Georgia’s Bookshelf

Synopsis:

After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she’s sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she’s ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember?
But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him—and kiss him, in equal measure.

August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn’t know jack about making wine. He’s determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy’s legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around… and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door.

Natalie has haunted August’s dreams since the moment they met, but their sizzling chemistry immediately morphed into simmering insults. Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways—assuming they make it out alive. How hard could it be?

There’s just one thing they didn’t account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tropes:

Marriage of Convenience
He Falls First
Enemies to Lovers
Opposites Attract
Forced Proximity

My Thoughts:

Being back from my holiday meant the resuming of completing my A-Z Reading Challenge, which I’m very determined to finish in August *I did finish it in August, I just got really lazy with doing these reviews*

Resuming meant picking up my choice for letter U which I regretfully picked Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey.
I’m very familiar with Tessa Bailey’s work and in previous posts, I mentioned how I liked Hook, Line and Sinker & It Happened One Summer which I read in 2022.

Since then I’ve read, Wreck the Halls and My Killer Vacation which I wasn’t overly a fan of and I remember saying in the My Killer Vacation review that I don’t think Tessa Bailey’s writing is for me – especially since a lot of it is in third person.

I know what I said, but I couldn’t find an alternative for letter U (maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough) it’s done now though. This is my written confirmation that I am done with Tessa Bailey’s work for a while (if ever).
I just can’t get into her books, especially since they’re majority written from third person.

In hindsight, I should enjoyed this book because it had all the tropes I love, but it’s the third person writing that stopped me. I also couldn’t connect to the characters (possibly because of the third person).

I strugggllled to read this book and have motivation to pick it up. I had so much motivation on holiday and I knew this book was upcoming and I had a feeling it would make me feel the way it did.

I don’t think the number of days should be a reflection on the enjoyment of a book because I’ve been known to devour my favourite books in a day but also stretch them out for numerous days because I don’t want to finish them so quickly. This book though, there were days I just physically couldn’t bring myself to pick it up and also nights where I was half falling asleep trying to get it finished.

I felt like a whole lot of nothing was happening through the book, which also was a factor for me not being motivated. It was made a theme for Natalie to help August with improving his failing winery since she had knowledge and the upbringing of being around a winery, but they didn’t work together until the last 80% of the book and it wasn’t even a page worth of detail how how she helped. I was envisioning them on a journey together, growing closer together as they worked on improving August’s winery.

The rift between Natalie and her mother (how she was left out of the family business) was just briefly brushed past and quickly solved in a recap manner and through Natalie’s inner thoughts, rather than detailing the conversation that the had.

Overall, I just couldn’t enjoy this book (or others by Tessa) even though I enjoyed Hook, Line and Sinker & It Happened One Summer – I’m putting that down to change in taste and also it being a while ago (don’t know how much I trust past Georgia). Yes I do like Colleen Hoover books over Tessa Bailey, that may change in the future.

I don’t see myself actively reaching for anymore Tessa Bailey books and I’m tempted to remove books I do have on my GoodReads off (The Au Pair Affair). You never know I may revisit her in the future, if when I’ve got nothing left on my TBR 😂.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Georgia

🌷

October 29, 2024 No comments

Synopsis:

One bookshop in paradise. Two bitter rivals. A whole summer to get through…

Clare thought that by now she would have her life figured out. Instead, she’s living with her parents, working a job she hates and has absolutely no idea what she wants to do with the rest of her life.

When she sees a viral job advert for a three-month bookseller position on a Bali beach, she jumps at the chance. But it’s not until she arrives in Bali that Clare realises she won’t be working in the bookshop alone.
Instead she’s sharing the bookshop – and a flat – with a handsome but infuriating American man. Jack is Clare’s opposite in almost every way, and it’s not long before they’re driving each other crazy. But fighting with Jack is also the most fun Clare’s had in years, and it’s only a matter of time before their relationship turns less than professional…

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tropes:

Forced Proximity
Workplace Romance
Roommates
Travel Romance

My Thoughts:

I first came across this book in Waterstones earlier this year when I was window shopping and stupidly, I didn’t take a picture of the book but I’d read the blurb and it really interested me. It was so irritating trying to find this book without knowing its title or author. I remember dragging my mam into Waterstones a week later hunting for it for over an hour, but having no luck.

