Seducing a Barbarian (Not-So-Savage Barbarians #3)

TBR, who? ARCS, what? Here's Amy Padilla's latest: "Seducing a Barbarian." It's the third official novel in her Not-So-Savage Barbarians series.

["Tomas was a jealous little shit. He should’ve known he wouldn’t win going up against the best. Everyone knew I was the most popular in the brothel. There was no point pretending otherwise. In a shameless act of revenge, he had the guards called and had me arrested for offending the man who’d chosen me over him. They, in turn, sold me off to the barbarians. They don’t know who they’re dealing with. Especially the barbarian babysitting me; he says he’s uninterested in males. We’ll see about that. I’ll show them all. They chose the wrong man to mess with."]

I'm OBSESSED with looks-like-a-cinnamon-roll-but-can-kill-you meets looks-like-can-kill-you-but-a-cinnamon-roll! It's some of the BEST dynamics in a relationship. They compliment each other in sooo many ways and help each other grow in others. 

Simon and Feigrind are exactly those people. Simon is sassy and independent and puts up with zero shit from anyone. Feirgrind is kind and caring and wants people to be happy. They balance each other out and make each other happy.

Even if communicating that was hard as fuck for them. Seriously, they just needed to be like "I kinda like you, I want to stay"/"I kinda like you, I want you to stay." How. Hard. Was. That. Silly twink; silly barbarian.

Trigger Warnings: dubious consent, threats of violence, violence against MC, attempted assault, and more.

#theunexpectedbarbarian #thebarbarianstribute #savedbyabarbarian #seduingabarbarian #thebarbariansclaim #thephysiciansbarbarian #thebarbarianprince #notsosavagebarbarians #notsosavagedbarbariansseries #amypadilla #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Love Beneath the Guillotine

AHH! I've been waiting for this one for A WHILE! I've seen so many teasers and tropes, soooo many. It made me weak for these two. Here's W.H. Lockwood's "Love Beneath The Guillotine."

[""Desperate men have no morals..."

Léon Lyon: beautiful, beloved, broken. As premier executioner of Reims, he’s desired and feared in equal measure, a celebrity of the most dangerous kind, a symbol of justice and good citizenship in the explosive era of the French Revolution. But Léon has a secret. Each head he takes brings him one day closer to escape. He’s been saving every centime he’s ever earned, and any day now, he’ll leave town and rescue his little brother Émile from the same gruesome fate that has befallen him.

But all Léon’s plans are thrown into disarray when Émile is kidnapped by the dashing, dangerous, and despicable Henri De Villiers. At the mercy of a cruel and calculating (if handsome) blackmailer, Léon’s only chance to save his brother is to play the man’s wicked game.

Yet, as Léon is drawn deeper into Henri’s world, he begins to see a different side of him. Idealistic, passionate, willing to kill or die for those he loves, Henri might just be the escape Léon’s been searching for all these years.

But can Léon ever forgive Henri for what he’s done? And can either of them survive the mysterious supernatural force that seems to haunt their every move?"]

Spoiler alert, I was not prepared for how much of a hot mess both of these men were. Hot. Fucking. Messes. Add in a whole lotta gay disaster. Yeah, these two were Struggling. They made me put the book down for a while (at the same time, tearing through chapters to see what was going to happen next..and how they were going to respond to it).

Hot messes with an obsession with the hurt-comfort trope. Seriously, can we hate each other one moment and then make heart eyes the next more? Oh, I guess we can. Oof, there they go again. And again. 

And then there's the constant anxiety: is someone going to die? Are one of these beautiful and complicated and oh so adorably hot-mess-express main characters going to die on me? For a while, I didn't think it was possible; this is a fucking romance...then, I don't know, I got some "Call Me By Your Name" vibes, and I put the book down again for a while.

Of course, I learned a lot about the French Revolution (my only knowledge thus far is the one time I watched Les Mis and the many times I watched the Kristen Dunst "Marie Antoinette" movie). I kept wanting to Google "safe countries during the French Revolution" so I could predict where these two might end up for their HEA, but I didn't want to actively spoil anything.

And then I cried some more.

