koistyfishy's reviews
351 reviews

3 Bananaconda Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5

Okay, I wanted to love this, but it tried to be a little too “woke,” and I just got irritated because the wokeness never stopped.

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
This follows Penelope Quinn, who is an assistant to a super-mega-popular singer named Kelsey Best, (basically our version of Taylor Swift). Kelsey is dating a football player, which means Penelope often ends up in situations around Declan and his family and becomes very close friends with Everett Kingman, Declan's younger brother. The issue is Declan sees Penelope as a little sister, and that means she is VERY off-limits for Everett, even though he has secretly been in love with her for ages. Secretly Penelope has the biggest crush on Everett but believes a professional star athlete like him will never look at a bigger girl like her. One day, Penelope needs a date for the Grampys (yes, insert eye-roll emoji here… everything’s a bloody pun in this book), so she enlists Everett, "The Love Guru", to teach her how to date so she can find someone to bring with her. And we all know how dating lessons go when both people are irrevocably in love.

Penelope actually frustrated me. And it wasn't the narration because that was fantastic... but HOW she is written. A lot of her actions happen in Everett's POV so we only see the outcome and not her internal reasoning. I wanted more insight into her thought process but most times when this happened we were in Everett's POV watching him react to how she behaved, which seemed very disconnected.

Penelope is incredibly self-conscious, hard on herself, and fixated on her self-image. Where this would get weird is Pen’s internal dialogue feels shy and apprehensive, so it threw me off when, in Everett’s POV, she would suddenly flip into doing something bold. Luckily Everett felt consistent no matter whose POV I was in as he stayed true to the character.

Everett is such a sweetheart, though he’s hard on himself because of how the world sees him. He believes that the public perception of him being the "love guru" and helping others find love, means he can’t be happy, can’t find love, and can’t be the man Penelope deserves. He has to work through that emotional journey, eventually admitting that she rocks his world.

NOW... what frustrated me is the tongue-in-cheek, satirical, “woke” elements referencing social media and pop culture. I couldn’t take it seriously when they mentioned “the Grampys” and “flip-flop” for real-life equivalents. I would’ve preferred they just use “the Grammys” or “TikTok” or “Instagram,” unless there’s some legal reason they couldn’t. Every time they said “Grampy,” I rolled my eyes because we know they mean the Grammys and I HAVE TOTALLY HEARD OTHER BOOKS CALL IT THE REAL NAMES.

Also, I read books to escape reality, especially as a bigger girl myself with insecurities. I want to be whisked away by a hot NFL player making googly eyes at me, not be reminded over and over about body positivity. A big part of the book is about accepting who you are and what you look like, regardless of shape, form, or weight. It sometimes felt like a self-help message layered into the story, and while I get it’s important, and many people will love that aspect, I felt it was hammered in too heavily. I just wanted the plot to move on... I was READING A ROMANCE... NOT A SELF HELP BOOK!

It did also take me a bit to figure out who was who in the side characters, but that’s on me. This is the first book I’ve read in the series, so I wasn’t familiar with all the side characters who already had their own stories and their role in the universe...

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Sports Romance (Football)
▶ Friends to Lovers
▶ Forbidden Romance
▶ Dating Coach
▶ It's Always Been You
▶ Celebrity Romance
▶ Plus Size Rep
▶ Banter
▶ Band of Brothers (Literally)

and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Nicknames
▷ Dirty Talk
▷ Car Sex
▷ Squirting...

Overall, the voice acting was excellent. If you want a book with these tropes mentioned above maybe you’ll enjoy it more than I did. You might find more joy in the body-positivity angle than I did.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Amy Award for the gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own
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The first 5 mins into this and I am thinking.... what a COCKY man... and that is not a comment about the snake in his pants... 

5 Stalker Grumpy Cat Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level:🌶️🌶️/5

Now this was an interesting read for me, and I stand by what I said for Sticks and Stones that these books (this Series) is basically the type of book you read if you’re looking for an intro to Dark Romance. While there are a couple of triggers, it’s not overbearing or overly hard to handle, and you’re still dealing with generally a green-flag MMC.

