JensQuickAndDirtyRev

Reader and reviewer of 150+ books a year — mostly all include kissing.

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Remarkably Bright Creatures

Shelby Van Pelt

Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus. After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late. Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

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The Hating Game

Sally Thorne

Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome; 2) A person’s undoing; 3) Joshua Templeman.Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude. Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

JensQuickAndDirtyRev finished reading and wrote a review...

Love in the Afternoon (The Hathaways, #5)

JensQuickAndDirtyRev

Sep 05, 2025

3.5

Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 3.5Characters: 3.5Plot: 3.5

I didn’t know if even Lisa Kleypas could write a hero worthy of Beatrix, but she did! The ending felt a little rushed and somewhat unresolved, but otherwise it was a delightfully healing romance.

✔️ Dual POVs (Christopher x Beatrix) ✔️ Set in Victorian England ✔️ Open-door historical romance (4/5🌶️) ✔️ Tropes: Epistolary romance; war hero; on the shelf heroine ⚠️ CW: PTSD following war

JensQuickAndDirtyRev started reading...

Love in the Afternoon (The Hathaways, #5)

Lisa Kleypas

She harbors a secret yearning. As a lover of animals and nature, Beatrix Hathaway has always been more comfortable outdoors than in the ballroom. Even though she participated in the London season in the past, the classic beauty and free-spirited Beatrix has never been swept away or seriously courted . . . and she has resigned herself to the fate of never finding love. Has the time come for the most unconventional of the Hathaway sisters to settle for an ordinary man—just to avoid spinsterhood? He's a world-weary cynic. Captain Christopher Phelan is a handsome, daring soldier who plans to marry Beatrix's friend, the vivacious flirt Prudence Mercer, when he returns from fighting abroad. But, as he explains in his letters to Pru, life on the battlefield has darkened his soul—and it's becoming clear that Christopher won't come back as the same man. When Beatrix learns of Pru's disappointment, she decides to help by concocting Pru's letters to Christopher for her. Soon the correspondence between Beatrix and Christopher develops into something fulfilling and deep . . . and when Christopher comes home, he's determined to claim the woman he loves. What began as Beatrix's innocent deception has resulted in the agony of unfulfilled love—and a passion that can't be denied.

JensQuickAndDirtyRev wrote a review...

JensQuickAndDirtyRev

Sep 02, 2025

4.5

Enjoyment: 4.5Quality: 4.5Characters: 4.5Plot: 4.5

These books are fantastically easy to read (complimentary). I recommend reading in order because the stories do build upon each other.

✔️ Triple POVs (Achilles x Patroclus x Helen) ✔️ Set in a fantasy world based on Greek mythology ✔️ Open-door fantasy romance (5/5🌶️) ✔️ Tropes: Greek myth retelling; polyamorous romance; ménage

JensQuickAndDirtyRev commented on CatherineJ's update

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Come As You Are (Bluebird Basin, #1)

Jess K. Hardy

He’ll win her heart one mixtape at a time. 46-year-old Ashley Cooke will do just about anything to save her struggling ski hill. When she hires the men from a local sober living home for the season to cut costs, even she thinks she’s gone too far. With her credit cards maxed, her cheating ex-husband intent on buying the mountain out from under her, and record-breaking snow in the forecast, she can’t afford to be distracted by the six-foot-tall bearded and tattooed sober living home owner moving onto her mountain. 53-year-old recovering addict and ex-grunge rocker Matthew Madigan has devoted every minute of the last decade to the men residing at his sober living home. When he meets tightly wound and adorably flustered Ashley, desires he’s put on the back burner for years start to simmer. Immune to his infamous albeit rusty charm, Ashley presents a challenge he can’t resist. When she offers to give him skiing lessons in exchange for his help training her St. Bernard rescue dog, he jumps at the chance to ride next to her on the chairlift despite his debilitating fear of heights. During bunny hill shenanigans, chairlift confessions, and steamy cabin serenades, Madigan teaches Ashley that a person’s past doesn’t define them, and Ashley shows Madigan that the men he helps aren’t the only people who deserve a second chance. When sabotage threatens both the men and the mountain, Ashley and Madigan will have to decide if they’re only having a winter fling, or if the mountain isn’t the only thing worth fighting for. Content Notes: Addiction, divorce, mourning loss of parent

JensQuickAndDirtyRev commented on JensQuickAndDirtyRev's review of Lessons in Chemistry

JensQuickAndDirtyRev

Aug 23, 2025

3.0

Enjoyment: 3.0Quality: 3.0Characters: 3.5Plot: 3.0

I put this book on my TBR after hearing the author say it was based on her experience early in her career. Apparently, this manuscript was rejected 98 times for being “too long,” and I have to agree on that front.

