Publish Date: June 28th, 2021
Number of Pages: 423 Pages
Publisher: Independently Published
Genre(s): New Adult Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy

Total Star Rating: 3.75 Stars

Or, I guess, she just wears her damage where we can all see it. I bury mine as deep as I can, as far down below my skin as possible, so I can pretend it’s not killing me slowly, painfully, constantly.”
– J. Bree, “Broken Bonds”

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

After the death of my mother and her Bonded, I was relieved to find my own Bonds.
I was sure everything would be okay if I had them.
It wasn’t.
The fate of our people is in my hands and I know we’re better off if I’m alone.
After five years on the run, I’m caught and dragged back to face the men I ran away from.
I thought I was doing the right thing.
Now, I’m not so sure.
North, Nox, Gryphon, Atlas, and Gabe may never forgive me but one thing is for sure.
I won’t ever forgive myself.

*Broken Bonds is a full length reverse harem PNR novel with material that may be difficult for some readers. This book will end on a cliffhanger. It’s recommended for 18+ due to language and sexual situations.

~~~

Okay, this is a series that has been recommended to me for so long now, and it’s become a crazy popular book series amongst my social circles in the book community, so it was naturally only a matter of time before I started them myself…and for the most part, I’m happy I did! It’s only the first book in a 6 book series I have to remind myself, so while I see the potential in the story and the characters, it’s not quite there yet for me…

BUT, and its a pretty big but, I try not to judge a whole series based off just the first book—Throne of Glass and ACOTAR are both an excellent example of this—so I’ll have to keep reading on to really be able to judge!

These books have been described as like a reverse harem X-Men and yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty accurate description of it, just less comic-book style with the superhero names and the matching uniforms, and more gothic with a mix of X-Men and that 2006 movie, The Covenant, starring Steven Strait, Taylor Kitsch, and babies Sebastian Stan and Chace Crawford. Needless to say, but I’m digging the books based off these comparisons alone!

The story revolves around Oleander (love the unique name btw) or Oli for short, and she lost her parents at age 14, and its now 5 years later where she’d been found running from her own bonded for some reason we don’t know about. She ain’t saying anything to anybody, not even her 5 hot potential bonds who found her, and are all freakin’ pissed she ditched them all. They literally drag her ass back to Draven University where other bonded and their mates go to train and strengthen their abilities, and this first book is about her finding her place in this new surrounding, keeping her secrets, and figuring out who she can trust, and if they’re all truly safe from who’s hunting her…

Not too much to report other than what I have below on what I liked and didn’t like, but I can say I want to keep reading on to see how things play out, and not just because I have the urging from many bookstagram friends, I’m genuinely curious myself!

