[Because facebook has very unfairly blocked my blog, Punya Reviews..., from being promoted on their platform, I'm using my booklikes profile as a "gateway" of sorts so I have a link to promote. I've been trying to reach them by leaving them messages through the Facebook blocks option, however not sure I'll ever be able to have this block lifted as I have no means to reach them directly. More on what happened can be found here.]

LINK to my promo spotlight post for For Love, Not War on Punya Reviews...:

https://punyareviews.blogspot.com/2021/01/promo-spotlight-for-love-not-war-by.html

Title:  It Takes a Cat Burglar

Author:  Cailin Briste

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Interracial Romance

Year Published: 2017

Number of Pages:  81 pages

Date Read: 12/14/2017

Series: A Thief in Love Romance #1

Publisher:  Hot Sauce Publishing

Source:  eARC (Book Unleashed)

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Some Strong Language and Sex Scenes)

I would like to thank Book Unleashed and Hot Sauce Publishing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

After I had read “The Frog Prince” from Book Unleashed, I just had to request another book to review and lo and behold, I found an interesting romance book called “It Takes a Cat Burglar” by Cailin Briste and I was quite interested in this story!

The story starts off with a young woman named Darcelle Lebeau who is training to become a great cat burglar and she is training under a mysterious man who goes by the name Matou. What Darcelle does not know is that the mysterious Matou is actually Sebastian St. Croix, a rich man who is also a cat burglar. After Sebastian observes Darcelle’s skills for a while now, he had decided to make Darcelle his partner in crime. But first, Darcelle must complete a mission that involves trying to save Sebastian’s niece Cheyenne from the clutches of a corrupted businessman. During Darcelle’s training though, Sebastian and Darcelle start falling in love with each other and they will have to keep their hands off of each other in order for the mission to go as smoothly as planned.

Wow! I was quite impressed with this story that was written by Cailin Briste since this would be the first romance novel I had read that dealt with cat burglars falling in love! I loved the fact that this story is centered on cat burglars because it makes this book so unique to read, since in most romance books, the characters I had read were either dukes, duchesses, businessmen and normal people. I also enjoyed the way that Cailin Briste wrote both Darcelle and Sebastian as they were pretty interesting characters, because of the fact that they are both cat burglars, and yet, you get to see them slowly bonding with each other, despite the fact that they both want to control the other. I like the fact that both Darcelle and Sebastian are shown as being strong protagonists as with the case of Darcelle, she refuses to let anyone run her life and she wants to be more independent, especially after the life she had to go through with her overbearing mother and her sister Cassie. I also liked Sebastian because even though he struts his authority throughout the book, it is clear that he has Darcelle’s best interests at heart and is willing to allow her to do whatever she desires. I really loved the way that Cailin Briste wrote the sexual scenes between Sebastian and Darcelle as they were hot and sexy and I was literally fanning myself whenever the sexual scenes would show up!

The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that because of the book’s short length, there was not enough character development going on with the characters. I wanted to learn more about Sebastian’s backstory and how he became a cat burglar since he seems a bit too mysterious for a character and I wanted to learn more about his character. I also felt that Darcelle and Sebastian’s relationship with each other fell into the “insta-love” category and there was not enough build up to their romance with each other that made me actually buy into how well developed their romance was.

Overall, “It Takes a Cat Burglar” is a cute story about thieves falling love that many fans of romance novels will enjoy!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Her Scottish Wolf by Theodora Taylor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


For those looking for an interracial book with shades of Harlequin Presents with a black heroine, this would fit the bill. Good news is it's also a paranormal/werewolf romance.

Grumpy boss (check)
Plain Jane/Shy/Low Profile heroine gets her man and a great life (check)
Angsty angle (check)
Hot, steamy sexy paranormal romance (check)
Hunky hero with Scottish brogue (check)
Office romance (check)

I wasn't sure what to think when this book started. At first, I kinda hated Iain. He was being a total douche to Milly. And when she gives him her reasons why she's quitting, he goes full on a-hole with her. I didn't get him at all. I mean, who says that to someone who gives him that kind of news? It turns out that he had a plan all along, and things weren't how they seemed. His reasons for being a jerk become very apparent. Not an excuse, but there you have it.

