Reviews
Why I Didn’t Finish The Goal (And Why I’ll Probably Go Back)
When I started Elle Kennedy’s Off Campus series, I didn’t expect to fly through it the way I did. I watched the Prime Video adaptation first, completely fell in love with the characters, and then immediately picked up the books. Before I knew it, I’d read The Deal, The Mistake, and The Score in what felt like a blur. Most of them disappeared in twenty-four-hour reading sessions, and somewhere in between I managed to rewatch the show more than once. Needless to say, I was invested. So when I picked up The Goal—Tucker and Sabrina’s story—I assumed I’d do exactly what I’d done with the first three books: stay up…
The Score by Elle Kennedy — The Most Fun Couple in the Off Campus Series?
“Because you also look at him like he hung the moon. And I get the sense he feels the same about you.” If you’ve been following along with my journey through the Off Campus series, then you already know I absolutely adored Garrett and Hannah in The Deal and had a great time with Logan and Grace in The Mistake. Going into The Score, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from Dean Di Laurentis. Up until now, he’d mostly been the rich, charming hockey player with an endless rotation of hookups and a permanent grin plastered across his face. Fun? Absolutely. Relationship material? I wasn’t convinced. Then Elle Kennedy…
The Mistake by Elle Kennedy — Logan’s Second Chance Romance, Imperfections and All
“You’re the last person I think about before I go to sleep, and the first person I think about when I open my eyes in the morning. You’re it for me, baby.” I went straight from The Deal into The Mistake — no breaks, no palate cleanser. I loved Garrett and Hannah’s story so much that I genuinely couldn’t wait to see what Logan’s looked like, especially after watching him grow across the first book. This one ended up being a more complicated reading experience for me than The Deal was. There’s a lot I loved about it, and also a fair amount that didn’t sit right. Both things are…
The Deal by Elle Kennedy — A Hockey Romance That Delivers Exactly What It Promises
“I never expected her. Sometimes people sneak up on you and suddenly you don’t know how you ever lived without them.“ If you’ve been following along, you know I came to this series backwards — I watched the Off Campus show on Prime before I ever cracked a spine. And honestly? That might have been the best thing that could have happened to me, because by the time I sat down with the first book, I already loved these characters. I just needed to fall in love with them all over again on the page. Spoiler: I did. In about 24 hours. This review is focused on the book, though…
A Reign of Rose by Kate Golden – A Fantasy Romance Finale Worth the Journey
“Cherish one another. Appreciate the moments you are given, ephemeral as they may be. Do not dwell in the past or scurry toward the looming future. And be grateful, each day, for the love that you share. I am grateful to have witnessed it.” If you’ve been following along, you already know I bought the entire Sacred Stones trilogy on a whim during a Barnes & Noble closing sale — and that this series turned into a whole journey for me. We started with A Dawn of Onyx, a solid fantasy romance entry point. Then A Promise of Peridot hit me like an emotional gut punch. And now here we…
A Promise of Peridot by Kate Golden – The Sacred Stones Trilogy Hits Its Stride
“I told you once there is power in harnessing your fear. There is also power in vulnerability. It is what makes us human, and gives us something worth fighting for. Sometimes, that is also something worth dying for.” I’ll be honest, I teased this one in my A Dawn of Onyx review as an emotional gut punch with more spice and stronger character development. I wasn’t wrong. A Promise of Peridot, the second book in Kate Golden’s Sacred Stones trilogy, picks up right where the first left off and promptly proceeds to run at full speed and not stop. I went in knowing more was coming. Nor did I know…
A Dawn of Onyx by Kate Golden – Is It Worth the Hype?
I bought this entire trilogy under the best possible circumstances: my local Barnes & Noble was closing to move locations, and every book was 50% to 75% off. I’d been seeing bits and pieces about the Sacred Stones series floating around the fantasy romance corner of the internet for a while and kept mentally filing it away. When I saw all three books sitting there at a steep discount, it felt like a sign. I bought all of them on the spot. I went in curious but cautious. Discounted impulse buys don’t always pan out. This one did, at least for book one. Summary A Dawn of Onyx follows a…
Leather & Lark by Brynn Weaver – A Dark Follow up to Butcher & Blackbird
“It took a while to learn that being in love is not enough. Choosing love is what it takes.” After genuinely enjoying Butcher & Blackbird, I went into Leather & Lark with cautious optimism. I was curious to see what the eldest Kane brother would be like after his gruff, sarcastic appearance in the first book. Unfortunately, what I got was a book that felt less like a sequel and more like a photocopy: same plot beats, same dynamics, just with different names. Summary Contract killer Lachlan Kane wants a quiet life working in his leather studio and forgetting all about his traumatic past. But when he botches a job…
Butcher and Blackbird by Brynn Weaver – Still Unwell Over The Beginning of This Book
“What does my nervous little Blackbird like to read, I wonder?” I’d had my eye on this book for a while but kept holding off because I’m skeptical of #BookTok recommendations. Eventually, this became another case of I found an audiobook with narrators I like, so I’ll give it a try. The beginning was straight-up gross, and the insta-lust between the two main characters was off-putting at first. That said, they grew on me faster than I expected, and once the story found its footing, I was surprisingly invested. Storygraph // Goodreads Quick Summary When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two…
My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney – Twists on Twists on Twists in This Feisty Thriller
“I have always been happiest when hiding inside a story.” I found this audiobook on Spotify while browsing for something under 15 hours – long enough to get invested, but not overwhelming. I also liked the narrators right away, which made it an easy yes. The premise hooked me immediately: a woman comes home to discover she’s been replaced. That unsettling idea alone was enough to pull me in and keep me listening. Storygraph // Goodreads Quick Summary Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an…