TikTok eventually came through when I saw someone post the cover and it put an end to the blind hunt for it.

After finishing Beach Read, I was happy to see that this book was quite short and it was very much needed after feeling like I was heading for a rut.

I liked how Beach Rivals was short and sweet, easy to get through and didn’t require a huge amount of concentration.

I was slightly disappointed to find it was a third pov written book and worried that I would be bored, but I persevered through because of how short it was. Third pov books just aren’t for me – I can’t connect to the words and fully immerse myself into the fictional world.
I was also surprised to see it’s a closed door romance, not that I don’t like those – I don’t mind them.

I just felt slightly “meh” about this book, a bit lukewarm. I think it’s because I went into reading this book believing it was a different premise to what it was – my fault because I mixed two different books up.

The plot setting has made me want to open my own bookstore

To conclude, I didn’t hate it or love it and I wouldn’t avoid Georgie Tilney’s other work, but equally I wouldn’t prioritise her work.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Georgia

🌷

October 29, 2024 No comments

Synopsis:

I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve.

Even though I’m wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills…
The Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our street. I’m sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors.

Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here?
I thought I’d left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?

Genre: Suspenseful Mystery-Thriller

Themes:

Secrets
Manipulation
Murder

My Thoughts:

When me and my friend Izzy decided to book our first holiday together, we decided we needed to at least read one book together on the holiday, seeing as we’re both book lovers. I introduced Izzy to Freida McFadden’s, The Housemaid series, so it seemed fitting to read the last book of the series together.

The Housemaid is Watching follows Millie and Enzo eleven years into the future, where they are married with two children, Ada and Nico.

The story follows Millie and Enzo as they move into their dream home, away from the city in a fancy neighbourhood to start fresh from their previous lives of housekeeping. Millie has embarked on a career in social work, whilst Enzo continues to pursue his gardening career.

Whilst navigating and unpacking their belongings into their new home, they meet their neighbours Suzette and her husband Jonathan. Millie instantly becomes aware of Suzette’s snarky personality and Jonathan’s very quiet outcast. During their initial interaction, Suzette makes Millie aware of their strange neighbour Janice who can be caught watching out her window, who has a son called Spencer.

Enzo is eventually introduced to Suzette, whose eyes instantly light out at the attractive man before her, where she begins flirting with him in front of Millie and innocently asking for gardening work, in exchange for her promoting his business to her friends.

Millie and Enzo begin navigating their new life, with the help of Suzette’s maid Martha who comes to clean their home. Millie becomes increasingly suspicious of Martha and her intentions after she catches her snooping through their belongings.

Enzo begins spending an increasingly amount of time at Suzette’s home “gardening” which results in Millie to grow suspicious that her husband is having an affair. When Millie reveals her concerns, Enzo reassures her, reminding her that he knows not to get on her bad side.
When taking Ada and Nico to the bus stop, Millie meets Janice and her son Spencer, who is on a leech. The pair arrange play dates between the boys, much to Janice reluctance before she reveals that Millie should be careful with Suzette. Janice also reveals the story of a young boy who went missing and was never found.

When Nico is playing outside, he accidentally smashes Suzette’s window leading Millie to take him over to apologise. They come up with an agreement that Nico must go and help clean Suzette and Jonathan’s home to repay for the window.

When Millie returns home late from work, she discovers the kids are missing and rushes to find Enzo. Eventually they find the kids hiding under the stairs and when they do, they find them shocked and upset.

Millie becomes increasingly concerned about Nico’s behaviour as he’s began acting out at school, where he attacks children unprovoked. His behaviour eventually leads him to being kicked off the baseball team, leading Millie to become worried that he’s inherited her past behaviour. After finding out about Nico’s sudden outbursts, Janice stops Nico and Spencer from spending time together.

