Tag: Bloom Books

Book Review:: Wild Side | Elsie Silver

Buckle in for the third trip around the Rose Hill sun – it’s a heart-wrenching one!

Wild Side by Elsie Silver Book Cover

There was a lot of healing in Wild Eyes with Skylar, but healing is the very heart of Wild Side. It begins with the death of Tabitha’s sister, who is Rhys’ tenant. She was a drug addict and mother to a young son. She did alright for awhile, but old habits die hard and she started living a life full of lies. When she died unexpectedly, Tabitha is shocked to discover she wanted Rhys to be the guardian of her son instead of her own sister. So begins one of the most awkward and tense relationships ever.

It’s a wild premise, but the execution of this story is perfection. If I’ve come to know one thing about Elsie Silver’s writing, it’s that she can spin a tale, and she absolutely did these characters justice.

I found the tone of this book far more somber than the two previous. There’s some cutesy romance stuff included (of course), but overall the themes are darker and more serious than what we’ve seen elsewhere in this series. The way the characters and their backstories play off the current situation is a thing to be studied. Rhys and his background, especially, explains everything about why he’s unable to walk away from a woman so hostile toward him in the beginning. Honestly, it’s perfect. And the way both of them are hyper-focused on the good of the boy left behind will get you every time.

I read there is only one more Rose Hill book left (out this September), and that makes me sad. However, I already know it’ll be a banger. This series has been something truly special, and Wild Side is a big piece of that feeling. Read it. Love it. Repeat.

Details

Title:: Wild Side (Rose Hill #3)
Author:: Elsie Silver
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Bloom Books
Length:: 443 pages
Audio Length:: 12h 17m
Audiobook Narrator:: Jason Clarke & Samantha Brentmoor
Published:: March 4th, 2025
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

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Book Review:: Wild Eyes | Elsie Silver

What I wouldn’t do to live in a place as beautiful and idyllic as Rose Hill. The first book in this Elsie Silver series is Wild Love, an absolute banger about Rosie and Ford. Wild Eyes is about Rosie’s brother and Ford’s best friend, one in the same man by the name of West Belmont.

Wild Eyes by Elsie Silver Book Cover

West is a single dad minding his own business on his horse ranch in rural Canada. Down the road, his best friend built a recording studio, and when one of his artists shows up early, his sister offers his guest house for her stay. West doesn’t mind, he’s a pretty easy-going guy, but when his new tenant turns out to be Skylar Stone, the world’s current biggest country pop star, things get complicated. Skylar is struggling with bone-deep anxiety and no sense of the ‘real world’, and West is struggling to keep her out of his head.

Oh, my heart. This is a story about a young woman holing up somewhere to take inventory of her hurts and heal them, and the man who sees her, helps her, and holds space for her to do so.

West has two kids, a boy who doesn’t talk much and a spitfire of a little girl who reminds me of my own son. He’s the father we wish everyone could have. He loves his kids for who they are and would do anything for them. That’s how West loves. He accepts all the imperfections, admires the things that make people unique. He sees people. It’s his superpower. For Skylar, no one ever sees her, or asks her what she wants. They think they already know her and don’t bother digging further than that.

The two of them are so well matched. Skylar is in a place where she needs the peace and quiet ranch life offers, she needs the wide-open spaces and quiet to make some mistakes that won’t be broadcast to the masses. She needs someone to notice her for her, to show that they genuinely care, even if it’s hard to accept.

Boy, this Rose Hill series is one to sink deep into, I’m telling you. The concepts are a little tropey or corny maybe if you’re looking to be critical, but the way Elsie Silver crafts a story and creates romance in the most imperfect but beautiful of people…it’s stunning work. When you pick one up it’s impossible to put back down. Wild Eyes is another must-read for anyone who is craving a little bit of hopeless romance. They do get quite spicy, but hey, that’s half the fun!

