GAME ON by Navessa Allen

Game On by Navessa Allen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Last week I read LIGHTS OUT and CAUGHT UP and loved them so much that I got stuck into the third installment as soon as I got it. 😊

Tyler is an egotistical douche who also happens to be a bookie with revenge on his mind, and anger issues. Stella is a tattoo artist with a troubled past and is part of a wealthy family. When her brother gets into trouble, Stella finds herself pretending to be Tyler's girlfriend to help him meet rich people...

Oh! Intriguing. Steamy. Infuriating. Sad.

Just like the previous two books, I was hooked as soon as I started. To be honest, I found that surprising because Tyler is such a frustrating asshole. Seriously, the man is OBNOXIOUS as fuck. I don't care how hot he's supposed to be, he sucks.

Okay, let's focus on Stella first because I really liked her. She's got an attitude, a traumatic past, and although her family is very wealthy, she's not a greedy snob. She actually wants to do good things for others, contributes to society, and no matter how long the hours are, she enjoys her job. So yeah, she's cool and I felt bad for her because she suffers every single day from a chronic condition.

Tyler, on the other hand, is a total dickhead. An insufferable snob for most of the book. I mean, I already knew he was from previous books, but he outshines himself in this one. His douchiness is off the charts, but being in his head kinda put things into perspective because the tool is so obsessed with making his father pay that he's in a constant frenzy to get blood. The anger and resentment shaped him into a bit of a monster.

Man, I thought Josh and Junior had Daddy issues, but Tyler outdoes both of them!

Told in the alternating POVs of Tyler (posing as Theo) and Stella, the narrative focuses on the uneasy situation between two people who can't stand each other. Yet can't deny their mutual attraction, which takes them to some raunchy and unexpected places. I have to admit that I didn't expect to find any of this story sad, but when everything came out, I actually did.

Also, for obvious reasons, I need to mention AJ. Yep.

Another thing that I love about this trilogy is all the adorable pets. We have two cats (Fred and Maud), a doggy (Walter), and in this one we have a hilarious parrot called Amos.

Loved this trilogy and the very interesting and colourful characters!


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VALENTINE'S SLAY by Navessa Allen

Valentine's Slay by Navessa Allen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tonight I felt like reading something but only had a few hours, so this turned out to be the perfect size.

Noah is a gravedigger and this Valentine’s night while working late in the cemetery, he hears someone screaming from inside a grave. Emma was recently buried but she's still alive...

Well, this is such a fun story! It's a cute second-chance romance. The setting is atmospheric, especially the scenes in the cemetery and Noah's lovely cabin. Noah is a very cool character, and I liked Emma too. Did I mention that it's super spicy? Yikes.

I had a blast reading this shortie.

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CAUGHT UP by Navessa Allen

Caught Up by Navessa Allen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After reading and enjoying the hell out of Lights Out, I had to read the next book. 😅

Junior is a serious man stuck in a family business he wants to escape, while still obsessing over his teenage crush. Lauren has a great life with her found family and a job she loves, as well as the club she frequents. When Junior decides to make a move on Lauren, their tumultuous past catches up with them and leads the couple into a whole lot of trouble...

Sexy. Inclusive. Interesting. Dark.

Like the first book, I was hooked from the very beginning. That's one hell of a scene to start with! Yikes.

By the way, I was a little worried about Junior being the main guy because he was quite the douche during Josh and Aly's story, but the more I read, the more I wanted to know about him. Adding Lauren to the mix was another reason why I enjoyed the latest installment so much.

Told in the alternating POVs of Junior and Lauren, the narrative focuses on his current obsession for her, and her past obsession for him. Delving into their separate lives helped understand what brings these two together even though the odds are stacked against them. Their connection is definitely spicy, and some of their raunchy locations are very, um... creative.

Ultimately, this is another great story that brings back some familiar faces but also introduces a whole new cast of intriguing and funny people. Did I mention that I laughed out loud several times? Well, I did. Love the dark humour in these books.

It was also great to catch up with Josh and Aly, and I especially enjoyed the engagement party.

In my review of the first book, I mentioned that animals make great stories even better because of the kitty, Fred. Well, in this one we have a doggy called Walter. Oh, and Fred makes several appearances with his new kitty sibling, Maud.

REALLY enjoying this trilogy!


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LIGHTS OUT by Navessa Allen

Lights Out by Navessa Allen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've had this book on my shelf for a while now, and finally got stuck into it last night.

Aly is a trauma nurse who works too hard, and wants to help people so much she often ignores her own health. She's also addicted to watching videos posted by a particular masked man. Josh works in cybersecurity, and is constantly trying to outrun his father's deadly legacy. He's also got a tendency to stalk people. When Aly and Josh meet, their shared search for darkness takes them to unexpected places...

Yikes. Wow. Intriguing. Raunchy. Dark.

I have to admit that I was hooked from the beginning and liked both characters instantly. I found their separate lives and pasts very interesting. The mutual attraction between these two sizzles off the page. But not just that, I actually enjoyed their interactions. The messages they send each other, as well as the flirtatious banter, surprisingly cracked me up several times.

