Author Archives: Kristin

Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

The Love Hypothesis
by Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: Sept. 14, 2021
Genre: Romance
Rating:

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor–and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive’s career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding…six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

 

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Review: Stealing the Dragon’s Heart by Kiersten Fay

Stealing the Dragon’s Heart
(Dragon Lords #3)
by Kiersten Fay
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: Aug. 25, 2021
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Rating:

Aidan never intended to enter Phase Nine, a deadly race through the universe that had once cost him everything, but he’d made an impossible bargain. While gearing up for the challenge, he is surprised to find two extra crew members aboard his ship, one of them a mysterious female named Onnika who tempts him beyond reason.

Onnika’s special brand of magic has always been the key to her survival…and the reason she and her sister Caryn are constantly on the run. While escaping a ruthless band of outlaws bent on exploiting her powers, she entangles herself with a dangerously handsome dragon shifter named Aidan and an infamous race that could ultimately lead her home. With everything on the line, she must use every devious trick in her book to gain Aidan’s trust while concealing her true identity.

 

 

This was one heck of a story. Since the story revolves around the Phase Nine race, there is a lot of action. Then to add on the suspense of Onnika and Caryn’s captors catching up to them, Aidan tossing them off of his ship, and figuring out what Onnika and Caryn actually are. Well, let’s just say this story didn’t have any boring parts.

The pairing of Onnika and Aidan was great. Aidan is this very serious, almost jaded person. He doesn’t trust easy, and it’s clear that he’s kind of given up on life. However, when paired with the lively Onnika, he comes to life. Here’s this beautiful woman who will lie, cheat, and steal and she pushes all of his buttons. Little does he know she’s not simply just a thief, but it’s a means for her and her sister’s survival. Only, he has no clue what they are running from, why they are running from it, and why she hides her identity with a hologram device.

I also really liked the secondary characters and the developing story with Caryn (Onnika’s sister). It would appear that she gained the attention of a dragon and a stone giant. There’s also other crew members on the ship but the one that gets the most air time is Zeek. I bet he will also get his own story in the upcoming books.

All in all, this was a solid read. It had romance, suspense, mystery, and a lot of Indiana Jones moments that left me on the edge of my seat. I look forward to reading the next book, and if you’re in the market for a high suspense, romantic fantasy, then I would recommend you check this out. You do not need to have read the previous books to understand what’s going on since this story stands on its own.

 

Previous reviews from Dragon Lords
Seduced by the Dragon Lord

 

 

 

Sneak Peek Wednesday: Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Labyrinth Lost
(Brooklyn Brujas #1)
by Zoraida Córdova
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication date: Aug. 1, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

The only way to get her family back is to travel to a land in between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland…

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic.

At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she’s not sure she can trust, but who may be Alex’s only chance at saving her family.

 

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Review: My Beautiful Neighbor by Piper Rayne

My Beautiful Neighbor
(The Greene Family #1)
by Piper Rayne
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: Feb. 23, 2021
Genre: Romance
Rating:

Who’s the mystery woman who just walked into my brewery?

I’m not the only one from my Alaskan small town asking themselves that question. But I’m positive, I’m the only one in Sunrise Bay undressing the pretty blonde in my head. Everything about her, from her make-up to her high heels says she’s a fish out of water.

Whispers and speculations run rampant until the secret of who she is gets uncovered. Then the rumor mill goes into overdrive when she announces she’s staying to open a bookstore in the building next to mine—throwing a big wrench into my plans to buy that empty building.

I quickly find myself in a tug-of-war since my business partner/brother is upset she’s ruined the opportunity to expand our business. I try to keep my distance, but I’ve got one sister with a gossip column on the local radio station and two meddling grandmas setting me up as a tour director.

And now I kind of like the idea of our new neighbor staying. But small-town life isn’t for the weak—time will tell if she has what it takes to be one of us.

 

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These Months Just Keep Flying By

I’m linking this post to Sunday Post, Mailbox Monday, and It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

Oh my goodness, guys. I’m so sorry that I haven’t been active for the month. I have been super busy. While I haven’t done any TNR this month, I did end up rescuing a kitten. I went to a location where there are a lot of cats to see how many were not fixed. While looking around, I found this kitten walking down the road by itself. When I got close to her, I realized that she was in rough shape. She was emaciated and had goop coming out of her nose and eyes. I snatched her up, got her settled at the house and got her to the vet. Which is when I found out she was full of worms, anemic (because of the worms), behind on development because she has the body of a 2 month old but her teeth are that of a 6 month old. She has an upper respiratory infection, and a cataract on her eye. So she has a while until she’s back to full health, but every day she looks/sounds a little better. My goal is to get her healed up and then find her a forever home. If you’re wondering, I names her Nezuko. Mainly because when I grabbed her, I put her in a little box so that I could drive back to the house, and she just sat in the box like the anime character.

 

This upcoming month is going to be a little crazy. A couple of friends and I have tickets to do TNR for this month. So we plan to go back to the place where I got Nezuko to try to catch as many cats as we can. So cross your fingers for us. The problem won’t be catching cats, the problem is going to be catching cats that aren’t already fixed. So we are going to have our work cut out for us. The moment you get out of your vehicle, cats come out of everywhere looking for food. They even followed us down the street when we walked around to try to get a head count on how many still need to be fixed. It was insane and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.

As always, while I may not be overly active on the blog itself, I do try to update what’s going on via Instagram. So, it’s always best to reach me there. However, I’m going to really try hard this month to sit down and read, and do more blogging. But at this point, and I won’t lie, I am starting to feel like a broken record.

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The Start of Fall

I’m linking this post to Sunday Post, Mailbox Monday, and It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

So this month I fell behind on reading again. I decided to take up pet sitting to help with all the TNR costs. So I’ve been busy doing that, on top of actually doing TNR on the island. However, I’m happy to report that I’ve helped 3 cats this month. Technically four if you count Pip showing up to my house with his face swollen from a snake bite. Thankfully it wasn’t a habu viper, but I had to rush him to the vet and get him treated. He’s doing much better and I hope that he learned his lesson to not mess with the spicy noodles at night.

As for the other three cats, I got Pip’s brother, Cain, TNR’d. I also got two cats from a sister base TNR’d. Those ones were not easy to catch. Two allowed me to pick them up when they got close for the food. The third catch was not so easy. There were two young cats that were in the area and they were weary of the traps. However, after a while they would go in them… and then delicately stepped over the triggering device that activates the trap, and would eat the food. I wound up having to just by the trap quietly, and as one of the cats got comfortable with going in the trap with me nearby, I just slowly placed my finger on the trigger plate to activate the trap. While I caught three cats, unfortunately I realized that one of them was someone’s dumped house cat that was already neutered. So, I let him go, which was  not easy to do. It’s so sad that the military members out here dump their animals when they move off the island. I was going to re-catch him at a later date to see if he’s microchipped and try to get the owners for animal abandonment but I was informed that special forces don’t actually pursue those cases. They feel like it’s a waste of their time, so it wouldn’t end up going anywhere. So, I’m trying to just let it go, but it still makes me angry.

I’m trying to look on the positive side of things and tell myself that I TNR’d 3 cats this month. One of which was a female. So, I’m glad that she will no longer have to deal mating or bearing kittens when she’s just a baby herself. I’m hoping to go back out there either this month or next month and try to get more cats from that area. I also have a bunch of cats on my own base that still need to be TNR’d. It’s honestly a bit overwhelming at the amount of cats on this island. But, I’m trying to take it once step at a time and do the most that I can.

 

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Review: Seduced by the Dragon Lord by Kiersten Fay

Seduced by the Dragon Lord
(Dragon Lords #2)
by Kiersten Fay
Publisher: Self-published
Publication date: April 23, 20121
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating:

Trapped in an alien spacecraft through no fault of her own, Jessie Knight is jettisoned into space and intercepted by a mysterious group of soldiers who call themselves dragon shifters. Thrust into a world of myth, legend, and danger, she discovers she may not be entirely human as she begins to develop latent powers that both captivate and mystify her. Placed under the protection of a gorgeous dragon shifter named Orik, she quickly realizes she must conceal her new abilities or be declared his enemy.
No one knows better than Orik Theroux of the King’s Guard that witches are heartless and ruthless killers who must be stamped out of existence. Orphaned by a group of them at a young age, he has vowed to destroy every last witch who crosses his path…until he begins to fall for an exquisite human female who turns out to be more than she seems. When the palace is besieged by witches, he must decide if he can trust Jessie with his life…and his heart.

 

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Review: Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

Dreamfever
(Fever #4)
by Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication date: Aug. 18, 2009
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating:

MacKayla Lane lies naked on the cold stone floor of a church, at the mercy of the erotic Fae master she once swore to kill. Far from home, unable to control her sexual hungers, MacKayla is now fully under the Lord Master’s spell.…In New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning’s stunning new novel, the walls between human and Fae worlds have come crashing down. And as Mac fights for survival on Dublin’s battle-scarred streets, she will embark on the darkest—and most erotically charged—adventure of her life.

He has stolen her past, but MacKayla will never allow her sister’s murderer to take her future. Yet even the uniquely gifted sidhe-seer is no match for the Lord Master, who has unleashed an insatiable sexual craving that consumes Mac’s every thought—and thrusts her into the seductive realm of two very dangerous men, both of whom she desires but dares not trust.

As the enigmatic Jericho Barrons and the sensual Fae prince V’lane vie for her body and soul, as cryptic entries from her sister’s diary mysteriously appear and the power of the Dark Book weaves its annihilating path through the city, Mac’s greatest enemy delivers a final challenge.…

It’s an invitation Mac cannot refuse, one that sends her racing home to Georgia, where an even darker threat awaits. With her parents missing and the lives of her loved ones under siege, Mac is about to come face-to-face with a soul-shattering truth—about herself and her sister, about Jericho Barrons…and about the world she thought she knew.

 

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Sneak Peek Wednesday: Along Came a Lady by Christi Caldwell

Along Came a Lady
(All the Duke’s Sins #1)
by Christi Caldwell
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publication date: Aug. 24, 2021
Genre: Historical Romance

Rafe Audley lives to thwart his father, the Duke of Bentley. The ne’er do well who abandoned his children claims he wants to make up for his failures, but Rafe only cares about protecting the people of his mining community and providing for his three siblings, who’ve been his sole responsibility since childhood. So far, Rafe has turned away the duke’s man of affairs, solicitor, and other interlopers, until the clever duke sends the unlikeliest of people to convince Rafe to join English High Society—a bold and intriguing woman.

Edwina Dalrymple has never failed a charge. She’s quite adept at successfully transforming young women of the gentry and daughters of newly minted lords to take their place in society. Taming a bastard son of a duke will be child’s play, plus this job promises to enhance her reputation within the ton. All she has to do is fetch the wayward Rafe and groom him to be presentable to Polite Society.

As the tenacious teacher and her domineering, stubborn, refuses-to-be-taught pupil engage in a fiery battle of wills, their chemistry ignites and the true lesson becomes clear: opposites attract and hearts must be heard.

 

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Review: The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Volume 1 by Aya Shouoto

The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 1
(The Demon Prince of Momochi House #1)
by Aya Shouoto
Publisher: Viz Media
Publication date: July 7, 2015
Genre: Fantasy Manga
Rating:

Himari Momochi inherits a mysterious house that comes with its own gorgeous demon guardian.

On her sixteenth birthday, orphan Himari Momochi inherits her ancestral estate that she’s never seen. Momochi House exists on the barrier between the human and spiritual realms, and Himari is meant to act as guardian between the two worlds. But on the day she moves in, she finds three handsome squatters already living in the house, and one seems to have already taken over her role!

 

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