TOP TEN BOOK SERIES THAT SHOULD BE ADAPTED INTO NETFLIX SHOWS

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

How it works:
Every Tuesday a topic is assigned and then you post a top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join in and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

This week’s TTT topic was submitted by Nushu @ Not A Prima Donna Girl, and it’s a fun one!

The Walsh Series by Kate Canterbary

Genre – Contemporary Romance
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074BC45SX

For fans of Pride & Prejudice and Bridget Jones.
This was one of the authors I discovered when I got an ereader and rediscovered my love of reading. She is still a favourite, and one of a handful of contemporary authors I still read.
The series features 4 brothers and 2 sisters struggling to find their HEA’s in a world that hasn’t always been kind to them. I loved every single book in the series and fully expect, if I ever visit Boston, to bump into at least one of the couples, they feel THAT real. The banter between the siblings is hilarious, the sex scenes are scorching hot and the feels, oh the feels these books give you…. just keep the tissues handy.

The 1000 Revolutions by Pippa DaCosta

Genre – Space Opera Science Fiction
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7PQ6WL

For fans of Star Trek and I, Robot.
The series isn’t quite finished yet, though another (the final?) book is in the works.
Caleb Sheppard is the consummate off -the-rails, not-quite-honest-but-not-bad, heart-in-the-right-place ship’s captain. Fran, his sometimes second, is 100% untrustworthy and One, One will steal your heart. This is the book equivalent of Star Wars, where I want more and more of the characters. In the words of Depeche Mode “I just can’t get enough”.

Chicago Syndicate by Soraya Naomi

Genre – Mafa Romance
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CG3RH4

For those who wanted more romance and less graphic violence in The Godfather.
I’m showing my lack of series watching using streaming services! However who doesn’t love a mafia story? And even better is a mafia story with love! The balance of action, intrigue, smuttiness and *aww* moments is perfect.

Preyfinders by Cari Silverwood

Genre – SFR
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074CDY6HW

Ideal for those who got turned on by seeing Princess Leia in slave chains.
I did consider suggestion the Machinery of Desire series by the same author, but on reflection I felt that this series, set in a very near future Earth, would have that element of realism. Plus it’s got hot aliens in it. Hot, alpha aliens who will do anything to keep their Earthwoman safe.
Both this and MoD would make great streamed series’ as the author has amazing world building skills and great creativity. And although it’s a trilogy there are a couple of spin off books too.

The Veil Series by Pippa DaCosta

Genre – Urban Fantasy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FK7WCLR

Suitable for me!!!! Possibly also fans of Lucifer (though I haven’t watched that yet) and anyone who loves a good demon.
Muse/Charlie is a half demon who has escaped, through the veil, to Earth, where she is hiding out. The series features an epic battle of good verses evil, though not everyone is who they first appear to be. And if you thought Lucifer was hot, just wait until you meet Akil, The Prince of Greed – I guarantee he will steal your heart!
There is also a 3 book spin off series for even more demon hotness.

The Sanctuary Series by Robert J Crane

Genre – Epic Fantasy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FK6F2V8

Game of Thrones meets The Hobbit, so suitable for all geeks and Dungeons and Dragons fans.
This is possibly Game of Thrones meets LoTR meets King Arthur. It contains adventures within adventures and the books are unputdownable. I would LOVE to see this made into a TV series.

Darkness Series by K.F. Breene

Genre – Urban Fantasy/ PNR
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074C7KCBL

Suitable for Buffy and Twilight fans who have grown up and want a story with more substance.
Hot vampires, witches, shifters and other paranormal creatures abound in this series of the little guy battling the bad guys who are in charge. It’s a few years since I last read the series but I still remember how much I enjoyed it.

Cartwright Brothers by Lilliana Anderson

Genre – Contemporary Romance
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GHQ91DF

Suitable for those who love seeing a roguish bad boy tamed.
Fool Me Twice had almost a rom-com feel to it, but by the final book, Fool’s Paradise, the feel was more serious and more poignant. In many ways this is a coming of age series, even though the guys are all adults. However until they meet the right girl, they’d never quite grown up. Well, apart from Toby and boy was there ever a guy more deserving of finding lasting happiness.

Men of the North by Elin Peer

Genre – Dystopian/SFR
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0753JKMTT

Suitable for everyone!
The whole series is about overcoming differences, accepting others for who they are and finding common ground.
Elin Peer has created a world that offers so much opportunity for exploration and a truly enthralling series could be created, based on these books.

