Elisabeth van der Wilt 
Welcome to this month’s August Reads. I’ve been wanting to write blog posts like this for a while now, but regardless it’s here now!
First off, a little WARNING… this will have a bit of spoilers… I will try to put a disclaimer before I do them… and make it so you don’t have to worry, but if you like to read a book and don’t know anything… I suggest you go somewhere else.
ABBREVIATIONS & THEIR MEANINGS
ARC = Advanced Review Copy
SD = Start Date
FD = Finish Date
HEA = Happily Ever After
Here is the list of books I read for the month.
Falling for the Beat || SD: 07/30/2022 FD: 08/05/2022
Diamond in the Dark || SD: 08/05/2022 FD: 08/09/2022
Psychos In Love || SD: 08/10/2022 FD: 08/11/2022
A Witch and Her Smuggler || SD: 08/11/2022 FD: 08/15/2022
Anthesis || SD: 08/16/2022 FD: 08/24/2022
Psychos Take Love || SD: 08/17/2022 FD: 08/19/2022
First & Last || SD: 08/20/2022 FD: 08/29/2022
Guns & Gags || SD: 08/29/2022 FD: 08/31/2022
Falling for the Beat by Breanna Lynn
#ARC #HEA #5star
My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have been trying to find the right words. Breanna Lynn, I’ve been with since the second book, each story is so unique and involves a rock star. Not going to lie, her books involving rock stars are all I’ve ever read.
I’m not a rock star kind of gal. This book was amazing, (though my heart will always love book 4 10x more)
This story follows the trope of Nanny + Boss, which who doesn’t love that… now the twist at the middle was…. not how I had hoped it to go, but I am the type of person who doesn’t live for that outward drama haha!
It ended happy which is what I require to love a book! Thank you for a wonderful read! Can’t wait to see what this amazing author will give us next!
Elisabeth van der Wilt
Added Note: This book was really good, and I’m not a huge fan of nanny and boss, I’ve just never got into it. But since it was an ARC book and I’ve read 3 other Breanna Lynn books, I actually quite enjoyed it since I love her writing style.
Link to Amazon: Falling for the Beat
Diamond in the Dark by Poppy Jacobson
#ARC #HEA #5star
My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was humming and hawing while reading. I couldn’t decide if this book deserved five or four stars. Simply because I’m not a huge fan of RH books, I only read one a year.
My first one was actually Den of Vipers and I tell you Liam made me think of Diesel from that book. Regardless of my qualms, this story was outstanding. I found myself reading with excitement near the end.
Cormac was a sweetie underneath his rough exterior and I couldn’t tell you who’d I pick haha.
I also am not a huge fan of the mafia, but it turned out really good. I am so glad I got to read this book.
Great debut and can’t wait to see what happens next.
Elisabeth van der Wilt
Added Note: As I mentioned, this was an ARC book, it was her debut novel, and I just really liked it. It was an added bonus that we were in the same group for writers. So ha! Love that! Also lots of major TRIGGER warnings for people…
Link to GoodReads: Diamond in the Dark
Psychos in Love by S.J. Ransom
#ARC #cliffhanger #5star
My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Psychos in Love is the only real name this book deserved…
That they fell in love is beyond my belief.There is no morally gray character… plain and simple they are bad guys.
No good.But the book was short and not-so-sweet. So many triggers if that’s you’re thing. Only read this book if you truly can be like… shrug your shoulders and go… okay.
Please note that I don’t condone any of this in real life but for the premise of the story… I like it.
Elisabeth van der Wilt
Added Note: Okay, I don’t always love this type of book, it’s very dark and twisty, but the author did it so well, I just had to give her 5 stars… and I do it because I care about certain feelings, and I know how hard it is to get a low rating, but she told me it was a cliffhanger. So I am excited to see what comes next.
Link to GoodReads: Psychos In Love
A Witch and her Smuggler by Luna Starkey
#ARC #5star
My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow, what a book!
I want to say so much but don’t want to spoil it for the others. I’m not nor have I ever been a fantasy kind of girl, but this is my second dark fantasy of the year, and im kind of finding a thrill with magic. I don’t know if the ending is a determined cliffhanger or if the next book will twist into the other characters, but I adored this story.
I loved Evelina as a character. I was drawn in by their uniqueness, as is the story. It wasn’t the average romance tale, and since i can’t speak for fantasy and if it was average or unique, all I can say is I loved it.
Love, love, love, loved it!
I can’t wait to see what else this amazing author has in store. I hope I get to read many more from this person.
Thank you so much for a wonderful book and congratulations on your debut!
Elisabeth van der Wilt
Added Note: I signed up for too many ARC books this year, but I was happy to see some unique things going on here… I was really happy to participate on her team… and the release is a ways away yet, but I suggest if you like fantasy to read it, this book was fun
Link to GoodReads: A Witch and Her Smuggler
Psychos Take Love by S.J. Ransom
#ARC #5star #cliffhanger
My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Psychos Take Love,
Boy did they ever.
I don’t know really what to say. Because this book is outstanding but very psychotic. I am just going to say that I dislike Haydes, and I used to think that there was no worse than the first three psychos but somehow this book twists you to think they’re the good guys.
Overall, loved it, it’s thrilling and keeps you reading on. Plus I love a good short book, and the peppers were intense. At least for my style of reading!
Great story, can’t wait to find out what happens next!
Elisabeth van der Wilt
ADDED NOTE: SPOILER EDITION
OMG! Okay, so now I get into some spoilers for the book. She might be pregnant, and she ends up getting shot. I always hate the end on a cliffhanger and it’s so dramatic, like what happens if you die? Will someone else write it the way you intended? I say if you’re a writer only do dramatic things like that if you’re ahead in the books or plotted it to shit so people know.
Link to GoodReads: Psychos Take Love
Anthesis by Lauren Elizabeth
#ARC #cliffhanger #4star
My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I had a hard time with this book. I don’t know why.
First I want to state that this author did incredibly and 5 stars alone s to writing style. Her words scream a form of elegance and delight, I just absolutely loved that. I also love the characters, And, and Hunter being my favourite.
Now, I’m unaware if there is a sequel, and if I learn there will be more then I will change my rating but based off this ending… not meeting my needs for an Hea
Also the book comes off less of romance and more of an adventure. But it was amazing, really good and quite enjoyable once you get into it.
Elisabeth van der Wilt
Added Note: Spoiler Edition
I was hoping the author would tell me if this was going to be a sequel. It ended without a happy ending and I was destroyed… I was really wanting something SIREN based that they fall in love she’s a mermaid/sea witch along with a human boy… but it did not turn out as I planned. Also wasn’t holding the romance aspect at all, but for a debut novel, and the writing style I was intrigued.
Link to GoodReads: Anthesis
First & Last by A.A. Henbane
#ARC #HEA #5star
My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
First & Last is a tale that not everyone might like. It’s about a girl who wants the one person in her life to be her one and only. Meaning she’s not sleeping around with every Tom, Dick, and Harry.
But when Antonia reconnects one late summer evening with Orion the father of her best friend, she discovers that he might just be exactly who she is looking for.
This story is explicit and it’s erotica in the highest degrees, and not always but this book actually hit a few knobs in my pedestal of smut levels. I actually blushed a few times and was intrigued so to speak with the words on the page.
As other reviewers have stated that scenes are a bit repetitive, I actually think this story did very well, there was a mention of r@pe and went into that description as well as the trial which seemed very realistic.
As a writer, a reader, and an enthusiastic romance person, I was enthralled with the book. So much so as to engulf the last half of my copy.
I am so glad I got to read this book and was introduced to her style. This includes a few k!nks and has a present narrator type of POV and it was enticing.The style, Design of the Cover, and Characters are all wonderfully made. I had a slow start getting in it but then it kept going which I just loved!
Elisabeth van der Wilt
Added Note: Spoiler Edition
I was given a PAPERBACK ARC copy of the book and please note, that wasn’t a bribe, but I loved it the book was unique, it had a lot of smut, and it might come off repetitive, but the other reviews, man it hurt me a lot, I was so upset by them doing that and it was her debut… like come on, she WARNED you… anyway, she did amazing. I also have spoken with her A-LOT on FB and she is just such a sweet, and over-the-top kind person. I’m hoping to read many more of her works.
Link to GoodReads: First & Last
Guns and Gags by Erin Mc Luckie Moya
#ARC #cliffhanger #4star
My Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow…
This book was so good, it hit all the things I needed… and someone might ask, why did I give it 4 stars and not 5… technically I think it’s more like 3.5 but I round up.
The ending.
Its a cliffhanger, and the plot twist made me bawl my eyes out, I haven’t cried about a book in a very long time, but this hit differently. So much I craved and yet so… devastating.
I don’t mean to spoil it, it just didn’t end in a way I hoped for, although there is a continuation about the main character and I don’t know how I feel about it but I am interested to see where the author was heading.
Elisabeth van der Wilt
Added Note: Spoiler Edition
This book destroyed me, as it’s the final on our list, and the final of the month, completing it this morning, to bawl my eyes out. First off, I’m new to this author and was drawn in by the unique circumstances of this book, and I love biker gangs… but she horribly, and sadly… killed the main love interest. My man, my damn Gunner was shot, discovered he had cancer, and died.
My heart going with it. I was so sad about it, and I just think yeah, killing characters off, fine. Cancer kills hundreds upon thousands of people every day, but that hit me like a ton of a bricks. So good, but so bad, and maybe the next book redeems it but… I really liked them together…
Link to GoodReads: Guns & Gags
OVERALL, a big reading month and they were all ARC’s I didn’t touch my Year of Study Books, I didn’t do my prompt of the month (well technically I did, the prompt was Fantasy but still I had a book by Katee Robert picked out…)
I am excited to see how much more I can do in September.
Goodreads total now: 66/75
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