~~~

He has no idea of what I’ve sacrificed for him.”
– J.Bree, “Broken Bonds”

~~~

What I Liked:

The Mystery Surrounding Why She Ran Away! While a lot of the writing is pretty straight forward and easy to follow, one thing that really drives the story is the mystery surrounding Oli before the start of the story and she’s found by her bonded: where was she? what was she doing? who was she with? why was she trying to stay hidden? why did she run away in the first place? We don’t know any of these answers even after reading the first book, but there’s plenty of hints that wherever she was, it was nowhere good.
Oli is, Like, Scary Powerful! I love a badass, strong lead female character, and Oli is another one to definitely add to the list. She’s a great character, flawed and unapologetically herself, and you find out in the story that she has some wicked powers that she has to keep hidden because it will “bring destruction to them all” like its not a big deal…I’m definitely curious to see what happens here!
A Lot of Favorite Romance Tropes! We got forced proximity, bully romance, grumpy/sunshine, alphamales, touch her and die, reverse harem, protect her at all costs, and I’m actually just here for it all…like I’m actually asking God when is it my turn to have my own RH???

What I Didn’t Like:

There Was Hardly Any Romance…The spice was like a shriveled up half a pepper for this one unfortunately. I get it though, this book is setting the scene, and the guys are all pissed at her for ditching them and then they couldn’t get their massive power ups to stroke their dicks I MEAN EGOS! whoops!!!! But yeah, the romance was flippin’ nonexistent in this one and its a REVERSE HAREM…there’s 5 dudes and not one of them got any action! Not to worry, I am told good things come to those who wait with these.
Pacing Really Slowed Down In the Middle…As this book feels very character-driven in terms of plot, if you’re not feeling the characters by the midpoint, you’re gonna struggle. It gets a bit slow with the tedious and (kinda) childish mean girl drama, the bonds all being pissed at her, and Oli just being Oli which isn’t a bad thing, but she’s keeping secrets and she ain’t opening up quite yet…
I’m Hoping for More Worldbuilding…I want to know more about the history or lore of the bonds and like why they are around, how they came to be
Nox Draven is a DOUCHE…Well and so is his brother North in all honesty…they can choke. Nox just seems so petty and immature, and that’s coming from ME…Nox’s behavior doesn’t strike me as a college professor, so I’m sorry to say Lance Orion he is NOT.

Conclusion:

Overall, I liked but didn’t LOVE this book, but it’s also the first book in a 6 book series that everyone says is a giant slowburn, so I can’t judge too much about what didn’t happen. What I did enjoy was the cast of characters and the whole cast dynamics, the mysteries surrounding Oli and where she was, and the sexual tension that is peaking out from beneath the covers and (hopefully) wants to come out to play sooner rather than later!

I’m not wholly convinced yet, but I can definitely see hints of why so many of my inner circle of the book community consider this one of their favorite all-time series! Let’s hope I can soon join them…

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

LGBT, New Adult, New Adult Romance

My Review: Iced Out (Leighton U #1): by C.E. Ricci

September 26, 2023 nicholasjgoodsell

Publish Date: December 23rd, 2022
Number of Pages: 358 Pages
Publisher: Independently Published
Genre(s): New Adult Romance, Erotica, LGBT+

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

Falling in love wasn’t part of the deal. Hell, I was the one who went and told him not to fall in love with me, yet here I am doing exactly that. Catching feels in a fuck-buddy relationship, like a goddamn amateur.“
– C.E. Ricci, “Iced Out”

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

All’s fair in hate and hockey.

My path to success never included an enemy as a teammate, especially one as infuriating as Quinton de Haas.

Clawing under my skin is his favorite pastime, only feeding the animosity between us as the years pass.

We’re as completely opposite as two people can be; the golden boy and the black sheep.

Constantly at odds or at each other’s throats.

The only thing we can agree on is hockey is our true love, and we’ll do whatever it takes to come out on top.

I never imagined that drive would lead me to do the unthinkable: falling into bed with my not-so-straight rival.

But athletes are a superstitious bunch, and when our hook-ups lead to victories, we tell ourselves we can’t stop.

Besides, it’s all for the sake of the team, right?

*Iced Out is the first in a five book standalone college sports romance series featuring two misunderstood rival teammates, pages of snarky banter, and more secret spicy times than any book should be filled with. Not suitable for anyone under 18 years of age.*

~~~

My first ever CE Ricci book, and this one absolutely stole my heart! I absolutely loved Oakley and Quinton’s story here as they go from bitter rivals/teammates to steamy AF lovers….but of course the story couldn’t go so smoothly and had to have some bumps along the way.

This story is a duo perspective surrounding both Oakley and Quinton, two Leighton University Varsity hockey players, and even though they’re teammates on the ice, they can barely stand each other…call it rivals, call it enemies, either way there’s some major animosity between these two. Quinton is the team captain, but when a drug test suspiciously turns up positive, the tables flip and Oakley gets the spot…yeah, that’ll smooth things over…

Now one thing to know about hockey players especially, if not all athletes, is that they can get extremely superstitious. If they find one thing that helps them start a winning streak, they stick to it. So when a losing season starts to turn around after a random night when these two randomly get down and dirty together, what do they decide to do??? Keep doin’ it of course! Boy logic for you.

