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‘Why can’t you? He’d thrown that bomb into her world. Why can’t you have what you want? Why can’t you be who you want to be? Why can’t you? With them, she finally could. And she was going to be so very good at it.’ Good Girl Fail by Roni Loren is a super-hot erotic MMF romance that will set your reading device on fire. We fancied something a bit different after a string of highly emotional reads and this hit the spot perfectly. Whilst it deals with quite a few hard subjects such as grief and problematic childhoods it doesn’t explore these in great detail or depth, which was a shame as we would’ve loved more of that drama and backstory to really get to know all the characters. Rather, it’s an easy-to-read story of living the life you want as opposed to what’s expected of you, loving who your heart wants and needs, as well as safely enjoying your very own brand of consensual kink. It’s also a story of friendship and acceptance. Good Girl Fail is really well written with lovable characters, fiery chemistry, and fabulous connections which will keep you reading late into the night!
5 fabulous stars! ‘Heartache and sorrow hung over her so deep it bled through every vein.’ We fell in love with the girl band, The Painted Daisies in book one: Sweet Memory, which featured Paisley and Jonas and set this suspenseful rockstar romance series up so well. Each book in this series will feature a different band member. Well, let us tell you, LJ Evans really cranked it up in this follow-up: Green Jewel, which is the second book in this series and follows Fee, the feisty bighearted Irish singer and the standoff-ish and ruthless record label owner, Asher. Wow. We were blown away and bloody loved it! This is how you write an enticing slow burn enemies to lovers romance! This Author nailed it!
Princess, when I love someone, it’s with my soul. It’s a full commitment. It’s a relationship that will grow, evolve, and change to fit us. I won’t ever stop trying to be the best man I can be. I won’t give up on us, through thick and thin.” We really loved Beauty and the Baller by Ilsa Madden-Mills. It was a heart-warming, angsty, fun, and swoony sport and small-town romance that ticked a lot of boxes for us. Nova and Ronan are fabulous characters, and we loved their journey, individually as well as together. Their connection and chemistry was on fire and their banter and the situational comedy they got themselves into made us laugh. We loved the feel of the community spirit and the friendships as well as the beautiful story of a family (big shout-out to Sabine!), second chances, and healing.
“Just don’t fall in love with me,” I teased. “Kay.” He said. We loved this book! Well, grumpy sexy pants Duke might just be our favourite Tomcat to date! We bloody loved this third book in the Boston Tomcats series. A laugh-out-loud grumpy-sunshine, single dad, fake relationship, football sports romance with a delightful British actress love interest. How could we NOT love it! Kayley Loring and Connor Crais have once again, delivered a sexy, funny heartfelt romance.
‘Sometimes passion was a whisper, other times a roar. This time? It was a storm.’ Nevermore Bookstore by Kerrigan Byrne and Cynthia St. Aubin was completely different from what we were expecting, once again the curse of the cartoon cover strikes with the dreaded thumb people, however, we ended up really enjoying it. It deals with very heavy topics and mental health which is not indicative by the cartoon cover. Once we started reading, we’re not going to lie, we thought this was paranormal and Fox was some type of shapeshifter. It had such an intriguing start that we honestly didn’t have a clue where Fox and Cady’s story was going to go, both together and individually, it was like all the romance tropes got together to duel after dark for supremacy, and the winning trope was the ‘last man’ standing winner. We also went into it thinking it was a rom-com at heart, but overall, it wasn’t really, to be fair. Sure, it was funny, even hilarious in parts, however, the humour came from the fabulous book club cast and Myrtle in particular. Whereas Cady and Fox, between them, had stories of heartbreak, violence, and suffering. With all this being said though we absolutely enjoyed it and despite the story being all over the place it actually kept us invested and falling in book love by the end.
5 Emotional stars! “Part of me wants to pretend I have you, but another part thinks I’ll die if you don’t tell me you love me, even if it doesn’t change anything. Even if it’s just getting to hear it one more time.” Emily Henry has done it again! Another 5-star read from this wonderfully talented author. Wyn, Harriet, and their friends completely stole our hearts in a story of love, loss, friendship, grief, and growing up as we join them for a last hoorah spending a week in their favourite holiday house before it’s sold. The love that emanated from the pages between Wyn and Harriet is palpable! We couldn’t help wondering what it was that broke them up. The build-up to the end was a slow beautiful burn, with the ending making all the heartache Henry put us through so rewarding, as she pulled this story together. The heart-warming stories, witty sense of humour, beautiful romance, and wonderful characters win us over time and time again. And a special THANK YOU for giving us, Wyn Connor!
