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Of Male Virgins & Smutty Reads

Hello friends!

I hope you all are doing well! I've had a rough couple weeks, and haven't been reading as much, which has me all sad, but I'm hoping to get out of the slump this week. Hopefully!
Today I have for you a virgin hero, and a SUPEEEER smutty book to add to your TBRs! I hope you enjoy the reviews! :)


A Figure Skating Book That Might Help You Get Over Your Virtue-Moir Blues

FROM LUKOV WITH LOVE
by Mariana Zapata
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: February 1st 2018
Source: Bought
Rating: ★★★
Amazon
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one.

After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and broken promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close.

But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.

Including Ivan Lukov.

I Read My 1st Historical Romance: The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

The Duchess Deal
by Tessa Dare
Series: Girl Meets Duke #1
Genres: Historical Romance
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: August 22nd 2017
Source: eBook
Rating: ★★★★★
When girl meets Duke, their marriage breaks all the rules…

Since his return from war, the Duke of Ashbury’s to-do list has been short and anything but sweet: brooding, glowering, menacing London ne’er-do-wells by night. Now there’s a new item on the list. He needs an heir — which means he needs a wife. When Emma Gladstone, a vicar’s daughter turned seamstress, appears in his library wearing a wedding gown, he decides on the spot that she’ll do.

His terms are simple:
- They will be husband and wife by night only.
- No lights, no kissing.
- No questions about his battle scars.
- Last, and most importantly… Once she’s pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again.

But Emma is no pushover. She has a few rules of her own:
- They will have dinner together every evening.
- With conversation.
- And unlimited teasing.
- Last, and most importantly… Once she’s seen the man beneath the scars, he can’t stop her from falling in love…

Amazon | Kobo | Audible | Nook | Indie Bound


See What Our Favorite Romance Couples Are Up To This Valentine's Day




Happy Valentine's Day, love birds!

 We've been sitting on this for a while, but FINALLY. In the spirit of V-day, we have for you all exclusive scenes featuring our favourite couples! We invited a few of our favorite authors to share wth us how they thought our faves would celebrate Valentine's Day, and guys! The results were amazing. We are so, so excited to finally share this post with all of you, and we hope it brings a smile to your faces as it did for us.

Romance Audiobooks?! Yes, please!

Hey guys!


I'm not sure if I told you guys yet, but I'm a huge fan of audiobooks, and I love love love a good romance audiobook. This past week I listened to and reviewed my first audio review copy. I've listened to a lot of audiobooks, but this one was the first ARC that was sent to me in audio form, and I'm all for it. 


Either way, today I'm talking about audiobooks, as in 5 awesome audiobooks, that you can find "free" on audible. If you're an audible user, you 've probably noticed the new feature, which is called the "Romance Package". I guess it works a bit like Kindle Unlimited (but unlike KU, I can actually subscribe to this one), and it allows you to binge on romance audiobooks that are part of the package. And let me tell you, there are some amazing books in there. If you want to see how it works and explore a bit, check it out here.

Now, I'm not writing this post to convince you to join audible or to subscribe to this package. But I'm gonna mention 5 audiobooks that I've listened to in the past, that are part of this package, and that are so so worth it.


Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan
This book broke me. It's beyond beautiful and I would advise everyone to read it - either by audio format or any other format. It's just that good.

The book is narrated by Kris Koscheski and Emily Durante, and they both do an amazing job with the narration. Listen to a sample here to see if you would like it.

The story is beautiful and heartbreaking and so so worth it.


"When Bree Prescott arrives in the sleepy, lakeside town of Pelion, Maine, she hopes against hope that this is the place where she will finally find the peace she so desperately seeks. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees.


Archer's Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love."

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
I stumbled upon this audiobook by accident, and I'm so glad I did. This is a super slow burn romance, from coworkers, to friends to lovers. The writing is captivating and even though this book is massive, the romance is so good, that you won't even mind.

I said the book was big, right? It translates to around 16 hours of audio, read by Callie Dalton, but she does an amazing job, and carries the book. Check it out here.

I loved the writing and I loved the story, and I highly recommend this one.

"Vanessa Mazur knows she's doing the right thing. She shouldn't feel bad for quitting. Being an assistant/housekeeper/fairy godmother to the top defensive end in the National Football Organization was always supposed to be temporary. She has plans and none of them include washing extra-large underwear longer than necessary.

But when Aiden Graves shows up at her door wanting her to come back, she's beyond shocked.

For two years, the man known as The Wall of Winnipeg couldn't find it in him to tell her good morning or congratulate her on her birthday. Now? He's asking for the unthinkable.

What do you say to the man who is used to getting everything he wants?"

Wanderlust by Lauren Blakely
Wanderlust by Lauren Blakely is a brand new release, and it will only be available on audible for the the first 6 weeks, only being released as an ebook and paperback on March 20th. I just finished it yesterday and I ended up really enjoying it (click here if you want to read my full review of it).

The narration was AWESOME and done by Richard Armitage and Grace Grant, and yes, Richard Armitage as in the ACTOR!

Either way, Lauren Blakely is the queen of audiobooks for me, because her stories always translate so well to audio, and she always chooses the most amazing narrators.

"The first time I met him, his sexy British accent almost talked me into giving him my number on the spot. The second time, he nearly charmed the panties off me with his wit. Then I learned he's the key to success in my new job in Paris. The man who tempts me into fling-worthy dirty daydreams has turned out to be my personal translator, and his accent is the hottest thing I've ever heard.

My mantra is simple -- Don't mix business with pleasure. I do my best to resist him as he teaches me how to converse with my co-workers, navigate the metro and order the perfect bottle of wine at dinner. But I also figure out how to tell the charming and clever man what I most want to say -- that I want him to take me back to his flat -- tonight.

Except there's a catch...

***
One more assignment before I take off on my big adventure...

And it involves the toughest work ever -- resisting the fetching American woman I spend all my days with. But you know what they say about best intentions. Soon, we're spending our nights tangled together, and I don’t want to let her go. The trouble is, my wanderlust is calling to me, and before we know it I'll be traveling the globe to fulfill a promise I made long ago.

What could possibly go wrong with falling in love in Paris? Nothing...unless one of you is leaving."

Where I Belong by J. Daniels
I searched this author because it was recommended to me, and I fell in love with her writing and with her series. I've read most of what she has and she still manages to surprise me and make me fall in love for all her characters. 

This is a short audiobook (just over 7 hours) and the narration is done by Stella Bloom. Amazing! Check out the book here.

"When Mia Corelli returns to Alabama for a summer of fun with her childhood best friend, Tessa, there's only one thing keeping her on edge. One person that she’d do anything to avoid.

Benjamin Kelly. World’s biggest dickhead.

Mia hates him with a fury and has no desire to ever see him again. When she decides to start her summer off with a bang and finally give away her v-card, she unknowingly hands it over to the one guy that excelled at making her life miserable, learning a valuable lesson in the process.

Always get the name of the guy you’re going home with.

Ben can’t get the girl he spent one night with out of his head. When she leaves him the next morning, he thinks he’ll never see her again. Until he sees her lounging by the pool with his sister.

Mia is determined to hate Ben, even though she can’t forget him.

Ben is determined to prove he’s not the same guy he used to be.

What happens when the one person you wish never existed becomes the one person you can’t imagine being without?" 
Egomaniac by Vi Keeland
Whenever I want a good entertaining story to listen to, Vi Keeland (and Penelope Ward) are usually a very good option, either together or by themselves. I loved Egomaniac, so much that it made me cry... yeah, it wasn't pretty...

It's a dual POV audiobook, that is around 8 hours long, and narrated by Andi Arndt and Joe Arden, and these 2 are AWESOME! There's one combination for audio that I like more, and that is Sebastian York and Andi Arndt, and if you are familiar with audiobooks, you know what I'm talking about. Either way, check this one out here.

"The night I met Drew Jagger, he'd just broken into my new Park Avenue office. I dialed 9-1-1 before proceeding to attack him with my fancy new Krav Maga skills. He quickly restrained me, then chuckled, finding my attempted assault amusing.

Of course, my intruder had to be arrogant. Only, turned out, he wasn't an intruder at all.
Drew was the rightful occupant of my new office. He'd been on vacation while his posh space was renovated. Which was how a scammer got away with leasing me office space that wasn't really available for rent. I was swindled out of ten grand.

The next day, after hours at the police station, Drew took pity on me and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. In exchange for answering his phones while his secretary was out, he'd let me stay until I found a new place. I probably should have acted grateful and kept my mouth shut when I overheard the advice he was spewing to his clients. But I couldn't help giving him a piece of my mind. I never expected my body to react every time we argued. Especially when that was all we seemed to be able to do.

The two of us were complete opposites. Drew was a bitter, angry, gorgeous-as-all-hell, destroyer of relationships. And my job was to help people save their marriages. The only thing the two of us had in common was the space we were sharing. And an attraction that was getting harder to deny by the day."



Talk to me. Have you read or listen to any of the books I've mentioned here? 

Are you curious about any of them?