But hey, at least this means you’re guaranteed for some hot, spicy MM action in this book that involves sneaking around, secret hookups, library shenanigans, and just lots of heat in general!

BUT that’s not to say there aren’t some softer and more tender moments that happen between them that really make you swoon for them. Quinton is especially a total sweetheart who just wants to find somebody to love him. He’s just the snarky, dark haired blue eyed bad boy who hides his hurt beneath a smirk that I’m a total sucker for!

The beginning is definitely a little slower paced than I’m sure some readers would want, BUT it also sets the story up for later conflicts so while it’s not favorable, it’s definitely necessary in my opinion. One could also argue the 3rd act breakup that OF COURSE occurs–not really a spoiler because it ALWAYS happens–was overdramatized, but again I think that just comes down to the specific reader and their personal opinion.

The book tied together very well in the end, and even if you don’t want to read the next book in this series, it feels satisfactory enough with the ending and doesn’t leave a whole lot up in the air with any major cliffhangers, and yes there is a HEA for anyone wondering.

~~~

‘Oh, baby,’ he murmurs, sex and desire dripping from his voice as he layers his body over mine. ‘You know all’s fair in hate and hockey.’”
– C.E. Ricci, “Iced Out”

~~~

What I Liked:

The Spice! Lots and lots of flavor with this book…I’d give it 3.5 or 4 peppers overall for the spice meter. These boys get naughty on several instances in this book, and MM spice fans will LOVE every second of it.
Quinn is Total Book Boyfriend Material! Quinn is basically everything…he’s got blue eyes, dark hair, great body, tattoos, snarky whit, a temper, and a smirk that hides the hurt he wants to keep from the world except when Oakley sees a side of him that no one else gets to see. Quinn stole my heart in this book, and while he was cynical and moody, all he really needed was somebody to be there for him!
Parents Aren’t the Main Conflict! Usually in these college romances, parents play a big part of keeping the two apart or driving a wedge between them, and at the beginning it really looked like this story was going that route since Oakley is a legacy kid and Quintons parents are the typical rich, ice-cold waspy types who don’t approve of him playing already. Luckily, this isn’t a huge conflict that keeps popping up in the story, THANK GOD!
There’s a Decent Amount of Actual Hockey Playing! Sometimes “sports romance” novels involve very little actual sports being actually played. This is not the case here, and a big chunk of the plot has to do with their hockey season and them playing games. I just can actually appreciate when the plot/conflict of a sports romance actually includes sports related issues.

What I Didn’t Like:

The Beginning Is A Little Slow…Maybe I was just impatient for the spice to happen, but yeah I can agree with some readers that the beginning could have been maybe a little condensed? Maybe not involve as much going on, especially if they ended up not being issues later on in the story?
The “Betrayal” Wasn’t Entirely One’s Fault…So the big third act breakup involves an act of “betrayal” and that’s all I’ll say about that, but part of me always felt like one kind of unfairly put more blame on the other when the other couldn’t fully even control that what happened had actually happened. I know that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if you don’t know the context, but I don’t want to spoil…

Conclusion:

Overall, I am now a HUGE fan of CE Ricci after reading this MM hockey romance she wrote! and even better that it’s a part of a series of standalone MM college romance novels! I will certainly be getting my hands on many more CE Ricci books now I can definitely confirm!

Thanks for reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Fantasy, New Adult, New Adult Romance

My Review: These Wicked Truths (These Wicked Lies #2): by Miranda Joy

March 9, 2023March 10, 2023 nicholasjgoodsell

Publish Date: March 23rd, 2023
Number of Pages: N/A
Publisher: Kindle Edition
Genre(s): Fantasy, New Adult Romance, Reverse Harem