“One day, you’ll wake up and realise that a piece of your heart resides outside your body. You’ll feel a draw to that place no matter where you are in the world. You’ll only feel whole and content when you’re there – and that will be your home. That’s where things make sense. That’s where you’re meant to be.” More Than I Could by Adriana Locke is such a beautiful story with wonderful sentiments about life and love. We were swept up in the romance, the friendships, the family bonds, and the small-town setting. We fell in love with Chase and Megan as well as the sassy fourteen-year-old, Kennedy. We do have a soft spot for grumpy single-dad romances and this one was a winner for us!
“I’m afraid I’ll fall completely, head-over-heels in love with you, and that you’ll fall back. I’m afraid we’ll discover we’re the missing pieces of each other’s souls. 'The words had a beat -a rhythm- like it was a song she’d already written.' Sweet Memory is the first book in the Painted Daisies series by LJ Evans and it left us completely hooked and invested in this all-girl rock band. Brilliantly written it captured the rock star vibe perfectly with the emotion, angst, lyrics and music. Whilst third person really isn’t a favourite of ours, as we find it harder to connect to the story and the characters, this Author managed to break that barrier and ensured that we were utterly grabbed by Jonas and Paisley’s romance and the thrilling suspense as Paisley navigates a life after tragedy. We couldn’t put Sweet Memory down, once it hooked us. It really nailed the rock star vibe and had such depth of character and story. The suspense was thrilling, the angst and romance heightened by everything going on with Paisley at the centre. As the story progressed over a few years, her character showed tremendous growth and as for Jonas, well he was such a powerhouse of a man with such a soft loving heart. What a wonderful introduction to this new series by LJ Evans.
“All you had to do was love me.” The New Guy by Sarina Bowen is the first book in her new series of standalone MM Hockey romances. Gavin and Hudson's romance delivered a sweet, secret relationship, a single dad, a sports romance, and a wonderful introduction to this standalone series. . Sometimes there are more important things than hockey, but can Hudson maintain his form at the Brooklyn Bruisers and pursue his relationship with Gavin? Well, you'll have to read and find out! A sweet and enjoyable start to the Hockey Guys series, and now we're looking forward to I'm Your Guy, the next standalone when it releases in November.
Wow! It really was FABULOUS FEBRUARY as far as our reads were concerned! We can't wait to share them with you and hopefully give you some reading inspiration! We’ve got some fabulous books on our reading list this month! Check out our latest reads, our wonderful current read, and see the books we've added to our TBR's for March! Here at TOTALLYBOOKEDBLOG, we're 100% - a BLOG FOR READERS - BY READERS Not only do we love to read, but we love to share and talk about the books that have stolen our hearts. We put our heart and soul into expressing our thoughts on the books we've read and loved and hope our words inspire you when looking for your next fab read. We don't just share books. We share THE LOVE OF BOOKS, and We’ve got so many to share with you today! Take a look around for your next fabulous reading experience!
‘Blake was practically a living, breathing omen of bad luck and misfortune, and I was about to be joined at the hip with her and all her bad juju for fourteen days.’ Meet Hate Love by Stevie J. Cole is just what we needed and quite different from what we’ve read from this Author before. It was hilarious swoony fun with a fabulous and entertaining storyline and wonderful characters we fell in love with. We honestly couldn’t stop laughing, many times out loud as we read with perma grins on our faces. It was hilarious steamy fun with situational comedy that tickled our funny bone all the way through. Bloody hilarious in its own addictive, ridiculous, and bizarre way which felt unique and was so well written! Every romcom book lover should one-click this beauty and prepare for one hell of a crazy-arsed ride that’ll have you laughing, shaking your head, cringing, fanning your face, and falling hopelessly in love!
“I choose you, Abel. For everything you’ve done to me, for everything we’ve been through in these few weeks, you mean more to me than blood.” When Sinners Hate by Hart De Lune is the second book in the very dark and disturbing series about the Cortez crime family. It’s definitely not a conventional romance series for the faint of heart, these brothers are not heroes in any way shape, or form, but we love them nonetheless, and this series satisfies that craving we have every so often of disappearing into a fictional world that is the polar opposite of sugary sweet. And we must stress that we absolutely believe that beauty and romance can still be found in the darkness. This duo of Authors writes so incredibly well together as once again this instalment was seamless and flowed in the most compelling of ways. Whilst this series is super distressing, tragic, and violent at times, we found Lexi and Abel’s book the least disturbing so far in House of Skin, but perhaps this is because we’re hardened dark romance readers! So if you are too, come walk on the dark side with us, but beware of the trigger warnings. We’re absolutely addicted to this world and can’t wait for more to come. We highly recommend reading this series in order despite each book being about a different brother, as it has a continuing storyline running through it.
‘Have I loved him too much all these years? Or not enough? This is the story we’ve been waiting for! We adore Aly Stiles's rock star romances. This lady has such knowledge and love for music, and we adore how she effortlessly infuses this passion throughout her ‘Save Me ‘Series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but we’d urge you to read Falling North (Save Me #2) before Chasing Riptides as the stories are connected, being that Matty in Riptides is the younger brother of Xander in North. The love story between the fearless girl and the lost little boy is told with sincerity, humour, and love. We were with Matty and Britt every step of the way, willing on their love story and hoping they believed that they deserved it all. Their childhood friends to lovers story set our hearts fluttering, had our emotions in a spin, and whilst the subject matter is quite dark, the story itself never goes too far. Another fabulous addition to a wonderful rock star romance series.
“I’ll wait for you to be ready. To work through what loss has done to you until you’re ready to be brave. To be with me.” Only You by Samantha Young is the fifth and final book in the Adair Family series and what a fabulous series this has been. We have loved every single minute spent in the Scottish Highlands with the Adairs and their loved ones. Finding romance, healing broken hearts, and soothing open wounds into scars of bravery. Love and light can be found in the darkest of places whether it’s by a healing hand, forgiveness in the heart, or opening up to a stranger. Only You is an emotional friends to lovers, second chance, enemies-to-lovers romance that sees Brodan Adair and Monroe Sinclair working through eighteen years of hurt to mend the broken bridge of love and friendship. A beautiful and passionate journey that we couldn’t put down. Samantha Young is a bloody superstar! We get absolutely giddy when a book has an epilogue, we truly believe that an epilogue can be the difference between a good book and a great book. But this Author took that ‘giddy’ and elevated it to an ‘ecstatic’ because this was an epilogue on a whole other level. Readers, who like us have absolutely loved this series will LOVE this epilogue. It finished off the series on an absolute high and left us clutching our kindles with massive smiles on our faces and complete love in our hearts.
“I love you differently to the way I’ve loved anyone else. It’s a different love, and it’s a special love. It’s a love I don’t want to live without.” William and Laurence’s story was a forbidden yet beautifully sweet and emotional telling about love and self-discovery. As Bec, Laurie, and Will dealt with the fallout from this heart rendering tale, we were afforded a front seat to all the emotion, along with the angst, heartbreak, and longing, gosh we felt it! Nicola Haken took a difficult subject – a happily married man discovering his sexual awareness after so many years of marriage, and made us feel so much for Laurence and William but also put ourselves in Rebecca’s shoes which caused us pain. It’s hard not to relate to her feelings whilst at the same time feeling so much sadness for William. Bec was amazing!
5 'bloody brilliant' stars! “We’ve risen,” I whisper. “We cannot fall.” The Rising by Jodi Ellen Malpas is the fourth instalment in the Unlawful Men series, and we absolutely loved everything about it. Riveting, dramatic, utterly compelling, sexy, angsty, and surprisingly full of comedy too. Reading this series has been like watching a movie unfold such is the brilliant, flawless, and seamless writing by this Author. Once again we highly recommend reading this series in order as the continuing storyline finally comes to a head in The Rising and a lot of questions are answered. But not only that, our couples go through such a minefield journey on their own as well as together which is thrilling, angsty, heart-breaking yet beautiful too. What a series, what an amazing collective array of characters, what a fabulous storyteller, and what a ride….we really don’t want to get off of this one!
“Love is one of the last remaining things in this world that is free.” The Marriage Act is another unnerving suspenseful novel set in the future and told from differing viewpoints, another aspect this author does so well, weaving each POV together. It’s full-on and so gripping! Once again, every narrator has a story – whether it be sad, grisly, peculiar, or uncomfortable, and every POV is a page-turner! We frantically turn each page, taking everything in whilst waiting for the pieces to fall into place sending our heads spinning and stomachs churning. With complex characters, nail-biting suspense, and intrinsically woven storylines that lead to its unputdownable climax, John Marrs has once again delivered an entertaining yet alarmingly thrilling suspense, that leaves you pondering…could it? Would they? Scary stuff!
Hellooo everyone! and welcome to our first round-up for 2023! Let's take a look back at the books we read and loved, and have a sneaky look at our TBR’s! What a fabulous reading month we had in January and we’re ready to start all over again in February. We’ve got some fabulous books on our reading list this month! Check out our latest reads, our current read, and the books on our TBR’s for February.
We LOVED this book! “I know I wasn’t enough, but I can’t be reminded of that every day. I can’t do it.” “I’m the one who’s not enough. Whispers of You is the first book in Catherine Cowles’ new series Lost and Found where we meet childhood friends, Wren and Holt who grew up together in their small town, fell in love as teenagers, and thought they’d end up together forever. This Author ensured that we not only saw but felt this beautiful connection between Holt and Wren, who were soulmates at heart. “The journey Holt and Wren had to take to find each other again after years of absence, yet with a love in their hearts that still burns strong and bright, is not an easy one. It’s fraught with danger and terror, yet it is one of healing, hope and ultimately love. Catherine Cowles writes such addictive compelling stories with wonderful families, we cannot wait for more from the Hartley’s. Such a beautiful, heartbreaking, and passionate story once again from this amazing Author.
‘Instead of a healthy reminder of Haye’s callousness, I’ve just watched him die of a thousand small cuts and a few major ones.’ A Deal with the Devil was our first book by Elizabeth O’Roark, and we loved it! An enemy to lovers/grumpy boss-employee romance with amusing banter, a fun level of snarkiness, and chemistry we could feel through the pages. And then there’s Hayes Flynn. We loved his grumpy arse. We really did love this book! We found the sassy beautiful Tali holding her own against Hayes hilarious! This girl really gives as good as she gets – hmmm if only she didn’t try and badly copy his British accent ha-ha. Oh, and did we mention Hayes is a sexy brooding Brit? The push/pull was perfectly timed, and the emotional baggage of both Tali and Hayes proves obstacles to their feelings. Hayes’s baggage especially was gobsmacking! As their snarky sniping turns to heated exchanges, we were there for it all!
**Spoiler Free Duet Review** “Love can be a fulfilling, enchanting thing, but it can be a thief, too. It can drain you, suck you dry, strip you bare. I decided that I would never give it a taste. It wasn’t worth it.” The theme of this duet is loss, grief, friendship, and love. It’s a story of heartbreak, compassion, perseverance, and hope. Of overcoming everything in life which can break you and finding the light in the darkness. It’s quite the journey, a slow-building story of acceptance and healing, with tremendous angst but low on unnecessary drama. It’s actually quite an endearing and sweet story as well at times, breaking up the heaviness when needed. The Heartsong Duet is completely character driven which we loved; the depth of the characters and the emotional intricacies of the story is all-encompassing. Memories are powerful entities that can make or break you, you can get lost and be drawn into the darkness of what you’ve lost or you can love what you had and hold the wonderful memories close in your heart. Sometimes the hardest thing is to live after a loss, but to live is to love and love should always win. Love can make your heart soar with hope, but love can also make you feel utterly hopeless.
'I loved her. No that wasn't the right word. I was consumed by her. Awakened by her. Tortured with longing for her.' 5 phenomenal stars! When Moth Loved a Bee, the first book in the Destini Chronicles is EPIC! This book truly is one hell of a story – both in telling and length – it’s of epic proportions. We need to petition Netflix NOW to turn this into a series - bringing it to life on the screen would be incredible! The world-building created by Pepper Winters is nothing short of phenomenal. We could only read in awe, mouths open, pondering the brilliance, vivid beauty, gifted imagination, and magnificent storytelling it took to bring this spectacular tale from storyboard to book. In When a Moth Loved a Bee, Pepper Winters has truly found her calling. We adore her contemporary stories, but…this is writing on another level. Bravo lady! There are not enough words to do this story justice. The agony, the ecstasy, the longing, the angst, the danger, the passion. Wow! It’s infinite in this fascinating and breathtaking adventure where love is insurmountable, myths and legends abound in a complex world where love is the cause and effect, the agony and the ecstasy.
Our first 5 STAR READ for 2023! NOW LIVE! ‘I’m not going to survive this. But I have to. I have a command to obey or else spend the next millennium in unknowable pain.’ The Muse is an extremely special story of sacrifice, second chances, redemption, and ultimately a beautiful and honest soul-searing love. The emotion is profound, the sentiments so very poignant, the metaphors and inferences are highly evoking, and the passion all-consuming. We cannot express how deeply we felt this story and how so much of it resonated with us. We were brought to tears and our hearts soared with love. We felt seen and understood. We were compelled and fell in love. Paranormal fantasy is one of our ultimate loves and Emma Scott writes it so perfectly.