The book is told in the alternating POVs of Aly and Josh. Apart or together, the narrative keeps the story moving at a fast pace. And OMFG, the raunchy scenes are: 🔥 !!

In spite of the creepy, and at many times, wrong aspects of this story, it's also very easy to root for these two characters.

Make sure you read the MANY trigger warnings at the beginning because this book is not fucking around. It's totally messed up in many ways, but it sure is entertaining and well written.

Oh, and before I forget, I have to mention the adorable kitty, Fred. He's so cute and I love that he has a place in the narrative. Also, the inclusion of animals make great stories even better.

I REALLY enjoyed the hell out of this!


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Getting Stuff Done

Hey! How are you today?

Well, we enjoyed an awesome two-week break but my husband went back to work on Monday. Cool thing was that he had an RDO on Wednesday and we went to the optometrist for our follow-up appointment that included getting the dreaded drops and photos of the back of our eyes. Great thing is that behind-the-scenes both of our eyes are healthy. But we both need glasses.

Yeah, a week before this appointment we had another one to get our eyes checked. Turns out we both need glasses for different conditions. My husband is long-sighted and my short-sightedness has come back.

In case you didn't know (because I'm not sure if I mentioned it before) I got LASIK surgery in my mid-twenties so I haven't worn glasses for decades. Unfortunately, getting older means that my eyes aren't what they used to be so I'm back to wearing glasses. Looking forward to picking them up.

Anyway, on Monday I got stuck into the final read-thru of the two short stories I wrote this month. I made all the changes, formatted The docs and the final word counts are: 🥩 4,621 and 🚉 2,960.

I'm very excited about getting these two stories done. Not only because that means that I've written and completed three shortish (so far) this year, but mostly because these two were previously stalled tales.

The other thing I did this week—asides from taking it easy on Wednesday while the effects of the drops wore off—was embark on the very infuriating task of turning a bunch of PDFs back into Word docs. Yeah, it was a slog that took several days because doing this threw out all the formatting, including italics, etc.

Not fun, but definitely had to be done so I have updated Word docs of these stories.

During the second week of our break we watched more movies: Your Monster (fantastic and sad feminine rage story with a nice dose of humour), and MEGAN 2.0 (fun and ridiculous cautionary tale about AI needing very tight regulation).

Well, that's about it. Looks like we're headed for another dark and dreary weather weekend around here. I'm getting tired of so many overcast days.

Have a great weekend!

March Break!

Hey! How's it going?

Well, March is here and in Australia that marks the beginning of autumn. I'm going to miss summer because it's my favourite season, but at least we have one more month of daylight savings left.

My husband has a few weeks off and we're having a great time together. So exciting!

Also, in the evenings, while taking it easy on the couch, I finished writing a new short story on my phone.

The strange thing about this particular story is that I started it last year, but stopped for two reasons: the tale stalled, plus the vampires were calling. LOL. Seriously, for me, 2025 was the year of the vampire and I put everything else aside. LOL. But I never forgot about this tale and the characters, and knew I'd go back one day. The problem was that I wasn't sure where to go next. THEN, after I finished a different story last week and sorted through my files, the character started whispering in my ear again.

So I took notes, researched a few things, went back to check what I wrote, and the words wouldn't stop coming. After three sessions, I reached the end of the first draft (4,499w). But it didn't end there because I revised the story (4,731w) and added the doc to my Paperwhite so that I can complete the final read-thru after our break.

And then, I did the same for a completely different first draft! This one was actually already written but it just didn't work. I seriously considered giving up on it, was ready to shelf it... but then inspiration struck, I cut the story in half, and pretty much rewrote it. I even completed several revision rounds! The story is now 2,718 words and ready for the final read-thru.

I'm REALLY excited about this burst of inspiration and hope it continues. 😊

Asides from staying up late, sleeping in, playing ACNH, going for walks when the weather allows, we've also been watching movies: Dust Bunny (whimsical and cozy monster tale), Bring Her Back (bleak and traumatic cautionary tale), Predator: Badlands (excellent found-family adventure), Weapons (creepy intriguing mystery), and Fantastic Four: First Steps (terrible pro-life propaganda).

We've got another week off. Yay.

Have an awesome week!

Mental Break February!

Hey! How are you today? Long time no blog, huh? 😅

After spending most of January working on a really extensive edit that almost broke my brain, I decided to take this month off.

So, what did I do? I spent most of my time reading. Yep. It's been a lot of fun choosing one book after another. No pattern, I just grabbed whatever book I felt like. I let the mood take me to my Paperwhite, Kobo or paperback. I ended up reading 13 books. Even though I didn't do it on purpose, every book I've read this year was written by a woman, and I enjoyed all of them.

If you want to find out what I read, all of my reviews are below. Or you can go to my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge page.

Although I didn't push myself to work on anything new, I did finish writing a story I started at the end of December. During the first draft, I initially thought it might end up being a novella. Then realised it would probably be a novelette. Ultimately, it ended up being a short story. LMAO.

I even revise it, and actually completed the final read-thru on Thursday night.