Suzette ends Nico’s visits to her home in exchange for breaking the window, but doesn’t explain why to Millie.
Millie, Enzo and Suzette and her husband Jonathan, along with the kids go to the beach after a potential client becomes interested in working with Enzo. However, when they arrive, Suzette informs them that the client has to cancel, leading Millie to be suspicious. Whilst at the sea, Suzette, Enzo and the kids go swimming until Suzette is almost dragged under and drowned by what she claimed was seaweed, that later is revealed as Ada.

When Enzo comes to her rescue, Suzette becomes over dramatic and overly touchy with her “hero” Enzo, fuelling Millie’s belief of them having an affair.

Millie is left embarrassed when she’s unable to pay the repair man, following her cheque bouncing, only to find out Enzo had borrowed money to replace gardening equipment. Janice continues to warn Millie of Enzo and Suzette spending lots of time together.

Millie’s concerns grow further when she is awoken to Enzo sliding into bed, smelling of another woman’s perfume.

When Millie returns home from work, she goes looking for Enzo who she can’t find. When entering Suzette’s home, she’s shocked to find Jonathan with a slit throat and quickly leaves as she hears the approaching of police sirens.

When leaving Suzette’s home, she bumps into Enzo who is bleeding leading her to her own conclusion. Enzo reassured her that his cut is from a gardening accident, before Millie reveals what she saw.

When police begin their questioning, they reveal they were notified after Janice reported screaming from the house, which ends up clearing Millie of her name, but leaves Enzo vulnerable, as Janice has seen him entering the house.

With Enzo being the lead suspect in the murder investigation, Millie contacts Benito from her housemaiding days, who puts her in contact with Cecelia (Nina’s daughter from book 1)

Cece is now a lawyer who promises to help prove Enzo’s innocence, who reveals where the money was for – to help Martha, the housemaid escape her husband.
When searching the house, they find the murder weapon used to kill Jonathan, Enzo’s pocket knife with his initials on. Cece is able to warn Enzo of his appending arrest, who then admits to killing Jonathan.

The story skips to part two which is from the pov of Millie and Enzo’s daughter Ada. In her chapters, we learn that Enzo had gifted his pocket knife to Ada to help her defend herself from the bullies at school, who were pressuring her. We learn the reason for Nico’s strange behaviour: Jonathan was making him stay in the hidden room under the stairs and watching him play with toys, where he would lock him in so he would set himself. Jonathan would then threaten Nico when he wanted to stop by saying he’d kill his family.

When Ada learns of this, she becomes enraged and visits Jonathan to warn him to stop, only when she arrives, she believes she’s home alone and begins snooping around the house and discovers a blood stained bed. Ada is quickly found by Jonathan who attempts to kill her after realising she knows what was happening with Nico. Ada stabs Jonathan in an attempt to escape and quickly leaves before Jonathan can react. Ada leaves through the back door and is able to slip past her father who’s gardening. Ads hides the knife

Enzo reveals that he believed it was Ada who killed Jonathan and attempted to cover for her. When speaking with Benito, they discover that Suzette was aware of Jonathan’s predatory behaviour and that he was responsible for killing the young boy why went missing.
They make a deal with Suzette: she either goes to prison for being an accomplice in the boys murder or that she murdered her husband – learning her to choose the murdering her husband deal.

We learn in the last chapter that Martha killed Jonathan after she returned to their home to find more jewellery to sell to escape her abusive husband.

I was so surprised at how quickly I was able to get through this book, especially since I read it on holiday, where typically, I struggle to concentrate because of the various distractions around a hotel.

From the get go, I didn’t like Millie’s neighbour Suzette and her constant malicious comments that were aimed to be hurtful and backhanded. I remember sitting on the sun lounger and gasping at some of the comments she’d come out with – I remember thinking “the audacity of this bitch”.

With all of Freida’s books, I love that the prologues start at the suspense/middle of the book, where you’re dropped into the middle and are not sure what’s happening, but are equally drawn in to read and find out more.

Through the book and looking at my notes, I only had one question that I believed to be unanswered and that was why were the children so scared when they were found under the stairs, when they willingly went in there. After discussing the book with Izzy, she reminded me that it was because Millie’s daughter was upset that her brother was being mean to her.

