A Wine Lovers Book Blog / Books n Wine

***5 ‘Butterfly’ Stars*** So. Much. Goodness. Not that I didn’t expect it from the Savoie family as a whole, because I love them all, or from Clara and Henry after all the time they spent seeing each other, but NOT seeing each other *eye roll/grin* but this book had so many great moments, my book loving heart is all kinds of satisfied ~ yet, needing-wanting-demanding more because how does one not want to hang out more with this crazy, loving family. Now that I’ve gotten that out…Clara and Henry. I freakin’ loved and adored them both. Clara is kindness personified and while Henry is a bit on the grumpy side, and his heart is a bit bruised and battered, he is just a sweetheart. Their journey is a fun one from start to finish. I loved how balanced they were in their relationship and how they saw each other clearly and truly adored who they were at their cores. The angst was thankfully on the low end of the scale, but there were a few bumps that they had to work through and only made their...

The Muse by Emma Scott is now live! From USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Emma Scott, comes an emotional paranormal romance about sacrifice, redemption, and the power of true love. Cole Matheson didn't expect the road toward being a successful painter would be paved in gold, but he hoped there'd be a few less potholes. Insidious self-doubt that whispers that he's no good, talentless, hopeless has him on the brink of despair. Maybe it would be better to just give up. A midnight visit by a beautiful creature of darkness changes everything... Ambrosius Edward Meade-Finch surrendered to the underworld centuries ago after knowing only pain and suffering during his short life. Now, Ambri makes humans dance on his strings, feeding on their desire for his own pleasure. But his liege lord questions his loyalty and commands him to bring a pure soul into their dark realm. Cole Matheson seemed like an easy mark, but Ambri didn't count on his go...

***5 ‘Today and Tomorrow and Always’ Stars*** This right here is why I’m a full on fan girl of this series. The storyline, the characters, how the author keeps all the various and numerous connections straight while making new ones…all of it kept me turning the pages and had me doing a re-read as soon as I finished because it was just that damn good and I didn’t want to say good-bye. I adored Ivan and Lei. Ivan being a Mercant is already a vote in his favor ~ because who doesn’t love the Mercants? ~ his loyalty to family and need to protect, not only his family but he found a very interesting kinship with was a huge draw. Lei was light, happiness and a sweet sassyness that had me smiling, even when her light was dimmed due to an extreme loss. Their journey to their HEA was a lot of fun to experience. I loved how they first collided and the connection it started between them. And while their second collision was not as joyous, it only strengthened the bond between them and as they got t...

Crown of Crimson, an all-new dark fantasy romance with high heat in the Underworld Gods Series from New York Times Bestselling author Karina Halle, is out now! All Hanna Heikkinen wants is to be reunited with her father again. After all, that's why she ventured into the dark and dangerous fantasy world of Tuonela, the Land of the Dead, in order to save his life. But this time her devotion to her father comes at a cost---her growing relationship with Tuoni, the God of Death himself, who held Hanna captive in exchange for her father's life. The last thing she expects is to feel remorse at leaving Death at his castle of Shadow's End without even saying goodbye, and yet he's all she can think about. Death has always prided himself on never trusting the living, but Hanna's apparent betrayal has left a scar fathom's deep. Vowing revenge on his future bride, and making sure she upholds her end of the bargain, Death sets out across his realm to steal Hanna ...

Crown of Crimson, an enthralling dark fantasy romance in the Underworld Gods Series from New York Times Bestselling author Karina Halle, is now available! All Hanna Heikkinen wants is to be reunited with her father again. After all, that's why she ventured into the dark and dangerous fantasy world of Tuonela, the Land of the Dead, in order to save his life. But this time her devotion to her father comes at a cost---her growing relationship with Tuoni, the God of Death himself, who held Hanna captive in exchange for her father's life. The last thing she expects is to feel remorse at leaving Death at his castle of Shadow's End without even saying goodbye, and yet he's all she can think about. Death has always prided himself on never trusting the living, but Hanna's apparent betrayal has left a scar fathom's deep. Vowing revenge on his future bride, and making sure she upholds her end of the bargain, Death sets out across his realm to steal Hanna back,...

