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RELEASE BLITZ: The Geek and The Ghost by Cambria Hebert
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REVIEW: Sins of the Father by Isabel Lucero
Sins of the Father – Isabel Lucero
He comes to me through a lattice in a confessional booth in my church.
He’s brash, vulgar, and confessing to things that would send him to hell, and yet, I find myself intrigued by the mysterious man.
His sinful words thrill me. His way of life, so different from my own, has me coveting excitement that’s long been missing. The more I’m around him, the more I realize how long I’ve been deprived of so much, and the more my own deviance begins to emerge.
On paper, nothing about the two of us makes sense, and there are many reasons why I should keep my distance. I try to be pious, but if anyone were to find the skeletons in my closet, I’d be excommunicated from the church.
When something from my past reveals itself, I find myself being pulled into a way of life I didn’t think would be in my future, and now I straddle the line between right and wrong. Morality vs necessity.
I’m a priest. He’s a murderer. But we’re both sinners.
Sins of the Father is a standalone novel by Isabel Lucero about a forbidden romance between a priest and a hitman.
Father Carlo’s world shifts when a mysterious man delivers a cheeky non‑confession that awakens desires he’s long suppressed. The man, Javier, returns with provocative questions, eventually meeting Carlo face‑to‑face. His shameless flirting leads Carlo to discover a hidden taste for kink, turning a self-flogging session into eroticism
Their affair is tested when Carlo’s estranged father summons him back to inherit a legacy he resists. With threats to Carlo’s life and unaware of their connection, Carlo’s father hires Javier as his bodyguard. Determined to protect his priest, Javier finds himself caught between loyalty and love.
From their first faceless encounter in the confessional to the explosive finale, Javi and Carlo’s chemistry is electric. Carlo folds rather quickly, understandable, given his resolved is not iron-clad, having been forced into priesthood by a father who rejected his sexuality.
While Carlo struggled, we are spare much of the woes about faith and sexuality by having our priest go on a sabbatical and thus free to sow his oats with clear conscience. Javi, delighted to have a bonafide priest, had plenty of fun with the priestly vestments. Despite it being kinky, their connection is also surprisingly tender, genuine and deep.
Javi, a Latino hitman who hires his services to the mafia, shares a close bond with Carlo’s father, whom he’s also tasked to protect though has no idea of their familial ties. While some twists are predictable, the revelation of Carlo’s identity still lands with impact, especially told through Carlo’s perspective, where we only glimpse Javi’s reactions.
The mafia subplot is as compelling as the romance, as we witness Carlo’s transformation from reluctant priest to newly appointed heir amid gunfire and betrayal. Their father and son reconciliation is bittersweet, adding weight to the story’s emotional core.
Though Carlo trades one shackle for another, he ultimately embraces his legacy and really came to his own here with a violent yet liberating resolution, in a move worthy of Michael Corleone.
Sins of the Father is a story of fallen apples that are ripe for the taking. Dark, sensual, and irreverent, overall, it proves that forbidden fruits are worth the fall!
Rating
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Sin
Artist: Nyline
Album:
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SINS OF THE FATHER: Amazon UK | Audiobook
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COVER REVEAL: The Geek And The Ghost by Cambria Hebert
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REVIEW: The Hazard and The Hitman by Cambria Hebert
The Protectors: The Hazard and The Hitman – Cambria Hebert
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and being in the hospital with stitches in my head and no way out makes me pretty desperate. So I log in to a dating app, searching for a guy willing to pretend to be my boyfriend so I can bust out of this overpriced nightmare.
But what do I get?
Accused of being a prostitute. Talk about a waste of phone minutes.
With plan A a no-go, I move on to plan B. Escape. Except, on my way to freedom, I’m nearly pummeled by a man wearing all black and with the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.
When he pretends to be my boyfriend, I’m shook. And even more shook when I discover this is the rude guy from the app.
Turns out he’s not only rude but bossy, irritable, and he keeps calling me a walking hazard. I go along with the lie anyway, thinking I can ditch him as soon as I’m free.
Except that doesn’t happen.
I end up back at his place, eating soup and trying hard not to catch feelings.
Then my apartment is broken into, and I’m running for my life, confused, injured, and with nowhere else to go. Kieran vows to keep me safe, something he seems more than capable of… Which is kinda odd for a real estate agent, right?
As the threat to my life intensifies, I start to wonder if I’ll make it to my next birthday and, more importantly, if trusting Kieran is the deadliest hazard of all.
The Hazard and The Hitman kicks off The Protectors, a hitman romance series by Cambria Hebert
The hazard, Hazier is a lonely orphan juggling four jobs. After a car accident lands him in the hospital, he can’t afford the bills and needs a companion to be discharged. Desperate, he messages a random guy on a dating app to pose as his boyfriend.
The hitman is Kieran. Intrigued by the odd request from a cute stranger, he shows up, quickly realizes Hazier is telling the truth, and steps into the role of protective boyfriend—going so far as to pay the hospital bill.
But Kieran soon discovers Hazier is a walking disaster who can’t be left alone and starts calling him Hazard. Worse, there’s a contract on Haz’s life, and Kieran himself was hired to kill him.
The premise is ridiculously cute, but Haz’s dude in distress antics wore thin. His clumsy, too-stupid-to-live moments weren’t endearing and dragged the story down. Also, Kieran and Haz suffered various injuries which seemed to magically vanish whenever sex entered the picture. At one point, Haz even had a head injury, which didn’t stop him from giving Kieran a blowjob.
