Tag: Book Reviews

Review: White Hot by Ilona Andrews

Posted June 4, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

White Hot by Ilona Andrews

Series: Hidden Legacy #2
Also in this Series: Burn for Me
Main Leads: Nevada Baylor, Connor “Mad” Rogan
Setting: United States, Texas, Houston
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Romance
Tags: Super Powers, Family Drama, Strong Female Lead
Published On: May 30, 2017
Publisher: Avon
Format: e-Book
Source: Purchased
Pages: 389
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Nevada Baylor has a unique and secret skill—she knows when people are lying—and she’s used that magic (along with plain, hard work) to keep her colorful and close-knit family’s detective agency afloat. But her new case pits her against the shadowy forces that almost destroyed the city of Houston once before, bringing Nevada back into contact with Connor “Mad” Rogan.

Rogan is a billionaire Prime—the highest rank of magic user—and as unreadable as ever, despite Nevada’s “talent.” But there’s no hiding the sparks between them. Now that the stakes are even higher, both professionally and personally, and their foes are unimaginably powerful, Rogan and Nevada will find that nothing burns like ice . . .

White Hot is the second book in the Hidden Legacy series by writing duo Ilona Andrews and it’s another book that I absolutely loved.

Nevada Baylor and Mad Rogan are back for an action-packed story filled with magic, bad guys, and Nevada finding out more about herself, her family and her magic. Her latest case has her trying to find Cornelius Harrison’s wife’s killer. The case wasn’t normally a case she’d take on but Cornelius has nowhere else to go and nobody else will help him so of course, Nevada is going to help. She dives right into the case and finds herself brought face to face with the guy that hasn’t called in months, the guy she can’t seem to forget….Connor “Mad” Rogan of House Rogan.

I’m really digging the suspense in these books. There’s a lot going on and a bigger story is unraveling in the background but I thought Ilona Andrews did such a great job of pulling on each string, keeping the reader hanging until the dramatic finish in the end. I was invested throughout the entire book, even though Nevada’s stubbornness was a bit much. I still love her but I thought she fought stupid shit for too long. She does eventually get over it and so did I, but that was a bit of a downer in an otherwise fantabulous book.

The chemistry between Rogan and Nevada is so much fun that I read this one in no time at all. The way that they’ll be bickering one moment and then immediately jump into a fight to protect each other makes me love them all the more. This book was fun with a cast of characters that jump right off the pages and into your heart. I can’t get enough.

I’m really interested in seeing more of Catalina, Arabella, Leon and even Bern. I’m itching to see what their powers are and how powerful they’ll be when they come into their own. Leon is such a fun character and I love how normal these teenagers are. They’re into the things that teenagers these days are into. Their selfie game is on point and the drama that they’re always in the middle of had me laughing so much.

I also really enjoyed getting to know Cornelius and his daughter Matilda. All of Rogan’s people are great, too. Seriously, I love them all except the bad guys and Nevada’s grandmother on her father’s side. There’s a lot to love in this book and I want everyone to read it and love it as much as I did. So good!

Hidden Legacy Series

4 out of 5

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Review: Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

Posted June 3, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews

Series: Hidden Legacy #1
Main Leads: Nevada Baylor, Connor “Mad” Rogan
Setting: United States, Texas, Houston
Tropes: Super Powers, Family Drama, Strong Female Lead
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Romance
Published On: October 28, 2014
Publisher: Avon
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Pages: 382
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile case. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.

Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run or surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.

Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.

Burn for Me is the first book in Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series and it follows Nevada Baylor as she navigates the magical world that she’s thrown into but not really a part of.

Nevada Baylor is a private investigator who took over the reins of her family PI firm after her father died. She lives in a magical Houston, TX where the more magic you have, the more powerful your House is. She likes to keep her head down and do her job, because it’s hard work trying to stay afloat if you’re not a part of a House and don’t have any real magic. All of that changes when Nevada is forced to take on a case that she can’t possibly survive and being backed into a corner by the people that own her mortgage isn’t all that great either so Nevada has no choice but to take on a suicide mission and see where it takes her.

Adam Pierce is a bad guy who embraces being bad. When his family hires Nevada’s firm to find him and bring him home, Nevada is thrown into the mix of some pretty bad business and when Mad Rogan, a powerful Prime from one of the biggest Houses in Houston, kidnaps her for information, her life is thrown into a freaking mixer. Trying to stay alive becomes Nevada’s first priority because she has to take care of her family.