Have you ever listened to a romance audio? What did you think? Is it something you enjoy? Not really?

I wanna know everything. Audiobooks are something I LOVE, and I want to spread the love. Tell me everything in the comments down below.



Review: The Bastard's Bargain by Katee Robert

by Katee Robert
Series: The O'Malleys #6
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: February 6th 2018
Source: ARC received for review
Rating: ★★★
When Keira O’Malley was a child, she used to picture her perfect wedding. The flowers. The dress. Her husband. But nothing could have prepared her for saying “I do” to Dmitri Romanov—cold, domineering and always one step ahead of everyone else in the ever-shifting power plays of New York City. She agreed to his bargain to secure peace for her family, and she may want the bastard more than she’d ever admit, but she’ll be damned if she’ll make this marriage easy for him.

Dmitri knows better than to underestimate Keira for one second. Molten desire smolders between them, a dangerous addiction neither can resist. But his enemies are already on the move, and he needs every ounce of his legendary focus and control to keep them alive. Keira could just be his secret weapon—if she doesn’t bring him to his knees first.

W.W.W Wednesday: February 7, 2018

Happy hump day!

For the past few days, I’ve been looking for simple book tags/memes to do. I came across this one and I thought it was pretty easy, so I’m trying it out today.


WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words. Simply answer the following questions:

What have you recently finished reading?
What are you currently reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

I’ve had His to Take by Katee Robert on my Kindle for ages, I feel? But I’ve only read and finished it today. The story was set around Christmas, featuring two characters who used to have an on-off affair with each other. I liked it fine but I feel like I would’ve liked it better if I wasn’t in such a blah mood when I read it. [GR review]

I also finished Jennifer Dawson’s latest novella, Twist of Fate. I like the concept of fate keep bringing these two people together in unexpected situations. I wish I was more attached to the characters but overall, I still enjoyed the story. [GR review]

Finally, I finished Sarah Mayberry’s HerKind of Trouble and I adored it so much. I gushed about it in my Goodreads review but in short, this book is about two reformed party people falling in love with each other. There is a second chance element here (H/h hooked up 10 years ago and have been circling each other since) as well.

I’m currently reading* Prime Minister by Ainsley Booth and Sadie Haller, A Choice of Fate by Jezz De Silva, Hurts to Love You by Alisha Rai, Zero Hour by Megan Erickson, Collision Course by Marie Harte, and Love in a Small Town by Zoe York.

*I’m still in a meh mood when it comes to reading new books so I’ve been reading a chapter or so from one book before jumping to the next book and the cycle repeats this is a disease

I just got an ARC of Lucy Parker’s Making Up so I’m making a deal with myself to only start it when I finish all my backlist ARCs. Making Up will be my reward.

I also plan to reread Ainslie Paton’s The Love Experiment before I start the ARC of The Love Coupon.

What's your WWW?

Share with me in the comments!




A Glimpse Into Life After The Happily Ever After & A Gambling Historical Heroine


Happy Tuesday, everyone!

How are you guys doing? I hope you've been reading lots of romance! In today's post, I have two reviews for you guys, one is a contemporary novella, and the other is a historical romance, that I wasn't entirely into. I also share some other books I read recently at the end of the post. I hope you find something to add to your TBRs!



ON HART'S BOARDWALK
by Samantha Young
Series: On Dublin Street #6.7
Genres: Contemporary
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Publication Date: March 20th 2018
Source: ARC received for review purposes
Rating: ★★★

I don't think I've talked about it enough, but Samantha Young's On Dublin Street is one of my all-time contemporary romance series. I have such fond memories of reading those books and discovering the OTPs that lay within. So, I was very happy to hear that she had written a novella, years into the future, featuring one of my favorite couples from the series. I loved this glimpse into Nate and Livia's relationship. They are both busy with their jobs, have two lovely daughters, and are leading a rather monotonous life. To make matters worse, Livia feels that Nate just isn't present in her life anymore as she would like. After the death of a friend, he's receded into himself, and doesn't open up to her. I'm not going to lie, it was a little hard to read about Nate and Olivia having marriage troubles, but it was also incredibly realistic. Let's face it, what marriage is ever 100% happy 24/7? So, I appreciated this look into the life after a happily ever after. Nate and Livia have to work hard to restore their marriage, and the first step towards that is going away from home to Hart's Boardwalk. This is the setting in Samantha Young's newest series, so this novella was a crossover. Besides loving reading about Nate and Livia mend their fractured marriage, I also loved meeting some of my favorite characters from that series. I particularly loved seeing Bailey and Vaughn! Anyways, this is a short novella, so I won't give everything away, but know that it's an emotional, beautiful and sexy story, just as every other book by Samantha Young.


