Tag Archives: 5 mikes

ARC — When Life Gives You Vampires — Gloria Duke

Author: Gloria Duke
Narrated By: Meg Sylvan

Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 3 stars
Narration: 5 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses fatphobia, crash dieting, infertility, and kidnapping. Describes fires, death, drinking blood, and hate crimes. Includes some sexual content.

“When Life Gives You Vampires” follows Lily Baines, a 25-year-old New Yorker that was turned into a vampire by a virtual stranger against her (and his) will. Lily meets Tristan at a bar and they hit it off pretty quick, but Tristan did not mean to turn her—that’s actually against all vampire laws. That’s why, now, they’re being threatened and hunted down by, lets say, the president of vampires. How will they fight this double death that is knocking on their door? This and more is what this amazing story has to offer.

This book is fun and funny. It’s about vampires without being pretentious—it might even be a bit satirical when it comes to our young generation’s perception of vampires. I loved how they broke the fourth wall here and there. I did not want this book to end, it was the light-hearted, suspenseful read I needed.

Also, I had never heard a book narrated by Meg Sylvan, but I can honestly say I will be following her work from now on. Her voice really kept me engaged, which is actually a really big feat when it comes to me—my mind is all over the place when I’m listening to audiobooks, yet Meg’s narration really caught my attention.

Don’t expect this book to be life-changing, because it isn’t, but it does touch on important topics like loving yourself, body positivity, and trusting family and friends. It also has quite a cute love story, with all its ups and downs.

I would highly recommend this read and this audiobook if you’re looking for a light-hearted but short and captivating read. With its strangers-to-lovers trope, it’s quite unique, I can’t think of any book to compare it to—but definitely grab this book if you like books with plus-sized main characters and if you won’t be offended by a joke or two about vampires.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, and published by Sourcebooks, in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

ARC — Bad Girl Reputation — Elle Kennedy — Avalon Bay #2

Author: Elle Kennedy
Narrated by: Lee Samuels and Summer Morton

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 stars
Narration: 5 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses parent death, parent neglect, abandonment, alcohol and drug abuse, police/authority abuse, and includes sexual content.

“Bad Girl Reputation” follows Genevieve (Gen) West, a rebel who escaped the small town of Avalon Bay, running away from her past and her reputation—but then, after being a year away, her mother dies unexpectedly, and she is forced to come back and help her father with their family business. So in comes Evan Hartley, Gen’s on-again-off-again high school ex-boyfriend and personal bad boy. As soon as they see each other, they know there’s still something there, and so Gen has no option but to run away from him, constantly. If she wants to break out from old cycles, then she needs to start with Evan. She can’t be dating him if she’s planning on not being her past, irresponsible self. But what if she isn’t the only on that has changed? What if this time apart has also been good for Evan? What if she does have another shot at love after all.

“Bad Girl Reputation” is worth the hype. This second chance romance is both fast-paced and, well, romantic. I was lucky to get my hands on the audiobook ARC of this book, with Summer Morton narrating as Gen and Lee Samuels narrating as Evan. In my opinion, Summer was the perfect cast. Her voice was all I imagined Gen’s voice to be. Evan, on the other hand, took me a few chapters to get used to. I wasn’t feeling his voice, even if the narrator was doing a great job—and even by the end I wasn’t 100% sold on it.

I am happy to say, tho, that I liked “Bad Girl Reputation” so much more than the first book in this series, “Good Girl Complex”. The first book in the Avalon Bay series felt one-dimensional at times and perhaps even a bit bland. “Bad Girl Reputation”, on the other hand, has so many layers and parallel situations that all show their relevance by the end of the book, even if at times they felt like unnecessary filling. Everything from problematic friendships to awkward dating to strained parental relationships being mended to volunteering were discussed and it was precious.

I would highly recommend grabbing this audiobook, even if you haven’t read the first book on this series, as it serves as a standalone novel mostly. Gen are Evan are the sweetest couple and the narration is clear—so clear, actually, that I was able to listen it at 3 times the speed with no problem whatsoever.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio and published by St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: October 4, 2022