enemies to lovers

Review: Entities to Lovers by Mallory Marlowe

~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

Entities to LoversEntities to Lovers by Mallory Marlowe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Entities to Lovers is a light-hearted and funny Paranormal Romance, set in Boston with dual POVs, from Mallory Marlowe. This book does have a very slight connection to Marlowe’s earlier novel, Love and Other Conspiracies, but you certainly do not need to read that first to enjoy this one.

In this story, we’re following Rory and Ezra. Rory’s Mom owns the Ye Old Spirit Shop in Boston, Massachusetts. The shop carries most of the things you would expect a shop of that name to carry, but they also host very fun ghost tours of the city, and Rory does tarot readings as well.

Ezra, whose main job is as an adjunct History Professor at a local college, moonlights at the shop. He has so much knowledge of the history of the city, and is a sensational host for their tours; personable and handsome.

He also happens to be a thorn in Rory’s side. It annoys her how he’s always showing off what he knows. Sometimes it feels like he’s purposefully trying to get under her skin.

One night, Rory’s Mom does the unthinkable. She makes the two host a ghost tour together. Rory can’t believe it. This is cruel and unusual punishment, and from her own mother!

While hosting that very uncomfortable tour, they end up upsetting a local ghost with a penchant for hexing people. Now saddled with heinously bad luck unless they’re physically near each other, Rory and Ezra need to do whatever it takes to figure out how to break this curse.

This is really cute. I loved the setting in Boston, and it also takes place during the Halloween season, so those vibes were heavily-evident throughout.

I also thought the set-up, and how they were hexed, was super fun. This is forced proximity and even includes one of my favorite things, the ole’ ‘there’s just one bed’ situation. I wonder what’s going to happen there?

Rory and Ezra are both very well-developed characters. I feel like Marlowe took a lot of time and care with them, and it paid off. They felt very real to me. I also enjoyed the dynamic between them, particularly in the first-half.

In the later half, I’ll admit to getting a bit frustrated with them at times. Each one of them struggles with confidence issues and I get that, but I swear, they could not get out of their own ways. I wanted to shake them at times.

Nevertheless, it did make sense considering their backstories and the different life pressures they were facing. I just would have enjoyed maybe a slightly different trajectory for their relationship, with even more focus on the results of the hex and the store.

With this being said, this is strictly personal taste. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the way the author structured their relationship, and it did feel very natural, or as natural as you can get, when you’re basically forced together by a meddling ghost.

Overall, I think this is a very endearing story. It’s humorous and engaging the whole way through. The vibes are perfect for its upcoming Fall release and I know so many Readers are going to love this spicy and sweet Paranormal Romance.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me a copy to read and review. I really enjoy Marlowe’s storytelling and can’t wait for more!

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Review: Spark of the Everflame (Kindred’s Curse #1) by Penn Cole

~ megs14malloy

Spark of the Everflame (Kindred's Curse, #1)Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Spark of the Everflame is the 1st-book in the Kindred’s Curse series by Penn Cole, and I feel like I’m the last person in our world to read it. I’ve been missing out.

This novel follows Diem Bellator, whose mother, a well-known healer, has gone missing. Diem, already primed to step into her mother’s footsteps, ends up taking over some of her healer responsibilities, which includes entrance to the royal palace to aide some of the descended.

The descendeds are the upper echelon citizens of this world. They’re actual descendants of the Gods and Diem, and the rest of her mortal peers, are basically treated like disposable garbage by these upper classes.

Her entrance into the palace opens up Diem’s eyes to a whole new world and perspective that she’s never considered before. She’s also constantly watched by the dying King’s handsome nephew, Luther.

Diem feels torn, with a mortal alliance recruiting her to their ranks, and with her new found friendships without the descended class, she just wants to do the right thing. She wants to protect her family, and life in general.

Why did I wait so long to read this!? My best friend read it years ago and raved about. I kept meaning to pick it up, but just didn’t. Admittedly, it’s a little outside my comfort zone, but I am so happy I finally picked it up.

I was completely invested, and the ending!?

I didn’t see where this was going at all. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not a well-versed Romantasy Reader, or what, but I was not expecting the path that it seems Diem’s character is about to take.

I knew nothing about this going in, but I think I may have enjoyed it all the more because of that. I think Cole did a fantastic job of laying out the structure and politics of this whole world. There was a lot to learn, but it didn’t feel info-dumpy. It all felt very natural.

I’m so excited to continue on with this series and find out what’s going to happen for all of these great characters. I appreciated the slow burn of the Romance and the fact that right now there just seems to be a lot of pining, and will they/won’t they energy.


