Tuesday, September 22, 2026

ARC-Bkfunnel/ Whispered Empire BY LEXI B. HART

 Book Cover amazon

For any other questions, please contact:
Lexi B Hart <divinerose@idivinerose.com>

Stolen kisses and sleepless nights, between whispered promises and faked engagement rings.

 We weren’t supposed to fall in love.

It was a setup—an elite undercover operation, a fabricated romance, a lie told with practiced ease and seductive glances.

Lexi Monroe is brilliant, fearless, and everything I wasn’t supposed to want. She walked into my world with secrets in her eyes and fire in her blood. We became the perfect power couple on paper—cold strategy by day, heated touches behind closed doors.

The mission was simple: infiltrate, extract, disappear.

But somewhere between stolen kisses and sleepless nights, between whispered promises and faked engagement rings, something real ignited.

Now the lies are crumbling. Our enemies are closing in. And I don’t know what’s more dangerous—the target on our backs… or the war inside my heart.

Because loving her was never part of the plan. But losing her was never an option.

Now every touch feels like defiance. Every kiss could be our last. And in the shadows of empire and betrayal, we’ll have to fight not just for the mission… but for each other.

Welcome to a world where power is seductive, trust is a weapon, and passion can get you killed.

 My 3 Star review titled: Shadow Enemies

Jessie and Lexi are together. He thinks that he is protecting her by keeping secrets. And she trusts him until he lied about something VERY important and it blows up in his face. He swore no more secrets would he be keeping from her. Lexi has her doubts but some of her trust is restored. But it looks like he's keeping even more secrets. Big ones to protect her. Well, that's not going to end well ! What a dumb man. This could get them both killed. They are fighting Phoenix and now who is Echo?  Seems like there is someone against them in the game. They never saw that one coming.  I do have to admit that I found it hard to follow at times.  Intense twist, surprises that left me wondering how in the world this was going to  end good for them in the end.

I received an ARC from the author and this is my honest thoughts.  

9-22-26BKSPROUT/ Giving Up a Fortune for Love by Katy Lee Hart

  Bksprout 

 

A secret baby. Inheriting a fortune. Two bombshells that shattered everything.

For five years, I believed the woman I loved had chosen to leave me.

Then I discovered she’d hidden something far more devastating.

A son.

Bobby has my eyes, my name in the middle of his, and four years of memories I can never get back.

One woman stands in my way—Grace Carter, Bobby’s legal guardian.

She sees my wealth and the Bancroft name as threats.

We clash over everything.

Until anger becomes understanding. Understanding becomes trust. And somehow, the woman determined to keep me at a distance becomes the woman I can’t imagine losing.

But my family has other plans. Protect the Bancroft name. Turn my back on scandal.

If I choose the life they expect, I inherit a fortune.

But I may lose the woman I’ve come to love—and the family I never knew I needed.

Tame
360 pages
English
Contemporary Romance Billionaire Enemies to Lovers Secret Baby Forced Proximity
Note from the Author

A story with a happy ending and no bad language.

Review on at least 1:
Amazon 
My 5 Star Review TITLED: Emotional from the start ! 
Michael has the cruelest mother and father ever. They are all about image, and their family Bancroft name ! He finds out years too  late that they drove his first love, Olivia away. They paid her to disappear and abort his baby ! If she didn't they would take the baby! They had power and lots of money. He is LIVID when he finally finds out. They stole years from him and Bobby but also now Olivia is dead;  but now he has to tread carefully.   
Grace and the grandmother don't trust him an inch. But the grandmother who Bobby calls Nana is a wise, praying woman.  It really is slow progress for Michael Bancroft but he doesn't want to scare them off with Bobby. Any threat could make them run. He was done letting his parents run things. Running over him as an older adult. He's not some innocent, blind 19 year old anymore. But he knows that they aren't about to make it easy for him or his new family. His parents don't just let things go. They had his life all planned after all. 
Bobby was such an awesome kid, with people a smart, kind kid. His love for space caused him to be a 4 1/2 year old genius who keeps learning, teaching others and even correcting Michael when it came to the wrong form of explanations. It was hilarious and sweet at the same time. I adored their developing relationship; along with the friendship that finally starts forming between Grace and Michael ! 
This has to be one of the sweetest stories that I've read in a long time. Loved the Epilogue and the author note at the end. It explains that this story is based on a real-life boy who lives in Alabama. That made it even more special for me.
 I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Monday, September 21, 2026

Spet 18-Bksprt/ Claimed by the Don's Architect by Ivy Lenox

  Bksprt  

 Moretti Dynasty Series 195 pages

Framed for stealing from Chicago’s most lethal syndicate, my only shelter is their ruthless architect. Climbing into his bed is the most dangerous choice I’ve ever made.

Vincenzo Moretti is cold, controlling, and the only man who believes I’m innocent. When an intruder breaks into my apartment, he puts himself between us and beats him bloody.

I’m used to managing weddings and banquets. Now armed guards watch every door while secrets hide inside the walls of my hotel.

He listens like my words matter, holds my clipboard while I command a ballroom, and stays when my family falls apart. Somewhere between midnight confessions and touches that destroy my judgment, he becomes the man I never meant to trust.

By the time I realize I love him, the danger surrounding his family has found mine. His secrets lead to a criminal network that has put my mother and sister in its sights.

If I can’t stop them, I’ll bury my mother and my sister because I fell for a Moretti.

Explicit
195 pages
English
Contemporary Romance Dark Romance Dark Mafia Romance Italian Mafia Romance Chicago Mafia Romance Enemies to Lovers Romance Forced Proximity Romance Forbidden Mafia Romance Touch Her and Die Protective Alpha Hero Strong Independent Heroine Morally Gray Hero
Note from the Author

I’m so excited to return to the Moretti Dynasty Series with Claimed by the Don’s Architect! Although it’s part of the series, it’s a complete standalone, so you can enjoy Vincenzo and Riley’s story without reading the previous books. Thank you so much for joining my ARC team. I hope you love their story! ❤️

Review on at least 1:
Amazon
Goodreads
Bookbub

 My 4 Star Review TITLED: Interesting Romance Story

Riley is great at her job but someone is setting her up for a fall. Curtis Bell is her boss and he bails on her during an important event. The he just disappears.  That's something that she learns later and she's worried about him.  Things aren't making any sense. However, at the event her assistant, Nina helps her take care of everything for the event.  She's very capable. During this event, Vincenzo has been watching her from the balcony and can't stop watching her !

They begin a very intense relationship that gets VERY heated ! I liked the two of them together. At one point he takes her to dinner at his mother's house. That dinner has 8 family members there, some small dinner, lol.  A very unusual but interesting interactions with them and his mother likes her right away ! Vincenzo has his trusted man, Gil watching over her sister, Paige.  Which creates some interesting push and pull between the two of them.

Riley, meets a very charming man ,  Mr. Avery at an event with Vincenzo but Vincenzo warns her away from him.  Jealousy? Yes a bit but he knows more than he tells her at first. This man is dangerous and they find he has been behind the scenes for some time. What else has he been doing?  

Paige and Riley's mother are something else that is good.  I really liked them both.  The surveillance by the enemy intensify as do the dangers.  Plenty of twists and turns. Some really bad secrets are revealed before the dramatic but good ending.

 I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

ARC SEPT 10 Bksprt/ KNIGHT: A Forbidden Boss, Friends with Benefits, Secret Wedding Mafia Romance by Hannah Rio

  Bksprt  

 Book 4 of Shattered Pieces Mafia Romance Series 

 The Bishop fell from grace. Santino Rivas shed his collar, claimed Pia Moretti, and stepped into the shadows as his family's blade. But the war he survived left a fracture no confession could seal — a cracked white marble Knight, delivered to his doorstep like a death sentence. A message from the Marchese syndicate. A dead king's pact demanding blood. And the brother who must answer for it is Romeo.

Every king falls. Every bishop bleeds. Now the Knight plays — and the stakes are everything. The saga continues.

*****************************************************************************************************

 A Jaded Mafia Heir. A Forbidden Boss. A Friends-with-Benefits Deal from The Wrong Side of the Tracks that Ignites the Moment He Touches Me.

 Romeo Rivas. Reckless. Volatile. Wears a grin loaded like a gun.

I'm Nova. His dancer. Stripping to survive.

The woman who bit his lip and made him bleed before the ink dried on the deal.

 I leave his office with bruises on my hips and his name branded into my skin.

This man pins me to his office door, hand on my throat, body buried inside mine, and growls, "You're mine," before he even says the terms. 

Romeo wants my body. I want his money.

His fingers slide beneath my clothes.

"Who's in charge?" he asks.

But I pull him closer and watch him unravel. 

Every rule shatters with his mouth between my thighs, and I stop pretending

I don't want to drown in him.

He whispers my name like it's sacred. I whisper his like a death wish.

He worships me slowly, then takes me hard, like war. 

We marry in secret, defying a dead father's pact demanding marriage to a rival's daughter. War unleashes.

Now I'm his wife. Rags to riches wrapped in a secret wedding.

But the truth rotting beneath his charm is soaked in blood.

And the enemies circling us will use it to destroy the Rivas Dynasty — and the only woman he's come to love. 

The confession he's choking on could shatter everything I married him to protect.

And the secret growing inside me could change what we're fighting for.

  **Knight is the fourth book in the Shattered Pieces Mafia Romance Series—a dark, full-length novel of obsession, betrayal, and unrelenting passion. It is the twisted love story of Romeo and Nova, bound by money, an arranged marriage, deception, secrets, revenge, and a crown forged in ruin ---with scorching heat, devastating twists, and an undeniable HEA

 **SERIES DESCRIPTION

Across this six-book saga, the Rivas family is torn apart by power, secrets, and betrayal—but also remade through the dangerous bonds of love. Here, dominance and rebellion collide, surrender burns into obsession, and the heat is scorching, raw, and unforgettable. And yes—through every shadow and every betrayal, an undeniable happily-ever-after waits.

**WHO’S IT FOR

For readers craving a dark, high‑stakes romance that blends forbidden desire with a moody, thriller‑infused atmosphere, where obsession and betrayal pulse through every sinful confession.

 Explicit

457 pages
English
Contemporary Romance Romantic Suspense Dark Romance MAFIA HEIR SECRET BABY OFF-LIMITS BOSS RAGS TO RICHES FRIENDS TO LOVERS WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS ALPHA HERO ENEMIES TO LOVERS DARK MAFIA ROMANCE SPICY MAFIA BOSS
Must review on:
Amazon


Sunday, September 13, 2026

Sept 10-ARC-BKSPRT/ LORENZO: An Age Gap Surprise Pregnancy Mafia Romance By Claire Kirby

  Bksprt 

 Book 3 of The Conti Cousins 

 I was hired to clear a Conti son of murder.

I never planned to fall into his father’s bed.

Lorenzo Conti walks into my barely open PI office, needing discretion.

A dead woman.
A framed son.
A hotel timestamp that lies.

He's a ruthless silver fox who watches every exit like danger owes him money.

I should keep it professional.
I don’t sleep with clients.

And I definitely don’t melt when a mafia widower growls my name in Italian and decides my safety is his problem.

But the deeper I dig, the darker the setup gets.

Someone breaks into my office.
Someone searches my home.
Someone knows I’m getting too close.

Now Lorenzo wants me under his roof.

Under his protection.

Under him.

And I’m about to learn the only thing more dangerous than saving a Conti…
is getting pregnant with one.

LORENZO is a dark, addictive mafia romance filled with power, obsession, and explosive chemistry—perfect for readers who crave controlling alpha heroes and high-stakes passion and intrigue.

While characters may reappear, every Conti Cousins and Conti Family book is a standalone romance that can be read independently.

Mature
761 pages
English
Contemporary Romance Dark Romance age gap surprise pregnancy mafia dark romance mafia romance family saga
Hosted by ARC Team
Must review on:
Amazon

My 5 Star Review TITLED: A Delightful Surprise !
Lorenzo was the first delightful surprise. He's around 50 years old and his son, Alessio is 24 years old.   Alessio is the charming, funny one of the family who is always there with a grin and laughter. He's not laughing now ! In fact, he's devastated at the death of Genevieve Sorel. They had one night and he really liked her. He planned on seeing her the next day. He's angry at himself that he didn't stay with her that night but he had an early "duty" with his family. And he had to  be there ! Marco, the Don of the family, loves them all but duty is duty. The family attorney, Julian helps but they need more, so he knows and recommends Donna Costa as a great PI. 
Donna Costas is a great Private Investigator and quickly spots something that the family's people missed !  They have an enemy that just won't quit. Well, Donna also has a great side kick that I enjoyed so much ! His name is Mocha. He's a large German Shepard that she has trained to an inch of his life. Mocha adores Donna and is a Major help to her as she investigates. I liked how they worked together at the office, on the road and at home. 
Their enemy is intense, but Donna and Lorenzo develop their own intense, hot relationship. I loved their banter and how tender Lorenzo could be with Donna. When she let him. The family later pulls Donna and Mocha in. And it's a large Italian family !  There is quite the interesting twist about the death of Genevieve and it kept me all in !
Great chase scene towards the end with a wonderful, sweet ending. 
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Friday, September 11, 2026

Sept 9-Bksprout/The Autumn He Stayed Book 2 of Pelican Harbor by Sophia Vale

  Bksprout 

 

She came to sell a cottage left by a father she never knew.
He came to make sure she couldn't.