Burn for Me was a damn good book. I loved every minute of it. I loved getting to know Nevada and her family (every single member of her family) and then I loved getting to know Mad Rogan. Mad Rogan was everything. He flat out rocked my world. This entire book was so exciting and fun and I laughed so much throughout the entire reading. It was just great. I loved when Rogan shows up with a bouquet of red carnations. I loved when he called Augustine Pancakes. I especially loved when he says, “Let’s dance” to Adam at the end. For most of the book, this is what I looked like whenever Mad Rogan was on the scene.

I have loved pretty much every single book that I’ve read by Ilona Andrews and this one was no exception. Mad Rogan and Nevada’s relationship is going to be so much fun reading about and I am so here for it. I’m really interested in seeing Nevada learn more about herself and her magic (because you know she’s got some hidden magic up her sleeve) and I’m also really looking forward to seeing more from her family. Catalina, Arabella and even Bern and Leon.

This book was such a fun read and it really sets up this series nicely. If you like some humor sprinkled in with your magic, give this one a go. I promise the book is a lot better than the cover looks.

Hidden Legacy Series

5 out of 5

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Review: The Dixon Rule by Elle Kennedy

Posted May 28, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The Dixon Rule by Elle Kennedy

Series: Campus Diaries #2
Also in this Series: The Graham Effect
Main Leads: Diana Dixon, Shane Lindley
Setting: United States, Massachusetts, Hastings
Tags: Hate to Love, Next Door Neighbors, Fake Relationship
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult
Published On: May 14, 2024
Publisher: Bloom Books
Format: e-Book
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 498
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Diana Dixon has a lot going on this summer. She’s rehearsing for a ballroom dance competition, juggling two jobs, and dealing with an ex-boyfriend who can’t take the hint it’s over. Yet despite all that, she still has plenty of time and energy to tell Shane Lindley to screw off.

Shane just moved into her apartment building and seems dedicated to sleeping his way through her entire cheerleading squad. Sure, he’s a tall, gorgeous hockey player, but he’s messing with her turf. This calls for some ground rules: no parties in her apartment, leave her teammates alone, and—most importantly—leave her alone.

What Diana doesn’t realize is that Shane’s sick of hookups and tired of being on the rebound after his long-term girlfriend called it quits. He wants a relationship. And when his ex comes back into the picture, he pretends he has one to make her jealous…and who better to play the girlfriend role than his sassy new neighbor?

Despite Diana’s reluctance to break her rule, a fake relationship is the perfect solution for her own ex issues, and soon she can’t deny something is sizzling between her and Shane. Something hot and completely unexpected.

And it might just be getting a little too real.

This was a book that I meant to read last year but I never even opened the book. I downloaded it onto my kindle and then I just never read it. I’m glad that I changed that this year because this was another great addition to the Off Campus world and I came to really love both Lindley and Dixon.

This story follows Diana Dixon and Shane Lindley as they take that journey toward true love. It’s summer time and the off-season for Lindley who just moved into a new place that his rich parents bought for him and his new place is right next door to Diana Dixon…who hates his playboy ways and isn’t a big fan of his in general. She makes no effort to hide how much she despises him and that’s in large part because he keeps sleeping with her cheerleaders and as the captain of the Briar U Cheerleading Squad, she’s had to deal with a lot of broken hearts that can be laid square at Shane’s feet.

Summer is under way and Diana is busy. Her schedule is full and she’s not thrilled about having to run into Shane Lindley in what is supposed to be her safe space. Her home. But he’s moved in next door and there isn’t much she can do about that. She could, however, make sure that her friends in the apartment building don’t befriend him and she can keep him at arms length and make sure he doesn’t sleep with anyone else. On top of having to deal with two jobs, preparing for the dance competition she’s entered, and Shane’s intrusion into her life, she has to deal with an ex-boyfriend who won’t stay away.

