and explain away the mysterious happenings and coincidences that quickly became impossible to ignore. Word of advice: if you are reading a physical copy of Asylum, have book 2 handy  because you are going to want it quicker than it can be delivered. Thank goodness the little book store near my house had a copy available.

MADELEINE ROUX is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Asylum series, which has sold over a million copies worldwide. She is also the author of the House of Furies series, and several titles for adults, including Salvaged and Reclaimed. She has written for Star Wars, World of Warcraft, Critical Role, and Dungeons & Dragons.

Madeleine lives in Seattle, Washington with her partner and beloved pups.

#WOTR23 #FriendsToLovers #Audio #FamilyStory – The Wedding Driver, Love in the Adirondacks by Jen Talty, narration by Skye Allen

Love in the Adirondacks—where hearts come together like the moon and the stars shining bright in the sky, showing the boats the way home at night.

The Wedding Driver: He’s been making dreams come true for a decade. Never in a million years did he believe his dream was a boat ride away.

Tonya Johnson has been in love with the elusive Foster Landon for as long as she can remember. However, other than their mutual business arrangement of her wedding planning business and the fact that he takes newlyweds around the bay on his antique boat shortly after their nuptials, he barely gives her the time of the day. Well, she’s tired of being ignored and decides it’s time Foster Landon takes her out on a proper date.

Foster Landon had his heart broken once and he doesn’t plan on letting that happen again. While he believes in love, it’s not for him. Not anymore. That is until Tonya asked him to take him for a boat ride. And not a wedding ride. He should say no, but he couldn’t resist her smile. Besides, of all the wedding planners in the area, she brought him the most business. Who was he to say no? However, he wasn’t prepared to lose his heart and find himself wanting to become a groom.

Cover by Charity Hendry Designs

Goodreads

Review by Twinsie Angie

I purchased this audio book.
I love a good romance and I needed something after reading a dark romance. I have read Jen’s stories before and loved the “feel good” love story so I knew this would be the perfect palette cleanser for me.
Tonya and Foster, LAWD ya’ll are a hot mess. They both want to be with the other but they both have fears….UBER FEARS. Tonya is afraid of losing her best friend. She would rather be with him as a friend then not at all. Foster, damn he has a giant-sized fear closet. He has every single right to be afraid but at the same time he is standing still while time flies by him.
When Tonya takes that step forward, it delights and scares Foster. He jumps forward and then runs the heck backward. I felt the couple had a lot of back and forth. Both afraid but also hurting the other with the indecisions. They both need to take a step back at times since they…well he mainly…runs for the hills.
I enjoyed the story except for the miscommunications but hey who wants to see hurt lovers? No one right!! But I did enjoy the twisted and weaving Foster’s past with his wife, child, and his past. I loved Tonya’s grandpa Maxwell. He was the best side character ever.
I didn’t realize this book was part of a series so now I want to go and listen to the story of Tonya’s sisters and their stories. The ladies were great big sisters who also gave their sister a kick in the butt when she needed.

Jen Talty is the USA Today Bestselling Author of Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, and Paranormal Romance. In the fall of 2020, her short story was selected and featured in a 1001 Dark Nights Anthology. She is currently contracted to write in the With Me in Seattle series by Kristen Proby with Lady Boss Press, as well as Susan Stoker’s Special Forces: Operation Alpha and Elle James’s Brotherhood Protectors.

Regardless of the genre, her goal is to take you on a ride that will leave you floating under the sun with warmth in your heart. She writes stories about broken heroes and heroines who aren’t necessarily looking for romance, but in the end, they find the kind of love books are written about :).

She first started writing while carting her kids to one hockey rink after the other, averaging 170 games per year between 3 kids in 2 countries and 5 states. Her first book, IN TWO WEEKS was originally published in 2007. In 2010 she helped form a publishing company (Cool Gus Publishing) with NY Times Bestselling Author Bob Mayer where she ran the technical side of the business through 2016.

Jen is currently enjoying the next phase of her life…the empty nester! She and her husband reside in Jupiter, Florida.

