booksheenanigans's reviews
2949 reviews

Rating: ★★★★✬ (4.5/5 Stars)
Title: Kings of Mayhem
Author(s): Penny Dee
Character(s):
― Indigo Parrish: 30 years old, Blonde, Blue Eyed
― Cade Calley: 30 years old, Black, Blue Eyed
Setting: Destiny, Mississippi
Tag(s): Romance, Contemporary
Content Rating: R
POV: Alternates between Heroine/Hero; Present/Past
Smexy Level: Hot
Favorite Quote(s):
― "Get in and get out. No distractions. That was the plan."
― "Twelve years of silence filled the space between us. Loudly."
― “It rips my heart out to know that the one thing I couldn’t protect you from was me.”
― “If I thought for one moment you wanted to kiss me, Indy, then I’d spend the rest of my life kissing just you.”
― “Tell me how I let you go without it killing me and I will,” he said, his voice rising over the rain. “Tell me how I live without you without it destroying me.”
Overall Opinion:
Falling for the girl next door is never easy especially when a dire mistake changes the lives of Indigo and Cade forever. The opening sequence left me on the edge of my seat. It was an unexpected surprise that helped showcase the close, heartwarming relationship between the two childhood friends turned lovers. The narrative alternative between the heroine and hero from past to present, and was a great way to present how and when they fell in love, and most importantly, how it all fell apart. The overall premise is about second chances and learning to forgive.

The story follows the main heroine journey back home. With the sudden passing of Indigo estranged father, she finds herself back home in Mississippi for his funeral after running away from all whom she loved: family, friends and Cale. Lingering feelings, accidental touches and misunderstandings push and pulled the hero and heroine together. Knowing their days together are numbered, Cale is doing everything in his power to gain her forgiveness and despite the twelve long years of silence, she has always been his endgame. It has always been her. Only her. And he's ready to show that to her.

The general flow and pace of the story was ideal, the characters were likeable and nothing seemed forced. There is definitely more to the story than meets the eye and the only negative I can point out is that I really had wished the writer would have explained the reason behind Cale's father actions and why he caused the rifted between the main characters. Maybe he was just being a dick which is a trend I've noticed from a lot of the older secondary characters in the story minus grandma because she's badass or is there an actually reason behind everything? Maybe I'm just looking way too much into it!

Overall, with this being the first Penny Dee novel and book one of the “Kings of Mayhem” series I've read, I am highly impressed. I look forward to reading more of her works and the upcoming sequel of this fantastic book! Additional to that, the novel ended in a high note with an unexpected cliffhanger and I can't wait to read what happens next!

I've received a ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The attraction was immediate with Kristin and Sean even though the romance seem rushed, but love is love I guess? The series itself started off very strong but as the story progress, the scenes seem very redundant and there wasn't much of a plot until the last quarter of the story. Dealing with a craze roommate and ex-hookup can be challenging especially if they plan to sabotage Kristin and Sean's newly-developed relationship but even with that, it didn't really draw me in. Mediocre-at-best.

It’s hard to come across decent historical (regency) romances that aren’t too overwhelmingly cheesy and bland, and I pleasantly surprised by this read and how much I loved it. The author was able to set this apart from other by introducing a wealthy aristocrat finding herself marrying a criminal to stop suitors who are in hot pursuit of marrying her to get to her family wealth. It was different from the traditional and generic historical romances I have read as of late and as might be expected I am highly impressed with the author's ability to immediately enthralled me from page one with the rich historical imagery and emotion that the writing style displayed. In addition to that, let's talk about the lead characters that initially won me over. From the get-go the chemistry between Georgie and Ben’s were off the charts and once introduced, the playful banter and flirty interactions were swoon worthy and showcased how well they mesh well together despite their vastly different cultural backgrounds. Any reader can feel the intense heat and attraction through the pages, and because of that, I just knew this was a keeper. Needless to say, “This Earl of Mine” is a must read for all historical regency readers looking for a decent read to spice up their life.

It was an okay read and the information provided didn't stand out too much for me but then again I'm not a novice or beginner so this would be better for them. Otherwise I enjoyed the fact that many "experts" contributed to the novel by going in-depth with the magick origins and practice. I must say it was informative and detailed, and because of that, I would definitely recommend this read for those who what to get a sense of where the practice originated from and to get a better understanding of of magick.

If you haven't already picked this gem up, the novel is centre around Zelda, a high functioning young adult diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The heroic heroine is a viking enthusiast and uses "Kepple's Guide to the Vikings", a book Zelda reads obsessively as a handbook to her everyday life. The smooth and easy read told in Zelda's perspective is a phenomenal coming-to-age story filled with love, legends, and self-discovery. It was a pull at the heartstrings type of story that further enthralled the reader with the out of ordinary characters, storyline, and content.