Book Review January 2024

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Hey friends. It is book review day. I am starting the year off strong with reading 9 books in January. Mostly audiobooks, some good, some ok, and possibly a favorite for the year already. 

Total physical/kindle books: 2

Total audible: 7    

Total books for 2024: 9 

Goal: 150 books




Title: Villain Era

Author: Luna Pierce

Genre: reverse Harem dark romance

How I Read It: kindle unlimited ebook

My Rating: 5 out of 5

Amazon Description: He was once our enemy, but now he's my bodyguard.

After our rival gives up the throne as my dying wish, my men trust him to keep a close watch on me and protect me from any danger that may come my way.

He keeps me safe, somehow understanding the darkness that lurks inside of me. He knows it cannot be caged, and he allows me the ability to set it free when we’re alone.

The things I’ve done don’t hold a candle to the things I will do.

I have everything I could possibly want…three sexy, attentive, mafia boyfriends. All of us are under one roof, and they spoil and provide for my every desire.

But why do I have a nagging feeling that something—or someone—is still missing from my life?

Am I selfish for being insatiable when I already have more than most?

When our true enemies, the ones we thought we eliminated, come back to finish what they started, I worry I may not be able to escape death this time around.

I end up sharing a secret with the one man I shouldn’t let in—a secret that holds the power to ruin us all.

I may have crossed a line, but whether my men like it or not, this vixen is entering her villain era.

Villain Era is the sequel to Untamed VixenUntamed Vixen should be read first. Meant for mature audiences.

My Review: The sequel to Untamed Vixen that I read back in October was 5 stars and top 5 read for 2023. Villain Era doesn't disappoint with the steamy, romance, and adventures. I loved to see the growth in June and how she handles her four men. The story line kept me wanting to know what happens next. 


Title: The Doctor's Nanny

Author: Rose Fresquez

Genre: contemporary romance

How I Read It:  audiobook on Book Funnel

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Amazon Description: He’s about to propose to the woman of his dreams when he meets the love of his life.

As a successful neurosurgeon about to propose to his gorgeous girlfriend, Ryan Harper has the perfect life. When his sister and brother-in-law die in a tragic car accident, he suddenly becomes a single dad to his orphaned niece and nephews. A sixty-hour workweek with a houseful of children is a lot to juggle, and he desperately needs help.

When Destiny Brown finds herself out of work, she takes a job as a temporary live-in nanny. Despite her lack of experience, she’s certain she can handle four kids. Fighting her attraction to her handsome boss, however, is going to require some extra training.

While all his spare time should be on connecting with his girlfriend, Destiny’s love and devotion to his family is working its way into his heart. Every conversation, every interaction, every heated glance across the table, might be a step closer to his destiny—until his best friend starts pursuing Destiny.

Ryan can do one of two things: confess his feelings to his employee, or suffer in silence and let fate take its course.

My Review: A sweet, clean romance between a doctor and his nanny. I enjoyed the narration by Joanna Joyce. She made you feel the emotion with her voice and you could tell who she was protraying. 



Title: The Next Chapter

Author: Jana Kramer

Genre: biography

How I Read It: audiobook borrowed from library

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Amazon Description: The Next Chapter is Jana Kramer’s intimate and moving account about setting her life back on the right path after her sudden divorce. Chronicling the year that follows, Jana relives personal stories of early traumas and past relationships, and with raw honesty she shares topics dear to her heart and music, including hearing God, loving oneself, navigating setbacks, female friendships, grief, and motherhood.  

As she grapples with questions such as: Am I doing this right? Is this the truest truth? Is there more to life than this? she finds and tells a story of freedom and redemption. Relatable to anyone who has walked a road of change, heartbreak, or grief, readers will be encouraged by the wisdom Jana finds in that distinct and critical transition from chaos to clarity, as she plants seeds for her future to begin the next chapter of her life.

Personal and profound, The Next Chapter is about being truly alone for the first time, and the road traveled from heartbreak, pain, and anger to forgiveness, confidence, and peace.

