Scaredy Cat by A.J. Merlin [Review]

Scaredy Cat by A.J. Merlin
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: December 26, 2025

Purchase Links: Paperback | Kindle

A.J. Merlin
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

There’s nothing to be scared of.
That’s the brand I used to build my following.

As a horror blogger and content creator, I made a name for myself by diving headfirst into haunted houses, cursed films, and urban legends—all without flinching. Fear? I don’t even believe in it.

But that was before his comment.

A single message on my latest video: "I bet I could scare you, but there should be a prize involved."

Now the haunted attractions feel a little too real. Shadows move where they shouldn’t. And I can’t shake the feeling that someone’s watching me—even in the dark safety of my own room.

My mysterious new follower doesn’t play by the rules. He doesn’t just want to scare me.
He wants me.

The worst part? My fans love him. They egg him on, not realizing this isn’t some online stunt. This is real. This is terrifying…and tempting.

When the game ends, the only thing left to find out is whether “Scaredy Cat” is just my online handle…

Or my final truth.

Thoughts on Scaredy Cat: I wasn't 100% sure I was going to like this after the first couple chapters. But, DANGIT, Shiloh won me over with his charm. Sure, some of the things he did (and does for a living) might be a little questionable, but you have to say he's 100% committed to a plan once it's in motion.

But first! Persy is a woman barely holding things together. She's good with the haunts and things that scare other people thrill her more than scare her, but she's kind of a mess outside of that. Her family isn't exactly supportive and she has a raging case of imposter syndrome. She's kind of walking a line between holding it together and about to completely fall apart at any given moment.

Then she starts getting comments on her blog that she can't stop thinking about. Not the usual negative ones that eat at her self-confidence, but ones that are almost flirty and offer to give her a real scare. Her first encounter with her stalker sort of thrills her in a way she wasn't expecting. Well, once she realized what he was doing wasn't part of the haunt. Things sort of escalated from there. Her stalker knew how to give her exactly what she was craving and push her in all the ways she wanted to be pushed.

Honestly, I didn't expect to like Shiloh NEARLY as much as I did. But his amusement/indignation over the nickname Persy gave his cat and the way he was just so blasé about what he did for a living were the tipping point. The guy was charming. He won Persy over and slid into her life with enviable ease. It was fantastic.

You know what they say, sometimes a lady just needs a guy who knows just how to apply pressure to the people trying to knock her down. And if that pressure comes at the point of a knife? SO BE IT!

RtP's Week in Review (09/27/26)

Reading the Paranormal's Week in Review

• Filthy Puckers by Jaye Pratt [Review] - Masked men love!
• Brutal Bodyguards by Jaye Pratt [Review] - More masked men love!
• Puck Me Dead by Jaye Pratt [Review] - Even MORE masked men love!
• Nightmare Acres by Dakota Wilde [Review] - Nightmare love!
• Sweet Azalea by Adrian Blue [Review] - Monster love!
• Taken by the Hellhounds by Adrian Blue [Review] - Hellhound love!

Bookish Delights

• Books added to the pile
• The Doll Squad (Bureau of Cursed Objects #1) by Hailey Edwards
• Currently reading
• A Death in 4D by Eryn Scott

Taken by the Hellhounds by Adrian Blue [Review]

Taken by the Hellhounds by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 3, 2026

Purchase Links: Kindle

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Jessi was told not to take the shortcut through the cemetery. Unfortunately, she doesn’t believe the rumors about the monstrous beasts that live there. Until they show up to take their pound of flesh. Now, she is at the mercy of creatures who do not know the meaning of the word.

Thoughts on Taken by the Hellhounds: When Jessi opts to take a shortcut through the old cemetery, she learns exactly why the town (and her parents) warned her to avoid it. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that, though, because Jessi? She's good and caught.

Yeah, those beasts are driven. They know what they want and they don't stop until she's theirs. And then they don't stop even after because they're beasts on a mission. A little stalking, a little chasing, and three beasts who take what they want when their territory is invaded.

Sweet Azalea by Adrian Blue [Review]

Sweet Azalea by Adrian Blue
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 3, 2026

Purchase Links: Kindle

Adrian Blue
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Working the graveyard shift at a roadside diner, Willa Grace has grown numb to her dead-end life. But everything changes the night she discovers something monstrous has been watching her every move. The creature that emerges from the Appalachian darkness is massive, predatory, and utterly inhuman, yet his touch ignites a hunger she never knew existed. Night after night, their encounters grow bolder, more dangerous, as Willa Grace discovers the intoxicating thrill of surrendering to something that could destroy her. In the darkness between fear and craving, she'll discover that some hungers are too powerful to resist.

