Category / Post Apocalyptic

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Brood by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Standalone
Publisher: After the End
Hero: Will
Heroine: Cadence
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: October 07, 2025
Started On: November 11, 2025
Finished On: November 11, 2025

I went into Brood expecting a shorter, palate-cleansing post-apocalyptic novella from Claire Kent. Instead, I got a full, layered, emotionally gripping novel that reminded me why this author remains unmatched when it comes to exploring intimacy, survival, and the quiet ferocity of human bonds in the bleakest worlds.

Set decades after the asteroid strike that reshaped humanity, the story unfolds within the suffocating walls of an underground bunker where order is maintained through rigid rules, controlled breeding, and the suppression of emotion. In this realm exists Cadence, twenty-one, earnest, sensitive, and designated “too emotional” by a society that fears feeling more than it fears extinction.

Cadence has spent her life preparing to marry her childhood best friend, but a sudden decree from the ruling council upends everything. Instead, she is ordered to wed Will, a thirty-something newly widowed Chief, and the very definition of stoic restraint. Their marriage is meant to be functional, practical, dutiful. She is to “breed.” He is to guide, protect, and contribute to the dwindling population. But beneath his quiet exterior, Will is a man shaped by grief, loyalty, and a deeper humanity than anyone gives him credit for. And beneath Cadence’s supposed fragility is a resilience the bunker has never understood.

What unfolds between them is exactly the type of slow, emotional unravelling Claire Kent does best. The forced marriage sets the stage, but the true heart of the book lies in how these two strangers learn to care for each other in small, tender ways, guarding each other’s vulnerabilities, finding comfort in stolen touches, and building trust where logic insists there should be none. As their intimacy deepens, the sexual connection becomes a catalyst for emotional awakening, each encounter intensifying the bond forming between them. Will, especially, is the kind of hero I have been missing from Kent’s more recent works; quietly dominant, emotionally contained until he isn’t, and protective in a way that hits straight in the gut.

All the while, the bunker looms as its own antagonist, its rules, its manipulations, and the horrifying treatment of mothers and babies in order to do what is “best” for the system, and the chilling belief that emotion itself is a liability. The plot twist towards the end was one I did not see coming, and grounded the narrative in both tragedy and hope. I only wish certain villains had met more satisfying ends, but the overall arc remains powerful nonetheless.

Brood is everything I want in a post-apocalyptic romance; high stakes, oppressive world-building, quiet rebellion, and a love story that blooms despite the darkness around it. Will and Cadence are beautifully matched in their vulnerabilities and strengths, and their journey felt raw, intimate, and deeply satisfying. The emotional beats hit the right notes. The sensuality builds naturally. And the epilogue? Perfect.

Recommended for: Readers who love intense, emotionally intimate post-apocalyptic romances; protective older heroes; forced marriage done right; and Claire Kent at her atmospheric best.

Final Verdict: A gripping, sensual, emotionally charged dystopian romance that proves even in the darkest worlds, love can be the strongest form of rebellion.

Favorite Quotes

“Why were you talking to Grearson about me?”
“I ran into him, and he was asking how you were and how married life was for us.”
“Oh. How did you answer him?”
Will pauses only briefly. “I said you were as good a spouse as anyone could hope for.”
A shiver of pleasure fills me, temporarily distracting me from my crushing disappointment. “You said that?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know. I thought you might say that I was prickly.”
His body shakes with breathy amusement. It’s subdued like mine—still tempered. “Of course I wouldn’t say that.”
“But you think that.”
“Sometimes.” He nuzzles my neck. “But that’s private. Just between us. No one else gets to know about your prickles.”
For some reason, I almost start crying again. My body shudders as I hold them back.
He brushes his lips against my hair again and murmurs something. I can’t hear it well, but it almost sounds like he says, “They’re mine.”

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Tower by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Post-Apocalyptic Fairy Tales, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Levi
Heroine: Hailey
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: September 26, 2025
Started On: September 27, 2025
Finished On: September 28, 2025

Tower by Claire Kent kicks off her Post-Apocalyptic Fairy Tales series with a retelling of Rapunzel unlike any other. Set years after the asteroid Impact that decimated the world, it is a story of survival, power, and the kind of love that can only bloom in the ruins. Kent takes a classic premise; a woman trapped in a tower who rescues herself by offering herself to the strongest among them, thus twisting it into something grittier and more grounded in human fragility.

