ARC Book Review: Married by Treachery (Arranged Marriages of the Fae #5) by Barbara Kloss

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance Novella
Length: 250 pages
Author: Barbara Kloss
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 7th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Married by Treachery is book 5 in the Arranged Marriages of the Fae series.

Raquel never expected to marry a bear. To be fair, Prince Edom wasn’t actually a bear, but it was impossible to see his face through his mess of wild hair. Not that she needed to see his face. In fact, it was probably better that she didn’t.

Because she was going to kill him.

It had been seven years since Prince Edom had galloped off with her best friend through the magicked veil, and taken her into his magicked kingdom. Seven long years of resolve, of hard work and training, so that Raquel would be ready for this day: the day she would exact vengeance upon Prince Edom, for all the brides he’d stolen.

For all the brides he’d murdered.

Raquel vowed she would be the last, but she wasn’t prepared for what lay on the veil’s other side. It was not the lush and magnificent kingdom from the stories of her youth, and, as it turned out, its prince was not what she’d expected either.

No, Prince Edom was not what she’d expected at all.

Thank you to Barbara Kloss for an eARC!

A GOOD TIME.

I really enjoyed this!! I thought it was a fun idea to see a bunch of fantasy romance authors get together for a mash-up of loved tropes and romantic novellas.

There was some great banter here and I loved the initial reactions between Raquel and Jake. Their natures really bounced off of one another until the undeniable magnetism took hold. I thought the dreams were a unique sequence to kind of further the romantic plot and help change the characters mind about how they were responding to each other.

I do think being a touch longer would have helped. I was a little confused by some magic system and plot aspects which I know can be hard to wrap all up into a novella. This as a full length series?? YES. Maybe that’s in the works and this is a starting point?! No idea, but one can hope!

The pacing made for a quick, finish in a day read and it hit well. I liked the movement and how things all wrapped up in the end. I love Kloss’s writing style and look forward to her next book(s)!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance Novella
  • Language: some
  • Romance: very brief fade to black
  • Violence: medium
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, loss of loved ones, battle scenes, grave wounds

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ARC Book Review: A Soldier’s Vow (Aster Ridge Ranch #7) by Kate Condie

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Rating: ★★☆
Genre: Historical Western Romance
Length: 244 pages
Author: Kate Condie
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 7th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Three years ago, he destroyed her family.

He’s been wrestling with himself ever since.

The war is over, but the battle has just begun.

Fay Morris’ life has taught her one thing: marry rich. And her plan is about to work, until her family’s one enemy decides to play the hero.

Three years ago, soldier Garrick Hampton made a mistake. He’s done running, but when he returns to Aster Ridge, nothing is as he expected. From the now grown Fay, to the unfamiliar feeling of home that makes his chest ache.

When Fay’s brother goes missing in a winter storm, Garrick is glad to help, and hopes for a sliver of forgiveness from Fay’s family. But Fay is no damsel and she doesn’t need help from a greenhorn. When a stormy search for her brother means the lines between friends and enemies are blurred and a fake marriage is required to keep them alive, will they learn what it is each of them really needs?

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

WHAT YEAR IS IT?

This missed big time for me. One of my grievance would definitely have to be not knowing what year it is. This is a western historical romance and I couldn’t pinpoint what exact year we were going for? Confused and bothered me.

There’s aspects of a lot of things I should love and some of those were well enough. I liked the enemies to lovers (though, because I didn’t read the previous books was confused about why they were enemies) banter and the forced proximity moments that brought them closer together.

Writing style wise we did not click. There were explanations of things that didn’t need explained in convoluted ways. And that continually took me out of the story.

I know this book may be a hit for others so if it sounds interesting I’d still say give it a go. I had other friends love it, and that’s why there’s many books out there for all.

Overall audience notes:

  • Western Historical Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: medium
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence

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Book Review: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Abby Jimenez
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: April 19th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The New York Times bestselling author of Life’s Too Short delivers a refreshingly modern fairy tale perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Emily Henry.

After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable.

While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.

Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

NEW AUTHOR FAVORITE.

Ohhh this just climbed mountains to become my new favorite book by Jimenez. WHAT A READ. Everyone’s reviews had me hyped for this and it delivered.

One of the subtle things I appreciated was how the one night stand trope was handled. I’m generally not a fan, but it was kept closed door and I liked that spice wasn’t added just to do it. The heat was brought in further along in the story when the connection between Daniel and Alexis had reached extreme levels. I felt like it was the best way to use this trope and rather than being in my face about it, just slowly brought on how much I ADORE these characters.

I loved that both Alexis and Daniel had their own personal struggles and true differences. But that with both sides of their lives they found ways to connect, to understand where the other person is coming from, and to find ways to bond themselves together. There were plenty of utterly wholesome moments (baby goat y’all) and passionate arguments about what was happening meant to them. I loved it all (though I could have thrown Alexis’s Dad down a hill and would not have blinked an eye).

The side characters only enhanced the plot and made me excited for future books in this series. Even those I didn’t like, I thought brought in the right touch of drama to keep things moving and to shine light on certain topics and how they can unfold without knowing. I LOVED THIS BOOK. Highly recommend. It’s everything I love about contemporary romances.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: brief/vague open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: parental abuse, emotional abuse and gaslighting (on page), intimate partner violence and abuse (side character, on page), cheating recounted, depression, grief, on page childbirth, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

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Rating: ☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: Unknown pages
Author: B.K. Borison
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 10th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Where the lovelight gleams …

A pasture of dead trees. A hostile takeover of the Santa barn by a family of raccoons. And shipments that have mysteriously gone missing. Lovelight Farms is not the magical winter wonderland of Stella Bloom’s dreams.

In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, she enters a contest with instafamous influencer Evelyn St. James. With the added publicity and the $100,000 cash prize, she might just be able to save the farm from its financial woes. There’s just one problem. To make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on the application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only … there is no boyfriend.

Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just came home for some hot chocolate, and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process.

Lovelight Farms is a romantic comedy featuring a handsome, freckled data analyst, a messy, optimistic Christmas tree farm owner, and a small town with the best hazelnut lattes on the east coast. This sweet and steamy romance is a holiday happily ever after.

NOT FOR ME.

I wanted to love this more after seeing some positive reviews on it but I had some issues with the story throughout.

I did love that it was set at a Christmas tree farm. That’s adorable and I haven’t read a holiday romance like that. I liked seeing some of the workings of the farm. All of the holiday vibes were had with this setting.

There were some cute moments between the love interests, Stella and Luka. Both of them clearly wanted to date and when the moment arose for a solid fake dating trope it fell flat. No angst, they just started dating. That’s it? Stella tried to drag it out by telling Luka that there’s no way he likes her (and other eye roll statements like this) as she went with the completely oblivious play call.

It could have used another round of edits as I noticed a lot of repetitive phrasing choices and dialogue set-up. All in all, this didn’t click for me, but I know it might for others!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents, vandalism

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