This is a fun, clean, light contemporary romance that mixes both humor and some meaningful ideas about family in with the romantic feelz. Also:[image]
This is a fun, clean, light contemporary romance that mixes both humor and some meaningful ideas about family in with the romantic feelz. Also: Cancun setting! [image] ... and a really hot guy who's trying to keep our heroine away from his equally hot twin brother. If you're in the mood for a romantic escape, what's not to like?
Isabelle Lind had one of those crushes on her old college friend Marco Dawson ― the kind that lasts for years. The kind where the guy never sees you as more than a friend, because you're too shy and understated. And, most painfully, the kind where the guy dates and marries your roommate and best friend, Daisy.
It's about seven years later now. Belle has gained in confidence and style, and now has a successful career as a fashion designer, but she's never forgotten Marco. When a mysterious and helpful matchmaker (Pearl) happens to mention Marco is now divorced and will be at a week-long family reunion at a Cancun resort the next week, Belle decides it's time to take matters into her own hands and take a vacation (she needs one anyway, right?) and accidentally-on-purpose run into Marco.
It works like a charm, apparently, except the one she runs into first is Flynn, Marco's charming twin brother ... who Daisy has recently contacted, begging him to help her to get the chance to patch things up with Marco. What's a loyal brother to do? Especially when there's a sexy blond girl making eyes at him. Even if she thinks he's his brother. Duh: pretend to be your twin brother and keep her away from him! Of course!!
Flynn's impersonation scheme gets exploded a lot sooner than I expected, which actually made this book a lot of fun. He and Belle continue to maneuver, each trying to put their plans into play and block the other's, while fighting the attraction they have for each other. Flynn's surrounded by the rest of his family ― parents, sisters, nieces and nephews, and more, not to mention Marco ― and they're adorable. Meanwhile, Daisy is staring daggers at Belle.
A few things happened toward the end a lot more quickly than I thought made sense(view spoiler)[, especially when Belle suddenly realizes that Marco isn't as perfect as she remembered and then, in very quick succession, that Flynn is the one she really wants anyway (hide spoiler)]. I also could have lived without the Big Misunderstanding trope coming into play, but its role is very short-lived so I could deal. Generally, though, this is a great escape, with some satisfyingly hot kisses.
Now I need to go to Cancun, or Cabo, or somewhere ...
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for ... not a review, actually, but some copyediting. But she gets the review too. :)
Merged review:
[image]
This is a fun, clean, light contemporary romance that mixes both humor and some meaningful ideas about family in with the romantic feelz. Also: Cancun setting! [image] ... and a really hot guy who's trying to keep our heroine away from his equally hot twin brother. If you're in the mood for a romantic escape, what's not to like?
Isabelle Lind had one of those crushes on her old college friend Marco Dawson ― the kind that lasts for years. The kind where the guy never sees you as more than a friend, because you're too shy and understated. And, most painfully, the kind where the guy dates and marries your roommate and best friend, Daisy.
It's about seven years later now. Belle has gained in confidence and style, and now has a successful career as a fashion designer, but she's never forgotten Marco. When a mysterious and helpful matchmaker (Pearl) happens to mention Marco is now divorced and will be at a week-long family reunion at a Cancun resort the next week, Belle decides it's time to take matters into her own hands and take a vacation (she needs one anyway, right?) and accidentally-on-purpose run into Marco.
It works like a charm, apparently, except the one she runs into first is Flynn, Marco's charming twin brother ... who Daisy has recently contacted, begging him to help her to get the chance to patch things up with Marco. What's a loyal brother to do? Especially when there's a sexy blond girl making eyes at him. Even if she thinks he's his brother. Duh: pretend to be your twin brother and keep her away from him! Of course!!
Flynn's impersonation scheme gets exploded a lot sooner than I expected, which actually made this book a lot of fun. He and Belle continue to maneuver, each trying to put their plans into play and block the other's, while fighting the attraction they have for each other. Flynn's surrounded by the rest of his family ― parents, sisters, nieces and nephews, and more, not to mention Marco ― and they're adorable. Meanwhile, Daisy is staring daggers at Belle.
A few things happened toward the end a lot more quickly than I thought made sense(view spoiler)[, especially when Belle suddenly realizes that Marco isn't as perfect as she remembered and then, in very quick succession, that Flynn is the one she really wants anyway (hide spoiler)]. I also could have lived without the Big Misunderstanding trope coming into play, but its role is very short-lived so I could deal. Generally, though, this is a great escape, with some satisfyingly hot kisses.
Now I need to go to Cancun, or Cabo, or somewhere ...
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for ... not a review, actually, but some copyediting. But she gets the review too. :)...more
I just couldn't with this book. The heroine, burned by a cheater ex-husband, was oblivious to what was smacking her in the facSo. Much. Cheese. [image]
I just couldn't with this book. The heroine, burned by a cheater ex-husband, was oblivious to what was smacking her in the face (I think it was the above cheese fish*) and the hero was unrealistically patient and way too coy about his desire to start a relationship with his best friend's ex-wife. Or maybe it was ex-best friend?
The setup: Cami comes home early one day and catches her husband in the act with another woman under their Christmas tree (part of the reason she now can't stand Christmas). She photoshops their wedding pictures to crop him out and then posts them online. It's such a hit that she's now made a business out of doing it for other women, along with cautionary blog posts about never getting involved with men. Stay single!! Too bad for Cami that Noah Cullen is waiting to upend those plans.