Many thank you’s to the author for an E-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

~~~

**Warning! My Review Does Contain Spoilers from the Previous Book, so continue reading at your own risk! You’ve officially been warned!**

To see my review of book 1 – These Wicked Lies – Click HERE

To see my Fancast/Dreamcast of the series so far – Click HERE

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

After a single life-altering recollection, Astrid flees Hakran. She wants nothing more than to put space between her and the men who continuously upend her life, even if it means halting the search for her memories and forsaking her friendships.

But when she gets word that Stellaris has been attacked and that Lex and Dash are working together—albeit reluctantly—she decides it’s time to face her faults. Together, the trio embark on a tense journey to Stellaris to discover who is behind the provocation, while simultaneously learning how the incident relates to Astrid’s missing memories and the late Goddess of Deception’s motivations.

Astrid must figure out how to navigate these wicked truths, while torn between her two identities and the two men taking up space in her heart.

~~~

If you’re someone who really enjoyed the first book in this series, I’m going to safely assume you’re going to freakin’ LOVE this second book even more!

Miranda Joy had an interesting journey to partake on this sequel, at least in my opinion…I was very curious as to how she was going to keep the story going after what felt like a major conflict was resolved in the ending of TWL with how Astrid/Aife literally slew(?) the head off her (fake) mother’s head! Hats off to her! With Enira’s death, what else was there to keep the story going and keep the audience’s attention?? This book fills you in on those questions if you too had them, and it really encapsulates how much bigger the world the author created truly is. I was worried I wouldn’t like it as much and that there was going to be that sequel slump like there is with so many other books, but *HUGE sigh of relief* that isn’t the case.

The story continues literally right where we left off in the previous book: Enira’s beheaded body is, like, STILL gushing blood it’s so fresh and Astrid/Aife and Lex are having a hot AF tongue lashing competition with each other, much to the spice loving readers’ delight. Aife finally learns the truth of who she is, but unfortunately her memories are still locked away somewhere and definitely is suffering a bit of an identity crisis…she’s hurt from all the lies, but she has to live with the lives she’s hurt too; it’s a lot to come to terms with…

While she’s hiding away in Nevaris, Lex gives her space and Dash rules Hakran and they form a VERYT reluctant alliance in order to help her find her missing memories, BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!! You also learn that Stellaris is under attack and the looming threat of war is literally washing up on its shores. Soon, they are forced to leave and come to aid, but lets just say……….who, or what, they find is not at all what they expect……………..

To be honest, everything just felt very elevated in this book! The sexual tension, the comedy, the characterization and their development, the way the story is told with multiple POV’s, even the stakes of the main conflict were raised; it felt like the author became more comfortable with her craft. Sure the pacing beginning was slower than I cared for, but once this book got going, oh honey did it get going!

~~~

What I Liked:

The Why Choose/Reverse Harem Romance! Someone go back in time and slap Bella Swan for being so stupid, because WHY CHOOSE/REVERSE HAREM is the REAL love triangle we all needed back then as much as we do now! Like seriously, why WOULD you choose when there are TWO very eligible men vying for your attention?? The added sexual tension with Dash and Lex sharing Astrid/Aife was a FOR SURE highlight in this book!
The Mental Health Rep! Astrid/Aife’s mental journey was so spectacularly well done and was a great example of showing mental health awareness in literature! As someone who now works in a therapy office where mental health understanding is so important, we loves to see it! Astrid/Aife has a lot going on inside her head, and I thought it was a very organic, natural, and believable way of how her internal journey was portrayed with all this. It’s a part that might be overlooked by some readers, but I think others who’ve had a similar mental struggle will really appreciate this addition to the story! I know I do!
We Got Both More POV’s! I personally love fantasy books that have multiple points-of-views within, so adding Lex and Dash to telling this story I think was a great decision and added a lot more depth to the story. It was nice to see certain things from their perspective and not just Astrid’s this time around. It made both men more well rounded characters with more complexities added to them and thus making them more memorable this time around!
Callan! Callan got way more attention this time around, and he is absolutely EVERYTHING I love in a comedic-relief side character. First, he’s like an all powerful, celestial being and yet he’s like a human golden retriever! And Second, I love the friendship and advice he has with Aife throughout too. I’d marry him in a heartbeat!

What I Didn’t Like:

The Slower Pacing at the Beginning…I’m not going to lie, the beginning was slower than I was hoping for and made for me struggling to first get into this book. It was much more character driven and was more about the inner journey, and the romance/spice was pretty slow burn too, so I was just rather impatient for a lot of the beginning. BUT when this book gets going, it GETS GOING!
I Want to Like Dash, But I’m So Torn…I like Dash, but I don’t….he’s a frustrating character and I actually enjoy that about him! He drives emotion from me and makes me care, even though its frustration…He reminds me a little bit of a mix of Chaol and Cassian in my opinion, two AMAZING Sarah J. Maas characters. Like Chaol, I believe Dash is who he is and not everyone is going to agree with that. Still though, I’m so torn on him!!