“Sometimes it’s hard, you know? Finding your place in the world when it feels like life went on without you.” Until August by Emery Rose was utterly beautiful and -oh- so emotional. Food + Romance = a very happy Gitte and Jenny! We were in our element here as our tastebuds were tickled and by the end of this story we felt utterly stuffed full of spicy passion, devastating heartbreak, and breathtaking beauty. We kept telling ourselves: “Don’t cry…don’t cry…don’t cry.” But cry we did! August and Nicola’s story will completely engage your heart, from the first till the last page.
“She falls asleep, and I watch her and think, this is like nothing else. Scary, almost.” In this trio of Novellas, Ali Hazelwood has delivered a fabulously fun read in the steamy, STEMinist series featuring a trio of engineers, best friends Mara, Sadie, and Hannah, and their loves in loathing. Adorably geeky, crazily steamy, and all round a fabulously fun read! We loved every book! Our first read by Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis, wowed us and since then, we’ve wanted to read more by this author, and the Love to Loathe You collection was a perfect choice! Join in the fun and follow the rocky road to true love with these intelligent, witty emotionally disheveled friends, and their swoony future boyfriends! We read every page with hearts full of glee! Fascinated by the trio’s careers, amused by the friendships, spellbound by their enemies to lovers romances.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! TBB TOP READS for 2022 - YEAR IN REVIEW - What a year it’s been! Thank you to each and every one of you for supporting TBB in what was our tenth year of blogging! We couldn't do this without you! Sit back and check out our Top Reads for 2022. We hope we've given you some reading inspiration.
‘Promise me that when something seems too big or scary, you’ll remember what I’m telling you right now. There is nothing a beautiful soul can’t do, and you are the two most beautiful souls on this earth.’ Melissa Foster does it again with The Wicked Truth: Dark Knights at Bayside #4. We absolutel
“You really don’t know much about me, do you?” “Emerson. No one knows much about you.” We loved this book! This is our first book by Kelsey Humphreys, and what a wonderfully delightful opposite attract romance it was! And talk about opposites! Samantha and Emerson couldn’t be more different. A c
“Sometimes you have to live a little before you can see what’s really in your heart.” Wow, we cannot love this series more than we do and Sidney and Gunner’s love story in Crazy, Wicked Love is one of the most wonderful friend-to-lovers we’ve read in a long while. Crazy, Wicked Love was fun an
‘The lies he carried… The burden he bore… The secrets he swore to uphold…’ Swear on My Life by SL Scott is an emotionally charged story of second chances, sacrifice, and love. The way in which it’s written is truly beautiful and the characters have such depth in this second-chance love story, s
We’re thoroughly in the mood for Christmas with these delightful, emotional, fun, and swoony holiday season romances. We’ve chosen five books for you that we really enjoyed and highly recommend! ♥The Santa Problem by Barbara Elsborg (MM) - 5 Stars ♥There Is Also a Dog by Kayley Loring - 4 Stars
Hellooo everyone! It’s that time of the month again, when we look back at the books we read and loved, and sneak a look at our TBR's! What a fabulous reading month we had in November and we’re ready to start all over again in December. We’ve got some fabulous books on our reading list this month!
‘He’d die for me. It’s heady, and not in a safe or sane way, but in a completely toxic and possessive way. And maybe that’s just us. Maybe, right from the start, that’s what we were going to be.’ We’re no strangers to dark, disturbing effed-up romances with their anti-heroes, but this is our firs
We LOVED this book!! “Maybe I like being the hero for once.” Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score has been sitting pretty on our kindles for a while and we finally picked it up and devoured it from the first page to the last. It was a very long book, but it was worth it! Lucy Score covered s
CHECK OUT OUR POST FOR SOME FABULOUS READING INSPIRATION! It’s that time of the month again- the moment we Book-Lovers look forward to! What a fabulous reading month we had in October, and we’re ready to start all over again in November. We've got some fabulous books on our reading list this mo
We LOVED this book! ‘This raging need to be free and to find love again wasn’t just because it was time. It was everything all at once. It was him. I wanted him. I loved him. And I think I had for a really long while.’ The way in which the love story in Stolen English played out was agonisingl
“I’m not here out of obligation, darlin.’ I don’t leave the special people in my life alone. End of story.” After devouring A Little Bit Wicked, our first taste of the Knights MC Club, and our first foray into the storytelling world of Melissa Foster, we were desperate to get stuck into The Wicke
"Love is much stronger than anger and confusion…Honesty and love can conquer anything." Set on the shores of Cape Code, The Dark Knights is a motorcycle club, not to be confused with a biker 'gang'. These guys are more into helping their community than knocking in heads, though, they are fiercely