I winced every time the the heroine had an inner debate with her giddy (but also wiser!) alter ego, Miss Sparkly, about the merits of falling in love, #NotAllMen, the joy of Christmas, living life to its fullest, etc. I never want to see the word "sparkly" again.
It's a very cutesy and squeaky clean contemporary romance, so if that's your jam and you adore cuteness in your chick lit, have at it! I breezed through it as quickly as possible (okay, skimmed is probably the better word for the last half) and returned it to Kindle Unlimited as soon as I finished.
* aka Guineafowl pufferfish (the yellow variant, obvs.)...more
3.5 stars. Pure wish-fulfillment, celebrity romance times (I picked it up as an Amazon prime freebie), but it's cute and fun if you like that kind of 3.5 stars. Pure wish-fulfillment, celebrity romance times (I picked it up as an Amazon prime freebie), but it's cute and fun if you like that kind of read. Zoe Miller, an introverted college senior (somehow she manages to read as younger most of the time), makes a smartaleck but (brutally) honest comment on Twitter to the hot Hollywood actor she and her best friend have idolized for years. Out of the blue he contacts her back online. Improbably but heartwarmingly, they start seeing each other.
Because of Reasons, Zoe keeps their relationship secret from everyone, including her mother and her best friend who's been crushing on Chase Covington for many years (notwithstanding she has a boyfriend). Clearly those chickens are going to come home to roost, sooner or later.
#Starstruck advocates strongly for Zoe's choice to be abstinent from sex until marriage, for reasons other than religion. If you're game for that, it's a cute romance. It does seem really unlikely that Chase, the Hollywood star, suddenly starts chasing Zoe even when she's a little standoffish and awkward. Even more so, when they realize she's waiting for marriage to have sex, and he doesn't plan on ever getting married. But hey, it's wish-fulfillment reading and I was able to just roll with it.
Content notes: Some pretty intense makeout scenes, notwithstanding the celibacy theme....more
This contemporary romance novel is ... a lot like The Hating Game. Except with most of the wit and humor sucked out.
26 year old Emmie Echavarre is a cThis contemporary romance novel is ... a lot like The Hating Game. Except with most of the wit and humor sucked out.
26 year old Emmie Echavarre is a copywriter at a power tool distributor called Nuts & Bolts. She's surrounded by men in the workplace, so she acts a lot tougher than she really is to make sure she gets respected ... and it works, mostly. But the hardest person for her to get along with is handsome Tate Rasmussen, who's in charge of the company's social media and treats her with unrelenting hostility. Until he doesn't, but by that time Emmie's got a LOT of residual resentment to work off.
A soft 3 stars for me. I enjoyed it well enough while I was reading it, but it's derivative and forgettable. I never completely bought into the relationship here, especially Tate's initial meanness, which felt really unwarranted and inexcusable in a work setting. Again, The Hating Game did a lot better job of making you understand the guy's point of view when he was acting rude, and I had issues with it even there.
On the plus side: diversity representation. Okay then! That's great, but not enough to bump this up to a "recommend" rating.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
These Timeless Romance anthologies are like a box of chocolates. Hershey's, though, not See's or Lindt.
Each of these stories is based around a[image]
These Timeless Romance anthologies are like a box of chocolates. Hershey's, though, not See's or Lindt.
Each of these stories is based around a road trip. My ratings and comments for each of the six:
3.25 stars for "What Falling Feels Like" by Jolene Betty Perry. An interesting take on post-high school meetup of the popular girl and the younger nerdy guy who had a crush on her. Now Kendell (the girl) is divorced and recovering from hard times, bad decisions and a user of an ex, while Tyler is the hot guy inclined to make her regret dissing him back in high school.
3 stars for "Antiques Road Trip" by Sarah M. Eden. A fun read for non-hardcore Jane Austen fans, in the form of a TV reality show contest in the context of acting like you're in Regency times. Well, sort of. It's more like Austenland. It's a sweet-hearted tale, as most of Sarah Eden's are, but a little shallow and not really memorable.
4 stars for "Wouldn't it be Nice" by Ranee` S. Clark. Jaqueline dumps her boyfriend Colin, who's been continually putting his journalism career ahead of their relationship. She takes off on their planned road trip without him, and meets up with her best friend's brother Hudson, who's been in love with her for years. Off with the old and on with the new! ... or is it? Sort of a love triangle-ish story, but avoids most of the pitfalls. I enjoyed it.
3 stars for "Head Over Heels" by Annette Lyon. Singles blogger Tristan meets an interesting guy named Mac at Salt Lake Comic Con (before it was renamed FanX), at a speed-dating event. When she suddenly needs a quick ride from SLC to Las Vegas, her good friend sets her up to do the road trip with MacKenzie. Haha. Fun meet-cute and gender-twisted names, but otherwise I'm not going to remember this one either.
3.75 stars for "Two Dozen Roses" by Heather B. Moore. A mother-daughter road trip up the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) accidentally synchs up with a similar road trip of two brothers ... both of whom are interested in Dayna. The brothers, Garrett and Roman, have a LOT of baggage, and that extends to their romances. Will she choose the flirty guy who's charming her mother, or the quieter brother?
