Book Review: Puck Block (Bexley U #3) by S.J. Sylvis

Ford Collins is my brother’s best friend and Bexley U’s favorite defender on the ice. Unfortunately, he feels the need to block much more than the puck.

Namely, ME and any chance I have with a guy.

Encouraged by my older brother, Ford has ruined every single date I’ve ever had. With his hot smirk and sly maneuvers, he has made it his mission to make me the most unattainable female college student in the world—that is, until I have a brush with death, and I beg him to help me.

After all, he owes me. And I’ve come to collect.

Determined to rid himself of the guilt, Ford promises to help me score a boyfriend—or two—and swears he won’t interfere.

But the more time I spend learning from one of Bexley U’s most desirable playboys, the more I start to question the real reason why he’s been sabotaging my dates over the years.

With the lingering touches, heated stares, and sizzling chemistry between us, we both know we’re playing with fire. What happens when our game of “practice” and Ford’s spicy lessons become something real that we not only need to hide from my older brother, but from each other? (From: Goodreads)

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Book Review: Pretty Girls Never Lie (St. Mary’s #5) by S.J. Sylvis

Spending my summer at St. Mary’s Boarding School isn’t the same without my friends. I knew it wouldn’t be. What I don’t expect is to see her again. Isla Ransford.

The last time I saw Isla, I gave her one rule to follow: become invisible. Four years later, she shows up at St. Mary’s and is anything but invisible.

The only logical solution is for me to ignore her—resist her.

When I find out why she’s back at St. Mary’s, my choice to stay away is taken. I’m forced to intervene. After all, I’m the reason for her suffering.

Pretty Girls Never Lie Novella is the fifth and final book in the St. Mary’s series and can be read as a standalone. Reader discretion is advised. (From: Goodreads)

Book Review: Sticks and Stones (Shadow Valley U #1) by S. Massery & S.J. Sylvis

Sticks and stones may break our bones…

Hockey is my life.

After Wren Davis puts my dreams of the NHL in jeopardy, I vow to make her life hell if she ever comes near me again.

But she’s my best friend’s foster sister, and even though they don’t live together anymore, their bond is still tight, which makes avoiding each other extra difficult.

Especially when I show up at Shadow Valley University and learn my new room comes with an unwelcome addition: Wren Davis.

As much as I try to make her life hell, she gives it right back, until she’s not just under my skin but constantly on my mind.

But some things can’t be forgiven, and fraternizing with the enemy is the last thing either of us want. (From: Goodreads)

Book Review: Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.” —Xaden Riorson

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end. (From: Goodreads)

Blog Tour: Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa

Hiya, bookish peeps!

It’s me again with another blog tour! Who am I even? Today I’m featuring another contemporary, grumpy/sunshine, and best friend’s brother tropes of a romcom called “Plot Twist” by Erin La Rosa, the author of “For Butter or Worse,” one of my favorite reads in 2022. Read ahead to see what I think about this new release, will ya?

Book Review & Excerpt: Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

Sparks fly when an occult expert and a disgraced archeologist become rivals with benefits in this steamy opposites-attract romance from “go-to author” Rosie Danan (The New York Times Book Review).

Riley Rhodes finally has the chance to turn her family’s knack for the supernatural into a legitimate business when she’s hired to break the curse on an infamous Scottish castle. Used to working alone in her alienating occupation, she’s pleasantly surprised to meet a handsome stranger upon arrival—until he tries to get her fired.

     Fresh off a scandal, Clark Edgeware can’t allow a self-proclaimed “curse breaker” to threaten his last chance for professional redemption (or his traitorous heart). After he fails to get Riley kicked off his excavation site, he vows to avoid her. Unfortunately for him, she vows to get even.

     Riley expects the curse to do her dirty work by driving Clark away, but instead, they keep ending up on top of each other. Turns out, the only thing they do better than fight is fool around. If they’re not careful, by the end of all this, more than the castle will end up in ruins.

Book Review & Book Rec: Ice Bet (Bexley U #2) by S.J. Sylvis

She’s the coach’s daughter and his rival’s newest target.

Aasher Matthews is everything I detest. Arrogant jock: check. Coy smirk: check. Too hot for his own good: check. To make matters worse, he plays hockey. Unfortunately for him, my father is his coach. Fortunately for me, I’m deemed untouchable.

The only common ground I have with hockey players is our love of the ice, so staying away from them will be easy-peasy.

Until I overhear their bet—who can get Coach’s daughter in their bed first?

I’m ready to bring the entire Bexley U hockey team to their knees. Instead of fleeing, I flirt. Instead of hiding, I run just so they’ll chase me. Luring my father’s players into a trap has a certain appeal to it.

Except, Aasher isn’t fooled by my feigned temptation. He has too much riding on a perfect season and has plans to join the NHL after winning the Frozen Four.

So he proposes our own bet.

If he wins, I stay away from his teammates and stop messing with their heads.
If I win, he tells my father—his beloved coach—about his teammates’ dirty plans for me.

But the more Aasher crosses the lines we’ve carved into the ice, the more I find myself letting him. The only problem is, someone else is in on our gamble, and they aren’t willing to concede.

Ice Bet is a spicy coach’s daughter college sports romance. It is a complete stand-alone. The other books in the series do not need to be read in order, but you will see glimpses of future characters in each book. (From: Goodreads)

Book Review & Recommendation: Practice Makes Perfect (When in Rome #2) by Sarah Adams

Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match-someone who nicely compliments her happy, quiet life running her flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. Unfortunately, she worries her goal might be too far out of reach when she overhears her date saying she is “sounbelievably boring.” Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice…and Annie has the perfect person in mind to become her tutor: Will Griffin.

Will–the flirtatious, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard–is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement grows for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker. He has one personal objective during his time in town: stay away from Annie Walker. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will soon finds himself not only breaking his rule, but tasked with far more than simply providing security.

Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie, but he can’t bring himself to say no to her request, so he officially agrees to teach her how to be the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky, and find the love of her life-even if he doesn’t believe in love himself. Between faking a relationship so the meddling town doesn’t catch on to what’s really happening on their practice dates, and tutoring lessons that convince Annie to add passion to her list of must-haves in a mate, it doesn’t take long for the lines of their friendship to blur… (From: Goodreads)

Book Review: Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die. (From: Goodreads)

Blog Tour: What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

Hello, bookish friends!

Welcome to my blog tour for a lovely, insightful book published by Hanover Square Press, an imprint of Harper Collins, called “What You Are Looking For Is in the Library!” It’s a modern world setting Japanese award-winning bestseller and is now translated into several languages all around the world. That being said, I’m beyond thrilled to share more about the book and my overall thought with you in the following post, so sit back, relax, and let’s go!