One of the things I love about the bookish world is that one book can evoke different feelings in all sorts of readers. One book can be a five-star read for me and a DNF for someone else. We all see something different because we're all different and I love exploring those differences by reading reviews.

Full disclosure: I read these books years ago, but I do remember enjoying them. Have you read them? Are you interested?

Virgin (A Real Man #2) by Jenika Snow

Quinn
I met Isabel when I was ten.
I fell in love with her before I even knew what that meant.
I knew from the moment I saw her she was it for me. No one else compared to her, and I’d do anything to make her mine. But I was afraid of losing the friendship we have, so I've kept my mouth shut.
But she's leaving me, and I know I can't keep how I feel inside any longer.
Saving myself for the girl I loved isn't a hardship, but something I'm proud of. When it comes to Isabel giving her my virginity, and making her see we belong together, is all that matters.

Isabel
Quinn is like the other half of my soul, the one person I can talk to about anything. He has the bad boy thing going on but is also respectful as much as he is a rebel.
He is the first and only boy I will ever love.
Being forced to move across the country, and leave him behind is like leaving a piece of myself in the process. But telling Quinn, I am madly in love with him could put a strain on our friendship. I didn’t know if that’s something I can handle or risk.

Quinn
Nothing can keep me from Isabel. She is it for me, and I mean that in every conceivable way. Nothing can keep me from her. I hope she's ready because there isn't anything or anyone that will stop me from having her as mine.

Devil (now known as Memory) by Ker Dukey

Evi Devil.
Yes, that’s really my name.
The irony is not lost on me.
I was created from two evil souls and have the name to prove it.
Devil worshipers, perverts, murderer. Is all terms used to describe the parents I refuse to remember. My mind won’t allow me to.
And why would I want to?
One born of dirty blood running through her veins can never truly be clean from its murky hue.
No matter what they try to tell me happened in my past, my mind denies me access, therefore how can I know it’s true?
How can I believe that’s what I’m born from?
Glimpses of my past haunt me, the screams of terror echo in the silent darkness of my memories, trying to remind me that my Mother went from room to room butchering our family.
I’ve learned from scars that I suffered abuse and that my Father and siblings weren’t my Mother’s only victims.
Hearing what they tell me.
Reading the words printed in the papers. None of it can prepare me for what’s to come.
My biggest lesson is learning that some memories we suppress for a reason.

Cut & Blow Pt.1 by Ashley Giannoccaro

The smell of perm lotion and the sound of the dryer’s blowing hot air camouflages the truth, the lies, and the real stories behind the people inside the hair salon.
Cut & Blow flash in neon lights above the glass front of the outdated shop, but inside young talent shave and layer hair while making small talk with clients, that over share.
Ailee is a twenty-year old stylist with more secrets of her own than she hears from others on a daily basis. But, when a tall, long haired customer comes in and seduces her with his deep voice, the skeletons come tumbling out her closet before she can shut the door. Falling in love with him is like stepping off a ledge, she knows it won’t end well, but it feels so good on the way down.
Rainieri watches his wife from a distance, until he just cannot watch any longer. Through the salon window he sees someone else taking what is his, setting off his possessive streak. When she doesn’t get his subtle messages and her stubborn nature won’t give up, he steps in to take what was his all along.

Monsters come in many forms.
Some want shiny new toys to play with—others want blood.
Mona Walters dreams of adventure, of a world beyond the shoreline she’s confined to. She yearns for vibrancy in her dull, mundane existence, but succumbs to the bleakness.
Until the necklace her sister wore the night she was brutally murdered shows up on her door wrapped in a neat bow, fueling her to run away and seek out the person responsible for stealing her sister’s life.
Mona wished for more—for color in her gray world.
What she didn’t realize was just how much more she would get.
And that the world outside her own was soaked in red—blood red.
The world she dreamed of is made of nightmares.
A rich, influential world of two brothers—and once they have her in their sights, they plan to keep her there.
Her father kept her secluded for a reason.
Be careful what you wish for.
There's a thief out there, and he's coming for Mona's heart.

Find it here:
Goodreads * Amazon

What if your entire reality changed on you one day?
You wake up and your family and friends aren't who you thought they were.
You look around, and the world isn't what you thought it was.
You don't even recognize yourself.
You and your reality are a complete mystery to you.

Simone's life was about to undergo that disturbing journey.
Love, lust, death, betrayal.

