Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Audiobook Review: Soul Searching by Lyla Sage

Series: Sweetwater Peak #1
Author: Lyla Sage
Narrators: Samantha Brentmoor, Jason Clarke 
Rating: Five out of five stars
Spice:  🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Published: 09-30-2025
Publisher: Random House Audio
Genre(s):  Contemporary Paranormal Romance 
 
DESCRIPTION 

Home is where the heart is—and this one is haunted.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Rebel Blue Ranch series returns with a brand-new story, featuring a small-town upholsterer in need of a fresh start, a photographer whose life has come to a screeching halt . . . and the supernatural forces that bring them together.

Collins Cartwright does not want to go home. Sweetwater Peak, Wyoming, was supposed to be in her rearview mirror, but when she finds out a developer is trying to buy her parents’ antiques shop out from under them, she doesn’t have a choice—at least, that’s what she tells her family. They don’t need to know she’s lost her job and is out of money. Or that the ghosts who have always been her companions have recently gone silent.

But just because she’s returned home doesn’t mean she has to stay with her parents or crash on her twin sister’s couch. Lucky for her, the new-to-town upholsterer has a room for rent above his store. Unluckily, it is absolutely crawling with more ghosts who are freezing her out. And Collins hates being ignored.

Brady Cooper is absolutely and totally fine. Seriously, there’s no secret reason why he decided to uproot his life and suddenly move to Sweetwater Peak. He just needed a change of pace. At least that’s what he tells himself. And everyone else.

When he agrees to let the elusive Collins Cartwright stay in his spare room, he doesn’t know that she’s absolutely bonkers—constantly talking to herself and having conversations with no one—or that she looked like that. But as they begin to get closer, the lines between them start to blur, leaving both of them—and the ghosts who have been pushing them together—wondering whether their temporary arrangement could be something more permanent.


MY THOUGHTS 

I rarely listen to an audiobook before reading the digital version, particularly when I am unfamiliar with the author. I decided on the audiobook introduction to Lyla Sage entirely because of the two narrators, Samantha Brentmoor and Jason Clarke. Those two, together, performing this fascinating ghostly story in duet, are perfection! The MMC and FMC, Brady and Collins, are such interesting and singular characters, and the rest of the small cast of characters in the fictitious town of Sweetwater Peak are quirky and brought to life by the narrators' limitless talents.  Their slow-burn romance is more rewarding than any other I can think of. The culmination of their emotional, spiritual, and physical chemistry blew me away. Their sexual chemistry was so off-the-charts sensual and connected, my swooning reached epic heights. I absolutely adored these two characters together and look forward to the next book in the duet to spend a little more time with them. 


Friday, August 1, 2025

Book Review: Gilded by Skye Jordan

Title: Gilded
Series: Standalone
Author: Skye Jordan
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Published: 07/28/2025
Publisher: Cygnet Books, Inc.
Genre(s): Contemporary Dark Romance
 
DESCRIPTION 
 
From New York Times bestselling author Skye Jordan comes a bold new morally gray romance—dark, seductive, and unlike anything she’s written before.

For twenty years, I’ve hunted one man—the monster who destroyed my childhood and disappeared behind a fortress of wealth and power. I’ve come for blood—and I won’t stop until I deliver him to hell myself.

When I infiltrate his inner circle, posing as a potential partner, I discover his greatest secret: a daughter. Hidden. Sheltered. Promised to his equally depraved business partner as a trophy bride—and a payoff for years of loyalty.

At first, she’s nothing but a tool—another pawn I can use to bring her father to his knees. So, when he complains that she’s too pure to satisfy him, I offer to educate her. My ticket deeper into the empire, I intend to burn to the ground.

She was supposed to be leverage.

Instead, she’s the only thing I’ll kill to protect—and die to keep.
 

MY THOUGHTS 

Gilded is a fast-paced, intriguing, and authentic-feeling story featuring the most remarkable heroine in Malia. She's had a horrifically sheltered existence full of neglect and abuse, but has an innate sense of decency and strength. I must mention that the graphic abuse she suffers, particularly in the beginning of the book, is difficult to read. With the addition of our morally gray hero, Luka, I felt instant relief for Malia. However, that relief faltered numerous times when his words and actions belied his status as a potential savior. Although their relationship begins with a very unpleasant agreement, it progresses uncomfortably before Luka is enlightened to Malia's actual innocence.

This dual point-of-view story wraps up in the best possible way. For Malia. For Luka, and their life together! 

Undoubtedly, Gilded will be a favorite book this year.  I'm thankful to Skye Jordan for another exceptional read!

Tropes: morally gray hero, revenge romance, mafia romance, enemies to lovers, touch her and die, captivity


HIGHLIGHTS 
 
The Dedication: For the readers who like their heroes lethal, their heroines defiant, and their romance dirty. You know who you are.