Hailey has spent the last three years hidden from the world, her father’s protective paranoia keeping her locked away from the chaos outside. When he dies, she is left defenseless in a landscape ruled by violence and scarcity. Her solution is as pragmatic as it is desperate: she seeks out Levi, the leader of a local biker gang, and offers herself in exchange for protection.

He is definitely not the shining prince she dreamed of as a child, but a man hardened by loss and exhaustion, who agrees to her terms without illusion. Their arrangement begins as purely transactional, sex and safety traded in equal measure, but what grows between them is slow, tender, and entirely unexpected.

Levi is rough, tattooed, and gruff, but there is an undercurrent of quiet weariness that defines him. This is a man who has seen too much, fought too long, and now survives more out of duty than hope. His protectiveness toward Hailey does not stem from possessiveness but from a deep, almost reluctant humanity. Hailey herself is a wonderful mix of naïveté and resolve. Though inexperienced in the world’s cruelties, she is far from weak; practical, observant, and brave enough to walk straight into danger if it means retaining control over her fate.

What unfolds between them is a strangely intimate romance built on need and mutual respect. Their early encounters are mechanical, even awkward, but Kent slowly turns the dynamic inside out. The transactional becomes emotional; protection turns into devotion. The post-apocalyptic backdrop makes every touch and every word feel more precious because survival strips away all pretense.

Yet, while I appreciated the emotional growth, I could not help but feel that the story lacked some of the intensity Kent usually brings to her heroes. Levi, despite his quiet strength, feels subdued, less the alpha protector and more a man simply tired of fighting. The raw, gruff magnetism that often defines her male leads gives way here to a softer, more subdued energy.

Still, Tower succeeds in its atmosphere and tone, bleak yet hopeful, sensual yet restrained. The power imbalance between Levi and Hailey, which could have felt exploitative, is handled with Kent’s signature sensitivity. She never loses sight of Hailey’s independence as a person, even when the her choices are limited by the brutal world around her. And when emotion finally pierces through the stoic exteriors of both Levi and Hailey, there is a quiet joy that unfurls along with it.

Recommended for: readers who love gritty, slow-burn post-apocalyptic romance with strong heroines, weary protectors, and a touch of fairy-tale.

Final Verdict: Tower re-imagines Rapunzel in a world stripped of fantasy, where survival is the only currency and love is the rarest luxury of all. Gritty, sensual, and quietly hopeful.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Devotion by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Central Cities, #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Gabriel
Heroine: Jess
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: January 30, 2025
Started On: August 30, 2025
Finished On: September 01, 2025

I am psyched by how Claire Kent has taken her post-apocalyptic series setting for Kindled and taken it beyond expectations. She is introducing new lines of stories—some fairytale-driven, others set in the “wild” that faithful followers of the series will immediately recognize as threads of a larger world. She is also experimenting with different timelines that explore how humanity has evolved in the decades since the catastrophic event that reshaped the earth. Devotion is one such story, set forty odd years after the collapse, in the Central Cities where civilization has been rebuilt under the guise of order but thrives on control and quiet tyranny.

Jess, the heroine, has spent her entire life training to become a “palace partner”, a coveted role in which men and women devote themselves entirely to the pleasure and comfort of the ruling administrators. It is a system that glorifies service and submission, one she has never thought to question.

When she is chosen to serve Gabriel after having been overlooked for the role many times, for the new administrator who has come from the wilderness rather than the inner circles of the Capitol, she believes her life’s purpose has finally been fulfilled. But Gabriel doesn’t fit into the mold. He is distant, pragmatic, and clearly disillusioned by the hierarchy that rules the Central Cities. His refusal to indulge in the expected rituals of power begins to unravel everything Jess has been taught to believe.

Told solely from Jess’s point of view, Devotion immerses readers in her limited understanding of Gabriel and the society that has shaped her. For much of the book, she interprets her service to him as her life’s meaning, her devotion literal, physical, and constant. Claire Kent’s writing is bold and fearless here, particularly in how she uses eroticism to illustrate Jess’s awakening. The repetitive physical acts, acts that could easily have felt gratuitous, become a language of transformation. Each encounter subtly shifts their balance of power, as Jess begins to realize that devotion is not about submission but about mutual connection.

