Tag: berkley romance

Book Review: Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Holiday Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Victoria Schade
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 26th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When an old rival reappears right before the holidays, a professional dog trainer must decide if the melting frost between them can make up for their ruff past, from the USA Today bestselling author of Dog Friendly .

Chelsea Higgins is doing just fine. She’s heading into the holidays at the helm of a thriving dog training business, and she’s got a mellow senior dog at home to keep her warm at the end of the day. What more could she need? Enter certified gym bro Andrew Chelsea’s former nemesis, and now the newest neighbor in her business complex, who also wants to expand into the vacant space Chelsea’s been eyeing for months. Who cares if it’s the season of joy? Let the turf war begin.

When an unfortunate (and literal) run-in with Andrew’s lawless dog leaves Chelsea with a bum wrist, the two strike a Andrew will help Chelsea rehab the injury if she’ll work with him to train his adorably uncivilized boxer.

Their typical bickering soon turns to bantering, and Chelsea finds herself inexplicably drawn to the man she thought she had nothing in common with. As she gets to know Andrew and his parents, she realizes she needs to refocus on her own family, especially with a milestone Christmas speeding toward them. But Chelsea can’t help wondering if she and Andrew are training for keeps, or if this unexpected Christmas gift is just too good to be true.

ALL THE DOGS.

It’s been a low state of affairs for trying to find some 2023 holiday romance releases, but this was a good one!!! I thought it was really charming, had a little bit of spice, all of the dog content and some good holiday cheer.

I liked the journey that Chelsea went on. She was holding on to a lot of pent up emotions surrounding her father and a lot of misconceptions about Andrew. I loved Andrew’s views on his career and thank heavens Chelsea started to realize how much she had missed. There’s some good second chance romance vibes too. The only thing I couldn’t quite understand was the text situation?? That seemed far fetched.

The dogs (and goats) were super cute. I liked the holiday aspects and it’s a quick audiobook. I’d recommend this for the holidays if you need something great to read by the fire.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent (cancer, recounted)

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Holiday Romance
Length: 286 pages
Author: Kerry Winfrey
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 26th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Laurel Grant is playing house for the holidays–complete with a fake husband and kids–in this delightful, cozy rom-com by Kerry Winfrey.

Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for Buckeye State of Mind, an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She is most definitely not an owner of a farm…but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly’s farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she’s happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired.

And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm’s big holiday dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm’s Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she’s basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process.

Laurel and Holly come up with a plan–all Laurel has to do is pretend to own the farm for one dinner. But when Laurel shows up at the farm, an unwelcome guest is there: Max Beckett, her nemesis since Holly’s wedding. The annoyingly attractive man she hates will be posing as Laurel’s husband just for the evening, but when a snowstorm traps them all for the entire weekend, Laurel is going to have to figure out how to survive with her job and dignity intact. Whatever the case, this promises to be the most eventful Christmas in ages…

DIDN’T HOLD UP.

I know there’s some suspension of belief sometimes in a romance, but y’all. I just couldn’t get past this plot set up. With her boss coming over?? And faking who she was?? And then of course it snowed and they all had to stay together for multiple days?? I don’t know, the holiday magic wasn’t charming me this time.

Neither was the romance. For a short book I was hoping to see more connection, flirting, tension, something. That came in late in the second half when I was thinking these two were waaaay too different to ever find common ground and a love story.

It gets the three stars because I was never hate reading it, I just wasn’t that invested. A bit of a lackluster holiday read.

Overall audience notes:

  • Holiday Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kissing

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Genre: Paranormal Romance 
Length: 336 pages
Author: Sangu Mandanna
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 23rd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family–and a new love–changes the course of her life.

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn’t the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for….

FULL OF HEART.

I’ve seen this compared to The House on the Cerulean Sea and is definitely a comparison I can follow. This had a lot of those vibes but in a new story that I adored all the same.

I loved the found family between the girls, Mika, and everyone else in the house. Mika needed most to find somewhere to belong with people who knew everything about her and wouldn’t have to leave. I love that she got that chance and how we saw the ups and downs of allowing someone into our lives. It’s not always steps forward, but it’s worth it in the end for the right people.

The romance could have used a little more oomph for me. I did like it, but I thought it was missing something. Maybe a bit more between them would have helped me feel fully connected to Mika and Jamie.

I liked the plot and it moved with a steady pace for a read like this. There were some surprises and a great ending that was filled with sweetness and hope in new beginnings. I’d love to read another book by this author!

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: open but then fade to black
  • Violence: medium
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mention of death of parent, emotionally detached parent, sibling abuse

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Beach Trap by Ali Brady

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Ali Brady
Publisher: Berkley Books
Release Date: June 14th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Two best friends torn apart by a life-altering secret. They have one summer to set the record straight.

When twelve-year-olds Kat Steiner and Blake O’Neill meet at Camp Chickawah, they have an instant connection. But everything falls apart when they learn they’re not just best friends—they’re also half-sisters. Confused and betrayed, their friendship instantly crumbles.

Fifteen years later when their father dies suddenly, Kat and Blake discover he’s left them a joint inheritance: the family beach house in Destin, Florida. The two sisters are instantly at odds. Blake, who has recently been demoted from regular nanny to dog nanny, wants to sell the house, while social media influencer Kat is desperate to keep the place where she had so many happy childhood memories.

Kat and Blake reluctantly join forces to renovate the dilapidated house with the understanding that Kat will try to buy Blake out at the end of the summer. The women clash as Blake’s renovation plans conflict with Kat’s creative vision, and each sister finds herself drawn into a summer romance. As the weeks pass, the two women realize the most difficult project they face this summer will be coming to grips with their shared past, and learning how to become sisters.

IT GOT BETTER.

I admittedly was not sure I was feeling about this for a good half of the book. It leans towards fiction with a dash of romance and I’m really hit or miss on that type of read.

Blake was the bee’s knees. I adored her and all of the progress and growth she overcame dealing with family that never wanted her. There was a lot to process and I thought the addition of Noah on her team was what Blake needed to move forward. She worked on herself and accepting what was and wow did she make me want to take on all the house projects. I loved listening to her learn and try new things.

Kat bugged the living daylights out of me. Frankly, I still don’t like her all that much. The constant mentions of her influencer lifestyle and her hatred of Blake that didn’t even have a solid base made me roll my eyes. I will admit she DID exhibit some good character change and thank goodness for her love interest too.

The ending gave me all of the warm fuzzy feelings. I did love how everyone came together to fix the house. That all the needed conversations and emotions were thrown on the table. It turned out to be a sweet and emotional read that I’m glad I picked up.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: brief open door; low explicit
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: parental abandonment, loss of a mother, a grandparent with Alzheimer’s

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph