Tag: Book blog

ARC Book Review: Merry Ex-Mas by Courtney Walsh

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 322 pages
Author: Courtney Walsh
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: October 25th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I haven’t been home for Christmas in eight years.

But that’s about to change. This year, I’m traveling to my small hometown to convince my producer to make me the permanent host of Good Day Denver.

The plan: Charm viewers by sharing my favorite family Christmas traditions, and in turn, get the likes, clicks and shares to land the job.

Not the plan: Running into my ex-boyfriend.

In my house.

For Christmas.

But here he is, a guest of my mother, who apparently had more trouble letting go of Max Weber than I did.

Unfortunately, he is as handsome and charming and talented and annoying and frustrating and flirty as ever.

Even more unfortunately, he seems to have a plan of his own—to convince me to give him a second chance.

Which is not happening.

There’s just one problem—my viewers love him. More than that, they love us. Me and Max. My ex.

The boy who broke my heart.

The boy I now have to fake flirt with to win over the hearts of my viewers.

But it’s not their hearts I’m worried about. . . it’s mine.

Merry Ex-Mas is a sweet, small town, second chance romance with a dash of not-so-fake flirting, a tiny bit of enemies to lovers and just enough forced proximity to make things sizzle.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

FINDING JOY.

I love Christmas books, and I love that I can easily add this to my recommendations list for the season.

We’ve got a really great set-up of lovers to enemies to lovers and I enjoyed the banter and rehashing of all the things that occurred then and what was happening in the present. And talk about Christmas CHEER. I LOVED the baking, decorating, picking out trees, walking the town, craft shows, alllllll the things that truly brought the entire spirit into this book. I feel so in the mood for everything holiday based, ’tis the season!

There’s plenty of family drama (but the good kind) and a lot of laugh out loud worthy awkwardness as Marin and Max clash a few times before realizing they love they once shared is still clearly there. I do think the change of heart came a bit late for me because Marin really held on to being stubborn about a tough situation. The resolutions afterwards led to some beautiful conversations that warmed my soul and made me love these characters.

Perfect for the season. Great swoony moments, hilarious banter and just a truly good time of a read.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Holiday Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of parents (from a car wreck, off page), grief and loss depiction, depression

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Book Review: Souls of Fire and Steel (Frozen Sun Saga #3) by Jill Criswell

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 450 pages
Author: Jill Criswell
Publisher: Blackstone
Release Date: September 14th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

To save her lover’s life, Lira of Stone swore allegiance to a demigod known as the Dragon. She’s transformed into his weapon—the Dragon’s deathbringer, using her gifts to conquer nations and unleash demons. Yet there’s a part of Lira not even the Dragon can stifle, and the soul-reader must find a way to free herself before he declares war against the gods.

After the warrior Reyker Lagorsson attempted to overthrow the Dragon, Reyker’s soul was fractured. Now, he’s a shadow of his former self, and his battle-madness grows stronger by the day. Reyker will stop at nothing to kill the Dragon and his mysterious death-bringer before his curse consumes him.

In the final installment of the Frozen Sun Saga, Lira and Reyker face off as enemies, confront their worst nightmares, and make their last stand against the Dragon. But can a god be killed? And if so, at what cost?

SATISFYING CONCLUSION.

I finally took the time to finish this series and I loved it! What a great YA fantasy trilogy y’all. If you only get this far in my review, I definitely recommend for your TBR.

This is heavy in the romance (YAY) so I appreciate that my two favs don’t have to spend a lot of time separated. Even if things aren’t running smoothly while they’re together I can’t stand when a couple is separated for too long. It makes a book drag.

The plot is solid. This series has one of my favorite villains. I kind of hate that I love him? He’s completely warped and consumed, yet the small tidbits of humanity make him layered. He keeps things interesting.

I wanted a bit more from the ending. I thought things were going to be a little different, and it all worked out by the VERY end, but the waiting was a little frustrating.

All in all. READ it. Viking inspired, plenty of action, a forbidden romance and more.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: torture, highly descriptive blood and gore, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 336 pages
Author: Makiia Lucier
Publisher: Clarion Books
Release Date: November 9th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The past never forgets…

Before an ambush by enemy soldiers, Lord Cassia was an engineer’s apprentice on a mission entrusted by the king. But when plague sweeps over the land, leaving countless dead and devastating the kingdom, even Cas’ title cannot save him from a rotting prison cell and a merciless sickness.

