ARC Book Review: Set on You by Amy Lea

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Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5)
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Amy Lea
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Release Date: May 10th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A gym nemesis pushes a fitness influencer to the max in Amy Lea’s steamy debut romantic comedy.

Curvy fitness influencer Crystal Chen built her career shattering gym stereotypes and mostly ignoring the trolls. After her recent breakup, she has little stamina left for men, instead finding solace in the gym – her place of power and positivity.

Enter firefighter Scott Ritchie, the smug new gym patron who routinely steals her favorite squat rack. Sparks fly as these ultra-competitive foes battle for gym domination. But after a series of escalating jabs, the last thing they expect is to run into each other at their grandparents’ engagement party.

In the lead up to their grandparents’ wedding, Crystal discovers there’s a soft heart under Scott’s muscled exterior. Bonding over family, fitness, and cheesy pick-up lines, she just might have found her swolemate. But when a photo of them goes viral, savage internet trolls put their budding relationship to the ultimate test of strength.

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an eARC.

SLOW BURN SWOON.

This was an amazing debut!! Incredibly heart warming and full on grin inducing. Crystal and Scott will bring the house down.

I loved Crystal. I loved so many of the conversations and topics she spoke about in regards to her identity, fitness, health and more. It was like the author was in my mind reminding me and telling me things I needed to hear. As someone who struggles (and I mean who doesn’t?) with many of the themes I loved the way this was approached.

Now, the ROMANCE. Ohhhh my gosh. SWOON. I didn’t know how much I would adore a love story primarily set-up around a gym. It was the best. I loved the instant charged connection and the subtle ways these two clearly showed their growing feelings. It wasn’t quite as angsty as I was thinking it would be, but it was gosh dang sweet. I loved the development and the banter. All of these tiny moments amounting into tender confessions. Scott Ritchie is the kind of love interest I will never tire of seeing in a romance.

A lot of the ending scenes were wonderful. I had a minor issues with some aspects, but I am all for a grand gesture so I was able to look past [most] of it. Not to mention, throwing in an it’s always been you trope had to be the icing on the cake. I can not handle another moment with Crystal and Scott because I will be in a puddle on the floor.

Please tell me Amy Lea has more books coming??

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: very mild
  • Romance: a few open door with low explicitness
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: fatphobia, cyber bullying, racism, fitness/diet culture, cancer

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Book Review: We Free the Stars (Sands of Arawiya #2) by Hafsah Faizal

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 592 pages
Author: Hafsah Faizal
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Release Date: January 19th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The battle on Sharr is over. The dark forest has fallen. Altair may be captive, but Zafira, Nasir, and Kifah are bound for Sultan’s Keep, determined to finish the plan he set in motion: restoring the hearts of the Sisters of Old to the minarets of each caliphate, and finally returning magic to all of Arawiya. But they are low on resources and allies alike, and the kingdom teems with fear of the Lion of the Night’s return.

As the zumra plots to overthrow the kingdom’s darkest threat, Nasir fights to command the magic in his blood. He must learn to hone his power into a weapon, to wield not only against the Lion but against his father, trapped under the Lion’s control. Zafira battles a very different darkness festering in her through her bond with the Jawarat—a darkness that hums with voices, pushing her to the brink of her sanity and to the edge of a chaos she dare not unleash. In spite of the darkness enclosing ever faster, Nasir and Zafira find themselves falling into a love they can’t stand to lose…but time is running out to achieve their ends, and if order is to be restored, drastic sacrifices will have to be made.

Lush and striking, hopeful and devastating, We Free the Stars is the masterful conclusion to the Sands of Arawiya duology by New York Times–bestselling author Hafsah Faizal. 

FANTASTIC CONCLUSION.

Some dulogies really hit with that second book. This is without a doubt the case here. LOVED IT. Everything I needed. Especially since I gave the first book 3.5 stars and wasn’t convinced to pick this up for awhile. It took the audio coming to my library (which by the way, is AMAZING. Highly recommend the audio) for me to read it and I’m so happy I did!!

I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS. I probably will forget to name them all, but the main characters and supporting cast are well thought out and flow into the story perfectly. I loved Zafira and her fiery, determined nature. Nasir who is clearly the biggest cinnamon roll alive. Altair who I just want to be best friends with and Kifah who rounds out this crew with her loyalty and sharp wit. There’s many more I could mention. I loved the balance between plot and character drive.

The rooooomance. Oh it picked up beautifully. Anytime Zafira and Nasir were in the same location I got all of the giddy heart flutters waiting for them to connect. The impassioned kisses and utterly tender words whispered. MY HEART. And I’m pretty sure that ending added years to my life.

My only tiny complaint was that it took me a minute to get into and understand how the magic system was connecting with the larger plot. Since the WHtF was a travelling story I felt like I didn’t get a lot of explanations. Grateful that WFtS spread that out without info dumping. The world building and magic system are intricate and well plotted.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses / heated make-outs
  • Violence: battle scenes, weapons violence, magical and physical altercations

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ARC Book Review & Blog Tour: The Dachshund Wears Prada (Paws in the City #1) by Stefanie London

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Stefanie London
Publisher: HQN
Release Date: May 3rd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

How do you start over when the biggest mistake of your life has more than one million views?