2 stars for "Try, Try Again" by Aubrey Mace. Sarah's dream comes true when her co-worker Justin suddenly breaks up with his girlfriend, announces that Sarah is the girl of his dreams and kisses her. But when she freaks out a little and asks for more time, Justin backs way off and disappears from her life. Did she make a mistake that can't be undone? A road trip (which she ropes her very pregnant girlfriend into joining her on) to Justin's grandfather's funeral in another state might be the way to show Justin she really wants him. Maybe. Sarah blew hot and cold and kind of drove me (and her girlfriend) batty. And her deciding to crash the funeral viewing in another state when they both still live in the same city was a head-scratcher for both me and Justin.
You always know what you're getting with these "Timeless Romance" novella collections, but I always seem to buy them when I see them on a 99c sale. They're harmless and sweet, nice palate cleansers between other heavier reads, and sometimes they're really appealing. This particular collection, with six novellas by different clean romance authors, wasn't one of my favorites, and none of the stories REALLY grabbed me (in a good way), but it's not bad if you like this kind of light contemporary romance reading. ...more
3.25 stars for this fluffy Renaissance Faire-inspired contemporary romance. Emily, fresh off a painful breakup with her long-term boyfriend - she drop3.25 stars for this fluffy Renaissance Faire-inspired contemporary romance. Emily, fresh off a painful breakup with her long-term boyfriend - she dropped out of college to put him through law school, spoiler: BIG MISTAKE - temporarily moves to the small town of Willow Creek in Maryland to help out her older sister April, who's laid up from a severe car accident, and April's 14 year old daughter Caitlin.
Right after she gets to town Emily finds out that Cait is dead set on participating in the town's amateur, six-weekend-long Renaissance Faire as a performer and - lucky Emily - a parent or guardian is required to participate as well. Which Emily wouldn't mind so much if the high school English teacher in charge of the fair, Simon, weren't such a critical, annoying stick in the mud. Maybe she's more interested in Mitch, the hot blond gym teacher ("Gaston mixed with Captain America")?
The weird thing (to Emily) is that when Simon starts dressing up as a pirate for the fair, it's like he gets a total personality transplant. What gives?
Well Met is a cute, sexy read. There's not too much really unusual going on here, as compared to other contemporary romance novels, other than the Ren Faire setting, and maybe Simon's struggles to deal with a tragedy in his past. But if you like the idea of the main couple acting like a pirate and a bartending tavern wench (yay?) during their spare time while they work out their love-hate relationship ... this should fit the bill.
I'm trying to figure out now what inspired me to ask for this on NetGalley? Probably one of my GR friends reviewed this and it just sounded cute. Recommended if you're a fan of light contemporary romances.
Thanks to the publisher, Berkley/Jove, and NetGalley for the ARC!
Content note: F-bombs and an explicit sex scene....more
A witty, intelligent contemporary romance with more heart than usual. Emily, fresh off breaking up with her slightly boring boyfriend, immerses herselA witty, intelligent contemporary romance with more heart than usual. Emily, fresh off breaking up with her slightly boring boyfriend, immerses herself in an online flirtation with (let me get this straight) her roommate’s brother’s good friend, Jack. Jack is in Oregon and Emily’s in San Francisco, so Emily’s comfortable knowing this is just for fun. Or is it? But Jack is hiding some secrets...
A bitter, ongoing quarrel with her mother about her career plans to be a chef led Natalie Tan tOn sale now! Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
A bitter, ongoing quarrel with her mother about her career plans to be a chef led Natalie Tan to leave her San Francisco home in anger. Seven years of stubborn silence and globe-wandering later, Natalie is called home by a neighbor at her mother’s passing. She still deeply desires to be a chef and to have her own authentic Chinese restaurant, like her grandmother Qiao had done many years earlier, and now she’ll have the chance: Natalie has inherited her laolao’s (maternal grandmother’s) long-abandoned restaurant below their apartment. It’s still operable, though dusty and dirty, but their Chinatown neighborhood is fraying, with family-owned businesses dying and a steep rise in real estate prices causing Chinese families to move away.
A psychically-gifted neighbor returns Qiao’s old, handmade recipe book to Natalie, along with a prediction: if Natalie cooks three recipes from the book to help three of her neighbors, as her laolao did many years ago, and is able to save these neighbors, her restaurant will be the jewel of Chinatown and the neighborhood will be revitalized. Natalie is initially dubious and reluctant ― she feels like her neighbors had let her down when she was struggling to deal with her mother’s agoraphobia years ago ― but she soon enters into the spirit of the endeavor, and magical things begin to happen when her neighbors eat her food.
As I watched, fractures ran along the surface of their skin, reminding me of shattered porcelain. The cracks deepened as they ate. Once they were finished, tiny streams of glittering gold filled the cracks: mending, repairing what was broken, and transforming it into something far more beautiful. It was similar to a piece of kintsukuroi I’d picked up in Tokyo, repaired pottery that had been mended with gold.
As Natalie begins cooking in Qiao’s restaurant, the scent of fried dumplings even leads a handsome young man to her restaurant and her life. But neither love nor her quest to help the neighborhood is as easy as Natalie had expected.
Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune is a charming, sweet tale with a dash of magical realism. I expected something like The Joy Luck Club or a Chinese-American version of Like Water for Chocolate. What I got was more like a literary version of a Hallmark TV romance movie. It’s so lightweight as to approach being fluffy, though the immersion in Chinese culture and food serves to give it some heft and make the story more memorable. Several Chinese recipes are included in the novel, and they and the luscious descriptions of Natalie’s cooking made my mouth water. The romance subplot wasn’t particularly well-developed or romantically satisfying; I got far more enjoyment out of reading about the “plump prawns” and “tender steamed rice noodles and crunchy golden fritters.”