Three years later, Cas wants only to return to his home in the mountains and forget past horrors. But home is not what he remembers. His castle has become a refuge for the royal court. And they have brought their enemies with them.

When an assassin targets those closest to the queen, Cas is drawn into a search for a killer… one that leads him to form an unexpected bond with a brilliant young historian named Lena. Cas and Lena soon realize that who is behind the attacks is far less important than why. They must look to the past, following the trail of a terrible secret—one that could threaten the kingdom’s newfound peace and plunge it back into war.

AMAZING WRITING.

That was one of my largest takeaways here. This book is magnetic. I was swept away in this story about Cas returning home to find what the plague has wreaked havoc upon. The audio is STELLAR. Highly recommend and I love the way the narrator gave a humorous voice to Cas. It perfectly off-set the darker sides of this tale and made it all the better.

I looove that this was told from the guy’s perspective. That’s not super common in YA lit. Cas was a resilient man who was looking out for those he loved, and the kingdom he fights for, all while bonding with Lena. I also adored Lena. Both of these characters sold the story for me. I loved the interactions, the banter, and watching their connection strengthen over time. I wouldn’t exactly call it a romance because it’s not heavily implied, but there’s feelings there by the end.

The story was intriguing and I liked the mystery aspect of it all. I remember thinking, WAIT WHAT, a few times as the reveals started occurring in the second half. The twists and turns are there and plenty of action to keep things moving. I can’t believe this was a standalone. It was without a doubt, one of the best ones I’ve read this year. Everything was well built and formulated to occur at the necessary pacing to finish up in less than 350 pages.

Absolute gem, highly recommend. I can’t wait to find out what this author will write next!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: flirting (maybe a kiss at the end?)
  • Violence: skirmishes, weaponry wounds (arrows, swords)
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: plague (based off of the Black Death), loss of many loved ones, medical experimentation, near drowning of an infant

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Book Review: The American Roommate Experiment (Spanish Love Deception #2) by Elena Armas

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Elena Armas
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: September 6th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the author of the Goodreads Choice Award winner The Spanish Love Deception, the eagerly anticipated follow-up featuring Rosie Graham and Lucas Martín, who are forced to share a New York apartment.

Rosie Graham has a problem. A few, actually. She just quit her well paid job to focus on her secret career as a romance writer. She hasn’t told her family and now has terrible writer’s block. Then, the ceiling of her New York apartment literally crumbles on her. Luckily she has her best friend Lina’s spare key while she’s out of town. But Rosie doesn’t know that Lina has already lent her apartment to her cousin Lucas, who Rosie has been stalking—for lack of a better word—on Instagram for the last few months. Lucas seems intent on coming to her rescue like a Spanish knight in shining armor. Only this one strolls around the place in a towel, has a distracting grin, and an irresistible accent. Oh, and he cooks.

Lucas offers to let Rosie stay with him, at least until she can find some affordable temporary housing. And then he proposes an outrageous experiment to bring back her literary muse and meet her deadline: He’ll take her on a series of experimental dates meant to jump-start her romantic inspiration. Rosie has nothing to lose. Her silly, online crush is totally under control—but Lucas’s time in New York has an expiration date, and six weeks may not be enough, for either her or her deadline.

SHE DID IT AGAIN.

I loved this y’all!!! Now, it didn’t top my obsession with The Spanish Love Deception, BUT this grew on me in a different way.

This was so dang soft. It’s low angst with lots of heart. I adored Lucas and Rosie. I felt like I connected with both of them about different things and it really sang to my heart as they found love with each other. It was pretty slow for the first half and you have to hang in there, but the foundation is being laid for all of the swoon!

I love a great romance where I’m sitting there reading it and all of a sudden realize how attached I am to everything that’s happening. Yes, this is a little bit on the cheesy side but it WORKS. The grand gesture(s) and fake dates, the chases through airports and more. It has the love story movie-esque vibe that worked well for me.

The surrounding plot was steady and I liked that it gave a chance for both Lucas and Rosie to evolve and exhibit there own personal character growth. This is why I love dual POV romance books!!! I have a super soft spot for Lucas and gosh dang he just MELTED MY HEART.

Bring on whatever Elena Armas is giving us next because I can’t wait.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open door; med-high explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: Parent abandonment mentioned (off page), PTSD and trauma, panic attacks, nightmares

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