Warmer, Colder by Alexia Onyx Review

Rating: 5 Stars

On Kindle Unlimited: Yes 

Publication Date: December 8th, 2024

HEA: Yes

Version: E-book 

I’ve never felt quite as seen as I did reading Warmer, Colder.  Alexia Onyx always has such a way with words that gets me all emotional and just so enthralled with the writing.  

Warmer, Colder is book 2 in the Haunted Hearts series.  It follows Becca, a young woman who is trying to maintain “good girl” perfection while being ripped apart on the inside, and Stasi is someone from Becca’s past who is determined to make Becca hers. 

If you’re unfamiliar with this paranormal dark romance series, these include HEA’s for the dead.  With regard to this, there are many triggers.  If you read Come Out, Come Out, you’ll know bits of what happened to Becca, but nothing quite prepares you for the brutal, raw depiction in this book.  That said, your mental health matters and this book is heavy, so prepare yourself for that. 

Now to the fun part…my thoughts.

First, I would do so many ungodly things doe Stasi.  Your honor, I love her.  Stasi has such a tough, mean exterior, but she wasn’t always that way.  When I first saw her described as a bit of Regina George mixed with Jennifer from Jennifer’s Body, I literally melted. I love a mean girl.  And, who doesn’t love a bit of a stalker? The stalking was one of my favorite parts.  Stasi saw what she wanted and went for it. I absolutely loved her openness and how even when she wasn’t quite happy with Becca, she was still always there for her.   I could literally write love letters of how much I loved this character. 

Becca, my sweet Becca.  She goes through so much in this book.  Trauma. Growth. Self Discovery.  Becca was dealing with her own grief, her families, and her regrets of not being able to handle the pressure she was under, while still not regretting her choices.  I feel like she was such a strong character, despite how broken she felt through most of the book.   Watching her break through her trauma and come to terms with her true self was more reminiscent of me than I expected. 

One of my favorite things about this book is not only that it has incredible plus size rep (see above, Stasi is a goddess), but also the way mental health is portrayed.  Every word of this book is so painfully beautiful, again making me feel more seen than ever, especially as Becca comes to terms with her own sexuality. 

I don’t want to give away major plot points in a review, but I can assure you that this read was worth every single painstaking moment.  I cried three times (I am a Pisces and I’m empathic, so I cry a lot) and my heart quite literally hurt for these two.  BUT, there is a well deserved, hard fought HEA. It was a hell of a journey to get them there. 

Tropes: 

• Childhood besties to strangers to lovers 

• Forced Proximity

• Ghost Romance

• Pierced and tattooed

• “It’s always been you” 

• Obsessed FMC

• Spicy magic 

Warmer, Colder is out now, so if you want a sapphic love story about two ghosts finding their HEA, check it out!