Tag: audiobook

ARC Book Review: Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Sarah Adams
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: May 2nd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When the owner of the local flower shop in Rome, Kentucky, makes a questionable agreement with a tattooed bad boy, a delightful friends to lovers romance begins to bloom–from the author of When in Rome and The Cheat Sheet.

Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match-someone who nicely compliments her happy, quiet life running her flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. Unfortunately, she worries her goal might be too far out of reach when she overhears her date saying she is “sounbelievably boring.” Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice…and Annie has the perfect person in mind to become her tutor: Will Griffin.

Will–the flirtatious, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard–is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement grows for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker. He has one personal objective during his time in town: stay away from Annie Walker. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will soon finds himself not only breaking his rule, but tasked with far more than simply providing security.

Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie, but he can’t bring himself to say no to her request, so he officially agrees to teach her how to be the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky, and find the love of her life-even if he doesn’t believe in love himself. Between faking a relationship so the meddling town doesn’t catch on to what’s really happening on their practice dates, and tutoring lessons that convince Annie to add passion to her list of must-haves in a mate, it doesn’t take long for the lines of their friendship to blur…

Thank you to PRHAudio for the audiobook and the publisher for an eARC.

THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE.

The Off-Limits Rule has reigned supreme for awhile now. AND HAS BEEN DETHRONED BY THIS GREATNESS. Oh my goodness. I binged this book in a few hours and could not put it down. SARAH ADAMS YOU BEAUTIFUL SOUL. This was an incredible read filled with heart, finding your path, laughter and all the LOVE.

I absolutely adored Will and Annie. They had explosive chemistry from the minute they met. And DUAL POV MAKES ME FERAL. I got everything I could ask for in Will’s POV and seeing his side of the story. What a cinnamon roll. I am not going to recover from his off the charts book boyfriend status. He is next level. He is the goal.

Sweet Annie rang true to my introverted heart and I adored her character. I loved who she was, who she became and everything in between. Another amazing heroine in an Adams book is no surprise.

The way that steam was achieved without the spice sent me. I LOVE BOOKS LIKE THIS. It’s another refrain in the books don’t always have to have explicitness to be magnificent. You won’t miss it for a second because Practice Makes Perfect still packs all the heat.

READ IT Y’ALL.

Audiobook review: LOVED. I adored both narrators and I loved the way they told the story. I felt like I could see the characters and it easily made my reading experience better.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporay Romance
  • Language: light but strong
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: past death of parents, toxic childhood life

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Book Review: Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 326 pages
Author: Chloe Liese
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: November 22nd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Opposites become allies to fool their matchmaking friends in this swoony reimagining of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, Much Ado About Nothing.

Jamie Westenberg and Bea Wilmot have nothing in common except a meet-disaster and the mutual understanding that they couldn’t be more wrong for each other. But when the people closest to them play Cupid and trick them into going on a date, Jamie and Bea realize they have something else in common after all—an undeniable need for revenge.

Soon their plan is in place: Fake date obnoxiously and convince the meddlers they’re madly in love. Then, break up spectacularly and dash their hopes, putting an end to the matchmaking madness once and for all.

To convince everyone that they’ve fallen for each other, Jamie and Bea will have to nail the performance of their lives. But as their final act nears and playing lovers becomes easier than not, they begin to wonder, what if Cupid’s arrow wasn’t so off the mark? And what if two wrongs do make a right?

I AM ANNOYED.

I was heading towards a decent four star in this one. Not too shabby.

BUT THEN.

I’m stuck on the third act break-up. It was a travesty. The whole book is centered around communication and healing and listening to one another. And then all of that gets completely thrown out the window???? And at 90ish% which just adds fuel to my flames. I am not happy with that at allllllllllll.

I was enjoying the romance between Jamie and Bea. They worked hard to be together even when they acted liked they didn’t want to. It was endearing and they both had opportunities to take care of each other and I adored those sweet moments. The steam was a bit eh. Most shoved in there to call it spicy, so I had to skip more than I expected. Not to mention, I thought the innuendo felt awkward throughout too. I liked the fake dating shenanigans and the intensity between them at least.

This just didn’t have the same vibes from her indie series. I don’t know if that’s a traditional publishing difference or what, it was missing that same air I originally loved. I’m on the fence about continuing the series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open; high explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: ableism, abusive relationship, anxiety

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Book Review: See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 432 pages
Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Release Date: May 17th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Barrett Bloom is hoping college will be a fresh start after a messy high school experience. But when school begins on September 21st, everything goes wrong. She’s humiliated by the know-it-all in her physics class, she botches her interview for the college paper, and at a party that night, she accidentally sets a frat on fire. She panics and flees, and when she realizes her roommate locked her out of their dorm, she falls asleep in the common room.

The next morning, Barrett’s perplexed to find herself back in her dorm room bed, no longer smelling of ashes and crushed dreams. It’s September 21st. Again. And after a confrontation with Miles, the guy from Physics 101, she learns she’s not alone—he’s been trapped for months.

When her attempts to fix her timeline fail, she agrees to work with Miles to find a way out. Soon they’re exploring the mysterious underbelly of the university and going on wild, romantic adventures. As they start falling for each other, they face the universe’s biggest unanswered question yet: what happens to their relationship if they finally make it to tomorrow?

LOVE THE SETTING.

I can’t say groundhog day themed books are something I enjoy, but I do think this one was written really well. Especially as an audiobook I had no trouble wanting to pick this up and keep going (most of the time). That’s the problem with this theme, generally at some point it just starts to feel repetitive.

The relationship between Barrett and Miles was really sweet. I liked how they went from a bit of good banter, to reluctant friends stuck in the same situation, to lovers who had both let their guards down. It was romantic and I enjoyed both characters on their own too.

The plot was good. I think the paced was kept up well and I liked the bit of magical realism attributed to everything. It gave plenty of opportunity for Barrett to right some wrongs AND come work through the horrid things she went through during high school. A lot of momentous moments for her. The college setting was amazing and now I want to read more books in this sub zone because they are incredibly endearing.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: brief open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: Sexual harassment recounted, panic attack, car accident, bullying

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: April 2023

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Another great month of reading! A small slow down from last month but that is completely okay. I loved how many rereads I got to and found some absolute new favorites.

Favorite Books:

  • To Poison a King
  • A Girl Called Samson
  • The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King
  • In This Moment
  • The Assassin’s Blade
  • Before the Fortress Fals
  • Echoes of You
  • Desire or Defense
  • Throne of Glass
  • Fourth Wing
  • Finding Gene Kelly
  • Practice Makes Perfect
  • The Weight of Air

Least Favorites:

  • Two Wars and a Wedding
  • A Shadow Crown
  • The Path of Daggers
  • The Heart’s Choice
  • Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
  • Objection to Love (Greenbank Romances #3) by Karen Thornell
  • Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig
  • [ARC] To Poison a King (The Heirs of Isla #1) by S.G. Prince
  • Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden #3) by Beck Michaels
  • A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon
  • Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree
  • Love at First Psych by Cara Bastone
  • Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell
  • [ARC] The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia #2) by Carissa Broadbent
  • Haley and the Yeti (Love Tucson #1) by Laura Langa
  • [ARC] In this Moment (Timeless #2) by Gabrielle Meyer
  • [Reread] Assassin’s Blade (Throne of Glass #0.5) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ALC] A Shadow Crown (The Halfling Saga #2) by Melissa Blair
  • [ARC] Why Trey Let Me Get Away (Famously in Love #1) by Kortney Keisel
  • Before the Fortress Falls by A.L. Sowards
  • Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata
  • [ARC/ALC] Echoes of You (Lost & Found #2) by Catherine Cowles
  • [Novella] Kill Joy (A Good Girls’ Guide to Murder #0.5) by Holly Jackson
  • [ARC] Desire or Defense (Hooked on a Feeling #1) by Leah Brunner
  • [Reread] Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas
  • The Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time #8) by Robert Jordan
  • [ARC] Bonesmith (House of the Dead #1) by Nicki Pau Preto
  • [ARC] The Never Heir (The Otherworlds #1) by Courtney Millecam
  • [ALC] Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros
  • [Gifted] To Swoon and to Spar (The Regency Vows #4) by Martha Waters
  • Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean
  • A Sinister Revenge (Veronica Speedwell #8) by Deanna Raybourn
  • Captured by Chaos by Kathryn Marie
  • [ARC/ALC] Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
  • An Amiable Foe (Castles and Courtship #1) by Jennie Goutet
  • [ARC] The Heart’s Choice (The Jewels of Kalispell #1) by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse
  • Silver in the Bone (Silver in the Bone #1) by Alexandra Bracken
  • The Darkest Sunrise (The Darkest Sunrise #1) by Aly Martinez
  • The Brightest Sunset (The Darkest Sunrise #2) by Aly Martinez
  • The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Vol. #2) by Beth Brower
  • [Novella] The Managing Miss (Promise of Forever After #5) by Heidi Kimball
  • The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy
  • Slaying the Vampire Conqueror (Mortal Enemies to Monster Lovers) by Carissa Broadbent
  • [ARC] The Art of Love and Lies by Rebecca Anderson

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