Gabriel is perhaps one of Kent’s most difficult heroes to read. Stoic and reserved, he often feels cold, even selfish, until his true intentions begin to emerge. Once the veil lifts, his quiet resistance to the oppressive system becomes the most powerful act of rebellion in the novel. He is not a man who needs to dominate but rather one who protects, questions, and ultimately loves in a way that honors freedom over control. Knowing that Gabriel is the son of Gabe and Olivia from Princess in the Kindled series makes his moral complexity even more rewarding; he carries both the legacy of survival and the yearning for something better.

Kent’s world-building remains top-tier, full of nuance and moral ambiguity. The Central Cities, with their polished facades and hidden cruelty, stand as a chilling reflection of how far humanity will go to preserve comfort at the cost of freedom, realities that we witness every day in real life. I loved how, as much as Jess was utterly devoted to her role, she became his confidante in matters of governance, where her advice was solicited by Gabriel, which made my heart happy in many ways.

Jess’s transformation within that structure, her slow realization that love and servitude cannot coexist unless it is something mutually wanted by both, is where Kent’s storytelling truly shines. While a brief separation between them might have strengthened the emotional arc, the story’s resolution still lands with satisfying emotional weight.

Recommended for: readers who love slow-burn dystopian romance, morally layered heroes, and erotic storytelling that doubles as social commentary.

Final Verdict: Devotion is an intoxicating blend of sensuality, rebellion, and emotional evolution, proving once again that no one writes post-apocalyptic intimacy quite like Claire Kent.

Favorite Quotes

“Gabriel, stop asking. Stop questioning it. I’ve spent most of my life waiting to be your partner. Waiting for this moment. Waiting to give all of me to you.”
He makes a weird, strangled sound. I’m not sure what it means. But his expression twists as if he’s touched by what I said. “I never realized it,” he murmurs, so low I can barely hear the words, “but I think I might have been waiting for you too.”

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Protected by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Deck
Heroine: Lilah
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: July 03, 2025
Started On: August 01, 2025
Finished On: August 02, 2025

Protected by Claire Kent takes readers back into the brutal, stripped-down world of the Kindled universe, where survival is a daily battle, where tenderness is a tough commodity to come by. Two years after the world-ending Impact, the Lilah is alone, starving, and running out of options. Forced to join a roaming group of scavengers led by the calculating and unflinchingly pragmatic Logan, Lilah finds herself having to adjust to the new normal.

Among the group is a giant of a man named Deck, a silent, imposing man who has not deemed to speak a word since the day the world fell apart. What begins as an uneasy alliance between two survivors slowly becomes a deeply emotional journey about finding connection, safety, and love when there is little left worth fighting for.

Lilah at twenty-four has already lost everything; her family, her lover, and her home and lives with a constant undercurrent of fear until she finds a semblance of normalcy with the group. Deck, at twenty-nine, is her opposite in temperament but mirrors her pain. Traumatized by what he has endured, he communicates through gestures, small acts of care, and unspoken understanding.

As their partnership evolves, the story draws its tension not from the chaos of the world around them but from the delicate intimacy that forms between two broken people. The slow, cautious bond they build, one gesture, one shared glance at a time, is where the novel finds its heartbeat.

Claire Kent excels at writing love that grows out of impossible circumstances, and Protected is a just another trophy that attests to her strength as a writer. Deck’s silence never diminishes his presence and rather amplifies it, drawing the reader to him, trying to catch a glimpse into the depths of the emotional gentle giant that he is.

Every protective act, every lesson Deck teaches Lilah in self-defense, carries emotional weight. His strength is not just physical; it’s moral and emotional too, a contrast to the violent and often amoral world they inhabit. Lilah’s evolution from vulnerability to someone of indomitable strength is one that I rooted for wholeheartedly.

While the story delivers on emotional depth and survivalist realism, the external tension involving Logan and his group occasionally feels secondary. The stalker-like dangers and raiding conflicts add grit, but the real draw remains the understated romance and how it redefines what safety and love mean in a world stripped of both.