My Review: An inspiring book that shares tips and encouragement, as well as Jana side of her divorce. Life goes on, even if it isn't perfect after a divorce. Jana continues to show up and share the good and the bad. Her voice is very soothing and calm to listen to. 


Title:
The Last Love Note

Author: Emma Grey

Genre: contemporary romance

How I Read It: audiobook from library with Hoopla

My Rating: 5 out of 5

Amazon Description: You may never stop loving the one you lost. But you can still find love again.

Kate is a bit of a mess. Two years after losing her young husband Cameron, she’s grieving, solo parenting, working like mad at her university fundraising job, always dropping the ball―and yet clinging to her sense of humor.

Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she also navigates an overbearing mom and a Tinder-obsessed best friend who's determined to matchmake Kate with her hot new neighbor.

When an in-flight problem leaves Kate and her boss, Hugh, stranded for a weekend on the east coast of Australia, she finally has a chance, away from her son, to really process her grief and see what’s right in front of her. Can she let go of the love of her life and risk her heart a second time? When it becomes clear that Hugh is hiding a secret, Kate turns to the trail of scribbled notes she once used to hold her life together.

The first note captured her heart. Will the last note set it free?

The Last Love Note will make readers laugh, cry, and renew their faith in the resilience of the human heart―and in love itself.

My Review: I can't tell you the last time I cried during a book. If I had to guess now, yes I know it is only January, this book will be in my top 5 of the year. I loved this book more than I thought I would being it wasn't my typical genre pick.

The Last Love Note is a heartwarming emotional love story of the past, present, and future. I loved the characters, the story telling, the flash backs, emotion and the humor. The story shares the grief of losing a loved one and the roller coaster you experience afterwards. I didn't want the story to end but at the same wanted to know what happens next. 

I borrowed the book from Hoopla and my library and listened to the audiobook because it was all that was available, everything else had at least a three week wait. 



Title: Queen Takes Rose

Author: Katee Robert

Genre: Erotica 

How I Read It: audiobook from library with Hoopla

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Amazon Description: Once upon a time I made a deal with the devil.


It turns out I like playing in the dark. Over the years, I’ve become someone I’m proud of, someone dangerous.I’ll never be as dangerous as Malone, though. She’s one of the most feared leaders in Carver City, and her reputation is more than earned. Years ago, we had a single night together and she’s ignored me ever since.Imagine my surprise to discover she’s scheduled me for the final two weeks of my contract. Maybe I should be afraid. Everyone else fears Malone. Instead, all I feel is anticipation. It’s time to balance the scales, once and for all.

The villains aren’t the only ones in Carver City a person should be wary of crossing.

Sometimes the prettiest flower hides the deadliest poison…

My Review: Spicy love story with a slow burn that turns to full on passion. I had not read any of the other books in the series and you don't have to with this stand alone doesn't make you question if there was another book. The narrators were soothing and mixed well. 



Title: Hers to Keep

Author: Anna Stone

Genre: erotica

How I Read It: ebook

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Amazon Description: Lindsey had big plans for her post-art school life—a successful career as an artist, traveling the world, meeting the man of her dreams. She never expected she’d end up joining a sugar baby website to pay off her crippling debt. And she definitely didn’t expect her first client to be an alluring older woman named Camilla.

Camilla has an unusual proposal for Lindsey—move into her mansion for three months as her girlfriend and submissive, and all of Lindsey’s financial woes will disappear. It’s the perfect solution to Lindsey’s problems. And how can she say no to three months of luxury and pleasure beyond her wildest dreams?

Camilla has made it clear that it’s just an arrangement. A difficult life has left the solitary woman hesitant to let anyone get too close. And Lindsey isn’t attracted to women anyway. It’s all just a charade.

Until it isn’t. As Lindsey’s feelings toward her Mistress grow into something she never thought possible, she risks losing everything. It was all supposed to be pretend. One big lie. What happens when the lie becomes the truth?

My Review: Age gap agreement that turned into a relationship. I enjoyed the chemistry between the Camilla and Lindsay. The end felt a little rushed in the storyline. 



Title: If You Would Have Told Me

Author: John Stamos

Genre: Memoir

How I Read It: audiobook from library

My Rating: 3 out of 5

Amazon Description: If you would have told a young John Stamos flipping burgers at his dad’s fast-food joint that one day he’d be a household name and that, at the height of his success, he’d be living alone, divorced, with no kids, high on a cocktail of forgetting, he might’ve asked, “You want fries with that?”


John burst onto the scene in 
General Hospital, propelling him into the teen idol stratosphere, a place that’s often a point of no return. But Stamos beat the odds and over the past four decades has proved himself to be one of his generation’s most successful and beloved actors. Whether showing off his comedic chops on Full House or his dramatic skills on ER, pushing the boundaries on Broadway or living out his youthful dreams as an honorary Beach Boy, John has surprised everyone, most of all himself.

A universal story about friendship, love, loss, and the courage to embrace love once more, John Stamos’s memoir is filled with some of the most memorable names in Hollywood, both old and new. Funny, deeply poignant, and brutally honest, 
If You Would Have Told Me is a portrait of a boy who went from believing in Disney magic to a man who learns that we have to create our own magical moments in life.

My Review: I enjoyed listening to the audiobook that was narrated by John himself. He put his humor and love in it. I felt like he was trying to brag about the Beach Boys, name dropping, repeated himself a lot, and made to feel like he is always the victim. He seemed to brush the surface on a bunch of topics but not really dive in to the story to make you feel really connected to him. 



Title: Let It Be Me

Author: Kait Nolan

Genre: contemporary romance

How I Read It: audiobook on chirp

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Amazon Description: Four years ago, firefighter Caleb Romero saved a child and met the woman of his dreams. But trauma killed the timing, so he's contented himself with being the friend she needed as she navigated sudden parenthood.


Four years ago, Emerson Aldridge became a mom in the worst possible way. Without qualm, she abandoned her own dreams to shepherd her teenage daughter through their shared grief. Her number one priority has been to raise Fiona the way her best friend would have wanted.


Now Fi's headed off to college and Emerson has no idea how to feel about her suddenly empty nest. She barely even remembers life before motherhood, but Caleb's right next door to give her a reminder-along with a toe-curling kiss that catapults them past friends and into something more. The life she wanted before the accident is still within reach. He just has to convince her that their age difference means nothing.

My Review: A sweet predictable romance. With likeable, relatable characters. Amy McFadden did a wonderful job narrating and showing emotions.



Title: The Librarian and the Janitor (not available on Amazon)

Author: Victoria Silk

Genre: erotica

How I Read It: audiobook on chirp

My Rating: 3 out of 5

 Goodreads Description: Having a dirty job has never felt so good...

The Librarian

Now in my thirties, I've accepted that a mousy librarian like me probably won't meet the man of my dreams or have exotic sex. Not everyone can be a sex kitten, unfortunately. But, late at night, when I shelve the erotica books at the library, I can certainly skim the pages and get lost in the fantasy...

The Janitor

I never dreamed of cleaning for a living, but my brother and I stumbled into running the most lucrative custodial business in town. In fact, we're so busy that I've been covering the night shift at the local library myself. Imagine my surprise when I discover the cute, quiet librarian pleasuring herself in the erotica section. Man, my night just got a whote lot hotter...

Like all of Victoria's books, the plot is short and sweet, the steam is heavy and there’s a guaranteed HEA. I mean, sometimes a girl just needs a quick, sultry novella, right?


My Review: A short novella, no real plot, no depth into the characters, heavy on the smut. I was left wanting so much more. It needs to be a full length book not just a novella. The narration by Ri Paige did a great job with dual voices and making you feel the emotion. 

Currently Reading:


American Queen by Sierra Simone


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