Secrets and Lies (Silvercrest U #5)

Here's the latest from Willow Dixon: "Secrets and Lies." It's the fifth novel in her new series, Silvercrest U.

["Anthony

Three years ago, I hooked up with one of my frat brothers during a house challenge, and between the darkness and the masks we were wearing, I had no idea it was West until after it was over. And what was supposed to be nothing more than a chance to have a little fun and indulge in some of my darker desires ends up being so much more.

I don’t understand the pull between us, but West feels like mine, and even though he does his best to hide it, I know he wants me too.

After accidentally catching his fiancée cheating on him, I send West an anonymous text asking if he wants to know the truth. That text sparks a conversation, then another, and before I know it, West is telling me his deepest, darkest secrets, even though he has no idea who I am.

Then he issues me a challenge I can’t resist, and my prize is I get to do whatever I want to him. I already know West is into the same things I am, but I had no idea just how compatible we really are. Or how much we both like it when I wear a mask.

At the same time all of this is going on, West and I are paired up to work on a project together, and it’s then I realize that what I feel for him goes beyond anything I ever thought possible. I don’t just want him, I need him. And now that I’ve claimed him, I’m never letting him go.

West is mine until I decide he isn’t, and I dare anyone to try and come between us because I promise it won’t end well for them."]

YES. All of the yes. Always all of the yes. I love this series, and I'm obsessed that we've not fully gone to another house to get more unhinged HEAs. All the while trying to still solve one of those original problems.  

West and Ant were perfect for each other. Utterly perfect in so many ways. 

We didn't get nearly as much crazy from Ant's brothers/friends as I would have liked, but we have HEAs for them coming quickly.

Trigger Warnings: mind games, cheating (not by or between MCs), dubcon, blackmail, threats, mentions of potential mild homophobia, toxic parents, and more.

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

Hard Target (Wrecked: Guardians #1)

Well, here's to reading another universe (series of series) in whatever order I want to. Here's "Hard Target" by Kelly Fox. It's the first novel in the Wrecked: Guardians series, which is within the Wrecked universe. 

["Everett: There are a ton of reasons why falling for my tiny, adorkable best friend is a terrible idea—starting with the body in my trunk.
I have other reasons—he still mourns his late husband, I’m way older, he’s a foot shorter, my tattoo shop is a front, he’s an assistant professor at UT.
Still, I can’t help but think we’d be perfect for each other if I didn’t kill people (very, very bad people) for a living.

Rafi: How the f*ck did I not realize how hot my best friend is? Yeah, grief, or whatever, but were my eyes not working?
Silver fox, check. Tattooed hotness, check. Cuddles with me on Monday nights while we watch Australian melodramas, check. Says he’s not a good person but totally is, check.
New goal: Get Everett to stop looking at me like a grieving widower and start seeing me as someone he’d like to pin against the wall.
Now if I only knew what was behind the door marked Portal to Nowhere…"]

These two were adorable as hell! Both down sooo bad for each other. The mutual pining. The angst. The feelings of inadequacy. Everett's desire to hold back. Rafi's desire to...update his wardrobe. An entire team of friends turned found-family to support them in everything (literally, everything).

I canNOT wait for the rest of the team to get their HEAs. I'll eventually go back to read the OG series in this universe, gotta see some of those SCs get their HEAs.

Trigger Warnings: grief, loss of a loved one, stalking, violence, murder, injuries resulting in a hospital stay, all sorts of bad guys, and more. 

#hardtarget #fullcontact #mostwanted #deepimpact #wreckedguardians #wreckedguardiansseries #wrecked #wreckedseries #wreckeduniverse #kellyfox #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Betrothed in Fury

Here's Devon McCormack's "Betrothed in Fury." 

["LOGAN

Charming. Sexy as sin. Out of his damn mind.

That sums up Killian Lorde, one of the most powerful crime bosses in Fury’s underworld.

Since his father passed, he’s stepped into his role as head of the family business.

A role which I, the golden boy of the Wilde clan, more than understand. Forced by birth into a life of corruption and moral bankruptcy, I exist for one to protect my family at all costs.

Only this time, the price is my freedom.

Unbeknownst to me, to maintain my family’s alliance with the Lordes, I’ve been betrothed to Killian.

I’ve always known him to be a bastard, but this arrangement brings out the worst in him.

He’s a monster. Pure, unfettered evil.

He doesn’t just want to marry me. He wants to control and possess me, and when his curiosity becomes obsession, we struggle for power as he demands the one thing I can’t give him.

My complete and total surrender."]

And the official tags (because they're the best): ["Dark MM Romance, grumpy/psycho-sunshine, mob-bosses-to-lovers, morally gray men, frighteningly possessive MC, “Oh, what did that contract say?” arranged marriage, bi-awakening, touch-him-and-die (like, tied up in a sack, thrown into a lake, and left for dead), anything-for-the-family vibes, torture-as-foreplay (just mob bosses doing what they love), “Did I say you could have mashed potatoes?” (iykyk)"

TO BE UPDATED SOON

Trigger Warnings:

#booksprout #arcs #arcteammember
#betrothedinjury #devonmccormack #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Swifts: A Garden of Vipers

AHHHH!!! D: :D Here's Beth Lincoln's "The Swifts: A Garden of Vipers."

["In the depths of winter, Shenanigan Swift and her family are summoned to America, where Daisy’s brother, Dandelion DeMille, is in danger.