Readers familiar with the Kindled series will appreciate Logan’s reappearance; he remains the enigmatic force behind the group’s survival, setting up what promises to be an equally compelling story in his own book, which I believe will take some time to be published.

While I have loved this constant stream of heroes who are gentle, emotional, and able to be more open about their trauma, I also want heroes of the kind that Ms. Kent used to write – men who brood a bit more, rarely give away what they are thinking or feeling, adding that delicious tangible angst to the story. I sorely miss that.

Recommended for: readers who love post-apocalyptic romance with quiet emotional intensity, protective and gentle giant heroes, and heroines who discover their strength.

Final Verdict: Protected is a slow-burn romance set in a world of ruin, where silence speaks louder than words and love becomes the last refuge of the human soul.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Beacon by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, FMC
Series: Kindled, #8
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Malachi (Mack)
Heroine: Anna
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: October 11, 2024
Started On: July 20, 2025
Finished On: July 22, 2025

I just woke up one day and knew—I knew—that you were my resting place.

Nostalgia is the word that best describes how I felt reaching the end of Claire Kent’s Kindled series with Beacon. Throughout the series, on and off, Mack has been a towering presence in the background, the steady hand, the heart of the community, the man everyone leaned on when the world crumbled after the event known as Impact. His story has been one of the most anticipated of the series (which I am sure is a sentiment shared by many followers of the series), and while this installment may not have become my personal favorite, I can appreciate the way it brought his journey full circle.

Mack is a man who has carried the weight of countless battles, both physical and emotional. For ten years he has been the anchor in the storm, the one who kept order amidst chaos, and the one everyone else turned to for assistance. But even the strongest shoulders eventually give way and that is what happens when a certain chain of events becomes the final straw after years of loss and responsibility. Add to this, the loss of his dreams of a family with the woman who owns his heart, needless to say he withdraws completely, retreating into the wilderness to nurse wounds too deep to share.

When Mack fails to return back to the community even as months pass, it is Anna who finally sets out to bring him back, knowing that it may not be as easy as that. Mack who would rather nurse his wounds in private, is reluctant to let her in, both literally and figuratively, until he is forced into sharing his quarters with Anna, which serves to the start to the journey of shared healing for the two.

Though Anna is pivotal to the story, I often found myself struggling with her choices. At thirty-three, she is a survivor of an abusive marriage, determined never to lose her independence again. Her hesitancy to commit to Mack comes from a place of self-preservation, a belief that she cannot be the partner he deserves because she still has so much healing of her own to do. And yet, beneath all that, it is evident she has always loved him. She just could not let herself give in.

What I did admire was Anna’s decision to risk her life for Mack, both literally and figuratively. When she ventures into the dangerous forest to bring him back, it is as much about saving him physically as it is about proving her feelings at last. Mack’s need for reassurance, for proof that he is not alone and unloved, felt heartbreaking and necessary after all he has endured. It was only fair that she had to be the one to step forward and make that sacrifice, just as he has carried everyone else, including Anna, for so long.

The theme of positive masculinity runs strong here. Mack is written as a man of great strength, but also deep vulnerability. His willingness to shoulder responsibility, his devotion to community, and his steadfast love for Anna makes him a hero worth remembering.

Still, as much as I admired his character, I found myself less enamored with the romance than I expected. Perhaps it was the years of buildup between Anna and Mack throughout the series which Ms. Kent expected us to take notes of, or the way their relationship often simmered just below the surface, but when it finally took center stage, I did not connect with their love as deeply as I hoped.

That said, I do understand why the characters were written the way they were. Breanna, in her story, needed a gentler partner to help her heal, and while Mack’s trauma was different, he needed the space and solitude, time to grieve and recover privately before he could return whole. The conclusion between Anna and Mack perhaps makes sense for who they are, even if the emotional punch did not hit me with the same intensity as some of the earlier books in the series.

Now that the series has come to a close, I cannot help but feel a bittersweet ache. Beacon ties the threads together, but it also leaves me looking forward. Logan, who made only a small appearance here, completely stole my attention, and I am already anticipating his book with high hopes. Now there is a hero of the kind I identify with!

