Category: Book Review

Book Review: Suffering the Scot (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #1) by Nichole Van

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historiacl Romance
Length: 386 pages
Author: Nichole Van
Publisher: Fiorenza Publishing
Release Date: April 26th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lady Jane Everard cannot abide the new Earl of Hadley. The unmannered Scot is a menace to genteel ladies everywhere, what with his booming laugh and swishing kilt and endless supply of ‘ochs’ and ‘ayes.’ Jane wishes Lord Hadley would behave as an earl should and adhere to English rules of polite conduct.

Andrew Langston, the new Earl of Hadley, knows that the English aristocracy think poorly of his lowly Scottish upbringing. This is hardly new. History is littered with the English assuming the worst about Scotland. By living up to their lowest expectations, he is simply fulfilling his civic duty as a Scotsman.

Jane sees Andrew as an unmannered eejit. Andrew considers Jane to be a haughty English lady. But, as the saying goes, . . . opposites attract.

And what if beneath his boisterous behavior and her chilly reserve, Andrew and Jane are not nearly as different as they suppose? Can Scotland and England reach a harmonious union at last?

GREAT READ.

I have found a new series I would love to work through. Absolutely love a Scottish romance. This had Outlander vibes, but without the very long list of content warnings.

Enjoyable characters that I can fall behind are always something I’m looking for and this group was that for me! There’s many avenues of adventures to explore and different romance tropes to get to and I’m excited for that.

I really liked the chemistry between Jane and Andrew. Andrew continually brought out Jane’s true nature and basked in it. I love a man falling first, and he’s clearly smitten from the get-go. It would have been nice to overall have a little more showing rather than telling. I wanted more close moments between these two (though they’re some great swoony ones don’t worry!).

The murder mystery aspects were a nice touch and kept the plot moving. I liked the small flashbacks that gave depth to Andrew’s story and how that played into who he is now. I love a good villain unveiling and was surprised by this one! The way the ending came about was exactly as I hoped for too.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: passionate kisses
  • Violence: minor blood
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a friend, shipwreck, slavery, kidnapping, attempted murder, blackmail, extortion

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Book Review: How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Dylan Newton
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: July 13th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What happens when the queen of romance falls for the king of horror–you get “a hilarious rom-com comp,” perfect for fans of Beach Read. (Kirkus, starred review)

Event planner Kate Sweet is famous for creating the perfect happily-ever-after moment for her clients’ dream weddings. So how is it that her best friend has roped her into planning a bestselling horror writer’s book launch extravaganza? But the second Kate meets—or rather, accidentally maims—the drop-dead-hot Drake Matthews, her well-ordered life quickly transforms into an absolute nightmare.

Drake Matthews is tired of the spotlight and tired of his reputation as the Knight of Nightmares. He’s really a nice guy! But he’s not prepared for Kate, a fearless agent of chaos in steel-tipped stilettos, or for that sweet sting of attraction he feels for her. She’s inspiring him to take his writing in a whole new direction—one that no one expects. Because now Kate and Drake are changing up the rules, and this plot twist might just surprise everyone . . . including themselves.

ALL THE FALL VIBES.

Sometimes I just really love the atmosphere of a story. The surrounding aura that creates a well defined structure (even in a contemporary vs. fantasy). For How Sweet It Is, there was an inherent sense of fall and Halloween and I ADORED it all.

Kate and Drake were pretty dang sweet on each other. I thought from the get-go they had a humorous meet-cute and a natural progression to their relationship. I liked the banter and how sweet on Kate that Drake was. I loooove getting the hero’s POV chapters and a few throughout this book helped me get inside his head too.

I didn’t love all of the conflict. It felt very forced, especially since Kate explicitly explained the problem and apologized (it was a true accident) and Drake refused to listen. And I’m sitting here wondering how you just slept together and are all about trusting and then threw that out the window the first chance you got? Eh, no good there. Otherwise, a strong romance, but the conflict can easily bring down a story for me.

The event planner meets horror novelist was fun and inventive as far as couples go in romances I’ve read so far. I love the Halloween release party at the end and all of the antics that went into creating a fantastic party. I’d be open to reading another book by Newton and seeing what other stories may entail.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: kisses to open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: cheating recounted, mentions of domestic abuse, PTSD (military related), suicide mentioned, terminal cancer recounted, death of a mother recounted

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ARC Book Review: Eloise and the Grump Next Door (Oakley Island Romcom #1) by Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: August 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I’m not sure which is worse–the lawyer handling my grandmother’s estate or the attack pelican living on the screened-in porch. Just kidding–I’ll take the pelican any day.

After graduation, I thought I’d be off to grad school, doing research on my favorite poet. Instead, I’m renovating my late grandmother’s home and posting about the process on Instagram. Talk about a detour …

But here I am. Turning Gran’s beach house into a bed and breakfast–a process that would be a lot easier if I didn’t have to deal with the grumpy lawyer living next door. It doesn’t help that the night Jake and I met, I got a little tipsy, and he had to carry me back to my hotel.

But the longer I stay on Oakley Island, the more I feel a connection to my childhood and to my grandmother. This isn’t the life I dreamed of, but dreams can change. Especially when new dreams include a future with Jake. On the outside, he might be pricklier than a puffer fish, but I catch glimpses of a delicious, cinnamon roll center.

Did I mention the tattoos he hides underneath those crisp button-down shirts? Yowza.

When I’m suddenly presented with the academic opportunity of my dreams (former dreams?), my picturesque life on Oakley starts to unravel.

A part of me wants to stay. If only a certain tattooed grump didn’t seem so determined to send me away …

Eloise and The Grump Next Door is a grumpy sunshine, closed door romantic comedy. The Oakley Island Romcom series follows three very different sisters as they renovate the house they inherited and find love on the island along the way. Each book will have sizzling chemistry but no spice.

Thank you to the authors for an eARC!

ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

I expected nothing less from this duo. It is the pairing I didn’t know I needed and now want ALL THE TIME. Bless them for giving us a full series together.

The chemistry between Lo and Jake was off the charts. I am hit or miss on age gap and this one HIT. It was played so well and I loooooooooved it. And the forced proximity? THE BEST. I LIVE FOR FORCED PROXIMITY. Add in a house that needed renovated and a grandmother who has passed away and still subtly matchmaking. The rest of the charming side characters (like Jake’s nephew) won me over too.

And the KISSING SCENES? THE SIZZLING HEAT Y’ALL. This is what I love about an amazing closed door romance. The heat can still be brought with without actual spice. I loved all of the little moments watching these two fall in love.

I couldn’t put this down and easily read it in a day. I just loved everything about it. It made me feel good, happy, light. And those are the kind of reads I often reach for. I’m so excited to continue this series and can’t wait for more.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a grandmother, divorced parents

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Book Review: Making the Marquess (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #4) by Nichole Van

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Rating: ★★★★
Genre: Historical Romance
Length: 351 pages
Author: Nichole Van
Publisher: Fiorenza Publishing
Release Date: March 3rd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lady Charlotte Whitaker is devoted to her family, particularly her sister’s son, Freddie. Her late father, the Marquess of Lockhead, died without a male heir. But on his deathbed, her father requested that Freddie inherit the title. Consequently, Lottie’s family has petitioned the Crown to recreate the title with Freddie as the new heir. Lottie wants nothing more than to honor her late father’s wishes. But she unwittingly reveals a wrinkle to this plan.

Dr. Alexander Whitaker is dedicated to his work as a physician in Edinburgh, Scotland. He dislikes surprises—disruptions to his daily schedule, interferences with his ability to care for his patients, and events that might alter his future. He particularly abhors things that threaten to do all three. So when a solicitor calls with news that Alex might be heir to an English marquisate, Alex wants nothing to do with the claim. But the law is the law, and a man cannot revoke his lineage, can he?

Alex does not want to be the new marquess.

Lottie is determined to honor her late father’s wishes.

Their goals should be simple enough to accomplish, right?

But when two kindred souls crash into one another, the resulting conflagration may have consequences neither can anticipate. And Lottie and Alex soon face a difficult truth—sometimes, life makes us choose between two loves, and in order to have one, we must forsake the other.

MY HEART.

I am utterly addicted to this series. I will finish reading all five books within a month and I can’t tell you the last time I did that. I CAN’T STOP. The writing is incredible and continually draws me in. I don’t even notice that the pages are moving by or that anything is around me. I am too involved in these characters lives and will mourn the loss at the final book.

Alex and Lottie were such a sight. I love snarky banter and this book had it in spades. But what built from that was genuine friendship that turned into a soul binding love. I will say, I struggled with the cousins aspect. I KNOW I KNOW, they’re super distant and all of that, but every time they used the moniker I cringed just a tiny bit. When I put that aside, this romance was utterly sweet.

Alex gave Lottie the chance to grow because she was stuck in one mindset about her life and her family. Thank heavens also for Grandmere who truly saved the day. I LOVED her perfectly placed moments that weren’t overbearing, but eye-opening. There’s a lot of deep conversations and meaning throughout about what it means to be loyal to your family, and also choosing someone to be your family. Made my heart flutter countless times. The endings always get me and the swoony kisses got me good.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Overall audience notes: childbirth, severe leg injury, mention (with method) of suicide (a loved one in the past), mentions of substance abuse

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