Nitty Gritty Book Blog

  Firefly K.B. Everly ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads Blurb: I was burning alive and didn't even know it. Until they rescued me... My days are spent in the Burn Unit at the hospital I work as a nurse at, supporting those who have kissed the red hot flames that consumed their world and survived to tell the tale. Until the tables are turned and I am now the one in the hospital bed after being rescued by three firefighters. Their silhouttes appeared in the darkest moment of my life, pulling me out of the shadows I had been living in. Now when I have nothing and no one, they insist I can lean on them. I want to, I really want to, but how can I when the same person who burnt my house to the ground is running around the city leaving smoldering tributes in my name? They want me. I want them. But he wants to consume me, just like his fires. Maybe I should let him so that I can protect them. Then again, a firefly only knows to burn brighter the darker it gets. **This is a Contemporary Reve...

  Say You Swear Meagan Brandy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads Blurb:  If she isn't mine in the end, I'll still be hers. It's torture, but it's true... From USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Meagan Brandy comes a new, angsty standalone romance about love, loss, and the path to forgiveness. For years, I've dreamt of what college life could bring and while some things changed, there was always one constant. It didn't matter how wild I allowed my imagination to run, it always led me to the same place in the end. It led me to him. My future was clear, and he was it. Until suddenly ... he wasn't. Now I'm a shell of who I was, on a path too blurry to follow, and I see no way out. No way up. They say first loves last forever. That's exactly what I'm afraid of... ___ This is a 152k word standalone romance full of angst that is sure to pack a punch! This review is going to be a little harder to write b/c you really need to go in...

  Wilted Orchid, (Mafia Wars) Loxley Savage ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads Blurb: I was sold to my enemies… The rivalry between the Italians of the Outfit and the Cosa Nostra has been ongoing for decades. So imagine my terror when I find myself, the daughter of the Cosa Nostra's boss, at the bitter end of a raw deal with the heirs of the Outfit. Now I’m a casualty of a so-called ‘peace treaty,’ forced into the calloused, blood-stained hands of the Moretti brothers. Salvatore, Armani, and Fausto. The handsome faces of the Outfit bosses don’t hide the monsters that lurk beneath. They claim I’m theirs, that my life was forfeited to them in a pact sealed with my dead father’s blood. But they’re not the only ones who want to own me. When someone from my past lurks in the dark corners of my new existence, things turn from bad to worse. My cries for help are lost, buried among the chaos of the Moretti's dark world. My life was never mine. And now, if I don’t figure a way out of this,...

  Ruining Dahlia, (Mafia Wars) C.R. Jane ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads Blurb: I was sold to my enemies. And not just my enemies. I was sold to monsters. I should know all about how to survive monsters though, I come from a family of them. We aren't Butchers in name only, and surely the Rossi family can’t be as bad as the devil that’s been destroying me since I was eight years old. New York City, the powerful head of the Cosa Nostra, is my new home. Where Lucian, Raphael, and Gabriel Rossi now think they own me. The thing they don't realize is that I'm more than what I seem. A dahlia has always bloomed best in the light, and even though everything about this place and these men is shrouded in darkness, I’m determined to thrive…to win. They play a game for keeps, a game where the only rule is that there are no rules. They want to ruin me. But what disturbs me most is that I just might like it. It’s me against them, and only time will tell If I'll be the winner or be ...

  Gunmetal Lily, (Mafia Wars) Rebecca Royce ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads Blurb: I was sold to my enemies. There was a deal made to keep the peace. War wasn’t good for business. But deals were broken all the time. What did these powerful families have as collateral? Their daughters. A decade earlier, they decided that we were expendable, that we could be sold in marriage to keep their dealings honest. I didn’t matter more than the security I could bring to the marketplace. I was twelve when they decided that, in ten years, I’d belong to the Hernandez family. Everyone knew what was coming for me. Everyone…except me. I have no choices. The daughter of mobsters, I now belong to the Mexican Cartel. But even the terrible images those words evoke are nothing compared to what is coming for me. My new family will discover I am more than just a pawn in their chess game. I'm named after a flower, but I don't wilt. I am determined to come out ahead in their Mafia Wars. *Gunmetal Lily is a...

  Binding Rose, (Mafia Wars) Ivy Fox ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads Blurb: I was sold to my enemies. You would think that being forced into a loveless marriage to ensure an alliance would be unheard of in this day and age. And in most cases, you would be correct in that assumption. But not for me. A cartel princess has no vote on who she can or cannot marry—much less love. Any decision in my life was forfeited just by being born into the most powerful Mexican cartel there is. Still, it does sting that I’m to be hand-delivered to the Irish mob and marry into the Kelly family, who my own brother has coined to be nothing more than bloodthirsty savages. They’re animals, Rosa. Filthy, unscrupulous, vicious animals. Those were his exact words, yet he still followed our father’s orders to walk me down the aisle, making sure I didn’t run from my obligation. As if that was even an option. All my choices were stolen away from me the minute I became another pawn to be used and abused at the...