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Briar Hart, who used to be a hockey player. One night, while painting a commission in an abandoned building, the building was set on fire. Trapped and desperate to escape she jumps from the second-story window, shattering her knee and Hockey dreams. One day, she meets Cassius Thorne and something about her intrigues him; and life keeps putting them in the same place at the same time. It turns out Cassius Thorne has access to a state-of-the-art fitness centre that could help her rehabilitate her knee. In exchange, he needs someone to pretend to be his girlfriend to pacify his parents. It’s a win-win, but we all know that fake feelings don’t always stay fake.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
Briar is angry. She was angry before her accident channelling that rage into hockey. Now she’s furious that her entire future has been jeopardised, and she has no control over pursuing it. She’s in constant pain from her injury, and she hates showing weakness or vulnerability to anyone as she doesn’t want to become the laughingstock of the university or a pity case for what happened to her. So she hides her emotions, her pain, everything and doesn't open up very easily.

Cassius Thorne is, oh my god, a gooey cinnamon roll. Not only is he popular, a quarterback, and incredibly sexy! But he’s sweet and cute and flirty, with a smirk that can melt your panties. He’s the typical type of man written by women, because of course he’s rocking an eight-pack and is sexy as hell, BUT I AM ALL HERE FOR IT!

I really liked how their relationship developed. It never felt rushed or forced, these two were just comfortable with each other and you could see how much they enjoyed each other’s company and how simply being around each other calmed them down. The relationship just felt real, meaningful, and realistic. Their emotional connection, the way they help each other through low points, and are thrilled for the other during the high points, was sweet.

I need to commend these two authors for taking two of my FAVOURITE tropes (and one normally only seen in Fantasy) and finding a way to put them into this romance... They share a bath and SHE HOLDS A KNIFE TO HIS THROAT! It was perfection! It's the stuff that made me devour this in one sitting. Just the quick, fun, real, emotional read I needed... everything!

One of my main issues though is that I wanted a cameo from Wren or Stone, I wanted to revisit them for a moment. But there was no mention of them at all, so it almost felt like this wasn't even the same universe as the previous book, just a random book that had the same university. I would have believed it if I had been told this was a complete standalone. (Though...Evan is mentioned in passing)

On the bright side, I’ve seen too many authors stretch this kind of book into multiple books (S. Massery herself being one of them) and I think I prefer something like this. The fast-paced story concludes at the end with a nice Epilogue wrap-up.

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ University Romance
▶ Sports Romance (Hockey and Football)
▶ She Falls First - He Falls Harder
▶ Tending to Injuries
▶ Fake Dating
▶ Poor Girl, Rich Boy
▶ Black Cat X Golden Retriever (Reverse Grumpy Sunshine)

and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Nicknames
▷ Undressing Help
▷ Hand Necklaces
▷ Mine
▷ Spicy/Steamy Water Scene
▷ Share a Bath
▷ Beg Me
▷ Knife to the Throat
▷ "Hold on to the..."

All in all, while the twist at the end wasn’t hard to see coming, and the ending felt slightly rushed and I wanted a bit more scenes of them IN the REAL relationship once they went "all in" I still really enjoyed this!

So if you like a grumpy black cat with claws who falls for a sexy golden retriever, and want banter and spice, I definitely recommend picking this up!

Thank you to ValentinePR, S. Massey and S.J. Sylvis for the gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own 

5 Transcendence Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️.5/5

There are some books that need to grow on you...books that take a little longer, that extended moment in time before you connect, and you know the story is amazing. Wyatt is NOT one of those books. I knew from the very first page that I was going to love this.

This was my first Jessica Peterson book, and since I haven’t really read many Cowboy Romances, I wasn’t sure what to expect. That, on top of it being Friends to Lovers (which is not always my favourite trope)... I was cautiously optimistic... and in the end, a metaphorical lasso must have caught around my heart, and it was not letting go. I love this; it spoke to my soul and just gave me this utter emotional giddy bliss while reading.

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
When Wyatt was 18, he lost his parents in a tragic accident. One person was there for him when he needed them: his best friend Sally. She was always there for the good, the bad, and the ugly. But something changed the day before the funeral, and Wyatt finally saw Sally as a little more than a friend, while unbeknownst to him, Sally grew even more in love with him than before. Now, 12 years later, Sally is a successful veterinary surgeon and is back in Texas for a few months before starting her dream job in New York. But before she leaves, she wants a little no-strings-attached fun with a cowboy. Given Wyatt is the king of No-Strings-Attached, Sally asks him to pretend to date her to make other men jealous. Of course, when you’re pretending to mask very real feelings, those lines become blurry, and both need to decide whether they are willing to test their friendship and turn it into something more.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
There must be something in the water of Lucky River Ranch, because DAMN, your girl is OBSESSED! The pining, the longing, the feelings of unrequited love, and the mesmerising emotion in the words... it was almost poetic with the rawness.

Now, as I mentioned, I do have frustrations with “Friends to Lovers,” especially when it is basically them already being in love with each other and just too afraid to tell each other. Like, be adults and JUST TELL EACH OTHER. But that just shows HOW GOOD THIS IS! Despite my not liking this type of Friends to Lovers, I was still completely and utterly enraptured by the words, these characters, and the romance, which was just so CUTE.

Wyatt is cocky and arrogant and sex on legs, but he uses this to hide that he is still grieving and feels completely lost and broken, scared to open his heart to love. He is also so charming in that “Southern Gentleman” way and is a really good cowboy. Sally is a bowl of sunshine and deeply cares for her friends, family, and those around her. She is smart, intelligent, and has the biggest heart of gold. She lights up every room she’s in, and her willingness to help everyone makes her so kind and sweet.

Their relationship was PERFECTION. Sally and Wyatt complement each other so well that their sexual chemistry legitimately oozes off the page. They are so comfortable with each other and so relaxed being themselves that you cannot help but root for them! What I also loved is that even though these two have been friends forever and have a long history, it never felt like the relationship change from friends to lovers was too rushed or too slow. It was just so gooooooood!

My god, the banter and the dirty talk will make you wish YOU WERE SALLY TO DADDY WYATT! I swear, my toes curled, all my tingle places tingled, and I think at one point my eyes rolled to the back of my head with the SWOON (AND JEALOUSY THAT I WASN’T SALLY).

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Childhood Best Friends to Lovers
▶ Cowboy Romance
▶ Fake Dating
▶ He Falls First
▶ Secret Pining
▶ Lessons in Seduction
▶ Bad Boy X Good Girl
▶ Jealous MMC
▶ Who Did This To You?
▶ Small Town Romance

and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Nicknames
▷ Daddy
▷ Rolled Sleeves/Forearms
▷ "Look At Me"
▷ "You Taste Like..."
▷ Sexy Lasso Play (Rope Play)
▷ "It Wont Fit"

Overall all I wanna do is save a horse and ride this cowboy and if you love yourself ANY of these tropes, you're gonna wanna ride him too! BASICALLY JUST READ THIS!

Thank you to ValentinePR and Jessica Peterson for the gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own 

4 Vibrator Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level:🌶️🌶️/5

THIS BOOK is the PERFECT type of book if you are looking for that "Intro to Dark Bully Romance," but you are also not too ready to question your morals too much. Then this is FOR YOU!!!

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Wren Davis grew up in an "on again, off again" relationship with the foster system as her dad did various stints in prison for being a notorious drug dealer. She found some stability and comfort with Evan and his family, and Evan became like a real brother to her. One day, to avoid destroying her life, she inadvertently ruins Stone Foster's possible prospects of joining the NHL. (Stone is Evan's best friend, and YES, I did roll my eyes at his surname being Foster and the fact that she is a foster child... and how I wish they had changed it to something else) Flash forward a couple of years, and Wren desperately needs a place to crash after breaking up with her boyfriend, so she moves into the "Hockey House" Evan shares with a few players. HOWEVER, Stone has just transferred to Shadow Valley University, and Evan just gave away his room to the woman he hates most in the world... SO LET THE WAR BEGIN!

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
And I think this shows what a fantastic duo S. Massery and S.J. Sylvis make together because this book felt whole and so well-founded! There is an author's note at the beginning that it is not as "dark" as some of the books that S. Massery has written, and that is pretty true. This was a little lighter, but I think I liked that because it seemed a lot more real. Often, books (even contemporary ones) are more fantasy, but if someone told me this story happened, I would believe it... It just seems realistic. (I mean, looking past the fact that Wren's past is terrible.) It just had the elements that made you want to root for her and Stone.

