Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L Armentrout (2023)

This is the first of a new series; who knows when the next book will be released (she’s finishing another series first). I went into it not knowing just how spicy it was going to be and just how integrated that spiciness would be in the story. I don’t have an issue with spice in books, because normally I can skip it and not really miss anything. But, not so with this one. It went way into being smut-tastic scenes that you couldn’t avoid because their conversations and their information (necessary to the plot/series) are interwoven with the R-rated moments. It was extra frustrating for me. Despite really being interested in the plot and this world, I almost DNF’d it at 61% because there was yet another smutty scene – at the dinner table no less. Only the promise of things shifting gears in the last 100 pages kept me going.

That said, while reviewing this book, I’ll probably reference the spice, so if it’s going to make you struggle, stop reading now. Interesting world, so-so characters, lots of mysteries still to uncover in the next book. A 3.5 out of 5.

Our story is told from the perspective of Lis (Calista). Lis remembers little before arriving at the orphanage where she lives with her best friend, Grady. Things kick off with the hyhborn (immortals with magic who rule the land) unexpectedly arriving at the orphanage. Lis has a bad feeling about it (she’s been gifted with intuition, foresight and telepathy) and Grady hides her. The hyhborn are looking for someone. Who it is, they don’t say, but they demand to see everyone’s eyes. They compel Grady not to move so he can’t stop them from seeing Lis’s eyes. Luckily her eyes are the wrong color so they move on, but not before the hyhborn lord notes her bruises and soundly thrashes the pervy head of the orphanage for his sadism. Lis thinks of him over the years as *her* hyhborn lord – which will become important later, of course.

Love at First Spite (2022)

So I think I’m going to take a break from new adult romance by new-to-me authors. I’m just not really enjoying it.

Good things about the book:

1. An interesting career for our FMC. She’s an architect, sort of. She’s an interior designer who works at an architectural firm, so it’s much more than picking out throw pillows (I’m not bashing interior design, just how books often characterize it as a fluff job).
2. An interesting career for our MMC. He’s an architect. Are you sensing a trend?
3. He’s a grump (sort of) but she’s not a sunshine girl. He’s actually just reserved, with a little bit of insecurity thrown in there. She’s not a ray of sunshine who brightens everyone’s day (this trope really grates for me - I’m looking at you, Gabriella, from HSM).
4. Strong females/relationships. Except for the females in the ex’s orbit, the women weren’t particularly tropey. 
5. Great found family. Our FMC’s not close to her parents. She’s besties with her cousin and the pair find a great network of friends, including the aunt of the cousin’s BF who becomes an older aunt/mom figure. 

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik (2022)

Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. I've finally read this last book in the trilogy. I think I am a little in shock. Not because of how terrible it was. But because I am just overwhelmed with all the emotions. 

If you haven't read A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate, I recommend reading them before you read this post, because I wouldn't want to spoil them with my review. I'm going to reference them below.

This read was one that I was longing to read and yet dreading at the same time. Because I was hooked at the end of the first chapter of the first book. I put off reading book 3 because I love the story so much and didn't want it to end. I love our grouchy, snarky heroine, El (Galadriel). I love her friends and her beau, Orion, a boy who can't help but save people (it's like it's a compulsion).  And I was scared of what might happen, given what happened at the end of book 2.

In the first book, we learn about the maleficaria (mal), creatures created when someone uses their abilities to steal mana, to do something wrong. Mal are attracted to and like to eat magical creatures. Children are especially vulnerable to them. In an attempt to save lives, the magical world created the Scholomance, a sentient boarding school. There are no adults, only students. The Scholomance provides the materials and curricula. We quickly find out that the mal will somehow get into the school and eat the students (or eat other). The magical world keeps sending their children to the Scholomance because the survival rate for the children at the school is leaps and bounds better than for students outside the school (a 25% survival rate versus 5% survival rate). 

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (2020)

Linus Baker has been a Case Worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (aka DICOMY) for 17 years. It’s his job to evaluate the government-sanctioned orphanages for magical children. He’s thorough, reliable, objective and reads the Rules and Regulations tome every chance he gets. You might think that this would make Linus an anal stick-in-the-mud who only cares about following the rules, but Linus isn't. He does his job because he genuinely believes in the mission of helping these children have nurturing environments to grow in.  Outside of work there’s only his cat, Calliope, and his LPs by the likes of the Big Bopper, Richie Valens and Buddy Holly. Also his annoying, nosy, gossiping neighbor who continually casting aspersions while simultaneously trying to fix Linus up with her nephew. (Not that Linus has ever said that he was gay.)

