Book Review: Maybe This Time by Kasie West

July 22, 2020March 18, 2020 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Young adult contemporary romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Kasie West
Publisher: Point
Release Date: July 9th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?

Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year’s Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas.

Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Entitled, arrogant, preppy Andrew. Sophie just wants to get her job done and finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time she turns around, there is Andrew, getting in her way and making her life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated isn’t so bad after all . . .

Told over the course of one year and following Sophie from event to event, this delightful novel from master of romantic comedy Kasie West shows how love can blossom in unexpected places.

CUTE PREMISE.

Here I am again, slowly working my way through Kasie West books. Looking for something ti compare to P.S. I Like You because that book is just a gem. This was cute, but I had the same struggles I’ve seen before.

I loved the idea of this book. Going through different events as the same characters connected over and over again. It flowed well and when it jumped to the next event it still felt continuous. The addition of all the floral aspects was gorgeous. I’m obsessed with flowers so I definitely didn’t mind. Comparing the flowers to the event was a fun quirk at the beginning of each section.

I didn’t love the main character, Sophie. I found her annoying, abrasive, a bit rude, and while yes, she definitely got better, I had already signed off on her in my mind. I don’t need a perfect character it would just have flowed better if she hadn’t bothered me the entire book. I thought her love interest Andrew was cute. They got off on the wrong foot and found their way back to companionship. Nice little happily ever after that I’m always a fan of.

The general adorable-ness usually present felt forced with this cast. I had a hard time convincing myself that I cared for anyone in particular. I feel these books are either a big hit or a big miss.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult contemporary romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses

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ARC Book Review & Blog Tour: More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn

July 21, 2020July 21, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Erin Hahn
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: May 12th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Growing up under his punk rocker dad’s spotlight, eighteen-year-old Luke Greenly knows fame and wants nothing to do with it. His real love isn’t in front of a crowd, it’s on the page. Hiding his gift and secretly hoarding songs in his bedroom at night, he prefers the anonymous comfort of the locally popular podcast he co-hosts with his outgoing and meddling, far-too-jealousy-inspiringly-happy-with-his-long-term-boyfriend twin brother, Cullen. But that’s not Luke’s only secret. He also has a major un-requited crush on music blogger, Vada Carsewell.

Vada’s got a five year plan: secure a job at the Loud Lizard to learn from local legend (and her mom’s boyfriend) Phil Josephs (check), take over Phil’s music blog (double check), get accepted into Berkeley’s prestigious music journalism program (check, check, check), manage Ann Arbor’s summer concert series and secure a Rolling Stone internship. Luke Greenly is most definitely NOT on the list. So what if his self-deprecating charm and out-of-this-world music knowledge makes her dizzy? Or his brother just released a bootleg recording of Luke singing about some mystery girl on their podcast and she really, really wishes it was her?

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own!

SUPER CUTE.

I feel like I use that word a lot when describing books, but I like reading cute books! Maybe I’ll come up with another adjective at some point, but for now, I found this book super cute.

When I read Erin Hahn’s first book (You’d Be Mine), I found it charming, but only alright. Upon seeing her latest book and the summary, I was enthralled and it sounded completely up my alley. Take a chance? YUP. And I’m happy I did.

There were plenty of pop culture references throughout. I usually find them more on the obnoxious side, but guys, these made me laugh. Actually giggle at my book because they were spot on. They reference would hit at the right moment and I loved them in this book.

I love allllll of the music. One of the few things that could make this book better would be putting it together as an actual movie. I would be all over hearing these songs because the lyrics are stunning and heartfelt. I was pleasantly surprised that I knew most of the songs referred to by Vada and Luke. Music plays a big role in the feelings and emotions and creates a great backdrop for the story as a whole.

Luke and Vada were adorable. Simply adorable. I LOVED the way their relationship developed over the course of the book. It didn’t need an enemies to lovers trope to sway me. This friends to lovers things was perfect. The awkward, young love flirtations made me smile and I was smitten with them together. I liked both of their personalities and interactions and the natural way everything came together for them. The side characters were great in their own right. Cullen and Zack were a sweet and funny couple. I love how accepted they were and what they added as a brother and friend to Luke.

