This book contains off the page but referenced miscarriage, threat of sexual assault, reference to child abuse, dementia, murder, explosions, house fire, along with common tropes found in the Romantic Thriller/Romantic Suspense genre, including violence, sex, and strong language. If you are sensitive or easily triggered, please take that into consideration and read responsibly.

Cold Spite by Toni Anderson

Rating -
Book 5 of Cold Justice: Most Wanted
Release - October 14, 2024
Genre - Romantic Thriller / second chance
POV - multiple 3rd person
Heat - vaguely descriptive
Source - eARC provided by the author (THANKS GIVEMEBOOKS)
Length - 446 pages



Five years ago, Cas and Delilah worked an op together and fell in love. The future was theirs until Cas sabotaged everything.
Both were left devastated.
Both were unable to move on.

Fast forward to the present, they're both in danger and there's no one else they'd rather have at their side. Cas has regretted the pain he caused Lilah and she's not sure she can ever forgive him. But a little mayhem and a lot of murder have a way of bringing stubborn people together and I loved how the author gave me that.

These characters had to confront a ton of pain, but they eventually got through it and seemed to be better for it.

There were times that I had to remind myself this wasn't just a love story, despite the many scary events that occurred to and around this couple. They took center stage and the author nailed their second chance together for me.



Toni Anderson writes gritty, sexy, FBI Romantic Thrillers, and is a New York Times and a USA Today bestselling author. Her books have won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense, Readers' Choice, Aspen Gold, Book Buyers' Best, Golden Quill, National Excellence in Story Telling (NEST) Contest, and National Excellence in Romance Fiction awards. She's been a finalist in both the Vivian Contest and the RITA Award from the Romance Writers of America. More than two million copies of her books have been downloaded.

Best known for her "COLD" books perhaps it's not surprising to discover Toni lives in one of the most extreme climates on earth--Manitoba, Canada. Formerly a Marine Biologist, she still misses the ocean, but is lucky enough to travel for research purposes. In January 2016, she visited FBI Headquarters in Washington DC, including a tour of the Strategic Information and Operations Center. She hopes not to get arrested for her Google searches.

Reaver by Larissa Ione

Standalone - Lords of Deliverance #5 / Demonica #10
Rating -
Genre - Paranormal Romance / enemies to lovers / second chance
POV - Dual 3rd person
Heat - descriptive and somewhat explicit
Source - library ebook
Length - 417 pages



Once an irresponsible angel, he lost his wings and became an Unfallen. Helping to save the world gave him back his angel status until he once again disobeyed orders to rescue Harvester. After finding out that for the last five thousand years, Harvester had sacrificed herself to protect his children and the world, Reaver wasn't going to let her be tortured for eternity. And considering their history, a past he's just coming to terms with, there's no way he'll let her go without a fight.

Harvester is being tortured by Satan and the scenes depicted were so eerie. The author did a great job with that and I was scared for this girl. She'd been traumatized so much before, what would this do to her? And when she learned the truth about Reaver, would she give him the chance they never really had before?

All of the scenes in Sheol were amazing and scary. I can't even imagine anyone or anything surviving there and yet, there's a thriving population. The imagination to create this place boggles my mind.

I loved this book so much. I honestly didn't know I'd enjoy it as much as I did. Reaver was such an incredible character, as seen in the previous books, but getting inside his head for once was a special treat. He was brutal and kind and compassionate and deadly. He was honorable and loving and he made it impossible not to love him. Harvester is someone I'm starting to really appreciate and I'm hoping to like her even more as this story continues.

I'm not stopping and I can only hope this series continues for the foreseeable future.

Spoiler -- Reaver is a Radiant (the only beings more powerful than him are Metatron, Satan and God) and his twin brother (equally powerful and a Shadow Angel) is Revenant. Go freaking figure!

Azagoth by Larissa Ione

Standalone - Demonica #11 / Demonica Underworld #1
Genre - Paranormal Romance / forced proximity
POV - Dual 3rd person
Heat - explicit
Source - library ebook
Length - 166 pages

Even in the fathomless depths of the underworld and the bleak chambers of a damaged heart, the bonds of love can heal…or destroy.

He holds the ability to annihilate souls in the palm of his hand. He commands the respect of the most dangerous of demons and the most powerful of angels. He can seduce and dominate any female he wants with a mere look. But for all Azagoth’s power, he’s bound by shackles of his own making, and only an angel with a secret holds the key to his release.

She’s an angel with the extraordinary ability to travel through time and space. An angel with a tormented past she can’t escape. And when Lilliana is sent to Azagoth’s underworld realm, she finds that her past isn’t all she can’t escape. For the irresistibly sexy fallen angel known as Azagoth is also known as the Grim Reaper, and when he claims a soul, it’s forever…

I gave this one 4 stars. Azagoth was a beast, both literally and figuratively, and I easily fell for him. He was scrumptious in the darkest way and I loved the hidden depths to his character. Dude's an empath, he's not really a fallen angel, he's super powerful (especially in his realm), and he deserved someone special. I think Lilli was that person. She was strong and kind and despite coming to him with an agenda, she fell for him as easily as I did. I love how Sheol-gra was coming to life so beautifully in the end and I hope to see more of these two in future stories.


Air Force veteran Larissa Ione traded in a career in meteorology to pursue her passion of writing. She has since published dozens of books, hit several bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today, and has been nominated for a RITA award.

She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case.

She lives in Wisconsin with her retired U.S. Coast Guard husband, her son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhounds, a King Shepherd named Hexe and a Belgian Malinois named Duvel.