Recommended for: readers who love end-of-the-world survival romances, broken-but-steadfast heroes, and heroines learning to claim their own strength.

Final Verdict: A bittersweet finale; Mack’s story closes the series with quiet strength, even if the romance did not burn as brightly as I had hoped.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Homestead by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, Single
Series: Kindled, #7
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Jimmy Carlson
Heroine: Chloe
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: May 17, 2024
Started On: May 16, 2024
Finished On: May 18, 2024

Drawing closer to the conclusion of the Kindled series by Claire Kent is bittersweet. With the publication of Haven, the debut book in the series, Ms. Kent opened to readers a world of chaos following a catastrophic event that effectively ended life as we know it today. It is a series that has made me think beyond the romance, witticism, and eroticism that Ms. Kent pens so effectively. What would happen to us when (and not if), the world meets such a fate? I believe that what Ms. Kent has outlined through each of her books in the series brings to light varied different circumstances under which the most vulnerable would fare in a world where survival of the fittest becomes the center theme.

With the seventh installment in the series, Homestead takes us back into the raw, stripped-down world as mentioned above. This story is about Chloe, a young woman left with nothing after the loss of her family, who finds safety through an arrangement with Jimmy Carlson, a widower whose quiet strength and steady presence offers her not only shelter but also a chance at a new life. Their partnership begins as one of survival and convenience but slowly transforms into something deeper, more tender, and unexpectedly intimate.

Jimmy is not your typical romance hero. He is gruff, practical, and a man of few words, but beneath that stoic exterior lies loyalty and decency that make him a quietly compelling character. Widowed and experienced, he knows the cost of loss and the value of stability.

Chloe, in contrast, is young and untested, her adult years shaped by the collapse of modern civilization. She starts out with no skills, resources, and no real sense of her place in the harsh new world. What makes her journey resonate is that she does not suddenly morph into a fearless survivor; instead, she builds on her own strengths and learns to carve out her space in a way that feels authentic.

Their arrangement comes with inherent conflict. Chloe feels the imbalance in power between them; Jimmy as protector and provider, she with little to give but herself, and yet Jimmy continually proves that he is not a man who takes advantage. Instead, as feelings emerge between them, the dynamic shifts into something more equal, rooted in choice and growing trust. Watching them move from uneasy strangers to genuine partners added weight to the romance, even amidst the bleakness of their world.

What I appreciated most about Homestead is how realistic the characters felt. Jimmy may not be the forceful alpha typical of post-apocalyptic romance, but his quiet authority was just as magnetic. Chloe’s vulnerability and her gradual steps toward finding her own kind of strength gave her a dimension I found refreshing.

The story delivered exactly what I expect from Kent: a balance of danger, survival, and scorching intimacy. And yes, there were a few unexpected surprises with Jimmy that made me smile. The narrative also underscores how, in a world where most pleasures have been stripped away, physical intimacy becomes one of the few remaining ways to feel alive—and that theme struck with me long after the last page was turned.

Recommended for: readers who enjoy slow-burn survival romances, realistic heroines finding their place, and protective but quietly commanding heroes.

Final Verdict: A grounded, tender, and intimate addition to the Kindled series—Homestead blends grit, realism, and heat—showing how love can grow even in the harshest worlds.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Sanctuary by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, Single
Series: Kindled, #6
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Aidan
Heroine: Breanna
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: December 29, 2023
Started On: March 09, 2024
Finished On: March 18, 2024

With Sanctuary, the seventh book in the Kindled series, Claire Kent perhaps takes on the most challenging of tropes thus far in this series—writing about a female protagonist who has undergone unimaginable horror and trauma in her bid for survival in the new world order that emerges from the ashes of the asteroid that hit the Earth.

How does such a character find strength to go on? How do they move past the shame and guilt that must be a continuous loop in their minds? How do you put them in a situation where they are able to find love and experience physical intimacy that actually acts as a healing balm in the face of their nightmares? All this and more, Ms. Kent takes on as she writes about 25 year old Breanna, the elder sister that we come across in Citadel, the sixth book in the series.

Breanna as one can imagine, is a woman hardened by survival in a brutal world shaped by those that survived the aftermath of the Impact. Since then, for the first time, Breanna is no longer bound to protect her sister Del, who has found love, security, and a future with the man who loves her to distraction. For the first time in years, Breanna is free to make her own choices, to live for herself. But freedom in this new world does not come without danger, and her job as a courier pits her against another lone operative—Aidan—who threatens not only her livelihood but her careful emotional distance. What starts off as a clash of wills slowly reveals an intimacy neither of them expected.

Breanna is a fierce character. She has to be in order to survive the ordeals she has been put through. She is the woman who has endured every kind of pain, degradation, and dehumanization the world can dish out and emerged standing—if not whole, then unbroken. Her body was the currency she used to buy safety for herself and her younger sister, and though she has long since escaped that life, the shadows linger. She is determined to remain independent, never to depend on a man again, and never to relinquish the control she clawed back from a world that took so much from her. As a a result, I admired her strength, even when I couldn’t always feel her. Her trauma was heavy and deeply personal, and though I understood her, I failed to fully connect with her on an emotional level.

Aidan, by contrast, is a slow burn of a hero. Less overtly intense than others in the series, his strength is quieter, wrapped in dry wit and carefully concealed wounds. He is a widower, a father who lost everything, and a man who lives by his own moral code—even if that means taking on jobs others won’t. He is frustrating, charming, a bit cocky, and ultimately more tender than I anticipated, and what Breanna exactly needed. While I did not end up falling headlong for Aidan the way I did with Cole or Travis, I appreciated how well-matched he was to Breanna. A hero with too much intensity might have broken her spirit further, but Aidan—with his patience and understanding, gave her the space to heal on her own terms.

Their relationship is not a sweeping romance but a gradual, sometimes stumbling, reconciliation with their pasts and their own worth. The emotional intimacy builds slowly, cracking open Breanna’s defenses, allowing her to confront the shame and grief that she has buried for years. Ms. Kent writes trauma with unflinching clarity; never sensationalized and grounded in a way that makes it all too real. The conversations between Breanna and Aidan, especially about consent, submission, and power, are some of the most emotionally naked scenes in the book.

And yet, Sanctuary didn’t hit quite as hard as others in the series. While I respected Breanna’s journey and empathized with her pain, I found myself detached from most of the story. It was not just Breanna, it was Aidan as well. The pacing felt more muted, and the romantic connection, though believable, lacked the raw magnetism that defined Last Light or Citadel. It is not that the story lacked heart; it just did not punch me in the gut the way I had hoped.

That said, Ms. Kent remains unmatched in the world of romance writers. Her ability to create varied, distinctive characters across a shared world, each marked by different losses, hopes, and shades of resilience is what keeps me coming back. Sanctuary may not be my favorite in the series, but it is perhaps a necessary one.

Even though Sanctuary can be read as a standalone, I would advise reading Citadel first as they are loosely connected.

Recommended for: Readers who appreciate trauma-informed storytelling, fierce heroines who you can only admire, and romances built on earned trust with slow burn heroes!

Final Verdict: Sanctuary is a quiet, difficult, and necessary journey through trauma and healing. Breanna’s story deserved to be told—and more importantly, to be heard.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Citadel by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, Single
Series: Kindled, #5
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Cole
Heroine: Delaney Elizabeth Rogers
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: June 28, 2023
Started On: March 01, 2024
Finished On: March 08, 2024

Set in the brutal, crumbling remains of a world transformed by cataclysm, the fifth book in the Kindled series by Claire Kent brings to us Citadel, a story of survival, sacrifice, and the kind of fierce, all-consuming love that burns even in the coldest ruins. Ms. Kent continues to deliver emotionally rich, raw, and atmospheric post-apocalyptic romances—and this one is right up there with Princess, my favorite from the series yet.

Delaney Elizabeth Rogers is just eighteen years old when she meets the man who would upend life as she knew it, a life that had been of quiet devastation since an asteroid hit the European continent when Del was just fifteen years old. Since then, she has only ever trusted one person in this brutal new world: her sister Breanna.

Since losing their parents and baby sister, the two have endured hunger, fear, and violence side by side, with Del consistently shielded from the worst of it by Breanna’s sacrifices. They have survived flooded cities, raiders, and years of uncertainty. So when Del comes across a grim, lone man with a gun, her natural distrust is temporarily overcome by the instinctive sense that he would not hurt her. That man is Cole.