~~~

Conclusion:

Overall, this second installment in Miranda Joy’s These Wicked Lies was an improvement on intensity, sensuality, comedy, and also a little bit of a maturing in terms of both the author’s writing and the story she’s weaved together here. It’s not perfect, but I argue you definitely see improvement!

My worries of how this story was going to continue have disappeared like a puff of smoke, I think the author has a great handle on what they’re doing and their publication future continues to look bright!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica, LGBT, Mystery/Thriller, New Adult, New Adult Romance

My Review: Cannon (Brothers of Hawthorne Hall #2): by Leila James

March 7, 2023 nicholasjgoodsell

Publish Date: November 21st, 2022
Number of Pages: 448 Pages
Publisher: Kindle Edition
Genre(s): Erotica, Reverse Harem, New Adult Romance, Mystery/Thriller, LGBT+

**Warning! This Review contains spoilers to the previous book in this trilogy, so continue reading at your own risk! You’ve officially been warned!**

To see my review of book #1 – Kingston – Click HERE

Total Star Rating: 4.25 Stars

Our girl is a fucking diamond – beautiful to look at, but impossible to crush.”
– Leila James, “Kingston”

~~~

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

A Dark College Bully Romance

Shattered trust, twisted games, and ugly truths …

A female initiate is unheard of at Hawthorne Hall, but after forcing the brotherhood’s hand, they had no choice but to let me stay. My plan should have been simple: Find out what happened to my cousin and best friend in the world, Will.

But nothing is as it seems.

This brotherhood is steeped in tradition and built on loyalty, but the deeper I dig, the more I see fissures in their supposedly tight-knit group. And with the evidence I’ve found, every move I make seems more dangerous than the last. I no longer know who to trust.

Cannon.
Archer.
Kingston.

I don’t want to believe they’re guilty or that they could have harmed Will. But there’s only one way to find out—immerse myself in their world and keep my mouth shut. And hope they don’t break my heart along the way.

The games continue … but who is being played?

~~~

Book two, here we go!!

There’s not a whole lot to honestly add besides what I liked and disliked about this book if I’m being completely honest. There are definitely some new things to add though that I definitely found to be a highlight, so I’ll add that this book for sure improves from book 1!

You continue off literally right where the previous book left off: Elliott is in bed with Kingston after they had some incredibly hot sex and also grew closer by opening up to each other too, but she finds her missing best friend/cousin’s cell phone in his bedside table!

Duh Duh DUN!!!

Suddenly the trust she’d been building with Archer, Kingston, and Cannon is instantly shattered and she’s back to square one.

Who can she trust?

What do they know?

Where is Will now?

Do they know who she is?