Visit https://www.larissaione.com for more information.

Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione

Rating - 1/2
Standalone - Demonica #2
Release - January 1, 2009
Genre - Paranormal Romance / second chance
POV - Multiple 3rd person
Heat - explicit
Source - library ebook
Length - 420 pages

Previous book in the series: Pleasure Unbound



Ever since I learned that Shade and Runa broke up because she caught him in bed with two females, I wondered how the author was going to make them get together again. Seriously, I wouldn't touch him again with a ten-foot pole. Yet here I am, at the end, giving this book five stars because the relationship between these two worked so well for me.

Runa — an innocent woman who was turned into a werewolf against her will. She's angry about the changes to her life and Shade plays a huge role in that. She's sweet and strong and such a wonderful heroine. I wanted her to have the best of happy endings.


Shade — like his brothers, he's on the verge of a major change. Unlike his brothers, he's not looking for a mate because of his curse. If he falls in love he'll experience a fate worse than death. Runa is his greatest temptation and he has to do whatever it takes to resist.


While the subplot continued from the last book, there was so much more going on here. There was betrayal, brotherly love, the romance that was building between Shade and Runa, some red room type of behavior, whatever was brewing between Gem and Kynan (I'm here for it), and tons I'm looking forward to in the books to come.

Seriously, if you love fierce and kind-hearted warrior females, lethal and compassionate males, and the entertaining plots they find themselves in, you'll enjoy this book as much as I did.



Air Force veteran Larissa Ione traded in a career in meteorology to pursue her passion of writing. She has since published dozens of books, hit several bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today, and has been nominated for a RITA award.

She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case.

She lives in Wisconsin with her retired U.S. Coast Guard husband, her son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhounds, a King Shepherd named Hexe and a Belgian Malinois named Duvel.

Visit https://www.larissaione.com for more information.

Beautiful Betrayal by Lisa Renee Jones

Previously published as the Dirty Rich Betrayal duet
Rating - 1/2
Standalone - Scandalous Billionaires #3
Release - March 7, 2024
Genre - Contemporary Romance / second chance
POV - Dual 1st person
Heat - several vaguely descriptive scenes
Source - eARC provided by the author
Length - 460 pages



What do you do when the man you love and what you feel for each other is just too perfect? If you're Mia, when you see the slightest hint of trouble, instead of talking to your billionaire fiance, or trusting in him and what you've built together, you run. I was dumped right in the middle of the beautiful reunion of two lovers who should have never been apart. Unfortunately when you're as incredible as Greyson is (and he really was AMAZING), there's always someone out there who wants to see you fall.

I loved that the author didn't make their reconciliation an easy one. It was an honest look at moving towards forgiveness and accepting the wrongs that each of them committed. Both Greyson and Mia had to work through their feelings of hurt and anger in order to really move forward. It was obviously hard but their love was more than enough to get them through and there was no lack of love in this book.


Did I mention how fantastic Greyson was? I really wish there was more of his POV in this story. I didn't feel like I was in his head enough. He was this strong, charismatic, intelligent, ethical and moral man so full of passion for his woman and I wanted to experience much more of that than I did. Maybe I'm just greedy. But he was so hot and how can getting more of his hotness be a bad thing?


I loved Mia and Greyson so very much and the only thing I didn't like about this story was that it had to end. This story was a second chance romance full of feels, high in intensity, with touches of suspense to keep the plot more than a little bit interesting. The second part read like an extended epilogue and for someone who adores these two (ME!!), it was very appreciated.


New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT series. Suzanne Todd (producer of Alice in Wonderland) on the INSIDE OUT series: Lisa has created a beautiful, complicated, and sensual world that is filled with intrigue and suspense. Sara’s character is strong, flawed, complex, and sexy – a modern girl we all can identify with.

In addition to the success of Lisa’s INSIDE OUT series, she has published many successful titles. The TALL, DARK AND DEADLY series and THE SECRET LIFE OF AMY BENSEN series, both spent several months on a combination of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling lists.

Prior to publishing Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by the Dallas Women’s Magazine. In 1998 Lisa was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

Find it here: Goodreads * Amazon

Sold to the Circus by Lani Lynn Vale

Rating - 1/2
Standalone - Welcome to the Circus #5
Release - January 23, 2024
Genre/Trope - Contemporary Romance / second chance
POV - Dual 1st person
Heat - explicit scenes
Source - eARC provided by the author
Length - 257 pages

Previous books in the series:
Fun House * Freak Show * Show Off * Clown Motel

Even when they were bickering and sniping, or just plain trying to avoid each other, there was no denying the lasting connection between Val and Felix.

They were once a couple, finding their way to forever... and then they were not. When Val's father died, leaving a caveat in his will to force his children back to the circus, she and Felix made a plan to work around her new schedule. But things didn't work out that way and both thought the other had thoroughly abandoned them. All I wanted was for them to finally have a conversation, and when they did, it was amazing to see how fast everything worked out.

Well... sorta.

This was an entertaining read and I found myself amused by a character who tried to cause trouble.


I found it so very easy to like Val and Felix. They were such warm and fun characters and their story was both emotional and realistic. Will Keene be next or will we watch Zip fall first?



Lani Lynn Vale is an American author of humorous romantic suspense novels. Born in the Great State of Texas, she has lived the majority of her adult life in East Texas where most of her novels are based. She’s married to her high school sweetheart whom her readers refer to as “LLV’s Bearded Half.” She published her first novel, Boomtown. in the summer of 2013 after the birth of her third child. She’s gone on to publish over 100 novels, with most of them going on to become USA Today bestsellers.