midnightrose_reads's reviews
315 reviews

Started off well-paced, then slowed down considerably.

The Final Act audiobook was narrated by Vivienne Leheny.

This Summer Will Be Different is a solid contemporary romance from Carley Fortune. 

The Best Of Friends is a fantastic domestic thriller by Lucinda Berry! The audiobook is narrated by Amy Rubinate, Tara Sands, and Coleen Marlo.

If You Tell A Lie by Lucinda Berry is a fast paced domestic thriller that’s a nail biter and will keep you on the edge of your seat. The audiobook is narrated by Bailey Carr, Stephanie Nemeth-Parker, Susannah Jones, Jane Oppenheimer, and Carly Robins.

This was a such a fun fantasy romance ride and I can’t wait for book 2.

A top rate psychological thriller from Minka Kent! Can’t wait to read book 2. The audiobook is narrated by Renata Friedman.

The Temptation of Magic is the first book in debut author Megan Scott’s Empyreal trilogy. It’s about a young woman named Nicole and her family who live in a small coastal university town named Estwood. Outwardly she’s seems to be a typical college student studying art, but what no one knows is that she is an Empyreal. An Empyreal is someone who can transform into any supernatural creature’s greatest threat once that being lets off the kill hormone. They are then sent out by the Wake to kill that supernatural creature. Nicole and her family have hidden from the Wake for years after Nicole’s mother was killed by one of their Empyreal agents to prevent her from revealing their secrets. Their relatively peaceful existence is shattered by the death of one of her professors, Professor Westmoore, complicating her studying of a particular painting. Nicole is hoping the painting will reveal secrets from her mother’s clues. All the while trying not to transform physically into a Empyreal and attract the attention of the Wake, putting her beloved family in danger.

Kyan is a Empyreal and the Wake’s most lethal agent. He’s sent to Estwood to investigate a Spectre who’s been attacking students at the town’s University. He poses as the late professor’s nephew in order to get access to the teachers paintings and residence, Westmoore Manor. Kyan and Nicole reluctantly team up to take care of the Spectre, named Lynch, and find out what he knows about painting. Along the way they uncover secrets that will turn both of their worlds upside down.

This was such a propulsive read that was exceptionally paced. Nicole and Kyan were wonderful in their dual POV chapters, really characters you rooted for. I also enjoyed how involved in the plot Nicole’s father, brother and sister were. The father is a Seer who makes all sorts of tonics and weapons to keep them safe, the brother Dylan is also an Empyreal, and their younger sister Bells is a Seer. I can’t wait until the next book in this trilogy! 

Under Her Care by Lucinda Berry, is another fast-paced thriller. The audiobook is narrated by Emily Ellet, Eileen Stevens, Brian Holden, and Marli Watson.

The Darkness Within Us is the companion novel to The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller and follows the sister of Alessandra; named Chrysantha. She’s married off to a much older duke and is waiting for him to die so that she can then become a dowager duchess. After taking matters into her own hands, quite literally, she starts to have the freedom in her life that she’s always wanted. That freedom is threatened when a man named Eryx Demos shows up claiming to be the late duke’s grandson, and therefore the rightful Duke of the estate.

This enemies to lovers story, imo, is not nearly as good as the first book was. Crysantha is a Nesta-esque character meaning she’s prickly and that can be a tricky character to pull off. I loved that she was very close to her staff, and they were almost like family. Eryx character was intriguing at times as you were trying to figure out what was going on with him. The romance aspect was only okay, and really kicked in towards the end of the book. All in all I’m glad I read this despite it not being a new all time favorite like the first book is.