It surprised me how invested I got in this story. I’m super excited to continue on with the series, and am hoping to do so as soon as possible.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me a copy to read and review. I’m so sorry it took me so long to get to this one. Nevertheless, it was worth the wait; so good!

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Review: Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1) by Rebecca Ross

~ megs14malloy

Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Divine Rivals is set in a world where long-sleeping Gods are now at war. Iris Winnow’s brother has been pulled into the fight, leaving for the frontline. His absence from their household has left a huge hole, one Iris isn’t sure her mother will ever crawl out of.

Iris misses him so much, but she tries to continue on the best she can. She’s currently fighting to secure a promotion at her work at the Oath Gazette, which would secure her a columnist position.

Her biggest competition, or should we say rival, for the position is her annoying and handsomely-roguish coworker, Roman Kitt. The sparks are flying around the workroom anytime they’re in each other’s orbit.

For reasons I will not go into here, outside of work, a magical connection involving typewritten letters, begins between Iris and Roman. One that starts to stir unexpected feelings within them, and they don’t know who they’re having this connection with. At least not initially…

As the pair are pushed out of their comfort zones and more towards the war zone, magical typewriters in tow, will they be able to withstand all the new challenges they must face? And will their bond grow stronger, or shatter like the world as they know it threatens to do?

I really enjoyed this and am so glad I finally picked it up. This is my 1st-novel by Rebecca Ross, and I’m super excited to pick up more. I love how real life the world she created feels, yet it had just the right amount of fantastical elements for my tastes.

I also loved the journey that our MCs went on in their relationship. They are both extremely likable and loved the dynamic and chemistry between them.

I will admit that the history behind the Gods and all the rest of that aspect of the story have completely left my brain. I did read this in September, and am just getting around to writing my review now, so you’ll have to forgive me for that.

But what I do remember well is how much I liked Iris and Roman. I’m looking forward to the next book, because I need to know where the story goes from here. They’ve left me wanting more.

I’m sure all the Gods stuff will come back to me…

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Review: War (The Four Horseman #2) by Laura Thalassa

~ megs14malloy

War (The Four Horsemen, #2)War by Laura Thalassa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

War is the 2nd-installment to Laura Thalassa’s Romantasy series, The Four Horsemen. I read the 1st-book, Pestilence, in late-2024 and I didn’t hate it.

This is not a genre I have a lot of experience in, so perhaps it requires a bit more explanation as to why I would randomly be picking up this older series now.

Last year after I read Kaylie Smith’s Phantasma, I had a moment where I was considering becoming a Romantasy-Girlie, so of course, I bought a bunch of books I knew nothing about to fit that new personality.

During that frenzy of fiscal irresponsibility, I bought this entire series for no reason. After reading Pestilence though, I knew I wanted to continue. Good news!

It was interesting, and though often repetitive, it did keep me engaged. I liked that the story was set in an apocalyptic world and how Pestilence wasn’t really a human being. LOL — that seems so strange to say.

War is set after the events in Pestilence, and has no real connection to that story other than the fact that War is Pestilence’s ‘brother’, and Pestilence is briefly referred to a couple of times.

I ended up enjoying this one quite a bit more than that 1st-book. I don’t know why exactly I enjoyed this so much, I don’t know what that says about me, but I did and I’m not gonna lie about it.

Maybe it’s because it sort of reads like a piece of Khal Drogo fanfic, and I would never, ever turn that down.

We each like what we like. The end. I’m accepting no further questions on that at this time.

I also enjoyed the setting of this one a lot. It was set in the Middle East and Northern Africa, whereas Pestilence was set in North America. I thought it made sense for the author to jump locations, since this is a world-wide event, so it would make sense to give stories from around the world.

I’m not commenting on Thalassa’s representations of those places, just the idea of making it a globe-spanning series. I’m interested to see where the next 2-books are set.

There is a lot more action in this one, with hard-fought battle scenes, hand-to-hand combat moments and intense interactions. I loved both of the MCs, Miriam and War, and enjoyed watching their relationship develop.

War was much more appealing to me than Pestilence, so that definitely boosted my enjoyment level as well. Pestilence felt a little clueless and bumbling, whereas War gives very confident, powerful, Alpha Male vibes.

There were times I questioned Miriam’s choices, but she was certainly in a tough spot. What would you do to survive the apocalypse, you know?

I also really enjoyed the conclusion. I think the author wrapped it up in a satisfying way. I walk away from this, happy that I made the time for it.

I will be continuing with the series, though I’m not sure how long it will take me to get to the next book. I am very interested to learn more about it though. Wondering what Famine’s personality will be like…

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