Wren doesn't want to be a burden to anybody. She has been dealt a shit hand in life, and so many people have tried to take advantage of her, especially her father. He wins the awful "Dad of the Year" award for the things he forced her to do and what he wants her to do now. She finds it very difficult to stand up for herself, and needing to gives her anxiety... but the one person she can stand up to is Stone (even when he calls her Sticks).

Stone is not perfect, and he takes the words possessive and obsessive to the next level, and there is no way he's letting Wren go. He is a dick to her in the beginning, and she shows her teeth right back at him, but very soon she’s the only thing he can think about, and he can’t get her out of his head. That obsession festers in his mind until it blossoms into a cute and sweet relationship. It was so fun to see how the tension and hate between them built into the inevitable. These two are meant to be together, they are there for each other, and they are what each other needs to be the best version of themselves.

The writing is captivating and fast-paced, and you can devour the story very quickly. It's going to give you the tension that comes from the push and pull you'd see in a typical bully romance, but it’s also going to give you that sweet, gooey, gushy relief of when they come together. It is going to be explosive and spicy!

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ University Romance
▶ Foster Brother's Best Friend and Teammate
▶ One Bed/Roommates
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Bully Romance
▶ Hockey Romance
▶ Touch Her and Die
▶ Stalking
▶ Obsessive, Possessive and Jealous Alphamale

and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Nicknames
▷ Carries her over his Shoulder
▷ Backwards Cap
▷ Chin Lifts
▷ Car Sex
▷ Cages her with his Arms
▷ Good Girl
▷ Hockey Jersey Heat (and she doesn't wear his Jersey)
▷ Hand Necklaces
▷ Mine

Overall, I love this duo and I cannot wait to see what they do in Heart of Thorns. 

3. 5 Belle Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level:🌶️🌶️/5

Do you ever wonder about how a book ends up on your TBR and you're just like, okay, let's go with it?

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Our book opens with Emilia Davis an orphaned governess who has just lost her job and is now trying to find another one. She meets Gavin Sinclair, a London barrister, at a Tavern like two passing ships in the night after an adorable little meet-cute based on a misunderstanding where he thinks she's a prostitute. The two strike up a friendship and conversation which leads to them almost having an exciting little "passionate evening". I’m sure if this was 2024, they probably would have had sex but Gavin being the "gentleman" they go their separate ways without learning each other’s names. BUT lo and behold, both are destined for the same location. You see, Emila has just been given the position of governess to a new family, and this family also happens to be the nieces and nephews of our barrister. So, the two end up in a close proximity situation where their massive feelings of attraction don’t disappear, and they need to juggle the reality of what a relationship would look like for them, given the society they live in and their positions within that society.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
I'm not gonna lie, I was apprehensive about jumping into this because I had no idea how a historical romance had ended up on my TBR. And it wasn't just on my "Goodreads TBR" or the one you say you're going to add books to, but never do. This was physically added to my official organizational tracking TBR and it was a historical romance.
I was pretty sure I was going insane because I hadn't read historical romance, like a proper Regency Romance, in years. I stay very much in my bubble of contemporary, fluffy, and cute; where they have cell phones to communicate and women are allowed to show their ankles without being called a whore.

ANYWAY, the fates aligned and I do not like to tempt fate. And I enjoyed this! So fate and luck were on my side. Emilia was brave and sweet and while she had a terrible hand in life dealt to her she is so determined and passionate and lovely. Gavin is so addicted to work that he lets nothing phase him and doesn't ever take the time to appreciate life until Emilia blows into his world and completely turns it upside down.

The relationship felt charming and special as these two had an amazing connection and chemistry that was adorable and just made you fill up with happy vibes! The only issue I had with this is being a novella it does rush quickly into "I love you" and I did have to push aside my dislike for instalove a bit.

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨
▶ Dual Pov
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Almost One Night Stand
▶ Christmas Novella
▶ Regency Romance
▶ He Falls First
▶ Cute Kids
▶ Virgin FMC

and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▷ Rolled Sleeves/Forearms
▷ Love's Their Smile/Laugh
▷ Cages Her With His Arms
▷ "Look at Me"
▷ "More"

Overall this was cute Christmassy vibes and just sweet and giving all the best warm vibes!