Debut author Roselle Lim incorporates a few serious issues into her tale, including mental illness and the loss of ethnic urban neighborhoods. Her writing is sometimes clunky; phrases like “gathering fog brewed at the base of the gate the way steam rises from a perfect bowl of noodle soup” and “hoping the fog would thicken like salted duck congee to conceal my arrival” struck me as unintentionally humorous.
Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune is a warmhearted tale with an authentic Chinese voice, if not as deep and literary as one might hope. Don’t expect too much from this book and you may enjoy it.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!...more
A soft 3 stars, maybe 2.75. So ... I'm having bad luck lately with my romance binge and am about ready to hang it up. This author also wrote the very A soft 3 stars, maybe 2.75. So ... I'm having bad luck lately with my romance binge and am about ready to hang it up. This author also wrote the very charming The Hating Game. 99 Percent Mine was ... not so charming. Well, okay, I liked Tom a lot, but "bad girl" Darcy and her twin brother were more irritating than appealing.
The heroine, Darcy, has made a mess of her life in more ways than I can count (including general life aimlessness, job problems, drinking problems, sugar bingeing, and not taking care of a truly severe heart problem). I guess so that she has nowhere to go but up as she starts to get her life back together? Darcy's uptight brother Jamie considers Tom his friend and will do anything (including flat-out lying) to torpedo any romance between them, even though he knows they're both extremely interested in the other. Meanwhile (view spoiler)[Jamie is doing the Exact. Same. Thing with a close friend of Darcy's! (hide spoiler)] *brain explodes* The roadblocks to Tom + Darcy are as contrived as they could possibly be.
The last half of the book was better but I found the first half mostly tedious. Glad I got it from the library.
One of the worst Kindle freebie romances I've had the dubious pleasure of downloading, and that's saying something. Both of the main characters are idOne of the worst Kindle freebie romances I've had the dubious pleasure of downloading, and that's saying something. Both of the main characters are idiots who blow hot and cold, and the writing is so clunky it was painful.
I started squinting at it after a chapter or two and ended up skimming through the rest of the book, just to see how it all played out. When I finished I even went to the trouble of going to Amazon and permanently deleting this book from my Kindle files, so I can forget about it as soon as possible and never ever be reminded of it again. ...more
Heads up on a Kindle freebie, April 2, 2019, if you like sweet romance novellas. This one has six short contemporary romances, all with a "romance on Heads up on a Kindle freebie, April 2, 2019, if you like sweet romance novellas. This one has six short contemporary romances, all with a "romance on vacation" theme. They're not deep but I like popping these down like candy when I'm in the mood for a little bit of fluff.
If I call them palate cleansers instead of brain candy does that sound more impressive? :D
Update: Finished. These are sweet romances with old-fashioned values (religion never gets mentioned, but socially and morally it seems clear that these characters are religious). Only a couple of them gave me the romance feelz, which, why else am I reading this fluff? so I just wasn't that enthused overall. The best romance feels for me came from Heather Moore's "Picture Perfect."
The stories:
3.75 stars for "Moonlight Kiss" by Josi S. Kilpack. Sarah, the single mom of a 6 year old Downs Syndrome daughter, has been messaging Clint, a guy in different office of her company in another state. They plan to meet up at the company retreat in Cozumel, Mexico. But Sarah hasn't told Clint about her daughter yet, and is the suave Clint the right match for her? Verdict: heartwarming but predictable (view spoiler)[from the moment you meet Clint's co-worker Mark (hide spoiler)]. A nice story about priorities and being yourself.
2 stars for "Chasing Tess" by Annette Lyon, about a newly minted law graduate and his long-suffering girlfriend of 3+ years. James was a tool (thoughtless and taking Tess TOTALLY for granted, and overly influenced by his class-conscious parents) and Tess was a doormat until they both had their respective Come to Jesus moments, which, okay, fine. But (law-related rant here) my head was exploding because, who does an internship after graduating from law school? No one, that's who. At least in my experience, you get an actual job offer, conditioned on your passing the bar. Not just an internship. Plus most firms - especially NYC big law - are VERY unlikely to make such an offer unless you've already spent a summer working for them during law school (which is a "summer associate" job, not an internship. Internships do exist but they're more for pre-law students or for course credit).
3 stars for "Dancing at the Flea Market" by Heather Justesen. Mara meets Carter, a widower who's still having a hard time dealing with the loss of his wife. That's ... pretty much the plot in a nutshell. And that's all I have to say about that.
2.5 stars for "The Best Laid Plans" by Sarah Eden. Madison bails on her vacation with friends to Cancún because her mother has texted her that she's seeing a new man, "Mr. Fabulous." Because her mom's relationships (beginning with Madison's father) are ALWAYS bad news, Madison feels compelled to rush back to her home town and ... try to torpedo the new relationship before it gets off the ground? Whatever, girl. And then she finds out Mr. Fabulous is the uncle of Derek, the ex-boyfriend she can't forget. Minus a star (or more) because Madison is such an idiot and her actions and motives were totally unbelievable to me. I mean that literally: I couldn't believe her as a character.
4 stars for "Picture Perfect" by Heather Moore. Gemma gets dumped by her boyfriend of two years, cuts her hair short and dyes it, and takes off on vacation with two of her old high school friends. Little does she realize that one of these friends, Drew, who's always been in the friend zone, has something more in mind. This is the one that had the best kissing scene so, plus points for that!