Den of Mercenaries/ The Kingmaker Saga by London Miller

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Genre – Romantic Suspense/Organised Crime
Den of Mercenaries – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074C3HL2F
Kingmaker Saga – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MPBR7C1

Suitable for those who love an action packed, twisty and gripping story.
The two series’ are interlinked and feature the same characters and events but from different perspectives. Whilst in each DoM book there is a stand alone story, with a secondary story running throughout, the Kingmaker Saga focuses on one couple and the secondary story, that is theirs, throughout the series.
London Miller cleverly weaves lots of tiny little details together in such a way that you don’t spot the bigger picture, and where all those smaller parts fit, until the big reveal. These two would definitely make a very popular TV series.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Loved but Never Reviewed

For the last few years I’ve become obsessive about reviewing books. It’s more than likely due to having had a series addiction to arc reading, where there is an automatic commitment to reviewing.

Goodreads is what really drew me in, and it’s still my preferred review site, due in part to how easy it is to search for and find old reviews – it’s almost impossible on Amazon to do that – the ability to add shelves/tags to the review and the <spoiler> </spoiler> option. I find it flexible enough to hash my thoughts out on there, whilst the recently added auto save option prevents those awful moments, I’ve had in the past, where a technical glitch has wiped out at least half an hours review writing effort.

The purchasing of my kindle preceded my joining of Goodreads by around nine months, and I certainly didn’t make best use of the site until 2017, so I do at least have books that I haven’t reviewed, at least not in detail just after completing the book. Normally for TTT I jump straight to Goodreads for inspiration – obviously I won’t be doing that this week! Instead I’m going to look up the books I purchased early in my ereader ownership.

1 – The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

I got this as a freebie and enjoyed it so much I immediately bought the second book too. However I then found more free books, including some romance ones and was soon caught in a genre that I haven’t yet escaped. Not that I really want to!

2 – Ghostwalker by Ben Cassidy

Technically I did add a review for this book, but I wrote it over a year after reading it. And it’s a real bare bones review so I’m not counting it. The saddest thing is that whilst writing the series the author was diagnosed with cancer. Whilst he has, thankfully, survived the series has never been completed. However I would still recommend reading the books that ARE available because it’s a great fantasy story.

3 – Balanced on a Blade’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker

A sentient sword, a woman with magical abilities who has been in stasis for several hundred years and a pilot who has grown up in a world where magic is prohibited. This was another “freebie” book, but I find this author’s writing so good that I then went on to read all the books in the series, along with her entire back catalogue!

4 – Defender by Robert J Crane

I don’t think I reviewed any of this series – which is a crying shame because it is epic fantasy at it’s best. I love, love, loved this series – hmm I can feel a re-read coming on!

5 – Born of Water by Autumn M. Birt

This was another fantasy series that I read back in 2016. I’m not quite sure why I’m no longer reading books like this. Oh yes I do, I joined a silly number of arc teams and didn’t have time to read them any longer. This is part of the reason for wanting to step back from a few teams.

6 – Mercenary Instinct by Ruby Lionsdrake

I suspect these are the books that led me into becoming a romance addict! A great mix of science fiction and sex.

7 – The Change by Teyla Branton

An Urban Fantasy series that ticked all the boxes for me. I wish I could read the series for the first time again. It’s been so long since I read it that it probably would feel like a first read if I did pick these up again.

8 – Betrayal by Pippa DaCosta

Unlike many of the authors on this list, Pippa DaCosta is one that I’m still reading today. I adore her work and do recommend it to any fan of urban fantasy and or science fiction. It’s also worth checking out her MM alter ego, Ariana Nash.

9 – Underneath It All by Kate Canterbary

I don’t like this newest cover, however I DO love the book. It’s a hot and sexy contemporary romance with a nice side helping of humour. The series only gets better from here, and it’s worth reading for the family interactions alone!

10 – Playing For Keeps by R.L. Mathewson

The Neighbor from Hell series is excellent. The characters seem to truly exist and you almost expect to bump into them in the street. These books made me laugh out loud, which is more difficult than making me cry! Yet another series that needs a re-read.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Make Me Smile

This weeks prompt was kindly suggested by Julia @ pagesforthoughts, with the meme being hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.


