Hello everybody! ✨
Welcome to Sarah's Book Nook Blog, which will be filled with reviews, recommendations, and all things bookish!
To start off, I thought I would review the books I read in April. I would also like to preface this with - I'm very much a vibe reader! I rate books on vibes and how they made me feel instead of things like plot holes, characters etc. I find I usually rate higher than most, too, so please bear that in mind and don't come for me!
They will also not include any spoilers but if you really don't want to know anything about these books, please don't read on as I will be mentioning some plot and characters.
Let's begin!
Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I've been wanting to read this book for so long, and I kept getting in the shop so I decided to get it on KU. This is the first in The Bargainer series, and I can't wait to read the rest.
"Callypso Lillis is a siren with a very big problem, one that stretches up her arm and far into her past.
For the last seven years Callie has been wearing a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she once received. Only death or repayment will fulfill her obligations.
Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He's a man who can get you anything you want … at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects. But for Callie, he's never asked for repayment. Not until now.
When Callie finds the Bargainer in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it's admitting a truth—a single bead's worth—acknowledging the attraction between them. But the Bargainer is after more than just rekindling their connection. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one, and only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to her breast.
For the Bargainer to save his people, he'll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. If she can forgive him."
Oof even the description of this book gets me excited. I loved getting into this world, which is set in the real world but with Sirens, Werewolves, Fae and more. It was just the book I was looking for. I needed something different and a bit more adult as I'd just finished The Cruel Prince series, and this book was perfect. The romance was *chef's kiss*, and it was just a great easy read. It was definitely a bit cringy at times, and the writing was a bit repetitive, but I still can't wait to read the rest!
Two Wrongs Make A Right by Chloe Liese ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Anyone who knows me knows that fake dating is my jam. And a book that's marketed as a reimagining of Much Ado About Nothing, my interest was piqued.
King of Wrath by Ana Huang ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is another amazing fake dating/arranged marriage romance, and I ate it up! I've read the Twisted Love series, and whilst they were all right books, I really wanted to try the Kings of Sin series, as I've had them forever. When I learned it was an arranged marriage, it went straight to the top of my TBR pile.
"She’s the wife he never wanted…and the weakness he never saw coming.
Ruthless. Meticulous. Arrogant.
Dante Russo thrives on control, both personally and professionally.
The billionaire CEO never planned to marry— until the threat of blackmail forces him into an engagement with a woman he barely knows.
Vivian Lau, jewelry heiress and daughter of his newest enemy.
It doesn’t matter how beautiful or charming she is. He'll do everything in his power to destroy the evidence and their betrothal.
There’s only one problem: now that he has her...he can't bring himself to let her go.
***
Elegant. Ambitious. Well-mannered.
Vivian Lau is the perfect daughter and her family’s ticket into the highest echelons of high society.
Marrying a blue-blooded Russo means opening doors that would otherwise remain closed to her new-money family.
While the rude, elusive Dante isn't her idea of a dream partner, she agrees to their arranged marriage out of duty.
Craving his touch was never part of the plan.
Neither was the worst thing she could possibly do: fall in love with her future husband."
I read this quickly because it was a pretty easy read. It's similar to the Twisted series, I guess, but I thought the characters had a bit more depth. I loved Vivian, the MC. She was strong and had a lot of depth herself. And Dante 🥵 The spicy scenes were great, but none stood out specifically.
Night Shift Annie Crown ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Okay, so hear me out: this is one of those books that you love, then look at the reviews, and everyone doesn't like it! I picked this up thinking it was just going to be a cute college romance, but it's actually a lot spicier than I expected. I don't know if I just had a good time reading it or what, but I really enjoyed the book.
"Kendall Holiday spends her Friday nights exactly where she wants to be: with her head buried in a spicy romance novel while she works the graveyard shift at her university's library. She knows she could join her friends for a weekend of drunken debauchery and college parties, but she likes her alone time, so she tells herself she isn't hiding when she gets lost in the pages of fictional love stories.
But that all changes when Vincent Knight, captain of the basketball team, turns up with an injured wrist, a sour mood, and a pressing need for poetry recommendations for a class he hates. Vincent is tall, smart-mouthed, and challenges Kendall like no one has before. Suddenly, she's falling headfirst into her very own romance novel—but it takes a lot more truth than tropes to get to a happy ever after in real life."