Trigger Warnings: executions, gore, fighting, violence, beheading, non-graphic death of animals, kidnapping, murder, discussion of abuse of a minor, blackmail, theft, vomit, consensual non-con, sexism, homophobia, slurs, gun violence, the French Revolution, and more.

#arc #arcteammember
#lovebeneaththeguillotine #whlockwood #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

June's Book Shape Challenge 2025

Here's June's Book Shape Challenge! A pretty little dinosaur in honor of National Dinosaur Day!

Last year, I went with holiday-themed (mostly) book shape challenges; this year, I'm thinking animals (which is less--and yet more--of a challenge (we'll see how it goes)).

(I picked all of these books at random, based off the color of their cover; not based on: whether I read them or not--most of which I haven't, sense why they were closest).

#reading #readingchallenge #readingdare #bookdare #bookchallenge #alphabetchallenge #beatthebacklog #monthlythemes #monthlychallenge #bookshape #bookshapechallenges #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Goodbye, May!

May was long as hell...and yet, I feel like it's not actually time for June. It was just spring (I guess it's still spring). But wow. This year is flying back so far.

2025 Resolutions:
     (1) Don't stop reading
            (b) Complete Monthly Reading Challenge(s)
     (2) Make memories
     (3) Share love of books/reading
     (4) Be kinder to myself

(1) Book's Read This Month: 44 (might get one more in there before midnight though).

    (b) Monthly Reading Challenge(s): Shape = Mantee. Got some A-Z stuff recorded. Some ARCs. Got a some of Beat The Backlog done.

(2) May Memories: I took a spontaneous mini vacation at the beginning of the month. It was fun, but I was grumpy a lot of them time, so I kept nit-picking things. A few relaxing days off. A looot of super packed days filled with errands and chores and responsibilities. There was a really bad storm at the beginning of the month that would have been pretty if it didn't damage so much of our yard. My mom's personal car was totaled, but she did get a new one last week. Not too many May memories, just a lot of lot.

(3) Posts this month (including this one): 31.

(4) I felt grumpy a lot of this month. And introvert-y. Just a lot of "I don't wanna." Maybe it was the wild as fuck temperatures/weather. Maybe it was my depression. Who knows. Let's hope June is a smidge better.

Anyone still holding onto their resolutions?

Any exciting June reads? Any existing 2025 reads?
Anything I should check out?

#newyearsresolutions #goodbyemay #hellojune #hello2025 #dontstopreading #makememories #shareloveofbooks #shareloveofreading #bekindertomyself #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

And They Were Roommates

I was doing SOOO good at not requesting too many ARCs and getting overwhelmed and reading them at the very last minute..and here we are. Here's Page Powars's "And They Were Roommates."

["Romance is the last thing on Charlie’s mind.

On his first day at Valentine Academy for Boys, Charlie’s carefully crafted plan to hide his identity as the school’s only trans student is set in motion. Only to be immediately destroyed. Charlie has been assigned the worst roommate in the world (possibly the universe): Jasper Grimes, the boy who broke Charlie’s heart the year before he transitioned.

Except, Jasper doesn’t recognize Charlie.

Who knows how long until Jasper realizes the truth? Charlie has one shot at freedom and a dorm room all to himself, but only if he helps Jasper write love letters on behalf of their fellow students first. No problem. Charlie can help Jasper with some silly letters.

Long nights spent discussing deep romantic feelings with Jasper? Surely, no unintended consequences will arise…"]

I've been wanting this book for AGES! The cover, the blurb, everything. 

Gotta say, I was not prepared to hate Jasper as much as I did...then again, Charlie hated him, so we hated him (classic unreliable narrator). And THEN, I was soooo not prepared to adore him as much as I did. God, I’m obsessed. He reminds me a bit of Baz from “Carry On.” Not sure where/when that connection happened in my brain (chicken or egg of loving Jasper), but wow. The quote “I was about to set myself on fire”…that’s peak Baz (#chapter61 — half of chapter 39 in here is “Carry On”’s chapter 61 though so…). Jasper’s just so complicated and beautiful. Again, I’m obsessed.

Just like Charlie (reluctantly) is, back to that unreliable (but adorable as hell) narrator business. He made me feel sooo fucking stressed and sad and anxious and really sad. It was a lot. But he almost made me feel included and happy and safe and wanted and appreciated and loved.

Another quote of the day for you (secondary character for the win), which sums up a lot of romance (or anti-romance) characters: "Scientifically, the hormones involved in human attraction can't be turned off because you tell them to."

#netgalley #arcs #arcteammember
#andtheywereroommates #pagepowars #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Fatal Attendant (The Hitman and The Heir #1)

Let me tell you...Elamy Pride's "Fatal Attendant" is fucking amazing. It's the first in their series, The Hitman and The Heir (and it does end on a HFN cliffhanger). But it is sooo worth it.

["Gabriel is an enigmatic, audacious hitman known as X, that you never see coming. When he signs up for the job of his lifetime, it's not just a jackpot payday he is after. But as the stakes get higher, will he enact his revenge or, ironically, find himself signing off on his own death warrant?

Being the rightful heir to an intimidating mafia empire is not for the faint-hearted, it's akin to navigating a tempest in a teacup. Born into a den of wolves, Dante Montelli is more than just a silver-spooned heir; he's a storm waiting to unfurl. But is Dante's zest for flying high a reckless plunge or the perfect strategy to rule his perilous kingdom?

Buckle up. It's going to be a turbulent ride."]

My freaking GOD, I'm obsessed with Gabriel. He's deadly, but he's so quirky and fun and sassy (and he knows it). He knows what he's worth and what he can do. He's flirty, even in the face of death. Speaking of the face of death, you have to be THAT good to impress a mob prince (and his grump bodyguard), and Gabriel does just that. 

Dante...oh Dante. You have no clue. Well, he has some. He knows Gabriel is different and he trusts his gut when it comes to him, but he doesn't know why. He also "doesn't know why" he's oddly attracted to him--and oddly protective of him. You'll figure it out (Sofia has).

I canNOT wait for the rest of the series. I normally don't love HFN cliffhangers, especially when the rest of the series focus's on the same couple (it's sooooo much angst and plot and secrets and slow-burn-ness), but this book was SO worth it.

Trigger Warnings: non-con moments, violence, murder, and more.

#fatalattendant #thehitmanandtheheir #elamypride #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Wicked Games (Silvercrest U #1)

Here's the latest from Willow Dixon: "Wicked Games." It's the first novel in her new series, Silvercrest U.

["Killian

I hate obscure school rules. Especially the one that says siblings have to room together after a tragedy. Now I’m stuck sharing my dorm with my stepbrother, and I have no idea how either of us is going to make it to the end of the school year without offing the other.

Just as I’m getting used to having Felix around, someone else tries to off him, and now my cousins and I have to figure out who’s after him, and why. We might not like each other, but Felix is family, and that means he’s mine to protect.

Felix has always annoyed the hell out of me, but now he likes making me angry. And unlike most people, he isn’t afraid of me when I’m angry. There’s also something else between us. Something wild and addictive.

Something I’ve never felt before.

I’ve always known there’s more to my buttoned-up stepbrother than meets the eye, but it isn’t until we start a game of gay chicken that I realize just how similar we are.

He should know better than to start a game he can’t win, but if that’s what he wants, then game f*cking on, bro."]

I'm obsessed. Fucking obesssed. These two went from rivals to not-quite-like/lust to protective/sorta-like to obsessive/like to keep at all costs/love. It was perfect! There were so many inciting instances that helped move the plot and their character development along. And a lot of them were so new and fresh feeling.

I loved their dynamic and how they worked/played off of each other. They completed each other in so many ways. It was fluffy and sweet, but it was also spicy as hellll.

I also loooooved how we're given another set of psychopathic twins. I'm obsessed. I love how they're identical but distinguishable. I love their love of knives. And I loooove how they imprinted on Felix.

I want more of this universe. Now.

Trigger Warnings: anxiety, death of family members, PTSD, panic attacks, nightmares, violence, threats, stalking, attempted murder, drug use, suicidal thoughts, and more.

#arc #arcteammember #forewordpr
#wickedgames #hideandseek #silvercrestu #silvercrestuseries #willowdixon #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks