#not to mention the arc of him overcoming the temptation before it’s too late and sending Frodo and Sam on their way

[borom1r]

look there r critiques to be made abt the characterization of movie!Faramir but he’s actually so important to me. the fact he Is tempted and that his temptation mirrors Boromir’s in that they’re both centered around love means so much to me, actually

[addictedforbooksquad]

P I C K (S)  O F  T H E  M O N T H: F E B R U A R Y

The Risk by Elle Kennedy 

Dream by Natalia Jaster

Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas

Enchantèe by Gita Trelease

Huge Deal by Lauren Layne

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt

The Risk by Elle Kennedy

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance, Sports Romance

Synopsis:

A sexy standalone novel from New York Times and international bestselling author Elle Kennedy. THE RISK takes you back to the world of hot hockey players, feisty heroines, bro banter, and steamy scenes... Everyone says I’m a bad girl. They’re only partly right—I don’t let fear rule me, and I certainly don’t care what people think. But I draw the line at sleeping with the enemy. As the daughter of Briar’s head hockey coach, I’d be vilified if I hooked up with a player from a rival team. And that’s who Jake Connelly is. Harvard’s star forward is arrogant, annoying, and too attractive for his own good. But fate is cruel—I require his help to secure a much-coveted internship, and the sexy jerk isn’t making it easy for me. I need Connelly to be my fake boyfriend. For every fake date…he wants a real one. Which means this bad girl is in big trouble. Nothing good can come from sneaking around with Jake Connelly. My father would kill me, my friends will revolt, and my post-college career is on the line. But while it’s getting harder and harder to resist Jake’s oozing sex appeal and cocky grin, I refuse to fall for him. That’s the one risk I’m not willing to take.

Why we love it:

a great mix of romance, banter and funny moments

individual arcs on par with the romance development

Brenna is just THE BEST and so is Jake, to be honest

100% lived-up to the hype

kept us intrigued about secondary characters and their stories, especially Hunter and Bubble Butt xD

Trigger warnings: n/a

Dream by Natalia Jaster

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, New Adult

Synopsis:

Lyrik is a rogue with skills. In the Kingdom of Winter, he’s a swaggering potioneer who hunts for wisdom—a brew that will shake the world. It’s the only secret he craves. Except for the one boy he can’t have. Nicu is a dreamer with hopes. He’s an impish Royal who hunts for wishes—a legendary star that grants yearnings. It’s the only mystery he desires. Except for the one boy he can’t stand. It’s been three years since they clashed, never wanting to see each other again. But in a land of glittering frost, they might discover something more than wisdom or wishes. Something far more exquisite—and painful.

Why we love it:

as always, Natalia's writing is beautiful, poetic and full on imaginery

story told in alternating 1st person and 3rd person limited POVs which should be a bit tiring but somehow works perfectly

Nicu's POV is delightful to read and it's an amazing journey to see the world through his eyes

all the characters are back together and it's AMAZING

Nicu and Lyrik's story is full of angst but in the end, they just fit together

a beautiful, touching, heart-warming conclusion of the series

Trigger warnings: ableism

Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance

Synopsis:

Although beautiful young widow Phoebe, Lady Clare, has never met West Ravenel, she knows one thing for certain: he's a mean, rotten bully. Back in boarding school, he made her late husband's life a misery, and she'll never forgive him for it. But when Phoebe attends a family wedding, she encounters a dashing and impossibly charming stranger who sends a fire-and-ice jolt of attraction through her. And then he introduces himself...as none other than West Ravenel. West is a man with a tarnished past. No apologies, no excuses. However, from the moment he meets Phoebe, West is consumed by irresistible desire...not to mention the bitter awareness that a woman like her is far out of his reach. What West doesn't bargain on is that Phoebe is no straitlaced aristocratic lady. She's the daughter of a strong-willed wallflower who long ago eloped with Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent—the most devilishly wicked rake in England. Before long, Phoebe sets out to seduce the man who has awakened her fiery nature and shown her unimaginable pleasure. Will their overwhelming passion be enough to overcome the obstacles of the past? Only the devil's daughter knows...

Why we love it:

Sebastian Challon, Duke of Kingston, former Lord St. Vincent, aged like a fine delicious wine and any appearance he makes in this book is a delight

all the side characters and family/friends dynamics between Ravenels, Challons and Westcliffs are so much fun!

West and Phoebe's connection is electrifying and West's scenes with Phoebe's children are THE SOFTEST

Lisa Kleypas at her best

Trigger warnings: n/a

Enchantée by Gita Trelease

Genres:  Romance, Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

Paris in 1789 is a labyrinth of twisted streets, filled with beggars, thieves, revolutionaries—and magicians... When smallpox kills her parents, Camille Durbonne must find a way to provide for her frail, naive sister while managing her volatile brother. Relying on petty magic—la magie ordinaire—Camille painstakingly transforms scraps of metal into money to buy the food and medicine they need. But when the coins won’t hold their shape and her brother disappears with the family’s savings, Camille must pursue a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. With dark magic forbidden by her mother, Camille transforms herself into the ‘Baroness de la Fontaine’ and is swept up into life at the Palace of Versailles, where aristocrats both fear and hunger for la magie. There, she gambles at cards, desperate to have enough to keep herself and her sister safe. Yet the longer she stays at court, the more difficult it becomes to reconcile her resentment of the nobles with the enchantments of Versailles. And when she returns to Paris, Camille meets a handsome young balloonist—who dares her to hope that love and liberty may both be possible. But la magie has its costs. And when Camille loses control of her secrets, the game she's playing turns deadly. Then revolution erupts, and she must choose—love or loyalty, democracy or aristocracy, freedom or magic—before Paris burns…

Why we love it:

historical fantasy set in 1700s Paris

a game of high stakes played out in the French court of Marie Antoinette

bond between two sisters fighting their way out of poverty with the use of magic

beautiful story

telling and detailed descriptions of Paris life

a great debut novel from Gita Trelease that makes us look forward to her future books

Trigger warnings: n/a

Huge Deal by Lauren Layne

Genres: Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Even for a top-gun banker, temptation this hot is quite a gamble, in a sexy Wall Street romp from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne. An alpha among the wolves of Wall Street, Kennedy Dawson rose to the top of the pack by striking the right contracts at the right times. But there’s one deal that’s been giving him a run for his money—a pact to never again let his assistant, Kate, get under his skin. She may be smart, gorgeous, and sharp as a whip, but she’s definitely off-limits. Kate Henley isn’t a banker, but she knows a thing or two about risk management—specifically, about managing her attraction to her smolderingly sexy boss. She already fell once, and Kennedy showed no sign of paying a return on her investment. So when Kennedy’s brother starts pursuing her, Kate figures she has the best of both worlds. Jack is charming, rich, very attentive, and the spitting image of his older brother. It’s also making Kennedy think twice. But to win Kate’s heart, he’ll have to broker the deal of a lifetime…and prove he’s worth the risk.

Why we love it:

office romance

slow burn

A++ family dynamic

interesting platonic relationships

a good ending of the series

Trigger warnings: n/a

Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance

Synopsis:

Can a pirate learn that the only true treasure lies in a woman's heart? Widowed Silence Hollingbrook is impoverished, lovely, and kind--and nine months ago she made a horrible mistake. She went to a river pirate for help in saving her husband and in the process made a bargain that cost her her marriage. That night wounded her so terribly that she hides in the foundling home she helps run with her brother. Except now that same river pirate is back...and he's asking for her help. "Charming" Mickey O'Connor is the most ruthless river pirate in London. Devastatingly handsome and fearsomely intelligent, he clawed his way up through London's criminal underworld. Mickey has no use for tender emotions like compassion and love, and he sees people as pawns to be manipulated. And yet he's never been able to forget the naive captain's wife who came to him for help and spent one memorable night in his bed...talking. When his bastard baby girl was dumped in his lap--her mother having died--Mickey couldn't resist the Machiavellian urge to leave the baby on Silence's doorstep. The baby would be hidden from his enemies and he'd also bind Silence to him by her love for his daughter.

Why we love it:

good historical romance

pirates!!!

enemies to lovers trope

good girl/bad guy trope

A++ character development

Trigger warnings: n/a

[wordsablaze]

1: Blood In The Dark

Helpless Somebody wants revenge on Tony but, this time, they think the best way to do that is to hurt both him and Peter, keeping them close enough to feel one another's pain but too far apart to prevent it, and they're not wrong... Enjoy!

A/N:  I don't know, I needed some angst, you know? It's been done so many times but I'm doing it anyway :)   

Tony's head is driving him mad.

Not his brain, either. It's his head that feels like it's swimming, which means he'd been drugged, just what he needed to ruin the week he'd planned to spend with his son- uh, intern, his intern.

He goes to rub his head but his hands don't move, an obvious clue that he's been tied down, again. Sighing to himself, he finally pays attention to his surroundings and notices he's in a dimly-lit square of a room, sat on a metal chair with metal straps around his wrists and ankles. It's uncomfortable and cold and clearly designed for long-term use.

The world is still blurry and he can't see more than a few centimetres in any direction so he doesn't know if he has company or not. Clearly, this room is designed to confuse whoever is placed inside, which probably makes it more useful for getting information out of people.

Great.

The last thing he needs is someone taking him hostage or getting revenge or whatever else excuse they seem to be making these days. He's not even scared anymore, he's just utterly fed up of being stuck in a position where he doesn't have the tiniest amount of control.

"Mister Stark?"

Scratch that.

He's scared.

He's so scared.

"Pete?" He asks, hoping nobody replies and that he'd been imagining things. Madness, or anything else really, would be preferable to his kid - his intern, he's just his intern - being here too.

"I'd hope so. Mister Stark, are you alright? You've been out for hours!"

Hours? It takes him a minute to remember Peter's enhanced metabolism would reduce the effect of drugs. He kicks himself for taking so long to regain consciousness and leaving the teenager to try and cope by himself, the only silver lining being that the dark reduces any chances of sensory overload.

"You've been alone for hours?" He asks, hating the very idea.

He hears a small, nervous chuckle. "There was a man who came in before but he got tired of my voice so he left."

Tony's eyes narrow at that. He'd left? He can't remember even one kidnapper who'd ever left the room instead of gagging him when he'd annoyed them but there has to be something he's missing.

"And now I'm here," someone announces, clearly having been in the room for a while because Tony hadn't heard any doors open. So that's what he'd been missing...

"Who are you? What do you want?" Tony demands immediately, squinting at the gloom and struggling to locate the source of the voice.

"Having trouble seeing?" the voice mocks. Tony holds in his sarcasm, listening out for anything that can help them. He shuts his eyes after a few seconds of silence, still hearing nothing... Until Peter gasps.

His eyes fly open, his limbs automatically straining to get free. "What are you doing? Leave him alone!"

"I'm okay, Mister Stark, really," Peter says, his voice a little strained but not hinting at any injuries. Tony dimly wonders if Peter can still see him, considering that his eyesight is far more advanced.

"Who are you?" Tony asks, less demanding this time.

"Someone whose mentor you'll regret killing," they reply, followed by Peter crying out, stifling it too late for Tony not to hear.

"Pete? Kid, what's happened, what's wrong?" Tony asks, trying not to panic but panicking anyway.

"Enjoy the darkness," the voice says. Footsteps echo and a door opens to the left of Tony, letting a tiny amount of light in.

He'd usually look outside the door to try and figure out where he is but he chooses to look around for Peter instead, realising they're opposite each other and catching what he thinks is a glimpse of blood on Peter's neck before the light fades once more.

Tony groans in frustration. "Are you bleeding?"

"It's not deep," Peter replies.

But he is bleeding. Tony wants to punch something. Or someone. Or himself. He can't do any of those, though, because he's tied up and still a little drowsy.

"Mister Stark?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Thanks for wanting to spend time with me. And for the ice-cream! I never- would never have thought strawberry went so well with mint chocolate chip, you really are a genius! Maybe you can get a PhD in ice-cream? Is that a thing? Probably not, huh? We'll have to, uh, try more when we get out of here! I'm sorry I didn't-"

"You are not apologising to me right now," Tony interrupts. He knows Peter is babbling because he's scared and he wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around him and assure him everything is alright but he can't move, he can't help, he can't do a single thing and he's never felt more useless.

Peter starts to chuckle but it must aggravate his injury because he cuts himself off, leaving the two of them in an uncomfortable silence Tony wishes he could shatter.

"Did he mention his name?" Tony asks after a while, the silence pressing down on him.

"No."

There's something wrong with Peter's answer but Tony can't place it. He puts it down to Peter being injured but a bad feeling settles in his stomach, weighing him down even more than the cold seeping out of the metal around his wrists. The sound of their breathing is the only thing to fill the air after that, neither of them wanting to talk since they don't know who's watching them.

Tony's on the brink of exploding with anticipation when the door opens again and he takes the opportunity to glance over Peter for any injuries, finding a shallow cut next to his left collarbone but nothing too serious. Yet.

"Who knows you're missing?" The man demands, leaving the door open as he walks to stand beside Peter again.

"Nobody should know," Tony answers, trying to divert the man's attention back to him.

"Then why are you being tracked?"

When the man sees Peter look as confused as a toddler being taught astrophysics, he turns to Tony with a smirk. "It's you, then?"

Tony bites his lip. Of course, he has a tracker in his arm. He'd hoped they wouldn't notice but, whoever they are, they seem to be more intelligent than they're letting on.

The man cracks his knuckles and smoothly pulls a pocket knife out of his back pocket, making it seem like he's repeated the action hundreds of times, as you do. Peter's eyes widen in distress but Tony shakes his head, catching his gaze.

"Peter, look at me. It's okay."

"I wouldn't be so sure," the man says as he takes a step forward, "now, where's the tracker?"

Tony's tempted to give them the wrong location so the others have more time but he doesn't want Peter to see the consequences of that so he sighs in defeat. "Upper left arm."

"Mister Stark?" Peter's voice is full of dread. Tony doesn't know if he should be touched that Peter cares so much about him or if he should be guilty of letting anyone - especially a sensitive teenager - care enough to hate him getting hurt.

"Peter, keep your eyes on mine," Tony orders as forcefully as he can. He knows what it looks like to dig out a tracker and Peter definitely does not need to see that, he definitely does not want Peter to have to watch that.

"Yes, Mister Stark," Peter manages as the man pushes the usually warm metal into Tony's skin.

He can see the temptation to look at what the man's doing burning in Peter's eyes as he feels the blood running down his arm. He tries not to wince at the sharp pain and the way the man seems to use the knife as a torch to try and locate the tracker. It's a manageable feat, too, until the man gets impatient and uses his fingers instead of the knife. That's when Tony cries out, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth together.

This gives Peter an opportunity to glance at Tony's arm, which makes his eyes widen and his breathing quicken alarmingly.

"Pete, hey, no, it's okay, look at me."

By some miracle, Peter pulls his eyes away from the hole in Tony's skin and his panicked eyes return to Tony's face. He knows there's a pain in his own too, but he'd rather have Peter see that than the ugly mess the man seems to be creating, probably on purpose.

"There we go," the man mutters to himself as he finds it, harshly yanking it out; Tony bites the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood, judging by the copper-like taste in his mouth.

"Peter, eyes on me," he grits out, hoping and praying the man will leave them alone again so he can overcome the dizziness caused by the pain in his arm.

"Oh no, kid, eyes on ME." The man winks at Tony before walking back to Peter, leaving the blood on his hands as if it's moisturiser and there's nothing wrong with what he just did.

"You see this?" He holds up the tracker and Peter throws Tony an apologetic glance before nodding slowly, his eyes shifting to the small metal capsule still dripping with blood.

The man chuckles before holding the tracker out in front it of Peter's hand. "It's your only hope of being found. And I want you to crush it."

Peter pales, shaking his head. "I- I can't."

Tony holds his breath but the man doesn't give so easily. "We both know you have the strength to and, if you don't, I'll rip that arc reactor right out of your precious Stark's chest so your friends can track a dead man and his murderer."

Rage fills Tony. He hates this man for emotionally blackmailing Peter, the kid doesn't deserve to be put under this kind of pressure. He feels bad enough when he can't save strangers and to threaten Tony is too cruel.

Peter seems just as conflicted. His chin wobbles but he looks at Tony's bleeding arm again, swallows thickly, then slowly opens his hand, accepting the tracker when the man grins. Tony can see his hand shaking as he bites his lip, not wanting to be the reason they have no way of being found. The man leans forward and whispers something that causes Peter to quickly shake his head and look at Tony again, his eyes watering a little as he remembers to breathe.

With a small whimper, Peter shuts his eyes and squeezes, the metal bending, snapping and breaking apart inside his fist. The man is smirking smugly when Peter uncurls his fist, shards of metal falling to the floor. Picking them up without a word, the man then leaves, shutting the door and allowing the darkness to wrap itself around them once again.

Tony can almost sense the way Peter is trying not to show how upset he is, trying to avoid making Tony feel any worse; he's done the same thing for most of his own life.

"Pete? It's not your fault, they'll find us, it's okay."

"I'm so sorry," Peter whispers quietly, almost inaudible. The guilt in his voice breaks Tony's heart and he vows to kill these men, to break them, to make them regret hurting his son- his intern.

"You did nothing wrong," Tony assures him, "I'm proud of you."

Peter says nothing in reply but his breathing eventually evens and Tony assumes he's guiltily panicked himself into sleeping. It's almost a relief because that means Tony can let out a hiss of pain and gently tense the muscles in his arm to try and get used to the pain so he can hide it when Peter wakes up, which means he can spare the poor kid of any more guilt that might give him nightmares.

Naturally, Tony doesn't sleep. He doesn't dare, needing to stay awake so the man doesn't come back and hurt Peter without him knowing.

Anyway, he doesn't need sleep as much as he needs to wash his hand. The blood has trickled down his arm and over the metal restraint, now seeping between his fingers as an unwanted reminder of their situation. It's warm and sticky and Tony wants it gone because it's reminding him of times he'd rather not be thrown into when he's responsible for a child's life, especially when that child is Peter.

Letting his head fall back, he groans, wondering exactly who wants revenge this time and why he can't remember how exactly he got here. All he can remember is taking Peter out for ice-cream before the two of them discussing how to throw a party for Tony's oldest bot and then... Nothing.

He doesn't know if the others have noticed they're missing and he doesn't want to count on it. Peter doesn't deserve to be stuck here, to be stuck in the darkness and guilt-tripped into causing himself more guilt.

"Who are you?" Tony asks despite knowing there's no way he'll get a clear answer before they want to give him one.

He realises with a heavy regret that he'd told Aunt May not to worry because he'd be personally mentoring Peter for their internship, which means she won't think to alert anyone that he's missing. He knows FRIDAY will figure out he's in trouble eventually, he just hopes that eventually arrives before anything can happen to Peter.

As the darkness seems to darken and the pain in his arm dulls a little, Tony starts humming quietly enough not to wake Peter but loud enough to keep him alert. It's probably a waste of breath but he needs to stay awake and being stuck in one place does the exact opposite for him.

He only hums louder when he hears Peter shuffling, apparently dreaming of something unpleasant. He hums the tune of the song Peter had been singing on repeat in the car, hoping it can help to soothe him at least a little. He doesn't stop, not even when his throat starts to become dry, not until Peter quietens once more. Only then does he allow himself to cough and hope they can escape this nightmare before it gets any worse.

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