Other than Terry Pratchett, I can’t think of many books that have made me really laugh out loud, but there are definitely plenty of books and authors who make me smile, giggle or just generally brighten my reading day.

1 Eternally Yours Series by Tara West

The first book of the series, Divine and Dateless, was a freebie. One which was good enough to have me buying the rest of the series about a fallen angel with perpetually bad hair and a sexy grim reaper. Lots of crazy adventures to be found in this wacky PNR series

2 Lucky In Love Series by Lila Monroe

In fact almost any book by Lila Monroe will raise a smile on even the dullest of days. Her characters are filled with warmth whilst the humour feels a very natural part of the story. This is an author whose work has never disappointed me.

3 Blue Balls by R.C. Boldt

I discovered the author through Clam Jam and then this book. The rest of her work is fair more contemporary in nature, which is a real shame because these two books are magnificent and very funny rom-coms.

4 Darcy Comes First for a Change (Love is a Beach) by Lilliana Anderson

Whilst not strictly a rom-com, between the heroine’s filterless grandmother and wiser-than-his-years son this is one amazing beach read. Lilliana Anderson is an amazing author, and her antipodean stories of love always warm my heart.

5 Immortal Matchmakers Series by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

I’ve not actually read the whole series, but what I have read has proved to be hugely entertaining and great fun. Each book features a totally slightly madcap god (or goddess) and their significant other, with a story arc running through the whole series.

6 Modern Love Series by Piper Rayne

Piper Rayne are a writing duo that offer fun and flirty reads. One of the aspects I really liked are the strong friendships between characters, this series features a group of three women who are there for each other through thick and thin. Whilst I did feel that subsequent series became a little repetitive, the books are still very enjoyable.

7 Mated on Hades by Golden Angel

The author took two very cliched SFR tropes of fated mates and mail order brides, shook them up, added a wonderful dollop of wit and humour and produced a refreshing and wonderful story.

8 Home Run King by Stella

Stella is a joint pen name for Stephie Walls and Leddy Harper. In this book they created two very likeable protagonists and drizzled just enough angst into the story to balance the super sweet cuteness and funny parts.

9 Fool Me Twice by Lilliana Anderson

This is the first book in a series of linked stand alone romances. This one felt more like a rom-com, and definitely had moments of high humour. Subsequent books became a little more serious, though the whole series still maintained a lighter feel to it.

10 The Princess Tied by Cari Silverwood

This is based on The Princess Bride, so what more is there to say really? The humour is snarky, witty and snappy, with great dialogue, surreal situations and a quick-witted princess.

Top Ten Tuesday – Authors I’ve Read the Most Books By

So the question here is when to start counting from. Do I include my late teens and early to mid twenties, which were longer ago then I care to admit? What about those few books I read whilst my children were young? I know I read a LOT of Enid Blyton as a child, and of course all the Peter and Jane books that we had in the UK for learning to read. My Uni years saw a transition from Catherine Cookson and Meave Binchy to Mercedes Lackey and Katherine Kerr. I won’t include those, mainly because I can’t remember just how many of their books I HAVE read, but I will include those authors I’ve read since getting my kindle 5 years ago and one who I continued to read, even after my children curtailed it as a major pastime.


Most of my featured authors you won’t have heard of, unless you read indie romance authors who self publish. I’m hoping you HAVE heard of the first one though. They aren’t in any particular order.

1 – Terry Pratchett (dozens!)

With the exception of some of the very last books he published, I’ve read most of the discworld series, so I’m assuming he is the author I’ve read most. His magical combination of wit and world building have never disappointed me and I can read his books again and again and again.

2 – Cari Silverwood (30+)

From a rom-com with a paranormal edge, written under another pen name, through sci-fi , fantasy and to historical, I’ve not read a Cari Silverwood book I haven’t loved. And I’ve read one heck of a lot of them!

3 – Pippa DaCosta (30+ if you include her alternative pen name)

This author takes me back to my late teens and early twenties, when I simply couldn’t read enough science fiction and fantasy. Her world building always is amazing and her characters have been known to reduce my to a blubbering mess on more than one occasion. She’s also one of those evil authors who enjoys torturing her readers by killing of characters you love.

4 – Measha Stone (26)

Another who has slowly transformed from writing BDSM with a heart, to much darker stories with challenging anti-heroes. Her Owned and Protected series are my favourite by this author.

5 – Lindsay Buroker (high 20’s)

Lindsay Buroker was one of the first sci-fi/fantasy authors I discovered after I got my e-reader. I was immediately drawn into the worlds she created, falling in love with her characters and devouring all her back catalogue in a few weeks. I still get excited when I see she has a new release out.

6 – Livia Grant (high teens)

I found Livia Grant through the BlackLight series. It’s set in the world of BDSM but is a much more realistic, whilst still fictionalised, account of the lifestyle than a certain more famous series of books. With believable characters and emotional storylines, Livia isn’t afraid to push boundaries.

7 – Chelle Bliss (low 20’s)

Another author I discovered via a free book in my early e-reader days. Her tattooed bad boy heroes are unapologetically alpha, not always from the right side of the tracks and definitely not averse to doing what is necessary to keep their significant other safe. Whilst I’ve moved away from reading this type of contemporary romance, Chelle Bliss is still an author I would recommend.

8 – Amelia Wilde (30+)

Amelia Wilde started her career writing about Billionaires. It’s not a trope I’m overly fond of, but her wonderful characters and cute storylines more than made up for that fact. She’s moved on since then and I particularly enjoyed her Bliss Brothers series.

9 – Jennifer Bene (high teens)

Jennifer Bene is one of my Queens of Darkness. The first book in her Thalia series is pitch black, though it does end on a positive note. She also writes very consensual and quite light BDSM romances, under the BlackLight umbrella, and dark paranormal stories under the pen name Cassandra Faye. She is one of my go-to authors when I want a book that I know won’t disappoint me.

10 – Elin Peer (high teens)

Elin Peer writes romance that challenges both the protagonists AND the reader. She has an ability to create characters who become your new best friend and stories that stay with you long after the last page has been read.

Top Ten Books that Give Off Summer Vibes

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to
bring bookish friends together.


This is probably going to see me trawl through my contemporary romance reads, since dark romance and sci-fi doesn’t lend itself to the topic that well. I’m looking for books with blue skies, wide open plains, heat, beaches, lakes or the ocean.

Title – Darcy Comes First For A Change (Life is a Beach)
Author – Lilliana Anderson
Genre – Romantic Comedy/ Contemporary Romance
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52509134-darcy-comes-first-for-a-change

As he presses a sweet, tender kiss to my lips, my tears fall harder as I wonder if we can survive this when this already feels like dying. It’s one thing to say you’ll wait for someone. It’s another to actually do it. My father didn’t stick around. My husband didn’t stick around or even fight for us. And Leo? He could have any woman he wants, why wait an indefinite amount of time for me?

Title – Fool’s Paradise (Cartwright Brothers #5)
Author – Lilliana Anderson
Genre – Contemporary Romance
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42248462-fool-s-paradise

“I want my soul back.”
There was such utter desolation in his expression that it took every morsel of strength within me not to cry.
This man bleeds goodness. Alongside his misery.

Title – My Romance Curse
Author – Cari Silverwood
Genre – Contemporary Romance
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33789589-my-romance-curse

“I do have a mighty sword.” Said so deadpan, I had to giggle. “I won’t ask you to polish it,”

Title – Crazy On You (Bliss Brothers #4)
Author – Amelia Wilde
Genre – Contemporary Romance
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45310017-crazy-on-you

So I sadly don’t have a quote for this one. My bad because this was just such a wonderful second-chance romance with ALL the feels and the most swoon worthy hero!

Title – Big Sky
Author – Kitty Thomas
Genre – Dark Erotica/ Dark Romance
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15779941-big-sky

She wanted him. She wanted to live out every filthy fantasy she’d ever had with him, but she couldn’t get past he fact that she hadn’t come here freely.

Title – Cupids Anonymous
Author – Lila Monroe
Genre – Romantic Comedy
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43747479-cupids-anonymous

“It looks like Prince Annoyingly Charming wasn’t always so smooth. Dammit, it turns out he has depth, as well as those dreamy blue eyes.”

Title – Her Montana Master
Author – Maren Smith
Genre – BDSM Contemporary Romance
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51092217-her-montana-master

Again I have no quote and no idea, given I live in the UK, what the weather in Montana is like. However the cover makes me think of hot summer days”

Title – Tropical Inferno
Author – Kat Mizera
Genre – Contemporary/ Sports Romance
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43704263-tropical-inferno

“You’ve already saved me from myself.”