3.25 stars for Aubrey Mace’s "The Science of Sentiment." Rose has never forgotten Kevin and his fantastic kisses ... but Kevin broke up with her a year ago. When Rose goes to her grandfather's Park City cabin in the mountains for a weekend getaway, guess who's already there? Kevin's still a tease, but Rose can't figure out what he has in mind. Second best kissing scene! So some plus points, but minus points because it's pretty unclear why they broke up in the first place (and he never really apologizes for that) or why they should expect that issue to be different now....more
3.75 stars for this collection of six Valentine’s Day-themed contemporary romance novellas. Some of them are very quick and fluffy, but there’s some s3.75 stars for this collection of six Valentine’s Day-themed contemporary romance novellas. Some of them are very quick and fluffy, but there’s some surprising depth in a few of them. My thoughts on all six novellas:
3.5 stars for "A Brush with the Law" by Janette Rallison: Bethany is an artist who's painting a mural on the bedroom wall for a couple who's out of town (the husband is planning to surprise the wife with it). It's also Valentine's Day, and Bethany has a blind date that evening that she's not all that excited about. The maid leaves and tells Bethany the doors will automatically lock up behind her. When Bethany gets accidentally locked out on the balcony, things start to get REALLY interesting. A cute but no-nonsense cop is involved. It's a little predictable (I saw it coming from a mile away) but good fun, especially if you like comedies of errors.
3.5 stars for "Every Occasion" by Heather B. Moore: Maurie has moved back to her hometown after her mother's death and bought a space to open up a shop, and moved into her mother's old home - which was an absolute mess. Maurie's mother, it turns out, was equally a mess and had lost custody of her daughter to state, and Maurie spend some years in the foster care system before aging out. Grant - her former teenage crush - is the guy who, as a teenager, called 911 and reported Maurie's mother, which resulted in the custody loss. He's been feeling guilty about it ever since, and he's not sure what to do when he's called to help Maurie with some remodeling work. Can this star-crossed pair work things out? Another one that's predictable, but props for taking on a different and difficult plot element in the loss of custody issues. Arguably it pulls its punches somewhat ((view spoiler)[Maurie had a far more positive experience in her foster home than I think is typical (hide spoiler)]).
3.75 stars for "Hold Your Breath" by Jenny Proctor: Here we have a couple of talented swimmers with Olympic dreams, Kayla and Nate. They've both run into some bumps in the road on the way to (they hope) the Olympics, and Kayla is now determined that NOTHING else will get in her way, especially not a relationship with a guy. She's been down that road before. But Nate is charming, and it's hard to resist the temptation ... Again, an unusual setting for a romance. That's the most memorable part of this story, which focuses a bit too much on Kayla's negative motivation (i.e., fear of getting involved in a relationship), but I still enjoyed it.
3.75 stars for "The Ultimate Bachelor Challenge" by Annette Lyon. Sam is sure that her long-time (and currently long-distance) boyfriend Steve is about to propose, and she wants to be ready for it. So off she heads to the all-night laundromat to wash her favorite outfit for the great occasion. Connor is the guy she runs into on her excursion, an internet personality who has his own issues going on with a Valentine's Day series of challenges from a despised online rival.
4.25 stars for "Deal Breakers" by Heather Tullis: Colette and Drew are two people with a past, accidentally meeting up in a snowed-in Denver airport while they're both on a layover, waiting to fly off to other places. Drew and Colette dated years ago in college, but she dumped him for another guy who was paying her a lot of attention (view spoiler)[and who turned out to be a jerk (hide spoiler)]. By the time Colette realized she'd made a mistake in college, she and Drew had drifted too far apart. I enjoyed the unusual airport setting of this novella, and the relationship and dialogue between Colette and Drew felt realistic.
4.25 for "Hey, Helen! by Sarah M. Eden: Great story about next-door neighbors (friends-to-lovers trope) and issues with problematic parents. Helen writes an advice column called "Hey, Helen!" Neil is her buddy in the apartment next door, an accounting student who Helen bounces her ideas off of. He's also trying to figure out how to get out of the friend zone with Helen, but he's worried about risking their friendship. Things get trickier when Neil's father, who has a rocky relationship with his wife (and with his son Neil) moves into Neil's apartment uninvited when he and his wife are on the outs. This is one of the better novellas I’ve seen from Sarah Eden. The banter between Neil and Helen is good, and Neil's struggles with his relationship with his parents adds some heft to the story.
Recommended if you like these kinds of quick, clean romance reads. You know who you are. :) Some of them feel a little rushed or superficial (typical with novella length). More serious themes than usual show up in the subplots of these novellas, so they feel less fluffy and more significant than usual with romance novellas....more
Kindle freebie romance time again! In this contemporary romance novel, Sierra, who's been living in NYC for several years and has a serious boyfriend Kindle freebie romance time again! In this contemporary romance novel, Sierra, who's been living in NYC for several years and has a serious boyfriend there, gets called back home to South Carolina to help care for her aunt Bennie, who took care of Sierra after her mother died. There Sierra runs into Dalton, her ex-boyfriend - literally at first (in a rental car, hah) but then their paths keep crossing again and again, with maybe a little help from some friends. And Sierra can't retreat back to NYC because Bennie, in addition to having serious knee trouble, has also gotten herself into major financial trouble, and is far behind on her house loan, and Sierra feels like she can help with marketing Bennie's upcoming theater production to help Bennie make a profit.