Cole is everything I crave in a hero: big, brooding, intensely capable, and haunted. He has been on a lonely mission to find the younger brother he lost when the world collapsed, and he has never stayed in one place long enough to consider what he might need. He rescues Del and her sister from imminent danger and guides them to safety, but he never intends to stay—because men like Cole, shaped by loss and guilt, believe they are not allowed to want more. And yet, something about Del softens him, tempts him, and threatens to tether him, which scares him more than anything else.

What unfolds is slow, beautiful, and haunting. First in the aftermath of shared danger, and then again—two years later—when Del’s sister is taken, and it is Cole once again who guides them to find her. Their chemistry is explosive (which Breanna sees from the onset), but it is the emotional weight underneath that makes this story shine.

Cole is a man who does not believe that he deserves to be cared for, and Del is the first person who has ever made him question that belief. Del is one of my favorite Kent heroines—strong, pragmatic, quietly brave, and so perceptive. She understands that love in a world like the one that they live is not easy. It has to be chosen—over and over again. And Del is not going to let Cole make her feel like the second option in his life, for him to come back to her when he sees fit, and leave her just like that.

As always, there is something deeply compelling about the way Ms. Kent writes about intimacy. Every touch, every single look, carries weight that is at times inexplicable. The sex is hot, yes—but it is also layered with vulnerability, longing, and the ache of what’s unspoken. There was a scene out in the wilderness that takes place between Cole and Del, which truly depicts the kind of passion that exists between them, which will live rent free in my head. Watching Cole and Del slowly come together was gratifying as it was emotional.

Needless to say, I loved Citade; every minute of the story as it unfolded, from the bleak, gritty setting to the aching sweetness buried beneath Cole’s rough exterior. His savior complex, his reluctance to hope, his quiet desperation to protect—he made my chest ache in all the right ways. And Del’s growth—from someone shielded, to someone willing to fight for what she wants—was beautifully done. Ms. Kent once again proves how she can write heroes that rattle your cages, and Cole is right up there with her very best.

Recommended for: Fans of emotionally intense, survival-focused post-apocalyptic romance; gruff, protective heroes with a soft center; heroines who love and protect fiercely; and slow-burn angst.

Final Verdict: Citadel is raw, emotional, and unforgettable—a must-read for fans of gruff and fierce heroes and their heroines who love just as fiercely!

Favorite Quotes

When I reach him, I can barely stop my momentum. I fling myself at him, wrapping both arms around him in a tight hug.
I don’t think he expects such a greeting. He braced himself before I reached him so he doesn’t flinch or step backward at the force of my impact. But he just stands there as I hug him. Hard. Tense. Frozen for a few moments like he’s stunned. Like he has no idea how to respond.
Then suddenly his arms go around me in a crushing embrace. For a few seconds I can barely breathe, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“There’s your young man.”
I gasp and turn around to look before I can stop myself. Sure enough, Cole has just entered. His gaze finds me unerringly. He watches me soberly for several seconds before he walks over to the short food line.
“He’s not my young man.”
Theresa gives a shrug. “If you say so.”
“I haven’t even seen him in two years.”
“I know. But he still looks at you like a blessing come to life. He always did.”

I close my eyes, exhausted and worn and confused and scared and totally wired. The world feels like it’s whirling behind my eyelids.
“Just so you know,” I say into the silence. Even the fire isn’t crackling much anymore. “I am still into you.”
“I know you are, baby,” he murmurs. “But I get why you don’t trust me. Maybe you will again one day.”
“I… don’t know. I’d… I’d like to, but I don’t know if I can.”
“We’ll see. Don’t worry about it for now. I’m not going anywhere.”
For some reason, the low, gruff murmur of his voice settles me. I close my eyes again, and this time the world doesn’t spin.
I’m asleep in just a few minutes.

Purchase Links: Amazon

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Princess by Claire Kent

Format: E-Book
Read with: Kindle Oasis
Length: Novel
Genre: Post Apocalyptic Romance
POV: First Person, Single
Series: Kindled, #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Grant
Heroine: Olivia Vincent
Sensuality: 🔥🔥🔥
Published On: July 12, 2022
Started On: January 04, 2023
Restarted On: February 17, 2024
Finished On: February 23, 2024

He feels like mine—in all his tightly held angst, his guilt, his nearly impenetrable walls.