Questions are popping up left and right, kind of like the dicks in this reverse harem/why choose story. but one thing that I’m entirely certain about is the spice definitely increases! it gets hotter, more intense, and oh yeah…there’s more, but you definitely have to read more to find out for yourself!

~~~

What I Liked:

The Spice Gets HOTTER & HOTTER! The Spice does not let up in this second installment despite how book 1 ended! THANK GOD!
MM ROMANCE! I won’t spoil who it involves, but I will say that I LOVE the addition of some hot male-on-male action going down as the plot thickens. I kind of wasn’t expecting it to be who it ended up being, well at least for one of the characters, but it was an addition to the story that I was all for!
The Three Guys Had More Character Development! This time around the three guys Archer, Kingston, and Cannon had some development tossed their way, and they’ve became much more three dimensional and more dynamic. You start to see more of their personalities now that you’ve become familiar with them, and while some of them you’ll still like more than others, a lot more starts to make sense around them all the same too!

What I Didn’t Like:

Elliott Continues To Be a Damsel…I mean, I guess this sort of makes sense since she’s digging around for clues and answers to something that is obviously being covered up, but it’s getting repetitive by this point that she gets herself into trouble, then has to rely on her men to help her get out of it. At least after it usually leads to spice, but again…it’s getting repetitive
Another Hall Getting Attention?…There was a LOT of emphasis on a rival fraternity/hall in this book with a masquerade auction event, like way more emphasis than I honestly cared for. It ended up the head of that house had some history with Kingston and the situation with his dead sister…so I could see this becoming a bigger subplot into the next book, or even a spinoff sort of thing, and part of me wonders if I even care?…
I Still Think There’s Not Enough Emphasis On The Mystery…I’m still wishing there was more to the mystery, like more surprising twists and reveals and an intricate plot that reveals way more is going on than we believed, but instead we get more instances of Elliott getting into trouble and needing Archer, Cannon, or Kingston to save her. At least the spice is abundant!
….SPUNK BUNKERS?!?!…Absolutely the worst way to describe testicles I’ve ever heard. NEVER AGAIN

~~~

Conclusion:

Overall, a better sequel than what book 1 had to offer, but I feel like these books are still just missing that extra something to make them absolutely spectacular! that extra ooomph to really set it apart and make it better than it already is!

They’re not bad books by any means, in fact, I’d say they’re like an addictive, sexy binge-worthy Riverdale, Elite, Euphoria-esque show you can’t help but get sucked into! I’ve enjoyed reading these tremendously; just because I have a few personal critiques doesn’t mean I didn’t like it! I’ll definitely be reading the third and final book to see what could possibly happen next!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Erotica, Mystery/Thriller, New Adult, New Adult Romance

My review: Kingston (Brothers of Hawthorne Hall #1): by Leila James

February 13, 2023February 13, 2023 nicholasjgoodsell

Publish Date: October 3rd, 2022
Number of Pages: 468 Pages
Publisher: Kindle
Genre(s): Erotica, Reverse Harem, New Adult Romance, Mystery & Thriller

Total Star Rating: 3.75 Stars

What It’s About:

The Official Blurb:

Three men, two choices, and one secret …

A year ago, my best friend received an exclusive invitation to join an elite brotherhood at Kingston University. He went into Hawthorne Hall for his initiation … but never came out.

I intend to find out why.

The brotherhood would never knowingly invite a female into their ranks. So what if I forged my father’s signature on the recommendation? With a name like Elliot Ashford, they’ll never see me coming.

I’ll endure whatever hell these brutal brothers put me through because I have no intention of backing down or bowing out gracefully. It won’t be pretty. I’ve heard the rumors, especially about the three men in control of the brotherhood.

Kingston.
Cannon.
Archer.

I’m going in with one mission—find out what happened to Will. But the moment I set foot in this house, I have a feeling all my plans will go up in flames.

Welcome to Hawthorne Hall! Let the games begin …

***********************************************************************************

Kingston is a 94,000+ word novel, the first in a trilogy, centering around three men and one woman. It’s kind of like a sandwich—a quadruple decker with extra spice. There is a possibility that sandwich toppings will touch, if that makes sense.