This is billed as having a Jane Austen connection, and it is there, but it's pretty slight. The plot actually owes a lot more to the Reese Witherspoon movie Sweet Home Alabama. If reading a slightly different version of that movie's plot sounds like a great time to you, have at it! This is still free last time I checked.
I downloaded this and whipped through it in a couple of hours. It was okay, but the characters never really pulled me in and the plot felt overly familiar.
Content note: some minor Christian elements to the plot (overcoming personal weaknesses with prayer and God's help)....more
A little bit of Christmas romance fluff that I picked up as a Kindle freebie and whipped through in an hour or so, as a palate cleanser between heavieA little bit of Christmas romance fluff that I picked up as a Kindle freebie and whipped through in an hour or so, as a palate cleanser between heavier reads. Keira is a young single mother who owns a chocolate shop. She was widowed a year or so ago by a tragic auto accident that killed her husband, which has left her with a major phobia of driving in snow. Her friends are trying to line her up with Pete, a handsome (of course) local veterinarian.
Pete and Keira miss each other on the blind date their friends set up, but they run into each other later and figure it out. Except maybe not: Pete has been burned before by dating a single mother and getting deeply involved in the life of her son, falling in love with the boy as much as the mom. The breakup was so painful that he's made a hard-and-fast rule not to date single mothers ever again.
So despite their mutual attraction, he reluctantly tells her he can't pursue the relationship. Keira takes this way harder than it probably deserves given how little time they've spent together at that point, but I have to admit I've been there myself and it's not as far-fetched as it might seem. Meanwhile, Pete is trying not to second-guess himself, telling himself over and over again that his rule against single moms is a GOOD idea, especially since they keep running into each other. This got old REALLY fast, BTW. I mean, no reader believes for a second that he won't change his mind, and the negative motivation seemed foolish here.
Anyway, Keira decides to get her 4 year old son a dog, and Pete gets involved because, why not? They're just friends! And he knows dogs and can help!!
The son is very cute. The dogs are even cuter. Pete is ... nice but forgettable, except for his being so stubborn about his rule whilst sending ALL KINDS of mixed signals to Keira. Also, the book needed another good proofreading pass; I noticed a few glaring misspellings. (Glaring to me, anyway. Things like "diffused" instead of "defused.")
Some discussion of prayer and faith, and the romance is squeaky clean.
Cute romance time! This novel is actually more like a set of four interwoven romance novellas, by four authors, all writing about overlapping events sCute romance time! This novel is actually more like a set of four interwoven romance novellas, by four authors, all writing about overlapping events surrounding a Charleston high society wedding. Each novella focuses on a different set of main characters, many of whom are secondary characters in one or more of the other novellas. It's a nice concept, and I think the four authors had fun with it. The authors' different parts mesh fairly well; I didn't really notice a lot of stylistic differences between them.
The four parts:
"Harper and Zak" by Melanie Jacobson: Harper Day is the stressed-out wedding event planner for the elegant wedding of Deacon Calhoun and Dahlia Ravenel. Zak is the would-be caterer who pitches Harper for a shot at catering the wedding dinner. She turns him down flat: Zak's creative cuisine is far from the traditional food that she knows the mother of the bride will demand. But when Dahlia turns out to be impatient and unwilling to accept a traditional wedding dinner, Harper considers giving Zak another chance. And possibly a romantic chance as well?
Jacobson (my very favorite clean romance novelist) creates strong and interesting characters. Zak is Korean-American, a tattooed former New York chef with big dreams and interesting ideas that he's having trouble making happen in Charleston. Harper doesn't think their lives will ever mesh, just like Dahlia's and her mother's ideas of the right wedding food will never mesh. It's an engaging story, not as witty as Jacobson's stories usually are, but I enjoyed it.
"Janie and Emmett" by Jenny Proctor: Janie Middleton is a professional classical cellist; her quartet has been booked to play Deacon and Dahlia's wedding. She's happy about the opportunity ... at least until Deacon's brother Emmett asks her to also play with him on a song he wrote for his brother's wedding. Emmett doesn't know that she spent her high school years crushing on him, and Janie is afraid that she'll just get hurt if she spends time with Emmett again. Meanwhile, Janie's twin sister Mallory doesn't approve when Janie and Emmett start spending time together.
I also enjoyed this part of the story a lot. Once-unrequited crushes that start to turn into a real relationships are always appealing for me, and the main characters felt real (though Mallory not so much). I liked the subplot about Emmett's career issues, music vs. law.
"Lily and Deacon" by Becca Wilhite: When the big wedding day arrives, guess who takes off: Dahlia, the bride. Lily, her cousin, friend and would-be maid of honor, is left holding the pieces and trying to help her long-time friend Deacon recover after the woman he's doted on for so many years dumps him at the altar. It's a super slow burn romance here, but in this case it makes a lot of sense how it plays out.
"Sutton and Max" by Brittany Larsen: In this final piece of the wedding puzzle, we have Sutton, the wedding photographer who's hiding from her abusive ex-husband, along with her young daughter Hadley. Sutton feels like she's taking a big risk even returning to Charleston from New York, but Dahlia's an old friend. At the called-off wedding, Sutton meets Deacon's friend Max, who likes both Sutton and Hadley and treats them gently. But after the night is over, Max and Sutton can't figure out how to get in contact with each other again. Everything seems to conspire to keep them apart, kind of like the movie Serendipity, and it gets rather farcical before a much-too-quick ending. (view spoiler)[The big kiss that took place the moment they finally connect again, a year later, didn't work for me at all, sorry. Much too rushed - I thought it should have happened later that evening or something, after they'd had more of a chance to talk and reconnect. (hide spoiler)]
All in all, these characters were fun to spend an evening with. Recommended for clean, light romance fans. No religious content.
