The title immediately caught my attention, and I was eager to dive into the story of Meiying and Desmond, who is her brother’s best friend. I’m a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, and this book delivers with a palpable love/hate dynamic between the two main characters. Desmond initially comes off as quite the jerk, but the dual POVs really helped me see his perspective and warmed me to him by the end. I found that the second half of the book was much more engaging than the beginning.

I appreciated the world-building and the concept of a university where various otherworldly factions are trying to coexist amidst growing tensions. While this isn’t typically my genre, I enjoyed the read. It’s a quick, easy book that draws you in with its characters.

I thought that the pacing of the story was really quick, and I almost found myself wishing it was a bit longer. I think that the story itself was intriguing, but I was hoping for a little more in terms of execution. I think this is also because I am a bit older, but I do wish that because of the amount of spicy scenes the characters were older. Overall I liked this story, but definitely was left wanting more.

*Thank you to the publicist at Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for sending me an ARC to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

DNF 20%
I'm not normally one to not finish a book, but I did end up doing it for this one. It has nothing to do with the story. Truthfully, I really enjoyed the idea of this paranormal universe with shifters, magic, and romance. The issue was that before I started reading it, I had no idea that it was actually categorized as a New Adult Romance. I've read some NA Romances before so when I realized, I thought it would be ok to keep going with it but I quickly realized that the steam was a bit too much for me. I was uncomfortable reading it, and made the decision to DNF the book. I'm sorry that this has caused me to not write a proper review for the novel, as I'm sure it would have been better for a different audience that wasn't me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

This book was a super quick read, it's only around 200 pages. I liked the overall plot and setting, but having one of the main characters in a romance heavy plot being 17 made me uncomfortable. This is the first book I have read in the series as I didn't mention this was part of a series when I began reading. The magic system was fun though and it grips you. It is super intriguing, but the age thing put me off a little.

Thank you Net Galley for an opportunity to read and review this book.

Unfortunately, the intrigue when I first requested to read this died down very quickly. While I'm sure this book will do it's rounds on BookTok, for me the love interest was shallow and down right mean. I didn't like their chemistry and it made this read incredily hard and prolonged despite it being on the shorter side.

I wish the universe and paranormal aspects were more developed and I wish it was one book rather than two short, underdeveloped books.

So glad I picked this up! I was just vibing while reading this and it was definitely the type of book I needed to unwind.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review Cruel Wolves and Devious Deceptions by Danielle Annett.

Cruel Wolves and Devious Deceptions by Danielle Annett came out earlier this year on the 1st of June and is the third book in the Hellbound Hearts series. The book was published by Coffee and Characters, but the e-ARC was courtesy of Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op. It's 227 pages long and counts as a paranormal romance. While I approved some time ago, I made use of my Kindle Unlimited subscription to read the book.

This short, fun smutty read has, or will probably make, rounds on BookTok. We have a wealthy but independent shapeshifter who has been obsessed with the same girl for a while. He can get anyone but holds back and gets super protective and possessive. Our main character is pretty and feisty, sexy but still a virgin, and constantly argues back.

So as a whole, I'm leaving the book three stars. I can see a significant amount of appeal, but there were some elements that I couldn't get with.

The book is billed as an enemy to lovers, but they aren't really ever enemies. They're in the same social circle, and they argue with each other a lot; that's all. The book is supposed to feature an academy, but it's just a prop to get them unsupervised together and show that the dude plays a sexy sport.

The age gap was a bit weird. What 17-year-old is into a 14-year-old? And later in the story, her age didn't matter. I think it kept getting thrown in simply to market the book as having an age gap. However, if you had made the character a bit older, it wouldn't have made a difference except make things less weird. Our main character was pretty pick-me at the start, which I disliked (but she is 17), and I hate it in this day and age when authors include the "You're not like other girls" line in the book. Even if you're characters are stupid, they're teenagers and college students, and they should know how to pass as woke. I was not a fan of some of the character names like KeAnne or Joaninha.

While this book was fun, I didn't want to read any others in the series.

This book was a breath of fresh air. I have read a few intense books recently, but this book, whilst still in the realm of fantasy, was light and entertaining. It was also addictive and very short and could have done with being twice the length. I hope the next book isn't too far away so I can read it soon!!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I hesitated on rating this because I disliked the main male character so much. Sometimes an a-hole alpha male character still comes off as attractive, but yikes. I was 100% not into Desmond Pierce. This enemies-to-lovers was not for me, especially since (if I'm not mistaken) the main female character is underage for a huge chunk of the book -- instant no from me.

My favorite part about this book was that it was only 200 pages long...

I have been trying to read more paranormal lately and this started out great but I found myself stoping.

We are at a school were the supernatural all interact and are not afraid to play dirty. Meiying is new to the school and is ready to spread her wings and find herself. Until her brother and his best friend Desmond ruin any chance she wants of dating. I found myself having a hard time connecting to Meiying and Desmond, it was an enemies to something. Desmond was purely cruel claiming to be protective but treating Meiying so badly. Meiying tried so hard to be confident she used people to make a point and I could not find sympathy for her. The first half of the book was great and interesting the last half was ruined for me.

This is book 3 in the Blood and Magic: Hellbound series and I think would be better if I had read the previous books. I would recommend this book for mature teens that love the paranormal. Meiying is starting college and her brother and his best friend are already on campus. A "progressive" college that has a large assortment of paranormals in attendance. Very steamy with sex and violence. Not my normal read. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really tried to get into the plot but I really couldn't get that far into the story. I did love the romance, the college aspect and wanted to know more but ultimately did not finish.

What happens when you go to college and your 17, and your brother is friends with 3 of the yummiest wolves on the ball team? You lust and hate one at the same time. He’s infuriating. How can a girl date with him always lurking and growling at your dates.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

I dont believe this book was for me. I was bored throughout and the plot never grabbed my attention. As well as this I found the main characters annoying.

Due to the miscalculation and mistakes on my part while requesting this book; as this is a continuation from a previous book in a series, I won't be able I provide any feedback in the time being until I get a hold of the first book. Thank you.

This book follows a female tigress shifter who has moved into a new sorority dorm at the same college as her brother and his best friend, Desmond, a werewolf alpha who she has always had issues with. The story covers themes of family, grief, love, relationships,

Woo! Talk about steamy! Make sure you have a fan near by to cool you off. Enemies to lovers, need I say more?? Run, don't walk and get this book. It was fast paced and I loved every minute of it. Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this was a miss for me.

The main character was too… unlikeable? There was zero reason for me to root for him or the relationship at all. Smut is only enjoyable if you like who is doing the smutting.

I enjoyed the steamy side of this book but unfortunately it didn't work for me with much else. I didn't particularly enjoy any of the characters and the plot just left me wanting more.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC but this series is not for me.