ARC Book Review: Why Trey Let Me Get Away (Famously in Love #1) by Kortney Keisel

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Kortney Keisel
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: April 28th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Second chances are relationship Hail Marys. I’ll either win Whitney’s love or go home brokenhearted.

Trey:

Whitney Savittieri is the one that got away, and I’ll do anything—including strategizing with my teammates—to get her back.

Never mind that she’s giving me the stiff arm and wants nothing to do with me. We’re going head to head, and I’m playing for keeps.

I’ve been in a lot of pressure-packed games, but the stakes are higher this time—my heart and my happiness are on the line. 

Whitney:

I’m avoiding my ex like the plague—like a really, really handsome plague.

While Trey’s risen to fame in the NFL, my life has gone so far off track I’ve derailed and am careening into a ditch.

So I promised myself I’d never love again. It’s too risky—a woman can only take so much disappointment.

Giving us another chance is a mistake my future and my heart can’t afford.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

ALL THE STARS FOR TREY.

This book was a good time and the lighter escapism read I was hoping for when it landed on my kindle. I LOVE sports romances and was ecstatic a closed door author I adore wrote one.

For the football aspects, I thought there was a perfect blend of Trey’s life and practices, games and such, but never so much to take over the point of the story, the romance. Easily one of the highlightable features of the plot. I have been missing football and this helped quench that!

I LOVED TREY. He was the shining beacon throughout the entire book. I loved how nervous he got trying to talk to Whitney. I loved how hard he worked for their relationship and the truly genuine good soul he has. He’s got that big golden retriever energy that never gets old to me. I want to soak up that optimism he holds on to so well.

Whitney was where I ran into issues. I was surprised at her reasoning for breaking up with Trey and how poorly it came off for her character growth. I understand some of her side of the story but I wish Whitney herself had put more effort into the relationship or at least apologizing in general.

In the end though, I loved this book. I needed something quick and enjoyable that made me laugh and grin and OH EM GEE I FORGOT TO MENTION THE KISSING SCENES. Absolutely the hottest thing about this book. Perfectly executed closed door romance kisses are my kryptonite and I was begging for them to kiss and THEY SURE DANG DID.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: absent parents, divorce (mentioned)

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Book Review: A Lily in Disguise (Wycliffe Family #1) by Jessica Scarlett

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 312 pages
Author: Jessica Scarlett
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: July 4th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

One woman.
Three identities.
A handsome lord trying to unmask them all.

To escape the scandals tied to her name, Lillian Markley has gone by an alias for eight years. It was the only way for her to get a reputable job and save enough money to reunite with her sister in America. But when Lily is suddenly let go just as she’s about to reach her goal, she’s offered a salary she can’t refuse in exchange for the unthinkable:

She must masquerade as an heiress at a country estate for the summer.

Being exposed means facing prison, or worse—never seeing her sister again. Run-ins with kidnappers, a suspicious young boy, and a dangerous gentleman who knows her secret quickly has Lily spouting lies as often as she sips her tea—all while battling her growing feelings for Peter Wycliffe, the smiling host who seems to best her at every turn.

Nothing is as simple as it seems. And as the falsehoods begin to mount, Lily must use her arsenal of wits to keep her three facades separate, while preventing Peter—and herself—from discovering the true woman beneath them all.

MOSTLY OKAY.

I am obsessed with book three in this series, A Lady on the Chase. And seriously go read it. This one…not my favorite, but I still plan to read the second book.

There’s a lot of potential here and I did enjoy plenty of moments between Peter and Lily. I thought things got off a bit too quickly on the romance side and it took me awhile to catch up. Some of those swoony ending scenes with confessions of love though? Those were fantastic and I adored everything about them.

I felt like too much was trying to happen in 300 pages. There’s the history behind why Lily goes by a different name. Multiple suitors. Highwaymen attacks. An estranged half-brother and more. Amidst this were fluff scenes of party games, etc. where I felt the pacing was a bit all over the place.

It’s a good book and maybe most of this is attributed to wrong time picking it up scenario. I would still recommend this easily as the writing is enjoyable and the slow burn is impeccable.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: Kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents, attempted kidnapping, brief weapons violence, domestic abuse

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Book Review: Happy Place by Emily Henry

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Emily Henry
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: April 25th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week…in front of those who know you best?

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an eARC.

RELATABLE.

I didn’t know how I was going to feel about this one. I do think it’s Henry’s heaviest book and that you should definitely be aware going in! Not in a lengthy list of trigger warnings way, just the real life can bring you down way. The happy place ideal is oddly ironic for this book and by the end I liked how it was all portrayed.

The romance is a little more at the forefront than Book Lover (but not as much as BR/PWMOV). I liked seeing more of it and watching Harriet and Wyn’s story unfold. There was just the right amount of flashback chapters to add to the plot without feeling like everything was stuck in the past. Harriet and Wyn had some great banter, truly tender moments and I was loving the raw communication and anger that came out in the end.

Friendships are another main focus and, at times, over shadowed Harriet’s journey. The last 20% really hit me in the feels though with the many sentiments expressed. Life is hard, feelings are hard, and the parents you have truly play a part on how you view your future self and relationships. I am satisfied with how all of the friendships worked out too though. It’s something special to have that type of bond with others.

An impactful read that had me thinking and reflecting a lot. Do I still wish the romance was even more at the front? Yes. And there were a few scenes here and there that I thought slowed down progression. A glory days atmosphere I could have been cool without.

I loved the core of the story and the messages it left me with. And I thought Harriet really came into her own in the end and I LOVED that journey for her.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: one full open; medium explicit + some almost scenes and fade to black
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: losing a parent, grief depression and anxiety depictions, use of recreational drugs, alcohol use

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ARC Book Review: The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia #2) by Carissa Broadbent

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 600 pages
Author: Carissa Broadbent
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 14th, 20223
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Love is a sacrifice at the altar of power.

In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. A prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and reeling from a gutting betrayal, she no longer even knows the truth of her own blood. She’s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn.

The House of Night, too, is surrounded by enemies. Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside.

When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom–and gaining her vengeance against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she’ll need to harness a devastating ancient power, intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets.

But with enemies closing in on all sides, nothing is as it seems. As she unravels her past and faces her future, Oraya finds herself forced to choose between the bloody reality of seizing power – and the devastating love that could be her downfall.

Thank you to Book of Matches Media and Carissa Broadbent for an eARC.

INCREDIBLE.

I went in to this with some VERY high levels of hype and I was NOT DISAPPOINTED. I can NOT handle when the MMC is absolutely gone for the FMC. And Raihn WAS GONE. There’s even dual POV SO WE GET BOTH SIDES.

I CAN’T STOP THE CAPS I’M SORRY (but not really).

There was this beautiful slow build to the plot and romance that kept me wholly engaged. And about the 45% mark I was GLUED to my screen. I devoured the rest of the book needing to know all the answers and finding that amazing ending. I loooove how Raihn and Oraya both worked on their relationship. There was plenty to apologize for and concessions to be made and these two found love in a hopeless place AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

And the Vincent story line?? That about made me cry. It was EMOTIONAL. I am in absolute awe of how Carissa Broadbent took this character’s story line and gave it such an impactful and raw telling. That was not easy to do and she absolutely nailed it.

The high levels of action will have you fearing for everyone’s lives and desperately flying through pages to see who comes out on the other side. I loved all of the reveals, betrayals, big moments, little moments, and 100+ things I highlighted and bookmarked.

YOU MUST READ THIS SERIES.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open; high explicit
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: discussion of rape and sexual assault (off screen), blood play, violence against children, complicated father/daughter relationship

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