Fortunately, I loved Kieran’s grumpy, over-protective brand of alphahole energy which carried the book. He fell hard and fast, ready to burn the world for his Hazard. His broody presence and swoony declarations made Haz tolerable.
Side characters Ghost, hitman and Kieran’s best friend, and Rhett, Haz’s neighbor and only friend, also added to the fun. Ghost’s quips are a humorous contrast to Kieran’s grouchiness. I’m thrilled he’s paired with the adorable Rhett.
The plot follows Kieran and Haz as they navigate romance, danger, and Haz’s numerous part-time jobs. Mafioso bad guys and irate bosses made Haz’s life more complicated while Kieran did his damnedest to keep his babydoll safe. Chaotic but entertaining, the story kept me hooked despite my frustration with Haz.
The Hazard and The Hitman is a swoony tale of protection and devotion. Overall, not realistic, but cute enough to enjoy, especially if you love a broody hitman falling hard for his disaster of a boyfriend.
Rating:
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked itSoundtrack: Hazardous Eyes
Artist: Arca
Album: Hazardous Eyes
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THE HAZARD AND THE HITMAN: Audiobook
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COVER REVEAL: The Hazard and The Hitman by Cambria Hebert
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NEW RELEASE: A Job Well Done by Rose Maefair (Excerpt)
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RELEASE BLITZ: Sins of the Father by Isabel Lucero
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REVIEW: His Death Bringer by Courtney W. Dixon
The District: His Death Bringer – Courtney W. Dixon
PLEASE READ THE BLURB AND WARNINGS IF YOU’RE SENSITIVE TO TRIGGERS! And please, please be careful of spoilers and giving away endings of books. Use spoiler tags.
He calls me his dark angel, but I’m merely a killer. A bringer of death.
Luca Davenport
He is my angel, sent to be my death bringer to save me from my tormentors and betrayers—those who sold me into slavery when I was only eight years old. Angel came in with guns blazing and black wings that were made to crush his enemies and envelope me in love. He belongs to me and I belong to him. We are destined. After he saves me from my captors, we hunt down the remaining men who had abused me for eleven years to make them pay in blood.
Dante Varga
He is a broken boy of no more than nineteen. He sees me as an angel, but I’m simply a killer. An assassin for hire. I can’t save him. I can’t take care of him. There’s no room left in my dying soul to care about someone. Not anymore. But I can’t turn him away either. I should kill him. He’s a witness. But I feel compelled to protect him at all costs. Saving him will either shatter the ice around my heart or destroy me. Either way, Luca is dangerous.
Reading in order will add more pleasure to the reading experience since some of the books end in a series cliffhanger. But they can technically be read as standalones.
CW: graphic violence, murder, rape, torture, human trafficking, explicit content
** Note: This book has been re-edited in December of 2024. Several grammatical errors have been fixed and some scenes have been adjusted for sensitivity issues. If you download this book before then, these changes will not be available on your Kindle. But you can get it updated. **
His Death Bringer is the stirring opener of The District, an assassin, found family series by new-to-me author Courtney W. Dixon.
The first thing you need to know is that the book is quite dark, so you must heed the content warnings. It stars Luca Davenport, taken when he was eight years old and subjected to horrific abuse as a sex slave for 11 years. Luca mentions the tortures he experienced, and it’s so stomach-churning I had to put the book down several times.
He was accidentally rescued by Dante Varga when the assassin was sent to kill all the evil men from the crime family who held Luca captive. Dante had no idea the young man was there when he went about his mission. Luca immediately fell in love with his rescuer, called Dante his “dark angel” and hired the assassin to punish all the bad men who hurt him.
Luca is 19 years old and remains childlike since his captors restricted his education. He also has a streak of ingenuity, is surprisingly insightful, and so resilient he survived and wreaked his vengeance. With Dante’s help, he learned to fight, protect himself, and take control of his life.
Dante doesn’t know what to do with Luca, isn’t equipped to deal with trauma, and doesn’t have space in his life for another broken soul as he is just as fractured himself. It was cute how he tried so hard to resist Luca and before he knew it, the younger man not only stole his heart, he was helping put the pieces back together, too.
With all the violence and dark themes, the relationship between Dante and Luca is sweet and tender. The hurt-comfort worked its magic to warm hearts and heal souls through trust, patience, and a whole lot of TLC’s. Realistically, though, it would have been best if Luca had professional help to deal with his trauma.
Cleo, Dante’s Cane Corso and bestest girl, stole the show as Luca’s emotional support dog and fiercest protector. Dante’s District brothers came through with no hesitations, rallying behind him and Luca with guns blazing.
The District is a found family of assassins-for-hire led by Sid Virgil and Malek Amin. The most intriguing member is Sullivan, the resident psychopath who’s lusting after Malek. The older man has his steel walls up, so I’m excited to see how Sully breaks through in the next book.
His Death Bringer is a story of survival and healing. It’s a young man’s journey to reclaim control of his life with the help of a dark angel seeking retribution. Overall, the journey is daunting, the revenge sweet, the feels intense, and the HEA so damn worth it!
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Angel
Artist: Alice Phoebe Lou
Album: Shelter
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HIS DEATH BRINGER: Kindle | Audiobook
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RELEASE BLITZ: Himbo Hitman by Saxon James (Giveaway)
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COVER & EXCERPT REVEAL: Himbo Hitman by Saxon James (Excerpt & Giveaway)
