Tag: 5 Stars

Review: The Score by Elle Kennedy

Posted July 8, 2026 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

The Score by Elle Kennedy

Series: Off Campus #3
Also in this Series: The Deal, The Mistake
Main Leads: Dean DiLaurentis, Allie Hayes
Secondary Characters: Garrett Graham, Hannah Wells, John Logan, Grace Ivers, John Tucker, Beau Maxwell
Setting: United States, Massachusetts, Hastings
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Rebound Romance, Reformed Playboy, He Fell First, Friends with Benefits, Secret Romance, Opposites Attract, Hockey Player
Release Date: January 11, 2016
Publisher: Bloom Books
Format: Audio, e-Book
Source: Purchased
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

A New York Times bestseller! Get ready for another binge-worthy romance from international bestselling author Elle Kennedy.

He knows how to score, on and off the ice…

Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn’t have the first clue about what she’s going to do after college. To make matters worse, she’s nursing a broken heart thanks to the end of her longtime relationship. Wild rebound sex is definitely not the solution to her problems, but gorgeous hockey star Dean Di Laurentis is impossible to resist. Just once, though, because even if her future is uncertain, it sure as heck won’t include the king of one-night stands.

It’ll take more than flashy moves to win her over…

Dean always gets what he wants. Girls, grades, girls, recognition, girls…he’s a ladies man, all right, and he’s yet to meet a woman who’s immune to his charms. Until Allie. For one night, the feisty blonde rocked his entire world—and now she wants to be friends? Nope. It’s not over until he says it’s over. Dean is in full-on pursuit, but when life-rocking changes strike, he starts to wonder if maybe it’s time to stop focusing on scoring…and shoot for love.

The re-read marathon continues and when I first started, it was this book that I was looking forward to reading again. Every single time that I read this book, I have loved it and that didn’t change with this re-read. I am a Dean’s girl through and through and I knew the moment that I was kicking my feet up and rolling around on my bed like Min Min from Strong Woman Do Bong Soon that I will forever and always be a Dean DiLaurentis girly.

My favorite kind of heroes are the sunshine ones that are huge flirts, funny as hell, and is still dominate when the time calls for it so Dean DiLaurentis is my kind of jam. I was a puddle of mush for him at every turn in this book but he wasn’t perfect because as much as I drooled over him, there were plenty of times when I wanted to knee him in his balls.

Allie was such a good match for Dean. I enjoyed her character in The Deal and seeing her front and center in this book only made me love her more. In The Deal, she was so strong for Hannah and in this book, you see her become strong for herself and I really enjoyed seeing her come into her own.

Elle Kennedy was really in her bag when writing these books. With each release, the books just kept getting better and better for me. I enjoyed the first two books in this series but this book right here?? Yeah, this book was fan-freaking-tastic! I adored both Dean and Allie, I adored seeing them fall in love with each other and that “CALL DEAN” scene?? The way that Dean came running to take care of his baby even though they agreed to keep their relationship secret from their friends and he came running anyway? Yessss, this is the Dean action that I love and adore!

I really loved this book and had a lot of fun re-reading this book. I laughed, I happy sighed, I blushed, and through it all, I fell in love with their love. I loved seeing Dean grow into the reformed rake that he was. I loved seeing him with his roommates and friends, I loved seeing him with the kids on the team that he coached, and I loved seeing him with Allie. Allie was great too. She was smart and strong and she was the kind of friend that makes you feel blessed to have in your corner. This was another fantastic addition that will stand the test of time because I read this book like 10 years ago and I still love the hell out of this book. Highly recommend.

Rating

5 out of 5

The Off Campus Series

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Tags: 2016 Book Releases, 5 Stars, Allie Hayes, Audio, Beau Maxwell, Bloom Books, Book Reviews, Contemporary, Dean DiLaurentis, e-Book, Elle Kennedy, Enemies to Lovers, Friends with Benefits, Garrett Graham, Grace Ivers, Hannah Wells, Hastings, He Fell First, Hockey Player, John Logan, John Tucker, Massachusetts, New Adult, Off Campus Series, Opposites Attract, Purchased, Rebound Romance, Reformed Playboy, Romance, Secret Romance, United States

Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Posted June 29, 2026 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Series: The Empyrean #1
Main Leads: Violet Sorrengail, Xaden Riorson
Supporting Cast: Dain Aetos, Rhiannon Matthias, Tairn, Andarna, Sgaeyl, Imogen Cardulo, Liam Mairi, Garrick Tavis, Bodhi Durran, Ridoc Gamlyn, Sawyer Henrick, Deigh, Mira Sorrengail, Teine
Setting: Navarre, Basgiath
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Tropes: First Year Rider, Overcoming Adversity, Forced Proximity, Navigating Betrayal
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Publisher: Entangled: Red Tower Books
Pages: 517
Add It: Goodreads
Purchase It: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general―also known as her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter―like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda―because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

My sister has been obsessed with this series (and Xaden) for a while now and when I heard that Michael B. Jordan was involved in bringing this series to the small screen, I knew that I was going to read it. I love me some Michael B. Jordan so I was intrigued. I wasn’t interested in at first but I’m glad that I changed my mind because this book was good as hell. I’m good and hooked on this world now.

I think what I liked about this book is how we’re thrown right into the mix and expected to keep up. There was none of that boring world set up and introductions that we normally have to slog through and I was glad for it. The book starts with Violet being thrown into the world of dragon riders. A world that she had no plans of joining. She spent her entire life preparing for a life as a scribe but when her father dies, her mother changes all that. She’s expected to survive against the most elite warriors and bond with a fierce dragon. It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t have the training to fight to stay alive, she’s smart so she’ll have to figure things out on her own.

Violet was an interesting main lead. She’s smart, she’s funny, but what I liked about her was her humanity. She had a fierce code of ethics that was admirable and I really liked how honest she was about her chances, and her feelings. The way that she hated Xaden but was fiercely attracted to him and honest with herself about that made this book a lot of fun. And the way that she tackled whatever was thrown her way with a grit had my admiration for her growing with each passing page.

Rebecca Yarros did a great job of telling this story. There’s a lot going on, a lot to keep track of, but it’s not hard to keep everything straight. It’s not hard to keep up because while the story is plot heavy, it’s also character driven, and I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters. Between the cadets, the dragons, and the professors, it’s not hard to root for everyone. It’s easy to see why Violet is the main lead. You can see and feel that her and Xaden are destined for great things. It’s also evident that their journey will not be an easy one and this book did a good job of setting up the rest of the series.

Violet was great. Her squad is great. Xaden is the hero that I wanted and his crew was fan-freaking-tastic as well. This book was non-stop action with a lot of heart and I cannot wait to continue the series. Readers won’t be disappointed with this introduction to the Empyrian series. I came for Michael B. Jordan but I’m staying and completely seated for Xaden Riorson. More, please! From beginning to end, I was hooked on what was happening and what was yet to come. The ending made me gasp and immediately jump into the next book. I definitely recommend. This book is so, so good.