Sabrina Ricciardi

🖤⚔️🖤

Scarab by Christina Patton Evers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A young mother fleeing across an unforgiving desert with only one goal: to get her son back.
Forced to run from the Coalition after being separated from her child, Celeste must reluctantly join forces with Captain Aemory: the very man who was supposed to be her executioner.
Together, they must navigate a realm divided by war, face dangerous enemies, and fight to find Egan.

I loved this book from the first page to the last. Christina's writing style is beautiful, and I especially loved the quotes at the beginning of every chapter.
The story felt so refreshing. It was different from everything I've read recently, but in the best possible way. I think this is the first book I've read where the main character is also a mother, and I never expected to appreciate that aspect of the story so much.

Celeste is a woman, a warrior, and above all, a mother. She would do anything to protect her son. And Captain Aemory... he has countless secrets, just like the many times he has been there to save Celeste and Egan.

I literally just finished reading, and I'm still crying. That ending... WHAT DID I JUST READ?
I need book two for my mental health.

Thank you, NetGalley and Christina for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.
I can't wait to have my physical copy in my hands!

📆 Releasing August 4th

Tropes:
🐍Enemies to lovers
🐍Slow burn
🐍He kills for her
🐍Forced proximity
🐍Morally grey FMC
🐍Egyptian-inspired magic system

The Shadows That Listen by Louisa Carmody Author
🪽🪽🪽🪽🪽

I LOVED this book. Can we please bring angels back? This story reminded me just how much I've missed them.

An immortal war brought the world to its knees. Daemons crawled from the depths of hell and Angels descended from the skies. Humanity thought it had been saved, but the Angels' arrival was not what anyone expected. Five years later, Amara is a human warrior working for the Angel Intelligence Agency, and when her boyfriend disappears after curfew, she decides to venture into the shadows to bring him back, even if it means risking her own life. But when she crosses paths with Nathaniel, an archangel who represents everything she should fear, she discovers that working together may be their only chance to survive.

Amara was everything I could ask for in a main character: loyal, lethal, stubborn, witty, and compassionate.
Nathaniel was... Nathaniel. I honestly don't think I could do him justice, so I'll let you discover him for yourself. But the banter between Slayer and Bird Boy? Simply perfect.
With action, secrets, and an incredible slow burn, this story had everything I needed and left me wanting more.

I can't wait for my physical copies to arrive... yes, copies. One simply wasn't enough🖤

Thank you, Louisa Carmody Author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Tropes:
🗡Dystopian world
🗡Angels vs Daemons
🗡 Forced proximity
🗡Enemies to ? (good question)

🌸You are the bearer of my soul🌸

✨️I don't care✨️

Thank you for the tag

Tagging a few people just in case you want to join the trend🌸

✨️I don't care✨️

Thank

I saw the email at 2 a.m. and I had to double-check!
​I'm so excited to be a member of Louisa Carmody Author street team.
Thank you for this opportunity🪽

​I read the book and absolutely adored it. I'll be posting a review very soon✨️

Wild Silver and Lead by Lexie Axelson

Oh wow... where do I even begin? This book is an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish.

Set in a brutal dystopian world ravaged by the Raven virus, the story follows Scottie, a fierce survivor searching for the family she lost during a raid. When she crosses paths with Slade Reece, a ruthless ex-Delta Force captain, he puts a bullet through her chest... then saves her life and takes her to a secret military base where outsiders are forbidden. The only way for him to keep her? A marriage of convenience. In exchange for his protection and his help finding her family, Scottie agrees to become his wife.

From the very first page, I was hooked. This story is filled with relentless action, dark secrets, shocking revelations, and ghosts from the past that refuse to stay buried.

The chemistry between Slade and Scottie is undeniable. What starts as an enemies to lovers relationship evolves into a dark and complicated bond built on hatred, desire, secrets, and impossible choices.
Slade is a hot cowboy, merciless with his enemies but fiercely protective of those he considers his own. Scottie becomes the one person capable of challenging him in ways no one else can. She is his little fire, his sanity.
At Smoke Hollow Peak, she is finally free to make her own choices and discover what it truly means to live.

This book completely shattered my heart, leaving me in desperate need of the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lexie Axelson for the chance to read this ARC

Releasing on October 6th! 📅

Tropes:
🕷Dark Dystopian Military Romance
🕷Secret Military Society
🕷Marriage of Convenience
🕷Enemies to Lovers
🕷Ruthless MMC
🕷Baddie FMC
🕷 Spicy
🕷Yearning

Mariposa by Lexie Axelson 🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋

Kade carving wood was all it took for me to know I was done for.

As a huge fan of dark military romance, I was already drawn to Mariposa from the start. I did have a few doubts about the dynamic between Kade and Violet at first, since he is her ex-boyfriend’s father and there’s a noticeable age gap, but those doubts disappeared almost immediately once I started reading. I was quickly pulled into their world and found myself far more emotionally invested than I expected.

This is so much more than a forbidden romance. It’s the story of two wounded souls finding their way to each other, with Kade believing he’s too broken to deserve love and Violet never asking him to be anyone other than himself. She simply sees him for who he is, and that made their connection feel incredibly real and deeply emotional. The military aspect was just as addictive, with the training, the missions, and the action scenes all incredibly well written and keeping me hooked from beginning to end.

What truly surprised me, though, was the emotional depth of this story. The subplot involving Violet’s grandmother and the letters from her first love completely shattered me. I cried more than once. It was beautiful, heartbreaking, and such a perfect addition to the story, and the way the author explored grief and healing felt honest, raw, and deeply moving.

Mariposa gave me everything I look for in a romance: action, tension, passion, heartbreak, healing, and unforgettable characters.

He would burn the world down to keep his doll safe. And for me? That's ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ behaviour.

Fever Dream is exactly the kind of book I've been looking for. It was my first time reading Elsie Silver, and it's easily one of my favorite romances ever.

The story is about Emmett, a bull rider who's only doing a reality show to save his family's farm, and Julia, the consultant on set who happens to be his rival's sister. They shouldn't be together, but the tension is just too good. What really got me, though, wasn't just the drama or the chemistry: it was how real their connection felt. Emmett carries the weight of believing he's not enough or worthy of being loved, while Julia is someone who has given up on trusting men. Watching them slowly let their guards down for each other felt so genuine.

I loved how devoted Emmett is, not just to his family but to Julia. Every stolen moment and secret look they shared away from the cameras felt so earned. It's passionate, it's intense, and it just works. I'm definitely going to be reading more from this author.

If you're looking for characters you'll genuinely root for and a romance that will completely steal your heart, this is it.

Tropes:
🐎 Bull rider MMC
🐎 Forbidden romance
🐎 Rival's little sister
🐎 Forced proximity
🐎 Dating show
🐎 slow burn