Even though I feel like I’m familiar with the Freida’s work, I was still blindsided by the reveal at the end. I wasn’t expecting it to be the housemaid Martha (even though it’s the title), I just thought it was keeping it up with the theme of the first two books because Millie was a housemaid. I can’t say I was exasperatedly shocked though. I think I wasn’t expecting it to be Martha because she left the story quite early on and wasn’t mentioned until she was revealed to be the murderer.

As well as this, I equally was surprised that it was a dual murder in a way and that Ada, Millie’s daughter had a run in with Jonathan. I believed, based on the signs we were given along the way, that it was going to be Nico due to him spending loads of time at their home and with his withdrawn behaviour.

I was initially surprised that Jonathan, Suzette’s husband was a pervert and responsible for the missing boy, but now that I’m reflecting on it, he had always came across off. The way he interacted with Suzette and basically ignored her flirty behaviour with Enzo was suspicious – he seemed like a door mat.

With Nico’s deteriorating behaviour, I was worried that Jonathan was going to have been harming Nico more and I was waiting for it to be revealed. I’m glad that it didn’t go to where I thought it was going to go and even Izzy agreed too!

I was also confused at by Suzette denied flirting with Enzo in the end and tried to say it was all him. Was there a reason for it? Like why was she so bitchy towards Enzo, when she knew about her husbands hobbies?
Anyway, I enjoyed reading this book and reading on my kindle in the sunshine really brought back a huge motivation for reading which I wasn’t expecting!

Can’t wait to venture into more of Freida’s work.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Georgia

🌷

October 29, 2024 No comments

Synopsis:

Escaping her seemingly perfect wedding, Naomi Witt arrives in rough-around-the-edges Knockemout, Virginia, running to the rescue of her estranged twin, Tina.
Too bad for Naomi her evil twin hasn’t changed at all.

After helping herself to Naomi’s car and cash, Tina leaves her with something unexpected: the 11-year-old niece she didn’t know she had. Now she’s stuck in town with no job, no plan, no home and a whole lot of extra responsibility.

There’s a reason local barber Knox doesn’t do complications or high-maintenance women, especially not the romantic ones. But since Naomi’s life imploded right in front of him, the least he can do is help her out of her jam. And just as soon as she stops getting into trouble, he can leave her alone and get back to his peaceful, solitary life.

At least that’s the plan, until their lives begin to entwine in ways they never imagined . . .

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tropes:

He Falls First
Small Town
Grumpy X Sunshine
Age Gap
Workplace Romance
Runaway Bride

My Thoughts:

I’m no stranger to the work by Lucy Score having read By a Thread and Forever Never earlier this year. I was left slightly deflated after reading those books as I had high expectations for the author seeing as I’d heard such great things about her Knockemout Series. As you can imagine, I was slightly nervous about reading the Knockemout series for my letter T of the A-Z Reading Challenge, especially since I’d recently seen mixed things about the series.

Things We Never Got Over (TWNGO) follows Naomi who visits the town of Knockemout to help her twin sister Tina who is seemingly in trouble. Only when Naomi arrives, she discovers that Tina has a daughter and has stolen Naomi’s belongings and left her daughter with her.
Naomi struggles to navigate through town, as everyone believes her to be Tina, the conniving con artist, who causes nothing but trouble.

After realising Tina has taken off with all of her belongings, Naomi is stranded in Knockemout with no choice but to look after her new niece.

Whilst navigating through town, she is met with the grumpy bar/bartender Knox who also believes her to be Tina. Once Naomi convinces him that she’s not her juvinelle sister, Knox provides Naomi with help in the new town she’s residing in.

Tension quickly brews between the pair, but Knox puts a stop stating that he doesn’t do relationships – leading the pair to embark on a sex only relationship.

After spending time in Knockemout for a few weeks, Naomi decides it’s time to contact her parents to reveal they have a granddaughter.

Following their first one night stand, Knox and Naomi are interrupted by her parents who arrive in Knockemout to meet their granddaughter.

