ARC Book Review: Lady of Conscience (Somerset Stories #5) by Mimi Matthews

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 230 pages
Author: Mimi Matthews
Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
Release Date: July 30th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A Victorian bluestocking with a passion for lost causes attracts the unwilling attention of a frost-hearted viscount during her tumultuous debut season in Bath in USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews’s fifth book in her acclaimed Somerset Stories series.

West Country beauty Hannah Heywood may be quiet with fashionable strangers, but when it comes to animals in need, she has no trouble finding her voice. Newly arrived in Bath for her very first season, all she desires is to find one like-minded gentleman. A man of warmth and compassion, as sensitive to animals as he is to people. But if such a man exists, he dare not approach her. Not with the tall, blond, and menacing Viscount St. Clare standing in the way.

James Beresford, Viscount St. Clare has often been described as a sentient block of ice. A man so cold and dispassionate, he would never suit a young lady of Hannah’s disposition. And she would certainly never suit him. Focused on repairing his family’s infamous reputation, James requires a diamond of the first water. The daughter of a duke or a marquess, at least, not a simple country girl with a passion for four-legged creatures.

And yet, there’s something about conscience-driven young Hannah that draws James, first to Bath, and then into one increasingly hare-brained scheme after another. She confounds him at every turn, subverting his expectations and threatening to do what no lady has succeeded in doing before—thawing his ice-cold heart.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

OH SO SWEET.

This was a short book that packed such a sweet punch. I loved Hannah and James’ love story!! It had a Pride and Prejudice vibe that I was smitten with and I loved seeing James grow over the book and he realized how blinded he’d been holding too much control in his life. James letting himself loosen was EVERYTHING. He’s easily one of my favorites.

I adored Hannah and how strong she felt in her convictions. I loved that she didn’t settle and waited for that love match she wanted. It was wonderful seeing a more shy character too and how that played into the plot. There’s a lot of cute animals and allllll the family member sightings you could want. Another fantastic read from Mimi Matthews!

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: physical altercation

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ARC Book Review: Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Mystery
Length: 384 pages
Author: Karen M. McManus
Publisher: Penguin Books
Release Date: August 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The newest mystery from the author One of Us Is Lying, the Queen of thrillers, Karen M. McManus! When mother-daughter grifters set out on their final job, the heist gets deadly and dangerously personal.

For all of Kat’s life, it’s just been her and her mother, Jamie—except for the forty-eight hours when Jamie was married and Kat had a stepbrother, Liam. That all ended in an epic divorce, and Kat and Liam haven’t spoken since.

Now Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she has one last job—at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday party. And Kat has figured out a way to tag along. What Kat doesn’t know, though, is that there are two surprise guests at the dazzling Sutherland compound that weekend. The last two people she wants to run into. Liam and his father—a serial scammer who has his sights set on Ross Sutherland’s youngest daughter.

Kat and Liam are on a collision course to disaster, and when a Sutherland dies, they realize they might actually be in the killer’s crosshairs themselves. Somehow Kat and Liam are the new targets, and they can’t trust anyone—except each other.

Or can they? Because if there’s one thing both Kat and Liam know, it’s how to lie. They learned from the best.

Thank you GetUnderlined for the gifted ARC.

TWISTY.

I enjoyed this one a lot! I’ve been up and down with McManus books, but this was a hit. I liked the premise and was curious to watch things unfold. I really liked the two main characters and how they handled everything and worked together. There’s even a small sub-plot romance that was sweet too.

A little slow of a start to feeling very engaged with what was going to happen next. The second half was filled with some good twists and I really enjoyed how it ended too. It’s entertaining and kept my attention.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Mystery
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, murder, stealing, domestic abuse (recounted), brief scene of attempted suicide

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Book Review: Heart of the Raven Prince (Entangled with Fae #2) by Tessonja Odette

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 506 pages
Author: Tessonja Odette
Publisher: Crystal Moon Press
Release Date: August 13th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A Cinderella Retelling

A playboy prince in want of a decoy bride.
A servant girl desperate for a disguise…

Raven shifter Prince Franco is every social climbing debutante’s dream. He’s handsome, heir to the Lunar Court throne, and deliciously single. Every young woman wants to bed him, wed him, or steal a moment of his time. Except, of course, for Ember Montgomery.

