Poison Kisses Part 1 by Lisa Renee Jones

Synopsis:

Amanda Skye made me want her. She made me trust her. She made me love her. Then she betrayed me. And now, a madman brings us together again and before our battle with him is over, I will make sure that she never forgets my name: Seth Cage. The Fixer for The Brandon Family Empire, but to a covert CIA operation, I will always be The Assassin. And to Amanda, I will be the man who made her moan, sigh, and beg. And I will make her beg.

***Note -- Poison Kisses is part 1 of a 3 part serial: All three parts are super sexy with an alpha man who has met his match in a kickass female. There will be naked moments that may or may not include a gun, which may or may not be his gun. ****
(Synopsis from Goodreads).

My Thoughts:
For years now, I've heard incredible things about Lisa Renee Jones' books. She's on my list of authors that I want to be able to read eventually. In fact, she has been for quite a long time. I recently had the opportunity to read one of her books, Poison Kisses Part 1. Unfortunately, I DNF'd it halfway through.

I feel bad for DNF'ing Poison Kisses Part 1 halfway through. It's such a short book that Goodreads has it listed at 86 pages. Usually I don't do that with short books, but it just wasn't holding my interest at all. To me, it felt like the book was all sex, no plot. Don't get me wrong, I love smutty books. I read quite a few of them. However, I like them to have a story line that makes sense too, whether it be serious, or funny. It still needs to be about something if you were to remove those scenes.

Unfortunately, I didn't like Poison Kisses Part 1. In fact, I didn't like it so much that I ended up DNF'ing it, which is unusual for me. I really do want to give Lisa Renee Jones' books another chance because I believe opinions of an author's writing shouldn't be based on one bad experience that someone has with one of their books. I have a feeling that I might enjoy one of her series, The Secret Life of Amy Benson. I own those books, so I think I'm going to try that next.

I give Poison Kisses Part 1: 1/5.

Want to know more about the author?
Website: https://www.lisareneejones.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLisaReneeJones/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisareneejones
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisareneejones/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lisa-renee-jones
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/73977.Lisa_Renee_Jones

I received this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon

Synopsis:
From ​the New York Times bestselling author comes a breathtaking fantasy of a cursed kingdom, warring clans, and unexpected salvation.

Bayr of Saylok, bastard son of a powerful and jealous chieftain, is haunted by the curse once leveled by his dying mother. Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.

Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.

Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.

What Bayr and Alba don’t know is that they each threaten the king, a greedy man who built his throne on lies, murder, and betrayal. There is only one way to defend their land from the corruption that has overtaken it. By breaking the curse, they could defeat the king…but they could also destroy themselves.
(Synopsis from Goodreads). 

My Thoughts:
I love Amy Harmon's books. Over the past few years, she's become an insta-buy author for me. As soon as she releases a new book, I but it. I don't care what it's about because I know as long as she's writing it, it's going to be good. As soon as the audiobook became available, I knew I had to binge listen to The First Girl Child, one of her newer releases. Unfortunately, it's one of the only Amy Harmon books that I didn't like.

At first, The First Girl Child really drew me in. I greatly enjoyed the prologue, and the first few chapters. After a while though, the book became incredibly boring. It felt like nothing significant was happening. At one point, I found myself losing focus. I had to rewind a few times while listening because I was so bored that I found my thoughts drifting elsewhere, and wasn't paying attention to what was going on in the story line.

I do have to admit that towards the end of the book, things did start to get interesting again. From about the hour and a half left in the book mark on until the end, I found myself becoming intrigued again, and really getting back into the story line. I needed to know how things ended. It wasn't enough to make me love Bayr's story, but it did help increase my enjoyment.

Unfortunately, The First Girl Child just wasn't for me. I found about eighty percent of the book to be boring, so much so that I found myself day dreaming while listening. It just felt like nothing was happening, and the story couldn't hold my interest. Even though I didn't enjoy this book, I will definitely continue to read Amy Harmon's future releases. I've enjoyed almost all of the other books she has written. 

I give The First Girl Child: 2.5/5.

Want to know more about the author?
Website:  https://www.authoramyharmon.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoramyharmon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aharmon_author
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amy.harmon2/
Pintrest: https://www.pinterest.com/authoramyharmon/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbxWykpRGYyQOzwhNgtH-QA
Book Bub:  https://www.bookbub.com/authors/amy-harmon
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5829056.Amy_Harmon

I received this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

Better When He's Bad by Jay Crownover

Synopsis:
Welcome to the Point

There’s a difference between a bad boy and a boy who’s bad . . . meet Shane Baxter.

Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn’t just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there’s a new player in the game, and she’s much too innocent, much too soft…and standing directly in his way.

Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She’s always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con The Point has ever produced.

Bax terrifies her, but it doesn’t take Dovie long to realize that some boys are just better when they’re bad.
(Synopsis from Goodreads). 

My Thoughts:
For years, I've heard great things about Jay Crownover's books. Everyone in the romance book community talks about how incredible the books are. I decided recently that I wanted to try to binge read her books because I own quite a few of them. A friend recommended that I start with Better When He's Bad, the first book in the Welcome to the Point series. Unfortunately, I didn't like it.

I don't even know where to start with what I didn't like about Better When He's Bad. There are so many things. First of all, Dovie and Bax have such a toxic relationship. It's incredibly problematic. There's a certain sex scene that sticks out in my mind just because of how much it bothered me. There was no regard for consent whatsoever. Dovie tells Bax no multiple times, and he continues anyways. It just left me with an icky, gross, uncomfortable feeling as I was reading it. In addition to that, Bax was also extremely emotionally and mentally abusive. He was controlling about where Dovie went, and who she spent time. It set off red flags for abusive signals in my mind. I thought that Dovie could do so much better than Bax. In fact, I was rooting for them not to be together because her being alone would have been better than having to endure that abusive behavior.

Unfortunately, I didn't like Better When He's Bad. Dovie and Bax's extremely toxic relationship made me severely uncomfortable the whole time I was reading. In my opinion, Bax was emotionally, mentally, and physically abusive to Dovie. I do plan on giving other books of Jay Crownover's a chance because I own a lot of them, and don't like to form opinions on whether I like an author's writing based on one book. However, I won't be continuing the Welcome to the Point series. I own most of the books in her Marked Men series and I've heard it's a lot tamer, so I think I'll try that next.  

I give Better When He's Bad: 2/5.

Want to know more about the author?
Website: https://www.jaycrownover.com/about
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJayCrownover
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jaycrownover
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jay.crownover/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6875794.Jay_Crownover

I received this book from the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.