I don’t particularly recall as to why I started reading this in early 2023 and stopped. Perhaps I was not in the mood to receive the glory this book was in every sense. Either way, I am so very glad that, for whatever reason, I decided to pick this up again and restart from page one. If not, I would have ended up missing out on the installment that is by far my most favorite from the series!

In the second book in the Kindled series, Claire Kent returns to her quietly gripping post-apocalyptic world with Princess, a story that is as beautifully restrained as it is deeply emotional, and stands out for its nuance, longing, and the way it so effortlessly shows the soft center of a man who is seemingly made of stone.

The story follows Olivia Vincent, who was just seventeen when the world as she knew it ended. The daughter of a tech billionaire, she turns out to be among the lucky few who survived in an underground luxury bunker built and prepared for the imminent collapse of the world. But safety comes at a price; isolation, loss, and uncertainty become constant companions over the years.

The story picks up when Olivia is twenty-two, and is no longer the sheltered rich girl she once was. Her days are marked by routine, emotional numbness, and the lingering grief of losing her father. But the one steady presence in her life is Grant—the stoic, unreadable, maddeningly aloof head of security who has been watching out for her over the years.

Grant is everything I love in a hero; strong, silent, protective to a fault, and utterly devastating once the layers start to shed off. His sense of duty is absolute, often to the detriment of his own happiness. He sees Olivia as something to be protected, even from himself. It is this internal conflict; his deeply ingrained protector instinct versus the forbidden yearning he tries so hard to suppress, that becomes the emotional heart of the story. And when his restraint finally snaps, the result is as raw and powerful as one would expect.

Olivia is equally compelling. She may have been born into privilege, but in this new world, that means nothing. Her resilience, maturity, and capacity to love are what make her so well-matched with Grant. She wants more from him—from their connection—and she is not afraid to ask for it. What I loved most was how she continued to push forward, even when Grant pulled back, not in a naive way but with emotional clarity and strength. She is also the one who makes the first move, and even the second move, because with a man like Grant who sees Olivia is someone who is way above his pay grade, that makes every sense, especially in the context of their relationship,

The romance that unfolds is one that seeps through the pages, which starts off in the heated moments of passion that ignites a storm between the two, in the quiet moments, in withheld confessions, and especially in the ache and angst of what is not being said. When the payoff comes, it’s not just physical; though those scenes are explosive in the best possible way—it’s deeply emotional. Soul-deep and satisfying in a way that lingers long after you turn that last page.

Princess is easily my favorite in this series. Not only because of the slow burn and the masterfully written sexual tension, but because of Grant. His quiet devotion, the weight he carries, and the way he loves; makes him truly an unforgettable hero. Claire Kent writes alpha males with such authenticity; just strong men with soft hearts and a deep, primal need to protect what’s theirs. And Olivia? She has always been his.

Recommended for: Fans of age-gap romance, post-apocalyptic settings, strong silent heroes, heroines who come into their own, and slow-burns with explosive emotional (and physical) payoff.

Final Verdict: Grant is the gold standard of strong, silent heroes. Princess is a quietly stunning romance—intimate, powerful, and unforgettable. An absolute standout.

Favorite Quotes

“Are you okay?” he asks, falling down onto the bed beside me like he suddenly went boneless.
“Yeah. I… think so.” I check his face. I desperately need to know how he’s feeling right now, and it’s always so difficult to read him.
His body is limp. Tired like mine is. He reaches out and pulls me against him, wrapping his arms around me in a loose embrace.
I sigh and settle there. It feels better when he holds me. It feels like he needs me.
As much as I need him.

“Oh, princess, you don’t seem to understand that I’ve had years—years and years—of practice at holding myself back. Pretending I don’t want what I want.”
“W-what?”
He’s not flirting or trying to seduce me or teasing me out of my bad mood. He looks dead serious, so I have to believe he means what he says. “I spent years wanting you, knowing I could never have you. A week should be nothing compared to that.[..]”

Purchase Links: Amazon