I really enjoyed this thought-provoking collection of short stories. Fans of horror and the paranormal will find plenty to like here. It reminded me of Mariana Enriquez's work! Eerie at times, but less macabre.

The audiobook was an easy, listen, with wonderful narration that brought each story to life. The collection explores themes of mortality in unique and compelling ways, and every story kept me engaged.

Thank you for the ARC audiobook!

“Or she could be the queen enthroned next to the king. Because I could… I could get her there. I could corrupt her enough to be by my side.”

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of Her by DV Fischer.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. The female lead, Charlie, was strong-willed, determined, and focused on proving herself in her career after the loss of both her husband and parents. Her resilience made her easy to root for, and lines like, “This is my life now, and his soul gets no say in it,” perfectly captured her strength.

The story moved a little too quickly for my liking. Some plot points felt unrealistic, particularly Charlie’s involvement in creating adult content without much concern or consequence. I also would have loved to see Nix’s character explored in more depth. His motives and moral boundaries felt unclear at first, and the reasoning behind his actions wasn’t fully developed. As a result, the romance felt rushed; before much character growth had taken place, they were already in love and he was ready to leave the business behind.

My biggest issue was the pacing. The chapters were quite short and often felt choppy, jumping from one event to the next without enough space for the story or relationships to develop.

I can see the appeal of this book to dark romance readers who love morally grey MMCs. It was a fast paced, easy read with a great twist at the end. 2/5 stars.

This book didn’t really work for me. While I can see why people enjoy it, the writing felt a little too tied to current internet culture. Phrases like ‘villain era’ and the moment Josh broke the fourth wall to address us as ‘reader’ made me cringe. That said, I did laugh a lot. Josh was easily the highlight of the book for me. He’s weird, chaotic, and funny. I found myself enjoying his POV chapters.

My biggest issue was that the plot was weirdly convenient. Aly seemed to figure everything out really quick. The way she just happened to know that Josh was the masked man or have mafia family connections felt like an easy fix. There was never any real consequences for what happened. I also expected Josh’s father to play a much bigger role than he did. On top of that, I would have loved more scenes with Aly and her nurse friends, or Josh and his housemate.

Overall, this was a 2-star read for me. I really wanted to love this book with how much hype it had. I’m still undecided on whether I’ll continue with the rest of the series.

After Heated Rivalry, I was desperate for more Shane and Ilya. My favourite parts were the soft domestic moments, seeing them build a life together was so beautiful.

I loved the further development of Ilya’s character. Getting a deeper look at who he is beneath the confidence and humour was great. I do wish Shane had a little more room to grow as a character, but he’s still a great lead and the two of them remain one of my favourite queer couples.

So excited to see where the next volume of this story goes!!

I flew through Heated Rivalry after watching the tv show adaptation. It’s one of those books that’s so easy to sink your teeth into. Great pacing, TENSION, and characters that keep you invested. Every interaction between Shane and Ilya had me wanting to read another chapter.

What I loved most was the amount of queer joy in this story. The romance is passionate and intense without skipping over the nuance and challenges in a closeted relationship. I really loved how consent and genuine affection remained at the centre of their relationship.

As a queer reader, this is the kind of book I would have treasured as a closeted teenager. Seeing queer characters get to experience desire, happiness, humour, and love without their entire story being defined by suffering felt SO refreshing.