  Poisoned Paradise Lucy Smoke ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads Blurb: Warning: This is a dark taboo/forbidden romance, and contains dark and very taboo themes which some readers may find uncomfortable or upsetting. A detailed warning is provided at the beginning of the book. (You can view this by looking at the Look Inside feature above.) If you do not enjoy these themes, or have triggers, please do not read. Recommended for 18+ due to sexual content and adult situations. Please read responsibly. Willow Six years ago, I made a mistake. The worst mistake I could have ever possibly made. I fell in love with the wrong person and … I told him. Ryan’s always been with me ever since I can remember. It’s been the two of us—side by side. Through every new beginning, every new ‘family’, and every failure. Is it any wonder that the love I had for him turned into something different—something deeper? Something utterly rotten? And is it any wonder that he hates me for it now? Ryan I’m a damage...

  Forsaken, (Rejected Mates Academy) E.M. Moore ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads Blurb: Rejected Mate Academy is back in session. Unwanted. Dismissed. Forsaken. As if it’s not bad enough that I’m the OG at Greystone, Lydia has decided that the school’s apparent generosity is running out. I have two weeks to get my mate to accept me—or I’m out. Left to die. Feral. With the odds already stacked against me, I return to Daybreak for the Winter Solstice festivities. One last chance. One more desperate attempt. However, what’s supposed to be a time filled with fun and falling in love is the complete opposite. Not only is someone trying to kill me, but things are heating up with the wrong person—a shifter who is most definitely not my mate. I guess I’m playing the game of what’s going to take me out first: Feral, a murdering psychopath, or breaking the pack’s most cherished law. ***The Rejected Mate Academy series is an M/F wolf shifter romance where each book focuses on different couples. S...

  Redheaded Redemption, (Redheads Book 2) Rebecca Royce ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads Blurb: From Rebecca Royce, USA Today Bestselling Author, Comes A Story Of Two People Who Should Not Be Together…Yet Can’t Stay Apart If anyone asked me—not that anyone does—I’d have to admit that I was floundering. My job was temporary, and I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Enter Max Broadley. Tall. Good Looking. Master Chef. Of course, being thrown out of his restaurant sort of sucked, but figuring out why at least gave me something productive to do with my time. The answer, however, horrified me. Now, all of my attention turned to making amends to Max for what I had done. I needed redemption, somehow, even though my actions were irredeemable. Add to all this, I’m so attracted to him I can hardly see straight. When things go from bad to worse, I’ll have to ask the impossible- Max’s help. I have secrets no one can know and yet I want to tell them all to Max—the on...

  The Sun Queen, (The Royal Celestials Book 5) Anita Maxwell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads Blurb:  The Hunt for the next True Queen of Regulus is upon us. I never wanted to be queen, yet I find myself swept up in the competition. I never wanted a man, yet I find myself distracted by three of them. I never wanted people's gratitude, yet they're cheering my name in the streets. Warrior. Defender. Diplomat. Leader. The four key qualities of the True Queen of Regulus. And I have to prove that I have them all. All I ever wanted was to become the Sergeant of the Watchers for the busiest district in Regulus -- Adhafera. But The Hunt has begun and the desert Queendom is running out of water. Hundreds of women enter and I unwillingly throw my name into the competition. The only other contender who has a chance of beating me is a known cheater. Now all I want is to become the True Queen of Regulus, blessed by Leo to rule, and to bring water to the people. If only Leo would give...

Wreckage Ripley Proserpina ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon / Goodreads I made a promise. Mom demanded only one thing from me before she died—go to her sister in Maine and find comfort with the only family I had left. But, from the moment I laid eyes on Paradise Inn and my terrified aunt, my mistake was undeniable. This place isn’t an inn, and it’s far from paradise. Instead, it’s home to the Wreckers, and my quick-tempered Uncle Joss is the president of this violent gang of strangers. There are rules I need to learn, but the most important is to keep my mouth shut. I have a front row seat to how depraved these men are, and how low they'll sink to get what they want. Just when I've run out of hope, three Wreckers come to my rescue. Hades, Pistol, and Viggo are my heroes with dark pasts and darker plans, tempting me in ways I never imagined. Soon, passion turns into something deeper, and I'm faced with a choice. Do I let myself love these men I can't quite trust? Or do I ignore my heart a...

Kissing Tolstoy Penny Reid Amazon / GoodReads ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Blurb:  Now a USA Today best-seller. What do you do when you discover your super-hot blind date from months ago is now your super-hot Russian lit professor? You overthink everything and pray for a swift end to your misery, of course! Kissing Tolstoy is the first audiobook in the Dear Professor series, and it can be listened to as a stand-alone. A shorter version of this story was entitled "Nobody Looks Good in Leather Pants" and was available via Penny Reid's newsletter for free over the course of 2017. Surprisingly this is actually the first book I've ever read/listened to by Penny Reid. I've seen them around but never picked one up. Kissing Tolstoy was included in my audible plus program so I thought I'd give it a try. I really enjoyed it. It's a lighter romance. Anna is a college student and she's a bit of a nerd. She's like adorably nerdy. Luca is a Russian lit professor. A HOT Russian Lit...