I would like to thank GRR for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Another adventurous romp with a few cameos by our pack favourites, scheming angry treacherous fae politics, some kidnapping, some emo melodrama, and ofc the requisite fae ball.

Lark and Dante were soulbond mates who for reasons had played hide the crush, then hate* the crush (*because Lark "forlorn fae" hid the crush from Dante "yearning young-boi not-fae" who was the attempted hater, but he couldn't go harder than a scowl and was also a bit of a hypocrite because both MCs were samesies on the "hungry-eyes on the dl" front so wdym you're trying to "dislike" him? gurl be ffr rn.)

And then in the otherworld for plot reasons (and also their first together anything ever) bae gets a new wardrobe (because of the ball and Lark's a prince) and is performatively reduced from "the most special ever" to prancing around in a metaphorical collar (I'm too Brown for this) at the ball*. (*this was my 2348761482 fae ball with political machinations and dancing with not-bae for reasons. Luckily Keillor didn't draw it out and it was like two pages long, and then hands and mouths were getting sexxxy after that. But still.)

I get that Lark and Dante were magical mates, and they were cute and extra spicy at the end (92%), but I honestly didn't feel their emotional connection for a soulbond couple, as they're in this weird relationship limbo of still having to go on an official "first date" but yet already end-game.

Anyway, Lark and Dante were probably the softest, sweetest kittens compared to the dirty mayhem ROOK AND SAIDE AND JAMAL ARE GOING TO PUT ME THROUGH NEXT!! Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth might straight up ruin my life and I CANNOT WAIT for their drama to take me tf out!

I would like to thank TJ Rose for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I CANNOT shoutttt about all this amazing, spooky, sexxxxxxy, ghost D deliciousness loud enough!!🐈‍⬛

TJ Rose is absolute master class and I just wasn't prepared For how deeply invested in Charlie and Bat's HEA I was going to be.👻💗🎸

The opening chapter set the tone perfectly, with TJR's brilliant characterization activating my deep emotional resonance right from the start! Charlie's precarious financial situation, job insecurity, and especially his sacrifices as a 17yo for his family at their greatest time of need, made his personal, high-stakes journey very relatable. I wanted him to find his joy again, and to have his life turn out as lovely and wonderful for him, because he was wonderful and lovely, and deserved more than sad-boy-survival mode. So I very much understood his motivation to take a sketchy, "ghost removal" (?con) job just to make ends meet.

And because this IS a romance, I was LIVING FOR HOWWWWWWW the opening chapter handily set up Charlie's 180 from "I don't believe in ghosts" to falling in love with one by the end. Shivery with anticipation with how fatefully (romantic) this scrambling moment, at Charlie's lowest point, would inevitably lead to the MOST unimaginable love of his life! I was sat for 587 pages (unaware of the pg count) and I STILL wanted more💓😭❤️‍🔥…but like as a luxury, not unfulfilled or anything, because this romance was ✨stars across the board aces💖

And Bat was just as compelling and awesome to fall in love with as well! He was sweet, and suuuperrrrr sexy, with ACTUAL "don't touch him" energy, and gave the kind of ghost-boyfriend vibes (wholesome and toppy hot omg🫠) that I hadn't thought of since Lasher (complicated, 100% NOT wholesome, but still😏). Anne Rice (among others we should not have been reading but ofc cut our teeth on) fed '90s-00s kids with the good bad stuff, and I'll be forever grateful for my unsupervised reading foundations🙂‍↕️

But I digress.

Just immaculate, properly spooky vibes, that had me by the throat, made me blush, made me cry, and mostly I 100% did not expect how deadly this was going to turn out! The plot was diabolical, and the other ghosties gave me life, and also the creeps. But shout out to Brad who was a MOST EXCEPTIONAL character, and sooooo well-executed, that I don't think I could ever read a foil or a possession moving forward without comparing its foundations to what TJ Rose did to substantialize him!