I was sent an ARC and this is my voluntary review. Thanks!...more
3.75 stars. Colleen Hoover takes on a troubled marriage here in a heart-wrenching but insightful story. Quinn and Graham first meet when she unexpecte3.75 stars. Colleen Hoover takes on a troubled marriage here in a heart-wrenching but insightful story. Quinn and Graham first meet when she unexpectedly shows up at her fiance Ethan's apartment door to surprise him, and finds a fuming Graham waiting outside Ethan's door. Graham announces to Quinn that his girlfriend is in Ethan's apartment, having sex with him at this very moment.
After the initial shock wears off, Quinn and Graham wait for Ethan and Sasha to come out the door, and steal and eat the Chinese takeout food that Ethan's had delivered to his apartment. As a running theme, we have this quirky but profound advice from Quinn's fortune cookie:
[image]
All Your Perfects was a difficult but engrossing novel. It alternates between two timelines: Quinn and Graham's meeting and initial romance (sexytimes alert!) and seven years later, when their marriage and relationship is on the rocks after years of struggling with Quinn's inability to get pregnant. She's so deeply distressed by her infertility that she's torpedoing her marriage, and Graham is at his wit's end. Both make mistakes - some huge, serious ones.
It was helpful to have the uplifting early timeline to balance out and leaven the profoundly sad and angsty later chapters. I was unhappy with the characters for many of their choices (omissions as well as actions), but people do behave in self-destructive ways when they're deeply unhappy. There's a bit involving THE BOX that seemed to be more heavily laden with portent and meaning by Graham and Quinn than it really deserved. It made a nice way to bring the plot to a climax, but was maybe a bit too easy.
It's a heavier story, more drama than fun. It's not really subtle in its message, but if you don't mind a bit more heavy-handed approach in literature, it offers a great lesson in hanging on to what's important in life and not letting the problems, however large, ruin what's good in your life. There are some good secondary characters, especially Quinn's sister Ava, and the earlier timeline is a very heartwarming romance. Really in the end it's all heartwarming (I don't consider this a spoiler because, CoHo romance novel), but this romance ship has a lot of stormy seas to sail through.
[image] I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher for review. Thank you!
Kindle freebie romance time again! (now back to 99c) This cute novella takes a few elements from the legend of Robin Hood and turns them into a sweet,Kindle freebie romance time again! (now back to 99c) This cute novella takes a few elements from the legend of Robin Hood and turns them into a sweet, squeaky clean contemporary romance, with just a little bit of Bible scripture-quoting and answers to prayers making their way into the mix.
Our heroine, Robyn, is a hardworking, no-nonsense kind of gal who broke up with her boyfriend Arrowe (NO LAUGHING AT THE NAMES) a year ago, because he wasn't much good at adulting, spending most of his time working on being a YouTube star. Robyn and Arrowe are both into competitive, trick archery, and when she needs a celebrity archer to be part of an archery tournament at the grand opening of the Sherwood Horse Archery Center that she's organizing, somehow it works out that Arrowe is the only qualified person available on those dates.
Meanwhile, Arrowe has been trying to change some of the things in his life that bugged Robyn - like excess flirting with other women and not being a responsible adult - and he feels like now's the time to try to patch things up again with Robyn, even though she's doing her best to avoid him. Just to thicken the plot, Robyn also has a stalkerish guy chasing her, Monty, that she dated a few times who is refusing to take no for an answer, certain that they're meant to be Together4Ever. So far he's stuck to sending daily notes and flowers, but when Arrowe shows up in Robyn's life again, Monty starts to escalate.
"Shot to the Heart" is short, cute, rather fluffy and not overly taxing of the brain. The Christian faith elements are there but play a pretty minor role. Plus points for what seem to be fairly knowledgeable details about trick archery. Fun and lighthearted read, except for one personal danger(view spoiler)[threatened torture (hide spoiler)] scene....more
ETA: I give up. I’m upping my rating to all 5 stars because this is such an addictive romance novel. Practically every time I notice it on my Kindle IETA: I give up. I’m upping my rating to all 5 stars because this is such an addictive romance novel. Practically every time I notice it on my Kindle I have to open it back up again to get a romance fix!
I picked The Hating Game up on a $1.99 Kindle sale, because so many of my romance-novel-loving friends loved it. It's a tremendously fun, sassy, steamy romance novel, and if that's what you're on the lookout for, this will, almost guaranteed, fit the bill very nicely.
Lucy Hutton is an executive assistant to Helene Pascal, a CEO of a publishing company. Unfortunately Helene isn't the only CEO; she shares the job with one Mr. Bexley, because of a merger with another publishing house a few months before the story begins. And Mr. Bexley brought with him his own executive assistant, Joshua Templeman. He's hot ... and he's cynical and unpleasant to be around. And he hates Lucy. Lucy not-so-cordially returns the hatred.
I made a mistake when I first met Joshua: I smiled at him. My best sunny smile with all my teeth, my eyes sparkling with stupid optimism that the business merger wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to me. His eyes scanned me from the top of my head to the soles of my shoes. I'm only five feet tall so it didn't take long. Then he looked away out the window. He did not smile back, and somehow I feel like he's been carrying my smile around in his breast pocket ever since. He's one up.
