Author: GoodeyReads

Book Review: Intertwine (House of Oak #1) by Nichole Van

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Historical fiction romance / Time Traveling
Length: 300 pages
Author: Nichole Van
Publisher: Florenza Publishing
Release Date: February 27th, 2014
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Time is not a river. It is a vast cosmic sea. Where each life exists as rippling circles on its surface, past and future being eternally present. And occasionally, one expanding ring intertwines with that of another, weaving the lives of two people together…

In 2012, Emme Wilde can’t find the right guy. She wants to feel that swept-off-your-feet dizziness of true love. But so far, her dating life has come up short. Star Trek geek? Nice but too serious. Hippy artist? Cute but too vulnerable. Instead, Emme obsesses over the portrait of an unknown man in an old locket. Granted, a seriously dreamy guy with delicious, wind-swept hair she just itches to run her fingers through. But still. Dead men may be great listeners, but they are not exactly boyfriend material. Emme travels to England, determined to uncover his history and conquer the strong connection she feels.

In 1812, James Knight has given up finding the right woman. All he wants is someone to share his love of adventure. Instead, his life has become a Shakespearean drama. His brother languishes in a tragic star-crossed romance. His beloved sister clings to life, slowly dying of consumption. But then he finds a beautiful mystery woman, dripping wet and half-dead, beneath a tree on his estate. Now if he can uncover her history, perhaps adventure—and romance—will find him at last.

MOSTLY CHARMING.

This has been sitting on my TBR for YEARS. I can’t even remember who recommended it and why, but there it sat until I was reminded that it was there. I wasn’t wholly disappointed, so that’s fine.

The very first thought I had was this is like Outlander. We have a time-traveling woman fall in love with a man from 200 years prior. I couldn’t help but compare the two. There were some different aspects to the story though, which allowed me to enjoy this for what it was.

I thought the romance was cute, and I was enjoying the development of it. They had some charming banter, and even in insta-love world it wasn’t bad. What frustrated me was the amount of time skipping that happened. Weeks would go by between each chapter and apparently the couple was more in love! Yes, that does make sense, but I wanted to see those interactions!!?

It kind of cracked me up how easily James accepted Emme’s time traveling ways. He was a charming character though and I thought he was precious. The ending was cute and everything I thought it needed. I wish I had known prior that this is a STANDALONE that’s part of a series (different main character for each book). I know this would have helped me accept the timeline a lot more smoothly.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical fiction romance + time traveling
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Book Review: Hitching the Pitcher (Belltown Six Pack #1) by Rebecca Connolly, Sophia Summers, and Heather B. Moore

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 220 pages
Author: Rebecca Connolly, Sophia Summers, and Heather B. Moore
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: February 5th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Running into his former college girlfriend wasn’t supposed to happen. Falling for her again wasn’t supposed to happen either.

Sawyer Bennett has a secret. A risky thing, being one of the popular Belltown Six Pack, a group of six guys from the same college baseball team, all of whom got drafted and now play in the Major Leagues. Between the media frenzy over them and his bond with the guys, his secret has to stay carefully hidden if he wants it to stay that way. He needs to focus on his pitching and let everything else fall away.

Confessing his secret to Erica Moore was definitely not supposed to happen. But the harder he falls for Erica, the more important his secret—and she—becomes.

Welcome to Belltown! Six baseball players meet in the college town of Belltown, Massachusetts, becoming best friends, their lives intertwining as they each get called up to the Major Leagues. Follow Sawyer, Cole, Axel, David, Ryker, and Levi in these six swoony sports romances.

TOO EASY.

That’s all I had to say when I was telling my Husband about my latest read. This entire book felt way too easy.

I also will state now, I frankly think that Erica Moore deserves better than Sawyer Bennet.

YUP I SAID IT.

He dumps her once, then does it AGAIN FOR THE SAME REASON, and the entire time Erica just keeps taking him back without really saying much. I’m still sitting here trying to figure out why. His reasons weren’t invalid, but I think a lot more communication would have prevented much of this book, which is much of the reason why I dropped my rating.

This book did have some cute moments. I would have loved more fluff. One kissing scene is not enough I declare! I liked the side characters (players and family) and thought they added well to the story.

My other gripe was that it had too much baseball? I know, as a sports lover, that was odd for me to pick-up on and actually be annoyed by. This is a SHORT book, I don’t need pages spent on the exact way Sawyer is pitching, or play by plays for every game he’s in. It just took up page time that I felt could have been better spent.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary sports romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger warnings: coping with the loss of a parent

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Book Review: The Match (It Happened in Charleston #1) by Sarah Adams

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 282 pages
Author: Sarah Adams
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: May 30th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Having worked for Southern Service Paws for a few years now, I like to think I’m prepared for just about any client meeting under the sun. I am dead wrong.

The day I meet with single dad, Jacob Broaden, about potentially matching his daughter with one of our service dogs, I learn a few valuable lessons.

1) Always set my alarm clock.
2) Single dads are way hotter than I previously thought.
3) It is possible to go from fantasizing about kissing someone to wishing they would be run over by a truck in a matter of two minutes.

Unfortunately, I don’t hold that opinion of him for very long. Not when he shows me a different side of himself—one that’s sweet as maple syrup and hot as apple pie fresh out of the oven.

Too bad this guy is so far out of my league that I shouldn’t even be allowed to enter the game. Jake doesn’t seem to get that memo though. And after a few days of working closely with him and his daughter, he starts looking at me with fire in his eyes, making me dream of something I probably shouldn’t…

A family.

“The Match is a feel-good romantic comedy! Perfect for readers who enjoy a sizzling romance without explicit content.”

KINDA OKAY?

This may have covered some sensitive topics, but yet, everything felt simple and laid on way too thickly for met to fully enjoy it.

I had some issues with the writing style, some remarks made me cringe a bit and felt dated. The Southern vibe was fun and I liked the overall set-up. It’s easy to pick-up any book that involves dogs as an active side character.

I really liked Evie from the start. She was a solid main character who was really trying her best in multiple ways. I liked how she approached life, and was straight-forward in her choices. Jake was cute too. Wasn’t the greatest love interest I’ve read, but also not near the worst. He kind of floated somewhere in the middle. I liked how he continually sought out to bet there for Evie and to a partner she could count on.

Evie’s mother [the “villain” if you will], was laid on way too thick. Oh my goodness. She was excessive in every way possible and I spent more time rolling my eyes at her than anything else. That felt entirely forced and really distanced the sweet romance happening.

Some good here, some bad. Haven’t decided if I’ll read the sequel (with new characters).

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger warnings: Evie and Jake’s daughter both have epilepsy and experience an episode (at different times) during the book; emotionally/verbally abusive parents; divorce

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Book Review: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin #1) by Roseanne A. Brown

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 480 pages
Author: Roseanne A. Brown
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: June 2nd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The first in an fantasy duology inspired by West African folklore in which a grieving crown princess and a desperate refugee find themselves on a collision course to murder each other despite their growing attraction.

For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts Malik’s younger sister, Nadia, as payment into the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal—kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom.

But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic . . . requiring the beating heart of a king. And she knows just how to obtain one: by offering her hand in marriage to the victor of the Solstasia competition.

When Malik rigs his way into the contest, they are set on a course to destroy each other. But as attraction flares between them and ancient evils stir, will they be able to see their tasks to the death? 

MANY GOOD THINGS.

Grateful my library picked this one up, and that I happened to see it because I loved this! Definitely a great first book for a YA fantasy series. Definitely here for the sequel.

ASOWAR covered so many important topics. Police brutality, supremacy, slavery, corruption, and more. I love that no matter the genre, important and relevant topics can be addressed. This never took me out of the book but further brought to light topics I am continually learning about.

I liked this world-building and magic system. With a mix of some general YA tropes were many new things that made ASOWAR feel new. These main characters, Karina and Malik had flaws, and yet, I could clearly see the growth from them by the end of the book. I LOVE THAT. I love characters that feel real, experience a range of emotions, make mistakes, and strive to pick the best choice in a world where few of those are available.

The twists and turns occasionally took me by surprise, and even the ones that didn’t, were still interesting and progressed the story effectively. I loved the premise of this massive festival filled with all of these magical beings.

This was a great cast, a beautiful world, wonderful and engaging writing. I had a blast with this one and look forward to seeing how this story continues. I’d love to see more development of the romance, and further explore all of the world!

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult fantasy
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses, closed door scene (with no lead-up detail)
  • Violence: bloody/gory; physical, murder, assassination, magical, kidnapping
  • Trigger warnings: mild self-harm ideation, anxiety and panic attacks, loss of loved ones, animal death

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