Hero Next Door by Lara Swann

Ex-marine. Ex-wife. Ex-hausted.

 

I left my brothers in the marines to start a family. I left my ex-wife when that family drove her to drink and drugs. Now all I have left is my son - and he's all I care about.

 

I can't afford to make another mistake. And the girl who moved in next door? Mistake written all over her. She's got the sweetest smile, the hottest damn curves, and behind it all...a haunted look. I can't take my damn eyes off her.

 

My powerful body and coarse attitude make her nervous - and as she tries to start a new life away from her abusive ex, she has her own reasons to stay away. But we can't help it. We're f--king drawn to each other. And when she tells me how much she wants a baby...I make every mistake in the book. Because I want a family again.

 

I want her. My son. And a baby. And when her past comes calling...I'll fight to hell and back to keep it.

Publisher: Tantor Audio | Narrators: John Lane, Veronica Worthington | Length: 8h 18 m | Genre: Contemporary Romance |  Source: Audible Plus  | Rating: 3

I was scrolling the Audible Plus catalogue looking for a light, contemporary romance to listen to while I was doing a spot of decluttering and came across Lara Swan. She’s been on my authors to check out list for a minute so I decided to give Hero Next Door a go.

Here’s what’s going on. When Mack and his adorable son help Naomi move a hutch into her new house, she can’t help but to be a little smitten. While they’re both hesitant to start something due to their own personal baggage and responsibilities, there’s no denying the attraction and chemistry between Naomi and Mack and soon they find themselves acting on their feelings. They feel that this could be the start of something real, if their past relationships don’t get in the way.

This was quick, cute, and a little spicy. It was the perfect book that I could listen to and enjoy while focusing on a different task.

Mack and Naomi were great. She’s running from an abusive ex so she’s a bit cautious and hesitant. Mack ended his military career at the insistence of his wife so they could start a family and she ended up walking away from their family when their son was born. They’re both a little damaged and not sure if they want to risk a relationship. I really enjoyed watching as they took the time to build their trust in each other and build a foundation for their relationship. They also allowed each other to heal and that took character growth on both of their parts.

I’m such a sucker for a single daddy romance and found the relationship between Mack and Tyler to be adorable but I don’t feel as though the book as whole lived up to its full potential. It was rushed in spots and I feel as though the internal dialogue gobble up the majority of the story. While I don’t feel as though it was lacking, I still would have liked a bit more communication between the characters.

As this was my first introduction to Lara Swann’s writing, I think it went well. I liked her writing style and enjoyed the British terminology that was sprinkled throughout. I do think I’ll check out more from this author.

Both narrators were new-to-me and I enjoyed their narration of the story.

Overall, this was a nice romance and a perfect break from the meatier stories I’ve been reading. 

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace

The captivating sequel to the Gothic-infused Belladonna, in which Signa and Death face a supernatural foe determined to tear them apart.

 

A duke has been murdered. The lord of Thorn Grove has been framed. And Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence in a sumptuous estate nearby. He's hellbent on revenge after Death took the life of the woman he loved many years ago...and now he's determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost.

 

Signa and her cousin Blythe are certain that Fate can save Elijah Hawthorne from prison if they will entertain his presence. But the more time the girls spend with Fate, the more frightening their reality becomes as Signa exhibits dramatic new powers that link her to Fate's past. With mysteries and danger around every corner, the cousins must decide if they can trust one another as they navigate their futures in high society, unravel the murders that haunt their family, and play Fate's unexpected games—all with their destinies hanging in the balance.

 

Dangerous, suspenseful, and seductive, this sequel to Signa and Death's story is as utterly romantic as it is perfectly deadly.

Series: Belladonna #2 | Publisher: Little, Brown |  Genre: Romantasy | Source: Purchased | Rating: 4.5 

A Duke has been falsely accused of murder and Fate has shown up with a few party games. Foxglove was loaded. There was so much going on and it all came together beautifully.

Here’s what’s going on. When Elijah Hawthorne, Signa’s cousin and Blythe’s father, is wrongly accused of murder and arrested on the spot, it’s up to Signa and her cousin to clear his name. Although the arrival of Fate, Death’s disgruntled brother, makes things more complicated. He is responsible for their destinies, after all, and while he has the power to change things, he’s not about to let Signa off the hook, especially since she reminds him of someone he once knew. Even though she’s in love with Death, there’s something about her newly discovered powers that link her to Fate. Will she play Fate’s game to save Elijah or will her love for Death win out over her allegiance to family.

This one picks up right where Belladonna leaves off (read my review HERE) and it doesn’t stop until the very end. I have to say, this one was very easy to get sucked into and I didn’t realize I had read the majority of the book in one sitting.

Signa’s finally out in society and although she still figuring out who she is power-wise, she’s starting to realize she doesn’t need to conform to the societal norms. She is freer in her actions, which allows her to be more of who she was meant to be. She’s also just unlocked these strange new powers that she’s not sure about and she’s afraid that they will draw her away from Death. Fate’s arrival has really thrown a spanner in the works and she’s not really sure how to proceed because she is madly in love with Death.

Blythe has also entered the picture more as a main character and, to be honest, I wasn’t a massive fan of her. I struggled with her in the first book but put it down to her youth and the fact she was ill. Sadly, I still found her extremely annoying in this book. Several times, I found myself questioning her actions and hoping that Signa would put her in her place. She does have some character growth by the time the book ends.

Fate’s a new edition and, my goodness, he made things interesting. We get Fate’s backstory, which surprised me seeing as there was nothing on Death in the first book, and while he made some questionable choices, I found myself feeling empathy for him. Thanks to Fate’s arrival, we also get a more in-depth view of Death in this book, which I appreciated. Fate and Death’s long-standing feud was so complex they could have had their own thrilling novella. There’s more than just sibling rivalry going on and more than just competing for Signa. I really enjoyed how fleshed out these two brother become.

Unlike the first book, the romance is woven into the plot a bit more tightly. Signa and Death are an established couple, regardless of who can see them together. I really enjoyed Signa and Death together and loved how protective he was of her. Fate is wanting to claim Signa and Blythe (as well as a few secondary characters) is husband hunting. I feel like there was more focus on the development of the relationships and it helped strengthen the plot.

This was still a mystery but rather than being mystery-driven, the mystery was used to enhance the characters and reveal more about them. Honestly, I think the mystery was weak in this one and, by the end, I was so wrapped up in Fate, Signa, and Death that I didn’t really care about the mystery and I didn’t mind. The mystery, with the arrest of Elijah started off strong but the direction it ended was lackluster. I feel like there were several directions it could have gone and she picked the wrong one.

There’s been a series arc focusing on the mystery regarding the death of Signa’s parents and while it was touched upon a little more in this book, I’m hoping that there’s more of a conclusion in the next book rather than the vagueness that was in this book.

I was a little hesitant when I discovered Wisteria (book 3) was going to feature Blythe as the main character as she wasn’t my favorite. However, the events that occurred in the last part of Foxglove have me rather intrigued to see how things are going to playout so I immediately preordered Wisteria.

While this is labeled ‘fantasy’, I feel that this falls more into the category of mythology. We’ve also moved away from the Gothic atmosphere that was in the first book and entered into a Regency mystery feel.

Overall, while this book had some wobbles, mainly with the mystery, it was still a solid read and I hope to see more of Death and Signa in future books. 

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.

 

However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.

 

Series: Belladonna #1 | Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company | Genre: Historical Mystery, Fantasy | Source: Purchased | Rating: 4

I’ll admit it, I was swayed by the gorgeous cover and the name of the book. I walked by this book several times before I finally picked this one (and the second) up. They sat in my TBR pile for a minute while I was deciding if I actually wanted to read them but, in the end, the synopsis intrigued me. And while I’m generally not one for this genre, I have to say, I was not disappointed.

Here’s what’s going on: As an infant, Signa survived the murder of her parents and has since been through a string of guardians, each meeting an untimely death. Now living with her last remaining relatives, the Hawthornes, Signa finds herself in the middle of a mystery but to hunt down the killer, she’s going to need help. She finds herself with two unlikely allies: Sylas, the equerry that collected her from her previous home, and Death.

I’ve been wanting something a bit different lately, reading wise, and I think this was just what I needed. It had enough of the familiar (gothic atmosphere, mystery) that made me interested and enough of the different (fantasy) that gave me the sense of reading something new.

Signa’s an interesting character. She’s unable to die although she is able to go into this death-like state where she is able to communicate with Death personified. There’s an interesting dynamic between Signa and Death and it has several layers. She’s the only human that Death is able to communicate with, the only person that his touch won’t kill and it makes for an interesting connection between the two. Death is very captivated by her.

As someone death follows, Signa has a bit of a stigma attached to her, which has made her entrance into society a bit trying. She has also put upon herself a particular way she has to behave due to what she has read in one of her late mother’s books. There’s a lot of things that Signa has to figure out but the most important one is who she is and not who she thinks she has to be to please society. I do feel that we get a good sense of Signa but I think a little more backstory, especially regarding her previous guardians, would have been beneficial. Unfortunately, we don’t get a lot of depth into the character of Death, which was a bit disappointing.

The romance in this one was interesting. There’s an attraction between Signa and Death. I know that this isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea seeing as he basically watched her grow up but I decided to look at it as Death is ageless and treated it as I would with a vampire romance. There’s also some interesting, yet mild, shadowy sex scenes and while it does come off as a bit out there, the author made it and the relationship seem realistic. While it worked, I still would have liked more on-page development and more interaction to see their connection develop. When a book starts with characters already having a history (or having been introduced off the page), I think that authors occasionally forget the readers are just now meeting the characters and have no clue about their past interactions.

I know that this was/is categorized as ‘romantasy’ and we do have a romance of sorts, and a love triangle, in the book but this leans heavily into the mystery. I didn’t mind that seeing as I came into the book expecting a mystery with a side of romance per the synopsis. I think that if you go into the book expecting a heavy side of romance, you’ll be disappointed, which is why this should, in my opinion, be categorized as a ‘fantasy mystery’.  

The mystery was solid and grounded. I do feel that the particulars of the mystery was appropriate for the era (Regency) in which it was set. I feel as though someone sitting down to their morning tea would have read about a mystery of this type in the broadsheets. I did find it rather obvious, both the identity of the person and their motives, even though there were a few red herrings. It came down to connecting characters and paying attention to what they were and weren’t saying.

This book was filled with secondary characters and I found the majority of them to be likable. There were a few characters that I found to be annoying but I feel as though they were representing the new world Signa found herself in. What I liked was the way the Hawthorne family accepted Signa into their family. I also liked that someone from Signa’s past is now amongst her friend group, it allowed more insight to Signa’s life before Thorn Grove.

I’ve seen this book referred to as ‘Gothic’ more times than I can count and, while I’m not disagreeing, I’m not agreeing to the way in which the term ‘Gothic’ is being used. This book is not ‘Gothic’ in theme or tone but it does have a Gothic atmosphere/aesthetic. The horror genre is subjective but, in my opinion, I would not classify this as a ‘horror’ novel. Yes, it does contain some graphic imagery but, again, the tone is not that of a ‘horror’ novel.

With this being a book that features Death personified, it does touch on the subject of death and grief. While the subject of grief isn’t heavily dwelled upon, there were some touching passages and I felt like they gave a realness and depth to the story.

This one does end, not so much on a cliffhanger, but with an event that starts the next book. I was glad I had Foxglove on hand because I was eager to see how things played out.

Overall, while I enjoyed this one, I would have liked a bit more depth in certain aspects: more of Signa’s backstory, a more in-depth look at Death, more development with the relationship. While I wanted more development, I wasn’t expecting it going in as this is more mystery oriented. I feel like I enjoyed the book because I knew this was going to be more historical mystery than romance when I started reading. 

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland--and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

 

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

 

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

 

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Publisher: Tor | Genre: Romantsy | Source: Purchased | Rating: 4

Opal has been obsessed with The Underland—a dark fairytale—, the book’s reclusive author, E. Starling, and Starling House. She knows that Starling House is considered off-limits and haunted but Opal’s more than pleased when the owner, the broody and mysterious Arthur Starling, offers her job.  As each day passes, Starling House offers more of its secrets to Opal as does its mysterious owner. While the house is starting to feel like home, it’s also unleashing more of its darkness on the town. As Opal and Arthur work through their budding feelings for each other, they must also fight to save their town.

I picked this up on a whim whilst strolling through my local indie bookstore. It’s not what I normally pick up. I’m usually not one to reach for fantasy, or romantasy, but I was intrigued that this one was tagged as a ‘Southern Gothic Horror Fantasy’, and while I have a few thoughts on that, I did enjoy this book.

Opal’s not had an easy life. She’s searching for answers, trying to survive, and trying to take care of her younger brother. Arthur’s pretty much cut off from the world as he’s the guardian of Starling House. They’re both lost, alone, and have the weight of the world upon them. In a way, they’re both united through their loneliness. Their friendship/relationship is something that Opal is willing to fight for even though Arthur keeps pushing her away due to his responsibility. There’s also a war that they’re gearing up to fight and they have a lot of personal wars to wage as well so there’s a lot thrust upon them.

Arthur was a bit Byronic hero mixed with the Beast from Beauty and the Beast and it worked.  I would have liked more information about certain aspects of his life; it would have given him a more fleshed-out feel. Opal was a bit hard to take. I had to remind myself several times that she was twenty-seven instead of a teenager because her actions were often childish and annoying.

While there is a romance between Arthur and Opal, I don’t feel as though there was enough development on the page. It would have been nice to see more than just the start.

Starling House is a character of its own and while there was just enough information provided, I would love to see Starling House the main character of a novella as there’s so much going on with the house itself it would make for an interesting read.

There’s so many secondary characters that had the potential to be interesting and ended up not being used to their full potential. While it didn’t draw my interest away, I feel there were a few missed opportunities.

At the heart of this story, there’s a bit of mystery and while I found it to be interesting, the conclusion was a little lackluster. I don’t feel that it was supposed to have been one of the major threads of the story (it was more just a bridge to explain why certain things were able to happen) but it would have been nice if it had been a bit more solid.

This book does start slow; the first hundred pages felt like they dragged on and were a bit repetitive. Thankfully, it does pick up and hold a nice pace all the way through. I found the footnotes to be a little odd. They didn’t add anything and they disappeared halfway through the book. I feel as though they were added just to be trendy. While this book does have amazing artwork sprinkled throughout, I feel as though they missed the opportunity to include a bit more mixed media (newspaper clippings, interviews, etc.).

I do want to say that while the story is about Opal, Arthur, and Starling House there’s also an underlying vein of social commentary regarding the impact the coal industry has on small towns.

Overall, while I did have some minor issues with this one, they weren’t enough of a problem to damper my enjoyment. I liked the combination of family secrets, found family, legends and lore, and magical realism. 

Was this the ‘Southern Gothic Horror Fantasy’ I was promised? Not really. Was it Southern? It’s set in Kentucky so it is southern. Was it ‘Southern Gothic’? In my opinion, and according to the origins of the Southern Gothic genre, no it was not. Southern Gothic is set in the Deep South and contains elements that are more macabre. Was this ‘Gothic’?  Yes, it had the right elements to be considered a modern gothic. Was it Horror? For me personally, no; I know readers have their own version of what horror is but I’m not able to name one element of horror in this book unless I would say the house itself but, for me, that would be stretching it a bit. Was it ‘Fantasy’? It’s more magical realism with a dash of fantasy.

 

I would define this book as a modern gothic with elements of magical realism. To me, Starling House ticked those boxes. Again, going back to how I was educated, ‘Southern Gothic’ contains darker elements, which I don’t feel this book had whereas ‘Modern Gothic’ adheres to the elements of the original gothic literature but set in a modern setting.