Review - Exposed by Kristen Callihan

Exposed by Kristen Callihan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to the first three books in this series on audiobook, and from the first time Rye and Brenna were together, sniping at each other, I knew I wanted their book. Luckily, Exposed released just weeks after I finished listening to Managed, so I didn't have long to wait!

Kristen Callihan knows these characters so well, and makes them so real that they jump off the page to yell at you. It's overwhelming and amazing and so so much joy to read.

Rye is the bassist for Kill John, the biggest rock band in the world, and Brenna is their PR manager. They've known each other for years and bickered constantly. Brenna is aloof and guarded, and Rye is the "fun guy". (Almost grumpy-sunshine, except they are both so much more nuanced than that.) When Rye overhears Brenna confessing that she is craving intimacy without strings, he knows he wants to be the one to satisfy all of her cravings.

However, what they both know but neither want to admit is that what's between them is so much more than physical, if they can only be brave enough to ask for it.

AAAA the pining and longing in this book tore me apart! Callihan does such a great job putting so much in to her books and unpacking such difficult themes so deftly! She doesn't pull punches, and it's wonderful.

I loved this book, would definitely recommend!

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Review - Ensnared by Innocence by Larissa Lyons

Ensnared by Innocence by Larissa Lyons
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The premise of this book, Ensnared by Innocence, was what drew me in. The heroine, Francine, needs to be betrothed for a few months until she reaches her majority and takes control of her inheritance. She asks one of the ton's biggest rakes, Lord Blakely, to pretend to be her fiance for that long. He agrees, but he has a secret - he turns in to a lion.

The story was delightfully bonkers, and for the most part I enjoyed the plot. My biggest issue with this book was the language. The author stated that she tried to keep all terminology, etc. period-appropriate, and it's obvious they did a lot of research toward that goal. My problem is that I'm not reading this book in 1812, I'm reading in 2021 and I don't know what a lot of those words mean. The phrasing really slowed down the pace of the book and made the writing feel "clunky", whereas I think if she had just written what she meant directly it would have came across a little easier.

The introduction of Blakely's brother near the end of the book felt abrupt and a little shoehorned in, and while I appreciate that the author was setting him up for his own book, it was still very unexpected, and I wish the characters had explored that a little more.

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