Hello friends! Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. So, Smutathon ran from June 3 until June 9, but I had an unintentional extra day because I thought it ended on the 10th. Oops. If you want to know more, you can click here and I will go over what this readathon is and what I had planned to read. Today, I’ll bring you my wrap-up where I’ll talk about what books I read and some of my thoughts about each one. I had 5 books and one short story on my TBR for this readathon. I finished reading four of the books, but didn’t get to one book and the short story. Alright, let’s get to my ratings and thoughts!

The King of Bourbon Street (NOLA Nights #1) by Thea de Salle

LGBTQ+ ll New to you author

Hotel chain mogul Sol DuMont is about to learn that some of life’s biggest surprises come in deceptively small packages—namely a petite heiress named Rain who’s hell-bent on upsetting her family’s expectations—in this first book in the all new series by Thea de Salle, set against the sultry backdrop of New Orleans.

Thirty-seven-year-old Sol DuMont is a divorcee and the owner of a mid-sized hotel chain in New Orleans. Since Hurricane Katrina, his father’s death, and the decision that he and his ex-wife Maddy are far better off friends than lovers, he’s lost interest in almost everything he held dear—parties, people, and pushing limits.

All his limits.

Then Arianna Barrington checks into his hotel.

Twenty-four-year-old Arianna “Rain” Barrington could have been society’s sweetheart. Her family is moneyed, connected press darlings, and make sweeping headlines from coast to coast for reasons both good and bad. But when her mother shoves her at Charles Harwood—the obnoxious, entitled heir of Harwood Corp—to cement a billion-dollar business merger, Rain does the only thing she can think of to escape: she creates a scandal so big Harwood doesn’t want her anymore before fleeing to New Orleans for much-needed rest and relaxation.

All she wants is jazz piano, beignets, and to sail the Mississippi. What she gets is Sol DuMont, a whirlwind affair, and a hands-on education in sex, power play, and pushing limits.

All her limits.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’m sooo happy that I chose to pick this one up!

I 𝒶𝒸𝓉𝓊𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 love this book sooo, so much.  💖

The characters are done really well. You will fall in love with them. Sol is bisexual, hot as hell, super funny and witty. I was laughing out loud at this book! Arianna is bubbly and just so adorable. She is also fat and never once was that seen as a bad thing or as a hindrance from her point of view (or any one else’s) and I loved that sooo much. I have so much love for these two that I wish they were actual people and we were friends.

The atmosphere, omg. I’ve been to New Orleans and it truly is a magical, beautiful place and you can totally feel the vibe and spirit while reading this book. It had me yearning to go back! 

Also, the sex scenes. Whew. I need a cold shower🚿😂🤷🏻‍♀️

Renegade (Moonshine Task Force #1) by Laramie Briscoe

Forbidden romance ll One word title

When you fall in love with the most unexpected person, at the most unexpected time……

Ryan “Renegade” Kepler 

I’m the type of man who knows what I want. I make up my mind and stay in my lane, never veering off the course I set for myself. 

Going into the military? Did it. 
Serving overseas? Did it. 
Youngest member of the Moonshine Task Force? That’s me. 
Get my best friend’s older sister in bed? It was my pleasure. 
Convince the older sister to give me a chance? Working on it. 

Age means nothing to me. I’ve seen and done things men half my age never will. What I want more than anything is someone to share my life with. The work I do is dangerous and knowing I have someone at home might keep me under control. Everybody says I need a woman, and I know I do, but I also know which one I want. 

That woman, whether she admits it or not, is Whitney Trumbolt. 

Whitney Trumbolt 

Ryan is ten years my junior, but damn, being a cougar never felt as good as it did the night we spent together. Now all I want to do is go back to how things were before. 

But Ryan is my younger brother’s best friend, and where Trevor goes, Ryan goes. Instead I put my head in the sand and do my best to go about my life. 

Build up my confidence from a horrible divorce? Working on it. 
Make my wedding planning company the best in the south? Did it. 
Ignore the way my body trembles when I see Ryan? Epic fail. 
Freak out when I see a positive pregnancy test staring back at me? Complete with mascara running down my face and clutching my pearls. 