I can live forever off this one TJ Rose romance, because Love at First Fright was ENTIRELY magnificent, and is (as of right now lol) my favourite of hers that will:

1 dream-lover haunt me sexily and I'm saying YES to all of that🫦, and 2 really get me thinking outside of the box for a side-hustle that'll shake things up a bit because it's a Blood Moon lunar eclipse (Aug. 27) and I AM about that life👻🌝🤘🏽🎸

✨🎧🌟Free Audiobook🌟🎧✨

🌠Theo and Bennett were adorable with their thirsty crushes, logic puzzles, a touch of stargazing, and some sweet moments that I enjoyed!🪐🔭

I would like to thank GRR for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

🐎AHHHHHHHH I looooooove the Darlings soo sooo much! They're all so sweet, and lovable, and funny: rascal siblings edition! And the wayyyy they love each other so deeply, and how every single member of that family takes pride in being unabashedly romantic omg!! I've pretty much just been sighing all morning since the epilogue sent me to my knees in the most swoony way possible. I could just bask in their feel-good energy forever!!🤠

🌸🎨🖌️Painted in Wildflowers was Remi and Ben's watercolour soft, sweet and gentle romance, that'd evolved alongside Ben's tender healing journey. Ben had recently learned a crucial thing about himself, recognized all the ways he'd never truly fit in the life he was living, then chucked it all and came back home to Darling.🪻💮

🐴🐐It's no mystery why the Darling Ranch was pivotal to Ben, who found comfort just being in the vicinity of the petting farm at a time when he was putting all the pieces of himself back together again. The verdant landscape, and Snickerdoodle and Mouse and Donkey, Buttercup and the goats, were easy to love and care for, as Ben navigated his autism, and his way of being authentic in a loud, noisy world. It also helped that Remi was a total babe through and through, and intuitively put Ben to work straight away to get him out of his head.🐣🐁

🌻Remi was a radiant beauty who taught me a bit about cochlear implants, made me blushhhhh with his sexy, and I admired his capacity to manage the Harper brothers' emotional needs, while also pouring into himself through his art and maintaining his boundaries.🌼

🖼️👨‍🎨From start to finish, Remi symbolized home, safety and peace for Ben. And Ben was so precious to fill Remi's days and nights with flowers, and kisses, improving his ASL, and being a true partner to Remi, especially during his migraines. As a sufferer, this made me tear up, and I loved Ben even more by how well he took care of Remi.🦻🫚

💐🌷Painted in Wildflowers was patient and dreamy soft, with some next level animal whispering, vulnerabilities on display, and self-acceptance shored up through encouragement, being seen, learning to trust, and the simple pleasures of being in love. Ben wasn't the playboy I'd imagined for Remi all the way back when I'd read Sweet Like Whiskey lol😄 but everything about their HEA was as swoony and love-filled as I'd hoped for, and they were perfect for each other and that's all that matters to me!🏵️💝

I would like to thank GRR for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

OMG screaminggggggggg That ending?!?! WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!?!?!! Dear Minor gods who walk, talk, and love sexily amongst us, what AM I supposed to do with my life until Cursed God of Luck comes out??!??!? ✨Haaaaalllllpppppp*✨ *with ✨sparkles✨ means: please take my cliffie crash out unsrsly because I've actually enjoyed the journey and was aware from the very beginning that falling off of it into cliffhanger yo-yo land was inevitable.

But still

I'm barely holding on Because I was just chilling happily going along with the dulcet (to me) tones of JoDrake's sweet and spicy, slice-of-life meets fantasy romance, which generally means (to me): ⚔️fighting bad guys in a warring nations + political armed forces skirmish kinda way, 🌬️and messy gods behaving badly, 🐉and boosted emo dragon-mates melodrama, And ofc ❤️‍🔥magical babes in love making the sexy most of plot downtime in the smushiest, hottest ways possible!🥹

🐲Haru makes me shivery all over and I love that for me💓

So I'm in it, right? Going along with the political upheaval, otherworldly threats, everyone trying to be a hero because they're all ride or die for each other, Adrian and Haru's heart-eyes and swoony nights, Shey and Tyche's whispered romantic future they'd been soft launching like dreamy teenagers falling over themselves in handsy puppy love…

…And even though I totally felt like something nefarious was in the air, stirring up bad vibes and such, I just kept on floating along the current of love, enjoying the jealous hissing, and sobbing over a nightmare meltdown that was honestly haunting asf…

AND THEN OMG💥BOOM💥 Ending DANGER business that I KNEW in my bones was coming But still got lulled into the narrative white water as Drake is wont to do And your girl was draggggggeddd by the riptide of WHATTTTTHHHEEEFFFFFFKKK

I was told and I still couldn't breathe? Hello?

Anyway, I miss them all [Adrian, Haru, Shey and Tyche] already, and I cannot WAIT for Forgotten Gods, Book 3, and I love that every single Jocelynn Drake romance makes me want to shout and cry and cuddle in equal measure, and I could not be happier about that!!