Forget diamonds—the internet is forever. Social media consultant Isla Thompson learned that lesson the hard way when she went viral for all the wrong reasons. A month later, Isla is still having nightmares about the moment she ruined a young starlet’s career and made herself the most unemployable influencer in Manhattan. But she doesn’t have the luxury of hiding until she’s no longer Instagram poison. Not when her fourteen-year-old sister, Dani, needs Isla to keep a roof over their heads. So, she takes the first job she can get: caring for Camilla, a glossy-maned, foul-tempered hellhound.

After a week of ferrying Camilla from playdates to pet psychics, Isla starts to suspect that the dachshund’s bark is worse than her bite—just like her owner, Theo Garrison. Isla has spent her career working to make people likable and here’s Theo—happy to hide behind his reputation as a brutish recluse. But Theo isn’t a brute—he’s sweet and funny, and Isla should not see him as anything but the man who signs her paychecks. Because loving Theo would mean retreating to his world of secluded luxury, and Isla needs to show Dani that no matter the risk, dreams are always worth chasing.

Thank you to the publisher for an eARC.

CHARMING.

I gratefully enjoyed this more than I hoped for, even if a few things took it down here and there.

I really liked Isla as one of the main points of view. She was optimistic and full of light. I was willingly cheering her on through the ups and downs of trying to be a good caretaker and parent to her sister and finding a new path after losing her job. Isla’s resilience knew no bounds and I was proud of what she accomplished.

Theo was the other point of view (YAY for double points of view in a romance!). More gruff around the edges and unwillingly to see past his own walls, he took some warming up to see his soft side. I ADORE the grump/sunshine trope and thought this was an excellent execution of that.

Mixed thoughts towards some of the plot. I think there was almost too much focus on other things and at times I noticed a repetitiveness to the inner dialogue about varying situations. It took me awhile to feel invested in the romance because I thought things jumped off too quickly since the focus kept turning to other matters.

The conflict had me shaking my head a bit as well. It was heavily hinted throughout buuuut still. I guess I just hoped it would work a bit differently or there’d be a spin on it that I could get behind. While that wasn’t the case, I did absolutely LOVE the grand gesture at the end and the sweetness that followed. FYI this was steamier than I expected and there’s a few scenes, easily skippable if you prefer that like me!

Also yes, the dog, Camilla, is feisty and lovable and played a good sized roll. I loved her spunky vibe and how incredibly touching she could be. Pulls at your heart strings for fellow animal lovers!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: recounting loss of parents (car wreck), parental abandonment, grief, brief mention of suicide ideation, loss of a grandparent

AUTHOR BIO:

Stefanie London is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “genuinely entertaining and memorable” by Booklist, and her writing praised as “elegant, descriptive and delectable” by RT Magazine. Originally from Australia, she now lives in Toronto with her very own hero and is doing her best to travel the world. She frequently indulges her passions for lipstick, good coffee, books and anything zombie related.

Author Website
Instagram: @stefanielondon
Facebook: @London’s Lovelies

BUY LINKS: Bookshop.org || Harlequin || Barnes & Noble || Amazon || BAM

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Book Review: The Trustworthy Groom (Texas Titan Romances) by Cami Checketts

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Rating: ☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 180 pages
Author: Cami Checketts
Publisher: Birch River Publishing
Release Date: January 18th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A lonely football player, a damaged bride, and the fake marriage that can heal them both.
Hailey Knight has two choices: fall prey to a predator who is out to own her and destroy her football team, or marry a man she’s just met. True, her fake husband can make her quiver with a touch, gets her jokes, and is patience personified, but she knows better than anyone how quickly charm can turn ugly.
Brady Giles has dealt with a sweetheart stalker for two years and has no hope of shaking the annoyance. He steps in to rescue the beautiful and feisty Hailey Knight from a leering idiot and somehow ends up engaged to her.
The marriage is supposed to help them both out of sticky situations, but instead turns into a media hailstorm with lies and attacks coming from all sides. When Hailey falls in love with her fake husband and danger lurks around every corner, she knows it’s time to run, but Brady has never given up on an impossible battle.
Can these two trust each other or will the media and predators tear them apart?

RANT INCOMING.

Full stop. This book was utterly ridiculous. Oh my gosh. I didn’t like it at all, but it got 2 stars purely for the entertainment it gave me for a morning of reading. I kept running to my spouse shouting YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

First of all the book wouldn’t have even needed to happen if there was on small change in the second chapter. The set-up for this marriage of convenience was worthless and sooo not necessary.

Also I hated how Hailey treated Brady. She was the one who used him to pretend he was her fiance and then was the one who was cool with the fake marriage. Why in the world would you spend most of the book then worried he was going to “steal your virtue” (books words) like he was this terrible guy. He gave you no inclination of that kind of behavior and I was upset over that.

AN ATHLETIC TRAINER IS NOT A PERSONAL TRAINER. Good heavens I hate when something is clearly not researched. Absolutely maddening. Use google and get your terms right.

Everything got oddly dark FAST and I didn’t realize I was apparently reading a romantic suspense. I mean seriously, a stalker blew up part of the guys house. WHAT?…WHAT? I can’t even begin to follow the process of thought that led to this being part of the ending scenes.

There’s just so much iffy stuff in this book y’all. Wouldn’t recommend whatsoever.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary sports romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses, some implied closed door scenes
  • Violence: house explosion
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: Brady has a creepy stalker, sexual harassment, Hailey remembers a rape scene from someone she dated (brief description)

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