The Introvert's Book Club

Sigma Sin #2 Rating: 4/5  Spice: 3/5 Plot: 4/5 Primary Genre: Dark Romance Trigger Warnings: See author website here Favorite Quote: “She tastes like hope and self-destruction. Two opposing forces that shouldn’t coexist, but she does.” Blurb: Declan Pierce is a bully and a sadist. He’s been my enemy since birth, and he’s made my life a living hell. But when my father barters me in an arranged marriage, Declan proposes a deal I can’t refuse. After all, so long as Declan owns my soul, it can’t be sold to another… But it turns out Declan wants more than I bargained for. My body, my submission, the truth behind what sent me to Montgomery Psychiatric Ward three years ago. And he’ll haunt every facet of my existence until he gets it. I thought death was the only truly inescapable thing. After all, nothing is eternal… except maybe him. The Good: * This author dives head first into dealing with mental health and self harm issues rather than shying away from it or tiptoeing around it. T...

  Buy on Amazon Rating: 4/5 Spice: 3/5 Plot: 5/5 Primary Genre: Holiday Romance Blurb: Ivy Winters As the head elf at Santa’s Christmasland, I never expected to be butting heads with the new executive—or going on a date with him. But when he asked me to go home with him for Christmas, I surprised myself by saying yes. Oh, and he’s from the North Pole. And apparently, I’m an elf. Teddy Claus Training to take over the family business was no small undertaking, but for the last few years, I’d been working my way up through the ranks, mastering each branch of our enterprise. But everything was different when I arrived at our Christmas themed amusement park and met her. Maybe that was why I invited her home with me for Christmas. It felt like I’d been searching my whole life for something, and I’d finally found it. Maybe, what I’d needed all along was Ivy by my side. The Good: * This book was giving “The Santa Clause 2” meets The Hallmark Channel but with spice and I was her...

  Buy on Amazon Rating: 3.5/5 Spice: 5/5 Plot: 4/5 Primary Genre: Horror Romance Trigger Warnings: See author website here Favorite Quote: “We’re not incomplete individuals searching for our other halves. We’re complete entities seeking the wild souls that resonate with ours” Blurb: I’m not a good man. Never cared to be one. My existence is only darkness and death. The world thinks I shouldn’t be this way, but I am who I am. Turning animals & humans into art is all I’ve ever known. Sending keepsakes of my victims ignites a fire within me, knowing I’m hurting families fuels my passion to continue. I’ve never wanted to be anyone’s hero until Lucy. Being in the shadows of her life could never be enough. The pure love that pours from her is something I couldn’t have prepared myself for. She’s mine and always will be, even if she doesn’t know it yet. The Good: * I’ve never read a horror romance so this book was me dipping my toe in the water. I didn’t totally dislike i...

  Buy on Amazon Love on the Vine #4 Rating: 3.5/5  Spice: 3.5/5 Plot: 4/5 Primary Genre: Romance Trigger Warnings: Explicit language, sexual content Favorite Quote: Breakups were like bruises. Eventually, they become nothing more than some discolored flesh and a memory of the ache you’d once felt. But in the thick of them, when your skin was still mottled black and blue, pressing on them meant only pain. Blurb: Since her recent breakup, Ella Delatou has buried herself in work. Between her job at the local flower shop, Blossom's, and her family's winery, she has plenty to keep herself busy. If only the busybody townsfolk of Apple Blossom Bay would leave her alone long enough to let her fully move on. Liam Danvers has been working for Chateau Delatou winery as its head vintner for five years—and has been half in love with Ella Delatou for nearly as long. The first time he laid eyes on her, he knew she was the one. Only, he didn't move fast enough, and she wound up in a r...

  Buy on Amazon Lacey Bros #1 Rating: 4/5 Spice: 3/5 Plot: 4/5 Primary Genre: Sports Romance Trigger Warnings: Situational depression, cheating (not by either MC) and a brief mention of a loved one’s passing. Blurb: He’s the superstar tight end staging a comeback. She’s the hit he never saw coming. For ten-year NFL veteran Griffin Lacey, football is life. Months after being released from his team due to a season-ending injury, he’s given an unexpected opportunity—a one-year contract to play for his hometown team. His game plan is clear: play to win, no distractions. But a fender bender on the way to the first home game changes everything. College literature instructor Brynn Nelson is thirty and not thriving. Trapped in a dead-end relationship and stuck in a city that has never felt like hers, every day seems to blur into the next. When she accidentally rear ends a sports superstar, the chance encounter makes her long to break free from the rut she’s in. He offers to show ...

  Buy on Amazon Durham Daggers #3 Rating:   3.5/5 Spice: 4/5 Plot: 3/5 Primary Genre: Dark Hockey Romance Trigger Warnings: See author’s website  Favorite Quote: See - The Dedication. IYKYK. Blurb: “All night you’ve looked like a tiger, needing to be caught, tamed, and used.” Mark has been a single dad for a long time. That is until he meets Rebecca at a Halloween costume party when he realizes how much he’s been missing out on. Now he needs her in his life, even if that means just watching her. After a lot of self-healing, Rebecca has emerged as the fierce woman she’s always hoped to become. Despite playing the field, she can’t help but develop a massive crush on a mysterious masked cosplayer. Mark drives her crazy, in and out of the bedroom. She finds herself lowering her defenses, allowing herself to be vulnerable, and falling for him. When their pasts resurface, it threatens to tear them apart. Can they move forward at any cost? The Good: * I absolutely loved the...

  Buy on Amazon Cinnamon Rolls and Pumpkin Spice #7 Rating:  3/5 Spice: 0/5 Primary Genre: Billionaire Romance/RomCom Trigger Warnings: Alcohol use, bad parenting Plot: 3/5 Billionaire heiress Fenella needs to go into hiding after her most recent, very public break up with her cheating ex. Where to? Her other ex’s (who’s a prince, by the way) remote town! Well, technically it’s a whole country. Fenella can’t get enough of the local coffee shop, Coffee For the Sole, and her pumpkin spice lattes. She also becomes interesting in the coffee shop owner, Silas, once she realizes there’s more to him than coffee beans. Tropes: • cinnamon roll hero • friends-to-lovers • small town • opposites attract The Good: * If you love a small town vibe, you’ll be obsessed with Battle Harbor. * The LGBTQ+ character representation was great to see. I honestly wasn’t expecting it, it was refreshing. * I loved the fall setting of the book, it’s a great vibe for an October read. The Meh:  * Whil...

Purchase Dream Harbor #3 🖉 Rating:   3.5/5 🖉 Spice: 2/5 🖉 Primary Genre: Holiday Romance 🖉 Favorite Quote: ‘You’re a big dog person, I take it.’ ‘They’re better than people in every way.’ His laugh was low and deep and did absolutely nothing for her. ‘I agree.’ 🖉 Plot: 3/5 🖉 Blurb: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe comes a #1 Sunday Times bestselling grumpy x sunshine Christmas romcom! ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ Kira North hates Christmas. Which is unfortunate since she just bought a Christmas tree farm in a town that’s too cute for its own good. Bennett Ellis is on vacation in Dream Harbor trying to take a break from both his life and his constant desire to fix things. But somehow fate finds Ben trapped by a blanket of snow at Kira’s farm, and, despite her Grinchiest first impressions, with the glow of the fairy lights twinkling in the trees, and the promise of a warming hot chocolate, maybe, just maybe, these two lost souls will have a Christmas they...

Purchase Whitmore Elite #5 Rating:   4.5/5 Spice: 4/5 Primary Genre: Dark Romance Trigger Warnings: Suicide and suicide pacts, child sexual abuse (not on the page), Dub-con, Non-con, Knife play, Anal play & Plugs, Violence, Revenge, Sensory Depriving, Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Gun Violence, Degradation, Breath Play, Grooming, Mental Health, Reference to School Shooting  Favorite Quote: He’s just a boy. Make sure he actually deserves you instead of trying to convince everyone you deserve him. You have nothing to prove, girl. Plot: 5/5 Blurb: Wynter Baldwin is responsible for my twin sister’s death. She’s playing a dangerous game by showing up at Whitmore University. The day she destroyed my world, I swore revenge. Now, I'm a football god, and part of a secret society. A brotherhood who will have my back as I ruin her. When I begin to unravel the truth about my twin, I question everything I know about Wynter. Before I realize it, I’m caught up in a web of lies a...

Purchase Grimstone #2 Rating: 4/5   Spice: 2.5/5 Primary Genre: Romantic suspense Trigger Warnings: Domestic violence, assault, alcohol use, drug use Favorite Quote: I’m with you. I love you. I’ll protect you, I’ll take care of you. Carry me with you always and keep me in your heart. Because you are in mine. Plot: 5/5  Blurb: From USA Today bestselling author Sophie Lark comes a brand new romantic thriller series in the Gothic, secretive beach town of Grimstone. In a desperate bid to get out of town, twenty-seven-year-old virgin and bookstore nerd Elena Zelenska becomes the world's most unlikely mail-order bride. Her gamble pays off when she's swept off her feet by Benjamin Wittacker, handsome single father and (gasp!) actual published author. Elena's new fiancé seems almost too good to be true. Her life is turning into a fairytale, especially once Ben starts building her a castle in the woods. But when Elena arrives in Grimstone, her fairytale turns darker. The cas...

Purchase Rating: 5/5 Spice: 0 Primary Genre: Memoir Trigger Warnings: Abortion, death of a spouse, death of a parent, grief, misogyny, cancer, addiction, child abuse, infidelity, domestic abuse, terminal illness, alcoholism, sexual assault Favorite Quote: I admit it, given a choice, with a handful of exceptions, I tend to prefer the company of animals to the company people. Animals are honest-there’s not a hint of pretense about them, they just unapologetically are who they are, and their capacity to love and be loved outshines ours by about a million. Plot 5/5: Kelly chronologically hops along through the major events in her life. She covers the high points as well as the lows. She leads us on a journey from starving artist Carole Bishop to a closing in on 80 years old Kelly Bishop. The Good: * The title may lead you to believe that this book is an homage to Kelly’s career on the show Gilmore Girls but she has so much more story to tell and it’s incredible. * There were some utt...

Purchase The Housemaid #2 Rating: 3.5/5 Spice: 0 Primary Genre: Thriller Trigger Warnings: Sizeism and body-shaming, Classism, Attempted rape, Infidelity (on-page), Discussions of domestic abuse and violence, Disordered eating & food thoughts including calorie counting and food shaming, Suicidal ideation, Alcohol consumption, Infertility mentioned, Blood depiction, Emesis, Death of a mother from a stroke mentioned, Murder by gun & knife violence, Physical assault, Stalking, Incarceration for physical assault mentioned, Poverty & financial difficulties discussed Favorite Quote: “You hiding drugs up there?” “No! Definitely not!” I just murdered somebody, that’s all. Sheesh. Plot 3/5: Millie is back, still doing her whole maid vigilante thing. And still trying to work around that prison record. She’s trying to work her way through college now. She gets a job working for the very wealthy Mr. and Mrs. Garrick and while it pays well, the vibes are very off. Mrs. Garrick neve...