Title – Tumble (Dogwood Lane #1)
Author – Adriana Locke
Genre – Contemporary Romance
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40864349-tumble

“You hadn’t forgotten about me,” he says. “If you had, you wouldn’t be reacting like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like you know just how good it is between us.”
“It was good between us,” I admit. “Was being the key term.”
“I have a feeling it would be even better these days.”

Title – Kiss My Boots
Author – Harper Sloan
Genre – Contemporary Romance
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32861737-kiss-my-boots

“He taught me trust. He showed me love. Then he gave me pain. So,”

Top Ten Tuesday… Opening Lines

Today’s prompt for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted over at That Artsy Reader Girl) is on the them of opening lines. The suggestion is to go for “Best, favorite, funny, unique, shocking, gripping, lines that grabbed you immediately“, which immediately threw me into a tail spin because I’m not that sort of organised reader who keeps meticulous note of such things.

Perhaps I need a new shelf on Goodreads, but since I am trying to reduce said number of shelves maybe not. I’m sort of inspired to set up a spreadsheet in order to record future opening lines that are in some way memorable. Trouble is I have an atrocious memory so there is every chance the spreadsheet would collect cobwebs since I’d forget to fill it in.

So back to my dilemma of ‘I don’t really remember/have any opening lines that spring to mind’. I mean, there’s always “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” which I’ve probably misquoted since I haven’t actually read A Tale of Two Cities. So here’s what I’m going to do, I will choose 10 books from my favourites of 2019, and since I read 318 books according to GR (give or take a few beta reads, the odd DNF and a few re-reads) that might not be such an easy choice to make.

Title – The Son & his Hope
Author – Pepper Winters
Genre – NA/ Contemporary Romance

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40874791-the-son-his-hope

Today I must watch my husband die all over again.
I tried to refuse. I pointed out how cruel it would be to relive the worst part of my life – the life that never managed to heal. I don’t have the strength to watch my love story, curse my life story, cry at my broken romance.

Title – Broken (Omega’s Destruction #1)
Author – Eva Dresden
Genre – Paranormal/ Omegaverse Romance

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52895976-broken


The press of naked flesh, slip-sliding, grinding, brazen.

Title – Her Dark Legion (Messenger Chronicles #5)
Author – Pippa DaCosta
Genre- Science Fiction/ Fantasy / Reverse Harem

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44404128-her-dark-legion

Shinj’s constant presence hummed at the back of my thoughts, beating in time with her two massive hearts. As those I loved fell apart around me, I wondered what it would have been like to fall into her embrace and bond as her pilot.

Title – The Black Prince
Author – Ariana Nash
Genre – Dark MM Fantasy Romance

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50979555-the-black-prince

They did things differently in this land, Akeim considered as the dragonkin, Lord Clarion, swung his axe down with devastating accuracy. The blade severed the elf’s head from her neck and slammed three inches deep into the woodblock beneath her.

Title – Sexy As Sin
Author – Julie Kriss
Genre – Contemporary Romance

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51819899-sexy-as-sin

Ava Winters, you are a mess.

Title – Red Herring (The Kingmaker Sage # 4)
Author – London Miller
Genre – Romantic Suspense

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45801123-red-herring

His wrath was biblical.

Title – Black Light: Scandalized
Author – Livia Grant
Genre – BDSM/ Erotic Romance

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52896703-black-light

“Look what the cat dragged in. Your’e almost an hour late.”

Title – Lavish Destruction (The Last Triton #3)
Author – Myra Danvers
Genre – Fantasy Romance

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45014504-lavish-destruction

Head pounding, eyes puffy and swollen, I pried my lids apart, disorientated. A bed. I was tucked beneath heavy blankets in a dark room.

Title – Bass-Ackwards
By Eris Adderly
Genre – Contemporary Romance

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44905051-bass-ackwards

The Haul Ash Truck and Trailer rental office in Ashland, Texas, didn’t have a neon or LED ‘open’ sign in the window when Christina Lee Dodd showed up for her closing shift that Thursday, even though it was one o’clock in the afternoon. That was because her boss was too cheap for them to have one.

Title – The Five
Author – Lily White
Genre – Dark Romantic Suspense

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44905051-bass-ackwards

She was barely a woman. A girl with soft brown hair, tangled and long. The ends dusted the small of her back when she turned to look at the camera.

Welcome to this weeks Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This weeks prompt was suggested by Book Lovers Pizza and is “The Last Ten Books I Abandoned”. So off to goodreads where I store all my book related information!

