Entranced by the Basilisks by Lillian Lark

Available now

Reader Friends, I love Lillian Lark’s books. I love how imaginative and sexy they are. I love how the characters have real, interesting lives and jobs. I love how easily she can turn magical elements into something that feels completely believable and relatable. I also love how imaginative and sexy they are.

Her books are so hot. So. Hot.

In Entranced by the Basilisks, we are back with Emilia from Deceived by the Gargoyles. She is still reeling from learning that magic is real and the discover that her best friend and co-worker has been lying to her for their entire relationship. When a crate of books is delivered to her office for restoration, she follows all of the precautions taught to her by Grace, including using crystals to check for, and deactivate any magical wards. When the first book appears to be nothing more than a beautiful antique book, Emilia is delighted to have a project that will keep her busy and focused on something other than her new-found magical knowledge.

But, magic is fickle and instead of hours of peace and quiet, Emilia discovers a curse. A curse that turns her into a Medusa-like creature and a threat to all who come near her. Desperate to find a cure, Emilia finds herself at the magical Love Bathhouse and in the capable hands of Rose, our favorite magical matchmaker. Will finding her mate cure the curse? Will finding pleasure on a serpent’s tongue be just what she needs?

Gods I love a book with the possibility of sex magic!

Luckily for Emilia, everyone steps up to help her control her new magical power. Everyone, including Jasper Adder, her very grumpy boss who has been harboring a secret crush on his employee. Everyone, including Ari Zeyad, the rich antiques dealer who has spent the last seven years wanting a real relationship with Jasper, only to be pushed away.

Lark has gifted us with a steamy romance that is a glorious blend of enemies to lovers, workplace pining, age gap, and “ancestor did something wrong so the entire line suffers” longing. It’s an incredibly sweet book, with characters that feel real even with all the magic involved. Jasper and Ari have a long and complicated history together with real reasons for not taking their relationship public. Ari’s tendency to be very pushy and manipulative makes things more difficult, not just for his relationship with Jasper, but for his relationship with both Jasper and Emilia. Emilia isn’t one for casual relationships and to just jump into a relationship with not one, but two men is an incredibly hard choice to make. Add in their shapeshifting abilities and the whole “magical curse” thing and it’s quite a lot for her to take in. But it all works. Lark is able to weave together all these elements and craft a beautiful, steamy, romance that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This is part of the Monstrous Matches series but can be read as a standalone. Deceived by the Gargoyles is fabulous so I recommend you read that first, then come back to Entranced by the Basilisks. Both are available in KU.

If you’d like to add this fantastical romance to your collection, you can click on the cover above or here for ordering information. If you’re interested in starting a Kindle Unlimited subscription, you can find information here.

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Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert

It’s here! It’s finally here!

The third book in the Dark Olympus series gives us the very steamy retelling of Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Patroclus. When Helen realizes her brother intends for her to marry the person who literally wins her hand in a gladiator style competition, she decides to compete for herself. She wants to win her freedom to live her life on her terms and not that of someone who must bend to the will of a political alliance. What Helen doesn’t anticipate winning is the hearts of two gorgeous men who are willing to worship the ground she walk on…and her.

It’s so good you guys! In true Katee Robert fashion, this story is hotter than hot with truly interesting characters. Achilles wants the power that a marriage to Helen would bring, but he isn’t interested in maintaining an actual relationship with her…until about three minutes after he meets her of course. Patroclus wants Achilles happy and is willing to ensure that happiness at any cost. Both Achilles and Patroclus have ties to an agency outside of the Thirteen and are interested in the power that agency can provide, but Achilles would be out if he married Helen, leaving Patroclus behind. Patroclus, being Patroclus and wanting only happiness for Achilles, knows he’ll be left behind and is willing to let that happen if it means Achilles is happy. So much angst! So much “I love you more than my own happiness and I would raze the world for you” going on in this book. Everyone has their own end goal and the three of them ending up together? Not even on anyone’s radar. The journey these three take to fall in love is truly magical and I loved every single bit of it. It’s so good!

If you would like to add this amazing book to your shelf, you can click on the cover or here for ordering information.

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

Deceived by the Gargoyles by Lillian Lark

Available now

Yup! I’m still on the Lillian Lark train! I am really enjoying this world she has created for her characters and I think this one might be my favorite. So far, that is.

Grace comes from a high society witch family with powerful connections. Grace wants nothing to do with them and their manipulative and abusive ways. After another disappointing date that felt more like a business meeting for her parent’s political connections than a romantic connection, Grace decides to put herself first and meet with Rose, the magical matchmaker. And, it seems to work! Grace is matched to Elliot, a handsome and attentive gentleman who seems to check off quite a few boxes on Grace’s partner wish list. Because yes, Grace has a list! But when the relationship starts to stall out a bit, Grace becomes concerned that Elliot has lost interest. Much to Grace’s surprise, it’s not that Elliot has lost interest, it’s that he hasn’t found the right time to introduce Grace to his other mates. It was a bit of a surprise to discover that Elliot was a gargoyle, but that he’s also mated to two other gargoyles? That’s a lot for anyone to take in unexpectedly. On top of a possible new relationship, Grace is being harassed by former date who can’t seem to take “no” for an answer.

What follow is a beautiful exploration of love, friendship, hope, and acceptance. Grace is a smart and confident woman who knows her boundaries and has worked hard to overcome her family’s judgement and criticism. Elliot, Broderick, and Alasdair are very vocal and appreciative of Grace’s curvy figure and my only complaint with the book is that there weren’t illustrations or photos of Grace’s amazing dresses! She has an incredible sense of style and loves old Hollywood starlet style dresses. She’s also a Librarian which makes her absolutely perfect in every way! Our gargoyles are very invested in making their relationship work and they are so sweet. Lark really hits all the emotional buttons with how Grace, Elliot, Broderick, and Alasdair work through how to make the relationship not just work, but thrive. This is a really lovely romance and I can’t wait to see what Lark comes up with next.

If you would like to add my new favorite book to your shelf, it’s available in KU or you can find ordering information here:

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

Three of Hearts by Lillian Lark

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After devouring Stalked by the Kraken, I immediately went to KU to find every book available from Lillian Lark. Not only was there more, but we get to find out a tiny bit more about Sophia, the harpy from Stalked by the Kraken who was banned from the bathhouse. Sophia is one of three sisters, all harpies are born in groups of three, each beautiful and talented in their own right. Zephyrine, a no-nonsense software developer, is the perfect person to play the bait in a bounty collection operation. While Zeph is well aware of the dangers involved, she is not prepared for the handsome shifter on the team.

Gregory is also not prepared for his reaction to Zeph. His inner wolf had already chosen Asa as his mate but when his wolf began to search for a new mate, Greg is left confused and heartbroken. Is it possible for his wolf to want two mates? What does this mean for his relationship with Asa, a demon who has not only fallen in love with Greg, but made plans for them to be together as both lovers and business partners.

If trying to navigate this new relationship wasn’t complicated enough, generations of societal expectations, illegal shenanigans, and good old family drama threaten them at every turn.

Reader friends, Lillian Lark seriously made our big, gruff wolf shifter a baker! A baker! i loved it so much.

I’m really enjoying this world that Lark has created for these characters. I’m a sucker for a fated mate and it was really interesting to see it play out within a poly relationship. Adding to the complexity of navigating a relationship between three people, it was interesting how the harpy family dynamics greatly influenced Zeph’s reactions to her new mates. In this world, it’s extremely rare for a harpy to remain with her mate after becoming pregnant and staying with a mate is seen as a sign of weakness and an affront to the harpy species. Zeph grew up in a family that was nearly ostracized from the community after her mother chose to stay with her husband and raise their children together. Naturally, this creates a huge source of conflict for Zeph in both her relationship with her family and with Greg and Asa.

We also get a bit of a second chance romance between Greg and Asa. Greg, understandably has a bit of a freak out over his wolf’s reaction to wanting another mate and doesn’t handle ending things with Asa well. There’s some really good groveling, and making up, throughout the book. Gotta love a book that can weave together multiple romance tropes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and will definitely continue on with the series. I’m curious how the stories will weave together the characters from both series and the criminal shenanigans that occurred in both. Also wondering if Sophia or Amara get the next book…

If you would like to add this book to your collection, you can find it in Kindle Unlimited or order it here:

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

As always, these are just my opinions and all mistakes are my own.

The Magic of Discovery by Britt Andrews

Available Now

Reader friends, if you’ve been here before, you know that there is a list of tropes that will definitely get me to pick up a book:

• Witches

• Witches who own a magical shop with a cute name

• Small town filled with interesting characters

• Nosy older neighbors who have magical abilities-big plus if they’re oracles

• A furry sidekick

• A hot steamy romance between the witch and mysterious newcomers

When I discovered all of these are found within the Emerald Lakes series from Britt Andrews, I had to pick it up. Now, full disclosure: while I had seen these on KU and was very interested in reading them, the entire series was sent to me by the editor (Thanks Polly!) in the most delightful way. Friends, it was literal pigs who brought together me and The Mystical Piglet. No joke.

Saige, a 20-something green witch, is the owner of The Mystical Piglet, aka The Pig, an occult shop in the small idyllic town of Emerald Lakes. Her quiet days of gardening, hanging out with friends, and spending time with her eccentric grandmother are thrown upside down with the arrival of a group of business consultants checking out the local real estate listings. But of course they’re not actual business consultants. They are secret agents that work for a secret magical corporation and are searching for a woman with ties to the company. What they don’t intend to find, is the beautiful and sassy Saige who is both their landlord and the woman of their dreams. All of their dreams.

As the four mages carry out their investigation, they also begin to investigate their feelings for Saige. As the group spends more time together, they all realize that they are quickly falling into a polyamorous relationship. Saige is such a lucky witch. But it’s not all roses and orgasms. There’s a prophecy that seems to have Saige at the center, her magic is changing in unexpected and devastating ways, and the mages are still keeping their reasons for being in Emerald Lakes a secret. The Magic of Discovery is the first book in a five book completed series so get ready for a wild ride!

This is a really fun series! Emerald Lakes is a quaint and quirky place where everyone knows everyone and secrets are pretty hard to keep, so it makes for an interesting backdrop for the incredibly hot relationship Saige is having with these four mages. You would think this would be gossip city but they’re all so hot for each other it just isn’t an issue. The dynamic between the five is also very interesting. Everyone has a unique set of powers and gifts and the men have worked together for long enough that they are a tightly bonded group. They all want to see each other happy, even if that means dating the same woman. Even the guys that have a sexual relationship together are on board with being with Saige and being part of the larger relationship. The way they all fall into a relationship together happens naturally and with the smallest amount of drama. And the steam! The steam is off the charts and over the top but it fits perfectly with the characters who take everything to the next level. This is seriously hot so keep some water on hand to stay hydrated.

Saige and her grandmother have a really fun and quirky relationship and granny is one horny lady! Their dynamic is even more fun once the men become more involved and Gran doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to them. Nothing. The lady has no filter.

This does end on a cliff hanger but I’ll give the smallest of spoilers-

Ready?

It’s going to end with Saige finding happiness with her guys but they have a bigger journey to go on so don’t stop after book 1. It’s worth it! Especially since the entire series is in KU so you can fly through them. I just finished book 3 and it’s just getting hotter and wilder!

If you would like to add this series to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.