sup3r_xn0va_maya's reviews
361 reviews

💬: Nik released a ragged breath and squeezed his eyes shut, his brows drawing together. “Aria…” “Open your eyes, love. I thought you wanted to watch?” When he looked at her again, the need in his gaze was almost enough to make her cave. Especially when he combined it with words, those filthy fucking words she loved so much, tumbling desperately from his mouth. “Let me in. Let me touch you, eali mou. You don’t want that. You want me.”

Hibbert, Talia. The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco (p. 148). Nixon House. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: romance, contemporary, contemporary romance, 

📚Page Count: 210

🎧Audiobook Length: 07h 50min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 
----

The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco by Talia Hibbert is a contemporary romance and the third book in The Midnight Heat Collection, by the same author. This story is about Aria, a tattoo artist, and Nik, a professional football player. Nik and Aria meet at a party that's taking place at a hotel, when Aria kisses Nik to help him chase off an over zealous past hook up. Nik comes up with the idea that Aria can pretend to be his new girlfriend so his past ex's don't try to give him unwanted attention. Aria is hesitant until Nik offers her a very large amount of money to do the job, she accepts because she wants to use the money to open her own tattoo shop. Will this arrangement end in disaster? 

Hibbert seems to use the

third act break up

trope in The Midnight Heat Collection more than I anticipated. That's the only thing I tend to not like about these books, but it makes sense in this instance because of the

lie that Nik told.

I think in comparison to The Roommate Risk,

Nik and Aria got back together way quicker so I didn't have to wait long for them to reconcile.

The audio book narrators were great, I like how much life they gave to the characters. Audiobook narration is the main way I consume books because I have dyslexia. It's always wonderful when a book I've been waiting to listen to finally gets an audiobook version and this was no exception. This was a great listening experience. 

I really loved the spicy scenes in this, especially the one at the very end of the book, wow.

the pegging scene was great!

I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️out of five chilies

I really enjoyed this story and the spicy scenes were really good. Not only was this spicy but it was also romantic and funny. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5  Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Talia Hibbert (the author), and Dreamscape Media (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy) of the audiobook.

💬: N/A

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 06h 58min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5 
----

This Side of the Grave (Dramatized Edition) is a graphic audio published by the company Graphic Audio and written by Jeaniene Frost, based on the fifth book in her Night Huntress series, This Side of the Grave. Vampires are going missing in this installment of Night Huntress, and Bones and Cat make it their business to find out where the missing vampires have gone and what's happened to them. Bones and Cat find out that there is a ghoul trying to incite an interspecies war between vampires and ghouls. With no other choice, the couple seek help from the Queen of Ghouls and New Orleans, Marie Laveau (who is based on historical figure Marie Laveau, a Black herbalist and midwife practitioner of Voodoo from New Orleans.)

I love the dramatized editions of these books because this was action filled, emotional, and overall really entertaining! This was very good in terms of keeping my attention and being entertaining so that made this listening experience "mostly" enjoyable. There was a sexual assault in this book that was played off for laughs and I found that to be uncomfortable and disappointing. I detailed more below under spoilers, be warned that it vaguely talks about sexual assault.

TW - 

Sexual assault

 
There were spicy scenes in this but they were weird, and by that I mean for some reason

Cat becomes sexually ravenous because of the blood she drank (if I remember correctly) and then she tried to sexually assault a human? I'm not sure why that was put in there but it seemed as if it were for laughs and sexually assault isn't funny.

I'm giving the spicy scenes NEGATIVE 1 chilies -🌶️ out of five chilies.

Overall the story was interesting but I'm knocking points off for the sexual assault bit, it wasn't funny because sexual assault is never funny (and this would have been a 5 star review without that bit). I'm giving this 3 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5  Stars

I listened to this for free on <a href="https://www.hoopladigital.com/">[Hoopladigital.com]</a>

💬: "It was exhausting to realise that everyone in the world knew he was an absolute fool for Jasmine Allen. He straightened his spine and ran a hand through his hair, suddenly realising that he must look a state—must look as out of control as he felt. And that wouldn’t do."

Hibbert, Talia. The Roommate Risk (p. 279). Nixon House. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: romance, contemporary, contemporary romance, 

📚Page Count: 333

🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 36min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 
----

The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert is a contemporary romance and the second book in The Midnight Heat Collection, by the same author. The Roommate Risk is about two best friends, Jasmine and Rahul. Jasmine lives with a roommate but she soon finds out that her room and everything in it has been damaged if not destroyed because there was a major water leak in her bedroom. With nowhere to go, Jasmine contacts her best friend Rahul because she knows that his apartment has an open room and she hopes that she can rent it for a while. Little does Jasmine know that Rahul has been in love with her for the last 7 years of their lives together as best friends. Will Jasmine moving in complicate everything in the best or worst way?

I really enjoyed this story, it was romantic, sweet, and angsty. I love the chemistry between Rahul and Jasmine, I think they're cute together. They both have their own stuff that they're dealing with and the author does an okay job of depicting that with Rahul and an even better job depicting it with Jasmine. There was this really cute scene where Rahul takes Jasmine on a date and I couldn't stop smiling during that scene, it was just adorable and a little spicy. I think the only issue that I had with the story was a trope that takes place in the last part of the book, and it was basically

a third act break up but to continue to spoil things I will say that there IS an happily every after at the end so it all ends up working out. I understand why there was a break up near the end, because Jasmine had a lot of stuff she needed to sort through. I think it was a good choice to write in that she got a therapist and started working through her emotional and insecurity issues as well as her drinking problem.

The spicy scenes were really enjoyable. I might have really liked them because I dated someone in college with the same name and look as the main male character and memories were doin' their thing, but wow these spicy scenes were great. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️out of five chilies

I really enjoyed this novel, it made me smile and I definitely swooned over the main male character. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5  Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], the author, and publisher for the arc (advanced reader's copy) of the audiobook. 

💬:Suddenly the page changed before her eyes, the ink bleeding together and reforming into new pictures, faster than she could register. Words appeared and disappeared in languages she couldn’t read. A ringing filled her ears, and she could hear her blood rushing in time with her heartbeat.

Sbrana, Analeigh. Lore of the Wilds: A Novel (pp. 165-166). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, fae, romantasy, adult, magic, 

📚Page Count: 339

🎧Audiobook Length: 10:51 

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5 - 2.5/5

Lore of the Wilds is the first in the series of the same title by Analeigh Sbrana. This story is about Lore, a human who lives in a society of fae. Her village falls on disaster and she has no choice but to surrenders herself to the dark fae Syrelle. Syrelle instructs her to tend to his library in the castle they're in. It's not long before Lore runs away with one of the castle guards, a fae named Asher. Later on Lore ends up meeting and becoming enthralled with another fae named Finn. 

This book has so much potential but the pacing is off, there's little character development, there's close to no romance and very little chemistry between the romantic interests and the main character even though there are TWO romantic interests, and this fantasy crosses over from being a fantasy drama to being a cozy fantasy to wanting to be high fantasy, and the spicy scene at the end wasn't gotten to with build up or banter or any sort of romantic development. 

Overall, the pacing felt off and there was very little character development when it came to Lore, herself. There was also very little romantic development despite this being marketed as a "romantasy" or romance fantasy. I'm giving this 2.5 stars out of 5.
⭐️⭐️.5 - 2.5/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Analeigh Sbrana (the author), and Harper Voyager (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy.)

💬:"She’d wavered for too long, and her indecision left her conflicted mind open for Ogun to overtake her. He’d attack where she wouldn’t and damn them all to traitor’s deaths. She tried to resist but felt herself drifting, a numbness overwhelming her as her consciousness was shoved away from her physical body. Ogun pushed through and left her to see and feel with no control of her actions."

Williams, Brittany N.. Saint-Seducing Gold (The Forge & Fracture Saga, Book 2) (p. 5). Amulet Books. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: fantasy, historical fantasy, fae, magic

📚Page Count: 304

🎧Audiobook Length: 08:57 

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

Saint-Seducing Gold is the second book in The Forget and Fracture Saga by Brittany N. Williams. This book continues on right where the first book left off. The fae and humans are now at war sort of, Joan is pressured into joining the Royal Court and she can't leave it for fear that her captured godfather won't survive. Can Joan save the world as she knows it while balancing having two romantic interests ?

I didn't really like the first book but I wanted to give the series a chance and I'm sad to say that I didn't really like the second book either. I think there was more action this time around, which was nice, but I think my problem is the setting. For some reason Shakespearean London with an Orisha blessed Blacksmith just doesn't work in my head for some reason.

Overall, the story was just okay. I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Brittany N. Williams (the author), and Abrams (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy.)

💬:N/A

📖Genres: poetry, poems

📚Page Count: 104

🎧Audiobook Length: 01:32 

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5

woke up no light: poems is a poetry collection by Leila Mottley, the author of "Night Crawling". This poetry collection is raw, amazing, and it honestly blew me away. The poems are about being Black in America, most are about being a Black woman in America. The author talks about race, social justice, police brutality, misogynoir, sexual assault, and much more. Mottley writes some painful truths in such an elegant and gritty way. 

There are too many individual works that I liked or that resonated with me to list them all, but I particularly liked the poems in the two sections "girlhood" and "womanhood". The "neighborhood" section made me cry, I'm still processing what I've read overall.

Overall, this collection was moving and it was written with such grace. I definitely resonated with most of the poems in this collection. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Leila Mottley (the author), and  Knopf (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy.) 

💬: "People in expensive-looking suits and flashy cocktail dresses cling to glasses filled with champagne or cocktails and amble up and down the hallways and rooms, enjoying an evening of gambling and debauchery. It’s like a scene from one of Gatsby’s parties, except Black people are invited."

Benton-Walker, Terry J.. Blood Debts (pp. 70-71). Tor Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

📖Genres: Fantasy ,Young Adult ,LGBT ,Mystery, Queer, Young Adult Fantasy, Magic , Fiction, Urban Fantasy

📚Page Count: 400

🎧Audiobook Length: 14h 30min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5 

----

Blood Debts is a queer mystery novel about getting justice for one's past crimes. 30 years ago there were murders and a lynching and it was considered the greatest massacre in magical New Orleans history. This has 5 different perspectives and I thought it wasn't going to work but everything went together really nicely. My reading experience was a good one. This book is a rollercoaster, the plot starts right away in the first chapter and that's one of the things I really liked about this book. 

The book starts off with twins, Clem and Christina, tending to their mother and waiting for the Dr. to come and give them an update on their mother's condition. Their mother hasn't been doing well and her health has slowly been declining. They soon discover that

their mother isn't sick, she's cursed!

Will they be able to find out who's trying to harm their family? 

A lot of the surprises were predictable but the book was still enjoyable. I think I left probably around 5 notes to myself about the plotline, just of me guessing what the next surprise was going to be. In this regard, the book was really predictable, but that didn't stop the book from being entertaining. There were some secrets I didn't guess but there were more secrets that I DID guess and I thought that was worth mentioning in my review. 

This was my first time reading a book by Terry J. Benton-Walker and they did not disappoint me! This was exciting, entertaining, intriguing, and it was just down right good! I'm giving this a 5 out of 5.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💬: N/A

📖Genres: graphic novels, mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult(?)

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 36min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5 
----

Inheritance part 3 of 3 of the dramatized adaptation of "Cemetery Girl" is the third and finale volume of the dramatized version of the graphic novel of the same name written by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden. This volume starts off where the last volume left off. Calexa Rose Dunhill is still in a nasty situation with the people who just

tried to kill her.

The story was interesting but I think it was really the dramatized performances of the actors that really made the story exciting.

In every volume of this series

someone dies around Calexa and then their spirit inhabits her body until she's helped them with their final business on earth.

This final volume is no different. It was heart wrenching to hear, but then the story became much more exciting. 

Overall, I think this was a good ending to this trilogy. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5  Stars

[Hoopladigital.com]

💬:N/A

📖Genres: humor, manga, comics, shojo 

📚Page Count: 194

🎧Audiobook Length: N/A

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5 


My Love Story!!, Volume 13 by Kazune Kawahara was amazing and it made me sob! Volume 13 is the finale volume of My Love Story!! and it didn't disappoint. The story continues on from the last volume, Yamato got the news that

she was going to have to move to Spain with her family because of her father's job. In volume 12, Yamato ran away to Okinawa and Takeo went with her to keep her safe. This volume starts off with Yamato and Takeo still in Okinawa.

I felt so many emotions while reading this and I honestly cried while reading most of it. 

Most of what I'm going to say is going to be behind spoilers tags because I don't want to accidently spoil anything from this volume. I will say that I loved this volume but there were two things I didn't particularly like. There were a few scenes where

characters were hitting each other and I don't really like the idea of people putting their hands on other people unless they're defending themselves.

The second thing I didn't like was a trope, and that was

the miscommunication trope that pops up right at the end.

That scene caused me so much anxiety! Other than those two things, I really thought this volume was great. 

Overall, volume 13 was a wonderful finish to this series (even though I'm still sad that it's over). I'm giving this 4.75 stars out of 5.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5

I read this manga for free on [Libbyapp.com]

💬: N/A

📖Genres: graphic novels, mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult(?)

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 19min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5 
----

Inheritance part 2 of 3 of the dramatized adaptation of "Cemetery Girl" is the second half of the dramatized version of the graphic novel of the same name written by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden. This graphic audio continues to follow the main character, Calexa Rose Dunhill, but now instead of just living in the cemetery, she's started

staying with a kinder older woman that she met in part 1 of this trilogy.

I think I liked episode or part 2 more than I liked part 1, to be honest. I didn't like what happened at the start of the episode but I like how Calexa helped the spirit that needed helping. It's nice to see

Calexa not having to sleep in the actual cemetery anymore and the kindness of the woman who helped her made me tear up. So really, they helped each other in turn.

The identity of the murderous perpetrator in this part was surprising, I didn't guess it at all. Of course, we still don't know much about Calexa's past, just as she still doesn't know much by the end of this story.

Overall, I think part 2 was exciting and the graphic audio was definitely made well. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars instead.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5  Stars