by Caroline Linden
Series: The Wagers of Sin #1
Genres: Historical
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: February 27th 2018
Source: ARC received for review purposes
Rating: ★★★

I usually really love Caroline Linden's historical romances, but I was quite disappointed by My Once and Future Duke. Let me get to the positive aspects first. I really loved the idea of the heroine being a gambling queen. Sophie is a pro at cards, and is absolutely unapologetic about it. It was refreshing to have a heroine who wasn't part of London high society. She's fiery, independent, and does not let people walk all over her. I admired her absolute tenacity and strength throughout the book. Sophie was absolutely a character that I easily found myself rooting for. I also really enjoyed the friendships here. Sophie's friends could not be more different than her, but their dynamic was so interesting to me. I'm certainly looking forward to reading more about them in the subsequent books. Now, the hero himself, Jack, the Duke of Ware, wasn't the easiest for me to warm up to for some reason. For most of the book, he wasn't very comfortable showing his true self, and part of me felt like we never really got to see the man behind that tough exterior. I also think a reason why I wasn't entirely enamored with Jack was that he didn't stand out to me in any way. My attention was one hundred percent on Sophie. I just thought she deserved someone better. The chemistry was definitely there for me between the two of them, but like I think my lack of connection to Jack made it difficult for me to become invested in this ship. I wanted to see more banter, more scenes of them communicating and being themselves. I was expecting more from them because Caroline Linden has written some AMAZING romances in the past. Sophie and Jack's relationship simply didn't live up for me. All that being said, I still found the book to be quite entertaining since I managed to finish it, and I am quite eager to read the next book featuring one of Sophie's friend. Just the synopsis of An Earl Like You has me buzzing with excitement!
More Books I've Read
Brooklynaire The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1) A Princess in Theory (Reluctant Royals, #1) Hello Stranger (The Ravenels, #4)

I'll be reviewing these closer to release date, but I had to quickly share my thoughts about them over here. These were all part of my most anticipated romances of the year and they were just so great. Brooklynaire was a book I've been waiting for for like ever - the romance between Nate and Becca has been building up since the first book in the series, and omg it was so worth the wait! The Kiss Quotient was also another book I was highly anticipating and it was just wonderful. It was sweet, sexy, a little awkward, but just absolutely perfect. I can't wait for it to be out in the world. A Princess In Theory was also absolutely wonderful. I'm not usually one for royalty romances because I think they tend to veer into cheesy territory, but this was lovely and smart and made me very happy. Hello Stranger was another hit for me from Lisa Kleypas. I swear, this woman can do no wrong in my eyes!

Have you read any books feature in this post? Tell me about some of your latest 4 or 5 star romance reads!

February Reads: Books I'm Excited About

Hello!!!


This is the month of romance. My love for romance really started 2 years ago, when I decided in February 2016 that I was only going to read romance for that whole month... I never stopped. I started reading less and less fantasy, and YA and my love for NA and Adult Romances only grew and grew and grew.

And now it's addicting, and I'm kind of expanding my favorite authors list, and getting more and more recommendations of some great amazing new authors, and I'm loving it.

I have a relatively small TBR this month, and while I was going through them (while writing my TBR post for my other blog), I realized that I was super excited about some of those titles and I wanted to talk more about them and why they excite me at this point. So, why not?!


Here are some of the books I'm reading this month...

Wildcat (Mavericks, #1) by Max Monroe
I never read anything my Max Monroe before, but Deanna @A Novel Glimpse told me to request the ARC, she sang praises to the author, and made me so so curious. Also, it's a sports romance, and the beginning of a series, so I was jumping at the opportunity to get it.

Deanna never failed me with her author recommendations, and while I'm only around 30% into this book so far, I'm loving it. The writing is on point, and the perfect mix of funny and romantic.

Brooklynaire (Brooklyn Bruisers #4) by Sarina Bowen
By my last post you guys can deduce how much I love Sarina Bowen and all her books. But this one, this is precious

Since the first book of the Brooklyn Bruisers that we've all wanted a book about Becca and Nate, and finally, FINALLY, it's here. I've been wanting to drop all the other ARCs and get to this one first, but I couldn't... I had release dates prior to this one, so I wasn't able to get to it as soon as it landed on my Kindle, but I've wanted to, I did.

Wanderlust by Lauren Blakely
Lauren Blakely is always a blast to read, but the reason I'm so excited about this one, it's because this will be my first audiobook ARC! Yep, an AudioARC, eheh!!! 