***5 Stars*** After meeting the first Grim, I was all in. It was just a fleeting thing, but I was like “Ooohhh. HELLO there.” Because I have a huge jones for the broody ones (hence Kol, my fav Morgon), so I waited patiently (kinda) for a Grim, any Grim really, to get his book and it was soooo worth the wait! This baby didn’t just hit every one of my romance loving buttons, it hit all of my book loving buttons and then some…oh boy, the “and them some” is kinda everything and though I got my Grim craving filled, I seriously just need more. I adored Livvy and Gareth. Both are witty, quick on their feet, snarky and have huge hearts, though one definitely has theirs surrounded by a lot of walls. Their journey to their HEA was all kinds of fun and all kinds of HAWT. The chemistry between them was off the charts. But what I really enjoyed was watching them become closer and more open with each other, even when they didn’t want to. They not only have some great laugh out loud, smexy moments, b...

***5 Stars*** Having read and enjoyed the Blood Magic series, I was all in to dive into this spin off, and I wasn’t disappointed. This was a fun, quick read filled with great characters, both new and old, and a new threat to Tribane. As far as Darya and Peter go, I pretty much adored them. They both have their own issues, especially when you consider who their parents are and all that they went through, but they are really good people with good hearts and seem to know who they are and what they want in life. Watching as they go from just classmates to friends to more was a lot of fun, and quite unique with the whole telepathy thing coming into play. But outside of that, they had a great flow, even when things got awkward and balanced each other out in ways I don’t think they even realized. This book does take place quite a few years after the end of the Blood Magic series and I liked seeing the changes Tribane and its citizens have gone through. Do you NEED to read the Blood Magic seri...

  GETTING GOLD (The Draak Legacy #2)  by Xavier Neal     Release Date: February 24th     Genre/Tropes: PNR/Rom Com PNR    ***5 Stars*** I absolutely enjoyed Saving Silver and couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next in the series and Getting Gold did not disappoint. It was just as much fun as the first book with lots of laughs, heart, heat and a good dose of drama and has me loving these characters and this world even more. I adored Auran, Gold and Anais. They were honestly just so much fun to get to know and watch as they navigated their Fated Mating and all the crazy that comes with it. Auran can be antagonistic and has a huge appetite but has a heart of gold. Anais is feisty. I mean, she may think fate hates her (as per the synopsis) but she doesn’t let it get her down. She pulls on those shitkickers and just keeps moving forward. Their journey to their HEA was a lot of fun to experience, especially with Gold in the mix. They are so well ...

***4 Stars*** I read this book many, many moons ago (at least in booktime) so my memory of it, even with notes, is a bit hazy, but I remember enjoying it..  So after reading it again, I’m hit with a few revelations of sorts. 1) my feelings for Jude and Gen are pretty similar to how I felt about them the first time around.  2) I ended up enjoying it just a little more because I’ve already met, and loved (Dommiel anyone?), many of the other characters in depth that populate this world so it was fun to go back and meet them for the first time..again 3) I still find the world building excellent considering how much information is thrown at the reader. But on to Jude and Gen, as this is their beginning, I liked both of them, even as they drove me batshitcrazy in their own unique ways. Jude is protective, focused, secretive/mysterious and has been through a lot (total understatement). Gen is young, has an old soul, but can be blinded to the big picture and has an impetuous nature th...

In order to save my father, I have to marry the God of Death. River of Shadows by Karina Halle is now live! River of Shadows is an adult dark fantasy romance based on Finnish mythology and the underworld of Tuonela. When 24-year old Hanna Heikkinen's estranged father dies, she reluctantly makes the trip to Northern Finland for his funeral. Being in the enchanting land of ice and snow feels miles away from Hanna's busy life back in Los Angeles, especially under the complicated circumstances. But when Hanna discovers that her father's body is missing, that's when things really get weird. A mysterious man, Rasmus, tells Hanna the truth: her father was a powerful shaman who went into Tuonela, the Realm of the Dead, in order to barter for more life, and has been held captive by Tuoni, the God of Death. The only way her father can be freed is if she travels with Rasmus into the mythical underworld to rescue him. Willing to do anything to have a second-chance ...

***5 ‘Love and Loss Go Hand-in-Hand’ Stars*** As soon as I heard that Wolf and Amethyst were getting their HEA, I started making grabby hands at it because I loved them in Solon and Lenore’s books and totally believed that they needed to be together one way or another and I was not disappointed. Their journey hit all the right buttons for me, even the sniffly teary eyed one, and just made my heart happy when everything was said and done. I adored Amethyst and Wolf. Amethyst is a little spitfire, but she has to be considering she lives and works with vampires. Wolf is charming and protective and just a sweetheart. Their journey to their HEA was a lot of fun because they are friends already. They have a flow I really liked and it was just fun to be around them. Unfortunately, things get a bit bumpy and while I do tend to lean a little more towards Team Amethyst, I hurt for them both, but they end up coming out of it with so much more than they could have ever dreamed of. As emotional as ...