Not to mention, the side story between Vada’s Mom and Phil (Vada’s boss) was everything I needed in a sub-plot. These two were flippin’ cute and I am so happy we got their full story too. I love when other characters who get page time have a beautiful and moving adventure too.

Overall audience notes:

Young adult contemporary romance
Language: some strong throughout
Romance: kisses/make-outs; mentions of sexual relationships (side characters), but no actual scenes in book
Violence: drunk/belligerent father

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Book Review: Love is an Art by Summer Dowell

July 20, 2020March 18, 2020 GoodeyReads2 Comments

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 187 pages
Author: Summer Dowell
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: March 13th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Normally poised and confident Erin McCoy is having a rough day. Spilling paint all over a stranger’s car was not part of her plans that morning. Luckily, things begin looking up when her best friend drags her to an art class taught by the unmistakably gorgeous Travis Hunter.

Travis is your average, easygoing art teacher. His day is off to a bumpy start when he finds his parked car covered in grey paint. However, when a stunning brunette walks into his class later that afternoon, things don’t seem so bad.

A hilarious love/hate situation forms as Erin and Travis unknowingly battle over the paint accident while simultaneously pursuing their budding relationship.

SUPERFLUOUS.

This is unfortunately how I felt about most of this book. For a short story it had a lot of random details and tangents that I couldn’t possibly figure out why it was that important. The writing itself was my biggest issue with the book. While cute, it overall let me down.

There was a lot of telling rather than showing. For instance, there was a coworker the main character, Erin, didn’t like what so ever. And you know what? I still don’t know why. He never DID anything in the story to warrant this level of hatred other than Erin telling me I should hate him. These kind of moments kept me asking more questions and not getting any answers.

Erin and Travis were a cute couple. I liked the banter and flirting between them. They also had real issues and communication problems. Having POVs from both characters gave me greater insight into how they saw themselves and others. I appreciated seeing them work through their communication issues and realizing that being able to truly talk to one another can help create a lasting relationship.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses, flirting

Book Review: Bloodwitch (The Witchlands #3) by Susan Dennard

July 17, 2020March 16, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Author: Susan Dennard
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: February 12th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Fans of Susan Dennard’s Witchlands series have fallen in love with the Bloodwitch Aeduan. And now, finally, comes his story.

High in a snowy mountain range, a monastery that holds more than just faith clings to the side of a cliff. Below, thwarted by a lake, a bloodthirsty horde of raiders await the coming of winter and the frozen path to destroy the sanctuary and its secrets.

The Bloodwitch Aeduan has teamed up with the Threadwitch Iseult and the magical girl Owl to stop the destruction. But to do so, he must confront his own father, and his past.

I LOVE AEDUAN.

Oh man. I’m so happy to get a book that had him more at the forefront. Gosh, I am smitten with this broody sassy man with a huge heart. And him and Iseult? Just stop. TOO CUTE.

But I mean, this whole book hurts. This is not some happy-go-lucky fantasy novel. The amount of backstabbing and political maneuvering that happens throughout this series blows my mind. I honestly can’t tell you where I think everyone *exactly* lies. All of these characters have their own motives and it definitely influences that intense action of Bloodwitch.

Addressing what I mentioned last time [not loving Vivia], she did grow on me over this book! She is truly having to claw her way to what she deserves and I feel that. I am enjoying her character arc. Also, real obsessed with pretty much everyone else. I love these characters. Everyone is unique and vastly opinionated and I here for it. This is a cast to enjoy and hug tightly because I’m convinced someone won’t make it to the end.

THE SHIPS. How can you not love them ALL? Seriously. I have intense emotions for everyone of them. I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE HAPPY. I will go down in flames with Aeduan and Iseult because they have one of the best developments I’ve read. The sparks between them will set the world in flames.

There were a lot of emotions throughout. I was up, down, and all around. So many things happened and I was convinced one too many times for my heart that someone was actually dead. WHY. Such strong and steady writing. Maybe a little slow at times, but this definitely [overall] held my attention.

Overall audience notes: