Review: Forever Defiant - Book #2 Fourth and Forever Series - Eve L. Mitchell - July 2026 There's something wonderfully fitting about a book landing in my hands on my own birthday. Forever Defiant published on the 7th of July, and reading it felt like unwrapping a gift made just for me  the kind of serendipity that makes this whole reviewing hobby of mine feel a little bit magical. From the first chapter, I was hooked, but it wasn't Dustin Slater's wicked smile that pulled me in hardest , it was Hadley. I don't think I've resonated with a heroine quite this much in a long time. Watching her chase the truth, notebook in hand, utterly unwilling to back down even when powerful men wanted her silenced, stirred something very personal in me. Journalism has always been my own quiet dream one I chased extramurally through years of study, and one I've kept alive for two decades now, writing for online magazines and review sites in whatever spare hours I could find.  ...

VBT# Review - Forever Reckless -Book #1 Fourth and Forever Series -  Eve L. Mitchell - June 2026 Right, pull up a chair and let me tell you about my latest read, because this one has been living in my head rent-free since I turned the final page. Forever Reckless by Eve L. Mitchell came my way through Zooloos Book Tours, and I'll be the first to admit  it's a little different from my usual picks. But honestly? Sometimes different is exactly what you need. You know the type of book I mean, don't you? That delicious new adult sports college romance where the golden boy on campus turns out to be far more complicated than his billboard smile suggests. Eve L. Mitchell has taken everything we love about the genre,  the tension, the forbidden pull, the slow unravelling of carefully built walls  and wrapped it around a story with real bite to it. Our hero, Dante Spence, is the kind of man who looks like he has it all. Quarterback. National champion. Star of ...

Review: Seal My Fate - Book #3 The Oxford Legacy - Roxy Sloane - April 2025 There’s something wonderfully satisfying about reaching the final book in a trilogy you’ve been invested in, and Seal My Fate by Roxy Sloane definitely delivers that dramatic, heart-thumping finale. Curl up with a cuppa and prepare yourself, because this story is packed with secrets, loyalty tests, and the kind of emotional turmoil that makes you turn pages faster than a Wellington wind gust. At the heart of the story is Tessa, who is finally experiencing the joy she thought she had lost forever , her sister Wren is alive. But this reunion isn’t all hugs and happy tears.  Tessa is determined to get revenge on the people who hurt her sister , and she’s not backing down anytime soon. Wren finds herself caught between relief and fear, knowing that digging into the truth could open up a world of danger. Meanwhile, Saint is facing his own impossible dilemma. He loves Tessa, but helping her and Wren means potenti...

Review: Break My Rules - Book #2 Oxford Legacy Series - Roxy Sloane - December 2024 If you've been following along here on the blog, you'll know that I absolutely loved the first book in Roxy Sloane's series, so it's fair to say I was more than a little eager to curl up and dive straight into Book #2, Break My Rules. And oh my goodness, did it deliver from the very first page! The book opens on a complete OMG moment , the kind that makes you sit up straight and forget your cup of tea is going cold beside you. Tessa discovers that St Clair has the same tattoo her sister described as part of the attack that drove her to suicide. Now, if you read Book #1, you'll remember that no body was ever found, and trust me when I say that little detail becomes very, very important as this story unfolds. What I loved most about this book is how Roxy Sloane handles the emotional fallout of that discovery. Tessa tells St Clair about the tattoo, and suddenly both of them are comple...

Review: Taming 7 - Book #5 Boys of Tommen Series - Chloe Walsh - April 2024 Right, settle in with your favourite cuppa, get cosy on the sofa, and let me tell you about the book that absolutely wrecked me in the best possible way. Taming 7 has been on my most-anticipated list for what feels like forever, because if you've been following along here at The Phantom Paragrapher, you'll know that Gerard "Gibsie" Gibson has had a very special place in my heart since the moment he first bounced onto the page. And let me tell you  Chloe Walsh delivered, and then some. OMFG, my heart was breaking from page one and it did not let up. Gibsie. Our lovable, chaotic, endlessly funny Tommen boy. The class clown. The lad who could make you snort-laugh in the middle of a tense scene and then leave you absolutely floored two pages later. From the very first chapter, Walsh strips back that cheeky, irreverent humour to reveal what so many of us suspected was lurking underneath , a deeply...

Review: Dead Silent - Book #2 Poppy Sinclair - Sharon Jones - February 2014 There's something about curling up with a thriller on a cold evening that just hits differently, and Dead Silent gave me exactly that cozy-yet-creepy vibe I was craving. Sharon Jones's second Poppy Sinclair adventure takes us to the frost-covered streets of Cambridge, where snow angels take on a decidedly sinister meaning. The opening image alone , a body arranged with blood-smeared angel wings on a chapel floor is the kind of haunting visual that lingers long after you've turned the page. Jones knows how to set a scene, I'll give her that. Here's the thing though: despite the college setting and genuinely gruesome secret society murders, this read distinctly YA to me. Our protagonist Poppy is only sixteen, and it shows. Not in a bad way necessarily, but there's a certain teenage earnestness to her investigation and relationships that felt more Riverdale than True Detective. The stakes...

Review: Alchemy of Secrets - Stephanuie Garber - October 2025 After falling head over heels for Stephanie Garber's Once Upon a Broken Heart series and Caraval, I've learned something important about reading order: sometimes it matters more than you'd think. While I adored Caraval, I made the mistake of meeting Jacks first in the Broken Heart series. When I later encountered his portrayal in Caraval books two and three, I just couldn't reconcile them , I'd already fallen for the version of him I knew, and seeing a different side felt impossible to accept. So when I picked up Alchemy of Secrets, I'll admit my expectations were cautiously optimistic. I thought it would be a solid, perhaps average read. Reader, I was spectacularly wrong. From the first chapter , a gripping twenty pages that had me cursing my lunch break's inevitable end. I was completely hooked. Stephanie Garber has crafted something truly special here, weaving together mythology, folklore, a...

Review: You're Next - Book #3 Devil's Backbone Series - Tate James - September 2025 I finally wrapped up this trilogy by Tate James, and honestly? I'm left with complicated feelings. You're Next picks up with Jocelyn kidnapping Ashley and gaslighting her into believing the entire last year with the boys was fabricated. We also get our first real glimpse of Abigail, which was intriguing. While the series wrapped up nicely overall, this final installment ended up being my least favourite of the three—it dragged more than I would have liked, and I found myself getting frustrated in parts. True to Tate James form, the reverse harem expands as Ashley's stepbrother Nate joins the mix. This book leans heavily into the MFM dynamics with multiple threesome configurations between the characters. The spice level remains consistent with her previous work, delivering that signature heat readers expect from her books. Here's the thing: I genuinely love Tate James's writ...