One day, Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management (EUM), much to his obnoxious boss's chagrin. The EUM give him curious (aka odd) and highly classified assignment: he is to travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage and evaluate the home and its manger, Arthur Parnassus. EUM doesn’t give him any more information. They just tell him to document everything, no matter how innocuous, so that they can make an informed decision regarding the orphanage. He only receives the  case files for the children and the caretaker when he exits the train to catch the ferry to the island. The first (and most important file according to EUM) is on 6-year Lucy, who just happens to be the Antichrist. (Linus faints when he reads this, even though he's never been that religious of a person, because... Antichrist.) 

Simmer Down by Sarah Smith (2020)

Reading the synopsis, I thought I would really like this book (I mean, it's a great cover!). She and her mother own a food truck. He and his brother encroach on their territory. Hijinks ensue. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.

Like I mentioned in another romance review recently, maybe I've just grown past reading this type of story. It felt very New Adult. (Not that New Adult is bad. There's the struggles that someone in their 20s goes through -- hers are just a little more extreme than most since her father died. I'm just not in my 20s anymore.) The couple butt heads.

Honestly, their conflict felt a little forced, like they were enemies because the author wanted an enemies-to-lovers story, with the characters fighting because the author wants them to fight, rather than it being a natural evolution of events. The 'meet-cute head bump' felt really forced, with him being rude and her *way* over-reacting. It felt even more forced when compared to how he interacts with everyone else. His brother just lets it play out instead of stepping in, even though that seems like something he would do, because they need to fight right now.

Then, coinkydink of coinkydinks, they are seated next to each other, on the exact same plane ride to London. Talk about locking them in a room where they have to interact. And, lo and behold, once they talk, they like each other, begin sleeping together, and when they get back to the US, they secretly date.

Saved by the Alpha by Skye Wilson (2022)

Saved by the Alpha, 4.25/5

It’s not quite a 4.5. This is a good conclusion to the series. Ending did not feel rushed and there were some really great moments.

There were a lot of things that I appreciated about this third book. Stop reading if you don't want spoilers.

One. We finally have Eli telling his dad about the crap that Brock’s done. As I predicted, Nick was horrified and livid. I just wish that Nick would’ve given him a beat down.

Two. The love declaration moment was just so good. If I ever have a husband, this is the kind of relationship I want to have with him. What I mean by that is that there was mutual respect and admiration. He continually respected her boundaries and he always had a positive spin to what she did. That’s not to say that they didn’t argue, nor is that to say that he never called her out for some of her choices/actions (because he did). What I am saying is that he always had her back and gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Sun Crossed by Elizabeth Briggs (2022)

Before I begin my review, can I just say that I hate covers where the guy's pants hang low to emphasize how perfectly built he and his abs are? I mean, if this guy's pants dropped any lower, we'd be experiencing the Full Monty. It's one of the worst offenders I've come across in the romance genre. A 2-second glance and it's really obvious just how *low* those jeans are.  You can't help but look there. Everything leads the eye to look there: her hand angles toward it, the streaks that frame the couple arrow toward it instead of leading your eyes up the image, the U in SUN points *directly* at it. None of the other covers in the series are like this. I get that covers with bare-chested men indicate what type of book it is, but this is just ridiculous (and annoying).

It’s the end of Book Three, and we still haven’t beaten the Sun Witches. I really hope that the next book doesn’t drag out the conflict and then end with a really quick wrap up that feels completely unsatisfying. It normally wouldn't be as much of a concern for me, but there was a noticeable drop in quality for this third book. There were many times where I asked myself, "What is going on? The first two books were not like this. Were they and I just missed it? Am I just in a bad mood today, so it's all the more intolerable?” Instead of the book being escapist fun, I frequently felt frustrated, irritated, irked and a couple of times I was pissed off. Whether it was misogyny, people going against establish character, or just plain being inconsistent, it happened through most of the book and really took me out of the story. I thought it might be explained by author's stress due to Covid, but then I saw that the book was published in 2022. So, not Covid. Then the stuff just really bugged me. It wasn't enough to give up on the book or the series, but it was enough to pull me out of the story. I plan on completing the final book in The Lost Pack series. (There’s a fifth one - the start of the True Alphas series, with Stella and Jordan as faded mates. I think I’m looking forward to that one.)