Grab a glass of vino, kick back, relax, and let the romance roll in…

#WOTR23 #Review – Under the Lies (Villainous Wonderland Series Book 3) by A.K. Koonce

Under the Lies: A Reverse Harem Series (The Villainous Wonderland Series Book 3) by [A.K. Koonce]

They pushed too far. The demented Hatter and all of his minions can test me all they like, but they just crossed a line.

Alixx Stone. That’s my line. Screw with my life all you like but don’t threaten my men.

The problem is, even if I save my friends, it won’t be enough. There’s an entire Kingdom who have been hurt by one man’s selfishness. Elder Liddell’s dark secrets are endless and now he’s dragged me into his twisted past.

My own flesh and blood did this.

And I’m starting to realize, I’m just as destructive as he is.

This is a Reverse Harem series, recommended for readers 18 and over.

Goodreads

Review by Twinsie Kelly

Whoa! This is where things get really dark but with a lot of clarity. Elder Liddell is a… Very. Bad. Man. He has messed with the wrong Alice and she is about to shut shhh down! Madison has had an awful journey with cancer and went on a crazy tour to finish her bucket list. Her bucket list never had Wonderland listed on it and now the bucket list has completely changed. Wonderland has turned out to not be a fairytale with all of its scattered happiness and permanent pain. Madison shares some really intimate moments with her men (love em all!) but these were loving… and hawt… looooong moments. Once Elder Liddell’s secrets are finally out and Madison realizes just how involved she really is, things get twisted. This is a page turner! You won’t be able to help from turning each page to see the next moment for the intimate touch, the craziness that Elder Liddell brings out in Madison, or the absolute love and adoration of a new found family. The ending of the book wrecked me! It was the perfect ending but dammit, I almost cried. I am not a crier. I repeat, I Am Not a Crier! The story was amazing! Bravo for an incredible ending!

Author Logo

A.K. Koonce is a USA Today best selling author. She’s a mom by day and a fantasy and paranormal romance author by night. She keeps the fantastical stories in her mind on an endless loop, while she tries her best to focus on her actual life and not that of the spectacular but demanding fictional characters who always fill her thoughts.

#wotr #attendingauthor #seriesstarter #audio Reckless (Room for Love 1) by Kate Hawthorne narrated by Evan Carolina

Pursuing your best friend’s dad is never a good idea, but Cameron Motel is feeling reckless. His life is about to change, and Luke is older, attractive…and he represents something Cameron has never had before.

Stability.

Luke didn’t mean to get involved with his son’s best friend, but Cameron needed a strong hand and Luke was willing to deliver on his promises.

This thing between them is supposed to be a secret, but something as big as love can’t stay hidden for long. Then a single phone call sends Cameron farther away from home than he’d ever planned to go, and Luke’s subconscious keeps him grounded in the past unable to move on.

Cameron is gone, and to get him back Luke needs to do something big, something bold, something…reckless.

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56819087-reckless

Amazon https://amzn.to/3FO5oRu

Review by Twinsie Dee

i was given this audiobook by the author for an honest review

Luke was getting over dealing with a brake up with his partner, now it was just him and his son Eddie and his friend Cameron was over most of the time. Well, when Cameron had to listen to Eddie wack one out one of the nights he was staying over while Eddie was in the shower, Cameron thought he might as well jerk one out too while he was alone. Cameron didn’t time his ending very well and next thing he knew not only was Eddie back in the room, but Eddie’s dad was now looking at him and well it made him feel things he didn’t know if he wanted to feel. Luke and Cameron started hooking up behind Eddie’s back and oh did the steamy fling happen. Both were happy until Cameron’s dad died, and he was forced to move to help his brother’s run the family hotel. Will distance slip these two up, will the huge age gap be the issue, or will they make it work and be happy for the rest of their life. OMG this audio was amazing, and this story was just as great the brattiness from Cameron with Luke and the steamy chemistry between them was just woah steamy.

With over two dozen published romances to her name, Kate Hawthorne has built a recognizable brand around telling emotional stories that pack a figurative (and sometimes literal) punch.

Existing on a steady diet of wine and coffee, Kate spends her days dreaming up angsty stories full of heat, kink, and heart. Kate now lives in Louisville, where she writes romance, reads romance, and hides from the humidity.