Naomi’s parents jump to the conclusion that her and Knox are dating following the end of her relationship with her fiancé, who was revealed to be starting to abuse her. This prompts Knox to jump in and agree that they are dating, before suggesting to Naomi that they embark on a fake relationship.

The pair begin to navigate their new fake relationship, whilst working to obtain custody of Waylay. As the pair continue their fake relationship, they become close friends, leading Naomi to believe she’s not good enough.

The cottage where Naomi and Waylay are residing in is broken into, suspected by Tina who ransacks the cottage in an attempt to find something. Knox becomes protective of Naomi and Waylay, leading Naomi to become more confused by her feelings.

Knox becomes scared of his feelings and cuts off his arrangement with Naomi, following a visit to his father, who Naomi unawaringly meets.

After their fake dating breakup, Naomi is devastated, after believing that they could’ve been something and that Knox truly liked her. Naomi must put in a brave face, as she has to continue working at the bar Knox owns. The small town of Knockemout side with Naomi and begin freezing Knox out over breaking up with Naomi.

When Naomi starts her shift, she is sucker punched at the sight of Knox kissing a woman who is revealed to be called Lina. Naomi is approached by Lina who asks her to go for drinks in an attempt to explain. Reluctantly, Naomi goes with Lina, where she reveals that she herself was a previous “not girlfriend” of Knox.

Knox’s brother Nash is shot and left in critical condition. This leads Knox to be worried about his brothers survival as it is revealed that a Knox won the lottery and tried to give money to support his brother, who used the money to fund the local police station, causing a rift between the pair.

After speaking to Lina, Knox reveals his truth to Naomi and his reasonings for not dating – his mother died in a car accident, which lead to his father to turn to drugs, ultimately making Knox believe he can’t let anyone in, out of fear of being let down.

Naomi is shocked by the revelation and decides to take time to comprehend it. Only as she returns back to her shift, she’s met with her sister Tina who tricks Naomi into believing Waylay is in trouble.

Believing Waylay may be in danger, Naomi goes with Tina, but is kidnapped and taken to a warehouse where Tina’s boyfriend is demanding the handover of a USB drive with important and valuable information on it. Tina’s boyfriend is the son of a famous mafia leader, who is now attempting to pave his own way. Waylay reveals it’s hidden at the local library.

When Tina realises that her boyfriend won’t allow Waylay or Naomi to go unharmed, she comes up with a plan to switch places with Naomi, only her boyfriend isn’t that stupid enough.

After discovering that Naomi has disappeared from her shift, Knox and Nash track down where she is and attempt to save her. When they arrive, Tina and her boyfriend flee the scene to retrieve the usb from the library.

Waylay reveals that she made a copy of the USB for safe keeping and that the information stored on the usb was a list of police names, which included Nash.

After reuniting with Naomi, Knox realises he can’t be without her or Waylay and decides to reconcile and give a real relationship a go.

The story ends with Knox and Naomi marrying one another, with Waylay becoming a permanent and official part of their family, whilst becoming older sister to her adopted siblings that Knox and Naomi adopted, following her fertility issues.

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised after reading Things We Never Got Over as I enjoyed it more than any other book of Lucy Score that I’ve read.

I was worried about embarking on this book because of its length (500+ pages) and because I’d seen on TikTok a lot of people having negative opinions on it. So including these reviews with my own opinions of previous books I’ve read, I wasn’t hopeful.

I struggled initially with reading this book, whilst the settings were being laid out and the characters were being introduced. Once I hit 40% of the way in, I started to enjoy it a lot more – to the point where I lost track of time and ended up reading at 1am, something that’s rare these days. Although, I will say I definitely think she book could’ve been a lot shorter!

I loved the character development between Naomi and Knox. I wasn’t expecting the whole evil twin sister plot, but it reminded me a bit of Method of Matrimony by Anne Malcom.

After reading the first book of the Knockemout series, I’m not worried about reading the other two books. I’m looking forward to reading about Sloane and Lucian and how their love/hate relationship will pan out.