Jade Ellis doesn't do grief. She does plans. And her plan is simple — fix the crumbling cottage she's inherited from a father she never knew, list it, and go back to her real life.

Sawyer Kane has other ideas.

He's been keeping that cottage alive for eight months. He knows every secret it holds. And there's one buried under the floorboards that her father left specifically for her — one Sawyer has been guarding since the day she arrived.

He tells himself he's waiting for the right moment.

He's lying.

The longer Jade stays — learning her father through a town that loved him, falling for a man who shows up at nine o'clock at night to fix a flickering light because it was flickering and that was reason enough — the harder it gets to remember why leaving ever made sense.

He has loved her for eight years without saying a word.

Pelican Harbor has placed its bets.

And this town is never wrong.

Mature
200 pages
English
Contemporary Romance Young Adult / New Adult Romance Small Town Romance Small town Age Gap Forbidden Desire Off limits Best friends brother One bed only Second chance Forced proxmity grumpy/sunshine Spicy
Review on at least 1:
Amazon
File(s) available:
EPUB (Send via email & download) 
 
My 5 Star Review TITLED:  The Mother kept them apart for Years!
Jade Ellis only met her father, Frank once in her life. It was brief and it was painful. She never went back until she got the notice from his attorney.  On the outside, the cottage looks like a wreck. But when she goes inside she makes plans on how to better it so that she can sell it quickly.  Her nearest neighbor of 22 years, greeted her and said that Frank talked about her. Odd.  Much later, we learn that here cruel mother ASKED Frank to stay away, so he loved Jade from afar. I hated that her mother did that. She stole years from Jade and Frank.
Sawyer wasn't cruel; he was patient, quiet and a man who greeted her gruffly with few words for a long time.  Jade didn't know that Sawyer had been left by so many people. That is until he showed up at 19 years old and Frank "quietly" drew him in.  She also didn't know that for 8 years Sawyer had quietly loved her  from a far as well.  He had never left there because he hoped that she would return and they might have a chance together.  Frank's love for the both of them was so special !!
 I loved the quiet friendships that developed for Jade and the special one between Tessa, who became her trusted sounding board.  Later Tessa and her husband Reid come to dinner together, making it even more special. 
A HUGE business opportunity comes up for Jade and now she has a very serious decision to make. I loved the sweet ending of this story as well.
 
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.


Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Bkfunnel/ The Frenzy at the Faire by L.L. Gray

 amazon

 info@llgray.com

My 4 Star Review:  It couldn't have been wilder !
 Harper Sullivan is human but not totally. She has a connection to the trees in the area and a not often used magic of being able to connect with anything metal.  She thinks she's not good enough for this magical community. But she really has quite a few people  who love her.  Even Nathaniel Silverthorne, who is a well liked lawyer, is her boyfriend and finds her extraordinary ! Interesting because "Nate" is a vampire ! This Connecticut community is wild and usually pulls together to help each other.  His family is also his mother, a brother and a sister who also work the faire.  Harper has only been there for a year but finds she loves it and the Spellbooks shop that she now owns.  Cassandra is her only employee . Harper's best friend is Bella who is quite a support for her.  
It's Harper's idea to include humans and to invite other magical people from outside their community. There's a bit of a pushback about that but she wins.  She knows what it feels like to not feel like she fits in anywhere and doesn't want for anyone else to feel that!
Luna, the moon rabbit from an earlier book and spreads her own brand of chaos and helps unwittingly. There are plenty of interesting "people" in this story as well. 
 The story is fun, charming, intense at times and a really surprising, whirlwind of an ending. 
I received this story free from the author and I enjoyed it.  
-------
HOWEVER I DON'T WANT TO READ ANY MORE OF THIS SERIES.