R21: Team #1 ~ First Ladies Are One in a Million

[Christina (AKA Babbling)]

Swoon- worthy
The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren March 21, 2022 ★★★★★

This is the first book I've read from this author. I really enjoyed the premise. Jess is a statistician and River is a geneticist so they are both data nerds. Jess is initially skeptical of their high score, but she's willing to get to know him during the three months until the company goes public. Sweet romance.

[Rachel-RN]

Swoon-worthy
Devil in Disguise
Finished 3/24 4*

Merritt is the oldest daughter of Lillian and Marcus from the Wallflowers series. Keir is an orphan from Scotland. Merritt is a widow and runs her husband's shipping company. Keir and Merritt meet when he ships his barrels of whiskey to sell in London. He owns a whiskey distillery in Scotland.
Sparks fly. And someone is trying to kill Keir. Ethan, Garrett, Sebastion, Evie, Marcus, Lillian, Phoebe all make appearances. Keir finds out his real parentage in this one. I will say I'm not sure how I felt about that. Yes, I know he is a reformed rake and has a past, but still......
(view spoiler)[Keir's father is Sebastion, his mother was Cordelia, she was married (unhappily) to a Viscount- Lord Ormonde. And since they were married, Keir is seen as Ormonde's heir (hide spoiler)]

[Rachel-RN]

Kindle Freebie
Enchant: Beauty and the Beast Retold
Finished 3/27, 3*
Zuleika inherited her mother's magic. At 16 she travels to Kin Thorne's palace in order to save and protect her family. Thorn wants a curse. Zuleika curses her mother's mirror (the first person to look into it will see the darkest part of themselves as will other people. The place the individual calls home will also be overlooked. This will isolate them leading to a lonely and reclusive existence). Thorn, of course, is an entitled asshole who takes what he wants. This includes Zuleika.
Several years later, having fled from Thorn and traveled to several lands, she goes on a mission to find out what has happened to her merchant father's ships. They will be destitute if they are not found. This leads her to Vardan's island. It turns out that Vardan is Thorn's younger brother and he is the one Thorn gave the mirror too.
I like fairy-tale retellings (especially B & the B) and this kept a lot of the original, but was unique too. But, there were things I didn't like and kept this from being rated higher. While Zuleika's rape was brief, I felt this was used as a plot point for much of the book. She had sworn off men. Until she meet Vardan. I also didn't like that Thorn and Vardan looked alike. They weren't twins, so I felt that wasn't necessary (since Zuleika saw Thorn when she looked at Vardan). The rest will be behind a spoiler. (view spoiler)[Apparently Vardan's penis was enchanted when he was 16 and he will always please a woman (and it glows). Trauma was cured by the magical penis! (hide spoiler)]

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, First Ladies!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'UF'. 

[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congratulations on the stamp FLOTUS!

[Shan ~A~]

Completion Post
Shelf #8 ~ Kindle Freebie
Book: At Any Price
Author: Brenna Aubrey
Finished: 03/30
How it fits: Kindle Freebie List
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Rating: 2 stars
Review: I have mixed feelings about the characters in this book. One the one hand I thought Mia was a strong independent woman, until she wasn't in the way she professed to want to be independent. The whole not needing someone to save her, but she was constantly needing the help, but wasn't gracious enough to except it without stating that she didn't need the help, when she actually did.

I think she mixing up needing to be independent with having to much pride and being too damaged to except help when it's offered.

Adam was an asshat from the beginning and I never really warmed up to him after his behavior during their first meeting. The towards the end when I decide to feel sorry for him, he turns around and does something even more idiotic to prove what a douche he can be.

Still, I loved the idea of a woman selling her virginity on her own terms. At the same time I was glad to see that they didn't shy away from the reality of doing this, especially the legal issues.

As for the "plot twist" that was revealed towards the end, none of it was a mystery. It was clear as the sky on a sunny, cloudless day.

Will I read or listen to more books in this series? Most likely, but not because I'm particularly interested in knowing more about this couple (especially after reading some of the other reviews). I was gifted a few other books in this series, so I will eventually get around to listening to those.

[Shan ~A~]

still working on my swoon-worthy book

[Rachel-RN]

For paranormal romance (winning shelf for teams 4 and 10)
I'm reading Storm Crossed by Dani Harper. Shelved 6 X.

[Christina (AKA Babbling)]

from the SOS pr shelf
The Darkest King by Gena Showalter

[Rachel-RN]

Bingo is all over, team 4 won.

[Rachel-RN]

Paranormal Romance
Storm Crossed
Finished 4/1, 3*

It's been awhile since I've read the other 3 in this series. I could argue this works as a stand alone, but it is better enjoyed if you've read the first 2 books in the series since Morgan & Rhys and Brooke & Aidan are in this one. This one is about Lizzy and her son Fox. Fox is super special in that he has an enormous amount of magical ability. Complicating that is Fox also has Asperger's. Lizzy has adapted her life to accommodate that.
Trahern is a fae sorcerer. A long time ago, his brother (Braith) fell in love with the wrong woman and refused marriage to another of the Queen's chosing. He was cursed into a Grim. Fox is able to communicate with Braith. Braith has a way of centering Fox. Trahern senses his untrained magic and agrees to teach. There is an instant attraction between Lizzy and Trahern that gradually turns into more.
I had a hard time getting into this one. I might have enjoyed this more, had I not waited awhile to read it since reading the first 2.

[Shan ~A~]

Completion Post
Shelf #7: Swoon-worthy
Book: The Spanish Love Deception
Author: Elena Armas
Finished: 04/01
How it fits: From swoonworthy shelf
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Rating: 3 stars
Review: I actually had mixed feelings about the characters of this book.

Catalina is in need of a fake boyfriend for her sister's wedding, since she lied and told her mother that she was dating someone after finding out her ex (the groom's brother) was going to be there with his fiancée. Aaron overhears the conversation and volunteers his services.

The thing is Aaron and Catalina are bitter enemies at work, so she objects wholeheartedly. The thing is there is a very thin line between love and hate.

I think this book would have benefited it had been dual pov, because just seeing Aaron in the beginning from Lina's pov made it hard for me to warm up to him. I suspected some things that made me not completely dislike him, but it wasn't easy getting past what Lina thought of him since that's all I got.

By the time it got to the trip to Spain, my thoughts were made clear, and we finally get the details of what makes Lina so leery of relationships. That's when the book got good for me. Seeing them open up to one another, learning more about the both of them because they finally started communicating honestly with each other.

[Shan ~A~]

Rachel- Goodbye Borders wrote: "Bingo is all over, team 4 won."

Thanks for letting us know Rachel. It seemed like it went by too fast.