Looks like things aren’t gonna go back to the way they were. There’s a man in my life that won’t take no for an answer. Gone is sweet Ryan, and in his place is the one who makes my blood run hot, my cheeks turn red, and my heart beat heavily within my chest. 

The one I’m up against is the one I can’t say no to. Not when he becomes Renegade. 

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’m really happy that I chose to pick this one up too!

I loved this story from the steamy first chapter until the sweet, satisfying end.

I fell in love with these characters as well. Ryan is so patient and loving and it is real hard not to fall in love with him. Whitney is sweet and lovable and I love these two together. Even the side characters are well developed and they are very supportive to the main characters. They aren’t overbearing or pushy in any kind of way towards the relationship or the unplanned pregnancy.

This is just a really adorable story and it left me with all the feels and not wanting it to end.

Addicted to You (Addicted #1) by Krista and Becca Ritchie

Fake Dating II Read a host’s fave romance ll Out of your comfort zone

She’s addicted to sex. He’s addicted to booze…the only way out is rock bottom.

No one would suspect shy Lily Calloway’s biggest secret. While everyone is dancing at college bars, Lily stays in the bathroom. To get laid. Her compulsion leads her to one-night stands, steamy hookups and events she shamefully regrets. The only person who knows her secret happens to have one of his own.

Loren Hale’s best friend is his bottle of bourbon. Lily comes at a close second. For three years, they’ve pretended to be in a real relationship, hiding their addictions from their families. They’ve mastered the art of concealing flasks and random guys that filter in and out of their apartment.

But as they sink beneath the weight of their addictions, they cling harder to their destructive relationship and wonder if a life together, for real, is better than a lie. Strangers and family begin to infiltrate their guarded lives, and with new challenges, they realize they may not just be addicted to alcohol and sex. 

Their real vice may be each other.

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⭐⭐⭐.5

Honestly, I was really conflicted on what to rate this. I was unsure if I wanted to rate it a 3 or a 4, so I settled on 3.5

I guess what really had me second guessing my rating was that I just didn’t connect, really, with the narrator and one main character, Lily. She is just absolutely infuriating. Also, it was hard to connect to the other main character, Loren, in a way, because the story is told entirely from Lily’s point of view. They’re addicts, they’re trust fund babies and they are broken individuals.

I don’t want to do a super long review here, but if you’re interested in more of what I thought about this book, this review pretty much sums up my feelings about it.

A Prince on Paper (Reluctant Royals #3) by Alyssa Cole

Author of color II Takes place in a foreign country ll Bad girl/Bad boy

The Reluctant Royals series returns with a good girl searching for the life that’s not too big, and not too small, and the bad boy prince who might be just right for her…

Nya Jerami fled Thesolo for the glitz and glamour of NYC but discovered that her Prince Charming only exists in her virtual dating games. When Nya returns home for a royal wedding, she accidentally finds herself up close and personal—in bed—with the real-life celebrity prince who she loves to hate.

For Johan von Braustein, the red-headed step-prince of Liechtienbourg, acting as paparazzi bait is a ruse that protects his brother—the heir to the throne—and his own heart. When a royal referendum threatens his brother’s future, a fake engagement is the perfect way to keep the cameras on him.

Nya and Johan both have good reasons to avoid love, but as desires are laid bare behind palace doors, they must decide if their fake romance will lead to a happily-ever-after.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really, really liked this book!

I picked this one up thinking it was the first book in this series when it is actually the third and final (as far as I know), oops, again. 🤦‍♀️ I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series but I didn’t have a hard time enjoying this one or the characters. I guess I just didn’t have the full portrayal of the characters as I would have if I read the other books first.

Johan is a playboy prince, who has a soft side for Nya. Nya is a sassy, inexperienced woman trying to navigate her feelings for Johan.

Overall, I really enjoyed seeing their relationship develop. They are adorable together and the ending is just so mushy and had me grinning from ear to ear.

I am one thousand percent picking up the other books in this series and I can’t wait to devour them as well!

And that’s my smutathon wrap-up. Have you read any of these? If so, how did you feel about them? What are some of your recent reads and recent favorites? I’d love to know!