How do you fight the devil himself when he consumes you with lust?

How can you love someone who has come to take back your brother’s soul?

Shamar, soul keeper and son of Death, had never met such a unique soul before Simone. Captivated by her, he broke all rules to be near her -- to love and protect her. But how do you protect someone from evil when the forces of good seem to be working against you?

When Lucifer himself crawled from Hell to claim Simone, what sacrifices would Shamar make to keep her safe?

"Never look down Simone, only up"

Evi Devil.
Yes, that is really my name.
The irony is not lost on me.
I was created from two evil souls and have the name to prove it.
Devil worshipers, perverts, murderer. Is all terms used to describe the parents I refuse to remember.
My mind will not allow me to.
And why would I want to?
One born with dirty blood running through her veins can never truly be clean from its murky hue.
No matter what they try to tell me happened in my past, my mind denies me access, therefore how can I know it is true?
How can I believe that is what I am born from?
Glimpses of my past haunt me, the screams of terror echo in the silent darkness of my memories, trying to remind me that my Mother went from room to room butchering our family.
I have learned from scars that I suffered abuse and that my Father and siblings were not my Mother’s only victims.
Hearing what they tell me.
Reading the words printed in the papers. None of it can prepare me for what’s to come.
My biggest lesson is learning that some memories we suppress for a reason.

This book contains dark themes and explicit sex. Read with caution.

I don't want to love.
I don't want to feel.
I don't want... empathy.

I’m hungry.
My greed is insatiable.
I’m a slave to the need. The drive for more. For everything.
Once I decide I want something, the greed for it consumes me.
I want answers.
I want justice.
I want vengeance.
I want HER.

My best friend and his sister—the girl I vowed could trust in me and whom I would always protect—dropped off the map two years ago. My own father pledged assurances that they'd been living a life they deserved.

Lies. Lies. Lies.
Hell hath no fury like a man who has no fucks to give and a mission to fulfill his promise.

I may be a greedy sonofabitch, but I’m also a loyal one. Cross me or my brothers, and I’ll come for your throat. And my teeth are razor sharp.

Release: February 22, 2019
Genre: Dark Thriller
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat: Descriptive
Type: Standalone novella
Length: 143 pages
Format: eARC provided by the author

Ever get that feeling you’re being watched?
You probably are.

Her sad eyes.
Her thick lips.
Her long dark hair.
Her quickening of breath.
Her hurried footsteps.
Her undiluted fear.

The anxiety a woman has when she knows she’s being followed does something to the sadistic animal inside me.

My sister and I had our childhood tarnished by an abusive parent. We grew up two very different breeds of our mothers’ creation.

When I discover the beautiful, yet broken, Alice Young. She’s seeking advice, a place to unburden her thoughts.

What she gets is a dangerous, callous predator who wants to quench his thirst with her tears.

My precious, Alice, feels so alone, but she’s not alone. I’m watching her.

Erik Ross feeds on the fear of others.

Alice Young may prove to be too damaged, for even his appetite.

Goodreads | Amazon

FREE in Kindle Unlimited

The Vetrov name comes with expectation.
My role in this world is simple: do as Father asks and live my life how he planned it.

My future is already written: run the empire.
Old Values. Old Rule. Old Money.
Until her.

Everything I do lacks purpose.
Everything I do is empty.
Women. Money. Power. It meant nothing.
Until her.

When the Volkov rose showed up at my home a disgraced package, hand-delivered by a Vasiliev prince, I began paving my own path.
I vowed to make her bloom once more.

She consumed me.
Her. Her. Her.

But you can’t love a rose and expect not to be damaged by her thorns.
She cut me too deep.
And I bled out.
My soul fled.
All that’s left is a cold, calculating monster.

I am Veniamin.
Volcanic. Victorious. Valiant. Vetrov.
When you enter my world to play games, prepare to lose.
In the end, I always find the thorn in my side, and I pluck it right out.

Betrayal and rage, a festering sting.
Monster vs Master. Who will be king?

Damaged and desperate, a solution they must find, To bring back the dolly who is one of a kind.

Disloyalty and failure will not be forgiven.
Seeking revenge, the monster is driven.

Hungry for his affection, our master has waited. These broken dollies lives have already been fated.

The storm is upon us, the chaos raining down, Now that the big players have come to town.

Who will come out breathing with their prize by their side? And who will be collateral damage along for the ride?