Zarlina

[zarlina]

They branded him a hero. Then left him to die.

✨ New Release! ✨

The Hero No One Came For is officially out today on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!

A dark, emotional M/M novella about a chained hero, a masked villain… and what happens when no one comes to save the day.

BLURB: The city adored him. Until it didn’t.

After years of rooftop battles and near-misses, the villain finally captures the golden boy of the city—the beloved hero everyone counted on. Shackled in a hidden lair, waiting for rescue, the hero is certain help will come.

But no one does.

Hours turn to days. The villain stops gloating. The hero stops pretending he doesn’t notice. What begins as triumph unravels into something far more personal—two men forced to confront what’s left when the world moves on without them.

One is supposed to be a symbol of hope. The other, a harbinger of ruin. But when the masks fall and the silence stretches, what remains isn’t a war—it’s a question:

If the world never really cared… who are you without it?

[zarlina]

Balancing being the hero and still take care of his dog, because ✨ priorities ✨

The Hero No One Came For, now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited🖤

[iloveyou-writers]

Never let anyone convince you your writing isn't worth it. So long as you love it, it's worth it.

Keep it up!

[zarlina]

Just normal villain stuff 🔥

The Hero No One Came For, now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited 🖤

[zarlina]

“They want you executed. Dragged out in front of the city, killed with everyone watching. And… they want me to be the one to do it.”

Jace grins, crooked and bitter. “Poetic.”

Because of course they’d want it neat and cinematic. The golden boy back on stage, triumphant over the villain who haunted the night.

Ander shakes his head. “Publicity.”

“And how are they planning it?” Jace asks. “How are you going to kill me, hero?”

Ander’s jaw tightens. “I never said I’d do it.”

[zarlina]

The Hero No One Came For, a story about a hero who was left behind—and the villain who noticed.

❤️‍🩹 abandonment trauma ❤️‍🩹 enemies to something softer ❤️‍🩹 “you matter to me” ❤️‍🩹 forced proximity

Out now on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

[zarlina]

ARC REVIEW

Stay With Me by Annabel den Dekker

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This one was cute. Very cute. A bit too cute at some parts, but still not unbearable. There were parts that I think was a bit too much, but overall not bad at all.

It read a bit like a fanfic, but not necessarily in a bad way. Just that dreamy way, meeting your idol and getting the chance to get to know them, finding your way to something deeper. Unrealistic, but still the kind of trope you can never really get enough of.

The characters were sweet, layered, and felt (mostly) believable. The way they found each other and learned to see each other's signs of when they weren't okay was really sweet and when they finally (Chase, mainly) admitted their feelings for each other it was just.. perfectly paced. I liked that.

However, as a dog trainer, I need to get said that calling a labrador/poodle mix a "smart breed"? Nope. Absolutely not. It is not a breed. Most of them ARE wonderful, but it is not a breed and you cannot give them general traits, because that's not how breeding dogs work. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. It's not actually important for the story, the dog is super sweet and I adore Brandon for adopting her. More adoption dogs, please! Love that.

Anyway. The ending had me conflicted. I loved the boldness of Chase and how it hints that he and Brandon will have their happily ever after. Not thrilled about Victor's open ending, though. I think he deserved better. He was a bit of work, but he was also afraid. I think he deserved more. Chase and Brandon, though? LOVE how brave Chase was, and I so hope they will be happy together in the future.

Buuuut if this is going to be a series, maybe there's a chance for more Victor in the future? I certainly hope so!

So overall. Very solid read. Definitely worth a chance if you want to feel all happy and giddy inside. It had a nice balance between sweetness and angst and until those last lines the ending had me grinning of happiness for our boys!

[zarlina]

ARC REVIEW

It's Only Love by A.E. Jensen, Courtney W. Dixon

⭐⭐⭐

So this is going to be one of those really hard ones to review, because parts of it I really adored, and parts of it made me almost want to give up on it. I did end up finishing it, though, but I'm not sure if I would recommend it to anyone, but I also wouldn't tell someone who wants to read it not to, because it wasn't bad, just... not really my thing, I guess?

Let's start with the characters. They were... childish, in a way. But also absolutely adorable. For quite a few chapters, even after their ages had been stated, I felt like Dennis talked like an 8 year old, but then he grew up, and while he still felt a lot younger than he should have, I cared about him a lot and my heart broke for him so many times through the book. He was so sweet and so madly in love and ugh, he deserves the absolute best.

Mike I didn't care much for, actually. His story should have been much sadder, but I didn't feel like we got to actually know him and his pain enough to really feel it. I liked him because Dennis liked him, but overall he didn't have a lot of personality.

The story itself? Cute. Sweet in that long time crush kind of way. Some parts were a bit dragged out, and I have to say I got a bit annoyed with how after the guys had finally admitted they liked each other literally all they could think about was each others dicks. Like. Constantly. There is spice and then there is... this. Some scenes were good, some were not, but the not being able to think about anything else got tiring pretty damn fast.

But, with that said, there were still some plot left to discover and when he wasn't busy being horny Dennis was still the sweetest ever. He deserves the world. Is Mike the world? Eh. Maybe. To Dennis, he certainly was.

The ending was a bit too much for me, Mike building a whole house pretty much by himself in a year and all, but overall it was sweet. The happily ever after they both deserved. And Willow was absolutely adorable. 10/10 good girl energy.

[zarlina]

They branded him a hero. Then left him to die.

After years of rooftop battles and near-misses, the villain finally captures the golden boy of the city—the beloved hero everyone counted on. Shackled in a hidden lair, waiting for rescue, the hero is certain help will come.

But no one does.

Hours turn to days. The villain stops gloating. The hero stops pretending he doesn’t notice. What begins as triumph unravels into something far more personal—two men forced to confront what’s left when the world moves on without them.