Thoughts on Sweet Azalea: Stuck in a rut (with a job she doesn't love and a quiet house that's not really a home), Willa Grace is about to have her world upended. It starts when her boss has a heart attack and she steps up to help a little more around the diner. Taking out the trash doesn't seem like a huge deal, but it kinda is. Because there's a creature watching her from the shadows.

Willa Grace is scared (rightly so), but she's also maybe a little intrigued. She doesn't think she should be, but her watcher is big and monstrous and...she keeps coming back. Partly because it's her job and partly because the big guy makes her feel things she doesn't quite understand.

It doesn't take long before Willa Grace is inviting the monster to her house. And then in her house. And, well, THINGS HAPPEN. GOOD TIMES!

Nightmare Acres by Dakota Wilde [Review]

Nightmare Acres (Nightmare Acres #2) by Dakota Wilde
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 2, 2026

Nightmare Acres
1. Hallows Fright
2. Nightmare Acres - Paperback | Kindle

Dakota Wilde
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

You can run, but you can't hide...

What was meant to be a fun girls’ trip away, turns into a deadly vacation where six friends discover the camp they’ve agreed to stay at is full of real-life monsters.

At Nightmare Acres, nothing is as it seems. The creatures that go bump in the night are on the hunt, determined to make you scream.

Thoughts on Nightmare Acres: The soul quota on Nightmare Acres has been lifted, but the monsters there have only slowed down on ending humans. They haven't exactly stopped. To be fair, the ones they're targeting now (or at least the one Maverick and Hendricks are targeting) are the worst of the worst for the most part. So the NA monsters might be doing a public service with their work.

That said, Lydia is not one of the wicked. She's sweet, doesn't quite feel like she fits in with the world around her, but would still sacrifice herself in a heartbeat to protect her friends. Maverick and Hendricks are mitten with her from the first look. And Jack? Well, Jack is feeling things he hasn't felt since he was a human and while he's not sure if he wants to share her with the two vampires, he's willing to try. You know, since the alternative is not being with her at all.

On Lydia's end, she's drawn to the three males who keep showing up around camp. She not thrilled with the whole "scare camp" portion of this vacation, but she liiiiikes Maverick, Hendricks, and Jack more than she expected. And? She's totally willing to give in to temptation with all three time and again.

A little danger (this is more than just a scare camp, you know), a little steam, a few outdoor encounters, two vampires who don't mind sharing, a fiercely protective monster with a pumpkin head, and a lady who thoroughly enjoys her time spent with the three of them. *thumbs up*

Puck Me Dead by Jaye Pratt [Review]

Puck Me Dead (Masked Men #12) by Jaye Pratt
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: March 14, 2026

Masked Men
1. Don't Get Caught
2. Nowhere to Hide
3. Are You Scared?
4. You're Ours Now
5. Hold Your Breath
6. Run For Us
7. Dirty Cowboys
8. On Your Knees
9. Savage Stalkers
10. Filthy Puckers
11. Brutal Bodyguards
12. Puck Me Dead - Paperback | Kindle

Jaye Pratt
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

The Kane twins ruined me once, and I’ve made damn sure they’ll never get the chance again.

Five years later, I’m broke, unemployed, and desperate enough to make a decision I swore I never would. I travel back home, sign up for the View4U app, and hope I can make some money until I figure out what I want to do with my life.

Then Landon and Levi Kane catch me in a mortifying position, with my ass covered in lube. And soon the past I tried hard to bury is standing right in front of me, demanding answers.

The twins want to know why I disappeared, why I cut them out of my life without an explanation. But if they want the truth, they’re going to have to earn it. So I make them a deal, though some would call it blackmail. If they help me build my online content, then maybe, just maybe, they’ll get the truth they lost the right to know years ago.

The man we’re supposed to chase should be nothing but content, a means to an end. Yet once his identity is exposed, and I understand who he is to Landon, circumstances change. Tate isn’t a stranger; he is their coach. While it may be complicated, this could be a win-win situation for us all.

Once lines are crossed, there is no way to control who gets hurt, but maybe there is a way we can all get what we want.

Thoughts on Puck Me Dead: The Kane twins (brothers to Leila) are up and their special someone is Leila's BFF Abby. Hold up. It's a little more complicated than that. Landon and Levi are both into Abby. But there's also Tate. Landon and Abby and both into Tate (Levi tolerates him because he makes Abby happy, basically, and Levi doesn't mind sharing). Come to think, Levi is really ONLY into Abby. He's just super okay with her being with the others.

So. Abby had a thing with Landon and Levi before. THINGS HAPPENED and she ghosted them without ever telling them what those things were. She's been carrying around a boatload of hurt since things imploded and Landon and Levi have...well, they've also been carrying around a boatload of hurt. There was just a lot of hurt going around and Abby shut them out so completely that they not only didn't know what had happened, they never got a chance to defend or explain themselves.

Now they three are temporarily sharing a house and things are complicated. Lines are being crossed. Abby is figuring out that maybe she was a little hasty in believing what she believed. Levi is ready to jump back in to a relationship. Landon is...let's just say he's a little more wary in getting involved. His wariness translates to pushing his new assistant coach a bit more than maybe he should have. However, forcing Tate outside his comfort zone did give Tate the courage to grab onto his happiness, so maybe he pushed him just the right amount.

Anywho. Landon, Levi, and Abby have some chase-y, chase fun with Tate with Tate not knowing who they were. When the truth comes to light (as it always does), the four of them have to figure out how to navigate a complex relationship and any of the publicity that might come with it.

I must say I'm enjoying these masked men and the group dynamics that go along with their relationships.

Brutal Bodyguards by Jaye Pratt [Review]

Brutal Bodyguards (Masked Men #11) by Jaye Pratt
Format: ebook
Source: borrowed through Kindle Unlimited
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: February 10, 2026

Masked Men
1. Don't Get Caught
2. Nowhere to Hide
3. Are You Scared?
4. You're Ours Now
5. Hold Your Breath
6. Run For Us
7. Dirty Cowboys
8. On Your Knees
9. Savage Stalkers
10. Filthy Puckers
11. Brutal Bodyguards - Paperback | Kindle
12. Puck Me Dead

Jaye Pratt
| Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Sometimes it sucks being the sister of a rock star. I don’t envy his fame, but I could do without the attention of his stalker.

I want my life back. My privacy. My freedom.

Instead, my father hires three bodyguards who suffocate me at every turn. They’re always watching, hovering, invading my space.

When I discover Wild Steps, it feels like the perfect escape. Masked men who don’t know my identity—who can give me exactly what I need without the complications.

The three masked men sent to me are everything I crave.

They chase me through abandoned buildings and parks. Pin me down and claim me. And for the first time since my stalker outed me to the world, I feel free.

But when the masks come off, I discover that the three men I trusted to protect me have been my masked strangers all along.

They lied to me. Deceived me. They orchestrated everything.

It makes me feel naïve and stupid for not realizing who they were.

But even after I tear verbal shreds off my bodyguards for their betrayal, then demand distance and join my brother on tour without them, I can’t bring myself to want them gone.

Thoughts on Brutal Bodyguards: Having someone (or three someones) shadow your every move day in and day out can be wearing. Maddie is...not thrilled being babysat, but her brother is famous and she has a stalker, so it's a necessary precaution. That said, she doesn't make it easy for her guys. She hits up clubs with her bestie (Riley!) and sneaks out to abandoned buildings to take pictures. But her guys are used to the things she does, so they're pretty good at keeping up with her.

Then she signs up for Wild Steps and sets herself up to be chased by masked men. Ace, Vander, and Rhodes are SUPER not thrilled by the security aspect plus they all sort of have a thing for the lady they're assigned to protect. So they arrange things so they're her masked men. Which negates the security issue, but sets up some serious broken trust issues down the road. Because Maddie wanted the anonymity and having three men she has a bit of a thing for know her deepest fantasies messes with her head.

Because, YEAH, she finds out they're the ones chasing her. She has to decide if she can forgive them and how far she's willing to take this thing between them once she does. Broken trust doesn't mend overnight (or over two weeks), but these three know how to give her what she needs and she likes them on several levels.

I'm still enjoying these masked men and the ladies they fall for. *thumbs up*