The first draft was over 7k words, but the more I revised, the more words I cut. So the final word count is: 6,170. It's also the first story I completed this year. Yay! 😁

Oh! Guess what? The other day I found out that my book FALLEN DESTINY has been nominated for a Small Spec Book Awards in the Fantasy category.

How exciting is that? My cozy urban fantasy novel didn't get too much attention when it was released in November, but I love Destiny's book. It's an occult detective tale. It's a friends to lovers horrormance. It's a road trip situation with two characters who don't get along. It's a found-family story. It's a book told in the POV of a displaced demon.

It's a lot of fun things and I'm very proud of it. It's fantastic that it's been nominated for an award.

Well, that's what I've been doing. A lot of reading, a bit of writing, a good dose of revision, and just enjoying the last dregs of summer. My husband actually has a two-week break, so I'm going to enjoy a bit of down time. We've got a few things to tick off our to-do list, but it's so cool to have a staycation.

Have an awesome weekend!!

EXIT STRATEGY by Martha Wells

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the Murderbot Diaries and in this installment we meet up with some familiar faces.

Murderbot might not care about humans, but when it finds out that Dr. Mensah has been taken, it tracks her down before the GrayCris Corporation can hurt her...

I have to admit that I'm hooked on this series, but I'm also making sure that I take my time so that it doesn't become a blur.

So, I enjoyed the hell out of this novella. It was such a blast to catch up with Mensah, Pin-Lee, Ratthi and Gurathin. It's also really cool to see that although Murderbot is awkwardly uncomfortable around humans and wants to stay away from complicated emotions, the friends its made along the way won't give up on it.

I always enjoy scenes between Murderbot and Mensah. She's so gentle with him and at the same time, very honest. She's such a great character and it's lovely to see Murderbot go out of its way to help her when she's taken.

The action is top-notch and kept me on the edge of my seat. I honestly thought Murderbot was going to meet its ultimate end a few times. 😣

I love the ending and can't wait to see where the story leads...

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Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I finished reading Exit Strategy last night and decided to get stuck into this shorty. It's in the POV of Dr. Mensah, so it's interesting to see Murderbot through the eyes of someone else. I always enjoy their interactions and love to see it settling in with this lovely group of friends.

Also, I love how the documentary idea is shaping up. Hope there's more of that in future installments.

I love this series.

 

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MIDNIGHT ROOMS by Donyae Coles

Midnight Rooms by Donyae Coles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's another book that I've had my eye on for a while and finally decided to get stuck into.

Orabella Mumthrope is an outsider. A young woman living with her aunt and uncle, who are desperate to get rid of her. When Elias Blakersby asks her to be his wife to settle some of her uncle's debts, she accepts. But from the moment she arrives at Korringhill Manor, she starts to feel strange and weird things start happening...

Haunting. Delirious. Confusing. Mysterious.

I REALLY enjoyed this book. Wow. The Crimson Peak, Mexican Gothic, and Beauty and the Beast vibes are strong with this one. Yet, it's also very unique.

Reading this engrossing gothic tale is like slipping from one fever dream into another, while only stopping by for a reality check every now and then. It's so trippy. The family is absolutely terrifying, the house is like a decaying labyrinth, and the mystery at the heart of everything is chillingly gross.

Orabella is such a great character. One who, even though she's suffered a life of being put in her place or barely being tolerated because she's biracial, she still has the strength to push the limits. She listens to her husband's orders, but then breaks them. It's also interesting that although she mistrusts Elias, she's very much in lust with him because he's nice looking and shows her his kindest side. Most of the time.

Yeah, this is an awesome and very dark gothic fairy tale. Loved it.


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THE ECHO WIFE by Sarah Gailey

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the next book that caught my eye. It's actually one that I've been curious about for a while.

Evelyn Caldwell is an award-winning scientist in the field of cloning. So when she finds out her husband is having an affair with her clone, she's devastated. And when that clone reaches out to Evelyn after a violent encounter, everything changes...

Well, that turned out to be a very interesting tale that really digs deep and makes you think.

I love reading stories about robots and clones because they always skirt around the ethical debate of how humans can/should treat genetically enhanced or engineered life. I mean, if people use/abuse/disrespect fellow humans, how would our world take advantage of them?

Personally, I believe such creations could enhance our existence and would welcome them into our society. Unfortunately, the corporations who would delve into this type of science only wants to make slaves. Which ties into the story, because Evelyn's research centres around making dupes for politicians, etc. for nefarious reasons.

Anyway, back to Evelyn, who is sometimes a really hard character to relate to, but other times is quite sympathetic. She's very ambitious, which is fine, but she also refuses to apologise. Her personality seems to have been shaped by years of emotional abuse by her father, which is also done by her self-centred husband.

That facet of the story is quite sad, and explains a lot about her personality. The detachment she has towards others, and her disinterest in having children. It's just poetic that Evelyn spends countless hours inside a lab creating life from scratch. Love the contradiction in her ways.

Yeah, I really enjoyed following Evelyn as she deals with the end of her marriage, struggles with the reason, and then finds herself drawn back several times because of the unexpected turn of events.

One last thing, I think Martine is an amazing character.


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