So Lucy and Josh play spiteful, childish games with each other. The Mirror Game. The Staring Game. The HR Game. Always trying to one-up the other.
Colleagues break off conversations and look at us with speculative expressions. Joshua and I look at each other and bare our teeth. Time to act civil. Like executives...
“Mommy and Daddy love you very much, kids,” Joshua says quietly so only I can hear him. To the casual onlooker he is politely chatting. A few meerkat heads have popped up over cubicle walls. It seems we’re the stuff of legend. “Sometimes we get excited and argue. But don’t be scared. Even when we’re arguing, it’s not your fault.”
“It’s just grown-up stuff,” I softly explain to the apprehensive faces we pass. “Sometimes Daddy sleeps on the couch, but it’s okay. We still love you.”
Their games are endless and inventive. But sometimes there are game-changers ...
Minus a star because I couldn't really buy into Josh as a character(view spoiler)[, as much as I liked him in the end (hide spoiler)]. It just didn't seem realistic to me that he would take some of the actions he does, knowing what you eventually know about him. Similarly, at one point Lucy announces to Josh that she's only up for a one-night stand with him. It doesn't really seem like her character to do that; it's more of a plot device so things can play out in a particular way. Anyway, overall the characters are great and the book is lots of fun, in a light romance novel/beach read kind of way, as long as you don't think about it TOO hard.
Content note: F-bombs and a couple of explicit sex scenes....more
3.5 stars. Another Timeless Romance anthology goes on a 99c Kindle sale, and I always snap them up when they do. It's brain candy, no question, but I 3.5 stars. Another Timeless Romance anthology goes on a 99c Kindle sale, and I always snap them up when they do. It's brain candy, no question, but I definitely get my dollar's worth of amusement and romance feelz from these collections. This one has six novelettes, all set in New York City. The city itself actually does play a fairly significant role in most of these stories; it's not just window-dressing.
Some of the stories here are a little edgier than other Timeless Romance collections seem to be. I was especially amused by Janette Rallison’s "Job Hazards," in which Lydia Robinson, an undercover cop on assignment as a prostitute in a sting operation, is tracked down on the street by her old high school boyfriend who CANNOT BELIEVE she has sunk to such depths. It was pretty funny when she was trying not to break cover while she's talking with Harrison, but at the same time she's trying to give her backup cops (she's wired up) the message that she's not in danger from him.
I found the first three novelettes distinctly more appealing than the second three, though the last story, simply titled "&", has some good moments. They're all fairly short, around 30-40 pages, and I would have liked at least some of them to be a little longer, but you know, they are what they are.
Full review to come, but the collection is still on the 99c sale when I'm writing this, so grab it if clean, light contemporary romance shorts are your literary crack of choice....more
3.25 stars. Kindle freebie romance time again! (Now back to its 99c price point.) Gladly Beyond is an interesting twist on the paranormal romance genr3.25 stars. Kindle freebie romance time again! (Now back to its 99c price point.) Gladly Beyond is an interesting twist on the paranormal romance genre, involving an ancient gypsy gift/curse that gave the D'Angelo family the Sight, a powerful ability to see and hear both the future and the past, that passes from one first-born son to the next and inevitably drives them to suicide. Now the Gift has splintered between three triplets, easing the burden somewhat. Dante D'Angelo and his brother use their gift in their profession of assessing the authenticity and provenance of antiques. A full-time job being offered by a wealthy man called the Colonel (after Colonel Sanders, because of his KFC initials and appearance) could be just the thing to get the D'Angelo family back on solid financial ground.
Claire Raythorn, in the same profession, comes to Florence, Italy to try to rebuild her reputation after a couple of major setbacks, but finds she is competing for the same lucrative job not only with Dante but also Pierce, her ex-fiance. Pierce and she had a huge blowup a few months ago when she caught him in bed with another woman. Pierce unkindly posted an online video of Claire's meltdown (screaming and throwing everything in reach at him ... including tampons), which went viral, and now the whole world is laughing at Claire's perceived craziness.
So Claire's self-confidence and trust in men have been shattered ... which makes it tough when she and Dante share a mysterious connection, one he's very anxious to explore with her, despite their job competition. Meanwhile, Pierce is competing for the job as well, while being his smarmy jerk self and trying to win Claire back. And there's something odd about the Colonel, who is a little too interested in Claire personally. Not to mention Claire's anonymous stalker ...
Anyway, that's the set-up, and actually there's a lot to like about this book if you enjoy romances with a side of paranormal stuff, including reincarnation and past lives that affect the present. (I have to say I did enjoy the idea of Napoleon being reincarnated as Dante's mother's pet rat.)
Problems: The whole curse/reincarnation thing played out in some intriguing but rather inconsistent ways. And Claire's whole "I'm broken and will never love again" thing went on for way too long and was just a drag on the overall story after a while, not to mention the romance itself. I liked Dante a lot, but he's a Gary Stu character, practically perfect in every way, with no discernible flaws, not to mention smokin' hot (of course).
I'd recommend this to readers who love light romance novels and enjoy paranormal plots. The Italy setting was fun, and after making my mouth water with the descriptions of Italian food, the author was kind enough to include a recipe for roasted lemon-herb chicken at the end which I am FOR REAL going to try one of these days....more
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽
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