One is supposed to be a symbol of hope. The other, a harbinger of ruin. But when the masks fall and the silence stretches, what remains isn’t a war—it’s a question:

If the world never really cared… who are you without it?

The Hero No One Came For is a dark, emotional slow-burn about identity, abandonment, and reluctant connection between enemies who may not be as different as they think. For fans of villain redemption arcs, psychological tension, and M/M stories with no easy answers.

❤️‍🩹 slow-burn trust

❤️‍🩹 enemies to something softer

❤️‍🩹 morally gray everything

❤️‍🩹 forced proximity

Release day is September 1st! 💙 Pre-orders are open now!

[zarlina]

The Darkside of Midnight by Johnna Dee

⭐⭐

This one was not for me. It was too fast pace and the switch from third person to first was confusing. One moment the main character was kidnapped and the next she's attracted to the one who's chained her down. While I can enjoy this kind of story as well, it was too sudden for it to feel like it made sense for the story. Had it been longer it would have worked, but with such few pages it simply wasn't enough time to explore the relationship I think the author meant for these characters to build.

The ending was perfect, though. No happily ever after, just the painful realisation of how cruel her captor really is. I liked that.

[zarlina]

What happens when the villain cares more than the city ever did?

He was their shining symbol. Until the day he vanished, and no one came looking.

Captured by the very villain he once chased, the city’s beloved hero waits for a rescue that never comes. But as the silence stretches and the mask slips, the lines between enemy and ally begin to blur.

Because maybe they were never that different.

And maybe, just maybe—they were both left behind.

❤️‍🩹 abandonment trauma

❤️‍🩹 enemies to something softer

❤️‍🩹 morally gray everything

❤️‍🩹 forced proximity

Release day is September 1st! 💙 Pre-orders are open now!

[intothestacks]

[zarlina]

What Does It Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wow, this was a powerful, painful, beautiful read. Despite being so short, it pulled me in straight away, and the message was perfectly delivered in the short time we had with the characters.

Stunning and highly recommended, BUT if you have anxiety over life and death, this might not be a good read. It really makes you think about your own life and how fast it can be taken from you, and I felt my own anxiety growing into an almost panic attack while reading.

I'd still recommend it, though, but read it with caution ❤️

[zarlina]

The city adored him. Until it didn’t.

After years of rooftop battles and near-misses, the villain finally captures the golden boy of the city—the beloved hero everyone counted on. Shackled in a hidden lair, waiting for rescue, the hero is certain help will come.

But no one does.

Hours turn to days. The villain stops gloating. The hero stops pretending he doesn’t notice. What begins as triumph unravels into something far more personal—two men forced to confront what’s left when the world moves on without them.

One is supposed to be a symbol of hope. The other, a harbinger of ruin. But when the masks fall and the silence stretches, what remains isn’t a war—it’s a question:

If the world never really cared… who are you without it?

The Hero No One Came For is a dark, emotional slow-burn about identity, abandonment, and reluctant connection between enemies who may not be as different as they think. For fans of villain redemption arcs, psychological tension, and M/M stories with no easy answers.

❤️‍🩹 hero kidnapped by villain

❤️‍🩹 enemies to something softer

❤️‍🩹 morally gray everything

❤️‍🩹 identity unmasking

Release day is September 1st! 💙 Pre-orders are open now!

[zarlina]

You're the Problem, It's you by Emma R. Alban

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh my...

I actually had a really hard time getting into this one, and the first 30% or so I was sure I wouldn't really like it, but then suddenly, I did. And it turned out to be one of my favorite reads so far this year.

Bobby and James were just... I don't even have words, and while I for the longest time didn't think there could be any kind of interesting spark between them (like for a while they had more chemistry with whatever-his-name was than with each other,) but then something shifted, and ugh. I loved it.

And the ending? I usually not my cup of tea, these kinds of endings. Too unrealistic for me. But for this one? You know what, yes. I approve.

Now I have to be honest and say I can't promise my love for this book is 100% because of the story itself. Because one reason I ended up obsessed with it was that I fell so damn in love with one of the narrators' voices that you know, he could talk about his coin collection for ten hours and I would still want to listen, (honestly Will What had me cleaning my whole damn apartment just so I'd have an excuse to keep listening) but that aside, I did really enjoy the story as well, so for whatever reason, it's getting five stars. I don't even care if it's because of the story or the narrator. It's just. 5/5.

[zarlina]

He saved everyone. And when he needed saving... no one came.

He was their shining symbol. Until the day he vanished, and no one came looking.

Captured by the very villain he once chased, the city’s beloved hero waits for a rescue that never comes. But as the silence stretches and the mask slips, the lines between enemy and ally begin to blur.

Because maybe they were never that different.

And maybe, just maybe—they were both left behind.

❤️‍🩹 abandonment trauma

❤️‍🩹 enemies to something softer

❤️‍🩹 morally gray everything

❤️‍🩹 forced proximity

Release day is September 1st! 💙 Pre-orders are open now!

[zarlina]

Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

⭐️⭐️⭐️

It was alright, but not really a book I'd recommend to anyone looking for romance. The beginning of their relationship went way too fast, and then the rest dragged on for what felt like forever. Probably not time wise, but too much of the story was focused on things that didn't do much for the main characters, and I don't know but I was pretty bored most of.

The ending was also too perfect to feel real, and that's never my cup of tea. You can't go through all these obstacles and then have an ending so perfectly cheesy it turns cringey. It just doesn't sit right with me.

Parts of it were sweet, but it wasn't my kind of read. I will still read the sequel though, as I actually only read this one so I could read that one. Hopefully the next one is more my kind of story.