Book Review: The Deal (Off-Campus Book 1) by Elle Kennedy

Title: The Deal
Author: Elle Kennedy
Series: Off-Campus #1
Pages: 342
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤

She's about to make a deal with the college bad boy...

Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she's carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush's attention, she'll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice... even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.

...and it's going to be oh so good.

All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he's worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he's all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn't take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn't going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.

I needed a break from my usual action-packed supernatural books and thought I'd switch it up with some entertaining contemporary romance. I definitely was not disappointed when I picked up The Deal by Elle Kennedy!

This was such an entertaining easy read and I devoured it in two days! Don't get me wrong, the characters without a doubt had their flaws, but they were so cheesy and funny that I couldn't help but root for our main two, Hannah and Garrett. I really enjoyed how the perspectives changed between the two also!

Based upon my history of rom-coms and other contemporary romances, I already knew what to expect based upon the synopsis of the book. Despite ultimately knowing what is inevitably bound to happen, I can't help but love books such as this very one! I loved the type of humor and was kept on the edge of my seat whenever I main protagonists would have a crisis or encounter forces that tried to tear them apart.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and how our "broken" characters were able to find one another and help the other heal. It was a great, funny, steamy, and pretty dang cute!

"I’ve never met anyone who sleeps with so many pillows. Maybe he needs them to cradle his massive ego."

Book Review: Mindbreaker (Cassidy Edwards Book 3) by Carmen Caine

Title: Mindbreaker
Author: Carmen Caine
Series: Cassidy Edwards #3
Pages: 267
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤

Revenge. After my first taste, I find I like it. But as I maneuver my way through danger, my idea of revenge is turned on its head.

My name is Cassidy. Cassidy Edwards. And I'm the first of my kind.

The Job
Finding just who broke Dorian Ramsey's puppet curse and set the powerful vampire free. Only I've got a personal conflict of interest this time--it was me.

The Team
A Drake itching for any excuse to pin the crime on me--guilty or not. A Keeper wanting to pitch me in a Nether Reach prison--just for existing. A Warlock I barely recognize.

The Curve Ball
Dancing my way through the evidence, I uncover an avalanche of answers regarding my past and discover nothing is truly what it seems.

The previous installment in the Cassidy Edwards series left our MC in a bit of a predicament. Eager to find out how she was going to escape being found out by the fire drake, I immediately dove into Mindbreaker.

Although I did find the storyline intriguing, I actually had a hard time getting through it quickly. I wanted so badly for some major action to happen! It wasn’t until later on in the last third of the book or so that things started to go haywire and secrets were revealed. At this point in the book, I was completely enthralled in Cassidy’s story! This was the action I had been waiting for!! The shocking, action-packed ending of the book made reading the slower beginning of the book so worth it! It felt good to finally get a few answers!

In addition to the revelations, I enjoyed the puzzle that the author created. Once certain things were revealed I figured out that I could have seen this coming all along and figured out the mystery, if only I had picked up on the little bread crumbs along the way. As an avid watcher of crime shows and mysteries, I was very disappointed in my dismal mystery solving skills while reading this book. At the same time, however, not having things already figured out made the events that unfolded that much more shocking. I can’t wait to get started on book four and learn even more about Cassidy, Lucian, the Mindbreaker, and of course Ricky!!

Book Review: Spellfinder (Cassidy Edwards Book 2) by Carmen Caine

Title: Spellfinder
Author: Carmen Caine
Series: Cassidy Edwards #1
Pages: 261
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Revenge. Until now, my revenge was more of an idea. A fantasy. A mere whisper of what revenge should be. But it was a seed—and it was time for it to sprout.

My name is Cassidy. Cassidy Edwards. And I'm the first of my kind.

The Job
Hunting a mysterious force attacking the House of Rowle with spells of the most malevolent, arachnid kind.

The Players
A wickedly handsome warlock-of-a-boss, a hostile Nether Reach Keeper hell-bent on my arrest, and a vampire who just might believe that he’s my father.

My Problem
As my new Spellfinding gig plunges me deeper into the world of the Charmed Mafia, destiny presents the king of all conflicts … forcing me to walk a tightrope of lust and betrayal as the monster inside me awakens.

As with the first installment, Caine had me enthralled in her world filled with magic and the supernatural. She has a great way of leaving you wanting to know more. As I was going through the book, I did not want to put it down, but I guess I have to sleep too right?