Overall, the book made me frustrated for every working woman who came before me. Yet, it’s hardly aspirational because we can’t all have genius dogs now can we?

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Wicked Beauty (Dark Olympus, #3)

Katee Robert

She was the face that launched a thousand ships, The fierce beauty at the heart of Olympus, And she was never ours to claim. *A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Patroclus that's as sinful as it is sweet.* In Olympus, you either have the power to rule...or you are ruled. Achilles Kallis may have been born with nothing, but as a child he vowed he would claw his way into the poisonous city's inner circle. Now that a coveted role has opened to anyone with the strength to claim it, he and his partner, Patroclus Fotos, plan to compete and double their odds of winning. Neither expect infamous beauty Helen Kasios to be part of the prize...or for the complicated fire that burns the moment she looks their way. Zeus may have decided Helen is his to give away, but she has her own plans. She enters into the competition as a middle finger to the meddling Thirteen rulers, effectively vying for her own hand in marriage. Unfortunately, there are those who would rather see her dead than lead the city. The only people she can trust are the ones she can't keep her hands off—Achilles and Patroclus. But can she really believe they have her best interests at heart when every stolen kiss is a battlefield?

JensQuickAndDirtyRev wrote a review...

JensQuickAndDirtyRev

Aug 31, 2025

3.0

Enjoyment: 2.5Quality: 3.0Characters: 2.5Plot: 2.0

Fine, I guess. I felt literally nothing for either of these characters. I don't know what they saw in each other. I don't know why they kept going. It's a HEA for now.

✔️ Single POV (Annie) ✔️ Set in Portland, Oregon ✔️ Open-door contemporary romance (4/5🌶️) ✔️ Tropes: Fake relationship; rock star romance; f-ing drummers

JensQuickAndDirtyRev wants to read...

Wicked Abyss (Immortals After Dark, #17)

Kresley Cole

This fairy tale doesn't end with a kiss... A spellbinding Immortals After Dark tale from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole! The terrifying king of hell... As a boy, Abyssian "Sian" Infernas had his heart shattered by a treacherous fey beauty who died before he could exact vengeance. Millennia later, a curse has transformed him into a demonic monster--just as she's been reincarnated. Sian captures the delicate but bold female, forcing her back to hell. Meets his match. Princess Calliope "Lila" Barbot's people have hated and feared Abyssian and his alliance of monsters for eons. When the beastly demon imprisons her in his mystical castle, vowing revenge for betrayals she can't remember, Lila makes her own vow: to bring down the wicked beast for good. Can two adversaries share one happily-ever-after? As Calliope turns hell inside out, the all-powerful Sian finds himself defenseless against his feelings for her. In turn, Lila reluctantly responds to the beast's cleverness and gruff vulnerability. But when truths from a far distant past are revealed, can their tenuous bond withstand ages of deceit, a curse, and a looming supernatural war?

JensQuickAndDirtyRev wants to read...

Shadow's Seduction (Immortals After Dark, #16; The Dacians, #2)

Kresley Cole

In this scorching Immortals After Dark/Dacian novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole brings together a wicked vampire prince used to getting everything he desires and a demon warrior who always felt like an outcast. A night of debauchery . . . Prince Mirceo Daciano and his new friend, Caspion the Tracker, comb the streets of Dacia, drunkenly seeking out pleasures of the flesh. In what should have been a typical night, they coax a bevy of nymphs to bed. To impress their females, the demon and the vampire kiss on a dare. Changes them forever . . . Once they finally break away from their soul-searing kiss, they find themselves alone—and shaken. Had they imagined their explosive chemistry? Obstacles—ranging from a death sentence to exile in a war-torn dimension—threaten to destroy their lives . . . and the vulnerable promise in that one kiss. How long can they resist the fire that blazes between them? Even if Mirceo can accept Caspion as his fated mate, the seductive vampire still must convince the stubborn demon that their bond is forever. And any royal Dacian union must receive the blessing of King Lothaire, an unpredictable and savage killer...