I love audiobooks, and Blakely's stories work so well in audio format, so I'm certain that this will be another hit for me.

(I'm only a bit uncertain about the amount of time I'll have to listen to it...)

Monster Among the Roses (Fairy Tale Quartet, #1) by Linda Kage
Linda Kage produced one of my favorites New Adult Romance series, Forbidden Men, so when she reached out and asked me if I wanted to read book 1 and 2 of her Fairy Tale Quartet series, I jumped at the opportunity.

The first book, Monster Among Roses, is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, so I'm all for it. I'm excited to read something else, from this author who made me fall in love with an amazing cast of friends with some messed up stories (and yes, I plan to talk more about Forbidden Men here, in the near future).

The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke, #1) by Tessa Dare

So... confession... I never read any historical romance, so when Nick and Lisa got a hold of this information, they wanted to kill me. As the good girl that I am, I asked for recommendations for my firsts ones, and they recommended several authors, including Tessa Dare and Lisa Kleypas, so I've added one book of each of them to my February TBR.

But for some reason, this cover speaks to me, and I'm very excited for this one. Maybe because it's more recent, and has a second book coming out, and I have a feeling I can actually catch up?!


Here it is, some of the books on my TBR that I'm very excited about. 

So, have you read any of them? What were your thoughts?
Talk to me!!!
😉 


“So, what comes after the HEA?”

Happy February, everyone! Did you get to see the Super Blue Blood Moon? My family and I went out to see it but we only stayed to watch for maybe an hour before heading back home since it was a school night for my sister. Still, it was an experience, and my social media timelines today are all moons, which is super great.

I’m still not reading :/ so instead of reviews today I will share with you my favourite books featuring *drum rolls* married couples

As I get *coughs* older, I gravitate more towards characters who are in the same age bracket as me or older, and sometimes that includes married ones. For someone who avoids marriage talks like the plague, I sure love my married romance. I love watching these characters keep the flame alive, work through their marriage and reconnecting, you get my drift.

Bonus points if they're angsty—I even have a Goodreads shelf I dedicate to stories with ‘marriage on the rocks’ trope.


RETROSEXUAL BY AINSLEY BOOTH & SADIE HALLER

This is the most recent book I read in this category. I adore this book! I was actually in the middle of reading Prime Minister when I picked up this book, and I finished it in one sitting. Stew didn’t really jump at me in Prime Minister, which is why I was surprised to find him attractive and weirdly sexy in Retrosexual, LOL.

In this book, Stew and his wife, Adrienne, squeezed in time to reconnect as partners because they realized both of them (especially Stew) had been so busy with work and kids. I really like that they worked so well together, and how close they were to each other. Bonus: it’s still free on Amazon!


HAPPILY EVER NINJA BY PENNY REID

OMG I love Greg and Fiona so much #couplegoals. I’ve been rooting for them ever since they met in college (the battle of wits! the tension!) in Ninja at First Sight, their prequel novella. Married Greg and Fiona is a whole new level of awesome. I didn’t want to talk about the plot because it’s best to discover it yourself (it was a direction I’ve never expected Penny to take, and I loved it) but I will leave this quote here:

“It occurred to me in that moment: marriage is an ultimate sport in emotional multitasking. I'm never only mad at Greg. I'm mad and madly in love; angry and concern for his wellbeing; he frustrates and delights me in the same second. We were arguing, but we were still a team.”

MAKING IT LAST BY RUTHIE KNOX

The couple in this book first appeared in How to Misbehave, where they first met. Making it Last is set a decade and so after How to Misbehave, with Amber and Tony together for thirteen years, and married for ten. They were under a lot of stress; Tony’s company wasn’t doing financially well so he was working himself to death to save it, and Amber was physically and mentally exhausted trying to handle three growing boys in his absence. 

I have so many feelings for this couple because they were just trying so hard. Reading this made me realize how dangerous it is to keep your feelings bottled up, and how important it is to communicate with your partners and listen to each other. I also cried a lot reading this because the hopeless feeling that Amber and Tony experienced re: life and their marriage were overwhelming I just want to give them a hug and make them hot cocoa. 


Other titles that I reread from time to time that are all super angsty and have made me cry: 


I think what I love most about this kind of romance is that it depicts the life after the happily ever after, where loving and caring for somebody is continuous work and not always sunshine and roses and smooth sails. There are all sorts of emotions and not all of them are happy; there are frustrations, stress and anger, and hard work work work. It's fascinating to see this side of the story, and it is so satisfying to see these characters come through difficult times a whole lot stronger and more in love with each other. 

Have you read any Married Romance? 

Share with me in the comments!