Details

Title:: Wild Eyes (Rose Hill #2)
Author:: Elsie Silver
Genre:: Contemporary Romance
Publisher:: Bloom Books
Length:: 464 pages
Audio Length:: 10h 26m
Audiobook Narrator:: Teddy Hamilton & Savannah Peachwood
Published:: September 3rd, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars

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If you liked this book, check out…

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Book Review:: Still Beating | Jennifer Hartmann

This is the kind of book trigger warnings are meant for. This one has some brutal stuff in it, and if you can get through the first 40-ish %, you’ll find a love story that sinks into your soul. This is dark romance. Real dark. Kidnapped, locked in a basement and perpetually violated dark. Please know what you’re getting into if you decide to read it.

Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann Book Cover

Cora couldn’t stand Dean, her sister’s fiancé, who grew up with them. Constant badgering, teasing – a decade of resentment. But he still came to pick her up when she drank too much and lost her wallet. And when they were both abducted together by a psychotic madman, none of it mattered anymore. They were all each other had.

Common trauma forges strong bonds. Bonds that are sometimes hard for other people to comprehend. Bonds that cannot be erased. It changes you, fundamentally, forever.

Surviving a trauma like that derails everything – even the things you thought were the most unchangeable. Having someone who was there, who understands everything you’re processing because they are too is (maybe the worst kind of) luxury. But simply understanding isn’t enough. Healing isn’t something someone can do for you. It’s hard, it takes a long time, and no, nothing will ever be the same again, but that doesn’t mean we don’t keep on living.

This is a hard book to read. It’s horrifying, repulsive, and grotesque, at times. But it’s also a story I’ll probably never forget. The impression it leaves is a deep one, and it didn’t leave me feeling discouraged or morose, but hopeful. It’s a story of human resilience and courage. About lifting yourself up when all you feel like doing is drowning in your own grief and sorrow. It feels important. Beautiful, in its way, and I’m glad I read it.

Details

Title:: Still Beating
Author:: Jennifer Hartmann
Genre:: Dark Romance
Publisher:: Bloom Books
Length:: 448 pages
Audio Length:: 12h 7m
Audiobook Narrator:: Laurie West & Christina Black
Audiobook Publisher:: Tantor Audio
Published:: December 30th, 2020
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
Spice Rating:: 3

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Book Review:: King of Wrath | Ana Huang

King of Wrath by Ana Huang is a possessive, spicy, filthy rich, romance with a tint of darkness that keeps tension wound tight all the way through. I’m not sure if this qualifies as a dark romance, but it feels like it should.

King of Wrath Book Cover

One night at family dinner, Vivian Lau’s parents surprise her with an arranged marriage. While she’d known since she was a teenager to expect it, she was taken by surprise. Not only the deal itself, but the identity of her husband-to-be: Dante Russo, the most eligible billionaire bachelor in New York. Dante was forced into the match, but as soon as he is able to, he plans to end the engagement and go on his merry way, married to his job, exactly the way he likes it. Vivan thinks he’s an ass, but is willing to give him a chance – she is determined to marry him no matter what to please her family. Dante closes himself off emotionally because he knows it’s not forever and doesn’t want to be cruel. But while they keep up the appearance of a happy engagement for high-class society, lines begin to blur.

The romance between Vivian and Dante is hot and cold. Vulnerability is not a language either of them speak. It creates a lot of tension and causes the moments they do fall together all the more intense for it. Vivian is a very strong woman who relies on no one. Though she’s an heiress, she works as an event planner and takes her work very seriously. I enjoyed her personality, but more importantly, I think she is a good match for a man like Dante, who never hears the word no from anyone else.

Dante is slow to let go of his original goals and assumptions. He is a very driven man -incredibly focused – and executes on his objectives to accomplish his goals. When he makes a decision, it’s because he’s considered all the facts and he doesn’t go back to wonder if it was the right one. His engagement with Vivian seems to be the first time he has to reevaluate his original stance, and he struggles with it for a long time.

I picked this book up for the cover. I was expecting it to be some kind of romantasy (right? Look at it!). And, I guess if you consider the billionaire nature of the characters and the high-class world they live in, you might as well consider that shit fantasy. LOL. But it’s not, really. My expectations were subverted a little bit there, however, I’m glad I read it. It’s about as far on the dark romance scale as I think I’m comfortable going, but I was impressed with how well the characters were matched up, and I was really sucked into a lot of the drama. Once I started reading, I thought it might be far sexier than it ended up being. There’s about as much sex as any other spicy book out there anymore.

