It's Only a Game by Kelsea Yu REVIEW

Summary:

When Marina Chan ran from her old life, she brought nothing with her - not even her real name. Now she lives in fear of her past being discovered. But when her online gaming team is offered a tour of their favorite game company, Marina can't resist accepting, even though she knows it might put her fake identity at risk.

Then the creator of the game is murdered during their tour. The killer plans to frame Marina and her friends for the murder unless they win four rounds of a dangerous game.

A game that requires them to lie, trespass, and steal. A game that could destroy everything Marina's worked so hard to build. A game that she might not survive.

My Thoughts:

I devoured this book. Marina is running from her past, which we get snippets of throughout the novel to piece together. When she meets up with her gaming friends for a tour, it seems surreal - even more when the creator offers to pay Marina to make artwork for the game. But things go south when they hear a gunshot and discover the creator's body on their way out of the building. They are tasked with completing a game designed by the elusive online gamer Cixi - or they will be framed for the murder and their lives will be ruined.

Marina is such an intriguing character to follow. We only know bits and pieces about her, and more gets slowly revealed throughout the book. We also learn more about her online friends - Syl, Dread, and Rock. Despite this being their first in-person meetup, they hit it off immediately with each other. However, it doesn't feel rushed or unrealistic at all.

After starting the first few chapters, this novel was practically impossible to put down for me, and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it and theorizing what might happen next. While there was one twist I did see coming, the rest I did not. I would definitely recommend picking up this book and giving it a read.

My Rating: 5 stars

Contract Bound by Elle Mae REVIEW

My Thoughts:

Sylvia hates vampires. A few years ago, she came home to find her entire family dead - killed by vampires. She joins the Order, a group dedicated to hunting them, partly for revenge and partly to pay off her family's debt to them. One day, she is given a mission to be a bodyguard to a vampire heir which will pay off her debt for good, so she takes it. Keir is the heir to a vampire clan and hates hunters. She had previously driven off all her other bodyguards, and plans to do the same with Sylvia. But the plans change when Keir takes a liking to her, despite  Sylvia's utter distaste for all vampires. Against all odds, Sylvia also develops feelings for Keir. Vampire clan leaders can only rule for a certain time, and Keir's father's time is almost up. Ruthless and unkind, he plans to not give up his position, and Keir will have to find a way to make him step down.

I fell in love with this book. Sylvia and Keir are such interesting and opposite characters, and their romance did not seem rushed at all. They were very well developed, and I even found myself loving side characters like Gillard as well. The writing is well done, and the story is captivating. I would definitely recommend giving this book a read.

My Rating: 5 stars

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver REVIEW

Summary:

After contract killer Lachlan Kane botches a job for his boss's biggest client, he knows he'll never claw his way out of the underworld. At least, not until songbird Lark Montague offers him a deal: hunt down a killer, and she'll secure his freedom. The catch? He has to marry her. And they can't stand each other.

Indie singer-songwriter Lark is the sunshine that burns through the darkness Lachlan Kane tries to hide behind. Lachlan might think Lark is just a privileged princess, but the truth is that she keeps plenty of secrets. With her formidable family in a tailspin and her best friend's happiness on the line, Lark's willing to make a vow to the man she's determined to hate, no matter how tempting the broody assassin might be.

As Lachlan and Lark navigate the mission that binds them together, it becomes impossible to discern their fake marriage from a real one. But the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love.

My Thoughts:

It took a little bit for me to get into this one, as it is very different than the first. We first meet Lark as she is killing someone who deserves it, when she ends up needing a cleanup crew to help afterwards. This is when she first meets Lachlan, who, at the time, is in a terrible mood and is not very nice to her. They meet again at Rowan and Sloane's party, where they don't recognize each other at first and almost kiss. Lark's family is having some issues, and her parents think that Lachlan is to blame - and although Lark despises him, he is Rowan's brother, and she doesn't believe he would do that. Prompted by her Aunt Ethel, she proposes marriage to get the target off his back and to find the person who is really responsible.

I had fun reading this book. The characters are very well developed. The reader, like Lark, doesn't like Lachlan at first, and then slowly starts to like him. But my favorite character by far is definitely Aunt Ethel, who is an older lady that does not care about what anyone thinks of her, but cares deeply for her family. I do think that the antagonist is kind of underdeveloped though, as his two traits are being religious and wanting revenge for his brother's death. He seemed a little one-dimensional compared to the antagonist in the first book.

My Rating: 3 stars