Location: United States
Member Since:
July 06, 2022
Crystal Stafford
Crystal Stafford's favorite authors on Smashwords
Smashwords book reviews by Crystal Stafford
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Lovely in Red
on June 12, 2023
This was of course sexy, Odessa Hywell does not do anything un-sexily. Calix, LittleRed, is this beautiful cam boy who has caught the eye of The Wolf, or Atticus. Calix is a virgin and Atticus wants him. The tension during the cam scenes was off the charts and seeing them from both Calix's POV and Atticus', it was steamy and so good. The story itself I enjoyed so much up until the very end. I felt like this was not a standalone and we need more, if not from Calix and Atticus, but for our supporting characters and maybe even a certain Chief of Police Dad. I wonder if this is Odessa's plan??!! In this you will get Camboy vs Stalker, virgin MC, insta lust, and some mild suspense. I 100% love Odessa's writing and will always continue to read her brand of forbidden. Even though this was, as she said, one of her lightest books, it still deals with major grey areas and a special kink not everyone may enjoy or understand. I feel it was done really well here, (even though I have no frame of reference) and it also added to the MC's connection quite a bit. There needs to be total trust and you definitely feel that with our MC's, no matter how unlikely. I enjoyed both our characters quite a bit as well, Calix even though read much younger than his 27 years was still sweet and looking for someone to want him not only from behind the camera. He may not have known in at first but his connection and ease with Atticus just proved it. And Atticus was super sexy with his mysterious yet completely open obsession with Calix. There's no way around calling him our morally grey character, yet his actions just fit his character perfectly. And them together was super hotttt. I just wished for a bit more to the ending. And again want to know if we'll see some more in this world as the supporting characters felt like they definitely had a s tory to tell. I enjoyed this book, and the heat level was on point. Calix ad Atticus were meant to meet one way or another and I just love a man who takes matters in his own hands and has a possessive streak that is never sated. And the one who just completely accepts him as he is shows his morally grey side too. It was a good balance. Detail and flow, aside from my wanting more at the end were on point. My fair rating is 3.75 stars.
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For nEver Mine: Mate Mistake #1
on May 10, 2024
For nEver Mine by Odessa Hywell, first installment in a new omegaverse series The Mate Mistake has the usual Haywell spice and was fast paced and read quick. This has Bro-cest, fast burn, brothers on the run, mate bonds, and a wolf pack that'll have your back for life. I really love Odessa's writing. I always read her books very quickly and the heat is always high which is my favorite. In the very beginning we meet Shiloh and Riley while they are on the run from the pack and alpha that Riley was promised to. Shiloh, the next in line Alpha, couldn't shake the feeling Riley, his other brother and Omega, was unhappy or in danger, so he took matters into his own hands and helped Riley escape. He wasn't a prisoner, but he may as well have been with how he was isolated from the Gerhart pack and only allowed to speak to the Alpha. So, they are literally running for their lives. This started out super-fast and while I was totally fine with that, I was expecting to see a little bit more of the brotherly bond and the buildup to these brothers eventually mating to save Riley. Seeing as how it was like same day running away to mating there wasn't much time for that, I get it, but I didn't really feel like they were brothers since I barely knew their characters. So, I was assuming if we didn't get this part of the relationship build, we would see these guys fight their mate bond way harder than they did, and some brotherly bonding at the same time. But it was very quick into the sexy scenes which...hot...always hot scenes from Odessa, but it just didn't have that strong forbidden feel I was expecting. This may not bother some, and while it was lacking in that area I did like the pacing in general, not too long of a read and not drawn out like some PNR can be. And I did enjoy the rest of the pack, although everything was just very neatly accepted and resolved for the most part. Very low angst for an incestual relationship I would say. Gotta say though, love the cover and look forward to reading about the other brothers who just can't keep their bites to themselves. This was a 3.5 rounded to 4 stars. I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by the author.
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Never Say Never: Mate Mistake #2
on May 10, 2024
Never Say Never is a taboo, bothers to lovers, high heat, PNR shifter romance where two brothers who are closer than brothers usually are, are dared to mate...by their younger siblings. Sounds a little messy? It is. But it is also overwhelmingly sweet the way Keenan and Ellis love each other. I really loved this addition to the Mate Mistake series. I felt the connect between Keenan (Alpha/dominant/protective) and Ellis (Omega/submissive/sweet), immediately. They are very close as brothers and Keenan has a very strong protective connection to his younger brother who craves to be cared for and loved. As human brothers they ride that line between a bit too close as brothers but as wolves, there is no holding back. I liked this angle a lot. It showed that they were intimate in other ways because they knew they couldn't/shouldn't be together. They ache to be together, it's clear as day they hold a special love that others may not understand, and they truly do fight it. I felt the tabooness of their relationship and that's of course a big part of the reason we read cest books, so I was happy with that! The heat level was fire. Fire, fire, fire. Lots of heat sex and per usual for Odessa the chemistry was yummy. I loved their sweeter moments too but come on, Ellis being the Omega and wanting to be possessed and used and basically knotted 24/7 by his Alpha was just what I was wanting. I also really enjoyed the external plot with the pack. I really liked seeing Shiloh and Riley again and Alpha Cardonale . I am excited for all the new information we got about the pack and how Locke and Jaiden's relationship will be written. Lots of new developments. Am curious what will happen to the rest of Kee and Ellis' siblings as well. I really honestly loved this one and going back and rereading some of their spicey scenes just further proves why I do! BOY ARE THESE BROS HOT!!!! 4.5 steamy stars from me! I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by the author.