JensQuickAndDirtyRev wants to read...

Sweet Ruin (Immortals After Dark, #15)

Kresley Cole

An immortal assassin is caught between desire and duty in this sizzling novel from Kresley Cole’s #1 New York Times bestselling Immortals After Dark series.A foundling raised in a world of humans Growing up, Josephine didn’t know who or what she was—just that she was an outcast with strange powers. Protecting her baby brother became her entire life. The day he was taken away began Jo’s transition from would-be superhero…to enchanting villain. A lethally sensual enforcer on a mission Archer Rune the Baneblood never fails to eliminate his target. In his the oldest living Valkyrie. Yet before he strikes, a vampiric creature pierces him with aching pleasure, stealing his forbidden blood—and jeopardizing his brethren’s secrets. A boundless passion that will lead to sweet ruin… Could this exquisite female be a spy sent by the very Valkyrie he hunts? When Jo betrays the identity of the one man she will die to protect, she and Rune become locked in a treacherous battle of wills that pits ultimate loyalty against unbridled lust.

JensQuickAndDirtyRev wants to read...

Dark Skye (Immortals After Dark, #14)

Kresley Cole

In this highly anticipated fifteenth novel in the Immortals After Dark series, #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole spins a sultry tale of a mighty warrior scarred inside and out and the beguiling sorceress with the power to heal him—or vanquish him forever. ETERNAL OBSESSION As a boy, Thronos, prince of Skye Hall, loved Lanthe, a mischievous Sorceri girl who made him question everything about his Vrekener clan. But when the two got caught in the middle of their families’ war, tragedy struck, leaving Thronos and Lanthe bitter enemies. Though centuries have passed, nothing can cool his seething need for the beautiful enchantress who scarred his body—and left an even deeper impression on his soul. ENDLESS YEARNING Lanthe, a once-formidable sorceress struggling to reclaim her gifts, searches for love and acceptance with all the wrong immortal suitors. But she’s never forgotten Thronos, the magnificent silver-eyed boy who protected her until she was ripped from the shelter of his arms. One harrowing night changed everything between them. Now he’s a notorious warlord with a blood vendetta against Lanthe, hunting her relentlessly. CAN THE HEAT OF DESIRE BURN BRIGHTER THAN VENGEANCE? With their families locked in conflict and battles raging all around them, will Thronos and Lanthe succumb to the brutal chaos that threatens everything they cherish? Or will the fragile bond they formed so long ago spark a passion strong enough to withstand even the darkest doubts?

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Come As You Are (Bluebird Basin, #1)

Jess K. Hardy

JensQuickAndDirtyRev finished a book

Play (Stage Dive, #2)

Kylie Scott

Kylie Scott returns with the highly anticipated follow-up to international bestseller Lick. Mal Ericson, the drummer for the world-famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast—at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn't plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn't count on finding the one right girl. Anne Rollins never thought she'd ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls—especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn't end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?

JensQuickAndDirtyRev finished reading and wrote a review...

JensQuickAndDirtyRev

Aug 30, 2025

4.0

Enjoyment: 4.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 5.0

This series really shines when the wolves come out to play. I know it’s a romance, but I truly didn’t think these two would make it. There was A LOT to get through in this book, and it was not always a happy path to the ending.

✔️ Dual POVs (Will x Chloe) ✔️ Set in a modern day magical universe with werewolves, succubi, vampires, etc. ✔️ Open-door paranormal romance (4.5/5🌶️) ✔️ Tropes: FATED MATES ⚠️ CW: Child abuse (on page); noncon

JensQuickAndDirtyRev started reading...

MacRieve (Immortals After Dark, #13)

Kresley Cole

In this pulse-pounding Immortals After Dark tale, #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole delves into the darkest mysteries and deepest passions of Clan MacRieve. . . A Beast In Torment Uilleam MacRieve believed he’d laid to rest the ghosts of his boyhood. But when a brutal torture revives those ancient agonies and destroys his Lykae instinct, the proud Scot craves the oblivion of death. Until he finds her—a young human so full of spirit and courage that she pulls him back from the brink. A Beauty In Chains Seized for the auction block, Chloe Todd is forced to enter a terrifying new world of monsters and lore as a bound slave. When offered up to creatures of the dark, she fears she won’t last the night. Until she’s claimed by him—a tormented immortal with heartbreaking eyes, whose touch sets her blood on fire. A Full Moon On The Rise With enemies circling, MacRieve spirits Chloe away to the isolated Highland keep of his youth. But once he takes her to his bed, his sensual mate becomes something more than human, evoking his savage past and testing his sanity. On the cusp of the full moon, can he conquer his worst nightmare to save Chloe . . . from himself?

JensQuickAndDirtyRev finished reading and wrote a review...

Natural Born Charmer (Chicago Stars, #7)

JensQuickAndDirtyRev

Aug 28, 2025

3.0

Enjoyment: 3.0Quality: 3.0Characters: 3.5Plot: 2.5

Grabbing a book from the way-back backlist can go sideways every now and again. This book featured some paragraph-to-paragraph headhopping in perspectives that’s common in less current romance novels.

The characters were sharply drawn, and the pace is bouncy and comic. The MMC does NOT do enough groveling for my taste. The character development really falls to the FMC, who truly does have a wonderful arc.

✔️ Dual POVs (Dean x Blue) + multiple other minor character POVs, including April, Jack, and Riley ✔️ Set in Tennessee ✔️ Closed-door contemporary romance (2/5🌶️) ✔️ Tropes: Family drama; forced proximity romance

JensQuickAndDirtyRev started reading...

Natural Born Charmer (Chicago Stars, #7)

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Chicago Stars quarterback Dean Robillard is the luckiest man in the world: a bona-fide sports superstar and the pride of the NFL with a profitable side career as a buff billboard model for End Zone underwear. But life in the glory lane has started to pale, and Dean has set off on a cross-country trip to figure out what's gone wrong. When he hits a lonely stretch of Colorado highway, he spies something that will shake up his gilded life in ways he can't imagine. A young woman . . . dressed in a beaver suit. Blue Bailey is on a mission to murder her ex. Or at least inflict serious damage. As for the beaver suit she's wearing . . . Is it her fault that life keeps throwing her curveballs? Witness the expensive black sports car pulling up next to her on the highway and the Greek god stepping out of it. Blue's career as a portrait painter is the perfect job for someone who refuses to stay in one place for very long. She needs a ride, and America's most famous football player has an imposing set of wheels. Now, all she has to do is keep him entertained, off guard, and fully clothed before he figures out exactly how desperate she is. But Dean isn't the brainless jock she imagines, and Blue—despite her petite stature—is just about the toughest woman Dean has ever met. They're soon heading for his summer home where their already complicated lives and inconvenient attraction to each other will become entangled with a charismatic but aging rock star; a beautiful fifty-two-year-old woman trying to make peace with her rock and roll past; an eleven-year-old who desperately needs a family; and a bitter old woman who hates them all. As the summer progresses, the wandering portrait artist and the charming football star play a high-stakes game, fighting themselves and each other for a chance to have it all. Natural Born Charmer is for everyone who's ever thought about leaving their old life in the dust and never looking back. New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips takes us home again . . . and shows us where love truly lives

JensQuickAndDirtyRev finished reading and wrote a review...

JensQuickAndDirtyRev

Aug 26, 2025

3.5

Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 3.5Characters: 4.0Plot: 3.0

Fans of Alexis Daria’s Primas of Power series will love this one. It had a super specific sense of place that made you almost smell the ocean.

Unfortunately, closed-door romances always make me feel like I’m missing out on a huge chunk of what makes a couple click. I also cannot get over him presenting a business proposal in her name without her prior approval.

✔️ Dual POVs (Nate x Sofia) ✔️ Set in Key West, Florida ✔️ Closed-door contemporary romance (1.5/5🌶️) ✔️ Tropes: Second chance romance; found family

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