The majority of books I would like to abandon tend to be arc commitments, so rather than DNF I tend to skim read and jump ahead to the end. Whilst technically this isn’t ‘abandoned’, the books would have been had I not had that commitment to review.

1 Lock by Kimberly Knight

I just didn’t click with the authors voice on this one. I found the writing style felt, for want of a better word, basic. I didn’t feel the emotions, it was a case of being told not shown.

2 RIP Parts 1&2 by Charity B

This is a book that I will give a second chance to. It’s quite a dark, twisted read and sometimes my enjoyment of these is affected by my mood/state of mind. It ticked all my boxes and should have rung all my bells, so it is still on my TBR list for some time in the future.

3 Insolent by Cynthia A Rodriguez

Another where the writing style just wasn’t my cup of tea. I gave this the old college try but just had NO idea of what was happening or where the plot was going.

4 Innocence by Lee Savino and Stasia Black

From inconsistent time lines to a pacing so slow even skim reading didn’t help, this felt like one story stretched over three books. I didn’t even reach the end of book 1. It wasn’t really dark, it was so far removed from reality it needed to be fantasy and it just plain irritated me. I’m not sure if it’s a US/UK thing but in England insure means to pay money to safeguard an item, the word for to make sure something happens in ENSURE (yep it was that level of annoying.)

5 Irrepairable by LeTeisha Newton

A dark romance by two authors I love should have been an automatic shoe in to my ‘best book ever’ list. Sigh. I couldn’t even finish it because it hit several of my triggers. And I’m not talking about rape/abuse/violence triggers, I don’t have those. No I’m talking about “let’s have the plot revolve around a secret and then keep it a secret for the entire book”. That is NOT a story, it’s not even a plot, it’s lazy writing.
Not to mention that this is a reverse harem where it was virtually impossible to separate the men, particularly as they were only ever referred to by their nicknames – Love. Faith. Honor. Trust. Devotion – I kid you not. Love had a personality, and then there were the other 4. The men were constantly vile to her (and had her beaten to a pulp) but somehow she still fell madly in love with them. Because they were so hot. I love a redeemed anti-hero as much as the next dark romance lover, the key word being REDEEMED!

6 The Body Painter by Pepper Winters

I came to this after reading The Ribbon Duet, by the same author. That still lives with me today. I don’t think it will ever leave my heart and soul. So maybe I had too many expectations for this book, but lord above it was frustrating. This is a quote, from Serilin on Goodreads, that perfectly sums up the issues I had.

“If our heroine was shocked by a behavior, Winters provided us with fifty-two different phrases to express that shock. It was so tedious, like others, I ended up skipping page after page.“

Then there was the complete disregard for researching the English education system, instead writing about it as though it were American.

7 Twisted Doms by Felicity Brandon

In contrast to all the rest of the books, it wasn’t the writing that was the issue here. Instead I could not bring myself to like or respect the “hero”, and I use that term loosely since this man was prepared to murder his twin brother for no other reason than when they had both been adopted his twin had gone to a nicer home. The “hero’s” brother didn’t even know he HAD a twin, so in now way could be held to account for anything the hero experienced. I’m not sure how I was meant to want this guy to get the girl because at no point did he atone for his behaviour.

8 Sorrow’s Queen by Ashleigh Giannoccaro

This just felt as though many events were written purely for the shock value, rather than to progress the plot. I also couldn’t understand why the author made the female protagonist underage at the start of the book.
The kidnapping of a girl who wasn’t even 18, to hand her off to the man she has been promised to, didn’t ‘gel’ with the rest of the series either. The hero of each book may have been an assassin, a gun for hire, but they did seem to have some basic morals at the very least.

9 Wicked Games by Vivian Wood

A little too predictable, a little too generic, a lot too bland. Whilst the writing voice was easy enough to read, the characters just didn’t draw me in, I felt no connection to them, didn’t care and just felt very *meh* about the book.

10 The Black Door by J.L. Massey

I loved The Red Door, which was the previous book in this series, but this triggered my “don’t go there” button when it had characters calling the heroine a bitch because she didn’t put her wellbeing after everyone else. This girl had been sex trafficked, she had been abused and raped and what did the supposed hero do? He lied to her repeatedly. Nor did he stick up for her when another characters was persistently abusive because she had faked her own death. OK this wasn’t the best move BUT sex trafficking victim…