Hockey with Benefits by Tijan.

Thank you for the Valentine PR and Tijan for giving me a book to read and review.

At first I want to say that I have read Tijan's books before, but this was a first book for a while.

I enjoyed the book at certain level, three stars for the book and the fourth solemnly for Cruz . Mara was the kind of a character that I don't really like. At the beginning she was pictured kind of a mean girl. She definitely had some growth during the book, but I still didn't connect with her the way I would have liked.

Cruz was a totally different story. I liked his character. I liked how he reacted and how he was over all. He had some serious depth and I felt like there really could be a Cruz out there.

This book contains some heavy issues and is not suitable for young readers. I liked the fact that this wasn't your everyday read, but had some serious stuff going on. Both of the main characters had their baggage, which helped Cruz to understand Mara and I think that was really well explained in the book.

The book had so many side characters that I got confused at the times. Few of the characters were familiar from previous books. At the beginning of the book there are a lot of steamy scenes and I was afraid that the whole book would be like that, luckily for me it wasn't. I felt like there were some loose ends, but nothing too much.

The things I liked in this book: the fact that Mara's character evolved, the hockey, Cruz, the relationship between Mara and Cruz, the double POV and I really enjoyed the epilogue. I think that it was a meaningful.

Over all this was a good read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hockey with Benefits by Tijan

2023

The Muse by Emma Scott

Thank you for the Valentine PR and Emma Scott for giving me an ARC to me read and review.

I haven't made a habit of reading paranormal romance. Last one I read was The Sinner by Emma Scott. Now I had an amazing opportunity to read the next of book of the series, The Muse. I enjoyed reading this one as much as I enjoyed the first one. 

Emma Scott has created a world full of demons, angels and human. Her world makes sense. The demons, angels and the concept of the Other Side is, at the same time, comforting and scary. She portraits demons so well that you can almost feel the gust from their wings. 

The Muse brings us Cole and Ambri. The other one is a struggling artist and the other one is a demon, who has a task to follow. We met both characters at the previous book, but in this book they are the main characters. Cole, Lucy's best friend lives in London and is struggling with life. He is about to lose himself in the pits of depression. He has these voices in his head, that are telling him that he is worthless. 

Then comes Ambri, the one who saves him in one cold evening. Ambri seems to be everything Cole feels he is not. They form an alliance and make a deal. But it's not an easy to resist something you want. They fall in love. They both battle with feelings, demands and are afraid of consequences. 

I loved how Emma explained all the self-doubt, all the critique we have towards ourselves. I admit that this one was a hard book to read, because I have been there, at that bridge. I stood there and stared the deep down. But in this book depression is so well explained, at least parts of it. 

I loved Cole, I adored his will to protect even in situations where it seems like impossible task. I loved Ambri and the way he was able to learn to trust again. Because trust is important, is there love without trust? The characters we're over all great, the world is phenomenal, the writing stellar as usual. My feelings while reading were all over the place. My heart broke for both of these men. One of the things I loved in this book how through her writing Emma tells you that you matter and your feelings are valid, but just don't listen too much your demons who try to put you down. Fight back. 

I think it's safe to say that Emma Scott has become one of my favorite authors. She never disappoints. 

I can recommend this book to everyone who loves paranormal romance with some spicy times. And this is MM romance. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Muse by Emma Scott

2023