Shane, on the other hand, is ready for the good times to roll now that hockey is done for the season. Well, to be honest, he’s ready for fun times but he’s also tired of hooking up with random girls all the time. Surprisingly, Shane Lindley is a relationship guy. He’s been hooking up with random girls because his last girlfriend broke his heart and he never really had his playboy era but he’s ready to put all of that behind him. He’s a little embarrassed at the thought that if his ex-girlfriend wanted to get back together, he’d do it. He misses her and when she tells him that she might be coming to Briar U, he breaks out the welcome mat and invites her to come and stay with him, hoping to rekindle their romance. That idea falls flat on his face when she shows up with a boyfriend, ready to be his house guests. Desperately needing a save, he turns to the person that hates him more than anyone else he knows. Diana freaking Dixon. And she shows up for him in a big way so when it’s his turn to return the favor, he does so willingly.

Diana and Shane were a really cute couple. Their bickering was never annoying or too much. I thought it was playful and even when Diana keeps kicking Shane out of the apartment group chat, it was never not funny to me. I had a lot of fun watching these two bicker their way toward their happy ending. They were young but their relationship, even when it was fake, never felt immature. The way that they just naturally fell for each other while helping each other made for a romance that I was rooting for almost from the very beginning. They were pretty great on their own but I really liked their dynamic when they were together.

Elle Kennedy did a great job of showing us the ups and downs of real life and finding joy in romance. I thought she handled the sensitive subjects in this book with grace and the overall writing of Shane and Diana’s story was well done and I wasn’t even a little surprised that I liked this book as much as I did. Kennedy’s writing style really works for me and I’m looking forward to what’s next in this world. Larsen and Beckett’s story sounds interesting and I’m curious to see how their story will be told. This book was a good one, and I definitely recommend.

Campus Diaries Series

4 out of 5

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Review: Love & Other Words by Christina Lauren

Posted May 22, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Love & Other Words

Main Leads: Macy Sorensen, Elliot Petropoulos
Setting: United States, California, Berkley
Tropes: First Love, Second Chance Romance, Traumatic Past
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Published On: April 10, 2018
Publisher: Gallery Books
Format: e-Book
Source: Purchased
Pages: 433
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The heart may hide, but it never forgets.

The first women’s fiction novel from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Autoboyography, Dating You / Hating You).

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly teen friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother…only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco reading books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

This was my second read of 2025 and it left an impression that has stayed with me ever since. This was also a buddy read that I did with my daughter and we both liked this book a lot more than our book club book so we were glad to have left The Mirror behind. It had been a long time since I was so moved by a book that I stayed up late into the night reading. This book did wonders in bringing my reading mojo back because I have not stopping reading ever since.

This story follows our main characters, Macy Sorensen and Elliot Petropoulos as they grow in love. We first meet them as kids when Macy and her Dad move into their summer home right next door to Elliot’s family and she sees Elliot for the first time reading in her closet. Now even though Macy and her Dad don’t live at that house year round, they return often to visit and get a break from the city so Elliot and Macy become best friends and every time they’re together, they spent a lot of time reading in her closet. As the years pass, their relationship changes as well. First love springs forth that grows into a deep love that stays with them even after they’re torn apart and Macy doesn’t return to the house. Theirs is a love that transcends space and time and eleven years later, they run into each other again and the love that Macy tried to move on from starts to creep up again and she’s forced to deal with the feelings she’s spent so much time and energy in running from.

Macy was a pretty great heroine. The more that I got to know of her, the more I loved her. Even when I didn’t understand why she avoiding Elliot the way that she was, I didn’t hate her and though there were times when I was a little frustrated that she stayed with Sean even when she knew that she didn’t love him, even then I didn’t hate her. Macy was someone who was used to loss and when she finally decided to break free from a loveless relationship and deal with the only love she’s ever known, I cheered for her because I understood that she has dealt with a lot of loss so seeing her taking back the things she had ran away from felt like a huge deal.

Holy cow, Elliot was the kind of love everyone wishes for. He was kind, he was smart, he was steady, and the way that he loved Macy was exactly the kind of love that fairytales are made of. When Macy comes back into his life after more than a decade, the way that he made himself available to her in every single way had me in a pile of goo at his feet. He really loved himself some Macy Sorensen and seeing him devoted to being part of her life and so grateful that he was a part of hers was just swoonworthy. He fought hard for the love that he knew they both deserved. Seeing what their separation did to him over the years was hard to read but never once did I doubt that he belonged with Macy and that Macy belonged with him. Their romance and their love was what girls dream of and seeing theirs play out, seeing them fight to be together again as they were in the present and not them in the past made this entire book all the more special.