I liked how this book ended – we were able to read a full epilogue that looked into the future, mentioning all the characters in future books of the series, without spoiling who they end up with.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Georgia

🌷

September 12, 2024 No comments

Synopsis:

Nessa Griffin leads a lonely life. Too compassionate and gentle for the underworld business she grew up in, she fills no role in her family’s mafia empire, struggling to prove herself both at home and in her highly competitive ballet corps.

Mikolaj Wilk is the most vicious gangster in Chicago, and he’s hellbent on revenge. His adoptive father saved him from the streets of Warsaw only to die at the hands of the Griffins.

As part of his vengeance, Mikolaj abducts Nessa, holding her captive in his moldering gothic mansion. She might not deserve to pay for her family’s crimes, but in this world, the wolves eat the lambs no matter how gentle and innocent they may be.

But even as Mikolaj plots the destruction of everything the Griffins hold dear, he finds himself fixated on his captive, wanting this ballerina to dance only for him. Meanwhile, Nessa finds herself lost in the growing tension between her and her kidnapper, their twisted relationship building in new, terrifying ways.

He is the beast to her beauty-but can Nessa find the man inside before he gives into his hunger?

Genre: Dark Mafia Romance

Tropes:

Mafia Romance
Enemies to Lovers
Slow Burn
Age Gap
Forbidden Romance
Beauty and the Beast Retelling

My Thoughts:

Hitting my stride with completing the choices for my A-Z Reading Challenge, and letter S had to go to Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark.

I first was introduced to Sophie’s work after reading Brutal Prince for my letter B of the alphabetical series. I knew after reading that book that I needed to continue the series and reading books by her.

Stolen Heir follows Nessa Griffin, youngest of the Griffin children. After Nessa’s brother Callum killed mafia boss, “the butcher”, Mikolaj sets out a plan to seek revenge of kidnapping his younger sister.

When Nessa is driving, she is forced to pull over after her car breaks down. After being left stranded, a car comes to her rescue to help her, only they drug her and kidnap her.
When she awakes, she is Mikolaj’s house, where he plans to keep her, as punishment for Callum, before ultimately killing her.

After realising that Nessa is missing, the Griffin’s hunt high and low for signs of her, leading Mikolaj to be satisfied with his work so far.

Stolen Heir follows Nessa in her captivity and Mikolaj as he attempts to avoid her, whilst keeping her on lockdown.
As Nessa spends time in captivity, she befriends the maid, who she learns small amounts of Russian from. When overhearing conversations, she hears Mikolaj’s plan to kill her brother Callum, resulting in Nessa to plead her case for him not to.

Despite attempting to keep his distance, Mikolaj can’t stay away as he’s intrigued by the innocent Nessa, leading to tension to develop between them.

Initially, Mikolaj holds out against the temptation but as he spends more time with Nessa, his will begins to give, resulting in them to sleep with one another.

Following their night together, Mikolaj develops a new plan of marrying Nessa in exchange for joining forced with Nessa’s mafia family.

When Nessa returns home, the Griffin’s are relieved to know their daughter is safe, only this relief is short lived once Mikolaj reveals his plan to marry Nessa. Initially, they are against the marriage between the pair, but ultimately have no choice in the matter.

Another Sophie Lark book which I enjoyed and devoured! I found myself unable to put this down, constantly saying “one more chapter” until oops, it’s 3am and I’ve finished the whole book!

The whole story of this book gave me Beauty and the Beast vibes, that’s pretty much the only way I could sum it up. The beauty (Nessa) is captured and eventually wears down the beast (Mikolaj). The beauty ends up having a space for her hobbies, in Stolen Heir, instead of it being a library, it’s a dance studio. Then eventually the pair fall in love!

Even though I enjoyed this book, Brutal Prince still remains my favourite of the series so far. I felt like Stolen Heir was a nice little palette cleaner as it was short and sweet, just what I needed.

I love a slow burn romance that has tension building, but I always want the tension to be a bit longer with Sophie Lark’s books. I think in general, I could read 300+ more pages with Sophie’s books.

This was probably the spiciest book I’ve read in a while and THE ILLUSTRATIONS!!! 🥵. Hot and steamy, everyone say Thank you Sophie! Can we normalise adding illustrations into all books, please?
I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series and hope that they live up to Brutal Prince.