I’m stunned. Again. I’ve never been hit before. Not by my father, not by any nanny or guard. Now, I’ve been hit twice in a matter of hours, and I don’t know how to adapt. I’ve been ignored, disregarded, belittled, scoffed at, and now, hated, but I’ve never been hit. 

“She’s a ghost.” Typical of Jairo to just talk, regardless of whether or not I want to listen. But these men are my family. My brothers. I would never dismiss their ideas, the same way they would never dismiss mine. “I can’t locate her birth certificate or her Social Security number,” he says. “Not as Malia Eros or Malia Tarik, and there is no record of Tarik’s wife ever giving birth. I’ve scoured the backgrounds of his known whores—still nothing.”

“I’m wondering if there’s any way I could marry you instead of Soren.” I meet his gaze, the idea cementing as I speak. “I’ll still do the charity work and give the money to Soren. I can do even more and give that income to you. I swear I’d be a good wife. I’d leave you alone so you could work. I wouldn’t care if you’re gone or even had other women in your life. I’d do whatever you want in the bedroom, and I’d learn to cook for you. I⁠—”

“This just keeps getting darker.” “You haven’t heard the darkest part yet.” I rub my eyes. “Christ.” “Those stipulations I mentioned—her grandparents require proof of life every birthday. If they don’t get it, they revoke the trust.”

He grips my face and kisses me, a fierce, hard, passionate kiss that leaves me aching and dizzy. “You may be marrying him tomorrow, Malia, but you belong to me. You’ll always belong to me.” He slips out of the room, and it’s over. It’s over as abruptly as it began. I cover my face with both hands, press my back to the door, and slide to the floor, my heart shattering.



Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Movie Review: Lick (2024)

 

Lick Movie Poster - Passionflix

This is how it's done and done very well indeed.

That was the opening line of my book review for Kylie Scott's novel Lick in 2013. I rated the book 10 stars then, and 11 years later, this movie is my first to receive a 10-star rating. I have read and listened to the novel many times through the years, and the movie is so authentically done that I watched it 20 times in the first 13 days.

The stars have literally aligned because this Passionflix movie (movie trailer) is undeniably an accurate adaptation of the book, but with an outstanding Stage Dive original music soundtrack to liven everything up. Almost all of the book's key scenes are represented comparably in the movie. They are insightfully portrayed by Travis Burns as David Ferris, Brooke Lee as Evelyn Thomas, and Joseph McNabb as Malcolm "Mal" Ericson. The roles of Lauren and Sam are portrayed with genuineness by Amanda Tavarez and Aaron Quick Nelson, respectively. Eric Brody, as Jimmy Ferris, and Zack Mines, as Ben Nicholson, don't have enough screen time to fully convey their abilities, but they demonstrate definite intensity in their limited time on screen. With each viewing, I'm further surprised by Travis's remarkable performance. His screen presence, the natural way he delivers his lines, his gestures, facial expressions, his sparkling smile, and the way he looks at Ev are all so nuanced and genuine-feeling. Crush-worthy Book David has been elevated to top infatuation status by Movie David. The absence of long hair, different eye colors, and nonidentical tattoos can't detract from Travis being the ideal choice for David. Brooke Lee's Ev is adorable, charming, and radiant. She is exactly the right kind of "different" for David, who notices her inherent goodness from the start. Joseph McNabb was born to play Mal, who is the most endearing and entertaining of all the characters.

The movie arc makes for a fulfilling story, even though necessary steps had to be taken to condense a 300+ page book into an hour and forty-one minutes. (The movie is fast-paced with rapid dialogue and so many noteworthy scenes that I can't pick one favorite.) From the opening scene to the superb, swoon-worthy musical conclusion, Lick is a wholly rewarding romantic movie experience. Hopefully, the powers that be have determined that, given Lick's success, the other three novels need to be optioned and produced with the same level of detail, featuring the same cast, crew, and perfect casting of the new female leads.
 
Ten shiny (rock) stars for this faithful adaptation!
 
LICK is amazing! For me, it is the most perfect contemporary romance that checks all of my boxes. Although there are slight flaws, they are completely inconsequential and counterbalanced by other aspects that are remarkable. I will watch it again and again without ever losing my appreciation for it. A 10-star rating is not given lightly.
*Content advisory: partial nudity, tasteful sex scenes, language (lots of f-bombs!). These are rock stars, people. 😉


I was curious exactly how much of LICK (the book) ended up in LICK (the movie). See all of those pink tabs? They represent either the exact dialogue or only a slight variation between the book and the movie. All the blue tabs represent scenes from the book that were included in the movie, with some modifications. The light green tabs represent dialogue and scenes in the book that didn’t make it into the movie. For those of us who have watched it many times, we know how closely the movie adheres to the book. For those devoted readers who are unsure about watching the movie, perhaps seeing proof of how closely adapted it is will help.