Half fae Ember craves freedom from her conniving stepfamily. As if they weren’t enough to deal with, a chance encounter with the arrogant Prince Franco leaves her humiliated and in a fiery rage. Nothing could convince her the prince is anything but a rake. But when the opportunity to evade her scheming stepmother falls into her lap, she’ll pay the price—even if it means impersonating the prince’s newest flame…

To prove himself a worthy heir, Prince Franco must marry a princess. But after far too many unsatisfying trysts, he’s given up on love. With the social season in full swing, and bringing with it a horde of husband-hungry socialites, he’ll do anything to delay the pressures of both marriage and the crown. And what better solution than an alliance with a desperate servant girl glamoured as his false future bride?

Locked in a bargain, Ember must pose as a princess until midnight at the full moon ball. Until then, all she has to do is wear the glamour, pretend to court the prince, and above all else, not fall in love. But when feelings emerge on both sides, she starts to wonder if there’s more to their contrived courtship than either of them planned…

Can Ember and Franco find love when the masks come off? Or will illusions and lies prove stronger than their hearts?

UNDERWHELMING.

I’ve had this sitting on my TBR for a long time and I should have just taken it off. I am underwhelmed and maybe a little bitter I spent my time on this one.

Initially everything was FINE. But the further the book went the more I saw that the opportunities were there but the execution was not. Plot points throughout just didn’t click. And the amalgamation of them all left me unsatisfied. I didn’t MIND the main characters, Ember and Franco, but I also needed for from them.

The Cinderella retelling aspects were clearly identified and it was kind of interesting to see how it was reimagined. I think some more deviation would have helped rather than leaning so hard into the familiar story. I wanted that new feeling.

Things felt out of place and I won’t be continuing this series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance Retelling
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2 open door; moderate explicit
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: abusive stepmother, physical altercations and near death experiences, loss of a father

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Book Review: Beachy Keen (Falling for Summer) by Kasey Stockton

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 354 pages
Author: Kasey Stockton
Publisher: Golden Owl Press
Release Date: June 19th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He has it all, except the one thing money can’t buy: her heart.

When Cat Keene finds a medical bill with the horrendous words final notice stamped across the front, she learns two things: first, her uncle/the man who raised her is keeping things from her for the first time in her life. Second, they need money—and fast—or they’ll lose the only thing she has left of her parents: the bed & breakfast she runs with him.

Noah Belacourt is a billionaire with a newly acquired anxiety diagnosis and a one-way ticket to Sunset Harbor for the summer, courtesy of his company’s board of directors. Being on the island he grew up on for a forced sabbatical has a major perk when he runs into the girl he’s harbored a crush on since they were teens. She’s still the same old Cat, except now she’s in some major financial trouble. Noah wants to help her, but Cat is stubborn. She holds onto past biases about his family and takes some convincing.

When Cat agrees to work as Noah’s personal assistant for the summer, she doesn’t realize she’s signing up for a lot more than debt relief. Some of her preconceived notions about the Belacourt family begin to feel wrong. Noah proves that not all first impressions are reliable, forcing Cat to face the past—and to hope that things will end up just peachy keen after all.

Because the alternative is losing everything that matters to her, and she is not about to let that happen.

THIS WAS CUTE.

Ooooh boy do I love an anxiety rep cinnamon roll of a man. And Noah was all that and more. I loved seeing the anxiety in this book and it was well handled and well written. Gosh I feel that so deeply.

And the romance is cute! I liked the multiple opportunities for forced proximity moments and had a good with Noah being a billionaire. I think the setting is fantastic and I really love all of the summer vibes this series is bringing. There’s some wonderful growth moments for both characters and I loved the strong connection they formed together. And I always love a cute epilogue.

There’s a few small plot things that didn’t click for me but I am in no way upset I read this. I love a good sweet romance and this delivered.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content Warnings: childhood bullying recounted, loss of parents (recounted), depictions of anxiety (including anxiety attacks)

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