Racing to DeMille family home – a 72-storey greenhouse in the heart of New York City – Shenanigan is too late to stop a murder. But it’s Dandelion’s Uncle Charlie who has fallen victim to a mystery assassin.

As a snowstorm rages outside, Shenanigan, Felicity, Phenomena and Erf must uncover both motive and means. But when every room is packed with poisonous plants and deadly creatures, how will they ever uncover what really happened in The Greenhouse?"]

Another family with perfectly fitting, if not too-on-the-nose names. I'm still obsessed. It shouldn't work. In any other book, calling the family chef Cook, would be too cliched and immediately nixed. But in this world, where a florist family in which every member is named after flora? It's perfection!

And the characterization itself! You never know who to trust! You hate this person, and they turn out to be good; you love this person, and they hurt you; you don’t know about this person, and they surprise you in the best of ways. It’s lovely and skilled and frustrating as hell. 

Glad to know that Shenanigan is still having her existential crisis in book three. Nothing like not knowing who you are and what you’re meant to do being sooo relatable across so many generations. 

#theswifts #theswiftstheseries #theswiftsadictionaryofscoundrels #adictionaryofscoundrels #theswiftsagalleryofrogues #agalleryofrogues #theswiftsagardenofvipers #agardenofvipers #bethlincoln #thriller #yathriller #murdermystery #yamurdermystery #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooksv

The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science: The Jungle of Carabanana

AHHHH!!! D: :D Here's "The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science: The Jungle of Carabanana." Written by Kate McKinnon...sort of. ;) This Millicent Quibb book is technically by G. Edwina Candlestick (and "as told by" by Kate).

["The Porch sisters are going on a trip– this time, to the beautiful almost-French city of ParisToo.

Between baguettes, berets, and one very big bug– what could go wrong?

Everything, of course. You see, there’s just one problem with it’s where the evil KRA is planning to execute their most dastardly plan yet!

It’s up to Gertrude, Eugenia, Dee-Dee, and their dear mentor Millicent Quibb, to stop those nefarious mad scientists from taking over the world. Though coming up with a plan is easier said than done when danger– like a tree that throws coconuts, a suspicious pile of sausage, or a glaring aunt– lurks around every corner.

If Millicent Quibb and the sisters Porch are going to defeat the KRA once and for all, they’ll need to uncover long buried secrets (including some that might just change everything…) and tap into the world of mad science like they never have before.

At any and all costs, the KRA MUST! BE! STOPPED!"]

YES! YESSS! I'm obsessed with these books. They're fabulous and funny. They're silly and serious with all the right amount of (mad) science. All of the made-up words and general weirdness and sisterhood. It's all a mesh-mash of odd perfection. Not to mention the sheer amount of times one literally lols. 

I still want more Lavinia-Steve…

#themillicentquibbschoolofetiquetteforyoungladiesofmadscience #secretsofthepurplepearl #thejungleofcarabanana #gedwinagandlestick #katemckinnon #childrensbooks #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Barbarian's Musician (Savagely Sweet #3)

Here's Amy Padilla's latest: "The Barbarian's Musician." It's the third novel in her Savagely Sweet series, which is a Not-So-Savage Barbarian's spin-off.

["After the gronnok attack, my life was never the same. I was left scarred, ashamed, and certain I would spend the rest of my days alone.

Then Henry arrived.

Blind since childhood, he somehow sees me more clearly than anyone ever has. Where others flinch, Henry offers kindness. His music seems to be the only thing that puts my heart at ease and allows me to finally rest.

But Henry was never meant to stay.

His life is already complicated enough without the hardship and uncertainty of our nomadic lifestyle. If I want any chance of keeping him, I’ll have to convince him that it’s possible for him to build a life here with me and with the clan. Because if I fail, I won’t just lose Henry. I’ll be left to face the darkness alone."]

Oh. My. Goddess.

This book was somehow even sweeter than the rest. Which is saying something. These two were so utterly devoted to each other. They were so alike in so many ways. They both felt isolated and unwanted, unloved. But they saw something in each other that was so strong and powerful and beautiful. They saw love and hope and a future. It was...beautiful.

Plus all of the accommodations just being...life? An all of the found family, continuing to grow and grow? And Simon being Simon? I'm obsessed with all of it. 

#barbariansheart #escapingtothebarbarians #thebarbariansmusician #savagelysweet #savagelysweetseries #notsosavagebarbarians #notsosavagedbarbariansseries #amypadilla #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Goodbye, May!

May was looong as hell. It was never ending. One crazy moment after another, not to mention the weather not knowing what was going on (same, though, same).

2026 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: 53 (though, I might squeeze one more in before midnight).

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

(2) May Memories: Lots and lots of books. Some actual time off. My best friend's baby turned one. The book fair season finally ended for the summer.

(3) Posts this month (including this one): 47.

(4) Not too bad overall. I didn't eat the best, but I didn't eat the worse. There were a lot of Sunday-Blues moments and a lot of late-night saddies, but most of the month was I-got-this and I'm-a-baddie, so...

Anyone still holding onto their resolutions?

Any exciting June reads? Any existing 2026 reads?
Anything I should check out?

#newyearsresolutions #goodbyemay #hellojune #hello2026 #dontstopreading #makememories #shareloveofbooks #shareloveofreading #bekindertomyself #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks