Caffeinated Crystal's book reviews

4.5⭐️ Sometimes, you have to go with a whole different vibe, and today, that was OFF THE BOARDS with the nerd/jock trope. It's cliche for a reason: it's good! Killian needs a tutor for statistics to keep playing hockey. When his professor tells him to get tutored by the TA Maddox, Killian is stoked. Killian has a not so subtle super duper giant crush on Maddox. Maddox doesn't do jocks. Even though his bestie is a hockey player. He has a history of bad situations and tends to avoid jocks just in case. Y'all, they fall in love. I was invested the entire time. These two were so dumb for each other I was here for it. Again, the jock/nerd trope is classic for a reason. I liked the story a lot and loved Maddox's backstory. These two were so cute, OMG. The jersey 😍🔥

4.75⭐️ Fix It Up was amazing. I am LOVING this bodyguard/fixer series. Book three is Locryn's book, and I forgot how hard I fell for Loc & Nick during my original read. So imagine my surprise when I was on the edge of my seat through half the story LOL Locryn keeps his soft, soft heart buried under a hateful and hardass exterior. He gets called in to guide Nick Madison into sobriety. Nick is a rockstar just out of rehab, and his record company is ✨️this close✨️ to putting him under a conservatorship. Locryn is the final chance for Nick to get himself figured out. Loc comes in like a wrecking ball, making Nick's home a sanctuary, an oasis. Hires a maid and a chef and begins to set up a framework for Nick to live his best life. Neither men expect to find their person/home in the other, but that's exactly what they get. This story is full of plot, and the steam picks up when Nick is back to 100%. I truly have enjoyed every book in my reread, but there is just something abo...

4.5⭐️ Book two in the Torus Intercession series, IN A FIX, has us with Croy Esca, fixer and ex-blueblood.  Croy is sent to be an undercover bodyguard for a rich venture capitalist in Las Vegas for the weekend. What should have been an easy job turns WILD when Special Agent Dallas Bauer shows up. The chemistry between Croy and Dallas is immediate and what feels all consuming. They have a job to do, though, and it gets more and more complicated with dirty agents and undercover ops. But Croy, who has never really had a home, finds one with Dallas. And poor sweet Dallas needs Croy like oxygen. Their dynamic is sexy and the two of them are intense. Dallas' family makes for interesting side characters and plot points, but Croy and Dallas are the stars of the show. This feels very "instalove," but considering Croy's boss is also a fixer determined to do just that - fix his employees... well, it's not really a surprise when they end up falling in love & moving on. ...

4.5⭐️ • single dad • bodyguard/nanny I read this series a while ago and never reviewed them (great job past Crystal) and I LOVED THEM. The TORUS INTERCESSION series is about a group of "fixers" that all eventually find their HEA while out on a job. So each book is a little bodyguard-y & there's a romance component too. Y'all know if they aren't banging, then I'm not reading. No Quick Fix kicks off the series. Brann, an ex Navy SEAL, gets sent to Montana (from Chicago) to basically be a nanny. I can't quite put into words why I loved Brann so much. This story is entirely from his perspective, so we see how he leaves Chicago, gets to Montana, and how he implants himself into the lives of Emery and Emery's two daughters, April & Olivia. We think he's sent there to nanny, but Jared Colter (Brann's boss) had his own reasons for sending Brann to Montana. Like Brann says at the end of the book, Jared isn't just running a "fixer" ...

Spoiler free review, if you can believe that. .. ... ... ... I have never read a book like this before, and I can't imagine ever doing so again. goddamn. This was incredible. ... ... ... That's it. That's the review. This book was incredible. I have never read a book like this before, and I can't imagine ever doing so again. ✨️an infinite galaxy of stars✨️

Finished up DADDY'S FIRM HANDS by Mae Malone this afternoon. If you're looking for a novella with instalove, daddy, obsessive love, an MC being on the run from the mafia, or a possessive ranch owner, LOOK NO FURTHER. My only real issue with this story is that it had to be instalove because the book is short. Stone & Milo did have chemistry, but it evolved so quickly. This story is set in a larger mafia world that I think would be best enjoyed together. BUT, I did enjoy the story. Milo is a B-R-A-T, and Stone is all too happy to take him in hand. DADDY'S FIRM HANDS comes out tomorrow, so if you're looking to wile away an hour or two, this should keep you entertained.

This was a cute, short little novella around 200 pages. The idea: a group of siblings convert their family ranch into Rainbow Ranch. Where anyone and everyone is welcome and the animals and the land are taken care of. The first sibling to find love: the ranch cook Boone. Boone meets his match when a drifter cowboy comes in town for work. Wylie Anderson has been running for a long time, and maybe now he's ready to settle down. ●•°○●●•••●●°° I easily would have rated this story 5 stars if the author hadn't had Wylie call Boone his "buckaroo." I can not with that. But I did enjoy how these two fell in love. "My heart's thumping like a drum as the sun starts to rise, painting the sky in all sorts of colors. I'm not sure what I was thinking - hell, maybe I wasn't thinking at all. But after last night, holding him, kissing him, and spending most of the night turning and twisting, thinking about him, I can't act like nothing happened. Kissing Boone Adams...

This book had me crying the entire time! Why? I don't know. I don't know why Teddy and Sev made me so emotional, but they did. I am an absolute mess over here. Why did I love this book? • it's Jesse • THE WORDS • the PINING • brother's bff/best friend's brother • "I've loved you all my life." Also, this: "This time, his kiss is ruthless and hard. It's the furthest thing from chaste. A linear mile from innocent. It's the kiss. The one I've been waiting for all of my life." Did I mention the pining? When I tell you I love a consistent character who is happy to pine forever, believe me. Teddy, you ridiculous man. Sev was my favorite. Something about him just broke my heart. This review is different from the ones I usually write. I can't stop crying. And Daylight by Taylor Swift keeps playing in my head, which isn't helping. It's only making me cry harder. If you want a SUPER slow burn with lots of pining, look no further....

  It seems like at least one of my favorite authors (& sometimes more!) always seem to have a story in these anthologies. SO I ALWAYS look forward to them. The best-selling HEART2HEART ANTHOLOGY is coming back with VOLUME 8, and here’s your first look at the cover and blurb! 💚 out on November 3, for just 90 days 💚 Preorder here → https://getbook.at/H2HV8 Once upon a time, a bunch of authors wondered… could Heart2Heart, the dating and community app trusted by queer singles around the world, help find the perfect temporary Plus One? Whether it’s to protect your ‘assets’ at a fundraising gala, attend an ex’s wedding, share a tantric yoga class, walk the dog, or stand by your side at a funeral, sometimes you just need the right person at the right time, and H2H is here to help make it happen. As always, all proceeds from this anthology will benefit LGBTQ+ charities to ensure that love in all its incarnations will be celebrated and protected every single day of the year! Par...

Okay, this was adorable. Feet kicking the couch adorable, honestly. I LOVED getting to see the assorted Sunday Brothers, AND Uncle Drew/Marco live out their happily ever afters. The idea that each of these couples are having shenanigans around a ceramic chicken that may or may not have magical properties... peak entertainment. This little novella was sweet and fun and absolutely a must-read if you liked the Sunday Brothers series 🩷🩷 which I did! So much!

I am SO excited for Sweet Vengence! It's rare for me and my book bestie Shann to enjoy the same book, but we both loved book one, Bittersweet Revenge! It was definitely a ✨️dear diary✨️ moment LOL Sweet Vengence is out October 8th, and here is the blurb! Isn't this cover great? 🔪🖤🔪 Cillian I can’t figure out why I’m so intrigued by Ollie Gibson. He’s nothing like me—soft where my world is hard, sweet and kind while I’ve grown up around violence. But there’s a fire to him that sparks the one inside me, loyalty that calls to me, and bravery I respect even if it gets him in trouble. When Ollie’s hurt and we don’t know if the men who attacked him will come back for more, I can’t stop myself from claiming him. There’s nothing I won’t do to protect him, even go behind his back for vengeance. I crave him—both the sweetness and the fire, the innocence and the dirty boy he turns into under my touch. I’ll kill for him, turn my world upside down for him, share my pain and secrets with ...

Oh my god, this book! I love a squishy romance, and this just ticked all my boxes. Not for readers who are looking for smut. TAKE A CHANCE is more of a romance. It's a love story! ✨️baby, just say yes!✨️ Other plot points: single dad that's down on his luck, a big family run ranch, a pansexual foreman/co-owner, and so many horses! When I tell y'all I ate this book up, trust me!  Mal and Crew delivered big feelings and such a sweet romance *still dreamily sighing over them, honestly* I don't usually like kids in books because I don't like kids, lol, but Payton was adorable and such a little sweetheart. Mal was trying so hard and just needed a little help. Crew was a dreamy idiot. The Harringtons have so many kids this series could go on forever... I mean Bodhi & his childhood best friend, the country singer. Hawk and the rich horse buyer. I just need more of these people. This book was such a surprise, and I found it exactly when I wanted it. I was craving a swee...