Book Review: The Nabob’s Daughter by Jess Heileman

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 444 pages
Author: Jess Heileman
Publisher: Vagabond Publishing
Release Date: June 30th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’ll do anything to escape an arranged marriage. He’ll do anything to help her.

Honora Crauford relishes her life in India. So when her father informs her of his latest business transaction—marrying her off to a bankrupt nobleman in England—her only hope for returning home is to convince her betrothed, by whatever antics necessary, that a marriage to her comes at a cost that not even the greatest fortune can justify.

Graham Whitworth can hardly believe his wretched luck. It seems the only way to save his family’s insolvent estate is to comply with his father’s demands and marry the extremely wealthy, but utterly ridiculous, nabob’s daughter. But when Honora missteps, Graham discerns her farce and begins to see who she truly is—a most impressive lady. A lady likely capable of fixing his family’s financial troubles.

Realizing they both desire freedom, Graham and Honora join forces to restore the Whitworth estate and return Honora to her beloved India. But sometimes love has its own agenda, and the revoking of a once undesirable arrangement may just prove to be the greatest sacrifice of all.

DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

The hype in the regency community about this book is real, and I’m so glad it lived up to what I was hoping for.

Honora is the definition of the head-strong woman who stubbornness occasionally gets in her own way. I liked her character arc and her ability to recognize and acknowledge her faults and when she needed to apologize. Honora stood for her choices too and was a character I wanted to see get her HEA.

Graham was adorable. I loved how tender he was and how open to Honora he spoke. With a slight misstep in their first meeting to a friendship that became more, I was enraptured. He was incredibly sweet and all of Graham’s quiet moments with Honora had me swooning.

The plot was more fresh than most regencies and felt like a new rush of air as I read. My only lower point was that it felt a bit long too me. It might have been so much of the accounting commentary and scenes that took away from the main focus of the romance.

This was a wonderful read though and I look forward to Heileman’s future books. Based off of this one I think there’s more swoony romances ahead.

Overall audience notes:

  • Regency romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a mother

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Book Review: Failed Future (Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles #3) by Elise Kova

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆  
Audience: YA Fantasy + Romance
Length: 356 pages
Author: Elise Kova
Publisher: Silver Wing Press
Release Date: July 20th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When worlds collide, and things are rarely what they seem, there may be no one Vi can trust.

Having forsaken her crown for a chance to save her family, and the world, Vi Solaris washes up on the shores of Meru. She’s wounded and barely alive. But Vi’s fight for survival is only just beginning.

As a princess in a foreign land, everyone is after her.

The pirate queen Adela wants to sell her to the evil elfin’ra. The Twilight King wants to use her to settle an old score. And, perhaps most dangerous, is the scheming Lord of the Faithful who sees her as an opportunity to further consolidate his power.

The only path for Vi is forward. But she doesn’t yet know if she’s running toward salvation… or a brutal end to everything she loves.

Vi’s journey continues with even more betrayal, romance, magic, and a twist you never saw coming that leaves readers begging for the next book.

BACK ON THIS STRESSFUL RIDE.

I haven’t gotten back to this series in almost a year. I wasn’t super into book two and then it just fell by the wayside. I finally picked up book three and I see a change of pace before me.

I also remember exactly why this book STRESSES ME OUT SO MUCH.

But you would need to read the Air Awakens series first to understand (which I rave about constantly so please do).

The action picked up a lot here and I thought that Vi really started coming into her own. Taking charge of matters. Leading a team. Saving family. All the things I wanted to see from her. It was great and I look forward to her continued passion towards saving the world.

Romance wise, things were better here too. Now that they are able to have some more interaction, Vi and Taavin are starting to pull me on board their ship. LETS SAIL. The conflicts that arise between them are not over dramatic and actually fit into the plot (the best). I’m anxious to see how things break free for them.

Lots of things happening here. SO MANY. I didn’t feel very lost though after not reading this series for a bit which was really appreciated. The way that things from other books are brought up line up perfectly, keeping me informed and wanting more.

Can’t wait to finish this series up shortly!

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult fantasy + romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: kisses to implied closed door scenes
  • Violence: physical altercations, magic, betrayals, weaponry; not overly bloody/gory

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Book Review: The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: May 18th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Raised by her grandparents–who now help raise her seven-year-old daughter, Juno–Jess has been left behind too often to feel comfortable letting anyone in. After all, her father’s never been around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before Juno was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close, but working constantly to stay afloat is hard…and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands. At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98% compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Pena. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we’ll pay you. Jess–who is barely making ends meet–is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could make GeneticAlly a mint in stock prices, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist–and the science behind a soulmate–than she thought.

Funny, warm, and full of heart, The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

A NEW FAV.

My love of CL books goes up and down. But I can easily say this is one of my top favorites of their books. I adored this one y’all. So if you’ve been hesitant too, I think this one is worth checking out.

I love the unique plot. I honestly don’t know how believable it is (genetics/romance/etc.) but that didn’t bother me one bit. I thought it would actually be pretty cool if something like the DNADuo was available. It was incredibly nerdy listening to Jess and River discuss statistics and genetics and I loved it. As someone who is allergic to math, I didn’t quite follow everything, but that doesn’t take away from the story.

River was such a cinnamon roll!! Oh goodness, just the sweetest. I love the dates he and Jess went on and the clear chemistry between them. Then his relationship with Jess’s daughter, Juno, was ADORABLE. I love a great single parent story and this one is it. I also thought Jess’s friendship with Fizzy was perfect. They were truly best friends and I couldn’t get enough of the support that went both ways between them. Fizzy was hilarious and brought such a great vibe to the book.

One aspect in most romances is that final conflict, which can bust a book or make a book. You can kind of assume what’s going to happen in this story, and even when it did I wanted to keep reading because I still HAD TO KNOW what was going to happen next. I thought the drama was a nice touch and that there was an honest conversation and acknowledgement of wrong doing in the end. I love how Jess and River came back together for their relationship, regardless of what had happened.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses to open and closed door scenes (brief, this is a lower steam CL book)
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: a loved one with a substance abuse problem

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Book Review: Unchosen by Katharyn Blair

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Dystopian / Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Katharyn Blair
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: January 26th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

For Charlotte Holloway, the world ended twice.

The first was when her childhood crush, Dean, fell in love—with her older sister.

The second was when the Crimson, a curse spread through eye contact, turned the majority of humanity into flesh-eating monsters.

Neither end of the world changed Charlotte. She’s still in the shadows of her siblings. Her popular older sister, Harlow, now commands forces of survivors. And her talented younger sister, Vanessa, is the Chosen One—who, legend has it, can end the curse.

When their settlement is raided by those seeking the Chosen One, Charlotte makes a reckless decision to save Vanessa: she takes her place as prisoner.

The word spreads across the seven seas—the Chosen One has been found.

But when Dean’s life is threatened and a resistance looms on the horizon, the lie keeping Charlotte alive begins to unravel. She’ll have to break free, forge new bonds, and choose her own destiny if she has any hope of saving her sisters, her love, and maybe even the world.

Because sometimes the end is just a new beginning. 

ACTION-PACKED.

This book takes off at a run and doesn’t let up until the very end. I really enjoyed the audio of this one and how it captured the intensity of the book.

I only picked this up thanks to some reviews from friends so I hope this might convince you to pick it up as well. Dystopian and I don’t mix (especially because this is a pandemic…and we’re in a pandemic). This was written so beautifully and engrossing that I didn’t mind one bit. I was enamored with the story and set-up, wondering how it was all going to be wrapped up in one book. How happy I was when the loose ends were tied up and a great ending occurred.

The romance was so sweet! It wasn’t at the forefront, but was this nice slow build between Charlotte and her friend. By the time they realized their feelings, lives were in peril, so I’m glad I can say that this also had a happy ever after for [most] involved.

One of my favorite components was the fact that Charlotte was NOT the chosen one. I think it’s a funny move against the trope and it worked fantastically here. Her sentiments made me laugh a bit and really feel her character depth. Charlotte was loyal to a fault, yet did her best with some terrible situations.

Really enjoyed this one y’all! I love finding good, quick standalones.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Dystopia / Romance
  • Language: some strong throughout
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs
  • Violence: murder, pandemic (where the “zombie” humans are violent), physical altercations, weaponry
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones

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