WARNING: This trilogy contains dark elements, graphic content, and situations that some readers may be particularly sensitive to. If you have triggers or are even remotely unsure, please check my website, which you can access through my author page, for a full list.

~~~

This was a book that was highly recommended to me by one of my #bookstagram besties named Em because she knows I’m always game for any book that has some decent spice in it! When she started telling me the premise of these books, I will say I was immediately interested: a reverse harem, college, mystery thriller?? Ummmm LOVE that journey for me! Sign me up, and I couldn’t put these books on my kindle fast enough!

Now after reading the first book, what I can say is it’s definitely an entertaining, fast read with some really decent spice and just a dash of mystery. It definitely kept my attention, but it also could’ve been better in some regards. BUT I also didn’t care enough for certain things in the story to be better either because honestly, I just in it mainly for the spice, which definitely meets if not exceeds expectations, so that’s where most of the praise will go!

This story is about Elliot, who manages to sneak her way into Hawthorne house in order to solve the mystery of the disappearance of her best friend/cousin named Will. There’s absolutely no word as to what happened =, and everyone acts like it didn’t even happen, so she’s going on the inside in order to get her own answers. While she’s infiltrating the brotherhood as a newly incoming freshman, its there she meets the three enigmatic boys that throw everything off kilter for her: Kingston, Archer, and Cannon. Can she trust them? What do they know? And will she survive the initiation process before she’s considered a “brother?”

For the most part, I really did enjoy this book thanks to the characters! Elliot is your very typical spunky, sassy heroine who has a sharp tongue and isn’t afraid to mouth off to the alphaholes that practically infest that house that she must now call home. The boys in the Hawthorne house definitely don’t start off as very likeable, especially Kingston, who’s the frat president and a majorly bipolar a-hole through most of the book, but he’s also a HOT a-hole so it’s complicated….at leas the hate sex is hot? I like Archer the most right off the bat, but he also has camera’s set up throughout the whole house that includes people’s bedrooms, so I find that a bit creepy…and then there’s Cannon. Mr. Tall, stoic, and hot as hell, but hardly says a word. Like, his main way of communicating is text message even when he’s sitting right next to the person…it’s a little strange, but I’m sure there’s a story to it somewhere down the road…

What I Liked:

The Spice! There are some HOT moments in this book, and it’s only the first one in a whole trilogy! It makes me wonder what else is in store for later down the road! I will of course be keeping reading on to find out.
The Main Characters! Elliot and her boys definitely grew on me and made me keep interested to see what happened next, plus their group dynamic did add for some of the spicy scenes that I enjoyed too! Will things like that majorly change? Will she form alliances with one over the others? Turn them against each other with her vagina? Will the guys’ friendship shift with sharing? Who knows! I stand by what I said earlier, Archer is my favorite so far! BUT Kingston grew a lot on me as we got to know more about him too.

What I Didn’t Like:

Too Many Names to Remember…I had a hard time right at the beginning with the literal train of men who answered the door when Elliot first showed up at Hawthorne House. Too many names all at once and throughout the book I still had trouble differentiating between some of the other frat boys, but that could also be because the author doesn’t really do much to make them stand apart from each other too much either…
Not Enough Mystery… Not gonna lie, I was disappointed how it felt like the mystery took a back seat through quite a bit of the story. Sure, there was plenty of spicy scenes which I’m not complaining about, but more the several initiation scenes. I just wish the mystery and sneaking around to get answers was played up more, or a trail of clues or something!
The Insta-Love…This seems to always be a thing with RH’s, but at least one of the guys is always a lovesick puppy when he first lands his eyes on the girl, and its no different here.

Conclusion:

Overall, it’s a pretty good but not great RH read. I like that it’s a college, mystery thriller one too because I honestly haven’t read too many of those! I also haven’t read the Inheritance Games Trilogy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, but I’d imagine I’d like them more if they had a similar vibe to these books with the spice and less YA story features. Actually side note, but there are a LOT of YA books I look at nowadays and am like, “This story would be so much better if it had spice!”

I’ll definitely continue to read theses books; the author gives you a satisfying amount but also leaves you wanting more, and there’s a pretty decent cliffhanger of an ending that really adds to the mystery surrounding the main plot, so it definitely keeps my interest! Plus helloooo, more spice!