If you’re looking to spice up your romance reading away from bubble-gum romantic comedies to something more serious and dramatic, this might be a good tangent to explore. It’s also the start of a series, which is a plus in our binge culture (though I’m not sure yet if I’ll personally be continuing the series). If you like a possessive, decisive, rich, all around alpha male lead, you’ll want to pick this one up for sure.

Details

Title:: King of Wrath (Kings of Sin #1)
Author:: Ana Huang
Genre:: Romance
Publisher:: Bloom Books
Length:: 407 pages
Audio Length:: 12h 5m
Audiobook Narrator:: Jacob Morgan & Emily Woo Zeller
Audiobook Publisher:: Boba Press
Published:: October 18th, 2022
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Level:: 4 (open door, explicit language)

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Book Review:: The Graham Effect | Elle Kennedy

What is it about sports romance? As someone with no interest in athletics whatsoever, I never thought I’d enjoy reading them, but I got curious and picked one off of KU (Kindle Unlimited – no risk!) and just see. Well. Ahem. Since then, I’ve read my fair share, and – no one is more surprised to hear what I’m about to say than I am – they’re awesome.

The Graham Effect Elle Kennedy Book Cover

Gigi Graham, daughter of legendary hockey phenom Garrett Graham, has her heart set on the Olympics. She’s played hockey her whole life and loves the sport. Trouble is, the national team is dragging their toes in finalizing their roster, and has hinted at her weaknesses behind the goal. Luke Ryder is the new co-captain of the men’s team, which recently merged with another (rival) college that went under. He’s had to work hard for everything his whole life, and is just hoping to not screw anything up for himself this last year of college. His reputation is hanging by a thread after an incident the year before. Garrett Graham is looking for a coach for a training camp he runs for youngsters, and Ryder wants the spot – badly enough to offer to help the renowned coach’s daughter to work on her hockey weaknesses in exchange for a good word with her dad. Sparks fly and secrets begin to pile up as Gigi and Ryder pursue the futures they’ve always dreamed of.

At almost 500 pages, you really get to sit in this story for awhile. For some, that might be a turnoff, but I almost always welcome large page counts, if the story supports them. Could it have been shorter? Of course. But with all the subplots introduced, the author really gives each their time in the sun and weaves through all the subtleties, creating a story just as complex as real life can be. And each thread was tied up nicely with a bow by the end. I was personally glad to have so much time with the characters.

This is the first book I’ve ever read of Elle Kennedy, but I’ve read this is the first book in a spinoff second-generation series. I like that idea. I’m assuming that Garret Graham was a hero of one of the first-generation books. He seems like he’d have been a great leading man back in the day *eyebrow wiggle*. I feel like there is enough of him in this book to satisfy fans of the previous series too. It’s always fun to see old characters make new story cameos, right?

I docked a star because the secrecy stretches on a little long for me. It kept coming up and I felt like I was reading the same we’re not ready to reveal ourselves yet over and over (maybe if it wasn’t spelled out so frequently it wouldn’t have bothered me as much). While I found this book compelling and entertaining and sweet, it was missing some deeper X-Factor for me I can’t quite put my finger on. All the elements were there, but it didn’t quite reach 5-star status for me (I don’t hand ’em out easy!).

I’d recommend this book for those who are big fans of sports romance, or are just looking for a good college romance to sink their teeth into for the summer. The great news is, if you like it, there are a lot more to keep you busy reading for some time to come!

Details

Title:: The Graham Effect (Campus Diaries #1)
Author:: Elle Kennedy
Genre:: Romance
Publisher:: EKI
Length:: 498 pages
Audio Length:: 14h 3m
Audiobook Narrator:: CJ Bloom & Teddy Hamilton
Audiobook Publisher:: Tantor Audio
Published:: October 31, 2023
The Litertarian Rating:: 4-Stars
Spice Rating:: 4

Linky Links!!

Goodreads
Author Website
Amazon Affiliate Links
[Paperback] [eBook] [Audible]

If you liked this book, check out…

Play Along | Liz Tomforde
King of Wrath | Ana Huang