Little Secrets

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dagger! Yes please!

I don't think I pictured him the way he's supposed to look but I don't care. He was hot!

Liked that this filled in the gaps to Little Bird. I enjoyed Dagger's perspective and honestly his spicy scenes were hotter than Bane's from the first book. Found this book to be more entertaining and went to the next level of spiciness.

You wouldn't have guessed that Dagger was seeing Cox in-between all the scenes from the first book, which I found was quite clever. Thought the backstory of Cox was intriguing from the prologue, so was waiting in anticipation to see how it was going to play out.

Again, this book is quite fast paced like Little Bird and I found I read it quickly also.

Little Bird

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have no idea what I was expecting or should have been expecting for a dark mafia romance. I can't say I have read this genre so it's quite new for me.

Bane is a drug lord in LA. One of his dealers Hawk leaves him $50k short and if the money doesn’t show up by the end of the week, it’s his head. Hawk freaks out and let’s his sister Wren know. She’s used to him getting in trouble but not this deep. What does Wren do? March up to Bane’s club Dollhouse to bargain another deal but she doesn’t have anything to offer in return. Bane says if she will be his, and only his for two weeks, then all debt is cleared. Is giving up her freedom to a criminal a good idea? What is she willing to sacrifice for her brother?

If you’re after a fast paced book with lots of spice, then you’ll like this book. I read it in about 5 hours total and it really is easy to read. There’s a lot of spice, so it’s not for the faint hearted.

Not a fan of insta love and I wasn’t fully convinced that Bane, this well known drug lord, would stop in his tracks for Wren. No offence to Wren, I’m sure she’s a lovely person but she had no depth. Give me more substance to them and I’ll love you for it. I wanted a bit more connection - but maybe that's just my preference.

Bane would drop everything for Wren. I guess that’s sweet but he’s a cold hard killer. He fell for her on looks and a bit of her sass to protect her brother. I also wish Wren was slightly more intelligent. It’s like Bane being a bad boy was all it took for her to want to be with him. Also, the whole damsel in distress narrative. She didn’t need Bane to be her saviour for anything and she's strong enough to figure it out.

So what did I like? I actually didn't mind the plot and would've liked a bit more. When dealers were getting hit, I was thinking, will this turn out to be a blown out turf war? Detective Cox hot on Bane's trail was also another part of the story I liked being played out. There were a few twists in there. Bane's right hand man Dagger was mysterious and I wanted to know more about him. He's loyal, hot and I'm here for it.

Flowers for the Devil

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dark Victorian romances are not my go to and I randomly found this book on Amazon. I’m really glad I did! This was chosen as part of a book club read and not only does it have romance, it has mystery, intrigue, deception and much more.

I liked the idea of Harlan Krow - a vigilante standing up for the people in poorer neighbourhoods and protecting those that can’t protect themselves. The flashbacks, or recounting of his story when he was a soldier, allowed us to understand how his dark side developed. Ultimately, Harlan wanted justice in the world against those who did wrong. It’s up to you whether or not you agree with his methods, but if the system fails you, or others, sometimes you take matters in your own hands.

Alina was such a beautiful character. I liked how her mind worked and it was lovely reading that she was into medicine and science. Given the time period, she couldn’t exactly use her voice the way she wanted to, but it was important that the men around her believed in her. Her mother was overbearing and made me laugh. I enjoyed the Russian cultural references throughout the story. The reason why her family were forced to England was sad but also believable.

The spice! If you’re after some, it’s heavily written towards the end of the book. I honestly wasn’t expecting it given the premise of the story. Some chapters did feel repeated to me through these scenes.

How I interpret the book is that it’s ultimately about having someone understand you through your darker moments and being loved for it anyway. Sometimes it’s rare to have someone so understanding that you find the light because of them.

Hooked

⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

All I knew about this book, was that it was a Peter Pan retelling. I go into books basically blind.

I can see why people might not like this story. I enjoyed the first half for sure and wasn’t entirely sold on the MCs Wendy and James falling in love. Definitely lust and obsession, but I would say it was more infatuation than anything. Plus it was very Stockholm Syndrome on Wendy’s part as she really didn’t know anything about James when she started liking him. I still don’t think we got much depth to him in the end.

It was obvious James was going to use Wendy as a means to get to her dad and that he would start liking her. I thought he was sweet when it came to her brother John. I didn’t see the twist coming at the end - like I thought this book was just going to be spice and some dark story, so I was pleasantly surprised how it unfolded at the end. The spice for me, was medium to high. It’s very important that consent was always present.

Do check your trigger warnings as there are morally grey characters in this book.