The Literary Puff

“If you wanted a girl who obeys, you shouldn’t have chased after a dream.” I’m going to start off by saying this book isn’t for the faint-hearted. This one made me feel sick. Pepper managed to turn my stomach so many times in this book and put me on the edge of the seat. It was tense and I don’t do this kind of tension well. It felt like I was living what they were a lot of the time and it was intense. Sully and Eleanor (along with Jealousy and Cal) really go through it in this instalment. They’re pushed, they’re pulled, they’re hurt and they face death constantly. They didn’t have a chance to stop and take a breath and I didn’t either because there was no good place to leave it, no good place to stop and take a break … I. Had. To. Keep. Reading. During this book, we see a little more of the human Sully crack through and I think we needed to really. He was someone who I didn’t really like for a long time. Yes, he was passionate and he didn’t hide who he was, but there has to be some re...

It’s universally known that the more forbidden something is, the more desirable it becomes. This is my first—but certainly not my last— Pam Godwin book. And once again, I have my best friend to thank for getting me to finally read this story. It’s been on my TBR list for a long time, and for me, those books always seem to be the ones I end up loving the most. It’s almost like, my heart knows they’re THAT good and saves them for when I really need them. Anyway, THIS BOOK . It goes without saying that the sexual tension was off the charts from the second they met and it didn’t let up. Their connection was intense and wild and at no point did I feel that it wasn’t right. Ivory is an incredibly strong female lead—which I adored. Her fierceness was fantastic to read and her strength to keep going no matter how difficult it got made me want to yell in joy. I felt her turmoil and struggles so clearly and I felt like I understood them a little too. Emeric … wow . That man is a furnace. From ...

It was just him and me. A girl and a monster. And an empty room full of possibilities. Firstly, I have to mention that this book has one of, if not the best dedication I have ever read ... Oh, Eleanor. Oh, Sully. The second book in the Goddess Isles series gave no let up. Page after page or revelations and of feeling pushed and pulled in all directions. There were a lot of moments I just wanted to scream and shout and tell Sully to bloody well explain himself so this whole thing could just be done with and they could both be happy! Of course, this is Pepper, Pepper makes you work for your happy ending, and I do love her for it. We learn a lot more about Sully in this book which helps piece him together a little more. We learn of his compassion and his brutal childhood and yet we’re still left wondering what he’s done in this past to cause him to push Eleanor away … what is he afraid of? I feel like I lived Eleanor’s confusion in this book too. I was so conflicted at times during read...

“Fly away, esclave, if that is what you want. I won’t stop you.” If you thought Tears of Tess was dark … you haven’t seen anything yet. In the second book of the Monsters in the Dark series, Pepper Winters takes everything you thought you knew, everything you thought you could handle and obliterates it. There’s no question that Q and Tess aren’t a conventional couple. Their story is dark, twisted and rippling with forbidden. Yet it is also one of bone-deep connection and soul-searing love. Their connection is insane and it’s weaved into every fibre of their being. Tess is a force to be reckoned with, she’s incredibly strong and courageous. I loved her from the first book and that’s only grown with this book. While I read I just kept thinking, I would love to be her friend. Q is … well … Q . He lets himself be free from restraint and that doesn’t look cute in any way, shape or form. He gives in to the beast and does everything in his ability to save Tess even at the cost of himself....

“You may not be mine but I'm fast becoming yours” I’ve been on a Pepper Winters dark reads reread lately and I am absolutely loving it. Tears of Tess was the first book of Pepper Winters I ever read. I first heard all about Q from my best friend who happens to share my love of reading. We were having a girls book weekend away and she told me about the book she was reading and how the male lead character was, even for her, crossing lines. I cannot stress enough how much this shocked me, because my best friend does not shock easily—she doesn’t need a trigger warning and I’ve not known her to even wince at the contents of a book before. She has impeccable taste and I’ve got many, many recommendations from here and loved every single one of them so I trust her judgement. Naturally I had to read this book. Before I read Tears of Tess that first time, I hadn’t read true, soul battering dark romance before. Sure there had been some dark elements to previous stories, but it wasn’t dark....

“Live for me. Breathe for me. Come back to life for me.” How a book series can go from strength to strength on this scale is beyond me. This book just flew by for me. I couldn’t put it down the first time I read it and I couldn’t put it down this time. I'm reading, I’m piecing it all together and it’s slowly beginning to feel like I get it. So, why do I feel like I don't actually understand it at all? That there is more coming in The Final Debt than we’ve been lead to believe there is and that it’s going to knock me on my butt? And most importantly, why does that excite me as much as it does? This book is so cleverly written—each page haemorrhages emotion the bleed from the pages and soak into your very being. The details that fill every chapter carry the characters and the plot racing towards the finale and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted it to get there but was also desperate to get there in equal torturous measures. There are so many moments in this book that made me feel...

“You live in a fairytale, princess and I’m about to destroy it.” It’s been six years since I first met Jethro and Nila and during that time, I’ve found myself thinking about them often as my best friend (who first introduced me to Jethro) absolutely loves this series and we’ll often find ourselves chatting about it. I found it a very different experience rereading the series than when I first read it. Having the knowledge of where it goes—even if it is a little cloudy from time—means I know the development these characters have and the journey they go on. From a personal point, I also know the series goes from a three to a five star read for me. Jethro Hawk is a complicated character, there is absolutely no doubt about that and I'll admit, he's a character I struggled to like in this book. He’s cold, he’s a bully and to begin with, there wasn’t a lot I liked. The things I felt when I originally read the story remained somewhat, but I think that in this case, knowing who Jethro ...

“It was paradise …” She smiled through her tears. “And paradise had a wall around it.” The Mistress  picks up where  The Prince  left off and once again, I devoured this book and I have no regrets. I adored the side we saw to Søren in The Mistress . He always seemed untouchable, that very little phased him—a strong dominant man. Yet once Nora is taken and he is helpless, you see a little more of the gentle, vulnerable side and it was truly beautiful to read.  There were so many moments when reading that I was in tears. It is so beautifully written that you feel the emotions Nora is living. Each chapter, each page, each word is art. Pure, beautiful, unapologetic, art. The character development, the plot twists, the way you go from sheer dread to joy in mere minutes. You understand a little more the relationship between Søren and Kingsley. It’s a complex one, yet one that is beautiful in its own way. I won't spoil the story, but the note Søren leaves Kingsley gave me g...