There are some consent issues about something if I'm honest. If you've read Bitten, you know what I'm getting at. But it turns out better for Milly.

So that's not the happy ending, no Iain has to spend the rest of the book gaining Milly's trust. She has plenty of reasons not to want to be mated to him. Her life changes hugely, and I think any person in her situation would have had misgivings. I'm glad that she stayed true to herself and didn't lose her identity in the face of a very strong personality like Iain.

I loved the arguments between Milly's friend Tara and Iain's brother Magnus. They were a big source of entertainment, and Tara would go toe to toe with him in a way that Milly didn't with Iain.

For all the angst, there is some good humorous moments with Iain's villages wacky residents. There's some major culture shock for Milly, and Iain has to rearrange his life greatly, but he's got his mate, so that's all that matters.

I'd recommend this book, but we warned that Iain does start the book as a major ahole.



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Her Scottish King by Theodora Taylor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Quite different from the first book in good ways. And more than one twist I did not see coming. Magnus is not exactly likable most of the time. He's really cocky and demanding. I know part of it is being an alpha werewolf and a famous Scottish rugby player. He didn't take Tara's rejection well, sure that they are fated as mates, and not able to understand she is running from their bond. I liked that Tara did have a legitimate reason for not wanting to mate with Magnus, and the reveal is really fascinating. Tara has a lot of layers to her that Magnus had to work to develop. It was good, though. He was used to getting everything he wanted easily. But that's how it works with your mate. While that bond is fated, that doesn't mean that your mate is not worth any effort and emotional commitment. And Magnus had to decide if his pride was worth more than losing his mate (ironically his father faced the same choice).

I liked that this wasn't a predictable book. Werewolf romance has some formula to it (as much as I love it), but Taylor did a good job of keeping things innovative.

It's not a five star because I didn't love Magnus. I really liked Tara a lot and she had a lot of dimensionality and strength to her, beautifully complex.



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This is a novella that was originally published in the anthology Daughters of a Nation.

I read this for square 7 (International Human Rights Day) as it takes place in Harlem (in 1917) as the state of New York prepares to vote in the November elections, especially the amendment to the state constitution giving women the right to vote. Bertha is a business woman running her own restaurant/night club/whorehouse and is working hard to help the suffragettes get the vote. She also has to fight off some men who were former clients when she was selling sex now that she is widowed. Her dead hubby wasn't a great guy and there is no lingering grief going on....seems Bertha saw it as much of a business decision as anything else in her life. Bertha wants the right to vote so that she can help her fellow women business owners and her girls, pretty much every woman who are often overlooked or mistreated. She also has to contend with the vice squads that are bringing down the hammer on clubs like hers due to selling sex and race mixing. I liked Bertha as a boss lady and teacher (she taught civic classes to her girls and other people when the club was closed so that those that can (or will soon be allowed to) vote can do so with a foundation of knowledge.

Amir left the British navy as a cook hoping for a more stable and socially upward mobile life in America. Unfortunately he has only met with brick walls and is just trying to survive. He is unsure if he wants to return to Bengal and live as a farmer under British rule or keep surviving in America. He has no papers, so staying out of law enforcement's grasp is a daily reminder he is Other. Bertha needs another cook to help/sub for her club's cook who is mightily pregnant. Amir has political/community organizing, along the lines of labor unions, but Bertha's lessons open him up to refining his political beliefs. I really liked Amir and his friends/roommates, especially Syed. I also like how Amir is identified as a Muslim, first in the dialog between him and Bertha and then later on while he was praying for her safe return from jail.

The characters were great, the setting and issues of the day were well written, but the romance sucked. I did believe they had sexual chemistry, but not an emotional connection. Bertha acted like a cold bitch to Amir several times and every time he apologized but she never admitted she was out of line. Maybe if the story was longer, there would be more time for Bertha to open up to Amir the way he did with her.