In this story, Cassidy finds herself further down her path to revenge, and learns what revenge truly feels like. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes, but the real question is, is she ready to do just that. Is she willing to lose the people that she has come to care about? I’ll zip my lips on what comes next so as to not spoil anything! (There is nothing worse than spoilers!)

Anyways, I also really enjoyed how the story progressed, and quite relished the LOL moments! That Ricky just has a knack for causing problems!

Book Review: Monster (Cassidy Edwards Book 1) by Carmen Caine

Title: Monster
Author: Carmen Caine
Series: Cassidy Edwards #1
Pages: 282
My Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤

Revenge. It’s all I've lived for. Revenge against those who stacked the cards against me from the start. But I’m changing the deck now. I’m getting even. Born to a vampire, I wasn’t supposed to survive—but I did.

My name is Cassidy. Cassidy Edwards. And I’m the first of my kind.

The Job
Trapping a sixteenth-century Scottish Highlander of a vampire who just might be seduction itself.

The Team
A firedrake with an attitude, a werewolf with a problem, and an imp in dire need of rehab.

The Boss
A dangerously powerful warlock as handsome as sin.

My Problem:
Bluffing my way into a job, my first mission into the Charmed world opens a Pandora’s box of betrayal and secrets... along with attractions of the most lethal kind.

Monster turned out to be a really interesting and funny read! From the moment I opened the book, I was sucked in and just had to keep reading it. The overall world and story created by Caine was very intriguing! I especially loved the inclusion of Ricky, the rehab-Imp. He was super funny! I really enjoyed the part where he took over 1000 selfies!! He truly was some great comic relief! Additionally I enjoyed Cassidy’s story. She had no choice in a situation that forever changed her. I would be wanting a little revenge myself! She is a super snarky character that knows what she wants and goes after it. I can’t wait to see what trouble she can get into next, especially under the employ of the mysterious Lord Rowle...

Book Review: Half Wolf by Aimee Easterling

Title: Half Wolf
Author: Aimee Easterling
Series: Alpha Underground #1
Pages: 226
My Rating: ❤❤❤

Every werewolf knows the meek don't inherit the earth. Fen Young is a half-shifter whose inner beast is more mouse than wolf. Home is her castle, the only place she's ever felt safe. Enter Hunter Green, an uber-alpha strong enough to stop traffic with a single look. He's handsome and enticing and seems like just the ticket to broaden Fen's horizons...until the uber-alpha brushes off his admirer and summarily rejects her from her home pack. Now treading water in the no-man's land of outpack territory, Fen must confront a missing pack mate, a tantalizing stranger, and a serial killer targeting half-werewolves. Will she be able to shore up her waning power in time to save her friend...and half-breeds everywhere...before it's too late?

I found the first installment in the Alpha Underground series to be entertaining, however, I found myself wanting something more. Although the characters were interesting, I wanted more depth to them and to their interactions. I believe they all had the potential to be complex characters, but instead fell flat to me. I wanted to know more about Fen's pack mates and why they would want to leave the safety of an established pack to follow Fen into outpack territory.

Additionally, I was seriously rooting for Fen. I believed that she would come into her own and find her strength as a leader. Instead I was disappointed in her development. I know that she is young and cannot possibly know everything about leading a pack, but I at least expected more from her. I did not really feel like she ever took the time to get to know her pack members and form connections with them. She had zero idea that Ginger even had a crush on her. Not only did she not form connections with her pack mates, but she never formed a connection with her actual legitimate mate, Hunter.

The interactions between Fen and Hunter were few and far between, yet she would drool over him and throw herself at him as soon as he would decide to come into the picture. I needed a lot more to that little relationship. It just seemed extremely rushed and a bit lacking to me. Overall, Fenn's decisions always seemed somewhat rushed to me, and I greatly questioned her decision making skills. She trusted the first person that seemed to help her, and allowed him into the pack despite Lia having apprehensions about him. This was just shady to me. I know you need help, but you don't want to compromise any of your pack mates feelings of safety. Even knowing how Lia felt about him, she wouldn't limit their interactions together. This was very odd to me.

Although I did have quite a few hangups with certain parts of the story and the characters, I did find the book to be entertaining. I believe that the book did have a lot of potential, and I only hope that as the series continues, more growth and depth is instilled in the characters.