The writing was fantastic and I thought Christina Lauren did such a great job of telling a complex story with a lot of heart. The plot twist completely threw me because I wasn’t expecting that to happen, I wasn’t expecting to be as heartbroken as I was when it comes out but holy cow, that scene where Macy is sitting in the house after all those years of never going back, seeing her deal with the guilt of the last time that she was there, ahhh, I was a ball of wrecked emotions.

My only gripe about the book is what happened to Elliot that broke him and Macy. It didn’t sit right with me that it was sort of glazed over, unfinished. What that girl did to him, while he was that drunk, didn’t sit right with me. Not when we find out that it happened but also that nothing was ever explained about the aftermath. Even Elliot’s attitude when he’s explaining it to Macy, how he says, “But come on, was it so bad that you cut me out for eleven years without a discussion?” didn’t sit right with me because it doesn’t acknowledge the very real harm that girl caused so that was a bit of a let down.

While that was a very huge ding to my enjoyment, I still really loved Elliot and Macy’s story (if I don’t think about that too hard) and I was so satisfied with the way their romance ended. This story does first love and second chance romance really well and I’m really glad that I read it. It was a good story to read with my daughter and it gave us much to discuss which was also a lot of fun so I’m happy with this book.

4.5 out of 5

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Review: The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Posted May 13, 2025 by Wena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The True Love Experiment

Series: DNA Duo #2
Also in this Series: The Soulmate Equation
Main Leads: Felicity “Fizzy” Chen, Connor Prince
Setting: United States, California, San Diego
Tags: Romance Novelist Female Lead, Single Dad, Secret Romance
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Published On: May 16, 2023
Publisher: Gallery Books
Format: Audio
Source: Purchased
Pages: 409
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script.

Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.

Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?

Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.

The True Love Experiment is the book fans have been waiting for ever since Fizzy’s debut in The Soulmate Equation. But when the lights come on and all eyes are on her, it turns out the happily ever after Fizzy had all but given up on might lie just behind the camera.

The True Love Experiment is the second book in the DNA Duo series by Christina Lauren and it is Fizzy’s book! Fizzy was such a delight in the first book that I was thrilled to find out that we were getting her story in this book. She was such a fun character that I knew having her front and center for an entire book was going to be a lot of fun, and I wasn’t wrong.

Fizzy Chen is all about the hook up. She’s not against finding true love, she just hasn’t felt anything more than lust. She loves love, so much so, that she’s made a career out of it. She’s a romance novelist that hasn’t been in love and it’s starting to feel like she’s living a lie, especially cause her job is to sell love to her readers. Fizzy was such a fantastic female lead. She was bright, she was kind, and she had such a good head on her shoulders that to know her was to love her. She was also funny as hell and was a huge reason I laughed so much while reading.

Connor Prince is a San Diego film maker that loves his job and is really good at his job. When his boss comes to him and tells him that in order to keep that job he loves, he has to make a reality show and make it a success. Reality shows are not Connor’s cup of tea, nor are they part of his expertise. But he ain’t no quitter so when he comes across Felicity Chen, he’s intrigued but more than that, he thinks she’d make a great main character in the reality show that he needs to make. When she tells him that she’d only do it if he fulfills every item on her list, he sets about…completing that list. He’s also a single father who loves his kid and works hard to be the kind of father she deserves. He was the kind of hero that matched well to Fizzy’s bright personality.

The chemistry between Connor and Fizzy was pretty great. They were such a good fit and seeing them fall in love was a lot of fun. Being part of their journey, seeing them become such a solid team made for an entertaining read. Their romance was sweet at the same time that it was steamy. The entire book was such a fun ride. There was a lot of laugh, a lot of support from the other characters, and the story itself was fun and interesting. I even loved seeing all of the contestants that Connor found for Fizzy. It was all just more to love.

I really liked this book. I loved the main characters, the side characters, the story, the romance…all of it. The story was well written and the pacing of the story never dragged so I was never bored. Christina Lauren did a really good job with this story and even though I did really enjoy The Soulmate Equation, I liked this book so much more. This was a fantastic romance from beginning to end. It was such a feel good romance that it took me no time at all to read. I definitely recommend this book if you’re in the mood for a contemporary romance that warms you up from the inside out. This is a really good book.

DNA Duo Series

4.5 out of 5

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